Jazz Recommendations

Mar 8 2019

Album of the Day: Peter Fields – “Tesoro”

 

Artist:  Peter Fields

Album:  Tesoro

Label:  Underpool Music

Style:  Jazz folk

Favorite Track: “A Caballo”

Music from:  Barcelona, Spain

What I like about it:  I like how this music cuts the difference between a late-90s Bill Frisell jazz country and an Ennio Morricone soundtrack.  The quartet of two guitarists, a bassist and drummer who go by the name of Peter Fields go all-in on their melodies, letting them be both the introduction and driving force of each tune.  I like how the quartet keeps things simple, letting complexity unfold under cover of nuance, and never becoming a distraction from the trajectory of a particular melodic inspiration.  This is music for kicking back after a long week, the kind of music that can incite thick daydreams or a soothing self-awareness that nothing is immune to the comforting qualities of good music.

Your album personnel:  Pedro Campos (double bass), Enric Peinado (electric guitar, effects), Jordi Bastida (electric guitar, effects) and Jose Benítez (drums).

Available at:  Amazon | Bandcamp

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

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Mar 7 2019

Album of the Day: Sam Harris – “Harmony”

 

Artist:  Sam Harris

Album:  Harmony

Label:  Self-Produced

Style:  Modern piano trio

Favorite Track: “I”

Music from:  Brooklyn, NY

What I like about it:  I love how there’s an unending build, a continuous exhalation of sound that gets more beautiful as the intensity increases, and I like how Sam Harris seamlessly transitions it into a slow and steady blues… as if it were the most natural progression ever.  And I like how it returns to its original state, but expressed with a patience that borders on a drone, in that way a gurgling stream can incite a near state of hypnosis.

Your album personnel:  Sam Harris (piano), Martin Nevin (bass) and Craig Weinrib (drums).

Available at:  Bandcamp

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

Be sure to check out the artist’s site.

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Mar 4 2019

Album of the Day: Jacob Duncan Quintet – “It’s Alright To Dream”

 

Artist:  Jacob Duncan Quintet

Album:  It’s Alright To Dream

Label:  Self-Produced

Style:  Straight-ahead

Favorite Track: “Nached Up”

Music from:  Louisville, KY

What I like about it:  Some albums sound like musicians simply getting together for a casual session, and somebody decided to hit a record button just for the hell of it.  Those kinds of recordings possess an enveloping intimacy, where the familiarity of the musicians with one another and the sense of camaraderie and kinship bleeds through every note.  It’s like getting a behind-the-scenes listen to music being created just because it’s what the artists are compelled to do.  I like how this session from Jacob Duncan, and featuring JD Allen, as well as some Louisville, KY natives plays out in exactly that way.  The quintet bounces some solid melodies back and forth and open up wide lanes for soloists to pass through.

Your album personnel:  Jacob Duncan (alto sax), JD Allen (tenor sax), John Goldsby (bass), Gabriel Evens (piano) and Mike Hyman (drums).

Available at:  Amazon | Bandcamp

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

Be sure to check out the artist’s site.

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Mar 2 2019

These are videos that I like: The first Best Jazz on Bandcamp albums of 2019

 

Let’s revisit some of the albums included in my first two Best Jazz on Bandcamp columns of 2019, because, really, there’s never too much spotlight we can shine on these excellent recordings.

And let’s begin with Minua.  Oh my god, is this the most beautiful thing ever.  I can’t get enough of their new album Still Light.  It was addiction from the first notes.  Here’s the song “Lumen.”  Video by Işıl Karataş.

Here’s a link to my album write-up for The Bandcamp Daily.  And you can just go give the album a listen, and purchase it, on the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

I just can’t get enough of Allison Miller‘s last two Boom Tic Boom recordings.  2016’s Otis Was a Polar Bear was one of my favorite things to come out that year, and Glitter Wolf picks right up where that left off.  This music is an example of where modern jazz can go, and I highly encourage more people to follow this path.  This video happened live in the Paste Music studios, and features the track “Congratulations and Condolences.”  Follow the Paste Music link to hear more tracks from this session.

Here’s a link to my album write-up for The Bandcamp Daily.  And you can just go give the album a listen, and purchase it, on the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

And let’s wrap up with an outstanding rendition of Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” by Kassa Overall.  This performance went down last year in the studios of KNKX Public Radio.  It doesn’t make an appearance on his new album Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz, but it certainly gives you a pretty good idea of his perspective.

Here’s a link to my album write-up for The Bandcamp Daily.  And you can just go give the album a listen, and purchase it, on the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

And check out past recommendations by running through the archives.

Have fun going through the list!

Cheers.

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Mar 1 2019

The Round-up: It threatens to scatter me everywhere and nowhere at all

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

Richard Sears – Iron Year (Slow & Steady Records)

The melancholy quality to the melodies of Iron Year make this music smoulder like mad, like a fireplace that is mostly embers but still kicks out enough heat to fill up the room.  It’s an effect that holds tight when Richard Sears‘ sextet picks up a headwind, but it’s especially true when they settle into a patient hard bop cadence.  The combination of melancholy and propulsion is a potent one, and it makes for the perfect kind of album for standing in a window and watching the rain fall… just before deciding, screw it, I’m going to the bar to have a drink… and these melodies stick with you the entire time.  Music from Brooklyn, NY.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Tenderlonious – The Shakedown, featuring the 22arkestra (22a Music)

Of the many tedious bullet points offered up by the knuckleheads stating Jazz is dead is that jazz used to be dance music, but no more.  Well, The Shakedown is Ed “Tenderlonious” Cawthorne‘s deafening fuck you to those jackasses… because this is music for the clubs and it’s music made to get people moving and it’s music for kicking back with friends on an electric Friday night, some whiskey and good laughs.  Jazz is life and life is a groove, and The Shakedown provides all kinds of ways to move on through it.  Music from London, UK.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Muze Jazz Orchestra – New Horizons (Self-Produced)

It’d take a real black heart not to fall for this mix of folksy charm and boisterous grooves from the Muze Jazz Orchestra.  The way the large ensemble begins with some laid-back playfulness of melody and suddenly shifts gears into a hard charging cadence gets increasingly addictive with each successive revolution of the cycle.  That they bind it all together with some lovely harmonic voicing puts it over the top.  Music from Heusden Zolder, Belgium.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

Tal Arditi Trio – Portrait (Ancor Records)

There’s a dreamy melodicism that boosts the enjoyment potential on this straight-ahead session from Tal Arditi.  There’s something about the way the guitarist lets a melody breathe that makes it resonate with just a little more strength than what might otherwise be expected.  The result is a shimmering effect, a subtle motion that makes a bright tone shine with a softer, but more brilliant tone… like in that way a fireflies light attracts the eye’s attention more than a nighttime sky full of stars.  A solid debut.  Music from Berlin, Germany.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Michael Brenneis – Plutonium (Rattle Tick Buzz Records)

This album doesn’t advance one foot after the other.  This octet session led out by Michael Brenneis isn’t shy about taking detours and shifting the pace of action.  Sometimes there’s a lot of parts in motion, and sometimes this spreads things out to where the center of the music loses its focus.  I’m not sure that’s even a criticism, really, because it’s during those passages when the ensemble seems to abandon the idea of moving in a singular direction that leads to some of the more exciting moments.  Six woodwinds, bass, and drums.  Music from Madison, Wisconsin.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

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