The Listening Guide
🎶 The listening guide: five albums, released during the past twelve months, chosen around a weekly theme 🎶
We cannot wait to see jazz artists back on the bandstand here in Manchester, but until it’s entirely safe for that to happen, we highlight five live albums that serve as pertinent reminders of jazz music’s power in the live setting.
Jason Palmer – The Concert: 12 Musings for Isabella
Alicia Crowe – Sings Tribute To Alberta Hunter Live!
Somi – Holy Room: Live at Alte Oper with Frankfurt Radio Big Band
Album of the Week
Our NQ Jazz Album of the Week is vibraphonist and composer Joel Ross’ second LP for Blue Note Records. Like his debut, it features his Good Vibes peers: Jeremy Corren on piano, Immanuel Wilkins on alto saxophone, and Jeremy Dutton on drums – as well as introducing new collaborator Kanoa Mendenhall on bass, and featuring harpist Brandee Younger on five of the album’s fifteen tracks. Having worked with the likes of Ambrose Akinmusire, Marquis Hill, and Makaya McCraven, Ross felt inspired to construct the album in a way which told a story: tracks 1-7 introducing characters and setting a scene, before tracks 8-15 develop and twist the plot. Check out the project via the Blue Note store.
Classic Album
Much like Mary Lou Williams – for whom she held great admiration – the late pianist and composer Marian McPartland established her own independent record label during the nineteen-sixties. Its first release was Interplay, an understated but beautiful duo album with bassist Linc Milliman. It captures McPartland in a contemplative mood, with intriguing melodies and smooth motion, making for several comforting Autumnal piano pieces, gently lifted by Milliman’s bass work. The album also features covers of Milestones, Hoagy Carmichael’s New Orleans, and Ellington’s Things Ain’'t What They Used To Be. Later released by MPS, it’s a fantastic document of McPartland’s playing.