The AllAboutJazz Free MP3 of the Day

jonahpwll

I'm the guy who runs it now. I've been creating some threads over there that highlight some past free tunes that I enjoy, as well as free mp3s currently hitting the site.

If it's appropriate, I'm gonna start a thread here that pretty much copy&pastes my AAJ threads, including the link to download the free tracks. I assume I'm not breaking any netiquette rules here, but lemme know if I'm being disrespectful to the emusers site, yeah?

jonahpwll

A free track from Cuong Vu's excellent new album "Leaps of Faith".



http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6277

Song featured is the album's title track.

A link to his site where he graciously allows listeners to hear the entire album for free.

http://bandcamp.com/files/15/71/1571537422-1.jpg

This snippet of a description from his website...

There are aspects of Mr. Vu’s tone that suggest the softer side of Miles Davis, or the moody poise of a Davis emulator like Mark Isham. But Mr. Vu has more subversive designs, which become clearer on the album’s three originals, notably “Child-Like” and “I Shall Never Come Back,” which develop like ominous weather systems, with sculptured distortion and drones. The title track, a collective improvisation, recasts John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” as hold music for a doom-metal help line.

jonahpwll

Song off Tommy Smith's new release "Karma".



Song = "Cause and Effect". Found here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6485

A brief description from the song page...

An exciting new direction for leading Scottish saxophonist Tommy Smith's brand new band, Karma, combines virtuosic musicianship and powerhouse, grooving rhythms with atmospheric textures evoking Irish, Scottish, India, Japanese and Arabic folk influences. A major statement from an internationally renowned master.

jonahpwll

A free track from Joe Locke's VIA ensemble, a group comprised of Joe, Tim Garland, and Geoffrey Keezer. The album is Storms/Nocturnes.



Song = "Her Sanctuary", found here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6479

I absolutely love what this trio is doing. I was pretty crazy over the Benjamin Koppel "Adventures of a Polar Expedition", which had that sublime atmospheric element without ever turning into random noodling or straying far from a traditional jazz sound. From the little I've heard of this album, this seems to fall into the same category.

Origin label really seems to be putting out some excellent jazz lately.

jonahpwll

(This one most of you know about already)

This is a free MP3 from a new release of Jason's quartet of Nick Drake covers. The album is called "Five Leaves Left: A Tribute to Nick Drake"...



Song = "Day is Done", found here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6394

Jason graciously allows listeners to hear the entire album in full, streaming on his site...
http://www.jasonparkermusic.com/recordings

Okay, weird, I was sure he had it streaming on there. Just in case it's not there anymore (or I was mistaken), Jason also has the album streaming on his Bandcamp page, found here...

http://music.oneworkingmusician.com/album/five-leaves-left-a-tribute-to-nick-drake

Here's a brief description from his site...

I've been a fan of Nick Drake for years, ever since hearing his debut album, "Five Leaves Left". It's been a dream of mine to pay tribute to him with my band, and now that dream has come true! Instead of recording various songs from Nick's catalog, I decided to pay tribute by recording his entire debut album, Five Leaves Left, song by song, in the JPQ's own, inimitable style!

The JPQ is a jazz band from Seattle, WA. Earshot Magazine called us "the next generation of Seattle jazz". This is our 4th CD (you can get all the others here on Bandcamp).

greg

Thanks Jonahpwll - I take back my suggestion on another thread - you are already doing it!

jonahpwll

Hey, Greg. I'm answering your post on the Jason Parker thread here...

Actually, a lot of the free downloads stay for years. Some of them have broken links, though, because we had the artist hosting the mp3s. But now we're in the process of hosting all that ourselves, so if the artist wants the song down, they have to specify how long they want it up for on the submission app or tell us at a later date.

I began a thread here for the Daily Download the other day, but y'know, I sorta like the idea of doing a summary page, too. Also, on the AAJ forum, I added on an entirely new wing to the board which is dedicated to threads talking about the DotD and giving links to the download page and other info. I'll shamelessly add that it wouldn't hurt if any of you, if you liked the download, made a little post on the thread dedicated to that particular artist, but don't feel obligated or anything. I'm sure many of us are in danger of reaching forum activity saturation (FAS), and I don't want my AAJ stuff to become the tipping point for any of you.

The thing of it is, how it's usually done, is anyone can fill out of a submission form, and as long as they meet the minimum requirements, their song will be featured. I have to say, there isn't a ton of quality control that goes on (not that any of the dls have been bad or anything), but I don't feel like it's ever been shaped the way I'd like to see it happen. Unfortunately, until I get a solid footing with some of the labels, not everything I approve in the beginning will necessarily be, hm, "of my doing" is the best way I can phrase it for now.

I am, however, beginning to send out emails to musicians and labels to try to establish some ties that could add to the wealth that the DotD could grow into. Also, I'd like to get some of them to submit a free cd for our contest give-away dept, which I could cross-promote with the DotD.

I'm also gonna send an email to Bandcamp and see if maybe they want to send out an email letting jazzers know that I'm looking their way, that indie jazz artists especially shouldn't be shy about seeking me out.

If anyone here has ideas, my ear is totally open. This whole thing just gives me an additional platform to share music I really like.

But, yeah, I think I'm gonna start a weekly summary of DotD songs, which I'll cross-post on this forum as well as AAJ. Great idea.

Cheers.

greg

That's great - I agree you can get FAS - I'm trying, for example, to cut down the number of times I look at emusic's forum to once or twice a day, whereas this forum tends to be on when my computer is on. A weekly list would be a really useful reminder to look at AAJ's daily downloads even if only weekly, and hopefully introduce more people here to jazz too. I'm not sure if you or Kargatron introduced me to AAJ but I've found some really good articles/ideas there.Many thnaks fro taking up the idea

jonahpwll

Today's free download is from TunnelSix's new album Lake Superior.



Song = "Tunnel Mountain", found here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6544

Tunnel Six is:
Ben Dietschi saxophones
Chad McCullough trumpet / flugelhorn
Andrew Oliver piano
Brian Seligman guitar
Ron Hynes bass
Tyson Stubelek drums

Beautiful song. Does a fantastic job building tension, leaping off a cliff, and then fluttering down to the ground below. It appeals to me much in the same way as Brian Blade's Season of Changes and some of the Omer Avital/various Cohens albums.

As far as I can tell, this is the only song that there's a full preview for, which is a shame. They do have a couple earlier live albums on their Bandcamp site as NYOP, which is very nice...

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

Perhaps they will also add "Lake Superior" to their Bandcamp page so people can get a full listen to it before buying. Considering how beautiful this one song is, I can't see how streaming the album could hurt; IMO, it would only prove to the listener that this is music that needs to be purchased.

Promising outfit. I'm looking forward to hearing more.

For those of you with emusic plans, I saw that Lake Superior dropped yesterday.

Doofy

Thanks for the link, Jonah. I got the two albums on Bandcamp, enjoying them very much

greg

Thanks Jonah - two albums from Bandcamp and one from emusic in one afternoon and all excellent

jonahpwll

You're both welcome.

I just found a new one. Jean Lapouge. He's gonna be a free dl of the day very soon. His music is causing me to freak out in that euphoric way I feel when I discover new music that hits me on all cylinders. He runs a trio/quartet of guitar, vibes, woodwind, and trombone. It's got me all joyful like Bill Frisell's "Quartet" album did with it's odd serenity interspersed with powerful blasts of tension. I'm gonna start a thread on this guy soon, 'cause apparently he has roots back to prog rock as well (NOETRA?).

kargatron

Jonah, it would be nice if you got an RSS feed of the daily mp3 going, even better if it included a streaming sample.

jonahpwll

Jonah, it would be nice if you got an RSS feed of the daily mp3 going, even better if it included a streaming sample.

Could you explain that and what it would entail?

I must admit, I was way ahead of the internet curve back in the nineties. I remember using DOS versions of Pine and Tin to email and message board, but over time, I've fallen further and further behind in terms of cyberknowledge.

jonahpwll

Another fantastic offering from Origin from the AsGuests album "Universal Mind".



Song = "Guanc", found here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6542

Fantastic tune. This was my intro to this ensemble. Definitely jazz, and with the emotional outbursts to appeal to avant-guard fans and wild strings to appeal to the chamber jazz crowd. Plus, I've always been a sucker for good vibe work. This song soars all over the place.

From their website:

AsGuests has been, since its founding in 1997, essentially a collaboration project between vibraphonist Miro Herak and pianist Michal Vanoucek. They met during their classical music studies at the conservatory in Bratislava (SK) while preparing a concert for the final exam of Miro Herak. It was there, that they for the first time presented their musical ideas in their own compositions in duo as well as in a quartet.

The current projects include AsGuests Duo, AsGuests Quartet, Universal Mind – featuring amazing dutch string players Jeffrey Bruinsma (violin), Oene van Geel (viola) and Jorg Brinkmann (cello) and The Fifth Season – featuring the top players of the Scotish jazz scene: Paul Towndrow (alto sax), Euan Burton (bass) and Alyn Cosker (drums).

Strange. It's been released, but I'm not seeing it available on Amazon or Emusic, even though most of the Origin stuff has hit both places. I'll see what I can find out about that.

jonahpwll

Sunday's free track of the day is from the album Sudden Appearance by Daniel Jamieson and the DanJam Orchestra.



Song = "Calming", found here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6543

Nice little big band composition, and another solid effort released by Origin (OA2).


From his site:

Toronto bred and New York-based composer/arranger/saxophonist Daniel Jamieson presents the debut recording of his big band, The Danjam Orchestra. Inspired first by home-town heroes, Rob McConnell's Boss Brass, Jamieson later was exposed to the works of Dave Liebman, Jim McNeely (who produced this session), and others while furthering his studies at the Manhattan School of Music. Featuring the great drumming of John Riley and a program of inspired original compositions, the band also performs a lush and swinging arrangement of Charlie Chaplin's "Smile," and a darting, dissonant treatment of "Alone Together."

Available on emu...

http://www.emusic.com/album/Daniel-Jamieson-s-Danjam-Orchestra-Sudden-Appearance-MP3-Download/12559809.html

jonahpwll

Today's free track is from John Voigt's album Outsider Bass...



Song = "Contemplation of the Blue Egyptian Goddess", found here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6555

It's an avant-guard piece, solo bass with overdubbing, that should also appeal to fans of drone and the ECMers who enjoy Dave Darling cello tunes first thing in the morning or in the wee hours of the night.

This song is exactly the kind of reason why I know I'm gonna enjoy being the MP3 guy. I probably wouldn't have listened to this tune longer than fifteen seconds if I was simply browsing, but because I gotta check submitted tracks for appropriateness and errors, that means I've got to listen to each song all the way through. Glad I did. About half way through, I really found myself enjoying this song and I expanded my list of avant-guard musicians to follow by one.

There's some beauty to be found in this song. Enjoy.

From his site:

"Contemplation of the Blue Egyptian Goddess" uses overdubbing to explore natural harmonics on six string basses. The string length of the instrument enables the production of a full range of overtones.

And in a more metaphysical vein, the goddess referred to is, as John Anthony West writes, "a personification of universal principles, functions and processes. The Egyptians viewed the world as an entirely conscious creation, an aspect of divine consciousness." However goddess need not be the word used in the title. Guardian Angel, Higher Self, or (the Hebrew) Maggid all cover the same ground (of being).

This intends to upend new age trends by actually embedding substance found in the real properties of sound and the mystery attending it all. It is a very lush and wide ranging merge of bass sound properties and recording potential at that time. It is a regular thicket of partials and other lurkings in the overtone biome. The total bow focus and elongated tone voicings convey this stillness of a nocturne from which rises subtle flutterings of seabirds distantly heard. There's many a twitter here.

cafreema

jonah - You're write ups are making me want to add the AAJ download to my nightly blog downloads! Being only a marginal jazz guy I've never really considered it, but I think I'm definitely going to have to check out the Voigt.

Reading this has also made me curious if John Voigt ever owned a Chrysler Le Baron.

I'm also curious if anyone will get that reference (with this group I'm sure someone will).

Craig

jonahpwll

@caf

Glad you're enjoying them. As I get more into this thing, I'm positive you'll find even more to like.

Still playing catch-up from the weekend, where somehow I managed to forget to hit the submit button on my posts about the weekend tracks. This next one is from Saturday's feature:

Saturday's (5/21/11) free track of the day is from Travis Sullivan's new Posi-Tone album New Directions...



Song = "Jamia's Dance", which can be downloaded from the AAJ site here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6563

Travis Sullivan, alto saxophone; Dave Cook, piano; Nathan Peck, bass; Brian Fishler, drums.

Nice straight-ahead tune. Hits all the right notes one would expect from a sax-led quartet. Fans of Brian Patneaude's work should find something to like here.

From Travis's site:

New Directions is the first that I have recorded with a small ensemble in over 10 years, and as the title of the CD suggests, it represents shifting gears from The Bjorkestra and exploring my creative voice as a saxophonist and composer.

Available on emu, here...

http://www.emusic.com/album/Travis-Sullivan-New-Directions-MP3-Download/12520734.html

greg

Thanks Jonahpwll - I've now downloaded two today!

jonahpwll

Today's free track is the first of two from Steven Lugerner, one from each of his double debut recordings. The first offering is from the album These Are The Words...



Song = "Sustenance", found on AAJ here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6569

Steven Lugerner - Saxophones, Clarinets, Double Reeds and Flute
Darren Johnston - Trumpet & Flugelhorn
Myra Melford - Piano
Matt Wilson - Drums

I've really been enjoying Steven's albums since I first discovered them back in March, comparing them favorably to Brian Blade's "Season of Changes". This album (These Are The Words) has a bit more of a dissonant sound than its companion album Narratives (which we'll feature a track from tomorrow), but it definitely doesn't stray into inaccessible territories. Myra Melford's presence on the album is palpable from the get-go, so if you like her work on other projects, this will float your boat, too.

You can stream both albums in their entirety on his Bandcamp site.

http://stevenlugerner.bandcamp.com/album/these-are-the-words

Available on emu, here...

http://www.emusic.com/album/Steven-Lugerner-These-Are-The-Words-MP3-Download/12432004.html

From his site:

The music written for These Are The Words contains one composition for each book of the Hebrew Bible {also know as the Torah/Five Books of Moses}. The first five tracks should ideally be listened to as a work unto itself, similar to a symphonic suite. The bulk of the music written for These Are The Words was composed between March though July of 2010, except for In The Wilderness, which was originally written for a sextet in the summer of 2008. The true intention behind this music is to gain insight into how text, particularly the Torah, translates into music. These Are the Words explores the connection between music and the divine, a study on the interrelationship between sacred text and individual/collective improvisation.

Tomorrow we'll feature a song from his companion debut album. For those of you on the West coast, he's currently doing shows in a couple spots.

Enjoy!

jonahpwll

Okay, today's free track is the second in two days from Lugerner. This one is off his companion debut album Narratives...



Song = "Alondra", which can be downloaded off AAJ here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6570

Steven Lugerner - Soprano & Alto Saxophones, Clarinets
Lucas Pino - Tenor Saxophone & Flute
Itamar Borochov - Trumpet and Flugelhorn
Angelo Spagnolo - Guitar
Glenn Zaleski - Piano
Ross Gallagher - Bass
Michael W. Davis - Drums

Aptly titled album, as the recording has the intimate feel of a good epic novel. Has sort of a Guillermo Klein meets Brian Blade feel to it. Nice layering of sounds, sounds seamless in its construction. There's some guitar work on this album I love, some odd playing that's so deftly ambient; don't know what he's doing, but love it.

As before, you can stream the album in full on his Bandcamp site (as well as purchase it there)...

http://stevenlugerner.bandcamp.com/album/narratives

From his site:

Musically maturing around San Francisco's burgeoning hardcore/metal scene and the city's diverse cultural environment, Narratives was conceptualized with a wide-reaching aesthetic. Each member of the band was selected for their specific sound, with trumpeter Itamar Borochovs idiosyncratic trumpet style balancing Lucas Pinos tenor virtuosity; pianist Glenn Zaleskis improvised symphonies colored by guitarist Angelo Spagnolos sonic manipulations; anchored by the fat rhythm section of Ross Gallagher on bass and Michael Davis on drums. All compositions written between 2008 and 2010.

jonahpwll

We keep the tour going of strong new releases from the Origin label. This next one is from Chad McCullough & Bram Weijters off their new album Imaginary Sketches.



Song = "Imaginary Folk Song", which can be downloaded from AAJ here...

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

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

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

Weird, I was sure it was on emu. Could'a sworn I saw it there a couple weeks ago.

greg

I downloaded the same free track from Bandcamp a couple of months ago, so you might be thinking of that Jonah? I probably got the recommendation from you?? As I'm still on emusic I'll put a reuest into the moderators for it

jonahpwll

@Greg

That's possible. The McCullough track is actual a recycle. It was released on AAJ a month ago (or maybe more), but it was before my time, and with all the Origin stuff I've been featuring, I wanted to sort of bundle the track in with them, y'know?

There's a couple Origin releases that aren't on emu, but just a couple. The AsGuests also doesn't have their newest (just the older albums). Same with McCullough.

I'll shoot an email to the Origin guys to see if that's intentional or if there was an oversight.

jonahpwll

Today's free track is courtesy Jean Lapouge from his new album Temporare...



Song = "Chemins, Cortege", which can be downloaded off AAJ here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6553

Lapouge on guitar, vibraphone (Christian Paboeuf) and trombone (Christiane Bopp). Woodwinds make guest appearances on the album, too.

I went out and bought this album on emusic right after hearing this track. It's presses my buttons exactly like Bill Frisell's "Quartet" album, and also Christophe Pays "Ellipse". Lots of eerie yet beautiful music on this album.

There's a companion album that was released at the second time, but I haven't yet investigated it.

Here's his myspace, which has three songs on it...

http://www.myspace.com/jeanlapougetrio/music

From his site:

Temporare, the latest album and current musical project of NOETRA founder Jean Lapouge, offers an unconventional instrumentation: guitar, vibraphone (Christian Paboeuf,who doubles on oboe on two tracks) and trombone (Christiane Bopp). Recorded in May 2009, the album reflects the band's live work. The accent here is on the tracks' simplicity and their inherent poetry... For the composer, the album strikes the delicate balance between composition and improvisation.

Highly recommended.

greg

I second Jonahpwll's recommendation. I downloaded it after Jonah recommended it a few weeks ago, and certainly have enjoyed listening to it several times since then

greg

Jonah and others - I requested Imaginary Sketches

Could we please have Chad McCullough & Bram Weijters' Imaginary Sketches on the Origin label here in the UK - the label is on emusic already. I gather it is also not available in USA either. See http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6278 for more details

This is the reply

I don’t see that we have that album “Imaginary Sketches” I see that we have the label Origin. It could be just a matter of requesting this content. I’ll forward this to our UK label rep.

Maybe someone else can ask for it to be available in the States?

jonahpwll

Today's free track is from the self-titled release by the Brett Sandler Trio...



Song = "I Am an Espionage Major", which can be downloaded from AAJ here...

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=6552

Brett Sandler - Piano : Peter Longofono - Bass : Adam Pin - Drums

It's a nice little straight-ahead jazz tune. Found it very conducive to a Saturday morning and a second cup of coffee. Definitely enough there to my tastes to make me want to listen to more.

It would appear that there are more tracks from the album to listen to in full on Brett's Soundcloud page...

[Okay, I give up. I can't get a link to work to their Soundcloud page.]

Brighternow

The Brett Sandler Trio @ Soundcloud

jonahpwll

Thank you.

For the life of me, I can't figure out what I was doing wrong. Every time I tried the link, it came out looking all weird and wouldn't hit their page. Weird.