Tobias Meinhart - The Painter

Tobias Meinhart
The Painter
Sunnyside Records

Born in Bavaria, saxophonist Tobias Meinhart established himself in Europe before moving to New York twelve years ago, where he has established himself on the scene. "The Painter" is his second recording for Sunnyside. Meinhart is backed by his core quartet of Eden Ladin (piano), Matt Penman (bass) & Obed Calvaire (drums). They are joined by Ingrid Jensen on trumpet and Charles Altura on guitar. Meinhart wrote most of the ten tracks on this recording.

One can't praise the sterling rhythm section here as they navigate the opening "White Bear," a rhythmically complex post-bop composition with a percolating groove built on an ostinato piano riff and Calvaire's deft drumming. Meinhart displays a most attractive tone here and then on the meditative "Oak Tree," where Jensen adds her gorgeous brass sound while Ladin provides a delicate foundation. Then there is the energy of "Movement," with Meinhart's cotton candy tone matching his crafted, fluid solo. Penman's bass solo introduces the title track, which Meinhart enters with some multiphonic on his horn, transitioning into a gorgeous ballad with Ladin's deft piano and Calvaire's skillful use of brushes supporting Meinhart's outstanding playing.

On "Bird Song," Meinhart opens on alto flute, which leads to a call and response with Jensen, with the leader shifting to tenor sax as the two duet over the rhythm section. Meinhart and Ladin duet on an intimate and outstanding rendition of the Brazilian classic "Estate," again displaying the warmth Meinhart invests his saxophone playing with. After a twirling waltz, "Neowise," there is "Last Dance," which was inspired by the ESPN Michael Jordan documentary. Opening with Meinhart on flute before shifting to tenor sax, this track has a dreamy quality and evokes some early seventies post-bop jazz such as Keith Jarrett's American Quartet.

"Dreamers" is a hymn that Meinhart sings over his serpentine soprano sax, the final track, although Meinhart's strength is as an instrumentalist and not a vocalist. Guitarist Altura and pianist Ladin shine with sparkling solos before Meinhart returns, singing and guitar and sax weave around each other as the track closes. Like the rest of the album, the performance displays the exemplary ensemble interplay along with the focused, often passionate solos on this top-flight recording.
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I received a download to review from a publicist. Here Tobias Meinhart performs "White Bear."

Hans Glawischnig's Panoramic Jazz

New York based bassist Hans Glawischnig has certainly come along way from his Graz, Austria beginnings. He has attended Berklee, the Manhattan School of Music and in 1995 took the bass seat in Bobby Watson’s Urban Renewal followed by a stint with Maynard Ferguson, before he was invited to join Ray Barretto’s New World Spirit Ensemble Jazz followed by engagements with Pacquito D’Riviera, David Samuels and Bobby Sanabria along with performances with Billy Harper, Richie Beirach, Billy Hart, Joe Locke, Steffon Harris, Claudio Roditi, Brian Lynch, Phil Woods and Claudia Acuna to name a few. and his first album as a leader was Common Ground for Fresh Sounds/New Talent in 2003.

Now Sunnyside has just issued his latest release as a leader, Panorama. On his nine compositions he is joined by such well known artists as pianists Chick Corea, and Luis Perdomo; drummers Johnathan Blake, Antonio Sanchez, and Marcus Gilmore; saxophonists David Binney, Miguel Zenon and Rich Perry; and guitarist Ben Monder. Zenon (in whose band Glawischnig) is present on four of the performances which have a pretty wide cast. Zenon’s sax dominates the opening Line Drive, with his clean tone and marvelous invention followed by the impressive Perdomo’s piano while the leader’s bass anchors the proceedings and drummer Blake imaginatively keeps pushing the tune along while adding his own accents.

The title track features Corea in a very thoughtful, lyrical vein, while Glawischnig also gets to solo, while Zenon returns on The Orchids, a performance that evokes some of the flavor of Keith Jarrett’s European Quartet recordings. Gypsy Tales, is a quintet track with guitarist Monder, saxophonist Binney and drummer Antonio Sanchez with a spacey feel, with Binney taking a probing tenor solo while Monder’s guitar is in the post McLaughlin and Abercombie approach. Set to Sea is a lovely ballad featuring the tenor of Rich Perry, while Corea returns for Oceanography, derived From How Deep Is The Ocean. Barretto’s Way, opens with nice bowed bass playing before a bit of flamenco is evoked by his bass (suggestive of David Holland here).

The rest of the album features fresh material, thoughtful and inventive playing and marvelous group interplay making Panorama a superior jazz release. Here is a youtube of Hans playing with Miguel Zenon's group with Luis Perdomo on piano.

This review originally appeared in the October 2008 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 309). I believe I received my review copy from the publication.