Here are a couple of releases that play games with melodies and meters. Hang on!
Finnish trumpeter Verneri Pohjola fronts a quartet with Sami Sippola/ts-ss, Ville Rauhala/b and Simo Laihonen/dr on this collection of wild and wooly originals. Most of the material such as “”Waltz” and “Old Papa’s Blues” has a herky-jerky feel to it, with the horns staggering around on different tempos as if struggling after having one too many belts. Rauhala’s brooding bass keeps together the loosey goosey “Song of India” while the horns screech like Via Nazionale in Napole on “Alma.” A dose of Coreg might make this easier to take.
Drummer Barry Altschul fronts a trio with Jon Irabagon/ts and Joe Fonda/b and keeps a bit closer to the pocket here. Particularly on slower pieces such as “Just a Simple Song” and “Irina” Irabagon’s rust toned tenor shines like a morning sun bouncing off a Victrola speaker. Altschul lays down some bop grooves on “Papa’s Funkish Dance” and drives the band to create a dust storm on the fiery title track. A bit over the top at times as on the screeching “Martin’s Stew” but at least they show they’re reaching for something. Macho men!
TUM Records
www.tumrecords.com