I have never encountered a month like September 2023. In the 14 years that I’ve been recommending modern jazz and improvised music, never has a month offered so many new recordings by modern jazz’s luminaries—musicians who not only excel at the art form, but set their imprint upon it by influencing what comes next. Also included in this month’s column are a few musicians who show promising signs of, one day, being thought of in the same light. All of it is fascinating music. Let’s begin.
BlankFor.ms – Jason Moran – Marcus Gilmore
Refract
2 x Vinyl LP, Cassette
The trio of pianist Jason Moran, electronic musician BlankFor.ms, and drummer Marcus Gilmore share a chameleonic bond, achieving a state where they retain their separate distinguishing characteristics even as they seamlessly blend into a trio. Moran’s piano lines and Gilmore’s rhythmic chatter speak with the same skittering dialogue as BlankFor.ms’s electronic effects. The improvisational flourishes are marvelous, too, with BlankFor.ms reacting to events as they unfold, grasping onto precious moments in time and then assimilating them as loops into the flow of the music. That music is at times excitable and other times deeply contemplative, but even at the extreme ends of that spectrum, motion and stillness bleed across the divide.
Todd Sickafoose
Bear Proof
Compact Disc (CD)
Even if you’ve never previously encountered Todd Sickafoose’s 2008 recording Tiny Resistors, it’s likely that the most casual modern jazz listeners will have heard music that was influenced by it. The bassist’s inventive incorporation of electronic and pop music in a jazz instrumental setting shrugged off the prevalent post-bop sound and lit a path for a new direction for modern jazz. Tiny Resistors was a sonic representation of literary magical realism, where a catchy melodic riff reveals itself to be more than it initially seemed—where the rhythm’s shifting surfaces are not just a device for setting but also plot twists, and where harmonic voices defy a traditional single-point-of-view perspective. Finally, after far too long, Sickafoose returns with a follow-up. Bear Proof delivers what so many Tiny Resistors fans have been waiting for.
Darius Jones
fLuXkit Vancouver (i̶t̶s suite but sacred)
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
The impression made by the latest from Darius Jones is of music perpetually transforming, a sense of the journey as the ultimate goal and not the destination. The music is slippery. The moment an interlude becomes something identifiable, the ensemble sheds those characteristics and wraps itself up in a different enigma. Flashes and streaks of avant-garde and free jazz, washes of classical/chamber, post-jazz, post-bop, and more. But cataloging the performance’s qualities is to turn a blind eye to its brightest personality traits, which, by and large, are pretty damn ineffable. The music’s identity will be however you choose to personalize it. The alto saxophonist and composer is joined by cellist Peggy Lee, bassist James Meger, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and violinists Jesse & Josh Zubot. September is a wealth of riches on WeJazz Records, as they also released a live recording from Gard Nilssen’s Supersonic Orchestra and one by the ENEMY trio of Kit Downes, Petter Eldh, and James Maddren.
Marike van Dijk Nonet
Stranded
On Stranded, Marike van Dijk wanted to create an open environment for musicians to set out and explore—and good God, did they ever. The bounty of melodic colors, the richness of textures, all of it seemingly more than one could humanly take in and yet at the same time it’s so easy to just dive in. Even when hit with spikes of volatility, the feeling retained is of music washing gently down. There’s always been an element of coming together on van Dijk’s recordings, of everything naturally falling into its right place, even when improvisation is the rule of the day. That quality has never taken hold quite as strongly as it does on Stranded. And I say in the next breath: I cannot possibly champion van Dijk’s 2018 release enough, either. The Stereography Project, featuring two different ensembles—one from NYC and the other in Amsterdam—is one of my very favorite recordings of the past ten years.
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society
Dynamic Maximum Tension
Compact Disc (CD)
The math is inherently fuzzy when it comes to measuring the impact of creativity, but there’s a legitimate argument to be made that no musician has had a greater influence on modern big band jazz more than Darcy James Argue. Argue’s projects reflect an open mind to what’s possible and, thematically, we know to expect something both smart and fun. Argue’s latest— sonic representations of lesser-known historical figures—fits right in with his menagerie of conspiracy theories, zeitgeist mash-ups of mythological Brooklyn, and a steampunk serenade. When we take old, established forms of expression—be they words or sounds or shapes—and present them in an entirely novel way, we give those words, sounds, and shapes new life. Darcy James Argue makes big band jazz young again.
Matana Roberts
Coin Coin Chapter Five: In The Garden…
Vinyl, Compact Disc (CD)
My hands were shaking when I received the promo email about Matana Robert’s next Coin Coin installment. The official release day couldn’t come soon enough. These recordings qualify as an event: epic tale, sound collage, historical document, societal unmasking, art experiment, philosophical reverie—Roberts’s Coin Coin series is more than just a collection of albums. They relate a story (and subsets of stories) that eschew conventional forms of delivery. Avant-garde, jazz, blues, art rock, spoken word, minimalism, so much more. And, really, it’s counterintuitive to give names to the components of a project that transcends categorization in the first place. There hasn’t been a Coin Coin recording that didn’t leave me transfixed, and this is no exception.
Steve Lehman & Orchestre National de Jazz
Ex Machina
Compact Disc (CD)
When it comes to Steve Lehman on an alto sax, a melodic fragment is like a lock of the eyes. Insistent, aggressive, menacing, direct, Lehman gets his point across. The magnetism of his approach has never been more apparent than in the ways it shapes the contributions of a jazz orchestra. Even the most stubborn voices must bend to the will of a crowd if you bring enough numbers, but on Ex Machina, it’s the group that’s drawn into the gravitational pull of the individual. Joined by trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, vibraphonist Chris Dingman, the Orchestre National de Jazz and their artistic director, Frédéric Maurin, the Lehman sound shines through as strongly as ever.
Helen Svoboda
The Odd River
Compact Disc (CD)
The spectacle of The Odd River is as embraceable as it is fascinating. Helen Svoboda has a talent for bringing gravity to the theatrical statement and obliterating the dividing line between “this is funny” and “this is serious.” Svoboda dismisses the idea that a cohesive vision requires either consistent expression or conventional sounds, and the bassist-composer fully manifests that perspective on The Odd River. Modern jazz, folk, pop, chamber (and more) are voiced with traditional instruments like double bass, woodwinds, percussion, trombone, and trumpet, but also far less typical sounds from prepared piano, zither, harmonium, music boxes, toy pianos, whistling, and apples. Yes, apples. Note: The “apple chorus” isn’t some spontaneous quirk of invention; Food-themes fall right into Svoboda’s creative wheelhouse. It’s a wheelhouse I have been following these past years with increasing fascination. You should be, too.
Yussef Dayes
Black Classical Music
2 x Vinyl LP, Vinyl Box Set, Compact Disc (CD)
Considering how ubiquitous the music of Yussef Dayes has been to the UK music scene, it could be forgiven if one were caught surprised to learn that Black Classical Music marks his studio (solo) recording debut. And perhaps it’s the miles traversed—and the vision that manifests from just such a journey—that leads to a recording that’s a statement of where the drummer is today. With a core group of bassist Rocco Palladino, keyboardist Charlie Stacey, saxophonist Venna, and percussionist Alexander Bourt (plus a bunch of guest artists and orchestra), Dayes brings together the sounds of a city street, of different musics from different people pouring out of open windows and coming together in a single confluence.
Angelika Niescier / Tomeka Reid / Savannah Harris
Beyond Dragons
Compact Disc (CD)
Beyond Dragons is like a chase. It exists in a state of perpetual motion, always a bit ephemeral, never revealing all there is. But in no way is this music elusive. It asserts itself at the center of things and makes itself known. Even when alto saxophonist Angelika Niescier, cellist Tomeka Reid, and drummer Savannah Harris reduce the tone to an urgent whisper, the music makes its presence felt.
Christian Dillingham
Cascades
Compact Disc (CD)
From a post-bop perspective, the latest from Christian Dillingham sticks close to the center of things. But even in that tight area there thrives a diverse expressionism, and the bassist’s quartet (with guitarist Dave Miller, saxophonist Lenard Simpson, and drummer Greg Artry) avidly hopscotches across that landscape. It’s the upbeat tunes that’ll grab the ear’s attention initially; but when the tone grows moodier and contemplative is when Dillingham cements the deal to make Cascades a fixture in a listener’s music library.
James Brandon Lewis & Red Lily Quintet
For Mahalia, With Love
2 x Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
I only have so many slots available to dish out in these monthly columns in any given year, so I try to spread the love around. I want to aim the spotlight on as many musicians as I can. But James Brandon Lewis makes it impossible to limit the number of times I shout him out. The tenor saxophonist is on an astonishing creative trajectory, and as we enter the homestretch of this year, that trajectory shows no signs of descent. This session with cellist Chris Hoffman, drummer Chad Taylor, bassist William Parker, and cornetist Kirk Knuffke is representative of the mix of power and lyricism that typifies JBL’s music. Conceptually, this is a reworking of the music of gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. In application, this is the sound of raw magic at work.
Tomas Fujiwara
Pith
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Drummer Tomas Fujiwara, cellist Tomeka Reid, and vibraphonist Patricia Brennan stake out individual lines of travel, but cross paths so often that they seem commingled—to the point where it’s difficult to tell whether it’s one path they’re traveling, or many. The way this plays out harmonically is just one of many intriguing outcomes. The melodic development behaves as a relay system, the baton passed seamlessly between the trio members, sometimes unobtrusively, other times quickly tossed a short distance, causing thrilling instances of gaps left to the ear to fill in the blanks. The music is often abstract. The implication of structure is fed through focused motion. Sometimes it’s a shared direction, and other times a giant splash in every direction at once. Pith is a recording that leaves you wanting more.
Kris Davis
Diatom Ribbons Live At The Village Vanguard
Compact Disc (CD), Sheet Music
It’s not unusual for the music of Kris Davis to sound not quite of-the-present, as if a time traveler were getting in a quick tour stop before heading back to the future. The pianist’s latest documents one such instance, and when one takes into account the Village Vanguard’s history of hosting exactly those kinds of performances, it’s almost logical that Davis would record there. Joined by drummer Terri Lyne Carrington; turntablist and electronic musician Val Jeanty; bassist Trevor Dunn, and guitarist Julian Lage, Davis simultaneously gives a nod to the the forward-thinkers of the past who preceded her at the venue while simultaneously imprinting her own vision on that timeline.
Philip Zoubek Trio Extended
Mirage
Compact Disc (CD), Vinyl LP
There’s a contained intensity to MIRAGE that resonates that much stronger by holding back and allowing the imagination to take over. Flirtations with chamber jazz are shaped with an avant-garde attitude while indulging minimalist proclivities. The music here is fundamentally free but kept to a small space. More often than not, the sounds that linger deliver the greatest impact. The unconventional combination of prepared piano, synths, cello, woodwinds, vibraphone, bass, and drums is the perfect assortment for this kind of sound and approach.
