Once in a while, the internet is wonderfully old-fashioned. The return of the jazz single is such a phenomenon, even if it now plays a completely different role than it did in the jukebox years. If musicians have only recorded ideas for a single piece or just two or three numbers from a particularly successful live gig, it is a liberation from the album format. But with a single like that, you also have a better chance of ending up in one of the playlists that streaming services curate. Spotify’s “State of Jazz” is such a continuous flow heater that has become enormously important for new music.
Brandee Younger, the most in-demand harpist of our time, has released a two-part single featuring the songs “Unrest I” and “Unrest II” inspired by the summer 2020 protests against police brutality. The first is a solo, the second a trio with drummer Allan Mednard and bassist Dezron Douglas. And she shows once again that she not only plays like a virtuoso, but can also compose magnificently.
After his album “Blue to Red” (2020) full of wonderfully changing soul grooves, one had actually hoped that the saxophone and flute player Chip Wickham will follow soon. Now came a piece called “Sais (Egypt)”. Congas, Rhodes piano and a very reserved wind section present a relaxed soul groove on which Wickham’s flute can be carried comfortably sleepily through the cadences.
The figurehead of the “West Coast Get Down” collective, Kamasi Washington, is otherwise more of a man of mammoth work. It’s been four years since the last triple album, so the single “The Garden Path” is a pretty good look at the progress. Everything as usual. great arcs of suspense, Miles Mosley strokes the double bass with hyper power, the drummers push big waves in front of them and Washington’s tenor saxophone shines above all. Also works in the small form.
The Indonesian piano prodigy (or can you skip the addition now that he’s 18?) Joey Alexander releases the play “Promise of Spring” in time for the start of the season. In the cultivated trio he gets a maximum of joie de vivre from the friendly theme, the virtuosity of which one only notices if one listens very closely. But then.
The keyboardist Daniel Hayn belongs to the school of those neo-fusion musicians who are in the band Weather report have found their leitmotif. Which catapults very well into the present when the drummer belongs to the generation that has managed to catch up with the high speeds of the drum machines. Then Josef Zawinul’s and Wayne Shorter’s jazz rock gigantism from the 70’s is definitely a legacy to develop further.
The British drummer is one step further Alexander Flood, who embeds his extreme craftsmanship in often deceptive calm. With his single “Pathways” he wants to draw attention to his new fusion album “The Space Between”. And because the starting trumpeter Christian Scott plays on the single, the algorithms could bite. Nothing to say against that, because the album is really good.
Also the pianist Alan Pasqua released a track with Gary Bartz, Michael Brecker, Dave Holland and Paul Motian before the release of his album. “Sha’ la ko'” is the finest post bop, just as radiant and brilliant as you would expect from such a dream team.
Gregory Porter uses the format to bring out a remix of his piece “Dry Bones”, which the Berlin electro duo two colors has produced. In doing so, he distances himself as far as possible from his soul jazz. But with the frenetic vocal passages over the monster basses and the snare crescendos, this should get the crowd moving at every rave. You also have to be able to be a jazz singer.
The bass player has three pieces Christian McBride recorded live in the studio with saxophonist Marcus Strickland, guitarist Mike Stern and drummer Eric Harland as “The Q Sessions”. They were originally intended to demonstrate the fantastic sound quality of the Quobuz hi-fi streaming service. In the meantime, and fortunately, the session is also available on other platforms, because of course, when four of the caliber meet, a jam session becomes an experience.
That the trumpeter Theo Croker has such a grandiose live band, something always gets lost in the studio productions. Reason enough to listen to “Live in Paris”. Three pieces, less than 20 minutes long. Terrific.
And then there’s the turn Melodies Record Club, releasing obscure soul and jazz tunes on maxi singles that have become stealth hits in the nightlife. For example, “De I Comahlee Ah,” a pretty wacky duo from 1974 that featured the saxophonist Jackie McLean and drummer Michael Carvin. It’s more of a ritual than a piece of music, but you can guess why it got off to the clubs like that.
A playlist with all these singles can be found on Spotify here.