DOWN AT JAZZ JUNCTION where music evolves

DOWN AT JAZZ JUNCTION

where the world revolves and music evolves

Norman Warwick hears a jazz playlist

When Jazziz publishes its regular Editors´ Choice of music they are currently playing, readers are being directed to a subjective listing that nevertheless seems to guarantee top quality. That´s why we point our readers in the direction of Jazziz, in the certainty that whether you might be called a Jazz Nerd or a Jazz Novice, the selection of tracks will provide plenty to whet your appetite.

This week’s playlist kicks off with Meshell Ndegeocello (right), paying homage to Audre Lorde on No More Water with “Thus Sayeth the Lorde.” Count Basie Orchestra lead trombonist Dr. Isrea Butler celebrates J.J. Johnson and Bennie Green on his swinging debut recording, Congo Lament, featuring a take on the standard “Pennies from Heaven.” Hyeseon Hong leads her 19-piece Jazz Orchestra through nine self-penned compositions blending American jazz with Korean musical influences on Things Will Pass, including our selection, “Dance With Dracula.”

Toronto pianist Jeremy Ledbetter takes his trio to the next level on Gravity, including “Song of the River,” built around two Afro-Venezuelan rhythms. Italian pianist Giovanni Guidi expands his trio’s instrumental grasp with saxophonist James Brendan Lewis, moving towards more abstract and open territory on A New Day, opening with “Dantos del Ocells,” a Catalan traditional. Emmet Cohen presents a program of originals and covers dedicated to late Harlem-based creative Michael Funmi Ononaiye on his new album, Vibe Provider, which was released on August 23 via Mack Avenue and includes the lead single “Emmet’s Blues.”

“Earnts” is a single from Zack Clarke’s marriage of avant-garde jazz and IDM on Plunge. “Dependance” is an original modern jazz gem from bassist and composer Emiliano Lasansky’s The Optimist. Guitarist Jake Hertzog leads an adventurous jazz quartet on a set of original music on Longing to Meet You, including the gloomy and mysterious “A Room With No Doors.” Pianist Lara Downes closes our playlist with her interpretation of Paul Simon’s “America” from This Land, her musical exploration of the contrasts and contradictions of American history.

Ingrid Jensen (left) has been blazing a path in the jazz world since before she even graduated from Montreal’s McGill University in 1994. While completing her undergrad studies in jazz performance, the saxophonist and composer penned songs for the debut album of her sister, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, and the resultant Vernal Fields won a Juno Award. The sisters continue to feed off one another’s creative energy, as evidenced on the Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra’s recent release Harbour (Nettwerk/Justin Time).

The 19-piece ensemble, with Ingrid on trumpet, performs tunes Jensen has composed over the past decade. It’s not an accident that “Fantasy on Blue,” the album’s closing track, bears echoes of Miles Davis — the composition was commissioned by the Saskatoon Jazz Festival in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Kind of Blue in 2019. Ingrid’s muted trumpet opens the piece, with sensitive accompaniment from drummer Jon Wikan, before the rest of the orch joins in on the exuberant theme, and she conjures the ghost of Miles throughout.

Acknowledgements: All this and more is covered by the excellent Jazziz magazine, a recent addition of which was the prime source fot this article. We have included this piece as a recommendation of a magazine that, in a wonderful panoply of print and on line jazz media, is always informed and informative.