Please join us for our next episode of Four on the Floor *Live* (my humble attempt to present a weekly social media talk show!) happening next Tuesday, February 2nd at 7pm MST (9pm EST), appearing on Instagram IGTV @fouronthfloorblog featuring the illustrious Patrick Boyle!
I've known Patrick for a while now and he's an incredible musician with a deep sense of imagination and creativity. I always look forward to our conversations and collaborations together and I'm sure we'll have a great deal to talk about on the topics of improvisation, the current (and former) state of jazz in Canada and probably something related to hockey.
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Dr. Patrick Boyle is a fearless sonic explorer driven by discovery. Curiosity is his compass. His frontiers are in performance (trumpet and guitar), improvisation, composition and education. Patrick is Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Victoria.
Originally from Newfoundland, Canada, he appears on over 50 commercial releases and 3 acclaimed solo albums. CBC Radio has called him a “trumpet personality” and “one of Canada’s top jazz musicians.” He has cultivated the rare ability to synthesize a range of influence – including jazz, rock, trad, Balkan, and South Indian music – which all come together into a rhythmically compelling musical voice. In 2009, Patrick performed at Carnegie Hall with tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain.
A provocative and prolific composer, Patrick writes for theatre, film and the concert stage. Among his many commissions is the score for the theatrical adaptation of the Wayne Johnston novel Colony of Unrequited Dreams which premiered at the National Arts Centre in January 2017. Patrick’s music is central to two films for the National Film Board: 54 Hours (2014) and Song for Cuba (2014). The CBC commissioned Patrick to compose and record Well Enough Alone(2010), a multi-movement suite acknowledging the 60th anniversary of Newfoundland’s confederation with Canada.
Career highlights include performances at every major jazz festival across Canada, the Newport Folk Festival, Rochester International Jazz Festival, Mariposa Folk Festival, Sound Symposium, SXSW, Folk Alliance International, and an Australian tour with guitarist/composer Duane Andrews. Patrick’s concerts and compositions have been performed on numerous CBC Radio broadcasts, including The Signal, Canada Live, The Performance Hour, Deep Roots, and a feature episode of Sessions in the Old Town for CBC-TV with host Tom Power. His latest release, After Forgetting (2018), is a new vinyl release with Bill Brennan (piano), Mike Downes (bass), and Mike Billard (drums) and produced by Glen Tilley. Previous solo albums include Rock Music with Curtis Andrews (2010); Still No Word (2008 ECMA Nominee); Hold Out(2005 ECMA Nominee).
Patrick balances a life in performance with dedicated scholarship and active community engagement. He holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts (2012) from the University of Toronto, a Masters Degree in Ethnomusicology (2002) from York University and a Bachelors Degree in Performance from Memorial University (2000). His innovative research investigates how improvisation, particularly collective improvisation in organizations, can help negotiate situations of tension and anxiety. Patrick has been awarded grants to study, record, and tour from the Canada Council, NL Arts Council, and FACTOR including work at the Banff Jazz Workshop and Hrvatska Matica Iseljenika (Croatian Folkloric Academy of Music) in Brac, Croatia. Patrick writes for Canadian Musician magazine. He is also a sought after clinician/adjudicator throughout North America.
Current projects include intensive work performing live music for silent film under the banner of Active-Vision; a intimate trio with pianist George McFetridge and bassist James Young; Deep in the Groove with organist Dr. Tony Genge; Carnatic explorations with Curtis Andrews; a book and digital archive of Newfoundland jazz history; an album of trad music for trumpet; and ever-evolving collaborations with Neil Conway, The Discounts, and Mark Bragg.
An in-demand sideman, his versatility is integral to several collaborations. Select performance and recording credits include Great Big Sea, Mickey Dolenz, Mike Murley, Hey! Rosetta, Fred Penner, and many more. Twice, MusicNL recognized Patrick as Side Musician of the Year. Patrick led the rap and roll group Trimmed Naval Beef and in his heart, he still does.
I've been meaning to share this one since it was released six months ago (!) but better late than never, I suppose.
Here's a wonderful piece from the Avedis Zildjian Company on the history of Zildjian's jazz cymbals, hosted by Paul Francis, Zildjian's Director of Cymbal Innovation, with special guests Eric Harland, Peter Erskine, Adam Nussbaum and Ulysses Owens Jr.
Please join us for our next episode of Four on the Floor *Live* happening next Tuesday, January 26th at 7pm MST (9pm EST), appearing on Instagram IGTV @fouronthfloorblog featuring Ted Warren!
TED WARREN is one of Canada’s most accomplished drummers. He is an active member of the national jazz scene and has recently been recognized with the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival’s Special Recognition award. He fronts his own quartet, Ted’s Warren Commission, which has released three CDs and embarked on a nationwide tour in 2009.
He has played with a lengthy roster of Canadian music luminaries including Mike Murley, Jeff Healey, and Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass. He recorded six CDs with The Boss Brass including Velvet and Brass (with Mel Torme). He has worked with many acclaimed international performers, including Slide Hampton, Bob Newhart, Maynard Ferguson, Tom Scott, Michael Brecker, Lew Soloff, Chuck Mangione, Norma Winstone, Sheila Jordan, Howard Johnson, Nick Brignola, Kenny Wheeler, and Gerry Bergonzi. His extensive touring has taken him to Poland, South Korea, Spain, Brazil, Iceland, and Japan.
Ted Warren received his certificate in Jazz Studies from St. Francis Xavier University. He teaches at the University of Guelph and Mohawk College in their Jazz Studies programs and is a well-regarded clinician and adjudicator. He was recently featured in a cover story in Drums Etc. magazine and has written articles for Modern Drummer, Drum!, Canadian Musician, and Percussive Notes. He also hosts a popular drumming blog entitled Trap’d.
I've been attending Ian Froman's weekly Contemporary Jazz Drumming listening class via Zoom, offered by The Collective, and I've really been learning a lot from these sessions. Yesterday's episode featured the great Elvin Jones and this prompted me to revisit Elvin's quartet from the early 1970s with Dave Liebman, Steve Grossman and Gene Perla. If you haven't checked out the legendary "Live at the Lighthouse" volumes, well now's the time!
Here's some rare concert footage of this band from French television circa. 1973:
Please join us for our next episode of Four on the Floor *Live* happening next Tuesday, January 19th at 7pm MST (9pm EST), appearing on Instagram IGTV @fouronthfloorblog featuring the one and only Geoff Clapp!
I came away inspired following my conversation with Quincy Davis on Tuesday evening. Quincy was gracious enough to appear as a guest on my Four on the Floor *Live* series happening via Instagram IGTV Live (stay tuned for future episodes as I am attempting to present these every Tuesday!) Anyways, Billy Hart's name came up (he was Quincy's teacher during his time at Western Michigan University) and I thought I would dig up and share a few interviews and clips of the Master himself.
- Pablo Held offers this excellent interview with Billy Hart:
Welcome back! Here is the first issue of the Monday Morning Paradiddle variety column for 2021. People were sharing a lot of great stuff via social media over the holidays so here's my hit list of some things to check out and perhaps even offer a distraction (if only for a moment...) from all the craziness happening in the world today.
*Also, please don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list on the right hand side of the page to receive regular updates whenever I publish a new blog post. Don't miss out and get Four on the Floor delivered straight to your inbox!*
1) Interested in learning something?
Well, if your answer is yes, then definitely check out these two upcoming on-line courses via Zoom:
I highly recommend enrolling in Ian Froman's four-session long Contemporary Jazz Drumming Listening Class, offered by The Collective.
Both of these courses start this week. There is great information out there, being offered by people who really know what they are talking about. Grab it while you can.
2) I am also really looking forward to watching these two documentaries on Paul Motian and Milford Graves:
3) Here's a feature on Jerry Granelli from CBC Radio's Ideas in a piece entitled "Jazz is just a reflection of life: The musical genius of Jerry Granelli"
Granelli is also featured in this episode of the Drum History Podcast:
4) UNT's Quincy Davis is back at it again with more instalments of his wonderful Q-Tip series:
Don't miss my upcoming interview with Quincy!
Please join me for my next episode of Four on the Floor *Live* happening tomorrow: Tuesday, January 12th at 7pm MST (9pm EST), appearing on Instagram IGTV @fouronthfloorblog (just click the link on the side of this page!)
5) Joe Farnsworth is back with yet another awesome episode of It's Time to Swing, this time featuring the drummers, percussionists and rhythms of Latin America and beyond:
6) Jason Marsalis, Shannon Powell and Herlin Riley (aka The New Orleans Groovemasters) offer this swinging collaborative version of Cherokee:
7) Herlin Riley interviewed by Clifford Koufman:
8) Ari Hoenig offers this great ride cymbal lesson:
9) Billy Drummond recently featured on the Gretsch Afternoon Drum Break, interviewed by Neil LaFortune:
Here's some great footage of Billy in action with the late Frank Kimbrough on piano and Dezron Douglas on bass:
I was very sad to hear about Frank Kimbrough's recent passing. I didn't know Frank very well but he was very kind to me during my brief time in New York City, back in 2004. I made a point of watching him play with the Jazz Composer's Collective every single night of their week-long run at the Jazz Standard and I really enjoyed our post-gig conversations (mostly outside the club on the sidewalk while he puffed on his cigarette while we talked about music). He was also the one who opened my ears to the music of Herbie Nichols and he was very generous with his time, knowledge and wisdom during our subsequent correspondences via e-mail.
10) Jeff Tain Watts interviewed by Henry Hey:
11) Edu Ribeiro continues with his excellent Drum Conversations YouTube series, presented by Open Studio. Check out these two recent episodes featuring Terri Lyne Carrington...
...and Joe LaBarbera:
12) An older piece but here's the ever musical and creative Larnell Lewis and Mike Downes playing an electric bass and percussion duet on "Ode to Lucky Luke":
13) Chick Corea on drums!
14) Samo Salamon interviews Matt Wilson:
15) What am I listening to these days?
Hank Jones "Compassion" - Alan Dawson (drums)
Joe Lovano "Quartets" - Lewis Nash & Billy Hart (drums)
Dizzy Gillespie "Duets" - Charli Persip (drums)
Christian McBride, Roy Hargove & Stephen Scott "Parker's Mood"
Christian McBride, Mark Whitfield & Nicholas Payton "Fingerpainting"
Joel Haynes Trio "The Time is Now" - Joel Haynes (drums)
Kahil El'Zabar & Billy Bang "Spirits Entering" - Kahil El'Zabar (drums & percussion)
Jeff Cosgrove "Conversations with Owls" - Jeff Cosgrove (drums)
16) And today's Last Word goes to....me!
Henry Beaumont (1932-2021) was Calgary's greatest jazz fan and although he admitted to me that he didn't care much for drum solos, he did enjoy my brushwork (and I was always happy to oblige). He then told me about the time he saw Kenny Clarke play with Horace Silver, Percy Heath and Milt Jackson!
Anyways, thank you Henry and this one is for you...
Please join us for our next episode of Four on the Floor *Live* happening next Tuesday, January 12th at 7pm MST (9pm EST), appearing on Instagram IGTV @fouronthfloorblog featuring Quincy Davis!
Quincy Davis is assistant professor of drumset at the University of North Texas. Prior to his appointment, Davis was assistant professor of jazz drumset studies at the University of Manitoba (Canada).
Born in Grand Rapids, MI, Davis comes from a very musical family. He began taking drum lessons at age 6 and often would play with his brother Xavier Davis (piano) in their basement. In his elementary and middle school bands, he also played trumpet and tuba.
His formal musical studies began during his 11th grade year at Interlochen Arts Academy (IAA). There he studied classical percussion as well as trap-set drumming. IAA is where he received his first experience playing with a jazz band. IAA proved to be an important contribution to Davis’ future successes.
In 1995, Davis graduated from IAA and began college at Western Michigan University. There he studied with drum master, Billy Hart. Along with learning more about the drums, Mr. Hart instilled in Davis a deep knowledge of music, which has proven to be very important to his career. During these collegiate years, Davis played at various collegiate jazz festivals where notable musicians like Benny Green, Bunky Green, Jon Faddis, Roy Haynes, Carl Allen, Louis Hayes, and Wallace Roney heard and recognized Davis’ talents with written accolades and awards.
After graduating in 1999, Davis taught elementary and middle school instrumental music in the Grand Rapids area for one year.
In the summer of 2000, Davis moved to New York City. He quickly became one of the sought after “young cats" on the New York jazz scene. In New York, Davis played with many great musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Frank Wess, Russell Malone, Eric Reed, Paquito D'Rivera, Kurt Elling, George Coleman, Eric Alexander, Mike Ledonne, Lew Tebakin, Vanessa, Rubin, Warren Vache, Ron Blake, Jon Faddis, Gerald Clayton, Clayton Brothers, Peter Berstein, David Hazeltine, Roy Hargrove, Randy Johnston, Laverne Butler, Paula West, Nicholas Payton, New York Voices, Ryan Kisor and Wessell Anderson.
Davis can be heard on over 30 albums playing with many notable jazz artists including Tom Harrell, Gretchen Parlato, Bobby Watson, Benny Golson, Ted Rosenthal, Marcus Printup, Dave Stryker, Walt Weiskopf, Stefon Harris, Benny Green, Aaron Diehl, Bobby Watson, Xavier Davis, Danny Grissett, Vincent Gardner, Frank Wess, Darmon Meader, Sachal Vasandani and many more.
In 2014, Davis released his debut recording as a leader, Songs In the Key of Q, which in its second week of being released, reached top 5 of Jazz Week’s jazz chart of new jazz recordings.
Thanks for checking in and now that 2020 is behind us, hopefully we can look forward to better things in the year ahead. Stay safe and be patient everyone.
Today's blog post features the third instalment of Tim Mah's three-part series of recommended jazz releases from 2020. Part one featured recordings released by drummers and Part two featured releases by Canadian jazz artists. Today's guest column features recommended new jazz music released in 2020 from a global perspective.
Tim's weekly radio program Jazz Today can be heard on CJSW Radio 90.9 fm (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on Thursday mornings from 530-7am MST. It is also streamed on the CJSW website and is available through Apple Podcasts.
I'd like to thank Tim for taking the time to put together these extensive year-end retrospectives. The focus of his radio program (and of these lists) is to feature some of the great new music that is being released these days and to highlight many of the artists that are creating new and original music (I think his radio program is appropriately named in that very regards!) Anyone who thinks that there is nothing new happening these days need only listen to an episode of Tim's radio program or check out any of the artists listed below.
I would encourage you all to take a listen to the artists that Tim has selected as he has carefully curated these compilations and listened to a lot of new music this year. I'm sure you'll discover something new (I certainly have!) Personally, I am encouraged by the amount of great new music being released these days and I think this offers a great sense of hope and optimism moving forward despite the uncertainty of the months ahead.
Onwards & Upwards.
Tim Mah's 2020 International (non-Canadian) Jazz Album Recommendations
There was an abundance music released this year. Below is a list of some of my favourite albums from international (non-Canadian) artists, released from December 2019 to November 2020, excluding drummers.
Drummers were featured in previous posts (May 15 and December 21, 2020). Since the Four on the Floor blog is about drumming, I wanted to put a spotlight on drummer-led albums released during the year. Hopefully, featuring drummers on a separate list will bring more focus on these albums and the drummers.
The 2021 Grammy nominations included drummers Terri Lyne Carrington, John Hollenbeck and Poncho Sanchez. However, there are many more drummer-led albums worth your attention. Please refer back to the previous posts and listen to 2020 albums from Asher Gamedze, Chad Taylor, Quin Kirchner, Makaya McCraven, Rudy Royston, Eric Binder, Jim Black, Nate Smith and Dan Weiss, to name a few. And go back to lists from previous years. For example, the drummers on the 2019 list included from Kendrick Scott, Johnathan Blake, Terri Lyne Carrington, Allison Miller, Ali Jackson (with the Yes! Trio) and Jerome Jennings.
For Canadian artists, please refer to the previous guest post on December 28, 2020. There are a lot of great albums released this year that will not be mentioned in this post.
The intent of this list is not to be comprehensive, but rather to provide readers with a starting point to explore the music that is currently available.
Maria Schneider Orchestra “Data Lords”
Here’s the album trailer:
Luciana Souza with the WDR Big Band Cologne and Vince Mendoza “Storytellers”
Below is a video of a live performance of Luciana Souza and the WDR Big Band performing “Mar de Copacabana” (written by Gilberto Gil):
Ben Williams “I am a Man”
Here is the audio for “If You Hear Me”:
Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl “Artlessly Falling”
This is the audio for “Lemon Trees”
Ambrose Akinmusire “on the tender spot of every calloused moment”
Below is the audio for “Mr. Roscoe”:
Irreversible Entanglements “Who Sent You?"
Here is the official music video for “No Mas”:
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah “Axiom”
This album was recorded live at the Blue Note jazz club in New York, before the pandemic restrictions were announced. Below is the audio for “Diaspora (Live)”:
Heroes Are Gang Leaders “Artificial Happiness Button”
Below is the audio of “Artificial Happiness Button":
Sara Serpa “Recognition”
Here is the audio for “Queen Nzinga”:
Thana Alexa “Ona”
This is a video of Thana Alexa and her band performing “Pachamama” at the Jazz Standard:
John Ellis “The Ice Siren”
Below is is the video of the performance of “The Ice Siren” at the Jazz Gallery:
Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra “Dimensional Stardust”
Here is the official music video for “A Wrinkle in Time Sets Concentric Circles Reeling”:
Shabaka & the Ancestors “We Are Sent Here By History"
The official music video for “The Coming of the Strange Ones”:
Aubrey Johnson “Unraveled”
Below is the official music video for “Unraveled.”:
Nubya Garcia “Source”
Here is the audio for “Source":
Angel Bat Dawid and Tha Brothahood “Live"
This is the audio for “What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black (Live)”:
Immanuel Wilkins “Omega”:
Below is the audio for “Omega”:
Gerald Clayton “Happening: Live at the Village Vanguard”
Here is the audio for “A Light":
Aaron Parks “Little Big II: Dreams of a Mechanical Man”
This is the audio for “The Shadow and the Self”:
Eric Revis “Slipknots Through a Looking Glass”
Below is the audio file for “Baby Renfro”:
Kurt Rosenwinkel Trio “Angels Around”
Here is the official video for “Ugly Beauty” (written by Thelonious Monk), featuring Dario Deidda (bass) and Gregory Hutchinson (drums):
Artemis “Artemis”
The members of Artemis are Renee Rosnes, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Anat Cohen, Melissa Aldana, Ingrid Jensen, Noriko Ueda and Allison Miller.
Below is the audio for “Goddess of the Hunt” (written by Allison Miller):
Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride & Brian Blade “RoundAgain”
This is the video of the band performing “Right Back Round Again”:
Ron Miles “Rainbow Sign"
Here is the video for “Queen of the South”:
Kathleen Grace with Larry Goldings “Tie Me to You”
Below is a video for “Where or When” (written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart):
*BONUS*
If you would like more recommendations, below is a list of more artists with new releases in 2020 (in alphabetical order):
Aaron Diehl “The Vagabond”
Alan Braufman “The Fire Still Burns”
Andrew D’Angelo & DNA Orchestra “DNA Orchestra”
Anne Mette Iversen Quartet + 1 “Racing a Butterfly”
Angelica Sanchez & Marilyn Crispell “How to Turn the Moon”
Aruan Ortiz, Andrew Cyrille & Mauricio Herrera “Inside Rhythmic Falls”
Carla Bley (with Steve Swallow & Andy Sheppard) “Life Goes On”
Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson “Chicago Waves”
Carolina Calvache “Vida Profunda”
Cathlene Pineda “Rainbow Baby”
Chad McCullough “Forward”
Charles Lloyd “8: Kindred Spirit (Live at the Lobero)”
Chicago Underground Quartet “Good Days”
Chris Dingman “Embrace”
Chris Speed / Dave King / Reid Anderson / Tim Berne “Broken Shadows Live”
Christian McBride “The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait of Four Icons”
Christian McBride Big Band “For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver”
Christian Sands “Be Water”
Clark Sommers’ Ba(SH) feat. Dana Hall & Geof Bradfield “Peninsula”
Cory Smythe “Accelerate Every Voice”
Connie Han “Iron Starlet”
Dan Rosenboom “Absurd in the Anthropocene” and “Points on an Infinite Line”
Derrick Hodge “Color of Noize”
Dinner Party (Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9thWonder & Kamasi Washington) “Dinner Party”
Dinosaur “To the Earth”
Dustin Laurenzi’s Natural Language “A Time and a Place”
Elsa Nilsson “Hindsight”
Emi Makabe “Anniversary”
Fred Hersch “Songs from Home” and “Live at the Village Vanguard (with Esperanza Spalding)”
Gary Bartz & Maisha “Night Dreamer”
Geof Bradfield, Ben Goldberg & Dana Hall Trio “General Semantics”
Gregory Porter “All Rise”
GoGo Penguin “GoGo Penguin”
Ingrid Laubrock “Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt”
James Brandon Lewis “Molecular” and “Live in Willisau (with Chad Taylor)”
Jasper Hoiby “Planet B”
Jason Kao Hwang “Human Rites Trio”
Jason Palmer “The Concert: 12 Musings for Isabella
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra – released seven albums in 2020; all sound great. Check out “The Music of Wayne Shorter” and the Duke Ellington tribute “Black, Brown & Beige”
JD Allen “Toys / Die Dreaming”
Jeff Parker “Suite for Max Brown”
Jen Allen “Sifting Grace”
Jeremy Pelt “The Art of Intimacy, Vol. 1”
Joel Ross “Who Sent You?”
John Scofield “Swallow Tales" (feat. Steve Swallow & Bill Stewart)
Jorge Roeder “El Suelo Mio”
Jose James “No Beginning No End 2”
Josh Johnson “Freedom Exercise”
Junk Magic “Compass Confusion”
Jure Pukl “Broken Circles”
Jyoti “Mama, You Can Bet!”
Kat Edmonson “Dreamers Do”
Kathrine Windfeld “Orca”
Kenny Barron & Dave Holland Trio (feat. Johnathan Blake) “Without Deception”
Kurt Elling (with Danilo Perez) “Secrets Are the Best Stories”
Lakecia Benjamin “Pursuance: The Coltranes””
Liberty Ellman “Last Desert”
Lionel Loueke “HH”
Logan Richardson “Afrofuturism”
Luke Stewart Exposure Quintet “Luke Stewart Exposure Quintet”
Mara Rosenbloom “Flyways: Murmuration (feat. Anais Maviel & Rashaan Carter) and “Respiration (feat. Sean Conly & Chad Taylor)”
Mark de Clive-Lowe “Dreamweavers” (feat. Andrea Lombardini & Tomasso Cappellato)
Marquis Hill “Soul Sign” and “Love Tape with Voices”
Matt Gold “Imagined Sky”
Matt Ulery “Pollinator”
Matthew Halsall “Salute to the Sun”
Matthew Shipp “The Piano Equation” and “The Unidentifiable”
Micah Thomas “Tide”
Nate Wooley “Seven Storey Mountain VI”
Nduduzo Makhathini “Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds”
Nir Felder “II”
Okkyung Lee “Yeo-Neun”
Omer Avital “Qantar: New York Paradox”
Orrin Evans & the Captain Black Big Band “The Intangible Between”
Pat Metheny “From This Place”
Peter Bernstein “What Comes Next”
Reverso (Ryan Keberle & Frank Woeste) “The Melodic Line”
Sam Gendel “Satin Doll”
Sasha Berliner “Azalea”
Somi “Holy Room: Live at the Alte Oper”
Sun Ra Arkestra “Swirling”
Sylvie Courvoisier Trio “Free Hoops”
Takuya Kuroda “Fly Moon Die Soon”
The Nels Cline Singers “Share the Wealth”
Thumbscrew “The Anthony Braxton Project”
Thundercat “It Is What it is”
Tigran Hamasyan “The Call Within”
Tineke Postma “Freya”
Tomeka Reid & Alexander Hawkins “Shards and Constellations”
Trio Grande (Will Vinson, Gilad Hekselman & Antonio Sanchez) “Trio Grande”
Please join us for our next episode of Four on the Floor *Live* happening this coming Tuesday, January 5th at 7pm MST (9pm EST), appearing on Instagram IGTV @fouronthfloorblog featuring the one and only Chad Anderson!
We'll be talking about drums, drumming, drummers, cymbals and whatever else happens to be on our mind...
Well, the year 2020 is almost a wrap and hopefully we can put this one behind us and look forward to better days ahead in 2021.
And what better way to leave this year on a high note than with some Max Roach!
Please enjoy this Italian television concert footage of Max performing on a set of rare Hollywood Tronic drums, playing his composition "It's Time" with orchestra and his signature solo composition "The Drum Also Waltzes" (check out the priceless reaction of the young drummer in the background...I'd be smiling too!)
Thanks again for all your continued support and all the best in 2021.
Onwards & Upwards!
*Please consider subscribing to my mailing list on the right side of my page and receive regular updates to your inbox whenever I post a new column!*
Frequent Four on the Floor correspondent Tim Mah returns once again today, this time offering his extensive list of recommended music released by Canadian jazz artists over the course of 2020.
As you will see, read and hear below, there was lots of great jazz music that came out of Canada over the past year.
Tim's weekly radio program Jazz Today can be heard on CJSW Radio 90.9 fm (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on Thursday mornings from 530-7am MST. It is also streamed on the CJSW website and available through Apple Podcasts.
Next week Tim will be offering his third and final instalment, a list of recommended international jazz releases from 2020.
In the meantime, check out my interview with Tim Mah on Four on the Floor *Live* happening on Tuesday, December 29th at 7pm MST (9pm EST) on Instagram IGTV @fouronthefloorblog.
Tim and I will be discussing some of the music he's selected for this year's Canadian year-end list.
Tim Mah's Recommended Canadian Jazz Albums of 2020
The purpose of this guest post is to bring more attention to Canadian artists. Some of the artists on this list have been mentioned in the year-end lists in major publications (New York Times, DownBeat Magazine, Popmatters, etc.) however most artists do not receive that level of attention.
There was an abundance of new releases, led or co-led by Canadians, from December 2019 and November 2020. Below is a list of albums to get you started on your listening journey.
Webber/Morris Big Band “Both Are True”
Co-led by Anna Webber and Angela Morris, below is a video of the title track “Both Are True”:
Cat Toren’s HUMAN KIND “Scintillating Beauty”
Below is the audio for the song “Ignis Fatuus”:
Peripheral Vision “Irrational Revelation and Mutual Humiliation”
This double album celebrates more than ten years of the collaboration that is Peripheral Vision. Don Scott (guitar), Michael Herring (bass), Trevor Hogg (saxophone) and Nick Fraser (drums) .
This is a video of the band performing “Whistle Up a Rope”:
Doxas Brothers “The Circle”
Co-led by Chet and Jim Doxas, here is the music video of “Uno a la Vez”:
Brandi Disterheft Trio & George Coleman “Surfboard”
Brandi Disterheft’s (bass, vocals) fifth album featured Klaus Mueller (piano), Portinho (drums) and George Coleman (saxophone).
Below is the official music video of “My Foolish Heart”:
Steph Richards “SUPERSENSE”
Steph Richards (trumpet, flugelhorn) is joined by Jason Moran (piano), Stomu Takeishi (bass) and Kenny Wollesen (drums).
Here is the album trailer for “SUPERSENSE”:
Donnybrook “Live at the Bassment”
The band members of Donnybrook consist of Ben Bishop (guitar), Jeff McLeod (organ) and Morgan Childs (drums).
Below is the audio for “Mixed Greens (Live)”:
Mark Godfrey “Square Peg”
Mark Godfrey’s (bass) first full length album features his quintet, including Allison Au (alto saxophone), Matt Woroshyl (tenor saxophone), Chris Pruden (piano) and Nick Fraser (drums).
This is a video of the trio performing “Maltagliati”:
Rachel Therrien “Vena”
On this album, Rachel Therrien is joined by her European quartet.
Below is a video of Rachel Therrien and her band performing “V for Vena”:
Rubim de Toledo “The Dig”
Bassist Rubim de Toledo is the recipient of the Western Canadian Music Awards 2018 jazz artist of the year. The musicians on this album include Chris Andrew (piano), Bob Tildesley (trumpet), Jamie Cooper (drums) and Jim Brenan (saxophone, clarinet).
Below is the video for “Saddleback”:
Lina Allemano’s Ohrenschmaus “Rats and Mice”
Ohrenschmaus is Lina Allemano’s Berlin-based trio, which includes Lina Allemano (trumpet), Dan Peter Sundland (bass), and Michael Griener (drums).
Here is a video of Lina Allemano’s Ohrenschmaus performing “Very Dirty”:
Lina Allemano “Glimmer Glammer”
“Glimmer Glammer” is Lina Allemano’s solo trumpet album.
Mike Rud “Salome’s Dance: The Mike Rud Trio Invites Peter Bernstein”
Below is the official music video for “Salome’s Dance”:
Luke Sellick & Andrew Renfroe “Small Vacation”
Below is a video of Luke Sellick (bass) and Andrew Renfroe (guitar) performing “Hills of Mexico”:
Rebecca Hennessy “All The Little Things You Do”
This is the official video for “Magnolia”:
Alex Goodman “Impressions in Blue and Red”
This double album features two different quartets. The “blue” quartet includes Ben Van Gelder (alto saxophone), Alex Goodman (guitar) Martin Nevin (bass) and Jimmy Macbride (drums). The “red” quartet includes Alex LoRe (alto saxophone), Alex Goodman (guitar) Rick Rosato (bass) and Mark Ferber (drums).
Here is the video for “No Man’s Land” (written by Alex Goodman):
Ernesto Cervini “Tetrahedron”
The band members on this album are Ernesto Cervini (drums), Rich Brown (bass), Luis Deniz (saxophone) and Nir Felder (guitar).
Below is a live performance of the band performing “The Sneaky Two”:
Frank Lozano & Gentiane MG “Convergence”
This is the video for “Era” (Frank Lozano – saxophone, composition; Gentiane MG – piano):
Okan “Espiral”
Here is the official music video for “Espiral”:
Quinsin Nachoff “Pivotal Arc”
Below is the video for “String Quartet – Movement 1”:
Mike Fahie Jazz Orchestra “Urban(e)"
Here is the video for “Excerpts from the Firebird” (Igor Stravinsky):
Dan Fortin “The Latest Tech”
This album consists of nine solo bass compositions from Dan Fortin.
Below is the audio for “American Desert”:
Andy Milne & Unison “The reMission”
This is Andy Milne’s (piano) first trio album. He’s joined by John Hebert (bass) and Clarence Penn (drums).
This is the album trailer:
Ben Wendel “High Heart”
Vancouver-born, Los Angeles raised and New York based Ben Wendel released his latest album at the end of October. The musicians on the album are Ben Wendel (saxophone, EFX, bassoon), Michael Mayo (vocals), Gerald Clayton (piano, Fender Rhodes), Shai Maestro (piano, Fender Rhodes), Joe Sanders (bass) and Nate Wood (drums).
Below is the video for “Drawn Away”:
Kari van der Kloot “The Architects”
This is vocalist Kari van der Kloot’s second album.
Below is a video of a live performance of “Same Song”:
Laila Biali “Out of Dust”
“Out of Dust” is Laila Biali’s follow up to her 2019 Juno award winning vocal jazz album.
The following is an acoustic version of the song “The Monolith”:
David Virelles “Transformacion del Arcoiris”
This is a solo album from David Virelles (piano, synths, percussion), who worked on these tracks during the pandemic quarantine. Marcus Gilmore plays MPC drums on one track.
Matthew Stevens and Walter Smith III “In Common 2”
Matthew Stevens (guitar) and Walter Smith III (saxophone) released their first collaboration (“In Common”) in 2018. The band included Joel Ross, Harish Raghavan and Marcus Gilmore. "In Common 2" includes Linda Oh, Nate Smith and Micah Thomas.
Below is the album trailer:
Ingrid Laubrock + Kris Davis “Blood Moon”
This is a concert of Ingrid Laubrock (saxophone) and Kris Davis (piano) performing at the Jazz Gallery in New York for a Skopje Jazz Festival livestream:
*BONUS*
Here is a list of more Canadian artists with 2020 releases that you can check out:
Alex Moxon Quartet “Alex Moxon Quartet”
Alvaro Rojas “Gran Kasa”
Angela Turone & Chris Platt “Sounds of Brazil”
Audrey Ochoa “Frankenhorn”
Claire Devlin Quartet “Anyone”
Diana Krall “This Dream of You”
Evan Shay “New Normal”
François Houle “Recoder” and “Vortex” (with the ITACA 4et - Nicola Fazzini, Alessandro Fedrigo and Nick Fraser)
Gillian Margot “Power Flower”
Gordon Grdina “Nomad,” “Resist,” Safar-e-Daroon,” and “Prior Street”
Harrison Squared “Trout in Swimwear”
Jean-Michel Leblanc “Varietes Narratives”
Jen Hodge All Stars “The Girl in the Groove”
Jerry Granelli Trio “The Jerry Granelli Trio Plays Vince Guraldi and Mose Allison”
Jocelyn Gould “Elegant Traveler”
John Stetch “Blue Canada”
Koffman Hiltz Quartet “Mumbo Jumbo”
Larnell Lewis “Relive the Moment”
Local Talent (James Hill, Rich Brown and Ian Wright) “Higienopolis”
Marika Galea ‘Nuance”
Mark Segger Sextet “Liftoff”
The Nimmons Tribute “To the Nth”
Pat Collins Trio (feat. Reg Schwager & Tom Szczesniak) “Time Well Spent”
Patrick Boyle “Swivel”
Petr Cancura “Another Way Home (feat. Kenny Wollesen, Tony Scherr & Rob Jost),” “Life is a Gong Show (with the group Songs of Tales - Jean Martin, Jesse Zubot, Gordon Grdina)” and “Don’t Let It Stop (feat. Charlie Hunter & Geoff Clapp)
Pulsart Trio “Swing Theory – EP”
Rob Clutton “Offering” and “Counsel of Primaries”
Sarah Rossy “The Conclusion”
See Through 4 "Bog Standards" and "False Ghosts, Minor Fears"
Ways (Brodie West and Evan Cartwright) + Simon Toldam “Fortunes”
Please join us for our next episode happening this Tuesday, December 29th at 7pm MST (9pm EST), appearing on Instagram Live @fouronthfloorblog featuring Tim Mah, host of CJSW's radio program Jazz Today.
We will be discussing Tim's upcoming list of album releases by Canadian jazz artists from the past year.
Tim's radio program Jazz Today can be heard on CJSW Radio 90.9 fm (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on Thursday mornings from 530-7am MST and it is also streamed on the CJSW website (and available through Apple Podcasts).
Frequent Four on the Floor correspondent Tim Mah returns today, this time offering Part Two of his extensive list of favourite albums released by jazz drummers in 2020 from all around the world (click here to read Part One, published last May).
Tim's radio program Jazz Today can be heard on CJSW Radio 90.9 fm (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) on Thursday mornings at 530am.
It is also streamed on the CJSW website and is available through Apple Podcasts.
Look for more great year-end lists from Tim Mah coming your way in the weeks to come, offering his informed choices of Canadian and International jazz releases from 2020.
Tim Mah's 2020 Recommended Album Releases From Drummers (Part Two!)
In my previous guest post (published on May 15, 2020), Four on the Floor published a list of drummers, who released albums through April 2020. This guest post includes new music from May to November 2020, plus some that I missed on the previous post.
The intent of this list is to put a spotlight on new releases from musicians, who happen to be drummers. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list.
In no particular order, check out new releases from:
Quin Kirchner
Chicago-based Quin Kirchner’s sophomore album is called “The Shadows and the Light.” Bandcamp ranked his debut album (“The Other Side of Time”) as one of the best albums of 2018.
This is the audio of the title track:
Also, check out his solo drum performance for Chicago’s Experimental Sound Studio in April 2020:
Makaya McCraven
Earlier this year, Makaya McCraven released “We’re New Again” - an album reimagining Gil Scott-Heron’s “I’m New Here.”
In July, he released “Universal Beings E&F Sides” – an addendum to his critically acclaimed 2018 album, “Universal Beings.”
This is the audio for the track “Everybody Cool” from “Universal Beings E&F Sides”:
Check out this documentary about the making of “Universal Beings”:
Shirazette Tinnin
North Carolina-native, New York-based Shirazette Tinnin is a drummer, educator and health coach, who released her sophomore album this year called “Sonic Wallpaper Volume 1: The Cards That Life Can Deal.”
This is the audio for “Past Tense”:
This is a video of a recent livestream concert featuring Shirazette Tinnin and her band playing music from the new album:
Ralph Peterson Jr.
Ralph Peterson Jr. released his 25th album as a leader, called “Onward and Upward,” with his band called the Messenger Legacy. He pays tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, bringing together 14 former Jazz Messengers and 3 Legacy Messengers to perform on the album.
This is the audio for the title track:
Jonathan Barber
Jonathan Barber released his sophomore album with his band, Vision Ahead” called
“Legacy Holder” in May, followed by “Live at Jazz Standard” in October (available exclusively on Bandcamp https://jonathanbarber.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-jazz-standard).
This could be the last album recorded at the Jazz Standard, which announced that it will not be reopening due to the impact of the global pandemic.
Here is the audio for the title track:
This is video of Jonathan Barber & Vision Ahead performing “Haikus” (composed by Matt Dwonszyk) at the Jazz Standard in New York:
Joe Farnsworth
In September, Joe Farnsworth released his latest album, “Time to Swing” featuring Kenny Barron (piano), Peter Washington (bass), and Wynton Marsalis (trumpet).
This is the EPK for the album:
You can also hear Joe Farnsworth on the album “Mabern Plays Mabern” – the last album recorded by Harold Mabern, released posthumously in the spring of 2020.
Billy Martin “Guilty”
Medeski Martin and Wood drummer, Billy Martin, makes his debut on bass on the album “Guilty,” released in July 2020.
This is the music video for the track called “Geek Love”:
Dafnis Prieto
The Dafnis Prieto Sextet’s new album is called “Transparency,” released in October.
This is a behind the scenes look at the recording of the album:
Dan Weiss
In September, Dan Weiss released “Natural Selection,” his second album from his band, Starebaby, which combines doom metal, electronics and improvised music.
This is the album teaser for “Natural Selection”:
Check out this Starebaby concert:
Part 1
Part 2
Matt Wilson
The latest album from the Matt Wilson Quartet is called “Hug!,” featuring Jeff Lederer (saxophone), Kirk Knuffke (cornet) and Chris Lightcap (bass) was released in August.
This is the audio for the track for “maXX” – inspired by Max Roach:
Also, check out Rudy Royston on 2020 releases from Bill Frisell (“Valentine”), Rudresh Mahanthappa (“Hero Trio”), and Lisa Hilton (“More Than Another Day”)
Jeff Williams
Four on the Floor featured Jeff Williams on February 17, 2020. In November, Jeff Williams released “Road Tales: Live at the London Jazz Festival.”
This is the audio file for “The Interloper”:
Christian Euman
Chicago-native, Los Angeles-based Christian Euman has performed with Billy Childs, Kurt Elling, Marquis Hill, Jacob Collier and many more. This summer, he released his debut album “Allemong.”
This is the audio of “Don’t Go to Your Face”:
Asher Gamedze
Cape Town, South Africa’s Asher Gamedze released his debut album in July.
This is the audio for the track “Eternality” :
Also, check out Asher Gamedze on Chicago’s Angel Bat Dawid’s 2019 album, “The Oracle,” where he’s featured on the 15 minute track called “Capetown”.
Adam Nussbaum
In August, Adam Nussbaum released “Lead Belly Reimagined” – a follow up to his 2018 album “The Lead Belly Project.” The band members are Steve Cardenas (guitar), Nate Radley (guitar) and Ohad Talmor (saxophone).
This is a video of a concert recorded at Seeds: Brooklyn (September 2020):
Adonis Rose
Please refer to the October 15, 2020 blog post, featuring an interview with Adonis Rose about his new album, “Piece of Mind - Live at the Blue Llama.”
This is a concert video of Adonis Rose and the “Piece of Mind” band performing at the New Orleans Jazz Museum for International Jazz Day 2020:
Quincy Davis
Please refer to the November 5, 2020 blog post, featuring an interview with Quincy Davis about his new album “Q Vision”.
This is the audio for the track “Shorter Days (For Wayne Shorter)”:
Charles Rumback
Charles Rumback is another great drummer on the Chicago music scene. This summer, he released the album “June Holiday”.
This is the official video for “Burning Daylight”:
Matt Mayhall
Los Angeles-based Matt Mayhall is the drummer in Aimee Mann’s band. In February, he released his sophomore album called “Fanatics,” featuring Jeff Parker (guitar) and Chris Speed (saxophone, clarinet).
This is the audio for Heliotrope:
In May 2020, Matt Mayhall and trumpeter, Dan Rosenboom, released an album called “Language”
New York-native, Chicago-based Eric Binder’s new trio album “Hard Bop" featuring Walter Smith III (saxophone) and Petros Klampanis (bass), was released in July.
This is the audio for “Trane Ride” off the album:
This is a video of a livestream of the “Hard Bop” album release concert at the Fulton Street Collective in Chicago:
*Bonus!*
Here are a few more drummers with 2020 releases to check out:
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
In July, Blue Note Records released an unreleased studio album "Just Coolin'" by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers that was recorded on March 8, 1959 in Rudy Van Gelder’s living room studio in Hackensack, New Jersey.
The session featured a short-lived line-up of The Jazz Messengers with drummer Art Blakey, trumpeter Lee Morgan, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, pianist Bobby Timmons, and bassist Jymie Merritt.
Bobby Wiens
Calgary-native, Denver-based Bobby Wiens released his debut album as a band leader in November, called “Talking Drums”.
The Vijay Anderson Trio, featuring Adam Lane (bass) and Ben Goldberg (clarinet) released a new album (“Studio Sessions, Vol. 10”) in September 2020. Vijay Anderson is a California-native, currently living in Brooklyn.
In August, John Hollenbeck released the final chapter of a trilogy of albums, in which he explored and arranged popular songs. For this recording, “Songs You Like A Lot,” listeners nominated their favorite songs for Hollenbeck to arrange. After an internet-wide vote on a list of nominated songs, Hollenbeck chose (with the help of Kate McGarry, Theo Bleckmann and Gary Versace) from the top 20 most popular songs.
This album was nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award.
Personnel - John Hollenbeck: composer, arranger, conductor; Kate McGarry: vocals; Theo Bleckmann: vocals; Gary Versace: piano, organ + Frankfurt Radio Big Band.
“Rhythm Cycles” by Susie Ibarra is a commissioned solo performance by the Bagri Foundation for their series " At the Cutting Edge" performed at Cafe OTO. This performance was recorded in 2019 and was released in November 2020.
Paris-born, New York-based Raphael Pannier released his debut album in September 2020. The band on the album include Francois Moutin (bass), Aaron Goldberg (piano) and Miguel Zenon (saxophone).
London born Rajiv Jayaweera grew up in Melbourne, is of Sri Lankan heritage and has been based in New York for nearly a decade.This album is Rajiv Jayaweera's debut album featuring eight of his original compositions inspired by images and memories from Sri Lanka. It also features the relatively unknown traditional drum, the thammattama or temple drum, which appears on two of songs.
Personnel: Chris Cheek (tenor/soprano saxophone), Aaron Parks (piano), Hugh Stuckey (guitar), Sam Anning (double bass), Rajiv Jayaweera (drums, cymbals, caxixi, thammattama) and Lara Bello (voice)
Devin Gray
Brooklyn-based Devin Gray collaborates with fellow drummer, Gerald Cleaver, on the October 2020 album called “27 Licks”.
Also, check out Devin Gray’s EP “Socialytics” (released in May 2020) and two new singles that he recorded with Ralph Alessi (trumpet) and Angelica Sanchez (piano).
Drummer and composer Chase Kuesel (“key-sull”) released his debut album, “Space Between,” in July 2020. This album was recorded in June 2019, at the end of Chase's one-year stay in Switzerland for the Focusyear Artist Grant.
Larnell Lewis released “Relive the Moment” in November. On this album, Larnell reimagined six compositions from his debut album (“In the Moment”) by recording new live drum performances. The closing track is a new composition.
Granelli's latest release "The Jerry Granelli Trio Plays Vince Guaraldi and Mose Allison" explores music from two of Granelli's significant musical collaborators, putting a fresh perspective on some older material.
This is a blog about jazz, jazz drumming and all things unrelated. Thanks for stopping by!
A Bit About Me...
Jonathan McCaslin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. Jonathan began playing the drums at the age of nine. He progressed through the Regina Lions Junior Band and the music program at his high school, Campbell Collegiate, soon developing a passion for playing the drums and jazz. Ultimately, Jon's interest in music led him to enroll in the Jazz Studies program at McGill University, graduating with distinction in 1999.
While at McGill Jon had the opportunity to study with some of the finest jazz educators in the country including Gordon Foote, Kevin Dean, Jan Jarcyzk, Chris McCann, Andre White, Michel Lambert and Dave Laing. He also attended the prestigious summer jazz workshop presented by the Banff Centre for the Arts in 1997, where he performed with Canadian jazz greats Hugh Fraser, Don Thompson and Kenny Wheeler.
Jon has also been fortunate to have performed with many of Canada's jazz elite including Charlie Biddle, Brian Hurley, Louise Rose, Alaister Kay, Mart Kinny, Gary Guthman, Mike Rud, Hadley Caliman, Greg Clayton, Chase Sanborn, Andre White, Tilden Webb, John LaBelle, Kevin Dean, Dave Turner, Ralph Bowen, Don Thompson, Dionne Taylor, Jim Vivian, Kelly Jefferson, Ian McDougall, Brad Turner, Jim Brenan, The McGill Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Johnston, Lorraine Desmerais, Steve Amirault, Hugh Fraser, Chucho Valdes, Kieran Overs, The Altsys Jazz Orchestra, Pat LaBarbera, The Regina Symphony Orchestra and The Montreal Jazz Big Band.
In the spring of 2002 McCaslin completed his Master's in Jazz Studies at McGill University where he studied jazz drumming, improvisation and composition.
In January 2003 Jon released his debut CD, “McCallum’s Island”. Featuring his quintet, the CD contains an exciting collection of McCaslin’s original compositions, featuring himself and his band. The release of this CD was followed by a twenty-day tour of Western Canada, performing to enthusiastic, capacity audiences. During March of 2003 Jonathan was the recipient of a fellowship from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and attended the “Betty Carter Jazz Ahead” residency in Washington, D.C. Along with twenty other distinguished young jazz artists, McCaslin was featured with such jazz icons as Terence Blanchard, Carmen Lundy, Winard Harper, Curtis Fuller and John Clayton.
McCaslin’s quintet performed at the 2003 edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival and was nominated for the General Motors Grand Prix du Festival (awarded to the most outstanding Canadian group). From 2004 until 2006, Jon toured North America, Asia and Europe with the high-energy, critically acclaimed music production troupe “Barrage”. Featuring a cast of seven world-class fiddlers and a four-piece band, this dynamic show featured high-energy music and fiddle traditions from around the world set to upbeat choreography and movement.
In 2015, Dr. McCaslin received his Doctorate through the University of Toronto and completed his dissertation on the conceptualization of contemporary melodic jazz drumming. He is currently based in Calgary, Alberta where he maintains a busy performing and teaching schedule across Canada.
