WHAT AM I LISTENING TO THIS WEEK? Week 4

This post and more to follow each week will bring to your attention some of the albums I’m currently listening to. Check them out. You may find something you like. That is my hope.

So I skipped a few weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd travesty. Somehow writing my blog seemed irrelevant and untimely. Maybe that’s just me. Anyway I’m over it. Sorry, gotta have music man. Here are this weeks offerings.

AARON PARKS – LITTLE BIG

This is Aaron Parks’ seventh album. He has played with the likes of Joshua Redman, Eric Harland, Terence Blanchard and Kurt Rosenwinkel. This is the kind of jazz you want to set aside some time to sit and really listen. It’s not really that soft or audibly intricate but its fun and has lots of character and cool listening points. Really nice current but not too sophisticated jazz.

ALFA MIST – ANTIPHON

Alfa Mist is a keyboardist from the current London music scene. His music sits in the jazz/hip hop/British soul genre. It’s similar to Aaron Parks’ music but more on the soul side. More R&B/hip hop/urban influences and definitely has that London feel.

THE FEARLESS FLYERS

The Fearless Flyers are funky as hell. This is funk, guitar and drum style. If you’ve ever seen Nate Smith play the drums on Youtube you already know how funky he is. Well, add Joe Dart (bass), Cory Wong and Mark Lettieri (from Snarky Puppy) and it’s all stank of funk up in here. It’s happy time music.

Kamaal Williams – New Heights/Snitches Brew

Kamaal Williams is another Londoner keyboardist who’s music is routed in a mix of jazz, R&B, hip hop, garage and grime. His music is a good representation of some of the current music styles of the London scene. This EP was released shortly after his album The Return. Below are both tracks from the EP.

MAKAYA MCCRAVEN – IN THE MOMENT (Deluxe Edition)

Jazz, funk, post bop and fusion with a splash of world music is where Makaya McCraven is at. The drummer has become well known for his pushing the envelope recordings. This double album (almost 2 hours) was compiled from a years worth of gigs with revolving players in a Chicago club. The result is a jazz/beat/improvisational collage of sounds.