Modern Energy Jazz

Resonance Records goes out of its way again to unearth yet another significant chapter in jazz history, and once again, it's one that relatively few fans have ever heard. This performance of Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth Big Band was captured during George Wein's Kool Jazz Festival at Avery Fisher Hall. It was broadcast on NPR's Jazz Alive program, but this double disc contains the entire performance, with more than 40 minutes of additional music.

Because cornetist Rob Mazurek and drummer Chad Taylor both come from the jazz sphere, it's usually tempting to lump their collective work as Chicago Underground Duo in that particular genre. The problem is it is only one of the elements that CUD employs in the music they've made over the last 15 years together. Age of Energy, the group's debut on Northern Spy, is a case in point. In addition to a drum kit, Taylor plays a drum machine and other electronics.

The Modern Jazz Quartet - Plays George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess (1966) {Atlantic Jazz Masters–Rhino 8122-75445-2 rel 2004}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 215 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 91 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 225 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1964-65, 2004 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner | 8122-75445-2
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Third Stream

The Modern Jazz Quartet, a group legendary for it's feats during their heyday in the cool bop period of jazz music, shares with the listener a brilliant effort encompassing their impression of composer George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess." Acclaimed by Encyclopedia Britannica as "the greatest American musical drama ever written," The Modern Jazz Quartet perform it at the highest level of creative flair to pay homage to a marvel of composition with the utmost degree of sincerity and respect. This is a piece that Gershwin took a full 11 months to compose and nine months to orchestrate, all based on the initial inspiration from a drama written by playwright Dorothy Heyward. Opening up the score is Gershwin's dazzling and seductive tune "Summertime," a landslide mark of musical brilliance.

Barney Kessel - Live At The Jazz Mill 1954 (2016) {Modern Harmonic MHCD-007}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 175 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 106 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 83 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954, 2016 Modern Harmonic / Sundazed Music | MHCD-007
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Guitar

A fantastic addition to the Barney Kessel catalog of the 50s – a never-heard live set that has the guitarist in form that's every bit as strong as his famous albums for Contemporary Records! In fact, the strength of the recording may well capture Kessel at a level that beats those sessions – as Barney's playing live, with a bit more bite – and really grabs us with the strong tone on his solos – and the sense of energy he gets in a quartet that also includes a young Pete Jolly on piano! The recording quality is excellent – crystal-clear, and very focused – and the set isn't one of those lost tapes that should have stayed "lost" – but instead a real lost chapter in Barney's tremendous career.

BBE Music presents J Jazz volume 3, the latest in its definitive compilation series exploring the finest modern jazz from Japan.

In 2021, the international contemporary music festival Only Connect commissioned an interpretation from I LIKE TO SLEEP of the first movement of Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalila symphony. A project which initially led to a 15-minute piece performed at the festival, with the trio re-writing the music of Messiaen, but also rewriting the music of their own. Messiaen as a reference and compositional tool may be heard in the album for those really listening for references. With “Sleeping Beauty” the trio also explore even heavier riffs than before, seasick grooves and tempi, and deeper ambient soundscapes. Through extensive improvisation, the effects and processing of the sounds are way more extreme than before, almost awakening the sleeping beauty.

Jeff Ballard ranks among the most inventive and adventurous drummers of his generation. He makes music that feels like the 21st century – open, fluid, ever-developing; a sound informed by jazz but truly coming to life where musical worlds collide: acoustic and electric, swinging and ambient, analogue and digital, accessible and experimental. The virtuoso drummer, who made his name playing with Ray Charles, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau, is not inhibited by convention. His music is honest, original and adventurous with a ceaseless desire and energy to move people emotionally, physically and intellectually. Jeff’s latest project and album ‘Fairgrounds’, released on Edition Records, provides a freedom to explore and to express himself with musicians who are close to his heart and mind.