Weekend Picks: We've got the jazz
Oct. 19—Jazz is in season.
Unbeknownst to many, I assume, is that jazz, as a genre, is in a very good place. If you don't care, then you should find a way to care. I promise you that it's worth it.
Before I continue, here are the albums in my current rotation:
— "Black Classical Music," Yussef Dayes
— "Dance of the Elders," Wolfgang Muthspiel, Scott Colley & Brian Blade.
— "An Ever Changing View," Matthew Halsall
— "Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war))," Jaimie Branch
— "Protect Your Light," Irreversible Entanglements
— "Passage," Jonathan Blake
— "The Omnichord Real Book," Meshell Ndegeocello
— "Echoes," Fire! Orchestra
I'm no expert, but I'd say that's a good mix.
Jazz, to me, requires a practiced, yet easily accessible mental discipline to enjoy. It asks the brain to stop analyzing every movement, stop listening to lyrics and instead identify the theme throughout the music. It's the difference between setting a destination to reach before sundown and enjoying the sunset itself.
When I listen to my favorite jazz records, it feels like my brainwaves themselves are smoothing out, twisting and curling around one another like birds in dance. My eyes dilate slightly, and there's a story to the chaos of the world around me.
Maybe that's just me.
For those not accustomed to jazz, allow me to offer some suggestions on where to start among the aforementioned albums.
Want something to think to? Try the etherial "Dance of the Elders" or "An Ever Changing View." On the other hand, Irreversible Entanglements, a free-jazz group, makes music full of atonality and spoken word, so approach with an open mind.
"Black Classical Music" and "The Omnichord Real Book" are a good example of artists innovating jazz with more modern musical styles that might appeal to a larger audience. That being said, Dayes and Ndegeocello aren't sacrificing creativity. So far, "Omnichord" is everything I want in a modern jazz record, with synths and other genre influences creating a diverse group of songs.
The two albums I would recommend to anyone are the releases by Jonathan Blake and the late Jaimie Branch, a beyond-talented trumpeter who died in August 2022 of a drug overdose.
"Passage" is an introspective album that smells of fallen leaves and sounds of quiet streets when the neighborhood kids have gone in for dinner, making it optimal exploring childhood nostalgia during a late afternoon. It's a comfort record if there ever was one.
On the other hand, "Fly or Die" isn't just one of my favorite jazz records of the year, but one of my favorites of all time, and easily ranks in my top five albums of 2023. Branch fashions a collection of songs that flow from folk and New Orleans-inspired jazz, to tracks driven by heavy drumbeat and eccentric horns that almost feel punk.
If you're looking for a change of mindset, give these albums a try.
Events
This weekend begins with the next installment of Dueling Pianos at The Metropolitan Downtown, both Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday events begin early with this month's Cheyenne High Plains Audubon Society Field Trip. The group will depart from Lions Park parking lot at 8 a.m. to visit the Hutton Lake National Wildlife Refuge, a well-known birding hotspot.
Train enthusiasts have a unique opportunity to catch the Driving of the Spike Tour that same morning. The Golden Spike Monument, a 43-foot-tall golden spike, is making a stop at the Cheyenne Depot Museum during its trip from Kentucky to Utah. The monument memorializes those that worked to build the transcontinental railroad.
Later, from 1-5 p.m., Visit Cheyenne is coordinating "The Culinary Experience," an event that intends to highlight the local restaurants of downtown Cheyenne. The Boardroom, Hambones Pizza, Railspur, Freedom's Edge, The Hawthorn Tree, The Albany, Wyoming Rib & Chop, Mort's Bagels, Blue Raven Brewery, Railspur, Paris West and Chronicles are all scheduled to participate by offering free tastings of their food.
The Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra returns on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with "Mahler's Titan," its first performance of the 2023 season. Across downtown, politically charged rap duo, Dead Prez, will take the stage at The Lincoln Theatre, where local duo Vanteslayedit and Pocketbook Prophet will open the concert.
Finally, on Tuesday night, the Laramie County Library is bringing in musician John Lowell and poet Randy Rieman for a night of cowboy poetry and western music.
Will Carpenter is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's Arts and Entertainment/Features Reporter. He can be reached by email at wcarpenter@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3135. Follow him on Twitter @will_carp_.
