The end of the year lists are rolling in and one of my favorite releases in 2015, Epicenter by Chris Lightcap’s Bigmouth, has landed prominently on two important “Best of 2015” lists. Nate Chinen, music reviewer for the New York Times, placed Epicenter at #8 on his list of the best albums (not just jazz!) of 2015.
Yesterday, NPR released “The 2015 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll” and Epicenter was voted #10 on their list.
Well deserved recognition for a “start to finish” album of excellent compositions. But don’t just take my word, or their word. You can give a listen to the stellar opening track, “Nine South” to get a flavor of the energy and compositional power that spans Epicenter.
Want to go a bit deeper? Sure, you can add Epicenter to your subscription music service of choice, like Apple Music, or Spotify, to name just a couple. I highly recommend supporting the artist, in this case Chris and his bandmates, by purchasing the album on iTunes or amazon, to name just a couple options.
Wait, there’s more! I recorded a podcast with Chris several weeks ago and it is the premier episode of my brand new podcast, “Alloy: A Mixture of Music and Conversation.” Chris and I talked about Epicenter and the stories behind some of the tracks on Epicenter. You will want to listen to him describe working with keyboardist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver. He also talks music influences such as Velvet Underground and Lou Reed and how their music informed the making of “All Tomorrow’s Parties.” Curious? Fantastic! You can listen by choosing one of the options below:
Thanks for listening!