Rolling Jazz Thread 2019

Anyway, even though I didn’t have to time to go see Kurt Elling other than lingering in the lobby for a second, I will say that I am finally warming up to him after keeping him at a distance for quite a while because his voice sounded too good, too rich. I like the Mark Murphy element of his singing, for one thing.

albatre - the fall of the damned

^^^
been enjoying this one today. Late '18 release on Clean Feed and it is an earbleeding noise metal trio that you might like if Ground Zero was a thing to you.

when I say noise metal I meant an Ornette influenced jazz metal thing!

Thanx unperson for citing We Out Here on Pazz & Jop thread: bandcamp page proved quite refreshing in itself and as gateway. Speaking of Nubya Garcia, "Source" ended up making my own P&J Singles:
https://nubyagarcia.bandcamp.com/track/source And your Sons of Kemet album pick provided another Single, "My Queen is Anna Julia Cooper":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HapYxFBF_Lk

Got around to watching/listening to the LP/DVD combo for this https://hypnoticbrassfilm.com/ - film is a good overview of their background and approach, album is about what you would expect based on the film. It does differ from other releases I've heard of theirs in that there's a fair amount of rapping on it, and it's clear these guys are hip hop generation through and through, in the rhythms and riffs they tend to lean on. Oddly, it seems like there's very little improvisation in their output, no one ever really takes solos nor do they go in for any collective free-blowing, so not sure how jazzy I would say this is really. Maybe that's just a function of being a brass band idk.

I think it's just a function of Hypnotic. I like them alright if I remember to not think of it in relation to New Orleans brass bands in any way. They're just very specific (highly arranged, not very loud or high energy, etc).

def very highly arranged

Are Bill Charlap and Danny Huston the same person?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DwVh0HUUwAAGVfE.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DwVh0HXUwAAT399.jpg

That sounds really interesting, calzino. Ground Zero was a thing for me. I'll look for it.

Yeah, thanks for the tip. James B, please feel free to post about the Willie Nelson (or whatever) on RC 2019 (or wherever). Nelson's recent Sinatra trib has jazz-related appeal. Bluesy version of "What Is This Thing Called Love" keeps prowling my head, with Norah Jones slipping along there too. She's proved an effective duet partner-around-the-edges over the years, in the Willie Zone, where she's not Snorah, just cool.

I wanna give some love to the excellent new release by Bugge Wesseltoft & Prins Thomas album. Been a regular feature on my commutes this past month - love the textural feel of it, the precise layered groove construction on the tracks around the Jarrett-esque noodles and vamps on the keys. Very fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJvNrjN2d90

^^^this was very nice to listen to driving through the desert at night

i am digging this guy Kassa Overall's new album, Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz; decent hip hop/jazz fusion, fun and easy to enjoy
https://www.kassaoverall.com
https://open.spotify.com/album/6tSHSLgLy19DgFpzKHrrJv?si=lIUlmcSXQKCdlGBAl4XJXQ

He's doing a show with Jason Moran at the Jazz Gallery next week; I'm planning to go.

So what about this young French lady who sings “Giant Steps” and “Frevo” who was at Winter Jazzfest, Camille Bertault?

Recently discovered this:
https://img.discogs.com/fTncE1EcrY_WFJxu39TnvPboVY4=/fit-in/600x596/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-9094566-1486511406-4176.jpeg.jpg

Great relatively unknown singer--sort of a female chet baker with a few Ella-like touches. I skip Body and Soul and Stormy Weather--never want to hear those songs again--but otherwise really nice stuff. Great, great guitar work by Barney Kessel dominating the accompaniment.

I finally bought Threadgill's Dirt... and More Dirt (making use of Christmas gift cards) and, four tracks in, it sounds like the noise in my head.

he's so good :)

Yeah, I really liked the whole thing. When it was done, I couldn't believe it had been 40 minutes already.

his other 2018 release the Double Up Ensemble one is totally ace as well.

Spotify recommendations served me up a song by Alison Miller's Boom Tic Boom

I like the song, is she worth checking out?

Yeah, new album coming out February 1 and it's quite good.

https://allisonmiller.bandcamp.com/album/glitter-wolf

The band is Jenny Scheinman on violin, Kirk Knuffke on cornet, Ben Goldberg on clarinet, Myra Melford on piano, Todd Sickafoose on bass, and Miller on drums.

david murray & dave burrell, in concert '92

^^^ ^^^
this is what I'm loving today, it's a right set.

Oh yeah, discovered Allison Miller last summer---from RJ 2018:

Last night, dithering around like a dizzy bizzy bee---and Sundays are always kinda weird at best---I found my attention and pleasure principle repeatedly pulled into a performance-and-interview episode of Jazz Night In America:, feat. drummer-composer Allison Miller and her group Boom Tic Boom (think it's usually spelled "Tic" not "Tick," which I dig), incl. " Miller alongside violinist Jenny Scheinman, cornetist Kirk Knuffke, clarinetist Jeff Lederer, pianist Carmen Staaf and bassist Tony Scherr." Jazz, no question, but/and I get how she credits Prince as inspiration (reminding me, though don't think she mentioned it, that P. hired Clare Fischer to arrange and conduct). The "melodic drumming" thing demonstrated here---in a spotlight studio segment, as well as all through the BTB set---she traces to Africa, and shows how she has no prob w melody as written, then responds to vocal interpretation/
So here's all that, 56:08's worth, just posted, I think:
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/16/639233311/more-than-keeping-time-a-melodic-drumming-demo

Also, from a couple of years ago, when her most recent album was released, here she is on WBGO, with Myra Melford and Todd Sickafoose instead of Staaf and Scherr---also got Ben Goldberg on clarinet:
http://www.wbgo.org/post/many-dimensions-drummer-composer-and-bandleader-allison-miller-checkout#stream/0

Pre-orders are now open for the next Matthew Shipp Trio album, Signature, out 2/15 on ESP-Disk.

My wife designed the CD package, and painted the painting on the cover:

http://www.espdisk.com/image/cache/catalog/shippsignature_1500x1500-750x750.jpg

nice. looking forward to seeing Shipp at Roulette later this year.

Listening to ILX Listen: 2019

I finally bought Threadgill's Dirt... and More Dirt (making use of Christmas gift cards) and, four tracks in, it sounds like the noise in my head.

― Locked in silent monologue, in silent scream (Sund4r), Monday, January 14, 2019 8:12 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

agree! i love this record. does anybody else get mingus vibes or am i delusional / stupid

the roiling horn arrangements in particular, the swells, the dissonance, the building tensions around a simple theme that seem to grow and grow

i could only find reference to mingus in a pi recordings press release:

As a composer and improviser, Henry sees artistic process and product as inseparable, the essence of jazz. Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus strove toward the same goal. Rooted in that history, Henry’s solutions have taken radical new tacks.

i feel as though you can hear the influence of both "such sweet thunder" and "black saint" in the "dirt" recording

man alive, just came across a really interesting album with Ted in it.

A snapshot of jazz 60 years ago, every day.

https://the1959project.com

Huh, Kokoroko's "Abusey Junction" is at almost 20 million views on Youtube. Judging by the comments, it seems like the the algorithm smiled on it.

I've been wondering about that track. It has 3.9 million Spotify plays, too, which is 10x more than any other track on We Out Here. I assumed it was on Spotify's State of Jazz playlist or something. (I mean, I like it a lot, but still.)

They've got a four-track EP coming soon that's great. ("Abusey Junction" is on it.)

Went to the Jazz Gallery last night to see Jason Moran and drummer Kassa Overall. It was Overall's show - he's doing a residency at the Gallery where once a month he brings in a different pianist. The next one is with Aaron Parks, on Valentine's Day. Anyway, last night's show turned into a trio set with the addition of Evan Flory-Barnes on bass. A photo:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DxPXyYdVYAAEdB8.jpg

xxp Yeah, I like it a lot too. Just interesting that it quietly racked up so many listens by jazz standards. I can imagine loads of guitarists having it on repeat.

Judging by the comments, it seems like the the algorithm smiled on it.

― jmm, Friday, January 18, 2019 5:19 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yep, AJ shows up in my youtube sidebar recs constantly.

thinking about hitting one of those kassa shows; you recommend it unperson?

Definitely. The upcoming pianists are Aaron Parks (February); Sullivan Fortner (March); Kris Davis (April); Craig Taborn (May); and some kind of finale event over two nights in June.

So---just heard a rerun of last spring's Jazz Night In America session w Jazzmeia Horn---thought she might turn out a bit contrived, but no, or not in a bad way, just over under sideways down around and yet straight ahead at all times, assimilating Cassandra Wilson's strategies, maybe---also Betty Carter's, like the way all three interact with their small groups, in Horn's case here, sometimes glancing off the musus, sometimes seeing and raising, sometimes shutting up for a while. "People Make The World Go Around" was true enough to the original, bittersweet lyrics, but also she went allll around the park, without getting lost Robust, agile, not too long-winded. How's the album?

Also, speaking of last spring, did I mention this? Awesome, and unlike the Horn set, whole thing's posted:
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/23/596004201/jane-bunnett-and-maqueque-the-new-queens-of-afro-cuban-jazz

"musos," not "musus,", sorry player guys

Greg Ward's Rogue Parade band Stomping Off from Greenwood album is quite ace. I remember liking a Mingus tribute alb he did a couple years back as well.

Yeah, I've been following Ward's career for almost a decade now and the new album is really good. I wrote about it here.

I put together a Spotify playlist of all five albums by the Norwegian jazz quartet Cortex (Thomas Johansson on trumpet, Kristoffer Berre Alberts on saxophones, Ola Høyer on bass, Gard Nilssen on drums). Here's a link.

Wayne Shorter's Emanon is now streaming on Spotify (and presumably other services as well).

Just heard Kevin Whitehead's Fresh Air take on the new Eric Dolphy collection, Musical Prophet, mentioned upthread by unperson. It gathers prev. released from a couple of albums with outtakes etc, and KW says some of the best versions made the original cut, but great sound, as unperson says, and cool to have them all together, esp. duets w bassist Richard Davis, also sessions w Woody Shaw and Bobby Hutcherson and larger groups. More info here: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/eric-dolphy-musical-prophet-resonance-review-784055/

If you want to hear Branford Marsalis talk about why Kamasi Washington and Christian Scott aren't jazz, check out my latest podcast:

https://simplecast.com/s/784800dd

He also talks about his time with Sting, playing with the Grateful Dead, and how it took him seven years to get good at playing classical music.

The lineup for Gilles Peterson's We Out Here festival (August 15-18) looks amazing:

https://www.weoutherefestival.com/lineup

Gary Bartz
Matthew Herbert
Tirzah
Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids
The Comet Is Coming
Sons of Kemet
Lee Fields & The Expressions
Nubya Garcia
Kojey Radical
Hailu Mergia
A Certain RatioMXMJoY
Moses Boyd Exodus
Steam Down Orchestra
Kokoroko
Children of Zeus
Yazmin Lacey
Kaidi Tatham
Theon Cross Fyah
Joe Armon-Jones
Maisha
Auntie Flo
Skinny Pelembe
Tawiah
Alabaster dePlume

yeah, that looks dope as fuck

anyone like Marilyn Mazur's Shamania? I love it!

Glitter Wolf and Fly Or Die II made my uproxx list, Coin Coin Dance Chapter Four: Memphis will be on the Nashville Scene ballot, at least in my hacked-in category of Related. The uprxx was mostly jazz, mostly thanx to this thread, may post later.

Oops still need to listen to this:

The musicians featured are Marc Edwards, Warren Smith, Michael TA Thompson, Mara Rosenbloom, Stephen Gauci, Eriq Robinson, Theodore Woodward, Faye Kilburn and William Hooker.

Symphonie Of Flowers is available on 2LP, CD and digital and shows how William Hooker has been recognized as one of the most innovative musicians and drummers of his generation, leading a variety of ensembles within the worlds of free jazz, experimental, and new music. Hooker's prior collaborators range from avant-garde jazz musicians to indie rock legends like Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth. On his latest work, “Symphonie of Flowers”, Hooker weaves three sections into a whole, or a “symphonie” of sorts. As he says, “the piece begins and ends with the drum…my instrument. Its rhythm and variations of timbre are the stabilizing element.”

Read more about the album and order your copy here.https://orgmusic.com/william-hooker-symphonie-of-flowers/

https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/junius-paul-ism-interview

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

New album by the trio Birth, first in 15 years:
https://open.spotify.com/album/6Z7TQTuAiH5myCaHokhl4i?si=P6vTX7dLQtOE8tZQ-KAg4w

Features drummer extraordinaire Joe Tomino from Dub Trio. They absolutely blew minds when I saw them in '00 and they were doing sort of live jungle that would dissolve into free jazz. Happy Apple energy.

This album rules.

anyone like Marilyn Mazur's Shamania? I love it!

― calzino, Wednesday, December 11, 2019 7:44 AM bookmarkflaglink

Tuomas has nominated it on the ILM poll.... "Force of nature" is right!

- https://marilynmazur.bandcamp.com/album/shamania

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2819965007_7.jpg

I'm afraid the only band member I knew much about was the pianist Makiko Hirabayashi, who's been part of the Danish jazz scene for many years.

Marilyn Mazur has hardly done any interviews recently. There's one in Die Tageszeitung – she talks about her early experimental group the Primi Band, and working in the U.S. in the late '80s:

It all happened very quickly. I played with the Gil Evans Orchestra, including Wayne Shorter, and I was on tour for three years without a break. Then Miles asked if I wanted to tour with him again. But I couldn't anymore, I just wanted to go home and do my own thing and cancelled.
How did he react?
He wasn't used to people turning him down, and he was upset. As much as I loved playing with him, Miles' music had become so strange to me. Back then he was very popular, his sound was also macho. I've never used the term to refer to Miles, but it's true. The atmosphere on stage was not very communicative, everyone had their role.
– (taz.de)

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

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.

anyone like Marilyn Mazur's Shamania? I love it!

This is great New Year's Day morning music.

Time for new thread?

Indeed.

Rolling Jazz Thread 2020

Brad Mehldau - Finding Gabriel is really hitting me, kind of adventurous in a low key MOR way, a lot of electronics and synth textures, jazz-meets-Brian-Wilson vocal arrangements

I was going to say that I've been checking this out yesterday and today and loving it, then saw that I apparently actually posted that I liked it literally a year ago.

I like Jon Batiste a lot more than I used to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyds04mi_Z0

He put out a couple of short live albums recently that I liked, one more than the other.

he's always a good time live.