Melissa Aldana - Back Home (2016)

2016-04-06T15:54:33Z

Melissa Aldana - Back Home (2016)


01. Alegria
02. Desde La Lluvia
03. Obstacles
04. En Otro Lugar
05. My Ship
06. Servant #2
07. Before You
08. Time
09. Back Home

Melissa Aldana (tenor saxophone)
Pablo Menares (bass) 
Jochen Rueckert (drums)

Melissa Aldana is going to be an influential tenor saxophonist in jazz for decades to come. At 24 she won the 2013 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, and followed it up with Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio a year later. Raised in a musical family (she was taught by her father and still plays her grandfather’s horn), she was grounded in the verities and revered Sonny Rollins at a young age, but she abets her old soul with a contemporary dexterity and harmonic sophistication akin to Greg Osby or guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel.

On Back Home, Aldana retains the trio format and her fellow Chilean Pablo Menares on bass while swapping in drummer Jochen Rueckert for Francisco Mela. As with Crash Trio, most of the songs are band originals—four by Aldana and two apiece from the rhythm section. There is a hushed intensity to the proceedings on most of these numbers, an absence of long solos or prevailing lyricism in favor of elliptical, simmering phrases and beats and clipped asides. It is music that deserves concentrated listening, but it is hard to deny the glorious relief that occurs on tracks five and nine after three or four of those compositions. The first break is the album’s lone cover, Kurt Weill’s “My Ship,” played with a lush puissance that blends the nasal tartness of Coleman Hawkins with the bottom swell of Ben Webster. (Aldana has fond memories of playing it with her dad growing up.) The second recess, and closing track, is the title cut, a quasi-calypso written in honor of Rollins and a buoyant companion to “M&M,” from Crash Trio.

There is much to enjoy on the more disjointed tracks as well. On “Alegria” Aldana plays with the regal repose and investigative acumen of Wayne Shorter. Menares’ “Desde La Lluvia” has an elegant melody that resolves like a folksong, framing a slippery, seemingly improvised bridge in the middle. Rueckert’s “Servant” has its swing wobbled by an intrusive vamp at various points throughout the song. This is music for musicians, purposefully tapping ingenuity instead of toe-tapping. --- Britt Robson, jazztimes.com

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Melissa Aldana - Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio (2014)

2018-10-29T12:47:19Z

Melissa Aldana - Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio (2014)


1 	M&M 	4:58
2 	Turning 	5:45
3 	You're My Everything 	5:34
4 	Bring Him Home 	5:10
5 	Tirapié 	6:09
6 	Peace, Love & Music 	5:50
7 	Perdón 	4:20
8 	New Points 	6:39
9 	Dear Joe 	3:57
10 	Ask Me Now 	4:15

Bass – Pablo Menares
Drums – Francisco Mela
Tenor Saxophone – Melissa Aldana

Chilean tenor saxophonist and composer Melissa Aldana was the first female to win the Thelonious Music International Institute's competition for saxophone. Though her two previous recordings were noteworthy as showcases for her soloing and compositions, it is with Crash Trio -- Chilean bassist Pablo Menares and Cuban drummer Francisco Mela (both are also composers) -- that she shines brightest. Save for readings of Harry Warren's "You're My Everything" and a tenor solo on Monk's "Ask Me Now," the entire program was written by the trio's various members. Aldana possesses a big, earthy, edgy tone deeply influenced by Sonny Rollins, but her phrasing is her own. While swinging post-bop is predominant, forward-thinking harmonic ideas informed by composers/musicians Kurt Rosenwinkel and Mark Turner add balance to the attack. Aldana's "M&M" features a stellar walking bassline from Menares and a tight, hard-grooving head from the saxophonist. She explores its various individual elements, recombining them and moving them afield in her solo. The long, folk-like bass solo intro to Menares' "Tirapie" is gorgeous and gives way to a minor-key, midtempo, Latin-tinged ballad that showcases the canny interplay of the rhythm section. Aldana's solo is nearly song-like. Mela's "Dear Joe" kicks off with a bright, Caribbean rhythmic signature, and Menares and Aldana paint a knotty, joyous carnivalesque melody. The taut arpeggios in the saxophonist's solo take place in all three registers with soulful verve as Mela's accents, fills, and rimshot rolls -- alongside his cruising ride cymbal -- create an infectious, nearly danceable groove. Aldana's "New Points" is breezily and gently informed by Brazilian samba. On the Monk tune, she displays tremendous control and an avid imagination that keeps the composer's melody firmly at the root of her investigation. Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio is fresh, sophisticated, invigorating modern jazz that deserves notice for its fine tunes and seamless execution. ---Thom Jurek, allmusic.com

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