What to expect in Jazz this month? This is our August 2021 Selection of albums already released or to be released this month (What to Wait For?). Albums – or EPs, or Singles – that got our full attention and should be worth your time.

A playlist with one track per selected album is available at the end of the post.

August 2021 Selection

“Jean-Jacques Rojer takes musical elements from the broad swath of the African diaspora to create his unique take on jazz, a swinging mix of Afro-Caribbean, Latin, and swinging pulses, on his new recording, Soko. “
— Sunnyside Records

Jean-Jacques Rojer: guitar & percussion; Warren Wolf: vibraphones; John Benitez: acoustic bass; Jeff “Tain” Watts: drums; Pernell Saturnino: percussion.
Release date August 6, 2021

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Inspired by legendary artist  Yayoi Kusama, I Want To Sing My Heart Out In Praise of Life is a six-part suite as colorful, hallucinatory, and bold as you would expect it to be.

Adi Meyerson: bass; Marquis Hill: trumpet; Anne Drummond: flute; Lucas Pino: bass clarinet, saxophone; Sam Towse: keys; Kush Abadey: drums; Eden Girma: spoken word; Sabeth Perez, Camille Thurman: vocals
Release date August 6, 2021

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Somewhere Different is an album full of jazz, soul, and funk. It sounds like today’s music sound should sound, even if we do not know it before listening to it. It contains and recognizes what has been said but naturally and positively affirms itself as to what should be done today.

Brandee Younger: harp; Rashaan Carter: bass; Maurice Brown: trumpet; Chelsea Baratz: tenor saxophone; Anne Drummond: flute; Allan Mednard: drum; Marcus Gilmore: drum | Guests Tarriona “Tank” Ball: vocals; Ron Carter: bass.
Release date August 13, 2021

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“They stand on the same ground – both have their roots in jazz, and both love the jazz avant-garde of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor. Two technically skilled instrumentalists with sparkling temperament, drive and joy in experimentation.”
— Intakt Records

Angelika Niesicer: alto saxophone; Alexander Hawkins: piano
Release date August 20, 2021

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Just add those two bios together: <<Gordon Grdina: Juno award winning Oud/Guitarist with a unique sound combining mainstream jazz, free/improv, and Arabic music>> and <<Jim Black: drummer, at the forefront of a new generation of musicians bringing jazz into the 21st century>>. This will give you a good idea of how entertaining this duo album is: wild, noisy, and avant jazz, krautrock fusion music. Overall, these are two amazingly good musicians who obviously enjoy improvising together.

Gordon Grdina: guitar, oud; Jim Black: drums, electronics.
Release date August 20, 2021

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Nine tracks to celebrate the CTI Records‘ catalog, a “label unfairly considered as minor” says Julien Loureau; one to commemorate his long-time friend Bojan Z’s recently departed brother.

Julien Lourau: tenor, soprano saxophones; Arnaud Roulin: analog synthesizers; Léo Jassef: piano & prophet 5; Sylvain Daniel: bass; Jim Hart: drums, percussions, vibes, marimba.
Release date August 20, 2021

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“Bill Frisell and Ben Street remain from the Declaration line-up with David Virelles taking the piano role. Each of the players has space for improvisational expression – and Frisell and Virelles also contribute material – but it is Cyrille’s communicative sensibility and what the New York Times called his “watchful, flowing pulse” that guides the band.”
— ECM

Andrew Cyrille: drums; Bill Frisell: guitar; David Virelles: piano, synthesizer; Ben Street: double bass.
Release date August 27, 2021

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“The concept initially was about trying to get some of the musical sounds that I remembered as a kid growing up — sounds that lift your spirit from people like John Coltrane, A Love Supreme; Aretha Franklin, Amazing Grace; Marvin Gaye, What’s Going On; and the spiritual side of the church,” Garrett says. “When I started to think about them, I realized it was the spirit from my ancestors.”
— Kenny Garrett

Kenny Garrett: alto saxophone, vocals, electric piano, piano; Vernell Brown, Jr.: piano; Corcoran Holt: bass; Ronald Bruner: drums; Rudy Bird: percussion, snare | Guests: Jean Baylor: vocals; Dreiser Durruthy: bata & vocals; Maurice Brown: trumpet; Linny Smith: vocals; Chris Ashley Anthony: vocals; Sheherazade Holman: piano & organ, Fender Rhodes; Lenny White: snare; Pedrito Martinez: vocals & congas; Dwight Trible: vocals.
Release date August 27, 2021

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“I’m proud to have a chance to visit some of the music that has shaped my musical identity. Pairing Wayne Shorter’s music with original works from The E-Collective along with the sonic colors of The Turtle Island Quartet has been an amazing experience. Wayne has said before ‘Jazz means I Dare You,’ so why not dare to be creative and pay homage at the same time.”
— Terence Blanchard

Terence Blanchard: trumpet; Fabian Almazan: piano; Charles Altura: guitar; David Ginyard: bass; Oscar Seaton: drums; And the Turtle Island String Quartet.
Release date August 27, 2021

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“The new Lassy sound is tight, swinging, and funky, led by the strong and riff-ready sax of the tenorman. That being said, the album’s sound is not limited to that of the swinging trio. Lassy’s new vision also brings in some subtle electronics (played by Lassy, Dalindèo frontman Valtteri Laurell Pöyhönen and Ilmiliekki Quartet pianist Tuomo Prättälä) and lush strings performed by Budapest Art Orchestra as arranged by Finnish artist Marzi Nyman. It’s a new sound for Lassy, but one which keeps true to his no-nonsense cookin’ on the tenor.”
— We Jazz

Timo Lassy: tenor saxophone; Ville Herrala: double bass; Jaska Lukkarinen: drums
Release date August 27, 2021

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New Releases – Albums List:

• Jean-Jacques Rojer – Soko (Sunnyside Records)
• Adi Meyerson – I Want To Sing My Heart Out In Praise of Life (Self-released)
• Brandee Younger – Somewhere Different (Impulse)
• Angelika Niesicer, Alexander Hawkins – Soul in Plain Sight (Intakt Records)
• Gordon Grdina, Jim Black – Martian Kitties (Astral Spirits)
• Julien Lourau – Power Of Soul, The Music Of CTI (Komos)
• Andrew Cyrille Quartet – The News (ECM)
• Kenny Garrett – Sounds From the Ancestors (Mack Avenue)
• Terence Blanchard – Absence (Blue Note)
• Timo Lassi – Trio (We Jazz Records)

Discover the Best of Jazz – Year 2021 full post.

Playlist

Listen to these tracks on the Spotify playlist “Best Jazz 2021”.

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