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Season Two of Newvelle Records

Season Two of Newvelle Records

Launched just two years ago, Newvelle Records has already found its niche in both the jazz and audiophile worlds. The high production standards of this subscription-based vinyl-only outfit are manifested in album covers with gorgeous photography, stylish box sets that enclose the LPs, noise-free vinyl, and natural- and open-sounding recordings that do an excellent of capturing both ambiance and detail. There’s something special about each album, with provocative combinations of both veteran and younger players as well as some one-of-a-kind projects. (A highlight of Season One, for example, was a first-ever Jack DeJohnette solo piano record.) All-acoustic sessions are the norm, the exception being the occasional cut featuring electric bass or electric guitar, and for the recently completed Season Two Newvelle’s fondness for small groups translated into lineups that included a solo project, a duet, and a trio. Bass players (Rufus Reid, John Pattituci, Chris Tordini) lead three of the sessions, and pianists (Aruán Ortiz and John Cowherd) have top billing on two others. Subscribers can also savor the piano-and-guitar duets of Kevin Hays and Lionel Lueke and the last album in the series, Piano Noir. Newvelle releases albums every two months for a total of six LPs, but TAS readers who snag a subscription to Season Two (both seasons are still available) will receive a seventh album, which features compositions written by the co-founder of the label, Elan Mehler and inspired by a short story by Douglas Kennedy. Here’s a quick look at Season Two’s releases.

Season Two of Newvelle Records

For Terrestrial Dance bassist Rufus Reid paired a piano trio with a string quartet for a session that combines the intimacy of chamber music with the drive and swing of jazz. Well-balanced sound, colorful string charts, and rock-solid support from pianist Steve Allee and drummer Duduka Da Fonseca make this a standout session that also benefits from lovely bass solos by the band leader. The trio bassist Chris Tordini assembled for Midnight Sun features Gregg Ruggiero on guitar and Becca Stevens on vocals, and together they perform haunting renditions of Ornette Coleman’s “What Reason Could I Give?” and Charles Mingus’ “Portrait.” “If I Should Lose You” and “Everything Happens to Me” reveal what the trio can do with standards, as does a heart-wrenching rendition of “My Funny Valentine.” Framed by brilliant arrangements and sensitive accompaniment, Stevens really shines here, and Midnight Sun is one of 2017’s best albums featuring female jazz vocals.


Season Two of Newvelle Records

For Cuban-born pianist Aruan Ortiz, Cuban Nocturne was an opportunity to explore classical compositions by Ignacio Cervantes, Antonio Maria Romeu, Frederico Rompeu, and Ernesto Lecuona.

Cuban Nocturnes isn’t a straight note-by-note reading of this material; rather, it provides an intriguing and at times mesmerizing synthesis of jazz and classical music. Milton Nascimento, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Egberto Gismonto are among the composers bassist John Patitucci chose to interpret on Irmãos De Fé, a definite must for lovers of Brazilian jazz. Yotam Silberstein coaxes ethereal sounds from his electric guitar and plays the nylon string with grace and warmth while Rogério Boccato adds colorful textures on percussion.

The drummer on pianist Jon Cowherd’s Gateway is Brian Blade, and the versatility and originality we’ve come to expect from Blade is in full evidence on this quartet date where Cowherd impresses both in the group performances and on some shorter solo improvisations. The duet performances Kevin Hays and Lionel Louke recorded for Hope make for an introspective and lyrical album of collaborations between two musicians whose interplay is so focused and supportive that every note counts. Highlights include two tributes penned by Kevin Hays, “Violeta” for Violeta Parra and “Milton” for Milton Nascimento.

And now for the bonus album available to TAS readers. Readers who order Season 2 in the month of April will receive a free copy of album #7, Piano Noir, if they use the bonus code ABSOLUTESOUND when ordering from the label’s website, newvelle-records.com. Piano Noir features a quintet playing compositions penned by Elan Mehler and inspired by a short story by Douglas Kennedy. It’s an evocative record that for many listeners will create a nostalgia for classic bebop…and film noir…and, on two cuts, a jazz vocal style that calls to mind Mark Murphy. Alternating between elegant ballads and neo-bop with serpentine lines and intricate interplay, Piano Noir creates a darkly romantic atmosphere that’s sustained throughout the record. A nice—and unexpected—close to Season Two. While this article captured a Newvelle season after all the platters had appeared, in Issue 285 I’ll have the opportunity to look at Season Three shortly after it begins—so stay tuned for that.

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Jeff Wilson

By Jeff Wilson

This will take some explaining, but I can connect the dots between pawing through LPs at a headshop called Elysian Fields in Des Moines, Iowa, as a seventh grader, and becoming the Music Editor for The Absolute Sound. At that starting point—around 1970/71—Elysian Fields had more LPs than any other store in Des Moines. Staring at all the colorful covers was both tantalizing and frustrating. I had no idea who most of the artists were, because radio played only a fraction of what was current. To figure out what was going on, I realized that I needed to build a record collection—and as anyone who’s visited me since high school can testify, I succeeded. Record collecting was still in my blood when, starting in the late 1980s, the Cincinnati Public Library book sale suddenly had an Elysian Fields quantity of LPs from people who’d switched to CDs. That’s where I met fellow record hawk Mark Lehman, who preceded me as music editor of TAS. Mark introduced me to Jonathan Valin, whose 1993 detective novel The Music Lovers depicts the battles between record hawks at library sales. That the private eye in the book, Harry Stoner, would stumble upon a corpse or two while unraveling the mystery behind the disappearance of some rare Living Stereo platters made perfect sense to me. After all, record collecting is serious business. Mark knew my journalistic experience included concert reviews for The Cincinnati Enquirer and several long, sprawling feature articles in the online version of Crawdaddy. When he became TAS music editor in 2008, he contacted me about writing for the magazine. I came on board shortly after the latest set of obituaries had been written for vinyl—and, as fate had it, right when the LP started to make yet another unexpected comeback. Suddenly, I found myself scrambling to document all the record companies pressing vinyl. Small outfits were popping up world-wide, and many were audiophile-oriented, plus already existing record companies began embracing the format again. Trying to keep track of everything made me feel, again, like that overwhelmed seventh grader in Elysian Fields, and as Music Editor I’ve found that keeping my finger on the pulse of the music world also requires considerable detective work. I’ve never had a favorite genre, but when it comes time to sit down and do some quality listening, for me nothing beats a well-recorded small-group jazz recording on vinyl. If a stereo can give me warmth and intimacy, tonal accuracy, clear imaging, crisp-sounding cymbals, and deep, woody-sounding bass, then I’m a happy camper.

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