Aug 1 2017
Now up, the latest Best of Bandcamp Jazz recommendations for The Bandcamp Daily. The newest monthly installment covers albums for July 2017 (more of a June 25th – July 24th thing, really). There’s ten primary recommendations in total, plus some side recommendations to boot.
Follow this LINK to read those recommendations and listen to music from each album.
Have fun going through the list!
Cheers.
Aug 1 2017
Anyone who’s gonna be within reach of Lexington, KY today should head on over to The Burl to catch an appearance by Psychic Temple. The rotating cast of musicians making this leg of the tour will be ensemble (aka cult) leader Chris Schlarb with Leeann Skoda on guitars & vocals and Philip Glenn on everything else. Their new album, the simply titled IV, is out now, and it encapsulates the ensemble’s transformation from experimental jazz outfit to pop music innovators. They know how to craft a melody and they know how to launch it into space.
The Burl is a nifty joint in Lexington’s newly rebooted Distillery District, which, when it comes to developing cool loft/garage/industrial spaces and making them tourist friendly, the city really did an outstanding job. Sadly, Mecca Dance Studio is no longer in that area. I saw a bunch of excellent avant-garde jazz musicians from the Chicago scene at that place. But perhaps this signals a new start to more excellent music.
The details:
When: Tuesday, August 1st, 2017 at 8pm
Where: The Burl, 375 Thompson Road (just off Manchester St.), Lexington, KY.
The Burl’s site-> LINK
The band’s site-> LINK
Check out Psychic Temple’s music on their Bandcamp page-> LINK
Jul 15 2017
Alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa has a new album coming out this Fall. The self-produced Agrima is hitting the streets October 17, 2017. The new release has him reuniting with his Indo-Pak Coalition, which last saw them in the studio for the 2008 recording Apti.
Here’s a preview of what’s to come. This is the song “Snap.”
Your album personnel: Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto sax), Rez Abbasi (guitar) and Dan Weiss (tabla, drums).
The album is available to purchase direct from Mahanthappa’s site, and it’s for the generous price of $2.50. It’s a wonderful album, and worth every penny. It appears there’s also an option for vinyl, as well as an extra digital option at HDTracks.
Mahanthappa’s last recording, Bird Calls, received the #2 slot on this site’s Best of 2015 list (go check it out).
Jul 8 2017
The trio Malija have a new album coming out this Autumn. Instinct is hitting the streets September 1st, 2017 on Edition Records. The trio’s 2015 release The Day I Had Everything was pretty special (go check it out), and considering that each of the artists that comprise the band have been making some excellent music in various other side projects in the meantime, I expect their new one will be at least as special as their last.
Here’s a preview of what’s to come…
Your album personnel: Mark Lockheart (saxophones, bass clarinet), Liam Noble (piano) and Jasper Høiby (bass).
You can learn more about the album and pre-order it on the artist’s Bandcamp page.
And here’s a little promo video Edition Records put together.
Aug 6 2017
Exclusive video premiere: Matthew Golombisky’s Cuentos
These cuentos, or short stories, focus on the bassist’s life in the two cities of Oakland and Chicago, with an entire volume of music dedicated to each, and featuring musicians from those cities. The music is remarkably cohesive, despite the different line-ups and the different personalities of the cities and, one would assume, the unique time Golombisky spent in each.
This music displays a strong chamber jazz influence. They both move with a supreme patience, allowing melodies to shine bright, then dissipate, and then reform yet again, but with a different shape and form, and resonating with no less beauty. For Volume 1 (via Oakland), the icy presence of Mark Clifford‘s vibraphones adds a precision to the enveloping harmonics of Crystal Pascucci‘s cello. Alto saxophonist Aram Shelton is often associated with a more acerbic form of avant-garde and free material, and it’s refreshing to hear him coalesce into expressions of brevity and peacefulness. This is especially true when he switches over to bass clarinet.
The Chicago session, Volume 2, has an entirely different mix of instruments, with trumpeter James Davis, guitarist Bill MacKay and bassist Jeff Greene, but the only real difference between this and the Oakland set is the change in the patter of the rainfall, and perhaps a tiny bit more rumble to the sound of distant thunder. But it’s just as peaceful as the Oakland session, and it’s very easy to overlook when the first volume ends and the second begins.
Speaking of peacefulness, this album’s prevailing tranquility is a perfect soundtrack for a solemn Sunday morning, and as strong a candidate for inclusion in the Sunday Morning Jazz Album series as any album previously featured. In fact, consider it so.
Now, about that video…
Volume 1: West Coast/Oakland with Matthew Golombisky (acoustic bass guitar), Aram Shelton (alto sax, bass clarinet), Mark Clifford (vibraphone) and Crystal Pascucci (cello).
Volume 2: Third Coast/Chicago with Matthew Golombisky (acoustic bass guitar), James Davis (trumpet), Bill MacKay (guitar) and Jeff Greene (contrabass).
You can listen to more of the album, and pre-order it, on the artist’s Bandcamp page.
And for those of you who have an odd tape cassette fetish, Golombisky is offering a limited supply of the new album on your favorite medium.
Here’s an audio preview of the recording…
It’s a wonderful recording, and I’ve become quickly addicted. Go check it out.
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By davesumner • Album Preview, Announcement - Music, Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases, These are videos that I like • 0 • Tags: Sunday Morning Jazz Album