London

Jan 5 2019

Best of 2018 #40: Maisha – “There Is A Place”

 

This sounds nothing like the classic Pharoah Sanders Impulse Records releases of the 60s, and yet the sublime unity of peace and chaos emblematic of the saxophonist’s approach to spiritual jazz echoes strongly in the 2018 release from the ensemble Maisha.  So does the potent imagery that becomes such an immersive experience that the totality of the recording feels like an epic journey through mystical lands and dream landscapes.  The album ends with the title-track, and since I’ve already set the precedent for speaking of There Is A Place in reference to classic jazz recordings, then I might as well state that this tune has that same resonant tranquility as John Coltrane’s “After the Rain.”

Released on Brownswood Recordings.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Music from London, UK.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

By • Recap: Best of 2018 • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Jan 4 2019

Best of 2018 #45: Ill Considered – “Ill Considered 3”

 

It would be a grave oversight to omit the quartet Ill Considered from this year’s Best Of list.  We’re going to recognize their album 3 as the official choice for the list, but it’s really a nod to their wonderful output over the last year.  A band that is positively electric in the live setting got into the studio for a more focused current of hypnotic grooves, and showed that the voltage that charges their concerts translates nicely off stage, too.  Be sure to check out their Bandcamp page and take time exploring this seriously exciting band.

The album is Self-Produced.

Music from London, UK.

I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Available at:  Bandcamp

By • Recap: Best of 2018 • 0 • Tags: , , ,

Dec 15 2018

Album of the Day: “Divertimento” by Phelan Burgoyne and Emanuele Maniscalco

 

Artist:  Phelan Burgoyne & Emanuele Maniscalco

Album: Divertimento

Label:  Hout Records

Style:  Rainy day jazz

Favorite Track:  “Arcadia”

Music from:  London, UK and Brescia, Italy

What I like about it:  I like how the opening track’s melody is a plant slowly sprouting from the seed, burrowing its way from underground while occasionally flashing the beauty that one day will reach its fullness, and I like how the second and third tracks are the payoff of the blossoming flowers.  I like how the first track, over twenty-one minutes in length, goes through passages of development, where it gives the sense of approaching a conclusion, but then resets and starts back over… but a little bit different each time, and starting not over from scratch, but from a new plateau.

Other notes:  The pianist on this session, Emauele Maniscalco, has been involved in a remarkable number of excellent recordings over the last year, and you should definitely check him out.  So, too, the trio session from drummer Phelan Burgoyne, covered on this site not that long ago.

Your album personnel:  Phelan Burgoyne (drums) and Emanuele Maniscalco (piano).

Available at:  Bandcamp

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

Be sure to check out the artist’s site.  Both of them.

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2018 • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

Dec 3 2018

The Round-up: The process had lost its magic long ago

 

Here is some very good new music

 

Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble – The Lullaby Project (Tapestry Records)

Felipe Salles doesn’t have to come at you with a hard sell on his latest.  The comforting sighs of melody and soothing waves of harmony are plenty evidence of his intent to compose for jazz orchestra the Brazilian lullabies of his childhood.  Even when his ensemble lets loose a surge of intensity, there’s always a sense of goal=sweet dreams.  The whole album is gorgeous, but good god, that fourth movement is stunning.  Music from NYC.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Amazon

 

Andrew Hadro – For Us, The Living II: Marcescence (Tone Rogue Records)

This is the second release in Andrew Hadro‘s For Us, The Living series, and, really, the important point to let sink in is that this is seriously engaging music.  Sometimes the engagement is how a ballad gets the listener to sink into its embrace, and sometimes that engagement comes via a riveting dialog, full of lyricism and vivid imagery.  The same could be said about the initial recording, which I still enjoy playing from time to time.  The theme of the two recordings is a focus on living composers, and that’s always thrown me a bit, since the first in the series was mostly Hadro originals.  The current installment swings the ratio in the other direction (including comps by Wayne Shorter, Sean Pentland, Chris Cheek, and Julian Shore… who also performs on the newest), and seems more in line with the intent.  Included among the renditions is a cover of Radiohead’s “Faust Arp,” and I don’t care how many of you groan god, do we really need another Radiohead cover? my answer is always yes, we do.  The frequency of occurrence in no way negates how much loveliness available to jazz musicians to suss out from a Radiohead tune.  There’s also a cover Bill Frisell’s “Throughout,” which as any casual reader of this site knows, that’s the fastest way to get my attention.  The act of recognizing a new jazz songbook of modern standards is an intriguing concept, and seems like the kind of thing that could bring a sense of cohesion to a modern scene that is (wonderfully) unconstrained and fragmented in its forms of expression.  The idea of one original included among those composed in the modern era appeals to me; it’ll be interesting to see if Hadro continues in that direction.  Music from NYC.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Sons of Kemet – Your Queen is a Reptile (Impulse Records)

Though justifiably attributed as a focal point of the resurgent London music scene, the thing of it is, Shabaka Hutchings creative trajectory covers more geography than just one locale.  The latest from Sons of Kemet is a testament to that, and this is something measured by its sonic perspective as well as one political.  The rhythmic dialogues are like points on a map, marking a journey between cities, countries and continents.  The album and song titles are a shout across the bow, simultaneously undercutting the idea of royal lineage and lofting up an alternate suggestion of who is the true royalty of these times.  But transcending the intriguing underpinnings of this album is how supremely joyful the music is.  The tuba of Theon Cross is just as responsible for the delightful rhythmic bounce as the cast of drummers who contribute, and the guest vocalists add some heat to the affair along with additional saxophonists Nubya Garcia and Pete Wareham.  Music from London.

Artist site | Buy:  Amazon

 

Rafael Thomaz Septeto – Ainda dá tempo? (Tratore)

This is just a gorgeous session from guitarist Rafael Thomaz.  A unity of Brazilian, classical and jazz, his septet brings out the beauty of each melody, and lets the harmonies shine like the heavens opening up for all to see.  There are some interludes spread throughout, and their introspective nature is a nice contrasting element.  Flutist Cesar Pereira, oboist Tiago Marques, clarinetist Alexandre Ribeiro, saxophonist Bruno Cabral, bassist Henrique Tarrason and drummer Fabio Augustinis join Thomaz on this lovely recording.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2018 • 0 • Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Jun 25 2018

The Round-up: Sometimes, being close is the hardest thing

 

Here is some very good new music.

 

David Ake – Humanities (Posi-Tone Records)

It happens quite often on Humanities that a rising intensity becomes a conflagration, and if any attempt at control is being exerted, it has no effect.  And yet, despite it all, there’s a moodiness that hangs over the newest from David Ake, and it has the effect of framing hyperactivity as an introspective matter rather than an emotional one.  It’s why “Groundwork” possesses the hypnotic effect of burning embers even when its flames reach up to the night sky.  It’s why “Stream” etches a path from first note to last even as it pulls apart the bonds that keep it together in a recognizable shape and moving with a concentrated focus.  The pianist has a nice history on the Posi-Tone Records label, and can always be relied upon for doing something a little different with a straight-ahead sound.  Humanities might be the most enjoyable example of that trend.  The pianist is joined by trumpeter Ralph Alessi, guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Mark Ferber.  Music from Miami, Florida.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:   Amazon

 

Roger Kim – Portrait Maker (Self-Produced)

I’m not sure this chamber jazz session could be any more gorgeous.  Roger Kim‘s large ensemble of strings and wind instruments and voices possess an ethereal presence, but so great is its majesty that the sensation is of clouds that could sweep you off your feet and carry you away.  The guitarist (who also adds some banjo to the mix) titles the first track “Franny and Zooey in the Snow,” and the music captures the essence of a lovely winter day surrounded by snowflakes with the same immediacy that it does the resounding innocence clung to by many of J.D. Salinger’s storybook characters.  The album clocks in a little under thirty minutes.  It’s music that feels like it could go on forever and then suddenly ends too soon.  Music from Oakland, CA.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp

 

Emil Miszk & The Sonic Syndicate – Don’t Hesitate! (Alpaka Records)

The sudden transitions between soothing harmonies and caustic dissonance are quite jarring.  But the pattern repeats itself throughout this intriguing session from Emil Miszk & The Sonic Syndicate, and familiarity breeds friendliness.  The trumpeter leads an octet comprised half of wind instruments and the other half of guitar, piano, bass and drums.  It’s the former that’s most responsible for those lovely harmonic passages and the latter for the edginess.  There are moments, however, when the transfer of power between the two achieves a certain balance, a unity of expression, and everything makes sense.  An interesting debut.  Music from Gdańsk, Poland.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Attila Gyárfás – Cloud Factory (Sinistra)

There’s a very fun and wild personality exhibited by this debut from Attila Gyárfás.  Mixing punk rock, modern jazz and Frisellian effects, the drummer shuffles the deck of tones for atmospheric effect and edgy counterweights to the ambience.  He’s joined by the bass and guitar duo of Marco Zenini & Márton Fenyvesi, along with Felician Erlenburg and Jason Alder on wind instruments.  In addition to the changes in tone, the spikes of intensity are as thrilling as the peaceful moments are comforting.  Just a really neat album, and the kind of thing that really shouldn’t fly under the radar.  Not all of you will like this recording, but some of you will fall head over heels for it.  Music from Budapest, Hungary

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

Bruno Heinen – Mr. Vertigo (Babel Label)

There’s a distinct personality to the music of Bruno Heinen.  Whether it’s an embrace of the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen and Vivaldi or a set of songs that uses the children’s song “Twinkle Twinkle” as their basis or a spin with the Bill Evans songbook, Heinen’s perspective cuts to the heart of the matter.  His newest is a solo venture, and it’s particularly intriguing to hear how previous projects filter into a solitary setting.  This is especially true of revisiting his Tierkreis project, and how the music box environment falls right into place in the flow of expressionism that marks this set.  Music from London.

Artist site | Listen | Buy:  Bandcamp – Amazon

 

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2018 • 2 • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

« Older Entries Newer Entries »