There's a fullness in ten years. A lot of work, if rather relentlessly done, can really make a discernible impact. Ten years ago, folks were making all the talk as rather cyclically that jazz was dead. It was such an exhausting conversation. Folks were around making this music, obviously. It couldn't be that dead. The problem was in the awareness and the tweaking of the … [Read more...]
Anthony Dean-Harris’ Favorite Jazz Albums of 2019
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...]
Jeremy Pelt – “Sir Carter” (Stream)
Every year, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt releases a new album, and every year it's an album that stays on folks' minds all year round. Typically, he releases his albums in January on the High Note label, but 2018's entry, Noir en Rouge - Live in Paris, needed just a touch more cooking and simmering, apparently, since it's set to release February 16th. Still, based on the first single … [Read more...]
Ben Allison & Think Free – ‘Layers of the City’
Bassist Ben Allison knows how to build. Over the course of 12 albums, Allison has made really fun, flowing music while maintaining more and more control over his artistry. His last album, 2013's The Stars Look Very Different Today, began Allison's building of his own record label, Sonic Camera Records. Now Allison is releasing his second album on his own label, changing up his … [Read more...]
Jeremy Pelt – ‘Make Noise!’
Every year, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt releases a new album on the High Note label and I look forward to it each year, almost more than I do Christmas. Like any artist, he tweaks the formula each time, finding new ways to make music and express logistically his ideas, seeing what he can make with different tools. Sometimes it'll be through electric instruments; sometimes through two … [Read more...]