Esperanza Spalding - Exposure [2017]

Published on NextBop

Lately Esperanza Spalding seems to be in the business of doing things her fans don't expect. Considering the music of the more R&B-influenced Radio Music Society, her last album, Emily's D+Evolution, was a sharp left turn. Spalding had returned with a fantastic record that lies somewhere in whatever one would call an amalgamation of rock, pop and jazz fusion elements. The abrupt change in style may have caught some fans by surprise, but D+Evolution, contains some of the musicians best songs. With the epic "One", pop-sized fusion of "Judas" and Joni Mitchell-esque tracks like "Noble Nobles", it is arguably the best record of her discography. 

Cat Toren's Human Kind - Cat Toren's Human Kind [2017]

Published on NextBop

In the liner notes of Cat Toren's Human Kind, the pianist looks to the past to address the present. Even without the notes, it does not take much analysis to come to the conclusion that this record is political. The fact that it was released on the day of the presidential inauguration, the images of protestors, the Washington monument and song titles like "Regression" and "Sanctuary City", should be enough clues for any American. The pianist points out that in the past, jazz artists such as Nina Simone held benefit concerts for civil rights organizations like the Congress of Racial Equality and by donating the proceeds of this record to the American Civil Liberties Union, she addresses the present by honoring this past tradition. With the help of Xavier Del Castillo (Saxophone), Yoshie Fruchter (Oud/Guitar), Jake Leckie (Bass) and Matt Honor (Drums), Toren's compositions shine throughout Human Kind.

Greg Saunier, Mary Halvorson & Ron Miles - New American Songbooks, Volume 1 [2017]

Published on Free Jazz Blog

It would not be an exaggeration to say that it is literally impossible to find someone who genuinely loves jazz - be it a musician, fan or critic - that hasn't had some type of exposure to the songs in what has come to be known as the Great American Songbook. Famous numbers like Vernon Duke's "April In Paris", Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love?" and many other show tunes that became jazz standards are still regularly played to this day. New American Songbooks, Volume 1, a Sound American release which features a collaboration between Greg Saunier (drums), Mary Halvorson (guitar) and Ron Miles (cornet), takes the past format - adapting music to the idiom of jazz that may not have been written with extended improvisation in mind - and applies it to more contemporary compositions.

Jaimie Branch - Fly or Die [2017]

Published on NextBop

Although Jaimie Branch has been playing music for a while now, having been part of the Chicago jazz scene before her recent move to Brooklyn, Fly or Die is her debut as a bandleader. The trumpeter's band is made up of Jason Ajemian (bass), Chad Taylor (drums) and notably cellist Tomeka Reid, whose quartet had a standout release in 2015. The main quartet is occasionally joined by Matt Schneider (guitar) and two cornetists, Ben Lamar Gay and Josh Berman. Debut albums in jazz can be a tricky business. In the case of a musician like Branch, who has been a side-woman in past studio recordings, the goal should be to firmly plant a compelling and distinct compositional voice on the recording, and that is exactly what she has done in Fly or Die.

To Be Continued - Poetry From The Future [2017]

Published on Free Jazz Blog

To Be Continued is a quartet composed of experienced musicians of the New York City improvised music scene. Each musician here is very talented, but upon a review of the personnel, the instrument that will catch the most eyes is the unconventional inclusion of a bassoon, expertly played by Claire de Brunner, a former student of jazz great Lee Konitz. She is joined by Carol Leibowitz, a veteran pianist who is just as versatile in the harsh as she is in the sublime. Daniel Carter shows his range, performing on alto, tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, trumpet and clarinet. The quartet is rounded out by Kevin Norton, whose gorgeous vibraphone, skilled drumming and other percussion, although often used more sparingly than the other instruments, are integral to some of the best moments on the record.

Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres [2011]

Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de couleur libres begins with a lone, abrasive squeal from Matana Roberts’ alto saxophone. What follows is an extremely intriguing battle of a call and response between Roberts and pianist David Ryshpan. The dialogue between the two musicians, which includes Roberts’ unflinching bursts of freedom juxtaposed by her menacing, longer sax lines and Ryshpan’s harsh, heavy-handed piano playing, sets the stage of “Rise” before other instruments join in. Of course the opener can be interpreted in many ways, for some it could evoke images of resistance and capture, but it could also be seen to play out like a nightmare. “Rise” begins with a sax-piano fight, grows more layered and unpredictable as more musicians join in and ends in a restrained lament. The episode is over, but it doesn’t seem to have been resolved happily. The protagonist, who may have been sleep-talking during her nightmare (“jones jones jones jones” at minute 6:11) wakes up in the heart-wrenching "Pov Piti”.

Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee [2015]

Matana Roberts is an artist whose work always, in one way or another, demands the listener's attention. Almost nothing that the experimental saxophonist releases is catered to what one might call a casual listen. Since The Chicago Project, which featured tracks that casually shifted between smooth melodic lines and more free and aggressive explorations, she has been slowly constructing a discography of quality avant-garde jazz albums. However, Roberts, like many greats before her in the long African-American tradition of improvisation and creativity, would likely scoff at the idea of categorizing her music as only "jazz". On Coin Coin Chapter Three: River Run Thee, she puts to bed any argument that the word "jazz" alone could be used to describe her latest ambitious series of albums.

Armand Hammer - ROME [2017]

On October 26, 2017, Armand Hammer released “It Was Written” and announced that ROME[/i], their first full length since 2013’s Race Music, was to be released in November. The track broke a long silence of the creative duo releasing music under this moniker. Their most recent project, Furtive Movements was released in 2014. Despite Armand Hammer going through what may seem like a temporary hiatus in the current musical climate of arguably excessive releases, Billy Woods & Elucid have been very busy in recent years. Both rappers have released high-quality solo projects in 2017, in the form of Woods’ varied Known Unknowns and Elucid’s urgent Valley of Grace. A listen to any project by these two shows that, due to the uncompromising nature of their music, marketability and pop-appeal is never the focus. However, based on the evidence of a bigger fanbase than either rapper had in the early 2000s and coverage from large publications like Noisey (Billy Woods, Elucid), Bandcamp, and Pitchfork, it’s clear that with time, Armand Hammer’s stock has been steadily rising.

Tomas Fujiwara - Triple Double [2017]

Published on NextBop

Tomas Fujiwara has been active for well over a decade now, with his first recorded date as a sideman being on Matana Robert’s The Calling in 2006. Just a quick look at his discography shows that Fujiwara has established himself as a respected musician - specifically in the more avant-garde portion of the New York City jazz scene. The drummer has frequently collaborated with fellow adventurers guitarist Mary Halvorson, cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum and bassist Michael Formanek. In the past year, he has shown up on Ho Bynum’s expansive, at times Mingus-esque Enter the Plus-Tet, Formanek’s engaging big-band experiments in The Distance and Halvorson’s inventive interpretations of John Zorn’s Klezmer-influenced compositions on Paimon: Book of Angels Volume 32. Throughout the years, in addition to his releases as leader of Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up, Fujiwara, Halvorson and Formanek have toured and recorded together as a trio under the name of Thumbscrew. Although the next Thumbscrew records will not be released until 2018, on Triple Double, Fujiwara has brought Halvorson, Ho Bynum and other talented musicians along for the ride of his latest interesting take on the trio format.

Mary Halvorson - Paimon: The Book of Angels Volume 32 [2017]

Published on Free Jazz Blog

Those who pay close attention to the more avant-garde leaning portion of the jazz scene, particularly the musicians based in New York City, will know that Mary Halvorson stays extremely busy. On top of constantly performing, be it with groups like the Tom Rainey Trio or her fantastic Octet, the guitarist has recently showed up on studio releases by Jason Moran (BANGS) and Tomas Fujiwara (Triple Double). This June, while in residency at City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, Thumbscrew, a band she is in with Fujiwara (drums) and Michael Formanek (bass) announced that they were recording two new albums to be released next year. Despite all this, Halvorson still managed to make some time to form a quartet to record the final volume of John Zorn's Book of Angels series: Paimon: The Book of Angels Volume 32.

Vijay Iyer - Far From Over [2017]

Published on NextBop

There has always been an air of adventure about his music, but since Vijay Iyer has started releasing records on ECM, the acclaimed pianist has really been exploring. Iyer's ECM debut came in the form of the hard left turn that was Mutations in 2014 - the only Iyer album which features him composing for a string quartet. In his 2015 ECM release he reconnected his long-running trio with Stephan Crump (bass) and Marcus Gilmore (drums) to create an extremely rhythmically interesting album that may the group's best work yet in Break Stuff. Last year, he followed Break Stuff with a fantastic album that was built for the pristine, ethereal aesthetic of ECM production, the airy and experimental avant-garde collaboration with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke. A cursory listen to any of these releases side by side will reveal that, aside from the presence of Iyer himself, the only thing that they really have in common is that they are all radically different from each other. On Iyer's latest ECM release, he continues the trend of difference, trading the sparse duo format for a powerful sextet that includes Crump (bass), Tyshawn Sorey (drums),  Graham Haynes (cornet, flugelhorn, electronics), Mark Shim (tenor saxophone) and Steve Lehman (alto saxophone). After a few listens to Far From Over, it is clear that the Vijay Iyer Sextet has released a fascinating record that has the potential to be remembered as one of the pianist's grandest achievements.

Cécile McLorin Salvant - Dreams and Daggers [2017]

Published on NextBop

With the release of her last album For One To Love, Salvant put the focus on her pen, with almost half of the tracks being original compositions. Light, emotionally resonant Salvant-written pleas like "Look at Me" and "Left Over" were juxtaposed by the energetic and occasionally humorous performances of tracks like "Stepsister's Lament" and "Wives and Lovers". Salvant would eventually win a Grammy for what was then her best album to date, although when asked by Spanish publication El Periódico if this changed her career, the singer responded that it only resulted in more followers on the internet.

Now, at 28, even though it would be an absurd stretch to consider her famous in the pop sense, Salvant is clearly one of the most in-demand young singers in jazz. The rise has had nothing to do with her Grammy and everything to do with her talent. Regularly dazzling crowds with the range and power of her voice and a charming sense of humor in her performance, Salvant has played at many well known festivals and venues in the jazz world - the bulk of her latest album was recorded live in the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City. Accompanied, for the most part (pianist Sullivan Fortner sits in on "You've Got to Give Me Some"), by her usual - extremely talented - trio of Aaron Diehl (piano), Paul Sikivie (bass) and Lawrence Leathers (drums), Salvant's Dreams and Daggers is a two-disc long demonstration of what makes her one of the most valuable vocalists in jazz today.

Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Kids Still Daydream [2017]

Ever since its birth, hip-hop has been one of the most direct and powerful tools for the story-telling of people from marginalized communities. In the 80s, Chuck D of Public Enemy, a group that defined itself by commitment to addressing socio-political issues, summed up this fact by calling rap the "CNN" of Black America. Although to the uninitiated statements like this may seem ridiculous, anyone who has a working knowledge of classic hip-hop albums like Public Enemy's It Takes A Million to Hold Us Backor Boogie Down Production's By All Means Necessary will recognize the truth in Chuck D's statement. Decades later, in a radically different musical climate where "CNN" type work is arguably even more necessary, Open Mike Eagle turns reporter on his latest LP, Brick Body Kids Still Daydream.

Milo - Who Told You to Think??!!?!?!?! [2017]

Milo could be a fantastic hip hop case study of what happens when influence goes right. When influence goes wrong, at best, it results in a rather uninteresting revisitation of past ideas, at worst, the product is imitation, or as Rae and Ghost put it "Shark Niggas". Even though Milo is rarely one to be too overt, having joked about this himself on his last record in "@yomilo" ("yo Milo why you always rap in passcodes?"), there are some more than clear hints about what his influences are. Things like the amount of exclamation marks on the cover, a reference to The Roots' Do You Want More?!!!??!, the fact that the album opens up with James Baldwin and the fact that this is his jazziest - Madlib-esque - album yet lets the listener know where Milo is coming from.

Charlotte Dos Santos - Cleo [2017]

In a music landscape that moves at the speed of light, an artist has to battle millions of other musicians on platforms such as Spotify, Bandcamp and Soundcloud for the time of day from the modern listener, which makes the debut record crucial. As a new name, presenting a confident, focused, and above all well crafted project could be the difference between a buzz and crickets. Thankfully, in Charlotte Dos Santos' debut EP, Cleo, the listener is treated to a young singer/songwriter who seems to be already creating with a strong and cohesive vision for her sound.

La Lá - "Zamba puta" [2017]

Published on Sounds and Colours

Her work may suggest otherwise, but Giovanna Nuñez, who sings under the pseudonym of La Lá, does not have a typical history with music. When asked by Evaristo Corona, host of the Mexican podcast Meta: Cultura Pop en 60 Minutos, whether she considers herself to be a "formal musician", Nuñez categorized herself as a "deformed musician". Nuñez, who was born and raised in Lima, Peru, grew up as a young girl aspiring to be a musician, but abandoned the idea because she believed she had not started studying music early enough in life to be successful. Although she did briefly sing in an Orchestra, she never formally studied music, instead opting to go to college to study philosophy in hopes of pursuing a career in journalism, an interest which ironically would include writing about music and other art.

Gerald Clayton - Tributary Tales [2017]

Published on NextBop

Jazz in 2017 - as it has been for some time - is in a rather unfortunate state of affairs as far as visibility is concerned. In 2014 it was ranked as the least popular genre based on sales and streams in the United States. Of course, this will be no news to jazz musicians or avid jazz fans, as generally, the amount of coverage given to the music, relative to other genres, is quite little - modern jazz is extremely niche. Outside of artists with direct links to other genres - like hip-hop for example (Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper), child prodigies (Joey Alexander) and Esperanza Spalding, when we speak of relatively new jazz artists that are visible - even on a minor level - to the general public, there is a very short list. There are many obvious reasons for the decline in popularity of the genre: the fact that an entire generation was raised on lyrics - something jazz often lacks, the fact that generally the often complex nature of bebop jazz and beyond probably makes it sound like a foreign and reasonless language to the untrained ear at times and, perhaps most crucially, the fact that something can only be at the forefront of culture for so long - jazz had its time from the 20s to the 60s. Despite all of this, that the aforementioned reasons result in a talent like Gerald Clayton not getting the coverage he deserves is at times hard to grapple with during the compelling listen of Tributary Tales.

Kendrick Lamar - DAMN. [2017]

Range is one of the most powerful weapons of Kendrick Lamar's arsenal. You can't rap-scat over jazz ("For Free?"), channel Ol' Dirty Bastard over soulful guitar licks ("i") and confront white supremacy head-on ("The Blacker The Berry") - all on the same album - like Kendrick did on To Pimp A Butterfly ("TPAB") if you don't have range. It may be selling this LP short, but one could say that DAMN. is Kendrick Lamar fitting his range and eccentricities into a more commercially accessible work. This is especially relevant in light of the divisive - albeit critically acclaimed - reception of his previous jazz and funk inspired masterpiece. The range of quality and approaches to song-craft on DAMN. are at times quite jarring. There are a good portion of tracks on this LP that are just flat-out brilliant - songs that will probably go down ranking among the best of his work. On the other hand, a couple of the more pop-rap tracks may leave some of his fanbase that embraced the relative experimentalism that characterized TPAB pondering whether Kendrick has just released some of the worst songs of his career.

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) [2008]

In music commentary, "dated" has been used as a negative criticism towards music. When one begins to think critically about it, assuming that "dated" is being used in this context to refer of music of the not recent past (e.g: Remember that this is just an example, not my actual opinion or how I would phrase it personally: the production of Paid In Full by Eric B & Rakim sounds "dated" in 2017), it is a really odd criticism, because albums that are ahead of their time - be it lyrically, production wise or musically, are the exception to the norm. Moreover, from the perspective of the artist, an album being ahead of its time is an odd mix of a curse and a blessing. A curse because, an album that does not quite fit into the landscape of the time - be it musically or socio-politically, is almost sure to sell less initially and perhaps even run the danger of not being looked on as favorably historically. Just call it the opposite of the A Seat At The Table or, perhaps we should say the To Pimp A Butterfly effect. Considering the socio-political climate of the United States, these albums came out at what was arguably the perfect time for a mainstream hip-hop or R&B artist to release an album on which black empowerment and racism were key themes. On the other hand, being ahead of one's time could be blessing because, if the artist already has an established following, their audience may eventually, effectively "catch up" to them, which could be called the Blowout Comb effect. Despite the fact that the Digable Planet's hit single "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" was released on their more light-hearted - and upon release, much more popular - debut record, over the years Blowout Comb eventually began to garner more praise from fans and critics alike, with the album eventually being reissued on vinyl in 2013 and the hip hop trio playing many songs from the classic record on their recent tours.

Thundercat - Drunk [2017]

Thundercat has been involved in some great music lately - the latest Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus and Kamasi Washington albums, his The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam, and now Drunk. He is musically a descendant of George Duke - an artist he covered, to great effect, on his self titled debut album. Like the music of George Duke, there is clearly a jazz sensibility here, but at the same time, with the soul and even electronic features that Thundercat brings to his music, it's hard to put him firmly in one box. That said, once one is familiar with Thundercat, he has a pretty unique and easily identifiable bass tone and vocal style. He is a fantastic bassist, but his airy falsetto vocals are also a key asset to his music, providing a fantastic compliment to the groovy, occasionally mellow and dark production style he brings to his solo projects.

Elucid - Valley of Grace [2017]

"Black Joy Matters"

Elucid, who released the fantastic Save Yourself just last year, is back again with Valley Of Grace. This project continues in the same vein of Save Yourself: it's dark, industrial, socially aware and pro-black abstract hip hop music. Elucid has great wordplay - his firm delivery and grim voice mixes extremely well with the production style and the subject matter here. The album opens with an instrumental with a fantastic title that is ridiculously relevant in these horrible times politically - especially for people of color - "self care is a revolutionary act", which consists of a dark instrumental with a sample that states "I'm taking time away to dream". Although it is arguably not a highlight musically, despite being quite good, it sticks out based on it's message alone. Just as Solange's "Borderline (An Ode To Self Care)" did last year, "self care is a revolutionary act" reminds marginalized people that sometimes it's ok - and arguably necessary for your mental health - to just tune out from all the horrible news.

Mary Halvorson - Meltframe [2015]

Meltframe, Mary Halvorson's first solo record, features the guitarist applying her unconventional style to both classic compositions by jazz greats and modern compositions by her contemporaries. What is immediately apparent, even from a cursory listen, is the range of the sonic palette of this record. Halvorson sometimes opts for an extremely aggressive and distorted hard-rock ready approach, like the first half of "Cascades" (Oliver Nelson), but also knows when delicacy is key, as shown in the subtle echo of the guitar in "Solitude" (Duke Ellington). Despite the fact that many of her fans may think of terms like "angular" and "cerebral" when looking for ways to describe Halvorson's approach to guitar, the solo setting seems to have freed her up to be just as expressive emotionally as she is impressive technically.

Mary Halvorson - Away With You [2016]

Mary Halvorson is an idiosyncratic guitarist who first burst onto the scene as leader with Dragon's Head, a well put together trio record. Since the release of Dragon's Head, Halvorson has continued to collaborate with fellow musicians, in and outside of jazz, while also recording more albums as a leader and adding more members to her original core trio with John Hébert (bass) and Ches Smith (drums). Taught by fellow rule-breaker, the avant-garde saxophonist Anthony Braxton, Halvorson's unique way of attacking guitar playing often features very angular playing and arrangements, complete with unexpected shifts in rhythm and tone that are undoubtedly influenced by free improvisation. Due to her difficult to classify style and knack to push boundaries, throughout the years she has become well known in the more eccentric side of the jazz scene of New York City. On Away With You, Halvorson presents the listener with her biggest band yet, an Octet which, in addition to the core trio, includes Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Jon Irabagon (alto sax), Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Jacob Garchik (trombone) and Susan Alcorn (pedal steel guitar).

Juçara Marçal - Encarnado [2014]

How one takes to the most jarring and immediately apparent feature of Encarnado, the solo debut of Juçara Marçal, will likely be the single most determinative factor in whether the listener enjoys it or not. This is of course, the complete lack of a rhythm section throughout the entire LP - 41 minutes with no drums or bass. This is an aspect of this record that, on it's own, is quite odd, but when you factor in that this is an album coming out of Brazil - a country that is known for it's danceable samba and breezy bossa nova rhythms, it makes the absence of a rhythm section even more glaringly apparent. Despite the fact that at times, the minimalism can give the album quite a skeletal feel, Marçal and the band she has enlisted to accompany her beautiful singing can do so much - sound so grand - with so little, that the listener could be forgiven for forgetting that at it's core, Encarnado is a brilliant and experimental conversation between, in most cases two or three - at times four, instrumentalists on each track and one vocalist. Although there are things like the bleeps and bloops on "E o Quico?" and Marçal herself playing kalimba on the sweet "Canção pra ninar Oxum", more than anything, a large bulk of the album's sound consists of two guitars.