This Is Jazz Today: Indigo Kid, Roots Magic, Drifter, Deric Dickens-Jarrett Gilgore Duo and Nick Finzer

Obviously we’ve gotten a bit behind with our This Is Jazz Today columns.  We have a lot of catching up to do.  We fear your stereos have been suffering hunger pains and your wallets growing fat from music-retail-sloth.  Well, we’re going to rectify this situation immediately.

Beginning today, we’ll be running some abbreviated recommendations columns as we attempt to get caught back up to the current release week.  It’ll be five recs per day, and we’ll be running a new one every other day.  We’ll probably intersperse the deluge with some stand-alone recs and perhaps a video or upcoming release news, but for the time being, my advice is to brace yourself for lots of new music.  As always, your budget belongs to us.

Let’s begin…

Indigo Kid II – Fist Full of Notes (Babel)

A bit of a revamped line-up for guitarist Dan Messore’s Indigo Kid project.  New names, however, don’t change the essential nature of Messore’s quirky lyricism or his distinct point-of-view.  Along with bassist Tim Harries, saxophonist Trish Clowes, drummer Martin France and saxophonist Iain Ballamy returning for a spin, Messore deftly charts a course between the colliding forces of gritty electronics-infused jazz and a polished 80s-style fusion updated for the DIY modern crowd.  Or, said differently, Indigo Kid doesn’t mind noodling around with catchy tunes, making them both memorable and thought-provoking.

Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – eMusic – Amazon

*****

Roots Magic – Hoodoo Blues (Clean Feed)

This outfit operates very much within the same framework as Sun Ra and how he found a convergence between the soil of old-school blues and the space of forward-thinking jazz improvisation.  Music that displays qualities of structure and wild abandon, sometimes simultaneously, sometimes alternating with one joyous wave after the other.  Alberto Popolla on clarinets, Errico DeFabritiis on alto sax, Gianfranco Tedeschi on double bass, Fabrizio Spera on drums and guest Luca Venitucci adds some nifty textures on organ, melodica and amplified zither.

No artist site | Listen | Buy: eMusic – Amazon

*****

Drifter – Flow (Edition)

With a heavy reliance on indie-pop melodicism and a rhythmic approach focused on developing an amicable conversational patter, it’s no wonder that the tunes from this quartet are so damn catchy.  The Drifter quaratet is comprised of pianist Alexi Tuomarila, saxophonist Nicolas Kummert, bassist Axel Gilain and drummer Teun Verbruggen, with some shared responsibilities on the handful of vocal tracks.  There’s a persistent activity to these dreamy tunes… the kind of thing where strong imagery leads to introspective dialogues, and pop music simplicity reveals an intellectualism hidden within.

Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – eMusic – Amazon

*****

Deric Dickens – Jarrett Gilgore Duo – Pallaksch! (Self-Produced)

This is the kind of album that you adore for its unapologetic enthusiasm and appreciate for its occasional streaks of pithy lyricism.  With the music of Jimmy Lyons as their raison d’etre, drummer Deric Dickens and saxophonist Jarrett Gilgore work a series of duets that bubble with personality.  This is a sister recording to a quintet session, also with a Lyons theme… expect to hear something about that recording (Streams) in these parts down the road.

Artist site | Listen | Buy: Bandcamp – eMusic – CDBaby – Amazon

*****

Nick Finzer – The Chase (Origin)

Nifty straight-ahead set from trombonist Finzer.  His big band/large ensemble experiences definitely inform his music when the headcount doesn’t range so large.  Plenty of big sound goodness, but when the group slows things down and let’s the music breathe, that’s when the pull of attraction begins.  Featuring Glenn Zaleski on piano, Lucas Pino on reeds, Alex Wintz on guitar, Dave Baron on bass and Jimmy MacBride on drums.

Artist site | Buy:  eMusic – Amazon

*****

Have a great time digging through the list!

And remember, it’s simple:  You like what you like.

Cheers.

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