Rolling Jazz Thread 2018

My latest Stereogum column is up. Watch out - I think one of the streaming tracks is set to autoplay.

That Jeremy Pelt track is burning. Even the cajon solo works.

Really really like this Patrick Zimmerli thing too.

Today I'm enjoying Bill Stewart's Incandescence (from a decade ago), cool double-keyboard trio. Drums, organ, and either Rhodes or piano (or sometimes piano + accordion).

I've been jamming the new Frisell today, good stuff

I guess I have uncool taste in jazz in that I often prefer the kinda... subtle stuff

Re: the comments below Phil's column, Kurt Rosenwinkel's tone has never bothered me, and I actually recall liking him on the few tracks he played on on Chris Potter's Vertigo album

David Ake is a new name to me but I'm liking this track a lot. Monder's guitar at about 4 minutes in is certainly...unexpected

I don't keep up with new jazz releases as much as I would like but I'm still very much attached to ECM. Jakob Bro's first two (trio) albums for the label immediately won me over and I was worried that the addition of a trumpeter on his latest, Returnings, would undermine the music's oneiric dolefulness. Except said trumpeter is Palle Mikkelborg, whose downcast playing fits Bro's compositions like a glove, and the couple of pieces that he penned for the album do not draw our attention away from its overall flow, which is exactly as should be. The less overtly tonal, processional title track (co-written by Bro and Mikkelborg) is the only one that stands out, bringing to mind Edward Vesala, but its intimations of a far-off catastrophe are needed in this potentially too genteel context. Good stuff, overall – I should probably explore Bro's pre-ECM output as well.

I didn't know about the Frisell. A solo electric guitar album from is pretty much exactly what I want; sounding good so far. Also, Roscoe Mitchell's album with the Montreal-Toronto Art Orchestra Ride the Wind just arrived. Looking forward to it.

The Mitchell/MTAO is really good!

xp I've seen Bro live with Mikkelborg a twice, both great so I am looking forward to listening!

you might want to check out Balladeering which is one of my favorite albums
https://open.spotify.com/album/3dsUvkEtccETDqWcXUUXxh

The only Mikkelborg I have is Miles Davis's Aura, which PM composed, arranged and produced, with a big band incl. NHØP and John Mclaughlin: it's like "What if Miles and Gil plugged in and kept it tasteful." Good of its kind for sure.

Just did an hour+ interview with Billy Cobham for the Burning Ambulance podcast - it'll be live on 4/13. Awesome guy - had stories about Miles, McLaughlin/Mahavishnu (McLaughlin can apparently be kinda shady at times), the Fania All-Stars, and much, much more.

Cool! Really enjoyed his Trap Set interview.

Today I'm listening to all the versions of 'So What' from that new Miles Quintet bootleg series thing. Spoiler alert - they keep getting better.

http://i8.cmail19.com/ei/i/79/EB4/FC8/222203/csimport/r-1260625-1360137078-7003-jpeg_7.jpg

Soul Jazz Records EVENTS Horace Tapscott: Musical Griot Documentary TOMORROW Wed 28 March 2pm Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image
TOMORROW AFTERNOON!
Exclusive screening + After-film discussion panel including Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records)

This event is FREE - info here
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/session-thirteen-horace-tapscott-musical-griot-rebirth-is-necessary-tickets-43055887318

Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square

London WC1H 0PD

Going back to Jeff Parker's 'The New Breed' and this is so my shit. Maybe one of the best blends of jazz + electronic music, and many have tried and failed.

(also holy shit, that record has sold a ton on Bandcamp alone, good for him for tapping into the 'chill beats' economy perhaps)

Guardian focus on the British Jazz scene:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/apr/08/british-jazz-invasion-moses-boyd-matthew-halsall-nubya-garcia?CMP=share_btn_tw

xp thanks for heads up on the Parker, totally missed that when it came out

Billy Cobham podcast is going up on Friday, and I just taped the next one this morning. It's with Dave Burrell, who played at Cecil Taylor's funeral yesterday. We talked about that, and about a bunch of his projects, including the whole free jazz migration to Paris in 1969/70 and what he'll be doing at the Vision Festival this year. It's a really interesting interview, and it'll be up on 4/27.

I finally listened to all of Code Girl and I am really liking this, wow. "The Unexpected Natural Phenomenon" is probably the biggest standout rn.

Nels Cline 4 live stream rn: https://www.facebook.com/PasteMusicAndDaytrotter/videos/10156393536779529/

Cline album sounds good, and it looks like a proper Blue Note record to boot

I posted about it on the 'third stream' thread but I really like that Patrick Zimmerli record, now that it's out. Seems mostly through-composed, and I'm sure that there's a lot of harmonic and conceptual stuff that I'm not getting, but the good thing is that it's a very pleasant listen without worrying about any of that. Also it's one of the best sounding jazz recordings I've heard in a minute.

This makes some good points and clarifies some turns in the discography I got discouraged from taking---also, re the mention of Cosey etc. at the end, what he'd like to hear in the Bootleg Series, reminds me of a rare PC interview, in which he casually mentioned his own onstage tape recorder tour mascot, sometimes pulled those cassettes out from a shoebox under the bed, listened to them 'til he fell asleep---wonder who has the rights to those, if they still exist (think I may still have a few x-generation dubs via Goldmine Magazinec ca. late 80s-early 90s). Um, anyway:
https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/04/19/do-we-need-another-miles-davis-box-set/?utm_source=Village+Voice+Music&utm_campaign=0bc3f4529c-Music+Newsletter+1%2F19%2F2018&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_58e5ed4fcb-0bc3f4529c-58804241

Yeah, the last 3 paragraphs of that piece are the only parts I care about. Here's what I'd like to see show up in the Bootleg Series:

• a multi-disc set from the 1971 European tour featuring the Gary Bartz/Keith Jarrett/Michael Henderson/Mtume/Leon "Ndugu" Chancler version of the band (a few tracks are on Vol. 4)
• a multi-disc set of the non-Agharta/Pangaea dates from the 1975 Japanese tour
• a multi-disc set of We Want Miles-era shows

I don't think any of those are likely to happen, though, because Sony seems to prefer focusing on acoustic Miles. I mean, that Freedom Jazz Dance set was basically a "super deluxe edition" of Miles Smiles. I've played it exactly once.

Were the shows from the We Want Miles era what resulted in Star People? If so I wouldn’t mind hearing that. I’m fairly fond of that record.

Agreed about Jeff Parker's "The New Breed", it's wonderful. It has a kind of "Mark's Keyboard Repair" quality that I love; the last track, with his daughter - I think - singing, is a treat. International Anthem (the label) really delivering lately*: "In the Moment" by Makaya McCraven (also feat. Parker) is great, and the Irreversible Entanglements album is fantastic.

*"lately" to me, these days, can mean any time in last five years.

My latest Stereogum column is up. I talk about Cecil Taylor, Billy Cobham, those two new Kamasi Washington songs, Sons of Kemet, and a bunch of other stuff.

Oh wow, cool that you reviewed Paw@n's record. He used to come sit in with a group I played with when he was, idk, 10? 13? Had a really nice sound even then, glad he's doing the thing.

I don't even know if he has a publicist - I bought it on Bandcamp.

I'm sure he doesn't, that's a beautiful story. I'll make sure he sees it.

The Centro d'Arte Padova has uploaded 25 minutes of previously unreleased Cecil Taylor solo piano from 1975 to Mixcloud via AllAboutJazz.com. It's great; very much in the vein of Air Above Mountains.

From 2016 but I was immediately drawn to Florian Weber's solos on this Angelika Niescier LP on Intakt. He's inserting this avant-Euro-experimental thing into a hard bop framework, and it's great. Found out afterward he was cutting a record with Stockhausen fils for ECM around the same time

Sick, I've been wanting to hear Tyshawn Sorey in a more, um, rhythmic context.

Sorey (and bassist Tordini) also have a a trio album with saxophonist Angelica Niescier coming out on Intakt a little later this year.

Great column, as always, but re the origin of the name Shatner's Bassoon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass_Eye

I think I'm going to listen to nothing but Dave Burrell for the next few days.

I interviewed three really good South African jazz musicians - keyboardist/bandleader Thandi Ntuli, trombonist/singer Siya Makuzeni, and saxophonist Linda Sikhakhane - for Bandcamp:

http://daily.bandcamp.com/2018/05/02/new-south-african-jazz-feature/

FTR, Linda Sikhakhane is a dude.

On first listen, really digging ANTELOPER (Jaimie Branch and Jason Nazary), to the point that I had to restrain from starting a Jaimie Branch thread.

https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/kudu

I'm getting slaughtered on Facebook for this opinion, so I might as well share it here:

Late '70s-early '80s NYC funk/fusion had to be the worst sound in jazz history. The jangling guitars, the high bass lines, the biting-on-tinfoil snare drums. Prime Time, the Decoding Society, anything with James "Blood" Ulmer. Really talented players (Ulmer excepted; that dude is running a long, long con) making irredeemably awful music.

I know this stuff is well regarded, and "important" as an overall development. All I'm saying is, it doesn't work for me. None of it. And these are people whose work I like a lot at other times (I love Ronald Shannon Jackson with Last Exit and with Cecil Taylor, my love of Ornette's non-Prime Time music is certainly established, etc.). It was the combination of what they were playing and the sharp, trebly '80s production. It is so, so Not For Me.

I agree for the most part, it's rough. The sounds on that 80s Bill Frisell live set posted on his thread make it come off like a 'shreds' video.

Does Dancing in Your Head fit into this period? I love that.

Yeah, I'm basically talking about all the Prime Time albums, all the albums by Ulmer's various projects (solo discs, Music Revelation Ensemble, Odyssey), and Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society. (I do like Arthur Blythe's Lenox Avenue Breakdown and Illusions, which are from this period but don't have that same jangly sound and go-nowhere "funk" style.)

Oh, yeah, I like that stuff. Not for everyone.

If I'm thinking of the same Frisell clip (1993?) that Jordan is talking about, I agree that there are some things I don't love about that sound, but it seems like a different thing altogether.

I love 80's Fusion these days but it feels like a genre that you get into long after you've exhausted a lot of other stuff (not that I'm saying you haven't done that, unperson!). In my teens it would have been the definition of bad taste to me.

Mini-doc on the first Bad Plus show w/Orrin Evans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikioo--iFUo&t=0s

Don't know why that didn't work but it's on the Jazz Night in America channel.

The only thing I disagree with in that statement is this:

Ulmer...is running a long, long con

Ulmer's great! I even like his blues records! He has a great sound that splits the difference between Hendrix and Sonny Sharrock (whose later LPs I[m assuming you also don't like). What don't you like about him?

But the sound of this period is rough going, I agree. A lot of it is the 80s production, but I think some of the music is worth getting beyond that, like Frisell's Power Tools album. Do you know that one? How do you feel about 80s Zorn?

Got a promo of the new Kamasi Washington today. A double CD, 16 tracks, just under 2 1/2 hours long. I've listened to the first disc so far. It's all the same musicians as The Epic, including the orchestra and choir, plus a few guests - Sput, the drummer from Snarky Puppy, is on a track or two. It's Epic-ish, but with the same kind of slick CTI sound and feel as the Harmony of Difference EP. Washington's compositional voice is easily recognizable at this point, but he's improved as a player, and an arranger; everything about this record is kinda "the same, but better." I'm liking it a lot so far.

The orchestra and choir are what really interest me. I don't really love how the other instruments (especially drums) are mixed, but I can get with it as kind of a period '70s sound where everything is kind of small and close mic'ed, but with the sweeping Alice Coltrane strings and 'Volunteered Slavery'-type choir. Definitely looking forward to this one based on the two singles anyway.