It's December, but somehow I'm not even in a hurry to compile my 24 favorite albums of 2024. I think I'm already at peace with postponing this particular end of the year list to some point in January, because there are still so many candidates to consider.
In Jazz Fusion and adjacent genres alone I'm still taking in so much amazing stuff. So let's jump right to a crazy banger that only just been unleashed...
In Jazz Fusion and adjacent genres alone I'm still taking in so much amazing stuff. So let's jump right to a crazy banger that only just been unleashed...
SPINIFEX - Undrilling the Hole (CD) (2024)
The Netherlands-based international sextet Spinifex is back with one more hour of all the stuff they're great at, except singing, which was a one-off excursion in 2022. (And ultimately "Spinifex Sings" still remains the more sensationally unique album, if we're going to make this a competition.)
And that was the easy part of this little review, because these guys are just so... much. Tasty horn sections, dirty guitars, smooth or explosive bass, creative drums, coming together in a rollercoaster ride through Jazz history between Bop and Core, with a lot of fat Fusion and brain-tickling Avantgarde inbetween. All seven tracks are filled with fiery ideas turned into complex arrangements.
I don't know how exactly you undrill a hole, but maybe that's just a riddle supposed to soak your mind, so you're at least minimally prepared to cushion the aural overstimulation ahead. Luckily this is the kind of overload which will only give you headaches if you're allergic to trumpet, saxophones and uneven bars. For friends of Fusion, Free Jazz and weird noises beyond however "Undrilling The Hole" should be nothing but a sparkling fountain of joy!
And that was the easy part of this little review, because these guys are just so... much. Tasty horn sections, dirty guitars, smooth or explosive bass, creative drums, coming together in a rollercoaster ride through Jazz history between Bop and Core, with a lot of fat Fusion and brain-tickling Avantgarde inbetween. All seven tracks are filled with fiery ideas turned into complex arrangements.
I don't know how exactly you undrill a hole, but maybe that's just a riddle supposed to soak your mind, so you're at least minimally prepared to cushion the aural overstimulation ahead. Luckily this is the kind of overload which will only give you headaches if you're allergic to trumpet, saxophones and uneven bars. For friends of Fusion, Free Jazz and weird noises beyond however "Undrilling The Hole" should be nothing but a sparkling fountain of joy!
COLIN WEBSTER LARGE ENSEMBLE - Second Edition (CD) (2024)
Comparably spectacular, but in a different way is the eight members strong Colin Webster Large Ensemble, which just blasts into relentless Free Jazz fury with everything at its disposal. That includes three saxophones plus trumpet / flugelhorn, drums, bass, guitar and electronics.
The title may be a little confusing. Even though the beautifully minimalist cover is quite similar and the tracklist reads identical with just "Set One" and "Set Two", this is not a second pressing of their 2023 debut "First Meeting", but actually a new recording of two more shows, one year later at the same location in London.
We have a different bass player in the band now, but other than that this obviously is an if you loved that you will also dig this situation. And if the Freest, most improvisatory Jazz is not for you, this certainly won't convert you. Your loss, because the ensemble's sound is immensly rich and full, and the recording adequately transports the power of their performance.
Whenever the British saxophone player and Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries encounter each other, you can expect magic to happen - and "Second Edition" certainly is no exception.
Speaking of Serries...
The title may be a little confusing. Even though the beautifully minimalist cover is quite similar and the tracklist reads identical with just "Set One" and "Set Two", this is not a second pressing of their 2023 debut "First Meeting", but actually a new recording of two more shows, one year later at the same location in London.
We have a different bass player in the band now, but other than that this obviously is an if you loved that you will also dig this situation. And if the Freest, most improvisatory Jazz is not for you, this certainly won't convert you. Your loss, because the ensemble's sound is immensly rich and full, and the recording adequately transports the power of their performance.
Whenever the British saxophone player and Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries encounter each other, you can expect magic to happen - and "Second Edition" certainly is no exception.
Speaking of Serries...
MARTINA VERHOEVEN INVITES - Martina Verhoeven Invites (CD) (2024)
... he can also be found on another live album alongside his wife Martina Verhoeven (on grand piano) as the part of an even larger ensemble of ten players, which includes the Large Ensemble members Colin Webster (alto sax), Andrew Isle (drums), Cath Roberts (baritone sax) and Charlotte Keefe (trumpet) as well.
With Martina's piano, Tom Jackson on clarinet and Tom Ward on bass clarinet however, the two performances immortalized here develop a different, playfully whirling flavour, at times building up to downright orchestral magnitude.
There's no way for me to describe all the shifts, dynamics, dramatic ups and downs and instances of magical communication in these two improvisations of twenty-six and forty-three minutes length.
Even though ten people in full Avantgarde Free Jazzploitation mode is a lot, it is obvious that everyone knows everyone and they've all made music together in countless different constellations before.
This one quite likely is among the most maximalist gatherings of this circle - a breathtaking journey, which hardly could reward the listener's attention more.
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