Sometimes 800 words, the typical length of a WSJ review feels like a lot of space, sometimes it feels like far too room. This was a case of the latter. Both Klein and Davis have been on the scene for a while and their evolution tells a lot about what jazz sounds like in 2023. Because I wrote on Davis five years ago when she released an album of piano duets with Craig Taborn, visit here, I opted to focus primarily on her compositional and band leadership. Her piano style, which reminded me of Paul Klee then still does somewhat but I tend to hear more recent and busier artists like Wangechi Mutu in her work now. Klein has eluded me somewhat; he tends to play the Village Vanguard on weeks when my work schedule is already overloaded. This review was catchup in that regard, and I continued to listen to his work long after I turned this review in and it was fully edited and good to go.
‘Telmo’s Tune’ and ‘Diatom Ribbons Live at the Village Vanguard’ Reviews: Remixing the Jazz Quintet
Pianist Guillermo Klein brings on another keyboardist and draws on the sounds of his native Argentina on his new release; Kris Davis employs a guitarist and a DJ on her album recorded at the historic New York club.
By
Martin Johnson
Aug. 22, 2023 5:35 pm ET
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Kris Davis PHOTO: PETER GANNUSHKIN
Since the 1940s, the jazz quintet has typically consisted of two horns (usually a trumpet and a saxophone), plus piano, bass and drums. But two new recordings by leading pianists—Guillermo Klein’s “Telmo’s Tune” (just released on Sunnyside) and Kris Davis’s “Diatom Ribbons Live at the Village Vanguard” (out Sept. 1 on Pyroclastic)—are far from typical. Mr. Klein’s quintet doubles the keyboards in lieu of a second horn, creating unique textures, and his writing draws on the music of Argentina, where he was born, to create rhythmic complexities. Ms. Davis’s group trades a horn-based frontline for guitar and DJ, and she showcases her quintet’s sound through a mix of originals and contemporary jazz standards. These recordings point jazz in compelling new directions.
Ms. Davis, who is 43 years old, arrived in New York in 2001 and quickly established herself as an up-and-comer. Her style deftly combined a fluency in straight-ahead jazz with elements of 20th-century classical music, especially that of Olivier Messiaen, and the influences of such avant-garde jazz titans as Cecil Taylor. As a high-school student in Calgary, she often transcribed the work of piano greats Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, and they still infiltrate her style.
Her recording projects have been eclectic, ambitious and intimate. “Duopoly,” from 2016, featured two duets each with eight colleagues—one composed and the other wholly improvised. Her 2019 studio release, “Diatom Ribbons,” featured a wide array of leading musicians in a variety of settings and placed highly on many best-of-the-year lists. From that project, Ms. Davis distilled the new recording’s quintet, which has the feel of a working band; the interplay among its members gives one the sense of ideas being revisited and expanded.
The repertoire on the live album celebrates some of her major influences. For instance, “Nine Hats,” an original, contains references to “Hat and Beard” by Eric Dolphy and “Study No. 9 for Player Piano” by Conlon Nancarrow. And a three-part “Bird Suite” pays homage to Charlie Parker. Ms. Davis also nods to the underappreciated greats of the ’80s and ’90s by covering Geri Allen’s “The Dancer” and Ronald Shannon Jackson’s “Alice in the Congo.” The two-disc program opens with Jackson’s piece and showcases the band’s range. Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, DJ Val Jeanty and guitarist Julian Lage set the mood with layers of rhythm, while Ms. Davis and bassist Trevor Dunn build atop their bandmates’ textures. The music was recorded during two nights of a six-night engagement at the Village Vanguard in May 2022, and it offers two versions of Wayne Shorter’s “Dolores,” a signature tune of Miles Davis’s famed second quintet. The first version is brighter and features lithe solos from Ms. Davis and Mr. Lage. The other is denser and highlighted by probing bass and piano solos.
The guitar and DJ make Ms. Davis’s quintet spikier than her previous groups; Ms. Jeanty uses the whisking sound of turntables to trail and highlight the soloists, and Mr. Lage alternates snarling riffs with pointed single notes. By contrast, the second keyboard in Mr. Klein’s group adds richness to the texture and makes the band more nuanced than his earlier efforts. This characteristic highlights the title track of “Telmo’s Tune” (which Mr. Klein wrote for his son) as well as “Push Me Not” and “Si Vos Me Queres.” These numbers amble along at a strikingly unhurried pace, showcasing the harmonies between the additional keyboardist, Leo Genovese, and saxophonist Chris Cheek. Mr. Klein is a notable arranger, and that makes his “Amor Profundo” into a kind of Argentine noir soundtrack highlighting the play of bassist Matt Pavolka and drummer Allan Mednard.
Mr. Klein bills this band as a “Quinteto,” and it’s a departure from his usual outfit, the big band Los Guachos. Yet his composing for five musicians is as approachably intricate here as that for his larger ensemble. He is an ardent fan of the later work of Astor Piazzolla, but Mr. Klein’s own compositions routinely globe-hop. His “Vaca,” from Los Guachos’ 2008 album “Filtros,” begins by quoting an Argentine folk song only to transition to a reference to Hungarian composer György Ligeti. Mr. Klein, who is 53, studied at the Berklee School of Music before arriving in New York in the mid-’90s, where he made a mark playing at Greenwich Village nightclubs with Los Guachos. He did a bit of globe-trotting himself, returning to Argentina, then living in Barcelona before settling in New York’s Hudson Valley about 10 years ago.
Both quintets sound of the moment. The usual hierarchical relationship between the rhythm section and frontline is nonexistent. It’s commonplace on these recordings to hear drums or bass in the lead, or to find the saxophone or DJ adding to the backbone of the tune. In this way, Ms. Davis and Mr. Klein are making music with deep roots and a vibrant present.
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