Michael Janisch - Purpose Built (2009)

Purpose Built is the debut solo album from Michael Janisch, one of the preeminent young double/electric bassists of his generation. The album showcases music that cuts from a wide swath of the broad stylistic continuum of jazz history mixed with the eclectic range of the leader's musical influences outside the improvised realm. A healthy program of twelve tracks with eight originals and four artfully arranged covers, Janisch has called on a bumper crop of prominent musicians from his generation to bring his music to life.

Each of the contributors get plenty of time to shine on the album and in doing so turn out stellar performances, including tenor saxophonists Walter Smith III and Paul Booth, guitarists Mike Moreno and Phil Robson, vibraphonist Jim Hart, alto saxophonist Patrick Cornelius, pianist Aaron Goldberg, trumpeter Jason Palmer, and Johnathan Blake on drums. The music is presented in many different configurations from duet to sextet, all arranged by the leader.

The original compositions on Purpose Built are a mixture of contemporary sounds inspired by a lifelong study and performance of musics from around the globe with the binding thread throughout the album being Janisch's love of improvisation and keen focus on pulse and propulsion from his deep and full toned basses.

There are many moods to choose from as well: from the relentlessly grooving Dave Holland influenced 'Precisely Now', to the infectious ostinato of 'Adelante' (Mike Moreno's guitar solo an album highlight), to the full-on Charles Mingus inspired 'Shumshi', to the calm and propulsive 'Serenade of the Seas', to the melancholy 'Lost Creek', to the quiet and mysterious Billy Strayhorn classic 'Blood Count' to the drum and bass underpinning of 'Sofa Stomp' to the fiercely interactive electric bass and drum duet between Janisch and Blake on Coltrane's 'Moment's Notice', this is a debut album full of beauty, rawness, tension, drama, communication, power, experimentation, feeling and groove.

Michael Janisch - double & electric basses
Jason Palmer - trumpet
Phil Robson - guitar
Paul Booth - tenor sax
Aaron Goldberg - piano
Mike Moreno - guitar
Walter Smith III - tenor saxophone
Patrick Cornelius - alto saxophone
Jim Hart - vibraphone
Johnathan Blake - drums