But the music guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston offer here suggests a specific spin on the idea, one that emphasizes the togetherness of the playing. Of course, thereвЂ™s the obvious: making music with others, performing as an ensemble, being creative in a group. вЂњPlaying togetherвЂќ is a phrase so commonplace itвЂ™s easy to forget what it signifies. During BleyвЂ™s long career, there have been times when her work has merely seemed smart, but not emotionally resonant. It offers three suites highlighting BleyвЂ™s deft sense of dramatic development, her gifts as a soloist (often overshadowed by her composing) and the trioвЂ™s deadpan minimalism and subtly organic interplay. Life Goes On is a brilliant expression of the camaraderie developed by Carla BleyвЂ™s longtime trio with bassist Steve Swallow and saxophonist Andy Sheppard. Extending neatly synchronized section motifs-those indelibly quirky Monk phrases-into swelling backdrops that balance freely impassioned soloists, Beasley as a pianist and composer draws out even more melodic, harmonic and rhythmic implications in music by Monk, Bird and Duke.Д¬arla Bley/Andy Sheppard/Steve Swallow, Life Goes On(ECM) John Beasley has arranged the brass brighter and brasher, the low horns to be more growly and his tasty keyboard parts to be artfully highlighted on his third album with the acclaimed MONKвЂ™estra. John Beasley, MONKвЂ™estra Plays John Beasley(Mack Avenue) вЂњAnd thatвЂ™s cool, but that has nothing to do with where this musicвЂ™s power rests.вЂќ AXIOM, which was recorded that night, is a testament to that power. вЂњOftentimes when we come into environments like this to play creative improvised music, someone uses the word вЂjazz,вЂ™ and then everyone in the room becomes a fuckinвЂ™ Fulbright scholar,вЂќ trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah told the audience at New YorkвЂ™s Blue Note Jazz Club at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. (If a performer was the focus of a major feature, itвЂ™s likely their album wasnвЂ™t reviewed, and that was a factor in its omission from these lists.) DB FIVE-STAR ALBUMS (New)Д¬hristian Scott aTunde Adjuah, AXIOM (Ropeadope) Before digging into what our critics said about your favorite albums this year, take look back at top-rated recordings from 20. The list below is a roundup of the 5-, 4.5- and 4-star reviews that ran in the print edition of DownBeat during 2020. Expect this to be the first lap of a stampede.Carla Bley (left), Steve Swallow and Andy Sheppard recorded Life Goes On for the ECM label. Faint hearts wonвЂ™t rest, and despite вЂaisatsanaвЂ™вЂ™s gorgeous lull of an ending, it still closes the album with the impression that he might put more sleepless nights to use. Introverted but all-encompassing, somehow вЂSyroвЂ™ achieves everything Aphex TwinвЂ™s previous records succeeded in doing, and then some. Despite being approachable however, this remains the stranger in the club nestling next to a speaker, waiting for the bass to hit. вЂminipops 67 вЂ™ - the recordвЂ™s lead track - stands out as the most streamlined moment, perhaps the sound of AphexвЂ™s eye-opening blimp floating off up into hyperspace. The latter finds moments of refuge that other songs on the record are pained to encounter, with the former doing its best to become вЂSyroвЂ™вЂ™s calling card a harsh but beautiful collision. вЂCIRCLONT6A вЂ™ and вЂCIRCLONT14 вЂ™ represent the albumвЂ™s strange, torn-to-pieces heart. вЂSyroвЂ™ still delves into the nagging, tense electronica of вЂDrukqsвЂ™ - beats still gnaw at the conscience and refuse to settle - only this time the producerвЂ™s using, yвЂ™know, actual robots to play drums. Millions of milliseconds - each one containing a tiny fragment of something different - combine on a record thatвЂ™s undoubtedly been worth the wait.ДЇor someone thatвЂ™s always been ahead of the pack, a cited innovator for goodness knows how many musicians, he doesnвЂ™t break his back to change the game this time round. Not a second goes by without something new and borderline batshit falling into view. ItвЂ™s a breathless record, one that threatens to last an eternity - such is the speed and dazzling depth at which James expresses himself. вЂSyroвЂ™ sounds like a new wave of thoughts forming in line, nerve endings shuffling into action after an endured break. Here stands the ringleader, the cause for further impact.

Thirteeen years out the game (in terms of full-length releases), heвЂ™s promising a batch. On the basis of recent comments from the man himself, вЂSyroвЂ™ represents the beginning of a new chapter for Richard D.

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