Here’s something to get lost in, the hypnotic world of British reedman John Surman, courtesy of his 1979 ECM effort, Upon Reflection. Recorded in Oslo, with production helmed by Manfred Eicher, the recording finds Surman in widescreen form experimenting with sequencers and synthesizers in addition to his duties working bass clarinet and baritone/soprano saxophone.
Category: Jazz
Shintaro Quintet :: Evolution
Out later this month, BBE Music’s seventh installment in their archival Japanese jazz series highlights the Shintaro Quintet’s lp, Evolution–an album originally released in 1984 via the independent label Streetnoise Records.
A modal affair led by bassist Shintaro Nakamura, the session was cut in New York City and comprised of a Japanese-American band featuring pianist Jeff Jenkins, trumpet player Shunzo Ohno, saxophonist Bob Kenmotsu, and drummer Fukushi Tainaka.
Sun Ra Arkestra :: Swirling
“Music is not material. Music is spiritual.” Swirling, the first studio effort from the Sun Ra Arkestra since 1999, is about more than just music. It’s part of a vast cosmic legacy of Sun Ra. Guest reviewer Brad Farberman joins us for a listen.
Tune In, Zone Out :: Silent Ways
Silent Ways offers an immersive submersion into the depths of “In A Silent Way.” Composed by Joe Zawinul and made famous as the title track of Miles Davis’ first all-electric LP, it’s a song that doesn’t attempt to stop time as much as it attempts control time. Speed it up, slow it down, stretch it out, turn it upside down
Wolfgang Muthspiel :: Angular Blues
There’s a particular clarity made possible by the trio format, something guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Brian Blade make clear on Angular Blues, Muthspiel’s fourth album as bandleader for the storied ECM label. This spacious arrangement makes for magnificent listening.
Journeys In Satchidananda ~~ Versions
In recent years, the smoky, mystical groove of Alice Coltrane’s “Journey In Satchidananda” has emerged as a go-to vehicle for musical travelers of varying stripes. This two-hour mix pulls together a selection of these journeys (along with some offerings from Alice herself). Hey, if you’re going to listen to a single bass line for 120 minutes, I can think of no better candidate than the god-like lope that Cecil McBee originally laid down back in 1970. No matter where these musicians go on their respective journeys, there’s a unifying questing vibe, a desire to tap into the cosmic imagination. Spend some time with them on a higher plane.
Sorcery in the Kingdom | A Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool Mixtape
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool—now available on Netflix after a brief theatrical run and as an American Masters feature on PBS—is a beautifully directed film by Stanley Nelson, which guides us through the different changes of Miles’ life, smoothly handling the tale of an artist who refused any complacency throughout a long and undeniably brilliant career.
Abstract Truths: An Evolving Jazz Compendium – Vol 7 / Japanese Jazz
…the golden period from the 1970s into the early 80s when jazz in Japan came into its own identity and sound.
100 minutes of library groovers – dance floor bangers – funky fusion – modal swingers – big band stompers – jazz rock psychedelia and the impeccable sound of TBM are all represented.
Myths of Existence :: Ahmed Abdullah and Monique Ngozi Nri on Sun Ra
Like his mentor Sun Ra, Ahmed Abdullah understands the power and significance of a name. Diaspora, the combo he leads with Monique Ngozi Nri, stands for “Dispersions of the Spirt of Ra,” and they joined AD to discuss the continual recreation of Ra’s music, Afrofuturism, and the possibilities of the future.
Miles Davis :: Antibes, France July 1969
Five days after the first moon landing. Five days prior to the release of In a Silent Way. One month before the recording of Bitches Brew. The Miles Davis quintet at the 1969 Festival Mondial du Jazz d’Antibes, La Pinède, Juan-les-Pins.
John Coltrane :: Joe Brazil Bootleg (Detroit, 1958)
Recorded September 25, 1958 in the basement of Detroit-based saxophonist Joe Brazil, this bootleg finds John Coltrane in a loose, sentimental, and as always, spirited mood, and its dissemination online adds new wrinkles to the folklore of Trane.
And Then One Day: A Guide to the Music of Carla Bley
On the release of Carla Bley’s new album Life Goes On, Winston Cook-Wilson provides an overview of composer, bandleader, and pianist’s multifaceted career, from her pop and funk-inflected ’70s and ’80s work to her more recent “microcosms of a musical personality that is exceptionally difficult to distill.”
Makaya McCraven: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
McCraven is a musician, composer and bandleader, but he is also highly regarded for his “chopping” or remixing and re-imagining production skills. We’re New Again, his reconfiguration of the late-career classic Gil Scott Heron album I’m New Here, will be one of 2020’s top recordings, putting a fresh spin on moving meditations on family, personal history and black identity. We talked to him about that project, the process of remixing and the way he and Heron find links between many different kinds of music.
Leo Takami :: Unknown
Tokyo-based composer and guitarist Leo Takami’s new album, Felis Catus and Silence, sees release next month via Unseen Worlds. An enthusiastically imaginative blend of new age sounds, Takami shapes Windham Hill-inspired guitar compositions with elements of jazz, minimalism, classical music, Japanese gagaku, and ambient textures.
Miles Davis :: In A Silent Way
In a year loaded with albums turning fifty, few have retained the genre-defying staying power and influence of In A Silent Way. Recorded during a single three-hour session in July 1969 with producer Teo Macero, the album marked a decisive and definitive turn for both Miles Davis and the future of jazz. Meditative, moody and minimal in approach, this was the calm before the storm as the following year would witness yet another reinvention of Davis with the release of Bitches Brew.