GA Russell

M.O.D. TECHNOLOGIES Releases ADAM RUDOLPH'S MOVING PICTURES GLARE OF THE TIGER AVAILABLE IN STORES AND ONLINE MARCH 10, 2017. HI-RES DIGITAL DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE VIA WWW.MOD-TECHNOLOGIES.COM CD AVAILABLE VIA METARECORDS.COM CLICK TO WATCH THE VIDEO Adam Rudolph handrumset (kongos, djembe, tarija), sintir, cajon itotele, glockenspiel, gongs, percussion Alexis Marcelo fender rhodes, electric keyboards & hammond B3 Damon Banks electric bass Graham Haynes cornet, flugelhorn, electronics Hamid Drake drumset, percussion James Hurt sogo & kidi drums, oghene bell, okonkolo, fender rhodes, smart phone synthesizer module & sound design Kenny Wessel electric guitar, electronics Ralph M. Jones c flute, alto flute, bass clarinet, soprano & tenor saxophones husli, bamboo flutes New York, February 14, 2017 - We are excited to announce the first release by Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures in over five years. It is a perfect example of creative music looking to the future while expressing the sound of now. The amazing chemistry and collective language amongst the musicians reflects their many years of developing and performing Rudolph's concept. These musicians each have direct and personal connections to the roots and history of jazz as they have performed with and have been mentored by key figures in 20th century creative music such as Ornette Coleman, Yusef Lateef, Roy Haynes, Don Cherry, Sam Rivers, Jon Hassel and many more. The exceptional and modern, recorded sound of Glare of the Tiger was done by long-time collaborator James Dellatacoma, head engineer at Bill Laswell's Orange Music Studio. "This recording is the fullest realization of aesthetic and concept, which I have been developing for the past three decades. My aim was to compose music that inspired the musicians to express their inner voice, while still maintaining a clear focus on aesthetic and overall sound. It is my feeling that to honor tradition, one should look forward and not backward. The tradition is to sound like yourself and create a NEW music that reflects the NOW. To put it another way, Yusef Lateef often said to me, "Brother Adam, we are evolutionists." A Pioneer in World Music - The New York Times A Percussion Wizard - DownBeat TRACKS 01. Glare of the Tiger 13:44 02. Interlude One 0:25 03. Ecstaticized 5:43 04. Interlude Two 0:21 05. Rotations 6:00 06. Dialogics 4:06 07. Ciresque 7:31 08. Interlude Three 0:39 09. Lehra 3:08 10. Wonderings 12:43 11. Interlude Four 0:44 Compositions by Adam Rudolph. Produced, arranged, edited, mixed, processed by Adam Rudolph and James Dellatacoma.

"Horizonte," 3rd Album by Brazilian Pianist/Composer David Feldman, Set for March 10 Release Trio Date with Bassist André Vasconcellos & Drummer Márcio Bahia Features Guest Appearances by Guitarist Toninho Horta & Trombonist Raul de Souza February 14, 2017 With his new album Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro-based pianist David Feldman has fully come into his own as a composer artfully extending the samba jazz tradition. Feldman introduces his superlative working trio with bassist André Vasconcellos and drummer Márcio Bahia, and welcomes two very special guests to the proceedings, the legendary guitarist/composer Toninho Horta and the brilliant trombonist Raul de Souza. Horizonte will be released by Feldman's imprint, David Feldman Music, on March 10. "This album blurs the boundaries," Feldman says. "I'm trying to incorporate song forms into this language that's called samba jazz. But my music is going somewhere else and I don't know if we have a label for it yet. It's Brazilian and it's jazz, but not straight-ahead samba jazz." The great bossa nova vocalist Rosa Passos calls Horizonte "one of the best CDs of Brazillian instrumental music that has been released in the last 10 years." And composer Ivan Lins asserts that "hearing this music leaves in my soul a confirmation that the new generation that is making quality music today . . . will continue to keep up the beautiful reputation of Brazilian music." David Feldman with bassist André Vasconcellos, guitarist/composer Toninho Horta, and trombonist Raul de Souza. While Feldman focuses on his original compositions on the new CD, he includes three tunes by other artists. Horizonte opens with a fleet version of Oscar Castro-Neves's "Chora Tua Tristeza" and closes with a rhapsodic reading of Johnny Alf's "Céu e Mar," a standard from an earlier era. Toninho Horta's gorgeous "Soccer Ball" is the album's only quintet track. "You can't have Toninho on your album and not have him playing one of his songs," says Feldman. The leader's original pieces reflect a refined and supremely lyrical sensibility gleaned from deep listening and study of Brazilian and American masters. Among the album's numerous highlights, his "Adeus" stands out as the tune most likely to be picked up by fellow artists, with its graceful waltz feel and sumptuous melody. Horta is featured on the ballad "Tetê," and de Souza on the supple samba jazz of "Sliding Ways." Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1977, David Feldman grew up in a family immersed in European classical music. He started piano studies at four, and within a few years he began resisting the expectation that he should play only what was written on the page, preferring to elaborate on the score. Introduced to jazz by Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso," he sought out teachers versed in improvisation, eventually studying with Luiz Eça, the pianist from the pioneering Tamba Trio (and composer of the standard "The Dolphin"). Feldman eventually enrolled at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, graduating in 2002. While in New York he played with veteran masters like Slide Hampton, sat in with the Mingus Big Band, and performed with outstanding young musicians such as Matt Garrison and Eli Degibri. He forged particularly close ties with samba jazz pioneers Claudio Roditi and Duduka da Fonseca, appearing on three of the drummer's recent albums. "Duduka is a great influence on me," says Feldman, who continues to work with da Fonseca, performing in his trio and hiring him for trio gigs in New York. "I'd go to Duduka's place and he'd tell me stories about bossa nova. It's a style that feels very natural for me to play. Duduka introduced me to Claudio, another musician I admire a lot. They gave me this injection of samba jazz." A semi-finalist in the Montreux Jazz Festival's 2004 Solo Piano Competition, Feldman has thrived since moving back to Rio. He's performed widely at jazz festivals at home and abroad, maintained a steady presence in New York City, and released his critically hailed debut album in 2009. Featuring bassist Sérgio Barroso and drummer Paulo Braga, O Som do Beco das Garrafas is an homage to the musicians who forged the bossa nova sound in Bottles Alley, and focuses on well- known Brazilian standards by composers like Johnny Alf, João Donato, Carlos Lyra, and Jobim. He followed up in 2014 with the solo Piano, a project that showcases his keyboard command. "My thing is jazz and improvisation," he says. "The new album isn't about the pianism. I try to think like a movie director, always looking at the bigger picture, but I'm always thinking about bringing people into the music. I like things to sound simple, but with a lot of hidden complexity." "Soccer Ball": David Feldman Trio with Toninho Horta and Raul de Souza. Web Site: davidfeldmanmusic.com

Duane, I think the milk was delivered every other day because most families had only one car (at most), which Dad took to work. So Mom could get her fresh milk without the lengthy walk to the store. But that's just a guess. Anybody disagree?

Happy Birthday 2017 bFB! Have you found a better streaming site than Spotify to use?

Happy Birthday 2017 Joe!

With people like Ron Carter, Russell Malone and Victor Lewis on this date, I figured that this would be the type of music I like best, and it is. However, what makes it worth your while is that Dixon is a cellist; so the lead instrument is going to be one you probably don't have many jazz records of. If you will be in Montclair or Brooklyn next month, it might be worth your while to go see the band, and catch something different.

Here are a few more thoughts about this year's schedule. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/08/bombers-schedule-decidedly-mediocre/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/08/good-bad-hamiltons-2017-schedule/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/08/scratching-pod-much-ado-schedule/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/09/six-thoughts-redblacks-schedule/#comments ***** Two hours after he was cut by the Ticats today, Pete Dyakowski signed with the Argos. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/16/pete-dyakowski-signs-toronto-argonauts/#comments ***** Dan LeFevour has signed with Winnipeg. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/16/winnipeg-blue-bombers-sign-quarterback-dan-lefevour/#comments

Dana must be going nuts with all of these people signing with the Riders. The latest is Chad Owens! http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/roughriders-sign-1.3985042

Happy Birthday 2017 ZA!

ECM Julia Hülsmann Trio Sooner And Later Julia Hülsmann: piano Marc Muellbauer: double bass Heinrich Köbberling: drums U.S. Release date: March 17, 2017 ECM 2547 B0026299-02 UPC: 6025 572 3858 7 For her sixth ECM album, Sooner and Later, German pianist Julia Hülsmann returns to the trio format heard on End of a Summer (2008) and Imprint (2011). With her acclaimed trio members, bassist Marc Muellbauer and drummer Heinrich Köbberling, still at the core, more recently she has been focused on adding personnel to her recordings such as the quartet heard on In Full View (2013), and the 2015 quintet album A Clear Midnight – Kurt Weill and America which featured singer Theo Bleckmann. Over the last years the trio has also embarked upon extensive travels to distant destinations – among them the US, Canada, Peru, Central Asia and China – during which “something special developed”, says Hulsmann. “When traveling you not only gain new perspectives, but also experience even long standing partners anew. It helped to open up new sonic territory for us”. A notable example is on the track “Biz Joluktuk” where those Central-Asian weeks find their most explicit expression. This is a tune the band heard in performance from a 12 year old violinist in Kyrgyzstan and which was later re-harmonized by Julia. As on their previous albums, all three members of the group have contributed compositions. “Heinrich’s pieces all start, as you would expect from a drummer, on a rhythmic level”, explains Hülsmann, “but then he always surprises me with his very friendly melodies. He infuses very special harmonic colors into our sound.” Whereas Marc Muellbauer’s compositions, as Hülsmann puts it, “are mostly based on quite complex, very clever harmonics – but when you finally play them, they reveal a great clarity and self-evidence.” And Hülsmann’s own pieces continue to be part of the band’s stage repertoire, “where they could develop and mature in a natural, organic way“, as the leader says. The track entitled “Thatpujai” is an anagram of the late German jazz pianist “Jutta Hipp” (February 4, 1925 – April 7, 2003), with its theme comprised of phrases from her solos. And the program is rounded out by a cover of Radiohead’s “All I Need” which, like the sometimes almost clubby grooves of Hülsmann-penned tracks “J.J.”, “Soon” or “Mond”, emphasizes the subtle rhythmic aspects of the trio’s music. Sooner and Later was recorded in September 2016 in Oslo’s Rainbow Studio, and produced by Manfred Eicher. * Julia Hülsmann (born in 1968 in Bonn) began playing piano when she was 11 and formed her first band at the age of 16. In 1991 she moved to Berlin and played in the Bundesjugendjazzorchestra under the direction of Peter Herbolzheimer. After recordings featuring singers Roger Cicero, Rebekka Bakken, and Anna Lauvergnac, she brought her music to ECM. The album End of a Summer, emphasizing the unique character of her trio, marked a new beginning. Bassist Marc Muellbauer (born in London in 1968) also leads his own nine-piece band, Kaleidoscope and founded the Wood & Steel Trio. He has a wide musical background ranging from contemporary classical to tango, as well as jazz with diverse formations. Currently he is also a member of the Lisbeth Quartett. Muellbauer teaches double-bass at the Jazzinstitut Berlin. Drummer Heinrich Köbberling (born in Bad Arolsen/Hessen in 1967) has worked with Aki Takase, Ernie Watts, Anat Fort, Richie Beirach and many others: he has played on around 50 jazz albums. A 1997 leader date, “Pisces” included Marc Johnson and Ben Monder as sidemen. Köbberling teaches drums at the FMB Conservatory in Leipzig.

Yesterday saw some familiar names change teams, but today we have a big headline. Ernest Jackson has signed with the Alouettes. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/16/ernest-jackson-signs-alouettes-report/#comments ***** Andre Durie has retired. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/16/argonauts-slotback-andre-durie-announces-retirement-tweet/#comments ***** The Ticats have cut Pete Dyakowski. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/16/ticats-release-veteran-offensive-lineman-pete-dyakowski/#comments ***** Mitchell Gale has signed with Calgary. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/15/former-riders-qb-mitchell-gale-signs-stampeders/#comments ***** Chris Williams has signed with BC. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/15/receiver-chris-williams-agrees-terms/#comments ***** Phillip Hunt will go to Edmonton. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/15/eskimos-agree-terms-dl-phillip-hunt/#comments ***** Marc-Olivier Brouillette will go to Regina. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/15/riders-agree-terms-star-canadian-db-marc-olivier-brouillette/#comments ***** Winston Venable will go to Toronto. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/14/linebacker-winston-venable-agrees-to-terms-with-argos/#comments ***** Abdul Kanneh will go to Hamilton. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/14/two-time-star-db-abdul-kanneh-agrees-terms/#comments ***** Derek Dennis (2016 MOL) will go to Regina. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/14/derek-dennis-agrees-terms-riders/#comments

Happy Birthday 2017 Victor!

Let's see how many more contract extensions we can do in the next few minutes. http://3downnation.com/2017/01/11/national-running-backreceiver-re-ups-toronto/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/01/16/noel-thorpe-contract-alouettes-2017/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/01/17/fans-dont-like-re-signing-cassius-vaughn-makes-sense-ticats/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/01/18/bombers-make-matt-nichols-extension-official/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/01/19/matt-nichols-signs-3-year-extension-bombers-means/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/01/20/stamps-sign-head-coach-dave-dickenson-extension-2020/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/01/20/willie-jefferson-key-re-signing-riders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/01/21/stamps-look-long-term-stability-dickenson-deal/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/01/25/alouettes-defensive-end-john-bowman-extends-and-restructures-contract/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/01/31/van-zeyl-re-signs-argos-report/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/01/31/star-adarius-bowman-signs-contract-extension-esks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/01/31/big-man-big-get-floundering-argos/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/06/adarius-bowmans-new-deal-makes-him-highest-paid-receiver-in-cfl/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/06/b-c-lions-re-sign-turner-moore-will-let-westerman-go-free-agency/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/07/ticats-agree-terms-offensive-lineman-xavier-fulton/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/10/receiver-greg-ellingson-re-signs/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/10/receiver-terrence-toliver-re-signs-ticats/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/13/all-star-defensive-tackle-micah-johnson-agrees-to-extension-with-stampeders/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/13/video-2/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/13/stamps-leading-receiver-marquay-mcdaniel-agree-extension/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/13/ticats-agree-terms-canadian-receiver-giovanni-aprile/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/13/redblacks-re-sign-defensive-back-jerrell-gavins/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/13/ticats-add-terrence-toliver-core-group/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/13/defensive-tackle-michael-brooks-re-signs-b-c-lions/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/13/canadian-ol-nolan-macmillan-agrees-to-extension-with-redblacks/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/14/bombers-extend-offensive-lineman-sukh-chungh/#comments http://3downnation.com/2017/02/14/receiver-kenny-shaw-agrees-to-terms-with-redblacks/#comments

Today was the first day of free agency. For the first time that I can remember, none of the first-day guys who switched teams were "stars." Some of the linemen may be very good, and will help their teams win, but I wouldn't call them stars. This Dan Ralph article is the best I've found summarizing the day. I might find more tomorrow. http://3downnation.com/2017/02/14/riders-redblacks-make-big-splash-day-one-cfl-free-agency/#comments ***** I hope to list more articles about the guys who extended their contracts before the weekend. ***** Darrel K. Smith died Monday of cancer at 55. Even though he was treated like a star, I always thought that he deserved more. He was a great one. 3downnation.com/2017/02/14/former-argonauts-receiver-darrell-k-smith-dies-age-55/#comments ***** Rick Klassen died of cancer at 57 in December. http://3downnation.com/2016/12/11/former-b-c-lions-standout-klassen-dies-57/#comments

oldies.com has added 261 Arbors titles to its catalogue, nearly all priced at $7.82 each. http://www.oldies.com/collection/home.cfm?collection=Arbors-Records&c=ON1871&utm_source=OLDIES.com+Emails&utm_campaign=c366968ad2-send_1871&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f79786119b-c366968ad2-187732661&goal=0_f79786119b-c366968ad2-187732661&mc_cid=c366968ad2&mc_eid=6703a4b92e

Thursday February 23rd Friday February 24th Saturday February 25th Sunday February 26th © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 10011

Anybody plan to go?

ECM Julia Hülsmann Trio Sooner And Later release date: March 17th Julia Hülsmann: piano / Marc Muellbauer: double bass Heinrich Köbberling: drums Berlin-based pianist Julia Hülsmann returns to the trio format for Sooner And Later, an album which distils the experience of journeys to distant destinations. In the last couple of years Hülsmann, bassist Marc Muellbauer and drummer Heinrich Köbberling have taken their music around the world, from Europe to the US, Canada, Peru, Central Asia and China, "where something special developed. It helped to open up new sonic territory for us". ECM If you are in or near NYC - save the date: Dominic Miller in concert March 13, 2017 NUBLU Dominic Miller - Silent Light releasing April 7th Dominic Miller: guitar, electric bass Miles Bould: percussion, drums Born in Argentina to an American father and Irish mother, guitarist Dominic Miller was raised in the U.S. from age 10 and then educated there and in England. Now he lives in France, though he has toured the globe for the past three decades. Aptly, Silent Light - Miller's ECM debut, featuring him solo and with percussion accompaniment - has a very international feel, with the Latin influence strong in such pieces as "Baden" (dedicated to Brazilian guitarist-composer Baden Powell). "Le Pont" has an early 20th-century Parisian air, while "Valium" evokes Celtic tunes in the vein of Bert Jansch and "Fields of Gold" is a hushed instrumental take on one of Sting's best-known ballads. Miller has long been known as Sting's right-hand man on guitar - and co-writer of the worldwide hit "Shape of My Heart," among others. Miller has also worked with the likes of Paul Simon, The Chieftains and Placido Domingo. The guitarist's playing has prompted praise from Simon, who points out, in a liner note to the album, that Miller "has a beautiful touch, with a fragrance of jazz and English folk."

“A feast of distinguished playing at the classical end of the pianist’s repertory – from Bach, Haydn and Mozart through Beethoven to Schubert - and the CD is available as a ‘bonus’ in the new box collecting together his ECM (Beethoven) sonata cycle or as a freestanding single disc. If you think of encores as lightweight, think again.” - Gramophone Editor’s Choice, February 2017 All-Schubert Recital Tour March 3 Montreal, PQ (Maison symphonique de Montreal) March 5 Toronto, ON (Koerner Hall) March 7 North Bethesda, MD (Strathmore) March 9 New York, NY (Isaac Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall) March 11 Kalamazoo, MI (Chenery Auditorium, Gilmore Keyboard Music Fest.) March 13 San Francisco, CA (Davies Symphony Hall) © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 10011

Bill, I dare say that not many here recognize the name Mike Hugg!

I think that the foremost problem with pace-of-play issues in sports is the time given to commercial breaks. I suspect that MLB's #2 problem is that almost all games are night games. If the typical game started shortly after (say) 5:30, there would be fewer worries about games ending so late.

Happy Birthday 2017 Michael!

RIP. Buddy Greco was my guilty pleasure, especially The Lady is a Tramp. I saw him perform in Las Vegas at a convention party, maybe 1986. He was great!

ECM François Couturier Tarkovsky Quartet Nuit blanche Release date: February 17th François Couturier: piano / Anja Lechner: violoncello Jean-Marc Larché: soprano saxophone / Jean-Louis Matinier; accordion Anja Lechner & François Couturier duo tour: February 18 New York, NY Greenwich House February 20 Portland, OR The Old Church February 21 Seattle, WA Seattle Art Museum February 24 San Francisco, CA SFJAZZ (ECM @SF Jazz II) François Couturier piano | Anja Lechner violoncello Jean-Marc Larché soprano saxophone | Jean-Louis Matinier accordion Ingmar Bergman once said of Andrey Tarkovsky, “He moves with such naturalness in the room of dreams,” and the French-German quartet named after the great Russian filmmaker has developed an associative dream-language of its own. For leader and pianist François Couturier the “silence and slowness of Tarkovsky” are closely related to an “ECM aesthetic” further developed on the group’s third album Nuit blanche, produced by Manfred Eicher in Lugano in April 2016. Whether playing improvised chamber music, modern composition or baroque music, the creative originality of the Tarkovsky Quartet shines through. François Couturier/ Anja Lechner On Tour February 18 New York, NY (Greenwich House) February 20 Portland, OR (Old Church) February 21 Seattle, WA (Seattle Art Museum) February 24 - San Francisco, CA (SFJAZZ, Miner Auditorium) © 2017 ECM | ECM Records USA | 1755 Broadway, 3rd floor | New York NY 1001

ECM Benedikt Jahnel Trio The Invariant Benedikt Jahnel: piano Antonio Miguel: double bass Owen Howard: drums U.S. Release date: February 17, 2016 ECM 2523 B0026214-02 UPC: 6025 571 2837 6 The trio with Spanish bassist Antonio Miguel and Canadian drummer Owen Howard has been an “invariant” in the life of Berlin-based pianist Benedikt Jahnel, “a constant in a transformational period” as he puts it, and new album The Invariant is issued as the players reach their tenth anniversary as a working unit. “I like very much interacting with the same group and digging deeper each time into the musical conversation,” Jahnel says. “You have this energetic input and this intense time working together, and then I believe the music develops even when we’re apart. When we come back together I can hear the progression that has taken place in the pieces.” If natural evolution contributes to the music’s growth so do interventions by the pianist-composer, for whom constant revision is part of the creative process: “The version of any given piece that a listener hears on the new album might be the fifth or tenth version. We take the music on the road and then I’ll adjust it, maybe quite dramatically. Even in the studio I will often still adapt pieces, and of course in that process I’m constantly integrating ideas generated from the bass and the drums.” Jahnel is a prolific writer and The Invariant pools the best of the many pieces he has composed in the last five years, incorporating the dynamic responses of his trio partners into the fabric of the material. For the most part this is music carefully shaped for these players; this is its strength and the source of its detail. The Invariant was recorded in Oslo’s Rainbow Studio in April 2016, and produced by Manfred Eicher. Its opening track, “Further Consequences”, picks up where the trio’s critically-lauded album Equilibrium left off, extending ideas about pianistic patterning and textural playing. Like many of Jahnel’s tunes an odd-metred piece, it also contains elements of swing, as the pianist reacts to the implications of Owen Howard’s drumming. “For me this is a departure. I’m more of a straight eighths player. Owen is more strongly rooted in the whole tradition of jazz and the way he approached the tune pulled me, in the solo section, toward the world of swing phrasing…” The feeling of swing permeates also “The Circuit”. Designed by Jahnel to be an easily-breathing tune amid more heavily arranged pieces, it is still modestly unorthodox in its form, with a solo preceding the head of the tune, and a beguiling feature for Antonio Miguel’s bass over gently pulsing piano and brushed drums at the end. “Mirrors”, at nine and a half-minutes the album’s longest tune, is one of several pieces written, as Jahnel says, “from a very pianistic perspective: it has a choral introduction and lives from that choral, harmonic, trichord movement”. A rubato section gives way to stressed rhythm. “There are many parts, it’s quite heavily arranged, and even the ‘free’ section incorporates structures.” In the ballad “Monolake” “moving inner voices in the piano define the piece. I tried to design it in such a way that the harmonic anchors are slightly away from where you expect them to be. “ “Part of the Game” has “an odd little melody. The tune is really all about the rhythm, with fantastic drumming from Owen.” Unexpectedly cast into the middle of the program, “For the Encore” was “designed as a textural statement, to even things out.” “Interpolation 1”, one of a series of fragmentary ideas, “opens up a new window, offering another perspective of the trio with more advanced harmony.” Finally, “En Passant”, a soulful ballad with a touching bass solo, brings the album to a peaceful conclusion. In addition to his work with the trio, Benedikt Jahnel plays with – and contributes compositions to – the band Cyminology and is featured on the group’s ECM recordings As Ney, Saburi and Phoenix. A mathematician as well as a musician, Jahnel is a researcher at the Weierstrass-Institut Berlin, with interacting particle systems in the context of probability theory amongst his main interests. While sceptical about parallels between maths and music, he allows that “what mathematics can do really well if you have a practical problem is to make it abstract: get rid of the flesh and try and understand the mechanics of the bones. A detour via abstraction is a powerful tool, and in writing music it can sometimes also be helpful in developing things, especially if the starting point is emotional and intuitive, as it usually is with my pieces.” Benedikt Jahnel studied music at the University of Arts in Berlin – where he first met Owen Howard, who was there as visiting professor – and at City College, New York. In New York Jahnel and Howard reconnected and also met up with Antonio Miguel. In the course of his career, Antonio – born in Zaragoza in Northern Spain – has played with musicians including Paquito D’Rivera, Jerry González, Claudio Roditi, Ben Sidran, Rosario Giuliani, Rick Margitza, Jorge Pardo, Perico Sambeat, Ximo Tébar and Pedro Iturralde in the jazz scene, as well as flamenco artists José Luis Montón, Josemi Carmona, Rocio Marquez and El Negri, and artists like Buika, Paloma Berganza, Carmen Paris, Miguel Rios and Ara Malikian. Owen Howard, born in Edmonton, Canada, but Brooklyn based for many years, is a bandleader in his own right. He has also played with Joe Lovano, Kenny Wheeler, John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman, Kenny Werner, George Garzone, Dave Holland, Sheila Jordan and Tom Harrell, amongst many others. The Benedikt Jahnel Trio begins its tour with dates in Germany in January and February 2017, followed by shows in France in Spain. Concerts in Canada and the US are currently being set up: details soon at www.benejahnel.de and www.ecmrecords.com ECM François Couturier Tarkovsky Quartet Nuit blanche François Couturier: piano Anja Lechner: violoncello Jean-Marc Larché: soprano saxophone Jean-Louis Matinier; accordion U.S. Release date: February 17, 2016 ECM 2524 B0026215-02 UPC: 6025 572 9067 7 Ingmar Bergman once said of Andrey Tarkovsky, “He moves with such naturalness in the room of dreams,” and the French-German quartet named after the great Russian filmmaker has developed an associative dream-language of its own. For leader and pianist François Couturier the “silence and slowness of Tarkovsky” are closely related to an “ECM aesthetic” further developed on the group’s third album Nuit blanche, produced by Manfred Eicher in Lugano in April 2016. Here pieces variously composed by François Couturier, or created in the moment by Couturier, cellist Anja Lecher, saxophonist Jean-Marc Larché and accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier, explore the texture of dreams and memory and continue to make oblique reference to Tarkovsky. Couturier’s Dakus, for instance, acknowledges a debt to Toru Takemitsu’s 1987 composition Nostalghia, written in memory of the director. The quartet also incorporates a crepuscular interpretation of Vivaldi’s “Cum dederit delectis suis somnum” from the Nisi Dominus, alluding to a composer Tarkovsky was listening to at the time of Stalker. Whether playing improvised chamber music, modern composition or baroque music, the creative originality of the Tarkovsky Quartet shines through.