Jazz – Best of 2018

Jan 5 2019

Best of 2018 #40: Maisha – “There Is A Place”

 

This sounds nothing like the classic Pharoah Sanders Impulse Records releases of the 60s, and yet the sublime unity of peace and chaos emblematic of the saxophonist’s approach to spiritual jazz echoes strongly in the 2018 release from the ensemble Maisha.  So does the potent imagery that becomes such an immersive experience that the totality of the recording feels like an epic journey through mystical lands and dream landscapes.  The album ends with the title-track, and since I’ve already set the precedent for speaking of There Is A Place in reference to classic jazz recordings, then I might as well state that this tune has that same resonant tranquility as John Coltrane’s “After the Rain.”

Released on Brownswood Recordings.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Music from London, UK.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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Jan 5 2019

Best of 2018 #41: Saunier, Halvorson, Miles – “New American Songbooks, Volume 1”

 

This is a conceptual Great American Songbook.  It is a collection of music that frames us as a country and defines our character in the same passing moments that it shapes us in return.  It’s with that thought in mind that the trio of cornetist Ron Miles, guitarist Mary Halvorson, and drummer Greg Saunier reinterpret works by Elliott Smith, the Beach Boys, the Partridge Family, Fiona Apple, and John L. Williams, and give a present day voice to music that situates itself as the modern collection of Tin Pan Alley tunes.  There isn’t a moment on this recording that doesn’t deal in fascination and reverence.

Released on Sound American.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Music from New York City and Denver, CO.

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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Jan 4 2019

Best of 2018 #43: Rudy Royston – “Flatbed Buggy”

 

As the go-to drummer for an impressively diverse array of musicians, it’s always been a source of intrigue as to the influences Rudy Royston has absorbed along the way, and those he affected by way of his own perspective.  The answer provided by his excellent 2018 release Flatbed Buggy is “a little bit of both, actually.”  Before Bill Frisell’s recent trip down nostalgia lane, the guitarist was cementing his view of a modern Americana Jazz that incorporated healthy doses of chamber and folk.  Royston was right there for much of that ride, and the sharp differences between his expression of that music from those of Frisell’s, while situating itself as a bird-of-a-feather recording, show that the forces being exerted upon the music were not a one-way conduit of creativity.  The masterful balance of a light tunefulness and heady imagery makes for an intoxicating contrast in reactions, both emotional and cerebral… of complexity presented as simply as a well-crafted melody.

Released on Greenleaf Music.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Music from Denver, CO.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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Jan 4 2019

Best of 2018 #44: Anthony Shadduck – “Quartet / Double Quartet”

 

There’s an absorbing personality borne by the dual nature of Anthony Shadduck’s 2018 release.  One half of the recording is a single quartet that utilizes an engaging melody to dive deep into contemplative territory, like in that way the phrase Once Upon a Time leads to lifetime memories of childhood tales.  And then there’s the second half of the recording, with twice the personnel, and an abounding effusiveness.  Aside from behaving as an emotional counterbalance to the album’s quieter half, it’s like a celebration that those childhood story memories still burn bright today.

Released on Joyful Noise Recordings and Big Ego Records.

I wrote about the album for The Bandcamp Daily.

Music from Los Angeles, CA.

Available at:  Bandcamp | Amazon

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