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The best jazz recordings of 2017(Orlando Sentinel)

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    Posted: 09 Dec 2017 at 3:40pm
Vijay Iyer Sextet: “Far From Over” (ECM). No single music category encompasses the sonically lustrous, rhythmically dynamic, intellectually bristling music that Iyer’s sextet has recorded here. Rich in motivic development, utterly unpredictable in melodic direction and startling in the colors it evokes, “Far From Over” stands as a major statement from a pianist-composer-bandleader who already has produced several of them. This time he works on an expansive palette with saxophonists Steve Lehman and Mark Shim, bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, plus Graham Haynes playing cornet, fluegelhorn and electronics and, of course, Iyer on piano and Fender Rhodes electronic keyboard.

Miguel Zenon: “Tipico” (Miel Music). Zenon’s distinctive sound on alto saxophone — lyrical, translucent, often ethereal — distinguishes this recording, as it has his previous releases. But so does the work of his long-running quartet, with pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Henry Cole. Zenon in fact conceived this album as a tribute to the ensemble, each player bringing forth the Puerto Rican impulses of Zenon’s work and an alluring range of other influences as well.

Jeannie Tanner: “Words & Music” (Tanner Time Records). A musical chameleon who sings, plays trumpet and composes with equal aplomb, Tanner outdid herself with “Words & Music,” gathering several of Chicago’s best vocalists to interpret songs she composed. The double recording captures the breadth of Tanner’s musical gifts more fully than anything else she has yet released.

Mike Reed: “Flesh & Bone” (482 Music). In 2009, drummer Reed and his People, Places & Things band got caught up in a neo-Nazi rally in the Czech Republic, their lives in danger. That trauma inspired Reed to create “Flesh & Bone,” which is not a re-creation of that event but a broader contemplation of its implications. Even apart from that back story, however, “Flesh & Bone” emerges as searing suite of compositions, with brilliant ensemble playing from saxophonists Greg Ward and Tim Haldeman, bassist Jason Roebke, cornetist Ben Lamar Gay, bass clarinetist Jason Stein and Reed, plus fiery poetry from Marvin Tate.

Anat Cohen Tentet: “Happy Song” (Anzic Records). Clarinetist Cohen released three recordings in 2017, each worthy of inclusion on any list of the year’s best jazz recordings. But “Happy Song” stands as the most expansive, for it represents a celebration of the clarinet and shows Cohen’s eloquence in addressing jazz, Brazilian, klezmer, world music and other idioms. The title may seem sugary, but the music provides considerable emotional lift.

Arturo O’Farrill, Chucho Valdes: “Familia: Tribute to Bebo + Chico”(Motema). The sons of Bebo Valdes and Chico O’Farrill offer a profound homage to their legacies in this double album. Notwithstanding the retrospective nature of the venture, pianists Chucho Valdes and Arturo O’Farrill ultimately look forward rather than back, evoking Cuban musical traditions without sinking into nostalgia, thanks to the rhythmic vigor and instrumental detail of orchestral, small group and solo tracks.

Dee Dee Bridgewater: “Memphis … Yes, I’m Ready” (OKeh). Singer Bridgewater’s excursion into autobiography takes her to Memphis, the city of her birth. We already knew that Bridgewater can sing just about anything put in front of her, and she underscores the point in conjuring the soulful, blues-saturated currents of music made in Memphis. She sounds thoroughly persuasive.

Matthew Shipp Trio: “Piano Song” (Thirsty Ear). Even if you didn’t know that pianist Shipp has said “Piano Song” will be his last recording on Thirsty Ear, the value and importance of this edgy recording is unmistakable. For Shipp’s relentless creativity and clarity of thought are matched by the sensitivity of his collaboration with bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Newman Taylor Baker.

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra: “The Music of John Lewis” (Blue Engine Records). The music world knows Lewis as pianist and musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet, but his gifts as composer are less celebrated. Wynton Marsalis, Jon Batiste and the JLCO cast a welcome spotlight on Lewis’ oeuvre in this live recording, playing classics and lesser-known fare with all the ensemble virtuosity and elegance of phrase one expects from this singular band.

River Raisin Ragtime Revue: “Music of Reginald R. Robinson” (R4 Recordings). Pianist and MacArthur Fellow Robinson has built an international reputation for his unrivaled contemporary ragtime compositions. Here more than a dozen of Robinson’s works have been orchestrated for the River Raisin Ragtime Revue, which is heard in concert capturing the spirit of his compositions, but enriching them too.

Howard Reich is a Tribune critic.

from www.orlandosentinel.com



Edited by snobb - 09 Dec 2017 at 3:43pm
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