"Weird Means Something You Never Heard Before": Rolling Jazz D-bag Thread 2015

Going to see JD Allen's trio (with Gregg August on bass and Johnathan Blake sitting in for Rudy Royston on drums) at Smoke on Friday night. They're gonna be there all weekend. Really looking forward to it - /Graffiti/ is a great album, and I've never seen Allen live, though I've been a fan for about five years at this point.

I saw Blake's quartet from the Gone But Not Forgotten album - Mark Turner and Chris Potter on saxes, Ben Street on bass - at the Jazz Standard earlier this year.

Nicole Mitchell, Tomeka Reid, Mike Reed - Artifacts

This album is all takes of obscure gems from the AACM library and it absolutely rules.

this track off Jakob Bro's excellent Hymnotic/Salmodisk album is one of my favorites this year: https://soundcloud.com/jakobbro/06-exploding-suns

apparently free album download here http://jakobbro.com/web/album/hymnotic-salmodisk/

http://d31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net/20151103/22/54/ec/86/5c43c959353ce0eae6914c79_280x280.jpg

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Resonance Records is proud to release the CD edition of Wes Montgomery One Night In Indy, an exclusive 1959 live recording of the jazz-guitar great playing with the legendary jazz pianist Eddie Higgins and his trio in Indianapolis, Indiana. Available on January 15, 2016, the CD edition follows the release of the 12" LP limited-edition pressing for Record Store Day’s Black Friday event on November 27, 2015 (originally scheduled for last April’s Record Store Day event, but was held up due to a production snafu). Early in 2015, Resonance Records released the acclaimed In the Beginning, newly discovered recordings of Montgomery from 1949-1958.
In 2013, producer Zev Feldman was approached by the late, great Indiana photojournalist Duncan Schiedt with an enticing musical proposition (the two had become friends while working on the Wes Montgomery Echoes of Indiana 2012 Resonance release). Schiedt asked if Resonance would be interested in a prized recording he had in his possession — a 7" tape reel featuring a January 18, 1959 performance by Montgomery and the Eddie Higgins Trio, the only known documentation of any date featuring the guitarist and the pianist.

According to producer Feldman, Duncan and few of his friends ran a jazz club in Indianapolis known as the Indianapolis Jazz Club (or the I.J.C. known to locals). As Feldman describes in his essay included in the release, “The club was described to me as a group of people who had a common interest in jazz and who gathered to listen to records and host concerts.” Members of this club recorded this one-night-only performance of Wes Montgomery playing with the Eddie Higgins Trio. Feldman notes that Duncan “explained that this tape had been passed down to him by other members of the club, though no one had actually listened to it. Duncan was one of the last original members and hoped this tape would, one day, be released in partnership with the artists’ families.”
Resonance Records is pleased to honor this request and release One Night In Indy with the blessings of the Wes Montgomery Estate and Eddie Higgins’s widow, Meredith D’Ambrosio, whom Feldman found via Sunnyside Records president François Zalacain. This recording is a gift from Duncan Schiedt to Wes Montgomery fans, decades after the memorable performance.
The specially priced CD features just over 40 minutes of music. Accompanying these notable headliners is Chicago drum legend Walter Perkins (a former drummer for Ahmad Jamal’s trio before Vernell Fournier) and an unidentified bassist (to identify this musician Resonance consulted Higgins alumni Bob Cranshaw and John Bany, along with fellow Chicago bass legends from that era, to no avail).
Feldman notes, “I'm grateful to Duncan for his lasting friendship and for sharing this with the world to hear. It is nothing short of incredible that after decades of no new Montgomery music, Resonance has brought to light new documents that will help Wes's legacy live on — In the Beginning (2015), Echoes of Indiana Avenue (2012), and, thanks to Duncan, One Night In Indy.” Since releasing Echoes of Indiana Ave, Resonance has located additional of unreleased 1950’s archival Montgomery recordings and plans to release more music in late 2016/2017.
With his artistic sensibility of an Indianapolis cityscape view, Burton Yount designed the album cover. Mixing and sound restoration is by Fran Gala and executive producer George Klabin at the Resonance Records Studios.
Tracks:
1. Give Me the Simple Life (9:14)
2. Prelude to a Kiss (5:52)
3. Stompin’ at the Savoy (7:12)
4. Li’l Darling (8:09)
5. Ruby, My Dear (8:35)
6. You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To (2:51)

Resonance Records continues to bring archival recordings to light. Some past releases include the critically acclaimed 2015 Grammy Award-winning John Coltrane release Offering: Live at Temple University (best album notes, Ashley Kahn), Wes Montgomery In the Beginning, Charles Lloyd Manhattan Stories, and Bill Evans Live at Art D’Lugoff’sTop of the Gate. Located in Beverly Hills, CA, Resonance Records is a division of the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation, a California 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation created to discover the next jazz stars. Resonance Artists include Richard Galliano, Polly Gibbons, Tamir Hendelman, Christian Howes and Donald Vega.
For more information on Wes Montgomery One Night In Indy, please visit: www.ResonanceRecords.org
Hear an exclusive streaming track in PopMatters: popm.at/1k7IOY0

PopMatters link (they're streaming "Give Me the Simple Life")

Nicole Mitchell, Tomeka Reid, Mike Reed - Artifacts

This album is all takes of obscure gems from the AACM library and it absolutely rules.

― xelab, Tuesday, November 3, 2015 9:30 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

woohoo chicago! the AACM exhibit at the MCA was incredible (and closing this weekend iirc)

It is one of my fave albums of the year, it lives up to this thread's excellent title for sure.

randomly came across this Makaya McCraven album on Spotify, really enjoying it. very rhythm-focused, sounds like it's made up of live recordings chopped up into short (2 - 5 min) tracks, which is refreshing. also a friend of mine plays sax on it.

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-moment

Have been loving the new Barry Altschul's 3Dom Factor alb The Unforseen. It is a fine album that is bookended by two outstanding improvisations, especially the opening 26 minute beast.

Altschul?! Who else is on it? Intriguing, thanks.

Jon Irabagon and Joe Fonda, i think it is their 2nd album as a trio, it is good shit.

Will have to check, thanks---I mostly know him from Circle, with Chick Corea and Dave Holland, and the Dave Holland Quartet's amazing Conference of the Birds: Altschul, Holland, Sam Rivers times Anthony Braxton...

he was also present on a great run of paul bley albums from the mid to late sixties (that new altschul thing does look interesting too!)

OK, now that the players on the new David Bowie album have been revealed, I'm pretty excited to hear it. The band includes Donny McCaslin on sax, Ben Monder on guitar, Jason Lindner on keyboards, Tim Lefebvre on bass and Mark Guiliana on drums. That's a band I'd listen to without Bowie around.

What?

First single comes out tomorrow. Very interested to hear it.

these people are playing two doors down from my store tonight. i'm going. i will always go see your worldfusionjazz suite if you are in town.

https://vimeo.com/137025243

How was that, Scott?
wow---just saw this, hoping to find some of the concert online:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/19/arts/music/review-celebrating-cecil-taylor-a-pianist-of-endless-influence.html?&moduleDetail=section-news-1&action=click&contentCollection=Music®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&pgtype=article

Yeah, people are worried because Taylor didn't show up for that (he was supposed to).

I just ordered the CD reissues of his two-volume early '80s solo album, Garden. When it was first released, the music was shuffled around; now, it's been split into first and second sets, exactly as it was performed on the night. The best price I've seen (about $22 per disc) was via the German site grooves-inc.com. Other places want nearly $40 for Vol. 1, $22 for Vol. 2.

I just got the reissued Garden discs, too (after waiting in vain for prices of used copies to dip below $75). Squidco has volume 1 for $18.

Taylor's absence at that event is worrying. I think his only public performance in the last 3-4 years was at Ornette's memorial service. I had tickets to see him in DC in 2013, but he cancelled (no reason given), and I didn't particularly want to see his replacement (Ahmad Jamal). Fortunately, I've seen him three times (twice solo, once in a duo with Elvin Jones).

Four times for me:

trio at the Village Vanguard with Dominic Duval on bass and Jackson Krall on drums in 1997
solo and trio with Duval and Tony Oxley on drums at Avery Fisher Hall (split set)
leading a large ensemble (26 musicians) at the Knitting Factory on Leonard Street in 2002
trio at Iridium with Henry Grimes on bass and Pheeroan akLaff on drums in 2006

Coleman Hawkins birthday celebration on WKCR right now.

Really interesting group performing at Smoke tonight: the Black Art Jazz Collective. Jeremy Pelt, trumpet; Wayne Escoffery, tenor saxophone; James Burton III, trombone; Xavier Davis, piano; Vicente Archer, bass; Johnathan Blake, drums. I like all those guys, and would love to check this set out, but $40 at the door is a little much for me.

Wow, would've loved to have seen those, particularly the trio with Duval and Oxley.

The duo with Elvin was really interesting. Elvin played with mallets for the whole set, and seemed kind of frail (it was a year before he died), but there was a quiet intensity that I hadn't heard in any of Cecil's other music (apart maybe from Conquistador! and the trio with Dixon and Oxley).

(xp)

"How was that, Scott?"

oh that show was nice. my fave thing was jake meginsky though. and he was all electronic and not jazz. there was a very cool solo sax guy i'd never heard. travis laplante. guess he lived in new york but now he's in vermont. maybe tarfumes knows him. cool circular breathing stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kclZrPkqHpk

Laplante is great. He's a member of Little Women along with Darius Jones. You might like them, Scott. Two albums on AUM Fidelity and an EP that I think was self-released. He's also got some group that's four wind instruments, but I can't remember the name.

I usually don't love Joshua Redman and I usually don't love Bad Plus, but I really like the Bad Plus w/ Joshua Redman record.

great live together too.

also, because there's some good jazz talk in the year end list thread and I wanna add it to the spotify list:

Tbh mostly this is just stuff I gleaned from the Kamasi thread as people were offering up alternatives.

Yeah, Sons of Kemet are a sax/tuba (playing fat funky basslines)/drums/drums combo from London. Their album Lest We Forget What We Came Here To Do has a stripped-down, live feel that's really rhythmic and banging but also very melodically catchy. There's a lot of New Orleans and Lagos (and Port of Spain?) in the rhythms and Shabaka Hutchings' sax draws from slinky Ethio-jazz melodies and NYC skronk, but these disparate influences never seem at odds with each other. Like Lex said, very immediate, and very danceable too. Just a great, great record.

Polar Bear - Same As You: Another London combo (who share a drummer with SoK). Their album is similarly based on tight 4/4 rhythms and riffing sax, but more laid back and drawn out, dubby and atmospheric at times. (But you can skip the silly spoken word intro.)

Troyka - Ornithophobia: More Londoners (pattern emerging here) but they have a very different sound from Polar Bear and SoK, with a lot of fractured (post-?) rock rhythms, Dilla/FlyLo offbeat drums, and weird electronic sounds, sometimes sampled and edited together.

Makaya McCraven - In The Moment: McCraven is a Chicago drummer who recorded hours and hours of live performances and Teo Macero-ed them into an album. I guess other than Troyka these all have common thread of being very drums-first, although McCraven's drumming style has a more traditional swing to it but also much more of a hiphop feel too. A lot of this is stripped down to a sometimes-looped drums/bass/vibes rhythm section, while the featured soloists, who come and go, feel a bit secondary. The last track (posted below) even settles on a relaxed four-bar breakbeat loop with a chopped-off sax riff for most of its length, before gloriously emerging into a very wild, free solo at the other end.

Also been listening to 2013/2014 stuff from Melt Yourself Down (another London band in the same vein as Sons of Kemet and Polar Bear - I kind of get Pigbag vibes from them), Throttle Elevator Music (scuzzy rock with the boy Kamasi throwing skronk all over it, I like it way than the record he's getting attention for but oh well), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpeter from the TPAB crew - the most trad record on this list, but his small band format allows him and the other players to shine - he's a very good balladeer), the first Sons of Kemet album (not quite as good as the new one but certainly worth your time), and some brass band stuff.

I still need to check out Matana Roberts.

As far as the Kamasi record itself, I guess the scope is admirable, but it just kind of strikes me as a decent post-bop record with a bunch of added bells and whistles that distract from the playing. I found myself wishing the choirs and strings (and vocalists tbh) would go away the whole time. I was was sold on it expecting something that sounded fresh and new, but at it's core it's very retro and I don't feel like it overcomes its influences, YMMV.
― The Reverend, Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:05 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

matana roberts is the real fuckin deal, although i've felt more like listening to her solo record this year than Part III of her thing
― j., Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:12 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

jazz albums i like from this year

charles lloyd - wild man dance
http://www.discogs.com/Charles-Lloyd-Wild-Man-Dance/master/839518

william parker / raining on the moon - great spirit
http://www.discogs.com/William-Parker-Raining-On-The-Moon-Great-Spirit/release/7622000

charenee wade - offering (the music of gil scott heron and brian jackson)
http://www.discogs.com/Charenee-Wade-Offering-The-Music-Of-Gil-Scott-Heron-And-Brian-Jackson/master/918297
― brimstead, Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:16 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Just as a complete digression, if anyone's a fan of the whole Sons Of Kemet/ Polar Bear/ Melt Yourself Down skronk axis, they should check out the Comet Is Coming, which is a similar punky jazz/ blurt vibe with added pop and Krautrock vibes thrown in.
― Doran, Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:21 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

nb the charles lloyd and william parker were recorded before 2015.
― brimstead, Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:22 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is my fav jazz record of the year
https://soundcloud.com/bk-music-pr/eternal-signs-milford-graves-bill-laswell
― ANU (sisilafami), Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:31 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This tune is blowing my mind right now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsYRfAcpdIE&list=RDrsYRfAcpdIE

You're right about that one. Will definitely get that album.

William Parker fans might like the Sonoluminescence Trio's Telling Stories. It's Parker with David Mott on bari sax and Jesse Stewart on percussion. They were great at the CD release over the summer too.

As we move to the end of the year, I'd like to drop a quick note to encourage any readers / lurkers / ilxors to post their favorite jazz tracks or albums from this year to the thread so that I can hoover them into the ongoing spotify playlist. Last chance for any accessible stragglers that may not already be in the lexicon.

I love the way Ethan Iverson mostly just works with triads and does so much with them on that tune.

You might also dig The Bad Plus with Bill Frisell at Newport 2012, in tribute to Paul Motion/Motian---I'm another who doesn't always get into TBP, Frisell, or M, for that matter, but this (full set) is pretty involving:
http://www.npr.org/event/music/158004697/the-bad-plus-with-bill-frisell-live-in-concert-newport-jazz-2012

oh and speaking of punky jazz/blurt vibe with added pop, I still love Boston baked jumping beans Guerilla Toss, especially their only(?) full-length album to date, Gay Disco, which astutely assimilates no wave, maybe The Magic Band and maybe Of Human Feelings-era Prime Time, cos there is the disco (but not too strictly; the drummer's always kicking it). Fave EP is 367 Equalizer. Nowadays, the female vocalist is more up front, sonically anyway. Lots of stuff here, maybe all of it:
https://guerillatoss.bandcamp.com/

Not from this year, but just saying William Parker's Double Sunrise Over Neptune is awesome.

This is some stuff from this year that I liked and might not have been mentioned thus far. I tried to filter out what I would consider probably only liked by me, the bands immediate family + 17 Norwegians, but some of it still might be a bit like that.

Prism Quartet - Heritage/Evolution Vol 1
Steel Bridge Trio - Different Clocks
David Chevallier - Standards & Avatars
Nicole Mitchell, Tomeka Reid, Mike Reed - Artifacts
Oliver Lake & William Parker - To Roy
Mostly Other People Do The Killing - Mauch Chunk
Dave Burrell, Garrison Fewell - New Earth
Myra Melford - Snowy Egret
Kris Davis Infrasound - Save Your Breath
Barry Altschul's 3dom Factor - Tales Of The Unforseen
Henry ThreadGill & Zooid - In For a Penny, In For a Pound

Still need to check out Melford and Altchul at least, thanks for the reminder (yeah, Lake & Parker too, prob all of 'em). And what's the Threadgill like? I've enjoyed several of his through the ages, but haven't heard any recent releases.

I am piss-poor at describing music, but I would describe the Threadgill as melodic and all over the place and nice!

Cool, thanks. New releases, Downbeat Editors' Picks:
http://www.downbeat.com/defaultl.asp?sect=reviews

I mostly only buy jazz cd's these days and none of it is from 2015. The last Brad Mehldau box is from this year but contains old material. Some great purchases this year are:

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0000/576/MI0000576132.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0000/559/MI0000559870.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0001/575/MI0001575323.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

http://www.billfrisell.com/sites/default/files/images/discs/greg_cohen_goldenstate.jpg

This album only received five-star reviews and sounds definately like something to check out:

http://jakeheggie.com/content-wp/uploads/2015/09/Image-26-300x300.jpg

i love that Gnu High cover!!

gnu high, yes! was listening to that just earlier. been playing lots of things recently with dave holland in a supporting role, but still never checked out anything where he's leading... would guess conference of the birds would be the smart pick?

His long-running quintet (which, depending on the album, expands to a sextet, an octet, or a 13-member big band) is great. They have a bunch of albums on ECM and several more on Holland's own Dare2 label.

This is my first Dave Holland cd, definately looking for more after this one.

This 2015 album is very good, though not necessarily "jazz" (last track is very fusion-y though):

http://www.teuthida.com/productImages/full/21023.Full.jpg

Heard a radio replay of this supple tribute to Kenny Wheeler, still streaming: http://www.wbgo.org/blog/a-tribute-to-kenny-wheeler, where Gnu High is cited as his creative breakthrough.
Holland has done all kinds of things, almost like Charlie Haden, but for me, the DHQ listening breakthrough was Conference of the Birds. Got into the tuneful title track and cute "Q&A" right away, but Rivers x Braxton seemed a bridge and chorus too far/freaky on other tracks, despite repeated listenings. So I put it away, finally tried again, and loved the whole thing instantly, as I have ever since. What was my problem? Anyway, it's great. Don't know that it's the one to start with, necessarily (I'd enjoyed Rivers and Braxton's own, very individual records , but somehow the combination seemed overwhelming, boo-hoo).

thanks for the tips! was the presence of rivers/braxton that had me pointing in the conference of the birds direction, definitely need to seek it out (also the circle stuff with corea et al, only know the braxtonless a.r.c album from that period). re the haden mention, reminds me that holland has had some involvement with people like john hartford and vassar clements too.

The new Raoul Bjorkenheim/Ecstasy album is quite ace. It is one of them kind of "I am not normally a fan of this type of thing" things that I can't stop playing.