Streamnotes: July 31, 2024

Most of these are short notes/reviews based on streaming records from Napster (formerly Rhapsody; other sources are noted in brackets). They are snap judgments, usually based on one or two plays, accumulated since my last post along these lines, back on June 26. Past reviews and more information are available here (24279 records).

Recent Releases

Arooj Aftab: Night Reign (2024, Verve): Pakistani singer-songwriter, born in Saudi Arabia, returned to Lahore when she was 10, on to US at 19, studied at Berklee, based in New York, fifth album, got some notice in 2023 whens he shared billing on Love in Exile with Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismally. B+(***) [sp]

أحمد [Ahmed]: Wood Blues (2022 [2024], Astral Spirits): British quartet of Pat Thomas (piano), Joel Grip (bass), Antonin Gerbal (drums), and Seymour Wright (alto sax), originally formed as a tribute to bass/oud player Ahmed Abdul-Malik (1927-93), fourth album since 2017, unless the 4-CD Giant Beauty box came out ahead of it (looks like it did, by 4 days). I've had people tell me this is the best live band on the planet. They probably thought the same of Cecil Taylor in the 1970s. A- [sp]

أحمد [Ahmed]: Giant Beauty (2022 [2024], Fönstret, 5CD): Five more shows, each on its own disc each a single piece 44:15-49:40 long, from five consecutive nights in Stockholm (August 10-14, so after the April 2 Glasgow date on Wood Blues). Too intense to play straight through, possibly redundant if you're satisfied with Wood Blues, but something where you can just pick a disc at random when the mood strikes. A- [sp]

Alliance [Sharel Cassity/Colleen Clark]: Alliance (2024, Shifting Paradigm): Supposedly a group name, but two of the four women pictured on the cover are named in smaller print at the bottom: Cassity plays flute and alto/soprano sax, Clark drums, along with Hannah Meyer (piano) and Carmani Edwards (bass). A very sprightly hard bop outing. B+(**) [sp]

Daymé Arocena: Alkemi (2024, Brownswood): Afro-Cuban jazz singer, first appeared in Jane Bunnett's Cuban group Maqueque, fifth album since 2015, all on this British label. B+(*) [sp]

Kenny Barron: Beyond This Place (2024, Artwork): Pianist, I first really noticed him as a duet partner for Stan Getz (People Time, 1991), but he started in the early 1970s (cf. Peruvian Blue, 1974), is a DownBeat hall-of-famer, one of the most storied jazz educators in history, and still pretty sharp entering 80s. Helped out here by Steve Nelson (vibes), Kiyoshi Kitagawa (bass), Johnathan Blake (drums), and especially Immanuel Wilkins (alto sax). A- [sp]

BassDrumBone: Afternoon (2023 [2024], Auricle): Mark Helias, Gerry Hemingway, and Ray Anderson: I've been filing their records under the trombonist since 1986. This one seems a bit muted, but that just brings out the craft in the BassDrum. B+(***) [cd]

Jamie Baum Septet+: What Times Are These (2023 [2024], Sunnyside): Flute player, debut 1996, Septet -- including Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Sam Sadigursky (reeds), Brad Shepik (guitar), and Luis Perdomo (piano) -- has four albums 2004-18, expands to nine credits here plus four more vocalists picking their spots. Choice cut is "Sorrow Song," even beyond Kokayi's words. Other vocalists don't fare so well. B+(*) [sp]

BbyMutha: Sleep Paralysis (2024, True Panther): Rapper Brittnee Moore, from Chattanooga, second album, Bandcamp page attributes it to "BIGMUTHA," but every other source goes as I have it, sometimes no-caps. B+(**) [sp]

Albert Beger/Ziv Taubenfeld/Shay Hazan/Hamid Drake: Cosmic Waves (2023 [2024], No Business): Tenor saxophonist, born in Istanbul, grew up in Israel, studied at Berklee, has a 1995 album, came to my attention with a pair of 2005 albums with William Parker under Hamid Drake's name. The others play bass clarinet and bass, for a dicey free jazz jam, with the drummer as impressive as ever. A- [cd]

Beholder Quartet: Suspension of Disbelief (2024, Sachimay): Streaming sources list this as Beholder Trio, but cover says Quartet, as does a previous album -- a still earlier trio is simply credited to Beholder. Group of Dan DeChellis (piano), John Philip Tomasic (guitar), Jeffrey Slater (electric bass), and Zach Martin (drums). DeChellis has albums back to 1998, including a 1999 trio with Tomasic, and a later series of albums with avant saxophonist Gary Hassay. Very interesting album, even in the slow spots. A- [sp]

Beings: There Is a Garden (2024, No Quarter): New York-based quartet of Zoh Amba (tenor sax, mostly), Steve Gunn (guitar), Shahzad Ismaily (bass, synth), and Jim White (drums). I never thought of Gunn as a jazz musician, and he doesn't have to be one when filling in behind Amba's sax or piano (even more indebted to Charles Gayle than her sax), but when she sings, he presents a Velvet Underground vibe so she can be Moe Tucker. No attempt at fusion here. Just multiplicities. A- [sp]

Oddgeir Berg Trio: A Place Called Home (2024, Ozella): Norwegian pianist, home is the island of Rolla, which is pretty far north, fifth trio album since 2018, with Audun Ramo (bass) and Lars Berntsen (drums). B+(*) [sp]

Carlos Bica: 11:11 (2024, Clean Feed): Bassist, from Portugal, wide range of albums from the late 1990s on (last one was Playing With Beethoven, and I didn't much care for it). This is a quartet which can run rough or refined, with José Soares (sax), Eduardo Cardinho (vibes), and Gonçalo Neto (guitar/banjo). Has a bit of vocal. B+(**) [sp]

Alan Braufman: Infinite Love Infinite Tears (2024, Valley of Search): Saxophonist, had a few years in New York in the mid-1970s working around the lofts with Cooper-Moore and William Parker, then did something else until retirement age, when he reissued his one album (actually quite good) and some archival tapes, and started working on a new one. This follows up on the promise of 2020's The Fire Still Burns, with James Brandon Lewis (tenor sax), Patricia Brennan (vibes), Ken Filiano (bass), Chad Taylor (drums), and Michael Wimberly (percussion). B+(***) [r]

Anthony Braxton: 10 Comp (Lorraine) 2022 (2022 [2024], New Braxton House, 10CD): Alto sax legend, credited with "saxophones, electronics" here, with each composition (numbered 423-428, 432-435) running from 41:31 to 60:09. The first six are trio with Adam Matlock (accordion/voice) and Susana Santos Silva (trumpet); the last four are quartet, with a second saxophonist (James Fei) and two bassists (Zach Rowden, Carl Testa). Way too long for anything other than a glancing view, but the first trio has limited appeal: sure, the accordion isn't as grating as Braxton's bagpipe albums, but that's the direction, and the operatic vocals have no more appeal when sung over abstractions than they do over schmaltz. The quartet is similar musically but with fewer annoyances, which doesn't necessarily make it more interesting, or even listenable (though sometimes it is). Length: 490:36. B+(*) [bc]

Zach Bryan: The Great American Bar Scene (2024, Belting Bronco/Warner): Country singer-songwriter, one I've underrated in the past, and may well again, as he has a knack for making exceptional songs seem ordinary. Runs over an hour. B+(**) [sp]

Chris Byars: Boptics (2023 [2024], SteepleChase): Tenor saxophonist, what you might call a retro-bebopper, probably the most talented musician to first appear on Luke Kaven's early 2000s Smalls label, which also produced exceptional records by two more musicians in this sextet: Zaid Nasser (alto sax) and Ari Roland (bass). They're joined here by Stefano Doglioni (bass clarinet), John Mosca (trombone), and Keith Balla (drums). B+(**) [sp]

George Cartwright & Bruce Golden: Dilate (2024, self-released): Saxophonist and drummer, played together in the final iteration of Cartwright's group Curlew (founded 1979, but I think we're talking 2002-03 here). Sounds mostly like electronics and percussion, but all the credits have to say is: "george licked sounds; bruce nailed sounds." Some bits I really like, but others wear me down and out. B+(*) [bc]

Kim Cass: Levs (2023 [2024], Pi): Bassist, second album, composed everything here, mostly for pianist Matt Mitchell, who he's supported in the past, and is striking (as usual) here. Also with Tyshawn Sorey (drums), and (except for 3-4 tracks) flute (Laura Cocks) and euphonium (Adam Dotson). B+(***) [cd]

Ernesto Cervini's Turboprop: A Canadian Songbook (2022 [2024], Three Pines): Canadian drummer, based in Toronto, half-dozen albums since his 2015 Turboprop introduced his group name. Sextet with two saxophonists (Tara Davidson and Joel Frahm), trombone (William Carn), piano (Adrean Farrugia), and bass (Dan Loomis). Songs are sentimental favorites in his neck of the woods, but they travel well. B+(***) [bc]

Coco Chatru Quartet: Future (2024, Trygger Music): Swedish group, named for "a legendary Swedish adventurer," label for bassist Håkan Trygger, who wrote four (of eight) pieces, with two each by Daniel Kåse (drums) and Linus Kåse (alto sax), zero by Charlie Malmberg (baritone sax). Slippery postbop, somewhat understated. B+(***) [lp]

Isaiah Collier & the Chosen Few: The Almighty (2023 [2024], Division 81): Saxophonist, from Chicago, group is a quartet with piano-bass-drums, but aims higher, starting off with a gospelized Dee Alexander vocal, then a spiritual spot for Ari Brown. Three more tracks: more yearning, more vocals, more rafters-raising saxophone. B+(**) [sp]

Alfredo Colón: Blood Burden (2023 [2024], Out of Your Head): Alto saxophonist, based in Brooklyn, first album, quartet with Lex Korten (piano/keybs), Steve Williams (bass), and Connor Parks (drums), original pieces plus a Son House blues. This develops impressively, in the "spiritual jazz" vein pioneered by Coltrane, Sanders, and Ayler, alongside more recent efforts by saxophonists like Nat Birchall. A- [cd]

Chick Corea & Béla Fleck: Remembrance (2024, Thirty Tigers): Piano and banjo duo, third album together, after The Enchantment (2007) and Two (2015). No recording date(s) given, but this "last project" (which includes audience applause) was obviously recorded before pianist's death in 2021. B [sp]

Ivanna Cuesta: A Letter to the Earth (2023 [2024], Orenda): Drummer, from Dominican Republic, studied there and at Berklee, based in Boston, first album, composed by, also credited with electronics, with Ben Solomon (sax), Kris Davis (piano), and Max Ridley (bass) -- all terrific here. Bit of guest vocal at the end (Pauli Camou). A- [sp]

Jeremiah Cymerman: Body of Light (2022-23 [2024], 5049): Clarinet player, fifteen-plus albums since 2007, first two pieces here appear to be solo, credits including synths, percussion, sequences, bass. The other two (longer) tracks add drums (Mike Pride) and either guitar-cello or violin. Either way this mostly comes off as ambient. B+(*) [sp]

Jon De Lucia: The Brubeck Octet Project (2023 [2024], Musæum Clausum): Alto saxophonist, several albums, modeled on Dave Brubeck's early (1948-50) group, with trumpet, trombone, two more saxophones (Scott Robinson on tenor), piano (Glenn Zaleski), bass, and drums. Nice sense of group interplay. B+(***) [cd]

Ani DiFranco: Unprecedented Sh!t (2024, Righteous Babe): Folkie singer-songwriter, had a lot of edge when she emerged in 1990. This one doesn't particularly grab me, but probably deserves another listen. [PS: It does, as her critique is sharp as ever, but the music still doesn't grab me.] B+(*) [sp]

Divr: Is This Water (2022 [2024], We Jazz): Swiss piano-bass-drums trio (Philipp Eden, Raphael Walser, Jonas Ruther), first album. B+(*) [sp]

Welf Dorr/Elias Meister/Dmitry Ishenko/Kenny Wollesen: So Far So Good (2022 [2024], self-released): Alto saxophonist, born in Germany, based in New York, first album appears to be a Flowers for Albert thinking of Einstein not Ayler, unless it was the group called Funk Monk. Backed by guitar, accordion/electric bass, and drums, has traces of soul jazz and funk fusion, but mostly as a vehicle for distinguished saxophone. A- [bc]

Nick Dunston: Colla Voce (2022 [2024], Out of Your Head): Bassist, fifth album since 2019, also credit for "post-processing," on what is billed as "a warped narrative of sorts, hurtling from acoustic universe to electric universe, string to scream, raw to produced, New York to Berlin, and real to surreal." The strings and voices give it an air of opera, but very warped indeed, and I'd add, saved by the drums. B+(**) [cd]

Isabelle Duthoit & Franz Hautzinger: Dans le Morvan (2021 [2024], Relative Pitch): French clarinetist, also credited for voice (which is more like audible breathing), in a duo with the Austrian playing quarter tone trumpet. Second duo album, very sketchy. B+(*) [sp]

Edition Redux: Better a Rook Than a Pawn (2023, Audiographic): I lost track of Ken Vandermark's projects when he pulled most of his work behind the paywall, so I jumped on this new group as soon as I noticed it: Erez Dessel (piano/synth), Lily Finnegan (drums), Beth McDonald (tuba/electronics), and Vandermark (reeds, notably baritone sax). Piano tends to lead, but the real power remains the saxophonist. B+(***) [bc]

Nick Finzer: Legacy: A Centennial Celebration of JJ Johnson (2024, Outside In Music): Trombonist, eighth album since 2012, quartet with Renee Rosnes (piano), Rufus Reid (bass), and Lewis Nash (drums), all veterans of Johnson's 1980-90s groups. B+(***) [sp]

Bill Frisell: Orchestras (2021-22 [2024], Blue Note): Guitarist, long-established, leads a trio with Thomas Morgan (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums), featured here surrounded by symphony orchestras (Brussels Philharmonic, Umbria Jazz Orchestra), his (and some other) compositions scaled up by Michael Gibbs. Quick take is that the full strings on the first disc are a turn off. Dispensing with them, the second disc is rather enaging. B+(**) [sp]

FUR [Hélène Duret/Benjamin Sauzereau/Maxime Rouayroux]: Bond (2023 [2024], Budapest Music Center): French-Belgian trio: clarinets, guitar, drums. Nice atmospherics B+(**) [sp]

Paul Giallorenzo Trio: Play (2021 [2023], Delmark): Chicago pianist, first trio album in 2012, second with this trio of Joshua Abrams and Mikel Patrick Avery. B+(*) [sp]

Marshall Gilkes and WDR Big Band: Life Songs (2022 [2024], Alternate Side): Trombonist, debut 2004, often drawn to big bands (Maria Schneider, John Fedchock) and Latin (Brian Lynch), third album with the German radio orchestra. Vibrant and lush, the Sabeth Pérez vocal a plus. B+(***) [sp]

GloRilla: Ehhthang Ehhthang (2024, Cocaine Muzik Group/Interscope): Rapper Gloria Hallelujah Woods, from Memphis, two albums, this one's considered her second mixtape, crunk (I've read). Lot of b&n here (as in "ain't no b in me, n"). If you can roll with that, this should rock you. B+(***) [sp]

Dayramir González: V.I.D.A. [Verdad, Independencia, Diversidad Y Amor] (2024, self-released): Cuban pianist, based in New York, has a 2008 album with Habana Entrance, not sure what else. B [sp]

Ciara Grace: Write It Down (2024, self-released): Singer-songwriter, can't find much about her, had to look the album up by title as artist name didn't do the trick (found me a single, instead). First impression is I like her, though. [PS: Would have found out more had I gotten her name right, including a previous album from 2016.] B+(***) [sp]

The Gringo Pistoleros: The Rise and . . . Subsequent Fall of the Texas Alien (2024, self-released): Recorded in Austin, with Cory Grinder (presumably from somewhere else) just passing through, "named in homage to the great Tim Henderson" (who? Discogs lists 11 with that name, pictures 0). B+(**) [sp]

Erik Griswold/Chloe Kim/Helen Svoboda: Anatomical Heart (2023 [2024], Earshift Music): Pianist, based in Brisbane, Australia, a dozen-plus albums since 2002, has a fondness for prepared piano. Trio with drums and bass. The bit of jerkiness keeps it interesting. B+(**) [sp]

Gregory Groover Jr.: Lovabye (2023 [2024], Criss Cross): Tenor saxophonist, from Boston, name sounds like a smooth jazz alias (well, maybe not as much as Euge Groove), but he studied and teaches at Berklee, has his debut on a mainstream label, and lined up a batch of stars for backing: Joel Ross (vibes), Aaron Parks (piano), Vicente Archer (bass), Marcus Gilmore (drums) and Matthew Stevens (guitar on 3 tracks). B+(**) [sp]

Morgan Guerin: Tales of the Facade (2024, Candid): Self-described "prolific multi-instrumentalist and visionary composer," born "right outside New Orleans," studied at New School and Berklee, based in New York, side-credits since 2019, appears to have three previous albums, plays sax and related, keyboards, electric bass, and drums, but I can't find any credits here, and I'm thrown by all the vocals. B+(*) [sp]

Giovanni Guidi: A New Day (2023 [2024], ECM): Italian pianist, about a dozen albums since 2007, quartet here with James Brandon Lewis (tenor sax), Thomas Morgan (bass), and João Lobo (drums). He plays nicely, nowhere close to challenging his guest star, who nonetheless reveals that he'll probably make a great ballad album some day. B+(**) [sp]

Sarah Hanahan: Among Giants (2024, Blue Engine): Alto saxophonist, first album, quartet with Marc Cary (piano), Nat Reeves (bass), and Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums), with extra percussion on 4 (of 8) tracks. Mainstream, with considerable power, and more than a little finesse. B+(***) [sp]

Simon Hanes: Tsons of Tsunami (2024, Tzadik): California-born, based in New York, plays baritone guitar here, has mostly worked under group names (Tredici Bacci, Trigger, Shimmer, Guerilla Toss; Tsons of Tsunami was the group name for a 2013 album called Fearless Riders of the Holy Curl. He describes these compositions as "surf-based," backed with trombone, horn, waterphone, vibraphone, and drums. B+(**) [sp]

Jo Harrop: The Path of a Tear (2024, Lateralize): British singer-songwriter, slotted jazz but not necessarily so, third album, has a nice feel and touch, and songs. B+(***) [sp]

Xaver Hellmeier: X-Man in New York (2022 [2023], Cellar Music): German drummer, based in Munich, but went to New York to study with Joe Farnsworth, which set him up for a first album recorded in Van Gelder Studios with what must be his dream band: Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Eric Alexander (tenor sax), David Hazeltine (piano), and Peter Washington (bass). I've long admired that group (and Farnsworth), but it's been a while since they've put their skills to such inspired use. A- [sp]

Conrad Herwig: The Latin Side of McCoy Tyner (2024, Savant): Trombonist, born in Oklahoma, studied at UNT, joined Clark Terry's 1980s band, played with Joe Henderson, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Joe Lovano, Mingus Big Band; first leader album in 1987, joined Eddie Palmieri in 1994, and recorded his initial The Latin Side of John Coltrane in 1996, since followed by Shorter, Hancock, Henderson, Silver, Mingus, and now Tyner. This one has Alex Norris (trumpet), Craig Handy (tenor/baritone sax), Bill O'Connell (piano), with the usual percussion excitement, and a special guest slot for Palmieri. B+(**) [sp]

Christopher Hoffman: Vision Is the Identity (2024, Out of Your Head): Cellist, has a couple previous, core group here has keyboards (Frank LoCrasto) and drums (Bill Campbell), but four (of seven) tracks add guests: Henry Threadgill (alto sax), Ryan Scott (guitar), Anne Webber (flute), Alfredo Colón (EWI). Short (24:20). B+(*) [sp]

اسم ISM [Pat Thomas/Joel Grip/Antonin Gerbal]: Maua (2022 [2024], 577): London-based piano-bass-drums trio, at least one previous album, they also form the core of the quartet known as [Ahmed]. Two pieces, the 41:15 title track, plus a 6:22 extra, with a very nice Bösendorfer grand that may have slowed the group down a bit, just to relish the sound. Title means "flowers" in Swahili. Not as dramatic as the [Ahmed] albums, but this should help Thomas get recognition as one of jazz's top-tier pianists. A- [dl]

Janel & Anthony: New Moon in the Evil Age (2024, Cuneiform): Janel Leppin (cello) and Anthony Pirog (guitar), self-released an album together in 2006, another for Cuneiform in 2012. They've since gone on to establish separate careers, but reunite here for what is effectively two albums: the first a ten-track suite of darkly engaging duet instrumentals, the second a singer-songwriter set with Leppin doing most of the singing -- jazz-influenced, no doubt, but not something one would note in a blindfold test. I find the songs a tad more appealing, but probably for the music, as I can't say much about the lyrics. B+(**) [cdr]

Mathias Højgaard Jensen: Is as Is (2022 [2024], Fresh Sound New Talent): Danish bassist, lives in Brooklyn, probably his first album as leader (Discogs has three side credits since 2019, his website has 13), all his pieces, quartet with David Mirarchi (alto sax), Jacob Sacks (piano), and Steven Crammer (drums). This is very nice: subtle and intricate postbop that sneaks up on you. A- [cd]

Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O: True Story (2020-21 [2024], New Soil/Mushroom Hour): South African trombonist, second group album. B+(**) [sp]

Johnny Blue Skies: Passage Du Desir (2024, High Top Mountain): "Metamodern" country singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson, not sure if his name is on the cover or not but it appears everywhere the record is mentioned. B+(**) [sp]

Norah Jones: Visions (2024, Blue Note): Singer-songwriter, tends to be slotted as jazz given her record label, but little reason to read much into that. Her 2002 debut was a huge crossover hit, with US sales topping 11 million. Ninth studio album, co-wrote most songs with producer Leon Michels. B+(*) [sp]

Goran Kajfeš Tropiques: Tell Us (2024, We Jazz): Swedish trumpet player, quite a few albums since his 2000 debut, quartet with Alex Zethson (keyboards), Johan Berthling (bass), and Johan Holmegard (drums), third group album. Has a wide, panoramic feel. B+(***) [sp]

Alex Kautz: Where We Begin (2024, Sunnyside): Brazilian drummer, based in New York, married to Mexican singer Magos Herrera (featured on two songs here), with John Ellis (tenor sax/clarinet), Chico Pinheiro (guitar), Helio Alves (piano), and Joe Martin (bass). B+(*) [cd]

Roger Kellaway: Live at Mezzrow (2023 [2024], Cellar Music): Pianist, first album 1963, first new one since 2019, with bass (Jay Leonhart) and drums (Dennis Mackrel) plus guest Roni Ben-Hur (guitar). He's always been a bop era pianist with a little stride in his style. B+(*) [sp]

Cassie Kinoshi's SEED.: Gratitude (2023 [2024], International Anthem): British alto saxophonist, plays in the Afrobeat group Kokoroko, leads the large SEED Ensemble (first album in 2019, nominated for Mercury Prize, was upper case then but lower case now), which is a skeletal big band plus string quartet, flute, tuba, and turntables. Title piece runs 21:56, is packaged with a slightly smaller group on a 5:42 piece (so 27:38 total). B+(*) [sp]

Tobias Klein/Frank Rosaly/Maria Warelis: Tendresse (2022 [2024], Relative Pitch): Bass/contrabass clarinetist, originally from Germany (Saarbrücken), based in Netherlands, not much as leader but side credits since 1997 (most often in the group Spinifex). Backed here with drums and piano. B+(**) [sp]

Charlie Kohlhase's Explorer's Club: A Second Life (2022 [2024], Mandorla Music): Saxophonist (alto, tenor, baritone), based in Boston, Discogs credits him on 48 albums since 1985 (many with Either/Orchestra) but Wikipedia hasn't noticed yet, third group album, an octet with tenor sax (Seth Meicht), trumpet (Dan Rosenthal), trombone (Jeb Bishop), tuba (Josiah Reibstein), guitar (Eric Hofbauer), bass, and drums. Originals plus covers from Elmo Hope, Ornette Coleman, John Tchicai, and Roswell Rudd. The bottom horns provide a lot of lift. A- [sp]

Brian Landrus: Plays Ellington & Strayhorn (2023 [2024], Palmetto): Baritone saxophonist, also plays similar instruments, plus some piccolo and flutes, backed quite capably by Dave Stryker (guitar), Jay Anderson (bass), and Billy Hart (drums), playing fourteen songs you can't go wrong with. B+(***) [cd]

Bill Laurance/The Untold Orchestra: Bloom (2022 [2024], ACT Music): British pianist, member of Snarky Puppy at least 2006-20, own albums since 2012, his keyboards leading an orchestra, conducted by Rory Storm, of 18 strings. Reflects his roots in classical music, and probably impressive as such, but quite enjoyable, too. B+(**) [sp]

Janel Leppin: Ensemble Volcanic Ash: To March Is to Love (2023 [2024], Cuneiform): Cellist, released the album Ensemble Volcanic Ash in 2022, same basic group and concept here but I'm annoyed by the typography, so this is my solution. The music can also annoy, but also can turn remarkable, even living up to this hype: "progressive chamber jazz with the steely avant-garde that descends from Julius Hemphill's 1972 LP Dogon A.D." Hemphill's secret was cellist Abdul Wadud, whose name appears in the opening "Ode." Sextet with Brian Settles (tenor sax), Sarah Hughes (alto sax), Anthony Pirog (guitar), Luke Stewart (bass), and Larry Ferguson (drums). B+(***) [cdr]

Les Savy Fav: Oui, LSF (2024, Frenchkiss): Art punk band from Rhode Island, released five albums 1997-2010, return for another 14 years later. Still a potent combination of hooks and volume. Last song is triumphant: "We were there when the world got great/ We helped to make it that way." B+(**) [sp]

Frank London/The Elders: Spirit Stronger Than Blood (2023 [2024], ESP-Disk): Trumpet player, has extensive experience in klezmer music (Klezmatics, Hasidic New Wave, Klezmer Brass Allstars, Klezmer Conservatory Band) as well as straight jazz -- here often evoking Ellington and Mingus, with tributes to Lester Bowie and Ron Miles. B+(***) [cd]

Nduduzo Makhathini: Unomkhubulwane (2024, Blue Note): South African pianist, started leading albums in 2014, got a big profile boost when Blue Note picked him up in 2020. Third album there, sings some (not fancy or dramatic, but quite agreeably), backed by Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere (bass) and Francisco Mela (drums). B+(***) [sp]

Grégoire Maret/Romain Collin: Ennio (2024, ACT Music): Swiss harmonica player, eponymous debut 2012, second album with the French pianist, backed by guitar-bass-drums, with flute (Alexandra Sopp) and heavyweight vocal guests Gregory Porter and Cassandra Wilson. B+(*) [sp]

Christian McBride/Edgar Meyer: But Who's Gonna Play the Melody? (2024, Mack Avenue): Bass duo, with each musician switching to piano for two tracks. McBride is probably the most famous jazz bassist of his generation, but I had to look Meyer up: 12 years older, from Tennessee, has a distinguished career in classical music, but also ventures into bluegrass with Mark O'Connor, Béla Fleck, and Chris Thile. Often engaging, but kind of self-limiting. B+(*) [sp]

Zara McFarlane: Sweet Whispers: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan (2024, Universal): British jazz/soul singer, fifth album, standards. I don't have a good feel for how representative they are, or even much of an idea how Vaughan sung them: I was so surprised by "Inner City Blues" I stopped the record to compare Vaughan's 1972 version. Vaughan's voice is unrivaled for stature and precision, but I rather like McFalane's softer, sweeter tone, and the loose swing of her arrangements. B+(**) [sp]

Megan Thee Stallion: Megan (2024, Hot Girl): Rapper Megan Pete, fourth album (plus several EPs) since 2019, I usually like her raunch and roll, but runs long here, for mixed results. B+(***) [sp]

Pat Metheny: MoonDial (2024, BMG): Popular jazz guitarist, mostly played fusion since 1975 but has occasionally ventured off the beaten path, which in recent years has included novel instruments. Here he plays baritone guitar, not technically novel, but going deep into "the instrument's nature," he finds "resonant contemplation." B+(*) [sp]

Kim Myhr & Kitchen Orchestra: Hereafter (2020 [2024], Sofa Music): Norwegian guitarist, various albums since 2005, also credited here with voice, organ, synthesizer, drum machine, and piano, with a fairly large postclassical ensemble (but no real string section). B+(*) [sp]

Fabiano do Nascimento & Sam Gendel: The Room (2024, Real World): Brazilian guitarist, several albums since 2011 -- I particularly liked 2015's Dança Dos Tempos -- here in a very nice duo with soprano sax. B+(**) [sp]

The New Wonders: Steppin' Out (2024, Turtle Bay): Trad jazz septet, led by Mike Davis, who plays cornet, sings, and composed or arranged everything. Second album. B+(***) [sp]

Ngwaka Son Système: Iboto Ngenge (2024, Eck Echo): Spinoff from Kinshasa (Congo) group Kokoko, emphasis on electrobeats. Six songs, 28:22. B+(**) [sp]

Carlos Niño & Friends: Placenta (2022-23 [2024], |International Anthem): Based in Los Angeles, "an internationally celebrated producer, arranger, composer, musician, radio host, DJ, music consultant, writer, poet, and event organizer," "involved in the production of more than 100 records," although the only groups I recognize are Build an Ark and Hu Vibrational, and they're both a tad obscure. Fourth group album on this label -- Discogs shows earlier ones back to 2009 -- a sprawling (77:07) jumble of synths, flute (André 3000), horns, rhythm, voices. B [sp]

Che Noir: The Color Chocolate, Volume 1 (2024, Poetic Movement, EP): Rapper Marche Lashawn, from Buffalo, Discogs lists as Che'Noir, cover looks more like Chè Noir. EP is four songs, 10:58, but Discogs has more cuts, and Wikipedia has nothing, which is odd given that Discogs lists seven songs and six singles/EPs. Even at this length, this feels pretty substantial. B+(**) [sp]

Normani: Dopamine (2024, RCA): R&B singer from Atlanta, last name Hamilton, formerly of the vocal group Fifth Harmony (3 albums, 2015-17), first solo album. B+(**) [r]

O.: WeirdOs (2024, Speedy Wunderground): "O. (15)" at Discogs, "jazz-fusion duo from London, UK," Joe Henwood (baritone sax) and Tash Keary (drums), first album after a single and an EP, instrumental, sort of a funk-grunge synthesis. B+(*) [sp]

Omawi [Marta Warelis/Onno Govaert/Wilbert De Joode]: Waive (2023, Relative Pitch): Piano-drums-bass trio, fairly abstract in an intimate framework. B+(**) [sp]

Hery Paz: River Creatures (2023 [2024], Porta Jazz): Tenor saxophonist, from Cuba, second album, trio with Nate Wooley (trumpet) and Tom Rainey (drums). B+(***) [sp]

Carly Pearce: Hummingbird (2024, Big Machine): Country singer-songwriter from Kentucky, fourth album since 2017, found herself in her age-marking 29: Written in Stone. This sounds pretty good -- even the Levi's jingle. B+(***) [sp]

Clarence Penn: Behind the Voice (2024, Origin): Drummer, has several albums, one original here plus a batch of soul & rock standards from the 1970s-80s, roughly Stevie Wonder to Prince, with sides of Peter Gabriel and Don Henley, employing five guest singers, with Kurt Elling the one you've heard of (but may not want to hear). B+(*) [cd]

Ken Peplowski: Unheard Bird (2024, Arbors): Supposedly another chapter of "Bird with Strings": a first recording of arrangements commissioned for Charlie Parker. The leader, playing clarinet and tenor sax, is not a very obvious choice for this project, but if the idea is simply to make Bird cornier, who is? Peplowski leads a very capable quintet with Terell Stafford (trumpet), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Peter Washington ( bass), and Willie Jones III (drums), while Loren Schoenberg conducts an orchestra of strings, harp, and oboe. B- [sp]

Ken Peplowski: Live at Mezzrow [Smalls Live Living Masters Series] (2023 [2024], Cellar Music): This is more like what he's done so consistently since 1989: tenor sax and clarinet, playing swing standards with the occasional bop reference (Monk, Hank Jones), leading a rhythm section that's been doing just that for decades: Ted Rosenthal (piano), Martin Wind (bass), Willie Jones III (drums). B+(***) [sp]

Madeleine Peyroux: Let's Walk (2024, Just One Recording/Thirty Tigers): Jazz singer-songwriter, born in Georgia but grew up in France, ten or so albums since 1996, aimed early for Billie Holiday phrasing, returns after a six-year pause with a new batch of songs that defy expectations. I could see this one being taken for Americana, if you pardon the bit of French (in my book, that's a plus). B+(***) [sp]

Tomeka Reid Quartet: 3+3 (2023 [2024], Cuneiform): Cellist, based in Chicago, helped revitalize the post-2000 AACM, and has an impressive list of albums since her 2015 Quartet, finally a MacArthur "Genius" Fellow in 2022. Same group here, with Mary Halvorson (guitar), Jason Roebke (bass), and Tomas Fujiwara (drums). Three longish pieces: sags a bit in the middle but closes real strong. A- [dl]

Dave Rempis/Tashi Dorji Duo: Gnash (2024, Aerophonic): Rempis plays his full range of saxophones (soprano/alto/tenor/baritone), with his usual fierce resolve, with Dorji pushing (and occasionally rivaling) on guitar. I'm impressed, as always, but doubt the harsh tone (or maybe the specific harmonics, or the lack of a drummer) will make this an album I return to. B+(***) [cd]

Revival Season: Golden Age of Self Snitching (2024, Heavenly): Atlanta producer Jonah Swilley and rapper Brandon Evans, first album. B+(***) [sp]

Steph Richards: Power Vibe (2024, Northern Spy): Trumpet/flugelhorn player, fifth album since 2018, backed by Joshua White (piano), Stomu Takeishi (bass), Gerald Clever (drums), and Max Jaffee (electronics/drums). B+(***) [sp]

Carla Santana/José Lencastre/Maria do Mar/Gonçalo Almeida: Defiant Ilussion (2023 [2024], A New Wave of Jazz): Electronics, alto/tenor sax, violin, bass quartet, recorded in Portugal. B+(***) [bc]

Frank Paul Schubert/Michel Pilz/Stefan Scheib/Klaus Kugel: Live at FreeJazz Saar 2019 (2019 [2024], Nemu): German free jazz saxophonist (alto/soprano), a couple dozen albums since 2005, here in a group with bass clarinet, bass, and drums, joint improv on a piece called "Where Is Charles?" -- no answer or further explanation offered, not that any is needed. B+(***) [cd]

Dirk Serries/Rodrigo Amado/Andrew Lisle: The Invisible (2021 [2024], Klanggalerie): Belgian guitarist, Portuguese tenor saxophonist, English drummer, recorded in Belgium, three pieces (56:44). Amado is superb when he gets out front. B+(***) [bc]

Matthew Shipp: The Data (2021 [2024], RogueArt, 2CD): Pianist, brilliant, many albums since the late 1980s, probably has a dozen solos by now, with this one of the better ones, if you're at all so inclined. B+(***) [cdr]

Michael Shrieve: Drums of Compassion (2024, 7D Media): Drummer, played in Santana 1969-74, formed Go in 1976 with Stomu Yamashita and Steve Winwood, with later groups like Spellbinder. I recognized the name, and found him in my database, but in the New Age section, with two unheard albums (1984, 1989). Not much jazz there, but some of his many collaborators here count, starting with percussionists Jack DeJohnette, Zakir Hussain, Airto Moriera, and Babatunde Olatunji. Not just drums, but keyboards, sax (Skerik), and electronics (Amon Tobin). B+(*) [sp]

Sisso & Maiko: Singeli Ya Maajabu (2024, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Tanzanian DJ Mohamed Hamza Ally, "figurehead" of the Sisso Records label, with one of his producer/keyboardists, for a volume of high velocity, klang-and-squiggle-filled dance beats. B+(*) [sp]

Harry Skoler: Red Brick Hill (2022 [2024], Sunnyside): Clarinet player, three albums 1995-99, this is only his third since, following a Mingus study in 2022. Strong support here on vibes (Joel Ross), bass (Dezron Douglas), and drums (Johnathan Blake), with one-track guest spots from Marquis Hill (trumpet), Christian Sands (piano), and Grégoire Maret (harmonica). B+(**) [sp]

TV Smith: Handwriting (2024, JKP/Easy Action): T for Timothy, was singer-songwriter in British punk band the Adverts, released two 1977-78 albums, best remembered for the single "Gary Gilmore's Eyes," but the song I always think of is "One Chord Wonders." He formed another band, then went solo in 1983, and has recorded pretty regularly since 1992 -- way off my radar. Older now, which means slower, and anger ripened into bitterness, and therefore gravitas. B+(***) [sp]

SML: Small Medium Large (2022-23 [2024], International Anthem): Quintet of Anna Butterss (electric bass), Jeremiah Chiu (synths), Josh Johnson (sax/electronics), Booker Stardrum (drums), and Gregory Uhlmann (guitar), pieced this together from four sets of improv, with an ear toward finding an irresistible groove. B+(***) [sp]

Something Else! [Featuring Vincent Herring]: Soul Jazz (2024, Smoke Sessions): Mainstream "supergroup," alto saxophonist gets featured spotlight but Jeremy Pelt (trumpet) steals as much spotlight. Also with Wayne Escoffery (tenor sax), Paul Bollenback (guitar), David Kikoski (piano), Essiet Essiet (bass), and Otis Brown III (drums). They swing a little, swagger too. B+(*) [sp]

Space: Embrace the Space (2024, Relative Pitch): Swedish piano-bass-drums trio, Lisa Ullén, Elsa Bergman, and Anna Lund. Second album, improv pieces, pretty tight. B+(***) [sp]

Splitter Orchester: Splitter Musik (2024, Hyperdelia, 3CD): Berlin-based composer-performer collective, founded 2010, with members of ten different nationalities, fourth album, each disc a single piece (51:47, 41:36, 78:00). Sort of an ambient industrial feel. Hard to nail down much on an album this long because it's impossible to concentrate like that, but just let it go, and you may wind up suspecting there's something to it. B+(**) [sp]

Anthony Stanco: Stanco's Time (2023 [2024], OA2): Trumpet player, second album, side credits back to 2011, half originals, half jazz standards from Ellington and early boppers (Parker, Monk, Dameron, Davis), half with "Time" in the title. With Randy Napoleon (guitar), Xavier Davis (piano), bass, drums, and on three cuts, Walter Blanding (tenor sax). B+(**) [cd]

Jason Stein/Marilyn Crispell/Damon Smith/Adam Shead: Spi-raling Horn (2023 [2024], Balance Point Acoustics): Bass clarinet player, has gotten steadily better since his 2007 debut, adds a stellar pianist to his recent bass-drums trio. A- [sp]

Stemeseder Lillinger Quartet: Umbra II (2023 [2024], Intakt): Austrian pianist Elias Stemeseder, with German drummer Christian Lillinger, cover adds "feat. Peter Evans & Russell Hall" -- trumpet and bass. They've done this before -- not just Umbra but Penumbra and Antumbra. B+(***) [sp]

Kevin Sun: The Fate of the Tenor (2022 [2024]. Endectomorph Music): Tenor saxophonist, impressive Trio debut in 2018, has been on a roll ever since, knows his history and lore. Live set here, another trio, with Walter Stinson (bass) and Matt Honor (drums). B+(***) [sp]

Natsuki Tamura/Satoko Fujii: Aloft (2023 [2024], Libra): Trumpet and piano duo, husband and wife, many records together (mostly in larger groups, all the way to big bands), but this is the basic mix, and very striking when they grab your attention. B+(***) [cd]

Gregory Tardy: In His Timing (2023, WJ3): One of many mainstream tenor saxophonist to emerge in the 1990s, starting out on Impulse!, but mostly recording on SteepleChase since then. But he plays clarinet here, paired with violin (Regina Carter), backed by piano-bass-drums. Sometimes the mix pays dividends, sometimes not so much. B+(*) [bc]

Terton [Louie Belogenis/Trevor Dunn/Ryan Sawyer]: Outer, Inner, Secret (2023 [2024], Tzadik): Tenor/soprano sax, bass, drums trio. B+(***) [sp]

Thollem: Worlds in a Life, Two (2024, ESP-Disk): Pianist, goes by first name, last name is McDonas, nominally a solo album, but draws on samples from previous albums, so side credits for William Parker (bass), Michael Wimberly (drums), Pauline Oliveros (MIDI accordion), Terry Riley (vocals), Nels Cline (guitar, effects, Mega mouth). B+(**) [cd]

TiaCorine: Almost There (2024, South Scope/Interscope, EP): Rapper from North Carolina, merged her first two names together, omitting Thompson Shultz, mother is Shoshone, father has roots in Japan and Africa. She released an EP in 2020, an album in 2022, back here with eight songs, 16:38. Title is about right. B+(**) [sp]

Ryan Truesdell: Synthesis: The String Quartet Sessions (2022-23 [2024], ArtistShare, 3CD): Composer/arranger/conductor, started as Maria Schneider's assistant, made his name with "Newly Discovered Works of Gil Evans," has conducted "The Music of Bob Brookmeyer." Here he's composed a bit and arranged or at least currated a lot of new compositions for string quartet, with a few strategic guest spots. B+(**) [cdr]

Steve Turre: Sanyas (2023 [2024], Smoke Sessions): Trombonist, also plays conch shells, couple dozen albums since 1987, quite a bit of side work (Discogs lists 224 albums he played trombone on). Live sextet here with Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Ron Blake (tenor sax), Isaiah Thompson (piano), Buster Williams (bass), and Lenny White (drums). Starts with title track, which Turre wrote for Woody Shaw's The Moontrane (1974), evoking the classic trombone-augmented hard bop sextets of the 1960s. Ends with a very nice "These Foolish Things." B+(***) [sp]

Lisa Ullén: Heirloom (2023 [2024], Fönstret): Swedish pianist, born in Seoul, South Korea, over a dozen albums under her own name since 2006, more side-credits. First solo album, each side with a variation on the same three-part suite. B+(**) [bc]

Alan Walker: A Little Too Late (2024, Aunt Mimi's): Singer-songwriter, started in a group I've never heard of, the Brilliant Mistakes (three albums 1998-2008), second solo album. Plays piano, some pop craft, some strings. B+(*) [cd]

Jack Walrath: Live at Smalls (2023 [2024], Cellar Music): Trumpet player, started out with Mingus in the mid-1970s, debut album 1979, had an impressive run in the 1990s, has five albums on SteepleChase since 2008 -- quite a bit of work I should catch up on. Quintet here with Abraham Burton (tenor sax), George Burton (piano), Boris Kozlov (bass), and Donald Edwards (drums), revisiting his songbook and adding to the legacy ("A Bite of Tunisia," "Mood for Muhal," etc.). B+(***) [sp]

Marta Warelis/Andy Moor: Escape (2022 [2024], Relative Pitch): Polish pianist, has been making the rounds since 2017, here a duo with one of the Ex guitarists. B+(**) [sp]

Kenny Warren: Sweet World (2023 [2024], Out of Your Head): Trumpet player, based in Brooklyn, played in Slavic Soul Party, has several albums on his own, this one with cello (Christopher Hoffman) and drums (Nathan Ellman-Bell). B+(**) [sp]

Stian Westerhus & Maja S.K. Ratkje: All Losses Are Restored (2024, Crispin Glover): Norwegian guitarist and vocalist, at least established as such in careers established in the early 2000s, but credits aren't clear here, and two voices intertwine. Hard to tell how deep the story line is, as despite considerable skill I never care enough to follow. B [sp]

Wimps: City Lights (2023, Youth Riot): Punk rock trio from Seattle, fourth album since 2013, 13 songs, 26:43. B+(***) [sp]

Norma Winstone/Kit Downes: Outpost of Dreams (2023 [2024], ECM): British Vocalist, won a Melody Maker Jazz Poll in 1971, led the group Azimuth 1977-85, has a long history of art-song accompanied by avant-leaning instrumentalists, like former husband John Taylor. Now 82, backed just enough by a young pianist, she sounds patient and formidable here. B+(***) [sp]

Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Fu##in' Up (2023 [2024], Reprise): Live album, from Tivoli in Toronto, reprising their 1990 album Ragged Glory, a pretty solid A- at the time, dropping one song ("Mother Earth"), renaming most of the rest (title song becomes "Heart of Steel"), length up 1:50. Hard to see this as necessary, but sounds good and gets better. B+(***) [r]

Denny Zeitlin: Panoply (2012-23 [2024], Sunnyside): Pianist, 86 now, has recorded since 1964, while pursuing a parallel career in psychiatry. This offers a good survey of his range, from solo pieces (2012) to a trio (2019) with Buster Williams and Matt Wilson, plus home recordings in a duo with George Marsh (drums). B+(**) [sp]

Recent Reissues, Compilations, Vault Discoveries

Cannonball Adderley: Burnin' in Bordeaux: Live in France 1969 (1969 [2024], Elemental Music): Alto saxophonist, a hard bopper who actually scored some crossover r&b hits, probably did his best work in the late 1950s, but had a strong series of albums with Riverside in the early 1960s, more mixed results later on with Capitol, before he died at 46 in 1975. So this is rather late in his career, a quintet with his brother Nate Adderley on trumpet, Joe Zawinul on keyboards, Victor Gaskin on bass, and Roy McCurdy on drums. A solid but not exceptional set, in a very nice package. B+(**) [cd]

Cannonball Adderley: Poppin' in Paris: Live at L'Olympia 1972 (1972 [2024], Elemental Music): A bit later, after Joe Zawinul left for Weather Report, with George Duke adding some funk on keyboads, Walter Booker the new bassist, Ray McCurdy back on drums, and brother Nat the stand out on cornet. B+(***) [cd]

Louis Armstrong: Louis in London (1968 [2024], Verve): A previously unreleased BBC radio shot from July 2, 1968, billed as his "last great performance," three years before his death in 1971. He had been in decline for several years, often unable to play trumpet, but his vocals remained endearing, with a couple songs turning into big pop hits. He's credited with trumpet here, which seems good enough, his voice even better, as he runs through thirteen songs, most signature hits, a proper career summary. A- [sp]

Atrás del Cosmos: Cold Drinks, Hot Dreams (1980 [2024], Blank Forms Editions): Reportedly the first free jazz group to come out of Mexico, but not much known about they: this reissue is their only album in Discogs (which doesn't have the original), nor is there much evidence of members Ana Ruíz (piano), Henry West (sax), Evry Mann (drums), or Claudio Enriquez (bass). Opens with heavy piano (think Cecil Taylor), adds in the sax, then evolves into their own milieu. A- [sp]

Derek Bailey/Sabu Toyozumi: Breath Awareness (1987 [2024], NoBusiness): British guitarist (1932-2005), a major figure in the avant-garde (albeit one that I've only lightly sampled, and never really gotten the hang of), in an improv duo with the Japanese drummer. Scratchy, abstract, requires close listening, sometimes rewards it. B+(***) [cd]

Karen Borca Trio Quartet & Quintet: Good News Blues: Live at the Vision Festival 1998 & 2005 (1998-2005 [2024], No Business): One of the few bassoon players in any branch of jazz, especially in free jazz, she led groups so rarely that this is her first collection as leader, but Discogs credits her with 30 albums, many with her husband, Jimmy Lyons, also Cecil Taylor, William Parker, Joel Futterman, Alan Silva, Bill Dixon. The early set here has Parker and Rob Brown (alto sax). Brown returns for the late set, with Reggie Workman, and is stellar throughout. A- [cd]

Christer Bothén Featuring Bolon Bata: Trancedance [40th Anniversary Edition] (1984 [2024], Black Truffle): Swedish tenor sax/bass clarinet player, first albums were with Don Cherry, this was the first he led, Bolon Bata the band name, went on to a second album in 1988. Before this he lived and studied in Mali and Morocco, also playing doson n'goni and guimbri here, the large groups featuring other African instruments, and various vocals. A- [bc]

Alan Braufman: Live in New York City: February 8, 1975 (1975 [2022], Valley of Search): Saxophonist, aka Alan Michael or Alan Michael Braufman, recorded a 1975 album, Valley of Search, that he reissued to much acclaim in 2018, followed up by a new album, The Fire Still Burns, and reissue of some early tapes, like this one, a WBAI airshot with Cooper-Moore (piano), William Parker (bass), John Clark (French horn), Jim Schapperowe (drums), and Ralph Williams (percussion). B+(***) [r]

Peter Brötzmann/Toshinori Kondo/Sabu Toyozumi: Complete Link (2016 [2024], NoBusiness): Tenor sax/tarogato, trumpet/electronics, drums. Within our ten-year window for "new releases," with both of the principals recently departed, this feels more like an archival find. They had a fairly long run together in the quartet, with William Parker and Hamid Drake, named for their first album, Die Like a Dog. I always found their records a bit too abrasive, but here I'm not only not bothered, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic. A- [cd]

Nat King Cole: Live at the Blue Note Chicago (1953 [2024], Iconic): Pianist and singer (1917-65), had his first r&b hits in 1942, cracked the pop top ten in 1944 with "Straighten Up and Fly Right," hit number one in 1946 with "For Sentimental Reasons," followed by "Nature Boy," "Mona Lisa," and "Too Young" -- all in these live sets, a quartet with guitar (John Collins), bass (Charlie Harris), and drums (Lee Young). B+(**) [sp]

DJ Notoya: Funk Tide: Tokyo Jazz-Funk From Electric Bird 1978-87 (1978-87 [2024], Wewantsounds/Electric Bird): Not sure how much credit the presenter deserves here. The music is closer to disco than to funk, and has minimal value as jazz. B- [sp]

Fingers: The Complete Fingers Remember Mingus (1979-93 [2024], Jazz in Britain, 3CD): British quintet -- Lol Coxhill (soprano/tenor sax), Bruce Turner (alto sax/clarinet), Michael Garrick (piano), Dave Green (bass), and Alan Jackson (drums) -- recorded Remember Mingus in 1979, the five tracks (plus "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise") there doubled here for two CDs, and supplemented with later BBC shots for a third. B+(***) [bc]

Charles Gayle/Milford Graves/William Parker: WEBO (1991 [2024], Black Editions Archive): Tenor sax, drums, bass, a major new find in the late drummer's archives, running just over 2 hours (2-CD, 3-LP). Gayle (1939-2023) was like the truest heir of Albert Ayler, pushed to extremes I found very difficult to take when I first ran into him, so my grades are scattered, and likely in need of revision -- e.g., I still have Repent (1992) as a B, but at least get Touchin' on Trane at A-. This is in the same ballpark, but perhaps better mixed to bring out the truly amazing bass and percussion. A- [sp]

Johnny Griffin Quartet: Live in Valencia 92 [The Jordi Suñol Archives 3] (1992 [2024], Storyville): Tenor saxophonist (1928-2008), distinguished himself with Thelonious Monk in the 1950s, had a major career in the 1960s, recorded consistently during the 1970s and 1980s (on widely scattered labels), enjoyed something of a comeback in the 1990s. Live set from Spain -- part of a series of archives that started with albums by Phil Woods and Mulgrew Miller -- with Hervé Sellin (piano), Reggie Johnson (bass), and Doug Sides (drums). Opens fast, closes gently. B+(***) [sp]

The Jazzanians: We Have Waited Too Long (1988 [2024], Ubuntu Music): In 1984, Dave Brubeck's son Darius organized a jazz program at the University of Natal, in South Africa. A few years later, he organized this "first multiracial student jazz ensemble from South Africa," and took them on tour, and into the studio. Best known player now is probably Zim Ngqawana (alto sax/flute). They kick off with a very infectious township jive groove. They're not all that delightful. B+(**) [sp]

Shelly Manne & His Men: Jazz From the Pacific Northwest (1958-66 [2024], Reel to Real): Drummer (1920-84), started in swing bands, quickly adapted to bebop and majored in cool jazz; played with Stan Kenton, André Previn, and Ornette Coleman; led small groups, his 1959 Black Hawk sets with Richie Kamuca and Victor Feldman are especially esteemed. Two LPs here, the first from Monterey in 1958 with Stu Williamson (trumpet), Herb Geller (alto sax), Russ Freeman (piano), and Monty Budwig (bass); the second from Seattle in 1966 has Conte Candoli (trumpet), Frank Strozier (flute/alto sax), Hampton Hawes (piano), Budwig, and Ruth Price (vocals). B+(**) [sp]

Charlie Mariano: Boppin' in Boston 1947-1953 (1947-53 [2024], Fresh Sound, 2CD): Alto saxophonist (1923-2009) from Boston, a remarkably fluid player, was very quick to jump on the bebop bandwagon -- much quicker than the bands he played in early, judging from the opening tracks here. Digital breaks this into two volumes, the first ending with a Jan. 27, 1953 session, the second from later that year, a bit more consistent. B+(**) [sp]

Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre: Live From Studio Rivbea: July 12, 1975 [Rivbea Live! Series, Volume 1] (1975 [2024], No Business): Tenor saxophonist (1936-2013), born in Arkansas, grew up in Chicago (AACM, two albums on Delmark), and on to New York, where he played in the streets, subways, and lofts, first recording as Kalaparusha in 1970, with an uptick in activity around 1998. The label has done a terrific job of releasing archival tapes by Sam Rivers, who was the central figure in New York's "loft scene, so it's nice to see them building out. B+(***) [cd]

Ron Miles: Old Main Chapel (2011 [2024], Blue Note): Cornet player, from Denver, albums since 1987, signed with Blue Note for a 2020 album, shortly before he died at 58 in 2022. This is a live album, dating back to the trio he recorded Quiver with: Bill Frisell (guitar), and Brian Blade (drums). A decade later, this is a lovely memento. B+(***) [sp]

Charles Mingus: Incarnations (1960 [2024], Candid): The bassist recorded two sessions for Nat Hentoff's label, which immediately led to the albums Presents Charles Mingus and Mingus. In 1985, Mosaic collected those albums and outtakes for The Complete Candid Recordings of Charles Mingus, In 1990, Candid took some of those for Mysterious Blues. This albums grabs five more takes (one previously unissued). B+(**) [sp]

Louis Moholo-Moholo: Louis Moholo-Moholo's Viva-La-Black (1988 [2024], Ogun): South African drummer, moved to Europe in 1964, emerged as a prominent free jazz drummer in the 1970s. Leads a sextet here, with Sean Bergin (tenor/alto sax), Steve Williamson (tenor/soprano sax), Claude Deppa (trumpet/flugelhorn), Roberto Bellatalla (bass), and Thebe Lipere (percussion). B+(**) [bc]

Gerry Mulligan: Night Lights (1962 [2024], Philip): Baritone saxophonist, in a laid back mood with Art Farmer (flugelhorn), Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone), Jim Hall (guitar), bass, and drums. B+(*) [sp]

The Oscar Pettiford Memorial Concert (1960 [2024], SteepleChase): A concert organized in Copenhagen shortly after the bassist's death at 37, features a number of local acts -- Erik Mosenholm Trio, Max BrÜel Quartet, Bengt Hallberg Trio (plus Alice Babs), Jazz Quintet '60 (with Svend Asmussen on violin), Louis Hjulmand Quartet -- finishing with Stan Getz (backed by Hallberg's Trio). Nice evening. B+(*) [sp]

Septet Matchi-Oul: Terremoto (1971 [2024], Souffle Continu): Label dedicated to "Treasures of the French Underground," this one-shot group led by Chilean-French pianist Manuel Villarroel qualifies nicely. No other names I immediately recognize, but some further research may be in order. B+(***) [sp]

Pat Smythe Quartet: New Dawn: Live 1973 (1973 [2024], British Progressive Jazz): British pianist (1923-83), probably best known for his 1960s work with Joe Harriott; quartet here features fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth (1946-2017), with Daryl Runswick (bass) and Soft Machine drummer John Marshall. B+(***) [sp]

Sun Ra: Excelsior Mill (1984 [2024], Sundazed/Modern Harmonic): Solo organ performance, described here as "like a cross between a demonically riffing '50s horror movie villain and a futuristic congregation leader delivering the interplanetary gospel," and indeed this instrument often evokes church and/or horror movies. I'm not particularly fond of either. B [sp]

Sun Ra & His Arkestra: Pink Elephants on Parade (1985-90 [2024], Modern Harmonic): A "small sample" of songs from Walt Disney movies, eight from two dates in 1988-89, 5 more from 5 different venues, the first 9 tracks previously unreleased. Vocals on most tracks, none slick or particularly funny, but amused? Sure. B+(***) [sp]

John Wright Trio: South Side Soul (1960 [2024], Craft): Pianist (1934-2017), born in Kentucky but moved to Chicago when he was two. First album, with bass (Wendell Roberts) and drums (Walter McCants). [sp]

Old Music

Albert Beger: The Primitive (1995, NMC): Israeli tenor saxophonist, plays some flute, first album, quartet with piano (John Bostock), bass guitar (Gabi Maier), and drums (Asaf Sirkis). B+(**) [sp]

Albert Beger Quartet: The Art of the Moment (2000, Third Ear Music): Curious lack of information on this, label name appears on some streaming sites (NMC seems more likely), quartet with guitar, bass, and drums (no idea who). Impressive saxophonist, rhythm section has some spunk, flute I could do without. Need to work on that discography. B+(*) [sp]

Beholder: Claim No Native Land (2017, Sachimay): Trio of Dan DeChellis (piano), Philip Tomasic (guitar/loops/effects), and Zack Martin (drums/electronics), seems to be their first album, nothing in Discogs on any of the group albums, although DeChellis and Tomasic had a trio album with a different drummer in 1999, and Tomasic had a solo guitar album the same year. B+(*) [sp]

Beholder: The Cicada Sessions (2022, Sachimay): Again, no doc here, other than same trio lineup, more varied, ends a bit ambient. B+(**) [sp]

Beholder Quartet: Omni Present (2023, Sachimay, EP): The piano-guitar-drums trio expands a bit, adding Jeffrey Slater on electric bass. Just a proof-of-concept 15:52 single. B+(*) [sp]

Christer Bothén Trio: Triolos (2003-04 [2006], LJ): Leader plays bass clarinet, ngoni, guimbri; trio with David Stackenäs (guitar) and Peter Söderberg (theorbo, lute, guitar, low budget electronics). Rather abstract, more interesting than compelling. B+(**) [sp]

Ernesto Cervini: Joy (2021 [2022], Three Pines): Toronto-based drummer, composer, several albums, also a tireless publicist for his fellow Canadian musicians (many, including guest vocalists, featured here), credits this as "inspired by Louise Penny's Gamache series of books and the qualities of goodness, decency, courage, and love that permeate them." B+(**) [sp]

Collective 4tet: Orca (1996 [1997], Leo Lab): Originally Heinz Geisser (drums), Mark Hennen (piano), William Parker (bass), and Michael Moss (reeds), for two albums 1992-93, before Moss was replaced by Jeff Hoyer (trombone), and they went on to record six more albums for Leo 1996-2009. Free jazz with chamber music intimacy. Several spots got me thinking this might be great, only to slip back into their framework. B+(***) [r]

Collective 4tet: Live at Crescent (1997 [1998], Leo Lab): Live in Belfast, no idea why. Loses a bit of edge, while retaining the complexity, which is not exactly how live albums are expected to excel. B+(**) [r]

Collective 4tet: Moving Along (2002 [2005], Leo): Recorded the same day as Synopsis. Three long pieces, in their zone, with trombone highlights. B+(**) [r]

Collective 4tet: In Transition (2008 [2009], Leo): One more album, the trombonist departed, replaced by Arthur Brooks (trumpet/flugelhorn), who plays this close to the vest, as pianist Mark Hennen takes a more pominent role. B+(***) [sp]

Mike Cooley/Patterson Hood/Jason Isbell: Live at the Shoals Theatre (2014 [2020], Southeastern): Three singer-songwriters, all started out in the Drive-By Truckers, Isbell went solo circa 2007, Hood has a couple solos albums, Cooley just one from 2012 but gets lead billing here because the theatre seems to have been his childhood dream. B+(***) [sp]

Welf Dorr: Funk Monk 2002 (2002 [2020], self-released): Alto saxophonist, from Germany, based in New York, led the band Funk Monk from 1996-2009, various lineups, released a Live at the Knitting Factory in 1999 but that seems to be all. Dorr salvaged this tape from Izzy Bar in July 2002, and claims all compositions, so no Monk tribute here: more horns (Antonio Dangerfield on trumpet, Melvin Smith on tenor sax, trombone on two tracks), backed by a bubbling array of keys, guitar, bass, and drums. B+(*) [sp]

Welf Dorr: Flowers for Albert (2005 [202], self-released): The saxophone/flute player/composer has laid claim to this tape, although his name appears last on the cover, after Kenny Wolleson (drums), Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Hock Temesgen (bass), and Shoko Nagai (piano). Title comes from David Murray's tribute to Ayler, but Dorr's preferred Albert is Einstein, seeing this as the centennial of his three breakthrough papers on physics. B+(**) [sp]

Welf Dorr Unit: Blood (2014 [2018], Creative Sources): Brooklyn group, leader plays alto sax and bass clarinet, backed by guitar (Dave Ross), bass (Dmitry Ishenko), and drums (Joe Hertenstein). Guitar runs a bit heavy. B+(*) [bc]

Welf Dorr/Dmitry Ishenko/Joe Hertenstein: Pandemic House Sessions (2020 [2021], self-released): Previous Unit reduced to a trio, recorded at the drummer's apartment. Losing the guitar gives the saxophonist a lot more breathing room. B+(***) [sp]

Marco Eneidi Quintet: Final Disconnect Notice (1994, Botticelli): Alto sax, second horn is Karen Borca's bassoon, an excellent pairing, especially when they get dicey, backed by two bassists (Wilber Morris and William Parker, who also plays some cello) and drums (Jackson Krall). B+(***) [yt]

Marco Eneidi/Glenn Spearman: Creative Music Orchestra: American Jungle Suite (1995 [1997], Music & Arts): Discogs gives title as Creative Music Orchestra, which cover and spine confirm, while other sources cite the title of the 69:05 piece the 21-piece big-band-plus-violins plays. Led by the two saxophonists (alto/tenor), Eneidi does most of the composing, arranging one piece from Cecil Talor, while Spearman wrote the final movement (26:48). Some great potential here, but could use a conductor. B+(**) [sp]

Marco Eneidi/William Parker/Donald Robinson: Cherry Box (1998 [2000], Eremite): Alto saxophonist (1956-2016), born in Portland, as a child took lessons from Sonny Simmons, moved to New York in 1981 to study with Jimmy Lyons, played with William Parker, Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor, and Glenn Spearman. Trio here with bass and drums. Fierce leads, holding back only to let the others show off their magic. A- [sp]

Marco Eneidi/Vijay Anderson: Remnant Light (2004 [2018], Minus Zero): Alto sax and drums duo, a home-recorded tape unearthed after the saxophonist's death in 2016. B+(**) [bc]

Marco Eneidi Streamin' 4: Panta Rei (2013 [2015], ForTune): Alto saxophonist, American, active in free jazz circles since the early 1980s, picks up a like-minded group in Poland, with Marek Pospieszalski (tenor sax), Ksawery Wojcinski (bass), and Michal Trela (drums). B+(*) [sp]

Heinz Geisser/Shiro Onuma: Duo: Live at Yokohama Little John (2007 [2008], Leo): Swiss percussionist, member of Collective 4tet, Discogs list 10 albums under his name (plus 37 side-credits), in a rare drums duo. B+(*) [sp]

اسم ISM [Pat Thomas/Joel Grip/Antonin Gerbal]: Nature in Its Inscrutability Strikes Back (2014 [2015], Café Oto): British piano-bass-drums trio, the full significance of its iconography way beyond me. Three pieces, 62:47. B+(***) [sp]

Maurice McIntyre: Humility in the Light of the Creator (1969, Delmark): Tenor saxophonist, first album, two suites ("Ensemble Love" and "Ensemble Fate"), the first dominated by George Hines' incantatory vocal, the latter picks up piano (Amina Claudine Myers) and more horns (Leo Smith on trumpet, John Stubblefield on soprano sax). B+(**) [sp]

Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre: Forces and Feelings (1970 [1972], Delmark): Second album, cover has "Kalaparusha" in large type on top line, title (smaller, because it's longer) on second line, then "Maurice McIntyre" (smaller still) as third line, while the back cover credits tenor sax, clarinet, flute, and bells to "Kalaparusha Ahra Difda." Backed by guitar (Sarnie Garrett), bass (Fred Hopkins), and drums (Wesley Tyus), with vocals by Rita Omolokun. B+(**) [sp]

Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre Quartet: Peace and Blessings (1979, Black Saint): Italian label, became a major outlet for American "loft scene" veterans (especially David Murray). This was recorded in Milan, with Longineau Parsons on trumpet (both also playing related instruments), Leonard Jones (bass), and King L. Mock (drums). B+(**) [sp]

The Ivo Perelman Quartet: Sound Hierarchy (1996 [1997], Music & Arts): Brazilian tenor saxophonist, debut 1989, had released four albums through 1995, three more in 1996, then nine in 1997, of which this one looks most impressive on paper: Marilyn Crispell (piano), William Parker (bass), Gerry Hemingway (drums). Flexes some muscle, but not all that interesting. B+(*) [sp]

Jack Walrath Quintet: In Europe (1982 [1983], SteepleChase): Trumpet player, played with Mingus in the 1970s (and later in various Mingus big bands), early in his career as a leader, with a relatively unknown group (Anthony Cox, on bass, is the only one I recognize), for a set in Copenhagen, playing four of his pieces. B+(*) [sp]

Music Weeks

Music: Current count 42729 [42549] rated (+180), 36 [22] unrated (+14).

Excerpts from this month's Music Week posts:

July 3, 2024

Music: Current count 42580 [42549] rated (+31), 29 [22] unrated (+7).

Nominally a day late (ok, two days), but last Music Week was two days late, so this is still a short week. I started off most days with old r&b in the CD player -- especially Scratchin': The Wild Jimmy Spruill Story, which combined a few minor hits with some major studio work, leading me to tweet up two singles (Bobby Lewis, Tossin' and Turnin', and Bobby Long, The Pleasure Is All Mine). Beyond that, what I got to was pretty haphazard, with a fair amount of old music left over from the William Parker research.

My piece was published by ArtsFuse, here: Celebrating bassist William Parker's lifetime of achievement. You can also find my 2003 CG, with its updated discography, and my notes file, which includes my full set of reviews of albums Parker. The former could still use some cleanup, especially to separate out the albums that Parker didn't play on -- the CG was originally focused on Matthew Shipp and the Thirsty Ear Blue Series he curated, until I started noticing how many more albums Parker played on and how central they were to the whole circle. The latter needs even more work, as most of it was cut-and-pasted from my book files (which are now several years out of date), with others copied with HTML markup (where they still have bold credits and letter grades). If I didn't fear getting sucked into a huge time sink, I'd go fix those, but for now I can only offer excuses.

Besides, I have a much more urgent website project to work on. I've decided to use my Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll contacts to run a Mid-Year straw poll. I explain this on the website (which still needs a good deal of work) and in the invite letter (which went out to approx. 200 critics on June 30). I'm asking for lists of up to 10 new releases (which can include newly discovered 2023 releases) and/or up to 5 "rara avis" (old music, recorded 10+ years ago, or reissues). Deadline is July 14, and ArtsFuse will publish the results, probably later that week.

The Poll is a quickie experiment. I've simplified the rules to make it easier on voters (and hopefully on he who counts), and I've saved myself a lot of work by only sending out one batch of invites without trying to vet new voters. The problem with the "one batch" approach is that I'm using a server and software that has been known to run afoul of some spam traps. I especially fear that people with gmail addresses may have their invites diverted or discarded. But it's impossible to test and verify these things. I made an effort to research this problem before, to little avail, and I will make another one soon, but in the meantime, please read the following, and follow up if anything seems to apply to you:

1. If you've ever voted before, or for that matter received an invite before, and haven't received an invite, please check your spam filter. If you find one, take steps to get your mail provider to recognize that the mail isn't spam. If you can't find one, assume you're eligible and use this one. Follow the instructions, and vote. Let me know if you want to be added to my list (jazzpoll [at] hullworks.net). Not everyone who has voted is on the list (various reasons, including sloth on my part), but I can add you. The advantage of being on the list is that I'll send you updates and further requests.

2. If you haven't received an invite, but think you should be qualified, look up the invite, follow instructions, and send me your lists. You need to have some real expertise in jazz (my first approximation would be listening to 200+ jazz records per year, but that's easy for me to say because I listen to 700+), have some verifiable credentials (you write about some of them, which can be on your own blog or mainstream or niche publications, and/or you broadcast about them, which obviously includes radio but I suppose could extend to podcasts), and construct lists that are focused on jazz (the occasional outlier or, as DownBeat likes to call them, "beyond"; by the way, "smooth jazz" is not jazz, at least for purposes of establishing credibility, although it may be acceptable as "beyond"). If this checks out, I will very likely accept your ballot, and you'll be on the inside track for future invites.

3. Check with your friends: make sure they got their invites, and let people you think should be voting know that they can vote, and how. They can always hit me up with questions, but we don't have a lot of time, so it's best to move fast.

4. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to publicize this wider, although bear in mind that I still see this as a forum of critics -- even though I recognize that there are lots of fans that have become pretty expert themselves, especially given how easy it's become to check out new music on streaming platforms.

Also, one key point to emphasize is that this isn't a big deal. I'm not asking you to exercise Solomonic (or Christgauvian) judgment over the jazz universe. Your list doesn't have to find the absolute best records (whatever that might mean). Nor does it have to be ranked. (Although blessed are the rankers, for they get slightly more points weighting for their efforts.) Nor does it even have to be a full list. Just jot down a few albums that you would like to recommend to other people. That's mostly how these lists will be used.

Given the late date, the short deadline, my various shortcuts, and the fact that we've never done this before, I'm not expecting much, but even if we just get 50 voters (as opposed to the 159 in 2023), I think the lists will be interesting and informative.

I started to track mid-year lists when they started appearing just before June 1 -- see my metacritic file, which is running behind at the moment, as the last couple weeks haven't allowed much opportunity to work on it -- and they both give me a broad sense of what's out there and a useful roster of prospects to check out. This also ties into my tracking file, which has a jazz selector (currently listing 400 jazz albums, of which I have 332; this list will expand as I receive your lists: from past experience, about 30% of the albums that show up in ballots are ones I hadn't previously tracked; there's also a no grade variant, for those who don't want to see my grades).

The website started off as a clone of last year's, with minor hacks. As I do more work to it this week, it should become a more useful source of information about the Poll and its progress. For instance, I need to revise things like the FAQ and the Admin Guide. I also hope to get some work done on the older parts of the website, especially to fill in information that predates my involvement (in administration; I've voted every year, from the founding).

I hope to make the website the best source for information about the Poll. But if you wish to follow, check my Music Week posts, and follow me on twitter (or "X" if you prefer; I haven't jumped ship yet, although at this point it's rare for one of my tweets to be viewed by as much as a third of my nominal followers, so the returns seem pretty slim).

July 9, 2024

Music: Current count 42624 [42580] rated (+42), 20 [29] unrated (-9).

Delayed until Tuesday again, because Speaking of Which took all of Monday, itself being pushed out by the seemingly futile notion that I could add a few Afterthoughts to the previous week's massive Speaking of Which.

Seems like I could wind up delaying this post a second day, as it's already late as I'm writing this. Most of Tuesday got chewed up writing two long comments relating to the Biden nomination: one on a Matthew Yglesias post, the other an expansion of my Afterthoughts comment. None of this even mentions the seemingly important (if true) Ben Jacobs: [07-09] How the Democratic movement to dump Biden went bust. Or Nia Prater: [07-09] Why is the Squad backing Biden so forcefully? As Yglesias explained in his piece, the calculation for Democratic politicians is different than the one for journalists and pundits. New York Magazine, which published a number of pieces extremely critical of Biden (probably all op. cit. through my links above) has gotten so into circling the wagons, they've gone into live blog mode: Biden resistance appears to be waning in Congress. On the other hand, Eric Levitz: [07-09] is back with another piece: The arguments for Biden 2024 keep getting worse.

Definitely no Afterthoughts this week, and I'm going to be hard pressed to do a Speaking of Which by Sunday or Monday. Most pressing thing after getting this up will be to follow up on the Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll. Deadline remains Sunday, July 14. I've received 18 ballots so far, referencing a total of 177 albums. About 50% of those albums were not previously in my tracking file, so I've been using them for prospecting (three of the five A- albums this week came from ballots; the other two are promos I received, with no votes so far).

Probably the most important thing I need to do is to compare the Jazzpoll mailing list, which is where I sent the invites, to the more authoritative list I made last year of people I actually sent invites to, especially the ones I voted. At some point I stopped automatically adding names to the Jazzpoll list, so chances are that a couple dozen people who should have been invited weren't. I'm also worried about invites being diverted into spam folders -- I know of at least two such cases, both with gmail. If I had the time and energy, I would follow up, but it's a lot of work. I also need to go back and review some couple emails I received after last year's poll -- a couple offers of help, at least one person who asked to be invited (and should be).

To make up for these shortcomings in the invitation process, I asked people to inform and possibly invite their colleagues. Thus far I haven't received any takers, or for that matter inquiries. The only evidence I have is that some spam has started getting caught there. Not a lot, and none of it's getting through, but it's one more thing to deal with.

At this moment, the website is a bit behind my local copy, but I will refresh it a couple times this week. I need to edit several documentation files, and change the methodology notes in the totals files. The main things of possible public interest are the invitation, the list of critics who have voted, and the list of new releases and rara avis that have received votes. The actual results won't be public until ArtsFuse publishes them.

I've had very little time for updating my metacritic file, but I have added the mid-year lists I've been noting in the Speaking of Which music section, so there's been a bit of movement. File still needs a lot of work. I did, by the way, start counting all of the metal magazines at AOTY (but I've yet to go back and fill in the ones I skipped earlier). I wish their coverage of jazz, hip-hop, electronica, and country was as deep as their interest in metal, but it isn't. I haven't gotten around to sources like All About Jazz, Saving Country Music, and Hip Hop Golden Age, which would help remedy those deficits. No time, and not much energy these days. Also, I can barely see, so if I don't post this right away, it won't make it tonight.

PS: Facebook blocked me, so I may give that a rest.

July 17, 2024

Music: Current count 42668 [42624] rated (+44), 15 [20] unrated (-5).

I put out the call for a Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll back on June 30, offering a July 14 deadline for ballots, which would give me a few days to wrap things up before ArtsFuse returns from vacation on July 17. Sure, I expected a light turnout: mid-year lists, while increasingly common as click-bait, don't have the same gravitas as year-end wrap-ups, so fewer voters would be prepared let alone interested; there are vacations and other distractions; the voting period was much shorter than for the year-end poll; and I didn't want to work as hard at rounding up voters. (Last year's 159 voters took a lot of hustle on my part, but in taking the poll over from Francis Davis, I really wanted to prove that I could do it, and it was very wearing.) I didn't do any prospecting for new voters, and hoped that sending a single message to my Jazzpoll mailing list would do the trick.

It didn't: by last Wednesday, I had only about two dozen ballots counted, with another dozen promises to vote later, and a half-dozen polite declines, out of approx. 200 invitees. I had figured that 50% (let's say 80) ballots would still be a good showing, and would generate a lot of information. But 25% struck me as way too low. I had reason to suspect that a big part of the problem was that many messages from my server were being flagged and sequestered as "spam," especially by the gmail servers. So I rebooted, and sent a second round of invitations out to a subset of the list -- the ones I hadn't heard from, skipping a few who hadn't voted in recent years -- in MailMerge-customized letters from my regular email account (which has been dicey enough of late). That took many hours I had wanted to avoid, but got an almost immediate response. I streamlined the invitation a bit, and extended the deadline to July 17 (tonight, or effectively tomorrow morning). As of last night, I had 78 ballots counted, and as I'm writing this I have 2 more in my inbox, so I'm happy with my 50%. [PS: By posting time, the count increased to 86.]

I'll need to move on from this to write an essay (intro, overview, whatever), as well as footnotes on various oddities and discrepancies in the voting. I've struggled with the essay the last couple years, so fear I may again. On the other hand, the data is really extraordinary, so just dive into that. And every time I do this, I come away even more impressed with the extraordinary knowledge and exemplary judgment of the fine people who participate in this Poll. There's nothing we need more in this increasingly complex and scatter-brained world than smart people who develop and share their expertise so that we all may benefit. I'm proud to do my bit, and to help them do theirs.

I might as well start here and disclose my own ballot:

NEW RELEASES

1. Fay Victor, Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (Tao Forms)
2. Emmeluth's Amoeba, Nonsense (Moserobie)
3. Luke Stewart Silt Trio, Unknown Rivers (Pi)
4. Ballister, Smash and Grab (Aerophonic)
5. Dave Douglas, Gifts (Greenleaf Music)
6. The Core, Roots (Moserobie)
7. James Brandon Lewis Quartet, Transfiguration (Intakt)
8. Roby Glod-Christian Ramond-Klaus Kugel, No Toxic (Nemu)
9. Ivo Perelman Quartet, Water Music (RogueArt)
10. Mike Monford, The Cloth I'm Cut From (self-released)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

1. Sonny Rollins, Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance)
2. Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy, The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995, Elemental Music)
3. Alice Coltrane, The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971, Impulse!)
4. Karen Borca Trio Quartet & Quintet, Good News Blues: Live at the Vision Festival 1998 & 2005 (NoBusiness)
5. Mars Williams & Hamid Drake, I Know You Are but What Am I (1996, Corbett vs. Dempsey)

As lists go, this feels pretty haphazard and tentative. I keep an ongoing ranked list, but don't put much effort into maintaining it. What usually happens is that once I decide an album is A-, I scan the list from the top or bottom (depending on whether it's a real solid A- or a somewhat iffy one), find something that is roughly comparable, and insert the new record above or below that reference point. I fiddled with these a bit, but didn't do much rechecking. Fact is, I never do much rechecking.

This week's batch of reviews are mostly albums that popped up on ballots. I wasn't previously aware that the Kenny Barron, Ivanna Cuesta, Welf Dorr, and [Ahmed] albums existed. Tomeka Reid was one of those download links I've been sitting on -- I probably have nearly 100 stashed away, but I'm loathe to do the extra work when it's so easy to play a promo or stream something -- but it did well enough I felt obligated to listen to it. (Same for Braxton, with all 8 hours + 10:36, available on Bandcamp.) Beger, Borca, and Brötzmann were promo CDs, but they too can be found complete on Bandcamp. I learned about the Armstrong from hype mail the day it became available to stream.

I started to prepare a file with all of my 2024 jazz reviews, similar to my 2023 best jazz, but it isn't ready to be presented yet. I'll clean it up if I decide I want to mention it in my poll essay, or just discard it until end-of-year. (Once I've started it, it's just another thing to try to keep updated.) One thing I can note here is that when I divvied the 2024 file up into jazz and non-jazz sections, the split among new A/A- records was 52-to-25, with old music 12-to-5. That seems like a lot, given that I wound up with only 84 for all of 2023 (and 75 for 2022, 77 for 2021, 86 for 2020, 77 for 2019, 67 for 2018, 84 for 2017, 75 for 2016, 81 for 2015, 69 for 2014, 87 for 2014 -- that's as far as the file series goes back, and the record as far as I can easily tell. Makes me wonder if I'm going soft in my old age, but other explanations are possible, including that the Mid-Year Poll has made me aware of 237 albums I didn't previously have in my tracking file. Most I haven't played yet, but the dozens I have gotten to contributed to this skew.

Given all the extra work on the Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll, I didn't get around to Speaking of Which until Saturday, when I started with a long section on why Biden should withdraw from the Democratic presidential nomination. This all seems so obvious that it's hard to fathom the negligence and nonsense of whoever's conspiring to keep Biden in the race. On the other hand, much else that popped up in the week's news is hard to fathom. I certainly haven't had the time to figure it out.

The Trump shooting remains a story I know very little about, and have very little interest in pursuing, unless it turns out that my suspicion, as yet purely based on cynicism, that it was a staged PR ploy, turns out to be valid. (By the way, we've been watching the old Jane Marple mysteries. In one of them, the killer creates a blackout, kills someone else, then shoots herself, nicking the ear, so that when the lights come back on, she appears to have been the target (and very lucky). The ear was chosen because it bleeds readily but not seriously. It also emphasizes the luck involved, because it's generally very hard to shoot someone's ear without hitting their head. Of course, there are other ways to fake it, at little risk to Trump. The whole thing would take skill and timing, which seems beyond Trump and his cronies, the chances of such a scheme getting exposed are high, and it's hard to imagine that even Trump could lie his way out of it. On the other hand, how gullible is just about everyone involved so far? So it can't possibly be true, but they're playing it just like it was scripted. And everyone else seems to be falling for it.

Hardly any adds to Speaking of Which today: fixed a couple broken links, some typos. I'll open a file for next week after Music Week goes up. It'll be lower priority than the Poll, but good for the occasional break from thrashing on the Poll essay. I haven't been following the RNC, but I'm sure the people who have will be able to explain in its all its true horror.

There's also this story: Inae Oh: [07-16] The DNC's plan to force Biden's nomination is everything people hate about the DNC. If they go through with this, it won't have been the first time they gamed the rules to help Biden escape normal Democratic procedures: derailing the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, where Biden had performed poorly in 2016, while making South Carolina the first primary, eliminated the most likely path for someone more credible than Dean Phillips to challenge Biden, so no one risked it. This would be shabby in any case, but is especially galling from the people who sell themselves as the guardians of democracy.

July 25, 2024

Music: Current count 42703 [42668] rated (+35), 23 [15] unrated (+8).

I'm slowly decompressing after deep burial in the work of running my Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll. The website is up, but the results won't be public until ArtsFuse publishes my introductory essay -- which I turned in on Tuesday, so it shouldn't be much longer. After some initial panic, I finally counted 90 ballots, which is a bit more than half of the 159 ballots we received for the 2023 Poll. A couple dozen more invitees wrote back with apologies, mostly due to the very limited voting period I allowed and other demands on their time, but several just didn't like the idea (while expressing an interest in year-end voting -- I know of other critics who just don't like the idea of polls and lists in general, but they had taken themselves off my mailing list).

Voters were asked to vote for up to 10 "new releases" (first releases of new music recorded no earlier than 2014) and up to 5 "rara avis" (reissues or newly released music from 2013 or earlier). The 90 critics voted for 366 "new releases" and 109 "rara avis" albums. If memory serves, 3 albums got votes in both, and 3 more received one vote in the wrong time frame, so the total number of albums that received votes was 472, which is 5.24 per voter. I'd hazard a guess that about half of those records got 1 vote each. Also, at least half of them weren't in my tracking file before the poll, so were new to me. I've added them all now, and over the last 3-4 weeks I've listened to a lot of jazz I wasn't previously aware of (including all 5 A- records this week, and most of the high B+ records too).

As I've probably mentioned, I find lists most useful as a means for checking what I do and do not know. Donald Rumsfeld once made the distinction between "known-unknowns" and "unknown-unknowns." Well, I keep the former are on a list as such, leaving only the latter as still unaccounted-for unknowns. So, thanks to the last few weeks, I now know much more about what I don't know. When the results are published, so can you.

As part of this exercise, I went ahead and prematurely compiled a Best Jazz Albums of 2024 file. (I didn't bother compiling the companion Best Non-Jazz list, because I didn't need it, and didn't want to bite off the extra work, least of all in maintenance -- indeed, I may not maintain the Jazz file until the need arises come November.) The most notable thing here is that the A-list has already reached 60 albums, whereas for recent full years, it has never grown beyond 87 albums. I can imagine three possible explanations for this bounty: this is a really great year for new jazz; I'm much better informed this year than ever before; and/or I'm growing soft and addled in my old age. Still, I've retained enough wits to discriminate between these 60 A/A- albums and 108 with B+(***) grades, and another 193 with lower grades. (Let's see: in 2023, that split was 85 A/A-, 225 B+(***), 532 lower, so comparing this year so far to last gives us: 70.5%, 48.0%, 36.2%.) So, sure, that's skewed pretty significantly. But I can't think of anything to do about it. The grading scale was never conceived of as a curve, and it's too late to change much now.

While working on the essay, I slowly pieced together a Speaking of Which, which wound up straddling the Republican Convention, Biden's withdrawal, and Kamala Harris's clinching of the Democratic nomination. The domestic politics did at least take my mind away from the international situation, which as far as I can tell is still very much out there -- especially the atrocities in and around Israel. One story I avoided was Netanyahu's speech to Congress. I thought the most telling moment there was when Biden praised and gave thanks to Joe Biden, and Republicans stood and applauded. Of course, it wasn't Biden they were applauding. Nor were they really showing how supplicant they are to Netanyahu (although they clearly are). They mostly relished how Netanyahu's embrace disgraced Biden and his administration. As I've noted many times before, the only time Republicans are up for a "bipartisan" deal is when they see it as a wedge between the Democratic leaders and their base. All of Washington may be in thrall to Israel, but it's not a good look for the self-anointed leaders of the free world.

Of course, I didn't really finish with last week, so next week's Speaking of Which will start as soon as this Music Week posts. And as I'm unlikely to be done on Sunday, next Music Week should again be delayed -- perhaps enough to give me most of a week (as long as I wrap up before the end of July, I'll be happy.) After that, I hope to slow down a bit, and take stock. I have lots of projects to work on around the house. I have some doctor stuff on tap. I also have a new website to think about. And I need to rethink the whole writing life. Besides, August is usually pretty miserable here in Wichita.

Meanwhile, a couple mid-year lists to check out:

• All About Jazz: [07-15] Best jazz albums of 2024: all-star break edition.

• Chris Monsen: Mid-year picks: 30 + 10 favorite album releases from January through June, 20024.

July 31, 2024

Music: Current count 42729 [42703] rated (+26), 36 [23] unrated (+13).

My Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll threw me off the usual Sunday/Monday post schedule, although the sheer quantity of news I reaped for yesterday's Speaking of Which would have been excuse enough (249 links, 11258 words before today's additions).

ArtsFuse published my intro/overview essay, Diversity Brings Riches: A Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll, on Friday, at which time I enabled the totals and ballots on my archival website:

• New Albums (366).
• Rara Avis (109).
• Ballots by Voter: first of five batches, this one Ackermann-Dollar, chained links to the rest.
• Voting Critics (90).

There was a glitch early on where the points totals in the tables on ArtsFuse got mangled, so had to be fixed. I've received some feedback on the poll, but not very much. I sent a notice out to my "jazzpoll" mailing list, but as best I can figure, only about half of those messages get past the spam traps (gmail seems to be exceptionally harsh). I put out two announcements on X, but the first (link to essay) only has 164 views (1 retweet, 3 likes), and the second (link to updated Music Week) got 222 views (2 retweets, 5 likes). I also did two notices on Facebook, like this one, with 1 share and 5 likes.

A Google search reveals:

• Avant Music News: The results are in from the Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll.

Also, a couple critics published their ballots (which are all available through the link above). Chris Monsen wrote up his extended mid-year list. I also suspect that I provoked All About Jazz into polling their writers for this all-star break edition list. (As I understand it, their call went out a week after my invites, but they were first to press.)

I've scarcely touched my metacritic file, but should get back to it if/when demands on my time lighten up. Its main value is as a prospecting tool, which I haven't much needed while I had so many jazz albums to search out. I'm pretty sure I'll return to it when the year-end lists start coming in, but between now and then it's likely to only be an occasional hobby. I'm also not sure I'll continue updating my Best Jazz Albums of 2024 file, although it's pretty comprehensive for now. An even more vexing question is whether I'll make a serious effort at the download links I've been accumulating. More pressing is that I've fallen behind the queue of promo CDs (although much of that mail I just opened today).

I did manage to wrap up the July Streamnotes file, and to open a new one for August. Rated count is light this week, as I've had several days where I didn't want to multitask while writing, or didn't feel up to it. I also found myself tiring of looking for unheard albums that got poll votes, especially as many proved inaccessible. Still 189 left in the tracking file, so maybe I just need a break. It's tempting to just take August off. I have a lot of stuff to do around the house. Also a couple of web projects that need attention. I need to rethink my writing ambitions. There are also some health questions.

I've just finished reading Amy Kaplan's Our American Israel: The Story of an Entangled Alliance. It's a pretty good general history of Israel since the 1940s, with its long drift from left to right, fought mostly on the level of myth, where the intertwined alliance brings out the worst in both. That focus often ignores real political issues -- like the American preoccupation with the Cold War and the postcolonial order of petrostates, and how Israel could somehow deny Arabs (especially Palestinians) any real agency in their fate. They are always treated as an irreconcilable other, to be fought and subdued, and there is nothing they can do about it, so they cycle endlessly between violence and conciliation, only to find that neither stance makes any difference. This fixed gaze saves Kaplan from having to give them any consideration.

The section on Lebanon is pivotal, as Israel shifted direction from justifiable defense to unconscionable offense. Of course, we now know that the latter was always part of the game plan, which is part of the reason we forget how brutal the shift appeared at the time. There is a passage here describing the devastation of West Beirut that will make you think of Gaza today. By that point the right-wing had taken charge in Israel, with Begin as PM, and Sharon running the war. And as the left in America (and to some ultimately fruitless extent in Israel as well) started to have misgivings, the American right embraced the Israeli right ever more firmly. The book's coverage of Christian Zionism is the most detailed I've read, and is truly scary -- in large part because it's really hard to grasp that people can actually believe such nonsense. The book then moves on to neocon militarism, and to the war on terror (with Israel as its guiding light, and "start up" profiteer).

Along the way, the focus on myth offers in-depth discussions of such cultural artifacts as the books/movies from Exodus to Schindler's List to The Late Great Planet Earth to Homeland to World War Z.

Notes

Sources noted as follows:

• [cd] based on physical cd
• [cdr] based on an advance or promo cd or cdr
• [lp] based on physical lp (vinyl)
• [bc] available at bandcamp.com
• [r] available at napster.com (formerly Rhapsody)
• [sp] available at spotify.com
• [yt] available at youtube.com
• [dl] something I was able to download from the web; may be freely available, may be a bootleg someone made available, or may be a publicist promo

Grades are probably self-explanatory, aside from B+, which is subdivided 1-2-3 stars, because most records that come my way are pretty good, but they're not all that good.