Jan 4 2017

These are videos that I like: Taylor Ho Bynum, east coast, west coast, studio host

 

Today’s featured videos come courtesy of Taylor Ho Bynum, whose album Enter the PlusTet was named this site’s 2016 Album of the Year.

You can read more about why the album earned that distinction (LINK).

And the first video is a mini-documentary about how the album came about…

The next video is from a May 2016 performance at Buffalo, New York’s Asbury Hall.  Bynum’s PlusTet consists of musicians he’s collaborated with in a number of settings in different combinations.  For instance, this performance brings together his sextet and his Buffalo PlusTet.

And the third video is from a previous Bynum project.  This documentary spotlights Taylor Ho Bynum’s 2014 Acoustic Bicycle Tour, a 5-week, 2000-mile performance journey in which he bicycled down the West Coast from Canada to Mexico and presented concerts along, collaborating with different musicians at each locale.  If you do nothing else, you’ll want to skip to the mark where he plays to the ocean shore.

And you can learn more about all of these albums and projects on Bynum’s site (LINK).

By • These are videos that I like • 0

Jan 3 2017

Recommended: Waclaw Zimpel – “LAM”

 

On the three-part LAM, Waclaw Zimpel plants seeds of minimalism and brings three different forms of expression to bloom.  The first section begins with tranquility and the barest murmur from pianist Krzysztof Dys, drummer Hubert Zemler and the clarinetist, forsaking melody to infuse mood.  This, however, slowly builds up to an intensity that fills out a melody and spurs the music into motion.  Minimalism becomes something defined by its patterns of repetition and not its sparseness of sound.  The second of the three parts begins as the first part did, but never leaves that state of serenity.  The third and final part of the LAM suite uses as its starting point the place where Part One ended off.  The minimalism element is found in its simple, succinct patterns.  But Zimpel’s trio takes off from there, and the solos come strong with wild volatility and bursts of unrestrained personality.  And, delightfully, this final part circles back around to whence the album began.  First it powers down to frenetic repetition before concluding affairs in a return to a peaceful state, drifting, ambient music that hangs in the stillness of the air.  There’s some studio manipulation applied to the session.  Some electronics are added in, some shifting of sound, but all of it sounds organic to the performance, and could as easily be misjudged as live electronic treatments.

A seriously thrilling album.

Your album personnel:  Wacław Zimpel (Bb clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, tarogato), Krzysztof Dys (piano), Hubert Zemler (drums, metalophone) and mooryc (production, electronics).

The album is Self-Produced.

Jazz from the Warsaw, Poland scene.

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

Available at:  Bandcamp

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2016 releases • 0

Jan 2 2017

Recommended: Kathryn Williams – “Resonator”

 

Stripped down and melancholy, this duo collaboration between vocalist Kathryn Williams and vibraphonist Anthony Kerr breathes new life into old standards with barely more than a whisper.  Williams voice is the fog on a misty night, exhibiting a big presence from a state of stillness.  On vibraphone, Kerr hovers about the melodies, giving them just the slightest push before letting their motion fill out the rest of the image.  There is an evocative moodiness applied to the standards that comprise Resonator, sourcing to the core of the melodies and letting them breathe on their own with only the sparsest outline or direction.

There is something particularly appealing about the way the duo maintain a tranquil demeanor throughout.  Neither artist goes about expressing their personality onto the pieces, which would be, in most instances, a fatal flaw for a recording.  But after all of the uncountable renditions of songs like “My Funny Valentine” and “You Don’t Know What Love Is” and “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye,” it is as if those songs have lost all meaning and their existence has been superseded by that of the artists.  But there was a time that each of these songs had only been performed a handful of times, and they felt as wide open as the universe and not weighed down by the continuity of being passed from voice to voice, instrument to instrument, vision to vision.  Hearing these songs with only the barest treatment almost makes them new again.

A few tracks add accompaniment with strings or trumpet, and while there’s nothing wrong with those contributions, the album would’ve been stronger letting the duo do their thing unimpeded.  On “Stormy Weather,” Williams’ voice rises up as if forced to find a middle ground between the quieter tones from vibes and bass and those of trumpet that seek to take off and soar.  It doesn’t shatter the abiding tranquility, but on an album whose success depends on not disturbing the perfect surface of the lake, any kind of ripple is gonna get noticed and not favorably.

The enchantment of Resonator reaches its peak when it’s just Williams and Kerr dictating things, keeping it peaceful and placid and unhurried, exerting only the tiniest influence over the songs.  They honor the songs by keeping their fingerprints to a minimum.  When Williams coaxes the melody along with the slightest curvature of a note, allowing notes to hang in the air and fade away gracefully, the beauty of the pieces is magnified, resulting in a much greater impact than the activity might otherwise indicate.

Are there many sights more breathtaking and lovely than a solitary balloon floating effortlessly across the horizon?  And all the effort required to set that beauty into motion was a child simply letting go and allowing the balloon to do what it was born to do.  Resonator is the proof that this is a concept Williams and Kerr take to heart.

Your album personnel:  Kathryn Williams (vocals), Anthony Kerr (vibraphone) and guests:  Jon Thorne (double bass), Martin Shaw (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Simon Edwards (string synth, sonics).

Released on One Little Indian Records.

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

Jazz from the UK.

Available at:  Amazon | eMusic

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2016 releases • 0

Jan 2 2017

These are videos that I like: Psychic Temple and Stijn Demuynck

 

Today’s videos feature more of the artists who earned a slot on this year’s Best of 2016 list.

The first video is a trailer from Psychic Temple for their 2016 release Plays Music for Airports.  Their rendition of Brian Eno’s classic ambient music recording earned the #8 slot on this year’s list.  It’s a brilliant concept and supremely enjoyable to hear.

Go read more about the album (LINK).

And if you want to skip the write-up and just go listen to more of the album and buy it, you can do both on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Our second video comes courtesy of Stijn Demuynck.  His album Pouancé received the #10 slot on this year’s Best Of 2016 list.  Demuynck and Marieke Vandecasteele put together a little animated video to feature a track from that album.

Go read more about the album (LINK).

And if you want to skip the write-up and just go listen to more of the album and buy it, you can do both on the artist’s Bandcamp page.

By • These are videos that I like • 0

Jan 1 2017

So… about 2016 (Chapter 1): Me and the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll

 

This was my fourth year to be invited to participate in the Jazz Critics Poll at NPR Music.  Begun originally by respected jazz critic Francis Davis back when the Village Voice was his home turf, this nifty compilation of Jazz’s best of 2016 is now housed over at the NPR site.  This was the poll’s 11th edition.  I’m no less flattered today than I was the first time around I was asked to submit a ballot.

Here is a LINK to the amalgamated results, showing the top ten and also the top sixty, as well as some sub-categories.  It includes comments from Davis on each of the top ten results.  They also have sample tracks from each of the albums that fell in the top ten, and links to various other articles about the artists.

Davis talks about this year’s results in a column on the NPR site HERE, with an expanded take on this year’s winner Henry Threadgill.

Also, the individual ballots are compiled and maintained by Tom Hull over on his site, Hullworks.  Here’s a LINK to view the entire list of albums that received votes.  In addition, there’s now a list of all of the jazz critics (LINK), with each leading to their specific ballot.  My ballot (Dave Sumner) can be found HERE.

Every year that I compile and create my own site’s year-end Best Of list reinforces my genuine respect for the work Davis, Hull and the NPR staff put into making this thing happen.  It’s a mammoth undertaking to be sure.

Here was my ballot:

Album of the Year

  1. Taylor Ho Bynum – “Enter the PlusTet” – (Firehouse 12 Records)
  2. Jon Armstrong – “Burnt Hibiscus” – (Orenda Records)
  3. Eric Hofbauer Quintet – “Prehistoric Jazz Volume 3 (Three Places in New England)” – (Creative Nation Music)
  4. Michael Blake – “Fulfillment” – (Songlines)
  5. Jonathan Finlayson & Sicilian Defense – “Moving Still” – (Pi Recordings)
  6. Laurent Rochelle Okidoki Quartet – “Si tu regardes” – (Linoleum Records)
  7. Moonbow – “When The Sleeping Fish Turn Red And The Skies Start To Sing In C Major I Will Follow You Till The End” – (ILK Music)
  8. Psychic Temple – “Plays Music for Airports” – (Joyful Noise Recordings)
  9. Ian Carey – “Interview Music (A Suite for Quintet+1)” – (Kabocha Records)
  10. Stijn Demuynck – “Pouancé” – (Self-Produced)

Best Debut:  Stijn Demuynck – “Pouancé” – (Self-Produced)

Best Latin Jazz:  Edward Simon – “Latin American Songbook” – (Sunnyside Records)

Best Vocals Jazz:  Jon Armstrong – “Burnt Hibiscus” – (Orenda Records)

Reissue/Historical:  No submission

There’s no sense talking about any of my Album of the Year selections, since I covered that territory on my Best of 2016 list.  My vote for the Latin Jazz category went to Edward Simon’s excellent 2016 session; It, too, made the Best of 2016 list.  This is the second year in a row that I didn’t vote for anything in the Reissue/Historical category.  I just don’t have time to dig into that stuff.  I’m focused on music being made today, not on music from the last century.  Besides, there’s certainly no shortage of writers who are focused on Jazz’s past.  That said, I remember when Resonance Records began issuing older recordings a few years back.  I would touch upon them now and again for my eMusic and Wondering Sound columns.  Based on this year’s poll, it would appear that their impressive streak is continuing on.

Of the ten albums I selected for album of the year, six of those recordings didn’t receive a vote other than my own.  Two of the albums (Eric Hofbauer and Michael Blake) received a vote from one other critic than myself.  And two albums (Bynum and Finlayson) received multiple votes in addition to my own.  This disparity between my own ballot and those of the other critics is consistent with that of prior years.

Some thoughts about the amalgamated Critics top ten recordings of 2016

Here’s the Critics amalgamated list (with total points and total voters following each):

  • Henry Threadgill Double Up Ensemble, Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (Pi) 257.5 (41)
  • Wadada Leo Smith, America’s National Parks (Cuneiform) 233 (35)
  • Jack DeJohnette-Matt Garrison-Ravi Coltrane, In Movement (ECM) 194.5 (28)
  • Mary Halvorson, Away With You (Firehouse 12) 183 (29)
  • Michael Formanek Ensemble Kolossus, The Distance (ECM) 172.5 (27)
  • Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith, A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke (ECM) 170 (27)
  • Nels Cline, Lovers (Blue Note) 165 (23)
  • Matt Wilson’s Big Happy Family, Beginning of a Memory (Palmetto) 131.5 (22)
  • Charlie Haden/Liberation Music Orchestra, Time/Life: Song for the Whales and Other Beings (Impulse!) 128 (20) *
  • Steve Lehman, Sélébéyone (Pi) 127 (20)

Henry Threadgill is a brilliant artist.  I’ve raved about some recent recordings, though it’s his older stuff that still holds the greatest appeal to me.  His newest never really connected with me, and it didn’t strike me as particularly notable or special.  But Threadgill can be difficult to warm to, even for fans of his music (ie, me), so it’s possible one day I’ll give it another listen and think, wait, why didn’t that make my top ten?

Wadada Leo Smith placed two albums in the amalgamated top ten list.  Smith is something like the Ken Burns of jazz.  He picks a huge subject and then builds an epic recorded piece around it.  National Parks was the latest subject.  The album has its moments, but just gets listless at times, and comes off as empty and distant.  I’ve had this issue with other Smith recordings.  Sometimes his music is like gazing into someone’s eyes and you can just tell from their vacant stare that they’re off somewhere else.  His collaboration with Vijay Iyer is nice enough, but nothing that ever received any consideration when I put together this site’s Best Of list.

I really enjoyed the Coltrane-DeJohnette-Garrison recording.  It has one of my favorite tracks from 2016.  I included this album is one of my recent ECM Records rundowns.  The album got a little bit of consideration for this site’s Best Of list.  I’m not surprised to learn that other people also were excited by this fun live recording.

As I’ve expressed previously on this site, I have some strong feelings about the music of Mary Halvorson.  I’m not gonna rehash them here.  But I did enjoy her 2016 release very much.  I wrote some words about it (LINK).

If there’s one album that haunts me for not making this site’s Best Of list, it’s that Michael Formanek.  It was the very last cut before finalizing the top thirty.  I’ll be writing something about that album in the upcoming weeks.  I’m still taking it in.  Just when I think I’ve fully absorbed it, something new makes me take a different perspective on what I’m hearing.

The Matt Wilson, LMO and Nels Cline recordings are all nice albums.  Each has qualities that will make them enjoyable listens.  None received any consideration for this site’s Best Of list.  On the other hand, that Steve Lehman recording did receive some consideration.  Quite a bit, actually.  If a musician makes a statement with their recording, that can go a long way to earning them a slot on the list.  Lehman definitely makes a statement with Sélébéyone.  I wrote about it for Bandcamp (LINK).

Of the amalgamated list, the three major labels owned and/or distributed by Universal Music Group (Blue Note, Impulse and ECM) claimed half of the top ten slots.  Blue Note Records has found an intriguing way of reinventing itself.  ECM Records had, in my opinion, a very strong year in comparison to the last handful.  In every way that Blue Note is succeeding, Impulse Records is flailing.  Someone needs to put that once-great label out of its misery.  I’m tired of seeing it flopping around like a fish stranded on the shore.  Either that, or someone needs to figure out how to get it swimming again.  But the point I was going to make here is not to get the wrong impression that the best jazz being made today is on UMG labels.  The landscape for labels is too diverse for any one label to dominate a list like that.  Of my top thirty, no one label has more than two inclusions on the list.  That’s not by design; it’s the reality of the talent pool.  And that’s not even taking into account all the solid self-produced recordings.  It’s the smaller labels like Cuneiform, Hubro, PI Recordings, For-tune, Auand, Underpool, El Negocito, Edition Records, PJCE, Whirlwind, Firehouse 12 Records and Traumton putting out the cutting music of today.  And not one of them has a leg up on any other.  The days of the major labels dominating the landscape are gone… no matter the distorted view given by the NPR list.  But you don’t have to go searching all of those labels (and more, believe me, there are many more)… that’s what we do for you at Bird is the Worm.  We Search.  You listen.

And that about wraps it up for today.  Remember, as I stressed previously, go to town on that NPR Music Jazz Critics list… and not just the top ten list, but all the albums that received votes.  Many of them have been written about on this site, but this is a great opportunity for you to revisit some albums that maybe you didn’t give enough attention before.

I may be writing a couple more Year In Review columns over the next couple days.  I always have plans to do some year-end extravaganza, but just compiling the year-end Best Of list wipes me out, and then suddenly I’m faced with all of the new albums about to be released in the new year.  So, we’ll just see how it goes.

Thanks again for stopping by.  I hope 2017 is the best year ever.

Cheers.

By • Announcement - Music, Essays & Columns & Lists, Other Writing • 4

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