Chicago’s International Anthem label has been a byword for borderline music and the widest possible interpretation of jazz for almost a decade. When instrumental hip-hop, electronic textures, lo-fi folk or noise collages collide with this jazz-not-jazz, it can make genre purists break out in a cold sweat. Will Miller, a member of indie folk-soul-pop band Whitney, is releasing the second album from his eponymous musical collective following Resavoir in 2019. The dozen or so instrumentalists from Chicago’s jazz and improvisation scene—one song features the full Whitney line-up—are fronted by Miller on trumpet and flugelhorn. With the ceiling full of violins, flutes and clarinets, the tracks emerge from a freshly made bed of fluffy synth sounds. They make you think that the world is a pretty wonderful place after all. Soul jazz from the bedroom is juxtaposed with alternative hip-hop and fusion jazz reminiscent of late 1970s Herbie Hancock, and the album ends with a late-romantic piano sonata in the form of »Facets«. With Resavoir II, Will Miller zigzags across a wide field marked by David Axelrod’s film scores, 1970s library music and the late Miles Davis.
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson
Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1
Brainfeeder