Janszoon

Exactly this. I love jazz, just not this kind. We'll see though, maybe AE can win me over.

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A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

Anteater

Well, even if you hate 'Nineteen', I'd be surprised if anyone could outright hate 'Rainforest', particularly if you derive any enjoyment whatsoever from Sega Genesis or N64 music.

Second, although this won't convert the uninitiated in all likelihood, Hardcastle has evolved quite a bit since 1985. His debut record is a rather important footnote in the establishment of contemporary jazz as a genre, not unlike Grover Washington Jr's Winelight a couple of years before, thus I felt it might be a decent place to start for my journal.

That being said, the next couple of albums/artists I'll be spotlighting should be a bit more appealing to you and other readers as far as musicality goes. Stay tuned and all that, lol!

Oh, and just to give you a bit of perspective, here's how he sounds as of 2011. Guess he's stuck in '95.

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Anteater

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Perhaps the single best jazz guitarist alive on the planet today, there's nobody who isn't somebody in the world of jazz-anything who hasn't worked with or wanted to work with Pat Metheny, including the late Miles Davis and Jaco Pastorius. The man has a massive discography that travels throughout every corner of the genre, including straight-ahead, Bossa Nova, Fusion and soundtrack-oriented stuff.

THE ALBUM

Although every album that Pat Metheny's Group has done since forming in the early 80's is considered top notch material in the realm of modern jazz, 2005's The Way Up (the ensemble's latest record as of 2012) is particularly interesting, as its a four-part suite that attempts to bridge the gap between contemporary jazz and certain aspects of progressive rock, and from a compositional perspective it succeeds in doing exactly that. Hell, it even won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Record later that year.

WHY YOU WANT THIS

From my perspective, there's actually nothing better at introducing contemporary jazz to the hardline cynic than an LP from Mr. Metheny. His fluidity from moment to moment, whether he's armed with 6-string, 12-string, or even something crazy like a 42-string, is undeniable to the point of gospel. He walks the walk, talks the talk, and then some! On top of that, his band is complimented by a variety of talents, including keyboard/programming maestro Lyle Mays and harmonica beast Grégoire Maret.

The Way Up is quite the epic really, made up of an opening number and three distinct parts that constitute the suite itself. Metheny changes guitars a couple of times throughout the movements, and various motifs intermingle and then turn on a dime into completely new progressions. There's a lot of soloing (trumpet, guitar, keyboards, etc.), but Lyle Mays never lets Metheny get too below the stratosphere, and thus despite gradual shifts in tonality and an emphasis on complex chord changes, the intensity they're going for is never lost regardless of pace or tempo. Brilliant stuff, really, and certainly worth a run through or two from those who aren't adverse to instrumental adventures.

CLOSING REMARKS

Despite a distinct lack of saxophone and the predominance of lengthy "noodling", this is indeed a contemporary jazz album stylistically, and a class act at that. It's technical level is such that it demonstrates just how complex and interesting "smooth" jazz can become if the ideas are grand enough, and while Metheny never blows you out of the room like his luminiary John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra) might have done back in 1975, there is a LOT to admire here. Essentially...its essential.

FINAL GRADE

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Anteater

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Known a bit better over in the land of the Rising Sun as a jazzy, beach-oriented pop confectioner and producer, Toshiki Kadomatsu is also a rather underrated guitarist with chops that bite and riffs that catch. Razor sharp but reluctant to shred, his productions tend towards sentimental, oceanic soundscapes that put you right there amidst the surf and swell.

THE ALBUM

Released in 1987, Sea Is A Lady is Toshiki's first all-instrumental release and a return to his washed out take on 'city pop' that made him huge in the early 80's after a couple of forays into New Wave. A record seemingly crafted for the sole purpose of turning up loud while you blast along some coastline highway, its certainly a product of its age, but glorious in a cheesy, heading-into-the-sunset kind of way.

WHY YOU WANT THIS

Whilst not as progressive or jazz-fusion oriented as Toshiki's second and final instrumental album that would arrive in 1990, Legacy Of You, I would say that this album not only epitomizes why Kadomatsu-san might appeal to someone who wouldn't normally dig a Bop-less jazz album, but also illustrates what a really good contemporary jazz record could sound like if you let guitars and embellished atmospherics take the lead as opposed to 12 tracks of Kenny G pussing out.

For example, take opening number 'Way To The Shore/Sealine': its got a great melody line and some underlying percussion to set the beat, but Toshiki's guitar tone is killer. He doesn't mind indulging his skills when necessary. Or how about the 6+ minute centerpiece 'Memories Of Dusseldorf', a blistering funk workout that features some keyboard noodling straight out of a late 70's prog record? Even the interludes, such as 'Sea Song', still sound beautiful some thirty years after this hit shelves, with colossal synth leads and piano dispersed in the melancholic drift.

CLOSING REMARKS

There's no such thing as an 80's contemporary jazz record that can escape from the polarizing fact that it sounds like it was made...well, in the 80's. However, as Sea Is A Lady proves, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who went the extra mile to actually make vocal-less melodies compelling in a less-than-abrasive setting and those who are merely content to record an album of George Benson covers and call it a day.

Things always seem to be more interesting in Japan as far as musical diversity is concerned in loads of genres, and contemporary jazz is no exception!

FINAL GRADE

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette

Blarobbarg

Anteater, great posts. I am not digging Toshiki Kadomatsu at all, but thought that the Pat Metheny Group was actually pretty good! Any suggestions for other good albums from them?

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Anteater

They've done plenty of great records, but I'll recommend you checking out 1987's Still Life (Talking) and 1995's We Live Here if you dug The Way Up.

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

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Anteater

ARTIST BACKGROUND

A fixture in L.A.'s underground jazz scene for the last couple of decades, Jeff Oster is one of contemporary jazz's most forward thinking trumpeters today: tech savvy, plays by ear, and makes an effort to stand out wherever he can. After hooking up with Windham Hill guitarist and founder Will Ackerman, Jeff has gone on to record a couple of killer records that push the "smooth" jazz envelope into compelling electronic territory.

THE ALBUM

His third record as a solo artist, 2011's Surrender presents the following musical hypothesis in a tangible, testable product: what if a trumpeter mixed Davisonian yet contemporary trumpeteering with ambient, almost trip-hop soundscaping? Although he's been moving more and more towards this direction since his first solo record years prior to this, Oster has embraced this question with an enthusiasm that surprised even me when I first had the pleasure of hearing it last Christmas.

WHY YOU WANT THIS

In between layers of astral programming and foggy chord sequences, Jeff's trumpet is a constant, ghostly presence in the mix and the focal point for even more pop-oriented cuts like the sultry title track (with vocals by Diane Arkenstone) or the clubby heartbeat that pulses through 'The Theology Of Success'.

Although mostly instrumental in nature and far more modern sounding the most records which get lodged under that vast umbrella known as contemporary jazz, Jeff is never without a catchy melody to latch onto nor for letting any one track stay beyond its welcome, and that's quite a plus in this genre.

CLOSING REMARKS

Although the incorporation of acid jazz, ambient and trip-hop elements into a modern jazz production isn't unheard of in today's musical environment, artists who make it a point to craft entire records along those lines are limited. Even moreso when such a fantastic outing is being brought to you by a fella who's hosted by one of the largest New Age labels of all time.

To those of you looking for a late-night slice of relevancy in your smooth jazz, you have come to the right place!

FINAL GRADE

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

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Anteater

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Perhaps the single best contemporary jazz act on the planet to emerge since the genre's inception back in the early 80's, The Rippingtons are a band led by Californian guitar virtuoso Russ Freeman, accompanied over the years by a fairly diverse and talented lineup of people, including drummer Tony Morales and bassist Kim Stone (formally of Spyro Gyra). The group is known for their lush productions, great live shows and a tendency to be a good deal edgier and atmospheric than the majority of their colleague bands.

THE ALBUM

Their third album chronologically. Tourist In Paradise is perhaps the best smooth jazz record of the late 80's and an apex in the band's career overall. While the band's previous '87 release, Kilimanjaro, solidified the band's sound into something distinct and surprisingly eclectic, it was this record where they began to up the ante and wade deeper into World music territory.

WHY YOU WANT THIS

So why do you want this? Partly, I'd say, because there's a surprising amount of depth behind the instrumentation than the norm, resulting in a couple of stone cold classic numbers and a couple of others that aren't too shabby either. On top of that, Steve Reid's keyboard soundscapes are a rather unique feature to the overall band dynamic present in this record, and they turn songs like the title track from something that might have been merely pleasant into something representative of an entire style.

Other elevating factors include some steller instrumental interaction between the players, as they're as tight as any fusion act, and Russ's classical picking on tracks like 'A Summer Night In Brazil' is beautiful even when he isn't 'ripping' into some of the higher energy cuts like 'Eartbound' or weaving in and around the pulsating synths of 'Destiny'.

CLOSING REMARKS

To put things in perspective, The Rippingtons are to contemporary jazz what Led Zeppelin are to hard rock or what Talk Talk are to early post-rock: really great bands who cut record after record of killer material that, in retrospect, stand at the top of the pile of whatever sonic aesthetic they call home.

If you want to learn to like contemporary jazz or have even a passing curiosity in bands that go further than you'd expect, The Ripps are as good as place to start as any I can think of...and that's a helluva endorsement.

FINAL GRADE

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

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Geekoid

^^^
I looked up the Rippingtons, and [not to do your blog a disservice by saying this] apparently they did the background music for The Weather Channel's local forecasts at one point. That's some quality, well-orchestrated muzak.

I miss that lush, tropical, laid-back sound of the 80s and early 90s that brings back good memories and makes you just want to relax on a hot summer's day. I can just imagine how "modern" they would have seemed back in then. Can't wait to get my hands on some of their stuff. Thanks for featuring them!

Anteater

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Co-creator of the guitar synthesizer and one of Japan's most prominent jazz fusion prioneers, Ryo Kawasaki is a guitarist among guitarists and has contributed a lot to the genre of contemporary fusion through both his solo output from the 70's onward and his desire to develop new technological innovations in both recording and performance contexts.

THE ALBUM

One of the first Japanese artists of any kind to get signed to a major U.S. record label (in this case, RCA), Ryo's debut record Juice was something of a milestone for jazz fusion: it had the technicality in places of a Return To Forever record, but its emphasis on groove made it more accessible for your typical late night radio browser than, say, anything Miles Davis was doing at the time. Along with Breezin' by George Benson that year and the output of Lonnie Liston Smith around the same period, Ryo paved the market for what would later be known as smooth or contemporary jazz in ensuing decades. Whether or not such credit includes opening the path for Kenny G....I could not say. :P

WHY YOU WANT THIS

Unlike a lot of the synthed up, sax-led contemporary jazz that would be popping up a decade after this particular record arrived on scene, Juice's funk and fusion connections are both obvious and attractively immediate to the ear. Ryo's playing is fluid and groovy, electrifying even the slower numbers here in the same way Eddie Hazel gave Funkadelic that extra surge on records like Maggot Brain.

From hip-hop pillaged opening rumbler 'Raisins' to the spacey blues shuffle of 'El Toro', this is a fun, lean rollercoaster into the world of smooth fusion, clocking at 38 minutes over seven cuts. Ryo tries out a lot of interesting tones throughout, with particular kudos to the watery samba reverb that carries 'The Breeze & I' into a glorious Brazilian sunset.

CLOSING REMARKS

One of the so-called 'impetus' records of contemporary jazz, I'd say this sucker will appeal to anyone who utterly despises what the 80's would bring. Bossa nova, hard funk, even the occasional free jazz sax snarl...it's all here!

FINAL GRADE

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Anteater's 21 Fav Albums Of 2020

Anteater's Daily Tune Roulette