Through all that’s changed in jazz in the last hundred or so years, quality interaction has always made great jazz great. A saxophonist’s line responding to a vocalist’s lyric, a drummer and bassist pushing and pulling the groove into the right feel. Solo albums sometimes fall flat for want of it, and large ensembles can give so much of it so freely that it almost becomes worth … [Read more...]
Dan Meinhardt’s Outset – ‘Outset’
Dan Meinhardt’s Outset finds themselves in some unexpected territory on their eponymous release, as they reinvigorate the musical principles that made jazz great a hundred years ago without sounding dated or necrophilic. Swinging lusciously, grooving intently, and spinning melodies throughout, this quartet of young Chicago musicians creates a shockingly raw and vulnerable d … [Read more...]
Twin Talk – ‘Twin Talk’
Twin Talk’s eponymous release will be their second full-length album, the first released late in 2013. In those roughly two and a half years, they’ve changed their name from Laurenzi/Ernst/Green ("We didn’t want to be a jazz law-firm anymore"), played the Chicago Jazz Festival, and collaborated on a performance with a dance company. Their sound has also changed, evolved without … [Read more...]
Esperanza Spalding – ‘Emily’s D+Evolution’
On Emily’s D+Evolution (pronounced "D-plus-evolution"), Esperanza Spalding is a badass black punk rock frontwoman making her jazz musicianship work for her in a way that it didn’t on her last album, Radio Music Society. With that 2012 release, she won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), but to quote my fellow Nextbop w … [Read more...]
Twin Talk’s Official Album Release Trailer
We’re excited to premiere the official release trailer for Twin Talk’s self-titled album. Though these kinds of videos can sometimes be lame, the footage here tells their story well. They are currently busy making a name for themselves in Chicago, but their trajectory will soon take them far from the Windy City. After their album release show at Constellation on April 30th, the … [Read more...]