Jan 20 2019
Best of 2018 #5: Makaya McCraven – “Universal Beings”
I’m not sure how much more I can say about this recording. I originally included Makaya McCraven‘s Universal Beings in my Best Jazz on Bandcamp column, in which I explained how “Four concerts in four different cities [and] four casts of collaborators lead to four different perspectives on the expressionistic range of modern jazz.” Later, for the Best Bandcamp Jazz in 2018 column, I added that his “cohesive vision of the strength and diversity of today’s talent pool… is a statement, and that statement is: This is jazz today.” And then, finally, for its inclusion on The Best Albums of 2018, which included music for all genres, I summed up that “Universal Beings reveals the wealth of riches right there in front of us. You don’t need to hold onto 1959; Makaya McCraven can give you today.” McCraven captures four different takes on the modern jazz sound with four different ensembles performing in four different cities, further cementing the fact that this music is everywhere and that its potential for expression is limited only by the space on the planet and how that affects the space within artists heads and hearts and souls.
Released on International Anthem.
Music from Chicago, IL.
I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.
Quite often, when an album does something a little bit different, it stops me in place. I’m forced to come to terms with what I’m hearing and develop an interface with it that (eventually) evolves into something more than a cerebral reaction, where it becomes not just an art piece, but a living communication between artist and listener, transmitting a dialog of thoughts and ideas and epiphanies. What I esteem quite highly of the 2018 release from Chicago outfit 
Kudu really does come close. In a live setting, the Anteloper duo of trumpeter Jaimie Branch and drummer Jason Nazary are a hyperactive ball of melodic fragments, electronic turmoil, and hopscotch tempos, and the energy they generate from the stage does not allow for detached listening from the audience. It is an aggressive form of engagement that just so happens to occasionally give a warm melodic hug from time to time. On their 2018 release, the duo give a pretty close approximation of the live performance energy. This music is fun, inventive, and the boundless originality that fuels the modern scene today.
The music of Jaimie Branch is constructed with the sounds of things falling apart. Fly or Die is the echo of metal ripped in half and set to fire with wires as the kindling. It’s not pretty, and yet it has a serious allure. It’s laid back and casual, and yet has a charismatic appeal that locks the attention in place. And when it all comes together with a laser beam melody and harmonic surge breaking through the dissonance like the morning dawn through darkness, everything just falls into place and begins making sense again. The trumpeter’s core unit of cellist Tomeka Reid, bassist Jason Ajemian and drummer Chad Taylor are birds-of-a-feather, and certainly no stranger to the art of building through deconstruction. These are musicians that see the poetry of decay, and how that leads to the rebirth of things anew. Jaimie Branch’s debut album not only cycles through both states, but gives the impression that they’re not viewed as even being separate. Everything about this album is different. It’s a strange vision Branch delivers, and yet it’s so simple to embrace. In a year that saw an astounding collection of singular displays of personality, Branch’s stands out as the most individualistic. This easily could’ve been the album of the year.
Jun 4 2019
Now up: May’s Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations
And here we go. Brace yourselves, music listeners, because my latest Best Jazz on Bandcamp recommendations just posted on The Bandcamp Daily. The newest monthly installment covers albums for May 2019. There’s eleven 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. On that note, let’s begin.
Follow this LINK to read those recommendations and listen to music from each album.
And check out past recommendations by running through the archives.
Have fun going through the list!
Cheers.
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By davesumner • Announcement - Music, Jazz Recommendations - 2019 • 0 • Tags: 577 Records, Arifa, Athens of the North, AudioMaze, Bandcamp articles, Beaver Harris, Biophilia Records, Caroline Davis, Corbett vs. Dempsey, Damon Locks, Don Pullen, G. Calvin Weston, Golden Girl Records, Greg Foat, Guillermo Klein, Headspin Recordings label, Helen Anahita Wilson, International Anthem, Lars Skoglund, Naomi Moon Siegel, New Amsterdam Records, Rajna Swaminathan, Shahbaz Hussain, Slow and Steady Records, Sunnyside Records, Swiss Jazz Orchestra