|
An occasional blog about populist politics and popular music, not necessarily at the same time. LinksLocal Links Social Media My Other Websites Music Politics Others Networking Music DatabaseArtist Search: Website SearchGoogle: Recent Reading
Music DatabaseArtist Search: Website SearchGoogle: |
Friday, May 29, 2026 Music Week
Music: Current count 46001 [45961] rated (+40), 32 [12] unrated (+20). I normally try to do Music Week on Mondays, but this week I ran into a scheduling crunch, so I put it off. I had baked a couple of cakes for a friend's birthday party on Sunday, then had another cooking project for Tuesday. While normally I could have squeezed a fairly minimal post in, the last one of the month requires some extra work to wrap up a monthly archive and set up a new scratch file. I decided I didn't have the time. However, it occurred to me that I could pick out 6-8 reviews I had written, and send them out to my Notes on Everyday Life subscribers, giving them a sneak peek at the still-unfinished blog post, and making sure that I had at least a second Substack post for May. I titled this Music Week in Advance, and knocked out a perfunctory introduction, not to the music but to my rationalization for sending the post. As I explained there, this may or may not become a regular practice. As I see it, Substack offers several advantages of regular blog posts:
On the other hand, Substack has some size limits, and excessive linking can be a problem with email. And anything that spans multiple pages is better handled on the website. I also have more graphics and formatting flexibility on the website than with Substack (but there may be more options on Substack than I'm aware of — for instance, there seems to be a recipe widget I've never used, and I do have recipes I can share). While I am disappointed that the subscription list seems stuck on a low plateau, I am delighted that many of my closest personal and virtual friends were quick to sign up, and that should be sufficient motivation to keep going. My real problem at this point is deciding what to write when, and finding the time to get reasonably polished pieces together. The Music Week preview at least had the virtue of being easy to pull together from my draft files, and only going with eight reviews allowed me to leave out the poorly written and haphazardly constructed notes that plump this post up to 40 "reviews." Perhaps the way to do this is to focus on smaller, tightly focused mailings, while using the website (including the blog) as just a pile of reference materials, where I can indulge my neuroses for comprehensiveness without inflicting them on the necessarily limited attention spans of most people? It's easy enough to see how to do this with Music Week, but the morass of Loose Tabs is going to take some more thinking. Or maybe just some prompting from readers, as I generally welcome questions and suggestions. PS: I took my advice here and sent another NOEL post out tonight, as But Reality Is Unscripted. I woke up today thinking about a TV show we had seen last night (Silent Witness, S-29, E-7, the first half of "Grace of God") and a Substack post from Tom Carson (Chicken Little's Revenge), giving me another opportunity to try to figure out not just what's wrong with Trump, but why he seems so untouchable. I started by writing a couple paragraphs in my notebook, then decided to run with it a bit. Tuesday's dinner project was a partial reprise of a previous dinner I had made from Pyet DeSpain's Native American cookbook, Rooted in Fire. I had checked that book out from the library, figuring it offered dishes I not only had never made before, but hadn't even sampled in restaurants. (I've been to a couple restaurants in Arizona that served fry bread tacos, but that's about it.) I bought more stuff than I could use (notably a bison arm roast), and I didn't have time to put some of the salads together (which I lacked proper ingredients for anyway). And two guests backed out due to a medical emergency, so I had lots of reasons to give it another round. Here's a plate pic and notes on what I made Tuesday: bison braised in a chile pepper ("Colorado") sauce, grilled corn, roasted sweet potatoes, steamed fish in corn husks (trout and branzino), charred pineapple salsa, and three salads with jicama (one with tomatillos, one with pickled blueberries, and one with pecans and cotijo in a prickly pear dressing). I doubt any of this qualifies as authentic, as my impression is that DeSpain is inventing a new fusion cuisine with traditional elements, but the lime and cilantro work wonderfully, along with sweeteners like honey and maple syrup, and juniper berries. Also, I took the liberty of substituting butter for sunflower oil on the corn and fish. For dessert, we had leftovers from Sunday's cakes (there's a picture in the comments): one is three-layer dark chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting and covered in ganache; the other is a four-layer cannoli cake, filled and frosted with sweetened ricotta and mascarpone, and dotted with dark chocolate chips. We still had quite a bit of leftovers, but other friends came over Wednesday and helped out with that. Almost done now. I doubt I'll be cooking much in the near future. I didn't listen to any new music on Monday-Tuesday, and not much on Wednesday, so the extra days didn't add a lot of records. Sonny Rollins died, so I thought I'd look through my database and see if there was anything old I hadn't heard. The only two albums I had in the shopping list but unheard were out-of-print compilations from his RCA years (1962-64), but I had all of the albums from then, plus the complete box and a 2-CD selection, so nothing new there. I found two more items (below), but they are mostly redundant to other albums I've heard. I also gave Nucleus (1975) another spin, and bumped it up a bit from an unseemly B-. I didn't revisit A Night at the Village Vanguard, which also rated B- at first, but subsequent reissues finally hit B+(***), which is probably where my next pass will land. So I wound up with 84 albums rated, with 3 A+ (Saxophone Colossus, Plays G-Man, and Silver City), 10 A (+2 A under other names: Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie), and 33 A-. (The breakout is in this month's ACN.) I thought about pulling together a page with all of the Rollins reviews, but after rooting around a bit, I saw that would take more work than I could budget right now, and the result wouldn't really be worth it. A lot of the older records had grades but no reviews. And as usual when you're collecting bits from all over, there is likely to be a lot of redundancy, so whatever I scraped together would then need a fair amount of editing. Still might be a good project, but not right now. I did find one good quote, actually in a Coleman Hawkins review: "If you tried to simplify jazz sax to a model as simple as a tree, the trunk would be Coleman Hawkins, with Sonny Rollins standing on his shoulders. Everyone else is just a branch." The "standing on the shoulders of giants" line refers to something Isaac Newton said ("if I had seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants"). I also have a quote from Rollins, one of my favorites ever, which adorns Affinity's Coleman Hawkins box, The Complete Recordings 1929-1941:
That could just as well be said of Rollins. Some further listening here came after Robert Christgau's May Consumer Guide. Aside from Taj Mahal, I haven't rechecked much that I had previously listened to, including the Messthetics album, which I graded B. But the Blanton album is terrific, and The Red Album Vol. 2 is worth exploring. I previously had The Red Album Vol. 1 at B+(***). I neglected my demo queue last week, while a lot of mail poured in, so the unrated count has soared. I had been up to and maybe past the release dates, so figured there was no rush. I need to do a resort now. I posted a picture on April 30 of my work area, lamenting that I had lost a couple demo CDs. The same picture wouldn't look much different today, but the desk on the right is pretty close to clear now, and the CDs stacked sideways in the bookshelf behind it have been moved to the basement (revealing another row of CDs filed vertically). The desk on the left side is still a mess, but the computer there is rarely used. Still, lot more work to do. But I did find the missing demo CDs. Curiously, that picture got more likes and more comments than anything I've posted on Facebook, like ever. Below there is an unusual number of 2025 releases for this late in 2026 (a quick count says 21). That's because for some reason I've started adding more lists to the 2025 EOY Aggregate. Part of that is because I've always included Robert Christgau's Dean's List, which appeared belatedly on May 7 — and I might add, somewhat peculiarly (see Xgau Sez). I also added the top half of the Jason Gross list (which is usually good for a few rare finds). But also, I've added a bunch of individual jazz critic lists (I had all the albums from the totals, but I hadn't gotten around to individual ballots, so jazz albums fell well short of their usual representation in the EOY Aggregate. But I've also added a few more odds and ends, and may continue to do so for another week or two, just for the hell of it. I haven't even looked at the compiled changes yet, so I have few comments here (although it looks like Mary Halvorson is up about 30 points, moving into a tie with Lady Gaga). Total number of albums is now up to 3683 (which is actually a bit more than the 2024 aggregate, although I've compiled far fewer lists). I'm also working on a new Loose Tabs (quite a bit there, but still rather spotty), and a Books post (just started, but it's been a whole year, so it may turn into multiples), with a few more ideas for possible Substack pieces. Would much appreciate more subscribers for the latter. Not sure when the next Music Week will come out, but I'm already +19 on next week. I crossed 46,000 albums rated this week. New records reviewed this week: Carsie Blanton & the Burning Hell: Everything Is Great! (2026, self-released): Political. Sure, "nobody wants to talk about it" is as ironical as "everything is great!" (what with starting world war three and all — "third time's the charm?"). But what can we do about it? After a disclaimer, political violence may not be the exclusive fantasy of the right. Sample quotes: "going to turn the one to the zero percent"; "fascists are best when they're under the ground"; "hoist the guillotine"; "them billionaires aren't worth a hill of beans"; "the American dream is a pyramid scheme"; "let the fire into our hearts." Sure, these suggestions are not exactly reasonable, but I have news for her: the day of "your car has a six-disc changer" is already gone. Then there's: "It took a lot of love to end the war to end all wars." A [sp] Carsie Blanton: The Red Album Vol. 2 (2026, self-released, EP): Eight-song, 19:54 sequel to 2024's six-song, 13:25 Vol. 1, which spawned the two-sided single "Ugly Nasty Commie Bitch"/"The Democrats" (will shoot you in the back). Contempt for Elon Musk, and sympathy for Luigi Mangione. A sign of the times. A- [sp] Sarah Elizabeth Charles: Dawn (2024-25 [2025], Stretch/Ropeadope): Singer-songwriter, mostly in jazz, based in New York, teaches, has at least six albums since 2004, this one played by Maya Keren (keyboards), Linda May Han Oh (bass), Savannath Harris (drums), with strings (Stkye Steele and Marika Hughes, plus Jarrett Cherner arrangements on four tracks). B+(**) [sp] Delivery: Force Majeure (2025, Heavenly): Garage rock and/or post-punk band from Australia, second album. Catchy until they start to wear thin. Sonically, they remind me of a group called the Rezillos, although I recall them as funnier. B+(**) [sp] E-Dancer: E-Dancer (2025, One House): Techno producer, originally an alias for Kevin Saunderson, now Danitiez Saunderson (middle son of Kevin and Ann Saunderson), family from Detroit but Danitiez now based in Chicago, with singles under his own name starting 2013. I'm not familiar with the father, but this is pretty classic Detroit techno. B+(***) [sp] Wendy Eisenberg: Wendy Eisenberg (2026, Joyful Noise): Singer-songwriter from Boston, but first established herself as a jazz guitarist, Wikipedia (which has a page on this album but not on the artist) dubs this "folk rock" and "country pop." High AOTY ratings (85/6), but the songs aren't hitting for me, and I don't care for the changes. B [sp] Ella Eyre: Everything, in Time (2025, Play It Again Sam): British singer-songwriter Ella McMahon, second album, has some soul influence (father Jamaican, mother Maltese). Voice is distinctive, and she's got some songs. B+(**) [sp] Kim Jung Jae: Shamanism (2023 [2025], Relative Pitch): Tenor saxophonist, from Korea, based in Berlin, has several previous albums on a Portuguese label as Jung-Jae Kim. Quartet with a second saxophonist (Sunjae Lee, alto/soprano) and two drummers (Junyoung Song and Sunki Kim). Hews close to the edge between irritable and exciting. B+(**) [sp] The Klezmatics: We Were Made for These Times (2025 [2026], Asphalt Tango): Klezmer group from New York City, principally Lorin Sklamberg (vocals/accordion), they consider this release their 40th anniversary (first album appeared in 1989; this is only their second album since 2011). B+(**) [sp] Chris Lake: Chemistry (2025, Black Book): English DJ/electronica producer, started 2002 making bootleg remixes, has lots of singles, three EPs from 2006, but this is only his second studio album (first in 2009). B+(***) [sp] Timo Lassy Trio: Live in Helsinki (2023 [2025], We Jazz): Finnish tenor saxophonist, a dozen or so albums since 2007, this a trio with Ville Herrala (bass) and Jaska Lukkarinen (drums). B+(***) [bc] The Gareth Lockrane Big Band: Box of Tricks (2025, Whirlwind): British flute player, everything from piccolo to bass flute, second album for his conventional big band (plus guitar, percussion, chromatic harmonica, and flute), his compositions. B+(*) [sp] Los Cenzontles/Taj Mahal/David Hidalgo/Gary Haleamau/Sonny Lim: Adios Ke Aloha: Waves of the Same Sea (2026, Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center): Mexican-American group, based in San Pablo, California, name is Nahuatl for mockingbirds, discography goes back to 1995, this particular project reminds us of "1832 when Mexican vaqueros brought cattle wrangling, and the guitar, to Hawai'i." Mahal and Hidalgo offer signature bits, while Haleamau and Lim authenticize the Hawaiian effects. B+(*) [sp] Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band: Time (2026, Resonatin'/Thirty Tigers): Hard to read the Discogs scan, but for now that's all the credit info I have. Looks like he's cruising through his roots catalog, with a band that is jazzy and not just because it's loaded with horns. A- [sp] MC Yallah & Debmaster: Gaudencia (2025, Hakuna Kulala): Rapper from Kenya/Uganda Yallah Guadencia Mbidde, third album, second of those with Berlin-baased French producer Julien Deblois. Too fast to follow, and too rough to get comfy with. B+(*) [sp] Nicole McCabe: Color Theory (2026, Birdwatcher): Alto saxophonist, several albums since her impressive Introducing in 2020, this with Yvonne Rogers (piano/synth), Kanoa Mondenhall (bass), Eliza Salem (drums), plus spots for Adam O'Farrill (trumpet on 4 tracks), Christie Dashiell (vocals on 1), and more. Original pieces, some postbop, some farther out. B+(***) [sp] Nandipha808: Who Made Who (2026, Stena Academy): South African amapiano album, 9 songs running 56:22. Some sources also credit this album to CAAZA, with Givem Tyler Litch, Nation Deep, Shoes Meister, and possibly others appearing on song credits. Minimalist beats, with occasional sonic fillips, some vocal, some reminiscent of Kraftwerk. I've seen it suggested that this is nice to nap to, hypnotic even, but I find myself hanging on details, and in many ways prefer it to last year's more highly touted (but also recommended) No Vocal Album. A- [sp] Camila Nebbia/James Banner/Max Andrzejewski: Presencia (2024 [2025], Ears & Eyes): Tenor saxophonist from Argentina, albums since 2015, six in 2025, this one with bass and drums, recorded in Berlin. B+(***) [bc] Neurosis: An Undying Love for a Burning World (2026, Neurot): Atmospheric sludge metal group, from Oakland, released 13 studio albums 1987-2016, went on hiatus, back here a decade later, absent long-time front man Scott Kelly. Normally I wouldn't bother — it's not like I've heard any of their previous albums — but this is AOTY's top-rated album of 2026 (89/8; note that 5 of the top 7 albums there are metal, which seems suspicious, like metal critics mostly move in a tight pack; there are enough to impact the standings, but non-fans rarely bother). Power riffs and deep-growled vocals (saying what? I have no idea), pretty much par for the course, if you ask me. B [sp] The New Gypsies: The New Gypsies Featuring Vic Juris (2017 [2026], SteepleChase): Only album by a Reinhardt-inspired group led by Tony Miceli (vibes), with Chico Huff (bass guitar) and Dan Monaghan (drums), long shelved, reported due to poor sound, but revived by Nils Winther. The guest guitarist (1953-2019) fills the obvious hole. B+(*) [sp] Genesis Owusu: Redstar Wu & the Worldwide Scourge (2026, Ourness): Australian rapper, born Kofi Owusu-Ansah in Ghana, moved to Australia when he was 2, third album. B+(***) [sp] Jeremy Pelt: Our Community Will Not Be Erased (2025 [2026], HighNote): Trumpet player, close to 30 albums since 2002, mostly quartet with piano (Orrin Evans), bass (Buster Williams), and drums (Lenny White), plus extra keyboards on three tracks. B+(**) [sp] John Pizzarelli: Dear Mr. Bennett (2026, Green Hill Music): Guitarist, like his father, and standards singer, many albums since his 1983 debut, I'm Hip (Please Don't Tell My Father), including many tributes, especially to Nat King Cole. Bennett's just a prism into everyone else's songbook, which is fine, especially as I like Pizzarelli's "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" more than the original. Backed with piano (Isaiah J. Thompson) and bass (Mike Karn), also listed as co-producers. B+(***) [sp] The Rumjacks: Dead Anthems (2025, Four Four Music): Australian punk band, from Sydney, half-dozen albums since 2010. Emphasis on anthems here, Gives them a Pogues vibe, without those explicit merits. B+(*) [sp] Dabin Ryu: Trio! (2025, Endectomorph Music): Pianist, from South Korea, studied at Berklee, based in New York, second album, trio with Joe Martin (bass) and Johnathan Blake (drums). B+(**) [sp] SFJazz Collective: Collective Imagery (2025, SFJazz): Group assembled periodically by SFJAZZ, a San Francisco-based non-profit which presents an annual Jazz Festival, initially to play composer repertoire (first few, starting in 2004, were Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter), although they've also been known to tour. Eight pieces, composed by members, two by Edward Simon (piano), one each by Chris Potter (reeds), David Sanchez (tenor sax), Michael Rodriguez (trumpet), Warren Wolf (vibes), Matthew Brewer (bass), and Kendrick Scott (drums). Wolf's piece has a spoken word vocal by Cava Menzies, about the FBI and the Black Panthers. B+(***) [sp] Dayna Stephens: Monk'D (2022 [2025], Contagious Music): Normally a tenor saxophonist, has a dozen-plus albums as leader since 2007, a lot of side credits, usually makes a strong impression, plays bass here for this "stripped down, deeply personal tribute to Thelonious Monk," although "stripped down" is the same quartet Monk favored, here with Stephen Riley (tenor sax), Ethan Iverson (piano), and Eric McPherson (drums). Riley is an especially good fit. B+(***) [sp] Earl Sweatshirt/MIKE/Surf Gang: Pompeii//Utility (2026, 10k): Rappers from Los Angeles and New York, respectively, each gets a disc (former, aka Thebe Kgositsile, gets 18 tracks, 35:06; latter, Michael Bonema, does 15 tracks, 29:28), both produced by the New York-based Surf Gang collective. B+(**) [sp] Talk Show: Miss America (2023 [2025], We Jazz): Duo of Steph Richards (trumpet) and Qasim Naqvi (drums/electronics). B+(**) [bc] Isaiah J. Thompson: The Book of Isaiah: Modern Jazz Ministry (2024 [2025], Mack Avenue): Mainstream jazz pianist, won a bunch of prizes early on, half-dozen albums since 2018, just 27 when he recorded this "8-song autobiographical statement exploring faith, musicianship, race and humanity," produced by Cyrus Chestnut, with more gospel (or maybe just more vocals) than I'd prefer. B+(**) [sp] Sammy Virji: Same Day Cleaning (2025, Capitol): English DJ/producer, started releasing singles in 2017, second album. First vocal wrongfooted me, as they vary widely thereafter, and the beats get better. B+(**) [sp] Marta Warelis/Ada Rave: Peel/Mondo (2024 [2025], Relative Pitch): Piano and soprano sax duo. Both do good work, but results are marginal. B+(*) [bc] Marta Warelis: Still Life With Lemons (2024 [2026], Relative Pitch): Polish pianist, based in Amsterdam since 2014, recordings since 2019 include work with Dave Douglas. Sextet here includes Ben LaMar Gay (trumpet/electronics), Ab Baars (clarinet/tenor sax), Karen Ng (clarinet/alto sax), Ingebrigt Hċker Flaten (bass), and Frank Rosaly (drums). B+(**) [bc] Ben Williams: Between Church & State (2025, Safe Space): Bassist, originally from DC, studied at Michigan State and Juilliard, won a Monk Prize which got him a debut album in 2011, several albums and many side credits since then. B+(**) [sp] Anthony Wilson Nonet: House of the Singing Blossoms (2025, Sam First): Guitarist, son of bandleader Gerald Wilson, well established on his own with albums since 1997, and many side credits. Group with trumpet/french horn and trombone (CJ Camerieri and Alan Ferber), three saxophones (Nicole McCabe, Bob Reynolds, Henry Solomon), and piano-bass-drums (Gerald Clayton, Anna Butterss, Mark Ferber). B+(**) [sp] Winona Fighter: My Apologies to the Chief (2025, Rise): Pop-punk trio from Nashville, first album after singles back to 2022: singer-songwriter Coco Kinnon (Chloe Kinnon, also plays drums), Dan Fuson (guitar), and Austin Luther (bassist, co-writer and producer). B+(***) [sp] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Daunik Lazro/Joëlle Léandre/Paul Lovens: For Baritone Sax, Double Bass & Drumset (2013 [2026], Relative Pitch): French saxophonist, plays baritone here but primary instrument is probably alto, many albums since 1980, several previous encounters with the bassist and drummer. This is one improv piece, titled "Temps du Corps" for the venue in Paris. B+(**) [sp] Vardis: 100 M.P.H. '79 Revisited (1978-80 [2026], High Roller): British hard rock band, formed 1973 as Quo Vardis, shortened their name in 1977, frontman Steve Zodiac, early singles included covers of Chuck Berry and Status Quo, first album was live, reissued and supplemented with extra tracks here. As such, at least here they have more in common with pre-punk metal bands (I'm thinking Blue Öyster Cult, but also Rick Derringer) than with post-punk (post-hardcore) developments — which I've rarely listened to, beyond Hüsker Dü and Motörhead (and, grudgingly I insist, Deafheaven). B+(***) [sp] Old music: Gary Burton: New Vibe Man in Town (1962, RCA): Vibraphonist, first album, not yet 20 years old (b. 1943), trio with Gene Cherico (bass) and Joe Morello (drums). Nimble rhythm, standards, a pleasant surprise. B+(**) [sp] Gary Burton/Sonny Rollins/Clark Terry: 3 in Jazz (1963, RCA): Label sampler, three separate groups, each gets about 5-6 minutes a side, in credit order. The vibraphonist, who debuted on RCA in 1962 and recorded there through 1966, assists Jack Sheldon (trumpet), along with bass, and drums. Rollins landed on RCA after his 1960-62 break, and recorded major works from 1962-64. He has a quartet with Don Cherry (cornet), Henry Grimes (bass) and Billy Higgins (drums). Terry appears with a swinging rhythm section of Jones (piano), Milt Hinton (bass), and Osie Johnson (drums), plus Willie Rodriguez (bongos/congas) for two tracks. As far as I know, this is the only thing Terry recorded for RCA, so maybe they were just trying to salvage a short session? No real insights here, but the music is enjoyable. B [sp] Evan Parker/Derek Bailey/Han Bennink: The Topography of the Lungs (1970 [2023], Otoroku): Sax-guitar-percussion trio, Penguin Guide filed this under the guitarist, but label is pretty consistent in its ordering, and Discogs now lists this as the first album under Parker's name. This might have seemed abstract and scratchy at the time, but looking back could hardly have been the work of anyone else. A- [bc] Sonny Rollins: Sonny Boy (1956 [1961], Prestige): The preeminent tenor saxophonist of the late 1950s (1930-2026), a few years younger than Dexter Gordon (1923-90) and John Coltrane (1926-67), but already towering above them by decade-end, his signature title Saxophone Colussus seeming, if anything, too modest. After his death, I wondered what I had missed: my database script showed 82 albums rated (45 A- or above, where "above" included 3 A+ and 12 A; 10 albums and 5 compilations), with only two RCA from 1962-63 listed but unrated[*] — the music I've heard on The Complete RCA Victor Recordings, as I've previously heard the music on this, the first unlisted album I've found, as included in The Complete Prestige Recordings. For that matter, three tracks here were previously heard on Rollins' last proper album for Prestige, Tour De Force, and a fourth (the title tune) appeared on its OJC CD reissue, leaving just one extra track (an outtake from Rollins Plays for Bird). Prestige, grubbing for product, as they were wont to do, issued this in 1961, and it's been kicking around ever since, including an OJC reissue in 1989. So redundant/unnecessary, sure, but on first hearing it's pretty awesome. A- [sp] [*] My albums database was largely built in the early 2000s, at a time when I was buying lots of CDs, so while one purpose was to track what I had, another was to build up shopping lists. As such, I scoured through many record guides (including all of the Penguin Guide editions), and jotted down everything that seemed promising. While I've continued to add everything I've since listened to, I've less and less regularly added to the "shopping" lists, so I regard them as dated, unreliable, and/or inconsistent. (One common problem is that they include editions or compilations that have since been superseded by alternatives.) On the other hand, since I've been streaming, I've used them as guides for deep dives. For instance, I reviewed 20 Sonny Rollins albums in May, 2020, including many of the Milestone albums I had missed. The list of A/A+ Rollins albums is in the ACN below. I've included two albums filed under other artists (Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk) that list Rollins in the artist credit. The two still unheard Rollins database albums are On the Outside and All the Things You Are: both are compilations from the RCA period (1962-64), released in 1990, and long out of print. The music should all be in the 6-CD box, The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (rated A-). Sonny Rollins: Brass/Trio (1958 [1962], Verve): Originally released as Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass in 1958 by MetroJazz, the first side combines the brass of a big band with a single tenor saxophonist (with Nate Adderley's cornet for one of the trumpets, and Don Butterfield's tuba for bass trombone), and a rhythm section of Dick Katz (piano), René Thomas (guitar), Henry Grimes (bass), and Roy Haynes (drums), with Ernie Wilkins arranging and conducting. Verve later (1999) reissued this under its original title, but in 1962 (and later on CDs in Europe and Japan) they opted for this more accurate title. After all, the big brass is done after four songs, and the second side is a trio set, with Grimes and Charles Wright (drums), recorded the day before. Nothing particularly wrong with either half, but he doesn't quite rise above the brass, and his "Body & Soul" isn't the obvious breakthrough the precedents demand. B+(***) [sp] Grade (or other) changes: Black Nile: Indigo Garden (2026, Hen House Studios): Los Angeles jazz fusion group, principally Aaron Shaw (sax) and Lawrence Shaw (bass), with keys (Luca Mendoza) and drums (Myles Martin), seems to be their fourth album since 2019 (but none on Discogs). More conventional than my initial take, which may just mean the sax is growing on me. [was: B+(**)]: B+(***) [sp] Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo': Room on the Porch (2025, Concord Jazz): The former has been warming up blues and roots songs since 1967, has written plenty of his own but has a genius for covers that rivals and has probably caught up with Ray Charles. The latter got a lot of hype in the 1990s when he tried to fill those shoes but failed. They finally got together, hyped as two "blues giants," in 2017 for a nondescript album, but this one is better, perhaps because it's loose enough to just let that genius seep to the surface. I discounted that looseness at first, but I'm getting to where I treasure it. [was: B+(***)] A- [sp] Sonny Rollins: Nucleus (1975, Milestone): Possibly the first Sonny Rollins album I heard — Christgau wrote a rave review, although I also picked up More From the Vanguard around then — and I hated this album at the time. (For that matter, I've never been a fan of 1957's A Night at the Village Vanguard, which I have graded five packages of, although I've warmed a bit on it, giving the 2024 Complete Masters a high B+.) I can still hear why I disliked this so, with fusion-minded rhythm section (George Duke, Chuck Rainey, Blackbyrd McKnight, David Amaro, Mtume; Bob Cranshaw also plays electric bass, but his presence on a Rollins album is usually perfunctory), and Bennie Maupin flitting about. Still, it's not that bad, nothing that Rollins can't cut straight through, or simply blow up. [was: B-] B+(*) [sp] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
|
