Walk Against Wind (Biophilia)
Linda May Han Oh
Released April 14, 2017
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ltnSjc6GD0bBXq8FCRE8pVU9o5r3vldbI
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5O9WtB4Nb4JPhv9shz9MIC?si=RWl0SVBRSS2x7829AsjeFg
About:
The art of
mime, with its embrace of silence and pure physical expression, may seem like
an unlikely source of inspiration for a jazz musician. But in “Walking Against
the Wind,” one of Marcel Marceau’s best-loved pieces, bassist/composer Linda Oh
found a stunning metaphor for the life of an artist. Marceau’s graceful but
frustrated motion, which also inspired Michael Jackson’s iconic moonwalk, found
the legendary mime fighting against invisible but pervasive forces while also
embracing the beauty and pleasure to be found in taking the paths in life that
offer greater challenges – but also richer rewards.
On her fourth album, Walk Against Wind, Oh explores both the challenges and the
rich rewards of an artist’s journey. “Walk Against Wind is about the paths that
we choose,” Oh explains. “Sometimes they end up being the harder paths, but in
the long run they prove more fruitful.”
The album is the spiritual successor to Oh’s acclaimed 2013 release Sun
Pictures, with returning saxophonist Ben Wendel joined by guitarist Matthew
Stevens drummer Justin Brown. In addition, pianist/keyboardist Fabian Almazan
and Korean traditional musician Minji Park appear as special guests with the
quartet, which has been workshopping Oh’s compositions at a variety of New York
hotspots including the 55 Bar, the Jazz Gallery and Minton’s Harlem.
Shaun Brady
Track Listing:
1. Lucid Lullaby 7:48
2. Firedancer 3:45
3. Speech Impediment 6:57
4. Perpluzzle 3:56
5. Walk Against Wind 7:28
6. Ikan Bilis 6:51
7. Mother Reason 4:17
8. Mantis 4:54
9. Deepsea Dancers 6:38
10. Midnight 6:43
11. Western 4:16
Personnel:
Linda May Han Oh: acoustic bass, electric bass, vocals (3, 4)
Ben Wendel: tenor saxophone
Matthew Stevens: guitar
Justin Brown: drums
Fabian Almazan: piano (2), keyboards (6, 10)
Minji Park: janggu & kkwaenggwari (8)
Recorded
March 1 – 2, 2016, at Brooklyn Recording
Engineered by Tyler MacDiarmid & Andy Taub
Mixed and Mastered by David Darlington at Bass Hit Studios
Review:
Linda May Han Oh has ably demonstrated why she’s so sought after as a bassist. On Walk Against Wind, she doubles down with a set of 11 inventive original compositions extrapolated upon by a stunning band. And for some of the tracks, she returns to electric bass, the instrument of her youth back in Western Australia. On bass guitar, she’s delightfully free of fusion clichés, preferring beautiful time feel to showy heroics. On the delicate, childlike “Perpluzzle,” one of two tracks that also feature the leader on voice, she’s a super propulsive presence, even joining saxophonist Ben Wendel for a swift, sudden cascading downward line, like paper caught in the wind. The tunes all seem simple and clear, many with folk-like melodies, but are actually complex constructions involving intricate overlays of different densities and activity, sometimes coming into phase, sometimes gently straying apart. Wendel plays the gorgeous “Deepsea Dancers” with a sexy little hiss at the reed, like fuzz on a stylus. On “Midnight,” undulating electric keyboards add a watery stratum, while “Firedancer” is drier, with punchy little hits punctuating a shaggy-dog melodic line, played by pianist Fabian Almazan in tandem with Oh. This album’s major revelation comes in the form of a drummer. Justin Brown is new to me, but his presence lifts and enlivens everything on Walk Against Wind, with total authority and a dictionary of different touches, from the cloudy cymbals on the title track to the clamorous timbres and tricky time—based on a traditional Korean rhythm—of “Mantis.” Brown is a great talent and certainly someone to listen for in Oh’s band and elsewhere.
John Corbett (DownBeat)
