Jazz Recommendations – 2017 releases

Jun 23 2017

Recommended: Hvalfugl – “By”

 

The music of Hvalfugl is so damn beautiful.  The trio’s debut album By stakes out territory where Scandinavian folk and Nordic Jazz share a border, which means you’re gonna get some lovely melodic imagery set in an environment where a thick, moody ambiance has all kinds of potency.  The melody of “Stormsvale” goes waltzing, light on its feet even during those passages when the song dips into contemplation, whereas on “Novemberhymne,” the melody alternates between brief melodic fragments and extended exhalations.  The spry “Mäsk” delivers a hook as sharp as any pop song, but its complex motion exposes facets of the melody that transcend superficiality.  There’s a couple interludes to help set the scene, but the album is comprised entirely by short pieces that get to the point.  There’s no time for enchantment like the present, each piece states unequivocally.  Beauty starts with the first note.  That’s also how each song ends.

It is difficult to adequately express the joy of giving a listen to some obscure recording that came unsolicited to my inbox and discover it to be the most beautiful thing ever.  The sheer volume of new releases that cross my path in a given month is extreme.  Inevitably, a lot of that music is going to be fine, okay, middle of the road stuff that doesn’t do much for me.  Nothing to be done about that.  So when I hit play on an album like By, it’s just so damn thrilling, so rewarding, and just plain enjoyable to spend a rainy afternoon listening to it over and over again, relishing every gorgeous melody and its friendly rhythmic patter, like rain on the window pane.  That effect is magnified when the album is no less lovely to my ear when I return to it later and each subsequent day after.

Go buy this album.

Your album personnel:  Anders Juel Bomholt (double bass), Jeppe Lavsen (guitar) and Jonathan Fjord Bredholt (piano).

The album is Self-Produced.

Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Soundcloud page or on Bandcamp.

Music from Aarhus, Denmark.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon | eMusic

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Jun 22 2017

Recommended: Llop – “J, Imp”

 

This is rainy day music.  J, Imp is dreamy and hazy and it hangs in the air like the enveloping arms of fading sunlight.  But rainy days also come with startling flashes of lightning and the deep rumble of thunder.  Tracks like “Älskling” and “Hapii Too” elicit the kind of imagery whose only goal is to lull the listener into a meditative state, but the quartet Llop is all about a well-rounded rainy day experience, and so the edgy displays of  searing electronic effects and the pulsing rhythms of “Seagal” and the quick melodic strikes of “Troupeau” sound right in place with the overall experience.  And then there’s the steady downpour of title-track “J. Imp,” with a focused melody that touches everything, and bridges the gaps between the storm’s peaceful and chaotic phases.  This is rainy day music, but it’ll no more let you drift off to sleep than it will protect you from the compulsion to daydream.  And no one state is less compelling than the other.

Your album personnel:  Erik Bogaerts (saxophone), Benjamin Sauzereau (guitar), Brice Soniano (double bass), Jens Bouttery (drums, voice & electronics).

Released on El Negocito Records.

Listen to more of the album on the label’s Bandcamp page.

Music from Antwerp, Belgium.

Available at:  Bandcamp | CDBaby

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Jun 21 2017

Recommended: Red Planet with Bill Carrothers

 

You can count on Bill Carrothers for some tasteful piano work.  If the composition is a foggy window pane, Carrothers crafts a melody and clears the view.  There’s a precision to his approach that makes events easy to follow, but there’s also a warmth that makes things easy to embrace.  It’s that formula of precision and warmth that’s key to his wonderful collaboration with the trio Red Planet, as both a lesson in the power of contrast and the joy of the perfect union.

What’s especially nice about the new release Red Planet with Bill Carrothers is how relatively straight-forward renditions of Coltrane’s “Big Nick” and the Monk compositions “Think Of One” and “Reflections” both fall effortlessly into the album’s singular orbit.  But perhaps the larger statement is how they turn the Sammy Cahn-Jimmy Van Heusen tune “Come Dance With Me” into the same stuff of dream that embodies the original lullaby “Unseen Rain” and an inspired rendition of Coltrane’s late-period piece “Living Space.”

Dean Magraw rips off some intensity on guitar to fight off the thick introspection that this album could easily sink into permanently, and, conversely, he can bend melodies into shapes that bring some needed messiness to Carrothers’ crisp articulation, as he does on “Music is a Weapon for Hope and Healing.”  Alternatively, as Magraw is either forging connections with Carrothers or engaging in shadowplay, bassist Chris Bates and drummer Jay Epstein work in some differentiation of their own.  It’s why the song “Ann R Chi Suite” sometimes has a focused drive and other times sounds like it’s unraveling at the seams.  But no matter how they choose to put things into play on a particular song, there’s a cohesion between these four musician that makes every note resonant with strength and beauty.

I’m pretty well addicted to this recording.  I would’ve written about it long ago, but I kept getting lost in daydreams every time I sat back and give it a listen.  I still do this quite often.  You should try it, too.

Your album personnel:  Bill Carrothers (piano), Dean Magraw (guitars), Chris Bates (bass) and Jay Epstein (drums).

Released on Shifting Paradigm Records.

Listen to more album tracks at the label’s Bandcamp page.

Music from Minneapolis, MN.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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Jun 19 2017

Recommended: Dan Tepfer Trio – “Eleven Cages”

 

Dan Tepfer draws out so much damn personality from each song.  Were they characters in a book, you’d believe them modeled after real life individuals, with only the name changed out of respect for privacy.  On his latest release, the cloak-and-dagger melody of “Hindi Hex” and the jitterbug excitement of “Roadrunner” and the deep contemplation of “Minor Fall” instill a sense of motivations and conflict, of backstories spurring the characters on through the plot twists that lay ahead.  Even a cover of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” steps up like an alternate universe rendition, where the meaning and the message veer wildly from the source material.

Tepfer leaves his signature on a piece, and the music of Eleven Cages further cements the qualities of his particular style on piano.  The music is clever without being in-your-face-italicized clever.  There’s an unending supply of passion that, thankfully, never devolves into melodrama.  This body of work possesses a sharp wit and a keen intelligence, and it never gets caught admiring itself in the mirror.  And the music is rippled with the themes and inspirations that set things into motion, and it’s very easy to forget their presence even as the effect is felt from those same qualities.

It’s pretty easy to recommend this album.  And if you’re new to the modern jazz scene and in the process of sketching out a map of who to keep on your radar on who to explore further, Tepfer is your choice for the former, while bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Nate Wood satisfy the criteria for the latter.

Your album personnel:  Dan Tepfer (piano), Thomas Morgan (bass) and Nate Wood (drums).

 

Released on Sunnyside Records.

Listen to more of the album at the label’s Bandcamp page.

Music from Brooklyn.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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Jun 17 2017

The Round-up: Too much music, too little time

 

… Because there’s not enough time for everything.

Here’s some new music I like.  I wanted to give these albums a mention, no matter how brief.  Let’s begin…

 

Gustavo Cortiñas Snapshot – Esse (OA2 Records)

The newest from Gustavo Cortiñas engages in a thrilling sleight of hand.  The drummer leads out with melodies that are crisp and clear as a cloudless Summer afternoon, not to mention pretty damn catchy, to boot.  But then his septet obscures the view, solos up a storm of distractions and details and fireworks, and while it all flows naturally from that original statement of melody, before too long, it’s long forgotten.  Well, until they suddenly return to it, revealing that the melody was still there, all along.  And the repetition of this pattern does nothing to diminish the excitement even as expectations rise.  I’ve been listening to this album all year long, and it’s unlikely to drop from my listening queue any time soon.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Amazon

 

Shake Stew – The Golden Fang (Traumton)

There’s an abiding sense of fun that runs through this entire album from the septet Shake Stew.  Melodies are shouted out with boozy enthusiasm, and sometimes they’re drawled.  Even when the rhythm section is indicating the tempo sparingly, there’s always a feeling that it’s just a matter of time before it all blows up in an unrelenting tumult of percussion.  A member of the septet is trumpeter Mario Rom, and the past write-ups of his Interzone trio should give you an indication of how wildly unpredictable Shake Stew can be, as well as how much fun.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon – eMusic

 

Noah Preminger – Meditations On Freedom (Dry Bridge Records)

The arrival of saxophonist Noah Preminger’s protest album in the wake of the U.S. Presidential election has plenty of raw emotional output and composition material to reflect both the intent and sincerity of the project.  That said, over the last few years, Preminger has typically displayed a resonant strength in his music, so nothing on the quartet session Meditations On Freedom sounds out of sorts with what’s come before.  Of particular appeal is his talent at effortlessly shifting between big statements and nuanced intricacy.

Artist site | Listen | Buy: No retail options found

 

Rich Halley & Carson Halley – The Wild (Pine Eagle Records)

There’s no denying that Rich Halley has a presence on saxophone.  It’s not about the ferocity he exhibits, but how his notes slowly fill up the room in the aftermath of the initial volley, much in the way rolling thunder can seem imposing even when from far away… it’s that sense of something immense fast approaching.  On this duo session with his son, drummer Carson Halley, they seem well suited to collaborate in that kind of environment.  This is not an album for subtlety.  You scoop this one up if you’re in the mood to hear a couple musicians just go to town on their instruments.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

 

Walt Weiskopf – Fountain of Youth (Posi-Tone)

Nice straight-ahead modern session from saxophonist Walt Weiskopf.  Of particular interest is how his saxophone edge complements and contrasts with the genial warmth of vibraphonist Behn Gillece.  A track like “Echoes of the Quiet Past” illuminates how their opposite sounds can result in a multi-faceted melodic perspective, with the resulting beauty that sometimes it’s bright sunlight melting an icicle and sometimes it’s the icicle capturing the sunlight.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

 

Tetraptych – Tetraptych (Red Piano Records)

An easy to like quartet session from pianist Bert Seager, saxophonist Hery Paz, bassist Max Ridley and drummer Dor Herskovitz, and this is true whether they stick to a modern straight-ahead sound or those times when they noodle around with the structure to where it becomes a slightly warped version of itself.

Artist site | Listen | Buy: Amazon

 

Jeff “Siege” Siegel Quartet – King of Xhosa (Self-Produced)

This collaboration between drummer Jeff Siegel and trumpeter Feya Faku is at its best when it digs into some spiritual jazz.  Things get plenty evocative and there’s a deft balance between intensity and joyfulness.  Nothing wrong with the tracks that take on a more straight-ahead sound, especially with a nice turn on the ballad “Ballad of the Innocent,” but it’s those spiritual jazz tracks that’ll leave you wanting more from the quartet (plus guests).

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

 

The Vampires – Meet Lionel Loueke (Earshift Music)

There’s an enjoyable convergence of easy-going vibes on this collaboration between Jeremy Rose’s outfit The Vampires and Lionel Loueke.  The casual groove from the saxophonist’s quartet and Loueke’s charismatic folk sound on guitar makes for a natural pairing.  And no matter whether the tune is sunny and cheerful or thoughtful and contemplative, each song is engaging in the most personable way.  Completely random non-sequitor:  This is the kind of album you put on to signal the start of your vacation.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Kajetan Borowski Trio – Totem (Inetive Records)

Plenty to like on this debut release from pianist Kajetan Borowski and his trio with bassist Kuba Dworak and drummer Grzegorz Masłowski.  The album sticks to a modern straight-ahead sound, often with a strong European jazz influence and further influenced by Borowski’s Polish background.  In fact, it’s the subtle infusions of the latter quality that add a resonant quality to the more introspective tracks.  That said, the trio keeps to an upbeat demeanor, even when they slip into contemplation, and the resulting chatter is more than a little bit engaging.  An easy to like album.

Artist site | Buy: Amazon

 

Bill Brovold & Jamie Saft – Serenity Knolls (RareNoise Records)

The duo collaboration between Bill Brovold (on electric guitar) and Jamie Saft (on dobro and lap steel guitar) sometimes takes on the persona of the Nordic folk often documented on the Hubro label and then other times it delves into the drone-born-of-repetition effect mastered by soundscaper Roy Montgomery.  The displays of personality and differentiation between tracks are nuanced and, at times, nearly imperceptible.  But there’s the sense that these artists were less concerned about the concept of song and more interested in meshing with their counterpart on the same creative wavelength, to where the dividing lines between musicians and instruments is obliterated.  Also, it’s nice to view another facet of Jamie Saft’s creativity.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Amazon – eMusic

*****

Have a great time digging through the list!

And remember, it’s simple:  You like what you like.

Cheers.

***

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