Best of 2016 #28: Jeremy Cunningham Quartet – “re: dawn (from afar)” (Ears & Eyes Records)

In a current jazz environment where an emphasis is placed on explicit compositions and complex presentations, it’s refreshing to encounter a recording that builds around catchy melodic hooks and foot-tapping cadences.  There’s plenty on drummer Jeremy Cunningham‘s debut re: dawn (from afar) that makes available an immediate cerebral connection, but this is a recording that’s all about its feel.  It’s got modern grooves with old-school tones.  A melody gets served up with action at heart, and it could be anything from a drive through the city to the cheerful electricity of a backyard party to the slow motion of late night moonlight and all the romance that comes along with it.  Joined by guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Matt Ulery, and alto saxophonist Josh Johnson, Cunningham’s quartet is something old breathed out like something new, not unlike a soundtrack for returning to the old neighborhood for the first time.

Artist site | Listen | Available at:  Bandcamp – Amazon – eMusic

Jazz from Chicago.

Read more about the album with my Best of Bandcamp Jazz column on The Bandcamp Daily (LINK).