Medieval
Todd McComb
November 15th 2011

Some readers might remember I mentioned exploring flute players in jazz, and that discussion will likely continue. At a similar time, I wanted to hear trombone players also. That led me to Swiss trombonist Samuel Blaser (b.1981), although I've taken some time to write this entry, largely because of the pace at which he has been releasing recordings. Before discussing Blaser's music, I did also want to note that these two interests spring in part from Henry Threadgill's 2009 release, where both flute & trombone (and electric guitar & tuba) are featured on some tracks. Threadgill's sense of ensemble (constitution) is very impressive, but I digress.

In looking at contemporary trombone leader recordings, and clearly the trombone has a much deeper history back to the early days of jazz than the flute, one of the first I encountered was Pieces of Old Sky (recorded in 2008) from the Clean Feed catalog, by the Samuel Blaser Quartet. This album, including Tyshawn Sorey & Thomas Morgan & Todd Neufeld on guitar, is appealing. It's dominated by the opening title piece, something of a suite, which starts slowly, and then has some contrasting tracks later. Without Blaser's more recent material, I might have ended up listing this album here, but it comes off relatively stiff, particularly in the way the ensemble interacts, in comparison. The material is also a little slow-moving at times.

In looking at Blaser's discography, as prompted by the Clean Feed release, I saw Consort in Motion before I heard Pieces of Old Sky. Consort in Motion consists of jazz interpretations, or in some cases recompositions, of early Italian baroque music. I did not want to dive into that style of fusion, given the other orientations here, before hearing Blaser elsewhere, so opted to hear Pieces of Old Sky first. However, Consort in Motion turns out to be a superb album. It features music of Monteverdi mostly, but also a track by Frescobaldi and a couple by Marini (whom I've perhaps featured disproportionately in my favorites elsewhere). Brass was an ascendant instrument group at the time, and Blaser's arrangements are very insightful and satisfying, oriented strongly around his trombone playing. Consort in Motion is a more thoroughly satisfying album than I expected, and I'm kind of amused by Blaser's remark that it was more effort than he anticipated, or even that he didn't think of combining his interest in early music with jazz before being prompted. (I'll just note, tangentially, that I've been agitating for some Ars Subtilior improvisatory fusion for years.) Consort in Motion is not a very challenging album, concentrating on tunes, but it's not totally straightforward either. Dodecaphonic piano riffs spun off 400 year-old tunes is a welcome juxtaposition for me, for instance. It comes off as very polished.

After Consort in Motion, both from 2011, comes Boundless. Boundless is not early music fusion, nor does it have the more regimented structure of Pieces of Old Sky. Rather this is an inspired group improvisation album, recorded on a European tour. Gerald Cleaver (b.1963) has appeared on many interesting albums, but this is the second I've included here (after Spiritual Lover), and his percussion always adds interesting insight & accent. Here the guitarist is Marc Ducret, also mentioned previously, and the bass player is Bänz Oester. Oester was previously unknown to me, but adds tangibly to the album with some innovative bass lines, and also completes a 3-part Swiss slant to the production, with Blaser and the Hat Hut label itself. If I understand the discussion correctly, the material on Boundless began as different compositions, but eventually fused into a general suite with unclear boundaries. The track markers don't seem to mean much, although if I have a criticism, it's that the music is too episodic, with different players or combinations dominating for long periods. Regardless, Boundless is very engaging and supports repeat hearings, with a great balance between material and improvisation, and a superbly tuned-in group interaction. This is a significant development over Blaser's debut album, 7th Heaven (recorded in 2006), which shows impressive trombone technique and not much else. It's good I didn't hear that album first, because I did not get much out of it. It's amazing how far his conception has come in only a few years.

Another thing to note, I suppose, is that so far I've only found one trombone leader putting out material that truly appeals. Although there are other good players out there, such as Ray Anderson on the recent The Other Parade (an album with good points, but too much about soloing in turn), and of course the long history of trombone out of New Orleans, I haven't found too much of deep personal resonance. In some ways, whereas the trombone's ability to slide notes is a great strength, it requires a legato emphasis that doesn't necessarily mix readily with contemporary jazz styles (and apparently suggests electronic manipulations to many players). This issue is solved by Blaser (and Threadgill) by the way contrasting instruments are deployed, retaining an analog emphasis. In any event, the only thing that prevents me from being even more enthusiastic about Boundless, other than the linear-episodic temporal format, is the sense that more will soon follow, and indeed another release on Hat Hut is announced explicitly for the next few months. I was already waiting to hear Boundless before writing this entry, so it's time to stop waiting and get this written, even if Blaser's music is evolving fast.