This album is released online on iTunes and on Amazon.com.
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Mike Turner, saxophone
Joel Ross, vibraphoneEdward Perez, bass
Kendrick Scott, drums
Recorded May of 2018, this double disk is 12 tracks in total.
This album is released online on iTunes and on Amazon.com.
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Domi Degalle, piano, rhodes
Max Ridley, bass
Lee Fish, drums
Recorded December of 2017, this double disk is 8 tracks in total.
This album is released online on iTunes and on Amazon.com.
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Mike Turner, saxophone
Matt Brewer, bass
Kendrick Scott, drums
Recorded June of 2018, this double disk is 8 tracks in total.
This album is released in LP only. Available online at newvelle.com on their 3rd season.
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Leo Genovese, piano
Joe Martin, bass
Kendrick Scott, drums
Recorded December of 2017.
This album is available on iTunes and on Amazon.com.
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Noah Preminger, saxphone
Max Light, guitar
Chris McCarthy, piano
Simon Willson, bass
Lee Fish, drums
Recorded in the summer 2016 over several weekends at Wally's.
This album is released online on iTunes and on Amazon.com.
Hard copies of this album will be available at:
Amazon.com, jazzloft.com AND
signed copies directly through Jason
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Mike Moreno, guitar
Edward Perez, bass
Lee Fish, drums
Recorded December of 2015, this 16 track recording is based on a Sudoku game. Can a Sudoku game be musical? Judge for yourself!
This album is released online on iTunes and on Amazon.com.
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Godwin Louis, alto saxophone
Greg Duncan, guitar
Luke Marantz, fender rhodes
Dan Carpel, bass
Lee Fish, drums
JazzTimes Review written by Bill Beuttler
Trumpeter Jason Palmer's intriguing new release is the second in his planned "series of homages to singers who have produced powerful music," which began three years ago with his Minnie Riperton tribute, Take a Little Trip. Wondaland is more contemporary, celebrating the artistry of Janelle Monáe via jazzed-up arrangements of her songs, all but one drawn from the eclectic R&B star's much-lauded 2010 album, The ArchAndroid.
Palmer isn't alone among his jazz contemporaries in admiring Monáe. She featured Esperanza Spalding on the track "Dorothy Dandridge Eyes," from her The Electric Lady, and the theatricality of Spalding's new Emily's D+Evolution project, as well as her singing, both suggest Monáe's influence. But Palmer's album makes his admiration overt, and he's joined by an impressive young crew of mostly current or former members of his working band at the venerable Boston club Wally's Cafe, located just up Massachusetts Avenue from his and their alma mater, Berklee College of Music.
Luke Marantz, Dan Carpel and Lee Fish make an able rhythm section on Fender Rhodes, bass and drums, respectively, with Marantz chipping in solid solos along with deft comping. Guitarist Greg Duncan's soloing brings to mind Kurt Rosenwinkel on "Neon Valley Street," "BaBopByeYa" and "Look Into My Eyes." Rising-star alto saxophonist Godwin Louis shines on uptempo tunes ("Sir Greendown," "Neon Valley Street," the set-ending title track) and slower ones ("57821," "Look Into My Eyes"). Palmer's trumpet excellence is getting to be old news, and it's on display plenty here. But he skips taking a solo turn on "Look Into My Eyes," and overall seems more interested in building on the beauty of Monáe's music with his arrangements than in flashing his chops. Which keeps this charming album a bona fide homage.
This album is released online on iTunes and on Amazon.com. Hard copies of this album are available at:
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Godwin Louis, alto saxophone
Mark Turner, tenor saxophone
Edward Perez, bass
Kendrick Scott, drums
Downbeat Review written by Sean J. O'Connell
Jason Palmer
Places
****
Musicians are no strangers to the road. Each traveler takes away something different after a stay in a new city, whether it's a year or a night. Trumpeter Jason Palmer came away with a set's worth of material inspired by the various places he put his luggage down. But he isn't trying to emulate the music of each location. There is no oompah to "Berlin" or yodeling on "Bern." These are internalized trips hashed out in the hours and days between gigs. Tenor saxophonist Mark Turner and alto saxophonist Godwin Louis fill out the front line of Palmer's sextet here and their tight attack is vital to the soul of this recording. They are put to good use on nearly every melody, forming a dense, swooping blend. Palmer is quick with a confident assault, and Turner is powerful throughout. On "Rising Sign (For Paris)," the horn men weave in and out of each other's message, deftly dancing between a bubbling riff and darting solo lines initially without help from the rhythm section. Once the band is fleshed out, the horns engage in some rapid-fire lines before stepping aside from drummer Kendrick Scott to demonstrate his high-energy approach. Guitarist Mike Moreno and bassist Edward Perez are tasked with keeping a spacious, harmonic foundation in lace and they do so admirably. Moreno is most engaging when he keeps the shifting gears of "Berlin" steady before getting an opportunity to add a little grease to the band's arsenal.
Dusted Magazine Review by Derek Taylor
Trumpeter Jason Palmer explores the creative connections between geography and composition on the aptly-titled Places, his fourth recording for Steeplechase. As with past albums he pens his own liners and in so doing does something many of his peers could take a pointer from. Rather than leaving his ideas and intentions to conjecture he spells them out in detail through enlightening prose even going so far as to craft personalized biographies of the sidemen in his sextet. contunue...
This album is released online on iTunes and on Amazon.com. Hard copies of this album are available at:
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Greg Duncan, guitar
Jake Sherman, piano, rhodes
Edward Perez, bass
Lee Fish, drums
JazzChill Review written by Dusty Groove
A really striking little cover – one based on the front image of Minnie Riperton's classic Perfect Angel album from the 70s – and a batch of music that really opens up whole new territory in Riperton's rich musical legacy!
The set's way more than you might expect – hardly just a straight or smooth jazz take on classics by Minnie – and instead an openly creative project that takes the core structure of the songs, then pulls them apart – especially when it comes to the rhythms – so that the players continually revisit the lovely melodies contunue...
This album is released online on iTunes and on Amazon.com.
Digital Liner Notes are available on my blog.
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Mark Turner, tenor saxophone
Nir Felder, guitar
Edward Perez, bass
Kendrick Scott, drums
Downbeat Magazine Review written by Jon Ross
"Palmer has created an album of length, intriguing compositions that are full of engaging extras."
"Palmer is an exciting player - achieving pinpoint focus in his attack one minute, turning his concrete bebop lines into caramel, sliding through pitches and bending them to his will the next. If Palmer's music stays close to home, he should go far."
-Jon Ross
This album is released on Amazon.com.
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, trumpet
Mike Thomas, alto saxophone
Greg Duncan, guitar
Lim Yang, bass
Lee Fish, drums
Review by Russ Musto
All About Jazz--New York
Nothing To Hide
Jason Palmer (SteepleChase)
Despite possessing a pure tone, virtuoso technique and wide-ranging knowledge of the jazz canon, Jason Palmer remains relatively unheralded.
Nothing To Hide, a fine followup to his impressive debut of originals Songbook, shows a similar adventurousness on a program of imaginative interpretations of classics by Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard and Booker Little, along with two of his own pieces performed with his regular working quintet of altoist Mike Thomas, guitarist Greg Duncan, bassist Lim Yang and drummer Lee Fish.
Opening with Byrd’s “Fly Little Bird Fly” Palmer quickly demonstrates his innovative personality as an arranger. Slowing down the tempo and changing the time signature to a swinging 5/4 he makes the piece his own, an excellent vehicle for his thoughtful improvising, complemented by Thomas’ fiery alto. Similarly intrepid orchestrations of Brown’s “Larue” (interpolating the composer’s “Delilah” and an original bass figure), Morgan’s “The Gigolo” (in 9/4 with another original bassline), Hubbard’s “Luana” (slowing the tempo and melding it with his own “Lower 9th Ward”) and Davis’ “Half Nelson” (arranged by Fish in 9/4) display a penetrating individuality. Only on Booker Little’s “Strength and Sanity” does Palmer remain faithful to the original, revealing a deep respect for the late trumpeter, whose influence on his own compositional style is evident on the originals “Nothing To Hide” and “Here And Now” - the date’s most forward-looking entries.
At the Jazz Gallery Dec. 9th, the group (Mitsuru Yoshizumi subbing for Yang) performed two sets of intriguing originals and orchestrations (mainly arrangements of songs by funk futurist Janelle Monáe) that clearly identified Palmer as a visionary player with an astounding vocabulary, playing music in a uniquely personal voice, which while steeped in the feats of the past, pushes inexorably towards tomorrow.
ALBUM ARTISTS
Jason Palmer, ttrumpet
Ravi Coltrane, saxophone
Greg Osby, saxophone
Warren Wolf, vibraphone
Leo Genovese, piano, Fender Rhodes
Matt Brewer, bass
Tommy Crane, drums
Review by Thom Jurek
AllMusic.com
Despite having a well-deserved reputation among other musicians as a disciplined and inventive improviser, composer, and trumpeter, Jason Palmer hasn't exactly been a household name. But based on Songbook, his recorded debut as a bandleader, that will change. Palmer has taken his time and established himself as a rock-solid session player with, among others, Roy Haynes, Jerry Bergonzi, Kevin Mahogany, Common, Herbie Hancock, Bilal, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and literally dozens of others -- including his (at the time of this writing) membership in the Greg Osby Five. Songbook, issued on the Ayva Music imprint, is an auspicious debut, full of sophisticated charts, inspired and inventive performances, and an innovator's sense of the jazz world, past and present. The music is progressive post-bop with ultra-modern sensibilities, and the cast of players is stellar: it includes his regular quintet with bassist Matt Brewer, drummer Tommy Crane, and pianistLeo Genovese on the Fender Rhodes as well as acoustic piano. Guests here include Ravi Coltrane, his current boss Osby, and the woefully underappreciated Warren Wolf on vibes.Palmer composed and arranged all nine selections here and -- one can only suppose -- sequenced them as well.
"Priest Lake," the set opener, is a deceptive modal piece where trumpet, vibes, and Rhodes state a skeletal frame, double- and triple-timed by drums and bass. In the liners, Palmerdescribes it as a "mini suite of sorts"; this is obvious given the different melodies and harmonic signatures that introduce one another as the track unfolds, yet each harmonic statement interlocks with another seamlessly, despite initial impressions of abstraction. The bass playing of Brewer here is particularly impressive as it counters the middle lyric section between vibes and trumpet. It holds the bridge as a triple call and response between trumpet, vibes, and Rhodes fills the frame, moving the track in all sorts of directions seemingly at once. Under seven minutes, it's a breathtaking beginning. Palmer doesn't disappoint on the rest of it, either: on "Found It," the knotty head between the trumpeter and Osby -- with a Rhodes painting the backdrop expressionistically -- keeps the solid fingerpopping basis of postmodern swing. Other notable tracks are the beautiful quartet ballad "One for J Mac," written for the late Jackie McLean, and the cruising "Checkmate," with gorgeous chord voicings by Genovese and double-time skittering from Crane's cymbal and hi-hat work. Also notable is the bass solo here, which literally sings. The spooky Rhodes, bass, and brushes that open the Miles Davis-inspired "In a Certain Way" (à la the second quintet) are utterly beguiling, as are the staggered melody lines that float betweenColtrane and Palmer. "The Shadowboxer" begins as a ballad that quickly transposes itself into a progressive post-bop jump with brilliant soloing by Palmer. This is a highly recommended first set by an artist who enters the recording scene fully developed, with a fresh compositional voice that's all his own. Songbook will delight and surprise anyone who encounters it.
