Funky, jazzed, and trippy, Tinctures in Time is the first of four albums scheduled for release over a year’s time from trumpeter, composer, arranger, and band leader Steven Bernstein. Featuring his Millennial Territory Orchestra, a nonet comprising some of New York’s finest musicians, the album’s groove-based tinctures blend jazz, funk, rock, minimalism, and African influences to deliver a welcome lift to the spirit.
Can the world dance itself into a more compassionate social conscience? I would like to think so, but the jury is still out on that. One thing is certain: if it is possible, then Baracutanga will be the band that dances us there. Their new album, Volver atrás, is, quite simply, the band’s masterwork, and they will be celebrating its release this Friday, August 27.
Top: Satoko Fujii by Bryan Murray, Carol Liebowitz. Center: Dred Scott, Mara Rosenbloom by Sherry Rubel, Kazzrie Jaxen. Bottom: Virg Dzurinko, Ricardo Gallo
Diane Moser, who passed away last December, was a radiant member of the New York music scene. On For Diane, seven stunningly original pianists have contributed solo performances to honor her memory and legacy. Musically Speaking first encountered her very late in her life, but very happily, through her recording Birdsongs, and can attest to her remarkable qualities as a composer, performer, and gracious human being.
On Kaleidoscope, trumpeter, vocalist, composer Sarah Wilson offers up an album of gratitude, dedicated to the people who have supported her. We, too, should be grateful for the support that helped shape this artist, whose post-bop jazz chops are shaded with influences from avant pop, Afro-Latin grooves, and indie rock.
Accordionist/organist/composer Gordon H. Whitlow, a member of the avant-garde audiovisual collective Biota, has a distinguished résumé creating what I like to call adventurous music, music that opens previously unknown or unexplored territory. See It Alone, his latest album, introduced to me by Denver guitarist Janet Feder, leverages a group of collaborators he calls Sorry for Laughing. The album vividly occupies a fascinating musical space previously unknown to me.