NEW IN MUSIC THIS WEEK: DECEMBER 6th

You’ll find that many publications are already posting their Best of 2024 lists for music, theater, film and more. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some new releases worth your time and money. So here is New In Music This Week: December 6th.

My TOP CHOICE this week is:

JAZZ: MOTION I – OUT OF/INTO -Blue Note Records

Jazz has had many a supergroup. Out Of/Into is as good as it gets for jazz artists today. They are comprised of vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist Gerald Clayton, drummer Kendrick Scott, bassist Matt Brewer and alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins. Each of them is a brilliant artist and this album shows how well they work together, too. Not a surprise for five artists who toured extensively earlier this year.

This album has a cohesion and a dialogue amongst the five men that makes for 45 minutes of incredible music. One can only hope that the title alludes to more albums from this incredible supergroup.

Clayton composed four of the seven tracks on Motion I. Brewer, Ross and Scott each contributed one composition. I love all the tracks, but Brewer’s Aspiring to Normalcy really stood out to me. After all, who amongst us doesn’t want to have some kind of normalcy in our turbulent times?

Motion I offers great jazz music that is both of our time and instantaneously timeless. That alone should get us one giant step closer to normalcy.

Here are the rest of my selections for New In Music This Week: December 6th:

CLASSICAL: MESSIAEN: TURANGALÎLA – SYMPHONIE – Yuja Wang, Cécile Lartigau, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons – Deutsche Grammophon

French composer Messiaen only wrote one symphony and this large composition for orchestra with piano and Ondes Martenot is a doozy. What is an Ondes Martenot you might ask? It’s an early electronic keyboard that sounds a bit like a theremin (see “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys) and is played via a keyboard or by the manipulation of wire by a ring.

Yuja Wang is the soloist on piano and Cécile Lartigau plays the Ondes Martenot.

This is an exciting performance of Messiaen’s challenging, important and fascinating work. The 75-minutes of this recording fly by and leaves a listener filled with satisfaction and a lot of questions that will, no doubt, be rewarded with further listenings.

CLASSICAL: MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS: THE COMPLETE COLUMBIA, SONY AND RCA RECORDINGS – Sony Classical

In celebration of conductor/composer Michael Tilson Thomas’ 80th birthday, this mammoth box set has 80 CDs (remember those?) of his recordings from 1973-2005.

There are many of the most popular classical music compositions to be found from such composers as Beethoven, Mahler, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky. There is also a lot of music by Charles Ives (a composer I’ve always felt Tilson Thomas handles quite well), George Gershwin (including the legendary recording with Sarah Vaughan and the Los Angeles Philharmonic) and Aaron Copland (another Tilson Thomas specialty).

This box set is a tribute to Tilson Thomas and a must-have for anyone who loves him and his approach to music.

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL: SONIC WIRES – Katia Labèque, Marielle Labèque, David Chalmin, Bryce Dessner – Deutsche Grammophon

I’ve long been a fan of the Labèque Sisters who play piano beautifully. On this album (only available digitally), they are joined by composer/musician Bryce Dessner and singer/composer/musician David Chalmin. They perform work by Chalmin, Dessner along with Timo Andres, Philip Glass, David Lang, Steve Reich, Caroline Shaw, Sufjan Stevens and Anna Thorvaldsdottir.

I loved every minute of this album and feel that even those who are afraid of contemporary classical music will find a lot to enjoy here. You will be challenged at times, but never in a way that makes you question the investment of your time. This is 61 minutes of music that will inspire, entertain and move you.

My favorite tracks are Out of Shape by Andres, Ever Present by Lang, Valencia by Shaw and Reflexion by Stevens.

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL: ALEXEY SHOR: COMPOSER’S NOTEBOOK, VOL. 1 – Marc Bouchkov, Anna Ulaieva, Kyiv Virtuosi, John Warner, Dmitry Yablonsky – Naxos

This album from Ukrainian-born composer Shor focuses on two works: Travel Notebook, Suite for Piano and Violin Concerto No.4 in B Minor. Both works are relatively new having had their debuts in the last 3-5 years.

Travel Notebook has seven movements and features soloist Anna Ulaieva. The violin concerto has a traditional three-movement structure and features Bouchkov as the soloist. One of the things I enjoyed most about this recording, and the compositions themselves, is that they are performed with a string orchestra.

Not being hugely familiar with Shor’s work, this is a welcome addition to his recorded repertoire.

JAZZ: LIVE IN BROOKLYN – The Fury – Giant Step Arts

This is the first of two live recordings released by Giant Step Arts this week. Our album of the week is a supergroup and this album features another first-rate ensemble of artists and shares bassist Matt Brewer as a member.

In addition to Brewer, The Fury features guitarist Lage Lund, tenor saxophonist Mark Turner and Pulitzer Prize-winner Tyshawn Sorey. It must have been pretty exciting to be in the audience when this album was recorded live. Not only are these four massively-talented musicians, but their playing on this recording is nothing short of phenomenal.

There are seven tracks on this album – six of them originals written by Brewer, Lund and Turner. All of them showcasing these four musicians who are certainly creating some of the best music in modern jazz.

JAZZ: THE CROSS OVER: LIVE IN BROOKLYN – Jason Palmer – Giant Step Arts

Opening a live performance with solo trumpet is a pretty ballsy way to start a show. That’s precisely what Palmer did on this live recording and it announces straight away that we should expect something unconventional, yet still grounded in classic jazz traditions. After a bit more than two minutes drummer Marcus Gilmore joins the opening track, B.A.M.D. Gradually bassist Larry Grenadier and tenor saxophonist Mark Turner join in and we’re off and running.

Through the nine tracks of The Cross Over, Palmer reveals himself to be an inventive and daring musician. He’s been recording albums for nearly 15 years and I have to admit this is the first time I’ve listened to one of his albums. Suffice to say, I will be listening to a lot more of them moving forward.

The Cross Over is an impressive album that showcases the talent of all four musicians. But front and center is Palmer who composed all nine tracks.

MUSICALS: HADESTOWN: LIVE FROM LONDON – Original London Cast – Arts Music and Sing it Again Records

The Tony Award-winning musical by Anaïs Mitchell gets it London cast recording here with most of the recording coming from the original London cast’s final performance. They sound like they are giving it their all and the audience is certainly responding.

The cast incudes Dónal Finn as “Orpheus”, Zachary James as “Hades,” Melanie La Barrie as “Hermes,” Gloria Onitiri as “Persephone” and Grace Hodgett Young as “Eurydice.”

Given the audience’s response, you’d think this was more than a musical. It’s as if the cast is getting rock star treatment. Like many a live recording (at least those that don’t rely on a lot of overdubs), the high level of energy more than compensates for any imperfections in the performances.

This is an exciting document of this wholly original musical.

Today’s release is solely on digital platforms. Next week the CD will be available and one week later a limited-edition pop-up vinyl version will be released. The traditional vinyl release will happen next year.

That’s all for New In Music This Week: December 6th.

Enjoy the music! Enjoy your weekend!

Main Photo: Part of the album art for Motion I (Courtesy Blue Note Records)