Best Jazz of 2019

Jan 23 2020

Best of 2019 #48: Colunia – “Zéphyr”

 

It’s hard not to fall under the spell Emilie Chevillard’s chromatic harp.  It possesses such a distinctive sound, and simultaneously stands out from and blends in with the other instruments.  It is that way a single tongue of flame can draw the attention from within a fireplace, even as it draws the other flames in close.  And this is true of the 2019 release from Colunia, where the heat of the flames and the way they dance amongst one another possesses a hypnotic effect while, simultaneously, keeping the listener bolted upright.  The conversational chatter from drummer Florian Chaigne, the arresting melodicism of saxophonist Gweltaz Hervé, the deep hum from bassist Emeric Chevalier, and guests on woodwinds and strings, all come together with a dazzling brilliance that makes the singularity of the fire far more resonant than any individual flame.  But all the same, this is one more example of a growing base of evidence that harp needs to be included far more often in a jazz setting.

Your album personnel:  Emilie Chevillard (chromatic harp, konnakol), Florian Chaigne (drums, konnakol), Gweltaz Hervé (soprano, alto & baritone saxophones), Emeric Chevalier (double bass), and guests: Linda Oláh (vocal), David Chevallier (guitars), Geoffroy Tamisier (trumpet), and Thomas Jacquot (sitar).

The album is Self-Produced.

Music from Nantes, France.

I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  Bandcamp – Amazon

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Jan 23 2020

Best of 2019 #49: Zion80 – “The Book Beri’ah Vol.8: Hod”

 

There’s a nearly delirious euphoria that accompanies Zion80 as they switch between dancing a melody on a pinhead and grooving like a second line through the streets of New Orleans.  The dectet’s fusion of Jewish music and Afro-beat is a natural fit for John Zorn’s Book of Angels series, where the mysticism, mayhem, and celebratory cheer are complementary ingredients for one powerful drink.  Heady infusions of rock, Balkan music and punk attitude add a left hook to go with the music’s stinging right cross.  There’s something special about how this group embraced Zorn’s compositions.  It’s not a unique occurrence; these Zorn projects seem to bring it out of the musicians, and it’s why these installments are so beloved by music fans.  But the frequency with which this special quality manifests makes it no less precious each time it occurs.  The enthusiasm this music transmits is positively infectious.  It sounds like the band was in the studio having the time of their lives.  Perhaps they were.  This music is all the evidence they’d need to present, and that’s something we, as music fans, can never get enough of.

Your album personnel:  Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz (bass), Yoshie Fruchter (guitar), Frank London (trumpet), Jessica Lurie (baritone & alto saxophones, flute), Jon Madof (guitar), Brian Marsella (keyboards), Greg Wall (tenor sax), John Zorn (sax), Yuval Lion (drums), Zach Mayer (baritone sax), and Marlon Sobol (percussion).

Released on Tzadik Records.

Music from New York City.

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Jan 23 2020

Best of 2019 #50: Shahbaz Hussain and Helen Anahita Wilson – “DIWAN”

 

The backdrop for this recording is the kind of thing that floats my boat.  A fortunate series of coincidences brought tabla player Shahbaz Hussain and pianist Helen Anahita Wilson together for this session, and their backgrounds in South Asian and contemporary classical, jazz, and devotional music are both separate and yet complementary to one another.  There is plenty of intrigue generated by this project before the first note is ever recorded.  But all of that fell by wayside the moment I became immersed in their dynamic conversations, back and forth, and felt the resulting serenity wash over me.  The rhythmic element of DIWAN has a gravitational pull that borders on irresistible, and it’s easy to see why it might receive the most attention.  But the way in which immaculately crafted melodies are set free upon the surface of those rhythms, and how they attain a momentum all their own before taking off into flight is about as exhilarating as it gets.  The conclusion of any one year brings two lists:  There’s the formal Best Of list, which methodically attempts to measure albums for their quality, significance and endeavor, and then, also, my personal Favorites list, a far more subjective encapsulation of those recordings that made my heart swoon, my soul dance, and my body channel the motion of the music.  The ranking of this recording for the former list is in the title of this post; As to the latter, DIWAN easily earns a spot on the top ten list of my favorite recordings of 2019.

Your album personnel:  Shahbaz Hussain (tabla) and Helen Anahita Wilson (piano).

Released on Golden Girl Records.

Music from Brighton and Rochdale, UK.

I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  Bandcamp – Amazon

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Jan 22 2020

Best of 2019 #51: Steve Lehman Trio + Craig Taborn – “The People I Love”

 

In describing the music of Steve Lehman for The Bandcamp Daily, I wrote, “There is an immediacy to Steve Lehman’s music. Sometimes, it’s aggressive and in your face; other times, it just draws you in with its personal magnetism. You can’t look away; it’s as if the music is revealing something hidden about you, or is so alien that you stare in fascination.”  It’s about as close as I’ve ever come to describing the saxophonist’s music, and how it hits me.  It wasn’t easy coming by.

There is a decisively combustible nature to Lehman’s sound.  It has much to do with why it’s so arresting and so fun.  But there is also clearly more to it, though that more is not easily identifiable.  His 2019 release The People I Love brought some clarity to the subtleties of the music’s defining characteristics.  Yes, the immediacy of the music is still an omnipresent force, but this album reveals that the aggressiveness is simply a byproduct, and that the immediacy has more to do with the subject of focus.  In this specific instance, The People I Love celebrates ten year of the alto saxophonist’s trio with bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Damion Reid.  There’s your focus.

This is an album of ballads.  They certainly don’t all present themselves that way, but they strike the heart with the same thoughtfulness and care as those tunes that gift wrap the ballad in soft tones and slowly poured melodies.  This quality, as much as any the album presents, is what makes it so damn special.

For this session, the trio are joined by pianist Craig Taborn, which is a good reason to celebrate for any reason at all.

Your album personnel:  Steve Lehman (alto sax), Craig Taborn (piano), Matt Brewer (acoustic bass), and Damion Reid (drum set).

Released on Pi Recordings.

Music from New York City.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  Bandcamp – Amazon

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Jan 22 2020

Best of 2019 #52: Synestet – “Les Usures”

 

The music is menacing at its most serene, smiling at its most furious.  The counterintuitive tones of Synestet result in colorful explosions of melody and rambunctious rhythmic dialogues, and a constant hum of electricity throughout, as if tapped into the heart of the city.  Even when the quintet of bass clarinetist Hélène Duret, tenor saxophonist Sylvain Debasieux, guitarist Benjamin Sauzereau, double bassist Fil Caporali and drummer Maxime Rouayroux dive deep into contemplation, it’s made understood that this is merely a temporary condition before volatility strikes yet again. That abiding uncertainty is what drives this album and makes it so much damn fun.

Your album personnel:  Hélène Duret (clarinet, bass clarinet), Sylvain Debasieux (tenor sax), Benjamin Sauzereau (guitar), Fil Caporali (double bass), and Maxime Rouayroux (drums).

The album is Self-Produced.

Music from Paris, France.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  Bandcamp

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