Hania Rani: Live from Studio S2
Live recording which makes me want to play the piano again. At various points she plays while touching the strings to create percussive sounds. The set merges electronic and acoustic, and she also sings on some tracks. It’s always special to see people pushing the boundaries of live music-making.
The Best of Mildred Bailey | Jazz Music (1930s)
This compilation of music features some lovely stride jazz piano. My first time hearing this singer.
Mixes complex harmonies with Brazilian dance rhythms, orchestra with folk instruments, and is generally a good time.
Sam Gendel and Sam Wilkes: Music for Saxofone and Bass Guitar (2018)
Full of strange and wonderfully creative sounds, beatboxing, and melody-less improvising, all of which were recorded live with something like loop pedals. I really dug the mouth percussion and head-banging stank face grooves on THEEM AND VARIATIONS; as well as the beat from dental fricatives on GREETINGS TO IDRIS. The inconspicuously-named TRACK ONE has this remarkable throat falsetto riff and manages to build a movement-inducing rhythm that simultaneously feels sparse and full-bodied, drizzled with a solo of quartal explorations on thirteenth chords.
