Whoops! Posted this with no comments at first. This week’s show featured a fair bit of personal new music; I went on a Jazz Record Mart spree with my father-in-law right after Christmas.
(I’d like to point out that it’s a cool father-in-law who likes the idea of a JRM shopping spree), and I got a few things as Christmas gifts. One of the best gifts was an album by the Tin Hat Trio, which I first heard on my friend Andrew’s internet radio broadcast at KillRadio.org (alas, he has gone off the air for a while). It’s only on the fringes of jazz, but it’s all instrumental, which sometimes leads to that categorization, and the musicians also move in jazz circles. It’s a bit folky and a bit somber, and it’s quite beautiful. Coincidentally, I bought myself the Bill Frisell album “The Willies,” which shares some sonic characteristics, although it’s simpler and more straightforward. It can veer a bit too much into easy listening music, but some of it is quite nice.

I had a couple of nice WNUR library discoveries this week also; first, an old Mark Helias album, “Attack the Future,” which reminded me about the 80′s New York jazz scene (although that album is actually from 1992). There was a lot of great music happening then, and of course, a lot of those musicians are still active, but it seems like there’s a lot of music awaiting rediscovery. A more recent album from a lesser known member of that scene is Trio S, led by Doug Wieselman (clarinet and guitar), and featuring Jane Scarpantoni on cello and Kenny Wollesen on drums. In some ways, this one slots into the same sonic realm as the Tin Hat Trio, being moody and often dark, but extremely beautiful. It’s hard to find much about it online, but if you like that sort of chamber jazz feeling, it’s worth seeking out.