Last month we lost one of the most exciting artists in Jazz, trumpeter and composer jamie branch. Branch was one of the leading lights of the brilliant Chicago scene, and like many of those artists she was not easily constrained by genre. Though her work is often categorized as improvised, it’s more melodic and structured than some of the more extreme examples. As is often noted, she took as many cues from punk as from traditional Jazz sources, and her playing bears that swagger and intensity.
Branch’s catalogue was growing quickly, but every album she made is worth hearing. Two entry points are her debut “Fly or Die” by her quartet of the same name (a quartet with trumpet, cello (!), bass and drums) and for something a little more cross-over, “Pink Dolphins” from Anterloper, her band with Jason Nazarny.