#Val Jeanty

[kickmag]

Listen/purchase: Nite Bjuti by Nite Bjuti

Night Bjuti's eponymous debut album (pronounced Night Beauty)taps into women's legacies, freedom, magic and love with ritual jazz, blues and the electronic blessings of Sun Ra. The Black woman trio of vocalist Candice Hoyes, bassist Mimi Jones and percussionist Val Jeanty named themselves after a Haitian folk tale about a deceased girl who reclaims her skeleton to recapture her life. Hoyes'prayerful utterances, Jeanty's remixing of ceremonial rhythms and Jones' agile bass does sound like avant-garde jazz for the dead at times. They are the first group of its kind and improvisation is at the center of their creative process that excavates ancestral memories with a balance between the linear and the abstract.

The deeper conceptual moments found in "Witchez" and the rumbling rhythm and poetry of "Mood (Liberation Walk)" is akin to Shabazz Palaces' celestial hip-hop funk. Zora Neale Hurston's letter to W.E.B. Dubois proposing a cemetery for eminent Black artists and Carrie Mae Weems's Kitchen Table Series of photographs are referenced on the album that moves more like a single composition instead of individual songs. Hoyes says, “We are expressing the kind of pillaging, the uprooting of women in ways personal, intergenerational, familial, sexual, past and present." "Stolen Voice" protests the erasure of Black women's history and reclaims it at the same time with Jeanty's whirlwind sequences, Jones' trancey bass grooves and Hoyes' piercing notes. The layers of intensity are felt in Hoyes' vocals expressing sorrowful wails commemorating past wrongs but quickly morph into furious condemnation after striking decibel shifts. The trio is living somewhere in the same universe occupied by Ursula Rucker, Robert Glasper, Flying Lotus, Burnt Sugar, The Last Poets and Kendrick Lamar but they have their own unique space. Night Bjuti's official debut inventively combines protest, healing, love and truth-telling into an enchanting movement of sound.

[culturedarm]

The name ØKSE means ‘axe’ in Rasmussen’s native Danish, and while the album notes offer a likeness to the Yoruba philosophy àṣẹ as life flow, the band cleave into their debut offering, which is probably the furthest foray into avant-garde jazz to date on the experimental hip hop label Backwoodz Studioz.

https://culturedarm.com/okse-okse/

[dustedmagazine]

Kris Davis — Diatom Ribbons Live At The Village Vanguard (Pyroclastic)

Photo by Peter Gannushkin

The bio on Kris Davis’ website borrows a line from the New York Times which described the Canadian pianist as the beacon that told listeners where in New York City one should go on any given night. Diatom Ribbons Live At The Village Vanguard proposes a more expansive understanding of her relationship to jazz, because the ensemble’s music is a zone where Davis’s notions about was worth hearing in the 20th century gets processed and beamed out into the 21st.

The first project’s first, self-titled iteration wasn’t really the work of a band as much as it was the manifestation of a concept. The musicians at its core were Davis on piano, Trevor Dunn on electric bass, Terri Lynne Carrington on drums and Val Jeanty wielding turntables as a source of sampled speech, natural sounds and scratches. They were supplemented by six other musicians playing electric guitar, saxophones, vibes and voice, who enabled Davis to incorporate blues, rock, hip-hop and classical elements into her already-inclusive vision of the jazz continuum. The two-disc Diatom Ribbons was ambitious, but also a bit exhausting to negotiate.

This similarly dimensioned successor comes from a weekend engagement at the Village Vanguard. The latest material, which hinges around a three-part “Bird Suite,” and the ensemble’s lack of augmentation — besides the core group, there are no horns and just one guitarist, Julian Lage — results in a more cohesive statement of Davis’s thesis, which echoes a point that Charles Mingus already made a long, long time ago; you do Charlie Parker no honor by trying to play like him. He is the namesake of the three-part “Bird Suite,” which is the album’s center of gravity. Buttressed by Jeanty’s snatches of speeches by Sun Ra, Stockhausen, and other visionaries, as well as liberally reinterpreted tunes by Wayne Shorter, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Geri Allen, the music seems to be arguing that today’s jazz musician, like Bird, need to deal with everything that’s happened, and then come up with something personal.

To that end, Davis makes a hash of old, dualistic notions like inside/outside, improvised/composed or jazz + (one other genre) hybrids. Properly prepared, hash is pretty tasty, and that’s the case with this overflowing platter of pristine lyricism, bebop-to-free structural abstractions, shifting rhythmic matrices and multi-signal broadcasts of sound and voice. This is the good stuff, Davis seems to be saying, and a music maker following a jazz trajectory needs to deal with it all. But, while the music of the Diatom Ribbons ensemble is way more creatively inclusive than all those bebop copycats Mingus used to rail against, it’s a highly personal reordering of what is known, not a total paradigm shift into the new. Come to think of it, however, Mingus’ own undeniably magnificent accomplishments were more on the order of what Davis is doing here than Charlie Parker’s transformation of the music of his time.  

Bill Meyer

[elparra]

For about a year and a half, I've been bookmarking all the songs that I've liked and don't particularly listen often have appeared to me either as ads, background audio or promotional posts of artists I follow, both on tiktok and Instagram. Recently I've been compiling a playlist with all these songs saved from Insta until now, and I'm surprised by how I forgot about most of them.

It's nice to rediscover music that was filtered by myself.

Sadly these aren't on YouTube:

[miragestation]

Mirage Station playlist for August 2nd, 2023

1. Orkes Kroncong Bintang Nusantara “Putri Gunung” from Music of Indonesia 2:  Indonesian Popular Music:  Kroncong, Dangdut & Langgam Jawa (Smithsonian Folkways 1991) 2. 戸張大輔 Daisuke Tobari “02.43” from ギター Guitar (Bumblebee Records 1999) 3. Kiko Kids Jazz “Tanganyika Na Uhuru” from Tanganyika Na Uhuru (Mississippi Records 2021) 4. Rafiu Bankole and His Group “Sowemimo” from Ju Ju Roots: 1930's-1950's (Rounder Records 1985) 5. Yamoah’s Band “Cedi Special” (Decca 1966) 6. Larry Achiampong “Nkonyaa / Agyei “ From Meh Mogya (Sample Of Me) (Look Mama! Records 2011) 7. Nite Bjuti “Mood (Liberation Walk)” from Nite Bjuti Featuring Val Jeanty, Candice Hoyes & Mimi Jones (Whirlwind Recordings 2023) (bandcamp) 8. Ragnar Johnson & Jessica Mayer “Ommura Iyavati” from Bamboo Jews Harps from Papua New Guinea: Eastern Highlands and Madang (Ideologic Organ 2023) (bandcamp)

[burlveneer-music]

GOGODUCKS - Palladio a Palla! - Francesca Remigi's drums / guitar / vibraphone trio

Paolo Peruzzi: vibraphone, programming, composition Luca Zennaro: guitar, electronics, composition Francesca Remigi: drums, percussions, composition feat. Sergio Zacco: electronics and audiovisuals Recorded by Stefano Amerio at Artesuono Recording Studio, Udine, on May 13th, 14th, 15th, 2024 Mixed and Mastered by Stefano Amerio Artwork and design by Studio 15 Nuova Generazione Jazz 2021 and Top Jazz 2022 winner Francesca Remigi is a multifaceted drummer and a visionary composer based in NYC. She's known for her international collaborations with Danilo Perez, Steve Lehman, Kris Davis, M. Hayden, Ellen Rowe, G. Garzone. Nicole Glover, Val Jeanty, with appearances at London Jazz Festival 2020, Melbourne Jazz Festival 2022 and Panama Jazz Festival 2022. 

[rich4a1]

Carolyn Davis’ Alula Captivity

Carolyn Davis’ Alula Captivity Ropeadope Avant alto saxophonist, composer and activist Caroline Davis and her band Alula issue through Ropeadope Davis’ first social justice album, Captivity.  Davis’ electronics infused compositions speak to the lives of eight heroes who kept hope alive through incarceration. Joining Davis are turntablist Val Jeanty, bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Tyshawn…

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Video: Nite Bjuti Shares Woozy Contemplation of Black Girlhood and Womanhood

New Video: Nite Bjuti Shares Woozy Contemplation of Black Girlhood and Womanhood @candicehoyes @Val_Inc @WhirlwindRecord @MoraMayAgency @mimijonesmusic

Nite Bjuti (pronounced as Night Beauty) — Candice Hoyes, Val Jeanty, and Mimi Jones — is an an acclaimed trio of Afro Caribbean improvisational artists, who use electronics, vocalism, bass, Haitian rhythms, sampling and spoken word to cultivate their narrative journey. The trio draw inspiration from a a centuries’ old Hatian folk tale called “Night Beauty,” about a girl whose bones begin to sing…

[jgthirlwell]

07.21.19 JG Thirlwell had an excellent show debuting his brand new multi-channel electro-acoustic solo show Silver Mantis at Roulette on July 21 2019, as part of Roulette's 40th Season Closeout Party. Thirlwell's new set features electronics, theremin and prepared piano, with new immersive visuals created by Swedish visual artist Sten Backman. Also on the bill were John Zorn’s Simulacrum, John Medeski and Val Jeanty & Fay Victor. Photos by Dora Blount.

[kickmag]

Watch: Nite Bjuti Mood (Liberation Walk)

Candice Hoyes, Val Jeanty and Mimi Jones are Nite Bjuti. They are an Afro-Caribbean Brooklyn-based trio having chosen their name from Haitian folklore called "Night Beauty" about a girl who sings for justice in the afterlife. Their debut in 2018 at Jazz at Lincoln Center to celebrate International Women's Day was followed by performances at the NYC Winter Jazzfest, Nublu Jazz Fest, WBGO and The Schomberg. Today they share their first single "Mood (Liberation Walk)." The avant-garde musing flips the "Miss Mary Mack" nursery rhyme into a slightly eerie modern fusion.  Hoyes questions false feelings of freedom as Jeanty's drumsticks click like a bondage chain. The visuals are a montage of them taking the walk, jump-roping and performing as they are seen through a psychedelic filter. Some scholars have pegged the rhyme as originating from a game created by slave children. Hoyes explained the imagery of them jump-roping in a statement:

"What good is freedom if you don’t really feel free? Black girlhood maturation brings a range of evocative contradictory experiences. In 'Mood (Liberation Walk)' we express the sudden sensation of a girl jumping/jumped into puberty, roped into a new emotional reality, physicality and societal positionality. As explored in the music video, she jumps through the portals of her own design right until the foreboding street lights flicker. Jumping is tied to shared childhood experiences, embodies connectivity and the chasmic leaps of growth in the Black womanly experience."

Watch Nite Bjuti's Afrofuturist breakdown of contemporary questions of Black freedom in "Mood (Liberation Walk)."  The trio are currently working on their full-length album after becoming recipients of the 2020  NYC Women's Fund In Jazz. 

[mostlymonk]

Bright Mississippi

Terri Lyne Carrington’s AmalgaRhythm

Val Jeanty – DJ Lakecia Benjamin – sax Kris Davis – keyboards Terri Lyne Carrington – drums

[donospl]

JAZZOWE REKOMENDACJE: Kris Davis “Diatom Ribbons”

JAZZOWE REKOMENDACJE: Kris Davis “Diatom Ribbons”

Pyroclastic Records, 2019

Najnowszy album pianistki Kris Davis to już czternasta płyta, którą firmuje swoim nazwiskiem. Płyta jest zarazem premierową rejestracją muzyki stworzonej wraz z perkusistką Terri Lyne Carrington oraz turntablistką Val Jeanty, z którymi to artystkami, Davis często ostatnio współpracuje i koncertuje. 

Intrygujące personalne zestawienia nie kończą się jednak na tych…

[elparra]

For about a year and a half, I've been bookmarking all the songs that I've liked and don't particularly listen often have appeared to me either as ads, background audio or promotional posts of artists I follow, both on tiktok and Instagram. Recently I've been compiling a playlist with all these songs, and I'm surprised by how I forgot about most of them.

It's nice to rediscover music that was filtered by myself.

Sadly this one isn't on YouTube:

[womencreativemusic]

Val Jeanty, Haiti (based in U.S.A.)

https://val-inc.bandcamp.com

[burlveneer-music]

Tommaso Cappellato - Pioneered - jazz explorer’s new album, the first on his Domanda Music label, with some impressive guest artists

Liner notes by Piotr Orlov: The Italian percussionist-producer-composer Tommaso Cappellato will release his seventh album as a bandleader, Pioneered, on July 16, 2021. It was recorded during the artist’s month-long residency at the venerable Brooklyn contemporary arts space Pioneer Works, in 2018. Pioneered features contributions from a multicultural and sonically diverse cast of electronic, jazz, and experimental players whose own work and ideas about music communities naturally inform Cappellato’s. The impressive list of contributors to Pioneered includes Shahzad Ismaily, jaimie branch, Val Jeanty, Afrikan Sciences, Michael Blake, Yusuke Yamamoto, Donato Dozzy, and others. Pioneered also marks the first release on Cappellato’s Domanda Music label, devoted to a global-minded eclecticism, rhythm, improvisation and joy.

Original Artwork by Giorgio Pasini