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

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

cool, will definitely check that out. for a long time 'Enlightment' (w/Alphonse Mouzon) was the cd i would always look for in record stores but never find (and now of course i can listen to it on Spotify or whatever).

new Makaya McCraven, a more beat-oriented addendum to the main record (mastered by Daddy Kev no less): https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-moment-e-f-sides

After checking out various things from the eoy lists have been loving the Charles Lloyd + Stephen Haynes albums. Also been loving the absolutely brutal, but not mentioned anywhere Joe McPhee + Survival Unit III one, but that one will probably hurt a majority of ears!

Another one to throw into the EOY jazz pot :) http://thequietus.com/articles/19424-the-best-jazz-of-2015

Individual critics' ballots from this year's NPR Jazz Critics' Poll have been posted. Mine can be read here.

Thanks. Man, that Cecile McLorin Salvant record seems to be popular. I only know the one song Michael Bourne keeps pushing on WBGO, "The Stepsister's Lament," from Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella.

16. Dead Neanderthals, Endless Voids

wow. hadn't heard this.

Slowly starting to catch up with these. The Manthappa sounds v good; don't know how I slept on it.

Cecile's first album was a monster and she's among the best live vocalists I've ever seen but I cannot get into her release from this year.

Interesting. Will check out that first album, thanks.

Just downloaded two albums by bassist Konstantin Ionenko on the Russian label Fancy Music - $2 each on Bandcamp. Check http://bandcamp.com/burningambulance if you're interested.

xxp

probably need to check that first Cecile album because I loved her voice but found some of her mannerisms a bit forced and going into bad-pastiche territory on her latest.

Any Norwegians (or people who can read Norwegian) in the thread? I wrote the cover story for the new issue of Jazznytt, on Snarky Puppy:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CXK3-yhWAAAlnOi.jpg

I made some attempt to learn it several years ago, can still sort of read it with help of a dictionary obv.

I am really feeling that Tomeka Reid Quartet album, she was aces on the AACM album with Nicole Mitchell as well and joy of joys she has Halvorson on board.

http://hullworks.net/jazzpoll/15/critics.php
more end of year lists here than you can shake a shitty stick at!

Dig the new thread: The dog trots freely thru the Rolling Jazz Canto Thread 2016

I'm wrapping this thread up for the year. If I missed something or if a track comes available sometime in the future, bump here to let me know and I'll add.

Rolling Jazz 2015 Thread Spotify Playlist