The William Penn Jazz Ensemble
Carvings

LP plus booklet, 500 copies, pressed at PallasWhen arists self-releases their own recordings, they do so in the hopes that a hit might develop,or even better, a sphere of influence might form. In a lot of cases these records provide a stamp ofexistence and intent – a sonic business card showing what musicians were made of. Compass Rises(1973), the privately pressed sole LP by Oneonta, New York’s Compass, is both a sampling ofversatility and a declaration of straight-ahead purpose.Regularly active in upstate New York between 1969 and 1974, Compass was an acoustic-electricquartet that played original music and modern jazz standards. The group consisted of saxophonistand bass clarinetist Rick Lawn, keyboardist Joel Chase, bassist Tom Ives (doubling on flugelhorn),and drummer Al Colone. On the LP, percussion duties were shared across the band as well as anconguero, Ken Parmele.Every song on Compass Rises, with the exception of the opener, is wrien and arranged by Lawn.The album is a nod to the post-Coltrane lineage of 1970’s jazz – even at its most spry there’s anundertow of workmanlike toughness, perhaps a reflection of the industrial-collegiate hybrid townsin New York where Compass plied their trade.Ives’ “Cleanin’ Up” starts the proceedings, a modal groover that would not have sounded out ofplace on a Joe Henderson Milestone LP, coupled with a neat, funky turnaround in the head.“Sunflower” has a slight Latin flavor and while it’s not exactly Freddie Hubbard’s “Little Sunflower,”it does have a lilt that’s both sinewy and breezy, with Lawn’s huskily burnished tenor shimmyingatop. Following the ballad “Waltz for Barbara,” a front line expanded with Ives’ flugelhorn opensup on the driving “Blues for Vito,” dry and cracking rhythm supporting a tough, metallic dance.Side two begins with “Schizoid,” the nasally incision of Lawn’s soprano saxophone in spiraling turnsagainst pummeling toms and Chase’s fuzzed-out intervallic sprawl. “Sour Cream” is a choppy bit ofsoul jazz, while the closing “Pharoah’s Thing” starts off on an elegiac plateau before unfurling witha piquant, minor-key bounce.With its stark, somewhat gothic cover art and toothy, inspired playing and composing, CompassRises deserves the critical examination that it likely didn’t have upon release.About Frederiksberg RecordsFrederiksberg Records was founded in New York in 2013 by Danish video journalist and music loverAndreas Vingaard. The name, Frederiksberg, is the part of Copenhagen where Andreas grew upand first discovered his passion for music.The idea for the label emerged when Andreas befriended renowned Jazz saxophonist, CarstenMeinert. Committed to telling the story of Meinert’s music the right way, Andreas resolved to takefull ownership of the To You re-release (2015). The result has been a rollercoaster journey ofrunning an independent record label.Frederiksberg Records, with roots in Scandinavian Jazz, includes a wide spectrum of genres -electronic, disco, ambient and more [info sheet from distr.]

A new album by legendary Estonian pianist Tõnu Naissoo, accompanied by his new group Tõnu Naissoo Electric Trio !Accompanied by his synthesizers and two of the best Estonian jazz musicians, bassist Mihkel Mälgand and drummer Ahto Abner, Tõnu Naissoo began recording his album “Different Directions” in the autumn of 2019 at the legendary Linnahall studio that he had booked for that purpose several years in advance. The new tracks he composed for the album flow from jazz-rock to smooth jazz, lingering briefly on the frequency of free jazz.The popular Estonian jazz pianist Tõnu Naissoo was born in Tallinn, Estonia in 1951. His father Uno Naissoo was a renowned composer and an organizer of jazz festivals, who encouraged Tõnu to take an interest in jazz and improvisation. By the age of 15 he had already begun participating in local jazz orchestra. He performed first time with his trio and presented his jazz music compositions at the international Tallinn Jazz Festival of 1967 in Tallinn. The next year he was given an opportunity to record his own album. Since then he has dedicated himself to jazz music and recorded around 30 albums that have been released in Estonia, Japan and Russia. Most of his earliest recordings have been reissued in recent years.“Different Directions” feels like Tõnu Naissoo’s ’missing piece’ album from the 1980s. It will be a worthy addition to Tõnu Naissoo’s and Frotee’s discography.