Music Monday: Amaryllis, Vibes, and Solo Trombone

One of the few good things about end of the year lists is that they shine light on releases that I may have missed over the course of the year. Since I tend to have a pretty limited horizon in terms of what music I sample on a regular basis, this helps me get out of my rut and hear some new things. 

So here are three new things that I’ve enjoyed over the past few weeks.

Almost every “best of 2022” list includes Mary Halvorson’s pair of albums: Amaryllis and Belladonna. They’re both lovely although I think I care for the former more than the latter. Halvorson’s guitar fits in so well with the reed-less sextet featuring trombone, trumpet, bass, drums, and vibraphone. The interplay between Jacob Garchik’s trombone, Adam O’Farrill’s trumpet (of the O’Farrill jazz dynasty) and Nick Dunston’s bass is particularly remarkable. In the album’s most interesting moments, it sets a broad foundation for Halvorson guitar and Patricia Brennan’s vibes (taking nothing away of Garchik’s and O’Farrill’s accomplished improvisation!). The addition of the Mivos String Quartet on the “B Side” of the album is nice, but simply not my jam (and this accounts for why I prefer Amaryllis to Belladonna which features the same string quartet on the entire album). 

Being introduced to Patricia Brennan on Mary Halvorson’s album led me to check out her recent album More Touch. While I can run hot and cold on strings in my jazz (other than bass or anything by Billy Bang), I rarely listen to percussion dominated albums. But More Touch is amazing. Brennan on vibes, marimbas, and electronics, Kim Cass on bass, Marcus Gilmore and Mauricio Herrera on various percussion implements. It’s produces the kind of deep groove that goes on and on (until the the break of dawn) without getting boring. Brennan’s vibes and electronic tomfoolery creates the kind of ethereal commentary on the drum and bass line that opens from time to time into a genuine conversation. It’s a compelling late winter night listen.

Finally, I have two words for you: solo trombone. Jeff Fielder’s solo trombone album, The Howland Sessions, is a gem that deserves to be on every end of the year “best album” list. To use a fun cliche, Fielder coaxes the full range of sounds out of his trombone including its capabilities as a multiphonic instrument, Fielder’s capacity for circular breathing, and his deep grounding in a tradition for evoking rhythm, pathos, and bathos. This album is more than a oddity, though, it has any number of amazing passages. In fact, “The Long No” (and the entire B side of the album) has simply blown my mind.