I gotta chuckle about this blog and what I’ve let it evolve into.
Setting out to have a focus on “underground club tracks”. But with time, in a mix of house and techno tracks I have added both ambient, synthwave and nuJazz. Now that’s three genres with next to NOTHING in common.
But oh well. Today it’s time to visit the wonderful world of Jazz again. Two absolutely gorgeous, new releases that deserves our time.
Joe Kenney – Lead With Love
It’s not often I copy large segments from the press releases when I write about tracks. I’m not like that.
But I just had to do it this time, with how they describe this track:
“Combining a minor tonality with an upbeat groove, “Lead With Love” is a soulful and expressive reflection on taking a step towards betterment through the spiritual focus of having love for others. The energy is boisterous and the song is a jam/journey with a unique voice and an electrifying blending of genres/ compositional styles. The music draws from jazz fusion, neo-classical, soul, and other styles.”
I wish I could describe music like that. Instead I’ll just settle with describing the feeling this triggers in me when listening to it:
I’m in a jazz lounge, rather large, dark but warm colours dominating, not too many guests seated around the small tables. A bartender is standing there, cleaning glasses, the atmosphere is that of a calm, safe and secluded haven.
On stage, in dim lights, are the jazz band, deeply focused inside their own vibe.
Bartender! The usual, please.
Baraka – Sea
And this track just extends from the above scenario, continues this lovely atmosphere of rather introvert musicianship. And here the blend of traditional and the modern works exceptionally well. The looped and sliced beat effects that we know so well from house music productions is a surprising, but well working detail here that really lifts the track.
And what a piano play. See, this is why I love jazz so much. And as my love for jazz is fairly newborn I want to say a few words on how my curiosity were lit:
It’s actually because of Bowie. Or rather his piano player, Mike Garson. I’ve always loved his way of playing, the impromptu/improvised vibe that I always gets from his segments. And in interviews he described how Bowie liked his “jazzy way of playing”. That’s where it started for me.
Back to the track here, we have indeed a piano that evolves into that same kind of free, unhinged musicality at play that mr Garson made such a great impression with.
A fantastic track.
Both of these tracks are added to our really quite excellent nuJazz/Jazztronica playlist, “The NuJazz Lounge”, where I collect only the finest pieces of new jazz as I discover them. Why not add it to your collection of playlists? I am failry confident the artists represented on the list would not mind you as a regular listener. And they are worth it.