WhyPlayJazz

Feb 1 2020

Best of 2019 #15: Max Andrzejewski’s Hütte – “Hütte & Guests Play the Music of Robert Wyatt”

 

Summing up the music of Max Andrzejewski for The Bandcamp Daily, I lean into how the musician really just can’t seem to do anything normal.  He’s been responsible for the creative phenomena of his Hütte ensemble, which metamorphosizes from a melodically spasmodic quartet into a choir for a sonic celebration of food.  To say nothing of his dizzying transitions between free jazz to synth-rock to folk singer-songwriter projects.  And yet, despite expecting the unexpected from his domain, the drummer surprises yet again with an embrace of the Robert Wyatt songbook.  Max Andrzejewski’s Hütte ramps up the eccentricities of the Hutte ensemble (which hadn’t seemed possible before this recording), but more importantly, there’s an equal and crucial spike in the melodic ardor of the pieces.  This emphasis on melodic richness and depth is what allows the ensemble to get as crazy as they want with the material, because in the end, the melodic devotion will balance things out.  This is one of the wilder recordings of the year.  Really shouldn’t have expected anything different.

Your album personnel:  Max Andrzejewski (drums, vocals, arrangements), Johannes Schleiermacher (saxophone, flute, synth), Tobias Hoffmann (guitar), Andreas Lang (double bass), Cansu Tanrıkulu (vocals, fx), and Jörg Hochapfel (organs, guitars, vocals).

Released on the WhyPlayJazz label.

Music from Berlin, Germany.

I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  Amazon – Bandcamp

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Dec 29 2019

Now up: October’s Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations

 

And here we go.  Let’s do some catch-up on notifications about my latest Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations posting on The Bandcamp Daily.  This monthly installment covers albums for October 2019.  There’s ten primary recommendations in total, plus some bonus recommendations, to boot.  There’s been no let-up on the deluge of new music in 2019, so if you were thinking about maybe settling into a prior month’s purchases, forget about it… you’ve got more excellent new music to discover.  I have been saying this same thing nearly every month, and every month it is true.  On that note, let’s begin.

Follow this LINK to read those recommendations and listen to music from each album.

Check out past recommendations by running through my contributor archives.

Have fun going through the list!

Cheers.

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Jan 12 2019

Best of 2018 #26: Wanja Slavin Lotus Eaters – “Salvation”

 

I adore the balancing act Wanja Slavin‘s 11-piece ensemble Lotus Eaters pulls off along the very thin line that separates the modern post-bop sound with something more akin to post-jazz.  The fuzziness at the edges where these two forms of music meet is something that Slavin explores like discovering an entire new universe.  It’s where things that sound familiar bleed into expressions that sound new and vaguely alien, and the alto saxophonist exploits this sensation to present a vast sonic spectrum.

Released on WhyPlayJazz.

Music from Berlin, Germany.

I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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Oct 16 2018

Recommended: Peuker8 – “Influx”

 

Listening passively, it’s easy to gain the impression that this is an indie-rock album.  There’s the deep dives on melody, the quirky changes in cadence, the proclivity to stretch the defining shape of song structure… and there’s a guitar at the center of it all.  But immersing oneself into the depths of Influx, other influences immediately become clear, and it’s not long before they reveal themselves as the driving factor of this fascinating release from Peuker8.

While Paul Peuker‘s guitar does keep center stage for most of the recording, it’s the sound and motion of his octet’s other members that attract a majority of the attention.  The inclusion of a string trio brings the modern classical element to the forefront, and how the bass and drums rhythm section mirror their flight patterns and etch the tempo into their harmonic surface is a big reason why the strings maintain a focused intensity.  Some electric guitar burn pairs nicely with a saxophone that is equally adept at growling as issuing out a contented sigh.  And, notably, pianist Clemens Christian Pötzsch deftly applies his talent at bringing a contemplative quality to music emitting a jolt of electricity.  Through these interactions, the modern European jazz influence emerges, as does the modern scene’s emphasis on composition as the strong guiding hand of improvisation.

It’s also one of the stronger releases to hit the shelves in 2018.  The WhyPlayJazz label is having an impressive year of new releases.

Your album personnel:  Paul Peuker (guitar), Clemens Christian Pötzsch (piano), Mark Weschenfelder (saxophone), Alina Gropper (violin), Filip Sommer (viola), Elisabeth Coudoux (cello), Eugen Rolnik (bass), Florian Lauer (drums) and guest: Sissi Rada (vocals).

Released on WhyPlayJazz.

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

Music from Berlin, Germany.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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