World of Echo
This is phenomenal. All three players are on point, deftly musical and free of ego, and so in-sync with one another and in purpose to the music above all else. Just absolutely fantastic modern jazz. For sure one of the best albums of 2022.
pjhwalter
Everything, the opening track is the gateway to everything I love about this album. The poise and confidence in the playing, pointing the way, presaging the joy of the journey the music takes.
It's grossly unfair and difficult to pick out a favourite, each time I listen to these three there's something new so I'll stick with Everything to cover all three. A Better Ghost is sensational music.
Favorite track: A Better Ghost.
Drummer Jeremy Cunningham and saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi have been near-inseparable collaborators for years, working in countless groups together across Chicago’s vibrant jazz community. Their new album A Better Ghost finds them in collaboration with Los Angeles-based bassist/producer Paul Bryan, and is the product of phone-recorded improvisations and experiments dating back to 2017. With Laurenzi creating sequences and samples on the OP-1 synthesizer while on the road with Bon Iver, and Cunningham developing drum parts and melodic fragments, the two began finding a distinct direction to take the work, sharpening and editing these snippets into cohesive compositions.
While Cunningham and Laurenzi have collaborated this way for years, they decided to add Los Angeles based musician Paul Bryan, the Grammy-winning producer, engineer, and bassist (Jeff Parker, Aimee Mann, Lucinda Williams) who co-produced Cunningham’s Northern Spy debut 2019 LP The Weather Up There to finish these pieces. Adding bass parts and a producer’s ear to these songs, Bryan’s vital contributions were the missing link. “Paul really understood the vision of our music and added so much to what we’d already recorded. At a certain point it was a no-brainer to expand the duo to a trio” says Laurenzi. On A Better Ghost, there’s a euphoric melding of Chicago and LA’s jazz worlds present with features from prolific saxophonist Josh Johnson, legendary drummer Jay Bellerose, and Cunningham’s Resavoir bandmate and leader, trumpeter Will Miller. The resulting tracks are the product of years-long collaborators expanding their deep chemistry.
On “New Dust,” Laurenzi provides a smooth, natural improvisation, dynamically ebbing over a deep dub groove kept steady with distinct rhythmic assurance from Cunningham, Bellerose, and Bryan. “With What We Have” wakes slowly, focusing on gradual layering of horns that culminates in near-chaos. . The title track highlights the trio’s seamless blending of acoustic and synthesized palettes, featuring a woozy clarinet sample and propellant percussion alongside sci-fi synths and a Pharoah Sanders-inspired saxophone solo. Singer Katie Ernst guests on “The Way We Remember,” crafting a melody from a poem Cunningham wrote about the passing of his father in 2020. The synths ebb and flow along with Cunningham’s painterly approach at the drums, spreading colors and lines across a languid backdrop of saxophone chords and synth bass.
A Better Ghost is a reflection of how Cunningham, Laurenzi, and Bryan have found a natural musical connection that is unbound by genre and deeply personal. “Playing with Dustin and Paul has strengthened my musical instincts and allowed me to become more patient developing a sound and playing a song. Sometimes you have to just let the thing happen. Try not to get in the way too much, and let the music breathe.” -Jeremy Cunningham
credits
released July 29, 2022
Dustin Laurenzi tenor saxophone, OP-1, electronics
Paul Bryan bass, synth
Jeremy Cunningham drums, percussion
With special guests:
Jay Bellerose percussion
Katie Ernst vocals
Josh Johnson alto saxophone
Will Miller trumpet
Produced by Dustin Laurenzi, Paul Bryan and Jeremy Cunningham
Recorded by: Paul Bryan in Pacific Palisades, CA. Jeremy Cunningham and Dustin Laurenzi in Chicago, IL. Graeme Williams in Northbrook, IL. Katie Ernst in Chicago, IL. Dorian Gehring in Chicago, IL.
All Compositions by Dustin Laurenzi and Jeremy Cunningham
except “The Way We Remember,” composed by Dustin Laurenzi, Jeremy Cunningham, and Katie Ernst. Lyrics by Jeremy Cunningham and Katie Ernst.
Mixed by Paul Bryan.
Mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Mastering.
Photos by Robbie Jeffers.
Art and design by Raimund Wong
A very special thank you to Makaya McCraven, Jeff Parker, Nick Mazzarella, Greg Ward, Joshua Abrams, Josh Berman, and Mike Reed.
“The Way We Remember,” is dedicated to Jeffrey Cunningham. He was the best Dad, and I wish he didn’t have to go from this world so soon. I hope I get to see him again. -JC
Jeremy Cunningham is a drummer, composer, and improviser living in Chicago,
Illinois.
Jeremy leads his own band “The Weather Up There” featuring Jeff Parker (Tortoise), Josh Johnson (Leon Bridges), and Paul Bryan (New Breed). Currently performing with: Resavoir, Trio Vibes, Matt Gold Trio, Nick Mazzarella’s Meridian Trio, Rempis/Cunningham duo, and Dustin Laurenzi....more
Paul is the best. And his music is compelling, thoughtful, and full of beauty. He's one of my favorite musicians in the world. Buy his record! Jeremy Cunningham
Rob Clearfield's newest record "Islands," has been on steady rotation since I heard them live in Chicago a few months ago. The music will transport you. Jeremy Cunningham