International Anthem

Feb 15 2020

Best of 2019 #05: Jaimie Branch – “Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise”

It would’ve been so easy to do the same thing. It wouldn’t even have been a bad thing. Had Jaimie Branch made the second installment of her Fly or Die series the same as the first, it would’ve been more of the good stuff, and that would’ve been quite all right. But she didn’t.

It would’ve been so easy to do something completely different. It wouldn’t even have been a bad thing. Had Jaimie Branch made the second installment of her Fly or Die series the polar opposite of the first, it would’ve been something brand new from an exciting artist, and that would’ve been quite alright. But she didn’t.

The trumpeter situated herself dead center of possibilities, and that was best of all. Rather than duplicate a winning formula, and, conversely, rather than turn her back on it and make dramatic changes for the sake of change, Branch added depth and nuance to what was familiar, and brought unity to what is old and new. On Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise, the electro-acoustic posture maintains the lean toward each extreme, but influences of chamber, Latin, rock and bouquets of percussion round things out in a way that makes it so it ain’t a duality at all. The trumpeter’s pure aggression, raw melodicism and punches-in-bunches style haven’t gone anywhere, but they’re given new life with the new approach. As I stated in my write-up of this album for The Bandcamp Daily, “Branch’s debut made a formidable impact, which makes the achievement of her sophomore release that much more impressive. It can take half a lifetime for an artist to discover their voice, and sometimes even longer before they can bring that voice into focus.” The timer had barely started ticking before Jaimie Branch hit that mark.

Your album personnel: Jaimie Branch (trumpet, voice, synths, sneaker squeaks, bells & whistles), Lester St. Louis (cello, percussion), Jason Ajemian (double bass, percussion, vocals), Chad Taylor (drums, mbira, xylophone), and Guests: Ben LaMar Gay (voice), Marvin Tate (voice), Matt Schneider (12-string guitar), Dan Bitney (percussion, synthesizer) and Scott McNiece (egg).

<span style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" data-mce-type="bookmark" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><a href="http://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/fly-or-die-ii-bird-dogs-of-paradise">FLY or DIE II: bird dogs of paradise by jaimie branch</a>

Released on International Anthem Recording Co.

Music from New York City.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Listen | Read more | Available at: Bandcamp – Amazon

By davesumner • Recap: Best of 2019 • 0 • Tags: Best Jazz of 2019, Chad Taylor, International Anthem, Jaimie Branch, New York City

Feb 10 2020

Now up: January’s Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations

And here we go. Okay, so before entering the homestretch of the #Bird2019 Best of 2019 countdown, lets take a brief interlude and put the spotlight on some excellent recordings that made their mark in the first month of the new year. Just now, my latest Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations posted on The Bandcamp Daily. This monthly installment covers albums for January 2020. There’s ten primary recommendations in total, plus some bonus recommendations, to boot. The new year is off to a great start, so don’t go thinking that all of your budget is going to be obliterated by my Best of 2019 list. You’re just getting started on a whole new year of great music.

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.

By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations - 2020 releases • 0 • Tags: Antoine Berjeaut, Auand Records, Brian Shankar Adler, Chant Records, Dan Rosenboom, Discos ICM, Ears and Eyes Records, Fabian M. Mueller, Gearbox Records, I See Colors, International Anthem, Jeff Parker, John Tchicai, Kaspar von Grünigen, Luke Norris, Makaya McCraven, Marcos Basso Grupo, Mike Baggetta, Minus Zero Records, Muriel Grossmann, Oyvind Hegg-Lunde, Samuele Strufaldi, Self-Produced, The Westerlies, Tommaso Rosati

Jan 9 2020

Now up: November’s Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations

And here we go. Let’s do some more catch-up on notifications about my latest Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations posting on The Bandcamp Daily. This monthly installment covers albums for November 2019. There’s ten primary recommendations in total, plus some bonus recommendations, to boot. There’s been no let-up on the deluge of new music in 2019, so if you were thinking about maybe settling into a prior month’s purchases, forget about it… you’ve got more excellent new music to discover. I have been saying this same thing nearly every month, and every month it is true.

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.

By davesumner • Announcement - Music, Jazz Recommendations - 2019 • 0 • Tags: Auand Records, AUM Fidelity label, Avram Fefer, Bandcamp articles, Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations, Chelsea McBride, Chelsea McBride’s Socialist Night School, Chris Dingman, Clean Feed Records, Envisage Collective, Eri Yamamoto, Fresh Sound New Talent label, Gerald Cleaver, Gianluca Petrella, Haftor Medbøe, International Anthem, June Tyson, Junius Paul, Marta Sanchez, Motema Records label, Nadje Noordhuis, Olle Vikström, RMI Records, Self-Produced, Sing A Song Fighter, Sub Continental Records, Sun Ra, Sunnyside Records, Terri Lyne Carrington

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.

By davesumner • Announcement - Music • 0 • Tags: Aaron Novik, Allison Miller, Bandcamp articles, Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Constellation Records label, Damon Locks, Domino Recording Company, Edition Records, Goran Kajfes, Guillermo Klein, Headspin Recordings label, Hubro Music, International Anthem, Jaimie Branch, Laura Jurd, Matana Roberts, Minua, Nerija, PMG Recordings, Quinsin Nachoff, RaaDie, Ropeadope Records, Royal Potato Family, Self-Produced, Sunnyside Records, Svetlost, Traumton Records, Trond Kallevåg Hansen, Whirlwind Records

Dec 29 2019

Now up: October’s Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations

And here we go. Let’s do some catch-up on notifications about my latest Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations posting on The Bandcamp Daily. This monthly installment covers albums for October 2019. There’s ten primary recommendations in total, plus some bonus recommendations, to boot. There’s been no let-up on the deluge of new music in 2019, so if you were thinking about maybe settling into a prior month’s purchases, forget about it… you’ve got more excellent new music to discover. I have been saying this same thing nearly every month, and every month it is true. 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.

By davesumner • Announcement - Music • 0 • Tags: Bad Plus, Bandcamp articles, Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations, Brooklyn Raga Massive, Carmen Sandim, Chris Lightcap, Constellation Records label, Cuneiform Records, Edition Records, Evgeny Sivtsov, Go Organic Orchestra, International Anthem, Jaimie Branch, Kenny Warren, Kris Davis, Laila & Smitty, Matana Roberts, Matt Ulery, Max Andrzejewski, Meta Records, Miles Okazaki, Pi Recordings, Pyroclastic Records, Rainy Day Records, Ropeadope Records, Tomeka Reid, WhyPlayJazz, Woolgathering Records, Yazz Ahmed

Best of 2019 #05: Jaimie Branch – “Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise”

Like this:

Now up: January’s Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations

Like this:

Now up: November’s Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations

Like this:

Now up: Best Jazz on Bandcamp in 2019

Like this:

Now up: October’s Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations

Like this:

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Categories

A Little Guidance

If only you Liked me…

Me me me me me me me

Meta