The Jazz.com Blog
May 31, 2009 · 0 comments
The Best Jazz Tracks of the Month
“I want to emphasize: this is not nostalgia,” Bobby Sanabria announces at the start of the recording of his Kenya concert. And if anyone in the audience had any doubts, the searing music Sanabria & Co. performed that evening soon dispelled them. The CD, released three weeks ago, makes that eminently clear.
It’s worth remembering Sanabria's admonishment in the context of the current jazz scene, where tribute bands and revivals are increasingly taking over the clubs and concert halls. A lot of these efforts are exercises at nostalgia. But the old music doesn’t need to sound like a museum piece. Jazz is at a crossroads, where it must learn how to celebrate its heritage without losing the vitality of an art form that is happening today. This is not an impossible balancing act, and when it is achieved by the right band in the right setting with the right attitude, the mix is about 20% history lesson and 80% sheer excitement.
Several of the recordings featured here as Song of the Day during the last month achieve just that balance. Sanabria’s CD with the Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra is a brilliantly realized example. Allen Toussaint's recent release, with its emphasis on old New Orleans music, is the most traditional recording of his career, but you won’t want to file this one away with your Dixieland revival records. I suspect that the record label had some formulaic “old-time” concept in mind when they hatched this project, but Toussaint is too immersed in the moment to fall into the tepid tribute trap.
Then we come to the “reunion” project that came out earlier this week from Pat Metheny and Gary Burton (joined by Steve Swallow and Antonio Sanchez). The pop art cover by Peter Max, with its lame 1960s-ish overtones doesn’t do justice to the music on this disk. Even if many of the songs are several decades old, the band plays at a very high level, and Metheny's solo work here is as good as it gets. Any guitarist who wants to learn how to construct melodically-rich solos that build phrase-by-phrase, will do well to check this CD out.
Other highly recommended recent releases featured during the month include Nicholas Urie’s very clever combination of Felinni-esque jazz with lyrics drawn from real dating service ads (warning: you may find these songs offensive); Brian Blade’s surprising non-jazz CD which shows off a completely different side of this talented artist; Darcy James Argue’s enthusiastically-received debut recording of his “Secret Society”; and a very strong offering from Joe Lovano’s “Us Five” band.
Below is the complete list of the tracks featured as Song of the Day during the last month. Each title is linked to a review, with full personnel and recording info, a pithy assessment, and a scoring on our quasi-proprietary 0-100 scale.
Happy listening!
Featured Songs: May 2009
Gary Burton & Pat Metheny: Sea Journey
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
Darren Rahn: Talk of the Town
Reviewed by Scott Albin
Sam Yahel: Oumou
Reviewed by Ralph A. Miriello
Hristo Vitchev: Parisian Skies
Reviewed by Bill Barnes
Joe Lovano: Powerhouse
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
Joel Harrison: Straight, No Chaser (variations)
Reivewed by Mark Saleski
E.J. Strickland: Eternal
Reviewed by S. Victor Aaron
Nicholas Urie: Bad Girl?
Reivewed by Mark Saleski
Melody Gardot: The Rain
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
Red Holloway: St. Thomas
Reivewed by Mark Saleski
Rick Germanson: Any Thoughts
Reviewed by S. Victor Aaron
Scott Gwinell: Brush Fire
Reviewed by Bill Barnes
Jentsch Group Large: Route 666
Reivewed by Mark Saleski
Darcy James Argue"s Secret Society: Phobos
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
Brian Blade: Mercy Angel
Reviewed by S. Victor Aaron
Ramblin' Jack Elliott: Falling Down Blues
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
Torcuato Mariano: Back to the Road
Reviewed by Scott Albin
Bobby Sanabria: Wild Jungle
Reivewed by Mark Saleski
Frank Macchia: Air Mail Special
Reivewed by Mark Saleski
Kevin Hays: Sweet and Lovely
Reviewed by Ralph A. Miriello
Allen Toussaint: Long, Long Journey
Reviewed by Ted Gioia
This blog entry posted by Ted Gioia
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