PAPATAMUS REDUX

NEWVELLE (RELEASED FEBRUARY 27, 2026)

In 2002, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen teamed up with pianist/organist Gary Versace and drummer Jon Wikan on her Project One: Now As Then release. Twenty-three years later, Versace and Wikan (who has recorded extensively with Jensen during the intervening years) return to the studio along with guitarist Marvin Sewell for Landings. Jensen’s style has matured since that 2002 date, moving beyond her early influences such as Woody Shaw to embrace the poetic warmth, intriguing harmonies and arresting compositions of Kenny Wheeler. Landings is proof of her arrival at a new level of playing and composing. The quartet revels in an opportunity to breathe new life into George Coleman’s “Amsterdam After Dark.” Following Jensen’s abstract introduction, the quartet slips into the familiar melody. Jensen’s powerful solo showcases her ability to glide from low notes to high notes in a single bound. Propelled by Jensen’s solo and the modern comping of Versace (on organ) and Sewell, the composer of the tune himself — tenor player George Coleman, at age 89  —  takes an equally powerful solo. Coleman steps aside for the remainder of the session which features originals from various band members as well as a nicely arranged version of Paul Bley’s dreamy and quirky “Ida Lupino” on which Jensen, Sewell and Versace’s lines intertwine over Wikan’s steady beat. Unlike the opening “Amsterdam After Dark,” which harkens back to an earlier time in jazz, the originals tend to have a more modern feel. These include Jensen’s noirish “New Body, featuring a soaring Jensen solo; ” Sewell’s ballad “The Workers Dance,” with his rock infused guitar solo; and the shifting rhythms of Versace’s “Many Homes, Many Places,” on which the sound of her muted trumpet shines. The adept playing of Versace, Sewell and Wikan is ideally suited for these various moods including the delicate chamber-like feel of “Handmaiden’s Tale,” on which Versace plays piano; and the almost free and definitely funky feel of the title track. The mood turns back to classic jazz with the slow blues groove of “Home.” One other element of Jensen’s playing is more pronounced on Landings than her earlier recordings — the unnecessary echo added to her sound, which is hauntingly beautiful in its own right. Despite that, Landings continues the Newvelle’s ten year tradition of exceptionally recorded, well-programmed and expertly performed recordings.

BOTTOM LINE: Sandwiched between a modern recasting of George Coleman’s “Amsterdam after Dark” (which includes a solo from its 89-year-old composer) and a straight-ahead slow blues are six originals and a version of Paul Bley’s “Ida Lupino” with. a  more contemporary feel thanks to the performances from leader Ingrid Jensen, Gary Versace, Marvin Sewell and Jon Wikan. Another outstanding session from Newvelle!