Streamnotes: October 31, 2024

Most of these are short notes/reviews based on streaming records from Napster (formerly Rhapsody; other sources are noted in brackets). They are snap judgments, usually based on one or two plays, accumulated since my last post along these lines, back on September 30. Past reviews and more information are available here (24416+ records).

Recent Releases

Jessica Ackerley: All of the Colours Are Singing (2022 [2024], AKP): Canadian guitarist, based in New York, has several previous albums since 2019, this one backed with bass and drums, plus viola/violin (Concetta Abatte) on four (of seven) tracks). B+(*) [sp]

Adekunle Gold: Tequila Ever After (2023, Def Jam): Nigerian Afrobeats singer-songwriter, Adekunle Kosoko, went through a Silver phase before he turned Gold. Has an interesting beat I can't quite match up elsewhere. B+(**) [sp]

Nick Adema: Urban Chaos (2023 [2024], ZenneZ): Trombonist from Canada, based in Amsterdam, has a previous 2022 album as Adema Manouikas Octet but effectively his debut, mostly a quartet with piano/electric bass/drums, but includes a patch of string quartet, some guest guitar and horns, most prominently Noah Preminger (tenor sax) on 7 (of 12) tracks, and one vocal -- a surplus of ideas, held together with some fine trombone. B+(***) [cd]

JD Allen: The Dark, the Light, the Grey and the Colorful (2024, Savant): Tenor saxophonist, many impressive albums since 1998, mostly trios with bass (here Gregg August and/or Ian Kenselaar) and drums (Nic Cacioppo). Seems rather restrained. B+(**) [sp]

Amyl and the Sniffers: Cartoon Darkness (2024, B2B/Virgin): Australian pub/punk rock band, third album since 2019, Amy Taylor the singer-songwriter. I'm not deciphering (or perhaps I mean remembering?) many words, but after multiple plays this is sounding great -- even the unnecessary change of pace. A- [sp]

Jason Anick/Jason Yeager: Sanctuary (2023 [2024], Sunnyside): Violin and piano, couple albums each since 2011, with Yeager on Annick's 2013 album. Nice postbop group with two trumpets (Jason Palmer and Billy Buss), tenor sax (Edmar Colón), cello, bass, and drums. B+(***) [cd]

The Attic & Eve Risser: La Grande Crue (2023 [2024], NoBusiness): Portuguese tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado's trio (Gonçalo Almeida on bass and Onno Govaert on drums), with several superb albums so far, joined here by the French pianist, for another one. A- [cd]

Bad Moves: Wearing Out the Refrain (2024, Don Giovanni): DC-based power pop quartet, third album after a 2016 EP, doesn't seem like much as first, but grows on you, especially with earworms like "I can't get the part where you fucked up out of my head." B+(***) [sp]

David Bailis: Tree of Life (2024, Create or Destroy): Guitarist, side credits back to 2007 but this seems to be his first album under his own name, a short one (27:34), four originals and one cover, with Chris Speed (tenor sax), Eric Lane (piano/synth bass), and Jason Nazary (drums), nicely done. B+(**) [cd]

Andy Baker: From Here, From There (2018 [2024], Calligram): Trombonist, originally from London but based in Chicago, has side credits going back to National Youth Jazz Orchestra in 1996 but this seems to be his first album as leader. With Russ Johnson (trumpet), Clark Sommers (bass), and Dana Hall (drums). B+(**) [cd]

Basic: This Is Basic (2024, No Quarter): Trio of Chris Forsyth (guitar), Nick Millevoi (baritone guitar & drum machine), and Mikel Patrick Avery (percussion & electronics). Forsyth has albums going back to 1998, seems to be more rooted in rock than in jazz (where I have a previous album filed), cites Manzanera, Fripp, and Frith in his notes, as well as Robert Quine, who's 1984 duo album with Fred Maher is taken as the name of this group. No vocals, all jagged rhythms too insistent to decay into drone. B+(***) [sp]

Big Freedia With the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra: Live at the Orpheum Theater (2023 [2024], Queen Diva): New Orleans rapper Freddie Ross Jr., influenced by drag queens, released a single in 1999 and a mixtape in 2003, counts two studio albums, gets full orchestra backing for this live party. B+(***) [sp]

Anne Burnell & Mark Burnell: This Could Be the Start of Something Big (2024, Spectrum Music): Both sing, Mark plays piano, some originals mixed in with the standards, backed by bass and drums, plus sax (Pat Mallinger) on six tracks, guitar (Fareed Haque) on five (four others). B [cd]

John Chin/Jeong Lim Yang/Jon Gruk Kim: Journey of Han (2024, Jinsy Music): Piano/bass/drums trio, some electric keyboards, six originals by Chin, one each by the others, plus a few standards. B+(*) [cd]

Chris Corsano/Joe Baiza/Mike Watt: Corsano Baiza Watt Trio (2023 [2024], Yucca Alta): Drums, guitar, bass, only the group name on the cover. Discogs credits the drummer with 81 albums since 2002, mostly shared headlines, plus at least as many side-credits (going back to 1996). The others came out of rock groups: Baiza from Saccharine Trust, Watt (much more famously) from Minutemen. B+(*) [bc]

Guy Davis: The Legend of Sugarbelly (2024, M.C.): Blues singer-songwriter, son of actors Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, first album 1978, has been remarkably consistent since his third album in 1993. B+(***) [sp]

The Kris Davis Trio: Run the Gauntlet (2024, Pyroclastic): Pianist, from Canada, a major figure since 2004, with Robert Hurst (bass) and Johnathan Blake (drums). This is very good, rewards patient listening, but never quite grabs me. B+(***) [cd]

Dharma Down: Owl Dreams (2023 [2024], Dharma Down): Quartet from Portland, ME, quartet of Duncan Hardy (alto sax/qanun -- an Assyrian string instrument, for a bit of Middle Eastern spice), Mike Effenberger (piano), Scott Kiefner (bass), John Meltam (drums). B+(*) [cd]

Wendy Eisenberg: Viewfinder (2022-23 [2024], American Dreams): Jazz guitarist, more than a dozen albums since 2017, singer-songwriter here, the songs focusing on seeing, occasioned by eye surgery. But the shift to instrumentals, chopped and skewed, gets more interesting. B+(**) [sp]

El Khat: Mute (2024, Glitterbeat): "Home-made junkyard band" from Tel Aviv, a quartet led by multi-instrumentalist Eyal El Wahab, whose roots are in Yemen. Third album. Arab groove with extra angst. B+(*) [sp]

Etran De L'Aïr: 100% Saharan Guitar (2024, Sahel Sounds): "The longest running wedding band in Agadez, capital of Tuareg guitar," promises more of the same, and delivers, as usual, on what I count to be their third album, but who knows how far back they go? B+(***) [sp]

Doug Ferony With His Swingin Big Band: Alright Okay You Win (2024, Ferony Enterprizes Music): Singer, handful of albums going back to 1994, leads a big band (as advertised) through fourteen standards, all done better in the past, most by Frank Sinatra. B [cd]

Ingebrigt Håker Flaten/(Exit) Knarr: Breezy (2024, Sonic Transmissions): Norwegian bassist, very active since 1994 -- Discogs credits him on 260 albums, second album with this group, which includes trumpet, two saxophonists, piano, and drums, with spots of guitar or synth. B+(**) [sp]

Floating Points: Cascade (2024, Ninja Tune): British electronica producer Sam Shepherd, fifth album since 2015, threw everyone a curve last time when he mixed in Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra. I'd say this is a return to form, but it's much better than that: a relentless stream of dance beats that keeps you moving through thick and thin. A- [sp]

Forq: Big Party (2024, GroundUP): Jazz fusion group, led by Henry Hey (keyboards), one 1999 album and several since 2014, a fairly long list of players here. Seems to have some intersection with Snarky Puppy. B+(*) [cd]

Satoko Fujii Quartet: Dog Days of Summer (2024, Libra): Japanese pianist, has run many groups for many albums since the mid-1990s, bills this particular one as her "jazz-rock fusion quartet," a revival "after an 18-year pause" -- Bacchus was recorded in 2006 and released in 2007, also with Hayakawa Takeharu (bass), Tatsuya Yoshida (drums), and Natsuki Tamura (trumpet), after four previous 2001-05 albums -- I've heard three, liked Zephyros (2003) a lot, but I didn't care for Bacchus at all. b>B+(***) [cd]

Joel Futterman: Innervoice (2024, NoBusiness): Free jazz pianist, born (1946) in Chicago, affiliated with AACM before moving to Virginia in 1972, has many records since then. This one is solo, more measured than most, but very engaging. B+(***) [cd]

Frode Gjerstad Trio: Unknown Purposes (2023 [2024], Circulasione Totale): Norwegian saxophonist, started in Detail in the early 1980s, many albums since 1996, Discogs lists 22 just for his Trio, here with Jon Rune Strøm (bass) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums). B+(***) [bc]

Frode Gjerstad/Margaux Oswald/Ivar Myrset Asheim: Another Step (2024, Circulasione Totale): Relatively short live set (2 pieces, 30:41), the leader on alto sax and clarinet, backed with piano and drums. B+(*) [bc]

Alden Hellmuth: Good Intentions (2023 [2024], Fresh Sound New Talent): Alto saxophonist, based in New York, first album, shifty postbop quintet plus guest trumpet/keyboards on several tracks. B+(***) [cd]

Hinds: Viva Hinds (2024, Lucky Number): Spanish indie pop band, started as a duo of Carlotta Cosials and Ana Garcia Perrotte as Deers, expanded to a quartet for their 2016-20 albums, back to a duo (with touring support) now. Includes a couple songs in Spanish, which surprise me as high points. A- [sp]

Shawneci Icecold/Vernon Reid/Matthew Garrison & Grant Calvin Weston: Future Prime (2024, Underground45): Pianist, synths here, has straddled hip-hop and avant-jazz since 2021, splits the difference here with a fusion (guitar/bass/drums) quartet. Five songs (32:51), starting with "A Night in Tunisia" and "Zawinul" before blasting off into space. B+(***) [cd]

Keefe Jackson/Raoul van der Weide/Frank Rosaly: Live at de Tanker (2022 [2024], Kettle Hole): Tenor saxophone/bass clarinet player, from Chicago, live set in Amsterdam with a local bassist and another Chicagoan on drums. B+(***) [cd]

Joel and the Neverending Sextet: Marbled (2023 [2024], Motvind): Norwegian cellist Joel Ring, second group album, with Karl Hjalmar Nyberg on tenor sax/clarinet, backed with piano, tuba, bass, and two drummers. B+(***) [sp]

Darius Jones: Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (2024, AUM Fidelity): Alto saxophonist, burst onto the scene with a 2009 album called Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing), to which this is at least nominally a "Chapter VII" (of a planned nine). This is a trio, with Chris Lightcap (bass) and Gerald Cleaver (drums), bristling with energy, but paced with well-measured spots of reflective calm. A- [cd]

J.U.S X Squadda B: 3rd Shift (2024, Bruiser Brigade): Detroit rapper, two previous albums since 2021, with an Oakland-based producer, nothing else by him on Discogs. B+(***) [sp]

Ka: The Thief Next to Jesus (2024, Iron Works): Rapper Kaseem Ryan, just got news of his death at 52 and recalled that he had a recent album that I had trouble finding. B+(**) [sp]

Omer Leshem: Play Space (2024, Ubuntu Music): Tenor saxophonist, from Israel, based in New York, third album since 2017, Bandcamp shows two releases (2008, 2016) from what seems to be a different Omer Leshem (plays guitar, in Israel), Discogs is no help here (one co-credit with Naama Gheber for an arrangement that could go either way). Original pieces, backed with guitar, piano, bass, and drums, nicely done postbop. B+(**) [cd]

Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets: Indoor Safari (2024, Yep Roc): Singer-songwriter, started way back in pub rock, invented power pop, faded after 1979 but never went away, with Party of One (1990) his only later album to hit A- in my book. Faint echoes here, but I can hear some. B+(*) [sp]

Doug MacDonald and the Coachella Valley Trio: Live at the Rancho Mirage Library (2024, DMAC Music): Jazz guitarist, many albums, finds a nice groove in a set backed by bass and drums, with special guest Big Black on djembe. B+(**) [cd]

Mark Masters Ensemble: Sui Generis (2023 [2024], Capri): Big band arranger, has a regular stream of albums since 1984, dubs this "a jazz concerto for chamber orchestra," featuring trumpet player Tim Hagans. B+(**) [cd]

Terence McManus: Music for Chamber Trio (2024, Rowhouse Music): Guitarist, albums start around 2010 with several duos, including ones with Ellery Eskelin (tenor sax) and Gerry Hemingway (drums), who return to fill out this trio. "Chamber" seems to mean soft and slow, which over 71 minutes can add up to plodding, but it's always nice to hear Eskelin. B+(***) [cd]

Michael McNeill: Barcode Poetry (2022 [2024], Infrasonic Press): Pianist, from Buffalo, impressed me totally out of the blue with his 2012 debut (Passageways), returns here with a real chamber jazz quartet, with Susan Alcorn (pedal steel guitar), Dave Ballou (trumpet), and Shelly Purdy (vibes, percussion). Sounded a bit weepy at first, and I do have trouble focusing when the going gets slow, but I found myself checking and rechecking, and the music gradually won me over. B+(***) [cd]

Yuka Mito: How Deep Is the Ocean (2024, Nana Notes): Standards singer, originally from Japan, now based in New York, has a previous album, backed here by piano, bass, and drums, offers seven very obvious songs (29:46), including two Jobims, two from Bacharach-David, a Porter, a Berlin, and "How High the Moon." All nicely, if unremarkably, done. B [cd]

Gurf Morlix: In Love at Zero Degrees (2024, Rootball): Alt-country singer-songwriter, originally from Buffalo, moved to Texas in 1975, best known for his associations with Blaze Foley and Lucinda Williams, and maybe as a producer, but has a steady series of own albums since 2000. This one is toned down, but steady and solid. B+(**) [sp]

Simon Moullier: Elements of Light (2023-24 [2024], Candid): Vibraphonist, several albums since 2020, this mostly quartet with piano-bass-drums, plus a guest spot each for Gerald Clayton (piano) and Marquis Hill (trumpet). B+(*) [cd]

Mavis Pan: Rising (2023 [2024], self-released): Pianist, sings some (just one song here), born in Taiwan, moved to New Jersey when she was 17, first album 2010, has a Master of Music degree, but also a M.A. from Westminster Theological Seminary. Original compositions, co-produced by Ted Nash, who plays tenor sax, flute, and clarinet. Also with Greg Burke (alto/soprano sax, alto flute, clarinet), bass, and drums. B+(*) [cd]

William Parker/Hugo Costa/Philipp Ernsting: Pulsar (2023 [2024], NoBusiness): Recorded in Amstmerdam, an all-improv set of bass, alto sax, and drums, with Costa getting the lead in the credits short, but Parker on the cover, presumably because you've heard of him. Parker seems to pick up a couple records like this every time he wanders off to Europe. My favorite is one called And William Danced, with Anders Gahnold, but they're all pretty good. Costa has several albums, including a duo and a group called Albatre with Ernsting. This is pretty inspired avant-thrash. A- [cd]

Eric Person: Rhythm Edge (2024, Distinction): Saxophonist (soprano, alto, tenor, flute), ten or so albums since 1993, notable side credits with Ronald Shannon Jackson, Chico Hamilton and Dave Holland, and a fling with World Saxophone Quartet. He's joined here by Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Robin Eubanks (trombone), and a fusion-oriented rhythm section that includes organ, piano/keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums, and offers no edge that I can discern, although when uncluttered he remains a very respectable saxophonist. B [cd]

Pest Control: Year of the Pest (2024, Quality Control HQ, EP): Dan Weiss pegged them as "my ideal metal band," which I took as both warning and challenge, but figured I could handle 4 songs, 10:27, of anything. I wound up giving them a second spin. Note that Bandcamp page doesn't tag this as metal: their proferred terms include "uk thrash," "hardcore punk," and (first on the list) "nwobhc" (whatever that stands for; at least I can guess "ukhc"). B+(***) [sp]

Kate Pierson: Radios & Rainbows (2024, Lazy Meadow Music): B-52s singer-songwriter from 1976 on, released a solo album in 2015, and now this second one. The herky-jerk one seems to have been Fred Schneider, but occasionally you get a whiff of that here. Notable lyric: "If you give your heart to science, I will give you mine." B+(**) [sp]

Dafnis Prieto Sí o Sï Quartet: 3 Sides of the Coin (2024, Dafnison Music): Cuban drummer, moved to New York in 1999, debut album in 2004 was widely acclaimed, won a MacArthur in 2011, never any doubt about his chops but I've been slow to warm to his records, at least until this utter delight, with Ricky Rodriguez on electric bass, and star turns by Martin Bejerano on piano and Peter Apfelbaum on soprano sax, tenor sax, and flute. A- [cd]

Dave Rempis/Jason Adasiewicz/Joshua Abrams/Tyler Damon: Propulsion (2023 [2024], Aerophonic): Saxophonist (alto, tenor, baritone) from Chicago, first appeared replacing Mars Williams in Vandermark 5 and immediately established himself as one of the world's greats. He's been releasing 3-5 new albums per year, some a bit rough for my taste, but most are so brilliant even that can be an advantage. Not much to differentiate his many releases, but key value added here comes from the vibraphonist. A- [cd]

Jason Robinson: Ancestral Numbers II (2023 [2024], Playscape): Might as well recycle my review of the previous album, released back in May: Saxophonist (tenor/soprano here, also alto flute), albums since 1998, composed everything here, thinking about his ancestors. Quintet with Michael Dessen (trombone), Joshua White (piano), Drew Gress (bass), and Ches Smith (drums). Interesting throughout, and this time connected even quicker. A- [cd]

Dred Scott/Moses Patrou/Tom Beckham/Matt Pavolka: Cali Mambo (2023 [2024], Ropeadope): Piano, vibes, bass, percussion. One original, the rest standards, with "Manteca" especially fine as a closer. B+(**) [cd]

Patrick Shiroishi: Glass House (2023-24 [2024], Otherly Love): Alto saxophonist, from Los Angeles, prolific since 2014, no musician credits given here although there is a lot of piano/synths in the mix. B+(*) [sp]

M Slago/Homeboy Sandman: And We Are Here (2024, Fly 7 Music): Hip-hop producer Chris Jones, originally from Nashville but based in Dallas, has a previous (2021) solo album, Sandman is presumably the rapper ("feat." on all tracks, but joined on a couple, one with Aesop Rock). B+(***) [sp]

Walter Smith III: Three of Us Are From Houston and Reuben Is Not (2024, Blue Note): Tenor saxophonist, from Houston, debut 2006 -- with bassist Reuben Rogers, who returns here (he's from the Virgin Islands), along with two other Houston natives who have made names for themselves: Jason Moran (piano) and Eric Harland (drums). Exemplary postbop, nicely balanced, ever-shifting, sketchy but pointed. A- [sp]

Snotty Nose Rez Kids: Red Future (2024, Savage Mob): First Nations rappers from Canada, sixth album since 2017. B+(***) [sp]

Tyshawn Sorey Trio: The Suspectible Now (2024, Pi): Drummer-led trio with Aaron Diehl (piano) and Harish Raghavan (bass), "following on the heels of his masterful release Continuing, which was voted #4 release of 2023 by the Francis Davis Poll of over 150 jazz critics." Most likely another top-five contender, although I'd be hard-pressed to distinguish it from the Vijay Iyer trio that won the mid-year poll, and remains the early favorite. Sorey's arrangements of four long pieces written by others, not really standards but interesting source material. B+(***) [cd]

Sulida: Utos (2023 [2024], Clean Feed): Norwegian trio of Marthe Lea (tenor sax/flute), Jon Rune Strøm (bass), and Dag Erik Knedal Andersen (drums), first group album (but all three have albums under their own names), all songs joint credits. Very solid effort. B+(***) [sp]

Moses Sumney: Sophcore (2024, Tuntum, EP): Born in California, "grew up on a goat farm in Accra [Ghana]," moved to Los Angeles after high school, has two albums, several EPs -- this one six songs, 20:37. B+(*) [sp]

Ohad Talmor/Chris Tordini/Eric McPherson: Back to the Land (2023 [2024], Intakt, 2CD): French tenor saxophonist, mostly associated with Lee Konitz, also plays bass clarinet and some electronics here, second credit tier line plays bass and drums, but there are seven more names in smaller print, most pretty notable ones at that, and then at the bottom of the cover you see "Ornette Coleman" -- the new pieces are mostly variations on old Coleman pieces, with some mention of Dewey Redman. B+(***) [sp]

Fred Thomas: Window in the Rhythm (2024, Polyvinyl): Indie rock singer-songwriter from Michigan, started in 1994 math rock band Chore, then joined His Name Is Alive, before his solo debut in 2002, with a dozen more up to this one. Sometimes hits an interesting vibe, but I can't quite peg it, or maybe just can't be bothered. B+(*) [sp]

Tropical Fuck Storm: Tropical Fuck Storm's Inflatable Graveyard (2024, Three Lobed): Australian art-punk band, formed by two members of the Drones (Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin), two others, with three studio albums since 2018, back here with a live double. Seems a bit much. B+(*) [sp]

Ben Waltzer: The Point (2023 [2024], Calligram): Pianist, debut was a trio from 1996, only a couple records since, plus a few scattered side credits. Quartet here where Geof Bradfield (tenor sax/bass clarinet) and Clark Sommers (bass) also contribute originals, plus Dana Hall (drums), and a closing, rather delicate cover of "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing." B+(**) [cd]

Immanuel Wilkins: Blues Blood (2024, Blue Note): Alto saxophonist, third album since 2020, all on Blue Note, first two overcame my initial caution, a couple side appearances also blew me away. Sax is also impressive here, but toned down a bit, making way for several guest vocals, which I could do without. Wilkins has polled very well since winning our debut award, and I expect this will also -- I've already seen one review touting it as the record of the year, but I'll pass. B+(**) [sp]

Jack Wood & Nichaud Fitzgibbon: Movie Magic: Great Songs From the Movies (2024, Jazz Hang): Wood was billed as "a classic crooner," based in southern California, released a "best of" (with no recording dates) early in the year which proved surprisingly engaging, and featured the Australian Fitzgibbon as a guest. She's definitely his better half, which helps on this collection of classic movie schmaltz, backed tastefully by a long list of musician credits, from a half-dozen studios, also undated. B+(**) [cd]

Jamie xx: In Waves (2024, Young): British electropop producer James Smith, name from his group (The xx) with Oliver Sim and Romy Madley (three albums 2009-17), second solo album after a 2015 side-project. Dance beats illuminate the world. A- [sp]

Dann Zinn: Two Roads (2024, Ridgeway): Tenor saxophonist, based in Bay Area, sixth album, postbop quintet with Rachel Z (piano), Jeff Denson (bass), Omar Hakim (drums), and Brian Rice (percussion). B+(**) [cd]

Recent Reissues, Compilations, Vault Discoveries

William Basinski: September 23rd (1982 [2024], Temporary Residence): Classically-trained electronic composer, many albums since 2001 but reaches back into his early archives for this 40:11 ambient-meets-drone piece. B+(*) [bc]

Arthur Blythe Quartet: Live From Studio Rivbea: July 6, 1976 (1976 [2024], NoBusiness): Alto saxophonist (1940-2017), from Los Angeles, recorded two masterpieces for Columbia in 1978, In the Tradition and Lenox Avenue Breakdown, after after a couple minor label releases in 1977. This live set, the second volume in the label's "Studio Rivbea" series, is just a bit earlier, a quartet with Juni Booth (bass), Steve Reid (drums), and Muhammad Abdullah (conga). B+(***) [cd]

Electro Throwdown: Sci-Fi Inter-Planetary Electro Attack on Planet Earth 1982-89 (1982-89 [2024], Soul Jazz): No hits here, the only artist name I recall is Jonzun Crew, but the echoes of "Planet Rock" and "Trans-Europe Express" (both mentioned in the notes) are easy to pick up, and pretty satisfying in and of themselves. B+(**) [r]

In the Beginning There Was Rhythm (1978-84 [2024, Soul Jazz): Reissue of the label's founding compilation from 2001, this captures the evolutionary moment when British punks embraced hard dance beats. Great idea for a compilation, and it starts off promisingly, but runs a little thin, just about when yoy start to wonder where New Order is. B+(***) [sp]

Kampire Presents: A Dancefloor in Ndola ([2024], Strut): "Up-and-coming" DJ Kampire spins fourteen East African grooves, some dating back to the 1970s, others "present day," details hard to come by, although influences include Congo and Zambia -- home to Ndola, where the Kenya-born DJ grew up before landing in Uganda, where his parents started. A- [sp]

Miami Sound: Rare Funk & Soul From Miami, Florida 1967-1974 (1967-74 [2023], Soul Jazz): Pretty rare, with George and Gwen McRae the most recognizable names, but funk, for sure. [Rhapsody version is truncated from 17 to 9 tracks.] B+(**) [r]

Miami Sound: More Funk and Soul From Miami, Florida 1967-1974 (1967-75 [2024], Soul Jazz): More adds up to 20 songs, a few more artists I'm familiar with (Betty Wright, Latimore). B+(**) [r]

Raphael Roginski: Plays John Coltrane and Langston Hughes (2024, Unsound): Polish guitarist, albums since 2008, this reissue first appeared in 2015. eight Coltrane tunes plus two originals, solo guitar, adding voice (Natalia Przybysz) on two pieces built around Hughes texts. Reissue adds four bonus tracks on a second CD. B+(**) [sp]

Old Music

George Adams-Don Pullen Quartet: Jazzbühne Berlin '88 (1988 [1991], Repertoire): Leaders play tenor sax and piano, came together under Charles Mingus circa Changes, and produced some outstanding albums over the next decade, with Cameron Brown (bass) in place of Mingus, and Lewis Nash (drums) replacing Dannie Richmond here. Three long pieces, originals (with a nod to Monk). Pullen is an absolutely unique pianist, who shines early on. Adams is hardly the only real powerhouse saxophonist, but when he hits his stride, he's undeniable. A- [yt]

Adema Manoukas Octet: New Roots (2021 [2022], self-released): Canadian group, met at University of Toronto, led by composer/arrangers Nick Adema (trombone) and Alex Manoukas (baritone sax), with trumpet, two more saxophones, and unidentified rhythm. B+(***) [bc]

Ray Anderson: Harrisburg Half Life (1980 [1981], Moers Music): Trombonist, early album recorded in Germany, with Allan Jaffe (guitar), Mark Dresser (bass), and Gerry Hemingway (drums). Good start toward the later (from 1989 on) BassDrumBone trios, where Mark Helias replaced Dresser. B+(***) [yt]

Black Arthur Blythe: Bush Baby (1977 [1978], Adelphi): The alto saxophonist's first studio album -- two earlier live sets appeared on India Navigation, one before and the other after this release -- a trio with Bob Stewart on tuba and Ahkmed Abdullah on congas. B+(***) [yt]

Boombox 3: Early Independent Hip Hop, Electro and Disco Rap 1979-83 (1979-83 [2018], Soul Jazz, 2CD): Third volume in a series that started in 2016, the previous volumes rated A- and B+(***) here, with a couple later releases breaking from the naming convention. More obscure, but sounding very typical of the early Sugarhill-dominated period. B+(***) [r]

Deutsche Elektronische Musik: Experimental German Rock and Electronic Musik 1972-83 (1972-83 [2010], Soul Jazz): Starts with Can, and hits many major groups (but no Kraftwerk). Still, not much really grabs me. Three more volumes were added later, including 3, which I previously graded B+(*). B+(*) [r]

Deutsche Elektronische Musik 2: Experimental German Rock and Electronic Musik 1971-83 (1971-83 [2013], Soul Jazz): Digital has 14 tracks, which is more than the 2-LP's 12 but way less than the 2-CD's 27 (or the later 25-track 4-LP release). B+(*) [r]

Ka: Languish Arts (2022, Iron Works): One of a pair of short albums released same day, at least digitally (vinyl and CD came out in 2023). Ten songs, 28:23. B+(**) [sp]

Ka: Woeful Studied (2022, Iron Works): Same day release, ten more songs (26:27), not sure this is any better but his calm narration over modest squiggles of sound may be growing on me. B+(***) [sp]

Lloyd McNeill: Elegia (1979 [2019], Soul Jazz): Perhaps better known as a painter (1935-2021), played flute and recorded several albums 1968-79, one more in 1997, this the fifth reissued by the label. B+(*) [r]

Punk 45: I'm a Mess! D-I-Y or Die! Art, Trash & Neon: Punk 45s in the UK 1977-78 (1977-78 [2022], Soul Jazz): Extending what was previously a six-CD series -- all good, the Cleveland volume (Extermination Nights in the Sixth City an A-), more obscurities: I don't recall ever hearing of these groups, much less their singles (16 on the digital, other formats vary). B+(**) [r]

Space Funk 2: Afro Futurist Electro Funk in Space 1976-84 (1976-84 [2023], Soul Jazz): More crate digging, following their previous (2019) volume, leaning into early hip-hop (choice cut: "Smurf Trek," by Chapter Three). B+(**) [r]

Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Swinging Gospel Queen 1939-1947 (1937-47 [1998], Blues Collection): Gospel singer (1915-73), at least due to her subject matter, but she strums a mean guitar, and with half the voice and no backup singers she could pass for a folksinger, and a rocking one at that. I was surprised to find no graded albums in my database (despite seven albums, including a 4-CD Properbox, on the "shopping" list) -- "Up Above My Head I Hear Music in the Air" is one of my most persistent earworms -- so when I noticed a new Acrobat collection (The Singles Collection As & Bs 1939-1950), I was first tempted to buy it, then considered the Christgau-recommended The Absolutely Essential 3CD Collection, but came to my senses and checked out what I could stream. This one may be out of print, but comes from their generally reliable "Historic Recordings" series, with twenty songs, including my earworm and many more contenders (like "Everybody's Gonna Have a Wonderful Time Up Here"). Also named on the cover: Lucky Millinder, Sammy Price, Marie Knight. A- [sp]

Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Live in 1960 (1960 [1991], ORG Music): A solo set, so just her voice and guitar with the voice worked extra hard, a dozen songs, mostly standards but not necessarily hers ("Precious Lord," "Down by the Riverside," "Peace in the Valley"). B+(**) [sp]

Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Sister on Tour (1961, Verve): Another live set, from New York, with a hard-swinging band, identified only as "arranged and conducted by Teacho Wiltshire." B+(***) [sp]

Don Walser: Rolling Stone From Texas (1994, Watermelon): Country/western swing singer-songwriter (1934-2006), best known for his yodeling, started a group called the Panhandle Playboys in 1950, later led the Texas Plainsmen, but spent most of his adult years as a mechanic and auditor in the National Guard, before "retiring" in 1994 and recording this career-defining album. Wikipedia notes that "his extraordinary vocal abilities earned him the nickname 'the Pavarotti of the Plains," which definitely overlooks Roy Orbison -- a comparison that occurred to me as soon as the opening sea of yodel parted, although it took a couple of covers -- "Shotgun Boogie" and "That's Why I'm Walking" -- to clarify into something uniquely his own. Per John Morthland: "perhaps the last of God's great pure country singers." A- [sp]

Don Walser: Texas Top Hand (1996, Watermelon): Second album, opens with a yodel on the title song, drifts through various covers from "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" to "Weary Blues From Waiting" to "Divorce Me C.O.D." to "Danny Boy." B+(**) [sp]

Wiener Art Orchester: Tango From Obango (1979 [1980], Art): Group founded 1977 by Mathias Rüegg, aka Vienna Art Ochestra, ran through 2010 wtih a couple vocal albums as Vienna Art Choir. They were especially notable for their eclectic borrowings from classical music, as well as from Americans like Gershwin, Ellington, Mingus, and Dolphy. Cover notes: "This music is dedicated to the people and the Sea of Obango," but I'm not finding any other references to that location. But the opening tango is delightful, and after that it's anyone's guess. B+(***) [yt]

Music Weeks

Music: Current count 36534 [36534] rated (+0), 149 [149] unrated (+0).

Excerpts from this month's Music Week posts:

Notes

Sources noted as follows:

• [cd] based on physical cd
• [cdr] based on an advance or promo cd or cdr
• [lp] based on physical lp (vinyl)
• [dvd] based on physical dvd (rated more for music than video)
• [bc] available at bandcamp.com
• [r] available at napster.com (formerly Rhapsody)
• [sc] available at soundcloud.com
• [sp] available at spotify.com
• [yt] available at youtube.com
• [os] some other stream source
• [dl] something I was able to download from the web; may be freely available, may be a bootleg someone made available, or may be a publicist promo

Grades are probably self-explanatory, aside from B+, which is subdivided 1-2-3 stars, because most records that come my way are pretty good, but they're not all that good.