What jazz music are you listening to?

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Ambrose Akinmusire - The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier To Paint




This man really is a great musician. And composer.
This album is jazzy, poppy, sometimes even ethereal.

Listening to the CD, this is a Qobuz review:

This is an impressively rich record by a quintet which has substantially broadened its musical palette. Trumpet player and composer Ambrose Akinmusire returns with this new album, The Imagined Savior is Far Easier to Paint, helped by guitarist Charles Altura of the OSSO String Quartet and singers Becca Stevens, Theo Bleckmann and Cold Specks. The Imagined Savior is Far Easier to Paint makes good on the promise of, When the Heart Emerges Glistening, Akinmusire's last album, and his first for Blue Note, and which met with considerable success. On this new album, which he produced himself, Ambrose Akinmusire subtly develops his music by putting a little less emphasis on mind-boggling solos and a little more on the compositions themselves (he is the author of twelve of the album's thirteen tracks), although he always takes care to give his bandmates the space to express themselves and improvise. © PY/Qobuz

[GeAllan70]

[GeAllan70]

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Ahmad Jamal - Marseille
Qobuz 24/96






An octogenarian jazz master who exerted an influence on not just other pianists, but most prominently on Miles Davis, Ahmad Jamal has remained a vital presence on the music scene since the 1950s. His nuanced 2017 album, Marseille, finds him drawing upon his years of experience with a set of originals and covers that reveal just how vital and creative he remains. Primarily, the album showcases three distinctly varied interpretations of the title track, a hypnotic, modal ode to a city he loves, and to a greater extent a country that awarded him the prestigious Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et de Lettres in 2007. In fact, Marseille was even recorded in France; specifically in the Parisian suburb of Malakoff. Joining Jamal are several longtime associates including bassist James Cammack, former Jazz at Lincoln Center drummer Herlin Riley, and percussionist Manolo Badrena. Also showcased are French rapper/spoken word performer Abd Al Malik and vocalist Mina Agossi, both of whom show up on two separate versions of "Marseille." The first version of "Marseille" is an instrumental reading marked by Riley's military band snare work, Badrena's atmospheric bells and Jamal's wave-like piano, all of which evoke the city's coastal atmosphere. The second version is an equally evocative take buoyed by Cammack's languid bass motif and featuring a passionate spoken word piece in French from Malik. The final version is moody, cabaret-tinged treatment with Agossi's wry French vocals framed by Jamal's sparkling piano work and Badrena's magical chimes and percussion accents. Elsewhere, Jamal keeps the magic flowing, diving into the Afro-Cuban-infused "Pots en Verre," drawing upon dramatic, roiling, Bob Fosse-esque dance rhythms on "Baalbeck," and directly referencing the bluesy call-and-response melody of Davis' 1982 We Want Miles track "Jean Pierre" on an infectious reworking of the traditional spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child." Jamal also seems to borrow more from Davis, conjuring the sound of the trumpeter's 1965 piece "Eighty-One" for his funky interpretation of "Autumn Leaves." However, it's the pianist's original pieces here, like the glittering, dreamlike "I Came to See You/You Were Not There" that seem to flood deeper into your soul with each listen. If the music presented on Marseille is any indication, the city is clearly an intoxicating locale. Ultimately, Jamal has captured that intoxicating vibe and crafted an homage to a city that's as a heartfelt and finely rendered as anything he's done. ~ Matt Collar

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Sarah Vaughan - Sarah + 2
via Qobuz




Fantastic album.
Sarah + guitar and bass.
You really don't need more...

Roulette, the same label that brought the world Jimmie F. Rodgers' "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" and Joey Dee's "Peppermint Twist," also recorded some wonderful vocal sessions on Joe Williams, Dinah Washington, and Sarah Vaughan. While most of these were dates for ballads and lush strings, they also allowed their artists latitude for a variety of settings. When a Sarah Vaughan album titled After Hours sold better than others -- despite featuring only guitar and bass accompaniment -- they replicated the formula for 1962's wonderful Sarah + 2. Only the personnel changed; Barney Kessel took over from Mundell Lowe, while Joe Comfort stood in for George Duvivier on bass. The results are excellent, highlighting the power of Vaughan's voice, whether she's singing a rosy "All I Do Is Dream of You" or one of the most turgid torch songs, "All or Nothing at All." Her best feature is "When Sunny Gets Blue," a spotlight for her dynamic range. ~ John Bush

[Antonmb]

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Indestructible
Via Qobuz

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Jimmy Cobb Quartet - Jazz In The Key Of Blue




Classic example of a very decent surround recording.

Great jazzmen!

Jimmy Cobb (drums)
Roy Hargrove (trumpet, flugelhorn)
Russell Malone (guitar)
John Webber (bass)

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Nat "King" Cole - Just One Of Those Things
AP SACD




This '57 album sounds great in 3-channel.

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Ethan Iverson Quartet with Tom Harrell - Common Practice
Qobuz 24/96




Very nice live album.

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Mikkel Ploug
Sissel Vera Pettersen
Joachim Badenhorst - Equilibrium
Songlines SACD




Instrumental and vocal improvisations.
The surround mix gets you immersed in wonderful soundscapes...