Selection June 2022
RedGreenBlue
The End and the Beginning
(Astral Spirits)
RedGreenBlue’s Bandcamp page states, “The debut LP from RedGreenBlue posits a mesmeric, minimalist extension of Chicago’s groove-based, improvised music tradition.” This says it all perfectly.
Paul Giallorenzo: synthesizer, pump organ, electronics; Charlie Kirchen: bass; Ryan Packard: drums, electronics; Ben LaMar Gay: cornet, electronics (2)
Release date June 3, 2022
Juan Ortiz
Brighter Days
(CRU Records)
CRU is the new record label from Barcelona, Spain, dedicated to jazz. Their first release is the excellent Brighter Days by Juan Ortiz, with Hiroshi Takase and Gene Jackson.
“Brighter Days is the emotional portrait of a moment of global uncertainty, a journey to the rediscovery of the most personal roots where the restriction of movement and the strength of emotional bonds gave rise to a work that acts as a true zeitgeist of a dark age, lived since hope, which precedes the light of days to come.”
–CRU Records
We send our best wishes to CRU Records!
Juan Ortiz: piano; Hiroshi Takase: double bass; Gene Jackson: drums
Release date June 3, 2022
Daniel Carter, Matthew Shipp, William Parker, Gerald Cleaver
Welcome Adventure! Vol. 2
(577 Records)
The five tracks of Welcome Adventure! Vol. 2 are from the same session as Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1. This alone should reassure you that this album is as good as you’d expect it to be.
Daniel Carter: saxophones, clarinet; Matthew Shipp: piano; William Parker: bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums
Release date June 3, 2022
MC3
Sounds Of The City
(Phonocene)
Last December, we highlighted Music in Unusual Spaces by MC4. For this release, the former quartet is now a guitar-trumpet-drums trio, hence the name MC3. Although this recording is more conventional, the music is still just as adventurous and original as the previous release.
This is the first release by Matt Clark’s new label Phonocene, based in Brighton and London, in the United Kingdom.
Matt Clark: guitar; Charlotte Keeffe: trumpet, flugelhorn; James Edmunds: drums
Release date June 3, 2022
Billy Mohler
Anatomy
(Contagious Music)
“We never even discussed an arrangement. The rehearsal take was the take. I don’t know how Shane and Chris figured out when they were going to play, and with Nate we never even discussed a beat to the song.”
–Billy Mohler
Yet, we can only say that it did really click. The music is as tense and warm as the cover art portrays, just as if we were in an invigorated version of the Oneyed Jack Jazz Club from “Twin Peaks.”
Read the full review.
Billy Mohler: bass; Nate Wood: drums; Chris Speed: tenor sax; Shane Endsley: trumpet
Release date June 10, 2022
Gabby Fluke-Mogul
LOVE SONGS
(Relative Pitch Records)
Gabby Fluke-Mogul’s Bandcamp page states, “LOVE SONGS […] is a record of 17 violin compositions for improvisation, devoted to the multitudinous hues of intimacy.” It is indeed intimate and certainly emotional but also infinitely beautiful and magnificently poignant.
Read the full review.
Gabby Fluke-Mogul: violin
Release date June 10, 2022
Anteloper
Pink Dolphins
(International Anthem)
After Kudu was released in 2018 and became part of our Best Jazz 2018 selection, here comes the second full album by Anteloper. The approach is identical—even if this time, the duo became a trio, as Jeff Parker joins them on four tracks, and then a quartet, as Chad Taylor joins them on the second track. This album approaches the music and creative process with a punk spirit.
Jaimie Branch: trumpet, electronics, percussion, vocals; Jason Nazary: drums, synths; Jeff Parker: guitar, bass guitar, percussion, Korg MS-20; Chad Taylor: mbira (2)
Release date June 17, 2022
Gordon Grdina, Nomad Trio feat. Matt Mitchell & Jim Black
Boiling Point
(Astral Spirits)
“Boiling Point is the sophomore release from Gordon Grdina’s Nomad Trio featuring Matt Mitchell (piano) and Jim Black (drums) and also follows up on 2021’s Astral Spirits Grdina / Black duo release Martian Kitties.”
–Astral Spirits
Gordon Grdina: guitar, oud; Matt Mitchell: piano; Jim Black: drums
Release date June 17, 2022
Wadada Leo Smith
The Emerald Duets
(TUM)
“With these artists, I believe I have created a magnificent collection of music, with some unusual moments offering a feeling like nothing I have ever achieved before in a recording. I hope this large project can contribute something unique and make a lasting impact in the literature of duet music.”
–Wadada Leo Smith
You can visit this page for all the details.
Also coming June 17 from TUM are String Quartets Nos 1 – 12 “a magnificent addition not only to Smith’s own recorded output but also to the literature for modern string quartet music more broadly.”
And on Tuesday, June 21, Smith will receive the VISION Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award in a celebratory and expansive concert at Roulette in Brooklyn.
Wadada Leo Smith: trumpet; Pheeroan akLaff: drums (DISC 1); Andrew Cyrille: drums (DISC 2); Han Bennink: drums and percussion (DISC 3); Jack DeJohnette: drums, piano, Fender Rhodes (DISCS 4 and 5)
Release date June 17, 2022
Charles Lloyd
Trios: Chapel
(Blue Note)
This is the first release of an upcoming triptych, a “Trio of Trios, an expansive project that encompasses three albums, each a deft change of musical context that presents him in a different trio setting”:
- Trios: Chapel features guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan (June 24, 2022)
- Trios: Ocean coming features guitarist Anthony Wilson and pianist Gerald Clayton (August 26, 2022)
- Trios: Sacred Heart features guitarist Julian Lage and percussionist Zakir Hussain (October 28, 2022)
Charles Lloyd: saxophone; Bill Frisell: guitar; Thomas Morgan: bass
Release date June 24, 2022
June 2022 – New Records Selection
- RedGreenBlue – The End and the Beginning (Astral Spirits)
- Juan Ortiz – Brighter Days (CRU)
- Daniel Carter, Matthew Shipp, William Parker, Gerald Cleaver – Welcome Adventure! Vol. 2 (577 Records)
- MC3 – Sounds Of The City (Phonocene)
- Billy Mohler – Anatomy (Contagious Music)
- Gabby Fluke-Mogul – LOVE SONGS (Relative Pitch Records)
- Anteloper – Pink Dolphins (International Anthem)
- Gordon Grdina, Nomad Trio feat. Matt Mitchell & Jim Black – Boiling Point (Astral Spirits)
- Wadada Leo Smith – The Emerald Duets (TUM)
- Charles Lloyd – Trios: Chapel (Blue Note)
Next, discover the selection of our Best Jazz Albums 2022 (so far).
Playlist
Listen to these tracks on our Spotify playlist, “Best Jazz 2022”.