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...]
Matthew Stevens – ‘Preverbal’
What is the actual difference between adventurous, guitar-based contemporary jazz music and instrumental post-rock? Depending on the day, I can get down just as much to Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai as much as I would to Rafiq Bhatia or, in this particular case, Matthew Stevens. For the creators, there's likely little difference, or moreso it matters less to these folks, but … [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...]
Corey King – ‘Lashes’
Corey King and Jamire Williams make a great pair. The dopeness of Williams' 2012 release, Conflict of a Man (the album's "Black Super Hero Theme Song" has been the theme song to "The Line-Up" for years), through his backwards namesake band, ERIMAJ, is accomplished not only because of Williams' constantly keyed in rumbling on the drums but also because of King's soulful … [Read more...]
Corey King – “Ibaraki” (Stream)
Corey King (Esperanza Spalding, Takuya Kuroda, ERIMAJ) is set to drop his highly anticipated Ropeadope debut Lashes September 9. The genre-defying record stems from exposure to Germany’s dance culture while on tour with Spalding in 2013. The end goal? Make music that will make people move. To accomplish this feat, King recruited two live bands made up of contemporary luminaries … [Read more...]