Announcement – Music

Adjust your budget for April, and add a dedicated line-item titled “Pi Recordings.”  The esteemed label is releasing two albums within the span of one week.  Both are outstanding, and both represent some of best talent on the modern scene.

First up is a new recording by the legendary Henry Threadgill.  It never fails to amaze me the way Threadgill weaves improvisation into the fabric of his compositions, and gives avant-garde music the cinematic allure of a movie soundtrack.  His newest recording Dirt… And More Dirt sinks its hooks with the accumulation of addictive melodic phrases, providing you a source of focus as his 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg ensemble shifts the entire landscape beneath your feet.  Threadgill is a master at doing something different and presenting it as the ghost of something intimately familiar.

Stream two of the album’s tracks for a preview of what’s to come…

Your album personnel:  Henry Threadgill (alto saxophone, flute, bass flute), Chris Hoffman (cello), Liberty Ellman (guitar), Jose Davila (tuba), Ben Gerstein (trombone), Jacob Garchik (trombone), Jonathan Finlayson (Bb trumpet, F trumpet), Stephanie Richards (Bb trumpet), Curtis Robert Macdonald (alto saxophone), Roman Filiú (alto saxophone, alto flute), David Bryant (piano), David Virelles (piano), Thomas Morgan (bass), Elliott Humberto (kavee) and Craig Weinrib (drums, percussion).

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

And due out April 6th, 2018 is the new album from Dan Weiss.  Starebaby doesn’t sound like the drummer’s excellent electro-acoustic spiritual jazz recording Sixteen: Drummers Suite, but its odd eclecticism of influences and expressions certainly tags it as a bird of a feather recording.  First and foremost, Weiss brings a different kind of heat on his new one, and the electricity flows with a velocity all its own.  Also, every musician contributing to the album is a future inductee into the jazz hall of fame.  Those are just a few of the many reasons to scoop this one up.

Stream two of the album’s tracks for a preview of what’s to come…

Your album personnel:  Dan Weiss (drums, compositions), Ben Monder (guitars), Trevor Dunn (electric bass), Craig Taborn (keyboards, piano) and Matt Mitchell (keyboards, piano)

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

There’s a new album on the horizon from the Sound Prints quintet led out by saxophonist Joe Lovano and trumpeter Dave Douglas.  Douglas’s Greenleaf Music is releasing Scandal on April 6th, 2018.  The Sound Prints ensemble was originally fueled by the music of Wayne Shorter, but their newest album focuses more on original works from Douglas and Lovano.  That said, there are two Shorter compositions that made their way into this playlist… one of which is “Juju,” perhaps my favorite Shorter tune.

Stream two of the album’s tracks for a preview of what’s to come…

Your album personnel:  Joe Lovano (tenor & G mezzo soprano saxophones), Dave Douglas (trumpet), Lawrence Fields (piano), Linda May Han Oh (bass) and Joey Baron (drums).

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

Also available for pre-order on Amazon.

There’s a new Ivo Neame album on the horizon.  The London-based pianist is releasing Moksha on March 23rd, 2018 on Edition Records.  If you’re in the mood to spend the day exploring great new music, you only need to perform a search on the name Ivo Neame right here on this site to get you all the music recommendations you’ll need to keep you busy until Neame’s newest album hits the shelves.

Here’s a preview of what’s to come…

Your album personnel:  Ivo Neame (acoustic piano, fender rhodes, mellotron, hammond organ, nord lead), George Crowley (tenor sax), Tom Farmer (acoustic bass) and James Maddren (drums).

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

Also available for pre-order on Amazon.

For those of you feeling nostalgic, both retailers offer a vinyl option.