Jan 24, 2023 11:48 AM
Remembering Jeff Beck
One of an iconic triumvirate of ’60s rock guitar gods, along with Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck set the…
Bassist Anne Mette Iversen leads her Quartet +1 ensemble on Racing A Butterfly.
(Photo: Solvejg Hockings)The ideas of flight, freedom and play are at the heart of Anne Mette Iversen’s latest leader date, Racing A Butterfly, a disc the bassist recorded with her Quartet +1 ensemble.
Due out May 15 on Brooklyn Jazz Underground, Racing A Butterfly toggles between artful calm and joyful swing. And the album’s title track, which premieres here, offers an exuberant musical translation of the bandleader’s experience in a park one day.
“[It] was inspired by a literal race with a butterfly I had during a run one summer morning in Provence, France,” Iverson said in an email. “Running along the lavender fields on a dirt road, while the temperature was quickly rising, a colorful butterfly came out of the wild flowers that grow on the roadside ... . We stayed side by side for a moment and then it started to play. It flew ahead, dropped back, caught up with me again, spun circles, twisted and turned in a kind of a dance. This went on for a surprisingly long while, until the butterfly finally took off. It was the fun, the enjoyment, the playfulness and lightness that was so beautiful and which nature displayed so naturally, that made me feel that I really ought to celebrate those sides of life more ... .”
That celebration’s clearly rendered here through her ensemble’s frontline—tenor saxophonist John Ellis and trombonist Peter Dahlgren—as their features toward the end of the track seem to aurally depict the insect’s rising flight and its aerial acrobatics. Listeners might not have a chance to see a replay of the race, but they’ll likely enjoy hearing the play-by-play. DB
“In the pantheons of guitar players, Jeff was the chosen one,” said Steve Vai of the late Jeff Beck.
Jan 24, 2023 11:48 AM
One of an iconic triumvirate of ’60s rock guitar gods, along with Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck set the…
Dec 13, 2022 3:52 PM
Need some additional gift ideas for the jazz fan on your shopping list? Check out DownBeat’s Best Albums of 2022.
Author Richard Koloda spent two decades researching this addition to the legend of free-jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler.
Dec 13, 2022 12:15 PM
When considering what to buy those who are impossible to buy for (guilty, as charged), loved ones can’t go wrong with…
Gretchen Valade
Jan 3, 2023 12:45 PM
EDITOR’S NOTE: As this edition of the DownBeat Enewsletter was about to go out, we learned of the passing of jazz…
“Often, the vibraphone can create this abstract, mellow mood,” says Marsalis, shown here with journalist Michael Jackson.
Jan 17, 2023 2:15 PM
Drummer/vibraphonist Jason Marsalis, in town with the New Orleans Groovemasters, took time for a listening session and…