Didnât see any BADBADNOTGOOD in here, kinda shameful really.
My kind of thread 
I actually write about jazz for my career cuz itâs been something I love since the womb practically. Someone mentioned Pat Metheny, Iâm a diehard Metheny fan (interviewed him 3 times in the past 12 years, a real blessing) have just about every album and like everything across his wide output, the new âCuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Methenyâ is amazing, Pat exploring textures that are new for him, especially with the GR300. âThe Unity Sessionsâ is great too, although some may not like that it was recorded in a controlled âliveâ environment, similar to the âOrchestrion Projectâ and âMore Travelsâ. Has the best (IMO) version of â(Go) Get Itâ on a release, Patâs fretless guitar really cranking the heat up with Antonio Sanchez on drums, shades of John Coltrane with Elvin Jones and Rashied Ali. Really looking forward to seeing Patâs new quartet in NYC in January, for those who want the Pat Metheny Group to reconvene, itâll happen, just not in the immediate future. âKinâ was supposed to be the long awaited follow up to âThe Way Upâ, but Lyle Mays didnât want to tour, so it turned into the Unity Group thing with the core of Chris Potter, Ben Williams and Antonio Sanchez from the Unity Band with Giulio Carmassi added. Patâs playing on âShiftâ by Logan Richardson is not to be missed, Patâs second sideman appearance this year, something thatâs been rare for him since the 90âs.
There are a number of really great albums out this year by some up and coming artists too like Zach Larmer, a guitarist from Miami, his album âInner Circleâ his debut will appeal to jazz rock and jazz funk lovers, his playing is terrific and heâs a really promising writer. Miroslav Vitousâ âThe Music of Weather Reportâ on ECM is phenomenal, âBirdlandâ a tune that Vitous of course did not play on originally is turned into a vehicle of thrilling improvisation, unlike the famous âHeavy Weatherâ version with Jaco which I love, but âBirdland Variationsâ is fantastic. Even better is the duo tandem of Gerald Cleaver and Nasheet Waits on drums, two guys who can play anything, supporting Vitous perfectly. Jack DeJohnetteâs âIn Movementâ I really dig, and for those who are fine with free jazz, âThree Story Sandboxâ by Scott Robinson/Jack Mouse/Janice Borla, and âAn Untroublesome Defencelessnessâ by Merzbow/Keiji Haino/Balazs Pandi are worth checking out. The latter will be in my best of 2016 for sure, especially if you like the Japanese noise scene.
Wow.
Very insightful read. Iâm actually shocked to find someone who likes Jack DeJohnetteâs In Movement. Iâm a big fan of free jazz, but something about it is just not really there for me. As a bass player myself I really dig some Matt Garrison, but for one reason or another heâs just really missing to me on that project. I was expecting more. Itâs got a few good tunes, but I donât consider a âpush playâ kind of CD (you know the ones you donât skip any tunes on). I guess part of it is whenever Garrison as of lately is involved in something musically, heâs been really hardcore on the electronics experimentation. Itâs there on the CD but not too heavy. I guess I wanted to hear more of that along with whatâs already there. Without it, itâs too trio-ish sounding in a âstraight aheadâ style if that makes sense. It really reminds me of John Patitucciâs âRemembranceâ.
Iâll have to get around to some more Metheny stuff. For some reason a lot of his older projects are so nostalgic for me. I do have Kin, and itâs slowly growing on me, despite me having to listen to it for almost two years now lol. Iâm still enamored with the intensity of We Live Here and Speaking of Now.
Has anyone heard about Mike Stern? I heard he was in a really bad vehicle accident and his shoulders are preventing him from playing. Really sad, and hoping he makes a speed recovery.
Lot of good suggestions in this thread!
I used to play a lot of traditional jazz and even though Iâm a guitarist, piano players are usually some of my favorites.
Bill Evans used to play with Miles Davis, but he and his trio pushed the boundaries of piano trio jazz in the 60s and 70s. This is a bootleg of the famous Bill Evans Trio live at Birdland before bassist Scott LaFaro was killed in a car accident. Youâll hear them doing stuff that was pretty advanced for a piano trio of the time.
In addition to jazz, I love instrumental prog metal like the stuff Daisuke Ishwatari does for the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue OSTs. The link I was going to post was a live concert of him playing music from them, but it looks like itâs been taken down. 