Sunday Morning Jazz Album

Jul 30 2017

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album: Kasper Staub – “Aisle Arch Attic”

 

Sunday morning is when the serenity comes down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.

This solo piano recording from Kasper Staub will treat your hangover right.  And, it just so happens, if you were smart enough to avoid alcohol-related injuries Saturday night, the pianist’s 2016 release Aisle Arch Attic will be no less kind and no less peaceful to you and your morning.  This music is contemplative, but it doesn’t forget there are listeners out there.  It’s got a feel that is remarkably engaging for a session that is drowning in introspection.  Melodies are simple and to the point and chart the quickest route to beauty.  These pieces are breathed out patiently, as if there’s nowhere to go and no reason to leave.  When a melody just hangs in the air, the stillness is electric.

Staub has made his mark with other recordings, too, notably with the ensemble I Think You’re Awesome and, also, trumpeter Jakob Sørensen.  This is not going to be the last time Staub’s name makes an appearance on this site.  In fact, another is coming up very soon.

You need this album today, right now.

  • Artist-Title:  Kasper Staub – Aisle Arch Attic
  • Personnel:  Kasper Staub (piano)
  • Proper Use:  1) Staring vacantly into space while daydreaming about all the gorgeous ocean sunsets and breathtaking mountain vistas you’ve stood silent witness to, 2)  Remaining perfectly motionless on the sofa as a cat utilizes you as a mattress, or 3)  Pen, paint, paper, canvas, create.

Released in 2016 on Jaeger Community Music.

Listen to more of the music on the artist’s Soundcloud page.

Music from Aarhus, Denmark.

Available at:  Amazon | eMusic

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Jul 23 2017

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album: Ron Miles – “Heaven”

 

Sunday morning is when the serenity comes down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.

Trumpeter Ron Miles and guitarist Bill Frisell both know how to treat a melody.  They each have their way of patiently nurturing it, getting every last drop the melody has to give and making each of those drops resonate like mad.  The two had collaborated prior to the duo recording Heaven.  They both hailed from the Denver, Colorado scene, and Miles performed on Frisell’s 1996 recording Quartet, which is arguably the best thing Frisell has ever done.  On this 2002 session, it’s just the two of them, and the totality of their past collaborations and their complementary approaches to song paid huge dividends on this sublime set of tunes.

The lovely, gentle melodicism of the Miles original “Coward of the Country” sets the tone for this album, and so when Miles turns up the heat briefly on “Beautiful” and “Just Married” and the duo kicks up a little dust on “We See,” it’s only to give a little nudge of wakefulness to music set for peacefulness.  The duo perform renditions of comps by Duke Ellington, Bob Dylan, Thelonious Monk, Jelly Roll Morton and Hank Williams, and it’s a rendition of the latter’s “My Cheatin’ Heart” that serves as one of the album’s highlights and as exactly the kind of music one needs on a lazy Sunday morning.

You need this album today, right now.

  • Artist-Title:  Ron Miles – Heaven
  • Personnel:  Ron Miles (trumpet) and Bill Frisell (guitar).
  • Proper Use:  1) Staring vacantly into space and silently hoping that the hangover gets bored and just wanders off, 2) Sitting on the windowsill and watching the rain fall and turn the whole world green, or 3) Cat, lap, sofa, nap.

Released in 2002 on Sterling Circle Records.

Music from Denver, Colorado.

Available at:  Amazon | CDBaby

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Jul 9 2017

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album: Clemens Christian Potzsch – “People and Places”

 

Sunday morning is when the serenity comes down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.

Pianist Clemens Christian Pötzsch is part of the cast of two of the scenes more exciting, innovative ensembles:  Masaa, with its blend of Lebanese, French & German vocals and European straight-ahead jazz, and Sawa, a convergence of Arabic folk, modern jazz and chamber music.  His 2016 release People and Places proves that the Leipzig-based musician is a talent even when performing all by his lonesome.  And, more specifically, this solo recording of Pötzsch on Fazioli piano captures all the qualities necessary for a Sunday Morning Jazz Album.

It’s all about the melody.  On pieces like “See” and “5210,” the melodies are brief, vivid flashes that achieve beauty by weight of their accumulation, much in that way the brilliance of a starry night is so much greater than its individual components.  But then there’s tracks like “For Fathers” and “Auenwald” where the melody is sharp and clear as day right from the first notes, and shines a bright path to their final destination.  But no matter what form the melody takes, this music is comforting and thoughtful and leads to the kind of tranquility that rejuvenates the spirit at a time when it needs it most.

You need this album today, right now.

  • Artist-Title:  Clemens Christian Pötzsch – People and Places
  • Personnel:  Clemens Christian Pötzsch (piano)
  • Proper Use:  1) Staring out the window as the rising sun transforms the darkness to stunning shades of oranges and pinks and yellows and blues, 2)  Soaking in a hot bath and remembering that the hangover will dissipate eventually, or 3)  A soundtrack for YouTube videos of trains traversing the mountain passes of Switzerland.

Released in 2016 on Two Rivers Records.

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

Music from Leipzig, Germany.

Available at:  Bandcamp | eMusic | Amazon

And here’s a lovely video for the song “For Fathers.”  We’ve featured it previously, but it speaks to the heart of a Sunday Morning Jazz Album, so here it is again…

 

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2016 releases, Sunday Morning Jazz Album • 0 • Tags:

Jun 25 2017

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album: Jeremy Udden – “Plainville”

 

Sunday morning is when the serenity comes down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.

On alto sax, Jeremy Udden conjures up the tranquility you desire when sitting out on your back porch when it’s just you and nature and a cat dozing nearby.  The Massachusetts native sends out melodies like a stiff, cool breeze on a Summer morning… airy, fluid, and possessing an unmistakable presence.  His 2009 release Plainville wasn’t his debut, but it was his first dedicated foray into the type of folk-jazz that has signified his recording career since.  It also signaled his singular concoction of serenity perfect for a Sunday morning jazz album.

Occasionally the album’s temperature spikes, but even with some electric guitar heat on “Curbs,” it behaves as the precursor to the gently comforting sweetness of “Christmas Song,” amplifying its comforting effect.  And though “695” kicks up the tempo a notch, the delivery of the melody transmits the solemn tone that guides the entire recording.  Brandon Seabrook‘s banjo goes a long way to dictating the strength of the folk influence, and drummer RJ Miller has a talent for crafting a serene ambiance (ie, his 2013 release Ronald’s Rhythm).  Keyboardist Pete Rende and bassist Eivind Opsvik cast shadows everywhere by working the darker tones, and the way this complements the brighter tones of Udden’s alto sax goes a long way to explaining how dynamic this tranquil recording ultimately becomes.

You need this album today, right now.

  • Artist-Title:  Jeremy Udden – Plainville
  • Personnel:  Jeremy Udden (alto & soprano saxophones), Pete Rende (organ, Fender Rhodes), Brandon Seabrook (banjo, guitar), Eivind Opsvik (bass) and RJ Miller (drums).
  • Proper Use:  1) Sitting on that back porch in communion with nature, 2) Watching cats peacefully doze the afternoon away in a patch of sunlight.
  • Additional notes:  May be utilized as a soundtrack to fireflies cutting through the darkness on a Summer eve.

Released in 2009 on Fresh Sound New Talent.

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

Music from Brooklyn.

Available at:  Amazon

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2009 Releases, Sunday Morning Jazz Album • 2 • Tags: , , ,

Jun 11 2017

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album: Fred Hersch Trio – “Floating”

 

Sunday mornings are when the serenity is supposed to come down.  Sunday morning is the cocoon from the heavy exhaustion of too much Saturday night fun.  Sunday morning is when the city agrees to use its inside voice.  Sunday morning is when a hush settles in over the land.  It is a time for sitting still and listening to quiet music and silently praying the aspirin and coffee do something to stop your head from exploding.  Drama and stress are strictly forbidden on Sunday morning.

Your Sunday Morning Jazz Album is just for you, for times just like these.  If you possess the freakish compulsion to get-up-and-go when the clock strikes Sunday morning, this music is not for you.  Go and listen to a Spotify EDM playlist or something.  But whatever you decide, just do it quietly and far away from those of us who appreciate the true solemn nature of a Sunday morning.

A show tune, a standard and something from Thelonious Monk are peppered throughout the recording, but it’s the originals that most hit the mark on this 2014 recording from the Fred Hersch Trio.  This shouldn’t come as a surprise.  For the span of three decades, Hersch has added his measured, thoughtful works to the jazz lexicon, so it’s always going to be a case where the original inspirations outshine the interpretations.

Floating is music meant for peaceful moments.  And even when the conversation between musicians gets a little chipper, like on “Arcata” or Monk’s “Let’s Cool One,” the effect is akin to the growing presence of sunlight upon a darkened room than an actual spike in temperature.  Much of this has to do with how the pianist sees a ballad at the heart of every song.  It’s why “Home Fries” and “Far Away,” though different in temperament, both swoon with the emotional weight of the love struck and the heartbroken.  The deliberative method in which the trio dishes out that particular mood just enhances its resonance that much more.

You need this album today, right now.

  • Artist-Title:  Fred Hersch Trio – Floating
  • Personnel:  Fred Hersch (piano), John Hébert (bass) and Eric McPherson (drums).
  • Proper Use:  1) Staring out the window and wondering whatever happened to your first true love, 2) Drowning yourself in the album cover’s serenity until you are perfectly centered.

Released in 2014 on Palmetto Records.

Listen to another album track on Soundcloud.

Music from NYC.

Available at:  Amazon | eMusic

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