Rhapsody Streamnotes: September 7, 2010

Post Consumer Guide, I know of no single comparable source for tips on non-jazz albums -- well, there's Michael Tatum's Downloader's Diary, and as his publisher I get some advance tips there -- so I've been poking around, adding things to my 2010 metafile, flagging things that look interesting, sometimes finding them on Rhapsody, often not. Forgot to fill out the "missing" list this month, partly because I'm learning that in many cases they're just slow -- Konono No. 1 is one I had to remove from the missing list, and Langford would have been another had I taken my first failure to find as fatal. Still, there are a lot of records I've looked for and failed to find -- one more minor nuissance in a month that had many.

Usual caveats apply: These are short notes/reviews based on streaming records from Rhapsody (except as noted; e.g. [cd]). They are snap judgments based on one or two plays, accumulated since my last post along these lines, back on August 10. Past reviews and more information are available here.

Talibam!: Boogie in the Breeze Blocks (2009, ESP-Disk): Brooklyn duo, Matthew Mottel (keybs) and Kevin Shea (drums), both also credited with voice (as is Danielle Kuhlmann and a few others), which they use so often I filed this under rock although it's on a jazz label and employs such marvelous jazz musicians as Peter Evans (trumpet), Jon Irabagon (sax), Anders Nilsson (guitar), and Moppa Elliott (bass). (Shea is the drummer in Mostly Other People Do the Killing, alongside three of those guys.) Clear instrumental spots can be amazing, but they are few and far between. Mottel's keybs are trashy noise, and the vocals are clutter even if the skits amuse. B+(*)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Mojo (2009-10 [2010], Reprise): Came out of Florida, same age as me, carved out a rock and roll sound that was a little too moderate to really be retro, and worked on it consistently enough that his 1993 Greatest Hits is worth keeping even though most of his records are just passably good. The title here is presumably a stab at rejuvenation, although it may just be a way of courting a certain British rock mag. At 64:50 it's a little long for passable, and the vocal tics he picked up hanging around Dylan are annoying. B

Clem Snide: The Meat of Life (2010, 429): Singer-songwriter Eef Barzelay modestly cloaked in a basic alt-rock band. Seems rather sad, a bit morose even, but the basic form is solid as usual. Christgau had a couple earlier albums on his A-lists. Didn't happen on them, but maybe I should check them out? B+(*)

Clem Snide: The Ghost of Fashion (2001, SpinArt): Third album, reportedly a breakthrough, strikes me as fresh and brimming with ideas even if the basic form and tool set are rather limited. Choice title: "Joan Jett of Arc." B+(***)

Clem Snide: End of Love (2005, SpinArt): Fifth album, doesn't rock much, just stretches out in lots of intriguing and ingenious ways, a singer-songwriter thinking, working things out as best he can. A-

Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More (2009 [2010], Glassnote): British group, AMG lists as folk, although they don't fit into the usual low-tech definition of folk; in particular, they don't shy away from volume to make a dramatic point. Where they do seem died in the wool is in their frequent invocation of religious imagery, something that most Brits have tired of after taking it far too seriously for one bloody century after another. I'm tempted to blackball they for that reason alone, but I'm a tolerant sort as long as they channel their obsessions into music of distinction. B+(**)

Robyn: Body Talk, Pt. 1 (2010, Konichiwa): Swedish dance queen, started as a teenpop star, but is past 30 now. Eight cut, 30:27, a little thin for $12 list, basically an EP, and reportedly the first of three coming in quick succession. Beats are a bit stilted and voice is rather plastic, and I wouldn't put much stock in her lyrics, even on "Don't Fucking Tell Me What to Do" -- a native English-speaker conveyed that and more in "Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do." On the other hand, her trad ballad "Jag Vet en Dejlig Rosa" is sweet even if it'd never sustain an album. Still, I find this pretty appealing. By the time she finishes Pt. 3 I imagine there'll be enough to edit down an album worth keeping. B+(**)

Konono No. 1: Assume Crash Position (2010, Crammed Discs): Kinshasa group, built around thumb piano and recycled junk, the essence of post-colonial urban pop. Less distortion this time; a couple of tracks even simplify the formula, making it a bit slower to get into, because the heady grooves are truly infectious. A-

Wavves: King of the Beach (2010, Fat Possum): AMG treats this as an alias for Nathan Williams rather than as a group. Breaks a title convention that was already becoming annoying: Wavves, Wavvves, . . . First blast of distorted surf chord suggests they/he might have a sound, but they/he can't actually play music within that sound, let alone sing it. Progressively annoying, probably lucky they/he cut it off at 36:53. B-

Pet Shop Boys: Pandemonium Live (2009 [2010], Caroline): Live album -- subtitle The O2 Arena, London, 21 December, 2009 -- plus DVD for those who are into that sort of thing. The songs, of course, are fabulous; the sonics a bit less so, but I can't say that I didn't enjoy any of it -- except for a couple of glitches Rhapsody bears the blame for. B+(**)

Shout Out Louds: Work (Merge): Swedish group, not that they sound the least bit non-American, in accent, in words, in teen pop sensitivity. B+(*)

Katy Perry: Teenage Dream (2010, Capitol): California girl, past teendom but probably not much more than the actresses on Glee, can sing OK, takes a wholesome pin-up, gets a lot of help producing. A third of the record is singles-worthy, but none of those -- least of all "California Gurls" -- will stick in your head long, and the "Peacock" thing is rather peurile. Critics hate it, but I don't see much point. B

Mahjongg: The Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger (2010, K): Chicago group, mostly electronics, crashing beats with multiple voices I can't much follow. First EP was called Machinegong, which is the basic idea; most recent album was Kontpab, a mashup of a title from Stockhausen. Seven songs, 36:21. B+(**)

Pierre de Gaillande: Bad Reputation: Pierre de Gaillande Sings Georges Brassens (2010, Barbès): Paris-born singer, based in New York since the early 1990s, takes a stab at translating French poet-chansonnier Georges Brassens (1921-81) into English, recording thirteen songs here and publishing a book of poetry elsewhere. I've barely heard, and can hardly make out, the French, so have few bearings to go by. Perhaps "a major service" -- as Christgau put it -- or maybe just an oddity with a little smut appeal. B+(***)

Brian Wilson: Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (2010, Walt Disney): Not much imagination. The songs are familiar, classics; I can readily place them in dozens of versions, maybe hundreds. (In fact, I've long imagined doing a mixtape just of versions of "Summertime," but I can't see any way this one can make the cut.) The versions keep boiling down to doo wop Beach Boys-style, without a trace of irony or camp, even when it would help a lot. Possible exception: "I Got Rhythm," which is strange enough the first song I flashed on was "Old Man River." C+

Jenny and Johnny: I'm Having Fun Now (2010, Warner Bros.): Jenny Lewis, formerly of Rilo Kiley, with a couple of good records under her own name, and Johnathan Rice, who has a couple of records of his own (not very good, or so I hear). She keeps pet snakes, wields a switchblade, catches the big wave. He's just dazzled, as am I, not least by the classic pop-rock buzz I associate with someone like Marshall Crenshaw. Still marginal. I'm really sure that any of the now three Jenny Lewis albums I've A-listed really make the grade, but I'm the least unsure about this one. A-

Jon Langford & Skull Orchard: Old Devils (2010, Bloodshot): Chicago-based former-and-future Mekon with many side projects, honors a previous album title with the band name, and slaps one of his own distinctive paintings on the cover. Has a tendency to make ordinary proto-American bar rock, which is where this starts, but now and then he slips in something exceptionally smart, which may even toughen up the music as in "Flag of Triumph" -- or sweeten it as in "Strange Ways to Win Wars." Fitting to hear the latter as Operation Iraqi Freedom redresses itself as New Dawn. A-

Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses: Junky Star (2010, Lost Highway): Alt-country singer, third album, still keeps it lean, clean as long as he stays away from the temptation to cop Dylan. Didn't sink in very far; didn't set off any bullshit alarms. Could be better than I think, but probably not. B+(**)

Bobby Bare Jr.: A Storm, a Tree, My Mother's Head (2010, Thirty Tigers): Second generation country singer, original alt-rocker, not sure what he wants to be, but four or five songs surprised me, sometimes because they're funny, sometimes because they care, mostly just for a clever turn of phrase. The simplest music works best, like "Liz Taylor's Lipstick Gun," but the big time rock swells grow on you too. B+(***)

The Legendary Shack Shakers: Agri-dustrial (2010, Colonel Knowledge): Nashville group, sixth album since 1998, sort of a roots-punk band, or maybe psychobilly would do. Basically have one speed, which is flat out. Guitarist Duane Denison, previously employed by Hank III and by Jesus Lizard, joined for this one. B+(*)

Dr. John and the Lower 911: Tribal (2010, 429): Trademark New Orleans sound, a little more -- well, upbeat is true, but in your face is more like it -- than he's been in years, maybe just the gris gris showing through. Not a great set of songs, but "Only in America" is a little testy, as if he's not sure it's as great a place as he feels he has to make it out to be. B+(**)

James Talley: Heartsong (2009, Cimarron): Country singer from Oklahoma, taught history and lived it, debuting with a great western swing album, following that up with several Woody Guthrie-inspired folk-political albums, and finally settled into Nashville writing sappy love songs. His voice keeps getting more honeyed, his melodies flow effortlessly, and he's not really all that sappy -- more like earnest, without the instinct to to tell a good joke. B+(**)

James Talley: Journey: The Second Voyage (2009, Cimarron): A second straight live album, the point of the journey being to rifle through the old songs, probably because they're better than the new ones. On paper, the first volume (which I haven't heard) looks to have a slight edge, but this hangs in there with "Forty Hours" and "Calico Gypsy" and three songs with "Blues" in the title, fleshed out with a band including pedal steel and fiddle. B+(*)

John Mellencamp: No Better Than This (2010, Rounder): New label confirms the roots trajectory he's been on for the last two decades. Cutting the album in mono with one mic and a 1950s-vintage tape recorder is just a way of thinning the sound and rolling time back even further. However, that's not much of a virtue, especially when you reminding one of Dylan, except a bit short in every department. B+(*)

Tom Jones: Praise & Blame (2010, Lost Highway): Veteran Welsh bluesman, not quite ready to meet his maker, but boning up on his repertoire for judgment day. Docked a notch for lack of irony, even though the label tried to conjure up some by leaking a memo declaring this a "sick joke." B

Missing

Records I looked for but didn't find on Rhapsody:

Recycled Goods

The following were written during this period for Recycled Goods:

Michael Hurley: First Songs (1964 [2009], Folkways): First guitar and voice scratchings of the folkie best remembered for landing his name first on the super Have Moicy!; voice is familiar, songs could be slyer, not to mention funnier, but the label wasn't expecting much either. B

Issa Juma & Super Wanyika Stars: World Defeats the Grandfathers (1982-86 [2010], Sterns): "Swinging Swahili Rumba" goes the subtitle, with Tanzanian singer Juma in front of one of a dozen or so Wanyika band variants popular in Nairobi from 1971 on; rumba, and later soukous, comes from across the Congo, an easy transport to East Africa, so consistently played and sung here that it seems like it can go on forever. B+(***)

Next Stop . . . Soweto, Vol. 1 (1969-75 [2010], Strut): Classic South African township jive, the mbaqanga that has already floated anthologies like The Industructible Beat of Soweto, or more precisely, the extra takes that help fill out the picture, featuring a couple well known artists like Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, and a lot I don't have a clue about; expect two more volumes. B+(***)

Placebo: Covers (1997-2005 [2010], Virgin): Ten B-sides and stray tracks, as befits a British band founded c. 1995, mostly glam and alt-rock from not much before the 1980s -- Marc Bolan's "20th Century Boy" is a far oldie here; straightforward, with some crunch, no doubt how they cut their teeth. B+(*)

Otis Redding & His Orchestra: Live on the Sunset Strip (1966 [2010], Stax, 2CD): Posthumous rehashings of live performances are inevitable with a star of Redding's magnitude and energy, but this one goes back to the one live album released during his lifetime, In Person at the Whisky a Go Go. It surveys a four-night stand, sweeping up the 10 cuts selected for the original, plus the 12 from the 1993 Vol. 2, plus 6 more to fill up 130 minutes. The usual problems crop up: the horns are barely one-dimensional, the band likes to throw it into overdrive, and most of the songs are definitive on must-have studio albums. He strains with the pace and loses grip here and there, but songs like "These Arms of Mine" survive, and after a prolonged bad impersonation of the JBs, the band finally clicks on the closers, superhot takes of "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "Satisfaction" that rival anything their originators have done. B+(***)

Loudon Wainwright III: Album I (1970 [2006], Collectors' Choice Music): Originally eponymous, retrospectively numbered to fit the series, the pampered singer-songwriter from Westchester styled himself as folk because it was cheaper and simpler that way; high lonesome voice, sharp strummed guitar, melodies that held up well enough, words that had some detail and panache, none of those things especially well developed. B+(*)

Loudon Wainwright III: Album II (1971 [2006], Collector's Choice Music): Sophomore album is thin on melody, thinner still on harmony, mostly just wordplay that is more matter of fact than packed with hidden meaning; he struggles with love, struggles with sex, struggles with flying, struggles at home. B

Jazz Prospecting

The following were written during this period for Jazz Prospecting:

Theo Bleckmann/Fumio Yasuda: Berlin: Songs of Love and War, Peace and Exile (2007, Winter & Winter): Twenty-three songs, most Weill-Brecht or Eisler-Brecht, the few others including several I'm equally familiar with, like "Lili Marleen" and "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt." Yasuda, Bleckmann's partner in Las Vegas Rhapsody, plays piano and arranges string quartet for that Weimar feel. Bleckmann is German, gay, possesses remarkable facility in the upper registers. This is, in short, his patrimony. One play can't possibly do it justice, but will have to do for now. B+(***)

Bill Charlap/Renee Rosnes: Double Portrait (2009 [2010], Blue Note): Two pianists; you know that. Husband and wife as of 2007; I didn't know that, and having also not known that vocalist Sandy Stewart is Charlap's mother, I'm glad not to have missed that. Rosnes is four years older, from Canada, more of a modernist and more of a composer -- albeit only one song here among a batch of eight covers -- where Charlap is more retro and more of an interpreter. I have them down for one A- each, out of six Charlap records and three by Rosnes -- both have comparable discographies, but Charlap has been more active lately. Just piano here, sounds more like solo than duets, can't tell you who does what. Attractive, of course, but nothing really enticing. B

Kahil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio Featuring Billy Bang: Big M: A Tribute to Malachi Favors (2004 [2006], Delmark): Never got this from Delmark, which now seems like a big mistake (although I gather it was originally packaged with a DVD). The late Art Ensemble of Chicago bassist (d. 2004) was also a founding pillar of El'Zabar's Ritual Trio, capably replaced here by Yosen Ben Israel. Ari Brown is strong on tenor sax and switches to piano on a couple of cuts, surprisingly engaging. El'Zabar's percussion is savvy, and his vocal isn't dreadful. Bang doesn't blow everyone else away, but his edge adds to everything he touches. A-

Scott Hamilton Quartet Plus Two: Our Delight! (2005 [2006], Woodville): The "plus two" are Mark Nightingale (trombone) and Dave Cliff (guitar); both do nice work, the trombonist roughly comparable to John Allred. Ten standards, starting off in rousing fashion with "Get Happy", ending with "In Walked Bud," some Ellington/Strayhorn along the way, the title cut from Tadd Dameron. Delightful indeed. B+(***)

Scott Hamilton/Alan Barnes: Hi-Ya (2009 [2010], Woodville): I heard an interview with Benny Carter once where a caller asked "what did you learn from Johnny Hodges?" Carter's answer: "never to play any of his songs." Only two of nine songs here don't have Hodges' name on them -- some also Ellington or Strayhorn, but Hamilton gives Barnes some cover with his tenor sax, and Barnes plays baritone as well as alto. Nice, loose, plenty of swing. Still, not Hodges -- I imagine Barnes is as leary of that comparison as Carter was. B+(**)

Herbie Hancock: The Imagine Project (2010, Hancock): Recorded in seven countries with guests from even further across the universe, this is a colossal engagement of liberal internationalism, and a pretty good showcase for at least some of the talent. But is the choice of such obvious songs lazy thinking or a real paucity of alternatives. Lennon's "Imagine," sure, but can't you do better than Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up" for an encore? (Pink sings both, paired first with Seal then with John Legend.) Lennon-McCartney return later, showcasing quintessential good guy Dave Matthews, almost as wasted as Sam Cooke is on James Morrison. Colombia and Brazil get some respect, but Bob Marley is routed through Somalia and the Sahara to East L.A., faring better than Dylan "Times They Are a Changin'" done by the Chieftains with Toumani Diabate kora. Silly as the others seem, the latter is the album's only real gag moment. High point? The closer with Chaka Khan, Anoushka Shankar, and Wayne Shorter. Plus a pianist who always sounds impeccable no matter how little he does. Not a jazz record, but the finale could be worked that way. B

Billy Jenkins with the Voice of God Collective: Sounds Like Bromley (1982, VOTP): A little unpreposessing for the Voice of God, at least until the last track when they finally do shake the earth. Three horns -- trumpet, trombone, tenor sax -- more oompah band than bebop, with an extra guitar, bass, drums and percussion, but no human voices. I keep shying away from calling what he does surreal or dada because it's too corny, and too populist, with just enough stray noise and weirdness to keep it from ever going popular. B+(***)

Billy Jenkins with the Voice of God Collective: Greenwich (1985, VOTP): A big step toward the avant-garde, most likely due to the two new saxophonists replacing the trumped on Sounds Like Bromley. I have no idea who Skid Solo is -- name comes from a comic strip about a Formula 1 driver, but you can see how it might relate -- but Iain Ballamy is well known and a major pickup here. Not that the guitarist's cartoonish populism doesn't poke through here and there, nor that the slow ones can get wobbly, but this is a pretty amazing band when they're skittering about, and Ballamy adds some real stature. A-

Billy Jenkins: Uncommerciality: Volume One (1986, VOTP): One of those early albums, seems like it might be a comp but all six tracks date from Jan-Feb 1986, a sextet with two saxes (one switching to bass clarinet), electric bass and guitar, drums and percussion. Titles are certainly uncommercial -- "Spastics Dancing," "Sade's Lips," "Margaret's Menstural Problems" -- but the music is within grasp, the guitar mostly hot and bluesy fusion, Iain Ballamy's tenor sax on "Pharoah Sanders" a good deal more contained -- amusingly so -- than the model, although in general he's one of the more powerful saxophonists of the 1980s. Couldn't play first track, one reason for hedging. B+(***)

Billy Jenkins: Uncommerciality: Volume Two (1988, VOTP): Now, this is more like uncommercial, with a circusy sound indicated by Iain Ballamy spending more time on soprano than tenor sax, and Jenkins more time hacking at the strings instead of blues or fusion riffing. "Isn't It a Great World We Live In" features the VOGC Junior League Vocal Chorus -- VOGC stands for Voice of God Collective. "Girl Getting Knocked Over" descends into nursery rhymes. "Black Magic" breaks the kiddie spell for some expansive space mystery. "Blue Broadway" is a boogie woogie, with chorus and romping street horns that sound more New York than New Orleans, not that they do that sort of thing in New York. Again, first track "temporarily unavailable," and a couple of others failed intermittently, the only thing that dimmed my smile. B+(***)

Billy Jenkins: Uncommerciality: Volume Three (1991, VOTP): Not commercial either, but the populism here is so big-hearted the masses are missing out on a lot of fun. First cut opens with organ, horn section, the VOGS Male Voice Choir, and Harriet Jenkins spoken word -- why not just call it rap? Jenkins plays keyboards, violin, and electric bass as well as his usual guitar, by turns fast, heavy, psychedelic. "Dancing in Ornette Coleman's Head" is a great title. Indeed, everything here dances, although "Land of the Free" slows it down to a waltz. A-

Billy Jenkins: I Am a Man From Lewisham (2010, VOTP): British guitarist, has recorded a lot since the early 1980s but hardly anyone have heard him, or heard of him. I haven't heard much myself, especially of his early stuff; his later stuff is idiosyncratic, with True Love Collection -- a psychedelic reworking of cutesy 1960s (or early 1970s) pop songs -- a personal favorite. This one starts and ends with blues, the title song and "Throw Them Blues in the Recycling Bin," both with hoarse Jenkins vocals, but the music gets pretty slippery even there, even more so in the instrumentals in between. B+(***)

Lee Konitz/Chris Cheek/Stephane Furic Leibovici: Jugendstil II (2005 [2010], ESP-Disk): Bassist Leibovici, who previously recorded as Stephane Furic, wrote all eight pieces, and acts as music director for the two saxophonists. He sets the ground rules, reining in the saxes as they're mostly yoked to the melody -- not much here for rugged individualists, although the music is pleasantly engaging. B+(*)

Oliver Lake Organ Quartet: Plan (2009 [2010], Passin Thru): Follows an Organ Trio record, adding trumpeter Freddie Hendrix to returning Jared Gold (organ) and Jonathan Blake (drums) -- Lake, of course, plays alto sax. The second horn reminds me of the harmonics Julius Hemphill coaxed out of the World Saxophone Quartet (minus the booming tenor and baritone parts), and Gold does some very interesting things -- I've seen reviews invoke the idea of Monk on organ, but he doesn't just jump around a lot; he gets some positive spin on chaos. Main caveat is that it seems off here and there, a sign of the risks they're taking. B+(**)

Joe Locke: For the Love of You (2009 [2010], Koch): Instrumentally a fairly snazzy quartet, with Locke's vibes rattling against Geoffrey Keezer's ivories, and George Mraz and Clarence Penn pushing the rhythm. Problem is they added a singer, Kenny Washington, like Jimmy Scott a little guy with a lot of octaves. First song is awful. Second is "Old Devil Moon" -- can't hardly ruin that. Evens out a bit after that. B-

Joe Morris: Colorfield (2009, ESP-Disk): Guitarist, from Boston, with about 30 albums since 1990, has been on a roll lately -- I count three A-list records since 2004 under his own name, a near miss, and a few more under other names, but most of those rode in on the coattails of hard-blowing saxophonists (Ken Vandermark, Jim Hobbs). Missed this one from last year, a trio with pianist Steve Lantner and his usual drummer Luther Gray. Don't know Lantner, but he worked with Joe (and Mat) Maneri, has a half dozen albums since 1997, and provides a consistently interesting contrast to Morris's irrascible guitar. B+(***)

Ivo Perelman with C.T. String Quartet: The Alexander Suite (1998, Leo): The quartet is sharp and jazzwise, led from the bassist: Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Ron Lawrence (viola), Tomas Ulrich (cello), and Dominic Duval (bass). That makes them about as astringent as the tenor saxophonist, who squeaks and squawks above them, pretty much as sharp and bloody as cutting edge gets. B+(***)

Ivo Perelman: Brazilian Watercolour (1998 [1999], Leo): Several Perelman albums have been reissued in Brazil on Atração Fonográphica and worked their way to Rhapsody that way -- this one under the title Aquarela do Brasil, but aside from a few title translations this matches the release on Leo. One of the few cases where Perelman plays a couple of pop tunes from his homeland, here "Desafinado" and "Samba de Verão" -- the strain and choppiness he adds makes them all the more alluring. With Matthew Shipp on piano, Rashid Ali on drums, Guilherme Franco and Cyro Baptista on percussion and wood flutes. A singular tenor saxophonist, even on a lite samba. Also has a piano credit somewhere, but it's not clear to me where Shipp gives way. B+(***)

Portico Quartet: Knee Deep in the North Sea (2007, Vortex): First album for British quartet, new record Isla reviewed above. This one was nominated for the rock-centric Mercury Music Prize which put it on the UK Top 200 Albums Chart, so I guess we can consider it pop jazz, although it's much more interesting than that. The hang drums at least start out with that shimmering steel drum sound. A bit less minimalist, more pop than the new one, with the sax searching out hooks; otherwise the same basic sound. B+(**)

Nasheet Waits: Equality: Alive at MPI (2008 [2009], Fresh Sound New Talent): Cover can be parsed various ways: one implication is that Equality is meant to be the group name. Waits is a drummer, best known for driving Jason Moran's Bandwagon, a piano trio with Taurus Mateen on bass. All three are present and accounted for here, and all three contribute songs -- Mateen one, Moran and Waits two each. Moreover, Moran doesn't seem to be too unhappy to see the tables turned. He has his own record and has shown up on several more lately, but this is his most energetic performance in several years. Oh, and there's a fourth guy here: alto saxophonist Logan Richardson. He had a terrific debut album, Cerebral Flow, in 2006, and is in prime form here too. A-

Every now and then I use Rhapsody to review records for Jazz Prospecting and Recycled Goods. Those from this past month are included in the archive file, which also provides navigation to the index and previous streamnotes files.