Allison Miller

Feb 14 2020

Best of 2019 #07: Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom – “Glitter Wolf”

 

With 2016’s Otis Was A Polar Bear, Allison Miller opened a new door.  The drummer’s career to that point was not constricted to just one sound, or solely one territory.  A machine-gun style of post-bop or a conversant chatter of pop music accompaniment or a straight-ahead swing were all part of her repertoire, and the combination of versatility and individualism distinguished Miller as one of the top drummers on the scene.  But her 2016 recording, inspired by and dedicated to her new child, was something truly brand new… and unexpected.  Eliciting the imagery of a childhood fairy tale and powered by a potent dose of surreal melodicism, that recording was a series of magical pieces, all standalone gems in their own right, but made even more electrified when absorbed in its totality as a narrative-driven story.  Arguably, it could’ve been named the 2016 album of the year.  2019’s Glitter Wolf builds on that foundation, and the story just keeps growing more fantastic with each new piece.  And, arguably, it could easily be considered for the top spot in 2019.

Your album personnel:  Allison Miller (drums), Jenny Scheinman (violin), Kirk Knuffke (cornet), Ben Goldberg (clarinet), Todd Sickafoose (bass), and Myra Melford (piano).

Released on Royal Potato Family.

Music from New York City.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Listen | Read more | Available at:  Bandcamp – Amazon

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Dec 31 2019

Now up: Best Jazz on Bandcamp in 2019

 

And here we go.

It was pretty much an impossible task to cobble together a Best of 2019 list for Bandcamp, limited, as I was, to just 15 slots.  Too many great recordings in 2019, too few opportunities to train a spotlight on them.  Rather than do a typical ranking, I went with the approach of presenting a cohesive picture of the modern jazz landscape, a snapshot of its diversity and how that leads to new and exciting forms of expression… including many that leave the 1950’s bop sound far behind.

Some of these albums will be familiar to you from the monthly recommendations columns to already hit The Bandcamp Daily, but there are also a few that will be new to this column.  2019 was the best year ever, and this list is just a fraction of the evidence supporting that claim.

And on that note, let’s begin.

Follow this LINK to read those recommendations and listen to music from each album.

Check out past recommendations by running through my contributor archives.

Have fun going through the list!

Cheers.

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Mar 2 2019

These are videos that I like: The first Best Jazz on Bandcamp albums of 2019

 

Let’s revisit some of the albums included in my first two Best Jazz on Bandcamp columns of 2019, because, really, there’s never too much spotlight we can shine on these excellent recordings.

And let’s begin with Minua.  Oh my god, is this the most beautiful thing ever.  I can’t get enough of their new album Still Light.  It was addiction from the first notes.  Here’s the song “Lumen.”  Video by Işıl Karataş.

Here’s a link to my album write-up for The Bandcamp Daily.  And you can just go give the album a listen, and purchase it, on the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

I just can’t get enough of Allison Miller‘s last two Boom Tic Boom recordings.  2016’s Otis Was a Polar Bear was one of my favorite things to come out that year, and Glitter Wolf picks right up where that left off.  This music is an example of where modern jazz can go, and I highly encourage more people to follow this path.  This video happened live in the Paste Music studios, and features the track “Congratulations and Condolences.”  Follow the Paste Music link to hear more tracks from this session.

Here’s a link to my album write-up for The Bandcamp Daily.  And you can just go give the album a listen, and purchase it, on the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

And let’s wrap up with an outstanding rendition of Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” by Kassa Overall.  This performance went down last year in the studios of KNKX Public Radio.  It doesn’t make an appearance on his new album Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz, but it certainly gives you a pretty good idea of his perspective.

Here’s a link to my album write-up for The Bandcamp Daily.  And you can just go give the album a listen, and purchase it, on the artist’s Bandcamp page.  It’s also available at Amazon.

And check out past recommendations by running through the archives.

Have fun going through the list!

Cheers.

By • Jazz Recommendations - 2019, These are videos that I like • 0 • Tags: , ,

Jan 11 2019

Best of 2018 #28: SLUGish Ensemble – “An Eight Out Of Nine”

 

Steven Lugerner really needs to be not so under-the-radar anymore.  His audacious double-album debut in 2011 received mention on this site’s inaugural Best Of list, and since then, the multi-reedist has shown no limit to his expressionism, whether it be channeling a classic hard bop sound, creating avant-garde pieces based on religious text, exploring melodic possibilities with a dedication that rivals that of the Brian Blade Fellowship, instilling a pop tune approach to a modern jazz trio, experimenting at the crossroads of habit & improvisation, and, now, his SLUGish Ensemble and their fascinating rearrangements of modern pop tunes.  The details reign supreme on this recording, because even though his ensemble unleashes a big sound that lets the melody ring clear, this sonic gem is best appreciated by the unending sparkle of its facets and how the melody reflects off each curve, bend, and sharp edge.  Jazz has an interesting legacy of taking pop tunes, and by rearranging them for jazz performance, revealing aspects not even hinted at by the original compositions.  Lugerner has made an excellent addition to that music legacy.

Released on Slow & Steady Records.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.  And be sure to check back in there, because my interview of Lugerner should be posting any day now.

Music from San Francisco, CA.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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Jan 5 2019

Best of 2018 #42: Jessica Lurie – “Long Haul”

 

Jessica Lurie exists in a very centered place on Long Haul.  Her wry lyricism comes through strong as ever, but the fluid, almost casual way she navigates a transitive path between genres, while never having to shift her balance gives the impression of music orbiting an artist who sits at the center of all things creative.  Previous Lurie recordings have expressed a more distinct point of view, but none to this point have so strongly reflected the cumulative assimilation of those perspectives.

Released on Chant Records.

Read more on Bird is the Worm.

Music from Brooklyn, NY.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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