Well, maybe I can help change that. It may not be Bandcamp Firday this month, and I may be but a visitor in the lands of jazz music, but nonetheless, I'd like to share some of my favorite, largely accessible jazz albums--ranging from the fun to the strange. Do with that information what you will. (Pro tip: go buy some music anyway, supporting artists is always in season.)
BUTTERFLY – fox capture plan
Fox Capture Plan are some of the most emotionally delightful music I could ever recommend. The piano-led trio are all about composing bright, engaging, and accessible jazz rock that is nearly impossible to dislike. BUTTERFLY in particular captures some of their more melodic and satisfying moments, like the beautiful upbeat energy of "Butterfly Effect" or their oddly moving cover of Muse's "Plug in Baby."
If you enjoy the tempo, drive, and sound of rock music, Fox Capture Plan are a great introduction to what jazz can offer you.
Also check out: Trinity, Wall
KNOWER FOREVER – KNOWER
KNOWER are the class clowns of internet music--frequently strange, always irreverent, and somehow the best damn musicians you've never seen. While you may have seen them performing incredibly frenetic synth-led pop music in the past, the big band jazz-funk that has infected Louis Cole's solo work has begun to bleed over into his collaborations with vocalist Genevieve Artadi.
The result is KNOWER FOREVER, an album that takes the proficient silliness of KNOWER's music to an entirely unprecedented level. In some ways, the audio alone doesn't capture quite how ridiculous the big band setup is for this recording--check out this video of the lead single "I'm the President" to see what I'm talking about.
But lest you think this album is some kind of joke, know that it's bursting at the seems with an absolute embarrassment of musical talent. Almost every song features some absolutely blistering soloing, though my personal favorite is David Binney's incredible finale to close the ballad "Crash the Car".
If what you value in music is musicianship or the inability to take one's self too seriously, give KNOWER a listen. There's a reason everyone loves these dorks.
Also check out: LIFE, Forever Forever (by Genevieve Artadi), LIVE 2019 (by Louis Cole)
Elektrac – Shobaleader One
Shobaleader One is the live band of Squarepusher, a virtuoso bassist and longtime composer of IDM, drill n' bass, breakcore, and other genres of electronic music. He's long been fixated on the tension between the square, plastic rigidity of electronic composition and the loose roundness of live acoustic performance, and his decades of activity have allowed him the time and space to perform all over that spectrum.
What this album captures is one of those extremities: completely live, completely acoustic performances of selected tracks from across his career. The strange contortions and permutations required to perform these pieces live not only require an incredible degree of musicianship, but also stamina. Spare a thought for the keyboardist who's repeating the same pattern for over seven minutes to make "A Journey to Reedham" work.
I will concede--sometimes these arrangements work, and sometimes they don't. But when they do, you'll be blown the hell away. (For example, check out this performance of Shobaleader One in the Boiler Room to hear some of them at their absolute best.)
If you love the composition and style of electronic music, give these guys a listen. It'll tickle your brain, for sure.
Also check out: Feed Me Weird Things, Dostrotime, Ultravisitor (all by Squarepusher)
Emily’s D+Evolution – Esperanza Spalding
Emily's D+Evolution was my first exposure to Spalding's music, a strange, beautiful cocktail of expressive jazz and uptempo funk, built atop a solid foundation of rock instrumentation. The album doesn't stay in one place for long, frequently careening between the strange and experimental before suddenly resolving into incredible moments of sublime melody. The only constant is the combination of Spalding's fantastic vocals and bass performance, which still captivate me to this day. Check out this performance to see some of her at her best--nothing is cooler than watching dueling bass and guitar solos, after all.
If you have any love in your heart for rock and funk music, give this album a listen--you'll be humming "Unconditional Love" all day long.
Moon Hooch – Moon Hooch
If you've heard of Moon Hooch, it's probably from their NPR Tiny Desk performance about a decade back. And while it's easy to get taken aback by the fact that, yes, that is a traffic pylon stuck in that man's saxophone, don't let the superficial details distract you--this sax-led trio are all incredibly talented musicians. Their very unusual approach to jazz composition involves heavy syncopation and blistering, sometimes atonal soloing, all held together with a rock hard, 4/4 foundation.
I don't want to sell these guys short--what they do is more impressive than just "American dubstep but with saxophones." But if that description gets you in the jazz door, then I'm okay with that trade off.
All right, nerd, but what if I want more?
Here are some more times I have talked about music for entirely too long:
vol. 1 Strange Black Metal
see also: #DRONEWEEK || #DRONEWEEK2024