There’s a liveliness to LoS cArLiToS cOnTrAaTaCaN that kicks up all kinds of cheerfulness, and the way the quartet Los Carlitos offer up a melody is the emotional equivalent of beaming a wide smile.  The sophomore release from trumpeter Esteban Garvie, saxophonist Federico Viceconte, bassist Leandro Camus and drummer Luciano Monte is an exclamation point of post-bop effusiveness, and even when they work in early-period bop or classical influences, the music still rings with the clarity of today.  The music’s wide smile doesn’t hold back on the sense of humor, either.  Recordings of Diego Maradona make their way into some pieces.  They follow the gospel tones of “El Die 1” with a part two that begins by obliterating the structure built by its predecessor.  Melodies are as often drawled out with a boozy enthusiasm.  Sometimes the quartet breaks into song.  And all of it is just so much damn fun.

I’m so happy to have stumbled upon this recording.  It had me smiling from first note to last.

Your album personnel:  Esteban Garvie (trumpet), Federico Viceconte (tenor sax, clarinet), Luciano Monte (drums) and Leandro Camus (double bass).

Released on Discos ICM.

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

Music from Mar Del Plata, Argentina.

Available at:  Bandcamp

There’s something terribly sincere and heartfelt about this music.  The sound isn’t of the highest quality.  It might be just a demo.  But something about the lo-fi nature of Angel Dawid‘s The Joy of Living adds to the genuineness of the music.  The impression is of a musician, one with her instrument, blocking out everything around her and just playing from the heart.

Title-track “The Joy of Living” switches between solemn expressions and those that dart frenetically about.  This sense of reverence for the moment is something that carries throughout the recording.  It occurs on the woozy lullaby “Smilin’ Billie” and the sing-song “Rivers of Babylon.”  The song with the simple title “Blues” possesses a dancing motion that strongly hints at song structure.  When it begins to break form, melodic strands shoot up in separate directions before coming together again.  The vocals of “Home” are all soul.

Anyways, I just wanted to get this on your radar.  It’ll be interesting to see what else comes down the pipe from this artist.

Your album personnel:  Angel Elmore (clarinet, keys) and guest: Rahel Powell (bass).

The album is Self-Produced.

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

Music from Chicago.

Available at:  Bandcamp

The remarkably genial dialog developed by the quartet BISSAP is more than a little bit impressive when viewed in the context of just how many influences are in play on their new release.  Rêves de Papillon is a map of instrumentation and origins, sticking a pin in Greek, Arabic, Iranian, Japanese, African, American Jazz, and South American and European music forms.  But the fascination triggered by its complexity is balanced by an essential, unfussy lyricism, and the quartet’s rich vocabulary becomes the vehicle, not an obstacle, to achieving a ringing clarity.  The percussive textures perpetually reveal themselves in new and surprising ways, and the quartet keeps finding the simplest path to thread its melody.  Tracks like “Mandragore” and “Chemivati” have a cheerful, upbeat personality, and this is something that remains even when a contemplative tone is introduced on tracks like “Aera” and “Full Moon.”  And all of it is seriously beautiful.

Your album personnel:  Sargam Marie dit Asse (oud, bouzouki, sitar, classical guitar), Mathias Autexier (zarb, daf, derbouka, cajon, rek, urdu), Stéphane Dumas (bansuris, flute, soprano & tenor saxophones, Jew’s harp) and Vincent Bauza (double bass).

This album is Self-Produced.

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

Music from Forcalquier, France.

Available at:  Bandcamp