release date: 25.06.2021 via Crammed Discs
Xpujil (pronounced “ex-poo-khil”) is a single, 40-minute immersive piece which takes the listener on a sonic journey through an organic and shifting world. An album which blurs the limits between music, field recording and psycho-acoustic trance. NOVA MATERIA XPUJIL (MTM Vol. 45 vinyl, digital & CD) out June 25, 2021 on Crammed Discs.
release date: 25.06.2021 via Jazzland Recordings
“At once modern and sepia-toned, Maridalen is an immersive low-end dreamworld that distils distant Nordic jazz variants into a singular vision…. a powerful sedative, washing blues away.”
★★★★ Jazz Album Of The Month MOJO
“It sounds delicate and beautiful, and it comes from a place with depth in it. A place reserved for music.” Aftenposten (NO) 5/6
“…just the kind of happiness pill we need right now.” Ruben Gran, NRK P3 (NO)
“Something as good as this does not come along every day. Make your day with Maridalen. You won’t regret it. Not for a moment.” Steven Graham, Marlbank (UK) 5/6
“A noble threesome, they make good things happen slowly with a style that nods to finely sculpted film scores, high on atmosphere and low on theatrics.”
Gareth Thompson, Allaboutjazz
release date: 18.06.2021 via Capri Records
“Mark Masters is an accomplished arranger who comes up with hip, unusual ideas for jazz concerts and recordings.” – Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes
“Masters paints complex, intricate, detailed jazz landscapes, and he has always invited some of the most adventurous and innovative players into his ensemble.”
– Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Featuring veteran trombonist Art Baron, the last trombonist hired by Ellington himself in 1973, the album presents arranger/bandleader Masters‘ fresh, contemporary re-interpretations of Ellington’s iconic 1940-1942 work, when his orchestra featured bassist Jimmie Blanton and tenor sax master Ben Webster.
Data Lords “is her magnum opus, a riveting, remarkably intense double album, as profound as modern-day instrumental music gets.” – Jon Bream, Minneapolis Star Tribune
On Saturday and Sunday, June 12-13, the pioneering Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M³) initiative, co-founded by Jen Shyu and Sara Serpa to foster creative partnerships among woman musicians worldwide, presents six world premieres of collaborative work at a virtual M³ festival via the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.
Hosted by M³ Editor-in-Chief Jordannah Elizabeth, each premiere will be followed by a Q&A with the artists, who will answer questions from the audience about their creative process. Register for these free streaming events here (June 12) and here (June 13).
M³ has also released The Art Of Being True: M³ Anthology of Writings, the first of a rare archive of writing that takes control of the narrative with regard to the work of underrepresented musicians. It is available for free from online literary arts publication, Publik / Private.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association presents world premiere of new work by legendary composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith
Delta Blues is part of CSO Sessions Episode 21: Cult of Electromagnetic Connectivity, available on CSOtv starting Thursday, June 10
The event is part of Smith’s year-long celebration of his 80th birthday
MISHA @ 86
Today would’ve been the maestro’s 86th birthday, and our friend Benjamin Herman put together a lovely episode of his NPO Soul & Jazz / NTR podcast devoted to Misha’s music. The announcements/spoken parts are in Dutch but the music is….music! Here it is.
release date: 11.06.2021 via Pyroclastic Records
The recording and accompanying film showcase the band’s synergistic connection and exhilarating, alchemical mix of musical forms
5-stars. “Haitian traditions inspire the percussionist’s exhilarating hybrid of melodic drums, evocative vocals and fiery improvisation… Smith wanted the resources of traditional vocalists, highly melodic drummers and melody-instrument jazz improvisers to become
4-stars. “Smith brings a jazz sensibility, opening the band to exploration and excavation into the pieces he built from drum patters with new songs written by and traditional tunes woven in by Brevil…The results are inviting and engaging, playing to tradition without being beholden to it.” – Kurt Gottschalk, Stereophile
5 stars. “The pieces are all profoundly original…. simply extraordinary, innovative and important…infinitely beautiful and pure…. a truly rare work that – at these levels of quality – has never really been even imagined before.” – Vic Albani, All About Jazz Italia – Album of the Week
“I’ve been on the scene, and know a lot of people, but projects like this are the kind of thing you live for.” – saxophonist and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón
With its remarkable merging of traditional Haitian Vodou with contemporary jazz and beyond, the groundbreaking album
release date: 28.05.2021 via Crammed Discs
Hector Zazou – Geographies – remastered edition – vinyl , CD & digital – out 28 May 2021 on Crammed Discs
Hector Zazou is known for many groundbreaking albums and collaborations, including the Zazou Bikaye LPs. Yet this orchestral suite originally released in 1985 showcases some of Zazou’s most exquisite compositional work, fusing a chamber ensemble, some classical and pop vocals, unorthodox production, and an ironical, affectionate take on early 20th century classics (think Satie et al). With evocative song titles such as Cine Cittá & Sidi Bel Abbès, and even a catchy folk-like tune (Vera C.), this album is a playful voyage in time and space.
The cover is adorned with a reproduction of a painting by Gérard Garouste who, at the time, was viewed as a vanguard of the neoclassical/postmodernist movement. More about that below.
release date: 21.05..2021 via Capri Records
“A smoking straight ahead date that is pure fun…one can only hope that there’s more of the same in the offing. Hot stuff.” – Chris Spector, Midwest Record
“If anyone still needs convincing that outstanding jazz players live and work in places other than on the East and West Coasts, they should check out Denver-based Keith Oxman… an excellent improviser with a fine sound, agile technique and sure harmonic sense. He also exhibits a thorough knowledge of the hard bop language and can swing like crazy.” – David Franklin, JazzTimes
“Morelli coaxed the most exquisite tones from his instrument. They were at times husky, gruff and growling, and at others sweet and soaring across three octaves, but always mellow and elegant, like a fine, mature red Burgundy.” – John Farnworth, The Register Guardian
On the album, tenor saxophonist Oxman and bassoon virtuoso Morelli, accompanied by pianist Jeff Jenkins, bassist Ken Walker, and drummer Todd Reid, find unique common ground as jazz meets classical. The two gifted instrumentalists turn the novel conjunction of two strange bedfellows into an intoxicating sound and a charming conversation between like-minded souls.
