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January archive (in progress).
Music: Current count 45484 [45431] rated (+53), 23 [14] unrated (+9).
Last Music Week came out 14 days ago, on January 12. That was the day that the 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll appeared, with fewer notes than I had expected. I was disappointed that I hadn't done a better job of pulling it all together, but I was also worn down, and glad to put it aside. I expected to add some more — if nothing else, in response to whatever flack the poll kicked up — but I had precious little time, or perhaps desire, to carry on.
Besides, I hadn't done one of my Loose Tabs compilations since November 24. I had stashed some 4200 words away for another column, but I had collected very little since December 1, and, well, "stuff happens." So I decided I'd take the week and fill that draft file out a bit. I have a system which serializes blog posts, so once I committed to a Loose Tabs, Music Week would have to wait. And so it did.
I finally posted Loose Tabs on January 24. By then it came up to 459 links, 31382 words. That's a lot of "stuff" that happened. I've since added a bit more, with red change bars indicating the adds. I just barely alluded to the ICE murder of Alex Pretti on Saturday. I also mentioned Trump's Davos debacle, but missed several aspects of it.
I had little trouble finding and commenting on important pieces the last two weeks, but today I find myself all but paralyzed. Music Week should be easy, given that the reviews are already written, and the introduction hardly matters.
I can say that aside from the Poll and Loose Tabs and notes on the music below, I've had to deal with three fairly big things:
We finally got our new roof done (or almost done). A section of flat roof that was supposed to be a reflective light gray was done up in black. As this also serves as patio flooring, the summer heat will make this painful to walk on. The roofer suggested adding a coating to change the color. I need to do some research on this. I asked for a week to look into this, but other things got in the way. That still leaves reinstalling the air conditioner and the railing, which can't be done until the surface is fixed. I also have attic work to do to make sure the new ventilation works right.
A cousin, Max Brown, died. He had a ranch near Douglas, southeast of Wichita, where he bred Black Angus cattle. But after his wife, Doris, died in 2022, he had increasing trouble, and spent his last couple years in a nursing home in Derby. I spent a couple days with his family, before and after the funeral. We go back a long ways.
Then it turned cold, with lows near zero and snow on Saturday and Sunday (during most of which it was 4-5°F). Got up to about 15°F today, and maybe 33°F tomorrow, but now they're predicting back to 0°F on Friday. In recent years, we've usually gotten one cold snap like this each year. This isn't the worst we've had, but the older I get, the more painful and debilitating cold weather becomes. I'm hurting to the point where everything I think I should be doing just opens up more pain and depression.
The cold isn't ending any time soon, but we may manage to get out to the grocery store tomorrow. The one thing I still seem to be good at is cooking. I made a pan of brownies and two batches of cookies (oatmeal-raisin, chocolate chip) for the visiting cousins. Then when the deep freeze settled in, for us I went for comfort food, making my mother's chicken & dumplings one night, and meatloaf another.
Records below are all from 2025. Probably the first batch since the poll picked up in November that's mostly non-jazz. I've done a very poor job of tending to my EOY aggregate this year, so I'm often short of things to listen to — not short of albums (which far exceed anyone's capacity) but short of names I recognize as promising. And then I'm short of time to properly digest the things I do hear. It's not a very satisfactory way of working, guaranteed to come up short both on quantity and quality.
I wrote most of this, but didn't quite get it up on Monday. Since then I've been torn, even considering the possibility of holding the whole thing back until the end of the month (as I'm not ready to open a February archive, despite next Monday falling on February 2. Actually, I'm not up to much of anything. It's possible I'll update this later when I decide to close out the month. Or I could push whatever's left over back into February. I'm reluctant to announce any plans for the coming year, as the prospects all look too glum, and I'm not sure I'm up to any of them.
New records reviewed this week:
Algernon Cadwallader: Trying Not to Have a Thought (2025, Saddle Creek): Emo band from Pennsylvania, band's namesake was first mayor of their home town, released two studio albums 2008-11, first album since they regrouped in 2023. B+(**) [sp]
ALT BLK ERA: Rave Immortal (2025, Earache): British electropop duo, sisters Nyrobi and Chaya Beckett-Messam, first album after a 2023 EP. Starts in dance pop territory, but midway starts rocking out, especially on "Come Fight Me for It" and "Rabbit Run." A- [sp]
Leon Anderson: Live at Snug Harbor (2023 [2025], Outside In Music): Drummer, from Louisiana, teaches at Florida State, has some side credits back to 1998 but first album, a hard bop quintet with John Michael Bradford (trumpet), Ricardo Pascal (sax), Oscar Rossignoli (piano), and Rodney Jordan (bass). Nothing here that Art Blakey couldn't have done 60 years ago, but a pretty lively example of that era, with an enthusiastic crowd, is impossible to resist. B+(**) [sp]
Sonya Belaya: Dacha (2025, Ropeadope): First-generation Russian-American pianist/singer, based in Brooklyn, first album, after side credits with Lesley Mok and David Leon. A song cycle, presumably in Russian, "rooted in themes of loss, cultural memory, and resilience, drawing from Soviet feminist poetry, bard traditions, and Eastern European folk songs." Most of that is lost on me, but the music is haunting. B+(**) [bc]
Blawan: SickElixir (2025, XL): British DJ Jamie Roberts, based in Berlin, second album, after lots of EPs going back to 2011. Terms like "post-dubstep" and "industrial techno" crop up. B+(*) [sp]
The Bug: Implosion (2025, Pressure): British dubstep producer Kevin Martin, early projects included GOD (1991-94), Techno Animal (1991-2001), and Ice (1993-99), has 10+ albums and many singles as the Bug since 1997. Fairly minimal. B+(*) [sp]
Laura De Jongh: Fundus (2025, Klankhaven, EP): Belgian harpist, solo, 7 tracks, 24:55, "rooted in the strict, classical formation," "seeks a balance between the natural acoustics of her instrument and the amplified, distorted sound." B+(*) [sp]
Olivia Dean: The Art of Loving (2025, Capitol/Polydor): British pop/r&b singer-songwriter, second album. B+(*) [sp]
Deftones: Private Music (2025, Reprise): Alt-metal (or shoegaze?) band from Sacramento, 10th studio album since 1995, first seven albums sold well enough to collect some kind of metal, last three have charted about as well (2-5-5 in US, 5-5-2 in UK, similar elsewhere). Seemed tolerable to start, but albums like this turn into endurance tests. By the time I got to the last cut, for lack of anything more interesting to say, I added up the Spotify track plays and came up with 168 million, which is 168 million more than the next album I queued up (just using the millions; add the thousands together and the latter barely topped 1 million, but Deftones would probably pick up at least that much). B- [sp]
DJ K: Radio Libertadora! (2025, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Brazilian funk producer Kaique Vieira, second album on Uganda's farthest reaching label. "In his bruxaria universe, the beats are hard, vocals are screamed and bass is explosive, creating an overwhelming, apocalyptic sound." I'd say hyperkinetic, possibly too much, but I'm sure that's the point. B+(**) [sp]
DJ Love/DJ Danz/DJ Ericnem: Budots World: 3-Hit Combo! (2025, Eastern Margins): Budots is a electronic dance music style ("slacker" in Bisaya), originating in the Philippines (Davao City). None of these three have Discogs entries I can find (DJ Love also seems to go as Sherwin Tuna, but no joy there either). They split the songs 5/4/4. A- [sp]
Florence + the Machine: Everybody Scream (2025, Polydor/Republic): British singer-songwriter Florence Welch, sixth group album since 2009, two more long-term members of the band (Isabella Summers, Robert Ackroyd) but her principal co-writers are "additional musicians" Mark Bowen and Aaron Dessner. This sees pretty solid. B+(*) [sp]
Alex G: Headlights (2025, RCA): Singer-songwriter Alex Giannascoli, from Pennsylvania, tenth album since 2011, slightly skewed approach to songs reminds some people of Pavement, a comparison that would carry more weight if he had any songs I liked. B- [sp]
Alison Goldfrapp: Flux (2025, A.G.): British electropop singer, previously the namesake for the duo Goldfrapp (7 albums 2000-17), second solo album. B+(**) [sp]
Saya Gray: Saya (2025, Dirty Hit): Canadian pop singer-songwriter, second album with a couple of EPs. B+(*) [sp]
Gwenno: Utopia (2025, Heavenly): Singer-songwriter from Wales, father is Cornish poet Tim Saunders, grew up fluent in Cornish and Welsh, sings in both but slips in some English in this, her fourth album. B+(*) [sp]
Heartworms: Glutton for Punishment (2025, Speedy Wunderground): British singer-songwriter Josephine (Jojo) Orme, father Afghan-Pakistani, mother Chinese-Danish, first album after a 2023 EP. Pretty good. B+(***) [sp]
Heems: A Hundred Alibis (2025, Veena, EP): Das Racist rapper, solo albums since 2012 (initially as Himanshu). Six songs, 19:32. Mostly sung, draws on some Indian music, but doesn't really work. B- [sp]
The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band: Live at Birdland (2025, Turtle Bay): Seven piece trad jazz band, led by Simon Wettenhall (trumpet) and Conal Fowkes (piano), "New Orleans" is inspiration, but this was recorded in New York City, which seems to be home — the band is known for playing with Woody Allen. B+(**) [sp]
Nyron Higor: Nyron Higor (2025, Far Out, EP): Brazilian multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, percussion), sings some, first album, short (10 tracks, 23:51). B+(*) [sp]
Steve Hirsh: Root Causes (2023 [2025], Mahakala Music): Drummer, from New York City, based in northern Minnesota, started recording on this label in 2021, with Joel Futterman, Chad Fowler, and George Cartwright. Trio here with Eri Yamamoto (piano) and William Parker (bass). B+(***) [sp]
Hotline TNT: Raspberry Moon (2025, Third Man): New York indie/shoegaze band, fronted by singer-songwriter Will Anderson, third album. B [bc]
Hannah Jadagu: Describe (2025, Sub Pop): Singer-songwriter born in Texas, parents from Zimbabwe, moved to New York in 2020, released an EP in 2021, an album in 2023, and now this second album. B+(*) [sp]
Vladimir Kostadinovic: Iris (2024 [2025], Criss Cross Jazz): Drummer, originally from Serbia, based in Austria, debut album 2011, recorded this in New York, with Ben Wendel (tenor sax; also Chris Potter on two tracks), Alex Sipiagin (trumpet), Joe Locke (vibes), Geoffrey Keezer (piano), and Matt Brewer (bass). Nice romp for Locke. B+(**) [sp]
The Last Dinner Party: From the Pyre (2025, Island): British art rock/baroque pop group, second album, lead singer Abigail Morris, songs jointly credited. B- [sp]
Leikeli47: Lei Keli Ft. 47/For Promotional Use Only (2025, Acrylic/Hardcover): Rapper, started with mixtapes (2010-15), fourth album since 2017, title seems tentative (as does length: 11 songs, 29:56). B+(***) [sp]
MC BF & DJ Yuzak: Bebeto E Romário (2025, Mandelão, EP): Brazilian electrofunk duo, 13 songs, 24:30. B+(**) [sp]
Monaleo: Who Did the Body (2025, Stomp Down/Columbia): Houston rapper Leondra Gay, second album, sharp in spots. B+(**) [sp]
Christy Moore: A Terrible Beauty (2024, Claddagh): Irish folksinger-songwriter (b. 1945), couple dozen solo studio albums since 1969, plus live albums and group work with Planxty (1972-83). I noted a number of his albums in my database, but my interest in Anglo-Celtic folk music — from my vantage the distinctions are insignificant — this is the first I've managed to check out. Not my thing, but this pulls me in. B+(***) [sp]
Navy Blue: The Sword & the Soaring (2025, Freedom Sounds): Underground rapper Sage Elsesser, from Brooklyn, ninth album since 2020. I was somewhat taken aback when I saw this genrefied as "Christian hip-hop." It doesn't hip or hop much, but does keep returning to themes of faith with heavenly airs. B+(***) [sp]
Nazar: Demilitarize (2025, Hyperdub): Angolan producer Alcides Simoes, second album (after Guerrilla), coined the term "rough kiduro," "translating the normally upbeat style to expose the uglier side of what he saw in Angola." B+(*) [sp]
NMIXX: Blue Valentine (2025, JYP Entertainment): K-pop girl group, singles in 2022, three albums (with variants) since 2023. Huge Spotify plays, with the title track topping 36 million. B+(**) [sp]
Robert Plant: Saving Grace (2025, Nonesuch): Former singer for mega arena rock band Led Zeppelin (1969-80), not sure why I've had so little interest in his solo career, with a half-dozen gold records 1982-93, as well as considerable success with his 1998 Jimmy Page duo and his collaborations with bluegrass singer-violinist Alison Krauss (2007, 2021). He formed this acoustic folk band in 2019 with singer Suzi Dian (credited on front cover), covering mostly blues and folk songs. B+(*) [sp]
Noah Preminger: Dark Days (2024 [2025], Criss Cross Jazz): Tenor saxophonist, was our Debut winner in 2008, has a solid mainstream career with 20+ albums since. Quartet with Ely Perlman (guitar), Kim Cass (bass), and Terreon Gully (drums), mostly playing originals (one by Perlman), with two covers (Don Cherry, Nando Michelin). B+(***) [sp]
Juana Rozas: Tanya (2025, Sony Music Argentina): Argentinian singer-songwriter, second album, "a clubby tribute to the chameleonic sounds of the Latin rave underground." B+(**) [sp]
Saint Etienne: International (2025, Heavenly): British electropop band, 13th album since 1991, Sarah Cracknell the singer, also keyboardists Pete Wiggs and Bob Stanley — the latter also fairly well known as a music journalist. This is fairly delightful, but nothing quite compelled me to upgrade. B+(***) [sp]
Ternion Q Expanded: Marbles (2025, Bju'ecords): Danish bassist, long part of Brooklyn Jazz Underground, released a Ternion Quartet album in 2017, with Silke Eberhard (alto sax), Geoffroy De Masure (trombones), and Roland Schneider (drums); returns here as a septet, adding Percy Pursglove (trumpet), Julius Gawlik (clarinets/tenor sax), and Morris Kiphuis (french horn). B+(**) [sp]
Jesse Welles: Hells Welles (2024, self-released): Folk singer-songwriter from Ozark, Arkansas, initially recorded as Jeh Sea Wells, with eight albums 2012-18, five more as Welles, then eight more starting with this one in 2024, under his almost real name (actually Wells). Starts with "War Isn't Murder," then "Payola" and "Cancer" ("so if you aren't expecting peace, why expect a cure?"). Double LP, 21 songs, just guitar and voice, and conscience. B+(***) [sp]
Jesse Welles: Patchwork (2024, self-released): A dozen more songs, opening with a nod toward Dylan. B+(**) [sp]
Jesse Welles: Pilgrim (2025, self-released): Second album of the year, after The Middle, making four in twelve months, with more to come. The songs keep coming, with the short "Philannthropist" perhaps the most pointed. B+(**) [sp]
Jesse Welles: Devil's Den (2025, self-released): Eleven more songs, something of a band, starts with "The Great Caucasian God." B+(*) [sp]
Jesse Welles: With the Devil (2025, self-released): Alternate version of the 11 songs on Devil's Den. Band seems looser, the extra space opening up for a more graceful singer, and perhaps easier focus on the words. B+(**) [sp]
Jesse Welles: Under the Powerlines (April '24-September '24) (2024 [2025], self-released): I don't quite understand what this is, let alone the rationalization, but this rolls up 63 songs (195 minutes), presumably live, starts solo reprising songs from Hells Welles, only I'm picking up more lyrics this time around. Opens with "War Isn't Murder": "The dead don't feel honor; They don't feel that brave; They don't feel avenged; They're lucky if they got graves; Try not to think about the dead, and have a nice day." Then "Cancer": "Cancer is as lucrative a business as war; So if you ain't expecting peace, then why expect a cure?" Then "Fentanyl": "Makes Johnson Johnson oxys look like little beers; Send dough tot he enforcement, they build another jail; Give money to a hammer, they're gonna buy a nail." Later: "I like to complain; You like to complain; We can all complain together." Covers Dylan and Prine, and does a fair impression of both. Also covers Jagger & Richard. A- [sp]
Jesse Welles: Under the Powerlines (October '24-December '24) (2024 [2025], self-released): 25 songs (67 minutes). B+(***) [sp]
Wolf Alice: The Clearing (2025, Columbia/RCA): British alt-rock band, originally a duo of singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, added bass and drums, fourth album since 2015. B+(*) [sp]
Tommy Womack: Live a Little (2025, Schoolkids): Singer-songwriter from Kentucky, long based on Nashville, ninth album since 1998, most of them good-to-better. B+(***) [sp]
Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:
Herb Geller Quartet: Barcelona Session (1990, Fresh Sound): Alto saxophonist, one of the key players in the West Coast Cool Jazz scene of the 1950s, moved to Germany in 1962, playing and arranging for big bands in Berlin (RIAS) and Hamburg (NDR), resuming his own albums around 1990. This is the rest of the session that produced Birdland Stomp, with piano (Kenny Drew), bass (Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen) and drums (Mark Taylor), with two guest spots each for young trumpet players Roy Hargrove and Gerard Presencer. B+(***) [sp]
Dizzy Gillespie/Sonny Stitt/Sonny Rollins: Sonny Side Up (1957 [2025], Verve): Pretty much the cutting contest you'd expect, backed by a rhythm section of Ray Bryant (piano), Tom Bryant (bass), and Charlie Persip (drums). B+(***) [sp]
Billy Harper: Trying to Make Heaven My Home (1979 [2025], MPS): Tenor saxophonist, from Houston, debut 1973, his 1975 album Black Saint keynoted an Italian label that was one of the following decade's most important. Quintet with trumpet (Everett Hollins), piano (Armen Donelian), bass (Wayne Dockery), and drums (Malcolm Pinson). He's a tower of strength here, as he usually is. B+(***) [sp]
Hüsker Dü: 1985: The Miracle Year (1985 [2025], Numero Group): Hardcore trio from Minnesota, six studio albums 1983-87, notable live albums to start and end, exceptional power and occasional pop hooks, had such a reputation at the time that I followed them, despite never really getting with the program. Label has been trawling through their live tapes recently, with this 4-LP (or 2-CD) box a big deal. Opens with a Jan. 30, 1985 set, following New Day Rising, that was reduced to an EP earlier this year, then jumps around many other shows. I recognize a bunch of songs, but doubt any are improved live. A couple covers do help. But the length wears thin. B+(*) [sp]
Agustin Pereyra Lucena: Puertos De Alternativa (1988 [2025], Far Out): Argentinian guitarist (1948-2019), albums from 1970 on, this with a mix of solo, duo, and small group tracks. B+(*) [sp]
Edison Machado: Edison Machado & Boa Nova (1978 [2025], Far Out): Brazilian drummer (1934-90), regarded as a samba pioneer, only a few albums as leader and in Bossa Três. Previously unreleased sextet session. B+(*) [sp]
The Lost Secret Dave Wells' Trombone City Band: Live at Carmelo's (1983 [2025], Fresh Sound): Trombonist (1931-2003), not much under his name but he started with Harry James in 1952, played in varios ubig bands (Woody Herman, Marty Paich, Russell Garcia, Jimmy Hamilton, Billy May, Pat Longo, Henry Mancini, Don Ellis), while spinning off groups like Trombones Unlimited and side-credits like Bobby Darin and Frank Zappa. Previously unreleased tape, group with six trombones, piano, guitar, bass, and drums, with 9 tracks stretching out to 80 minutes. B+(*) [sp]
Old music:
Cliff Jordan: Cliff Jordan [Blue Note 1565] (1957, Blue Note): Tenor saxophonist (1931-93), second album (after Blowin' in From Chicago, with John Gilmore), cover shows his name in red, six more names in black, and the label and number in red again. The others: Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), John Jenkins (alto sax), Ray Bryant (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Art Taylor (drums). B+(***) [sp]
Clifford Jordan: Starting Time (1961, Jazzland): Tenor saxophonist, as cover notes with Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Cedar Walton (piano), Wilbur Ware (bass), and Albert Heath (drums). Three Jordan originals, two each from Dorham and Walton, plus an Ellington cover. B+(**) [yt]
Clifford Jordan Quartet: Bearcat (1961-62 [1990], Jazzland/OJC): Tenor saxophonist, plays five originals, two overs (including "How Deep Is the Ocean?"), backed by Cedar Walton (piano), Teddy Smith (bass), and J.C. Moses (drums). B+(**) [sp]
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week: