Jazz Recommendations – 2017 releases

Iggy Pop’s appearance could’ve been a novelty act, I suppose.  Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to expect or how to interpret a left-field entry like Loneliness Road.  But as Iggy successfully traversed decades of changing music scenes, his singular delivery and personal magnetism has always remained intact, and so it’s not particularly surprising that he meshes in nicely with the trio of Jamie Saft, Steve Swallow and Bobby Previte.  Iggy’s always had a quality of fuck it, I’m gonna be me when I sing, no matter the environment.  It’s an approach that serves him well on this session.  On “Don’t Lose Yourself,” it’s a kick back and roar, with equal doses of sardonic wit and effortless fun.  And on title-track “Loneliness Road,” a focused delivery syncs up nicely with a heavier blues.  “Everyday” is the closest to thing to a song falling flat.  Iggy falls victim to the same pitfall that Tom Waits occasionally fell victim to when trying to sing with a jazz voice instead of just singing out.  Nothing wrong with the track, but it’s not up to snuff with its counterparts.

But this album is much more than an intriguing vocal contribution.  It has at its core three musicians who, themselves, have been known to make left field entries of their own, too.  So it’s a treat to hear Jamie Saft, Steve Swallow and Bobby Previte take a straight-ahead path on this recording.  The highly charged “Ten Nights” sparks off all kinds of electricity, but it’s more lovely light show than impending fire hazard.  The tempo and tone swings in the opposite direction on subsequent track “Little Harbor,” but the ballad resonates no less than did its predecessor.  It’s a transformative effect that’s even more dramatic when the trio then turns to whispers on “Bookmaking” in the softest of voices.  But then there’s the late night blues “Pinkus” and the thank-god-Spring-is-here-again joyfulness of “The Barrier” as reminders that the flow from song to song is only as effective as the individual statements of emotion that flow is bridging.

Your album personnel:  Jamie Saft (piano), Steve Swallow (electric bass), Bobby Previte (drums) and guest: Iggy Pop (vocals).

Released on RareNoise Records.

Listen to additional album tracks on the label’s site.

Available at:  Amazon | eMusic

Plenty of enthusiasm on the newest from tenor saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, and it’s pretty fun how he and his ensemble don’t hold back even a little bit.  This is true even on the ballad “The Nearness of You,” which slowly sways to and fro, but perpetually gives the impression of a hyperactive child ready to leap up and go running off the moment the parents stop paying attention.  A few tracks have a modern funk sound, and while nothing about them will instigate a recoil reflex, they’re not nearly as strong as those that stick to a modern straight-ahead sound.  Opening track “Onward” is the ultimate proof of that assertion, but “Franklin Street,” which features a guest appearance from trumpeter Randy Brecker, makes a strong case, too.  A nifty rendition of Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” is an added bonus.

Onward is plenty enjoyable as a fireworks show, where the sight and shape of the lights is just as thrilling as the boom and crash.

Your album personnel:  Chad Lefkowitz-Brown (tenor sax), Steven Feifke (piano), Raviv Markovitz (bass), Jimmy Macbride (drums) and guest: Randy Brecker (trumpet).

This album is Self-Produced.

Music from NYC.

Available at:  Amazon

Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel has a pretty distinctive sound.  The voice of his guitar commands the spotlight.  So it’s interesting to hear him lay back and be a bit of a wallflower on the new album from saxophonist Jeremy Rose.  Of further interest is that Rose has a nice laid-back approach himself, so not only do you get a nifty set of subtle interactions between the guitarist and saxophonist, but it allows the other members of the quintet to rise to the surface, and none of them have to be pushy to get in a solo or even just a voice on equal standing to the group leaders when the ensemble stands as one.

Rose switches over to bass clarinet from time to time, and the contemplative tone this generates is more than a little enchanting.  Also, Rose develops a pretty amicable voice on alto sax, so the balance through contrast is a textural element that serves the album well in many ways.  But all the same, tracks like “Night Wanderer” and “Strange Doors“ make a strong case for pestering Rose back into the studio with only his bass clarinet for a recording and see what shakes out.

Within & Without is a set of modern tunes, where the impulse to swing need not be present to instill a motion of bopping along.  But there’s a nice helping of blues throughout, and even with all their modernity, the quintet keeps to a relatively straight and narrow path.  If a listener sticks to recorded output, hearing Rosenwinkel in a straight-ahead environment can be something a novel experience, and it’s refreshing to hear his particular form of lyricism expressed simply and plainly, and watch it resonate like crazy.  It should also not go without mention that Rose isn’t exactly a standard-bearer of a classic jazz sound himself- case in point: his other new album, this one with his ensemble The Vampires, which features a collaboration with guitarist Lionel Loueke.

Overall, this album is delightfully relaxed, almost luxuriant in its state of ease.  It’s not sleepy music; It makes an impact.  In its own particular way, the recording offers up its share of fireworks, but it’s all light and no bang, like watching their reflection from a distance, captured in a lake’s softly rippling tides.

Your album personnel:  Jeremy Rose (alto sax, bass clarinet), Kurt Rosenwinkel (guitar), Jackson Harrison (piano), Andreas Lang (double bass) and Tobias Backhaus (drums).

Released on Earshift Music.

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

Music from Sydney, Australia.

Available at:  Bandcamp

There’s a nifty bird-of-a-feather relationship between Here On Earth, the new release from violinist Jenny Scheinman and another album she contributed to, Bill Frisell’s Disfarmer.  The latter recording was soundtrack music retrofitted to accompany the Depression era photos of Arkansas native Mike Disfarmer, and Scheinman was a perfect fit for Frisell’s particular concoction of Americana jazz expressionism.  For Here On Earth, Scheinman takes a similar approach to that of Frisell on Disfarmer.  There’s a fragmentary presentation of song, brief glimpses of sound to mirror the flickering imagery of people and places long gone in the photographs of North Carolinian H. Lee Waters, also during the Great Depression.  Naturally, Bill Frisell returns the favor and contributes to Scheinman’s project, and, naturally, is in turn a perfect fit.

This isn’t Scheinman’s first dance with the Americana jazz sound, not by far, and each successive recording reflects a greater comfort with crafting it into a cohesive whole.  These shorter pieces, conducive to a soundtrack medium, they suit Scheinman greatly.  She’s always been especially tuneful, treating the melody with the love and care each song deserves, but the concise nature required of a soundtrack really brings her talent to the surface.

There’s the darker tones of “Pent Up Boy” and the melancholy “Esme” and the undercurrent of tension on “Broken Pipeline,” but most tracks stick to an upbeat personality, like the jaunty “Up On Shenanigan” and the celebratory “Deck Saw, Porch Saw.”

Plenty enjoyable, and a nice addition to the Jazz Americana collection.

Your album personnel:  Jenny Scheinman (fiddle), Danny Barnes (banjo, guitar, tuba), Robbie Fulks (guitar, banjo), Bill Frisell (guitar) and Robbie Gjersoe (resonator guitar).

Released on the Royal Potato Family label.

Listen to two more album tracks on the artist’s Soundcloud page.

Music from Arcata, CA.

Available at:  Amazon