Feb 1 2020
Best of 2019 #14: James Brandon Lewis – “An Unruly Manifesto”
There’s a relentlessness to this music that is nothing less than thrilling. But more than that, it’s got heart. It’s evident in every note, and it bleeds on through no matter how volatile the music may get, and that’s why the unerring melodicism of this music is the quality that eclipses all others. James Brandon Lewis has crafted a recording that, for all intents and purposes, has the character of protest, of standing up to everything that’s wrong… and, yet, it would take very little convincing were the tenor saxophonist to assert that love was the album’s inspiration, or a response to the spiritual. It’s a rare thing to hear the tender pulse from music that rages with the fury of the world coming apart at the seams. Lewis, along with trumpeter Jaimie Branch, bassist Luke Stewart, guitarist Anthony Pirog and drummer Warren Trae Crudup III, make it seem as natural as taking your next breath.
Your album personnel: James Brandon Lewis (tenor sax), Jaimie Branch (trumpet), Luke Stewart (bass), Anthony Pirog (guitar), and Warren Trae Crudup III (drums).
Released on Relative Pitch Records.
Listen to more of the album on the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Music from New York City.
Kudu really does come close. In a live setting, the Anteloper duo of trumpeter Jaimie Branch and drummer Jason Nazary are a hyperactive ball of melodic fragments, electronic turmoil, and hopscotch tempos, and the energy they generate from the stage does not allow for detached listening from the audience. It is an aggressive form of engagement that just so happens to occasionally give a warm melodic hug from time to time. On their 2018 release, the duo give a pretty close approximation of the live performance energy. This music is fun, inventive, and the boundless originality that fuels the modern scene today.
Feb 15 2020
Best of 2019 #05: Jaimie Branch – “Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise”
It would’ve been so easy to do something completely different. It wouldn’t even have been a bad thing. Had Jaimie Branch made the second installment of her Fly or Die series the polar opposite of the first, it would’ve been something brand new from an exciting artist, and that would’ve been quite alright. But she didn’t.
The trumpeter situated herself dead center of possibilities, and that was best of all. Rather than duplicate a winning formula, and, conversely, rather than turn her back on it and make dramatic changes for the sake of change, Branch added depth and nuance to what was familiar, and brought unity to what is old and new. On Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise, the electro-acoustic posture maintains the lean toward each extreme, but influences of chamber, Latin, rock and bouquets of percussion round things out in a way that makes it so it ain’t a duality at all. The trumpeter’s pure aggression, raw melodicism and punches-in-bunches style haven’t gone anywhere, but they’re given new life with the new approach. As I stated in my write-up of this album for The Bandcamp Daily, “Branch’s debut made a formidable impact, which makes the achievement of her sophomore release that much more impressive. It can take half a lifetime for an artist to discover their voice, and sometimes even longer before they can bring that voice into focus.” The timer had barely started ticking before Jaimie Branch hit that mark.
Your album personnel: Jaimie Branch (trumpet, voice, synths, sneaker squeaks, bells & whistles), Lester St. Louis (cello, percussion), Jason Ajemian (double bass, percussion, vocals), Chad Taylor (drums, mbira, xylophone), and Guests: Ben LaMar Gay (voice), Marvin Tate (voice), Matt Schneider (12-string guitar), Dan Bitney (percussion, synthesizer) and Scott McNiece (egg).
Released on International Anthem Recording Co.
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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By davesumner • Recap: Best of 2019 • 0 • Tags: Best Jazz of 2019, Chad Taylor, International Anthem, Jaimie Branch, New York City