Europe Jazz Media Chart – November 2024
Ook deze maand publiceren wij weer de Europe Jazz Media Chart, een lijst van de belangrijkste jazzalbums van dit moment volgens toonaangevende Europese journalisten binnen de jazz. Journalisten die voor Europese magazines, zowel print als online, hun artikelen en recensies schrijven.
Zolotyi Karp – Maryan Karpinskyi Experience (Self Released)
Kateryna Ziabliuk, Meloport (Ukraine):
Zolotyi Karp is an album by young Ukrainian guitarist Maryan Karpinskyi, comprised of songs he composed during the years of Russian invasion. Through these pieces, he channels reflections on authenticity, purpose, friendship, and sincerity. Accompanying him are some of the most active voices on the modern Ukrainian scene: Dmytro Kryshtal on trumpet, Denys Arkharov on piano, Stanislav Diachenko on bass, and Mykhailo Halaktionov on drums.
Karpinskyi offered insights into the themes of each composition on social media:
“Borodьba” reminds us that struggle is an integral part of life.
“Vona” speaks to a state of inspiration and motivation.
“Ne Trymai” warns against wishful thinking.
“Kyshenya” reflects the influence of culture, upbringing, education, and experience in shaping one’s personality.
“Vechir” accepts things as they are.
“Sered Zirok” invites us to be traveler-dreamers.
Together, these pieces capture a personal and collective journey, resonating with Karpinskyi’s inner world and the realities faced by his place of living.
Conundrum, Vol.1 – Itself Through Disappearance – Pedro Melo Alves (Clean Feed)
Nuno Catarino, Jazz.pt (Portugal):
In 2019, the drummer Pedro Melo Alves launched the Conundrum concert series, featuring duos with various musicians he had not previously collaborated with, focusing on musical improvisation. This album, released by Clean Feed, compiles live recordings from thirteen concerts with artists such as Marta Warelis, Ignaz Schick, Sara Serpa, Rafael Toral, Jacqueline Kerrod, João Barradas and Audrey Chen. The album highlights a wide range of sounds and instruments, showcasing distinct musical approaches and communication styles. Each short excerpt captures unique moments, reflecting both harmony and challenges in the collaborative process. At the heart of the project is Alves’s improvisational skill and adaptability, making this album a remarkable collection of diverse musical encounters. Read more (in Portuguese)…
Ashram Sun – Surya Botofasina (Spiritmuse Records)
Dick Hovenga, Written in Music (Netherlands):
Ashram Sun by keyboardist/vocalist Surya Botofasina is a very special musical experience. The musician has already been featured this year on groundbreaking new albums by Shabaka, Andre 300 (she is part of his live band) and Carlos Niño. Her second album for Spiritmuse Records is a deeply spiritual ode/love letter to the time Alice Coltrane spent at her ashram in Los Angeles. Botafasina’s Ashram Sun draws richly from those Coltrane years and draws those musical spiritual lines into the present. As a result, Ashram Sun is an album as free and adventurous as you very rarely hear. Floating on the atmosphere of atmospheric synthesizers, in the spirit of her teacher Swamini Turiyasangitananda (Coltrane’s ashram name), Botofasina develops a fascinating world. Ashram Sun is a bulky piece of work that impresses and intrigues. Precisely because the atmosphere is so meditative, the music, however experimental at times, feels like a heartwarming and mind-expanding experience. Nothing in this world is currently more needed than albums like this wonderful Ashram Sun. Read more (in Dutch)…
Trust – Unleashed Cooperation (Multikulti Project)
Krzysztof Komorek, Donos kulturalny (Poland):
Trust is a continuation and development of the music heard on the debut of the group. The album features eight tracks – six original compositions and two improvised miniatures. Half of the material was created with the participation of the band’s special (and unique) guest, the outstanding vocalist and improviser Anna Gadt. A well-composed mix of jazz, improvisation, influences of contemporary and ethnic music, allows the band to create a unique, easily recognisable style. Individual pieces sometimes seduce with delicate melodies, at other times intrigue with unexpected solutions and openness of form. It’s an excellent album. Read more (in Polish)…
Choices – Thomas Stieger (Leopard)
Jacek Brun, Jazz-fun.de (Germany):
An important part of this music is the mutual inspiration of all project members and the joint development of expression. Thomas Stieger, as leader, sets the direction, and each musician follows in his or her own original way. Each performer takes on the role of soloist, accompanist or colorist, depending on the composer’s intention. The individual pieces have clearly defined melodic themes that are freely improvised. A very interesting album and well worth listening to. Read more (in German)…
Música Imaginaria – Baldo Martínez Sextet (Karonte)
Bega Villalobos, In & Out JAZZ (Spain):
The exceptional sextet led by Baldo Martínez offers us an hour of wonderful music, full of surprising and exciting developments, in the form of compositions that fly free and unfold towards paths of captivating beauty. Everything is elegant here, everything sounds emotional and careful to the extreme, everything fits in a strange and almost magical way in an improbable collage of contemporary jazz, free improvisation and sounds indebted to folklore. Everything is organic, natural and harmonious: there is light at all times. Imaginary Music is a very complete work in which vibraphones, accordions, fluscorns, marimbas and flutes are intertwined in a festive, beautiful and imaginative way around more conventional elements of the jazz tradition such as the sax, drums, trumpet or double bass. to create a fascinating, original work, addictive from the first note and totally elusive when looking for labels to try to define it. Read more (in Spanish)…
The Path of a Tear – Jo Harrop (Lateralise Records)
Sebastian Scotney, LondonJazz News (UK):
Jo Harrop’s music comes straight from the heart. I heard it in her voice the very first time I listened to her,” says four-time Grammy winner Larry Klein who produced “The Path Of A Tear”. This new album was recorded in Village Studios in Los Angeles. I have written that Jo Harrop sings “with sincerity, warmth, joy and grace. All that and more so on this fine album. And a delightful person too. Read more…
Bleed – The Necks (Northern Spy Records)
Kaspars Zavileiskis, Jazzin.lv (Latvia):
A single 42-minute track album that vividly demonstrates the extraordinary creative process of Australian cult trio The Necks. The interplay of pianist Chris Abrahams, bassist Lloyd Swanton, and drummer Tony Buck mostly lives in the vast fields of minimalism with electronic and other delicate sonic textures involved and is built very attentively to end up in a joint dance. The 20th studio album Bleed is an absolute must-listen for fans of The Necks and the avant-garde jazz altogether, this time especially worth buying in the form of truly beautiful vinyl presentation. And inviting to one of the equally creative processes of this trio in the form of concerts.
Somehow How I Lost My Way – Bento Box Trio (Fjordgata Records)
Matthieu Jouan, Citizenjazz.com (France):
The Norwegian trio Bento Box is made up of promising young musicians who are already more or less established. It’s not too late to discover them, here with this new project, improvised around their own compositions and featuring the double bass of Mats Eilertsen and the voice of Sissel Vera Pettersen on some tracks. Tuva Halse’s violin has a very specific, colorful, bittersweet sound that adds a special relief to the whole. Benjamín Gísli Einarsson on piano and Øyvind Leite on drums are careful not to spoil this primary color, but to support and enhance it. Somehow How I Lost My Way is an excellent surprise and a fine hope.
The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery – Caleb Wheeler Curtis (Imani Records)
Jan Granlie, Salt-peanuts* (Pan-Scandinavian):
The two CDs, with his own compositions plus one by Arthur Blythe on the first, and the second with Thelonious Monk compositions, shows Wheeler Curtis in great form. He writes fine compositions, which are performed in a sort of “Loft” landscape together with bassist Sean Conly and drummer Michael Sarin. And the record of Monk compositions, with bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner, does Monk in an almost minimalist way, but both records have a drive and an energy that places Wheeler Curtis right at the forefront of today’s jazz. He himself is a master of stritch, sopranino saxophone, trumpet and tenor saxophone.
Miles In France 1963 & 1964 – Miles Davis Quintet: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 – Miles Davis Quintet (Columbia)
Patrik Sandberg, Jazz Orkesterjournalen (Sweden):
Miles in France is the eighth release in the acclaimed Miles Davis Bootleg Series and one that focuses on the formation of the Second Great Quintet during 1963 and 1964. The music captures both an ending and a new beginning and is spread across five performances on eight 12″s.
Voor de volledige lijst en meer links: Europe Jazz Media Chart – November 2024
