Monday, September 29, 2025

Music Week

September archive (finished).

Music: Current count 44927 [44894] rated (+33), 20 [17] unrated (+3).

Making slow progress through a depressing series of everyday life challenges, where even accomplishments sometimes feel like losing ground. Certainly losing time, as this is the last Music Week of September. I've been writing daily notebook entries to get myself going each day, so many of the gory details are in there. No need to rehash them here. I do have fairly modest hopes of getting two things done this week:

  1. The website set up for the 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll (link will be here, probably tomorrow, as what I have works, but I keep wanting to restructure the documentation, and still need to edit the invites). This falls far short of any imagined redesign, but it should suffice for the coming poll. I'll follow this up with messages to my email lists, to get people thinking about the eventuality. Actual voting is unlikely to be open before mid-November, but I don't want to be cut up short, as has always happened in the past.

  2. I hope to write up and send out a Notes on Everyday Life post. I'm thinking it will be on cooking Chinese, featuring a recent meal with some technique and lore. After several posts on politics, this should point back toward everyday life (mine at least). Not that cooking is much of a refuge, given that the fascists aren't going to stop with the usual victims.

Future posts will include one on building computers, and one on recycling. I'm also thinking about doing one on three books on jazz in the 21st century, which might just turn into a list of things I think they've missed. I also have a couple books handy on fascism in America, and some thoughts about what does and does not work in the analogy. I'm thinking we should distinguish between first- and second-wave fascism. What they have in common is a desire to seize power and to use it violently against their enemies, allowing for no dissent. Both are authoritarian, but that word seems to intend some kind of static equilibrium, whereas the actual movements are not just dynamic but insatiable. On the other hand, the cultural framework is different: first-wave fascism was distinctly modernist, whereas second-wave is postmodernist (atavistic in its desires, but can't really pull that off.

I actually have very little in the Loose Tabs draft file at the moment, and even less desire to flesh it out. Still, I should, of only to keep an eye out. We're at once powerless to resist but complicit if we do not. In between it often seems that all one can do is tsk-tsk, which I suppose is the point of the column: to show that we witnessed this and knew better but couldn't do anything about it.

I got a few things out of the Slobodian book on Hayek's Bastards, where the "new fusion" is characterized by "hard currency, hard borders, and hard-wired culture." All three of those are very much at odds with a real world they hope to subdue with arbitrary force. It's easy to predict that they will fail, not least because flex is key to survival of the capitalism they adore in theory but can't stand in practice. The unknowns are how many people, especially among the rich, they can con along the way, and how much damage they can do before their failures wipe them out. As we learned from the first wave of fascism, those variables are large and deadly.

I noted this quote (p. 168), which is not quite the point I wanted to make, but still worth sharing:

Common across the platforms and decades is a will to startle and an atmosphere of competitive speculation about the events of the near future. These are attention plays in an economy where attention is a scarce resource. Their strategy is to hit the same notes with a sledgehammer, the ones their consumers expected to hear: the crisis is around the corner. The crash is coming. The status quo is doomed. All assumptions must be undone. Taboos must shatter, the unspoken said aloud. Your liberty is at risk. Act now and act quickly. The centralizers are coming. The socialists are coming, The refugees are coming. The gold requisitioners are coming. The authorities are coming. The state is coming (even if we are the state).

It's easy to dismiss this as "paranoid style," but it feeds on real problems, just blaming the wrong people and offering the wrong remedies. The sad thing is that it works, mostly because the people they hate -- the "progressives" who have deluded themselves into thinking growth and profit are all that elites need to keep ahead of their problems -- don't have answers to these problems (at least ones that respect, much less address, their complaints).

I'm moving on to David A Graham's The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America: a thin but important book, as it appears now that the plan was not just a bunch of bad ideas, but a very methodical approach to seizing power and installing loyal (and self-starting) cadres deep enough in government to have significant impact. Before the election, someone said that the key was that Harris voters believed that she would do things like ending wars that she said she wouldn't do, while Trump voters didn't believe he would do what he plainly said he would do. We've only been able to test one of those hypotheticals: Trump has not only delivered on his promises, he's done so in spectacularly brutal fashion, far exceeding the fears of most of his opponents (even me). Graham's book helps explain this, although I suspect that a fuller explanation requires that we look not just at Trump but to the ideological convictions of his followers, and the power bases they had wormed their way into, in preparation for their leader's permission to go crazy.

With September over, the September archive is complete, and added to the 2025 index. While I don't feel like I got much else done during the month, I do count 187 albums rated (+1 one grade change). Although this week is relatively thin, a lot of terrific albums appeared came to my attention during the month.

New records reviewed this week:

JD Allen: Love Letters (The Ballad Sessions) (2025, Savant): Tenor saxophonist, many albums since 1999, mostly trios which show how imposing he can be, this one lightens up, adding a piano (Brandon McCune) to his usual bass (Ian Kenselaar) and drums (Nic Cacioppo). B+(**) [sp]

Mulatu Astatke: Mulatu Plays Mulatu (2025, Strut): Ethiopian musician, plays vibes, keyboards, percussion, emerged as "the father of Ethio-Jazz" in the 1970s, a compilation of his early material was released as Vol. 4 of Éthiopiques in 1998, which led to his reemergence on the world stage. Now 81, this is billed as his "first major studio album in over 10 years," although I've heard a couple of live collaborations in that period. Old pieces, mostly new big band arrangements, credits unclear, horns a plus. B+(***) [sp]

Decius: Decius Vol. II (Splendour & Obedience) (2025, The Leaf Label): British electronica group, brothers Liam and Luke May, with Quinn Whalley (Paranoid London/Warmduscher) and Lias Saoudi (Fat White Family). Presumably named for the short-lived Roman emperor (249-251) -- at least their album art is Roman. B+(***) [sp]

Doja Cat: Vie (2025, Kemosabe/RCA): Singer-rapper Amala Diamini, from Los Angeles, fifth album since 2018, rather hit and miss. B+(**) [sp]

Dave Douglas: Alloy (2025, Greenleaf Music): Trumpet player, major figure since 1993, joined by two younger trumpet players here (Alexandra Ridout and Dave Adewumi, the idea being to forge a stronger trumpet bond), plus vibes (Patricia Brennan), bass (Kate Pass), and drums (Rudy Royston). B+(**) [sp]

Baxter Dury: Allbarone (2025, Heavenly): Sometimes comes off as a chip off the old blockhead -- spoken vocals, choppy beats -- but that's rarely sufficed with regular albums since 2002. This is touted as his "best yet," and sometimes is. B+(*) [sp]

Robbie Fulks: Now Then (2025, Compass): Folkie singer-songwriter, steady stream of albums since 1996, ranging from bluegrass to Michael Jackson covers to a session with some of the Mekons. Another mixed bag of songs. B [sp]

Geese: Getting Killed (2025, Partisan): Brooklyn band, fourth album since 2018, Cameron Winter the singer, plays keyboards and guitar, backed by guitar-bass-drums. Irritating singer aside, there is something interesting in the mix here, mostly rhythmic. But "irritating" is an understatement. B [sp]

Gao Hong/Baluji Shrivastav: Neelam (2025, ARC Music): Chinese pipa and Indian sitar duo, both with substantial discographies on their own since their moves, the former from China to US in 1994, the latter from India to UK in 1982. The latter's ragas, aided by Yousef Ali Khan on tabla, seem to be the base for improvisations. B+(*) [os]

Jade: That's Showbiz Baby! (2025, RCA): British dance-pop singer-songwriter, surname Thirwall, formerly in the group Little Mix (6 albums, 2012-20, all BPI platinum), first solo album, grew on me a bit, then made me regret it. B+(**) [sp]

Sofia Kourtesis: Volver (2025, Ninja Tune, EP): DJ/producer from Peru, based in Berlin, has one album and five EPs since 2014, presumably does her own lead vocals (not credited). Six songs (28:01). B+(**) [sp]

Harold López-Nussa: Nueva Timba (2025, Blue Note): Cuban pianist, many notable musicians in his family, half-dozen albums since 2007, second on Blue Note (a deal that seems to have required him to relocate from Havana, so he wound up in Toulouse, France). B+(**) [sp]

Maruja: Pain to Power (2025, Music for Nations): English avant-rock band, half-dozen EPs since 2016, first studio album, has some jazz rep probably due to the prominence of Joe Carroll's saxophone, vocalist Harry Wilkinson is more rapper than singer. B [sp]

Mark O'Leary Group: A Simple Question (2025, TIBProd.): Guitarist, from Ireland, Discogs lists several dozen albums from 2005-18, early records on Leo were well-regarded in Penguin Guide, seems to have moved to "rock/ambient/post-rock" around 2008, but has a bunch of recent releases, this a nice trio ("a new paradigm") with Marc Johnson (bass) and Bill Stewart (drums). B+(**) [bc]

Linda May Han Oh: Strange Heavens (2025, Biophilia): Bassist, born in Malaysia, grew up in Australia, lives in New York, has a dozen or so albums since 2012, as well as such notable side credits as Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, and Vijay Iyer. This trio with Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet) and Tyshawn Sorey (drums) got mid-year poll votes two months before its release date. I was pleased when my copy arrived, until I opened up the "origami-inspired" packaging and didn't find any music inside. This is supposedly a feature: "This innovative design caters to the environmentally-conscious listener, who is aware of the harmful effects of plastic in the environment, yet feels that a digital download is just not enough." I'll grant that digital downloads aren't enough, as I'm often left scrambling to collect bits of information that accompany physical CDs, but the music itself is essential to the value proposition. So I ignored this until I could conveniently stream it. (Downloading is a pain I avoid if possible. I did wind up consulting the packaging to determine that the recording dates were Jan. 10-11, 2025, at Bunker Studios -- information not (yet) available at Discogs or Bandcamp. As for the music, simple pleasures: focusing on the bass leads, neat fit for the trumpet (who I like more here than on any of his own albums), outstanding drummer. A- [sp]

Kassa Overall: Cream (2025, Warp): Drummer from Seattle, bounces between jazz (played with Geri Allen in 2009) and hip-hop (Das Racist in 2010), in 2013 did albums with Peter Evans, Vijay Iyer, and Kool A.D., and released a mixtape Christgau and I liked but not on his discographies at Discogs or Wikipedia (Stargate Mixtape). Joined Jon Batiste's Tonight Show band, and started crossing over in every which direction, from Marisa Monte to Carmen Lundy, Arto Lindsay to Cass McCombs, Yoko Ono to Danny Brown. This one, where the title is an acronym for "cash rules everything around me" (caps some places, but u&lc on the cover), offers "eight interpretations of hip-hop classics," but no vocals, so they sound like extended samples. No credits given either, but the saxophonist deserves a shout out. B+(***) [sp]

Sam Prekop: Open Close (2025, Thrill Jockey): Started in rock bands Shrimp Boat and the Sea and Cake, seems to have moved fully into electronic music these days (although I do hear some probable guitar). B+(*) [sp]

Rent Romus/Tatsuya Nakatani: Uplift (2023 [2025], Edgetone): Saxophonist, plays everything and then some, Discogs has a picture of playing two simultaneously, many albums since 1995. Live duo with drums here. B+(**) [sp]

Cécile McLorin Salvant: Oh Snap (2025, Nonesuch): Jazz singer-songwriter, widely acclaimed, has three Grammys, even a MacArthur, eighth album since 2010, most easily winning the vocal jazz category in the Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll. While I don't doubt her technical skill, I've never gotten much out of her albums, and this one delivers less than usual. B [sp]

Shame: Cutthroat (2025, Dead Oceans): British post-punk band, fourth studio album since 2014. Agreeably trashy, until it isn't. B [sp]

Martina Verhoeven/Luis Lopes/Dirk Serries: Invincible Time (2023 [2025], Raw Tonk): Pianist (electric), with two guitarists, one long take (50:16). B+(**) [bc]

Vlure: Escalate (2025, Music for Nations): Scottish rave-punk band, first album, although NME thinks they've "spent years honing their sound." They do have one. B+(**) [sp]

Webber/Morris Big Band: Unseparate (2024 [2025], Out of Your Head): Tenor saxophonists Anna Webber and Angela Morris, also flute, lead a conventional big band (plus vibes and guitar), which leans free but doesn't poke its head out too far. B+(***) [cd]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Mark O'Leary Quartet: White Album ([2025], TIBProd.): No date given, but featured drummer Paul Motian died in 2011, so that's an outer bound. The guitarist started up c. 2000, so that narrows the window down a bit. The others -- Kenny Werner (piano) and John Patitucci (bass) -- started in the early 1990s. B+(*) [bc]

Old music:

Decius: Decius Vol. I (2022, The Leaf Label): British electronica group, Roman statuary on the cover. B+(**) [sp]

High on Fire: Cometh the Storm (2024, MNRK Heavy): Metal group, 9th studio album since 2000, first I've tried -- only because Dan Weiss included it in his 2020-2024 top 50, and it was the last unheard album there (of 2), but note that I did (for no discernible reason) have their first album in my database. First album after a 6-year break, with a new drummer and some "Turkish folk music and Middle Eastern music" mixed into "the band's previous sludge metal and stoner metal genres." The mix isn't very integrated, more like an interlude. The metal strikes me as generic, though not especially offensive. B [sp]

Mark O'Leary/Mat Maneri/Matthew Shipp: Chamber Trio (2002 [2005], Leo): Guitar-viola-piano trio, recorded in New York, where the latter two already had several records together. Takes a while to kick in. B+(**) [sp]

Mark O'Leary/Tomasz Stanko/Billy Hart: Levitation (2000 [2005], Leo): Guitar-trumpet-drums trio. Guitar gets more traction, and the trumpet is superb, as expected. B+(***) [sp]

Mark O'Leary/Mat Maneri/Randy Peterson: Self-Luminous (2002 [2005], Leo): Guitar-viola-drums trio. The viola dominates once more, but less decisively. B+(**) [sp]

Mark O'Leary/Uri Caine/Ben Perowsky: Closure (2003 [2005], Leo): Guitar-piano-drums trio. The piano adds a jolt of energy. B+(**) [sp]

Mark O'Leary/Steve Swallow/Pierre Favre: Awakening (2000 [2006], Leo): Guitar-bass guitar-drums trio. B+(*) [sp]

Sam Prekop/John McEntire: Sons Of (2022, Thrill Jockey): Two-thirds (or sometimes half) of Chicago indie rock band the Sea and Cake (11 studio albums 1994-2018), guitar/vocals and drums. Prekop was previously in Shrimp Boat (1987-93), which I recall from a 3-CD retrospective box issued by avant-jazz label AUM Fidelity in 2004 (Something Grand). McEntire has little else under his own name (Discogs lists a 1998 soundtrack and three singles/EPs, two with Prekop, and a compilation of Cluster), but played in Tortoise and Bastro/Gastr Del Sol, with Stereolab and Red Krayola, and has an even larger production discography. This slots as electronica, four pieces ranging 7:51 to 23:41, each flowing into the next, simple and beguiling. A- [sp]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • Rick Keller: Heroes (Vegas) [08-11]
  • Jussi Reijonen: Sayr: Salt/Thirst (Unmusic) [10-24]
  • Laura Taylor: Think I'm in Love (Vegas) [08-18]
  • UNLV Jazz Ensemble 1: Double or Nothing (Vegas) [08-25]

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