These are videos that I like

Aug 25 2017

These are videos that I like: What’s been on lately

 

It’s been a while since we last ran a video column.  Not sure why exactly that is, but I just happened to be strolling through the site’s bookmarks and, damn, that video list sure has grown out of control.  I feel like I could make a tepidly funny joke about mowing the lawn here, but my heart isn’t in it, and, well, none of you look enthused about the possibility of my lawn maintenance themed stand-up routine.  Well, except for the John “Deere Old Stockholm” Coltrane fans, of course.  Hah! #puns But no seriously, someone come over and mow my lawn.  Okay, that’s all I got.  I’m glad we could have this talk.

About those videos…

First up is a live performance by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and his quintet performing the title-track from his new album Diaspora at Paste Studios in NYC.  The essential take-away here is that Scott is amazing live.  Look, I know some of you aren’t crazy about some of the directions he goes in the studio.  I get that.  But in a live setting, it’s as if all of his music achieves a full bloom.  Seeing him live in person or just on a video screen, he blows me away each time.  Also, flautist Elena Pinderhughes is a total bad-ass.

His new album Diaspora was one of the Best of Bandcamp Jazz picks.  Go give it a read on The Bandcamp Daily.

And if you want to skip the write-up and go straight and check the album out, you can give it a listen and purchase it on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Next up is an in-studio performance by Masaa of “Natra” from their new album Outspoken.  Their mix of Lebanese, French, and German vocals with a European jazz sound is mesmerizing.

Check out a write-up of that album (LINK).

And here’s a link to another cool video.  It’s part interview, part travelogue, part live performance, and 100% cool.

Also, if you want to check out their new album, you can give it a listen and purchase it on their Bandcamp page.

And let’s wrap up with a live performance by the Hear In Now trio of violinist Mazz Swift, cellist Tomeka Reid and double bassist Silvia Bolognesi.  This video sees the trio at Vision Festival 20.

Their new album Not Living In Fear was the lead on a recent Round-up column, which you can check out right here-> LINK

But if you want to skip all those words and just check the album out, you can give it a listen and purchase it at the artist’s Bandcamp page.

 

By • These are videos that I like • 1

Aug 15 2017

We really need to talk about these videos for Martin Pyne’s new album

 

Martin Pyne has a new album out.  The solo project Behind the Mist nicely highlight’s the strengths the vibraphonist brings to the Busnoys trio, while also illuminating the breadth possessed by his personal artistry when freed from the requirements of collaboration.  The album has a theme.  Of the album’s ten tracks, all but the last are inspired by faeries of the British Isles.  The music makes this assertion an easy sell.  There is an otherworldly tone to this music.  The album also has some videos to partner with the music.  Visual artist Maria Hayes adds some striking imagery to three of the album tracks, and they have the dual effect of bolstering the music’s attachment to its theme and coaxing out elements that further enhance the overall experience.  The synthesis between sound and vision is subtle and emerges with a measured pace, and those moments when it all comes together border on the dramatic.

We need more of this.

There’s the dreamy presence of “Niamh of the Golden Hair” and the tumbling jumble of “Spriggans” and the furtive motions of “Yarthkin,” and Hayes captures all of these traits and the soul of the album with the divergent, yet complementary textures on her drawing, as well as the way they are revealed in synchronicity with the music.

“Changeling” is one of a handful of tracks where Pyne adds some real-time electronic effects to augment the vibraphone’s icy precision.  It’s a nice touch, not overdone by any means, and adds some welcome contrast with its wobbly melodicism and hazy harmonic accompaniment.  The title-track “Behind the Mist” also utilizes these effects.  The motion of the art on Maria Hayes’s drawing mirrors both the ambiance of the music and its own movements.

The album’s final piece sources back to Pyne’s Busnoys trio, and adapted for the current work.  “Song for Grace Melbury” may not fit in with the theme of supernatural creatures, but it has no difficulty blending in with the crowd.  This nod to the album’s cohesion is not something to be undervalued.

A seriously enjoyable project.

Behind the Mist is released on Pyne’s label Tall Guy Records.

Your album personnel:  Martin Pyne (vibraphone, effects).

Listen to the album at the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Music from London.

Available at:  Bandcamp

And here’s one final video, this to the song “Will o’ the Wisp”

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases, These are videos that I like • 0

Aug 6 2017

Exclusive video premiere: Matthew Golombisky’s Cuentos

 

Premiering today, we have an exclusive video showcase of the new album from Matthew Golombisky’s Cuentos.  We’re also featuring a preview of his new album, the two-volume release scheduled to drop September 1st on Ears & Eyes Records.

These cuentos, or short stories, focus on the bassist’s life in the two cities of Oakland and Chicago, with an entire volume of music dedicated to each, and featuring musicians from those cities.  The music is remarkably cohesive, despite the different line-ups and the different personalities of the cities and, one would assume, the unique time Golombisky spent in each.

This music displays a strong chamber jazz influence.  They both move with a supreme patience, allowing melodies to shine bright, then dissipate, and then reform yet again, but with a different shape and form, and resonating with no less beauty.  For Volume 1 (via Oakland), the icy presence of Mark Clifford‘s vibraphones adds a precision to the enveloping harmonics of Crystal Pascucci‘s cello.  Alto saxophonist Aram Shelton is often associated with a more acerbic form of avant-garde and free material, and it’s refreshing to hear him coalesce into expressions of brevity and peacefulness.  This is especially true when he switches over to bass clarinet.

The Chicago session, Volume 2, has an entirely different mix of instruments, with trumpeter James Davis, guitarist Bill MacKay and bassist Jeff Greene, but the only real difference between this and the Oakland set is the change in the patter of the rainfall, and perhaps a tiny bit more rumble to the sound of distant thunder.  But it’s just as peaceful as the Oakland session, and it’s very easy to overlook when the first volume ends and the second begins.

Speaking of peacefulness, this album’s prevailing tranquility is a perfect soundtrack for a solemn Sunday morning, and as strong a candidate for inclusion in the Sunday Morning Jazz Album series as any album previously featured.  In fact, consider it so.

Now, about that video…

Volume 1: West Coast/Oakland with Matthew Golombisky (acoustic bass guitar), Aram Shelton (alto sax, bass clarinet), Mark Clifford (vibraphone) and Crystal Pascucci (cello).

Volume 2: Third Coast/Chicago with Matthew Golombisky (acoustic bass guitar), James Davis (trumpet), Bill MacKay (guitar) and Jeff Greene (contrabass).

You can listen to more of the album, and pre-order it, on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

And for those of you who have an odd tape cassette fetish, Golombisky is offering a limited supply of the new album on your favorite medium.

Here’s an audio preview of the recording…

It’s a wonderful recording, and I’ve become quickly addicted.  Go check it out.

By • Album Preview, Announcement - Music, Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases, These are videos that I like • 0 • Tags:

Aug 4 2017

Whoa, Vadim Neselovskyi’s new album got paired with a very cool video

 

Pianist Vadim Neselovskyi has a new album out, and he’s got a very cool video to go along with it.  Putting it together is Alina Shagidullina, and, damn, it is seriously beautiful.  The video is set to “Station Taiga,” the fourth track on Neselovskyi’s 2017 release Get Up and Go.  If this video doesn’t compel you to go check the album out, I don’t know what will.

And, answering the question hanging in the thoughts of regular visitors to this site, yes, the video has a train in it.  Because life is beautiful.

Your album personnel:  Vadim Neselovskyi (piano, melodica), Ronen Itzik (drums, percussion, melodica), Dan Loomis (bass) and Sara Serpa (voice).

If you’re interested in purchasing the album, it’s available at:  Amazon

By • These are videos that I like • 0

Jul 22 2017

These are videos that I like: What’s been playing

 

Today’s first featured videos is a nifty audio-visual of how the album cover was created for the new I Think You’re Awesome release, Books (go check it out).

And here’s an official promo video for the Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan collaboration that led to Small Town (go check it out).  Can’t help but love the various shots at the Village Vanguard, where the recording took place.

Next up is a promo video for the new album from site favorite Michel Portal.  On Eternal Stories, the bassist is joined by drummer Richard Héry, keyboardist Xavier Tribolet and the string quartet Quatuor Ébène.  Their method of blending jazz and classical is one of the more amazing examples of third stream music that I’ve encountered in some time.

It’s been released on Warner/Parlophone.  You can purchase the album on Amazon.

And let’s wrap up with an official video for Ryan Keberle & Catharsis and their new album Find the Common, Shine a Light (go check it out).  It’s an interesting rendition of the Bob Dylan tune “The Times They Are a-Changin’.”

And if you want to skip the write-up and just go check this album out, you can listen and purchase it on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

 

By • These are videos that I like • 0

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