RECORD REVIEWS
EDITOR’S PICK
RECORDING OF THE MONTH
NEWVELLE RECORDS SEASON FIVE
Pablo Ablanedo, Dave Douglas, Sullivan Fortner, Elan Mehler, OWL Trio, Rufus Reid, Carmen Staaf, Patrick Zimmierli Newvelle Records NV025–30 (6 LP) 2020. Reviewed from 16/44 AIFF files. Elan Mehler, prod.; Marc Urselli, eng.
If Newvelle Records is any indication, jazz’s future looks bright. Since 2015, the New York label has produced four series of artist-curated, all-analog, subscription-only box sets of vinyl records with superb fidelity and top-tier musicians performing original material. Highlights included pianist (!) Jack DeJohnette’s Return, guitarist Gilad Hekselman’s Eyes of the World, bassist John Patitucci’s Irmãos de Fé, tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger’s Preminger Plays Preminger, and guitarist Lionel Loueke’s Close Your Eyes.
Newvelle co-founder, producer, and house pianist Elan Mehler describes the label’s house sound as “honest, warm, straightforward.” Like classic labels whose sound was attributed to specific engineers and studios, Newvelle records are recorded exclusively at one studio: New York’s EastSide Sound. They’re recorded and mixed by Marc Urselli, mastered by Alex DeTurk, and pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Each series consists of six LPs, priced at $400 per series. The sound is consistently toneful, woody, and transparent.
I often gripe that while contemporary jazz is full of interesting rhythms and bravura arrangements, melody, soul, and meaning often go missing. Buenos Aires–born pianist Pablo Ablanedo brings it in Chistreza. Performed by a remarkable octet of Anat Cohen, Jenny Scheinman, Chris Cheek, Jerome Sabbagh, Diego Urcola, Ben Monder, Franco Pinna, and Daniel Ian Smith, Chistreza recalls the music of Maria Schneider in miniature in its intimacy and intricacy, and in that soloists and solos are spectacular. Ablanedo provides complex, organic arrangements and memorable melodies. Chistreza was one of the finest jazz recordings of 2020.
Dave Douglas and Elan Mehler’s If There Are Mountains is based on poetry and haikus delivered by vocalist Dominique Eade. This dark, cerebral, ethereal music is given humanity and anchor by Eade’s heartfelt, measured readings.
