TONYA MOSLEY, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. Bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh took the fast track to jazz prominence, quickly emerging on the scene in the 2000s and becoming the bass player in bands led by Pat Metheny and Vijay Iyer. But on her latest recording, "Strange Heavens," she's inviting listeners to look back at her early work. "Strange Heavens" features an unusual trio - bass, drums and trumpet - just like her debut recording in 2009. Jazz critic Martin Johnson says that there's significant insight in the comparison.
(SOUNDBITE OF LINDA MAY HAN OH'S "PORTAL (FEAT. AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE AND TYSHAWN SOREY)")
MARTIN JOHNSON: Linda May Han Oh's album "Entry" was one of the most intriguing recordings of 2009. The lineup was both austere and feisty, and it was for good reason. Oh and her bandmates, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and drummer Obed Calvaire, were in their 20s and eager to tell the jazz world in no uncertain terms that they belonged. Mission accomplished. Now each has an established academic position, and all three are at the top tier of their profession.
For this recording, Oh convened a new trio featuring Akinmusire and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, who is her colleague in Vijay Iyer's trio. As you could hear on the track we just heard, "Living Proof," they still make assertive music, but it's more relaxed now. Her new band has the convivial air of friends trading triumphs and challenges over drinks or a meal.
(SOUNDBITE OF LINDA MAY HAN OH'S "PORTAL (FEAT. AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE AND TYSHAWN SOREY)")
JOHNSON: The bass has long been regarded as a foundational or a cornerstone instrument, but in Oh's hands, it's nimbler. She can move from setting the beat to dancing with the soloist in the blink of an eye, as she does there on "Portal." Or, as we can hear on "The Sweetest Water," her solos energize the music like an accelerant.
(SOUNDBITE OF LINDA MAY HAN OH'S "THE SWEETEST WATER (FEAT. AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE AND TYSHAWN SOREY)")
JOHNSON: In between Oh's trio recording, she built a reputation as a composer with a broad tonal palette and an appetite for experimental configurations. Her previous recording featured vocalese from Sara Serpa and Mark Turner's reserved approach to saxophone on the front line. And she's written compelling music that honors her Asian heritage and Australian upbringing. This recording also offers an opportunity to contrast trumpeter Akinmusire's development. Much of his work is complex and thematic, but here he lets his hair down and shows his playful side.
(SOUNDBITE OF LINDA MAY HAN OH'S "THE SWEETEST WATER (FEAT. AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE AND TYSHAWN SOREY)")
JOHNSON: By going back to her first setting, a smaller group than her typical band, Linda May Han Oh is presenting an argument that with the right musicians, less is more.
(SOUNDBITE OF LINDA MAY HAN OH'S "NOISE MACHINERY (FEAT. AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE AND TYSHAWN SOREY)")
MOSLEY: Jazz critic Martin Johnson writes for The Wall Street Journal and Downbeat. He reviewed "Strange Heavens," the new album by bassist and composer Linda May Han Oh. Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, we talk about the man behind President Trump's dismantling of the federal bureaucracy and expansion of executive power - Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget. He's also one of the people behind Project 2025. We'll talk with Andy Kroll about his investigation of Vought for ProPublica and The New Yorker. I hope you can join us.
(SOUNDBITE OF RAY ANDERSON'S "BLUES BRED IN THE BONE")
MOSLEY: To keep up with what's on the show and get highlights of our interviews, follow us on Instagram at @nprfreshair. FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our managing producer is Sam Briger. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, Susan Nyakundi and Anna Bauman. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Our consulting visual producer is Hope Wilson. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. With Terry Gross, I'm Tonya Mosley.
(SOUNDBITE OF RAY ANDERSON'S "BLUES BRED IN THE BONE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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