A single fully-improvised piece of over an hour in length, percussionist Tyshawn Sorey and pianist Marilyn Crispell’s The Adornment of Time is a challenging work. It is not simple, danceable, easily listenable, or intended as background music. It is highly unlikely the listener will fully grasp its importance upon first approach. However, further delving into its depths … [Read more...]
Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg – ‘Dirt… And More Dirt’
At this point in Henry Threadgill's career, we already know the dynamic. Everything else is a refinement of those shifting polyrhythms, those floating melodies that skirt about the tonal and the atonal like hummingbirds at springtime, and that ever-present feeling that all this art just wouldn't work if you just couldn't help but keep tapping your foot. It's all there with … [Read more...]
Nextbop’s Favorite Jazz Albums of 2017
We have a small, volunteer staff here at Nextbop. Folks who read us here contribute work, adding to the collective of voices that we so cherish here and giving additional perspective that Sebastien and I lack at times. It's why, when it comes to end-of-year lists, our collective of voices is so important. It's nice to see the overlaps in taste and to gain insights into albums … [Read more...]
Matt Mitchell – ‘A Pouting Grimace’
On A Pouting Grimace (Pi Recordings), Matt Mitchell’s fifth outing as a leader, the pianist has created, along with producer David Torn, an otherworldly musical ecosystem through a uniquely orchestrated large ensemble and seemingly endless rhythmic, melodic, and textural invention. The ensemble consists of Mitchell on piano, synthesizer, & electronics, Kim Cass on double … [Read more...]
Miles Okazaki – ‘Trickster’
Miles Okazaki's compositions sound like he's creating an elaborate portrait from mosaic, octagon-shaped tiles. His style of play is dense, weaving around in his phrases with so many loops and curlicues, it's dizzying. There's a lot going on under the surface, and even the surface is still pretty busy. That his work isn't too top heavy, most particularly his latest album-- … [Read more...]