- Rudresh Mahanthappa: Bird Calls (ACT)
- Kirk Knuffke: Arms and Hands (Royal Potato Family)
- Max Johnson Trio: Something Familiar (Fresh Sound New Talent)
- Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth: Epicenter (Clean Feed)
- Detail: First Detail (Rune Grammofon)
- Henry Threadgill Zooid: In For a Penny, In For a Pound (Pi Recordings)
- Gebhard Ullman's Basement Reearch: Hat and Shoes (Between the Lines)
- Mikko Innanen with William Parker and Andrew Cyrille: Song For a New Decade (TUM Records)
- Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity: Firehouse (Clean Feed)
- Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook-Up:After All Is Said (482 Music)
- Team Hegdal: Vol. 3 (Particular Recordings)
- Mario Pavone: Blue Dialect (Clean Feed)
- Rich Halley 4: Creating Structure (Pine Eagle Records)
- Devin Grey and RelativE ResonancE: RelativE ResonancE (Skirl)
- Ben Goldberg: Orphic Machine (Royal Potato Family)
- Myra Melford: Snowy Egret (Enja)
- Jack DeJohnette Made In Chicago: Made In Chicago - Live at the Chicago Jazz Festival (ECM)
- Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Jeremiah (Hot Cup)
- ObLik: order disorder (2014, Ormo Records)
- Jeremy Pelt: Tales, Musings and other Reveries (Highnote)
- Rempis Percussion Quartet: Cash and Carry (Aerophonic Records)
- Ran Blake: Ghost Tones: Portraits of George Russell (A-side Records)
- Makaya McCraven: In the Moment (International Anthem)
- Charles Evans: On Beauty (More is More Records)
- James Brandon Lewis: Days of FreeMan (OKeh)
- Billy Mintz: The 2nd Bass Band... Live (Billy Mintz)
- Wooley/Rempis/Niggenkemper/Corsano: From Wolves to Whales (Aerophonic Records)
- Steve Coleman: Synovial Joints (Pi Recordings)
- Vijay Iyer Trio: Break Stuff (ECM)
- Skydive Trio: Sun Moee (Hubro)
Showing posts with label records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label records. Show all posts
Friday, July 03, 2015
Fave Jazz of 2015, Jan. through June
While there are still many new 2015 releases in my "inbox" that I'm yet to thoroughly digest, or even get to at all (notably some Intakt releases), plus the fact that I'm just starting to sort through to advance copies of music about to be released (from Pi, NoBusiness, Clean Feed and RogueArt, among others), I thought it might be worhtwhile to stop and take a look at the records that have made the strongest impressions from January through June. Below is a list of 30 or so of my fave new jazz (in all its many, various guises) albums released in 2015 thus far. Reissues or music that has otherwise been previously available is not included.
Wednesday, June 03, 2015
Listening Booth: Reviews 4th Quarter 2014 + 1st Quarter 2015. Pt. 1
Records reviewed for Klassekampen's weekly music supplement Musikkmagasinet from October through December 2014, plus January through April 2015 (As per usual, this list does not include live reviews, which during this period included Sheila Jordan and Kris Davis Trio, nor articles such as my piece on Mostly Other People Do the Killings Kind of Blue album/project). If you're the artist, the label, distributor, or in any other way connected to the releases and artists listed here and would like to see the relevant review/piece, send me an e-mail with a request to perfectsounds.chrismonsen[at]gmail.com or monsen.christopher[at]gmail.com.
- Tyshawn Sorey Trio: Alloy (Pi Recordings) - 7* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, November 3rd, 2014. Original grade: 5 out of 6)
- Large Unit: Erta Ale (PNL Records) - 8* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, November 17th, 2014. Original grade: 5 out of 6)
- Leo Welch: Sabougla Voices (Fat Possum) - 7* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, December 15th, 2014. Original grade: 5 out of 6)
- John Coltrane: Offering: Live at Temple University (Resonance Records) - 7* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, January 19th, 2015. Not graded)
- Ted Daniel's Energy Module: Innerconnection (NoBusiness Records) - 8* Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, January 19th, 2015. Not graded)
- Horace Tapscott Quintet: The Giant is Awakened (International Phonograph Inc.) - 8* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, January 19th, 2015. Not graded)
- Sun Ra and his Arkestra: In the orbit of Ra (Strut Records) - 7* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, January 19th, 2015. Not graded)
- New Vocabulary: New Vocabulary (System Dialing Records) - 6* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, January 26th, 2015. Original grade: 4,5 out of 6)
- Rudresh Mahanthappa: Bird Calls (ACT) - 8* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, February 9th, 2015. Original grade: 5,5 out of 6)
- Vijay Iyer Trio: Break Stuff (ECM) - 6* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, February 9th, 2015. Original grade: 4,5 out of 6)
- Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth: Epicenter (Clean Feed) - 8* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, March 23rd, 2015. Original grade: 5 out of 6)
- Kirk Knuffke: Arms & Hands (Roayl Potato Family) - 8* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, April 20th, 2015. Original grade: 5 out of 6)
- Mark Lomax II & Edwin Bayard: #BLACKLIVESMATTER (marklomaxii.com/blacklivesmatter) - 8* (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, April 27th, 2015. Original grade: 5 out of 6)
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Catching up... Darius Jones & post-summer jazz records
I really should set, and stick to, a goal of writing at least one post a week, preferably on a specific day. Lately, other projects have prevented me from wiritng much here, and it's not been for lack of want or lack of music or topics to write about. A more structured time table should allow me to juggle various tasks more easily, and give me time to write more regularly here. There's been no "Music of the Week" for a while, and my much touted update of the 2009-list has not come to fruition.
So, I'd thought I'd use some space to do some catching up with a couple of the best jazz records I've come accross since sometime this summer (a few of them have been included on previous MotW posts). I'll only write a few lines about most of them, but the first certainly deserves extra space.
Darius Jones is an up-and-coming saxophonist living in Brooklyn in New York having arrived form Richmond, Virginia in 2005. The Southern heritage is apparent in much of the music on this stunning debut. The record is bluesy, and (like the title says) both raw and beautiful, with Mr. Jones often using simple melodic lines as the basis of the music, much like Albert Ayler used to. There's a similarity between Jones and Ayler in the physicality of their playing and the wailing tones as well, 'though Jones can certainly hold his own and more often switches to softer themes than similar players tend to do. The band - with elder statesmen Cooper-Moore on the bass-like (and ancient) diddley-bo(w) as well as piano, and Rakalm Bob Moses on drums completing the trio - swithch between fairly loose structures and stricter blues based rhythms. Cooper-Moore has a knack for blending the seemingly simplistic and potent, as he does with his own band Digital Primitives.
On "Cry Out", for example, Cooper-Moore plays a rough blues walk on the piano, Bob Moses shuffles and Jones plays a slightly plaintive melodies on top. The tune has a certain noir quality to it. "Chasing the Ghost" is another highlight, with Cooper-Moore playing vibrating low bass notes on the diddley-bo(w), Bob Moses skitting over and under, while Jones plays variations and improvised lines over a strong melodic theme. The "chasing" of the title sends ones thoghts to one of Coltrane's classic work-outs, while the "ghost" part, well, it certainly opens up to other interpretations of what the piece is about. The result is nonetheless both beautifully disturbing and powerful. Having been roughed up by much of the music on the album, the simplistic loveliness of the closing "Forgive Me" becomes extra heartwrenching by the juxtaposition alone. Cooper-Moore plays a Satie-like chordal theme, with Jones seemingly exorcising his demons with a softer, almost weeping tone. It is simply one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've heard all year. A bonus track with Adam Lane on bass Jason Nazary on drums is more in line with a rougher blues-bop tradition, but it's still a collaboration I'd like to hear more from, Lane himself having a similar knack for roughing things up.
Bluesy, slightly funky, free and with a hint of eastern and African melodic sensibility. Much like their previous record, but equally good.
Baltimore band, improvising over rock riffs and beats, made more apparent by the inclusion of a fuzz driven guitar. "Rock" means both Led Zeppelin and Fugazi here, and the result is often quite rivetng.
The great man in a playful mood (when has he not been?) with what is probably his most interesting and flexible group since the amazing Sextet(t) of the 80s.
Tenor saxophonist J.D. Allens best record yet, a slightly more traditional post-bop sax, bass & drums trio, but one that has not gone untouched by later musical strains. The rhtyhm section blends simplistic power with great mobility, and Allan plays strong melodic themes as well as flying improvised solos. The track "Sonhouse" in particular is a favorite.
Another sax, bass, drums trio. Strickland plays tenor and soprano. The music is slightly soulful jazz, and rhythmically the music has tinges of modern R&B and hip-hop. The album includes reworkings of music by Björk, OutKast and Oumo Sangare, to name a few interesting choices. "Set Free", though, has a Coltrane-like quality.
So, I'd thought I'd use some space to do some catching up with a couple of the best jazz records I've come accross since sometime this summer (a few of them have been included on previous MotW posts). I'll only write a few lines about most of them, but the first certainly deserves extra space.
Darius Jones is an up-and-coming saxophonist living in Brooklyn in New York having arrived form Richmond, Virginia in 2005. The Southern heritage is apparent in much of the music on this stunning debut. The record is bluesy, and (like the title says) both raw and beautiful, with Mr. Jones often using simple melodic lines as the basis of the music, much like Albert Ayler used to. There's a similarity between Jones and Ayler in the physicality of their playing and the wailing tones as well, 'though Jones can certainly hold his own and more often switches to softer themes than similar players tend to do. The band - with elder statesmen Cooper-Moore on the bass-like (and ancient) diddley-bo(w) as well as piano, and Rakalm Bob Moses on drums completing the trio - swithch between fairly loose structures and stricter blues based rhythms. Cooper-Moore has a knack for blending the seemingly simplistic and potent, as he does with his own band Digital Primitives.
On "Cry Out", for example, Cooper-Moore plays a rough blues walk on the piano, Bob Moses shuffles and Jones plays a slightly plaintive melodies on top. The tune has a certain noir quality to it. "Chasing the Ghost" is another highlight, with Cooper-Moore playing vibrating low bass notes on the diddley-bo(w), Bob Moses skitting over and under, while Jones plays variations and improvised lines over a strong melodic theme. The "chasing" of the title sends ones thoghts to one of Coltrane's classic work-outs, while the "ghost" part, well, it certainly opens up to other interpretations of what the piece is about. The result is nonetheless both beautifully disturbing and powerful. Having been roughed up by much of the music on the album, the simplistic loveliness of the closing "Forgive Me" becomes extra heartwrenching by the juxtaposition alone. Cooper-Moore plays a Satie-like chordal theme, with Jones seemingly exorcising his demons with a softer, almost weeping tone. It is simply one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've heard all year. A bonus track with Adam Lane on bass Jason Nazary on drums is more in line with a rougher blues-bop tradition, but it's still a collaboration I'd like to hear more from, Lane himself having a similar knack for roughing things up.
Bluesy, slightly funky, free and with a hint of eastern and African melodic sensibility. Much like their previous record, but equally good.
Baltimore band, improvising over rock riffs and beats, made more apparent by the inclusion of a fuzz driven guitar. "Rock" means both Led Zeppelin and Fugazi here, and the result is often quite rivetng.
The great man in a playful mood (when has he not been?) with what is probably his most interesting and flexible group since the amazing Sextet(t) of the 80s.
Tenor saxophonist J.D. Allens best record yet, a slightly more traditional post-bop sax, bass & drums trio, but one that has not gone untouched by later musical strains. The rhtyhm section blends simplistic power with great mobility, and Allan plays strong melodic themes as well as flying improvised solos. The track "Sonhouse" in particular is a favorite.
Another sax, bass, drums trio. Strickland plays tenor and soprano. The music is slightly soulful jazz, and rhythmically the music has tinges of modern R&B and hip-hop. The album includes reworkings of music by Björk, OutKast and Oumo Sangare, to name a few interesting choices. "Set Free", though, has a Coltrane-like quality.
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