15-06-2019 JAZZ_MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 2008-2019

15-06-2019 # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 2008-2019 # Avishai Cohen Trio, W. H., Trombone Shorty, Tonbruket, Donny McCaslin, Noah Preminger, Black Flower, Robert Glasper, Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom, Jerry Douglas, Marcus Strickland's Twi-Life, The Comet Is Coming

J A Z Z   M U S I C

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JAZZ_line  The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.

2008-2019

Bassist who has often combined Middle Eastern and Israeli music with both electric and acoustic jazz. 
Avishai Cohen Trio
Seattle (Avishai Cohen) 2:50
Lo Baiom Velo Balyla (Traditional) 5:25
from Gently Disturbed 2008
Avishai Cohen has established himself over the past decade as one of the more versatile and curious bassists around. For Gently Disturbed he hooks up with the young pianist Shai Maestro, a fellow Israeli, and drummer Mark Guiliana, on a set that is never less than exciting, always seductive, and often quite challenging. The gently playful opener, "Seattle," is a teaser: a waltz-inspired rhythm percolates underneath, but its simple foundation is often obscured by the trio's complex interplay... Of course, Cohen makes sure to step into the spotlight often enough to reassure that he is in fact the leader here, and on tracks such as Cohen's own neo-classical "Variations in G Minor" and the traditional Israeli song "Lo Baiom Velo Balyla," Cohen's intricate maneuvering reveals once again the ceaseless creativity of his musicianship.

The formation of W.H. was initiated in 2006 by cellist/composer Albert Márkos, with the aim to place the sonnets of William Shakespeare into the musical environment of present times. The name refers to a monogram used in the 1609 Quarto-edition of Shakespeare’s Sonnets, which was mysteriously dedicated to a certain Mr W.H... The band’s members are all celebrated artists in the Hungarian music scene... 
W. H.
XII 3:05
XXV 3:50
from Shakespeare's Sonnets 2009
Utilizing Hungary’s top hip-hop diva MC Sena’s vocal skills and the three musicians’ improvisational aptitude together with Shakespeare’s lyricism, the group is determined to go against the grain of all popular conventions to exhibit a new form of entertainment, infused with education. Hence it is not easy to describe the outcome of the production, as the pieces display characteristics of different genres, such as klangfarbe musik, free jazz, contemporary improvisational music, abstract hiphop, spoken word. All of this eventually intermingles into an incomparable sound and an absorbing show indeed, with the greatest respect and decorum to the ever-living artistry and magnitude of William Shakespeare...

New Orleans trombone and trumpet player, born into a music-rich family, who became a figurehead for modern jazz. 
Trombone Shorty
Hurricane Season (Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews) 3:20
Backatown (Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews) 2:46
from Backatown 2010
Backatown, the Verve debut from New Orleans composer, bandleader, and trombone and trumpet boss Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, was one of the most hotly anticipated recordings of 2010. Given the well-deserved reputation Andrews and his Orleans Avenue band have for incendiary live performances, one had to wonder if it would translate in their studio offerings for independent labels. It didn't because they'd never had the budget to get the vibe right. Backatown is the first time that Orleans Avenue -- Dwayne "Big D" Williams (percussion), Mike Ballard (bass), Joey Peebles (drums), Pete Murano (guitar), and Dan Oestreicher (baritone sax) -- have had an actual budget to capture the Trombone Shorty experience, and they've made a studio record that offers a real taste of the live show's excitement. Shorty calls his music “supafunkrock,” and it's an accurate term for the aural gumbo on this fingerpopping, butt-shakin' mix set...

09-05-2019 JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 2002-2012

Howard Alden

09-05-2019 JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 2002-2012 # Howard Alden, Jeremy Pelt, Donny McCaslin, Jenny Scheinman, Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood, Hiromi, Avishai Cohen Trio, W. H., Trombone Shorty, Tonbruket, Donny McCaslin

J A Z Z   M U S I C

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JAZZ_line  The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.

2002-2012

A master technician of jazz guitar with great fluency and wit. 
Howard Alden
Soul Eyes (Mal Waldron) 4:25
My Shining Hour (Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer) 3:42
from My Shining Hour 2002
With all of the recording activity by guitarist Howard Alden in the dozen or so years prior to the 2002 release of My Shining Hour, it is hard to believe that this is his first unaccompanied date. Alternating between electric and acoustic archtop seven-string guitars, Alden delivers one masterful performance after another. His brilliant technique is showcased in a dazzling take of "My Shining Hour" (which begins with a very subtle introduction)...  Howard Alden will have many shining hours ahead of him in the studio and on-stage, but this memorable CD should serve as an important landmark in his already very impressive career.

California-born jazz trumpeter with a knack for both straight-ahead and fusion-influenced jazz. 
Jeremy Pelt
Weird Nightmare (Charles Mingus) 5:27
Take Me in Your Arms 4:36
52 Blues (Drinkin' & Drivin') (Jimmy Rowles) 7:30
from Close to My Heart 2003
At 27, this amazingly versatile jazz trumpeter has a resumé that leads to huge expectations. His ensemble work has encompassed Ravi Coltrane, Roy Hargrove, Ralph Peterson, Cassandra Wilson, Greg Osby, and the Mingus Big Band. Pelt topped the 2003 Down Beat magazine annual critics poll for Rising Star on Trumpet, and the Jazz Journalist Association selected him as one of the Best Emerging Stars in Jazz. On his debut for the Maxjazz Horn Series, he brings along luminaries Mulgrew Miller, Peter Washington, and Lewis Nash, but it's clear he could be jamming with a bunch of no-names and be equally as emotional and engaging. The joy here comes from the unexpected fluctuations in tone and vibe from track to track...

An immensely talented jazz saxophonist and flautist with limitless expertise and expressive improvising technique. 
Donny McCaslin
Skyward (Donny McCaslin) 6:01
The Way Through (Donny McCaslin) 7:50
Flutter (David Binney / Donny McCaslin) 5:46
from The Way Through 2004
Donny McCaslin is a musician in constant evolution who moves on without looking back, and The Way Through documents another important stage in his career. Built around a core trio featuring drummer Adam Cruz and bassist Scott Colley, the session has a lot to offer. The saxophonist is truly emerging as a singular voice -- he shows a lot of integrity and delivers genuine emotion...  In a nutshell, this brilliant session is a clear evidence of McCaslin's all-around talents.

From avant jazz to the creative side of Americana, the bicoastal violinist/singer/composer has charted a diverse and engaging musical path. 
Jenny Scheinman
The Frog Threw His Head Back and Laughed (Jenny Scheinman) 6:09
Moe Hawk (Jenny Scheinman) 6:36
The Bouy Song (Jenny Scheinman) 4:39
from 12 Songs 2005
No one can accuse violinist and composer Jenny Scheinman of promulgating any kind of jazz cliché, or even of fitting in especially well with the rest of the Cryptogramophone label's crew of off-kilter jazz experimentalists. Her obsession is with songs and with lyrics -- neither of which appear on this paradoxically titled album. The 12 compositions here aren't actually songs, but are meant to feel like songs, by which Scheinman means that they're intended to be clear, straightforward, singable, and emotionally direct...  This kind of balance between directness, intensity, and complexity makes 12 Songs a more than usually impressive and compelling modern jazz album. Very highly recommended.

04-04-2019 JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1995-2006

Dave Douglas

04-04-2019 JAZZ:MiX # 33 jazz tracks on the the JAZZ_line 1995-2006 # Dave Douglas, Diana Krall, Zachary Breaux, Jane Bunnett and The Spirits of Havana, Paul Motian & the Electric Bebop Band, Matthew Shipp Quartet, Brad Mehldau, Howard Alden, Jeremy Pelt, Donny McCaslin, Jenny Scheinman, Medeski Scofield Martin and Wood

J A Z Z   M U S I C

LISTEN THE PLAYLIST ON DEEZER.COM

JAZZ_line  The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.

1995-2006

Cutting-edge trumpeter who seems equally at home in the avant garde jazz world and the pop milieu. Dave Douglas arguably became the most original trumpeter/composer of his generation. Douglas' stylistic range is broad yet unaffected; his music is not a pastiche, but rather a personal aesthetic that reflects a wide variety of interests. He explicitly cites such diverse influences as Igor Stravinsky, Stevie Wonder, and John Coltrane. As a composer, Douglas adapts and synthesizes unusual forms and creates his own out of disparate elements. As a trumpeter, he possesses a comprehensive jazz technique; certainly one hears the ghost of Lester Bowie in Douglas' expressive manipulations of timbre and pitch, but more pronounced is the integration of distinctive compositional and improvisational conceptions that ultimately defines his work.
Dave Douglas
Mirrors (Dave Douglas) 3:03
Going, Going (Dave Douglas) 5:47
Who Knows? (Thelonious Monk)
from Five 1995
Trumpeter Dave Douglas' unusual string group (which also includes violinist Mark Feldman, cellist Erik Friedlander, bassist Drew Gross and drummer Michael Sarin) is reminiscent in some ways of Ornette Coleman's free-jazz quartet despite not playing any of Ornette's originals and having a very different instrumentation. All of the musicians function as equals, the interaction is often intuitive, and the improvising on eight Douglas originals (including tunes dedicated to Steve Lacy, Wayne Shorter, Mark Dresser, Woody Shaw, John Cage and John Zorn), Thelonious Monk's "Who Knows," and Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "The Inflated Tear" is on a high level. Well worth exploring.

Contemporary jazz singer and pianist who took the pop world by storm in the 1990s, often echoing early swinging simplicity in her work. At the outset of her career in the 1990s, Diana Krall appeared to be a throwback to a different, classier era -- specifically, the mid-20th century, when the Great American Songbook experienced a revival in the hands of singers such as Nat King Cole. Krall's 1996 breakthrough, All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio, deliberately paid tribute to this period, but Krall didn't focus merely on singing the song in an old-fashioned way: as the subtitle of All for You suggested, Krall placed equal emphasis on the piano playing...
Diana Krall 
I'm an Errand Girl for Rhythm (Nat King Cole) 2:56
You Call It Madness (Russ Columbo / Con Conrad / Gladys Dubois / Paul Gregory) 4:36
Hit That Jive Jack (John Alston / Alex Alstone / Skeets Tolbert) 4:16
from All For You (A Dedication To The Nat King Cole Trio) 1996
Pianist/vocalist Diana Krall pays tribute to the Nat King Cole Trio on her Impulse! set. In general, the medium and up-tempo tunes work best, particularly such hot ditties as "I'm an Errand Girl for Rhythm," "Frim Fram Sauce," and "Hit That Jive Jack." Krall does not attempt to directly copy Cole much (either pianistically or vocally), although his influence is obviously felt on some of the songs. The slow ballads are actually as reminiscent of Shirley Horn as Cole, particularly the somber "I'm Through With Love" and "If I Had You." Guitarist Russell Malone gets some solo space on many of the songs and joins in on the group vocal of "Hit That Jive Jack," although it is surprising that he had no other opportunities to interact vocally with Krall; a duet could have been delightful. Bassist Paul Keller is fine in support, pianist Benny Green backs Krall's vocal on "If I Had You," and percussionist Steve Kroon is added on one song. Overall, this is a tasteful effort that succeeds.

Influenced by George Benson and Wes Montgomery, Zachary Breaux was a flexible guitarist who could handle soul-jazz, post-bop, and hard bop as well as more commercial pop-jazz and NAC music.
Zachary Breaux 
Breakfast at the Epiphany (Zachary Breaux) 0:16
Cafe Reggio (Isaac Hayes) 6:06
The Thrill Is Gone (Arthur Benson / Dale Pettite) 5:10
All Blues (Miles Davis) 6:33
from Uptown Groove 1997
Guitarist Zachary Breaux, who tragically died just a few months after recording this CD (his debut), was a potentially great guitarist with a style coming from George Benson. In fact, his solos are generally more memorable than the purposely commercial material on this set, which largely consists of melodic, jazzy funk jams, usually with rather basic electronic rhythms... Among the other guest musicians are flutist Hubert Laws, bassist Brian Bromberg and pianist Renee Rosnes.

001 ALTER.NATiON: weekly favtraX / 21-10-2018 (54')

ALTER.NATiON #001
Donny McCaslin, John Grant, Kikagaku Moyo, Kristin Hersh, Kurt Vile, Mythic Sunship, St. Vincent, Sundays & Cybele, The Mountain Movers, Young Jesus, Hop Along, Frankie Cosmos

KRISTIN HERSH

weekly favtraX
21-10-2018

"Breath In"

ALTER.NATiON #001 on DEEZER

Influential US female rock singer, most famously with her band Throwing Muses. 
KRISTIN HERSH - Breathe In (Kristin Hersh) 3:20
Kristin Hersh has so many sounds and words flowing through her that she has three musical projects and a thriving career as an author to try to contain them all. While several of the projects she released before Possible Dust Clouds, such as Throwing Muses' 2013 release Purgatory/Paradise and her own 2016 effort Wyatt at the Coyote Palace, were elaborate double-album and book affairs, she opts for economy on her tenth solo album...

Melodic Connecticut-based indie rock outfit led by Daniel Greene with experimental and psych-pop elements.
THE MOUNTAIN MOVERS - My Eyes Are Always Heavy 4:09
The Mountain Movers' second album for Trouble in Mind, Pink Skies, sees the Connecticut quartet taking their already heavy psychedelic sound into a new realm that's more formless, free, and intense...

Chicago-bred L.A. transplants evolved from their emo origins to improvisational post-rock. 
YOUNG JESUS -  Deterritory (Young Jesus) 5:58
The Chicago-bred L.A. transplants return just a year after the release of S/T -- a record that signaled the rebirth of the band. Before S/T, Young Jesus were found perfecting a Hold Steady-esque line of indie rock on 2015's Grow/Decompose, then a marked spike in their evolution took place...

An immensely talented jazz saxophonist and flautist with limitless expertise and expressive improvising technique.
DONNY McCASLIN - Exactlyfourminutesofimprovisedmusic (Zach Danziger / Jason Lindner / Jonathan Maron / Donny McCaslin) 4:00
With Blow., Donny McCaslin transitions from world-class jazz saxophonist to indie/art rock provocateur. The musician gained mainstream recognition from the rock world when his quartet collaborated on David Bowie's final album, Blackstar...

Former Czars frontman who embarked on a literate yet heartfelt solo career in the 2010s.
JOHN GRANT - Is He Strange (John Grant) 5:17
On Love Is Magic, John Grant lets the electronics that have lurked around the edges of his music since 2013's Pale Green Ghosts finally take center stage. To make his fourth solo album, he recruited Ben "Benge" Edwards, with whom he worked on Mr. Dynamite, the debut from his dark electro-pop side project Creep Show...

A musical polymath whose St. Vincent project gained praise for emotionally intricate songwriting and its blend of rock, jazz, electronic, and classical touches. 
St. VINCENT -  Masseduction 3:40
Even as her albums and concerts become more ambitious, St. Vincent's Annie Clark wouldn't be anywhere without the fundamentals she reminds listeners of with MassEducation. Recorded over a couple of evenings during MASSEDUCTION's mixing sessions, on the album Clark and pianist Thomas Bartlett strip down the album's songs to reveal new layers of closeness and distance, sincerity and artifice...

Heavy instrumental band from Copenhagen taking notes from the limitlessness of free jazz and the volume of '70s psych.
MYTHIC SUNSHIP - Way Ahead 7:05
Mythic Sunship’s sound has been described as “the ethos of free jazz in a doom setting”. On this 2xLP set, recorded and mixed in the studio of Causa Sui’s Jonas Munk’s, the band goes even further and let’s saxophone burn into the mix...

Japanese psychedelic rock collective who incorporate Krautrock, dub, and folk-rock influences; founded by Kazuo Tsubouchi in 2004.
SUNDAYS & CYBELE - Unbalanced 5:21
Following 2017's folky, Krautrocky Chaos & Systems, Japanese psych group Sundays & Cybele set the controls for The Dark Side of the Moon on their 2018 release. On the Grass is an overt homage to Pink Floyd's monolithic masterpiece from 1973, even nicking its title from the lyrics to the song Brain Damage...

Japanese psychedelic rock band combining elements of Krautrock, Indian ragas, and acid folk.
KIKAGAKU MOYO - Orange Peel (Go Kurosawa) 4:27
After building a solid backlog of unpredictable records that flowed through jazz, psych, prog, and space rock territory like cosmic drifters, Japanese combo Kikagaku Moyo settle down a little bit on 2018's Masana Temples, and come up with their most unified and cohesive record yet...

Philadelphia band whose punk-injected, literate indie rock is led by idiosyncratic vocalist/songwriter Frances Quinlan.
Hop Along - How Simple 3:48
...On first listen, “How Simple” might seem like a straight-ahead breakup song; Quinlan’s refrain of “Don’t worry, we will both find out, just not together” outlines a recent rift, while girl group-style backing vocals sound like her crew rallying around her for support. But, at other moments, that familiar approach disappears behind a slew of other worries...

The remarkably prolific Greta Kline taps into the D.I.Y. ethos of K Records and the early-2000s N.Y.C. anti-folk scene.
Frankie Cosmos - Being Alive 2:22
...“Being Alive” is a song about being pathetically in love—the kind of all-consuming love that massacres you, that puts you on edge at all times. The track hinges on intense swerves in tempo that mirror the speed of infatuation: slow during melancholic daydreams and quick while flustered and giddy. The most exhilarating part is a breakneck drum interlude smack in the middle, and the most soul-stirring is when Kline’s bandmates chime in around a misty bassline and agree that, yes, this whole living thing is wild. ...

From lo-fi roots and compulsive recording, this fuzzy Philly songwriter grew a huge body of strong and constantly evolving solo work.
KURT VILE - Cold Was The Wind (Kurt Vile) 4:51
Following the dusky wandering of 2015's B'lieve I'm Goin Down... and the sometimes cloying 2017 Courtney Barnett collaboration Lotta Sea Lice, restless workingman Kurt Vile looked to his time in transit for his seventh album, Bottle It In. The songs here were recorded over the course of two years in various studios and locations across the U.S., and Vile assembled them between tours and road-trip vacations with his family...

Donny McCaslin, John Grant, Kikagaku Moyo, Kristin Hersh, Kurt Vile, Mythic Sunship, St. Vincent, Sundays & Cybele, The Mountain Movers, Young Jesus, Hop Along, Frankie Cosmos