Personnel:
Mara Rosenbloom (p), Darius Jones (as), Sean Conly (b), Nick Anderson (d)
Reference: FSNT-418
Bar code: 8427328424189
"Las grabaciones de Fresh Sound New Talent, además de permitir el descubrimiento de nuevos músicos (Brad Mehldau o The Bad Plus, por ejemplo, publicaron allí antes de pasar al estrellato multinacional), permiten disfrutar con músicos ya establecidos en un primer nivel. Este es el caso de la pianista Mara Rosembloom, que para su segunda grabación Songs From The Ground, cuenta con la colaboración en su cuarteto de Darius Jones (una de las figuras emergentes en el saxo alto) y del contrabajista Sean Conly (compañero del saxofonista en el cuarteto The Grass Roots), además del baterista Nick Anderson.
Rosenbloom se encarga de todas las composiciones, con la excepción de las breves Relief y To Be Alone, dos piezas improvisadas a piano solo. Los cinco temas restantes son un terreno diferente al habitual -más libre-, en el que se mueven Jones y Conly. Aquí mandan las composiciones de la pianista, permitiendo disfrutar del sonido de un Darius Jones más contenido que de costumbre.
A pesar de su extensión (la pieza que da título al disco se va por encima de los quince minutos; Whistle Stop y Common Languaje están en torno a los diez; Small Finds casi llega a los seis), el grupo trabaja esencialmente en manejar (construir, mantener y liberar) la tensión de los temas, sobreponiendo esto a otros elementos como la complejidad compositiva. A lo largo de la escucha aparecen referencias dispares: a Keith Jarrett, al blues, o a la manera de componer de un músico como Tim Berne. Con una estructura aparentemente sencilla, el resultado son unos temas atractivos, e incluso cantábiles."
Patxi Tapiz (Enero, 2014)
www.tomajazz.com
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"Pianist Mara Rosenbloom seemingly has a million catchy riffs and artfully employs them to share a personal circumscribed space but also to provide melodies for powerful improvisation. Both these aspects of her playing are wonderfully in evidence on Songs From the Ground. The seven self-penned tunes run the gamut from pensive soliloquies to earthy, blues-infused modern jazz.
Rosenblooms assets are her delicate touch and precise attention to melodic detail. Relief and To Be Alone are solo pieces that meditatively engage through harmonics and phrasing. They end relatively quickly but leave a lasting impression as studies in how less can be musically more and emotionally deep. The remaining tunes feature the full quartet and are a blend of Rosenblooms aforementioned strengths and Darius Jones meaty alto saxophone. Jones has a sound that was nourished by the blues and is the perfect counterpart to the leaders tantalizing subtleties.
Bassist Sean Conly and drummer Nick Anderson partner with Rosenbloom to texture these tunes and provide ample support for Jones muscle. However, the quartet uses its contrasting voices to tell fascinating stories. Whistle Stop is an extended train journey that allows each member to convey their own interpretation of the sights while Small Finds is a more innocent take on simpler structures. Unison and Common Language are two very different sides of the same group ethos; the former is more adventurous while the latter takes a more cerebral and emotive approach. The title track attempts to meld all the ingredients into one piece but is a bit too ambitious and strays some from the sessions overall feel. Despite this, Songs From the Ground works well as Rosenbloom offers up the structure and Jones supplies the power."
Elliott Simon (June, 2013)
The New York City Jazz Records
