SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum) (Whirlwind Recordings)
Marta Sánchez
Released February 25, 2022
AllMusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2022
Slate Best Jazz Albums of 2022
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kE9wp_93pbjnEx1rLlCxJFoxYfKkFSV84
Spotify:
About:
Marta Sanchez’s creative voice is strikingly original – circling rhythms, elaborate forms and criss-crossing counterpoint distinguishes her sonic signature on the crowded New York contemporary music scene. Following three critically acclaimed quintet releases, the Madrid-born pianist-composer presents SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum) on Whirlwind Recordings, an album driven by emotional candour and boundary-pushing compositions.
A talented cast realises her knotty, technical writing – frontline partners Alex Lore and Roman Filiu meet Sanchez, Rashaan Carter andAllan Mednard on backline duties.
SAAM riffs on the Smithsonian American Art Museum, on an album that’s an exhibition of Sanchez’s life in musical form: “It’s made up of all the elements of society from both countries [Spain and America] that impact my life and make me who I am.” Matters internal and external are realised in musical expositions of complex feelings. The pieces took shape in lockdown, as Sanchez exchanged fortnightly composition tasks with a pen- pal. “Those compositions express all the phases I was going through at that time. I was reflecting super deeply on what’s important, and how we might give some sense to life.”
Most of the album draws on those precisely realised emotions. The colouristic, texturally driven opener ‘The Unconquerable Areas’ describes parts of herself “that are still vulnerable. These weak parts of myself; even though I’ve been dealing with them for a long time, they’re still there.” Similarly reflective is ‘Dear Worthiness’, a “sad ballad that reflects on my self worth” – it features beautifully lithe melodies, but melancholy is never far away. ‘SAAM’ cuts through that smoothness, in a jagged, Schoenberg- inspired outburst full of intense feelings and dense clusters, built around an essential pain.
A different form of pain features in ‘The Eternal Stillness’ – mournful sighs and cries emanate from the saxophones, as layered textures shift underneath. Then something very different comes along – ‘Marivi’, featuring Ambrose Akinmusire and Camila Meza, offers a warm tribute to Sanchez’s mother, who died during lockdown. “I tell her things I could never tell her,” says Sanchez of the lyrics. “I loved my mum but it was really hard to tell her the deep things.”
‘If You Could Create It’ strikes a lighter tone, with cascading torrents of tenor sax sound, before ‘The Hard Balance’ offers reflection, both musically and personally – the track is finely balanced on an intricate polyrhythm, that reflects the difficulties of maintaining a work-life balance. ‘December 11th’ is the day Sanchez’s mother died, a personal tribute featuring an extended, heartfelt piano solo.
The album concludes with ‘When Dreaming is Only’, the most complex tune on the album; insistent piano rhythms and duelling saxophones give way to a band texture that’s bustling, brimming with energy. “Sometimes I just take the vibe, compose the atmosphere, and sometimes I focus on something super specific.” Sanchez’s ability to tap into emotional expression through detailed instrumental music is without parallel – this collage of moods and feelings is testament to that.
Track Listing:
1. The Unconquered Vulnerable Areas 05:58
2. Dear Worthiness 07:18
3. SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum) 06:20
4. The Eternal Stillness 06:52
5. Marivi 04:54
6. If You Could Create It 06:26
7. The Hard Balance 07:44
8. December 11th 05:17
9. When Dreaming Is the Only 06:37
Personnel:
Alex LoRe: alto saxophone
Roman Filiu: tenor saxophone
Marta Sanchez: piano
Rashaan Carter: bass
Allan Mednard: drums
Camila Meza: voice and guitar (5)
Ambrose Akinmusire: trumpet (5)
Charlotte Greve: synths (5)
Recorded March 15/16, 2021, at Sear Sound, by Chris Allen
Mixed by Dave Darlington
Mastered by Dave Darlington
Produced by Marta Sanchez
Executive Producer: Michael Janisch
Photography by Kimberley M Wang
Graphic Design by Dave Bush
Review:
Madrid-born, New York-based pianist Marta Sánchez explores the complex duality of her identity on her engaging fourth album and third with her quintet, 2022’s SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum). The record’s title is a wry play on the Smithsonian American Art Museum and one that exemplifies Sánchez’s goals in bridging both her Spanish roots and status as one of the leading lights of the New York contemporary creative music scene. Joining her is her quintet featuring longtime associate Roman Filiu on tenor saxophone, along with altoist Alex LoRe, bassist Rashaan Carter, and drummer Allan Mednard. Together, they play with a quiet intensity marked by knotty post-bop improvisation, polyphonic group interplay, and Sánchez’s compositions that artfully weave together modern jazz, folk, and classical traditions. As a pianist, Sánchez favors shimmering arpeggios and moments of cascading contrapuntal harmonies, as on the opening “The Unconquerable Vulnerable Areas,” in which she sets up the song’s roiling groove with a dancerly piano riff. While her own improvisations bring to mind the chamber introspection of players like Dave Brubeck and Carla Bley, her bold use of a two-sax frontline also recalls the similarly cerebral work of pianist Lennie Tristano’s ’60s group with saxophonists Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz. It’s a vibe Sánchez evokes throughout, as on the delicate “If You Could Create It,” her lyrical piano lines spiraling against Filiu and LoRe’s dual-sax melody. Sánchez strikes ever more personal tones throughout the album, as on “Marivi” a poetic ballad written for her mother, who died while in lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. Sung in Spanish by vocalist/guitarist Camila Meza, and featuring gorgeous improvisational flourishes from trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, the song, as with much of SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum), is a poignant expression of Sánchez’s grief, as well as her bold, boundary-pushing musical identity.
Matt Collar (AllMusic)
