Sunday Morning Jazz Album

Jun 25 2017

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album: Jeremy Udden – “Plainville”

 

Sunday morning is when the serenity comes down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.

On alto sax, Jeremy Udden conjures up the tranquility you desire when sitting out on your back porch when it’s just you and nature and a cat dozing nearby.  The Massachusetts native sends out melodies like a stiff, cool breeze on a Summer morning… airy, fluid, and possessing an unmistakable presence.  His 2009 release Plainville wasn’t his debut, but it was his first dedicated foray into the type of folk-jazz that has signified his recording career since.  It also signaled his singular concoction of serenity perfect for a Sunday morning jazz album.

Occasionally the album’s temperature spikes, but even with some electric guitar heat on “Curbs,” it behaves as the precursor to the gently comforting sweetness of “Christmas Song,” amplifying its comforting effect.  And though “695” kicks up the tempo a notch, the delivery of the melody transmits the solemn tone that guides the entire recording.  Brandon Seabrook‘s banjo goes a long way to dictating the strength of the folk influence, and drummer RJ Miller has a talent for crafting a serene ambiance (ie, his 2013 release Ronald’s Rhythm).  Keyboardist Pete Rende and bassist Eivind Opsvik cast shadows everywhere by working the darker tones, and the way this complements the brighter tones of Udden’s alto sax goes a long way to explaining how dynamic this tranquil recording ultimately becomes.

You need this album today, right now.

  • Artist-Title:  Jeremy Udden – Plainville
  • Personnel:  Jeremy Udden (alto & soprano saxophones), Pete Rende (organ, Fender Rhodes), Brandon Seabrook (banjo, guitar), Eivind Opsvik (bass) and RJ Miller (drums).
  • Proper Use:  1) Sitting on that back porch in communion with nature, 2) Watching cats peacefully doze the afternoon away in a patch of sunlight.
  • Additional notes:  May be utilized as a soundtrack to fireflies cutting through the darkness on a Summer eve.

Released in 2009 on Fresh Sound New Talent.

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

Music from Brooklyn.

Available at:  Amazon

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2009 Releases, Sunday Morning Jazz Album • 2 • Tags: , , ,

Jun 11 2017

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album: Fred Hersch Trio – “Floating”

 

Sunday mornings are when the serenity is supposed to come down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.

A show tune, a standard and something from Thelonious Monk are peppered throughout the recording, but it’s the originals that most hit the mark on this 2014 recording from the Fred Hersch Trio.  This shouldn’t come as a surprise.  For the span of three decades, Hersch has added his measured, thoughtful works to the jazz lexicon, so it’s always going to be a case where the original inspirations outshine the interpretations.

Floating is music meant for peaceful moments.  And even when the conversation between musicians gets a little chipper, like on “Arcata” or Monk’s “Let’s Cool One,” the effect is akin to the growing presence of sunlight upon a darkened room than an actual spike in temperature.  Much of this has to do with how the pianist sees a ballad at the heart of every song.  It’s why “Home Fries” and “Far Away,” though different in temperament, both swoon with the emotional weight of the love struck and the heartbroken.  The deliberative method in which the trio dishes out that particular mood just enhances its resonance that much more.

You need this album today, right now.

  • Artist-Title:  Fred Hersch Trio – Floating
  • Personnel:  Fred Hersch (piano), John Hébert (bass) and Eric McPherson (drums).
  • Proper Use:  1) Staring out the window and wondering whatever happened to your first true love, 2) Drowning yourself in the album cover’s serenity until you are perfectly centered.

Released in 2014 on Palmetto Records.

Listen to another album track on Soundcloud.

Music from NYC.

Available at:  Amazon | eMusic

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2014 Releases, Sunday Morning Jazz Album • 0 • Tags:

Jun 4 2017

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album: Yuval Cohen – “Song Without Words”

 

Sunday mornings are when the serenity is supposed to come down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.

The music of saxophonist Yuval Cohen has a rather mesmerizing effect, and this is true whether the form of expression snaps into place with a night of fun on the town or something more conducive to quiet moments in quiet rooms.  Perhaps no better example of this tonal flexibility exists than his contributions to the 3 Cohens trio, with siblings Anat and Avishai Cohen.  But tranquility is the watchword for the Sunday Morning Jazz Album, and so it’s the Tel Aviv resident’s 2010 recording Song Without Words that receives the spotlight today.  This duo collaboration with pianist Shai Maestro is the soundtrack for morning light slowly spilling across the floor.

“Bye Bye Blackbird” has a perky attitude, but doesn’t stir things up anywhere close to peacefulness’s tipping point.  The motion of “Skylark” mirrors the flight patterns of birds, and its hypnotic effect is nearly as potent as its melodic beauty.  But the path to the heart of the album is found via the contemplative tracks “Nehama” and “Angelo,” and how they stir up the daydream imagery as the morning idly drifts along.

You need this album today, right now.

  • Artist-Title:  Yuval Cohen – Song Without Words
  • Personnel:  Yuval Cohen (soprano sax) and Shai Maestro (piano)
  • Proper Use:  1) That book has been sitting on your shelf for ages, and you keep waiting for the perfect day to finally pick it up, so…  2) Jigsaw puzzle may be substituted for “book” at no extra charge.

Released in 2010 on Anzic Records.

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

Music from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2010 Releases, Sunday Morning Jazz Album • 0

May 28 2017

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album: Marcin Wasilewski Trio – “January”

 

Sunday mornings are when the serenity is supposed to come down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.

For nearly twenty-five years, the trio of pianist Marcin Wasilewski, bassist Sławomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michał Miśkiewicz have been concocting their own special distillation of sonic tranquility.  It began back in 1993 in Koszalin, Poland as the Simple Acoustic Trio.  And though they now go by their pianist’s namesake and relocated to Warsaw, it remains the same peaceful music conjured up for people who know how to spend their Sunday mornings.  Their 2008 release January is the most potent example of their talent.

A rendition of Prince’s “Diamonds and Pearls” highlights the Trio’s deft use of melody, and how little bursts of melodicism sprinkled over hushed tones accentuate the quiet ambiance.  And sometimes they take a different route and simply string out a melodic inspiration from first note to last, as on “Cinema Paradiso,” with the comforting murmur of bass and drums as the conversational tool to carry it through.  And even when the trio puts a little hop in their step on “The Cat” or incites some dramatic tension on “Balladyna,” the music is no less soothing and no danger to the welcome stillness that has settled in over the room.

You need this album today, right now.

  • Artist-Title:  Marcin Wasilewski Trio – January
  • Personnel:  Marcin Wasilewski (piano), Sławomir Kurkiewicz (bass) and Michał Miśkiewicz (drums).
  • Proper Use:  1) Nursing a hangover, 2) Early inoculation for Monday stress, 3) Piano addiction.

Released in 2008 on ECM Records.

Music from Warsaw, Poland.

Available at:  Amazon

By • Jazz Recommendations, Sunday Morning Jazz Album • 4 • Tags: , ,

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