Pacific Sailings

David Paul Mesler

Pacific Sailings

Review by Matthew Warnock

Some of the greatest pianists in the history of jazz and modern music have been prolific improvisers, in solo contexts as well as with trios and other groups.  Whether it was Bill Evans on a long improvised intro to Nardis, or Keith Jarrett recording the Koln Concert, these performers set themselves apart from their contemporaries with their ability to create timeless music from seemingly out of nowhere.  Flash forward a number of years and Seattle based pianist David Paul Mesler is bringing the spotlight back to freely improvised piano music, though in a slightly different context, with the release of his duo album Pacific Sailings.  The album features 13 duos with bassist Doug Miller, all of which were improvised without edits, and the result is a world-class display of musicianship and musical collaboration that is sure to delight fans of jazz and modern piano, especially those who enjoy freely improvised music.

One of the things that makes this album different from some of the releases by Evans and Jarrett, are that these songs are much shorter in length as compared to other freely improvised releases of the past.  While some listeners may be used to, and even expecting, concert length improvisations, such as Jarrett’s Vienna Concert, there is a distinct advantage to recording shorter pieces of music when delving into the realm of free improvisation.  Not only does it give the listener a break every few minutes -- the average track on this record is a little over three minutes -- but it allows the musicians to focus their creative intent on one idea for a short period, before switching to the next idea on the following track, allowing them to always be fresh and to separate ideas in their minds as they work through each improvised piece on the album.

The other advantage is that each short piece ends up becoming a chapter in a musical book.  Not in a concept album sort of way, but each piece ends up having its own unique personality that comes together with the other pieces to form the emotional and musical landscape of the album.  For instance, “Blowsy” has a dark feel to it, almost eerie with its quasi-walking bass-line and short, punched pentatonic and blues influenced chords.  And “Shower” has a lighter, more playful feeling, with its ostinato bass note and careful interaction with the piano melody.  This last track is built on something so simple, a one-note bass-line, yet ends up being one of the more powerful moments on the album.

One thing that is apparent throughout the record, no matter what the feel or mood of the piece, is the incredible interaction between Mesler and Miller.  These two talented musicians possess chops and musical knowledge, both of which are needed to record an album of this nature, but more importantly they both showcase their highly-trained ears and musical maturity.  It would have been easy for them to take a tune like “Squabble,” with its rapid-fire opening line, and overplay the rest of the piece, relying more on chops and less on communication.  Yet, the duo instead turns the piece into a rhythmically diverse conversation that is filled with engaging moments, both by the bass and piano, and breathes maturity and musicianship from start to finish.

Releasing any freely improvised record is a tall order for any musician, but to do it in a duo setting and at the highest-level of musicianship is a task that few performers could claim to accomplish.  Mesler and Miller have not only released an impressive album with Pacific Sailings, but one that is emotionally and intellectually engaging at the same time. 

Reviewed by Matthew Warnock

Rating:  5 Stars (out of 5)

Matthew Warnock writes for All About Jazz, Guitar International Magazine, Hal Leonard, Mel Bay, Modern Guitar Magazine and Review You.

Moonsongs

David Paul Mesler

Moonsongs

Review by Nick DeRiso

Pianist David Paul Mesler and saxophonist Tony Rondolone offer 13 takes on a theme during the appropriately titled Moonsongs, an album perfectly suited for twilight. Each of the tunes here, familiar though they may be, is approached with a thoughtful restraint -- resulting in an album that is bold in its conception, yet often touchingly poignant in its execution.

The duo opens with “Polkadots and Moonbeams,” the Jimmy Van Heusen-Johnny Burke vehicle, remaking the song with a hushed, untroubled nerve. Rondolone’s tone is warm and inviting, while Mesler trails just behind him, offering delicately constructed thoughts.

“Old Devil Moon” is similarly integrated, as Mesler and Rondolone play with an uncanny empathy. The piano, in particular, seems to move through and across the melody, without ever getting tangled up in Rondolone’s surging, but never over-dramatic runs. “Blue Moon” allows Rondolone a chance to create some sparky interplay, even as Mesler retains this gorgeous clarity at the keyboard. 

Elsewhere, Mesler and Rondolone also do a commendable job of defying convention, and expectations.

“How High The Moon,” which in the post-bebop era has become a vehicle for lightning-quick improvisation, is reimagined here as a ballad of intriguing placidity. The duo plays with a nervy impressionism, with Mesler offering these waterfalls of notes behind Rondolone’s sweetly meditative shapes. “Fly Me To The Moon,” a rascally nudge of a song since Frank Sinatra remade it with Count Basie in the 1960s, becomes a hushed, almost translucent revelation on Moonsongs. “Moondance,” the familiar jazz-inflected pop tune by Van Morrison, is widely associated with its uptempo pace, as well. Mesler and Rondolone, instead, stop for a long exhalation -- approaching the tune with a series of restrained, but firm variations.

Not that Moonsongs is all drowsy balladry. Rondolone, for instance, adds a muscular force to “Dancing in the Moonlight,” though the cut is all too brief at less than 2:30 minutes. Later, Mesler begins with an elegant series of thoughts, before ramping up into a lightly swinging posture on “Moonglow,” and Rondolone quickly takes the bait -- playing with a liquid propulsion, but without ever sounding hectic or strained. Mesler’s cascading, gently insistent opening on “Moonlight Serenade” subsequently gives Rondolone’s another chance to work in brilliant contrast. Melodically sensitive, he still finds a way to push his saxophone into newly assertive tones.

The pair ends up making two passes at “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” by Harold Arlen. On first blush, they get into the flirty spirit of the original, as Mesler gooses Rondolone along with a progression of flurries at the keyboard that suggest twinkling stars. Subsequently, on a late-album reprise, the duo downshifts back into a series of solitary, unselfconscious ruminations. The song, as beautiful as it is involving, unfolds like a moment of still improvisation.

And that’s the magic of the album, anyway -- its ability to emotionally involve.  Pay special attention to their successes in tackling songs like “Moon River,” the deeply familiar and often cartoonishly histrionic theme from Henry Mancini. Here, Mesler and Rondolone show remarkable restraint, drawing the track’s typically very bawdy theme down into quietly effective rumination. A moment that has tripped up so many becomes one of this album’s undisputed highlights. 

Then, there’s “Moonlight in Vermont.” Itself a legendary ballad, the composition needs less radical reconstruction to fit into this crepuscular mood. The challenge, of course, is to inject some sense of rising drama, and Rondolone does so by playing with an ebullient, though at the same time very controlled, power.

It’s just another testament to Mesler and Rondolone’s powers of tender renewal on Moonsongs.

Review by Nick DeRiso

Rating:  5 stars (out of 5)

Nick DeRiso writes for All About Jazz, Gannett News Service, Review You, Something Else Reviews and USA Today.

Just A Lucky So And So

David Paul Mesler

Just A Lucky So And So

Review by Nick DeRiso

Many a jazz singer has stumbled through the Great American Songbook, slowed by imitative missteps or the inability to keep pace with a swinging quartet surrounding him. David Paul Mesler is not that singer.

In fact, Just a Lucky So and So, issued on Emerald City Records, includes a number of familiar standards from the likes of Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and Rodgers and Hart. But Mesler approaches them with individuality and grace, even while brilliantly matching his deft backing band stride for stride.

Mesler begins with a quietly effective take on the title track, the Duke Ellington standard. Pianist John Hansen swings confidently, while saxophonist Jay Thomas adds a robust sensuality through a series of well-placed asides. By the time bassist Michael Barnett and drummer Brian Kirk join the proceedings, Mesler has begun to move from the role of smooth balladeer into a serious groove, moving to the front of and then just behind the beat with a confidence that recalls Harry Connick Jr. Hansen returns for a roaming solo, tackling the theme head on, and then smartly moving far afield. His playing is at once full of gusto, but temperamentally appropriate – something that’s difficult to do.

Doris Day’s “Kiss in a Shadow,” meanwhile, has a completely different feel, with Hansen and Co. playing in the lithe, air-filled style of Vince Guaraldi’s trio. Melser, now the portrait of mid-century cool, moves into a sweeter, lower tremolo -- like a next-generation Mel Torme.

Thomas then switches to the trumpet, adding a muted, melancholy atmosphere to “They All Laughed,” the Gershwin classic.  Mesler returns to the opener’s expressive, rhythmic vocal style, something well suited for the lyric’s series of throw-away hipster asides. Bassist Barnett propels “The More I See You,” perhaps most famously done by Peter Allen, into a break-neck pace. That nudges drummer Kirk toward a series of smacking brush-strokes, then Thomas -- again on sax -- into a blinding series of honking retorts. Mesler, unfazed by the sudden cacophony all around, displays a terrific ability to change gears, up-shifting into a confident swash-buckling attitude.

The Victor Young standard “My Foolish Heart,” presented with an undulating island beat, becomes a showcase for the delicate intertwining of sound between Hansen’s piano and Mesler’s voice. Playing longer, more intuitive lines now, in stirring contrast to the polyrhythmic efforts of Kirk, Hansen echoes perhaps the most emotional performance yet from Mesler.  Eventually, the song slowly quiets, becoming nothing more than the insistent cadence from Kirk, and Mesler modulates perfectly -- bringing the song to a sweetly romantic conclusion.

“You Taught My Heart To Sing,” memorably done by Dianne Reeves, finds Mesler rebounding into a robust joy. Thomas offers a brightly swinging solo, this time on the trumpet, while Hansen’s driving runs at the keyboard underscore the sun-filled tone. But it’s Mesler who frames the song’s billowing hopefulness. He sings with an open-hearted joy, the personification of a smile.

“Skylark,” the timeless songbook favorite written by Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael, is often presented as a devastating admission of loneliness. Mesler won’t let the song skitter off that emotional edge, though, holding out in his insistently swinging vocal for this last moment of hopefulness. Thomas answers with a series of simple, effective lines on the trumpet, recalling the tender impact of Chet Baker.

“Where Or When,” from Rodgers and Hart, is goosed along in a similarly memorable way, with Mesler’s band skipping merrily behind as the singer reformulates this ballad into a happy-go-lucky moment of winking intrigue.  Returning now to the urbane tone of Torme, Mesler provides a horn-like counterpoint to Thomas’ sax work.

In fact, until the last, he’s an impish foil for this backing band. On “That’s All,” initially brought to wider attention by Nat “King” Cole, Mesler moves and grooves with every bit of the musical confidence of Thomas, who’s searching sax solo carries the song -- and Mesler’s Just a Lucky So and So -- to a satisfying close.

Review by Nick DeRiso

Rating:  5 stars (out of 5)

Nick DeRiso writes for All About Jazz, Gannett News Service, Review You, Something Else Reviews and USA Today.

The Dream Journal Murders

David Paul Mesler

The Dream Journal Murders

Review by Matthew Warnock

Describing himself as a “free improvisation pianist,” Seattle based David Paul Mesler lives up to his title with the release of his record The Dream Journal Murders.  The album, being a collection of 28 freely improvised pieces, may not be exactly what one would think of as a free-jazz or freely improvised collection of music.  Yes there are moments of dissonance, and Mesler is much more aggressive on this album melodically and harmonically speaking than he is on some of his other improvised records, but there is an inherent beauty to each track on the album that sounds more like a collection of openly composed pieces rather than 28 works that were created on the spot in the studio. 

Because of the strong rhythmic component and sense of continuity between the pieces, the album comes off more like a series of short vignettes telling a larger story than it does separate works on a record.  For instance, there are short pauses between each track, usually for a second or two to clear the listener’s palette. But, Mesler constructs each piece in a manner that while it may not be intentionally related to the previous and next track on the recording, one gets that sense when listening to the album front to back.  This strong sense of continuity helps keep the music flowing from one track to the next as well as keeps the listener’s attention glued to each short piece as it flows by.  The tracks are usually a little over two minutes in length with one being over six minutes. 

The short length of the pieces also acts to give the listener a break every few minutes from the intensity of the music that Mesler is improvising, which for some listener’s might become overwhelming if he had recorded longer pieces instead of the shorter ones on the album. Improvised music is sometimes hard for listener’s to get used to, especially if they are new to the genre or are unfamiliar with jazz or modern classical music, but Mesler’s program on this record, his attention to the length of each piece, his choice to quasi-connect one piece to the next, comes together to provide for an entertaining session for any seasoned listener, as well as a nice introduction to newcomers to the genre.

Though he has been known to use blocks of chords and long harmonic progressions, especially on his other fully improvised records, Mesler has chosen to focus more attention on single-lines on this record.  Though he plays more single lines than in previous outings, he does so in a way that implies harmonic movement by way of arpeggiation and overlapping.  There are moments when lines are weaving in and out of each other, crisscrossing in such a way as to imply a larger timbre than just a series of single-line phrases.  This type of performance is never easy to pull off, especially in a fully improvised setting, but Mesler’s mature musicianship and strong ears guide him through these sections, leading his listener’s along with him as he navigates difficult musical territory with what seems like the greatest of ease.

David Paul Mesler is a pianist of the highest stature.  Not only does he have the fortitude to embark on a solo, fully improvised recording session, but he delivers a performance that is truly spectacular.  Fans of the genre will no doubt find this album appealing, while at the same time it is a welcome initiation to the world of freely improvised music for those who have just taken the leap and are exploring the genre for the first time.

Review by Matthew Warnock

Rating:  5 Stars (out of 5)

Matthew Warnock writes for All About Jazz, Guitar International Magazine, Hal Leonard, Mel Bay, Modern Guitar Magazine and Review You.

The Blue Diary

David Paul Mesler

The Blue Diary

Review by Matthew Warnock

When thinking of improvised music, one normally conjures up images of jazz musicians on stage, weaving melodic lines through harmonic changes with the nimbleness of a gymnast and the intellectual fortitude of a mathematician.  But, there is a long lineage of classically trained and influenced musicians who have also made their mark within the genre of improvised music.  Artists such as Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans come to mind as two pianists who blurred the lines between jazz and classical, often spontaneously composing pieces that could easily fall into the realm of classical or jazz music depending on one’s viewpoint and predetermined notions of the context in which it was presented.  Seattle based pianist David Paul Mesler is another pianist who blurs the lines between the jazz and classical idioms during the 17 improvised tracks on his album The Blue Diary, with the end result being a highly personalized and entertaining addition to the solo piano library.

Kicking off the album with the barn-burning, dissonant piece “Said What?,” Mesler showcases the classical side of his playing, as well as his professionally tuned chops and control of the piano in any register or at any dynamic.  Beginning with a series of Impressionist-influenced chords, Mesler then brings in a dark, rapid-fire single-line melody that grows from the lowest register of the instrument and climbs its way back into the chords in the middle and upper registers.  Not only is this a very effective compositional, or in this case improvisational, device that blends two timbres and textures on the instrument, it is also a demonstration of the precise control that Mesler has under his fingers and in his ears as he reaches into his creative self to derive new and interesting melodic ideas.

Jumping from the classical genre to the world of jazz improvisation, Mesler leads the listener into his alter-ego with the piece “And So it Begins,” which starts in a similar fashion as the previous piece, with a series of chord voicings, before branching off into a jazz-influenced feel with an accompanying melody and harmony line as well.  Using bluesy phrases, as well as extreme registers, Mesler is able to bring a bit of Mingus soul into this piece, without it becoming a parody or imitation of the legendary bassist and composer.  There is just enough tradition in this piece to create a sense of belonging, while at the same time it is distinctly Mesler as his artistic voice is woven into each chord, line and phrase. 

One of the most unique and interesting pieces on the record is “In the Act.”  The genesis of the work is a low-register, repeated single-note that acts as a thread throughout the piece, keeping a storyline running from start to finish.  In between are single-note runs that lead the listener from the opening phrase to the final note, bringing them into exciting and unexpected musical territory along the way.  At one point, Mesler lays out a series of chords that, because of the change of texture, grab the listener’s ears and attention, providing a captivating moment in one of the album’s most interesting pieces.

Blurring the line between genres can have either positive or negative consequences.  Sometimes an artist finds a pushback from audiences when they make a crossover album, while other times the new musical scenery can be extremely refreshing for listeners and musicians both.  In the case of Mesler, his ability to move between jazz and classical styles in his improvisations provides extra layers of interest and creativity in his music that helps lift this album above the fold and places it among some of the best in the genre.

 

Review by Matthew Warnock

Rating:  5 Stars (out of 5)

Matthew Warnock writes for All About Jazz, Guitar International Magazine, Hal Leonard, Mel Bay, Modern Guitar Magazine and Review You.