Nu Jazz - Live Jazz (Live at Pioneer Works, New York, NY 7/15/23) (2024) [Hi-Res]

Amongst the chaos and confusion of post-pandemic New York City, local experimental outfit, Nu Jazz, has emerged and solidified its place as a unique and forward-thinking group of artists that absorb and thrive on the feeling of pandemonium, all while making sense of it. The core group of musicians is mostly known for its contributions to the Brooklyn electronic, ambient, and jazz scenes, and plays as/with artists such as Deli Girls, CGI Jesus, Ex Wiish, Murderpact, Beshken, and The Beak Trio. The band has also featured some of the best musicians the Jazz and electronic music world has to offer. They have shared the stage with luminaries such as Jaimie Branch, Jason Lindner, Tomoki Sanders, Leya, Poncili Creacíon Alfredo Colón, Evicshen, and Idris Frederick to name a few. With sounds and ideas ranging from simmering drones, to angular avant jazz musical conversations, to vast synthesized soundscapes, to guttural metallic breakdowns, the ensemble can build and decay for seemingly endless periods of time or turn on a dime. No two decisions or performances are ever the same. Influences range from musical styles as disparate as drum n’ bass, metalcore, ambient, and the jazz that has come before. Nu Jazz exists in the cracks between these seemingly alien styles but excels in connecting them in ways both familiar and unexpected, all while constantly diving headlong into sounds yet uncharted. There is never even a micron of pulp in the music this group makes. It’s always unfiltered emotion, always in 6th gear, and always reacting to what surrounds it, be it the musicians, the audience, or its environment.

Preceding the band’s first European Tour, they have released a collection of live recordings entitled “Live Jazz” as a follow-up to their debut record “Vol. 1”, featuring live versions of the original record alongside new songs and improvisations. The record consists of two significant yet dissonant 2023 performances; a recording from Pioneer Works as a part of 29 Speedway & Pocili Creación’s Quantum Piñata, A Deranged Talent Show of Doom, as featured in Document Journal, and the other from Bang On A Can’s “Long Play Music Festival”, headlined by pioneers such as Morton Subotnik, Meredith Monk, and George Lewis. Alongside core members, the record features Jason Lindner of Bowie’s Blackstar Orchestra on synthesizers and Alfredo Colon on Saxophone and EWI. Nu Jazz will be performing as a sextet this May and June at Cafe Oto in London, TRAUMABARUNDKINO in Berlin, Jazz Is Dead Festival in Turin, Hyperreality in Vienna, Jazz Jantar in Gdansk, and various other cities across Europe and the UK.

Drums - John Bemis
Bass - Kevin Eichenberger
Vocals - Dan Orlowski
Trumpet - Ryan Easter
Saxophone/EWI - Alfredo Colon
Modular Synths - Ben Shirken
Keys [Pioneer Works] - Jason Lindner
Keys [Long Play Festival] - Idris Frederick

Tracklist:
1.01 - Nu Jazz - Intro (Live at Pioneer Works, New York, NY 7/15/23) (3:26)
1.02 - Nu Jazz - Cock Out (Live at Long Play Festival, New York, NY 5/6/23) (3:55)
1.03 - Nu Jazz - Competetive (Live at Pioneer Works, New York, NY 7/15/23) (6:07)
1.04 - Nu Jazz - Flow (Live at Long Play Festival, New York, NY 5/6/23) (4:29)
1.05 - Nu Jazz - Interlude (Live at Long Play Festival, New York, NY 5/6/23) (4:22)
1.06 - Nu Jazz - Sense Of Rejection (Live at Pioneer Works, New York, NY 7/15/23) (7:17)
1.07 - Nu Jazz - Bass Interlude (Live at Pioneer Works, New York, NY 7/15/23) (7:07)
1.08 - Nu Jazz - Rant (Live at Pioneer Works, New York, NY 7/15/23) (3:05)
1.09 - Nu Jazz - Lying (Live at Pioneer Works, New York, NY 7/15/23) (8:21)