Jazz – Page 5 – 7th Level Music

Top 30 albums of 2019: #’s 30 – 26

Here we are at the end of 2019. As always, there’s too much good music released every year for anyone to hear all of it, but here are my top 30 albums of 2019 (of 60 that I reviewed) this year.

#30 – Vapors of Morphine – Lyons, Colley, Dupree Live at the Lizard Lounge 5/25/2007

This is a recording of a 2007 show that was the beginnings of what would become Vapors of Morphine. It’s a great recording of jazz, low rock, delta blues, and a bit of psychedelia and was a welcome gift for this lover of Morphine.

#29 – Black Midi – Schlagenheim

This album is difficult to describe. Is it prog-rock? Post-punk? Both? Neither? I think it’s neither. I do know that it’s a wild mix of crazy guitar riffs, epic drumming, and bizarre, frantic lyrics. It’s unlike anything you’ll hear, and I fully expect (and the band has pretty much said) that the next Black Midi album will be completely different.

#28 – BODEGA – Shiny New Model

BODEGA can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes and ears, and Shiny New Model was another sharp, witty post-punk record from these New Yorkers. BODEGA capture existential ennui, technology paranoia, and the annoyance of the daily grind better than most.

#27 – Cosmonauts – Star 69

I knew as soon as I heard the single “Seven Sisters” for the first time that Star 69 would be in the top half of this list. Sure enough, the entire album is a shoegaze wallop with their heavy wall of distorted guitars and California sunshine (intentionally mixed with a bit of smog, let’s be honest). Sharp lyrics about being tired of parties and sick of hipsters are an added bonus.

#26 – King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Fishing for Fishies

Never ones to fear experimenting with multiple genres, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard decided to make a blues record and mix it with synthwave. It works. They’re probably one of the few bands who could do it, let alone make it a concept record about environmental issues and the constant creep of more technology into our lives.

Who’s in the top 25? Come back tomorrow to find out!

Keep your mind open.

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Irreversible Entanglements return with wild 23-minute “single.”

Free jazz collective Irreversible Entanglements – comprised of poet/MC Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother), saxophonist Keir Neuringer, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, bassist Luke Stewart, and drummer Tcheser Holmes – return with a new standalone single, “Homeless/Global,” out now via International Anthem and Don Giovanni. “Homeless/Global” is an unabridged take from the first moments of a recent Philadelphia recording session, and is the first piece of new music the group has released since their 2017 acclaimed self-titled debut. Their forthcoming follow-up LP will see release in spring of 2020.

Stream “Homeless/Global” –
https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/homeless-global

“Homeless/Global” stretches out inside a vacuum of time, running over 23 minutes in a blink of an eye. The track starts by falling backwards into an energetic recollection of Strata East swing, swelling forcefully till it bursts into the foreboding preach of Ayewa. Her poem is wide-ranging, touching on migration, exile, and border violence. Ayewa runs down an inventory of Black history that “no one remembers.” The band builds back up through soaring saxophone by Neuringer, before the rhythm section simmers down to a deep pocket of psychedelic groove held together by Stewart’s mantric basslines and textured by Navarro’s extended trumpet technique, as drummer Holmes dances dynamically around a pulse. “Homeless/Global” captures the essence of the band in improvisational ritual, and the increasingly powerful capacity they’ve collectively developed over 2+ years on the road.

A statement on the music, from the band: “As with the session for our first album, we began this session by just setting studio levels and hitting that record button. ‘Homeless/Global’ was the first thing we played, no script, no plan. It’s a studio take that reflects what we do live: take the stage without a map, navigate the world in deep, telepathic, contrapuntal communion with each other and the histories we’re tapping into, push into the known and unknown, and arrive at the end together.“

Originally performing as two different ensembles at a Musicians Against Police Brutality event in 2015 (in response to the NYPD slaying of Akai Gurley), the five musicians that now make up Irreversible Entanglements recognized a shared ethos, and shortly after, assembled as a single unit for an impromptu studio date at Seizure’s Palace in Brooklyn. That session yielded their debut album Irreversible Entanglements (released by International Anthem & Don Giovanni in September 2017). Critical and communal acclaim for the album (including “Best of 2017” nods from NPR Music, WIRE Magazine, Bandcamp, and others) fueled a high demand for the band in the live setting, and the group have since spent much of 2018 and 2019 on the road. They have collaborated in performance with many legends of creative music including Amina Claudine Myers, Pat Thomas, and Nicole Mitchell; and their highest profile shows have included Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Le Guess Who Festival In Utrecht NL, Barbican in London, and the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Oh Sees – Face Stabber

You know you’re in for an interesting time when the new Oh Sees (Thomas Dolas – synths, John Dwyer – guitar / vocals / synths, Tim Hellman – bass, Paul Quattrone – drums, Dan Rincon – drums) album has a cover featuring airbrushed van art of Frank Frazetta’s “Swamp Demon” and the record is a double-album called Face Stabber.

The album combines psychedelic jams with stoner metal riffs and jazz influences for one of the coolest albums of 2019. The opener, “The Daily Heavy,” begins with toy squeaks and soon morphs into a weird mantra-like jam of double drums and a rolling bass groove from Hellman that doesn’t seem to let up for almost eight minutes. The song seems to be about trying to live in a chaotic world in its final death throes, and maybe it’s about a bad relationship. I’m not sure. It just cooks. “The Experimenter” pokes fun at hipsters (“Everybody’s doing everybody’s else thing. Everybody’s talking about how, how it should be.”). The title track is a fast, furious instrumental jam.

The guitar and synth stabs of “Snickersnee” hit you like a knife as Dwyer sings about the constant barrage of lies from politicians mentally and physically affects us (“Politicians tell you only lies. It possesses every breath you breathe.”). “Fu Xi” brings in some prog rock elements that remind me of some Frank Zappa tracks. “Scutum and Scorpius” is a synthwave mind trip at first and then transforms into a psychedelic lava lamp flow that floats around you for over fourteen glorious minutes. Dwyer stretches his riffs into great Hendrix-like sounds, Quattrone and Rincon keep the song movie with simple, effective beats, Dolas follows Dwyer’s lead, and Hellman grounds the whole track.

Then along comes “Gholu,” an instant mosh pit creator that has Dwyer growling about demonic dinners and bodies in freezers in under two minutes. “Poisoned Stones” chugs along with a heavy weight and more excellent double drumming from Rincon and Quattrone. “Psy-Ops Dispatch” is a cautionary tale about cyber-addiction (“Lock us all together, pulsing low-end sine, image on the screen disrupting a withered broken mind.”).

“S.S. Luker’s Mom” is another groovy instrumental, “Heart Worm” is a raucous punk track, “Together Tomorrow” is a quickie about, I think, quickies, “Captain Loosely” is another instrumental, this one based around spacey synths, and then there’s the closer – “Henchlock.” “Henchlock” is over twenty minutes of psychedelic jazz that brings in dual saxophones, lyrics about the drag of information overload and consumerism, intricate drum patterns, hypnotic bass, groovy synths, and trippy guitar solos. It’s probably my favorite single of the year, and it takes up an entire album side.

Oh Sees are nothing if not prolific, and for them to release a double-album in the same year as another full album (Grave Blockers) is par for the course. Few other bands have as much creative energy, and Face Stabber is another excellent addition to their discography.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Ash Walker – Aquamarine

Multi-instrumentalist Ash Walker describes his newest album, Aquamarine, as “…like a deep sea voyage into the subconscious.” I’m not sure I can put it any better than that. It’s a lovely record of trip hop, dub, jazz, funk, and lounge electro that will surely be among my top records of 2019.

The opening electric dub drums of “Under the Sun” instantly cast you onto a shiny sea aboard a catamaran supplied with good drinks, lovely people, and even better music. The jazz drums and flute of “Time” (which, like the track before it, features soulful vocals by Laville) make you forget time, much like you would on that catamaran sailing across a clear sea. “Come with Us” is a great dub track with a smooth trumpet solo.

“Brave New World” brings in acid jazz flair. “Finishing Touch” keeps the acid jazz drum beats, but sprinkles trip hop on top of them and Laville’s guest vocals smooth them out. The title track tick-tocks in a soothing, hypnotizing manner. The flow of “Sanity” reminds me of a rowboat bumping against a dock as slow waves come into shore. The beats get snappy on “I Need Money,” and Walker’s inclusion of electric piano adds a sweet touch.

As one might expect, “Fat King Smoke,” is one of the funkiest tracks on the record. I love the slippery beats, the Theremin-like synths (which could really be a Theremin for all I know), and the weird electro bass line. “Ain’t Got You” (with more guest vocals by Laville, who appears four times on the record) is dancefloor-ready. “The Dagon’s Cashmere Jumper” might be my favorite song title of the year. I hope you get the reference and realize that, yes, a Dagon might need a cashmere jumper now and then while strolling around on land.

Aquamarine is otherworldly, and a pleasant journey that I’m sure sounds and feels different every time you hear it. Dive in, the water’s fine – great, in fact.

Keep your mind open.

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Ash Walker releases new single, “Finishing Touch,” ahead of upcoming album – “Aquamarine.”

In advance of his forthcoming album, Aquamarine (out July 19th on Night
Time Stories), the London-based multi-instrumentalist Ash Walker shares new single, “Finishing Touch”, featuring the smooth voice of Laville, alongside
it’s Louis Hvejsel-Bork-directed video.

Watch Video For New Single, “Finishing Touch” —
https://youtu.be/3BbobhRJpQY

“Set in an uncanny valley of a richly coloured world, we see Ash navigate and explore his world through music and curiosity,” explains Hvejsel-Bork.
“Through the power of his music, he unlocks something deeper within a
totalitarian society. A lost individual is awoken by his music, forsaking her
enslavement and planning an escape to a freer future.”

In order to create an otherworldly look, the video was shot with an infrared
camera using a brand new filter that replicates the old Kodak Aerochrome
look. There’s only one company that makes this filter, which was shipped
specially for this project from the US. Originally, Aerochrome film was used
during WW1 for better aerial surveillance, allowing unseen details of terrain. This was later adopted in popular culture through people like Jimi Hendrix
and Frank Zappa in photography.

Aquamarine is a projection and culmination of all Ash has absorbed. A cosmic explosion of sound and colour, rhythm, shape, and patterns. The arrival of an unassuming dreamer now projecting his unique flavour of expression.
Aquamarine is the take-off of this audial spaceship, a sound discovered in the
grooves of thousands of records, united in one.

Ash will celebrate the release of Aquamarine with a special secret show in
Central London on Saturday, July 20th where he’ll perform the album in its
entirety for the first time. The location will be revealed only to ticket buyers.
Tickets are available for purchase here.
Stream “Under The Sun” (Feat. Laville) —
https://youtu.be/Uy_9g3v8uhw

Pre-order Aquamarine —
https://orcd.co/aquamarine

Keep your mind open.

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Ash Walker’s “Under the Sun” is a delightful trip.

London-based multi-instrumentalist Ash Walker is pleased to announce his third album, Aquamarine, due July 19th via Night Time Stories. Designed to inspire good energy, Ash hopes to bring a sense of calm and tranquility to the listener amongst the chaos of life. This idea is clear in lead single, “Under The Sun” (Feat. Laville), a smooth meditation on love.

Aquamarine follows Walkers 2016 album, Echo Chamber, and 2015’s Augmented 7th. A cosmic explosion of sound and color, rhythm, shape, and patterns, Aquamarine is the take-off of an audial spaceship, a sound discovered in the grooves of thousands of records, united in one. Recorded at home with the freedom of time and space, it combines analogue and digital, and a fondness for normally unwanted shapes and textures such as fuzz, hiss, and crackle. Also featured across the album are trumpet and flugelhorn auteur Yazz Ahmed, bassist Marc Cyril (Keiziah Jones, Jr Walker & The All Stars), and renowned musician and producer Jonathan Shorten.

“My previous albums have felt to me more like ventures on land,” says Walker. “This one feels more like a deep sea voyage into the subconscious. Living to dream with visions of grandeur. Manifesting a beautiful path to walk on. It was inspired by everything around me, from friends and family to art and design, engineering and architecture, movement and we use our five senses. I love to try and push my own boundaries of what I perceive to be right and wrong, seeing mistakes as innovations, and obstacles as inspiration.”

An avid collector of jazz, blues, soul, funk, reggae, and all things in-between, Walker has DJed far and wide, spinning vinyl in the UK with The Specials to scattering dub across San Francisco and LA. Walker’s production output is similarly exploratory: his journeys have taken him far and wide, from tunnels under the river Thames to recording local percussionists in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. His musical palette is widened even further by his live shows. Collaborating with Ezra Lloyd-Jackson, each of Walker’s performances is turned into a vibrant, multi-sensory experience, combining live reactive projections and carefully crafted frequency complimenting fragrances.

Stream “Under The Sun” (Feat. Laville) — https://youtu.be/Uy_9g3v8uhw

Pre-order Aquamarine — https://orcd.co/aquamarine

Aquamarine Tracklist: 1. Under The Sun (Feat. Laville) 2. Time (Feat. Laville) 3. Come With Us 4. Brave New World 5. Finishing Touch (Feat. Laville) 6. Aquamarine 7. Sanity (Feat. Laville) 8. I Need Money 9. Fat King Smoke 10. Ain’t Got You (Feat. Laville) 11. The Dagon’s Cashmere Jumper

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Herb Alpert – Rise (1979)

It seems that only the legendary Herb Alpert could combine spaghetti western horns with late 1970’s synths and make it work. He did exactly that on his 1979 album Rise – his first without the Tijuana Brass backing him.

The opening track, “1980,” was originally written for NBC Sports’ coverage of the 1980 Olympics and sounds like a vision of what the next decade was going to sound like for all of us – full of futuristic gadgets and obsession over the coming new millennium clashing with old school thinking and ideals (pretty much the 1980’s in a nutshell). The title track is one of the funkiest things ever put on a record, so much so that it was heavily sampled by Biggie Smalls on “Hypnotize” (Abe Laboriel’s bass riffs alone could power two dozen hip hop records). Mike Lang’s piano work mixes well with Alpert’s expert trumpet work, and Alpert knows when to put down his horn and let his band jam.

“Behind the Rain” sounds like unused music from a Roger Moore-era Bond movie with its thrilling string and horn arrangements, machine gun-like drums, and car chase guitar. “Rotation” has this cool, quirky beat to it that mixes simple drum chops with electro-beats that are peppy yet subtle (and Alpert’s trumpet, of course, roots the entire track).

“Street Life” is sassy and brassy, with Alpert’s trumpet taking center stage throughout it while some funky slap bass struts alongside him. Speaking of slap bass, it’s even funkier on “Love Is,” a song that I’m sure was remixed for discos across the country at the time. Louis Johnson practically puts on a clinic on how to lay down a snappy bass groove. Alpert, again, smartly lets his instrument be the backup on the track.

“Angelina” brings in the Central American flair found on so many of Alpert’s records and even some Caribbean beats to boot. That south of the border sexiness continues on “Aranjuez (Mon Amour),” which also throws in disco beats and bass for good measure.

One can’t write about Rise without mentioning Herb Alpert’s nephew, Randy “Badazz” Alpert, who co-produced the record and brought in a lot of the disco / nightclub / funky touches. He helped bring his uncle’s work to even more people by getting “Rise” and other cuts into the hands of club DJ’s. It’s a classic record and worth a listen.

Keep your mind open.

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Claude Fontaine’s debut album, due April 26th, is going to be stunning. Listen to “Pretending He Was You” if you don’t believe me.

“Claude Fontaine’s music perfectly captures the thrill that comes with discovering an excellent old LP at a record store.” — Noisey

“The Los Angeles-based Fontaine is preparing for the release of her debut album […] ‘Cry for Another’ is a wonderful early warning.” — Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles-based songwriter and singer, Claude Fontaine, announces her debut, self-titled album, out April 26th on Innovative Leisure (LA-based label who has worked with the likes of BADBADNOTGOOD, Rhye, Allah-Las, Nosaj Thing, Hanni El Khatib, Nick Waterhouse, Classixx, etc). Today, she shares lead single, “Pretending He Was You,” which premiered this morning via Noisey.

Stream “Pretending He Was You” —
https://soundcloud.com/innovativeleisure/claude-fontaine-pretending-he-was-you-4/s-GYXxX

Last month, Fontaine presented listeners with early single “Cry For Another,” a track praised by the Los Angeles Times as “a straight-up rocksteady song that conjures the essence of Kingston, Jamaica, in the late 1960s” and a “wonderful early warning” of what’s to come. Fontaine even made a special appearance at Ulla Johnson’s New York Fashion Week show in support of the single; Johnson, immediately upon hearing the track, personal reached out to Fontaine to perform it.

A love song to classic reggae and Brazilian music, Claude Fontaine is an album honoring that feeling of finding a home away from home. Fontaine wrote and demoed her debut album after living in London off Portobello Road and stumbling into Honest Jon’s, a long-lived spot for fringe records collected from the furthest edges of the world.

She was immediately captivated by the old Studio One, Trojan, and Treasure Isle records she was discovering—the same records that got The Clash covering “Police And Thieves,” and the Slits sharing a bill with Steel Pulse. “I wandered in one day and from the first moment I was under a spell,” Fontaine says. “I was transfixed.”

Tracked at both Kingsize Sound Labs in Northeast Los Angeles and Sage and Sound, Chet Baker’s legendary old studio in Hollywood, Claude Fontaine was recorded with a murderer’s row of session players, including Airto Moreira, the Brazilian drummer whose work both solo and in collaboration—with Miles Davis, Astrud Gilberto, Chick Corea, Annette Peacock—make him an actual living legend, Tony Chin, (Althea and Donna, King Tubby, Dennis Brown), RonnieMcQueen (Steel Pulse), Rock Deadrick (Ziggy Marley), Andre De Santanna (Sergio Mendes, Flora Purim), Gibi Dos Santos (Sergio Mendes), Nando Duarte (Gal Costa, Elza Soares), Fabiano Do Nascimento (Mia Doi Todd), and Jaime Hinckson (Hollie Cook, Daniel ‘Bambaata’ Marley).

“I hope this record will transport people,” said Fontaine. “I want it to feel like those lost records, like it got lost in the dusty bottom bin of some world music store in London because that’s how I felt when I walked in to that record store. I want it to be its own world.”

For those in the LA area, Fontaine will celebrate the album’s release with a show at Zebulon on Fri. April 26th. Ticket are available here.

Watch “Cry For Another” Video —
https://youtu.be/ztHTOL_EJWM

Claude Fontaine Tracklist:
01. Cry For Another
02. Hot Tears
03. Little Sister
04. Love Street
05. Play By Play
06. Pretending He Was You
07. I’ll Play The Fool
08. Strings of Your Guitar
09. Footprints In The Sand
10. Our Last Goodbye

Pre-order Claude Fontaine —
https://claudefontaine.bandcamp.com/album/claude-fontaine

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Durand Jones and the Indications – American Love Call

We’re less than three full months into 2019 and I’ve already found what is likely to be one of the top 10 albums of the year – American Love Call by Durand Jones and the Indications.

Blending soul, jazz, and funk, American Love Call is a love letter, sermon, and warning to the United States in times of sound and fury and fear.

Starting with the beautiful “Morning in America” (My top single of the year so far.), Jones and his crew bring us tales of average people across the country trying hard to just get by while the rich get richer and Congress does nothing but sling mud. “It’s morning in America, but I can’t see the dawn,” Jones sings. It’s a soulful gut punch. The psychedelic touches on “Don’t You Know” take you straight back to vintage soul records from the 1960’s. It makes you want to dress sharp. “Circles” has Jones so spun up in love with someone who doesn’t care about him that he doesn’t know where to turn or what to do next.

“Court of Love” is a soulful ballad with slow-dance guitar and sad doo-wop backing vocals. The groove on the lovely “Long Way Home” is as downright wicked as the lyrics about trying to work one’s way back from sin are relatable to everyone. The love of family, and love in general, is prevalent throughout the record, of course, and this track is a standout on that theme. You’d swear “Too Many Tears” was part of a collection of tracks from early Motown B-sides.

Speaking of Motown, “Walk Away” brings the Temptations to mind with its lush string section and sultry sound (and that flute solo!). “What I Know About You” is another lesson in sexy grooves. The simple organ chords add a layer that almost carries you away with them. Another jaw-dropping groove comes with the drums on “Listen to Your Heart” – a song about giving into love and passion that the band does so well. It’s probably on five thousand make-out playlists by now.

“Sea Gets Hotter” is a song about holding it together with the one you love while the world falls apart around you. “How Can I Be Sure” has a bass groove suitable for a 1970’s bachelor pad in outer space. The closer is the slow dance-inducing “True Love.” The drum beats in this are slicker than clarified butter in a hot skillet.

I wrote earlier that American Love Call is a love letter, sermon, and warning to America. It’s a love letter to the country that inspires so many, a sermon to a country that needs to embrace love more than ever, and a warning against turning away from love and chasing after things that will only bring heartache in the end. Embrace your neighbors, lovers, friends, strangers, and foes. It’s the call we all must heed.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Gary Wilson – The King of Endicott

Working as both a loving homage to his (in)famous home town of Endicott, New York and as another weird walk through the world of bedroom rock, Gary Wilson’s newest record, The King of Endicott, is another bizarre, romantic, funky, fun piece of work from him.

“Don’t be afraid when I hold your hand,” Wilson sings on the intro of the record as Captain Beefheart-like warped saxophone warbles behind him. Then “The Town of a Thousand Lights” kicks in with peppy organ and electric drums as Wilson offers to be your tour guide / date for the night in a town he finds as enthralling as Paris. His vocals are particularly happy throughout it. It sounds like he’s having a blast.

He’s having a blast on his keyboards on “The Lonely Park,” too, as he sings about taking his girlfriend (Linda?) to a quiet park before it gets too late and before she changes her mind. The walk continues on “Walking in the Rain Tonight.” Wilson just wants to hold hands with his girl (Linda? Karen?) and stroll along as smoothly as his keyboard riffs without a care. Isn’t that what we all want?

“I Think I’m Falling in Love” has Wilson wondering what’s wrong with his girl (Linda? Karen? Debbie? Sheryl?) as he sees her crying at her own reflection while he declares his love for her (from outside her room, or her house?). The bouncy beats and keys keep you upbeat despite the sad nature of the tune. “The king of Endicott is sad tonight,” Wilson sings on the title track. He’s lonely on another Friday night. He’s a king without a queen, but he never gives up hope. Wilson never gives up hope on this or any other record, really. He’s an eternal optimist, and determined to find love someday. That’s evidenced on the near-slow jam “I Don’t Want to Be Alone.”

“I Dream of My Secret Girl” could be the title to every one of Wilson’s records, or even his songs, because they all share the theme of unrequited love, being a gentleman despite heartbreak, romance, and thrilling adventure in magical lands – even if that land is as simple as Endicott, New York. Speaking (again) of Endicott, “Midnight in Endicott” is a recap is a bouncy “part two” of sorts to “I Don’t Want to Be Alone.”

“A Perfect Day in Endicott,” according to Wilson, involves him crying “a million tears” after a friend leaves town, but getting cheered up by his remaining pals after he calls them up on his new telephone and asking if they want to hang out with him (and why wouldn’t you?). Wilson’s synths on “Mary Walked Away” are positively groove-inducing. “Another Dimension” is a warped instrumental that borders on dream and nightmare.

“Where did Linda go?” Wilson asks on “It’s Summer Time.” It’s a question he’s asked for years. In this instance, Linda has ditched him during a date at the movies. He tries to remain upbeat with the pleasant weather and all the pretty girls partying at the city pool, but he’s still blue. The album ends with “Hail to the King” – a pitch-shifting declaration from Endicott’s king that fades out just as Wilson is about to give us a history lesson of the town and probably his heart. It leaves you with questions, as most of Wilson’s albums do.

Wilson is an odd duck, but he’s a romantic odd duck and that’s why us fans of his love him. His albums are the soundtracks of loneliness and hope. He’s the king of not only Endicott, but forlorn lovers everywhere.

Keep your mind open.

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