Melissa Aldana
12 Stars
2022 - Blue Note Records: 3882780 (CD) / 3882781 (LP)
https://shop.bluenote.com/products/12-stars-cd
https://shop.bluenote.com/products/12-stars-lp
https://www.bluenote.com/spotlight/melissa-aldana-reveals-her-essence-on-12-stars/

* Melissa Aldana  : tenor saxophone
* Lage Lund       : guitar
* Sullivan Fortner: acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes (4, 8)
* Pablo Menares   : bass
* Kush Abadey     : drums

https://www.melissaaldana.net/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lage_Lund
https://www.sullivanfortnermusic.com/
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/pablo-menares-mn0003273879
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kush-abadey-mn0002411059

Recorded by James Farber at Samurai Hotel Studio,
Astoria, New York, USA, on May 17 + 18, 2021.

Reviews
~~~~~~~

By Matt Collar
https://www.allmusic.com/album/12-stars-mw0003652079

Melissa Aldana's nuanced and superbly executed 2022 album 12 Stars feels like a
new beginning for the tenor saxophonist. Though not her first album, 12 Stars
is the Chilean-born improviser's debut for the storied Blue Note label. The
2013 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition winner, Aldana
has spent much of the last five years earning accolades, including picking up
her first Grammy nomination for her 2019 album Visions. Named after the 12
stars pictured on the crown of the tarot card figure The Empress, 12 Stars
builds upon that success, showcasing Aldana's growing maturity as both a
soloist and bandleader. Helping Aldana achieve this balance is Norwegian
guitarist Lage Lund, who produced the album and collaborated with her on the
songs and arrangements. Joining them is pianist Sullivan Fortner (who has
distinguished himself as a member of vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant's
Grammy-winning albums), drummer Kush Abadey, and longtime Aldana bandmate
bassist Pablo Menares. Aldana and Lund are a magical team, often playing
melodies in tandem. On the opening "Falling," Lund bathes Aldana in sparkling,
otherworldly drones, her warm shooting-star sax refracting off the hull of his
alien spaceship guitar. More evocative feelings arise throughout 12 Stars, as
on "Emilia," in which Aldana dreams of her future daughter against Fortner's
warm Rhodes keyboard bed. Equally hypnotic is "The Bluest Eye," a rippling,
modal-sounding piece inspired by the Toni Morrison novel. There's a warm,
cocoon-like quality to Aldana's compositions as she envelops herself and her
audience in shimmering tonal cascades. She's also mutable, with a tone that's
water pure one minute before rising to a high-pitched squelch the next, à la
Wayne Shorter, as on the dreamy, tango-inflected "Intuition." Even on the
vibrantly propulsive "Los Ojos de Chile," an anthem inspired by the 2019
political turmoil and protests in Chile, Aldana plays with an easy warmth that
belies just how athletic and harmonically adept her improvisational skills
are. With 12 Stars, Aldana puts all of her colorful sonic and emotional
textures on display.

--

By Mike Jurkovic
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/12-steps-melissa-aldana-blue-note-records

By Chris May
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/12-stars-melissa-aldana-blue-note-records__15648

By Jackson Sinnenberg
https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/melissa-aldana-12-stars/

Dr. Nagy Sándor (hu)
https://www.jazzma.hu/lemezpolc/kulfoldi-eloadok/aldana-melissa/12-stars/kritika/aldana-melissa-12-stars/

Dionizy Piątkowski (pl)
https://jazz.pl/melissa-aldana-12-stars-blue-note-records/

Josef Engels (de)
https://www.rondomagazin.de/kritiken.php?kritiken_id=11789

Da Angelo Leonardi (it)
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/12-stars-melissa-aldana-blue-note-records

Par Alex Dutilh (fr)
https://www.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/podcasts/open-jazz/melissa-aldana-la-treizieme-etoile-du-tenor-2521721

Por oxama (es)
https://sextocontinentejazz..com/2022/03/melissa-aldana-12-stars.html

Por Distrito Jazz (es)
https://www.distritojazz.com/discos-jazz/melissa-aldana-12-stars