By: Eliza Coolidge
Rating: 6/11 

In New York, one can travel the world without leaving its limits. In a city where you can have your pick from falafel, sushi or pierogi within the confines of one square block, it's no wonder the local music scene is as diversely enriched. Jeremy Noller's newest album release, "Music Notes" (expected to officially drop this September), fuses jazz with the alluring, polyrhythmic textures of West African drumming. Noller, a trained jazz kit drummer and world percussionist, frames an intricate multicultural cross-pollination with ease and comfortableness. Noller's steadiness and feathery touch is natural in its references while evading the overtly 'global' diminutions of less fluent fusion musicians. The recording quality is piercingly clear, displaying Noller's confidence in textural range and technical aptitude.

Though technically impactful, some of Noller's compositions are overly loop-based. In "Dawe," the arrangement sequences aimlessly from loop to loop, emitting a "DVD stuck on menu effect." A sax solo is haphazardly injected as a compositional band-aid. The illusion of intent is not effective and hastily terminated by revisiting one of the many heads. While the construction of Noller's grooves are impressive, the transition between their various permutations are often temerarious. It is not until "Small Arms" that the listener is rewarded with a refreshing breath of space and pensive repose. Noller begins driving the tune with a burning push, playfully taunting his bandmates to keep up. Halfway through the tune the band drops out and the bass is featured in a rubato solo. It is a small but memorable compositional gift he gives. When the groove returns, we feel new ears for its sound.

On the title track "Music Notes," Noller introduces the Gyil, a xylophone from Ghana. The groove is airtight with Noller pattering gently in the background. The rhythmic and melodic interplay of the gyil parts are interesting and recall the influences of Steve Reich and his minimalist compatriots. With the ability to regenerate a traditional concept into a modern configuration, Noller keeps his listener's intrigue in the very bi-lingual palm of his hand.

The album as a whole flirts with many compositional notions, at times bestriding the line between minimalistic and instructional. Nevertheless, his album is contagiously jubilant and successfully clears the preoccupied mind of its woes and strains. I happened to listen to “Music Notes" on the fourth day of successive rainstorms and was blithely leavened in mood and spirit. Thank you, Mr. Noller.