New Music Releases: Fay Victor ; Emma-Jean Thackray/Makaya McCraven; 3TM

Fay Victor - Barn Songs

Fay Victor has always been an experimental sort of singer – and here, she works in a very experimental setting – a "chamber trio" that just features her voice alongside the cello of Marika Hughes and alto sax of Darius Jones! Fay's voice is wonderful – cresting with the sort of sharp edges that Abbey Lincoln would bring to her more pensive, more avant performances – set up in a way that also echoes some of the classic modes of Jeanne Lee – but with these beautifully poetic lyrics that are very much Victor's own. Titles include "Stealaway", "Last Night's Dinner", "Dream State", "Sometimes", "Talk Talk (part 2)", "Nico", and "There They Are". ~ Dusty Groove

Emma-Jean Thackray / Makaya McCraven - Too Shy (12 inch version) / Run Dem (Gilles Peterson edit)

A great little record that continues the Chicago/London meeting that was begun in the Makaya McCraven album Where We Come From – a limited single with two collaborative grooves on each side! Emma-Jean Thackray serves up "Too Shy" on side one – a skittish blend of jazz elements, keyboards, and some soaring soulful vocals! Side two features a Gilles Peterson edit of the track "Run Dem" – which has plenty of hefty drums, plus musical contributions from Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, and Soweto Kinch!  ~Dusty Groove

3TM - Lake

Drummer and producer Teppo Mäkynen's 3TM returns with a new album, 'Lake', on 29 November on Helsinki's We Jazz Records. The album is the much awaited follow up to 2017's successful 3TM debut 'Form', which was awarded as the "Jazz Album of the Year" in Mäkynen's native Finland. 'Lake' was preceded by the ambient electronic album'Abyss' in August, which set the mood for what's to come next: a compact yet far-reaching body of work bringing together the trio's acoustic jazz sound and ideas rooted in abstract electronic music in a remarkably boundless way. 'Lake' is a collection of 9 Mäkynen-penned originals ranging from the looping, hypnotic  compositions such as first single 'Laws Of Life' to the delicacy of tracks such as 'Woods'. There is a sense of long form narrative here, evident in glorious, slowly evolving tracks such as 'Lake' and 'A Pile Of Broken Dreams'. The overall sound is swinging, melodic, deep and futuristic. It's acoustic jazz and abstract electronic music understood deeply and used as the base of a new sound, which goes beyond the usual distinctions of "acoustic jazz" or "electronic music". This is music for the present day, moving forward. In the 3TM trio formation Mäkynen is joined by sax man Jussi Kannaste and bassist Antti Lötjönen, both Finnish scene mainstays. The band will celebrate their new release at Helsinki's We Jazz Festival on 7 December.