Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Music Week

December archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 45223 [45202] rated (+21), 3 [1] unrated (+2).

We had guests from Boston Monday-Wednesday, so I paid them attention, neglecting everything else, especially surveying new music. Actually, the disruption started earlier, as I had to work around the house to get guest rooms ready. One thing that involved was clearing or hiding our construction projects. Monday I made a fairly substantial dinner, consisting of chicken cacciatore, potatoes dauphinois, caponata, horiatiki salad, a green beans with pancetta and parmesan (and, since I was short of pancetta, a lot of speck), with tiramisu for dessert. It's a menu I had suggested to my nephew for his birthday, as something fairly easy but still spectacular (although I think I had a chocolate cake in mind, that being a birthday). Next day we went out to George's Bistro for something fancier and more expensive. Didn't see many sights, but not much you can really do in Wichita in December.

I've fallen several days behind my email in tabulating the Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll. I invited another dozen-plus prospective voters, and just got a ballot back from one of them. I currently have 35 ballots counted, which seems pretty good with 18 days left until the Dec. 21 deadline. That's just gauging from memory: at times like this I wish I had sequence data from previous years, so I can more accurately gauge progress-to-date. We're at a bit less than 20% of last year's 177 ballots, so I need to get a good deal busier in the next 2.5 weeks.

Still time to invite more people, if I can find time to vet them. Recommendations welcome. (Most I've received recently have been very good.) The other big thing I have to figure out is the package articles. I had the thought of trying to commission some extra views of the data, but I'm having so much trouble finding time for what I minimally have to do that the extra work of recruitment and editing may prove beyond my reach. But, in case anyone is interested, some articles I'd like to see include:

  • I'll probably write one of my typical Nuts & Bolts articles.
  • Francis Davis normally would write one of his "state of the union" essays which would serve as an introduction to the whole poll. I doubt anyone can fill his shoes, which is one reason I'm pushing for multiple pieces, but let's list it here in case anyone feels like rising to the challenge.
  • I'd like to see a tribute piece on Francis and his conception and interest in the poll. I know a lot about the mechanics and history, but I'm far less certain about what he thought and wanted, and why he stuck with it so long, against so many obstacles.
  • The special categories could each be given their introduction articles. I'd particularly like to see someone explain and defend Francis' concept of those categories (I'm not a big believer in them myself).
  • I'd like to see one or more outside takes on the poll, especially a view from Europe.
  • The obituaries list could use a proper introduction.
  • I've thought about asking for comments, like in the Pazz & Jop polls. Problem is, I tried this once, got a very weak response, and wound up not only throwing the whole thing away but learning I don't have the skills and temperament to manage such a project. If we did such a thing, and got a good response, it would easily break down into obvious subsets (top 10, outliers, state of the world). It would be nice to have a section of remembrances of Francis.

I've toyed with the idea of taking some of my money and offering it for pieces, but there's so little to go around I'm not sure that's even a good idea. Plus it's becoming increasingly clear that I'm being stretched to the breaking point this year. I'd be interested in any reader comments here (although I'm not very optimistic about getting any). I will at least run these ideas past the voters and admin helpers later this week, and try to make decisions next week.

The other thing I want to stress here is my hope that other people will write and/or broadcast (or is that podcast?) about the poll in their own venues after it comes out. If I can be helpful in that regard, please let me know. The poll is not a commercial venture. It's not an excuse to throw a gala, to hobnob with the stars, to hand out trophies. I'm not sure that it even matters who wins what. But the exercise matters, both in clarifying our own thinking and in communicating our experiences and expertise to other people. It helps us find our bearings in an immensely complex and confusing world. And that the process is relatively free of commercial pressures and ambitions should be taken as good.

I ran my cutover Wednesday evening, and started to write this. I got almost this far, before I ran out of gas and decided to give it another day. My album count is short because I've spent so much time on other things. Even so, I've failed to make any progress on my own EOY lists, and very little on my EOY Aggregate, which has suddenly fallen very far behind. Much of today was spent catching up with email, which has brought the ballot count to 40. The number of New Jazz records with votes is up to 241, with Rara Avis at 53. I also found myself adding occasional items to the Loose Tabs draft file.

I got my monthly stats report from Substack, which showed +4 subscribers (to 81), and -143 post reads (102; looks like I only posted once in November). So that's feeling like a fiasco. My mostly remedial home projects are feeling even more hopeless, especially as I'm caught between the grinding wheels of contractors and insurance companies. We were fortunate to mostly be spared the costs of inflation in 2023-24 — sure, we knew about food, but we don't need that much, and nothing else had much impact. But now I'm finding that a new roof costs three times as much as it did in 2006, and while insurance pretty much covered that 2006 roof, today's is covering less than half. And the real problem there isn't even money: it's leverage. There are still lots of cheap things, where we have lots of competitive choices, but where we don't, we're really getting screwed. Needless to add, having a government built on fraud and predatory practices doesn't offer much hope, let alone protection.

With guests gone, and construction pending (I hope), I've started to line up a lot of things to listen to, so I imagine the rest of the year will be chock full of very quick and dirty reviews. But when I looked as the Jazz Passings list, I noticed saxophonist Gary Hassay among the recently departed (1947-2025): a name I recall fondly, and felt I should delve into deeper. Reviews next week, but I went ahead and added the cover scan for To Be Free (2005) to the otherwise paltry A-list above right. But he didn't record a lot, and I have trouble getting into the throat singing.

I'm still happy to send out invitations when I run across a worthy name. I'm frustrated when I can't figure out an email address. (I spent some time today looking for Brent Burton, and I noticed that Mike Jurkovic has a list at AAJ.) I see that Fred Kaplan and Nate Chinen have already published lists, but haven't submitted ballots.

Well past midnight now, and if I don't file this tonight, I may never get it done. So basta per ora!

New records reviewed this week:

أحمد [Ahmed]: سماع [Sama'a] (Audition) (2025, Otoroku): British quartet, formed 2017 in tribute to bassist Ahmed Abdul-Malik, with Pat Thomas (piano), Seymour Wright (alto sax), Joel Grip (double bass), and Antonin Gerbal (drums). Sixth album, follows the box set Giant Beauty, which got a lot of attention in 2024. Four pieces (66:04). Can grate in spots, but impressive or maybe I mean awesome. I've listened to a fair amount from Thomas recently, but Wright, with 60 credits since 2002, could use further research. A- [bc]

Lina Allemano Four: The Diptychs (2024 [2025], Lumo): Canadian trumpet player, divides her time between Toronto and Berlin, side credits since 1996, albums since 2003, mostly "Fours," this one with alto sax (Brodie West), bass (Andrew Downing), and drums (Nick Fraser). Two two-horn interplay can take off. B+(***) [bc]

Mia Dyberg/Axel Filip: Hobby House (2025, Relative Pitch): Danish alto saxophonist, a dozen or so albums since 2016, this a duo with drums. B+(**) [sp]

Ryan Ebaugh/Matt Crane/Cameron Presley: Detergent (2024 [2025], Scatter Archive): Tenor sax, drums, guitar; the former seems to be younger, with a couple recent albums; the others older, with side credits starting in the 1990s, albeit mostly in bands with names like Carpet Floor (Crane) and Upsilon Acrux (Presley). Raw and harsh, which is the point. B+(***) [bc]

Rachel Eckroth & John Hadfield: Speaking in Tongues (2023 [2025], Adhyâropa): Piano and drums duo (well, long list of keyboards and percussion instruments), former has 7 previous albums since 2005, latter has a 2022 album and dozens of side credits back to 2004 (they knew each other in college). B+(***) [sp]

Anna Högberg Attack: Ensamseglaren (2024 [2025], Fönstret): Swedish alto saxophonist, plays in Fire! Orchestra, several other groups, this one was originally a quintet in 2016 but is up to 12 members here. B+(**) [bc]

Hamilton de Holanda Trio: Live in NYC (2024 [2025], Sony): Brazilian bandolin player (using a 10-string mandolin here), dozens of albums since 1998, upbeat trio here with Salomão Soares (keyboards) and Thiago "Big" Rabello (drums), plus guest spots for Chris Potter (tenor sax), who makes the most of every opportunity. B+(**) [sp]

Kelsey Mines/Erin Rogers: Scratching at the Surface (2022 [2025], Relative Pitch): Bass and sax (tenor/soprano) duo, weaving together contrasting tones. B [sp]

Kelsey Mines/Vinny Golia: Collusion and Collaboration (2025, Relative Pitch): Golia plays piccolo and contrabass flutes, Bb clarinet, and sopranino saxophone, in a duo with the bassist, who also contributes "expressive vocal textures." B [bc]

Oneohtrix Point Never: Tranquilizer (2025, Warp): Electronica producer Daniel Lopatin, one of the bigger names in the business since his 2006 debut. B+(**) [sp]

PainKiller: The Great God Pan (2024 [2025], Tzadik): Avant-grindcore fusion band, founded 1991 with John Zorn (alto sax), Bill Laswell (bass guitar), and Mick Harris (drums, from Napalm Death), released three studio albums (plus one live) through 1994, has been revived several times since — sometimes with different drummers, but Harris returns here. One of many Zorn projects I've missed, so I'm surprised that the drumming is far from bombastic, and while the sax can cut to the quick, it's far from relentless, and could even be called ambient. B+(**) [yt]

Rin Seo Collective: City Suite (2024 [2025], Cellar Music): Korean composer/conductor, based in New York, first album, group a crackling 14-piece big band, to call these complex and dynamic pieces "impressions of New York" undersells them severely. B+(***) [sp]

Shifa: Ecliptic (2023 [2025], Discus Music): British trio of Rachel Musson (sax), Pat Thomas (piano), and Mark Sanders (drums), third album, a single 45:57 improv piece. B+(***) [bc]

Slash Need: Sit & Grin (2025, self-released): Canadian group, "lyrics by Dusty Lee" (except for a Fang cover), eight songs, 32:28. Industrial beats, harsh gloom feels real. B+(***) [sp]

Jason Stein/Marilyn Crispell/Damon Smith/Adam Shead: Live at the Hungry Brain (2023 [2025], Trost): Bass clarinetist, many albums since 2008, some exceptional, leads a live improv set here with piano, bass, and drums. B+(***) [bc]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Khan Jamal: Give the Vibes Some (1974 [2025], Souffle Continu): Vibraphone player (1946-2022), born in Florida as Warren Cheeseboro but mostly associated with the avant-garde in Philadelphia, first appeared with Sounds of Liberation in 1972, and with many other free jazz notables over the years. Three duet pieces here — one with Clint Jackson III (trumpet), two with drums (Hassan Rashid) — plus a marimba solo. B+(***) [bc]

Roland Kirk Quartet: Domino: Live at Radio Bremen TV-Studios 1963 (1963 [2025], MIG): Title invites confusion with his 1962 Mercury album, Domino, with both sessions here leading off with the title tune. He plays everything, his songbook extending to Mingus. Backed by George Gruntz (piano), Guy Pedersen (bass), and Daniel Humair (drums). Package appears to come with a DVD, but I'm only hearing audio. B+(**) [yt]

Stephen McCraven: Wooley the Newt (1979 [2025], Moved-by-Sound): Drummer (b. 1954), first of only a handful of albums as leader, but played extensively with Archie Shepp and Sam Rivers, and is father of Makaya McCraven. Recorded in Paris with two saxophonists (Sulaiman Hakim and Richard Raux), piano (Michel Graillier), and bass (Jack Gregg). B+(***) [sp]

Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia: Live at Leverkusen 1994 (1994 [2025], Repertoire): British saxophonist (1944-2022); notable early side credits with Howard Riley, Michael Gibbs, and Colosseum (whose drummer she married). Debuted her fusion group Paraphernalia in 1978, which became her main (but not only) outlet into the 1990s, when health issues slowed her down. B+(**) [sp]

Old music:

Khan Jamal Quartet: Dark Warrior (1984 [1995], SteepleChase): Vibraphonist, recorded this in Denmark with Charles Tyler (alto/baritone sax), Johnny Dyani (bass), and Leroy Lowe (drums), adding a little funk quotient. B+(***) [sp]

Grade (or other) changes:

Patricia Brennan: Of the Near and Far (2024 [2025], Pyroclastic): Vibraphonist, from Mexico, based in Brooklyn, follow up to her poll-winning Breaking Stretch, has had a big year already with appearances on new albums by Mary Halvorson (A-), Dave Douglas (**), Tomas Fujiwara (A-), Adam O'Farrill (A-), Dan Weiss (***), Arturo O'Farrill (***), and Kalia Vandever (***). Original pieces, a large group conducted by Eli Greenhoe, with piano (Sylvie Courvoisier), guitar (Miles Okazaki), bass (Kim Cass), drums (John Hollenbeck), electronics (Arktureye), three violins and a cello. Seemed nice enough, even with an excess of strings, but poll votes persuaded me to revisit. Starts off sparkling, which is admittedly the adjective mallet instruments were designed to evoke. Ends in ambient territory, but pretty lush. [was: B+(***)] A- [cd]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • Convergence: Reckless Meter (Capri) [12-05]
  • Keith Oxman: Home (Capri) [12-05]

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