Wow! This CD certainly defied my expectations. A young musician not long out of music college releases a debut record and you might expect something designed to impress with a few standards, a touch of flash, derivative playing, maybe a guest star appearance and a disparate set of styles and moods. This record is nothing like that at all!
Linda Oh has crafted a release which is mature, musical, self-assured, and coherent. It can take a career to develop the kind of relaxed confidence and skill that allows a musician to minimize the ego and let the music and the muse take control but Oh plays and writes in a way that allows the music to develop organically and naturally.
It’s such a coherent album (ironically just at a point in the history of the album where it’s very future is I doubt due to the nature of internet sales). It’s a unified statement and Oh talks of creating a “dark, moody sound that reflects the dark blue of the album cover.”
The music on Entry is all composed by Oh except for the closing track – a wonderful take on a rare Red Hot Chili Peppers tune. Oh composes with relatively free collective improvisation in mind. It’s a heavily swinging record though the time is often abstracted or implied and there is a sense of a sensitive trio constantly creating ideas and bouncing them between each other. It sits firmly in the jazz tradition with a balance between ‘time no changes’ a hint of a free jazz approach’ and melodic improvisation. For all its challenging and refreshingly raw nature, it’s a very accessible record however, even for those less acquainted with jazz. It certainly rewards repeated listening. I’m still discovering secluded corners, hidden treasures and fascinating dialogues.
There’s a definite favoring of the low frequencies on this record. Oh spends a great deal of time in her upright’s lowest register and she instructed trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire (Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Heath, Jason Moran) to ‘an lower than he would usually aim for’. Akinmusire plays with imaginative sensitivity and has a touch of that bittersweet beauty to his playing that I associate with Booker Little. The multi-tracked trumpet at the beginning of ‘Numero Uno’ is a highlight (as is the entire track) and his use of slurs and smears on tracks like ‘Morning Sunset’ are intensely musical.
Obed Calvaire (Wynton Marsalis, Danilo Perez, Stefon Harris, Steve Turre) is an extremely active presence on drums. He has a beautifully light touch and a way of playing busily that completely supports the music. He uses dynamics exquisitely as he chatters and comments on the music, constantly experimenting with, abstracting and playing with time. Calvaire is a remarkable drummer who avoids the obvious. His playing on the 3/4 ballad ‘Patterns’ is a polyrhythmic delight.
And Linda Oh (Slide Hampton, TS Monk, Nathan Davis, George Cables) is a remarkable bassist! After playing bassoon and electric bass (which she still plays) in High School, she began playing double bass as recently as 2002. That she plays as she does now is astonishing. She plays upright throughout on this record. She is one of a number of young double-bassists/leaders who are at the forefront of the current jazz scene. She makes inventive use of unusual and nimble ostinatos, double-stops and Scott La faro influenced conversational improvisation; she is both an outstanding soloist and ensemble player.
Some of the double bassists who have recently come to prominence have quite a guitaristic approach but Oh is more likely to use the whole range of the bass and obviously loves the lower register. Her playing at times makes me think of Fred Hopkins, Richard Davis, Dave Holland and Charlie Haden but she certainly sounds like Linda Oh. And what a sound: a great, robust, beautiful upright bass sound. Her soloing grabs the attention, but more in a story telling than a flash manner and she makes wonderful use of motifs to build her solos.
Oh was born in Malaysia to Chinese parents and grew up in Australia. She has been based in New York for three years: a fairly unique background for a unique player and record. Despite this review focussing on the contributions of the individual musicians this record is collaborative and conversational in nature. Entry is raw, exciting, coherent, unusual, challenging and soulful and it deserves your attention. - Phil Wain
allaboutjazz.com
First appearances and sounds can be deceiving. Linda Oh's petite stature defies the muscularity that her instrument emanates—a knotty booming bass that's at once authoritative and free flowing, delivered with momentum and zest. And like the well-noted arcos of Charles Mingus, Dave Holland and Charlie Haden, Oh already has the traits to become a noteworthy player and leader, as witnessed on Entry.
Born in Malaysia, raised in Australia, and living in New York, Oh's extensive training included classical piano, bassoon, and electric bass. Academically astute, she's earned achievements and notoriety—a Masters at the Manhattan School of Music, a Young Jazz Composer's award in 2007, and an honorary mention at the 2009 Thelonious Monk Bass Competition.
Oh's debut is a trio recording with peers who are all etching their marks in the music—Ambrose Akinmusire, one of the brightest young trumpeters around, and Obed Calvaire, a drummer of power and finesse who has worked with Kurt Rosenwinkel and many others. Together they create and don't just perform music, as Oh states, "The concept behind this group is to create something raw and with an edge." And that it does. Entry avoids the debut trap of displaying too many forms. There's no myriad of styles just for the sake of showcasing the artist's talents; instead the focus illuminates the musicians' abilities and relationship.
It becomes obvious within these nine tracks (eight originals by Oh and one by the Red Hot Chili Peppers) that there's a unique dialog between the players; an exchange of ideas in compositions, melody and heavy improvisation. Things do get funky, swing hard, and evoke mood, but not just in the normal conventions.
One of many examples is "Numero Uno." Akinmusire's multi-horned intro segues into Oh's incredible bass pattern, followed by Calvaire's exploring kit. The three then interject and extract ideas into freer territory with a fervent purpose. "Fourth Limb" follows, as Oh's fingers weave sinewy lines that are as complex as they are mesmerizing, leading to a solo statement that rivals the best.
There's a surprise around every corner: a syncopated movement in "Gunners," with Akinmusire's snarling horn; a European flair in "Before The Music"; and an ode to bebop in "201" (memories of Charlie Haden and Don Cherry), where Oh's thunderous solo is shadowed by Calvaire's pyrotechnics. But Oh will not be pigeonholed; her read of the Chili Peppers' 1991 hit song, "Soul to Squeeze" is played with empathy, yet much bravado, signaling that she can rock it and jazz it on her own terms. Entry is outstanding. Mark F. Turner
JazzTimes
An accomplished bassist-composer and fearless improviser on the New York scene, newcomer Linda Oh has two open-minded and highly skilled musical partners on her leader debut: adventurous trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and drummer Obed Calvaire, a marvel on the kit. The stripped-down trio makes a strong impression from the jump on “Morning Sunset” and continues the provocative three-way conversation on the dark-hued “Patterns” and the smolderingly intense “Numero Uno,” which opens with a mesmerizing overdubbed trumpet choir by Akinmusire.
The music throughout this provocative set flows with an internal logic and energy of its own, like the entrancing 12/8 vehicle “Fourth Limb,” the startling “Gunners,” the bop-influenced romp “201” (catch her extrapolation on Miles Davis’ “Solar” during her extended solo) and the calming fugue “Before the Music.” The 25-year-old Chinese-Malaysian woman raised in Australia is emerging as a formidable talent. - Bill Milkowski
Tracks
1. Morning Sunset
2. Patterns
3. Numero Uno
4. Fourth Limb
5. Gunners
6. A Year From Now
7. Before The Music
8. 201
9. Soul To Sqeeze (Michael Balzany/John Frusciante/Anthony Kiedis/Red Hot ChiliPeppers/Chad Smith)
LINDA OH bass
OBED CALVAIRE drums
AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE trumpet
All music composed by Linda Oh, except as indicated
Recorded November 2008 at Eastside Studio