The Jazz.com Blog
January 29, 2009 · 0 comments
The Best Jazz Tracks of the Month
Regular visitors to our domain—I just love the sound of that word; makes me feel like a feudal lord. . . . Anyway, regular visitors to our domain, know that we sift through the stacks of CDs released on the market, and pick 5 noteworthy tracks every week for our Song of the Day feature.
Our selections from January include familiar names such as Matthew Shipp (today’s featured artist), Joshua Redman, Charlie Hunter and Keith Jarrett, but also lesser known musicians deserving of your attention.
Among my favorite "neglected gems" of the month:
• Radio.String.Quartet.Vienna plays Joe Zawinul’s music with an aural palette that even Zawinul himself, that master of synthesized sound colors, would have found surprising.
• Organist Brian Charette’s CD Missing Floor is a very exciting outing, and features Leon Gruenbaum on his ingenious samchillian—a cleverly constructed instrument that you simply must hear if you haven’t had the pleasure. (Musicians are encouraged to check out the video here.)
• The Jazz Arts Trio realizes some Platonic ideal of tribute jazz by recreating piano trio recordings from the past in exacting detail.
• Ablaye Cissoko and Volker Goetze demonstrate that you can build fascinating music out of the unusual combination of kora and trumpet.
• And, of course, there is “Blue Monk,” “Yellow Mountain,” and various other shades of the jazz rainbow.
Below are links to the reviews of this month’s batch o’ tracks. As always, the reviews come with full recording info, a pithy assessment, a rating from 0 to 100, and a link for (legal) downloading.
Featured Songs: January 2009
Matthew Shipp: GNG
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
Keith Jarrett: You Took Advantage of Me
Reviewed by S. Victor Aaron
Jazz Arts Trio: My Foolish Heart
Reviewed by Walter Kolosky
Mario Adnet & Rodrigo Campello: Morena Faceira (Naughty Brunette)
Reviewed by Mark Saleski
Mort Weiss: Blue Monk
Reviewed by Mark Saleski
Joshua Redman: Round Reuben
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
Vinnie Cutro: Blues for Roy
Reviewed by Ralph A. Miriello
Gilfema: Morning Dew
Reviewed by Mark Saleski
Adam Birnbaum: House Party Starting
Reviewed by Chris Kelsey
Ruslan Khain: For Medicinal Purposes Only
Reviewed by Chris Kelsey
Ablaye Cissoko & Volker Goetze: Domain Domain
Reviewed by Mark Saleski
John Escreet: Somewhere Between Dreaming and Sleeping
Reviewed by Mark Saleski
Brad Leali / Claus Raible Quartet: Puddin' Time
Reviewed by S. Victor Aaron
Rick Frank: Yellow Mountain
Reviewed by Ralph A. Miriello
Donald Vega: Nostalgia
Reviewed by Walter Kolosky
Avishai Cohen: First Drops
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
Radio.String.Quartet.Vienna: A Remark You Made
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
Patrick Rydman: A Heartache on the Side
Reviewed by Mark Saleski
Hot Club of San Francisco: Vendredi 13
Reviewed by Bill Barnes
Charlie Hunter: Athens
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
Brian Charette: Giant Deconstruction
Reviewed by Mark Saleski
This blog entry posted by Ted Gioia.
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