Yesterday we unveiled Nextbop's Best Jazz Albums of 2019, which was compiled by our staff as a whole. Today, we continue our Season of Lists with Editor-in-Chief Anthony Dean-Harris' Favorite Jazz Albums of 2019. There's something kind of lovely about the lack of one major cohesive idea present in the genre of jazz at the moment. The idea of what the music can be is larger … [Read more...]
Nextbop’s Best Jazz Albums of 2019
It was an amazing year for jazz music. The genre is constantly evolving and pushing the limits of creativity. Jazz musicians have a real talent for drawing inspiration from other musical styles while always staying rooted in a century of tradition. New directions are emerging, new stars are rising, seasoned veterans are redefining their sound. It's such a blessing to be part of … [Read more...]
Watch the Video for “Offset” Off Portico Quartet’s New Album ‘Memory Streams’
It's always a delight to say Portico is back. After their recent returns to form with their last two Art in the Age of Automation albums, they're keeping things rolling along with a new album, Memory Streams, out October 4th on Gondwana Records. They just dropped the first single and video, "Offset", that's dark and spooky and perfect. Check it out after the jump and be on the … [Read more...]
Hania Rani – “Glass” (Video)
Solo piano can be a hard sell, but something about seeing the inner workings and hearing all the little steps of Hania Rani working out her prepared piano, evoking a score for a gloomy winter's day, just makes the prospect all the more enticing. Rani is about to release her debut album, Esja, April 5th on Gondwana Records, and her music seems to fit that specific kind of mood … [Read more...]
Portico Quartet – “View from a Satellite” (Video)
Portico Quartet's latest album, Untitled (AITAOA #2), the companion album to last year's Art in the Age of Automation, just dropped last week and it's spacey, trippy, dopeness that I can't stop playing. In particular, I can't stop playing the song "View from a Satellite", a brilliant shimmering crescendo where Jack Wyllie's saxophone is superb and fritters about the air like an … [Read more...]