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An occasional blog about populist politics and popular music, not necessarily at the same time. LinksLocal Links My Other Websites Music Politics Others Networking Music DatabaseArtist Search: Website SearchGoogle: Recent Reading
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Saturday, January 11, 2025 Music Week
January archive (in progress). Music: Current count 43500 [43426) rated (+74), 19 [18] unrated (+1). I figured I should post something when the 19th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll got its big reveal. Music Week has been floating mid-week for a while now, and has piled up this week as I've been very tied up trying to get all of the various pieces into alignment. So it would have to wait until the poll came out, plus whatever post-poll emergencies I had to attend to. (And indeed, there were some broken links and garbled tables to straighten out.) Plus I had to notify voters -- at least, make a good faith effort to the extent that the email barons permit -- and work my own social media outlets. But in the end, I realized it would be easier to do both things in one post. So below you'll find my announcements, 10-days worth of reviews, and a few asides. I manage the poll through a website on my server. The best place to start exploring the poll from is the home page. From there, you can easily get to the essays that Arts Fuse published:
We also have a voter-provided essay that is not part of the poll, but related to it:
I'm willing to consider further submissions here, and not just from voters. If you want to contribute -- and be aware that there's no money for these things -- get in touch and give me an outline, and I'll consider it. I also hope that voters and others will write and publish pieces about the poll on their own, wherever they usually do so. Below the essays, the poll index page offers Complete Results (New Albums, Rara Avis (Reissues/Historical), Vocal Jazz, Latin Jazz, and Debut Albums). All of these categories are significantly deeper than ever before, mostly because we surveyed an all-time record 177 critics (+18 from 2023). You may browse through the ballots in batches of 20, or go to the index and pick out any voter. Or you can go to a totals page, click on an arrow link, and see who voted for that album, then click on a critic name and see their whole ballot. (Well, you can do that for New Albums and Rara Avis; I didn't program the others to work that way, but I should fix that.) The pages also include extensive notes, because not everything is always clear when you look at an album. The website also houses archives for the previous 18 polls (plus the 2024 mid-year poll). Previous years were tacked on one-by-one, so not everything is always treated consistently -- and indeed, some bits of older history are currently missing. We'd like to go back and clean all that up, and turn the poll website into an integrated resource for the age. That's one of many projects I'm considering for what's left of my future. Coincidentally, El Intruso released the results of their International Critics Poll the same day ours appeared. I don't have time to compare notes right now, but Patricia Brennan winning both polls is a rather stunning convergence. It was just 2023 when El Intruso's record of the year only finished 24 in our poll (Rodrigo Amado, Beyond the Margins, although I had it number 1 on my 2023 ballot). Their electorate is about half American, while ours was close to 90% American in 2023, somewhat less in 2024 -- not least because I invited a bunch of their voters, who in addition to being international tend to be more favorable to free jazz. I should also mention that I answered a couple questions on January 9. The one on the poll has been superseded by events, but there's also a fairly long one on cryptic grades and notes. While I was working on the poll, I was furiously listening to new music. (I actually spent very little time re-listening to the poll leaders, and mostly consulted my notes and memory for what little I had to say about what were generally very good records.) The long list of records that follow were mostly suggested by the poll, although occasionally I saw other items of interest, and strayed off the beaten path. You might notice that a couple of these are noted "[Review lost?]." These were albums that I did listen to and write about, but for some reason I wasn't able to find the reviews. The best I can figure is some accidental edit snafu, as I don't know where else to look. I figure I still might as well keep the grades. Nearly all of these records are jazz. I calculated somewhere near the end that I still had 190 new albums from the poll that I had not heard, so it was probably 50 more when I started this Music Week. I certainly won't reach the bottom of this barrel, as I'm increasingly running into items that aren't available on Bandcamp or streaming. I pretty much gave up on chasing records down after the Voice shut down Jazz Consumer Guide. Nor do I buy much, especially on spec. I expect this attitude will eventually freeze me out as a viable critic, but the extra visibility I've gotten in the last 2-3 years with the poll has had the opposite effect. Age and ennui seem more likely to do me in. I did take a brief break from jazz when Robert Christgau's January CG came out, and I found myself liking the first three albums I checked out (Phelimuncasi, Previous Industries, Fake Fruit -- well enough, anyway, to add them to my Best Non-Jazz of 2024 list, though the first two nowhere near as high as they're likely to show up on the Dean's List). That mostly leaves Wussy unheard: I like them fine, but I'm in no rush. (Also unheard: Bright Eyes, Kim Deal, and Lucinda Williams singing the Beatles -- title suggests my least favorite of their albums, but song list is more catholic; Rosali was a B back in May; Willie Nelson a ** and Kendrick Lamar a ***, but neither is in my streamnotes index, a reminder of how I've let things slip). While there is still lots of 2024 jazz I could listen to, I may take a break and see if I can even up the Jazz/Non-Jazz split (even with the CG, my Non-Jazz A-list is down at 52 (+8 old music), while the Jazz A-list has zoomed to a most-ever 109 albums (+ 29 old music). The obvious explanation is that my 2024 listening, so far at least, has been very lopsided, as summing up the above files shows that I've heard 896 jazz albums vs. 389 non-jazz (total 1285, unless any records appeared on both lists, so the split is 69.7% jazz). That total is substantial, but if memory serves, down from 2023 and several other peak years. That it is as high as it is can be ascribed to my work on the jazz critic polls (especially the mid-year), which dredged up so many prospects. Conversely, I've fallen way behind on my Metacritic/EOY Aggregate, which is my most useful prospecting tool. (I'm likely to make up some ground there in the next few weeks, but this year's source list (currently 177 sources) has zero chance of ever matching last year's (617; the big difference is massive amounts of individual JCP and PJRP lists, which I've barely touched so far this year). Speaking of individual lists, I waited until the last minute to submit one to PJRP (which I also sent to Brad Luen for his EW poll, ignoring all the extra categories of the latter):
Main difference from the source lists is that I combined both two Allen Lowe volumes into one album (as we allowed for the FDJCP). By the way, the 100-point distribution I used here isn't far removed from the scale I used in the FDJCP: if you scale the points in the latter to add up to 100, 1st place = 17.856 (I used 18), 2nd place = 14.284 (I used 12), 3rd = 11.904 (I used 12 again), down to 10th = 5.952 (I used 7). I wasn't thinking of the scale when I allocated these points, but I was thinking of how I had always generally Pazz & Jop points in the past when I came up with the FDJCP scale. In other words, the scale approximates what conscientious voters tend to conclude as the relative merits of 10 albums, but it has two advantages: voters only have to think about order, without having to do the extra work of allocating points (as well as our extra work checking their arithmetic and registering the points); and it doesn't tempt voters to game the system, which is the idea behind virtually every 30-point vote. I don't have any firm plans for the next days, weeks, months, year -- it's hard to imagine even longer time frames. I've let a lot of things slip, like the aforementioned indexes, or updating the CG database on Robert Christgau's website. I have bunches of domestic projects that need attention: a lot of filing, sorting, cleaning, unloading. I can't begin to list them all, or don't want to, as several at the top of my mind are pretty unpleasant. The last week has been especially miserable. I've reached the age where cold has turned painful, so I've spent much of the last week huddled in front of space heaters. It got cold enough to freeze up the dishwasher, so I spent considerable time figuring out how to get it working again. (I need to take it out, and put more insulation around it, and possibly some ventilation, and while I'm at it, I think the floor needs some repair. Years ago I wouldn't have flinched at small jobs like that, but now I do.) We could probably get out if we really wanted to, but for a week now we're acting like we're snowed in. I haven't emerged from my post-election news blackout yet. I'm starting to wonder how long I can extend it. Biggest impact so far was not knowing when it was going to get so cold. Main regret is that I have no idea how the NBA season is shaping up. I do occasionally scan through my X feed, which isn't much good for news, but reminds me that the problems I used to worry about are still very much evident, and that the quality of thinking and speaking about them is even worse than I remember. But my wife has returned to following the news -- perhaps more guardedly than before, but she can fill me in on whatever assassination, explosion, or unnatural disaster has blindsided reporters on any given day. Most likely I will eventually write more on political issues, but I'm unlikely to return to a weekly chronicle (as I did for many years, and I'm much less try to mediate in Democratic Party squabbles, especially to defend the anti-left faction whose sole appeal has proven to be the empty promise of stopping Trump. They had their chance. They failed. Sure, that doesn't prove the left would have won in their stead, but at least the left would have been arguing for things that would make a difference. Not that I wouldn't vote for the Popular Front again, but I'm losing my patience trying to make sense with and out of them. I started to write a second Odds & Sods last week, then scratched it. I still have scattered topics to comment on. For instance, I want to write something about the late Jack Williams (1935-2024), perhaps expanding it into a slice of memoir. I'm less certain of writing anything, but I also want to notice the passing of Tom Johnson (1939-2024), a writer I knew briefly in my New York days and much admired. I could just focus on memoir from here out. At least I'd be writing on a subject I'm a credible authority on. One item I won't bother saving for another post is yesterday's meatloaf. Seemed like the perfect thing to cope with the cold. I do expect to continue following up on whatever needs to be done regarding the poll. Thus far I've noticed very little public reaction to it, but I haven't had time to look much either. I did get a couple of exceptionally nice notes. One thing I meant to do before (now after) writing this post was add a bunch of late voters to the email list. Email remains a very serious headache. Although I'm inclined to blame the world, it's possible that the root of the problem is on my server. I need to get a much better handle on that. I just got a notice that my SSL certificate is expiring and won't be replaced, so something there is seriously screwed up. That should probably be my priority next week, but it's hardly the only imminent catastrophe, as you can well imagine. New records reviewed this week: Luther Allison: I Owe It All to You (2023 [2024], Posi-Tone): I did a double take when I saw this name show up on a debut ballot, flashing immediately to the bluesman (1937-97) with the same name. This one's a young pianist, first album as leader after several side credits on/around his label. Trio with Boris Kozlov (bass) and Zach Adleman (drums). B+(**) [sp] Arild Andersen/Daniel Sommer/Rob Luft: As Time Passes (2023 [2024], April): Norwegian bass legend gets top billing for the first chapter in the Danish drummer's "Nordic Trilogy, this trio also featuring Luft's guitar. B+(***) [sp] Steve Baczkowski: Cheap Fabric (2022 [2024], Relative Pitch): Saxophonist, from Buffalo, has a couple dozen albums since 2005, plays solo here, baritone and tenor, plus "homemade winds" on two tracks. This is engaging, but naturally within the limits of the format. B+(**) [sp] John Butcher + 13: Fluid Fixations (2021 [2024], Weight of Wax): British avant-saxophonist, started recording around 1985, very prolific -- Discogs credits him with 149 albums, among 253 performance credits. I've only lightly sampled him -- this is my 19th album under his name, and the only one I've listened to more than twice -- but my impression is that most are small improv groups where he gets a chance to wail. This is something else, a composed piece "with a lot of subtext," written for "14 highly individual players into a framework built from instructions that direct ever-shifting groupings, materials and relationships," which is to say that, like Godot, we spend a lot of time waiting for things to happen that turn out not to be the point. His sax contribution is minor, but ultimately decisive. A- [dl] Caxtrinho: Queda Livre (2024, QTV): Brazilian singer Paulo Vitor Castro, "offers deconstructed Bossa Nova tunes," seems to be his first album. First pass suggests it's too convoluted for me, but so was Tom Zé. B+(***) [bc] Brian Charette: You Don't Know Jack! (2024, Cellar Music): Organ player, started recording c. 2008, seemed like he had some unconventional ideas at the time, but the more he produces, the more he slips back into the tradition. Or maybe it's just producer Corey Weeds who indulges his fancy for Jack McDuff -- their previous album together was called Jackpot. Weeds plays tenor sax here, with Dave Sikula (guitar) and John Lee (drums). B+(**) [sp] Mahmoud Chouki: Caravan: From Marrakech to New Orleans (2024, Gallatin Street): From Morocco, plays oud, moved to New Orleans, where his French made some connections, and he's had no problem lining up horns and rhythm, and a couple nice vocal turns (one probably Chouki, others I'm not so sure of). B+(**) [sp] Anat Cohen: Quartetinho: Bloom (2024, Anzic): The New York-based clarinetist's Brazil-oriented "little quartet" -- Vitor Gonçalves (piano/accordion), Tal Mashiach (bass, guitar), and James Shipp (vibes/marimba/percussion) -- return for a second album, a light and but not quite frothy delight. B+(***) [sp] Avishai Cohen: Bright Light (2024, Naďve): Israeli bassist, not Anat Cohen's brother, couple dozen albums since 1998, when he was living in New York and playing with Chick Corea. He moved back to Israel in 2008, and is presumably still there -- something I don't want to think about. I can comment on the music, which opens with eight nicely paced and toned originals, and closes with three covers: a Liszt piece I didn't really notice, and takes of "Summertime" and "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" that I really loved (the former with his own vocal, the latter with a lovely sax solo). [Note: Discogs and other sources read the title as one word, but cover shows it split over two lines witout hyphen, so I'm reading it as two words.] B+(**) [sp] Emmet Cohen: Vibe Provider (2024, Mack Avenue): Pianist, born in Miami, grew up in New Jersey, albums since 2011 include five Legacy Masters Series volumes -- I especially like the one with Houston Person, but then I would. Five originals, four covers, mostly trio but three tracks pick up some horns, no vibraphone in case you're wondering. B+(**) [sp] Tomasz Dąbrowski & the Individual Beings: Better (2023 [2024], April): Polish trumpet player, based in Denmark, albums since 2012, second group album, a septet with two saxophones, piano/synthesizer, bass, and two drummers. B+(**) [sp] Caroline Davis and Wendy Eisenberg: Accept When (2023 [2024], Astral Spirits): Alto sax and guitar duo, both with voice credits (although more likely Eisenberg), Davis also for synths, plus Greg Saunier also played some drums. B+(*) [sp] Dubbeltrion: Bringing Scandi-Baltic Powerhousejazz to the People (2024, Sonic Transmissions): First album from a sextet -- one could say "double trio," as there are two each at saxophone, bass, and drums -- that hails from Denmark, Sweden, and Estonia. I'm not sure they count as "powerhouse" in a region that's produced Atomic and The Thing, but their populist instincts are sound. B+(**) [sp] Kurt Elling/Sullivan Fortner: Wildflowers Vol. 1 (2024, Edition): Jazz singer, from Chicago, recorded for Blue Note 1995-2003, showing off remarkable technical skills which for most established him as the top male jazz vocalist of his generation. Even when he dazzled me, I never liked his stuff, and he's showing signs of slowing down and cracking up. He has a good pianist here, and Cécile McLorin Salvant joins in on "A Wish (Valentine)," which is scant improvement. 6 tracks, 32:02. B- [sp] Kurt Elling: Wildflowers Vol. 2 (2024, Edition): Recorded less than a month after Vol. 1, with new pianist Joey Calderazzo, and Ingrid Jensen (trumpet) the guest for one song. Adds up to 5 tracks, 28:14. C [bc] Fake Fruit: Mucho Mistrust (2024, Carpark): Oakland group, second album, Hannah D'Amato the singer (but not the only one), the songs jointly credited. Post-punk, but so were the B-52s, which they remind me of. A- [sp] The Flowers of Indulgence: Dylan's Lost Songs, Vol. 1 (2024, Bothy Studio): Twelve songs that sound like they could have been Dylan throwaways, recorded in Scotland by a group reported to consist of: Don Khan (lead vocals/guitar), Tiny Montgomery (lead vocals/bass/guitars), Silly Nellie (guitars), Skinny Moo (piano/organ), T-Bone Frank (drums/persussion) and the Rose Maries (backing vocals). Not obviously a spoof, or important enough to take seriously, but entertaining as trivia. B+(**) [sp] Michael Foster/Ben Bennett/Jacob Wick: Carne Vale (2024, Relative Pitch): Sax/percussion/trumpet trio, offering abstracts of intermittent interest. B+(*) [sp] Joel Frahm Trio: Lumination (2023 [2024], Anzic): Mainstream tenor saxophonist from Wisconsin, twenty or so albums since 1999, plus a lot of notable side work. Down to basics here in a trio with Dan Loomis (bass) and Ernesto Cervini (drums), which he handles with characteristic aplomb. B+(***) [sp] Joel Futterman: Forever (2022 [2024], Mahakala Music): Avant-pianist, from Chicago, many albums since 1979. This one is solo, a bit too deep in its own shell for me to unpack. B+(*) [bc] Sally Gates/Steve Hirsh/Daniel Carter: Phosphene (2024, Mahakala Music): Trio of guitar, drums, and whatever Carter feels like playing ("saxophones, flute, trumpet"). Gates was one of the guitarists on Elliott Sharp's Ere Guitar, and has several projects with Trevor Dunn. B+(***) [bc] Dennis Gonzalez Legacy Band: Live at the Texas Theatre (2024, Astral Spirits): Tribute to the late avant-trumpeter, with two of his sons (Aaron on bass and Stefan on drums), playing four of his pieces, with Rob Mazurek and Jawwaad Taylor playing trumpet, Danny Kaims and Joshua Miller sax, Gaika James trombone, and Drew Phillips bass, with Lily Taylor stepping up for "Song for a Singer." A- [sp] Charles Goold: Triptych Lespri (2023 [2024], La Reserve): Drummer, from New York, son of saxophonist Ned Goold, mother from Haiti (which figures significantly here), second album, built around a trio with Davis Whitfield (piano) and Mark Lewandowski (bass), supplemented by vibes (Juan Diego Villalobos) and "my fellow colleagues of the Haitian diaspora," including trumpet and "traditional Haitian percussion." B+(**) [sp] Devin Gray: Melt All of the Guns II (2024, Rataplan): Drummer, has a fair amount of work since 2005 (notably with Ellery Eskelin), did an EP in 2021 called Melt All the Guns, a trio with trumpet and piano, with Ralph Alessi returning here, along with new pianist Myslaure Augustin. I don't doubt the "politically leaning songs," but they're no more obvious than any other free jazz venture. B+(**) [bc] David Hazeltine: Ballads and Blues Volume 1 (2023 [2024], Cellar Music, EP): Mainstream pianist, has a long and distinguished career, led his trio of Neal Miner (bass) and Peter Van Nostrand (drums) into a NYC studio and recorded an album's worth of material, but the label opted to split it into two digital EPs, this one 4 track, 23:32. B+(*) [bc] David Hazeltine: Ballads and Blues Volume 2 (2023 [2024], Cellar Music, EP): Four more tracks, 23:23. B+(*) [bc] Hubbub: abb abb abb (2019 [2024], Relative Pitch): French group, sixth album since 2001, name I recognize is Bertrand Denzler (tenor sax), but I may have run across some others: Jean-Luc Guionnet (alto sax), Frédéric Blondy (piano), Jean-Sébastian Mariage (electric guitar), and Edward Perraud (percussion). Mostly slow, rather dark atmospherics. B+(**) [sp] Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra: Harbour (2022 [2024], Justin Time): Canadian soprano saxophonist, 11th album since 2000, 3rd with this big band, younger sister of trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, who gets a "featuring" credit here, front and center in a back cover picture of 19 musicians. B+(*) [sp] Ryan Keberle: Bright Moments (2023 [2024], Posi-Tone): [Review lost?] B+(**) [sp] Kira Kira: Kira Kira Live (2024, Alister Spence Music): Quartet of Natsuki Tamura (trumpet), Satoko Fujii (piano), Alister Spence (keyboards), and drums, recorded the excellent Bright Force in 2017, has a new drummer (Tatsuya Yoshida) for this live return. B+(**) [bc] Mike LeDonne Groover Quartet + Gospel Choir: Wonderful! (2023 [2024], Cellar Music Group): Pianist elsewhere, but he plays organ in this group, with Peter Bernstein (guitar) and Joe Farnsworth (drums) securing the group name, and Eric Alexander (tenor sax) up front. I almost balked at the gospel choir, but think of them as harmony for the sax leads. Still, it works best when the choir steps back, and even then it only goes so far. I concede that they can groove and grind "Bridge Over Troubled Water," but that doesn't mean I want to hear it again. B- [sp] Jihye Lee Orchestra: Infinite Connections (2023 [2024], Motéma Music): Korean composer/conductor, based in New York, third album, co-produced by Darcy James Argue, conventional 17-piece big band, plus guest Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet) on two tracks. B+(*) [sp] Peggy Lee/Julien Wilson/Theo Carbo/Dylan van der Schyff: Open Threat (2024, Earshift Music): Advertised as a Melbourne-based group, although I recognize the cellist (Lee) and drummer (van der Schyff) as major figures from the Vancouver scene. The others are presumably Australians, playing tenor sax and guitar. B+(***) [bc] Lionel Loueke & Dave Holland: United (2023 [2024], Edition): Guitarist-singer from Benin, debut 1997, perhaps best known for his 2008-15 series on Blue Note, moved to this label in 2020, as had the English bassist in 2019. Just the two of them, playing Loueke's songs, the minimal support rendering them lighter than ever. B+(**) [sp] Michael Mayo: Fly (2024, Mack Avenue): Singer. I filed his first album under rock -- I guess I was thinking neo-soul, but this is being taken as jazz, which he seems to have a degree in. Looks like he wrote 5 (of 11) songs here, and arranged the others, including jazz standards like "Four" and "Speak No Evil." Backed by Shai Maestro (keyboards), Linda May Han Oh (bass), and Nate Smith (drums), with Scott Mayo on sax for a couple cuts. B+(*) [sp] Microplastique: Blare Blow Bloom! (2024, Irritable Mystic): [Review lost?] B+(**) [bc] Grey McMurray: Crying at Breakfast (2024, Out of Your Head, EP): [Review lost?] B- [sp] Ben Monder: Planetarium (2020-23 [2024], Sunnyside): Guitarist, debut album 1995, lots of side-credits, this is "a prodigious piece of art," sprawling over 3-CD (172 minutes), backed by bass and drums, vocalist Theo Bleckman and/or three other vocalists. The vocals aren't much more than color, but I can't say as I care for them. The guitar is fine, but hardly justifies the length. B [sp] Wolfgang Muthspiel: Etudes/Quietudes (2024, Clap Your Hands): [Review lost?] B+(**) [sp] Camila Nebbia & Angelica Sanchez: In Another Land, Another Dream (2023 [2024], Relative Pitch): Tenor sax and piano duo, the former from Argentina, the latter from Phoenix, recorded live in New York. This strikes a very nice balance, one in constant motion and fascination. A- [sp] Camila Nebbia/Leo Genovese/Alfred Vogel: Eyes to the Sun (2023 [2024], Boomslang): Tenor saxophonist from Argentina, American pianist, Austrian drummer, recorded in Buenos Aires. [bc] New Orleans Klezmer All Stars: Tipish (2024, self-released): Discogs lists six albums for them 1995-2008, plus this revival. Credits are skimpy, but Ben Ellman (tenor sax), Jonathan Freilich (guitar), and Glenn Hartman (accordion) go back at least to 1998. B+(***) [sp] Bill Orcutt: How to Rescue Things (2024, Palilalia): Guitarist, filed him under rock in the 1990s but lately he's been showing up on jazz lists, like his Music for Four Guitars and, especially, Four Guitars Live. Tries something else here, the hype talking about saccharine strings (and Charlie Parker), but more conspicuous, at least at first, is voice(s). While the guitar is the antidote, it isn't always up to the task. Short (29:58). B [sp] Ivo Perelman/Iva Bittová/Michael Bisio: Vox Popoli Vox Dei (2017 [2024], Mahakala Music): Tenor sax, violin, and bass trio play free jazz with folk roots, with a major vocal contribution by Bittová, which I found annoying at first but the closer I listened, the more intriguing it got. B+(**) [bc] Danilo Pérez & Bohlusän Big Band: Lumen (2021 [2024], Prophone): Pianist from Panama, was a Dizzy Gillespie protégé, emerging as a significant performer in the 1990s. Teems up here with a Swedish big band -- not the ideal combination, but they're game. B+(*) [sp] Phelimuncasi & Metal Preyers: Izigqinamba (2024, Nyege Nyege Tapes): South African (Durbin-based) gqom trio we've noticed before, teamed up with "a loose group consisting of core members Jesse Hackett and Chicago's Mariano Chavez" (Hacket, I gather, is based in London) for 31:07 of metal-flecked beats and chants, with samples of older South African forms, and no idea of what's going and coming. I'm catching what feels like very little of it, yet find myself returning for more. A- [sp] Previous Industries: Service Merchandise (2024, Merge): Los Angeles-based hip-hop trio, Open Mike Eagle is the one you've heard of, joined by Still Rift and Video Dave -- the latter has two previous albums, but both are better known in Eagle's company. "The album's central concept is related to defunct American retail chain stores." A- [sp] Tomeka Reid/Isadora Edwards/Elisabeth Coudoux: Reid/Edwards/Coudoux (2021 [2024], Relative Pitch): Three cellists, Reid by far the most famous, then Coudoux, who has a 2016 album and some co-credits. This is the sort of small-scale craft the label specializes in. B+(**) [sp] Diego Rivera: Ofendra (2024, Posi-Tone): [Review lost?] B+(***) [sp] Renee Rosnes: Crossing Paths (2024, Smoke Sessions): Pianist, albums start around 1989, including a long run on Blue Note, moved to Smoke Sessions from 2016, although her "supergroup" Artemis has two albums on Blue Note. This one focuses on Brazilian music, with featuring spots for Edu Lobo, Joyce Moreno, and Maucha Adnet, plus support from Chico Pinheiro, John Pattitucci, Adam Cruz, Rogerio Boccato, Chris Potter, Steve Davis, and Shelley Brown. B+(*) [sp] Toms Rudzinskis: Abyss (2019-21 [2023], self-released): Saxophonist from Latvia, based in Berlin, several albums since 2014, nice postbop here with a guest vocal. B+(**) [sp] Akira Sakata/Jim O'Rourke/Mette Rasmussen/Chris Corsano: Live at SuperDeluxe Volume 1 (2017 [2024], Trost): Japanese alto saxophonist, born in Hiroshima a few months before the bomb, in an extended bash with the Sonic Youth guitarist, another saxophonist (tenor), and a drummer who likes it rough. B+(*) [bc] Michael Sarian: Live at Cliff Bell's (2023 [2024], Shifting Paradigm): Trumpet player, half-dozen previous albums since 2020, quartet here with piano (Santiago Liebson), bass (Marty Kenney), and drums (Nathan Ellman-Bell), live set playing eight Sarian originals and a piece by Armenian poet Sayat-Nova (1712-95). Impressive work here. B+(***) [sp] Brad Shepik: Human Activity: Dream of the Possible (2022 [2024], Shifting Paradigm): Guitarist, early (1996-97) work in Tiny Bell Trio with Dave Douglas, has long been interested in the music of the Balkans, which ties into his use of Bulgarian tambura and saz here, as well as banjo. Title refers back to his excellent 2009 Human Activity Suite. Quintet here with Layale Chaker's violin the perfect complement to his strings, and a terrific rhythm section of Amino Belyamani (piano), Sam Minaie (bass), and John Hadfield (drums). A- [sp] Daniel Sommer/Arve Henriksen/Johannes Lundberg: Sounds & Sequences (2022-23 [2024], April): Danish drummer, had a Duets album in 2017, several more, although the related predecessor to this one (the 2nd installment in his "Nordic Trilogy") listed Arild Andersen first, so is filed there. The others play trumpet and bass, both electronics. B+(**) [sp] Peter Somuah: Highlife (2024, ACT Music): Trumpet player, from Ghana, third album, second on the German jazz label, but recapitulating his roots starting out playing in dance bands in Accra. Some riffing over the beats, and some guest spots for highlife stars. B+(**) [sp] Sound the Alarm: Sound the Alarm: A Large Ensemble Instigation for Palestine [Recorded Live in Concert] (2024, Relative Pitch): I filed this under Clayton Thomas, the Australian bassist who instigated this "composed improvisation, a sonic allegory and a simple way to collect human energy in the right place for the right reasons." The occasion is the 264th day of Israel's genocide against Gaza, which is to say a little more than half way to now. Proceeds go to "humanitarian organizations working on the ground in Gaza," which is to say targets of the genocide -- a hopeless proposition until someone stops the killing. As a big band, this group is short on brass, but the three pieces each build up into something substantial, perhaps a tribute to human resilience in face of disaster, or maybe just a wish that such were possible. I wouldn't advise trying to read much into it. A- [sp] Vinnie Sperrazza Apocryphal: Sunday (2022 [2024], Loyal Label): Brooklyn-based drummer, albums since 2006, this title suggests a follow up to 2023's Saturday, but the group name reminds us of his 2015 quartet with Loren Stillman (tenor/soprano sax), Brandon Seabrook (guitar/banjo/mandolin), and Eivind Opsvik (bass). B+(***) [bc] Dayna Stephens: Closer Than We Think (2023 [2024], Cellar Music): Tenor saxophonist, dozen albums since 2007, lots of side credits (70+), wrote 3 songs here, got more from band members Emmanuel Michael (guitar, also 3) and Kanoa Mendenhall (bass, 1). With Jongkuk Kim on drums, and producer Jeremy Pelt for a guest spot. B+(***) [sp] Aki Takase/Daniel Erdmann: Ellington (2023 [2024], Enja/Yellowbird): Japanese pianist, long based in Berlin (with many records since 1979), in a duo with the German saxophonist (tenor/soprano), whose own discography dates from 2004, and includes credits with Takase's Japanic. The artists write a couple pieces to supplement nine Ellington songs, Juan Tizol's two classics, and a short coda of the Mingus tribute, "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love." B+(**) [sp] Pat Thomas: This Is Trick Step (2023 [2024], 577): British avant-pianist, early albums back to 1993 but has been very prolific over last decade. Sole credit here is electronics. B+(**) [dl] Tulpas: Atisbo (2021 [2024], Astral Spirits): Avant-jazz quartet from Mexico City, with two saxophonists -- Germán Bringas (tenor/soprano) and Jarret Gilgore (alto) -- backed with bass (Arturo Báez) and drums (Gibrán Andrade). First group album, but Bringas did his debut in 1992, and the others have co- or at least side-credits. B+(**) [sp] Weird of Mouth [Mette Rasmussen/Craig Taborn/Ches Smith]: Weird of Mouth (2022 [2024], Otherly Love): First group album (I found out about it because I rejected a "debut" vote for it): most artists this famous include their own names on the cover, then switch to the group name later when they need a different title, but these three make you dig deeper, a practice they carry over into the music. Tenor sax, piano, drums. The saxophonist seemed a bit rugged at first, but I was won over when Taborn matched and maybe even passed. A- [sp] Kathrine Windfeld Sextet: Aldebaran (2024, Stunt): Danish pianist, has three Big Band albums since 2015, a fourth where she joins the Bohlusän Big Band, and now this nominally smaller group, which still adroitly deploys its three horns -- trumpet (Tomasz Dabrowski) and two saxes (Marek Konarski, Hannes Bennich) -- in precise arrangements. This is very nice. B+(***) [sp] Warren Wolf: History of the Vibraphone (2023 [2024], Cellar Music): Vibraphonist, started with Christian McBride, debut album 2011, presents ten songs from Gibbs, Hampton, Lewis (Jackson), Hutcherson, Tjader, Corea (Burton), Ayers, Samuels, Locke, and himself, plus an alternate take of "Midnight Sun" to loop back to Hampton. (You weren't seriously expecting Khan Jamal or Gunter Hampel, were you?) With Tim Green (alto/soprano sax), Alex Brown (keybs), bass, and drums. B+(**) [sp] Eri Yamamoto Quadraphonic: Fly With the Wings (2024, Mahakala Music): Japanese pianist, based in New York, mostly recorded trios until she hooked up with Chad Fowler, the avant-saxophonist who runs this Arkansas-based label, at which point things get interesting. She sings two songs here. He switches off to flute for a bit of surface bliss. And she switches over to melodica for the final piece. Quartet with bass and drums, varied, perhaps a bit much. B+(***) [bc] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Peter Brötzmann/Paal Nilssen-Love: Butterfly Mushroom (2015 [2024], Trost): This barely qualifies as a "New Album" under our 10-year rule, but the saxophonist died in 2023, leaving his heirs to search through his old tapes for reminders of vitality. I previously decided to count his 2016 recording of Complete Link, released in 2024, under Historical, so I should do the same for this later-released-but-earlier recorded album -- as I should for another 2024 release which this is a second volume to (which bore a different title: Chicken Shit Bingo). Duo with the Norwegian drummer, not their first and not their last. Brötzmann plays tarogato, contra-alto clarinet, and bass sax, each of which blunts the hard edges of his usual tenor sax -- with him, that's usually a plus, as the hard stuff can rub you raw. B+(**) [sp] George Cartwright: Send Help (2008 [2024], Mahakala Music): Saxophonist, originally in the band Curlew, released this Minnesota quartet -- Adam Linz (guitar/vocals), Andrew Broder (bass), Aiden Ikeda (drums) -- album on Innova. B+(*) [bc] Duke Ellington: Copenhagen 1958 [Bonus: After Hours 1950] (1950-58 [2024], Storyville): The Orchestra on the road, playing their standard set, which was fine but didn't really grab me until the Cat Anderson finale. The bonus is four tracks, with Ellington at the piano, with some superb tenor sax (Don Byas) and clarinet (Jimmy Hamilton). B+(**) [sp] Michael Griener & Jan Roder: Be Our Guest (1994-2022 [2024], Trouble in the East): German drummer and bassist, both born in 1968, played together frequently since Squakk in 2009, but this compilation pairs them earlier and more often over nearly three decades, picking 25 tracks from nearly as many sessions and/or groups (including Squakk+ mid-way, and ending with Griener joining Roder in later versions of Monk's Casino and Die Entäuschung. Along the way, they support many luminaries of the German avant-garde -- Rudi Mahall and Axel Dörner return periodically, and while there isn't a lot of piano, you cannot miss Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach -- and many more lesser-known figures, plus a few passing visitors, like Ken Vandermark and Brandon Seabrook. A- [bc] Happy Apple: New York CD ([2024], Sunnyside): Trio from Minnesota -- Erik Fratzke (electric bass), Dave King (drums), Michael Lewis (saxophones/keyboards) -- recorded a bunch of albums (Discogs lists 8; the two late ones I've heard are really good) 1997-2007, released this set of digital files in 2020 on Bandcamp, so this is certainly a reissue, although it's not clear of what. The only thing the label tells us is that "The music from New York CD comes from two recording sessions a few years apart," but doesn't tell us which years (or decade or century), although we are informed that one session was in Minnesota, the other in Wisconsin, and that "most of the pieces were done in first takes and without overdubs." Also no clue as to where the title came from. Some suggestion of a reunion in 2018, which might put the second session in 2020. Some nice bits, but nothing that justified my initial hopes, or took my mind away from the missing documentation. B+(*) [sp] Van Morrison: Live at Orangefield (2014 [2024], Townsend Music/Orangefield): Orangefield Secondary School, in Belfast, was closed in 2014, occasion for a memorial concert by its most famous alumnus, who had made his first stage appearance there in 1959. (Wikipedia has a page on the school, including a list of "notable alumni," with Morrison the only name I recognize.) His most familiar songs have seen better days, but the lesser known material remind one of how mesmerizing a performer he can be. B+(***) [sp] Kurt Rosenwinkel: The Next Step Band: Live at Smalls 1996 (1996 [2024], Heartcore): Guitarist, from Philadelphia, studied at Berklee, moved to New York, eventually to Berlin. Was in the group Human Feel (1991-96), solo debut 1996, this group is from back then but named (retrospectively?) for his fourth album, The Next Step, which appeared in 2001. Same group -- Mark Turner (tenor sax), Ben Street (bass), and Jeff Ballard (drums) -- but you also notice piano on two tracks here: Brad Mehldau sits in on one superb track, and Rosenwinkel plays a pretty fair solo on the title piece. I'm not a big fan of the 2001 album, or anything else he's done, but I am impressed here. A- [sp] Brenton Wood: Brenton Wood's 18 Best (1967-71 [2024], Craft): R&B singer-songwriter Alfred Jesse Smith (1941-2025), originally from Shreveport but moved to Los Angeles as a child, broke out with three minor hit singles in 1967 ("Gimme Little Sign," "Oogum Boogum," "Baby You Got It"), stretched his career all the way out to a 2024 announcement of Catch You on the Rebound: The Last Tour, but this best-of, which originally appeared in 1990, just samples his brief heyday. B [sp] Old music: Fake Fruit: Fake Fruit (2021, Rocks in Your Head): First album, although Hannah D'Amato had a couple singles in 2020 as Flex TMG, followed by a later EP. Bandcamp page drops hints of Wire, Pylon, and Mazzy Star. That's a pretty good start. B+(**) [sp] Metal Preyers: Metal Preyers (2020, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Jesse Hackett (from London) and Mariano Chavez (Chicago) hooked up in Kampala (Uganda) with Lord Tusk and various local musicians to produce this "industrial/ambient film soundtrack" to go with visual art they call Teeth Agency. B+(*) [sp] Allen Ravenstine: Nautilus/Rue de Poisson Noire (2021, Waveshifter): Multi-instrumentalist, mostly synthesizers, best known for his work in Pere Ubu, but has reeleased several mostly instrumental albums since 1987. Discogs has this as a single release, but Spotify has it as two separate albums. I'll go with one, because the distinctions are minor, and I haven't been paying enough attention. B+(**) [sp] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
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