{"id":16651,"date":"2019-04-26T05:30:50","date_gmt":"2019-04-26T09:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=16651"},"modified":"2020-07-28T12:49:21","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T16:49:21","slug":"hundred-word-reviews-for-april-2019-jazz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/26\/hundred-word-reviews-for-april-2019-jazz\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundred-word Reviews for April 2019: Jazz"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m sent a lot of music for potential review, and for that I\u2019m grateful. Generally, I can winnow through the stack and narrow it down to a manageable pile; put another way, a lot of the stuff I hear is unremarkable (i.e. not worth remarking upon). But sometimes I\u2019m awash in great music that I want to share with my readers. This is one of those times, so herewith are quick reviews of ten albums, all in the jazz idiom. With one noteworthy execution, these are are all new or very recent releases.<\/p>\n

\"\"Yonezawa\/Kamaguichi\/Kobayashi \u2013 <\/b>Boundary<\/b><\/i>
\nThis release on the venerable ESP-Disk label features a trio of Megumi Yonezawa on piano, upright bassist Masa Kamaguichi and drummer Ken Kobayahashi. It\u2019s sometimes minimalist, often abstract and always challenging. Splahes of conventional, melodic jazz appear now and then, but they\u2019re shattered almost instantly by some free-form playing that takes things in a rather avant-garde direction. Free jazz at its freest, this collection of ten pieces \u2013 most clocking in well over six minutes \u2013 is, according to its liner notes, for fans of Paul Bley. Boundary<\/i> is an ironic title for an album that observes no such thing.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Doug MacDonald Quartet \u2013 <\/b>Organisms<\/b><\/i>
\nMacDonald is a guitarist in the Grant Green\/Wes Montgomery mold, and here he\u2019s working in a quartet that prominently features Carey Frank\u2019s Hammond B3. Tuneful swinging quartet jazz is on the tasty menu, and the collection – -a nice mix of original and classic material \u2013 is quite enjoyable. MacDonald and his associates \u2013 Frank, tenor saxophonist Bob Sheppard and Ben Scholz on drums \u2013 effectively bend the material into their style. The energy\u2019s held in check; this quartet has a kind of understated vibe that keeps things on simmer even when one or more them is tearing things up.<\/p>\n

\"\"Soul Message Band \u2013 <\/b>Soulful Days<\/b><\/i>
\nWhile I enjoy exploratory and adventurous jazz excursions, my go-to style is soul jazz. With its swinging, good-time rethink of gospel, it\u2019s just about the most fun and accessible flavor of jazz. And though soul jazz enjoyed its heyday several decades ago, it seems to be making a welcome comeback. This release on the Delmark label has all the verve and style of classic soul jazz. That most of the tunes are classics of the style certainly helps: Grant Green, Wayne Shorter and Freddie Hubbard tunes characterize the set. The band is an offshoot of the Deep Blue Organ Trio.<\/p>\n

\"\"Alex Sill \u2013 <\/b>Experiences: Real and Imaginary<\/b><\/i>
\nSophisticated modern jazz, this collection is more ambitious than most of what one would expect to find in the \u201csmooth jazz\u201d category. The nine instrumental tracks led by multi-instrumentalist Sill are conceptually linked; each is a meditation of sorts on the relationship between \u201cmusic, imagery and the psychological implication of the two,\u201d so sayeth Sill\u2019s liner note essay. But listeners can set that heady concept aside \u2013 it\u2019s not essential to enjoyment of the music \u2013 and enjoy the interplay between Sill and the players who assist him. Dave Grusin\u2019s here on piano, and Danny Janklow\u2019s sax is appealing throughout.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jordon Dixon \u2013 <\/b>On!<\/b><\/i>
\nI mean this in the best possible way: there\u2019s virtually nothing about this set of ten cuts form Washington D.C.-based tenor saxophonist Jordon Dixon that suggests it was recorded in the 21st<\/sup> century. Dixon manages to conjure a classic bop-leaning ambiance without relying on tunes for the Great American Songbook; instead he delivers u pa set of all original material. Most cuts feature just him, Allyn Johnson on piano, bassist Herman Burney and drummer Carroll V. Dashiell, III. Two tracks (\u201cWhat You\u2019ve done for Me\u201d and \u201cLee Lee Dee\u201d are noted as alternate versions of songs he\u2019s waxed before. Sold stuff.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dave Stryker \u2013 <\/b>Eight Track III<\/b><\/i>
\nA special thing can happens whenever a jazz guitarist meets a vibraphonist. Gutiarist Stryker spars with vibes man Stefon Harris, sometimes play in mind-melding unison; but other times they play ferociously against each other. In their endeavors they\u2019re ably aided by an organist (Jared Gold) and a drummer (McClenty Hunter. Percussionist Mayra Casales joins in on most tracks. There\u2019s a saucy, sexy and uptempo vibe at work on most of these tunes, and even when things are more understated, the instrumental interplay is still a thing of beauty. The material \u2013 all classics, mostly from outside jazz \u2013 is first-rate.<\/p>\n

\"\"Art \u201cTurk\u201d Burton \u2013 <\/b>Ancestral Spirits<\/b><\/i>
\nAnother way of looking at soul jazz is that it\u2019s jazz with a strong emphasis and foundation of drumming from the African tradition. This set of tunes by conga\/bongo drummer Burton builds on that idea; percussion is at the center of these cuts. A spoken-word and music track opens the set; with a feel halfway between Gil Scot-Heron and Sun Ra; after that, the tunes \u2013 originals and classics \u2013 explore an Afro-Cuban vibe. Yes, you\u2019ve heard \u201cKiller Joe,\u201d \u201cA Night in Tunisia and \u201cAll Blues\u201d countless times before, but these readings take those well-worn compositions to Burton\u2019s happy place.<\/p>\n

\"\"Lisa Maxwell\u2019s Jazz Orchestra \u2013 <\/b>Shiny!<\/b><\/i>
\nThe kinetic, often deep-groove feel of early \u201870s TV and film jazz is another favorite of mine. And that\u2019s the feel that Maxwell mines on this collection. Call them soundtrack cuts in search of a film; Maxwell\u2019s ensemble is a kindred spirit to Fred Pallem\u2019s le Sacre du Tympan, Lalo Schifrin and Soaring-era Don Ellis. If those names pique your interest, you simply must hear this disc, featuring an all-star cast including Randy Brecker, Will Lee, Mike Stern, Pete Levin, Oz Noy and many others. If they don\u2019t, you\u2019ve got some serious listening to do. A deeply textured aural delight.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"Barrett Martin Group \u2013 <\/b>Songs of the Firebird<\/b><\/i>
\nCall it high-concept jazz: this thrilling album is intended as a companion to Martin\u2019s book entitled The Way of the Zen Cowboy: Fireside Stories from a Globetrotting Rhythmatist<\/i>. But on listening, it\u2019s clear that this music stands perfectly on its own. With a sound that at times recalls The Grand Wazoo<\/i>-era Frank Zappa, this is delightfully accessible big (or at least medium-sized) band music. And its intended (and deserved) audience extends well beyond jazz aficionados, a point that\u2019s made plain by the guest players involved: Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden) and Wayne Horvitz (John Zorn\u2019s Naked City). Highly recommended.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Jack Wilson Quartet \u2013 <\/b>Call Me: Jazz from the Penthouse<\/b><\/i>
\nThe sole archival release in this roundup, Call Me<\/em> is a live recording made in Seattle \u201866 at the Penthouse (see also: Cannonball Adderley\u2019s Swingin\u2019 in Seattle<\/i> with liner notes by this writer). With crystalline sound equal to the Adderley title, this one swings in a pop-jazz kind of way, thanks to Wilson\u2019s soothing and soulful piano plus the warm, buttery vibraphone tones of the immortal Roy Ayers. These tuneful workouts often extend past the seven-minute mark, but they’re so inventive and appealing that time flies by. Subtle and expressive, this release is essential. I hope there\u2019s more to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m sent a lot of music for potential review, and for that I\u2019m grateful. Generally, I can winnow through the stack and narrow it down to a manageable pile; put […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16660,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,40,42,49,65,69],"tags":[3827,3831,3832,3829,3825,792,3833,3828,3824,3830,3823,3822,3012,3826],"class_list":["post-16651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avant-garde","category-instrumental","category-jazz","category-new-release","category-review","category-soul","tag-alex-sill","tag-art-turk-burton","tag-barrett-martin","tag-dave-stryker","tag-doug-macdonald","tag-esp-disk","tag-jack-wilson","tag-jordon-dixon","tag-ken-kobayahashi","tag-lisa-maxwell","tag-masa-kamaguichi","tag-megumi-yonezawa","tag-roy-ayers","tag-soul-message-band","cat-7-id","cat-40-id","cat-42-id","cat-49-id","cat-65-id","cat-69-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16651"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19324,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16651\/revisions\/19324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}