The title of Art Hirahara’s new release embraces the spirit of jazz. Music made in good company with musicians interacting to create something special. Two new albums from ground-breaking saxophonist Ivo Perelman reflect this approach as well with the creation of music which pushes at boundaries. Other brand new releases from 2024 make up the rest of the show apart from a coda of two great tracks from Miles Davis electric period in 1969-1970.
SHOW AUDIO
PLAYLIST
Show Intro 00:00
Art Hirahara "Full Moon Over Lisbon" from Good Company (Posi-tone) 00:30
Ivo Perelman "One" from Vox Populi Vox Dei (Mahalaka Music) 06:33
Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey "Scrunch Repercussions" from Brink (Intakt) 17:43
Charlotte McLean Quartet "Warfare" from Jazz in Meanjin 012: Live at JMI (4000 Records) 25:08
Dan Siegel "Line of Sight" from Unity (Self Released) 28:17
Francisco Mela & Johnathon Reisin “Flourishing" from Earthquake (577 Records) 33:05
Javon Jackson & Nikki Giovanni "The Folks That Live On The Hill" from Javon and Nikki Go to the Movies (Solid Jackson / Palmetto Records) 40:37
Neta Raanan "Mountain Voice" from Unforseen Blossom - Live In Brooklyn (Giant Step Arts) 48:49
D.D. Jackson "2641 Fuller Terrace" from Poetry Project (Self Released) 1:01:12
Rodrigo Dominguez "Polenta Magica" from Bicho Bolita (ears & eyes) 1:07:24
Ivo Perelman "II - Three" from Messa Di Voce (Mahalaka Music) 1:14:58
Chloë Sobek, Tim Berne "Burnishing" from Burning Up (Relative Pitch Records) 1:30:53
Miles Davis "Honky Tonk" from The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (Columbia) 1:43:24
Miles Davis "Bitches Brew" from The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (Columbia) 2:03:22
SHOW NOTES
Art Hirahara - Joined by the masterful Paul Bollenback on guitar and the brilliant Ron Horton on trumpet, Hirahara leads this dynamic trio on a captivating journey of original compositions and innovative arrangements, showcasing a masterful blend of creativity and virtuosity. Each track is a testament to the seamless interplay between Hirahara, Bollenback and Horton, highlighting their collaborative synergy and individual prowess. Good Company" is an essential addition to any jazz collection. Join us in celebrating this remarkable album of captivating performances.
Ivo Perelman - Two new albums from Ivo Perelman on the show. On the first Ivo and Iva Bittová (vocals, violin), both artists with a background in the folk music of their mother countries, Brazil and the Czech Republic, meet synergistically with creative jazz bass player Michael Bisio to form an exciting unique blend of jazz. On the second Perelman has collaborated in the past with only 2 other vocalists , Flora Purim and the aforementioned Iva. On this albu Fay Victor nudges him into deep jazz discoveries, along with the creative rhythm section of Joe Morris and Ramon Lopez.
Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey - Since 2017, these two virtuoso improvisers and unmistakable stylists have been celebrating music as a duo. A classic duo that releases energy, pulsating vividly while simultaneously withdrawing into intimacy. A celebration of successful interplay, burning for the moment. Brink is a fascinating example of jazz as the art of dialogue. In a profound and telepathic way, Laubrock and Rainey understand each other and speak to each other through the music. "We listeners will often find ourselves breathing as Ingrid and Tom breathe, as they cherish space along with vivid instrumental ideas", writes Nels Cline in the liner notes and adds: "The duo of Ingrid Laubrock and Tom Rainey has been its own beautiful story as this golden couple has coalesced to create music that, while evincing the natural breaths of humble human existence, also possesses magic.“
Charlotte McLean Quartet - Charlotte is emerging as one of Australia’s most captivating and original vocalists. Possessed of a velvety-smooth voice, she produces her own addictive style and her original tunes have garnered critical and popular acclaim. Charlotte’s exemplary skills as an improviser allow her to put a fresh spin on classic jazz repertoire, and she sings with honesty, strength and a unique combination of contemporary musical influences. This 12th instalment in the excellent Jazz Meanjin series was recorded at Brisbane’s Jazz Music Institute on May 5th, 2024 and features a collection covers and original compositions.
Dan Siegel - Siegel’s twenty-third release, Unity, is the latest and one of the finest examples of that alchemical process. Released on August 9, 2024, Unity reunites the keyboardist with drummer Oscar Seaton for the first time in 20 years, since the recording of the 2004 album Inside Out. It also marks his first meeting with bassist David “DJ” Ginyard, Seaton’s rhythm section partner in Terence Blanchard’s electrically charged E-Collective band. From the time the trio entered the studio together, Siegel’s vision of the music he’d written for the session irrevocably changed, a display of the titular unity.
Francisco Mela & Johnathon Reisin - Mela, a 577 Records mainstay and master avant-garde drummer, is joined by young saxophonist Jonathan Reisin on Earthquake. On the five-track album, the duo explores the dynamic range of improvisation they can achieve using a simple instrumental dyad. Each piece represents a thoughtful, seismic shift, and creates a soundscape that echoes the unpredictability and beauty of natural phenomena. Reisin brings his prestigious musical education to play tenor and soprano saxophone on their debut album, showcasing his ability alongside his creative expression. Earthquake will be available as a CD and for download in October.
Javon Jackson & Nikki Giovanni - a powerful follow-up to their 2022 debut The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni. Joining Jackson is the stellar group he’s worked with for more than a decade: pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist David Williams and drummer McClenty Hunter. They’re also joined by Grammy-winning vocalist Nicole Zuraitis and, on three captivating cuts, by Giovanni herself. Released August 23, 2024 via Solid Jackson / Palmetto Records, the album offers another crop of Giovanni’s favourite songs – in this case, standards from the Great American Songbook, many of them originally composed for Hollywood classics. But the repertoire also includes three Jackson originals and one from the pen of one of his heroes, Sonny Rollins.
Neta Raanan - Rising tenor player Neta Raanan makes her leader debut with a live recording feature vibraphonist Joel Ross, bassist Kavon Gordon and drummer Simone Wilson.
D.D. Jackson - Poetry Project represents an exciting new chapter in the Canadian- born, New York-area based, Juno and multi-Emmy-winning jazz pianist, composer, producer D.D. Jackson’s extremely varied musical career. Featuring 5 Juno-winning performers (including Jackson himself and vocalists Laila Biali and Sammy Jackson), Snarky Puppy drummer Larnell Lewis, and other cream-of-the-crop Canadian talent from soprano saxophonist Jane Bunnett to bassists Rich Brown and George Koller, and augmented by everything from string quartet to full orchestra, Poetry Project is a culminating, summarizing event, a synthesis of all that Jackson has learned on his multi-faceted journey, and also an exciting promise of what’s to come.
Rodrigo Dominguez - his seventh album under his own name, and second with ears&eyes Records, and first since his move to Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina, Bicho Bolita was recorded to portray the musical momentum that was generated with this trio from some concerts in Buenos Aires, Bariloche, and at the Osorno Jazz Festival in Chile. The music took off in a way that had to be recorded. Domínguez has been actively participating in the Buenos Aires jazz scene since the late 1990s, having recorded dozens of albums with the most important local artists of the genre. He has generated and participated in many projects in these years, toured widely throughout the Americas and Europe, and collaborated with international artists on various occasions. During the second year of the pandemic, he emigrated to the city of Bariloche, in Argentine Patagonia, and that move generated a change in everything he does and feels, including, of course, music. This album reflects these aesthetic and conceptual changes in a natural way, and one can hear the search for a renewed language, more refined, more playful and relaxed. This search is supported by the choice of musicians, young people who bring a new energy, although with a fully developed and mature language.
Chloë Sobek, Tim Berne - This is the first collaboration between Australian improvisor Chloë who plays the Renaissance precursor to the double bass, the violone, and saxophonist Tim Berne.
Miles Davis - closing with a couple of tracks from Miles’ Electric Period. The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 is a box-set album released in 2005. It compiles six of ten sets that were performed over four December nights in 1970 at the Washington D. C. nightclub the Cellar Door. Despite similar formatting, it is not a part of the Miles Davis Series of box sets. Significant portions of Davis' Live-Evil were edited and compiled from the music that appears on discs 5 and 6. The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions is a four-disc box set compiling recordings between August 19, 1969, and February 6, 1970—including the 1970 double album Bitches Brew in its entirety it was released on Columbia/Legacy on November 24, 1998.