December 27th, 2017
This mix is less of a best jazz recordings of 2017 and more of a mix of jazz that I enjoyed in 2017. I don't listen to nearly as much jazz as I do ambient and indie music. But I liked enough releases to come up with an end of the year jazz mix. So here it is.
The year was anchored by two spectacular recordings - Aytche by Joseph Shabason and All This I Do For Glory by Colin Stetson. I saw Stetson at a small club and was blown away by his sound and technique. If you get the chance to see him up close definitely go.
There are two albums that I discovered while compiling tracks for my mix, Rhythm of the Rails. Those two are Eternal Stories by Michel Portal & Quator Ebene and Simultonality by Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society. Both excellent recordings.
Another highlight of 2017 was ECM records putting their entire catalog up on Spotify. I listened to nothing by ECM for a few weeks this fall.
This will probably be my last mix for 2017. I've already started on a guest mix for liftedicons.com that will be fun to put together. Music definitely helped me get through a messed up 2017. Here's to a great 2018.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Joseph Shabason - Aytche(Aytche)
- 03:40 Vijay Iyer Sextet - Wake(Far From Over)
- 08:03 Ben Allison - Magic Number(Layers of the City)
- 14:38 Bjorn Meyer - Provenance(Provenance)
- 20:30 Quatuor Ebene - City Birds(Eternal Stories)
- 27:55 Colin Stetson - Spindrift(All This I Do For Glory)
- 33:36 Portico Quartet - Endless(Art in the Age of Automation)
- 37:46 Kamasi Washington - Desire(Harmony Of Difference)
- 42:07 Phronesis - Ok Chorale(The Behemoth)
- 45:50 Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - Maroon Dune(Simultonality)
- 54:48 Dorothy Ashby - Pawky(Hip Harp/In A Minor Groove)
- 51:55 end
July 23rd, 2017
This mix is a sort of follow up to the train mix of a couple of months ago. I had a song or two that I hadn't used and then I stumbled upon the album "Simultonality" by Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society. The track, Sideways Fall, has this great repetitive train-like feel to it. I knew immediately that I needed to make another train mix to fit with that tune.
That Joshua Abrams track is more jazz than ambient so I decided to keep that vibe throughout the mix. A few cuts, Steve Reich, Dan Deacon & Fieldhead, wander off the jazz track a bit but they keep the sense of forward motion.
The three 2017 releases in this mix are a few of my favorite discoveries this year. Check them out.
Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - Simultonality
Daniel Brandt - Eternal Something
Quatuor Ebene & Michel Portal - Eternal Stories
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Chris Watson - Veracruz(El Tren Fantasma 2011)
- 00:35 Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society - Sideways Fall(Simultonality 2017)
- 08:00 Daniel Brandt - FSG(Eternal Something 2017)
- 11:30 The Winter Consort - The Little Train of Caipira(The Winter Consort 1968)
- 13:54 Ludovico Einaudi - Elements(Elements 2015)
- 19:35 Steve Reich - Different Trains-America Before the War(Works 1997)
- 25:30 Chris Watson - El Divisadero(El Tren Fantasma 2011)
- 27:35 Daniel Brandt - Kale Me(Eternal Something 2017)
- 32:35 Quatuor Ebene & Michel Portal - City Birds(Eternal Stories 2017)
- 38:25 Fieldhead - This Train is a Rainbow(They Shook Hands For Hours 2009)
- 41:42 Gerry Mulligan - K4 Pacific(The Age Of Steam 1971)
- 46:45 Alexandre Desplat - Night Train to Nebelsbad(Grand Budapest Hotel 2014)
- 48:25 Dan Deacon - USA Suite(America 2012)
- 58:23 end
November 25th, 2016
I'm not sure where this mix began. Possibly late at night, glass of whiskey on the table, slow jazz playing in the background. Arve Henriksen probably came up & got me thinking about dark, atmospheric jazz. Which sends me to Spotify to investigate more jazz noir, which leads to the discovery of Shadowdream & Dead Combo, which leads to a new mix.
As you've probably guessed by now this is a late night, atmospheric jazz set. I knew when I started this mix that I'd have to include something from the Twin Peaks soundtrack because that is the first thing I think of when contemplating noir jazz. The Angelo Badalamenti & David Lynch cut that I picked works nicely because also used it for the title of the mix.
I really like the mood and feel of this entire mix and I hope you do too. Grab a scotch and give it a spin in the dark.
Cheers!
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Angelo Badalamenti - Mysterioso 2
- 04:37 Arve Henriksen - The Sacristan
- 07:45 The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Avian Lung
- 12:45 Triosk - Awake in the Deep
- 14:18 Harold Budd - Emboldened-My Dreams Perish
- 16:30 Shadowdream - The Obsession Begins Tomorrow
- 20:40 Daniel Lanois - Sketches
- 24:40 Dead Combo - After Peace Swim Twice
- 27:55 Povarovo - Methro Nome
- 31:03 Arms And Sleepers - Atelier
- 33:05 Cliff Martinez - Ask him why he killed my brother
- 35:04 Shaqdowdream - The Hour of the Wolf, Alfa and Omega
- 37:25 Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Karin
- 40:50 Julien Neto - V Rivers
- 45:25 Arve Henriksen - Recording Angel
- 47:25 Pjusk - Dempet
- 50:10 Jon Hassell - Light on Water
- 57:40 Nick Cave - Magneto
- 62:45 end
December 27th, 2015
This collection isn't necessarily a "best of 2015" , it's just some of my favorite jazz tunes from the past year.
It begins with one of my favorite albums of the year in any genre - The Thompson fields by The Maria Schneider Orchestra. The title track is remarkable. The Jaga Jazzist album was a big surprise for me. I've listen to them on and off for years but had lost interest for some reason. The track in this mix is strange, futuristic electronic/jazz cut that I have listened to a ton this year. The other two great discoveries were albums from Kamasi Washington and Kendrick Scott Oracle, definitely worth checking out.
Is there any jazz out there that really engaged you in 2015? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Maria Schneider Orchestra - The Thompson Fields
- 09:50 Jaga Jazzist - Oban
- 15:12 Kamasi Washington - The Magnificent 7
- 20:57 Andy Sheppard - Tipping Point
- 26:37 Kendrick Scott Oracle - we are the drum
- 32:00 food - this is not a miracle
- 36:00 Hidden Orchestra - the Revival
- 39:50 Chris Potter Underground Orchestra - Imaginary Cities(part 2)
- 48:12 Jakob Bro - Copenhagen
- 52:24 Giovanni Guidi Trio - The might it rained forever
- 59:10 Vijay Iyer Trio - Geese
- 63:45 Ben Monder - Zythum
- 70:10 Maria Schneider Orchestra - Walking by Flashlight
- 75:10 end
November 14th, 2015
A slowly developing amalgamation of mixed-genre madness, fusing ambient, experimental & jazz soundscapes into a mixture of quiet deconstruction.
"Slow Decay" is a collaborative mix from Low Light Mixes & Ambient Landscape. We've each done mixes for each other but we thought it would be cool make a mix in which we both contributed alternating sections.
Gene(ambient landscape) came up with the title and I started things off with a couple of cuts. I sent it to Gene, he added a few more, sent it back to me, I added more tracks and so on and so on. Until we had a fascinating 1 hour & 16 minute journey.
I love how things turned out. The combination of ecm-style jazz and ambient and experimental music worked perfectly.
Don't forget to check out Ambient Landscape here...
https://ambientlandscape.wordpress.com/
https://www.mixcloud.com/gab_labs/
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Signal Structure (w/treatments) - Positive Centre
- 03:12 Upon Contact Reworked - Jorge Haro (Bruno Sanfilippo)
- 07:10 The Squealing of Rats & the Squeaking of Boards - Marielle V Jakobsons (w/treatments)
- 08:45 Parallel Realities (excerpt) - Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock
- 11:40 Dis Loops 1.1 - William Basinski - performed by The Wordless Music Orchestra
- 21:40 Upon the Break Arch - Benoit Pioulard
- 26:20 Structural Functions Of Prezens (excerpt) - David Torn, Tim Berne, Craig Taborn, Tom Rainey
- 30:25 Sluimer (excerpt) - FANTOOM (René Aquarius, Otto Kokke, Dirk Serries, Martina Verhoeven)
- 34:50 Passage D.E. - Jon Hassell
- 39:10 Solphaer - Alva Noto
- 44:05 Porch Swings - Cinchel
- 45:55 Arder De No Sentir Calor - Mauro Beltran
- 50:27 Night Peculiarities – Johan Troch
- 53:19 Tunis at Dawn - Anouar Brahem
- 59:44 Rosemarie - Trio3: Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille w/ Vijay Iyer
- 66:04 Setting Out - Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
- 67:50 The Wind in High Places: Above Sunset Pass - John Luther Adams
- 70:45 Tipping Point - Andy Sheppard Quartet
- 76:15 end
September 6th, 2015
As usual with these mixes there is one song in particular that gets the ball rolling and in this case it's the title track from the album The Thompson Fields by the Maria Schneider Orchestra. The whole album is wonderful collection open, airy jazz tracks and the title song is just stunning. Definitely one of the most beautiful songs released this year, second only to Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell.
The rest of the mix is your standard Sunday morning mix. Maybe a bit more jazz in this one. Other than the Davis Sylvian tune most of the cuts are fairly new.
Enjoy
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 David Sylvian - September
- 01:11 Maria Schneider Orchestra - The Thompson Fields
- 08:00 Bosques De Mi Mente - El amanecer reflejado en tus ojos
- 10:38 AXX - Interstellar Ambient
- 14:10 Patrick Watson - Love Songs for Robots
- 17:11 Kenny Reichert Band - Cascades
- 22:20 Bill Seaman - A Dark Thought
- 26:40 Ben Lukas Boysen - Sleeps Beat Theme
- 30:31 Anouar Brahem - Tunis at Dawn
- 37:03 Cliff Martinez - Placental Repair
- 39:11 Hidden Rivers - September Sun Memory
- 42:52 Olan Mill - Tallole
- 46:33 Maria Schneider Orchestra - Walking by Flashlight
- 51:33 end
April 6th, 2014
Grab a cup of coffee and the paper with this mix as your Sunday soundtrack.
This iteration of the Sunday morning series uses mostly new music including a couple of great Bob Dylan covers from Sarah Jarosz and Phosphorescent. I couldn't resist starting the mix with the wonderful "Morning" from Beck's new release.
From there we move on to a beautiful, jazzy track from Philémon Chante that I have been itching to use for a while. That cut is from his album called Les Sessions Cubaines which you can find on Bandcamp here...Philémon Chante
There a couple soundtracks represented in the mix from two of the best films of 2013, "Her" and "Nebraska." Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett collaborated for the "Her" soundtrack, with two cuts in this mix. Mark Orton did the beautifully simple soundtrack for "Nebraska" and it shows up here in the track "The Old Compressor Escape." I've got an Americana mix waiting in the wings which will have more from that soundtrack.
One of my other favs is the cut from Bill Callahan. He remixed his 2013 album, "Dream River," as a dub album called "Have Fun With God." It's fantastic!
Enjoy.
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Beck - Morning
- 05:12 M. Ostermeier - Sunlight on My Desk
- 07:55 Sam Prekop - A Cloud to the Back
- 11:30 Philémon Chante - J'arrive toujours un peu trop tard
- 15:40 Sarah Jarosz - Simple Twist of Fate
- 20:20 Mark Orton - The Old Compressor Escape
- 22:50 Thievery Corporation - le coeur (feat lou lou ghelichkhani)
- 25:45 Assia Cunego - Canto Ostinato Section 25-30
- 29:00 Segue - slow mornings
- 34:00 Bill Callahan - Small Dub
- 37:45 Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett - Dimensions
- 40:34 Darcy James Argue's Secret Society - An Invitation
- 43:08 Nick Cave - Into My Arms
- 47:17 Phosphorescent - Tomorrow is a Long Time
- 51:30 Paul Buchanan - Mid Air
- 53:45 Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett - We're All Leaving
- 56:17 end
January 20th, 2013
I have to be honest. One of the reasons I've done so many(#5 now) of these Sunday morning music mixes is that they are so popular, especially on Mixcloud. So I'm a sellout, a ratings whore. I admit it. But I like to think that each Sunday mix is a good listen in it's own way.
I usually stumble upon a song or two that prompts me to start a new mix. In this case it was the song "Before My Time" which leads off the mix. It's the song that plays during the credits of the film Chasing Ice. When I heard it as the credits rolled it knocked my socks off. That's Scarlett Johansson singing. She's got a unique voice, not one to be used for candy coated pop music. But absolutely perfect for the beautiful restraint of "Before My Time."
I hope this mix is another worthy addition to the Sunday morning music series. Enjoy.
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 J. Ralph & Scarlett Johansson - Before My Time (from Chasing Ice OST)
- 03:33 Sigur Ros - Varðeldur (from Valtari)
- 09:15 Manu Katché - Slowing the Tides (from Manu Katché)
- 14:35 Simon Scott - sealevel.1 (from Below Sealevel)
- 18:25 Kiln - Centrifu (from Thermals)
- 19:40 S. Carey - Mothers (from All We Grow)
- 24:45 Andrew Bird - Night Sky (from Norman OST)
- 28:13 Endless Melancholy - A Song for the Morning Star (from Music for Quiet Mornings)
- 32:40 Schulte & Martin - Frosty Morning (from Treasure)
- 36:10 J. Ralph - Chasing Ice (Croconite) (from Chasing Ice OST)
- 39:05 Max Richter - Winter 3 (from Vivaldi 4 Seasons Recomposed)
- 43:15 Patrick Watson - Noisy Sunday (from Adventurers in Your Own Backyard)
- 45:05 Garth Stevenson - Dawn (from Flying)
- 50:55 Manuell Göttsching - Quasarsphere (from Inventions for Electric Guitar)
- 56:55 J. Ralph - You're No Longer Just a Human Being (from Chasing Ice OST)
- 58:40 end
November 12th, 2012
Oops! It's Sunday night & I'm posting a mix called Sunday Morning Music. Oh well, play it next Sunday while reading the paper with a cup of coffee.
This is the fourth in the Sunday morning series. It follows a similar pattern - some ambient, some vocal tunes, some jazz - all of it nice & relaxing. Perfect for a Sunday morning. This morning I was actually able to sip coffee out on the deck(shown in the pic). Not bad for the 11th of November in Wisconsin.
Two of my favorite cuts in the mix are the two tracks(End of the World & The Smallest Piece) from the soundtrack of "Beasts of the Southern Wild." I'm o very fond of the cuts from Geoffrey Oreyma & Andrew Bird. The latest release from Andrew Bird will definitely be on my year-end,best-of list.
Enjoy.
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Brambles - To Speak of Solitude
- 03:30 The xx - Angels
- 06:11 The Boats - The Ballad For The Girl On The Moon
- 09:40 The Bark Psychosis - Pendulum Man
- 16:40 Trespassers William - Believe Me
- 20:46 Yo Yo Ma & Chris Thile - Franz & The Eagle
- 24:20 Geoffrey Oryema - Makambo
- 28:55 Pat Metheny/Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint
- 32:09 Philip Glass & Nosaj Thing - Knee 1
- 35:35 Charles Lloyd Quartet - Dwija
- 40:40 Clarke - Black Stone
- 42:34 Benh Zeitlin, Dan Romer, The Lost Bayou Ramblers - End of the World
- 44:00 Benh Zeitlin, Dan Romer, The Lost Bayou Ramblers - The Smallest Piece
- 45:25 Andrew Bird - Beyond the Valley of the Three White Horses
- 51:25 Horse Feathers - Summer for Capricorns
- 54:28 David Sylvian - Camp Fire Coyote Country
- 58:00 Nils Frahm - Sol
July 8th, 2012
Sunday mornings in summer...put on some coffee even though the temps are already climbing.
Sunday mornings in summer...are spent on the deck with the paper & the birds.
Sunday mornings in summer...slow motion start to a slow motion day.
This is the third in my unplanned Sunday morning music series. I hadn't intended to more than one of these mixes but the first was so popular on Mixcloud that I couldn't resist doing more. I was amazed at how many listens it got and to be honest, I liked that popularity, so I became a bit of a ratings whore & went back to that same well again.
As with the others in this series, this mix is a collection of instrumentals, acoustic tunes, jazz & other oddballs. I am happy to have squeezed in the tune, The Farther Away I Am, from Daryl Hall. Yes that's Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates. It's from a 1980 solo album he did that was produced by Robert Fripp, thereby assuring it would be a commercial bomb. The album was kind hit & miss but I've always loved that song.
Other favs in the mix are the ones by Sun Kil Moon & Keola Beamer and of course the Colin Meloy cover which I stole as the title for volume 3 in this series. I know the Beamer tune borders on new age. But I think this cut doesn't go over the edge into new age crap. It just has this nice breezy feel which perfect for sitting on the deck with the sun on your face.
Enjoy.
T R A C K L I S T :
- 00:00 Daniel Lanois - Steamdog
- 02:00 Sun Kil Moon - Sunshine in Chicago
- 04:30 Keola Beamer - `Imi Au Io `Oe
- 07:27 Colin Meloy - Every day is Like Sunday(Morrissey cover)
- 10:40 Brian Eno - Silver Morning
- 12:50 Foreign Fields - From the Lake to the Land
- 15:20 Daryl Hall - The Farther Away I Am
- 17:40 Sigur Ros - varðeldur
- 23:25 Bill Nelson - Your Morning Blessing
- 26:05 Wolfgang Voigt - Fresko 1
- 29:05 Nora Jones - Good Morning
- 32:10 Uakti - Japura River(philip glass cover)
- 36:41 Steve Tibbetts - kili-ki drok
- 37:45 Jeff Pearce - With the Morning Light
- 42:20 Jan Garbarek - Ov zarmanali
- 45:00 Chet Baker - Early Morning Mood
- 52:20 Steve Tibbetts - Drawing Down the Moon
- 57:05 Sufjan Stevens - The Lord God Bird(live on NPR)
- 1:00:37 end
