Feb 7 2018
The Round-up: Waiting for the thaw
Here is some very good new music.
Marius Neset – Circle of Chimes (ACT Music)
There’s a number of reasons the new one from Marius Neset is so compelling. First, he’s got an amazing line-up with guitarist Lionel Loueke, pianist Ivo Neame, drummer Anton Eger, vibraphonist Jim Hart, double bassist Petter Eldh, cellist Andreas Brantelid and flautist Ingrid Neset. All of these musicians have their own respective projects that come from different directions and music territories, and so it’s unsurprising that Circle of Chimes transitions frequently between forms of expression. First and foremost is when a Classical music influence rises to the surface. There is a grace and elegance present that is seriously arresting. It’s a quality that extends to when the ensemble shifts to a folk music form, and how their eloquent lyricism is no obstacle to developing a friendly chatter. And then there’s the little thrills that come from the transitions between forms of expression… either within the span of a piece or as the change between them. Even when this incorporates a contemporary or pop music flair, an unfortunate habit which Neset falls into from time to time, has its place in the grand scheme of the album.
Artist site | Buy: Amazon
Jackie Ferguson – Riffs and Ballads (Self-Produced)
There’s some seriously inviting melodies offered up on this trio session from Jackie Ferguson. The guitarist maintains a peaceful atmosphere, even when the liveliness bubbles up and boils over. With bassist Örn Ingi Unnsteinsson and drummer Jan Philipp, Ferguson develops an almost susurrant chatter, where the delivery of the message carries a greater impact than the meaning of its imagery. Quite beautiful at times. Music from Cologne, Germany.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
Nexus 4000 – Space Magic (Self-Produced)
The combination of a big sound and joyful tone is what makes this EP from Nexus 4000 so much damn fun. Gabriel Sundy‘s septet runs with jazz-rock fusion, and augments it with just the right amounts of cosmic, psych and prog qualities so that there’s some personality and texture to bolster all of that effusiveness. Pretty easy to fall for this one. Music from San Diego, CA.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
Brad Dutz 4tet – Genius of Meandering (Self-Produced)
Sometimes this music is a blanket of harmony like a room bathed in light and other times it pulses like messages from distant stars on a cloudless night, but no matter the imagery it inspires, this release from the Brad Dutz 4tet is nothing short of beautiful. Two feet solid in the chamber jazz category, the percussionist crafts a special kind of tranquility with his quartet of bass clarinetist Brian Walsh, cellist Chris Votek and Paul Sherman on oboe and English horn. Music from Los Angeles.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
Kubikmaggi – Things (Far From Moscow Records)
There’s modern jazz, chamber, folk, avant-garde and any number of other influences that bubbles up from this new release by the quartet Kubikmaggi, and it’s their bold attitude that gives the album its cohesion. They dart from expression to expression and rarely bother to smooth over the transitions. It’s a big reason that the music is so damn thrilling and so much fun. Pianist Ksenia Fedorova, bassist Max Roudenko, percussionist Ilya Varfolomeev and saxophonist Alexander Timofeev are bringing it from St. Petersburg, Russia.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Feb 12 2018
The Round-up: Sometimes the road drops off
Here is some very good new music.
Kuba Płużek Quartet – Froots (For-Tune Records)
This session from pianist Kuba Płużek goes through some changes between first note and last, and yet somehow maintains a cohesive vision throughout. The most appealing state of existence for his quartet is when they run with a soul jazz and Motown sound. There’s a real electricity that flows during those pieces, and an almost insistent command to move move move. That said, those tunes that dish out some modern post-bop edge or just dive into the deep end of a thick melody and let the harmonies splash where they may, well, it’s pretty easy to fall for them, too. There’s a lot of good stuff going on here, and the most I dig into this album, the more I find to like. Joining Płużek are drummer Dawid Fortuna, saxophonist Marek Pospieszalski and bassist Max Mucha. Music from Kraków, Poland.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Cameron Mizell – Memory/Imagination (Destiny Records)
Those gorgeous interludes on a Bill Frisell recording, where it’s just his moody guitar and some loops & effects? The new release from Cameron Mizell is pretty much an homage to those moments. The guitarist keeps it simple. He takes the seed of a melodic image and runs through an electronic time lapse on its growth. A variety of effects muddy the waters and shift the focus and opens up facets, but for the most part, Mizell is careful to keep that original vision intact. It’s the reason these pieces keep a sense of cohesion rather than simple fade into a formless cinematic ambiance. Plus, he occasionally throws in a tune like “Vulnerabilities,” whose folk music styling goes a long way to providing a sense of shape and direction to the recording. This is an album that exists in the moment. Music from Brooklyn.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Baddest Unity – Fleurir (Self-Produced)
This charming duo session from guitarist Yutaka Hirasaka and trumpeter Masayuki Shikada shimmers in and out of focus and between two states of existence. There’s the late night jazz club ambiance, where the hour draws late and the moonlight begins to wane, and then there’s the electro-acoustic fusion of a modern loft scene, where laptops are surrounded by beer bottles and listeners lounging anywhere that looks comfortable. The electronic effects are used sparingly and in just the right spots. Music from Tokyo.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
Conjunto de Lassaletta – Naturaleza Práctica I (Discos ICM)
There’s an appealing way that flashes of edge emerge from the ethereal dissonance on Naturaleza Práctica I. Bassist Martín de Lassaletta, guitarist Julian Maliandi, drummer Leo Gerstner and effects specialist Mariano Balestena adopt a posture that structure is a highly elastic medium, which leads to a quick impression of multi-directional focus. But every so often, things come together with a succinct fragment of melody or unison of rhythm, and that brief landmark provides context to the road traveled to date and, briefly, the next path taken. This is one of two albums from these sessions. And while both are a modern jazz-rock fusion form of expression, Práctica I takes on a prog-rock ambiance whereas Práctica II dwells in territory more closely associated with the psychedelic fusion of the 70s. Music from Mar Del Plata, Argentina.
No artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp
Tomáš Sýkora – Songs and Old Forms (Mot’s Music)
Measured by the merits of each individual piece on this solo set by Tomáš Sýkora, there’s plenty offered by way of keeping the attention locked in place. But the album is best viewed from the context of its entirety. The album shines brightest in the way the pieces shift between straight-ahead modern elucidations, avant-garde expressions of a strangely comforting dissonance, and classical pieces that border on ambient minimalism. The pianist spent two years developing this work, and to end up in a place where the source of the album’s cohesion is discovered in its diversity speaks to how time changes vision even when that vision never loses its focus. Music from Lysá Nad Labem, Czech Republic.
Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – Amazon
Like this:
By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2017 releases • 1 • Tags: Baddest Unity, Brooklyn (NY), Cameron Mizell, Conjunto de Lassaletta, Del Plata (Argentina), Destiny Records, Discos ICM, For-Tune Records, Krakow (Poland), Kuba Płużek, Lysá Nad Labem (Czech Republic), Mot's Music, The Round-Up, Tokyo (Japan), Tomáš Sýkora