Jazzdance

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Brownswood are delighted to present Zara McFarlane’s, Songs of an Unknown Tongue a masterful work that underlines her continuous growth as an artist. Zara’s fourth studio album pushes the boundaries of jazz adjacent music via an exploration into the folk and spiritual traditions of her ancestral motherland, Jamaica. The album is a rumination on the piecing together of black heritage, where painful and proud histories are uncovered and connected to the present. Partnering with cult South London based producers Kwake Bass and Wu-lu, Zara has created a futuristic sound palate, electronically recreating the pulsing, hypnotic rhythms Kumina and Nyabinghi – and the music played at African rooted rituals like the emancipation celebration Bruckins Party, and the lively death rites of Dinki Minki and Gerreh. These richly patterned electronic rhythms are balanced throughout by McFarlane’s distinctive, clear vocal tones, and vivid song writing. Zara’s critically acclaimed third studio album ‘Arise’ met with universal critical praise, and was supported by an impressive live tour performing at festivals such as Love Supreme, Field Day and SXSW. Zara is the winner of multiple awards including a Mobo, 2 Jazz FM Vocalist of the Year Award (2018 & 2015), an Urban Music Award, and Session of the Year at Worldwide Awards. Drawing respect from a wide range of artists, Zara has collaborated with Gregory Porter, Shabaka Hutchings, Moses Boyd and Louie Vega. These new sonic explorations signal an exciting direction of travel for this innovative founding member of the UK’s vibrant homegrown jazz scene.

Pre-sonic fluctuations fallen in the dark, feed a languor of light. Scattered codes disperse their existence, out of the tonal sands of yesterday, heading to an absent elsewhere.” (Rossano Polidoro)Strange noises and avant-garde soundscapes with jazz elements: the audio experiments of three Italian musicians – previously known also as Trio Ereb – were conducted during the 1990’s in Italy.This album contains a previously unreleased home recording dated November 30, 1996: recorded in maestro Vincenzo Grossi’s home, in Pescara, Italy) on a cassette tape recorder; two long tracks, without further editing

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Sao Paulo Panic - The innovative and experimental idea was seeded at jazzahead! 2019. As Dani Gurgel explains: "I put together a panel at the festival and invited other artists, including Thiago Rabello and Martin Fabricius, to discuss the language of jazz and how it allows musicians to interact regardless of their nationality. Afterwards, we thought it would be great to put into practice what we discussed and to make an album."

Roger Hanschel (WDR Jazzp award 2018) has already released two CDs with string quartets (Auryn Quartet, Frankfurt Contemporary Quartet) as a composer and saxophonist. In order to add another - now jazzy - color to his collaboration with string quartets, and to complete a trilogy, Hanschel has turned to the jazz string quartet String Thing, one of the string pioneers in the field of improvised music and groove in Germany, which has been released in its Founded 30 years ago, his mentors included members of the Arcado String Trio or the Turtle Island Quartet. The string quartet colour is further enhanced here by the double bass. In addition to the jazz colour, Roger Hanschel's experience with Indian music also flows into his compositions - for example in the form of Tihais (three times recurring rhythmic patterns) and Indian scales interpreted in a harmonious way. "For a long time Roger Hanschel has been considered a representative of a saxophone playing that, starting from jazz, developed far beyond its own genre boundaries. His warm and clear tone, his understanding of complex rhythms and finally his own compositions led to the fact that the music of Roger Hanschel is now associated with a clear idea. Like no other he is able to move towards other musical genres without slipping into superficial attitudes, as is often the case with so-called cross-over. His musical movements are deeper and more natural at the same time.

After Creation/Evolution, which musically represented the origin and development of a planet, the four musicians take the listener one step further into an era of technology and machines. This makes the compositions more minimalistic and less arrange

Saxophonist and composer Quinsin Nachoff’s career to date has delivered a boundary-crossing body of work that’s consistently unpredictable, fearlessly innovative, breathtakingly accomplished, and full of creative passion, constantly increasing its scope to encompass ever greater horizons. His new album Pivotal Arc presents his most ambitious project yet: bringing together virtuoso violin soloist Nathalie Bonin with a jazz-inflected unit comprising two established giants of the NY scene, bassist Mark Helias and drummer Satoshi Takeishi, and the stunning young vibraphone player Michael Davidson, and adding a wind and string ensemble conducted by JC Sanford for a concerto that boldly mixes written and improvised sections. A contemporary string quartet performed by the renowned Molinari String Quartet and the extended title piece round out the album. The result is three diverse long-form works that flow naturally together, demonstrating Nachoff’s equally heartfelt facility with the free-flowing language of jazz improvisation, the depth and rigour of classical composition and the direct melodicism of folk forms. The three-part violin concerto is built around Nachoff’s long-standing creative partnership with Nathalie Bonin and showcases her extraordinary range and versatility. “Nathalie’s drive is very intense, her musical interests are really diverse, and she dives into whatever challenge and works at it until she masters it!” The first movement is an imaginary deconstructed and reconstructed Tango that sets the tone, intensity and sound palette for the entire work. After the improvised violin solo, the orchestra ferociously returns with nearly a concerto for orchestra section that gradually winds down to a dream-like cadenza, setting up the second movement. “I love Astor Piazolla and I’d heard Nathalie improvise brilliantly in that setting - Stravinsky also looms large and Weill and Ligeti were very inspiring as well, but the tango was the main focus, twisted and deconstructed in different ways” The second movement is a haunting ballad that sweeps through several tonal landscapes “Where Berg meets Ellington!” A gorgeous improvised violin solo leads into both a written and improvised cadenza that connects to the final movement. It is Balkan-infused and showcases the violinist's virtuosic range and rhythmic strength. The String Quartet represents some of Nachoff’s most intricate writing to date, allowing him to explore his deep attachment to the tradition and his engagement with contemporary iterations. “I like to keep up with what’s happening now in quartet writing and this gave me the opportunity to explore some of those ideas – pitch axis, using quarter tones, etc., but still keeping a jazz influence because that’s a large part of my background” Each of the four movements is a miniature concerto for each member of the quartet. The first movement features Violin II, the probing second movement showcases the Viola, the vacillating third movement is for the Cello and the intense final movement is for Violin I. “It felt like it was improvised, it had this really alive, vibrant feeling to it that is a testament to the Molinari’s exceptional work as an ensemble” The final, titular piece, ‘Pivotal Arc’ is Nachoff’s extended reflection on the critical position we currently find ourselves regarding climate change. It features opening and closing solos from bassist Mark Helias, inspired contributions throughout from Michael Davidson, a call and response solo section between the orchestra and drummer Satoshi Takeishi and an improvisation section moving through a variety of moods for Nachoff’s tenor saxophone. “Mark is so accomplished and so individual, always able to add an element of surprise in any setting! Satoshi is similarly unique: he adds so much energy and always sees the big picture. Michael was phenomenal on both the improvisations and the written sections and JC Sanford was essential to realize the project and get the blend right" With a sonic palette that ranges across the spectrum from Strayhorn and Mancini to Bartok and Berg, this is a stunningly original set of pieces that will cement Nachoff's reputation as a major cross-genre musical force.

Violist/improviser/composer Mat Maneri envisages his music as one of activity in stasis, or motion within stillness. His music continues from the lineage of master improvisers Paul Bley and Paul Motian with a sound that is distinctly his own and deve