Recap: Best of 2014

Today’s post reveals the 21st through the 25th Bird is the Worm Top 30 jazz albums of 2014.

*****

A Best Of album has to hit me right in my heart and provoke a strong emotional reaction.  A Best Of album has to engage my head and elicit a cerebral connection.  Give me some intrigue.  Show me your music has got personality.  Extra points are awarded for doing Something Different.  I want to hear music that embraces the best qualities of creativity.  Strong musicianship alone is not enough.  Many excellent albums fall short of earning a slot on the list.  It literally pains me when I see some of the albums that aren’t included on my Best Of lists.  But I listen to a lot of music, and one of the rare downsides to encountering so much great Jazz is that some of it won’t receive the recognition it deserves.  So there you have it.

No matter how diligent a listener is and no matter how thoroughly that person covers the music scene, there will always be albums that slip through the cracks.  It’s a matter of the scarcity of time vs. the overflow of music.  It’s also a matter of subjectivity.  I try to instill an objectivity into the affair, judging each album’s qualities without consideration for my own personal preferences… at least, as much as I am able.  I can say for certain, my Best of 2014 list looks different than my personal Favorites of 2014 list.  No attempt to encapsulate the 2014 jazz album landscape will be fully comprehensive, but I humbly offer up my list with a confidence that these albums represent the best that 2014 had to offer.  But it’s a list that’s likely to gain a few addendums with the passing of time.

What you’ll read below are not reviews.  They are simple thoughts, reminiscences, fragments of recollections, and brief opinions about how each album struck me both now and when I first heard it.  There is a link to a more formal write-up following each entry… that’s where you go to find out what’s what about each recording.  Those write-ups are accompanied with embedded audio of an album track, as well as personnel and label information, links to artist, label, and retail sites, and anything else that seemed relevant at the time I wrote about the album.  Follow those links.  They might just lead to your next most favorite album ever.

So, with all that out of the way:  Let’s begin…

*****

21.  Copenhagen Art Ensemble – Reuterswärd

The premise of this recording is the work of multi-medium artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd.  The Copenhagen Art Ensemble embraces his work both in the spirit of the expressions but also by incorporating his poems and writings into the fabric of the music.  This bit of meta experimentalism is all kinds of intriguing, but, ultimately, it’s the spirit of the project that leads to the greatest rewards on Reuterswärd.  The free improvisations, the orchestral jazz passages, the beer hall hymns and the European jazz constructs all blend seamlessly together like sections of a dream, building an inexplicable cohesiveness between songs that is as comforting as a lullaby before a restful night of sleep… sections that scatter freely into cryptic patterns of dissonance and those that coalesce into the lovely, succinct expressions of heartbreak and humor.  The Ensemble makes the work of Reuterswärd intimately familiar even if this album is the first time a listener has encountered his name.  It’s a hell of an achievement to take on the lofty goal of encapsulating the many art forms of a particular artist with the result being music that is challenging yet so endearing that a connection is simple to forge between instrument and ear.  Intelligent, whimsical, and undeniably beautiful.

Released on ILK Music.

Read more at Bird is the Worm (LINK).

*****

22.  Danilo Perez – Panama 500

When you boil it all down, it’s simply a beautiful album.  However, there’s nothing particularly simple about Danilo Perez’s expansive take on the history of his native Panama.  The pianist tackles the subject from a music standpoint as well as from factual and metaphorical perspectives.  But the wide lens doesn’t preclude his ensemble from drawing gorgeous tones from the details and expanding nuance into profound statements.  Indigenous musics come together with later Panamanian musics as well as those from Cuba, Africa, Europe and NYC.  The concept is a fascinating one, but it’s not required reading in order to enjoy this thoroughly engaging… and beautiful… album.

Released on Mack Avenue Records.

Read more at Bird is the Worm (LINK).

*****

23.  Friensemblet – El Aaiun: Across the Border

I’m still quite taken with this live performance from Friensemblet, the large ensemble led by Mathilde Grooss Viddal.  A nifty mix of old-school ECM folk-jazz and 1970s Alice Coltrane soul-on-the-sleeve spiritual adventurism, Viddal’s ensemble cycles through a spinning mix of free improv fervor, spiritual jazz drift-and-groove, minimalist drone, Indian raga and Nordic folk… and, undoubtedly, a few other things in the mix.  It’s a thrilling performance that deftly balances the qualities of a serious intellect and a fun disposition.  There aren’t a lot of ensembles that set out to build just such a construct, and there are even fewer doing it this well.

Released on Viddal’s Giraffa Records.

Read more at Bird is the Worm (LINK).

*****

24.  Otis Brown III – The Thought of You

This album is a classic Blue Note 1960s hard bop recording, set to swing with an abundance of warmth.  This album is a modern post-bop session, loaded with melodic excursions, cross-genre rhythmic approaches and electronic flourishes.  Otis Brown III‘s debut are all of those things, but they are only elements to something much more individualistic.  It’s not uncommon for jazz musicians to borrow from old and new, but it is rare for it to lead to something greater than those individual influences, of an algebra where past+present=one step ahead into the future.  The Thought of You is a singular expression, a statement of vision that recognizes the roots of the music without allowing it to define where that music ultimately ends up.  It’s why the electronics and sampling sounds right at home with the straight-ahead bop and the modern infusions of post-bop and gospel and blues.  And putting all those considerations to the side, what matters most is that this album is full of warmth and genial energy and very easy to embrace… even as it crafts something very new from the materials of past and present.

Released on Blue Note Records and Revive Music.

Read more at Bird is the Worm (LINK).

*****

25.  Hans Lüdemann Trio Ivoire – Timbuktu

There’s something intriguingly straight-ahead about Hans Lüdemann‘s trio of piano, balaphon and percussion.  He doesn’t attempt to blend European Jazz and West African folk; he’s just seeking out the points of connectivity and launching off from that point… like a chef that doesn’t necessarily have a finished meal in mind as he carefully picks the ingredients that stoke his creativity.  The communication between piano, drums, and balaphon is remarkably unhindered, as if these instruments had been collaborating as a jazz trio for decades.  It’s inspired music, and that he’s able to synthesize it down to relatively straight-forward, seemingly simple tunes is a hell of an accomplishment.  It’s an album capable of creating an environment conducive to just kicking back and drifting off.  It’s an album capable of engaging the listener in a cerebral exercise.  Heart and head are both targets for this lovely, charming album.

Released on Intuition Music.

Read more at Bird is the Worm (LINK).

*****

Tomorrow’s post reveals the 2014 Bird is the Worm #16–#20 albums of the year.

Cheers.

Today’s post reveals the 26nd through the 30th Bird is the Worm Top 30 jazz albums of 2014.

*****

A Best Of album has to hit me right in my heart and provoke a strong emotional reaction.  A Best Of album has to engage my head and elicit a cerebral connection.  Give me some intrigue.  Show me your music has got personality.  Extra points are awarded for doing Something Different.  I want to hear music that embraces the best qualities of creativity.  Strong musicianship alone is not enough.  Many excellent albums fall short of earning a slot on the list.  It literally pains me when I see some of the albums that aren’t included on my Best Of lists.  But I listen to a lot of music, and one of the rare downsides to encountering so much great Jazz is that some of it won’t receive the recognition it deserves.  So there you have it.

No matter how diligent a listener is and no matter how thoroughly that person covers the music scene, there will always be albums that slip through the cracks.  It’s a matter of the scarcity of time vs. the overflow of music.  It’s also a matter of subjectivity.  I try to instill an objectivity into the affair, judging each album’s qualities without consideration for my own personal preferences… at least, as much as I am able.  I can say for certain, my Best of 2014 list looks different than my personal Favorites of 2014 list.  No attempt to encapsulate the 2014 jazz album landscape will be fully comprehensive, but I humbly offer up my list with a confidence that these albums represent the best that 2014 had to offer.  But it’s a list that’s likely to gain a few addendums with the passing of time.

What you’ll read below are not reviews.  They are simple thoughts, reminiscences, fragments of recollections, and brief opinions about how each album struck me both now and when I first heard it.  There is a link to a more formal write-up following each entry… that’s where you go to find out what’s what about each recording.  Those write-ups are accompanied with embedded audio of an album track, as well as personnel and label information, links to artist, label, and retail sites, and anything else that seemed relevant at the time I wrote about the album.  Follow those links.  They might just lead to your next most favorite album ever.

So, with all that out of the way:  Let’s begin…

*****

26.  Matt Wilson Quartet + John Medeski – Gathering Call

This album is all heart.  It swings and it’s best friends with the blues.  Every melody has a personality and the rhythm is an engaging conversation each time one is struck up.  This is the kind of thing Matt Wilson has a history of doing.  He doesn’t swing because it’s on a list of procedures for writing a jazz song or because it just seems like the thing to do… you can hear and feel his enthusiasm with each song.  His crack line-up is comprised of musicians (Jeff Lederer, Kirk Knuffke and Chris Lightcap) who have a track record of deconstructing the old into something new, and Wilson gives them some space to do just that, at times, while still sticking to a straight-ahead jazz path.  John Medeski sits in on this session, and the enthusiasm he brings to his own MM&W project is a perfect fit for Wilson’s positive attitude.  How do you not smile just listening to this music?  If someone ever says they don’t make jazz today like they used to, point them in this direction.

Released on Palmetto Records.

Read more on Bird is the Worm (LINK).

*****

27.  Tineke Postma & Greg Osby – Sonic Halo

The duo saxophone attack of Tineke Postma and Greg Osby is captivating in any number of ways.  There’s the weaving of melodic fragments into an offshoot of even more beauty.  There’s the dialog between saxophone voices that celebrates the similarities and the differences with equal enthusiasm.  And then, perhaps, there’s the directional patterns and shape of the motion that is most captivating.  A quintet session that features an excellent line-up of bassist Linda Oh, drummer Dan Weiss and pianist Matt Mitchell, and the way they are able to express their individuality and remain essential parts of the group dynamic is no small reason for the album’s success.  Tunes are put into play and the activity and motion resulting from how each musician helps guide the song from first note to last results in an album that is seriously compelling.

Released on Challenge Records.

Read more on Bird is the Worm (LINK).

*****

28.  Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band – Mother’s Touch

There is a “Kind of Blue” perfection to this album that’s not immediately evident.  I’m not claiming that Mother’s Touch is one of the all-time great jazz recordings, but Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band makes all the profound complexities and statements, both nuanced and glaring, seem almost effortless.  That’s indicative of a certain mastery of the craft, and it’s why it might be easy to overlook the accomplishment that Mother’s Touch truly is.  There are some flirtations with different influences here, but mostly it’s clear sailing straight ahead… the kind of jazz that is just as likely to appeal to new-school fans as it will old-schoolers.

Released on Posi-Tone Records.

Read more on Bird is the Worm (LINK).

*****

29.  Joris Roelofs – Aliens Deliberating

What is best about this album is how every motion from this trio is an awkward one, even when they swing, and yet they remain so crazily tuneful as to deny that they were ever awkward in the first place.  There’s the sense that, at any moment, any one of these musicians (Joris Roelofs on bass clarinet, Ted Poor on drums and Matt Penman on bass) could suddenly peel off and careen wildly into the paths of the others, and yet they all stick to some vague flight pattern, which is mesmerizing to see develop in its way.  Besides, it’s great to hear another example of bass clarinet’s range.  Too often it’s used, either, as the soulful voice in a melodic soup or the lighter-fluid for a free jazz conflagration.  On Aliens Deliberating, it’s about a song voice, a storyteller’s disposition, and a melody that is given no less care by bass clarinet than that of a more traditional wind instrument.  And most of all, this album is about creating seriously compelling music that is strange, unconventional and positively alluring.

Released on Pirouet Records.

Read more on Bird is the Worm (LINK).

*****

30.  Brigaden – Om Alberto och Några Andra Gubbar

An album with a huge heart.  All of Brigaden‘s expressions are Big, even when the quintet (plus a bunch of guests) pours out a love song.  The Swedish folk influence is strong, and there’s a pop music sensibility to the music that is terrifically arresting.  The Spanish influence plays more than just a supporting role, and it’s a wrinkle that adds to this album’s already distinct personality.  The album’s boisterous enthusiasm and unguarded earnestness are the qualities that get this album a Best of 2014 slot, but that the music is innately tuneful is the clincher.

Released on Havtorn Records.

Read more on Bird is the Worm (LINK).

*****

Tomorrow’s post reveals the 2014 Bird is the Worm #21-#25 albums of the year.

Cheers.