Dec 14 2016
These are videos that I like: Jacob Duncan “The Busker”
Today’s featured videos comes courtesy of saxophonist Jacob Duncan. All three are promos for his new album The Busker, a solid folk-jazz recording that features a trio of Duncan on alto sax, John Goldsby on double bass and Craig Wagner on acoustic guitar.
You can read the recommendation of that album in the most recent This Is Jazz Today column (LINK).
Now, about those videos…
This first video features the song “Down by Monk’s Pond.” It’s set to a number of photos. Since The Busker is Duncan’s attempt to put music to the memories of his time in Europe, it’s a fair assumption that the photos are from those travels. It’s a cool effect, especially when combined with the contemplative music.
This was probably my favorite track on the album.
The second video features the song “Backyard Self Portrait.”
It’s a nice example of how a simple promo video can possess a nice bit of impact.
And the third promo features the tune “Yuni et Anais” set to the movie The Beloved Rogue.
And if you’ve decided you’ve heard enough and just want to buy the album right now, you can scoop it up at the artist’s Bandcamp page.
POÈTICA comes at a strange time. The brilliant new album from bassist 
There are times on this recording when pianist Frank Kimbrough amplifies the emotional punch with just the slightest of motion. On “Here Come the Honey Man,” the comforting murmur of melody is belied by its evocative presence, and the little curls of melody on “Question’s the Answer” possess a gravitational pull greater than what its gentle nature would otherwise indicate. Kimbrough and his trio of bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Jeff Hirschfield keep to the quieter end of the spectrum, but they do kick up some dust on tracks like Paul Motian’s “The Sunflower” and Annette Peacock’s “El Cordobes,” so there’s no danger of permanently drifting off into daydreams. But the imagery Kimbrough is able to conjure on his newest will inspire them plenty.
There’s a certain magnetism to the way that alto saxophonist Jacob Duncan’s latest comes off as being both carefree and contemplative. His trio with bassist John Goldsby and acoustic guitarist Craig Wagner keeps an active chatter going throughout The Busker, yet the melodic development leads to imagery that’s more suited to daydreaming than conversation. It’s solidly in the jazz-folk sphere and, this, plus Duncan’s storytelling style makes for easy comparisons to Julian Lage’s Gladwell, if one were to look for the album’s bird-of-a-feather recording. A seriously personable album, and one that’s very easy to like.
With the nebulae as his inspiration for these compositions, flautist Christophe Dal Sasso aims his melodies through a lens that focuses on both their beauty and potential for volatility. The gorgeous presence of a string trio goes a long way to making that happen, as they reflect upon one end of that spectrum while Dal Sasso’s quintet expresses things on the edgier side of things. And there there’s a track like “V838,” which shows that it’s not all about extreme points of view, and where beauty and volatility can exist in a common state, and where the motion possesses a beauty all its own. It also expresses a fun side to a cerebral recording.
The inspiration of the compositions from the latest by trumpeter Andre Canniere resides in poetry, specifically that of Rilke and Bukowski. It translates well. This is not a startling result, as there’s always been a poetic element to Canniere’s recorded output… The Darkening Blue simply formalizes what was before inferred. Vocalist Brigitte Beraha sits in for some of the tracks, and provides a nice balance to the instrumental-only tunes, allowing the focus to shift seamlessly between the meaning of the words and the message of the cadence. Most tracks stick to the modern European jazz aesthetic, but the boozy personality of “Evening” and the volatility of “Hug the Dark” speaks to the turbulent forces that either spoke to or spoke from the source material.
What a fun and wildly expressive album. Saxophonist Harald Lassen and crew were on tour and decided to have an impromptu recording session at Rainbow Studios. The result is a session that radiates some serious emotional intensity, no matter whether they’re expressing themselves in contemplative tones, with overflowing enthusiasm, or with a demeanor as carefree as whistling a tune. It’s especially interesting in the context of Lassen being a member of 
Dec 14 2016
Recommended: Will Vinson – “Perfectly Out of Place”
For the most part, it’s an upbeat session, and nothing about that action is gonna generate a wish for anything else, but it’s still nice to encounter the contemplative tones of “Limp of Faith” along the way. Because even the slower pace of “Willoughby General” and “Chalk It Up” talk up a brisk chatter, with drums or guitar or piano instigating things on. The only real weak spot on this very strong recording is the unfortunate “Stiltskin (Some Drunk Funk),” a mainstream jazz-funk tune that sounds out of place with the rest of the album.
But that tepid criticism is eclipsed by this recording’s winning character, and makes it pretty easy to recommend.
Your album personnel: Will Vinson (alto & soprano saxophones, synthesizers, flute, celesta), Mike Moreno (guitar), Gonzalo Rubalcaba (piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesizers), Matt Penman (bass), Jeff Ballard (drums) and guests: Jo Lawry (vocal), Jamey Haddad (percussion) & The Mivos Quartet of Olivia De Prato, Joshua Modney (violins), Victor Lowrie (viola) and Mariel Roberts (cello).
Released on the 5Passion label
Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Soundcloud page and the artist site.
Jazz from NYC.
Available at: Amazon | CDBaby | eMusic
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2016 releases • 0