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Blog Entries [440 - 449]Sunday, May 17, 2020 Weekend RoundupNo introduction. No time, and none needed. I should note that you can ask questions (or comment) on this or pretty much anything else by using this here form. Some scattered links this week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Saturday, May 16, 2020 Trump BooksMy last Book Roundup was back on October 31, 2019, so I'm overdue for another. I quickly came up with more than one column's worth, and noticed that an awful lot of those books -- including several cascaded lists -- dealt with Donald Trump, his corrupt administration, and the political dynamics that got him elected, and that continues to support him. Obviously, a big part of the timing has to do with the 2020 election. We have, by comparison, few books on Democrats, aside from political strategy books aimed at defeating Trump. So I thought I'd group these Trump books into a single post. This does not include more general political and economic books, or books on specific issues that aren't explicitly tied to Trump -- although Trump looms large over them as well. I'm including a number of forthcoming books. I usually wait for them in my periodic reports, as I always have enough old stuff to fill the column, but if they fit the theme, I might as well include them here. Some extend as far out as October 27. The future dates are noted. Some books in the main section include lists of additional books on same or similar subject. Anonymous: A Warning (2019, Twelve): Allegedly by "a senior Trump administration official," a book-length expansion of a New York Times op-ed called "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration." As far as I know, the author hasn't been exposed yet. His/her bona fides are established by insisting that he/she is a conservative activist, dedicated to advancing movement goals with or without Trump's blessing. I don't doubt that policy subversion like this happens in all White Houses, but it's usually not something to brag about. Krystal Ball/Saagar Enjeti: The Populist's Guide to 2020: A New Right and New Left Are Rising (paperback, 2020, Strong Arm Press): Authors are co-hosts of "Rising at the Hill TV," where they seem to take opposing left-right positions, agreeing only on the establishment figures at the root of the problems. Each signs their own pieces, with the combined book gaining accolades from both Tucker Carlson and Nina Turner (co-chair of Bernie 2020). Wayne Barrett: Without Compromise: The Brave Journalism That First Exposed Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and the American Epidemic of Corruption (paperback, 2020, Bold Type Books): Edited by Eileen Markey, this collects the late Village Voice reporter's early reporting on Trump -- it's pretty safe to say that Trump first came to my attention thanks to Barrett's reports, and I learned all I ever really needed to know about Trump there. Barrett later wrote a book on Trump (1992's Trump: The Deals and the Downfall), revised in 2016 (Trump: The Greatest Show on Earth: The Deals, the Downfall, the Reinvention). Not sure why the publication date here is so far out, or whether the book includes much on Barrett's other prime subject, Ed Koch -- his book, written with Jack Newfield, was City for Sale: Ed Koch and the Betrayal of New York). [September 22] Andrea Bernstein: American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power (2020, WW Norton): Co-host of a podcast called "Trump Inc.," offers a deep dive into where the family fortunes came from, how they "encouraged and profited from a system of corruption, dark money, and influence trading." David Bromwich: American Breakdown: The Trump Years and How They Befell Us (2019, Verso Books): A short (192 pp) chronicle of "the degradation of US democracy," mostly through the expansion of presidential war-making powers and the double-speak that was first enshrined in law by the 1947 National Defense Act. Has a second new book out this month: How Words Make Things Happen (2019, Oxford University Press). Some previous books: Politics by Other Means: Higher Education and Group Thinking (1994); The Intellectual Life of Edmund Burke: From the Sublime and Beautiful to American Independence (2014); Moral Imagination: Essays (2014). Roderick P Hart: Trump and Us: What He Says and Why People Listen (paperback, 2020, Cambridge University Press): While probably not a pro-Trump book, Hart is generous enough to take Trump at his word. In fact, he counts Trump's words, sorts them out, and establishes why Trump voters respond to various words and themes, and therefore promises to answer questions about who and why where most writers rely on their prejudices. Susan Hennessy/Benjamin Wittes: Unmaking the Presidency: Donald Trump's War on the World's Most Powerful Office (2020, Farrar Straus and Giroux). The authors are editors of the website Lawfare and senior fellows at the Brookings Institution, and Hennessy previously worked as an attorney in the NSA, so it's not surprising they view the presidency as a legal and institutional totem rather than as the simple reflection of any actual President, or that they should want to defend it against an occupant as ill suited as Trump. On the other hand, the phrase "the world's most powerful office" gives me the creeps. Ever since WWII, Congress has increased the power of the presidency, especially through the vast array of warmaking forces at the president's disposal. One could write a book showing how dangerous that is given a president as unstable and deranged as Trump, and that's the likely value of this book. But the list of favorable blurb authors -- Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Michael Hayden, Preet Bharara -- for this book suggest that the author's agenda is something else. Charles J Holden/Zach Messitte/Jerald Podair: Republican Populist: Spiro Agnew and the Origins of Donald Trump's America (2019, University of Virginia Press). This is a stretch, a case of scouring history for precedents and settling for trivial likeness. Agnew was a relatively liberal Maryland governor, but Nixon wanted a hatchet man for his campaign, especially someone who could exploit the prejudices of the white ethnics Nixon's strategists hoped to pry away from the Democratic Party. Agnew stepped up, and became a culture war lightning rod, but Nixon made sure to get rid of him before his own resignation. No subsequent politician sought to emulate Agnew, and there is no reason to think that Agnew could have run on his own. As for being a "populist," the authors mean bigot and prig, which is all that reminds them of Trump. Ben Howe: The Immoral Majority: Why Evangelicals Chose Political Power Over Christian Values (2019, Broadside Books). White evangelical Christians vote overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. This confuses liberals who are inclined to give evangelicals the benefit of their doubts, and saddens evangelicals who have liberal instincts. But it doesn't surprise ex-believers like myself much, as we've long noted the deep well of hatred their "faith" justifies and reinforces.
Sarah Kendzior: Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America (2020, Flatiron Books): Journalist from Missouri, previously wrote The View From Flyover Country, claims she predicted Trump's win in 2015, then launches into a comparison of Trump to Uzbek strongman Islam Karimov, who also made aspirations to greatness part of his political vocabulary. The book broader and deeper than Trump, with chapters of "a buried American history" from at least the 1980s, although tying that decade to Roy Cohn keeps the focus close enough to Trump. John Marini: Unmasking the Administrative State: The Crisis of American Politics in the Twenty-First Century (2019, Encounter Books): One of Trump's most resonant campaign lines in 2016 was his pledge to "drain the swamp." I didn't believe him, but more importantly I didn't understand him. By "swamp" I assumed he meant the pervasive influence of money in Washington, flowing from thousands of lobbyists and the interest groups they represented. What else could he possibly have meant? So when he took office, I took it as plain hypocrisy when he hired dozens of lobbyists to hand control of regulation over to the businesses affected. But here Marini argues that "the swamp" has nothing to do with money. Rather, "the swamp" is the domain of government workers: people hired by the government to serve the public interest by limiting private greed and ensuring that government services are run for the public's benefit. He dubs these public servants "the swamp creatures," and applauds Trump's efforts to purge them and/or to subjugate them to Trump's partisan patronage machine. Michael Lewis covers some of this in The Fifth Risk, showing how Trump's efforts to politicize administration undermines our collective well-being. How much so is all but unfathomable, but the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed one sector's failings most dramatically. Dan P McAdams: The Strange Case of Donald J Trump: A Psychological Reckoning (2020, Oxford University Press): It's tempting to think one can psychoanalize Trump, given that even before he ran for president he was such a public figure, projecting virtually no sense of personal depth. After various other attempts, this one is widely praised for its balance and for insights into why Trump still appeals to many people, even while many more regard him as puerile, narcissist, sociopathic, and/or moronic. Jennifer Mercieca: Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump (2020, Texas A&M University Press): A "political communication expert," a professor in the Department of Communication at Texas A&M, co-editor of a previous book on another president's somewhat different rhetorical conception. After immersing herself in Trump-speak, she found that Trump and his campaign "expertly used the common rhetorical techniques of a demagogue." She backs that up with technical analysis (citing various fallacious arguments, "reification, paralipsis, and more"). Turns out that those of us who jumped to the conclusion that he's just another fascist were on the right track. [July 9]
Malcolm Nance: The Plot to Betray America: How Team Trump Embraced Our Enemies, Compromised Our Security, and How We Can Fix It (2019, Hachette Books). Author "spent 35 years participating in field and combat intelligence activity including both covert and clandestine anti & counter-terrorism support to national intelligence agencies, and has written a series of books, first celebrating the US War on Terror (e.g., An End to Al Qaeda: Destroying Bin Laden's Jihad and Restoring America's Honor), and trying to relaunch the Cold War with Russia (e.g., The Plot to Hack America: How Putin's Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election, and The Plot to Destroy Democracy: How Putin's Spies Are Winning Control of America and Dismantling the West). I find this line of argument against Trump to be both useless and obscene: useless because Trump isn't either a principled or effective critic of the security hawks, and obscene because what the critics advocate for is even worse than what Trump does (or sometimes talks about doing). And I'm especially uncomfortable with talk about "betraying America" (or, worse still, "treason"). The purpose of such talk is invariably to shut down discussion of political choices in foreign policy -- something that is sorely needed. Richard W Painter/Peter Golenbock: American Nero: The History of the Destruction of the Rule of Law, and Why Trump Is the Worst Offender (2020, BenBella Books): Painter "served as White House chief ethics counsel under President George W Bush," which doesn't sound like much in the way of credentials -- if you ask me, Bush's administration was as corrupt at any in American history (at least, pre-Trump), and his staff lawyers were remarkably practiced at rationalizing torture and other war crimes. On the other hand, he doesn't simply draw the line at Trump. He's written a long book that goes deep into American history, exposing dozens of examples where "the rule of law" was violated by American politicians. But first he starts with sketches of Nero and George III, emphasizing their similarities to Trump (starting with narcissism). Joe Palazzolo/Michael Rothfeld: The Fixers: The Bottom-Feeders, Crooked Lawyers, Gossipmongers, and Porn Stars Who Created the 45th President (2020, Random House). Cover looks like it fell out of a tabloid, which seems peculiarly appropriate for this president. Makes you wonder whether Trump's relative immunity to scandal isn't the result of such prolonged exposure it's not only lost its power to shock, it's become part of his aura. Of course, the big draw here is the bit about porn stars, not least because they are more honest and less unsavory than fixers like Roy Cohn and Michael Cohen. Dan Pfeiffer: Un-Trumping America: A Plan to Make America a Democracy Again (2020, Twelve): "Pod Save America" co-host, worked (as did the other three) in Obama administration, feels that entitles him to give practical advice on how to defeat Trump in 2020. There are a number of books like that out recently, including:
Jerrold M Post/Stephanie R Doucette: Dangerous Charisma: The Political Psychology of Donald Trump and His Followers (2019, Pegasus Books): Post is "the long-time head of psychological profiling at the CIA," where he prepared numerous profiles of world leaders -- "he may be the only psychiatrist who has specialized in the self-esteem problems of both Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein." That sounds pretty dubious to me: I have serious doubts about shrinks who have direct access to patients, and understand how easy it is to project one's prejudices, especially across vast distances. One possible value-added here is the probe into the psyches of Trump's supporters. Post previously wrote:
Philip Rucker/Carol Leonnig: A Very Stable Genius: Donald J Trump's Testing of America (2020, Penguin Press): Another detailed chronicle of madness and mayhem in the Trump White House, as leaked to two senior Washington Post writers (Pulitzer Prize winners). They seem to be especially chummy with the unelected foreign policy intelligentsia alarmed by Trump's occasional lapses from the usual American clichés, which can get annoying. The title is Trump's self-description, which has been widely lampooned (see parody books below). Robert P Saldin/Steven M Teles: Never Trump: The Revolt of the Conservative Elites (2020, Oxford University Press): Sure, various Republican "elites" had reservations about Trump in early 2016, but they turned out to be purely tactical: once Trump won, all was forgiven, with GOP officials as well as rank-and-file lining up dutifully, eventually learning not to even flinch when he does something obviously uncouth. That left a few incalcitrants to oppose Trump in the sanctified name of conservatism. This book divides them up into four parts: national security professionals; political operatives; public intellectuals; lawyers and economists. The best known are in the third group, but many of them work for mainstream media outlets where their views are esteemed. Jim Sciutto: The Madman Theory: Trump Takes on the World (2020, HarperCollins): CNN's chief national security correspondent, his standing within America's imperial security establishment amply demonstrated by his 2019 book, The Shadow War: Inside Russia's and China's Secret Operations to Defeat America. Title refers to Nixon's "madman theory," which at least had a cunning rationale behind it. That Trump's madcap approach to foreign policy differs first in that it isn't remotely a theory, as is clear when Sciutto admits that Trump's employs his version "sometimes intentionally and sometimes not." I'm fairly sure that someone could write a book that reduces Trump's foreign policy to a handful of simple rules, like: Trump is always looking for short-term business propositions; Trump has no concerns about liberal ideals like human rights and democracy, but he does loathe any hint of socialism, and he defaults to being a race and religious bigot; Trump likes foreign leaders who flatter him, even if they're the wrong race and/or religion; Trump bears grudges against countries that fail to show him sufficient obeissance, and is obsessed with the idea that supposed allies are cheating him (or America); Trump has no real interest in results, so he's happy doing nothing as long as people are saying the right things. Needless to say, he is frustrating and annoying to anyone who actually has an ideological stake in foreign policy, like the neoliberal and neoconservative mandarins who dominate the business, but he hasn't changed much of what they do. [August 18] Stuart Stevens: It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump (2020, Knopf): Author "spent decades electing Republicans at every level" and "knows the GOP as intimately as anyone in America," but evidently has changed his mind root and branch -- as opposed to the "Never Trumpers" who claim to remain true to principles that Trump personally betrayed. I've been saying all along that Trump is the expected outcome of decades of right-wing political machinations, so I'm gratified to see Stevens making just that case. I doubt he's exactly right, but his complaint about "five decades of hypocrisy and self-delusion" is spot on. [August 4]. Jeffrey Toobin: True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump (2020, Doubleday): First significant history of the Mueller Invesgitation and the Impeachment of Donald Trump, by the legal analyst for CNN and The New Yorker, who has written weighty books on the Clinton impeachment (A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President), Bush v. Gore (Too Close to Call: The Thirty-Six Day Battle to Decide the a2000 Election), the Supreme Court (The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court and The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme court), as well as some famous criminal cases (OJ Simpson, Patty Hearst, Oliver North). Not sure I give a shit, but this is a book he was destined to write. [August 4]. Other new books on Mueller and/or impeachment:
Dannagal Goldthwaite Young: Irony and Outrage: The Polarized Landscape of Rage, Fear, and Laughter in the United States (2019, Oxford University Press). I haven't yet found a book that explores the thesis that Donald Trump is basically a stand-up comic, but that's one way of viewing his rallies -- at least if you can manage not to gag, which is the most common reaction among people who are perceptive. One big problem is that Trump isn't very funny, but he does some things that comics do: he distorts the truth in unexpected ways, in the hopes of getting an instant emotional response instead of a reasoned one. Young explores a number of politically-focused cultural figures, finding that those on the right aim mostly at provoking rage, whereas many of those on the left would rather evoke laughter. (Of course, not everyone left of center aims at comedy; most pundits are sober analysts, and there are another few who simply rail at the right -- although they usually still do have more facts at their disposal than is customary on the right -- well, Russia-phobes excepted). Indeed, for me the most remarkable cultural change I've seen since Trump became president has been the politicization of late-night talk shows, where Trump is lambasted and ridiculed in ways that were unimaginable for Reagan and the Bushes, or for that matter Obama and the Clintons. I'm not sure that's a good thing, but I have taken considerable comfort in knowing that my own revulsion over Trump is so widely shared. James D Zirin: Plaintiff in Chief: A Portrait of Donald Trump in 3,500 Lawsuits (2019, All Points Books): Not sure anyone ever tried to count before, but Trump clearly holds the record for most lawsuits (either filed or defended against), probably by an order of magnitude, maybe two or three. Trump has a couple of lawsuits being argued this week before the Supreme Court, where he's attempting to suppress subpoenas for his financial records -- something all other recent presidential candidates have volunteered. I can think of other lawsuits where presidents attempted to elevate their office beyond the normal reach of law (Nixon, Clinton), as well as cases like Bush v. Gore, and Trump has political cases like those, but most of his relate to his business practices, which doesn't make them any less tawdry. And these are recent Trump-themed books I'm only briefly noting, as I don't have much more to say about them. Most memoirs by Trump staff and appointees wind up here -- presumably they have some historical value, even if they wind up being pure propaganda. I have, however, separated out the purer pro-Trump propaganda books, as well as trivia and attempts at humor (see the following sections). Eric Alterman: Lying in State: Why Presidents Lie -- and Why Trump Is Worse (2020, Basic Books). [August 11] Alain Badiou: Trump (paperback, 2019, Wiley). Kate Bennett: Free, Melania: The Unauthorized Biography (2019, Flatiron Books). Peter Bergen: Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos (2019, Penguin Press). Sarah Blaskey/Nicholas Nehamas/Caitlin Ostruff/Jay Weaver: The Grifter's Club: Trump, Mar-a-Lago, and the Selling of the Presidency (2020, PublicAffairs). [August 4] John Bolton: The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir (2020, Simon & Schuster). Kate Andersen Brower: Team of Five: The Presidents Club in the Age of Trump (2020, Harper). [May 19] Nina Burleigh: Golden Handcuffs: The Secret History of Trump's Women (2018, Gallery Books): Four women on cover: Ivanka and the three wives. Ian Buruma: The Churchill Complex: The Curse of Being Special, From Winston and FDR to Trump and Brexit (2020, Penguin Press). [September 1] Josh Campbell: Crossfire Hurricane: Inside Donald Trump's War on the FBI (2019, Algonquin Books). Patrick Cockburn: War in the Age of Trump: The Defeat of ISIS, the Fall of the Kurds, the Conflict With Iran (2020, Verso Books). [July 7] Robert Dallek: How Did We Get Here? From Theodore Roosevelt to Donald Trump (2020, HarperCollins). Bob Davis/Lingling Wei: Superpower Showdown: How the Battle Between Trump and Xi Threatens a New Cold War (2020, HarperCollins): Wall Street Journal reporters. [June 9] Lawrence Douglas: Will He Go? Trump and the Looming Election Meltdown in 2020 (2020, Grand Central). Daniel W Drezner: The Toddler in Chief: What Donald Trump Teaches Us About the Modern Presidency (paperback, 2020, University of Chicago Press). Jonathan Engel: Unaffordable: American Healthcare From Johnson to Trump (2018, University of Wisconsin Press). David Enrich: Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction (2020, Custom House). Guy Fawkes: 101 Indisputable Facts Proving Donald Trump Is an Idiot: A Brief Background to the Most Spectacularly Unqualified Person to Ever Occupy the White House (2018, Guy Fawkes). Emily Jane Fox: Born Trump: Inside America's First Family (paperback, 2019, HarperCollins). David Frum: Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy (2020, Harper). [May 26] Mark Green/Ralph Nader: Fake President: Decoding Trump's Gaslighting, Corruption, and General Bullsh*t (paperback, 2019, Skyhorse). Jean Guerrero: Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda (2020, HarperCollins). [August 11] Nikki R Haley: With All Due Respect: Defending America With Grit and Grace (2019, St Martin's). Steve Harris: America's Secret History: How the Deep State, the Fed, the JFK, MLK, and RFK Assassinations, and Much More Led to Donald Trump's Presidency (2020, Skyhorse). Richard L Hasen: Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy (2020, Yale University Press). Steven Hassan: The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control (2019, Free Press). Julie Hirschfeld Davis/Michael D Shear: Border Wars: Inside Trump's Assault on Immigration (2019, Simon & Schuster). Charles E Hurlburt: The Enemy Within: A Chronicle of the Trump Administration: Book One (11/2016-08/2018) (paperback, 2019, independent). Mary Jordan: The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump (2020, Simon & Schuster). [June 16]. David A Kaplan: The Most Dangerous Branch: Inside the Supreme Court in the Age of Trump (paperback, 2019, Broadway Books). Jonathan Karl: Front Row at the Trump Show (2020, Dutton). Jasmine Kerrissey/Eve Weinbaum/Claire Hammonds/Tom Juravich/Dan Clawson, eds: Labor in the Time of Trump (paperback, 2020, ILR Press). Glenn Kessler/Salvador Rizzo/Meg Kelly [The Fact Checker Staff of The Washington Post]: Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth (paperback, 2020, Scribner): Only 384 pp? [June 2] Harold Hongju Koh: The Trump Administration and International Law (2018, Oxford University Press). Daniel S Lucks: Reconsidering Reagan: Racism, Republicans, and the Road to Trump (2020, Beacon Press). [August 4] Lachlan Markay/Asawin Suebsaeng: Sinking in the Swamp: How Trump's Minions and Misfits Poisoned Washington (2020, Viking): Two investigative reporters for The Daily Beast explain how Trump has remade the DC "swamp" in his own image. Jim Mattis/Bing West: Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead (2019, Random House): Trumps' first Secretary of Defense, but evasive on all that. HR McMaster: Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World (2020, Harper): Trump's second National Security Advisor. [September 15] Rory McVeigh/Kevin Estep: The Politics of Losing: Trump, the Klan, and the Mainstreaming of Resentment (2019, Columbia University Press). Pippa Norris/Ronald Inglehart: Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism (paperback, 2019, Cambridge University Press). Joseph S Nye Jr: Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy From FDR to Trump (2020, Oxford University Press). Greg Palast: How Trump Stole 2020: The Hunt for America's Vanished Voters (paperback, 2020, Seven Stories Press). [July 14] William J Perry/Tom Z Collina: The Button: The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power From Truman to Trump (2020, BenBella Books): Former Secretary of Defense. [June 30] John J Pitney Jr: Un-American: The Fake Patriotism of Donald J Trump (2020, Rowman & Littlefield). Patrick Porter: The False Promise of Liberal Order: Nostalgia, Delusion and the Rise of Trump (2020, Polity). [July 7] Eric A Posner: The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy From the Founders to Trump (2020, St Martin's). [June 30] Scott Ritter: Scorpion King: America's Suicidal Embrace of Nuclear Weapons From FDR to Trump (2nd ed, paperback, 2020, Clarity Press). [June 1] Amy Roost/Alissa Hirshfeld: Fury: Women's Lived Experiences During the Trump Era (paperback, 2020, Regal House). David Rothkopf: Traitor: A History of American Betrayal From Benedict Arnold to Donald Trump (2020, St Martin's). [October 27] Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Speaking for Myself: Faith, Freedom, and the Fight of Our Lives Inside the Trump White House (2020, St Martin's). [September 8] Steven E Schier/Todd E Eberly: How Trump Happened: A System Shock Decades in the Making (2020, Rowman & Littlefield). Gerald F Seib: We Should Have Seen It Coming: From Reagan to Trump -- A Front-Row Seat to a Political Revolution (2020, Random House). [August 25] Glenn Simpson/Peter Fritsch: Crime in Progress: Inside the Steele Dossier and the Fusion GPS Investigation of Donald Trump (2019, Random House): Authors are co-founders of Fusion GPS. Ryan Skinnell, ed: Faking the News: What Rhetoric Can Teach Us About Donald J Trump (paperback, 2018, Societas). Guy M Snodgrass: Holding the Line: Inside Trump's Pengaton With Secretary Mattis (2019, Penguin). Brian Stelter: Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth (2020, Atria/One Signal). [August 25] Benjamin R Teitelbaum: War for Eternity: Inside Bannon's Far-Right Circle of Global Power Brokers (2020, Dey Street Books). Ivana Trump: Raising Trump (2017, Gallery Books). Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia: Banned: Immigration Enforcement in the Time of Trump (2019, NYU Press). Ken Wilber: Trump and a Post-Truth World (paperback, 2017, Shambhala). Jeffrey R Wilson: Shakespeare and Trump (paperback, 2020, Temple University Press). For context, these are Trump-themed books I've written about or merely noted in previous Book Report posts. In some cases I've reproduced (or more often edited down my) original comments. Books from this section that I have read: Tim Alberta: American Carnage; David Daley: Ratf**ked; Ben Fountain: Beautiful Country Burn Again; Allen Frances: Twilight of American Sanity; David Frum: Trumpocracy; Stanley B Greenberg: RIP GOP; Michael Lewis: The Fifth Risk; Alexander Nazaryan: The Best People; James Poniewozik: Audience of One; Matt Taibbi: Insane Clown President; Katy Tur: Unbelievable. Alan I Abramowitz: The Great Alignment: Race, Party Transformation, and the Rise of Donald Trump (2018, Yale University Press): Looks at shifting party alignments, especially racial/ethnic, religiosu, ideological, and geographic. Seth Abramson: Proof of Collusion: How Trump Betrayed America (2018, Simon & Schuster). Tim Alberta: American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump (2019, Harper): Politico reporter, tight with Republican House leaders like Boehner and Ryan, covers changing forces since 2008, especially Tea Party, Freedom Caucus, and the ultimately decisive arrival of Trump. Dale Beran: It Came From Something Awful: How a Toxic Troll Army Accidentally Memed Donald Trump Into Office (2019, All Points Books). Max Blumenthal: The Management of Savagery: How America's National Security State Fueled the Rise of Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Donald Trump (2019, Verso): Basic primer on how the US fed and nurtured its eventual enemies in the Middle East -- a fundamental incoherence that Trump has done nothing to resolve. Frank O Bowman III: High Crimes and Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of Trump (2019, Cambridge University Press). Amanda Carpenter: Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us (2018, Broadside Books). Chris Christie: Let Me Finish: Trump, the Kushners, Bannon, New Jersey, and the Power of In-Your-Face Politics (2019, Hachette). Stephen F Cohen: War With Russia? From Putin & Ukraine to Trump & Russiagate (paperback, 2019, Hot Books). James Comey: A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership (2018, Flatiron). David Daley: Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America's Democracy (2016; paperback, 2017, Liveright): Nuts-and-bolts on how the right-wing has plotted its takeover of American democracy, especially by gerrymandering. Stormy Daniels: Full Disclosure (2018, St Martin's Press). Michael D'Antonio: The Truth About Trump (paperback, 2016, St Martin's Griffin): Reissue of 2015 book, Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success. Michael D'Antonio/Peter Eisner: The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence (2018, Thomas Dunne Books). First book I'm aware of to take stock of Trump's Vice President, who seems to have parlayed his obsequious devotion to Trump and his extensive networking with far-right Republicans into a position of exceptional behind-the-scenes power. EJ Dionne Jr/Norman J Ornstein/Thomas E Mann: One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet-Deported (2017, St Martin's Press): Quickie from veteran Washington reporters. Maureen Dowd: The Year of Voting Dangeously: The Derangement of American Politics (2016, Twelve). Ben Fountain: Beautiful Country Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion, and Revolution (2018, Ecco Books): Novelist, shocked by the 2016 election, posits an 80-year cycle of crises, lining Trump up with the comings of the Civil War and the Great Depression. Allen Frances: Twilight of American Sanity: A Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump (2017, William Morrow). Argues that Trump is not technically insane, but raises many pertinent questions about whether America as a whole. Justin A Frank: Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President (2018, Avery). David Frum: Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic (2018, Harper): Former Bush speechwriter turned Never Trumper, faults Republicans for failing to satisfy the needs of their base voters, has a good nose for Trump's corruption. Stanley B Greenberg: RIP GOP: How the New America Is Dooming the Republicans (2019, Thomas Dunne Books). Democratic pollster, sees Republicans boxing themselves into a corner due to declining demographics and a dysfunctional platform. Joshua Green: Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency (2017, Penguin). Asad Haider: Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump (paperback, 2018, Verso). Luke Harding: Collusion: Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, and How Russia Helped Donald Trump Win (paperback, 2017, Vintage Books). Seth Hettena: Trump/Russia: A Definitive History (2018, Melville House). Elizabeth Holtzman: The Case for Impeaching Trump (2019, Hot Books). Michael Isikoff/David Corn: Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump (2018, Twelve). David Cay Johnston: The Making of Donald Trump (2016, Melville House). David Cay Johnston: It's Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America (2018, Simon & Schuster). Michiko Kakutani: The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump (2018, Tim Duggan Books). Marvin Kalb: Enemy of the People: Trump's War on the Press, the New McCarthyism, and the Threat to American Democracy (2018, Brookings Institution Press). Brian Klaas: The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy (2017, Hot Books). Naomi Klein: No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump's Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need (paperback, 2017, Haymarket Books): Prominent critic, especially of what she calls "disaster capitalism." Tied this title to Trump, but later books also deal with Trump, just in broader contexts. Naomi Klein: The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes on the Disaster Capitalists (paperback, 2018, Haymarket Books). Naomi Klein: On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal (2019, Simon & Schuster). Michael Kranish/Marc Fisher: Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power (2016, Scribner). Laurence Leamer: Mar-A-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump's Presidential Palace (2019, Flatiron). Brandy Lee: The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President (2017, Thomas Dunne Books). Barry Levine/Monique El-Faizy: All the President's Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator (2019, Hachette Books). Michael Lewis: The Fifth Risk (2018, WW Norton). Mostly writes on financial debacles, but is more interested in following the stories of interesting people. For this book, he goes into the federal bureaucracy, providing an eye-opening view of the valuable services of three government departments, and how Trump's politicization of those departments is undermining their jobs. And since much of what they do aims to limit risks, you rarely notice them until something bad happens. Jeffrey Lord: Swamp Wars: Donald Trump and the New American Populism vs. the Old Order (2019, Bombardier Books). Amanda Marcotte: Troll Nation: How the Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters Set on Rat-F*cking Liberals, America, and Truth Itself (2018, Hot Books). Andrew G McCabe: The Threat: How the FBI Protects America in the Age of Terror and Trump (2019, St Martin's Press). Jeff Merkley: America Is Better Than This: Trump's War Against Immigrant Families (2019, Twelve). Greg Miller: The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy (2018, Custom House). Angela Nagle: Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan and Tumblr to Trump the Alt-Right (paperback, 2017, Zero Books). Alexander Nazaryan: The Best People: Trump's Cabinet and the Siege on Washington (2019, Hachette Books): Offers us a rogues gallery of Trump's cabinet-level deputies, who more often than not turn out to reflect the vanity and avarice of their leader. David Neiwert: Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump (2017; paperback, 2018, Verso): Wrote a pair of books on how the right responded to the Obama election in 2008; e.g., with John Amato: Over the Cliff: How Obama's Election Drove the American Right Insane. Omarosa Manigault Newman: Unhinged: An Insider's Account of the Trump White House (2018, Gallery Books). John Nichols: Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse: A Field Guide to the Most Dangerous People in America (paperback, 2017, Nation Books): Quickie, offering brief biographies of Trump's early cabinet and staff, many of whom didn't last long (although they were usually replaced by others even more sycophantic and/or corrupt. Pippa Norris/Ronald Ingelhart: Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism (paperback, 2019, Cambridge University Press). Keith Olbermann: Trump Is F*cking Crazy (This Is Not a Joke) (2017, Blue Rider Press). Greg Olear: Dirty Rubles: An Introduction to Trump/Russia (paperback, 2018, Four Sticks Press). James Poniewozik: Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America (2019, Liveright). TV critic, provides a detailed account of Trump's media exposure, his constant search for the limelight, how his fame and wealth are linked, and where his politics comes from. The single most insightful book I've found on Trump. Bill Press: Trump Must Go: The Top 100 Reasons to Dump Donald Trump (and One to Keep Him) (2018, Thomas Dunne Books). Joy-Ann Reid: The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story (2019, William Morrow). Rick Reilly: Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump (2019, Hachette Books). Corey Robin: The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism From Edmund Burke to Donald Trump (2011; paperback, 2017, Oxford University Press): Original subtitle ended at Sarah Palin. Nathan J Robinson: Trump: Anatomy of a Monster (paperback, 2017, Demilune Press). April Ryan: Under Fire: Reporting From the Front Lines of the Trump White House (2018, Rowman & Littlefield). Greg Sargent: An Uncivil War: Taking Back Our Democracy in an Age of Trumpian Disinformation and Thunderdome Politics (2018, Custom House). Marc Shapiro: Trump This! The Life and Times of Donald Trump: An Unauthorized Biography (paperback, 2016, Riverdale Avenue Books). Cliff Sims: Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House (2019, Thomas Dunne Books). Mark Singer: Trump and Me (2016, Mark Duggan Books). Amy Siskind: The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First Year (2018, Bloomsbury): Extensive index of every time she noticed Trump doing something well outside the norms of his office, accumulating 528 pp in little more than one year. Ryan Skinnell, ed: Faking the News: What Rhetoric Can Teach Us About Donald J Trump (paperback, 2018, Societas). Sean Spicer: The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President (2018, Regnery): Trump's first press secretary. Charles J Sykes: How the Right Lost Its Mind (2017, St Martin's Press). Matt Taibbi: Insane Clown President: Dispatches From the 2016 Circus (2017, Spiegel & Grau): Quickie compilation of 2016 campaign reports. Lawrence Tribe/Joshua Matz: To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment (2018, Basic Books). Katy Tur: Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History (2017, Dey Street Books): TV reporter assigned to Trump for the 2016 campaign. Craig Unger: House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia (2018, Dutton): Previously wrote House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties (2004). Vicky Ward: Kushner, Inc. Greed. Ambition. Corruption. The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump (2019, St Martin's Press). Rick Wilson: Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever (2018, Free Press). Michael Wolff: Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House (2018, Henry Holt). Michael Wolff: Siege: Trump Under Fire (2019, Henry Holt). Bob Woodward: Fear: Trump in the White House (2018, Simon & Schuster). One thing that the Trump years have given us is a shitload of parody, satire, and trivia: some insightful in ways that more sober assessments miss the impact of, some comforting, some outrageous, some scabrous, some totally missing the point. Here are some (not all by any means). Some may even be pro-Trump. (* indicates books I haven't listed before.) Alec Baldwin/Kurt Andersen: You Can't Spell America Without Me: The Really Tremendous Inside Story of My Fantastic First Year as President Donald J. Trump (A So-Called Parody) (2017, Penguin Press). John Barron: A Is for "Asshole": A Children's "ABC" Guide to Donald Trump & the Trump Administration (paperback, 2018, CreateSpace).* William H Clark/John M Werthen Jr: Tweeter of the Free World: A Covfefe Table Book: A Collection of Donald Trump's Funniest Tweets (2018, Politically Correct Publishing).* The Editors of the Onion: The Trump Leaks: The Onion Exposes the Top Secret Memos, Emails, and Doodles That Could Take Down a President (2017, Harper Design).* Faye Kanouse/Amy Zhing: If You Give a Pig the White House: A Parody for Adults (2019, Castle Point).* Holan Publishing Inc: Sh*t Trump Says: The Most Terrific, Very Beautiful and Tremendous Tweets and Quotes From Our 45th President (2017, Hollan Publishing).* Holan Publishing Inc: Sh*t Trump Says: Flips, Flops, Flattery, and Falsehoods From Our 45th President (2019, Hollan Publishing).* John Klotsche: Donald John Trump: MEMEoir of a Stable Genius (paperback, 2019, Gatekeeper Press).* John Lithgow: Dumpty: The Age of Trump in Verse (2019, Chronicle Prism).* Mike Luckovich: A Very Stable Genius (paperback, 2018, ECW Press): editorial cartoons.* Michael S Luzzi: Trumpty Dumpty: A Parody Is on the Loose, Trump's Invaded Mother Goose, a Chronicle of Trumpty Times, Reimagind in Classic Rhymes (paperback, Boggs Hill Boys Press).* MAD: MAD About Trump: A Brilliant Look at Our Brainless President (paperback, 2017, MAD).* MAD: MAD About the Trump Era (paperback, 2019, MAD).* Brennan Matthews/Michelle Kerr: Tragic Trump: A Series of Comical Explanations for President Donald Trump (paperback, 2020, independent).* Media Lab Books: My Amazing Book About Tremendous Me: Donald J Trump -- Very Stable Genius (2018, Media Lab Books).* Leroy Mould II/Karin Carlson, eds: Very Stable Genius: The Best Words and Quotations of Donald J Trump, Individual One, the Chosen One. Volume II (paperback, 2019, independent).* A Nasty Woman: F*ck Trump: An Adult Coloring Book (paperback, 2017, Toppings Publishing).* Rob Sears: The Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump (2020, Canongate Books).* GB Trudeau: Yuge! 30 Years of Doonesbury on Trump (paperback, 2016, Andrews McNeel). GB Trudeau: #SAD!: Doonesbury in the Time of Trump (paperback, 2018, Andrews McMeel). GB Trudeau: Lewser! More Doonesbury in the Time of Trump (paperback, 2020, Andrews McMeel). [July 7]* Finally, I want to group together a long list of pro-Trump books. In most cases, the titles alone suffice to give you an idea of how deranged the books are. (* indicates books I haven't listed before; I'm grouping both old and new books together for cumulative effect.) It's possible that a small number of these exhibit more honesty and discretion than is immediately apparent, but most are pure propaganda, straight from the right-wing disinformation machine. There is a real sickness out there. Nick Adams: Trump and Churchill: Defenders of Western Civilization (2020, Post Hill Press): Foreword by Newt Gingrich.* Mykel Barthelemy: Trump Is a Racist! Here's Why (paperback, 2019, independent).* James A Beverley: God's Man in the White House: Donald Trump in Modern Christian Prophecy (paperback, 2020, Castle Quay).* Conrad Black: Donald J Trump: A President Like No Other (2018, Regnery): Reissue [August 18] with new title: A President Like No Other: Donald J Trump and the Restoring of America (paperback, 2020, Encounter Books). Dan Bongino: Exonerated: The Failed Takedown of President Donald Trump by the Swamp (2019, Post Hill Press). Eric Bolling: The Swamp: Washington's Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism and How Trump Can Drain It (2017, St Martin's). L Brent Bozell III/Tim Graham: Unmasked: Big Media's War Against Trump (2019, Humanix Books). Jason Chaffetz: The Deep State: How an Army of Bureaucrats Protected Barack Obama and Is Working to Destroy the Trump Agenda (2018, HarperCollins).* Jason Chaffetz: Power Grab: The Liberal Scheme to Undermine Trump, the GOP, and Our Republic (2019, Broadside Books). John Michael Chambers: Trump and the Resurrection of America: Leading America's Second Revolution (2019, Defiance Press). Steve Cioccolanti: Trump's Unfinished Business: 10 Prophecies to Save America (paperback, 2020, Discover Media). Horace Cooper: How Trump Is Making Black America Great Again: The Untold Story of Black Advancement in the Era of Trump (2020, Bombardier Books).* Jerome R Corsi: Killing the Deep State: The Fight to Save President Trump (2018, Humanix Books). Ann Coulter: In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome! (2016, Penguin).* Ann Coulter: Resistance Is Futile! How the Trump-Hating Left Lost Its Collective Mind (2018, Penguin).* Charles Davies: Getting Trump: How the Media Is Hurting Itself Chasing the Donald (2019, Defiance Press). Alan Dershowitz: Trumped Up: How Criminalization of Political Differences Endangers Democracy (paperback, 2017, CreateSpace). Alan Dershowitz: The Case Against Impeaching Trump (2018, Hot Books): Later reissued as The Case Against the Democratic House Impeaching Trump (2019, Hot Books). JM Eckert: And In Walked Trump: For Such a Time as This (paperback, 2018, Xulon Press). John L Fraser: The Truth Behind Trump Derangement Syndrome: There is More Than Meets the Eye (paperback, 2018, JF Publications). Major Garrett: Mr. Trump's Wild Ride: The Thrills, Chills, Screams, and Occasional Blackouts of an Extraordinary Presidency (2018, All Points Books). Newt Gingrich: Understanding Trump (2017, Center Street). Newt Gingrich: Trump's America: The Truth About Our Nation's Great Comeback (2018, Center Street). Newt Gingrich: Trump vs China: Facing America's Greatest Threat (2019, Center Street). Sebastian Gorka: The War for America's Soul: Donald Trump, the Left's Assault on America, and How We Take Back Our Country (2019, Regnery). Victor Davis Hanson: The Case for Trump (2019, Basic Books): Historian of ancient Greece, turned right-wing hack. Robert Henderson: Praying for the Prophetic Destiny of the United States and the Presidency of Donald J Trump From the Courts of Heaven (paperback, 2020, Destiny Image).* Thomas R Horn: The Rabbis, Donald Trump, and the Top-Secret Plan to Build the Third Temple: Unveiling the Incendiary Scheme by Religious Authorities, Government Agents, and Jewish Rabbis to Invoke Messiah (paperback, 2019, Defender).* Thomas R Horn: Shadowland: From Jeffrey Epstein to the Clintons, From Obama and Biden to the Occult Elite: Exposing the Deep-State Actors at War With Christianity, Donald Trump, and America's Destiny (paperback, 2020, Defender).* David Horowitz: Big Agenda: President Trump's Plan to Save America (2017, Humanix Books). David Horowitz: Blitz: Trump Will Smash the Left and Win (2020, Humanix Books). [June 2]* Charles Hurt: Still Winning: Why America Went All In on Donald Trump -- And Why We Must Do It Again (2019, Center Street). Gregg Jarrett: The Russia Hoax: The Illicit Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump (2018; paperback, 2019, Broadside Books). Gregg Jarrett: Witch Hunt: The Story of the Greatest Mass Delusion in American Political History (2019, Broadside Books). Ronald Kessler: The Trump White House: Changing the Rules of the Game (2018, Crown Forum).* Charlie Kirk: The MAGA Doctrine: The Only Ideas That Will Win the Future (2020, Broadside Books).* Corey R Lewandowski/David N Bossie: Let Trump Be Trump: The Inside Story of His Rise to the Presidency (2017, Center Street). Corey R Lewandowski/David N Bossie: Trump's Enemies: How the Deep State Is Undermining the Presidency (2018, Center Street). Corey R Lewandowski/David N Bossie: Trump: America First (2020, Cener Street). [September 29]* Theodore Roosevelt Malloch: The Plot to Destroy Trump: The Deep State Conspiracy to Overthrow the President (paperback, 2019, Skyhorse). Lily Manchubel: Too Far Left: An Eroding United States Democratic Republic: Anecdotal Observations of President Obama's Administration Left Leaning Cultural Shift, Poor Foreign and Domestic Government Policies; Versus That of Trump's More Right of Center Programs (paperback, 2019, Lulu Publishing Services): Deserves some sort of award for cutest fascist title. Matt Margolis: Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama's Legacy (paperback, 2019, Bombardier Books). KT McFarland: Revolution: Trump, Washington and "We the People" (2020, Post Hill Press).* Paul McGuire/Troy Anderson: Trumpocalypse: The End-Times President, a Battle Against the Globalist Elite, and the Countdown to Armageddon (paperback, 2019, FaithWords).* Stephen Moore/Arthur Laffer: Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy (2018, All Points Books): Possibly the two worst "economists" in America.* Hal Moroz: The Book of Tweets: President Trump's Social Media Revolution & America's New Birth of Freedom (paperback, 2018, CreateSpace).* Bill O'Reilly: The United States of Trump: How the President Really Sees America (2019, Henry Holt). George Papadopoulos: Deep State Target: How I Got Caught in the Crosshairs of the Plot to Bring Down President Trump (2019, Diversion Books). Star Parker With Richard Manning: Necessary Noise: How Donald Trump Inflames the Culture War and Why This Is Good News for America (2019, Center Street). Jeanine Pirro: Liars, Leakers, and Liberals: The Case Against the Anti-Trump Conspiracy (2018, Center Street). Jeanine Pirro: Radicals, Resistance, and Revenge: The Left's Plot to Remake America (2019, Center Street). Andrew F Puzder: The Capitalist Comeback: The Trump Boom and the Left's Plot to Stop It (2018, Center Street): Trump's first pick to be Secretary of Labor.* Ralph Reed: For God and Country: The Christian Case for Trump (2020, Regnery).* Vernon Robinson III/Bruce Eberle: Coming HOme: How Black Americans Will Re-Elect Trump (2020, Humanix Books).* Jesse Romero: A Catholic Vote for Trump: The Only Choice in 2020 for Republicans, Democrats, and Independents Alike (paperback, 2020, TAN Books).* Austin Ruse: The Catholic Case for Trump (2020, Regnery). [August 11]* Anthony Scaramucci: Trump: The Blue-Collar President (paperback, 2019, Center Street). Allen Salkin/Aaron Short: The Method to the Madness: Donald Trump's Ascent as Told by Those Who Were Hired, Fired, Inspired -- and Inaugurated (2019, All Points). Michael Savage: Trump's War: His Battle for America (2017, Center Street). Michael Savage: Trump's Fight for America: The Battle Continues (2020, Center Street). [September 15]* Kurt Schlichter: The 21 Biggest Lies About Donald Trump (And You!) (2020, Regnery). [July 7]* Peter Schweizer: Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America's Progressive Elite (2020, Harper).* Lee Smith: The Plot Against the President: The True Story of How Congressman Devin Nunes Uncovered the Biggest Political Scandal in US History (2019, Center Street).* George A Sorial/Damian Bates: The Real Deal: My Decade Fighting Battles and Winning Wars With Trump (2019, HarperCollins): Sorial is a "longtime Trump Organization executive and attorney." Sean Spicer: Leading America: President Trump's Commitment to People, Patriotism, and Capitalism (2020, Center Street). [October 13] Roger Stone: The Myth of Russian Collusion: The Inside Story of How Donald Trump Really Won (paperback, 2019, Skyhorse). Stephen E Strang: Trump Aftershock: The President's Seismic Impact on Culture and Faith in America (2018, Frontline).* Stephen E Strang: God and Donald Trump (2017, Frontline).* Stephen E Strang: God, Trump, and the 2020 Election: Why He Must Win and What's at Stake for Christians if He Loses (2020, Frontline).* Kimberley Strassel: Resistance (At All Costs): How Trump Haters Are Breaking America (2019, Twelve). Mark Taylor: The Trump Prophecies: The Astonishing True Story of the Man Who Saw Tomorrow . . . and What He Says Is Coming Next (2nd ed, paperback, 2019, Defender).* Donald Trump Jr: Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us (2019, Center Street). Lance Wallnau: God's Chaos Candidate: Donald J Trump and the American Unraveling (2016, Killer Sheep Media): Written after Jeb Bush referred to Trump as "the chaos candidate."* Doug Wead: Game of Thorns: The Inside Story of Hillary Clinton's Failed Campaign and Donald Trump's Winning Strategy (paperback, 2018, Center Street).* Doug Wead: Inside Trump's White House: The Real Story of His Presidency (2019, Center Street).* Diana West: The Red Thread: A Search for Ideological Drivers Inside the Anti-Trump Conspiracy (paperback, 2019, independent).* Matthew Whitaker: Above the Law: The Inside Story of How the Justice Department Tried to Subvert President Trump (2020, aRegnery): Whitaker was Trump's Acting Attorney General after Trump fired Jeff Sessions.* John Yoo: Defender in Chief: Donald Trump's Fight for Presidential Power (2020, St Martin's): GW Bush's "torture memo" lawyer. [July 28]* Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, May 11, 2020 Music Week
Music: Current count 33244 [33207] rated (+37), 212 [218] unrated (-6). Probably the longest list of musician deaths of any week so far this year:
At least those were the ones I jotted down. Wikipedia lists another dozen-plus musicians I didn't recognize -- mostly classical and world, but also three rappers: Benedict Chijioke [Ty], William Daniels [King Shooter], and Andre Harrell, the latter better known as a producer. No new names so far Monday, but comedian Jerry Stiller (92) died today. As you may know, his "better half" (Anne Meara) passed in 2015. I haven't tracked down much writing on these musicians, but can point to Robert Christgau's Little Richard: Sexual Shaman and Embodiment of Rock 'n' Roll at Its Most Incendiary. Billboard has been keeping their own list, which adds names like: Nick Blixky, Cady Groves, Brian Howe, Troy Sneed, Scott Taylor, and many more from earlier in the year. Speaking of obituaries, the Wichita Eagle runs a couple pages of them on Sundays, a bit less on Wednesdays. I didn't do an exact count, and I didn't dig back into the archives, but there's a good chance that Sunday's list was the first time in my life when more people younger than me died than people older than me. The list above split 6 older, 2 younger, but 5 of the 6 were +5 years or less, so for my wife, the break would be 1 older (Little Richard), 7 younger. That's, well, disturbing. Records listed below lean toward old music. I started the week listening to items I hadn't previously heard from drummer Gerry Hemingway's Bandcamp page (Auricle Records). One of the first records I tried there was Perfect World, a Penguin Guide **** and an A- last week. Nothing this week that good, but that's often the case given how I snatch up the better-regarded records first, and am usually content to give the rest a single spin. Some other Hemingway records I especially recommend (* on Bandcamp page): Songs (2002), The Whimbler (2005)*, Riptide (2011)*; BassDrumBone's Hence the Reason (1997); Saturn Cycle (1994, with Georg Gräwe and Ernst Reijseger); En Adir (1997, with Ivo Perelman, Marilyn Crispell and William Parker); Inbetween Spaces (2010, with Ellery Eskelin)*; Below the Surface Of (2010, with Terence McManus)*; The Apple in the Dark (2010, with Ivo Perelman); Code Re(a)d (2014, with Assif Tsahar and Mark Dresser); Table of Changes (2015, with Marilyn Crispell); Luminous (2018, with Simon Nabatov and Barry Guy); many more side credits, including most of what he did in Anthony Braxton's legendary 1983-93 Quartet -- Willisau (Quartet) 1991 is especially monumental; also two Lisa Sokolov records Presence (2004) and A Quiet Thing (2009). Hemingway's site offered two BassDrumBone albums I hadn't heard, so that got me looking at trombonist Ray Anderson. The two Dutch albums on Kemo are fun, and there's a good chance that one (or both) could eventually earn an A- grade. The Henry Threadgill album is one I had ungraded on vinyl, and then I noticed the Air albums. Having run out of Astral Spirits CDs, I felt the need to dust off the turntable and play the three LPs they sent me -- but I had pulled the Threadgill album out a while back, so went with it first -- then moved on to other ungraded LPs (they'll show up in next week's report). Meanwhile, I wiped out nearly all of my demo queue, and even delved into some downloads I had lying around. Plus I got guidance from two list compilers: Lucas Fagen (a short, belated 2019 list) and Phil Overeem (a long one on 2020 so far). Thanks to the latter for noticing Mark Lomax's The 400 Years Suite -- though he would probably return the nod for me writing up Lomax's 2019 12-CD 400: An Afrikan Epic. The new one can be viewed as a footnote to last year's edition, but I doubt anyone else will produce a more powerful jazz album this year. The Aruán Ortiz album is a re-grade from one I streamed back in March. Maybe it does help to send me physical product (although this one is pure promo). A persistent publicist got me to listen to a download of the Dave Glasser album after the physical got lost in the mail. I should also mention the MakroQuarktet set. Good chance I would have given an A- to a straight reissue of their 2008 album Each Part a Whole, but the extra material didn't quite merit it. However, if you consider the extra material a mere bonus, and understand that after sampling it you can stick the the first disc, you might value it higher. Not much to report on various projects. I did announce a Q&A feature last week, but so far have only received one question (and not one I'm chomping at the bit to answer -- something about a low grade for a record I don't recall in any detail, beyond the obvious point that I didn't much like it). I won't guarantee that I'll answer every question, but I'll get to that one in due course. Meanwhile, any questions? Please use this form. Thanks. New records reviewed this week: Anáhuac: Y_y (2017 [2018], Astral Spirits): Trio, initially met in Austin: Ignaz Schick (turntable/electronics), Chris Cogburn (percussion/electronics), Juan Garcia (double bass). Filed under Cogburn when the first album I noticed listed his name first on the front cover (this earlier one starts with Schick, but not on the cover). Some voice, some noise. B Anáhuac: Ascua (2018 [2020], Astral Spirits): Another one, slightly more impressive. B+(*) [dl] Brian Andres Trio Latino: Mayan Suite (2019 [2020], Bacalao): Bay Area Drummer, has a larger group called The Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel. Drops back to a piano trio here with Christian Tumalan (piano) and Aaron Germain (bass), who offer original pieces as well as covers from Chick Corea and standards like "Someday My Prince Will Come" and "On Green Dolphin Street." B+(*) [cd] [05-15] Blueface: Dirt Bag (2019, Cash Money, EP): Rapper Johnathan Porter, from Los Angeles, debuted with a 2018 mixtape, then two EPs -- this the second, 8 tracks, 21:33, most featuring rappers I've heard of but haven't heard much by. B+(***) Blueface: Find the Beat (2020, Cash Money): First studio album, compared to last year's EP twice as many songs, bigger name featuring spots, still only 41:29, with FBeats and Scum Beatz keeping the beats choppy. B+(**) Dave Glasser: Hypocrisy Democracy (2019 [2020], Here Tiz): Mainstream alto saxophonist, from New York, handful of records since 2000 plus side credits with the Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie ghost bands, Illinois Jacquet, Clark Terry, and so forth. Quartet, also plays soprano sax and flute, backed by Andy Milne (piano), Ben Allison (bass), and Matt Wilson (drums). Gets in some surprisingly strong runs, and the rhythm section kicks ass. A- [dl] Jinx Lennon: Border Schizzo Fffolk Songs for the Fuc**d (2020, Septic Tiger): Irish folk singer-songwriter with punk airs, has twenty years of self-released albums. An interesting character, although I'm not finding him aligning much with my mood these days. B+(**) Mark Lomax, II & the Urban Art Ensemble: 400 Years Suite (2019 [2020], CFG Multimedia): Single-disc live presentation of music from the Columbus, Ohio drummer's monumental 12-CD 400: An Afrikan Epic, performed by his superb regular quartet -- Dean Hulett on bass, William Menefield on piano, and most importantly Edwin Bayard on soprano and tenor saxophone -- plus a string quartet. Bayard blows you away every time, but the gospel piano solo is nearly as impressive. Wish I had a CD, and the time to see if even the strings say masterpiece. A Josh Nelson Trio: The Discovery Project: Live in Japan (2019 [2020], Steel Bird): Pianist, tenth album since 1998, trio with Alex Boneham (bass) and Don Schnelle (drums). The Discovery Project started with his 2011 album Discoveries, combining visuals and scenography with his music. CD, of course, just has the music. B+(**) [cd] Arturo O'Farrill/The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra: Four Questions (2020, Zoho): Pianist, son of Cuban bandleader Chico O'Farrill, a master of his craft and leader of New York's most famous Latin jazz big band. Title piece runs 16:13, with Cornell West's long harangue its focal point. I was impressed enough to note some of the more intricate scoring in the next piece, before vocals I'd rather tune out appeared. B [cd] Adam Rudolph/Ralph M. Jones/Hamid Drake [Karuna Trio]: Imaginary Archipelago (2020, Meta): Back cover and spine use group name, front cover just lists the musicians, percussionists by trade, each credited with instruments I don't recognize: membranophones, idiophones, chordophones, aerophones, as well as voice and electronic processing. Exotica fading into esoterica. B+(***) [cd] Brandon Seabrook With Cooper-Moore & Gerald Cleaver: Exultation (2019 [2020], Astral Spirits): Guitarist, with diddley bow and drums, no problem making a little noise, especially with this rhythm section keeping him on the rails. B+(***) [dl] [06-19] TeeJayx6: The Swipe Sessions (2019, The Family Entertainment): Detroit rapper, first mixtape, invents a new genre: cybergangsta. I never got the point behind Bitcoin, so some of this goes over my head. Can't say as I approve of the rest either, but beats and flow are still valid currencies. B+(***) Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: The MacroQuarktet: The Complete Night: Live at the Stone NYC (2007 [2020, Out of Your Head, 2CD): Quartet, two trumpet players (Dave Ballou and Herb Robertson), bass (Drew Gress) and drums (Tom Rainey). Released one album in 2008, Each Part a Whole, a live set from The Stone in NYC reissued on the first disc here, along with a second disc of additional material. B+(***) [cd] Old music: Air: Montreux Suisse Air: Live at Montreux 1978 (1978, Arista Novus): Saxophonist Henry Threadgill's 1975-82 trio with Fred Hopkins (bass) and Steve McCall (drums), best known for their 1979 album Air Lore, which brought Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton into the avant-jazz canon. Live set offers three originals, 39:02. B+(*) Air: Live Air (1976-77 [1980], Black Saint): Two sets (39:53 total), one in New York, the other Michigan. Starts meandering, with way too much flute, but ends real strong. B+(*) Air: Air Mail (1980 [1981], Black Saint): Three pieces, titles just initials, just 35:41. Again, flute opens weak, but sax ends strong. B+(**) Ray Anderson/Mark Helias/Gerry Hemingway: Oahspe (1978 [1979], Auricle): BassDrumBone trio, a decade before they started recording under that name, the first record (of dozens) the trombonist and bassist put their name on, second for drummer Hemingway (whose debut featured the others). B+(***) [bc] Ray Anderson/Han Bennink/Frank Möbus/Ernst Glerum/Paul Van Kemenade: Who Is in Charge? (2010 [2011], Kemo): American trombonist, likes to play funk as well as avant-garde, visits the Netherlands, where avant has always had a comic edge. The others play drums, guitar, bass, and alto sax -- the latter is someone I've overlooked, although his discography goes back to 2000 and includes several pairings with Wolter Wierbos. He also wrote three pieces here, vs. 1 each for the others (except Bennink; maybe he picked the "Song for Ché" cover?). B+(***) Ray Anderson/Han Bennink/Ernst Glerum/Paul Van Kemenade: Checking Out (2016, Kemo): Same group minus guitar, which doesn't cost them much. B+(***) BassDrumBone [Ray Anderson/Mark Helias/Gerry Hemingway]: Cooked to Perfection (1986-96 [1999], Auricle): Trombone-bass-drums trio, nominally their sixth group album but culled from various European tours, with five tracks from 1986, one 1987, two 1996. B+(**) [bc] John Butcher/Gerry Hemingway: Buffalo Pearl (2005 [2008], Auricle): Duo, tenor/soprano sax and drums, joint improv, recorded live in Buffalo. B+(***) [bc] Gerry Hemingway: Kwambe (1978, Auricle): Drummer, from New Haven, Connecticut; first album, probably 22 at the time, opens with the 20:41 title piece, quintet with African instruments (Ghanian flute and Tanzanian xylophone), piano (Anthony Davis) and bass (Mark Helias). Other pieces include a trio with Davis and George Lewis (trombone/euphonium), a solo, and an early assembly of BassDrumBone (Hemingway's long-running trio with Helias and Ray Anderson). B+(*) [bc] Gerry Hemingway: Solo Works (1981, Auricle): Solo percussion, four pieces ranging from 6:00 to 9:58, doesn't connect much, but not without interest. B [bc] Gerry Hemingway Quintet: Outerbridge Crossing (1985 [1987], Sound Aspects): First Quintet album, recorded in New Haven, with David Mott (baritone sax), Ray Anderson (trombone/tuba), Ernst Reijseger (cello), and Mark Dresser (bass). Snappy title cut shows promise, but things drag later on. B+(*) [bc] Gerry Hemingway: Tubworks (1985 [1988], Sound Aspects): Another solo percussion record, opens with the 17:54 "Four Studies for Single Instruments." Similar issues with all of his solo albums, but "Dance of the Sphygmoids" picks up the pace. B+(*) [bc] Gerry Hemingway Quintet: Slamadam (1991-94 [1995], Random Acoustics): Nine Quintet albums 1985-2011, this one midway, with his most common lineup: Michael Moore (alto sax/clarinet/bass clarinet), Wolter Wierbos (trombone), Ernst Reijseger (cello), and Mark Dresser (bass). Nice mix, especially the horns. B+(***) [bc] Gerry Hemingway: Acoustic Solo Works 1983-94 (1983-94 [1996], Random Acoustics): More solo, appeared with Electro-Acoustic Solo Works 1984-95, but I don't recall thinking much of his use of electronics. Percussion, of course. B+(*) [bc] Gerry Hemingway Quintet: Waltzes, Two-Steps & Other Matters of the Heart (1996 [1999], GM): Same quintet, released after they closed their 1990-98 run, but looking back at their 27 gig/28 day 1996 tour of Europe. Scattered treats, but the waltzes are fun when they kick in. B+(***) [bc] Gerry Hemingway Quartet: Johnny's Corner Song (1997 [1998], Auricle): The second of four Quartet albums, lineups vary but all have two horns and bass -- here Ellery Eskelin (tenor sax), Robin Eubanks (trombone), and Mark Dresser (bass). B+(**) [bc] Gerry Hemingway/Thomas Lehn [Tom & Gerry]: Kinetics (2003-06 [2008], Auricle): Duo, Lehn plays analog synthesizer, could be listed first (per "Tom & Gerry"), but I'm following left-to-right artist names further down, because that files better. Also because it's the drums that justify the title. B+(*) [bc] Gerry Hemingway: Kernelings: Solo Works 1995-2012 (1995-2012 [2014], Auricle): More scattered solo pieces, some straight drumming I like quite a bit. Originally came with a DVD, which I haven't seen. B+(**) [bc] New Air: Live at Montreal International Jazz Festival (1983 [1984], Black Saint): After Air split up in 1982, Henry Threadgill (alto/baritone sax, flute) and Fred Hopkins (bass) regrouped for the occasional gig, with Pheeroan Aklaff (percussion) justifying the "New" sobriquet. This is the first of two live albums. B+(***) Henry Threadgill Sextett: Subject to Change (1984 [1985], About Time): Saxophonist (alto/tenor, also flute and clarinet), third album (of five 1982-89) with this group, the extra 't' signifying a second drummer (and seventh musician). With trumpet (Rasul Sadik) and trombone (Ray Anderson), cello (Diedre Murray) and bass (Fred Hopkins). Richly layered. Ends with a vocal by Amina Claudine Myers. B+(**) [lp] WHO [Michel Wintsch/Gerry Hemingway/Bänz Oester]: Identity (1999, Leo): Piano-drums-bass trio, first album to spotlight their initials on the cover, although Wintsch and Hemingway shared a 1994 album, and the trio went on to record several more through 2014. B+(***) WHO Trio: WHO Zoo (Acoustic) (2011-13 [2014], Auricle): Initials: Michel Wintsch (piano), Gerry Hemingway (drums), Bänz Oester (double bass). B+(***) WHO Trio: WHO Zoo (Electric) (2011-13 [2014], Auricle): Originally a second disc to WHO Zoo, the "electric" refers mostly to Wintsch's use of synthesizer, but piano is still common. Three longish pieces. B+(***) Grade (or other) changes: Aruán Ortiz With Andrew Cyrille and Mauricio Herrera: Inside Rhythmic Falls (2019 [2020], Intakt): Cuban pianist, based in New York, the others drums and percussion (the latter is also Cuban, the drummer a Haitian born in Brooklyn), all three also credited with voice, their occasional chants another layer of rhythm. [was: B+(**)] A- [cd] Unpacking: Nothing new in the mail last week. Ask a question, or send a comment. Friday, April 10, 2020 Weekend RoundupWe seem to be at a crossroads, where the pandemic is undiminished but the pressures to re-open the economy have grown to the point where stupidity is taking over. I have to admit I was surprised to see the economy shut down as quickly and firmly as happened in the first weeks of March. I was also surprised that Congress moved so dramatically to compensate victims of the collapse. However, over the last couple of weeks Republicans have started to revert to form. It's never been clearer how they see the stock market as a proxy for America: with the stock market recovered from its initial shock, they don't have any qualms about letting the rest of the economy rot. Sure, they talk about opening up, but what they really want to do is to shirk responsibility: to blame unemployment on chickenshit workers and customers, and bully them into bucking up. Meme of the week: "The end of stay-at-home orders doesn't mean the pandemic is over. It means they currently have room for you in the ICU." Some scattered links this week:
The essential worker trap: "It's hard to get unemployment benefits if you've been deemed 'essential.'" Indeed, it seems like a lot of the push to "re-open" the economy is coming from states looking to cut unemployment costs/benefits. Matt Taibbi: The bailout miscalculation that could crash the economy. Ishaan Tharoor: A Bay of Pigs-style fiasco in Venezuela. Philip Weiss: Bush was worse than Trump. Reaction to Peter Baker: George W Bush calls for end to pandemic partisanship, where (not for the first time) Bush proved to be saner, smarter, and more of a statesman than Trump. Of course, any attempt to rehabilitate Bush -- even if the point is to illuminate how awful Trump is -- isn't worth the confusion. The fact is that Nixon, Reagan, Bush, and Trump form a series, where each is worse because their predecessors each left the polity in much worse shape than they found it. Weiss singles out the Iraq War as proof that Bush was the worst, but my own view is that Iraq was just a stupid, arrogant afterthought to Bush's real disaster, which was the decision to invade Afghanistan -- a decision Bush still rarely gets credit for, because the media campaign was so automatic that the major people Bush defeated (McCain in the primary, Gore in the main) would have done exactly the same thing. (Presumably not my candidate, Ralph Nader. But even Bernie Sanders voted for the War on Terror; Barbara Lee was the only one with the foresight and fortitude to vote against the mad rush to war.) Every time I see one of these attempts at Bush nostalgia, I'm reminded of the SNL skit where Will Ferrell plays GW Bush and delivers the truest line ever: "So I just wanted to address my fellow Americans tonight and remind you guys that I was really bad." Also see:
One should never forget how much severe damage GW Bush did relative to when he started out -- worst of all was his "War on Terror," which his successors have extended another dozen years with no sense of a change of mind, a militarization of the American psyche that has meant that a generation of Americans have known nothing but vicious insanity, but his two terms were riddled with atrocious policy, starting with his tax cuts, ending with the recession caused by years of indulging Wall Street. Still, you Bush usually had the decency to hide his plans behind a shroud of lies and doublespeak. Trump has mostly extended Bush's standard Republican policy directions -- his cruel turn against immigration is Trump's one major innovation -- what has changed is how shameless Trump is about his contempt for law, for decency, for the great majority of people he seeks to trample on. Matthew Yglesias:
Li Zhou: "Leave no vacancy behind": Mitch McConnell remains laser-focused on judges amid coronavirus. He understands that Republican control of the Senate and Presidency are tenuous, but once confirmed judges serve for life. And while partisan judges cannot legislate, they can powerfully restrict the ability of the people to make meaningful changes to law and government. More evidence that the Republicans are more focused on conserving their power than on letting future governments serve the will of the people. Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, May 4, 2020 Music Week
Expanded blog post, May archive (in progress). Music: Current count 33207 [33179] rated (+28), 218 [221] unrated (-3). Some leftover Weekend Roundup business:
Another famous musician died last week: Tony Allen, the Nigerian drummer who created Afrobeat (although his bandleader, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, took most of the credit). He released a few dozen post-Fela albums under his own name. Perhaps the best came out early this year, Rejoice, a 2010 vault tape co-headlined by the late South African trumpet master, Hugh Masekela. Looking at lists of recent deaths, one name that jumped out at me was Maj Sjowall (84), co-author of the Martin Beck detective books, a name I recall from early days when I took seriously every book published by Pantheon Books. One of many names I was unfamiliar with, but belatedly thankful for, was Henry Geller, who was resposible for getting cigarette advertising banned from TV. Also noticed the "overlooked" obituary of Kate Worley (1958-2004), who wrote the Omaha the Cat Dancer comics (with illustrator Reed Waller). I probably read more of them than of any of the recent authors to show up in these lists. Count a bit light this time. That happens from time to time, and may reflect nothing more than that I played old music for breakfast most of the week. Also worked on my queue, which is under ten deep, and some of that on vinyl. (I guess I should at least make sure my turntable still works, but I've been going through a lazy spell.) I've done a bit of website work for Robert Christgau and for Carol Cooper, but neither are quite ready for prime time. The latter is an experiment trying to convert her archive to use WordPress. I'm a bit more than half way through, and think it doesn't look too bad. I have a potentially bigger WordPress project for Notes on Everyday Life, but haven't begun to get it off the ground. Learning a few things, though. I've also ported some of my Xgau Sez to my website, so you can fill in a form to ask me a question (or comment or just vent). I've added an extra entry for keywords, thinking that it might be nice eventually to be able to bring up all the answers on a given subject. No guarantee I'll use what you provide, but a good suggestion will save me some thought (on the other hand, a bad one will cost me more). I haven't ported the answer code yet. Figure I don't have to do that until I have a question to answer. One more item back on the agenda: I'd like to do some significant weeding out of the paper and plastic hoard here. Started by pitching a couple stacks of magazines into the recycle tonight. Last time I looked into donating stuff to libraries, there seemed to be zero interest in magazines, so that seemed like a safe place to start. A few years back, I had a plan to start donating CDs to Wichita State University, but my interest waned with every building they named after a Koch, and more so after my sister died. Not sure they're even interested any more -- at any rate lost my contact there. I've been assuming that trying to sell things would be too much hassle for too little return (pretty much the lesson I drew from selling lots of vinyl before moving from NJ to KS -- got something like 25 cents per LP). If you have any thoughts on this, let me know. New records reviewed this week: Tetuzi Akiyama/Nicolas Field/Gregor Vidic: Interpersonal Subjectivities (2017 [2019], Astral Spirits): Electric guitar, percussion, and tenor sax, no names I've run across before, although the Japanese guitarist has a long list of records since 2001 (69 Discogs entries). Nicely paced, no thrash, endlessly inventive. A- [cd] Chris Byars: On the Shoulders of Giants (2019 [2020], SteepleChase): Retro-bebop tenor saxophonist, after having established himself as the most impressive of Luke Kaven's Smalls circle, lately has indulged in tributes (to Lucky Thompson, Gigi Gryce, Duke Jordan, Frank Strozier). Still, wrote 8 (of 9) songs here, the opening cover from Tommy Turentine. Sextet, with Zaid Nasser (alto sax), Stefano Doglioni (bass clarinte), John Mosca (trombone), Ari Roland (bass), and Phil Stewart (drums). B+(**) Chris Cogburn/Juan García/Ignaz Schick: Anáhuac (2016 [2020], Astral Spirits): Percussion/electronics, double bass, and turntables/electronics. Three longish pieces, "composed in real time with no overdubs," which sounds like hit and miss, but better than expected. B+(**) [cd] Ronnie Cuber: Four (2019, SteepleChase): Baritone saxophonist, eighteenth album since 1976, assembled what for all intents and purposes is a soul jazz group -- guitar (Ed Cherry), organ (Brian Charette), and drums (Adam Nussbaum) -- and honks his way through a set of standard jazz tunes ("Sidewinder," "Bluesette," "How High the Moon"). B+(***) Joe Ely: Love in the Midst of Mayhem (2020, Rack 'Em): Singer-songwriter, based in Austin but bred in Lubbock, presents ten previously unreleased songs from various points in his career, one each going back as far as 1973-74. None of them click for me, but I do hear faint echoes of albums I still love. B+(*) Dylan Hayes Electric Band: Songs for Rooms and People (2020, Blujazz): Keyboard player, some piano but mostly electric, with electric bass, guitar, drums, tenor sax/EWI (Santosh Sharma), spots for trumpet (Jay Thomas). Fast and fusiony. B [cd] Art Hirahara: Balance Point (2020, Posi-Tone): Pianist, American, fifth album since 2011, trio with Joe Martin and Rudy Royston, plus Melissa Aldana on tenor sax. B+(*) Anna Högberg Attack: Lena (2019 [2020], Omlott): Swedish sextet, leader plays alto sax, with tenor sax (Elin Forkelid), trumpet (Niklas Barnö), piano (Lisa Ullén), bass, and drums -- all but Barnö women. Second group album (Barnö's first), rough and tumble free jazz. B+(***) [bc] Brian Landrus/Fred Hersch/Drew Gress/Billy Hart: For Now (2019 [2020], BlueLand): Baritone saxophonist, also plays bass clarinet, alto and regular flute. Tenth album, has more help than the big names on the cover: Michael Rodriguez (trumpet), strings enough for a string quartet. B+(*) [05-15] Lil Wayne: Funeral (2020, Young Money): Rapper from New Orleans, thirteenth studio album since 1999, not counting dozens of mixtapes. This seems like a big deal at 24 cuts, 76:04. Christgau thinks this is his best since No Ceilings (2010). Perhaps, but I'm not caring much. B+(**) LP and the Vinyl: Heard and Sceen (2019 [2020], OA2): Pretty awful band name. "LP" is singer Leonard Patton, from San Diego, has several records under his own name, backed here by piano (Danny Green), bass and drums. Green wrote two songs (one with Patton), the rest are covers, some surprise picks ("Life on Mars," "The Fool on the Hill," "Wonderwall"). Voice has its soulful moments. B [cd] Nduduzo Makhathini: Modes of Communication: Letters From the Underworld (2020, Blue Note): South African pianist, half-dozen local albums, this his first big international exposure (aside from appearing in Shabaka and the Ancestors). McCoy Tyner fan, especially for A Love Supreme, some fine saxophone here, don't care much for the vocals. B+(**) Joe McPhee/Dave Rempis/Tomeka Reid/Brandon Lopez/Paal Nilssen-Love: Of Things Beyond Thule Vol. 2 (2018 [2020], Aerophonic): Same quintet, focus on the cello makes this less grating, until it isn't. B+(**) [bc] Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes: What Kinda Music (2020, Beyond the Groove): English singer-songwriter, established himself with two Beat Tape mixes before his 2018 debut album. Dayes is a jazz drummer, but leans toward r&b here, with guitar shimmer. B+(**) Darrell Scott: Sings the Blues of Hank Williams (2020, Full Light): Country singer, more than a dozen albums since 1997, usually writes his own songs but gives a nod to the honky tonk founder here. Williams' songs are rarely identified as blues, but he managed to moan more miserably than the bleakest bluesman imaginable, so I could see Scott taking him that way. Can't hear it, though. B Martial Solal & Dave Liebman: Masters in Paris (2016 [2020], Sunnyside): Piano and saxophone (tenor/soprano) duo, recorded a few months after their Masters in Bordeaux, so the pianist would have turned 89. Familiar standards, the opening "A Night in Tunisia" is especially striking. B+(***) Dayna Stephens Trio: Liberty (2019 [2020], Contagious Music): Tenor saxophonist, 10+ albums since 2007, mainstream/postbop, seems like I first noticed him on other people's albums. Trio with Ben Street (bass) and Eric Harland (drums). Good framework to hear him play. B+(***) Michael Thomas: Event Horizon (2019 [2020], Giant Step Arts, 2CD): Alto saxophonist, not the same name trumpet player, co-leader of Terraza Big Band, only album I've found under his own name, a live quartet with more established players: Jason Palmer (trumpet), Hans Glawischnig (bass), and Johnathan Blake (drums). B+(***) [cd] [05-08] Gary Versace: All for Now (2019 [2020], SteepleChase): Piano trio, with Jay Anderson (bass) and Obed Calvaire (drums). Not sure I've seen him play piano before --usual instruments are organ and accordion, so not unrelated. Mostly originals, including one from Bud Powell. B+(**) Webber/Morris Big Band: Both Are True (2018 [2020], Greenleaf Music): Two tenor saxophonists, Anna Webber and Angela Morris, both conduct, both also play flute, co-lead a conventional big band plus guitar and vibes. Too fancy for me to figure out. B+(**) Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Alan Braufman: Valley of Search (1975 [2018], Valley of Search): Alto saxophonist, first album, for that matter the first album released on India Navigation, an important avant-jazz label of the late 1970s. With Cooper-Moore (piano), Cecil McBee (bass), David Lee (drums), and Ralph Williams (percussion). One piece is based on a Baha'i prayer, recited by Cooper-Moore -- comes off gloomy. But elsewhere the rhythm kicks up, and joy develops. A- Alan Braufman & Cooper-Moore: Live at WKCR May 22, 1972 (1972 [2019], Valley of Search, EP): Sax-piano duo, earliest work I've run across from either, just three tracks (17:40), "Suite I," etc. Avant intensity, the pianist already a unique talent. B+(**) Old music: Don Cherry/Dewey Redman/Charlie Haden/Ed Blackwell: Old and New Dreams (1979, ECM): Ornette Coleman's legendary 1958-61 Quartet, minus Coleman, plus Redman, who played tenor sax in Coleman's 1960s groups. Group did an eponymous album for Black Saint (1976), two for ECM, regrouped on the drummer's birthday in 1987 for A Tribute to Blackwell, their final concert (he died in 1992). Two Coleman songs, one each from Redman, Cherry (trumpet, piano), Haden (bass), and Blackwell (drums). B+(**) Don Cherry/Dewey Redman/Charlie Haden/Ed Blackwell [Old and New Dreams]: Playing (1980 [1981], ECM): Redman (tenor sax) opens up strong, and eclipses Don Cherry (trumpet) as the main force here. Three Coleman songs, one each for Cherry, Redman, and Haden. B+(***) Gerry Hemingway Quintet: Perfect World (1995 [1996], Random Acoustics): Drummer, played in Anthony Braxton's legendary quartet, also BassDrumBone, long list of albums as leader since 1978. Quintet recorded five tracks in three locations, with Michael Moore (alto sax/clarinet/bass clarinet), Wolter Wierbos (trombone), Ernst Reijseger (cello), and Mark Dresser (bass). Starts scratchy/abstract, turns remarkable when everyone comes together. A- [bc] Old and New Dreams: Live in Saalfelden 1986 (1986 [2017], Condition West): Live shot, Paul Motian filling in for regular drummer Ed Blackwell. Sound not great, but some of their best playing -- even on the 17:20 "Bass Feature." B+(***) [bc] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, May 4, 2020 Weekend RoundupThis title offers a pretty apt introduction to the week: Adam Cancryn: As death toll passes 60,000, Trump's team searches for an exit strategy. A good second course would be Adam Serwer: Trump is inciting a coronavirus culture war to save himself. Trump doesn't seem to understand much, but his big hedgehog idea is that every day is a campaign day, and issues matter only in that they can be spun as campaign fodder. This mostly means casting them as culture war, using his takes to excite his base, or to offend his enemies (which in turn excites his base). He doesn't have any other interest in solving problems, and never feels the least bit of responsibility when his administration fails. Indeed, he's found that he can usually get away with not mentioning it (or declaring it "fake news" when someone else brings it up). After all, political discourse on the right has been untethered from reality ever since Reagan discovered "morning in America." As for his minions, they, too, have one hedgehog idea, which is to consolidate as much political power as possible, and use that power to do favors for their donors, seeing that as the way to consolidate even more power. Hence, even with the pandemic dominating the headlines, they keep plugging away at spreading their corrupt favors around. Some primary returns: Ohio (April 28, postponed from March 17): Joe Biden 72.43%, Bernie Sanders 16.61%; Kansas (May 2): Joe Biden 76.85%, Bernie Sanders 23.15%. Kansas, by the way, used a ranked choice system, which eventually reduced Tulsi Gabbard, Elizabeth Warren, and "uncommitted" to 0 votes. Wikipedia has more: Warren got 7.8% in the first round. Biden gained 6,119 votes when she was eliminated, vs. 5,822 for Sanders. Some scattered links this week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Tuesday, April 28, 2020 Music Week
Music: Current count 33179 [33137] rated (+42), 221 [226] unrated (-5). Trying desperately to wrap up the month today, and don't feel like writing much anyway. I will say that the concentration of A- records in the Old Music is mostly due to opening up a stash of downloads, shared by friends and stashed away for months or maybe years. I found them while looking for some more recent jazz records. Also found a few non-product offerings that I won't bother reviewing but someday may find time to listen to. (They exist because Robert Christgau deemed them worth reviewing; e.g., Gary Giddins' post-WWII roadmap, and an Adam Schlesinger playlist. There's also something called "The Sound of the City Pt. 1" -- probably a Charlie Gillett compilation, but I don't know which one: looks chronological, 1946-1951, and I recognize most, maybe all, of the songs, from "I Wonder" to "Cry.") In new music, Fiona Apple's Fetch the Bolt Cutters appears to be the best-reviewed new record of 2020 (so far), rating 94 (23 reviews) at AOTY, 100 (24 reviews) at Metacritic, topping both lists. It's in 2nd place in my metacritic file, behind Waxahatchee: Saint Cloud. I played it twice last week, and wasn't blown away, but I suppose I'm still open to persuasion (if I bother playing it again). At least I hear something there, which I can't say for Rina Sawayama's well-regarded Rina (far and away the second highest ranked 4/17 release). Fewer musician deaths this week. The one I know best was disco artist Hamilton Bohannon (1942-2020). I only have one of his LPs in my database (1976's Dance Your Ass Off), but I could swear I had 4-5 at the time, so I have to wonder how much more got lost to my shabby 20th century bookkeeping. I didn't consider any of the albums great, but I did love their minimalist dance grooves. When I moved on to CDs, I picked up Deep Beats: Essential Dancefloor Artists Vol. 4 (1973-75 [1994], Castle/Deep Beats), a very solid A-. I'm much less familiar with Detroit DJ Mike Huckaby (1966-2020), but for an expert appreciation, see Michaelangelo Matos: Remembering Mike Huckaby, a towering figure in Detroit house music. I can add that the Record Time store in Roseville, MI that Huckaby worked at was a favorite haunt of mine on my trips to Detroit, and the collection of electronic dance music there regularly boggled my mind (although I spent more time in their slightly more modest store in Ferndale, much closer to where I was staying). Also on the list was Ian Whitcomb (1941-2020), a one-hit wonder from 1965 ("You Turn Me On!"), who wrote the first popular history of rock and roll that I read, After the Ball (1972 -- the second was Charlie Gillett's The Sound of the City). I do have Whitcomb's 1965 LP in my database at B+ (I managed to track it down in the 1970s, but it's long gone now). PS: Haven't yet done the normal monthly accounting for the April Streamnotes file. I'll wrap that up later in the week. I should also note that I've decided to add all December 2019 releases to the 2020 Music Tracking file, and also to the Metacritic file. I had previously decided to include 2019 releases that hadn't picked up any votes in the 2019 EOY Aggregate. Since EOY lists tend to appear before the year is done, most publications are already skewed by at least a month, so I thought I should reflect that. The Jazz Critics Poll's official year-end definition is Thanksgiving, so I'm getting close to that. I use the Music Tracking file to help count JCP ballots, so this change will have some practical value. New records reviewed this week: Against All Logic: 2017-2019 (2017-19 [2020], Other People): Nicolas Jaar, electronica producer in New York, records under aliases as well as his own name, this the second compilation of his work as AAL. B+(***) Robby Ameen: Diluvio (2019 [2020], Origin): Drummer, from Connecticut, plays Afro-Cuban jazz, third album as leader, broke in with Dizzy Gillespie in 1984, many side credits (e.g., with Ruben Blades, Dave Valentin, Conrad Herwig, Kip Hanrahan). High octane. B+(*) [cd] Fiona Apple: Fetch the Bolt Cutters (2020, Epic): Singer-songwriter, fifth album since 1996, increasing elapsed times between albums: 3, 6, 7, 8 years. Previous albums built around her piano, but this one is drums, practically all drums, even the vocals arranged as chants. Probably the best-received album so far this year, but while I have to credit its distinctiveness, I don't particularly get it (or expect to). B+(***) #Bloomerangs: Moments and Fragments (2020, Instru Dash Mental): Piano trio (Clay Wulbrecht, Stefan Lenthe, Chris Parker) plus guitar/banjo (Rodrigo Cotelo), the latter providing most of the writing credits and listed as producer, with everyone else claiming a song or two. B+(*) The Ian Carey Quintet + 1: Fire in My Head: The Anxiety Suite (2019 [2020], Slow & Steady): Trumpet player, Bay Area, seventh album, lively postbop sextet with alto sax, bass clarinet, keyboards, bass, and drums. B+(**) Chicago Underground Quartet: Good Days (2018-19 [2020], Astral Spirits): Long running duo, Rob Mazurek (trumpet, electronics) and Chad Taylor (drums), with 7 albums 1998-2014, sometimes Trio (4 albums 1999-2007), one previous Quartet album (2001) -- guitarist Jeff Parker returns here, with along with newcomer Josh Johnson (synth bass, organ, piano). Played this a lot, and keep bouncing up and down on it. B+(***) [cd] Alex Cunningham & Claire Rousay: Specifically the Water (2020, Astral Spirits): Violin and drums duo, free jazz at its most elemental, abstract and rather scratchy. B+(*) [cd] Kaja Draksler Octet: Out for Stars (2019 [2020], Clean Feed): Slovenian pianist, half-dozen albums since 2008, second Octet effort, again with two singers, two reeds (Ab Baars, Ada Rave), viola, bass, and drums. Strikes me as scattered and aimless, which I blame the vocals for (gets better when they shut up, but still leans operatic). B- Colin Fisher Quartet: Living Midnight (2019, Astral Spirits): Bio describes him as North American multi-instrumentalist, probably Canadian, plays saxophone (tenor/alto) here, guitar elsewhere, has a couple previous albums and a dozen-plus side credits. Quartet, with Daniel Carter on sax (clarinet/flute), Brandon Lopez (bass), and Marc Edwards (drums). Avant, three long pieces (71:37). B+(***) [cd] Nick Fraser/Kris Davis/Tony Malaby: Zoning (2019, Astral Spirits): Canadian drummer and pianist, the saxophonist a long-time associate of Davis; two more names in smaller type and half of the pieces: Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax) and Lina Allemano (trumpet). Rather abstract. B+(**) Gordon Grdina Septet: Resist (2017 [2020], Irabbagast): Canadian guitar/oud player, builds this group around East Van Strings -- well-known jazz musicians Jesse Zubot (violin), Eyvind Kang (viola), Peggy Lee (cello), and Tommy Babin (drums) -- adding saxophonist Jon Irabagon and drummer Kenton Loewen. B+(*) Alexander Hawkins/Tomeka Reid: Shards and Constellations (2019 [2020], Intakt): Piano-cello duo, from London and Chicago. B+(**) James Brandon Lewis/Chad Taylor: Live in Willisau (2019 [2020], Intakt): Terrific tenor saxophonist, although the raw tone wears thin on me here and there. Pretty good drummer, too, in some ways even more impressive here. Note that every time he switches to mbira something special happens. A- Luís Lopes Humanization 4tet: Believe, Believe (2018 [2020], Clean Feed): Portuguese guitarist, group name from the title of a 2008 album, although the group is unchanged, and everyone writes: Rodrigo Amado (tenor sax), Aaron Gonzalez (bass), and Stefan Gonzalez (drums). B+(***) Laura Marling: Song for Our Daughter (2020, Chrysalis/Partisan): British singer-songwriter, seventh album since 2008. "Features more sparse and minimal arrangements to create an intimate sound." Never sounded more like Joni Mitchell, although my favorite Mitchell albums have a bit more spunk. B+(**) Brian Marsella: Gatos Do Sul (2020, Tzadik): Pianist, American (I think) but closely linked to Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista, who sets the groove here, fluffed up by acoustic guitar, accordion, violin, voice, and flutes. B [dl] Joe McPhee/Dave Rempis/Tomeka Reid/Brandon Lopez/Paal Nilssen-Love: Of Things Beyond Thule Vol. 1 (2018 [2020], Aerophonic): Two saxophonist (McPhee also plays pocket trumpet), cello, bass, and drums, limited edition vinyl from a show at the Hungry Brain in Chicago. B+(**) [dl] The Mountain Goats: Songs for Pierre Chuvin (2020, Merge): Front cover continues: "10 new songs. March 2020." John Darneile's alias, operating solo here, 18th album since 1994, a short one (27:17). B+(**) Simon Nabatov: Time Labyrinth (2019 [2020], Leo): Russian pianist, moved to America, long based in Cologne, Germany; many records since 1988. Septet here, four horns, no drums, so it fractures and meanders a lot. B Simon Nabatov: Plain (2019 [2020], Clean Feed): Cover continues: "with Chris Speed [tenor sax, clarinet], Herb Robertson [trumpet, cornet, voice], John Hébert [bass], Tom Rainey [drums]." B+(*) Chris Poland: Resistance (2020, Ropeadope): Guitarist, started out in thrash metal band Megadeth, more recently led fusion bands OHM and OHMphrey, occasional solo albums since 1990. Lead song starts with some vocal then a Rhymefest rap, but nothing else follows in that vein. Finds its groove with a nice, spacey "Maiden Voyage" (Herbie Hancock). B+(*) [cd] Quelle Chris & Chris Keys: Innocent Country 2 (2020, Mello Music Group): Detroit rapper Gavin Tennille, eighth album since 2012, offers a sequel to his 2015 album, also with SF producer Keys. B+(***) Tom Rainey/Ingrid Laubrock: Stir Crazy (2020, self-released): Drum and sax duo, based in Brooklyn, started recording and releasing weekly improv pieces at home during the lockdown, this rolling up the the first four (57:18), with a fifth installment also on their Bandcamp, and most likely more to come. Nice rapport. B+(**) [bc] Rina Sawayama: Sawayama (2020, Dirty Hit): Pop singer, born in Japan, family moved to London when she was five, has done some modeling and acting, first album after the EP Rina. Music aims for arena rock, sometimes with a bit of dissonance, but that doesn't help either. B- Serengeti: Ajai (2020, Cohn): Chicago rapper David Cohn, many albums since 2002, this one produced by Kenny Segal. B+(**) Viktor Skokic Sextett: Basement Music (2020, Jazzland): Swedish bassist, born in Gothenburg, father Croatian, first album as leader, wrote all the music. Group has trumpet, two reed players (bass clarinet), piano, and drums. Fractured postbop, sly, sneaks up on you. B+(***) [cd] Emilio Solla Tango Jazz Orchestra: Puertos: Music From International Waters (2019, Avantango): Pianist, from Argentina, based in New York, debut was a quartet album in 2010, not sure how much more he has. Large ensemble here, mostly NY names although Pablo Aslan (bass) and Julien Labro (bandoneon, accordion) are experts. Leans toward lush. B+(**) STRFKR: Future Past Life (2020, Polyvinyl): Portland, Oregon group, released 2008 eponymous debut as Starfucker, shortened name for fourth album (2013, the only one that charted). Light vocals, a lot of shimmer to the guitar(s), can enjoy riding out a riff. B+(**) The Strokes: The New Abnormal (2020, Cult/RCA): A big deal c. 2000, especially in New York, diminishing returns after their debut, with Julian Casablancas' solo career dead-on-arrival. First album since a 2013 effort I didn't bother with after giving their 2011 album a C-. New one has a great title for the moment, and an opener that reëstablishes their groove cred. On the other hand, the singer can still get on my nerves. B+(*) Dave Stryker With Bob Mintzer and the WDR Big Band: Blue Soul (2019 [2020], Strikezone): Guitarist, long resume, in front of a standard big band with Mintzer arranging and conducting as well as featured on tenor sax. One song each from the leaders, the cover standards including Marvin Gaye, Prince, and "Wichita Lineman." B+(*) [06-05] Thundercat: It Is What It Is (2020, Brainfeeder): Singer-songwriter Stephen Bruner, has dabbled in punk and funk and settled in whatever this is, some obscure but surprisingly popular postmodern strain of pop. B Anne Waldman: Sciamachy (2020, Fast Speaking Music): Poet, 40-some books, recorded an album with John Giorno in 1977, has several more since 2011 with nephew Devin Brahja Waldman producing and playing sax, with spots here for Ambrose Bye (synth), William Parker (n'goni), Laurie Anderson (violin), and others. B+(**) [sc] Lucinda Williams: Good Souls Better Angels (2020, Highway 20): Singer-songwriter from Louisiana, father a poet and literature professor so she grew up with words, although at this point she probably likes her guitars more. After a long string of brilliant albums, I couldn't find her post-2011 albums, so I was initially shocked at how worn her voice had become, and how much fury she expressed. Several plays later she's still fraying my nerves, but this feels pretty damn substantial. A- Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: African Head Charge: Churchical Chant of the Iyabinghi (1991-94 [2020], On-U Sound): Adrain Sherwood's dub group, outtakes from the period's albums (Songs of Praise, In Pursuit of Shashamane Land), 10-13 years after their debut. Beats and echo, as if that's all you need in this world. B+(**) [bc] Old music: Blue Lu Barker: 1946-1949 (1946-49 [2000], Classics): Jazz/blues singer from New Orleans, married to guitarist Danny Barker (whose Sextet is credited with the first eight songs here), recorded for Decca 1938-39 (on Classics 704), for Apollo in 1946 and Capitol 1948-49 -- the later ones are collected here, including her best-known song, "Don't You Feel My Leg." A- [dl] Lil Green: Romance in the Dark: 1940-1946 (1940-46 [1971], RCA): Blues singer, born in Mississippi, moved to Chicago, where she started recording in 1940, and died young (34?) in 1954. Wrote her two most famous songs here ("Romance in the Dark," "Knockin' Myself Out"), most of the others by Joe McCoy or Big Bill Bronzy (who plays on most of them, along with piano and bass; the final "Blowtop Blues" uses a big band). A- Orüj Güvenç & Tümata: Rivers of One (1997, Interworld): Turkish clinical psychologist, musicologist, and Sufi sheik, group possibly an acronym for "Group for the Research and Promotion of Turkish Music." His 1995 Ocean of Remembrance was my sister's favorite album ever, much praised for calming the spirits -- something I'm naturally skeptical of, but can attest to nonetheless. Played ney, oud, and rebab, and sung a little. Three more pieces here, nothing hurried, not a problem. A- The Lee Konitz Quartet: Tranquility (1957, Verve): With Billy Bauer on guitar, Henry Grimes on bass, and Dave Bailey on drums, playing one original each by Konitz and Bauer, "Lennie Bird" by Tristano, and some typically subtle standards. B+(***) Myra Melford/Zeena Parkins/Miya Masaoka: MZM (2014-16 [2017], Infrequent Seams): Piano (some prepared), harp/electronics, 21-string koto. Saw a review of this as a new record and sought it out, but looks to be several years old. Deeply fractured sound earns its obscurity, as well as your attention. B+(*) Sarah Riedel/Carl Svensson/Viktor Skokic: Perfectly Still (2012, Footprint): Swedish jazz singer, wrote two songs here, three from bassist Skokic, one from guitarist Svensson, guest spots for reeds and percussion, other covers (notably "Surabaya Johnny," "All or Nothing at All"), all but one in English. [4/12 tracks on Napster, others on label website] B+(*) Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20 (2016, Highway 20, 2CD): Fourteen leisurely songs, runs 86:13, including long side-closers at 9:05 and 12:44, for a rather low-key, easy-going album. Starts with words from her father, Miller Williams, then from Woody Guthrie, includes two songs invoking heaven (the more insistent one goes "open up the doors of heaven/let me in"), and ends trad. ("Faith & Grace"). B+(***) Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Sunday, April 26, 2020 Weekend RoundupIt's rather staggering how much stuff one can come up with to read in a week. Also how little of what follows directly concerns the 2020 elections, which should be pivotal -- especially, now that it so clear to all concerned that the stakes are critical -- yet seems way above the heads of the party leaders. There are three items below that touch on Biden: one on his PAC's worrisome China-baiting ad (Bessner); one on his ambitious stimulus proposal (Grunwald); one on his VP choices (Hasan). I suppose you might count a fourth (Kilpatrick) on Sanders' campaign and supporters, but I don't mention Biden there, and I'm pretty much done with looking at campaign post-mortems. I also saw, but didn't link to, various articles arguing that Biden needs to veer left to unify the party and/or to develop a more effective campaign (I suppose the Warren-for-VP push might count there). Actually, I don't much care who Biden picks (aside from my getting irritated by how pushy the Stacey Abrams campaign has become), or whether Biden starts giving lip service to left arguments. In some ways, the less of that he does, the less he'll wind up walking back from when/if he wins. And, quite frankly, Warren and Sanders will be more effective in Congress, outside of the Biden administration -- not that I don't wish them luck steering some patronage to people who actually do have the public interest at heart. On the other hand, there are tons of Trump pieces below: many of the Trump is a moron/Trump is insane variety, which is probably the easiest call to make. Some align with the Trump is an autocrat/fascist meme, some going so far at to insist that he is bent on the destruction of democracy. I don't stress pieces in that vein. There's no reason to think Trump wouldn't be amenable to a right-wing putsch, I see him mostly as a front man and a diversion. It's other Republicans -- the serious ones -- who are the real threat, as should be clear from the more obscure articles below, the ones about corruption, about their relentless assault in the environment, about their efforts to skew the electorate in their favor to perpetuate their graft and their imposition of anti-democratic ideology. Personally, I wouldn't mind dispensing with the Trump show, but he does do a remarkable job of illustrating the derangement of his apparatchiki. Some scattered links this week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Tuesday, April 21, 2020 Music Week
Music: Current count 33137 [33094] rated (+43), 226 [216] unrated (+10). Late getting this out, mostly because I got caught up in updating the Metacritic file, or maybe I was just putting off the task of writing about dead musicians. I did find that several lines had gotten dropped from the file, so I've started to patch them up again, but I may have lost information along the way (the most prominent contenders I'm aware of were Grimes and US Girls). Aside from consulting AOTY and Metacritic, I brought most of the jazz sources up to date. When I wrote up a list with 12 musicians last week, I forgot to mention Hal Willner. Some obituaries emphasize his association with Saturday Night Live, but I credit him with a series of brilliantly eclectic tribute albums, the best being his 1985 Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill. Some more recent deaths of note here:
Tidal has an April 20 survey of Remembering the musicians felled by Covid-19, including Grimes, Logan, Konitz, and Willner, others I reported on last week, plus a few I had missed, like avant-disco chanteuse Cristina Monet (went by first name, I have her down for 3 A-list albums 1980-84, so I was a pretty big fan). Two more I'm less familiar with are: Marcelo Peralta and Moraes Moreira. I wound up spending much of the week playing to Lee Konitz records I had missed. The collected grade list is here. The new finds didn't match the previous peaks, but some are quite remarkable, and some high B+ records below could grow on me if given the chance -- one thing you can count on with Konitz is that he's thinking ahead of you. Aside from the records reviewed below, his list includes the following (all A- except as noted):
Konitz continued producing excellent records well into his 80s, even past his 90th birthday: the last four I have under his name I have at B+(***), including last year's Nonet album Old Songs New (as good as any of his 1970s Nonets). Another B+(***) not on the grade list is Dan Tepfer's Duos With Lee (2008). Another is Grace Kelly's GraceFulLee (2007). Yet another is Ethan Iverson's Costumers Are Mandatory (2013). Looks like Napster has another 75-80 Konitz albums I haven't heard, but they are getting hard to place, and I could use a break. In fact, I'm thinking I'll slow down this week, and do some house cleaning. I started pitching old music magazines, which no one seems to have any interest in. I thought about donating CDs to a library somewhere, but dropped the ball on that. Laura's nagging me about books, too. I don't see that as much of a problem, but in general it would be good to lighten the load and open up some space. Maybe clear my head a bit, then figure out what to really work on next. I'm at wit's end now. New records reviewed this week: Omer Avital Qantar: New York Experience (2019 [2020], Jazz & People): Israeli bassist, long based in New York, group named for his 2016 album, with two tenor saxophonists (Asaf Yuria and Alexander Levin), piano (Eden Ladin), and drums. Big, sweeping sound, strikes me as overly splashy but has its moments. B+(*) The Chats: High Risk Behaviour (2020, Bargain Bin): Australian punk group, founded 2016, bassist Eamon Sandwith sings, closest they've come to an album (14 songs, 28:08). Got form, clear too, so you can understand when they get muddled. B+(*) Chris Dingman: Embrace (2020, Inner Arts Initiative): Vibraphone player, third album, quite a few side credits (including Steve Lehman). Trio with Linda May Han Oh (bass) and Tim Keiper (drums). B+(*) [bc] Jimmy Greene: While Looking Up (2020, Mack Avenue): Saxophonist, from and based in Connecticut (teaches at Wesleyan), was a bit younger than the "tough young tenors" lionized in the 1990s but fits in nicely -- first album was a SteepleChase Jam Session with Mark Turner and Don Braden. Got unwanted fame when his daughter was killed in the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012, and he responded with a well-received album Beautiful Life -- I much preferred his 2017 album, Flowers: Beautiful Life Volume 2. Plays soprano on three cuts here, tenor on seven, flute, clarinet, and bass clarinet. Backed by Aaron Goldberg (piano), Lage Lund (guitar), Reuben Rogers (bass), Kendrick Scott (drums), with marimba/vibes on two tracks (Stefon Harris). The soprano may be closer to heaven, but the tenor is more soulful, which is what matters here. B+(***) Jeff Hamilton Trio: Catch Me If You Can (2019 [2020], Capri): Drummer, co-leader of the Clayton-Hamilton big band, half-dozen albums as a leader, most (or all?) piano trios like this one. You have to open the gatefold to find out who he's playing with: Tamir Hendelman and Jon Hamar. Eight standards, two from Hamar. B+(*) [07-17] Hailu Mergia: Yene Mircha (2020, Awesome Tapes From Africa): Ethiopian keyboard player, part of the Walias Band in the 1970s, toured the US in 1981 and stayed, spending many years driving a DC taxi cab. Rebooted his career after this label released some of his old tapes. Trio with bass guitar and drums, playing candy-colored groove pieces. B+(**) Ras Michael: Live by the Spirit (2020, Hen House Studios): Michael George Henry, from Jamaica, Rastafarian, learned nyabinghi drumming, alled his 1970s-80s band Sons of Negus. He's always projected a remarkable calmness, and at 76 has slowed down even more -- most obvious on his remake of a classic, "By the Rivers of Babylon." B+(**) Mono: Before the Past: Live From Electrical Audio (2019, Temporary Residence): Instrumental rock group from Japan, founded 1999, three pieces here, LP-length (29:27) but not in any hurry, slowly building, gently fading away. B+(*) [bc] Farnell Newton: Rippin' & Rumblin' (2020, Posi-Tone): Trumpet player, originally from Miami, moved on through Philadelphia and Denver to Portland, where he got his degree. Fourth album since 2011. Earns its title, with Brandon Wright even hotter at tenor sax, Brian Charette on organ, and Rudy Royston on drums. B+(**) Porridge Radio: Every Bad (2020, Secretly Canadian): British indie band, singer-songwriter-guitarist Dana Margolin, fifth album since 2015 (although this is the first on a label anyone might notice). Can get a bit dense, but "Long" is a song where they make that work. B+(*) Samo Salamon/Igor Matkovic/Kristijan Krajncan: Common Flow (2019 [2020], Sazas): Slovenian guitarist, wrote all the songs here, is joined by trumpet and drums. Keeps a moderate pace going, letting the trumpet shine, clear and lucid. A- [cd] Samo Salamon/Igor Matkovic/Kristijan Krajncan: Rare Ebb (2019 [2020], Sazas): Same group, recorded same day, saving the more atmospheric pieces. B+(**) [cd] Diane Schuur: Running on Faith (2020, Jazzheads): Standards singer, 25 or so albums since 1982, starts with two Percy Mayfield songs, mostly goes with rock-era songs (Carole King, Paul Simon, "Let It Be"), the lesser knowns more striking, and stronger as it ends with "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." With Ernie Watts on tenor sax, as co-producer. B+(***) [05-08] Yves Tumor: Heaven to a Tortured Mind (2020, Warp): Sean Bowie, born in Miami, raised in Knoxville, now based in Turin, Italy. Fourth album. I have him filed under electronica, but he's far outgrown that niche, projecting like an arena rock star, like Bowie in the 1970s but, fitting our changing times, at once grander and more ephemeral. That, at least, is my impression on one hearing. If I were serious about covering pop/rock trends these days, I'd have to give him many more. B+(**) Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Noah Howard: Live in Europe Vol. 1 (1975 [2020], Sconsolato): Alto saxophonist, originally from New Orleans, released two fiery avant records on ESP-Disk in 1966, moved to Europe, died in France in 2010. Quintet with Takashi Kako on piano, Kent Carter on bass, and two drummers, playing less avant fare, like "Lift Every Voice and Sing" and a 12:04 take of Coltrane's "Olé." B+(**) [bc] Old music: Miles Davis/Stan Getz/Gerry Mulligan/Lee Konitz/Sonny Rollins/Zoot Sims: Conception (1949-51 [1956], Prestige): Various artists compilation, starts with a 6-song 10-inch Lee Konitz LP (New Sounds), followed by two-sided singles from Davis, Getz, and Mulligan, with Davis appearing on four of the Konitz sides (along with Sal Mosca, Billy Bauer, Arnold Fishkin, and Max Roach; the other two are duets with the guitarist), with Rollins on the Davis tracks, and Sims on one of the Mulligan tracks (along with JJ Johnson and Kai Winding, so go figure). The Konitz tracks are intriguingly off kilter, the others more conventionally boppish/cool. B+(**) Bill Evans Trio With Lee Konitz & Warne Marsh: Crosscurrents (1977 [1992], Fantasy/OJC): With Eddie Gomez on bass and Eliot Zigmund on drums plus the two saxophonists, on six standards (the CD reissue expanded with three alternate takes). B+(***) Jasper Høiby: Fellow Creatures (2016, Edition): UK-based Danish bassist, cites Naomi Klein for title. Quintet with Mark Lockheart (sax), Laura Jurd (trumpet), piano, and drums. Slippery postbop with intriguing horn figures. B+(***) [bc] Illinois Jacquet Quartet: Live at Schaffhausen, Switzerland March 18, 1978 (1978 [2015], Storyville): Texas tenor, always a jazz swinger but back in the 1940s spawned a wave of honking saxes that broke into r&b jukeboxes. Quartet with Hank Jones (piano), George Duvivier (bass), and J.C. Heard (drums), with Jacquet singing several songs. Runs 77 minutes, with breaks for piano and bass solos, and some patter. B+(***) [bc] Lee Konitz: At Storyville (1954 [1988], Black Lion): Alto saxophonist, early in a career that only ended at 92 this year, a disciple of Lennie Tristano and one of the inventors of cool jazz. Live shot from Storyville Club in Boston, a quartet with Ronnie Ball (piano), Percy Heath (bass), and Alan Levitt (drums). Some stock patter, but Ball impresses, and Konitz is light as a feather. A- Lee Konitz: Konitz (1954 [1989], Black Lion): In the label's Storyville series, but actually a studio session in New York, with Ronnie Ball (piano) plus bass and drums. Padded out with alternate takes -- the last six first appearing on CD. B+(**) Lee Konitz: Body and Soul (1954 [2003], Black Lion): Same group as on Konitz, more New York City sessions, started as a 10-inch LP, eventually padded to 48:13 with alternate takes, including three of "Bop Goes the Leesel," where the play on the title matches the twists in the music, and four equally twisted takes on "Nursery Rhyme." B+(***) Lee Konitz: In Harvard Square (1954-55 [1996], Black Lion): More from Storyville in Boston, seven short (max 4:01) tracks with the quartet from Konitz, three longer live ones (22:37) with the At Storyville quartet. B+(**) Lee Konitz: Inside Hi-Fi (1956, Atlantic): Quartet, one side with Billy Bauer (guitar) ad Arnold Fishkind (bass), the other with Sal Mosca (piano) and Peter Ind (bass), both with Dick Scott on drums. B+(***) Lee Konitz: The Real Lee Konitz (1957, Atlantic): Quartet with Billy Bauer on guitar, plus bass (Peter Ind) and drums (Dick Scott), with trumpet added for two songs. Three originals, the rest covers including "You Go to My Head," "My Melancholy Baby," "Sweet and Lovely," and "Easy Livin'." A- Lee Konitz: The Real Lee Konitz (1957, Atlantic): Quartet with Billy Bauer on guitar, plus bass (Peter Ind) and drums (Dick Scott), with trumpet added for two songs. Three originals, the rest covers including "You Go to My Head," "My Melancholy Baby," "Sweet and Lovely," and "Easy Livin'." A- Lee Konitz: Very Cool (1957, Verve): With Don Ferrara on trumpet, who also wrote two (of six) songs (vs. one for Konitz), and Sal Mosca on piano. Ends with an upbeat but not especially interesting "Billie's Bounce." B+(*) Lee Konitz: An Image: Lee Konitz With Strings (1958, Verve): Arrangements and orchestra conducted by William Russo, with the alto saxophonist featured throughout. Working with strings seems to have been on every saxophonist's bucket list. Strings here are slightly above average, but Konitz is less consistent in topping them. B Lee Konitz: You and Lee (1959 [1960], Verve): Large ensemble, arranged by Jimmy Giuffre, with 5-6 brass but Konitz's alto sax is the only reed, Bill Evans (piano) plays on half, Jim Hall (guitar) on the other, plus bass (Sonny Dallas) and drums (Roy Haynes). B Lee Konitz Quintet: Peacemeal (1969 [1970], Milestone): Label founder Dick Katz produces, plays keyboards, contributed three songs -- matching Konitz himself and Bela Bartok, with "Lester Leaps In" and "Body and Soul" the covers. With Marshall Brown (valve trombone), Eddie Gomez, and Jack DeJohnette. I don't get much of anything from Bartok, but the covers and "Subconscious-Lee," sure. B+(*) Lee Konitz: Spirits (1971 [1972], Milestone): Discogs gets the credits backwards here: they read the (*) cuts as adding Sal Mosca (piano), but in fact they are the ones that were recorded in a second sessions, adding bass and drums. The three other tracks are alto sax/piano duos, all Lennie Tristano pieces. Tristano dominates the album, with five of his pieces, one by Warne Marsh, plus three by Konitz. The duos are sharp line drawings, but only fleshed out with the full band. B+(***) Lee Konitz: Lone-Lee (1974 [1987], SteepleChase): Solo alto sax, two songs, "The Song Is You" and "Cherokee," the former 19:25 on the 1976 LP but stretched to 38:41 for the CD, the latter 17:47. B+(**) Lee Konitz: Lee Konitz Nonet (1977, Chiaroscuro): Inconsistent packaging, the front cover centering a smaller "Nonet" under the artist name, like that alone is the title, but the back cover offers an eponymous The Lee Konitz Nonet. This is the second of four 1976-79 Nonet albums: two trumpets, two trombones, two saxes, piano-bass-drums. The large group swallows him while building on group effort. B+(***) Lee Konitz: Tenorlee (1977 [1978], Candid): Plays tenor sax for a change, backed by Jimmy Rowles (piano) and Michael Moore (bass) -- the title song a short Konitz original, the rest standards. Rowles excels, but Konitz could just as well be someone else. B+(*) Lee Konitz Nonet: Yes, Yes, Nonet (1979 [1986], SteepleChase): Trombonist Jimmy Knepper is the workhorse here, contributing four (of seven) songs. B+(**) Lee Konitz Quartet: New York Album (1987 [1988], Soul Note): Napster misfiles this under pianist Harold Danko -- for no reason I can see, but most of their albums wind up in the wrong bins. Also with Marc Johnson (bass) and Adam Nussbaum (drums). B+(***) Lee Konitz: Zounds (1990 [1992], Soul Note): Quartet with Kenny Werner (piano/synth), Ron McClure (bass), and Bill Stewart (drums). Seems typically idiosyncratic, the sweet spots coming toward the end when they're least concerned with breaking ground ("Taking a Chance on Love," "Piece for My Dad," "Soft Lee"). B+(**) Lee Konitz Trio: Free With Lee (1993, Philology): Alto sax with two guitarists (Augusto Mancinelli and Donovan Mixon), playing standards (most from jazz figures like Brubeck, Davis, Ellington, Evans, and Shorter), plus the joint improv title track (two takes). B+(**) Lee Konitz/Renato Sellani: Speakin' Lowly (1993 [1994], Philology): Duets, alto sax and piano, all standards, mostly ballads, starting with "Laura" and "Speak Low," ending with "My Funny Valentine" and "Yesterdays." Nicely paced, quite lovely. A- Lee Konitz: It's You (1996, SteepleChase): Trio with Ron McClure (bass) and Billy Hart (drums), four Konitz originals, one from McClure, "Angel Eyes" the only cover. B+(***) Lee Konitz: Dearly Beloved (1996 [1997], SteepleChase): Quartet, with Harold Danko (piano), Jay Anderson (bass), and Billy Drummond (drums) -- probably his most standard group for the decade, playing six standards, all stretched out between 7:45 and 14:24. A- Lee Konitz: Pride (1999 [2000], SteepleChase): Quartet, with George Colligan (piano/organ), Doug Weiss (bass), and Darren Beckett (drums). Two Jobim songs, oblique originals, sentimental standards. B+(***) Lee Konitz: Parallels (2001, Chesky): Quintet, with Mark Turner (tenor sax), Peter Bernstein (guitar), bass and drums. B+(**) Giuseppi Logan: More (1965 [1966], ESP-Disk): Alto saxophonist, from Philadelphia, recorded two avant-jazz albums for ESP-Disk in 1964-65, nothing much for a long time, then surfaced for a couple more in the 2010's. This is his second, also playing flute and bass clarinet, with Don Pullen on piano, Milford Graves on drums, and either Eddie Gomez or Reggie Johnson on bass. Pullen is pretty young here (21), but turns some heads. B+(***) Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Sunday, April 19, 2020 Weekend RoundupCovid-19 continues to dominate the news, as it will for months (or maybe years) to come. You can subdivide the pandemic into two essential topics: public health issues, and economic consequences of fighting the pandemic by shutting down a big part of the economy. Unemployment in the US has surged to about 20%, and despite wild talk about reopening businesses, it looks like those numbers have yet to peak -- not least because infections and deaths continue to rise. The US has more deaths than any other country in the world, and the number of deaths has blown past previous markers like the number killed on 9/11 and the larger number of Americans sacrificed in the post-9/11 Bush Wars (sure, Obama and Trump have extended them, but the initial decision rests clearly with GW and his "Vulcans"). A third dimension has started to appear: the struggle for control of the political narrative around the pandemic. The Democratic Party primary campaign has ended with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren endorsing Joe Biden, who won Wisconsin 62.93% to 31.78% over Sanders, and Wyoming 72.18% to 27.82% -- both states that had favored Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016. Still, Biden has been all but invisible during the crisis, so virtually all of the political maneuvering has been by Republicans: Trump denies any responsibility for mishandling the crisis, and vows to re-open the economy real soon now; supporting him are the "protesters" who have turned out for various photo-ops demanding an end to state lockdowns. (The Michigan protest has been clearly identified as funded by the De Vos family, and I expect the others will be linked to other billionaire donors. The placards are blatantly tied to Trump, some so extreme you have to doubt it's been officially sanctioned -- although with Trump it could be.) Some Democrats would like to blame Trump for the whole crisis -- at least one article below refers to the "Trump plague," and many point out various failures to recognize the pandemic early and act decisively to stop or at least mitigate it. I don't see much point in singling Trump out -- I doubt any president would have grasped what was happening much faster or moved much more decisively, as most of the problems I've seen look to me like they have much more systemic roots. Of course, it is fair to note that Trump and his minions have made the system more fragile and inept than it already was. The desire to wring every ounce of profit out of the economy has left us with fragile supply chains and woefully inadequate public support. (I'm surprised not that the "national stockpile" is inadequate but that such a thing exists at all.) Then there's the fact that we don't have universal health care, and that private insurance is tied to employment. And there's a dozen other things, most tied back to a system designed not to do what people need but to make money off those needs, dumping waste as it goes. What you're welcome to blame Trump for is having a blathering, careless idiot at the helm of the federal government. If you weren't embarrassed by that before, you certainly should be now. He may not be to blame for the economy collapsing, but he's petty enough to want credit for attaching his name to relief checks. He may not be to blame for thousands of people dying, but he still wants credit and praise for . . . well, beats me, but you better be nice to him. I'm not sure when or why the media decided we need to hear from the president every time a news story breaks, but Trump is one president who never has anything enlightening or comforting to say. Another thing: Laura suggests you watch Vic DiBitetto, the man with a plan. Also: I've cut way back on links to New York Intelligencer after running into a paywall. I saw my first warning a few weeks back, and decided at that point to stop clicking on articles by Jonathan Chait and Ed Kilgore, as I usually wound up arguing with them anyway. Missing Eric Levitz and Sarah Jones, but still seems pricey for my taste. I cut way back on The Atlantic a few months ago, and Foreign Policy a year or two back (no link handy; as I recall, even more expensive for even less value). At this point, I don't know what I would do if Vox starts to tighten the screws: they're my first go-to each week, and far and away my most valuable source. I should also note that while I don't spend for web access, my wife subscribes to a bunch of things, and I sometimes piggyback on her accounts. She's the true news junkie in the family. Without her, I doubt I'd bother finding any of this. Some scattered links this week:
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