"Music doesn't go seasonable to me." Rolling Jazz Dm7♭5 Thread 2017

Been having a good festival so far: going to see Bad Plus tonight. Last night, I saw Sonoluminescence Trio (David Mott, Jesse Stewart, William Parker), who were really great, better than the first time I saw them, probably, with a lot of variety and dynamics and even some memorable melodic and rhythmic hooks. Mott integrated his circular breathing and multiphonic techniques into the improv really effectively. Stewart is probably one of my favourite percussionists going right now, on kit as well as waterphone; Parker was obv fantastic, playing a variety of instruments, two of which I couldn't identify, as well as singing on one piece. I picked up their brand-new LP. I can't play the LP until I reunite with my turntable in the fall but the mp3s sound excellent. It's a two-track analogue live (in Ottawa!) recording with a lot of warmth. The day before, I saw the Garry Elliott Quartet play totally straight-ahead stuff, which was really nice for a change.

Let us know how nu-Bad Plus is.

Orrin Evans isn't joining until sometime next year; it's still Iverson at the piano.

Yeah, tbh, I wouldn't have shelled out if Iverson wasn't still with them. As it is, I figure it'll be the last time I see this lineup.

Yeah, tbh, I wouldn't have shelled out if Iverson wasn't still with them.

Really? I'm a much bigger fan of Evans than Iverson; I'll definitely be checking out the revamped lineup.

The guy you need to see before it's too late is Ethan's buddy Tootie Heath

I don't know Evans's work. I'll check out the revamped lineup but I'm paying to see a band that I have loved live and on record; Iverson is a key part of that band.

Seen Evans and his man Donald Edwards, both with the Mingus Band and in other contexts, they have always delivered.

Btw, unperson, other than the Branch, which is top-tier, I liked the Nicole Mitchell from your May column quite a bit. I'll check out the June column soon.

From Evans' own back catalog, I recommend Captain Black Big Band, Freedom, Flip the Script, and Mother's Touch; you should also definitely check out his trio Tarbaby with Eric Revis and Nasheet Waits. The End of Fear and The Ballad of Sam Langford are both great.

And thanks for reading!

He's great as a sideman on some of those Ralph Peterson records. And he has some Criss Cross records with great bands (also w/Peterson). I haven't heard any of the Tarbaby stuff but have been meaning to check it out.

I wonder what TBP would sound like with Eric Lewis on piano...he probably doesn't have the right aesthetic, but his playing is so ridiculous. He's on the Herlin Riley record that I listen to to hype myself up every time I have to play a jazz gig.

"Have to"

Lewis just put out a trio album on Sunnyside last year with Reginald Veal on bass and Jeff "Tain" Watts on drums. It's pretty good.

http://sunnysidezone.com/album/and-to-the-republic

Oh it's definitely "have to", I don't seek them out. If someone calls me, that's on them. :)

Had a pretty fun one the other night though.

I can understand

for the record, the Heath Brothers have shows on July 11 to 16 at the Vanguard; worth catching if you haven't yet
https://www.villagevanguard.com/schedule

Jeb Patton and David Wong are the go-to sidemen for old-timers, I guess. I saw them with Houston Person and Charles McPherson at the Jazz Standard not long ago. Might have to go to that Vanguard run, though; I like Heath's 70s albums for Xanadu that were recently reissued.

Reminds me, I picked up Jimmy Heath's I Walked With Giants at the library for what shoulda been briefness considering the homework, got totally hooked---such range and depth and clarity---quite the gateway to an era, several eras biz-wise, Lord knows. Will def get back to this one.https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-walked-with-giants-jimmy-heath/1111436662#productInfoTabs

Not just "gateway" for the noobs; it schooled my old jaded ass too.

Are you going to see Catharsis tonight, Sund4r?

Today's least likely song title: a snappy little noise/grindcore tune called "Bill Evans":

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/track/bill-evans

I'm not that familiar with Catharsis so I didn't pick up a ticket. Worth checking out, I take it? Bad Plus was really good. They went further out with their version of "Mandy" (of all things), with Iverson pounding frantically at tone clusters on the keyboard! A nice light moment afterwards when Anderson said "that was closer to Manilow's original conception for the song, before the corporate guys got involved". The version of "Maps" was pretty intense too; that one especially barely seems related to the song tbh. I've been listening to the album since then (although they did a lot of other material live).

I am partial to Catharsis because they are all nice people in addition to being great players. The drummer and the sax player/multi-instrumentalist who is touring with them in this configuration are particularly fun to watch.

I loved their Azul Infinito album w/ Camila Meza's lovely vox from last year.

I love the part in the Jimmy Heath book where he assigns everybody a nickname and man alive's old guitar teacher was called Texas Ted.

https://ottawajazzscene.ca/news/11668-our-2017-ottawa-jazz-festival-poll-listeners-want-commitment

And for one listener, the music was simply “too progressive for me. Even their renditions of a Cyndi Lauper and Barry Manilow songs”.

Wait, that listener wasn't you, was it?

I just bought the new totally fab Eric Revis album Sing Me Some Cry w/ Vandermark + Kris Davis on board, sick album!

Yeah, that's a good one. Revis has been doing really interesting stuff on Clean Feed for about five years now.

yep, and I think Kris Davis has been the only constant in his changing trios/4tets for the last few albums. Probably one of the other reasons why they are all so excellent.

busy thread; just updated the playlist for the half year marker.

ILM's Rolling Jazz Thread 2017 Spotify Playlist

Ravi Coltrane's performing his mom's music the next two nights at the Jazz Gallery. Tomorrow only, Brandee Younger's gonna be on harp. I might try to get to that, if NJ Transit will let me.

BTW, today was 50 years of Trane's passing. I understand Ravi's half-sister Michelle was in the audience at The Jazz Standard this weekend for Conrad Herwig's Latin Side Of Coltrane tribute.

********ALERT!******
On Monday stumbled across this excellent new vocalese record called The Passion of Charlie Parker. More later

Wow, will have to check that. So---what are the best albums issued this year? Incl. reissues, but I'm really wanting to turn over a new leaf, and find some new new never-before issues---I feel so guilty for neglecting those--- though so far am avidly digging Fly or Die by Jaimie Branch, thanks to this thread.

My picks:

Matthew Shipp Trio, Piano Song
Camilla George Quartet, Isang
Christopher Zuar Orchestra, Musings
Craig Taborn, Daylight Ghosts
Harriet Tubman, Araminta
Ken Fowser, Now Hear This!
Christian Scott, Ruler Rebel and Diaspora
Matthew Stevens, Preverbal
Hermon Mehari, Bleu
Preservation Hall Jazz Band, So It Is
Dayna Stephens, Gratitude
Jaimie Branch, Fly Or Die
Nick Mazzarella/Tomeka Reid, Signaling
Yazz Ahmed, La Saboteuse
Ambrose Akinmusire, A Rift in Decorum
JD Allen, Radio Flyer
Jeremy Pelt, Make Noise!
Nicole Johanntgen, Henry
Binker & Moses, Journey to the Mountain of Forever
Zem Audu, Spirits
OK:KO, Land E
Chris Potter, The Dreamer is the Dream

thanks for that

Sweet, thanks! Great to know there's a new Harriet Tubman---they were my fave at Very Very Threadgill. Will also check Ambrose, Jeremy Pelt, and all the rest, I hope (ditto that album of Bird-inspired vocalese),

Pay special attention to the Camilla George and Zem Audu albums - African immigrants (to London and NYC, respectively) making the music their own. The Yazz Ahmed is amazing, too.

always nice to have some more food for thought, unperson.

I have been belatedly honouring the Trane 50th deathiversary with mainly A Love Supreme, Ascension and his Duke Ellington album today B-)

Two Ornette Coleman albums that have never been on CD before, not even in Japan, are being released in September. Crisis and Ornette At 12 are coming out as a 2-for-1 from Real Gone Music. Fully remastered, new liner notes, artwork nicely reproduced, etc., etc.

Pre-order link.

Haven't heard Ornette At 12 but Crisis was the first OC that I can remember for grabbing and holding me all the way through on first listen---maybe because it was live, in that moment, in that weird year, and via the acoustics of that venue---NYU? Uh, OK! With Dad's grinding yet unfettered violin, Denardo's drums clattering like a music stand falling over, but in the right place): But if it’s a puzzle that Ornette at 12 has not been previously reissued, it’s a downright mystery why 1972’s Crisis also hasn’t come out; recorded live in 1969 at N.Y.U. with a killer band of Redman, Haden, Denardo, and Don Cherry on flute and trumpet, it takes its place with Broken Shadows and Science Fiction as one of Ornette’s great small group recordings of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. The version of Haden’s “Song for Che” is one of the best on record, the rendition of “Broken Shadows” here is simply beautiful...and the addition of Don Cherry—fresh from his own experiments in Indian and African music—spices up what is already a pretty heady brew. True--it went well with Lebanese Blonde hash.

Thanks for that list. I'll try to keep up!

My latest Stereogum column is up.

Night Lights radio schools me again: personifying the swing-to-bop persuasion and keeping it young and lean into the late 20th Century, guitarist Mary Osborne was mentored by Charlie Christian, def assimilated him and Django, but developed her own spare, lyrical intensity---the unaccompanied "Sophisticated Lady" here makes me think of Art Pepper--NL catches her situations with Coleman Hawkins, Clark Terry, Tyree Glenn, Mary Lou Williams, but her basic thing is more like the King Cole Trio turned around, when there's a piano at all (bass is electric on last track here), but she doesn't need much--here's the posted show and set list:
http://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/mary-osborne-queen-jazz-guitar/

Postwar Jazz: An Arbitrary Roadmap---motorvated by Gary Giddens' '02 two-part article of the same title (still on villagevoice.com), somebody compiled a listening companion, which now seems most readily available as a series of videos (though a few have been removed)---quite a range of highs and deeps, no lows that I've found so far:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIyXZgKyp_k9tyxjEevBD9TiE04D9jAGP

I saw the Stretch Orchestra on the weekend. From what I knew of Brubeck and Stewart, and from the fact that this was part of a chamber music festival, I was expecting some out improv on acoustic instruments, but it was a really fun set of energetic rocking fusion, with Brubeck playing electric cello with a bunch of pedals, and Breit on electric guitar and mandolin with a tonne of effects as well. (It still definitely went out harmonically and timbrally but there was always a groove and a hook.) I bought the 2012 CD, which seems to have won a Juno for best instrumental recording. It's pretty enjoyable; even gets a bit folky at times.

https://www.thenation.com/article/mal-waldrons-ecstatic-minimalism/

There is a beautiful and evocative Adam Shatz essay on Mal Waldron in The Nation, here.