Great_Albums#GreatAlbums2024 My 20 favourite albums this year...
#AroojAftab – Night Reign (Verve)
Ethereal jazz from a Pakistani-American singer and composer who guides you into quiet corners where dark emotions reign
#GreatAlbums2024 My 20 favourite albums this year...
#KamasiWashington – Fearless Movement (Young Turks)
This jazz wonderkind employs a large ensemble of players and singers to take jazz into new realms where pop, funk, hip-hop, and Afrobeat thrive as equals.
My review of jazz artist Kamasi Washington's new album, Fearless Movement, published today in PopMatters.
#GreatJazzAlbums #Jazz #KamasiWashington #CurrentSpins #PopMatters
https://www.popmatters.com/kamasi-washington-fearless-movement-review
Occasionally I like to buy an album knowing nothing about the artist or the music it contains, based maybe on a few hints from an evocative cover image or song list.
This is one of those albums and it's absolutely amazing. If you know anything about it, please chime in.
EDIT: Finding some bios online. AKA: Kofi Ghanaba... Oh! He's in The Rough Guide to Jazz under "Ghanaba."
#23From2023 - #JohnScofield – Uncle John’s Band (ECM). The jazz guitar legend teams with double bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Bill Stewart for a double album that grooves and contemplates on a range of material. Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Neil Young’s “Old Man” and the Dead’s “Uncle John’s Band” get a modern treatment through Scofield’s fluid lines with a touch of amplifier breakup. More typical jazz fare like Miles Davis’s “Budo” fills out a diverse and lively set.
#23From2023 - #BradMehldau – Your Mother Should Know (Nonesuch). The US jazz pianist has been interpreting rock deep cuts since the 90s, when his Art of the Trio series included Jarrett-influenced takes on Radiohead and Nick Drake. On YMSK, Mehldau doesn’t so much transform “I Am the Walrus,” “Baby’s in Black,” “She Said She Said” and other Fabs songs into jazz as draw out harmonic subtleties they already contain. A closing rendition of Bowie’s “Life on Mars” fits right in.
#23From2023 - #JaimieBranch – Fly or Die X3 (World War). When jazz trumpeter Branch died tragically in 2022, she left us a gleaming alloy of music blending jazz with folk, rock, electronic and worldbeat. Completed posthumously by her bandmates, this set veers from the exotic groove of “Borealis Dancing” to the simmering block party of “Burning Grey.” “Baba Louie” has an almost trip-hop feel. “The Mountain” turns a Meat Puppets (!) tune into an evocation of Appalachian lore.
#GreatAlbums1960s – The #AstrudGilberto Album (1965). Backed by Antonio Carlos Jobim’s bossa nova guitar and songwriting, Gilberto’s solo debut extends the sunny villa vibe of the previous year’s smash, “The Girl from Ipanema,” with a set of tunes sung in both English and Brazilian Portuguese. “Once I Loved,” “How Insensitive” and “Dindi” reveal a quiet soulfulness within Astrud’s languid style and limited range, making this LP a velvety delight by a unique vocalist.
#GreatJazzAlbums #BossaNova
#GreatJazzAlbums #BossaNova
#GreatAlbums1960s - #StanGetz & João Gilberto – Getz/ Gilberto (1964). Saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist Joao Gilberto added minimalist piano by Antonio Carlos Jobim and guest vocals by Astrud Gilberto on this LP, codifying the bossa nova style for all time. Grammy-winner “The Girl from Ipanema” and smooth stunner “Corcovado” defined 60s cool in a Mad Men universe. The craze caught on and even Sinatra caught the bossa-nova bug.
#GreatAlbums1960s - #HerbieHancock – Empyrean Isles (1964). Hancock is in able company on this rousing set of hard and post-bop workouts, featuring Freddie Hubbard on blistering cornet, and the Miles Davis rhythm section, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, on bass and drums. “One Finger Snap” opens the set with some hot soloing from all concerned, after which “Oliloqui Valley” sets a mellower pace (a la Maiden Voyage). “Cantaloupe Island” gets you humming on the LP’s second side.