Rolling Jazz Thread 2020

The thing to judge in any jazz artist is, does the man project and does he have ideas.

I went to see Pharoah Sanders at Iridium this past weekend, with Benito Gonzalez on piano, Nat Reeves on bass, and Johnathan Blake on drums. They played three pieces, each one 15-20 minutes long, and honestly, for a lot of it it was the Benito Gonzalez Trio featuring special guest Pharoah Sanders. But when Pharoah was actually playing, he was on. Not doing the whole T. Rex-roaring thing but digging deep into hard bop language, like Coltrane in 1958. On the last number, his son Tomoki came out, also playing tenor, and took a decent solo that was more in a '60s Fire Music vein. I hadn't seen Sanders live in about 25 years, and/but I'm glad I went.

It's inevitable that this would be the case. Still, I missed him when he was in the bay area and regret it.

thanks for sharing, phil. really hoping i can catch him in the very near future

also, bringing this over from last year's thread:

haven't seen it mentioned anywhere else, so posting here as it may be of interest: earlier this year austrian label black-monk reissued franz koglmann's "flaps" and "opium for franz" on both vinyl and CD.

i've found it incredibly difficult to track down even an mp3 rip of "opium for franz" (to say nothing to say of an original LP), so this is most welcome !

looks like some of the european distributors still have copies, but americans might have better luck sending an email directly to the label.

http://www.blackmonk.at/blog

― budo jeru, Tuesday, December 31, 2019 3:23 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Opium/For Franz was reissued on CD in ‘99 or 2000, but it was a needledrop. Curious if this new reissue (the vinyl, particularly) is mastered from a different source.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, December 31, 2019 4:10 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

looked into this, i think what happened is the so-called "opium" CD (from 2001 it turns out) was composed of bits from both "flaps" and "opium" tho neither record was reissued in its entirety. so here is a chance to have both. as for the sound quality, i can report back when i receive the "opium" LP

Ah, interesting. I mainly purchased the '01 CD for the Bill Dixon collaboration; the Lacy stuff was a nice bonus.

Just finished listening to all of Ben Monder's Day After Day from last year. Was pretty surprised to hear a disc of easygoing tuneful interpretations of 70s pop tunes after a disc of knotty solo jams. Very nice, as usual.

I've decided to dig into Johnny Hodges' albums with organist Wild Bill Davis from the mid '60s. They've just been given the cheapo Euro reissue treatment, so I bought four CDs (one of them is a 2CD set) that include between them the albums Blue Hodge, Sandy's Gone, Mess of Blues, Blue Rabbit, Con-Soul & Sax, Wings & Things, Blue Pyramid, In Atlantic City, Blue Notes and Stride Right, all for about $30 including shipping from Spain (I think).

I love Johnny Hodges- for me the smaller the group, the better

Tortoise’s Jeff Parker and his ensemble the New Breed have announced a new record. Suite for Max Brown features a version of John Coltrane’s “After the Rain” and an interpretation of Joe Henderson’s “Black Narcissus.” The album comes out on January 24 via International Anthem/Nonesuch. Check out Jeff Parker & The New Breed’s new track “Go Away,” along with the Suite for Max Brown artwork and their European tour dates, below.

https://pitchfork.com/news/tortoises-jeff-parker-announces-new-album-suite-for-max-brown/

Excited for this. Was a big fan of 'The New Breed' album.

Same, very excited

It's pretty good. A lot of it is more D'Angelo-esque bedroom-R&B (as in "music made by a dude in his bedroom" not "soundtrack to bedroom activities") than jazz, but definitely worth hearing.

Looking forward to Winter Jazzfest this weekend. Here's a list of what I recommend, if you're gonna be there:

FRIDAY, JANUARY 10
6:00 – Nasheet Waits by Sea @ Zinc Bar
7:00 – Run into Webster Hall, throw a water balloon full of piss at Joey
Alexander, run away
7:15 – Hypnotic Brass Ensemble @ SOBs
8:15 – Ambrose Akinmusire @ Webster Hall
8:30 – Kokoroko @ SOBs
9:30 – Makaya McCraven @ Webster Hall
10:00 – Ted Poor/Cuong Vu/Kris Davis @ Zürcher Gallery
10:45 – Igmar Thomas’ Revive Big Band @ Webster Hall
12:15 – Jaimie Branch @ The Dance
1:30 – Simona Premazzi @ Zinc Bar

SATURDAY, JANUARY 11
6:30 – Steve Lehman Trio + Craig Taborn @ Zinc Bar
7:00 – Brandee Younger @ Webster Hall
7:30 – Tia Fuller @ SOBs OR The Cookers @ Subculture
8:30 – Nduduzo Makhathini @ Zürcher Gallery
9:15 – Hypnotic Brass Ensemble @ Mercury Lounge
9:45 – Susan Alcorn Quintet @ The Dance
10:30 – Kassa Overall @ Mercury Lounge
11:45 – Theo Croker @ Mercury Lounge
12:15 – Anna Webber @ The Dance
12:30 - Gregg August @ Subculture
1:00 – Heroes Are Gang Leaders @ Mercury Lounge

Love the two advance tracks.

Thank god for Bandcamp credits, that's Makaya on drums on 'Go Away'

The 20 best jazz albums of the 2010s, according to Stereogum/me.

20 Nicole Mitchell – Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds (FPE, 2017)
19 Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society – Real Enemies (New Amsterdam, 2016)
18 Branford Marsalis Quartet – Four MFs Playin’ Tunes (Marsalis Music, 2012)
17 Orrin Evans – Flip The Script (Posi-Tone, 2012)
16 Cécile McLorin Salvant – Dreams And Daggers (Mack Avenue, 2017)
15 Donny McCaslin – Beyond Now (Motéma, 2016)
14 Linda May Han Oh – Aventurine (Biophilia, 2019)
13 Esperanza Spalding – Radio Music Society (Heads Up, 2012)
12 Ambrose Akinmusire – The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier To Paint (Blue Note, 2014)
11 William Parker – Wood Flute Songs (AUM Fidelity, 2013)
10 Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile (Constellation, 2013)
9 Sons Of Kemet – Your Queen Is A Reptile (Impulse!, 2018)
8 Irreversible Entanglements – Irreversible Entanglements (International Anthem, 2017)
7 Tyshawn Sorey – The Inner Spectrum Of Variables (Pi, 2016)
6 Nduduzo Makhathini – Ikhambi (Universal Music, 2017)
5 Kamasi Washington – The Epic (Brainfeeder, 2015)
4 Mary Halvorson Octet – Away With You (Firehouse 12, 2016)
3 Henry Threadgill 14 Or 15 Kestra: Agg – Dirt… And More Dirt (Pi, 2018)
2 Jaimie Branch – Fly Or Die (International Anthem, 2017)
1 Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah – The Centennial Trilogy (Ropeadope, 2017)

There's probably little reason to dedicate a thread to International Anthem that isn't covered by this one, but good lord have they put out an amazing pile of records--I haven't even gotten to the first Fly Or Die or the Irreversible Entanglements albums yet (nor the Jeff Parker or Angel Bat Dawid ones).

V cool list. 2, 3, 5, and 10 are albums I own and have listened to a lot. 9 and 20 I listened to a decent amount but never bought. Halvorson, Spalding, Parker, and Argue have other albums I've liked or loved but I somehow didn't get around to these ones. The Makaya McCraven from 2018 didn't make it?

I thought a lot about McCraven. I think this is my favorite of his albums:

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/where-we-come-from-chicagoxlondon-mixtape

Everything he does has some brilliant stuff and some filler, but that one's the most front-to-back satisfying for me as a listener.

I've just picked an album off that list that I've never heard of to listen to on Spotify, moreorless at random, bcs the name sounded interesting: William Parker – Wood Flute Songs (AUM Fidelity, 2013). It's got 44 tracks and is 9 and a quarter hours long. This is why I'll only ever be a jazz dilettante.

https://whitdickey.bandcamp.com/album/peace-planet-box-of-light

Parker plays on half of Walt Dickey's very good Tao Quartets - Peace Planet Box Of Light album from this year. A much more bite sized project - only 2 hours long!

Yeah, Wood Flute Songs is a box set of live recordings. If you just want to get an idea of what that band sounds like, try their regular albums: O'Neal's Porch or Sound Unity or Petit Oiseau.

Parker also plays in the Sonoluminescence Trio, who are v good imo. Pretty free/out.

Anybody else at Winter Jazzfest? I’m about to see Hypnotic Brass Ensemble at SOBs.

always have a conversation about this with various friends but I am afraid my metabolism and schedule don’t really allow for it

Saw Hypnotic, who were preceded - and briefly joined - by a Chicago footwork troupe. Now I’m at Webster Hall for Ambrose Akinmusire and then Makaya McCraven. I was gonna have to run out and come back, but Kokoroko didn’t get visas, so this is where my night ends.

Too bad Kokoroko didn't get visas. Alas, that's happening more and more under current administration.

Are there any 20-something Latin Jazz musicians? Any Latin jazz musicians who listen to reggaeton or Latin pop as well as old stuff and jazz?

Was looking at some guy's list of his top 2019 Latin Jazz albums and those questions came to mind (in addition to why doesn't he like Eddie Palmieri)--

1-Carlos Henriquez- Dizzy Con Clave

2-Siguarajazz- De Pelicula

3-John Rodriguez- Brutal

4-Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet- The Rhythm Of Invention

5-Oscar Hernandez & Alma Libre- Love The Moment

6-Poncho Sanchez- Trane’s Delight

7-Chucho Valdes- Bata Jazz 2

8-Bill O’Connell and The Afro Caribbean Ensemble- Wind Off The Hudson

9-Steve Khan- Patchwork

10-Gunter Brock- Entre Amigos

11-Machito Jr. & Cubology- For My Grandsons

12-GC and The Cuban Cowboys

13-Michel Camilo- Essence

14-Joe Gonzalez- 62nd & 10th

15-Carlos Sarduy- Luz

16-El Comite- So What?

17-Andy Williams & Alabama All Stars- De La Habana A Alabama

18-Patricio Bonilla- Volando Bajito

19-Classico Latino- Havana Classico

20-Samuel Torres- Alegria

21-Humberto Ramirez- 8 Doors

22-Trombeatz- A Caribbean Thing

23-Ryan Timoffe Timba Jazz- Cuban Safari

24-Cuban Jazz Report

25-Juan Alamo & Marijazz-

26-Enrique Lazaga

27-Chemi Nakai- Ascendent

28-The Cuban Latin Jazz- Juntos Por Siempre

29-Owen Watt & Bobby Carcasses- Carlito’s Tune

30-Sr. Ortegon- The Latin Experience

https://latinosunidosonline.wordpress.com/2019/12/10/el-condado-de-la-salsa-y-jazz-latino-the-best-latin-jazz-cds-of-2019-by-nelson-rodriguez/

lol, unperson: you and i had much the same itinerary! I did Theo Bleckmann/Hypnotic/Ambrose/Gretchen Parlato/Todd Sickafoose. I wish i had the gumption for Jaimie Branch but I have tickets to see her in March and I'm doing this again tomorrow and then globalfest on Sunday.... like 18 hours of festival in three days!

also pissed i missed McCraven AGAIN but i'm definitely seeing his Gil Scott Heron show tomorrow come hell or high water

this probably doesn't answer your questions in the right direction but do you know this album curmudgeon?

https://www.thenation.com/article/ile-almadura-album-review/

Driving home the back roads from Louisville, caught this show on the radio tonight.

https://www.bealestreetcaravan.com/weekly-show/bsc2414/

The stuff about the Stax school is really cool but I really liked Paul McKinney's music too.

Got curious to look Paul McKinney online and his profile is so small, considering how talented he is as a musician and educator. He has shockingly little at all out there. One might think there would be at least phone videos or something, but I could not find much at all. Which considering how much odd and terrible music out there is kinda wild, considering this guys obvious high level of skills.

I bugged out early so missed McCraven last night, but apparently it was an incredible band: Marquis Hill on trumpet, Greg Ward on alto sax, I'm not sure who on tenor sax, Brandee Younger on harp, Joel Ross on vibes, Junius Paul on bass...

I'm trying for Steve Lehman + Craig Taborn, Brandee Younger, the Cookers, and Nduduzo Makhathini tonight.

X-post to J, I do know iLe, from Calle 13, and her musical interests seem broad.

I did find a Miguel Zenon Instagram post from Christmas morning where he posted a photo of albums - Bad Bunny x100pre and Fran Sinatra- Only the Lonely and said eclectic Christmas list this year and then described them as #1 albums 61 years apart both killers

Unperson: waiting out front at Brandee now!

Couldn’t get into Webster Hall because of something I forgot I had in my bag, so I’m at Subculture for The Cookers and so I don’t miss Nduduzo Makhathini down the block in an hour.

Ndusuzo is dope

Yeah, his set was fantastic. The Cookers were really good too - they had Ralph Peterson on drums instead of Billy Hart, and he was hitting hard.

Saw Uri Caine and a vocal choir do this at Zurcher; it was shockingly good... learned a lot too!
http://downbeat.com/news/detail/uri-caine-pays-tribute-to-octavius-catto

Caught Kat Edmonson doing her thing, which included a lovely, lilting samba-d out cover of 'just like heaven'

Theo Croker's set was very enjoyable but I think i like his band better when he's not playing!

The late Jimmy Heath featured on WKCR-FM all day today.

Okay, not quite. Only during the jazz shows

http://hullworks.net/jazzpoll/19/

NPR Jazz Critics poll by voter

Jimmy Heath, age 21

Paris Jazz Festival, May 1948 pic.twitter.com/IvCnVhvKUY

— Sonny Rollins Bridge (@RollinsBridge) January 19, 2020

he looks so young and suave in this pic from '48. RIP

Webber/Morris Big Band album is really good (I know Webber has some big fans on this board)
like a distilled, crystalline mingus

Oh hey there was a Comet Is Coming Tiny Desk --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpfpYTmohAk

Nice!

Vijay Iyer's going to be at the Jazz Standard next week, with Linda Oh on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums, and on Saturday 2/1, Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet. The trio has an album coming out later this year and will be premiering the new music.

This is a really good piece.

Wow

Think about that kind of thing all the time.

i really hated it but i'll only say that i really didn't appreciate the snide dismissals of george shearing and buddy rich

Yeah that wasn't good imo. Sounds like his main beef is with hacky writers of tv & movies. He should try watching some movies about painters and see if the level of understanding gets any better or less cliched.

The visual arts get an equally shitty rep from pop culture portrayals yeah, dunno why that would make criticism invalid?

Yeah, I like Shuja Haider a great deal, but this is not one of his better pieces. I don't think it's meant to be a particularly serious effort, but if you're going to tackle the negative portrayal of jazz fans you need to go a bit deeper: The Committments, Jerry Maguire etc. In a UK context, I can understand the residual dislike of the 80s style mag approach to jazz, which was often fetishistic and ignored contemporary developments. He does touch on the racialised and class aspects of this, but it's something that could be developed further.
Having said all that, we also have to accept that real life jazz fans can be awful snobs. At Vision last year, I found myself stuck behind some blowhard who loudly expressed his disdain towards Patricia Nicholson's compering (I'd like to see this jabroni putting an incredible festival together for 25 years) and groaned performatively when Quincey Troupe gave shout outs to Whitney Houston, Beyonce et al during his set. That sort of nonsense makes me embarrassed to be a jazz fan. Unlike your movie jazz guy, this guy clearly knew his jazz, but his refusal to see the connections to black pop smacked of the old white-guys-as-arbiters-of-authenticity trope.

Lawrence Leathers tribute streaming right now from Dizzy's is cooking. What a band.

By which I mean Spike Wilner's (augmented) Smalls Sextet right now I guess.

JC Styles emceeing. It might has well be Smalls or Mezzrow.

People keep switching out instruments every couple of minutes. Right now only one I recognize is Mimi Jones on bass.

Daughter of jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb—last surviving member of the historic ‘Kind of Blue’ band—has launched a crowdfunding project to cover her father’s medical and living expenses. https://t.co/G4fqK0p5ZV

— Ted Gioia (@tedgioia) February 3, 2020

https://www.wbgo.org/post/legacy-lawrence-lo-leathers-lives-joyous-tribute-and-new-foundation#stream/0

Will not forget how to spell JC Stylles name again.

Chinen on the next Newport:
https://www.wbgo.org/post/ageless-masters-fiery-and-comers-newport-jazz-festival-unveils-its-first-wave#stream/0

https://amirthakidambi.bandcamp.com/album/from-untruth

missed this last year, really hits the spot

i know you guys aren't generally into more accessible vocal jazz covers but i am digging the new Kat Edmonson and this cover of "When You Wish Upon a Star" particularly. Yacouba Sissoko on kora and Deep Singh on tabla!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRj_0FTa0SM

American Masters, starting Tues.:
Discover the man behind the legend. With full access to the Miles Davis Estate, the film features never-before-seen footage, including studio outtakes from his recording sessions, rare photos and new interviews.
https://aptv.org/schedule/detail.php?epid=2378952

I caught Billy Harper’s quintet last night in SF. I’d hoped to get a chance to see him for years and he did not disappoint. He sounded fresh and full of energy, with a good band behind him. Very lucky happenstance.

This Moses Boyd album is hot hot hot. Love this stuff. London is a happening place right now.

https://youtu.be/eiAV0zQipLY

yep it's a brilliant album. Boyd on where he was at when he was making it:

As its title suggests, though, Dark Matter is concerned with more than just movement and sound. “I was reflecting on what had been going on at the time of writing, and it was Brexit madness and the Windrush scandal,” Boyd says. “There was a constant cloud around me. I was thinking, ‘Am I even British if they can deport people like my [West Indian] grandparents? Do we even matter if Grenfell can burn with people in it, and then get covered up institutionally?’

This Afropunk interview with him is good: https://afropunk.com/2020/02/moses-boyd-afropunk-interview/

Now UK jazz is having a sustained spell of creativity y'all should check out pianist Alexander Hawkins. He's recently been touring with Braxton and their band has been getting rave reviews and I think some of his albums are underrated, like his trio one, step wide, step deep and his solo from last year.

Speaking of UK Jazz, went to see Yazz Ahmed at Church of Sound last Friday and that was a stellar show, moving away a bit from her more abrasive earlier stuff into spiritual jazz w/ copious middle eastern influences. Warning: there are certain bits of the new album that sound a bit like Zappa, if that's an immediate turn-off.

trigger warning: Zappa influence

Just discovered an album I didn't know about from last year - the self-titled debut by Tenor Triage, a group featuring Michael Eaton, James Brandon Lewis, and Sean Sonderegger on tenor saxes, Brad Jones on bass and Calvin Weston on drums. It came out in September on Ropeadope. It's pretty good, raucous (as you might expect) semi-harmolodic jazz-funk. Bern Nix was in the group too, but died before they could record this album.

new jeremy cunningham album is great ft jeff parker makaya mccraven and others

I've been meaning to check that one out.

Yeah, damn; there's some heavy shit on that album

Great chordless trio in my neighborhood tonight.

John Ellis, Ricky Rodriguez and Jimmy Macbride.

that Yazz Ahmed album from last year is indeed splendid

Ok, help me because I can't remember the name of this tune. Thinking it's a hard bop classic, I can hear the original with trumpet, but it's driving me crazy. 32 bars with a bluesy A section.

I feel a little shameful because I was hate-watching Stanton Moore, but it's ok because David Torkanowsky is one of my very favorite piano players. Here's the tune:
https://youtu.be/Z7wSxD7RDkM?t=1007

I prefer the Stan Moore who played in Zakary Thaks.

Name that tune though

totally loving The Complete Blue Note Recordings of the Tina Brooks Quintets at the moment, which I think is something that has been out of print for a while. He was obviously a huge talent whose career was sadly pissed away because of his heroin addiction and rep for unreliability, so my awareness of him wasn't so good before hearing this collection.

I need to check that set out; I don't know Brooks' work very well.

it features some star studded quintets including Sonny Clark, Freddie Hubbard, Art Blakey, Paul Chambers, Lee Morgan.. poor guy was such a mess and apparently a bit awkward and shy as well that he only managed to have one album released in his lifetime.

Name that tune though

Ah ok, figured it out -- Herbie Hancock's Driftin'.

Off his very first record as a leader. I was thinking it would be a horn player's record or maybe Art Blakey, because I could hear the trumpet & sax in my head, and was looking up Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan tunes (and it is Freddie Hubbard & Dexter Gordon in front).

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/

this label is on fire rn!

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/to-cy-lee-instrumentals-vol-1

The music of "To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1" contains naturally elegant orchestration wrapped around something visceral and primordial. Swirled inside the 11 pieces are shades of Japanese Min’yo folk, Celtic folk, the Ethio-jazz of saxophonist Getatchew Mekurya and hints of the pan-human ‘ancient music’ that sat underneath Arthur Russell’s melodies on First Thought, Best Thought. The music is filled with space, inspired, he says, by computer games and Japanese animation, particularly Joe Hisaishi’s.

this is exquisite

nice! was just going to ask about that one--it hasn't crossed my radar at all, but Mekurya, Arthur Russell, and Castle in the Sky are all among my favorite things and I didn't expect to ever see them grouped in a music blurb

btw, I don't care where we talk about IA, but there is this thread if you missed it: International Anthem: S/D

bookmark added

Listening to this Alabaster DePlume now. Excellent and heavy as hell. I can totally hear the Ethio influence.

Also, why wasn't I named Alabaster DePlume, ffs?

yeah Whiskey Story Time is Ethio-folk as fuck. Very nice.

Supposed to go see Christian Scott at the Blue Note in NYC tomorrow night. No news of a cancellation yet...

Yeah this is great, IA strikes again. Interesting that they're signing London records now.

Was supposed to see Jamie Branch tonight, weighing out if I should go out or not. May be the last chance to see live music for months. I'm honestly kind of shook and don't know how to process at the moment.

If it's easy to get to, absolutely go. My qualms w/r/t the Scott show is that it'll require two trains (NJ Transit, followed by the subway) in each direction. Also, NY's governor just said all gatherings over 500 are banned, and all gatherings of fewer than 500 (like a jazz club) must reduce admission by 50%. So they're only going to be letting like 60 people into the club and I don't know if guest list will get priority.

https://longsongrecords.bandcamp.com/album/solar-winds

new Raoul Björkenheim Trane themed guitar violin quartet is good.

Hm, making me think a bit of Sonny Sharrock?

I like Björkenheim generally, and that's an interesting concept. Might check that one out.

yeah some fine Sonny Sharrock energy bubbling up on occasions!

Mike Longo’s got the virus.

hi phil, got an “industry” (for lack of a better word) question for you: have you ever had any contact with william parker, or his people, or know anything about what that’s about ?

there’s an email address on his website, but i’m not sure how he’d react to me, a stranger, cold inquiring about releasing some tapes he has in his possession of some unreleased recordings with don cherry.

Yeah, I'm pretty close with William, actually. Drop a line to centeringmusic at earthlink dot net. He'll get back to you one way or the other.

thanks very much !

Mike Longo’s got the virus.

Really great album, full of hooks & vamps. Rhythmically it's very rooted in rock, though jazz credentials are clearly in full effect.

https://shiftingparadigmrecords.bandcamp.com/album/blood-moon

(full disclosure, I'm friends with a couple of these guys, but really impressed with this in spite of that)

Daniel Carter, Matthew Shipp, William Parker, and Gerald Cleaver today announced the release of Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1, the quartet's first ever album released together despite playing together in different iterations over the last several decades.

The track "Scintillate" will be released on May15th, 2020 and the full album will be out on CD/LP/Digital on June 5th, (on) 577 Records...with volume two scheduled to be published in the near future.
Credits
Daniel Carter - Tenor Saxophone, Trumpet, Flute
Matthew Shipp - Piano
William Parker - Bass
Gerald Cleaver - Drums

Tracklist
1. Majestic Travel Agency
2. Scintillate
3. Ear-regularities

Preorder
https://danielcarternyc.bandcamp.com/album/welcome-adventure-vol-1

Contact
Press: Cody DeFalco cody at northern-spy.com
Radio: Jeff Conklin radio at clandestinelabelservices.com

Did you all hear this? It's truly the vault-emptying era. Really picks up at the Lee Morgan solo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7PDD6gB2EM

The Blakey album is good. It's Art Blakey in 1959; how could it not be? Release date pushed back to June, I think.

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/31/824801424/wallace-roney-intrepid-jazz-trumpeter-dies-from-covid-19-complications-at-59

RIP Wallace Roney

“heliopolis” (1970) by cairo free jazz ensemble with harmut geerken / salah ragab is finally being reissued. label says “high quality remaster from the original tapes” but i’m skeptical. even so, i’ve always wanted to hear it so will probably buy.

https://www.soundohm.com/product/heliopolis-lp

Reggie Workman won a Guggenheim fellowship.

finally some well deserved good news in this world.

otm. dude is underrated imo

Øyvind Skarbø, Fredrik Ljungkvist, Kris Davis, Ole Morten Vågan ‎– Inland Empire

^^^

really good album is this

https://thetrapset.libsyn.com/265-makaya-mccraven

The new Jeff Parker, mentioned upthread a couple times, has instantly taken/held me for more of a first spin than any other album of recent release. No great solos, none needed, when grooves keep forming and flex like this. The most distinctive/least familiar element, to my ears, is the way he uses his Korg (etc.) for a sort of held, luminescent fluid effect, at the center, or to the side, or wherever it needs to go. He says he doesn't want to sit down and "fall into writing patterns," but the music is patterned, just enough. Also 'ppreciate what the drums bring to the mesh, no matter who is playing: McCraven, Jamire Williams, Jay Bellerose, Parker himself.
https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/suite-for-max-brown

Well I guess I wouldn't mind "great solos" to take it further, but they don't seem nec. here, it ain't about any kind of solos,

Of course it was the first spin, but ooo infatutation is fun.

Also infatuation.

Parker and two who played on his album, Josh Johnson and Rob Mazurek, recently teamed with Chad Taylor for the first new Chicago Underground Quartet set since early 00s. Good Days has a good late night deep focus, cheerful and shaded,tone set by the elusive Alan Shorter's '69 "Orgasm"as opener, extended via dorsal fin sky roll of "Strange Wing," by far the longest track, moving right along like all. Marurek's cornet provides submarine lights when needed, Taylor's "solo log drum" piece "Lormé" fits right into the canopy----it's really not nec. late night weedio; my maiden voyage was midday, sober as I'll ever be:
https://astralcuq.bandcamp.com/album/good-days

Looking fwd to spending more time w/ that new Chi Underground Quartet!
So far am liking its sustained mood more than Suite For Max Brown as a whole
(although for me Parker's newest one's highs are super-high, for instance I am blown away by "Go Away" and to a slightly lesser extent the earlier track that adds, uh, electronic swirl to the same bass ostinato/groove, "Fusion Swirl")

“Go Away” rules

Yeah, and speaking of Rob Mazurek, I just now remembered doing a show preview when he played Columbus with Sao Paulo Underground in 2012:Tres Cabecas Loucuras was their most recent album, maybe the first. Not sure because ads on discogs are messing with my computer---looks like most recent was in 2016 ( a couple of releases listed for 2014 incl. Pharoah Sanders), 2013 album is on bandcamp, will have to check this---here's what I wrote, such as it is (does convey some of their appeal):
Sao Paulo Underground 09/23
Brazil’s Sao Paulo is one of the world’s biggest cities, with a somewhat surreal, rough-edged industrial vitality, an intriguingly compatible challenge for Midwestern composer/performer Rob Mazurek, veteran of hardy collective Chicago Underground. Sao Paulo Underground, which is Mazurek and three versatile Brazilian instrumentalists, also reflects his time with UK synth-pop combo Stereolab and Chicago’s jazz-influenced Tortoise, often tagged as "post-rock." Most typically, SPU evokes the spirit of Miles Davis’s trans-genre, shape-shifting seismic grooves, as Marzurek’s cornet makes a rich, sometimes darkly smoldering impact on the urban earth of 21rst Century Brazilian acoustic/electric/electronic soundscapes.
09/23 @ Wexner Center Performance Space, 1871 N. High St., 7 p.m.

listening now to the 2016 one, Cantos Invisíveis

really, thank you dow

Mazurek does some really interesting stuff. I saw him play with his group Black Cube SP (a sort of offshoot of São Paulo Underground - all the same members, plus Thomas Rohrer playing rabeca, a large Brazilian violin-like instrument). I shot some video:

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

Thanks for posting your vid, Phil--love that keyboard bass underpinning the whole thing.

just listening to the latest Aruán Ortiz/Andrew Cyrille joint and liking it rn.

Alexander @hawkinsmusic has made his albums @Bandcamp pay-what-you-want: https://t.co/UcQRRSBz81 -- they're all great. Go to, and pay something, if you're able?

— destination: OUT (@destinationOUT) April 15, 2020

You're welcome, gaudio, and thank you, unperson, for unwrapping some Black Cube. Thought this might be dirgey, given the back story, but no----"Return The Tides (excerpt)," which makes me think of early 70s Miles making his band learn Black Sabbath, is bouncier than the others, but plenty motility among all these proffered sounds (must get whole thing):https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/return-the-tides-ascension-suite-and-holy-ghost

RIP Lee Konitz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bacgAEmcFK4

Oh, man, RIP. What a player, what a personality.

I...acknowledge his importance. RIP.

It looks like the great Sheila Jordan (check out "Portrait of Sheila," GREAT album) found out via Birdland's FB post too.

So sorry to hear this. I wish I had caught more performances, but I did see Konitz once, with Dan Tepfer. It was only a few days before he turned 90, but it was unmistakably him, a beautiful player to the end. His exchanges were Tepfer were absolutely wonderful - a highly memorable performance.

FWIW, it was an outdoor show, and some people further back in the audience wanted him to play into a mic, but every time a stage hand approached him with one, he'd walk away, still playing. (They finally gave up.) Towards the end, he wanted to try his hand at scat singing - I never heard him sing before, so I can't say if he was ever consistently good at singing, but every now and then, his voice wouldn't be up to the melodies in his head, and he'd respond with a raspberry. Tepfer eventually sat with him and they both scatted a bit on the last song. It was touching - the guy has done enough to fill two lifetimes of great work, if he wanted to try singing on his last number, it was well earned.

If you need to start somewhere, I highly suggest MOTION, a widely-hailed masterpiece ("one of the great modern jazz records") and rightfully so.

Also check out 'Lee Konitz: Conversations on the Improviser's Art,' which is one of the great jazz books as well - essential reading for jazz enthusiasts.

Motion is indeed an awesome album

This is a Chicago trumpet player's group, pretty killing: https://connorbernhard.bandcamp.com

"A mountain ain't nothin' but a tombstone for a fire."
Who Sent You? they said from their liquid cryo-chamber, from a low-light induction field cobbled together with lithium rods, with melted down Romare Bearden and Howardena Pindell paintings, stitched with chaos fibers and placed in the center of the carrion husk of a burnt out shanty town. They took time to scrape ashen samples of what was, their souls the residue thick and caked on, that still climbs those new high-rise condominiums like moss—the only evidence that they were once there, that they were baked into the fabric of this planet—they were there fixing elevators and tossing wrenches into quantum fields until they were stopped! frisked! and turned into weird, 100-foot martyr murals on the backside, the north side, of supermarket walls—Who Sent You? is how the matrix modulation works.

"I remember stealing back the night, and we took as much as we could: every blue-black inch, gasping for air."

Camae Ayewa - voice, texts
Keir Neuringer - saxophone, percussion
Aquiles Navarro - trumpet, percussion
Luke Stewart - double bass, percussion
Tcheser Holmes - drums, congas

"We are more than circles."

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/who-sent-you

"No mas, no more. No longer."

def not just settings for words, or vice-versa: love the sounds of this whole thing!

Really digging the Kurt Elling Cocktail Hour, every Friday at 6PM EST. He doesn't sing but chats, plays recordings and has a guest to talk to.

Seeing a lot of sad news about Henry Grimes on Twitter tonight but haven't seen it reported in any major outlets yet? I spun Unit Structures.

yeah confirmed unfortunately .. RIP Henry. He's contributed to so many absolute classic albums.

Cecil Taylor: piano
Jimmy Lyons: alto saxophone
Archie Shepp: tenor saxophone
Henry Grimes: bass
Sunny Murray: drums
Ted Curson: trumpet
Roswell Rudd: trombone

absolute ridic band on Into The Hot

at this rate there won't be any mid-20th century legends and relics left by the end of the year:(

Grimes teamed up with all the major jazz musicians of that time: Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon, Frank Wright and Roswell Rudd (and this is only a narrowed-down list). No matter what the musical context was, he played with an intensity that musicians like Dennis Charles thought “his bass was about to explode“.

otm

bummer news.

just yesterday i was spinning “sonny’s time now” with murray and albert ayler, he’s sharing double bass duty with lewis worrell on that one.

i’ve still never heard his record on ESP. nor have i heard the live recordings with rollins / cherry in europe. i will search for them.

RIP henry grimes

I got to see Grimes play with Cecil when he re-emerged. Pheeroan akLaff on drums. Being a Cecil Taylor bassist is often a thankless job, but Grimes found a space for himself and refused to yield any ground. I saw him one other time, too, but I can't remember the other musicians or the context.

He was great with Marc Ribot and Chad Taylor and Roy Campbell on the Spiritual Unity album. And there's a trio album from after Campbell's passing that's pretty good, too.

just listening to that Ted Poor debut with both Andrews Bird and D'Angelo, it's quite unexpectedly fab. Thought it might be a quite dry chamber-jazz type project but it certainly ain't that!

Went to Pi Recordings' Bandcamp and saw that the digital version of the Marc Ribot Trio Live at the Village Vanguard album I mentioned has 3 more tracks - about 30 minutes of music. So I bought it and listened to it while walking around (post office, dollar store, grocery store). It's pretty great.

https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-giuseppi-logan-nyc-jazz-musician-dies-20200418-gbfkozi54jed3ialerdk73pz2i-story.html

its funny to read jimmy macbride's name in an ilx thread. i went to a jazz camp with him in connecticut -- i was in HS and he was like, 9 years old or something?

he was a known drum wizard at that point, at any rate

@espdisk-April 17
yes, sadly #GiuseppiLogan has risen into the eternal today. we here, in gratitude of Mr. Logan's music is offering it today, as a free download, as we mourn the loss, and hope you can take positive solace in his spirit sonics...
https://giuseppilogan.bandcamp.com/album/the-giuseppi-logan-quartet

@natechinen
Henry Grimes and Giuseppi Logan were both born in Philadelphia in 1935. Each made a major impact in the jazz avant-garde in the 1960s, disappeared for some 30 years, and returned to a hero’s welcome. We lost both this week. #RIP

i was in HS and he was like, 9 years old or something?
He's all of twenty-eight years old now.

Henry Grimes did a tour with David Murray and Sunny Murray in 2004. I caught them in a small club in Utrecht, Holland and it was amazing.

Did anyone check out the Unfiltered release from Tyshawn Sorey? It was released in May but I haven't read much about it (it was mentioned in a live review in the latest edition of The Wire).

Thanks for the new Sorey album alert, can't wait to get it!

sounds a bit like Verisimilitude is my first impression, like it!

curious that such a good release has gone completely under the radar. Even with the Rona on the run still loads of shite is getting reviewed!

apparently this sextet performed this live in early March. 4 weeks is a long time in the era of pandemic.

It slid under the radar because it was a surprise release at the time. That doesn't work as well in jazz as it does in pop.

he's got the laziest twitter account in the world - he doesn't even announce his new releases on it. But I respect that!

https://jewishinsider.com/2020/04/checking-in-on-the-village-vanguard-the-worlds-oldest-jazz-club/

My latest Stereogum column is up. A litany of the dead, and 15 awesome new albums to listen to.

https://www.stereogum.com/2081658/the-month-in-jazz-april-2020/franchises/ugly-beauty/

Excellent column Phil. BTW, have you ever seen Robert Altman's "Jazz '34: Remembrances of Kansas City Swing"? It was made from the performance footage he shot for his otherwise poorly-received "Kansas City." Great documentary, it was hailed by the few film critics who reviewed it, but unfortunately it never got decent distribution and it remains out-of-print due to licensing issues. (When Arrow Films in the UK tried to include it in their new reissue of "Kansas City" on Blu-Ray, they found out the music licensing for "Jazz '34" was poorly done - everything was short-term and thus expired, and the cost to re-license made it impractical for them to pursue it further.) I bring it up because Hal Willner was the music supervisor for that entire project after previous musical consultants had dropped out. He handpicked the players from all over the jazz and R&B world, which created some on-set tension when the musical sensibilities of certain individuals were at odds with each other. Some quit early on, but things seemed to calm down once they saw themselves on screen. It's probably my favorite project he's done.

I know of it, but have never seen it. I did see the Kansas City Big Band live at Town Hall in NYC in 1997, though I was more excited to see the opening acts, Charlie Haden's Quartet West and Joe Henderson (with George Mraz and Al Foster).

I posted this on the New Orleans brass thread, but someone got Derrick "Kabuki" Shezbie (formerly of the Rebirth Brass Band, and 26 years ago recorded his previous solo album as a teenager, when he was supposed to be the next New Orleans trumpet star a la Wynton, Terrence Blanchard, Nicholas Payton) to record a trad album. It's not necessarily a great album but I'm always happy to hear him play, this is my fave cut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-_9YPzP2PQ

Jaimie Branch at the last show at Roulette before they closed. I had tickets and opted out.
https://vimeo.com/407212407/822e55b8ee

https://www.soundohm.com/product/lena

new Anna Högberg Attack album is fantastic. Mats Gustafsson is raving about it in the link above.

Nice! I loved their first album.

yes it was ace. I definitely need to dig that one out again

Guitarist Hedvig Mollestad, whose long-running trio combines heavy fusion with monster blooze-rawk riffage, has a new album coming out next month with a different, larger ensemble: trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, Marte Eberson and Erlende Slettevoll on keyboards, Torstein Lofhus on drums and Ole Mofjell on percussion. Mollestad wrote the music for the Vossa Jazz festival in Norway in 2019, and after the performance they recorded a studio version. It's really good — kind of a cross between Zappa and early '70s Santana, with the trumpet up front and some really out, noisy electronics at times. On Rune Grammofon.

oh hell yeah, I love Hedvig Mollestad

International Jazz Day, panel and concert streaming tomorrow on jazzday.com:
International Jazz Day Panel with host Nate Chinen, featuring performer Marcus Miller and South African vocalist Sibongile Khumalo.
Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
International Jazz Day Global Concert
Marcus Miller, Lang Lang, Charlie Puth, Cécile McLorin Salvant, John McLaughlin, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Sibongile Khumalo, Alune Wade, John Beasley, Ben Williams, Lizz Wright, John Scofield, Igor Butman, Evgeny Pobozhiy, Youn Sun Nah, A Bu, Jane Monheit, and Joey DeFrancesco, among others.
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Leading up to the virtual Global Concert, there will be a free series of educational masterclasses, children’s activities and discussions via web conference featuring renowned educators and jazz artists, streamed live via jazzday.com.
more info: https://jazzday.com/

A live audience will be able to submit questions throughout the session. NPR will co-host a live stream of the virtual International Jazz Day activities.

There's some really nice stuff on this Tim Daisy comp (of his compositions with different bands throughout the years):
https://timdaisyrelayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/tim-daisy-a-forward-line-original-sounds-2004-2020-relay-digital-011

I wrote about the new Anna Högberg Attack album, which I bought on Friday during Bandcamp's fee-waiving day.

great album is that. I've had it on repeat rotation for the last week.

Thanks for the heads-up, Phil (and for continuing to cover great artists like her)

I indeed thought the same thing in terms of that 10-min tune on her new one sounding very Conquistador!, but wasn't sure to what degree my thinking that was due to Henry Grimes having passed away a week and a half before her album dropped...

Yes, and as what unperson calls the creepy groove things stalk the leash-singeing trumpet in track 2 (unperson trans. "It IS Not Too Late"), I think of Gil Evans & Miles Davis, *if* they'd gotten together later (in an official, upfront-type presentation, not w Gil's un-or under-credited input to Miles records, as actually seemed to happen, some say), except Miles didn't usually stick so much to lower, wider notes like this (at moments reminding me of Masekela's flugelhorn on the amazing recent release w Tony Allen--but again, not too close).
Also thinking of Gil, the faster side of Gil, during bluesy balancing act portions of "Dansa Margit"---and when the horn gets softer, and everybody else comes swarming back in, kind of like when the cop show hold-out finally lowers his weapon..."Antigen" has this good use of contrast, dynamic development too---and yeah those opening notes of track one are for all time.

unperson trans. "It Is...," not "It IS," sorry. the notes begin to decay like the reed is dissolving also like how other instruments can go through this in diff. time cycles, as is surely the way of nature, not always but ultimately, after the boom-boom ('appreciate they don't automatically lock into blazing finales, like some free-stylized jazz)

if the title of Moses Boyd's Dark Matter suggests a science fiction soundtrack, you're on the right trek: "Nommos Descent," feat. Nonku Phiri and Nubya Garcia, is like Quincy Jones of Young London Presents the New Nocturnal PostFreeBop Pop--that's the one that The Guardian calls "over produced," but I don't think so, it fits perfectly after the gruff, vivid social observations over circular jagged beats and recurring sax fiber of "Dancing in the Dark" feat. Obongjayar, the dubbier drive of "Only You," (incl. roil of looped[?] drums), and "Far Gone"'s flexing core times the rippling ricochet piano of Joe Armon-Jones. Elsewhere we get well-chosen bits of conversation, overblown flute, tough guitar---so far I'm only underwhelmed by the opener, which incl. tinny muted trumpet, not good to start w anticlimax.
I guess early works of Soul II Soul and Massive Attack might also be suggested, but this seems more consistently expansive and energized, in a cool, wider-ranging-record-collection way.
https://mosesboyd.bandcamp.com/album/dark-matter-2

One of my favorites this year for sure

agreed! the shape of acid jazz to come: MOSES BOYD's Dark Matter

How it's done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDpHbc50oM0&feature=youtu.be

This should work better (new Youtube video of Monder doing a spacey solo version of "Never Let Me Go"):
https://youtu.be/UDpHbc50oM0

I'm catching up with some of Eric Hofbauer's more recent releases. This was really pleasant wake-up music this morning (goes down much easier than the solo Ghost Frets - which I also like): https://soundcloud.com/erichofbauer/sets/remains-of-echoes

New album by Dinosaur / Laura Jurd is fantastic. They don't really fit into current UK/London scene so don't get much coverage.

agreed. Need to check out the new Alexander Hawkins & Tomeka Reid duo album as well.

are previous Dinosaur albums as good as this one?

I don't know what put me off them previously, might be a case of mercury award poisoning or something. Which isn't fair bevause they can't help being the token jazz placeholder and it doesn't mean they are shit
!

I'm biased, but Lucian Ban, John Surman and Mat Maneri's Transylvanian Folk Songs, based on Béla Bartók's field recordings, is absolutely fantastic.

The new Kurt Rosenwinkel is cool so far, really nice to hear him just burn out a blues with Gregory Hutchinson.

xp

I like that one a lot as well, must be quite a coup for Sunnyside Records because it is the very definition of an ecm album!

Yeah, agree about the Ban/Maneri/Surman disc; I reviewed it for The Wire.

this got rec'd when i was bopping around yt today

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkRJpB0Mhyc

a lot going on here lol

A mate is taking part in a live DJ jazz marathon thing - some great stuff so far. Currently playing Charles Brackeen.

https://www.mixcloud.com/live/thejazzmeet/

Watched Eugene Smith and the Jazz Loft last night (Sarah Fishko of NPR's doc), and it was pretty disappointing. Lots of (nearly all white) talking heads barely saying anything of substance, all over the place, sort of a notebook/footage dump inasmuch as half of the subject matter was just sort of episodic stuff about Eugene Smith's life and career that had nothing whatsoever to do with the Jazz Loft, music very much taking a backseat and never allowed to run for more than 20 seconds or so of a single piece (tbf there's no film footage of the sessions in the loft, sadly).

The one bright spot for me was the section on Overton working with Monk for the Town Hall concert. That honestly should have just been a whole doc, even if it could only be stretched to 30-45 mins.

Eric Alper
@TharEricAlper

Jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb - one of the greats in ANY genre - has died at age of 91. He played on Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” and “Sketches of Spain” and also performed with John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Wes Montgomery, Art Pepper, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. Damn. Lung cancer, not Covid.

Still performing 'til fairly recently, considering his age (YouTube has him w Eric Alexander Quartet, incl Harold Mabern and Bob Cranshaw, in 2015, for inst)

Should be ThatEricAlper

yarrrr

Rolling Yarrrrs Thread 2020

The thing to judge in any yarrrrs artist is, does the man shiver me timbers and does he have an eyepatch.

The Jerry Granelli Trio Plays The Music Of Vince Guaraldi & Mose Allison w/Jamie Saft is a fucking cracking album, me hearties!

RIP Jimmy Cobb, you knew it was coming, but end of the era for sure.

it was pointed out to me that he was the last living member of the band from Kind of Blue

No doubt you accepted this novel piece of information with the grace you are accustomed to display.

He joins that roster of cats I have a tiny tinge of guilt or regret about never quite making it out to see them live such as Percy and Jimmy Heath. Did read Peter Bernstein's FB post about him, but not quite the same.

it was pointed out to me that he was the last living member of the band from Kind of Blue

― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Tuesday, May 26, 2020 11:06 AM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i pointed this out elsewhere, but lee konitz (who passed away last month) was the last living member from the "birth of the cool" sessions

so two pretty huge miles bands are gone

Friend texted me that drummer-wise "only Roy Haynes left."

don't forget louis hayes, and maybe joe chambers too

Right. Tootie Heath was also mentioned, the one brother I have seen.

indeed, tootie is 84 but still touring

He had a near death experience a few years back though. Told my neighbor he told them to reserve a seat for him, the neighbor, in the underworld.

Hey, it's Miles's birthday today.

Friend texted me that drummer-wise "only Roy Haynes left."

Al Foster! 77.

A Polish label has just released a previously unheard live recording of Cecil Taylor and Tony Oxley in Germany in 2011. I bought a copy of the physical CD (only 350 copies!) and am listening to the download now. It's recorded in a really small room — probably the size of the Village Vanguard, if that — and sounds amazing.

thanks for the tip.

the club where it was recorded has a video archive of its concerts, some of them from this year, which may be of interest:

https://www.birdland.de/videos/

last night I heard a couple of really good Eddie Harris tracks, didn't catch the titles, but they were followed by Frank Catalano's "Chicago Eddie," which the announcer said is a tribute to EH, and a good 'un too---where should I start with Harris albums? All I know by him is "Freedom Jazz Dance," the original and the Miles treatment. (Also should I check out more Catalano?)

The one with Freedom Jazz Dance on it - The In Sound -- and the follow up, Mean Greens, are both pretty good. I find all his work a little hit-or-miss. Some of it is very cheesy.

This is a great tune, with a drum sample you may recognize:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFHkVXt47fI

i think you might like "swiss movement" from '69:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8YOLY4Tats

his disco c. '74 - '79 is worth checking out for the titles / album art alone, though you may not find much to like amid the novelty tunes and weird experiments

Jimmy Cobb tribute all-day today on WKCR

cool

Thanks for the links and tips, guys. Reminds me, the invaluable Night Lights---Indiana Public Radio show---recently replayed a survey of soul jazz, based around the book of (approx?) same title by producer/interviewee Bob Porter: some of it was more imaginative (art of entertainment-wise) than I expected, and got better as it went along. Will def. check disco-era (novelty tunes and weird experiments) adventures of EH, along with earlier.

That show can be streamed/downloaded from Night Lights archive; most episodes delve into modern (though not recent) mainstream and progressive, with some fringe activity.

Published a piece (not by me) on Cobb today, focusing on his use of guitars in his bands and his work with Wes Montgomery.

Finally got all 12 volumes of Mack Avenue's Erroll Garner reissue series in the mail; the last one comes out next week. Thinking about diving into all of them for a big piece.

Something else that came in today's mail: a new CD (made up of outtakes from earlier recording sessions) by Throttle Elevator Music, a studio collective led by multi-instrumentalists Matt Montgomery and Greg Howe (owner of Wide Hive Records), with Kamasi Washington on tenor sax and a bunch of different horn players and drummers and guitarists (Ava Mendoza is on an earlier album). It's fairly punk-rock jazz, and KW blows hard. There are six CDs in all, definitely worth checking out.

WKCR tribute is playing Fantastic Frank Strozier featuring Booker Little, both of which names make me think of Harold Mabern. Seems like Jimmy and Harold must have played some dates together. Ah yes, I see.

ilx alum Andy Beta:
In 2017, I was invited to Robert Northern’s home in Takoma Park to chat about the music collected in Divine Music. With news of his passing today, I’m posting the full interview from this box set. I think often about his story about playing music for the wild animals in the Ngorongoro crater:
https://andybeta.com/2020/06/01/brother-ahh-interview/

When that set came out I interviewed Brother Ah for The Wire. An awesome guy.

Firehouse 12 Records is donating 100% of proceeds Friday June 5th

Purchases on Bandcamp today will be donated to LEAP in New Haven

LEAP was founded in 1992 by leading educators, students and community activists in New Haven to provide highly vulnerable youth of color with educational and enrichment opportunities that are often inaccessible due to financial and social barriers. From the beginning, LEAP has used a multi-tiered mentoring model that focuses on young people of color as the solution, rather than the problem.

https://firehouse12records.com/

Jamael Dean's "Oblivion" EP is really nice. I noticed his piano playing more here than on Black Space Tapes, which I quite like too but this is a lot more cogent. RIYL stuff like Hannibal Peterson's "Children of the Fire"

I don't normally gravitate to ballads, but I've been listening to Jeremy Pelt's all-ballad album from earlier this year a lot. Trumpet, piano, bass. It's nice to go all in on that, since it's a very soothing and consistent vibe all the way through, and he's a master.

i posted about wanting to get this. now i have it. it's very good.

https://www.forcedexposure.com/App_Themes/Default/Images/product_images/product_page/H/HOL124LP_PROD.jpg

Holiday Records present the first ever authorized reissue Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble's Heliopolis, originally released in 1970. Released under license from the artist. One of the great projects in Egyptian jazz, the Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble was formed by Salah Ragab and Hartmut Geerken as an avant-garde offshoot of The Cairo Jazz Band, the first jazz big band in the country.

https://www.forcedexposure.com/Catalog/cairo-free-jazz-ensemble-heliopolis-lp/HOL.124LP.html

I've heard of that! Thanks for the news on release.
Just listened to about 24 minutes-worth of bandcamp sample tracks from Chad Taylor Trio's The Daily Biological: lyrical, sometimes witty, no-BS drums, tenor, piano.The absence of a bass means all three players sometimes step into the low-end role. A musical problem to be solved “we all approached it differently,” Taylor says. “All of our tunes explore different ways to utilize a trio without a bass. You need to be really strong in your playing.” They're well-anchored, secure in their bassless space, no need to fill it all up, no busywork, no waste either. Brian Settles starts "Swamp" all alone up there in the humid open air---tenor keeps a sense of fullness, at whatever elevation---then drums x bass come rumbling, ready for work, a truck under the trees. Fave so far is "Untethered": a waltz comes calling, kicking, sometimes crashing, keeps coming around---kinda reminds me of some of the writing, not nec. the playing, of the George Adams-Don Pullen Quartet. Anyway:
https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-daily-biological
Chad Taylor: Drums
Brian Settles: Tenor Saxophone
Neil Podgurski: Piano

eleased April 24, 2020

Tracks 5, 8, and 9 written by Chad Taylor: ctorb@ascap

Tracks 1 and 3 written by Brian Settles: The Poets House Publishing@BMI Tracks 2, 4, 6 and 7 written by Neil Podgurski: NeilPodgurski@ascap

Ha, drums x *piano*, obv., but the bass function is in there for sure.

That's a good record. I included it in my most recent Stereogum column.

Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire's got a new one coming out on Friday with his longtime quartet of pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Justin Brown. I realize now that I heard him premiere the music at Winter Jazzfest back in January. It's good stuff, abstract and squiggly but with the blues pulsing at the center of it.

oh that's good news. I was really looking forward to see him in Montreal this summer (cancelled now of course)

The Chad Taylor tracks that are streaming are great. Even though there is little to no jazz happening at the moment, it's been a really good year for jazz records so far.

You gotta like drums and percussion to dig this, but it's not (just) a show of chops, they build a soundscape in what might be a pyramid and/or train station---nice bit of cool sax, Cecilish piano, sunburst trumpet, other horns contribute just enough, for inst to the 3rd quarter stampede, and make pleasant whistling sounds occasionally---also instances of near-silence here and there, they're not afraid of that---one mic for 20 instruments? dunno, but it works, I think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgD-mqo84CQ

If it doesn't show up, it's Cairo Free Jazz Ensemble, "Free Together" on youtube.

Their parent or previous name meets Sun Ra:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzPc40wllzA

Speaking of Chicago guys in the thrill jockey orbit who have albums on bandcamp, I've been enjoying Matt Lux's Communication Arts. That groove on the first track is an instant classic:
https://communicationartsquartet.bandcamp.com/

got excited by what i thought was a new muriel grossman release, but i can't tell if these are new recordings of previously released compositions, or just a mash up:

This Jazzman set draws a selection from her 2016 album Natural Time ('Your Pace', 'Peace For All') and from 2017's Momentum ('Elevation', 'Chant' and 'Rising'). Featuring her regular quartet of Radomir Milojkovic (guitar) Uros Stamenkovic (drums) and Gina Schwarz (bass), the music on Elevation is pure sound, soul and spirit!

https://www.jazzmanrecords.co.uk/muriel-grossmann-elevation

anyway, that has me revisiting "reverence" from late last year, which got a brief mention on last year's rolling thread and was also written up in unperson's stereogum column in january. i have really mixed feelings about the explicit "we are paying homage to AFRICA" in the music and especially the liner notes. does anybody want to talk about that ?

https://murielgrossmann.bandcamp.com/album/reverence

here's a nice video of the quartet playing live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz5rCWuhKo4

That just sounds like they licensed tracks from two of her (self-released) albums for an LP-only compilation to draw in suckers vinyl enthusiasts.

Speaking of Chicago guys in the thrill jockey orbit who have albums on bandcamp, I've been enjoying Matt Lux's Communication Arts. Thanks man alive, I'm fixing to check that out! Here's something a bit different from my usual (especially Chicago) listening, but it fits, and has grown on me since this post on the post-Fahey thread, stylistically better suited for Rolling Jazz:

Tim Stine Trio, Fresh Demons: acoustic guitar (TS), upright bass (Anton Hatwich), drum kit(Frank Rosaly), all tending to lower-range, earthy, perky sounds, very well recorded, reminding me of McLaughlin's Extrapolation minus the sax, which isn't missed. Well, maybe they could use a little more instigation: I started out indifferent to the soon-predictable approach--then got hooked midway, as details seemed to open up more, climbing and rolling, moment to moment. I think, especially now that I know this set gets better, that the prelims will grow on me. 37 minuted, 37 seconds seems right: it's tight.
Excerpts from press sheet:
"Frank Rosaly...functions like a third melodic voice throughout the album, and takes every opportunity to add sounds and surprises to each track. Anton Hatwich works with and against Stine throughout the album, and adds to the overall feel of a chamber trio with each one improvising their own parts in real time.

Fresh Demons follows Knots (2019, Clean Feed) which enlisted Windy City peers Nick Mazzarella, Matt Ulery, and Quin Kirchner. In addition to leading his Trio and Quartet, Stine has played as a leader and sideman in the groups Loris, Stine/Roebke/Reed Trio, Jarod Bufe Quartet and Nick Mazzarella Quintet.

Out on Astral Spirits May 15." For more info, check with cody at clandestinelabelservices dot com.

― dow, Wednesday, 29 April 2020 21:40 (one month ago) link

xpost Stine *might* be using a pick-up, unobtrusively. As I said, it's all very well-recorded, anyway.

― dow, Wednesday, 29 April 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_SVp5QtuHI

In non-current jazz, I've been digging this a lot lately, had not previously really spent much time checking out Steve Grossman, who is pretty sick in this vid, although at times it feels a little like a random grab bag of Coltrane licks.

Special guest Rudresh Mahanthappa tonight, 8:30PM at Virtual Birdland with the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.

50 miles of elbow room has put together a collection of essays / interviews / photos / ephemera centered around the late great free jazz pioneer earl freeman:

Even within the underground free jazz world, where there is no shortage of distinct individuals, Earl Freeman (March 11, 1931 - July 25, 1994) stands out. An artist of wide-ranging interests, his means of expression included music, poetry, the visual arts (especially drawing), & fashion. While he presented himself in bold, eye-catching military garb (often with an aviator helmet & goggles, sometimes accentuated by a whip, & another time a parachute), his art was often more cryptic & elusive, feeling akin to a peek into a largely private world/view.

http://50milesofelbowroom.com/images/articleimgs/earlfreeman.howard.doyle.rivbea%20crop.jpg

http://50milesofelbowroom.com/articles/500-earl-freeman.html

https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/how-jazz-is-coping-with-covid-19/

Not exactly sure which thread this should go in but I've been getting into the new album by bassist Michael Olatunjo, featuring everyone from Angelique Kidjo to Lionel Loueke to Joe Lovano. He describes it as "cinematic Afrobeat", and it took a little while for me to adjust to the pop elements, but there's some really good playing and good upbeat grooves: https://michaelolatuja.bandcamp.com/album/lagos-pepper-soup

https://saraserpa.bandcamp.com/album/recognition-2

Sara Serpa's brilliant wordless vocals led soundtrack to an experimental doc about Portuguese colonial history in Africa.

That new Moses Boyd album is great. I really love how the more modern (hip-hop influenced?) rhythms work with everything else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5QVcYeT74I

(Note to self: catch up on recent links.)
Hi PBKR, you might dig this thread:
the shape of acid jazz to come: MOSES BOYD's Dark Matter

I have been completely obsessed with the Milestones at the beginning of this set
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sayOJKN6yuo

The "Lost Quintet" period is interesting and sort of uneven, but this has to be one of their best sets I've heard. The way the pulse starts to break down during the end of the Shorter solo and then completely disintegrates during Chick Corea's solo blows my mind every time -- I'm pretty sure they are internally keeping time throughout but it's impressively hard to follow. Dave is an absolute beast on this.

I just ordered a copy of the CD The Lost Quintet, which claims to be the final show by that band, from Rotterdam - apparently it includes a 25-minute version of "Sanctuary." It's fascinating the way Davis would just let them go as far as they wanted, and then reel them back in when he returned to the stage.

ooh, nice

I've also been checking out a few other sets from the same quintet -- it's interesting, too, how even in July of 69 at Antibes you hear a lot more ties to the williams-hancock-shorter-carter-davis quintet, but within a few months they've moved much further away from it

Yeah, it's an incredibly stark difference from the summer shows where they're playing "Round Midnight" and "I Fall In Love Too Easily" to the fall shows where they're introducing "Bitches Brew" to the set and just going out into space.

Thanks for that man alive, what a great document. I'm super into that zone of slipping between straight time/metric modulation/free time. Obviously the previous quintet dealt with that at times, but that concert is so liquid, and I remember the later live recordings being much more in that intense free mode. I wish that musical phase was longer and better documented for sure. Also, topless DeJohnette!

actually, on second thought I'm not sure it's really a temporal thing in 1969 assuming the dates are correct -- at Newport the same month (July 69) they *rock out* a lot more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8tjjPfa0vg

Thinking about starting a Miles Lost Quintet listening/discussion thread -- would there be interest in that? I've been

I'm down

*raises hand*

Good enough for me. I guess next step is I need to compile a chronology of lost quintet sets available for listening/viewing somewhere on the free internet. Thinking about going chronologically.

i'm in

T/S: the lost quintet (Wayne Shorter/Chick Corea/Dave Holland/Jack DeJohnette) vs the 1971 European tour sextet (Gary Bartz/Keith Jarrett/Leon "Ndugu" Chancler/Don Alias/Mtume)

I find Gary Bartz's playing to be very uninspired tbh -- it works well sonically for the stew Miles was creating as a time, but I find very little interesting about him as a player

I'll also take Chick over Keith any day. But I think Miles was going for something different after the Lost Quintet - more of a unit, less of an assembly of *artists*.

Wayne > Steve Grossman > Gary Bartz

more of a unit, less of an assembly of *artists*

Exactly; the main reason I love that band is Henderson, Chancler and the two percussionists. At times they drove the funk even harder than the 1973-75 band.

https://brandonseabrook.bandcamp.com/album/exultations

fab new album by inspired noise-jazz merchant Brandon Seabrook is out. Featuring Gerald Cleaver on drums and diddley bow player Cooper-Moore (i'll cop to not knowing wtf one of them is).

That's a really good album. I reviewed it here.

I first heard Seabrook as a part of the CP Unit and always thought he was the best thing about the CP Unit! Brilliant guitarist.

new mulatu astatke w/ black jesus experience today! had no idea this was coming out even.

Thinking about starting a Miles Lost Quintet listening/discussion thread -- would there be interest in that?

Yep.

Late to the party but the Anna Högberg Attack LP is excellent indeed.

I don't think I need the actual album, but this is a hell of a cover:

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3912651398_16.jpg

https://spiritualjazz.bandcamp.com/album/spiritual-jazz-12-impulse

01. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme Pt. I - Acknowledgement
02. Elvin Jones - Fantazm
03. Max Roach - Lonesome Lover
04. Yusef Lateef - Sister Mamie
05. Freddie Hubbard- The 7th Day
06. McCoy Tyner - Three Flowers
07. Elvin Jones - Half And Half
08. McCoy Tyner - Groove Waltz
09. Archie Shepp - Le Matin Des Noire
10. Michael White - The Blessing Song
11. Alice Coltrane - Turiya And Ramakrishna
12. Phil Woods - Taste Of Honey
13. Pharoah Sanders - Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah
14. John Klemmer - Constant Throb Pt. 1
15. Pharoah Sanders - Thembi
16. Marion Brown - Maimoun
17. Alice Coltrane - Journey In Satchidananda

yeah awesome photo. I have the first volume of this series, and it's really good iirc, but I have never even heard any of the others--does anyone rate any of them particularly?

nothing says "spiritual jazz against racism" quite like phil woods' ersatz-grecian rendition of "taste of honey"

I have the first volume of this series, and it's really good iirc, but I have never even heard any of the others--does anyone rate any of them particularly?

I bought the CD version of two Japanese volumes, which appear to be sold out:

https://spiritualjazz.bandcamp.com/album/spiritual-jazz-8-japan-pt-1

https://spiritualjazz.bandcamp.com/album/spiritual-jazz-8-japan-pt-2

yeah those are cool, in my case i've used them as references and then tracked down the albums that feature tracks i've liked best.

not sure why anybody needs help finding recommendations for spiritual jazz on impulse or blue note. the one focused on steeplechase is like a nice mix tape, but again almost everything here is also worth tracking down on the original records imho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCSZ0roaS_Q

it's taken 12 volumes to get to A Love Supreme?

The early volumes included a lot more cool obscure shit...or maybe I've dug deep enough now that more of what they're releasing seems obvious to me. I can't be sure anymore. I think I'm gonna buy their Blue Note compilation, though; it looks like there's a lot of good stuff on there. I've created a Spotify playlist with all the tracks.

beautiful photo, classic application of karate hikite

new kahil el zabar album is dope

agreed, absolutely dope organ sound on it

does anybody know if there's a recording available online of

Bill Dixon Ensemble ‎– Live At Bennington College 1969
w/
andrew cyrille
arthur doyle
sam rivers
et al.

?

can't seem to track one down

Both audio and video recordings exist, but neither are online, afaik. This was part of a dance piece; Dixon was hired alongside dancer-choreographer Judith Dunn (who wrote the uncredited liner notes for Dixon’s Intents And Purposes) for Bennington’s Dance Divison in 1968.

His archives were donated to New York University, so that’s presumably where these (and many, many other) tapes currently reside.

It’s possible, and likely, that the audio was broadcast on Ben Young’s “Bill Dixon Radio” show on WKCR in the ‘90s. If so, any recording available online would be taped from that broadcast. There was a 1968 (I think, from the University Of The Streets) orchestra piece of Dixon’s that made the rounds about 10 years ago, accompanied by a brief interview snippet about the notation on Intents And Purposes.

i was hoping you'd see my post and response. thanks for this info.

at least part of the bennington performance is here fwiw:

https://www.discogs.com/Bill-Dixon-Ensemble-Live-At-Bennington-College/release/11628429

and respond*

Yeah, I remember seeing that release. It’s obviously a bootleg, but also has horrible sound quality, from what I’ve read.

right and also i'm just not going to pay those stupid euro bootleg prices, the whole scene just bums me out

been on that kahil el zabar album since yesterday, so good I'm going to have start listening to everything else by him now.

thank you to deej for mentioning that album. I keenly regret skipping an Ethnic Heritage Ensemble show in February

new kahil el zabar album is dope

― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Friday, 10 July 2020 17:02 (three days ago) link

agreed, absolutely dope organ sound on it

― calzino, Saturday, 11 July 2020 08:39 (two days ago) link

Thanks for this. I was really digging this today.

fuck yes to david murray, this record is just what i need right now

listening to his tribute album to malachi favors (big m). he is my new favourite percussionist.

I'm not as in love with this as everyone else, but I do like track 5 a lot.

Yeah, first two tracks---first 30 minutes, seem like predictable 70s settings, first one is kinda like a Pharoah show, but without the overall dynamics, second one has the Leon Thomas voice getting more Al Jarreau, with maybe Brian Jackson fan on keys---Murray sounded fine on the opener, but here he starts to slip into the dimebag elevator space with the rest of 'em---however, "Songs of Myself" has chilly Larry Young-type organ, good vibes Iintstrument, unless it's a good keyboard setting), that beat, *then* Murray, tearing at the edges, good stuff. Out of time for now, after that 40-minute segment, but will come back for sure. Although---I've got a lot of good-to-great albums by or featuring Murray, in a variety of contexts, all of them applying a bit more brainpower than this---also, I'm still catching up with the actual 70s, not that interested in recycling, usually, but I admit "Songs of Myself" got me.

(Also I like Kamasi Washington pretty well---I mean, if you're gonna invoke/evoke the 70s as ongoing urban spirit trek, do it right.)

I love the singing on both of them tracks, and it's not derivative in a bad way imo it almost goes into deep house territory, splendid stuff!

Just now enjoyed listening to the rest: Murray's soloing on "Katon" didn't strike me as always being up to his usual standard, which is pretty high o course---but by then, didn't even matter: the rest of it was that good. "In The Spirit" was catchy spirit, "Trane In Mind" more of a piano feature than expected, not too Tynery--both of these were refreshing, by far the shortest tracks---and omg "One World Family" the perfectly extended finale---so I did like most of it after all.

i dont think kahil el zabar is 'doing the 70s' lol i mean hes just been making music for decades...

Anyway, most of it's good. Felt lousy all morning---then I heard this!
Legendary vibraphonist and “Father of Ethio-jazz”, Mulatu Astatke joins forces with Melbourne-based eight-piece Black Jesus Experience on their latest album To Know Without Knowing, an absorbing nine-track assembly of majestic Ethiopian melodies and hip-hop-infused jazz and funk groovesAlso Latin, reggae extrapolations, 16-bar blues (as a bed for much else), instrumental inflections from at least five different countries of origin, cool but committed female voices, incisive rap, psychedelic guitar (one trip, but that's enough, for "Living On Stolen Land" (Ain't it graaand"):Its moody 6/8 vamp in D is a gateway, yes.) And they've got wedding song, a send-off to the afterlife, other serious fun---that flugelhorn omg:https://mulatuastatkeblackjesusexperience.bandcamp.com/album/to-know-without-knowing

Asher Gamedze, Dialectic Soul:"Fundamentally, it is about the reclamation of the historical imperative. It is about the dialect of the soul & the spirit while it moves through history. The soul is dialectic. Motion is imperative. We keep moving." For instance, in the opening "Emergence Suite," tenor sax and trumpet can seize on moments all they like or or must, while bass & drums are like,"Yeah, yeah, that's good, that's good, come on now, mind your head, good." Also perfectly supportive of, never submissive to horn comments and slender, strong singing in "Siyabulela." Then a witty, fabulistic stroll through enormity in "Interregnum," where "the hopscotch ended much as it began" along the way (Don't worry, that's almost all for the voices). "Eternality" is more work-out than bliss-out, but good between the couch potato headphones. "Hope In Azania" is adrenaline afterglow in second wind, not too hopeful, but reasonably so it seems; oh yeah Speculative Fourth" does eventually let a human sing along some more with the horns, for a little while, sorry anti-voxxers.
https://ashergamedze.bandcamp.com/album/dialectic-soul

so excited for this https://nubyagarcia.bandcamp.com/album/source

the first single is out today and WOWzer it's a blast

I've heard the whole thing and yeah, it's really good. She's also got a track on an upcoming Blue Note compilation of UK artists reworking classic songs from the catalog; she does Joe Henderson's "A Shade of Jade."

The new Akinmusire record is really lovely, almost surprisingly so tbh.

xpost oh yeah, I posted about that on the Moses Boyd thread, thanks for the reminder:

Out later this year,'Blue Note Re:imagined' is a contemporary take on the label's timeless output, a newly recorded collection of songs by a broad cross-section of fresh voices.

It's a broad spread, too, moving from Ezra Collective and Shabaka Hutchings through to Yazmin Lacey, Alfa Mist, and Nubya Garcia.

Jorja Smith opted to tackle St Germain's 'Rose Rouge', which sampled Marlena Shaw’s vastly influential 'Cookin With Blue Note At Montreux' album.[ Play it via this post:
https://www.clashmusic.com/news/jorja-smith-tackles-blue-note-classic-rose-rouge Maybe too
2000 loungey at first, but builds. (Later:) Def growing on me!!

Out now, it's the perfect lead in to the project, which follows Blue Note's 80th anniversary celebrations last year

Release date is Sept. 25---not seeing titles for all the tracks yet, but looks like this is complete artist list: Shabaka Hutchings, Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Mr Jukes, Steam Down, Skinny Pelembe, Emma-Jean Thackray, Poppy Ajudha, Jordan Rakei, Fieh, Ishmael Ensemble, Blue Lab Beats, Melt Yourself Down, Yazmin Lacey, Alfa Mist, and Brit Award-winning Jorja Smith. Some titles on Blue Note site, more on Amazon Music (Blue Note says digital is US-only).

I got the promo yesterday. Full track listing is:

Jorja Smith - Rose Rouge
Ezra Collective - Footprints
Poppy Ajudha - Watermelon Man
Jordan Rakei - Wind Parade
Skinny Pelembe - Illusion (Silly Apparition)
Alfa Mist - Galaxy
Ishmael Ensemble - Search for Peace
Nubya Garcia - A Shade of Jade
Steam Down - Etcetera
Blue Lab Beats - Montara
Yazmin Lacey - I'll Never Stop Loving You
Fieh - Armageddon
Mr Jukes - Maiden Voyage
Shabaka Hutchings - Prints Tie
Melt Yourself Down - Caribbean Fire Dance
Emma-Jean Thackray - Speak No Evil/Night Dreamer

looks amazing can't wait to hear it

i liked the jorja smith & im typically kind of lukewarm on her music

Yeah, that one quickly grew on me, ending up playing it three times in a row.

(listing these artists in the order on album cover and credits below, though it's damu's page)(also because he has a stupid name)
Archie Shepp, Damu The Fudgemunk, Raw Poetic, Ocean Bridges: good title for extended fluid grooves (Wurlitzer piano and vibes, framing and framed by selective guitar, tenacious bass, chop-and-roll drums, cut across by soprano and tenor sax, a little turntablism, and Raw Poetic's tuneful radio flow, switching back and forth from singing to rapping, sometimes syllable-to-syllable) between shorter, smaller-group, more down to earth exchanges (but still speculative and sometimes maybe splicey, slightly like riffling a deck of cards)("Professor Shepp's Agenda 1" is spoken, but brief and apt; the other 6 shorties are instrumental). Overall, it's pretty lengthy---the longest excursion, "Aperture," might be too diffuse---but I soon stopped thinking of taking a break; so far, it pulls me right through.
Hopeful, rueful, been around, ready for more, guess why they call it the blues.
released May 22, 2020

All songs written & performed by:
Archie Shepp: Tenor and Soprano Sax, Wurlitzer Electric Piano
Raw Poetic (Jason Moore): Vocals/Raps/Lyrics
Earl "Damu the Fudgemunk" Davis: Drums, Vibraphone, Backing Vocals, Turntable Scratching, Mixing/ Production
Pat Fritz: Guitar
Aaron Gause: Wurlitzer Electric Piano, Synthesizer
Luke Stewart: Acoustic and Electric bass
Jamal Moore: Tenor sax, Percussion
Bashi Rose: Drums, Percussion

Except: track 12 written by Pat Fritz and Jason Moore and tracks 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 written by Archie Shepp

All Tracks Produced and Arranged by Raw Poetic

https://damuthefudgemunk.bandcamp.com/album/ocean-bridges

PS: also check https://bandcamp.com/search?q=Archie%20Shepp Incl. several albums I'd never heard of!

Oops, should have put Raw Poetic right behind Shepp, but Earl "Damu" Davis def right in there, as are they all.

Just got a really interesting album sent to me: History Gets Ahead of the Story is an organ trio date with Jeff Lederer on sax, John Medeski on organ, and Jeff Cosgrove (with whom I was not previously familiar, but he's got two albums with Matt Shipp on piano and William Parker on bass, so I'm gonna have to check those out for sure). Almost all the tunes are by Parker, written for his quartet (with Lewis "Flip" Barnes on trumpet, Rob Brown on alto sax, and Hamid Drake on drums; they occasionally add vocalist Leena Conquest and work under the name Raining On The Moon). The quartet and RotM have made some of my favorite Parker recordings, so I'm very intrigued to see how these three recast that music.

http://motiansickness.bandcamp.com/album/history-gets-ahead-of-the-story

apart from the releases under the ROTM moniker and the quartet stuff (or even within these), what william parker would you recommend ? i've checked out a few of the m. shipp trio recordings and also enjoyed 2018's "seraphic light" (with daniel carter and shipp) but apart from that i find his discography really daunting. any notable recordings where he shines as sideman, or notable compositions, or really any must-listens ?

(for unperson or anyone else who has an opinion)

I just learned Cosgrove lives in my small town!

not so boring anymore

Some of my favorite Parker recordings, as leader and sideman:

O'Neal's Porch (the first album by the quartet)
Painter's Spring (a trio disc featuring Daniel Carter on sax and Hamid Drake on drums)
Seraphic Light is great, as you mentioned
He did some great work with Bill Dixon: Thoughts and two volumes of Vade Mecum
Raincoat in the River, by the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra
Other Dimensions in Music's Now!
Strata, by the Matthew Shipp Horn Quartet (Shipp, Parker, Daniel Carter and trumpeter Roy Campbell; no drums)
from the David S. Ware quartet, I like Godspelized and Surrendered best, and Live in the World (3 different live concerts) is pretty great too

re: William Parker as a leader, I highly recommend the Centering boxed set. It’s ‘70s and ‘80s recordings, large-group, duos (including a stunning one with Charles Gayle), and recordings with vocalists. Through Acceptance Of Mystery Peace is a similarly wonderful collection of ‘70s recordings. Testimony is one of the great solo-bass recordings, and Sunrise In The Tone World might be my favorite of his Little Huey Orchestra records.

As a sideman...yeah, “daunting” is the word. My personal favorites are Bill Dixon’s Vade Mecum and Vade Mecum II; Cecil Taylor’s Looking (Berlin Version) The Feel Trio, In Florescence, and The Eighth (but really, any Cecil with William shouldn’t be passed up); and Jimmy Lyons’ Wee Sneezawee.

his In Order To Survive ensemble's The Peach Orchid album from '98 is another excellent one worth checking out.

a lot of interesting things to check out here (how did i forget about the bill dixon recordings?) thanks very much !

one of the great solo-bass recordings

here's an interesting category. the only two that come immediately to mind for me: kent carter's "beauvais cathedral" (sort of cheating) and barre phillips' "journal violone"

what else is worth seeking out ?

Peter Kowald’s Was Da Ist and Was Da Ist Live (though the latter may only be available as part of an out-of-print and probably expensive FMP boxed set). Barry Guy has a great solo piece on the Evan Parker Trio’s Atlanta, but his solo bass record Fizzles didn’t really do it for me, for some reason (though I should probably revisit it).

Also, Alan Silva’s Innersong.

here's a cool video of WP from this year that i found while looking for solo bass stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-IOhQIRdJs

Cecil Taylor’s Looking

^^

great album is this - i didn't even know Parker was on it tbh

I wrote about the Looking albums (there are three) in January of this year.

Solo bass album? How is Dave Holland's Emerald Tears?

it's unreal what a master Cecil was, can't imagine another musical artiste like him ever occurring before we are all die lol!

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-18/central-avenue-los-angeles-jazz

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Central Avenue in Los Angeles jazz history

Great stuff, thanks. Among other things always interested to hear about Dolphin’s of Hollywood and “Huggy Boy.”

Maybe not for this thread but just read the bizarre fact that Bruce Johnston was at Dolphin’s of Hollywood when John Dolphin got shot and saw the whole thing. He was there to pitch a Kim Fowler demo. https://becomingthebeachboys.com/2015/07/21/bruce-johnston/

More on this from Rudy Ray Moore: https://rockinsteve.wordpress.com/2007/08/29/the-death-of-john-dolphin/

Is anyone familiar here with this Italian label? The last three Bandcamp releases include Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, Hamid Drake and Peter Brotzmann.

Is anyone familiar here with this Italian label? The last three Bandcamp releases include Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, Hamid Drake and Peter Brotzmann.

i'm not, but was coming here to post that this release looks interesting:

https://idischidiangelica.bandcamp.com/album/the-catch-of-a-ghost

Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone, tarogato
Maâlem Moukhtar Gania: guembri, voice
Hamid Drake: drums

guembri player Maalem Mokhtar Gania, last representative of a legendary line of Gnawa music masters, brother of Maalem Mahmoud Gania

!

I wrote about that album, along with three other recent Brötzmann releases, yesterday. It's pretty good.

i'll have to check out "the wels concert"

i like that full blast album art aesthetic is such a throwback to classic FMP

I think this was posted upthread, but here's a high quality version of the Redman/Mehldau/McBride/Blade reunion. Seeing this rhythm section play is a delight, and that they're having fun doing it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVNKQtPvv00

I had been planning on including the Thelonious Monk live album Palo Alto in my latest Stereogum column, but then the first track, "Epistrophy," disappeared from streaming services. So I emailed the label to find out what was up, and just got this response:

"We are very sorry to tell you / let you know that the Thelonious Monk Palo Alto release is being postponed, due to circumstances beyond the label’s control. We will let you know if a new release date is scheduled. Please accept our apologies for this inconvenience." (emphasis mine)

Finally being reissued, after 54 years:

Milford Graves & Don Pullen: The Complete Yale Concert, 1966

I knew a collector who had a hand-painted copy of Volume 1. He paid $300 for it, which sounded INSANE at the time (1998), and he actually thought he might've overpaid for it. 20 years later, I saw a copy go on Ebay for $3000.

Just pre-ordered. Thanks for the tip!

Bone to pick with that descriptive copy though
His experience playing timbales in Latin bands had been formative, suggesting that the snare could be used as accent rather than beat-keeper,

Snare as beat keeper is more of an exception than a rule over the course of jazz history.

OTM.

awesome, thanks Tarfumes.

as another poster said on one of the rolling jazz threads of yesteryear: now do "alabama feeling" !!!

Snare as beat keeper is more of an exception than a rule over the course of jazz history

If you discount everything from the 1920s to the 1940s, sure. Snare-as-accent came in with Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, and it was 100% a break from tradition.

That's true, but there's also a period/tradition of swing drumming that was more cymbal-based, but the kick and snare were also playing consistent timekeeping patterns rather than only syncopated accents. I think keeping both hands on the snare was more of A New Orleans thing coming out of translating brass band drumming to the trap kit.

as another poster said on one of the rolling jazz threads of yesteryear: now do "alabama feeling" !!!

Never shoulda sold my copy.

yeah the rank and file RE cd / lp both are very $

Regardless of swing music, point is there was nothing remarkable about snare as accent-maker rather than timekeeper by the time Milford Graves came around

Really enjoying the studio Redman/Mehldau/McBride/Blade album, even though you don't get to see Brian Blade smiling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRr8Q43ejGk

^ also a great candidate for the "one band member refuses to play along" thread

Lol, both in terms of smiling and not wearing flannel.

Btw it was posted on the Roscoe Mitchell thread, but apparently he transcribed live improvisations, and then orchestrated them, love the concept:
https://idischidiangelica.bandcamp.com/album/splatter

Yeah, he's got a few albums like that. They can sound pretty amazing.

I'd like to hear that. The only other examples I can think of are more, um, commercial--chiefly Supersax--refresh my memory, wiki:
Supersax was a jazz group created in 1972 by saxophonist Med Flory and bassist Buddy Clark as a tribute to saxophonist Charlie Parker. The group's music consisted of harmonized arrangements of Parker's improvisations[1] played by a saxophone section (2 altos, 2 tenors, and a baritone), rhythm section (bass, piano, drums), and a brass instrument (trombone or trumpet), Notable brass soloists that recorded with the group included Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Rosolino (trombone) and Carl Fontana (trombone). On the group's recordings their music was tightly orchestrated, with arrangements by Flory that contained little or no calls for improvisation (although members of the band would often solo at live performances).[2]

Saxophonist Warne Marsh was a member in the first edition of the group, and although he was never given freedom to solo on any officially released materials, Lee Konitz has stated that there are bootleg tapes of the group where Warne played a solo.[3] Jeez, they even had Blue Mitchell in there for a while. What the hell, it was a living. Ironic that a jazz-based concept group had so little room for inprov (they played the jazz festivals, of course).

They won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Group in 1974. They were also part of the Grammy-nominated 1983 recording "Supersax & L.A. Voices, Volume 1", in which the L.A. Voices were nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Performance - Duo Or Group. Med Flory also wrote the vocal arrangements for this recording.[4]

Maybe the inspiration for Jazz At Lincoln Center concerts of yore, featuring the historically correct solos of even yore-er, recreated before your eyes (oh yeah, ears too).

One that still gets Sunday afternoon play on my local jazz etc. station: Quincy Jones cover of Herbie Hancock's "Tell Me A Bedtime Story," with strings sailing through arrangement based on transcription of Hancock's keyboard solos, worked up by violinist Harry Lookofsky, Dad of Left Banke's Michael Brown. Sweet! But would def like to hear such means taken further.

Oh god, Supersax sounds terrible.

Did JaLC really do that (play transcribed solos off the record)?

At least one concert on PBS, think it was a certain Ellington live album being re-created. This was early in Wynton's tenure, though; he got less-tight-assed later.

It was while he was under the evil influence of Albert Murray and Stanley Crouch, in the Giddens telling.

Supersax is pretty meh -- my hs jazz band teacher was a slightly cheesy alto player and made us listen to it

Meh Flory, should be. Club Meh. Gary *Giddins*, is. Sorry G.

title track of xpost Splatter: transcribed flight, sometimes breathtaking---strings-wings sensitive, formidable, could be movie dream theme from Hell, in a good way.

New Makaya today!

It's sounding sick so far

agreed; it's great top to bottom

budo jeru, The Wels Concert is among my favorite jazz records ever released— one of those records that absolutely stuns everyone who's actually listening. I agree with your assessment of The Catch of a Ghost, unperson— it's wonderful but just not as full as its predecessor.

new Makaya album is indeed the shit!

https://milesokazaki.bandcamp.com/album/tricksters-dream

new Miles Okazaki some conceptual Rona bollox, but sounds pretty good!

https://ohadtalmor.bandcamp.com/album/long-forms

this is a much more choice one featuring Okazaki imo. Also new Christian Sands album is ace and features the voice of Bruce Lee philosophising about water.

i dunno if the jazz thread is the right place for this, but i'm quite taken with Miyamoto is Black Enough's first LP Burn/Build (which, fair play, i am repping)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utRms52fIis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hef27h7jXYY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLAB6svMvvY

i like the ohad talmor record

My neighbor just hipped me to this which is on right now:
https://www.newportjazz.org/revival

And then tomorrow as well

very nice 1961 Coltrane set, ty

You're quite welcome.

Right now: Thelonius Monk combo cookin', thanks!
https://www.newportjazz.org/wp-content/uploads/NewportJazzRevivalRadio-1080x1350-WEEKEND.jpg

Monk as accompanist! As satisfying as soloist.
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/thelonious-monk-quartet/1966/festival-field-newport-ri-23c0acab.html

July 2, 1966. Personnel: Charlie Rouse (ts), Thelonious Monk (p), Larry Gales (b), Ben Riley (d).

Sessionography 1966-1969 - Thelonious Monkwww.monkbook.com › sessionography › sessionograp.

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/05/899489411/helen-jones-woods-groundbreaking-female-trombonist-has-died-from-covid-19

Helen Jones Woods, who played trombone with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, a history-making all-female big band that toured widely during World War II, died of COVID-19 on July 25 in Sarasota, Fla. She was 96....In addition to their pioneering role as women on the jazz circuit, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm were an interracial band in the era of Jim Crow. Their extensive itinerary through the South, where they traveled by sleeper bus, reportedly inspired jazz piano giant Earl Hines to call them "the first Freedom Riders." They also toured Europe, playing in occupied Germany for American soldiers — both white and Black, though not at the same time.

As a Black musician, Woods endured mistreatment and indignity on the road. "Music broke her heart," says Hughes. "In the '30s and '40s, and even the '50s, which was the last time she played, they wouldn't get paid regularly. They couldn't find housing accommodations."...After the Sweethearts disbanded in 1949, Woods joined the Omaha Symphony, only to be fired after her first performance. Her father, who had a darker complexion, came to pick her up, which prompted symphony management to realize she was Black. This was the last straw for Woods, who chose to end her musical career. She became a registered nurse, spending the next 30 years devoted to nursing and social work.

Finally being reissued, after 54 years:

Milford Graves & Don Pullen: The Complete Yale Concert, 1966

this came, i'm playing it now, it totally rules

Mine has been lost in the mail for about 10 days now and I'm pissed.

sorry to hear that :(

Thanks to Youtube recommendations for this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6PTHYCHqk8

Great band! In particular so glad Julian Lage is making good on his Wunderkind origins.

A few initial impressions of highlights on Ill Considered 9---East/West:
1 hour, 47 minutes, 58 seconds, rolls right along, segmentation down in there, tiny mile markers: seconds of distorted audience sounds back in the headphones every now and then, a even a little back-and-forth of musos and crowd at one point, also distorted---all part of the carnival scrim, incl dub-associated effects, on the fly or might as well be. Sax turns into a swarm of bassoons about 8 minutes in, bass gets more distorted, needs no other guitars as suggestions of Last Exit just behind the curtain---in the vast Jazz Park (don't stick your fingers in there) on a windswept gray-green summer's day. Later clearing for a Middle Eastern view of the Med, which comes back later as s slow modal ferris wheel, empty but still turning-- for a minute,'til the bass has enough, and everything gets zigzag funky---going to night skies, night sweats, emltting the ECM Sound expansions--the bass goes toward a metal chant, everybody falls into a funeral procession, like Ishmael at the beginning of Moby Dick: it's a sign it's time to ship out, and so they do, finding more excitement, along the way, that is--finale is black helicopter blades too fast and shakey, but still cutting through waves of grooves.
I listened on YouTube Music---Bandcamp may be better for artists, but YTM provides better sound on my old computer, non-audiophile headphones:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=5njPSBXk29E&list=RDAMVM5njPSBXk29E

"Melting" the ECM Sound expansions, that is.

I dunno if there might be some predictable bits in there very eventually, for a while--hazards of long live performance--but an edit might kill the sense of pace, of searching in the moment, however in the moment this actually is.

Yeah, nice video.

hmm, nice but I'm a little bit put off by playing Blues Connotation as though it's a straight 12 bar blues.

(xp re Julian Lage, not the ECM thing)

yeah i couldn't hang with that at all

Idk, they keep a 12 bar form but there's a ton of playing over the bar line, and Scott Colley gets into some non-blues zones and comes back to it? That single note guitar thing that happens at 2:20 is dope. And the pulse is just so strong no matter what happens, like that whole section from 6:00 - 6:30. But I can't speak to what's really going on harmonically compared to the Ornette group.

Listening to Jan Garbarek's Afric Pepperbird, with Terje Rypdal, Arild Andersen and Jon Christensen. I got a box set not long ago that had three other albums by these guys, but this one wasn't in it, which is too bad because it rules.

that record and "beast of komodo" in particular get a lot of love on the ECM thread iirc

and for good reason

xp also Dave King not really doing it for me there, but perhaps partly the mic/camera placement making him way too high in the mix. Much prefer Ed Blackwell's approach to playing lots and lots of drums over everything. 1961 version is way more hip and fresh. Some really good moments though.

I wrote about Maria Schneider's new album (which I liked) and the general inaccessibility of her music (which I don't like)...

That's fair, I'm just a big Dave King stan. To me it sounds busy but not in the way, and super musical and communicative. Obviously Ed Blackwell is a master.

xp
I bet she'll be over the moon that people are downloading her latest for nowt on slsk. It's quite an elitist attitude she has, so serves her right tbf!

#BillFrisell is beyond honored to have his version of 'In My Life' being used for tonight's @DemConvention 'In Memoriam' segment.

You can watch the clip below:https://t.co/JpEUwpM3yV

— Bill Frisell (@BillFrisell) August 20, 2020

Wow

Just now exclaimed over Nubya Garcia's brand-new Source over on Moses Boyd thread---wasn't getting first two tracks, but now I am, and rest of it swept me away immediately.

Pigeon Jazz 🎶 pic.twitter.com/YBSIQRCPFX

— Pablo Rochat (@PabloRochat) August 19, 2020

Branford Marsalis turned 60 yesterday. I've spent a surprising (to me) amount of time with his catalog the last few years, and while the majority of his albums are at least good, there are a few real killers: Random Abstract, Trio Jeepy, and Crazy People Music from the early years (when I interviewed him, he said CPM was a breakthrough album in his mind), and from the 21st century, Contemporary Jazz, Braggtown, Four MFs Playin' Tunes and The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul are all great. I'll stick up for the Mo' Better Blues soundtrack, too. But not Buckshot LeFonque.

Christian Scott has a live album, Axiom, out tomorrow. It was recorded in March at the Blue Note in NYC. I was supposed to go to one of those shows, but the word was coming down about corona - the city reduced nightclubs to 50% capacity the night I was supposed to go, and I told the publicist to pull my name off the guest list. I don't regret my decision, but I'm very excited to hear what I missed. There's a 1CD version with 9 tracks, running 74 minutes, and a digital version that's 14 tracks and runs 2 hours 19 minutes.

http://christianscott.bandcamp.com/album/axiom

Excellent Chicago drummer Quin Kirchner released his first album a few months ago, listening now and it's pretty varied and cool:
https://quinkirchner.bandcamp.com/album/the-shadows-and-the-light

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/03/arts/music/jazz-protest-academia.html

Of the more than 500 students who graduate from American universities with jazz degrees each year, less than 10 percent are Black, according to Department of Education statistics compiled by DataUSA. In 2017, the last year with data available, precisely 1 percent of jazz-degree grads were Black women

Just now exclaimed over Nubya Garcia's brand-new Source over on Moses Boyd thread---wasn't getting first two tracks, but now I am, and rest of it swept me away immediately.

I got this yesterday, wasn't super impressed by her debut, even though it was nice enough, but this on a whole different level! I'd say it's best new album I've heard this year in any genre.

I love Georgia Anne Muldrow aka Jyoti and the -Mama, You Can Bet!- album is exactly hitting the spot for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSi8Gcioh-o

GAM has never really clicked for me, which is odd since I used to be a big Stones Throw fuxxor, but I'm curious about that one; the review I read ticked all the right influence boxes.

Has anyone mentioned the new Greg Foat album Symphonie Pacifique yet? It might be too smooth for some tastes, but I really enjoyed it (the smooth is balanced with some good drumming, including by Moses Boyd). It reminds me a bit of the Resavoir album on International Anthem that I adore.

The new Garcia is very good, but I think I agree with dow about the opening tracks--the title track is really something though.

I love this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1ek4siKqn4&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3dyrcPW6yrLzizsR_hbU2Q-GsNGGlLuTEdRoPdC8zpTKxDKA1meSyX1j0

what is it?

The link is black

I saw it yesterday, I think it was a woman doing carnatic scatting along with the studio version of Giant Steps?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1ek4siKqn4

That's fascinating and sent me down a rabbithole to learn more about carnatic theory!

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/03/arts/music/jazz-protest-academia.html

Of the more than 500 students who graduate from American universities with jazz degrees each year, less than 10 percent are Black, according to Department of Education statistics compiled by DataUSA. In 2017, the last year with data available, precisely 1 percent of jazz-degree grads were Black women

This reminded me of a song my friend's punk band had back in the late 90s: "All the Kids Who Listen to Ska Get Good Grades And Are in Lots of After-School Activities." One might as well have replaced "ska" with "jazz." Even though I loved jazz then and still love it now, obv, the snarky song title rang true: at least in the US, from my observation and from my time in a music conservatory, much jazz music education is given to white, suburban kids. It's a ridiculous shame.

I do remember that Don Byrd was actively trying to recruit more Black students for the program at my alma mater, though don't know how his efforts went.

I was just talking about the issue of jazz education with bassist Luke Stewart (from Irreversible Entanglements, James Brandon Lewis's group, Heart of the Ghost, and other acts). He got his undergrad and master's degrees in international relations, started out playing electric bass in punk bands (which was where he met Moor Mother), and eventually switched to upright and started playing jazz, but that DIY/punk mindset is all over his sound and style. And frankly I wish there were more players like him, because he demonstrates that you can just...start playing jazz, without having to get a goddamn master's degree or win the Thelonious Monk competition first. It's an attitude I see coming out of the London scene as well; even the players there that have gone through school (Shabaka Hutchings has all kinds of classical clarinet training) are able to shrug off the straitjacket of tradition and play music that means something to them. I'm sure Nubya Garcia could play the hell out of "Giant Steps" if she felt like it, but could your average New School or New England Conservatory jazz student throw down over a dub rhythm or a cumbia groove the way she can?

That makes sense to me, unperson. I minored in music comp at the conservatory, coming in late, but my major (and my pursuit in life at this point) was Creative Writing, with an emphasis on poetry. My music composition mentor took a shine to me mostly because I approached composition from the perspective of someone who wasn't the most trained or studied, but someone who really cared about sound, and whose interests were and continue to be all over the place. Not that I'm an exceptional musician— far from it!— but the specialization that happens in the conservatory model is limiting when it should be expansive.

Here's some video I've never seen before, of the Lounge Lizards live in 1982. This is one of their straighter lineups - post Arto Lindsay but pre Marc Ribot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBD9j9pcla4

always good to hear a new Eric Revis album with his some of his usual partners in crime including Kris Davis and the new one (Slipknots Through a Looking Glass) sounds excellent on my first listen.

Nice, bold choice to do jazz arrangements of all Slipknot and Philip Glass pieces

i think it is a lovely title but a bit misleading I'm afraid!

Ha! You're going to have to wait for the followup, Iowasquaatsi
(That Revis album had already caught my ear--already bought the advance single, but am prob going to buy a few of the unstreamable tracks blind right now, which can be fun)

It's on Spotify and it's really nice & unexpected (but still buy it if you can, obv)

RIP Stanley Crouch

Unfortunately, the decimation of public school instrumental music programs plus the conservatory-ization of jazz favors privileged kids, who are disproportionately going to be white.

Listening to Reid Anderson's album from last year with Dave King and Craig Taborn. It's not 'jazz', no improvising and all synths & electric bass. All melodies and odd times. So, I guess this is a prog rock album?

I mean, I've always thought of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever as prog, so...sure, absolutely. I like that record. Here's the BC link for anyone who wants to check it out:

https://goldenvalleyisnow-intakt.bandcamp.com/album/golden-valley-is-now

It's really good. 'Solar Barges' is my cut, with that slightly distorted Rhodes.

I read Considering Genius a few years ago and couldn't even bother to finish, I was so put off by his complete dismissals of stuff like all of Miles' electric era output and latter Coltrane. Not to mention his refusal to call Amiri Baraka by his preferred name. I think I finally gave up completely when he disparaged Public Enemy as a "racist rap group". I get that the cranky contrarian was his whole deal, and I can accept that, but I need some insight somewhere that I can buy into.

Has anybody read the first volume of Crouch's Charlie Parker bio? I have not yet but am glad to see the second volume is listed as coming out in January.

I haven't (I don't care that much for/about Parker) but like you, I'm glad it's coming out.

I just read this Jazz Times essay on "mainstream jazz" and there's a lot of wisdom there. Plus, it's got me listening to Duke Ellington's "Controversial Suite" (it's on the album Ellington Uptown, and on Spotify the two halves are only listed by their subtitles, "Before My Time" and "Later"), which rules.

His Parker bio is tremendous. It’s meticulously researched, and I haven’t read anything else nearly as vivid about Parker’s Kansas City years. That said, because he’s Stanley Crouch, he arbitrarily shoehorns in swipes at stuff he hates, e.g., “Parker realized then and there that he had to embark on an arduous practice regimen. You know who doesn’t practice? Those so-called hip-hop ‘artists.’”

Mahavishnu is improvisatory yet something about it just doesn't *feel like jazz* and it's hard to put a finger on why.

You can't? Really?

Village Voice once published a letter of mine on Public Enemy somewhat in the Crouchian vein

New album by the group from Dan Weiss's jazz-metal Starebaby (Mitchell/Monder/Taborn/Dunn): https://danweiss.bandcamp.com/album/natural-selection?utm_campaign=danweiss%20album%20natural-selection&utm_content=fanpub_fnb_pr&utm_source=album_release&utm_medium=email

I'm listening to the sample tracks now. The last album was my aoty of that year and they were phenomenally tight live.

Both sample tracks (which are about 15 minutes each) are great.

yep I loved that last album as well, this band rules

some nice late-morning acoustic / drone / cosmic vibes

https://nakataniparishrowden.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-static-age-records

Tatsuya Nakatani - percussion
Shane Parish - nylon string guitar
Zach Rowden - double bass

adam wrote this on thread Rolling Jazz Thread 2018 on board I Love Music on Jan 25, 2020

astral spirits is such a sick label start the thread

yes !! and what i just posted is only one of a handful of things they released today:

https://astralspirits.bandcamp.com/

Can recommend that Quin Kirchner record (I think I just posted about it upthread). Also one of the few album covers that deviates from their '70s paperback design aesthetic.

Was just thinking about how frustrated I've so far found the guitar-dominated tracks in first half of the new Starebaby, although some of may be sound quality of the mp3 promo--I enjoy some other jazz w big hairy guitar, most recently Harriet Tubman, also the first Ceramic Dog album (more recent one had odd sound too), Sharrock, Cosey---for the metal-tending, Yakuza---should prob try Liturgy again---anyway, I do enjoy the new Starebaby very much when guitarist is more of a team player, responding to others, texturing and maybe
metal-appropriately infusing-polluting the fluid music, which I imagine as a lake. Will listen more, of course, maybe the big stuff will grow on me too.

The track I'm including in my Stereogum column is "Acinna," which reminds me of King Crimson.

And here's the column. I talked about Gary Peacock, Stanley Crouch, the Thelonious Monk live album that's finally out, and a bunch of new releases, including Artemis, Starebaby, the Blue Note re:imagined compilation, and more.

^ enjoyed that, thanks

here's an interesting one i came across via the horace tapscott thread: mekala session, current drummer w/ PAPA and son of saxophonist michael session, with two other folks doing sprawling, funky synth jazz

https://humanerrorclub.bandcamp.com/

DIEGO GAETA - CASIO CZ-1, CASIOTONE 301, KURZWEILL V2000
JESSE JUSTICE - FENDER RHODES, ROLAND HS-60
MEKALA SESSION - DRUMS

^ enjoyed that, thanks

Yeah, and speaking of Joe Armon-Jones (real good on prev Young London gateway comp We Out Here and this year's ditto Kaleidoscope), he and his usual combo served as *excellent* house band for most of the following, which I mentioned on the Moses Boyd thread---first part is pasted from bandcamp, then my comments and youtube link, which sounds better to me though bandcamp is are the good guys:

Gilles Peterson Presents MV4
Taken from a day of live sessions in London’s legendary Maida Vale Studios - studio MV4 to be exact, it was originally intended just for Peterson’s BBC radio show broadcast on 20th October 2018. Struck by what a special moment the sessions captured, Peterson has decided to mark the results with a release proper on his Brownswood imprint.

A limited special double vinyl release(download also, from bandcamp & elsewhere) it features a diverse, all-star cast of some of the acts celebrated by Peterson in recent years, in a series of freewheeling and off-the-cuff recordings, several of the tracks backed by the group of Brownswood signee, Joe Armon-Jones. Featuring Dylan Jones, James Mollison, Mutale Chashi, and Marijus Aleksa as well as guest turns from Fatima, Asheber, Nubya Garcia, Hak Baker, and Oscar Jerome, plus a double track special from Bristol based collective, Ishmael Ensemble.
Think all of this is thread-relevant, esp, tracks w guest vcx: right off, the strong yet never overselling lungs of Asheber on "New Day," likewise plus driving rhythm-guitar-as soloing-instrument of xpost Oscar Jerome on "Do You Really", hope and urgency of Fatima on "Only."
Then Hak Baker's phrasing combines dancehall, maybe hip-hop, improvised-seeming exchanges with the rhythm section in a way I've never heard, though I'm not from around here. That's "Thirsty Thursday," more romantic than you might think re title.
Whole thing is morning coffee for basking & grooving.
Will spare you the cover "art," but here's where I listened
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjo10l5gjTM&list=RDAMVMhTQ8IgAXwp0

― dow, Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Think it was here I posted while listening to Monk, Rouse etc. at Newport, def ready for their Palo Alto, thanks for the reminder.

From Adult Swim of all places

https://www.adultswim.com/music/new-jazz-century

1. Yazz Ahmed - Dawn Patrol
2 Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah - Huntress
3. Anna Webber - Copland
4. Anteloper - Hideouts
5. Jessica Ackerley - Theia's Mark
6. Sons of Kemet - Nyabinghi Order
7. Matana Roberts - Dreamed
8. Eivind Opsvik - Den Store Roen
9. Angel Bat Dawid - Insurrection Love Fury for the Innocent
10. Sarathy Korwar - At the Speed of Light
11. Gloatmeal - Flailer
12. Yelfris Valdés - Supernova
13. Colin Stetson - When We Would Run (All Our Futures Embrace)
14. Nate Mercereau & Dave Harrington - Things Move Quickly When They Feel Right
15. Makaya McCraven - Crash Course

Looks great; trying to get it to load now.

yyyeah, any luck? I also can't get it to run.

It loads slowly. Leave the tab open for 15 minutes or so and you should be fine. I listened to the first 4 tracks before I had to do other things. Wish it was downloadable.

Oho, this just in:

Ingrid Laubrock releasing new double-disc album for chamber orchestra and small ensemble

Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt out November 20th via Intakt Records

Ingrid Laubrock–the Brooklyn-via-Germany saxophonist/composer–will be releasing a new double album, Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt, November 20th, 2020 via Intakt. The album follows Ingrid Laubrock's critically acclaimed landmark orchestral album Contemporary Chaos Practices from 2018 (Intakt CD 314). Ingrid Laubrock presents on this double album five compositions in double version. The first disc features the EOS Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Susanne Blumenthal and the second disc is small ensemble featuring Sam Pluta (electronics), Cory Smythe (piano and quarter-tone keyboard) with Zeena Parkins (harp), Adam Matlock (accordion) and Josh Modney (violin).

The two CDs of Laubrock's works contrast, diverge and complement each other. Ingrid Laubrock expands on the CD liner notes: “While the small-group versions were composed first, I did not just re-arrange those compositions for the orchestra but rather re-imagined them. As I wrote the large-scale pieces, I often zoomed-in on a detail in a small-group version to generate a materially different large-group piece.”

As a whole, the two CDs paint fascinating musical panoramas, inspired by the composer's dream worlds, characterized by Laubrock's ability to compose and the individual colors and shades of the soloists.

Ingrid Laubrock is an experimental saxophonist and composer, interested in exploring the borders between musical realms and creating multi-layered, dense and often evocative sound worlds. A prolific composer, Laubrock was named "one of the most distinctive rising compositional voices" by Point Of Departure and a "fully committed saxophonist and visionary" by the New Yorker.

Her main projects as a leader are Anti-House, Serpentines and Ingrid Laubrock Sextet. Laubrock has performed with Anthony Braxton, Muhal Richard Abrams, Jason Moran, Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, Mary Halvorson, Tom Rainey, Tim Berne, Dave Douglas and many others. Laubrock has composed for ensembles ranging from duo to chamber orchestra.

Awards include Fellowship in Jazz Composition by the Arts Foundation in 2006, the2009 SWR German Radio Jazz Prize and the 2014 German Record Critics Quarterly Award. She won best Rising Star Soprano Saxophonist in the Downbeat Annual Critics Poll in 2015 and best Tenor Saxophonist in 2018. Laubrock is one of the recipients of the 2019 Herb Alpert Ragdale Prize in Music Composition and has received composing commissions by The Shifting Foundation, The Jerwood Foundation, American Composers Orchestra, Tricentric Foundation, SWR New Jazz Meeting, The Jazz Gallery Commissioning Series, NYSCA, John Zorn's Stone Commissioning Series and the EOS Orchestra.
Links:
http://ingridlaubrock.com/
http://www.intaktrec.ch/

# # #

For media inquiries please contact (cody at clandestinelabelservices.com)

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to diving into that one. Contemporary Chaos Practices was amazing.

i saw her last year free-improving, spitting the absolute fire on tenor (she played the soprano, also) as a duo with Tom Rainey. they were unstoppable as soon as they started playing. would gladly listen to a record from this couple right now; hopefully that ensemble will do too

https://ingrid-laubrock.bandcamp.com/album/stir-crazy-episodes-1-15

it's going on 27 already! had no idea. thanks!

you're welcome.

tonight i'm pretty into this recording of joe mcphee w/ decoy at cafe oto from last year:

https://soundcloud.com/cafeoto/otoroku023cd-decoy-with-joe-mcphee-acdc-sample

John Edwards / bass
Alexander Hawkins / hammond b3
Joe McPhee / pocket trumpet, alto sax, voice
Steve Noble / drums

from the archives---ilx alum geeta on xpost Milford Graves and Full Mantis:

https://4columns.org/dayal-geeta/milford-graves-full-mantis

And Greg Tate on Swirling, first new Sun Ra Arkestra album since the 90s:
https://www.4columns.org/tate-greg/sun-ra-arkestra

I'm late, but the Vision Festival has an online version ending this evening. Unfortunately ticket access gets you only 24 hours for replay. Right now I'm listening to last night's set by the Andrew Cyrille Quartet with Bill Frisell, Davis Virelles, and Ben Street. Great inside/outside set, so grateful Cyrille is still with us on the planet.

Should have listened more before posting, re opening epic "Episone 18" and next two:
Was just thinking about how frustrated I've so far found the guitar-dominated tracks in first half of the new Starebaby, although some of may be sound quality of the mp3 promo--I enjoy some other jazz w big hairy guitar, most recently Harriet Tubman, also the first Ceramic Dog album (more recent one had odd sound too), Sharrock, Cosey---for the metal-tending, Yakuza---should prob try Liturgy again---anyway, I do enjoy the new Starebaby very much when guitarist is more of a team player, responding to others, texturing and maybe
metal-appropriately infusing-polluting the fluid music, which I imagine as a lake. Will listen more, of course, maybe the big stuff will grow on me too.