New Releases Only

[jcam_44]

Originally Posted by xybert

jcam_44, have you seen there's a new Rob Mazurek album coming out? It looks solid but i'm going to hold off for now. Info and samples here:

http://www.amazon.com/Skull-Sessions...ds=Rob+Mazurek

I had it pre-ordered from Amazon... wasn't crazy about what I heard in samples so I nixed it. For some reason I'm not too crazy about Rob's large ensemble stuff. I have no idea why, but it doesn't do it for me.

[xybert]

Originally Posted by jcam_44

I had it pre-ordered from Amazon... wasn't crazy about what I heard in samples so I nixed it. For some reason I'm not too crazy about Rob's large ensemble stuff. I have no idea why, but it doesn't do it for me.

For me there's a particular distinctive flavour that runs through most of the Rob Mazurek music that i've heard... i'm sure the new album is good but i've just kind of had enough of that flavour for the moment.

[dsschicago]

Originally Posted by dsschicago

And here's one coming out in April 2013 (on Royal Potato Family Records). I know Robmid will be interested...



Allison Miller's Boom-Tic-Boom - "No Morphine, No Lilies"

No details yet, but I've put out a line, so I'll update when I can.

Personnel: Allison Miller on drums, Myra Melford on piano, Jenny Scheinman on violin, Todd Sickafoose on bass and special guests Steven Bernstein (trumpet), Ara Anderson (trumpet), Erik Friedlander (cello) and singer Rachel Friedman.

I'm listening to it now. Miller co-produced the album with Todd Sickafoose, and it's interesting how you can hear their fingerprints over certain tracks. Some have that spastic celebratory bounce that speaks to Miller's influence, and some have a melodic eerieness reminiscent of Sickafoose's Tiny Resistors album.

Just a crazy-talented line-up.

Cheers.

[jkelman]

My review of Wayne Shorter's latest (and first in 8 years) with his 12 year-old Quartet, Without a Net, today at All About Jazz.

It has been eight yesrs, but the quartet hasn't been idle; beyond regular touring as a quartet, there's also been a tremendous collaboration with Imani Winds, of which one long, 23-minute piece, "Pegasus," is the album's centerpiece.

Around this stunning composition that seamlessly marries form and function, the quartet tracks - like "Pegasus," all recorded live - revisit older fare like "Orbits," one of Shorter's compositional contrubutions to Miles Davis' classic Miles Smiles, to a second look at "S.S. Golden Mean," from the group's last record, 2005;s Beyond the Sound Barrier, "Plaza Real," from Weather Report's Plaza Real and "Flying to Rio," the rarely interpreted 1933 titular theme song from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' first film together.

Along with a couple of new Shorter compositions, the saxophonist's quartet, also including pianist Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade, has only become even more magical in its telepathic depth. Music without a net, indeed, is the best way to describe one of the most adventurous American jazz groups from a legacy artist who, with its leader turning 80 later this year, is only getting better with each passing year.

Review here.

[xybert]

Aram Shelton - Everything For Somebody



This came out last year but i've only just got it in the last week. Warm, unaffected jazz in the early sixties Ornette vein filtered through the contemporary Chicago sound. Awesome. A track from the album, Anticipation, can be heard here (scroll down): http://www.aramshelton.com/quartet.html

[robmid]

Originally Posted by dsschicago

Personnel: Allison Miller on drums, Myra Melford on piano, Jenny Scheinman on violin, Todd Sickafoose on bass and special guests Steven Bernstein (trumpet), Ara Anderson (trumpet), Erik Friedlander (cello) and singer Rachel Friedman.

I'm listening to it now. Miller co-produced the album with Todd Sickafoose, and it's interesting how you can hear their fingerprints over certain tracks. Some have that spastic celebratory bounce that speaks to Miller's influence, and some have a melodic eerieness reminiscent of Sickafoose's Tiny Resistors album.

Just a crazy-talented line-up.

Cheers.

Can't wait to hear this one. Saw her live in Santa Cruz in 2011. Great show and she's coming again in April to Kumbwa! Boom-tic Boom is one of my favorite albums ever.

Cheers, Robert

[Paul Marangoni]

Originally Posted by jkelman

Review here.

This record isn't doing it for me so far. I'll give it a few more listens and reserve judgement until then.

[jkelman]

Originally Posted by Paul Marangoni

This record isn't doing it for me so far. I'll give it a few more listens and reserve judgement until then.

Just curious, Paul, can you explain what about it isn't doing it for ya? Just wondering - always curious about the why, whether someone is liking or disliking an album, as it can shed new or, at least different light.

Tx!
John

[dsschicago]

A couple albums of interest from my eMusic Jazz Picks last Wednesday...



Pierre Perchaud - "Waterfalls"
-With Perchaud on various guitars, Chris Cheek on sax, and Nicolas Moreaux (a french bassist who has been on some solid albums the last two years, and who collaborates with a disparate group of artists). The kind of music that drifts serenely through the room and instill a peaceful ambiance that shuts out the sounds of the city. Beautiful stuff.

Sadly, I can't find anything for you to stream, however, here's a link to Perchaud's site. It may be that my pop-up/ad-blocker is stopping his audio player from showing.



Francesco Cataldo - "Spaces"
-This is another guitarist who is, also, putting out some serene music. Crazy-good line-up with Scott Colley on bass, David Binney on sax, Clarence Penn on drums, Erik Friedlander on cello, and Salvatore Bonafede on piano.

You can read all of last week's rec, here, at eMusic. My article gets published every Wednesday afternoon. I haven't been very good about posting some of the highlights here, so don't be bashful about checking out that list. Usually about 10-20 recs each week. But I'll still stop by here from time to time to mention some. I know how it can be adding more stops to an internet browsing list.

Cheers.

[Paul Marangoni]

Originally Posted by jkelman

Just curious, Paul, can you explain what about it isn't doing it for ya? Just wondering - always curious about the why, whether someone is liking or disliking an album, as it can shed new or, at least different light.

Tx!
John

I've had similar experiences before with new music. I'll be indifferent at first, and then fall in love with it. In this case, the compositions themselves just aren't moving me. I've only listened once through, so I will give it at least three or four more listens before I write it off.

[jkelman]

My review of Pat Metheny's The Orchestrion Project, today at All About Jazz.

Since releasing Orchestrion (Nonesuch) in 2010 and embarking on a world tour with this behemoth of a one-man band, the guitarist has proven this was not a one-off project, bringing smaller versions of this pneumatic and solenoid-driven orchestra on the road with trios and his most recent Unity Band. But when it came to the inevitable live recording that has followed most Metheny projects since the mid-'90s, rather than leaving to chance this complex machinery and reducing the video potentials, Metheny recorded this "live" album - which includes a setlist like that of the tour - in a nearby cathedral, where a multi-angle shoot was more feasible.

The resulting DVD/3D Blu-Ray came out last fall, and was a terrific opportunity for those who'd missed the tour to find out what the hubbub was all about. Now, a two-CD set from the same recording comes out, but rather than being identical to the video releases, Metheny has shuffled the setlist order considerably, making The Orchestrion Project, the CD, a strong case for just how important the order of the songs played is to the overall experience...in this case, very different but just as good.

Review here.

[Paul Marangoni]

Originally Posted by Paul Marangoni

I've had similar experiences before with new music. I'll be indifferent at first, and then fall in love with it. In this case, the compositions themselves just aren't moving me. I've only listened once through, so I will give it at least three or four more listens before I write it off.

I listened a couple more times today. It's growing on me FAST.

These are some pretty deep/advanced/cerebral compositions so it takes a few listens to really get a grasp on them. One minor complaint would be that the bass and bass drum are a bit lost in the mix.

[slowshoes]

Originally Posted by Paul Marangoni

One minor complaint would be that the bass and bass drum are a bit lost in the mix.

I like the music just fine, but I definitely agree with your comment on the mix for the bass and the drums. They are pushed too far back in the mix and the overall sound level seems too low.

I have to turn up my stereo far more than normal to get this disc's loudness up to my usual listening level - and even then, the bass and drums are just too far back in the mix. Never thought I'd have a gripe about the mix on an ECM album.

[KBerube80]

This album is knocking my socks off.

[jkelman]

Originally Posted by KBerube80

This album is knocking my socks off.

I'll be reviewing this and the duo record of Colin Stetson and Mats Gustafsson, also on RUne Grammofon, in coming weeks.


This is killer shit. No doubt about it!
John