Is this Jazz? #9: Favorites of 2009

So why not do last year? It was pretty interesting overall with labels like Tzadik (#2/#9) and ECM (#8) ushering in classicism and a jazz-plus of sorts. European artists like Stefano Bellani were now veterans of the not-so-fine line between jazz and classical. Hard bop has returned as a mainstay since it's burrowing underground during the mid-70s and has now been refined over and over again after reemerging during the late '90s. Two Cities, Sensible Shoes, and Varmint all are excellent examples of this.

Full Blast is one of Peter Brotzmann's many side prjoects. Allen Tousaint's Bright Mississippi is a great homage to the state itself and guys like Django, Duke, Monk and others. Rune Grammofon's Fire! album was great, topping out even international label mates Supersilent, but the real prize goes to Bobby Bradford. Midnight Pacific Airwaves is simply incredible, and features cross-career tracks from Bradford, half recorded in 1977 and the rest in this decade.

1. Bobby Bradford Extet - Midnight Pacific Airwaves
   
2. Led Bib - Sensible Shoes
3. Aram Shelton's Fast Citizens - Two Cities
4. Borah Bergman Trio - Luminescence
5. Old Dog - By Any Other Name
   
6. Jason Adasiewicz' Rolldown - Varmint
7. Full Blast - Black Hole
8. Stefano Bellani - Stone in the Water
9. Allen Toussaint - Bright Mississippi
10. Fire! - You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago

Is this Jazz? #9: Favorites of 2009

So why not do last year? It was pretty interesting overall with labels like Tzadik (#2/#9) and ECM (#8) ushering in classicism and a jazz-plus of sorts. European artists like Stefano Bellani were now veterans of the not-so-fine line between jazz and classical. Hard bop has returned as a mainstay since it's burrowing underground during the mid-70s and has now been refined over and over again after reemerging during the late '90s. Two Cities, Sensible Shoes, and Varmint all are excellent examples of this.

Full Blast is one of Peter Brotzmann's many side prjoects. Allen Tousaint's Bright Mississippi is a great homage to the state itself and guys like Django, Duke, Monk and others. Rune Grammofon's Fire! album was great, topping out even international label mates Supersilent, but the real prize goes to Bobby Bradford. Midnight Pacific Airwaves is simply incredible, and features cross-career tracks from Bradford, half recorded in 1977 and the rest in this decade.

1. Bobby Bradford Extet - Midnight Pacific Airwaves
   
2. Led Bib - Sensible Shoes
3. Aram Shelton's Fast Citizens - Two Cities
4. Borah Bergman Trio - Luminescence
5. Old Dog - By Any Other Name
   
6. Jason Adasiewicz' Rolldown - Varmint
7. Full Blast - Black Hole
8. Stefano Bellani - Stone in the Water
9. Allen Toussaint - Bright Mississippi
10. Fire! - You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago

Is this Jazz? #1

9/25

THANKS RUDY!

Led Bib, Sensible Shoes

Thank god for Led Bib. Vaulting the fine line between new jazz and old throwbacks, the London-based quintet sounds morelike John Zorn without all that klezmer stuff going on. On thier past albums and at past shows they have played standards mixed in with Bowie and Talking heads covers, no strange thing considering they were started by Mark Holub, the bands drummer. Thier rock sound maybe what makes them so accessible, and so Cunieform, a label they share with Upsilon Crux, Beat Circus, and the punk-jazz group Gutbucket.

Armed with double alto saxaphone, the group can create wall-of-sound harmonies by adding the interjections of Rhodes keyboard. Sensible Shoes, a heavily rock influenced group with subtly rock influenced tracks, can jump in and out of genres at the drop of a hat. Squirrel Carnage takes us in and out of hard bop, into free jazz, and back again. Water Shortage is an electro-charged ballad departing from thier harder album openers.

On Sensible Shoes, Led Bib finds thier hard-hitting sound and defines themselves as well-versed players. They would fit just as well Downtown at Tonic in the mid-90s as they would with Joe McPhee on the soul-charged Nation Time. At times, the shifts in and out of genre and rhythm may seem even frustrating, but Led Bib has created a masterful look at their abilities in just 9 tracks. Sensible Shoes is available from Cuneiform Records.