Jan 20 2019
Best of 2018 #4: Thumbscrew – “Ours” and “Theirs”
The Thumbscrew trio of guitarist Mary Halvorson, drummer Tomas Fujiwara, and double bassist Michael Formanek had two simultaneous releases in 2018, but for all intents and purposes, they should be viewed as a single recording. Ours consists solely of compositions from the trio members, while Theirs features compositions by jazz giants Wayne Shorter, Herbie Nichols, Jimmy Rowles, and Misha Mengelberg. However, Theirs is Ours, too, because these three musicians, each with their own striking personal voice, bring that same individuality as a trio to that music from a past jazz age and make it sound as brand new as tomorrow’s sunrise. The language of jazz is passed on down through the generations, and in that way each successive generation is shaped by the environment they are born to, they give new shape to the music language they’ve inherited. Thumbscrew is a priceless example of how old and new can sound nothing alike and yet still exist in a state of unity like one slow exhalation of the most enchanting sound ever. Jazz never dies. It evolves. And then there are those instances, like Theirs and Ours, when sometimes, instead, it is an act of reincarnation. These are the tiny miracles that music can convey upon our lives. Be sure to celebrate them.
Released on Cuneiform Records.
Music from New York City.
I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.
Available at: (Ours) Bandcamp | Amazon and (Theirs) Bandcamp | Amazon
This album is stunning. It’s stunning, and it comes from all directions, in all contexts. Ambrose Akinmusire brings together an exquisite unity of modern jazz, hip hop, chamber music, R&B, pop, rap and spoken word that is unlike anything else out there. The influences are like swirling tides in a single body of water, entering confluences and then breaking apart and colliding. The themes of racism, political divides, and societal barriers possess an immediacy that never goes away even as you drift away to the beauty of the music. The motion of the music incites the image of dance, elicits it from the listener. Rarely does spoken word and rap merge so well in a jazz setting as it does here, where the powerful meaning of the words melts lovingly into the flow of the instruments, one not taking a dominant role over the other, while also allowing the cadence of the vocal delivery to behave, too, as an additional percussive instrument. This album is stunning in that way it brings classic forms of expression into the fold with those modern, as if attempting to prove that the passing of time is merely a device of perception and that all music of all ages truly exists all in the same breath. Origami Harvest is stunning, and it is sublime, and with the passing of time and opportunity for contemplation, those qualities are likely to resonate with ever increasing strength.
“A remarkable example of diverse aspirations attaining a cohesive vision,” is how I described the 2018 release from Marike van Dijk for 
The bullet point list of the components to Reverso: Suite Ravel is plenty intriguing on its own. But these arrangements of Ravel works for a chamber jazz session are so damn engrossing that the details found in the album’s liner notes just melt away. What remains is a stunning beauty matched with an engaging liveliness… a combination that lets the listener decided whether to sink into daydreams or move through life with the album’s prevailing motions. The combination of jazz improvisation and chamber structure don’t always make for the easiest convergence of influences, but the quartet of pianist Frank Woeste, trombonist Ryan Keberle, cellist Vincent Courtois and drummer Jeff Ballard bring it to life as if nurturing a flower to bloom from their personal mix of soil. This album sweeps me away every time I listen.
Jan 21 2019
Best of 2018 #2: Walking Distance – “Freebird”
Released on Sunnyside Records.
Music from New York City.
I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.
Available at: Amazon | Bandcamp
Like this:
By davesumner • Recap: Best of 2018 • 0 • Tags: Adam Coté, Caleb Curtis, Jason Moran, Jazz - Best of 2018, Kenny Pexton, New York City, Shawn Baltazor, Sunnyside Records, Walking Distance