Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Johannes Wallmann: Elegy For An Undiscovered Species
Johannes Wallmann: Elegy For An Undiscovered Species
Allison Miller
drums
Ingrid Jensen
trumpetb.1966
Dayna Stephens
saxophone, tenorNick Moran
bassb.1963
Johannes Wallmann
pianob.1974
Every jazz musician who thinks something of themselves eventually has a go at the string-section jazz album.
Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto1920 - 1955
Joshua Redman
saxophoneb.1969
Chris Potter
saxophone, tenorb.1971
Pat Metheny
guitarb.1954
Flickering strings give way to a laid-back downward-moving head immediately tying to a mellow secondary theme, played by trumpet and sax in unison. The bass holds down a pedal-point that dominates throughout the tune, grounding the track in a James Bond soundtrack-like eerie atmosphere on top of which the soloists perform. Whether the quite linear and repetitive 11-minute vamp is plain monotonous, or has a mesmerizing effect is up to the listener. But if it is indeed the one or the other, one will either find it very tiresome or fascinating to journey on through the remaining four titles (plus a short reprise), as their structures bear much resemblance to "Elegy For An Undiscovered Species."
"Expeditor" picks up the extended form with a funk twist, injecting the set with a 14/5 groove that works like a consolidated seven- and eight-time signature. Here, as on the romantically swaying "Two Ears Old," Moran switches to electric bass, proving the most questionable choice of the album. While picking up the electric bass in a funky context seems like an obvious choice, at least in theory, it's a clear misstep on the otherwise beautifully executed "Two Ears Old," showcasing intimate interplay between the core band and only rare string embellishments. There's something quite unpolished about the production, with reverb placing the drums in a figurative large concert hall, while Wallmann's piano quite oppositely sits closer up, as if played in a small jazz saloon. An unconventional production choice that might take some getting used to but doesn't have to stand in the way from enjoying the exquisite craft at hand.
Stephens delivers most lyrical tenor lines on "Longing," an unusual bossa nova counted in three that relies on the strings in most traditional design and finds Wallmann in restrained and generous poise. The Canada-raised and Wisconsin-based pianist prefers the reserved style of leading, inserting comprehensive chord blocks and arpeggios here and there as well as the odd solo, but most of all favoring the view from above, observing his collaborators while they interpret his sheets. A short solo of his on the multiple-chapters spanning "The Greater Fool" belongs to his best on the recording and is soon followed up by another highlight with Miller's fierce drum workout, flogging the snare like there's no tomorrow.
The real standout on the album is "In Three," another cyclical vamp, unsurprisingly counted in three. Here Wallmann layers a syncopated and horn-led melody on top of minimalist every-on-beat piano triads with support from Eleanor Rigby-ish strings. The composition maneuvers through harmony in angular movements to what appears to be a polyrhythmic backdrop but soon reveals to be a hemiola construction brought on by the bass melody. Each instrument organically finds its voice in the ensemble sound here, navigating through loops and cues as the strings wind up and down their necks to cunning solos by Wallmann, Jensen and, most notably, Stephens, who switches to the EWI (wind synthesizer) and sketches out modernist figures to a visionary arrangement. This is way out there and extremely successful.
Not everything on Elegy For An Undiscovered Species works out quite as well as "In Three" does and if some choices concerning sound and instrumentation had been different, the album might have ended up being a tad more concise. But as it is, Wallmann has nonetheless come up with an original ensemble sound that merits multiple revisitations and lets the listener dig deep into the textures and melodies of a tight collective, whose respective skills are on display throughout the entire hour-long endeavor. ">
Track Listing
Elegy for an Undiscovered Species; Two Ears Old; In Three; Expeditor; Longing; The Greater Fool; Two Ears Old (reprise).
Personnel
Additional Instrumentation
Dayna Stephens: EWI; String Orchestra—violins: Kaleigh Acord (Concert Master), Maynie Bradley, Mercedes Cullen (principal), Glen Kuenzi, Chang-En Lu, Anna Luebke, Richard Silvers, Mary Shin; violas: Emma Cifrino, Pedro Oviedo, Rachel Riese (principal); cellos: Hannah Kasun, Cole Randolph, (principal), Ben Therrell; Conductor: Michael Dolan.
Album information
Title: Elegy for an Undiscovered Species | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Shifting Paradigm Records
Tags
Johannes Wallmann
Album Review
Friedrich Kunzmann
Elegy For An Undiscovered Species
Shifting Paradigm Records
Allison Miller
Ingrid Jensen
Dayna Stephens
Nick Moran
Charlie Parker
John Coltrane
Joshua Redman
Chris Potter
pat metheny
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