Discoteca Ideal Qobuz

Resulta de nuevo inútil buscar la columna vertebral, por no decir el corazón, de Awase en el piano de Nik Bärtsch. Pues cuando el zuriqués se pone en marcha al frente a su grupo Ronin pone tanto su música como improvisaciones bajo la férula motora de la batería hipermusculada de Kaspar Rast. Como es tradicional en esta banda que se autocalifica como de zen funk, su fuerza hipnótica procede de la repetición de unos motivos rítmicos que estructuran en líneas generales este jazz ciertamente atípico. El término Awase, extraído de las artes marciales, significa «moverse juntos» con el fin de fusionar las energías individuales. Metáfora que funciona muy bien para entender la precisión dinámica, la amalgama de grooves y el minimalismo coreográfico del grupo de Bärtsch. Han pasado seis años desde la aparición del anterior álbum de Ronin, un live grabado en Europa y Japón entre 2009 y 2011; en el ínterin el quinteto se ha transformado en cuarteto y ha fichado a un nuevo bajista, Thomy Jordi. En definitiva, que estos Ronin de 2018 no son exactamente los mismos que conocíamos… Una mutación que se traduce en nuevas fórmulas sonoras, más libres y flexibles, a la hora de concebir las composiciones. No es extraño, así, que el acierto y potencia interpretativa parezcan haberse duplicado. Hasta el punto de que no resulta fácil resistirse a la llamada al trance que realizan estos motivos, estas secciones que se suceden con singular fluidez a lo largo de los 65 minutos que dura Awase. © Max Dembo/Qobuz

The timeless Way out West established Sonny Rollins as jazz's top tenor saxophonist (at least until John Coltrane surpassed him the following year). Joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, Rollins is heard at one of his peaks on such pieces as "I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)," his own "Way out West," "There Is No Greater Love," and "Come, Gone" (a fast stomp based on "After You've Gone"). The William Claxton photo of Rollins wearing Western gear (and holding his tenor) in the desert is also a classic. [The Contemporary re-release appends three bonus tracks, all of them alternate takes.] © Scott Yanow /TiVo

The timeless Way out West established Sonny Rollins as jazz's top tenor saxophonist (at least until John Coltrane surpassed him the following year). Joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, Rollins is heard at one of his peaks on such pieces as "I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)," his own "Way out West," "There Is No Greater Love," and "Come, Gone" (a fast stomp based on "After You've Gone"). The William Claxton photo of Rollins wearing Western gear (and holding his tenor) in the desert is also a classic. [The Contemporary re-release appends three bonus tracks, all of them alternate takes.] © Scott Yanow /TiVo

Another fine Webster release on Verve that sees the tenor great once again backed by the deluxe Oscar Peterson Trio. In keeping with the high standard of their Soulville collaboration of two years prior, Webster and the trio -- Peterson is joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen -- use this 1959 date to conduct a clinic in ballad playing. And while Soulville certainly ranks as one of the tenor saxophonist's best discs, the Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson set gets even higher marks for its almost transcendent marriage of after-hours elegance and effortless mid-tempo swing -- none of Webster's boogie-woogie piano work to break up the mood here. Besides reinvigorating such lithe strollers as "Bye Bye Blackbird" (nice bass work by Brown here) and "This Can't Be Love," Webster and company achieve classic status for their interpretation of the Sinatra gem "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning." And to reassure Peterson fans worried about scant solo time for their hero, the pianist lays down a healthy number of extended runs, unobtrusively shadowing Webster's vaporous tone and supple phrasing along the way. Not only a definite first-disc choice for Webster newcomers, but one of the jazz legend's all-time great records. © Stephen Cook /TiVo