Search Results for: matt ulery

Dec 30 2012

Bird is the Worm Best of 2012: Albums 2-5

Today’s post reveals the 2nd through the 5th Bird is the Worm albums of the year.

 

BitW square avatarFor each album considered for inclusion, I was looking for it to hit me right in my heart, provoke a strong emotional reaction.  I was also looking for it to engage my brain, provide some intrigue or fascination with the music being presented.  Extra points were awarded for doing Something Different or building on a premise that embraced the best qualities of creativity.  Strong musicianship alone is not enough.  Many solid albums didn’t make the list.  It literally pains me when I see some of the albums that weren’t included.  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.

There is a link to a more formal review following each entry.  The text that accompanies each album isn’t a review so much as reminiscences of aspects of the recording I liked when I first heard it and how I still feel about it now.  I wasn’t looking to sum any of them up… that’s what reviews are for.  Most reviews are accompanied with embedded audio so you can hear some of the music, as well as personnel and label information, links to artist, label, and retail sites, and anything else that seemed relevant/helpful to me at the time.

Let’s begin…

*****

 

2.  Amit Friedman – Sunrise

Friedman’s blend of Jazz and Middle-East music has had me enthusiastic all year long. An album that often soars, but doesn’t forget to swing. This is the kind of joyful music that defines Jazz as something special. Many Jazz albums have a joyful sound, but rarely one as inspiring as Sunrise. It still hits me right square in the heart. I originally wrote that it was an album I wanted to shout from the rooftops and share with the world. I still do.

Released on the Origin Arts label.

A Bird is the Worm review here.

*****

 

3.  Omer Avital – Suite of the East

Avital makes the kind of music that I know years from now, decades even, that’ll I’ll come back to with the same enthusiasm that I do John Handy’s Live at Monterey and John Coltrane’s Live at Newport ’63. The kind of surging energy that culminates with joyful expressiveness, and part-and-parcel with intelligent music that isn’t trying to take the easy route to the listener’s heart.

Released on the Anzic Records label.

A Bird is the Worm review here.

*****

 

4.  Matt Ulery – By a Little Light

This double-disc recording still leaves me in awe. A mix of jazz, classical, and folk that behaves more as a creation of a brand new sound rather than an amalgamation of its elements. Even surrounded by orchestration, Ulery displays the ability to sound small and vulnerable. But mostly, this is Big Music of an expansive scope and breadth. Art needs time to incubate, to let time bring context to the bigger picture. In the instance of By a Little Light, the endgame on that equation is a question of ‘masterpiece.’ This may very be just that.

Released on the Greenleaf Music label.

A Bird is the Worm review here.

*****

 

5.  Jeremy Siskind – Finger-Songwriter

jeremysiskind_fingersongwriterA trio of piano, vocals, and bass clarinet/sax. A storytelling flair that could give Tom Waits a run for his money. Heartbreak stories about hopeless cases who can’t stop hoping for the best. Siskind has plenty of page-turning moments on keys, but doesn’t hog the spotlight from his trio mates. Harms has a way with vocals that give jawdropping turns of vulnerability and disarming playful missives. Pino charms on bass clarinet, and provides a noir-ish ambiance to an album that is moody as hell. Also, what you hear on the album is what you get live… the trio is just as evocative in a live setting. One of those albums that just seems to materialize out of thin air, full of intensity and presence.

This album is Self-Produced.

A Bird is the Worm review here.

*****

 

Tomorrow I’ll reveal the Bird is the Worm 2012 Album of the Year.

Cheers.

By • Jazz Recommendations, Recap: Best of 2012 • 1 • Tags:

Oct 19 2012

Tiny Reviews: Jensen/Anschell/Symer, Steve Davis, Claudio Scolari, Heliocentric Counterblast, & Greg Spero

Tiny Reviews, featuring:  Jensen/Anschell/Symer Blueprints, Claudio Scolari Synthesis, Steve Davis Gettin’ It Done, Heliocentric Counterblast A Tribute to Sun Ra, and Greg Spero Acoustic.

*****

 

Brent Jensen, Bill Anschell, & Chris Symer – Blueprints

It’s nice when an album possesses qualities that are both serene and scattered.  Music like that makes for lazy Sunday afternoons when napping is the furthest thing from ones mind.  The trio of Brent Jensen, Bill Anschell, and Chris Symer hits that sweet spot just right.  With soprano sax, piano, and bass (respectively), they take a peaceful stroll through a set of tunes that sound vaguely deconstructed.  Bits of original melodies peek out from crosscurrents of notes that all sound like original ingredients doctored up in a new, though similar, meal.  The cover of “How Deep the Ocean” flirts with free improvisation performed in a tiny crucible.  Parker’s “Yardbird Suite” goes from swing on the dance floor to bop musings on the staircase.  The trio goes in the opposite direction on Monk’s “Blue Monk,” giving the tune an alluring sway that shifts into a jittery wobble.  It makes for a nice effect.

My only disappointment is that only one of the nine tracks is an original composition.  The delightful symbiosis amongst the trio makes me pine for what might have been had they sunk their teeth into some original melodies.  Based on the results from this recording, there’s no reason to expect it would be anything less than sublime.

Your album personnel:  Brent Jensen (soprano sax), Bill Anschell (piano), and Chris Symer (bass).

Stream a couple album tracks at the artist’s website.

Released on the Origin Arts label.

Jazz from the Seattle, WA scene.

Available at eMusic.  Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

 

Claudio Scolari – Synthesis

Percussionist and composer Claudio Scolari finds a way to make avant-garde music out of the same ingredients that many ECM artists create atmospheric soundscapes.  The thing of it is, he doesn’t appear satisfied with simply having developed his own uniquely compelling sound.  Whereas others may have simply coasted on the creation of the sound itself and created a series of comparable tunes, on Synthesis, Scolari appears to venture into other music territories.  There’s some riffs on jazz, including one with Latin jazz rhythms, and there’s a few that hit the folk-jazz elements, and then others that earn the avant-garde tag. Richly textured.  Plenty of percussion with some trumpet to soar over the top of it all. Something for those who like Something Different, and a nice release, especially following on the heels of his excellent release Colors of Red Island.

Your album personnel: Claudio Scolari (drums, percussion, synth computer, flute), Daniele Cavalca (drum, vibraphone, piano, melodica, bass), and Simone Scolari (trumpet).

Released on the Principal Records label, which may be Scolari’s own label.

Jazz from the Caltanissetta, Italy scene.

Available at eMusic.

 

Steve Davis – Gettin’ It Done

Nice hard-bop session from trombonist Steve Davis. Davis was one of the musicians who worked the transition years, when the old-school jazz legends were winding down their careers and a new generation was rising up to continue the Jazz tradition.  Davis, who notably was part of Art Blakey’s crew in the 90s, has amassed an impressive resume in a relatively short time (by jazz career standards). His current release displays a workmanlike effort, as he leads a sextet in a series of hopping tunes.  This is pure jazz, no need to check the fine print.

Your album personnel: Steve Davis (trombone). Josh Bruneau (trumpet, flugelhorn), Mike DiRubbo (alto sax), Larry Willis (piano), Nat Reeves (bass), and Billy Williams (drums).

Released on the Posi-Tone Records label.

Jazz from the Hartford, CT scene.

Available at eMusic. Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

 

Heliocentric Counterblast – A Tribute to Sun Ra

This German octet does a nifty rundown of Sun Ra, capturing Ra’s compositional eccentricities as well as his abundance of joyful music.  Fun album, and glad I ran into it.  I like that I got to type “space-keys” in the personnel section.  No proper website, but here’s a link to their Facebook page.

Your album personnel:  Nikolaus Neuser (trumpet), Kathrin Lemke (alto sax, flute), Dirk Steglich (tenor sax, flute), Andreas Dormann (baritone sax), Gerhard Gschlössl (trombone), Uri Gincel (piano, space-keys), Mike Majkowski (bass), and Philipp Bernhardt (drums).

Released on the Yellowbird Records label.  Jazz from the Berlin scene.

Available at eMusic.

 

Greg Spero – Acoustic

Spirited recording from the dynamic pianist.  Greg Spero has plenty of flash, but as this album illustrates, he’s got the substance to back it up.  A nice mix of late-night piano jazz, some which could induce listeners to just close their eyes and lean back in their seats, and other tracks which simmer with an R&B groove.

Your album personnel:  Greg Spero (piano), Matt Ulery (bass), and Makaya McCraven (drums).

Released on the BluJazz Productions label.  Jazz from the Chicago scene.

Download a free album track at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Available at eMusic.

 

*****

The Jensen/Anschell/Symer and Steve Davis reviews are original to Bird is the Worm, but the portions of the other reviews were originally used in my Jazz Picks weekly article for eMusic, so here’s some language protecting their rights to that reprinted material as the one to hire me to write about new jazz arrivals to their site…

“New Arrivals Jazz Picks,“ and “New Arrivals Jazz Picks,” reprints courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2012  eMusic.com, Inc.

As always, my sincere thanks to eMusic for the gig.  Cheers.

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2012 Releases • 0

Jun 29 2012

The Wrap-Up: Using a liberal definition of the phrase “Bird is the Worm News”

 

Some miscellaneous updates on Bird is the Worm of a music nature:

 

  • Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society is back in the recording studio. Some details and a promo video on a post I made on eMusic’s 17 Dots blog HERE.
  • Greenleaf Music label has put together a cool video of an album track from Matt Ulery‘s By A Little Light.  You can see the video, and some thoughts on it, on my eMusic 17 Dots blog post HERE.  A full album review can be found, HERE, on Bird is the Worm.
  • In AllAboutJazz Download of the Day news… I’ve been in contact with a couple labels, and awaiting some submissions.  Motema label has already submitted a couple tracks that I’m in the process of scheduling, including music by the Locke-Keezer Quartet, the Brazilian Trio, and The Cookers.  I’m hoping to see some submissions from both Edition Records and Gondwana Records.  Both outfits feature some of the best and brightest of the new jazz generation out of the UK.  I’ve also sent out a bunch of invites to self-produced artists.  Origin Records has submitted a nice batch of tracks, one for pretty much every one of their 2012 releases.  New ones on the horizon are for (among others) Bobby Broom’s latest album consisting of all original material, a track from the exciting Florian Hoefner Quartet, Dan Cavanaugh’s piano trio, Joel Miller’s sax quartet, and the Budman/Levy Orchestra, which is today’s featured download of the day for “Big Band Fridays.”
  • Speaking of “Big Band Fridays,” I am looking to make that more than an occasional thing.  So if you have a new (or relatively new) release of a big band or large ensemble and would like to request consideration for it to be featured as the “Big Band Fridays” AllAboutJazz download of the day, you can submit HERE and I’ll get in touch with you.
  • Another AllAboutJazz series that I’d like to make more than an occasional thing is my “Saturday, The Fringes” experimental music series.  If you have music that will likely make at least half of the jazz public shout, “That isn’t Jazz!”, then you qualify to be considered for a feature date.  It doesn’t have to be a new release, but the older the music is, the greater I’m going to be measuring it for innovation and experimentalism.  Keep in mind, this doesn’t just mean free jazz or crazy electronica.  I’ve featured several tracks in this series that were quiet tunes, simply composed, but incorporated ideas and themes that nobody else was putting out there.  I want to celebrate artists who take a chance.  Again, you can submit HERE for consideration.
  • If you’re an artist, I recommend confirming that your contact information is easy to find and current.  Every week that I send out various emails regarding a potential review of an album, invitations to be featured as the AAJ download of the day, various other content like interview request, etc. and, invariably, there’s always a couple artists who do not get invited because I couldn’t find any contact info for them or the contact info was for a dead email account.  Those are missed opportunities there, y’know?
  • Next week’s AAJ download of the day highlights include tracks from new releases by Gavin Barras, Josh Maxey, and Richard Thompson.
  • I’m going to occasionally re-mention that if you’re an artist with an album set to Name Your Own Price, whether it be on bandcamp or elsewhere, and you would like review consideration, read this Bird is the Worm article HERE and then follow the instruction to make a request in the Comments box below that article.  I have begun a new Bird is the Worm series that features reviews and tiny reviews of jazz albums set to NYOP.
  • Not much to report in Notes From The Holler news.  I have a few posts in the backlog to make, but I had to take a short break from Holler not long after its start-up.  After re-envisioning some stuff on BitW and getting caught up on some organization, I’ve temporarily taken a step back from Holler.  It should become active again in Mid-July, when I intend to begin make semi-regular reports on music in Kentucky.
  • Some music I’ve been listening to that didn’t get any print this week, but will down the road… Jeremy Siskind “Finger-Songwriter”, Benjamin Schatz “Distant Light”, Linus Lindblom “Objets Trouves”, Florian Hoefner Group “Songs Without Words”, Deric Dickens “Speed Date”, Fundamental “Development”, and Jasmine Lovell Smith’s Towering Poppies “Fortune Songs.”

 

I think that about wraps things up.

Cheers.

-Dave

By • Announcement - Music • 0 • Tags: ,

May 7 2012

Tiny Reviews: Andy Clausen, Interlunio, Michel Mandel/Yyes Gerbelot, & Chris Plansker Trio

 

Tiny Reviews, featuring:  Andy Clausen The Wishbone Suite, Interlunio L’ennui Riot, Michel Mandel & Yves Gerbelot Tuyaux, and Chris Plansker Trio Inside the Bubble.

It’s been a little while since I put up some Tiny Reviews, and today is as good a day as any, so let’s jump right into it.  Today we’ve got three albums that come nowhere close to straight-ahead and one piano trio album as a palate cleanser.  The Clausen album has a shot at making my best-of mid-year list, due out sometime in July.

Let’s begin…

 

Andy Clausen – The Wishbone Suite

Brilliant debut album by trombonist Andy Clausen,who finds a way to fuse a disparate line-up of musicians and their seemingly ill-fitting instruments into an alluring, whimsical, and just-plain-cool mix of jazz, classical, and experimental music. Clausen often paints harmonically with broad brush strokes, which highlights the joyful details of his meticulous treatment of simple melodies.  Challenging music that doesn’t shy away from also being pretty.

Your album personnel:  Andy Clausen (trombone), Ivan Arteaga (clarinet), Gus Carns (piano), Aaron Otheim (accordion, piano), and Chris Icasiano (drums, glockenspiel).

There isn’t much out there that sounds like this music. Matt Ulery‘s blend of jazz, classical, and lullaby seems like the closest thing I can offer by way of comparison. Just really compelling stuff which earns more of my esteem with each subsequent listen.

Released by the Table & Chairs label.  Clausen is a Seattle native currently attending Julliard in NYC, and I don’t think he’s the only one in the ensemble with that situation.  So, this is jazz from a couple music scenes.

You can stream the album on the label’s bandcamp page.

Download a free album track at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist and label.

Available at eMusic.

 

Interlunio – L’ennui Riot

Interesting quintet date that has plenty of avant-garde flavors to go along with a strong world jazz sound.  Ensemble via Portugal, but the ensemble members trace their individual studies to Mediterranean, Arabic, Flamenco, Renaissance, to name a few, and which inform the album music to varying degrees.  Interestingly enough, rather than try to give a healthy taste of their various music endeavors, the Interlunio ensemble utilizes an economy of sound… much to the recording’s benefit.  End result is something that sits in the same chamber jazz territory of, say, Wayne Horvitz’s Gravitas Quartet, but with heavy infusions of an ECM New Sound release.  An unusual beauty, unconventional melodies, and a peacefulness even during moments of chaotic interaction.

Your album personnel: Ricardo A. Freitas (bass guitar), Gonçalo Lopes (bass & soprano clarinets), Johannes Krieger (trumpet), Raimund Engelhardt (tabla, percussion), and Eduardo Lala (trombone).

Released on the JACC Records label.  Jazz from the Lisbon, Portugal scene.

Available at eMusic.

 

Michel Mandel & Yves Gerbelot – Tuyaux

A duet of saxophones and clarinets.  Vacillates between the peaceful end of things and the fiery side of the spectrum.  The pulse of a beating heart, the call of wild birds, the whisper of a cool breeze darting between the countryside trees, moonlight spreading out over a calm ocean surface… an album full of imagery.  And it’s always nice when a clarinet gets some time in the spotlight to really stretch out and remind everyone what a sublime sound it’s capable of achieving.

Your album personnel: Michel Mandel (Bb clarinet, bass clarinet) and Yves Gerbelot (baritone & sopranino sax)

Released on the La Forge CIR label.

You can stream an album track on the label site, here.

Available at eMusic.

 

Chris Plansker Trio – Inside the Bubble

Nice little piano trio date.  Nothing complicated, laid back with a vibrant sound, definitely with at least one foot in the modern jazz composition setting, but nothing that makes it inaccessible to classic jazz fans.  Focus on ambiance.  Quite pretty at times.

Your album personnel:  Chris Plansker (piano), Rob Avsharian (drums), and Jordan Schug (bass).

This album is Self-Produced.

Download a free album track at AllAboutJazz, courtesy of the artist.

Available at eMusic.

 

*****

That’s it for today’s article.  Looks to be about two more sets of Tiny Reviews from this batch of new arrivals.

Here’s some language to protect eMusic’s rights as the one to hire me originally to scour through the jazz new arrivals and write about the ones I like:

“New Arrivals Jazz Picks”, courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2012  eMusic.com, Inc.

My thanks to eMusic for the freelance writing gig, the opportunity to use it in this blog, and the editorial freedom to help spread the word about cool new jazz being recorded today.

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2012 Releases • 0

Jan 17 2019

Best of 2018 #13: Tim Haldeman – “Open Water As a Child”

 

Tim Haldeman‘s homage to Flint, Michigan was originally a project for the Ann Arbor Jazz Festival, and thankfully he shepherded it into the studio for a proper recording.  It’s one of the more emotionally powerful albums of 2018.  Haldeman’s sextet works from a foundation of introspection, which has its own appeal to be sure, but it’s when the ensemble builds up to a raging intensity that the stunning beauty of this album is truly unleashed.  I like to drive around and listen to music, just as something I enjoy.  Open Water As a Child forced me to pull to a stop on the side of the road repeatedly, just so I could fully interface with music that elicits an awed silence, remaining motionless and in reverence.

Released on Woolgathering Records.

Music from Ann Arbor, MI.

Read more on Bird is the Worm.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

By • Recap: Best of 2018 • 0 • Tags: , , ,

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