Jaimeo Brown – I Know I’ve Been Changed
{I know what you’re thinking…as good as that King interview was, I thought about just retiring and having that be the final post. But really, I’ve just been super busy as the semester closed in Long Beach. Here’s the first in a flood of long awaited posts.}
I play far less jazz on Melting Pot than I should, particularly from more recent artists. Part of it is the nature of doing a show at KPFK without a functional music department or library. So on those rare instances where an exceptional contemporary jazz record finds it’s way into my hands I’m overjoyed. Jaimeo Brown’s Transcendence is a fascinating record on a number of levels. The playing from the trio is top-notch, but so is the approach, where Brown and his cohorts have constructed musical pieces that incorporate both live and sampled voices. While it shares some comparisons to other “Jazz with Voices” records, most notably Max Roach’s collaboration with the JC White Singers, the use of sampling and other electronic flourishes give it a unique style and sound all it’s own. Had I not read more on the album I never would have even realized the voices were sampled, which is pretty rare for someone with such sampling atuned ears. One of my favorite jazz records in recent memory and one of my favorites of 2013. Here’s to hoping that Jaimeo and crew will make their way to Los Angeles at some point so we can have them in at KPFK. I wasn’t sure how this album would translate into live performance until I saw this incredible performance of “This World Ain’t My Home”: