Suite for a Painter

MELISSA ALDANA

Visions

Motéma

Chilean tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana invokes the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo as the inspiration for Visions, which was originally commissioned as a suite, with its world premiere at Jazz Gallery last June. The disc showcases a stellar quintet, featuring pianist Sam Harris, bassist Pablo Menares, drummer Tommy Crane, and vibraphonist Joel Ross, on board for all but three of the 11 tracks. (Aldana had led a chordless trio on her past two records and hadn’t used a pianist since her 2010 debut.)

Aldana has always been a precocious player and composer—she won the 2013 Monk Competition at age 24—who enjoys incorporating into her work complex harmonies and flowing changes in mood and tone. Kahlo’s example took on added resonance as Aldana’s research revealed how much pain and sacrifice the painter endured to sustain her art. Still, Aldana eschews melodrama. She and Harris both take burning solos on the title cut, with Ross accentuating her gestures and pivots. On the third song, “La Madrina,” for the “Godmother” who supposedly gave Kahlo the option of a long, painful life or the release of death, you can hear the contemplative gusts in which Aldana says she has “written layers and tension and resolution into the music.”

The rustling calm of “La Madrina” yields to the lush, wistful “Perdon,” with Aldana a model of restraint as she pares her notes between a flicker and a fade and then returns after Harris’ long solo with low notes that flutter and swoop. After the exquisitely gentle “Abre Tus Ojos,” “Elsewhere” is a more raucous quintet affair, as Aldana pays tribute to her idol Sonny Rollins, with a low-toned, clarion bleat at solo’s end. The nine-minute closer, “El Castillo de Velenje,” unfurls the duality of Kahlo, her curiosity for the mysteries in life and her assertive strength to see it through.

BRITT ROBSON

BILL FRISELL/ THOMAS MORGAN

Epistrophy

ECM

Can devotees of guitarist Bill Frisell listen to Epistrophy without connecting a lot of dots? Not likely. Recorded live at Manhattan’s Village Vanguard and prominently featuring bassist Thomas Morgan, these intuitive duets resonate with the signature elements of Frisell’s uncommon discography: the borderless repertoire, the sparse yet inimitable arrangements, the deliberate consideration given to tone, space, and, most important here, shared sensibility.

A follow-up to 2017’s Small Town, recorded in the same setting and yielding similar rewards, Epistrophy reveals such a curious assortment of influences that it could best be described as “Frisellian,” if that view didn’t overlook the significant role Morgan plays. Paul Motian’s mosaic-like “Mumbo Jumbo,” for instance, seems a particularly apt choice given the musicians’ connections with the late drummer, and it swiftly lives up to high expectations. Then, too, there are unexpected gems. For example, the Drifters’ R&B hit “Save the Last Dance for Me,” a Morgan suggestion prefaced by, yep, “Wildwood Flower,” makes for a delightful pivot—think Marty Robbins meets Doc Pomus.

In addition to singular duo interpretations of Thelonious Monk’s “Epistrophy” and “Pannonica,” the duo offers canny takes on tunes associated with Frank Sinatra (“In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning”), Billy Strayhorn (“Lush Life”), and composer John Barry (“You Only Live Twice”). All the while, Frisell and Morgan traffic in a seductive brand of interplay. The guitarist leads the way with subdued electric tones, punctuating his spacious lyricism with double-stop accents and shimmering harmonics. No wallflower, Morgan is alternatively assertive and supportive, whether creating sleek propulsion, devising nuanced contrapuntal designs, or fashioning solos that also add new facets and dimensions to the performance.

MIKE JOYCE

TEODROSS AVERY

After the Rain: A Night for Coltrane

Tompkins Square

An album devoted to the music of John Coltrane, by nature, comes with high expectations. A simple homage to the tenor saxophonist doesn’t necessarily add anything to his legacy, even if a musician has mastered the complexities of Trane’s style. Recasting the music in a new setting can also be a slippery slope. For , Teodross Avery doubled down on his research. Already a master tenor saxophonist for over two decades, he read interviews and spoke to musicians who knew Coltrane, discovering what music was most significant to him, while also considering “the real connoisseurs of his music.” The six tracks qualify neither as