pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news

So, I usually don’t do album reviews, but I get tons of music; so I figured I’d do little snippet reviews once a month or so… here are some recent jazz CDs I got recently. All of them were pretty darn fabulous…

The Dreamers – Masada Book Two, Book of Angels, Volume 14: Ipos (Mar 2010) The Dreamers sextet is made up of Cyro Baptista, Joey Baron, Trevor Dunn, Marc Ribot, Jamie Saft, and Kenny Wollesen and it quite frankly one of John Zorn’s most accessible bands.  They weave in and out of some new Masada compositions.  Highly enjoyable and easily drinkable with enough complexities to keep you coming back to the well!
http://www.myspace.com/zornroz

John Zorn – In Search of the Miraculous (Feb 2010) This album was inspired by “esoteric spiritual practices, white magic, ritual, traditional myths and ancient legends.”  This album is a great adventure, and as a plus is performed by the soothing Alhambra Trio (who had a great, evocative album out in late 2009) joined by special guests Kenny Wollesen, Carol Emanuel, and Shanir Blumenkranz.
http://www.myspace.com/johnzorn

Jamie Saft – A Bag of Shells (Mar 2010) This soundtrack album is for the four films Murderball, God Grew Tired of Us, Dear Talula, and Brooklyn Exile.  It jumps all over the place, starting with the harder edged “Murderball” title track to many different styles – some background music and some that catch your ears and take them for a ride.
http://www.myspace.com/jamiesaft

Haftor Medbøe – A Box of Monkeys EP (Jan 2010) My only complaint about this EP is that… it’s too short. Haftor Medboe bridges the gap from contemporary jazz to electronic, and while I’m usually not fond of vocals in my jazz music, the Björk-like vocals from guest singer Anneke Kampman are a superb match.  This guitar-driven EP has a great mix of electronics and traditional jazz instrumentation (sax & trombone).
http://www.haftormedboegroup.net/

Loose Grip – Looking Glass (Apr 2010) This guitar and tenor sax infused contemporary jazz band is led by drummer Chris Wallace.  I dig this record a lot… great for fans of Chris Potter and Joe Lovano on the sax angle, great for fans of the guitar jazz like John Scofield, etc.  It’s a well made record, that I’m sure will get many more spins from me this year.
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/LooseGrip

VW Brothers – Muziek (Feb 2010) The Van Wageningen Brothers have played with many immense talents in the jazz world (anyone heard of Stan Getz?).  Finally on their own… they captured some great sounds on their band-leading debut album. From the funk of “You Guys Done Yet?” to the South American flavor of “Benito” and “Zapatos de Madera” to the Miles Davis cover “Milestones,” the VW Brothers don’t disappoint – check it out now!!
http://www.vwbrothers.com/

Chris Tedesco – Living the Dream (late 2009) Partially recorded with a big band and partially with a 32-piece studio orchestra, Living the Dream grabs for the 1960s jazz gusto led by Chris’s wonderful trumpet work.  This is a definite record to pick up if you dig the swinging big band style.  The album also features singer Tony Galla on a handful of tracks.
http://www.christedesco.com/

The Ullmann Swell 4 – News? No News! (early 2010) German reed-man Gebhard Ullmann and New York free-jazz trombonist Steve Swell trade off writing duties and collaborate to bring some great free-jazz improvisations as well as some concise, beautiful compositions to our ears.  There is definitely a noticeable juxtaposition between the four songs from each leader and the 2 collaborative pieces.  While the album isn’t cohesive, it’s not really intended as such.  With that being said, it is definitely an enjoyable spin for my ears.
http://www.gebhard-ullmann.com/
http://www.steveswell.com/

More by late April/early May…

~Dan – np: Sevendust – Alpha