Dec 22 2017
Best of 2017 #31: Tony Allen – “The Source” (Blue Note Records)
It’s been a fruitful collaboration between Tony Allen and Blue Note Records. The drummer’s first release for the label was a tribute to Art Blakey, and it captured the high-voltage nature of the hard bop drummer’s classic sound while remaining true to his own voice on drums. Allen’s second 2017 recording for Blue Note is The Source, and, remarkably, it somehow eclipses his first. Bringing together afro-beat, post-bop, hard-bop, electronica and Afro-jazz speaks to the creative elasticity Allen has employed throughout a career of varied projects. The electricity that’s generated by this thrilling music, Allen makes it seem as natural as breathing.
Music from Paris, France.
Read more at Bird is the Worm.
The magic is in the melody on this excellent set from the MAP quartet of pianist Paulo Gomes, guitarist Miguel Moreira, bassist Miguel Ângelo and drummer Acácio Salero. The craftsmanship of those melodies is exquisite, but what really elevates their 2017 release Guerra e Paz up a notch or three is how those melodies become launching points to all kinds of improvisation. Some of those journeys are filled with wild abandon, while others follow a more familiar route of trading solos. Either way, this is an excellent example of modern jazz done right. Also, on a personal note, the song “Norte” is one of my top ten favorite songs of 2017. I can easily envision the Brian Blade Fellowship performing a rendition of it.
It’s been rewarding and more than a bit fascinating to witness the transformation of the music of Rudresh Mahanthappa. Indian music and NYC jazz isn’t a typical match of influences, and yet with his 2017 release Agrima, it’s as if the saxophonist has achieved a certain normalcy of presentation, to the point where an unconventional sound is as embraceable as taking your next breath. The core of Agrima is Indian music, sometimes as a melodic influence and other times imposing its will upon a piece rhythmically. But the house of the album is built with the raw materials of an indie-rock edge and contemporary grooves and electronic effects, and it’s why Agrima sits plumb with previous Mahanthappa recordings while also representing something new.
The Web Web quartet references the classic Strata East label in the liner notes for Oracle, and it’s more than just a haphazard shout-out. Running through the blood of pianist Roberto Di Gioia, saxophonist Tony Lakatos, bassist Christian von Kaphengst and drummer Peter Gall are those times when hard bop ceded ground to spiritual jazz and avant-garde, where a thick groove and a thicker melody might begin with the blues, but likely won’t end there, and where a sense of song structure is just kindling for a wild conflagration. 1970s jazz too often gets associated with divergences into more saccharine forms of music and production. The seventies were a magical time for creative reinvention of jazz forms, where the pain of the blues and the joy of the soul came together in vivid imagery and volatile motion. Oracle celebrates those times and keeps them in fashion in the present day… both are excellent reasons to raise a glass and toast this supremely enjoyable recording.
Dec 23 2017
Best of 2017 #30: Nate Smith – “Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere” (Ropeadope)
Music from NYC.
Read more at Bird is the Worm.
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By davesumner • Recap: Best of 2017 • 0 • Tags: Jazz - Best of 2017, Nate Smith, New York City, Ropeadope Records