Marta Sanchez: SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum)
Whirlwind Recordings

On the surface, SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum) registers as an excellent set of contemporary jazz performances by pianist Marta Sanchez and, on all but one track, saxophonists Roman Filiu (tenor) and Alex LoRe (alto), bassist Rashaan Carter, and drummer Allan Mednard. Yet while it is that, there's considerably more happening beyond that immediate level. Her musical partners execute her material with such apparent ease and fluidity, their playing belies the complexity of Sanchez's writing. It includes detailed counterpoint, solo exchanges, and elaborate compositional structures, and it's only when the material's carefully scrutinized that its intricacy becomes clear. Yet though the pieces are complex, they sound wholly accessible. The album title, incidentally, was selected deliberately to accentuate the Spanish and American elements that inform Sanchez's identity and music, and said elements are fully integrated into a fresh and highly personalized hybrid.

The performances are also marked by authority, yet here too closer inspection reveals another dimension, with feelings of uncertainty and self-doubt intimated by the song titles “The Unconquerable Areas” and “Dear Worthiness.” In terms of the former, the Madrid-born, NYC-based Sanchez acknowledges the existence of those so-called weak parts of herself directly in stating, “[E]ven though I've been dealing with them for a long time, they're still there.” Part of that vulnerability stems from the pandemic period during which SAAM was created, but it's grounded even more in the recent passing of Sanchez's mother, a profound event addressed in two pieces, the heartfelt tribute “Marivi” and dramatic “December 11th,” the date of her mother's death.

“The Unconquered Vulnerable Areas” sets a high bar with sophisticated playing by the leader and a serpentine compositional structure her partners navigate with aplomb. Here and elsewhere, Carter and Mednard power the quintet with feverish invention and drive, and the saxophonists form a tremendous tag-team, with each spurring on the other during their many exchanges. It's often Sanchez who grounds the playing, which liberates the others to operate with freewheeling abandon; that she's as impressive as a soloist, however, is clearly demonstrated in her solo trade-offs with Filiu in the rambunctious opening statement. Taken at a less frenetic pace, “Dear Worthiness” sees LoRe, Filiu, and Sanchez waxing reflectively in ballad mode, the tone of the performance both melancholy and quietly triumphant. Another ballad, “The Hard Balance,” proves as richly evocative in its elegant horn polyphony and an atmospheric feel that verges on Ellingtonian.

Carter contributes a memorable solo to “The Eternal Stillness,” the performance otherwise distinguished by the mellifluous counterpoint of LoRe and Filiu, an elegant turn by the leader, and a thrusting, march-style attack by Mednard. Harder-edged is the blustery title composition, which Sanchez drives with an ostinato figure before pulling back for restrained chords to augment the combusting groove. Mirroring the intricacy of the opening track is the closing “When Dreaming is the Only,” though it's most memorable for the effervescent thrill-ride the dueling horn players contribute.

The playing by the five unifies the eight pieces on which they perform, regardless of changes to the material's tone and style. Disrupting that cohesiveness is the replacing of the saxophonists on the central track by guests Camila Meza on vocals and guitar, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, and Charlotte Greve on synths. That effect is countered, however, by the beauty of the piece and the performance, which more than compensates for the change in personnel. Singing here in Spanish, Meza is as arresting as always, and Akinmusire complements her warm voice with a probing solo. The playing's so lovely, in fact, it suggests Sanchez might want to consider recording a full album with the two in another quintet iteration.

March 2022