The debut album from drummer Stijn Demuynck is a very specific vision, a solitary image captured in time that hints at the existence of a multitude of details below the surface.  With only the comforting chatter of drums, the murmur of woodwinds and bass, and the occasional harmony of a choir, Pouancé exists in a state of serenity, and the only transformations that occur are those that reflect its different facets.  There is the impression of a snow globe.  Within it, a city skyline.  It exists in an entirely different world.  And even from the turbulence of being shaken, that city and all of its hidden inhabitants, remain unmoved, a tranquil presence as the water grows more still and the snow falls down upon it.  That is how I’ve viewed Pouancé for the better part of the year I’ve been listening to it.  It remains one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard in 2016.

Jazz from Cologne, Germany.

Read more about the album on Bird is the Worm (LINK).

Using rhythmic phrases of legendary jazz drummers as conversation starters, Dan Weiss launches off into an innovative jazz orchestration project that echoes the experimental works of Archie Shepp’s 1970s spiritual jazz-protest music hybrid and the spiritual jazz work of Alice Coltrane, where the use of electronics and non-traditional jazz instrumentation fit like a glove.  Nothing about Sixteen: Drummers Suite sounds normal.  The electronic blips trading jabs with piano and percussion, the wind instruments that apply a strange geometry to the shape of the melodies, the dreamlike chorus of voices that shift between serenity and nightmare, and the tempos that often possess the same ephemeral nature.  Yet even with all of those odd characteristics, Weiss maintains a flow throughout, a forward momentum that streamlines the unconventional qualities and, much the same way passing scenery begins to bleed imagery the higher the rate of speed, so, too, does Weiss play with the senses.  A work this wildly experimental that is also friendly and approachable, that’s something pretty damn special.

Jazz from Brooklyn, NY.

Read more about the album on Bird is the Worm (LINK).

Well, if Bird is the Worm were to name an annual Musician of the Year as part of the year-end wrap-up, Allison Miller would likely earn the title for 2016.  The drummer put out an excellent new album with her Honey Ear Trio (go read about it) and an even better album with her trio Lean (go read about it).  And then there’s Otis Was A Polar Bear, the outstanding new release from her Boom Tic Boom sextet.  This is an album that possesses a lyricism straight out of a fairy tale, where wondrous imagery and a storybook delivery both reflect the imaginative vision that drives this session.  At times, the music is deviously whimsical and at others, the music enters a state of melodicism that is undeniably enchanting.  The sextet generates a sound that suggests an ensemble greater than just six, yet the music retains an intimate quality.  One of the very best things to come out in 2016, and one of the very best things that Miller has created to date.

Jazz from Brooklyn, NY.

Read more about the album at Bird is the Worm (LINK).

There’s something incredibly rewarding about following an artist, in any medium, and witnessing their creative development through snapshots of events and projects and finished pieces.  Jasper Høiby is one of the premier bassists on the scene.  He and his trio Phronesis have earned their accolades as being one of the most exciting things in modern jazz.  And over the last fifteen years, Høiby’s contributions to the trio project Malija, the Kairos 4tet, and Rory Simmons’ insanely good Fringe Magnetic ensemble are just some of the high points.  It leads one to the conclusion that remarkable work is something to be expected of him, always.  But even in that context, his fantastic new Fellow Creatures shows that even high expectations fall short of the plateau he’s capable of achieving.  In how the compositions shine individually and as interlocking facets of a singular whole, Høiby displays a clarity of vision and a grand confidence to shape the album that is jaw-dropping impressive.  These are songs that reflect an intelligence that values the abstract, and these are also songs that transmit their message with a directness that keeps the introspection in check.

Creative intent is easily and often subjugated to the wild and untamed whims of unleashed imagination, and for an artist to wield those forces in such a way that brings them into a state of unison, that’s the kind of thing to aspire to.  And in this instance, it also means an outstanding album is just waiting to get scooped up by fans.  P.S. Another positive signal emitting from this album is how three generations of jazz musicians are reflected in the personnel, proving that the strength of the modern jazz scene is nothing to worry about, and based on the range of saxophonist Mark Lockheart, bassist Jasper Høiby, pianist Will Barry, drummer Corrie Dick and trumpeter Laura Jurd, there was no reason to worry before, now or later.

Artist site | Listen | Available at:  Bandcamp – Amazon – eMusic

Jazz from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Read more about the album from my interview with Høiby on The Bandcamp Daily (LINK).

Of all the albums to land on this year’s Best Of list, it’s the 2016 release from the quintet Moker that reflects the wildest personality.  That personality, multifaceted and unpredictable, manifests as free improv pieces that send notes scattering like marbles at the epicenter of an earthquake, whimsical post-bop conversations that serve as a precursor to ultra-serious ambient jazz reveries, detours into rustic folk-jazz tranquility, and ominous ballads that speak to the heartbreak hanging over every love story and jazz-rock passages that imitate that same heart shattering into a thousand pieces.  And more.  So much more.  The quintet of guitarist (and alto horn player) Mathias Van de Wiele, multi-reedist Jordi Grognard, trumpeter Bart Maris, bassist Lieven Van Pee, and drummer Giovanni Barcella are now five albums into their Moker collaboration, and this fascinating, fun session shows they’re nowhere close to peaking anytime soon.

Artist site | Listen | Available at:  Bandcamp – Amazon

Jazz from Ghent, Belgium.

Read more about the album with my Best of Bandcamp Jazz column on The Bandcamp Daily (LINK).