I had love and specific passion this year. I felt more detached, as many of my dispatches have noted over the last year but particularly in this week of assessment. I felt a listlessness about even completing this list, yet the need to communicate was still there. The need for completeness (in a task that can never be completed) still gnaws at me. I still had to express my … [Read more...]
Nextbop’s Favorite Jazz Albums of 2016
There's no universal theme or overall consensus in jazz this year. No overblown hype machine, no clamoring for a seemingly agreed upon savior, no important trendsetting bucking of past conventions to take on new ones. Artists made art this year, as they do every year, and in the realm of jazz, they made art together. Collaborators collaborated, improvisors improvised. We, … [Read more...]
Stephan Crump – ‘Rhombal’
As a composer, Stephan Crump knows how to build. His Rosetta Trio has managed to construct a moving sound as calm as a flowing river that's still powerful enough to erode the rocks in the river's bed. The smoothness of his bass anchors as much as it flies off. When dealing with Liberty Ellman and Jaime Fox's guitars, the fullness and richness is there. When playing, in all … [Read more...]
Liberty Ellman – ‘Radiate’
Liberty Ellman has often been a secret weapon. Maybe it's what he's learned from the M-Base musical school of thought. Maybe his ears are made of pure magic. He's like salt-- seasoning and improving anything he's added to. In that regard, Ellman's collaborators often are as much a part of his voice as he is. It's always a delight to hear him play with bassist Stephan Crump or … [Read more...]
Vijay Iyer Trio at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Full Concert Video)
Since the inception of this site in 2009, pianist Vijay Iyer has been on a tear producing album after album of deeply compelling, intricate, powerful and addictive music, each time one-upping himself in terms of magistery and mastery of his instrument. To reward the breadth of his work, the virtuoso was awarded in 2013 a MacArthur fellowship, earning him the official title of … [Read more...]