Danilo Pérez and the Global Messengers, La Muralla Suite: 'Monopatia,' Mack Avenue ***

Full of surprises not least when the dreamy vocals burst through and later the Spanish language spoken word passage there is a lot of passion and narrative built into this accessible and yet very sprawling latinate chamber-jazz piece from the great …

Published: 7 Jan 2022. Updated: 2 years.

Full of surprises not least when the dreamy vocals burst through and later the Spanish language spoken word passage there is a lot of passion and narrative built into this accessible and yet very sprawling latinate chamber-jazz piece from the great Panamanian pianist and composer Danilo Pérez. ''Monopatia'' in the title means ''pathways'' the piece drawn from the ''Glass Walls'' La Muralla Suite part of Crisálida (''Chrysalis'' in English) to be issued by Mack Avenue in March. Personnel include Pérez and his wife singer/saxophonist Patricia Zárate and a multi-national group who include Iraqi-Jordanian violinist Layth Sidiq and Palestinian cellist Naseem Alatrash. As ever Pérez is a restless composer who like his great mentor Wayne Shorter continues to develop his global vision with consummate fearlessness.

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Tomasz Dąbrowski and the Individual Beings, 'Troll,' April Records ****

First impressions can be wrong and rather than as ultimately realising that this is spectacular the track seemed a little too comfortable. Considering it is a very thoughtful tribute to Tomasz Stańko – Tomasz Dąbrowski even playing a horn that …

Published: 7 Jan 2022. Updated: 2 years.

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First impressions can be wrong and rather than as ultimately realising that this is spectacular the track seemed a little too comfortable. Considering it is a very thoughtful tribute to Tomasz Stańko – Tomasz Dąbrowski even playing a horn that Stańko had played and even more a link the ''individual beings'' a Stańko-ism to boot – perhaps however heretical a thought the trumpeter might just have bitten off more than he could chew.

But then a little while further in listening to a pivotal point when the bassist Max Mucha in the Dąbrowski band transforms the mood the whole thing made sense. Suddenly thoughts turned to hearing Mucha six years ago in Logan Richardson's band – the idiom that April night in Soho highly altered and which involved Mucha hard-grooving all the time.

Dąbrowski, a Pole who has lived in Denmark, has worked with top local musicians and international stars such as Tyshawn Sorey and Kris Davis alike. Recorded in a Polish Radio studio in Warsaw last year 'Troll' is Dąbrowski's own composition and he fashions considerable rapport with his saxophonist front line sparring partner and the lead line captures that ache and melancholia and soul of things that are at the heart of Stanko's sound.

Tomasz Dąbrowski and The Individual Beings (April Records) is out on 11 February