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Which New Release is grabbing your ears?


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Not heard Allen Lowe's but my ears are caught by the latest by another board regular:

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Particularly taken by the track 'Elmoic' this evening.

Not heard Allen Lowe's but my ears are caught by the latest by another board regular:

Allthereeveroutfrontcover-300x261.jpg

Particularly taken by the track 'Elmoic' this evening.

Really kind - thank you Bev!

A charming interview with Mr. Hawkins (I assume done via email or questionnaire):

Traveling Light

Thank you! Indeed, it was an email questionnaire.

By the way - to anyone with a even passing interest who hasn't seen it before - do check out Point of Departure: IMHO there's always some really deeply informed, interesting writing in this journal :)

Edited by Alexander Hawkins
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Starlicker - Double Demon

Rob Mazurek never ceases to amaze me.

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I couldn't agree more - everything he does strikes the right note with me. I'm looking forward to hearing the third Sao Paolo Underground just released on Cuneiform.

Star licker also includes Adasiewicsz who's becoming a similar beacon of quality

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  • 1 month later...

First couple of spins to Oblique1 by Tyshawn Sorey (Pi Recordings) reveal a tight band playing some interesting music. Not many tunes leaping out yet but some interesting writing especially the slower paced elements (like Koan?) certainly Sorey's drumming and Escreet's piano is sounding strong (so much more so than on Escreet's very disappointing recent leader date). Stillman's tone still needs some getting used to, for me.

Edited by mjazzg
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  • 2 weeks later...

Really been digging these lately:

Jeremy Udden's Plainville - If The Past Seems So Bright (Sunnyside) - it's the followup to his first one on Fresh Sound. Really unique sound sort of coming out of Frisell mixed with Lee Konitz but not swinging in the Tristano school at all. With Pete Rende on keyboards, Brandon Seabrook on tenor banjo and guitar, Eivind Opsvik on bass and RJ Miller on drums. Watch out for any records Pete Rende is involved with. He is a great mixing and mastering engineer in addition to being a great pianist.

Buy: http://www.amazon.com/If-Past-Seems-So-Bright/dp/B004UHF6B2

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Craig Taborn - Avenging Angel (ECM) - Craig's first solo piano record is dazzlingly beautiful, in a very original & abstract way. Closest antecedent for me would be Cecil Taylor but completely his own style. You would never know he is a regular with Tim Berne and Chris Potter from this.

Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Avenging-Angel-Craig-Taborn/dp/B004SQAF70/

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Aaron Goldberg & Guillermo Klein - Bienestan (Sunnyside) - some of the best writing of the year in my opinion. But also some unnecessary Charlie Parker covers. I don't understand at all why they're on this record. Chris Cheek and Miguel Zenon really blow well on this too. And Eric Harland is a rhythmic freak.

Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Bienestan-Aaron-Goldberg-Guillermo-Klein/dp/B004XIQJ5A/

Aaron-Goldberg-Guillermo-Klein-Bienestan-Album-Cover.jpeg

And finally this record by the Israeli guitarist Gilad Hekselman - Hearts Wide Open (Le Chant du Monde). It is beautiful. Great compositions. Some a little long. But with Mark Turner, Joe Martin and Marcus Gilmore you can't go wrong.

Buy: http://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Wide-Gilad-Hekselman-guitar/dp/B0052FG8S6/

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Gerald Cleaver - "Be It As I See It"

Avant-guard with some orchestral flourishes. This isn't the kind of sound my ears are interested in these days, but I can't stop listening to this album... it's that engaging, almost hypnotically. Highly recommend giving this a listen. Should appeal to Clean Feed junkies.

You can stream the entire album on his Bandcamp page. Also, it costs ten bucks to download it there and you can get it in FLAC if you want it. From what I understand, buying through Bandcamp, more money goes to the artist than, say, on Amazon.

http://geraldcleaver.bandcamp.com/

Two Thumbs Up for this one too...See what Tyshawn Sorey says about this record and about Gerald's playing in the forthcoming November drums issue of JazzTimes. There's a fascinating Before & After (JazzTimes' version of the Blindfold Test) with Sorey and the interviewer plays him almost all music he immediately gets. Really interesting to hear him talk about drummer-composers.

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Really been digging these lately:

Jeremy Udden's Plainville - If The Past Seems So Bright (Sunnyside) - it's the followup to his first one on Fresh Sound. Really unique sound sort of coming out of Frisell mixed with Lee Konitz but not swinging in the Tristano school at all. With Pete Rende on keyboards, Brandon Seabrook on tenor banjo and guitar, Eivind Opsvik on bass and RJ Miller on drums. Watch out for any records Pete Rende is involved with. He is a great mixing and mastering engineer in addition to being a great pianist.

Buy: http://www.amazon.com/If-Past-Seems-So-Bright/dp/B004UHF6B2

If the Past is taking longer to grow on me than his last album, Plainville (which I absolutely love). If the Past seems to have more of an edge to it, which works to the album's advantage and disadvantage both at times.

This came out a few months ago, but I'm just now getting around to listening to it in full:

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Jacob Karlzon 3 - "The Big Picture"

-For fans of E.S.T. There have been some strong modern piano trio albums released this year, and this is no exception.

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Henry Franklin - "The Soul of the World"

-Straight-ahead jazz goodness.

I've really been enjoying this new release from the Paul Fox Collective...

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Paul Fox Collective - "Submerging & Emerging"

Very much in the vein of Brian Blade's style of nu-jazz. Really bright piano, a warm sound, but much of the eerie melodies associated with this style.

Here's his myspace, which has some music on it...

http://www.myspace.com/foxpaulmusic

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Andy Sugg - The John Coltrane Project: Andy Sugg Plays Trane

Sugg achieves a multifaceted sound here, sorta like Andy Sugg covering Alice Coltrane covering John Coltrane. It's really pretty damn cool. Whereas I often tire of "cover albums", I'm very glad I looked into this one. Not typical at all.

And this one I haven't yet purchased, but I really like the sample tracks Jeff has on his site.

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Jeff Gauthier's Goatette - Open Source

You can listen to some full tracks on Jeff's site...

http://jeffgauthier.com/

It sounds great. I kind've liked his previous stuff, but Open Source is totally floating my boat right now. Just brilliant. I love hearing a musician develop into fantastic and grand sounds. Fans of the Clean Feed label sound should definitely give this a listen.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Thirteenth Assembly - Staion Direct

excellent playing but particularly good writing from all four - Ho Bynum, Fujiwara, Pavone, Halvorson - some real tunes (yes, tunes) on this one. Fujiwara stands out for me - a very melodic drummer. Recommended to anyone who likes any of the players individually or anyone with ears open to some melodically infused contemporary improvising (and writing).

Purchased at an excellent London gig this week

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I've been enjoying James Carter's "At the Crossroads." The last track is a new version of Dogon A.D. that really hit me, just in time for the first CD reissue of Julius Hemphill's classic album.

James Carter has been playing with much more taste and constraint recently. I've always liked him, but like much more how he is playing now.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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a second strong set from this band. Tunes maybe not as immediately memorable as the first album but great playing. For me, the vibes trio of the moment and the one that connects most with me in the format since some Walt Dickerson Steeplechase sides.

Edited by mjazzg
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adasie_jaso_spacer~~~_101b.jpg

a second strong set from this band. Tunes maybe not as immediately memorable as the first album but great playing. For me, the vibes trio of the moment and the one that connects most with me in the format since some Walt Dickerson Steeplechase sides.

For my ears, the first Sun Rooms album was a little less adventerous than some of Adasiewicz's other stuff - the Mazurek album you mentioned earlier for instance. But since you are referencing Walt Dickerson, I had better check this one out.

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