Over the past few days, I’ve been listening closely to Trust, the debut album by the Belgian band Ola Tunji, led by the excellent saxophonist Ornella Noulet. The band’s name is a clear reference to Coltrane’s final live recording, The Olatunji Concert, and while we can place them within the broad spectrum of the neo-spiritual jazz revival, what I find interesting here is a stronger emphasis on John Coltrane himself, rather than Sanders or Alice Coltrane. At least that’s how I feel this music.
This is something of a double-edged sword and a considerable challenge, and it’s no wonder that throughout history there haven’t been that many saxophonists, or musicians in general, who have ventured into music with direct references to John Coltrane (whereas today’s “spiritual jazz” tends more towards ambient sounds and accessible melodies).
Ornella Noulet nevertheless manages to carry this music on her shoulders, even if her influences are clear and undisguised. She plays with great confidence, and the pieces that are more or less direct tributes are interspersed with tracks bearing a more distinctive compositional signature, vocal pieces, and others in which guest vibraphonist Martin Blouet, in particular, brings an interesting palette of sounds into this context.
Jonah Parzen-Johnson & Lau Nau released their album A Few We Remember on We Jazz Records a year ago, and their (apparently) live album Live in Italy, recorded at a concert in Bolzano, has recently come out as well. These are compositions they have recorded before, but of course in new and refreshed versions that justify the release. Since Eurojazzist didn’t yet exist when their collaboration began, this is a good opportunity to recommend both albums, which We Jazz has also released together as a double CD.
Jonah Parzen-Johnson plays baritone saxophone and Lau Nau modular synth, so John Surman and his solo and duo albums are an obvious historical reference. But this is only a starting point for the musical explorations of two equal partners, both strong as composers and performers. Their improvisations are like dialogues or chamber dramas, intimate rather than overtly expressive, and this is where the appeal of their music lies.
I mentioned Croatian keyboardist Toni Starešinić in the early days of Eurojazzist, when I reviewed a live album by his best-known band, Chui, which plays music in the realm of (let’s say) prog-space-jazz. Over the past year, another of his projects, Eksterminator ’81, has been active. It’s actually a trio consisting of Starešinić on keyboards (Moog Sub37, Waldorf STVC, Dave Smith Mopho X4, Hammond), trumpeter Andrej Jakuš and drummer Janko Novoselić.
In this lineup, it’s as if Rob Mazurek, Medeski, Martin & Wood and Mark Guiliana had met. Starešinić’s recognizable retro-futuristic touch is unmistakable, but even more important than the concept is that I can feel his passion and love for music, especially for keyboards of all kinds. This richness of sound is playful, almost childlike, and full of passion. That direct, joyful vibe carries over to the listener. Their current album, Eksterminator II, has recently become available on streaming services, and they will also present it at the upcoming N.O. Jazz Festival in Zagreb on November 13.
Uroš Spasojević is also no stranger to these pages. I wrote about him in an earlier short guide to contemporary Serbian jazz. He is a bass guitarist with a distinctive sensibility who makes no secret of his love for the ECM sound and the direct inspirations he draws from this musical universe. So far, I’ve been most fond of his solo work, which we could place in the context of Eberhard Weber or Björn Meyer. On his latest release, Trilogi, however, Spasojević explicitly states that Jon Balke was his main influence.
I have to say that I haven’t listened to Balke closely enough over the years to assess that connection, but in this case Spasojević has taken an interesting step towards a more pronounced compositional and arranging approach, with saxophone, trumpet and trombone dominating much of the album. The horn trio doesn’t invite wild solos or displays of virtuosity, but rather the careful layering of sounds, with a focus on composition.
One musician I haven’t paid much attention to so far is Danish drummer Kresten Osgood – without any prejudice, just by pure chance. Since Friday is the usual day for new releases, I get emails, notifications and search results from various directions about what has just come out in the jazz world. So, among other things, I put his new release, Urias Ensemble, into my player. On Bandcamp, it is described as his “newest 15-piece big band with a mission”, operating at the “intersection of big-band tradition, pop songwriting, and free jazz”.
And indeed, this band covers quite a lot of ground, and at times the album sounds almost like a compilation of tracks from different albums. But even if the concept occasionally feels a little scattered, the music is simply – good. Throughout these diverse pieces, I could feel the coherence and sense of direction of the band itself, as well as the sheer beauty of music that meanders through jazz (and beyond) genres.
Both Ola Tunji and Kresten Osgood, mentioned above, will perform at the Brand! Festival in the Belgian city of Mechelen, taking place from November 25 to 28. One of the more interesting parts of the festival is the programme on the final day, billed as “curated by Loveland Music”. And that’s just two days before the Loveland Festival begins in Copenhagen, which I’ve written about before and which will have a spectacular programme. All in all, this is how I happened to discover this very interestingly curated Belgian festival. I haven’t been there before, but the programme looks more than promising, and you can check it out HERE.