Feb 7 2019
Album of the Day: Jonathan Finlayson – “3 Times Round”
Artist: Jonathan Finlayson
Album: 3 Times Round
Label: Pi Recordings
Style: Post-bop, New directions
Favorite Track: “A Stone, A Pond, A Thought”
Music from: New York City
What I like about it: It won’t be breaking news for me to report that the magic is in the motion on Jonathan Finlayson’s newest release. It’s a subject broached previously on his 2016 release Moving Still. And deservedly so. The action unleashed by each piece triggered individual narratives like a conjuring trick becoming a new reality. I like that the trumpeter’s 2018 release begins much the same way, opening with the aptly titled “Feints” and how patterns hinted at in the framework of a piece are revealed as quickly as they’re replaced by a new emergent pattern. I like how that motion can be particularly thrilling at times, but that is also comes off as methodical in its way, as if a high-speed stratagem devised on the fly. But what I really like about 3 Times Round are those dramatic moments when the motivation becomes one of melody, rising up over a piece like the sun enveloping a dark landscape in bright, warm light.
Your album personnel: Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Steve Lehman (alto sax), Brian Settles (tenor sax, flute), Matthew Mitchell (piano), John Hebert (bass) and Craig Weinrib (drums).
Available at: Bandcamp | Amazon
Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Be sure to check out the artist’s site.
Artist: Miman
Artist: Dakhla Brass
Feb 9 2019
Album of the Day: Lawful Citizen – “Internal Combustion”
Album: Internal Combustion
Label: Self-Produced
Style: Post-jazz
Favorite Track: “The Road To Nowhere”
Music from: Montreal, Québec
What I like about it: I like how this album is sort of all over the place. One minute there’s a funereal tone, then suddenly it shifts into high octane excitement, and before long, sails a melody out into contemplative waters. But I like how the quartet Lawful Citizen strings these wild changes together in a way that suggests a certain logic, and effectively ties the beginning and ends of tunes together in a way that suggests as much care was given to the transitions between pieces as the pieces themselves. There’s an exuberance that gives the impression that the quartet members were having a blast in the recording studio, and I like how that cheerful feeling gets passed along to the listener.
Your album personnel: Evan Shay (tenor sax), Aime Duquet (guitar), Antoine Pelegrin (electric bass) and Kyle Hutchins (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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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2018 • 0 • Tags: Lawful Citizen, Montreal (Québec), Self-Produced