Rolling Jazz Thread 2020

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