Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Music Week

June archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 44357 [44332) rated (+25), 27 [32] unrated (-5).

I made the cutover in reasonable time on Monday, but didn't get anything written until late, so this will be posted late. Big thing I've been doing is a fairly massive reorganization of what I refer to as the woodpile. We did a major renovation of the kitchen/dining area roughly 15 years ago, and it produced a lot of scrap wood that's been piled up in the basement ever since. Moreover, there is quite a bit of wood in the garage: one wall as a rack for stick lumber, and the opposite wall has a cage that I built that holds 4x8 sheets (plywood, MDF, underlayment, paneling, etc.), and there are lesser scraps of everything. As the woodworking tools are mostly in the garage, I wanted to move the wood from the basement to the garage and a nearby shed. That's involved building more storage for odd bits. I've averaged several hours a day on this for a couple weeks. Progress is slow, as everything gets harder the older one gets. But I'm hopeful of getting the wood sorted and moved by the end of the week. Next step beyond that will be building a kiosk that can be used as a staging area for recycling. Other storage projects are likely to follow, as well as a serious effort to sort the tools and hardware. And books and CDs, which are by far the largest categories.

Meanwhile, I've sent out a round of invitations to the Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll: Mid-Year 2025. I'm still way behind on cleaning up the website, and perhaps more urgently on checking the mailing lists, which I suspect are missing a number of 2024 voters. I have three ballots counted so far, but another 10-12 sitting in my inbox. Deadline is June 30, so we still have a fair amount of time. I'm already finding new records I wasn't aware of. [PS: Trying to close this Tuesday evening, I have 10 ballots counted, with 2 more uncounted, and a similar number of promises, plus 2 notes from usually reliable voters regretting (or perhaps just thinking) they'll skip this round. Thus far we have votes for 106 albums (75 new, 31 old), 29 of which weren't previously in my tracking file, which previously stood at 502 jazz albums. The 2024 jazz tracking file wound up with 1572 albums.]

Two upgrades this week from Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide. I already had the Buck 65 and Willie Nelson albums at A-, and Tune-Yards at B+(*). I still have more work to do there (Arcade Fire, Ghost Wolves, Girl Scout, Justin Golden, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Bruce Springsteen). I've added the MY lists at AOTY into my Metacritic file, but haven't yet gone looking for more trouble. One list I'm aware of but haven't catalogued yet is the set from RiotRiot: Albums (30-11); Albums (10-1); and Songs.

I got rained out on Tuesday. We had a pretty severe storm blow through around 5 AM, which took down a lot of small limbs. The rain finally let up when I got up around 9, so after breakfast I opened the garage/shed up to work, but wound up spending a couple hours just picking up limbs, cuting them up, and packing them into the newly emptied trash can. I quit when I ran out of space, having not even started on the back yard. I broke for lunch, counted a few ballots, kept meaning to get back to it, until I heard thunder and had to pack everything back up. Still raining as I write this.

Tomorrow's going to be disrupted by a dentist appointment, and whatever I feel like doing after as opposed to coming home to work. I did manage to listen to some stuff today, kicking off with three straight A- albums under old music. They're not in Music Week yet, but are in the June archive if you care to go there (link up top). What I will do is refer you to the Loose Tabs draft file, which has two long sections, one on Israel as a revolutionary experience, another on the "abundance" political pitch.

So much shit is happening in the world these days that it's hard to just ignore it all, especially when it's so easy to see the delusions people in power are acting on. There is absolutely no sense to be made out of Israel's attack on Iran, nor is there any sense to be made out of Trump's willingness to take credit for starting the war. Netanyahu is effectively demanding that Iran finally fulfill his prophecy and build and use the nuclear weapons he claims he's trying to safeguard against. Still, the only realistic defense against nuclear war is peace, which is the one option Netanyahu is unwilling (or unable) to consider. Sure, it's possible that Iran will never take the bait, but who's going to admit that just proves how wrong Netanyahu has always been.

The real message that Israel is sending is their intention to do things so horrific that other nations will be so repulsed they may be driven to unthinkable measures just to stop them. The last time any nation has worked so hard to turn the world against them was Germany and Japan in starting WWII. (Even there, it is sobering to note that it wasn't genocide against Jews that motivated the UK, USSR, and USA to fight Germany and Japan, but direct attacks against their own imperialist interests.) It will be much harder for Israel to provoke devastating reaction this time, because most sensible people are wary of entering into war, especially to stop an arsenal of nuclear weapons. That seems to be part of their calculation for aggression.

When we look back at all this, we should realize that BDS was an opportunity to peacefully but firmly remind Israel that there must be limits to abusing the powers of a nation to inflict suffering on one's own people and others. It failed because Israel was able to organize corrupt support from the US and Europe, and in doing so, especially with "blank check" support from Trump and Biden, has only fed the arrogance of Israeli politicians, including some who were until recently regarded as criminals within Israel -- not a coincidence that America installed another escaped criminal as president.

PPS: Just as I was getting ready to post this late Tuesday evening, the internet went out, pushing this post into Wednesday. It stayed out all night, but was working by noon today. By then, I took a look at what I had written, and decided to add a few more words on Israel and Trump. One more point: both are convinced that the harder they get hit, the more their people will rally to their support -- a conceit that makes they especially reckless, especially given their inability to see that Iran's leaders understand that just as well. It was, after all, Hitler who turned Stalin and Churchill into heroes, erasing their long and lamentable histories of misrule.

New records reviewed this week:

Aya: Hexed! (2025, Hyperdub): British electronic music producer, last name Sinclair, second album under this name, released a previous one as Loft. Leans into metal toward the end. B [sp]

Hannah Cohen: Earthstar Mountain (2025, Bella Union/Congrats): Singer-songwriter from San Francisco, based in New York, fourth album since 2012. B+(*) [sp]

Michika Fukumori: Eternity (2023 [2025], Summit): Japanese pianist, moved to New York in 2000, fourth album since 2004, a trio with Steve Whipple (bass) and Adam Nussbaum (drums). Opens with seven originals, then stretches out with some covers (Kurt Weill, Fats Waller, a mashup of Chopin and Jobim, "Be My Love"). B+(***) [cd]

Ms. Ezra Furman: Goodbye Small Head (2025, Bella Union): Singer-songwriter, led band albums 2007-11, solo efforts since then, some seemed notable at the time although I can't say as I recall any of them. Too much of a mixed bag for me to try to sort out, but some interesting stuff if you care. (One track reminds me that Furman wrote a 33-1/3 book about Lou Reed's Transformer album.) B+(**) [sp]

Alexander Hawkins: Song Unconditional (2024 [2025], Intakt): British pianist, quite a few albums since 2008, this one solo. B+(**) [sp]

Izumi Kimura & Gerry Hemingway: How the Dust Falls (2025, Auricle): Japanese pianist, based in Ireland (which she's incorporated into past work), a second duo with the drummer -- they also have two trios with Barry Guy, all recommended. B+(***) [cd]

James Brandon Lewis Quartet: Abstraction Is Deliverance (2024 [2025], Intakt): Poll-winning tenor saxophonist, well-established quartet with Aruán Ortiz (piano), Brad Jones (bass), and Chad Taylor (drums) -- their fifth album. This starts out sounding like a hitherto unknown Coltrane masterpiece. It doesn't develop much beyond that level, but how much can anyone ask for? A- [sp]

Carol Liebowitz/Nick Lyons: The Inner Senses (2023 [2025], SteepleChase LookOut): Piano and alto sax duo, both very measured and precise. B+(***) [cd]

Lifeguard: Ripped and Torn (2025, Matador): Indie/postpunk band from Chicago, Asher Case the singer-bassist, second album. B [sp]

Ramon Lopez: 40 Springs in Paris (2024 [2025], RogueArt): Spanish drummer, moved to Paris in 1985, has dozens of co- and side-credits since 1992, including a solo album in 1998. This, again, is solo. B+(**) [cdr]

Momma: Welcome to My Blue Sky (2025, Lucky Number/Polyvinyl): Dream pop band, led by Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten (both guitars, vocals, "additional instrumentation"), fourth album since 2018. Pretty much what I imagine the new Garbage album will sound like. B+(**) [sp]

Greg Murphy: Snap Happy (2024 [2025], Whaling City Sound): Pianist, eighth album since 2004, mostly trio with Obasi Akoto (basses) and Steve Johns (drums), plus guitar (Mark Whitfield) on three tracks, and a vocal (Sy Smith) on one. B+(**) [cd]

Billy Nomates: Metalhorse (2025, Invada): English singer-songwriter Tor Maries, first album (2020) was clearly influenced by Sleaford Mods, third album here is much more easy-going. B+(**) [sp]

Ploy: It's Later Than You Think (2025, Dekmantel): British tech house producer Sam Smith, second album, other releases and mixes going back to 2016, hits a nice spot and sticks there. B+(**) [sp]

Scowl: Are We All Angels (2025, Dead Oceans): Postpunk band from Santa Cruz, Kat Moss is the singer, second album after a couple of EPs. This has some real heft. B+(***) [sp]

Sherelle: With a Vengeance (2025, Method 808): Last name Thomas, first album after several singles/EPs/DJ mixes. Experts tab this as a cross between footwork and jungle. I'm not one, but that sounds about right. One vocal piece shows some potential that could be extended, but the hard fast beats suffice. B+(***) [sp]

Bartees Strange: Horror (2025, 4AD): American singer-songwriter, grew up in Oklahoma, originally Bartees Cox Jr., third album. B+(*) [sp]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

African Jazz Invites O.K. Jazz (1961-70 [2025], Planet Ilunga): Vintage Congo soukous, designed for 4 LP sides, 28 tracks total, two batches credited to L'O.K. Jazz (Franco Luambo), one to L'African Jazz (Joseph Kabasele, aka Le Grande Kallé), the batch called "The African Jazz school - Style Fiesta 1961-1970" the only one with pieces that stretch beyond 3:00. B+(***) [bc]

Dave Burrell/Sam Woodyard: The Lost Session: Paris 1979 (1979 [2025], NoBusiness): Avant pianist, known on occasion to look back with delight, at the moment he was coming off an excellent Plays Ellington and Monk and a Lush Life I haven't heard, and would later go on to The Jelly Roll Joys. Here he's in a duo with Ellington's longtime drummer, whose name rarely shows up in sluglines. Mostly originals, some of which could be vintage rags, but they work in "Lush Life," "Sentimental Lady," and "Embraceable You." A- [cd]

Jimmy Lyons: Live From Studio Rivbea: 1974 & 1976 (1974-76 [2025], NoBusiness): Alto saxophonist (1931-86), best known for his work with Cecil Taylor, but his own albums are almost all worth checking out, and this one is crackling: two improv sets (27:52 and 26:10), the first with Karen Borca (bassoon), Hayes Burnett (bass), and Henry Letcher (drums), the second with Syd Smart (drums) and Burnett again. A- [cd]

Motoharu Yoshizawa/Kim Dae Hwan: Way of the Breeze (1993 [2025], NoBusiness): Japanese bassist (1931-98), credited here with "homemade electric vertical 5-strings bass," duo with Korean free jazz percussionist (1933-2003), who takes charge early with one of the most striking drum solos I've heard lately. Gets more complicated further on. A- [cd]

Old music:

Docteur Nico: Dieu De La Guitare (1954-70 [2018], Planet Ilunga): Famed Congolese guitarist Nicolas Kasanda (1939-85), started with Joseph Kabasele's L'African Jazz, split in 1963 with Rochereau to lead L'Orchestra African Fiesta. He left a couple hundred singles under variations of his nickname. B+(***) [bc]

Muriel Grossmann: Universal Code (2022 [2023], RR Gems): Saxophonist (soprano/alto/tenor), born in Paris, parents Austrian, based in Ibiza, heavily influenced by Coltrane's spiritual jazz tangent, a formula hard to resist. I missed this one, backed with guitar (Radomir Milojkovic), organ (Llorenç Barceló), drums (Uros Stamenkovic), and bass (Gina Schwarz, 3 of 9 tracks). B+(**) [bc]

Resilient Vessels: Live at the Cell (2020 [2021], RR Gems): Live set, from a residency organized by visual artist Josh Werner, who also plays bass here in a quartet with James Brandon Lewis (sax), Patrick Holmes (clarinet), and Ches Smith (drums). Pretty scintilating -- an element I missed in Lewis's new, but otherwise excellent, album. A- [bc]

Grade (or other) changes:

Robert Forster: Strawberries (2025, Tapete): Australian singer-songwriter, one of two in the Go-Betweens (1978-90), went solo after that, and seems to have excelled at recapturing the group's sound since Grant McClennan's death in 2006. This hits the spot more often than not. [was: B+(***)] A- [sp]

Lambrini Girls: Who Let the Dogs Out (2025, City Slang): British punk duo, started by others but here a duo of Phoebe Lunny (lead vocals/guitar) and Lilly Macieira-Bosgelmez (bass guitar/backing vocals), plus drums. First album after several singles and an EP I liked, 11 songs (29:25). This got enough hype I noticed it right away, but obviously didn't pay enough attention. Sound alone should have been good for a boost, even before deciphering the earned rage. [was: B+(*)] A-

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • Alchemy Sound Project/Sumi Tonooka: Under the Surface (ARC) [06-27]
  • Ryan Keberle & Collectiv Do Brasil: Choro Das Aguas (Alternate Side) [07-18]
  • Wheelhouse: House and Home (Aerophonic) [07-22]

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