Andrew Danso

ReDiviDeR, a jazz quartet based in Dublin, have been assembled as a front for Matt Jacobson’s creative output. Jacobson has a rich background when it comes to the genre, with graduation in the field and a few raving reviews locally, hailed as a “bright spot” by the Irish Times.

It might come at a surprise how loose ‘Never Odd Or EveN’ is, despite its compositional identity. Perhaps less of a surprise is how rhythmic the arrangements appear to be – Jacobson is the man behind the drums after all.

This is an adventurous jazz on the whole, with technical melody and breezy timbre throughout – almost traditional in the way that Coltrane’s sound was always unassuming and cool. ReDiviDeR play with a fluidity despite the material having been stamped on a page.

Yet it wouldn’t be naïve to think that the Irish quartet become stagnant within their written environment. Just like ‘Lighthouse’, the latest album by jazz outfit Simcock, Garland, Sirkis is technically impressive, it’s also made stale by the written habitat that it rigidly lives in. ReDiviDeR never break a sweat, even when they’re improvising the final few bars of a tune at 150bpm, and there are few surprises as their progressions choose the option of building up, rather than exploration.

Nonetheless, there is respite in their ‘casual build up’. Few quartets are able to hold their own in keeping a familiar section feeling fresh, without going off the wall into free form improv. Where technical ability is concerned, ReDiviDeR isn’t concerned. Yes, their melody can become jumbled, but they're conscious of what tones are heard over how many notes they can play at once. 'Never Odd Or EveN' is full of pleasant and involving sketches, played by a band that wants its music to breathe.

Diatribe.ie (Diatribe Records) - ReDiviDeR, Never Odd or EveN

Made from the frayed debris of a head-on collision between electronica and jazz, ‘ZoiD Vs The Jazz Musicians of Ireland’ is almost as it says to be – experimental electronica, in combination with the natural timbre of jazz.

ZoiD's sonic palette contains more beat-driven electronica than jazz, and Zoidan Jankalovich, the brains behind ‘ZoiD’, is invested in letting jazz melody live an organic and unprocessed life beside his electronic beeps.

Jankalovich’s presence is vital to ‘ZoiD’ working. Throughout each of the eight tracks, there’s a guest instrumentalist ‘versus ZoiD’, often playing on top of a variety of loops and intricate rhythm. What he’s really interested in is witty arrangements and explosive melody. The opener, ‘ZoiD Versus Tommy Halferty’, is literally Jankalovich and Halferty soloing on their guitars on top of a groove not far away from an Andrew Pekler production.

It must be emphasised how the instrumentation is handled with care. Jankalovich while veering into the strange and unfamiliar with his electronics, often leaves the jazzy timbre alone. This ingeniously brings the purity of improv to its fore when alongside the zealously produced electronica.

This is an album paced unevenly, fractured by its electronic rhythms and ambient experiments. It’s as much a forward-thinking record, as it is baffling and frustrating. You don’t listen to ‘ZoiD’ and his battle against the jazzers of Ireland, you wrestle with him – and them.

Diatribe.ie (Diatribe Records) - ZoiD Versus The Jazz Musicians of Ireland Vol 1