Feb 12 2018
The Round-up: Sometimes the road drops off
Here is some very good new music.
Kuba Płużek Quartet – Froots (For-Tune Records)
This session from pianist Kuba Płużek goes through some changes between first note and last, and yet somehow maintains a cohesive vision throughout. The most appealing state of existence for his quartet is when they run with a soul jazz and Motown sound. There’s a real electricity that flows during those pieces, and an almost insistent command to move move move. That said, those tunes that dish out some modern post-bop edge or just dive into the deep end of a thick melody and let the harmonies splash where they may, well, it’s pretty easy to fall for them, too. There’s a lot of good stuff going on here, and the most I dig into this album, the more I find to like. Joining Płużek are drummer Dawid Fortuna, saxophonist Marek Pospieszalski and bassist Max Mucha. Music from Kraków, Poland.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Cameron Mizell – Memory/Imagination (Destiny Records)
Those gorgeous interludes on a Bill Frisell recording, where it’s just his moody guitar and some loops & effects? The new release from Cameron Mizell is pretty much an homage to those moments. The guitarist keeps it simple. He takes the seed of a melodic image and runs through an electronic time lapse on its growth. A variety of effects muddy the waters and shift the focus and opens up facets, but for the most part, Mizell is careful to keep that original vision intact. It’s the reason these pieces keep a sense of cohesion rather than simple fade into a formless cinematic ambiance. Plus, he occasionally throws in a tune like “Vulnerabilities,” whose folk music styling goes a long way to providing a sense of shape and direction to the recording. This is an album that exists in the moment. Music from Brooklyn.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Baddest Unity – Fleurir (Self-Produced)
This charming duo session from guitarist Yutaka Hirasaka and trumpeter Masayuki Shikada shimmers in and out of focus and between two states of existence. There’s the late night jazz club ambiance, where the hour draws late and the moonlight begins to wane, and then there’s the electro-acoustic fusion of a modern loft scene, where laptops are surrounded by beer bottles and listeners lounging anywhere that looks comfortable. The electronic effects are used sparingly and in just the right spots. Music from Tokyo.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
Conjunto de Lassaletta – Naturaleza Práctica I (Discos ICM)
There’s an appealing way that flashes of edge emerge from the ethereal dissonance on Naturaleza Práctica I. Bassist Martín de Lassaletta, guitarist Julian Maliandi, drummer Leo Gerstner and effects specialist Mariano Balestena adopt a posture that structure is a highly elastic medium, which leads to a quick impression of multi-directional focus. But every so often, things come together with a succinct fragment of melody or unison of rhythm, and that brief landmark provides context to the road traveled to date and, briefly, the next path taken. This is one of two albums from these sessions. And while both are a modern jazz-rock fusion form of expression, Práctica I takes on a prog-rock ambiance whereas Práctica II dwells in territory more closely associated with the psychedelic fusion of the 70s. Music from Mar Del Plata, Argentina.
No artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
Tomáš Sýkora – Songs and Old Forms (Mot’s Music)
Measured by the merits of each individual piece on this solo set by Tomáš Sýkora, there’s plenty offered by way of keeping the attention locked in place. But the album is best viewed from the context of its entirety. The album shines brightest in the way the pieces shift between straight-ahead modern elucidations, avant-garde expressions of a strangely comforting dissonance, and classical pieces that border on ambient minimalism. The pianist spent two years developing this work, and to end up in a place where the source of the album’s cohesion is discovered in its diversity speaks to how time changes vision even when that vision never loses its focus. Music from Lysá Nad Labem, Czech Republic.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Welcome to the Best of 2013.
This music has a boundless energy, and it grabs me each time I hit the play button. Teubal brings both modern jazz and Argentinean music to the table, but infuses it with other influences to where it’s not so easy to draw a clear lineage. Apparently this was Teubal’s intention, and it clearly worked. A stunning album of immaculate beauty. It’s about as near perfect as an album could be, and I still find it hard to believe it didn’t end up as my Album of the Year. On saxophones, Sam Sadigursky puts out some of the best moments on a jazz album in 2013. Cellist Erik Friedlander had a quietly massive 2013, putting out a beautiful album under his own name, and also performing on some of 2013′s top recordings in a supporting role. On the fourth and fifth tracks, “El Acrobata” and “Un Dragon Dormido,” which could be considered the same composition, Friedlander interacts with other ensemble members to create some heavenly sonic expressions, of a supreme elegance and stately beauty. Jazz is more diverse than ever, and the internet age has opened up new avenues for jazz artists to record and produce their own music, thus making it tougher for the general public to decipher what they should be listening to… but when someone asks you what will be considered the classic albums of this modern jazz age in fifty years time, you should point to this recording as one of them. As near to perfection as you can get.
Clarinettist Ghosh has one of the more original sounds on the modern jazz scene. His style of Indo-Jazz is both eccentric and amicable, diverse and complex, yet so easy to connect with. I was taken with his previous recordings quite a bit, but on his newest recording, he brings an even fuller sound to the table, one more rounded out and self-assured. Melodies that strike to the heart of the matter and rhythmic architectures that offer up plenty of ornamentation and structural fireworks. Or said differently, this album sounds like it has a lot going on, and it does, and yet by crafting rich, beautiful melodies, Ghosh makes this gregarious album so easy, and enjoyable, to spend time with. His mix of modern jazz approaches with that of regional musics from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka spin a breathless weave of influences, all which abide comfortably under the same roof of one album, and which import a sense of excitement as the sound shifts from scene to scene. Just an outstanding album.
Goldberg opened 2013 with two strong recordings, released simultaneously at the outset of the year. Unfold Ordinary Mind was the stronger of the two (though Subatomic Particle Homesick Blues was certainly no slouch), courtesy of how Goldberg’s ensemble managed to create challenging music cloaked in catchy melodies and intermittent grooves. It’s not unlike an avant-garde rendition of a Motown recording session. Goldberg has always been an innovative sort, delving into projects that probably shouldn’t work, but producing engaging, often very listenable music despite the odds. He does that here, too, and the result is no less impressive or fascinating with many many subsequent listens. An outstanding achievement in a career marked by them, and a fun album, to boot.
This is an album of beautiful melodies. The melodies aren’t stated… they’re slowly exhaled. Tenor sax man Bill McHenry is the perfect musician for this type of album, with songs of a languorous demeanor, even when they’re moving at a brisk pace. His big sound is delivered with a peaceful ease, and matches well with Moreaux’s ensemble, which utilizes a dynamic percussive approach that serves more as an undercurrent of crackling electricity, and allows the melodies to serve up the heavy voltage. Bassist Moreaux has been collaborating with jazz-folk saxophonist Jeremy Udden, and this album clearly illustrates that those two are peas of the same pod… they both have that eminently peaceful sound, of a warmth that provides sufficient heat to prevent the music from ever getting terribly sleepy. This is a strong album that, unfortunately, seems to have flown a bit under the radar. Hopefully this will kick-start some interest. It should, because this is a gorgeous recording.
Apr 16 2018
The Round-up: Because there is always hope
Here is some very good new music.
Owen Broder – Heritage (ArtistShare)
This album is a beam of sunlight. From the opening notes, it greets you with warm tones, chipper tempos and melodies like a wide smile. Owen Broder bounces around between various early-American music forms, differentiating a bit here and there, but overall keeping things fluid by focusing on the commonalities that suggest at how everything is connected. And it’s an interesting point of comparison to Broder’s Cowboys & Frenchmen ensemble, which hits upon works and expressions more akin to the modern scene. It’s a nice cast joining Broder and his woodwinds: violinist Sara Caswell, pianist Frank Kimbrough, drummer Matt Wilson, trombonist Nick Finzer, vibraphonist James Shipp, trumpeter Scott Wendholt, and bassist Jay Anderson. Wendy Gilles, Kate McGarry and Vuyo Sotashe add some vocals in a guest role. Music from NYC.
Artist site | Buy: Amazon
Janczarski & McCraven Quintet – Liberator (For-Tune)
If you’re out browsing the new release section and looking for something that hits your soul with a classic Hard Bop warmth and easy groove, then this session from the Janczarski & McCraven Quintet will definitely float your boat. There’s some moments that shift into a modern form of expression, but, hey, the musicians live in today not 1965, so that’s gonna happen from time to time. But when the Sunday night blues descend upon you, and you’re needing something to cheer things back up, hit the play button on Liberator. Music from Warsaw, Poland.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Meyer/Slavin/Meyer/Black – Other Animal (Traumton)
There’s an appealing melodic flow to Other Animal that is as much indebted to ambient indie-rock music as it is the type of jazz that makes its home in European alpine mountain ranges. The driving force of this quartet’s melodic focus is through the delicate forces of pressure from an active rhythmic attack… one that’s defined by its flurries and crosscurrents of percussion, but one whose touch is more that of a cool breeze on a summer day than a thunderstorm downpour. The quartet is comprised of guitarist Peter Meyer, alto saxophonist Wanja Slavin, bassist Bernhard Meyer and drummer Jim Black. They settle into a particular sound and spend the entire album exploring its nuances. Music from Berlin, Germany.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Gaute Storsve Trio – Attention: This Is Not A Toy, For Adult Collectors Only (Ellingsongs)
This personable album is the amalgamation of post-bop, modern European jazz and Cuban music. The result is a delightful melody bouncing over the surface of a cheerful groove. There’s an insistent sense that the trio of guitarist Gaute Storsve, bassist Petter Barg and drummer Henning Carlsen want to incite the listener into dance… or at least get the foot tapping along with the tempo and etch the melody into a memory. It works, especially when the trio brings in a brass section to expand the textural options. Music from Oslo, Norway.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Trillmann – FŒN (Tangible Music)
There’s a quirky personality to this recording from the quartet Trillmann. Saxophonist Fabian Willmann, trombonist Janning Trumann, bassist Florian Herzog and drummer Eva Klesse develop tunes with a punchy attitude and a sly sense of humor. Melodies hint at something addictive, but then get warped and misshapen, and become more of a cerebral exercise than the emotional reaction they initially promised. There’s an appealing quality to that sleight-of-hand. Music from NYC.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
Like this:
By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations - 2018 • 0 • Tags: ArtistShare, Berlin, Bernhard Meyer, Ellingsongs, For-Tune Records, Gaute Storsve, Janczarski and McCraven Quintet, Jim Black, New York City, Oslo, Owen Broder, Peter Meyer, Tangible Music, The Round-Up, Traumton Records, Trillmann, Wanja Slavin, Warsaw (Poland)