Dec 14 2017

These are videos that I like: Best of Bandcamp Jazz 2017 (Part Three)

 

Today’s videos feature ensembles that were among my monthly selections for Best of Bandcamp Jazz.  2017 saw a minimum of 120 recommendations, so it’s understandable that some might have fallen off the radar over the course of the year.  Here’s a chance to reverse that trend and remind everyone how much great music came out this year.

First up is an October 2017 performance at Manchester, London’s Band on the Wall by Arun Ghosh.  His particular style of Indo-jazz is hypnotic, tuneful and, well, pretty badass.  His new album But Where Are You Really From? (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily) keeps those qualities while adding some extra edge.

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

This is Irreversible Entanglements.  It’s an April 2016 show at Philly’s The Rotunda.  Their self-titled debut is some seriously powerful shit.  Protest music can take many forms.  And, really, it probably should.  But there’s something special about the visceral raw effect of the convergence of angry shouts and furious music, where every cell in the body and every note poured out feels like it can obliterate the sky and, through sheer force of will, give us an entirely new horizon that changes everything.  That’s this band and their 2017 release (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily).

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

Next up is a video from Marta Sanchez.  It’s different personnel and a bit of a departure from her 2017 release Danza Impossible (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily), but how cool is this living room performance?  Spoiler: Tons.  I’ll always feature a video like this.  Also, it’s a beautiful song.

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

And let’s wrap up with a video from Daniel Herskedal.  This live performance at London’s King’s Place has the tubist performing the song “Kurd Bayat Nahawand to Kurd,” a track from his 2017 release The Roc (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily).

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

By • These are videos that I like • 0

Dec 13 2017

Recommended: Paul Jones – “Clean”

 

That this album is informed by the music of Steve Reich, Kendrick Lamar and Philip Glass isn’t sufficient backstory to prepare for this wonderful new recording from Paul Jones.  Primarily a work of modern jazz and chamber, those artist-specific influences bleed into the music of Clean with a remarkable subtlety.  Their effect is revealed in harmonic roll-outs, pulsing rhythms, a narrative-like melodic development, and moments of stunning minimalism at the eye of a storm… an undercurrent of influence like an untold strategy guiding the hand of active participants.

And of that, there are many.  In addition to his own sextet, the saxophonist receives contributions from The Righteous Girls, the SNAP Saxophone Quartet and a chamber quartet.  The personnel deftly layer their own individual expressions upon the music while simultaneously channeling those undercurrents of modern classical, hip hop and pop.

Some musicians are storytellers.  Not in the vague sense of I’m trying to send a message with this music, but with a lyrical approach that hints strongly at introductions, conflict, denouement and a concluding wave goodbye.  The music creates the story and the story becomes the listener’s, transported into another time and place.  On his sophomore release, Paul Jones is world-building.  There’s the return to familiar locales with recurring melodies on “Ive Sn Th Gra Md“ and “It Was Brgh Cold“ and “Romulo’s Raga.”  There’s the spikes of intensity on “Centre in the Woods“ and title-track “Clean“ mirroring a dramatic plot twist.  And there’s the gentle comedowns on “Trio” and “Buckley Vs. Vidal“ like the sound of everything turning out okay in the end.

This is one of the best things to come out in 2017.

Your album personnel:  Paul Jones (tenor sax), Alex LoRe (alto sax), Matt Davis (guitar), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Johannes Felscher (bass), Jimmy Macbride (drums), Mark Dover (clarinet), Ellen Hindson (oboe), Nanci Belmont (bassoon), Susan Mandel (cello), The Righteous Girls of Gina Izzo (flute), Erika Dohi (piano), and The SNAP Saxophone Quartet of Nicholas Biello (soprano sax), Andrew Gould (alto sax), Sam Dillon (tenor sax), Jay Rattman (baritone sax).

Released on Outside In Music.

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

Music from NYC.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon | eMusic

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases • 0

Dec 12 2017

Recommended: Rebecca Martin & Guillermo Klein – “The Upstate Project”

 

Though both had made their respective marks while on the NYC scene, it wasn’t until after Rebecca Martin and Guillermo Klein had each relocated to upstate New York that the two ultimately collaborated.  It should have happened a long time ago.  Having worked with an all-star cast of jazz musicians throughout her career, Martin has forged her own personal style of vocals and composition, sometimes situated firmly in a folk music styling, sometimes in jazz, and sometimes in that unmasked space between genres where a simple song can move mountains.  And Klein, in his unique vocalization of NYC modern jazz, the element of Argentinean folk has always been an essential component of the pianist’s work.  On The Upstate Project, those shared qualities snap right into place.  As does their approach to melody.  Like an icicle, sometimes the beauty manifests in the patient melt of individual droplets of notes and sometimes it’s when the body of song captures every facet of a sunbeam… there’s an appealing confluence of free flowing verse and song structure that keeps the attention riveted in place.

Martin adapts a few pieces from previous works, where Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Larry Grenadier, and others had their hands in the original creation.  Most notable is a reworking of Bill Frisell’s “Throughout” (renamed “Hold On” for this session), in which Martin’s lyrics amplify the original’s instrumental enchantment.  That said, it’s the pieces original to this project where this album is at its strongest.  Opening track “Just as in Spring” is a case in point, with its lullaby melody matched up with a rise-with-the-sun tempo.  It’s about as beautiful as a song gets, and also the basis for locking Martin and Klein in a recording studio for additional recordings.

Your album personnel: Rebecca Martin (vocals, guitar), Guillermo Klein (piano, keyboard, vocals), Larry Grenadier (acoustic bass) and Jeff Ballard (drums, percussion).

 

Released on Sunnyside Records.

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

Music from Kingston and Beacon, NY.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases • 0 • Tags: , ,

Dec 11 2017

These are videos that I like: Best of Bandcamp Jazz 2017 (Part Two)

 

Today’s videos feature ensembles that were among my monthly selections for Best of Bandcamp Jazz.  2017 saw a minimum of 120 recommendations, so it’s understandable that some might have fallen off the radar over the course of the year.  Here’s a chance to reverse that trend and remind everyone how much great music came out this year.

First up is a video from Yazz Ahmed, featuring a version of the song “The Lost Pearl.”  It’s the kind of sound you can expect to hear on the trumpeter’s excellent 2017 release La Saboteuse (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily).  In addition to the cool music, the video features the amazing album artwork of Sophie Bass.

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

Next up is a live performance by Jeremy Danneman and featuring Sophie Nzayisenga Inganji.  Their 2017 release Honey Wine is one of the coolest, most joyful recordings I’ve heard this year (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily).  This May 2015 performance at NYC’s WhyNot Jazz Room spreads some of that good cheer right on around.

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

Next up is a video from Sam Bardfeld.  The violinist’s new release The Great Enthusiasms was an easy selection for a Best of Bandcamp Jazz column (go read about it).  This May 2015 performance at IBeam Brooklyn gives a good sense of why.

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

And let’s wrap up with Jaimie Branch, and this May 2017 performance at Toronto’s Jam Factory.  It includes the songs “Theme 001” and “Theme 002” from her excellent 2017 release Fly or Die (read about it at The Bandcamp Daily).  Yeah, I know the video is pretty dark, but I’m really liking when the stage lights suddenly illuminate some of the musicians.  Plus, these are two of my favorite songs from the album, so there you go.

If you want to skip the write-up, you can go listen to the album (and purchase it) at the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

By • These are videos that I like • 0

Dec 10 2017

Kamasi Washington at Headliners, Louisville KY

 

Tonight, the Louisville, KY venue Headliners Music Hall is hosting one of the bright stars on the modern jazz scene.

Kamasi Washington is touring in support of his new release Harmony of Difference.  He’s achieved fame in the music world via his work on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly.  That success translated to his own excellent 2015 release, The Epic.  Washington’s three-volume work bridged a classic 1960s spiritual jazz sound with an updated post-bop more reflective of present day jazz.  There was orchestra and choir and a big sound that resonated like mad.  That synthesis of something old and something new signifies an established approach of the modern scene, and it’s the kind of thing that results in music that is able to appeal to a listener’s cerebral nature while also inciting their foot to tap along.

Washington’s new album keeps in line with The Epic, exploring convergences between spiritual, cosmic, and post-bop with a series of dramatic harmonic builds, catchy melodies and contemporary grooves.  Those are elements tailor-made for the live show setting.

Here’s a video featuring music from Washington’s new album, Harmony of Difference.

The album is available for sale on Amazon.

Headliners is one of the better Louisville venues, and the mid-range size should be a nice fit for Washington’s booming sound.

The show details:

When:  Sunday, December 10th, 2017 at 8:00pm

Where:  Headliners, 1386 Lexington Rd, Louisville, KY.

Tickets are $32/35 (dos).

Headliners’ site-> LINK

Kamasi Washington’s site-> LINK

Check out Washington’s music on his Soundcloud page-> LINK

Here’s a video from a recent show at The Brass & Crimson in Glasgow…

By • Jazz in Kentucky • 0 • Tags: ,

« Older Entries Newer Entries »