OTM. Sounds like a bespoke vodka brand.
― The Gate of Angels Laundromat (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 18 January 2023 13:06 (one year ago) link
it's a stupid name but it's a cool spot as i remember!
― budo jeru, Thursday, 19 January 2023 04:07 (one year ago) link
Anybody check out David Murray's new quartet at the Village Vanguard this past week? I was going to go this weekend, but the shows sold out before I could commit to a time. On paper it looks really interesting: Marta Sanchez – Piano, Luke Stewart – Bass, Kassa Overall – Drums
― birdistheword, Monday, 23 January 2023 19:08 (one year ago) link
I almost never go to vanguard? Convince me I am wrong.The aforementioned Saturday roulette set was a fairly epic free jazz hootenanny. My poor partner was expecting something slightly more melodic and was shell shocked by the whole experience. It was apparently her first time hearing Zorn. When we heard sirens on the way home she exclaimed “he’s following us!”
― POLIZISTEN VERSINKEN IM SCHLAMM (forksclovetofu), Monday, 23 January 2023 19:27 (one year ago) link
Is there a reason to avoid it? FWIW, I've seen a few Zorn shows at the Vanguard as well.
― birdistheword, Monday, 23 January 2023 19:35 (one year ago) link
over the weekend i was able to catch alain gomis's "rewind & play", which is made up of concert and interview footage of thelonious monk on french TV in '69. what makes it particularly interesting is the outtakes footage. highly recommended!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0lvlXQQIG0
― budo jeru, Monday, 23 January 2023 19:58 (one year ago) link
It's so good. If his 'Félicité' is still on MUBI then it's highly recommended as well. It's about a woman who sings with Kasai All Stars, and also includes a Congolese orchester playing Arvo Pärt as a sort of greek chorus (which might seem like the biggest cliché, but it's honestly really fun to have an amateur orchestra playing Pärt live on the soundtrack, instead of hearing the polished ECM versions for the thousandth time). Gomis really cares about music and the way it interacts with society.
― Frederik B, Monday, 23 January 2023 21:12 (one year ago) link
thanks, i'll have to check it out
― budo jeru, Tuesday, 24 January 2023 03:20 (one year ago) link
heard this on the radio yesterday and loved it. it sounds so fresh and yet so classic. from '04. between this and his new record of beatles covers, i think i'm having a brad mehldau phase, a mehl-down as i've decided to call it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaF3znfkZuw
― budo jeru, Tuesday, 24 January 2023 03:26 (one year ago) link
"The biggest difference is how they accent stuff. Pheeroan accents in a way where you feel that edge of propulsion moving forward. DeJohnette ... his accents are much more distant from each other and have a very sharp intellectual curve that is so brilliant. Milford Graves, what he does is he tumbles rhythms, like a juggler. Yeah. He does that with rhythms, and he keeps all of them afloat. Shannon Jackson, he pushed the units of horizontal form forward with what I call multi-polyphonic drumming.”
― dow, Tuesday, 24 January 2023 17:41 (one year ago) link
I really appreciate Martyn's NTS show as a selection of whatever jazz vinyl he's dug up (including private press stuff).
https://www.nts.live/shows/martyn/episodes/martyn-21st-november-2022
Collecting and listening to vinyl doesn't really fit into my life at the moment, but it seems like a nice way to live and I appreciate reaping the listening benefits.
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 27 January 2023 17:25 (one year ago) link
private press jazz! Intriguing, thamks.
Hi friends - excited as always to bring you the first Q1 release of 2023 for International Anthem - the return of Rob Mazurek's unpredictable, wild Exploding Star Orchestra. The new album is full of classic RM curveballs - an entire live recording of the band laid over the studio sound, Damon Locks vocal incantations on the Jeff Parker produced opening track "Future Shaman" - fearless and fiery as always. Hope you dig it!Future Shaman is out today along with the announcement of Lightning Dreamers. Quote from Rob on the lead single: Future Shaman is a beat and lyrical sojourn into the clouds and then the eye of the storm and finally an ascension to the stars. A snaking counterpoint summoning the spirit world. An attempt at communication, renewal/rebirth through sound and movement.
Future Shaman is out today along with the announcement of Lightning Dreamers.
Quote from Rob on the lead single:
Future Shaman is a beat and lyrical sojourn into the clouds and then the eye of the storm and finally an ascension to the stars. A snaking counterpoint summoning the spirit world. An attempt at communication, renewal/rebirth through sound and movement.
― dow, Friday, 27 January 2023 18:30 (one year ago) link
more from International Anthem's Bandcamp page for this alb:
...The album’s opener “Future Shaman” was co-produced by Parker and features added percussion by Mazurek’s longtime São Paulo Underground collaborator Mauricio Takara, as well as synth bass fromCathlene Pineda. The track finds Mazurek and ESO where they left off with Dimensional Stardust – deep in a chromatic funk fantasy of outer-space grooves and Bartok-ian riffs. Vocalist/MC Locks brings the Orson Welles via Deltron 3030 energy while Taborn and Sanchez face-off from behind Wurlitzer pianos and Moog synthesizers. On “Dream Sleeper” Locks’s poetry is swirled in drifting storm clouds of fractured atmospherics, both improvised and composed. “Shape Shifter” finds Mazurek recalling a past life of Isotope 217 – not just for the swinging grooves anchored by Moog basslines, but also in that he returns to the trumpet after years of playing cornet. Once the soaring melodic theme is established the ensemble shifts into On The Corner mode, creating a mangled rhythmic base for Taborn’s Wurlitzer runs and clean guitar soloing from Parker, before shapeshifting yet again under Mazurek’s rising polytonal electronics as Locks’s scattered vocal embellishments take us to the promised land...releases March 31, 2023All music composed by Rob Mazurek (OLHO, ASCAP). Words by Damon Locks.Recorded at Sonic Ranch, Tornillo, TX, September 23rd & 24th, 2021.Rob Mazurek - director, composer, trumpets, voice, launeddas, electronic treatmentsJeff Parker - guitarCraig Taborn - wurlitzer, moog matriarchAngelica Sanchez - wurlitzer, piano, moog sub 37Damon Locks - voice, electronics, samplers, textGerald Cleaver - drumsMauricio Takara - electronic percussion, percussionNicole Mitchell - flute, voiceFuture Shaman" co-produced by Jeff Parker, with additional synth bass played by Cathlene Pineda.“Black River” includes samples of Exploding Star Orchestra recorded live at Sons d’hiver in Paris, France, on February 3rd, 2022, featuring: Rob Mazurek, jaimie branch, Tomeka Reid, Thomas Roher, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Julien Desprez, Pasquale Mirra, Angelica Sanchez, Damon Locks, Mikel Patrick Avery, Chad Taylor, and Mauricio Takara.
releases March 31, 2023
All music composed by Rob Mazurek (OLHO, ASCAP). Words by Damon Locks.
Recorded at Sonic Ranch, Tornillo, TX, September 23rd & 24th, 2021.
Rob Mazurek - director, composer, trumpets, voice, launeddas, electronic treatmentsJeff Parker - guitarCraig Taborn - wurlitzer, moog matriarchAngelica Sanchez - wurlitzer, piano, moog sub 37Damon Locks - voice, electronics, samplers, textGerald Cleaver - drumsMauricio Takara - electronic percussion, percussionNicole Mitchell - flute, voice
Future Shaman" co-produced by Jeff Parker, with additional synth bass played by Cathlene Pineda.
“Black River” includes samples of Exploding Star Orchestra recorded live at Sons d’hiver in Paris, France, on February 3rd, 2022, featuring: Rob Mazurek, jaimie branch, Tomeka Reid, Thomas Roher, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Julien Desprez, Pasquale Mirra, Angelica Sanchez, Damon Locks, Mikel Patrick Avery, Chad Taylor, and Mauricio Takara.
― dow, Friday, 27 January 2023 18:38 (one year ago) link
― POLIZISTEN VERSINKEN IM SCHLAMM (forksclovetofu), Friday, 27 January 2023 19:38 (one year ago) link
Reminds me of those Thirsty Ear Blue Series records of the early '00s in terms of the sound and some of the players, but harder and less soup-y.
xp
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 27 January 2023 19:50 (one year ago) link
from 2022 but just caught documentary Music for Black Pigeons which if you like Jakob Bro is wonderful but also has great scenes with Lee Konitz, Thomas Morgan, Midori Takada and many others, some incredible live recordings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI07dp_pFsU
― corrs unplugged, Saturday, 28 January 2023 15:25 (one year ago) link
Listening to this John Hollenback/Dan Cavanagh/James Miley album from last year "Another Life". It starts with a cheeky mash-up of Everything In Its Right Place and All the Things You Are (ok jazz nerds), but is really good, also sounds absolutely incredible.
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 30 January 2023 22:07 (one year ago) link
Two pianos and drums! I had to look up who mixed it, and it's bassist Todd Sickafoose.
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 30 January 2023 22:08 (one year ago) link
Cool.Finally getting around to listening to Champion Fulton since the Smalls Livestream just alerted me a little while ago. Her trio (drummerless tonight, since it's Mezzrow, although sometimes they do have drummers) is sounding really good.
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 6 February 2023 00:40 (one year ago) link
I'd been avoiding listening to Samara Joy, but I suppose I have to now.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 6 February 2023 14:12 (one year ago) link
She can sing but do we need more traditional versions of Misty and Someone to Watch Over Me as she offers on her album. She’s only 23 and I did like her enthusiasm and passion when getting the award, so hopefully she can at some point do something more original
― curmudgeon, Monday, 6 February 2023 17:33 (one year ago) link
Maybe her first album is more interesting (just guitar/bass/drums, no piano):
http://samarajoy-whirlwind.bandcamp.com/album/samara-joy
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 6 February 2023 17:35 (one year ago) link
i missed a showcase gig this past summer, don't think i'll be seeing her in a small room anytime soon now!the current album is a bit unexciting though her voice is solid as oak. would like to hear her live.
― POLIZISTEN VERSINKEN IM SCHLAMM (forksclovetofu), Monday, 6 February 2023 17:38 (one year ago) link
https://eastaxis.bandcamp.com/album/cool-with-that
love the latest Shipp "East Axis", he seems to be on a bit of a roll recently
― calzino, Thursday, 16 February 2023 14:34 (one year ago) link
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and organist Shirley Scott had one of the great jazz partnerships in the late 1950s. A new anthology focuses on their "Cookbook" series of albums recorded over a six-month period. Here's Kevin's review.(SOUNDBITE OF EDDIE "LOCKJAW" DAVIS AND SHIRLEY SCOTT'S "HEAT 'N SERVE")KEVIN WHITEHEAD, BYLINE: "Heat 'N Serve" from a new roundup of tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis' 1958 "Cookbook" sessions with organist Shirley Scott. The set "Cookin' With Jaws And The Queen" celebrates the inexhaustible power of the blues. They play a bunch of fast, medium and slow blues in seven keys that leave you hungry for still more. This collection also celebrates a musical partnership then two years old. Lockjaw was the horn man with a sizzling tone and swagger. Scott would swoop in behind him with dramatic gestures and perfect timing.(SOUNDBITE OF EDDIE "LOCKJAW" DAVIS AND SHIRLEY SCOTT'S "HIGH FRY")
(SOUNDBITE OF EDDIE "LOCKJAW" DAVIS AND SHIRLEY SCOTT'S "HEAT 'N SERVE")
KEVIN WHITEHEAD, BYLINE: "Heat 'N Serve" from a new roundup of tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis' 1958 "Cookbook" sessions with organist Shirley Scott. The set "Cookin' With Jaws And The Queen" celebrates the inexhaustible power of the blues. They play a bunch of fast, medium and slow blues in seven keys that leave you hungry for still more. This collection also celebrates a musical partnership then two years old. Lockjaw was the horn man with a sizzling tone and swagger. Scott would swoop in behind him with dramatic gestures and perfect timing.
(SOUNDBITE OF EDDIE "LOCKJAW" DAVIS AND SHIRLEY SCOTT'S "HIGH FRY")
― dow, Friday, 17 February 2023 19:54 (one year ago) link
I saw Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble last night and just want to say that if you get the chance to see them you should definitely take it
― rob, Friday, 17 February 2023 19:55 (one year ago) link
say more?
― POLIZISTEN VERSINKEN IM SCHLAMM (forksclovetofu), Saturday, 18 February 2023 02:18 (one year ago) link
I like El'Zabar generally and have every reason to believe any of his groups would be great live, but the Don Cherry tribute album he's got coming out in April (it was supposed to be out next month, so I've already filed a review for The Wire) kinda sucks.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Saturday, 18 February 2023 02:49 (one year ago) link
oh man, you need to say more please
― budo jeru, Saturday, 18 February 2023 15:29 (one year ago) link
ah ok, I wasn't really expecting that kind of response — I'll give it a shot, though I don't see nearly as much live jazz as y'all, so ymmv
Primarily what I meant was that he is ~70 years old, so if you're into him, it's wise to see him sooner rather than later! The friend I went with had seen him in 2019 and said on that date they'd played for something like 2.5 hours, while the other night was more like <1.5 (fine by me for a Thursday tbh).
But it was also just a really great spiritual jazz show. The two "opening acts" were poets, which I might normally have been bothered by but it fit the mood, and fuck it I'm more open to some vintage countercultural energy these days. One factor might be that I've mostly seen jazz shows in Montreal via the Jazz Fest, which is a fantastic event that I love but is def a little on the formal, bourgeois, tourist-y side, whereas this was at La Salla Rossa and felt much more community-oriented. Apparently he's been playing annually in Montreal for decades, so the whole thing felt homey.
Probably the most impressive aspect was how deftly they ranged from fiery to hypnotic. I've tried some of his albums, and they've never quite blown me away (possibly I tried the wrong ones), so it was a pleasant surprise. In particular I didn't much care for his vocals on the records I tried, but live they make much more sense. I was impressed that sometimes it sounded like solfeggio (is that the right word? that humming thing Monk and Powell do), and sometimes he sounded more like a soul singer, reminiscent of Sly or GSH. He's a good drummer, afaict, though I almost liked it more when he played mbira or, especially, this box-drum thing I don't know what to call. I was also really into his baritone sax player, Alex Harding, who did this amazingly funky, in multiple senses of the word, intro to "Caravan". The trumpeter was Corey Wilkes, also good though maybe more solid than spectacular, but they were a great uh ensemble with a ton of positive energy
― rob, Saturday, 18 February 2023 16:05 (one year ago) link
They didn't play any Cherry songs — which I would have loved, I've been listening to him a lot lately and making my way through the Organic Music Societies book — but in addition to Caravan, they played Lonely Woman and Resolution (from A Love Supreme) as well as some originals.
― rob, Saturday, 18 February 2023 16:08 (one year ago) link
oh, sorry, i didn't intend to put the guy down or dampen your enthusiasm. i'd love to see him live. but as a certified cherryhead, i had a keen interest in hearing details about a "failed" DC homage, which strikes me as morbidly fascinating is all
― budo jeru, Saturday, 18 February 2023 23:17 (one year ago) link
DEXTER GORDON CENTENNIAL BROADCASTdexterMONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2023 - 12:00AM TO 11:59PMWKCR presents a day long tribute to the life and work of Saxophonists Dexter Gordon. Join us from midnight to midnight on February 27th as we celebrate the "Sophisticated Giant's" 100th birthday.89.9FM wkcr.orgFull schedule TBA
89.9FM wkcr.org
Full schedule TBA
― dow, Monday, 27 February 2023 18:37 (one year ago) link
Well, I missed Kahlil El'Zabar yet again last night.
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 27 February 2023 18:39 (one year ago) link
I have occasionally referred to Ethan Iverson as a "small-c conservative", meaning I figured he was probably somewhere in the neighborhood of Albert Murray, politically. Well, today I found out via the Twitter algorithm that he follows Libs of TikTok. That puts him in "fuck this guy" territory for me.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 1 March 2023 20:14 (one year ago) link
Hard to imagine that a guy who knows and understands the history of jazz music as well as Iverson does could be interested in that sort of thing, political affiliation notwithstanding. Maybe it's one of those follows-are-not-endorsements things?
In other news, Eremite just announced a new Natural Information Society album
― Paul Ponzi, Thursday, 2 March 2023 00:38 (one year ago) link
Being reported that Wayne Shorter has passed away.
― and my soul would smack me if I didn’t listen (PBKR), Thursday, 2 March 2023 16:48 (one year ago) link
Ugh
― Wile E. Galore (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 March 2023 16:51 (one year ago) link
Today being Bandcamp Friday, I've bought seven albums by drummer Willie Jones III from his label WJ3 Records. Lots of good mainstream players represented: Eddie Henderson, George Cables, Buster Williams, Eric Reed, up-and-coming pianist Isaiah Thompson, saxophonist Stacy Dillard, etc.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 3 March 2023 18:46 (one year ago) link
Nice
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 3 March 2023 18:53 (one year ago) link
TIL that trumpeter Jeremy Pelt has a sister...Danielle Spencer, who played mouthy younger sister Dee on What's Happening! (She left acting behind decades ago and is a veterinarian.)
― but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 8 March 2023 00:48 (one year ago) link
We were listening to the new James Brandon Lewis record “Eye of I” in the car and my husband said, “I like this but it is very fucking weird of you to be into” lmfao Anyway, I like it— more jazz/drone/stoner sludge and adjacent music, please.
― Goose Bigelow, Fowl Gigolo (the table is the table), Wednesday, 8 March 2023 13:08 (one year ago) link
I think half of it is fantastic. Not entirely sold yet on the doom cello bits
― Paul Ponzi, Wednesday, 8 March 2023 14:34 (one year ago) link
I’ve been kinda on the fence too about the new one. I loved Jesup Wagon, but Eye of I hasn’t clicked for me yet. It’s not the doom cellos - I dig that element. The album just maybe feels a little directionless.
― Skrot Montague, Wednesday, 8 March 2023 15:05 (one year ago) link
no idea who this is, but qobuz recommended Emil Brandqvist Trio - "Layers of Life" to me and I'm really digging it...I'm so bad at talking about jazz but maybe some Brad Mehldau meets prog influences thing?
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 8 March 2023 18:10 (one year ago) link
count me as a non-jazz guy (sorry) who digs the JBL album. i like that it's kinda noisy and weird, but also with what i think are pretty melodies played well.
― alpine static, Wednesday, 8 March 2023 21:02 (one year ago) link
maybe i should write for Jazz Times
Was reminded on Twitter of the existence of Stephen Scott, a pianist who got the big push in the early '90s (four albums for Verve, was in Sonny Rollins' band for a bit, worked with Roy Hargrove as well) but faded out at the turn of the millennium. He's still alive, living and teaching down in Florida. He was one of the first jazz artists I interviewed, around the time of his final Verve album, The Beautiful Thing. It's a good record: Dwayne Burno on bass, Victor Lewis on drums on most tracks, Russell Malone on guitar on about half of it, guest appearances from Kenny Garrett and Branford Marsalis, versions of Kenny Dorham's "Blue Bossa" and "La Mesha," Wayne Shorter's "Oriental Folk Song," and Ornette Coleman's Lonely Woman." Worth pulling up on streaming. I saw him play with Rollins at Tramps around that time, too.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 13 March 2023 15:02 (one year ago) link
Unperson, thanks for your recent Stereogum column. I was on the fence about that London Brew record, for precisely the reason you mentioned, but your review pushed me into pre-ordering it.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 15 March 2023 19:10 (one year ago) link
Something I learned while researching my book: Cecil Taylor's Silent Tongues, a solo performance from the 1974 Montreux Jazz Festival, was part of a whole evening of solo piano performances. The other three were by Earl "Fatha" Hines, Jay McShann, and Sir Roland Hanna, and they were all recorded and released, too:
Hines: West Side StoryMcShann: Vine Street BoogieHanna: Perugia
Listening to them all in sequence is pretty amazing. Taylor sounds 100% "in the tradition" when coming after these three guys, who do, respectively, very nice somewhat Bud Powell/Art Tatum-esque versions of pop tunes; straight-ahead blues 'n' boogie (with some vocals); and florid, sort of Jaki Byard-esque post-stride. (I can hear a direct link between Byard and Hanna and Jason Moran and Aaron Diehl.)
― but also fuck you (unperson), Monday, 27 March 2023 21:15 (one year ago) link