New Release Round-up,
Jazz New Release Round-Up - 30th September 2021
This week’s selection of the latest jazz releases include Norwegian trumpeter Mathias Eick on ECM, a re-issue of Japanese jazz flautist Hozan Yamamoto’s score to the ‘70s horror film ‘The Devil Comes Playing the Flute’, and a double-reissue of avant garde goodness from Don Cherry on Ezz-thetics.
Norwegian trumpeter Mathias Eick is joined by a violinist Håkon Aase - a player just as grounded in folk and jazz - for the deep and cinematic When We Leave. Adding shades of bluesy Americana and atmospheric texture is Stian Carstensen, and with two stellar Norwegian jazz drummers Torstein Lofthus and Helge Andreas Norbakken, you can be rest assured that the rhythm is well-taken care of.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Already known for his fluency with the keyboard and trumpet, for his latest album More Music the American multi-instrumentalist brings out his familiar organ, keyboard, piano and trumpet, as well as tenor sax for the first time on record. With a set of ten originals, DeFrancesco also debuts his new trio of organist/guitarist Lucas Brown and drummer Michael Ode.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
This reissue of Japanese jazz flautist Hozan Yamamoto and Yu Imai’s film score comes to us courtesy of independent Brighton-based record label Mr Bongo. Translating to ‘The Devil Comes Playing the Flute’, Yamamoto employs the timely sounds of jazz-funk and fusion (this was 1979, after all) in a way that almost reminds me of Italian library music from a similar time.
Available Format: CD
Flying Lotus (aka Steve Ellison)’s score for the original Netflix animated series finds the left-field hip-hop producer mostly ditching the chopped beats for sizzling synthesisers - though the nu-jazz title track featuring bass virtuoso/vocalist Thundercat does make for a notable exception - as well as traditional Japanese instrumentation and west African percussion, a nod to the titular character’s real-life origins as an African man who escaped slavery to serve as a samurai under the Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga.
Available Format: CD
Toronto-based drummer Nick Fraser’s quartet has maintained the same lineup for almost 10 years now, including saxophonist Tony Malaby who originally held a ‘special guest’ spot on the group’s live shows. Some pieces from If There Were No Opposites have their origins in dance shows Fraser composed for, but in the quartet these more rigidly choreographed works enjoy some looser interpretations.
Available Format: CD
This second new Ezz-thetics release of the week combines the two Don Cherry releases, 1966’s Complete Communion and 1967’s Symphony for Improvisers, shortly before he began his explorations into world music. Enjoy both influential releases in the as-usual lovingly packaged Ezzthetics set including detailed liner notes.
Available Format: CD
Joshua Lee - Jazz Content
