Throwing Punches at the Hurricane: Jazz at Bandcamp

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  • Sean Wayland (and related ensembles)...

    I've already got an emusers thread on him, so I'm not gonna go into detail here...

    http://www.emusers.net/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=810&page=1#Item_1

    ...but here's the two albums of his I most enjoy...

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    "'99 featuring Jesse Harris and Seamus Blake"

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    "Lurline"

    They range in price from anywhere between five and ten bucks. Actually, there's several recordings on that page I've yet to investigate, so he might have some free stuff on there as well. Sean is a talented guy, worth checking out.

    Here's the bandcamp page...

    http://seanwayland.bandcamp.com/album/1999
  • edited March 2011
    Nancy Walker, longtime collaborator with Ottawa bassist John Geggie and a dynamite pianist in her own right. New album, "New Hieroglyphics," is here:

    http://nancywalker.bandcamp.com/album/new-hieroglyphics

    Also the new one by Honey Ear Trio (Erik Lawrence/Rene Hart/Allison Miller), "Steampunk Serenade":

    http://honeyeartrio.bandcamp.com/album/steampunk-serenade

    And speaking of Allison Miller: Jessica Lurie, fab saxophonist/singer/composer of "The Tiptons" (formerly Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet) fame, has put up "Shop of Wild Dreams," the latest by her "Ensemble"--whose current incarnation features Miller and bassist/producer Todd Sickafoose.

    http://jessicalurie.bandcamp.com/
  • Whoa--just discovered that Brooklyn Jazz Underground (a loose collective of largely under-sung figures on the New York scene, whose ranks have included saxophonists Sunny Jain and Jerome Sabbagh, bassist Anne Mette Iversen, trombonist Alan Ferber, trumpeter Shane Endsley, drummer Ted Poor, and violist Tanya Kalmanovich) has put up a Bandcamp page, featuring all four of their sampler albums. (Two of those--minus several "unavailable" tracks--are also available from eMu.)

    Many BJU artists also have individual albums under their own names available at eMusic. I'm not sure yet how many of them are Bandcampers, but Iversen is there for sure. If you haven't heard her double album "Best of the West/Many Places"--which to my mind is as ambitious and as listenable as anything by, say, Ben Allison or Scott Colley--you've missed one of the best records of the past five years...
  • edited March 2011
    Brooklyn Jazz Underground is great! Such amazing talent under one umbrella.

    I wanted to let you know that my new CD is now available in full. I'm not "officially" releasing it until Tuesday, but it's all up there now should you care to check it out. Downloads are on a "pay what you want" basis, so have at it!

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  • Thanks Jason - already playing it and I like what I am hearing
  • Jason (and any other musician on this site), I'm gonna be running the AllAboutJazz Free Daily Download pretty soon. Unfortunately, we can't use a track that is a cover of someone else's tune, but if you want to submit one from a recent album that you hold the copyright on, please feel free.

    What I'll be doing is starting a discussion thread on the AAJ forum that gives a brief synopsis of the song, the musician/ensemble, and a link to their AAJ musician profile (which then links to your site, bandcamp, etc).

    I'm still in discussions about an Unsigned Musician's column, which your Nick Drake album and any other would be fair game for.

    Here's the Submission Form and Guidelines...
    http://www.allaboutjazz.com/cgi/dailydl.pl

    I look forward to hearing Five Leaves Left. I've been on a Nick Drake kick lately, so your album is rather timely in my own little world.

    Cheers.
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    Rasmus Ehlers: Piano
    George Garzone: Tenor Saxophone
    Jonas Westergaard: Bass
    Jacob Høyer: Drums

    - Review @ All About Jazz
  • edited March 2011
    Some relevant info for the above Ehlers album...

    11 Euros for the CD.
    6 Euros for the DL.

    Approx. 45 minutes of music.
    Released in July 2010.

    Key, from the AAJ review (Jakob Baekgaard)...
    It all starts with the collective title composition. Ehlers introduces his angular Monkish playing, mumbling over blocks of chords, creating an oblique waltz that gives way to Westergaard and Høyer's loose, funky pulse. Slowly they build up momentum, and after more than seven minutes Garzone finally bursts into the melodic framework like a tender hurricane, blowing around Ehlers' bouncing rhythms and knotty melodies.
    Here, Garzone's trademarks come into full fruition: inventive chord shifts; a singing sense of modernistic swing; and an uncanny understanding of pause and pulse.

    Together, these four musicians create music that is fiery, free and, at times, close to spiritual.

    This album comes out of the halls of jazz that I personally refer to as "messy traditionalists". There is no doubt that what they are playing is jazz... and not some advanced hybrid; this music calls back to the roots of jazz. But they skew it and they twist it and they bend it into the sound that they're compelled to create.

    This style isn't typically my cup of tea, but when it is, I binge like mad. For me, Autumn music.
  • edited March 2011
    Humred brought up Jessica Lurie. I was surprised that I never linked her page to this thread, but more surprised I never dedicated a thread to her long ago, either here or at AAJ. I was sure I did, my searches are coming up empty.

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    "Shop of Wild Dreams"

    Released January 2009.
    Personnel:
    Jessica Lurie – saxes, flute, voice
    Erik Deutsch – piano, rhodes
    Brandon Seabrook – banjo, guitar
    Todd Sickafoose – bass
    Allison Miller – drums
    
    Hell of a line-up. Todd Sickafoose with his excellent "Tiny Resistors", Allison Miller with her excellent "Boom Tic Boom", Erik Deutch with several stand-out albums, and Brandon Seabrook from Jeremy Udden's "Plainville".

    Ten bucks for the DL. The purchase CD link takes you to her CD Baby page where it costs $13.

    There is something about Tom Waits-ian about her music, and I don't mean in a cabaret jazz sense (though her music does step up with a certain bombast), but more in the rustic industrial experimentalism that is typical of Waits music. There is a quality to much of Lurie's music that hints at old folk story tunes.
    I've been crazy about her music for nearly two years. Lots goin' on.

    I was sure that her earlier album Licorice & Smoke was also on bandcamp, but it doesn't appear to be anymore.
    http://jessicalurie.bandcamp.com/

    Both of her albums are also available on emusic, if you want to go that route.
  • edited November 2011
    - Jonah is gonna slapfight.gif me for this:

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    - This is now available for free download.
  • Great, thx, bn, as I wished earlier:
    The label page mentions the CDR is "soon to be sold out" - hopefully that means it will be made available online soon.
  • edited April 2011
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    Quentin Rollet & Dan Charles Dahan - DanQ Montreuil 3 - (Free)

    - Excellent Outer Limits/Avantgarde jazz, a bit in the same vein as John Butcher and Bhob Rainey (I think).
  • Apologies if I missed this elsewhere, but

    It turns out that the great "Destination OUT" free jazz blog has a Bandcamp store:

    http://destination-out.bandcamp.com/

    !!!
  • Fred Hersch Ensemble - premiering Fred's new piece My Coma Dreams. May 7th (8PM) & 8th (3PM) @ Montclair State University’s Kasser Theatre - (w/ Fred Hersch, Michael Winther, John Hebert, John Hollenbeck, Adam Kolker, Ralph Alessi, Mike Christianson, Joyce Hammann, Laura Seaton, Ron Lawrence & Dave Eggar)

    http://www.peakperfs.org/performances/my_coma_dreams

    "My Coma Dreams is based on eight dreams and nightmares experienced by the jazz composer/pianist Fred Hersch (Leaves of Grass, Whirl) when he survived a two-month coma in the summer of 2008.

    His dream stories have been shaped into a continuous narrative by writer/director Herschel Garfein (Elmer Gantry, the opera) that illuminates an extraordinary journey to the dividing line between life and death."

    If I in the NY/NJ area, I would be checking this out! Heard about via an e-mail from Steven Lugerner, who's in the ensemble.
  • Hey All,

    Just following up on the Cuong Vu discussion a coupla months back. Just received this e-mail update:
    Hi everyone,

    Just a quick note to let you know that my earlier albums, "Vu-Tet", "It's Mostly Residual", and "This, This, and That" are available again as downloads on Table and Chairs Music.

    "TnC" is a new label based in Seattle, run by some of the finest young talents in the area (with their own unique music, available on the label too!).

    Please take a few minutes to check them all out at -

    http://cuongvu.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=ae9108f3bd31fa016536002cb&id=cbe9a4848c&e=89639e450c

    Yours Truly,

    Cuong Vu


    And sure enough, Table and Chairs is on Bandcamp (http://store.tableandchairsmusic.com/), with the three albums Vu mentions...

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  • edited May 2011
    Jonah's a happy man today. Enjoy It's Mostly Residual! NYOP too.

    I'll be picking up Vu-Tet - thx for the news humred.
  • mdcmdc
    edited May 2011
    Yes! These were very hard to find for a while. Great stuff here.

    If you dont know, Residual features some great work by Frisell.
  • Fantastic news about Cuong Vu. His new release, also streaming there, is fantastic, too.
  • edited May 2011
    Here's a new ensemble that is just blowing me away with their musicality.

    TunnelSix has an EP (simply titled "EP) on their bandcamp page, as well as a live album...

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    http://tunnelsix.bandcamp.com/album/ep

    The EP and live albums are NYOP. They have a studio album out right now (not yet on emu) on the Origin label. The album is called "Lake Superior". I just approved a song from it for the AAJ free daily download (I think for 5/18/11). I've been listening to it repeatedly.

    Chad McCullough, trumpet (Seattle)
    Ben Dietschi, saxophones (Toronto)
    Brian Seligman, guitar (Toronto)
    Andrew Oliver, piano (Portland)
    Ronald Hynes, bass (Halifax)
    Tyson Stubelek, drums (New York)

    The name Chad McCullough sounds familiar, but all these guys are new to me. Brilliant stuff.
  • edited May 2011
    Thanks for the Tunnel Six tip, Jonah. I'm listening to (and liking) the EP right now. Looks like "Lake Superior" is slated for release on May 17, so maybe that'll show up on Bandcamp, too.

    Latest new Bandcamp arrival that I've discovered is drummer/composer Bobby Previte, who's offering a number of live and (I think) OOP recordings. I'm most excited about a live version of "The 23 Constellations of Joan Mir
  • edited May 2011
    I just discovered another ensemble that Steven Lugerner is involved in...

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    The Chives - "For Brian Wilson"

    http://thechives.bandcamp.com/
        Steven Lugerner - Soprano Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Bb Clarinet
        Matthew Wohl - Upright Bass
        Max Jaffe - Drums
    

    Released 18 December 2010.

    Five bucks.

    Not bad. I gave it a quick listen this morning, gonna try it again in the afternoon, when I'm more open to music that isn't drone ambient.
  • edited May 2011
    Cool Jonah, thanks.

    Steven tweeted the other day that he's going to be touring, I'm going to try to catch him next month (somewhere down in Wicker Park)...I guess with this band (ie, the Chives??)

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  • Yeah, he's headed across the US, too. I just posted a thread about his appearance in California.

    Is there a Wicker Park neighborhood in NY, too?

    And, damn, I'll probably be a sucker for cool concert posters all my life.
  • My wife is gonna be jealous that somebody is using the band name "Pony of Good Tidings".
  • Nope, Wicker Park Chicago! It is at this place, which I have never heard of. Just a few miles from me, so I want to try to make it if I can. The fact that it is a Tuesday night doesn't help.

    On the other hand, just saw yesterday that Group Doueh, of all people, is coming to the Old Town School, think I'm going to plan to attend.
  • I've never been to the Wicker Park Jerry's, but I used to go to the one on West Madison all the time. I worked a block from it. Back when it opened, I can't quite remember the details, but for six bucks (I think), I used to get these awesome sammiches with fresh quality ingredients and sides. The prices went up a little bit later and they discontinued the any ingredients all-you-can eat deal, but it still was a great buy for a great sammich.

    I think they serve alcohol at the Wicker Park address. I remember checking out a website for it back when they opened it. I was always disappointed they didn't name a sammich after me. I was the only one who ordered it (initially), but then got a few friends hooked on it. It was something like hummus, smoked gouda, apple slices, tomato(?) and lettuce on, hm, can't remember which type of bread, and I may be forgetting one of the ingredients, but damn it was awesome.

    Ah, Chicago memories.
  • edited May 2011
    The Chad McCullough - Bram Weijters "Imaginary Sketches" is on Bandcamp...

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    http://bramweijters.bandcamp.com/album/imaginary-sketches

    The song "Imaginary Folk Song" can be downloaded from AAJ here for free...

    http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6278

    McCullough - trumpet, Weijters - piano, John Bishop - drums, and Chuck Deardorf - bass.

    Costs eight euros.

    Can't help but think that McCullough's hometown of Seattle had some effect on the compositions on this album; great rainy day jazz. Interplay between McCullough's trumpet and Weijters piano is seamless with how they hand the baton back and forth. Should appeal to fans of Mehldau as well as ECM's Jacob Young (among others). Just one of those poignant recordings to end a day on.

    Also, McCullough is a member of the TunnelSix ensemble featured a little bit ago, and a member of The Kora Band.

    From his site:
    Building on several international collaborations, Seattle trumpeter Chad McCullough and Antwerp-based pianist Bram Weijters document the unique blend of their compositional and performance styles. From the near stand-still tempo of Weijters' "Another Dark Ballad," to the spiraling search of "Imaginary Folk Song," to the burning, and aptly titled, "Speeding," the musical chemistry is constantly twisting and turning. McCullough's warm lyricism has a great counterpart in Weijters' subtlety and drive, and here, with drummer John Bishop and bassist Chuck Deardorf, the group is captured in a mood-inducing set of music that is uniquely their own.

    And an AAJ review, here...

    http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=38851


    ALSO...

    There's a free album download of the Bram Weijters Trio called Live at Studio Toots.

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    It really sounds pretty good. If nothing else, it proves their worth the price of a ticket if they show up in your town. Thanks, Bram.

    http://bramweijters.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-studio-toots

    I would like to credit the rest of the trio, but I haven't found their names yet. Don't know if they're also on Imaginary Sketches.
  • The Sunnyside jazz label has finally got their Bandcamp page active. This is AMAZING news. For the last couple years, Sunnyside has put out a series of recordings as strong as any label in the business.

    A new one is Diego Barber's "The Choice", a follow-up to the excellent "Calima".

    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQHdFwiiUkbJ1GLz2Aos8F6m7haqLpgZG5-1U9cOrGXtPoOp2zydw

    It costs $9 for the download, which is probably worth it if the sound quality is poorer for an emu download. Barber's music is gonna be significantly more enjoyable with a better rip.

    http://sunnysidezone.com/album/the-choice

    Smart for them to do this. The samples alone made the album sound dull. Now listening to full tracks, I can tell I'm gonna have the biggest crush on this album. This is great.

    Also, there's links to several other new releases you can stream in full when deciding to purchase.

    This is such an wonderful development. I can't wait to listen to the other new releases they're streaming on there. Jeremy Udden's new album is on Sunnyside, too, so I'm anxious for them to throw that up on Bandcamp, too.

    Cheers.
  • edited May 2011
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    Cool improv from Fantastic Merlins. NYOP

    BTW: the current cellist is Daniel Levin!
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    In a career that just entered its fourth decade, Chicago-born composer-musician Adam Rudolph has continued to be “a pioneer in world music” (The New York Times), working in perpetual collaboration to hone his singularly syncretic artistry. His music fuses composition and improvisation, intuitive and intellectual, past and future, East and West. His various projects are simply environments in which seemingly disparate artists have freedom to express their individual imaginations; together, they form a collective voice that always sounds uniquely like itself. Rudolph has made an indelible contribution to the history of what he calls “creative improvised music,” leading several projects and working closely with Yusef Lateef for over 20 years (and 15 albums), in addition to collaborations with Don Cherry, Jon Hassell, L. Shankar, Muhal Richard Abrams, Omar Sosa, Wadada Leo Smith, Pharaoh Sanders and Sam Rivers, among a host of others. ...
    Awesome! Stream only.
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