Contemporary Jazz

post recent jazz, have no shame

here's some Wolfgang Muthspiel
youtube.com/watch?v=_BKVfbwI3X4

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=rQh_m-YxXJ4
mega.nz/#F!PcBUEKjI!ms5ovvRlA4VwkERZzqvaQw
twitter.com/NSFWRedditImage

damn user that's tight

This 2017 release on the Clean Feed label documents a live meeting between saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and pianist Craig Taborn, two of the major exponents in the current free jazz world, but who had never played together until this performance at the 2015 Ljubljana jazz festival. The recording consists of two extended improvisations.

The first cut is titled "The Eyes Moving. Slowly." and takes an atmospheric approach, starting off subdued but building very quickly to a plateau which sustains for most of the first eight minutes. Gustafsson lets loose with his trademark unearthly long-tones while Taborn sustains a monochromatic undercurrent around him. There's not much development beyond that and nothing really interesting happens until they settle back into a more spacious, "quiet section." At this point they manage a rather nice, slow buildup to the point where both are busily chasing each other and interacting in rather interesting ways. However this also reaches a plateau rather quickly and coasts along with little development until the final three minutes of the track which are slightly more interesting with both players leaving more space and playing off of each other's patterns.

I have no idea how Muthspiel assembled a band that good on his album :O

Taborn takes the lead for the start of the second cut, entitled "The Ears Facing the Fantasies. Again." He jabs pointedly while Gustafsson adds to the texture, contributing his percussive slap-tonguing and punctuating the proceedings with blasts of overblown sound. Here the duo achieves what is probably their high point with plenty of overt interaction as they bounce abstract ideas off of each other and even achieve a decent amount of dynamic contour. Somewhere around the eight minute mark Taborn begins introducing a new idea which leads Gustafsson to wisely back off and let Taborn explore the idea largely on his own. This in turn leads organically into a brooding and tense segment in which Gustafsson holds low, quiet tones underneath Taborn's sharp stabs of color. As the piece winds down they enter a dialogue of quick flurries of notes to end the set.

Taken as a whole, this recording is really a mixed bag. The first piece is slow to develop and very lacking in interaction or any kind of contour for the majority of its twenty minutes. There are good moments, but they are the exception. The second piece is markedly better, with some genuinely good interaction between the two players and a much more interesting contour as the piece develops. Both players are individualists with well-defined styles and while those styles don't always combine for good results, they do often enough to make this release worth at least one listen (or at the very least- the second track).

For his 2017 ECM release, "Up and Coming," guitarist John Abercrombie reconvenes with the same quartet with whom he recorded "39 Steps," his 2013 release for the label. Besides Abercrombie, this quartet includes pianist Marc Copland, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Joey Baron. The program consists mostly of originals by Abercrombie and Copland, though there is also an interesting new take on the Miles Davis classic "Nardis."

In general, the band sticks mostly to the approach they used for their previous release, adhering to the ECM label's typically minimalist aesthetic by playing relatively simple pieces and focusing on the advanced, but subtle interaction within the quartet. Copland's "Silver Circle" may be the best example of the quartet's style. The piece seems anchored only by a simmering groove from Baron, while Abercrombie, Copland and Gress work closely together within that groove to build the tune piece by piece.

Abercrombie and Copland share the harmonic space remarkably well, especially considering how loose the harmonic restraints seem to be, and they achieve an impressive dialogue that can only come from experience playing together (and it doesn't hurt that both players have great ears). The band's take on "Nardis" stays true to the original melody and form of the tune, but the entire band uses harmonic and rhythmic trickery to obscure the form and challenge each other, with great results. Another standout is Abercrombie's "Sunday School," which has a simple, but memorable melody and a straightforward approach that still manages plenty of interaction between the members of the quartet. Gress also gives a very nice bass solo on the tune.

This release doesn't find the quartet exploring much new ground, but it's a nice extension of the style they debuted on the first release. The original material is not particularly complex or innovative, but is well-crafted and the band uses the material's simplicity to its advantage. The majority of the music falls into the dynamic range of "very quiet" to "medium loud" but the quartet proves that quite a lot of dynamic shape is possisble just within that range, and that it's possible to make a strong statement without shouting. It's strong music that's worth a close listen.

COMPETING REVIEW!

These are two strong dudes, feels like they are sizing each other up - who will take the strong lead.

Gustafsson is on it - Taborn has been creating a scene, but Mats takes the lead strong.

Taborn holds the fort, Mats wails away like a wounded animal - but that is what he does.

Craig seems too conventional, Mats already has the normal wildness.

It's a very conventional meeting of avant-garde minds - they take a long time coming into a place everyone has been expecting for a while.

Clearly Mats is ready for more when they converge - he knows Craig can offer more!

We're about 1/2 through of the first track of two - Taborn needs to step up to make this into a thing about now!

Craig is bringin in dissonance - Mats is responding in a very dull way

Craig is clearly taking control, bringing in a melody line!
Very cool moment when Craig takes control and stuff breaks down, but Mats is right in there. _

Very cool abstract interplay - the role of the piano has clearly flipped even when the notes are the same

Seriously cool how everything is switched - instruments may be the same, but it's like another planer

Really cool how it was the sax clearly in control but now it's the piano - feel remains but all playing is different

Very basic stuff in principle - who is responding to who - but in context feels great!

Really great stuff when the guys get back together

And it just ends beautifully!

One of my very favorite jazz gig memories was John Abercrombie with the Cat 'n' Mouse Band:
Mark Feldman on violin, Joey Baron on drums, Marc Johnson on bass.

They were playing very out - almoust all audience was very ordinary, coming to see a "jazz guitarist" with his band - everyone expected some cool bluesy ordinary playing...

But there was very little of that - Cat n' Mouse band where taking pleasure in the audience not understanding the music!

Great gig, I don't know what the guys were playing, but it was sure to be other than the audience was expecting!

I love that band. I used to write tunes with that instrumentation in mind even though I don't play any of those instruments or know anybody who plays jazz violin.

Everybody should be listening to David Binney

Ok what modern jazz artists should I look into it I like Coltrane and Monk

>Coltrane
Tim Warfield, Ralph Bowen, Abraham Burton, Eric Alexander

>Monk
Orrin Evans, Ethan Iverson, David Virelles, maybe Vijay Iyer

The production of ECM albums almost always turns me off

i want to join a jazz band but i dont know anyone what do?

Is there a regular jam session or a university with a music department near you?

Thanks I don't like Iyer very much but I will check out the others

You're right. He's an underrated composer and player.

just play all the instruments yourself. You do know how to play piano bass and drums right?

Anyone able to recommend me their favourite jazz from this year? Links would be nice if you've got them too.

if you're good enough, craigslist it.

Might not be the appropriate thread but could anybody rec some really nice n dirty funk from recent years?

...

meant to quote

is my favorite that i've heard so far

>could anybody rec some really nice n dirty funk from recent years?
The New Mastersounds maybe? or maybe they're not dirty enough

Nils Landgren Funk Unit

...

Joshua Redman, Esperanza Spalding, Jim Rotondi, Otis Brown III had a good record a while back.

Never heard of the new mastersounds, but from what I just looked up sounds pretty sexy. I'll check it out thanks user.

I fucking love Nils Landgren

Snarky Puppy's new record was on fucking point.

I know everyone loses their shit over this album for thinking it a masterpiece or being upset people think that, but it's really not that bad.

I think Washington is a weak player, but he plays with some talented dudes and it's certainly not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination. Although why it got such high marks is a mystery to me.

The vocal tracks are all really excellent though. I saw him live about a year ago and it was a great show

What was the consensus on top albums of 2016?

Personally I didn't listen to a lot of authentic "2016 jazz."

From what I listened to...
BBNG was good
Snarky Puppy was great
Esperanza Spalding put out one of her best works to date (imo)
Flaga: The Book of Angels is HIGHLY underrated if you haven't heard it yet. (By John Zorn)

Also this really doesn't count but a new compilation of Bill Evans tracks got released in 2016, and it's god tier if you're into Evans

Thanks, I'll look for them.

I honestly think it's mostly because he played on a lot of hip hop albums, which the non-jazz media liked, and so when he released a 3 hour long album everybody just said "its amazing!". The kind of people who listen to BBNG or Flying Lotus and say "i'm totally in love with jazz". I thought it was pretty good, but not worth 3 hours of my time.

My favourite of 2016 was Zorn/Flaga's Book of Angels 27

>but he plays with some talented dudes
I couldn't really tell because none of them really got much solo time which is a crime considering the album is almost 3 hours long

>Snarky Puppy was great
Family Dinner was fucking amazing but I disqualified it for aoty competition because it was all previously released compositions

my favorite of 2016

"Ubi Zaa" is the eleventh release on the SteepleChase label by the New Jungle Orchestra, led by Danish guitarist Pierre Dorge. This time around, the band's material was written to feature American cornetist Kirk Knuffke and the music was recorded live in September of 2015.

Comprised of just nine members, the ensemble is very much on the small side for an "orchestra," but proves to be just the right number to draw on all the best aspects of both small and large ensemble jazz. At times the four horns making up the front line can sound like a much larger ensemble, and the effect is amplified by Anders Banke who plays tenor sax, clarinet, and bass clarinet throughout the album (and plays all of them startlingly well). At other times, the band sounds surprisingly intimate and it is easy to hear a flowing exchange of ideas between the entire band, as you would expect from a smaller ensemble.

The material is intelligently written and approached to highlight the range of the band and the pieces almost all have sections of extreme contrast. Sometimes the change is gradual, like on the long "Ai Peidi Della Scalla," which flows smoothly from one section to the next (through at least four or five distinct sections), but on other tracks the shift is dramatic and bold, like on "The Enigmatic Reality of Time" which begins as a chaotic group improvisation but turns on a dime, into quiet, understated tone poem, highlighting Banke's ethereal sound on the bass clarinet. Knuffke stands out on almost every tune, blending a cleverly logical, but adventurous melodic approach with his incredible tone for great results. Despite the album's focus on his playing, it never feels at the expense of the rest of the band.

The music and the execution of the band seems to be inspired by Mingus; the compositions themselves seem to be loosely defined and focused more on shape, color, and the overall contour of the music, than precise notation and arrangement. The music is dominated by dance-like melodies, but almost never without vibrant dissonances in the horn voicings. Dorge's otherworldly guitar tone also adds a unique element to the band, and though his guitar is seldom in the direct foreground of the music, he seems to be guiding the rest of the band through the music. The orchestra shows they are certainly not afraid of free improvisation (in fact, they excel at it,) but the music is not limited by the ensemble's affinity for freedom. In fact, one of the most memorable tunes is the folk hymn-like "Jeg Har en Angst" which mostly features the horns sans rhythm section and sounds almost like a blues-influenced classical choral written for a wind quartet.

There aren't many weak-spots here. Each track is a complete piece that shows the potential of the band, as well as the band's restraint. The music often features Knuffke and he rises to the occasion magnificently with excellent playing that seems to provoke and inspire the rest of the ensemble. The other members of the group all have chances to shine individually, but ultimately, it's the teamwork of the entire orchestra that makes the music not just successful, but really exceptional. It's definitely one of the strongest jazz releases of 2016.

Yeah that sounds about right on Kamasi. I only know him from hip-hop myself.

I might be biased on the players then. I have only listened to the whole album like twice, maybe three times. I remember them from their live performance, and holy fuck was the pianist talented. Dude had magic fingers of melody.

Oh yeah I forgot about Family Dinner. I was referring to culcha vulcha though. But Family Dinner was really good, I have to give credit to it anyways

>and holy fuck was the pianist talented. Dude had magic fingers of melody.
Out of curiosity what other current pianists do you like?

i listened to warfield talk about titties for 45 minutes today. he also talked about multiple conspiracy theories and how upset he was when aids became a thing cause it made it harder to get laid.

nah yo im stranded on an island

Really going to display my ignorance here, user. (I'm a sax player myself)

Evans, Monk, Hancock, Andre Previn, and Peterson are all some of my favorites.

I've met Tim a couple times but never talked to him for very long. He seemed like a good dude though. I've learned never to talk about politics with jazz musicians though. I'm sure he gets laid plenty though. He's probably one of the best dressed jazz players atm.

I didn't listen to much new jazz, but aside from the usual answers you'll get (ie Wadada/Iyer and Shabaka) Anna Högberg Attack was really great.

Did people on Sup Forums like Shabaka and the Ancestors? I liked it pretty well but I figured it would be met with the same reception here as The Epic

I think mu liked it. I've seen some guys on here saying that it was just okay or that the mixing was bad. I thought it was great, a really solid 8/10 album. It is leagues above The Epic

"She Sleeps, She Sleeps" from "Fire!" was my overall aoty.

my other '16 jazz highlights

Florian Pellissier Quintet - Cap de bonne esperance
Sinikka Langeland - The Magical Forest
Ari Hoenig - The Pauper and the Magician
Ergo - As Subtle As Tomorrow
Julie Kjær 3 - Dobbeltgænger

youtube.com/watch?v=rQh_m-YxXJ4

A lot of people were posting about it when it first came out but I haven't seen much talk about it since

>Florian Pellisier

Never heard of this. Sounds amazing so far

ty dude

do you have any mp3 links to florian/sinikka/.ergo/julia kjaer? i can only find flacs

What 2017 jazz releases are you looking forward to?

Seems like I never hear about jazz releases until they're already out

he teaches at my school and for some reason seems to enjoy talking to me when hes done shedding. dude talks forever, like 2 hours everytime i see him and thats like twice a week. incredibly well dressed. fucking hates trump.

New Craig Taborn in Feb.
New David Binney in Feb.
New Miguel Zenon quartet in Feb.
New Alex Sipiagin in May
New Chris Potter quartet sometime in the spring supposedly

what you got against flac my dude?

mega.nz/#F!PcBUEKjI!ms5ovvRlA4VwkERZzqvaQw

There's a live concert I was at that should be getting released in July. I sneezed really loudy during the bass solo so I'm probably on the record

ayy Temple Uni user. Imagine a jazz musician not liking Trump. Seems hard to believe. Not that I like him or anything but you can usually count on jazz musicians to be borderline insane-tier liberals

Anyone got a download for this album?

data caps, bad internet, and filling up hard drive space :(

thanks a lot though!

slsk

What is that

Soulseek

soulseek

Woah this is amazing. Thanks

What would you rec to someone who thinks that jazz can never be as good as it was in the 50's and 60's?

It probably doesn't matter because they'all want to prove themselves right by disliking it.

Recommend them something really innovative and they'all claim it's not "real jazz" or that it's "too academic" or "soulless".

Recommend them something similar to what they like from the 50's and 69's and they'all complain about how it's not innovative.

All I had to see was brian blade and I was on board

Woah never heard of this. Is this like torrenting where me being an idiot can get me in trouble with my ISP? or is it safe from copyright notices

i'm always keeping an eye on robert glasper
ari hoenig does some very interesting stuff too

I would also like to know this

WORTHWHILE ARTISTS/ALBUMS

Avishai Cohen - Gently Disturbed
Tigran Hamasyan - Shadow Theatre
Ari Hoenig - Lines of Oppresion
Leïla Martial - Dance Floor
Chris Potter - Gratitude

Just started listening to more modern jazz around September. If you know where to look there's a lot of great shit out there.

bump

Just gave a listen to a few of these.

Julia Kjaer was amazing, need to listen again, feeling like it's going to jump to my top of 2016. Ergo was nice, but a bit dull in the first half before some great parts in the second half. She Sleeps She Sleeps was good too, but I already love Fire!/Fire! Orchestra

I live Ari Hoenig