jazz

Bill Evans | Treasures: Solo, Trio and Orchestra Recordings from Denmark 1965-1969 (2023)

jazz
May 16, 2023May 16, 2023

Treasures: Solo, Trio and Orchestra Recordings from Denmark (1965-1969) is a set of never-before-released recordings of jazz piano icon Bill Evans, taped with excellent sound quality either live or in Danish TV and Radio studios in the mid-to-late 1960s. An official Elemental Music release in collaboration with the Bill Evans Estate, Treasures is truly a ’holy grail’ discovery culled from the private collection of Danish jazz musician Ole Matthiessen and being released for the very first time as a limited-edition 180-gram 3-LP set. Highlights of the collection include trio performances from 1965 featuring legendary Danish jazz bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen; the only solo piano version of “My Funny Valentine” by Evans known to exist; a 1966 orchestral suite performed with the Evans trio accompanied by the Danish Radio Big Band conducted by trumpeter/arranger Palle Mikkelborg; and much more!

jazz
May 14, 2023May 14, 2023

Jacob Young’s fourth leader-recording for ECM not only presents the guitarist’s first pass at the guitar trio format, but moreover offers a broader view of his compositional pallet, as he, bassist Mats Eilertsen and drummer Audun Kleive explore a wide variety of pulsations, temperaments and styles, all tied together by Jacob’s always melodic embrace. On his last effort, 2015’s Forever Young, the guitarist was joined by Trygve Seim and the Marcin Wasilewski Trio, performing what The Guardian called, “a set full of undemonstrative surprises and contrasts”, where “the quality of the composing matches the formidable powers of the band.” Eventually continues that record’s gentle lyricism, while Audun Kleive’s percussive injections add counterpoint to Jacob’s in turns balladic and more rhythmically overt elaborations, lending this set its sharp edge. ECM Records

jazz
May 6, 2023May 6, 2023

Iroko launches Avishai Cohen’s longtime dream “to do a Latin project with his favourite Latin musicians in New York. ”The Israel-based bassist-singer and master conguero-vocalist Abraham Rodriguez Jr. brim with tunefulness, grooves, warmth, indelible melodies and the bonds of brotherhood to summon Yoruba gods.
In Yoruba lore, Irokois a complicated symbol-a troll inhabiting the top branches of a tree called “the throne of god,” guarded against lest he come to earth, be seen and drives men mad. But Iroko, the Frenchnaïve label’s unique release by singer-bassist Avishai Cohen and conguero-vocalist Abraham Rodriguez Jr., brims with tunefulness, groove and warmth. It has deep roots in esoteric religion and popular song and comes naturally from these 30-year cross-cultural collaborators who ward off trouble, united in musical spirit.

compilation, funk, jazz, soul
April 9, 2023April 9, 2023

This is Flying Dutchman 1969-1975: Bob Thiele is one of the great producers. For his work with John Coltrane alone, where he gave free reign to the saxophone great’s wildest musical visions including ‘A Love Supreme’, ignoring the usual cost consciousness of a major label, he deserves to be lauded. In addition to this his 8 years at Impulse saw him recording seminal works by scores of musicians including late blooming masterpieces by Ellington and Hodges, and a whole wave of ‘new thing’ jazzers such as Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders. He didn’t stop there and when he launched his own label Flying Dutchman in 1969, he continued to innovate and record music that reflected its times, but that also resonates down through the ages.

jazz
April 8, 2023April 8, 2023

Acclaimed French trumpeter Erik Truffaz returns to Blue Note with an album that adds his unique touch to music featured in his favorite films from the golden age of cinema. Truffaz offers compelling new interpretations of themes from classic movies including La Strada, L’Ascenseur Pour L’Echafaud, River of No Return, Le Casse & more
Erik Truffaz received an early introduction into the world of a professional musician, thanks to his saxophone-playing dad. When he was ten years old, the French trumpeter began performing in his father’s dance band. As he grew older, Truffaz performed with other bands in the region until he was 16 and heard Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.
The great jazz trumpeter’s music inspired him to learn more, and he set off for Switzerland’s Geneva Conservatoire, where he became a student. Blue Note

jazz
April 8, 2023April 8, 2023

“444 is among the best things I’ve ever done.” John Zorn
Avant-garde composer, saxophonist, film soundtracker, and musical gadfly who has collaborated with countless artists. The one word virtually everyone can agree on in any discussion of the work of composer John Zorn is “prolific” in the strictest sense of the definition. In 2020 Brian Marsella joined the heavy metal organ trio “Simulacrum” to spawn the astonishing fusion quartet “Chaos Magick”. This fourth CD in their ever-expanding legacy is a magical collection of instrumental music at its finest. Tighter and wilder than ever, Medeski, Hollenberg, Grohowski, and Marsella perform with a remarkable rapport in this provocative new direction from Downtown alchemist John Zorn, who has been exploring new musical worlds and confounding expectations since the 1970s! Tzadik

live, jazz, prog-rock
April 6, 2023April 6, 2023

Colosseum’s only performance at the prestigious Montreux Rose D’Or festival presented in superior quality. Taken from the official master tapes, this is the first vinyl release to capture the original Colosseum line-up performing at Montreux in best quality sound. Experience James Litherland, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Tony Reeves, Dave Greenslade and bandleader Jon Hiseman wowing the crowd with their innovative jazz/rock fusion. Insert includes an informative liner note by Repertoire’s Chris Welch – a must for all Colosseum fans!
Captured on camera and in superior audio during their first year of existence, Colosseum made a great impression at Montreux in 1969. Their performance for the Rose d’Or TV festival that April spawned a return visit to the prestigious Jazz festival later that year. Remastered for vinyl from the official Swiss TV archives’ master tapes, experience the original line-up performing signature pieces ‘Mandarin’ and ‘The Valentyne Suite’ in top quality sound. Repertoire Records

jazz
March 23, 2023April 8, 2023

Composer, clarinetist, singer and educator Angel Bat Dawid announces the release of a new work, Requiem For Jazz, out March 24th on International Anthem. A 12-movement suite composed, arranged, and inspired in part by dialogue from Edward O. Bland’s 1959 film The Cry of Jazz, the album is a wide-ranging treatise on the African American story from one of its most astute narrators.
Itself an incisive critique of racial politics in the USA, The Cry of Jazz draws formal comparisons between the structure of jazz music and the African American experience – as one of freedom and restraint, of joy and suffering – that manifests in the triumph of spirit over the crushing prejudice of daily life.
Cutting together archive reel from Black neighborhoods in Chicago with live performance footage from Sun Ra and his Arkestra among others, the film remains a radical and prescient evocation of Black pride and its roots in the history of jazz, from spirituals to blues and beyond. Drawing a through line to today’s vibrant avant-garde, Angel Bat Dawid’s… International Anthem

Rob Mazurek – Exploding Star Orchestra | Lightning Dreamers (2023)

experimental, jazz
March 22, 2023April 1, 2023

Lightning Dreamers is new work by composer, trumpeter, interdisciplinary abstractivist, and modern music mogul Rob Mazurek, who wrote the music for a compacted version of his long-running Exploding Star Orchestra. A follow-up to the acclaimed 2020 Mazurek/ESO release Dimensional Stardust, the album features guitarist Jeff Parker, vocalist Damon Locks, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and pianists Angelica Sanchez and Craig Taborn, among others. It was recorded mostly at the remote Sonic Ranch Studios in West Texas, not far from Mazurek’s current home in Marfa, in the days leading up to a debut of the music at Trans Pecos Festival in September 2021. Mixing and post-production was headed by Dave Vettraino from IARC studios in Chicago a cross 2022. International Anthem Recording

jazz

Bill Evans | Treasures: Solo, Trio and Orchestra Recordings from Denmark 1965-1969 (2023)

Jacob Young Trio | Eventually (2023)

Avishai Cohen / Abraham Rodriguez Jr. | Iroko (2023)

Various Artists | This is Flying Dutchman 1969-1975 (2023)

Erik Truffaz | Rollin’ (2023)

John Zorn | 444 (2023)

Colosseum | Live at Montreux 1969 (2023)

Angel Bat Dawid | Requiem for Jazz (2023)

Rob Mazurek – Exploding Star Orchestra | Lightning Dreamers (2023)