Sep 6 2018

Now up: August’s “Best Jazz on Bandcamp” recommendations

 

Now up, the latest Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations for The Bandcamp Daily.  The newest monthly installment covers albums for August 2018.  There’s twelve primary recommendations in total, but let’s keep that between us, since I’m really only supposed to submitting ten.  And, as always, I’ve snuck in some side recommendations to boot.  Because, really, ten is not enough, and twelve isn’t either.  There’s some familiar names to regular visitors of this site (and my other outlets), and, of course, there’s some names that’ll be brand new to you just as they were to me (including one that I unmercifully teased on Twitter. Speaking of which, if you’re not following me on Twitter, you should, because I give extra recommendations and shout-outs that don’t make it onto this site, plus, of course, cat pics. I’m at @BirdIsTheWorm).  Have fun!

Follow this LINK to read those recommendations and listen to music from each album.

And check out past recommendations by running through the archives.

Have fun going through the list!

Cheers.

By • Announcement - Music • 0 • Tags:

Sep 5 2018

Recommended: Matt Penman – “Good Question”

 

Some albums just sing.  It’s not so easy to identify why they resonate as strongly as they do, but just because we can’t see it, that doesn’t mean it’s not there.  The newest from Matt Penman is a case in point.  Good Question is a straight-forward modern jazz recording.  It doesn’t break any new ground.  There’s nothing about the compositions that stretches out to new territory.  It sticks to a sound most often categorized as modern post-bop and doesn’t venture out from there.  But something about how the bassist brings together the right personnel at just the right moments in each piece sets them off like fireworks in the center of everything.

The way Aaron Parks bounces the melody back and forth between piano and vibraphone makes opening track “Mr. Right” special all in itself, but when Penman and Mark Turner enfold it with the shadow and light of bass and tenor sax, it’s like opening a window to a whole new world.  There’s those uplifting moments on “Fifths and Bayou” when the combined efforts of Parks, Penman, drummer Obed Calvaire and guest percussionist Rogerio Boccato coax the rhythmic intensity ever upward while guest soprano saxophonist Will Vinson feeds off its energy and sends his solo even higher.

And then there’s the combined effect of ensemble effort and compositional intent.  The shifting tides of melancholy and joy bleed into one another, and provide a nuanced tone that goes far deeper than here is a happy song and now here is a sad one.  The sense of everything being connected imbues the album with a gravitas that makes simple statements ring as something far grander and, consequently, keeps the ear locked in at attention.  The mix of guests on guitar, soprano sax and percussion are no less important an ingredient to album’s depth, as is the way Parks switches between piano, Rhodes, vibraphone and organ.  They each bring new and exciting textures to their respective contributions without it being a sea change to the album’s personality.

Plenty to like on this one.

Your album personnel: Matt Penman (bass), Mark Turner (tenor sax), Aaron Parks (piano, Fender Rhodes, vibraphone, organ), Obed Calvaire (drums) and guests: Nir Felder (guitar), Will Vinson (soprano sax) and Rogerio Boccato (percussion).

 

Released on Sunnyside Records.

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

Music from NYC.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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Sep 4 2018

Watch the official video from the new Bill Frisell recording that I’ll never get to listen to dammit

 

Bill Frisell has a new album coming out.  It’s called Strata, and it’s a duet with Skúli Sverrisson, and because Newvelle Records is a vinyl-only production, then that means I and anyone like me who doesn’t own a record player ain’t gonna get to hear it.

A list of all the reasons this totally sucks:

  • Bill Frisell hasn’t exactly been coming strong with the new recordings lately, and based on this video track, Strata is looking like something that would rock my world.
  • I have been enamored with the music of Skúli Sverrisson for a very long time.  When the snow begins to fall, inevitably, his music is going to begin playing in my home.
  • I am looking to reboot my morning listening playlist, and based on this one track, Strata sounds like it might make a perfect fit.
  • There is no bigger Bill Frisell fan than me, so it’s practically a crime to deny me the opportunity to have this music in my home.  A crime!  Do you hear me, Newvelle?!  You’re practically criminals!
  • I sold my record player and vinyl long ago because everyone was making shit on cassettes and then CDs and then downloads, and now Newvelle thinks I’m gonna start buying everything all over again?  What next?  A cassette-only release?  Screw that.

Anyways, here’s the damn video.  It’s beautiful.  It’s so gorgeous, my heart can barely contain all the happiness it makes me feel inside.

Anyways, you can read more about it and, if you own a record player, pre-order the damn thing on the Newvelle Records site.

Guh.

By • These are videos that I like • 5

Sep 3 2018

The Round-up: We grew up believing in lightning strikes of good luck

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

Dustlights – In a Stillness (Ropeadope)

Candlelight is the dominant imagery induced by the sound of Dustlights.  The trio’s pulsing drone possesses a hypnotic effect of flickering flame, and its distant warmth is suggestive of a tiny heat burning bright.  Saxophonist Joe Wilson, drummer David Christian and bassist Ran Livneh make judicious use of electronic effects, and its harmonic influence is the sign of its strength.  Every now and then, I field a “what next” question, both for people looking to get into modern jazz and those just looking for similar music to explore.  If Portishead is the foundation of that what-next question, then Dustlights would make a fine answer.  They’ve got just enough post-jazz in their delivery to make it an easy crossover from ambient rock tastes.  Fans of Nik Bartsch’s Ronin should also be paying close attention here.  Music from Brooklyn, NY.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Alex Lefaivre Quartet – Yul (Multiple Chord Music)

This is wholly modern post-bop jazz, but there is something very old-school about Yul.  It’s like those classic Blue Note recordings where nothing groundbreaking was going down, but everything about the music was exciting.  Because if you get four musicians together who know how to trade volleys and honor a well-crafted melody when its presented them, and have as much fun comping a solo as they do riding one off to the horizon, well, it’s an electrical jolt that keeps you hitting the play button.  Bassist Alex Lefaivre gets that done on Yul, along with drummer Mark Nelson, guitarist Nicolas Ferron and an exceptional contribution from alto saxophonist Erik Hove.  Everyone sounds like they walked into the recording studio feeling at their best and ready to light things up.  Music from Montreal, Québec.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Toni Saigi Tronik – La prinsire de la Sal (Underpool)

There’s a nice flow of electricity on this 50s bop throwback recording from pianist Toni Siagi, saxophonist Jaume Ferrer, bassist Marc Cuevas and drummer Carlos Falanga.  The music swings and it scoots along, and its cheery, upbeat tone is infectious as hell.  With its peculiar emphases rolling out the melody on “L’Anell que no tinc,” a clear Monk influence is drawn out, but it’s just one example of the different expressions a classic bop can elicit… and on his debut, Siagi hits on many of them.  Nothing here not to like.  Music from Badalona, Spain.

No artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Peter Evans – Peter Evans Group (Self-Produced)

Really what makes this recording crackle with energy is its combination of a thick blues and a noir ambiance.  This is standard post-bop modern jazz, but those two elements give it a life that is something more than standard stuff.  Distinctive melodies are like a door held wide open to the rest of the song, and even when a soloist takes the tune out in unexpected direction, those melodies light the way back home to the opening theme.  This is Peter Evans‘ debut, and it’s a strong opening statement.  His quintet is a nice example of music coming out of Melbourne, Australia.

No artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Maxi Caballero – I Could See For Miles (Self-Produced)

I’ve really been enjoying this nifty modern jazz guitar recording.  Maxi Caballero brings a couple different approaches to the table, ranging from a Frisellian looping sound to a straight-ahead post bop to a little something with strings and even a piece that situates itself in territory not far removed from some of Pat Metheny’s more ambient works.  The guitarist is joined by drummer Alfonso de Miguel Drums and bassist Jesús Caparrós, plus some guests on piano and strings.  Naturally, I enjoy the looping action of the opening track, but the breezy melodicism of “Up in the Woods” reminds me pleasantly of the Marc Johnson classic The Sound of Summer Running, and how the music just makes the soul feel free and hopeful and full of light.  A nice under-the-radar recording that should be on your radar.  Music from Murcia, Spain.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

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Aug 14 2018

Recommended: Bobby Previte – “Rhapsody”

 

The latest work from Bobby Previte presents itself as a collage of imagery, of a dream comprised of many smaller dreams all vaguely detached from one another.  But that’s the view from the ground, experiencing the music in the moment.  From above, taking everything in its entirety, there is an undeniable sense of the interconnectedness of everything, of Rhapsody as a universal machine decoded into sonic form.  The pulsing melodicism of Fabian Rucker’s saxophone melts into Jen Shyu’s booming vocals which are, in turn, enveloped by Zeena Parkins’ harp, like sunlight blanketed the soft ripples of a wave as it swallows a bit more of the shoreline at high tide. And this, too, is captured in the embrace of Previte’s drums, Nels Cline’s guitars and John Medeski’s piano accompaniment. The cycle repeats itself when Rucker’s sax emerges from the center and becomes the gravitational force that sets everything in orbit.

Rhapsody is a running narrative, a song cycle about traveling and the traveler, and where Previte wants the focus to be not on destinations and points of departure, but instead on the state of existence in between.  The music’s floating imagery falls right in line with that inspiration, representing the fleeting yet visceral sensation from attempting to nail down a perspective in a state of perpetual motion and change.

This is a stunning work, and it’s one of the very best things I’ve heard all year.

Your album personnel:  Bobby Previte (trap drums, percussion, autoharp, guitar, harmonica), Nels Cline (acoustic guitar, slide guitar, twelve string guitar), John Medeski (piano), Zeena Parkins (harp), Jen Shyu (voice, erhu, piano) and Fabian Rucker (alto saxophone).

Released on RareNoise Records.

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

Music from NYC.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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