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Label Profile: Clean Feed Records

By Peter Margasak

File under: Free jazz, post-bop, improvisation Flagship acts: Ken Vandermark, Marty Ehrlich, Nate Wooley, Gerry Hemingway, Evan Parker, Paal Nilssen-Love Based in: Lisbon, Portugal Like most record labels, the Lisbon jazz imprint Clean Feed Records began modestly when it opened in 2001. The label was, and remains, part of a larger operation founded by Pedro Costa and his brother Carlos, both veterans of Portugal's record business. They started Trem Azul (Portuguese for… more »

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Mr. Mellifluous: A Listener’s Guide to Benny Golson

By Kevin Whitehead

Most jazz fans recognize Benny Golson's tunes, even if they don't know who wrote them. Art Blakey played "Blues March" every night for decades, "Stablemates" has been a jam session favorite even longer, and mastering "I Remember Clifford" is a trumpeter's rite of passage. Golson's melodies sound good on their own, and have a way of slyly drawing improvisers in. His tunes have such strong shapes, soloists need only hint at their contours… more »

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2012

Jack DeJohnette, Sound Travels

2012 | Label: eOne Music / Entertainment One Distribution
Britt Robson By Britt Robson eMusic Contributor

Sound Travels is many things: It’s a celebration of Jack DeJohnette turning 70 and being named an NEA Jazz Master in 2012; it’s an updated tour of some of the vast musical landscape traversed in his career; and it’s a chance for him to play — piano as well as drums — with a hand-picked ensemble that purposefully includes some of his favorite younger musicians.

For a collection this lighthearted and variegated, it still packs a surprising musical punch. Among the memorable moments are DeJohnette and percussionist Luisito Quintero trading licks after Esperanza Spaulding’s wafting vocal on “Salsa For Luisito;” the way trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire seems to suspend time on a compelling stop-and-go solo of fiery power during “New Muse;” the… more »

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Neil Cowley Trio, Face of Mount Molehill

Label: Naim Jazz / IODA
Joe Muggs By Joe Muggs eMusic Contributor

Given Neil Cowley’s high-profile work — playing keyboards for the likes of Adele, Gabrielle and smooth soul-funksters the Brand New Heavies — you probably wouldn’t expect anything especially radical from his piano-led trio. And in a sense you’d be right: On this album, there are plenty of soothing string parts buoying up the gentle repetitions and rippling melodies of the piano, bass and drums, and a distinct lack of crazed jazz wig-outs or in-your face discord. It is a very pleasant album.

That’s no putdown, though. The sweetness of the record is incredibly uncontrived — it never feels like it’s trying too hard to please, but instead like the musicians are just revelling in capturing and exploring a mood on each… more »

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2011

Sunna Gunnlaugs, Long Pair Bond

2011 | Label: Sunny Sky Records / CD Baby
Dave Sumner By Dave Sumner eMusic Contributor

Bridging the divide between the atmospheric introversion of the Norwegian jazz scene and the boisterous extroversion of the American scene, Sunna Gunnlaugs has recorded an album that will appeal to bounce addicts and shoegazers alike.

Comprised of Gunnlaugs on piano, Porgrimur Jonsson on bass and Scott McLemore on drums, the trio deftly fuses facets of jazz that are not often combined. The opening track, with its gentle propulsion and innocent charm, is reminiscent of Keith Jarrett’s 1970s American Quartet, as is “Diamonds on the Inside,” with its soul jazz melodies and hard bop flourishes. No less prominent are dream-like tunes “Fyrir Brynhildi” and “Thema.” Both are austere and introspective, and would fit seamless into a playlist containing ECM artists … more »

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2012

Chick Corea, Further Explorations

2012 | Label: Concord Jazz
Britt Robson By Britt Robson eMusic Contributor

This expansive, 19-song recording is a genuine event for many reasons. For one, it captures Chick Corea live in a small club during a two-week period (at the Blue Note in May of 2010) — a circumstances that rarely happens with Corea anymore. For another, it plumbs the vast and influential legacy of the late modal pianist Bill Evans. Among the tracks is a newly unearthed and previously unrecorded Evans original, beautifully fleshed out by the trio — which includes two longtime Evans sidemen: bassist Eddie Gomez and Paul Motian on drums. Motian’s subsequent passing in November 2011 makes his advanced and typically distinctive interpretations of Evans’s catalogue that much more precious.

But the best reason to celebrate this release is… more »

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Bon Iver, Fall Creek, Wisconsin, August 2010...Photo by D.L. Anderson..

eMusic’s Best of 2011

By eMusic Editorial Staff

Want to get a snapshot of last year's best music? In our Best of 2011 radio station, you'll hear songs from the artists who provided our 2011 soundtrack. No matter what your taste -- indie rock, jazz, doom metal or avant-folk, you'll find it here in eMusic's Best of 2011 Radio. more »

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