This year, the District’s jazz scene saw recordings from a number of outstanding musicians — people ranging from classic crooners to experimental ambient artists, first-time leaders to studio veterans. Below you’ll find our five favorite albums from the past year. Click on any of them to go to a full review.
All five of these albums come highly recommended, and they say something extremely promising about the future of this town’s wide-reaching, fertile music scene. And the keg isn’t tapped yet: A handful of extremely talented D.C. musicians still have yet to record their own albums. By the end of 2013, hopefully we’ll be able to recommend debut CDs by the likes of Lyle Link, Tarus Mateen, Kris Funn and so many others.
Go straight to the full review for… #5 • #4 • #3 • #2 • #1
The bassist Blake Meister has been a rising star on the D.C. jazz scene for a number of years, garnering a reputation as a hard-working, hard-swinging bassist. He has always stood out from many other bassists in the area for being not only technically proficient but also singular in his approach.
CapitalBop’s Best Albums of 2012 #1 This uniqueness is well demonstrated on his debut release, Septagon, which features eight original compositions. What is notable before even listening to the album is the lineup. The record was released on the famed saxophonist Greg Osby’s Inner Circle Music label, and Blake is joined by guitarist Paul Bollenback, pianist Marc Copland, saxophonist Gary Thomas, and drummer Ralph Peterson. Meister, who recently joined the faculty of the Peabody Institute, has always been known as a very smart musician, incorporating sometimes-esoteric concepts into his compositions. Continue reading →
Educators ought to have strong foundational beliefs, but pliable sensitivities. The robust tenor and soprano saxophonist Paul Carr seems to fit the bill.
One of the D.C. area’s great music teachers and organizers, he’s responsible for the Jazz Academy of Music, a 10-year-old educational nonprofit, and the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival – an annual stomping ground for some of the best musicians in the world, as well as talented students. Carr advocates for what he calls “real jazz,” his way of drawing battle lines around the role of swing rhythm and adherence to the rubric of chord changes.
CapitalBop’s Best Albums of 2012 #2 On his latest release, Carr argues for the continued importance of a standard repertoire. It’s not a groundbreaking statement by anyone’s count, but maybe it seems at least a little bit meaningful today, when jazz means so many things to so many people. Characteristically, his statement is pro-tradition but anti-dogma; he’s not sticking to any routine playbook. On Standard Domain, Carr delves into a handful of lesser-heard but still immortal compositions: Cole Porter’s “Dream Dancing,” Thelonious Monk’s “Sixteen,” Joe Henderson’s “Tetragon” and others. He also contributes a tune, the up-tempo title track that bounces between modern straight-eighths feel and plowing swing, and allows one by the pianist Joey Calderazzo: a valedictory hard-bop melody called “Bye George.” Continue reading →
Janel & Anthony is not a jazz group. Janel & Anthony is not an indie-rock band. They are not a classical duo.
Janel & Anthony are in a genre all of their own. Since the release of Where is Home this year on the Silver Spring-based Cuneiform Records, the electro-acoustic duo has quickly achieved a cult following among the experimental music community.
CapitalBop’s Best Albums of 2012 #3 Formed in Northern Virginia, Janel & Anthony started jamming together in the early 2000s when they were on break from college. Janel’s classical training and Anthony’s jazz abilities combined to form a radical new sound. Over the years, that sound has developed into a cohesive array of original music that sweeps and undulates with digitally altered tones and subtle rhythms. Continue reading →
The young tenor titan Elijah Jamal Balbed has finally released an album as a leader. “Finally” is a funny sort of qualification for a 22-year-old, but Balbed has been a prominent member of the D.C. jazz community since he was a teenager. It really is a wonder that this recording didn’t come sooner.
CapitalBop’s Best Albums of 2012 #4 Many of the masters in jazz have had the same level of dedication and engagement at Elijah’s age. He is on the Rollins path, the Trane track. His level of maturity on the saxophone and in his solos are nothing short of frightening. Checking In is a perfect title for a musician who has a reputation for ubiquity at various music locales in the city. If there is jazz being made, chances are Balbed will show. Continue reading →
Among vocalists in D.C., Chad Carter is one of the hardest working. In addition to his vocal prowess, he is also a successful agent with his Jazz Knights organization.
On his latest release, Let Me Love You, he has done himself the favor of bringing together of some of the most talented and legendary active musicians in jazz. Firstly, the entire album was arranged and directed by Frank Owens, one of the best-respected arrangers in the music industry. Owens’ work provides the album a classic, 1950s feel, full of tight and swinging horn arrangements to accompany Chad’s voice. Also featured on the album is the pioneering tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath. With this company, Carter can’t lose, and he doesn’t.
CapitalBop’s Best Albums of 2012 #5 His treatment of standards such as “You Go to My Head” and “Sweet Lorraine” shows a maturity in his taste. It is on the arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” where his voice really shines. On his third release, Chad Carter shows continued development as a skilled vocalist. Continue reading →
This year, the D.C. jazz scene saw the (hopefully temporary) loss of one of U Street’s main jazz havens and the decimation of jazz offerings on the District’s only radio station with any commitment to the music. But we took it in stride. We were able to do that thanks in part to the loyalty and breadth of listeners who keep showing up for shows — ranging from avant-garde house concerts to high-budget shows at the Kennedy Center and the Atlas Performing Arts Center — and who relish the opportunity to hear this timeless art form renew itself.
Most of the credit, though, is due to the musicians who insist on keeping the music fresh, and keep using it to inspire us. The discs released this year are a powerful testament to the range of approaches and the depth of originality that have maintained the District’s reputation as one of the strongest cities for jazz in the world.
Below, you’ll find five albums that came out this year and caught our attention. They didn’t make our top five, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t deserving of your ears. Tomorrow we’ll release our absolute favorites, ranked one through five. Continue reading →
Side By Side: Sondheim Duos is an enjoyable project that applies considerable sensitivity to an edge of the great American songbook that has been less traveled in jazz circles: the show tunes of Stephen Sondheim. Though they don’t perform any of their own compositions, the duo of the pianist Bill Mays and the bassist Tommy Cecil uncovers some original ground in this effort, consistently demonstrating a deep rapport that seems very conversational and effortless. There’s no doubt it is founded on a mutual familiarity with each other’s playing.
Selected as one of five discs on “CapitalBop’s Best Albums of 2012: Honorable Mention.” Click to view the full list.
The piano-bass duo format provides a lighter sonic palette, which is ultimately well suited to the material. It provides opportunities to explore nuances in the compositions that would not be so apparent in their native Broadway treatments. The result is a pleasant listen, with the unity in feel that comes from the work of a single composer but enough depth to remain interesting throughout. Continue reading →
In 1962, Washington, D.C. played host to a watershed moment in jazz history. Famed guitarist Charlie Byrd had just returned to the United States from a State Department-sponsored tour of Brazil with his trio, which included the bassist Keter Betts and the drummer Buddy Deppenschmidt. There, he was exposed to the subtle rhythms and easy-going melodies of bossa nova. Upon returning to America, Byrd invited the eminent saxophonist Stan Getz, the drummer Bill Reichenbach and his brother, the guitarist and bassist Joe Byrd, to join him in recreating this newly discovered sound. The sextet convened at 16th Street’s All Souls Church Unitarian to record Jazz Samba. Despite the unusual instrumentation for that time, the album was an enormous hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart and bringing bossa nova to the cultural fore in the States.
Selected as one of five discs on “CapitalBop’s Best Albums of 2012: Honorable Mention.” Click to view the full list.
After realizing such an influential album had been recorded in their home city, local jazz outfit Veronneau decided to mark Jazz Samba’s 50th anniversary with their own labor of love. The quartet’s new release, aptly titled Jazz Samba Project, is a loving tribute to that pioneering recording.
“Mas Que Nada,” Veronneau
On its album, Veronneau not only captures the spirit of Jazz Samba but also of the period that followed. Byrd and company did not use a vocalist, but in Veronneau’s update, it’s singer Lynn Véronneau that is the centerpiece. While the guitarists Ken Avis and David Rosenblatt - along with the drummer Pete Walby – create a cushion of sound that invites the listener into a New York coffee shop at some point during the early ’60s, her silky voice and relaxed delivery draw us in. The mood echoes the music Getz went on to create in his collaborations with the Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto.
Wisely, the band didn’t simply re-record all of the songs that were on the original. “E Luxo So”, “One Note Samba” and “Samba Triste” are the only compositions re-visited, with the last of those providing a fine showcase for a special guest, the saxophonist Jeff Antoniuk. A reworking of Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain” adds an unexpected twist to the proceedings. Other guest musicians are highlighted throughout the album, with Alejandro Lucini providing nimble colors on percussion, on every track. The trombonist Jim McFalls appears on six of the 10 cuts, showing a muted intensity on Jobim’s haunting theme, “Meditation.” While there is nothing groundbreaking about Jazz Samba Project, it’s a well-executed and affectionate homage that makes for a pleasurable listening experience.
The Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra, D.C.’s only resident big band, has been around for two-and-a-half years now; it’s good to see they’ve released their first album. But a Christmas record? Usually that’s comes later, as a way to cash in after you’ve used your first few CDs to establish a sound and an identity.
Selected as one of five discs on “CapitalBop’s Best Albums of 2012: Honorable Mention.” Click to view the full list.
But wait – in a lot of ways, it makes sense. The BCJO already has the reputation. It’s based on their live show, a reliable caffeine pill most every Monday night of the year. If you’re a District-area jazz fan, it’s stands to reason you’ve probably already heard this band, gotten to know it, enjoyed it. Plus, this is the third year that the orchestra has folded Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s “Nutcracker Suite” – plus other Christmas fare – into its December repertoire. It’s a sort of specialty product for them by now, and they know this material inside out. Continue reading →
