Matt Belzer's Connections
Modern Jazz from the heart and mind of Matt Belzer, featuring some of the best musicians in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area and beyond. An eclectic yet integrated mix of straight-ahead, jazz-rock, free jazz and R&B as interpreted by first-class improvisers. Performed with humor and determination.
About Matt Belzer (in the awkward third-person)
Multi-instrumentalist/Composer/Lateral-Thinker Matt Belzer is on a mission to hear (in the jazz sense) and play as much Music as possible while having some fun in the process. As a result, he can be found in some of the most divergent musical settings imaginable for one musician. Whether it is free jazz, ragtime, P-funk, punk rock, or classical music in an orchestra, Matt can be found playing his pants off. Rather than a mishmash of styles, he has sought a synthesis of the music he has experienced firsthand. Connections is one outcome of this synthesis. As they say, "Music Not Unlike No Other."
Thanks to Scott, Drew, Jon and Les. Special thanks to Mariko and Michelle. Extra special hello to Hikaru and Rowan. Make the jazz face, boys.
Notes
Deep Focus
The title has several meanings: concentration, geometric harmony, elliptical form, foreground versus background. Thanks to some studio trickery, there are as many as 9 of me at one time on this track playing combinations of soprano saxophone, alto flute and clarinet. A jazz/rock seven divided the correct way (right down the middle) is the heart of the piece with other sections appearing along the way. Solos all around except for Drew who is keeping everyone together. Listen for Scott's innovative "bouncing ball" approach to time on this track and throughout the album.
The Ember Waltz
It's an anagram of my name. That means rearrange the letters and you get M-A-T-T-H-E-W-B-E-L-Z-E-R! As you can see, it's all about ME. The numbers 22 and 222 are my lucky numbers (good and bad), so they figure prominently in the form. There are 2 sections each 22 bars long which is then played twice: 2(22) X 2. The second section is also a harmonic palendrome. Also, it sounds good. I'm very proud of this track. Do you care? What's on TV?
Misfit The Second
This is about being an outsider - like when your music doesn't fit into the usual categories. The electronic sounds on this track are Jon playing his KAOS pad. Inspired by the rhythms of Morse code. 23-beat phrases, my largest groovy prime number. Freedom. Jon eats the piano.
No Blues On Mars (It's All Red)
Get it? This is a bittersweet tone poem about the fourth planet in metaphorical terms. I'm playing alto flute on this for its lonely, alien quality. It's supported by a clarinet trio (also me), doing its best to pay tribute to Duke Ellington, Gil Evans and Sun Ra. More freedom. Phrase lengths in the solo section go 3-3-3-2-2-2 if you want to follow along, and why wouldn't you?
The Station
The title is personal, but it has to do with trains. I get to play solo on clarinet on this song. It also features Drew throughout on his 6-string electric bass. I made him play quadruple stops (that's a four-note chord on a bass), lay down a riff in 11/8, then take a solo beautiful enough to tear your heart out. This is an unabashedly pretty tune.
Truism
A truism is a basic truth. It has to do with sincerity. Scott takes a walk on this track. The rest of us play a sensitive rendition of this ballad. There are parts in here which I believe are documentation of mental telepathy. Listen for the extra-long flat-2 sus chord.
TINJITU
The title stands for something, but it's a secret. It also has unspoken lyrics. Make up your own and send them to me. This song was my reaction to a personal unfortunate turn-of-events. I wrote it on bass and was musically inspired by the D.C. musicians I've had the pleasure of working with who taught me where the pocket really is. It also turned into my tribute to some of the great R&B/funk sax players: Maceo Parker, Cannonball Adderley, Hank Crawford and Grover Washington Jr. to name a few. I asked everyone to play this without irony (as many modern jazz players typically do when borrowing another style - especially when it's tuneful and groovy) and they delivered the goods.
REVIEWS:
What is time? Is time the passing of sixty increments called seconds that compose minutes which pass to form hours that grow to days, weeks, years, and a lifetime for the human experience? Boring! Time is emotion! Matt Belzer's new release Connections builds upon the emotion of time with seven original compositions that reflect a modern evolution of jazz feelings and the sounds of today.
With "Deep Focus," Belzer conveys his emotions through the soprano saxophone, alto flute and clarinet in the frame work of a 7/4 jazz-rock groove. Belzer's sound is full and warm and displays agile chops with his clear linear lines. Pianist Jon Ozment does a fine job as an accompanist and soloist through the cyclic harmonic texture.
"Misfit the Second," begins with bassist Drew Waters laying down a Morse code inspired bass line in waltz time with Ozment providing rhythmic counterpoint on both piano and electronics. Belzer's melody is strong and flowing through the extended form which is grouped in 23-beat phrases. Waters and drummer Scott Tiemann connect to maintain a sustained intensity until the final sound effects finish the composition. Throughout the entire project Belzer's compositions are fresh and thoughtful journeys through time (emotion), always giving the listener an enjoyable experience.
"The Station" is a beautiful ballad performed primarily by Belzer (clarinet) and Waters (six-string bass). Waters provides a full arpeggio pattern under the first part of the melody which leads to the arrival of a rhythmic ostinato figure leading an ensemble passage. Both Waters and Belzer deliver fine solos, as throughout the CD.
The production of the CD is very good. The flow is enjoyable and varied with different instrumental colors, musical style and good compositions. All the players deliver strong musical performances that will provide the listener with ample ear candy.
Matt Belzer's Connections is a great find for the jazz listener, especially one that enjoys fresh intelligent composition and technically superior musicianship.
- H. Allen Williams (Jazzreview.com)
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Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Don Ellis and Dave Brubeck were among the first in jazz to explore improvising in odd-time signatures. The music sometimes sounded like counting was carefully and mechanically done, so players wouldn't lose their place. Now, more and more players feel comfortable, and perform naturally. Belzer is one of those. "Deep Focus," in 7/4 time, opens his album Connections. The straight eighth groove is set up by piano, bass and drums. Belzer enters on soprano sax. His sound is pleasant - playing with a full bodied sound, and on-target intonation. Ozment solos first - exploring block chords and then evolving long lines. Belzer enters and explores the development of short motifs, leaving space. He displays highly developed technical skills to bolster his explorations, which produce solid linear ideas.
"The Ember Waltz" is a relaxed piece. It swings. Belzer expresses the melody powerfully, and turns in a well-crafted solo. He switches to flute for the ballad-like "No Blues on Mars (It's All Red)" and overdubs clarinet. The melodic motif corresponds with the speech-like syllables of the title. The beautiful, haunting albeit simple melody leads to a section that is free, without rhythm. To my ears, this directional change seems irrelevant to the rest of the piece which is in tempo. I recognize that the composer, the artist, Belzer, has his own ideas and reasons for the unexpected turn. Regardless, Jon Ozment double times his phrasing, and delivers a commanding solo, summoning a panoply of sounds drawing from the Tyner, Hancock, et. al schools of playing.
"The Station" builds into time - into a medium swing groove that leads to a magnificent sounding, lyrical solo by bassist Drew Waters. His sound is rich and buoyant, and provides a broad base for the group's performance. Belzer follows with an enjoyably simple solo and the expression of the melody on clarinet.
Remember the kind of groove Cannonball Adderley got in Mercy, Mercy? That's how "Tinjitu" works - the concluding tune of the album - with Belzer getting into the bluesy backbeat groove that this tune is about. Ozment supplies the chordal accompaniment, and several soulful choruses on Fender Rhodes.
Belzer is both a consummate saxophonist and educator at Johns Hopkins University. He earned his undergraduate and Master of Music degrees at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. A couple of people I know told me that there used to be a rift between players who attended the school and local players from around town. The street players thought that the schooled players had technique and no soul; and the school players thought that the street players had no technique. I think I'd rather have the soul. You can always learn technique. As far as soul goes, you don't get it from a book or a course. Belzer's got the technique, the harmonic and melodic background, and the spirit to bolster the whole package and make it work.
- Clive Griffin (Jazz Improv Magazine)
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Multi-instrumentalist Matt Belzer debuts seven original compositions on Connections. As the follow-up to his duet recording with Scott Tiemann titled Crypto, it ably represents Belzer's abilities as a composer and arranger for larger formats. The recording opens with "Deep Focus," a variation on a jazz-rock seven groove that is at the heart of the song. Belzer plays soprano saxophone, alto flute, and clarinet throughout the composition, with excellent accompaniment from Tiemann on drums, Drew Waters on bass, and Jon Ozmont on piano. "The Ember Waltz" is a contemplative waltz in odd-time signatures. It is a beautiful reflection of the ensemble's meditative interplay and artful focus. "Misfit the Second" is about second-borns and misfits, and is inspired by the Morse code. It has an extended form with 23-beat phrases, a driving 3/4 tempo, and a free jazz ethos. "No Blues on Mars (It's All Red)" is a bittersweet tone poem that features Belzer on alto flute and clarinet. It mesmerizes the listener with its hypnotic, spacy feel and trance-like ambience. Every song on this recording is excellent, and Belzer's composing prowess is applauded because of his thoughtful arrangements. With new harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic ideas coming at the listener from every angle, Connections is one of Matt Belzer's more interesting offerings and definitely meets his high aesthetic standards.
- Paula Edelstein (All Music Guide)
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Connections, featuring seven tunes from the pen of composer/reedman Matt Belzer, opens on a jazz/rock groove - in front of some cool and gorgeous and very unrock-like sax/clarinet harmonies. On a flow of gentle propulsion, "Deep Focus"immediately engages the listener while delving into deeper musical layerings. It's an excellent and approachable introduction to Belzer's original concepts.
Matt Belzer boasts an impressive professional resume: Director of Homewood Jazz Ensembles at John Hopkins University; Jazz Department Chair at the Peabody Prepatory; and teacher of jazz courses at the University of Maryland. But a visit to the artist's web site reveals a nugget of his genetic resume: his second cousin, Dick Richards, played drums for the original Bill Haley and the Comets. Really! (says Belzer). That's fascinating for me, in a "degree of separation" mode... my very first musical memory comes from 1956: Bill Haley and the Comets' "See You Later Alligator" rocking out of a radio. I loved that happy-go-lucky beat, the flowing rhythm punctuated by sharp, tinny drumming.
That's an interesting connection, but this music is a completely different animal. After the engaging groove of "Deep Focus" the sound goes more abstract with "The Ember Waltz," the slightly jagged "Misfit the Second," and then - going in a direction of freedom - "No Blues on Mars (It's All Red)," featuring some darkly luminous alto flute work on a drifting melody and an interlude of delicately pretty piano by Jon Ozment."The Station," featuring Belzer on clarinet, conveys a deeply introspective mood. The group closes on a groove with "Tinjitu," a relaxed roll with Belzer on alto - a tune that has a Joe Zawinul "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" feeling - and check out the "bouncing ball" rhythm this group sneaks in there.
A first rate jazz outing that walks a line between grooves and freedom. Beautiful!
- Dan McClenaghan (All About Jazz)
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Matt Belzer is a multi-instrument player who happens to be good at all he specializes in. On his 5th and 6th albums, he comes up with more proof of why. On {Crypto} (2004), he is joined by Scott Tiemann on drums and cymbals. With some Belzer originals and Thelonious Monk classics, the tracks are: (...) It is more of the kind of avant-garde Jazz that we do not get to hear enough, reminding us of how ahead of his time Monk still is and the kind of talent it takes to continue his tradition and legacy. Tiemann and Belzer can proudly join it and see it as their own with as good as these performances are.
Connections (2005) is Belzer's show, but is no less clever, challenging or entertaining. Though the Jazz is more conventional by comparison, if such a word can be used for the genre, it is as thoughtful. The name on the tracks here that follow gives you an idea of the upbeat, classy attitude of the album: (...)
If the last album was more organic in nature, this one is more interested in the city and technologized future in some odd way, though it is ironic that this one is not as abstract or avant-garde. Either way, it shows a love of music and you cannot go wrong on either title.
The PCM 2.0 16Bit/44.1kHz Stereo on both is prime and good, capturing the music and sound as well as the CD format can, though an SACD (especially multi-channel) would have been interesting. In any case, the producing and engineering is up to snuff with the talent and performances, so know that this is not the last we have heard of Matt Belzer and that is a good thing.
- Nicholas Sheffo (Fulview Drive-In)
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