Music Year 2021
Of course, it's too early for a year-end list. But as the proto-fascist
organization of my youth insisted, one should always be prepared. For
records in hand, * identifies an advance copy, ** something borrowed
or streamed (**? means I wasn't able to hear all of it).
Some albums released in previous years are included here, noted by a
"-NN" (e.g., -20 for 2020) -- these are mostly imports or self-releases,
often hard to figure out official dates, but they were unknown (to me,
at least) before the current year.
I keep adding to the 2020
until the end of calendar 2021, especially where the record was known
to exist in 2020 and I'm just getting around to it.
New Records
A- |
- Steve Earle & the Dukes: J.T. (New West) **
- Ivo Perelman Trio: Garden of Jewels (Tao Forms)
|
Pending:
Records in hand, but which haven't yet been graded.
- Albare: Albare Plays Jobim Vol. 2 (Alfi)
- Baker's Brew: New Works (Psychosomatic, 2CD) [02-12]
- Dan Blake: Da Fé (Sunnyside) [03-12]
- Ian Charleton Big Band: A Fresh Perspective (none) [03-16]
- Cowboys & Frenchmen: Our Highway (Outside In Music) [02-26]
- The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band Featuring Bonnie Eisele: Hot Night in Venice: Live at the Venice Jazz Club (Origin)
- Pat Donaher: Occasionally (self-released) [04-09]
- Rebecca Dumaine and the Dave Miller Trio: Someday, Someday (Summit) [03-12]
- Yelena Eckemoff: Adventures of the Wildflower (L&H Production, 2CD) [03-19]
- Satoko Fujii: Hazuki: Piano Solo (Libra) [03-19]
- Frank Gratkowski/Achim Kaufmann/Wilbert de Joode/Tony Buck: Flatbosc & Cautery (NoBusiness -20)
- Barry Guy: Irvin's Comet (NoBusiness -20)
- Jonathan Kane and Dave Soldier: February Meets Soldier String Quartet (EEG) [02-01]
- Reza Khan: Imaginary Road (Painted Music) [03-26]
- Lukas Ligeti: That Which Has Remaind . . . That Which Will Emerge . . . (Col Legno) [03-26]
- Doug MacDonald Duo: Toluca Lake Jazz (Doug MacDonald Music) [02-05]
- Magnet Animals: Fake Dudes (RareNoise) * [03-26]
- Hafez Modirzadeh: Facets (Pi) [03-05]
- Sana Nagano: Smashing Humans (577) [03-19]
- Charlie Porter: Hindsight (OA2)
- Reggie Quinerly: New York Nowhere (Redefinition) [03-12]
- RED Trio & Celebration Band: Suite 10 Years Anniversary (NoBusiness, 2CD -20)
- Schapiro 17: Human Qualities (Summit) [03-12]
- Zoe Scott: Shades of Love (Zoe Scott Music -20)
- Idit Shner: Live at the Jazz Station (OA2)
- Jim Snidero: Live at the Deer Head Inn (Savant) [03-26]
- John Stowell/Dan Dean: Rain Painting (Origin)
- Thumbscrew: Never Is Enough (Cuneiform) ** [02-26]
- Sabu Toyozumi/Mats Gustafsson: Hokusai (NoBusiness -20)
- Theo Walentiny: Looking Glass (self-released) [04-02]
- Amber Weekes: My Romance: A Special Valentin (Amber Inn Productions, EP) [02-14]
- Ruth Weiss: We Are Sparks in the Universe to Our Own Fire (Edgetone)
- Chris White/Lara Driscoll: Firm Roots (self-released) [01-21]
Also Noted:
Records in hand, graded B+ or below, in alphabetical order within grade
slots:
B+(***) |
- R.A.P. Ferreira: Bob's Son: R.A.P. Ferreira in the Garden Level Cafe of the Scallops Hotel (Ruby Yacht) **
- Sleaford Mods: Spare Ribs (Rough Trade) **
- Dave Stryker: Baker's Circle (Strikezone)
- Yuma Uesaka/Cat Toren/Colin Hinton: Ocelot (577)
|
B+(**) |
- Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet: Social Distancing (Saponegro)
- Franco Ambrosetti Band: Lost Within You (Unit)
- Emmet Cohen: Future Stride (Mack Avenue) **
- Benoît Delbecq: The Weight of Light (Pyroclastic)
- Ani DiFranco: Revolutionary Love (Righteous Babe) **
- The Hold Steady: Open Door Policy (Positive Jams) **
- Ethan Iverson/Umbria Jazz Orchestra: Bud Powell in the 21st Century (Sunnyside) **
- Andy LaVerne: Rhapsody (SteepleChase) **
- Mast: Battle Hymns of the Republic (World Galaxy) **
- Yoko Miwa Trio: Songs of Joy (Ubuntu Music)
- Grete Skarpeid: Beyond Other Stories (Origin)
|
B+(*) |
- Dan Ex Machina: Bail Shag EP (self-released, EP) **
- Yoav Eshed/Lex Korten/Massimo Biolcati/Jongkuk Kim: A Way Out (Sounderscore)
- Futari: Beyond (Libra)
- The Grasso-Ravita Jazz Ensemble: Jagged Spaces (Grassvita Music)
- Roderick Harper: Evolving (R.H.M. Entertainment)
- Jazz Worms: Squirmin' (Capri)
- Katarsis 4: Live at the Underground Water Reservoir (NoBusiness -20)
- Johan Lindström Septett: On the Asylum (Moserobie)
- Madlib: Sound Ancestors (Madlib Invazion) **
- Shai Maestro: Human (ECM) **
- Meridian Odyssey: Second Wave (Origin)
- Larry Newcomb Quartet: Love, Dad (Essential Messenger)
- Palberta: Palberta 5000 (Wharf Cat) **
- The Justin Rothberg Group: Hurricane Mouse (self-released)
- Slowthai: Tyron (Method) **
- Nate Wooley/Liudas Mockunas/Barry Guy/Arkadijus Gotesmanas: NOX (NoBusiness)
|
Randal Despommier: Dio C'è (Outside In Music)
Signe Emmeluth: Hi Hello I'm Signe (Relative Pitch) **
Joe Lovano: Trio Tapestry: Garden of Expression (ECM) **
Willie Nelson: That's Life (Legacy) **
Rodney Whitaker With the Christ Church Cranbrook Choir: Cranbrook Christmas Jazz (Origin)
Greg Yasinitsky Yazz Band: New Normal (Origin)
Reissues/Compilations/Vault Music:
In previous years I tried to separate reissues from compilations,
including newly released vault items in the latter. This made sense
when I was reviewing a lot of Recycled Goods material, but led to
other problems with year-end lists, so as of 2013 anything containing
any previously released material is collected here, and anything that
is wholly previously unreleased is treated as new, above.
A- |
- Schlippenbach & Johansson: Onkel Pös Carnegie Hall Hamburg 1978 (SÅJ) **
- Sam Rivers Quartet: Braids [Sam Rivers Archive Project, Volume 4] (1979, NoBusiness -20)
|
Pending:
- Derek Baiey/Mototeru Takagi: Live at FarOut, Atsugi 1987 (NoBusiness -20)
Also Noted:
B+(***) |
- Hal Galper Quintet: Live at the Berlin Philharmonic 1977 (Origin, 2CD)
- Sun Ra: On Jupiter (1979, Enterplanetary Koncepts) **
|
B+(**) |
- Nancy Sinatra: Start Walkin' 1965-1976 (Light in the Attic) **
- Masauyki JoJo Takayanagi/Nobuyoshi Ino/Masabumi PUU Kikuchi: Live at Jazz Inn Lovely 1990 (NoBusiness -20)
|
C+ |
- Juozas Milasius/Tomas Kulavicius/Dalius Naujokaitis/Lithuanian Young Composers Orchestra: Live at Willisau, 1993 (NoBusiness -20)
|
|