Jan 26 2020

Best of 2019 #36: Kit Downes – “Dreamlife of Debris”

 

Kit Downes has spent the last decade performing in churches.  His duos with Tom Challenger were an intriguing display of how the convergence of organ and tenor saxophone played with the strategic acoustics of these places of worship.  His duos with cellist Lucy Railton had much the same effect, even if the venue was something more conventional.  But the value of many of those recordings were measured in intrigue, and there was a tangible sense that Downes was still deep in exploration.  His 2019 release Dreamlife of Debris is far closer to proof of a discovery.  Switching between piano and organ, and adding drummer Sebastian Rochford and guitarist Stian Westerhus to the mix (along with Railton and Challenger), Downes presents some rather stunning pieces that range from an ethereal presence to a striking harmonic pose.  Judged on its own merits, Dreamlife of Debris is one of the strongest recordings of 2019, but in the context of following an artist’s creative trajectory, it’s the precious and exhilarating experience music fans live for.

Your album personnel:  Kit Downes (piano, organ), Tom Challenger (tenor sax), Stian Westerhus (guitar), Lucy Railton (cello) and Sebastian Rochford (drums).

Released on ECM Records.

Music from London, England.

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Jan 26 2020

Best of 2019 #37: Muriel Grossmann – “Golden Rule”

 

John Coltrane’s “India.”  I could live in that moment forever when Coltrane returns to the melody after a wild divergence.  The way in which meditative drones and chaotic upheaval live in a state of unison within the same piece, and often expressed at the same time, is the kind of miracle that exemplifies humanity at its best.  The spiritual jazz phase of Coltrane’s creative trajectory is a personal favorite, and I am not nearly alone in that regard.  It was a time when an addictive melody could exist in harmony with dissonance and a driving tempo, and despite Coltrane’s prodigious recorded output, the saxophonist still didn’t leave us with enough of it.  Thank god there are musicians who seek to capture that sound and exist in a similar place.

On Golden Rule, Muriel Grossman captures it about as well as anyone I’ve ever heard.  She gives it her own voice and imbues it with a life that speaks to the present day, but it fills an emptiness in the soul that’s existed since Coltrane moved onto more avant-garde territories and, eventually, moved on to another plane.  But, truly, Coltrane never dies, because music like this is timeless, and the way Grossman creates it, the manifestation is the stuff of life.

Your album personnel:  Muriel Grossmann (soprano & tenor saxophones), Gina Schwarz (bass), Uros Stamenkovic (drums), and Radomir Milojkovic (guitar).

The album is Self-Produced.

Music from Ibiza, Spain.

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Jan 26 2020

Best of 2019 #38: Massimiliano Milesi – “Oofth”

 

“There’s a lot going on in Massimiliano Milesi’s debut album,” is how I began my write-up of this album for The Bandcamp Daily.  It’s true.  And considering it was released on the Auand Music label, it’s no surprise that the music swims in the cross-currents of modern post-bop, indie rock, electronic music, avant-folk, and a few unidentifiable influences that may or may not originate on this planet.  My conclusion was that while the “influences inspire a cryptic dance with a curious synchronicity, the complexities are a simple course to navigate when you lead with melodies as embraceable as these.”

The theme of the 2019 release by Massimiliano Milesi is the sci-fi story by Walter Tevis “The Ifth of Oofth.”  The elasticity of tempos, the boozy motions, the electronics and organic instruments folding back upon themselves, they are all qualities of the music that pay homage to the story.  But this music is more than a tally of its inspiration’s characteristics.  The grooves springing from the electro-acoustic back and and forth, the melodies that chart the fastest course to the listener’s heart, the harmonies that separate and return to a state of unison like rapids curling around rocks in a lively river, it all adds up to one of the more straight-forwardly strange recordings of the year, a rare accomplishment of the unusual as something easily accessible.

Your album personnel:  Massimiliano Milesi (tenor sax), Emanuele Maniscalco (wurlitzer piano, synthesizers), Giacomo Papetti (bass VI, electric bass) and Filippo Sala (drums).

Released on Auand Records.

Music from Bergamo, Italy.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.

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Jan 26 2020

Best of 2019 #39: Ila Cantor – “Encanto”

 

The beguiling new release from Ila Cantor may fall in the middle of this year’s Best Of list, but it ranks right near the top as one of the prettiest recordings of 2019.  The guitarist’s seamless union of folk music and chamber jazz is like mainlining moonlight on a clear night.  There is an immaculate tunefulness to these pieces, the kind of inherent catchiness one would associate with a perfect pop song.  But in that way a world of sound emerges from the blank slate of a dark, country field, the guitarist balances the tuneful simplicity with a rich display of details and complexity.  Her use of charango and acoustic guitar amplify that richness of sound, as does collaborating with an all-star lineup of West Coast talent.  John Zorn’s The Dreamers ensemble is known (and loved) for projecting melodic dimensions as deep as the ocean and taller than the sky; Ila Cantor’s Encanto is irrefutable evidence that she possesses the exact same talent.

Your album personnel:  Ila Cantor (charango, acoustic guitar, voice), Ben Goldberg (clarinet), Rob Reich (accordion, glockenspiel), Todd Sickafoose (upright bass), Scott Amendola (drums, percussion), and guests:  Lauren Arrow (background vocals) and Phil Lewis (guitar).

Released on Slow & Steady Records.

Music from San Francisco Bay Area (CA).

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Jan 25 2020

Best of 2019 #40: Kris Davis, Matt Mitchell, Aruán Ortiz, Matthew Shipp – “New American Songbooks, Volume 2”

 

The New American Songbooks series seeks to dissect the concept of the Great American Songbook, and translate it to the music of today.  It is as much conceptual exercise as pragmatic creativity.  Jazz musicians, by and large, endlessly practice their craft, and immerse themselves in the music as it was, as it is, and as they want it to be.  They study the jazz masters that came before them, the theory and works that are now part of the lore, and take that knowledge for themselves and make part of their own, personal lore.  It is why the past is often an essential component of new music that might sound alien and unfamiliar and strange.

For the second installment of the New American Songbooks series, pianists Kris Davis, Matt Mitchell, Aruán Ortiz and Matthew Shipp bring together past and present.  As I wrote for The Bandcamp Daily, “[These musicians] are responsible for some of the most challenging, unconventional music on the modern scene- and yet, the way in which they pour their hearts into renditions of traditional hymns, pop music, and avant-garde compositions reveals that, at the core of their music, are thoughtful, contemplative inspirations that are not so different from those felt by anyone else. The performance of each musician on this recording embodies the spirit of the Songbook, and the idea of music possessing a timeless sound that speaks to something universal. I cannot possibly recommend this album strongly enough.”  That recommendation goes for both installments in the series, and, I imagine, those yet to come.

Your album personnel:  Kris Davis (piano), Matt Mitchell (piano), Aruán Ortiz (piano), and Matthew Shipp (piano).

Released on Sound American Records.

Music from Brooklyn, NY.

I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Listen | Read more | Available at: Bandcamp

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