This is the second installment of Michael Tatum's post-Christgau consumer guide. The debut came out a month ago, and I expect this to remain a monthly feature as long as he can stand the workload. I've built a nice little archive area for these columns -- first one is here and you can work out the rest from links there.

A Downloader's Diary: September 2010

by Michael Tatum

In classic lapsed-Catholic fashion, my superego spent all of August wondering if I championed the critically-drudged Liz Phair and Eminem records last month merely to make a splashy impression for my first column. This month I felt guilty about gravitating toward an obvious album of the year consensus pick, so I branched a little out of my comfort zone and found an Afropop excavation I loved even more. What do they have in common? They're both masterminded by two men from conservative religious backgrounds who realized they needed to leave a little bit of their world behind because the great wide world had something more to offer. So what if I'm projecting -- take that, Glenn Beck.

Arcade Fire: The Suburbs (Merge) One of the many reasons I admire Win Butler is that when he titles his band's new record The Suburbs it won't be a two-dimensional attack on the same -- he leaves the sophomoricism to Green Day, who keep it so simplistic Broadway comes a-calling. Not to say he is uncritical of where he came from, but like his relationship to the Mormon faith into which he was born, he can't dismiss it entirely -- it informs one of the many facets of the man he has become. This confuses a lot of people who confuse irony with complexity: contrary to what some have suggested, Butler doesn't hate his fans. His gentle derision of the arcade kids in "Rococo" doesn't derive from anger, but from empathy -- he was once that kid who was bored when the bombs were dropped, that kid in the corner with his arms folded tight, the one who used to wait but now he's ready to start. The message here is that the distance that young people cultivate to deal with the painful transition from innocence to experience is an emotional dead end, and this album means to shatter those defenses, one exhilarating anthem after another. And if you need further balance, there's Régine Chassane's glorious "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)," about why starry-eyed arcade kids flee to the city -- even if they return home to settle down to raise their future daughters before the damage is done. A

Best Coast: Crazy For You (Mexican Summer) The superior shoreline in question is Los Angeles, a slacker Shangri-La where Bethany Cosentino smokes weed, hangs out with her cat Snacks, pines for various pretty boys, and with multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno cooks up a dreamy pop amalgam that suggests Sister-era Sonic Youth channeling, well, the Shangri-Las. The swooping, instantly hummable melodies confirm that not only does Cosentino have the Carole King/Barry Mann part down, but the way she wraps her decorous vocal cords around them shows she's got the Ronnie Spector part down, too. But the shallow lyrical conception -- twice she promises to love the object of her affections "till the end" as if it means till the end of summer vacation -- leaves one wondering how much she's really pondered "Leader of the Pack" and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow." Has she spent too much time lying in her deckchair reading teenage romance novels, or did she think such complexities would mar the music's sunny innocence? I enjoy basking in this music's considerable charms regardless -- but truthfully, I've never been the beach-going type, and I've been a fellow denizen of the superior shoreline in question for twenty-five of my thirty-nine years. A-

Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma (Warp) His vaunted Coltrane connections aside, Steven Ellison's frenetic samples overlaying samples overlaying samples, denser and more ambitious than anything he attempted on 2007's Los Angeles, at their best recall great Jon Hassell, Nils Petter Molvaer, and other inheritors of Miles Davis' mid-70s fusion fracases. Cue up any track and he'll cram your ears with fistfuls of sonic candy, though Auntie Alice's harp flourishes are an irritation, and like other laptop wizards, I wish he'd curb his fondness for film soundtracks. But what's missing, especially since the music isn't guided by or tied together by any organizational principles other than a mix so clinical you can hear the clanging together of surgical instruments, is emotional payoff -- what a big-brain like Ellison might cynically dismiss as "cheese." With twelve of the seventeen tracks ranging from one minute to two and a half, cutting out before their patterns induce the hypnosis this branch of electronic usually intends, there's no ebb and flow, no climax, either within tracks or across the record as a whole -- randomly jumbling its sequence (yes, I tried) neither improves nor weakens its shambolic mesh. The pop junkie in me wonders whether or not this could be strengthened by more guest vocalists, but Laura Darlington's wobbly offer as a "sounding board" is upstaged by the finest use of a ping pong ball as percussion in the history of recorded music. And Thom Yorke pontificating in his highly processed warble if there's "anyone out there" inadvertently illuminates that if Ellison knew he was reaching people emotionally, he wouldn't have to coax Yorke to ask. A-

El Guincho: Piratas de Sudamerica: Vol. 1 (XL/Young Turks) The brainwave behind this five song EP, the first of a projected series, is both so ingenious and obvious I'm surprised Manu Chao or Tom Zé didn't think of it first. In an aesthetic strategy similar to Moby's Play, Pablo Díaz-Reixa tweaks various "field recordings" (in this case, lost classics from the Cuban orchestras of the '30s -- the title is a slight misnomer) with his bag of studio tricks, aiming for shimmering lo-fi charm rather than extravagant arena-ready grandiosity. Díaz-Reixa realizes his cross-cultural dreams best on his remix of the Lecuona Cuban Boys' "Hindou," a shameless romanticization of the far-east so beguiling in its naivety even V.S. Naipaul would approve. My only objection to the package -- aside from the anti-climactic closing lullaby -- is its brevity. Treated as an in-between side project, a warm-up for the release of Díaz-Reixa's Pop Negro in September, the music is strong enough to warrant a wider exploration, a grander context -- a Play of its own. A-

Los Lobos: Tin Can Trust (Shout! Factory) Compromise has kept these amenable East Angelenos thick as thieves for thirty years, but it's also trapped them in an artistic rut since the bean counters kicked them off Warner Bros. By "compromise" I don't just mean the vagaries that defined their tenure at the accursed Hollywood Records, but the aesthetic cease-fire that's prevented David Hidalgo from instigating the kind of power play that enabled them to make such daring records with Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake (1996's underrated Colossal Head more so than 1993's overrated Kiko, and the Latin Playboys spinoffs most of all). Although they cared enough about the music to fight their way back onto the roster of a sympathetic indie -- the first they've been on since the Slash years -- this band has been through too much for one of them to start rocking the boat: second banana Cesar Rosas, still the band's traditionalist, contributes lively if predictable salsa and norteño pastiches, while Hidalgo mildly indulges the band's more experimental side, without veering too far into the strange. Having said that, this is their strongest record since their mid-90s peak regardless -- even on the new original saddled with an embarrassing Robert Hunter lyric (never, never, never rhyme "in this world" with "give it a whirl") Hidalgo executes one of the record's many fierce, stark guitar solos. And then there's the amazing "27 Spanishes," which makes "Cortez the Killer" look two-dimensional -- starts off with foreboding whip-crack snares, then ends by offhandedly pointing out that these days the Conquistador-Aztec progeny "sit around on their porches playing guitar." Hey guys -- those imperialist assholes are responsible for my existence, too. A-

M.I.A.: Maya (XL/Interscope) Theoretically, I approve of the metallic, lo-fi aesthetic -- it's the natural of impulse of artists following a blockbuster to head for the metaphorical ditch: Neil Young of course, Nirvana's In Utero, Fleetwood Mac's Tusk. Some have suggested a more precise analogy might be to Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music, but these are the kind of squiggles, squawks, and bleeps that fire the synapses, rather than blur into white noise tedium. Tune into the lyrics however, and you realize that the difficult music is actually the artiste's way of covering up -- subconsciously, I bet -- her insecurity about the ideas she's expressing. The intro suggests that the government utilizes the internet (Facebook, apparently) for purposes of identity theft, but the pop psychologist in me wonders if Maya Arulpragasam might actually be worried about losing her identity to her fiancé. "You know who I am," she repeats unconvincingly in the first track, before bemoaning "You want me be somebody who I'm really not" when her man gets a little too close in the next: "I try and not show it/But I think you really know." Sometimes she buries her fear in political metaphor: "They told me this is a free country/But now it feels like a chicken factory/I feel cooped up, I wanna bust free/Got nothing to lose if you get me." Sometimes, as in the defensive "Born Free," she transfers her fear to the media. Other times, she's more oblique: "Gravity's my enemy." When she resigns to her fate by copping to the terminally lame "It Iz What It Iz" cliché, I throw up my hands. We existentialists believe it is what you make it. And it doesn't "take a muscle to fall in love" -- how about lowering your defenses a little? A-

D.O. Misiani & Shirati Jazz: The King of History (Sterns Africa) Over the last decade, Sterns Music has cemented its reputation as the finest distributor and compiler of classic Afropop by assembling long overdue, definitive sets by the genre's giants: Papa Wemba, Rochereau, Franco (twice), and Etoile de Dakar. Comprised solely of vinyl-only recordings almost entirely unheard outside of their native Kenya, this left-field surprise accomplishes something I didn't think possible: it adds a new giant to the canon. You won't be disappointed if you hunt for Daniel Owino Misiani's only other American showcase, the '80s provenance recordings collected on Earthworks' long out of print Benga Blast!, but despite its clear mastery, it's also somewhat by the numbers, perfunctory -- expressed in Beatles terms, a Let it Be. This mid-'70s explosion of hit singles, which rescues only one of the three smashes cited on Misiani's entry on Allmusic.com, is the real blast: a benga Please Please Me. The Shirati Jazz are young guns ready to make some noise, led by a rebel-rousing young man whose deeply Christian father destroyed his first guitar, delighted for the opportunity to commit heresy after joyous heresy on a slew of killer 45s. You say you want rollicking rhythms, rubbernecking bass, dualing quicksilver guitar lines, and harmonies so indelible you could interchange with them the equally indelible melodies? You'll get them -- but you could get those on Benga Blast! too, if not so ebulliently or energetically. What will keep you coming back are the whoops, whistles, birdcalls, cowbells, and other surprising percussive devices that sound spontaneous as they leap out of your speakers even though some of them must have been carefully timed in advance. Think the New York Dolls, of girl groups, of early rock and roll -- hell, of the Beatles. Such exuberance, such joy -- you'd think they were inventing a new kind of music or something. A+

The Roots: How I Got Over (Def Jam) The title is the latest of their multi-layered pop-culture in jokes: a reference to the classic Clara Ward gospel tune inspired by the night Ward's sister faked a bout of glossolalia to scare off white lynchers, but also a nudge and a wink to the cynics who think it takes samples from Jim James and Joanna Newsom to entice the indie audience into lapping up Ahmir Thompson and Associates' expert rap-rock-R&B-whatever hybrid. Fact is, the indie crowd has been hip to these Philadelphians since their debut, released on the same now-defunct label that broke Nirvana and Beck. It wasn't until they made the lateral switch to MCA and then Def Jam however, that they actually began deserving their rep: partly because their revolving door of rappers, singers, and musicians has kept their sound in a perpetual state of fruitful evolution, and partly because they realized the medium is the message -- that good songs are more compelling than good politics and good intentions. Because of this I prefer 2007's Rising Down, but it's a measure of their remarkable consistency that 2002's breakthrough Phrenology, 2004's underrated groove workout The Tipping Point, and now this, supposedly their swansong but don't count on it, all come pretty damn close. Like Win Butler, their searching ruminations on God are far from vacant navel-gazing -- thank the smarts of Black Thought and the revolving door of rappers, etc. for that. But what makes a quatrain like "Out on these streets where I grew up/First thing they teach you is not to give a fuck/That type of thinking can't get you nowhere/Someone has to care" affecting in song like it isn't on the page isn't the otherwise expert vocals, it's the power and subtlety of the rhythm section -- suspiciously described this time around by more than one young indie-rock critic as "in the pocket." I'd say that if Ahmir Thompson challenged Al Jackson, Jr. and Tony Thompson to a round of billiards played with drum sticks as cues, I know who I'd put my money on. A-

Honorable Mentions

Robyn: Body Talk Vol. 1 (Cherrytree) "My label's killing me," she complains, though does concede to their ill-conceived marketing scheme ("Don't Fucking Tell Me What to Do," "Fembot," "Dancing on My Own") ***

Brian Wilson: Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (Disney) Making up with modestly gorgeous arrangements for what he completely lacks in interpretive nuance and ironic subtext ("It Ain't Necessarily So," "Someone to Watch Over Me") ***

Janelle Monáe: The Archandroid (Atlantic) George Clinton and Outkast's sci-fi was goofy and they knew it, hers is pure camp -- too bad the American Musical and Dramatic Academy encouraged her to take camp seriously ("Cold War," "Tightrope") **

Reflection Eternal: Revolutions Per Minute (Warner Bros.) "A shift in the hip hop paradigm" no, "Download from your local internet provider" why not? ("Ballad of the Black Gold," "Just Begun") **

Sage Francis: Li(f)e (Anti/Epitaph) This former fiction writing group proctor would like to point out his short stories could be tightened by a sharp DJ and/or a well-programmed drum machine ("I Was Zero," "London Bridge") **

Method Actors: This Is Still It (Acute) Athens, GA's own Gang of Two ("Do the Method") *

Jason Moran: Ten (Blue Note) Stride-happy pianist with deceptive taste in song titles constructs unassuming foundations that cry out for some dissonance, cognitive and otherwise, from a more daring soloist ("Gangsterism Over Ten Years," "Old Babies") *

Field Music: Field Music (Measure) (Memphis Industries/Revolver) Hooks with no bait ("Them That Do Nothing") *

Trash

Rick Ross: Teflon Don (Def Jam) It's obvious why mush-mouthed William Leonard Roberts II failed as a corrections officer -- his oafish baritone conveys the authority of a bar drunk bellowing at you to pass the peanuts. Nevertheless, like so many civil servants before him, he harbored dreams of hip hop stardom, so he adopted both the name and persona of a famous drug trafficker (who sued for ten million), generating his own tepid publicity by manufacturing an absurd beef with 50 Cent -- who retaliated by coaxing Roberts' babymama to spill the beans about Roberts' employment history on YouTube. Fortunately, it's almost written into the Def Jam contract for the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Erykah Badu to lend their names even to the label's D-list artists, which proved just the commercial push Roberts needed to fund the debauched lifestyle he details so banally in song. What baffles me is why even critics are cottoning to his rote gangsta boilerplate -- he'll never die a "bitch nigga," whoop de ha hey. This record compensates toning down the faux-gangsta posturing of his previous flops by upping the misogyny, but I reserve special umbrage for "Tears of Joy," which begins with a snippet of Bobby Seale quoting Huey P. Newton in favor of offing cops and declares, "I gotta represent for Emmett Till / All the dead souls in the field." I'm no advocate for murder, but at least Bobby Seale was standing up for years of Emmett Tills who died at the hands of bigots merely for being black -- the only civil rights the Teflon Don seems to give a shit about are the rights to cruise hot bitches, drive Lamborghinis, and (no kidding) take his mom to the Poconos, all in the guise of a unrepentant pusher defending his turf by pointing his automatic at guys he, in his previous life, would theoretically have worked alongside. Bet in a real shootout between the cops and whomever, he'd choose whichever side had the most guns. In the meantime, I believe this liar like I believed Ronald Reagan -- nothing stuck to that motherfucker either. B-

Sam Amidon: I See the Sign (Bedroom Community)

Budos Band: Budos Band III (Daptone)

Matthew Dear: Black City (Ghostly International)

Lissie: Catching the Tiger (Fat Possum)

Laura Marling: I Speak Because I Can (Astralwerks)

John Mellencamp: No Better Than This (Rounder)

Pulled Apart by Horses: Pulled Apart by Horses (Transgressive)

Ra Ra Riot: The Orchard (Barsuk)

Wavves: King of the Beach (Fat Possum)

Almost blew another week, but in the end enough stuff came together that I can say that Jazz Consumer Guide (24) is done. Initial query suggests it may appear in the Village Voice around September 29, although later dates are possible as well. Draft currently totes up to 1617 words covering 56 albums, so expect the HM list to be long. Leftovers come to 1400 words and 44 albums, so it looks like we'll be trapped in backlog for quite some while. I still have a fair sized shelf of rated, still in need of review albums, so I'll probably focus on them the next week or two, adding to next cycle's draft and kicking some into surplus.

The collected Jazz Prospecting file is here: totals came to 218 albums prospected, plus 97 carryovers from past rounds. Despite my best intentions to rush up the cycle, the prospecting period was almost exactly three months (July 1 to August 30). I still have a fair amount of transitional paperwork to do, but did at least catch up with the incoming mail. Two weeks of Jazz Prospecting notes below, with almost nothing new getting into the final draft -- not even the Joe Locke dud, which is my usual rationale for bothering with Rhapsody this late in the game.

Will post a new "Downloader's Diary" in short course, and rather thin "Recycled Goods" and "Rhapsody Streamnotes" should be out by the end of the week. I'm beat, bothered, bewildered, but hopefully the nastiest summer we've had since 2000 will wind down before long. New cycle begins now, and the queues are overflowing.

Conference Call: What About . . . . ? (2007-08 [2010], Not Two, 2CD): Quartet, on their sixth album since 2000, the core Gebhard Ullmann (tenor sax, soprano sax, bass clarinet), Michael Jefry Stevens (piano), and Joe Fonda (bass), with George Schuller their present and most frequent drummer -- other albums have used Matt Wilson, Han Bennink, and Gerry Hemingway. Ullmann is very prolific, but he seems to perform best when someone else sets the parameters, which Stevens does here -- most likely Fonda too, as the Fonda/Stevens group goes back even further and has been recorded even more extensively. Two live in Krakow sets, the second a bit easier to get into -- Stevens' "Could This Be a Polka?" had me thinking first of tango -- but both satisfying mixes of sour and not-quite-sweet. A-

Esperanza Spalding: Chamber Music Society (2009-10 [2010], Heads Up): Bassist, singer, Downbeat cover girl; b. 1984, Portland, OR; third album since 2005, singing more each time, with a lot more scat here, but also with Gretchen Parlato taking over two vocals, and Milton Nascimento chiming in on a third (a Spalding original -- Parlato takes the semi-obligatory Jobim cut). The chamber effect comes from violin-viola-cello, steadied by Leo Genovese piano, with Terri Lynne Carrington drums, and Quintino Cinalli percussion. "Wild Is the Wind" is a welcome cover, but there's not much else to latch onto. B-

ROVA & Nels Cline Singers: The Celestial Septet (2008 [2010], New World): World renowned saxophone quartet plus world renowned guitar-bass-drums trio, works out to be a pretty full-featured band. The saxophonists -- Bruce Ackley, Steve Adams, Larry Ochs, and Jon Raskin -- are used to orchestrating their own harmony, but assuming the Singers will take up the slack they get to stretch out a bit here. But Nels Cline, bassist Devin Hoff, and drummer Scott Amendola don't harmonize so much as build up the ambient noise level, putting this into Electric Ascension territory, minus the annoyances of the Coltrane script. Closest they come is Ochs's 25:23 paean to Albert Ayler, "Whose to Know," where the noise climax seems well-earned. B+(***)

Judith Berkson: Oylam (2009 [2010], ECM): Vocalist -- "soprano" is how she puts it -- plays piano and various keybs here, accordion elsewhere; studied at New England Conservatory; based in Brooklyn; cantor at Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation Kehilat Shir Ami; also has a band named Platz Machen into Hebrew liturgy. Second album. I've heard the first, Lu-Lu, and, well, didn't like it. This was headed the same way, but little bits started to connect -- fragments of Porter and Gershwin, a slice of German (OK, very probably Yiddish), some piano. Very spare and rather arty. B+(**)

Kneebody: You Can Have Your Moment (2009 [2010], Winter & Winter): Postbop group with a little funk undertow, probably related to their fondness for Fender Rhodes and effects. Adam Benjamin (as I said), Shane Endsley (trumpet), Kaveh Rastegar (electric bass), Ben Wendel (sax, melodica), Nate Wood (drums -- the only one not credited with effects). Cut an eponymous album for Dave Douglas's Greenleaf Music label in 2005, and got their name out front on Theo Bleckman's Twelve Songs by Charles Ives. Played this one too many times and have to move on: the horns are names I recognize but have yet to register strongly, the Rhodes is neither here nor there, and the drummer's a busy guy who has something beyond funk to add. B+(*)

Theo Bleckmann: I Dwell in Possibility (2009 [2010], Winter & Winter): Vocalist, b. 1966 in Dortmund, Germany. Has a rather high voice, which he supplements with various toys to produce odd sounds. Francis Davis raved about him in a recent Village Voice column: "Beckmann is the most startlingly original male vocalist since Bobby McFerrin" -- then thinking further insisted that Bleckmann's "more rigorous intellect" will help him avoid "the same slippery slope into feckless novelty" McFerrin was prone to. This is the most hard core of Bleckmann's records, a solo effort, but not exactly acappella -- his credits read "voice, autoharp, chime balls, chimes, finger symbals, flutes, glass harp, hand-held fan, Indonesian frog buzzer, iPhone, lyre, melodica, miniature zither, nut shell shakers, rotary pan flute, shruti box, tongue drum, toy amp, toy boxes, toy megaphones, vibra tone, water bottle." The songs include James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Kurt Schwitters, Meredith Monk, "I Hear a Rhapsody" and "Comes Love," plus original music to lyrics from Emily Dickinson, Euripides, and the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Rather difficult to hear and/or to pick up on, sometimes cute, no doubt brilliant. B+(*)

Hat: Local (2008 [2010], Hatmusic): Spanish group. I've been listing them under pianist Sergi Sirvent, but this one swings pretty hard to guitarist Jordi Matas, who outwrites Sirvent five to three and plays the crucial instrument here, while Sirvent plays Fender Rhodes and a little trumpet -- not what you'd call brilliant but he's still rather effective. The quartet is rounded out with Marc Cuevas on bass (acoustic and electric) and xylophone and Oscar Doménech on drums and tinaja, each writing one song. All four also enjoy voice credits, although there's not a lot -- part of the opener, and a Matas song called "Money" that may be the first such song not to ring up some cash registers. Matas plays terrific screeching guitar there -- I'd peg it as a rock song but the musicians are way too fancy and the vocals don't get any mileage out of their crudeness. Seems transitional, but no idea to what. B+(**)

Dawn of Midi: First (2010, Accretions): Piano trio: Pakistani percussionist Qassim Naqvi, Indian contrabassist Aakaash Israni, and Moroccan pianist Amino Belyamani. Based in New York and/or Paris. First album. Evenly balanced group, the piano more rhythm than melody, especially setting out various minimalist lines, while the bass covers the whole gamut. Got stuck playing this too many times today, which makes me want to force the grade and move on. Agreeable as background, but really appreciates your full attention. B+(***)

Commitment: The Complete Recordings 1981/1983 (1980-83 [2010], No Business, 2CD): Bassist William Parker was less than 30 when he formed this group, with one self-released album (released 1981; reissued as Through Acceptance of the Mystery Peace by Eremite in 1998), side credits with Frank Lowe and Billy Bang, with Cecil Taylor still in his future. Violinist Jason Kao Hwang was less than 25. The senior member was Will Connell, Jr., b. 1938. He turned to music after an accident in the Air Force nearly blinded him. In Los Angeles in the 1960s he fell into Horace Tapscott's circle, then moved back to New York "because I wanted to be a hermit." He plays flute, alto sax, bass clarinet, wood flutes here. I haven't found any other credits for him, unless he's the "Will Connell" playing bass clarinet on a a 2007 Bill Dixon album -- would have been close to 70, still 13 years younger than Dixon. Fourth member is drummer Zen Matsuura, who went on to play with Billy Bang and Roy Campbell -- not a long credit list, but he's on Campbell's 2007 Akhenaten Suite, deserving of another plug. Parker recorded a piece called "Commitment" in the late 1970s, but the piece doesn't appear here. What we get is the 1981 Commitment Ensemble album (recorded October 13-14, 1980; 36 minutes on the first disc) and a long live set from Germany in 1983 (38 minutes on the first disc and 48 more on the second). One of those records that would have sounded interesting but unfocused at the time, but sounds prophetic now. Hwang, who was born in Waukegan, IL, had yet to develop his mastery of Chinese classical music, so he sounds more like Leroy Jenkins here -- a pretty good deal. Connell is plug ugly on alto, but his flutes hit the right notes in contrast to the violin. Parker and Matsuura keep it all moving at breakneck speed. A-

Bobby McFerrin: Vocabularies (2010, Emarcy): Actually, title is consistently spelled "VOCAbuLarieS" -- a not-so-subtle way of pointing out that most of the sounds are vocal. The balance comes from producer-cowriter Roger Treece's synths and programming, Alex Acuña's percussion, and small doses of Donny McCaslin sax and Pedro Eustache woodwinds. The cover notes Treece's contribution "and over 50 amazing singers" -- not counting a crowd of 2500 in Bergen, Norway. Each song has at least 16 singers, a chorale effect that trivializes any individual -- McFerrin is always credited as "lead vocal," and Lisa Fischer often as "featured vocal," but neither make much of an impression. B

Ismael Dueñas Trio: Jazz Ateu (2009 [2010], Quadrant): Pianist, b. 1975 in Badalona, in Spain up the coast from Barcelona. Fifth album, as best I can reckon, since 2003 -- I've heard the two on Fresh Sound New Talent, both excellent but somehow lost in my shuffle. Joan Matera plays bass and Oscar Domènech drums. For the most part this maintains a steady rhythmic flow, something I'm tempted to call postmodern stride, although it may just come from listening to Jarrett and Svensson. But he doesn't stick to the groove, shifting into melodic passages that work off something familiar, and in at least one case breaking into dissonance that resolves itself into something lovely. A-

Portico Quartet: Isla (2009 [2010], Real World): British group: Jack Wyllie (saxes, electronics), Milo Fitzpatrick (double bass), Duncan Bellamy (drums, piano), and Nick Mulvey (hang drums, percussion). Record also has a string quartet -- two violins, viola, cello -- arranged by Fitzpatrick, but mostly what you hear is soprano sax riffing over percussion, not much as jazz but a very listenable synthesis of postrock minimalism and world fusion. B+(**)

Ergo: Multitude, Solitude (2009, Cuneiform): Brett Sroka on trombone and computer; Carl Maguire on Fender Rhodes, Prophet synthesizer, and effects; Shawn Baltazor drums. I've run into Maguire before -- a fine pianist who pushes the state of the art in postbop compositions, but he's less distinctive here. Sroka has a previous album under his own name. This is the group's second. B+(**)

The Stanley Clarke Band (2010, Heads Up): Bass guitarist, b. 1951, came out of Chick Corea's Return to Forever and established a fusion rep in the 1970s, which I can't say I paid any attention to. This is only the second of 30+ albums under his name that I've heard. The album is a mess, with Ruslan Sirota's keybs and Charles Aluna's guitar standard pieces, along with a lot of guests -- Hiromi gets a shout out on the cover, and her piano does stand out, if garrishly. Some funk, one cut dedicated to Zawinul, one cut is called "Sonny Rollins" but gives you Bob Sheppard instead, some vocals. Hard to sort it all out; not awful, but little reason to. Nor am I sure if the "global warming" song is as dumb as it seems, but could be. B-

Pharez Whitted: Transient Journey (2009 [2010], Owl Studios): Trumpet player, from Indiana, studied at DePauw and Indiana University, two previous albums on Motown (1994 and 1996), based in Chicago now, teaches at Chicago State. Sexet with Eddie Bayard -- Edwin on Mark Lomax's more challenging record -- on tenor and soprano sax, Ron Perrillo on piano/keyboards, Bobby Broom on guitar, Dennis Carroll on bass, Greg Artry on drums, with Broom producing. Freddie Hubbard and Barack Obama inspire pieces. Solid hard bop, nothing spectacular, not much from Bayard, who made such a big impression on the Lomax album. B

These are some even quicker notes based on downloading or streaming records. I don't have the packaging here, don't have the official hype, often don't have much information to go on. I have a couple of extra rules here: everything gets reviewed/graded in one shot (sometimes with a second play), even when I'm still guessing on a grade; the records go into my flush file (i.e., no Jazz CG entry, unless I make an exception for an obvious dud). If/when I get an actual copy I'll reconsider the record.

Theo Bleckmann/Fumio Yasuda: Berlin: Songs of Love and War, Peace and Exile (2007, Winter & Winter): Twenty-three songs, most Weill-Brecht or Eisler-Brecht, the few others including several I'm equally familiar with, like "Lili Marleen" and "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt." Yasuda, Bleckmann's partner in Las Vegas Rhapsody, plays piano and arranges string quartet for that Weimar feel. Bleckmann is German, gay, possesses remarkable facility in the upper registers. This is, in short, his patrimony. One play can't possibly do it justice, but will have to do for now. B+(***) [Rhapsody]

Oliver Lake Organ Quartet: Plan (2009 [2010], Passin Thru): Follows an Organ Trio record, adding trumpeter Freddie Hendrix to returning Jared Gold (organ) and Jonathan Blake (drums) -- Lake, of course, plays alto sax. The second horn reminds me of the harmonics Julius Hemphill coaxed out of the World Saxophone Quartet (minus the booming tenor and baritone parts), and Gold does some very interesting things -- I've seen reviews invoke the idea of Monk on organ, but he doesn't just jump around a lot; he gets some positive spin on chaos. Main caveat is that it seems off here and there, a sign of the risks they're taking. B+(**) [Rhapsody]

Joe Locke: For the Love of You (2009 [2010], Koch): Instrumentally a fairly snazzy quartet, with Locke's vibes rattling against Geoffrey Keezer's ivories, and George Mraz and Clarence Penn pushing the rhythm. Problem is they added a singer, Kenny Washington, like Jimmy Scott a little guy with a lot of octaves. First song is awful. Second is "Old Devil Moon" -- can't hardly ruin that. Evens out a bit after that. B- [Rhapsody]

Nasheet Waits: Equality: Alive at MPI (2008 [2009], Fresh Sound New Talent): Cover can be parsed various ways: one implication is that Equality is meant to be the group name. Waits is a drummer, best known for driving Jason Moran's Bandwagon, a piano trio with Taurus Mateen on bass. All three are present and accounted for here, and all three contribute songs -- Mateen one, Moran and Waits two each. Moreover, Moran doesn't seem to be too unhappy to see the tables turned. He has his own record and has shown up on several more lately, but this is his most energetic performance in several years. Oh, and there's a fourth guy here: alto saxophonist Logan Richardson. He had a terrific debut album, Cerebral Flow, in 2006, and is in prime form here too. A- [Rhapsody]

Bill Charlap/Renee Rosnes: Double Portrait (2009 [2010], Blue Note): Two pianists; you know that. Husband and wife as of 2007; I didn't know that, and having also not known that vocalist Sandy Stewart is Charlap's mother, I'm glad not to have missed that. Rosnes is four years older, from Canada, more of a modernist and more of a composer -- albeit only one song here among a batch of eight covers -- where Charlap is more retro and more of an interpreter. I have them down for one A- each, out of six Charlap records and three by Rosnes -- both have comparable discographies, but Charlap has been more active lately. Just piano here, sounds more like solo than duets, can't tell you who does what. Attractive, of course, but nothing really enticing. B [Rhapsody]

Scott Hamilton/Alan Barnes: Hi-Ya (2009 [2010], Woodville): I heard an interview with Benny Carter once where a caller asked "what did you learn from Johnny Hodges?" Carter's answer: "never to play any of his songs." Only two of nine songs here don't have Hodges' name on them -- some also Ellington or Strayhorn, but Hamilton gives Barnes some cover with his tenor sax, and Barnes plays baritone as well as alto. Nice, loose, plenty of swing. Still, not Hodges -- I imagine Barnes is as leary of that comparison as Carter was. B+(**) [Rhapsody]

Scott Hamilton Quartet Plus Two: Our Delight! (2005 [2006], Woodville): The "plus two" are Mark Nightingale (trombone) and Dave Cliff (guitar); both do nice work, the trombonist roughly comparable to John Allred. Ten standards, starting off in rousing fashion with "Get Happy", ending with "In Walked Bud," some Ellington/Strayhorn along the way, the title cut from Tadd Dameron. Delightful indeed. B+(***) [Rhapsody]

Portico Quartet: Knee Deep in the North Sea (2007, Vortex): First album for British quartet, new record Isla reviewed above. This one was nominated for the rock-centric Mercury Music Prize which put it on the UK Top 200 Albums Chart, so I guess we can consider it pop jazz, although it's much more interesting than that. The hang drums at least start out with that shimmering steel drum sound. A bit less minimalist, more pop than the new one, with the sax searching out hooks; otherwise the same basic sound. B+(**) [Rhapsody]

And these are final grades/notes on records I put back for further listening the first time around.

Bryan and the Haggards: Pretend It's the End of the World (2010, Hot Cup): Four of seven songs written by Merle Haggard, a couple more that I was surprised to find credited elsewhere. The band is a second cousin to Mostly Other People Do the Killing, with Moppa Elliott and Jon Irabagon common denominators, guitarist Jon Lundbrom useful for music that originally guitar-dominated, and Bryan Murray the nominal leader, not just because his tenor sax looms the largest. Like MOPDTK, they know their history and run it through hoops, starting with Bird and skittering through Ornette until "Trouble in Mind" bears the holy ghost of Albert Ayler, which frees drummer Danny Fischer to rip off a pretty good Rashied Ali impression. B+(***)

Dave Holland Octet: Pathways (2009 [2010], Dare2): Basically Quintet plus extra horns, not as much as the big band, but plenty for all practical purposes. Recorded live at Birdland, some applause and shout outs. Intermittently terrific, especially when trombonist Robin Eubanks bowls his way to the front. B+(***) [advance]

Scenes [John Stowell/Jeff Johnson/John Bishop]: Rinnova (2009 [2010], Origin): Guitar-bass-drums trio. Stowell is a subtle craftsman, and Seattle's standard rhythm section lay out smartly measured postbop ambience. B+(***)

Brad Mehldau: Highway Rider (2009 [2010], Nonesuch, 2CD): Started out with piano trios, making an impressive debut and sustaining his Art of the Piano Trio series longer than anyone has a right to; dropped the obligatory solo album, but then started moving onto large canvases, more composer than improviser. This one sprawls over two discs, awash in a huge string orchestra, which alternately annoys and soothes me. Joshua Redman also graces the affair, sounding functionally comparable to Jan Garbarek if not quite so sweet or sharp. B+(**)

Some re-grades as I've gone through trying to sort out the surplus:

Angles: Epileptical West: Live in Coimbra (2009 [2010], Clean Feed): [was: A-] A

Billy Bang: Prayer for Peace (2005 [2010], TUM): [was: A-] A

Satoko Fujii Ma-Do: Desert Ship (2009 [2010], Not Two): [was: B+(**)] B+(***)

The Mark Lomax Trio: The State of Black America (2007 [2010], Inarhyme): [was: A-] A

Unpacking: Found in the mail this week (and the week before):

• Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quartet: Natural Selection (Sunnyside): Sept. 21
• Newman Taylor Baker: Singin' Drums: Drum Suite Life (Innova): Sept. 28
• Lucian Ban & John Hébert: Enesco Re-Imagined (Sunnyside): Oct. 26
• David Bixler & Arturo O'Farrill: The Auction Project (Zoho): Sept. 14
• Blob: Earphonious Swamphony (Innova): Sept. 28
• Hadley Caliman & Pete Christlieb: Reunion (Origin)
• Andrea Centazzo/Perry Robinson/Nobu Stowe: The Soul in the Mist (Ictus): advance, 2007
• Nels Cline: Dirty Baby (Crypgogramophone, 2CD): box includes thre 40-page booklets, 66 images by Ed Ruscha
• Ryan Cohan: Another Look (Motéma): Sept. 14
• Decoy & Joe McPhee: Oto (Bo Weavil)
• Joey DeFrancesco: Never Can Say Goodbye: The Music of Michael Jackson (High Note)
• Denise Donatelli: When Lights Are Low (Savant)
• Paquito D'Rivera: Tango Jazz: Live at Lincoln Center (Sunnyside)
• Jean-Marc Foltz/Matt Turner/Bill Carrothers: To the Moon (Ayler)
• Fond of Tigers: Continent & Western (Drip Audio): Oct. 12
• Rebecca Coupe Franks: Check the Box (RCF)
• Joe Gilman: Americanvas (Capri)
• Jared Gold: Out of Line (Posi-Tone)
• Goldbug: The Seven Dreams (1k)
• Conrad Herwig: The Latin Side of Herbie Hancock (Half Note)
• William Hooker Trio: Yearn for Certainty (Engine)
• Lena Horne: The Essential Lena Horne (1941-75, Masterworks/Legacy, 2CD)
• Jon Irabagon: Foxy (Hot Cup): Sept. 14
• Bobby Jackson: The Café Extra-Ordinaire Story (Jazzman)
• Tomas Janzon: Experiences (Changes Music)
• Matt Jorgensen: Tatooed by Passion: Music Inspired by the Paintings of Dale Chisman (Origin)
• Andrew Lamb Trio: New Orleans Suite (Engine)
• Anne LeBaron: 1, 2, 4, 3 (Innova, 2CD): Sept. 28
• Barton McLean: Soundworlds (Innova): Sept. 28
• Tim Moltzer + Markus Reuter: Descending (1k)
• The NYFA Collection: 25 Years of New York New Music (Innova, 5CD): Sept. 28
• Michael Pagán/Colorado Saxophone Quartet: 12 Preludes & Fugues (Tapestry)
• Ivo Perelman/Rosie Hertlein/Dominic Duval: Near to the Wild Heart (Not Two)
• Ivo Perelman/Brian Willson: The Stream of Life (Leo)
• Portico Quartet: Isla (Real World)
• Mike Pride: From Bacteria to Boys (AUM Fidelity): Oct. 12
• Tom Rizzo: Imaginary Numbers (Origin)
• Florian Ross: Mechanism (Pirouet): Sept. 28
• Scanner with the Post Modern Jazz Quartet: BLink of an Eye (Thirsty Ear): advance, Nov. 2
• Dolores Scozzesi: A Special Taste (Rhombus): Sept. 7
• Blaise Siwula/Nobu Stowe/Ray Sage: Brooklyn Moments (Konnex): advance, 2005
• Blaise Siwula/Dom Minasi/Nobu Stowe/Ray Sage: New York Moments (Konnex): advance, 2006
• Nobu Stowe-Lee Pembleton Project: Hommage an Klaus Kinski (Soul Note): advance, 2007
• Nobu Stowe & Alan Munshower with Badal Roy: An Die Musik (Soul Note): advance, 2008
• Nobu Stowe: Confusion Bleue (Soul Note)
• Achille Succi/Nobu Stowe/Daniel Barbiero/Alan Munshower/Lee Pembleton: L'Albero delle Meduse (www.vlme.org/ensembles/jelly.html): advance, 2009
• Trio Ricochet: February 2006 (Trio Ricochet): advance, 2006
• Helen Sung: Going Express (Sunnyside): Sept. 14
• Tribecastan: Strange Cousin (Evergreene Music)
• Tribecastan: 5 Star Cave (Evergreene Music)
• Doug Webb: Midnight (Posi-Tone)
• Kenny Werner: No Beginning No End (Half Note)
• Bruce Williamson Quartet: Standard Transmission (Origin)

Thought I might wrap up this Jazz Consumer Guide round last week, but the week didn't cooperate very well. Still have work to do to get the new server sorted out and the legacy websites running. Still have a bunch of other things I'm working on around the house. Have had an exceptionally tough time writing, and haven't managed to get my incoming mail catalogued. Still, I'm close enough that I'm sure I will have it all wrapped up this coming week.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd post this little Downbeat poll item. I still haven't looked at the Downbeat Critics Poll results, even though the August issue is off the newsstands now. I will do a more systematic review of it, as in past years, when I get a bit of time -- sometime after I get this column wrapped up.

I filled out a ballot for the Downbeat readers' poll ballot. Did it off the top of my head, not looking at my notes, so I leaned on their suggested lists except in the rare cases where I didn't find anyone or thing to my taste.

• Hall of Fame: Lee Konitz. Figured I should pick one from the checklist. George Russell, Anthony Braxton, and Abdullah Ibrahim were equally tempting.
• Jazz Artist: William Parker. Again, from the list, as is everyone below except those noted as write-ins.
• Jazz Album (June 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010): Rudresh Mahanthappa & Steve Lehman: Dual Identity (Clean Feed). Write in. Best album I saw on the list is Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Forty Fort (Hot Cup), my other pick hit last column.
• Historical Album (June 1, 2009-May 31, 2010): Ella Fitzgerald, Twelve Nights in Hollywood (Hip-O Select). Wish I had some of the Mosaic boxes everyone else is voting for, even more so the Stan Getz-Kenny Barron People Time box that unaccountably missed the ballot.
• Jazz Group: Mostly Other People Do the Killing
• Big Band: Steven Bernstein Millennial Territory Orchestra
• Trumpet: Dennis Gonzalez. Surprised he was on the list, also surprised that Randy Sandke -- my first thought -- wasn't.
• Trombone: Roswell Rudd
• Soprano Saxophone: Brent Jensen (write in)
• Alto Saxophone: Rudresh Mahanthappa
• Tenor Saxophone: Houston Person. Lots of ways one could go here.
• Baritone Saxophoone: Ken Vandermark. Don't normally pick a second instrument player.
• Clarinet: Ben Goldberg
• Flute: Juhani Aaltonen (write-in)
• Piano: Satoko Fujii. Again, many real good choices.
• Electronic Keyboard: Craig Taborn
• Organ: Jared Gold. Not many good choices, but I've just been listening to his work with Oliver Lake.
• Violin: Billy Bang
• Guitar: Bill Frisell. I thought of several others, like Anders Nilsson, Wolfgang Muthspiel, and Mark O'Leary, but none on the list.
• Bass: William Parker
• Electric Bass: Stomu Takeishi
• Drums: Lewis Nash
• Vibes: Joe Locke
• Percussion: Han Bennink
• Miscellaneous Instrument: Howard Johnson (tuba). Had to limit myself to the list here otherwise I'd go crazy.
• Male Vocalist: Freddy Cole
• Female Vocalist: Sheila Jordan
• Composer: John Zorn. Don't know if it's cheating to commission recordings of your compositions, but he's done that often enough to gain some focus as a composer.
• Arranger: Gerald Wilson
• Record Label: Clean Feed
• Blues Artist or Group: James Blood Ulmer
• Blues Album (June 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010): Maria Muldaur, Garden of Joy (Stony Plain). Surprised to find one on the list that I knew and could get behind.
• Beyond Artist or Group: Youssou N'Dour (write-in). List runs from Angelique Kidjo to Grizzly Bear to Pink Martini to Wilco, including Anthony Braxton for some reason.
• Beyond Album (June 1, 2009-May 31, 2010): Leonard Cohen, Live in London (Columbia). No question once I saw it on the list, eligible by time frame. (My own lists are annual, so I don't have an easy way to sort on their time frame.)

More on this when I finally get around to doing a Critics Poll review. I'm more struck than ever by the imbalance in the instrumental categories: with Steve Lacy gone, I'd probably name twenty tenor saxophonists before thinking of a soprano; same ratio or steeper for acoustic piano over electric, and acoustic bass over electric, and not much less for drums over percussion. One thing I've done a bit here is to flip back and forth between mainstream and avant players -- there's no real way to compare them, so I decided just to split my own rather catholic interests. Hence Houston Person instead of David Murray or Ken Vandermark, and Lewis Nash instead of Hamid Drake or Paal Nilssen-Love -- any of which would be equally valid.

Time kind of got away from me this week. The main distraction was the need to do something about the demise of my dedicated webserver, which is still up in the air -- although I do expect to ink a new deal sometime this week, which will result in a lot more things to do. Meanwhile, I did finally take the first steps toward closing out this Jazz CG round. That isn't much evident in this week's Jazz Prospecting, which has tended to follow my usual random methodology. (Well, not quite random, as I've been focusing on the priority box, aside from some time pretty much wasted on Rhapsody.) Next week the shift should be more evident, with fewer new records -- although some that I have played and didn't write up will likely poke through -- and a final return to the handful of records I've previously left hanging. But mostly I need to play stuff that I've rated but haven't written up. And I still have no idea for pick hits. And the duds list is empty while the HMs are way, way too long. I figure odds of wrapping up are 50-50. Got enough words, but it still strikes me as rather scruffy.

Peter Evans Quartet: Live in Lisbon (2009 [2010], Clean Feed): Trumpet player, best known for his role in Mostly Other People Do the Killing, but has two solo albums on Psi (haven't heard either) and a slightly different Quartet on Firehouse 12 -- bassist Tom Blancarte and drummer Kevin Shea return here, but the guitar is replaced here by Ricardo Gallo's piano, at once more traditional and more shocking. AMG describes Evans as influenced by Don Cherry and Lester Bowie, but I don't hear either. In chops and conception, he reminds me of early Freddie Hubbard, when he could cross from avant to hard bop without ever seeming out of place. B+(***) [advance]

Ab Baars/Meinrad Kneer: Windfall (2008 [2010], Evil Rabbit): Tenor sax-bass duets, although Baars occasionally lightens up with clarinet, shakuhachi, or noh-kan (a "high pitched Japanese bamboo transverse flute commonly used in traditional Imperial Noh and Kabuki theatre"). One of Baars' more appealing, more charming efforts, although the real test here is following the bass, which demands and rewards concentration. B+(**)

Myra Melford's Be Bread: The Whole Tree Gone (2008 [2010], Firehouse 12): Pianist, b. 1957, cut a couple of trio albums in 1990-91 that Francis Davis noticed, and gradually worked her way into the front rank of cutting edge jazz pianists. Teaches at UC Berkeley. Be Bread is her most expansive group, previously heard on the 2006 album The Image of Your Body, much advanced here: Cuong Vu (trumpet), Ben Goldberg (clarinet), Brandon Ross (guitar), Stomu Takeishi (acoustic bass guitar), and Matt Wilson (drums). A-

Meg Okura and the Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble: Naima (2009 [2010], Meg Okura): Violinist, also plays erhu, b. 1973 in Tokyo, Japan, based in New York. Has a previous album, Meg Okura's Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble (2006), as well as several in Japan that AMG doesn't have a clue about. Also shows up in side credits on a couple dozen albums, mostly John Zorn circle but also with Dianne Reeves, David Bowie, and Ziggy Marley. Group is chamber-ish, with flutes (Anne Drummond Jun Kubo), piano, cello, bass, drums, and percussion (Satoshi Takeishi), and the pieces tend to be suite-like, the last four under the group title "Lu Chai I-IV." The title track, of course, is an arrangement of Coltrane; everything else original. Striking music when it all clicks, which often it does. B+(**)

The Claudia Quintet + Gary Versace: Royal Toast (2009 [2010], Cuneiform): Last three Claudia Quintet albums rated A- in Jazz CG although they've all been sort of marginal: soft sounds (Chris Speed's clarinet, Ted Reichman's accordion, Matt Moran's vibes, Drew Gress's bass) floating on John Hollenbeck's quirky rhythms. This one is much like those, with Gary Versace's piano adding one more soft touch -- he does take one cut on accordion, but after Reichman that's anticlimactic. But it also slips a bit when soft gives way to slow, and I think that tips this just a bit under. Still a fascinating group. B+(***)

Allison Miller: Boom Tic Boom (2010, Foxhaven): Drummer, from DC, based in New York, second album after one in 2005, substantial list of side credits since 1999, mostly rock (exceptions include Virginia Mayhew, Marty Ehrlich, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Judy Silvano, and Todd Sickafoose). Mostly piano trio with Myra Melford leading, Sickafoose on bass, and some guest contribution from violinist Jenny Scheinman -- just one cut as far as I can tell. Four originals from Miller, two from Melford, one each from Mary Lou Williams and Hoagy Carmichael ("Rockin' Chair"). Slows down for the finale, but Melford is in very fine form -- a better showcase for her piano than her own record. A-

Remi Álvarez/Mark Dresser: Soul to Soul (2008 [2010], Discos Intolerancia): Saxophonist, lists soprano first but cover pic features tenor -- website also lists alto and baritone up front, perhaps alphabetically -- from Mexico City. Website shows this as fifth album since 1996, although it's only the second with his name first. Duet with the veteran bassist, very solid and relatively straightforward here, with the sax working cautiously around the edges. B+(***)

Pete Robbins: Silent Z Live (2009 [2010], Hate Laugh Music): Alto saxophonist, b. 1978, grew up in Andover, MA, studied at Phillips Academy, Tufts, and New England Conservatory; moved to Brooklyn in 2002. Fourth album since 2002. Two quintet variants, half with Jesse Neuman on cornet, the other hand with Cory Smythe on piano; both with Mike Gamble on guitar, Thomas Morgan on bass, and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. Gets a sweet sound out of his horn, working freebop grooves and angles, dicier with the cornet than with the piano, but engaging in all cases. B+(***)

Jim Rotondi: 1000 Rainbows (2008 [2010], Posi-Tone): Trumpet player, b. 1962 in Butte, MT, attended UNT, based in New York, has more than a dozen albums since 1997, mostly on mainstream/hard bop labels Criss Cross and Sharp Nine; also more than 50 side credits since 1992. Sole horn, with Joe Locke on vibes, Danny Grissett on piano, Barak Mori on bass, and Bill Stewart on drums. Hard-edged, bright sound, another very solid record. B+(**)

Dave Mihaly's Shimmering Leaves Ensemble: Eastern Accents in the Far West (2010, Porto Franco): Drummer, plays some piano here, also has a voice credit; based in San Francisco, after starting in NJ and NY; credits Andrew Cyrille, Barry Altschul, and Zakir Hussain as teachers, and reports that he's taught for some thirty years. First album according to AMG, although his website lists several more, including three string quartets and an expanded "Coretet" version of this group. Two-horn trio, with David Boyce on tenor sax and Ara Anderson on brass instruments (trumpet, bass trumpet, sousaphone), both occasionally spelling Mihaly on drums. I recall Anderson from Tin Hat; Boyce has a couple dozen credits, the only one I recognize a hip-hop album, Haiku D'Etat (actually, a pretty good one, with Aceyalone). The two horns twist in interesting ways, with just enough support from drums (and sometimes piano) to tie it together. B+(**)

Bill Frisell: Beautiful Dreamers (2010, Savoy Jazz): Guitarist, has cornered a slice of Americana and keeps working it, in this basic framework with Eyvind Kang on viola and Rudy Royston on drums. His originals fit in neatly enough, but the gems are the covers, including "Beautiful Dreamer," "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine" (Blind Willie Johnson), "Tea for Two," "Goin' Out of My Head," and especially "Keep on the Sunny Side." A-

Ratko Zjaca/John Patitucci/Steve Gadd/Stanislav Mitrovic/Randy Brecker: Continental Talk (2008 [2010], In+Out): Guitarist, studied in Zagreb, based now in Rotterdam; AMG lists 3 records since 2000 (not including this one); website lists 8 but not much detail. Mitrovic, b. 1963 in Belgrade, also based in Rotterdam, plays tenor and soprano sax. The others, better known, play trumpet (Brecker), bass (Patitucci), and drums (Gadd). Mostly modern postbop, with nice sax runs and trumpet blasts, but slips into some skunk funk near the end. B

Kihnoua: Unauthorized Caprices (2009 [2010], Not Two): Larry Ochs group, second his his website's group list after Sax Drumming Core, but then ROVA is on the far end. Ochs plays saxophones (probably sopranino and tenor), rough and rugged as usual, but not as rough as Dohee Lee's vocals -- her attack is barely restrainted. Also on board is Scott Amendola, drums and electronics. Group name "borrowed from ancient Greek might have meant 'the difference.'" Vocals draw on Korean "p'ansori singing" and "sinawi improvisation," but could just as well be avant horn attack. Some guests: Liz Allbee (trumpet + electronics), Fred Frith (guitar), Joan Jeanrenaud (cello). B+(**)

Contact: Five on One (2010, Pirouet): Not what you'd call a supergroup, but well-established veterans -- bassist Drew Gress is the youngest by more than a decade, drummer Billy Hart the elder by much less -- the front-line players easily recognized, each with sweet spots that are undeniably theirs, the rhythm section impeccable, pianist Marc Copland playing both roles. Most prominent, of course, is the sole horn, Dave Liebman on tenor and soprano sax. I've never been a fan of his soprano, but he works it in nicely here -- a sinuous interweaving that is likely inspired by the master of the art, guitarist John Abercrombie. B+(***)

Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra: Mezzanine (2010, Owl Studios): The biggest band in Indianapolis, or at least Bloomington, where this was recorded and Brent trombonist-conductor Wallarab teaches. I thought their previous album, Where or When, was a terrific territory band throwback, but they get all orchestral here, and while arranger fans will find bits to admire, this doesn't really get going until third cut from the end, where they take a break from Wallarab's book. Even then, how often are you tempted to call "Stompin' at the Savoy" and "Cherokee" dainty? B

Correction: Two Nights in April (2009 [2010], Ayler): Piano trio, from Sweden: Sebastian Bergström on piano, Jaocim Nyberg on bass, Emil Åstrand-Melin on drums. First album, drawn from two live sets on two consecutive nights, the piano has a hard edge that leans free but may know a thing or two about rock. B+(***)

Myron Walden: Momentum Live (2009, Demi Sound): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1972 (or 1973?), started on alto, establishing himself as one of the better mainstream boppers around before taking time off to refashion himself on tenor. Got hit with a lot of hype on him last fall, including a bunch of advances for albums that the publicist never followed up on. The first was called Momentum, and it seemed like a pretty decent hard bop outing. This is a live reworking, with Darren Barrett (trumpet) and Yasushi Nakamura (bass) carrying over from the studio album, Edin Ladin (piano) and John Davis (drums) replacing David Bryant and Kendrick Scott. Main diff this time is sonic, where they're going for (or stumbled on) the thin-skinned underwater sound of Charlie Parker boots. The plus side is an engaging looseness, especially the horns sliding to and fro. The piano solos don't do much, and the usual live ballast doesn't add anything. B+(*) [advance]

Myron Walden/In This World: To Feel (2009 [2010], Demi Sound): Last fall's batch of CDRs included two Walden albums promised for Jan. 15 release. I did what I usually do: wait for the real copy, which in this case never came. Looks like everyone else did too. I haven't found a single review of either album, and the only place where it is Amazon, fronting for a retailed identified as Myron Walden. Not clear if "In This World" is a band name or just a logo. One page in the hype package lists the band as: Jon Cowherd (piano), Mike Moreno (guitar), Yasushi Nakamura (bass), and Obed Calvaire (drums). AMG, with no track info, confirms Cowherd-Moreno-Nakamura, but has Brian Blade and/or Kendrick Scott on drums, plus David Bryant on Fender Rhodes and Chris Thomas on acoustic bass. Band doesn't matter much here. Walden's To Feel approach is to run ballads past us, everything slow and soft. B [advance]

Myron Walden/In This World: What We Share (2009 [2010], Demi Sound): Same deal here: don't know anything more about band, recording date (presumed 2009 because I got the advance before 2010 rolled over), etc. Record is a little more energetic, and guitar (Mike Moreno?) does a nice job of framing the tenor sax. Walden is an attractive mainstream player, worth taking seriously, but he's not making any big breakthroughs. I have one more CDR in my pile, a 2-cut thing called Singles, which I assume is just a pure PR fantasy. He seems to have one more album in the pipeline, Countryfied, also on Amazon. Didn't come my way. B+(*) [advance]

These are some even quicker notes based on downloading or streaming records. I don't have the packaging here, don't have the official hype, often don't have much information to go on. I have a couple of extra rules here: everything gets reviewed/graded in one shot (sometimes with a second play), even when I'm still guessing on a grade; the records go into my flush file (i.e., no Jazz CG entry, unless I make an exception for an obvious dud). If/when I get an actual copy I'll reconsider the record.

Ivo Perelman: Brazilian Watercolour (1998 [1999], Leo): Several Perelman albums have been reissued in Brazil on Atração Fonográphica and worked their way to Rhapsody that way -- this one under the title Aquarela do Brasil, but aside from a few title translations this matches the release on Leo. One of the few cases where Perelman plays a couple of pop tunes from his homeland, here "Desafinado" and "Samba de Verão" -- the strain and choppiness he adds makes them all the more alluring. With Matthew Shipp on piano, Rashid Ali on drums, Guilherme Franco and Cyro Baptista on percussion and wood flutes. A singular tenor saxophonist, even on a lite samba. Also has a piano credit somewhere, but it's not clear to me where Shipp gives way. B+(***) [Rhapsody]

Ivo Perelman with C.T. String Quartet: The Alexander Suite (1998, Leo): The quartet is sharp and jazzwise, led from the bassist: Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Ron Lawrence (viola), Tomas Ulrich (cello), and Dominic Duval (bass). That makes them about as astringent as the tenor saxophonist, who squeaks and squawks above them, pretty much as sharp and bloody as cutting edge gets. B+(***) [Rhapsody]

Joe Morris: Colorfield (2009, ESP-Disk): Guitarist, from Boston, with about 30 albums since 1990, has been on a roll lately -- I count three A-list records since 2004 under his own name, a near miss, and a few more under other names, but most of those rode in on the coattails of hard-blowing saxophonists (Ken Vandermark, Jim Hobbs). Missed this one from last year, a trio with pianist Steve Lantner and his usual drummer Luther Gray. Don't know Lantner, but he worked with Joe (and Mat) Maneri, has a half dozen albums since 1997, and provides a consistently interesting contrast to Morris's irrascible guitar. B+(***) [Rhapsody]

Lee Konitz/Chris Cheek/Stephane Furic Leibovici: Jugendstil II (2005 [2010], ESP-Disk): Bassist Leibovici, who previously recorded as Stephane Furic, wrote all eight pieces, and acts as music director for the two saxophonists. He sets the ground rules, reining in the saxes as they're mostly yoked to the melody -- not much here for rugged individualists, although the music is pleasantly engaging. B+(*) [Rhapsody]

Herbie Hancock: The Imagine Project (2010, Hancock): Recorded in seven countries with guests from even further across the universe, this is a colossal engagement of liberal internationalism, and a pretty good showcase for at least some of the talent. But is the choice of such obvious songs lazy thinking or a real paucity of alternatives. Lennon's "Imagine," sure, but can't you do better than Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up" for an encore? (Pink sings both, paired first with Seal then with John Legend.) Lennon-McCartney return later, showcasing quintessential good guy Dave Matthews, almost as wasted as Sam Cooke is on James Morrison. Colombia and Brazil get some respect, but Bob Marley is routed through Somalia and the Sahara to East L.A., faring better than Dylan "Times They Are a Changin'" done by the Chieftains with Toumani Diabate kora. Silly as the others seem, the latter is the album's only real gag moment. High point? The closer with Chaka Khan, Anoushka Shankar, and Wayne Shorter. Plus a pianist who always sounds impeccable no matter how little he does. Not a jazz record, but the finale could be worked that way. B [Rhapsody]

Some corrections and further notes on recent prospecting:

Ivo Perelman/Dominic Duval/Brian Willson: Mind Games (2008 [2010], Leo): Drummer's name is "Willson," not "Wilson" as I had it. In my defense, the label says "Wilson" on the front cover, the back cover, the credits in the booklet, and at least three times in Art Lange's liner notes. The label did get Willson's name right on the newer Ivo Perelman/Brian Willson duo, The Stream of Life -- the one I didn't get and haven't heard. AMG has his name both ways, several times, adding to the confusion. The publicist also has the drummer's name as "Wilson" in the hype sheet, so this looks like an uphill battle.

For this cycle's collected Jazz Prospecting notes -- 196 records thus far -- look here.

Unpacking: Found in the mail this week:

• Henry Darragh: Tell Her for Me (Henry Darragh)
• Matt Garrison: Familiar Places (D Clef)
• Robert David Hall: Things They Don't Teach You in School (Robert David Hall Music)
• John McNeil/Bill McHenry: Chill Morn He Climb Jenny (Sunnyside): Sept. 21
• Myra Melford's Be Bread: The Whole Tree Gone (Firehouse 12)
• Marc Ribot: Silent Movies (Pi): Sept. 28
• Joan Soriano: El Duque de la Bachata (IASO, CD+DVD)
• Paul Tynan & Aaron Lington: Bicoastal Collective: Chapter Two (OA2)
• Greg Ward's Fitted Shards: South Side Story (19/8): Sept. 28
• Sarah Wilson: Trapeze Project (Brass Logic)

More than the usual load this month, which is partly cyclical: the month was spent in the low ebb of the Jazz CG cycle, letting me indulge more than usual my desire to listen to something else. There's also an element of post-Christgau activism, much the same response Michael Tatum had. And Tatum's correspondence added to the flurry: he hepped me to the Books, Wainwright, and Best Coast, while I pointed him to Sleigh Bells. (Gauthier had been on my rader, but Rhapsody was being fussy there.) It's also a bit long because I held this back a few days to give him first shot -- although the lag worked the other way on Arcade Fire, which he'll certainly have something more substantial to say next month.

One new thing here is that I've included a couple of records that I didn't survey via Rhapsody. I cover new jazz in Jazz CG and Jazz Prospecting, and new world music in Recycled Goods (on the pretext that since it comes from abroad even the new stuff gets recycled a little bit), which leaves a very small number of other records -- things that I would have done here but one way or another managed to wrangle a hard copy. Somewhile back I tried to handle them separately, but I never had enough to fill an at-all-regular column. So I figured I'd put them here, marking them as [cd] or [advance] (for promos that aren't quite real). Only two this time, and I don't expect there'll be many more in the future. (The Hold Steady record, which I preemptively bought then didn't get to, is the only one I'm sure is on the shelf.)

More albums pictures this time, simply because the A-list got out of hand: left M.I.A. and Sage Francis out thinking they're slightly more marginal; left Wainwright out because his business model didn't make it easy to grab a cover -- a different kind of marginality. Order has no significance.

Usual caveats apply: These are short notes/reviews based on streaming records from Rhapsody (except as noted; e.g. [cd]). They are snap judgments based on one or two plays, accumulated since my last post along these lines, back on July 8. Past reviews and more information are available here.

Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (2010, Def Jam): Half of OutKast on his own, give or take a dozen or more guest stars each contributing to a big, messy, excessively sweet pot of ear candy. Had trouble finding the center, but virtually all OutKast albums take a while to kick in -- not that "Tangerine" had any problems. First two plays left me on the fence, but when I went back to another I lost my doubts -- even the fake operatic shit did the trick. A-

Kelis: Flesh Tone (2010, Interscope): More coherent, mostly because the beats are narrower and more mechanical, almost as narrow and mechanical as her voice. One advantage this has is that it builds momentum gradually over the course of the album. "Brave" should make a pretty good single; not as tasty as "Milkshake," but she's moving on. B+(*)

Drake: Thank Me Later (2010, Universal Motown): Young rapper from Canada, had a good EP last year and sustains it over 60 minutes this time. B+(***)

The-Dream: Love King (2010, Def Jam): I've been resistant to his charms and spiel thus far, but something clicks here -- maybe it's the Neptunes, maybe just the hinted Nelly-like encouragement from his posse. I still don't buy the argument to "Sex Intelligent" but the ear candy is hard to resist, and he keeps is going for much longer than anyone has a right to. Comes in at 54:44, so maybe he's not quite a sixty-minute man, but he makes a pretty good run at it. A-

Bako Dagnon: Sidiba (2010, Discograph): Malian griot, female division although I wouldn't swear that by her voice -- lower and slightly muddier than Youssou N'Dour. Music is rather spare, mostly guitar or guitar-like with little percussion. Thoroughly enchanting at first, wears a bit thin by the end. B+(***)

Salif Keita: La Différence (2009 [2010], Decca): The most famous of Mali's vocalists, going back to Les Ambassadeurs, with a solo career since the mid-1980s -- his reputation in a voice that exudes power but also grace. Looking back over my database, I see that through a half-dozen previous records I've never much warmed to him, though I can't tell you why. Problem here is the music, which wraps around him like a decadent toga, the least glitz a distraction, best at its plainest. B

Kylie Minogue: Aphrodite (2010, Astralwerks): Australian dance diva, cut her first album in 1988 at 20 and has a dozen now that she's passed 40. Never listened to her before, but she hits her stride here midway through on the title track and the rest of the album is fully functional and fun. B+(***)

Kele: The Boxer (2010, Glassnote): Bloc Party singer-songwriter-guitarist goes solo, producing a pretty typical Bloc Party album; synth beats, plasticky grooves, wan vocals, a bit of angst, but exhilarating out the gate. B+(**)

Kesha: Animal (2010, Jive): Né Kesha Rose Sebert, 1987, d/b/a Ke$ha, a piece of typographic banality we'll overlook for now. Daughter of a Nashville songwriting pro, moved to LA to ply her hitmaking connections, and launched this number one album with a number one single. First two songs are terrific ("Your Love Is My Drug" and "Tic Tok"), and nothing falls way short -- can't say as I liked the message in "DINOSAUR" but the pop hooks (if not the CAT scan lyric) pulled it out. For all the "$$$" seems more like a party girl, sometimes aspiring to be Amy Winehouse when she grows up. A few more plays could cinch this, but it feels like it'd be irresponsible to credit her now. B+(***)

Laurie Anderson: Homeland (2010, Nonesuch): Ambitious, distinctive, thoughtful, clever, unique, asking big questions, evincing deep concerns, but still this is not just dreary but rather murky in the early going, and stretches out with pieces like "Another Day in America" and "Dark Time in the Revolution" that deserve to be called didactic. Only "Only an Expert" really brings it together, partly because it quickens the pace and beefs up the harmony but also because the insights it drives home are profound. B+(***) [advance]

The Coathangers: Scramble (2009, Suicide Squeeze): Atlanta girls scratch out some art moves to follow up an eponymous punk debut that got by on attitude alone -- not too arty, mind you, more like the sort of competence that comes from practicing. Haven't worn out their attitude either. B+(***) [cd]

M.I.A.: Maya (2010, XL/Interscope): I expect I'll pick up a real copy fairly soon, but gave it a spin anyway. Unique shtick, Bollywood raps with sharp beats and harsh, shrill shoots. Wouldn't call her a terrorist, but she does thrive on conflict. Deluxe edition adds four tracks, not as dressed up as the four on the cheap edition. Not sure what else. [PS: All the Deluxe edition adds is four cuts, on the same cheap piece of plastic -- a price differentiation strategy that augurs ill for the future. Did buy a copy, the overpriced one. I'll stick with my grade, but do wonder how often I'll feel like playing it once the shock-excitement wears thin.] A-

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: Before Today (2009-10 [2010], 4AD): Group led by guitarist Ariel Pink, né Ariel Marcus Rosenberg. Ninth record since 2004, counting things like Oddities Sodomies Vol. 1. Lo-fi, uses other vocalists, including some falsetto. Some songs are evidently rerecorded from early albums, which may explain why it seems so erratic. Last couple songs start to sound like the Fall -- i.e., better. B-

The Like: Release Me (2010, Downtown): Four LA girls in mod dresses on the cover. So straightforward it could have been done in the 1960s. B

Sage Francis: Li(f)e (2010, Anti-): Alt-rapper, works with alt-rockers and comes off more as performance poet, but actually sings some and the unsynthy music rings true. One piece on a dutiful son with transportation challenges. One piece on growing up which makes it all seem to be a miracle, or lots of dumb luck, anyway. A-

Rhymefest: El Che (2010, Rose Hip): Chicago rapper, given name Che Smith, which he plays off for the title and hints at some political import. I liked his 2006 album Blue Collar both for his plainspokenness and his guest networking, but I'm less clear on this one. B+(**)

She & Him: Volume Two (2010, Merge): Actress-singer Zooey Deschanel wrote most of the songs -- note that the two exceptions are the two Christgau picked out as choice cuts. I'm not that picky, or at least didn't find them standing out compared to some of the others. Him is Matthew Ward, a singer-songwriter on his own who takes a back seat here. Light, straightforward pop, serious enough. B+(*)

Casiokids: Topp Stemning På Lokal Bar (2010, Polyvinyl): Norwegian group, sing in Norwegian (or something like that), play more/less danceable synth pop, none of which does much to overcome the language barrier. Album appears to exist in two versions, one 8 cuts long, the other 16 (mostly remixes and alts). Played the short one, pleasant for sure, but not enough to convince me I need to hear the long one. B

Devin the Dude: Suite #420 (2010, E1 Music): Weed anthems and arcana, including a little sex on the side, rolled thin and kept tight under wraps. Funny little skit on Twitter and Google. B+(*)

Field Music: Field Music (Measure) (2010, Memphis Industries): English group, brothers David and Peter Brewis, third album since 2005. Expected something more techno, but sounds more like Oasis to me: light pop songs with heavier guitar, but also a bit more experimentation. B+(*)

Sleigh Bells: Treats (2010, Mom & Pop Music): Brooklyn duo, Derek Miller (guitar) and Alexis Krauss (vocals), sounds like heavy synth pop but all that noise is evidently just ginned up from laptop and distortion pedals. Short songs, Loud, sharp, shrill even, but not from attitude. B+(***)

Reflection Eternal [Talib Kweli + Hi-Tek]: Revolutions Per Minute (2010, Warner Brothers): Most sources go with Reflection Eternal as artist name here, even though the front cover identifies Talib Kweli + Hi-Tek in larger, bolder type. (Reflection Eternal was the title of their 2000 album, which I don't think they've reused in the meantime.) Flows along with periodic consciousness: one called "Ballad of Black Gold" could use some bonus verses about BP, but people need to hear more about Nigeria. A-

The Books: The Way Out (2010, Temporary Residence): Duo, guitarist-vocalist Nick Zammuto, cellist Paul de Jong, although most of what they work with seem to be samples, and they like to call the results collages. First thing you notice is the spoken text, which works when it's clever as it most often is, but soon the electrothrash sorts out into interesting patterns as well, and I even find myself caring about stories, like "The Story of Hip Hop." A-

Zu: Carboniferous (2009, Ipecac): Italian group, loosely aligned with The Ex and connected to Ken Vandermark and Mats Gustafsson, both with guest shots and collaboration albums in the catalog -- Radiale with Spaceways Inc. was my first Jazz Consumer Guide Pick Hit. Also seem to have a fascination with geology, born out on an album called Igneo which won me over on many levels. Was surprised to see this appear last year mostly on metalhead lists, but that's clearly where they aimed it. Mostly instrumental and not bad but rather monotonous as far as that goes. Vocals are truly dreadful. B-

Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse: Dark Night of the Soul (2010, Capitol): Brian Burton first came to our attention with his bootleg mashup of Jay-Z's Black Album with the so-called Beatles "White Album," and he keeps coming back in various guises, the best known Gnarls Barkley. Sparklehorse is some kind of alt rock group, led by a Mark Linkous who co-wrote most of the songs here and shot himself three months before the album was released. (Didn't know that when I played this, and don't feel like going back to plumb for clues.) Various guests are brought in to sing. Black Francis and Iggy Pop move the music toward metal, but nearly everyone else succumb to Burton's postmodern Beatles aura, which isn't such a bad thing. B+(*)

Mulatu Astatke: Mulatu Steps Ahead (2010, Strut): The Ethio Jazz guru, on his own without the Heliocentrics helping to jack up the beats, falls back into a well-worn groove with soft vibes and airy moods, with a little vocalizing from way back home. B+(**)

Loudon Wainwright III: 10 Songs for the New Depression (2010, Second Story Sound): The folk singer from posh Westchester County has been boning up on economics, reading Paul Krugman's op eds in the New York Times and packing Maynard Keynes for his beach reading. After all, he's stuck with a California house he can't sell, and his "financial advisors tell me that the present will most assuredly stretch into the foreseeable future." Moreover, after his Charlie Poole project he has a few usable Old Depression songs on his mind, like "The Panic Is On" (recently done by Maria Muldaur on his similarly themed Good Time Music for Hard Times) and "On to Victory, Mr. Roosevelt." The others are originals, with "Cash for Clunkers" upbeat, "Halloween 2009" spooky (with a line about Greenspan "on the lam"). Sucker-priced at $20, more than his 2-CD High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project -- maybe someone should hide his economics primers. A-

Jace Everett: Red Revelations (2010, Wrasse): Country singer, second album, strays from Nashville formula to pick up a rock-retro beat and some psychobilly echo around his deep voice and shallow thoughts -- only "Little Black Dress" puts them to good use. A little monotonous. B

Asleep at the Wheel/Leon Rausch: It's a Good Day (2010, Bismeaux): After 40 years, Ray Benson's band has settled into a western swing groove, and after a few false starts they've got it down pat. Maybe it makes them feel young to work with even older artists, like Willie Nelson, or in this case Leon Rausch, who took over as the singer in Bob Wills' band in 1967, making him one of the last direct links. Old tunes, four from Wills, one from Earl Hines, a "Basin Street Blues" and a "Route 66" that gets a workout. Elizabeth McQueen also sings some. B+(***)

Carrie Rodriguez: Love and Circumstance (2010, Ninth Street Opus): Austin country singer, third album not counting the fetching debut that Chip Taylor got his name up front on. Covers, two from her family, most of the rest picked up from the alt-country fringe running as far afield as Richard Thompson and Steve Van Zandt, with a Spanish-language piece to close, she's about as good as her songs -- Lucinda Williams' "Steal Your Love" is a choice cut. B+(*)

Robbie Fulks: Happy: Plays the Music of Michael Jackson (2002 [2010], Bloodshot): Not sure of recording date, which could be a tad earlier. At any rate, planned release was cancelled in 2004 when Jackson became untouchable. Now Jackson is dead and Fulks has moved on to another label, so why not? Sure, Fulks' twang is unsuppressable, but Jackson's funk lines send it into outer space, so universal it's hard to dismiss most of this as a joke, even when it is. More problematic is when they try to cover the Five's harmonies, run through the horror movie motifs of "Privacy," or do anything with "Ben." B

Deadstring Brothers: São Paulo (2010, Bloodshot): Detroit band, dead ringers for the Exile-era Rolling Stones, at least when Jagger tries on his country drawl, Kurt Marschke's sweet spot. Repeated listenings are likely to surface minor imperfections -- the guitars are close, but Charlie Watts is nowhere in evidence, and no one has the ego to pretend to be the world's greatest rock and roll band. Last few cuts back down even more. B+(*)

Alejandro Escovedo: Street Songs of Love (2010, Fantasy): Started way down in Americana, but with a new label his tenth album surrounds his "Tender Heart" with a lot of dense rock muscle -- it's almost as rippled as Springsteen, but lacks space and depth and lyrics you can follow and care about even if they turn out to be despicable. This, on the other hand, is claustrophobic. Chuck Prophet co-wrote most of the songs. B-

Best Coast: Crazy for You (2010, Mexican Summer): LA group, Bethany Cosentino singing; Bobb Bruno enveloping her in harsh, echoey surf guitar; Ali Koehler the drummer. Thirteen cuts in 31:31. A couple come close to breaking through, but then a couple are just short of migraine-inducing, and it's not like there's much range between one and the other. B+(*)

Arcade Fire: The Suburbs (2010, Merge): Montreal group, third album spaced on three-year intervals, each one hugely praised, this one at 16 cuts in 63:57 pretty monumental. Not my thing, but rocks awful hard for someone so sincere, and the guitar shimmer is pretty amazing, leading a harmonic richness that has rarely been equalled. Finally turned it down and found some songs speaking to me -- "City with No Children," don't recall the others. A-

Mary Gauthier: The Foundling (2010, Razor & Tie): Three records from 1997-2002 (Dixie Kitchen, Drag Queens in Limousines, Filth & Fire -- sounds like a real Dixie kitchen) were most likely primitive and raw, something to check out sometime. They landed her two records on Lost Highway, with Mercy Now still raw but a major accomplishment. This one is over that, her craftsmanship honed to yield several very seductive songs. Lacks that sharp edge, but portends a future. B+(***)

Hank Williams III: Rebel Within (2010, Sidewalk): Mostly goes by Hank III, like redneck royalty, which I suppose he is. Voice seems a little starchy, as if he's actually been living the depraved life he sings about, or maybe he's just bored. First few songs, including the title one, he just sort of walks through. Still, they're not the problem; that would be the thrash rock one toward the end. B+(**)

Blake Shelton: Hilbilly Bone (2010, Warner Brothers): Six cut, 24:25 EP, thrown together fast when the title yarn smelled like a hit. Second cut doubled down on the attitude with the title "Kiss My Country Ass." Too bad they couldn't think of (or find) more, since even at six cuts it starts to thin out. Your basic good old country singer, with five previous albums since 2001. Hadn't checked him out before, but he'll probably have a good best-of someday. B+(**)

Started out the week playing Mike Reed's record (below), and spent a whole day playing it over and over before I eventually concluded it wasn't going to get any better. Then I decided to try something different: play a record once, then hold it back if I wasn't ready to write something. So I spent a couple of days doing that -- Bill Frisell, Portico Quartet, Ergo, Dawn of Midi, Hat will face further plays -- then I lost all discipline. Had to get Recycled Goods and Downloader's Diary up, and spent more time on Rhapsody, padding out tomorrow's post. Sunday wound up being Ivo Perelman day. After having fallen for three straight records, I went to Rhapsody to see what else I could find -- I mean, they can't all be A- records, can they? So I don't have much here, and I'm likely to remain real distracted over the next couple weeks due to the server crash. But closing out this Jazz CG round isn't far off.

Mike Reed's People, Places & Things: Stories and Negotiations (2008 [2010], 482 Music): Chicago drummer. Personnel in this particular group has shifted around depending on what Reed wants to focus on, but the basic theme is 1950s proto-avant-garde jazz in Chicago, which includes pieces here from Clifford Jordan, John Jenkins, Wilbur Campbell, Julian Priester, and (especially) Sun Ra. Art Hoyle (trumpet) and Priester (trombone) are featured here, as is Ira Sullivan, a tenor saxophonist who also hails from the 1950s. The younger set includes Greg Ward (alto sax), Tim Haldeman (tenor sax), Jeb Bishop (trombone), and Jason Roebke (bass), so we get a lot of horns freebopping along. Reed wrote three originals, one for each of his featured guests. In several plays they have yet to resolve -- when I do perk up it's invariably in one or another of the covers. B+(***)

Kali Z. Fasteau: Animal Grace (2005-07 [2010], Flying Note): Eclectic gadfly; soprano sax is probably her key instrument, but she also plays piano, violin, mizmar, nai flute, and sanza here, and uses her voice for something I wouldn't exactly call singing -- actually sounds processed. She first landed in free jazz in the mid-1970s with husband-drummer Donald Rafael Garrett -- cf. Memoirs of a Dream, two discs from 1975-77. Two sets here: 2007 "Live from Harlem" duo with South African drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo, and 2005 "Live in the Alps" with Bobby Few's piano trio. In both Kali Z. makes the rounds, so this has its ups and downs. The ups include Moholo's game drumming, Few's testy piano, and a pretty amazing stretch of soprano sax on the noisy closer. B+(*)

Niklas Barnö/Joel Grip/Didier Lasserre: Snus (2009 [2010], Ayler): Trumpet-bass-drums trio, respectively; Barnö and Grip from Sweden, Lasserre from France. Snus may or may not be group name; also is some kind of tobacco product in Sweden, banned in the EU. Rough free jazz -- the drummer definitely has a knack for it, the bassist harder to hear at all clearly. Barnö goes for a gutbucket sound, more like a trombone, no less dirty but higher and faster. B+(**)

Mike Fahie: Anima (2010, Bju'ecords): Trombonist, b. 1976 in Ottawa, Canada; wound up in New York in 2000. First album, quintet with Bill McHenry (tenor sax), Ben Monder (guitar), Ben Street (bass), and Billy Hart (drums), produced by John McNeil. Postbop, nicely measured, with a lot of space for sax and guitar to lead, the trombone holding the record down to earth. B+(***)

Elliott Sharp: Octal Book Two (2009 [2010], Clean Feed): Guitarist, b. 1951. AMG lists him under classical (chamber music) since 1986, although his rather large discography goes back to 1977. I hadn't heard anything until he showed up playing Monk on Clean Feed, and now I'm up to four records, barely scratching the surface. Solo guitar -- having a lot of trouble with the small print here, but the credit actually looks like "Koll 8-string electroacoustic guitarbass." Interesting but marginal, turning ambient toward the end. B+(**)

Sun Ra Arkestra, Under the Direction of Marshall Allen: Live at the Paradox (2008 [2010], In+Out): Sun Ra died in 1993. Alto saxophonist Allen joined Ra's Arkestra in 1958, was a mainstay until the end, and at 86 is the ghost band's undisputed leader. I don't know how active the Arkestra has been since 1993: Allen's website shows three albums including this one, another live album from 2003 and an earlier album dating from 1999. I only count four band members here who also played on 1990's Live at the Hackney Empire, the last of Ra's full Arkestra albums I have listings for: Allen, Noel Scott (as), Charles Davis (ts), and Elson Nascimento (surdo). The nine songs are split 4-4 between Allen and Ra, with Fletcher Henderson's "Hocus Pocus" the odd tune out -- Ra learned his craft arranging for Henderson; don't know if any of Allen's pieces are new. This covers all the bases, most of the planets and quite a few moons, cranking up the space synths, cracking up into cacophony, breaking down with corny vocals, and swinging like hell. You've heard it all before, yet still can't predict it: this is one ghost band that never gets trapped in its past because its past is still so far in the future we can't anticipate it. B+(***)

Food [Thomas Strønen/Iain Ballamy]: Quiet Inlet (2007-08 [2010], ECM): Group originally an album title from 1999, by a quartet: Iain Ballamy (saxophones), Arve Henriksen (trumpet), Mats Eilertsen (bass), and Thomas Strønen (drums), with at least Strønen contributing electronics. The quartet cut four Food albums through 2004, then slimmed down to Strønen and Ballamy for a fifth album in 2007, Molecular Gastronomy. This is number six, taken from two live performances, one with Christian Fennesz on guitar and electronics, the other with Nils Petter Molvaer on trumpet and electronics. First cut, with Fennesz, reminds one of Molvaer's drum machine, but eventually the percussion gives way to ambience, laced with Ballamy's reeds and occasionally fortified by Molvaer's trumpet. B+(**)

Dino Saluzzi: El Encuentro (2009 [2010], ECM): Bandoneon virtuoso, b. 1935 in Argentina, picks up from the tango tradition but usually adds a jazz dimension. Eleventh ECM album since 1982, plus a few others scattered here and there. Cut a duet album with cellist Anja Lechner in 2006, and continues that collaboration here, adding Felix Saluzzi on tenor sax and, most fatefully, the Metropole Orchestra (Jules Buckley, conductor) for a live album. Metropole is a Dutch group, limited here to strings, which pushes all of my I-hate-classical-music buttons. (Not sure how this group relates to the Metropole Orchestra founded in 1945, currently directed as a big band by Vince Mendoza.) The Saluzzis and Lechner are hard pressed to stand out against such dross. B-

Ivo Perelman/Daniel Levin/Torbjörn Zetterberg: Soulstorm (2009 [2010, Clean Feed, 2CD): Recording date just given as "April 18" -- presumably before the March 2010-dated liner notes. Tenor saxophonist, b. 1961 in Brazil, based in New York, has at least 35 albums since 1989, including a few more in the queue that I haven't gotten to yet. Levin plays cello (as has Perelman on occasion), and Zetterberg bass, so they sort of flow together into a backdrop for Perelman's musings, some rough and tumble but most sensitive and eloquent. A-

Ivo Perelman/Gerry Hemingway: The Apple in the Dark (2010, Leo): Hemingway is a drummer with a notable discography under his own name, as well as renown as a sideman, perhaps most importantly in Anthony Braxton's 1980s quartet. Perelman is the tenor saxophonist from Brazil. I have in my notes that he's also played cello (in Strings, a duo with guitarist Joe Morris), but hadn't noticed him playing piano before (the only instance I can find is a 1999 album, Brazilian Watercolor). In these duos, he plays piano about half of the time -- didn't manage to count the cuts -- and tenor sax the other half. He's more assured, and more relaxed, on his main instrument, but I'm even more struck by the piano. James Hall's liner notes described it as "a kaleidoscopic jumber of Erroll Garner and Monk" but I was thinking more of Cecil Taylor, and not just because he makes a lot of noise but because he turns it into something remarkable. A-

Ivo Perelman/Dominic Duval/Brian Wilson: Mind Games (2008 [2010], Leo): Conventional tenor sax trio, with Duval on bass and Wilson on drums. I saw Duval play once, with Cecil Taylor, who ran him ragged for about 20 minutes, then after Duval was worn out Taylor started to play a little himself. Wilson is a drummer. Can't find out much about him, but he's certainly not the ex-Beach Boys singer-guitarist who shows up in his stead for the first million or so Google searches. Pretty good drummer, too. As for the tenor saxophonist, this is billed marking the 20th anniversary of his recording career, and he's in his prime, sticking to what he knows best. Before this string, I had only heard 4-5 of his recordings, the delta there an unrated duo with Borah Bergman, and only had one at A-: 1996's Sad Life. It, too, was a sax trio, with William Parker and Hamid Drake. I wonder whether, had I played the records in some other order, I might have nitpicked one or the other down a notch. After three plays I'm not totally blown away here either, but have no nits to pick. I need to go back the review the others, and figure out what to do with this cluster -- probably a lead and two high HMs. (Also wonder why they didn't send me the Perelman/Wilson duo The Stream of Life -- hard to think of any label I don't get that I'd be more excited to hook into than Leo.) A-

These are some even quicker notes based on downloading or streaming records. I don't have the packaging here, don't have the official hype, often don't have much information to go on. I have a couple of extra rules here: everything gets reviewed/graded in one shot (sometimes with a second play), even when I'm still guessing on a grade; the records go into my flush file (i.e., no Jazz CG entry, unless I make an exception for an obvious dud). If/when I get an actual copy I'll reconsider the record.

Ivo Perelman: The Ventriloquist (2001 [2002], Leo): Rhapsody has two copies of this with different artwork -- this one matches Leo's website. With Paul Rodgers on guitar, Ramon Lopez on drums, and either Louis Sclavis on bass clarinet or Christine Wodrascka on piano. The horns squeak more than squawk, but that's the basic range, at a pretty intense level. The piano pieces, especially the long title track, are at least as intense; she throws fits of unbalanced chords, and Perelman has to play his ass off to keep from being buried. Very intense, not comfortable with it myself. B+(***) [Rhapsody]

Ivo Perelman & Dominic Duval: Nowhere to Hide (2009, Not Two): Tenor sax-bass duo, a subset of the trio that recorded Mind Games, which benefitted from the accents and dynamics of drummer Brian Wilson. Perelman is close in tone and temperament to the later albums -- much mellower than on the early albums -- but stretches a bit thin here, partly listener fatigue setting in approaching 76 minutes. B+(**) [Rhapsody]

No final grades/notes this week on records put back for further listening the first time around.

Unpacking: Found in the mail this week:

• Marcos Amorim Trio: Portraits (Adventure Music)
• Richie Beirach/Dave Liebman: Quest for Freedom (Sunnyside): Sept. 14
• Cynthia Felton: Come Sunday: The Music of Duke Ellington (Felton Entertainment): Oct. 5
• Dave Liebman Big Band: As Always (MAMA)
• Jacob Melchior: It's About Time (Jacob Melchior): Oct. 1
• Milton Suggs: Things to Come (Skiptone Music): Sept. 28
• Benjamin Taubkin: Piano Masters Series Vol. 1 (Adventure Music)

Shortly after I built robertchristgau.com in the fateful month of September 2001, a few longtime fans of Christgau's got in touch with me. They offered various forms of help, and over the next few months we put together a substantial chunk of Christgau's pre-1989 (i.e., pre-computer) oeuvre. Some found missing pieces, including old Consumer Guide reviews that had failed to show up in the three decade-summing books. Some found faults with what had been posted -- many my mistakes in transcribing the written sources I had accumulated over the years, some mistakes that Christgau himself had made. (The book pages now have extensive corrigendae.) One of these people was Michael Tatum. He was at the time music editor for Chicago-based webzine Static, and he talked me into writing a monthly column for him. I was especially interested in filling in the cracks in my understanding of history, so the result was Recycled Goods, and that in turn started my return to spending way too much time writing about music. Even after Tatum left Static, he generously helped to edit the column, at least up to January 2008 when I got frustrated and pulled the column from Static. (I haphazardly picked it up again in April 2008, publishing whatever I happened to have accumulated in my blog, but without consulting Tatum for any finishing touches -- consider this the column's shaggy dog years.)

Over the years, we've kicked around various schemes, including a jointly written record guide that'll only happen if he pushes me hard enough to get it done. The last couple of years he hasn't been in touch regularly, but I prodded him to do a year-end list back in December -- a pretty close match to the one Christgau wound up with. After MSN dropped Christgau's forty-one-year run of Consumer Guides, Tatum stepped up to do his part to carry on. He found he could survey a lot of chatted-up records by downloading, and asked me to post his findings. Hopefully, he'll keep doing this and let us know what he finds every month or so. He certainly adds a lot of music intelligence to that thread in this website.

PS: In response to several letters, yes, Tatum plans on continuing this monthly, and I will post his columns. I should also note that I have been and will continue to post monthly notes based on what I glean from Rhapsody, including a big one next week. These will in some cases be redundant and in others will disagree with Tatum, but that's how it goes. I'll also note that Christgau, who isn't involved in either of our efforts, is still listening and writing and will be heard from on many (if not all) of these records in due course.

A Downloader's Diary: August 2010

by Michael Tatum

When I wrote rock criticism for my college newspaper -- not very good rock criticism, but my ears were only beginning to open up -- promotional copies of current releases were easy to come by. This was in the mid-nineties, the boon time for the industry: every few days my editor and I would haul a mound of mail stuffed with CDs that I had systemically requested from publicists (a list freak by nature anyway, my handwritten compendium of label contacts was extensive), augmented by whatever they happened to be feverishly promoting that month, often in duplicate. (I think they sent us four copies of Tricky's Maxinquaye, and I got away with requesting a fifth after shamelessly claiming the others had been "lost in transit.") It was the rare title I couldn't acquire by asking politely, and whatever they felt that they "didn't need to promote" (i.e. a blockbuster that didn't need my two cents attached to it) I obtained by trading my surplus swag to an independent music store in nearby Westwood. As I said, this was the boon time for the industry: when I later put my B.A. in English Literature to good use by working at the aforementioned store, label employees would show up weekly with questionably procured boxes of the latest hit records, sometimes a dozen or two of each title, each still wrapped in the original cellophane and marked by that telltale notch on the spine. I think I got every single Interscope/DGC release free for at least five years.

The second time I tried my hand at rock criticism, from 2002 to 2005, when I was the music editor at a struggling Chicago-based webzine called Static Multimedia, my promo well had dried up -- partly because my venue was smaller, but also because leaks from file sharing had made publicists a little more cautious. Plus, bloggers and webzine critics require tangible proof that someone will actually read your reviews, i.e. that you will be able to promote their record to the publicist's satisfaction. Fortunately, armed with dubious statistics about our "hit rate," the cycle familiar from my time in college soon renewed itself: review, trade, review, trade. In college the pond had been big enough so that I could basically do whatever I wanted and none of my superiors (who were good friends anyway) noticed, but to my surprise, at the indie-level that alternative types tend to ballyhoo, I encountered an unbearable level of mind-numbingly stupid politics. In my first month, I angered a publicist from a label that was considering paying for advertising. (Could you pretend to find merit in a Voodoo Glow Skulls record? I thought not.) My scathing review basically meant that we wouldn't be seeing the (I'm guessing) hundred dollars or so that would have accounted the majority of the revenue generated that month. Later, my editor skipped over me entirely and planted self-penned reviews under various psuedonyms, often plagiarizing whole chunks of PR sheets.

I've found a simple solution, cutting out the middle men from publicists to editors: downloading. Sure, downloading hurts the industry's sales line, but it provides a way to find out what you'd be buying before you waste your money on crap you'll never play again. No longer can artists get away with padding a few hit singles with filler, because even a relative Luddite like me can enlist Limewire and Kazaa to separate the wheat from the chaff with a few keystrokes. But in many ways, downloading is the great equalizer: now everyone can potentially be their own rock critic, and sift through countless releases to find what really hits his or her sweet spot: to ascertain who should be rewarded with your hard earned bucks and who should be booted from your hard drive. I can't be the only person that thinks this way -- many of the fans who streamed Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or purchased In Rainbows for a penny rewarded the artists in question once hard copies became available in record stores.

The methodology behind this column is very simple. I download current releases to my hard drive, determined either by past personal interest or critical word of mouth, and spend a few weeks listening to them on my iPod. After some thought, I grade them using the Christgau Consumer Guide grading system, including the 3-star levels for B+ records. In the the top section are records (almost always A- or better) that I have something to say about; below that are honorable mentions -- B+ records that are likely to interest people into that specific artist or genre -- and Trash -- B records not worth further thought, or worse. If I really do have something to say about an exceptionally interesting B+ record or an exceptionally hideous dud I'll add it to the top section.

Despite the online availability of music before its intended release date, I am sticking to titles you could purchase from a well-stocked local record shop, or at least on the internet, although Liz Phair is online only (rumored to be released on Rocket Science in October), Old 97's is online or free at their shows, and the Loudon Wainwright is sucker-priced at $20 and hard to find at that. The Dangermouse/Sparklehorse collaboration only recently came out of legal limbo, having floated around the net for over a year, though I personally would rather it have vanished into the virtual ether.

So, I've eliminated the publicists, and found a non-commercial outlet with a sympathetic editor. Admittedly, I won't make any money off these endeavors, but there is a certain appeal about being "unfiltered" -- as Liz Phair has described her wonderful new record -- and I hope also conveys the fun I had while putting this together. Fun -- people foolishly dismiss the word because they feel the concept is at odds with depth, but I've never thought so. If Sly Stone taught as anything, isn't that why we love the music in the first place?

Big Boi: Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (Def Jam) There's no gainsaying that Andre Patton is an equal partner in the Outkast franchise -- the expert production, lyrics and raps prove that, and at just under an hour, this has less fat than your average hip hop record. But just as Speakerboxxx could have used a little Love Below, even the highlights here could have been brightened up by Andre Benjamin's lighter, goofier touch. It's not just a matter of Patton's (relative) conventionality, made plain when George Clinton shows up to stank around on "Fo Yo Sorrows," but also a matter of how the Andres' personalities complement each other. Much as Benjamin's introspection added an extra dimension to Patton's bitterness in "Ms. Jackson," Patton's macho swagger on the the breakout sex jams "Turns Me On" and "Tangerine" could have benefitted from Benjamin's more playful way with the ladies. Self expression -- so overrated. A-

The Books: The Way Out (Temporary Residence) I couldn't tell you what sort of post-modern tomes grace Nick Zammuto and Paul De Jong's bookshelves, but their treasure trove of self-help tapes and found sounds constitutes an entirely different story. In a spiritual mode one of their re-contextualized gurus dubs "thumbing your nose at the universe," they continually upend our preconceived expectations. "Welcome to a new beginning," one of their many cheerfully disembodied voices tells us -- okay, we've heard that before. "Music specifically created for its pleasurable effects upon your mind, body, and emotions," we've heard that too. But we're then told to mix that music with an "orange-colored liquid" after which another voice identifying himself as our journey's guide apologizes for his "Irish accent." And that's only the first track -- I haven't even mentioned the disturbing set piece that finds foul mouthed siblings upping the ante on their threatdowns, the hymn that praises trigonometry and tanograms, or the one you think will chronicle the life and times of Kurtis Blow but reveals itself to be a bedtime story about bunny. "We genuflect before pure abstraction," they swoon, but that's just a sop to their clique -- their laptop fantasias are as vivid as a Technicolor musical and as tightly wound as an alarm clock. In fact, only toward the end, where they lapse into folkie vagaries, do they slip up. "The average human only uses about five percent of their brain," we are informed. "The other ninety-five percent is available [pregnant pause] for food." Those starving for a nourishing avant-garde record that won't leave a bullshit aftertaste in the morning should gobble this up pronto. Now if only they could convince my wife there was more than one way to do the dishes. A-

V.V. Brown: Travelling Like the Light (Capitol) Had Vanessa Brown reared her head in 2000, we might have lumped her unique brand of neo-soul with D'Angelo and Erykah Badu. The difference is, while the aforementioned auteurs used the success of Brown Sugar and Baduizm to convince their record companies to bankroll more ambitious sophomore efforts that confused fans, wowed critics, and sent their creators off the deep end, Brown's debut aims for maximum commerciality without sacrificing an ounce of her endearing weirdness, or (a related fact) her Britishness -- the monster hooks of "Joker" and "Shark in the Water" are pure Brill Building filtered though the sensibility of someone who grew up with Dizzee Rascal and the Streets. I wish the pace wasn't so hyperactive, but if Jill Scott or Mary J. Blige tackled a semi-autobiographical concept about a failed relationship with a married man, they'd lard it with ballads (and would bloat it until they ran out of disc space). By contrast, Brown doesn't lower the beats per minute until well into the second half, when she slows down a stolen moment to observe the sensuality of bicycles and plastic restaurant seats -- leading me to believe that she'll have an even better record in her when she's on the rebound. A-

Eminem: Recovery (Aftermath) Mathers complains that the critics never ask him how his day went, but he must give them some credence -- why else would he concede to the consensus that his last record sucked? Wish they'd reward him for this roaring return to form, but since they haven't, would the overstatement that this is his Plastic Ono Band entice you to give it a try? The Lennon comparisons aren't entirely un-apropos -- you've heard the AA clichés before, but never in the context of this kind of music, and while he's approached this level of intensity many times, never before has he been this convincing. Sure, you've heard him unpack his psychological baggage, deconstructing his relationships to the ex he can't quit on and the daughter that won't quit on him, but few rappers have dared challenge the notion that their chosen medium carries an expiration date -- one that at 38, Mathers has theoretically far exceeded. As before but never so explicitly, the key is a toughness that masks vulnerability transparent by design: how many rappers would admit that they considered dropping a dis on the world's greatest rapper because they felt threatened? And then invite said rapper for a cameo on a track later on the record? Who they then proceed to smoke? And though Mathers may have given up booze and pills, he hasn't forsaken vulgarity, or twisted rhymes, or bad taste, or killer hooks, or irony -- wonder what the comedians at GLAAD think of Em comparing himself to Elton John because he's a "mean cocksucker," or his proud declaration as a "Cinderella Man?" Misconstrue it, no doubt. But you know better than that -- don't you? A

Mary Gauthier: The Foundling (Razor & Tie) Gauthier has a back story that makes John Lennon and Eminem's look like an ABC afterschool special: orphaned at birth, stealing cars at fifteen, drying out in detox at sixteen, and spending her eighteenth birthday in jail, all while struggling with being a lesbian in Louisiana. Culinary school led to redemption as a restaurateur, but she sold her beloved Dixie Kitchen once her "country noir" found an audience, culminating in this devastating confessional song suite about the childhood it took her years to recover from -- if I hear a more harrowing song this year than "March 11, 1962," which details a brutal phone conversation with the absentee mother who refused to meet her face to face, I'm not emotionally prepared for it. Gauthier being a folkie rather than a rocker or rapper, the tenor of these songs gravitates to quiet catharsis/dignity rather than bold victory/rejection. But her understatement can be powerful, like the way she drops the ends of phrases in the verses of "Mama Here, Mama Gone," and the dry, austere production of Cowboy Junkie Michael Timmins sets her songs perfectly, like a jeweler who knows his pearls will look most alluring draped unadorned against plain black velvet. Though I personally find picking up the tempo a perfectly acceptable way to cheer oneself up (and don't consider "Moses, Batman, and James Dean" suitable role models), she's not as pure as your usual Razor & Tie type: I love the sour hour section that grumps through "Sideshow," and violinist Tania Elizabeth saws away on "Blood is Blood" like John Cale was Bob Wills. And not only is folkie self-pity in short supply, she even imagines a heartbreaker from the point of view of the absentee mother she'll never know: "Some people never really love/They don't mean the sweet words they say/Other people can't see the truth/I didn't know I was that way." A-

Liz Phair: Funstyle (lizphair.com) "Ding dong, the witch is dead," declares Liz in her scathing kiss-off to Capitol Records dictator Andy Slater, or perhaps would-be benefactor Dave Matthews, but that hasn't stopped humorless rock critics from burning her at the stake in effigy. I'm here to tell you the witch in question is not only very much alive, but that is her funniest, wildest, best record -- including her classic debut, which by now has become a bit of an albatross. If you think Liz has lost her last marble, she's already anticipated all of your petty objections -- the all-purpose gripe "You think it's all about you" could apply to the thousands of American women (and rock critics) who complain that Liz no longer speaks for them, as well as the bepenised corporate spoilsports she calls out by name in the uproarious "U Hate It." Why doesn't it occur to the little boys at Pitchfork that the boat party Liz is barred from in the opener is a succinct metaphor for their carefully guarded cool club? Or that Liz is fully aware that "portfolio" and "dough you know" is a bad rhyme? (I mean, does anyone think Liz Phair really has a portfolio?) I guarantee that if the faux-Bhranga sample in the much-derided (and very funny) "Bollywood" popped up as the backdrop to a Jay-Z track, it would be praised as stupidly as it's being currently dismissed. Sorting out what's "commercial" and what's not is beside the point -- would Sheryl Crow begin a song "Well, I've been in this Garden of Eden a long time/And I've never seen Adam do anything I understand," or waste her most soaring melody thanking a stranger who held back her hair while she vomited? If Phair's debut was a response to Exile on Main St., this is the Black Album with the sonic variety of the White Album -- except that unlike Prince and Paul McCartney (not John Lennon), Phair is not afraid to be vulnerable when it's time to be sincere. And you can download it straight from the artiste for a mere $5.99. A

Sleigh Bells: Treats (Mom + Pop) Sleigh Bells ring -- they also clang, peal, gong, detonate, and explode. As has been noted in almost every review I've read, this duo intends to polarize, annoying adults and other squares, while galvanizing a target demographic suggested by this priceless aside: "Wonder what your boyfriend thinks about your braces." Kathleen Hanna owns the patent on punk guitar wedded to laptop disco, but even Le Tigre's power chords weren't this dirty, while the booming coliseum-echo propelling the beats suggests Queen banging out "We Will Rock You" without respite for a manic half-hour plus. The melodic relief/contrast provided by Alexis Krauss's j-pop coo recalls the aesthetic strategy of My Bloody Valentine, except 1) unlike Bilinda Butcher, Krauss possesses rhythm worthy of a Brooklyn girl, and 2) unlike Kevin Shields, mastermind Derek E. Miller's mission is to move as many units as humanly possible. Here's hoping it inspires even those decades past orthodontics to dance like irresponsible teenagers around their mortgaged condos. A-

Honorable Mentions

Loudon Wainwright III: 10 Songs for the New Depression (2nd Story Sound) Unlike Liz Phair, Wainwright really has a portfolio, so perhaps he'll be hip to my metaphor when I say the new songs could use a little more emotional investment ("House," "The Panic Is On") **

Alejandro Escovedo: Street Songs of Love (Fantasy) Bruce Springsteen's management does not Bruce Springsteen make -- and the femme chorus doesn't help ("This Bed Is Getting Crowded," "Street Songs") **

Against Me: White Crosses (Sire) Only three years after their breakthrough Tom Gabel channels the Boss's nostalgia and beautiful loser bullshit rather than his youthful idealism ("I Was a Teenage Anarchist," "High Pressure Low") **

Allo Darlin': Allo Darlin' (Fortuna Pop!) Young Elizabeth Morris auditions for the next Stuart Murdoch or Stephin Merritt side project ("Dreaming," "The Polaroid Song") **

Old 97s: Mimeograph (New West) Rhett Miller's no interpretive singer, but he sure beats David Bowie and Michael Stipe, if not Mick Jagger ("Driver 8," "Five Years") *

Chemical Brothers: Further (Astralwerks) Caveat emptor: a soundtrack intended as the backdrop for a series of short films, rather than a mix tape for Saturday night ("Horse Power") *

Trash

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti: Before Today (4AD)

Caribou: Swim (Merge)

Dangermouse & Sparklehorse: Long Dark Night of the Soul (Capitol)

The Like: Release Me (Downtown)

Sia: We Are Born (RCA)

Squeeze: Spot the Difference (XOXO)

Sting: Symphonicities (Deutsche Grammophon)

Paul Weller: Wake Up the Nation (Yep Roc)

Working haphazardly. I doubt that I conveyed how turned off I was by the fetishism surrounding the Exile on Main St. reissue, especially in its original $180 packaging. But hectored by repeated requests to buy the newly released music, I finally checked it out on Rhapsody, wrote the review below, then finally gave in and bought a copy of the 2-CD version. And of course, the best thing out of my changer this year is the reissue of the original album. I've never had any doubts about that, but still the hype grinds. Greatest album by the greatest rock group of all time? Better than Layla or Loaded or Moondance or Call Me or Otis Blue or Pet Sounds or Sgt. Pepper or In the Jungle Groove or a dozen others? Maybe, but I wouldn't make a big deal out of it.

Other threads were arbitrary. Fred Anderson died and I've found a record I've been wanting to hear. (Unfortunately, I didn't find his late 1960s work.) Horne and Jarreau were jazz reissues, business as usual -- several more of them crop up downstairs. I tracked down Sounds of Liberation out of interest in the label, and that led me to Byard Lancaster -- a name I knew but hadn't put a sound to. Billy Eckstine was a spinoff from a new Freddy Cole album I like, and that led to a Helen Humes set I had missed -- her other Black & Blue album, 1973's Let the Good Times Roll, is slightly better, an old favorite. The African Pearls set is actually one of ten or so compilations of old Syllart material, but is only the second I've heard -- African Pearls 1: Congo: Rumba on the River is even better. Would love to hear them all, but it's expensive for beggars to become choosers. Maybe someday.

Fred Anderson: On the Run: Live at the Velvet Lounge (2000 [2001], Delmark): Born 1929 in Monroe, Louisiana. Made the trek to Chicago, picking up the tenor sax in the early days of the AACM. Cut a few obscure records 1978-80 then went inactive, but as the proprietor of the Velvet Lounge in Chicago he kept connected. Finally resumed recording around 1995, perhaps figuring that with social security checks coming he could once again afford to be a fringe musician. I still haven't managed to hear his early sides, but I suspected that getting old and slowing down helped focus his play. Certainly also helped that a teen from Louisiana he mentored turned out to be his long-time drummer, Hamid Drake. He hit a sweet spot with Back at the Velvet Lounge in 2002, and his next four albums were equally sublime: Back Together Again (with Drake, 2004, Thrill Jockey), Blue Winter (with Drake and William Parker, 2004, Eremite), Timeless (2005, Delmark), and From the River to the Ocean (with Drake, 2007, Thrill Jockey). He died, age 81, on June 24, so I thought it would be a good time to see what more I could find. His latest albums slip a bit, and I didn't find any early ones, but I did find this trio, with Drake and bassist Tatsu Aoki, the first of four Velvet Lounge live shots Delmark released. Takes a while to get in gear, with Anderson reticent and Drake showy, but the fourth (of five) pieces, the 18:53 "Tatsu's Groove," does the trick, with Anderson unleashing a relentless torrent of ideas. Final cut, appropriately named "Hamid's on Fire," is equally powerful. B+(***) [R]

Lena Horne: Sings: The M-G-M Singles (1946-48 [2010], Verve/Hip-O Select): The first black actress granted a Hollywood contract, she was gorgeous in ways that transcended race -- her ancestors reportedly included slaveholders like John C. Calhoun as well as slaves, with a little American Indian mixed in along the way -- and a pretty good standards singer. Her "Stormy Weather" was a hit in 1943, the title of an MGM musical, and not included here although it seems like it should fit. This picks up a bit later. The house orchestra is completely ordinary, and more than half of the songs you no doubt know from Billie Holiday and/or Ella Fitzgerald. Horne wasn't in their class, but the best songs here -- "A Foggy Day (in London Town)" and "The Lady Is a Tramp" are two -- are completely satisfying. B+(***)

Al Jarreau: An Excellent Adventure: The Very Best of Al Jarreau (1975-2009 [2009], Rhino): Originally slotted as a jazz singer because he scatted a little and tackled a couple of Dave Brubeck-Paul Desmond odd-time experiments, Jarreau cut a dozen 1975-94 albums for Warners, grabbing popular and critical acclaim, including Grammys in pop and R&B as well as jazz while never really fitting anywhere. I find his "Blue Rondo a la Turk" one of the more hideous pieces of vocalese ever recorded, and "Boogie Down" one of the lamer exercises in rote disco. That leaves a couple of decent R&B songs like "We're in This Love Together" in a compilation that proves Gödels Theorem: like math, he's a system that cannot both be complete and consistent. B-

Rolling Stones: Exile on Main St. (1972 [2010], Universal Republic, 2CD): While their archrivals, the Beatles, fissioned into shards with short half-lives, the Stones beefed up their sound, adding keybs and horns, flexing their muscles as their conceits inflated to acclaim themselves as the "world's greatest rock and roll band" -- plausibly, even, given their string of albums from Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed to Sticky Fingers and finally their consensus masterpiece. Exile's singles, unlike those on recent albums, didn't stand out much from the murky filler, but each side of two slabs of vinyl had memorable moments, and the very even-handedness of the whole marked this as their crowning album -- as did the fact that their streak ended a year later with Goat's Head Soup, a slip so severe they spent most of the following album -- the uncharacteristically modest It's Only Rock 'n' Roll -- moaning over their sudden senescence. Of course, it's just product now. In releasing their $179.98 list "Super Deluxe Edition" they're assuming their fans invested their earnings as successfully as biz school grad Mick Jagger did. For that you get the same two CDs of the $29.98 "Deluxe Edition" plus some vinyl, a book, and a box. The latter has a remastered edition of the original on the first disc, plus a second disc -- available separately as a "Rarities Edition" but exclusively at Target for $9.99 -- with ten songs (41:05): two sloppy outtakes and eight losers that came nowhere near making the album. Slim pickings, except of your pocket, although "Pass the Wine (Sophia Loren)" is one of their better throwaways, and "So Divine (Aladdin Story)" is an interesting aside they never really followed up on. For newbies, the obvious choice is the remastered single-disc (list $13.95) -- or you could scrounge for a used old copy which must be flooding the market by now. I have no opinion on the remastered sound vs. the old CD reissue let alone vinyl old or new, but the music is still fabulous, and having to listen to all four sides in a row is pure pleasure. Reissue: A+; Rarities Edition: B+(**); Super Deluxe Edition: D; Deluxe Edition: A-

Briefly Noted

African Pearls: Senegal 70: Musical Effervescence (1971-82 [2009], Syllart/Discograph, 2CD): Early material from Youssou N'Dour (Etoile de Dakar), Orchestra Baobab, and others less famous -- Super Diamono and Xalam are names I've run across before, but not Ouza or Ifang Bondi or N'Guewel; the salsa hasn't separated from the native drums and voices, the guitar is slinky and grooveful, the occasional horns a lift. A-

Avishai Cohen: Aurora (2008 [2010], Blue Note/EMI Music): Israeli bassist, reaches back to his mother's Ladino folk songs juxtaposed with clever Bachian counterpoint, fleshed out with oud and piano, sung with the touching faith of an amateur. B+(**)

Hamilton de Holanda Quintet: Brasilianos 2 (2007 [2010], Adventure Music): New fangled Brazilian bluegrass music, the leader's 10-string mandolin tempered with guitar and bass, with Gabriel Grossi's roughhousing harmonica a voice beyond language. B+(**)

Billy Eckstine: Jukebox Hits 1943-1953 (1943-53 [2005], Acrobat): One of the legendary crooners of the postwar era; sauve, debonair, with a deep, rich baritone that seems stuffy now but was exceptional at the time; this cross-section starts his crack big band that folded in 1947 and ends with a small combo backing a surprising spat of scat, but in between there is little but strings gradually encasing his marvelous voice in concrete. B [R]

Billy Eckstine: Basie and Eckstine, Inc. (1959 [1994], Roulette): Basie is less than atomic here, maintaining a comfortable simmer for the classic crooner, a bluesman in a pinch but not a shouter like Jimmy Rushing or even Joe Williams; not much swing, but the brass remains short and sharp, as finely burnished as the baritone. B+(*) [R]

Helen Humes: Sneakin' Around [The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions] (1974 [2002], Black & Blue): Count Basie's girl singer -- picked up the job when Billie Holiday left -- basically a blues shouter with a smooth, even-tempered delivery, singing songs she likes, cut cheap in France with Gerard Badini unstable on tenor sax, filled out with extra takes. B+(**)

Byard Lancaster: It's Not Up to Us (1968 [2003], Water): Released on Atlantic spinoff Vortex when this Philadelphia avant-gardist was stepping out of Coltrane's footsteps; plays a lot of flute here, substantial enough to lead especially with Sonny Sharrock's guitar covering his back, but his alto sax has more muscle. B+(**) [R]

Byard Lancaster: Personal Testimony (1979 [2008], Porter): Starts with a 1979 solo album with piano and/or percussion overdubbed on his flute, alto sax, and other reeds -- not enough to overcome the minimal framework of solo efforts, but a rough precis of his toolkit; reissue adds six new pieces, also solo with overdubs, if anything sparer and starker. B+(*) [R]

Jerry Leake: Cubist (2009 [2010], Rhombus Publishing): A schematic worldbeat collector with more books than records on his CV attempts to flesh out his interests -- India, Turkey, all over Africa -- with a potential octet, hard to nail down as a whole but interesting things going on all the time. B+(**)

Luisa Maita: Lero-Lero (2010, Cumbancha): Seductive young Brazilian singer with all the usual curves, and nothing that really sticks out to distinguish her from the pack. B+(*)

Archie Shepp: The New York Contemporary Five (1963 [2010], Delmark): A primeval avant-garde group with Shepp's tenor sax, John Tchicai's alto sax, and Don Cherry's cornet wrestling for the spotlight, roughing up Ornette Coleman and pushing one original each; actually just half of a live set from Copenhagen previously available on Sonet and Storyville. B+(***)

Sierra Maestra: Sonido Ya (2009 [2010], World Village): Cuban institution, dates back to 1976, started out playing classic son and pretty much stuck that way, the rhythms complex, the horns simplistic, the vocals deeply sincere, the songs scarcely varied in pitch, volume, or temperament -- not that they don't put out. They always put out. B

Sounds of Liberation (1972 [2010], Porter): Philadelphia group, very much of the black power moment when shards of avant-sax clashed with funky conga rhythms, merging into something far out but not inaccessible; Byard Lancaster is the saxophonist in a septet with guitar, bass, and four percussionists counting vibraphonist Khan Jamal, the founder and best known member of the one-album group. A- [R]

Phil Wilson & Makoto Ozone: Live!! At the Berklee Performance Center (1982 [2010], Capri): Japanese piano prodigy, prodded, poked, teased and torn by grizzled trombone professor, crude and so much the better for it. B+(*)

Legend: B+ records are divided into three levels, where more * is better. [R] indicates record was reviewed using a stream from Rhapsody. The biggest caveat there is that the packaging and documentation hasn't been inspected or considered.

For this column and the previous 75, see the archive.

Slogging through. Trying to get organized. Also worked a bit on Recycled Goods -- should get it posted tomorrow -- and added some odd bits to the Rhapsody file. Will also have Michael Tatum's post-CG guest column sometime this week. Finally got the promised "big package" of things Fully Altered had neglected to send to me, plus a few more things that should soon jump to the head of the queue -- the Rova/Nels Cline came today, along with a piece of Tom Johnson minimalism. Didn't feel like working the better prospects this past week, so I tried to chip away at the backlog, which is still more than I ever recall. After this week's music posts, I expect to clamp down and finish the column -- should close out by mid-August. No obvious pick hits or duds yet, but way too many HMs and plenty slightly better.

Sierra Maestra: Sonido Ya (2009 [2010], World Village): Cuban institution, dates back to 1976, started out playing classic son and pretty much stuck that way, the rhythms complex, the horns simplistic, the vocals deeply sincere, the songs scarcely varied in pitch, volume, or temperament -- not that they don't put out. They always put out. B

Ellen Rowe Quartet: Wishing Well (2009 [2010], PKO): Pianist, b. 1958, from Connecticut, teaches at University of Michigan, third album since 2001. Runs marathons, climbs mountains: Aconcagua, Denali -- second album was called Denali Pass. Wrote 9 of 10 pieces, covering "Alone Together." Quartet includes Andrew Bishop on tenor and soprano sax, nice balance since she doesn't push her piano real hard. Higher peaks come from the guests: Andy Haefner (tenor sax) on one cut, Ingrid Jensen (flugelhorn) on two. After playing John Zorn most of yesterday, I found this sublimely relaxing. B+(***)

Adrian Iaies Trio: A Child's Smile (2009 [2010], Sunnyside): Pianist, from Argentina, b. 1960, nine albums since 2000; second album I've heard, Vals de la 81st & Columbus a high HM. Piano trio with Exequiel Dutil on bass, Pepi Taveira on drums. Another fine album, although after three plays I'm blocked on how to describe it -- the most memorable cuts for me are the one standard I know, "Just the Way You Are," and "Alfonsina y el Mar," the one cut with Raul Barboza's accordion added. B+(**)

David Weiss & Point of Departure: Snuck In (2008 [2010], Sunnyside): Trumpet player, b. 1964, from New York, in New York, third album since 2001, although I also filed The Turning Gate by New Jazz Composers Octet, a recent HM, under his name. Quintet, what's becoming the standard post-[hard]-bop configuration: trumpet, sax (JD Allen on tenor), guitar (Nir Felder), batt (Matt Clohesy), drums (Jamire Williams). The back end is more freebop, the guitar navigates the open spaces, and the horns slug it out, with Allen frequently making a play to steal the album. B+(***)

Music of the Sphere: Thelonious Monk Songbook [The Composer Collection Volume 5] (1977-2009 [2010], High Note): Continues the label's efforts to pad their product line with samplers. You'd think that Monk's pieces (excepting "'Round About Midnight," natch) are so distinctive they'd provide a unifying theme for an inherently disunified various artist selection, but the compiler seems to have taken that as a challenge to make the selection more perverse. The Arthur Blythe/John Hicks duo is sketchy. The Joel Harrison nonet is one I'd just as soon never hear again. Larry Coryell excels, and Frank Morgan seems refreshingly normal. But I'd still rather hear the whole of the Mary Lou Williams trio I missed than a pastiche like this. B-

Cedar Chest: The Cedar Walton Songbook [The Composer Collection Volume 6] (2000-08 [2010], High Note): This follows compilations based on Silver, Coltrane, Ellington, Davis, and Monk. Walton moves into a slightly younger generation -- he started recording when Coltrane checked out -- and it's gotten much rarer for jazz musicians to cover more recent composers. The label has released six albums by Walton since 2001 -- Seasoned Wood is my pick -- but they must have considered that too easy. Still, they wound up with Walton playing piano on 4 of 10 tracks, and he sets a high standard for the others. Still, the selections are spotty, with two Larry Coryell treats, two by Fathead Newman, two by Sammy Figueroa. B

Hamilton de Holanda Quintet: Brasilianos 2 (2007 [2010], Adventure Music, CD+DVD): Brazilian mandolin player, b. 1976, father a choro guitarist, caught the ear of bluegrass-turned-choro mandolinist Mike Marshall, who's tapped de Holanda repeatedly for his label. Has a bit of bluegrass sting, nothing you'd call "high and lonesome," but with ten strings backed by guitar and bass has a lot of resonance. Better still is Gabriel Grossi's harmonica, which functions as a horn without being easy to peg. Haven't got to the DVD. B+(**)

The Convergence Quartet: Song/Dance (2009 [2010], Clean Feed): Artist names listed on front cover alphabetically: Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet, flugelhorn), Harris Eisenstadt (drums), Alexander Hawkins (piano), Dominic Lash (bass). All write, Bynum one song, the others two each. I filed this under Bynum, who has a substantial discography since 1999, but early on Hawkins is the focal interest, with his jumpy, blocky chords chopping up time. B. 1981 in England, based in Oxford, has a new Ensemble record I haven't heard, played organ on two Decoy albums, seems like someone to keep an ear opened for. Lash is also from England, "one of the busiest players on the UK scene." Album ends with a bang-up fractured version of a South African tune, "Kudala." I'm tempted to credit Eisenstadt, who regularly works African music into free jazz contexts, but I also see that Hawkins has played with Ntshuka Bonga, and has played in a trio with Louis Moholo-Moholo and Evan Parker. B+(***)

Billy Cobham/Colin Towns/HR-Bigband: Meeting of the Spirits: A Celebration of the Mahavishnu Orchestra (2006 [2010], In+Out): Songs originally from John McLaughlin, with Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer Cobham employed for quality control. Arranged for big band, directed, and mixed by Towns. HR-Bigband is one of two major outfits in Germany -- WDR Bigband Köln is the other -- that record prolifically under the names of their guest stars. Martin Scales plays guitar, but most of the lines have been shunted off to the horns. The music holds up pretty well, and the drum solos are solid. B+(**)

Dither (2010, Henceforth): Interesting concept, an electric guitar quartet, similar in principle to sax quartets but with chords and electronics thickening the sound. Guitarists are Taylor Levine, David Linaburg, Joshua Lopes, and James Moore. Starts off very quiet as if they're daring you to turn it up, although they can and do get plenty loud when they want. Played it once too loud and once too soft and figured it's not worth fiddling with the tuning, at least at this point. Could develop into something, and I've heard enough that I'm hedging. Elliott Sharp wrote the liner notes. B+(*)

Dave Anderson Quartet: Clarity (2009 [2010], Pony Boy): Saxophonist, lists soprano first, alto second (but shows a tenor on his website); based in Seattle; first album, a conventional quartet with piano, bass and drums, with Thomas Marriott's flugelhorn added for one cut. Nice mainstream group, nothing exceptional. B

Hiroe Sekine: A-Mé (2009 [2010], Sekai Music): Pianist, from Japan, studied at USC. First album, produced by Russell Ferrante, who plays synth on one track. Most tracks are sextet, with trumpet (John Daversa), trombone (Bob McChesney), tenor sax (Bob Sheppard, also soprano and flute), bass (Tony Dumas), and drums (Peter Erskine or Chris Wabich), generating a robust mainstream sound -- Sheppard is typically superb. Half originals, half covers -- Gigi Gryce, Frank Loesser, Jerome Kern, Isham Jones, Milton Nascimento. One solo piece, which I found quite likable. B+(*)

Joel Yennior Trio: Big City Circus (2007 [2010], Brass Wheel): Trombonist, from South Orange, NJ; studied and now teaches at New England Conservatory; first album, although he has side credits since 2000 with Either/Orchestra, Gypsy Schaeffer, Alejandro Cimadoro, and Mulatu Astatke. Trio adds guitarist Eric Hofbauer (Blueprint Project) and drummer Gary Fieldman. Trombone is a little thin for the lead here, but that has its own appeal, and Hofbauer is an interesting player even in small roles. B+(**)

Michael Treni: Turnaround (2009, Bell Production, CD+DVD): Composer-arranger, started out on trombone -- has a side credit on a 1977 Bobby Watson album -- based on New Jersey; has a previous album, Detour! (2007), and a more recent one, America: Land of Opportunity (2010). Big band with some extra percussion and occasional strings. First solo caught my ear, but that's just Jerry Bergonzi for you. Don't care much for the strings, but the brass section work is sharp. Comes with a DVD I haven't watched. Also a political screed about how socialism may be OK for classical music but doesn't work for jazz. B

Justin Janer: Following Signs (2009 [2010], Janer Music): Alto saxophonist, 25 (b. 1985?) from Seattle, grew up in L.A., based there (although he also lists New York on MySpace). Bio talks about his Puerto Rican heritage and Latin jazz interest, but this is postbop, mostly quintet with Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet and Fabian Almazan on piano -- one track adds guitar. Catches my ear when he stretches. B+(**)

These are some even quicker notes based on downloading or streaming records. I don't have the packaging here, don't have the official hype, often don't have much information to go on. I have a couple of extra rules here: everything gets reviewed/graded in one shot (sometimes with a second play), even when I'm still guessing on a grade; the records go into my flush file (i.e., no Jazz CG entry, unless I make an exception for an obvious dud). If/when I get an actual copy I'll reconsider the record.

John Zorn: The Goddess: Music for the Ancient of Days (2009 [2010], Tzadik): Another Zorn-as-composer-only album, the titles casually plundered archaeology, but actually nothing ancient about it; reminds me more of cocktail jazz, exotica with the spurious weirdness supplanted by a higher-powered Riley/Reich minimalist engine. Played on piano (Rob Burger), guitar (Marc Ribot), harp (Carol Emmanuel), vibes (Kenny Wollesen), bass (Travor Dunn), and drums (Ben Perowsky). B+(**) [Rhapsody]

John Zorn: In Search of the Miraculous (2009 [2010], Tzadik): Zorn's promised one record each month this year, which isn't a lot more prolific than his usual pace, but seems likely to involve cutting some corners. Composer-only album, built around the Rob Burger-Greg Cohen-Ben Perowsky piano trio that cut Alhambra Love Songs, with a few extras -- Shanir Blumenkranz (electric bass), Kenny Wollesen (vibes), but focuses more on the piano, adding a bit of dramatic range rather than sinking into minimalist repetition. Gains something toward the end. B+(***) [Rhapsody]

John Zorn: Dictée/Liber Novus (2009 [2010], Tzadik): Two pieces, close to 20 minutes each, one based on Korean-American writer/conceptual artist Theresa Hak-Kyung Cha, the other "a mythic psychodrama inspired by the legendary Red Book of Carl Jung. Keybs (Sylvie Courvoisier and Stephen Goslin on piano, John Medeski on organ), Ned Rothenberg's reeds (shakuhachi, bass flute, clarinet), percussion and sound effects, could be a soundtrack cluttered with random events, not horror but not normal either. B+(*) [Rhapsody]

John Zorn/Fred Frith: Late Works (2009 [2010], Tzadik): Alto sax/electric guitar duo, the latter's screech closely tuned to match the former. Ten pieces, most likely improv, although occasional oblique strategies lurk. Often interesting, but does wear a bit thin. B+(*) [Rhapsody]

John Zorn: The 50th Birthday Celebration, Vol. 1: Masada String Trio (2003 [2004], Tzadik): Looked for the new Masada String Trio, Haborym (Book of Angels, Vol. 16), not available (yet), and found this one from a few years back, one of a big stack of live shots from Sept. 2003 when Tonic put on a series to honor the club's owner. Most are Zorn-less groups picking over his songbook. This trio consists of Mark Feldman on viola, Erik Friedlander on cello, and Greg Cohen on bass. The Jewish themes provide some bounce, lack of violin cuts down on the screech, and the bass adds depth. Could do without the applause. B+(***) [Rhapsody]

Ben Goldberg Quartet: Baal: The Book of Angels, Vol. 15 (2009 [2010], Tzadik): First of these I've heard, variations on John Zorn's Jewish-themed Masada songbook. Goldberg's clarinet stays on top of it all, although pianist Jamie Saft gets in some long runs. With Greg Cohen on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums. B+(***) [Rhapsody]

The Dreamers: Ipos: The Book of Angels, Vol. 14 (2009 [2010], Tzadik): John Zorn group, appeared on his albums The Dreamers and O'o, not that Zorn actually plays in it. Marc Ribot's guitar and Jamie Saft's keybs tend to lead, backed by a groove-happy rhythm section -- Trevor Dunn (bass), Kenny Wollesen (vibes), Joey Baron (drums), and Cyro Baptista (percussion). It occurs to me that Ribot is especially adept at taking up these dress-up roles, like with his Cubanos Postizos. B+(***) [Rhapsody]

Mycale: Mycale: The Book of Angels, Volume 13 (2009 [2010], Tzadik): More of John Zorn's new-old Jewish music, this time rendered a capella by a group of four women vocalists: Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, Sofia Rei Koutsovitis, Basya Schecter, and Malika Zarra -- I've run across records under the first three names already. Lyrics picked up from various texts in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, French, and Arabic. The music has some bounce and resonance, sort of a klezmerish barbershop quarter. B+(**) [Rhapsody]

No final grades/notes this week on records put back for further listening the first time around.

Some corrections and further notes on recent prospecting:

Ran Blake/Christine Correa: Out of the Shadows (2009 [2010], Red Piano): I erroneously identified Jeanne Lee as singing on Blake's Short Life of Barbara Monk. She sang on Blake's You Stepped Out of a Cloud. The pairing had stuck in my mind, and looking through my list of Blake's albums I pulled out the one I liked best. Turns out there was no singer on that album, and Ricky Ford played tenor sax. B+(*)

Unpacking: Found in the mail this week:

• Ralph Alessi: Cognitive Dissonance (CAM Jazz)
• Greg Burk and Vicente Lebron: Unduality (Accurate)
• Mina Cho: Originality (Blink Music): Sept. 7
• The Claudia Quintet + Gary Versace: Royal Toast (Cuneiform)
• Either/Orchestra: Mood Music for Time Travellers (Accurate)
• Tom Johnson: Rational Melodies (New World)
• Darrell Katz/Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra: A Wallflower in the Amazon (Accurate): Aug. 10
• Klezwoods: Oy Yeah! (Accurate)
• Rebecca Martin: When I Was Long Ago (Sunnyside): Aug. 31
• Mercury Falls: Quadrangle (Porto Franco): Aug. 17
• Allison Miller: Boom Tic Boom (Foxhaven)
• Nils Petter Molvaer: Hamada (Thirsty Ear)
• Mike Reed's People, Places & Things: Stories and Negotiations (482 Music)
• Pete Robbins: Silent Z Live (Hate Laugh Music)
• Rova & Nels Cline Singers: The Celestial Septet (New World)
• Thomas Savy: French Suite (Plus Loin Music)
• Jacky Terrasson: Push (Concord)

Heat wave broke a bit this weekend, although it will be back to 98F by midweek. Got my bathroom wall tile grouted and caulked, (nearly) finishing one of the nastier and messier house tasks of recent times. Still have a lot of rearranging to do, but I've resolved not to try to build anything until it cools off -- which around here usually means October. Internet went down after that, but I mostly plugged away on computer, taking notes on Geoffrey Wawro's Quicksand, and starting to construct a new edition of the shopping list I used to carry around when I used to be able to find used CD stores. Cutting it back from the old one, starting with only including 4-star Penguin Guide jazz unless I have real good reason to think a lower-rated record is worth searching for.

Will probably take it easy this week: see if I can round up something interesting for Recycled Goods (not much yet), work through some more Jazz Prospecting, clean things up around the house. Figure out what to do about my obsolescent web server and my antiquated firewall/mail home. Also note that sometime in the next week or so I'll start posting Michael Tatum's "A Downloader's Diary" -- at least that's the working title. What I've seen so far looks like the first decent stab at making up for the loss of Christgau's Consumer Guide. Meanwhile, some finds below.

Fred Hersch Trio: Whirl (2010, Palmetto): Pianist, b. 1955, has more than 30 albums since 1984, seemed to be the big mainstream piano hope (Bill Evans division) in the early 1990s, when he came down with AIDS. He became if anything more prolific after that, and the sidestory gradually faded until now, as he mounts a comeback after an episode that left him in a coma for two months. You get no sense of that from the music here, which is as bright and chipper as anything he's recorded. Don't really understand how it works. Maybe something about concentrating the mind. Maybe just another instance of bassist John Hébert elevating the game. Drummer Eric McPherson does good, too. A-

Aaron Goldberg: Home (2007 [2010], Sunnyside): Pianist, b. 1974 in Boston, passed through Betty Carter's boot camp, graduated from Harvard, moved to New York; fourth album since 1999, with a lot of work on the side. Trio with Reuben Rogers on bass and Eric Harland on drums; augmented by tenor saxophonist Mark Turner on three cuts, getting a bit lift on the opener, "Canción por la Unidad Latinoamericana," and on "Aze's Blues" -- one of 4 (of 10) originals. Covers scattered from Mandel to Monk, Jobim to Stevie Wonder, with the title track from Omer Avital. B+(*)

Avery Sharpe Trio: Live (2008 [2010], JKNM): Bassist, built his career on long turns with McCoy Tyner and Yusef Lateef, each honored with a song here. Ninth album since 1988. Group is a trio with Onaje Alan Gumbs on piano and Winard Harper on drums. Three originals by Sharpe, one by Gumbs, one more cover: "My Favorite Things." B+(*)

Dr. Lonnie Smith: Spiral (2010, Palmetto): Organ player, b. 1942, has twenty-some albums since 1967 with a big gap from 1979 to 1993. Fourth album with Palmetto, a trio, with Jonathan Kreisberg, who's found a seductive niche on guitar, and Jamire Williams on drums. First cut is from another Smith, Jimmy, setting out the basic funk parameters. Gets a substantial sound when he slows it down, too. B+(**)

John Escreet: Don't Fight the Inevitable (2010, Mythology): Pianist, from England, b. 1984, studied at Manhattan School of Music, based in Brooklyn; second album, like 2008's Consequences a quintet with Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet, David Binney on alto sax, Matt Brewer on bass, and Nasheet Waits on drums (replacing Tyshawn Sorey). Ambitious, aggressive stuff, especially out the chute with the horns pumping each other up. First play I found that exhilarating; second play annoying. Gets more complicated later on, for better or worse. B+(*)

Paul Carr: Straight Ahead Soul (2010, Paul Carr Jazz): Texas tenor, b. 1961, studied at Texas Southern University and Howard, based in DC. Got his blues tone but doesn't indulge in much honking, and plays a little soprano which doesn't sound Texas at all. With Bobby Broom on guitar, Allyn Johnson on piano, Michael Bowie on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums, all filling the straight ahead formula, plus a little Chelsea Green viola that goes somewhere else. Willard Jenkins wrote the notes, bringing up Arnett Cobb. For what it's worth, Cobb's Party Time has been stuck in my bedroom machine for the last month or two: a wonderful record, never fails to pick me up. B+(**)

The Mark Lomax Trio: The State of Black America (2007 [2010], Inarhyme): Drummer, b. 1979, from Columbus, OH; describes himself as "the Quincy Jones of his generation"; first group, 1999, was called Blacklist, their first album Blacklisted; trio has a previous gospel-themed album, Lift Every Voice!; this one has originals titled "Stuck in a Rut," "The Unknown Self," "The Power of Knowing," and "To Know God Is to Know Thy Self" (well, also "Blues for Charles"). None of that prepared me for this record, a sax trio, with unknowns Dean Hulett on bass and Edwin Bayard on tenor. First approximation on Bayard is that he sounds a lot like David S. Ware, and I mean a lot. A-

Freddy Cole: Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B (2010, High Note): Nat's baby brother recalls Billy Eckstine. Makes me wonder how many people today can recall sauve Nat, much less the debonair Eckstine, let alone relate to him. He had a deep, rich baritone, an exceptional example of a style that many 1940s singers aspired to, but which seems old fashioned, stuffy even, today. Nat, on the other hand, sounds as hip today as he did before rock and roll, and Freddy had the same voice, at least until he aged enough to differentiate it. But in applying the old/new Cole treatment to Eckstine's songbook, he achieves a remarkable synthesis. Houston Person joins in on 7 of 12 songs, lifting each, not that Cole can't get by on John Di Martino's piano and Randy Napoleon's guitar. A-

Ran Blake/Christine Correa: Out of the Shadows (2009 [2010], Red Piano): Internet down as I play/write this, so research is limited (and error-prone). Blake, of course, is the well known pianist, b. 1935, with at least 35 albums since 1961, including collaborations with vocalist Jeanne Lee -- Short Life of Barbara Monk is one of his (and their) best-known albums. Correa is a vocalist I've bumped into a couple of times, mostly with pianist Frank Carlberg (if memory serves, her husband). Rather difficult on both ends, with Blake's blockish piano interesting but providing little support, leaving Correa to wing it, which she does with admirable gusto. B+(*)

Ran Blake/Sara Serpa: Camera Obscura (2009 [2010], Inner Circle Music): Another Ran Blake piano-vocal duo. Serpa was born in Lisbon, Portugal; studied at New England Conservatory, where she ran into Blake; based in New York now. More songwise than Blake's album with Christine Correa; Serpa seems to draw out Blake's support, where Correa was more intent on challenging him. B+(**) [Sept. 1]

Peter Brötzmann/Paal Nilssen-Love: Woodcuts (2008 [2010], Smalltown Superjazz): Sax-drums duo, or when Brötzmann decides to cut your ears some slack he switches to bass clarinet or Bb-clarinet (but no tarogato this time). Nilssen-Love has a bunch of these duos in his discography now, including a previous one with Brötzmann (Sweet Sweat), others with Joe McPhee, John Butcher, Håkon Kornstad, Mats Gustafsson, and especially Ken Vandermark. Seems about par for the course, noisy, exciting, wearing. B+(**)

Lean Left: The Ex Guitars Meet Nilssen-Love/Vandermark Duo, Volume 1 (2008 [2010], Smalltown Superjazz): Maybe artist name and title should be switched. "Ex Guitars" are Andy Moor and Terrie Ex of the Dutch mostly-rock group The Ex, which started much like the Mekons but instead of going country-folk hung out with African noise bands and avant-jazzers. Drummer Paal Nilssen-Love and Ken Vandermark (tenor sax, Bb clarinet) have five or six albums as a duo, many more in larger configs, and in fact many Vandermark albums have been multi-band mash-ups along such lines. Cut live at Bimhuis. Liner suggests that Vandermark couldn't hear himself over the guitars although he was aware of blowing his lungs out; no problem, the sax is loud and clear here (especially loud). The guitars are less obvious, cutting in and out with harmonic strings and blasts of distortion. While the rockers are ripping up the sonic landscape, the jazz vanguardists rock out, with Vandermark riffing heavy and the drummer tying it all together. Three short pieces and one long at 27:26 for an intense bit over 41 minutes. A-

Ketil Bjørnstad: Remembrance (2009 [2010], ECM): Norwegian pianist, b. 1952, has recorded with ECM at least since 1994. Leads a trio here, with Tore Brunborg on tenor sax and Jon Christensen on drums -- all three were previously in Masqualero, along with Arild Andersen and Nils Petter Molvaer if memory serves. One title piece in eleven parts. B+(***)

Billy Bang: Prayer for Peace (2005 [2010], TUM): No idea how this set, recorded in New York half a decade ago, came to this Finish label, but the packaging, artwork, and full biographies are all pluses. The group has an interesting balance, with pianist Andrew Bemkey and trumpeter James Zollar as prominent as the violinist -- also with Todd Nicholson on bass and Newman Taylor-Baker on drums. Starts off with a sprightly Stuff Smith piece, a mood that returns with the only other non-Bang cover, an Afro-Cuban piece from Compay Segundo. Title track seems to drag a bit, but before long its slow build turns elegiac. Not at his strongest or most consistent, but a thrill nonetheless, with Zollar more than picking up the slack. A-

Eric Boeren 4tet: Song for Tracy the Turtle: Live at Jazz Brugge 2004 (2004 [2010], Clean Feed): Dutch cornet player, quartet includes Michael Moore (alto sax, clarinet), Wilbert de Joode (bass), and Paul Lovens (drums). Radio shot, tape discovered (or brought to Boeren's attention) only recently. Rough to start, interesting free play, don't get much sense of Moore although he's in the thick of it. B+(*)

Bo van de Graaf: Sold Out: 25 Soundtracks (2009 [2010], Icdisc): Dutch saxophonist, has contributed to the notion that the Dutch avant-garde has as much to do with comedy as with music, although the funniest things here are the titles: "Cat on a hot thin roof," "Ascenseur pour un escargot," "Lost tanga in Paris," "Et Depardieu créa la femme," "The gossip father," "Koyaanisquatsch," "For your legs only," and the 26th cut, disguised as a "bonus track" so as not to dispute the title, "Silence of the lamps (suite)." Would be more fun -- not the same thing as funnier -- if he played more sax, but only 6 of 26 cuts get that treatment. Mostly he hacks out melodies on electric keyboards with samples, and employs a few helpers for bits trumpet, harmonica, english horn, and to voice some Anna Akhmatova words. B

Cochemea Gastelum: The Electric Sound of Johnny Arrow (2010, Mowo!): Sax player; have him listed on alto first, but plays more tenor here, more baritone than that, more "electric sax" than anything, with flute a close second, bass clarinet, all sorts of keyboards, vibes, drums and percussion. First album, has some studio work with pop stars like Amy Winehouse (also Sharon Jones, Angelique Kidjo, New Pornographers), and funk-oriented jazzbos -- Robert Walter, Will Bernard, Melvin Sparks, Reuben Wilson (also something called Phat Jam in Milano listed under Archie Shepp). This one was co-produced by Mocean Worker, who contributed "bips & baps" as well as most of the bass. Beatwise funk, takes off when Elizabeth Pupo-Walker turns on her congas, stalls when the velocity drops too much. B+(*)

Tia Fuller: Decisive Steps (2010, Mack Avenue): Alto saxophonist, also plays some soprano, b. 1976 in Aurora, CO; third album since 2005. Toured for a while with Beyoncé, but her jazz ambitions certainly aren't pop -- she's more like a younger generation Kenny Garrett, a mainstream player who can turn up the heat and draw on deep well of Coltrane antics. Band includes her sister Shamie Royston on piano, Miriam Sullivan on bass, and Kim Thompson on drums; guests include Sean Jones on trumpet/flugelhorn, Christian McBride, and tap dancer Maruice Chestnut. B+(**)

Steve Cardenas: West of Middle (2009 [2010], Sunnyside): Guitarist, from Kansas City, based in New York; third album since 2000; lots of side credits since 1991, notably with Ben Allison and Paul Motian. Trio here, with Allison returning the favor at bass, and Rudy Royston on drums. Nice leads, but still strikes me as a first rate sideman. B+(**)

Lena Horne: Sings: The M-G-M Singles (1946-48 [2010], Verve/Hip-O Select): The first black actress granted a Hollywood contract, she was gorgeous in ways that transcended race -- her ancestors reportedly included slaveholders like John C. Calhoun as well as slaves, with a little American Indian mixed in along the way -- and a pretty good standards singer. Her "Stormy Weather" was a hit in 1943, the title of an MGM musical, and not included here although it seems like it should fit. This picks up a bit later. The house orchestra is completely ordinary, and more than half of the songs you no doubt know from Billie Holiday and/or Ella Fitzgerald. Horne wasn't in their class, but the best songs here -- "A Foggy Day (in London Town)" and "The Lady Is a Tramp" are two -- are completely satisfying. B+(***)

Nikki Yanofsky: Nikki (2010, Decca): Standards singer, from Montreal, b. 1994, which makes her 16 or probably 15 when she recorded this, her second album following a 2008 CD/DVD combo called Ella . . . of Thee I Swing. Produced by Phil Ramone and Jesse Harris. Didn't bother digging through the fine print to see who all's playing. No doubt she can belt the songs out -- a plus on "Take the 'A' Train" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and "Mr. Paganini" but not so much on "Over the Rainbow." While the Ella and Billie songs don't match up, at least they swing. The less obvious pieces don't reveal much of anything, even fandom. B

Eleni Karaindrou: Dust of Time (2008 [2009], ECM New Series): Pianist, specializes in composing for films, with seven albums on ECM since 1991, hard to tell how much more. This one is for a film by Theo Angelopoulos. Booklet has lots of pictures, presumably from the film. Mostly strings, some orchestral, but with a delicate touch, soft, easy flow, poignant. B+(**)

No final grades/notes this week on records put back for further listening the first time around.

Unpacking: Found in the mail this week:

• Nik Bärtsch's Ronin: Llyrìa (ECM): advance, Oct. 12
• Dave Bass Quartet: Gone (Dave Bass Music)
• Theo Bleckmann: I Dwell in Possibility (Winter & Winter)
• Patty Cronheim: Days Like These (Say So): Aug. 10
• Anna Figarova: Sketches (Munich)
• Food [Thomas Strønen/Iain Ballamy]: Quiet Inlet (ECM)
• Michael Formanek Qt.: The Rub and Spare Change (ECM): advance, Oct. 12
• Anat Fort: And If (ECM): advance, Sept. 14
• Chie Imaizumi: A Time of New Beginnings (Capri): Aug. 17
• Kneebody: You Can Have Your Moment (Winter & Winter)
• Greg Lewis: Organ Monk (Greg Lewis): Oct. 1
• Charles Lloyd: Mirror (ECM): advance, Sept. 14
• Chico Pinheiro: There's a Storm Inside (Sunnyside): Aug. 31
• Prester John: Desire for a Straight Line (Innova)
• Gene Pritsker: Varieties of Religious Experience Suite (Innova)
• Jim Rotondi: 1000 Rainbows (Posi-Tone)
• Salo: Sundial Lotus (Innova)
• Dino Saluzzi: El Encuentro (ECM)
• Aram Shelton Quartet: These Times (Singlespeed Music)
• Soulive: Rubber Soulive (Royal Family): advance, Sept. 14
• Howard Wiley and the Angola Project: 12 Gates to the City (HNIC Music): Oct. 19
• Norma Winstone: Stories Yet to Tell (ECM): advance, Aug. 31

Horrible week. Don't know where to begin, but hope it ends soon. Was surprised that I had enough Jazz Prospecting to post. Not sure if the glut of (**) records was symptom or cause -- one side effect of having already used up all of my space for the next Jazz CG is that I'm more conscious of good records that I know I'm not going to have room or interest for, and that's where such records land. For what little it's worth, the pecking order: Dosh, Rypdal, Christie, Cohen, Corpolongo, Manricks, Tibbetts.

Laurie Anderson: Homeland (2010, Nonesuch): A rather dreary album, at least partly by intent, which raises such big and serious questions I'm tempted to grade it up if only to get a hearing. Some songs are worth hearing more for didactic purposes than listening enjoyment -- "Another Day in America" and "Dark Time in the Revolution" are two. Only one is flat-out brilliant: "Only an Expert" is not only deep but quickens the pace to drive its points home. Others I'm likely to remain unsettled over, including four murky ones at the beginning. Ambitious, distinctive, thoughtful, clever, unique; still, I find it sitting on my year-end list right below Kesha, its polar opposite. B+(***) [advance]

Stevens, Siegel & Ferguson Trio: Six (2008 [2010], Konnex): Piano trio, with Memphis-based Michael Jefry Stevens forgoing alphabetical order for once to claim first dibs on a record. Siegel is drummer Jeff, nicknamed "Siege," which leads to all sorts of typographical errors. Ferguson, Tim, plays bass. Both contribute a pair of originals; Stevens just places one. The other five cuts are old standards ("Straight No Chaser" on the fence there), given pleasantly straightforward readings. B+(*)

Rich Corpolongo Trio: Get Happy (2009 [2010], Delmark): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1941 in Chicago, parents from Italy. Third album on Delmark, the first two dating from 1996 and 1998 with Corpolongo playing alto and soprano sax but no tenor. All three have upbeat titles -- Just Found Joy and Smiles -- but his playing is serious, sober mainstream, spare and muscular with just bass (Dan Shapera) and drums (Rusty Jones), with Charlie Parker tunes fore and aft, standards in between including the title tune, "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," and "Body and Soul." B+(**)

Terje Rypdal: Crime Scene (2009 [2010], ECM): Guitarist, b. 1947, part of the George Russell generation of Norwegian jazz musicians; started in rock and gravitated in and out of fusion over the years. Shows some of that here, but the album, a concert recording at Nattjazz Festival in Bergen, veers wildly about with a range of things I can't add up much less reconcile: scattered vocal samples assembled by drummer Paolo Vinaccia; free-ranging trumpet by Palle Mikkelborg; grungy organ by Ståle Storløkken; and occasional earth rumbling from the 17-piece Bergen Big Band. Each of these things are interesting. (Surprised to find him dropped from the 9th ed. of The Penguin Guide, along with 18 records, all on ECM, very likely all still in print.) B+(**)

Steve Tibbetts: Natural Causes (2008 [2010], ECM): Guitarist, b. 1954, from Minnesota, had an eponymous album in 1976 and now has eight ECM albums from 1980, the last three following 6-, 8-, and 8-year breaks. Also credited with piano, kalimba, and bouzouki -- not sure whether they are minor here or just subtly layered, as the hype sheet suggests. Marc Anderson adds percussion, but there is little more to it: quiet, measured, slips by all to easily. B+(**)

Retta Christie: With David Evans & Dave Frishberg, Volume 2 (2009 [2010], Retta): Singer, b. 1959 in Astoria, OR. Second album, following Volume 1 all the way down to the cover art, given a different tint here. Standards, but not too standard: notes place most of them in the 1920s and 1930s with a Mills Brothers hit from 1944 not so far an outlier. Evans plays sax and clarinet; is a treat on both, especially the latter. Frishberg limits himself to piano -- he's a notable singer in his own right, but plays this one close to the vest. B+(**)

Avishai Cohen: Aurora (2008 [2010], Blue Note/EMI Music): Israeli bassist, b. 1970 (many sites say 1971, but Cohen's own say 1970), established his jazz career in New York but seems to be based in Israel now. Eleventh record since 1998, carries a small Blue Note label as well as EMI Music, but was recorded on France and isn't on Blue Note's US schedule -- hype sheet gives April 27 as release date. Plays electric as well as acoustic, has a piano credit and sings most of the songs, with Karen Malka joining in here and there. Band includes Shai Maestro on piano/wurlitzer, Amos Hoffman on oud, and Itamar Doari on percussion. Several songs derive from Ladino folk sources, although most are originals. Vocals are slight, amateurish; arrangements are slow, with a baroque feel -- hype sheet cites Bach counterpoint, as well as pointing out that his Ladino was sharpened playing in New York latin ensembles. B+(**)

Jacám Manricks: Trigonometry (2009 [2010], Posi-Tone): Saxophonist, not specified but plays alto in his photos and has played soprano in the past; based in New York, teaches at Manhattan School of Music; bio doesn't provide details like when/where born, how he got to New York, etc. One previous album, last year's Labyrinth, also an impressive disc. Wrote all but a Dolphy piece. Postbop, has a loquacious tone, gets solid support from Gary Versace on piano and Obed Calvaire on drums, and occasional front line help from Scott Wendholt (trumpet) and Alan Ferber (trombone). Sorry for the grade rut, but I can't budge this up or down. [PS: Looks like he started out in Australia.] B+(**)

Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott: East-West Trumpet Summit (2009 [2010], Origin): Marriott's from Seattle; Vega's from the Bronx. Marriott thanks God in the notes here; Vega thanks Jesus. Presumably Vega's the hot one here -- play with Ray Barretto and Tito Puente and you learn to crank it up a couple notches. Each has a moderate pile of albums. Both can play but neither makes a very distinctive impression. Together they put together as hot a trumpet album as I've heard in a while. B+(*)

Gregory Porter: Water (2009 [2010], Motema): Vocalist, based in Brooklyn, first album. Wrote 6 of 11 songs; one called "1960 What?" on the Detroit riot is a choice cut, partly because he beefs up the horn section (three trumpets and trombone), partly because he doesn't try to constrain his cool. On the other hand, standards like "Skylark" and "But Beautiful" are really tightened down. B+(*)

Dosh: Tommy (2008-09 [2010], Anticon): Full name: Martin Dosh, from Minneapolis. Fifth record since 2003, all on Anticon, which is generally an underground hip-hop label, very underground. This one is more post-rock ambient electronica, reminiscent of Brian Eno's Another Green World at times, but not as blessed, not just because it's a bit noisier. B+(**) [advance]

Oscar Feldman: Oscar e Familia (2009, Sunnyside): Alto saxophonist, b. 1961 in Argentina, based in New York, has one previous album in 1999. Wrote most of the pieces, one with Guillermo Klein, one by Klein alone, and one each by Wayne Shorter, Astor Piazzolla, and Hermeto Pascoal. Core group features Manuel Valera on piano, John Benitez on bass, Antonio Sanchez on drums, and Pernell Saturnino on percussion, although he also taps Pablo Aslan (bass) on four cuts, Diego Urcola (trumpet, trombone), Mark Turner (tenor sax), Tito Castro (bandoneon), Cuartetango String Quartet (two cuts), and others. Fierce sax and roiling percussion will remind you of Gato Barbieri's early "chapters." B+(***)

Margret: Com Você (2010, Sunnyside): Last name Grebowicz, from Texas, probably based in New York now although hype sheet says she teaches philosophy at Goucher College in Baltimore. Website refers to band as Com Você, but hype sheet gives Margret as artist name, Com Você as album title. She/they have a 2007 album, Candeias, under Com Você. Band isn't really applicable on this album anyway: Margret sings on all tracks, but only has Ben Monder (guitar) on one track, Matvei Sigalov (guitar) on another, Monder and Scott Colley (bass) on a third; tenor saxophonist Stan Killian, who seems to be her senior collaborator, only appears on 3 of 9 tracks. Only 3 of 9 songs have Brazilian roots, but she does a fair Astrud Gilberto impression, especially on the sweetly synthetic "Call Me." B

No final grades/notes this week on records put back for further listening the first time around.

Unpacking: Found in the mail this week:

• Julian Argüelles Trio: Ground Rush (Clean Feed)
• Michaël Attias: Twines of Colesion (Clean Feed)
• Ran Blake/Sara Serpa: Camera Obscura (2010, Inner Circle Music): Sept. 1
• Alex Brown: Pianist (Sunnyside): Aug. 10
• Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra: Mezzanine (Owl Studios)
• Fay Claassen: Sing! (Challenge)
• The Stanley Clarke Band (Heads Up)
• Bill Frisell: Beautiful Dreamers (Savoy Jazz)
• Stephen Gauci/Kris Davis/Michael Bisio: Three (Clean Feed)
• Frank Gratkowski/Hamid Drake (Valid)
• Susie Hansen: Representante de la Salsa (Jazz Caliente)
• John Lee Hooker, Jr.: Live in Istanbul Turkey (Steppin' Stone)
• Guillermo Klein: Domador de Huellas (Sunnyside): Aug. 10
• Urs Leimgruber/Evan Parker: Twine (Clean Feed)
• Daniel Levin Quartet: Bacalhau (Clean Feed)
• Mike Mainieri: Crescent (NYC, 2CD)
• Bob Mamet Trio: Impromptu (Counterpoint): Aug. 3
• Lisa Mezzacappa's Bait & Switch: What Is Known (Clean Feed)
• Nils Petter Molvaer: Hamada (Thirsty Ear): advance, Sept. 7
• Joe Morris/Nate Wooley: Tooth and Nail (Clean Feed)
• William Parker: I Plan to Stay a Believer: The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield (AUM Fidelity, 2CD): Sept. 14
• Louis Sclavis/Craig Taborn/Tom Rainey: Eldorado Trio (Clean Feed)
• Esperanza Spalding: Chamber Music Society (Heads Up)
• Ben Syversen: Cracked Vessel (Ben Syversen)
• Rob Wagner/Hamid Drake/Nobu Ozaki: Trio (Valid)
• David S. Ware: Onecept (AUM Fidelity): Sept. 14
• Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS Band: Fields of Moons (Jazzheads)

Aside from a pick hit candidate, listening to a lot of good, solid, exemplary even, records that don't inspire me to write further -- several stuck in the turntable for multiple plays, which is one reason I didn't get further. Pretty much in the middle of the Jazz CG cycle right now. Could shift to closing mode in a couple of weeks.

Archie Shepp: The New York Contemporary Five (1963 [2010], Delmark): One of two contemporaneous John Tchicai groups that took New York for their name -- the other was New York Art Quartet with trombonist Roswell Rudd -- yet recorded mostly in the alto saxophonist's native Denmark. This one sported Don Cherry (cornet) and Archie Shepp (tenor sax) on the front line, Don Moore (bass) and J.C. Moses (drums). They recorded a studio album in New York for Fontana in August 1963, then two live sets at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen for Sonet in November. The latter, minus two cuts, were consolidated by Storyville into a single CD. This reissue goes back to Sonet's Vol. 1 -- perhaps the other shoe will fall later, although there is no indication of it here. They went on to cut one more album for Savoy in 1964, with different bass and drums, Ted Curson replacing Cherry on two cuts, and Shepp's name (for the first time, I think) out front. Starts with the three horns brawling before the rhythm section enters to sort things out. Rough, primeval avant-garde, of the moment, with 1967-vintage liner notes that fall into the period. B+(***)

Mikrokolektyw: Revisit (2009 [2010], Delmark): Polish duo, Artur Majewski on trumpet, Kuba Sucher on drums, both working electronics, based in Wroclaw but with some sort of connection to Chicago -- at least to Rob Mazurek, whose Chicago Underground is a basically similar cornet-drums duo. Sounds microtonal at first, but the trumpet offers relief from any potential tedium. B+(*)

Alper Yilmaz: Over the Clouds (2009 [2010], Kayique): Electric bassist, from Turkey, studied industrial engineering, based in New York since 2000, second album since 2007. Also takes credits for sound design and loops. The bass lines are highlighted by Nir Felder's guitar, while David Binney's alto sax provides a sharp contrast. B+(**)

Curtis Fuller: I Will Tell Her (2010, Capri, 2CD): Trombonist, b. 1934, has thirty-some records since 1957, the majority before 1963, this only the third since 1996. Basically a mainstream hard bop player: best known early album was called Blues-ette; he came back after a decade-long hiatus in 1972 with Smokin' and Crankin'; for his 2005 outing he vowed to Keep It Simple. But this album steps up for a bit more: a sextet, dominated by tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman with Al Hood's trumpet providing the ear candy; not his best trombone, but he gets in some licks. Two discs, one studio, the other live (no dates given). The rhythm section is lively, the sets endlessly enjoyable. B+(***)

Steve Turre: Delicious and Delightful (2010, High Note): Trombone player, from Omaha, also plays conch shells but I've never figured out how that works or what they sound like. Fifteen album since 1987, including tributes to J.J. Johnson and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. This one doesn't quite live up to its title, but it is boldly flavored, with Billy Harper on tenor sax -- his rough edges ground down by all that big band work of late, but his energy undiminished -- Larry Willis on piano, Russell Malone on guitar (just two cuts), bass, drums, and some extra bata and djembe on one cut. Harper wrote two songs, Turre the rest except for "Tenderly." Best record since the Kirk tribute, but they all seems to be coming up with the same grade. B+(**)

Frank Carlberg/John Hebert/Gerald Cleaver: Tivoli Trio (2009 [2010], Red Piano): Piano-bass-drums trio, respectively. Pianist Carlberg hails from Finland, studied at Berklee and New England Conservatory, settled down in Brooklyn. Has at least eight records since 1992. Dense, full of intrigue and pleasure. I'm tempted to give Hebert a good deal of the credit; he always seems to show up in the right places. B+(***)

Reed's Bass Drum: Which Is Which (2009 [2010], Reed's Bass Drum): Brooklyn-based sax trio, with Jonah Parzen-Johnson leading on baritone, Noah Garabedian on bass, and Aaron Ewing on drums. First album. Freebop, moderately paced, no surprise given how slow the bari takes the corners; marvelous, though, when the big horn reaches for a bottom note. B+(**)

Orlando Le Fleming: From Brooklyn With Love (2009 [2010], 19/8): Bassist, b. 1976, Birmingham, UK; moved to New York 2003. Wikipedia has an article on a professional cricket player named Antony Orlando Frank le Fleming, born on the same day in the same town (well, pretty large city), who played 1994-96; web site bio says he played cricked "for five years in the minor counties," which I guess is consistent. First album, although he has a healthy number of side credits going back to 1999, especially with Jane Monheit. Quartet here, with Will Vinson on alto sax, Lage Lund on guitar, and Antonio Sanchez on drums. Lund has some tasty guitar leads here, and Vinson is sharp but moderate. Attractive album. Seems like I'm on a run of records that sound quite good but don't quite move me to write about them. B+(**)

Jamie Begian Big Band: Big Fat Grin (2008 [2010], Innova): Guitarist, studied at Hartt School of Music, Manhattan School of Music; started teaching at Western Connecticut State University in 1991. Interest in big band led him to Bob Brookmeyer. Second Big Band album, the first coming out in 2003. Group is seventeen strong, conventional big band size and shape except second guitar instead of piano. Draws on New Yorkers, only a few that I recognize. Some terrific passages scattered about. B+(**)

TGB: Evil Things (2009 [2010], Clean Feed): Portuguese trio: Sérgio Carolino (tuba), Mário Delgado (guitar), Alexandre Frazão (drums). Delgado wrote six pieces, Frazão three; one is a group improv, and four more are from others -- only one my eyes can make out is Bill Evans. Rather scattered, as you might expect given how they juxtapose originals named for "George Harrison" and "Aleister Crowley" -- the latter may be the one that sounds like slightly bent Black Sabbath. The tango/soundtrack-ish "Close Your Eyes" is a choice cut, and the high-speed tuba bebop solo on "Tangram" is a hoot, but there's too much evil for my taste; suggest they lighten up and call their next one Mischievous Things. B+(*)

Angles: Epileptical West: Live in Coimbra (2009 [2010], Clean Feed): Sextet, haven't tracked every member down but safe to say Scandinavian. Leader is Swedish alto saxophonist Martin Küchen, b. 1966, nothing under his own name but also works in Exploding Customer (which has scored a couple of HMs here), Trespass Trio, and Sound of Mucus. Second album for group, with Magnus Broo (trumpet), Mats Älekint (trombone), Mattias Ståhl (vibes), Johan Berthling (bass), and Kjell Nordeson (drums). Big beat, roiling horns, scattered tinkles from the vibes, loud and propulsive. Makes me smile all over. A-

Kris Davis/Ingrid Laubrock/Tyshawn Sorey: Paradoxical Frog (2009 [2010], Clean Feed): Not familiar with Laubrock, although she also appears on the Tom Rainey record still awaiting my attention. Tenor saxophonist, b. 1970 in Germany, based in London and/or Brooklyn; five albums since 1997 by most counts, which file this one under Davis, a pianist from Canada who specializes in fast and furious saxophonists -- Rye Eclipse with Tony Malaby is my top recommendation. Sorey is a drummer, plays in Fieldwork and has a couple albums on his own that are more focused on his composition than his percussion. This should click in interesting ways, but Laubrock isn't that fleet and that seems to slow down the others. Also a queer stretch of silence (or very low volume) creates a false ending -- not sure what's going on there. B+(*)

Tom Rainey Trio: Pool School (2009 [2010], Clean Feed): Album says this was recorded "on September 4th, 2010" -- I assume that's a typo for 2009. Rainey is a drummer who's made a big impression, especially in Tim Berne's groups. Has a long credits list going back to 1987, but this is the first album under his own name. Gets all the composition credits, too. Trio includes Ingrid Laubrock on tenor and soprano sax and Mary Halvorson on guitar. Both tend to wobble here, which is sort of an art form for Halvorson, harder to speculate on with Laubrock. Free playing, takes a lot of attention, doesn't give much back, even from the drummer. B+(*)

No final grades/notes this week on records put back for further listening the first time around.

Unpacking: Found in the mail this week:

• Bobby Avey: A New Face (JayDell)
• Roberto Cipelli/Paolo Fresu/Philippe Garcia/Gianmaria Testa/Attilio Zanchi: F. à Léo (Justin Time): Aug. 10
• Avishai Cohen: Aurora (Blue Note)
• Yelena Eckemoff: Cold Sun (Yelena Music)
• Ken Fowser & Behn Gillece: Little Echo (Posi-Tone)
• Dan Gailey Jazz Orchestra: What Did You Dream? (OA2)
• Matt Herskowitz: Jerusalem Trilogy (Justin Time): Aug. 10
• Owen Howard: Drum Lore (Bju'ecords): Aug. 17
• Paul Motian/Chris Potter/Jason Moran: Lost in a Dream (ECM)
• Ivo Perelman/Dominic Duval/Brian Wilson: Mind Games (Leo)
• Ivo Perelman/Daniel Levin/Torbjörn Zetterberg: Soulstorm (Clean Feed, 2CD)
• Ivo Perelman/Gerry Hemingway: The Apple in the Dark (Leo)
• Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra: Jimmy Heath: The Endless Search (Origin)
• Nadav Snir-Zelniker: Thinking Out Loud (OA2)
• Ralph Towner/Paolo Fresu: Chiaroscuro (ECM)
• Christian Wallumrød Ensemble: Fabula Suite Lugano (ECM)
• Jessica Williams: Touch (Origin)
• Joel Yennior Trio: Bit City Circus (Brass Wheel): July 20

Played the Tokyo Police Club, the National and Macy Gray before Christgau's July Consumer Guide came out, although I had heard about Gray from Christgau. Dead Weather and Pernice Brothers after, although I had noticed them before and meant to get to them sooner or later. African stuff remains hard to find -- in fact, most of the honorable mentions I looked for didn't show up (not all on the missing list). With no more Consumer Guides likely, I guess I'm on my own, my fallback sources more erratic, less dependable -- you know, the kind of critics who convinced me to bother with Besnard Lakes.

Usual caveats apply: These are short notes/reviews based on streaming records from Rhapsody. They are snap judgments based on one or two plays, accumulated since my last post along these lines, back on June 9. Past reviews and more information are available here.

Bettie Serveert: Pharmacy of Love (2009 [2010], Second Motion): Dutch rock band, fronted by Carol Van Dyk, sing in English and could pass for American except for the names. I've been remiss in checking them out, with an unrated copy of their 1992 debut Palomine in the stacks somewhere, and nothing else in the database even though Christgau A-listed Private Suit (2000) and Log 22 (2003). Actually, my first choice -- if Rhapsody had it, and they don't -- is their Velvet Underground covers set, Venus in Furs. This is perfectly listenable unaffected alt-rock, starts strong, wobbles a bit, ends strong, just like you're supposed to do. B+(**)

Bettie Serveert: Private Suit (2000, Hidden Agenda): Christgau cites the songcraft: "crisply songful after years of feedback and drone." I find it remarkably clear and unaffected, rock only in the sense that most singer-songwriters start there, with occasional flashes of Velvet Underground, "Pale Blue Eyes" division. B+(***)

Bettie Serveert: Log 22 (2003, Hidden Agenda): Rocks a little more than Private Suit, still nowhere near as rote as the new one, although only "White Dogs" and "The Ocean, My Floor" really make something of it -- the Velvet Underground touchstone here is more like "Sweet Jane." Could be that multiple plays would put one or both of these records over the top. All that would take is an interest in singer-writer Carol Van Dyk, which hasn't quite clicked yet, but I wouldn't rule it out. B+(***)

Against Me!: White Crosses (2010, Sire): Postpunk band from Florida, dedicated an early album to Axl Rose, but actually has a lot of strong leftist political content. Too bad I find their so thick and dreary, because they do have cogent, important things to say. B-

Deer Tick: The Black Dirt Sessions (2010, Partisan): John McCauley group/alias, third album, named for the studio (if I recall correctly). Leans Americans, brightest on last year's Born on Flag Day, a good deal more worn and bleary here, wretched even. B

Janelle Monáe: The Archandroid (2010, Bad Boy): From Kansas City, KS, hooked up with OutKast for Idlewild, now drops her debut album. It's a big one, 18 cuts, 68:35, Big Boi on the producer list, lots of guests, enough singles snap -- rap pieces, soul shouts, plain ole pop -- that it may hit big. First time through I'm struck by the classical moves, at one even point flashing on "Bohemian Rhapsody." I don't mean that as bad as I usually mean it. No idea how will it will wear. B+(**)

The Besnard Lakes: The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night (2010, Jagjaguwar): Canadian group, what we used to call prog, alternately layered lush like Pink Floyd and/or pompous like Genesis if not quite ELP. Split into two sides, each starting with instrumental prologues, many songs split into two parts or movements. B

Tokyo Police Club: Champ (2010, Mom & Pop Music): Toronto group, first album was bright and rousing, a fresh flash on timeless rock and roll; this sophomore album shows they're getting older, slowing down, thinking harder, trying to make up for what they're losing. B+(**)

Bettye LaVette: Interpreations: The British Rock Songbook (2010, Anti-): Old-style soul singer, has a remarkable voice, was born a little late (1946) to catch the up wave of her style and didn't get noticed until recently. Her British songbook extends from the Invasion well into the 1970s, is rather eclectic and far from hitbound. She picks her way through them cautiously, an idea that doesn't quite gel even though it's sometimes intriguing. B

The National: High Violet (2009-10 [2010], 4AD): Brooklyn group, originally from Ohio, with two pairs of brothers and vocalist Matt Berninger (appealing deep voice, reminds me of Dave Alvin), although they also seem to be using lots of guest musicians, including Sufjan Stevens. Fifth album since 2001, their last one, Boxer, got broad critical acclaim and this broke high on the charts. Nicely framed, the voice serious and mature, and for that matter what I could make of the words. Drumming is even more impressive. A-

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: The Brutalist Bricks (2009 [2010], Matador): Seems well schooled, not quite as formally retro as Dave Edmunds or Marshall Crenshaw. Hard to resist as long as he keeps it fast, which is usually the case, but weird or worse when he slips up, as in the bit where he wonders "where was my brain?" You'll wonder too. B

Caribou: Swim (2010, Merge): Dan Snaith, from Canada, has a couple of previous albums of homebrewed electronica. This one is a step forward beatwise, much of it quite appealing, but every now and then the synths and/or voices get churchy, rubbing me the wrong way. B+(*)

The Roots: How I Got Over (2010, Def Jam): Selling point is such cross-genre contributors as Dirty Projectors, Monsters of Folk, and Joanna Newsom, none of whom make this sound any less like the Roots. Choppy beats, rocking hard, serious raps, with a bit more to the musical mix than DJs glean -- pretty good band, but you knew that. They're still on their run. A-

Eminem: Recovery (2010, Interscope): Long (76:56), loud, full of pop hooks but beat up and bruised. A couple of songs return to his well worn personal story without showing any sense of resolution, although the personal touch helps even if he's hopelessly fucked up. Others are trite, like "WTP" -- stands for "white trash party" -- which may be his fate. Can't focus, but he's got a knack. B(*)

Uffie: Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans (2010, Ed Banger/Elektra): Anna-Catherine Hartley, b. 1987 in Miami, raised in Hong Kong, based in Paris. Cartoonish electronica, cute voice, doesn't mince words. B+(**)

Macy Gray: The Sellout (2010, Concord): It's tempting fate releasing an album about selling out on a label as corrupt as Concord, but this is actually a very straightforward, somewhat old-fashioned r&b album -- reminds me of '50s rock and roll but less frenetic. Seen two reviews thus far, both pans, but sounds to me like her best. A-

The Dead Weather: Sea of Cowards (2010, Third Man/Warner Brothers): Jack White thang, with sharp and metallic input from Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Dean Fertita to strike a horror metal chord, which somewhat surprisingly I find more appealing -- at least more humorous -- than all the other Jack White thangs. Short at 35:09, could be considered EP length these days but would have filled an LP way back when. B+(***)

The Pernice Brothers: Goodbye, Killer (2010, Ashmont): A singer-songwriter with some things to say embedded in a brotherly band that runs light and has long lost its feel for country. Short at 32:05. Played this two and a half times and the sound smoothed out but it's still on the cusp. B+(***)

The Chemical Brothers: Further (2010, Astralwerks): Rhapsody calls their electronica "big beat," which seems especially appropriate here. Most of this moves so inexorably it's hard not to just bow and make way. B+(***)

Another month of taking what comes my way but not doing much more -- a couple of new world albums, some jazz reissues, some back catalog for an alt-pop groups with a new record I like -- the Apples in Stereo's Travellers in Space and Time. Benton Flippen fell out of a list of old records recommended in Derek Taylor's blog, and there will probably be more of those in the future (if I can find them -- struck out with Orchestra Nova, Bud Isaacs, Patato & Totico). With little coming in other than jazz and a bit of world, and no record stores to fall back on, I'm pretty much at the mercy of Rhapsody, which seems to be especially slow and spotty with reissues. Plus I have trouble digging up the necessary research on the web -- Google has transformed itself from a fast search engine to not much more than a shopping guide -- and it's painful to block out time for digesting marginal multi-artist and/or multi-disc sets -- the majors are all into "deluxe editions" of albums that never were all that significant in the first place.

Note ACN this month. Just list building, but given the shortfall up top, thought you might have some spare change. I actually started compiling the list with Sonny Rollins, which has three essential sets: G-Man is as hot as Rollins ever got, and that's saying something; This Is What I Do is a complete masterpiece; and Silver City pulls one cut from each of Rollins' Milestone albums -- Gary Giddins picked the list for a Village Voice article arguing as much, and Fantasy decided they couldn't improve on his list for a 25th anniversary double.

Tony Allen: Secret Agent (2009 [2010], World Circuit/Nonesuch): Despite a dozen albums under his own name going back to 1975, Allen always has been and always will be known as Fela Kuti's drummer. Making Fela-formula albums just surrenders to the inevitable, which isn't such a bad thing. Thirteen years after the master's death Kuti's advantages in vocals, sax, and the rigor of his political rants has thinned out a bit, and Allen has as much right as Fred Wesley or Maceo Parker. B+(***)

Arild Andersen: Green in Blue: Early Quartets (1975-78 [2010], ECM, 3CD): Norwegian bassist, one of several now-prominent musicians spawned by George Russell and Don Cherry during their late 1960s move to Scandinavia. Has a dozen-plus albums under his own name, the first three returned to print here. These are all sax-piano-bass-drums quartets, with flush flowing rhythms that highlight the leader's bass. Pål Thowsen is on drums on all three. The debut album, Clouds in My Head, features Kurt Riisnaes on tenor sax, soprano sax, and flute, with Jon Balke on piano. Balke would have been close to 20 at the time, but he already has a tough approach, and makes a much stronger impression than Lars Jansson, who replaced him on the other two albums. Riisnaes is superb throughout, but was also replaced on the later albums, Shimri and Green Shading Into Blue, by Juhani Aaltonen, who is riveting on tenor sax but plays a lot more flute, an instrument that he gives a dry, cerebral tone -- fascinating as such things go, but it's still flute, and it shifts the records toward the airy side -- Shimri has a slight edge of joyous discovery, but the two are very closely matched. B+(***)

The Apples in Stereo: #1 Hits Explosion (1995-2007 [2009], Yep Roc): Colorado group led by Robert Schneider, appeared in 1995 with a Beatles-ish multilayered pop sound and cashed in with this best-of after six albums. The sound is pretty much everything with them, suggested as much by such early album titles as Fun Trick Noisemaker, Tone Soul Evolution, and Her Wallpaper Reverie. I don't think any of these songs were actually hits, let alone #1s, and I'm not even sure they're best-ofs, but it's as good an introduction as any of their albums, especially the early ones where the sonic effects predominate. A- [R]

Chick Corea: Solo Piano: Improvisations/Children's Songs (1971-83 [2010], ECM, 3CD): Three solo piano albums find Corea in an exploratory mood. The first two came from a 1971 session, when Corea was working with Miles Davis on the one hand and Anthony Braxton on the other, before he took off on Return to Forever. Aside from pieces by Monk and Shorter on Vol. 2, everything was improvised, with the melodies on Vol. 1 especially charming. Children's Songs came twelve years later, all improvised, nothing childish about it other than that he tries working from elements. Final cut adds violin and cello, a nice little piece of chamber jazz. B+(*)

Art Pepper: Unreleased Art, Vol. V: Stuttgart May 25, 1981 (1981 [2010], Widow's Taste, 2CD): Cut about a year before his death, on a European tour that has already yielded two superb doubles -- Unreleased Art, Vol. III: The Croydon Concert eleven days earlier, and Art Pepper With Duke Jordan in Copenhagen 1981 eight days later. This is the same quartet that played Croydon -- Milcho Leviev on piano, Bob Magnusson on bass, Carl Burnett on bass -- even rougher and rowdier, with Leviev especially hot, and Pepper rising to characteristic heights at least three times: a magnificent "Landscape," an "Over the Rainbow" that he deconstructs so severely he finds new twists after thirty years, and a red hot "Cherokee." You certainly don't need every live tape they can scrape up, but they all seem to add something. He was more alive in the year of his death than you'll ever be. A-

Gabor Szabo: Jazz Raga (1966 [2010], Light in the Attic): Hungarian guitarist, plied every angle he could think of to break in including this Indian nod, with titles like "Krishna," "Ravi" (for Shankar), and "Raga Doll." He gets a lot of twang and a heavy whiff of late-'60s incense from his overdubbed sitar, especially on covers that help date it: "Caravan," "Summertime," and (thanks to Brian Jones) "Paint It Black." Reissued with old artwork and one of the best (and at 36 pages largest) booklets I've seen in recent reissues -- the label thinks this amusing period piece is a gem. B+(**)

Briefly Noted

The Apples in Stereo: Electronic Projects for Musicians (1995-2007 [2008], Yep Roc): B-sides, bonus cuts, outtakes, promo fluff, a couple of previously unreleaseds including "Stephen Stephen" from The Colbert Report; since their obsession is sonic, not much differs here from their primo product. B+(***) [R]

Larry Coryell: Prime Picks: The Virtuoso Guitar or Larry Coryell (1998-2003 [2010], High Note): Back in the late 1960s the great American hope for jazz-rock fusion guitar, he was always too subtle but aged gracefully; a random sampler from five fin de siècle albums, best when focusing on the guitar, as silvery as his hair. B+(*)

Richard Bona: The Ten Shades of Blues (2009 [2010], Decca): Electric bassist-vocalist from Cameroon branches out, finding blues on nearly every continent, mildly spiced with banjo and sitar, harmonica and fiddle, Fula flute and Afrobeat drums, and a New York horn section. B+(**)

Benton Flippen: Old Time, New Times (1970s-93 [1994], Rounder): Old-time fiddler from North Carolina, born 1920, hung around long enough the archaeologists finally got around to recording him, picking up scattered radio shots and a 1993 studio session; plays some banjo, sings some, makes the impression you'd hope for at each. B+(***) [R]

Mick Goodrick: In Pas(s)ing (1978 [2001], ECM): American jazz guitarist, influenced Pat Metheny and taught John Scofield and Bill Frisell; not many records, but this one develops clean, crystal clear lines, impressive enough but John Surman juggles three reeds -- bass clarinet, baritone sax, soprano sax -- in a tour de force. A- [R]

Kinito Méndez: Exitos de Kinito Méndez (1995-2005 [2005], J&N): Dominican merengue arranger-producer (vocalist?), born 1963, got his start young and worked is way through Cocoband and Rockabanda before going solo in 1995 with "Cachamba," presumably the first cut here -- don't know much more; the hits are pure formula, popping horns, romping basslines, chomping choruses, everything not just upbeat but riotously so. A- [R]

Carmen Souza: Protegid (2010, Galileo Music): Cape Verdean singer stretches out in heterodox directions, with jerky Afro-Cuban rhythms, psychedelic tropicalia, and sometimes spoken dramaturgy where I expect to recognize some German words buried in the Portuguese, or maybe I'm grasping at straws; in any case, different in ways I still find weird. B+(*)

Gabor Szabo: Gypsy '66 (1965 [1966], Impulse): The Hungarian guitarist's debut album, you can imagine the machinations -- why not do a gypsy guitar album, like Django but, you know, more modern, like with today's pop hits (you know, Lennon-McCartney, Bacharach-David), and hey, why not let Gary McFarland arrange and, like, play his marimba, and say, we can work Sadao Watanabe's flute in there somewhere? -- the word you're looking for it kitsch; the album would have been much better had Szabo stretched his original "Gypsy Jam" to 35 minutes and lost the rest. B- [R]

Additional Consumer News

I've been scrounging through the clearance section at oldies.com, mostly looking for deals on the house Collectables label -- they shovel a lot of quick and dirty reissues out, including some hard to find gems -- but I'm also seeing other labels' cutouts, especially jazz that Fantasy assiduously collected and Concord is actively dumping (although they also seem to have a knack for dumping their own releases, especially the rare good ones).

I've collected a more/less recommended list below -- everything rated A- or better, mostly (but not always) same edition. I've included recording dates and label from my database, but check the website for details on what they're selling. I skipped anything that didn't strike me as much of a deal (e.g., anything less than 25% off). I made note of their prices, but check that too -- some titles are available in multiple editions so I usually picked the lower price. This is mostly accurate as of July 6, but I can't guarantee anything.

• Nat Adderley: Work Song (1960, OJC) A- $5.98
• Geri Allen: The Life of a Song (2004, Telarc) A- $5.98
• Gene Ammons: A Stranger in Town (1961-70, Prestige) A- $5.98
• Gene Ammons: Fine and Mellow (1972, Prestige) A $5.98
• Laurie Anderson: Big Science (1982, Nonesuch) A- $7.95
• Louis Armstrong and King Oliver (1923-24, Milestone) A- $5.98
• Chet Baker: Riverside Profiles (1958-59, Riverside) A- $6.98
• Bob Berg: Another Standard (1997, Stretch) A- $5.98
• Benny Carter: The King (1976, Pablo) A- $6.98
• Creedence Clearwater Revival: Willie and the Poor Boys (1969, Fantasy) A $6.95
• Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: Very Saxy (1959, OJC) A $5.98
• Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: The Best of Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (1958-62, Prestige) A- $5.98
• Bill Doggett: The Very Best of Bill Doggett: Honky Tonk (1954-59, Collectables) A- $9.93
• Eric Dolphy: Prestige Profiles (1960-61, Prestige) A- $7.98
• Booker Ervin: The Freedom Book (1963, Prestige) A- $5.98
• John Fahey: The Best of John Fahey, Vol. 2 (1964-83, Takoma) A- $5.98
• Lefty Frizzell: Country Favorites/Saginaw Michigan (1951-64, Collectables) A- $8.76
• Garage a Trois: Outre Mer (2005, Telarc) A- $5.98
• Coleman Hawkins: The Hawk Flies High (1957, OJC) A- $5.98
• Coleman Hawkins: With the Red Garland Trio (1959, OJC) A- $5.98
• Coleman Hawkins: At Ease With Coleman Hawkins (1960, OJC) A- $5.98
• Coleman Hawkins: Prestige Profiles (1958-62, Prestige) A- $6.98
• Jimmy Heath: Really Big (1960, OJC) A- $5.98
• Joe Henderson: Milestone Profiles (1967-75, Milestone) A- $6.98
• Elmore James: The Complete Fire and Enjoy Recordings (1959-63, Collectables, 3CD) A- $13.48
• Keith Jarrett: El Juicio/Life Between the Exit Signs (1967-71, Collectables) A- $8.76
• Budd Johnson: Budd Johnson and the Four Brass Giants (1960, OJC) A- $6.98
• Shelly Manne: The Best of Shelly Manne (1953-61, Contemporary) A- $5.98
• Jackie McLean: Prestige Profiles (1956-57, Prestige) A- $6.98
• Marian McPartland: Plays the Benny Carter Songbook (1990, Concord) A $5.98
• Blue Mitchell: Blue Soul (1959, OJC) A- $5.98
• Thelonious Monk: Riverside Profiles (1955-59, Riverside) A- $7.98
• Thelonious Monk: The Best of Thelonious Monk (1955-61, Riverside) A- $5.98
• Maria Muldaur: Heart of Mine: Love Songs of Bob Dylan (2006, Telarc) A- $5.98
• Randy Newman: Good Old Boys (1974, Reprise) A $5.98
• Walter Norris: Hues of Blues (1995, Concord) A- $6.98
• O.M.D. [Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark]: Best of O.M.D. (1979-88, A&M) A- $4.50
• Ozomatli: Street Signs (2004, Concord) A- $4.95
• Eddie Palmieri: Ritmo Caliente (2004, Concord) A- $5.98
• Art Pepper: The Best of Art Pepper (1957-80, Contemporary) A- $5.98
• Pet Shop Boys: Introspective (1988, EMI) A $5.37
• Wilson Pickett: The Definitive Collection (1961-71, Atlantic/Rhino, 2CD) A $11.95
• Bud Powell: Parisian Thoroughfares (1957-61, Pablo) A- $6.98
• Bud Powell: Paris Sessions (1957-64, Pablo) A- $5.98
• Lou Reed: Animal Serenade (2004, Sire/Reprise, 2CD) A- $7.95
• Sonny Rollins: Rollins Plays for Bird (1956, OJC) A- $5.98
• Sonny Rollins: Prestige Profiles (1951-56, Prestige) A- $6.98
• Sonny Rollins: Sunny Days, Starry Nights (1984, Milestone) A- $5.98
• Sonny Rollins: G-Man (1986, Milestone) A+ $5.98
• Sonny Rollins: Silver City (1972-95, Milestone, 2CD) A+ $10.98
• Sonny Rollins: Plus Three (1996, Milestone) A- $5.98
• Sonny Rollins: This Is What I Do (2000, Milestone) A $5.98
• Sonny Rollins: Without a Song (The 9/11 Concert) (2001, Milestone) A-
• Sonny Rollins: Milestone Profiles (1972-2001, Milestone) A- $5.98
• Jimmy Rushing: Cat Meets Chick/The Jazz Odyssey of James Rushing Esq. (1955-56, Collectables) A $8.76
• Jimmy Rushing: Five Feet of Soul (1963, Collectables) A- $3.58
• George Russell: Ezz-Thetics (1961, OJC) A- $5.98
• Art Tatum: The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 3 (1955, Pablo) A- $5.98
• Television: Marquee Moon (1977, Elektra/Rhino) A $8.95
• Roseanne Vitro: Catchin' Some Rays (1997, Telarc) A- $5.98
• Mal Waldron: Soul Eyes: The Mal Waldron Memorial Album (1955-62, Prestige) A- $5.98
• Wilbur Ware: The Chicago Sound (1957, OJC) A- $5.98
• [various artists]: Creole Kings of New Orleans (1950-58, Specialty) A $5.98

Also collected a list of a few things that I don't have in my database, although they are similar to records I think highly of, and may (note lack of certainty) be perfectly good substitutes.

• Ruth Brown: The Definitive Soul Collection (1949-60, Rhino, 2CD) $11.95; cf. Miss Rhythm: Greatest Hits and More (1949-60, Atlantic, 2CD) A
• Chic: The Definitive Groove Collection (Rhino, 2CD) $11.95; cf. The Best of Chic (Atlantic) A, and The Best of Chic, Volume 2 (Atlantic) A-
• Duke Ellington: Sir Duke: The Classic Victor Recordings 1940-1942 (Sugarbeat, 3CD) $10.95; cf. The Blanton-Webster Band (1939-42, RCA, 3CD) A, or Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band (1940-42, Bluebird, 3CD) A+
• Dizzy Gillespie: Shaw 'Nuff (Collectables) $6.98; cf. Shaw 'Nuff (1945-46, Musicraft) A
• Rahsaan Roland Kirk & Al Hibbler: A Meeting of the Times / Ornette Coleman: Ornette! (Collectables) $8.76; cf. Rahsaan Roland Kirk/Al Hibbler: A Meeting of the Times (1966-72, Warner Jazz) A; Ornette Coleman: Ornette! (1961, Atlantic) A-
• Little Richard: The Essential Little Richard (Specialty) $6.98; cf. The Georgia Peach (1955-57, Specialty) A
• Percy Sledge: It Tears Me Up: The Best of Percy Sledge (Rhino) $7.95; cf. The Ultimate Collection (1966-69, Atlantic) A

That's about the best I can do. Collectables has a few specialty niches where they offer a lot more detail and I've ever bothered with: especially 1950s doo-wop, but also pre-rock pop vocals (Doris Day, Patti Page, Perry Como) and schmaltz (Ray Conniff, Percy Faith), 1960s pop-rock (Sam the Sham, Peter and Gordon). Their jazz selections are scattered (except for access to Atlantic's catalog), and they have a few interesting blues titles (especially a lot of early Lightnin' Hopkins). On the other hand, there's little consistency in their product: they tend to take whatever they find and just slap their logo on it. (For instance, Dion's Runaround Sue: His Greatest Hits on Laurie Records still has just 10 songs, even though he (with or without the Belmonts) charted 28 songs for the label. It would never occur to them to add more, although it they got rights to a better comp they'd happily reissue it.)

Legend: B+ records are divided into three levels, where more * is better. [R] indicates record was reviewed using a stream from Rhapsody. The biggest caveat there is that the packaging and documentation hasn't been inspected or considered.

For this column and the previous 74, see the archive.

Early in the cycle, and near the turn of the month I got a bit distracted with Recycled Goods and Rhapsody, both forthcoming this week. Put a couple records back for further listening. I used to do that quite often, but cut way down over the last year given the need to hack through the backlog. Checked out a couple of records using Rhapsody -- I imagine I could chase down the Regina Carter, but feel less compelled to do so now.

Bona: The Ten Shades of Blues (2009 [2010], Decca): No indication of first name on cover, but he's generally gone as Richard Bona. Born 1967 in Cameroon, moved to Germany, France, New York; main instrument is electric bass, although he's also credited with guitars, keyboards, drums, percussions, and samples here, and he sings on all tracks. Has eight (or more) albums since 1999. The blues concept here makes for a grand tour of world music, with various combinations of Indian, African, European, and American musicians, including bits of Bailo Baa fula flute, Niladari Kumar sitar, Jojo Kuah drums, Gregoire Maret harmonica, Jean Michel Pilc piano, Christian Howes violin, Ryan Cavanaugh banjo, and Bob Reynolds sax. Mildly spiced, gently groveful. B+(**)

Jason Moran: Ten (2010, Blue Note): Pianist, b. 1975, grew up in Houston, studied at Manhattan School of Music with Jaki Byard, also hooking up with Muhal Richard Abrams and Andrew Hill. Signed out of college by Blue Note, his first album appearing on a major label in 1999, making him an instant rising star. For a while it seemed like he could do nothing wrong: his first four albums made my A-list, and I can't offhand tell you if any other jazz pianist has ever done that. Fifth one was live, an understanable slip, but his next couple were merely good, and this one (which I count as his eighth) comes nearly four years after the last. Not clear where the title comes from, but it looks like a summing up: covers of Monk and Byard, Bernstein and Nancarrow, a joint credit with Hill. I've played this 6-8 times, maybe more, but haven't quite gotten into it. The last two cuts (Byard's "To Bob Vatel of Paris" and Moran's own "Old Babies") are fairly wonderful with hints of stride, and there is a lot of fancy stuff up front and thought in the middle -- impressive stuff, no doubt. Wonder why I don't like it more. B+(***)

Sunny Jain: Taboo (2010, Bju'ecords): Drummer, also plays dhol, Indian-American, b. New York, parents Punjabi immigrants. Group includes Mary Cary on piano, Nir Felder on guitar, and Gary Wang on bass, with assorted vocalists on 6 of 7 songs. Compositions based on Indian ragas but don't sound all that Indian. Project "started through a desire and a sense of obligation to use my music as a platform to address social justice issues," which sounds noble and may be worth exploring but I haven't been able to latch on to much in three plays, and feel like moving on. B

The Stryker/Slagle Band: Keeper (2010, Panorama): Guitarist Dave Stryker, b. 1957 in Omaha, NE; has a couple dozen albums since 1989, mostly on Denmark's Steeplechase, a fairly mainstream label that kept Dexter Gordon's career moving during his years in exile (Duke Jordan, too, and Jackie McLean, only in virtual exile). Steve Slagle, b. 1951 in Los Angeles, has a similar career, less prolific, more of a sideman; worked with Steve Kuhn in late 1970s, Carla Bley in early 1980s, Mingus Big Band, and bumped into Stryker on the latter's first (1991) Steeplechase album, Passage, and frequently thereafter, consolidating their business in 2003, and releasing respectable product ever since. With Jay Anderson on bass and Victor Lewis on drums, high calibre journeymen. Still, through several plays it keeps growing on me, mainstream postbop burnished up with Slagle's blues tone -- even the two soprano features fit in seamlessly. A-

John Stein/Ron Gill: Turn Up the Quiet (2009 [2010], Whaling City Sound): Stein is a guitarist, from Kansas City, MO, not sure how old but he's pretty thin on top; ninth album since 1995. Has a light, elegant style, not much evident here where he winds up playing a lot of bass. Gill is a singer, from North Carolina, based in Massachusetts, with one previous album, although like Stein I'd guess he's probably in his 50s. Billy Eckstein-type voice, but smokier. Draws songs from Victor Young, Sammy Cahn, Bart Howard, one each from Ellington and Strayhorn, two Brazilian pieces (neither Jobim), a short Stevie Wonder medley. "Detour Ahead" is especially striking. Uncredited on the front cover is pianist Gilad Barkan, who fills his unsung role admirably. B+(**)

Mirio Cosottini/Andrea Melani/Tonino Miano/Alessio Pisani: Cardinal (2009, Grimedia Impressus): This will take a while to sort out. Impressus Records is Miano's label. I added this to my "wish list" after Stef Gijssels reviewed it favorably. Miano noticed and offered to send a copy. GRIM is an acronym for Music Improvisation Research Group (or a reverse acronym for the English translation). Not clear what that means or who is involved -- can't access the website listed in the inset. Cardinal could be the group name, album title, or both. Impressus has four records, the first three Miano duos. Miano plays piano. I assume he's Italian ("obtained a degree in musicology from the University of Bologna with a thesis on J. Cage" [1993]), but he's based in New York, where he's pursued a physics degree. Cosottini plays trumpet, graduated Academy of Music of Florence (1992), played in the first of Miano's duos, also in EAQuartet. Pisani plays bassoon and contrabassoon. His website has some lovely astronomical photos and a tantalizing series on assembling a 14-inch telescope. Melani plays drums; is based in Prato, Italy. Enigmatic music. The bassoon tends to slow things down and fade into atmospherics. Otherwise, with trumpet leading you get something like Chicago Underground; with bassoon, more of a chamber jazz effect. B+(***)

Phil Wilson/Makoto Ozone: Live!! At the Berklee Performance Center (1982 [2010], Capri): Wilson, b. 1937, plays trombone; studied at New England Conservatory and the Navy School of Music; played in big bands with Herb Pomeroy, the Dorsey Brothers, Woody Herman, and Buddy Rich; taught at Berklee from 1966; has a spotty recording career which adds up to a couple dozen albums. Ozone, b. 1961 in Kobe, Japan, is a pianist, studied at Berklee, returned to Japan in 1983, where he is evidently a big deal. He also has a couple dozen albums, of which this is one of the first. I haven't heard any others, although I have an advance of a new album on Verve somewhere. Standards, ranging from "Stella by Starlight" to "Giant Steps" played with an amusing crudeness -- actually, it's just Wilson who sounds crude, a badge of merit from trombonists. B+(*)

Bryan and the Haggards: Pretend It's the End of the World (2010, Hot Cup): Bryan Murray, tenor saxophinist, from WV, now in NY, natch, hooking up with bebop terrorists Jon Irabagon (alto sax) and Moppa Elliott (bass) and fellow travelers Jon Lundbom (guitar) and Danny Fischer (drums), playing four Merle Haggard originals and three more from Hag's songbook. "Silver Wings" is done bebop-style, with the straight theme followed by working the changes, but it gets trickier after that, especially with the Ornette-ish "Lonesome Fugitive." Then someone uncredited goes Bob Wills on "All of Me Belongs to You," leading into a comic scat over bass and drums. Then there is the closer, "Trouble in Mind," done as ear-splitting dirge, channeling the ghost of Rashied Ali on drums. Not sure whether this is just an inspired joke or something more, and if the former not sure we don't need more inspired jokes. But I do want to note something in Leonardo Featherweight's liner notes, a story I hadn't heard: "During the performance, [Lefty] Frizzell noticed Haggard singing along with his songs and invited him up on stage to sit in with the band. The crowd's appreciation of his brief performance convinced him that music was to be an important part of his life, and perhaps his career." Reminds me that hardly anyone earns his ticket but for the grace of someone who has gone before. [A-]

The Britton Brothers Band: Uncertain Living (2009 [2010], Record Craft): John Britton plays trumpet; Ben Britton tenor sax. Also on hand: Jeremy Siskind on piano, Taylor Waugh on bass, Austin Walker on drums. First album. The brothers wrote three tracks each, plus one by Siskind. Name recalls the Brecker Brothers, but they are more into aggressive postbop and less into skunk funk. Chris Potter guests on two tracks, and turns it up a notch. B+(*)

Ike Sturm: Jazzmass (2009, Ike Sturm): Bassist, b. 1978, based in New York, holds a title as "Assistant Director of Music for the Jazz Ministry at Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan." One previous album. I've been avoiding this because, well, you see the title. No false advertising there. Misty Ann Sturm sings, best on the pure hymns, with choir and string orchestra backing, all of which I could do without. The horns are something else: Ingrid Jensen on trumpet/flugelhorn, Loren Stillman on alto sax, and Donny McCaslin on tenor. There are better places to hear them, but they're in form even here. B-

Bill Carrothers: Joy Spring (2009 [2010], Pirouet): Pianist, b. 1964 in Minneapolis; fourteenth album since 1999 according to AMG, but they really mean 1992, and they've only rated three, and haven't bothered with a bio. So while I was tempted to say that he's one of those guys with a sterling rep that I haven't managed to appreciate, probably because I just don't seem to hear piano trios all that clearly -- Walter Norris, Harold Danko, Marc Copland are other names that pop into my head -- he probably isn't well enough known for that. (And actually I did love his 2005 album Shine Ball, but that was goosed up with prepared piano, which I've been a sucker for ever since I first heard David Tudor playing John Cage.) This is a trio, with Drew Gress on piano and Bill Stewart on drums -- names that could someday rival Peacock-De Johnette or (in my mind) Johnson-Baron. Mostly Clifford Brown songs, like the title track, plus three from Richie Powell, one each from Duke Jordan and Victor Young, and, of course, Benny Golson's "I Remember Clifford." Interesting idea I don't understand well enough, and don't feel like digging into right now. Will play it again. [B+(***)]

John Skillman's Barb City Stompers: DeKalb Blues (2009 [2010], Delmark): Trad jazz band, based in DeKalb, IL ("the birthplace of barbed wire"), led by a clarinetist who played in the Buck Creek Jazz Band for 32 years, but also owns and runs an engineering firm in DeKalb. Featuring credit for trombonist Roy Rubinstein, a 30-year veteran of "the New Orleans style Chicago Hot Six," whose day job is Assistant Director at Fermilab in Batavia, IL. Also with Larry Rutan on guitar (a QA manager), Roger Hintzsche on bass (runs a fertilizer business), and Aaron Puckett on drums (teaches high school). First album, mostly pre-swing although it's hard to keep stuff that old pure, and also hard to resist a Fats Waller song. Starst with "Millenberg Joys"; ends with "My Old Kentucky Home"; Diana Skillman drops in to sing "Yes Sir! That's My Baby." Corny, easy to see why they stick with it even when the bread's got to come from somewhere else. B+(***)

Stephan Crump with Rosetta Trio: Reclamation (2009 [2010], Sunnyside): Bassist, from Memphis, mother "an amateur pianist from Paris," father "an architect and jazz drummer"; studied at Amherst, based in New York, plays in Vijay Iyer's piano trio. Fourth album since 1997; third was called Rosetta with same lineup here, the bass flanked by guitarists Liberty Ellman and Jamie Fox. Seems slight at first, the guitars tuned down to adorn the bass, a balance that lets you enter the framework. Didn't get much out of the previous record, but this one draws me in every time. A-

James Moody: 4B (2008 [2010], IPO): One of the most popular bebop saxophonists to emerge in the early 1950s, both through his long association with Dizzy Gillespie and through a few fluke hits of his own, and one of the last standing. This follows up on last year's 4A, more standards from the same sessions, the "4" referring to a quartet with Kenny Barron, Todd Coolman, and Lewis Nash. Straightforward, beautiful tone, swings through "Take the A Train," doesn't cut up the Tadd Dameron and Benny Golson pieces, backup is impeccable, and he leaves his flute in the case. One to remember him by, but it's still a bit early for that. Looks like this includes a label sampler, which with its Roland Hanna and Roger Kellaway piano and Tad Jones tribute band (One More) should make for fine dinner background. B+(***) [Aug. 25]

Johnny Griffin: Live at Ronnie Scott's (2008 [2010], In+Out): Recorded May 26-27 in London, about two months before Griffin died on July 25, 2008, so perhaps the tenor sax great's last record. Sounds rather fit, although he's often overpowered by Roy Hargrove's trumpet, which in classic Griffin form provides much of the energy level. With Billy Cobham on drums, David Newton (mostly) on piano, with Paul Kuhn dropping in for "How Deep Is the Ocean" and presumably taking the uncredited vocal. B+(**)

An Excellent Adventure: The Very Best of Al Jarreau (1975-2004 [2009], Rhino): Originally slotted as a jazz singer because he scatted a little and tackled a couple of Dave Brubeck-Paul Desmond odd-time experiments, Jarreau cut a dozen 1975-94 albums for Warners, grabbing popular and critical acclaim, including Grammys in pop and R&B as well as jazz while never really fitting anywhere. I find his "Blue Rondo a la Turk" one of the more hideous pieces of vocalese ever recorded, and "Boogie Down" one of the lamer exercises in rote disco. That leaves a couple of decent R&B songs like "We're in This Love Together" in a compilation that proves Gödels Theorem: like math, he's a system that cannot both be complete and consistent. B-

Carrie Wicks: I'll Get Around to It (2009 [2010], OA2): Singer, based in Seattle area, first album, backed by label regulars including Hans Teuber on tenor sax and clarinet, Bill Anschell on piano, and Jeff Johnson on bass. Standards, mostly from 1940s with Elvis Costello's "Almost Blue" an outlier and a co-credited original from 2008. Samba-fied medley of "Moonlight in Vermont" and "No Moon at All" and a "Baby, Get Lost" among the highlights. B+(*)

These are some even quicker notes based on downloading or streaming records. I don't have the packaging here, don't have the official hype, often don't have much information to go on. I have a couple of extra rules here: everything gets reviewed/graded in one shot (sometimes with a second play), even when I'm still guessing on a grade; the records go into my flush file (i.e., no Jazz CG entry, unless I make an exception for an obvious dud). If/when I get an actual copy I'll reconsider the record.

Sounds of Liberation (1972 [2010], Porter): Philadelphia group, very much of the black power moment when shards of avant-sax clashed with funky conga rhythms, merging into something far out but not inaccessible. Byard Lancaster is the saxophonist in a septet with guitar, bass, and four percussionists counting vibraphonist Khan Jamal, the founder and best known member of the one-album group. A- [Rhapsody]

Evan Parker: House Full of Floors (2009, Tzadik): Mostly trio with John Russell on guitar and John Edwards on bass, Parker playing both soprano and tenor sax, scratchy and patchy on both, with most of the muscle coming out of the bass. Aleks Kolkowski joins in on three tracks, playing stroh viola, saw, and wax cylinder recorder, respectively. I take this for easy listening background music, but you probably don't. B+(*) [Rhapsody]

Regina Carter: Reverse Thread (2010, E1 Entertainment): Violinist, got a major label break when cousin James Carter was on Atlantic, and proved popular enough to stick in the big leagues, even winning a MacArthur "genius grant." This troll through Afropop may be a genius concept but it's no genius execution. A lot of sawing on top of guitar (Adam Rogers) or kora (Yacouba Sissoko), accordion (Will Holshouser or Gary Versace), bass (Chris Lightcap or Mamadou Ba), and drums (Alvester Garnett), does develop some rhythmic roll, but seems to come from neither here nor there. Might get better with more exposure, or might seem even more misaprised. B+(*) [Rhapsody]

No final grades/notes this week on records put back for further listening the first time around.

Unpacking: Found in the mail this week:

• Billy Bang: Prayer for Peace (Tum)
• Chris Colangelo: Elaine's Song (C Note): Sept. 2
• Commitment: The Complete Recordings 1981/1983 (1982-83, No Business, 2CD): William Parker, Jason Kao Hwang, Will Connell Jr, Zen Matsuura; Sept. 1
• Conference Call: What About . . . ? (Not Two, 2CD): Gebhard Ullmann, Michael Jefry Stevens, Joe Fonda, George Schuller
• Fred Hirsch Trio: Whirl (Palmetto)
• Vijay Iyer: Solo (ACT): advance, Aug. 31
• Hilary Kole: You Are There (Justin Time): Aug. 10
• Elisabeth Lohninger: Songs of Love and Destruction (Lofish Music)
• Metropole Orkest/John Scofield/Vince Mendoza: 54 (Emarcy): Aug. 24
• Portico Quartet: Isla (Real World): advance, Aug. 31
• Puttin' On the Ritz: White Light/White Heat (Hot Cup): advance, July 13
• Adam Schroeder: A Handful of Stars (Capri)
• Benny Sharoni: Eternal Elixir (Papaya)
• Sándor Szabó/Kevin Kastning: Returning (Greydisc): July 27