Renee Rosnes assembled the all-women band Artemis in 2016 for a European tour to mark International Women’s Day. Nine years on, the band’s third Blue Note release, Arboresque, finds Artemis stripped back to a core quintet and playing with the collective strength of an established working band. Saxophonist Nicole Glover joined Artemis for 2023’s well-received second album, In Real Time, but the other members were in on the project from the start.
The set begins with the prowling noirish moods of “The Smile of the Snake”, written by one-time Art Blakey pianist Donald Brown and one of three covers arranged by Rosnes, the band’s prime mover and a technically astute pianist. As the theme slithers over sparse double bass, Glover and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen harmonise moodily and solos sustain the theme’s emotional tension. Later in the set, Rosnes’s subtle arrangement and the strength of Noriko Ueda’s double bass refresh the late Wayne Shorter’s oft-played “Footprints.” Equally appealing is the lilting cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s waltz “What the World Needs Now Is Love”.
The remaining pieces are five originals written by each member of the band. The call-and-response theme “Komorebi” by Ueda switches from Latin to swing; Jensen’s vamp-introduced complexity “Sights Unseen” has soloists spinning magic over nippy walking bass. The closely harmonised and bittersweet melody of Glover’s “Petrichor” hovers above ballad tempo while Rosnes’s “Olive Branch” sits on a samba pulse.
Each piece delivers edgy dynamics and mixed emotional shades rendered through the supple sonics of the Artemis brass. Glover and Jensen’s close phrasing and focused harmonies make them one of the standout brass sections currently working in jazz. And with solos flowing meaningfully as they expand in thematic material, the music continually grips.
The set ends with Rosnes combining acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes on the summery “Little Cranberry”, written by drummer Allison Miller. Glover’s sharp articulation delivers emotional highs, Jensen a calming fade and Miller marks each move and infuses the music with joyful, open-hearted warmth.
★★★★☆
‘Arboresque’ is released by Blue Note