Dec 27 2017
Best of 2017 #11: Paul Jones – “Clean” (Outside In Music)
Though primarily a work of modern jazz and chamber, Clean is informed by the music of Steve Reich, Kendrick Lamar and Philip Glass… influences that bleed into the music with a remarkable subtlety. Their effect is revealed in harmonic roll-outs, pulsing rhythms, a narrative-like melodic development, and moments of stunning minimalism at the eye of a storm… an undercurrent of influence like an untold strategy guiding the hand of active participants. It’s an effect not unlike that of an author mapping out a storyline, which is an apt metaphor in light of the structure Paul Jones provides his excellent 2017 recording. Full of recurring themes, dramatic plot twists, and inter-character tensions, there’s an abiding sense of novella in sonic form. There are countless jaw-dropping moments of beauty on this album, and at times, it seems like it could go on forever… and then it’s suddenly over, far too soon. This recording fell just outside the official Top Ten, but there’s every argument to be made that not only did it deserve to be included, but that it earned a slot in the top half. Just a wonderful album.
Music from NYC.
Read more on Bird is the Worm.
Jan 31 2018
Name Your Price: Paul Jones with Leon Boykins and Rajiv Jayaweera
The saxophonist’s 2017 release Clean was one of the very best things to come out that year. It earned the #11 slot on the Best of 2017 list with its intoxicating blend of modern jazz and chamber music that incorporated subtle influences of minimalism, classical and hip hop.
Paul Jones with Leon Boykins and Rajiv Jayaweera is a bird of a different feather. This straight ahead session sees Jones in a trio setting and working a set of standards. Unlike the inventive Clean, this album, recorded in his home studio, has a pulse that’ll never get misidentified as coming anywhere but from the heart of jazz.
If you’re new to Paul Jones, this is a plenty enjoyable album for an introduction before moving on to Clean And if you’ve already scooped up Clean and want to hear a different facet of the saxophonist’s music, then right here is your next step.
Your album personnel: Paul Jones (tenor sax), Leon Boykins (bass) and Rajiv Jayaweera (drums).
Learn more about the album, and download it, at the artist’s Bandcamp page.
Once a week, we’ll be featuring an album set to sell at Name Your Price.
A quick note about Name Your Price etiquette: Whether marked Free or Name Your Price, this music is free for you to download. You should. The musicians want you to have it in your music library to enjoy. But if you’re reading this site, no matter how diverse your backgrounds and experiences and lives may be, I’m completely certain that you all give a damn about the musicians who make your lives better with their creative pursuits, and you’d like to support them. So, for those of you who don’t have a lot of familiarity with the Bandcamp NYP/Free models, here’s some approaches people commonly take:
Obviously, any funds these musicians raise is gonna get invested in making more music, so it’s in everyone’s best interests that we financially support the musicians who build the creative supports that we rely upon to get through life and to remind us how beautiful life can be.
Cheers.
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By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases, Jazz Recommendations: the NYOP editions • 0 • Tags: Name Your Price, Paul Jones