Feb 5 2017

These are videos that I like: Ivan Valentini Slanting 5tet at Beijing University Hall

 

Today’s featured videos come courtesy of saxophonist Ivan Valentini.  His 2008 release Light & Darkness was yesterday’s daily recommendation (go read it).

Both videos come from an April 2008 performance at Beijing University Hall.  The first song is “Sottane Emiliane”

Your video personnel: Ivan Valentini (alto sax), Enrico Lazzarini (double bass), Alberto Capelli (guitar), Andrea Burani (drums) and Paolo Botti (viola).

And here’s the song “Metto la Quarta” from that same concert.

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

By • These are videos that I like • 0

Feb 4 2017

These are videos that I like: Roberto Negro, Birdy

 

Yesterday’s daily recommendation was from pianist Roberto Negro and his album Garibaldi Plop (go read it).  And as I was putting the post together, I had the opportunity to revisit his 2014 release Loving Suite Pour Birdy So, and I fell in love with the album all over again.  It earned the #10 slot on this site’s Best of 2014 list.

You should go read the write-up of that album (go read it).  Here’s some videos in that album’s orbit.

This is an in-studio promo for the song “Bicyclette.”

Your video personnel: Roberto Negro (piano), Elise Caron (voice, flute), Théo Ceccaldi (violin), Valentin Ceccaldi (cello), Federico Casagrande (guitar), Nicolas Bianco (double bass), and Xavier Machault (lyrics).

And here’s a performance of the song “Tout de Toi.”

And here’s a teaser video using a 2013 performance of the song “Champagne” at Jazz à Vienne.

And if you just want to go check out the album right now, you can listen to it and purchase it on the Tricollectif label’s Bandcamp page.

By • These are videos that I like • 0

Feb 4 2017

Recommended: Ivan Valentini – “Light and Darkness”

 

There’s a compelling folk-jazz expressionism on the 2008 release Light and Darkness that, had it been left alone, would have made for a seriously enchanting album.  But saxophonist Ivan Valentini couldn’t leave well enough alone, and by guiding his quintet to perpetually deconstruct each of these tunes, he created something far more fascinating.  With Alberto Capelli and Paolo Botti adding guitars, banjo and cello to the mix, the music retains a rustic charm and often provides a jolt of electricity, to boot.  Melodies are warped and re-shaped with an odd geometry, as if inspired by Salvador Dalí.  The cadence of each piece is often quite conversational and brisk.  The developmental arc of each piece rarely ends up in a place that its beginning might have foreseen.

“Be Bop” flirts with a classic sound, but it’s more inference by rhythm section than it is embracing an approach; That the tune eventually shifts into a healthy folk-jazz form of expression only accentuates this impression.  Sometimes Valentini’s quintet lives at one extreme for the duration of an entire song.  The title-track “Light and Darkness” sits in bop territory, whereas “Gatta Ci Cova” is firmly situated in avant-garde territory.  And then there’s the evocative “Linda’s Mood,” a rare bit of contemplation on a track that is typically bursting with life.  But the album’s normalcy is embodied by opening track “Sottane Emiliane” and the way it utilizes the unexpected as one would a craftsman’s tool.

This album was recently uploaded to Valentini’s Bandcamp page, which is how is got onto my radar nearly ten years after its release.  I’m happy for the opportunity to get this seriously intriguing, extremely enjoyable recording onto your radars now, too.

Your album personnel:  Ivan Valentini (soprano & alto saxophones), Enrico Lazzarini (double bass), Alberto Capelli (electric & acoustic guitars), Andrea Burani (drums) and Paolo Botti (viola, banjo).

This Self-Produced album was released in 2008.

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

Music from Modena, Italy.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon | eMusic

By • Jazz Recommendations, The Safety Net • 0

Feb 4 2017

Preview “Trickster,” the upcoming release from Miles Okazaki

 

Guitarist Miles Okazaki has a new album on the horizon.  Trickster is getting released March 17, 2017 on Pi Recordings.

Here’s a preview of what’s to come…

Your album personnel:  Miles Okazaki (guitar), Sean Rickman (drums), Craig Taborn (piano) and Anthony Tidd (bass).

You can learn more about the album and pre-order it on the label’s Bandcamp page.

It’s also available on Amazon.

UPDATE:  I’ve included this album as one of my Best of Bandcamp Jazz recommendations.  Go read about it at The Bandcamp Daily.

By • Album Preview • 0

Feb 3 2017

Recommended: Roberto Negro – “Garibaldi Plop”

 

From a lyrical standpoint, Garibaldi Plop possesses the persona of an absurdist.  Melodies are rarely offered up as anything more than fragments, and their primary role appears to be as a doorway from one spectacle of tonal imagery after the next.  The idea of a cohesive story arc is obliterated within the first thirty seconds.  The concept of flow from piece to piece is likewise dismissed.  One trait that does carry through the latest recording from pianist Roberto Negro is an unrelenting tension.  Some of this emanates from Negro’s ominous piano phrasings.  Causing at least an equal, if not greater effect on the omnipresent intensity is the polyrhythmic attack of drummer Sylvain Darrifourcq.  And then there are those arresting moments when cellist Valentin Ceccaldi manifests a presence within the midst of all the tension and volatility, giving a brief shape and form to an environment that gives no indication it’s meant to have it.  There’s some electronics and effects thrown in for good measure, but these are merely undercurrents to the acoustic setting, consisting primarily of modern jazz, chamber music and some avant-rock passages.

Roberto Negro has a habit of making strangely alluring music with a thick streak of humor.  The most notable instance is his release Loving Suite Pour Birdy So, which earned the #10 slot on the Best of 2014 list.  His newest release does nothing to alter that reputation.  Garibaldi Plop is a seriously intriguing album.

Your album personnel:  Roberto Negro (piano, electronics), Valentin Ceccaldi (cello, horizon cello) and Sylvain Darrifourcq (drums, electronics).

Released on the Tricollectif label.

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

Music from Paris, France.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases • 0

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