jazz2love

  New Release:   Songs and Quartets from Owen Underhill and Quator Bozzini Label:  Collection QB Release Date:  June 27, 2025 Websites:  https://quatuorbozzini.ca/fr/discographie?filtre=collectionqb https://collectionqb.bandcamp.com/album/owen-underhill-songs-and-quartets From Collection QB, Quatuor Bozzini's in-house label, comes a body of work from their longtime collaborator, the Vancouver based composer Owen Underhill, entitled Songs and Quartets .  The recording pairs two separate string quartets, String Quartet No. 2 and String Quartet No. 5.  Sometimes performing pure instrumentals and sometimes supporting vocals performed by countertenor Daniel Cabena, alongside Jeremy Berkman on tenor sacqueboute/trombone and Quatuor Bozzini on violin cello.   The lyrics are taken from the poetry of seventeenth century authors Henry Vaughan and Sir Walter Raleigh.  On the recording, chamber music strings are fastened to operatic vocals and ...

  New Release:  Elle a son Mot à Dire from Joane Hétu Label:  Ambiances Magnetiques Release Date:  June 27, 2025 Websites:  https://joanehetu.bandcamp.com/album/elle-a-son-mot-dire https://actuellecd.com/en/album/6703-elle-a-son-mot-dire https://ambiances-magnetiques.bandcamp.com Elle a son Mot à Dire from vocalist, saxophonist, innovator, and composer Joane Hétu presents so much more than merely a listening experience but more precisely she brings together a vast exhibition of life-size art set to sound passages.  Her theatrical performance integrates a mixed cacophony of elements including operatic vocals, eclectic effects, molten wails, fiery histrionics, free-style jazz of an otherworldly dimension, and both chamber music and extraterrestrial sounds.  Her project is reminiscent of avant garde artists, who illustrate the point where art meets music, where chaos meets melody exhibited by the likes of Laurie Anderson and David Byrne of Talking Heads....

  New Release:  Cursed Month from Lingyuan Yang Label:  Chaospace Records Release Date:  August 15, 2025 Websites: https://www.lingyuanyang.com  https://lingyuanyang.bandcamp.com Dramatic, emotive, and inflamed, Cursed Month , the debut recording from guitarist-composer Lingyuan Yang, enshrouds the listener in a raging delirium.  The oblique signatures, jarring shrills and fierce dissonance produce a tension and polarization that touches the listener's psyche, vibrating at the frequency of the subconscious.  Segments of "Moondial" create an agitated spinning that mirrors feral currents and uncontrollable anxiety, while intervals of pounding and raging keys, performed by Shinya Lin across "Song of the Mist," whip up a maelstrom that sweeps over the resonating drum strikes of Asher Herzog.  Reflected in the recording's title, Cursed Month refers to Chinese astrology, according to the press release, "whereby each of the Zodiac's constituent animal si...

  New Release:  Self-Titled from Arid Landscapes Label:  Signal Chain Records Release Date:  September 19, 2025 Websites: https://www.dan-pitt.com https://www.noahfranche-nolanmusic.com https://aridlandscapes.bandcamp.com/album/arid-landscapes Toronto-based guitarist Dan Pitt and Vancouver pianist Noah Franche-Nolan come together to form Arid Landscapes.  Their self-titled CD demonstrates their commitment to curious-minded music-making, generating a body of work that probes the realm of abstract electronica.  Combining elements of sci-fi imaginings and atmospheric aesthetics, the pair delve into ghost-like textures and floating apparitions, prompting the listener to sink into the celestial soundscapes.  The charismatic gait and caressing fluidity of the sonic passages move like astral bodies, shimmering and gliding in a random schematic.  Sparse and roomy, the compositions produce an intimacy with the listener as though the music speaks to the min...

An American saxophonist and composer, Sean Imboden has released three albums as a leader, and continues to cultivate new discoveries using the jazz form.  The language of jazz is Imboden's chosen musical expression, enabling him to design abstract landscapes that he envisions in his mind, giving voice to the sounds in his head. "I like the freedom of jazz music," he professes, "and that as a jazz musician you are encouraged to be yourself. When you learn the music, you study other players and their musical personalities, but only as a means to an end, which is to fully embrace your personal, unique sound and style."  He considers, "I like that the term 'jazz' now encompasses a broad range of sound and styles, and I like that the term has become more difficult to define. We need artists to think outside the box and not be scared to sound different than what has come before."  "I like that by studying jazz music intensely," he precipita...

Album:  Descriptions of Useless Subtitles and Meaningful Sublimations Artists: Renato Diz and Peter Traunmueller Label:  W&J Productions Websites:  https://www.wjproductionsllc.com/artists/renato-diz-peter-traunmueller https://renatodizpetertraunmueller.bandcamp.com/album/descriptions-of-useless-subtitles-and-meaningful-sublimations  https://www.petertraunmueller.com Descriptions of Useless Subtitles and Meaningful Sublimations from keyboardist-composer Renato Diz and drummer-composer Peter Traunmueller is a multi-faceted project with José Diogo Neves mixing and mastering their recording. The project consists of their original recording along with an 18-page book of poems by the same title and authored by Diz and Traunmueller.  The book contains original black and white drawings by Pedro Marnoto to accompany each poem and corresponding track.  The three-fold project combines sound, poetry and visual, forming an unique "ecosystem," in the words of the ...

Album:  Unfoldings Ian Wardenski Quintet Label Name: Self-Released Website:  http://ianwardenski.com https://ianwardenskiquintet.hearnow.com Unfoldings is the third offering from Ian Wardenski Quintet, featuring Wardenski's wife, soprano vocalist Tamara Tucker.   The recording is a five-movement suite composed by guitarist Wardenski.  Joining him are alto saxophonist Mercedes Beckman, pianist Savino Palumbo, bassist Amy Shook, and drummer Frank Russo.  Experimenting with rhythmic patterns and phrasing, Wardenski illustrates his leanings as a theorist, integrating erratic movements and constructs that randomly shift.  The compositions are orderly in a sporadic and chaotic fashion with instruments spreading, spiraling, flaring and withdrawing in an arbitrary formation. Tumultuous and fiery, "Movement I" is orderly chaos with each musician inputing dynamic verses to the cooperative.   Shook opens "Movement II" with bowing bass lines, which are ...

Album:  Kind Mind Artist:  Josh Cole Label:  Cassiar Records Website:  https://joshcolebass.com/ Multi-instrumentalist and leader Josh Cole delves listeners into an esoteric realm in his recording Kind Mind from Cassiar Records.  Joined by Karen Ng on alto saxophone, clarinet, and synth, Michael Davidson on vibraphone, marimba, and pedals, and additional electronic effects provided by Sandro Perri, the recording brandishes experimental banter and independent responses between the musicians, creating otherworldly impressions on the listener. The mellow tone in Ng's saxophone driving "The subway" is augmented by the bluesy shimmers of Davidson's vibes, producing a calming, ambient mood.  From there, the recording shifts into irregular metrics through "Talking Makes It Worse" and "Expectations" as chord patterns carve enigmatic shapes and form eccentric improvisations.  Esoteric squeals arc across "Inside" and bellowing chimes echo along ...

Album:  Talking Hands Artists:  Greg Hatza and Enayet Hossain Label:  AIMREC Website:  https://www.aimrec.com Talking Hands , from keyboardist Greg Hatza and tabla player Enayet Hossain, mixes the Asian textures of the tabla with the glittery radiance of the electronic keys.  The duo's rapport is magnetic with the pulsating beats of the tabla embellished by the resonating effects and sinuous curves of the electronic keys. The recording launches with the title track, merging tribal beats with the rhapsodic banter of the keys, sprinting and flexing across the breadth of the track.  There is a conversational easiness to the chord movements that move further in "Crazy Calcutta Streets," harnessed in a percolating cadence, buoying the glittering effects of the keys, working as a sonic stimulant for the aural senses. The strolling rhythm of "Sweet Shop" is layered in warm aesthetics that switches to gyrating shimmies across "Dark Matter," peppered in glintin...

Album:  Findings Artist:  Jim Dedrick Label:  Self-Released Website:  https://jdedrick.wixsite.com/website Findings, the latest offering from a Baltimore-Washington, DC based jazz trio comprised of bassist Jim Dedrick, pianist Tom Reyes, and drummer Chuck Ferrell is an experiment in playing what comes to mind in the moment.  According to the press release, all three musicians were recorded live in one room with no charts, scripts or notations in front of them, and no rehearsals prior to the recording.  Working only from the ideas that enter into their minds as they perform whatever arises in their thoughts and concentration at any given moment. The instruments were recorded as close to their unamplified tones as possible to highlight their natural qualities with no additional electronic enhancements.  It's an experimental approach to creating harmonic forms and chord progressions with scores entirely comprised of improvisations.  The trio's commun...

Album:  Imaginary Trains Artist: Michael Whalen Label:  MWM/Spout label through Six Degrees Distribution/INgrooves/UMG Website:  www.michaelwhalen.com Imaginary Trains , the latest CD from keyboardist Michael Whalen is a diverse compilation of evolving soundscapes and ambient passages.  From the Hot Chip's-like sci-fi sebrings of "Against the Sky" to the smooth ruminating phrases of "Across the World To Be With You" featuring vocalist Ricky Kej, Whalen's melodic sequences create imaginary vistas that delight the mind and stimulate the aural senses. The tranquilizing soundwaves of "My Immortal Beloved" attribute human-like traits to digitally composed music, producing roving waves that crest and slope.  The music gives the illusion of traveling, evolving from one melodic pattern to the next while continually engaging the listener. Gently lit flickers are sprinkled along "The Wayward Sun" froth in fomenting rattles and fizzles, creating an ...

Album:  Ayna Veer Artist:  Ayna Veer Label:  Self-Release Website:  https://aynaveer.com          https://aynaveer.bandcamp.com Ayna Veer's self-titled recording layers ambient passages with improvised jaunts tailored by alto saxophonist Vernau Mier and pianist Aydin Esen.  Supporting Mier's and Esen's spontaneous flights is drummer Eric Valle and double bass player Nadav Erlich.  Reflective moments are interspersed with soaring verses rife with heady frenzies and fomenting whirlwinds.  The recording is a pleasing cruise that fuses ambient soundscapes and jazz idioms. The natural fluidity of the melodic passages creasing "Secret Wallflower" lays the groundwork for Mier's swathe of improvised expressions on the saxophone.  The agile doodles performed by Nadav Erlich on bass along "Improvisation #2" give the track an avant garde skew, moving into pioneering terrain  through "Trip to H" with Eisen's nimble move...

Album: Geminus Artist: Kane Mathis Label Name: Nyaato Website: www.kanemathis.com/music Reveling in the ancient art of making music from the string instruments of West Africa's kora and Turkey's oud, guitarist Kane Mathis embraces these instruments breed of folk-toned dances and ballads on his latest recording Geminus .  Composing new works for both instruments, Mathis widens the field of experimental jazz with provocative sequences and enchanting passages from the strings of the kora and oud.  His recording equally opens audiences minds about what they consider to be jazz, folk, soul, adult pop, and world music, each of which Mathis's music shows traits of that audiences can discern. Jangly figures embroidered by Mathis's strings are splayed across "Kaira," purveying the image of a Turkish dance while John Hadfield's percussion and Sam Minale's bass loop around the glittery sequences.  The entanglement stirs the senses, inciting enjoyment.  Other trac...

Album:  Conjure Artist:  Jason Kao Hwang and Karl Berger Label:  True Sound Recordings Website:  https://jasonkaohwang.bandcamp.com/album/conjure Conjure , the latest CD from violinist-viola player Jason Kao Hwang and pianist-vibraphonist Karl Berger is indeed a collection of musical conjurations.  Some parts are melodic but most are abstract with a cinematic scope as though they were made for big screen psychological thrillers.  The twisted workings of the strings and reverberating vibraphone will sonically seem to represent the subconscious mind, tormented and nonlinear.  The compositions project images in the listener's head, brandishing a series of moments of tension and intervals of irregular chord patterns.  Experimental and entirely improvised, the compositions have a noir cast that is haunting and simultaneously inviting. The twisting weave and dissonance of the strings is trellised by the pitter patter of the vibraphone's notes ru...

Album:  Moonflower Code Artist:  Andrei Lanes Label:  Self-Released Website:  https://www.andreilanes.com/ Electronica-infused soundscapes meet experimental jazz-inspired improvisations on Andrei Lanes's new self-released recording Moonflower Code .   The sonic passages are a welcoming massage on the aural senses while they enthrall the mind.  Bright, glittering notes dazzle the listener like a kaleidoscope of hues on the opening track "Laissez-Faire," transitioning into the sci-fi imbued escapes of "Darlene."  Track after track, the listener is mesmerized by the sonic clusters whose cosmic jaunts are so finely orchestrated and choreographed that they manifest into a breathtaking landscape.  Like a Monet painting whose finely painted dots produce an eye-catching image, Lanes's use of computer generated music crafts ear-catching figments. A master at forming galactic-like silhouettes that move with the ease of ghostly figures, Lanes once a...

Album:  Diversity Artist: Zlatko Kaučič Label:  Not Two Records Website:  http://www.kaucic-zk.si/discography.htm Pure, unadulterated self-expression is channeled into a stream of impromptu notes and improvised chord sequences on Diversity , a 5-CD compilation from percussionist Zlatko Kaučič.  Collaborating with Kaučič on the recording are Agustí Fernandez on piano, Evan Parker on tenor saxophone, Rafal Mazur on acoustic bass, Lotte Anker on tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones, Johannes Bauer on trombone, and vocalist Phil Minton.  The material on the CD's was recorded at several jazz festivals from 2012 to 2016, providing audiences with an aural portrait of Kaučič's musical journey during this phase of his life. Known for his nonconformist tendencies when composing music, Kaučič invites his team of musicians to play from impulse, expressing their thoughts and emotions in their music, treating their instruments like a paintbrush that channels their individ...