Got Words? Jazz - New Releases

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by noddin0ff, Oct 18, 2019.

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  1. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    Might I be so bold as to attempt the start of a new Jazz thread?

    The Terms
    Post your thoughts on recently released albums that you have listened to and say something. Or engage and extend upon a previous post. For search purposes please include both album title and artist in your post. Give an indication of the general style if possible.

    the fine print
    "Recently released" = within the last 12 months

    "you have listened to" = means what it says. Not to be confused with things you look forward to listening to*

    "and say something" = two sentences (or more) shouldn't be too much to ask. Why should someone check it out? Why did it float your boat?

    "engage and extend" = jazz is a pretty wild and wooly category of music to pin down**. Multiple perspectives are really nice to hear. ***

    footnotes:
    * Of course, if you are responding to a post and want to say something like, "Hey, thanks for that writeup. I'm really looking forward to listening to that album now that you've said something about it" that is A-OK.

    ** ignorance is welcome. doesn't matter that you can't cite every seminal album from the 50s. doesn't matter if you know the personal history of the drummer on track 4. doesn't matter if you're not even sure if it's jazz. this is about discovery and exploration please.

    *** it should also be OK to say it is not one's cup of tea. Just don't be snarky about it.

    ps. this thread is a potentially close to the "Jazz: Band Camp recommendations" but I think it's distinct enough to merit a go. Where it differs is that it would be nice to have posts are more than just a link.
     
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  2. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    And with that, I'll fire off an inaugural post by duplicating what I just dropped in the Best New Albums thread. You can see that I'm not creating any impossible standards here.

    This one is climbing into my top 5. Chicago trumpeter-composer Jaimie Branch's new album FLY or DIE II.
    It's got tracks that are simple, happy (e.g. "simple silver surfer" & "nuevo roquero estereo") and some strong thoughtful, boundary pushing tracks-- in particular "prayer for amerikkka pt. 1 & 2", which for me calls to mind the substance and ambition of the more social/political music of the great Charles Mingus Ms. Branch crosses many genres with jazz; She seems to be channeling Patti Smith in a few spots. It's an album that both takes risks AND has something to say; balances weight with lightness, and substance with ease. Can't go wrong with the sultry (sordid?) charms of "love song (for assholes and clowns)" that closes the album out. For as musically sprawling as it is with a kitchen sink of styles, sounds and ideas, it's remarkably cohesive as an album. Go figure.

    [​IMG]

    FLY or DIE II: bird dogs of paradise, by jaimie branch
     
  3. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    Angel Bat Dawid - The Oracle

    The Oracle by Angel Bat Dawid is really really interesting. I very much like it. And I'm feeling chatty. I made the connection that both Jaimie Branch and Makaya McCraven (Universal Beings, 2018) are on the International Anthem label. So I started listening to other releases (International Anthem ). That's how I came to purchase The Oracle.

    [​IMG]

    The Oracle likely counts as spiritual jazz. I can name check a few of the classics of spritual jazz--stuff by Alice Coltrane (e.g Journey in Satchidananda, John Coltrane (e.g. A Love Supreme), Pharoah Sanders, Yusef Lateef; the more out there classics include a bunch of stuff by Sun Ra, Eric Dophy... I'm not encyclopedic. More recently you can include Kamasi Washington – e.g Heaven and Earth (2018), Idris Ackamoor and the Pyramids - e.g. The Angel Fell (2018), and the aforementioned Makaya McCraven. Some of these get a bit "astral" which was probably more cool in the days when chemically-assisted freeing of the mind was more common. Moving on.

    What is really striking about The Oracle is how compassionate and intimate it feels. It drifts avant-garde but gently pulls you along with the flow. Throughout there's lots of subtle loops and samples underneath clarinet melodies that float and vocals that set the emotional content. It always seems gentle and almost lo-fi, event though there's clearly some technical skill here. According to Pitchfork "Angel Bat Dawid overdubbed, mixed, and performed almost all of the voices and instruments herself, and recorded and produced the album mainly on her cell phone as she trekked across the globe." Which is pretty darned impressive. There are all sort of sounds to absorb. Clarinet is the primary solo instrument, there's lots of spoken word as well as singing. There's probably a better reference for her voice but it makes me think of Nina Simone.

    Disclaimer: as a middle age white dude, I lay no claim to knowing what it's like to grow up black in America. This seems worth putting out there, 'cause its clearly a theme of this album and others I've been enjoying (e.g. Fly or Die II). Track by track:

    Destination
    Very much sets the tone for the whole album. Maybe a bit more avant-garde. Consider it an overture to prepare the ears.

    Black Family
    Over a deep base drone throbs underneath a soulful lilting clarinet. First impression is slow techno. Wish my sub was mammoth. Sampled spoken words mix in, maybe sounding like children and maybe a mother. A mix of loops and free solo overdubs. You just go with it. Both familiar and strange.

    What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black
    "what it means to be captive in this dark skin" Another beauty of a song. The song of a mother. Full of love & uncertainty. Warm strings and wavering looping overdubs vocals.

    Impepho
    Pensive, more free jazz featuring bass clarinet and clarinet, which makes me think of Dolphy. Soundscapes.

    We Are Starzz
    One of the more simply beautiful tracks. I suppose the repeated "we are glowing stars shining brightly" phrase is a nod to the more astral heritage of spiritual jazz. Hope.

    London
    Also melodic and floating.

    Capetown
    This would be the free jazz track. Probably not my favorite. It's 15 minutes. But, when your mind is in the right state, it's a nice ride. Basically a drums and clarinet piece, except when Dawid sings/chants. Actual drums, which according to the album notes are played by Asher Simiso Gamedze and the only instruments on the album not played by Dawid.

    The Oracle
    "I'm reaching for the sky" is the lyric. A low-fi refrain. "I want to know what it feels like to fly". Angsty. Song of the tethered.

    Album link
    The Oracle, by Angel Bat Dawid

    Some professional reviews
    Angel Bat Dawid: The Oracle
    Angel Bat Dawid: The Oracle review – reverb-drenched messages from a future afterlife
    Song You Need to Know: Angel Bat Dawid, ‘We Are Starzz’
     
  4. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member

    I'm not 100% clear on all these guidelines, but the new Tomeka Reid Quartet album, Old New, is probably my most-played new album of the year.

    It's swinging, bopping and grooving, as well as free and adventurous, all at once, and as good as the quartet's first album was a few years back, I think Reid has really grown as a composer with this one. Really good stuff.

    [​IMG]
     
  5. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    Heh. Yeah. I went overboard on the guidelines. But your post is exactly what I had in mind. Thanks!

    Hoping there's some enthusiasm for a thread that avoids turntable porn and link dumps (not that there's anything wrong with turntable porn, per se). I'll be checking that album out if I can find a sample.
     
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  6. Rob C

    Rob C Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, USA
    I saw the Tomeka Reid Quartet last night and they were fantastic. (I've especially been wanting to see Mary Halvorson live for a long time but never got around to it until last night.) So swinging much of the time!

    A new record I've been enjoying a lot is Miles Okazaki's The Sky Below, a sequel to his earlier record Trickster, which is one of my favorites of the past few years. This is a real sequel in that he quotes recognizable bits of the earlier album's tunes, but this is its own thing. The music is a little bit "prog-y" or "fusion-y" at times, with guitar effects and synth, which were not part of the earlier record.

    The band is the same as for Trickster, other than subbing out one of my favorite pianists, Craig Taborn, for another of my favorite pianists, Matt Mitchell.

    Another winner from Pi Recordings.

    [​IMG]
     
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  7. scompton

    scompton Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    4 posts and 4 great albums. I just bought the Okazaki yesterday after streaming the few tracks available on bandcamp.
     
  8. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    Will there be a fifth?
     
  9. Bobby Buckshot

    Bobby Buckshot Heavy on the grease please

    Location:
    Southeastern US
    Recently released = newly recorded albums dropped within that time frame or reissues as well?
     
  10. chervokas

    chervokas Senior Member


    I'll add another one this year I've been listening to a lot, Philosophy by bass player Mario Pavone's Dialect Trio with Tyshawn Sorey, who is just so fantastic, on drums, and Matt Mitchell on piano. I really dig this kind of jazz where it's swinging but free. The whole record I think has a little bit of a Paul Bley-ish vibe.

    [​IMG]
     
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  11. Rob C

    Rob C Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, USA
    It's worth checking out anything Matt Mitchell plays on. The guy is a sure mark of a quality record.
     
  12. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    Opining selfishly, my personal preference for the thread would be to avoid the re-releases. I'm pretty sure other threads will cover those well enough. I'm more curious about what people think about whats happening now and who we should be keeping an eye (or an ear) on. Where we can check it out. What to listen for...

    Was listening to a youtube playlist of the Dialect Trio album (Top Tracks - Mario Pavone Dialect Trio - YouTube ). That's really nice stuff, I think I'll be picking that one up. Actually, all of these posts have been terrific, and I'm enjoying the opportunity to get some recs that make me step outside my usual leanings. I've always had a hard time getting into jazz guitar. But hearing the cello as an exceptional jazz instrument, paired with guitar in a really solid quartet is wonderful. Also, clearly great playing on the Okazaki album too.

    Old New, by Tomeka Reid Quartet
    The Sky Below, by Miles Okazaki
    Mario Savone Dialect Trio on youtube
     
  13. Bobby Buckshot

    Bobby Buckshot Heavy on the grease please

    Location:
    Southeastern US
    Listening to both of these today, streaming via YT:

    [​IMG]

    Ashley Henry ‎– Ashley Henry's 5ive
    Label: Jazz Re:freshed ‎– jrf0006
    Format: CD, EP, Limited Edition
    Country: UK
    Released: 07 Mar 2016

    [​IMG]

    Nubya Garcia ‎– Nubya's 5ive
    Label: Jazz Re:freshed ‎– jrf00012
    Format: CD, Album
    Country: UK
    Released: 09 May 2017

    The Henry EP is a trio, while Nubya is quartet/quintet work. Both from the UK Jazz Re:freshed label. Drumming is one of the main things I notice that strays from prior jazz periods in that it tends to be bottom-up instead of top-down. It's a nice change of pace and listening to these albums makes me want to hear more from these artists as these aren't their most recent releases.
     
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  14. Bobby Buckshot

    Bobby Buckshot Heavy on the grease please

    Location:
    Southeastern US
    Loving this one right now:

    [​IMG]

    Ezra Collective ‎– Juan Pablo: The Philosopher
    Label: Enter The Jungle Records ‎– JPTPCD001
    Format: CD, EP, Limited Edition
    Country: UK
    Released: 06 Oct 2017
    I'm quickly becoming a fan of Nubya's. I first heard her play on the British jazz comp We Out Here & Yazz Ahmed's Polyhymnia. Her tone and fluid playing is hypnotic & addicting! The drumming here on this album is reminiscent of afro-beat but the overall vibe has shades of Sun Ra too. Just a really nice album that I highly recommend.
     
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  15. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    My disk finally arrived and I thoroughly enjoyed plugging in my Senn 580s and putting it on repeat. Very nicely done throughout. Thanks for putting it on my radar!
     
  16. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    Jeff Parker -- Suite for Max Brown

    I've gave this several listens over the weekend. Seems like my jazz purchases lately have a bias toward the International Anthem label and Bandcamp. I find it hard to sum up the sound though it did make me wonder where jazz ends and other styles start -- or maybe visa-versa, when do you start calling it jazz. There's elements of clearly electronic - little blurps and clicks and loops. A lot that has the atmosphere of ambient music. some bits of fusion, some threats of elevator, some pop. And also recognizable jazz. If I hadn't looked up that Parker was primarily a jazz guitarist, I'm not sure I even would have realized that guitar was the 'lead' instrument.

    Basically, it pleasantly meanders and blends across many various boundaries, maintaining a steady engagement and a warm inviting listening experience. The album has a feel and, to me, that's what sells it. Really nicely done. Personally, I kind of like both traditional jazz, as well as drone and loopy stuff. So, this album floats my boat. I find it a great balance of sounds. There are tracks that are more traditional, some that aren't and the rest somewhere in between. I imagine if you have a higher need for melody, it could get annoying. Reaching through my limited brain for something similar, I think of some of the Bill Frissel albums I have where the mood seems to take emphasis over advancing the melody.

    Last, Suite for Max Brown refers to his mother, pictured on the album cover. Probably has a lot to do with the overall tenderness of the tones.
    [​IMG]
    full album streaming @
    Suite for Max Brown, by Jeff Parker

    also review:
    Jeff Parker: Suite for Max Brown
     
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  17. StarThrower62

    StarThrower62 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    Big Heart Machine - s/t CD is the last album I picked up. An excellent modern large ensemble independent jazz release. If you're into John Hollenbeck or similar modern big band compositions this one comes highly recommended.
     
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  18. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    Well, keeping in line with my recent bias toward posting alt-jazz albums from artists I've never listened to before, Sam Grendel - Satin Doll.

    [​IMG]

    Here we have an album of covers of many timeless jazz classics, including "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" that, for me, the original is of my top 3 favorite songs in any genre. In short, I found this album to be surprisingly faithful to the emotion of the original standards while completely warping the instrumentation, the sound, the tone. They are completely recognizable and completely not.

    I really like this album. Not something I would normally say of a cover album. It is jazz though electronic warbles, soft focus deconstruction. Melting. A bit trippy.

    "Stardust" weirdly still captures that achingly beautiful longing. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" has is anchored by what sounds like the ding of a hotel bell, like someone ringing to check out from their night stay, and has garbled vocals I'm still trying to translate, but still has that melodic sense of farewell and loss.

    It's an interesting experience, and one I will rate as a positive. Maybe it will seem gimmicky in a year, but I'm enjoying multiple listens now. Streaming in full on Bandcamp.

    Bandcamp:
    Satin Doll, by Sam Gendel

    Review by pros:
    Sam Gendel: Satin Doll
    Sam Gendel: Satin Doll review – a searing new language for sax
    Sam Gendel – “Satin Doll”
     
    Last edited: Mar 18, 2020
  19. conjotter

    conjotter Forum Resident

    Good idea for a thread.

    I love jazz, but find it very difficult to hear any new artists.

    There is a dearth of jazz of any type on radio now and Internet stations tend to lean on the classics or smooth jazz.
     
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  20. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    Genuinely pleasant listen from Matthew Halsall (new to me). Gentle, uplifting, 'spiritual' jazz. Lovely, really. Plays well in the foreground or the background. If you trance out you can just follow the lilt of it all; if you want to listen close there's interesting subtle rhythms, tones and exchanges. Really melodic. Confident but not aggressive. Seems to be nicely recorded as well. Soothes the soul, engages the mind. Check it out.

    Salute to the Sun, by Matthew Halsall

    [​IMG]

     
  21. wontfunk

    wontfunk Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Check out 57:00 onwards from this episode of Jazz 625 on the BBC. There's a great live performance of one of the cuts from this.

    BBC iPlayer - Jazz 625 - The British Jazz Explosion
     
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  22. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    Argh. Looks interesting but apparently not available in the U.S. Thanks though!
     
  23. wontfunk

    wontfunk Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Bummer. Definitely check out this one from him as well though:

    Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra - When The World Was One

    [​IMG]

    One of the best British jazz releases in the past decade, for sure.
     
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  24. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    I'm just popping my two cents in right now as I want to follow the thread and I have 23 Jazz releases from 2020 and want to pick a couple for now to discuss. As was once somewhat famously said "I'll beee baak"
     
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  25. noddin0ff

    noddin0ff Petty Opinionator Third Class Thread Starter

    Location:
    New England
    Taut and propulsive, with splatterings of controlled chaos. Thoughful and adventurous.

    Eric Revis' album Slipknots Through A Looking Glass; new to me. This has all the trappings of a standard jazz group, Bass (Revis), Piano, tenor & alto sax, drums. Builds out from the "standard" to the "experimental/free" but stay enough on the standard side to keep the sonic feet on the ground.

    First track "Baby Renfro" hits off groovin'. I don't think it is necessarily representative of the rest of the album, but it does prepare the mind.

    Maybe "House of Leaves", might hit too avant-garde for a casual listen, it begins with open spaces and staccato blurps (but most albums have that one song somewhere), but then out of that space comes a sweet, deep, string base groove and slapping drum beat that pulls it all together into something moving. I find I tend to like albums that orient around a mesmerizing bass.

    Vimen is the other avant-garde leaning track. Can't say that I gelled with this one. Too much sax honking and piano banging in some parts for me. I think this kind of track seems to be a required element for modern jazz, actually for a lot of jazz--a track that shows you have the chops to push the boundaries. It's good, don't get me wrong. I'm just not into it today.

    What is it? A solid, recommendation worthy album of interesting compositions that are standard enough in the fundamentals to appeal to those that want to take a step from jazz standards to some good, modern jazz. The album explores interesting sonic spaces, has great underlying bass and drum interplay. It brings elements of the avant-garde into more tractable contexts with tangible emotion and melody.

    I'll state, perhaps again, that I'm not a musician, theorist, or professional. I just listen and then type what words spill out of my head. YMMV. You can check it out on Bandcamp and see if it floats your boat.

    Bandcamp: Slipknots Through A Looking Glass, by Eric Revis


    [​IMG]
     
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