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| Out Now: Neta Raanan's Unforeseen Blossom with Joel Ross, Simón Willson, and Kayvon Gordon Giant Step Arts continues its Modern Masters and New Horizons series with Unforeseen Blossom, the knockout leader debut by tenor saxophonist Neta Raanan Recorded live at Brooklyn's Bar Bayeux and due out on Aug. 23, 2024, the album features a stellar quartet with vibraphonist Joel Ross, bassist Simón Willson, drummer Kayvon Gordon Live jazz is unique. In fact, it was attending live performances—coming into New York from her native New Jersey—that inspired tenor saxophonist Neta Raanan to become a professional musician, as did classic live albums from the likes of Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Joe Henderson, and Charlie Haden. "There's an unedited energy and a kind of wild edge to live albums that I love, " she says. "There can be some flawed moments for sure, but I think that those moments where things are almost falling apart but somehow something beautiful comes through are in a way a truer depiction of what we go through as musicians and as people." The special nature of live jazz as a creative platform where musicians can soar is why Giant Step Arts specializes in it. On August 23, 2024, Giant Step releases Unforeseen Blossom, Raanan's leader debut recorded in the cozy environs of Brooklyn's Bar Bayeux. Live shows and recordings introduced Raanan to a panoply of influences, many tenors to be sure but also a number of alto players, which may explain her unique approach to her instrument, more oblique than obstreperous, and decidedly about exploring her own musical identity rather than trying to sound like others. "An airy sound came very naturally to me since day one, " says Raanan, "especially being deeply influenced by the tone of Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and Ben Webster. That velvety quality is part of why I love the instrument so much. It expresses an introspective warmth and smokiness and gives it a kind of three-dimensional quality. I always envisioned a timbre that feels like a warm fluffy couch or some kind of comfort food like a good dumpling." Not only is Unforeseen Blossom a live recording, it features a full setlist of original compositions by Raanan, demonstrating a voice developed by exploring the oeuvres of noted composers in the jazz canon. "I think that's how the giants of this music allowed the sounds to evolve, using their composing to paint the harmonies and forms unique to their own sonic imagination, then exploring it on the bandstand allowing it to grow and be shaped by each bandmates' approach, " Raanan explains. "I feel like I've only recently matured to a space where my composing can be more at the forefront. The composition process really expands your mind as a musician. It comes from a different part of your consciousness. You get to observe space and time, colors and shapes of the music with a different part of your imagination." Joining Raanan for this auspicious debut are three of the modern jazz scene's most respected artists. There is vibraphonist Joel Ross, whom Raanan calls "one of the most beautiful and regal musicians of our generation. It's rare that a musician can reach and inspire a whole generation the way someone like Charlie Parker did, but I definitely see Joel as being on that level of influence and pushing the entire scene to a higher place." This recording documents her first time working with Ross, an opportunity to add to the saxophone-vibraphone lineage Raanan has admired for years, from Eric Dolphy and Bobby Hutcherson and Sonny Rollins and Milt Jackson to, more recently, Mark Shim and Stefon Harris. Drummer Kayvon Gordon has been a fixture for Raanan since her move to New York, both as the last person with whom she played just before COVID lockdown and subsequently as a bandmate under various leaders. Bassist Simón Willson she knew from seeing him regularly in trumpeter Jason Palmer's band during her time at Boston's Berklee College of Music. Raanan is currently an awardee in the Next Jazz Legacy program of New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. For a band playing live for the first time, the balance and listening is impressive. More important—and no doubt influenced by the circumstances—the pieces rarely stay in one place. This is evident from the outset, where "Violet" starts out as an undulating ballad but moves through fast interludes, and the postbop of "Blue Jay" morphs into abstract funk. The pastoral melody line of "Mountain Voice" is less a peak than the beginning of a hike full of switchbacks in Raanan's solo. "Melt" does just that; imagine Salvador Dali set to music. Closer "CY" is yet another fakeout: is it an elegy, a waltz or a boogaloo? The answer is all and none. This multivalence is why Raanan is a player with such promise and her band something you won't want to miss. Unforeseen Blossom is the latest entry in Giant Step's new series Modern Masters and New Horizons. Specially curated by trumpeter Jason Palmer and drummer Nasheet Waits, the series features artists who have helped shape the modern jazz landscape along with rising voices doing the same for the next generation. Artists currently slated to contribute include Waits, Palmer, saxophonists Mark Turner, Neta Raanan, Ben Solomon, Rico Jones, drummer Eric McPherson, "The Fury" quartet of Mark Turner, Tyshawn Sorey, Lage Lund and Matt Brewer and the Edward Pérez/Michael Thomas Band. Jimmy Katz Giant Step Arts Founded by Jimmy and Dena Katz in January 2018, Giant Step Arts is an innovative, artist-focused non-profit organization dedicated to commissioning and showcasing the work of some of modern jazz's most innovative artists. In an era where it is increasingly difficult for musicians to earn a living, Giant Step Arts offers artists the creative and financial resources to create bold music free of commercial pressure and with total control of their artistic projects. For the musicians it chooses to work with, by invitation only, Giant Step Arts: • presents premiere performances • records these performances for independent release • provides the artists with digital downloads and CDs to sell; artists retain complete ownership of their masters • provides the artists with photos for promotional use • provides PR support for the recordings Katz says: "Giant Step Arts exists to aid musicians in realizing their artistic dreams. It does not sell music and artists retain full rights to their music. We work tirelessly to raise funds with the goal of helping more musicians." Through his award-winning photography with wife Dena Katz and his esteemed work as a recording engineer, Katz has spent nearly 30 years helping to shape the way audiences see and hear jazz musicians. Katz has been part of more than 600 recording projects—many historic—and has photographed more than 200 magazine covers. Whether taken in the studio, in the clubs, on the streets or in the musicians' homes, his photographs offer intimate portraits of the artists at work and in repose and capture the collaborative and improvisatory process of jazz itself. Recipient of the Jazz Journalists Association award for jazz photography in both 2006 and 2011, Katz's work has been exhibited in Germany, Italy and Japan. Among the world-renowned artists he has photographed are Sonny Rollins, Keith Jarrett, Ornette Coleman, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Haynes, Cassandra Wilson, Ray Charles, Dave Brubeck, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, John Zorn, Pat Metheny, and Dizzy Gillespie. His recording credits include such artists as David S. Ware, Joe Lovano, Harold Mabern, William Parker, Benny Golson, Chris Potter, Mark Turner, George Coleman and Jason Palmer, among others. Neta Raanan – Unforeseen Blossom Giant Step Arts – GSA 12 Recorded April 24th & 25th, 2023 Release date August 23, 2024 giantsteparts.org write your comments about the article :: © 2024 Jazz News :: home page |