"Weird Means Something You Never Heard Before": Rolling Jazz D-bag Thread 2015

What?

First single comes out tomorrow. Very interested to hear it.

these people are playing two doors down from my store tonight. i'm going. i will always go see your worldfusionjazz suite if you are in town.

https://vimeo.com/137025243

How was that, Scott?
wow---just saw this, hoping to find some of the concert online:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/19/arts/music/review-celebrating-cecil-taylor-a-pianist-of-endless-influence.html?&moduleDetail=section-news-1&action=click&contentCollection=Music®ion=Footer&module=MoreInSection&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&pgtype=article

Yeah, people are worried because Taylor didn't show up for that (he was supposed to).

I just ordered the CD reissues of his two-volume early '80s solo album, Garden. When it was first released, the music was shuffled around; now, it's been split into first and second sets, exactly as it was performed on the night. The best price I've seen (about $22 per disc) was via the German site grooves-inc.com. Other places want nearly $40 for Vol. 1, $22 for Vol. 2.

I just got the reissued Garden discs, too (after waiting in vain for prices of used copies to dip below $75). Squidco has volume 1 for $18.

Taylor's absence at that event is worrying. I think his only public performance in the last 3-4 years was at Ornette's memorial service. I had tickets to see him in DC in 2013, but he cancelled (no reason given), and I didn't particularly want to see his replacement (Ahmad Jamal). Fortunately, I've seen him three times (twice solo, once in a duo with Elvin Jones).

Four times for me:

trio at the Village Vanguard with Dominic Duval on bass and Jackson Krall on drums in 1997
solo and trio with Duval and Tony Oxley on drums at Avery Fisher Hall (split set)
leading a large ensemble (26 musicians) at the Knitting Factory on Leonard Street in 2002
trio at Iridium with Henry Grimes on bass and Pheeroan akLaff on drums in 2006

Coleman Hawkins birthday celebration on WKCR right now.

Really interesting group performing at Smoke tonight: the Black Art Jazz Collective. Jeremy Pelt, trumpet; Wayne Escoffery, tenor saxophone; James Burton III, trombone; Xavier Davis, piano; Vicente Archer, bass; Johnathan Blake, drums. I like all those guys, and would love to check this set out, but $40 at the door is a little much for me.

Wow, would've loved to have seen those, particularly the trio with Duval and Oxley.

The duo with Elvin was really interesting. Elvin played with mallets for the whole set, and seemed kind of frail (it was a year before he died), but there was a quiet intensity that I hadn't heard in any of Cecil's other music (apart maybe from Conquistador! and the trio with Dixon and Oxley).

(xp)

"How was that, Scott?"

oh that show was nice. my fave thing was jake meginsky though. and he was all electronic and not jazz. there was a very cool solo sax guy i'd never heard. travis laplante. guess he lived in new york but now he's in vermont. maybe tarfumes knows him. cool circular breathing stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kclZrPkqHpk

Laplante is great. He's a member of Little Women along with Darius Jones. You might like them, Scott. Two albums on AUM Fidelity and an EP that I think was self-released. He's also got some group that's four wind instruments, but I can't remember the name.

I usually don't love Joshua Redman and I usually don't love Bad Plus, but I really like the Bad Plus w/ Joshua Redman record.

great live together too.

also, because there's some good jazz talk in the year end list thread and I wanna add it to the spotify list:

Tbh mostly this is just stuff I gleaned from the Kamasi thread as people were offering up alternatives.

Yeah, Sons of Kemet are a sax/tuba (playing fat funky basslines)/drums/drums combo from London. Their album Lest We Forget What We Came Here To Do has a stripped-down, live feel that's really rhythmic and banging but also very melodically catchy. There's a lot of New Orleans and Lagos (and Port of Spain?) in the rhythms and Shabaka Hutchings' sax draws from slinky Ethio-jazz melodies and NYC skronk, but these disparate influences never seem at odds with each other. Like Lex said, very immediate, and very danceable too. Just a great, great record.

Polar Bear - Same As You: Another London combo (who share a drummer with SoK). Their album is similarly based on tight 4/4 rhythms and riffing sax, but more laid back and drawn out, dubby and atmospheric at times. (But you can skip the silly spoken word intro.)

Troyka - Ornithophobia: More Londoners (pattern emerging here) but they have a very different sound from Polar Bear and SoK, with a lot of fractured (post-?) rock rhythms, Dilla/FlyLo offbeat drums, and weird electronic sounds, sometimes sampled and edited together.

Makaya McCraven - In The Moment: McCraven is a Chicago drummer who recorded hours and hours of live performances and Teo Macero-ed them into an album. I guess other than Troyka these all have common thread of being very drums-first, although McCraven's drumming style has a more traditional swing to it but also much more of a hiphop feel too. A lot of this is stripped down to a sometimes-looped drums/bass/vibes rhythm section, while the featured soloists, who come and go, feel a bit secondary. The last track (posted below) even settles on a relaxed four-bar breakbeat loop with a chopped-off sax riff for most of its length, before gloriously emerging into a very wild, free solo at the other end.

Also been listening to 2013/2014 stuff from Melt Yourself Down (another London band in the same vein as Sons of Kemet and Polar Bear - I kind of get Pigbag vibes from them), Throttle Elevator Music (scuzzy rock with the boy Kamasi throwing skronk all over it, I like it way than the record he's getting attention for but oh well), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpeter from the TPAB crew - the most trad record on this list, but his small band format allows him and the other players to shine - he's a very good balladeer), the first Sons of Kemet album (not quite as good as the new one but certainly worth your time), and some brass band stuff.

I still need to check out Matana Roberts.

As far as the Kamasi record itself, I guess the scope is admirable, but it just kind of strikes me as a decent post-bop record with a bunch of added bells and whistles that distract from the playing. I found myself wishing the choirs and strings (and vocalists tbh) would go away the whole time. I was was sold on it expecting something that sounded fresh and new, but at it's core it's very retro and I don't feel like it overcomes its influences, YMMV.
― The Reverend, Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:05 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

matana roberts is the real fuckin deal, although i've felt more like listening to her solo record this year than Part III of her thing
― j., Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:12 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

jazz albums i like from this year

charles lloyd - wild man dance
http://www.discogs.com/Charles-Lloyd-Wild-Man-Dance/master/839518

william parker / raining on the moon - great spirit
http://www.discogs.com/William-Parker-Raining-On-The-Moon-Great-Spirit/release/7622000

charenee wade - offering (the music of gil scott heron and brian jackson)
http://www.discogs.com/Charenee-Wade-Offering-The-Music-Of-Gil-Scott-Heron-And-Brian-Jackson/master/918297
― brimstead, Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:16 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Just as a complete digression, if anyone's a fan of the whole Sons Of Kemet/ Polar Bear/ Melt Yourself Down skronk axis, they should check out the Comet Is Coming, which is a similar punky jazz/ blurt vibe with added pop and Krautrock vibes thrown in.
― Doran, Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:21 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

nb the charles lloyd and william parker were recorded before 2015.
― brimstead, Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:22 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is my fav jazz record of the year
https://soundcloud.com/bk-music-pr/eternal-signs-milford-graves-bill-laswell
― ANU (sisilafami), Sunday, November 29, 2015 11:31 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This tune is blowing my mind right now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsYRfAcpdIE&list=RDrsYRfAcpdIE

You're right about that one. Will definitely get that album.

William Parker fans might like the Sonoluminescence Trio's Telling Stories. It's Parker with David Mott on bari sax and Jesse Stewart on percussion. They were great at the CD release over the summer too.

As we move to the end of the year, I'd like to drop a quick note to encourage any readers / lurkers / ilxors to post their favorite jazz tracks or albums from this year to the thread so that I can hoover them into the ongoing spotify playlist. Last chance for any accessible stragglers that may not already be in the lexicon.

I love the way Ethan Iverson mostly just works with triads and does so much with them on that tune.

You might also dig The Bad Plus with Bill Frisell at Newport 2012, in tribute to Paul Motion/Motian---I'm another who doesn't always get into TBP, Frisell, or M, for that matter, but this (full set) is pretty involving:
http://www.npr.org/event/music/158004697/the-bad-plus-with-bill-frisell-live-in-concert-newport-jazz-2012

oh and speaking of punky jazz/blurt vibe with added pop, I still love Boston baked jumping beans Guerilla Toss, especially their only(?) full-length album to date, Gay Disco, which astutely assimilates no wave, maybe The Magic Band and maybe Of Human Feelings-era Prime Time, cos there is the disco (but not too strictly; the drummer's always kicking it). Fave EP is 367 Equalizer. Nowadays, the female vocalist is more up front, sonically anyway. Lots of stuff here, maybe all of it:
https://guerillatoss.bandcamp.com/

Not from this year, but just saying William Parker's Double Sunrise Over Neptune is awesome.

This is some stuff from this year that I liked and might not have been mentioned thus far. I tried to filter out what I would consider probably only liked by me, the bands immediate family + 17 Norwegians, but some of it still might be a bit like that.

Prism Quartet - Heritage/Evolution Vol 1
Steel Bridge Trio - Different Clocks
David Chevallier - Standards & Avatars
Nicole Mitchell, Tomeka Reid, Mike Reed - Artifacts
Oliver Lake & William Parker - To Roy
Mostly Other People Do The Killing - Mauch Chunk
Dave Burrell, Garrison Fewell - New Earth
Myra Melford - Snowy Egret
Kris Davis Infrasound - Save Your Breath
Barry Altschul's 3dom Factor - Tales Of The Unforseen
Henry ThreadGill & Zooid - In For a Penny, In For a Pound

Still need to check out Melford and Altchul at least, thanks for the reminder (yeah, Lake & Parker too, prob all of 'em). And what's the Threadgill like? I've enjoyed several of his through the ages, but haven't heard any recent releases.

I am piss-poor at describing music, but I would describe the Threadgill as melodic and all over the place and nice!

Cool, thanks. New releases, Downbeat Editors' Picks:
http://www.downbeat.com/defaultl.asp?sect=reviews

I mostly only buy jazz cd's these days and none of it is from 2015. The last Brad Mehldau box is from this year but contains old material. Some great purchases this year are:

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0000/576/MI0000576132.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0000/559/MI0000559870.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0001/575/MI0001575323.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

http://www.billfrisell.com/sites/default/files/images/discs/greg_cohen_goldenstate.jpg

This album only received five-star reviews and sounds definately like something to check out:

http://jakeheggie.com/content-wp/uploads/2015/09/Image-26-300x300.jpg

i love that Gnu High cover!!

gnu high, yes! was listening to that just earlier. been playing lots of things recently with dave holland in a supporting role, but still never checked out anything where he's leading... would guess conference of the birds would be the smart pick?

His long-running quintet (which, depending on the album, expands to a sextet, an octet, or a 13-member big band) is great. They have a bunch of albums on ECM and several more on Holland's own Dare2 label.

This is my first Dave Holland cd, definately looking for more after this one.

This 2015 album is very good, though not necessarily "jazz" (last track is very fusion-y though):

http://www.teuthida.com/productImages/full/21023.Full.jpg

Heard a radio replay of this supple tribute to Kenny Wheeler, still streaming: http://www.wbgo.org/blog/a-tribute-to-kenny-wheeler, where Gnu High is cited as his creative breakthrough.
Holland has done all kinds of things, almost like Charlie Haden, but for me, the DHQ listening breakthrough was Conference of the Birds. Got into the tuneful title track and cute "Q&A" right away, but Rivers x Braxton seemed a bridge and chorus too far/freaky on other tracks, despite repeated listenings. So I put it away, finally tried again, and loved the whole thing instantly, as I have ever since. What was my problem? Anyway, it's great. Don't know that it's the one to start with, necessarily (I'd enjoyed Rivers and Braxton's own, very individual records , but somehow the combination seemed overwhelming, boo-hoo).

thanks for the tips! was the presence of rivers/braxton that had me pointing in the conference of the birds direction, definitely need to seek it out (also the circle stuff with corea et al, only know the braxtonless a.r.c album from that period). re the haden mention, reminds me that holland has had some involvement with people like john hartford and vassar clements too.

The new Raoul Bjorkenheim/Ecstasy album is quite ace. It is one of them kind of "I am not normally a fan of this type of thing" things that I can't stop playing.

Burning Ambulance

Best Jazz of 2015:

25. Kirsten Edkins, Art and Soul
24. Milford Graves/Bill Laswell, Space/Time - Redemption
23. The Adam Larson Quintet, Selective Amnesia
22. The Thing, Shake
21. Rodrigo Amado, This is Our Language
20. Henry Threadgill Zooid, In for a Penny, In for a Pound
19. John Raymond, Foreign Territory
18. Blue Buddha, s/t
17. Stephen Haynes, Pomegranate
16. Dead Neanderthals, Endless Voids
15. Nick Hempton, Catch and Release
14. Terell Stafford, Brotherlee Love
13. Eddie Henderson, Collective Portrait
12. David Chesky/Jazz in the New Harmonic, Primal Scream
11. Mette Henriette, s/t
10. Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah, Stretch Music
9. Duane Eubanks, Things of That Particular Nature
8. Tom Tallitsch, All Together Now
7. James Brandon Lewis, Days of FreeMan
6. Matthew Shipp Trio, The Conduct of Jazz
5. Sonny Rollins, Complete Live at the Village Gate 1962
4. Chris Potter Underground Orchestra, Imaginary Cities
3. Jeremy Pelt, Tales, Musings and Other Reveries
2. Kamasi Washington, The Epic
1. JD Allen Trio, Graffiti

hehe, Kamasi at #2 kind of a statement too, right?

looks interesting though, don't think I've heard any of these albums

Any of you have small children who like jazz? I have to admit I don't know the first thing about it. In 30+ years of record collecting I've only acquired one jazz album -- Out to Lunch. Somehow though my 5 year old has gotten into it and loves for us to stream jazz on Pandora. I'm thinking of getting him a little bookshelf stereo for his bedroom for Christmas and maybe one or two jazz CDs. He hasn't expressed a preference for any particular style yet other than instrumental, but I wonder what you might suggest for one 2015 release and/or one classic release that would set a 5yo on the right path. Maybe one a little upbeat and one on the mellow side as he likes to listen to it as he's falling asleep too.

(I know getting someone started on CDs in 2015 might not make sense but I don't want him to own a digital device yet, plus I'm hoping to have a companion for record store visits down the road.)

I have long believed that little kids would enjoy Thelonious Monk and/or Ornette Coleman, because Monk plays piano in a way that a little kid can appreciate (it sounds weird and fun) and Coleman's melodies are extremely herky-jerky and energetic. So I would recommend Thelonious Monk's Monk, which actually contains a version of a children's song your kid may have heard (this would be an album you could play at bedtime too btw), and maybe Ornette's Change of the Century or This is Our Music for something more dance-around-the-room. I don't have any 2015 recommendations for a kid at this time.

Given the boomlet in music for children over the past 25 years (speaking as old-time CD storekeeper), there must be some jazz albums in there; try searching Amazon or whatever inclusive CD site you like. Blanking on specifics, except----Vince Guaraldi's Peanuts soundtracks? I know several people who say they first got into jazz, if not music itself, via those (think Keith Jarrett did some too). Something TV or maybe movie-related, whatever he's already into.

I could imagine a bit of album-era Ellington would be child friendly, especially Such Sweet Thunder which is very much a pop album of sorts.

My daughter responded well to jazz from like age 2-3, but then suddenly got into this weird thing where she insisted she only likes "kids' music" and jazz is "grownup music." Hoping that will pass quickly. OTOH a few weeks ago this came on and she really liked it and asked me to play it again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCeQ5E6gK9M

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0002/944/MI0002944139.jpg?partner=allrovi.com

Sure, if you want your kid to declare you a Suppressive Person when he/she hits teenagerdom...

The first music I remember getting into was Mancini's theme for Peter Gunn, about a detective who frequented jazz clubs (the manager of one was a shrewd source; I think of her when listening to Karin Krog). Tough stuff, none of that "Moon River." Also fascinated by the music that led into cigarette commercials, with some kind of semi-abstract art backdrop: just warm, open(?) strings and maybe a grace note, from a hollow-body electric guitar, I think, def unaccompanied.
Lester Bangs wrote that the first album he bought was TV Action Jazz, by guitarist Mundell Lowe. Anybody heard it? Or his others?

My son started listening to Miles Davis Kinda Blue, but not till high school. Not sure what other jazz he listens too

Bear in mind: http://www.npr.org/sections/ablogsupreme/2009/06/jazz_and_dads_a_short_essay_1.html

Ha, yes, except in this case he's the one pushing it on me -- don't think I've ever played it in the house but at his request. Anyway thanks for all the suggestions; will check them out.

Kind of blue, monk time, favorite things, the blue Yusef all jump timing as albums I loved before I was a teen

Just saw this fantastic clip on Facebook - McCoy Tyner with Sonny Fortune, Calvin Hill and Alphonse Mouzon, live on WNET (NYC Channel 13) in 1971:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YvovU0vzoQ