New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 14th May 2021
Some recent additions to the Presto Jazz catalogue include a huge box-set chronicling the 1960s output of Impulse! Records, electronic-infused free jazz from Danish quartet Maraton, and the unlikely yet well-executed fusion of jazz big band and techno from Jazzrausch Bigband. An excellent trio record from pianist David Helbock is also among our picks, as well as the newest album from Chris Potter’s Circuits Trio.
This hefty box set from Impulse! Records comes both as a 2-CD set and 4-LP deluxe box set, celebrating sixty years of the legendary jazz label. The collection highlights the label’s spiritual sounds in the social context of the 1960s like Pharaoh Sanders and Alice Coltrane, as well as many of the other artists on the label. Also included in the set are essays by A.B. Spellman and Greg Tate, who offer their own words on the cultural importance of Impulse! in the 1960s.
Available Formats: 2 CDs, MP3, FLAC
Available Format: 4 Vinyl Records
Danish quartet Maraton’s self-titled record comprises 15 improvisatory sketches, some of it incidental-sounding and some almost akin to free jazz. The quartet themselves - synth player and vocalist Christian Haase, saxophonist and Maria Dybbroe, pianist Lasse Sonne and drummer Jonathan Ludvigsen - feature members from many walks of musical life, with backgrounds in pop, hip-hop and jazz. In Maraton, they find themselves at an intersection of free jazz and electronica, with an improvisatory quality that keeps the pieces fresh and exciting.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
The first of a handful of new ACT releases this week comes from German ensemble Jazzrausch Bigband, a band who’ve been combining the sounds of big-band jazz and techno music since 2015. Equally at home on the dance floor or jazz club, the music is unsurprisingly danceable and brilliant fun, and while ‘techno-jazz’ may sound like a gimmicky genre tag, listen before you pass judgement.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Another pick from this week’s ACT drop is pianist David Helbock’s The New Cool, recorded with guitarist Arne Jansen and trumpeter Sebastian Studnitzky. Helbock and co. do a great job of blending in some more modern sensibilities - an excellent example being the anthemic ‘Truth’ - and both of his soloists get more than ample time to shine.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
Following-up last year’s completely self-recorded record There Is a Tide, saxophonist Chris Potter returns to working with his Circuits Trio, drummer Eric Harland and keys player James Francies. The resulting record comes after months of pent-up creative urges resulting from isolation and lockdowns, which is where spirited tracks like ‘Serpentine’, and the huge closing suite ‘Nowhere, Now Here / Sunrise Reprise’.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Joshua Lee - Jazz Content
