Emily Kuhn: Sky Stories
BACE Records
Sky Stories is a remarkably poised debut outing by trumpeter Emily Kuhn. Originally from Charlottesville, Virginia, the Chicago-based musician has crafted a recording that impresses on performance, writing, and conceptual grounds; it's pitched as a love letter to the city and its fertile jazz scene, but it's more noteworthy for presenting performances by two of her bands: the nine-piece chamber jazz ensemble Helios and the improv-driven quartet Kuhn/Suihkonen/Friedman/Ernst. Each group is further individuated by its instrumental makeup: Helios deploys string quartet, vocalist, trumpet, saxophone, bass, and drums; the quartet has two trumpets in its frontline rather than the customary sax-and-trumpet combination. Featuring performances by two outfits on the release was an inspired move on Kuhn's part. A contrast between the more scripted pieces by the nonet and the freer style of the quartet provides immense satisfaction for the listener and invites a greater appreciation for her broad skillset. It's so effective a strategy, it's surprising it's so seldom adopted by artists who, like her, have multiple group projects on the go.
Kuhn aside, the groups feature different personnel. Whereas the bass and drum chairs are filled by Katie Ernst and Nate Friedman in the quartet, they're occupied by Evan Levine and Gustavo Cortiñas in the nonet. The singing of Mercedes Inez Martinez lends its sound an appealingly romantic quality, and the presence of saxophonist Max Bessesen (alto, tenor, soprano) alongside Kuhn ensures the outfit includes a powerful horn component. Also adding colour is Ben Cruz, whose guitar appears in two of the seven Helios performances. String contributions come from violinists Myra Hinrichs, Lucia Thomas, and Erendira Izguerra, violist Christine Fliginger, and cellist Danny Hoppe, while Joe Suihkonen is Kuhn's trumpet partner in the quartet. Enhancing Helios's sound is the mix of backgrounds the musicians bring to it, with jazz, classical, folk, and other genres drawn upon. As mentioned, the ensemble size dictates that structure must be involved, yet Kuhn also deftly integrates soloing into the compositions.
“Roses” opens the album strongly with its “Some things are meant to go on …. forever” vocal hook and by following that enticing intro with a spirited, Brazilian-flavoured groove. A breezy solo by Bessesen reinforces the exuberant vibe that Kuhn then complements with her own explorative turn. Texture is paramount in Helios's world, with Martinez's voice and the strings adding considerably to the group's invitingly warm sound. Immediately shifting gears, “Horizon” is the first of three quartet tracks, the group's sound naturally more open than the nonet's and allowing for freer expressions by the four players. Kuhn and Suihkonen voice unison themes to give the piece structure while also solo separately to amplify the open-ended character of the material. The space similarly frees Ernst and Friedman to play with a looseness the larger ensemble format doesn't as easily provide. Even freer is “Fit,” which couples a mournful horn statement with a relentlessly roiling backing in a way that recalls Ornette circa The Shape of Jazz to Come.
The lilting “Catch Me” is Helios at its most romantic, the performance elevated by a stirring violin solo, and two memorable covers also add to the album. Johnny Green's oft-covered “Body and Soul” receives an affectionate instrumental reading, with Kuhn and Bessesen more than compensating for Martinez's absence. Milton Nascimento's “Ponta de Areia” is treated to an inspired rendering, though Helios's won't dislodge Wayne Shorter's from Native Dancer as my favoured version. Representative of the arrangement style Kuhn fashioned for Helios is “Queen for an Hour,” which augments the vocal with an elaborate backdrop of horns and strings and a hard-grooving rhythm section. Its ten-minute running time also allows for episodic development, as the unit advances through sections contrasting in tempos and dynamics. Here and elsewhere, Kuhn's multi-dimensional music consistently engages the listener with its ever-evolving design, one of many reasons why this musical collection is so commendable.October 2020