(Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz) [WEB] Harris Eisenstadt (w/ Nate Wooley, Matt Bauder, Chris Dingman, Pascal Niggenkemper) - Canada Day IV - 2015, FLAC (tracks), lossless

Canada Day has been drummer Harris Eisenstadt's flagship ensemble since its first gig on July 1, 2007—his homeland's national holiday, hence the band name. In the ensuing years the quintet has developed an identifiably cohesive sound that expertly balances avant-garde explorations and in-the-pocket swing, with only one significant personnel change; the bass chair is now filled by Pascal Niggenkemper, the group's third bassist.
Eisenstadt's writing for the unit continues to expand upon post-modern jazz traditions in intriguing ways. For Canada Day IV, Eisenstadt states "I wanted to go deeper into the possibilities of solo, duo, trio and quartet spaces within the ensemble ... to keep shifting amounts of sonic information, weight and scope." To realize this plan, the leader is once again joined by the protean frontline of tenor saxophonist Matt Bauder and trumpeter Nate Wooley, with vibraphonist Chris Dingman expanding the role typically afforded by a pianist or other chordal instrumentalist.
The band stretches out considerably on its fourth album, deriving extended variations from malleable forms that were road tested during multiple tours and residencies over the previous year. Underpinned by tuneful melodies, Eisenstadt's memorable themes demonstrate great interpretive resilience, even during episodes of willful deconstruction, such as the heated collective climax of "What Can Be Set to the Side."
Supporting and embellishing the horn players' animated discourse with a dreamy cinematic ambience, Dingman's luminescent accents and evocative flourishes are among Canada Day's most distinctive features. Bauder and Wooley interpret the leader's sonorous motifs with mercurial invention; Bauder's robust tenor elicits a multiplicity of approaches, from breathy impressionism to multiphonic tonal distortions—but Wooley commands the most attention. The trumpeter's uncanny ability to seamlessly transition from dulcet lyricism to coruscating abstraction in a single phrase provides the band with its most fascinatingly unpredictable element, especially on "Life's Hurtling Passage Onward," which spotlights his singular artistry at its most exposed.
Eisenstadt is a magnanimous but engaging bandleader; he rarely solos, but offers persistent percussive commentary throughout the proceedings, providing rhythmic ballast to Niggenkemper's probing harmonic gambits. With their keen ability to transform notated material into adventurous but accessible variations, these five artists manage to balance convention with experimentation in a manner that remains palatable to mainstream sensibilities. Building on an already strong discography, Canada Day IV is far more exceptional than its unremarkable title suggests. - Troy Collins, All About Jazz
Canada Day III made many best of 2012 lists. In the meantime, award-winning drummer Harris Eisenstadt launched a new group, Golden State (with two releases on Songlines). Now his longest-running band returns with its most accomplished album yet, a thoroughly entertaining, provocative program of original compositions that blends swinging modern jazz and spikier, off-center avant-jazz styles. The band’s idionsyncratic sound world features close percussive/textural interplay between gorgeous vibist Dingman and Eisenstadt, who leads from the kit almost like a modern-day Art Blakey. Frontline soloists Wooley (whom Dave Douglas has called “one of the most interesting and unusual trumpeters living today”) and Bauder (who recently toured for a year with Arcade Fire) play the whole jazz/improv tradition with great verve and character. Pascal Niggenkemper has taken over the bass chair, and the arrangements allow for many more small groupings than before. This eager, quick-witted bunch (highly respected bandleaders all) take full advantage of their opportunities with playing that frequently elicits smiles for its daring and abundant good humor. As Harris says, “I do think we’re at our best when there’s a palpable sense of high-wire negotiation of written and improvised materials happening. There’s a congeniality amongst us that is also palpable. I value that looseness and trust within the group very much. If you’re not enjoying yourselves together, why bother?”
Harris recaps the band’s history and current direction: “Canada Day’s first gig was at Jim Carney’s Konceptions series in Brooklyn on July 1, 2007 ­– Canada Day. My original intention – really, what motivated me to move back to New York in 2005/2006 (I lived in New York from 1998-99 before moving to California for seven years) ­– was to have a working band. I wanted to find the folks who would work together well, stick with it and develop a group concept incrementally. The group concept has changed over time as I’ve changed over time, but the core principle has remained basically the same: a quintet of standard instrumentation (with vibraphone slightly less traditional than piano would be) that could be a long-term vehicle for a variety of compositional structures and improvisational strategies. For Canada Day IV I wanted to go deeper into the possibilities of solo, duo, trio and quartet spaces within the ensemble. And rather than have stand-alone small group pieces, I decided to incorporate these different pieces into larger wholes, to keep shifting amounts of sonic information, weight and scope. As for my drumming, I continue to draw inspiration from non-drumset rhythm concepts, polyrhythmic traditions of Africa and the Diaspora, and particularly Cuban batá drumming these last five years.”
About Pascal Niggenkemper Harris has this to say: “Pascal is a fantastic interpreter, reader, creative pattern varier, and a very adventurous improviser. Playing grooves with him feels great, as does improvising textures. I would say his playing probably incorporates more extended techniques than the other Canada Day bassists. So he has this really far-reaching creativity plus that intangible thing which everybody loves about a great bass player: he makes the music feel good.”
A few notes on some of the pieces and their titles: “I started writing “After Several Snowstorms” one morning during the winter of 2014 when New York was getting dumped on. The opening bass line (which quickly morphs during the opening tenor solo and returns briefly at the beginning of the full ensemble material) has three groups of two notes… a series of one-two punches. “Sometimes It’s Hard to Get Dressed in the Morning” and “Let’s Say it Comes in Waves” both reference our son Owen, and the challenges of parenting. “Life’s Hurtling Passage Onward,” What Can be the Set to the Side” and “What’s Equal to What” all come from the same Richard Ford passage that “The Arrangement of Unequal Things,” the first track on Golden State II, came from. “Meli Melo” is actually the French name for a Canadian snack mix called (in English) “Bits and Bites.” I started writing the book for Canada Day IV with a bunch of short pieces – some of which became duet pieces within longer structures, and two that ended up making up this last piece on the record – and they all had the title “Bits and Bites” with numbers assigned to them. As I tried to find a title for these last two parts that came together as one piece, for some reason an image of the red bag with “Bits and Bites” on one side and “Meli Melo” on the other came into my mind. Shreddies, peanuts, pretzels, and cheese crackers all mixed up together and over-salted. A little Canadian nostalgia, I guess.” - harriseisenstadt.com

Nate Wooley: trumpet
Matt Bauder: tenor saxophone
Chris Dingman: vibraphone
Pascal Niggenkemper: bass
Harris Eisenstadt: drums, compositions.