New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 14th January 2021
The start of the year is always a little quiet for new music, so I’ve been catching up with a few releases we managed to miss towards the end of last year. With that being said, Keith Jarrett’s most recent live release, Budapest Concert makes the top of our list this week with its vinyl edition. American vocalist Melody Gardot’s fifth recording features some light vocal jazz featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, while UK dancefloor-meets-jazz duo Brotherly re-release some of their best tunes with the compilation album Analects. We also have some environmentally-conscious experimental jazz from saxophonist Alastair Penman, fiery fusion from guitarists Nicolas Meier & Dewa Budjana, and an unearthed live set from the legendary Dexter Gordon.
The follow up to Jarrett’s Munich 2016 live album, Budapest Concert releases on vinyl this Friday after a digital and CD release at the tail-end of last year. Fans of the prolific and storied pianist will no doubt know that Jarrett has sadly retired from live performances, so recordings like these are as close to a live concert as can be. Much like Munich 2016, Budapest Concert is highly improvisational and just as passionate, in classic Jarrett fashion.
Available Format: 2 Vinyl Records
American vocalist Melody Gardot’s album last year features some Norah Jones-esque vocal jazz, accompanied by a nylon-string guitar with a bossa-nova flare and lush strings arrangement courtesy of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. A mixture of Gardot originals and a handful of covers - including the perhaps obligatory ‘Moon River’ - Sunset in Blue is sure to delight fans of the sounds of American Songbook-era singers and gentle studio orchestras.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Fans of electronica-infused jazz, rejoice; this new collection on Whrilwind records catalogues some of the dance-music-meets-jazz duo’s best tracks. The project began its life in the mid-2000s, but it’s easy to hear the effect they’ve had on modern jazz, particularly among the young London and New York scenes where electronica and hip-hop are so heavily ingrained in the sound. Vocalist/pianist Anna Stubbs and instrumentalist Rob Mullarkey’s forward-thinking jazz doesn’t sound like it’s aged a day, especially with the brilliantly crisp production. Also included is a previously unreleased track, ‘The Code’, as well as a handful of reworkings of other tracks alongside guest collaborators.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Award-winning saxophonist Alastair Penman’s latest recording is a climate-conscious EP of fittingly urgent and experimental jazz. Fusing electronica with his masterful command of the saxophone, Do You Hear Me? can be dizzying and intense. Produced by fellow saxophonist John Harle - who also produced Penman’s debut album - the varied textures Penman plays with mesh well in his sonic world. In line with the EP’s message, Penman is also donating 50% of his proceeds from the album to the Clean Air Task Force, and Coalition of Rainforest Nations.
Available Format: CD
Nicolas Meier and Dewa Budjana have both plenty of fusion releases under their belt already leading their own projects in their native England and Indonesia respectively, and a somewhat hidden gem towards the end of last year is their new collaboration on Blue Canoe Records. The opener ‘Flying Spirits’ starts off the record with some pure fiery fusion, while ‘Gschwend Trees’ also shows a flamenco flare amongst spacey synthesisers. Varied yet confident, Flying Spirits has as much straight-forward fusion as it has world music and flamenco; worlds unified through the two frontmen’s expertise with the guitar.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Capping off our new releases this week is an unearthed live set from esteemed saxophonist Dexter Gordon, right from the 1960s at Jazzhus, Montmartre. Recorded during the American saxophonist's tenure in Copenhagen, where he slotted right into the Danish scene with his expertise and showmanship. Also appearing on this recording is a young Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass, only 18 years old at the time. Montmartre 1964 is simply one of the many nights that Gordon would attend local jam sessions, his presence frequently celebrated by local players.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Joshua Lee - Jazz Content
