The West Coast, and more specifically, the LA-based jazz scene, has had a bit of a resurgence in the past decade. While the Brainfeeder label has dominated the headlines, Kiefer Shackelford has certainly cemented a place in defining the post-millennium Los Angeles jazz sound. While his work is undeniably rooted in jazz, his genre-spanning work is in many ways dramatically … [Read more...]
Staff Contributor
Jesse Fischer – ‘Flipped II’ (Album Review)
Let me come out the gate with a strong statement: I firmly believe that the Young Lions movement is one of the worst things to ever happen to jazz. Don’t get me wrong, the music in and of itself isn’t bad, per se. Most of these folks, from Wynton Marsalis to Roy Hargrove to Mark Whitfield are incredibly talented, academy-trained prodigies. What I think was, and still is … [Read more...]
GoGo Penguin – ‘A Humdrum Star’
If there was ever a time to immerse yourself in GoGo Penguin's music, it is now. Coming off of a string of popular and highly acclaimed albums as well as a recent New York Times piece that named them as one of the best acts at the 2017 SXSW conference, the Manchester Trio have outdone themselves on their latest release. In some ways, A Humdrum Star follows the same electronic … [Read more...]
Onyx Collective – ‘Lower East Suite Part One’ and ‘Lower East Suite Part Two’
I’m a sucker for albums that inhabit a very specific geographical location. Albums that, upon listening to, make you "feel" as if you are physically and emotionally there. Albums where the vibe of the music is inseparable from the connection to the city or neighborhood that the artist is inspired by or rooted in (e.g. Burial/South London, DJ Screw/East Houston, Kermit … [Read more...]
Gregory Sallet Quintet – ‘Le Mouvement Cree la Matiere’
Of his new album, Gregory Sallet has said that Le Mouvement Crée la Matière is “an act of transformation”. Music can create a truly transformative experience, with the potential of eliciting a range of emotions and thought processes previously unrealized. Great jazz not only holds these characteristics but goes a step further and shatters preconceived notions of what the genre … [Read more...]