Rotem Sivan Trio, For Emotional Use Only

Who is Rotem Sivan? He is an Israel born, New York based electric guitarist who appears before us in a recent album with his fine trio, For Emotional Use Only (Fresh Sound New Talent 451).

It is a solidly contemporary jazz trio album we have here with Sivan originals (except one tune) and a freewheeling three-way interplay. Haggai Cohen Milo plays an excellent bass, walks with intelligence, solos nicely, and adds much to the mix. Mark McLean swings very well on drums throughout.

And Rotem Sivan pulls out all the stops with some very inventive improvisations that have the clarity and space of mid-period John Abercrombie and a harmonic chordal sense that sets him apart.

The three mix it up well but Rotem especially stands out. This is most definitely a guitar showcase date and he shows us what he can do in depth.

Any guitarist or guitar enthusiast will find this one an exemplary disk for the state-of-the-art of guitar improvisation in contemporary jazz. And in so doing it establishes Rotem Sivan as a new guitarist of real stature, someone I suspect we will be hearing from quite a bit in the coming years. Recommended!

Pray for Brain, None of the Above

Not everything is obvious. Except that it isn't. When I put on the CD by the band Pray for Brain for the first time, I had no idea what to expect. What I got was NOT the obvious. I am speaking of the album None of the Above (7d Media 1412).

Well and so? So it is a trio in a rock-jazz-fusion mode. Guitar (and oud!) by Mustafa Stefan Dill, acoustic bass by Christine Nelson, drums by Jefferson Vorhees.

The band gets a sound that plays on Mideastern modes often, yet does it in a sometimes heavy, always smartly rocking way. These are originals that have metal, surf and avant fusion overtones, depending. The band seems to be based in New Mexico.

Mustafa Stefan has his very own way with the guitar (and oud!) that is technically adept but very lucid and original in a Mideastern minor mode that has rock heft when he choses to crank a bit--and a bit of the hang-ten surf sound down pat when he brings that on. He's very worth hearing. Christine plays the double bass with great tone and a nice sense. Jefferson drums with taste and heat.

The tunes, the band as a totality and Mustafa's signature guitar style all give you something different, something extra.

I must say that this one was a big, pleasing surprise. I don't know how far afield they gig, but if they happen to be in your town, check them out! The album, too! It's not the obvious and it is very good.

Xavi Reija, Resolution

The guitar-bass-drums trio in rock and especially in jazz-rock has become an institution. I remember thinking when Cream announced its trio lineup many years ago, "how can they sustain the music with only three players?" It turns out that it was not only sustainable but also gave considerable freedom and leverage for all three voices.

And so we have had some monumental music that has come out utilizing the trio lineup over the years. I won't rehearse the names here. Now there's another trio doing very good things.

It's the trio fronted by drummer Xavi Reija. Not a household name, you say. True. But if there is one thing I've learned as a reviewer this past decade, one should forget initially about the name and go to the music. Then the name will stay with you or not, depending on what you hear. In this case Xavi Reija plus Dusan Jevtovic on guitar (who we've heard before in the very cool album "Am I Walking Wrong") and Bernat Hernandez on bass make a music that make you take note. Their album Resolution (MoonJune 062) says it all in ways that perk up your ears. They've learned from the classic Holdsworth edition of Tony Williams Lifetime to create islands of tone that open up the rhythmic feel and give the drummer a concerted role. It works here very differently than with Tony's group but it works supremely well!

Each player has a pretty well-defined roll in this threesome. Xavi lays down well-conceived and blistering beats that are elaborate, varied and driving. Dusan plays a well-sustained chordal and noteful role that is hip and nearly orchestral in its fullness. The chords are out and unusual and the note choice goes with them in distinct ways. Bernat plays some riffs at times but also plays around, inside and through the riff idea as another melodic voice.

The three make a very heavy yet very sophisticatedly out noise, a joyful noise built on solid group compositional ideas and free interplay.

This is not your typical fusion trio going through the rote licks--quite the contrary. They set up musical pins that have patterns quite their own and knock them down with a relish and zest that gets your psychedelic blood boiling.

This one is a scorcher from start to finish--and more about movement in large blocks than piecemeal blurry-fast scale mongering. Jevtovic has a real sense of space that the other two only bring out the more strikingly.

It's pretty killer stuff! Hear this or be behind where we are going, part of it anyway!

I Never Meta Guitar Too, Solo Guitars for the 21st Century

The guitar has occupied pride of place as the West's (whatever that means) instrument of choice for some time now. That such attention should attract creative musicians and innovation is logical. Guitarist-composer-conceptualist Elliott Sharp has taken the time to address the latest in such endeavors, specifically for the solo guitar, whether electric or acoustic, in an anthology of works by new and thoroughly contemporary artists, essentially from all over the world.

The second volume, I Never Meta Guitar Too (Clean Feed CFG06) is out and I've been listening to it. There are 16 artists playing 16 solo segments. Most names you probably wont be familiar with unless you have been a microscopic enthusiast. There's Ava Mendoza, Ben Tyree, On Ka'a Davis, Shouwang Zhang, Joel Harrison, Yasuhiro Usui, Alan Licht, and nine others.

The music varies from very electric metal and free wheeling sound poetry and soundscaping to acoustic compositional and/or folksy excursions. In short this is a barrier-free collection, as was the first volume. The proviso is that the music should characterize our new century--be new in whatever sense that might mean for a particular artist, even if there are some very rooted things going on at times.

Elliott Sharp as curator-producer is the ideal choice, in that he himself embraces a wide spectrum of musics and styles, and has keen ear to the ground.

What we get is another provocative, very enjoyable album of guitarists with lots of ideas. Some selections will be just what you would like to hear, no doubt, and maybe some others you wont expect. Either way this will stretch your ears and give you a nicely presented look at some of the possibilities being worked on today.

Take the jump and check this one out.