What should you expect from jazz this month? Welcome to our December 2022 selection of albums that have already been released or will soon be released this month (“What to Wait For”). These albums got our full attention and are worth your time. They are listed in order of release date.
December 2022 Selection
Designers
Designers
(We Jazz Records)
Designers is the eponymous album by the new group comprised of Joachim Florent, Will Guthrie, and Aki Rissanen. Their Bandcamp page underlines that “their music, composed by Joachim Florent, is inspired by geometry and architecture. The music flows as minimalist, postmodern piano-trio jazz of the highest caliber,” and as a result, it creates an original mix of what feels like jazz and advanced folklore.
The mathematical take is heavily captured by the double bass, so we can enjoy a regression analysis of swing and minimalism offering jazz-folk music in an ultramodern output.
Aki Rissanen: piano; Joachim Florent: double bass; Will Guthrie: drums
Release date December 2, 2022
Waclaw Zimpel & Hans Kulk Spaces
Breath of Brahma & Sri Crickets
(Tak Picture)
This release by producer and clarinetist Waclaw Zimpel, alongside analog electronics master Hans Kulk, contains two tracks, hence its title, Breath of Brahma & Sri Crickets.
If the first track, “Breath of Brahma,” is quite interesting and deeply suggestive, then the second track, “Sri Crickets,” is just plain mesmerizing. It is this kind of track that, despite its duration, cannot be paused or turned off before its completion, thereby capturing the listener’s mind into an intensely comfortable trap.
Waclaw Zimpel: alto clarinet, piano robot, electronics, studio treatments; Hans Kulk: electronics, studio treatments
Release date December 2, 2022
Frank Carlberg Trio
Reflections 1952
(577 Records)
Reflections 1952 honors the amazing Thelonious Monk Trio, released in 1956 by Prestige. “70 years after the original recordings […] bassist John Hébert, pianist Frank Carlberg, and drummer Francisco Mela revisited those iconic recordings and improvised in conversation with them. […] Today’s musicians offer their own interpretations of the same pieces, while tipping [their] cap[s] to the master. Reflections 1952 is a note of thanks.”
Undoubtedly, this was not an easy task, but the result is gripping and powerful, nonetheless.
Frank Carlberg: piano; John Hébert: bass; Francisco Mela: drums
Release date December 2, 2022
Satoko Fujii
Hyaku: One Hundred Dreams
(Libra Records)
Hyaku, One Hundred Dreams is an album by pianist and composer Satoko Fujii. It was recorded on September 20, 2022, at the DiMenna Center in New York City, and it was released on December 9, 2022, by Libra Records, which is owned by Satoko Fujii and her husband Natsuki Tamura.
This is a gem, read the dedicated post here.
Satoko Fujii: piano; Ingrid Laubrock: tenor saxophone; Sara Schoenbeck: bassoon; Wadada Leo Smith, Natsuki Tamura: trumpet; Ikue Mori: electronics; Brandon Lopez: bass; Tom Rainey, Chris Corsano: drums
Release date December 9, 2022
VÖ
The Sounds Of VÖ
(Thanatosis Produktion)
Thanatosis Produktion is a Swedish record label with a focus on linear, slow-moving, lowkey, and somber music. The Sounds of VÖ perfectly embodies this.
The album slowly unfolds like Penrose stairs, creating an inconsistent folkloric universe for a world that does not exist. It is as hypnotic as it is well performed, and it allows us to get properly lost in the parallel universe it creates.
Eva Lindal: violin; Anna Högberg: alto saxophone; Johan Berthling: double bass; Leo Svensson Sander: cello; Alex Zethson: piano, pump organ; Giannis Arapis: acoustic guitar
Release date December 16, 2022
Sakina Abdou
Goodbye Ground
(Relative Pitch Records)
Goodbye Ground is a homemade solo album by saxophonist Sakina Abdou. It is a series of collected moments recorded at home between April 28, 2022, and July 1, 2022. It feels simultaneously very private and very open. The artist expresses herself with a lot of humanity—and even though the language is raw, it really gives a sense of intimacy and personal connection that only provides even more depth to this beautiful album.
Sakina Abdou: saxophone
Release date December 16, 2022
Jazz December 2022 – New Records Selection
- Designers – Designers (We Jazz Records)
- Waclaw Zimpel & Hans Kulk – Breath of Brahma & Sri Crickets (Tak Picture)
- Frank Carlberg Trio – Reflections 1952 (577 Records)
- Satoko Fujii – Hyaku, One Hundred Dreams (Libra)
- VÖ – The Sounds Of VÖ (Thanatosis Produktion)
- Sakina Abdou – Goodbye Ground (Relative Pitch Records)
- …
Next, discover the selection of our Best Jazz Albums 2022.
Playlist
Listen to these tracks on our Spotify playlist.