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The term “spiritual jazz” seems to be everywhere these days. It’s a label that has more value for marketers than for music fans, an empty coinage that’s more meme than meaningful. It might be easier to say what “spiritual jazz” is not, for instance the music made by pianist and composer Lynne Arriale, who comes to BOP STOP Saturday night.
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Friendly experiencers,
IMAGINE A WORLD . . . where Terence Blanchard at Severance Hall and a significant album release and anniversary are in the roundup column instead of the Tuesday feature slot.
If you heard a portentous announcer voice in your head as you read that, well, it’s that kind of Met Gala of a blockbuster week on the NEO scene. Throw in Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project’s not-jazz but jazz-adjacent Re:Sound festival and you have a week that will get your ears in shape for the peak summer music season.
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Friendly experiencers,
It’s Thursday and the Countdown is back on its normal schedule. Order has been restored. The concert lineup was thinned a bit by the cancellation of the Christian Sands gig at The Treelawn, but just look at the variety of offerings below: a big band session with vocalist, hard-blowing sextet and a free improv legend. Who says the NEO scene is one-dimensional?
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One of the great pleasures of this project is the opportunity to do a weekly temperature check of the NEO scene., with a focus on live performance where it surely belongs. No performances, no scene, right?
But NEO artists have lately been as active in the studios as they are on the area’s stages and bandstands. That’s a good thing, too. Some projects have been covered here, including Work and Song, the exultant live recording by Alla Boara made at BOP STOP last July, Lucas Kadish’s Tundra, which was a big part of this entry from 2023, and the forthcoming recording laid down two weeks ago by the Third Law Collective wsg Russ Johnson, a project I profiled here. A few more will get the in-depth treatment in future posts here and at All About Jazz.
Still it’s been a while since let’s call this has called the roll on recordings, and given the spring shower of recent releases, now’s the time.
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Rock, paper, scissors is perhaps the most elementary game ever devised. Yet within its narrow structure it offers endless strategic possibilities. Little wonder that the three hand gestures form the cover image of Even Odds, Dan Weiss’ terrific new release on Cygnus Records. Put it on your Bandcamp Friday wishlist and listen to the music at Even Odds’ two shows at BOP STOP Saturday night.
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