Jaimie Branch

Some of the best jazz albums have a cinematic feel to them, almost like they were little movies for the ears.  This is certainly true of many of Charles Mingus' albums, as well as Bitches Brew-period Miles Davis and some of the late 70s big-band recordings of Carla Bley.  

I get the same sense from the albums of trumpeter Jaimie Branch.  She is an in-demand session and touring musician in several genres, playing with numerous bands including Spoon, TV on the Radio, and Belle Orchestre.  Her style is steeped in free jazz and modern creative improvisation but her albums have a wide-ranging style that suggest a narrative sort of passage. In addition to releasing her own albums, Her solo debut, Fly or Die, was dubbed one of the “Best Albums of 2017” by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, NPR Music, WIRE, Stereogum, Aquarium Drunkard, and more. Her follow-up album, Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise, was written while on tour in Europe in support of Fly or Die and recorded in London.   

On Bird Dogs, Branch incorporates vocals in her music for the first time.  “So much beauty lies in the abstract of instrumental music,” she explains in the album’s liner notes, “but being this ain’t a particularly beautiful time, I’ve chosen a more literal path. The voice is good for that.”

The album opens with the impressionistic tropical fantasy Birds of Paradise, but quickly gets darker with Prayer for Amerikkka, Pt.1 and 2. On the latter, Branch calls out “a bunch of wide-eyed racists” between trumpet improvisations over a massive, down-tuned blues. The album’s closing track, Love Song (for Assholes & Clowns) is an unhinged, unflinching, mix of anger and humor paired with a classic shuffle beat. Between the two songs are a collection of instrumentals, including the calypso-themed Simple Silver Surfer.   Branch's trumpet style ranges from the soaring, high-register flights of Don Cherry to the dirty smears of Lester Bowie.

On the album, Branch is credited with trumpet, voice, synths, sneaker squeaks, bells and whistles, as well as the cover art.  She is joined by Lester St. Louis on cello and percussion, Jason Ajemian on bass, percussion and vocals, and Chad Taylor on drums, mbira and xylophone.