Rated

Jazz records that have been rated but are awaiting final blog review. Oldest first (except those carried over from JCG(28) are in alphabetical order:

1. Afterfall (2008 [2010], Clean Feed): Ad hoc group names cause paperwork headaches trying to keep track of jazz releases, and this label is particularly fond of concocting such names. I filed this under guitarist Luis Lopes, figuring he was the first named and held home court recording in Lisbon. Moreover, he's on a run, his guitar the steely backbone of at least four fine records in a row, most with horns which add to but scarcely eclipse him. Jazzloft, on the other hand, filed this under soprano saxophonist Joe Giardullo, older and no doubt better known in America but not exactly a household name. Giardullo mostly plays tenor here, not all that distinctive, but the extra heft and depth sounds good, especially mixed with Sei Miguel's muted pocket trumpet. Also working here are Benjamin Duboc on bass and Harvey Sorgen on drums. A little more inside than Lopes's Humanization 4tet records, which makes this a tad less impressive, but that seems to be Lopes's knack: to make good records without showing off much flash. B+(***)
2. Agogic (2010 [2011], Tables and Chairs): I filed this eponymous group album under trumpeter Cuong Vu, but on second thought Andrew D'Angelo (alto sax, bass clarinet) is, as I should have expected, the more forceful leader. Squaring off the quartet are Luke Bergman on electric bass and Evan Woodle on drums. The two-horn jousts are pretty exciting although they sometimes come unfrayed under the heat of battle. The two-horn unison dirge makes a powerful sound as well. B+(***)
3. Bebop Trio (2011, Creative Nation Music): Former NEC students: Lefteris Kordis (piano, from Greece), Thor Thorvaldsson (drums, from Iceland), and Alec Spiegelman (clarinet, from Brooklyn). Drummer has mostly played in rock bands. Clarinetist also belongs to Klezwoods. Group/album name is a misnomer: their covers stake out various pianists, some bebop, some harder to pin down: Bud Powell, Duke Ellington, George Shearing, Elmo Hope, Herbie Nichols, Lennie Tristano. Still, Spiegelman's model isn't Buddy DeFranco or Jimmy Giuffre; it's Steve Lacy, who was famous for bypassing bebop when he jumped from trad jazz to avant-garde. Lacy taught some at NEC during his last years, and Irene Aëbi passed some Lacy charts to Spiegelman, and one thing led to another. B+(***)
4. Tim Berne/Jim Black/Nels Cline: The Veil (2009 [2011], Cryptogramophone): Front cover just has initials: "bb&c"; spine has last names: "Berne/Black/Cline"; back cover spells it all out, and adds "recorded live at the stone NYC." Alto sax-drums-guitar, if you still need to know. Starts off with a repetitive thing then slides into deep thrash, which is something Cline is prone to and that the others can play with, but it settles out into something more interesting. Still mostly a guitar album -- Berne's sax rarely breaks out. B+(***)
5. Carlos Bica + Matéria-Prima (2008 [2010], Clean Feed): Bassist, from Portugal, based in Germany, has a half-dozen or more records since 1996, four with his trio Azul (Frank Möbius on guitar, Jim Black on drums). Not sure if Prima-Matéria is a distinct group -- doesn't show up on Bica's website project list nor on trumpeter Matthias Schriefl's MySpace page (Schreefpunk, European TV Brass Trio, Brazilian Motions, deujazz, 2 Generations of Trumpets, United Groove-O-Rama, Schmittmenge Meier, Mutantenstadt). Group also includes Mário Delgado on electric guitar, João Lobo on drums and percussion, and João Paulo on piano, keyboards, and accordion. Assembled from three concerts -- the one patch of applause comes at a bit of surprise, even if well earned. Rather patchy, the main shift turning on Paulo's accordion, which puts the band in a mood for tango or something folkloric; otherwise they have a tendency toward soundtrack, with three placenames in the titles. Still, Schriefl is a smoldering trumpet player, and this never settles into the ordinary. B+(***)
6. Ketil Bjørnstad: Remembrance (2009 [2010], ECM): Norwegian pianist, b. 1952, has recorded with ECM at least since 1994. Leads a trio here, with Tore Brunborg on tenor sax and Jon Christensen on drums -- all three were previously in Masqualero, along with Arild Andersen and Nils Petter Molvaer if memory serves. One title piece in eleven parts. B+(***)
7. Jim Black/Trevor Dunn/Oscar Noriega/Chris Speed: Endangered Blood (2010 [2011], Skirl): Oversized packaging, roughly the size of a DVD box, which makes it inconvenient for filing. Not clear if Endangered Blood is deemed a group title, but the four artists are more usefully listed on the front cover. Drums, bass, alto sax/bass clarinet, and tenor sax respectively. One cover, Monk's "Epistrophy"; everything else is credited to Speed, so it must be alphabetical order governing the credits. The faster the rhythm propels them, the more interesting this gets -- "Tacos and Oscars" is the standout track. B+(***)
8. BLOB: Earphonious Swamphony (2010, Innova): Group, consisting of John Lindberg on bass, Ted Orr on guitar, and Harvey Sorgen on drums. I'm least familiar with Orr, who is also an audio engineer and plays Axon MIDI guitar as well as electric. Don't have an acronym definition of BLOB, so they may just be fond of caps -- certainly fits their penchant for loud noise. Fifth album since 2006, with a couple more listed as upcoming. This one bills Ralph Carney as a special guest, and he adds a lot of resonance in the deep end, especially when playing bass sax, bass trombone, and tuba -- clarinets and flute are his other credits. Mostly noise, but they make something out of it, and the lumbering rumble is fascinating in its own right. B+(***)
9. Dan Block: Plays the Music of Duke Ellington: From His World to Mine (2009 [2010], Miles High): Block plays tenor and alto sax, various clarinets, and basset horn. First album under his own name; I'm having trouble tracking down his side credits, which may include some classical performances as well as a fair number of more or less trad jazz groups -- I get more hits grepping my notebook for him than AMG lists (Linda Ronstadt's big band, David Berger's Sultans of Swing, George Gee, John Sheridan's Dream Band, Michael Camacho, Chris Flory, Jerry Costanzo/Andy Farber [on baritone], Marty Grosz's Hot Winds, Catherine Russell). Ellington and Strayhorn tunes, none of the really obvious ones you've heard hundreds of times (although I've certainly played "Mt. Harrissa" that much, enough to recognize it even without the original's pyrotechnic brass), given the small group swing treatment, sometimes with Pat O'Leary's cello and no drums; about half in a septet with Mike Kanan on piano, James Chirillo on guitar, and Mark Sherman on vibes. Lovely stuff -- Block favors his clarinet but I'm partial to his tenor sax. B+(***)
10. Jaki Byard: A Matter of Black and White: Live at the Keystone Korner, Vol. 2 (1978-79 [2011], High Note): Pianist, 1922-99, released his first record in 1960, was an important figure in the 1960s, not avant-garde but not in any mainstream either -- Out Front! (1961) is a prime example, and I also like The Last From Lennie's (1965, came out in 2003) although I missed the two volumes that preceded it. Solo piano, well-worn standards -- "God Bless the Child," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans," "I Know a Place," "'Round Midnight," "Day Dream," among others. Bright, touching. B+(***)
11. Bruno Chevillon/Tim Berne: Old and Unwise (2010 [2011], Clean Feed): Bassist, b. 1959 in France, one previous album under his own name, side-credits with Louis Sclavis, André Jaume, Daniel Humair, Marc Ducret, Stefano Battaglia, Tony Malaby. Berne has a lot of records going back to 1979. He sticks to alto sax here, his main instrument. Chevillon wrote all of the pieces. Pays to focus on the bass here -- a more diversified source of noise than the sax, which just moves from note to note, however inventively. B+(***)
12. Claire Daly Quintet: Mary Joyce Project: Nothing to Lose (2011, Daly Bread): Baritone saxophonist, fifth album since 1999, first I've heard although I've noted her winning Downbeat's poll several times. Also plays alto sax and flute here, credibly in both cases, but the big horn is the treat. Quintet includes piano (Steve Hudson, who wrote or co-wrote about half of this), bass, drums, and Napoleon Maddox ("human beat box"). Mary Joyce was a relative ("father's first cousin") who among other things drove a dogsled from Juneau to Fairbanks in 1935-36 (1,000 miles) -- a story capped off in the closer ("Epilogue"). B+(***)
13. Hilario Duran Trio: Motion (2010, Alma): Cuban pianist, b. 1953 in Havana, moved to Toronto in 1995. Cut three records for Justin Time in late 1990s, four now for Alma. Haven't heard any before this one, but Killer Tumbao is quite a title. Piano trio, with Roberto Occhipinti on bass and Mark Kelso on drums. Jumps right at you, and the percussion is pretty Cuban for my ears. B+(***)
14. Farmers by Nature [Gerald Cleaver, William Parker, Craig Taborn]: Out of This World's Distortions (2010 [2011], AUM Fidelity): Yet another instance of a group's previous album, entered into by a set of individuals, has assumed group stature, as if the previous album was especially notable (which, by the way, this one wasn't). Still, the individual names ride the masthead, as they indeed still have marketing value. Group is reportedly "a fully-improvising unit, a complete musical collective." Cleaver plays drums, Parker bass, Taborn piano; Parker's done numerous piano trios -- with Matthew Shipp, of course, even more with Cecil Taylor. Taborn actually manages some Taylor moments here -- far more exciting than the slow start or the melodic end. B+(***)
15. Joan Jeanrenaud/PC Muñoz: Pop-Pop (2010, Deconet): Cellist, b. 1956 in Tennessee, studied at Indiana and in Geneva, Switzerland, winding up in San Francisco with Kronos Quartet. Third album under her own name, the others look to be classical (or what's been called "new music"). Muñoz is a SF-based percussionist; has a previous record called PC Muñoz's Grab Bag: Otherworldly Sonic Adventures!. Doesn't have the rhythmic feel of jazz, but does keep a regular propulsive vibe going, and makes for an intriguing piece of instrumental music. B+(***)
16. Matt Lavelle: Goodbye New York, Hello World (2009 [2011], Music Now!): Plays trumpet and bass clarinet, a unique combo, although here he substitutes cornet and flugelhorn for the trumpet, and adds alto clarinet to the bass clarinet, playing each of his four instruments on two songs each (7 total, so one shares flugelhorn and alto clarinet). Three cuts are done with just bass (plus one more with gongs), spread out with pieces that add drums and Ras Moshe on tenor sax. The larger group pieces are exceptionally strong, but the solo horns are clear and commanding as well. A-
17. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Quavers! Quavers! Quavers! Quavers! (2011, Hot Cup): Guitarist, originally from Chicago, now in Brooklyn. Looks like Big Five Chord was a self-released 2003 album, ancient history but for its group name reverberations. Second album with Moppa Elliott's Hot Cup crew: Jon Irabagon and Bryan Murray on saxes, Elliott on bass, Matt Kanelos on keybs, and Danny Fischer on drums. Guitar is tantallizingly jagged throughout but doesn't really explode until the closer, a ditty called "Faith-Based Initiative," after which the saxes follow suit. B+(***)
18. Sei Miguel/Pedro Gomes: Turbina Anthem (2008 [2011], NoBusiness): Pocket trumpet/guitar duets. I've run across Miguel before: b. 1961 in Paris, lived in Brazil before settling down in Portugal in the 1980s. Released a record in 1988, more since 2002 including two on Clean Feed: one under his own name and another as part of Afterfall (which I filed under guitarist Luis Lopes). Not much on Gomes; probably his first record. Cranks up lots of guitar distortion, playing it for rhythm and harmonic backdrop for the trumpet. Too harsh to recommend highly, but too visceral to ignore. Stef, who has fewer compunctions about what other people think, gave this all five stars. B+(***)
19. Nordic Connect: Spirals (2008 [2011], ArtistShare): Trumpet player Ingrid Jensen, b. 1967 in Vancouver, BC, Canada; studied at Berklee; AMG counts six albums since 1994, coutning her previous Nordic Connect album but not this one. Group includes sister Christine Jensen (alto/soprano sax), Maggi Olin (piano, often Fender Rhodes), Mattias Walin (bass), and Jon Wikan (drums) -- Olin and Welin are Swedish, Wikan from Alaska with Norwegian roots (married to the trumpeter). Olin wrote 5 of 9 pieces, and her electric piano is the center point of the action, vs. just one piece for Ingrid Jensen (two for Christine, one for Wikan), so AMG may be justified in treating this as a group effort. Still, the trumpet is what shines brightest here. B+(***)
20. Other Dimensions in Music featuring Fay Victor: Kaiso Stories (2010 [2011], Silkheart): Group was originally formed in 1989 with Roy Campbell (trumpet), Daniel Carter (alto sax), William Parker (bass), and Rashid Bakr (drums). They cut a group improv album for Silkhear then, then reappeared in 1997 with two albums for AUM Fidelity, one with Matthew Shipp added. This is their fourth, with Charles Downs taking over the drums for Bakr, but the more important change is adding vocalist Fay Victor. As Lars-Olof Gustavsson explains in the liner notes, he was looking to do a vocal album, found Victor, then matched the band. Victor is a very strong, distinctive vocalist -- when I reviewed her Cartwheels Through the Cosmos all I could do was compare her to Betty Carter -- and she takes yet another twist here, exploiting her Trinidadian roots with eight lyrics from classic calypso tunes (Roaring Lion, Lord Executor, Lord Kitchener, Mighty Sparrow) and 1939 field recordings. The free jazz improv doesn't make this easy, introducing a tension as Victor is torn between tying the rhymes down and surrendering to the chaotic rhythm. B+(***)
21. Ivo Perelman Quartet: The Hour of the Star (2010 [2011], Leo): Brazilian tenor saxophonist, has been on a hot run lately and keeps it going here. Actually just 4 of 6 cuts are quartet, with Matthew Shipp on piano; the others just Joe Morris on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums. Shipp pushed Ware harder, but the rhythmic density he brings here is a plus. Perelman was never as heavy as Ware, Brötzmann, et al., but he skits agilely around the corners. B+(***)
22. Joshua Redman/Aaron Parks/Matt Penman/Eric Harland: James Farm (2011, Nonesuch): Can't call this a supergroup -- only saxophonist Redman comes close, although drummer Harland's the sort of guy who gets into such groups. But it's not Redman's backup group either. Both Parks (piano) and Penman (bass) are on the rise, and each writes three songs here (same as Redman, leaving one for Harland). Parks has one previous album, a good one, on Blue Note (which had a good run of breaking piano stars, notably Jason Moran and Bill Charlap). Penman has two, on Fresh Sound New Talent, which I've missed (tough to get them these days; something I miss, perhaps a casualty of the weak dollar). Solid work all around, tuneful and beatwise. B+(***)
23. Bobby Sanabria: Tito Puente Masterworks Live!!! (2008 [2011], Jazzheads): Drummer, b. in New York, grew up in South Bronx, studied at Berklee. Sixth album since 1993, the last few big band affairs: the band here is billed as Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Sanabria. This program of Tito Puente standards blows out all the gaskets, which is to say it sounds an awful lot like a vintage Puente disc. Looks like one too: I imagine some customers will be fooled, not that they'll mind much. B+(***)
24. Adam Schroeder: A Handful of Stars (2010, Capri): Baritone saxophonist, b. 1978 in Sioux City, IA; based in LA. I'm pretty sure he's not the Hollywood producer/exec producer of the same name, although AMG credits him with producing some of the producer's soundtracks. Credits with Clark Terry, Benny Wallace, Anthony Wilson, and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra are more credible, especially the latter since John Clayton (bass) and Jeff Hamilton (drums) anchor the quartet here. First album, two originals to nine covers, impeccable standards with Quincy Jones the newest composer. Quartet is rounded out with guitarist Graham Dechter, whose sweet tone contrasts nicely to the big horn, and who slides right into the dominant swing idiom. Nice and simple album, the bari a little awkward but perfect when the notes match. So down my alley I may not be grading it below my true feelings. B+(***)
25. Serafin: Love's Worst Crime (2010, Serafin): Singer, from Canada, b. in Vancouver, grew up near Toronto, surname LaRiviere, third album. Touts a five octave vocal range that effectively made the opener "Comes Love" sound female, becoming more ambiguous later on. He wrote most of the songs -- the other covers are "My Baby Just Cares for Me," "Don't Explain," and "Skylark." Has a cabaret feel, most seductive in the dark. B+(***)
26. Starlicker: Double Demon (2011, Delmark): Rob Mazurek (cornet), Jason Adasiewicz (vibes), John Herndon (drums). Mazurek is a guy with lots of ideas, which you can trace through the various Chicago Underground Duo/Trio/Quartet configurations on up to his Exploding Star Orchestra. Where the latter typically engages a dozen musicians, this trio manages to cover the same space much more compactly. Does put more pressure on the cornet to lead, and for once he does. A-
27. Mort Weiss: Mort Weiss Meets Bill Cunliffe (2010 [2011], SMS Jazz): Or to continue the title further: With Special Guest the Undisputed Father of the Jazz Flute Sam Most. I can't argue, although it looks like James Moody played a little jazz flute before Most's 1953 debut, and while I can't find any credits for Frank Wess before 1954, he's a few years older than Moody, nearly a decade older than Most. Most cut ten records 1953-59, then a few more for Xanadu 1976-79. The better known flautist is Herbie Mann, a few months older than Most but with no records until 1954. Most always struck me as someone trying to translate Charlie Parker to flute as literally as possible. Not a great or even very notable innovation, but he's much more listenable than nearly all of the jazz flute that followed. Still, he adds little more than color and background here. Pianist Cunliffe is superb at establishing the swing rhythm, guitarist Ron Eschete' (no idea why he prefers the apostrophe to an acute accent) swings too, and the leader's clarinet is bright and cheery. A nice diversion is Peter Marx's spoken word "Readings of Kerouac 1" which is really about Slim Gaillard. Out of character is the cut Weiss turned over to his grandson. Weiss, you should recall, started to leave his mark after retirement age. Fifth album I've heard since 2006, and very nearly his best. [By the way, my copy has a manufacturing defect which renders the last cut interminable.] B+(***)
28. Kenny Werner: Balloons (2010 [2011], Half Note): Pianist, b. 1951 in Brooklyn, has 25-30 albums since 1977, considered a postbop player -- I've heard very few of his records, and flagged his Guggenheim-winning orchestral No Beginning No End as a dud. Still, he bounces back impressively here, using the oldest trick in the book: a really first-rate band, recorded live: David Sanchez (tenor sax), Randy Brecker (trumpet), John Pattitucci (bass), and Antonio Sanchez (drums). Four pieces stretch out, the horns taking especially strong solos, the piano holding the fort together. Ends with a drum flourish. B+(***)
29. Zed Trio: Lost Transitions (2009 [2010], Ayler): French trio, don't know much about them, but here goes: Heddy Boubaker (b. 1963, Marseille, father Tunisian), plays alto and bass sax, mostly free jazz but has also played in gnawa bands, name listed on a couple other albums; David Lataillade, electric guitar; and Frédéric Vaudaux, drums; no further discography. Choppy free improv, tends to get noisy, which I like to a point but they do push it. B+(***)

The following have been moved here as during Jazz CG #28 prospecting. They should be merged with the above once Jazz CG #27 surplus has been sorted out.

1. Antonio Adolfo/Carol Saboya: Lá e Cá/Here and There (2010, AAM): Brazilian pianist, composer of a couple pieces here; AMG lists 17 records since 1992; Discogs has fewer records but they're almost all earlier, the first from 1969. Sabaya, his daughter, sings, a cool treat although Adolfo's piano excursions are every bit as delicious. Aside from Adolfo's originals, everything else has stood the test of time: "All the Things You Are," "A Night in Tunisia," "Time After Time," "Lullaby of Birdland," "'Round Midnight," a lot of Jobim and Cole Porter, sometimes segued together. B+(***)
2. Harry Allen: Rhythm on the River (2011, Challenge): Thirteen "river" songs, two by Hoagy Carmichael, the only one without "river" in the title is "Roll On, Mississippi, Roll On" although the musty old Stephen Foster "Old Folks at Home" had to reach into the parents for "Swanee River" -- wonder how they missed "Old Man River"? The band gets such a charge on the four songs joined by Warren Vaché and his cornet that Allen's quartet sounds down at first. Eventually that pays off in drawing out the tenor saxophonist's sumptous balad tone. B+(***)
3. Andrew Atkinson Quartet: Live: Keep Looking Forward (2011, self-released): Drummer-led quartet, b. 1982 -- I read his bio as saying in Jamaica, but somehow he wound up in Miami. First album, with Tevin Pennicott on tenor sax, Jim Gasior on piano, and Kurt Hengstebeck on electric bass. Atkinson, Pennicott, and Gasior wrote one song each, plus one split between Atkinson and Pennicott; plus four covers -- a Jobim, "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise," and two from Miles Davis (forgetting about Victor Feldman on "Seven Steps to Heaven"). Group is fast, upbeat, a lot of fun. Pennicott's from Georgia. I noticed him before when he lifted Kenny Burrell's Be Yourself to HM status, and he's even better here, in a real sax blowout. A-
4. Yaala Ballin: On the Road (2010 [2011], Gallery): Standards singer, born in Israel, has a New York band and a previous album on Smalls, as do most of her band: Zaid Nasser (alto sax), Chris Byars (tenor sax), and Ari Roland (bass); the others are Vahagn Hayrapetyan (piano) and Keith Balla (drums). Leans heavily on blues -- two medleys, "Evil Gal Blues/Salty Papa Blues" and "Long Gone Blues/Wise Woman Blues" tower like the pylons in a suspension bridge, and you never doubt her right to sing those blues. "I Cried for You" can't help but remind me of Jimmy Rushing, a thought that brings me nothing but pleasure. The saxophonists stay within their roles, but are superb, as expected. A-
5. Billy Bang's Survival Ensemble: Black Man's Blues/New York Collage (1977-78 [2011], NoBusiness, 2CD): The late, great violinist's first two albums -- the first so obscure I missed it when I assembled a discography for my 2005 Voice piece on Bang. A quartet for the first record, with Bilal Abdur Rahman on tenor and soprano sax, William Parker on bass, and Rashid Bakr on drums. Rahman, an old friend of Bang's, picked up Islam in prison and recorded reluctantly but more often than not his cutting and slashing is terrific here. Both albums are hit and miss, with bits of spoken word spouting political critique -- "when the poor steal, it's called looting; when the rich steal, it's called profit" is one turn of phrase. Second album adds Henry Warner on alto sax and Khuwana Fuller on congas -- Warner's another player who shows up on rare occasions but always makes a big impression. Way back when I would probably have hedged my grade, seeing each album as promising but half-baked, but now they're indisputable pieces of history -- and not just because Bang and Parker went on to have brilliant careers. Also note that the label in Lithuania that rescued them cared enough to provide a 36-page booklet on the era and this remarkable music. A-
6. Daniel Bennett Group: Peace & Stability Among Bears (2010 [2011], Bennett Alliance): Plays alto sax, flute, clarinet. B. 1979 in Rochester, NY; studied at Roberts Wesleyan in Rochester, then at New England Conservatory in Boston (ah, finally found the inevitable George Garzone reference). Has two previous bear-themed albums on his website, all attributed to the Group, which started as a trio then added a bassist. Current lineup: Chris Hersch (guitar), Jason Davis (bass), Rick Landwehr (drums). He calls this "folk jazz" and cites Steve Reich's minimalism as an influence. Repetitive patterns slide around the guitar, with even the alto sax pitched about as high as it can go. B+(***)
7. Sarah Bernstein: Unearthish (2010 [2011], Page Frame Music): Violinist, based in Brooklyn, seems to be her first album although she has a big role in Iron Dog's Field Recordings 1. Duo, with percussionist Satoshi Takeishi. More vocals here, things with sensible lyrics, more spoken than not, reminds one of Laurie Anderson -- of course, the violin tips that direction. B+(***)
8. Carlos Bica: Things About Carlos Bica & Azul (2011, Clean Feed): Title listed above artist name, so it can flow as one, even into the smaller print "featuring Frank Möbus and Jim Black" (guitar and drums). Bica is a bassist, from Portugal, has at least seven going back to his 1996 album Azul (with Möbus, Black, and a couple guests -- and there seem to be a couple more Azul albums in the meantime. Möbus has a record/group called Der Rote Bereich -- AMG shows one album, but his website lists six. He's a disarmingly unfancy player, so it takes a while to sink in how charming he is. And it's good not to overwhelm the bassist, who has plenty to contribute on his own. B+(***)
9. Ran Blake/Dominique Eade: Whirlpool (2004-08 [2011], Jazz Project): Piano-voice duets. Blake cut his first album in 1961, calling it The Newest Sound Around, and has thirty-some records since, most either solo piano or duets with vocalists (most notably Jeanne Lee; recently with Christine Correa and Sara Serpa). Eade was b. 1958 in England, met Blake when she studied at New England Conservatory. She has six albums since 1992 (counting this one). Her voice is right on target, so clear it needs little dressing, and Blake makes more out of less as well as anyone. B+(***)
10. Anthony Branker & Word Play: Dialogic (2011, Origin): Composer/music director, originally a trumpet player, b. 1958, graduated from and teaches at Princeton. Third album using this role/methodology -- has an earlier record as Tony Branker. All interesting postbop directions, but this one is the most straightforward: basically an old-fashioned sax-piano-bass-drums quartet, with Ralph Bowen, Jim Ridl, Kenny Davis, and Adam Cruz. Can't fathom how the dialectics of Mikhail Bakhtin inspired this, or why the all-instrumental group is called Word Play, but that's largely because the music is so satisfying we're left with few questions. B+(***)
11. The Dave Brubeck Quartet: Last Time Out: December 26, 1967 (1967 [2011], Columbia/Legacy, 2CD): Unofficial tape, probably off the soundboard, found in a closet and dusted off. Brubeck had announced his brief retirement to start at the end of 1967, but in most regards this just extended the hundred-plus concerts the Quartet had given during the year. A long running, immensely popular group, With Paul Desmond, the alto saxophonist who had given the Quartet its signature sound since 1951, drummer Joe Morello and bassist Eugene Wright, who had joined in 1956 and 1958 respectively. Lots of interesting stuff, ending in a "Take Five" that leaps right off the stage. B+(***)
12. Bryan and the Haggards: Still Alive and Kickin' Down the Walls (2011, Hot Cup): Second group album, not what I'd call enough longevity to justify the title. Two saxophonists -- Bryan Murray and Jon Irabagon, doubling up on tin whistle and penny whistle respectively -- plus John Lundbom on guitar (and banjo), Moppa Elliott on bass, and Danny Fischer on drums. Six songs written by Merle Haggard, plus two he's sung a lot ("San Antonio Rose" and "Sing a Sad Song"), with avant vamps -- the opening "Ramblin' Fever" is a real workout; great shtick, but "If We Make It Through December" gets stuck on Irabagon's clarinet and wobbles on for 10:05, making one doubt that we will. B+(***)
13. Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet: Apparent Distance (2011, Firehouse 12): Cornet player, has been popping up all over the place recently, but claims this as his "primary working ensemble." There's a lot to like about the group -- Jim Hobbs (alto sax), Bill Lowe (bass trombone, tuba), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Ken Filiano (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums) -- not least its extreme range and diversity (almost to the point of divisiveness). Yet even though the pieces fit together uncomfortably, neither of the most exposive players (Hobbs, Halvorson) break out -- most likely the gravity exuded by Filiano and (especially) Lowe keeps them in orbit. B+(***)
14. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Alexey Lapin: All Out (2011, FMR): Alto sax-drums-piano trio, the first two long-time chums from Quebec, Lapin a Russian pianist who joined them for a slightly earlier album on Leo, Inner Spire. The two records are roughly equivalent: open-ended free improvs, more group than individuals, the piano adding something but rarely distinctive. B+(***)
15. James Carter Organ Trio: At the Crossroads (2011, Emarcy): With Gerald Gibbs on organ and Leonard King, Jr. on drums, plus others as the opportunity arrises: trumpeter Keyon Harrold (3 tracks), guitarists Bruce Edwards or Brandon Ross (3 tracks each), vocalist Miche Braden (2 cuts; King sings a third). Carter plays soprano sax (1 cut), baritone (3), alto (4), and tenor (7 cuts, 2 of those also on baritone). Gibbs and King wrote one piece each; otherwise all covers, only Ellington's "Come Sunday" (leading into trad's "Tis the Old Ship of Zion" for a little sacred mystique) done much; and while Jack McDuff's "Walking the Dog" is the real spiritual center here, Carter also takes his blues refracted through Julius Hemphill and Ronald Shannon Jackson. Braden's boisterous vocal on "The Walking Blues" comes as a surprise four cuts in, then no more vocals until the gospel sideline at 10-11. Nothing wrong with the vocals -- more wouldn't have been unwelcome -- but what you really want to hear is the saxman busting loose, which doesn't happen often enough but is mighty wondrous when it does. A-
16. Brian Charette: Learning to Count (2009 [2011], SteepleChase): Organ player, fourth album since 2000 (according to AMG and his website, although the latter doesn't list them, and the former doesn't include one I've heard from 2008 (Missing Floor) and a newer Music for Organ Sextette that I have a CDR of. This is a trio, with Mike DiRubbo on alto sax and Jochen Rückert on drums -- same idea as DiRubbo's Chronos earlier this year (which had Rudy Royston on drums), the writing credits favoring the leader in both cases (with this one adding three covers: Wayne Shorter, John Lewis, Steve Winwood). DiRubbo's always a terrific mainstream player, so the main difference seems to be in the writing: Charette is wonderfully restrained, nudging the pieces forward without showboating let alone wallowing in soul jazz clichés. I hear a lot of organ records and usually wonder: why bother? This works. A-
17. Andrew Cyrille & Haitian Fascination: Route de Frères (2005 [2011], TUM): Drummer, b. 1939 in Brooklyn, parents (mother at least) from Haiti; has a couple dozen records since 1971 as leader, well over 100 side credits (The Hawk Relaxes seems to have been his first, but more typical was his work in Cecil Taylor's late-1960s groups). The Haitian connection here includes guitarist Alix Pascal and percussionist Frisner Agustin. The others are Lisle Atkinson on bass and Hamiett Bluiett on baritone sax: the latter's gruff but muffled sound is crucial, with everyone else just adding to the seduction. A-
18. Roger Davidson Quintet: Brazilian Love Song (2009 [2010], Soundbrush): Pianist, b. 1952 in France but grew up in New York; has 11 albums since 2000's Mango Tango, all keyed to Latin rhythms, the majority Brazilian. Silly of me to have ignored this for a year now -- the title on the spine, the cartoonish cover in the Brazilian national colors, the "30 years of Brazilian music" blurb seemed unappealing, but the fine print suggests otherwise: Davidson (whose name isn't visible on the spine) himself has been more and more impressive each time out, well on his way to becoming a Latin pianist-of-all-trades like Dick Hyman. Also turns out that instead of recycling moldy bossa novas, he composed all the music -- dating some pieces as far back as 1978, so he's recycling his files. Also Pablo Aslan produced -- the Argentine bassist, I've never seen him associated with a dud project yet. The Quintet is Brazilian where it counts -- Paulo Braga on drums and Marivaldo Dos Santos on percussion -- and Aaron Heick's sax doesn't let anyone get too laid back. A-
19. Dead Cat Dance: Chance Episodes (2010 [2011], Cuneiform): Basically, a saxophone quartet (Matt Steckler, Jared Sims, Terry Goss, Charlie Kohlhase) plus bass (Dave Ambrosio) and drums (Bill Carbone). Fourth album since 1998. The quartet are just creditd with saxophones and woodwinds, and I don't know them well enough to pick them out from the photo (except that I figure Kohlhase for the baritone). Steckler wrote all the pieces, liner notes too. I've always had problems with the monophonic tones and limited harmonics of sax quartets, but the bass seems to tie them all together, as well as pick up the pace, and this group is really impressive when they pick up a full head of steam. B+(***)
20. Armen Donelian: Leapfrog (2010 [2011], Sunnyside): Pianist, b. 1950 in New York, parents Armenian, his father barely escaping from the massacres in Ottoman Turkey. Has a dozen albums since 1980, a few more side credits, notably with Billy Harper and Mongo Santamaria. Postbop quintet with Marc Mommaas (tenor sax), Mike Moreno (guitar), Dean Johnson (bass), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums). Mommaas is a strong figure here, able both to slip in behind the piano and bull his way to the front. Still, the cut I like best is "Mexico" where he lays out, letting the guitar sway gently around the piano, a lush tropical breeze. B+(***)
21. Dave Douglas: Rare Metals [Greenleaf Portable Series Volume 1] (2011, Greenleaf Music): One of three new albums, each with different groups pursuing different facets of Douglas's art. This is Brass Ecstasy -- four brass horns, Vincent Chancey on French horn, Luis Bonilla on trombone, Marcus Rojas on tuba, and Douglas on trumpet, along with Nasheet Waits on drums. Third recent album by the group. Five originals, starting with a piece called "Town Hall" that brings the old brass band era back to life, but even more striking is the lone cover, a decidedly ascetic "Lush Life." B+(***)
22. Dave Douglas/So Percussion: Bad Mango [Greenleaf Portable Series Volume 3] (2011, Greenleaf Music): So Percussion is a quartet -- Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, Jason Treuting, and Eric Beach -- postclassical in orientation (Steve Reich's Drumming was their second album), although like Kronos Quartet they like to circulate. Ten or more albums since 2004. This is their most obvious jazz connection, and their group dynamics are so tight I'm tempted to call this a trumpet-percussion duo. Good spot for Douglas to let it fly, and the opening "One More News" makes good of that. B+(***)
23. Marty Ehrlich's Rites Quartet: Frog Leg Logic (2011, Clean Feed): Plays alto sax, soprano sax, and flute, leading a quartet with James Zollar (trumpet), Hank Roberts (cello), and Michael Sarin (drums). Strong interplay for most of the way -- the flute, of course, is the weak link. Zollar usually lurks in the background, but when he gets a solo shot he reminds you how underrated he is. B+(***)
24. Harris Eisenstadt: September Trio (2010 [2011], Clean Feed): Drummer, has tended lately to rig his records to emphasize his compositions rather than his position. Trio includes Ellery Eskelin (tenor sax) and Angelica Sanchez (piano), so this lacks the drive and connectivity that a bassist should add: it runs a bit slow, muted, but spacious. Been hearing a lot from Eskelin lately, and I'm afraid that I've fallen uncritically in love with all of it. The pianist holds up her end too. B+(***)
25. Amir ElSaffar Two Rivers Ensemble: Inana (2011, Pi): Trumpet player, b. 1977 in Chicago, father Iraqi, studied classical music at DePaul before wandering into jazz. Third album since 2003. Like several other prominent second generation hyphenated-Americans, he looks back to his ancestral land for a unique angle on jazz -- the two rivers, of course, the Tigris and Euphrates. Sextet mixes Arab classicists with avant-jazzbos -- Ole Mathisen (tenor/soprano sax), Zafer Tawil (oud, perussion), Tareq Abboushi (buzuq), Carlo DeRosa (bass), Nasheet Waits (drums) -- for a dense, somber sound. B+(***)
26. FAB Trio: History of Jazz in Reverse (2005 [2011], TUM): Name comes from a fortunate combination of initials: Joe Fonda (bass), Barry Altschul (drums), and Billy Bang (violin), whose death last year makes this all the more precious. Group did a previous album together, in 2003, Transforming the Space (CIMP) -- a record I like at least as much as this one. A-
27. Agustí Fernández: El Laberint de la Memória (2010 [2011], Mbari Musica): Pianist, b. 1954 in Spain; AMG credits him with 12 albums, Discogs with 24, his own website claims 50 but doesn't list that many -- earliest one listed is 1987. This would be his eighth solo album, with a large percentage of the rest duos. Nothing fancy here, but every step seems meticulously thought out, precise and evocative. B+(***)
28. Joe Fiedler Trio: Sacred Chrome Orb (2011, Yellow Sound Label): Trombonist, based in New York (since 1993), fourth album since 2005. First was a daunting tribute, Plays the Music of Albert Mangelsdorff. This is a trio with John Hebert and Michael Sarin, the sort of thing that puts the horn constantly on the spot. And he proves to be as inventive as his German mentor, while avoiding the squawk and whine that suggested to me horses being slaughtered. A-
29. Erik Friedlander: Bonebridge (2011, Skipstone): Cellist, more than a dozen albums since 1995; not sure that you can find anyone else in jazz history who's done more notable music with the instrument. Inevitably, cello suggests chamber music, with a focus on composition feathered out with multiple strings, which is what you get here with: Doug Wamble (guitar), Trevor Dunn (bass), and Mike Sarin (drums). B+(***)
30. Dennis González/João Paulo: So Soft Yet (2010 [2011], Clean Feed): Duets, González on trumpet and cornet, Paulo (full name: João Paulo Esteves Da Silva) on acoustic and electric piano, also accordion. They did this once before, in 2009's Scape Grace, but this works better, partly because Paulo's rotation keeps it from settling into a rut, but mostly charm and intimacy. B+(***)
31. Eric Harland: Voyager: Live by Night (2008 [2011], Sunnyside): Drummer, b. 1978, first album under his own name (looks like it was originally released in 2010 on Space Time in France; Sunnyside picks a lot of its records off French labels), but has a long list of credits since 1997. He wrote all but the last two pieces here: one by Sam Rivers, and a four-part thing by pianist Taylor Eigsti. Band includes Walter Smith III (tenor sax), Julian Lage (guitar), Eigsti (piano), and Harish Raghavan (bass). Lage is often dazzling, and Smith has a standout night. Drummer too. B+(***)
32. Roy Haynes: Roy-Alty (2011, Dreyfus): Drummer, not of the first generation of bebop drummers but came hot on their heels with a Zelig-like knack for being everywhere you'd want to be: with Lester Young at the Royal Roost in 1948, with Charlie Parker at St. Nick's in 1951, with Bud Powell and Stan Getz and Wardell Gray and Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins -- all by 1955; with Sarah Vaughan at Mister Kelly's in 1957, with Thelonious Monk at the Five Spot in 1958, on Introducing Nat Adderley. Eventually he went on to cut 30-some albums under his own name, winning Downbeat polls in categories like Jazz Artist of the Year. He'd be considered a grey eminence now, except he keeps his pate shaved and no one in history ever has looked more fit at 86. Roy Hargrove and Chick Corea get a "featuring" sticker. The booklet also spotlights what he calls the Fountain of Youth Band: Jaleel Shaw (alto sax), Martin Bejerano (piano), and David Wong (bass). Not sure if Corea plays beyond his two featured spots. Hargrove is featured on 6 of 10 tracks, Shaw is impressive throughout, and the closer (McCoy Tyner's "Passion Dance") adds Marcus Strickland for a blow out. Presumably it's Haynes talking the intro to "Tin Tin Deo" (with Roberto Quintero's extra percussion) -- who else can plausibly claim to have discovered Chano Pozo? Big, bright, a celebration. B+(***)
33. Kieran Hebden/Steve Reid/Mats Gustafsson: Live at the South Bank (2009 [2011], Smalltown Superjazz, 2CD): Hebden does laptronica under the name Four Tet, and is something of a star as those things go. Somehow he hooked up with Reid -- a drummer, had a couple of obscure but quite good 1970s avant records, plus a resume that includes Motown, James Brown, and Fela Kuti; sadly, Reid died in 2010, a couple years into a very productive comeback. Gustafsson is a Norwegian saxophonist -- plays tenor and baritone, not specified which here but sounds like mostly bari -- has a group called the Thing, plays a lot with Ken Vandermark and a little with Sonic Youth. He can be unbearably noisy, but holds to an interesting range here, adding soulful depth to the blips and beats. Length 82:55. A-
34. Gerry Hemingway Quintet: Riptide (2009 [2011], Clean Feed): Drummer-led quintet, with Oscar Noriega (alto sax, clarinet, bass clarinet), Ellery Eskelin (tenor sax), Terrence McManus (guitar), Kermit Driscoll (acoustic bass, electric bass guitar). I assumed this would flesh out Hemingway's superb duos with Eskelin and McManus so I latched onto their flights, but if anything this is more tightly bound to the beat -- deliriously so in the reggae-inspired "Backabacka" but also in the slower, more muted pieces that preceded it, seeming to draw the record down when really they were setting it up. A-
35. Julius Hemphill/Peter Kowald: Live at Kassiopeia (1987 [2011], NoBusiness, 2CD): New old music from two dead guys, likely to be missed if you have any idea who they are, and all the more poignant for being so intimate. Kowald is the German bassist of the 20th century, always intriguing, not least solo -- his solo Was Da Ist is a Penguin Guide crown album. Hemphill was an alto saxophonist, best known for his harmonic explorations with the World Saxophone Quartet and Five Chord Stud, which left him underappreciated as a solo player. First disc here is all solo: three 6-8 minute ones by Hemphill, a 32:20 by Kowald. They feel like studies, something slightly above practice, nice examples of each one's art. Second disc brings them together in three duos, where they start out distinct and gradually merge. I'm sentimental enough to be tempted to rate this higher, but Hemphill plays a lot of soprano sax here, I haven't compared this to such similar fare as his duo Live in New York with cellist Abdul K. Wadud, and I'm unlikely to return to the solos -- although Kowald's is probably a better intro than the daunting Wa Das Ist. B+(***)
36. Ideal Bread: Transmit: Vol. 2 of the Music of Steve Lacy (2009 [2010], Cuneiform): Quartet: Josh Sinton (baritone sax), Kirk Knuffke (trumpet), Reuben Radding (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums). Sinton is the only one I don't run into often, but he's not a total stranger, and seems to be the leader here. Second group album. Transposing Lacy's soprano lines to baritone gives them a new feel, but nothing with Lacy is ever overly familiar, so this feels fresh all over. A-
37. Mikko Innanen & Innkvisitio: Clustrophy (2009 [2011], TUM): Saxophonist (alto, baritone, soprano), b. 1978 in Lapinjärvi, Finland. I count six albums with his name up front since 2006, plus group albums with Gourmet, Delirium, and Triot (Sudden Happiness was a Jazz CG pick in 2004). Three reed players here -- Innanen, Fredrik Ljungkvist, and Daniel Erdmann, playing various saxes, clarinets, and toy versions thereof. At center is Seppo Kantonen on synth, much splashier than electric piano or organ, plus there's Joonas Riippa on drums and, going along with the toy fascination, pocket trumpet. The splattershot noise gives you a quick jolt, especially right out of the box. Doesn't all live up to that, but breaks out in entertaining ways. B+(***)
38. Darius Jones: Big Gurl (Smell My Dream) (2011, AUM Fidelity): Alto saxophonist, second trio album, this one with Adam Lane (bass) and Jason Nazary (drums), which seem to be his forte -- much more impressive than his duo with Matthew Shipp, let alone his Little Women group album. Intense, passionate free sax, although he's also expressive when he slows down. Dedicates this to George Clinton, but you won't find much on the one. A-
39. Dave King Trucking Company: Good Old Light (2011, Sunnyside): Drummer, best known in the Bad Plus piano trio, but also in the notable Minneapolis group, Happy Apple. Second album with his name up front, the first his Indelicate solo, this very much a group album: Chris Speed and Brandon Wozniak on tenor sax, Erik Fratzke (of Happy Apple) on electric guitar, and Adam Linz on upright bass. Densely rhythmic and upbeat -- reminds me a bit of Claudia Quintet (with Speed) only in a deeper groove. B+(***)
40. Lisa Kirchner: Something to Sing About (2010 [2011], Albany): Singer; website says songwriter (1 song plus some lyrics here), and actress (evidently some theatre and TV, but nothing in IMDB). Describes father as "a contemporary classical composer, conductor and pianist" -- must be Leon Kirchner (1919-2009) -- and mother as "a coloratura soprano who had performed classical lieder and show tunes in New York supper clubs." One cached broken link identifies a Lisa (Beth) Kirchner as b. 1953 in Los Angeles, which is possibly right. Fourth album since 2000. Don't know about the others, but aside for her one original, the other seventeen songs here start with music from a recent classical composer -- Charles Ives is the oldest by far, followed by Aaron Copland, with Wynton Marsalis the youngest (again, by far; I'd have to go back and recheck to be sure, but William Schimmel, b. 1946, who also plays accordion here, is probably second-youngest). Some pieces came with lyrics, but for most of them she adds a found text -- William Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll, and K.D. Lang are some sources I recognize -- or writes her own. The band usually includes Sherman Irby (alto sax, flute), Schimmel (accordion), Joel Fan or Xavier Davis (piano), Dwayne Burno or Vicente Archer (bass), Ron Jackson (guitar), and Willie Jones III (drums). Described like that, I don't see how this can possibly work, yet it does. The songs have no whiff of aria or lieder, the voice is on the sly side real divas never entertain, the band evens out the rough edges, with Schimmel's accordion nudging the songs into shape and Irby a delight. B+(***)
41. The Landrus Kaleidoscope: Capsule (2010 [2011], BlueLand): Brian Landrus, b. 1978, plays baritone sax, bass clarinet, bass flute, has a couple previous records: the first on Cadence planted him in free jazz territory, but two on Blueland have backed off. This one is effectively a quiet storm outing, lots of soft low sounds with swooning guitar (Nir Felder), backed with keyb (Michael Cain), acoustic bass (Matthew Parish), and drums (Rudy Royston). B+(***)
42. Jeff Lederer: Sunwatcher (2010 [2011], Jazzheads): Saxophonist (tenor, soprano, clarinet), name I recognize (looks like mostly from Matt Wilson records, although I see a couple others in his credits list), first album. Quartet with Jamie Saft (piano, organ), Buster Williams (bass), and Matt Wilson (drums). Wrote 5 of 8, covering Duke Pearson, Paul Bley, and trad. ("Break Bread Together"). Charges hard from the box and bowls you over in that mode, hard to resist. Less so the softer horns and slower stuff, but the band is so good they keep him together even there. B+(***)
43. Charles Lloyd Quartet with Maria Farantouri: Athens Concert (2010 [2011], ECM, 2CD): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1938, built both a popular and critical rep in the late 1960s with a group that introduced Keith Jarrett. Nothing in my database for him from 1969-89 when ECM picked him up -- AMG lists 9 records 1970-83, two with four stars, most with two, and has an empty gap from 1983-89. Since joining ECM he's been on a roll, especially lately with this quartet: Jason Moran (piano), Reuben Rogers (bass), Eric Harland (drums). Farantouri is a Greek vocalist, b. 1947, has 30 or more albums, and a political record that sent her into exile during the military coup years -- I've seen reference to her as the "Joan Baez of Greece" but caution against taking that seriously. Live concert, spread over two discs. Took me a while to acclimate to her voice, which is deep and striking (the Greek Abbey Lincoln?). A couple instrumentals let the band shine on the first disc, but by the second it all meshes. A-
44. Luis Lopes: Lisbon Berlin Trio (2011, Clean Feed): Guitarist, from Portugal, has a couple records under his own name, more as Afterfall and Humanization 4tet, and he's shown up on the side of other very solid records. Everything he does is worthwhile, but he's mostly complemented saxophonists (like Rodrigo Amado) -- his 2009 trio What Is When seemed like a bit less, but this trio with Robert Landferman on bass and Christian Lilinger on drums settles it. His use of feedback gives this an extra charge. Also, Lilinger does exactly what you want in a free drummer. A-
45. Allen Lowe: Blues and the Empirical Truth (2009-11 [2011], Music & Arts, 3CD): Probably better known for his books and compilations -- the 9-CD American Pop: An Audio History From Minstrel to Mojo and the 36-CD That Devilin' Tune: A Jazz History plus their separately published books, with a new 36-CD blues series in the works -- than for his original music. I first discovered him when Francis Davis tabbed his first two self-released 1990-92 albums as Pick Hits in an earlier edition of Jazz Consumer Guide -- critical admiration that continues as Davis wrote liner notes for this release. Based in Maine, mostly cut with a local group occasionally spiced with outside star power -- Marc Ribot, Matthew Shipp, Roswell Rudd, Lewis Porter -- this digs deeper than I could have imagined into blues form, blues notes, and blues psyche, turning every aspect over and inside out. Lowe plays alto, C melody, and tenor sax, and guitar. While most of the guitar is played by Ray Suhy or Marc Ribot, Lowe especially stands out on "Williamsburg Blues" -- his guitar with Shipp's piano. Three discs means some sprawl, comparable I'd say to 69 Love Songs in that neither the theme nor the invention ever wears thin. (Well, maybe a bit in the middle disc.) A-
46. Rudresh Mahanthappa: Samdhi (2008 [2011], ACT): Alto saxophonist, grew up in US, picked up his Indian roots on the rebound, as is so often the case. Cites Charlie Parker as influence, of course, but also Grover Washington, David Sanborn, the Brecker Brothers, and the Yellowjackets -- guess you had to be there, but he does try to fold his more complex ideas back into neatly accessible packages. Also credited with laptop here. Band includes electric guitar, electric bass, and drums, giving him a slicked back fusion sound, but also "Anand" Anantha Krishnan on mridangam and kanjira, reminding you how he's different. A-
47. Mambo Legends Orchestra: ¡Ten Cuidao! Watch Out! (2011, Zoho, 2CD): Mostly long-time veterans of Tito Puente's big band -- John Rodriguez, Jose Madera, Mitch Frohman, Frankie Vazquez, Cita Rodriguez, Marco Bermudez are singled out on the back cover. Lots of punch in the horns, rhythm up the wazoo, Vazquez's vocals. It's a bit much by the end, but quite a thrill along the way. B+(***)
48. Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton: Play the Blues: Live From Jazz at Lincoln Center (2011, Reprise, CD+DVD): The guitarist picked the tunes, anticipating that this would turn out to be a jazz album based on blues rather than a blues album with some extra horns. I suspect his early exposure was to British trad stalwarts -- Chris Barber, Ken Colyer, Humphrey Lyttelton and their kin -- although he's enough of an Americaphile that he must know when he's treading on Louis Armstrong, and maybe even George Lewis. Marsalis arranged the pieces and went for a King Oliver front line -- two trumpets (Marcus Printup), trombone (Chris Crenshaw), clarinet (Victor Goines) -- forgoing the tuba for Carlos Henriquez's bass, adding Don Vappie's banjo, Dan Nimmer on piano, and Ali Jackson on drums and washboard. Clapton, in turn, brought along his old keyb player, Chris Stainton. Clapton has often been nicked for his lack of blues voice, but he's plenty strong here -- while managing to duck the last three songs, one going to Crenshaw, the last two to guest Taj Mahal. Can't claim that the DVD is worth the extra $6-9 it will cost you: it's a straight concert film, a bit more patter and some shots of rehearsing, all of which helps. A-
49. Pat Martino: Undeniable: Live at Blues Alley (2009 [2011], High Note): Guitarist, b. Pat Azzara in Philadelphia 1944; cut mostly soul jazz albums 1966-76; suffered a brain aneurysm which caused amnesia, but was able to cut an album again in 1987 and has worked steadily since 1994. I've rarely been impressed by his return -- great story, of course, wish him well and all -- but this one seems to be his calling: an organ quartet, with Tony Monaco on the Hammond, Eric Alexander on tenor sax, and Jeff Watts on drums. Monaco could be a little less soupy, and Alexander could be more boisterous, but the guitarist is always at the top of his game. B+(***)
50. Nilson Matta & Roni Ben-Hur: Mojave (2011, Motéma): Brazilian bassist and Israeli guitarist, both New York based, both with such substantial discographies I won't bother looking them up. In smaller front cover print: Victor Lewis (drums) and Café (percussion) -- don't know the latter but he's invaluable here. Mostly a Brazilian program (Jobim, Pixinginha, Baden Powell) with two pieces by Ben-Hur, two by Matta, one by Lewis, one by Burt Bacharach. Nice to focus on Matta's bass for once, the guitar adding tasteful highlights and a little icing. B+(***)
51. Joe McPhee/Michael Zerang: Creole Gardens (A New Orleans Song) (2009 [2011], NoBusiness): Another case where one's reaction to the Katrina catastrophe was to keep doing what one does anyway, although one could credit the tragedy with moderating McPhee, keeping his tone in check, somber and studied. He is brilliant both on alto sax and pocket trumpet. Zerang drums along, accenting and encouraging, doing all he needs to do. A-
52. Brad Mehldau & Kevin Hays: Modern Music (2011, Nonesuch): Piano duo, actually just the front men appearing above the title for Patrick Zimmerli, below the title and "composed and arranged by" but in larger type. Zimmerli is a saxophonist, b. 1968, has five albums from 1998 (six if you count this one). He been working the boundaries between jazz and classical, and has a number of compositions commissioned for classical groups. Here he wrote 4 of 9 pieces, arranged an original each by Mehldau and Hays, plus ones by Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Ornette Coleman. B+(***)
53. Yoko Miwa Trio: Live at Scullers Jazz Club (2010 [2011], self-released): Pianist, b. 1970 in Kobe, Japan; moved to US in 1996 with a Berklee scholarship. Fourth album since 2001, a trio with Greg Loughman on bass and Scott Goulding on drums. Three originals, five covers starting with "This Could Be the Start of Something" and including Lou Reed's "Who Loves the Sun." Most convincing at high speed -- dazzling might be the word. B+(***)
54. Nils Petter Molvaer: Baboon Moon (2011, Thirsty Ear): Trumpet player, from Norway, started out in Masqualero with Arild Andersen, emerged under his own name on a couple albums on ECM with drum machines: the first flush of what came to be called jazztronica, which led to a merger with Matthew Shipp's jazz-DJ synthesis label. Erland Dahlen handles the percussion this time, favoring log drums and steel drums over electronics, with Stian Westerhus plugging his guitars, keybs, pedals, and toys in -- all fitting background for Molvaer's trumpet, but it mostly leans atmospheric. Exception is "Recoil," which cranks up the volume for a rush of intensity. B+(***) [advance]
55. David Murray Cuban Ensemble: Plays Nat King Cole: En Español (2010 [2011], Motéma): More inspired by than based on Cole's 1958-62 Spanish-language records, En Español and More En Español. Cole took backing tracks from a small Cuban group and dubbed in his sweet vocals -- one story is that the 1958 revolution prevented him from finishing the album in Havana. Murray is at least equally circuitous, recording his Cuban band in Buenos Aires with tango singer Daniel Melingo -- as rough as Cole is smooth -- then dubbing in strings in Portugal, mixing the album in France, and mastering it in the UK. Even with Melingo on board, the vocals are trimmed way back, leaving more room for the sax, as imposing as ever. A-
56. Nanette Natal: Sweet Summer Blue (2011, Benyo Music): Singer, plays some acoustic guitar, b. 1945 in Brooklyn, eighth album since 1971. Not much band here -- a lead guitarist, bass, drums, and violin, but mostly they stay quiet. She tones her technique down quite a bit too: could pass for a folksinger here, earnest and credible, such a strong, distinctive singer she no longer needs to flaunt it. B+(***)
57. Nordeson Shelton: Incline (2011, Singlespeed Music): Alto sax-drums duo -- drums by Kjell Nordeson, sax by Aram Shelton. Shelton passed through Chicago on his way to his current base in Oakland, which sharpened his instincts for developing a distinct tone and style, but that's never been more clear than in this basic context. Nordeson's credits include Mats Gustafsson (AALY Trio) and Paul Rutherford, Atomic and Exploding Customer. B+(***)
58. Sean Nowell: Stockholm Swingin' (2010 [2011], Posi-Tone): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1973, third album, cut live at the Glenn Miller Café in Stockholm with what appears to be a local crew: Fredrik Olsson (guitar), Leo Lindberg (piano), Lars Ekman (bass), and Joe Abba (drums), with three tunes credited to the band members, one to Nowell, one Swedish trad, plus Ellington, Strayhorn, and Tyner. Nowell is a mainstream guy who flexes a lot of muscle, turning this into a high speed, high volume romp. B+(***)
59. Michael Pedicin: Ballads . . . Searching for Peace (2011, Jazz Hut): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1947, from Philadelphia, father played sax on some early rock and roll records in the 1950s. Tenth album, cites Coltrane for his ballad style, comes out strong and clear and preternaturally calm. With John Valentino on guitar, alternating pianists (Barry Miles and Andy Lalasis), bass and drums. B+(***)
60. Houston Person: So Nice (2011, HighNote): Hard to think of any tenor saxophonists who have aged so gracefully. Age 76 when this was cut. Interesting that he's added a couple Arbors artists to sit in on a few tracks: Warren Vaché (4 cuts, including first three) and Howard Alden (5 cuts, including first two). They help, and I'd love to hear Person and Vaché cover a full album, but the really nice stuff is when they drop down to a quartet -- John Di Martino (piano), Ray Drummond (bass), Lewis Nash (drums). B+(***)
61. Sonny Rollins: Road Shows Vol. 2 (2010 [2011], Doxy/Emarcy): First volume seemed archival, spanning 28 years with scattered groups, not that the tenor sax changed much over time. This one sticks with three recent concerts, pulling one cut from each of two October, 2010 shows to sandwich four cuts from Rollins' 80th birthday bash on Sept. 10, 2010. The party cuts shuttled guest stars in and out: Christian McBride, Roy Haynes, Jim Hall (one cut with Rollins introducing but laying out), Ornette Coleman (also one cut, introduced enigmatically), and Roy Hargrove (two cuts). I'm tempted to complain about the talk, but he's always gracious, presumably even more so in his Japanese during the closer ("St. Thomas" -- only thing wrong there is that at 2:50 it's way too short). Also about dilution, but Hargrove makes a fine foil for "Rain Check," and I've yet to fully puzzle out Coleman's solo. But why complain? As Rollins himself said of Coleman Hawkins, it's impossible to think of him without feeling joy. A-
62. Daniel Rosenthal: Lines (2010 [2011], American Melody): Trumpet player, based in Boston, studied with Steve Lacy at New England Conservatory, has played in Either/Orchestra since 2006 (which got him in on their Ethiopian kick). First album. Mostly a two-horn quartet, with Rick Stone's alto sax slipping and sliding around him, cutting a clean harmonic path. Four tracks add Wes Corbett on banjo -- the closer, "Standing," is mostly just the two of them, and especially striking. B+(***)
63. Ted Rosenthal: Out of This World (2010 [2011], Playscape): Pianist, b. 1959, one of those names I recognize from Concord's Maybeck Recital Hall Series but never bothered to investigate further. Fourteenth album since 1989, a trio with Noriko Ueda on bass and Quincy Davis on drums, all standards, all ones I should know instantly but are reworked so thoroughly I only catch occasional glimpses. Jumps right at you from the git go; even when they slow down you're never quite sure what they're up to. In short, the sort of invention you rarely find in a piano trio, where everything old is new again. A-
64. John Scofield: A Moment's Peace (2011, Emarcy): Guitarist, was a key figure in the 1980s and up through Groove Elation and Quiet in 1994-96 with his fluid style and fascination with funk grooves, but hasn't done much of interest since. This is a back-to-basics quartet, with Larry Goldings on piano and organ, Scott Colley on bass, and Brian Blade on drums. Temper changes depending on Goldings' keyboard choice, but that highlights both sides of Scofield's style. His best album since his heyday: had it come out in 1998 we might complain that he's slowing down, but now it feels like a welcome second breath. B+(***)
65. Karl Seglem: Ossicles (2005-10 [2011], Ozella): Tenor saxophonist, from Norway, 27th album since 1988 (AMG lists 15; also misspells his name two different ways in their brief bio). Draws on folk sources, playing against hardanger fiddle, incorporating various goat horns (one credit for antilope horn [sic?]), with a bit of African mbira. B+(***)
66. SFE: Positions & Descriptions: Simon H. Fell Composition No. 75 (2011, Clean Feed): Not sure what SFE stands for -- Simon Fell Ensemble? (Having a bad eye day, and the microprint on the foldout is all blurred.) Fell is a bassist, b. 1959 in England, has a couple dozen albums since 1985, some dedicated to numbered compositions. He's someone anyone who's spent much time perusing The Penguin Guide will know about, but this is the first of his records I've actually come across. Group has 15 members plus conductor Clark Rundell, offering a bit of everything: flute, two clarinets, alto and bari sax, trumpet, tuned percussion, harps, piano, guitar, violin, theremin, bass, drums, electronics. Wish I had a better sense of how this fits in. Doesn't strike me as cluttered or chaotic, but sure is complex. B+(***)
67. Side A: A New Margin (2010 [2011], Clean Feed): Free jazz trio: Ken Vandermark (tenor sax, clarinet), Håvard Wiik (piano), Chad Taylor (drums). First group album, although Wiik is in Vandermark's Jimmy Giuffre-inspired Free Fall group and they have five or so albums together, and Taylor has been bouncing around Chicago's underground long enough he must have bumped into Vandermark somewhere. Writing credits are evenly distributed. Given recording date omits year, but the most likely October is last year. Vandermark takes a clarinet feature with remarkable grace and poise, but he mostly races through fast changes, loud and rough yet they seem remarkably complete and coherent. A-
68. Wadada Leo Smith's Mbira: Dark Lady of the Sonnets (2007 [2011], TUM): For such an uncompromising avant-gardist, Smith has been remarkably catholic recently, working in all sorts of combos and forms. No mbira here (although it's a song title): trio consists of Min Xiao-Fen, from Nanjing, China, who plays pipa, and Pheroan akLaff on drums. Min has several albums -- traditional Chinese and classical, I gather. She provides an exotic twist here, but doesn't settle into a consistent role, so she mostly serves to set Smith off. B+(***)
69. Tyshawn Sorey: Oblique - I (2011, Pi): Drummer, b. 1980, first caught my attention in bands with Vijay Iyer and/or Steve Lehman, especially Fieldwork. Released a composer's album in 2007, That/Not, which got a lot of attention (number two on Francis Davis's year-end list) -- I had to go to Rhapsody for a listen, was duly impressed, but couldn't spend much time with it. Between 2002-06 he composed a set of 41 compositions, ten of which appear here, in a quintet setting with Loren Stillman (alto sax), Todd Neufeld (guitar), John Escreet (keyboards), and Chris Tordini (bass). The pieces slip and slide around the free rhythm, not easy and never settling into any sort of norm. A-
70. Jason Stein Quartet: The Story This Time (2011, Delmark): Bass clarinetist, b. 1976 in Long Island, studied at Bennington (Charles Gayle, Milford Graves) and Michigan, wound up in Chicago where he hooked into one of Ken Vandermark's less successful projects (Bridge 61). Has three trio albums as Locksmith Isidore, each step showing growth, and a Solo that ain't bad for that sort of thing. Adds a second, sharper horn to get a quartet -- Keefe Jackson on tenor sax and contrabass clarinet -- along with Joshua Abrams on bass and Frank Rosaly on drums. The sax works with and against the bass clarinet. A-
71. Joan Stiles: Three Musicians (2011, Oo-Bla-Dee): The other two, their names flanking Stiles' somewhat less boldly, are saxophonist Joel Frahm (tenor, one cut on soprano) and drummer Matt Wilson. Stiles is a pianist, moved from classical to jazz in 1986 at Manhattan School of Music, and contiues to teach there and at the New School. Third album, the group here stripped down from the sextet she used on the remarkable Hurly Burly. Two originals, not counting "In the Sunshine of My Funny Valentine's Love" which is credited to Rodgers/Clapton/Bach. One from Mary Lou Williams, who is more than a research interest, followed by two Monks, which set up the remarkable interpolation of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?/Can't Buy Me Love." Frahm is superb, of course, in etching out the themes Stiles elaborates. B+(***)
72. Marcus Strickland: Triumph of the Heavy: Volume 1 & 2 (2011, Strick Muzik, 2CD): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1979, has consistently impressed at least since 2006 -- I haven't the two 2001-03 FSNTs, which AMG doesn't think much of -- always seeming on the edge of breaking something big wide open. I guess this is it: it's certainly big, with one trio disc -- the second, the Ben Williams on bass and twin brother E.J. Strickland on drums -- the other adding pianist David Bryant. The quartet is spread out a bit more, and thinner as Strickland switches to alto for 5 of 10 tracks, and soprano on three -- plays tenor on four, the main reason the totals don't add up is that he plays everything (including clarinet and bass clarinet) on "Virgo." Probably safe to rank him the best soprano among his generation of tenor players -- it seems like an organic extension of his tenor rather than something he copped from Coltrane or Shorter (or Marsalis or Potter). Still, the first disc won me over; the second just kicked my ass. A-
73. John Surman: Flashpoint: NDR Workshop - April '69 (1969 [2011], Cuneiform, 2CD): The middle of a very rich period for the 25-year-old soprano/baritone saxophonist, coming out of Mike Westbrook's group, leading The Trio (with Barre Phillips and Stu Martin), his first album under his own name just out and his big band Tales of the Algonquin in the near future, and (this and) other projects falling through the cracks. His NDR workshop assembled four reeds (Surman, Alan Skidmore on tenor sax and flute, Ronnie Scott on tenor sax, Mike Osborne on alto sax), Kenny Wheeler (trumpet, flugelhorn), two trombones (Malcolm Griffiths and Eric Kleinschuefer), piano (Fritz Pauer), bass (Harry Miller), and drums (Alan Jackson). Five pieces: the two featuring Surman's soprano are irresistible vamps, as is the closer after they get past their everyone-raise-hell patch at the beginning. The slower pieces have more trouble gaining traction, although there are crackling solos here and there. The DVD is a straight b&w take of the album -- probably a rehearsal but close to the final mark. B+(***)
74. André Vasconcellos: 2 (2009 [2011], Adventure Music): Bassist, from Brazil; second album, following one in 2004 called Observatorio. Wrote 7 of 8 songs, the odd one out by guitarist Ricardo Vasconcellos (relationship undetermined). Mostly quintet, with tenor saxophonist Josue Lopez making a big impression, Allen Pontes on drums, David Feldman or Renato Fonseca on piano, Ricardo Vasconcellos or Torcuato Mariano on guitar. Strong pulse from the bass driving the flow, prime solo spots on piano and guitar. No samba, no choro, more like postbop but organic. B+(***)
75. Vicious World: Plays the Music of Rufus Wainwright (2010 [2011], Spinaround): Leaders of this project are saxophonist Aaron Irwin (b. 1978 in Decatur, IL; has a couple FSNT albums; arranged 7 of 11 songs here) and trombonist Matthew McDonald (no idea; arranged the other 4 songs). The group also includes guitar (Sebastian Noelle), bass (Thomson Kneeland), drums (Danny Fischer), violin (Eliza Cho), and cello (Maria Jeffers). I know a great deal about Wainwright's parents, all the way down to "Rufus Is a Tit Man," but virtually nothing of his own music: tried his first album and never went back. The rock rhythms are straightforward, the guitar and bass structural; the trombone makes an especially adept lead instrument here, and the strings add essential texture. B+(***)
76. Larry Vuckovich: Somethin' Special (2011, Tetrachord): Pianist, b. 1936 in what was then Yugoslavia, moved to San Francisco in 1951 and developed a taste for bebop. A dozen albums since 1980. Plays two solos here, a couple of trio cuts, the rest adding Scott Hamilton and/or Noel Jewkes on tenor sax -- Jewkes takes one cut on his soprano. A fine pianist, and of course Hamilton is special. Don't know Jewkes, but aside from the soprano cut it isn't automatically clear where Hamilton leaves off and he picks up. B+(***)
77. Wellstone Conspiracy: Humble Origins (2010 [2011], Origin): Second album under this group name, although there was one previous listing out the four artists: Brent Jensen (soprano sax), Bill Anschell (piano), Jeff Johnson (bass), and John Bishop (drums). The first three write pieces: 5 for Anschell, 2 for Johnson, 1 for Jensen; the other is a Lennon-McCartney piece, "Fixing a Hole." Mainstream group, with Jensen continuing to impress on soprano, and everyone contributing to the seductive flow. B+(***)
78. Kenny Wheeler: One of Many (2006 [2011], CAM Jazz): With John Taylor and Steve Swallow, as the front cover notes, senior citizens of the avant-garde, taking it easy but not making it too easy. Wheeler plays flugelhorn the whole way, as has been his habit lately. Past 80 now, but this was done a few years back. B+(***)
79. Andrea Wolper: Parallel Lives (2011, Jazzed Media): Singer, AMG says b. 1950 (but I don't quite believe that), from California, based in New York, has three albums since 2005, two books (one called Women's Rights, Human Rights: International Feminist Perspectives). I had little to say about her previous album, but looking back at my notes I'm struck by the musicians she lined up -- Ron Affif on guitar, Victor Lewis on drums, Frank London on trumpet -- but this time even more so. In fact, her website has a daring quote from yours truly arguing that any album with bassist Ken Filiano and/or drummer Michael TA Thompson "is practically guaranteed to be superb." So she's hired Filiano and Thompson, added Kris Davis (whom I've praised repeatedly) on piano, and Michael Howell on guitar -- didn't know him, but he's a Kansas City guy, has a couple of long-forgotten 1970s records, was a sideman on Art Blakey's Buhaina and Dizzy Gillespie's Bahiana in 1973-75. She doesn't push this band very hard, but they are impossible to fault, with Howell proving to be a tasty soloist. Wolper wrote 3 of 12 songs, one more than Joni Mitchell, one from Buffy Sainte-Marie (maybe she is my age), only a couple safely wedged in the canonical songbook. Her originals are more interesting than the covers, and while she doesn't blow you away as a singer, she carries the songs. B+(***)
80. Hans Glawischnig: Jahira (2011 [2012], Sunnyside): Bassist -- cover pic shows him with a 4-string bass guitar, has a thick body like an acoustic but no hole in the middle. From Austria, b. 1970, third album since 2004, plus three dozen or more side credits, enough with Latin artists to peg him as a specialist (Miguel Zenón, David Sanchez, Ray Barretto, Dafnis Prieto, Luis Perdomo). This is a trio with saxophonist Samir Zafir (tenor, soprano) and drummer Eric Doob. You listen to the spare and elegant sax, but the bass is even more so. B+(***)
81. Edgar Knecht: Good Morning Lilofee (2009 [2011], Ozella): German pianist, first album as far as I can tell, a trio plus a couple of guests. Fast rhythm-based pieces, I gather 3/4 German dance tunes and 6/8 Afro-Cuban are the main ingredients. This kind of snappy piano work seems to be a European exclusive. Here everyone wants to be Bill Evans, but over there Esbjörn Svensson rools. B+(***)
82. Erik Charlston JazzBrasil: Essentially Hermeto (2010 [2011], Sunnyside): Plays vibraphone and marimba, leading a group with Ted Nash (saxes, flute, clarinet), Mark Soskin (piano), Jay Anderson (bass), Rogério Boccato (drums, percussion), and Café (more percussion). I don't have a sense of Charlston's discography, in part because AMG seems to have filed some of it elsewhere, but this is the only album mentioned on Charlston's website. Six (of eight) songs by Hermeto Pascoal. Nash is a constant delight here, a much better choice than the usual guitar would have been, but most of all the leader adds some extra bounce to a perfectly fine rhythm section. B+(***)
83. Ehud Asherie: Upper West Side (2009 [2012], Posi-Tone): Pianist, b. 1979, Israeli (as I recall; his Flash website crashed when I tried to look at it), based in New York; sixth album since 2007. This is a duo "with" tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, who gets smaller, skinny type on the front cover, but carries the standards set, especially from "Our Love Is Here to Stay" (fourth song) on. At times Asherie reminds me of one of those pianists who used to accompany silent films, but he keeps Allen moving, rarely finding a solo spot, as on "My Blue Heaven" where he raises Fats Domino to a higher energy orbit. A-
84. Doug Webb: Swing Shift (2009 [2012], Posi-Tone): Saxophonist, has done a lot of studio work but not much under his own name until he hooked up with this label. Quartet with piano, bass, and drums; three covers, three originals -- two co-credited to bassist Stanley Clarke, including one that stretches out to 22:22. Previously thought of him as a mainstream player, but this seems to be his Saxophone Colossus move. B+(***)
85. Talking Cows: Almost Human (2011 [2012], Morvin/Jazz Sick): Dutch group: Frans Vermeerssen (tenor sax), Robert Vermeulen (piano), Don Nijland (double bass), Yonga Sun (drums). Third album, following 2006's Bovinity and 2008's Dairy Tales. More mainstream than avant-garde, but their bright good humor links them to the pop side of perennial jokesters like Breuker and Mengelberg. B+(***)
86. Floratone: Floratone II (2012, Savoy Jazz): File under guitarist Bill Frisell. All of the pieces are group-credited, with Matt Chamberlain (drums), Lee Townsend, and Tucker Martine -- the latter two are credited with "production" which ranges from sax-sounding synths to electronic beats to other disturbances of the aether, but there are also guests to account for (notably Ron Miles' trumpet and Eyvind Kang's viola). B+(***)
87. Scott DuBois: Landscape Scripture (2011 [2012], Sunnyside): Guitarist, has a couple albums, notably Banshees (2008). Quartet, with Gebhard Ullmann (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Thomas Morgan (bass), and Kresten Osgood (drums). If I'm a bit more ambivalent about this one, it's probably because Ullmann, uncharacteristically, stays well within the lines. B+(***)
88. Vijay Iyer Trio: Accelerando (2011 [2012], ACT): From Iyer's liner notes: "today's context sounds like acceleration: rising inequality, populist revolution, economic crisis, climate change, moore's law, global connectivity. as the flow of information gets faster, denser and more intricately networked, our attention shifts to the larger forms, the slower tempos that gracefully evolve like the spiral arms of a hurricane." Some issues there: I'd say information is getting sucked into individual fractal wormholes, so the more you have the less good it does you, leading not to a bigger-picture view but to an ever tinier one. For that matter, those graceful slower tempos are less striking than the frenetic ones, but this piano trio is all about motion, not just speeding up and slowing down but dodging in and out. A-
89. Juhani Aaltonen and Heikki Sarmanto: Conversations (2010 [2012], TUM, 2CD): By no means the only important figures in Finnish jazz, but the tenor saxphonist and pianist, respectively, were its first notable figures, their ambitions announced in their early-1970s group the Serious Music Ensemble -- not that there wasn't a certain amount of joking even there. Sarmanto's early 1970s groups drove fusion to the edges of avant excess, while his 1990s UMO Orchestra placed bets on jazz tradition. With Sarmanto and on his own, Aaltonen has always offered a clear and eloquent voice. And while I'm actually an admirer of his albums with strings and his frequent forays into flute, I'm pleased to note that he sticks to tenor sax here, simply accompanied, as soulful as ever. A-
90. Kyle Bruckmann's Wrack: Cracked Refraction (2010 [2012], Porter): Oboe player, also English horn; b. 1971 in Danbury, CT ("hometown of Charles Ives"), studied at Rice and Michigan, moved to Chicago in 1996, on to Oakland in 2003. AMG lists eight records since 2000, not counting "the art-punk monstrosity" Lozenge (and who knows what else). Started avant-classical, moved into avant-jazz mostly in his Chicago phase which culminated in the album Wrack, with violist Jen Clare Paulson and drummer Tim Daisy both then and now, trombonist Jeb Bishop, and bassist Kurt Johnson. Here Anton Hatwich takes over the bass slot, and Jason Stein's bass clarinet supplants the trombone. A front line of oboe, bass clarinet, and viola may sound like a nice chamber group, but as Wrack they break into all sorts of odd fractures, refracted through the many antipodes of the group. B+(***)
91. Josh Ginsburg: Zembla Variations (2011 [2012], Bju'ecords): Bassist, first album, composed all eight pieces, then assembled a quartet that could not just play along but add something: Eli Degibri (tenor and soprano sax), George Colligan (piano, fender rhodes), and Rudy Royston (drums). Colligan is well established but rarely plays this fast and free on his own. Degibiri is a young Israeli with a couple of records, none this impressive. B+(***)
92. Tim Berne: Snakeoil (2011 [2012], ECM): Alto (and sometimes baritone) saxophonist, a protégé of Julius Hemphill, took some time finding himself but must now be considered a major figure. First album as a leader on ECM, although he's appeared as a key sideman a couple times, most notably on David Torn's Prezens (2007). Quartet with Oscar Noriega (clarinet, bass clarinet), Matt Mitchell (piano), and Ches Smith (drums, percussion) -- no bass (or guitar, the instrument of choice in Berne's trio). The horn interplay is complex, often scintillating. B+(***) [advance]
93. Michael Moore Quintet: Rotterdam (2008 [2011], Ramboy): With Eric Vloeimans' trumpet complementing the leader's clarinet and alto sax, Marc van Roon on piano, Paul Berner on bass, and Owen Hart, Jr., on drums. All Moore compositions, recorded live, runs 67:33. Has a light and playful air, the horn interplay developing into something remarkable. B+(***)
94. Michael Moore Quartet: Amsterdam (2010 [2011], Ramboy): Same lineup as the later Easter Sunday: Harmen Fraanja (piano), Clemens van der Feen (bass), Michael Vatcher (drums, saw, percussion). There are stretches where Moore's clarinet scales the heights so deftly that I find myself thinking this must be the pick of the litter. Then I wonder. B+(***)
95. Holshouser, Bennink & Moore: Live in NYC (2009 [2011], Ramboy): Accordion player Will Holshouser's name is spelled right on the front cover, but misspelled two different ways on the back. He's the bedrock here, with Michael Moore's reeds building on his tone, but the oustanding performance here is by drummer Han Bennink, whose rat-tat-tat sound distinct from the start and develops into a tour de force. A-
96. Available Jelly: Plushlok, Baarle-Nassau, Set 1 (2007 [2011], Ramboy): Michael Moore's longest-running group, dating back to an album of that name released in 1984. Moore writes most of the material -- 5 of 7 here, the covers a trad piece from Myanmar and a very striking "Isfahan" from Billy Strayhorn -- and releases it on his label. Sextet, with Tobias Delius (also of ICP) the second sax, Eric Boeren and Wolter Wierbos the brass, Ernst Glerum on bass, and Michael Vatcher on drums. The mischief is in the horns, flipping and flying in all sorts of directions, the harmony all the more humorous. A-
97. Available Jelly: Plushlok, Baarle-Nassau, Set 2 (2007 [2011], Ramboy): Could have been packaged into a 2-CD set in which case I'd just say, "more is more." Actually, the three Ellington covers had my hopes up, as did a closer called "Kwela for Taylor" (whoever that is), but the rowdiness level is down a bit. Terrific kwela, by the way. B+(***)
98. Matthew Shipp Trio: Elastic Aspects (2012, Thirsty Ear): Nominally a piano trio with Michael Bisio on bass and Whit Dickey on drums, although much of this is done solo, and a couple pieces feature Bisio solos -- deep arco things that contrast with the hard percussive piano spots. B+(***)
99. Jenny Scheinman: Mischief & Mayhem (2010 [2012], self-released): Violinist, has done striking work in the past and returns to form here. String-focused group, with Nels Cline on guitar, Todd Sickafoose on bass, and Jim Black on drums. Faster pieces take off, sometimes with bluegrass and sometimes with rock feel; slower ones open up and enjoy the atmosphere. A- [Rhapsody]
100. Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris/Gerald Cleaver: Family Ties (2011 [2012], Leo): Tenor saxophonist from Brazil, released a cluster of six albums a year or two ago to celebrate twenty years recording: he had to differentiate those, but here he's back to his core strength, blowing fierce free sax. The bassist and drummer create an energetic background, but the focus is rarely away from the sax. Starts with a bit of kazoo, which doesn't channel enough wind, then raises his game. After the hard stuff, he's so relaxed he opens up and soars. A-
101. Nobuyasu Furuya Quintet: The Major (2010 [2012], NoBusiness): Japanese tenor saxophonist, has a previous album on Clean Feed, again recorded this in Lisbon with what looks to be a local group. This one is released in Lithuania on limited edition (300 copies) vinyl, but I'm listening to a CDR. Impressive depth in a free jazz setting, much aided by Eduardo Lâla's trombone -- gives the group a New Orleans polyphony feel, but rougher than that. B+(***) [advance]
102. Steve Lehman Trio: Dialect Fluorescent (2011 [2012], Pi): Alto saxophonist, studied under Anthony Braxton and Jackie McLean, leans toward the latter in this sax trio (Matt Brewer on bass, Damion Reid on drums), closing with McLean's "Mr. E." Also covers Coltrane, Duke Pearson, and "Pure Imagination" by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, mixed in with four (or five) originals. A
103. David Greenberger/Bangalore: How I Became Uncertain (2011, Pel Pel): The elderly stories are short and pithy here, their frequent redundancy and cliché distancing them from Greenberger's first-person earnestness -- also the stories where the narrator identifies herself as a woman. Bangalore is a guitar-bass-drums band, more rock than the others, with Phil Kaplan's guitar sharp contrast. B+(***)
104. David Greenberger/Mark Greenberg: Tell Me That Before (2011, Pel Pel): More conversations from elderly centers, nursing homes, and suchlike -- a long list of credits is provided this time. Greenberg provides the background music -- also a long list of credits, including some bass guitar and drums credited to "DG" and guitar from "PC" (Paul Cebar). One track I should listen to again makes the point that creative people think up way more ideas than they can ever use, so the real skill is figuring out how to budget your time. B+(***)
105. Evan Parker/Wes Neal/Joe Sorbara: At Somewhere There (2009 [2011], Barnyard): Parker, of course, is one of the giant figures in the English/European avant-garde, with well over 100 records since 1967 -- with Globe Unity Orchestra, followed in 1968 with appearances on Peter Brötzmann's Machine Gun and Spontaneous Music Ensemble's Karyobin. The latter two are Canadians, playing bass and drums, part of the free-ish AIMToronto Orchestra, in effect Parker's local pick-up band for this live, single-cut improv blast. With so many albums, it's hard to pick and choose, but I like this one because he sticks to tenor sax and keeps it short (39:56) and simple -- but not too simple. A-
106. Piet Verbist: Zygomatik (2010 [2012], Origin): Bassist, b. 1961 in Belgium; graduated Brussels Conservatory in 1994. First album; doesn't have much of a side discography either, but wrote all the pieces, leading the album off with a bass intro a la Mingus. Uses Fender Rhodes instead of piano, and features tenor sax, adding a bari sax on three cuts. The tenor is split between Fred Delplancq early on and Matt Renzi on the latter half. No surprise that Renzi bumps this up to a higher energy level, adding the edge that makes this album memorable. B+(***)
107. Upper Left Trio: Ulternative (2011 [2012], Origin): Piano trio -- Clay Giberson (piano, keyboards), Jeff Leonard (basses), Charlie Doggett (drums) -- fourth album, all write (but Doggett only gets one song in). Very solid postbop group, nothing spectacular but I've played this a half dozen times and it's never been less than engaging. B+(***)
108. Ellery Eskelin/Dave Ballou/Michael Formanek/Devin Gray: Dirigo Rataplan (2011 [2012], Skirl): I filed this under drummer Devin Gray, who wrote all the music and dominates the publicity materials, but the cover suggests the attribution above. Starts off with a section that sounds like they're trying to find their key, but once they settle down this starts to get interesting -- the two horns (Eskelin on tenor sax, Ballou on trumpet) slipping in and out of synch, the bass and drums fluttering about. B+(***)
109. Sheila Jordan/Harvie S: Yesterdays (1990 [2012], High Note): B. 1928, but aside from the one-shot Portrait of Sheila in 1962 she didn't really get her career going until the late 1970s, and still hasn't been given her due -- although she's spent so much time travelling and teaching since 1990 I'm not finding dozens of aspiring jazz singers acknowledging their debts to her. Early on she paid plenty of dues, chasing Bird, and catching his pianist Duke Pearson. George Russell finally put her in front of a microphone: I'd put that on the list of his major accomplishments-- along with synthesizing Cuban be-bop for Dizzy Gillespie, teaching Miles Davis and John Coltrane how to use modes, introducing electronics to jazz, and inspiring a whole generation of Scandinavian jazz stars. I first ran into her on Roswell Rudd's mid-1970s albums -- the totally forgotten Numatik Swing Band and the even-more-marvelous Flexible Flyer -- and followed her through Steve Kuhn's group, into her solo albums -- many with nothing more than bass fiddle for accompaniment. This set, recorded "live in concert, circa 1990," is one of those, with the former Harvie Swartz on bass. More standards, less be-bop/vocalese, than her studio albums, which means more touchstones you think you know but will hear something new in here. Her control is so remarkable that even though she breaks up laughing in the Fats Waller medley she never misses a note. Only in the closer, "I Could Have Danced All Night," does she finally lose it, a joke you can't help but enjoy. A-
110. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Alexey Lapin: In Motion (2010 [2011], Leo): Third record for this trio in the last year or so, after Inner Spire (Leo) and All Out (FMR), and they're all pretty close to interchangeable: Carrier's alto sax always probing and poignant, his decade-plus relationship to drummer Lambert has long been telepathic, the Russian pianist something of a mystery, but he's by now so tightly entwined he's integral to the set. A-
111. Ross Hammond Quartet: Adored (2012, Prescott): Guitarist, based in California (Sacramento, I think), has five previous records since 2003, nothing much in his bio. Quartet adds Vinny Golia (tenor/alto/soprano sax), Stuart Liebig (bass), and Alex Cline (drums), with producer Wayne Peet on piano for one cut. Not getting anything from Golia's Nine Winds label, it's a rare treat to hear him elsewhere, and he puts on a terrific performance here, fierce and lyrical. Harder to tell about the guitar. B+(***)
112. Steve Horowitz: New Monsters (2011 [2012], Posi-Tone): Bassist, based in San Francisco, has eleven (or more) albums since 1993, some with the group Mousetrap. Quintet, with two saxophones -- Steve Adams, from ROVA on alto and soprano (and flute), and Dan Plonsey on tenor -- plus piano (Scott Looney) and drums (Jim Bove). Actually, I'm not sure why this isn't Plonsey's record: he wrote all of the tunes (except for the Coltrane/Dolphy medley). Plonsey is another Bay Area performer I hadn't heard of: has a half-dozen albums since 1997, plus side-credits like Eugene Chadbourne, Anthony Braxton, and Tom Waits. The monsters on the cover strike me as an attempt to play up the humor while sneaking through what is by far the most avant record this label has yet released. B+(***)
113. Piero Odorici: Cedar Walton Presents (2011 [2012], Savant): Fine print: "with the Cedar Walton Trio" -- Walton (piano), David Williams (bass), Willie Jones III (drums). One thing that sets Walton apart from nearly every other pianist since he started in the mid-1960s is his featured use of saxophonists (both on his own records and, especially, as Eastern Rebellion). It's relatively easy to focus on his piano here, because what he does goes way beyong comping -- he sets up all the structure the saxophonist needs. The saxophonist in question, Odorici, was b. 1962 in Bologna, Italy, and has a fistful of records on Italian labels, starting with First Play in 1989. Odorici's tenor sails through six standards and one original each by Odorici and Walton, an impressive intro, although it's the rhythm section that makes this special. B+(***)
114. Thollem/Parker/Cline: The Gowanus Session (2012, Porter): Thollem McDonas is a pianist from San Francisco, has played on 20-some albums since 2005; might file half under his name, since his specialties seem to be solo and duo sets. The others are bassist William Parker and guitarist Nels Cline. Group improv, broken into six tracks but pretty much one movement, with a lot of rough spots along the way. B+(***)
115. Enrico Pieranunzi: Permutation (2009 [2012], CAM Jazz): Piano trio, with Scott Colley on bass and Antonio Sanchez on drums. Seems like I'm always impressed but never have a lot to say about him. B+(***)
116. Andy Sheppard/Michael Benita/Sebastian Rochford: Trio Libero (2011 [2012], ECM): Saxophonist (tenor and soprano here), b. 1957 in England. Won a prize with a record contract at Antilles in 1989: the one record I heard was a rather dazzling pop-fusion thing, leaving the impression that he's sort of the British David Sanborn, but I could be totally off. A string of records for Provocateur ended in 2004. Later I noticed him in Carla Bley's entourage, and now he has two records on ECM. This is a sax trio with Benita on bass and Rochford on drums, credits well distributed. Everything is done at a slow burn, repaying your attention all the way. A-
117. Chris Brubeck's Triple Play: Live at Arthur Zankel Music Center (2011 [2012], Blue Forest): Dave Brubeck's son, plays trombone, bass, piano, sings. Triple Play adds Joel Brown (guitar) and Peter Madcat Ruth (harmonica, ukulele, hi-hat, jaw harp), both with more vocals. Cut live with special guests Dave Brubeck (piano) and Frank Brown (clarinet). Song list is evenly split between Brubeck standards and old blues ("Rollin' & Tumblin," "Phonograph Blues," "Black and Blue," "St. Louis Blues," "Brother Can You Spare a Dime"), so you find these stretches of fancy time-shifting piano in between the harmonica blues. Seems at odd with itself, but Chris Brubeck compounds the conundrum with a "5/4 boogie woogie" called "Mighty Mrs. Hippy" with a long intro to explain the pun, and that segues into a harmonica-led "Blue Rondo a la Turk." B+(***)
118. Eivind Opsvik: Overseas IV (2011 [2012], Loyal Label): Bassist, from Norway, moved to New York in 1998; has average 5-6 side credits since about 2006. Describes Overseas as a band name, this being their fourth album. Group includes Tony Malaby (tenor sax, a frequent collaborator), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), Jacob Sachs (harpsichord, farfisa, piano), and Kenny Wollesen (drums, tympani, vibes). Rather rockish, but in using repeated rhythmic signatures and in indulging in complexly layered noise -- Seabrook's guitar leads more than the sax -- but the harpsichord offers an ironic nod to chamber music, as does the organ to church music. A-
119. Wayne Escoffery: The Only Son of One (2011 [2012], Sunnyside): Tenor saxophonist (plays soprano on the last cut), b. 1975 in London, UK; moved to New Haven, CT when he was 11; studied under Jackie McLean; eighth record since 2001. Mainstream player, has always had a lot of flashy technique, is developing a sensitive, nuanced ballad tone, much evident here. With Orrin Evans on Fender Rhodes and piano, and Adam Holzman on keyboards -- the latter meant to suffice for strings, and just as well given how much worse a phallanx of strings could be. B+(***)
120. Joe McPhee/Ingebrigt Håker Flaten: Brooklyn DNA (2011 [2012], Clean Feed): McPhee's credit here reads, "pocket trumpet, soprano and alto saxophones," which may be why this duo with the Norwegian bassist doesn't hold up as robustly has their 2010 duo, Blue Chicago Blues (Not Two), where McPhee played tenor sax. Starts off with the catchy "Crossing the Bridge" -- a reference to Sonny Rollins, part of that Brooklyn DNA -- and gives Flaten ample opportunities to fiddle. B+(***)
121. Mary Stallings: Don't Look Back (2011 [2012], High Note): Singer, in her 70s now; cut a record with Cal Tjader in 1961 then dropped out of site until Concord rediscovered her in c. 1990, when they were really good at that sort of thing, and she's produced ten albums since -- 2005's Remember Love is still my favorite. A dilligent, precise interpreter of the Carmen McRae school, she offers readings of a dozen standards here, as simply as possible, with Eric Reed on piano, sometimes Reuben Rogers on bass and Carl Allen on drums. B+(***)
122. Masabumi Kikuchi Trio: Sunrise (2009 [2012], ECM): Pianist, b. 1939 in Japan. AMG comments on his "vast discography," but only lists 14 albums under his name, starting in 1980. A fan called Poomaniac has more details, going back to 1963, with his first album as a sole leader in 1970, preceded by a Hino-Kikuchi Quintet joint in 1968. His early work manages to rope in nearly all of the names you're likely to have heard of from the 1960s jazz scene in Japan: Toshiko Akiyoshi, Sadao Watanabe, Terumasa Hino. In the 1970s he started working with Gary Peacock, and in the 1990s he led a trio called Tethered Moon with Peacock and (who else?) Paul Motian -- the only fragment of his discography I'm familiar with. This is his first on ECM, again a trio, with Thomas Morgan on bass and, again, Motian on drums -- you can construct a pretty impressive hall of fame just from pianists who Motian has played with. As usual, his presence here looks like zen-like disengagement, allowing the piano to emerge with remarkable clarity. B+(***)
123. Steve Kuhn Trio: Wisteria (2011 [2012], ECM): Pianist, dates back to the early 1960s -- did an album in 1963 with the intriguing title, Country and Western Sound of Jazz Pianos -- has consistently done fine work although I've never heard anything (even from his Sheila Jordan co-led group) that really blew me away. Trio, with longtime collaborator Steve Swallow and the always superb Joey Baron. Near the top of his game. B+(***)
124. Miles Okazaki: Figurations (2011 [2012], Sunnyside): Guitarist, third album, does his own graphic design (which is almost worth the price of admission), wrote all eight pieces here. The guitar lines are tense and spring open to drive this quartet, but your ears will chase after alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, at the top of his game. With Thomas Morgan on bass and Dan Weiss on drums. A-
125. The Ben Riley Quartet: Grown Folks Music (2010 [2012], Sunnyside): Cover adds "featuring Wayne Escoffery," and shows the tenor saxophonist standing next to the veteran drummer, the others (Ray Drummond on bass, Avi Rothbard or Freddie Bryant on guitar) off-camera. Riley, with only two other albums under hisown name, started out c. 1960 with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Johnny Griffin, but is best known from Thelonious Monk's 1960s quartet, which continued post-Monk as Sphere. Two Monk tunes here, plus five other standards. Mature stuff, confident, relaxed, the guitar just flows, the sax rides along, occasionally dropping in some wit but mostly sounding supreme. A-
126. Mockuno NuClear: Drop It (2011 [2012], NoBusiness): Sax-piano-drums trio, more or less Lithuanian: Liudas Mockunas, Dmitrij Golovanov, and Marjius Aleksa. Mockunas, b. 1976, has at least three previous albums. Mostly avant stretch, but sometimes they get a groove going and that's where they raise it up a level. B+(***)
127. Anne Mette Iversen: Poetry of Earth (2011 [2012], Bju'ecords): Bassist, b. 1972 in Denmark, moved to New York to study at New School and settled in. Fourth album, 91:25 straddling two discs; wrote all the music for various poems (Svende Grøn, A.E. Housman, John Keats, Henrik Ibsen, Thomas Hardy, Lene Poulsen) sung by Maria Neckam and Christine Skou. The music has a chamber feel, with Dan Tepfer on piano and John Ellis on reeds. I haven't spent nearly enough time with this, and probably won't: not my thing, but remarkable nonetheless. B+(***)
128. Elliott Sharp Trio: Aggregat (2011 [2012], Clean Feed): Seventh album by Sharp (or, as he bills himself here, "E#") that I've heard, all since 2004, which must get me up into the 6-8% range -- let's see: Wikipedia lists 99 albums not counting ones he produced or played as a sideman on, with the earliest album a solo from 1979, but that 99 does include a couple of "collaborative groups" I have filed elsewhere (John Zorn: Downtown Lullaby, Satoko Fujii: In the Tank, Tomas Ulrich: TECK String Quartet); drop them and I'm back at 7 of 90, almost 7.8%. Point is he's someone I know of but have hardly met. For instance, I never knew he sax (tenor and soprano) before, but he does here on nearly half of the album, and he makes much of his efforts, like a slower and more rugged Evan Parker. The rest of the time he plays guitar, where he is faster and develops a harmonic overhang that gives his figures a rich shimmer. With Brad Jones on bass and Ches Smith on drums. A-
129. Florian Hoefner Group: Songs Without Words (2011 [2012], OA2): Pianist, from Germany (I think), first album (as far as I can tell, although his label page says, "His performances are featured on seven CD releases"), a quartet with Mike Ruby (tenor and soprano sax), Sam Anning (bass), and Peter Kronreif (drums), recorded in New York. All originals, mainstream postbop, sax has some blues feel, all very nicely done. B+(***)
130. Tord Gustavsen Quartet: The Well (2011 [2012], ECM): Norwegian pianist, b. 1970, not clear how many albums -- e.g., I had his 1999 collaboration with singer Siri Gjaere under his name but it looks like hers came first; five, since 2002, all on ECM, is my best reckoning. This one has Tore Brunborg (tenor sax), Mats Eilertsen (bass), and Jarle Vespestad (drums). B+(***) [advance]
131. Jonas Kullhammar/Torbjörn Zetterberg/Espen Aalberg: Basement Sessions Vol. 1 (2012, Clean Feed): Tenor/baritone sax, bass, drums, respectively; the leader b. 1978 in Sweden, runs the Moserobie label (which extends well beyond his own work), has at least eight albums since 2000 (Plays Loud for the People is one promising title), plus an 8-CD box called The Half Naked Truth: 1998-2008. First I've heard by him and I'm duly impressed, first by tone and natural feel which line him up as a worthy follower of saxophonists like Arne Domnerus and Bernt Rosengren -- a bit more avant, but that's what we used to call progress. B+(***)
132. Twopool: Traffic Bins (2010 [2012], Origin): Swiss group: Andrea Oswald (alto sax), Andreas Tschopp (trombone), Christian Wolfarth (drums), Jonas Tauber (cello) -- I've seen Tauber, who plays bass elsewhere, identified as the leader, but all the pieces are free group improvs, the growl and stutter of the trombone spaced out, picked apart by the cello, the sax adding some melodic form. Origin started out as a local Seattle label, but has branched out, especially Chicago, but also to central Europe. Jonas directs their "Zürich Series" -- now up to seven records. B+(***)
133. Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group: Signing (2011 [2012], Motéma): Vibes and piano, group also means bass and drums. Locke has more than two dozen albums since 1990. His collaboration with pianist Keezer goes back at least to 2006's Live in Seattle, but this round works out much better, nicely balanced, flashy moments from both, and more depth -- bassist Terreon Gully deserves a mention. B+(***)
134. Don Byron New Gospel Quintet: Love, Peace, and Soul (2011 [2012], Savoy Jazz): After Mickey Katz and Raymond Scott, among other sources less specific and idiosyncratic, yet another niche for Byron's clarinet. (Would have included Jr. Walker, but Byron played alto sax that time.) Inspirations here include Thomas Dorsey and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Eddie Harris and George Russell, aunt Dorothy Simon, and Donald Byron Sr. Vocals predominate, with DK Dyson counted in the quintet, and Dean Bowman given a guest shot. Also on hand are Xavier Davis (piano), Brad Jones (bass), and Pheeroan Aklaff (drums), and guests include Brandon Ross, Vernon Reid, and Ralph Alessi. Hot enough to overcome my increasing resistance to gospel, especially when the clarinet races to the front. A-
135. Andrew Lamb: Rhapsody in Black (2006 [2012], NoBusiness): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1958 in North Carolina, gravitated toward AACM, Brooklyn, and Europe. Has a spotty discography but he always makes a strong impression wherever he pops up. This is a quartet with two drummers (Michael Wimberly and Guillermo E. Brown), Tom Abbs working the lower registers (bass, tuba, didgeridoo), and Lamb on sax, flute, clarinet, and conch shell. He runs through the gyrations of an extended suite -- the soft flute segment (which I think leads into the shell) is right on the mark, but the rough stuff is even better. A-
136. Frank Wright Quartet: Blues for Albert Ayler (1974 [2012], ESP-Disk): Tenor saxophonist, cut a couple of avant-garde albums for ESP-Disk in 1965-67, not a lot more before his death in 1990 but the label fished out an unreleased winner from 1974 called Unity, and now found another. One of the first things you'll notice here is the guitar -- James "Blood" Ulmer some years before he recorded under his own name. Also with Benny Wilson on bass and Rashied Ali on drums. Wright plays some ugly flute, but his tenor sax is remarkably cogent even while keeping the edges rough. A-
137. Kayla Taylor Jazz: You'd Be Surprised (2011, Smartykat): Standards singer, from Atlanta, fourth album since 2005, all identified as "Jazz" -- maybe her idea of a group, since guitarist Steve Moore shares the cover. With Will Scruggs on tenor and soprano sax, plus bass and drums/percussion. No effort at picking obscure gems: I've heard nearly all of these songs dozens of times, and they rarely disappoint -- sure don't here. B+(***)
138. Fly: Year of the Snake (2011 [2012], ECM): Sax trio: Mark Turner (tenor sax), Larry Grenadier (bass), Jeff Ballard (drums). All three contribute songs, Turner a bit more, the 5-part "The Western Lands" credited to all. Has an inner flow to it that keeps everything tight and coherent, the sax a bit on the sweet side. B+(***)
139. Rich Halley 4: Back From Beyond (2011 [2012], Pine Eagle): Tenor saxophonist from Oregon; I've been a big fan of his work since Mountains and Plains in 2005, and this is every bit as satisfying as long as the sax is front and center. Less so when he plays wood flute, or when he mixes it up with trombonist Michael Vlatkovich, even though the latter has an appealing rough-and-readiness of his own. B+(***)
140. Henry Threadgill Zooid: Tomorrow Sunny/The Revelry, Spp (2011 [2012], Pi): Alto saxophonist, also has a not undeserved rep for flute (and bass flute), started with Air in the 1970s, ranks as one of the most important figures in avant jazz. Third Zooid album, group expanded to a sextet with the addition of Christopher Hoffman on cello, fleshing out the mishmash of sounds -- Liberty Ellman (guitar), Stomu Takeishi (bass guitar), Jose Davila (trombone and tuba), and Elliot Humberto Kavee (drums). At its best, the rhythm is remarkably ragged, the sax staggered, a jumble that should crash but doesn't -- clip out this stuff and expand on it a bit and you get the album of the year. No real problem with the flute, but there are spots where they lose focus and ramble, losing the edge. B+(***)
141. Louis Sclavis Atlas Trio: Sources (2011 [2012], ECM): French clarinet player, twenty-some albums since 1981. Trio adds keyboards (Benjamin Moussay) and electric guitar (Gilles Coronado). The guitar has a charged rough edge the other instruments flesh out, and everyone is so keyed to the flow they avoid thoughts of chamber music without bass or drums. A- [advance]
142. Raoul Björkenheim/Anders Nilsson/Gerald Cleaver: Kalabalik (2012, DMG/ARC): Two guitarists from Scandinavia, perhaps not natural allies back home but they fit together remarkably well in New York, plus a drummer -- always a good idea. Cut live at Bruce Lee Galanter's downtown record store. First four cuts are hard fusion thrash with a lot of intricacy between the lines. Then they cut the volume for a duo that spreads their lines out. A-
143. Henry P. Warner/Earl Freeman/Philip Spigner: Freestyle Band (1984 [2012], NoBusiness): Clarinets, bass guitar (and piano), hand drums; three cuts originally self-released, with two cuts added here. Warner was b. 1940, played around the NY lofts in the 1970s, shows up playing alto sax on early albums by William Parker and Billy Bang. Spigner's hand drums set up a nice homely vibe that Warner's clarinet sometimes flows with and sometimes cuts against; Freeman plays electric bass and piano, most often against the current, just to keep it all interesting. B+(***)
144. Arthur Kell Quartet: Jester (2012, Bju'ecords): Bassist, based in New York but he's been around, including some tramping around Africa. Fourth record since 2001 -- haven't heard the debut, See You in Zanzibar -- but the three quartet albums are superb. Brad Shepik's guitar is essential here, nothing flashy but he brings the gentle bass lines up to conscious level, and Loren Stillman's bright and brittle alto sax builds from there. With Mark Ferber on drums. Live, doesn't grab you and shake you around, but seduces and mermerizes. A-
145. Aram Shelton Quartet: Everything for Somebody (2011 [2012], Singlespeed Music): Alto saxophonist, originally from Florida, b. 1976, moved to Chicago in 1999 and built most of his working relationships there before moving on to Oakland. Has a substantial discography since 2001, including projects like Ton Trio, reliably vigorous free jazz. This quartet is Chicago-based, with frequent collaborator Keefe Jackson on tenor sax, Anton Hatwich on bass, and Tim Daisy on drums. Resembles a sax trio with the saxes shadowing each other, but every now and then they spin loose. B+(***)
146. Gonzalo Rubalcaba: XXI Century (2011 [2012], 5Pasion, 2CD): Pianist, b. 1963 in Cuba, moved to US in 1996 but had already built up an international reputation. Has close to thirty records -- The Blessing (1991) and Paseo (2004) are my favorites. This is trio (Matt Brewer, Marcus Gilmore) plus featured guests -- percussionist Pedrito Martinez on most cuts, guitarist-vocalist Lionel Loueke on two, drummer Ignacio Berroa on one. Four originals (one reprised); pieces by Brewer and Loueke; covers from important pianists Lennie Tristano, Bill Evans, and Paul Bley. Superb piano. B+(***)
147. Ivo Perelman/Matt Shipp/Gerald Cleaver: The Foreign Legion (2011 [2012], Leo): Avant Brazilian tenor sax player, has developed into a very expressive player, in a power trio with piano and drums -- no bass, but that just gives Shipp more room to maneuver, and he has some tricks up his sleeve. Second play I turned the volume down and it revealed an unexpected subtlety to Perelman's blowing. Turn it up and he just blows you away. A-
148. Mike Reed's People, Places & Things: Clean on the Corner (2010 [2012], 482 Music): Drummer, from Chicago, has made a point of excavating the city's avant jazz lore, often to remarkable effect. Fourth album by this project/ensemble -- also has a group called Loose Assembly. Looks back with One song each by Roscoe Mitchell and John Jenkins, forward with six originals. Core quartet spins two saxophones off each other, with Greg Ward on alto and Tim Haldeman on tenor, plus Jason Roebke on bass. Adds Craig Taborn on two cuts -- past midway you suddenly realize there's a piano in the mix -- and Josh Berman (cornet) on two others. A-
149. Jane Scheckter: Easy to Remember (2011 [2012], self-released): Standards singer, has acted on stage and in sitcoms, fourth widely spaced album (1988, 1993, 2003). She nails virtually every song, with a band built around Tedd Firth (piano), Jay Leonhart (bass), and Peter Grant (drums). But the "featuring" guests are even better, with Tony DeSare up for a duet, Gil Chimes adding harmonica on an especially delicious "Where or When," and "featuring" slots from the Arbors set: Bucky Pizzarelli, Aaron Weinstein, Warren Vaché, and every singer's best friend, Harry Allen. B+(***)
150. John Surman: Saltash Bells (2009 [2012], ECM): Plays reed instruments -- soprano, tenor, and baritone sax; alto, bass, and contrabass clarinet this time -- and has since the late 1960s. Also plays synthesizer and harmonica, and multitracks various combinations throughout here. Not sure how many times he's done this before -- must be a handful -- but I don't recall any of them being this charming. A-
151. Stacey Kent: Dreamer in Concert (2011 [2012], Blue Note): Standards singer, although her husband, saxophonist Jim Tomlinson, writes some tunes, including two here that she matched to texts by Kazuo Ishiguro. B. 1968 in New Jersey, based in England, AMG lists 17 albums since 1997. She has a small voice that I find especially charming in French. This is live, a long set, a bit of everything she does, including two Jobims (that she aces), yet another "It Might as Well Be Spring" (the most distinctive of the many I've heard this week). She plays some guitar, and Tomlinson's sax is always supportive. B+(***)
152. Christian Escoudé Plays Brassens: Au Bois de Mon Coeur (2010 [2012], Sunnyside): French guitarist, b. 1947, has a couple dozen albums since 1975, would have picked up a Django Reinhardt influence even without his gypsy ancestry. Songs by Georges Brassens, mostly guitar and not just Escoudé -- Jean-Baptiste Laya is also on most cuts, and Bireli Lagrène and Swan Berger get featured slots; some cuts add clarinet or violin, most bass and drums. B+(***)
153. Jacob Garchik: The Heavens: The Atheist Trombone Album (2012, Yestereve): Trombonist, third album, looks like he overdubbed all the parts to his trombone choir (plus sousaphone, baritone horn, slide trumpet, and alto horn), although for his July 25 Release Show he's recruited a who's who of NYC trombone (plus Brian Drye on baritone horn, Joe Daley on sousaphone, and Kenny Wolleson on drums), looking, no doubt, to further raise the rafters. All horns, some recognizable gospel swoops on the turbulent flow. The song notes are more rational, citing Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein, Stanley Crouch and Mark Twain and Woody Allen. Conclusion: Be Good. A-
154. Steve Davis: Gettin' It Done (2011 [2012], Posi-Tone): Trombonist, b. 1967, studied with Bob Brookmeyer and Jackie McLean, played in Art Blakey's last band, has more than a dozen albums since 1996. Basic hard bop sextet here, with Josh Bruneau on trumpet and Mike DiRubbo on alto sax, Larry Willis on piano, plus bass and drums. Mostly upbeat, cools off a bit toward the end, but gets it done -- especially when DiRubbo takes over. B+(***)
155. Yelena Eckemoff: Forget-Me-Not (2011 [2012], Yelena Music): Pianist, from Moscow, Russia; came to US in 1991. Divides her albums between classical, original instrumental, and vocal -- the jazz fits in the middle (and largest) category. Piano trio, with Mats Eilertsen on bass and Marilyn Mazur on percussion. Smart, precise, tasteful, as is everything I've heard from her. B+(***)
156. Ari Erev: A Handful of Changes (2011 [2012], self-released): Pianist, from Israel, second album; group favors electric bass and extra percussion, and adds Ofer Shapiro's alto sax and clarinet on one track each, but the real news is on the front cover: "Featuring Joel Frahm" -- five cuts on tenor sax, three cuts on soprano, in peak form on both. Piano sparkles, too. B+(***)
157. Michael Bates: Acrobat: Music for, and by, Dmitri Shostakovich (2011, Sunnyside):Bassist, or "bassist-composer" as he likes to say - as does nearly everyone, which is why I almost never retain the second part, but the balance is worth noting with him, even more so than with such distinguished composer-bassists as Ben Allison and Adam Lane. I must admit I was put off by the Shostakovich theme, unfortunately, regrettably: for one thing, only one (of nine) pieces is by Shostakovich; for another, his postbop orchestration - a superb group with Chris Speed (alto sax, clarinet), Russ Johnson (trumpet), Russ Lossing (piano, rhodes), and Tom Rainey (drums) - of "Dance of Death" is a high point here, possibly because it signifies to me more as rock (as Weill does) than as classical. The affinities of the other pieces isn't clear to me, but as tightly composed postbop pieces they are remarkably varied and inventive. Should play this some more. B+(***)
158. Eliane Elias: Light My Fire (2010 [2011], Concord): Pianist, b. 1960 in Brazil, AMG lists 23 albums since 1986. Not sure when she started singing - certainly by 1997's *Sings Jobim*, which I found utterly dreamy. Her voice is in the affectless Astrud Gilberto tradition, a bit more accommodating and gracious. While I routinely complain about American singers and their "obligatory Jobim" picks, she nails her turf down - OK, no Jobim here, but Gilberto Gil joins in for three cuts, and her guitar and percussion picks are near perfect. The songs in English, including "My Cherie Amour" and the slowed down title cut, are impeccably cool, and she scats her way through "Take Five" with Randy Brecker adding a bit of highlight. I will complain about the photography: not that she's getting too old for cheesecake, but the lighting makes her look strangely pale and purple. A-
159. Tony Malaby: Tony Malaby's Novella (2011, Clean Feed): Tenor saxophonist, credited first with soprano here. Has a dozen albums since 1993, but I mostly run into him on side credits where he always helps out and often steals the show. One such venue is pianist Kris Davis's Quartet. Davis returns the favor here, not just playing but arranging six pieces from previous Malaby albums for a nonet: four reeds, three brass, her piano, and John Hollenbeck's drums - no bass but Dan Peck's tuba, Ben Gerstein's trombone, Andrew Badro's bari sax, and Joachim Badenhorst's bass clarinet offer plenty of bottom support. The front-line horns are Ralph Alessi's trumpet, Michael Attias's alto sax, and Malaby's soprano/tenor, but they rarely stand out. I haven't managed to take it all in yet, but it sure is heavy. B+(***)
160. Deborah Pearl: Souvenir of You: New Lyrics to Benny Carter Classics (2011, Evening Star):Singer, writes plays, studied at Barnard then moved to Los Angeles, where Benny and Hilma Carter "became like surrogate parents." Carter wrote "Souvenir of You" as a tribute to Johnny Hodges on his passing, so Pearl added a lyric as a tribute to Carter. Two cuts here sample Carter's 1992 big band record *Harlem Renaissance* so she gets to sing along with her late mentor - Carter died in 2003 at 95; Hilma, who dated Carter in the '30s but didn't marry him until sometime in the '70s, is still alive (as far as I can tell, probably in her 80s). Pearl's first album. Aside from the two big band cuts, everything else is done with piano, bass and drums. No problem with the music, of course, but after sixty years of vocalese hackwork, I'm surprised how well the lyrics fit - she describes them as figuring out a puzzle - and "Doozy Blues" should go straight into the songbook of anyone who's ever been satisfied with a Jon Hendricks lyric. A-
161. Augusto Pirodda: No Comment (2009 [2011], Jazzwerkstatt): Pianist, b. 1971 in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy); studied in Netherlands, now based in Brussels. Has a couple previous albums - one solo, also a duo with Michal Vanoucek. Drew the A-Team for this trio: Gary Peacock on bass, Paul Motian on drums. Quiet, slow, so subtle I damn near missed it but the bass kept sneaking around to grab me. B+(***)
162. Miguel Zenón & Laurent Coq: Rayuela (2011 [2012], Sunnyside): Puerto Rican alto saxophonist, one of the most impressive to emerge since 2000, teams with a French pianist with a half-dozen albums of his own since 1999, for a set of tunes loosely based on a novel by Julio Cortazar. With Dana Leong, who has much more fun with his trombone than with the cello -- the latter is my main reservation here, not the first time that Zenón's fondness for strings has tripped him up. Also Dan Weiss, on drums, tabla, all things percussive. B+(***)
163. Bobby Streng's House Big Band: Getting Housed (2011 [2012], self-released): Tenor saxophonist, based in Ann Arbor, also has a group called Saxomble -- basically, a sax quartet plus rhythm section. For his big band, he pulled 19 musicians I've never head of together and recorded them live. Guitar on two tracks, bass split between one guy on electric and another on acoustic, but really it's all about the horns, lots of punch and polish. I know big bands are supposed to be prohibitively uneconomic, but there sure are a lot of them on record. Part of that is that damn near every musician wants to be an arranger, but often enough they must be a hoot to play in. B+(***)
164. Rick Davies: Salsa Norteña (2012, Emlyn): Trombonist, originally from Albuquerque, got a Ph.D. from NYU with a dissertation on Cuban brass, teaches at SUNY Plattsburgh while running a salsa band (Jazzismo) based across the pond in Burlington, VT. Side credits include Blondie, Michael Jackson, and Wyclef Jean, and he has at least one previous album under his own name (Siempre Salsa). No session info, but this looks like two sets with different players at trumpet, piano, and bass, one of those with Jorge "Papo" Ross singing, but one basic sound. Not sure if Davies intends to introduce something Mexican (which is what Norteña means to me) or just to push the border up to Montreal, but it has a jump feel, and the brass is for muscle, not filigree. B+(***)
165. Wadada Leo Smith: Ten Freedom Summers (2011 [2012], Cuneiform, 4CD): Hard to fault the desire for memorialization, but it does tend toward works that are overwrought and tedious, and that's certainly one's first impression in wading through Smith's thirty-year struggle with the civil rights movement, a subject that hasn't lost its relevance not least because it hasn't achieved its goals, and our hopes for it. Smith's pieces witness history, from "Dred Scott: 1857" to "September 11th, 2001: A Memorial," with most ranging from Thurgood Marshall in 1954 to Martin Luther King in 1968, but those are just titles. With no libretto to make connections obvious, the music can be abstracted from the intents, leaving you with 273 minutes of often overwrought and sometimes tedious neoclassicism, all the more so when played by Jeff von der Schmidt's Southwest Chamber Music -- strings, flute, harp, and the tympani that dominate the first disc. Smith's Golden Quartet/Quintet -- the difference seems to be the addition of a second drummer, Susie Ibarra or Pheeroan akLaff -- is more compact, the interplay between Anthony Davis' piano and the leader's trumpet often remarkable. In fact, Smith's trumpet is remarkable throughout, able to cut through his arrangements as well as dice with Davis. Focus there, and keep the faith. B+(***)
166. Virginia Mayhew Quartet: Mary Lou Williams: The Next 100 Years (2010 [2012], Renma): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1959, has seven albums since 1988, played with Earl Hines when she was young, and won the New School's first Zoot Sims Memorial Scholarship. This is a program of Mary Lou Williams pieces, with Ed Cherry on guitar to sweeten the swing, Wycliffe Gordon on trombone to deepen it, and no piano to confuse things. B+(***)
167. Arts & Sciences: New You (2012, Singlespeed Music): Quartet, based in Oakland, Michael Coleman is the leader, plays various electric keybs (Wurlitzer, Yamaha CS-10, Fender Rhodes), with Jacob Zimmerman (alto sax, flute), Matt Nelson (tenor sax, effects), and Jordan Glenn (drums). Second group album; Coleman also has an unrecorded group called Cavity Fang, plays with Aram Shelton (who returns the favor playing bass clarinet on one track), and has a Tune-Yards side credit. More exciting when the saxes cut loose than when they coil tightly, but dense either way. B+(***)
168. Branford Marsalis Quartet: Four MFs Playin' Tunes (2011 [2012], Marsalis Music): Saxophonist (mostly tenor, plus some soprano, enough to establish a polling reputation), with pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Justin Faulkner. Two covers (Thelonious Monk, "My Ideal"), originals by all but the drummer, and they are tunes, not just riffs to improv off. I've never been a fan of the pianist, but he does more than just fluff them up, and the leader sounds exquisite. A-
169. The Impossible Gentlemen (2012, Basho): Quartet, primarily pianist Gwilym Simcock and guitarist Mike Walker -- three and four song credits respectively -- backed by Steve Swallow on bass and Adam Nussbaum (who has the other song credit) on drums. Simcock (b. 1981) is a hot young player; Walker (b. 1962) has side credits from 1991 but only one record under his own name, yet they make a powerfully interesting match here. B+(***)
170. Jörg Fischer/Olaf Rupp/Frank Paul Schubert: Phugurit (2011 [2012], Gligg): Drums, electric guitar, saxophones, respectively. Fischer also has a duo with Peter Brötzmann out. Not familiar with the others, but this is prickly free improv, nicely spaced out, interesting to follow. B+(***)
171. John Abercrombie Quartet: Within a Song (2011 [2012], ECM): Guitarist, b. 1944 in Portchester, NY; more than 50 albums since 1971, most on ECM, a major figure albeit a tricky one to get a firm grasp on -- usually lurks in the woodwork, but sometimes can step out and dazzle. Has a group here that makes lurking a pleasure: Joey Baron (drums), Drew Gress (bass), and Joe Lovano (tenor sax). B+(***)
172. Jessica Williams: Songs of Earth (2009-11 [2012], Origin): Pianist, b. 1948, has a lot of albums, too many of which are solo, but this one cherry picked from a couple years of live dates stands out, not least because she keeps the left hand hard at work. B+(***)
173. Neil Cowley Trio: The Face of Mount Molehill (2012, Naim Jazz): Piano trio, with Rex Horan on bass and Evan Jenkins on drums. Fourth album, augmented with strings on most tracks but the effect isn't obvious other than that there's more going on than you'd figure a trio could concoct. Lots of beat and bounce -- at one point Laura came in and approvingly described this as techno; I'm more tempted to say postbop boogie-woogie. Not all like that, and even at his most grooveful Cowley avoids the slickness of smooth jazz. B+(***)
174. Neneh Cherry & the Thing: The Cherry Thing (2012, Smalltown Supersound): Avant-garde trumpeter Don Cherry's step-daughter cut a marvelous hip-hop album in 1989 (Raw Like Sushi), a good follow-up in 1992, and not much more. She was born in Stockholm, and Cherry was most influential in Scandinavia, which leads to the Norwegian sax trio known as the Thing: Mats Gustafsson on tenor/baritone sax, Ingegrigt Håker Flaten on bass, Paal Nilssen-Love on drums. The Thing plays a punk variant of free jazz, often starting with rock songs and ripping them up. They're well behaved here, Gustafsson's bari providing a strong hint of menace without disrupting Cherry's flow -- although he does wreck the joint on "Dirt" (a Stooges song). Not the dream album one hoped for, but a working combo that can't help but stir shit up. A-
175. Otmar Binder Trio: Boogie Woogie Turnaround (2012, Jump River): Pianist, don't have much to go on and have a lot of problems trying to parse the liner, but probably German, claims he first got into boogie-woogie in 1978, but doesn't seem to have any other albums. Mostly trio, with Alexander Lackner (bass) and Michael Strasser (drums). Cover says "feat BJ COLE & christian DOZZLER," but where? on what? (Cole plays pedal steel; Dozzler is credited with "harp," by which I think they mean harmonica.) And there are other musicians, especially on the last track. The music is clearer: piano boogie, with at least one cut recalling Professor Longhair, delightful all the way through. B+(***)
176. Jerry Bergonzi: Shifting Gears (2012, Savant): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1947, has recorded steadily since 1983. Mainstream player, from 2006 on recorded a series of exceptional albums that underscored both how mainstream he was and how vital mainstream could be -- the titles self-explanatory, Tenorist, Tenor Talk, Simply Put. Here the title suggests kicking it up a notch, and while Phil Grenadier (trumpet) and Bruce Barth (piano) are as secure in the mainstream as he is, they do just that. A-
177. Brubeck Brothers Quartet: Life Times (2012, Blue Forest): Dave Brubeck's sons, Chris Brubeck (electric bass, bass trombone) and Dan Brubeck (drums), plus Chuck Lamb on piano and Mike DiMicco on guitar. Several albums since 2000. They don't appear to have any desire to move out of their famous father's shadow: four (of eight) songs are by the senior Brubeck, and a fifth is Paul Desmond's "Take Five," stretched out to 10:25, sounding as glorious as ever. B+(***)
178. Roni Ben-Hur/Santi Debriano: Our Thing (2011 [2012], Motéma): Guitar-bass-drums trio, with Brazilian drummer Duduka Da Fonseca's name in smaller type as "featuring" (he contributed one song, as did Ben-Hur, to the bassist's four). Ben-Hur is an Israeli with more than a dozen albums since 1995, with a soft tone and boppish demeanor that works nice here, especially on covers from Monk, Jobim, and Berlin. Debriano was born in Panama but grew up in New York, and has a substantial discography of his own. B+(***)
179. Maïkotron Unit: Effugit (2011 [2012], Jazz From Rant): Canadian trio, brothers Michel Côté (clarinets, piccolo) and Pierre Côté (cello, bass), plus drummer Michel Lambert, except that both Michels also play something called a maïkotron. As best I have been able to figure out, this is a tenor sax mouthpiece hooked up to all sorts of brass plumbing, in some cases capable of ranging below the bass saxophone -- two inside pictures show four very different-looking contraptions. The group's previous Ex-Voto won me over, but this is a bit less convincing, more limited to the novelty of the sounds. B+(***)
180. Michael McNeill Trio: Passageways (2010 [2012], self-released): Pianist, b. 1982, based in Buffalo, first album, a trio with Ken Filiano (bass) and Phil Haynes (drums). I often despair of my inability to sort out the vast wave of piano trios that come my way, but sometimes I'm caught by surprise -- just rarely by someone I've never heard of before. First clue here is the bassist, who never plays on uninteresting albums. Filiano kicks off the 20:34 opener -- that length another sign that something is up here -- but when the pianist takes over he darts in and out, never settling for something ordinary. The other four pieces range 5:48-9:58. A-
181. Platform 1: Takes Off (2011 [2012], Clean Feed): New Ken Vandermark group, with Magnus Broo (trumpet), Steve Swell (trombone), Joe Williamson (bass), and Michael Vatcher (drums). All but the drummer contribute songs -- Vandermark's two dedicated to label head Pedro Costa and Roswell Rudd, good news for the trombonist, who has the hot hand here. When the horns are flaring, as impressive as any band working, including Vandermark's previous Five. Don't quite get the dead spaces, though. B+(***)
182. Angles 8: By Way of Deception: Live in Ljubljana (2011 [2012], Clean Feed): Swedish alto saxophonist Martin Küchen's big group, expanded from six to eight this time -- Eirik Hegdal (baritone sax, soprano sax) and Alexander Zethson (piano) are the adds, although he's also swapped trumpeters (Goran Kajfes replaces Magnus Broo). The piano pays dividends, and Mattias Ståhl's vibes glitter throughout, but the horns are rich, vibrant, triumphant. A-
183. Trespass Trio [Martin Küchen/Per Zanussi/Raymond Strid]: Bruder Beda (2011 [2012], Clean Feed): Like Angles, Exploding Customer, Sound of Mucus, another Martin Küchen group, a trio with Küchen on alto sax, Per Zanussi on double bass, and Raymond Strid on drums. Second group album. Slowly, cautiously navigates the free jazz shoals, at once daring and moderate. B+(***)
184. Lee Konitz/Bill Frisell/Gary Peacock/Joey Baron: Enfants Terribles (2011 [2012], Half Note): The drummer, at 56, is the youngest here, so "enfants" as much of a joke as "terribles." The eldest is the alto saxophonist, at 85 -- presumably he's the guy at the end who can't remember his bandmates names, although you'll recognize them. I kept listening for Konitz, and hearing Frisell, playing Konitz-like twists on the standards repertoire. Not that the alto sax isn't present. He just works a around the lines, letting the band for this "Live at the Blue Note" disc support him. B+(***)
185. Bill Cantrall & Axiom: Live at the Kitano (2010 [2012], Up Swing): Trombone player, from and based in New York, studied at Northwestern and Queen's College. One previous album, Axiom, named his band -- basically a hard bop quintet with trombone instead of trumpet -- after it: Stacy Dillard (tenor/soprano sax), Rick Germanson (piano), Gerald Cannon (bass), Darrell Green (drums), plus he picks up Mike DiRubbo (alto sax) and Freddie Hendrix (trumpet, comes as a surprise) for a 23:57 expansion of "Axiom." B+(***)
186. Hairy Bones: Snakelust (to Kenji Nakagami) (2011 [2012], Clean Feed): Second group album, various typographic problems on the packaging -- they've decided they don't like to space out the group name, and prefer "e" to umlaut in the saxophonist's name, but for history's sake we'll straighten those quirks out. Of course, a mere moment's attention will satisfy you that the saxophonist is Peter Brötzmann, even when he's playing clarinet in what he may well think of as New Age mode. Toshinori Kondo, who worked with Brötzmann back in the Die Like a Dog quartet, adds mischief with trumpet and electronics. Zu electric bassist Massimo Pupillo smoothes things out, and Paal Nilssen-Love is the drummer. One 53-minute blast, but it moves up and down and around enough they could call it a suite if they had such pretensions. They don't. A-
187. Keith Jarrett: Sleeper: Tokyo, April 16, 1979 (1979 [2012], ECM, 2CD): Live double, featuring Jarrett's European Quartet: Jan Garbarek (saxes, flute), Palle Danielsson (bass), Jon Christensen (drums) -- their surnames staggered on the front cover, but only the leader's on the spine. All Jarrett pieces, only the encore clocking in under 10 minutes, "Oasis" stretching to 28. Interesting to hear Garbarek struggling with Coltrane's ghost -- much more rugged than I recall even from his early work -- and, of course, the piano is dense and divisive. B+(***)
188. Fred Lonberg-Holm's Fast Citizens: Gather (2011 [2012], Delmark): Chicago group, sextet, with three horns -- Aram Shelton (alto sax, clarinet), Keefe Jackson (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Josh Berman (cornet) -- plus Lonberg-Holm on cello (and tenor guitar), Anton Hatwich (bass), and Frank Rosaly (drums), with everyone doubling up on trumpet or cornet somewhere. Third group album, but the leaders have rotated depending on who came in with the songs -- the other two are filed under Shelton and Jackson. The cellist has released some squelchy electronics albums, and appeared in the Vandermark 5, but he's never had this kind of front line, and he makes quite a lot out of it. A-
189. Sam Rivers/Dave Holland/Barry Altschul: Reunion: Live in New York (2007 [2012], Pi, 2CD): Rivers died in 2011, so the only way to get more is to scrounge for it. This first effort uncovers two fully improvised sets with bass and drums, backing Rivers on tenor sax, soprano sax, flute, and piano. The tenor, of course, is his main instrument, and I'd be happy if that's all there was, but the flute is engaging, and the piano is a revelation. The bass is more of a reminder: we've listened to Holland as leader and composer so long one forgets just how vital he was during his avant-garde phase, but here it all comes back. A-
190. Hugo Carvalhais: Particula (2011 [2012], Clean Feed): Portuguese bassist, second album -- I usually don't bother crediting headliners as composer, even though they often make a point of it on their websites, on the theory that virtually everyone makes that claim, but often with bassists the compositions are the main point. Describes Gabriel Pinto (piano, organ, synth) and Mário Costa (drums) as "regular band mates," adding Emile Parisien (soprano sax) and Dominique Pifarély (violin) for this date. Gives him a lot of options to play off against each other, or occasionally pile up. B+(***)
191. Anat Cohen: Claroscuro (2011 [2012], Anzic): Israeli reed player, based in New York, leads with her clarinet here but also plays tenor and soprano sax. Mostly quartet, with Jason Lindner on piano, Joe Martin on bass, and Daniel Freedman on drums. About half Brazilian tunes, with Paquito D'Rivera guesting on four. Trombonist Wycliffe Gordon joins in on two, and sings "La Vie en Rose." Closes with Abdullah Ibrahim's "The Wedding." B+(***)
192. Donny McCaslin: Casting for Gravity (2012, Greenleaf Music): Tenor saxophonist, technically among his generation's greats, often known to explode and run away with other people's records, but his own records more often than not leave me cold -- exception, 2008's Recommended Tools, especially with the fancy postbop layering. The backing here is relatively straightforward, with Jason Lindner favoring electric keybs over piano, Tim Lefebvre on electric bass, and producer David Binney slipping in some further synth -- all of which mean the sax is constantly front and center. B+(***)
193. Wadada Leo Smith & Louis Moholo-Moholo: Ancestors (2011 [2012], TUM): Duets, trumpet and drums, not that either should need introduction, Smith coming out of the AACM, Moholo (not sure why he expanded his name) from South Africa's legendary Blue Notes. Cut in Finland, a little spare but both players continually rise to the occasion, providing a lot to focus on. A-
194. George Cables: My Muse (2012, High Note): Pianist, b. 1944, worked his way through Art Blakey's boot camp, recorded frequently (and magnificently) with Art Pepper (1979-82), has 30-some albums since 1975, a mainstream stylist of exceptional touch and taste, which makes it all the harder to pick among his many trios, like this one with Essiet Essiet and Victor Lewis. I'm especially touched by his "My Old Flame." B+(***)
195. Ryan Truesdell: Centennial: Newly Discovered Works of Gil Evans (2012, ArtistShare): Of course, this is much more enticing as Gil Evans' unfinished work, on his 100th birthday no less, than it would be attributed to unknown arranger Truesdell, and I've seen reviews that go whole hog and file the record under Evans' name. It stands up nicely, if not all that consistently, on its own, the huge orchestra -- 32 instrumentalists plus three vocalists slotted with one song each -- is full of players who don't need to hide in a crowd. Aside from the solos, I found myself tracking the vibes (Joe Locke), a little sparkle on top of all the lushness. B+(***)
196. Josh Berman & His Gang: There Now (2011 [2012], Delmark): Cornet player, based in Chicago, third album, His Gang an octet, with five horns -- Berman, Jeb Bishop (trombone), Guilhermo Gregorio (clarinet), Jason Stein (bass clarinet), and Keefe Jackson (tenor sax) -- vibes (Jason Adasiewicz), bass (Joshua Abrams), and drums (Frank Rosaly). The horns (even the clarinets) have a lot of firepower, often glorious, sometimes fracturing or skidding, while the vibes do a nice job of following the crowd. B+(***)
197. Bobby Sanabria Big Band: Multiverse (2011 [2012], Jazzheads): Drummer, b. 1957 in the Bronx, folks Puerto Rican; studied at Berklee, and perhaps more importantly with Mario Bauza, who gets a toast here. Started with small groups, moving up to a big band with 2007's Big Band Urban Folktales, and he pretty much owns that niche now. Picks up momentum, ending with a La Bruja rap that starts with history and plunges into the future. B+(***)
198. Joe Fiedler's Big Sackbut (2011 [2012], YSL): Trombone player, b. 1965, sixth album since 1998, including a tribute to Albert Mangelsdorff, and an A-listed album last year (Sacred Chrome Orb). This is a trombone quartet, or close -- Ryan Keberle and Josh Roseman also play trombone, but Marcus Rojas plays tuba. Not the first to try something like this (cf. Ray Anderson's Slide Ride), but the tuba gives this some extra bounce, and the bones take the hint. B+(***)
199. Nik Bärtsch's Ronin: Live (2009-11 [2012], ECM, 2CD): Swiss pianist, group includes Sha (bass clarinet, alto sax), Björn Mayer or Thomy Jordi (bass), Kaspar Rast (drums), and Andi Pupato (percussion). Half dozen records together, this live summary pieced together from eight concerts although it could be seamless. Works mostly around a rhythm that is propulsive even when it shifts, and builds complex modulations on that, so stretching out is part of the art. A-
200. Irene Reid: The Queen of the Party (1997-2003 [2012], Savant): Singer, 1930-2008, came up in jazz bands including a stint with Count Basie, cut five records 1963-71 then faded until her 1997 comeback, Million Dollar Secret, with Charles Earland on organ and Eric Alexander on tenor sax, jump blues with a post-feminist vengeance. She cut five albums for Savant (plus they released a 1990 date as Thanks for You), so this serves as a best-of, an intro, a memoir. B+(***)
201. Houston Person: Naturally (2012, High Note): Tenor saxophonist, 77 when this was recorded, a mainstream fixture since the early 1960s who now must be counted among the all-time greats. With my idea of a supergroup: Cedar Walton, Ray Drummond, and Lewis Nash. Not that anyone's trying for super -- just relaxed, enjoying themselves, luxuriating in his sound. I know I always say nice things about him, but this is his best since To Etta With Love (2004). A-
202. LaVerne Butler: Love Lost and Found Again (2012, High Note): Vocalist, b. 1962 in New Orleans, fifth album since 1992 (last one was 2001, on MaxJazz). All standards, arranged by pianist Bruce Barth, backed by Ugonna Okegwo on bass and Rudy Royston on drums, with Houston Person, never less than adorable, guesting on four tracks. Lots to smile about. B+(***)
203. Nadje Noorduis (2010 [2012], Little Mystery): Trumpet/flugelhorn player, b. 1977 in Australia, based in New York since 2003. First album, composed through, makes deft use of Sara Caswell's violin for background texture to offset the trumpet -- what many people hope for with strings but few pull off. With Geoff Keezer (piano), Joe Martin (bass), and Obed Calvaire (drums), aside for a diversion on "Le Hameau Omi" with pandeiro and classical guitar, which works just as well. B+(***)
204. Ron Miles: Quiver (2011 [2012], Enja/Yellowbird): Trumpet player, b. 1963 in Indiana, moved to Denver at age 11 and is still based there. Ninth album since 1989 -- surprised that this is the first I've heard, although looking at his credits list I see at least a dozen familiar albums, most with Bill Frisell but also Fred Hess, Wayne Horvitz, Jenny Scheinman, DJ Logic, even a pretty good Ginger Baker album. This is a trio with Bill Frisell guitar and Brian Blade drums. Frisell does much to shape this, whether he's shifting the background, or working up one of his Americana twists, but credit the leader, too. B+(***)
205. Rez Abbasi Trio: Continuous Beat (2012, Enja): Guitarist, b. 1965 in Karachi, Pakistan; based in New York; has at least seven albums since 1995, some referring back to the subcontinent's musical heritage, some (like this one) not: trio, with John Hebert on bass, Satoshi Takeishi on percussion. Five (of nine) originals, covers of Gary Peacock, Keith Jarrett, Thelonious Monk, with a short, delicate, very respectful "Star Spangled Banner" closing. B+(***) [advance: Oct. 9]
206. Bill Anschell/Brent Jensen/Chris Smyer: Blueprints (2012, Origin): Piano, soprano sax, bass, respectively; recorded in Seattle, which is at least the pianist's home town. Jensen started out on alto but has become a specialist; he's a mainstream player, always precise and eloquent, should be regarded as one of the main players on his instrument. One group improv, eight standards, none in any way obscure ("All Blues," "How Deep Is the Ocean," "Blue Monk," "Star Eyes," "Yardbird Suite" -- for example). Nothing daring about any of them, and the lack of a drummer ensures a leisurely pace, but they're tasteful and lovely, another feather for Jensen's hat. B+(***)
207. Art Pepper: Unreleased Art Pepper Vol. VII: Sankei Hall, Osaka, Japan (1980 [2012], Widow's Taste, 2CD): I've probably lost my credibility here, given that this makes six straight Pepper authorized bootlegs I've given this same grade to -- they cheaped out on Vol. VI and only sent a sampler, so that's the hole in the list, but even with excess talk, thin sound, and a set list I've heard several times before, I can't go lower. For one thing, he's got George Cables on board -- the pianist he used on most of his studio recordings, but has been absent thus far on the boots. But also he's at a personal peak, which for him means more or less midway between jail and death. Anyone who doesn't know him should work through the essential studio discs: The Return of Art Pepper (1956-57), Meets the Rhythm Section (1957), Smack Up (1960), Living Legend (1975), Straight Life (1979), Winter Moon (1980); for live Pepper, my fave is With Duke Jordan in Copenhagen 1981, narrowly over Thursday Night at the Village Vanguard (1977) -- but note that the whole Village Vanguard stand is available in a 9-CD box (and that the complete 1977-82 Galaxy Recordings can be savored in a 16-CD box). Simplest way to describe him is that he refracted up every modernist impulse from Parker to Coltrane to Coleman, but he also maintained the sweetest alto sax tone of all (well, excepting Johnny Hodges, of course). A-
208. Chives: Dads (2012, Primary): Trio: Steven Lugerner (reeds), Matthew Wohl (bass), Max Jaffe (drums); first group album, all pieces jointly credited. The one we've heard of before is Lugerner, whose notable 2011 debut sprawled over two discs. This is much less ambitious, and more readily digestible, a compact sax/clarinet trio riffing smartly within the usual framework. B+(***)
209. Weasel Walter/Mary Halvorson/Peter Evans: Mechanical Malfunction (2012, Thirsty Ear): Christopher Todd Walter was b. 1972 in Rockford, IL. He founded an avant-rock group, the Flying Luttenbachers, which featured Ken Vandermark on at least one album. He's described as a "composer and instrumentalist" -- credits are scanty here, but he seems to be the drummer. Halvorson plays guitar. She is a remarkable player with an erratic catalog that I don't fully appreciate, partly due to a spat with her publicist -- twice now her records have scored high in critics polls (meaning, among other things, that they were distributed widely, just not to me), and this year's Bending Bridges appears likely to be a third. Evans plays trumpet in the "bebop terrorist" outfit Mostly Other People Do the Killing, and likes to record solo albums on the side. Second album for the trio: avant noise, the guitar scratchy but probing, the trumpet poking through the clouds, the drummer on top of everything. A- [advance]
210. Sonic Liberation Front: Jetway Confidential (2009-11 [2012], High Two): This is percussionist Kevin Diehl's Baltimore-based Afro-Cuban group, built around the tuned bata drums at the center of Yoruba religio-cultural practice, their fifth album since 2000 (2004's Ashé a Go-Go remains the one to start with). Cut over a couple years with a spreadsheet of contributors, the horns grate sometimes, and the vocals go so deep into their roots they come out of a strange other world. Took me many plays to get into it, but a remarkable band, unique, and worth the trouble. A-
211. Steve Kuhn Trio: Life's Magic (1986 [2012], Sunnyside): Pianist, b. 1938, has dozens of records since 1963, including this one, cut live at the Village Vanguard and originally released on Blackhawk in 1987. Trio with Ron Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums, Kuhn remembers "feeling like a kid in a candy store". Half originals, half swing-period covers, LP-length, light and spry. B+(***)
212. Ben Holmes Quartet: Anvil of the Lord (2012, Skirl): Trumpet player, b. 1979 in Ithaca, NY. Released a trio album in 2009, followed up here by adding a trombone (Curtis Hasselbring) and swapping bassists. As Louis Armstrong understood early on, the trombone is the perfect foil for a trumpeter, and that principle still applies here, even moving far into postbop territory. B+(***)
213. Rob Mazurek Pulsar Quartet: Stellar Pulsations (2012, Delmark): Cornet player, based in Chicago, an essential part of Chicago Underground Duo/Trio (which morphed into Sao Paulo Underground) and a number of astronomy-themed groups: Starlicker, Exploding Star Orchestra, now Pulsar Quartet. With Angelica Sanchez (piano), Matthew Lux (bass guitar), and John Herndon (drums). The cornet is sparkling, and Sanchez makes a strong impression. B+(***)
214. Dave Douglas Quintet: Be Still (2012, Greenleaf Music): The modernist trumpet great gets sentimental, marking the death of his mother with hymns and folk songs, even a plaintive bluegrass singer, Aoife O'Donovan (of Crooked Still). Jon Irabagon joins on tenor sax, with Matt Mitchell on piano, Linda Oh on bass, Rudy Royston on drums. I feared an art-song move at first, but the context helps, as does the fact that Douglas's brass band experiments have provided an interesting parallel to Bill Frisell's string band Americana. The more conventional group doesn't belabor the point, nor does the saxophonist heave any bombs, although his occasional solos are notable. A-
215. Avery Sharpe: Sojourner Truth: ". . . Ain't I a Woman?" (2011 [2012], JKNM): Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) was the adopted name of a woman both into slavery in New York, emancipated in 1827; she became a notable abolitionist reader, an excerpt from her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech featured here. This is the bassist's 11th album since 1988, possibly his most ambitious, not just in its historical subject matter but in his expansion of the band -- Craig Handy (tenor and soprano sax) and Duane Eubanks (trumpet) join Onaje Allen Gumbs (piano) and Yoron Israel (drums), plus Jeri Brown recites and sings, very effective, touching especially on "Son of Mine" (Truth's son was illegally sold from NY to Alabama; she successfully sued to win back his freedom). B+(***)
216. Diana Krall: Glad Rag Doll (2012, Verve): Singer, plays piano, b. 1964 in British Columbia; thirteenth album since 1993, over 15 million copies sold (wonder whether that's more than her famous, older, and more prolific husband), which seems to have generated some backlash. As a singer she's a model of precision and economy, and this, like most of her albums, mails one finely wrought standard after another. These reportedly date from the 1920s and 1930s (although "Lonely Avenue" is later), the archive work credited to her father's collection of 78s. Producer T-Bone Burnett is right at home in the era, most of his moves in the guitar-ukulele-banjo section. My copy has four "bonus tracks" -- piano-voice only outtakes, nice but inessential. A-
217. Preservation Hall Jazz Band: 50th Anniversary Collection (1962-2010 [2012], Columbia/Legacy, 4CD): By all accounts, jazz originated in New Orleans, but from the 1920s on jazz musicians couldn't wait to get out of the Crescent City. Meanwhile, the native jazz of New Orleans became trad jazz, eclipsed by swing and bop and cool and avant and all manner of postmodernism, so archaic it could be welcomed back as tourist music -- all of this within the lifespan of musicians like De De Pierce, George Lewis, and Cie Frazier, who were welcomed back as folk heroes. In the 1960s Allan Jaffe opened Preservation Hall and organized its Jazz Band, an institution that has continued for fifty years, though dozens of personnel changes all dedicated to maintaining the old sound. They've mostly achieved that aim, but with fifty years to choose from, the compilers have opportunities to mix it up, like guest vocals by Tom Waits, Richie Havens, and Del McCoury. Still, I prefer the old stuff, especially guys like George Lewis, whose take on the music had less to do with respecting history than with staying alive. B+(***)
218. Harry Allen & Scott Hamilton: 'Round Midnight (2012, Challenge): Two generations of retro-swing tenor saxophonists, reigning champions respectively -- Allen a Coleman Hawkins stalwart, Hamilton more of a Lester Young/Zoot Sims swinger -- backed by piano (Rossano Sportiello), bass (Joel Forbes), and drums (Chuck Riggs). One Allen original ("Great Scott"), a bunch of standards, a riff piece from Lockjaw Davis, they sound great together, making it look all so easy. B+(***)
219. Lou Pallo of Les Paul's Trio: Thank You Les (2012, Showplace Music Production): A tribute to pioneering electric guitarist Les Paul, from his long-time rhythm guitarist, the first album under Pallo's name. I've never quite known what to do with Paul, ultimately filing his records under "vocal-20" even thought he actual singer was his wife, Mary Ford, and that only for a small slice of a sprawling career. Best thing I ever heard him do was on Jazz at the Philharmonic's The First Concert, but I've never heard him do anything like that ever again. The one other record I can recommend is his collection with Ford, The Best of the Capitol Masters: 90th Birthday Edition (1948-57 [2005], Capitol), where their penchant for kitsch works out more often than not. But this tribute comes close, and may even win out in the end. The guest list salts the famous (Keith Richard, Steve Miller, Billy Gibbons, José Feliciano, Slash) with virtuosos (Bucky Pizzarelli, Frank Vignola) but works just as well with lesser knowns (Blondie Chaplin, Nicki Parrott!) and unknowns (Johnny A?). Again, the key is kitsch, from "Vaya Con Dios" to "Nature Boy" to "Smile" to "Over the Rainbow." And while I count thirteen guitarists, I really only hear one -- which sounds like Paul on a good day. B+(***)
220. Peter Zak: Nordic Noon (2011 [2012], Steeplechase): Pianist, from Ohio, studied at UC Berkeley, based in New York, ten albums since 1989, mostly trios -- I count one solo, and one with a sax added, plus side dates, mostly with trumpeter Ryan Kisor. This is another trio, with Peter Washington and Billy Drummond -- hard to imagine a better mainstream rhythm section. Three originals, most of the eight covers from 1960s and 1970s jazz sources, a tradition he builds on. A-
221. Sam Newsome: The Art of the Soprano, Vol. 1 (2011 [2012], self-released): Saxophonist, b. 1965; nine or so records since 1999; I have him listed tenor first but he plays soprano here, solo, but he tricked me at first, tapping out a percussive rhythm on the Ellington opener that reminded me of steel drums. That's a neat trick, and by no means his only one. He returns to Ellington two more times, interleaving "A Love Supreme" and series of Africana, including a bit of Fela. B+(***)
222. Angelica Sanchez Quintet: Wires & Moss (2011 [2012], Clean Feed): Pianist, b. 1972 in Phoenix, AZ; moved to New York in 1994; fourth album, composed all pieces. Very impressive group, with Tony Malaby (tenor/soprano sax) and Marc Ducret (guitar) threatening to run away with the album, plus Drew Gress (bass) and Tom Rainey (drums). She's less avant than her cohort, fast and fluid in the interstices. B+(***)
223. Maya Dunietz/John Edwards/Steve Noble: Cousin It (2008 [2012], Hopscotch): Avant piano trio, recorded in London, home base of Edwards (bass) and Noble (drums). Pianist Dunietz, b. 1981 in Israel, seems to have a varied career ("active in jazz, rock, funk, polka -- both classical and avant garde, both local and international"), also playing accordion and singing, but just piano here. Superb when she plays with the drummer, adding to the free percussive frenzy. B+(***)
224. Michaël Attias: Spun Tree (2012, Clean Feed): Alto saxophonist, b. 1968 in Israel but has been around, with long stretches in France and the US. Postbop quintet, superb Ralph Alessi on trumpet, Matt Mitchell centering on piano, with Sean Conly on bass and Tom Rainey on drums. Lots of fast, slippery changes. B+(***)
225. Frank Kimbrough Trio: Live at Kitano (2011 [2012], Palmetto): Pianist, b. 1956, more than a dozen albums since 1998, part of the Jazz Composers Collective in New York, along with Ben Allison and Matt Wilson. He's the one I've been least impressed with, but this hits a sweet spot as a slow, thoughtful manoeuver through five covers (Pettiford, Ellington, Motian, Hill, "Lover Man") and three originals. With Wilson on drums and Jay Anderson on bass. B+(***)
226. Jason Kao Hwang: Burning Bridge (2011 [2012], Innova): Violinist, b. 1957 in New York, worked his way back to his Chinese roots which ultimately affected his tone, and led him to include pipa (Sun Li) and erhu (Wang Guowei) in this octet. With Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet, flugelhorn), Steve Swell (trombone), Joseph Daley (tuba), Ken Filiano (bass), and Andrew Drury (drums) -- a lot of brass to play off against the strings. B+(***)
227. Bobby Bradford/Frode Gjerstad/Ingebrigt Håker Flaten/Paal Nilssen-Love: Kampen (2010 [2012], NoBusiness): Bradford is a name you should know but may not: b. 1934, plays cornet, is most legendary for the group he co-led with John Carter. Here he landed in Oslo, with Frode Gjerstad (clarinet, alto sax) filling in the Carter role, and the first choice in rhythm sections. Limited edition vinyl: 300 copies. B+(***)
228. Liudas Mockunas & Barry Guy: Lava (2011 [2012], NoBusiness): Duets, saxophonist from Lithuania with a half dozen albums since 2001, and bassist from England with dozens since 1972, many as founder and direct or of London Jazz Composers Orchestra. I've always had trouble with Guy's big bands, but here you get a chance to actually hear all the sound he can coax from the bull fiddle, an astonishing range. B+(***)
229. Bill McHenry: La Peur du Vide (2012, Sunnyside): Tenor saxophonist, studied with George Garzone, dozen albums since 1998, AMG considers him avant-garde but I've always thought of him as a postbop modernist. Quartet with Orrin Evans on piano, Eric Revis on drums, and Andrew Cyrille on drums, each in their own way nudging the saxophonist out of his comfort zone. B+(***)
230. François Carrier/Michel Lambert: Shores and Ditches (2011 [2012], FMR): From Quebec, alto saxophonist and drummer, have worked together for well over a decade, and one-on-one their free improvs are hard to beat. Joining them at various points are guitar (Daniel Thompson), flute (Neil Metcalfe), and bass (Guillaume Viltard), which is where the record lags a bit. B+(***)
231. Ernest Dawkins: Afro Straight (2010-12 [2012], Delmark): Saxophonist, b. 1953 in Chicago, came up through the AACM, has a half dozen albums on his own plus many credits, notably with Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. Here he goes for something more mainstream, covering two Coltrane and three Shorter tunes, "Woody 'N You," "Softly as in a Morning Sunrise," and a really lovely "God Bless the Child," and he makes a party out of them, with Corey Wilkes jousting on trumpet, and lots of congas. Two originals: his title tune, and "Old Man Blues," which he sings in a voice not nearly old enough -- the only mis-step here. A-
232. The Peggy Lee Band: Invitation (2012, Drip Audio): Cellist, based in Vancouver, has a half dozen albums since 1999, mostly with more/less the same group here: Brad Turner (trumpet), Jon Bentley (tenor sax), Jerome Berkman (trombone), Ron Samworth (guitar), Tony Wilson (more guitar), Andre Lachance (electric bass), and Dylan van der Schyff (drums). Aside from one by Mary Margaret O'Hara, all Lee compositions. She spots all the pieces and ties them together into a melodic suite that classical training dreams of but almost never achieves. Final piece even reminds me of township jive. A-
233. Scott Fields: 5 Frozen Eggs (1996 [2012], Clean Feed): Avant guitarist, b. 1952, based in Chicago, has about twenty albums since 1993, several of which have been picked up and reissued by Clean Feed. Seems like most are cranky solo affairs, but some aren't, and this one is dominated by Marilyn Crispell's piano, at her iciest, creating fractured landscapes that Fields, bassist Hans Sturm, and drummer Hamid Drake trek through. B+(***)

Juma Sultan's Aboriginal Music Society: Whispers From the Archive (1970-78 [2012], Porter): B. 1942 in California, Sultan played percussion with Jimi Hendrix, played with Archie Shepp on records like Attica Blues, eventually became a Christian minister. This is the second slice from his archives, following Father of Origin in 2011 (on Eremite, unheard by me). These pieces are scattered over the years, the only constant someone named Ali Abuwi (oboe, flute, percussion), although one 19:20 track doesn't credit either. This kicks off with a 20:45 piece called "AMS," with Sultan on bass, Abuwi on oboe, and everyone but the guitarist on percussion -- James "Blood" Ulmer is too busy stealing the show. That's followed by 1:27 of "Shake Your Money Maker," the first of several vocals that bind the extended groove pieces to a sense of community. Last two pieces break out the flutes, and for once I don't mind. A-

234. The Fat Babies: Chicago Hot (2012, Delmark): Led by bassist Beau Sample, based in Chicago, a "young band" playing old music, drawing more on Jelly Roll Morton than on Austin High, but so did the Austin High crowd. Tuba player Mike Walbridge rates a "special guest" shout out: he was one of the notable players in what I reckon to be the third generation of trad jazz musicians, a venerable but still viable link. (His contemporary, Kim Cusack, did the liner notes.) This group is more like the fifth generation, but that happens with music this vital. No matter how much bebop I listen to, I doubt I'll ever escape the conviction that this is what real jazz sounds like. B+(***)
235. Medeski Martin & Wood: Free Magic (2012, Indirecto): Organ trio, been around for twenty-some years, remarkably popular although John Medeski (keyboards) and Billy Martin (drums) have a parallel history of dabbling in avant-garde projects. When they set up their own label and started diving into old live tapes, they initially reached for the one with John Scofield -- it's their thing, right? This one is older, coming from their "first-ever acoustic tour." That mostly means Medeski playing piano, with such astonishing flair you wonder why he doesn't do more of it. Hype sheet talks about him "channeling his inner Cecil Taylor," but I hear as much Bud Powell, and at least a little Jerry Lee. Closes with a Mingus/Sun Ra medley. A- [advance]
236. Holus-Bolus: Pine Barren (2012, Prom Night): Josh Sinton, plays baritone sax and bass clarinet here, in his Steve Lacy tribute band Ideal Bread, and elsewhere. Builds most pieces from rhythmic vamps down low (helped by Peter Bitenc on bass), with vibes for contrast, occasionally breaking loose with hellacious solo runs -- Jonathan Goldberger's guitar, or more often Jon Irabagon's sax. Seems to be download-only. [Bandcamp] A-
237. Kui Dong/Larry Polansky/Christian Wolff: Trio (2012, Henceforth): Dong is a pianist, b. 1966 in Beijing, China; moved to US in 1991 and teaches at Dartmouth, as do the others. Wolff, b. 1934 in France but grew up in the US, also plays piano here. He was influenced by postclassical composers like John Cage and Cornelius Cardew. I first ran across him on one of Brian Eno's Obscure Records. Polansky plays guitar and mandolin -- a way of interjecting some contrasting sounds, not that the pianos are all that predictable. Improv that would satisfy Cage, for just that reason. B+(***)
238. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: No New Tunes (2012, Hot Cup): Guitarist, rolled out the Big Five Chord name on his 2003 debut, and is up to five albums now. All originals, not sure whether they're new or not, but the band has been together for some time, and return here more imposing than ever: Bryan Murray (tenor sax), Jon Irabagon (alto sax), Moppa Elliott (bass), Dan Monaghan (drums). The sax thrash is as powerful as ever, and the guitar is even sharper. Download/vinyl only. A-
239. Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris/Gerald Cleaver: Living Jelly (2011 [2012], Leo): Tenor sax, guitar, drums, respectively, although Morris is also an accomplished bassist. His leads are more effective than Shipp's in the other two albums, probably because the tone of his guitar lines up more harmonically with the sax -- similarly, his comping is more transparent. But the leader excels here, uncommonly eloquent in the slow stretches and as thrilling as ever at high speed. A-
240. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/Whit Dickey: The Clairvoyant (2012, Leo): Tenor sax, piano, drums. Shipp and Dickey were in David S. Ware's original quartet, and played several duos and trios around that time (c. 1990). Shipp and the Brazilian saxophonist go back about that far too, and while Ware may be the model for their interaction, Perelman has developed his own distinctive voice, especially when he doesn't have to bring the noise. This is part of the second batch of three albums he's released this year, the third with Shipp. A-
241. I Compani: Garbo (2011 [2012], Icdisc, 2CD): Extended title adds: and other Goddesses of Cinema, with Brigitte Bardot at least as prominent as Garbo. I Compani is saxophonist Bo van der Graaf's outfit, a group that specializes in film music -- records on Fellini, Nino Rota, Aida, Last Tango in Paris, a side trip into Circusism. The band is large, but only two horns -- the leader's sax and one trumpet -- with piano/synth, bandoneon, a string section, vibes, and drums, and some vocals. The first disc is delirious and exhilarating, especially when the whole group is firing. The second is a bonus, a live "Tango and Impro" concert in memory of actress Maria Schneider (1952-2011), featuring big chunks of Gato Barbieri's heavy-handed Last Tango in Paris soundtrack. It drags a bit, especially compared with the first disc. One more caveat: possibly the worst CD packaging ever. B+(***)
242. Tessa Souter: Beyond the Blue (2011 [2012], Motéma): Singer, b. 1956 in England, based in New York; fourth album since 2004. Has a torch singer's voice, lots of emotion. For this album she raided her classical archives for melodies -- Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, Ravel, Borodin, Fauré, Albinoni, Rodrigo -- adding her lyrics to make songs that don't come close to triggering my classical gag reflex. One big help there is a band that could hardly be improved on: Steve Kuhn, David Finck, Billy Drummond, Joe Locke, Gary Versace (accordion), and Joel Frahm -- especially the latter, whose saxophones make for every singer's nonpareil duet partner. B+(***)
243. Cristina Morrison: I Love (2012, Baronesa): Singer, actress, originally from Florida but also lived in Quito and Rome. First album, wrote lyrics on six (of nine) songs, the music by alto saxophonist Christian Hidrobo, favoring Latin percussion (Sammy Torres), looking as much to Gregoire Maret's harmonica for soaring breaks as to the saxes (Hidrobo and Alex Harding). The three covers are especially striking. B+(***)
244. Kyle Brenders Quartet: Offset (2012, 18th Note): Plays sax (soprano, tenor) and clarinet (plus bass), based in Toronto where he is artistic director of AIMToronto Orchestra. Has a handful of albums since 2008, including one of duets with Anthony Braxton. Quartet adds a contrasting horn -- Steve Ward's trombone -- plus bass (Tomas Bouda) and drums (Mark Segger). Likes to roll up repeated rhythmic figures, but he can just as well bust loose and run away with a solo. A-
245. Ingebrigt Haker Flaten New York Quartet: Now Is (2011 [2012], Clean Feed): Norwegian bassist, doesn't have a lot under his own name but I've probably heard him on 50 albums, to no small extent because he's managed to collect most of them on Bandcamp. Main groups are Atomic and The Thing, plus various Vandermark projects, and lots more. With Joe McPhee (tenor sax), Nate Wooley (trumpet), and Joe Morris (guitar). All joint credits, but without a drummer the scratchy makeshift music seems to well up from the bass, gain volume through the guitar, and richochet off the horns. B+(***)
246. Roger Davidson Trio: We Remember Helen (2011 [2012], Soundbrush): Pianist, has specialized in Latin (especially Brazilian) music since 2000, although you would never guess that from this mainstream trio record, supported by David Finck on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. "Helen" is Helen Keane, a jazz producer and manager who died in 1996, and who had been a critical supporter of Davidson at least since 1987. Keane introduced Davidson to Finck for a record they cut in 1991. Not clear what Nash's connection to Keane is, but he's peerless as a mainstream drummer -- who wouldn't want to work with him? B+(***)
247. Eric Revis: Parallax (2012, Clean Feed): Bassist, b. 1967, two previous records (2004, 2009), several dozen side credits, ranging from Branford Marsalis to Avram Fefer. Dream quartet here with Ken Vandermark (tenor sax, clarinet), Jason Moran (piano), and Nasheet Waits (drums). Half Revis originals, two group improvs, one Vandermark tune, one each from Fats Waller and Jelly Roll Morton, all of interest, perhaps not adding up to more than the sum of the parts but brilliant musicians like these manage to hold their own. A-
248. Fred Hess Big Band: Speak (2012, Alison): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1944 in Pennsylvania, moved to Colorado in 1981, where he has played a major role above and beyond his own work -- sixteen albums under his own name, plus some other groups. Third Big Band album, with ringers John Fedchock and Matt Wilson cited on the cover. Hess wrote 5 (of 6) pieces, and is probably the saxophonist who first breaks out of big band orthodoxy and gets this cooking. B+(***)
249. Coat Cooke/Rainer Wiens: High Wire (2011 [2012], Now Orchestra): Cooke is a saxophonist, based in Vancouver, Canada; he founded NOW Orchestra in 1987, which continues as one of the world's premier avant-big bands -- their recordings seem to be limited to when guests arrive (Barry Guy in 1994, George Lewis in 2001, Marilyn Crispell in 2005). Cooke has a trio album, and two new duos. Wiens plays guitar and thumb piano, a bit ambient, but that draws out the scratchy sax. B+(***)
250. Coat Cooke/Joe Poole: Conversations (2011 [2012], Now Orchestra): Another duo, pitting Vancouver saxophonist Cooke with drummer Poole, a slightly more conventional match up than the one with Cooke and Rainer Wiens (guitar, thumb piano), losing just a tad on variety and surprise, but louder. B+(***)
251. Chris Lawhorn: Fugazi Edits (2012, Case/Martingale): As best I can tell, Lawhorn is a DJ, runs a blog aimed at selecting workout songs, not sure what else. Twenty-two cuts, each composed from instrumental fragments of several songs by the 1987-2002 hardcore band Fugazi. I didn't enjoy the group's well-regarded first album, and never gave them another chance, but the dense guitar offers a nice fusion crunch here. B+(***)
252. Allison Wedding: This Dance (2012, GroundUp Music): Singer-songwriter, b. 1972, grew up in Dallas and studied at UNT; went west, to Los Angeles, then Melbourne in 2001 and back to New York in 2007; has several previous albums, released in Australia. Produced by bassist-guitarist-Snarky Puppy leader Michael League, Wedding's soprano voice is surrounded by strings (including Zach Brock), which often enough provide just enough support to let the songs work -- "Carry On" is one that soars -- not that I wouldn't mind hearing more of Chris Potter, who guests on one track. [Bandcamp] B+(***)
253. The Whammies: Play the Music of Steve Lacy (2012, Driff): Very few avant-gardists have had their compositions recorded by others, much less by tribute bands, but Lacy is well on his way, with two albums by Ideal Bread, and now this inspired sextet: Jorrit Dijkstra (alto sax, lyricon), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Pandelis Karayorgis (piano), Mary Oliver (violin, viola), Nate McBride (bass), and Han Bennink (drums). Seven Lacy tunes cut at odd angles, the growl of the trombone especially appreciated. Then closes with Monk's "Locomotive," much as Lacy would have done. A-
254. Karl 2000 (2012, self-released): Avant sax trio: Daniel Rovin (tenor sax), Austin White (bass), Dave Miller (drums). First album. They claim Russian folk music and the Alexandrov Ensemble as inspirations, but you hear more Albert Ayler, which seems more to the point. B+(***)
255. Mort Weiss: I'll Be Seeing You (2012, SMS Jazz): Clarinetist, eighth album since 2006 when as a 60-year-old he returned to the instrument he played in his youth, playing bebop and blues with the grace of swing. With bass and drums and "special guest" Ramon Banda on conga. Not sure if he's the one singing "Gots the Horn in My Mouth Blues," or even whether that should be called singing -- an odd break in the middle of what's otherwise his most accomplished album. A-
256. William Parker: Centering: Unreleased Early Recordings 1976-1987 (1976-87 [2012], No Business, 6CD): A-
257. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/Michael Bisio: The Gift (2012, Leo): Case study, where The Clairvoyant was Perelman-Shipp plus drummer (Whit Dickey), this is the same duo plus bassist (Bisio). The difference is that when the duo slows down they're more likely to stall, but over time they find outs -- a little cocktail jazz, a slow burn, a spot for the bassist -- even solo the saxophonist has little trouble carrying on, wth his most impressive turn solo. B+(***)
258. Old Time Musketry: Different Times (2011 [2012], Steeplechase): Front cover also adds "LookOut" after "SteepleChase," suggesting a label variant I can find no other explanation of. Group is a quartet, based in New York: Adam Schneit (sax, clarinet), JP Schlegelmilch (piano, accordion, synth, glockenspiel), Phil Rowan (bass), Max Goldman (drums, melodica). Schneit and Schlegelmilch split the writing. They go for soft edges, letting the music just pick you up and sweep you away. A-
259. Matthew Silberman: Questionable Creatures (2012, DeSoto Sound Factory): Tenor saxophonist, from Santa Monica, CA; wound up in Brooklyn. Debut album, with two guitarists (Ryan Ferreira and Greg Ruggiero), bass (Christopher Tordini), and drums (Tommy Crane). The guitar work is grooveful and sharp, the sax articulate. One spot blows me away, and none of it disappoints. B+(***)
260. The Group: Live (1986 [2012], NoBusiness): The name, even with its definite article, doesn't do them justice. They came out of the New York loft scene, gigged around for a couple years, and left nothing but this newly discovered masterpiece. The booklet shows two quintet posters: their May 3 (1986?) "world premier" with Ahmed Abdullah (trumpet), Marion Brown (alto sax), Billy Bang (violin), Sirone (bass), and Andrew Cyrille; and another from Sept. 12-13, 1986, with Fred Hopkins on bass. This recording, from Sept. 13, uses both bassists. They play five pieces, with Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" and Brown's "La Piacita" running 18 minutes each, and Miriam Makeba's "Amanpondo" at 25 minutes. Bang manages to swing in any or no time; the two horns mesh intuitively, completing each other's thoughts; the two bassists have different strong suits, and Cyrille has rarely had a better day. A
261. Living by Lanterns: New Myth/Old Science (2011 [2012], Cuneiform): Compositions and arrangements by Jason Adasiewicz (vibes) and Mike Reed (drums), "based on unpublished compositions and improvisations by Sun Ra," and performed by a star-laden band that is plenty capable of projecting intergalactic imagination: Greg Ward (alto sax), Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet), Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Tomeka Reid (cello), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Joshua Abrams (bass), and Tomas Fujiwara (drums), with Nick Butcher adding electronics on two tracks. A-
262. Jeff Johnson: Suitcase (2011 [2012], Origin): Seattle bassist, one of the label's mainstays, generally a mainstream player but here he not only moves into postbop, he gives us a practicum in how much of the avant-garde has been incorporated into the postbop paradigm. Hans Teuber plays bass clarinet, alto flute, and various saxes, with Steve Moore on piano and Eric Eagle on drums. B+(***)
263. David Gilmore: Numerology: Live at Jazz Standard (2010 [2012], Evolutionary Music): Guitarist, b. 1964 in Cambridge, MA; has a couple previous albums, quite a few side credits -- some rock (Bryan Ferry, Ringo Starr), most jazz (Steve Coleman, Don Byron, Wayne Shorter, Rudresh Mahanthappa). Basically a fusion player, with McLaughlin the obvious model. Picked up an all-star band here: Miguel Zenón (alto sax), Luis Perdomo (piano), Christian McBride (bass), Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums), Mino Cinelu (percussion), Claudia Acuña (voice). Her contribution is almost too subtle to notice, but the sax takes the roiling rhythm and goes off on a magnificent romp. B+(***)
264. Chris Hopkins/Bernd Lhotzky: Partners in Crime (2012, Echoes of Swing): Piano duets. Lhotzky, b. 1970 in Bavaria. Hopkins, b. 1972 in Princeton, moved to Germany at age six. Both lean toward swing, with Lhotzky owning one of the Arbors Piano Series records. This is delightful, especially when they get into familiar territory, like "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'." B+(***)
265. Cristina Pato: Migrations (2011 [2013], Sunnyside): B. 1980 in Ourense, Galicia, Spain; plays piano, flute, sings a bit -- attractive, seductive voice -- but her main instrument is the gaita, or Gallician bagpipes -- smaller, more manageable, less irritating than the familiar Scottish variety. Band includes accordion, bass, and drums, and there is a parade of guests on harp (Edmar Castaneda), violin, tabla, bouzouki, cello, etc. B+(***)
266. William Hooker Quintet: Channels of Consciousness (2010 [2012], NoBusiness): Drummer, b. 1946 in Connecticut, has at least 25 albums since 1982, avant-garde, at least way out on the margins. Chris DiMeglio does a nice job of adding trumpet scratch, Dave Ross (guitar) and Adam Lane (bass) churn things up, and the drummer claims most of the focus, supplemented by Sanga's percussion. B+(***)
267. Rudresh Mahanthappa: Gamak (2012 [2013], ACT): Alto sax quartet, with electric guitar (David Fiuczynski), acoustic bass (François Moutin), and drums (Dan Weiss). This fits a trend of groups (often bass-less trios) where the guitar, rather than expanding the harmony, like piano has traditionally done -- both pushes the sax into a frenzy and can take a solo spot beside it, like a second horn. So not pathbreaking, but, of course, he does it better than almost anyone else. A-

268. Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Slippery Rock! (2012 [2013], Hot Cup): Peter Evans (trumpets), Jon Irabagon (saxes, including sopranino and a bit of flute), Moppa Elliott (bass), Kevin Shea (drums). Fourth album on Elliott's Hot Cup label -- also a live double on Clean Feed -- breaking a string of two classic album cover spoofs with what looks like a teen boy group splash, and less history in the songlist (unless "President Polk" counts -- "Dexter, Wayne and Mobley" sure does, then blows them up and scampers away). Too bad my eyes can't hack Leonard Featherweight's liner notes, always a source of high-minded obfuscation. That leaves me to draw my own far-fetched analogies: this is slippery in the sense that it follows no discernible time signature, rock in the sense that it is loud and frantic, and that attitude prevails. All these years of waiting for jazz-rock fusion, and what do we get? Fission! A
269. Harvie S/Kenny Barron: Witchcraft (2012 [2013], Savant): Bass-piano duets, the bass claiming enough space to even out the piano's natural volume edge. Plus Barron, as you no doubt recall from his early work with Stan Getz, is an attentive as well as remarkable accompanist. B+(***)
270. Matthew Shipp: Greatest Hits (2000-2012 [2013], Thirsty Ear): Before 2000 Shipp had established himself as one of the avant-garde's most rigorous pianists through a series of often startling duo and trio albums -- mostly duos. Most were on the usual obscure European labels, but a couple -- ranging from the tedious 2-Z with Roscoe Mitchell to the superb Zo with bassist William Parker -- came out on a postrock label in Connecticut. Thirsty Ear wound up hiring Shipp to curate "The Blue Series": think of them as postrock crossovers made by Shipp's avant chums plus a few secretly admiring DJs. Early on, the series tracked public interest in "jazztronica" -- but unlike the previous decade's "acid jazz" fad or the later dabblings of more-or-less mainstream figures ranging from Nicholas Payton to Dave Douglas -- Shipp's series never felt like a compromise. But later on, Shipp seemed to grow weary of the electronics and tried to reassert himself as an acoustic jazz pianist (especially on the solos One and 4D and the mixed solo-trio Art of the Improviser). Of course, nothing he did was a "hit" in the pop sense, but these dozen cuts from eleven albums both hit the high points and drive home the primacy of his piano. A-
271. Thomas Borgmann/Wilber Morris/Reggie Nicholson: Nasty & Sweet (1998-99 [2013], NoBusiness, 2CD): Tenor saxophonist (credited with "reeds" here), b. 1955 in Germany; not much discography but he does have a 1999 CIMP album with this same trio (credited there as BMN Trio) and a 2003 bash with Brötzmann. This was released as limited (400 copy) vinyl only, and I'm working off CDRs. First disc lives up to the title, and the second starts with a piece from the same date. The 1998 session only slows down toward the end, for a long bass solo and a little sax dirge. A- [advance]
272. Chris Potter: The Sirens (2012 [2013], ECM): The quintessential postbop tenor saxophonist for twenty-some years now, after which he's still only 42, he can blow you away, but rarely does. His "first ECM record" is a frothy little thing propped up with riches -- for example, he couldn't decide between pianists Craig Taborn and David Virelles so went with both. B+(***)
273. Iron Dog: Interactive Album Rock (2012, self-released): Sarah Bernstein writes poems/texts, recites them through some kind of electronic processor, same for her violin. Second album as Iron Dog with Stuart Popejoy on bass/synth and Andrew Drury on drums -- first was a 2011 release called Field Recordings Vol. 1 dating from 2005-06 -- plus one album under her own name (Unearthish, worth checking out). This has an industrial tone but is more/less improvised. B+(***)
274. Elina Duni Quartet: Matanë Malit (2012, ECM): Singer, b. 1981 in Albania, left when she was 10 but returns through this mostly trad. songbook. Second album, this one backed by Colin Vallon's piano trio, providing understated but more than competent support, without traditional instruments or oriental sonorities. This puts all the focus on Duni's voice, dark and torchy, sombre or smoldering. B+(***) [advance: Oct. 16]
275. Carrie Wicks: Barely There (2012, OA2): Singer-songwriter, originally from New Jersey, wound up in Seattle; second album; four covers (Townes Van Zandt, Pee Wee King, Johnny Mercer, Oscar Hammerstein II), nine originals co-credited to Ken Nottingham (not in the band). Band includes label regulars Bill Anschell and Jeff Johnson; one cut features accordion, and Hans Teuber consistently adds tasty clarinet and tenor sax. She has a sly voice which grows on you, and the closing standards drive home the intrinsic musicality. B+(***)
276. David Greenberger/Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound: They Like Me Around Here (2012 [2013], Pel Pel): Spoken word, the words collected from interviews with old folks in nursing homes -- at some point in all of Greenberger's albums I belatedly realize that his homogenized voice is channeling a much more varied group of people, usually when one of those people has to be female. A year and a few months ago Greenberger released four albums with different musicians. I found they all sort of flowed into each other, but the consensus pick -- Christgau and Tatum, anyway -- was the one with Paul Cebar (and Mark Greenberg). This time there's just one, with Cebar taking charge, his music varied, inventive, sometimes exotic -- tasteful horn charts, lots of percussion, field recordings. A-
277. Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra: Bloom (2011 [2013], 19/8): From Japan, moved to New York in 2005 and rounded up this crackling 18-piece big band, for which she is composer, arranger, conductor -- after guitar-bass-piano (acoustic and electric) the 18th "piece" is vocalist Sara Serpa. Fine textures and intriguing details, some strong reeds. Wonder whether this will attract the attention Maria Schneider enjoys, but I'm evidently unfit to tell. B+(***)
278. Charles Lloyd/Jason Moran: Hagar's Song (2012 [2013], ECM): Duo, the venerable saxophonist and one of the most accomplished young pianists of the last decade -- some of those feats coming in Lloyd's Quartet, so this isn't a stab at an odd pairing. No bass or drums lets Lloyd take his time, especially delighting in melodies like "Mood Indigo" and "God Only Knows." Some flute, but it fits right in. A-
279. Billy Martin's Wicked Knee: Heels Over Head (2012 [2013], Amulet): Drummer, best known as the middleman in Medeski, Martin & Wood; has released a large pile of specialist albums, but nothing like this before. Here he's lined up a small brass band -- Steven Bernstein (trumpet, slide trumpet), Curtis Fowlkes (trombone), Marcus Rojas (tuba) -- and gone back to New Orleans, at least for King Oliver's "Sugarfoot Stomp" although they jump off with a Frank London piece called "Chumba Zumba," and never settle into anything obvious or derivative. Bernstein does most of the arranging, and Rojas takes most of the leads. And lest you think that I think every vocal incursion is a waste, check out Shelley Hirsch's song about hobbling through an Occupy Wall Street march as one of the "99%." A
280. Michel Lambert: Journal des Épisodes (2010-12 [2013], Jazz From Rant): Drummer, from Quebec, has played with François Carrier for well over a decade, also in a group called Maïkotron Unit. This is a piano trio, with Alexandre Grogg on piano and Guillaume Bouchard on bass. The 67:19 recording comprises 92 "episodes," some as short as seven seconds, the median most likely in the twenties, a couple venturing past three minutes, one clocking in at 5:54. Aside from some clash near the beginning, they flow neatly enough to be taken as a whole, as indeed most days do. B+(***)
281. Barry Altschul: The 3Dom Factor (2012 [2013], TUM): Drummer, b. 1943, joined Paul Bley's trio in 1965; c. 1970 played with Chick Corea, Dave Holland, and Anthony Braxton in and out of Circle -- Holland's Conference of the Birds was the era's masterpiece; his discography thins out in the 1980s although he's popped up a few times recently: in the FAB Trio with Joe Fonda and Billy Bang; on Sam Rivers' Reunion with Holland; as "special guest" on Jon Irabagon's Foxy. I think this is his first headline album since 1986, but it's basically the flip side of Foxy, a sax trio with Irabagon and Fonda, with nine of his originals (plus one from Carla Bley). Not as fun as Foxy or as flamboyand as Irabagon is on Slippery Rock -- 2013's early best-of-year favorite -- but superb nonetheless, with plenty of reason to focus on the drummer. A-
282. Ehud Asherie with Harry Allen: Lower East Side (2009 [2013], Posi-Tone): Mainstream pianist, from Israel, based in New York, playing standards with tenor sax -- in fact, about the closest thing you can get these days to Coleman Hawkins. They did this last year on Upper West Side, and these are basically the leftovers, probably from the same session -- less famous, and less obvious, songs, although they saved "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" for a closer. For me, this is what jazz sounds like, and although I rated other albums higher than I did Upper West Side, I didn't play any of them more often. More is more. A-
283. Ben Sidran: Don't Cry for No Hipster (2012 [2013], Unlimited Media): Pianist-singer-songwriter, b. 1943, started out in rock, especially with the Steve Miller Band, before eventually evolving into an "existential jazz rapper." Two dozen albums since 1971, first I've heard, first impression is that he's following Mose Allison, his "Hipster" skilled at getting gone, but sheltering a "Rich Interior Life." One cover: always good to hear "Sixteen Tons." B+(***)
284. Anders Nilsson/Joe Fonda/Peter Nilsson: Powers (2012, Konnex): Guitar-bass-drums trio. Anders Nilson has several excellent albums -- Blood, Aorta Ensemble, his Kalabalik meet up with Raoul Björkenheim -- and makes a strong impression as a sideman, but loses a bit of edge here, probably because the bassist tries to steer this into open improv waters, finding an interesting balance. B+(***)
285. Peter Evans: Zebulon (2010 [2013], More Is More): Trumpet player, best known as one of the terrorists in Mostly Other People Do the Killing, but has a handful of records on his own, mostly more avant than the band's. Trio, with the ever-dependable John Hébert on bass and Kassa Overall on drums. Trumpet stabs, zips, kicks it up a notch, then another one. A-
286. Scott Hamilton: Remembering Billie (2012 [2013], Blue Duchess): Tenor saxophonist, once a "young fogey" but getting on now. His connection to Billie Holiday is through Lester Young -- I vaguely recall that he actually plays one of Young's old saxes. Songs Holiday recorded, half-a-dozen titles I can recall perfectly well but only the exquisite "God Bless the Child" makes me think of Holiday (as opposed to Hamilton) while playing. Duke Robillard plays guitar on two cuts, and "I'll Never Be the Same" is a gem. B+(***)
287. The Kahil El'Zabar Quartet: What It Is! (2012 [2013], Delmark): Chicago drummer, has twenty-some albums since 1982, many as Ethnic Heritage Ensemble; always interesting, but his best albums were lifted by bigger names -- David Murray on Love Outside of Dreams (1997), Billy Bang on Spirits Entering (2001). This time he goes with players I'm only barely familiar with -- Kevin Nabors (tenor sax), Justin Dillard (keybs), Junius Paul (bass) -- they have some side credits with Ernest Dawkins and Corey Wilkes. Nabors, in particular, has a strong voice, one you'll be hearing more from. B+(***)
288. Tom Dempsey/Tim Ferguson Quartet: Beautiful Friendship (2010 [2012], Planet Arts): The leader play guitar and bass. Third group album, although Ferguson also played on Dempsey's 1998 debut. Rounding out the quartet are Eliot Zigmund on drums and Joel Frahm on tenor and soprano sax. The latter has long been a superb accompanist and is the main reason to tune in here, but the leaders move it along nicely. B+(***)
289. Steve Kuhn: The Vanguard Date (1986 [2013], Sunnyside): Pianist, b. 1938, cut his first album in 1963; AMG lists 47 albums. This trio with Ron Carter and Al Foster was originally released on Owl, with the liner notes now buried somewhere in the data tracks. A fine set, about half originals, ending with a lovely solo "Lullaby." B+(***)
290. Steve Coleman and Five Elements: Functional Arrhythmias (2012 [2013], Pi): Alto saxophonist, b. 1956, has used Five Elements as his primary group name since 1986, thirteen albums in all. Many explore funk/fusion beats, some are muddied up with vocals, the last couple I didn't care for at all. But this one is stripped way down: two wavering horns (Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet), bass and drums that fully implement the title, a little extra guitar (Miles Okazaki) on 5 of 14 tracks. Maybe too simple, but rarely has the continuous shifting of time come through so clearly -- one could say, functional. A-
291. Ches Smith & These Arches: Hammered (2012 [2013], Clean Feed): Drummer, has a couple albums under his own name, a lot of side credits since 2001 on various avant and left-field projects -- Ben Goldberg, Mary Halvorson, Darius Jones, Marc Ribot, Jason Robinson. Wrote all the pieces here for two roughhousing saxes (Tim Berne and Tony Malaby), with Halvorson (guitar) and Andrea Parkins (accordion, electronics) supporting, sometimes as cross purposes. B+(***)
292. Robert Hurst: Bob: A Palindrome (2001 [2013], Bebob): Bassist, b. 1964 in Detroit, six albums since 1992 including two Unrehurst compilations, side credits include Wynton Marsalis. Draws in some big names here: Branford Marsalis (tenor/soprano sax), Bennie Maupin (alto flute, bass clarinet, tenor/soprano sax), Marcus Belgrave (trumpet/flugelhorn), Robert Glasper (piano/rhodes), Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums), Adam Rudolph (percussion). No track credits, not that it's hard to sort out the saxophonists. Liner notes mentions almost in passing that this was "originally recorded" in 2001: makes me wonder: (a) typo? (b) is this a newer recording? Everyone else goes way back, but Glasper would have been 23, two years shy of his debut. All Hurst pieces, at least one dating to 1985. No edge to the opening flute, but this picks up strength as its many facets emerge, even a thrilling bit of free thrash. B+(***)
294. John Stein: Bing Bang Boom (2012 [2013], Whaling City Sound): Guitarist, has more than ten records since 1995, usually tight groove pieces with a characteristic grain of metal, ups his game a bit with this quartet -- Jake Sherman keybs, John Lockwood bass, Zé Eduardo Nazario drums -- making me think of John Scofield. B+(***)
295. Arnaoudov/Szymanski/Stefens/Pärt/Xenakis/Minchev: Sonograms (1974-97 [2013], Labor): Those are the composers as their names appear on the cover and spine. They are postmodern/postclassical, and their pieces are performed by several Bulgarian musicians, usually solo, especially Benedikta Bonitz (recorders: 7 pieces) and Angela Tosheva (piano: also 7 pieces). There is one piece for string quartet (Steffens), one of the recorder pieces adds cello and Khandjari, another triangles, and one scales up to four recorders. Not quite minimalist nor merely abstract, the piano pieces have some teeth to them, and the recorders provide a nice contrast. I don't get much music like this these days, so it's hard to judge. B+(***)
296. Eli Yamin/Evan Christopher: Louie's Dream: For Our Jazz Heroes (2012 [2013], Yamin Music): Pianist, b. 1968 in Long Island, has a handful of records since 1998's Pushin' 30, teams up with the clarinetist for salutes to Armstrong, Bechet, Ellington, Bigard, Mary Lou Williams, Mahalia Jackson, John Coltrane, and Amiri Baraka, plus a couple pieces recycled from Yamin's Holding the Torch for Liberty. B+(***)
297. Mikrokolektyw: Absent Minded (2012 [2013], Delmark): Duo, from Wroclaw, Poland: Artur Majewski (trumpet, cornet) and Kuba Suchar (drums, percussion), both with electronics, which is to say pretty comparable to Chicago Underground Duo (Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor). Second album, at least on Delmark. Starts slow, agonizing drones mostly, but the pieces work out various rhythmic ideas, and in the end it depends on what the trumpet can do with, and beyond, them -- a lesson from Miles Davis' funk period, applies here too. B+(***)
298. Tomasz Stanko NY Quartet: Wislawa (2012 [2013], ECM, 2CD): Another set by the great Polish trumpeter, who started out on the avant-garde and moderated by age (70) and label still remains one of the world's most distinctive. A few years back he came up with a "young Polish quartet" who continue to work as a piano trio. Here he is traveling alone, picking up a band of locals, which in New York nets him Gerald Cleaver, Thomas Morgan, and a new pianist everyone seems to want to play with these days, David Virelles. Talented as they are, they tend to be deferential, but then it's the trumpet you want to hear anyway. By the way, "Wislawa" is Nobel Prize-winning poet Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012). B+(***)
299. Samuel Blaser Quartet: As the Sea (2011 [2013], Hatology): Trombonist, from Switzerland, has a handful of albums since 2007. Quartet includes Marc Ducret on guitar, Bänz Oester on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums. One title, four parts, 51:14 total. Starts slow and tentative, but builds up in interesting ways, especially when the guitarist works up a sweat, giving the trombone something to bounce off. Second album I've heard by him, but looks like he has a fair sampling on Bandcamp, including a solo: someone to explore further. B+(***) [advance]

300. Monica Ramey: And the Beegie Adair Trio (2012 [2013], Adair Music Group): Standards singer, second album, rolls out 14 songs, 72 minutes, backed by Adair's piano trio plus horn spots for George Tidwell (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Dennis Soles (saxes, flute). As is often the case, this rises or slips on the songs -- "I Thought About You" caught my ear, then the pairing of "Witchcraft" and "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" -- but she frames them nicely, can turn on the gusto or sass or take a delicate ballad. The band does the job, which is all it really takes. B+(***)
301. Edward Simon Trio: Live in New York at Jazz Standard (2010 [2013], Sunnyside): Pianist, from Venezuela, a dozen or so albums since 1993, at least three with this trio: John Patitucci (bass) and Brian Blade (drums). Live they stretch out on five long pieces, three Simon originals and covers of Jobim and Coltrane. Bright, lively piano jazz. B+(***)
302. The Engines w/John Tchicai: Other Violets (2011-12 [2013], Not Two): Chicago quartet -- Dave Rempis (saxes), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Nate McBride (bass), and Tim Daisy (drums) -- playing live with the soon-to-be-late Afro-Danish saxophonist John Tchicai. Gets off to a rather slow start, perhaps the band too deferential to their guest, or their guest slow to suss out the band, but it picks up significantly toward the end. B+(***)
303. Reinmar Henschke: On Air (2009 [2013], Ozella): Pianist, b. 1959 in Germany; looks like his eighth album since 1988, although this is the only one AMG lists. Piano and keyb tracked with percussion and electronics, with bits of guest sax, vibes, guitar, percussion, clarinet, flute. Before I could sneer "pop jazz" it started growing on me, the rhythm figures hypnotic, the piano a bit sumptuous. One vocal, in English by Pascal von Wroblewsky (a name to remember) is a plus. B+(***)
304. Reg Schwager/Michel Lambert: Trio Improvisations (2001-02 [2013], Jazz From Rant): Guitarist Schwager was b. 1962 in Netherlands, moved to New Zealand when he was 3, moved again at 6 to Canada, based now in Toronto. Has a handful of albums since 1985. Drummer Lambert plays with François Carrier and Maïkotron Unit. To make a trio they add Misha Mengelberg (piano), Kenny Wheeler (trumpet), or Michael Stuart (sax, probably tenor) for three improv cuts each. Mengelberg and Wheeler are very famous and acquit themselves well. Stuart isn't famous: b. 1948 in Jamaica, moved to Toronto in 1969, did a tour with Elvin Jones but has scant discography. (AMG gives him a couple dozen credits, but many are for engineering classical recordings, and some are dubious -- e.g., playing percussion on Love's Forever Changes.) His cuts are as strong as the stars', making him someone I'd like to hear more from. B+(***)
305. The Kandinsky Effect: Synesthesia (2011 [2013], Cuneiform): Sax trio, based in Paris, recorded this debut album in Iceland. Walter Walker, from California, is credited with "saxophone/effects," writes most of the pieces. Gaël Petrina (bass, effects), from Argentina, and Caleb Dollister (drums, laptop), from Reno or Nashville or Los Angeles and based in New York, complete the trio. Rhythm veers toward jazztronica without being overly electronic, just enough to provide a stable base for Walker to riff over. B+(***)
306. Jacky Terrasson: Gouache (2012 [2013], Sunnyside): Pianist, b. 1966 in Germany, has about 15 albums since breaking in on Blue Note in 1994. Very eclectic here, trying lots of things -- some electric, a few cuts with bass clarinet (Michel Portal) or flugelhorn (Stephane Belmondo), two vocal cuts (Cécile McLorin Salvant), non-vocal covers of Justin Bieber and Amy Winehouse, a couple pieces that celebrate his own fleetness (one called "Try to Catch Me"). Pretty much all works, too. B+(***)
307. Anthony Branker & Word Play: Uppity (2012 [2013], Origin): Composer, originally played trumpet but stopped after a medical problem; studied at Princeton, Miami, and Columbia, and directs the jazz program at Princeton. Sixth album, second with this group: Ralph Bowen (tenor sax) and Jim Ridl (piano) are the names you've likely heard of, plus trumpet (Eli Asher), trombone (Andy Hunter), bass (Kenny Davis), and drums (Donald Edwards). First two cuts are terrific, upbeat things just bubbling over. Less impressive when he gets solemn, with uncredited strings (Hunter also has a keyb credit) and Charmaine Lee's vocal fills on a Nigeria-themed number, but it builds to an impressive swell, whereas his similar "Ballad for Trayvon Martin" goes for elegiac simplicity. A-
308. Aguankó: Elemental (2012 [2013], RKO): Alberto Nacif, conguero (plays congas), b. in Mexico, based in Michigan, has been in groups like Tumbao and Tumbao Bravo. First album for this group, with Jose Espinosa (b. in Havana, Cuba) on bongos, timbales, and guiro; Paul Finkbeiner on trumpet, Chris Smith on trombone, Wesley Reynoso on piano, and various others. Afro-Cuban jazz, sometimes relaxes a bit but feels plenty authentic to me. B+(***)
309. Rob Mazurek Octet: The Skull Sessions (2011 [2013], Cuneiform): Chicago-based cornet player, part of Chicago Underground, also São Paulo Underground, combines both angles here and then some. The Brazilian contingent: Mauricio Takara (cavaquinho [a ukulele], percussion), Guilherme Granado (keyboards, electronica), Thomas Rohrer (rabeca [a fiddle], C melody sax), and Carlos Issa (guitar, electronics). From Chicago: Nicole Mitchell (piccolo, flute, voice), Jason Adasiewicz (vibes), John Herndon (drums), and Mazurek. Combination is busy, noisy, chaotic. Helps to focus on the cornet, which usually soars above, or the sheer energy vibe, especially when the cornet is engulfed. B+(***)
310. Rich Halley 4: Crossing the Passes (2012 [2013], Pine Eagle): Tenor saxophonist, has recorded since the 1980s, more so since he's approached retirement age. Quartet adds a second horn -- Michael Vlatkovich's trombone -- to bass (Clyde Reed) and drums (son Carson Halley). A-
311. Ellery Eskelin Trio: New York II (2013, Prime Source): Sax-organ trio, with Gary Versace on the B3 and Gerald Cleaver on drums; second album together, the first dedicated to the tenor saxophonist's organ-playing mother. Likewise, this one is all standards, with a Monk piece, ohers like "Just One of Those Things," "After You've Gone," and "Flamingo." Versace stays clear of the usual soul jazz moves, giving this an odd delicacy, undercutting the spark but bringing out some of Eskelin's most poignant ballad craft. A-
312. Dave Douglas Quintet: Time Travel (2012 [2013], Greenleaf Music): Same lineup as last year's Be Still -- Jon Irabagon (tenor sax), Matt Mitchell (piano), Linda Oh (bass), Rudy Royston (drums) -- minus the singer and the solemn tone, which gives them space to repeatedly flare out, even if the compositional matrix is the same fancy, slippery postbop Douglas has honed for years. The main thing you get is chops: he remains in a class by himself, so confident he's game to take on the hottest saxophonist he can find -- Potter, McCaslin, Strickland, now Irabagon, who is having one helluva year. A- [advance]
313. Curtis Hasselbring: Number Stations (2012 [2013], Cuneiform): Trombonist, studied at New England Conservatory and played in Boston bands like Either/Orchestra, then moved to New York, recorded in groups as disparate as Slavic Soul Party and Ballin' the Jack, finally recording his own album as The New Mellow Edwards. That band name is "featured" here, on his third album, and they're a motley bunch: Chris Speed (tenor sax, clarinet), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Trevor Dunn (bass), Matt Moran (vibes, marimba), and two drummer/percussionists: Ches Smith and Satoshi Takeishi. Compositions have something to do with numeric codings read off shortwave radio broadcasts, but what you get is a mish-mash studded with brilliant solos, much as you'd expect if a band this talented just winged it. B+(***)
314. John Vanore & Abstract Truth: Culture (2012 [2013], Acoustical Concepts): Trumpet player, came up in Woody Herman's band, should explain his taste in bright and brassy. Fourth album with his unconventional big band Abstract Truth. Pieces include a 3-part suite and an arrangement of "Footprints." Strong solos, some interesting quirks in the arrangements. B+(***)
315. Kaylé Brecher: Spirals and Lines (2012, Penchant Four): Singer, based in Philadelphia, fifth album since 1992. Don't see song credits but most seem to be originals -- obvious covers are "When Johnny Goes Marching Home" and "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," but she segues the latter into a corny patriotic anthem ("The House I Live In") and updates a Mingus blues for the white collar world. Long list of musicians, none I had heard of, shuttle in and out, including four trumpet/flugelhorn players and three trombonists but her favorite accompanist is Jimmy Parker on sousaphone -- mine too. B+(***)
316. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: The Art of the Duet, Volume One (2012 [2013], Leo): The Brazilian avant-saxophonist has been releasing records at a furious pace recently, including two batches of three each last year, and three more recently. All of this batch include Shipp, who played piano in David S. Ware's now-legendary quartet among much else, including a 1996 duet with Perelman (Bendito of Santa Cruz). Over the last two years no one has produced more top flight music than Perelman, but I'm starting to wonder if we're getting too much of the same thing. At least that's where I was stuck on the two new quartet albums, but the duets here are clear and sparkling, both sides coherent and connected. Not that the inevitable Volume Two won't be too much . . . On to the quartets. A-
317. Ivo Perelman: Serendipity (2011 [2013], Leo): Another tenor sax quartet, reportedly accidental: session was originally scheduled to be trio with Matthew Shipp (piano) and Gerald Cleaver (drums) -- that trio was recorded a week later as The Foreign Legion -- but when one was late they called in bassist William Parker and wound up with a quartet. Sometimes hard to judge exactly what Parker adds, but Perelman is remarkably relaxed and fluid from the start, and builds up to some of his most impressive blowing ever. A-
318. Jim Snidero: Stream of Consciousness (2012 [2013], Savant): Alto saxophonist, 17 albums since 1987, generally a mainstream/postbop guy, but looking for "strong, free-spirited younger players" this time, coming up with Paul Bollenback (guitar), Linda Oh (bass), and Rudy Royston (drums). Actually, he winds up running away from them more often than not. B+(***)
319. Barbara Morrison: A Sunday Kind of Love (2010-12 [2013], Savant): Singer, b. 1952 in Michigan, got her start opposite Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson in 1974, toiled a couple decades in the Johnny Otis Show, has a dozen records since 1995. I haven't heard any of them, but would be real surprised if any hold a candle to this one. The secret isn't a fine-but-who-are-they pianio trio -- Stuart Elster? Richard Simon? Lee Spath? -- so it must be Houston Person, who is more than just featured here. But it's the singer who hits one softball after another out of the park: "I'm Just a Lucky So and So," "The Green Door," "A Sunday Kind of Love," "On the Sunny Side of the Street," "Let's Stay Together" -- only "I Cover the Waterfront" is out of her zone. Exquisite: the medley of "Smile/Make Someone Happy." I dare anyone not to. A
320. Duo Baars-Henneman: Autumn Songs (2012 [2013], Wig): Ig Henneman on viola, Ab Baars on tenor sax, clarinet, shakuhachi. Henneman tends to lead, pushing the limits of high lonesome. Baars is complementary, especially on clarinet. B+(***)
321. Ross Hammond Quartet: Cathedrals (2013, Prescott): Guitarist, based in Sacramento, CA; has a handful of albums. Last cut here is a duet with drummer Alex Cline, a good chance to hone in on Hammond's attractive technique. But the rest of the album is dominated by Vinny Golia (tenor and soprano sax, flute) in an amazing tour de force that reduces Cline to keeping metronomic time. Steuart Liebig plays bass. A-
322. Michael Bates/Samuel Blaser Quintet: One From None (2011 [2013], Fresh Sound New Talent): Bassist and trombone, leaders because they do the writing, 5-3 in favor of Bates if you're counting. Each as 3-5 records already, solid work, as is this. Band includes Michael Blake (sax), Russ Lossing (keybs), and Jeff Davis (drums). B+(***)
323. Craig Taborn Trio: Chants (2012 [2013], ECM): Pianist, from Minneapolis; cut an early album for DIW in 1994, two "Blue Series" albums that established his reputation as one of the few distinctive electric keyb players in jazz, a couple avant exercises on European labels (Clean Feed and ILK), and a very well received acoustic solo for ECM. This trio, with Thomas Morgan and Gerald Cleaver, should be his crowning success, but I keep coming up a bit short with it. B+(***)
324. Geof Bradfield: Melba! (2012 [2013], Origin): Tenor saxophonist (also credited with soprano sax and bass clarinet here), fourth album since 2003, a tribute to trombonist and big band arranger Melba Liston (noting also that two songs are named after band leaders she worked for: Dizzy Gillespie and Randy Weston). Septet includes two brass (trumpet and trombone), Jeff Parker on guitar, and Ryan Cohan on piano, with Bradfield the sole reed player. The arrangements swing, the horns slide. Ends with a brief Maggie Burrell vocal. B+(***)
325. Nick Fraser: Towns and Villages (2012 [2013], Barnyard): Drummer, based in Toronto, has at least one previous album under his own name, several as Drumheller, a dozen or so side credits. Quartet, modeled loosely on Ornette Coleman's recent two-bass quartet, this one with Rob Clutton on double bass and Andrew Downing on cello. They provide an ever shifting substrate for the horn: Tony Malaby on tenor (and soprano) sax gives a bravo performance, one of his finest ever. A-
326. Carlos Alves "Zingaro"/Jean Luc Cappozzo/Jerome Bourdellon/Nicolas Lelievre: Live at Total Meeting (2010 [2012], NoBusiness): Violin, trumpet/bugle, flutes/bass clarinet, percussion, respectively, a prickly combination. Zingaro, b. 1948 in Portugal, came out of the postclassical avant-garde with a long discography. Cappozzo has a few albums, including one with Herb Robertson called Passing the Torch. Don't know the others, but the drummer is terrific, someone to watch out for. Three long improv pieces, difficult but dazzling, kept a smile on my face all the way through. A-
327. Uri Caine/Han Bennink: Sonic Boom (2010 [2013], 816 Music): Piano-drums duet, going by the order on the spine instead of the front cover. Recorded on the drummer's home ground -- "live at the Bimhuis" -- with Bennink's artwork both inside and out. Looks like joint improvs aside from "'Round Midnight," which isn't the only debt to Monk. The drummer is especially superb, and Caine gets hotter and harder as he learns the ropes. B+(***)
328. Charnett Moffett: The Art of Improvisation (2009, Motéma): Checking on his new record, I noticed that I had never rated this old one, which I only got an advance promo of and file it in a queue that I almost never look at -- a risk that wouldn't have happened had they sent me a final copy. (Actually, this is two records back; never got the intervening Treasure in any shape or form.) Don't have the credits, so I don't know how chores were split up between two guitarists and three drummers, or which bass Moffett plays where -- my impression is that the fretless bass guitar gets a workout here. All originals, except for a Langston Hughes poem spoken by Angela Moffett and a warbly "Star Spangled Banner"; one more vocal is by Yungchen Lhamo -- no clue what the language is. The bass is always prominent, driving the groove, incorporating the world, and elaborating on it. B+(***)
329. Hush Point: Hush Point (2013, Sunnyside): Postbop pianoless quartet, the two horns John McNeil's trumpet and Jeremy Udden's alto sax, with Aryeh Kobrinsky on bass and Vinnie Sperrazza on drums. I initially assumed this would be McNeil's show -- he's about 30 years senior -- but Udden outwrote him 4-to-3, Kobrinsky pitched in, and they picked up two Jimmy Giuffre tunes that seem like a shared connection. The hornwork is tight and sly, the rhythm slippery. Nothing spectacular, but could well grow on you. B+(***)
330. Steven Lugerner: For We Have Heard (2013, NoBusiness/Primary): Plays double reeds, clarinets, flutes, saxes. Second album, after his ambitious 2-CD debut (also has a group record, Dads, by Chives). Quartet with Darren Johnston on trumpet, Myra Melford on piano, and Matt Wilson on drums. Strong soloists in their rare spots, but the compositions come first, with most of the album is woven around the leader's intricate reeds. B+(***)
331. Jonathan Finlayson & Sicilian Defense: Moment & the Message (2012 [2013], Pi): Trumpet player, first album after quality side credits with Steve Lehman, Steve Coleman, Tomas Fujiwara, and -- most likely; still haven't heard the album -- Mary Halvorson. Quintet with Miles Okazaki (guitar), David Virelles (piano), Keith Witty (bass), and Damion Reid (drums). No second horn keeps his out front, while the guitar and piano players are rising stars, sparkling soloists with an intriguingly complex interplay. A-
332. Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio + Jeb Bishop: The Flame Alphabet (2011 [2013], Not Two): Bishop is the Chicago-based trombone player who left the Vandermark Five about five years ago, and has kept busy since then mostly guesting on projects where he easily adds to the noise level -- his tour with Cactus Truck is fresh on my mind -- but here he takes the lead without the least bit of slop in a showcase of avant-trombone that would turn the heads of Steve Swell, or for that matter Roswell Rudd: a huge improvement over Bishop's previous album with Portuguese tenor saxophonist Amado's trio, Burning Live at Jazz ao Centro. And Amado is sharp as ever, ably backed by Miguel Mira on cello and Gabriel Ferrandini on drums. A-
333. Laszlo Gardony: Clarity (2012 [2013], Sunnyside): Pianist, b. 1956 in Hungary, came to US in 1983 to study at Berklee. Tenth album since 1986, a solo, all original material, inching up to a strong rhythmic vamp at the end. B+(***)
334. Freddy Cole: This and That (2012 [2013], High Note): Nat's little brother, 14 years junior which makes him 81 now, finally found his mature voice a few years back and has been on a steady roll. Backed by pianist John Di Martino, with tasty guitar by arranger Randy Napoleon, and select sax and trombone spots. Scrounging a bit for songs he hasn't done before, but he even makes something of "Everybody's Talkin'." B+(***)
335. Marc Bernstein & Good People: Hymn for Life (2012 [2013], Origin): Saxophonist, from New York but based in Denmark, lead instrument here is bass clarinet. Fourth album since 1999, quartet with Jacob Anderskov (piano), Jonas Westergaard (bass), and Rakalam Bob Moses (drums), plus featured singer Sinne Eeg. She has a remarkable voice, dark and smoky. B+(***)
336. Satoko Fujii New Trio: Spring Storm (2013, Libra): Japanese pianist, has a lot of albums but not many conventional piano trios. This one has Todd Nicholson on bass and Takashi Itani on drums. Some fine examples of her impressive block chording and much more in a more melodic vein. B+(***)
337. Black Host: Life in the Sugar Candle Mines (2013, Northern Spy): Drummer Gerald Cleaver gets first listing on the cover, has all the song credits except one joint improv and one piece by Bartok. The other names are draws: Darius Jones (alto sax), Cooper-Moore (piano, synth), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), and Pascal Niggenkemper (bass). Jones is a powerhouse who likes to get plug ugly (as on his Little Women albums) yet can make something sublime out of the chaos (see his own albums, although I still can't vouch for Book of Mae'bul), although the most striking solos are the guitarist's. B+(***)
338. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/John Edwards/Steve Beresford: Overground to the Vortex (2011 [2013], Not Two): Alto sax, drums, bass, piano; Carrier and Lambert from Montreal, have played together regularly since the 1990s; the others from England, where this was recorded. Four long pieces, group credits (although Beresford is only listed on the last two -- no credits given, but the latter half is where the piano is most evident). Carrier is superb, as usual: always searching, often finding. A-
339. Wheelhouse: Boss of the Plains (2010 [2013], Aerophonic): Chicago trio: Dave Rempis (alto/baritone sax), Jason Adasiewicz (vibes), Nate McBride (bass). Avant, of course, but not especially fast or noisy, the bass a steadying influence, the bari sax meant to be moody. B+(***)
340. The Rempis Percussion Quartet: Phalanx (2012 [2013], Aerophonic): Dave Rempis, first appeared in the Vandermark 5 on alto sax but is equally adept at tenor and soprano; one of the most impressive saxophonists to appear in the last decade. His main vehicle over the past five years has been this quartet, with two drummers (Frank Rosaly and Tim Daisy) and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten. I've only heard the previous records on Rhapsody or Bandcamp -- Flaten has a tremendous selection of his work on the latter -- and the one-two play regimen has invariably left them just shy of my A-lists, which is where this live double -- 53 minutes in Milwaukee and 75 in Antwerp -- started. Repeated play pushed it over the line, smoothing over the rough spots, easing me down during the lulls, certain that something exciting is just around the corner. A-
341. Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette: Somewhere (2009 [2013], ECM): He's 68 now, and his label keeps shipping out new product every year, but since he turned 65 or so the recording dates have started to creep back -- the new product more likely to come out of old tapes than new. Critics tend to fall into two camps: some savor every scrap served up, and some have started to wonder whether we have enough of the more/less same thing by now. His "standards trio" with Peacock and DeJohnette dates back to 1983, a couple dozen albums by now, and for someone who isn't a piano fanatic, they do tend to all blur together: impressive, admirable even, but how much do you need? Still, every once in a while they make you pause and appreciate just how extraordinary this group is. Last time for me was My Foolish Heart: Live at Montreux, a 2001 tape released as a double in 2007, but this is another one on that special level, recorded live at KKL Luzern Concert Hall in 2009. A-
342. Diego Barber/Hugo Cipres: 411 (2013, Origin): Barber is a guitarist from Spain, has a couple previous albums, none like this, which is elegant jazztronica driven off Cipres' "desktop" synths. Seamus Blake plays tenor sax (and EWI) for extra lift, Johannes Weidenmueller fattens the bottom, and Ari Hoenig adds some conventional drums. B+(***)
343. Eric Revis: City of Asylum (2012 [2013], Clean Feed): Bassist, best known as part of Branford Marsalis Quartet since 1997; side credits have mostly been mainstream, but his own albums -- this makes four since 2004 -- have been more avant. This is a piano trio with Kris Davis and Andrew Cyrille. Mostly joint credits, with covers from Monk and Jarrett, and one Revis original. The piano is feisty, slippery, edgy, and the bass is prominent. B+(***)
344. Lotte Anker/Rodrigo Pinheiro/Hernani Faustino: Birthmark (2012 [2013], Clean Feed): Danish saxophonist, b. 1958, plays soprano, alto, and tenor here. Has close to a dozen albums since 1997; someone I should look into -- Stef Gijssels had her Live at the Loft as his top album of 2009 -- but this is my first encounter. Pinheiro and Faustino play piano and bass in RED Trio, whose original eponymous 2010 album I can recommend highly. This is softly toned and abstract, the lack of a drummer making it seem like nothing much is happening, but it sneaks up on you, demanding and rewarding your attention. B+(***)
345. Roger Davidson: Journey to Rio (2011 [2013], Soundbrush, 2CD): Pianist, American but b. 1952 in Paris, France; has 18 albums since 2000, mostly Brazilian themed although a couple take on other Latin idioms. This was recorded in Rio de Janeiro on his first visit to the country, with Pablo Aslan producing and a raft of Brazilian studio musicians. Marceo Martins offers a few fine sax solos and a lot of flute, which flutters delicately over the piano rhythm -- which no matter the accompaniment is central. B+(***)
346. Harris Eisenstadt September Trio: The Destructive Element (2012 [2013], Clean Feed): Drummer, b. 1975 in Toronto, father was also a drummer; has been prolific since 2002 -- AMG lists 14 records, one (looks like) a dupe, but hasn't logged this one yet. One of the best of those was his 2011 September Trio with Ellery Eskelin on tenor sax and Angelica Sanchez on piano. Same group here: Eskelin is superb at stepping around the rhythms, while the pianist burns right through them, adding more along the way. A-
347. Lama + Chris Speed: Lamaçal (2012 [2013], Clean Feed): Live at Portalegre Jazz Fest, they say "10^o edition" but mean 2012. Speed, who should need no intro, plays tenor sax and clarinet. Lama is a trumpet trio led by Susana Santos Silva, with Gonçalo Almeida on bass and Greg Smith on drums, both also dabbling in electronics, and this is their second album. A little slow on the start, but when the horns get working they bounce off one another splendidly. B+(***)
348. Made to Break: Provoke (2011 [2013], Clean Feed): Ken Vandermark group, with V5 drummer Tim Daisy, Devin Hoff on electric bass, and Christof Lurzmann on "lloopp" -- a free software package for live-improvising on a computer. Three longish (19, 20, 24 minutes) Vandermark pieces, dedications to John Cage, Buckminster Fuller, and Marshall McLuhan. The electronics have some difficulty gaining traction, and never amount to more than background, so this reduces to Vandermark's performance: a little screechy on clarinet, but a powerhouse on tenor sax. Group also has a new LP (vinyl only) called Lacerba, which I didn't get. B+(***)
349. Zs: Grain (2013, Northern Spy): Avant-noise group, originally a trio with saxophonist Sam Hillmer, after a handful of releases (including a 4-CD box as a sextet), now a trio again, with Patrick Higgins (guitar) and Greg Fox (percussion) -- pulled those credits off the website, since the album doesn't say really much of anything. Actually, nearly all of this sounds electronic, and the two parts sound like dozens of pieces -- lots of interesting effects that don't get stuck long enough to become annoying, but that don't quite flow either. B+(***)
350. Vandeweyer/Van Hove/Lovens/Blume: Quat: Live at Hasselt (2011 [2013], No Business): Cover lists last names only, and label lists this record as by Quat Quartet, although only "QUAT" ever appears on the package. I added the first names to avoid duplicating the last names here. Credits, respectively, are: vibes, piano, percussion, and percussion. I'd say that makes this the pianist's album, even though the four pieces are joint improvs. Van Hove is an important avant-pianist, his first record dating from 1969 (Requiem for Che Guevara/Psalmus Spei), thirty-some since. Lovens, 12 years younger, has had a comparable career, just shorter (since 1975). Blume is a few years younger, and on a lot fewer albums, and this appears to be the first for Vandemeyer. So much percussion creates a prickly chaotic storm, a whorl of noise that the piano trumps -- most impressive when it's all clashing, less so when Van Hove lays out, or picks up his accordion. B+(***)
351. Melodic Art-Tet (1974 [2013], No Business): Quartet, originally formed in 1970 by saxophonist Charles Brackeen and three members of Sun Ra's entourage: Ahmed Abdullah (trumpet), Ronnie Boykins (bass), and Roger Blank (drums). They played in lofts, never released an album, but cut this at WKCR in 1974, with a very young William Parker taking over the bass slot, and Tony Waters on percussion. Four pieces (17, 20, 30, 12 minutes), free with funk overtones, the reeds -- flute and soprano as well as tenor sax -- not as clear as you'd like, but Abdullah turns into a force of nature, and the second half is so ship-shape you could sail to Saturn. A-
352. Sophie Agnel/John Edwards/Steve Noble: Meteo (2012 [2013], Clean Feed): Pianist, b. 1964 in Paris; tenth album since 2000, a trio with Edwards on bass and Noble on drums. Free, the piano often lurking as bass and drums set up a forest of uncertainty, but very impressive when it all comes crashing together. B+(***)
353. Olivia Foschi: Perennial Dreamer (2012 [2013], self-released): Singer, b. near San Francisco, grew up and studied there and in Italy, eventually landing in New York. First album, produced by drummer Ulysses Owens Jr., with Miki Hiyama (piano), David Rosenthal (guitar), Michael Olatuja (bass), and guest spots (notably Gegoire Maret and Stacy Dillard). About half originals, half covers -- the latter stand out, especially "Everything Happens to Me." B+(***)
354. Kenny Barron: Kenny Barron & the Brazilian Knights (2012 [2013], Sunnyside): Pianist, huge pile of records since 1968, also one of the most important jazz educators of our era; not known for Latin jazz but an early (1974) triumph was called Peruvian Blue and he must have picked up some Brazilian tunes during his long tenure as pianist for Stan Getz. His Knights are Sergio Barroso (bass) and Rafael Barata (drums), with Lula Galvao (guitar), Mauricio Einhorn (harmonica), and Idriss Boudrioua (alto sax) added on most tracks, and Claudio Roditi (flugelhorn and muted trumpet) on one. Features songs by the late Johnny Alf, three by Einhorn, one Barron original, and a Jobim that is anything but obligatory. B+(***)
355. Evan Parker/Barry Guy/Paul Lytton: Live at Maya Recordings Festival (2011 [2013], No Business): I can hardly guess how many records this trio has together: 10? 20? More? The earliest trio I see is 1986, but all three played in bassist Guy's London Jazz Composers Orchestra on Ode in 1972. Drummer Lytton appeared on a duo with Parker in 1972. And they were in a quartet with George Lewis in 1983. AMG credits Lytton with appearing on 26 Parker albums, and Guy on 25. So, probably close to a dozen, certainly if you count the quartets. I'm not sure how this ranks, but the basics are very solid. Parker's soprano sax is unique, especially with the circular breathing, while his tenor is rougher and more personable. B+(***)
356. The Convergence Quartet: Slow and Steady (2011 [2013], No Business): Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet), Alexander Hawkins (piano), Dominic Lash (bass), Harris Eisenstadt (drums). Third album together. All four compose, with Lash -- the least famous to me, but Discogs credits him with 10 albums since 2006 -- getting the upper hand this time. Not all that slow or steady, interesting leads from Bynum and Hawkins, lots of flurry from the others. B+(***)
357. Correction With Mats Gustafsson: Shift (2012 [2013], No Business): Correction is Sebastian Bergström's piano trio -- their 2010 album Two Nights in April (Ayler) was a high B+ here -- with Joacim Nyberg on bass and Emil Åstrand-Melin on drums. Gustafsson plays baritone sax here, and for once brought his inside game, playing around the shifts rather than bulling through them. It's an appealing strategy, one that gives the pianist more to do, and he rises to the occasion. [Vinyl only.] A- [CDR]
358. Bob Mover: My Heart Tells Me (2010-11 [2013], Motema, 2CD): Saxophonist, b. 1952, plays more alto than tenor, only has about nine albums, mostly 1977-88, then 1997, 2008, and this magnum opus. Mainstream player (when he doesn't kick it into bop overdrive), also sings, a frail crooner, possibly influenced by Chet Baker but I suspect such cases just find their vulnerability and pick it like a scab, sometimes turning it into something affecting. First disc here is all standards, mostly vocals, a quartet with Kenny Barron, Bob Cranshaw, and Steve Williams. Second disc has only one vocal, mostly originals with some swing, adds Josh Evans on trumpet, sometimes Steve Hall on tenor sax, and occasionally swaps in Victor Lewis on drums. Nice to have either option. B+(***)
359. The Aperturistic Trio: Truth and Actuality (2013, Inner Circle Music): Piano trio: James Weidman, Harvie S (bass), Steve Williams (drums). Weidman has three albums under his own name, plus a lot of notable side credits: M-Base/Steve Coleman, Abbey Lincoln, Cassandra Wilson, Kevin Mahogany, Joe Lovano -- more singers, especially. Williams is hard to look up -- Discogs lists 20 with that name, and I only found him on AMG through a back door: no name albums, a few dozen side credits since 1984, notably Miles Davis and Shirley Horn. Didn't bother looking up S, since he regularly berates me (and probably everyone else) for misspelling his name. Bassist, has a long career mostly under his eminently misspellable original name. I associate him with Sheila Jordan, but lately he's tried to remodel himself as a Latin jazz guy. In other words, three underrated veterans used to lurking in the background behind fabulous singers, adopting yet another alias to protect their obscurity. Inside stuff, easy to miss. But if you miss Tommy Flanagan and Hank Jones, maybe you shouldn't. B+(***)
360. June Tabor/Iain Ballamy/Huw Warren: Quercus (2006 [2013], ECM): English folk singer, has a couple dozen albums since 1976, including Silly Sisters with Maddy Prior and several with Oysterband. This is very stripped down with pianist Warren backing and saxophonist Ballamy interpolating, a combo which sets her voice off nicely -- although I'm still a bigger fan of the tenor sax. B+(***) [advance]
361. David's Angels: What It Seems (2012 [2013], Kopasetic): Singer-songwriter Sofie Norling, b. 1984 in Sweden, based in Stockholm, backed with keybs (Maggi Olin), electric bass (producer David Carlsson), and drums (Michala Østergaard-Nielsen). Second group album. Doesn't fit any category: art song tempos but not the archness, singer has jazz inflections, instrumental bits lean toward experimental rock (more the bass than the jazz drums), Olin's Rhodes is sharper than her piano precisely because of the pencil-thin tone. Group name seems malapropos even if Carlsson is pulling the strings. B+(***)
362. Miles Davis: Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 (1969 [2013], Columbia/Legacy, 3CD+DVD): A-
363. John O'Gallagher: The Anton Webern Project (2012 [2013], Whirlwind): Alto saxophonist, ninth album since 2002 plus a long list of side credits where he's often the real star. This is based on eight opuses by Austrian 12-tone composer Anton Webern, refashioned for a superb jazz group with Matt Moran (vibes), Pete McCann (guitar), Russ Lossing (keybs), Johannes Weidenmuller (bass), Tyshawn Sorey (drums), and Margaret Grebowicz (voice). I listened to Webern some during my Adorno phase: found him the most tolerable of the 12-toners, possibly because his odd pieces were so short and oblique, but this builds outward, and aside from the occasional vocals I'd never suspect this to come out of central Europe. Fine ensemble work and solos, especially McCann and O'Gallagher. A-
364. The Whammies: Play the Music of Steve Lacy Vol. 2 (2013, Driff): Sextet, an interesting Dutch-Chicago-Boston hybrid: Jorrit Dijkstra (alto sax, lyricon), Pandelis Karayorgis (piano), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Mary Oliver (violin, viola), Nate McBride (bass), Han Bennink (drums). Eleven songs by Steve Lacy, plus one by Monk. First volume was terrific, and the new one, a new session (not leftovers from the first), carries on. A-
365. Pandelis Karayorgis Trio: Cocoon (2012 [2013], Driff): Pianist, b. in Greece, moved to Boston to study at New England Conservatory in the 1980s and stuck around, with a dozen or more records since 1994 -- his 2007 album as Mi3, Free Advice, was a pick hit here. This is a piano trio with Jef Charland on bass and Luther Gray on drums, not as difficult or explosive as the pianist gets, but vigorous and inventive by any standards. B+(***)
366. Pandelis Karayorgis Quintet: Circuitous (2012 [2013], Driff): Recorded in Chicago, with bassist Nate McBride the link between the Boston-based pianist and the Chicago-based all-star band: Dave Rempis and Keefe Jackson (saxes/clarinets), and Frank Rosaly (drums). Sounds great one moment, questionable the next, in an oscillation that's almost an aesthetic. B+(***)
367. Billy Bang: Da Bang! (2011 [2013], TUM): Probably the late, great violinist's last recording -- in Helsinki, about two months before he died. Quintet, with trombone (Dick Griffin), piano (Andrew Bemkey), bass (Hilliard Greene), and drums (Newman Taylor-Baker). Six cuts -- one original, the title cut by Barry Altschul, other pieces from Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, and Sonny Rollins. Far from his greatest work, but his solos are unmistakable, and trombone is a nice contrast. Plus you can't go out on a more ecstatic note than "St. Thomas." A-
368. Chris Morrissey: North Hero (2013, Sunnyside): Electric bassist (should try to remember that come Downbeat poll time), second album, quartet: Mike Lewis (sax), Aaron Parks (piano), Mark Guiliana (drums). Lewis plays in a Minneapolis band called Happy Apple with Dave King, who produces here. Guiliana is a fair soundalike for King, Parks is a striking pianist in his own right, and Lewis is a double threat: a honker on the faster ones and a swooner on the ballads. Morrissey wrote both. A-
369. Ethan Iverson/Lee Konitz/Larry Grenadier/Jorge Rossy: Costumes Are Mandatory (2012 [2013], High Note): Piano, alto sax, bass, drums -- you should recognize all the names. Konitz is 85, has had a brilliant career; he doesn't break any new ground here, but is a joy to hear. Iverson, best known for the Bad Plus, has a few tricks up his sleeve. He does an interesting deconstruction of "Blueberry Hill" that breaks with the song in many ways yet remains instantly recognizable. That's in the middle of a record with two takes of Iverson's "Blueberry Ice Cream" on the ends. B+(***)
370. Kikoski Carpenter Novak Sheppard: From the Hip (2006 [2013], BFM Jazz): David Kikoski (piano), Dave Carpenter (bass), Gary Novak (drums), Bob Sheppard (saxes, mostly tenor). The pianist, b. 1961, has at least 17 albums since 1989, notably with Dutch mainstream label Criss Cross, but this is the first I've heard. Sheppard only has four albums (since 1991), but has a long side-credit list -- AMG's credits list runs 222 lines, lots of singers (including Rod Stewart and Linda Ronstadt) -- another mainstream player, always a plus. B+(***)
371. Lucian Ban/Mat Maneri: Transylvanian Concert (2011 [2013], ECM): Piano and viola, the concert recorded in Romania, near Ban's birthplace. He studied at Bucharest Music Academy, moved to New York in 1999, has a handful of records since 2002. Maneri was also b. 1969, but in New York, the son of microtonal clarinetist Joseph Maneri, and has more than 15 albums since 1995. B+(***) [advance]
372. Michigan State University Professors of Jazz: Better Than Alright (2012 [2013], self-released, 2CD): I've run across several names here -- Etienne Charles (trumpet), Michael Dease (trombone), Rodney Whitaker (bass) -- but don't recall others -- Diego Rivera (sax), Reginald Thomas (piano), Perry Hughes (guitar), Randy Gelispie (drums). Compositions are split between Charles (4), Rivera (3), Whitaker (3), Thomas (2), plus one by "guest" Mardra Thomas (who sings two blues), and one cover. Hot solos, cohesive swing, really impeccable hard bop. B+(***)
373. David Murray Infinity Quartet: Be My Monster Love (2012 [2013], Motéma): Paul Krugman likes to refer to Joseph Stiglitz as "an insanely great economist"; Murray, for much the same reason, is an insanely great tenor saxophonist: his solos here are monumental, taking off in flights of fancy that no one else can think of much less do. Unfortunately, he decided to do songs here, or more precisely, of texts improvised into something song-like. Three of the texts come from Ishmael Reed, whose own deadpan authority made them work on Conjure. Here, Macy Gray sings the title piece in her own idiosyncratic mien, and Gregory Porter tries to croon the others, plus a bit by Abiodun Oyewode on the importance of children. The texts mean well, but the hymn about "making a joyful noise" is doubly ironic: if only Porter would shut up and let the sax man wail. B+(***)
374. Reg Schwager: Duets (2002 [2011], Jazz From Rant): Guitarist, b. 1962, based in Toronto, had a 1985 album and since 2002 another handful. I wrote about his Trio Improvisations (with Michel Lambert) released this year and the label (or maybe the artist) sent me three older releases. These are all duets with bassists -- Don Thompson, Neil Swainson, Dave Young, Pat Collins. The bassists bring one or two songs each, there's a patch of original credits, and three standards. There's a sweet-toned delicacy to the guitar, and the bassists add depth and resonance. B+(***)
375. Art Hodes: I Remember Bessie (1976 [2013], Delmark): Pianist, b. 1904 in Russia, not sure when he moved to Chicago but he didn't start recording until he moved to New York in 1938. Smith died in 1937, so they could have crossed paths in Chicago, but most likely he remembered her from records. Solo piano, old blues with some swing to them, the style Hodes grew up on and was exceptional at. B+(***)
376. Daniel Rosenboom: Daniel Rosenboom's Book of Omens (2012 [2013], Nine Winds): Trumpet player, b. 1982, fifth album not counting a couple of "jazz-rock" groups he's been in (Plotz!, Dr. Mint), or side credits like the Industrial Jazz Group. Quintet with Vinny Golia (contra-alto clarinet, alto flute, tenor sax), guitar (Jake Vossier), bass (Tim Lefebvre), drums (Matt Mayhall). Golia is key, making a lot of noise for the trumpet to slice up. B+(***)
377. Ketil Bjørnstad: La Notte (2010 [2013], ECM): Pianist, b. 1952 in Norway, has close to 40 albums since 1989, 11 on ECM. This one is built around a core of strings -- Arild Andersen's double bass, Anja Lechner's cello, and Eivind Aarset's guitar -- a combo where the volume centers in the cello range and the variation is broader than you'd get with a violin. The piano dices with the strings, Marilyn Mazur adds percussion, and Andy Sheppard adds some nice colorings on tenor and soprano sax. B+(***) [advance]
378. Scottish National Jazz Orchestra: In the Spirit of Duke (2012 [2013], Spartacus): The names here, featured on the front cover, are tenor saxophonist extraordinaire Tommy Smith and pianist Brian Kellock -- their 2005 duet album, Symbiosis, remains one of my favorites. The big band is Smith's pet project. They've released a bracing version of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (2009) and now this romp through Ellington's songbook, starting with "Black and Tan Fantasy" with three Ellington or Strayhorn arrangements of Edvard Grieg. Studious at first, they eventually loosen up, especially when they hit "Rockin' in Rhythm" and Smith doing the "wailing interval" between "Dimuendo in Blue" and "Crescendo in Blue." B+(***)
379. Randy Brecker: Night in Calisia (2011 [2013], Summit): Title sometimes reported as Randy Brecker Plays Wlodek Pawlik's Night in Calisia. Second time the trumpeter has collaborated with the Polish composer-pianist, following 2009's Nostalgic Journey: Tykocin Jazz Suite, and I'm pretty sure they're the two best records of his career. Trumpet on top of Pawlik's piano trio backed by Kalisz Philharmonic, as swishy as they get, although the score stretches them, and someone (drummer Cezary Konrad?) minds the rhythm. A-
380. Matt Parker: Worlds Put Together (2012 [2013], Bynk): Tenor saxophonist, originally from Fort Lauderdale, came up through the Maynard Ferguson band (c. 2006), based in New York, first album. Basic band includes piano, guitar, bass, drums, and Julio Monterrey on alto sax, although he strips down on a couple not-quite-solo cuts and adds a party-load of vocals on another. All interesting, whether he's cooing a ballad or smashing up the joint. A-
381. Lucian Ban: Elevation/Mystery (2010 [2013], Sunnyside): Pianist, b. 1969 in Romania, based in New York. Seventh or so album since 2002, most with baritone saxophonist Alex Harding, and second one this year, following Transylvanian Concert with Mat Maneri on ECM. That stretched out his folkloric/classical side, but this one -- a quartet with Abraham Burton (tenor sax), John Hébert (bass), and Eric McPherson (drums) -- recorded live at Cornelia Street Cafe in NYC sets him in an avant context, especially when the saxophonist works up a full head of steam. Nor is a quiet spot with just the bassist any less interesting. By the way, the "Mystery" part of the title is obscured -- how clever some graphic designers are! I missed it on unpacking, and most likely others will too. A-
382. Albert Heath/Ethan Iverson/Ben Street: Tootie's Tempo (2013, Sunnyside): Heath, b. 1935, nicknamed "Tootie," was one of the three Heath Brothers, along with saxophonist Jimmy Heath and bassist Percy Heath. Only two or three albums under his name, but he's played on at least a hundred starting in 1957 with Red Garland and John Coltrane, and this is the second album he's appeared on named Tootie's Tempo -- the other by Tete Montoliu Trio in 1979. Iverson, who's recently eschewed credit in the Billy Hart Quartet, plays piano, and Street bass. Starts out jaunty with "The Charleston," part of a songbook that sometiems predates the drummer, and ends with the title song, mostly drum solo. Nice tribute. (By the way, the only album Percy Heath put his name on came out in 2004, a year before his death. It was called A Love Song, and was even more charming than this one.) B+(***)
383. Mort Weiss: A Giant Step Out and Back (2013, SMS Jazz): Seventy-eight-year-old clarinet player, started late, says this will be his last album, evidently blaming the economy more than his age. Solo with what I assume are some overdubs, a few originals and a bunch of standards which he uses for the basis of free improvs -- a surprise in that he's always been a swing-to-bop man -- but his command of the clarinet doesn't leave you feeling the need for anything else. Some vocal something-or-other toward the end -- he referred to something like that elsewhere as a "brain fart," and that's as good a term as any. A-
384. Jimmy Amadie Trio: Live! At the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2011 [2013], TP): Pianist, based in Philadelphia, has eight albums since 1997. No idea how old he is, although he claims to have played with Charley Ventura, Coleman Hawkins, Woody Herman, and Mel Tormé (and he does have a Tormé tribute album). AMG describes him as "a hot jazz pianist in the 1950s" but doesn't list any credits before 1997. This is a trio, with Tony Marino on bass and Bill Goodwin on drums. All standards, most you've heard a million times -- "Summertime," "My Funny Valentine," "Just in Time," "All the Things You Are" -- and he takes a mainstream tack, and he really makes them sparkle. A-
385. Steve Turre: The Bones of Art (2013, High Note): Trombone player, poll winner most years, treats his colleagues with a set of songs each featuring three trombones -- usually Frank Lacy and Steve Davis, but Robin Eubanks takes the slot on two cuts, one from each. Also with Xavier Davis (piano), Peter Washington (bass), and Willie Jones III (drums), plus bongos and congas on the memorable closer. B+(***)
386. Christian McBride Trio: Out Here (2013, Mack Avenue): Bassist, fifteen albums since 1994, leads a piano trio here with Christian Sands -- two previous albums -- on piano and Ulysses Owens, Jr. on drums -- one previous album, Unanimous on Criss Cross, a quintet with Sands, McBride, and a couple horns. So, young guys with similar tastes and ambitions to the leader two decades ago. Two originals (one shared with Sands), seven covers: standards, piano jazz fare (Billy Taylor, Oscar Peterson), a dab of funk to close ("Who's Making Love"), the centerpiece a long meditation on "My Favorite Things." Leader earns his bass solos. B+(***)
387. Scott Neumann Neu3 Trio: Blessed (2011 [2013], Origin): Drummer, from Bartlesville, OK, based in New York. second album, a couple dozen side credits since 1996, all over the map -- including saxophonist Michael Blake's post-Loung Lizards debut in 1997. Blake is back here, along with bassist Mark Helias, playing eight Neumann originals, one from Helias, and one from Roswell Rudd ("Keep Your Heart Right"). All three are terrific, with Blake in an expansive R&B honking mode, the rhythm section pushing him on and running interference. A-
388. Mark Dresser Quintet: Nourishments (2013, Clean Feed): Bassist, b. 1952, a major one although I've often had trouble getting the hand of what he's up to, especially on his own albums. Quintet includes Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto sax), Michael Dessen (trombone), Denman Maroney (hyperpiano), and either Tom Rainey or Michael Sarin on drums -- more options than he normally employs as he develops a complex mystery, with occasional touches of tango. B+(***)/b>
389. Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Red Hot (2012 [2013], Hot Cup): Moppa Elliott's Pennsylvania hick group takes its terror act to Dixieland, expanding from a quartet to septet along the way -- additions are at piano (Ron Stabinsky), bass trombone (David Taylor), banjo (Brandon Seabrook), while Jon Irabagon picks up the C melody sax, soprano too. The harmony is reminiscent of old times, but the group knows too many new tricks to go authentic -- free rhythm, abstract piano solos, some electronic drone. As usual, they're just out to mess with you. A- [advance]
390. Dave Damiani: Watch What Happens (2013, Hard Knocks): Singer, based in Los Angeles, has a previous album. Wrote one song here, the rest songbook standards althogh he's picked up a couple rock-era pop tunes and fit them in -- "Happy Together," "Raspberry Beret." Mostly backed by No Vacancy Orchestra, a conventional big band, with 5 (of 13) cuts backed by the smaller Jazzadelics -- roughly the same rhythm section plus Ricky Woodard on tenor sax. So he comes off as a slightly updated '50s crooner, nothing drippy or weepy or overly melodramatic, and I'm always a sucker for songs like "On the Street Where You Live" and "Old Devil Moon." B+(***)
391. Avishai Cohen With Nitai Hershkovits: Duende (2012 [2013], Sunnyside): Bassist, from Israel, thirteen records since 1998, wrote six (of ten) pieces here, with covers from Coltrane, Monk, Cole Porter, and Nachum Hayman (the front half of a medley). Hershkovits is a pianist, also from Israel, first record here, just duets with the bassist. Nice touch, subtle flow. B+(***)
392. Oliver Jones: Just for My Lady (2012 [2013], Justin Time): Pianist, b. 1934 in Montreal, studied briefly with Oscar Peterson's sister but didn't start recording until 1984, now up around 22 albums. The lady on the cover is violinist Josée Aidans, and they're backed with bass (Éric Lagacé) and drums (Jim Doxas), mostly Jones originals but the Gershwin tune at the end, "Lady Be Good," is the one that sticks in your mind. B+(***)
393. Imer Santiago: Hidden Journey (2013, Jazz Music City): Trumpet player, originally from Lorain, Ohio; studied at Ohio State under Pharez Whitted, then University of New Orleans; currently based in Nashville, teaching at Tennessee State, also band director at Moses McKissack Middle School and "worship pastor" of The Church at Antioch. First album, quintet plus guests, saxophonist Rahsaan Barber co-wrote three songs. Has a serene tone, does a nice job of pacing this. Two songs are dedicated to Miles Davis and Tito Puente. Stephanie Adlington sings "The Very Thought of You." B+(***)
394. Linda Oh: Sun Pictures (2012 [2013], Greenleaf Music): Bassist, third album, quartet with Ben Wendel (credited with trumpet but sounds like tenor sax, his usual instrument), James Muller (guitar), and Ted Poor (drums). Pieces have an inside-out feel to them, nothing showy, fast or loud -- the guitar and sax just build up on the bass waves and carry you along. A-
395. The Candy Shop Boys: Sugar Foot Stomp (2013, self-released): Throwback side project for saxophonist Matt Parker, who has a recent postbop album I like a lot (Worlds Put Together). With Scott Tixier (violin), Jesse Elder (piano), bass and drums, and Sophia Urista singing 7 of 12 songs -- Cab Calloway ("Kicking the Gong Around"), Harlem Hamfats ("The Candy Man"), "St. James Infirmary," but "Light My Fire" seems a misstep, and "I Want to Be Evil" is less convincing than "When I Get Low I Get High." Instrumentals like "Sugarfot Stomp" and "Black & Tan Fantasy" and "Bernie's Tune" are more than filler. B+(***)
396. Kaze: Tornado (2012 [2013], Libra): Quartet with two trumpets (Natsuki Tamura and Christian Pruvost), piano (Satoko Fujii), and drums (Peter Orins). The trumpets burst out of the gate, and the pianist almost makes the drummer an afterthought. And when the fury breaks, they keep it interesting in subtler ways. A-
397. Satoko Fujii: Gen Himmel (2012 [2013], Libra): Solo piano, not sure how many of those she's recorded in a very prolific career -- AMG lists 44 records since 1995 -- but it's not zero and not many. This has none of the thrash I'm so fond of, so it's all the more surprising that this succeeds on its own complex melodic terms. A-
398. Waclaw Zimpel Quartet: Stone Fog (2012 [2013], Fortune): Clarinet player, from Poland, leading a quartet with Krzysztof Dys on piano, Christian Ramond on bass, and Klaus Kugel on drums. Zimpel has a handful of previous albums, including two as Undivided (with pianist Bobby Few), plus he has been involved in a couple of Ken Vandermark projects (ones I haven't heard). He is very striking here, the album held back only by a few long atmospheric stretches, fog perhaps. B+(***)
399. Ken Peplowski: Maybe September (2012 [2013], Capri): Plays clarinet and tenor sax, has close to forty albums since 1987, several with Benny Goodman in the title, others with Ellington or Strayhorn, a mild-mannered retro-swing guy who rarely exceeds expectations, but I wound up playing this repeatedly during an afternoon of cooking and never felt the need for anything else. Basic quartet with Ted Rosenthal on piano; one original, standards by Berlin and Warren; nods to Ellington, Poulenc, and Artie Shaw; a Lennon-McCartney I can live with, a "Caroline, No" I relish. B+(***)
400. RJ Miller: Ronald's Rhythm (2013, Loyal Label): Drummer, also plays keyboards and analog synths here, based in Brooklyn, first album; backed by bass, additional keyb or analog synthesizer on most tracks, accordion (Leo Genovese) on one. The analog synths, in particular, give this the feel of vintage electronica. B+(***)
401. The Miami Saxophone Quartet: Four of a Kind (2012 [2013], Fortitude): Gary Keller on soprano, Gary Lindsay on alto, Ed Calle on tenor, Mike Brignola on baritone -- cover type changes to red for him (the name, well aside from Calle, I thought I recognized; turned out to be confusion with the late, unrelated baritonist Nick Brignola). De facto leader is Lindsay, who wrote most of the pieces and arranged the rest (sharing blame with Calle for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"). Usual problem with sax quartets is the lack of rhythm to push things along and harmonic limits of four instruments that can only produce one note each at a time, but these guys solve those problems the old-fashioned way, by cheating -- adding a piano trio, Svet Stoyanov on mallets, and for good measure Brian Lynch on trumpet. Together they generate big band swing, and the live audience approves. B+(***)
402. Erik Friedlander: Claws and Wings (2013, Skipstone): Cellist, composed this in the months after his wife of 22 years died, at once somber, affectionate, and lovely. With Sylvie Courvoisier on piano and Ikue Mori on laptop. B+(***)
403. The Road to Jajouka: A Benefit Album (2013, Howe): Known nowadays as the Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar, the Moroccan institution first came to worldwide attention when Brian Jones (Rolling Stones, you might recall) released a 1968 album of theirs called The Pipes of Pan at Jajouka. Attar would have been four at the time, the son of then-leader Hadj Abdesalam Attar. They have scattered albums of their own -- AMG lists eight starting with the Jones affair (which, by the way, was certainly the first album from Africa or the Middle East I ever heard) -- but this one they owe to western intermediaries: above all, Billy Martin (of Medeski & Wood fame), whose illybeats lay the techno-fusion foundation for a parade of guests, including Marc Ribot, DJ Logic, Lee Ranaldo, John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Ornette Coleman. A-
404. Chicago Jazz Orchestra: Burstin' Out! (2012 [2013], Origin): Originally founded in 1978, currently directed by Jeff Lindberg, don't have a good sense of their recording history (only album in their web store is this one). Also don't recognize hardy any of the big band musicians, let alone the phalanx of strings that become noticeable whenever this hits a dull patch. However, that rarely happens: the standards repertoire is stellar, and "guest vocalist" Cyrille Aimée is a real sparkplug -- best big band singer I've heard in years. B+(***)
405. Brussels Jazz Orchestra/Joe Lovano: Wild Beauty (2012 [2013], Half Note): Lovano is listed on cover and spine as "featuring" but he's more than just the guest draw here; he's the main point. Title could be, or subtitle probably is -- parsing album covers is such a wretched business -- Sonata Suite for the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, but I'll stick to the big type. The other name phrase on the cover is "arranged by Gil Goldstein." The compositions belong to Lovano, so it would make most sense to credit the whole thing to Lovano and combine title: subtitle. The big band -- no strings here other than guitar and bass -- has a huge sound and gallops hard, its occasional lurches and lapses annoying, but the leader towers above it all, a talent that goes back to his days with Woody Herman. B+(***)
406. James Zollar: It's All Good People (2012 [2013], JZAZ): Trumpet player, originally from Kansas City, only three albums under his own name since 1997 (the excellent Soaring With Bird), but his side credits include David Murray, Billy Bang, Sam Rivers, Don Byron, Bob Stewart, and quite a bit with Marty Ehrlich. Surprisingly goes for down home funk grooves here, with a bit of rap, vocals by Sheryl Rene and Erika Matsuo, a bit of Gregoire Maret harmonica, and a closer looking back at his elders, called "For Cootie & Clark." I'd be tempted to say he's wasting his talent here, but the trumpet is stellar, and I can't begrudge a guy for having a good time. B+(***)
407. Pete McGuinness: Voice Like a Horn (2013, Summit): Vocalist, started out playing trombone which he still does here. Has a couple previous albums, one with a quintet, one with a big band, is co-lead with the New York Trombone Conspiracy; side credits include a lot more big band work. Backed here by Ted Kooshian's piano trio, plus "special guest" slots for Jon Gordon (alto sax) and Bill Mobley (trumpet), two cuts each. Songbook standards plus "Birks' Works" -- an occasion to let the scat fly. But his voice isn't really "like a horn" -- nothing wrong with his scat runs, but he has a firm grip on the text and the language, something vocalists who aspire to mimic horns often lose. B+(***)
408. M1, Brian Jackson & the New Midnight Band: Evolutionary Minded (2013, Motema): The late Gil Scott-Heron's one-time partner raises the banner again, recycling a list of songs for the revolution still to come, with help from various MCs -- M1 up front, Chuck D, Stic Man, Killah Priest, and Wise Intelligent get "feat." slots, as well as singers named Martin Luther and Gregory Porter, and spoken words from gun rights advocate Bobby Seale. B+(***) [September 10]
409. Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris/Balazs Pandi: One (2013, Rare Noise): Tenor sax trio, with Morris playing electric bass for the first time on record -- he established himself on guitar, but has also played acoustic bass more frequently of late -- and Pandi on drums. Perelman's been knocking out a half-dozen records per year recently, with two good ones already this year -- The Art of the Duet, Volume One with Matthew Shipp, and Serendipity with Shipp, William Parker, and Gerald Cleaver -- and this, with its choppy intro and an inspired torrent near the end, is another inspired performance. A- [advance: October 1]
410. Matt Mitchell: Fiction (2012 [2013], Pi): Pianist, based in Philadelphia, first album under own name after side credits with Dave Douglas, Darius Jones, and Tim Berne. Duo, with Ches Smith on percussion, including vibes. Very sharp, angular attack in free time, sometimes out-percussing the drummer, although the pianist can't quite shake the beat, no matter how hard he tries to dodge it. B+(***)
411. Joey DeFrancesco: One for Rudy (2013, High Note): Organ trio, with Steve Cotter on guitar and Ramon Banda on drums. Rudy is Van Gelder, possibly the most famous jazz producer and recording engineer of the last 50-60 years, and that concept sets up a vintage songbook -- Davis/Powell, Rollins, Monk, Hubbard, "Stardust," finished off with an original for the title track. No pumping or grinding, just a pleasing light touch on everything. B+(***)
412. Claudia Quintet: September (2013, Cuneiform): John Hollenbeck's soft-toned group -- Matt Moran's vibraphone is more than ever the focal center, with accordion (Red Wienenge) and clarinet/tenor sax (Chris Speed) for color, and bass to round out the bottom. All pieces composed in various Septembers since 2001, a pivot point in Hollenbeck's career. One samples a speech -- sounds like Franklin Roosevelt, and is titled "1936 We Warn You," but I don't follow why he should be complaining about "the present administration" which would have been his -- chopping it up and replaying it for its musical tones. The rest are percussion jams, as inspired as ever. A- [September 24]
413. Zansa: Djansa (2013, self-released): Afropop group based in Asheville, North Carolina; led by Adama Dembele, who figures himself a 33rd generation musician, tracing his ancestry back through his native Cöte d'Ivoire. The rest of the band look like they crawled out of the Appalachian hollers, with Matt Williams' fiddle especially prominent. Ends with a striking fish-out-of-water story. B+(***)
414. Samo Salamon Quartets: Stretching Out (2008-12 [2013], Samo, 2CD): Guitarist, b. 1978 in the future Slovenia, has spent some time in New York but is still based in Slovenia; 13 records since 2003, this one a double, one disc each with an American quartet in 2008 and a European one in 2012. The latter, with Dominique Pifarely on violin, Bruno Chevillon on bass, and Roberto Dani on drums, is dense, scratchy, and ultimately rewarding although it took me a lot of time to pan out. The former, with Donny McCaslin on tenor sax, John Hébert on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums, is no trouble at all -- the guitarist brings back his John Scofield roots, and McCaslin follows seamlessly, never tripping himself up. A-
415. Gavin Templeton: In Series (2013, Nine Winds): Alto saxophonist, grew up in Reno, NV, where he studied and wound up backing oldies acts like Wayne Newton and the Temptations; moved to Los Angeles in 2006 and got a Master's at California Institute for the Arts. Second album, side credits include Plotz!, Nels Cline, and Vinny Golia. This is a postbop quintet, both guitar and piano as well as bass and drums -- no one I recognize but that's probably because I hear so little from Golia. All Templeton originals. He can push the sax out front if need be, or fill in making good use of guitar or piano leads. B+(***)
416. Howard Alden/Andy Brown Quartet: Heavy Artillery (2013, Delmark): Two guitarists, retro-swing guys with special fondness for George Van Eps, backed with bass and drums. Alden, based in New York, is well established with close to 30 albums since 1985, most on Concord or Arbors. Brown is much younger, based in Chicago, has an album under his own name and a nice duo backing his wife, singer Petra van Nuis (Far Away Places). Nothing heavy here, let alone artillery-like: title song actually comes from Django Reinhardt, another shared hero. B+(***)
417. Jonathan Moritz Trio: Secret Tempo (2012 [2013], Hot Cup): Tenor saxophonist (soprano too), b. 1977 in Tehran, Iran; moved to Southern California quite young, then to Belgium to study, then back for more study at California Institute for the Arts. Website offers nine records for sale: this is the first under his own name, but the others are mostly sax trios or quartets -- Trio Caveat, The Up, Evil Eye; The E.R.A. is a larger group -- that I would file under his name (at least once I recognized it). This one has Shayna Dulberger on bass and Mike Pride on drums. First impression was that this is the sort of sax record I fall easiest for. After several replays the soprano had me wavering, but the bassist sold the deal. A-
418. Florian Hoefner Group: Falling Up (2013, OA2): Pianist, from Germany but based in New York, second album (as far as I can tell), reprising the group from his debut Songs Without Words: Mike Ruby (tenor/soprano sax), Sam Anning (bass), Peter Konreif (drums). Postbop with some edge and quick moves. All by Hoefner except for "Eleanor Rigby" -- usually unjazzable but he keeps it neatly cloaked until the punch line. B+(***)
419. Michael Moss/Billy Stein: Intervals (2013, 4th Stream): Stein is a guitarist, based in New York; has a previous album that was a high HM back in 2005 (Hybrids). Moss plays clarinet, sax, and flute. He arrived in New York in the mid-1960s, played in a group called Free Life Communication, later Free Energy and Four Rivers. He recorded three albums 1978-80, then got a Ph.D. in psychology. Songs are credited to either or both but feel improvised, surprising even if they wander a bit. And for once I don't advise the saxophonist to tear the flute down and shelve it, although I suspect Stein deserves as much credit there as Moss. B+(***)
420. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/Whit Dickey/Gerald Cleaver: Enigma (2013, Leo): Tenor sax, piano, two drummers -- the doubling up isn't conspicuous or necessary even to balance out leaders who run on the loud side, but in an art where "the drummer plays with the band" their separate takes add subtle points -- not that you need them when the Brazilian saxophonist is on such a roll. A-
421. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/Mat Maneri: A Violent Dose of Anything (2013, Leo): Tenor sax, piano, viola. Brazil's leading avant-saxophonist has been releasing six albums a year for a good while now, most with Shipp (their relationship goes back to 1996's Bendito of Santa Cruz duet), so one can wonder whether they wind up being too much of the same thing, or whether, having graded A- no less than ten of his releases since 2000 (13 since 1989) I've lost my objectivity. Perelman's forte is the sax trio: he's basically a free blower and nothing suits him more than a strong rhythm section pushing him on -- Shipp has nearly that same effect in a duo, even more so in a quartet. Perelman usually has more trouble with strings, but those records are just easier to dismiss. But this one is harder. Shipp and Maneri go back at least to a 1998 duo (I don't particularly recommend). The viola is particularly prickly here, often engaging like a second horn although sketching out a more treacherous terrain, which Perelman is eager to explore -- the first few minutes offer some of his most flightful work ever. Title comes from a film for which this is the soundtrack, but the seven pieces are long and coherent with none of the pastiche or cliché that marr filmwork. Played this more than the others and it's barely on the cusp, but in some ways the handicaps make it all the more remarkable. Bump those numbers up one more. A-
422. Justin Morell Dectet: Subjects and Compliments (2012 [2013], Sonic Frenzy): Guitarist, studied at UCLA and got his Ph.D. at University of Oregon; currently teaches in Atlanta. Don't know how many records he has released -- a Quartet in 1999, The Music of Steely Dan in 2002, several others possibly lapping into classical music (at at least "smaller chamber works"). Dectet has four reeds (including Bob Sheppard and Ben Wendel), three brass (trumpeter John Daversa and two trombones), guitar, piano, bass, and drums. Titles are like "Fugue in B-flat, in three voices" and "Fugue in E, in four voices" -- but the voicings are often remarkable, and the guitar adds some silk to the rhythmic flow. B+(***) [October 29]
423. Swing Fever Presents Clark Terry/Buddy DeFranco/Terry Gibbs and Guest Vocalist Jackie Ryan: Grand Masters of Jazz (1998-2001 [2013], Open Art, CD+2DVD): Swing Fever is a band led by trombonist Bryan Gould, usually five horns plus guitar, bass, and drums. Not sure if they have any albums on their own, but in the four concerts these cuts were selected from, they form the sturdy backup for guest stars Terry (trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals), DeFranco (clarinet), Gibbs (vibes), and Ryan (vocals). This comes from four sessions, two with Terry, one each with DeFranco and Gibbs -- Ryan appears in all four. The DVDs add some patter like Gibbs' story about Benny Goodman not being able to memorize any names, and it's worth watching Clark Terry work off a lyric sheet in his "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" duet with Ryan. The audio CD hits the highlights -- about half vocal pieces -- with brief intros. B+(***)
424. Jeff Lederer: Jeff Lederer's Swing n' Dix (2012 [2013], Little(i) Music): Saxophonist (tenor, alto, plays some clarinet too), second album, side credits mostly with Ted Kooshian and Matt Wilson. Wilson is drummer here, with old-fashioned brass -- Kirk Knuffke on cornet and the redoubtable Bob Stewart on tuba. Starts with "Honeysuckle Rose," includes pieces by Duke Pearson and Pee Wee Russell, also a trad Shaker hymn, plus originals by Lederer, Knuffke, and Wilson. Mary LaRose sings the Shaker hymn, and the group semi-sings the closing title piece. But all through it's the tuba that keeps this moving. B+(***)
425. Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trio: Dream a Little Dream (2012 [2013], Whaling City Sound): Drummer, son of vibraphonist Terry Gibbs, released an album called The Thrasher in 1996 and has kept the handle through various group projects (Thrasher Band, ELectric Thrasher Orchestra, etc.) His Dream Trio is Kenny Barron on piano and Ron Carter on bass, and it's hard to quibble over that. Four Gibbs originals, including dedications to McCoy Tyner and Don Pullen. One song each from the others, and a long list of covers including one Monk, two Hancocks, and a bit of Stevie Wonder. B+(***) [October 29]
426. Adam Lane Trio: Absolute Horizon (2010 [2013], NoBusiness): Bassist, justly known for his compositions but decided to wing it here with a full set of spontaneous improv. Trio includes Darius Jones on alto sax and Vijay Anderson on drums. Jones is an imposing player in his own right -- still disappointed that AUM Fidelity stopped sending me new records, especially Jones' latest -- and does a nice job of threading the rhythm here. Seems too easy, but that's what talent does. A-
427. Luis Lopes/Humanization 4tet: Live in Madison (2011 [2013], Ayler): Guitarist, from Portugal, has several albums with this quartet, mixing it up with tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado, backed by Texan brothers Aaron and Stefan González. Leads off with Arthur Blythe's "Bush Baby" where the see-saw leads are especially infectious. Rest are originals, three from Lopes, one from Amado, and a rollicking blues from Aaron G. A-
428. Myra Melford: Life Carries Me This Way (2013, Firehouse 12): Pianist, very important, one I occasionally vote for in Downbeat polls over dozens of worthy competitors; AMG lists 16 albums since 1992, which for practical purposes is short as she often turns a side credit into a tour de force. But this is solo, so it only occasionally blows you away -- the rest is first-rate dancing around the melody or sneaking up on her next surprise. B+(***)
429. Tom Harrell: Colors of a Dream (2013, High Note): Postbop trumpeter, b. 1946, has about 35 albums since 1978, has impressive chops but in recent years I've had problems with his compositions and combos. Not so here -- even though it doesn't strike me as a good idea to have Esperanza Spalding sing and (mostly) scat along with most of this, the rhythm section of Ugonna Okegwo (bass) and Jonathan Blake (drums) hurries her along (looks like Spalding also plays bass on most of this), and saxophonists Jaleel Shaw and Wayne Escoffery give Harrell quite a run -- best moments are the ones without Spalding, but she actually does a marvelous job of filling in for the missing keyboard. B+(***) [October 22]
430. Diane Hubka: West Coast Strings (2012 [2013], SSJ): Standards singer, has a half-dozen previous albums since 1998. The strings here are guitarists, rotating with a couple cuts each (some overlap, including Hubka playing guitar on three tracks: Anthony Wilson, Ron Eschete, Mimi Fox, Larry Koonse, John Pisano, Peter Sprague, and Barry Zweig. Starts with Wes Montgomery's "West Coast Blues," with Wilson but it sets the tone for everyone who follows; then "Moondance," a Jobim, one from Horace Silver, on to "It Ain't Necessarily So" and "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" and ending with another blues. Voice is clear and fits the guitar especially well. B+(***)
431. Amir ElSaffar: Alchemy (2013, Pi): Trumpet player, b. 1977 in Chicago, father Iraqi, studied classical music at DePaul and still tends to orchestrate his albums -- this is the fourth since 2007 -- as suites. Quintet with Ole Mathisen on tenor sax, John Escreet on piano, François Moutin on bass, and Dan Weiss on drums. B+(***)
432. Enrico Granafei: Alone and Together (2012 [2013], CAP): Plays chromatic harmonica, DB guitar, and sings on two cuts -- very effectively, not that I follow. From Italy, studied classical guitar at Conservatory of l'Aquila, later got a masters at Mahnattan School of Music under Toots Thielemans; now owns a jazz club in Montclair, NJ. With Amina Figarova on piano and Billy Hart on drums, guest spots for Vitali Imereli on violin, Vic Juris and Dave Stryker on guitar, Wallace Roney on trumpet. The harmonica is rich and vibrant, Imereli's violin turns even "Yardbird Suite" into romantic fare, and, as I said, the vocals are touching. B+(***)
433. Elton Dean/Paul Dunmall/Paul Rogers/Tony Bianco: Remembrance (2004 [2013], NoBusiness, 2CD): Alto saxophonist Dean died in 2006, after a career that started up in the 1960s with the prog rock group Soft Machine but moved ever further into avant-jazz. He plays on three (of four) long cuts here, the first in a trio with Rogers on bass and Bianco on drums; then in a quartet that adds Dunmall on tenor sax; and finally a second trio. The sax here, and Dunmall only adds to this, is relentlessly probing and engaging throughout. The other track is a 28:29 duet with Rogers and Bianco, starting the second disc off a bit obscurely but interesting in its own right. B+(***)
434. Scott Jeppesen: El Guapo (2013, Creative Bottle Music): Saxophonist (credit plural plus bass clarinet, pictures show a tenor), based in Los Angeles, first album, with Larry Koonse (guitar), Josh Nelson (piano), bass, drums, and John Daversa (trumpet, flugelhorn) on two tracks. Wrote 8 (of 10) tracks -- one cover from Richie Beirach, the other a romp through "Don't Fence Me In." Has especially good feel for ballad tempo. B+(***)
435. Ben Wanicur: The Excluded Middle (2012 [2013], Middle Path): Bassist, based in San Diego, first album, with Ian Tordella on sax, Peter Sprague on guitar, and Charlie Weller on drums. Wanicur wrote five originals, added five covers including two from Wayne Shorter. Mainstream postbop, nothing you haven't heard before, but it's very nicely done. Tordella has a couple recent albums I haven't heard. Sprague cut his first in 1979 and has a lot of records I haven't heard, although I run into him often enough to recognize the name. B+(***)
436. Dave Bennett: Don't Be That Way (2013, Mack Avenue): Clarinet player, from Michigan, an unabashed Benny Goodman fan -- his two previous albums are Dave Bennett Salutes 100 Years of Benny and Clarinet Is King: Songs of Great Clarinetists. Mostly stays with the classics here: "Slipped Disc," "Begin the Beguine," "Sing, Sing, Sing," "Woodchopper's Ball," and reaches back even further for "St. James Infirmary" (with a vocal) and the closing "When the Saints Go Marching In." Even the one faux pas ("Yesterday," normally a kiss of death) is flat out gorgeous. With Tad Weed on piano, and Reg Schwager on guitar. A-
437. Sérgio Galvão: Phantom Fish (2013, Pimenta): Tenor/soprano saxophonist, b. 1965 in Brasilia, Brazil. Debut, piano split between Leo Genovese and Aruán Ortiz, guitar between Leni Stern and Alex Nolan. Upbeat, exhuberant even, reminds one of Gato Barbieri long ago but less willing to rough it. B+(***)
438. Rent Romus' Life's Blood: Truth Teller (2013, Edgetone): Avant-saxophonist (alto/soprano), from San Francisco, studied at UC Santa Cruz in the late 1980s, drifted through various Bay Area groups (e.g., the Lords of Outland); at least eight albums since 1995. Mostly trio, with bass (Kim Cass and/or Markus Hunt) and drums (Timothy Orr), plus Rhodes on one cut. The rough stuff is sharp, engaging, and the softer spots draw you in. Hadn't recognized him before: seems like a potential SFFR. A-
439. Idan Santhaus: There You Are (2008-11 [2013], Posi-Tone): Big band arranger, born and raised in Israel, moved to New York in 2001. First album under his own name, but has a couple of arranger credits, including A Different Porgy & Another Bess for Brussels Jazz Orchestra. His instrument is flute, but he only plays on one cut here. Recorded in two sets with a minority of overlapping musicians. The solos feel composed through, but he has a remarkable knack of drawing them out. A-
440. Kidd Jordan/Hamid Drake: A Night in November: Live in New Orleans (2011 [2013], Valid): Louisiana boys, the saxophonist (alto and tenor) a lifelong resident of the Big Easy, the drummer a childhood emigré to Chicago where he was mentored by Fred Anderson, eventually recording several duo albums together. Jordan is a fair substitute, a little squeakier, and Drake is masterful, as always. B+(***)

Art Pepper: Unreleased Art Vol. VIII: Live at the Winery September 6, 1976 (1976 [2013], Widow's Taste): Pepper got out of jail in 1965 but played very little until 1975 when he kicked off his final comeback with the brilliant album Living Legend. Most of the previous seven Unreleased Art volumes focus on live gigs from his last years, 1980-82, working with regular touring bands. This catches him a few years earlier, at the Paul Masson Winery in Saratoga with a no-name pickup band from the Bay Area. They aren't bad -- pianist Smith Dobson acquits himself particularly well -- but Pepper plays with exceptional verve, right out of the gate with a fast "Caravan" up through the "Straight Life" encore. Most of these songs are staples on his numerous live albums from the era, but he rarely raced through this this fast and with this much vigor. A-

441. John Tchicai/Charlie Kohlhase/Garrison Fewell/Cecil McBee/Billy Hart: Tribal Ghost (2007 [2013], NoBusiness): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1936 in Copenhagen, Denmark; mother Danish, father Congolese; d. 2012. This was recorded in 2007 at Birdland, Tchicai's trio with saxophonist Kohlhase and guitarist Fewell rounded out with bass and drums. Four cuts, one of those limited edition vinyl deals, no timings given but works out to about 35 minutes. Fewell wrote three of the pieces, his guitar tying them into neat little grooves, the saxes not clashing but embroidering. A- [advance]
442. Randy Weston/Billy Harper: The Roots of the Blues (2013, Sunnyside): Piano and tenor sax duets, with each taking one solo turn. Pianist is 85, one of the few still working who started in the 1950s. Mostly his songs (10-to-1 over Harper -- the covers touchstones like "Body and Soul," "How High the Moon," "Take the A Train"), and most with allusions to Africa, at least in the title -- no American pianist has searched deeper or longer into the mother continent, going back as far as Weston's 1955 album African Sunrise. Harper is pushing 70 himself, still possessing that rich, gospel-infused tone. B+(***) [November 19]
443. Fay Victor Ensemble: Absinthe & Vermouth (2013, Greene Avenue Music): Vocalist, originally from Trinidad or Tobago, raised on Long Island, studied at Syracuse and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music; sixth album since 1999. Betty Carter is less an influence than one of her few peers in jazz history: someone who makes art more difficult and demanding than we're often comfortable with, a singer who commands a band as disciplined and prickly as the star. Victor's Ensemble includes Anders Nilsson, one of the most distinctive jazz guitarists working today, and Ken Filiano, one of those bassists who makes everyone sound better -- his presence is as reliable a stamp of quality as casting Harry Dean Stanton in a movie. B+(***)
444. Fabric Trio: Murmurs (2010 [2013], NoBusiness): Sax trio, recorded in Berlin: Frank Paul Schubert (soprano/alto sax), Mike Majkowski (bass), Yorgos Dimitriadis (drums). First album, a limited edition (300 copy) vinyl LP, which seems to be a market niche. Free jazz, joint improv, as the title suggests they tend to keep their adventures toned down -- no screech, no bombast, but also no clichés, nothing pat. I find them refreshing, but not very distinct from dozens of other fine records. I'm also glad I have a CD-R and don't have to flip the thing over. B+(**) [advance]
445. Tim Warfield: Inspire Me! (2013, HHM): Mainstream tenor saxophonist, has mostly recorded for Criss Cross -- I thought his early records there were terrific (e.g., A Cool Blue and Gentle Warrior) -- but the label tends to underwhelm, and Warfield's releases have tailed off over the years. (Some Criss Cross artists also show up on labels like Sharp Nine and Posi-Tone that consistently get sharper, more vibrant sound.) Warfield returns here with a warm and comforting sound, with Antoine Drye's trumpet on five cuts, Kevin Hays on piano, plus bass and drums. Herb Harris produced, and sings two pieces -- offhand and odd at first, now just part of the flow. B+(***)
446. Roswell Rudd: Trombone for Lovers (2013, Sunnyside): With the "Joe Hill" suite at the end, this could have been called Trombone for the Masses: I don't mind the rapper there but the NYC Labor Choir takes some getting used to even though I feel like saluting the political point. Everything else is just superb: the opening "Ghost Riders in the Sky" with Steven Bernstein's slide trumpet, Bob Dorough on "Here, There & Everywhere," Fay Victor on "Trouble in Mind," Michael Doucet's violin on "Autumn Leaves" and "Tennessee Waltz," familiar songs that seem perfect when they pop up: "Baby, It's Cold Outside," "Struttin' With Some Barbecue," "Green Onions," "Unchained Melody," "September Song." As for "Joe Hill," well, organize. A [November 19]
447. Harold López-Nussa: New Day (2013, Jazz Village): Pianist, from Cuba, still lives in Havana, has at least three previous albums. Mostly trio, favoring intense rhythm as opposed to the usual Afro-Cuban start-stop time shifts. Some cuts add Mayquel González on trumpet, dropping the piano back to a comping role. B+(***)
448. Rich Rosenthal: Falling Up (2012 [2014], Muse-Eek): Guitarist, b. 1964, first album as leader, discography shows one side credit, in Joe Giardullo Open Ensemble. Giardullo returns the favor here, playing soprano and sopranino sax, nudging the quartet into free territory. The leader both follows along and takes some surprising turns on his own. B+(***)
449. John Hébert Trio: Floodstage (2012 [2013], Clean Feed):Bassist-led piano trio, Hébert composing all but two pieces: one by pianist Benoît Delbecq and the trad gospel "Just a Closer Walk With Thee." Gerald Cleaver is the drummer. Delbecq opens on "analog synth and tronics" throwing the sound off a bit; otherwise a fine piano trio album. B+(***)
450. New York Art Quartet: Call It Art (1964-65 [2013], Triple Point, 5LP): Extravagant packaging, with the 5 LPs each in its own jacket, packed alongside a 156-page clothbound book, both enclosed in a very handsome plywood box. The group, with Roswell Rudd on trombone and John Tchicai on alto sax, was more at home in Copenhagen than in New York. They cut the one album they're known for on ESP-Disk, another for Fontana in England, but other recordings have leaked out over the years -- notably Old Stuff, released by Cuneiform in 2010, and now this stack of "previously uncirculated" vinyl. Hard for me to evaluate -- among other things I'm just not accustomed to evaluating things in 15-20 minute chunks anymore -- but everything I play has its fascinating points. Retails at $340 (plus shipping), which I regard as insane. But it is quite a piece of product, and presumably the market knows best. A-
451. Kris Davis: Massive Threads (2012 [2013], Thirsty Ear): One of the most impressive pianists to emerge in the last decade, even if the more obvious reason why her Quartet albums were so successful was saxophonist Tony Malaby. Second solo album, a mix of loud and quiet exercises, each impressive in its own way. B+(***) [advance: November 5]
452. Angelica Sanchez/Wadada Leo Smith: Twine Forest (2013, Clean Feed): Piano-trumpet duets, the songs composed by the pianist, who makes a strong impression when leading then falls to the side when the trumpet takes over. He's impressive too, and when the pair connect they can blow you away. Then they back off leaving you to wonder what's going on, before they attack again. B+(***)
453. Pascal Niggenkemper Vision7: Lucky Prime (2012 [2013], Clean Feed): German bassist, based in New York, I first noticed him in HNH (with Joe Hertenstein and Thomas Heberer), but he has a couple of trio records with Robin Verheyen (sax) and Tyshawn Sorey (drums), and now this expansive septet. Emilie Lesbros wrote lyrics to most pieces, sings, and directs traffic, which can get chaotic -- Frank Gratkowski (bass clarinet, alto sax), Eve Risser (piano), Frantz Loriot (viola), Els Vandeweyer (vibes, marimba), and Christian Lillinger (drums): combinations that are inherently risky but succeed more often than not. B+(***)
454. Anna Kaluza/Artur Majewski/Rafal Mazur/Kuba Suchar: Tone Hunting (2012 [2013], Clean Feed):Alto sax, trumpet/cornet, acoustic bass guitar, drums/kalimba. Kaluza is German, from Köln, has a couple previous albums. The others are probably Polish -- I've run across Mazur and Majewski before. Group improvs, no titles (unless you count "Track 1," etc.), no clash, just even-tempered exploration. The kalimba is a nice touch. A-
455. Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley: Ailanthus/Altissima: Bilateral Dimenions of 2 Root Songs (2008 [2010], Triple Point, 2LP): Inconveniently distributed in "microgroove" -- expensive terminology for vinyl -- this has been sitting on my shelf for several years. Oxley was one of Taylor's drummer duet partners in his 1988 Berlin series -- their album was Leaf Palm Hand -- and they continued to work together with William Parker in the Feel Trio, with this reunion occurring twenty years after their initial meeting. This has flashes, especially on side A, where both are as brilliant as you'd expect, but having to flip side and shuffle breaks up the momentum. Isn't that why they invented CDs? B+(***)
456. Soar Trio: Emergency Management Heist (2013, Edgetone): Sax-piano-bass trio, the best known member pianist Thollem McDonas, with 23 albums in the past 6 years (one of which I've heard and, I might add, liked). The others are Skeeter C.R. Shelton on alto sax and Joel Peterson on bass. Testy, free-ranging music, doesn't seem to be excessively slowed down by the lack of a drummer. B+(***)
457. Volcán (2013, 5Pasion): Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba is the main talent hiding behind this eponymous group album -- wrote three (of eight songs), the others standards including "Salt Peanuts" from his mentor. The others are Jose Armando Gola (electric bass), Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez (drums), and Giovanni "Mañenguito" Hidalgo (congas, percussion), with Maridalia Hernandez singing one of two João Bosco tunes. B+(***)
458. Two Al's: And the Cowgirls Kept On Dancing (2013, Brokken): One Albert and one Alan, but I guess that works. Albert van Veenendaal has recorded a number of remarkable albums on prepared piano -- Predictable Point of Impact and Minimal Damage are two I particularly like. Alan Purves is credited with "percussion, squeaky toys, brim bram, little instruments" -- in other words, exogenous effects as unpredictable as the tricks wired into the piano. Works much more often than not. A-
459. Ayman Fanous/Jason Kao Hwang: Zilzal (2011 [2013], Innova): Fanous plays guitar (6 tracks) and bouzouki (3). He was born in Cairo, Egypt; grew up in the US, cut an album with cellist Tomas Ulrich. Hwang is one of the best known violinists in jazz, playing viola here on 4 (of 9) tracks -- either way the dominant instrument here. B+(***)
460. Peter Kerlin Octet: Salamander (2013, Innova): Bassist, first album, lists eleven musicians here, so presumably not all play not all of the time. Nor does Octet match up with any previous configuration: no horns here, but the compositions are scored for two vibraphones, two basses, organ, drums, percussion, and viola. (The excess on the musician list comes from three bass and three viola credits.) Dense pieces with a little sparkle, moving surely from the bottom. B+(***)
461. The Paul Smoker Notet: Landings (2012 [2013], Alvas): Quartet, actually: the leader on trumpet, Steve Salerno on guitar, Drew Gress on bass, and Phil Haynes on drums. Smoker, b. 1941 in Indiana, has a dozen albums (Wikipedia) or fifteen (AMG) or more (two recent ones are in neither list), although I had only heard one until recently. But the guitar sets the trumpet remarkably well, and Smoker is always up to something interesting. A-
462. Jörg Fischer/Matthias Schubert/Uli Böttcher: Lurk Lab (2012, Gligg): Avant sax trio, listed in front cover order: drums, tenor sax, live electronics. All joint credits, so figure improv. Böttcher seems more like a second drummer than a surrogate bassist, but that's probably an oversimplification -- he also throws in some whistles and whizzes, and at full fury the flurry can be prety amazing. A-
463. Lurk Lab: Live at Shelter Sounds (2012 [2013], JazzHausMusik): Matthias Schubert (tenor sax), Uli Böttcher (live electronics), Jörg Fischer (drums). Three live improv pieces, two topping 20 minutes. Similar to what they came up with in the lab, but the sound is a bit more distant, and the electronics can come unplugged. B+(***)
464. William Parker Orchestra: Essence of Ellington: Live in Milano (2012, AUM Fidelity, 2CD): Big band, only two deep at trumpet and trombone but six saxes including Kidd Jordan, fêted as "special guest" although half the orchestra are more famous (or should be), especially the rhythm section: Dave Burrell, Parker, and Hamid Drake. This mixes Ellington standards with originals where Parker seeks what he calls "essences" -- a license to quote and maul and occasionally find some sort of synthesis. When the band eventually converges on a melody, Ernie Odoom sings familiar lyrics or, in "The Essence of Ellington," totally new ones. Messy, but also chock full of wonderful passages. Surely Duke would agree: beyond category. A-
465. Autumn in Augusta: Songs My Mama Would Like (2013, self-released, EP): Lucy Smith sings five old songs over piano-bass-drums, one a melody from someone named Beethoven, two others from lesser known artists who sign their work as "Traditional." Just runs 18:42 but feels heartfelt, substantial. B+(***)
466. Cava Menzies/Nick Phillips: Moment to Moment (2013 [2014], self-released): Leaders play piano and trumpet, respectively, backed by bass and drums. First album I can find by either. To call it a ballad album slights its smoky makeout appeal. B+(***)
467. Carolyn Lee Jones: The Performer (2013, Cat'nround Sound): Standards singer, second or third album (not sure what to call Live in Dallas), has a long list of musicians shuffling in and out, including a saxophonist I like and a flautist I don't mind. As usual, this rises and falls with the songs -- give me "Old Devil Moon" any time -- but she gets more mileage than most out of "Let's Get Lost" and goes for pure seductiveness after that. B+(***)
468. The Fat Babies: 18th & Racine (2013, Delmark): Trad jazz band from Chicago, second album, bassist Beau Sample is the nominal leader but Andy Schumm (cornet, alto sax) wrote the one original and arranged most of the rest, favoring the late '20s over the later swing era. B+(***)
469. Ari Brown: Groove Awakening (2013, Delmark): Tenor saxophonist from Chicago, started in R&B bands and always seemed a pat for free jazz groups, but he finds his groove here with Kirk Brown on piano and Dr. Guz adding extra percussion. B+(***)
470. Dave Rempis/Joshua Abrams/Avreeayl Ra: Aphelion (2013 [2014], Aerophonic): Free sax trio, bassist Abrams also playing guimbri and small harp, which gets him more solo space, and takes away from the leader's often fierce sax runs. B+(***)
471. Frank Wess: Magic 201 (2011 [2014], IPO): A sequal to last year's Magic 101, cut a couple months later with a similar group -- Kenny Barron and Winard Harper are on both, Rufus Reid takes over at bass here, and Russell Malone joins on guitar -- a real plus. The other change is that Wess plays some flute here, not just tenor sax as before. But since his death last fall at 91, this is all the more poignant -- would be even if it didn't close with "If It's the Last Thing I Do." B+(***)
472. George Cables: Icons & Influences (2013 [2014], HighNote): Pianist, has been recording since the mid-1970s, including some of the finest albums of Art Pepper's last fling. Without a horn, his trios -- this is one with Dezron Douglas and Victor Lewis -- never quite blow me away but he's a quintessential jazz pianist, capable of stretching out past an hour without ever a slack spot. B+(***)
473. Jon Di Fiore: Yellow Petals (2013 [2014], Third Freedom Music): Drummer-led piano trio, with Billy Test on piano and Adrian Morning on bass. Di Fiore, who hails from NJ, wrote all the pieces, and if he mixes the drums up a bit, he makes that work as well. B+(***)
474. Pete Mills: Sweet Shadow (2013 [2014], Cellar Live): Tenor saxophonist, originally from Toronto but based in Columbus [OH], fourth album. Fluid at high speed, has a nice tone on ballads, backed by both piano and guitar, but Pete McCann has most of the memorable spots. B+(***)
475. Rob Derke & the NY Jazz Quartet: Blue Divide (2013 [2014], Zoho): NYJAZZ seems to be related to a larger organization, but let's stick with this quartet. First album for Derke, who plays soprano saxophone with surprising vigor. Bassist Carlo De Rosa wrote a couple pieces; Aruán Ortiz plays piano, and Eric McPherson drums. B+(***)
476. The Danny Petroni Blue Project: The Blue Project (2013 [2014], DPS): Post-Sandy blues from the former New Jersey shore. Petroni plays guitar, subcontracting the vocals to Frank Lacy -- you're more likely to know him for his trombone and maybe even flumpet, but he's a forthright blues shouter and that's all this set calls for. B+(***)
477. 10³²K: That Which Is Planted: Live in Buffalo and Rochester (2013, Passin' Thru): Trio: Kevin Ray on bass, Andrew Drury on drums, and Ku-umba Frank Lacy on trombone, flumpet, voice, and percussion. The vocal preaches a text familiar to anyone who grew up on the Bible (or the Byrds), one that sticks in my craw because I doubt that there's ever a justifiable "time for war" -- but the music is Mingus, with Ayler, McCall, and Threadgill also given respect. Lacy has been around a long time but only has three albums under his name. Terrific to see him the focal point here. A-
478. Matt Wilson Quartet + John Medeski: Gathering Call (2013 [2014], Palmetto): Pianoless quartet plus piano player, the split horn roles filled admirably by Jeff Lederer (reeds) and Kirk Knuffke (cornet), playing two Ellington riff pieces and a bunch of the drummer's originals. The guest is neither here nor there. B+(***)
479. Archie Shepp: Attica Blues Orchestra Live: I Hear the Sound (2013 [2014], Archieball): Tenor saxophonist, cut Attica Blues back in 1971 when Rockefeller's massacre of prisoners and guards was news, and still carries the flame, in part because he pioneered a meeting of black folk and avant-jazz specific to the era and still resonant today. But his sax has mellowed over the years, as has his anger, and the singers that lead most of this revival meeting, not least Cecile McLorin Salvant, are just pros. B+(***)
480. Pete Robbins: Pyramid (2013 [2014], Hate Laugh Music): Alto saxophonist, AMG lists five albums since 2002 but that's too few, a postbop player with some edge and a terrific quartet here -- Vijay Iyer on piano, Eivind Opsvik on bass, and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. B+(***)
481. Mikolaj Trzaska/Devin Hoff/Michael Zerang: Sleepless in Chicago (2011-12 [2013], NoBusiness): Free jazz sax trio, the Polish alto saxophonist has impressed every time I've heard him, and his pick-up band in Chicago know the drill. Short enough for LP, limited to 300 copies, presumably because the market knows best. B+(***) [CDR of LP]
482. Sarah Manning: Harmonious Creature (2013 [2014], Posi-Tone): Alto saxophonist, second album, with strings -- Eyvind Kang on violin, Jonathan Goldberger on guitar, Rene Hart on bass -- leading the way, drums backing, but doesn't let this settle into chamber jazz niceties. B+(***)
483. Barbara Levy Daniels: Love Lost and Found (2013 [2014], Bidproductions): Standards singer, from (and I gather still based in) Buffalo, seems to be in her sixties -- "over 50 years ago" Ray Charles heard her as a 12-year-old and urged ABC to sign her, resulting in "a number of singles" -- returning to music after working 30 years as a psychotherapist. Second album, arranged by pianist John DiMartino, with Warren Vaché on cornet -- their interplay on "Comes Love" is a highlight. B+(***)
484. YAPP: Symbolic Heads (2011 [2013], NoBusiness): Free jazz quartet -- Bryan Rogers (tenor sax), Alban Bailly (guitar), Matt Engle (bass), David Flaherty (drums) -- best when they let it all hang out, possibly because even then they keep it tight. B+(***) [CDR of LP]
485. Christine Wodrascka/Jean Luc Cappozzo/Gerry Hemingway: 2° Étage: Grey Matter (2012 [2013], NoBusiness): Piano, trumpet/bugle, and percussion -- the first two born in the 1950s in France, with checkered discographies as they've bounced off various avant-jazz figures; this is another jumble of discordant sounds in search of something deeper. B+(***)
486. David Krakauer: The Big Picture (2013 [2014], Table Pounding): Clarinetist, had a part in the 1980s klezmer revival, both playing for the Klezmatics and leading his Klezmer Madness, and has continued more or less in that vein. Movie music this time, falls into a string section chamber trap midway but recovers with a swell I soon recognize as "People" -- have scarcely heard that since the Streisand hit in the 1960s, and it never sounded better. B+(***)
487. Nir Felder: Golden Age (2011 [2014], Okeh): Guitarist, from upstate New York, first album although it seems like I've bumped into him on most of his dozen side-credits since 2009. Quartet with Aaron Parks on piano. Sme pieces overlay quotes from famous speeches, adding to the sense of historical sweep. B+(***)
488. Sonny Simmons/Delphine Latil/Thomas Bellier: Beyond the Planets (2013 [2014], Improvising Beings, 2CD): Avant-garde in the 1960s, now passing 80, Simmons plays cor anglais and alto sax none too vigorously, adding depth and resonance to duets -- the first disc with harpist Latil, who starts out solo before their 47:03 "Sacred Moments," and guitarist Bellier, who's thinking of the distance between planets and the awesomeness of the universe. A-
489. Daunik Lazro/Joëlle Léandre: Hasparren (2011 [2013], NoBusiness): Baritone sax and bass duets, nothing rushed. B+(***)
490. Ben Flocks: Battle Mountain (2013 [2014], self-released): Tenor saxophonist, originally from Santa Cruz, now based in Brooklyn, first album, quintet unknown to me (guitar, piano/Fender, bass, drums), songbook draws on folk classics -- "Shenandoah," "Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You" -- many rooted in his native California. Reminds me as much of Dave Alvin's King of California as anything in the jazz world. Needless to say, his "Tennessee Waltz" doesn't match Sonny Rollins' -- but how could it? A-
491. Haynes & Smoker: It Might Be Spring (2013, Alvas): A-
492. Lena Bloch: Feathery (2012 [2014], Thirteenth Note): Tenor saxophonist, from Moscow, emigrated to Israel in 1990, studied in Germany and Canada and wound up in the US, recording her debut in NJ. Quartet with Dave Miller (guitar), Cameron Brown (bass), and Billy Mintz (drums), each contributing a song. Postbop tone, wouldn't call it "feathery" but it sinks into the aether, occasionally spitting out something reminding you to listen. B+(***)
493. Kidd Jordan/Alvin Fielder/Peter Kowald: Trio and Duo in New Orleans (2002-05 [2013], NoBusiness, 2CD): Avant tenor sax player, both from and based in New Orleans, looks like he recorded once in 1983 with the Improvisational Arts Quintet, but his career didn't pick up until he turned 65 in 2000. Since then he's become famous enough he got a cameo in Tremé -- when he shows up with Donald Harrison at a private after hours conclave, the trad trombonist character says something like, "ut-oh, the serious guys have arrived." Drummer Alvin Fielder was in that 1983 group and plays on both discs here, with the trio disc adding bassist Peter Kowald, who does a lot to soften the rough edges -- a plus, but the duo disc sharpens them, and that works too. A-
494. Jon Irabagon/Mark Helias/Barry Altschul: It Takes All Kinds (2013 [2014], Irabbagast/Jazzwerkstatt): Tenor sax trio, as was Altschul's The 3dom Factor last year (only with a different bassist), or for that matter Irabagon's Foxy (yet another bassist). This is a bit more scattershot than the others. B+(***)
495. James Brandon Lewis: Divine Travels (2013 [2014], Okeh): Tenor saxophonist, from Buffalo, second album, a trio with William Parker and Gerald Cleaver, weaving free sax around more traditional patterns. A-
496. Craig Handy: Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith (2011 [2014], Okeh): Tenor saxophonist, played Coleman Hawkins in the Lester Young cutting match in Altman's Kansas City -- seemed like a break at the time, but he's had a very spotty recording career. He goes back to R&B here, playing Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery, "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and "I Almost Lost My Mind" and "Mojo Workin'" -- Dee Dee Bridgewater and Clarence Spady sing one each, Wynton Marsalis handles the trumpet slot, and Helin Riley plays washboard as well as drums. A-
497. Revolutionary Snake Ensemble: Live Snakes (2011-13 [2014], Accurate): Saxophonist Ken Field's Boston group, personnel shifting among six live dates excerpted here but they're all of a piece, tapping into New Orleans tradition, most impressively on an old Albert Brumley song which segues into an avant-Dixieland "Que Sera Sera." A-
498. Gene Ludwig-Pat Martino Trio: Young Guns (1968-69 [2014], High Note): Organ-guitar trio, with Randy Gelispie on drums. Martino's career ended with an aneurysm in 1979, then was resurrected, to much hoopla, in 1987, not that (in admittedly light sampling) I've found his work -- mostly soul jazz riffs with a touch of Montgomery -- all that impressive. Organist Ludwig has an even spottier discography with no melodrama explaining the gaps -- a couple mid-1960s albums, one in 1979, a steady stream of retro-soul jazz efforts since he turned 60 in 1997. This, however, is terrific, with the guitar racing so fast that Ludwig never gets to settle into his groove. Previously unreleased, I think. A-
499. Jeff Ballard Trio: Time's Tales (2013 [2014], Okeh): Drummer, best known in the Brad Mehldau Trio although he has about 80 credits since 1988. First album with his name up front, an unconventional trio with guitarist Lionel Loueke and alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon. They flirt with guitar-driven fusion early on, then slow it down and mix up the beat giving the sax more space. B+(***)
500. Regina Carter: Southern Comfort (2013 [2014], Sony Masterworks): Violinist, won a MacArthur "genius" grant in 2006, the year of her best album to date, I'll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey, and she has finally topped that with another sentimental journey, looping back around her family tree through a series of mostly trad. pieces and casts her into an old fashioned fiddle role, not that it's ever that straightforward. A-
501. Kris Davis Trio: Waiting for You to Grow (2013 [2014], Clean Feed): Pianist, from Canada, got our attention with a series of quartet albums featuring Tony Malaby (2008's Rye Eclipse is the one to seek out), then lately has tried to scale back with intriguing solo and trio albums. This feels like a breakthrough. It helps, of course, to have John Hébert and Tom Rainey on board, but every piece shows us something new, from roughly fractured to delicately melodic. A-
502. Matt Bauder and Day in Pictures: Nightshades (2013 [2014], Clean Feed): Tenor saxophonist, protégé of Anthony Braxton, has a handful of records including 2010's Day in Pictures, nearly the same quintet (Kris Davis replaces Angelica Sanchez at piano; on both records: Nate Wooley, Jason Ajemian, Tomas Fujiwara). An explosive mix, especially with Davis, but Bauder manages to stay within postbop bounds (what Jason Gubbels describes as "edgy Blue Note circa 1966"). B+(***)
503. Juhani Aaltonen: To Future Memories (2010 [2013], TUM): In recent polls, I've written his name in as best flute player around, and there's plenty here (and elsewhere) to justify those votes, but his main instrument is tenor sax, and I'd be happier if he focused more on it. With pianist Iro Haarla, two bassists, a drummer and a percussionist, this is a bit on the moody side but nearly triumphs anyway. Also has two stretches of exceptional flute. B+(***)
504. Jonas Kullhammar/Torbjörn Zetterberg/Espen Aalberg: Basement Sessions Vol. 2 (2012 [2014], Clean Feed): Tenor sax-bass-drums trio, follows up a pretty good Vol. 1 released in 2012, and it's not clear why they held this batch back: it consistently hits the sweet spot in free jazz between chaos and beauty. A-
505. Tord Gustavsen Quartet: Extended Circle (2013 [2014], ECM): Norwegian pianist, satisfies ECM's fetish for quiet understatement but consistently plays well above the norm. Quartet adds the tenor sax of Tore Brunborg to his trio with Mats Eilertsen and Jarle Vespestad. Brunborg also fits the ECM model -- quiet and thoughtful, the results broadly atmospheric -- and again raises the bar (a bit). B+(***) [advance]
506. Eric Revis: In Memory of Things Yet Seen (2013 [2014], Clean Feed): Bassist, mostly associated with Branford Marsalis but his own records have been more avant-oriented. However, this one could be diagnosed as schizo, most obviously in the sax matchup, with everyday postbopper Bill McHenry on tenor and avant-barnburner Darius Jones on alto (with Marsalis dropping in on a couple cuts). I go back and forth on Jones, and he's only occasionally in top form here, but I wound up seduced where I least expected it -- the quiet spot melodies, like part three of "The Tulpa Chronicles." A- [advance]
507. Tim Hegarty: Tribute (2013 [2014], Miles High): Tenor saxophonist, first album, a "'tribute' to my teachers," a list which starts with a 13-year-old Hegarty studying under Frank Foster. Two originals, the rest pieces by saxophonists (plus Monk) coming out of the 1950s, especially Jimmy Heath (4 pieces). Mark Sherman's vibes are a nice touch, and Kenny Barron, Rufus Reid, and Carl Allen are superb. B+(***)
508. Mike DiRubbo: Threshold (2013 [2014], Ksanti): Alto saxophonist, eighth album since 1999, most on mainstream labels (Criss Cross, Sharp Nine, Posi-Tone, SteepleChase). Hard bop quintet, but sounds newer than a 1960s Blue Note throwback, with Brian Charette providing strong support on piano and Josh Evans hitting hot spots on trumpet. A-
509. Hutchinson Andrew Trio: Prairie Modern (2012 [2014], Chronograph): Canadian piano trio, pianist Chris Andrew the main writer, with bassist Kodi Hutchinson collaborating on two pieces, and Karl Schwonik playing drums. Crisp and clean, well above average, but what grabs your attention is the guest saxophonist on six cuts: he plays like Donny McCaslin, for good reason. B+(***)
510. Erik Friedlander: Nighthawks (2013 [2014], Skipstone): Cellist, fifteen-plus albums since 1995, gets a tight string groove going with Doug Wamble on guitar and Trevor Dunn on bass and won't let go. With Michael Sarin on drums. B+(***)
511. Mike Longo: Step On It (2013 [2014], CAP): Pianist, studied with Oscar Peterson in 1961, played with Dizzy Gillespie 1966-73, has a couple dozen albums since 1972 including a big band project (The New York State of the Art Jazz Ensemble). This one's a piano trio, his rhythm famous enough to get their names on the cover: Bob Cranshaw and Lewis Nash. One original, plus covers that include one from Diz, one from Kurt Weill, three from Wayne Shorter, and my fave, something called "Tico Tico." B+(***)
512. Itaru Oki: Chorul Zukan (2013 [2014], Improvising Beings): Japanese trumpet/flugelhorn player (judging from the cover pics, looks like he's merged both horns into the same contraption), b. 1941 in Hyogo prefecture, moved to France 1974; AMG credits him with 8 albums, Discogs with 18. This is solo, although it sometimes sounds like his lines overlap. Fairly minimal at first, but grows on you. B+(***)
513. Noah Rosen/Alan Silva: O.I.L.: Orchestrated Improvised Lives (2013, Improvising Beings): Rosen's a pianist, cut a well-regarded trio album for Cadence in 2000 but has rarely been heard from since. Silva is normally a bassist, started recording in 1969 in something called The Celestial Communications Orchestra. His credit here is "orchestral synthesizer" so you can think of him as a one-man backing orchestra but he's more upfront like a duo partner. B+(***)
514. Allen Lowe: Mulatto Radio: Field Recordings: 1-4 (2012 [2014], Constant Sorrow, 4CD): De trop, but I'm not sure you'd get a superior best-of if you reduced it to a single disc, and the rambling through the ramshackle past and random discoveries are much of the fun -- the booklet, an essential part of the experience, is already too abbreviated. Lowe's alternate title is "A Jew at Large in the Minstrel Diaspora" but that doesn't clarify much either, at least not as much as the intro story where Lowe is being hectored by Wynton Marsalis on minstrelsy and tries to counter that it's not so cut-and-dry. Indeed, it isn't, but rather than argue the point (as he's done in books like That Devilin' Tune), he just picks up a lot of the past and, aided by eighteen often-stellar musicians, slings it into the future, where it's even more peculiar. A-
515. Free Nelson Mandoomjazz: The Shape of Doomjazz to Come/Saxophone Giganticus (2013 [2014], RareNoise): Sax trio from Scotland: Rebecca Sneddon on alto sax, Colin Stewart on electric bass, and Paul Archibald on drums. First album, designed as two EPs on one CD, the pieces built on deep fuzzy bass riffs with the sax cutting or wailing, closer to free than doom metal but resonates with that chord. A- [advance]
516. Colin Edwin/Lorenzo Feliciati: Twinscapes (2013 [2014], RareNoise): Two bassists ("fretless and fretted") with rock backgrounds, Edwin from Porcupine Tree, Feliciati from Naked Truth and Berserk, add keybs, guitar, programming, and toys to their rhythms; also guest spots for David Jackson (sax), Nils Petter Molvaer (trumpet), Andi Pupato (percussion, from Nik Bärtsch's Ronin), and Roberto Gualdi (drums, from PFM). B+(***) [advance]
517. Dave Rempis/Darren Johnston/Larry Ochs: Spectral (2012 [2014], Aerophonic): Three horns -- alto sax, trumpet, tenor/sopranino sax, respectively -- nothing else, so this is a little like Ken Vandermark's Sonore but the players complement rather than compete: keeps the volume in check, focusing attention on the interplay, which is quite remarkable. B+(***)
518. International Orange (2013 [2014], self-released): Debut album from David Phelps' guitar trio, with Gaku Takanashi on bass and Todd Isler on drums. Wouldn't call it a groove album but it moves along smartly, everyone contributing. One oddity: my copy has the same songs but different order from the one available on bandcamp. My copy is in a brown sleeve with a bit of orange on the cover. Don't know whether that's low budget finished product or promo. B+(***) [cd]
519. Zan Stewart: The Street Is Making Music (2013 [2014], Mobo Dog): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1944, "a lifelong musician" but this is his first album -- he made his living as a journalist (retiring in 2010 from the Newark Star-Ledger) and radio DJ, and won a Deems Taylor award for liner notes on Eric Dolphy. Mainstream sax quartet with Keith Saunders on piano, Adam Gay on bass, and Ron Marabuto on drums. Swings a bit, and grows on you. B+(***)
520. Ross Hammond: Humanity Suite (2013 [2014], Prescott): Guitarist, originally from Kentucky but based in Sacramento, where he has been very productive since 2003. This was recorded live, a group with two saxophonists (Catherine Sikora and Vinny Golia) and trombone (Clifford Childers, also credited with euphonium, bass trumpet, and harmonica). No track list, but the "suite" concept is suggested by various shifts -- moderate passages which develop themes and momentum, and louder ones when the horns uncork. B+(***) [advance]
521. Ellen Rowe Quintet: Courage Music (2013 [2014], PKO): Pianist, fourth album since 2001, leads a postbop quintet -- trumpet player Ingrid Jensen gets "featuring credit" on the front cover but tenor saxophonist Andrew Bishop is every bit as critical. Tends toward a neat complexity, but can get unruly at times. B+(***)
522. Andrew Hadro: For Us, the Living (2013 [2014], Tone Rogue): Baritone saxophonist, first album after side-credist with Chico Hamilton, Chris Potter, and Tony Malaby. Quartet, backed by piano (Carmen Staaf), bass (Daniel Foose), and drums (Matt Wilson). B+(***)
523. Dave Douglas/Chet Doxas/Steve Swallow/Jim Doxas: Riverside (2012 [2014], Greenleaf Music): Dedicated to Jimmy Giuffre (1921-2008), always a slippery subject, and writer of one piece. Chet Doxas plays clarinet and sax, and wrote three pieces. Swallow was an obvious choice as he played bass in Giuffre's legendary trio. I've never quite got a handle on Giuffre's contribution to the avant-garde, but the brilliant trumpet adds shine and lustre to every twist and turn. A-
524. Jeff Denson & Joshua White: I'll Fly Away (2013 [2014], Pfmentum): Bass and piano, respectively. Three takes of the title tune fairly leap out of the grooves, at least the heads, while the various improvs on them wander amusingly. Other standards -- "Down at the Cross," "Amazing Grace," "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," "When the Saints Go Marching In," "Crying in the Chapel" -- get the same clever treatment but the earthly melodies are what stick with you. B+(***)
525. Ivo Perelman/Mat Maneri: Two Men Walking (2013 [2014], Leo): Tenor sax and viola duet, the two following the same general path but separately, sometimes acknowledging the other but not tracking too closely. Avant purists may give this the edge over Perelman's more conventional trio and quartet records -- two just released -- because this one is freer, but that also makes it more difficult, more work and less fun. B+(***)
526. Ivo Perelman: Book of Sound (2013 [2014], Leo): Sax trio with William Parker on bass but no drummer -- pianist Matthew Shipp has to suffice, but he plays as though there is no such thing as the drummer's job. Terrific pianist, of course -- no one has more experience comping behind avant-sax greats (e.g., David S. Ware). Not sure Perelman is one, but he's very good, and has developed a technique with short curved lines, kind of like Van Gogh's maddest strokes. B+(***)
527. Ivo Perelman: The Other Edge (2014, Leo): Recorded in January, first I've noticed this year. Conventional sax quartet with Matthew Shipp (piano), Michael Bisio (bass), and Whit Dickey (drums), which is to say Shipp's most common piano trio. A regular beat pumps up the energy level, and when the beat strays Perelman just works harder. The best of this batch, and one of his best ever. A-
528. Xavi Reija: Resolution (2013 [2014], Moonjune): Spanish (or Catallan) drummer, leads an "electric trio" with Daisan Jevtovic on guitar and Bernat Hernandez on bass. Sharp beats, not that they're all that regular but they keep it moving, and the guitarist is someone to remember. B+(***)
529. Jenny Scheinman: The Littlest Prisoner (2013 [2014], Masterworks): Probably the best jazz violinist around, I was rather taken aback in 2008 when she released a vocal album as some sort of country chanteuse. I much preferred the jazz album she released at the same time, and had forgotten about her as a singer in 2012 when she released Mischief & Mayhem, even better. Now she's back singing again, her voice flavored with a whiff of high and lonesome, and her songwriting has matured so much that every song offers real human interest. Takes the occasional fiddle break, too. A- [advance]
530. Bobby Avey: Authority Melts From Me (2012 [2014], Whirlwind): Pianist, AMG lists two albums but I've heard three, reportedly draws on experiences in Haiti for the struggle here but it's hard to hear that. Also unclear what guitarist Ben Monder brings to the party, but Puerto Rican alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, well, this is his best performance in years, especially with the pianist providing the dense undergrowth for his jungle bop. A-
531. Lisa Ferraro: Serenading the Moon (2013 [2014], Pranavasonic Universal): Standards singer, previously known as Lisa Yvonne Ferraro, is based in San Francisco, has a handful of albums since 2002, sometimes appears in a duo with guitarist Erika Luckett. Not exceptional but she gives fine readings of timeless songs, and was smart and/or fortunate enough to come up with an all-star band: she gives Houston Person "featuring" credit on the front cover, as she should, but John DiMartino, James Chirillo, Ray Drummond, and (especially) Lewis Nash are also names worth bandying about. B+(***)
532. Jason Roebke Octet: High/Red/Center (2013 [2014], Delmark): Chicago bassist, has played with everyone in town, has a couple previous albums (including a solo) but this is his big move so he rounded up the stars: Greg Ward (alto sax), Keefe Jackson (tenor sax), Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Josh Berman (cornet), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Jason Adasiewicz (vibes), and Mike Reed (drums) -- doesn't seem to be a piano town. My first reaction was to note how bassist-composers tend to follow Mingus, but the liner notes suggest that he's aiming for Ellington. Hits the mark here and there, too, e.g. in "Dirt Cheap." B+(***)
533. The Jimmy Giuffre 3 & 4: New York Concerts (1965 [2014], Elemental, 2CD): Archive dig uncovers two live sets: the first a trio with Richard Davis (bass) and Joe Chambers (drums); the second a quartet with Don Friedman (piano), Barre Phillips (bass), and Chambers. Giuffre plays clarinet and tenor sax, the pieces (originals except for Ornette Coleman's "Crossroads") moving well into free territory. B+(***)
534. Ty Citerman: Bop Kabbalah (2013 [2014], Tzadik): Guitarist, first album after a decade with the group Gutbucket. Quartet, two horns -- Ben Holmes on trumpet and Ken Thomson on bass clarinet, a nice combination -- plus drums, picks up pieces of klezmer then improvises them away. B+(***) [advance]
535. Joe Beck: Get Me (2006 [2014], Whaling City Sound): Late guitarist (1945-2008), had close to thirty records starting in the late 1960s, perhaps the best known working with singer Esther Phillips. This is a live date at Annie's Jazz Island in Berkeley [CA], mostly ballads backed with bass and drums, a fair amount of patter including a story about partying with Jobim, introducing "Corcovado." Very personable, works nicely as memorabilia. B+(***)
536. Yosvany Terry: New Throned King (2013 [2014], 5Pasion): Cuban saxophonist, moved to New York in 1999, looks back here not just to Cuba but through it back to Africa via the Arará culture, one of several African religions to survive slavery. Heavy on percussion and vocals, including Ishmael Reed reading a poem. Could use more sax. B+(***)
537. The Nels Cline Singers: Macroscope (2013 [2014], Mack Avenue): Guitarist Cline is credited with "voice," but that's just something fed into one of his effects gadgets -- no singing here. With Trevor Dunn on bass, Scott Amendola on drums, everyone on effects, and scattered guests including Zeena Parkins' electric harp, fusion with a lot of shine and shimmer, but they always seem to come up lame at the end when they should be doubling down. B+(***)
538. Rich Halley 4: The Wisdom of Rocks (2013 [2014], Pine Eagle): Tenor saxophonist from Portland, has been on a furious run since he retired from his day job, mostly with this quartet, which deserves another hearing in no small part because trombonist Michael Vlatkovich has never pushed the leader harder. A-
539. Rodrigo Amado: Wire Quartet (2011 [2014], Clean Feed): Portuguese tenor saxophonist, has always leaned free but seems more prickly than usual here, all the better to match up with guitarist Manuel Mota. Three long joint improvs, backed on bass and drums by Hernani Faustino and Gabriel Ferrandini -- perhaps you recognize them as two-thirds of RED Quartet? A-
540. Andy Biskin Ibid: Act Necessary (2012 [2014], Strudelmedia): Clarinet player, says his original idea for this group was a chamber jazz thing with three horns and bass, but when he replaced the bassist with a drummer the music opened up. Sure did. Helps that the drummer is Jeff Davis, and the brass contrast is provided by Kirk Knuffke (cornet) and Brian Drye (trombone), but no one made more of the freedom than the leader. A-
541. Felipe Salles: Ugandan Suite (2013 [2014], Tapestry): Tenor saxophonist, from Sao Paulo, Brazil; teaches at U Mass Amherst. Sixth album. Group includes David Liebman on wooden flute and his usual saxes, Nando Michelin on piano, plus bass, drums, and two extra percussionists on a long list of things I've never heard of. Suite flows through five movements, often exquisite. B+(***)
542. Luther Gray/Jim Hobbs/Kaethe Hostetter/Winston Braman: Lawnmower II (2012 [2014], Clean Feed): Not clear whether they intend the group to be called Lawnmower or Lawnmower II, but with the member names on the cover, we'll parse it that way. Drummer Gray and alto saxophonist Hobbs, who've played together in a trio with Joe Morris, were also in the original 2010 Lawnmower, along with two guitarists, replaced here by Hostetter on 5-string violin and Braman on electric bass. Hobbs usually runs away with any group he's in, but focuses on shading here behind the violinist. B+(***)
543. Sonny Rollins: Road Shows: Volume 3 (2001-12 [2014], Okeh): Like with his first volume, Rollins continues to jump around to piece these live concert bits together, picking six cuts here from five concerts scattered over a decade, yet thanks to the leader they sound sufficiently of a piece. Highlight here is a long solo stretch, but really any time the sax takes the lead is a highlight. No patter, but lots of applause. A-
544. The Young Mothers: A Mother's Work Is Never Done (2013 [2014], Tektite): Norway's premier avant bassist, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, has lately been dividing his time between Oslo and Austin, and from the latter base rounded up some Houston horn players -- Jason Jackson on sax, Jawwaad Taylor on trumpet (who also raps), along with Austin guitarist Jonathan Horne and Chicago drummer Frank Rosaly and put together Texas' answer to the Thing, and then some. A- [advance/bandcamp]
545. Lee Konitz/Dan Tepfer/Michael Janisch/Jeff Williams: First Meeting: Live in London Volume 1 (2010 [2014], Whirlwind): The bassist (Janisch) led the date and produced the album, but all deferred to the master: "Under Mr. Konitz's instruction, anyone on the bandstand could simply start playing a melody, and the rest of the band could follow. Or not." Still, it's Konitz you listen to, often sounding sublime, unmistakeable too. B+(***)
546. Max Johnson: The Prisoner (2012 [2014], NoBusiness): Bassist-led avant-chamber group -- at least that's the air you get from Mat Maneri's viola, plus Ingrid Laubrock's tenor sax is more likely to color in than honk or blare. With Tomas Fujiwara on drums, this tends to sneak up on you. B+(***)
547. Steve Lehman Octet: Mise en Abîme (2014, Pi): Remarkably light for such a large group. Unlike the most comparable octet, David Murray's Ming, none of the five horn players here are especially imposing soloists, but they play roles exquisitely, and the rhythm section -- Drew Gress (bass), Tyshawn Sorey (drums), and Chris Dingman (vibes) -- is outstanding. A
548. Barbara Morrison: I Love You, Yes I Do (2014, Savant): Not the revelation A Sunday Kind of Love was -- the songs are less surefire, but saxophonist Houston Person is as dependable as ever, the perfect accompanist for any singer with even a hint of blues in her voice. And there's something to be said for venturing further afield, especially when you end up with "Blow Top Blues." A-
549. Hat: Twins (2012 [2014], Hot Blues): Spanish quartet, third album by my reckoning, the eponymous first recommended. This one, with electric keybs, guitar, and bass, moves far enough into jazz-rock it's tempting to call it fusion but that would pigeonhole it too much. B+(***)
550. Angles 9: Injuries (2013 [2014], Clean Feed): Martin Küchen's superb group continues to grow -- I last heard them as Angles 8 in By Way of Deception: Live in Ljubljana but I missed an intervening release that was vinyl-only or something like that. Nonet, new drummer but the the main change adding Magnus Broo on trumpet (Goran Kajfes moves to cornet). Superb ensemble work, marred only by a couple spots of uncertainty. B+(***)
551. Digital Primitives: Lipsomuch/Soul Searchin' (2011 [2014], Hopscotch, 2CD): Group named for their 2007 debut album, with Assif Tsahar on tenor sax and bass clarinet, Chad Taylor on drums, and Cooper-Moore on a variety of homemade string instruments, notably his diddley bo -- covers about three times the normal bass spectrum, warping time and space for long stretches. And the tenor is always searching and soulful. A-
552. Assif Tsahar/Tatsuya Nakatani: I Got It Bad (2014, Hopscotch): A short snatch of the Ellington classic, followed by 19 sax-drums improvs, many impressive but some don't quite get off the ground. B+(***)
553. Tony Malaby Tamarindo: Somos Aqua (2013 [2014], Clean Feed): Avant tenor saxophonist, tends to shine especially bright as a sideman but has a couple dozen albums under his name, including one this trio is named for. Trio, with William Parker on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums, who do what you expect. Malaby is often terrific as well, even on his soprano, featured a bit too much. B+(***)
554. Jason Ajemian/Tony Malaby/Rob Mazurek/Chad Taylor: A Way a Land of Life (2006 [2014], NoBusiness): Two-horn avant quartet -- bass, tenor sax, cornet, drums, both Ajemian and Mazurek also credited with electronics -- most evident when they slow down. Otherwise, the horns impress, as expected. B+(***)
555. Assif Tsahar/Gerry Hemingway/Mark Dresser: Code Re(a)d (2011 [2014], Hopscotch): BassDrumSax, if you know what I mean -- of course, Tsahar's tenor sax is more agile than any trombone (even Ray Anderson's), reeling off one long searching sequence after another, a fusion of Ayler and Coltrane, what you might get if both were pushing the same instrument at the same time. A-
556. John Coltrane: Offering: Live at Temple University (1966 [2014], Impulse, 2CD): Previously unreleased, very late, well into Coltrane's avant phase, although the song list is dominated by his standard fare -- "Naima," "Crescent," "My Favorite Things" -- five tracks in all, all but the title track topping 16 minutes. The side credits are as difficult to find in the booklet as they are to hear on record: Pharoah Sanders is on hand but the only thing I'm sure is his is the piccolo; Alice Coltrane on piano, Sonny Johnson on bass, Rashied Ali on drums, and several others (including three conga players) take part, but this starts off with a long stretch of solo sax, searching on a quest that never really gets anywhere. Last cut has an episode of Coltrane ululating at the mic. It all seems a bit off. B+(**)
557. Lenny Pickett With the UMO Jazz Orchestra: The Prescription (2012 [2014], Random Act): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1954, played with Tower of Power 1972-81, has mostly toured with rock acts, and held a regular gig with Saturday Night Live since 1985 (musical director since 1995). Lots of side credits, but only the second album to feature his name -- the other came out in 1987. Backed by the famed Finnish big band, a smarter choice than the usual European big bands, although the main thing is to let the leader show off his chops. B+(***)
558. Jason Ajemian: Folklords (2012 [2014], Delmark): Not the avant-jazz record I was expecting, even though the first two suites are built around Monk and Mingus. Reportedly the first of a series titled Mythadors, the nearest analog I can think of for the vocals is John Lydon in Public Image Ltd., but the singer (presumably Ajemian) doesn't have quite the range or presence, and the rhythm is a lot knottier. Quartet: Kid Bliss on alto sax, Owen Stewart-Robertson on guitar, Jason Nazary on drums. Lyrics in the booklet, but I can't say as I've read much less followed. A-
559. Ideal Bread: Beating the Teens: Songs of Steve Lacy (2013 [2014], Cuneiform, 2CD): Third album for the quartet -- Josh Sinton (baritone sax), Kirk Knuffke (cornet), Adam Hopkins (new on bass), and Tomas Fujiwara (drums) -- all focused on Steve Lacy tunes. Sinton avoids the obvious by transposing the same tricks to the heavier horn. Seems like a formula they can run with a long time, but maybe they shouldn't bite so much off at once. B+(***)
560. Paul Giallorenzo's GitGo: Force Majeure (2013 [2014], Delmark): Chicago pianist, has a couple previous albums, group name reminds me of Mal Waldron and the piano reinforces that. Quintet includes two horns from the original Vandermark 5: Jeb Bishop on trombone and Mars Williams on various saxes. They were the fun guys then, the ones who threatened to cross over while tripping over the edge of the avant-garde. Closes with an irresistible bit of reggae. B+(***)
561. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Alexey Lapin: The Russian Concerts (2013 [2014], FMR): Canadian alto saxophonist Carrier and drummer Lambert have been playing together since the 1990s, and recently have been traveling to Russia to play with pianist Alexey Lapin: this is their fourth album together, and they seem to be getting better -- the pianist is more fully engaged here, and the saxophonist probes ever deeper. A-
562. Adam Schroeder: Let's (2013 [2014], Capri): Baritone saxophonist, second album, figure him for a mainstream guy by the company he keeps, but Anthony Wilson's guitar is a fine contrast to the big horn, and John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton are a solid rhythm section -- actually fun to hear without the big band baggage. B+(***)
563. Brian Groder Trio: Reflexology (2013 [2014], Latham): Trumpet player, hangs in avant circles -- trio mates are Michael Bisio and Jay Rosen -- but doesn't sound so far out. Indeed, front cover shows a footprint with various points mapped to musicians, with Oliver Nelson out on a toe, Mingus and Joe Farrell at the arch, and Monk on the heel. B+(***)
564. Harold Rubin/Barre Phillips/Tatsuya Nakatani: E on a Thin Line (2009 [2014], Hopscotch): Clarinetist, also notable as a visual artist, b. 1932 in South Africa, moved to Israel in the 1960s after running afoul of the Apartheid regime, has at least 10 albums since 1990 (AMG counts 2). This is the first I've heard, and I'm struck by his distinctive avant approach. B+(***)
565. Saxophone Summit [Dave Liebman/Ravi Coltrane/Joe Lovano]: Visitation (2011 [2014], ArtistShare): The first such "summit" was in 2004 with Liebman, Lovano, and Michael Brecker -- their Gathering of the Spirits was awful, even with the comic relief of their wood flute special. Coltrane is a more compatible replacement, and the first thing you notice is how tightly the horns fit together, then how ably the rhythm section -- Phil Markowitz, Cecil McBee, and Billy Hart -- help out. Six pieces, one from each, each for all. B+(***)
566. The Ralph Peterson Fo'tet Augmented: Alive at Firehouse 12: Vol 2: Fo' n Mo' (2013 [2014], Onyx): I didn't get Vol. 1, with a group drummer Peterson calls the Unity Project. Peterson's Presents the Fo'Tet appeared in 1989 and that's been rubric for his small group ever since: currently Felix Peikli (clarinet, bass clarinet) and Joseph Doubleday (vibes). The "Mo'" is Steve Wilson (soprano sax) and Eguie Castrillo (percussion), and they help plenty, but the core group is impressive too. B+(***)
567. Cornelius Veit/Eugen Prieur/Jörg Fischer: Stromraum (2012-13 [2014], Spore Print): Guitar trio, Prieur playing electric bass; second group album, the first in 2005, the trio going back as far as 2000. Even scratchier than Fischer's trio with Marc Charig, but the cohesiveness of the sound helps frame the invention. B+(***)
568. Peter Lerner: Continuation (2014, OA2): Guitarist, from Chicago, second album, lists a large group but in two columns, suggesting that the core group consists of pianist Willie Pickens (listed as "featuring" on the cover) and bass and drums, with the second column -- three horns including Geof Bradfield on saxes and flute plus Joe Rendon on percussion -- supplementary. Still, they all fit together nicely -- I'm tempted to use the word "slick" but that would raise some false connotations. I haven't run across Pickens before, but he earns his feature. B+(***)
569. Kali Z. Fasteau: Piano Rapture (2014, Flying Note): From a very cosmopolitan (and as she says, "musical") family, Fasteau got into avant-jazz through husband Donald Rafael Garrett (1932-89), who had some connections with AACM and played on several late Coltrane albums. They toured the world together, and after his death she kept recording, playing dozens of exotic instruments and singing some, an eclectic mix that never led to very satisfying albums. But lately she's developed a rapport with a regular band -- Kidd Jordan (tenor sax), L. Mixashawn Rozie (soprano and tenor sax), J.D. Parran (alto flute and clarinet), and Ron McBee (percussion). Here she finally settles into just playing piano and turns in a surprisingly solid performance, centering horns which otherwise like to scatter chaotically. Still has some spots you wonder about, but overall remarkable. A-
570. Sonny Simmons: Leaving Knowledge, Wisdom and Brilliance/Chasing the Bird? (2006-14 [2014], Improvising Beings, 8CD): This arrived in a water-soaked plastic bag, the cardboard box destroyed, so it was unclear just what the title was, some web sources suggesting 80th Anniversary Box Set. Other web sources, and the now dry remains of the box, lean toward the title above. Simmons started on alto sax with ESP-Disk in the mid-1960s, recorded little in the 1970s and 1980s, cut a couple major label albums in the mid-1990s (Warner Bros.), and then from 2001 on has had a remarkably productive stretch flittering around avant spots in Europe -- his main labels Norwegian, Polish, and now French. The music here follows from a fairly basic concept even though it's been elaborated into more than seven hours of variations: Simmons plays alto sax and cor anglais, backed by amplified Indian instruments, guitar and/or keyboard, and percussion. Extravagant exotica, randomly replayable. Don't know how I was so fortunate to get a copy, especially at a time when Sony can't be bothered to answer my email. B+(***)
571. Sam Reed Meets Roberto Magris: Ready for Reed (2014, JMood): Alto saxophonist from Philadelphia, childhood friend and protégé of Jimmy Heath, has been around long enough to have a story about Charlie Parker asking him to hold his horn between sets, but only has side credits to my knowledge: Teddy Pendergrass, but also Odean Pope's Sax Choir. Relaxed, very charming mainstream set with a full band, led by pianist Magris but including a trombone. Record ends with an "audio notebook" -- an interview where you get to know a bit more about Reed. B+(***)
572. Roberto Magris Space Trek: Aliens in a Bebop Planet (2011 [2012], JMood, 2CD): Concept is an alien discovering bebop and working through it, with covers of Fats Navarro, Sir Charles Thompson, Kenny Clarke, "The Gypsy," and "Giant Steps," and originals venturing as far as fellow space traveller Sun Ra. Magris' piano is up to the demands, but I'm often even more entranced by saxophonist Matt Otto, who has a lock on the cool. Eddie Charles' three vocals are neither here nor there. Paul Collins' "audio notebook" is a fully overblown review. B+(***) [cdr]
573. Anne Waldman: Jaguar Harmonics (2014, Fast Speaking Music): Poet, website lists 53 "books & pamphlets" going back to 1968 -- the highpoint of my interest in beat poetry although I don't recall her, a missed connection, as she would have impressed me back then. Website also mentions 18 audio recordings (but not this one), the last four with music by Ambrose Bye (her son), credited with "sounds and percussion" here. Striking music from cellistHa-Yang Kim, plus free jazz horns by Daniel Carter and Devin Brahja Waldman. A-
574. Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble: Cimmerian Crossroads (2014, Edgetone): Plays alto and soprano sax, sometimes (judging from pictures) at the same time. Has close to ten records since 1995 -- the first I heard was last year's Truth Teller, and I'm turning into a fan. I wouldn't have ID'ed the fourth cut as Ornette Coleman because it sounds to me like what Charlie Parker should have sounded like if he was really as great as they say. (But Coleman was my first alto sax crush, so I'm easily swayed on the subject.) Romus' other alto master is Arthur Blythe, who wrote one piece and is subject of another. A-
575. Paul Shapiro: Shofarot Verses (2013 [2014], Tzadik): Saxophonist, plays alto/soprano/tenor here, also shofar, the ram's horn on the cover drawfing the alto, part of Tzadik's "Radical Jewish Culture" series although it will mostly appear to jaded r&b fans, featured in the comic, "The Book of Shapiro: A Tale of Rhythm & Jews." Not sure how that's packaged, but aside from the leader, the stars here are Adam Rudolph (frame drums, udu drum, shakers, bell) and Marc Ribot (guitar) -- the latter's most scorching performance to date. A [advance]
576. Tilting: Holy Seven (2013 [2014], Barnyard): Montreal quartet led by bassist Nicolas Caloia, adopting as group name the group's first title. Jean Derome plays freewheeling baritone sax and bass flute to fit the bass tones, with Guillaume Dostater on piano and Isaiah Ceccarelli on drums. B+(***)
577. Amanda Ruzza/Mauricio Zottarelli: Glasses, No Glasses (2013 [2014], Pimenta Music): Guitar and drums; expecting that I was surprised by the keyboards, their prominence and how they center this fusion, and surprised again that the keyboardist is Leo Genovese, whose name (unlike the headliners) I recognize. B+(***)
578. William Parker: Wood Flute Songs: Anthology/Live 2006-2012 (2006-12 [2013], AUM Fidelity, 8CD): I previously wrote up Rhapsody Streamnotes on four digital releases -- at least they showed up on Rhapsody -- comprising six CDs here, so in my current end-of-year rush I focused on the other two discs: a septet live at the Vision Festival in 2009 with Billy Bang, Bobby Bradford, and James Spaulding joining Parker's stellar Quartet (Lewis Barnes, Rob Brown, and Hamid Drake -- they've been together since the extraordinary O'Neal's Porch in 2000); and a big band (William Parker Creation Ensemble) live shot at AMR Jazz Festival in Geneva in 2011. Both discs zing, as does, really, the rest of the box. The two early live sets weren't as consistent as I'd like (cf. 2005's Sound Unity), but their top spots are rarely equalled, and the last two discs -- an expansion of the group that cut Raining on the Moon and a revival of In Order to Survive with an outstanding performance by Cooper-Moore on piano -- just raise the bar. Music at this level deserves to go on and on and on. A
579. Adam Lane's Full Throttle Orchestra: Live in Ljubljana (2012 [2014], Clean Feed): An octet, with two trumpets (Nate Wooley, Susana Santos Silva), trombone (Reut Regev), three saxes (David Bindman, Avram Fefer, Mat Bauder), drums (Igal Foni), and the leader's bass mixed up so it's always audible, the heartbeat of a growing, growling organism -- the most Mingus-like of bassists, both for his compositions that sum up all worthwhile jazz history and as a bandleader who can whip a group up into something larger than itself. Or so I thought, but after four plays this has yet to slam down the deal. Damn close, though. B+(***)
580. Danny Fox Trio: Wide Eyed (2012 [2014], Hot Cup): Pianist, second album, trio with Chris Van Voorst Van Beest on bass and Max Goldman on drums. Played this several times and have very little to say about it -- a nice mix of Evans-esque melodic sense with a more Jarrett-like rhythmic push, I guess. B+(***)
581. Anthony Branker & Word Play: The Forward (Towards Equality) Suite (2014, Origin): Composer and director of a septet plus singer Alison Crockett, with guest spoken word from schoolchildren who have some serious wishes for a better world (none of which involve cutting taxes on the rich). Mainstream with soul flair, the horns -- David Binney (alto sax), Ralph Bowen (tenor/soprano sax, flute), and Conrad Herwig (trombone) especially striking. B+(***)
582. Steve Swallow/Ohad Talmor/Adam Nussbaum: Singular Curves (2012 [2014], Auand): Electric bass, tenor sax, drums, respectively. Talmor, b. 1970 in France, is best known for his collaborations with Lee Konitz, but those feature his string arrangements, where he it is a delight to hear his mellow saxophone -- e.g., the closing "You Go to My Head," which more than once convinced me to give this another spin. B+(***) [cdr]
583. Steve Wilson/Lewis Nash Duo: Duologue (2013 [2014], MCG Jazz): Sax-drums duets, not sure if Wilson plays anything but alto but it's mostly in that range. Three Wilson originals, two Ellingtons, Fats Waller, two Monk medleys, Gillespie, Ornette Coleman, "Freedom Jazz Dance." Wilson is fine, but this is an even better showcase for Nash, probably the best mainstream drummer since, well, ever. B+(***)
584. Nobu Stowe & Alan Munshower with Badal Roy: An die Musik (2006 [2008], Soul Note): Japanese pianist, based in Baltimore, with drums and tabla, not exactly a piano trio but the rich, repetitive mid-to-uptempo piano riffs limit the need for a bassist and the extra complexity to the percussion is a plus. Stowe sent me a pile of discs quite some time ago, and if this isn't the best, it's at least the easiest to get into. A- [cdr]
585. Nobu Stowe: L'Albero Delle Meduse (2009 [2010], self-released): Scant evidence of this ever being released -- I'm working off an advance and assume pianist Stowe is the leader only because he sent it to me. The pieces are joint improvs (except for the closer, Jim Pepper's "Witchi-Tai-To"), and Achille Succi (alto sax, bass clarinet) is listed ahead of Stowe, the rest: Daniel Barbiero (bass), Alan Munshower (drums), Lee Pembleton (sound). B+(***)
586. The Whammies: Play the Music of Steve Lacy Vol. 3: Live (2014, Driff): Six-piece group dedicated to exploring Steve Lacy's slippery music take their act to Italy after two superb studio albums. All recognizable names: Jorrit Dijkstra (alto sax, lyricon), Pandelis Karayorgis (piano), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Mary Oliver (violin, viola), Jason Roebke (bass), and Han Bennink (drums). Slips a bit here and there, but many strong passages. B+(***)
587. Pandelis Karayorgis Quintet: Afterimage (2014, Driff): Boston-based pianist with a mostly local live in Chicago group -- Dave Rempis (alto, tenor, baritone saxes), Keefe Jacckson (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Nate McBride (bass), and Frank Rosaly (drums). It's almost too much to work with, as the patches where the horns drop out reveal. B+(***)
588. Bolt: Shuffle (2013 [2014], Driff): Avant quartet -- Jorrit Dijkstra (alto sax, lyricon, analog electronics), Eric Hofbauer (guitar), Junko Fujiwara (cello), Eric Rosenthal (drums, percussion) -- offers scratchy little miniatures -- 19 that they recommend you shuffle -- too impolite and eccentric for chamber jazz, uprooting expectations. B+(***)
589. Anna Webber: Simple (2013 [2014], Skirl): Canadian flutist, mostly plays tenor sax here, second album, trio with Matt Mitchell (piano) and John Hollenbeck (drums) doing much to stretch and skew the album. Best when all three thrash, but has a few spots when nothing much seems to be happening. B+(***)
590. Phil Haynes: No Fast Food: In Concert (2012 [2014], Corner Store Jazz, 2CD): Drummer, coming off a very good duo record with trumpeter Paul Smoker, collects a couple of trio concerts with David Liebman (more tenor than soprano sax) and Drew Gress (bass). B+(***)
591. Cortex: Live! (2014, Clean Feed): Norwegian avant jazz quartet patterned on Ornette Coleman's classic, two previous albums but no one I've heard of: Thomas Johansson (cornet), Kristoffer Alberts (reeds), Ola Høyer (bass), Gard Nilssen (drums). I have a nagging doubt that anyone so inspired could do this: rather than breaking rules and blazing new paths the sax-cornet interplay just seems so right, although it wouldn't without a lot of innovation that now seems so normal. A-
592. Marc Ribot Trio: Live at the Village Vanguard (2012 [2014], Pi): A guitarist with many fronts, this live trio with Henry Grimes and Chad Taylor returns to the roots of one of his best albums, 2005's Spiritual Unity, with two more Ayler covers, two late Coltranes, and two standards beat and bent into shape. B+(***)
593. Larry Fuller (2013-14 [2014], Capri): Mainstream pianist, started out working with singer Ernestine Anderson, has also appeared in Jeff Hamilton Trio and with John Pizzarelli. Second trio album, all standards -- "Both Sides Now" counts, but it's "C Jam Blues" and "That Old Devil Moon" that always get my attention. B+(***)
594. Richard Galliano: Sentimentale (2014, Resonance): French accordion player, has recorded a lot since 1990, building on the folk roots of his instrument, delving into tango and film scores, always working in the jazz tradition -- draws on Ellington and Coltrane here, Horace Silver too. With Tamir Hendelman's piano and Anthony Wilson's guitar this risks becoming overly lush, but that's sentimentalism for you. A-
595. Tim Sparks: Chasin' the Boogie (2013 [2014], Tonewood): Guitar player, I file him under klezmer since many of his early albums focused on Jewish folk music -- Little Princess: Tim Sparks Plays Naftule Brandwein (2009) is one I'm particularly fond of -- but he starts out closer to the fingerpicking style of John Fahey. Doesn't chase the boogie very hard here, but everything here is very pleasant as background and intricate enough to engage you. The closing "Blue Bayou" is especially lovely. B+(***)
596. Ivo Perelman/Karl Berger: Reverie (2014, Leo): Berger plays piano here, his original instrument although he is better known for vibes, in a long career that puts him well into his 70s now. He does a lovely job of setting up -- interviewing is the word that comes to mind -- the Brazilian avant-saxophonist, who pours emotion into his leads. A-
597. Don Pullen: Richard's Tune (1975 [2014], Sackville/Delmark): The pianist's first name album, a solo cut on the road in Canada and originally released as Solo Piano Album, now named for its first song, one dedicated to Muhal Richard Abrams -- a good hint if you want to locate him, but he already has more rhythmic muscle even if his fully developed style was still a few years away. B+(***)
598. Charles Lloyd: Manhattan Stories (1965 [2014], Resonance, 2CD): Early, these two previously unreleased sets came on the heels of Lloyd's auspicious debut, Of Course, Of Course, retaining guitarist Gabor Szabo (also just breaking in) and bassist Ron Carter, replacing Tony Williams with Pete La Roca, and before Lloyd's more popular albums on Atlantic. Interesting parallels here both to Rollins and Coltrane, although Lloyd had a softer tone and integrates better with his group -- Szabo is terrific throughout. Both sets include a stretch on flute, very much in character. A-
599. Jason Adasiewicz's Sun Rooms: From the Region (2013 [2014], Delmark): Vibraphonist, has made a big splash since starting to work with Chicago avant groups a few years back. Trio with bass (Ingebrigt Håker Flaten) and drums (Mike Reed), third album together (starting with the one called Sun Rooms, natch), and goes a long ways toward establishing the vibraphone a lead instrument. B+(***)
600. Wadada Leo Smith: The Great Lakes Suites (2012 [2014], TUM, 2CD): Trumpet great, has been working on large canvases lately -- I count four 2CD releases since 2009 plus the 4CD Ten Freedom Summers -- but this feels rather small and spotty as it spurts and sputters, just one more horn (Julius Hemphill (alto sax, flute, bass flute) plus bass (John Lindberg) and drums (Jack DeJohnette). It does, however, remind me what a marvelous drummer DeJohnette is. B+(***)
601. Kalle Kalima & K-18: Buñuel de Jour (2013 [2014], TUM): Finnish guitarist, quartet adds Mikko Innanen (alto sax), Veil Kujala (quarter-tone accordion), and Teppo Hauta-aho (bass, percussion). The lead instruments tend to melt together into a thick, richly flavored stew. B+(***)
602. The Mark Lomax Trio: Isis & Osiris (2012 [2014], Inarhyme): Drummer, teaches and therefore is based in Columbus, Ohio, which keeps him and his sax trio out of the limelight. They have a previous album, The State of Black America, on my top-ten list for 2010. This one drags a bit near the start -- probably bass solos, something too soft to hear -- but when Edwin Bayard's tenor sax breaks through it's often mesmerizing. And the drummer's pretty special too. A-
603. Alexander McCabe/Paul Odeh: This Is Not a Pipe (2014, Wamco): Alto sax/piano duets. McCabe has impressed me in the past (cf. 2010's Quiz), and continues to in this sparer format. B+(**)
604. William Hooker & Liudas Mockunas: Live at the Vilnius Jazz Festival (2013 [2014], NoBusiness): Sax-drums duets, the drummer getting top billing because he's the best known or came the furthest or maybe it's just alphabetical. Mockunas, at home in Lithuania, plays soprano, alto, and tenor, and is consistently impressive on four long improvs. A-
605. Ken Thomson and Slow/Fast: Settle (2012 [2014], NCM East): Leader plays bass clarinet and alto sax, in a quintet with Russ Johnson on trumpet and Nir Felder on guitar -- front-line musicians who can handle the whiplash speed changes. B+(***)
606. Gianni Lenoci/Kent Carter/Bill Elgart: Plaything (2012 [2014], NoBusiness): Piano trio. Pianist Lenoci, who credits Mal Waldron and Paul Bley as teachers and plays much like them, has at least 15 albums since 1991. A spirited improv set. B+(***) [cdr]
607. Rashied Al Akbar/Muhammad Ali/Earl Cross/Idris Ackamoor: Ascent of the Nether Creatures (1980 [2014], NoBusiness): Cross was a trumpet player from St. Louis (1933-87), played in bands led by Charles Tyler and Rashied Ali, but this is the only album Discogs lists by him. Saxophonist Ackamoor was originally Bruce Baker, b. 1950 in Chicago, has a bit more, including a foundation in San Francisco. Don't know anything about bassist Al Akbar. Drummer Ali, b. Raymond Patterson in 1936, is Rashied Ali's brother, has a 1974 duo album with Frank Wright, and has appeared on some of David S. Ware's last albums. So, a two-horn free jazz quartet of some vintage, recorded in the Netherlands and reissued in Lithuania in limited edition (300 copies) vinyl. B+(***)
608. The Buddy Tate Quartet: Texas Tenor (1978 [2014], Sackville/Delmark): From Sherman, Texas; played in territory bands until 1939 when he joined Count Basie, replacing the late Herschel Evans. My favorite album of his is Buck and Buddy Swing the Blues -- "Buck" of course is Basie bandmate, trumpeter Buck Clayton, and the title is exactly right. This set was originally released as The Buddy Tate Quartet as if the group was somehow more than something he picked up touring. They scarcely deserve the compliment, but every time the sax blows Tate is nothing short of resplendent. A-
609. Daniel Blacksberg Trio: Perilous Architecture (2012 [2014], NoBusiness): Trombonist, based in Philadelphia, background ranges from klezmer to Anthony Braxton. Backed with bass and drums, keeps it interesting. B+(***) [cdr]
610. The Evergreen Classic Jazz Band: Early Tunes 1915-1932 (1995, Delmark): Trad jazz band from Seattle, eight pieces (at least at this point -- a 1990 album had six) including banjo and tuba (Tom Jacobus, the designated leader). Trombonist David Loomis sings a couple songs, and the clarinet (Craig Flory) is exceptional. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for this kind of music. A-
611. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Alexey Lapin: The Russian Concerts Volume 2 (2013 [2014], FMR): Alto sax, drums, piano, respectively -- the first two close collaborators from Quebec going back to the 1990s, the pianist joining them on five albums now. This one is a shade less consistent and/or impressive than Volume 1 (came out earlier this year). B+(***)
612. Lajos Dudas Trio: Live at Porgy & Bess (2009 [2013], Jazz Sick): Back cover says "20 Years of Lajos with Philipp, 1993-2013 / The Jubilee CD" but all of this comes from a single date in Vienna, with Philipp van Endert on guitar and Leonard Jones on bass. Four originals, two pieces from Attila Zoller, standards from Monk, Gershwin, and Porter. B+(***)
613. Lajos Dudas Quartet: Live at Salzburger Jazzherbst (2012 [2013], Jazz Sick): Clarinetist, b. 1941 in Budapest, Hungary, studied at conservatories named for Béla Bartók and Franz Liszt, long based in Germany. Quartet features longtime collaborator Philipp van Endert on guitar, plus Kurt Billker on drums and Jochen Büttner on percussion. Slow start but ultimately quite lovely, some tasty guitar, and the rhythm helps. A-
614. Ezra Weiss Sextet: Before You Know It: Live in Portland (2013 [2014], Roark): Pianist, based in Portland, sixth album since 2003, including some "children's musicals" I've neglected and The Shirley Horn Suite (which I rather liked). What lifts this above the postbop norm is some growl and fury in the horns (Farnell Newton on trumpet, John Nastos on alto sax, Devin Phillips on tenor). And after they warm up the joint, he closes with a really lovely ballad. A-
615. Chris Dundas: Oslo Odyssey (2014, BLM, 2CD): Pianist, from Los Angeles, one previous album back in 2000, picks up a band in Norway with bassist Arild Andersen, Patrice Heral on drums, and Bendik Hofseth on tenor sax, and runs on for 1:44:21. The Dundas-composed first disc opens up gracefully for the sax. The improvised second takes a bit longer to find its metier. B+(***)
616. Touch and Go Sextet: Live at the Novara Jazz Festival (2012 [2014], Nine Winds): Four horns -- Aaron Bennett (tenor/baritone sax), Sheldon Brown (alto sax, bass clarinet), Ben Goldberg (clarinet), Darren Johnston (trumpet) -- provide a wide range of intriguing leads, while Lisa Mezzacappa (bass) and Vijay Anderson (drums) stir the pot. B+(***)
617. Alessandro Collina/Rodolfo Cervetto/Marc Peillon/Fabrizio Bosso: Michel on Air (2014, ITI): "Michel" is pianist Michel Petrucciani, who wrote all but two of eleven pieces -- the covers are from Ellington ("In a Sentimental Mood") and Strayhorn ("Take the 'A' Train"). Piano, drums, bass, and trumpet respectively -- the trumpet grabbing you from the start, piano sneaking up. B+(***)
618. Eric Hofbauer: Prehistoric Jazz Volume 1: The Rite of Spring (2014, Creative Nation Music): I must have heard Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps at some point, but I wouldn't bet on it. As best I recall, Charlie Parker was a fan, and Teddy Adorno wasn't. I certainly haven't heard the recent Bad Plus version, but even if you credit Iverson's super powers, the horns -- trumpet and clarinet -- give this version an edge in firepower, and it's hard to imagine dispensing with the leader's guitar (reinforced by cello). B+(***)
619. Delfeayo Marsalis: The Last Southern Gentlemen (2014, Troubadour Jass): The trombonist in the family band, younger than Branford and Wynton and less prolific, only a half-dozen albums since 1992. My eyes preclude me from slogging through the liner notes, which I expect to be interesting. The music, however, is painless: mostly standards, the trombone backed by piano-bass-drums (Ellis Marsalis, John Clayton, Smitty Smith), the leads somber and quite respectable. B+(***)
620. Greg Abate Quartet: Motif (2014, Whaling City Sound): Saxophonist, plays alto/soprano/baritone here (plus some flute), always seemed to look back to bebop as the golden age -- early 1990s albums include Bop City and Bop Lives!. Leads a superb mainstream quartet with piano-bass-drums -- no one I've heard of, but note Tim Ray the pianist. Fast, brilliant sound, the rare mainstream album that jumps at you. A-
621. Rex Richardson & Steve Wilson: Blue Shift (2014, Summit): Wilson limits himself to alto sax here. He's well known, both for his own albums, as an accompanist, and for his big band work. Richardson is news to me: his discography includes big band work (with Bill O'Connell) and classical music (a 2005 album is subtitled New Virtuoso Trumpet Music by American Composers). But he plays trumpet and flugelhorn with exceptional verve, and nearly runs away with this album. Backed by guitar-bass-drums -- Trey Pollard has some nice spots on guitar. B+(***)
622. Tyshawn Sorey: Alloy (2014, Pi): Drummer, I first noticed him with Vijay Iyer and he's been on most of Steve Lehman's records. His debut album, 2007's What/Not was a sprawling 2CD affair with a long stretch of piano -- as I recall, Francis Davis ranked it number two that year but the publicist snubbed me, deciding I wouldn't take it as seriously as it deserved. (Found it on Rhapsody and gave it an A-, not that you should take that as a serious review.) This returns to his piano compositions, a trio with Corey Smythe on piano and Christopher Tordini on bass. Mostly ambles aleatorically, although there is one stretch where they find a beat and some intensity -- I'm a sucker for that. B+(***)
623. Marlene VerPlanck: I Give Up, I'm in Love (2014, Audiophile): A "songbird," as the liner notes put it, b. 1933 in Newark as Marlene Pampinella -- she was married to arranger Billy VerPlanck for 52 years, until his death in 2009. No date on when this was recorded, but nothing suggests it isn't recent, other than that she looks and sounds so great. Standards, some with the Glenn Franke Big Band for that brassy Sinatra-ish feel, the rest with intimate groups highlighted by Warren Vaché or Harry Allen. I should delve into her back catalog some time, but I'd be surprised to find better albums than this one. A-
624. Sam Newsome: The Straight Horn of Africa: A Path to Liberation [The Art of the Soprano, Vol. 2] (2014, self-released): Soprano sax, went solo on Vol. 1 but usually adds percussion here with these African and African-inspired melodies, including the three-part "Microtonal Nubian Horn" experiment and one called "Good Gooly Miss Mali." A-
625. Michael Denhoff/Ulrich Phillipp/Jörg Fischer: Trio Improvisations for Campanula, Bass and Percussion (2014, Sporeprint, 2CD): Denhoff composed the pieces. His campanula is a bowed string instrument, similar in size to a cello but with extra tunable strings to provide more resonant harmonies. Effectively, the campanula melts into the bass, extending its range and complexity. B+(***)
626. Peter Zak Trio: The Disciple (2013 [2014], SteepleChase): Pianist, has a dozen albums since 1989, in a trio with Peter Washington on bass and Willie Jones III on drums. Three originals, seven covers, the latter all notable pianists (well, I'm not so sure of this Alexander Scriabin character), with Horace Silver and Thelonious Monk the standouts. B+(***)
627. Michel Lambert: Journal des Épisodes II (1992-2014 [2014], Jazz From Rant): Ninety-seven short fragments of music (total 44:17) tied to a journal written in 1988. It does feel so fragmentary, even with bits of WSO string quartet (from 1992) interleaved into the more recent Guillaume Bouchard-Alexandre Grogg piano trio. B+(***)
628. Luis Lopes Lisbon Berlin Trio: The Line (2014, Clean Feed): Portuguese electric guitarist, one of the most distinctive anywhere -- seems like he plays his feedback as much as the guitar itself -- with German bassist (Robert Landfermann) and drummer (Christian Lillinger). B+(***)
629. Grünen [Achim Kaufmann/Robert Landfermann/Christian Lillinger]: Pith & Twig (2012-13 [2014], Clean Feed): Piano trio, same bass-drums as Luis Lopes' Berlin connection but you get a better sense of how they flex here. The pianist, also German, bobs and weaves in and out as well. B+(***)
630. Velkro: Don't Wait for the Revolution (2012 [2014], Clean Feed): European jazz trio, with Bostjan Simon (sax -- Slovenia), Stephan Meidell (guitar, bass -- Norway), and Luis Candeias (drums -- Portugal). So much propulsion here that any lapses in the groove or bursts of noise wash away, leaving you with a layered weave of tone. I wouldn't call this avant-garde, much less postbop, and certainly not fusion, but might not object to post-Velvets, if you know what I mean. A
631. Ted Daniel's Energy Module: Interconnection (1975 [2014], NoBusiness, 2CD): Trumpet player, associated with New York's avant "loft scene" but recorded little -- later coming to my attention on Billy Bang's Vietnam records. But this is a find, a prime example of the era's avant-garde, with two energetic saxophonists (Daniel Carter and Oliver Lake), and relative unknowns holding their own at bass and drums. A-
632. Billy Bang/William Parker: Medicine Buddha (2009 [2014], NoBusiness): I wouldn't hold much hope for violin-bass duos, but we're talking two all-time jazz greats here, and both have a tendency toward hearts-on-sleeve. Bang died in 2011, a huge loss, and I count this as his fourth posthumous release: a duo with Bill Cole didn't offer much, but the two group albums on TUM were superb. So is this. A-
633. Dave Burrell/Steve Swell: Turning Point (2013 [2014], NoBusiness): Piano-trombone duets, the former a revered master who doesn't get out much, the latter probably the top avant-oriented trombonist around, exceptional here in how he fills out the melody. A-
634. Roil [Chris Abrahams/Mike Majkowski/James Waples]: Raft of the Meadows (2013-14 [2014], NoBusiness): Piano-bass-drums trio. Abrahams, originally from New Zealand and based in Sydney, has tended to work in groups including the Necks (another piano trio), but Discogs lists 17 records (since 1985) under his name. B+(***) [cdr]
635. Tony Malaby's Tubacello: Scorpion Eater (2013 [2014], Clean Feed): As advertised, a sax quartet with a tuba (Dan Peck) and a cello (Christopher Hoffman) splitting the bass role. John Hollenbeck is the drummer. Marvelous in spots, again as you'd expect. B+(***)
636. Juan Pablo Carletti/Tony Malaby/Christopher Hoffman: Niño/Brujo (2013 [2014], NoBusiness): Drums, tenor sax, cello, respectively, with Carletti writing the songs, and Malaby articulating them wonderfully. B+(***) [cdr]
637. Zanussi 5: Live in Coimbra (2013 [2014], Clean Feed): Bassist from Norway (father Italian), leads a quintet with three saxes -- Kjetil Møster (tenor/soprano), Jørgen Mathisen (tenor), Erik Hegdal (baritone), all doubling on clarinet -- and drums. Propulsive grooves set up sax wails, with the bari for deep muscle. A-
638. Duduvudu: The Gospel According to Dudu Pukwana (2014, Edgetone): Dudu Pukwana (1938-90) was an alto saxophonist from South Africa, played with Chris McGregor's integrated Blue Notes before and after exile. Straddling avant-jazz and South African folk/pop, he sometimes fell down on either side, but his 1973 album In the Townships (reissued on Earthworks in 1990) is the jazz take of township jive -- a great album and a longtime personal favorite. I'm having trouble sorting out the credits, and only the initial November 2009 date is given. As far as I can tell, there were at least three sessions (one in London and two in California) with little overlap and no clear idea who's driving the project -- the only names I recognize are Harry Beckett (the late trumpet player, from Trinidad but loosely associated with Pukwana), Pierre Dørge (guitarist-bandleader, a protege of Blue Notes bassist Johnny Dyani), and Wayne Wallace (Bay Area trombonist). Still, the music fits and flows, the waves of township jive larger than ever. A
639. Jonas Kullhammar: Gentlemen (2014, Moserobie): Swedish saxophonist (credit order here: tenor, baritone, bass, stritch, saxello). I've only heard his more avant work on Clean Feed until now, so I was surprised to find this starting out so mainstream, then delighted to hear him stretch out. Four tracks add a second tenor sax, the justly renowned Bernt Rosengren. Last four tracks (Rosengren is on one of them) add Goran Kajfes on cornet and Mattias Ståhl on vibes. Reportedly a soundtrack, but no hint of that genre's usual flaws. A-
640. Eugene Marlow's Heritage Ensemble: Celebrations (2010, MEII Enterprises): Subtitle "interprets festive melodies from the Hebraic songbook," so not our usual Xmas album, but it does start with "Chanukah, O Chanukah." Pianist Marlow is a New York Jew who specializes in Afro-Cuban/salsa/bossa nova and his group spreads out the ethnic polyculture, including the marvelous Michael Hashim on sax. Ends with a 6:37 lecture on philosophy that bears repeating. A-
641. Peter Brötzmann/John Edwards/Steve Noble: Soul Food Available (2013 [2014], Clean Feed): Avant-sax trio, part of the label's "live in Ljubljana" concession, may seem like old hat given that Brötzmann has been bringing the same noise for nearly fifty years, but he's not as harsh as way back when, and the rhythm section is tuned in. B+(***)
642. Fiorenzo Bodrato: Travelling Without Moving (2012 [2014], CMC): Italian bassist, from Turin, website shows five records but not this one. Spoken word vocals, including poems from Borges and Dryden, and something original by Ciro Buttari, impress like hip-hop, while the instrumental wind-down is rather sublime. B+(***)
643. George Van Eps: Once in Awhile (1946-49 [2014], Delmark): A legendary jazz guitarist (1913-98), influenced by Eddie Lang, worked with Benny Goodman and Ray Noble in the 1930s, didn't record much until Concord picked him up in the 1980s his protégé Howard Alden started recording with him. These radio shots fill a gap, and also spotlight two forgotten musicians, boogie pianist Stanley Wrightsman and tenor saxophonist Eddie Miller. B+(***)
644. Adam Pieronczyk Quartet: A-Trane Nights (2008-09 [2014], Fortune): Same group as on El Buscador, with bassist Anthony Cox evidently a regular. Drummer Dziedzic maintains his Latin tinge, and trombonist Mears takes more leads than the leader -- he's clearly on a roll here. Main gripe is that the documentation shows two discs but the promo only includes "cd 1." B+(***)
645. Ksawery Wojcinski: The Soul (2013 [2014], Fortune): Polish bassist, also credited here with piano, guitar, percussion, and vocals -- i.e., everything. That helps explain why the album shifts feel so often, although the thick, dark bass leads seem most fundamental. Ends on a gorgeous note with a short gospel chorus of "Hold On Just a Little While Longer." B+(***)
646. Waclaw Zimpel To Tu Orchestra: Nature Moves (2014, Fortune): Clarinetist, b. 1983, one of the more recognizable names in Polish jazz due to his frequent collaborations with Vandermark's circle. Nine-piece group, doubling up on bass and drums. The 28:44 opener, "Cycles," stretches a repeating piano figure into something hipnotically sublime, and the title suite adds new wrinkles to the formula. And when free jazz breaks out, Zimpel ties that energy into yet another pattern, raising his whole game to another level. A-
647. Tom Trio: Radical Moves (2013 [2014], Fortune): Trumpet player Tomasz Dabrowski, a name I've run across before, backed with bass (Nils Bo Davidsen) and drums (Anders Mogensen). B+(***)
648. Leszek Kulakowski Ensemble: Looking Ahead (2014, Fortune): Pianist, discography goes back at least to 1994, with a jazz orientation but close to classical -- Chopin for jazz trio and orchestra, string quartets, a "Piano Concerto," things that translate as "Cantabile in G Minor" and "In the Chamber Komeda Mood," etc. This is a sextet with trumpet and sax, also cello. Richly textured, a first-rate composer -- evidence, I think, that post-classical has moved on to jazz, even though not all jazz is post-classical. B+(***)
649. Linda Sharrock: No Is No: Don't Fuck Around With Your Women (2014, Improvising Beings, 2CD): Born Linda Chambers, 1947, sang in church and gravitated toward avant jazz in the 1960s, marrying guitarist Sonny Sharrock in 1966, singing notably on the 1969 album Black Woman and their jointly credited 1975 album Paradise. She divorced him in 1978 and he died in 1994. She has recorded occasionally on her own since 1991, so her return here is a pleasant surprise. The band --Itaru Oki (trumpet), Mario Rechtern (reeds), Eric Zinman (piano), Makoto Sato (bass), Yoram Rosilio (drums) -- offers a spirited reminder of the avant '60s. The vocals are less clear and coherent, but the title has a point. B+(***)
650. Akua Dixon: Akua Dixon (2014 [2015], Akua's Music): Cellist, b. 1948, was married to Steve Turre 1978-2012, has a few scattered credits (some as Akua Dixon-Turre) but as far as I can tell this is her first album. Several violinists, including Regina Carter, rotate through the lead slot, supported by cello, sometimes bass, only once drums. All covers, including "Haitian Fight Song," "Besame Mucho," "Poinciana," pieces from Cachao and Piazzolla, with a couple vocals -- Andromeda Turre on "Lush Life,", the leader on "It Never Entered My Mind." B+(***)
651. Lucien Johnson/Alan Silva/Makoto Soto: Stinging Nettles (2006 [2014], Improvising Beings): Tenor sax-bass-drums trio, the leader from New Zealand -- seems to be his first album, but he was the main composer in a group called Shogun Orchestra (eponymous album 2012). Silva's well known in free jazz circles. I squinted through enough of the microprinted liner notes to find out that Soto is some sort of Don Cherry protégé. Basically what you want in this configuration: a high energy charge, but the saxophonist can also slow it down and keep your attention. A-
652. François Tusques/Mirtha Pozzi/Pablo Cueco: Le Fond de L'Air (2014, Improvising Beings): Piano trio (of sorts): no bass but Tusques plays piano and the others percussion. Or I suppose you could call it a percussion trio. B+(***)
653. Herb Geller/Roberto Magris: An Evening With Herb Geller & the Roberto Magris Trio: Live in Europe 2009 (2009 [2014], JMood): The alto saxophonist was one of the major figures in the "west coast cool jazz" from the mid-1950s until his death in 2013 at 85. I don't know how late he played -- this is the latest I've found, but he's in very good form, and the piano trio provides perfectly sound support. B+(***)
654. Red Garland Trio: Swingin' on the Korner (1977 [2015], Elemental Music, 2CD): A bebop pianist, recorded tons 1955-58 when he was the center of Miles Davis' first great Quintet, leader of his own Trio, and especially on the side with the Quintet's saxophonist, one John Coltrane. He was so famous that when Art Pepper cut a record with them, it was simply titled Meets the Rhythm Section. Like most jazz musicians of his generation, Garland's discography tapers off after 1962, although he picked up a bit in 1977 recording for Pepper's label, Galaxy, then died in 1984. Still, I wouldn't have picked him as someone we need to unearth more music by, but while I wouldn't say these live trio sets reveal anything new, it's hard to exaggerate how delightful they are. With Philly Joe Jones from his early trio, and Leroy Vinnegar on bass (not Paul Chambers, but not a step down either). A-
655. Charles McPherson: The Journey (2014 [2015], Capri): Alto saxophonist, back in the day a fairly shameless Charlie Parker imitator -- his first album was 1964's Be-Bop Revisited -- who developed into an exquisite ballad player (his Beautiful!, from 1975, spent a couple years in my bedtime rotation). Well into his 70s, this one is his most upbeat in many years, with Keith Oxman's tenor sax chasing him around, and Chip Stephens turning out his best Bud Powell licks. A-
656. Ballister: Worse for the Wear (2014 [2015], Aerophonic): Free sax trio led by Dave Rempis, with Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello and electronics -- sometimes he manages a guitar-like sound -- instead of bass. The sax starts out with a menacing growl, and there are stretches when the it all seems to click. B+(***)
657. Ted Kooshian: Clowns Will Be Arriving (2014 [2015], Summit): Pianist, fourth album since 2004, for standards picks the TV themes to "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Get Smart," for originals writes tributes to various comic strip characters, plops a Napoleon Murphy Brock vocal into the middle of the album, "Christmas Day, My Favorite Day," and ends with "When You Wish Upon a Star." All rather amusing, although for me the hook is Jeff Lederer's saxophone. B+(***)
658. Wolff & Clark: Expedition 2 (2014 [2015], Random Act): Pianist Michael Wolff and drummer Mike Clark, with either Christian McBride or Daryl Johns on bass, five (of 12) cuts with Hailey Niswanger on sax, two of those with Wallace Roney on trumpet. Wolff has about 15 albums since 1993, and wrote four songs here (one co-credited to Clark), one called "Mulgrew." "Sunshine of Your Love" and "1999" are novel adds to the standards songbook, mostly on the jazz side here -- Gillespie, Heath, Coleman, two Monks, all delightful. B+(***) [advance]
659. Jon Lundbom and Big Five Chord: Jeremiah (2014 [2015], Hot Cup): Guitarist, has a handful of albums with this quintet -- Jon Irabagon on soprano sax, Bryan Murray on tenor sax, Moppa Elliott on bass, and Sam Monaghan on drums -- expanded here with Justin Wood on alto sax and flute and Sam Kulik on trombone. Lundbom originals, aside from two pieces with Wiccan origins. Best when it frees up and the guitar chases all those horns around. B+(***)
660. Gebhard Ullmann Basement Research: Hat and Shoes (2013 [2015], Between the Lines): Prolific avant saxophonist (tenor, bass clarinet), group name goes back to his 1995 album and passes through his 2007 New Basement Research, a fair description of a band rooted in the lower frequencies. Quintet: Julian Argüelles (baritone sax), Steve Swell (trombone), Pascal Niggenkemper (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums). B+(***)
661. XY Quartet: XY (2013 [2014], Nusica): Italian group, sometimes you see it billed as "Fazzini Fedrigo XY Quartet," suggesting that Nicola Fazzini (alto sax) and Alessandro Fedrigo (acoustic bass guitar) are leaders, with Saverio Tasca (vibes) and Luca Colussi (drums) something less. However, it's their percussion which keeps this group on edge, even while the sax is what captivates. A-
662. Chantale Gagné: The Left Side of the Moon (2014 [2015], self-relased): Pianist, from Quebec, third album, all (but one) original compositions. Mainstream postbop, but she picked out the perfect band, with Steve Wilson (alto and soprano sax, flute) floating and riffing, Peter Washington on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums. B+(***)
663. Oliver Lake/William Parker: To Roy (2014 [2015], Intakt): Dedicated to the late trumpet player Roy Campbell, who otherwise seems to have little to do with proceedings -- except, perhaps, for the somber tone. Or maybe that's just Parker's bass taking charge, a fair match for Lake's voluble alto sax. A-
664. Aki Takase/Ayumi Paul: Hotel Zauberberg (2014 [2015], Intakt): Piano-violin duo, two Japanese-Germans, the pianist in her 60s, well established on the avant-garde and the principal composer here, drawing on Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain (Der Zauberberg) for inspiration; the violinist several decades younger, more classical, sneaking in covers from Bach and Mozart. B+(***)
665. Jim Snidero: Main Street (2014 [2015], Savant): Mainstream alto saxophonist, twenty albums since 1987's Mixed Bag, fabulous tone, speed, dexterity -- only thing he needs is a rhythm section that keeps him at the top of his game. Like this one: Fabian Almazan (piano), Linda Oh (bass), Rudy Royston (drums). "The Streets of Laredo" closes strong. A-
666. Denia Ridley & the Marc Devine Trio: Afterglow (2014 [2015], ITI Music): Standards singer, backed by Devine's piano trio, a common formula, but she has a winning voice with just a touch of Holiday, and the songs are dependable friends, front-loaded with Gershwin and Porter, ending with "At Last" and "I Cried for You." B+(***)
667. Katie Thiroux: Introducing Katie Thiroux (2014 [2015], BassKat): Bassist-singer's first album, composed three originals but relies on standards, especially for lyrics. Jeff Hamilton produced, using Graham Dechter's guitar instead of piano, adding Roger Neumann's tenor sax for color and mood, both offering standout solos as well as complementing the bass -- mixed up, it provides both signature and flow. A-
668. Free Nelson Mandoomjazz: Awakening of a Capital (2014 [2015], RareNoise): Sax trio from Scotland, second album -- the first bore the aggrandizing title The Shape of Doomjazz to Come/Saxophone Giganticus and was as audacious as the joke. Sequel seems more modest, with Colin Stewart's fuzzy electric bass riffs more prominent because Rebecca Sneddon's snarling alto sax is less so -- or maybe just less snarling? B+(***)
669. John O'Gallagher Trio: The Honeycomb (2014 [2015], Fresh Sound New Talent): Alto saxophonist, a guy who often stands out in a crowd, up close here leading a trio with Johannes Weidenmueller on bass and Mark Ferber on drums. A-
670. John Stowell/Michael Zilber Quartet: Live Beauty (2012 [2015], Origin): Stowell plays guitar. He cut a couple well regarded albums in New York 1977-78, then moved to Portland and mostly vanished until Origin picked him up in 1998. Zilber is a saxophonist, just credited with "saxes" but pictured with a tenor and something that looks like a curved soprano. The unnamed others are John Shifflett (bass) and Jason Lewis (drums), and they each contribute a song (Zilber wrote three, and they cover "My Funny Valentine" and John Scofield's "Wabash III." Still, the sax makes a strong impression, and whenever I notice the guitar Stowell is doing something interesting. B+(***)
671. Mark Helias Open Loose: The Signal Maker (2014 [2015], Intakt): I screwed up here, originally filing this under Tony Malaby, the saxophonist whose name shows up first left-to-right mid-cover, followed by bassist Helias and drummer Tom Rainey. But when I noticed that Helias wrote all the pieces (with group help on three), I looked a little closer and found the big (but not very distinct) type. Sax trio, smolders ambitiously but never quite ignites. B+(***) [advance]
672. Anthony Braxton: Trio and Duet (1974 [2014], Delmark/Sackville): Early work recorded in Toronto, originally released on Sackville in Canada. The Trio cut is one of Braxton's diagrammatic titles, running 19:08, with (not yet Wadada) Leo Smith on various trumpets and percussion and Richard Teitelbaum on Moog and percussion -- one of those tuneless abstractions that eventually become engaging. The other side of the LP was a standards duo with bassist Dave Holland -- "The Song Is You," "Embraceable You," "You Go to My Head" (all remarkable readings), with two more added for the reissue ("I Remember You" adds to the theme; "On Green Dolphin Street" doesn't). A-
673. Schlippenbach Trio: Features (2013 [2015], Intakt): Pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, saxophonist Evan Parker (just tenor this time), and drummer Paul Lovens. I have no idea how many records they've recorded together, but the trio goes back at least to 1972 when they recorded Pakistani Pomade (FMP, reissued by Atavistic in 2003), a "crown" record in the first edition of the Morton-Cook Penguin Guide to Jazz (and since its reissue). I should recheck that record (and whatever else I can find -- Discogs lists twelve Trio albums, and this is my fourth), but this must be one of the most fully realized. A- [advance]
674. The Susan Krebs Chamber Band: Simple Gifts (2014 [2015], GreenGig Music): Jazz singer, fifth album; none of the songs are originals but they're not really standards either -- title song is Shaker traditional. Band credits: piano (co-producer Rich Eames), woodwinds (Rob Lockhart), percussion, violin/viola -- the latter adds a crucial weepy effect. B+(***)
675. Milford Graves & Bill Laswell: Space/Time · Redemption (2013 [2015], TUM): Graves is an avant-jazz drummer, first appearing on a number of ESP-Disk records 1963-66 (including his own Percussion Ensemble), then rarely from 1969 (Sonny Sharrock's Black Woman) to about 2000, when he started appearing (mostly on Tzadik; 1992's Real Deal, a duo with David Murray, was a rare exception). Laswell is a bassist and producer, more into fusion than free but something of a gadfly around the fringes of respectability. So not a huge surprise that the two would record together, but it is that a bass-drums duo would come up with anything so vibrantly textured. A-
676. Paul Elwood: Nice Folks (2011 [2015], Innova): Banjo player, graduate of Wichita State University and SUNY Buffalo, teaches in Colorado. Has a previous album called Stanley Kubrick's Mountain Home, which AMG files under classical. This starts out like a folk singalong, then takes off in various directions, including free jazz and deep worldly groove. Calls his band the Invisible Ensemble. Only one I've heard of is percussionist Famoudou Don Moye. B+(***)
677. Ab Baars Trio: Slate Blue (2014 [2015], Wig): Dutch tenor saxophonist (also plays clarinet and shakuhachi here), in a trio with Wilbert De Joode (bass) and Martin Van Duynhoven (drums) -- Baars' primary group dating back to 1990. A little mellow as these things go, a mood that suits this group. B+(***)
678. Mikko Innanen: Song for a New Decade (2010-12 [2015], TUM, 2CD): Finnish saxophonist, alto and baritone, plus a few odd instruments here and there (Indian clarinet, Uilleann chanter, nose flute, whistles, percussion). Should be better known, and after this will be. Two discs: the first with William Parker on bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums, pretty much everything an avant-saxophonist could dream of; the second a little leaner, just a duo with Cyrille. A-
679. Spin Marvel: Infolding (2014 [2015], RareNoise): British group somewhere in the experimental rock/jazztronica orbit -- Martin France (drums), Tim Harries (bass), Terje Evensen (electronics), Emre Ramazanoglu (production and further drums) -- released an eponymous album in 2006 (different drummer), back here with Nils Petter Molvaer guesting on trumpet. Darker and harder than Molvaer's own records -- something else in the post-Miles underworld. B+(***) [cdr]
680. Anat Cohen: Luminosa (2014 [2015], Anzic): One of the top clarinet players in jazz, also plays bass clarinet and tenor sax here -- underrated in that more competitive category. Backed here by piano trio (Jason Lindner, Joe Martin, Daniel Freedman -- with guests periodically kicking the record into a Brazilian orientation: percussionist Gilmar Gomes, guitarist Roberto Lubambo, most importantly two cuts with Choro Aventuroso (accordion, 7-string guitar, pandeiro) that kick this into a higher orbit. B+(***)
681. Open Field + Burton Greene: Flower Stalk (2012 [2015], Cipsela): Greene's an avant-pianist, recorded a couple ESP albums in the mid-1960s, has regained a limited measure of fame since 2000. He adds notable bite to the Portuguese string trio -- João Carnões on viola, Marcelo dos Reis on guitar, and José Miguel Pereira on double bass. Viola has some bite, too, and guitar and piano are sometimes prepared. B+(***)
682. Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth: Epicenter (2013 [2015], Clean Feed): Bassist, called his second album Bigmouth in 2003 and kept the name. Two tenor saxes (Tony Malaby and Chris Cheek), Craig Taborn on keyboards (mostly Wurlitzer, in case you need a refresher in why he wins those polls), and Gerald Cleaver on drums. Lightcap's originals tend to be strongly pulsed. The one cover is "All Tomorrow's Parties" -- simply magnificent. A-
683. Myra Melford: Snowy Egret (2013 [2015], Enja/Yellowbird): On my short list for best jazz pianists since her debut in 1990, but this quintet shortchanges her piano for her compositions, centered more on Liberty Ellman's guitar and Stomu Takeishi's bass guitar. Ellman has many fine moments, Ron Miles helps out on cornet, and Tyshawn Shorey is a superb drummer. B+(***)
684. Ryan Truesdell: Lines of Color (2014 [2015], Blue Note/ArtistShare): Second album by Gil Evans' ghost band, following 2012's Centennial: Newly Discovered Works of Gil Evans -- some more new discoveries here, but it seems more accurate to think of this as Gil Evans' Greatest Hits . . . Live! Arrangements are properly credited to Evans, dated as far back as 1947. The band has lots of star power, intricately shadowing one another while one or another breaks out in precisely framed solos. Wendy Gilles sings three tunes, including "Everything Happens to Me." A-
685. Atomic: Lucidity (2014 [2015], Jazzland): Norwegian jazz group with more than a dozen albums since 2000, with a hard bop quintet lineup that leans more toward avant -- horns (Magnus Broo on trumpet and Fredrik Ljungkvist on tenor sax and clarinet) bristling, piano (Håvard Wiik) complex and slightly ornate, the rhythm section (Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on bass) usually a powerhouse although they lose something here with a change at drums (Hans Hulboekmo replaces Paal Nilssen-Love). B+(***)
686. Hailey Niswanger: PDX Soul (2013-14 [2015], Calmit Productions): Young, blonde tenor saxophonist from Portland, second album, goes full r&b in a couple live sets with a lot of help, including three singers on four songs -- the bluesier the better. While I can't quite describe what she does as honking, she does let it rip. B+(***)
687. John Fedchock Quartet: Live: Fluidity (2013 [2015], Summit): Trombonist, best known for his New York Big Band recordings, backed by piano-bass-drums here, makes a good case for trombone as a lead instrument. B+(***)
688. Joe Fiedler Trio: I'm In (2015, Multiphonics Music): First record I've reviewed this year that was actually recorded in 2015 (January 12), so I have to give up my early-year assumption that undated recordings must have come from the previous year. Third good trombone record this week (after Steve Turre and John Fedchock), and easily the best. Rob Jost's bass rises above rhythm and harmony for contrasting solos, Michael Sarin hits the right spots on drums, and Fiedler runs rings around the competition. A-
689. Curtis Nowosad: Dialectics (2014 [2015], Cellar Live): Drummer, second album, basic hard bop quintet lineup, with Derrick Gardner the standout on trumpet, Jimmy Greene on tenor/soprano sax, Steve Kirby on acoustic bass, and Will Bonness on piano. Liner notes describe this as "straight-ahead jazz" then offer "neo-hard bop" as an alternative. Certainly has fresh drive and sparkle within a proven framework. B+(***)
690. Kaze: Uminari (2014 [2015], Circum-Libra): Two trumpets (Christian Pruvost and Natsuki Tamura), piano (Satoko Fujii), and drums (Peter Orins) -- second album under this group name, one of many groups Tamura and Fujii have conjured up. Shock out of the gate, turning into exceptionally invigorating avant-jazz, but later one runs into stretches where not much seems to be happening, though if you dig deeper (or just stay patient) it will. B+(***)
691. Andrew Bishop: De Profundis (2015, Envoi): Saxophonist, teaches at University of Michigan, third album, a trio with Tim Flood on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums. His credits as listed here: flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano and tenor sax -- although I hear more of the latter. All original pieces, six "reimagined" from "De Profundis" by Josquin Des Prez (c. 1440-1521) -- transposed into free jazz. B+(***)
692. Dave Stryker: Messin' With Mister T (2014 [2015], Strikezone): Mainstream guitarist, has about thirty albums since 1991 which may (or may not) include his long-running group with saxophonist Steve Slagle. This one's a tribute to Stanley Turrentine, with organ (Jared Gold), drums (McLenty Hunter), extra percussion on half the tracks, and a parade of ten saxophonists, led off by Houston Person and ending with Tivon Pennicott -- two generations of Mr. T devotees. Class of the field: Chris Potter. B+(***)
693. Old Time Musketry: Drifter (2013 [2015], NCM East): Quartet: JP Schlegelmilch plays accordion and piano and writes most of the pieces, Adam Schneit plays tenor sax and clarinet and wrote two tunes, Phil Rowan is on bass and Max Goldman on drums/melodica. The accordion gives the melodies a thick, robust texture, a popular anchor no matter how everyone else twists and turns. A-
694. Javier Vercher: Wish You Were Here (2014 [2015], Musikoz): Tenor saxophonist, from Spain, imposing over a first-rate rhythm section -- Lionel Loueke (guitar), Sam Yahel (piano), Larry Grenadier (bass), and Francisco Mela (drums). B+(***)
695. Bradley Williams: Investigation (2014 [2015], 21st Century Entertainment, 2CD): Pianist, sings some, originally from Kansas, played in one of Woody Herman's herds. This seems to be his first album, one disc of swing-oriented instrumentals powered by a nine-piece band, a second with vocals -- Williams but mostly the ladies, Jennifer Graham and London McIlvane: "Solid Potato Salad," "Someone Else Is Steppin' In," "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," "Use Me," some Jobim and Veloso, "What a Little Moonlight Can Do." All but one of the instrumentals are Williams originals; the ringer, Duke Ellington. B+(***)
696. Humphrey Lyttelton: Humphrey Lyttelton in Canada (1983 [2015], Sackville/Delmark): Trumpet player, a major figure in Britain's trad jazz movement from the late 1940s. A much younger Jim Galloway (baritone and soprano sax) joins him up front (including on the cover), with Ed Bickert (guitar), Neil Swainson (bass), and Terry Clarke (drums). Not really Lyttelton's prime, but a very strong outing for Galloway, who (by the way) just died in 2014. B+(***)
697. Marty Grosz Meets the Fat Babies: Diga Diga Doo (2013-14 [2015], Delmark): The Fat Babies are a Chicago trad jazz outfit with a couple fine albums if you can't get enough of that old timey sound. Grosz, the son of the famous Weimar caricaturist, fled the Nazis in the early 1930s and grew up on the first trad jazz revival, learning guitar and banjo. He keeps the group loose, and I won't complain that he talks too much toward the end, or that he sings a couple. One of the two sessions adds Jim Dapogny, another legend, on piano. A-
698. Ernest Dawkins Live the Spirit Residency Big Band: Memory in the Center: Homage to Nelson Mandela (2014 [2015], Dawk): Chicago saxophonist contents himself to be composer, conductor, arranger and producer here, having lined up four other saxophonists to carry the load, plus three trumpets, two trombones, piano-bass-drums, poet Khari B, and singer Dee Alexander. I might normally complain about the vocals (which can get operatic), but the political rant is inspired, and the muscular exuberance of the band sweeps you away. And when they work in a little township jive, so much the better. A-
699. Michael Oien: And Now (2014 [2015], Fresh Sound New Talent): Bassist-composer, first album, postbop quintet leads with guitar (Matthew Stevens), layering the piano (Jamie Reynolds) and alto sax (Nick Videen), adding an extra tenor sax (Travis Laplante) on the third song for a high point. Three "Dreamer" parts follow, where the bass comes back into focus. B+(***) [advance]*
700. Oleg Frish: Duets With My American Idols (2014 [2015], Time Out Media): Russian singer, entertainer, TV personality, member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, moved to New York in 1992, reputed to sing in 24 languages. American idols? Connie Francis introduces, followed by Peggy March, Ben E. King, B.J. Thomas, Chris Montez, Lainie Kazan, Tony Orlando, Melissa Manchester, Lou Christie, Bobby Rydell ("Volare") -- it's hard to doubt a foreigner whose taste in Americana runs to such kitsch. B+(***)
701. Ghost Train Orchestra: Hot Town (2013 [2015], Accurate): Trumpeter Brian Carpenter's third dive into "music from 1920's Chicago and Harlem, with a group more postmodernist than antiquarian: Dennis Lichtman, Andy Laster, and Petr Cancura on reeds, Curtis Hasselbring on trombone, Cynthia Sayer on bajo, Ron Caswell on tuba, and when they want to break out the train sounds Colin Stetson drops in on bass sax. Mazz Swift's two vocals aren't high points, but her violin adds something beyond trad. B+(***)
702. Hu Vibrational: Presents the Epic Botanical Beat Suite (2014 [2015], MOD Technologies): A group of seven drummers, principally Adam Rudolph, credited with "compositions and organic arrangements" -- the only other name I recognize is Brahim Fribgane, whose favored drum is cajon (none of the seven use a trap set). The rhythm is as pleasant as one could imagine, and "special guests" (most famously Eivind Aarset on guitar and Bill Laswell on electric bass) add some tinsel. B+(***)
703. Harris Eisenstadt: Golden State II (2014 [2015], Songlines):Drummer-composer, originally formed this as a sort of chamber jazz group around his wife's bassoon (Sara Schoenbeck), with Nicole Mitchell on flute and Mark Dresser on bass. Second album was recorded live in Vancouver, with clarinet (Michael Moore) instead of the flute. B+(***)
704. Michael Dees: The Dream I Dreamed (2014 [2015], Jazzed Media): Classic crooner, has been hired to fill in where Frank Sinatra was called for but unavailable (e.g., for HBO's The Rat Pack documentary, and for a Simpsons episide. Past 70, but doesn't seem to have much recorded. Surprise here is that he's doing all originals, while keeping the sound down pat. Mostly backed by Terry Trotter's piano trio, with a little sax from Doug Webb (aka Lisa Simpson). B+(***)
705. Mario Pavone: Blue Dialect (2014 [2015], Clean Feed): Bassist, has a couple dozen albums since 1982. This is a piano trio, with Billy Mitchell and Tyshawn Sorey, and it's lively, inventive, what you'd hope for in a piano trio. Still, after four or five plays, this never did more than impress me. I wondered if maybe it's that "problem" I have with piano trios, but I looked it up and found I gave Pavone's previous piano trio, 2013's Arc Trio, an A-. That one was with Craig Taborn and Gerald Cleaver. B+(***)
706. Tony Adamo: Tony Adamo & the New York Crew (2015, Urbanzone): Does something he calls "hipspokenword" -- a fast-paced narration-commentary set against a fast swing rhythm, with trumpet (Tim Ouimette) and alto sax (Donald Harrison) for accents and swirls. You get a capsule history of several decades of jazz, plus some Pablo Picasso stories. B+(***)
707. Rich Halley 4: Creating Structure (2014 [2015], Pine Eagle): Tenor saxophonist from Portland, has created an impressive body of work since he retired from his day job. Quartet with Michael Vlatkovich on trombone, Clyde Reed on bass, and son Carson Halley on drums. His sax intro is as impressive as ever, and when the trombone enters they bat things around at a furious pace. I wondered whether the ending was too much -- reportedly this is all free improv, by-product from another session -- but after many plays it fit right in. A-
708. Wild Bill Davison: The Jazz Giants (1968 [2015], Delmark/Sackville): Cornet player, came up in Eddie Condon's group, his first recordings under his own name in 1943 for Commodore (cf. The Commodore Master Takes, collected in 1997 by GRP and highly recommended). Standard trad fare here, a sextet with Herb Hall on clarinet, Benny Morton on trombone, and Claude Hopkins on piano, his own tone towering and shining. A-
709. Eli Wallace/Jon Arkin/Karl Evangelista: Cabbages, Captain, & King (2014 [2015], Edgetone): Cover just has title, so a good case can be made for that as the group name, but I cribbed the artist name off the hype sheet and prefer the extra information. Besides, this is very much Wallace's album, all compositions his, his piano much more prominent than Evangelista's guitar or Arkin's drums. Eloquent, too, and develops some edge. B+(***)
710. Lorenzo Feliciati: Koi (2015, Rare Noise): Electric bassist, sometimes fretless, also plays guitar, keyboards, and does some programming here. Core group is a bass-keyb-drums trio, but there's also a horn section and various guests. Fusion, but much more going on. B+(***) [advance]
711. Joe Locke: Love Is a Pendulum (2014 [2015], Motéma Music): Vibraphonist, prolific since 1990, supplements his piano-bass-drums quartet (Robert Rodriguez, Ricky Rodriguez, co-producer Terreon Gully) with guests -- notably Rosario Giuliani on alto sax and Donny McCaslin on tenor, but also bits of guitar and steel pans and a Theo Bleckmann vocal -- for some sprightly and exceptionally complex postbop, most interesting when the timing gets slippery. B+(***)
712. Elliott Sharp: Octal: Book Three (2013 [2015], Clean Feed): Solo guitar, third in this series but there must be dozens in Sharp's vast catalogue. Manages both to coax unusual sounds from the instrument and to marshall them in unexpected ways, but they feel like sketches, almost as if he were presenting assignments for his I Never Meta Guitar series colleagues to follow up on. B+(***)
713. Claire Ritter: Soho Solo (2014 [2015], Zoning): Solo piano, mostly original pieces plus one by Ran Blake and one by Harold Arlen. Takes some time to settle in, but I particularly liked her The Stream of Pearls Project (2011), so gave it the extra spins. B+(***)
714. Steve Coleman and the Council of Balance: Synovial Joints (2014 [2015], Pi): Alto saxophonist, former M-Base impressario, comes up with a 21-piece orchestra (counting vocalist Jen Shyu, fair because she just blends in) that feels rather smaller, often playing a unison line that rarely shakes the idiosyncratic beat. Remarkable stuff, although I'm not that much of a fan. B+(***)
715. Marilyn Crispell/Gerry Hemingway: Table of Changes (2013 [2015], Intakt): Piano-drums duo, recorded live at various spots in Europe. Third album by the Duo since 1992, although they go back further to Anthony Braxton's famed 1980s Quartet (with Mark Dresser). The knockabout opener is as remarkable as anything the format gets -- cf. Cecil Taylor and Irène Schweizer with various drummers -- and while they don't sustain that intensity, they serve up plenty of interesting variations. A-
716. The Rempis Percussion Quartet: Cash and Carry (2014 [2015], Aerophonic): Dave Rempis, first noticed on alto sax when he replaced Mars Williams in the Vandermark 5, where he was so impressive he started crowding Vandermark out of the tenor sax slot (plays some impressive baritone here too). Fifth album by his two drummer (Tim Daisy and Frank Rosaly) quartet, with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on bass. Basically a blowing session, recorded live at the Hungry Brain in Chicago -- what more could you ask for? A-
717. Nisse Sandström Quintet: Live at Crescendo (2014 [2015], Moserobie): Swedish tenor saxophonist, b. 1942, not as well known as Bernt Rosengren but their 1984 album together was titled Summit Meeting. Quintet includes a second tenor, the much younger Jonas Kullhammar, an avant player with respect for his elders -- his superb Gentlemen from last year included a few cuts with Rosengren. Mainstream, a friendly pairing, reminds me of those Al Cohn-Zoot Sims soirées. B+(***)
718. Art-i-facts: Great Performances From 40 Years of Jazz at NEC (1973-2008 [2010], New England Conservatory): A little scattered, but they must have had tons of material to pick from, so eclecticism is diplomacy. The lineup reads like a hall of fame of jazz education -- George Russell, George Garzone, Gunther Schuller, Bob Brookmeyer, Jimmy Giuffre, Steve Lacy, Rakalam Bob Moses, Ran Blake -- with the fine print filled by students (probably some famous names there too). Highlights include Garzone showing us how to play Coltrane, and Schuller dredging up old ragtime. B+(***)
719. Dmitry Baevsky: Over and Out (2014 [2015], Jazz Family): Alto saxophonist, mainstream guy, from St. Petersburg in Russia, based in New York, fourth album -- only other one I've heard was his second, Down With It (2010), superb. Three originals, most of the rest shows a jazz pedigree -- a Jobim, a Monk, two Ellingtons. Very facile with a lovely tone, he continues to impress. A-
720. Henry Threadgill Zooid: In for a Penny, In for a Pound (2014 [2015], Pi, 2CD): Album cover omits the leader's name, the front a wordless portrait, as if the artist is such an icon he needs no introduction. Four album with this group (more or less); Jose Davila (trombone, tuba), Liberty Ellman (guitar), Christopher Hoffman (cello), Elliot Humberto Kavee (drums). Threadgill seems to play less flute this time (or more bass flute), but it's the alto sax you notice, rotating against Davila's low notes, the strings swirling around. He called an earlier band Very Very Circus, but he's rarely juggled this adroitly. Might have squeezed the music onto a single disc (40:14, 38:58). A-
721. Brian Landrus Trio: The Deep Below (2014 [2015], BlueLand/Palmetto):Usually a baritone saxophonist, has at least thre previous records, offers a tour of the deeper single reeds -- six cuts on bari, five on bass clarinet, two on bass flute, one with bass sax. Lonnie Plaxico gets some bass spots too. Billy Hart is the drummer on an album that is not only deep but softly understated. B+(***)
722. Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House: Roulette of the Cradle (2014 [2015], Intakt): Tenor (and soprano) saxophonist, from Germany, adopted this group name from a 2010 album, and you can see why she wants to keep the group going: Mary Halvorson (guitar), Kris Davis (piano), John Hébert (bass), and Tom Rainey (drums), joined on two tracks by Oscar Noriega (clarinet). Davis and, especially, Halvorson enjoy some remarkable runs here. B+(***)
723. Christoph Irniger Trio: Octopus (2014 [2015], Intakt): Once again, a mild-mannered free jazz tenor sax trio, impressive logic that sneaks up on you without threatening to blow you away. A-
724. Joan Chamorro & Andrea Motis: Feeling Good (2012 [2015], Whaling City Sound): Motis is a 20-year-old singer -- 16 when this was recorded -- from Spain who plays up the cuteness in her voice and works her way one fine standard after another -- "Lover Man" twice, once with strings and one without. Charmorro plays bass and tenor sax, leading a band that grows or shrinks almost unnoticeably. Motis also contributes some trumpet and alto sax. B+(***)
725. The Gary McFarland Legacy Ensemble: Circulation: The Music of Gary McFarland (2015, Planet Arts): McFarland (1933-71) played vibraphone, but is probably best remembered (when at all) as a composer and associate of Bill Evans and Bob Brookmeyer. Drummer Michael Benedict directed this quintet, with Joe Locke (vibes), Sharel Cassity (sax), Bruce Barth (piano), and Mike Lawrence (bass), as they skip through eleven McFarland pieces. Mostly breakneck bop, the leaders get a terrific workout -- most impressively Locke, his best performance in a long time. A-
726. François Carrier/Michel Lambert: Io (2013 [2015], FMR): Alto sax-drum duets, force the former to work harder which usually pays off but leaves some rough edges. B+(***)
727. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Rafal Mazur: Unknowable (2014 [2015], Not Two): Recorded live at Alchemia Jazz Klub in Krakow, in most ways comparable to the alto saxophonist's many recent records, with sidekick Lambert on drums, but Mazur's electric bass guitar rounds out the sound, adding a resonance that is missing in the duo. A-
728. Scott Hamilton: Scott Hamilton Plays Jule Styne (2015, Blue Duchess): Tenor saxophonist, a retro-swing throwback in the late '70s who's scarcely budged an inch since then, except maybe to deepen his feel for ballads. Styne's tunes range from "Sunday" in 1927 to "People" in 1964, a few you'll know instantly. With Tim Ray on piano, Dave Zinno (bass) and Jim Gwin (drums), plus a bit of guitar on one tune. Had I given this a casual spin, I would have said "typically fine," but it's been stuck in my changer for three days and I'll be sad when I have to move on. A-
729. All Included: Satan in Plain Clothes (2014 [2015], Clean Feed): Scandinavian freebop group, one I file under saxophonist Martin Küchen's name because he organizes lots of groups like this, but Thomas Johansson's trumpet and Mats Äleklint's trombone are every bit as prominent, and the bass-drums of Jon Rune Strøm and Tollef Østvang keeps it all roiling -- so, yeah, all included. Just not sorted out as well as Küchen's Angles groups. B+(***)
730. Universal Indians w/Joe McPhee: Skullduggery (2014 [2015], Clean Feed): Seems like McPhee will play with anyone, a trait which has helped maked him such an inspiration to free jazz musicians around the world. He plays pocket trumpet and various saxes in this live recording from Belgium, with John Dikeman on more saxes, Jon Rune Strøm on bass, and Tollef Østvang on drums (the rhythm section from All Included). B+(***)
731. Ivo Perelman/Whit Dickey: Tenorhood (2014 [2015], Leo): Tenor sax-drums duets, Dickey most often associated with Matthew Shipp. Title tune plys five more dedicated to eminent tenor saxophonists: Mobley, Webster, Coltrane, Ayler, Rollins. A little schizzy around the edges, sort of a fractal effect. B+(***)
732. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: Callas (2015, Leo, 2CD): Tenor sax-piano duos, inspired by opera diva Maria Callas (1923-77), not that there are any words here, nor vocals, just two avant-gardists trying to recapture some imagined spirit. What they come up with is real enough. A-
733. John Yao and His 17-Piece Instrument: Flip-Flop (2014 [2015], See Tao): Trombonist, big band arranger, his "17-piece instrument" the band, and with musicians like saxophonists John O'Gallagher and Jon Irabagon on not always of one mind. B+(***)
734. Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity: Firehouse (2014 [2015], Clean Feed): Norwegian drummer, has played in several bands since 2007: Puma, Bushman's Revenge, Lord Kelvin, Cortex (the latter's Live! an A- last year), as well as collaborations with Eirik Hegdal, Tore Brunborg, and Mathias Eick, but I'll score this as his first as leader: an avant-sax trio with Andre Roligheten and Petter Eldh, and everything you'd want there, blistering hot and completely cogent. A-
735. Jerry Granelli Trio + 3: What I Hear Now (2014 [2015], Addo): Drummer, started out in piano trios (Vince Guaraldi, Denny Zeitlin), has close to 20 albums as leader since 1988, leaning some towards fusion but broad ranging -- my favorite in the spoken word Sandhills Reunion (2005) -- with this three sax, one trombone sextet venturing deep into free jazz. B+(***)
736. Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble: The Otherworld Cycle (2014 [2015], Edgetone): Alto saxophonist, one of the more consistently interesting figures of recent years, assembles fourteen musicians for "a new music Odyssey inspired by ancient Finnish mythology and the Kalevala [a 19th century compilation of epic poetry from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore]." The vocal concept seemed like too much clutter at first, but that was forgotten least once the sinewy grooves kicked in, and the sax approached A Love Supreme's stratosphere. A-
737. Devin Gray: RelativE ResonancE (2014 [2015], Skirl): Drummer, second album, another sax-piano-bass-drums quartet but with new collaborators: Chris Speed, Kris Davis, Chris Tordini. Speed, typically, puts a soft edge on his sax, but Davis doesn't pull any punches. B+(***)
738. Michael McNeill Trio: Flight (2014 [2015], self-released): Pianist from Buffalo, blew me away with his debut (Passageways) and continues to impress, aided by Ken Filiano on bass and Phil Haynes on drums. This is considerably more, uh, nuanced, building slowly, repaying patient attention. A-
739. OZO: A Kind of Zo (2015, Shhpuma/Clean Feed): Portuguese duo, Paulo Mesquita on prepared piano, Pedro Oliveira on prepared drums. The preparations aren't that extreme, and the dynamic is simple enough: the piano sets up a rhythmic vamp, and the drums kick it to another level. A-
740. Satoko Fujii Orchestra Berlin: Ichigo Ichie (2014 [2015], Libra):Extremely prolific Japanese avant-pianist, she's put together a half-dozen orchestras as she's traveled around the world, and this is one of the best. Twelve-piece group, not quite a big band but the three saxes and three trumpets are meant to solo and spar, and the two drummers rumble. A-
741. Satoko Fujii Tobira: Yamiyo Ni Karasu (2014 [2015], Libra): Pianist-led quartet, with Natsuki Tamura (trumpet), Todd Nicholson (bass), and Takashi Itani (percussion). Gives you a good sense of Fujii's avant-piano, although not at breakneck fury, and adds some splashy trumpet. B+(***)
742. Simon Nabatov/Mark Dresser: Projections (2014 [2015], Clean Feed): Piano-bass duets. Nabatov was born in Russia, moved to Rome, New York, and eventually to Köln, and has more than two dozen albums since 1988 -- avant-garde with a classical grounding. Dresser, of course, is one of the great bassists of our era, and reminds you why frequently. B+(***)
743. Chico Freeman/Heiri Känzig: The Arrival (2014 [2015], Intakt): Tenor saxophonist, made a big splash in avant circles in the late 1970s; has recorded pretty regularly since then, although in the 1980s it seemed like he got upstaged by his father, Von Freeman. Bassist Känzig was born in New York but studied in Austria and Switzerland, and currently teaches in Luzern. Duets, very laid back, spare but gorgeous. A-
744. Johannes Wallmann: The Town Musicians (2013 [2015], Fresh Sounds New Talent): Pianist, fifth album, lively postbop on the hard side; band includes Russ Johnson (trumpet), Gilad Hekselman (guitar), Sean Conly (bass), and Jeff Hirshfield (drums), plus Dayna Stephens (tenor sax) joins on two cuts. Over 75 minutes, everyone makes a strong impression. B+(***)
745. Roots Magic: Hoodoo Blues & Roots Magic (2014 [2015], Clean Feed): Group name not clear from the album cover, nor is there much in the way of liner notes, but label is clear on the point. Alberto Popolla (clarinets), Enrico DeFabritiis (alto sax), Gianfranco Tedeschi (double bass), Fabrizio Spera (drums), plus guest Luca Venitucci (organ, melodica, amplified zither). Can play free but mostly prefer blues riffs. B+(***)
746. Nick Fraser: Too Many Continents (2015, Clean Feed): Drummer, from Canada, has a couple previous records including 2013's excellent Towns and Villages. This one is a trio with Tony Malaby (tenor and soprano sax) and Kris Davis (piano). Too abstract for anyone to work up a full head of steam, and Malaby's soprano is shrill where his tenor is invigorating, but the twists and turns are captivating, and Davis is worth the trouble. B+(***)
747. Amir ElSaffar: Crisis (2015, Pi): Trumpet player, originally from Iraq, named his 2007 album Two Rivers and calls his group Two Rivers Ensemble -- more appropriate than ever as he figures out more ways to integrate Arabic motifs into his music. The superb jazz rhythm section of Carlo DeRosa (bass) and Nasheet Waits (drums) is matched by Tareq Abboushi (buzuqi) and Zafer Tawil (oud, percussion), and ElSaffar sings three pieces. Ole Mathisen's sax complements his trumpet, which has advanced to a new plane. A-
748. Robert Sabin: Humanity Part II (2014 [2015], Ranula Music): Bassist, wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on Gary Peacock. Third record, originals except for the title piece by Morricone, arranged for ten pieces -- five brass, two saxes, guitar-bass-drums. B+(***)
749. Louie Belogenis: Blue Buddha (2015, Tzadik): Tenor saxophonist, credits go back to 1993 with groups God Is My Co-Pilot and Prima Materia, but not much under his own name -- indeed, looked like this was an eponymous group album until I found his name on the spine, and I can't be sure of that. Quartet, with Dave Douglas on trumpet, Bill Laswell on bass, and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. B+(***) [advance]
750. Mark Winkler: Jazz and Other Four Letter Words (2015, Cafe Pacific): Jazz singer, has a dozen albums since 1985, writes most of his own lyrics but draws on Dave Frishberg and Bob Dorough for the song that frames the album "I'm Hip" -- he ends with his own "Stay Hip," so close it sounds like a reprise. Two songs are paeans to beatnik-era jazz (title cut, which name drops no one after the '50s, and "You Cat Plays Piano"). Two duets with Cheryl Bentyne, who is also hip. B+(***)
751. Paul Hubweber/Frank Paul Schubert/Alexander von Schlippenbach/Clayton Thomas/Willi Kellers: Intricacies (2014 [2015], NoBusiness): Trombone, alto/soprano sax, piano, bass, drums, respectively, mostly German. I had never heard of Hubweber before, but he seems to be a fairly major figure in the German avant-garde: Discogs credits him with 15 albums since 1998, but his Wikipedia page (in German) lists 37 albums going back to a solo, Aus meiner Sicht, in 1976. Two long improvs (49:39 and 44:40) plus a 14:34 encore. Focus on the pianist, who most likely you have heard of. B+(***)
752. Laszlo Gardony: Life in Real Time (2014 [2015], Sunnyside): Pianist, originally from Hungary, has a dozen albums since 1986, most trios but this time he unleashes the saxophones: Don Braden, Bill Pierce, and Stan Strickland (all tenor, with Strickland also playing bass clarinet), and they create all sorts of excitement. B+(***)
753. The Dan Brubeck Quartet: Celebrating the Music and Lyrics of Dave & Iola Brubeck (2013 [2015], Blue Forest, 2CD): Five of Dave & Iola Brubeck's six children became professional musicians, Dan playing drums. Iola was a jazz lyricist before she married Dave in 1942, and they both lived together into their nineties, so there's something especially sweet about this project, with its thick booklet and many pictures. Dan's quartet is modelled on dad's, with Steve Kaldestad on tenor sax, Tony Foster on piano, and Adam Thomas on bass -- Thomas also sings the lyrics that figure largely (although not exhaustively) here. B+(***)
754. Stefan Keune/Dominic Lash/Steve Noble: Fractions (2013 [2015], NoBusiness): German saxophonist, sopranino and tenor here (alto elsewhere), ten or so albums since 1992, backed by bass and drums. Free improv, fast and furious, although the sopranino tends to be a bit squeaky. B+(***) [cdr]
755. Nick Mazzarella Trio: Ultraviolet (2015, International Anthem): Alto saxophonist from Chicago, with Anton Hatwich (bass) and Frank Rosaly (drums), has several previous albums plus tenure in the Chicago Reed Quartet. B+(***)
756. Mary Halvorson: Meltframe (2014 [2015], Firehouse 12): Guitarist, one of several impressive musicians to study under Anthony Braxton at Wesleyan, has been very prolific since 2005 -- AMG lists 20 albums, Discogs 19. This is solo, ten pieces written by other jazz musicians, Ellington and (maybe) Coleman the only standards. Shows off many of her favorite tricks, and when she gets noisy and dissonant you don't miss anyone else. B+(***)
757. Irène Schweizer/Han Bennink: Welcome Back (2015, Intakt): Piano-drum duo, both should be household names by now, and indeed the Dutch percussionist is one of the very few Europeans to make Downbeat Hall of Fame ballot. On the other hand, I've had to write in the name of the Swiss pianist the last few years -- this year ahead of Myra Melford and Marilyn Crispell, who are similar players only in the sense that anyone can be described as similar to Cecil Taylor; Schweizer comes as close as anyone to matching Taylor, but she can also work in some boogie woogie or pennywhistle jive, and closes here with a bit of Monk that evokes "Lullaby of Birdland." In the late 1980s Schweizer started a series of duos with top avant drummers (Louis Moholo was the first, followed by Gunter Sommer and Andrew Cyrille). The best was her 1995 meeting with Bennink (although I also have the 1990 Pierre Favre at A). This return engagement belongs alongside. A
758. Beegie Adair/Don Aliquo: Too Marvelous for Words (2015, Adair Music Group): Piano and tenor sax quartet from Nashville, backed by Roger Spencer on bass and Chris Brown on drums. I hadn't run into Adair before, but AMG credits her with 48 albums since 1997 -- admittedly a rather cheesy list with lots of standards and tributes, piano music for special occasions (not just Xmas but Mother's Day), a Cocktail Jazz Party and Beautiful Ballads. She goes for standards here, especially Strayhorn with a dash of Monk. I am familiar with Aliquo, a mainstream tenor who really shines on the ballads. Perhaps too easy, but they earn their title. A-
759. Merzbow/Balasz Pandi/Mats Gustafsson/Thurston Moore: Cuts of Guilt/Cuts Deeper (2014 [2015], Rare Noise, 2CD): Masama Akita (aka Merzbow) is credited with "noise, power electronics." He has well over 100 albums, and the only one I had heard before he started working with this crew was one I hated so much I graded D+ -- Dharma (2001, 2XHNI) if you're curious. Drummer Pandi and saxophonist Gustafsson joined him on a tolerable 2003 album (Cuts: B -- so this title plays off that record). Gustafsson has always enjoyed a long, hard squawkfest, and the famous Sonic Youth guitarist has joined a few. All jointly-credited improv. Still, they don't overdo it, and Pandi is terrific throughout. B+(***)
760. Jerry Bergonzi: Rigamaroll (2012 [2015], Savant): Tenor saxophonist, mainstream guy who uses phrases like Tenor Talk and Simply Put for titles (to pick two records I especially like). Quintet with Phil Grenadier (trumpet), Bruce Barth (piano), his usual bassist and drummer, a hard bop set that kicks out the jams. B+(***)
761. Barry Altschul & 3Dom Factor: Tales of the Unforeseen (2014 [2015], TUM): Drummer, achieved some prominence in the 1970s as part of Anthony Braxton's quartet, faded away, finally appearing as a venerable elder guest star on tenor saxophonist Jon Irabagon's 2010 Foxy. Irabagon returned on Altschul's 2013 The 3Dom Factor, and again here, although the focus here is more on the drums. Joe Fonda helps out on bass. A-
762. Liberty Ellman: Radiate (2014 [2015], Pi): Guitarist, fourth album since 1998, close to thirty side-credits (not counting the mixing and mastering he's done on at least that many records). Sextet, with three horns giving wide-ranging looks -- Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Steve Lehman (alto sax), and Jose Davila (tuba, trombone) -- plus Stephan Crump (bass) and Damion Reid (drums). A-
763. JD Allen: Graffiti (2015, Savant): Tenor saxophonist from Detroit, has ten or so albums since 1999. Always an impressive stylist, goes with a basic trio here -- Gregg August on bass, Rudy Royston on drums -- which opens him up. A-
764. Mort Weiss: Mort Weiss Is a Jazz Reality Show (2015, SMS Jazz): A clarinet player, Weiss retired from his day job around 2000 and returned to his instrument, recording seven albums 2003-13, swing-bop I found charming and delightful. If anything, the records got better as he approached 80. They even started getting noticed, with Weiss emerging as a "Rising Star Clarinet" in Downbeat's polls. Then I got a letter he was hanging it all up, but two years later he's back. The "Dedication" explains a year of bad health, losing his wife of forty-some years, even losing his dog, then finding someone named "Donna." He also found pianist Don Friedman, whose trio anchors these thirteen tunes, mostly indelible standards. Everything works: the Carmela Rappozzo vocal slot, even his own blues vocal. A-
765. Mike Reed's People Places & Things: A New Kind of Dance (2015, 482 Music): Drummer, runs a couple of groups, this one rooted in a golden age of local jazz, which in Chicago means Sun Ra and the AACM. He aims for dance here, not so much dance rhythms as shots of euphoric melody -- in his liner notes, he cites the late Ornette Coleman's Dancing in Your Head. Quartet has two saxes (Greg Ward and Tim Haldeman) plus bass (Jason Roebke), and Marquis Hill and Matthew Shipp drop in for 3-4 tracks each. The kwela cinches it. A-
766. Nicole Mitchell/Tomeka Reid/Mike Reed: Artifacts (2015, 482 Music): Flute, cello, drums. It was clear from the very beginning that Mitchell would be the poll-domineering flute player of her generation, but less clear whether we should care. This, however, is terrific on any terms. On the 50th anniversary of the founding of the AACM, she's recorded their songbook -- the Mitchell credit is Roscoe, sandwiched between Braxton and Fred Anderson, with Abrams, McCall (twice), and Wilkerson to come. The cello fits better than a bass would, and the drummer's studied this music all his life. A-
767. The Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet: 10 (2015, Zoho): Trumpeter, from Peru, based in New York, celebrates ten years since founding his sextet. One trad piece, jazz standards like "Caravan" and "Lonely Woman" and "My Favorite Things" -- also a take of "Star Spangled Banner" I don't mind too much. B+(***)
768. Ochion Jewell Quartet: Volk (2015, self-released): Tenor saxophonist, based in New York, second album (as far as I can tell), quartet includes bassist Sam Minaie and two-thirds of Dawn of Midi: pianist Amino Belyamani and drummer Qasim Naqvi. The sax doesn't blow me away, but the rhythm section is far from ordinary. Two tracks add Lionel Loueke. A-
769. Aram Shelton/Fred Lonberg-Holm/Frank Rosaly: Resounder (2014 [2015], Singlespeed Music): Alto sax-cello-drums trio, leader also credited with "processing," while Lonberg-Holm adds guitar and electronics -- his electronics have moved way beyond the hobby stage, filling up the middle with a dense, prickly sonic framework, which the others can only sharpen up or knick away at. A-
770. Noah Preminger: Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar (2015, self-released): Tenor saxophonist, won the debut category in the 2008 Jazz Critics Poll, and has only gotten better. Live quartet with Jason Palmer on trumpet, Kim Cass on bass, and Ian Froman on drums -- names I didn't recognize and shouldn't forget. Two 30+ minute jams, an old-fashioned cutting contest. A-
771. Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Mauch Chunk (2015, Hot Cup): Some turnover in the lineup of bassist Moppa Elliott's group as it moves into its second decade: Ron Stabinsky, who joined the group when they attempted to clone Kind of Blue, remains on piano, while Peter Evans (trumpet) is gone. The loss of front-line fire power should hurt, but saxophonist Jon Irabagon goes to Herculean lengths to make up the deficit. Not quite up to their best albums of the past decade, but the bear on the cover reminds me they don't have to outrun time, just the competition. A-
772. Benoit Delbecq/Miles Perkin/Emile Biayenda: Ink (2014 [2015], Clean Feed): French pianist, twenty-some albums since 1992, this a trio with bass and drums. I'm struck especially by his rhythmic control. B+(***)
773. Gonçalo Almeida/Martin van Duynhoven/Tobias Klein: Vibrate in Sympathy (2015, Clean Feed): Credits should be reordered to put Klein up front, making this a sax-bass-drums trio, all original pieces by Klein, who is very clear-headed on alto sax, bass clarinet, and contrabass clarinet. B+(***)
774. Expansions: The Dave Liebman Group: The Puzzle (2015, Whaling City Sound): The saxophonist has many groups, well over 100 albums, but this one almost deserves the pretentious name. Liebman plays soprano and wooden recorder -- not something I've been all that fond of in the past, but he mixes well with Matt Vashlishan (clarinet, flute, alto sax, straw, EWI). Bobby Avey is a terrific pianist, and Tony Marino and Alex Ritz are fine on bass and drums. B+(***)
775. Ulrich Gumpert Quartett: A New One (2014 [2015], Intakt): Pianist-led sax quartet, with Jürg Wickihalder the saxophonist, Jan Roder on bass and Michael Griener on drums. B. 1945 in Jena, Gumpert grew up in East Berlin, interested in Satie and free jazz. From 1974 on, he recorded several FMP albums with Günter Sommer, joined Conny Bauer's Zentralquartett (still an important group), recorded a duo with Steve Lacy in 1987 (and was later one of the pianists on Lacy's Five Facings). A-
776. Joe McPhee/Jamie Saft/Joe Morris/Charles Downs: Ticonderoga (2014 [2015], Clean Feed): Avant sax quartet, McPhee plays tenor (mostly) and soprano and doesn't push it too hard. Saft plays piano, getting a bit more brittle sound than on his usual electric keybs, and adding measurably to the rhythmic complexity, which is not to say groove. Morris plays bass here, and is superb. [PS: There is an alternate cover, shown on the label's website, which suggests Saft is the leader. My copy lists the four names in the credit order above. The spine only lists Ticonderoga, which the label's website lists as the artist name.] A-
777. Willem Breuker Kollektief: Angoulême 18 Mai 1980 (1980 [2015], Fou, 2CD):Dutch group, led by the saxophonist from the early 1970s until his death in 2010. Like ICP Orchestra (which Breuker briefly played in), and for that matter the Sun Ra Arkestra, Breuker was able to span the whole history of jazz up through the avant-garde, frequently turning to hard swing, but in Breuker's case also mixing in circus, folk, classical, and Brechtian art-song. I've only heard ten (of fifty-some) Breuker records, and most I rate between mixed blessings and downright nuissances, so as I was falling for this one I noticed that my previous favorite was another early (1975) live album. This could have been edited down into something that flows better, but largesse was a big part of their shtick. A-
778. Rodrigo Amado: This Is Our Language (2012 [2015], Not Two): Tenor saxophonist, from Portugal, should be considered a major figure on the instrument. He is spectacular here, not that he doesn't get help from Joe McPhee (pocket trumpet, alto sax) working around his edges. With Kent Kessler on bass and Chris Corsano on drums. A-
779. Scott Hamilton & Jeff Hamilton Trio: Live in Bern (2014 [2015], Capri): No relation, although drummer Jeff comes from a famous jazz family, which put him in front of what otherwise might be Tamir Hendelman's piano trio. I thought the pianist was a bit obtrusive at first, but the second spin was all smooth sailing for the tenor. B+(***)
780. Rich Halley 4: Eleven (2014 [2015], Pine Eagle): Tenor saxophonist from Oregon, has had a terrific run of albums lately, most with this same quartet: Michael Vlatkovich (trombone), Clyde Reed (bass), and son Carson Halley (drums). When he takes charge this is another one, but I have a few minor quibbles -- unison themes, slow patches. B+(***)
781. Marcelo dos Reis/Luis Vicente/Theo Ceccaldi/Valentin Ceccaldi: Chamber 4 (2013 [2015], FMR): Guitar, trumpet, violin/viola, cello, two credited with voice although you can't exactly say they sing -- it's more of a background effect, part of a montage which despite the joint improv doesn't really move around that much. B+(**)
782. Sarah Buechi: Shadow Garden (2015, Intakt): Swiss singer-songwriter, writes mostly in English, has several albums including one previous one on Intakt with this same piano trio -- Stafan Aeby, André Pousaz, Lionel Friedli. The songs don't fall into any tradition I recognize, but are strangely seductive. B+(***)
783. Caroline Davis Quartet: Doors: Chicago Storylines (2013 [2015], Ears & Eyes): Alto saxophonist, has a previous album, based in New York but spent eight years in Chicago and developed an interest in history there. She interviewed thirteen Chicago jazz musicians and packed their reminiscences around her original pieces -- Mike Allemann (guitar), Matt Ferguson (bass), Jeremy Cunningham (drums). Lovely pieces, interesting raps. B+(***)
784. Matthew Shipp Trio: The Conduct of Jazz (2015, Thirsty Ear): Piano trio, with Michael Bisio on bass and Newman Taylor Baker on drums. Shipp seems to have lost interest in his jazztronica phase, but he draws on that experience when he breaks out the heavy, tumbling rhythmic runs that set the pace here. A-
785. João Camões/Jean-Marc Foussat/Claude Parle: Bien Mental (2015, Fou): Viola (violon alto), electronics (dispositif électro-acoustique), and accordion, respectively. Foussat has been working along these lines for a while now, but this is the most interesting sonic mix he has come up with yet. B+(***)
786. Martin Speicher/Peter Geisselbrecht/Jörg Fischer: Spicy Unit (2014 [2015], Spore Print): Reeds (alto/sopranino sax, clarinet), piano, drums. Fischer has been sending his records in regularly, mostly engaging avant encounters, but this is the first one that really clicked -- mostly thanks to the pianist's own higher order percussion. Never noticed Geisselbrecht before, but he makes a huge impression here, which Speicher's coloring complements. A-
787. Guus Janssen: Meeting Points (1989-2014 [2015], Bimhuis): Dutch avant pianist, has had a notable career with 1997's Zwik a particular high point. This is previously unreleased material from scattered groups, although six (of nine) tracks date from 2011 or later. Two piano-drums duos, a duo with Lee Konitz, but the most interesting are four small groups with Michael Moore (clarinet or alto sax). B+(***)
788. Marco Mezquida Mateos: Live in Terrassa (2015, UnderPool): Pianist, from Barcelona, has a couple previous albums as Marco Mezquida. This is solo. The cover shows him from high above at a grand piano, with no cover, surrounded on all sides by rapt listeners in uncomfortable chairs, and the recording feels that intimate. But what makes it work for me is the rhythmic undertow. B+(***)
789. Josh Berman Trio: A Dance and a Hop (2015, Delmark): Cornet player from Chicago, third album, also appears in Michael Zerang's group (below). This is a straight free-leaning trio with Jason Roebke on bass and Frank Rosaly on drums mixing it up. B+(***)
790. John Dikeman/William Parker/Hamid Drake: Live at La Resistenza (2014 [2015], El Negocito): Dikeman plays alto and tenor saxophone. He was born in Nebraska in 1983, grew up in Wyoming, tried New York, then Cairo and Budapest before settling into Amsterdam. A rather squawky free player, he has a group called Cactus Truck that I've yet to be impressed by. This is a standard free sax trio cut live in Ghent, Belgium -- the sort of thing Parker and Drake could do in their sleep, but never do. B+(***)
791. Free Jazz Group Wiesbaden: Frictions/Frictions Now (1969-71 [2015], NoBusiness): Early free jazz quartet from the center of West Germany, no one who later became famous although each of the players has 5-10 other credits -- Michael Sell (trumpet), Dieter Scherf (alto sax, oboe, piano, exotic flutes and such), Gerhard König (guitar, flute), Wolfgang Schlick (drums). They cut two albums which sound like they could have come much later, perhaps because Americans don't appreciate how early a linkage was established between European free jazz and "third world musics" -- perhaps because Europeans were more conscious of their states' colonial legacies. B+(***)
792. Nancy Lane: Let Me Love You (2015, self-released): Standards singer, first album. Mostly picks lesser-known songs, including one in French, but there's also "Cry Me a River," "All of You," and "What Is This Thing Called Love." Looks, and sounds, a bit like Diana Krall. Don't know anyone in the band, but they rotate seamlessly between piano and guitar backing, and several trumpet and sax spots are well chosen. B+(***)
793. Martin Küchen/Johan Berthling/Steve Noble: Night in Europe (2014 [2015], NoBusiness): Sax-bass-drums trio, the leader playing tenor, alto, and sopranino, recorded live at Glenn Miller Café in Stockholm. Küchen has mostly worked in larger groups like Angles (also Exploding Customer, All Included, and Trespass Trio), so this is a chance to hear him in a relatively informal improv bash. B+(***)
794. Erroll Garner: The Complete Concert by the Sea (1955 [2015], Columbia/Legacy, 3CD): A fine pianist from Pittsburgh, fast and idiosyncratically unique, he became a popular celebrity when his 1956 Concert by the Sea album went gold. Cut live in Carmel, CA, heavily edited to 41:19 LP length, Garner led a trio with Eddie Calhoun on bass and Denzil Best on drums, the album seemed to have a magic lift. Sixty years later, the label has stretched it out, offering the unedited concert, with 11 extra tunes on two discs, plus a third disc remaster with a 14:10 post-concert interview. It's all rather redundant, but I like the raw concert at least as much as the tailored product -- indeed, I can't imagine how they could have left "Caravan" off the latter. A-
795. Giovanni Di Domenico/Peter Jacquemyn/Chris Corsano: A Little Off the Top (2013 [2015], NoBusiness): Piano-bass-drums trio, free jazz, a fine example of the art. The pianist has put out a lot of material over the last few years, but this is only the second disc to come my way. B+(***)
796. Martin Küchen/Jon Rune Strøm/Tollef Østvang: Melted Snow (2014 [2015], NoBusiness): Another Küchen sax trio, this one with locals (not that Berthling and Noble are much more famous) and short enough for a vinyl-only release. Not much reason to choose between them, unless you're some sort of vinyl junkie. B+(***)
797. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: Complementary Colors (2015, Leo): Tenor sax and piano duo, two avant players with intertwined histories going back at least to 1996. The focus on color keeps this on the quiet side, which is not really what either player is known for. B+(***)
798. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/Whit Dickey: Butterfly Whispers (2015, Leo): Avant tenor sax-piano-drums trio, one that previously cut 2012's The Clairvoyant -- one of the Brazilian saxophonist's finest albums. This struggles a bit to reach that level, but eventually cranks it up a notch from the Perelman-Shipp duo, which is what adding a good drummer should do. A-
799. Nate Wooley Quintet: (Dance to) the Early Music (2015, Clean Feed): Avant trumpet player, very prolific but he's never been spectacular -- I count 15 records either his or co-headlined or in his group Transit, with only one (led by Joe McPhee) rated high-B+. Still, this one is terrific, possibly because he built this around a more conservative composer -- 6 (of 9) tunes by Wynton Marsalis -- but also because Josh Sinton's bass clarinet does the heavy lifting and provides the right contrast for the leader's sharpest trumpet. Also helps to have Eivind Opsvik on bass, Harris Eisenstadt on drums, and the sparkle of Matt Moran's vibraphone. A-
800. Jorrit Dijkstra: Neither Odd nor Even (2014-15 [2015], Driff): Alto saxophonist, plays this one solo although he works in some lyricon, analog synth, and effects pedals to get some supplementary percussion, which makes a big difference. B+(***)
801. Juhani Aaltonen & Iro Haarla: Kirkastus (2013 [2015], TUM): Duets, mostly tenor sax and piano, although Aaltonen starts on flute -- demonstrating why he's my first pick in polls on that generally disliked instrument; he also plays alto and bass flute -- and Haarla's second instrument is harp. B+(***)
802. Svenska Kaputt: Suomi (2015, Moserobie): Swedish group, far from finished, promises some sort of jazz-rock fusion, but Dungen members Reine Fiske (guitar) and Johan Holmegard (drums) are happy to play jazz, while Torbjörn Zetterberg (bass) gets into the rhythm, and saxophonist Jonas Kullhammar builds up one marvelous solo after another. A-
803. David Friesen & Glen Moore: Bactrian (2015, Origin): Two veteran mainstream bassists, mostly play duets although on five cuts one or the other switches to piano. Not what you'd call rousing, but surprisingly clear and very engaging and pleasant. Title comes from the two-humped camel. B+(***)
804. Richard Sears Trio: Skyline (2014 [2015], Fresh Sound New Talent): Pianist, second album, trio with Martin Nevin on bass and Evan Hughes on drums. Not avant but keeps you engaged. B+(***)
805. Charles Rumback: In the New Year (2015, Ears & Eyes): Chicago drummer, seems to have a lot of side credits going back at least to 2005, and at least one previous album under his own name. Quintet here can slip from postbop to free, the two reeds meshing nicely -- Caroline Davis on alto sax and Jason Stein on bass clarinet -- and Jeff Parker plays some fine guitar. With John Tate on bass. B+(***)
806. George Lewis: The George Lewis Solo Trombone Album (1976 [2015], Delmark/Sackville): Relatively early, before the AACM star moved into electronics and obscurantism, you forget just how skilled and fluid he was. Actually, much of this sounds like he's playing two parts -- presumably overdubbed, at least on "Toneburst (Piece for Three Trombones Simultaneously)" -- but even the clearly solo parts are light and entertaining, a far cry from Braxton's earlier For Alto. A-
807. Tiny People Having a Meeting (2015, Black & Grey/Fast Speaking Music): Not sure I'd call this a group, more like an ad hoc meeting good for one rather unique album. The principals are poet/spoken word artist Anne Waldman, Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore, and drummer Clark Coolidge -- the latter two also credited with voice/text. Moore plays some rather avant guitar, which meshes well with the alto sax of Waldman's nephew, Devin Brahja Waldman, and Ambrose Bye's piano. They also picked up some text from beats Peter Orlovsky and William S. Burroughs, including something on evolution for space travel. B+(***)
808. The Katie Bull Group Project: All Hot Bodies Radiate (2013 [2015], Ashokan Indie): Singer, writes most of her stuff but covers "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead" here. Band leans avant with Joe Fonda -- a longtime collaborator -- on bass, George Schuller on drums, Landon Knoblock on piano/electronics, and Jeff Lederer on soprano/tenor sax. She's struggled in the past but this all flows together. B+(***)
809. Ernie Krivda: Requiem for a Jazz Lady (2014 [2015], Capri): Tenor saxophonist from Cleveland, has more than two dozen albums since 1977, started on the avant margins but has matured into a mainstream player. Quartet backed by piano-bass-drums. The lady in question is Beverly Jarosz, a high school student murdered back in Cleveland in 1964. Lots of liner notes I couldn't see my way through. B+(***)
810. Heroes Are Gang Leaders: The Avant Age Garde I AMs of the Gal Luxury (2015, Flat Langton's Arkeyes): A collective of poets and jazz musicians, founded by Thomas Sayers Ellis and James Brandon Lewis shortly after Amiri Baraka's death last year. Lewis has a couple of remarkable left-of-mainstream sax albums, and he's joined here by another saxophonist, Devin Brahja Waldman, bohemians like Thurston Moore and Lydia Lunch, and others I don't recognize. B+(***)
811. Erik Friedlander: Oscalypso: Tribute to Oscar Pettiford (2015, Skipstone): Pettiford was one of the great bassists of the 1950s, and one of the first to record on cello -- the higher range making it more audible as a lead instrument. Friedlander is one of a half-dozen prominent jazz cellists to emerge since the 1990s, so it makes sense he would look back to his heritage. Quartet with Michael Blake (sax), Trevor Dunn (bass), Michael Sarin (drums). A-
812. Sonny Sharrock: Ask the Ages (1991 [2015], MOD Technologies): The guitarist was always hard to pin down, perhaps because he was only intermittently recorded and tended to indulge whoever was treating him. In this case, that was producer Bill Laswell, who paired him with a respectable jazz rhythm section -- Elvin Jones and Charnett Moffett -- that could break free when the moment suited them, and saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, sounding as otherworldly as ever. A-
813. Larry Novak: Invitation (2014 [2015], Delmark): Pianist, b. 1933 in Chicago, cut a record in 1964, worked with Peggy Lee and Pearl Bailey, taught at DePaul, finally cut another record last year. Trio with Eric Hochberg and Rusty Jones, standards counting the first two from Bill Evans. B+(***)
814. François Carrier/Steve Beresford/John Edwards/Michel Lambert: Outgoing (2014 [2015], FMR): My favorite alto saxophonist and his sidekick drummer from Montreal sojourn to the Vortex Jazz Club in London this time, pick up bassist Edwards, and pianist Beresford sits in for three (of five) cuts. Exceptional this time is the free rhythm, especially with the fractured piano. Carrier, as expected, is superb. A-
815. Andrew Jamieson: Heard the Voice (2015, Edgetone): Pianist, AMG lists three previous albums. Solo here, despite the front cover claim, "piano/in dialogue with/African American spirituals/and church music." The call and response is in his head, but inspiration and expression flows through his fingers and keys. Doesn't sound churchy, and, well, I wouldn't know spiritual, but I'm moved. A-
816. Steve Swell: Steve Swell's Kende Dreams: Hommage à Bartók (2014 [2015], Silkheart): The trombonist's liner notes clearly say the album title is Kende Dreams, but that apostrophe on the cover has misdirected pretty much everyone. A kende is an ancient Hungarian religious figure, one eclipsed by the warriors so prominent since Atilla the Hun. Supposedly Béla Bartók drew on this history as well as the complex rhythms of east-central Europe, but no Bartók is played here (unless pianist Connie Crothers slipped some in). Rather, you get a quintet with two horns -- the leader's trombone and Rob Brown's alto sax -- complementing each other, and all the support anyone could hope for from William Parker and Chad Taylor. A-
817. Allen Lowe/Matthew Shipp/Kevin Ray/Jake Millett: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora: Ballad for Albert (2015, Constant Sorrow): The simplest of the series, starts with a piano solo of the title cut, and ends with a piano-alto sax duet of the same. In between Ray (bass) and Millett (electronics and turntable) add some depth but little detail. So you basically get signature snippets of Lowe and/or Shipp, falling apart instead of growing together. B+(***)
818. Allen Lowe: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora: Where a Cigarette Is Smoked by Ten Men (2015, Constant Sorrow): Lowe plays alto and tenor sax here, but often gives way to clarinetist Zoe Christiansen, especially on three "Blue for Pee Wee" (as in Russell) pieces. Those pieces tie an album that otherwise seems to have more affinity for Jimmy Giuffre's modernist abstractions back to their common roots. A-
819. Steve Swell: The Loneliness of the Long Distasnce Improviser (2015, Swell): Solo trombone. Not sure if this is the first in the two dozen or so albums Swell has led since 1996, but there aren't many -- the instrument is slow and its range is limited, and torturing it for unusual sounds rarely works. Helps here that he keeps his pieces short, often built on vamps, and mixes them up. But then he's an exceptional trombonist. B+(***)
820. Allen Lowe: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora: We Will Gather When We Gather (2015, Constant Sorrow): An octet, although that seems less a matter of harmonic design than who showed up: three saxes, with Lowe on alto openin up a spot for Ras Moshe Burnett on tenor, and Hamiet Bluiett -- little heard in recent years -- heroic on baritone, more than making up for no trombone; Matt Lavelle's trumpet the only brass; guitar instead of piano, with Ava Mendoza determined to rock against the rhythm section's blues-based swing. Four titles referring to blues and gospel are interweaved, but this strikes me more as a spirit-channeling part record, a more moving "hoodoo bash" than Peter Stampfel's record. A-
821. Allen Lowe: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora: Man With Guitar: Where's Robert Johnson? (2013 [2015], Constant Sorrow): Cover goes on to describe this as "A Soundtrack," but I know not what for. Also note that the credits include no guitar or voice, but there are occasional samples (actually, sounds more like banjo), presumably picked up from the sound track the music was composed for. Matters little, since this is basically an alto sax showcase, and the fact that I can't distinguish the 7 tracks Gary Bartz takes over from Lowe's 9 tracks without looking at the conter is a high compliment. Band also includes piano (Lewis Porter), trombone, and tuba, along with various electronics sources (including DJ Logic). A-
822. Peter Brötzmann/Steve Swell/Paal Nilssen-Love: Krakow Nights (2015, Not Two): Well, just one night, but running 74:27 it may have seemed like more. When you play with Brötzmann, you play his bleeding edge rough and tumble. Within those limits the trombonist smoothes off the edges and works in a few jabs, and the drummer works this ring as well as anyone. B+(***)
823. Steve Swell: Kanreki: Reflection & Renewal (2011-14 [2015], Not Two, 2CD): "Kanreki" is a Japanese celebration of one's 60th birthday, something the avant-trombonist celebrated in 2014, similar to a Festschrift in academia. For this one, Swell has compiled seven pieces from as many places with as many groups -- actually six groups, as one piece is solo. A long set with Guillermo Gregorio and Fred Lonberg-Holm stands out, while the whole adds up to a fine portrait. B+(***)

824. Matthew Shipp: Matthew Shipp Plays the Music of Allen Lowe: I Alone: The Everlasting Beauty of Monotony (2015, Constant Sorrow): Front cover runs on: "Or: The Future, He Thought, Was Never When He Expected It to Be," then follows with a list of musicians, not including the alto saxophonist, who appears with band on half of the tracks. The other half are solo piano -- more what I expected from the title. I have no feel for Lowe as a composer, other than the assumption that given his vast research he is adept at picking out lines here and there and turning them around. (At one point I recognized "Lullaby of Birdland" only to hear the next line head somewhere else.) But I have heard a lot of solo Shipp, and his work here is quite refreshing. The group pieces are even more fun, with guitarists Michael Gregory Jackson and Ryan Blotnick standing out, and Lowe's alto delightful. A-
825. Aly Keïta/Jan Galega Brönnimann/Lucas Niggli: Kalo-Yele (2015 [2016], Intakt): Keïta hails from Ivory Coast, playing balafon and kalimba, the soft percussion marvelously matched to Brönnimann's bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet, and soprano sax, with the drummer adding an extra charge. I suppose I knew that Niggli was also born in Africa -- in Cameroon in 1968 -- but hadn't run across Brönnimann before: turns out he too was born in Cameroon, and they've known each other since they were one year old. A-
826. Aruán Ortiz Trio: Hidden Voices (2015 [2016], Intakt): Piano trio, the pianist Cuban-born, New York-based, has several albums. Originals, standards by Monk and Coleman, extra percussion on one cut for some Latin tinge, but mostly superb straight jazz, something you'd expect with Eric Revis on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums. B+(***)
827. John Raymond: John Raymond & Real Feels (2014 [2016], Shifting Paradigm): Trumpet player (flugelhorn here), has a couple previous albums, this a trio with Gilad Hekselman (guitar) and Colin Stranahan (drums). Mostly covers, folk-traditional ("Amazing Grace," "This Land Is Your Land") plus some that will always seem too hokey ("Scarborough Fair," "Blackbird") -- but not so much here. B+(***)
828. The Stryker/Slagle Band Expanded: Routes (2015 [2016], Strikezone): Guitarist Dave Stryker and alto saxophonist Steve Slagle, have played on each other's albums since the 1980s and consolidated into one of the more enduring partnerships in jazz history. Usually a quartet, the "expanded" band includes John Clark on French horn and extras on several tracks: tenor sax, trombone/tuba, piano/keyboards (Bill O'Connell). Regardless, the altoist's solos are the high points. B+(***)
829. Roswell Rudd & Heather Masse: August Love Song (2015 [2016], Red House): Masse is a singer from Maine, part of the folk group The Wailin' Jennys but also has a couple jazz albums. She wrote one-and-a-half songs here -- the half segues into "Old Devil Moon" -- and the trombone great wrote two songs, the rest from the standards repertoire. With Rolf Sturm on guitar and Mark Helias on bass, what I love is the trombone growl and rumble, but the others, not least the singer, do their part too. A-
830. Brooklyn Blowhards (2015 [2016], Little (i) Music): Mostly the work of Jeff Lederer (tenor/soprano sax), with Petr Cancura (tenor sax), Kirk Knuffke (cornet, slide trumpet), and Brian Drye (trombone) adding to the horn power, accordion but no bass, three drummers, guest spots for Gary Lucas (guitar) and Mary Larose (vocal). Mostly trad sea shantys mixed in with Albert Ayler covers, gospels that get under your skin. Turns solemn toward the end with "Shenandoah" and "The Seaman's Hymn." B+(***)
831. Ken Peplowski: Enrapture (2015 [2016], Capri): Clarinet and tenor sax, a retro guy but not much of a swinger -- an early album presented him as Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool. Quartet, backed by Ehud Asherie (piano), Martin Wind (bass), and Matt Wilson (drums). All covers, ranging from Ellington and Waller to Lennon/Ono and Manilow, all gentle and cool, quite lovely. B+(***)
832. Mike Sopko/Simon Lott: The Golden Measure (2015 [2016], self-released): Guitar-drums duo, the artists' names not on the cover but the packaging is pretty minimal, like the concept: punk jazz about sums it up, but being jazzbos there's nothing so basic as pounding out a chord to a speeded up 4/4. But the attitude fits, and punk has always been more about attitude than technique. B+(***)
833. The Great American Music Ensemble: It's All in the Game (2001 [2016], Jazzed Media): Doug Richards has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University since 1979, founding its Jazz Studies program and forming the Great American Music Ensemble (GAME), which played annual Kennedy Center concerts from 1990-97, but while I've found a 1992 Geoffrey Himes piece raving about them, I've yet to find any evidence that they recorded -- until now, that is, and this has been sitting on the shelf since 2001. I don't recognize anyone in the big band, but they exemplify Gary Giddins' notion of repertory concert jazz as well as I can imagine. And special guests violinist Joe Kennedy Jr., singer René Marie, and especially Jon Faddis -- whose Armstrong is as uncanny as his Gillespie -- go the extra mile. Mostly familiar tunes, but that's half the fun. A-
834. Renku: Live in Greenwich Village (2014 [2016], Clean Feed): Avant-sax trio -- Michaël Attias on alto, John Hébert on bass, Satoshi Takeishi on drums -- named for their 2004 album. Fine group, nice balance, much of interest, almost state of the art. B+(***)
835. Protean Reality: Protean Reality (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Spine has the title twice, so I'll accept that at the group name. Still, I filed this alto sax trio in my database under Chris Pitsiokis' name. Born 1990, he's been on a tear the last year or two. This one has Noah Punkt (electric bass) and Philipp Scholz (drums). Impressive show of free jazz technique, wears a bit thin. B+(***)
836. Roswell Rudd/Jamie Saft/Trevor Dunn/Balasz Pandi: Strength & Power (2015 [2016], Rare Noise): Free jazz quartet, everything joint-credited, presumably improvised on the spot. The trombonist has done things like this in the distant past, none recently, and never has he got the mix this right. Saft has emerged as an exceptional free jazz pianist, and the bassist and drummer know the game. A-
837. Samo Salamon Bassless Trio: Unity (2014 [2016], Samo): Guitarist, from and still based in Slovenia, has been prolific since 2003 or so. I don't quite get the significance of this trio being "bassless" -- basically it's a sax trio with Julian Argüelles (sic: should be Arguëlles) on soprano and tenor, John Hollenbeck on drums, and a guitarist who can take charge instead of a bassist to fill out the harmonics. Really takes off when he does. A-
838. Heroes Are Gang Leaders: Highest Engines Near/Near Higher Engineers (2015 [2016], Flat Langton's Arkeyes): Group founded by poet Thomas Sayers Ellis and saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, with others in unspecified roles. Starts in a school classroom and moves on, at one point the rush of spoken word fragments coming so fast they become disorienting, kind of like modern life. The saxophones (Devin Brahja Waldman also contributes) are terrific. B+(***)
839. Harris Eisenstadt: Old Growth Forest (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Drummer, from Canada, has at least a dozen albums since 2002 (AMG lists 16). Quartet, Jeb Bishop (trombone) and Tony Malaby (tenor sax) the horns, Jason Roebke on bass. I'm a little surprised that the horns don't make a bigger splash, but the rhythm undercuts whatever they do, and is more interesting for that. B+(***)
840. Thomas Borgmann Trio: One for Cisco (2015 [2016], NoBusiness): German saxophonist (soprano, tenor, toy melodica), plays free, two twenty-minute-plus improvs with Max Johnson on bass and Willi Killers drums (and voice). One of those limited edition vinyl-only releases. B+(***)
841. Ross Hammond and Sameer Gupta: Upward (2015 [2016], Prescott): Guitar-tabla duo. Gupta is from San Francisco, has some classical training but has also worked on a couple albums with jazz pianist Marc Cary (one under Gupta's name). His tabla leads here, while the guitarist nips around the edges. Enchanting background music. B+(***)
842. Marilyn Lerner/Ken Filiano/Lou Grassi: Live at Edgefest (2013 [2016], NoBusiness): Piano-bass-drums trio, the bassist having an especially good outing, the piano probing, never too settled. B+(***)
843. Chaise Lounge: Gin Fizz Fandango (2015 [2016], Modern Songbook): DC-based cocktail jazz group, seventh album (counting last year's least awful Xmas thing), guitarist-pianist Charlie Barnett the putative leader. Singer Marilyn Older seems intent on disappearing in the cover photo but is front and center on the album. I'm not seeing song credits, but if these aren't standards, some (e.g., "If I Never Get to Paris") should be. [PS: All Barnett originals except for one Older lyric and "It's All Right With Me" by Cole Porter.] B+(***)
844. Alberto Pinton Noi Siamo: Resiliency (2015 [2016], Moserobie): Pinton's a multi-reed player from Venice, credited here with baritone sax, clarinet, and bass clarinet. "Noi siamo" is just Italian for "we are." Leads a quartet here with Niklas Barno (trumpet) Torbjorn Zetterberg (bass), and Konrad Agnas (drums), recorded live in Stockholm. A real barnburner. A-
845. Omri Ziegele Noisy Minority: Wrong Is Right (2015 [2016], Intakt): Alto saxophonist, from Switzerland, sixth album since 2002, his Zürich group Noisy Minority normally a trio with Jan Schlegel (electric bass) and Dieter Ulrich (drums, bugle), joined here by trombonist Ray Anderson -- adds another sonic layer, solo contrast, and (I suspect) some funk to the uneven grooves. A bit of spoken word early on suggests a direction they didn't take. A-
846. Angelika Niescier/Florian Weber: NYC Five (2015 [2016], Intakt): Polish alto saxophonist, half-dozen albums since 2002, teamed with the German pianist and a pick up band in New York: Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Christopher Tordini (bass), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums). Three tunes by each of the leaders, bursting with energy -- especially strong showing by Alessi. B+(***)
847. Melissa Aldana: Back Home (2015 [2016], Wommusic): Tenor saxophonist, won a Monk prize which got her a record out on Concord, well regarded in 2014 and not without merit. But I prefer this fairly mainstream sax trio, with Pablo Menares on bass and Jochen Rueckert on drums. Nothing especially fancy, four originals, two pieces each from the band, Kurt Weill's "My Ship." B+(***)
848. Richard Poole/Marilyn Crispell/Gary Peacock: In Motion (2014 [2016], Intakt): Piano trio, drummer listed first for no reason I've figured out other than that he usually gets listed last -- in my database I find him so listed behind Patrick Battstone and Coat Cooke, and his discography has a few more examples. Aside from a Peacock standard, everything here is joint-credited, presumably improvised. No complaints about the drummer, but the others are more famous for good reasons, evident here even when they're not especially flashy. B+(***)
849. Krakauer's Ancestral Groove: Checkpoint (2015 [2016], Table Pounding): Clarinetist David Krakauer, plays jazz with klezmer roots and branches: the rhythm generating a lot of energy and the clarinet threatening to screech. Band is built around electric guitar (Sheryl Bailey) and bass (Jerome Harris), and employs a sampler, plus a guest spot for Marc Ribot. B+(***)
850. Joseph Howell: Time Made to Swing (2015 [2016], Summit): Clarinetist, from California, second album, quartet with accordion (Cory Pesaturo), bass, and drums. Standards, starts with "On the Sunny Side of the Street" then veers into Parker ("Confirmation") and Monk ("Let's Cool One"). High energy, the accordion beefs up the sound, the clarinet races. B+(***)
851. Cheryl Bentyne: Lost Love Songs (2003-11 [2016], Summit): Standards singer, best known as part of Manhattan Transfer but has fifteen albums on her own. This one collects songs from three albums that only appeared in Japan: The Lights Still Burn (2003), Moonlight Serenade (2003), Songs of Our Time (2011). Torchy, gorgeous, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" sticks in your head long after the record ends. B+(***)
852. Leslie Pintchik: True North (2015 [2016], Pintch Hard): Pianist, from Brooklyn, has a handful of albums since 2003, mainstream, with the usual touchstones (notably Bill Evans). Trio work is quite nice here, although most of it adds extra percussion from Satoshi Takeishi, so it's trio only in spirit. Also, about half of the tracks add horns -- Steve Wilson (alto/soprano sax), Ron Horton (trumpet/flugelhorn -- and they expand on the spirit. B+(***)
853. Henry Threadgill Ensemble Double Up: Old Locks and Irregular Verbs (2015 [2016], Pi): Not a Zooid album (an error I made in unpacking). In fact, Threadgill doesn't play; he's only credited with composition (four pieces, called "Part One" through "Part Four"). The ensemble does double up on piano (Jason Moran and David Virelles), alto sax (Roman Filiu and Curtis MacDonald), and bass substitutes (Christopher Hoffman on cello and Jose Davila on tuba), but only one drummer (Craig Weinrib). Impressive group, way beyond the star pianists. The composer gives them plenty to chew on, and they come up with one surprise after another. A-
854. William Hooker: Light: The Early Years 1975-1989 (1975-89 [2016], NoBusiness, 4CD): A trawl through the avant drummer's early oeuvre. First disc starts with him solo, a failed soul singer backed only by his own percussion. Then comes two monster pieces with saxophonists: a 26:48 trio with David Murray (1975), and a 19:27 duo with a young and even more visceral David S. Ware. Second disc is more obscure, ending with a 16:07 trio with two saxophonists (Jameel Moondoc and Hasaan Dawkins). Third jumps ahead to 1988, a previously unreleased trio with Roy Campbell on trumpet and Booker T. Williams on tenor sax. Fourth gives you a set with Lewis Barnes (trumpet) and Richard Keene (reeds) and a 16:18 drum solo. All avant, very underground, and while the horns make a lot of noise, there's very little filler -- I think just one cut with bass, no piano or guitar -- so the drums always ring clear. A-
855. Danny Green Trio: Altered Narratives (2015 [2016], OA2): Pianist, from Southern California, fourth album since 2009, plays postbop with classical touches and a little Latin tinge. Augments his trio here with a string quartet for the middle cuts, expanding the sound so much I initially suspected an orchestra. Not the sort of thing I'm disposed to like much, but his sweep and flow is remarkable and the sensation just overwhelms you. B+(***)
856. Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra: All My Yesterdays (1966 [2016], Resonance, 2CD): Jones was a veteran bebop trumpet player, elder brother of Hank and Elvin, better known as a composer than for his chops although his early records are remarkable. Lewis was a big band drummer who came to prominence with Stan Kenton and Woody Herman. In 1966 they put together a big band to play regular gigs at New York's Village Vanguard, a band which survived leader deaths in 1986 and 1990. This goes back to the band's first gigs, and it's hard to exaggerate how vibrant they sound. A-
857. Hanami: The Only Way to Float Free (2015 [2016], Ears & Eyes): Chicago quartet, guitarist Andrew Trim wrote all the pieces and effectively leads, flanked by two horns -- Jason Stein on bass clarinet and Mai Sugimoto on alto sax and clarinet. Charles Rumback is the drummer. B+(***)]
858. Larry Young: In Paris: The ORTF Recordings (1964-65 [2016], Resonance, 2CD): Organ player, broke out of the soul jazz groove when he moved to Blue Note in 1965 -- his album Unity (with Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson, and Elvin Jones) is a masterpiece, one of those Penguin Guide crown recordings. These lavishly documented, previously unreleased recordings are transitional, most from a quartet led by tenor saxophonist Nathan Davis -- a Kansas City native who moved to Paris in 1963 -- with Shaw, in blistering form, and drummer Billy Brooks. Young keeps those cuts simmering, but you don't wind up with a very good sense of how. Also includes a couple earlier cuts with various French musicians, including one with Young playing piano. B+(***)
859. Jeff Williams: Outlier (2015 [2016], Whirlwind): Drummer, British, has a half dozen albums since 1994. Quintet, with tenor sax (Josh Arcoleo), guitar (Phil Robson), piano/keyboards (Kit Downes), and bass (Sam Lasserson, both double and electric). I hear a lot of mainstream postbop that is expert but uninteresting, but this has some bite and resonance to it without breaking avant ground. B+(***)
860. Ehud Asherie: Shuffle Along (2015 [2016], Blue Heron): Pianist, born in Israel but moved to Italy when he was three, then to New York at nine, where he hung around Smalls and took lessons from Frank Hewitt. Career has moved from bop to swing, and takes a further step back here with his "solo piano interpretations from [Eubie] Blake and [Noble] Sissle's 1921 Broadway musical" -- best known for "I'm Just Wild About Harry," given two treatments here. B+(***)
861. Florian Egli Weird Beard: Everything Moves (2014 [2016], Intakt): Swiss quartet, has a previous album without the leader-saxophonist's name on the cover. Egli is backed by guitar (Dave Gisler), electric bass, and drums. Most compelling when they put a litle rock muscle into the rhythm, but the first word in the booklet is "Gelassenheit" -- serenity. B+(***)
862. Piere Favre: DrumSights NOW (2015 [2016], Intakt): Drummer, from Switzerland, will turn 80 next year, old enough to have played with Albert Nicholas in the 1950s but best known (in my household at least) for three superb duo albums with pianist Irène Schweizer. His own discography has several albums with drum quartets, so I imagine he sees DrumSights as a successor group to his Singing Drums. Joined here by Chris Jaeger, Markus Lauterberg, and Valeria Zangger, the group plays as one -- which makes this seductive album slightly less than the sum of its parts. B+(***)
863. Marty Elkins: Walkin' by the River (2014 [2016], Nagel Heyer): Standards singer, from New Jersey, third album, with guitarist Howard Alden swinging, both piano (Steve Ash) and organ (Joel Diamond), and a stellar turn by Jon-Erik Kelso on trumpet. B+(***)
864. Steven Lugerner: Jacknife: The Music of Jackie McLean (2015 [2016], Primary): Alto saxophonist, has several impressive albums, describes his group -- takes their name from a McLean nickname, also the title of a 1970s compilation which was my intro to the alto great -- as postbop, although the sax-trumpet-piano-bass-drums quintet is one I associate more with hard bop. But then, McLean's 1959-67 Blue Note albums practically invented postbop, moving from hard bop through avant-garde and into the synthesis postbop was founded on. Only two of six songs here were actually penned by McLean (two come from Charles Tolliver), but they all sound right, even if McLean's precise tone remains unique. B+(***)
865. The Ian Carey Quintet + 1: Interview Music (2015 [2016], Kabocha): Trumpet player, several albums since 2005. Sextet -- yes, there exists a more succinct term than "quintet + 1" -- includes bass clarinet (Sheldon Brown), alto sax (Kasey Knudsen), piano (Adam Shulman), bass and drums. Title piece a sprawling suite with four parts and an interlude, a fine example of postbop composition and arrangement. B+(***)
866. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band/William Warfield: George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess Live (1992 [2016], Riverwalk Jazz, 2CD): This would be Jim Cullum Jr. (b. 1941), a trad jazz cornetist and the son of Jim Cullum Sr., founder of the Happy Jazz Band. Warfield (1920-2002) was a black opera singer who appeared in the 1952 revival and later State Department tours. Warfield narrates here, providing plot synopses between instrumental versions of the songs -- many famous enough you can recall the lyrics. I was turned off at first by the stereotyping -- a problem already evident at the folk opera's 1935 debut -- but the band is superb if maybe a touch reverent, like they're recasting this for History Channel. And while Warfield delves deep into dialect, the second disc concludes with an interview that puts it all in context. B+(***)
867. Rent Romus/Teddy Rankin-Parker/Daniel Pearce: LiR (2014 [2016], Edgetone): Subtitled Live at Vamp followed by "Vintage - Art - Music" separated by bullets. "LiR" is a song title, and the artist names are all that's on the spine. Romus plays alto and soprano sax and various flutes (not that I noticed the latter), the others cello and drums. The sax is skechy, the cello like a bass that got out of its box. B+(***)
868. Alexander Hawkins/Evan Parker: Leaps in Leicester (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Improv duo, piano and tenor sax, the former a young guy who can play with avant-gardists -- his group Decoy has several albums with Joe McPhee -- and other styles, the latter one of the legendary founders of European free jazz. A bit subdued, which makes the music seem less radical than it is. A-
869. Eric Revis Trio: Crowded Solitudes (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Bassist, first came to prominence in Branford Marsalis' quartet, mostly has mainstream/postbop credits but his own records have leaned more avant. Kris Davis is the pianist, and he's given her a better trio showcase than she's managed to come up with on her own. And Gerald Cleaver is the drummer -- the only trait he shares with Paul Motian is that he's become the guy who anchors all the best piano trios. A-
870. Jean-Brice Godet Quartet: Mujô (2013 [2016], Fou): French, plays bass clarinet, looks like this may be his first album although he's appeared on maybe 10-12, with a couple groups, also with Joëlle Léandre. Here, with Michaël Attias (alto sax, a good match), Pascal Niggenkemper (bass), and Carlo Costa (drums). B+(***)
871. The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band: Comin' Home Baby (2014 [2016], Origin): Drummer-singer, mostly swings standards, throwing in some blues, a couple Jobims, a couple songs by Bob Dorough and David Frishberg. He opens, then wife Bonnie Eisele enters and outshines him, a shtick Louis Prima and Keely Smith pioneered. Cover shows a couple horn players but they're not in the credits -- just Johannes Bjerregaard on piano and Chris Luard on bass. B+(***)
872. Julie Kjaer 3: Dobbeltgaenger (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Alto saxophonist, website bio doesn't bother with any mundane details like when and where born, where she studied, where she lives, but she does appear to have a previous Kvartet album, a group called Pierette Ensemble, and a chair in Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit. Elsewhere I find that she's Danish and based in London, which would put her close to her trio mates, John Edwards (bass) and Steve Noble (drums). I may soft on avant sax trios, but this hits all the right buttons. A-
873. Yves Theiler Trio: Dance in a Triangle (2015 [2016], Musiques Suisses): Pianist from Switzerland, third album for his trio -- Luca Sisera on bass, Lukas Mantel on drums -- also has a duo with Omri Ziegele and a few other appearances. B+(***)
874. Sonny Rollins: Holding the Stage: Road Shows Vol. 4 (1979-2012 [2016], Okeh): He's 85 now, hasn't cut a new studio album since 2006 but has been touring, and the latest stuff here is recent enough that we'll be treating this as new music in the Jazz Critics Poll. As usual, he's picking things from all over his tape archive, and as usual they all fit together seamlessly because no one towers over his band more completely than the Saxophone Colossus. Details: one cut ("Disco Monk") from 1979, one from 1996, a medley from the 9/15/2001 Boston concert, half of the record from later tours (2006, 2007, 2012). Nothing essential (least of all the disco-era cut), nothing unlike what you've heard before, still no reason not to welcome these periodic reminders of his majesty. A-]
875. Phil Palombi: Detroit Lean (2015 [2016], Xcappa): Bassist, plays electric and "Scott LaFaro's Prescott bass" -- did a record in 2011 called Re: Person I Knew: A Tribute to Scott LaFaro and has published a book titled Scott LaFaro -- 15 Solo Transcriptions, but LaFaro died in 1961 so I don't see how the math works out (Palombi's credits start around 1996 when he joined Maynard Ferguson). Nice album here, interesting rhythms, better solos from pianist Matthew Fries than on his own record, some flamenco guitar by Tony Romano, and quite a few bass solos. B+(***)
876. Ivo Perelman: Soul (2015 [2016], Leo): Brazilian tenor sax man plus Matthew Shipp (piano), Michael Bisio (bass), and Whit Dickey (drums) -- the latter Shipp's regular trio. Everything jointly credited, so figure improv but at least they came up with nine titles. No squawk, nothing over the edge, but the sort of tight avant interplay that keeps circling around on you, rewarding close attention but pleasurable anyway you take it. A-
877. Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris: Blue (2016, Leo): Morris plays acoustic guitar here -- not his norm, certainly not powerful enough to deflect let alone direct the tenor saxophonist in any direction, just enough to scuff up the edges, adding fractal detail. Which is to say just enough. A-
878. Ivo Perelman: Breaking Point (2015 [2016], Leo): Quartet, the other names on the cover but not on the spine: Mat Maneri (viola), Joe Morris (bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums). Maner can get on my nerves at times, but generally adds a rich dynamic here. B+(***)
879. Gunwale: Polynya (2016, Aerophonic): Free sax trio, with Dave Rempis (alto, tenor, baritone) leading, Albert Wildeman on bass, and Ryan Packard on drums (and electronics). Not familiar with the latter, but Rempis took over Mars Williams' slot in Vandermark 5, making a huge impression. He does tend to go ugly here, but there's more to it. B+(***)
880. Matt Wilson's Big Happy Family: Beginning of a Memory (2015 [2016], Palmetto): Drummer, has fifteen or so albums since 1996 plus numerous side credits -- one of those guys who always seems to be helping others out. Dedicated this to his late wife, Felicia, who died at 50 in 2014. Thirteen musicians listed, but doesn't feel like a big band, probably because the numerous horns express more than arrangements. B+(***)
881. Naftule's Dream: Blood (2013 [2016], self-released): Fifth album from a group led by clarinetist Glenn Dickson, or sixth if you count the 1992 album by Shirim Klezmer Orchestra that launched the group name -- Naftule, of course, is the legendary clarinetist Naftule Brandwein (1884-1963). This one's rather dark and twisty, especially Andrew Stern's guitar backed by Jim Gray's tuba. B+(***)
882. Dave Rempis/Joshua Abrams/Avreeayl Ra + Jim Baker: Periheleon (2015 [2016], Aerophonic, 2CD): Cover/spine just gives you last names, as if these Chicago avant-gardists are household names. Alto/tenor/baritone sax, bass, drums, plus piano/electronics -- three long pieces, just barely over the single-disc limit so 43:09 + 40:32. Runs the range of their art, with Rempis remaining one of the most impressive saxophonist of his time. A-
883. Bobby Avey: Inhuman Wilderness (2015 [2016], Inner Voice Jazz): Pianist, plays in Dave Liebman's Expansion group and has several albums on his own. This has one solo track, three trios, and four cuts with alto saxophonist John O'Gallagher -- a fine match for the pianist's own edgy style. B+(***)
884. Jane Ira Bloom: Early Americans (2015 [2016], Outline): Soprano saxophonist, one of the few specialists, seventeenth album since 1980. Postbop, but trio feels exceptionally lively from the start -- helps to have Mark Helias on bass and Bobby Previte on drums. A-
885. Rhys Chatham: Pythagorean Dream (2016, Foom): Guitarist/trumpeter, roots in post-classical avant-garde (LaMonte Young, Tony Conrad, Eliane Radigue) although he also pops up in experimental rock (e.g., no wave) and possibly jazz (if you wish to take this that way). Instrumental, tends to repeat background patterns as if gargling them, still they have some fascination. More generally a subject for further research (as is Conrad and Radigue -- I have some unplayed records by each). B+(***)
886. Barry Guy: The Blue Shroud (2015 [2016], Intakt): British avant-bassist, founder and leader of London Jazz Composers Orchestra, comes up with another large-scale orchestral piece here, at times an opera with Savina Yannatou's voice, otherwise thirteen pieces including strings (violin, viola, bass), four saxes (one doubling on oboe, another on "reed trumpet"), trumpet, tuba, guitar, piano, two drummers. Difficult music, often remarkable. B+(***)
887. Greg Ward: Touch My Beloved's Thought (2016, Greenleaf Music): Alto saxophonist from Chicago, has a couple previous albums, got a commission for a piece to go with dance and flashed back to Charles Mingus' The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. Came up with a tentet with three saxes and four brass to cover the harmonics and piano-bass-drums to keep it all moving. A-
888. Erik Friedlander: Rings (2016, Skipstone): Got the title wrong on unpacking, where I listed this as "Black Phebe" -- the name of the cellist's trio (Shoko Nagai on piano and accordion, Satoshi Takeishi on percussion). Don't know why at his point, as the cover and spine can only be read as Rings. Title comes from three pieces that "use live looping at a compositional process" and jump to a higher energy orbit. B+(***)
889. Tony Malaby Paloma Recio: Incantations (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Tenor saxophonist, also plays soprano, as a sideman he often steals the show, but is often more moderate as a leader. This quartet, named for a 2009 album, has Ben Monder (guitar), Eivind Opsvik (bass), and Nasheet Waits (drums). Starts self-effacingly moderate, but catches fire in the end. B+(***)
890. RED Trio/John Butcher: Summer Skyshift (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Portuguese piano trio led by Rodrigo Pinheiro. Since their excellent eponymous debut, they've made it a habit to hook up with various guests, and the English avant-saxophonist is an ideal mate. At least, seems so at first, although they aren't always up to that level of fire. B+(***)
891. Kali Z. Fasteau: Intuit (2012-13 [2016], Flying Note): Multi-instrumentalist (here: drums, nai flute, viola, mizmar, aquasonic, voice) and avant-garde gadfly, continues her work with saxophonists Kidd Jordan and L. Mixashawn Rozie. Jordan's opening foray is one of the most delicately measured things I've ever heard him do, and he remains notable in the hit-and-miss that follows. B+(***)
892. Nacka Forum: We Are the World (2016, Moserobie): Swedish group, Google suggests they must have been named after a suburban shopping center near Stockholm. Quartet, Jonas Kullhammar (saxes) is the name I'm most familiar with, along with Goran Kajfes (cornet, trumpet), Johan Berthling (bass), and Kresten Osgood (drums, also some piano). Opens with bravado, then shifts to more methodical constructions, rewarding close listening. B+(***)
893. Festen (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Swedish avant quartet, no one I've ever heard of: Isak Hedtjärn (reeds), Lisa Ullén (piano), Elsa Bergmann (double bass), Erik Carlsson (drums). Four pieces, hits spots both sweet and sour, shows there's still room for a pianist in a cutting edge sax quartet as long as she makes enough noise. A-

894. Jonas Cambien Trio: A Zoology of the Future (2016, Clean Feed): Pianist, from Belgium, has previously recorded in groups Platform and Karokh but this qualifies as his debut. Trio adds André Roligheten (soprano/tenor sax, bass clarinet) and Andreas Wildhagen (drums), and they mix it up. B+(***)
895. Harvey Valdes: Point Counter Point (2016, self-released): Brooklyn guitarist, definitely electric, second album, a trio with Sana Nagano on violin and Joe Hertenstein on drums. The violin predominates, sharpening the edges of the guitar strings to create a fresh take on postpunk fusion. B+(***)
896. Fred Frith Trio: Another Day in Fucking Paradise (2015 [2016], Intakt): Guitarist, many albums since his early Guitar Solos (1974) when he staked his avant-garde claims by working with prepared guitar. This is still fairly far out, scratchy avant guitar backed by Jason Hoopes (electric and double bass) and Jordan Glenn (drums, percussion). Some slavic-sounding voice, but it doesn't stick around. B+(***)
897. Fresh Cut Orchestra: Mind Behind Closed Eyes (2016, Ropeadope): Ten-piece group from Philadelphia led by Josh Lawrence (trumpet), Jason Fraticelli (bass & cuatro), and Anwar Marshall (drums), who share writing credits pretty evenly. Latin tinge, much emphasis on rhythm, especially irresistible on the closer "Gallo y Gallina." B+(***)
898. David Greenberger, Keith Spring, and Dinty Child: Take Me Where I Don't Know I Am (2016, Pel Pel): More spoken word texts from conversations at a nursing home in Jamaica Plain, MA 1979-83 -- back far enough you get a good story about Joe Louis. The others (and Keiji Hashimoto) provide the music, which is jazzy for the opener on "Three Spaniels" and moodier toward the end, not least for the nonogenarian who hopes to die soon. A-
899. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Play All the Notes (2016, Hot Cup, EP): The third of four promised EPs this year, to be rolled up into a box later this year. Group has two formidable saxophonists -- Jon Irabagon (alto) and Bryan Murray (tenor, prepared tenor, and balto, here dba Balto Exclamationpoint) -- with MOPDTK leader Moppa Elliott on bass and Dan Monaghan on drums. Probably the best of the series thus far, not least for the leader's strong solos, but I still have qualms about the marketing concept, and it's short (three tracks, 26:44). A-
900. Jürgen Wuchner/Rudi Mahall/Jörg Fischer: In Memoriam: Buschi Niebergall (1997 [2016], Sporeprint): Niebergall was a German avant-bassist, 1938-90, played in Globe Unity Orchestra and many key groups of the early German avant-garde (Brötzmann, Hampel, Rolf Kühn, Mangelsdorff, Schlippenbach, Schoof, other household names), although I don't think he ever quite qualified as a leader. The leader is a bassist in the same vein, helped out here by Mahall on bass clarinet and Fischer on drums. B+(***)
901. The Evenfall Quartet: The Evenfall Quartet (2015 [2016], Blue Duchess): Boston group, first album, very mainstream tenor sax (Mark Earley), piano (Joe "Sonny" Barbato), bass (Brad Hallen), drums (Jerzy "Jurek" Glod) outfit. All standards, leading with "That Old Black Magic," passing through "Time After Time" and "Old Devil Moon" and "After You're Gone" to wrap up with "Stardust." Earley's background is playing in blues bands (Duke Robillard, Roomful of Blues) and he doesn't have the rich vibrato of a Bob Rockwell much less Ben Webster, nor does the band aspire to anything retro (like a Scott Hamilton). In short, as a critic I should insist on them working harder, doing something more ambitious, but in fact my idea of a perfectly lovely album. A-
902. Joel Miller With Sienna Dahlen: Dream Cassette (2014 [2016], Origin): Dahlen sings, but so does Miller, who also plays sax, piano, acoustic guitar, tanpura and percussion, plus he composed all the songs (except one he added lyrics to, but Dahlen is credited with lyrics elsewhere). Jazz label, but I'm hearing echoes of Smile-era Beach Boys, other harder to pin down art rock, and some pretty decent sax wails. B+(***)
903. Mathias Landaeus: From the Piano (2016, Moserobie): Swedish painist, has ten or so albums since 1996. Claims he's "using only sounds from his 1919 Steinway Moderno Grand Piano," but many don't sound like piano at all -- various plucked string resonances and percussion, gives it an avant-electronic feel but not electronica. B+(***)
904. Brahja Waldman: Wisdomatic (2016, Fast Speaking Music): Alto saxophonist, also plays synth here, has several albums, this a quintet with Adam Kinner on tenor sax, D Shadrach Hankoff on piano, Martin Heslop on bass, and Daniel Gelinas on drums. Most songs build off a mechanical up-down, push-pull rhythm, just enough framework to elaborate something enticing on. A-
905. Elektra Kurtis & Ensemble Elektra: Bridges From the East (2016, Elektra Sound Works/Milo): Violinist, "of Greek origin," raised in Poland, studied in Finland, wound up in New York. Most resumes are inflated but I'm struck by the mix of names in hers, including Edward Vesala, Max Roach, Simon Shaheen, Gerry Mulligan, Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Nona Hendrix, Butch Morris, Billy Bang, Steve Coleman, and Nas. Not sure how old she is but many names on that list are dead, and her Ensemble Elektra has an album dated 2000. Group includes a second violin, clarinet, bass, and drums. Music comes from all over her map, with Greek and Polish folk themes merging into tango and a little M-Base does Bartok. B+(***)
906. Sylvie Courvoisier/Mark Feldman/Ikue Mori/Evan Parker: Miller's Tale (2015 [2016], Intakt): Piano, violin, electronics, soprano and tenor sax, respectively. Feldman is the most classical-sounding of jazz violinists and seems to dominate at first, but the more you listen the more interesting the fractured piano and sax become. Still not sure about the electronics. B+(***)
907. Rich Halley 5: The Outlier (2015 [2016], Pine Eagle): Tenor saxophonist, has an impressive run of albums since he retired from his day job, mostly quartet affairs with Michael Vlatkovich on trombone, Clyde Reed on bass, and son Carson Haley on drums. The fifth here is Vinny Golia (baritone sax, bass clarinet) -- one of Halley's early albums was recorded on Golia's Nine Winds label. This is something of a mess, but frequently turns magnificent, as if rising up from chaos is a good thing. Guess it is. A-
908. Fred Hersch: Sunday Night at the Vanguard (2016, Palmetto): The pianist's fourth Vanguard title, although when I saw this title I flashed not on his own previous efforts but on Bill Evans' justly legendary Sunday at the Village Vanguard -- Hersch has always had a thing for Evans, but in the liner notes he only mentions the first time he sat foot in the Village Vanguard, in 1976 for Dexter Gordon's homecoming (the only time I ever went there). Trio with John Hébert and Eric McPherson mostly staying out of the way -- not my recipe for for a great piano trio but the pianist is on such a roll he's fascinating anyway. A-
909. Peter Kuhn: No Coming, No Going: The Music of Peter Kuhn, 1978-1979 (1978-79 [2016], NoBusiness, 2CD): Plays clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor sax. Another reissue from the New York "loft scene" years, when avant-jazz went underground, that period after most US jazz labels folded or slunk into fusion and before European labels like Hat and Soul Note picked up the slack (Kuhn, by the way, has 1981-82 albums on both, but little after that). First disc is from same group that recorded Arthur Williams' Forgiveness Suite -- Williams and Toshinori Kondo on trumpet, William Parker on bass, and Dennis Charles on drums -- is often bracing, a solid effort. Second disc is just Kuhn with Charles, a better showcase for each. Comes with a substantial booklet helping us recover valuable history. A-
910. Peter Kuhn Trio: The Other Shore (2015 [2016], NoBusiness): Kuhn plays b-sharp and bass clarinet, tenor and alto sax, backed here by Kyle Motl on bass and Nathan Hubbard on drums. He came out of the late '70s loft scene, recorded obscure albums with Arthur Williams and/or Dennis Charles (recently reissued by NoBusiness), and mostly vanished after 1982, until recently. This picks up where the old records left off, and while it won't shock or startle, this is the sort of inside creativity one listens to free jazz for. A-
911. Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble: Rising Colossus (2015 [2016], Edgetone): Alto saxophonist, I've become a big fan of his work in recent years. Here he goes big, with a septet that sounds larger still, doing pieces "he's commissioned from younger Bay Area artists," fellow altoists John Tchicai and Anthony Braxton, plus one original. Hits a couple nubs that gave me pause, but ultimately they power through everything. A-
912. Slavic Soul Party: Plays Duke Ellington's Far East Suite (2014 [2016], Ropeadope): New York jazz guys started this Slavic dance band on a lark, have six albums now, but as I said, despite various lineup changes they're still New York jazz guys. This lineup is a nonet with accordion, tuba, and Matt Moran playing percussion instruments I'm unfamiliar with. Still, they stay pretty close to the text -- one of my all-time favorite suites of music. I miss Johnny Hodges, of course, but still find this irresistible. The original, of course, is greater still. A-
913. Cortex: Live in New York (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Norwegian avant-jazz quartet -- Thomas Johansson (trumpet), Kristoffer Alberts (saxophones), Ola Høyer (bass), Gard Nilssen (drums) -- second album on Clean Feed, may have more but share no relationship I can find with the 1975-79 French avant band Cortex. They can really kick up a storm, making this relatively short live album (35:38) pretty huge. A-
914. Karlis Auzins/Lucas Leidinger/Tomo Jacobson/Thomas Sauerborn: Mount Meander (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Of course, the group name is Mount Meander -- nothing else on the spine, and the individual names are barely legible on the cover. Respectively: tenor/soprano sax, piano, double bass, drums. Recorded in Denmark. Ambitious compositions, pushing limits, they don't always pay off but produce more than a few fine moments. B+(***)
915. Roji: The Hundred Headed Woman (2016, Shhpuma/Clean Feed): Basically a duo, with Gonçalo Almeida (bass and loops) and Jörg A. Schneider (drums) laying down an avant-noise foundation, and guests Susana Santos Silva (trumpet) and Colin Webster (baritone sax) joining for three tracks each (out of seven). B+(***)
916. Modular String Trio: Ants, Bees and Butterflies (2014 [2016], Clean Feed): Sergiy Okhrimchuk (violin), Robert Jedrzejewski (cello), Jacek Mazurkiewicz (contrabass, electronics), but there's also a less obvious, unexplained credit: Lukasz Kacperczyk (modular synth). I'm not all that fond of chamber jazz, for for that matter string ensembles, but these plucky abstractions hold my interest. B+(***)
917. Jason Roebke Octet: Cinema Spiral (2014 [2016], NoBusiness): Chicago avant-bassist, has a few albums of his own and more with other Chicago players, many of whom he rounded up for his octet: Josh Berman (trumpet), Jeb Bishop (trombone), Keefe Jackson (tenor/soprano sax, contrabass clarinet), Greg Ward (alto sax), Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Jason Adasiewicz (vibes), Mike Reed (drums). The rhythmic foundation is always shifting, and the horns sway to and fro or just shoot out in odd directions, a universe in perpetual turmoil. B+(***)
918. Whit Dickey/Kirk Knuffke: Fierce Silence (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Drums and trumpet duo, Dickey mostly associated with Matthew Shipp since the late 1980s. Usual caveats about avant duos apply, but hard to fault the interplay. B+(***)
919. Stirrup: Cut (2016, Clean Feed): String-driven avant trio: Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello, guitar), Nick Maori (double bass), Charles Rumback (drums). Seems pretty straightforward: propulsive beat, string drone, easier on guitar but the cello has more bite. A-
920. Steve Lehman: Sélébéyone (2016, Pi): Alto saxophonist, Anthony Braxton student, has had a couple records of the year (and not just in my book: Mise en Abime topped the Jazz Critics Poll). Goes for something else here, with HPrizm rapping and Gaston Bandimic singing in Wolof, rhythms borrowed from hip-hop and mbalax then freed up some more by drummer Damion Reid. I really don't know what to make of it, but I do love the shifty in-between music, with Maciek Lasserre's soprano bouncing off the alto, Carlos Homs' keyboards, and Drew Gress holding it all together on bass. A-
921. Stephan Crump: Stephan Crump's Rhombal (2016, Papillon): Bassist, ten or so albums since 1997, I especially like his knack for mixing the bass up so it balances evenly with the other instruments -- harder to do here in a two-horn quartet, but he manages it nonetheless. With Adam O'Farrill (trumpet), Ellery Eskelin (tenor sax), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums). A-
922. Susana Santos Silva/Lotte Anker/Sten Sandell/Torbjörn Zetterberg/Jon Fält: Life and Other Transient Storms (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Trumpet player from Portugal, saxophonist from Denmark, piano-bass-drums from somewhere in Scandinavia. Two long pieces, joint improvs at Tampere Jazz Happening in Finland, pretty much an ordinary day in the life of the European jazz avant-garde, including no short amount of complex and exhilarating. B+(***)
923. Jim Black Trio: The Constant (2015 [2016], Intakt): Terrific drummer, has played in numerous important groups -- just to pick a couple, Dave Douglas's Tiny Bell Trio, Ellery Eskelin's Trio, Tim Berne's Bloodcount -- has a dozen or so albums on his own. This is a piano trio, his songs, Elias Stemeseder on piano, Thomas Morgan on bass. Snappy material, especially around the edges. B+(***)
924. Don Cherry/John Tchicai/Irène Schweizer/Léon Francioli/Pierre Favre: Musical Monsters (1980 [2016], Intakt): Recorded at Willisau in north-central Switzerland, hence the all-Swiss rhythm section, the headliners playing trumpet and alto sax. Danish-born Tchicai joined the New York avant-garde in the mid-'60s, picking up a pronounced Ayler influence (and shout), while Cherry started out with Ornette Coleman and went global. Impressive piano too, and terrific work from Favre. A-
925. Barbara Dane with Tammy Hall: Throw It Away . . . (2016, Dreadnaught Music): Folksinger, born in Detroit in 1927 of parents who migrated north from Arkansas, moved to San Francisco in the 1950s. I've long regarded her 1959 Anthology of American Folk Songs as a classic, and vaguely recall her longstanding political activism -- her recording career petered out in the early 1970s with FTA! Songs of the GI Resistance and I Hate the Capitalist System -- but wasn't aware she wrote songs with Lu Watters, cut albums with Lightnin' Hopkins and the Chambers Brothers, or one called Livin' With the Blues (with Earl Hines, Benny Carter, and Shelly Manne). She's 88 now, thanks Mose Allison's "My Brain" for getting hers back to work, and her voice has aged fine. Hall's piano trio turns her into a jazz singer, guest harmonica and sax flesh out the blues. Starts with Memphis Minnie, then Leonard Cohen, Abbey Lincoln, Paul Simon, then gets more personal, and political, and/or corny. When she sketches out her dream society and asks "What Kind of Country" that would be, "socialism" is so obviously the answer she doesn't need to mention it (or Bernie). A-
926. Kris Davis: Duopoly (2015 [2016], Pyroclastic): Avant-pianist, from Canada, has a dozen or more albums since 2003 establishing herself as a major figure. Duets here with eight partners -- guitarists Bill Frisell and Julian Lage, pianists Craig Taborn and Angelica Sanchez, drummers Billy Drummond and Marcus Gilmore, also Don Byron (clarinet) and Tim Berne (alto sax) -- one tune and one shorter free improv each. All interesting, but Byron and especially Berne are most compelling. Comes with a DVD encrypted so I can't play it on my computer (may be my problem, but not one I feel up to dealing with). B+(***)
927. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Make the Changes (2016, Hot Cup, EP): Guitarist, group includes formidable saxophonists Jon Irabagon and Bryan Murray, Moppa Elliott on bass and Dan Monaghan on drums. The fourth and last of this year's promised set of EPs, to be released digitally September 30 along with a 4-CD package rolling them all up. I'm not wild about the marketing concept -- stretches my work and filing out on what could just as well have been two CDs in a single package. Main economy would be that they're very consistent, with a slight nod to EP:3 Play All the Notes. Four cuts, 31:34. A-
928. Shirley Horn: Live at the 4 Queens (1988 [2016], Resonance): A major jazz singer from 1965 to her death in 2005, and such a sparkling pianist she not only accompanied herself but was in demand for non-vocal sessions. At some point I need to go back and listen to the albums she released in her lifetime (only four in my database), but this is the sort of posthumous record that motivates such a search. Backed with bass, drums, and her own impeccable piano, she covers standards she made a career of (including two Jobims, and a definitive "Lover Man"), reminding us she was major indeed. A-
929. Dave Stryker: Eight Track II (2016, Strikezone): Guitarist, usually works with saxophonist Steve Slagle but decided to try a no horns groove record, anchored by Jared Gold's organ with excellent sparkle from Steve Nelson's vibes. All covers, rock and soul standards -- the ones I always notice are "When Doves Cry," "Time of the Season," and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," but looking at the list I could kick myself for not identifying the rest. B+(***)
930. Sonic Liberation 8: Bombogenic (2015 [2016], High Two): Kevin Diehl's former Sonic Liberation Front, shorn of most of the horns and voices but still built around Cuban bata drums, joined here by guests in small type: the Classical Revolution Trio (violin and two cellos), who tilt this toward post-classical weepy abstraction, and alto saxophonist Oliver Lake, who brings us back to avant-jazz. A-
931. Shirantha Beddage: Momentum (2014 [2016], Factor): Identifies himself as a baritone saxophonist but credit here, on his fifth album, reads "woodwinds and keyboards." David Restivo also plays the latter, and they're backed by two bassists (one acoustic, one electric) and two drummers. The baritone resonates, the tunes mainstream enough he's been nominated for a Juno, but nothing overly slick. B+(***)
932. Little Johnny Rivero: Music in Me (2016, Truth Revolution): Percussionist (conga, bongo, timbales, "and other"), has worked with Orquesta Colon and Eddie Palmieri, keeps the salsa beat moving while a band including Brian Lynch (trumpet), Zaccai Curtis (piano, Fender Rhodes), Luques Curtis (bass), drums, and various guests vamp away. B+(***)
933. Franklin Kiermyer: Closer to the Sun (2015 [2016], Mobility Music): Drummer, has a thing for the scattered sacred musics of the world but mostly the late sainted Coltrane. Conventional sax quartet, no one I've ever heard of -- Lawrence Clark (tenor sax), Davis Whitfield (piano), Otto Gardner (bass) -- but they're thrilling when they run wild, and when they slow down you hang on the tension. A-
934. The Phil Norman Tentet: Then & Now: Classic Sounds & Variations of 12 Jazz Legends (2015 [2016], Summit): Near-big band, led by the tenor saxophonist, half-dozen albums since 1997, most recently an In Memoriam of Bob Florence. Repertory here, I should recognize everything but "Lullaby of Birdland" and "Manteca" jump out at me, even more so the upscaling of "Take Five." B+(***)
935. Craig Hartley: Books on Tape Vol. II: Standard Edition (2015 [2016], self-released): Pianist, in a trio with Carlos De Rosa on bass and Jeremy Clemons on drums. One original, six (or seven) standards -- the last a mashup of "Imagine" and "Peace Pipe" -- starting with sprightly takes of "Caravan" and "Jitterbug Waltz." B+(***)
936. Barry Guy/Marilyn Crispell/Paul Lytton: Deep Memory (2015 [2016], Intakt): Bassist-led piano trio playing Guy's pieces, a couple of which let Crispell break out some awesome avant piano chops. Not sure that's enough, but the more subdued stretches offer much of interest, and the drummer is used to holding his own. B+(***)
937. Christoph Irniger Pilgrim: Big Wheel Live (2015 [2016], Intakt): Swiss tenor saxophonist, leads a quintet with piano (Stefan Aeby), guitar (Dave Gisler), bass and drums. Free but mild-mannered, even when nothing is settled. B+(***)
938. Honey Ear Trio: Swivel (2014 [2016], Little (i) Music): Sax-bass-drums trio, with Jeff Lederer, Rene Hart, and Allison Miller -- I filed their 2011 debut under Erik Lawrence but he's the only one who didn't return. Lederer has less power but trickier moves (cf. his Brooklyn Blowhards earlier this year). All three write (also Thelonious Monk), and Kirk Knuffke (cornet) joins on three tracks. A-
939. Hearts & Minds: Hearts & Minds (2014 [2016], Astral Spirits): Eponymous group album, a trio of Chicago avants -- Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Paul Giallorenzo (synthesizer), and Frank Rosaly (drums) -- organized into Side A and Side B for vinyl or, in my case, a fairly short CD. Free, jumpy, but with the soft touch the horn is noted for. B+(***)
940. Mili Bermejo/Dan Greenspan: Arte Del Dúo (2016, Ediciones Pentagrama): Voice and bass duets, intimately bound and balanced, not that I can follow the lyrics -- Spanish, I presume, given that singer Bermejo was born in Argentina and raised in Mexico City (also a professor at Berklee since 1984). B+(***)
941. Satoko Fujii/Joe Fonda: Duet (2015 [2016], Long Song): Avant piano-bass duets. Fonda has a lot of experience with adventurous pianists, notably with Matthew Shipp and Michael Jefry Stevens, and it helps to focus on his work here, even when the pianist takes your breath away. After the 37:10 piece dedicated to the late Paul Bley, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura joins in for the 11:20 finale. B+(***)
942. Billy Hart & the WDR Big Band: The Broader Picture (2016, Enja/Yellowbird): The veteran drummer composed all of these pieces, some going back to the 1970s, and took over as the WDR Big Band's drummer, but the star here is Christophe Schweizer, arranger of the pieces and director of the big band. The WDR Big Band has long been one of the most competent of Europe's institutional bands, but even they have rarely brought their guest star's music so vividly to life. B+(***)
943. Mary Halvorson Octet: Away With You (2015 [2016], Firehouse 12): Guitarist, protégé of Anthony Braxton, has previous Quintet and Septet albums, here adding Susan Alcorn (pedal steel) to the latter: Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Jon Irabagon (alto sax), Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Jacob Garchik (trombone), John Hébert (bass), Ches Smith (drums). Slippery pieces, much to admire but hard to pin them down, especially with the guitarist most elusive of all. B+(***)
944. Beekman: Vol. 02 (2015 [2016], Ropeadope): Tenor sax quartet based in Brooklyn, pianist Yago Vazqauez (also Rhodes) listed first although all write with saxophonist Kyle Nasser most prolific -- 4/9 songs, vs. 3 for Vazquez, 2 for Pablo Menares (bass), 1 by Rodrigo Recabarren (drums). Boppish, flows fast and hard. B+(***)
945. Damana (Dag Magnus Narvesen Octet): Cornua Copiae (2014 [2016], Clean Feed): Drummer-led Norwegian octet, with three saxes (alto, tenor, baritone/bass), trumpet, trombone, piano, bass: tremendous power from a horns section, but also texture, layering, and detail, propelled by a rhythm section with a hint of swing. Looks like a debut record, likely my ballot pick. A-
946. Elliott Sharp Aggregat: Dialectrical (2016, Clean Feed): After many years as an avant-garde gadfly, mostly playing guitar, he's turned into a free jazz stalwart, here playing reed instruments (soprano/tenor sax, Bb/bass clarinet), in a group named for his 2012 album -- his best as far as I know. This one gives 76-year-old drummer Barry Altschul a "Feat." on the cover, and spreads the horns out with Taylor Ho Bynum on trumpet and Terry L. Greene II on trombone, plus Brad Jones on bass. Sharp indeed, though also a bit shrill. B+(***)
947. Steve Noble & Kristoffer Berre Alberts: Condest Second Yesterday (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): English drummer, has a long discography since 1987 mostly with European avant-gardists, here in a duo with a relatively new tenor saxophonist from Norway -- brings tremendous energy, although he does tend to squawk. B+(***)
948. Black Bombaim & Peter Brötzmann (2016, Clean Feed): Portuguese "stoner/psychedelic rock" group, a power trio with guitar-bass-drums but no singer, so they're into densely textured noise. That suits the saxophonist. He does what he's been doing for nearly fifty years, but the framing makes this more accessible without compromising his rawness. A-
949. Punkt 3: Ordnung Herrscht (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Group named for German bassist-composer Noah Punkt, who has a previous solo album, two previous trios, and various other projects. This is a trio with saxophonist Tobias Pfister and drummer Ramon Oliveras, free jazz, sharp but not too aggressive. B+(***)
950. JD Allen: Americana: Musings on Jazz and Blues (2016, Savant): Tenor saxophonist, leads a trio with Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums. Sticks to basics here, doesn't strain or strive, but makes it all -- mostly original pieces, only one cover dating back to the '30s -- feel natural, unforced. A-
951. Houston Person & Ron Carter: Chemistry (2015 [2016], HighNote): Two old guys playing sax-bass duets at a casual pace on comfortable standards. Carter has probably appeared on more records than any other jazz musician (Morton & Cook once tried counting and decided Ray Brown held that distinction, but Carter has long passed Brown). Back cover has a photo of the two with an old white man sandwiched between the more imposing black figures -- presumably that's Executive Producer Joe Fields, who signed Person to Prestige in the 1960s and kept him close ever since. This isn't their first duet album. I should probably recheck that one, but for now I'm too much in love with this one. Guess I'm getting old myself. A
952. Wadada Leo Smith: America's National Parks (2016, Cuneiform, 2CD): Trumpet player, came of age in Chicago's AACM but remained obscure until around 2000 when he started to break out of expectations -- an album with Thomas Mapfumo (from Zimbabwe), an "Electric Miles" trbute band with Henry Kaiser, and recently a series of extended compositions (including The Great Lakes Suites and Ten Freedom Summers). This sprawling six-piece, written for his Golden Quintet (piano-cello-bass-drums) draws inspiration from all around the country, and strikes me as being as heavy and ponderous as its subject matter, but dotted with marvelous, often breath-taking details. B+(***)
953. Dave Holland/Chris Potter/Lionel Loueke/Eric Harland: Aziza (2016, Dare2): Bass, tenor/soprano sax, guitar/vocals, drums -- not sure why I missed the first two names when I filed this (other than that my advance didn't come with a cover, and the spine only says Aziza). Strong rhythm record, moves right along. Potter, of course, is superb, and when he switches to soprano they just double down on the Latin tinge. Two songs each, the sort of balance you rarely find in a supergroup. A-
954. Friends & Neighbors: What's Wrong? (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Another fine Norwegian freebop group, quintet with trumpet, tenor sax/clarinets, piano, bass, and drums -- no one I've heard of before. Four of the five contribute songs, with André Roligheten (reeds) marginally more prolific (and listed first in the credits). B+(***)
955. George Cables: The George Cables Songbook (2016, HighNote): Pianist, has a long list of records since 1975, many well regarded ones on SteepleChase I haven't heard so I tend to remember him best for his stellar work with Art Pepper. Something of a career recap here, with a superb trio (Essiet Essiet and Victor Lewis) augmented by sax (Craig Handy) on five tracks, percussion (Victor Kroom) on four, and vocals (Sarah Elizabeth Charles) on six. B+(***)
956. Schlippenbach Trio: Warsaw Concert (2015 [2016], Intakt): Avant pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, with Evan Parker on tenor sax, and Paul Lovens on drums -- a trio for more than forty years. Frenetic and sketchy when they started out, now old masters to don't mind kicking up their heels. B+(***)
957. Jacam Manricks: Chamber Jazz (2015 [2016], self-released): Saxophonist, credited here with alto, soprano, tenor, flute, alto flute, and clarinet; leading a quartet with Kevin Hays on piano and Fender Rhodes, Gianluca Renzi on acoustic bass, and Ari Hoenig on drums. Nothing I think of as "chamber jazz," although he incorporates bits from some classical composers as well as Nascimento and Miles Davis, adding to the album's sheer catchiness. A-
958. Revolutionary Snake Ensemble: I Want That Sound! (2016, Innova): Alto saxophonist Ken Field's Boston-based answer to New Orleans' second line brass bands, actually just a sextet with two saxes, trumpet, and the trombonist doubling on tuba. Fourth album, more of their infectious funk groove. A-
959. Eric Hofbauer Quintet: Prehistoric Jazz Volume 3: Three Places in New England (2016, Creative Nation Music): Guitarist, quintet includes trumpet, clarinet, cello, and drums. Like the two previous volumes, this picks up a piece of modernist classical music and reframes it as jazz -- the previous volumes used Stravinsky and Messaien, this one goes after Charles Ives, who patterned his own music on brass bands obliquely heard. The indirection works nicely here. B+(***)
960. Richie Cole: Plays Ballads & Love Songs (2015 [2016], Mark Perna Music): Alto saxophonist, not quite 70, his discography goes back to 1976 but tails off after 1999 (several featured spots, one album in 2005). Quartet with Eric Susoeff on guitar, Mark Perna on bass and Vince Taglieri on drums -- surefire material, bright, lovely. B+(***)
961. BassDrumBone: The Long Road (2013-16 [2016], Auricle, 2CD): Long-running free jazz trio, first album together recorded nearly 30 years ago, lineup on this seventh album the same: Mark Helias (bass), Gerry Hemingway (drums), Ray Anderson (trombone). Second disc is padded out with 31 minutes live. Studio cuts include three cuts each with Jason Moran (piano) and Joe Lovano (tenor sax), the latter making the bigger splash. Still great to hear Anderson's trombone leads, but could be further concentrated. B+(***)
962. Jason Hainsworth: Third Ward Stories (2015 [2016], Origin): Tenor saxophonist from Houston, studied in New Orleans and Florida, teaches at Broward College. Probably his debut, a lively hard bop sextet with Josh Evans on trumpet, Michael Dease on trombone, and Glenn Zaleski on piano, makes it seem easy. B+(***)
963. Terell Stafford: Forgive and Forget (2016, Herb Harris Music): Mainstream trumpet player, originally from Miami, last time tried his hand at a Lee Morgan tribute (BrotherLee Love), but didn't really get the vibe right until now, with a superb hard bop quintet. Pianist Kevin Hays is essential, tenor saxophonist Tim Warfield mostly shades but delivers when he gets a solo shot. But it's mostly the trumpet -- the fast ones grab you right away, the ballads take a while for the slow burn to emerge. A-
964. Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio: Desire & Freedom (2016, Not Two): Portuguese tenor saxophonist, always an imposing figure in free jazz settings, with his most dependable group -- Miguel Mira on cello and Gabriel Ferrandini on drums. Three long improv pieces, terrific all around, drummer especially. A-
965. Steve Slagle: Alto Manhattan (2016 [2017], Panorama): Mainstream alto saxophonist, most often heard with Dave Stryker (who usually gets top billing), but here takes center stage and is terrific though sevel cuts, mostly burners aside from a solo "Body & Soul." He switches to flute on the last two cuts and adds congas, nice but less impressive. Joe Lovano joins in on three cuts. B+(***)
966. Allen Lowe: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora: Hell With an Ocean View (2016, Constant Sorrow): Opens with some of Lowe's best alto sax, but often gives way to let the twin guitarists (Nels Cline and Ray Suhy) shine. With Matthew Shipp (piano), Kevin Ray (bass), Larry Feldman (violin, mandolin), and Carolyn Castellano (drums). The song forms range from hymns to Hendrix, each with its own fascination. A-
967. Allen Lowe: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora: A Day in Brooklyn: At Ibeam (2015 [2016], Constant Sorrow, 2CD): The fifth (of six so far) installment under this title, "a series of recordings based on American song forms," something hardly no one has researched deeper than alto-saxophonist Lowe. A disparate, sprawling set of works, with two mid-sized groups and a number of guest spots -- hard to see how they could all have fit into a single day of recording. Opens with a solo piano piece by Loren Schoenberg, then another by Kelly Green -- the first of several "Mary Lou Williams Variations." Then moves on to a group with Kirk Knuffke (trumpet) and Paul Austerlitz (clarinet), later to another with Lisa Parrott (baritone sax) and Larry Feldman (violin). Not easy to follow, but even when you don't something liable to jump out and grab you. B+(***)
968. Clay Giberson: Pastures (2015 [2016], Origin): Pianist, based in Portland, has five previous records plus four by his group Upper Left Trio. Draws on a strong quartet here with Drew Gress (bass), Matt Wilson (drums), and most valuable player Donny McCaslin, whose tenor sax chops dominate everything. Less so his flute and soprano, or the string quartet added on four tracks. B+(***)
969. Mamutrio [Lieven Cambré/Piet Verbist/Jesse Dockx]: Primal Existence (2015 [2016], Origin): Alto saxophonist, from northern Belgium, backed by bass and drums, Verbist the main writer (5/10 compositions). Subtle, relaxed postbop, sometimes pushes not out but in. B+(***)
970. Anna Webber's Simple Trio: Binary (2016, Skirl): Plays tenor sax and flute, here in a prickly trio with Matt Mitchell on piano and John Hollenbeck on drums. B+(***)
971. Fredrik Nordström: Gentle Fire/Restless Dreams (2016, Moserobie, 2CD):Tenor saxophonist from Sweden, look him up and most likely you'll find a different person -- a heavy metal guitarist with the same name. This one has a half-dozen previous albums going back to 2000. Two albums here cut in the same two-day session, with the same quartet: Jonas Östhom (piano), Torbjörn Zetterberg (bass), Gerald Cleaver (drums). Mixed with the gentle stuff on one disc, the restless on the other. Latter is better, of course, but I've played this enough I've also grown quite fond of the former. A-
972. Ivo Perelman/Karl Berger/Gerald Cleaver: The Art of the Improv Trio Volume 1 (2016, Leo):Avant tenor saxophonist from Brazil, celebrated twenty years of recording back in 2009-10 with six releases, and has duplicated that feat nearly every year since. He released five records this spring (my top picks were Soul and Blue), and now for the fall he's come out with six volumes of Improv Trio -- one suspects too much and too similar, but we'll see. Berger here plays piano, a steady influence that mostly keeps the sax on track, even brings out a touch of elegance. B+(***)
973. Ivo Perelman/Mat Maneri/Whit Dickey: The Art of the Improv Trio Volume 2 (2016, Leo): Tenor sax, viola, drums. Maneri is the wild card here, his microtonal meanderings sometimes lose me, but in the end he provokes the saxophonist into upping his game. B+(***)
974. Ivo Perelman/William Parker/Gerald Cleaver: The Art of the Improv Trio Volume 4 (2016, Leo): The bassist makes a difference here, setting up a groove (or at least momentum) that keeps the sax man on his toes, bobbing and weaving, never far from the edge. Moreover, he can go loud without knocking the leader out, so he has no need to hold back (as the pianists have done). A-
975. Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris/Gerald Cleaver: The Art of the Improv Trio Volume 5 (2016, Leo): Morris plays electric guitar, somewhat inconspicuously poking around the edges, adding bits of color and brightness. Another strong outing for the saxophonist. B+(***)
976. Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris/Gerald Cleaver: The Art of the Improv Trio Volume 6 (2016, Leo): Recorded in July, probably the same time as Volume 5, the difference here is that Morris has switched from guitar to bass. As with Volume 4, this both loosens up the saxophonist and lets him be fiercer or more eloquent as the opportunity arises. A-
977. Rudy Royston Trio: RisEofOrion (2016, Greenleaf Music): Drummer from Texas, only his second headline album but side credits go back to 1992, notably with saxophonists Fred Hess and J.D. Allen, and more recently with Jim Snidero, Doug Webb, and trumpet master Dave Douglas. This is another sax trio, with Jon Irabagon tugging him out of the mainstream, and Yasushi Nakamura on bass. B+(***)
978. Eraldo Bernocchi/Prakash Sontakke: Invisible Strings (2016, RareNoise): The former plays baritone and electric guitar, the latter lap steel guitar, but Bernocchi is also credited with electronics, which explains the percussion. The synthetic groove may be too regular for jazz, but sets up a seductive ambience with the layered guitar. B+(***)
979. Live the Spirit Residency: Presents the Young Masters 1: Coming of Age (2016, self-released): The key here, of course, is tenor saxophonist Ernest Dawkins, executive director of Live the Spirit Residency, which runs after-hours jazz ed programs for Chicago youth. They put together a group called the Young Masters Ensemble -- Isaiah Collier (tenor sax), Jeremiah Collier (drums), Alex Lombre (piano), and James Wenzel (bass) -- and they're terrific even when the saxes lay out for a blues vamp. And while I suspect Dawkins plays most of the superb sax runs, they've all earned their group name. A-
980. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Rafal Mazur: The Joy of Being (2015 [2016], NoBusiness): Alto sax trio, drummer Lambert is pretty much inseparable from the saxophonist, and is joined here by Mazur on acoustic bass guitar. Carrier is impressive as usual, but one hardly notices the others. B+(***)
981. Dave Burrell and Bob Stewart: The Crave (1994 [2016], NoBusiness): Piano and tuba duets, the fine print reads "play the music of Jelly Roll Morton and Dave Burrell." Three of each, but Burrell was likely thinking of Morton when he wrote his. Indeed, this set follows Burrell's 1991 album The Jelly Roll Joys, and improves upon it, the not-so-secret ingredient Stewart's tuba. A-
982. Albert Cirera/Hernâni Faustino/Gabriel Ferrandini/Agustí Fernández: Before the Silence (2015 [2016], NoBusiness): Tenor/soprano saxophonist, based in Lisbon, backed by the bassist (Faustino) and drummer (Ferrandini) from the RED Trio and avant-pianist Fernández. Three long pieces (average 18 minutes), plus a brief coda. Best here is the pianist -- I've mostly heard him in duos before, but he throws himself into this with abandon, certainly helped by the rhythm section, and the sax benefits as well. A-
983. Steve Swell Quintet: Soul Travelers (2015 [2016], RogueArt): Avant-trombonist, quintet adds Jemeel Moondoc (alto sax), Dave Burrell (piano), William Parker (bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums), each adding something distinctive and remarkable to the mix. Still, I always enjoy a good trombone lead, of which there are many. Looks like this only came out on vinyl, so runs to a respectable length (4 cuts, 43:40). A-
984. Steve Swell/Gebhard Ullmann/Fred Lonberg-Holm/Michael Zerang: The Chicago Plan (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Recorded in Chicago, home of Lonberg-Holm (cello, electronics) and Zerang (drums), if not the front line (and composers) -- trombone and tenor sax/bass clarinet. The trombone leads are bracing, but the others on their own tend to melt together. B+(***)
985. Evan Parker/Daunik Lazro/Joe McPhee: Seven Pieces: Live at Willisau 1995 (1995 [2016], Clean Feed): Three saxophonists -- tenor/soprano, alto/baritone, and alto/soprano + alto clarinet and pocket trumpet -- although I wouldn't call them a sax choir: it's not like three free improvisers are concerned much with harmony. Still, it's rare when an all-sax record doesn't leave you wishing for something more, and this previously unreleased tape is that. B+(***)
986. Howard Riley: Constant Change 1976-2016 (1976-2016 [2016], NoBusiness, 5CD): British avant-pianist, a Penguin Guide favorite. I've heard very little aside from a couple of outstanding 1968-70 albums (Angle, The Day Will Come), but he's still active in his 70s -- indeed, three-fifths of this solo piano trove date from 2014 or later. That later material is interesting, but the early discs -- especially the first from 1976-80 -- is more like exciting. Includes a short booklet by Brian Morton. B+(***)
987. Peter Brötzmann/Steve Swell/Paal Nilssen-Love: Live in Copenhagen (2016, Not Two): The saxophonist backs a bit off his usual full fury, giving the trombone a fighting chance -- something Swell makes the most of. And the drummer is always masterful in this sort of company. A-
988. Club D'Elf: Live at Club Helsinki (2012 [2017], Face Pelt): Boston jazz collective, Brahim Fribgane (oud, voice, percussion) gives them a North African air, Mike Rivard (bass, sintir, bass kalimba) makes them even more other-worldly, and ringer John Medeski (B3, various keyboards) joins in for this extended Hudson, NY bar date. B+(***)
989. Randy Weston/African Rhythms: The African Nubian Suite (2012 [2017], African Rhythms, 2CD): Pianist, born in Brooklyn 86 years before this was recorded but his parents came from Jamaica and he soon developed a deep fascination with Africa and the spread of its culture all around the world. Influenced by Duke Ellington, he's gone on to write extended suites, but this is a live concert with various discrete guest spots -- including pipa and balafon as well as trombone and Texas tenor -- framed by Wayne Chandler's opening narration and Jayne Cortez's closing poetry slam. Still, what elevates this from variety show is the pianist's patter, not just introducing musicians but illuminating his life's work and worldview. A-
990. Ellery Eskelin/Christian Weber/Michael Griener: Sensations of Tone (2016 [2017], Intakt): Tenor sax trio, recorded in Brooklyn but not Eskelin's usual New York Trio -- bassist Weber is Swiss, drummer Griener German. Also not the usual fare as they mix four old songs -- "Shreveport Stomp," "China Boy," "Moten Swing," and "Ain't Misbehavin'" -- in with four joint originals. The stomps and swings are done with sly understatement, distance and affection -- I especially love the latter, instantly recognizable yet brand new. A-
991. Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo: Peace (2014 [2017], Libra): Japanese pianist, has at least four iterations of her big band named for cities she works in -- hitherto, the New York band, with its surfeit of individual stars, has been most impressive, but the ensemble work here is peerless, and the score is chock full of brilliant ideas. A-
992. Miguel Zenón: Típico (2016 [2017], Miel Music): Alto saxophonist, from Puerto Rico, teaches at New England Conservatory, quickly established himself as one of his generation's top players. Tenth album since 2002, many referring back to his Latin roots, as title and cover do here -- but none of the instruments on the cover exist in the album. Rather, he plays within the jazz tradition, building on his long-running quartet -- Luis Perdomo (piano), Hans Glawisching (bass), and Henry Cole (drums) -- and that frees him up for some of his most dynamic playing in years. A-
993. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Alexey Lapin: Freedom Is Space for the Spirit (2014 [2017], FMR): Alto sax/Chinese oboe, drums, piano, recorded in St. Petersburg, a year after the same trio recorded two volumes of The Russian Concerts. Sketchy, finds its own beauty in chaos, and here and there erupts into something wonderful. A-
994. Matthew Shipp Trio: Piano Song (2016 [2017], Thirsty Ear): Piano trio with Michael Bisio (bass) and Newman Taylor Baker (drums), follows a remarkably prolific run where we've heard Shipp in many diverse contexts, and comes with (not his first) vow to give up recording. Still very much on top of his game here. A-
995. Aki Takase/David Murray: Cherry Shakura (2016 [2017], Intakt): Piano/sax duets, Murray also playing bass clarinet. The pair recorded a previous album in 1991, Blue Monk, long a personal favorite, and they add another Monk piece here, along with seven originals (Takase 4, Murray 3) which makes this a bit harder to fall for, but the pianist is superb, and Murray is as awesome as ever. A-
996. David Weiss & Point of Departure: Wake Up Call (2015 [2017], Ropeadope): Trumpet player, a postbop figure the New Jazz Composers Octet but a hard bopper with the Cookers, fourth album with Point of Departure although the band has no constants other than the leader, and the tenor sax (Myron Walden or JD Allen) and one of the guitar slots (Travis Reuter or Nir Felder) are split here -- Ben Eunson evidently plays throughout, and his blistering solo on the opener sets the pace, which remains torrid throughout. In fact, front cover is illustrated with guitar and trumpet, so that seems to be the concept. A-
997. Michel Lambert: Alom Mola (2016 [2017], Jazz From Rant): Canadian drummer, most often seen accompanying François Carrier, has a handful of records on his own. This one veers toward classical with its string quartet, but adds percussive roughness, lovely bits of piano (Alexandre Grogg) or sax (Michel Côté), and an intriguing vocal by Jeannette Lambert. B+(***)
998. Jon De Lucia Group: As the River Sings (2016 [2017], Fresh Sound New Talent): New York-based saxophonist, originally from Massachusetts, plays alto sax, alto clarinet, clarinet, flute, and ruri box here, leading a quartet with electric guitar (Greg Ruggiero), acoustic bass (Chris Tordini), and drums (Tommy Crane). Nice tone and flow. B+(***)
999. Doug Munro and La Pompe Attack: The Harry Warren Songbook (2016 [2017], GotMusic): Guitarist, did a previous album called A Very Gypsy Christmas which suggests he's a Django Reinhardt acolyte. Group revolves through four sessions, including bass, sometimes violin, plus up to two more guitarists at any given time (four are credited, Howard Alden is the one you probably know). Picks through more than a dozen great songs, starting with "Lullaby of Birdland." B+(***)
1000. The MUH Trio [Roberto Magris/Frantisek Uhlir/Jaromir Helesic]: Prague After Dark (2016 [2017], JMood): Piano trio, bassist and drummer presumably picked up in Prague, although Uhlir came with two songs. Mostly Magris originals, but covers from Herbie Nichols and Don Pullen are telling, and add to a fine outing. B+(***)
1001. Rich Halley/Carson Halley: The Wild (2015 [2017], Pine Eagle): Tenor saxophonist from Oregon, got my attention with his 2004 album Mountains and Plains and hasn't let up since. Duets with his drummer son bring his fierce creativity to the fore. A bit of otherworldly wood flute too. A-
1002. Joana Gama/Luís Fernandes/Richardo Jacinto: Harmonies (2016 [2017], Shhpuma): Portuguese pianist, unconventional trio with Jacinto on cello and both electronics. The music is "inspired" by Erik Satie, performed on his 150th anniversary, which may be reflected in its tight miniaturism, although its post-industrial aura is something else. B+(***)
1003. CP Unit: Before the Heat Death (2016 [2017]. Clean Feed): Quartet: Chris Pitsiokos (alto sax), Brandon Seabrook (electric guitar), Tim Dahl (electric bass), Weasel Walter (drums). Basically post-rock, post-industrial fusion, less harsh than some of Seabrook's own albums, better beat too, and the sax sharpens the leads. Short at 29:01, but makes up for that in intensity. B+(***)
1004. Jean-Brice Godet: Lignes De Crêtes (2016 [2017], Clean Feed): Clarinet player, also credited with "radio, dictaphones," leads trio with Pascal Niggenkemper (double bass, objects) and Sylvain Darrifourcq (drums, percussion, zither). Four pieces: "No Border," "No Logo," "No God," "No Fear" -- a remarkable melange of sounds, though it takes some focus to catch them all. B+(***)
1005. Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Loafer's Hollow (2016 [2017], Hot Cup): Since Peter Evans left bassist Moppa Elliott's "bebop terrorist" quintet, their mischief has gravitating toward pre-bop (one hesitates to call it trad) jazz. And they've been picking up extra members: Ron Stabinsky at piano, Dave Taylor on bass trombone, Brandon Seabrook on banjo and electronics, and most notably Steven Bernstein on trumpet (with or without slide). A-
1006. Satoko Fujii: Invisible Hand (2016 [2017], Cortez Sound, 2CD): One of the most prolific jazz pianists of the past two decades, lately it seems her piano has receded into her explosive big bands and odder avant-folk projects (where, among other things, she's distinguished herself on accordion). But this solo set -- two discs but only 87:33 -- is less a return to basics than a maturing reflection on her craft: where she used to get our attention with pyrotechnics, here she favors richly detailed melodies, and that works as well. A-
1007. Noah Preminger: Meditations on Freedom (2016 [2017], self-released): Tenor saxophonist, has made a strong impression since his 2008 debut, leads a two-horn quartet here with Jason Palmer getting a lot of lead space on trumpet. Covers from Dylan, Sam Cooke, George Harrison and Bruce Hornsby, along with originals with titles like "We Have a Dream," "Women's March," "The 99 Percent," "Broken Treaties." B+(***)
1008. Chicago Edge Ensemble: Decaying Orbit (2016 [2017], self-released): Guitarist Dan Phillips composed all the pieces here, but the edge comes from Mars Williams on saxophones and Jeb Bishop on trombone. They can crack up, loose, or any which way. A-
1009. Eivind Opsvik: Overseas V (2016 [2017], Loyal Label): Norwegian Bassist, based in New York, has released four Overseas albums with a core group of saxophonist Tony Malaby and pianist Jacob Sacks, joined here (as on Overseas IV by Brandon Seabrook (guitar) and Kenny Wolleson (drums). Dense and intricate, the guitar and sax blunted and folded back into the group, where the focus is more on sustaining rhythmic force. B+(***)
1010. Carlos Bica & Azul: More Than This (2016 [2017], Clean Feed): Portuguese bassist, currently in Berlin, released a record called Azul in 1995 and kept the name. Group is a trio with Frank Möbus on guitar and Jim Black on drums. B+(***)
1011. Gorilla Mask: Iron Lung (2016 [2017], Clean Feed): Avant-jazz sax trio, the leader alto saxophonist Peter Van Huffel (Canadian, Belgian roots, based in Berlin), with Roland Fidezius (electric bass, effects) and Rudi Fischerlehner (drums). The bass gives this a certain rockish foundation, which the saxophonist regularly blows up. A-
1012. Velkro: Too Lazy to Panic (2016 [2017], Clean Feed): Recorded in Portugal but mixed in Norway, don't know anything about the trio -- Bostjan Simon (sax, electronics), Stephan Meidell (guitar, bass, percussion, electronics), and Luis Candelas (drums, percussion) -- other than that their 2014 debut blew me away. They describe this one as "a step forward and a dive inward," which is to say the deep sound of their dense fusion takes much longer to sink in. A-
1013. Alex Cline's Flower Garland Orchestra: Oceans of Vows (2016 [2017], self-released, 2CD): Drummer, staged a monumental work here, lots of strings and gongs and a soprano singer, Areni Agbabian, and other sampled voices, all things I normally detest, yet it's all quite lovely and unaccountably moving -- well, maybe if I figured out the packaging and followed the text and all that . . . B+(***)
1014. Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures: Glare of the Tiger (2016 [2017], Meta/M.O.D. Technologies): Percussionist, mostly hand drums here, with two other drummers (Hamid Drake and James Hurt) in the ensemble, along with horns -- Graham Haynes (cornet, flugelhorn) and Ralph M. Jones (flutes, clarinets, saxes) -- keyboards, guitar, and electric bass. Strong suit is rhythm, colors changing from darker to lighter. B+(***)
1015. Doug MacDonald: Jazz Marathon 2 (2016 [2017], BluJazz, 2CD): Guitarist, based in Los Angeles where this was recorded live, has a dozen albums going back to 1981 -- no evidence of a Jazz Marathon 1. Horn players are mostly names I recognize -- sax section is Lanny Morgan, Pete Christleib, and/or Ricky Woodard (some churn from cut to cut). Compositions mostly date from the 1950s, roughly Charlie Parker to Sonny Rollins, with one original (MacDonald's "Bossa Don") and an Ellington medley on the margins. So nothing new here, but it's all pretty delightful. B+(***)
1016. Rocco John: Peace and Love (2014 [2017], Unseen Rain): Alto saxophonist (also soprano and piano) Rocco John Iacovone, leading a group he calls the Improvisational Composers Ensemble in a tribute to Will Connell (1938-2014), a saxophonist with a slim discography (most notably the 1981/83 Commitment recordings with William Parker) who "lived his music." Group is an octet with Ras Moshe Burnett (bells, tenor sax, flute), violin, bass clarinet, guitar, double bass, drums, and percussion. Group hits hard, but is equally interesting when they spread out, chill out, or aim for the heavens. A-
1017. Chicago/London Underground: A Night Walking Through Mirrors (2016 [2017], Cuneiform): Since 1998 Rob Mazurek (cornet/electronics) and Chad Taylor (drums) have led various Chicago Underground duos, trios, and quartets, with Mazurek later taking his Underground concept to Sao Paulo. Here the Chicago duo visits London, meeting up with Alexander Hawkins (piano) and John Edwards (bass) -- both are very active, bringing a lot of heat and dynamism to the cooler orientation of the Chicagoans. A-
1018. The Microscopic Septet: Been Up So Long It Looks Like Down to Me: The Micros Play the Blues (2016 [2017], Cuneiform): Group led by Philip Johnston (soprano sax) and Joel Forrester (piano), dates back to 1981 with a break in the 1990s, the addition of tenor saxophonist Michael Hashim the key move to the reunion. Closes with a Joe Liggins song (Dave Sewelson sings), the other dozen tracks split even among the leaders (although Forrester quotes more than the title from "Silent Night" -- nearly a deal breaker for me, until it isn't). Blues, maybe, but the key thing here is swing, which they do not for nostalgia but because it feels right. A-
1019. Trio 3: Visiting Texture (2016 [2017], Intakt): Andrew Cyrille (drums), Reggie Workman (bass), Oliver Lake (alto saxophone). Thirteenth album together since 1997, recently adding various guests but this is back to basics, nothing fancy but remarkable craft within the free jazz trade. A-
1020. Trio Heinz Herbert: The Willisau Concert (2016 [2017], Intakt): Swiss group, no one named Heinz or Herbert -- two brothers, Dominic and Ramon Landolt, on guitar and keyboards, both cranked up with "effects," and drummer Mario Hänni. Quieter stretches resemble piano trio, but more often their electronics move them into new and surprising sonic terrains -- though nothing I would call fusion. I wound up spending a lot of time on this, torn between the suspicion that what they're doing is marginal and the certainty that it's unique. A-
1021. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: The Art of Perelman-Shipp, Volume 1: Titan (2016 [2017], Leo): The first of a trove of seven separately issued discs pairing the Brazilian avant saxophonist with the American pianist -- frequent collaborators since 1996's Bendito of Santa Cruz -- with various rhythm sections. Seems like the ideal might be to listen to all of them then start to make whatever marginal distinctions I can find, but for practical purposes all I can do is take them one-by-one and hope I don't get too lost. This one is a trio with William Parker, who in Perelman's 2016 The Art of the Improv Trio lifted Volume 4. He gets this series off to a strong start, too. A-
1022. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: The Art of Perelman-Shipp, Volume 2: Tarvos (2016 [2017], Leo): Third member here is veteran drummer Bobby Kapp, who belatedly came to my attention as Shipp's partner on their 2016 duo album, Cactus. The drummer kicks up the energy level here, and the saxophonist responds accordingly. A-
1023. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: The Art of Perelman-Shipp, Volume 3: Pandora (2016 [2017], Leo): Quartet here, with William Parker on bass and Whit Dickey on drums, a piano trio that backed David S. Ware back in the early 1990s. This isn't as exciting: Perelman would rather work his way around the edges than channel the Holy Ghost, so the group doesn't push him. Still fascinating to follow. A-
1024. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: The Art of Perelman-Shipp, Volume 4: Hyperion (2016 [2017], Leo): Trio, with Michael Bisio -- another frequent Shipp collaborator -- on bass. I was thrown a bit early on by the high notes -- Perelman may play more in the top end of the tenor sax than anyone else -- but they settle down, and midway take a remarkable run. Not sure this counts as a slip, but it doesn't add much. B+(***)
1025. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: The Art of Perelman-Shipp, Volume 5: Rhea (2016 [2017], Leo): Quartet with Shipp's usual trio mates Michael Bisio and Whit Dickey. As with the other sessions, the pieces are simply numbered, and it's "Part 6" that puts this over the top with its exhilarating tornado of sound -- everything you could hope for in free jazz. A-
1026. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: The Art of Perelman-Shipp, Volume 6: Saturn (2016 [2017], Leo): Just a duo, the only such volume in the series. Gives the pianist the chance for a few solos, something he's done little of so far, but still the focus is on the tenor sax, aiming this time more to woo than to overpower. B+(***)
1027. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: The Art of Perelman-Shipp, Volume 7: Dione (2016 [2017], Leo): Trio with Andrew Cyrille on drums, a stellar choice although as always it's the saxophonist who calls the shots and sets the pace. Could be fatigue setting in -- no idea if these were released in the order recorded, as all are listed as October 2016. Or could just be that the reviewer is tiring (although the moment I wrote that the record entered a particularly interesting passage). B+(***)
1028. Ernest Dawkins New Horizons Ensemble: Transient Takes (2016 [2017], Malcom): Group's first (2016) album seemed to be credited to Live the Spirit Residency, also on the cover here followed by "Presents # 2" but this is a more sensible credit (of course, I could have followed he cover and added "featuring Vijay Iyer"). Has a rough patch I don't much care for, but coheres more often than not. B+(***)
1029. Jason Rigby: Detroit-Cleveland Trio: One (2016 [2017], Fresh Sound New Talent): Tenor saxophonist, long based in New York though I'm guessing he ultimately hails from Cleveland, as his trio mates -- Cameron Brown on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums -- are Detroit natives. He's always struck me as a fancy post-bop guy, but this is very down-to-basics. B+(***)
1030. Allegra Levy: Cities Between Us (2016 [2017], SteepleChase): Jazz singer, describes herself as "sultry," graduated from New England Conservatory, has one previous album. Nice combo here with Kirk Knuffke (cornet), Stephen Riley (tenor sax), Carmen Staaf (piano), Jay Anderson and Billy Drummond. Mostly original pieces, or words she added to label legends Dexter Gordon and Duke Jordan. B+(***)
1031. Jared Sims: Change of Address (2017, Ropeadope): Baritone saxophonist, leads a quintet balanced on Nina Ott's organ, with guitar, bass, and drums -- a funky soul jazz update with distinguished by the deep breathing of the big horn. B+(***)
1032. Buffalo Jazz Octet: Live at Pausa Art House (2016 [2017], Cadence Jazz): Cover suggests title is PausaLive, but spine says otherwise. Local Buffalo musicians, only a couple familiar to me -- chiefly pianist Michael McNeill -- but they form a remarkable large free jazz ensemble, with standout solos on sax, trumpet, and drums, and brisk and energetic group improv that never breaks down. A-
1033. Linda May Han Oh: Walk Against Wind (2016 [2017], Biophilia): Bassist, born in Malaysia, raised in Australia, previously recorded three good albums as Linda Oh plus side credits with Dave Douglas and others. Group features Ben Wendel on sax, plus Matthew Stevens on guitar and Justin Brown on drums, joined by Fabian Almazan (piano on 3 cuts) and Minji Park (janggu & kkwaenggwari on 1). Another solid record, especially when I focus on the bassist. New label, has come up with a packaging gimmick that unfolds into a large many-faceted surface, roughly the equivalent of a 16-page booklet turned into crumpled chaos -- really awful. But the music: B+(***)
1034. Trichotomy: Known-Unknown (2016 [2017], Challenge): Piano trio, from Australia, fourth album, principally Sean Foran (piano) and John Parker (drums) plus new bassist Samuel Vincent, all also credited with electronics, helping their bounce and shuffle. B+(***)
1035. Gonçalo Almeida/Rodrigo Amado/Marco Franco: The Attic (2015 [2017], NoBusiness): Tenor sax trio from Portugal, avant, all joint improv but bassist got his name listed first -- alphabetical, I presume, but he opens with an arco solo and makes himself heard throughout. Amado, of course, is terrific. He's had quite a run since 2010's Searching for Adam. A-
1036. Yoko Miwa Trio: Pathways (2016 [2017], Ocean Blue Tear Music): Pianist, born in Kobe, Japan, studied at Berklee, has six albums. This a trio with Will Slater on bass and Scott Goulding on drums. Four originals, covers of Marc Johnson (2), Joni Mitchell, and "Dear Prudence." Runs 72 minutes but is delightful all the way through. A-
1037. Jason Kao Hwang: Sing House (2015 [2017], Euonymous): Violinist, born in Waukegan, IL but developed an interest in Chinese classical music, and has played that off against avant jazz. Quintet, with Steve Swell (trombone), Chris Forbes (piano), Ken Filiano (bass), and Andrew Drury (drums), a group so stellar he has trouble getting out in front -- the trombonist is especially impressive. B+(***)
1038. Bob Merrill: Tell Me Your Troubles: Songs by Joe Bushkin, Volume 1 (2017, Accurate): Trumpet player-vocalist, fourth album, all songs by pianist Bushkin (1916-2004), bracketed by stories about Bushkin from Frank Sinatra and Red Buttons, plus a snippet of Bushkin's own piano, all very nicely done -- mostly smooth crooning, but outliers include "Hot Time in the Town of Berlin," "Boogie Woogie Blue Plate," and "Man Here Plays Fine Piano." B+(***)
1039. Klaus Treuheit/Lou Grassi: Port of Call (2016 [2017], NoBusiness): Piano and drums, released as limited edition vinyl. The pianist, from Germany, has several previous albums, going back at least to 1986. The drummer, American, has led several "Po" bands and appeared on dozens more. Pretty sharp all around. B+(***)
1040. Cuong Vu 4-Tet: Ballet (The Music of Michael Gibbs) (2017, Rare Noise): Trumpet player, born in Saigon during the war, now based in New York, with a dozen albums since 1996. No idea of his relationship to Gibbs, who toiled in obscurity since 1970 but came up with two good 2015 albums on Cuneiform with the NDR Bigband. One of those Gibbs albums was Play a Bill Frisell Set List, and the guitarist is a major addition here -- along with Luke Bergman on bass and Ted Poor on drums. B+(***)
1041. Anemone [Peter Evans/John Butcher/Frederic Blondy/Clayton Thomas/Paul Lovens]: A Wing Dissolved in Light (2013 [2017], NoBusiness): Piccolo trumpet, tenor/soprano sax, piano-bass-drums, two improv split into two parts. Some dead spots, or maybe just ambient noise, but Butcher has strong moments, and when things pick up it's usually the French pianist at the center. B+(***)
1042. Amok Amor [Christian Lillinger/Petter Eldh/Wanja Slavin/Peter Evans]: We Know Not What We Do (2016 [2017], Intakt): In my unpacking, I missed the title (going with the group name), and misspelled bassist Eldh's name. Same quartet has a 2015 album named Amok Amor, so this is one of those groups. All four members contribute songs (3-2-1-3, although it was 3-4.5-2.5-0 last time; I filed under drummer Lillinger, but Discogs lists Eldh first on the previous album). Slavin plays sax, Evans trumpet -- strongest showing I've heard by him since he left MOPDTK. A-
1043. Jürg Wickihalder/Barry Guy/Lucas Niggli: Beyond (2016 [2017], Intakt): Sax-bass-drums trio, the leader playing soprano, alto and tenor, and writing 7 (of 9) pieces (bassist Guy one, plus one by Michael Griener). B+(***)
1044. Riverside [Dave Douglas/Chet Doxas/Steve Swallow/Jim Doxas]: The New National Anthem (2015 [2017], Greenleaf Music): Pianoless quartet, the brothers playing clarinet/sax and drums, Swallow electric bass, the leader trumpet. The title and two other tunes come from Carla Bley -- the album's most striking pieces -- plus one each by Swallow and Chet Doxas, the title tune bracketed by the leader's "Americano." Full of remarkable passages, but after many plays I'm still finding it a bit too solemn. B+(***)
1045. Paul Rutherford/Sabu Toyozumi: The Conscience (1999 [2017], NoBusiness): Trombone and drums duo. Rutherford (1940-2007) was one of the most important avant-trombonists in Europe, a pioneer in the rare art of solo trombone. This is as fine a showcase for him as I've heard, but it's the drummer -- previously unknown to me -- who put this archive tape over the top. A-
1046. Quinsin Nachoff/Mark Helias/Dan Weiss: Quinsin Nachoff's Ethereal Trio (2016 [2017], Whirlwind): Tenor saxophonist, several albums since 2006, this sax-bass-drums trio by far his best. Original pieces, mostly mid-tempo, nothing fancy or frantic, but it holds together superbly. A-
1047. Terry Gibbs: 92 Years Young: Jammin' at the Gibbs House (2016 [2017], Whaling City Sound): Vibraphonist, born 1924, cut his first record in 1949 (or 1951), led an outfit he called the Dream Band circa 1959 (his son, drummer Gerry Gibbs, present here, has his own Dream Band). First record since 2006, cut in his living room with John Campbell on piano and Mike Gurrola on bass, mostly swing and early bop standards, and indeed they are delightful. B+(***)
1048. John Stein/Dave Zinno: Wood and Strings (2016 [2017], Whaling City Sound): Guitar and bass duets, mostly standards (4 Stein pieces, 1 Zinno, 9 others, with Sam Rivers the outlier). Very intimate, the bass resonant, the guitar light as a feather. B+(***)
1049. Brian McCarthy Nonet: The Better Angels of Our Nature (2016 [2017], Truth Revolution): Alto/soprano saxophonist, second album. Nonet arrays trumpet, trombone, four saxes, and piano-bass-drums for rich and varied textures, occasionally dipping into Civil War-vintage tunes -- the title draws on Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address. B+(***)
1050. Steve Coleman's Natal Eclipse: Morphogenesis (2016 [2017], Pi): Alto saxophonist, thirty-some albums since 1985, has broken new ground several times and this is probably another -- I've played it many times, never really making up my mind as it keeps shifting in unexpected directions. Large group with a chamber jazz air -- only has percussion on 5/9 tracks, never significant, although there are many sources of rhythm -- three reeds, trumpet, violin, piano, bass, with Jen Shyu's voice shadowing. A-
1051. Dave Liebman/Joe Lovano: Compassion: The Music of John Coltrane (2007 [2017], Resonance): Two major tenor saxophonists, Liebman also playing soprano, Lovano working in alto clarinet and Scottish flute, backed by Phil Markowitz (piano), Ron McClure (bass), and Billy Hart (drums). Liebman has released a number of Coltrane tributes over the years, including a blast through Ascension, so this seems to be his thing. B+(***)
1052. Kate Gentile: Mannequins (2016 [2017], Skirl): Drummer, also plays vibes, from Buffalo, based in New York since 2011. First album, quartet with Jeremy Viner (clarinet/tenor sax), Matt Mitchell (piano/electronics), and Adam Hopkins (bass). All original material by Gentile, interesting mix of rhythmic vamps and free jazz, both good for the pianist. Runs long: 72 minutes. B+(***)
1053. Burning Ghosts: Reclamation (2017, Tzadik): LA-based jazz-metal fusion quartet, second album: Daniel Rosenboom (trumpet), Jake Vossler (guitar), Richard Giddens (bass), Aaron McLendon (drums). Trumpet player is terrific -- he's building a very interesting career, mostly behind group aliases but his Astral Transference and Seven Dreams is worth searching for. The metal offers some solid crunch but not a lot of flash. B+(***)
1054. Samo Salamon Sextet: The Colours Suite (2016 [2017], Clean Feed): Guitarist from Slovenia, has consistently produced interesting records. Wrote eight pieces named for colors, and brought this sextet for Jazz Festival Ljubljana, with "two of my favorite drummers" (Roberto Dani and Christian Lillinger), Pascal Niggenkemper (bass), Achille Succi (bass clarinet), and Julian Arguelles (tenor and soprano sax). The horns contrast well, the sharper sax piercing the airier bass clarinet, most impressively when they crank it up. A-
1055. Mike Reed: Flesh & Bone (2016 [2017], 482 Music): Chicago drummer, has done a heroic job of absorbing and furthering the avant-jazz tradition of his city, usually attributing his work to two groups rather than appearing on the masthead alone. Of course, he's not alone: the credits are structured as a two-sax quartet (Greg Ward and Tim Haldenam), with Jason Roebke on bass, but two more horns spread out the sound: Jason Stein on bass clarinet and Ben Lamar Gay on cornet. Reed refers to this as "my dream-like reflections" and that's the weak spot, when it gets too dreamy. But things wake up with Marvin Tate's spoken word rants and ravings -- I sneered at first, then found them interesting, and ultimately decided they were an intrinsic part of the album's musicality. B+(***)
1056. Silke Eberhard Trio: The Being Inn (2016 [2017], Intakt): Plays alto sax and bass clarinet (here), based in Berlin, has done tributes to Dolphy, Coleman, and Mingus; credited with writing everything here, although I hear echoes of Ornette. Trio with Jan Roder (bass) and Kay Lubke (drums). A-
1057. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Rafal Mazur: Oneness (2015 [2017], FMR): Leader plays alto sax and Chinese oboe, accompanied by drums and acoustic bass guitar. Parts are a bit harsher than I'd like, but I love Carrier's deep, searching runs, and this is another good setting for them. A-
1058. Free Radicals: Outside the Comfort Zone (2017, Free Rads): Houston group, "a horn-driven instrumental dance band with a commitment to peace and justice" -- I recognized the group name from chemistry, but sure, politics works too. Took no more than five seconds for me to realize they were right up my alley. Turns out they've been around for a couple decades, recording The Rising Tide Sinks All in 1998 and five albums since. Nine-piece group, three saxes, three brass (including sousaphone), guitar, bass, drums, but 15 more "guests" joined in these sessions, including two elder vibraphonists whose credits include Benny Goodman and Sun Ra (author of their one cover). For a first approximation, imagine a cross between an anarchist collective like Club D'Elf and a New Orleans brass band. Clearly, a SFFR. A-
1059. Sebastien Ammann: Color Wheel (2015 [2017], Skirl): Pianist, born in Switzerland, based in New York since 2008, second album, both quartets, this one distinguished by alto saxophonist Michaël Attias, whose runs keep slipping out of the grooves. A-
1060. Elan Pauer: Yamaha/Speed (2015 [2017], Creative Sources): German pianist, real name seems to be Oliver Schwerdt -- has a previous trio album with Axel Dörner and Christian Lillinger and a couple albums as Schwerdt. This is solo, short (31:46), named for two of the three pieces (the other is the 2:21 "Farewell"). Impressive, more for the rumble he generates than for the runs. B+(***)
1061. Jason Stein Quartet: Lucille! (2017, Delmark): From Chicago, plays bass clarinet, quartet adds Keefe Jackson (tenor sax, contrabass clarinet), Joshua Abrams (bass), and Tom Rainey (drums) -- terrific group, with Jackson complementing the leader's airy sound. Three originals, covers from Bird and Monk, two from Lennie Tristano and another from Warne Marsh, plus one called "Roused About" that I assume honors Charlie. A-
1062. Tyshawn Sorey: Verisimilitude (2016 [2017], Pi): Drummer, sometime pianist -- he played a big chunk of his 2007 2CD album That/Not -- I've even seen him lately on trombone, but here just drums. I mention this because this strikes me as very much a piano album (Corey Smythe), the percussion and bass (Chris Tordini) often all but vanishing. Sometimes the piano, too. I'd prefer something more in-your-face, and there's some of that here too. A-
1063. Jane Ira Bloom: Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson (2017, Outline, 2CD): Soprano saxophonist. Group: Dawn Clement (piano), Mark Helias (bass), Bobby Previte (drums), plus Deborah Rush reading Dickinson poetry on the second disc only. I'm inclined to favor the music-only disc, but while I rarely register the words, somehow the music on the second disc seems even more vibrant. B+(***)
1064. Marcus Monteiro: Another Part of Me (2017, Whaling City Sound): Alto saxophonist, from Massachusetts, has at least one previous record. Quartet with piano, electric bass, and drums (Steve Langone). Wrote three originals (of 12 songs), covers ranging from Horace Silver to Michael Jackson. Fairly mainstream, but rich tone and easy swing. B+(***)
1065. Omri Ziegele: Where's Africa: Going South (2016 [2017], Intakt): Credit could be parsed several ways, including mention of Yves Theiler (keyboards, reed organ, melodica, vocals) and Dario Sisera (percussion, drums). Where's Africa is the name of a 2005 album -- a duo with pianist Irène Schweizer -- and was also used in the credit of a 2010 trio (with Schweizer and Makaya Ntshoko). Ziegele is Swiss, plays alto sax, Uzbek flute, and is credited with vocals. Not sure who sings (weirdly) and who raps (impressively), affectations which annoyed me at first as they interfered with the wonderful Township Jive-inflected groove. A-
1066. Fred Hersch: Open Book (2016-17 [2017], Palmetto): Solo piano. Three originals plus pieces from Monk, Jobim, Benny Golson, and Billy Joel. He reached a new plateau with 2014's Floating, and continues at that level, thoughtful, serene, touch as deft as ever. B+(***)
1067. Noah Kaplan Quartet: Cluster Swerve (2011 [2017], Hatology): Saxophonist (tenor and soprano), has a couple previous records. MVP here is guitarist Joe Morris, invariably the one you wind up focusing on. With Giacomo Merega (electric bass) and Jason Nazary (drums & electronics). A-
1068. Ernest McCarty Jr. & Jimmie Smith: A Reunion Tribute to Erroll Garner (2017, Blujazz): Bassist and drummer in pianist Garner's 1970-77 quartet -- the fourth player was congalero José Mangual, replaced here by Noel Quintana. The songbook includes Garner's "Misty" and "Gemini" but mostly features standards, opening with "Caravan." The record is pure delight, but you have to dig deep into the book to discover the all-important pianist: Geri Allen. Her recent death makes this even more poignant. A-
1069. Dave Rempis: Lattice (2017, Aerophonic): Saxophonist from Chicago tries a solo album, playing alto, tenor, and baritone. Cherry-picked together from four spots, with two covers among the six cuts (Billy Strayhorn, Eric Dolphy), keeps it tight and thoughtful, minimizing the usual solo sax pitfalls. B+(***)
1070. The Rempis Percussion Quartet: Cochonnerie (2015 [2017], Aerophonic): So-named for two drummers, Tim Daisy and Frank Rosaly, joined by Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on bass and leader Dave Rempis on alto/tenor/baritone sax, who started stealing scenes in the Vandermark 5. Sixth group album, all impressive, this one all the more together. A-
1071. Tomas Fujiwara: Triple Double (2017, Firehouse 12): Looks more like a double trio, with Ralph Alessi and Tyler Ho Bynum on trumpet/cornet, Mary Halvorson and Brandon Seabrook on guitar, Gerald Cleaver and Fujiwara on drums. I haven't quite figured out the parts where the leader talks about music direction, but I'm quite taken by how they all bounce off one another. A-
1072. Eric Hofbauer: Ghost Frets (2016 [2017], Creative Nation Music): Guitarist, Discogs only lists four albums since 1998 but I've heard many more than that, most quite interesting. This one is solo, deftly picked: four originals, two from kindred spirit, the late Garrison Fewell, five more from the tradition (Oliver, Monk, Dolphy) and beyond. B+(***)
1073. Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet: Diablo en Brooklyn (2017, Saponegro): Trumpet player from Peru, sextet includes Laura Andrea Leguia (tenor/soprano sax), Yuri Juarez (guitar), Freddy Lobatón (cajon), Hugo Alcazar (drums), and normally a bassist (John Benitez or Mario Cuba, but I don't see either in the credits, just a couple guest spots for keyboardist Russell Ferrante and one for guitarist Jocho Velásquez). Comes out hard on the beat, then sashays through several parts of "The Brooklyn Suite," with various interludes including a marvelous snatch of "Summertime." A-
1074. Lyn Stanley: The Moonlight Sessions: Volume Two (2017, A.T. Music): Standards singer. Pianists Mike Garson, Tamir Handelman, and Christian Jacob get cover credit, but the ever so tasteful backup musicians deserve more credit, and when you dig into the fine print you find folks like Chuck Berghofer (bass), Luis Conte (percussion), Hendrik Meurkens (harmonica), Carol Robbins (harp), and most notably Ricky Woodard (tenor sax). They aim for a midnight smolder, and the singer meets them there. B+(***)
1075. Eric Hofbauer: Prehistoric Jazz Volume 4: Reminiscing in Tempo (2017, Creative Nation Music): Previous volumes have picked on modern classical music (Stravinsky, Messiaen, Ives), so why not Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, widely cited as the great composer of "America's classical music"? Quintet: guitar, trumpet, clarinet, cello, drums. Ellington's piece, a tribute to his mother from 1935, was originally spread out over four 10-inch sides, but still only came to 12 minutes. Hofbauer picks it apart, extending his deconstruction to 24:50, but the theme comes through as elegant as ever. B+(***)
1076. Irène Schweizer/Joey Baron: Live! (2015 [2017], Intakt): Swiss pianist, one of the greats, in a duo with a notable American drummer -- half-dozen albums as a leader, well over 100 side-credits (John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Tim Berne, John Abercrombie, Enrico Pieranunzi, Laurie Anderson, many more). She has a whole series of piano-drum duos, and most are extraordinary (especially those with Han Bennink and Pierre Favre). So I kept expecting this to take off, but it never quite does. B+(***)
1077. Tom Rainey Obbligato: Float Upstream (2017, Intakt): Drummer, leads a conventionally shaped all-star quintet: Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Ingrid Laubrock (sax), Kris Davis (piano), and Drew Gress (bass). Six standards, one joint credit. Aptly titled: seems to be all about flow, gently even-tempered even working against gravity. B+(***)
1078. Gordon Grdina Quartet: Inroads (2017, Songlines): Guitarist, also plays oud, based in Vancouver, has put together an impressive string of records since 2006. No bassist here, so he tends to melt into that role here, especially as his stars -- Oscar Noriega (alto sax/clarinets) and Russ Lossing (piano/Rhodes) -- bull their way to the front. With Satoshi Takeishi on drums. B+(***)
1079. Dylan Jack Quartet: Diagrams (2017, Creative Nation Music): Drummer, has a previous duo album with bassist Tony Leva, expanding that here by adding Tod Brunel on clarinets/soprano sax and Eric Hofbauer on guitar -- the part I noticed first. All originals by Jack, stretched out nicely with increasingly strong clarinet. B+(***)
1080. Wadada Leo Smith: Najwa (2014 [2017], TUM): Group effort, Henry Kaiser making me think of Yo! Miles!, but he's only one of four guitarists, and Smith is looking to take their electric post-funk into places Miles Davis never imagined: all Smith originals, all but the title "love song" namechecking legends: Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Billie Holiday. With Bill Laswell on electric bass (and mixing), Pheroan akLaff on drums, and Adam Rudolph on percussion. A-
1081. Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Paint (2017, Hot Cup): Bassist Moppa Elliott's group vehicle, named after his first (and only non-solo) album, made their mark as a pianoless quartet of "bebop terrorists," blowing up themes and styles from the '50s and '60s, but they lost trumpet player Peter Evans in 2013, replacing him with pianist Ron Stabowsky, and now saxophonist Jon Irabagon has dropped out, transforming them into a piano trio. Stabowsky plays heroically here, and Elliott's tunes are as vital as ever, that's a big change (actually I mean loss) to process. B+(***)
1082. Borderlands Trio [Stephan Crump/Kris Davis/Eric McPherson]: Asteroidea (2015 [2017], Intakt): Bass-piano-drums trio, the bassist getting a solo intro to kick things off, elsewhere the pianist playing soft rhythmic figures behind the bass. Fascinating there, even more so when Davis jumps out front, bringing the drums into play. A-
1083. Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition: Agrima (2017, self-released): The alto saxophonist represents India (he was actually born in Italy, but his parents had previously become US citizens, so his Indian heritage is something he's picked up over the years). Guitarist Rez Abbasi was born in Pakistan, but has been an American nearly as long. The third member is drummer Dan Weiss, from Tenafly, NJ, who also plays tabla, offering the most authentic Indo-Pak spicing, although the aromas whiff in and out, and Mahanthappa's sax is as fluid as ever. A-
1084. Corey Dennison Band: Night After Night (2017, Delmark): Bluesman, plays guitar and sings, born white in Chattanooga, "immediately felt a strong connection to Soul music," moved to Chicago and fit right in. First half is perfectly respectable Chicago blues, second nudges its way into respectful soul, losing a step but relishing it. B+(***)
1085. Ton-Klami [Midori Takada/Kang Tae Hwan/Masahiko Satoh]: Prophecy of Nue (1995 [2017], NoBusiness): Marimba/percussion, alto sax, and piano. Group formed 1991, had two albums 1993-95. Satoh has a substantial discography (73 items in Discogs; Hwan 11, Takada 4). Rolling percussion with drone is the theme, but the variations only start there. B+(***)
1086. Roberto Magris Sextet: Live in Miami @ the WDNA Jazz Gallery (2016 [2017], JMood): Italian pianist, has gone out of his way to send me records so I've heard more than Discogs lists. Vigorous postbop with plenty of Latin tinge, as much in the horns -- Brian Lynch on trumpet and Jonathan Gomez on tenor sax -- as in Murph Aucamp's congas. B+(***)
1087. Nicole Mitchell and Haki Madhubuti: Liberation Narratives (2016-17 [2017], Black Earth Music): Flute player, still calls her band Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble, but that name gives way on cover and spine for spoken word artist Madhubuti, whose poetry spans the gamut of black American experience. Deep, and the band keeps it percolating, with Pharez Whitted on trumpet, a violin-violin-cello-bass string section, drums plus percussion. A-
1088. Marc Devine Trio: Inspiration (2017, ITI): Pianist, based in New York, first album, a trio with Hide Tanaka on bass and Fukushi Tainaka on drums -- his website's upcoming shows list includes quartets and quintets led by Tainaka. One original, standards include "Love Me Tender" and "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" as well as bop standards by Hank Mobley, Hank Jones, and Bud Powell. Expertly, tastefully done. B+(***)
1089. Richie Cole: Latin Lover (2017, RCP): Alto saxophonist, cut a record called Alto Madness in 1977 and played up the madman theme for many years, then seemed to disappear, but came back with a strong "Ballads and Love Songs" album in 2016. He doesn't go overboard on his Latin twist album -- guest castanets on one song but otherwise no extra percussion or specialists. Four originals (two with "Breeze" in the title), more standards than trad Latin pieces, but he has fun working on his tinge, and his alto is as lovely as ever. B+(***)
1090. ExpEAR & Drew Gress: Vesper (2015 [2017], Kopasetic): Gress is a well-known, well-regarded, relatively mainstream bassist, and no doubt helps out here (he even contributes 4/9 songs), but bass tends to sink into the background, and he's no exception. Rather, what we have is a Swedish tenor sax-piano-drums trio (Henrik Frisk, Maggi Olin, Peter Nilsson), with Frisk and Olin splitting the other songs 3-2, and the sax sounding especially luscious. B+(***)
1091. Roswell Rudd/Fay Victor/Lafayette Harris/Ken Filiano: Embrace (2017, RareNoise): Trombone-piano-bass trio plus singer, one of the most distinctive ones working today if not always one of the easiest to listen to. In some ways this recalls Rudd's mid-1970s work with Sheila Jordan -- less swing, the pianist a bit more ornate. Victor is especially striking on songs that don't tempt her to scat or vocalise, like "Can't We Be Friends" and "House of the Rising Sun," but she's pretty impressive traipsing over Mingus and Monk. The trombone isn't exactly lovely, but so full of soul it can't be the work of anyone else. A-
1092. François Carrier/Michel Lambert: Out of Silence (2015 [2017], FMR): Canadians, alto sax-drums duets, long-time collaborators, working live in London, they must have a dozen of more/less equivalent albums by now, especially if you count the ones with a guest pianist. Still, they all sound great to me, the only way this is not exceptional. A-
1093. Die Enttäuschung: Lavaman (2017, Intakt): Translates as Disappointment, a German group, based in Berlin, first recorded in 1995, with Axel Dörner on trumpet, Rudi Mahall on bass clarinet, and a shifting cast at bass and drums -- currently Jan Roder and Michael Griener, plus new this time out Christof Thewes on trombone. All original material, although their roots as a Monk tribute band -- tapped by Alexander von Schlippenbach for Monk's Casino -- show through in their irrepressible bounce and quirk. A-
1094. Liebman/Murley Quartet: Live at U of T (2017, U of T Jazz): Two saxophonists, both play soprano and tenor, Dave Liebman and Mike Morley, the latter teaches at University of Toronto where the former is a visiting professor. Backed by bass and drums, also faculty. Often terrific. B+(***)
1095. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/William Parker/Bobby Kapp: Heptagon (2017, Leo): Tenor sax backed by piano-bass-drums: Shipp has been a nearly constant companion of late, with the pair releasing seven volumes of The Art of Perelman-Shipp back in March. The best one then was a quartet with Shipp's everyday trio (Michael Bisio and Whit Dickey), but Shipp's played even more with Parker and brought Kapp back from obscurity for a superb duo in 2016 (Cactus; Kapp first made his mark with the other great avant-garde saxophonist from South America, the late Gato Barbieri). Superb all around. A-
1096. Ivo Perelman/Nate Wooley/Brandon Lopez/Gerald Cleaver: Octagon (2017, Leo): A rare "pianoless quartet" album, the two horns (tenor sax and trumpet) freewheeling against bass and drums, which help steady the rhythm and fill out harmonically -- chemistry that works admirably. A-
1097. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/Joe Hertenstein: Scalene (2017, Leo): Tenor sax with piano and drums. Not sure if the drummer, a German in New York with Jörg his given first anme, has ever played in this company before, but he keeps up as the leaders knock out some of their fastest and most furious runs. A-
1098. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/Jeff Cosgrove: Live in Baltimore (2017, Leo): Tenor sax, piano, and drums, a live set (the night's second, as it were) cut within weeks of his latest binge of studio albums. No covers, no songs, just a straight 51:00 improv, roughly equivalent to most of this year's extensive series of Perelman-Shipp collaborations. Of course, always nice to have a drummer on hand. B+(***)
1099. Vinny Golia Wind Quartet: Live at the Century City Playhouse: Los Angeles, 1979 (1979 [2017], Dark Tree): Four horns, nothing more, an experiment at the time when sax quartets were just emerging, but half brass (Bobby Bradford on cornet, Glenn Ferris on trombone), the other half reeds (John Carter on clarinet, Golia just credited with "woodwinds"). B+(***)
1100. Kris Davis & Craig Taborn: Octopus (2016 [2018], Pyroclastic): Piano duets, two of the most accomplished pianists of their generation(s) -- Davis b. 1980, Taborn b. 1970 -- selected from three concerts. Not normally my thing, but remarkable all the way through. A-
1101. Gregory Lewis: Organ Monk Blue (2017 [2018], self-released): Organ player, the fifth of his Organ Monk titles, returning to trio format after his more expansive (and trans-Monkish) Breathe Suite. I've always regarded his albums as a clever gimmick, but he gets more out of less here than I imagined possible. Obvious credit goes to guitarist Marc Ribot, but the organ continues to do the heavy lifting, gliding in and out of recognizable Monk, funk, and soul. A-
1102. Steve Slagle: Dedication (2017 [2018], Panorama): Alto saxophonist, mainstream with terrific tone and poise, also plays soprano on one cut and flute on another, backed by piano trio (Lawrence Fields, Scott Colley, Bill Stewart), Roman Diaz's congas on five cuts, and long-time collaborator, guitarist Dave Stryker, on more. B+(***)
1103. Danny Fox Trio: The Great Nostalgist (2016 [2018], Hot Cup): Pianist, based in New York, has a couple previous albums, mostly trios like this one with Chris van Voorst van Beest (bass) and Max Goldman (drums). B+(***)
1104. Sylvie Courvoisier Trio: D'Agala (2017 [2018], Intakt): Swiss pianist, based in New York; following AllMusic I filed her under Avant-Garde -- an early album was titled Music for Barrel Organ, Piano, Tuba, Bass and Percussion -- but she's regularly worked in avant-jazz circles, especially since moving to Intakt in 1999. Trio here with Drew Gress (bass) and Kenny Wollesen (drums). B+(***)
1105. Steve Swell: Music for Six Musicians: Hommage À Olivier Messiaen (2017, Silkheart): Avant trombonist, many records since 1996, second recent Hommage to a modern classical composer -- the previous Kende Dreams to Bartók. The strings -- Jason Kao Hwang on violin/viola, Tomas Ulrich on cello, but no bass -- got on my nerves a bit at first, and I still could use more trombone. With Rob Brown (alto sax), Robert Boston (piano/organ), and Jim Pugliese (drums). The Messaien references, of course, are way over my head. B+(***)
1106. Oliver Schwerdt: Prestige/No Smoking (2015 [2017], Euphorium, 2CD): German pianist, also records as Elan Pauer, goes long here with two substantial servings of solo piano, dense and crunchy, much like the Pauer record above. B+(***)
1107. Chris Speed Trio: Platinum on Tap (2016 [2017], Intakt): Tenor saxophonist, has a fairly short list of albums under his own name since 1997, but has a pretty long list of side credits. This format, with Chris Tordini on bass and Dave King on drums, pushes him out front, and he doesn't bother with the clarinet, so you get a consistent sound which grows in authority and panache. A-
1108. Samo Salamon/Szilárd Mezei/Achille Succi: Planets of Kei: Free Sessions Vol. 1 (2016 [2017], Not Two): Acoustic guitar, viola, bass clarinet/alto sax, the acoustic adding a prickly edge to the free string mix, contrasting to the hollow sound of the reeds. B+(***)
1109. Kyle Motl Trio: Panjandrums (2016 [2017], Metatrope): Bassist from San Diego, leading a trio with Tobin Chodos on piano and Kjell Nordeson on bass. Strong, risky piano work, following a solo bass album that rated nearly as high. B+(***)
1110. Katie Thiroux: Off Beat (2016 [2017], Capri): Bassist-singer, second album, more emphasis on the vocals this time (including some scat). One original, standards ranging from Ellington to Loesser to Leiber & Stoller ("Some Cats Know"), backed by piano and drums with Ken Peplowski (tenor sax/clarinet) on half the cuts, Roger Neumann (tenor/soprano sax) on two of those. Just bass and voice on "Willow Weep for Me" -- one of the finest versions ever. A-
1111. Adam Pieronczyk: Monte Albán (2016, Regent): Polish saxophonist (tenor/soprano, also credited with keyboards, electronics, drum programming), leads a sax trio with electric bass (Robert Kubiszyn) and drums (Hernán Hecht) through tricky freebop mazes. A-
1112. The Three Sounds: Groovin' Hard: Live at the Penthouse 1964-1968 (1964-68 [2017], Resonance): Gene Harris' piano trio, with Andrew Simpkins (bass) and Bill Dowdy (drums), originally formed as a quartet in 1956 but soon lost their saxophonist, and went on to record more than two dozen albums up to 1971. Cherry-picked from several sessions (including a couple substitute drummers), making sure that everything lives up to the title. A-
1113. Eve Risser White Desert Orchestra: Les Deux Versants Se Regardent (2016, Clean Feed): French pianist, has a half dozen previous albums, working frequently with prepared piano. This is something else: a ten-piece orchestra (two saxes, flute, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, electric guitar and bass, drums), the pieces inspired by various rugged landscapes, a rhythm section itching to break free, the horns striving to heighten the tension, not to break free. A-
1114. Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables (2015 [2016], Pi, 2CD): Drummer by trade, but he doesn't play much here, his compositions largely turned over to a quartet of strings (including contrabass), occasionally to piano (Chris Smythe). I suppose this focus on classical-sounding composition reinforces his academic credentials, most notably that he's been chosen to assume Anthony Braxton's post at Wesleyan University. I find parts beguiling, but I'm not a big fan of the chamber jazz concept, or of naming all your pieces "Movement" when they don't move much at all. I'll also note that the stretches I find myself most enjoying are the ones where the auteur joins in. B+(***)
1115. Bobby Bradford & John Carter Quintet: No U Turn: Live in Pasadena 1975 (1975 [2015], Dark Tree): Back cover lists Carter first, as indeed most of this now-legendary group's albums did, but spine breaks the tie in favor of Bradford (credited with cornet but photographed on the cover with flugelhorn). Previously unreleased. Takes some time to get going. A-
1116. Bob Gluck/Billy Hart/Eddie Henderson/Christopher Dean Sullivan: Infinite Spirit: Revisitng Music of the Mwandishi Band (2015 [2016], FMR): Piano, drums, trumpet, bass. Mwandishi was a Swahili name Herbie Hancock adopted in the late 1960s/early 1970s, and the title of a 1970 album Hart and Henderson played on -- they were credited as Jabali and Mganga. B+(***)
1117. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Bring Their 'A' Game (2015 [2016], Hot Cup, EP): The second of this year's four EPs, available April 1 -- for promo purposes I got them both at the same time, popped both into the changer, and can't tell them apart. Would make a fine single album were they so inclined. B+(***)
1118. Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Make the Magic Happen (2015 [2016], Hot Cup, EP): Guitarist, band includes two saxes -- Jon Irabagon (alto) you know, Balto Exclamationpoint (tenor and his homemade "balto! saxophone") I don't recognize (although previous member Bryan Murray had also been credited with the less emphatic "balto saxophone") -- plus Moppa Elliott (bass) and Dan Monaghan (drums). Basically the same avant brew Lundbom has been mixing up since 2009 -- my pick is still the 2CD Liverevil (2014) -- so what's new this year (aside from the exclamation mark) is a marketing gimmick: the music is to be split up into four 30-minute digital EPs, the first out now, the others in April, June, and September. You can buy them "a la carte" or as part of a subscription, or you can pre-order a "beautifully packaged" 4CD box available September 30, which includes the downloads as they become available. B+(***)
1119. Antonio Adolfo: Tropical Infinito (2016, AAM): Brazilian pianist, has a couple dozen albums since 1969, nearing 70 now. Adds a horn section here -- Jesse Sadoc on trumpet and Marcelo Martins on sax -- considers guitarist Claudio Spiewak a special guest. Two originals, two other Brazilian pieces, but starts with two Benny Golson tunes, adds one each from Oliver Nelson and Horace Silver, plus "All the Things You Are" -- not just nice but delightful. B+(***)
1120. Jamie Saft: Solo a Genova (2017 [2018], RareNoise): Pianist, seems like he mostly played electric early on but has developed into a remarkable acoustic player, and this live set of mostly standards -- 9/11, but more from rock era songwriters like Dylan, Mayfield, Mitchell, and Wonder than jazz sources (just Coltrane and Davis, with Ives as an outlier) -- is consistently engaging. B+(***)
1121. Edgar Steinitz: Roots Unknown (2017 [2018], OA2): Physician, professor, lately plays clarinet/bass clarinet/soprano sax, studied with bassist Dave Friesen, who plays on this belated debut, a set of pieces exploring Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions. Backed with accordion, violin, and percussion, with Jay Thomas guesting on trumpet/flugelhorn, flute, and tenor sax. B+(***)
1122. Brad Garton/Dave Soldier: The Brainwave Music Project (2017 [2018], Mulatta): Garton seems to be a programmer, who's come up with software to convert EEG (brainwave) data into music. Soldier is a violinist who had a folk group called the Kropotkins and has done all sorts of off-the-wall projects, like orchestrating a choir of elephants. Several other names on the cover, with featured roles on various songs: Margaret Lancaster (flute), Dan Trueman (Hardanger fiddle), Terry Pender (mandolin), William Hooker (drums). I don't understand how this works (what they call "data sonification") but the music is pretty interesting in its own peculiar way. B+(***)
1123. Samo Salamon/Howard Levy: Peaks of Light (2017 [2018], Sazas): Guitarist, from Slovenia, duets with harmonica player Levy, perhaps best known from Béla Fleck and the Flecktones (1988-92, returned in 2011), but he has more than a dozen albums, most on a label called Balkan Samba. Strong presence, the guitarist working deftly around the edges. B+(***)
1124. Daniel Levin/Chris Pitsiokos/Brandon Seabrook: Stomiidae (2016 [2018], Dark Tree): Cello-alto sax-guitar free improv trio, the latter two I associate with noise, although they keep that within interesting bounds here -- a little scratchy, rather abstract, a fair complement to a scratchy and abstract cellist. Stomiidae, by the way, are a family of deep sea denizens such as the barbeled dragonfish, pictured on the cover. B+(***)
1125. Kaze: Atody Man (2017 [2018], Libra): Two trumpet quartet, Natsuki Tamura and Christian Pruvost, with Satoki Fujii on piano and Peter Orins on drums. Fourth or fifth group album (one was an expanded group called Trouble Kaze). Starts way back but builds into something special. B+(***)
1126. Evan Parker/Barry Guy/Paul Lytton: Music for David Mossman: Live at Vortex London (2016 [2018], Intakt): Sax-bass-drums trio, have played together a lot over the years, as a trio since 1980, the Parker-Lytton duo going back to 1967, with both playing in Guy's big band in 1972. Mossman was founder of the Vortex, a London club where they've played often for thirty-some years. Not sure this is one of their best, but hard to deny. A-
1127. Dan Block: Block Party: A Saint Louis Connection (2015 [2018], Miles High): Tenor sax and clarinet, quite a bit of the latter. Quintet with Rob Block (guitar), Neal Caine (bass), Tadataka Unno (piano), and Aaron Kimmel (drums). Liner notes by Joe Schwab, proprietor of Euclid Records in St. Louis for 35 years, making me feel old as his shop didn't exist when I lived a half block off Euclid -- what was it, oh dear, 45 years ago? B+(***)
1128. Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas: Sound Prints: Scandal (2017 [2018], Greenleaf Music): Superstars, their names towering over the group name, formed for a Monterey Jazz Festival gig in 2013 and now belatedly return for a studio album: tenor sax and trumpet backed by Lawrence Fields (piano), Linda May Han Oh (bass), and Joey Baron (drums). Douglas has a 5-4 song edge (plus two Wayne Shorter tunes), but the group's bop-to-swing feels closer to Lovano's taste. Reminds you of how great these musicians are without developing into a great album. B+(***)
1129. Mike Jones/Penn Jillette: The Show Before the Show: Live at the Penn & Teller Theater (2017 [2018], Capri): Piano-bass duets, all standards, mostly swing era with a nod to Jobim. Jillette is better known as half of the magic act Penn & Teller. Here he reveals himself to be a pretty good bassist, his swing the foundations for the fancy tinkling. B+(***)
1130. Peter Kuhn: Dependent Origination (2016 [2017], FMR): Clarinet player, also tenor sax, cut a couple of good avant records 1978-81 then dropped from sight until 2015, returning as strong as he had left. Quintet here with Dave Sewelson (baritone/sopranino sax), Dan Clucas (cornet), Scott Walton (bass), and Alex Cline (drums). Slow to develop. Grows on you when it does, especially when it gets rough. B+(***)
1131. Peter Kuhn Trio: Intention (2017 [2018], FMR): Free jazz, the leader playing clarinet and bass clarinet, backed by bass (Kyle Motl) and drums (Nathan Hubbard). A-
1132. Sergio Galvao/Lupa Santiago/Clement Landais/Franck Enouf: 2X2 (2017 [2018], Origin): Saxophone/guitar/bass/drums quartet. The saxophonist leads, but it's the guitar that gives this its uniquely Brazilian flair. B+(***)
1133. Hal Galper Quartet: Cubist (2016 [2018], Origin): A superb pianist, side credits start with Chet Baker in 1964, his own albums from 1971, gets extra help here from tenor saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi, although a stretch late in the album where he's on his own doesn't let down. A-
1134. Aruán Ortiz Trio: Live in Zürich (2016 [2018], Intakt): Cuban pianist, with Brad Jones on bass and Chad Taylor on drums. Two long pieces and one short one, picking up bits from Chopin and Ornette Coleman, most impressive when they raise a rumble and the beat goes every which way. B+(***)
1135. The Heavyweights Brass Band: This City (2017 [2018], Lulaworld): New Orleans brass band -- trumpet, trombone, tenor sax, tuba, drums, emphasis on the bottom end -- plus various friends, including Jackie Richardson singing Steve Earle's "This City" to close -- a benediction and a vow of defiance. B+(***)
1136. Patricia Nicholson/William Parker: Hope Cries for Justice (2017 [2018], Centering): Wife and husband, the former a dancer and organizer of New York's annual Vision Festival. Discogs credits her with a couple of vocal performances, but this is where she steps out front with her spoken-word poetry accompanied by Parker's donso n'goni and bass. I never really get the spirit/myth stuff, but won't fault her cry for hope and justice. Parker is restrained, otherwise he'd steal the show. B+(***)
1137. Peripheral Vision: More Songs About Error and Shame (2018, self-released): Canadian group, fourth album since 2010, co-leaders Michael Herring (bass) and Don Scott (guitar), backed by the somewhat more famous Nick Fraser (drums) and Simon Hogg (tenor sax). Complex groove with some sharp edges, closing with an exceptionally catchy vamp. B+(***)
1138. Barre Phillips/Motoharu Yoshizawa: Oh My, Those Boys! (1994 [2018], NoBusiness): Two bassists, one American but based in France since 1972, the other Japanese, died in 1998 leaving a couple dozen albums I haven't heard -- an early duo with Dave Burrell (1974), at least one more with Phillips. This doesn't particularly sound like bass, more like an underground orchestral soundtrack to a horror flick that never turns really horrible. B+(***)
1139. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: Oneness (2017 [2018], Leo, 3CD): Tenor sax/piano duets, as if last year's seven-volume The Art of Perelman-Shipp hadn't exhausted the topic. Of course, it probably didn't. It may even have merely paved the way for this level of intimacy. On the other hand, they're not doing anything they haven't done many times before. B+(***)
1140. Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble: Rogue Star (2017 [2018], Edgetone): Alto saxophonist, also plays flute, leads a septet with tenor sax, E-trumpet, vibes, two basses, and drums. Some fine stretches, especially when I focus, but slips by when I don't. B+(***)
1141. William Parker: Lake of Light: Compositions for AquaSonics (2017 [2018], Gotta Let It Out): Four musicians -- Parker, Jeff Schlanger, Anne Humanfeld, Leonid Galaganov -- playing Parker compositions on AquaSonic waterphones invented by Jackson Krall. The instrument can be bowed or struck, so this bears some resemblance to a cello/percussion group, but higher pitched, with extra resonance due to the water. Leans toward noise to start, but grows from there to become quite haunting. B+(***)
1142. Håvard Wiik Trio: This Is Not a Waltz (2016 [2018], Moserobie): Norwegian pianist, best known for work in groups like Atomic and Free Fall, third trio album with Ole Morten Vågan (bass) and Håkon Mjåset Johansen (drums). Often struck me as a bit ornate for those groups, but that works to his advantage here, as does a challenging rhythm section. B+(***)
1143. Johan Lindström Septett: Music for Empty Halls (2018, Moserobie): Guitarist, also plays pedal steel guitar, spreads out a very diverse album with at least one song as catchy as the "Peter Gunn" theme, another called "Europe Endless Boogie," various spots for his horns that break into free territory -- Jonas Kullhammar (sax), Per Texas Johansson (clarinet), Mats Aleklint (trombone) -- then adds a splash of strings for the closing "Hymn." B+(***)
1144. Martin Küchen & Landaeus Trio: Vinyl (2013-14 [2018], Moserobie): Swedish saxophonist, plays them all here, with pianist Mathias Landaeus' trio on two sessions (different drummers), each previously released on vinyl. Küchen is best known for his Angles groups, but is a terrific free saxophonist, while the rhythm is just regular enough to let him vamp and boogie a little. A-
1145. Alexander Von Schlippenbach/Globe Unity Orchestra: Globe Unity - 50 Years (2016 [2018], Intakt): Back in 1966, a hitherto unknown 28-year-old German pianist assembled Europe's (and, really, the world's) first avant-jazz orchestra -- originally an ad hoc merger of groups led by Gunter Hampel, Manfred Schoof, and Peter Brötzmann (ages 29, 30, and 25). The group grew to 18 the next year, and recorded regularly over the next decade, regrouping later for significant anniversaries, with their 50th marking more time than had passed between ODJB's first jazz records and Globe Unity's founding. Still 18 strong here, with Von Schlippenbach, Schoof, and Gerd Dudek returning from the original band, plus Evan Parker, Tomasz Stanko, and Paul Lovens from the 1970 group. Cutting edge then, still pretty far out. A-
1146. Daniel Carter/William Parker/Matthew Shipp: Seraphic Light (2017 [2018], AUM Fidelity): Mostly an alto saxophonist, Carter is also credited here with flute, trumpet, clarinet, tenor and soprano saxophones. Not nearly as famous as his bassist and pianist, he is actually older, and has played on quite a few of their better albums, including in Parker's Other Dimensions in Music quartet. No drummer here, so Shipp takes a strong rhythmic role, with Parker fattening the sound and occasionally taking charge. Not one of Carter's flashier performances, but he adds considerable color and flavor. A-
1147. Dave Holland: Uncharted Territories (2018, Dare2, 2CD): British bassist, first album (Conference of the Birds, 1972) was a landmark of the 1970s avant-garde, but he edged into the postbop mainstream over the years, winning many polls for his quintet and big band efforts. In some ways he returns full circle here, in a quartet with Evan Parker (tenor sax), Craig Taborn (piano, keyboards, organ, electronics), and Ches Smith (percussion). Still, nothing hair-raising here, with Parker at his most measured. Second disc dials it back further, in case you want to enjoy the bassist. A-
1148. Kira Kira: Bright Force (2017 [2018], Libra): Part of Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii's record-a-month celebration of turning sixty, resoundingly answering my complaint about last month's entry by returning her piano to center stage -- at least I assume it's her, as the quartet includes a second keyboardist, Alister Spence, on "Fender electric piano, effects pedals and preparations" (actually, pretty easy to keep them straight). With Natsuki Tamura on trumpet (also inspired) and Ittetsu Takemura on drums. A-
1149. Angelika Niescier Trio: The Berlin Concert (2017 [2018], Intakt): German saxophonist, alto mostly, discography dates back to 2000. Trio, with Christopher Tordini on bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. B+(***)
1150. Dave Gisler Trio: Rabbits on the Run (2017 [2018], Intakt): Swiss guitarist, backed by Raffaele Bossard (bass) and Lionel Friedli (drums), both names prominent on cover. Starts with an easy atmospheric piece, followed by hard groove with impressive drumming, then works back and forth. B+(***)
1151. Samo Salamon/Tony Malaby/Roberto Dani: Traveling Moving Breathing (2017 [2018], Clean Feed): Slovenian guitarist, composer, produced, his name along on the spine, the three names in order on the cover. Not one of those albums where Malaby blows the lid off, but nice shadings and a few strong runs. B+(***)
1152. Henry Threadgill: Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus (2017 [2018], Pi): Threadgill's Ensemble Double Up debuted in 2015, recording Old Locks and Irregular Verbs, the Jazz Critics Poll album of 2016. The idea was two alto saxes, two pianos, and two . . . well, one each: tuba, cello, drums. "Plus" adds a third piano -- unless the point is it takes two pianists (David Bryant and Luis Perdomo) to replace Jason Moran. Threadgill doesn't play (Curtis Macdonald and Roman Fíliu return on alto), but composed the tricky, slippery score. Not quite the tour de force of the previous album, but perhaps he was thinking ahead to his larger ensemble. A-
1153. Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg: Dirt . . . and More Dirt (2017 [2018], Pi): Recorded over three days starting on the date of Double Up, the group expanded from 8 to 15, with composer Threadgill (alto sax, flutes) and producer Liberty Ellman (guitar) joining in, two trumpets, two trombones, bass, an extra drummer, but only two pianists (Davids Bryant and Virelles). Two pieces in multiple parts, alternately grand and fancy. Takes a while to sink in. A-
1154. Sonar With David Torn: Vortex (2017 [2018], RareNoise): Swiss band (two guitars, electric bass, drums), handful of albums including two on Cuneiform and two on Nik Bärtsch's Ronin Rhythm Records (one with Markus Reuter). Classified math/art/prog rock, which doesn't mean much to me. This is instrumental with strong guitar riffing, probably the band's default but also guitarist Torn's preferred metier. B+(***)
1155. Yelena Eckemoff Quartet: Desert (2015 [2018], L&H Production): Russian pianist, trained under the Soviets in classical music, moved to US in 1991 and took a shot at jazz in 2009. Back cover shows the diminuitive redhead surrounded by three giants with white (or no) hair: Paul McCandless (oboe, English horn, soprano sax, bass clarinet), Arild Andersen (double bass), and Peter Erskine (drums). Lovely pastorales, the piano and reeds alternately delightful. B+(***)
1156. Kristo Rodzevski: The Rabbit and the Fallen Sycamore (2017 [2018], Much Prefer): Singer-songwriter from Macedonia, based in New York, day job psychiatrist, also plays guitar, third album, gets classified as avant-garde jazz but sounds more like the Go-Betweens. The confusion is explained by the band: Mary Halvorson (guitar), Kris Davis (piano), Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax), Brian Drye (trombone), Michael Blanco (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums and co-producer). OK, they're slumming playing such straightforward rock, except that's not all they do. B+(***)
1157. Benito Gonzalez/Gerry Gibbs/Essiet Okon Essiet: Passion Reverence Transcendence: The Music of McCoy Tyner (2016 [2018], Whaling City Sound): Pianist, born in Venezuela, based in New York, three previous albums. All three have ties to Tyner, who wrote the first nine pieces and dropped in for some booklet photos. Tenth piece is by Coltrane. Last three are tributes, one each. B+(***)
1158. Adrean Farrugia/Joel Frahm: Blues Dharma (2017 [2018], GB): Piano/tenor sax duets, the pianist from Canada, teaches at York, two previous albums, not someone I've noticed before but he's forceful here, driving the rhythm, building on it. Frahm is a saxophonist I've often admired, but usually on other people's albums. He's masterful here, a delight. A-
1159. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Rafal Mazur: Beyond Dimensions (2016 [2018], FMR): Alto sax-drums duo from Quebec, have produced a lot of albums since 1999, often trios with a guest pianist or bassist or, here, their fourth album with Polish acoustic bass guitarist Mazur. Some superb stretches, a shade less satisfying than their Oneness (2017) or Unknowable (2015). B+(***)
1160. Bill Anschell: Shifting Standards (2017 [2018], Origin): Mainstream pianist, grew up in Seattle, spent a decade in Atlanta before moving back. Trio with Jeff Johnson (bass) and D'Vonne Lewis (drums), playing nine standards -- two from Gillespie, Mal Waldron's "Soul Eyes," Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz," the rest from the Berlin-to-Bernstein songbook, all smartly done. B+(***)
1161. No Fast Food: Settings for Three (2016 [2018], Corner Store Jazz): Trio, names listed alphabetically -- Drew Gress (bass), Phil Haynes (drums), Dave Liebman (woodwinds) -- but Haynes is the leader and composer. Still, a tour de force for Liebman, whose Coltrane-ish freebop has rarely sounded better. Dedicated to the late avant trumpet player Paul Smoker. Haynes played on his last records, and they're dandies. A-
1162. Rodrigo Amado: A History of Nothing (2017 [2018], Trost): Tenor saxophonist, from Portugal, led a group called LIsbon Improvisation Players around 2000, emerging as one of the top avant-saxophonists of the young century. With Joe McPhee (pocket trumpet/soprano sax), Kent Kessler (bass), and Chris Corsano (drums) bringing the noise, he holds this set together, while having a little fun. A-
1163. This Is It!: 1538 (2018, Libra): Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii, with Natsuki Tamura (trumpet) and Takashi Itani (drums), her basic trio, and a fair showing of her range and dynamics as a pianist. That should be welcome after a series of large-scale works that sidelined her instrument, and often is, but maybe fatigue is setting in as her album every month grind starts to wear down. B+(***)
1164. The Thing: Again (2017 [2018], Trost): I usually take promo copies that look like this as actual releases -- many releases these days are done up with minimal packaging -- but I see from Discogs that my copy is a promo: back cover is different, and I didn't get the Brian Morton liner notes. Three tracks, timed for vinyl (39:06). Group cut their eponymous debut in 2000 (one of their best), the little known (back then) rhythm section now stars in their own right (Ingebrigt Håker Flaten and Paal Nilssen-Love), with saxophonist Mats Gustafsson bringing the noise. There are limits to how much thrash and squeal I can stand in free jazz, and he can easily cross that line, but he generally doesn't here -- even with Joe McPhee helping on the middle track. Still not easy listening, but easier here to appreciate their talent. A-
1165. Jarod Bufe: New Spaces (2017 [2018], OA2): Tenor saxophonist, based in Chicago, first album, a quartet with Tim Stine on guitar, Matt Ulery on bass, Jon Deitemeyer on drums. Starts quite impressive, doesn't quite sustain but remains very listenable. B+(***)
1166. The Jamie Saft Quartet: Blue Dream (2017 [2018], RareNoise): Pianist, got an early start on organ and keyboards so his emergence as a conventional pianist has been a revelation. Quartet is fairly mainstream with Bill McHenry (tenor sax), Bradley Christopher Jones (bass), and Nasheet Waits (drums), leaning to ballads, but not that simple. Three covers, including a whiff of "Sweet Lorraine." A-
1167. Florian Wittenburg: Four Waves (2018, NurNichtNur): German composer, works with electronics but also credited here with organ and vibraphone, employs a bit of help this time. Oriented a bit more toward jazz than avant-classical or ambient, but with a good deal of overlap. B+(***)
1168. Dave Rempis/Jasper Stadhouders/Frank Rosaly: Icoci (2017 [2018], Aerophponic): Stadhouders plays guitar and electric bass, giving this a little more boost than the sax/strings trio. Drummer helps, too. B+(***)
1169. Rich Halley 3: The Literature (2017 [2018], Pine Eagle): The letter suggested "something different," but I didn't look at the fine print before putting on what appeared to be his usual tenor sax trio. I didn't notice the difference until I heard "Mood Indigo" wafting through, although I should have picked up earlier that they were doing standards: Monk, Davis, Coleman, and Jimmie Rodgers came earlier, with more Monk and Coltrane, Mingus and Sun Ra, a boisterous "Motherless Children" to follow. Terrific. A-
1170. Simon Barker/Henry Kaiser/Bill Laswell/Rudresh Mahanthappa: Mudang Rock (2017 [2018], Fractal Music): Drummer, from Australia, seems to have his hands in a lot of projects, networking here with the guitarist (globe-trotter), bassist (studio denizen), and alto saxophonist (Indian parents, born in Europe, raised in the US, covers all the bases). Music "inspired by the Korean shamanic tradition," fused all sorts of ways. B+(***)
1171. Günter Baby Sommer: Baby's Party [Guest: Till Brönner] (2017 [2018], Intakt): Swiss drummer. Small party, just a duo with the guest on trumpet and flugelhorn. Unclear on the credits, which include bits of "Danny Boy" and "In a Sentimental Mood." The piece called "Third Shot" I recognize as Ani Di Franco's "Which Side Are You On?" although it may not have started there. B+(***)
1172. Stefan Aeby Trio: The London Concert (2017 [2018], Intakt): Swiss pianist, trio with André Pousaz on bass and Michi Stulz on drums. Original compositions (one by Pousaz), has a deft touch which keeps everything at a moderate distance, encouraging contemplation. B+(***)
1173. Nicole Mitchell: Maroon Cloud (2017 [2018], FPE): Flute player, from Chicago, part of a new generation of AACM activists, backed here by piano (Aruan Ortiz) and cello (Tomeka Reid), and joined by vocalist Fay Victor. Took me a while to recognize the singer: I still dislike the dark operatic opening, but by the time she gets to "No One Can Stop Us" she's fully in charge. B+(***)
1174. Lonnie McFadden: Live at the Green Lady Lounge (2018, Jazz Daddy): Trumpet player, song and dance man (website says "entertainer") from Kansas City, one previous album, backed by piano trio, opens with "Moten Swing" and closes with his own "Swing Like Count Basie," with a tap number for an encore. Tells stories about rehearsing "In the Basement" and performing "What a Wonderful World" on a USO tour in decidedly unwonderful Baghdad. Claims to like James Brown and "modern jazz," but you know what's in his DNA. B+(***)
1175. Steve Coleman and Five Elements: Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. I (The Embedded Sets) (2017 [2018], Pi, 2CD): Live double, two full sets. For rock groups this sort of thing is usually slotted after the group has done considerable touring, building up a market for a retrospective, and often also because the new material is slowing down. The alto saxophonist's group is pretty much at that point: the band is solid and cohesive through a number of albums. Indeed, this sums them up nicely. B+(***)
1176. Bad Luck: Four (2016 [2018], Origin): Seattle-based duo: saxophonist Neil Welch and drummer Chris Icasiano. Fourth album since 2009, one I filed under the drummer (although I no longer see why: Welch has 6-7 records under his own name, vs. 0 for Icasiano, although his was the name I recognized). Rockish riffs and rhythms, avant edge, nice fusion concept. B+(***)
1177. Stephane Spira: New Playground (2017 [2018], Jazzmax): French saxophonist, plays soprano here, handful of albums including a Round About Jobim, leads a quartet here with piano/keyboard (Joshua Richman), bass (Steve Wood), and drums (Jimmy MacBride), all originals (one by Wood), recorded in NYC. Postbop, upbeat, lots of spark and dazzle. B+(***)
1178. Miguel Zenón: Yo Soy La Tradición (2017 [2018], Miel Music): Alto saxophonist, from Puerto Rico, based in New York, won a MacArthur fellowship a few years back. Has lately been leaning toward strings, and goes the whole way here, his sax coloring on top of a conventional string quartet ("featuring Spektral Quartet"). I have mixed feelings. I've never been much for strings, and they're clearly the point here. Still, rather lovely as these things go. B+(***)
1179. Darrell Katz and the JCA Orchestra: Rats Live on No Evil Star (2016-17 [2018], JCA): Composer, arranger, bandleader, plays guitar on one cut here. Originally from Kansas, moved to Boston in 1975, teaches at Berklee, founded the Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra in 1985, a big band with occasional extras, has a dozen albums, mostly with them. Always struck me as hit and miss, but this has some rousing music and one of the year's best political songs, "Red Dog Blues," with Allizon Lissance singing. B+(***)
1180. Alexander Von Schlippenbah/Aki Takase: Live at Café Amores (1995 [2018], NoBusiness): Two pianists, German and Japanese, each famous before they got married. Pieces include medleys of Mingus and Monk as well as their own tunes. Remarkable throughout. A-
1181. Kaoru Abe/Sabu Toyozumi: Mannyoka (1976 [2018], NoBusiness): Japanese alto saxophonist (also sopranino and soprano here), self-taught, one of the first notable free jazz players in Japan, died quite young (29, in 1978), most of his records issued posthumously. Duo with drums, two sets (73:58 total), can get rough but is often inspired. B+(***)
1182. Choi Sun Bae Quartet: Arirang Fantasy (1995 [2018[, NoBusiness): Trumpet player, I know very little about him, probably Korean but this was recorded in Tokyo, with Junji Hirose (tenor/soprano sax), Motoharu Yoshizawa (upright 5-string electric bass), and Kim Dae Hwan (percussion). B+(***)
1183. The Equity & Social Justice Quartet: Argle-Bargle or Foofaraw (2018, Edgetone): Colorado quartet, songs by bassist Markus Hurst (one by non-member Bill Noertker), with two saxophonists -- Glenn Ritta and Paul Riola -- plus Jay Ellis on bass. Postbop leans free. B+(***)
1184. Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra: Down a Rabbit Hole (2015-17 [2018], Summit): Composer/arranger, based in Boston, studied at New England Conservatory, teaches at Berklee, fourth album with her big band, although I first ran across her name when another group, Colours Jazz Orchestra, recorded a collection of her music. Guests here are John Fedchock (trombone), George Garzone (tenor sax), and Sean Jones (trumpet). Ends memorably with the one cover, "I'll Be There." B+(***)
1185. Fred Frith Trio: Closer to the Ground (2018, Intakt): British guitarist, his 1974 Guitar Solos could be traced as one of the founding ventures in what came to be called "experimental rock." Close to a hundred albums later, he most often shows up on jazz labels, enough so that's probably where he should be slotted. Trio here, with on bass (electric and double) and Jordon Glenn on drums, a stutter-step percussion run serves as a hook, his searching runs layered on top. A-
1186. Ivo Perelman/Rudi Mahall: Kindred Spirits (2018, Leo, 2CD): More tenor sax/bass clarinet duets, much more, the generic mix problem still evident but seems less debilitating, no doubt a credit to Mahall -- surprised I don't have anything under his name in my database, as I've run across him at least a dozen times, always on superb records. Also surprised he's only ten years older than Stein, five years younger than Perelman. B+(***)
1187. VWCR [Ken Vandermark/Nate Wooley/Sylvie Courvoisier/Tom Rainey]: Noise of Our Time (2017 [2018], Intakt): Reeds, trumpet, piano, drums, all but Rainey bringing songs. The pianist is central here, setting the pace, fracturing time, shooting off flairs, a bit of abstract comping when Vandermark finally gets his monster solo, then wraps it up with a dazzling flourish. A-
1188. Jay T. Vonada: United (2017 [2018], Summit): Trombone player, backed by piano trio, mostly originals but two covers -- "Summertime," "Darn That Dream" -- anchor it firmly in the mainstream, where it sounds splendid. B+(***)
1189. Randy Brecker & Mats Holmquist With UMO Jazz Orchestra: Together (2018, Summit): Finnish big band, founded in 1975 by Heikki Sarmanto and Esko Linnavalli, a national treasure and a prime destination for composers all around the world. Holmquist is the arranger/conductor here, also composer of five tracks -- three others are by Chick Corea, the other is "Never Let Me Go." Trumpet player Brecker is the guest star, something he's much better at than writing his own albums. I found this pretty irritating when I played it last week, but approached in a better mood it verges on magnificent. B+(***)
1190. Devin Gray: Dirigo Rataplan II (2016 [2018], Rataplan): Spine only lists the drummer, whose name lofts above his illustrious bandmates: Ellery Eskelin (tenor sax), Michael Formanek (bass), Dave Ballou (trumpet). Second group album: fractured freebop, never quite takes off but always seems on the verge. B+(***)
1191. Hofbauer/Rosenthal Quartet: Human Resources (2017 [2018], Creative Nation Music): Eric Hofbauer (guitar) and Dan Rosenthal (trumpet/flugelhorn), backed by bass and drums, the horn adding flair and feathering to the guitarist's customarily incisive lines. B+(***)
1192. Jonathan Finlayson: 3 Times Round (2018, Pi): Trumpet player, New York, often works with Steve Coleman, Steve Lehman, and Mary Halvorson. Third album, sextet with Lehman (alto sax), Brian Settles (tenor sax/flute), Matthew Mitchell (piano), John Hebert (bass), and Craig Weinrib (drums). Postbop, often spectacular, a few spots seem off and give me doubts, but they invariably blast them away. A-
1193. Aaron Parks: Little Big (2018, Ropeadope): Pianist, first album on Blue Note in 2008, has a couple more on ECM, but cut another he called Groovements on a Danish label, which is probably what caught this label's attention. Trio plus guitarist Greg Tuchey, more focused on adding to the groove than showing off his own lines. B+(***)
1194. Myra Melford's Snowy Egret: The Other Side of Air (2017 [2018], Firehouse 12): Pianist, made a strong impression with her first trio recordings in 1990, and has only grown from there. This group refers back to a 2015 album with this same group: Ron Miles (cornet), Liberty Ellman (guitar), Stomu Takeishi (bass guitar), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums). She lays back a bit on the piano, letting the group work her tricky music out. A-
1195. Alchemy Sound Project: Adventures in Time and Space (2016 [2018], ARC): Septet, was momentarily confused by only six names on back cover but they're probably just the writers of the six pieces, one each: Samantha Boshnack (trumpet), Erica Lindsay (tenor sax), Salim Washington (tenor sax/flute/bass clarinet), Sumi Toonka (piano), David Arend (double bass), who play with Johnathan Blake (drums). B+(***)
1196. François Carrier/Michel Lambert/John Edwards: Elements (2015-16 [2018], FMR): Another superb outing for the Canadian alto sax-drums duo, this time joined by the British bassist. Three pieces, two sessions. A-
1197. Don Byron/Aruán Ortiz: Random Dances and (A)tonalities (2017 [2018], Impakt): Duets, clarinet/saxophone and piano, the latter from Cuba with a strong run of recent records (mostly trios), the former an instant star on jazz clarinet with his 1992 debut but hasn't led an album since his 2006 Jr. Walker tribute. Patient listening here, an even match which doesn't blow you away but is always interesting. B+(***)
1198. Art Pepper: Unreleased Art Pepper Vol. 10: Toronto (1977 [2018], Widow's Taste, 3CD): Much discussion here of this being Pepper's first-ever band tour, which seems strange given that he toured relentlessly in his last years, up to his death at 56 in 1982. He had spent the better part of 1954-65 in jail, and didn't record much in the following decade, until the superb Living Legend in 1975, starting one of the most extraordinarily productive runs in history. The best place to start is his big (16-CD) box of Complete Galaxy Recordings: dive in anywhere and be amazed. Another choice is his pivotal 1977 Village Vanguard Sessions, originally released in four volumes then boxed up complete for 9-CD. Then there are the live bootlegs from the period, which Laurie Pepper has collated into ten volumes: nearly every disc has its share of breathtaking stretches, and this one is no exception. This is touted as a tune-up for the Village Vanguard stand, but the rhythm section here (Bernie Senensky, Gene Perla or Dave Piltch, Terry Clarke) was to be replaced by much more familiar names (George Cables, George Mraz, Elvin Jones). Still, Pepper adjusts by blowing even harder. Third disc is padded out with a 30-minute interview, which I may not play again but was never for a moment tempted to eject. Among other things, he talks about falling in love with Miles Davis' Live-Evil, and wishing to play with that rhythm section. Too bad that never happened -- would have been especially poignant given that one of his first great albums was a chance meeting with Davis' 1956 rhythm section. A-
1199. Ethan Ardelli: The Island of Form (2018, self-released): Drummer-composer, from Nova Scotia, based in Toronto, first album, an alto sax quartet featuring Luis Deniz, with Chris Donnelly (piano) and Devon Henderson (bass). Lovely tone on the alto, nice flow throughout with just enough tension to keep it interesting. B+(***)
1200. Jason Kao Hwang Burning Bridge: Blood (2018, True Sound): Violinist, has done a lot to incorporate traditional Chinese music into avant-jazz. Band here includes erhu (Wang Guowei) and pipa (Sun Li), as well as Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet), Steve Swell (trombone), Joseph Daley (tuba), Ken Filiano (bass), and Andrew Drury (drums). A-
1201. Christopher Hollyday: Telepathy (2018, Jazzbeat Productions): Alto saxophonist, originally from Connecticut, recorded six albums 1985-92, moved to California in 1993, and this is his first album in over 25 years. Classic bop quintet with trumpet (Gilbert Castellanos), piano (Joshua White), bass and drums, doing standards and classics -- nothing more recent than Freddie Hubbard. Six tracks, 33:01, "I've Got the World on a String" certainly does. B+(***)
1202. Carol Liebowitz/Birgitta Flick: Malita-Malika (2017 [2018], Leo): Duets, piano and tenor saxophone, most hauntingly slow pieces with delicate shading but nothing remotely resembling cocktail or chamber cliché. Liebowitz also credited with voice, singing "September in the Rain" and "You Don't Know What Love Is" -- brings to mind Sheila Jordan, not nearly as expert but clearly an inspiration. B+(***)
1203. Jorge Nila: Tenor Time (Tribute to the Tenor Masters) (2018 [2019], Ninjazz): Tenor saxophonist, offers this "tribute to the tenor masters" -- pieces by Dexter Gordon, Hank Mobley, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Sonny Stitt, Harold Vick, Tadd Dameron, and, well, Stevie Wonder. Ably backed by guitar (Dave Stryker), organ (Mitch Towne), and drums (Dana Murray). B+(***)
1204. David Virelles: Igbó Alákorin (The Singer's Groove) Vol I & II (2017 [2018], Pi): Pianist, born in Cuba, moved to New York in 2009, studying with Henry Threadgill. Combines two volumes on a single CD: the 35:19 "David Virelles Introduces Qrquesta Luz de Oriente" and the 23:17 "Danzones de Romeu at Café La Diana." The latter are duos with güiro player Rafael Abalos, offering an engaging code to the main action, which is the medium-sized orchestra with lead singers Alejandro Almenares and Emilio Despaigne Robert. I often find myself enjoying Latin jazz groups yet wondering what if anything makes one special. No doubts here, not that I can really explain it. A-
1205. LFU: Lisbon Freedom Unit: Praise of Our Folly (2015 [2018], Clean Feed): Nine-piece free jazz ensemble, Portuguese as far as I can tell -- best known musicians here are Luis Lopes (guitar), Rodrigo Amado (tenor sax), and all three members of RED Trio (Rodrigo Pinheiro, Hernani Faustino, Gabriel Ferrandini). Most impressive flat out, but when they hold back you can feel the tension build. A-
1206. Kevin Sun: Trio (2017 [2018], Ectomorph Music): Tenor saxophonist, also plays C-melody (2 cuts) and clarinet (3), based in Brooklyn although this was cut near Boston. First album, with Walter Stinson on bass and Matt Honor on drums. The original pieces -- two group-credited -- take a while to sink in, but the album really comes alive on the one cover, a resplendent "All of Me." Sun also writes a blog worth checking out. He's young enough to cite Steve Lehman as a "key influence," but I find his writing about Lester Young more interesting. A-
1207. Ivo Perelman/Mat Maneri/Mark Feldman/Jason Hwang: Strings 1 (2018, Leo): Avant tenor saxophonist, from Brazil, releases records in bunches. Maneri plays viola, the others violin -- instruments I almost automatically associate with dreaded classical music, although this trio breaks that mold in distinctive ways. B+(***)
1208. David Friesen: My Faith, My Life (2017-18 [2018], Origin, 2CD): Best known as a bassist, also a composer of notes, has headlined albums since 1976, summing up his career here with one disc of solo bass, a second of solo piano. Easily proficient at the latter, but I prefer the bass work, spiced with a bit of shakuhachi. B+(***)
1209. Piet Verbist: Suite Réunion (2018, Origin): Bassist, from Belgium, third album plus one by Mamutrio and a couple of side credits. Postbop quartet, no idea what "Suite" means here but the group is stocked with early collaborators, notably Bart Borremans (tenor sax) and Bram Weijters (piano), plus drums (split in two). B+(***)
1210. Ingrid Laubrock: Contemporary Chaos Practices: Two Works for Orchestra With Soloists (2017 [2018], Intakt): Alto saxophonist, working with a large orchestra -- strings, a full assortment of winds, voices (although I never seem to notice them) -- conducted by Eric Wubbels (title piece) or Taylor Ho Bynum ("Vogelfrei"). The other soloists are Mary Halvorson (guitar), Kris Davis (piano), and Nate Wooley (trumpet). The huge scale is striking, the details interesting. B+(***)
1211. Kaja Draksler/Petter Eldh/Christian Lillinger: Punkt. Vrt. Plastik (2016 [2018], Intakt): Piano trio, the pianist from Slovenia, bassist Swedish, drummer German. Hard to say what makes this one of the year's finest piano trio albums: maybe inner strength, which gives her unpredictable moves an air of destiny. An attentive rhythm section helps, too. A-
1212. Fred Hersch: Fred Hersch Trio '97 @ The Village Vanguard (1997 [2018], Palmetto): Previously unreleased tape, with Drew Gress and Tom Rainey, predates four other Village Vanguard records I've heard, and probably the best of the bunch. Came at a time when he was releasing a series of songbook albums. Two originals, one from the bassist, five standards -- got the mix just right. A-
1213. Dave Sewelson: Music for a Free World (2017 [2018], FMR): Baritone saxophonist (also sopranino), first album with his name up front but he's been around a while: I think I first noticed him in Microscopic Septet (or maybe its Fast 'N' Bulbous spin-off), but he's also been in William Parker's orchestras and is on a couple albums with Peter Kuhn. Freewheeling two-horn quartet here, with Steve Swell (trombone) facing off, Parker on bass, and Marvin Smith on drums. A little ragged, but freedom's like that. A-
1214. Joakim Milder/Fredrik Ljungkvist/Mathias Landraeus/Filip Augustson/Fredrik Rundkvist: The Music of Anders Garstedt (2016 [2018], Moserobie): Two tenor saxes (latter also credited with soprano and clarinet), plus piano-bass-drums. The composer was Swedish, played trumpet, died in 2000 at age 31, didn't leave any records under his own name, not many side credits either (one each with Fredrik Norén and Christian Falk). The musicians claim ties to him, and bring his music brilliantly to life. A-
1215. Thomas Marriott: Romance Language (2017 [2018], Origin): Trumpet player, from Seattle, close to a dozen albums since 2005, goes for ballads this time and come up with a lovely set. Backed by Joe Locke (vibes), Ryan Cohan (keybs), Jeff Johnson (bass), and John Bishop (drums). B+(***)
1216. Trio Heinz Herbert: Yes (2018, Intakt): Swiss fusion (jazztronica) group -- Dominic Landolt (guitar/effects), Ramon Landolt (synthesier/sampler/piano), Mario Hänni (drums/effects) -- novel sounds, nothing slick, some intense. B+(***)
1217. Aida Bird Wolfe: Birdie (2018, self-released): Jazz singer, more into vocalese (but doesn't scat) than cabaret, drawing on Jon Hendricks lyrics to Monk and Davis, Joni Mitchell to Mingus. Closes strong, turning the corner on "Valerie," getting crucial sax help on "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," and finally convincing me with "Every Time I Sing the Blues." B+(***)
1218. Coyote Poets of the Universe: Strange Lullaby (2018, Square Shaped, 2CD): Country-ish group from Denver, sixth album since 2003, a big one even if you discount a half-dozen striking covers -- the haunting "Wayfaring Stranger" is probably my favorite, the maudlin "Long Black Veil" took the longest to sink in. Singer Melissa Gates has a few Janis Joplin moments, still mesmerizing when she doesn't. The male singer (Andy O or Gary Hoover) is less striking, but poets need to get their words in. A-
1219. Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo: Kikoeru: Tribute to Masaya Kimura (2018, Libra): Kimura was a saxophonist in the Tokyo big band, who died in 2017. This winds up Fujii's "Kanreki" -- one record each month in 2018, marking the pianist-composer's 60th birthday -- with a bang: no piano, but spectacular horn solos and interplay, with some words leading into the climax. A-
1220. Adam Forkelid: Reminiscence (2017 [2018], Moserobie): Swedish pianist, first side credit seems to be 1999, only other record I can find under his name came out in 2005, so this trio, with Georg Riedel and Jon Fält named on the cover below the title, isn't a debut, but it is a remarkable breakthrough. I've never been much of a piano jazz fan, so I'm surprised when one feels so right -- reminds me of early Chick Corea with his Spanish tinge, although Bobo Stenson is probably closer to home. A-
1221. Bobby Bradford/Hafez Modirzadeh: Live at the Blue Whale (2017 [2018], NoBusiness): Actually a quartet, with Roberto Miranda on bass and Vijay Anderson on drums, recalling the cornet player's justly famous c. 1975 two-horn quartet with John Carter. Modirzadeh, who was born in North Carolina and teaches at San Francisco State, plays soprano sax, karna and khaen (whatever they are). B+(***)
1222. Wadada Leo Smith/Sabu Toyozumi: Burning Meditation (1994 [2018], NoBusiness): Trumpet and drums duo, a joint improv set recorded in Yamaguchi, Japan, part of the label's Chap Chap Series (not sure if these are reissues). More recently Smith has emerged as a major composer. This is a reminder of how sharp he could be in an improv setting. A-
1223. Marion Brown/Dave Burrell: Live at the Black Musicians' Conference, 1981 (1981 [2018], NoBusiness): Duets, alto sax and piano. Starts with two Brown originals, then packs three from Burrell between two Billy Strayhorn pieces, ending with a gorgeous "Lush Life." A-
1224. Roberto Magris: World Gardens (2015 [2018], JMood): Pianist, from Trieste in Italy, based in US, with 15+ records since 1982. Quartet, with bass, drums, and extra percussion, about half originals although the standards more often stand out. B+(***)
1225. Jones Jones [Larry Ochs/Mark Dresser/Vladimir Tarasov]: A Jones in Time Saves Nine (2016 [2018], NoBusiness): Sax-bass-drums trio, Ochs playing tenor and sopranino and dominating the show. B+(***)
1226. Kresten Osgood: Kresten Osgood Quintet Plays Jazz (2018, ILK, 2CD): Danish drummer, has a few albums under his own name, many more notable side-credits since 2000. Quintet is the classic hard bop lineup, with trumpet, sax, piano, and bass (print is awfully small so I'll skip the names). "Jazz" is the classics, mostly from 1950s and 1960s, like Dolphy, Davis, Ellington, Monk, and Mingus, with three apt originals included. Would be a fine primer, but still sounds fresh. A-
1227. Eric Dolphy: Musical Prophet: The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions (1963 [2019], Resonance, 3CD): Legendary alto saxophonist, also played flute and was largely responsible for establishing the bass clarinet as a jazz instrument. He died in 1964 at age 36, leaving a brief but often brilliant 5-year recording career, from his 1960 group with Booker Little (trumpet player who started with Max Roach and died even younger in 1961) and his 1961 work with John Coltrane up through his 1964 masterpiece, Out to Lunch. These previously unreleased recordings come from sessions in July 1963, mostly leftovers from the 1963 album Conversations (reissued in 1964 as The Eric Dolphy Memorial Album) and Iron Man (which appeared posthumously in 1968). I went back and played those albums, and found both of them slowed down by solo pieces -- something I didn't notice here. This does have a few weak spots: especially the operatic vocal on the second disc, which also concentrates most of the flute. On the other hand, this sounds much better on my stereo than the old releases do on my computer. And the 96-page booklet adds to this release's historical value. A-
1228. Alister Spence and Satoko Fujii Orchestra Kobe: Imagine Meeting You Here (2018 [2019], Alister Spence Music): Austalian keyboard player, trio albums date back to 2000, played on two of Fujii's 2018 albums (including Kira Kira's Bright Force, the pick of the litter). Here he conducts, with Fujii playing piano in one of her four big bands. B+(***)
1229. Benjamin Boone/Philip Levine: The Poetry of Jazz: Volume Two (2012-18 [2019], Origin): More from the sessions that produced last year's volume, with the former (and now late) Poet Laureate of the United States reading his words, remembering his youth in "pre-burnt" Detroit, notably during WWII. He is always interesting, while the much younger saxophonist gives him a score and dramatically lifts the whole performance. A-
1230. Stephan Thelen: Fractal Guitar (2015-18 [2019], Moonjune): Guitarist, b. 1959 in California, based in Zürich, Switzerland, studied mathematics and got a PhD there in 1990, main vehicle is the group Sonar ("instrumental systemic jazz meets math-rock type band"), which has a half-dozen albums since 2012, including one with Markus Reuter in 2017 and another with David Torn last year. Torn, Reuter, Barry Cleveland, Hery Kaiser, and others add layers of guitar here to Thelen's fractal gadget ("a rhythmic delay with a very high feedback level that creates cascading delay patterns in ord time signatures such as 3/8, 5/8, or 7/8"). A-
1231. Jon Lundbom Big Five Chord: Harder on the Outside (2018 [2019], Hot Cup): Guitarist, main group, quintet with two saxophonists -- Justin Wood on alto and soprano, Bryan Murray on tenor and balto -- with Moppa Elliott on bass and Dan Monaghan on drums. "Basic Bitches" is strong enough they close with an alt. take. B+(***)
1232. Quinsin Nachoff's Flux: Path of Totality (2016-17 [2019], Whirlwind, 2CD): Tenor/soprano saxophonist, postbop but seems to have tapped into a deep vein lately. Six long pieces spread out over two discs, core group with David Binney on alto/C-melody sax, Matt Mitchell on piano/keyboards (synth, but also harpsichord and mellotron), and two drummers (overlapping on two pieces), but there's also a guest list with brass, organ, Tibetan singing bowls, tap dance, etc. A-
1233. Joe Fiedler: Open Sesame (2018 [2019], Multiphonics Music): Trombonist, first noticed with his tribute/exploration Plays the Music of Albert MAngelsdorff, goes for something a bit more popular here, with his arrangements of Sesame Street diddies. Trumpeter Steven Berstein is special guest, but saxophonist Jeff Lederer is the one taking a star turn. B+(***)
1234. Samantha Boshnack's Seismic Belt: Live in Santa Monica (2018 [2019], Orenda): Trumpet player, seems to be her first record, although she's appeared in other groups I'm familiar with, like Alchemy Sound Project. Group includes Ryan Parrish (tenor/baritone sax), Paul Cornish (piano), plus violin, viola, double bass, and drums. Titles reflect an interest in geology: "Subduction Zone," "Tectonic Plates," "Convection Current," some more specific: "Summer That Never Came" reflects on the Laki volcanic eruption in Iceland in 1783 -- I would have guessed the much more famous 1883 eruoption of Krakatoa (the site of this year's tsunami), but 1783 had disastrous consequences across the Arctic, and effects as far away as India (most striking to me was: "ice floes in the Gulf of Mexico"). A-
1235. Dave Meder: Passage (2018 [2019], Outside In Music): Pianist, based in Dallas, teaches at UNT, debut album, trio cuts are solid impressive, "The Old Rugged Cross" a nice touch. For guests he recruited Miguel Zenón and Chris Potter, and they deliver as expected. B+(***)
1236. Ran Blake/Clare Ritter: Eclipse Orange (2017 [2019], Zoning): Two pianists, mostly playing duets. Ritter was a student of Blake's (also of Mary Lou Williams'), and has produced some notable albums of late. What she achieves here is to crystalize and brighten up the miniaturism that has been his stock in trade for fifty-some years. A nice plus is that several cuts add Ken O'Doherty on saxophone. A-
1237. Tom Rainey Trio With Mary Halvorson and Ingrid Laubrock: Combobulated (2017 [2019], Intakt): Drummer-led trio with guitar and tenor sax, the credit carefully thought out although the three of them have been playing together for a while now, under all combinations of credit lines. This only takes off when all three are fired up. B+(***)
1238. Iro Haarla, Ulf Krokfors & Barry Altschul: Around Again: The Music of Carla Bley (2015 [2019], TUM): Piano-bass-drums trio, nothing spectacular but Bley's compositions fascinate, and the careful renderings repay close attention. A-
1239. Moppa Elliott: Jazz Band/Rock Band/Dance Band (2017-18 [2019], Hot Cup, 2CD): Bassist, from Pennsylvania, has run the most important band in jazz for well over a decade but hardly anyone seems to recognize that -- I credit them with eight A/A- albums since 2006, but they've yet to show up on DownBeat's Best Group ballot. And lately they've started to lose members and churn a bit, so this could be seen as a desperate retrenchent, the first group album under the bassist's name since his 2004 debut. It's structured as three LPs on 2 CDs, the titles Advancing on a Wild Pitch, Unspeakable Garbage, and Acceleration Due to Gravity. The groups vary, and likely aliases dominate the middle (Rock?) band -- "Dr. Rocks" sounds a lot like Jon Irabagon to me. Regardless of the guise, this is loud and raucous, also catchy as hell. A-
1240. Ran Blake/Jeanne Lee: The Newest Sound You Never Heard (1966-67 [2019], A-Side, 2CD): In 1962, singer Lee (1939-2000) and pianist Blake (b. 1935) debuted with The Newest Sound Around. Blake has gone on to make more than a dozen duo albums with singers, but his work with Lee always seemed special. This adds much to their association: a couple of sessions, some redundant songs, a mix of standards and recent pop tunes. A-
1241. Heroes Are Gang Leaders: The Amiri Baraka Sessions (2014-15 [2019], Flat Langston's Arkeyes): Subtitled "12 jazz/poetry hi-fi dig its!" Group founded by poet Thomas Sayers Ellis and tenor saxoponist James Brandon Lewis. One of their first gigs was opening for poet-critic Amiri Baraka shortly before his death in 2014. I knew Baraka as Leroi Jones: I read everything he wrote in the 1960s, even featured some of his poems in the Poetry Notebook that got my brother expelled from 9th grade. I didn't follow his name change and later work very closely, but always respected and admired him. The title implies participation by Baraka, but this was recorded over three sessions after his death. I'm not even sure the words are his, but if not the authors have read him closely. Vocals by Margaret Morris and Catalina Gonzalez offer a contrast to Ellis and whoever else reads. And the music, from the rhythm up to the towering sax, raises the rafters. A
1242. Yelena Eckemoff/Manu Katché: Colors (2017 [2019], L&H Production): Pianist, classically trained in Moscow before she left the Soviet Union in 1991, then drifted into jazz. All her original material, duets with the French percussionist, who seems to offer all the help she needs. B+(***)
1243. Jim Piela: Out of Orbit (2018 [2019], Orenda): Alto saxophonist, studied at NYU, based in New York, has a previous album (Non Fiction). Postbop pianoless quartet with Joey Lamb on trumpet, plus bass and drums.. B+(***)
1244. Scott Robinson: Tenormore (2018 [2019], Arbors Jazz): Saxophonist, plays every one ever invented, settles on tenor here but gets uncommon range, starting with soprano notes. Quartet with Helen Sung (piano/organ), Martin Wind (bass), and Dennis Mackrel (drums), guest flute on one track, half originals, half classics, exceptionally gorgeous. A-
1245. Dave Rempis/Brandon Lopez/Ryan Packard: The Early Bird Gets (2018 [2019], Aerophonic): Avant sax-bass-drums trio, the latter also credited with electronics, the saxophones plural but not specified but I'd say mostly tenor. I'd also say tour de force. A-
1246. Anna Webber: Clockwise (2017 [2019], Pi): Tenor saxophonist, also plays various flutes, handful of albums since 2010, composes tricky pieces for septet, with Jeremy Viner also on tenor sax (alt. clarinet), Jacob Garchik on trombone, Matt Mitchell on piano, plus cello, bass, and drums. Took me a while to come around on this, and it's still too slippery to be sure. B+(***)
1247. James Brandon Lewis: An Unruly Manifesto (2018 [2019], Relative Pitch): Tenor saxophonist, chops so impressive he got a major label contract out of the gate, made two great albums for them before parting ways -- perhaps they figured he was too far out, but he's only gotten farther out since (especially in the poet-led ensemble Heroes Are Gang Leaders). Quintet here with Jaimie Branch (trumpet), Anthony Pirog (guitar), Luke Stewart (bass), and Warren Trae Crudup III (drums), for some kind of rocking freebop. A-
1248. Tomeka Reid/Filippo Monico: The Mouser (2018 [2019], Relative Pitch): Cello and drums duet, latter also credited with "objects." Reid is based in Chicago, has co-headlined albums with various notables there, including Nicole Mitchell, Mike Reed, and Dave Rempis, plus has a very good Quartet album. Monico is from Italy, has been around longer but rarely in the limelight. This has its moments of scrachy minimalism, but they hold together remarkably well. A-
1249. The David Berkman Sextet: Six of One (2018 [2019], Palmetto): Pianist, made a big impression back in the 1990s but hasn't been very prolific lately. Nominally a "three-woodwind sextet (plus guests)" but skimpy on actual credits beyond solos, for which I count four "woodwind" players: Dayna Stephens, Billy Drewes, Adam Kolker, and Tim Armacost. Complexly layered, elegant, often quite lovely. A-
1250. Dan McCarthy: Epoch (2019, Origin): Vibraphonist, from Canada, based in New York, several previous albums. This is a string-heavy quartet with Mark Feldman (violin), Ben Monder (guitar), and Steve Swallow (electric bass), with Feldman carrying most of the weight. I've never much cared for Feldman before, but he's consistently sharp here, as well as gorgeous. B+(***)
1251. Liebman Rudolph & Drake: Chi (2018 [2019], RareNoise): Saxophonist David Liebman, tenor and soprano plus he plays some surprisingly impressive piano, with two percussionists: Adam Rudolph, who draws ideas and instruments from all over the world, and Hamid Drake, whose frame drums are wonderfully distinctive. It's their record, even when Liebman tries to run away with it. A-
1252. Stephan Crump/Ingrid Laubrock/Cory Smythe: Channels (2017 [2019], Intakt): Bass, tenor/soprano sax, piano trio, listed alphabetically and jointly credited, but strikes me as the bassist's show, setting and breaking up time in a way that gives Laubrock a lot of leeway. A-
1253. Tiger Hatchery: Breathing in the Walls (2017 [2018], ESP-Disk): Avant-sax trio, with Mike Forbes, Andrew Scott Young (bass), and Ben Billington (drums), group together since 2010 (Forbes has a 2009 album with Young and Weasel Walter). Rugged, striking, relatively short (30:18). B+(**)
1254. Chord Four: California Avant Garde (2016 [2019], self-released): Pianoless free jazz quartet, based in Los Angeles, the horn players Andrew Conrad (tenor sax/clarinet/bass clarinet) and Brandon Sherman (trumpet/flugelhorn), backed by bass (Emilio Terranova) and drums (Colin Woodford). Eponymous album in 2010. This seems to be their fourth. Smart, intricate, doesn't grate, could even be characterized as understated. B+(***)
1255. Ivo Perelman/Mat Maneri/Nate Wooley/Matthew Shipp: Strings 4 (2018 [2019], Leo): Add the pianist and it all becomes much more coherent, even if he never seems to be conspicuous. B+(***)
1256. Larry Fuller: Overjoyed (2018 [2019], Capri): Pianist, from Toledo, Ohio, recorded a trio album in 1998 with Ray Brown and Jeff Hamilton but more often appeared as the pianist in their piano trios. Released a trio album I liked under his own name in 2014, and follows that up here, with Hassan Shakur and Lewis Nash. Two originals, more standards that catch your ear, the title cut from Stevie Wonder. B+(***)
1257. Betty Carter: The Music Never Stops (1992 [2019], Blue Engine): Jazz singer, dubbed Bebop Betty when she started out in the mid-1950s, deep voice, nimble scat, her work on Verve from 1980 up to her death in 1998 is especially revered -- albeit not by me: I've been impressed by her bands, but never cared much for the vocals. I should probably reacquaint myself, as she shows remarkable poise and range here, in a previously unreleased Jazz at Lincoln Center tape. Some small group cuts, more big band, some strings arranged by Geri Allen: I doubt any of those are really up to her standards, but they work well enough. A-
1258. Jordon Dixon: On! (2019, self-released): Tenor saxophonist, born in Baton Rouge, based in DC, second album, backed by piano-bass-drums (plus trumpet on one cut). Mainstream, original pieces, lovely tone, soulful. B+(***)
1259. Art "Turk" Burton: Ancestral Spirits (2019, T N' T Music): Percussioist (conga and bongo drums) from Chicago, rooted in Latin jazz but also involved in AACM, playing in Muhal Richard Abrams' big band and Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble. Gathers up three more percussionists here, Eddie Beard on piano and organ, Ari Brown and Edwin Daugherty on saxes, and singer/narrator Maggie Brown. Opens with a nod to Mongo Santamaria, followed by "A Night in Tunisia" and "Killer Joe," and later adds memorable takes of "Summertim" and "Freedom Jazz Dance." A-
1260. OGJB Quartet [Oliver Lake/Graham Haynes/Joe Fonda/Barry Altschul]: Bamako (2016 [2019], TUM): Alto sax, cornet, bass and drums. Haynes the youngest (b. 1960), the least avant, most African-oriented, but manages to fit in. Lake speaks on the Haynes' title piece. Mostly interesting mish-mash, except when Lake gets up a full head of steam and runs away with everything. B+(***)
1261. Dann Zinn: Day of Reckoning (2018 [2019], Origin): Saxophonist (tenor/soprano), also plays wood flute, teaches in Bay Area, fifth album since 2003, backed by piano trio (Taylor Eigsti), upbeat, in commanding form throughout. B+(***)
1262. Billy Mohler: Focus! (2019, Make): Bassist, based in Los Angeles, Bandcamp page talks about "returns his Focus to jazz after a successful career in rock, pop and R&B production and songwriting." This may be his first album, a pianoless free jazz quartet, with Chris Speed (tenor sax/clarinet), Shane Endsley (trumpet), and Nate Wood (drums). Starts with a bit of bass solo, then the band cuts loose. Slows down toward the end, but still holds your interest. A-
1263. Wynton Marsalis: Bolden: Music From the Original Soundtrack (2019, Blue Engine): Dan Pritzker directed the movie, released May 3, starring Gary Carr as Buddy Bolden (1877-1931, but unrecorded and locked up after 1907), the first of the legendary New Orleans cornet players, and Reno Wilson his better known successor, Louis Armstrong. Marsalis was the obvious choice to score this, using his Jazz at Lincoln Center crew and guest vocalists: Catherine Russell, Brianna Thomas, and most often Wilson, who does his best to sing like Pops and isn't really up to it. B+(***)
1264. Hiljaisuus: Kuzu (2017 [2019], Astral Spirits/Aerophonic): Chicago trio: Dave Rempis (alto/tenor/baritone sax), Tashi Dorji (guitar), and Tyler Damon (percussion). This is very harsh free jazz, similar to when the Thing hooks up with a rock guitarist who just wants to freak out, but better (if you can stand it). I wrote that back after streaming last fall, then got a CD in the mail in February, causing various bookkeeping issues: the release in September 2018 was vinyl and digital, so is the February 2019 CD a reissue, or should I treat the real new release as 2019? I procrastinated, but when I finally did give it a spin, I was blown away. I used to hate this kind of free jazz squall, then got to where I could stand it, and once in a while even thrill to it -- this one of those rare cases. As for the bookkeeping, this gets a double entry -- I'll leave it in the 2018 lists at the lower grade, but include it in 2019's A-list as a new record. (Some comparable cases: I still figure on treating Cardi B's Invasion of Privacy as a 2018 release even though its CD didn't come out until Feb. 22, as I, and pretty much everyone else, heard it in 2018. On the other hand, I missed the 2018 digital release of Eric Dolphy's Musical Prophet, only hearing it after the CDs dropped on January 25, so I'm treating it as 2019.) A-
1265. Trapper Keaper: Meets Tim Berne & Aurora Nealand (2019, Ears & Eyes/Caligola): New Orleans "space-funk" duo, William Thompson IV (mostly keyboards) and Marcello Benetti (drums), one previous album, meet up here with two alto saxophonists (Nealand also plays accordion). B+(***)
1266. Walt Weiskopf European Quartet: Worldwide (2019, Orenda): Tenor saxophonist, first recorded in 1989, one of a cluster of richly-toned mainstream players from the 1990s, although I can't say as I followed him closely -- mostly a name that followed Benny Wallace like a shadow. Until I track down his 1990s albums, I can't really attest that this is his best ever, but both fast and slow it's a sax lovers delight. The Europeans are Carl Winther (piano), Andreas Lang (bass), and Anders Mogensen (drums). A-
1267. The Invisible Party: Shumankind (2017 [2018], Chant): Guitarist Jon Lipscomb, based in Malmo, Sweden and/or Brooklyn (same page claims both), has appeared in groups like Super Hi-Fi and Swedish Fix, plays punk-noise jazz here, backed by bass (Kurt Kotheimer) and drums (Dave Treut). Most bracing guitar-bass-drums trio I've heard in some time (and, yes, I've heard Harriet Tubman). Everyone agrees this came out in September 2018, but nobody listed it last year, and I first heard about it when it popped up in my mail last week. A-
1268. The Campfire Flies: Sparks Like Litle Stars (2019, OverPop Music): I probably would have filed this as a mid-B+ with a sigle play had it not been for voice-of-the-Cucumbers Deena Shoshkes sending me the CD. She sounded as appealing as ever, but I could have done without the predominant male vocals (members of groups I've never bothered with: Speed the Plough, the Thousand Pities). I guess that's democracy, with all six members singing, most writing and playing multiple instruments. Gradually the male songs emerged more clearly, with several (especially John Baumgartner's "Deep Water") reminding me of the Go-Betweens. And Deena just kept getting better. A-
1269. Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble: Side Three: New Work (2018 [2019], Edgetone): Alto saxophonist, leads an octet counting guest Vinny Golia, sometimes through a tricky postbop slalom, sometimes blasting through with sheer energy. B+(***)
1270. Greg Abate with the Tim Ray Trio: Gratitude: Stage Door Live @ The Z (2019, Whaling City Sound): Saxophonist, grew up in Rhode Island, plays alto and tenor, adds baritone and flute here, well schooled in bebop. Ray is a pianist, his trio with bass and drums, featured on Abate's recent albums. Mostly originals, including a Phil Woods tribute, with three covers: one each from Roland Kirk and Joe Henderson, plus a nice feature for the pianist: "Jitterbug Waltz." B+(***)
1271. Yoko Miwa Trio: Keep Talkin' (2019, Ocean Blue Tear Music): Japanese pianist, based in Boston, website lists seven albums since 2003, mostly trios. Mostly originals, likes to keep them upbeat, plus covers of Monk, Mingus, Beatles, Joni Mitchell, something Latin ("Casa Pre-Fabricada"). B+(***)
1272. Scheen Jazzorkester & Thomas Johansson: As We See It . . . (2019, Clean Feed): Norwegian avant-jazz group, 12 musicians, founded in 2010, with a half-dozen albums, most featuring guests like trumpeter Johansson here, rising above the ensemble grind. B+(***)
1273. The Dave Wilson Quartet: One Night at Chris' (2018 [2019], Dave Wilson Music): Tenor saxophonist, some soprano, based in Lancaster, PA, where he has a musical instruments business. Fifth quartet album since 2002, recorded live in Philadelphia, a hot set with piano (Kirk Reese), bass, and drums, mixing Beatles ("Norwegian Wood") and Beach Boys ("God Only Knows") covers in with traditional fare ("Summertime"). B+(***)
1274. Samo Salamon & Freequestra: Free Sessions, Vol. 2: Freequestra (2016 [2019], Klopotec): Slovenian guitarist, has been producing 3-5 albums per year since 2004. Group here expands from his Rotten Girls trio to twelve, with two more guitarists, piano, violin, tuba, more horns, and a second drummer. Vol. 1 was released in 2017 as Planets of Kei. A-
1275. Avishai Cohen: Arvoles (2019, Razdaz/Sunnyside): Israeli bassist, leads a piano trio (Elchin Shirinov and Noam David), adding trombone (Björn Samuelsson) and flute (Anders Hagberg) on four cuts (of 11). Mostly rhythmic vamps, captivating pieces, the horns adding weight and color -- the trombone, anyway. B+(***)
1276. Satoko Fujii/Ramon Lopez: Confluence (2018 [2019], Libra): Piano-drums duo. Starts and ends slow, contemplative even, with a strong middle section that shows the pianist moving past her Cecil Taylor inspiration. B+(***)
1277. Per 'Texas' Johansson/Torbjörn Zetterberg/Konrad Agnas: Orakel (2018 [2019], Moserobie): Avant-sax trio from Sweden, all three write (but mostly bassist Zetterberg, who some sources credit first). All seems deeply thought out, nothing rushed or frantic. Johansson doubles on clarinet. Not much under his name, but he's been active since the 1990s, often impressive. A-
1278. Sam Rivers Trio: Emanation (1971 [2019], NoBusiness): Volume 1 of Sam Rivers Archive Project, drawing on a reportedly large trove of private recordings, here from the period when the late 1960s avant-garde retreated to the lofts of Lower Manhattan, chez Rivers in particular. Two massive chunks, 76:41 in total, with the leader playing tenor and soprano sax, a lot of flute, and some striking piano, all backed by Cecil McBee on bass and Norman Connors on drums. B+(***)
1279. Marlene Rosenberg: MLK Convergence (2016 [2019[, Origin): Bassist, from Chicago, wrote most of the pieces here, with words from Thomas Burrell and Robert Irving III for one political cut ("Not the Song I Wanna Sing"). Otherwise a superb piano trio with Kenny Barron and Lewis Nash. Two covers, both from Stevie Wonder. B+(***)
1280. Albert Beger Quartet: The Gate (2017 [2019], NoBusiness): Israeli saxophonist, also plays shakuhachi here in this quartet with piano-bass-drums. Impressive as long as he stays aggressive on sax. B+(***)
1281. Rodrigo Amado/Gonçalo Almeida/Onno Govaert [The Attic]: Summer Bummer (2018 [2019], NoBusiness): World class tenor saxophonist from Portugal, with bass and drums. Group name on cover from a 2017 album I filed under the bassist's name (with Amado but a different drummer), but spine here lists the artists as given, omitting the group name. Free jazz, not his best but so right up my alley I finally surrendered. A-
1282. Whit Dickey/Kirk Knuffke: Drone Dream (2017 [2019], NoBusiness): Drums and trumpet duo, the drummer probably more steeped in free jazz but Knuffke can swing that way when the occasion calls for it. B+(***)
1283. Kang Tae Hwan/Midori Takada: An Eternal Moment (1995 [2019], NoBusiness): Alto sax and percussion duets, part of Japan's free jazz scene, little known in the west except for frequent flyers like Satoko Fujii. Tends to move slow, at times feeling more like a bass-percussion group, but no less interesting for that. B+(***)
1284. Jan Maksimovic/Dimitrij Golovanov: Thousand Seconds of Our Life (2018 [2019], NoBusiness): Duo, soprano sax and piano, both Lithuanians -- probably a point of pride for the label, which has been an invaluable refuge for avant-jazz artists all around the world (including Japan). Relatively quiet, one could say intimate. B+(***)
1285. Horace Tapscott With the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra and the Great Voice of UGMAA: Why Don't You Listen? Live at LACMA 1998 (1998 [2019], Dark Tree): Los Angeles pianist and community organizer, first albums in late 1960s were phenomenal, much since then is relegated to private sessions although The Dark Tree (1989) is a Penguin Guide crown album, and two late releases on Arabesque caught my ear. Died in 1999, so this is even later, and too much of a sing-along to give you a good sense of his piano (although the opening instrumental piece, the title of his 1995 Arabesque album, is phenomenal). Still, only the choir at the end starts to wear my patience. A-
1286. Lafayette Gilchrist: Dark Matter (2016 [2019], self-released): Pianist, first noted in David Murray's Black Saint Quartet, haven't heard much from him since his stretch with Hyena ended in 2008. Solo here, strong on rhythm, which is usually what works for me. B+(***)
1287. Rich Halley: Terra Incognita (2018 [2019], Pine Eagle): Tenor saxophonist, from Oregon, cover pictures are all rugged high desert, but he trekked to Brooklyn to record this, with Matthew Shipp's regular piano trio (Michael Bisio and Newman Taylor Baker). Shipp has played with a lot of avant saxophonists. He seems more content than usual to lay back and fill in. Halley opens fierce, the group chemistry only really developing with the long off-speed closer, appropriately titled "The Journey." A-
1288. Bill Evans: Smile With Your Heart: The Best of Bill Evans on Resonance (1968-69 [2019], Resonance): Selected from four recent (since 2012) caches of previously unreleleased trio tapes, with Eddie Gomez on bass and either Marty Morell or Jack DeJohnette on drums. Consistently fine work. Too bad I haven't been able to hear the full albums. A-
1289. Dave Rempis/Joshua Abrams/Avreeayl Ra + Jim Baker: Apsis (2018 [2019], Aerophonic): Leader plays alto, tenor, and baritone saxes, backed by bass, drums, and piano/electronics. Baker adds a lot here, even if the net result is just another saxophone tour de force. The soft landing cinches it. A-
1290. From Wolves to Whales: Strandwal (2017 [2019], Aerophonic, 2CD): Quartet formed in 2014, second album, last names also listed on cover: Nate Wooley (trumpet), Dave Rempis (alto sax), Pascal Niggenkemper (bass), Chris Corsano (drums). Remarkable spots embedded in leisurely table-setting, not that the latter stretches out too long. Both discs are relatively short (39:07, 41:33), and could easily have been edited down to one (perhaps too long). B+(***)
1291. John Bacon/Michael McNeill/Danny Ziemann: Refractions (2017 [2019], Jazz Dimensions): Drums, piano, bass, alphabetical order but consistently applied, playing seven Thelonious Monk pieces. Not as distinctive as the originals, but refracted in subtle and interesting ways. B+(***)
1292. Mike Holober/The Gotham Jazz Orchestra: Hiding Out (2017 [2019], Zoho): Pianist, based in or around New York, works almost exclusively with big bands like the Westchester Big Band and this one -- recorded in Mt. Vernon, but stocked with some of the city's finest. Two long, multi-part pieces, plus two takes of "Caminhos Cruzados." Some delightful stretches. B+(***)
1293. Houston Person: I'm Just a Lucky So and So (2018 [2019], HighNote): Mainstream tenor saxophonist, started in the 1960s when his label (Prestige) was home to greats like Coleman Hawkins and Gene Ammons, and followed Joe Fields from there through a series of labels, eventually emerging as a great himself -- the last of that particular line. A fine quartet (Lafayette Gilchrist, Matthew Parrish, Kenny Washington) augmented on most tracks with trumpet (Eddie Allen) and guitar (Rodney Jones). Fairly typical effort, but at this point that's all he needs. A-
1294. Steve Lehman Trio/Craig Taborn: The People I Love (2018-19 [2019[, Pi): Alto saxophonist, an Anthony Braxton protégé, a very smart composer with outstanding chops, is in near-perfect form here. A very tight quartet, the banner "trio" accounting for Matt Brewer on bass and Damion Reid on drums, while allowing the more famous pianist's name to grace the front cover. A
1295. Miguel Zenón: Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera (2019, Miel Music): Tribute to the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter (1931-87), known as El Sonero Mayor. Starts disconcertingly with vocals, what sounds like a sample, but soon the alto saxophonist's superb quartet takes over: Luis Perdomo (piano), Hans Glawischnig (bass), and Henry Cole (drums). Dazzling at speed, soulful on the ballads. A-
1296. Pearring Sound: Nothing but Time (2018 [2019], self-released): Alto saxophoist Jeff Pearring, from Colorado, based in New York since 2002, has a previous album under this moniker. Trio with Adam Lane (bass) and Tim Ford (drums), with a bit of edge and a steady hand. B+(***)
1297. Roberto Magris Sextet: Sun Stone (2019, JMood): Pianist, from Italy, mainstream player fond of cool jazz icons -- has featured Herb Geller, and here sets the tables for Ira Sullivan (flute, alto/soprano saxes). Sextet adds trumpet (Shareef Clayton), tenor sax (Mark Colby), bass, and drums. Lush isn't the right word, but does seem like some kind of luxury. B+(***)
1298. Dana Saul: Ceiling (2018 [2019], Endectomorph): Pianist, first album, all original pieces, sextet with Kevin Sun (tenor sax), Adam O'Farrill (trumpet), Patrick Brennan (vibes), bass, and drums. Early on the music builds tension while featuring the vibraphone to introduce tiny fissures. Then the horns fill in and finally build the whole thing up. A candidate for debut album of the year (as was Sun's 2018 debut, Trio). A-
1299. Florian Hoefner Trio: First Spring (2018 [2019], ALMA): German pianist, based in St. John's, Newfoundland (not a town I've ever associated with jazz before). Fifth album I've heard, trio with Andrew Downing (bass) and Nick Fraser (drums). Always strikes me as a sharp, thoughtful player, roughly comparable to Fred Hersch. B+(***)
1300. Avram Fefer Quartet: Testament (2018 [2019], Clean Feed): Alto/tenor saxophonist, backed by guitar (Marc Ribot), bass (Eric Revis), and drums (Chad Taylor) -- although "backed" isn't quite right word: Ribot dominates so thoroughly I have to strain my ears even to discern the leader's presence. I've played this a lot, and there are stretches near the end that make me want to hear it again, but it takes too long to get there, and I was never hoping for this kind of fancy fusion drive. (Note that without Ribot, this trio's Eliyahu was a ballot pick in 2011.) B+(***)
1301. Noah Preminger Group: Zigsaw: Music of Steve Lampert (2018 [2019], self-released): Tenor saxophonist, first album 2007, this a septet, mostly name players: Jason Palmer (trumpet), John O'Gallagher (alto sax), Kris Davis (piano), Rob Schwimmer (haken continuum/clavinet), Kim Cass (bass), Rudy Royston (drums). Lampert, a trumpet player with five records since 2004, doesn't play here, but recently composed the single wide-ranging 48:49 title piece. I can't discern a unifying theme, but the many-faceted band shines. A-
1302. Franco Ambrosetti Quintet: Long Waves (2019, Unit): Swiss trumpet player, father Flavio Ambrosetti was a saxophonist of some note, played in his father's quintet 1963-70, starting a long relationship with pianist George Gruntz. Close to three dozen albums, only one I've previously heard, but his supporting group here would have been hard to miss: John Scofield (guitar), Uri Caine (piano), Scott Colley (bass), and Jack DeJohnette (drums). B+(***)
1303. Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: Efflorescence: Volume 1 (2018 [2019], Leo, 4CD): Tenor sax and piano, long relationship (at least since 1996), lots of recent records, too many to distinguish but their basics are solid as ever. Still, not immune to fatigue, more likely mine than theirs. B+(***) [cd]

1304. The Raymond De Felitta Trio: Pre-War Charm (2019, Blujazz): Pianist, better known for directing and writing films, but has a previous album, a solo tribute to Earl Hines. Two trios here, a conventional one with Mike Alvidrez on bass and Paul Kreibich on drums, and another which swaps bass for clarinet (Alex Budman), adding nice colors to the ballads, a plus you don't miss much on the upbeat ones. B+(***)
1305. Eri Yamamoto Trio & Choral Chameleon: Goshu Ondo Suite (2018 [2019], AUM Fidelity): Japanese pianist, moved to New York 1995, tenth album since 2002, mostly trios. This adds a huge choir (47 names), to the 7-part, 49:06 title suite, swarming and marching over a tense and dynamic sonic landscape. Then one more piece, a chill down without the choir, which reminds you how fine the piano has been throughout. A-] [11-15]
1306. Matthew Snow: Iridescence (2018 [2019], self-released): New York bassist, first album, composed six (of eight) pieces, employs a sextet -- no one I've heard of, but alto saxophonist Clay Lyons and trombonist David Gibson impress, guitar and vibes add to the options, and the drummer plays with the band. B+(***)
1307. Andrés Vial/Dezron Douglas/Eric McPherson: Gang of Three (2019, Chromatic Audio): Piano-bass-drums trio, the pianist from Montreal, did a find Monk album last year, this one even more impressive with all original pieces. B+(***)
1308. Drumming Cellist [Kristijan Krajncan]: Abraxas (2019, Sazas): Kristijan Krajncan, from Slovenia, plays cello and dubs in percussion tracks, second album, not quite solo in that he works in a couple guest spots (electronics, harpsichord). The upbeat pieces move smartly, and the occasional change of pace remains of interest. A-
1309. Rodney Whitaker: All Too Soon: The Music of Duke Ellington (2017 [2019], Origin): Bassist, from Detroit, teaches at Michigan State, ten or so albums since 1996, mainstream affairs, this his first explicit nod to swing. Leads a sextet which covers the bases: trumpet (Brian Lynch), tenor sax (Diego Rivera), trombone (Michael Dease), piano (Richard Roe), and drums (Karriem Riggins), with Rockelle Whitaker vocals on most tracks. Delightful program. B+(***)
1310. Kiki Valera: Vivencias En Clave Cubana (2018 [2019], Origin): Cuban cuatro master, a member of Familia Valera Miranda, "a century-old group and one of the most important purveyors of the Son Cubana." Indeed, sounds impeccably Cuban, with Coco Freeman's vocals, a dash of trumpet, and lots of percussion. B+(***)
1311. Gebhard Ullmann/Hans Lüdemann/Oliver Potratz/Eric Schaefer: MikroPULS (2017 [2019], Intuition): German reeds player, sticks with tenor sax here, supported by piano, bass, and drums. Free jazz, but almost a ballad album, with all four contributing pieces, with a nice flow, intricate, touching even. A- [10-18]
1313. Roger Kellaway: The Many Open Minds of Roger Kellaway (2010 [2019], IPO): Pianist, debuted with A Portrait of Roger Kellaway in 1963, many albums since and still active as he turns 80, although this one has been sitting in the vault a while. Trio with Bruce Froman on guitar and Dan Lutz on bass. Seven standards, the piano racing even as they're stretched between 5:02 and 12:12, closes with a sparkling "Caravan." A- [11-01]
1314. Devin Brahja Waldman: Brahja (2019, RR Gems): Saxophonist, also plays other instruments (piano, synthesizer, drums here), has several previous albums. Some version confusion here: Bandcamp offers four tracks (31:30), Discogs for the LP lists eight tracks (46:25), but my CDR from the artist adds a ninth track (total 54:51). Lineups vary, scattered vocals, seductive grooves, bits of exotica, steady saxophone. B+(***)
1315. Esbjörn Svensson Trio: E.S.T. Live in Gothenburg (2001 [2019], ACT, 2CD): Swedish piano trio, formed in 1993, ended with the pianist's death in 2008, was very popular in Europe, less so here. Much of their appeal was rhythmic, good examples of that here, but they're remarkably listenable even when they slow it up. A-
1316. Binker Golding: Abstractions of Reality Past and Incredible Feathers (2019, Gearbox): British tenor saxophonist, half of Binker & Moses, goes for a conventional quartet here with Joe Armon-Jones (piano), Daniel Casimir (bass), and Sam Jones (drums). All originals, most build on riffs, and the larger group pays dividends in swing. A-
1317. Mute: Mute (2018 [2019], Fresh Sound New Talent): New York-based quartet, name an anagram from plucking random letters from the artists' names: Kevin Sun (C-Melody sax/clarinet), Christian Li (piano), Jeonglim Yang (bass), Dayeon Seok (drums). All four write songs (3-3-2-1). The saxophonist continues to impress, even spread a bit thin over a finely balanced group. A- [12-13]
1318. Per Texas Johansson: Stråk På Himlen Och Stora Hus (2019, Moserobie): Swedish, plays clarinets, tenor sax, oboe, and flute, usually puts "Texas" in quotes, released one of the year's best albums (Orakel) as an avant-sax trio. Here goes for something closer to chamber jazz, with violin, vibraphone/marimba, harp, and timpani (OK, some drums), two vocals (one a choir) -- not things I particularly approve of, but has some nice passages. B+(***)
1319. Fredrik Ljungkvist Trio: Atlantis (2019, Moserobie): Swedish saxophonist, not a lot under his own name -- two 1995-97 Quartet albums, a couple duos -- but is a front line player in Atomic, pops up elsewhere (including my favorite 2018 album). Acquits himself well here, with Mattias Welin (bass) and Jon Fält (drums), plus guests on 3 (of 7) tracks (one a Sofia Jernberg vocal). B+(***)
1320. Dave Douglas: Engage (2018 [2019], Greenleaf Music): Trumpet player, you know that, lists his band members in same-sized type below the title, for good reason: Anna Webber (alto & bass flutes/tenor sax), Jeff Parker (guitar), Tomeka Reid (cello), Nick Dunston (bass), Kate Gentile (drums). Also employs two more trumpet players on occasion. A-
1321. Johnny Griffin & Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: Ow! Live at the Penthouse (1962 [2019], Reel to Reel): Two previously unreleased live shots, recorded in Seattle, led by two tenor saxophonists who've done their fair share of jousting over the years, are pretty simpatico here. Backed by Horace Parlan (piano), Buddy Catlett (bass), and Art Taylor (drums). A-
1322. Jerome Jennings: Solidarity (2019, Iola): Drummer, one previous album. Starts with "Bebop," expands in many directions with various guests, including a pretty good Camille Thurman vocal, and a striking excerpt from a speech by Stephanie Flowers. B+(***)
1323. Hal Galper Trio: The Zone: Live at the Yardbird Suite (2016 [2019], Origin): Pianist, a good one, first side credit looks to be Chet Baker in 1964, 30+ albums since 1971, a few struck me as A-list, like his 2009 trio with Reggie Workman and Rashied Ali (Art-Work), and last year's album with Jerry Bergonzi (Cubist). This one, a trio with his label's resident rhythm section (Jeff Johnson and John Bishop), live from Edmonton in Canada, isn't quite such a tour de force, but reminds you how impressive he can be. Note that Johnson wrote 4 (of 7) songs, to the leader's one. A-
1324. Toh-Kichi: Baikamo (2019, Libra): Piano-drums duo, Satoko Fujii and Tatsuya Yoshida. Four pieces from each, eight more joint improvs. Nice to hear Fujii roughing up the piano again. B+(***)
1325. Sam Rivers: Zenith [Sam Rivers Achive Project, Volume 2] (1977 [2019], NoBusiness): Tenor saxophonist, also plays soprano, piano, and (quite a bit of) flute. Quartet with Joe Daley (tuba/euphonium), Charlie Persip (bass), and Barry Altschul (drums), live set in Berlin. I might complain about the flute, but the rhythm section more than picks up the slack. A-
1326. Sonar With David Torn: Tranceportation (Volume 1) (2019, RareNoise): Sonar is a Swiss guitar-guitar-bass-drums band, principally Stephan Thelen, tunings feature tritones, rhythm very buttoned down, straight enough for rock, clever enough for jazz. Second album with guitarist Torn, who probably adds something, but fits in so seamlessly it's hard to discern what. A-
1327. Steve Swell/Robert Boston/Michael Vatcher: Brain in a Dish (2018 [2019], NoBusiness): Trombone, piano/organ, drums, a strong outing for a trombonist who's been one of free jazz's leading lights for more than a decade. A-
1328. Rebecca Angel: Santa Baby (2019, Timeless Grooves, EP): Actually, just a single, something I wouldn't review but for being sent the CD. Credit for quitting while she's ahead. B+(***)
1329. Masahiko Satoh/Sabu Toyozumi: The Aiki (1997 [2019], NoBusiness): Piano-drums duo, major figures in Japanese avant-garde since 1969 (Satoh) and 1974 (Toyozumi). Two pieces (37:24 + 19:51), relentlessly inventive, most impressed by the drummer. A-
1330. Nacka Forum: Så Stopper Festen (2019, Moserobie): Scandinavian free jazz group, sixth album since 2002, originally a quintet but now down to four: Goran Kajfes (trumpet), Jonas Kullhammar (saxophones), Johan Berthling (bass), and Kresten Osgood (drums), with most switching off to other instruments (Osgood to vibes and organ). All write, but mostly Kullhammar. A-
1331. Jim Snidero: Project-K (2019 [2020], Savant): Alto saxophonist, seems to have passed through a portal and found himself in a Dave Douglas project. Aside from the trumpeter, the band includes Orrin Evans (piano), Linda May Han Oh (bass), Rudy Royston (drums), and Do Yeon Kim (gayaguem, a Korean zither). Feels fractured, or quirky, with some potential upside. B+(***)
1332. Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York: Entity (2019 [2020], Libra): Thirteen-piece big band, short some brass from standard big bands, and no piano, the leader content to compose and conduct. All name players -- not so hard to do in New York. Impressive when your draw in close, otherwise can slip on by. B+(***) [02-14]
1333. Kuzu [Dave Rempis/Tashi Dorji/Tyler Damon]: Purple Dark Opal (2019 [2020], Aerophonic): Avant sax-guitar-drums trio, did a couple albums last year including one that I belatedly got behind (Hiljaisus) and one (Lift to Drag) I missed. Maybe slow on this one too, but for now: B+(***)
1334. Lara Driscoll: Woven Dreams (2019 [2020], Firm Roots Music): Pianist, from Chicago, trio with Paul Rushka on bass and Dave Laing on drums. Not much to say on this, other than that she always seems spot on. B+(***)
1335. Mark Segger Sextet: Lift Off (2019 [2020], 18th Note): Toronto-based "avant-chamber-jazz group formed in 2008," not sure this isn't their first record, and short at that: 8 tracks, 28:54. The three horns (Jim Lewis on trumpet, Heather Saumer trombone, Peter Lutek reeds) trashes the chamber-jazz concept, as if the drummer wasn't enough. But his fractured time is free and fertile, and he has musicians who make good use of it. B+(***)
1336. The Westerlies: Wherein Lies the Good (2019 [2020], Westerlies): New York-based brass quartet, two each trumpets and trombones, all originally from Seattle, first appeared on an album with Wayne Horvitz, have another album I haven't heard. Beyond the 14:37 title piece (by Robin Holcomb), many short bits, some trad, some filtered through the Golden Gate Quartet or Charles Ives. B+(***)
1337. Kenny Barron/Dave Holland Trio Featuring Johnathan Blake: Without Deception (2019 [2020], Dare2): Piano-bass-drums trio, on Holland's label, crediting him as producer. Credits favor Barron 4-2, with covers of Ellington, Monk, Mulgrew Miller, and Sumi Tonooka -- pianists all (Miller was Barron's partner for The Art of Piano Duo: Live, and Tonooka was one of his assistants at Rutgers, and a brilliant pianist in her own right). One of those rare piano trios where everything seems just right. A-
1338. Torbjörn Zetterberg & Den Stora Fragan: Are You Happy (2019 [2020], Moserobie): Swedish bassist, lots of side credits since 2005, fourth album leading this group: originally a sextet -- trumpet (Susana Silva Santos), trombone (Mats Ålekint), sax (Jonas Kullhammar), clarinet (Alberto Pinton), drums (Jon Fält) -- plus organ and more drums on two cuts. A-

New Stories: Speakin' Out (1999 [2020], Origin): Seattle-based piano-bass-drums trio, with Marc Seales, Doug Miller, and John Bishop; recorded four albums 1994-2001 (counting one headlined by Lynn Bush). Bonus here is tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts, who guests on five (of nine) tracks, and blows everyone away. B+(***)

1339. François Carrier/Tomek Gadecki/Marcik Bozek/Michel Lambert: Wide (2018 [2019], FMR): Alto sax/drums duo, one of my favorites, goes to Poland, picks up a second saxophonist (Gadecki, on tenor) and a bassist (Bozek, who also plays French horn). The result is a freewheeling riot, a bit too much for me, although when I can pick Carrier out, he sounds as sharp as ever. B+(***)
1340. Nutria: Meeting in Progress (2019 [2020], Ears & Eyes): Byron Asher, originally from Maryland, based in New Orleans, plays tenor sax, clarinet, and bass clarinet. With his large Scrontch Music group, released a well-regarded album last year. This group is a trio with bass (Trey Boudreaux) and drums (Shawn Myers). They keep it tighter, more intimate. B+(***)
1341. Keith Oxman: Two Cigarettes in the Dark (2018 [2020], Capri): Denver-based tenor saxophonist, sixth album since 1995, joined here by Houston Person (tenor sax) on six (of ten) cuts, backed by piano (Jeff Jenkins), bass, and drums. Three Oxman originals, one from Jenkins. Annette Murrell sings two songs. Mainstream with a lot of terrific-sounding sax. B+(***)
1342. Sestetto Internazionale: Live in Munich 2019 (2019 [2020], Fundacja Sluchaj): Italian group name, but only one Italian in line up: Gianni Mimmo (soprano sax). The others are Alison Blunt (violin, British, born in Kenya), Achim Kaufmann (piano, German), Veli Kujala (quartet tone accordion, Finnish), Ignaz Schick (turntables/sampler, German), and Harri Sjöström (soprano and sopranino sax, Finnish). Has its chamber jazz air, but broken up, especially with the electronics adding surprising percussion. B+(***)
1343. Vincent Glanzmann/Gerry Hemingway: Composition O (2017 [2020], Fundacja Sluchaj): Two percussionists, some electronics, voice, harmonica; joint composition, runs 36:33 in 6 parts. Limited palette, but consistently interesting. B+(***)
1344. Liberty Ellman: Last Desert (2019 [2020], Pi): Guitar player, was a reputation as a producer, leads a sextet of label regulars -- Steve Lehman (alto sax), Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Jose Davila (tuba), Stephan Crump (bass), Damion Reid (drums). Clever postbop, surfaces slipping easily past one another. B+(***) [03-27]
1345. Schapiro 17: New Shoes: Kind of Blue at 60 (2019 [2020], Summit, 2CD): Big band, Jon Schapiro arranged and conducted, and wrote six pieces to go with five from Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and one from pianist Roberta Piket. Doesn't much remind me of the album, but something mysteriously infectious about it. B+(***) [04-03]
1346. Harrison²: Trout in Swimwear (2019 [2020], self-released): Toronto-based quartet, pronounced "Harrison Squared," the group name from Harrison Argatoff (tenor sax) and Harry Vetro (drums), with Mike Murley (tenor sax) and Steve Wallace (bass). Edgy postbop. B+(***)
1347. Al Gold: Al Gold's Paradise (2019 [2020], self-released): Bluesman from New Jersey, plays guitar and mandolin, sings, writes his own songs. Don't know much about him other than that he organizes block parties and jams. Sounds old and gritty enough for the blues, even with his light touch. Roped some jazz musicians into his project, including Dave Stryker and Jared Gold. A-
1348. Carl Saunders: Jazz Trumpet (2019 [2020], Summit): Trumpet player, originally from Indianapolis, moved to Los Angeles, played with Stan Kenton, starting a long career of playing in big bands (Bill Holman, Bob Florence, Gerald Wilson, Clare Fischer), straddling a couple decades in Las Vegas. Quartet, backed by piano (Josh Nelson), bass (Chuck Berghofer), and drums (Joe Labarbera), about half originals, the rest bop-friendly standards. Good showcase for a fine trumpet voice. B+(***)
1349. Alex Goodman: Impressions in Blue and Red (2019 [2020], Outside In Music, 2CD): Guitarist, from Canada, based in New York City, sixth album since 2007. Two discs, two quartets with the same lineups (alto sax, bass, drums) but different musicians. B+(***) [03-13]
1350. Hayoung Lyou: Metamorphosis (2019 [2020], Endectomorph Music): Pianist, born in Korea, studied in Boston, based in New York, first album, quintet with two saxophones (Jasper Dutz on alto and Jacob Shulman on tenor), bass, and drums. Wonni Jung sings one song, similar to but less appealing than the slippery saxes. B+(***) [04-17]
1351. Daniel Bingert: Berit in Space (2019 [2020], Moserobie): Swedish bassist, father is saxophonist Hector Bingert (originally from Uruguay, where Daniel lived as a child), first album, composed, arranged, conducted, and produced but doesn't play: Torbjörn Zetterberg plays bass, with Per Texas Johansson and Jonas Kullhammar the saxophonists, Karl Olandersson on trumpet, Charlie Malmberg on piano, and Moussa Fadera on drums. Elegantly composed pieces, nothing too harsh. B+(***)
1352. Vito Dieterle: Anemone (2018 [2020], Ride Symbol): Tenor saxophonist, based in New York, first album (shares release date with a second, recorded later, mainstream affair with organ (Ben Paterson), guitar (Kris Kaiser), and drums (Aaron Seeber). One original (the title song), with two Billy Strayhorn songs always catching my ear. B+(***)
1353. Jerry Bergonzi: Nearly Blue (2019 [2020], Savant): Tenor saxophonist, many records since 1984, recorded this in Italy with Renato Chicco (organ) and Andrea Michelutti (drums). Three originals, seven standards. His best records have been his most straightforward, and this is no exception. A-
1354. Diane Schuur: Running on Faith (2020, Jazzheads): Standards singer, 25 or so albums since 1982, starts with two Percy Mayfield songs, mostly goes with rock-era songs (Carole King, Paul Simon, "Let It Be"), the lesser knowns more striking, and stronger as it ends with "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." With Ernie Watts on tenor sax, as co-producer. B+(***) [05-08]
1355. Heroes Are Gang Leaders: Artificial Happiness Button (2020, Ropeadope): Jazz-poetry group, the latter mostly Thomas Sayers Ellis, although other voices predominate (most female). Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis is the other principal here, and Ambrose Bye is also listed as executive producer, with four more names on the second line, and various guests (including William Parker and Jaimie Branch). Reminds me of Funkadelic as a community, but the funk is much bent and twisted, the messages mixed and sometimes oblique, but the interludes are transcendent. A-
1356. Chicago Underground Quartet: Good Days (2018-19 [2020], Astral Spirits): Long running duo, Rob Mazurek (trumpet, electronics) and Chad Taylor (drums), with 7 albums 1998-2014, sometimes Trio (4 albums 1999-2007), one previous Quartet album (2001) -- guitarist Jeff Parker returns here, with along with newcomer Josh Johnson (synth bass, organ, piano). Played this a lot, and keep bouncing up and down on it. B+(***)
1357. Colin Fisher Quartet: Living Midnight (2019, Astral Spirits): Bio describes him as North American multi-instrumentalist, probably Canadian, plays saxophone (tenor/alto) here, guitar elsewhere, has a couple previous albums and a dozen-plus side credits. Quartet, with Daniel Carter on sax (clarinet/flute), Brandon Lopez (bass), and Marc Edwards (drums). Avant, three long pieces (71:37). B+(***)
1358. Viktor Skokic Sextett: Basement Music (2020, Jazzland): Swedish bassist, born in Gothenburg, father Croatian, first album as leader, wrote all the music. Group has trumpet, two reed players (bass clarinet), piano, and drums. Fractured postbop, sly, sneaks up on you. B+(***)
1359. Tetuzi Akiyama/Nicolas Field/Gregor Vidic: Interpersonal Subjectivities (2017 [2019], Astral Spirits): Electric guitar, percussion, and tenor sax, no names I've run across before, although the Japanese guitarist has a long list of records since 2001 (69 Discogs entries). Nicely paced, no thrash, endlessly inventive. A-
1360. Michael Thomas: Event Horizon (2019 [2020], Giant Step Arts, 2CD): Alto saxophonist, not the same name trumpet player, co-leader of Terraza Big Band, only album I've found under his own name, a live quartet with more established players: Jason Palmer (trumpet), Hans Glawischnig (bass), and Johnathan Blake (drums). B+(***) [05-08]
1361. Adam Rudolph/Ralph M. Jones/Hamid Drake: Imaginary Archipelago (2020, Meta): Back cover and spine use group name, front cover just lists the musicians, percussionists by trade, each credited with instruments I don't recognize: membranophones, idiophones, chordophones, aerophones, as well as voice and electronic processing. Exotica fading into esoterica. B+(***)
1362. Rent Romus/Heikki Koskinen/Life's Blood Ensemble: Manala (2019 [2020], Edgetone): Alto saxophonist, plays other instruments, with Finnish e-trumpet player, and nine others, present "a musical adventures inspired by Finnish mythopoetics and Uralic oral traditions." Starts shaky, but finds its groove, Gaby Fluke-Mogul's violin stands out among the instruments, occasional vocals don't hurt. B+(***)
1363. Whit Dickey: Morph (2019 [2020], ESP-Disk, 2CD): Second of four drummers in David S. Ware Quartet (1993-96), cut his first record with Matthew Shipp in 1992 and remains his most regular trio partner. Dozen albums as leader since 1998, with this his second straight 2-CD affair, although it could just as easily be split into two releases, each disc even having its own title. The first, Reckoning, is a duo with Shipp, the piano so dense I didn't notice that there was no bassist. The second, Pacific Noir, adds Nate Wooley (trumpet), with one of the more impressive outings of his career. A-
1364. Rudresh Mahanthappa: Hero Trio (2020, Whirlwind): Alto saxophonist, major, decided to do an album of covers here, not clear whether it's the band or the subjects (Charlie Parker, Stevie Wonder, John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, Johnny Cash, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Parker again, and again) who are the heroes. Trio with François Moutin (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums), the rhythm section from his quintet Bird Calls -- probably the most popular and my least favorite of his albums. This one is more fun, probably because his Parker is so upbeat. Recorded avant le deluge, but couldn't be timelier. A-
1365. Jason Kao Hwang: Human Rites Trio (2019 [2020], True Sound): Violinist, born in America but studied Chinese classical music and added it to his jazz mix. With Ken Filiano (bass) and Andrew Drury (drums). Sample title: "Battle for the Indelible Truth." A- [07-01]
1366. The Mark Harvey Group: A Rite for All Souls (1971 [2020], Americas Musicworks, 2CD): Trumpet player, based in Boston, best known as the founder of Aardvark Jazz Orchestra ("now in its 48th season"). This group was founded in 1969, ran for a few years, left one 1972 live album before this "long lost recording" came to light. Started "playing hard-bop and jazz-rock," but this is mostly free, with scratchy sax (Peter Bloom), lots of percussion, some spoken word. B+(***) [07-17]
1367. Juhani Aaltonen/Jonas Kullhammar/Christian Meaas Svendsen/Ilmari Heikinheimo: The Father, the Sons & the Junnu (2019 [2020], Moserobie): Two tenor saxophonists, the former also playing flute, the latter baritone sax, with bass and drums. Order from spine. Cover interleaves names with title, tagging Kullhammar as father and the much older Aaltonen as Junnu. Two masters. And while I prefer his sax, Aaltonen's flute remains impressive as ever. A-
1368. Agustí Fernández/Liudas Mockunas: Improdimensions (2019 [2020], NoBusiness): Duo, piano and reeds (contrabass clarinet, tenor and soprano sax). B+(***) [cdr]
1369. François Carrier/Masayo Koketsu/Daisuke Fuwa/Takashi Itani: Japan Suite (2019 [2020], NoBusiness): Alto saxophonist, from Montreal, picks up a local band in Japan: alto sax, bass, drums. Has its impressive moments, but runs long (78:14). B+(***)
1370. Threadbare [Jason Stein/Ben Cruz/Emerson Hunton]: Silver Dollar (2019 [2020], NoBusiness): Bass clarinte, guitar, drums. Cruz and Hunton did the composing (4-3, plus 1 joint), but Stein continues his impressive run of albums. A-
1371. Sam Rivers Trio: Richochet [Sam Rivers Archive Project, Volume 3] (1978 [2020], NoBusiness): Tenor saxophonist (1923-2011), got a fairly late start, recording his brilliant debut Fuschia Swing Song at age 41, but worked into his mid-80s. His archives have been notable so far, with this, a trio with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul, no exception. Does include a fairly substantial amount of Rivers on piano and flute. B+(***)
1372. Adam Caine Quartet: Transmissions (2018 [2020], NoBusiness): Guitarist, based in Brooklyn, several albums since 2005, including a duo with Robert Dick in 2019. Quartet adds a second guitar (Bob Lanzetti), acoustic bass (Adam Lane), and drums (Billy Mintz), with alto sax (Nick Lyons) on one track. Starts easy, turns into something intense, fades away. A-
1373. Owl Xounds Exploding Galaxy: The Coalescence (2004-08 [2020], ESP-Disk): Brooklyn-based group, ran 2004-08, led by Adam Kinney (drums) and Gene Janas (electric upright bass), here also Shayna Dulberger (bass) ad Mario Rechtern (sax). Outtakes -- three cuts, 29:16, but plenty intense -- from session producing Splintered Visions, itself not releaed until 2011. B+(***)
1374. Keys & Screws [Thomas Borgmann/Jan Roder/Willi Kellers]: Some More Jazz (2017 [2020], NoBusiness): Sax-bass-drums trio, leader playing tenor and soprano, also "toy-melodica." Nice, edgy free jazz, backing smartly away from the abyss. A- [cdr]
1375. Benny Rubin Jr. Quartet: Know Say or See (2019 [2020], Benny Jr. Music): Saxophonist (tenor/alto), from Flint, MI; second album, quartet with piano-bass-drums, hard bop with harder leads. B+(***)
1376. Simon Moullier: Spirit Song (2017-20 [2020], Outside In Music): Vibraphone player (also credited with "balafon, percussions, synths"), first record, recorded over four sessions, with bass (Luca Alemano) and drums (Jongkuk Kim), most tracks adding piano and/or sax (Dayna Stephens or Morgan Guerin). I particularly like the balafon closer. B+(***) [10-09]
1377. Eva Kess: Sternschnuppen: Falling Stars (2019 [2020], Neuklang): Swiss/German bassist, real name seems to be Kesselring, has a couple previous albums. String quartet plus jazz piano trio, strings on edge, rhythm centers and propels. B+(***)
1378. Bruno Råberg/Jason Robinson/Bob Weiner: The Urgency of Now (2017-18 [2020], Creative Nation Music): Bass, reeds (tenor/soprano sax, alto flute), drums. Joint credits, except for one Råberg solo credit, and a closer from John Tchicai. Nothing very fancy here, but balance is key with free jazz, especially if you don't just blast through it. A-
1379. Horace Tapscott With the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra: Ancestral Echoes: The Covina Sessions, 1976 (1976 [2020], Dark Tree): Pianist, a major figure in Los Angeles jazz, his large group here more a scene than a mere band. A-
1380. Radam Schwartz Organ Big Band: Message From Groove and GW (2020, Arabesque): Organ player, half-dozen records going back as far as 1988. The big band is short on trombones, with an organ-guitar-drums rhythm section -- cover gives drummer David F. Gibson a shout out, but doesn't mention guitarist Charlie Sigler. "GW" is a nod to the late Gerald Wilson, who once played with Richard Holmes, nicknamed Groove, pretty descriptive there and here. B+(***)
1381. Fumi Tomita Featuring David Detweiler: Celebrating Bird/A Tribute to Charlie Parker (2020, Next Level):: Bassist, presumably from Japan but based in New York over fifteen years, with at least three previous records. Detweiler plays tenor sax, with Art Hirahara (piano) and Jimmy MacBride (drums). Eight originals, four each by Tomita and Detweiler, all close to bebop standards, lightly glossed over, the rhythm spot on as well. B+(***)
1382. Modern Jazz Quintet Karlsruhe/Four Men Only: Complete Recordings (1968-73 [2020], NoBusiness -3CD): German group: Herbert Joos (trumpets) probably a best known, with Willfried Eichhorn (reeds), Helmuth Zimmer (piano), Klaus Bühler (double bass), and Rudi Theilmann (drums). Recorded two albums, on the first two CDs here, then when Bühler dropped out they changed their name to Four Men Only, which with the addition of trombonist Wolfang Czelusta became Four Men Only + 1 for the final album. First disc is most impressive, genuinely exciting. A-
1383. Okuden Quartet [Mat Walerian/Matthew Shipp/William Parker/Hamid Drake]: Every Dog Has His Day but It Doesn't Matter Because Fat Cat Is Getting Fatter (2020, ESP-Disk, 2CD): Alto saxophonist, also plays bass clarinet, soprano clarinet, and flute. Fourth album, all with Shipp on piano, second quartet with Parker (bass) and Drake (drums) -- really hit the jackpot of rhythm sections. Free jazz, nice balance spread over eight pieces, Walerian originals, ranging from 10:54 to 18:21. A-
1384. Eric Revis: Slipknots Through a Looking Glass (2019 [2020], Pyroclastic): Bassist, probably best known for his work with Branford Marsalis since 1997, but before that started out with Betty Carter, and his own records have been adventurous. Uses two saxophonists here -- Bill McHenry (tenor) and Darius Jones (alto) -- with Kris Davis (piano) and Chad Taylor (drums). B+(***)
1385. Matthew Shipp Trio: The Unidentifiable (2019 [2020], ESP-Disk): Piano trio with Michael Bisio (bass) and Newan Taylor Baker (drums). There's no shortage of these, and it took me a lot of plays to decide that this one stood out from the crowd -- those trademark hard chords for one, the ability to navigate the trickiest of rhythms for another. A-
1386. Borah Bergman/Perry Anderson/Steve Swell/Ray Sage: Quartets Trios Duos (2007 [2020], Mahakala Music): Piano (d. 2012), clarinet (d. 2018), trombone, drums -- when I looked up Sage, Discogs only listed 3 albums, all from 2007. Swell assembled this, with 2 duos and 5 trios in various configurations, and 2 quartets. He only plays on 6 (of 9) cuts, but they are the ones that jump out at you. A-
1387. Kaze & Ikue Mori: Sand Storm (2020, Libra): Free jazz quartet, one of pianist Satoko Fujii's many groups: two trumpets (Christian Pruvost and Natsuki Tamura) and drums (Peter Orins). Sixth group album I'm aware of, this one adding Mori's laptop electronica and some spurious voice (Tamura). Some terrific passages. B+(***) [09-18]
1388. Lafayette Gilchrist: Now (Lafayette Gilchrist Music, 2CD): Pianist, leads a trio with Herman Burnie (bass) and Eric Kennedy (drums). First disc impresses with non-stop rhythm (75:41). Second (73:36) has a bit less drive. B+(***)
1389. Angelica Sanchez & Marilyn Crispell: How to Turn the Moon (2019 [2020], Pyroclastic): Piano duets. Crispell is one of the few pianists who are really good at this, and the much younger Sanchez is an apt pupil. A-
1390. Junk Magic: Compass Confusion (2020, Pyroclastic): Group named for a 2004 Craig Taborn album, part of Matthew Shipp's "Blue Series" of avant-jazztronica albums on Thirsty Ear (and not a particularly successful one in my opinion). Taborn was gaining recognition for his innovative use of electronic keyboards, before eventually establishing himself as one of his generation's finest pianists. This quintet -- Chris Speed (sax), Eric Fratzke (bass), Mat Maneri (viola), David King (drums) -- is both a throwback to his electronica, and a step forward comparable to Kris Davis' poll-topping Diatom Ribbons. I admire the dark and dirty sound more than I like it. B+(***)
1391. Rich Halley/Matthew Shipp/Michael Bisio/Newman Taylor Baker: The Shape of Things (2020, Pine Eagle): Tenor saxophonist from Portland, had been playing for a while but got serious after he retired from his day job, and has been producing excellent records every year. Had been using locals, but picked up a world-class rhythm section last year, and they're even better this time out. A-
1392. Julian Gerstin: Littoral Zone (2020, self-released): Subtitled (back cover but not front or spine) "Percussion for Mollusks." Implies that he's mostly working with shells, but details list four dozen percussion "instruments," including Fanta bottle, rice cooker, and espresso maker, as well as most of the Afro-Latin kit. Lovely within its limits, which expand a bit with guest marimba on three tracks, even more with clarinet on one. B+(***)
1393. Kevin Sun: (Un)seaworthy (2019 [2020], Endectomorph Music): Tenor saxophonist, fourth album (counting his eponymous group Mute), all winners. Trio with Walter Stinson (bass) and Matt Honor (drums). Feels like he's master the whole tradition, and can pick his way through anything. A- [11-27]
1394. Dayna Stephens: Right Now! Live at the Village Vanguard (2019 [2020], Contagious Music, 2CD): Mainstream tenor saxophonist, from Berkeley, studied at Berklee, impressed me first on side credits, but he's putting a solid resumé together as a leader. Quartet with Aaron Parks (piano), Ben Street (bass), and Greg Hutchinson (drums). B+(***)
1395. Natsuki Tamura/Satoko Fujii/Ramon Lopez: Mantle (2019 [2020], Libra): Japanese trumpet-piano duo, a marriage as well as a long-time partnership, his name first for a change. Plus a drummer -- always good to have one of those. B+(***)
1396. Guillaume Nouaux: Guillaume Nouaux & the Stride Piano Kings (2019 [2020], self-released): French drummer, debut was 1998 album Creole Pinasse Hot Jazz Band, not a lot since then but these piano-drums duets would seem to be a dream project. Two tracks each from seven retro-swing pianists: Bernd Lhotzky, Louis Mazetier, Luca Filastro, Chris Hopkins, Rossano Sportiello, Harry Kanters, and Alain Barrabes. A couple songs could have been better chosen, but most are bright and cheery. B+(***)
1397. Steve Swell Quintet Soul Travelers With Leena Conquest: Astonishments (2018 [2020], RogueArt): Trombonist, the most accomplished of his generation, leads an all-star group: Jemeel Moondoc (alto sax), Dave Burrell (piano), William Parker (bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums). The vocalist, who's most often worked with Parker, has a couple of spots, skittering expertly around the tricky music. The title cut features a list of astonishing but lately departed musicians. Great to hear those names. A
1398. Samo Salamon & Friends: Almost Alone Vol. 1 (2020, Samo): Slovenian guitarist's quarantine project, eleven long-distance duos with as many guitarists. Still feel remarkably together. B+(***)
1399. Sam Rivers Quartet: Braids [Sam Rivers Archive Project, Volume 4] (1979 [2020], NoBusiness): Continues a stellar archive series. The leader plays impressive piano as well as tenor and soprano sax and flute, backed by Joe Daley (tuba/euphonium), Dave Holland (bass/cello), and Thurman Barker (drums). A-
1400. Yuma Uesaka/Cat Toren/Colin Hinton: Ocelot (2020 [2021], 577): Young Brooklyn-based trio, reeds/piano/drums; Uesaka has a debut out in January, a duo with Marilyn Crispell, while Toren's first record dropped last year. This is a quiet record, with an understated strength, the pianist most impressive. B+(***) [03-26]
1401. RED Trio & Celebration Band: Suite 10 Years Anniversary (2018 [2020], NoBusiness, 2CD): Portuguese piano trio -- Rodrigo Pinheiro, Harnani Faustino, Gabriel Ferandini -- eponymous debut was very impressive ten years ago, don't think they've ever quite matched it but they've had a solid decade. Celebration Band adds another 14 musicians, with strings as well as horns, also Miguel Abreu credited with voice and electric bass. Each of the three composes a major (28-42 minute) piece, always led by the piano, regardless of the firepower. B+(***)
1402. Hal Galper Quintet: Live at the Berlin Philharmonic 1977 (1977 [2021], Origin, 2CD): Pianist, born 1938, steady stream of albums since 1971, always superb but I often need something extra to single out one of his albums. Here it's the horns, with Randy Brecker on trumpet and Michael Brecker on tenor sax. Discs run 51:31 and 36:08, three long tracks each, with the usual bass (Wayne Dockery) and drums (Bob Moses) solos. Superb piano, too. B+(***)
1403. Sana Nagano: Smashing Humans (2020 [2021], 577): Violinist, from Tokyo, moved to Oregon as an exchange student, studied at Memphis and Berklee, based in New York, first album, with Peter Apfelbaum (tenor sax), Keisuke Matsuno (guitars), Ken Filiano (bass), and Joe Hertenstein (drums). B+(***)
1404. Frank Gratkowski/Achim Kaufmann/Wilbert de Joode/Tony Buck: Flatbosc & Cautery (2018 [2020], NoBusiness): Free improv: alto sax (plus clarinets/flutes), piano, bass, drums. Can get noisy, but pianist is heroic both as alternate lead and support, and the bassist goes a long way toward holding it together. A-
1405. Hafez Modirzadeh: Facets (2018-19 [2021], Pi): No Wikipedia entry -- seems like a pretty big omission. Born in North Carolina (1962), Iranian descent (if memory serves), Professor of Creative/World Music at San Francisco State, has developed the idea of "chromodal discourse," which is the basis of this and other works. Plays tenor sax, in duets with three pianists (Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, and Craig Taborn). B+(***)
1406. In Layers: Pliable (2018 [2020], FMR): Free jazz quartet: Luis Vicente (trumpet), Marcelo Dos Reis (guitar), Kristján Martinsson (piano), Onno Govaert (drums). Nice balance, Vicente continues to impress. B+(***) [cd]
1407. Ian Charleton Big Band: A Fresh Perspective (2020 [2021], none): Conventional 17-piece big band, the leader composed four songs, arranged the rest, but isn't credited as playing (seems to have originally been a saxophonist). Second album. Nothing new, but well done. Emily Charleton joins for two vocals -- I especially liked her "Everything I've Got." B+(***) [03-16]
1408. Michael and Peter Formanek: Dyads (2019 [2021], Out of Your Head): Famous bassist and his unknown son, playing tenor sax and clarinet, probably his first album. Something more than a nice duo album, the bass solos could stand on their own, but the extra color and shading extends interest, in this case all the way to 72:36. A-
1409. João Madeira/Hernâni Faustino: dB Duet (2020 [2021], FMR): Double bass duo, Portuguese, Faustino best known for RED Trio, Madeira has a much shorter discography starting in 2015. Sonic range is limited (as expected), but much of interest going on. B+(***)
1410. Magnet Animals: Fake Dudes (2020 [2021], RareNoise): Guitarist Todd Clouser, originally from Minneapolis, based in Mexico City, also sings and talks, second album for this group -- Eyal Maoz (guitar), Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz (bass), Jorge Servin (drums) -- also has another trio, A Love Electric, and other projects back to 2006. Not sure about the lyrics, but the guitar improvs stagger, even if they lean to the rock side of fusion. A-
1411. Ignaz Schick/Oliver Steidle: Ilog2 (2020 [2021], Zarek): German duo, Schick on turntables and electronics, Steidle drums and more electronics, both with discographies dating back to early 2000s. Feints toward noise, but an early bit with sampled vocals reminded me of DJ Shadow, and the drumming ultimately nudged this over. Their previous Ilog came out in 2015. A-
1412. Three-Layer Cake: Stove Top (2020 [2021], RareNoise): Trio: Brandon Seabrook (guitar, banjo, tapes), Mike Pride (drums, glockenspiel, bells, organ), Mike Watt (bass). Percussion is most striking. B+(***) [05-28]
1413. Damata: What's Damata (2021, Dugnad): Norwegian guitar-bass-drums trio (Torstein Slåen, Karl Erik Horndalsveen, Ola Øverby), first album, tempted to describe it as ambient but that's just a starting place. B+(***) [04-16]
1414. Michael Waldrop: Time Frames (2019-20 [2021], Origin): Plays marimba and vibraphone here, drums elsewhere. Mostly percussion, including djembe, bongos, and congas. B+(***)
1415. James Brandon Lewis Red Lily Quintet: Jesup Wagon (2020 [2021], Tao Forms): Tenor saxophonist, always impressive, means to pay homage to George Washington Carver (1864-1943), but see the booklet for that. A blindfold test puts him closer to David S. Ware, aside for the change-of-pace closer ("Chemurgy"), my favorite piece here. With Kirk Knuffke (cornet), Chris Hoffman (cello), William Parker (bass/gibri), and Chad Taylor (drums/mbira). A- [05-07]
1416. Ruben Reinaldo & Kely Garcia: Acuarel (2019 [2020], Free Code): Guitar duo, probably Spanish, only album I can find by either, cover can be parsed to read credits either way, but spine is as listed. Hard to say much about this pleasant and engaging record. B+(***)
1417. Enzo Carniel and Filippo Vignato as Silent Room: Aria (2021, Menace): French pianist, Italian trombonist, both have several previous albums. Duo first played together in tribute to avant-trombone legend Albert Mangelsdorf, but they're also into Brian Eno's ambient synths, and find a pleasing synthesis herein. B+(***)
1418. Steve Tintweiss and the Purple Why: Markstown (1968 [2021}, Inky Dot Media): Bassist, mostly played in the 1960s on albums by ESP-Disk artists, from Albert Ayler to Patty Waters and Frank Wright. This is billed as "authentic sixties ny city avant-garde free jazz," from two dates (St. Mark's Church, The Town Hall). Compositions by the leader, quintet plus vocals, only name that jumps out at me is Mark Whitecage (tenor sax/flute). Album does feature his bass, and he impresses. B+(***)
1419. Satoko Fujii Tokyo Trio: Moon on the Lake (2020 [2021], Libra): A rare conventional piano trio, although bassist Takashi Sugawa doubles on cello, with Ittesu Takamura on drums. Some spectacular passages, as you'd expect. B+(***) [05-07]
1420. Maria Grand: Reciprocity (2021, Biophilia): Swiss tenor saxophonist, based in New York, third album, sings some, trio with bass (Kanoa Mendenhall) and drums (Savannah Harris). Again impressed by her sax, less engaged by the vocals (some by Harris). B+(***)
1421. Uassyn: Zacharya (2019 [2021], JazzThing): Young Swiss avant-sax trio (Tapiwa Svosve, Silvan Jeger, Vincent Glanzmann), second album, recorded in Zürich. Fairly short (32:01), but intense. B+(***)
1422. Brent Jensen: More Sounds of a Dry Martini (2020 [2021], Origin): Alto saxophonist, recorded a Paul Desmond tribute in 2001, and decided to add another volume here. With guitar (Jamie Findlay), bass, and drums, plus piano on two tracks. Three Desmond songs, one Brubeck, several standards, including an especially nice "These Foolish Things." B+(***)
1423. Fail Better!: The Fall (2017 [2021], JACC): Free jazz quintet: Luis Vicente (trumpet), Albert Cirera (soprano/tenor sax), Marcelo Dos Reis (guitar), José Miguel Pereira (bass), Marco Franco (drums/flute). Third album. B+(***)
1424. Wadada Leo Smith: Trumpet (2016 [2021], TUM, 3CD): Released for the AACM trumpet player's 80th birthday year, this adds significantly to his seven previous solo trumpet albums. Solo trumpet is rare: few trumpet players even bother, and no one else has anywhere near that many. The first impression explains why: the tone is narrow, the dynamics slow, it's impossible to generate rhythm or much harmony, leaving you with sharp slashes and smears. Yet as I played and re-played these discs, I started to be entertained. B+(***) [05-21]
1425. Wadada Leo Smith: Sacred Ceremonies (2015-16 [2021], TUM, 3CD): When I first saw these 3-CD sets, I thought compilations, but improvisers just create something new. One disc here is a trio with Bill Laswell (electric bass) and Milford Graves (drums). The other two are duos. The box is dedicated to Graves, who died last year, but his duo disc is the highlight, one of the best things he ever did. Laswell's duo is less interesting: he's a guy who works with an extraordinary range of people, and never overshadows them. The booklet, superb as usual, is especially good for its bios of Laswell and Graves. A- [05-21]
1426. João Valinho/Luis Vicente/Marcelo dos Reis/Salvoandrea Lucifora: Light Machina (2020 [2021], Multikulti Project): Drums, trumpet, trombone, electric guitar -- order unclear, as all of the material is joint improv. Especially nice outing for the trombonist, previously unknown to me. B+(***)
1427. Marta Warelis/Frank Rosaly/Aaron Lumley/John Dikeman: Sunday at De Ruimte (2020 [2021], Doek RAW): Polish pianist, based in Netherlands, second album of hers I've heard recently, with drums, bass, and tenor sax. Four pieces, nicely balanced free jazz. B+(***)
1428. Dave Rempis/Tomeka Reid/Joshua Abrams/Tim Daisy/Tyler Damon: The Covid Tapes: Solos, Duos, & Trios (2020 [2021], Aerophonic, 2CD): Chicago avant-saxophonist, alto/tenor/baritone, like most musicians spent last summer holed up, which gave him time to release a trove of old tapes -- 15 digital albums one per week from May through August -- but he also recorded some new music: solos at Unity Lutheran Church, plus a few duos (with drummers Daisy and Damon) and trios (with Reid/Abrams and Abrams/Damon). Choice selections here, including some fine takes on standards. A- [06-15]
1429. Rodrigo Amado This Is Our Language Quartet: Let the Free Be Men (2017 [2021], Trost): Portuguese tenor saxophonist, group name refers not to Ornette Coleman but to a This Is Our Language recorded by this same quartet in 2012: Joe McPhee (pocket trumpet/alto sax), Kent Kessler (bass), and Chris Corsano (drums). Joint credits, vigorous if a little on the rough side. A-
1430. Ben Goldberg: Everything Happens to Me (2018 [2021], BAG Productions): Clarinteist, steady stream of records since 1991, recruited some superb musicians for this effort: Ellery Eskelin (tenor sax), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Michael formanek (bass), and Tomas Fujiwara (drums). B+(***)
1431. Roy Hargrove/Mulgrew Miller: In Harmony (2006-07 [2021], Resonance, 2CD): Trumpet and piano duo, two live shows a little more than a year apart. The artists seem a little young for this sort of archival dig -- Hargrove first appeared in 1988, and quickly became the trumpet star of the 1990s; Miller started in 1984 with Art Blakey, and while his own records were less popular, he spent the 1990s in Kenny Garrett's band, Hargrove's main rival for "next big thing" -- but both died young (49 for Hargrove, 57 for Miller), leaving their estates to pick through the remains. Aside from Blakey, Miller apprenticed with Woody Shaw and Betty Carter -- the latter an especially demanding leader. He always reminded me of McCoy Tyner (he even looked like Tyner), with flashes of Oscar Peterson to show off, making him an ideal accompanist, as well as someone who could spell the leader with a dazzling piano solo. Includes a big booklet, but it's mostly tributes from younger musicians who grew up in awe of these two. A- [07-17]
1432. Pearring Sound: Socially Distanced Duos (2020 [2021], self-released): Alto saxophonist Jeff Pearring, has a previous album from 2016, recorded these duos with a notable list of musicians: "these shared musical moments tell the story of the complex state of being brought about by the numerous events of 2020." B+(***) [08-13]