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photo/CC0 Public Domain

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…..Last weekend’s  New York Times Arts section featured their annual year-end “Best of” culture issue, and included the writer Giovanni Russonello’s  “Best of Jazz, 2019,” a list of his ten recommended jazz releases of 2019, an eclectic collection of the music’s rising and (some) unfamiliar voices – all worthy of discovery.

…..Russonello’s top jazz album is one that I admit to having been smitten by for the past month – the New York pianist Kris Davis’ Diatom Ribbons.   Described by Russonello as “her generation’s powerhouse pianist in waiting,”.Ribbons is a combination of brilliant musical artistry and compositions that offer the listener just the right amount of challenge, balancing musical tradition with scorching progress.

…..The recording is grounded by the trio of Davis, the drummer Terry Lynn Carrington, and DJ Val Jeanty, and features performances by the likes of guitarist Nels Cline and Marc Ribot, saxophonist J.D. Allen, and Esperanza Spalding, who provides vocals only.

…..Davis’s work and vision is multi-dimensional – often tense and tumultuous, occasionally lush, but always completely stunning.  The track I recommend you start with, “Rhizomes,” features Wilco guitarist (and now Blue Note recording artist) Nels Cline.   Know that when you listen to this piece, the sound you will hear is only one of the places Ms. Davis’s album takes you.

…..Diamtom Ribbons is an important recording — a tentpole of today’s musical avant-garde.

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