These are videos that I like

Jan 7 2018

These are videos that I like: Olivier Boge, new album, Nick Drake

 

One of my favorite albums of 2017 was When Ghosts Were Young by Olivier Bogé.  I’ve enjoyed the saxophonist’s talent at crafting enchanting melodies ever since his 2012 release Imaginary Traveler.  Since that time, he’s developed that talent even further with subsequent recordings The World Begins Today and Expanded Places… and, correspondingly, his music has become that much more addictive.  His newest release ramps up the melodic intensity even higher, and it’s the primary reason this album hasn’t stopped playing in my house.

Today, we’re going to feature some of his videos.

First up is a short promo for When Ghosts Were Young.  The album was released by the Jazz & People label, and the video is housed on their YouTube page.

And next up is a promo video for the same album, but incorporates the song “New Gardens” in its entirety.

Your album personnel:  Olivier Bogé (acoustic guitar, alto sax, vocals, piano, Rhodes, synths), Pierre Perchaud (electric guitar), Tony Paeleman (piano), Nicolas Moreaux (bass) and Karl Jannuska (drums).

The video is directed by Prisca Lobjoy.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.

You can listen to and purchase the album on Bandcamp.  It’s also available at Amazon.

Bogé often switches over to guitar on his recordings.  He also has a thing for the music of Nick Drake, and has released a number of videos performing those songs.  Let’s wrap up today’s colum with a really nice rendition of “Hazy Jane 1” from Drake’s Bryter Layter.

You can check out more of his Nick Drake covers on Bogé’s YouTube page.

 

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Jan 4 2018

So… about 2017, Part II: We are everywhere

 

Next year, this post will be better.

For the 2017 year-in-review, you get only half an idea.

These things come to me in the moment, and I write stuff down and in the deluge of music, that stuff gets forgotten and buried under stacks of lists and one-sheets and drafts.  But I thought it would be fun to map out where the Best of 2017 music was coming from.  I didn’t remember this great idea until, well, like just yesterday.  I cobbled this map together real quick:

The purple dots represent the home turf of a musician whose album appeared in the Bird is the Worm Best of 2017.  If I’d been a bit more prepared, I’d have gotten those dots to scale in size based on total count of albums for that city.  For instance, the dot for New York City should be pretty damn large… something like 15 different albums could trace roots to Jazz Central.  And if I’m really badass, then I’ll get the map to represent every album I write about for this site (or other outlets)… which will really light that map up.

Another thing I’m gonna do next year is expand the definition of “home turf.”  As Vijay Iyer wisely pointed out during a twitter discussion, music that comes from New York City doesn’t necessarily reflect the breadth of the geographical influence upon the album.  For instance, I’ve got Diego Barber listed as repping NYC, but he hails from the Canary Islands.  Yazz Ahmed is tagged as London, but her Bahrain birthplace influences her music.  Fabian Almazan was born in Cuba and raised in Florida; does his time in New York dramatically affect his current sound?  Probably.  But does that mean it’s in the absence of places he’s previously set down roots?  No, probably not.  And what of the dramatic influence of Camila Meza on Almazan’s Alcanza?  Why shouldn’t we have a point on that map for her?  Guillermo Klein lives in upstate New York, and that relocation was critical in the Upstate Project album happening… but to ignore his Argentinean roots and not put a dot on South America is probably a misrepresentation of the diversity of the music hitting this site’s Top 50.  These are considerations that will go into next year’s map.  If I get started early on my data tables, and maintain them throughout the year, we could have a pretty cool map for 2018.

Let’s wrap up with some videos, because, hey, I don’t ever want to post something on this site where you aren’t able to hear some music.

Here’s a video from the Sandcatchers.  Their album What We Found Along the Way earned the #47 slot on the Best of 2017 list.

Next up is a video from the quartet MAP, whose Guerra e Paz received the #32 slot on the Best of 2017 list.

And let’s wrap up with a video from the Anne Quillier 6tet, whose album Dusty Shelters earned the #7 slot on the Best of 2017 list.

 

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Jan 1 2018

So, let’s start out 2018 with Marzio Scholten, Kit Downes & Bill Frisell, because you’re probably hungover and could use something peaceful

 

Happy new year.  I’m just saying right now, before we go any further, 2018 sure as hell better be an improvement over 2017.  I’m gonna lay down some positive vibes with this post to get things moving in the right direction.

Speaking of things that are right, here’s something that proves there was still much to be grateful for in 2017.  Marzio Scholten put out a solo guitar album nearly one year ago.  We Never Left Town is full-on Americana folk, which isn’t really in this site’s wheelhouse, so I never really could find a spot to feature it… well, until today.  But genre aside, it’s a beautiful album, and also an interesting departure from his 2016 release, Here Comes a Riot.

You can check the album out on Bandcamp.  It’s also available at Amazon.

But just as we have things to be grateful for in our rear view mirror, the view ahead is no less sunny.  Kit Downes has a new album coming out, and ECM Records wisely kept the pianist in the fold after his contribution to Thomas Strønen’s Time Is a Blind Guide (who, coincidentally, is getting a new release in January, too).  Obsidian comes out later this month, and it features the ongoing collaboration between Downes and Tom Challenger.  Their organ-saxophone duo project already has roots running deep into the landscape.  It’ll be interesting to see how things get presented with the ECM touch.  Here’s a promo video…

Downes has an Obsidian EPK on his YouTube page.  You can pre-order it on Amazon.

And there’s no way that starting out a new year with Bill Frisell can ever be a bad thing.  Might be the best thing ever, as far as I’m concerned.  For a year in which I’m having to summon up every reserve of hope, it’s appropriate that we go with Frisell’s gorgeous composition “Throughout” to guide us into 2018.

You can find this song on Frisell’s 1983 release In Line.  Go buy it at Amazon.  It’s gorgeous.

Alright.  That should get us in good shape to start 2018.  Just as soon as your head stops hurting or you feel safe to step outside and see if 2017 is truly gone.  Good luck and be well.  Cheers.

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Dec 16 2017

These are videos that I like: Best of Bandcamp Jazz 2017 (Part Four)

 

Today’s videos feature ensembles that were among my monthly selections for Best of Bandcamp Jazz.  2017 saw a minimum of 120 recommendations, so it’s understandable that some might have fallen off the radar over the course of the year.  Here’s a chance to reverse that trend and remind everyone how much great music came out this year.

First up is a live performance from Nate Smith as part of the NPR Tiny Desk Concert series.  The three songs featured in this set source from the drummer’s excellent 2017 release Kinfolk: Postcards from Everywhere (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily).

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

Next up is a video from Albert Cirera & Tres Tambors.  The October 2016 performance at Hot Club Portugal is a nice refresher of why you should be sure to check out his excellent 2017 release Suite Salada (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily).

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page. It’s also available at Amazon.

And here’s a neat promo for Biophilia Records, a relatively new label to the music landscape.  They were responsible for releasing a number of solid recordings in 2017… one of which was Fabian Almazan‘s Alcanza (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily).  Almazan is featured in this video, both as actor and with music from his album.  It’s a nice opportunity to be reminded of some other 2017 recordings, too.

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page. It’s also available at Amazon.

And let’s wrap up with a video from Boštjan Simon.  This live performance at the 2013 Brda Contemporary Music Festival in Šmartno features his project There Be Monsters.  That project resulted in the excellent 2017 release of the same name (read about There Be Monsters at The Bandcamp Daily).  The quartet has expanded into a quintet for the new release, and the accordion has been switched out for vibraphone and trombone.  It’s a captivating album.

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.

 

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Dec 14 2017

These are videos that I like: Best of Bandcamp Jazz 2017 (Part Three)

 

Today’s videos feature ensembles that were among my monthly selections for Best of Bandcamp Jazz.  2017 saw a minimum of 120 recommendations, so it’s understandable that some might have fallen off the radar over the course of the year.  Here’s a chance to reverse that trend and remind everyone how much great music came out this year.

First up is an October 2017 performance at Manchester, London’s Band on the Wall by Arun Ghosh.  His particular style of Indo-jazz is hypnotic, tuneful and, well, pretty badass.  His new album But Where Are You Really From? (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily) keeps those qualities while adding some extra edge.

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

This is Irreversible Entanglements.  It’s an April 2016 show at Philly’s The Rotunda.  Their self-titled debut is some seriously powerful shit.  Protest music can take many forms.  And, really, it probably should.  But there’s something special about the visceral raw effect of the convergence of angry shouts and furious music, where every cell in the body and every note poured out feels like it can obliterate the sky and, through sheer force of will, give us an entirely new horizon that changes everything.  That’s this band and their 2017 release (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily).

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

Next up is a video from Marta Sanchez.  It’s different personnel and a bit of a departure from her 2017 release Danza Impossible (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily), but how cool is this living room performance?  Spoiler: Tons.  I’ll always feature a video like this.  Also, it’s a beautiful song.

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

And let’s wrap up with a video from Daniel Herskedal.  This live performance at London’s King’s Place has the tubist performing the song “Kurd Bayat Nahawand to Kurd,” a track from his 2017 release The Roc (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily).

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

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