Streamnotes: September 27, 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 August 27. Past reviews and more information are available here (24416+ records).

Recent Releases

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. [cd]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Recent Reissues, Compilations, Vault Discoveries

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

Limited Sampling

Records I played parts of, but not enough to grade: -- means no interest, - not bad but not a prospect, + some chance, ++ likely prospect.

Grade (or other) Changes

Sometimes further listening leads me to change an initial grade, usually either because I move on to a real copy, or because someone else's review or list makes me want to check it again. Also some old albums extracted from further listening:

Additional Consumer News:

Verve's Finest Hour series:

• Cannonball Adderley (2001)
• Fred Astaire (2003)
• Gato Barbieri (2000)
• Count Basie (2002)
• Willie Bobo (2003)
• Clifford Brown (2000)
• Betty Carter (2003)
• The Crusaders (2000)
• Duke Ellington (2002)
• Bill Evans (2001)
• Tal Farlow (2001)
• Errol Garner (2003)
• Stan Getz (2000)
• Astrud Gilberto (2001)
• Woody Herman (2001)
• Antonio Carlos Jobim (2000)
• Quincy Jones (2000)
• Roland Kirk (2001)
• Ramsey Lewis (2000)
• Chuck Mangione (2000)
• Carmen McBride (2000)
• Charles Mingus (2002)
• Wes Montgomery (2000)
• Anita O'Day (2000) A-
• Oscar Peterson (2000)
• Sonny Rollins (2002)
• Nina Simone (2000)
• Jimmy Smith (2000)
• Art Tatum (2000)
• Mel Tormé (2001)
• Sarah Vaughan (2000)
• Dinah Washington (2000)
• Ben Webster (2000)
• Joe Williams (2001)

Grades on artists in the old music section.

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.