Jan 13 2019
Best of 2018 #22: Blast – “Drifting”
In much the same way the duo Anteloper did on the #39 album of the year, the Blast trio of keyboardist Anne Quillier, bass clarinetist Pierre Horckmans, and drummer Guillaume Bertrand go big with every expression as they find their singularly perfect ratio of the electro-acoustic equation. But where Anteloper goes heavier with the electronics, Blast leans more toward an organic form of modern jazz, where the heartbeat of the blues thumps with clarity. Quillier’s sextet made an appearance on last year’s Best Of list, receiving the #7 slot with Dusty Shelters. At this point, anything Quillier releases should be considered must-listen.
Released on Label Pince-Oreilles.
Music from Lyon, France.
I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.
When I included this album as part of the 
I’m still not sure where this album came from. It popped up on my radar as 2017 came to a close, and its lovely blooms of melody and harmonic colors bold and bright made me want to include it as a last minute replacement on the Best of 2017 list. I’ve learned to hold back on that compulsion. Every album deserves time to fully reveal itself. Migration Patterns certainly has done that, and it speaks to how deep the talent pool is on the modern scene that this album doesn’t sit in a higher slot on the list. I listen to this album over and over and over, and I still can’t decide which song is my favorite. I guess it’s whichever one I’m listening to at the moment. An amazing debut from Jack Radsliff, and a promising sign of things to come.
I really can’t get over how beautifully Tim Stevens unites the free flowing conversation of a piano trio with the soaring harmonies of a string trio. This isn’t your typical “jazz with strings” session. There’s a strong modern jazz perspective and an equally strong chamber music influence, and rather than switch roles in a dominant-accompaniment relationship, the pianist gets the two components to enter the same confluence, becoming as one. As a result, the melodic textures seem endless, and the dual personality of introspective and lively delivers a seriously magnetic charge. This is music for a lazy morning watching the snow fall and it’s music for the car stereo while speeding between destinations, and, ultimately, it’s music for when you require an infusion of loveliness in your life.
Jan 13 2019
Best of 2018 #21: Jakob Bro – “Bay of Rainbows”
Read more on Bird is the Worm.
Music from Copenhagen, Denmark.
Released on ECM Records.
Available at: Amazon
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By davesumner • Recap: Best of 2018 • 0 • Tags: Copenhagen, ECM Records, Jakob Bro, Jazz - Best of 2018, Joey Baron, Thomas Morgan