Album Preview

Please mark your calendars for September 14th, 2018, because that’s when the outstanding trio Phronesis returns with a new recording.  We Are All, the trio’s eighth album, continues the trend of cutting edge modern jazz, but of greater interest is how the trio is still coming into their own.  Their different perspectives as members of a trio sounds to be entering increasingly into a single confluence of vision, where the post-bop and folk and chamber elements are no longer individual facets, but a communion.  The album, naturally, is getting released on Edition Records.

Your album personnel:  Jasper Høiby (double bass), Ivo Neame (piano), and Anton Eger (drums).

You can pre-order the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.  Pre-order also at Amazon.

And if the trio is new to you, definitely check out my interview of the bassist, Jasper Høiby, in which he talks about the trio’s music and his solo projects.  Plenty of good info, plus embedded music to listen to.  The interview is sitting at The Bandcamp Daily.

One of my favorite groups, and (in my opinion) one of the most exciting bands on the scene, is coming out with a new album.  This autumn, Get the Blessing is releasing Bristopia.  The quartet of saxophonist Jake McMurchie, trumpeter Pete Judge, drummer Clive Deamer and bassist Jim Barr create a symbiotic relationship between hyperactive grooves and dreamy melodies, and the way in which each of those entities feed into one another creates a seriously dynamic environment for fun music to thrive.  The two advance tracks give every indication that this is more of the good stuff.

September 21st, 2018 is the official release date, but you can pre-order the album on Bandcamp and Amazon.  There’s also more information at the Kartel Music Group site.

In the meantime, if you’re new to their music or just feel like revisiting it, definitely start with their excellent 2014 release Lope and Antilope.  It received the #12 slot on that year’s Best Of list.  I still can’t believe it didn’t sneak into the top ten, but if you peruse that list, you’ll see the talent pool was very deep.  So much great music out there to discover.

There’s an intriguing new album on the horizon, and it’s got a whole bunch of A-list names associated with it.  Big Heart Machine has the compositions of Brian Krock, the conducting of Miho Hazama, the production of Darcy James Argue and the music of Charlotte Greve, Kenny Warren, Paul Jones and Yuhan Su among the eighteen musicians contributing to the recording.  Based on the two preview tracks available, this is music that is an endless source of personality.

It’s hitting the shelves August 24, 2018.

Here’s a preview of what’s to come…

Your album personnel:  Miho Hazama (conducter), Charlotte Greve, Brian Krock , Timo Vollbrecht, Paul Jones, Jay Ratmann (saxophones, clarinets, flutes, piccolos, recorders), John Lake, Nolan Tsang, Cody Rowlands, Kenny Warren (trumpets & flugelhorns), Nick Grinder, Chris Misch-Bloxdorf, Isaac Kaplan (trombones), Jennifer Wharton (bass trombone), Yuhan Su (vibraphone), ArcoIris Sandoval (piano & synthesizer), Olli Hirvonen (electric guitar), Marty Kenney (electric and upright bass) and Josh Bailey (drums, percussion).

Learn more about the album, and pre-order it, on their Bandcamp page.

Also, if you subscribe to their newsletter, you get a free download.

Here’s a live video performance from a March 2018 show at Sir D’s Lounge in Park Slope.