Best Jazz of 2019

Jan 22 2020

Best of 2019 #53: Christophe Panzani – “Les Mauvais Tempéraments”

 

Christophe Panzani paints a sunrise on his 2019 release, and it’s a different one with each of the seven pianists he duets with on Les Mauvais Tempéraments.  Sometimes the music is pure tranquility and other times it kicks out some heat, but each piece on this lovely album radiates the contemplative atmosphere when the day is only just beginning and the world still retains a state of sleep peacefulness.  It’s a continuation of his 2016 release Les Âmes Perdues, and no less a joy to hear.  The pure intimacy between two musicians, locked in conversation in the same room with just their instruments as the method of communication is the kind of thing that leads to profound moments and insights that can never be fully encapsulated with mere words.  We need more recordings like this, and hopefully Panzani is only just getting started with this phase of his creative journey.

Your album personnel:  Christophe Panzani (tenor sax) and guests: Yonathan Avishai, Edouard Ferlet, Eric Legnini, Leonardo Montana, Yael Naim, Tony Paeleman, and Guillaume Poncelet (piano)

Released on the Jazz & People label.

Music from Paris, France.

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Jan 22 2020

Best of 2019 #54: Trond Kallevag Hansen – “Bedehus & Hawaii”

 

There are so many different reasons a particular album will connect with me, and often, it’s more than one reason.  It’s a joy to attempt to convey those emotions and thoughts in the written form, to bring the imagery in my head, heart, and soul to life on the page.  But occasionally I encounter an album that is so damn beautiful in some ineffable way that all I want to do is simply type the words this is pure beauty over and over again.  This is pure beauty this is pure beauty this is pure beauty this is pure beauty.  Guitarist Trond Kallevåg Hansen has crafted an album that captures the Nordic countryside and the Pacific ocean shore, and he’s joined by musicians who have a talent at doing the same, especially fellow guitarist Geir Sundstøl, who, also, creates music of pure beauty and has left me equally captivated.  2019 has had its share of gorgeous recordings see the light of day, but perhaps none more oso than Bedehus & Hawaii.  This is pure beauty.  Sometimes that’s all that can be said, and really, there is nothing more that needs saying.

Your album personnel:  Trond Kallevåg Hansen (guitar, electronics and field recordings), Ivar Myrset Asheim (drums and percussion), Alexander Hoholm (double bass), Geir Sundstøl (guitar, pedal steel, marxophone, optigan, xylophone) and Adrian Løseth Waade (violin).

Released on Hubro Music.

Music from Oslo, Norway.

I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  Amazon – Bandcamp

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Jan 21 2020

Best of 2019 #55: Paulo Gomes – “MAP + Chris Cheek”

 

Paulo Gomes’ Guerra e Paz was one of the very best things to come out in 2017.  How it unleashed immaculate melodies and let them wander freely off to the horizon created the sense of an epic journey while keeping the listener immersed simultaneously in the present microcosm of melodic expression.  It was also a nifty example of how the cadence of the new jazz era has altered dramatically from the swing and bop days, while its reliance on a well-crafted melody as a base foundation is as relevant today as it was when John Coltrane was creating mad vortexes of sound circling around the gorgeous melody to “My Favorite Things.”  On his 2019 release, Gomes adds saxophonist Chris Cheek to the mix.  The fourth installment from his MAP ensemble, Paulo Gomes documents the music performed from two separate concerts:  One at the Rivoli Theater and the other at the Coimbra Conservatory of Music.  It goes a long way to showing that the electricity generated by the ensemble in the studio carries seamlessly to a live setting, and that the addition of new personnel just amplifies the charge of the music to even greater heights.  There is no way any of this striking music should be falling under the radar.  It is just too damn good.

Your album personnel:  Paulo Gomes (piano), Miguel Moreira (guitar), Miguel Ângelo (double bass), Acácio Salero (drums), and Chris Cheek (saxophones).

The album is Self-Produced.

Music from Porto, Portugal.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  Bandcamp

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Jan 21 2020

Best of 2019 #56: Marta Sanchez Quintet – “El Rayo de Luz”

 

Choppy waves jostle the boat and they crash loudly upon the shore and move at brisk speeds that defy the tranquility of a serene lake, and, yet, if those waves were composed by Marta Sánchez, that lake would still elicit a powerfully hypnotic effect.  The pianist has a talent for setting melodies free in a turbulent environment, and yet attaining a flow like the sweetest song.  Her 2015 release Partenika was proof of that talent in the strongest sense, perhaps captured most vividly in the staying power of the melodies, and how some had an almost timeless quality to them, even as they were framed by compositions that were clearly made from the stuff of the present day.  Her 2019 release El Rayo de Luz continues in that vein, but diverges where Sánchez focuses more of her attention on the nuance of those waves, and how tiny permutations effected at just the right moment make the biggest splash.

Your album personnel:  Marta Sánchez (piano), Roman Filiu (alto sax), Chris Cheek (tenor sax), Rick Rosato (bass), and Daniel Dor (drums).

Released on the Fresh Sound New Talent label.

Music from New York City.

I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Cool album cover artwork by Alicia Martin Lopez.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  Amazon – Bandcamp

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Jan 21 2020

Best of 2019 #57: Chelsea McBride’s Socialist Night School – “Aftermath”

 

Composer Chelsea McBride has previously received warm words on this site for her modern take on the big band recording.  She has deftly shrugged off the gravitational pull of jazz past and how a big band jazz album should sound.  Much like counterparts Darcy James Argue, Brian Krock, and Ben Cottrell, McBride incorporates modern influences and approaches, and pretty much annihilates all preconceptions of what the big band medium should be, and, instead, illuminates what could be.  Her 2019 release Aftermath is the stronger, cohesive grand vision that previous recordings flirted with.  The impression of a running narrative exists throughout, and the eccentric flourishes have settled into the body of the compositions so that their personality shines strong without blinding the listener to all else.  Aftermath is one of the best big band recordings of 2019, and a reason to be hopeful that the medium will continue to evolve, and thrive, as we dive into 2020.

Your album personnel:  Chelsea McBride (tenor sax, conductor, composer), Colleen Allen (soprano & alto saxophones, piccolo, flute, alto flute), Naomi Higgins (soprano & alto saxophones, flute, alto flute), Alison Young (tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet), Patrick Smith (tenor & soprano saxophones, flute, clarinet), Conrad Gluch (baritone sax, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, alto flute), James Rhodes, Justin See, Tom Upjohn, Kaelin Murphy (trumpets, flugelhorns), William Carn, Aidan Sibley, Jill Richards (trombones), Nicholas Sieber (bass trombone, tuba), Alex Samaras (voice), Chris Bruder (piano), David Riddel (guitar), Steven Falk (acoustic & electric basses) and Geoff Bruce (drums).

The album is Self-Produced.

Music from Toronto, Ontario.

I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Cool album cover artwork by Arthur Ikuta.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  Amazon – Bandcamp

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