Jazz Consumer Guide (28):
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by Tom Hull

Pick Hits

= Dan Raphael/Rich Halley/Carson Halley: *Children of the Blue Supermarket* (Pine Eagle) [A]

= Muhal Richard Abrams: *SoundDance* (Pi) [A-]


= Rodrigo Amado: *Searching for Adam* (Not Two) [A-]


- Andrew Atkinson Quartet: *Live: Keep Looking Forward* (Vic Firth/Paiste/Sonor) [A-]
- Yaala Ballin: *On the Road* (Gallery) [A-]
- Billy Bang's Survival Ensemble: *Black Man's Blues/New York Collage* (1977-78, NoBusiness) [A-]


The Chris Byars Octet
*Lucky Strikes Again*
SteepleChase
Lucky Thompson started in swing orchestras, joined Charlie Parker's
septet, and escaped to obscurity in Europe. Byars discovered some
of his 1961 NDR Jazz Workshop arrangements and worked them out for
a sprightly octet that splits the difference between big band and
bebop combo -- a difference that matters less and less as memory
and skills synthesize.
A MINUS


- James Carter Organ Trio: *At the Crossroads* (Emarcy) [A-]
- Brian Charette: *Learning to Count* (SteepleChase) [A-]


Alexis Cuadrado
*Noneto Ibérico*
Bju'ecords
Another bassist in the middle of things, spicing his stellar Brooklyn
nonet with flashes of Flamenco.
A MINUS


- Andrew Cyrille & Haitian Fascination: *Route de Frères* (TUM) [A-]
- Roger Davidson Quintet: *Brazilian Love Song* (Soundbrush) [A-]


Ernest Dawkins' New Horizons Ensemble
*The Prairie Prophet*
Delmark
Nominally a tribute to the late *pater familias* of the Chicago
avant-garde -- Fred Anderson not only inspired the musicians, he
owned the club they played -- Dawkins taps into roots as far away
as South Africa and as close as Lester Bowie. The brass polish
up his rough sax, and Jeff Parker's guitar ties it all together.
A MINUS


De Nazaten & James Carter
*For Now*
Strotbrock
The constant need to feed labor into their colony turned Suriname into
a global melting pot, and the post-colonial reflux brought the world's
rhythms back to the Netherlands where they melded with the world's most
surreal jazz underground to form this party band. Sounds a bit like
calypso when they venture a vocal. Picked up a world class baritone
saxophonist, too.
A MINUS


Carlos De Rosa's Cross-Fade
*Brain Dance*
Cuneiform
Quartet, with Mark Shim's tenor sax on the edge, and pianist Vijay
Iyer improvising around the corners, but the record always returns
to the bassist-leader, who keeps it loose and open.
A MINUS


= Mathias Eick: *Skala* (ECM) [A-]


- Eliane Elias: *Light My Fire* (Concord) [u]


= Ellery Eskelin/Gerry Hemingway: *Inbetween Spaces* (Auricle) [A-]
= Terrence McManus/Gerry Hemingway: *Below the Surface Of* (Auricle) [A-]


Ellery Eskelin
*Trio New York*
Prime Source
Technically a sax-organ-drums trio, but Gary Versace has wrung all the
grease out of the Hammond, freeing the tenor saxophonist to plot his
own cool-toned, fiercely intelligent path.
A MINUS


- FAB Trio: *History of Jazz in Reverse* (TUM) [A-]


= Avram Fefer/Eric Revis/Chad Taylor: *Eliyahu* (Not Two) [A-]


= Free Fall: *Gray Scale* (Smalltown Superjazz) [A-]


- Joe Fiedler Trio: *Sacred Chrome Orb* (Yellow Sound Label)


Jake Fryer/Bud Shank Quintet
*In Good Company*
Capri
Two alto saxophonists: a British young fogey and the last giant
of the 1950s west coast jazz scene. Cut one day before Shank died,
this is more than a memento. It's the best way to carry on, and
not just tradition since most of the old-sounding songs are new.
A MINUS


Gord Grdina Trio with Mats Gustafsson
*Barrel Fire*
Drip Audio
Vancouver guitarist, can play intricate improvs on oud as well,
but plugs in here with powerhouse riffs stacked on Tommy Babin's
bass. Of course, the sax guest guarantees that this will get
ugly, but it usually trailing in the leader's wake.
A MINUS


- Kieran Hebden/Steve Reid/Mats Gustafsson: *Live at the South Bank* (Smalltown Superjazz) [A-]
- Gerry Hemingway Quintet: *Riptide* (Clean Feed) [A-]


= Humanization 4tet: *Electricity* (Ayler) [A-]


= Abdullah Ibrahim & Ekaya: *Sotho Blue* (Sunnyside) [A-]


- Ideal Bread: *Transmit: Vol. 2 of the Music of Steve Lacy* (Cuneiform)


= Jon Irabagon: *Foxy* (Hot Cup) [A-]


- Darius Jones: *Big Gurl (Smell My Dream)* (AUM Fidelity) [A-]


- Matt Lavelle: *Goodbye New York, Hello World* (Music Now!) [A-]


Jerry Leake & Randy Roos
*Cubist Live*
Rhombus Publishing
Leake is a percussion collector -- Indian, Persian, Latin American,
all over Africa -- his early records playing like his books. Promoting
guitarist Roos from player to producer to partner adds much needed
muscle tone to the rhythms, and presenting them live add presence --
something even flutes and vocals are good for, especially when the
lyrics stick to the integers.
A MINUS


- Charles Lloyd Quartet with Maria Farantouri: *Athens Concert* (ECM) [A-]
- Luis Lopes: *Lisbon Berlin Trio* (Clean Feed) [A-]
- Allen Lowe: *Blues and the Empirical Truth* (Music & Arts) [A]
- Rudresh Mahanthappa: *Samdhi* (ACT) [A-]


Maïkotron Unit
*Ex-Voto*
Jazz From Rant
Canadian trio, brothers Michel and Pierre Côté and Michel Lambert,
mostly parrying the deadened sound of Michel's bass clarinet against
subtle bass and drums, but sometimes employing a monster horn,
hopefully mating a reed mouthpiece with trumpet valves and parts
of euphonium, capable of ranging below bass sax.
A MINUS


Alexander McCabe
*Quiz*
CAP
Alto saxophonist, exceptionally fast, fluid and inventive is a
conventional quartet, with piano comping and picking up the threads
between his solos. Fortunate that the pianist is Uri Caine, who
cleverly extends whatever thought McCabe left off, and never lets
the pace slacken.
A MINUS


- Joe McPhee/Michael Zerang: *Creole Gardens (A New Orleans Song)* (NoBusiness)
- David Murray Cuban Ensemble: *Plays Nat King Cole: En Español* (Motéma)


Adam Pieronczyk
*Komeda -- The Innocent Sorcerer*
Jazzwerkstatt
Jazz in Poland came of age in the 1960s, largely through Krzysztof
Komeda, a pianist-composer who died young in 1969. Tributes abound,
including a Komeda Project analogous to the Herbie Nichols Project,
*Litania* from Komeda's trumpet player Tomasz Stanko, and now this
one from a saxophonist who was born after Komeda died. The soprano
sax is haunting and evocative, the guitar grooveful, the interplay
complex.
A MINUS


Claire Ritter
*The Stream of Pearls Project*
Zoning
Water songs, from gentle tides to swiftly winding streams, sketched
first in simple piano, with other instruments slipping in here and
there, eventually cohering into rich portraits of vital ecosystems.
A MINUS


- Sonny Rollins: *Road Shows Vol. 2* (Doxy/Emarcy)
- Side A: *A New Margin* (Clean Feed)


Tommy Smith
*Karma*
Spartacus
A tenor saxophonist who took the world by storm, then retreated to
his homeland to preside over the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra.
His protégés help out in this quartet, but all that really matters
is the swing and swagger of the man with the big horn.
A MINUS


Wadada Leo Smith's Organic
*Heart's Reflections*
Cuneiform
Smith started in AACM, pursued a career of determined obscurity,
then delved into electric Miles at his funkiest: the roots of his
big -- and mostly electric, including two laptops -- band, from
which this sprawling set grows topsy-turvy. Toasting Don Cherry
is his most natural move. The closing tributes to Toni Morrison
and Leroy Jenkins are rougher going.
A MINUS


- Tyshawn Sorey: *Oblique - I* (Pi) [A-]
- Starlicker: *Double Demon* (Delmark) [A-]
- Jason Stein Quartet: *The Story This Time* (Delmark) [A-]
- Marcus Strickland: *Triumph of the Heavy: Volume 1 & 2* (Strick Muzik) [A-]


= Steve Swell's Slammin' the Infinite: *5000 Poems* (Not Two)


= Tarbaby: *The End of Fear* (Posi-Tone) [A-]


= David S. Ware: *Onecept* (AUM Fidelity) [A-]

Honorable Mention

= Eero Koivistoinen & Co.: *3rd Version* (1973, Porter)


= David S. Ware/Cooper-Moore/William Parker/Muhammad Ali: *Planetary Unknown* (AUM Fidelity)


= Honey Ear Trio: *Steampunk Serenade* (Foxhaven)


= Jerry Bergonzi: *Convergence* (Savant)


Miles Davis Quintet
*Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1*
Columbia/Legacy
A month in the touring life of the famous Second Quintet, the
routine reordering of the remarkable.


Ismael Dueñas Trio
*Jazz Ateu*
Quadrant
Piano trio, enough rhythmic flow I'm tempted to call it postmodern
stride, except when it isn't.


Moon Hotel Lounge Project
*Into the Ojalá*
Frosty Cordial
Easy listening sax and groove for critical minds.


= Conference Call: *What About . . . . ?* (Not Two)



- Agogic: *Agogic* (Tables and Chairs)


- Julius Hemphill/Peter Kowald: *Live at Kassiopeia* (NoBusiness)


= Mostly Other People Do the Killing: *The Coimbra Concert* (Clean Feed)


- Dave Douglas/So Percussion: *Bad Mango [Greenleaf Portable Series Volume 3]* (Greenleaf Music)


New York Standards Quartet
*Unstandard*
Challenge
The only thing post-boppers like more than standards is rolling
their own.


- Brad Mehldau/Kevin Hays: *Modern Music* (Nonesuch)
- Joan Stiles: *Three Musicians* (Oo-Bla-Dee)
- Michael Bates: *Acrobat: Music for, and by, Dmitri Shostakovich* (Sunnyside)
- Marty Ehrlich's Rites Quartet: *Frog Leg Logic* (Clean Feed)


Ernie Krivda
*Blues for Pekar*
Capri
For the late cartoonist, a Rust Belt second line: hard-swinging postbop.


Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project
*Seriously*
Smog Veil
Another Ohio saxophonist dedicates his sweet and sour, not-quite-trad
jazz album to Harvey Pekar.


- Anthony Branker & Word Play: *Dialogic* (Origin)
- Roy Haynes: *Roy-Alty* (Dreyfus)


Darren Johnston's Gone to Chicago
*The Big Lift*
Porto Franco
Hits the big city's hot spots: Jeb Bishop, Jason Adasiewicz, Nate McBride,
Frank Rosaly.


- John Surman: *Flashpoint: NDR Workshop - April '69* (Cuneiform)
- Ivo Perelman Quartet: *The Hour of the Star* (Leo)


Omer Avital
*Free Forever*
Smalls
A soft bop quintet, sophisticated swing and a bit of Latin tinge.


= Matthew Shipp: *Art of the Improviser* (Thirsty Ear)


Ralph Alessi and This Against That
*Wiry Strong*
Clean Feed
Twisty, spiralling trumpet-sax-piano, the tighter it gets, the
more fiercely it springs back.


- Dead Cat Dance: *Chance Episodes* (Cuneiform)
- Daniel Rosenthal: *Lines* (American Melody)
- Erik Friedlander: *Bonebridge* (Skipstone)
- André Vasconcellos: *2* (Adventure Music)


Terell Stafford
This Side of Strayhorn
MaxJazz
Classic songbook, key support from Bruce Barth and Peter Washington,
the trumpet focused and polished.


= Harriet Tubman: *Ascension* (Sunnyside)


Lee Konitz
*Insight*
1989-95, Jazzwerkstatt
Improv genius, three solo, six with pianist Frank Wunsch trailing
along.


- Bebop Trio: *Bebop Trio* (Creative Nation Music)
- Tim Berne/Jim Black/Nels Cline: *The Veil* (Cryptogramophone)
- Lisa Kirchner: *Something to Sing About* (Albany)


= I Compani: *Mangiare!* (Icdisc)


= Terrence McManus: *Transcendental Numbers* (NoBusiness);


- Tony Malaby: *Tony Malaby's Novella* (Clean Feed)
- Sarah Bernstein: *Unearthish* (Phase Frame Music)
- Mikko Innanen & Innkvisitio: *Clustrophy* (TUM)
- Jim Black/Trevor Dunn/Oscar Noriega/Chris Speed: *Endangered Blood* (Skirl)
- Sean Nowell: *Stockholm Swingin'* (Posi-Tone)
- Agustí Fernández: *El Laberint de la Memória* (Mbari Musica)
- Augusto Pirodda: *No Comment* (Jazzwerkstatt)
- Sei Miguel/Pedro Gomes: *Turbina Anthem* (NoBusiness)
- Harris Eisenstadt: *September Trio* (Clean Feed)


Lynne Arriale
*Convergence*
Motéma
Finessing the Beatles, the Stones, Blondie; ripping the originals.


= E.J. Antonio: *Rituals in the Marrow* (Blue Zygo)


= Rakalam Bob Moses/Greg Burk: *Ecstatic Weanderings* (Jazzwerkstatt)


Scott Amendola Trio
*Lift*
Sazi
Drummer's songs and electronics leave plenty of space for Jeff
Parker's guitar.


= Jaruzelski's Dream: *Jazz Gawronski* (Clean Feed)


The Louie Belogenis Trio
*Tiresias*
Porter
Tenor sax trio in full Ayler mode with a dash of late Coltrane,
with Sunny Murray who's been there, done that.


- Adam Schroeder: *A Handful of Stars* (Capri)


Walt Weiskopf Quartet
*Recorded Live April 8, 2008*
Capri
Presented as a memento of the late drummer Tony Reedus, a night of
hot mainstream sax in South Carolina.


= Sonic Liberation Front: *Meets Sunny Murray* (High Two)


sTim Berne
*Insomnia*
Clean Feed
An octet from 1997, with soft threads -- violin, cello, clarinet,
12-string guitar -- that ultimately twist into something tight.


- Jeff Lederer: *Sunwatcher* (Jazzheads)
- Jaki Byard: *A Matter of Black and White* (1978-79, High Note)
- The Dave Brubeck Quartet: *Last Time Out: December 26, 1967* (Columbia/Legacy)


Rebecca Martin
*When I Was Long Ago*
Sunnyside
Bare accompaniment by bass and sax sets off her whispery voice,
and classic songs help too.


- Joshua Redman/Aaron Parks/Matt Penman/Eric Harland: *James Farm* (Nonesuch)


Marco Cappelli Acoustic Trio
*Les Nuages en France*
Mode/Avant
Inspired by Fred Vargas thrillers but wordless, abstract guitar
snakes furtively around Ken Filiano's bass.


Kevin Tkacz Trio
*It's Not What You Think*
Piece of Work of Art
A Bill Carrothers piano trio improvising around a bassist leader
who likes to play in the dirt.


BassDrumBone
*The Other Parade*
Clean Feed
Trombone trio, Ray Anderson over Mark Helias and Gerry Hemingway,
telepathic after three decades together.


- Hilario Duran Trio: *Motion* (Alma)


= Mike Reed's People, Places & Things: *Stories and Negotiations* (482 Music)


= Ken Filiano & Quantum Entanglements: *Dreams From a Clown Car* (Clean Feed)


- BLOB: *Earphonious Swamphony* (Innova)


Chaise Lounge
*Symphony Lounge*
Big Round
Cool-toned lounge act, Marilyn Older singing, Charlie Barnett on
guitar, old-fashioned songs, unnecessary strings.


= Stephen Gauci/Kris Davis/Michael Bisio: *Three* (Clean Feed)


= Trygve Seim/Andreas Utnem: *Purcor* (ECM)


= Júlio Resende: *Assim Falava Jazzatustra* (Clean Feed)


Peter Epstein & Idée Fixe
*Abstract Realism*
Origin
Alto sax laboring mightily against dark, industrial tableaux.


- Houston Person: *So Nice* (High Note)


NY Jazz Initiative
*Mad About Thad*
Jazzheads
Eight Thad Jones compositions, scaled for octet and lit up by
brilliant horn play.


- Nordic Connect: *Spirals* (ArtistShare)
- Ketil Bjørnstad: *Remembrance* (ECM)
- Zed Trio: *Lost Transitions* (Ayler)


Matt Herskowitz
*Jerusalem Trilogy*
Justin Time
Tangoish klezmer, lush strings, ELP fusion at least on piano,
Prokofiev pops.


= The Ullmann/Swell 4: *News? No News!* (Jazzwerkstatt)


Howard Wiley and the Angola Project
*12 Gates to the City*
HNIC Music
A folklorist bearing the heavy weight of history, a saxophonist
yearning to break free.


Michaël Attias
*Twines of Colesion*
Clean Feed
With Tony Malaby, two saxes that slip in and out of gear, probably
because the rhythm section is so slippery.


= Decoy & Joe McPhee: *Oto* (Bo Weavil)


- Carlos Bica: *Carlos Bica + Matéria-Prima* (Clean Feed)


= Jason Stein's Locksmith Isidore: *Three Kinds of Happiness* (Not Two)


= Andrew Lamb Trio: *New Orleans Suite* (Engine)


Aida Severo
*Aida Severo*
Slam
Piano-mediated free jazz, the two horns pulled in but not
locked together.


Contact
*Five on One*
Pirouet
Something of a supergroup -- Dave Liebman, John Abercrombie,
Marc Copland -- each working their discreet charms.


Bob Greene
*St. Peter Street Strutters* [1964]
Delmark
A Jelly Roll Morton specialist at Preservation Hall, with banjo
and tuba, and Ernie Carson as King Oliver.


Sebastiano Meloni/Adriano Orrù/Tony Oxley
*Improvised Pieces for Trio*
Big Round
A brash piano trio by most standards -- well, maybe not Oxley's.


- Joan Jeanrenaud/PC Muñoz: *Pop-Pop* (Deconet)


= Scenes: *Rinnova* (Origin)


= Brian Landrus: *Foward* (Cadence Jazz)


= The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band: *Gypsy Rendezvous, Vol. One* (Origin)


= Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: *Accomplish Jazz* (Hot Cup)


Dave Glasser
*Evolution*
Here Tiz
Basie-bred alto saxophonist comes up with some Monkish mutations.


= Correction: *Two Nights in April* (Ayler)


= Barb Jungr: *The Men I Love* (Naim)


The David Liebman Trio
*Lieb Plays the Blues à la Trane*
Challenge
Back to rugged basics on "All Blues," three Coltrane tunes, Ellington's
"Take the Coltrane."


- Antonio Adolfo/Carol Saboya: *Lá e Cá/Here and There* (AAM)


John Fedchock NY Sextet
*Live at the Red Sea Jazz Festival*
Capri
The swing and sweep of his big band in a nifty compact box.


= François Carrier/Alexey Lapin/Michel Lambert: *Inner Spire* (Leo)


- Kenny Werner: *Balloons* (Half Note)
- Karl Seglem: *Ossicles* (Ozella)


= Todd DelGiudice: *Pencil Sketches* (OA2)


The Cookers
*Cast the First Stone*
Plus Loin Music
Billy Harper-Eddie Henderson supergroup, horns roaring for action,
pianist George Cables slipping in a little boogie.


Brian Lynch
*Unsung Heroes*
Hollistic Music Works
A tribute to "underappreciated trumpet masters," bop to post-, having
done the obvious ones previously.


- Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: *Quavers! Quavers! Quavers! Quavers!* (Hot Cup)


= William Hooker: *Crossing Points* (1992, NoBusiness)


- Dave King Trucking Company: *Good Old Light* (Sunnyside)
- Farmers by Nature: *Out of This World's Distortions (AUM Fidelity)
- Eric Harland: *Voyager: Live by Night* (Sunnyside)
- Serafin: *Love's Worst Crime* (Serafin)
- Mort Weiss: *Mort Weiss Meets Bill Cunliffe* (SMS Jazz)
- Other Dimensions in Music featuring Fay Victor: *Kaiso Stories* (Silkheart)


Anne Mette Iversen Quartet
*Milo Songs*
Bju'ecords
Bassist-composer sets up sweet spots by John Ellis and Danny Grissett
with an easy, steady flow.


- Nanette Natal: *Sweet Summer Blue* (Benyo Music)
- Nilson Matta & Roni Ben-Hur: *Mojave* (Motéma)
- Vicious World: *Plays the Music of Rufus Wainwright* (Spinaround)
- John Scofield: *A Moment's Peace* (Emarcy)
- Armen Donelian: *Leapfrog* (Sunnyside)


= The Jazz Passengers: *Reunited* (Justin Time)


= Jamaaladeen Tacuma: *For the Love of Ornette* (Jazzwerkstatt)


- Daniel Bennett Group: *Peace & Stability Among Bears* (Bennett Alliance)
- Harry Allen: *Rhythm on the River* (Challenge)


Mirio Cosottini/Andrea Melani/Tonino Miano/Alessio Pisani
*Cardinal*
Grimedia Impressus
Bassoon-trumpet-piano-drums chamber jazz with indeterminate
characteristics for a vast and baffling cosmos.


Clint Ashlock Big Band
*New Jazz Order*
self-released
In Kansas City the territory band tradition lives on.


Roswell Rudd
*The Incredible Honk*
Sunnyside
An smorgasbord with Cuban, Cajun, Chinese, and Malian guests,
topped by "Danny Boy" stripped down to a bare 'bone.


- Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet: *Apparent Distance* (Firehouse 12)
- Mambo Legends Orchestra: *¡Ten Cuidao! Watch Out!* (Zoho)


Echoes of Swing
*Message From Mars*
(Echoes of Swing)
Bassless quartet from Bavaria, the two horns do more than echo
the swing of Bernd Lhotzky's piano.


- The Landrus Kaleidoscope: *Capsule* (BlueLand)


Ezra Weiss
*The Shirley Horn Suite*
Roark
A pianist's tribute to the pianist, although four Shirley Nanette
vocals flatter the singer, too.


- Bruno Chevillon/Tim Berne: *Old and Unwise* (Clean Feed)
- François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Alexey Lapin: *All Out* (FMR)
- Wadada Leo Smith's Mbira: *Dark Lady of the Sonnets* (TUM)
- Wellstone Conspiracy: *Humble Origins* (Origin)
- Dennis González/João Paulo: *So Soft Yet* (Clean Feed)
- Andrea Wolper: *Parallel Lives* (Jazzed Media)
- SFE: *Positions & Descriptions: Simon H. Fell Composition No. 75* (Clean Feed)
- Bobby Sanabria: *Tito Puente Masterworks Live!!!* (Jazzheads)
- Pat Martino: *Undeniable: Live at Blues Alley* (High Note)
- Nils Petter Molvaer: *Baboon Moon* (Thirsty Ear)
- Claire Daly Quintet: *Mary Joyce Project: Nothing to Lose* (Daly Bread)
- Dave Douglas: *Rare Metals [Greenleaf Portable Series Volume 1]* (Greenleaf Music)
- Yoko Miwa Trio: *Live at Scullers Jazz Club* (self-released)
- Kenny Wheeler: *One of Many* (CAM Jazz)
- Michael Pedicin: *Ballads* (Jazz Hut)
- Dan Block: *Plays the Music of Duke Ellington: From His World to Mine* (Miles High)
- Amir ElSaffar Two Rivers Ensemble: *Inana* (Pi)
- Carlos Bica & Azul: *Things About* (Clean Feed)
- Ran Blake/Dominique Eade: *Whirlpool* (Jazz Project)
- Nordeson Shelton: *Incline* (Singlespeed Music)


Giacomo Gates
*The Revolution Will Be Jazz*
Savant
Gil Scott-Heron done with taste and respect and a bit of sentiment,
just buried and already part of the tradition.


- Bryan and the Haggards: *Still Alive and Kickin' Down the Walls* (Hot Cup)
= Premier Roeles: *Ka Da Ver* (Vindu)

Duds

Addresses

Rated

This table provides a working guide to how the JCG is shaping up. This does not include anything moved to bk-flush: these include items relegated to Surplus, reviewed in Recycled Goods, or just passed over. Entries in black are written, gray graded but not written, red ungraded but with prospect notes (all these are at the bottom of their approximate grade levels, alphabetized). A-list, B-list and Duds are alphabetical; HM lists are ranked, with breaks for three-two-one stars.

Album count: 56; Word count: 1772 (graded 15: 842; additional 41: 930).

Prospecting

I try to write up an informal note on every jazz record I hear the first (or sometimes second) time I play it. Those notes are collected over the course of a week, then posted in the blog. They are also collected here.

Surplus

The surplus file collects final notes when I decide that I cannot realistically keep a record under active consideration for the Jazz Consumer Guide. These notes are mostly written at the end of a JCG cycle and posted to the blog when the column is printed. In effect, they are the extended copy to the column. There are various reasons for this. For old music it is often because I wrote something in Recycled Goods and figure that was enough. Sometimes good records have just gotten old. Most of the time the records aren't all that interesting anyway. I can handle 25-30 records per column. It just doesn't make sense for me to keep more than 60-80 graded records in the active list at the start of a new cycle. In many cases, I decide the prospecting notes or Recycled Goods review suffices, so note that in the file.

Pending

Working on the following (both new and old). When done they will go to the print or done or flush file. When the column is published, the done entries will be dumped into notebook.

Pending: New

Pending: Old