Jan 3 2019
Best of 2018 #50: Miles Okazaki – “Work”
Quite out of the blue and as casually as tossing a coin into a fountain, Miles Okazaki released a six-volume solo guitar interpretation of the Thelonious Monk songbook. It’s a hell of a statement, even if it wasn’t offered up that way. Okazaki has often displayed a whimsical demeanor to his wonkish music endeavors, which might explain why a project that might be a cerebral exercise for other musicians comes off as a heartfelt, thoughtful exercise, as if a puzzle enthusiast spent a lazy Sunday afternoon joyfully assembling one of the world’s most difficult puzzles.
The album is Self-Produced.
Music from New York City.
I wrote about this album for The Bandcamp Daily.
Available at: Bandcamp
The music of Trickster possesses a strange and curious interface, as if a self-replicating alien language perpetually on the verge of translating itself into human words. The newest album from Miles Okazaki is driven by rhythmic forces that shape the melodies into their ultimate form, and the impression is that among the guitarist’s quartet of drummer Sean Rickman, bassist Anthony Tidd and pianist Craig Taborn, no one person is excluded from the opportunity to impose their will upon that motion. The result is a passive kind of addiction, where the album’s charismatic personality keeps the ear locked in place until the translation is complete, and what once seemed alien and strange becomes as welcome and familiar as a loved one saying hello.
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.
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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