Mar 21 2017
Now up, the latest Best of Bandcamp Jazz recommendations for the Bandcamp Daily blog. The newest monthly installment covers albums for January (more of a January 25th – February 26th thing, really). There’s ten primary recommendations in total, plus some side recommendations to boot.
Follow this LINK to read those recommendations and listen to music from each album.
Have fun going through the list!
Cheers.
Mar 19 2017
The melodies of Inside the Sun are in a perpetual transitory state. They emerge as a pronouncement, as a shout, as a whisper, but they never stay in the same state twice, and when one proffers a particular frame of imagery, it will never make a return appearance. Each tune exists in the moment, one to the next. What’s particularly refreshing about how Cat Toren wields this approach is that each song very much gives the impression of opening and closing statements; it’s just difficult to specifically explain how those bookends relate to everything that came in between… and, yet, they do.
Of particular interest is how this contrasts with her excellent 2017 release Cat Toren’s HUMAN KIND. That album is an updated spiritual jazz, and even with its passages of free improv and the ensemble’s willingness to explore a melody far and wide, each piece presents a structural form and clear point of view. Inside the Sun, on the other hand, has a mystical presence, of folk music that’s tied more to elemental sources than historical or societal. It makes for an intriguing compare and contrast, because though the two albums possess very distinct personalities, there’s no doubt they come from the same creative source.
Toren’s newest album was one of my Best of Bandcamp Jazz recommendations (go read it), and it seemed like a good excuse to also give her 2015 release Inside the Sun a shout-out.
Your album personnel: Cat Toren (piano), Ryan Ferreira (guitar), Nathan Ellman-Bell (drums), Pat Reid, Adam Hopkins (bass) and guests: Michael Attias (alto sax), Angela Morris (tenor sax).
This Self-Produced album was released in 2015.
Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Music from Brooklyn.
Mar 18 2017
Clarinetist Anat Cohen has two new albums coming out. On April 28, 2017, Anzic Records will release Outra Coisa, a duo collaboration with guitarist Marcello Gonçalves, and also on that day, Rosa Dos Ventos with Trio Brasileiro.
Here’s a preview track from each of those albums, followed by an EPK…
Your album personnel: Anat Cohen (clarinet) and Marcello Gonçalves (7-string guitar).
Your album personnel: Douglas Lora (guitar), Dudu Maia (mandolin), Alexandre Lora (drums, percussion).
And here’s an EPK for Outra Coisa…
You can learn more about Outra Coisa, and pre-order it, on the Anzic Records Bandcamp page.
You can learn more about Rosa Dos Ventos, and pre-order it, on the Anzic Records Bandcamp page.
Mar 18 2017
Here’s a cool promo video from Sr. Langosta performing the song “Ipsilon.” It also provides a mix of studio and live music in a cool setting. Their new album El Experimento Caribeño was a recent daily recommendation (go read it).
Your album personnel: J.A. Ferreras (guitar), Manuel Rodriguez (bass), Gamaliel Santiago (drums).
And if you want to skip the write-up and just go check the album out, you can listen to it, and purchase it, on the artist’s Bandcamp page.
And here’s a promo video for Brot & Sterne, set to the song “Wirbelwind.” They have an enchanting new album out called Tales of Herbst, and it was a recent daily recommendation (go read it).
Your video personnel: Franz Hautzinger (trumpet, electronics), Matthias Loibner (hurdy-gurdy, electronics) and Peter Rosmanith (hang, percussion).
*****
Mar 22 2017
Recommended: Jason Anick and Jason Yeager – “United”
The influences of the Middle-East (“Achi“) and Argentina (“La Segunda“) and Poland (“Stillness”) inform the compositions, but these are a mild gravitational pull and do nothing to drag the album out of its folk-jazz orbit. There’s a mix of originals and renditions, and, by far, it’s the originals that show this recording in its best light. The Anick original “Bird’s Eye View” practically sings, and this is true whether Anick’s violin is aiming a solo skyward or Yeager’s piano is softly brushing against blades of grass. And Anick’s “Well Red” displays a lyrical focus, where how something is expressed is more important than its meaning. The Yeager original “Harlem Hoedown” straddles the difference between those two, finding room for some wild expressiveness and a crisp melody that borders on catchy. As far as the renditions, it’s a mixed bag. The fragile beauty of their version of Zbigniew Seifert’s “Stillness” is a stunning moment. On the other hand, their subdued take on George Harrison’s “Something” leaves a regret that the duo might have taken a few chances at leaving their personal imprint on the heartwarming original.
They operate mostly as a quartet with the bass and drums of Greg Loughman and Mike Connors, but Anick and Yeager switch things up with a number of guests, including trumpeter Jason Palmer and tenor saxophonist George Garzone, adding some welcome voices to an album that, thankfully, finds room for them all.
Your album personnel: Jason Anick (violin, electric mandolin), Jason Yeager (piano), Greg Loughman (bass), Mike Connors (drums) and guests: George Garzone (tenor sax), Jason Palmer (trumpet), John Lockwood (bass), Jerry Leake (percussion), Clay Lyons (alto sax).
Released on Inner Circle Music.
Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Music from Boston, MA.
Available at: Amazon | CDBaby | eMusic
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases • 0