Sasha Berliner’s ‘Fantome’ is out March 28, 2025

VIBRAPHONIST AND COMPOSER SASHA BERLINER PRIORITIZES IDEAS AND SOUND FIRST WITH FANTOME, A METAPHORICAL CHALLENGE TO THE STATE OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, OUT MARCH 28, 2025 (OUTSIDE IN MUSIC)

The backdrop of the music scene contemporarily can appear to resemble the apparent divisiveness of broader culture surrounding it, as different views seek to define what music is, should be, or once was. The subculture of jazz is seemingly no exception to the status quo, with factions of ideologies on improvisation, composition, and canonization all vying for their definition and perspective to be the authoritative one. Enter vibraphonist and composer Sasha Berliner, an already acclaimed voice on the contemporary scene, heralded as being “in the firmament of the here and now in modern jazz, and appears likely to occupy that upper stratosphere for some time to come” (All About Jazz). Amidst the musical strife, Berliner’s artistry calls for a ceasefire to the debate that pits tradition against modernity, as if the two are in opposition to one another. Following on the heels of her acclaimed albums Azalea (2019) and Onyx (2022), Berliner presents Fantome, a salient statement that cries to take the music for what it is and to leave the brute force of categorizing jazz music behind, releasing March 28, 2025 on Outside In Music.

The album’s title, Fantome, is the cipher through which the heart behind the album may be interpreted. Fantome, which literally translates to “phantom”, is a petition to nullify the warring of genre conventions and the rubric-like approach to jazz and listening. “Fantome is about creating moods, making new interpretations of familiar songs or phrases, and presenting instrumental configurations that have rarely been done or explored before,” Berliner explains. “It’s about not arguing what should or shouldn’t be but just accepting what is, taking an artistic voice for exactly how it is without attempting to categorize it or figure it out every step of the way.” This album is an appeal to audiences and musicians to listen, and to create. “The boxing in of the music is phantom – it doesn’t exist, and it doesn’t need to in order to give the music validity,” Berliner says.

As Berliner sought to immerse herself in the creative process that draws equally from all angles within jazz past and jazz to come, she found herself surrounded – both in person and through records – by a vast sea of like-minded individuals. Whether through direct verbal statement or implied musical agreeance, Berliner found kinship in the music of artists such as Vijay Iyer, Ambrose Akinmusire, Taylor Eigsti (featured on Fantome), Stefon Harris, Arooj Aftab, Ganavya, and Jason Moran. “They’re all really known for creating not just their own improvisational styles but their own worlds on their albums,” Berliner says. “It’s really captivating and powerful.”

As a composer and arranger, Berliner writes in a way that is transformative in nature, embodying her viewpoint. Exemplary of this is her arrangement of the beloved Billy Strayhorn standard, “Upper Manhattan Medical Group”. Berliner’s arrangement is an ode to that seminal standard which was a quintessential part of her early jazz education, yet presents it in such a way as to chronicle her unique artistic lens, through reharmonization and rhythmic and melodic displacement. Berliner notes that part of her approach revolves around the fact that she likes “to see several ways to present a single melody or contextualize a rhythm,” a fact which is equally evident in her original compositions. “Construction” illustrates this well, and is an original whose name is derived from varying melodic and harmonic constructions of the same bass line and chordal rhythm that occur throughout the piece. One iteration is more spacious, comprising a pedal note with shifting upper structures, while another is melodically complex, with angular harmonies and a moving bassline. 

Berliner’s distinctive compositional voice is exemplified further on the album with “Khan Younis” a song whose title is a reference to the Palestinian city of the same name. A deeply emotive piece, “Khan Younis” is an anthemic outcry that parallels the despair felt by Berliner as she, along with the wider world, has observed the ongoing conflict in Palestine. Contrasting this piece is “The Worst Person in the World”. While the title seems heavy or spiteful, its tone and message is quite contrary to that, as the piece is not named after an individual, but rather after a Norwegian film of the same title. “It’s a very real film about the progression of changing relationships, the onset of terminal illness and loss, which never comes at the right time, and how we still keep returning to ourselves at the end of it all,” Berliner says. “I’ve always liked movies that resemble real life, which often means they don’t have fairytale endings or amicable resolutions between the characters.”

One of the most salient elements of Fantome is the ensemble’s ability to flawlessly realize Berliner’s vision. To embody the perspective of the composer yet to bring one’s own ability and personality to the fore is no small feat, and the band rises to the occasion. In addition to the steadfast leadership of Sasha Berliner on vibraphone, Fantome features Taylor Eigsti (piano), Harish Raghaven (bass), and Jongkuk Kim (drums) as the resident band. The album also showcases guest appearances by David Adewumi (trumpet), Rico Jones (saxophone), and Lex Korten (piano).

Fantome represents a new stepping stone for Berliner, yet one that makes sense within her oeuvre. A culmination of her prior compositional approach while boldly reaching out into a new venture that proclaims the music at the fore with genre justifications residing in the rearview, Fantome is set to make a resounding mark on the musical landscape, encouraging others to step forward simply to create that which is worth hearing.

Fantome releases March 28, 2024 on Outside In Music.

from https://lydialiebman.com