11 Jazz Songs That Spoke Truth To Power In 2019

Mark Dresser Seven
"Let Them Eat Paper Towels"

Remember the paper towel incident? Two years ago, in Puerto Rico, during the grave aftermath of Hurricane Maria? It may have been many news cycles and nearly as many scandals ago, but bassist and composer Mark Dresser hasn't forgotten the raw anger it triggered. On his excellent Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You, he devotes a composition to the subject, making the most of an avant-garde septet with Nicole Mitchell on flute, Marty Ehrlich on clarinet, Keir Gogwilt on violin and Michael Dessen on trombone. In Dresser's title, there's a rejoinder not only to a would-be, but wasn't, consoler-in-chief but also to rampant income inequality, via a nod to Marie Antoinette. --Nate Chinen

Posted Date: 
Wednesday, December 11, 2019