Yussef Kamaal Black Focus is classic for sure, not sure if it did this as a whole but that record is definitely what put them on the map for me
Got the next two days off and am going to listen to as much of your recommendations as possible That being said a friend recommended the Ill Considered s/t and it’s kicking my ass
Went for a walk with my morning coffee and listened to the Theon Cross record, good lord Loving this Nerija album too, Riverfest and EU are beautiful songs
@Wharf Rat nevermind, just listened to Alive in the East and now know what being blown away feels like
So today there was new Hiromi, new Bill Frisell, new Joshua Redman, and a Reid Anderson/Dave King/Craig Taborn record. Good shit!!
None are too similar to the London jazz stuff I've mostly seen you talk about but they're all extremely high quality. I guess the last one might be the most similar. The new Hiromi is solo piano stuff but it's really really killer and upbeat. She rules. My favorite stuff of hers is actually her fusion stuff with her band Sonicbloom but none of that is on US streaming. I've definitely posted vids of it in this thread though if you wanna search it. Bill Frisell became one favorite artists of all time in the last few years, the new album isn't very typical of him but he does so many different styles it's probably as good a place as any. If I was going to recommend a starting point out of the whole discography it's probably be East-West or Gone, Just Like a Train. These aren't that diverse a cross section of his stuff but represent his core sound of sort of atmospheric americana/roots-jazz really well. I've definitely also posted a bunch of his stuff in here. One of my favorite tracks off the latter: Redman is usually pretty straight ahead stuff stylistically speaking but supremely smooth and catchy, one of the best guys playing the style right now. He's got some great stuff with Brad Mehldau too who is one of my favorite contemporary pianists. They share a love of daring covers you don't think they could possibly pull off. (Another fav pianist is this other stray rec: Tigran Hamasayn, who makes jazz-armenian folk fusion music). Haven't heard this latest Redman specifically yet though, will come back tomorrow. Taborn is the name I know from the last one, mostly from his records with Chris Potter, which are also usually pretty straight ahead with some twists. Ultrahang is the definitive release from him still imo, which has Taborn on the Rhodes. This new record though seems to be flooded with all kinds of synths and great weird stuff, haven't heard it all yet either though. Singles were really unique and interesting though. Apparently this trio has been around a while Also I want to be clear that when I say straight ahead its not a bad thing and it doesnt mean boring or derivative or sounding like its from 1955. It's just relative to all the wild fusion-y london stuff you've heard lol. Redman and Potter do really interesting stuff don't get it wrong
I know it's probably only tangentially jazz (I suck at categories), but Robert Glasper's new mixtape is cool.
Pitchfork included this album on their best 200 albums of the decade list. It was prob on the lower end of my favorite jazz albums from last year, and it seems really odd/random that pitchfork threw it on their decade list, but it’s def worth a listen for anybody who hasn’t heard it.
No necessarily jazz, but the Skinny Pelembe album from earlier this year is pretty fucking great. Lotta jazzy vibes, along with trip hop and a bit of psych & hip hop thrown in for good measure. Really good stuff. Championed by Gilles Peterson and on his Brownswood label too.
Not familiar with this guy, but the one song available is killer, and at this point Ill check out pretty much anything International Anthem releases.
I've seen his name pop on quite a few releases recently, mainly Makaya McCraven's. Will give that a listen when it's out, definitely.