Some Recent Jazz Records

Yeah I know I promised one post a week this year. It’s been a weird year, but I’m gonna pick the pace back up to one a week or so moving forward. Today I’m gonna write about some of the recent jazz records from the last few years that have been doing it for me. I know this isn’t what I am known for and my level of knowledge and depth of understanding with jazz isn’t nearly what it is with dance music, but if you look back over the 16 years ISM has been in existence you’ll see my love for jazz new and old popping up again and again in reviews, year end lists, and mixes. And you’re gonna see more of it here now since I find it much more captivating in general than most dance music in 2023.

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Don Cherry – The Summer House Sessions – Blank Forms Editions LP

This was released recently but it was recorded fifty-five years ago. Don Cherry is well known as the man, but this sitting unreleased for all that time and coming out now and still sounding fresh really speaks to what was so great about him. This one leans very free with some discordant moments but nothing too jarring (this might be relative to how much crazy free and spiritual jazz you listen to lol). It really feels so ALIVE though, in a way that most music today just doesn’t. I’m sure part of that is simply using microphones to record live instruments in a room playing together, but aside from that the approach doesn’t feel dated to me. It just sounds like pure beauty etched into the grooves of the record.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the relationship between new instruments and new productions techniques and new genres. There’s obviously some correlation during the recorded music era, especially once you hit the multitrack tape era. But then there are certain genres or ideas that are more dependent on a different way of thinking or approaching the older tools and techniques. Free jazz is a good example, so is punk, so were house and techno in their original incarnations. I’m going to do a more in-depth post about this at some point but this album got me thinking about it again heavily.

Makaya McCraven – Highly Rare – International Anthem LP

I’ve been following Makaya for years now, even saw him live in 2019 or so (pre pandemic for sure) which was a great show. Generally I like him a lot, but this one also made me consider the relationship between tools and new ideas. Highly Rare was recorded live at Danny’s Tavern (a Chicago underground music institution for years that closed down recently. I always enjoyed hanging out there and I think I played there one time but can’t recall for sure because there were too many drinks consumed. You’d have to ask M50 or Noleian but they also might not remember lol. Also met Beau Wanzer there in 2009 when he was playing wild industrial records and I had to go get one IDed.) to a cassette multitrack and then edited and mashed into tracks later. The effect is great. You get the grimy tape effect, but it is put together in a way where it starts to resemble hip-hop made in an SP1200 or something. Really creative and different stuff, even within Makaya’s own catalog. I really like the approach and the execution, it doesn’t feel old or new, just like some kind of recording separate from time or space. But it still feels very human.

I AM – Beyond – Division 81 2xLP

I checked this out on a year end tip from Jacob Arnold aka Gridface, and my mind was immediately blown. After the intro which is deceptively chill and spacey, this turns into one of the heaviest records in my collection. The drums are brutal and repetitive, the horn is shrieking and unhinged. Despite being just two players, this shit sounds absolutely huge. Again a really nice method of recording to create something very detailed but without sacrificing looseness and live energy. And this is all about energy. To me this almost feels like heavy metal or punk more than jazz. I’d compare it to early Tony Williams Lifetime or maybe the first joint on Coltrane’s Meditations, but feeling more modern in its repetition. I’ve been recommending this to every weirdo music fan I know and they all seem to also be blown away. Great stuff. The horn player is Isaiah Collier who also did another album on the same label with the group The Chosen Few called Cosmic Transitions which is a bit more straightforward free/spiritual jazz, but also incredibly good. Looking forward to what the label does next.

Ghost Horse – Trojan – Mathematics 2xLP

This one come to us from a Chicago label as well, but this time it’s from Italian musicians. Really cool and inventive stuff here, I guess I’d call this some kind of fusion style jazz. Some really busy and squawky tracks but also some deep nearly ambient pieces. Weird sample usage augments the fantastic live playing. Despite fitting into Jamal Moss’ Mathematics label’s general ethos quite well, it seems like this one was overlooked by most people (including me until it was recommended by Gramaphone Records own Michael Serafini on my recent trip to Chicago. He had a number of solid recommendations in the jazz/funk/etc areas, so go ahead and ask him if you need some tips). If you are looking for some adventurous jazz related music, this is it right here.

The Kahil El’Zabar Quartet – A Time For Healing – Spiritmuse 2xLP

The last event I went to prior to the pandemic was to see Kahil El’Zabar along with Corey Wilkes as Ethic Heritage Ensemble in a church basement February 2020 to celebrate Black History Month. It was a great show, and the playfulness and musicality that was on display is captured here very well. This set leans a bit towards the more chill and beautiful rather than aggressive and noisy, but this works well with the subject matter. A perfect Sunday morning album, also probably fantastic for the right post gig come down.