The two words “Swallow” and “Nussbaum” used in close proximity to each other instantly conjures up John Scofield’s best pre-Still Warm disc, Shinola. Scofield’s compositions and arrangements on that live set demanded much from his rhythm section, and his rhythm section delivered in spades. You May Also Like: John ScofieldRead More
Provocative and fanciful, they bring Ellington and Strayhorn closer to us.
Two Bay Area pacesetters of improvised and avant-garde music will soon join forces.
‘Numbers’ coolly delivers Payton’s message of natural flow. It’s funky-good, angular vibe jazz.
It doesn’t matter if the experimental music is being rendered by electric guitar or banjo, Seabrook uses technology, virtuosity and a deviously fertile mind to blow the minds of anyone who comes across these recordings. ‘Sylphid Vitalizers’ expands the world of what is possible with a banjo. And guitar, too.
As a collection of children’s songs for grown-ups, ‘Business Is Bad’ would be terribly silly if it wasn’t so damned inconspicuously clever. Thankfully, it *is* clever, and marks the return of Karen Mantler after nearly a decade and a half off without skipping a beat.
‘Solarists’ immediately establishes Haitian Rail as a fearsome battery of inscrutable, noise with terrific give-and-take. And trombonist Dan Blacksberg’s presence assures that they hold up the jazz part of the experimental metal-jazz equation, losing none of their ferocity along the way.
A lot of Dirty Loops’ covers have been released via YouTube, and the latest one to hit the video circuit is their more organic, more virtuosic rendition of Avicii’s Aloe Blacc-sung “Wake Me Up.”
The tunes are solid and so are the arrangements, but there’s no disguising good playing and ‘Disguise’ has all of those things out in the clear open. A welcome return to form for Ada Rovatti.
Eric Wyatt makes good on his enviable Brooklyn upbringing by evoking the masters he’s met as a child while finding his own voice to do it.’Borough of Kings’ is pure, Brooklyn-bred jazz at its finest.
