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An occasional blog about populist politics and popular music, not necessarily at the same time. LinksLocal Links Social Media My Other Websites Music Politics Others Networking Music DatabaseArtist Search: Website SearchGoogle: Recent Reading
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Blog Entries [460 - 469]Monday, March 22, 2021 Music Week
Music: Current count 35113 [35082] rated (+31), 218 [223] unrated (-5). More old music than new, again. Probably too early to call that a trend, but the relative ease of processing familiar artists was the main thing that pushed the rated count above 30 this week. Old jazz this week. Started with a friendly link to Drums Parade, which might have rated higher had I given it more time, which would have happened if I had an actual CD to look at while it played. Some good stuff there, especially toward the end. That led to Sid Catlett and Baby Dodds. I might note that The Chronological Cozy Cole 1944 is even better than the Catlett. And the reminder that most of the trad jazz albums on American Music are on Napster pointed me to New Orleans clarinetist George Lewis. I also thought I'd check out Joe Chambers' back catalog after not liking his new album, and didn't much care for the old ones either. Oh, well. By the way, I counted up Chambers' Blue Note albums for the review below, but held back from noting my guess of how many A-list albums he was on. It think that guess was 10-12, but when I checked, famous albums by Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Sam Rivers, Wayne Shorter, and McCoy Tyner fell short. Here's the actual list (all A-):
Since I'm no longer tracking new releases, I'm having some trouble finding new things I want to listen to. Some records below come from Phil Overeem, who seems to be struggling a bit himself. I doubt I'll ever manage the 7-CD Julius Hemphill box, or for that matter William Parker's 10-CD Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World. (I have a promo sampler of the latter, and haven't bothered to play it yet.) More likely I will check out Peter Stampfel's 20th Century in 100 Songs, as it seems to be complete on Bandcamp (minus the "88 pages of liner notes," which is likely to make a difference). Laura's been bugging me to stream movies, especially ones that got nominated for awards. I haven't been enjoying them much, but as best I can recall, here's a graded list, consulting the Wikipedia list (also for 2021), plus a few titles I picked up from IndieWire's "50 Best Movies":
The Small Axe movies might deserve higher ratings, but they're very different, and I hedged because we didn't bother with the other three. Collectively, they're more like a limited series, which would move them into another, and more competitive, set. We haven't been to the movie theater since Bill Warren sold out his local chain (roughly a year before Covid-19 shut it down), in large part because my patience for 2-hour movies has worn thin. We watch a fair number of TV series, and I'm much happier with their pacing, character development, and story telling. I don't have any opinions on actors, except that Amanda Seyfried was good in Mank, and Gary Oldman wasn't. Note no less than three appearances for America's nemesis, J Herbert Hoover, and they were all merciless. The music films bothered me in lots of ways, but rarely for their music -- one minor exception was how Audra Day mastered Billie Holiday's tics but missed the seamless phrasing that made them seem natural. I also didn't like the treatment of Lester Young, who has a story worth exploring on its own (although hopefully not by anyone so ham-fisted). (By the way, neither point figures in Nitish Pahwa's What's fact and what's fiction in The United States vs. Billie Holiday, but if you watch the film, you'll be wondering.) I feel a bit weird about not writing Weekend Roundup any more, as my Sundays have become days of rest instead of intense pressure in such a sisyphean task. Every now and then I think of writing a standalone piece, but only pulled it off once so far. One idea that appears to have rotted on the shelf was a piece torching Keith C Burris' Two cults column. I'm not sure which is worse: the notion that because the right-wing has become a cult, anything on the left must be equally cultish; or that George Will and Barry Goldwater somehow constitute the vital center of American political thought. On the other hand, I did finally knuckle down and write a couple pages for my memoir. Not much, but a step toward restarting after February's freeze up. Also, I got my second Covid-19 vaccination last week. Still have a couple weeks until Laura gets her second. After which I hope to cook something for some long-neglected friends. I won't claim that's a return to normal, but seems like a step in the right direction. New records reviewed this week: Joe Chambers: Samba De Marcatu (2020 [2021], Blue Note): Drummer, I associate him with Blue Note albums of the late 1970s (I count 24 from 1964-69, including 9 with Bobby Hutcherson), has more than a dozen albums under his own name since 1974. By the way, he picked up vibraphone, which he overdubs here, along with various percussion instruments. One thing I don't associate him with is Brazilian (or Latin) music. Even here, it only enters as occasional whiffs (especially with the two guest vocals). B Charley Crockett: 10 for Slim: Charley Crockett Sings James Hand (2021, Son of Davy): Hand was a country singer-songwriter, died last year at 67. I sampled two of his albums, rated both high B+. Crockett is much younger, but survived his own health scare in 2019, so that may have factored in here. Or maybe he was just looking for better songs. B+(**) Rebecca Dumaine and the Dave Miller Trio: Someday, Someday (2020 [2021], Summit): Standards singer, half-dozen albums, swapped billing order with Miller's piano trio on number four. Bright voice, plenty of poise, can't say I enjoyed this particular batch of songs, but they were catchy and nicely turned out. B+(*) [cd] Michael and Peter Formanek: Dyads (2019 [2021], Out of Your Head): Famous bassist and his unknown son, playing tenor sax and clarinet, probably his first album. Something more than a nice duo album, the bass solos could stand on their own, but the extra color and shading extends interest, in this case all the way to 72:36. A- [cd] George Haslam/Joăo Madeira/Padro Catello Lopes/Mario Rua: Ajuda (2019 [2020], Slam): Tárogató, bass, percussion, drums; the title the name of the studio in Lisbon where this was recorded. Haslam, also notable as a baritone saxophonist, has a long career in the British avant-garde, thirty-some albums since 1989 (few I've heard, nearly all on this label, which Haslam owns but which has hosted dozens of other musicians). B+(***) [cd] Marcus Joseph: Beyond the Dome (2021, Jazz Re:freshed): British alto saxophonist/spoken word artist, has a previous EP. Opener is a pretty irresistible groove piece, at least once the tuba jumps in. The spoken word is neither here nor there, but I would have cut the album one track short, omitting singer Randolph Matthews' feature. B [bc] Reza Khan: Imaginary Road (2020 [2021], Painted Music): Guitarist, from Bangladesh but based in New York, sixth album, silky grooves, often augmented by other slick guitarists (Sergio Pereira, Miles Gilderdale). B- [cd] [03-26] Joăo Madeira/Hernâni Faustino: dB Duet (2020 [2021], FMR): Double bass duo, Portuguese, Faustino best known for RED Trio, Madeira has a much shorter discography starting in 2015. Sonic range is limited (as expected), but much of interest going on. B+(***) [cd] Roberto Magris & Eric Hochberg: Shuffling Ivories (2019 [2021], JMood): Italian pianist, couple dozen records since 1990, duo here with the American bassist, recorded in Chicago. Fluid, light touch, very nice. B+(**) Logan Richardson: Afrofuturism (2020, WAX Industry): Alto saxophonist, impressive FSNT debut in 2006, has been erratic since then. B [bc] Schapiro 17: Human Qualities (2020 [2021], Summit): Big band, second album, leader Jon Schapiro composed 7 (of 8) pieces, the sole cover from Ewan MacColl, but doesn't play. Roberta Piket (piano), Eddie Allen (trumpet), Deborah Weisz (trombone), and Sebastien Noelle (guitar) are among the better known musicians. Solid group. B+(**) [cd] Zoe Scott: Shades of Love (2020, Zoe Scott Music): Singer, originally from London, left for Rome, then Los Angeles, acted, sang in rock bands. Has a couple albums, this one leaning toward bossa nova, mostly Jobim and Bacharach, but also slips in Chrissie Hynde, Stevie Wonder, and Amy Winehouse ("I'm No Good). B+(*) [cd] Archie Shepp & Jason Moran: Let My People Go (2017-18 [2021], Archieball): Tenor sax and piano duo, recorded at two European festivals (Paris and Mannheim). I've lost track of the pianist since he retreated to his own label and stopped promotion, but he is secondary here anyway. High point is Shepp inching his way through gorgeous ballads (like "Lush Life"). Low point is probably his singing, but only when the spirit moves him. B+(***) [bc] Ruth Weiss: We Are Sparks in the Universe to Our Own Fire (2018 [2021], Edgetone): Beat poet, born 1928 in Berlin, died 2020. She grew up in Vienna, managed to keep one step ahead of the Nazis, moving to Amsterdam in 1938, then to America, eventually San Francisco. She has some twenty books of poetry since 1958, and several jazz albums. Fairly minimal backing, with synth, bass, wooden log, and tasty squibbles of Rent Romus sax and flute -- puts this record over the top. By the way, Romus credits George Russell with introducing him to Weiss (in 2013). A- Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band: Hot Night in Roslyn: 1976 Radio Broadcast Recording (1976 [2021], Hobo): She had a couple solo albums out, and most recently co-credit on Gram Parsons' posthumous Grievous Angel. Parsons provides most of the song list here, with a nod to Patsy Cline ("Sweet Dreams"), Merle Haggard ("The Bottle Let Me Down"), Chuck Berry ("C'est La Vie"), Buck Owens ("Together Again"), Hank Williams ("Jambalaya"), and others nearly as obvious. This surfaced as a bootleg in 2014, but looks to be official now. B+(***) Juju: Live at 131 Prince Street (1973 [2021], Strut): Saxophonist Plunky Nkabinde and what I take to be a mostly African group -- later known as Oneness of Juju -- including Babatunde on congas and Lon Moshe on vibraphone. The address was Ornette Coleman's gallery, and the music fits the bill. Seven long pieces (114:44), Pharoah Sanders' "Thembi" a highlight, but they're all rearkable. A- [bc] Byard Lancaster: My Pure Joy (1992 [2021], Strut): Saxophonist (1942-2012), should be better known for his 1970s work, which I think of as black power/avant-garde fusion -- an attempt to make the latter more accessible by making it more political. Starts out with flute here, backed by "Drummers From Ibadan." B+(***) [bc] Old music: Sid Catlett: The Chronological Sid Catlett 1944-1946 (1944-46 [1997], Classics): One of the great swing drummers (d. 1951 at 41), mostly leading his own groups including a quartet with Ben Webster, plus a couple tracks each led by Edmund Hall and Al Casey. Nearly everything directly under Big Sid's name, but he played with everyone from Armstrong and Henderson through Condon and Goodman and Hawkins and Young and on to Byas and Gillespie. I don't have full credits here, but Art Tatum and Barney Bigard are on the jam session opener, and Illinois Jacquet comes along later. Closes with two blues vocals and two boogie tracks. A- Joe Chambers: The Almoravid (1971-73 [1974], Muse): Drummer, first album as leader, four originals, covers of Joe Zawinul and Andrew Hill, titles rooted in Muslim world. Recorded in three sessions, only one with horns -- Woody Shaw (trumpet) and Harold Vick (flute/tenor sax). B Joe Chambers: Phantom of the City (1991 [1992], Candid): A live set at Birdland, Bob Berg (tenor sax) getting second tier type, smaller for Philip Harper (trumpet), George Cables (piano), and Santi Debriano (bass). Postbop, seven pieces stretched out, some good spots for Berg. B+(*) Joe Chambers: Mirrors (1998 [1999], Blue Note): Plays vibes as well as drums in his return to Blue Note. Some quintet tracks with Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Vincent Herring (saxes), Mulgrew Miller (piano), and Ira Coleman (bass), or subsets all the way down to solo. B+(*) Baby Dodds: Baby Dodds (1944-45 [1993], American Music): New Orleans drummer (1898-1959), brother of clarinetist Johnny Dodds, played from 1918 with Sonny Celestin, Fate Marable, and King Oliver, following Louis Armstrong through his Hot Five and Hot Seven groups. Mostly talking and drum solos -- special interest, but gives you an idea how much thought goes into his craft -- with a few group cuts interspersed. B+(*) Baby Dodds: Jazz A' La Creole (1946-47 [2000], GHB): Several sessions (some only dated "Mid 1940s"), but the 1946 trio included Albert Nicholas (clarinet) and Don Ewell (piano), and the 1947 quintet had Nicholas and James P. Johnson (piano), plus an uncredited singer (Dodds?). B+(***) [yt] Drums Parade: From New Orleans to Swing 1937/1945 (1937-45 [1997], Jazz Archives): French label used by EPM Musique for 160+ CD compilations vintage jazz released 1988-2004. I bought at least a dozen back in the day, so when I saw the link, I figured this would be fun. For what it's worth, the New Orleans cuts are few and late: two each for Baby Dodds and Zutty Singleton, all 1940 or later. The only pre-1939 cuts are two with Chick Webb. Also skips luminaries like Gene Krupa, but gives a nod to Lionel Hampton, Sid Catlett, Cozy Cole, and Jo Jones, along with some less famous names. High point: the three-track Cozy Cole sequence (two with Coleman Hawkins). Also an especially hot ending. B+(***) [yt] George Lewis: George Lewis and His New Orleans Stompers: Vol. 1 (1943 [1994], American Music): New Orleans clarinet player (1900-68), played in various bands in the 1920s but didn't record as a leader until these sessions. In the 1950s he became the most famous of New Orleans revivalists, perhaps because he got in early and never wavered. B+(***) George Lewis: George Lewis and His New Orleans Stompers: Vol. 2 (1943 [1994], American Music): Eleven pieces, but four are alternate takes, all exciting. B+(***) George Lewis: At Manny's Tavern 1949 (1949 [1994], American Music): Credits include cornet, two trumpets, and a second clarinet player (Bill Shea), with Lewis also switching to alto sax. B+(***) George Lewis: Hello Central . . . Give Me Doctor Jazz (1953 [2001], Delmark): Radio shot from San Francisco, the clarinetist leading a septet with trumpet (Kid Howard), trombone (Jim Robinson), piano (Alton Purnell), banjo, bass, and drums. B+(**) George Lewis: The Beverly Caverns Sessions, Vol. 2 (1953 [1996], Good Time Jazz): I've long considered the previous volume, from the same Hollywood club, to be Lewis' pinnacle, but these are hardly sloppy seconds. Same septet, classic tunes, as buoyant as ever. Kid Howard and Joe Watkins each get a vocal. A- George Lewis With George Guesnon's New Orleans Band: Endless the Trek, Endless the Search (1962 [1997], American Music): New Orleans trad jazz, shows its roots in old marching bands without getting mired. With Kid Thomas (trumpet), Jim Robinson (trombone), banjo (Guesnon), bass, and drums. A- George Lewis: At Castle Farm 1964 (1964 [2001], American Music): Relatively late, showing signs of slowing down. Ends with the classics. B+(**) Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, March 15, 2021 Music Week
Music: Current count 35082 [35047] rated (+35), 223 [228] unrated (-5). Music Week is mostly a function of time, so I should be able to knock these out every Monday, as long as I spend any time listening to new or previously unrated music. That habit persists, although I'm not working nearly as hard at searching out new records. Indeed, I only rarely bother to add things to the tracking file, and I'm not following metacritic ratings at all. In theory, this gives me more time to work on other projects, but that hasn't worked out very well so far. I did finally write a possible first page for the memoir, but even after turning the lines over in my mind for weeks, I have no feel for how good or bad it is. Seems like I don't have much feel for anything these days. Life's a chore, making it all the harder to get anything done. Took me 30 minutes tonight just to change a light bulb. (Curses on whoever invented G10 sockets! Next time a bulb burns out, I'm replacing the fixture -- and the dimmer, because it won't work with new fixtures.) Still have to do laundry tonight, and the dryer door latch is broken, so that'll be a lot more work than it should be. (Something else I need to fix, but have you ever tried ordering replacement parts?) And those are just among the little things. Probably my fault that I don't have anything new I really recommend. (In Layers is probably the best of this week's jazz albums.) But the week hasn't been a complete waste. Still scrounging the bottom of the reggae barrel, and finding a few notable albums. New records reviewed this week: Baker's Brew: New Works (2020 [2021], Psychosomatic, 2CD): Los Angeles experimental jazz group led by drummer Maury Baker, whose side credits date back to Janis Joplin and "played with" list includes Scott LaFaro (d. 1961), as well as the band Ars Nova. Second album under this name. First disc is "New Jazz Works"; second "New Electronic Works." I rather prefer the latter, although it doesn't sound very electronic. Maybe because the former doesn't sound very jazzy. B+(*) [cd] Dan Blake: Da Fé (2019 [2021], Sunnyside): Saxophonist (soprano/tenor), half-dozen albums since 2011, postbop quintet with two keyboard players (Carmen Staaf and Leo Genovese), bass, and drums. Runs impressively fast and loose, but not the most appealing sound. B+(**) Jakob Bro/Arve Henriksen/Jorge Rossy: Uma Elmo (2020 [2021], ECM): Norwegian guitarist, albums since 2003, fifth on ECM, trio with trumpet and drums. Atmospheric, not much beyond the trumpet. B Ian Charleton Big Band: A Fresh Perspective (2020 [2021], none): Conventional 17-piece big band, the leader composed four songs, arranged the rest, but isn't credited as playing (seems to have originally been a saxophonist). Second album. Nothing new, but well done. Emily Charleton joins for two vocals -- I especially liked her "Everything I've Got." B+(***) [cd] [03-16] Pat Donaher: Occasionally (2020 [2021], none): Alto saxophonist, also a yogi, based in Boston, Bob Brookmeyer protégé, fourth album, lush and vibrant postbop sextet with Jason Palmer (trumpet), Carmen Staaf (piano), guitar, bass, and drums. B+(**) [cd] [04-09] Satoko Fujii: Hazuki: Piano Solo (2020 [2021], Libra): Japanese avant-pianist, tons of records since 1995, cut this solo at home in Kobe during lockdown. No idea how many solo albums she has -- certainly fewer than Keith Jarrett or Cecil Taylor, but I'm not sure about anyone else. By her standards, we'll call this "contemplative." B+(***) [cd] [03-19] In Layers: Pliable (2018 [2020], FMR): Free jazz quartet: Luis Vicente (trumpet), Marcelo Dos Reis (guitar), Kristján Martinsson (piano), Onno Govaert (drums). Nice balance, Vicente continues to impress. B+(***) [cd] Lukas Ligeti: That Which Has Remaindd . . . That Which Will Emerge . . . (2015 [2021], Col Legno): Percussionist, also electronics, son of famed Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti, studied in Vienna and South Africa, teaches in Los Angeles, widely scattered projects since 1991. This one was the result of a residency at the POLIN Museum in Warsaw, a meditation on the Holocaust. I can't much follow the singer (Barbara Kinga Majewska), so I'm missing that whole dimension. B+(**) [cd] [03-26] Hafez Modirzadeh: Facets (2018-19 [2021], Pi): No Wikipedia entry -- seems like a pretty big omission. Born in North Carolina (1962), Iranian descent (if memory serves), Professor of Creative/World Music at San Francisco State, has developed the idea of "chromodal discourse," which is the basis of this and other works. Plays tenor sax, in duets with three pianists (Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, and Craig Taborn). B+(***) [cd] Ben Monder/Tony Malaby/Tom Rainey: Live at the 55 Bar (2020 [2021], Sunnyside): Guitar-sax-drums trio, recorded last March just before lockdown, a piece called "Suite 3320" (3 parts, 61:35). I've never thought of Monder as a free player, but evidently he's had an association with Malaby for some time, playing with various drummers. Good luck this particular night. B+(***) Gary Negbaur: You've Got to Be Carefully Taught (2020 [2021], BluJazz): Pianist-singer, wrote 3 (of 10) songs, covers include the Rodgers & Hammerstein title song about bigotry ("to hate all the people your relatives hate") and two from Lennon-McCartney. B+(*) [cd] Reggie Quinerly: New York Nowhere (2020 [2021], Redefinition): Drummer, from Houston, studied at Juilliard and wound up teaching there. Fourth album since 2012, postbop quintet with trumpet (Antoine Drye), tenor sax (John Ellis), piano (John Chin), and bass. B+(*) [cd] Jason Ringenberg: Rhinestoned (2021, Courageous Chicken): Former front-man of 1980s country-rock band Jason & the Scorchers, cut a solo album in 1992, but didn't get serious about it until 2000, and often as not called himself Farmer Jason. I didn't notice much of that until his terrific 2019 album, Stand Tall. The best parts here are comparable, and it's a good sign that they are all originals (e.g., "The Freedom Rides Weren't Free"). On the other hand, he might reconsider his covers (starting with "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today"). B+(**) Charlie Sepúlveda: Charlie Sepülveda & the Turnaround (2020 [2021], HighNote): Trumpet player, from the Bronx, cousin of Eddie Palmieri. Hot Latin jazz group plus a roster of special guests, including Steve Turre and Miguel Zenon. B+(**) [cd] [03-26] Jim Snidero: Live at the Deer Head Inn (2020 [2021], Savant): Alto saxophonist, many albums since 1989, this one billed as his first live album since then, a "safe, limited-audience gig at Pennsylvania's famed Deer Head Inn." Quartet leans retro -- Orrin Evans (piano), Peter Washington (bass), Joe Farnsworth (drums) -- and the program is all standards, from "Now's the Time" to "Old Man River." B+(**) [cd] [03-26] Steve Swell: The Center Will Hold (2019 [2020], Not Two): Trombonist, cover adds a "featuring Andrew Cyrille," but doesn't mention Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello), Robert Boston (piano/organ), or Ariel Bart (harmonica). Strings are a little squelchy here, but the free trombone is superb. B+(***) Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Derek Bailey/Mototeru Takagi: Live at FarOut, Atsugi 1987 (1987 [2020], NoBusiness): Guitar and soprano sax duets. Bailey (1932-2005) was a major figure in the English avant-garde, with a vast discography I've barely sampled and never made much of. This seems typical of his abstract scratch. Takagi (1941-2002) has at least a dozen albums, from 1971 on, mostly playing tenor sax. B+(**) [cd] Irene Mawela: The Best of the SABC Years (1982-88 [2019], Umsakazo): South African singer, active from the late 1950s to recent, but her name is usually buried in vocal groups, some as legendary as Dark City Sisters and Mahotella Queens. Twenty-two easy going transcriptions of radio shots. B+(***) Old music: Bob Andy: Bob Andy's Songbook (1966-68 [1970], Studio One): Reggae singer-songwriter Keith Anderson (1944-2020), a founder of the Paragons. First album, actually a compilation of early Studio One singles. "I've Got to Go Back Home" is the one I know best from Tougher Than Tough, but all 12 songs have a gentle, knowing flow, and many have terrific sax refrains. A- Ken Boothe: Mr. Rock Steady (1968, Studio One): The Jamaican hitmaker's first album, lays his claim to the new style, with bigger hits to follow. I rarely like Jamaican covers of American soul hits, but his "Mustang Sally" is terrific. B+(**) Dillinger: CB 200 (1976, Mango): Lester Bullock, started as a DJ, emerged as a toaster, gangsta name suggested by Lee Perry. Early album, probably his second, had a hit with "Kokane on My Brain." A- [yt] Don Drummond: Jazz Ska Attack 1964 (1964 [1999], Jet Set): Trombone player for the Skatalites, credited as "backing band" here, but Drummond (1932-69) is credited with writing all 20 pieces, recorded at Treasure Isle and produced by Duke Reid. B+(**) Clancy Eccles: Freedom: The Anthology (1967-73 [2005], Trojan, 2CD): More reknowned as a producer and entrepreneur than as a singer-songwriter, although his name claims or shares the artist credit on more than half of these 50 singles -- Eccles has no albums, just a few compilations -- and I recognize few of the other names. Has enough moments that a single-CD edit would rate a bit higher, but still seem minor. B+(*) Alton Ellis: The Best of Alton Ellis (1968-69 [1969], Studio One): Genre-defining rocksteady star, singles start around 1962, but I can't date anything here before 1968 -- Discogs credits him with 19 singles in 1968, so there's a lot more where these came from, and many more years -- he recorded regularly into the 1990s, and died in 2008. B+(**) The Maytals: Never Grow Old: Presenting the Maytals (1962-63 [1997], Heartbeat): Vocal trio, with Raleigh Gordon and Jerry Mathias flanking soon-to-be-leader Toots Hibbert. Early tracks, not quite together although the organ points the way. Reissue adds four terrific bonus tracks, starting with their fully formed "Six and Seven Books of Moses." B+(***) Jackie Mittoo: Now (1970, Studio One): Jamaican keyboard player, hooked up with Coxsone Dodd while still in his teens, recording "thousands of tunes," many with their house band, the Skatalites. Plays organ here, mostly groove-steady instrumentals, Skatalites minus horns. B+(**) Scientist: Scientist Meets the Space Invaders (1981, Greensleeves): King Tubby protégé Hopeton Overton Brown, proclaimed himself Heavyweight Dub Champion in 1980, and went on to orchestrate dozens of mythic battles, encounters, and jams, of which this is one of the more legendary, although it feels like something he could do dozens of times. B+(***) Scientist: Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of Vampires (1981, Greensleeves): More dub themes, titles add werewolves, zombies, and "Ghost of Frankenstein" to the vampire mix. Roots Radics plays, the bass gets deeper, and while I've already forgotten what the vocal was about, it was a highlight track (not that I recall which one). A- Scientist: Scientist Encounters Pac-Man (1982, Greensleeves): Not sure what "Pac-Man" signifies here -- not a collaborator, and not likely anything related to the video game, but the cartoons on the cover suggest some kind of menace. Seems like his average album. B+(**) Scientist: Scientist Wins the World Cup (1982 [2002], Greensleeves): Original album offered 10 untitled tracks, later grouped as "Ten Dangerous Matches," with the addition of five "Extra Time" and one "Golden Goal." B+(**) Scientist/Hempress Sativa: Scientist Meets Hempress Sativa in Dub (2018, Conquering Lion): Latter is Kerida Johnson, who has a previous (2016) album, Unconquerebel. She provides a center for his dub early on, although my favorite cut is Ranking Joe's feature on the closer. B+(***) Sizzla: Bobo Ashanti (2000, Greensleeves): Dancehall star Miguel Collins, debut 1995, prolific since them. After 10 albums in 5 years, thinking rastafari here. B+(**) Skatalites: Ska Authentic, Vol. 1 (1967, Studio One): Hype sheet describes these as "solid tracks," which is exactly right. B+(**) [bc] Skatalites: Ska Authentic, Volume 2 (1970, Studio One): Occurs to me that these compilations were recorded over multiple years, but I'm only identifying when they originally came out. More ace grooves, occasionally developed into memorable songs, always with their crack horn section. B+(***) [bc] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, March 8, 2021 Music Week
Music: Current count 35047 [35005] rated (+42), 228 [236] unrated (-8). I don't feel like writing much, but have a bunch of things to run through, so let's make it quick. I finally did the indexing on February Streamnotes, so that's out of the way. Only added 74 albums in February, way down from 273 in January. I expected to cut back after a record-setting 2020, but not that much. I wound up only posting two Music Weeks in February. Illness and injury had much to do with that, but the last week didn't post until March 1, after I had gerrymandered January to leave nothing. I still haven't moved on to any of the projects I anticipated for 2021, but did make a modest first step in adding the final Weekend Roundups to my compilation of Trump era notebooks/blog posts. You can download a copy, still using its working title: The Last Days of the American Empire IV: Extracts From a Notebook (2017-2021). Beware that it runs 2,750 pages (1,027,184 words), including an Appendix of earlier Trump-specific posts. Also, it's in ODT format, so you'd need a word processor to browse it -- I recommend the free LibreOffice package, but others should work as well. The title is a leftover from my first compilation of poltical posts, on the Bush-Cheney years (2001-2009). Early in those years there was much bluster about America as an empire, but even then it was clear that the exertion of power against unimpressive militaries but unconquerable nations like Afghanistan and Iraq would fatally erode the post-Cold War assumptions of the neocons. By 2009 the debacle was essentially complete, but Obama came not to bury Caesar but to rationalize him, as if a smarter War on Terror would end differently. Obama's folly was such that I kept adding to the title, writing as much on his first term as I had written on eight years of Bush-Cheney, and writing a bit more on Obama's second term. One clear lesson of America's "endless war" machine since 1945 is that while it is hard to claim anything plausibly resembling a victory, it's much easier to delay and deny defeat -- which is what matters most to politicians. All it takes is deliberate self-deception, lot of money, and sheer contempt for the lives of others. For all his supposed brains, Obama turned out to be as naively deluded as any of his predecessors. If the title seems less appropriate to Trump's years, that's partly because the damage his "America First" strategies did to America's reputation in the world seems paltry compared to the threat he posed to the Republic. Also, it's unclear how much of Trump's legacy will be quickly reversed and forgotten, and how much will haunt us well into the future. What I am certain of is that the only way Biden's "America's Back" reset works is the US starts working alongside the world instead of against it (as Trump was wont to do). But what could (and should) happen in US foreign policy is a different writing chore. What Trump did is history, even if it seems more incredible. Next step would be to sift through that file and see if I can come up with a short but still worthwhile version -- although choices over length and utility are likely to be personal and arbitrary, so I'm not especially hopeful. I can only say that when I go back to those old writings -- and there are three previous volumes (one on Bush, two on Obama) that aren't much shorter than the Trump tome -- I'm frequently impressed by the depth of information, coherency of argument, and even the quality of the writing. I dare say most people could learn a thing or two there. But will they? I also updated a file with my occasional notes on things other than politics and music. I doubt it's of any interest to anyone other than myself. I was looking for fragments of memoir, but didn't find much. I had written a few dozen pages some while back, and lost them among the crashes. Fortunately, it's mostly from memory, and I still have a fairly good command of that. Listened to a lot of old reggae last week, following the recent deaths of U-Roy and Bunny Wailer. I've been playing the latter's Crucial! a lot recently, so bumping the grade up a notch was the right thing to do. I've been working off a Mojo list of The 50 Greatest Reggae Albums, which strikes me as skewed toward instrumentals and dub, but identified a few holes to plug. One thing I'm especially happy about is knocking off two previously U-graded Big Youth albums: I found Progress on LP, and A Reggae Collection on CD. Finding anything around here always seems like a major victory. None of these records are rating super-high on my all-time list (as can be seen from my reggae grade list). Best choice if you're a neophyte is still the 4-CD box set, Tougher Than Tough: The Story of Jamaican Music. I've been referring back to it regularly over the last months. Got a first COVID-19 vaccination last week. Laura's is scheduled for Wednesday. I went to the former library downtown, but with Laura's lack of mobility, we'll try the drive-through (which has been harder to schedule, not that mine was easy). New records reviewed this week: Albare: Albare Plays Jobim Vol. 2 (2020 [2021], Alfi): Guitarist Albert Dadon, Australian tycoon though born in Morocco and grew up in Israel and France, has released albumsm since 1992, including his previous Albare Plays Jobim in 2020. B+(*) [cd] Cowboys & Frenchmen: Our Highway (2020 [2021], Outside In Music): New York-based group, two saxophonists (Owen Broder and Ethan Helm), piano (Addison Frei), bass, and drums. Group name from a David Lynch name, but with more cowboys. Third album. The saxes make a strong initial impression, but then the flutes come out, and more postbop doldrums follow. B+(*) [cd] The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band Featuring Bonnie Eisele: Hot Night in Venice: Live at the Venice Jazz Club (2020 [2021], Origin): Drummer, sings some, reminds me in that regard of Louis Prima, more so when he brings his better half out a third of the way in: second third of the set features Eisele, and both sing toward the end. All standards, most obscure is the funniest ("Woe Is Me"). No horns. They've had hotter nights. B+(*) [cd] Yelena Eckemoff: Adventures of the Wildflower (2019 [2021], L&H Production, 2CD): Russian pianist, classical training, came to US in 1991 and switched to jazz, has a substantial catalogue since 2010, original compositions, last two albums doubles. She recorded this one in Finland with local musicians, trio plus spots for guitar, sax, and/or vibes. B+(**) [cd] [03-19] Elephant9: Arrival of the New Elders (2020 [2021], Rune Grammofon): Norwegian fusion band, ninth album since 2008, members: Stĺle Storlřkken (keyboards), Nikolai Hćngsle (bass/guitar), Torstein Lofthus (drums). B+(**) Frank Gratkowski/Achim Kaufmann/Wilbert de Joode/Tony Buck: Flatbosc & Cautery (2018 [2020], NoBusiness): Free improv: alto sax (plus clarinets/flutes), piano, bass, drums. Can get noisy, but pianist is heroic both as alternate lead and support, and the bassist goes a long way toward holding it together. A- [cd] Doug MacDonald Duo: Toluca Lake Jazz (2020 [2021], Doug MacDonald Music): Guitarist, albums since 1981 but more frequently of late, with Harvey Newmark on bass, adding depth without making himself conspicuous -- the effect is much like a solo guitar album, but sounds a bit better. Nice mix of MacDonald originals and overs -- "These Foolish Things" is especially tasty. B+(**) [cd] Sana Nagano: Smashing Humans (2020 [2021], 577): Violinist, from Tokyo, moved to Oregon as an exchange student, studied at Memphis and Berklee, based in New York, first album, with Peter Apfelbaum (tenor sax), Keisuke Matsuno (guitars), Ken Filiano (bass), and Joe Hertenstein (drums). B+(***) [cd] [03-19] Charlie Porter: Hindsight (2020 [2021], OA2): Trumpet player, third album, all originals, two with lyrics (sung by Jimmie Herrod, plus a rap by Rasheed Jamal and a cut with Hallowed Halls Gospel choir. Various lineups, built around a piano trio led by Orrin Evans. B [cd] Idit Shner: Live at the Jazz Station (2019 [2021], OA2): Alto saxophonist, based in Oregon, juggles jazz and classical repertoires with several albums in each. This is jazz, backed by piano trio, the band contributing a song each (two for pianist Torrey Newhart). B+(**) [cd] John Stowell/Dan Dean: Rain Painting (2018-20 [2021], Origin): Jazz guitarist, couple dozen albums since 1977, this a duo where Dean is credited with "vocals, fretless acoustic bass guitar, electric & fretless electric basses, percussion, drum programming." The vocals, mostly scat, are the problem. B [cd] Theo Walentiny: Looking Glass (2020 [2021], self-released): Pianist, from New Jersey, based in Brooklyn, first album, solo, all original pieces/improvs. Several impressive stretches. B+(*) [cd] [04-02] Chris White/Lara Driscoll: Firm Roots (2020 [2021], Firm Roots): Piano duets; Driscoll from Chicago, released an album I liked last year; White from Toronto (although Discogs attributes this album to a British saxophonist of same name) but now based in Chicago. five original pieces plus four covers, including Walton and Silver. B+(**) [cd] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Don Cherry: Cherry Jam (1965 [2021], Gearbox, EP): Plays cornet here, already famous as part of Ornette Coleman's Quartet but didn't step out as a leader until 1965. Four tracks, 22:24, cut in Copenhagen with a pick up quintet: tenor sax (Mogens Bollerup), piano (Atli Bjřrn), bass (Benny Nielsen), drums (Simon Koppel). All nice. B+(*) [os] Old music: Big Youth: Dreadlocks Dread (1975, Klik): Jamaican toaster Manley Buchanan, his 1972 debut Screaming Target is the definitive classic of the style. Tony Robinson produced this follow up, the riddims seductive but understated, as are the toasts, which tail off toward the end. B+(***) Big Youth: Natty Cultural Dread (1976, Trojan): Sings more here, not much of a ballad voice although he's enough of a weirdo to get away with most of it. Exception: a pop ditty I wish I could unhear. B Big Youth: Hit the Road Jack (1976, Trojan): Starts with four covers: "What's Going On?"; "Hit the Road Jack"; "Wake Up Everybody"; "Get Up Stand Up." Nothing terribly interesting there, although he has much more feel for Marley than for Gaye. Rest is his improvisational toasting/singing mix, impressive when he finds his groove, but he's not his best producer. B+(*) [yt] Big Youth: Isaiah First Prophet of Old (1978, Negusa Nagast): Seems to have rounded off his rough edges without losing his faith. B+(**) Big Youth: Progress (1979, Negusa Negast): Rasta is real, but few prophets/entertainers have enjoyed themselves more in its service. A- [lp] Big Youth: A Reggae Collection (1973-80 [1992], Essex Entertainment): Best-of, roughly equivalent to Trojan's 1980 Everyday Skank (Best of Big Youth), repeating 9 songs (of 15), but I happen to have picked up this one somewhere along the way. Still, no best-of matches Screaming Target (1972), but if you want more I'd suggest Blood & Fire's 3-CD Natty Universal Dread 1973-1979, or maybe Trojan's 2-CD Ride Like Lightning: The Best of Big Youth 1972-1976. Still: A- [cd] Big Youth: The Chanting Dread Inna Fine Style (1973-82 [1982], Heartbeat): Compilation, second on label following 1981's Some Great Big Youth, not much info on when these tracks were recorded, but they were licensed from Negusa Nagast, and they get the general vibe right, albeit modestly. B+(***) Big Youth: Live at Reggae Sunsplash (1982 [1984], Sunsplash): Live, skips through a decade of material, with a light touch that lets' him flow. Wish he'd skipped "Every Ni**er Is a Star," but it fades quickly as he reverts to rasta roots revival, and after the band is introduced to "Roll River Jordan," his last pop shot ("Hit the Road Jack") climaxes on schedule. B+(**) [yt] Big Youth: A Luta Continua (1984 [1985], Heartbeat): The struggle continues, the music getting easier while the inspiration gets harder. Still, not a bad balance. B+(**) Big Youth: Manifestation (1988, Heartbeat): Seems like a perfectly average album, which at this stage could be taken as decline. Still love the riddim. B+(*) Big Youth: Higher Grounds (1995, VP): His discography thins out after 1988, aside from this and another album in 1995 and another in 2006. Still, this is a pretty solid effort, unlikely to be mistaken for anyone else. B+(*) Dr. Alimantado: Best Dressed Chicken in Town (1973-76 [1978], Greensleeves): Winston Thompson, Jamaican toaster, producer and DJ, first (and most famous) album, various singers (two for Gregory Isaacs) and engineers (including Upsetter and King Tubby). B+(***) Eek-a-Mouse: Wa-Do-Dem (1981 [1982], Greensleeves): Jamaican singer Ripton Hylton, second album. Playful name, playful vocals, starting with the nonsense title rhyme. B+(***) Joe Gibbs & the Professionals: African Dub All-Mighty (1975, Joe Gibbs Record Globe): Jamaican producer, studied electronics, started with a repair shop, built it into a sound system, hired a band, and cut hundreds of hit records. Cover is ambiguous here, with "Solid Gold," and "a Joe Gibbs production" also appearing, but credit is usually as stated. Instrumental pieces, tight, crunchy grooves. B+(***) Joe Gibbs & the Professionals: African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 2 (1976, Joe Gibbs Record Globe): B+(***) Joe Gibbs & the Professionals: African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 3 (1978, Joe Gibbs Record Globe): Some vocals here. I don't see the credit, and it may not matter, because they're more like cheers, mixed in with other special effects. A- Joe Gibbs & the Professionals: African Dub Chapter 4 (1979, Joe Gibbs Music): "All-Mighty" no longer evident on the cover, although some sources still claim it. Omission probably not an admission that this is the first "Chapter" to feel like they're going through the motions. B+(**) Joe Gibbs & the Professionals: African Dub Chapter Five (1984, Joe Gibbs Music): More, more, more. B+(**) Marcia Griffiths: Naturally (1978, Shanachie): Jamaican singer, started with Byron Lee in 1964, sang backup and duets with Bob Marley, whose backup singers recorded as the I Threes. Second solo album, nice voice over classic riddim, but only standout song is "Melody Life." B+(**) The Heptones: Cool Rasta (1976, Trojan): Jamaican vocal trio, one of the first groups picked up by Island/Mango for US release, but didn't have much kick. By the time Night Food (1973) appeared in the US, they tried something more roots/rasta, but it still came out rather smooth. B+(*) Bunny Wailer: Protest (1978, Island): Second album, like his debut Blackheart Man picked up by Island in US/UK, but has never been as well-regarded -- I missed it even when I was writing the Rolling Stone Record Guide entry on Bunny. Some kind of pop move, betraying its title with soft funk, and reprising his "Johnny Too Bad" as bubblegum. B Bunny Wailer: Struggle (1979, Solomonic): Jamaica-only album, prime political anthems although one could quibble that he sees his struggle against "the old dragon" (aka Lucifer) as opposed to more mundane sources of injustice. Five (of seven) songs repeat on Crucial! Roots Classics, which is the one you want. Without that alternative, I could have graded this higher. The other two songs are pretty good, except I could do without the "unborn children" line. A- Bunny Wailer: Rock 'n' Groove (1981, Solomonic): Politics may be a higher calling, but dancehall pays the bills. And he delivers as advertised. B+(***) [yt] Bunny Wailer: Tribute (1981, Solomonic): Bunny Wailer Sings the Wailers reclaimed the group's early songs, mostly his own, with scant reference to Bob Marley, whose became a huge star after Bunny and Peter Tosh left. But with Marley dying in 1981, Bunny knocked off this quickie, with seven of Marley's most famous songs. Not sure we need the extra versions. B+(**) [yt] Bunny Wailer: Time Will Tell: A Tribute to Bob Marley (1981 [1990], Shanachie): The label started carrying Bunny's albums in 1983, starting with an augmented reissue of In I Father's House (new title: Roots Radics Rockers Reggae). This is another, reissuing Bunny's Bob Marley Tribute plus two cuts, presumably (not that I'm sure) from the same sessions. "Bellyfull" is nothing special, but "Rebel Music" is. B+(***) [yt] Bunny Wailer: Marketplace (1985, Shanachie): "The more we live together/the irier we shall be." B+(*) Bunny Wailer: Liberation (1989, Shanachie): Lots of words on the cover -- one of the ways he's found to make his political points without compromising his dancehall groove. Not what I'd call an ideal synthesis, but has some merit. B+(**) [yt] Grade (or other) changes: Bunny Wailer: Crucial! Roots Classics (1979-82 [1994], Shanachie): Neville Livingston claimed the Wailers' spirit even as he left the group to Bob Marley. Still, I've been playing this compilation a lot more recently than I have anything by Marley, not just because it delivers on its subtitle, but because this may be the most inspiring political music ever recorded. Also because the earworms are irresistible. Bunny just died, at 73, so let's give him his due. [was: A] A+ Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, March 1, 2021 Music Week
Music: Current count 35005 [34967] rated (+38), 236 [249] unrated (-13). Last week I speculated that I might nudge this week's Music Week up a day to fit it into February. Of course, it could have been that I was in no mood to wrap up February Streamnotes. (I certainly wasn't.) However, my post on Tom Cotton's Big Plan chewed up all my time on Sunday. Then it occurred to me that February was a wasted month anyway, so why not cut my losses and get a fresh start on March. It was easy enough to move this week's reviews forward. And I can still postpone the wrap up bookkeeping a few days, so no pressure there. I did make a dent in the new CD queue this week, but still quite a lot to get to there. Admittedly, didn't find much I liked there. Also my attempts at streaming new non-jazz (Willie Nelson, The Hold Steady, Slowthai) were also disappointing, so my only solid recommendations below are old music. I started the week listening to more records by the late Jamaican toaster U-Roy (including two recommended by Clifford Ocheltree), then stumbled onto some more reggae I felt like playing. After floundering around a bit, I decided to look for an expert list, and found this one on Mojo: The 50 Greatest Reggae Albums. I'm not sure it's a very good list, but it gave me some ideas to follow up on. I feel like sticking with it for a while. My own interest in reggae started in the 1970s, when I got on Island's promo list (although I may have had some earlier). Over the years, I've listened to a fair amount (although there's plenty more I haven't gotten to). The reggae albums were just the push I needed to lift the rated count over 35,000. I was surprised to see that happen this week, but it's a big, round number I've been closing in on, so was just a matter of time before I would hit it. Not something I have to think about any more. One thing I am tempted to think about is Chuck Eddy's 150 Best Albums of 1976. That was the year before I moved to New York, when Don Malcolm and I were planning out Terminal Zone, when my view of the rock world was at its most idealistic. My years in New York were richer in life experiences, and probably in music, but 1976 was when I started to feel like I really knew something. Worth noting that Eddy's top two records are probably mine as well: Have Moicy! and Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. Also that at the time I used to figure I had to have at least one mainstream rock band in my top ten, and he has the year's two best: Blue Oyster Cult's Agents of Fortune (5) and Bob Seger's Night Moves (7). I can't imagine I'll ever warm to Aerosmith or Thin Lizzy or Boston or Crack the Sky or Heart, but I should track down some of his disco obscurities, especially as others are prominent on my list (and we share Silver Convention's Madhouse). Personal fave I'm surprised to see here is Michael Mantler's The Hapless Child and Other Inscrutable Stories (114). Lawrence Ferlinghetti died last week, at 101. Seems like just yesterday we were touting his 101st birthday, so I'm still more in the mode of celebrating his life than mourning his death. There was a day (many decades ago) when I read a lot of poetry, and he was the North Star everyone else rotated around. New records reviewed this week: Franco Ambrosetti Band: Lost Within You (2020 [2021], Unit): Trumpet/flugelhorn player, from Switzerland, debut in 1965, father was a saxophonist (both played with George Gruntz). Group with John Scofield (guitar), Scot Colley (bass), Jack DeJohnette (drums), and either Renee Rosnes or Uri Caine (or DeJohnette) on piano. B+(**) [cd] Emmet Cohen: Future Stride (2021, Mack Avenue): Pianist, debut 2011, has taken to looking back recently, with four Masters Legacy Series volumes and a mostly-Fats Waller joint called Dirty in Detroit (with glances toward Monk and Cedar Walton). This is a mix of oldies and original reflections thereon, mostly trio (Russell Hall and Kyle Poole), with Marquis Hill (trumpet) on four tracks, plus Melissa Aldana (tenor sax) on three of them. B+(**) Randal Despommier: Dio C'č (2019 [2021], Outside In Music): Alto saxophonist, from Louisiana, debut album, co-produced by Jimmy Haslip. Title track is a hymn, but with vocals sounds more like a displaced Christmas song. I didn't like it at all, but the instrumental pieces are nice enough. B [cd] Yoav Eshed/Lex Korten/Massimo Biolcati/Jongkuk Kim: A Way Out (2019 [2021], Sounderscore): Israeli guitarist, based in New York, several albums since 2013, backed by piano, bass, and drums. Nice enough. B+(*) [cd] Futari: Beyond (2019 [2021], Libra): Duo, Taiko Saito (vibraphone) and Satoko Fujii (piano), mostly the latter's compositions. B+(*) [cd] The Hold Steady: Open Door Policy (2021, Positive Jams): Craig Finn's post-Lifter Puller group, eighth album since 2004, Tad Kubler (guitar) and Galen Polivka (bass) constants since the group's founding, while Finn has recorded a few solo albums. Something slightly off about the sound here, but the songs are deeply observant -- I doubt anyone else writes more third-person songs about women. B+(**) Ethan Iverson/Umbria Jazz Orchestra: Bud Powell in the 21st Century (2018 [2021], Sunnyside): Pianist, "Do the Math" blogger, has another big project called "MONK@100," so seems to be focusing on roots recently. Half originals, one Monk tune, the rest from Powell, played by Italian big band horns arrayed aroud an all-star quintet: Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Dayna Stephens (tenor sax), Ben Street (bass), Lewis Nash (drums). Not sure why I'm not more impressed. Maybe what was radical in 1950 is old hat today? B+(**) Jazz Worms: Squirmin' (2017 [2021], Capri): Denver quintet -- Ron Miles (cornet) and Keith Oxman (tenor sax) are the best known, with Andy Weyl (piano), Mark Simon (bass), and Paul Romaine (drums) -- cut a debut record in 1987, regrouped here for a pretty straightforward 30th anniversary bash. B+(*) [cd] Andy LaVerne: Rhapsody (2021, SteepleChase): Pianist, several dozen albums since 1976, played with Stan Getz 1977-79, someone I clearly haven't payed enough attention to (my one database record is 1993's A- First Tango in New York). Quartet with Zach Brock (violin), Mike Richmond (bass/cello), and Jason Tiemann (drums). B+(**) Johan Lindström Septett: On the Asylum (2020 [2021], Moserobie): Swedish guitarist, also plays "pedal steel and more, group includes saxophonists Per Texas Johansson and Jonas Kullhammar, trombone, organ/piano, bass and drums, plus "special guests" -- Elvis Costello snuck in a lyric, which started the album off in a hole. B+(*) [cd] Shai Maestro: Human (2020 [2021], ECM): Israeli pianist, sixth album, second for ECM, previous one a trio with Jorge Roeder (bass) and Ofri Nehemya (drums), this one adds Philip Dizack on trumpet. B+(*) Meridian Odyssey: Second Wave (2020 [2021], Origin): Seattle musicians at one point, since scattered but reconvened in Alaska to record this group album: Santosh Sharma (tenor sax), Martin Budde (guitar), Dylan Hayes (keyboard), Ben Feldman (bass), Xavier Lecouturier (drums). All five contribute songs, tightly wound postbop. B+(*) [cd] Willie Nelson: That's Life (2021, Legacy): A second volume of Frank Sinatra songs, following 2018's My Way, same producers (Buddy Cannon and Matt Rollings), feels like leftovers, or just an afterthought. I've never quite bought the notion that there even is a "Sinatra songbook" -- he worked the same songs many others did, and while he had an exceptional knack, few strike me as being exclusively his (one here is "Luck Be a Lady"). Nelson can also be a pretty great interpretive singer, but not in the same way, and their hyped association doesn't amount to much more than famous people are conscious of one another. This album's duet partner is Diana Krall, who should be a step up from Norah Jones, but when you queue up "I Won't Dance," the one that's stuck in my head is by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. B Larry Newcomb Quartet: Love, Dad (2020 [2021], Essential Messenger): Guitarist, Bucky Pizzarelli a mentor, third album since 2015 although he's old enough to have three songs, including featured bassist Jake Newcomb. Quartet adds Thomas Royal (piano) and Dave Marsh (drums). Six originals, but the covers stand out more, especially the closing "The Song Is You." B+(*) [cd] Grete Skarpeid: Beyond Other Stories (2018 [2021], Origin): Singer-songwriter, from Norway, has a degree in Music Therapy, second album, recorded in New York, produced by pianist Aruán Ortiz, with Rob Waring (vibes), Cameron Brown (bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums). Originals take a while to sink in, but her cover of "My Favorite Things" leaps out. B+(**) [cd] Slowthai: Tyron (2021, Method): British rapper Tyron Frampton, debut the memorably titled Nothing Great About Britain, sophomore effort just another of many times rappers have name-checked their given names. Organized as two discs, but they only add up to 35:17. B+(*) Yuma Uesaka/Cat Toren/Colin Hinton: Ocelot (2019 [2021], 577): Young Brooklyn-based trio, reeds/piano/drums; Uesaka has a debut out in January, a duo with Marilyn Crispell, while Toren's first record dropped last year. This is a quiet record, with an understated strength, the pianist most impressive. B+(***) [cd] [03-26] Rodney Whitaker With the Christ Church Cranbrook Choir: Cranbrook Christmas Jazz (2020 [2021], Origin): Release date Jan. 15, so they missed the season, and listening to this in February is trying my patience. Usual songs, Vanessa Rubin leads a long list of singers backed by the Choir. Leader plays bass, and Sextet is ably fronted by Timothy Blackmon on trumpet. Not bad if you're in the market. B [cd] Greg Yasinitsky Yazz Band: New Normal (2019-20 [2021], Origin): Saxophonist, alto probably his main choice but also plays soprano, tenor, and baritone. Big band, or close enough for practical purposes. B [cd] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Hal Galper Quintet: Live at the Berlin Philharmonic 1977 (1977 [2021], Origin, 2CD): Pianist, born 1938, steady stream of albums since 1971, always superb but I often need something extra to single out one of his albums. Here it's the horns, with Randy Brecker on trumpet and Michael Brecker on tenor sax. Discs run 51:31 and 36:08, three long tracks each, with the usual bass (Wayne Dockery) and drums (Bob Moses) solos. Superb piano, too. B+(***) [cd] Juozas Milasius/Tomas Kulavicius/Dalius Naujokaitis/Lithuanian Young Composers Orchestra: Live at Willisau, 1993 (1993 [2020], NoBusiness): Guitar/piano/drums, with extra participation from the "orchestra" -- most credited with "vocal, cymbal, clapping, tramping"; i.e., screams and cacophony. Not to my taste. C+ [cd] Masauyki JoJo Takayanagi/Nobuyoshi Ino/Masabumi PUU Kikuchi: Live at Jazz Inn Lovely 1990 (1990 [2020], NoBusiness): Japanese free jazz, something of a specialty for this Lithuanian label: guitar, bass, piano -- the pianist (1939-2015) best known for his Tethered Moon group, the guitarist (1932-91) known for several recent reissues on Blank Forms Editions. A bit sketchy, opening up space for all three. B+(**) [cd] Old music: Johnny Clarke: A Ruffer Version: Johnny Clarke at King Tubby's 1974-78 (1974-78 [2002], Trojan): A big star in Jamaica from the early 1970s, working mostly with Bunny Lee and the Aggrovators, signed by Virgin in 1976, and moved on to England in 1983. He released albums through the 1990s, and a few since. King Tubby adds his customary dub echoes, but this leaves me with the question: ruffer than what? B+(**) Johnny Clarke: Dreader Dread (1976-1978) (1976-78 [1998], Blood & Fire): Same years, but different recordings -- only song in common is "Play Fool Fe Get Wise" (longer here). Bunny Lee's productions are more balanced. B+(***) Phyllis Dillon: One Life to Live (1972, Trojan): Rocksteady singer, recorded singles for Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label from 1966, leading up to this single LP. Mostly covers of US-UK pop hits, poorly selected ("Love the One You're With," "Something," "Close to You"). B- Mikey Dread: World War III (1980, Dread at the Controls): Reggae singer Michael George Campbell (1954-2008), trained as an engineer, worked as a broadcaster, recorded with Lee Perry and Joe Gibbs, aligned with dub. Third album. Rasta themes, dense and dark, title track posits war could happen any minute, then attacks with weird whistles, not that he doesn't have better ideas. B+(***) Mikey Dread: Pave the Way (1982, Heartbeat): Eighth album, but the interval is mostly dub quickies. B+(**) Keith Hudson: Pick a Dub (1974 [1994], Blood & Fire): Dub producer/toaster, nicknamed "Dark Prince of Reggae," died 1984 (38). Mostly instrumental, hits some unsettling low notes, but carries on. B+(**) Keith Hudson: Rasta Communication (1978, Greensleeves): He moved to New York in 1976, signed with Virgin, got dumped, and returned with this record. He sings here, rasta/roots themes, not much dub effect. B+(**) Prince Buster: Fabulous Greatest Hits (1964-68 [1968], Melodisc): Cecil Bustamente Campbell (1938-2016), early Jamaican ska star, associated with Coxsone Dodd. This early compilation misses his early singles (from 1961), but includes his biggest ("Al Capone") and several others (especially "Take It Easy"). A better package may be possible, but this is classic. A- The Upsetters: Return of Django (1969, Trojan): Lee Perry's band's first album, title a reference to Sergio Corbucci's 1966 spaghetti western Django. Perry kept the group name through 1978 (plus a 1986 album), the titles mostly drawing on movies (most famously 1976's Super Ape). Instrumental pieces, Glen Adams' organ most prominent, with a few vocal intros. B+(***) The Upsetters: The Good, the Bad and the Upsetters (1970, Trojan): Lee Perry's second album, more instrumentals, more focus on chunky rhythm. B+(***) U-Roy: 30 Massive Shots From Treasure Isle (1970-74 [2009], Attack): Duke Reid productions, with U-Roy toasting over various singles, some familiar, some obscure. The only ones I've been able track down date from 1970-71, and they represent a small subset of U-Roy's singles from the period. B+(**) U-Roy: Version of Wisdom (1971-74 [1990], Front Line/Virgin): One of several CD reissues with similar covers. Notes say this combines two albums -- Version Galore (originally attributed to Hugh Roy) and With Words of Wisdom (1979) -- but the 1978-79 dates were reissues of the original Jamaican albums. A- [dl] U-Roy: The Lost Album: Right Time Rockers (1976 [1998], Sound System): Originally released in 1977 as Dubbing to the King in a Higher Rank (King Attarney, in Canada). A- [dl] U-Roy: Love Is Not a Gamble (1980, TR International): After his big decade, he seems ready to cruise along into middle age. Tony Robinson produced, capturing his sound and style, and adding a little rocksteady groove. B+(***) U-Roy: Serious Matter (1999, Tabout 1): Roots throwback, songs feature vocalists, most from back in the toaster's heyday -- Horace Andy, Dennis Brown, Beres Hammond, Gregory Isaacs, Third World, Israel Vibration -- old verities (like "money is the root of all evil"), possibly old tunes too. B+(*) Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Sunday, February 28, 2021 Tom Cotton's Big PlanSenator Tom Cotton (R-AR) launched his 2024 presidential campaign last week with the publication of his bold plan "to send the Chinese Communist Party into the 'ash heap of history'": Beat China: Targeted Decoupling and the Economic Long War. This comes at a time when the Biden administration is making aggressive noises about China, to no small extent because Republicans are goading him on. Biden's rhetoric in turn offers cover and legitimation for Cotton's much more dangerously extreme stance. For an "explainer" on Cotton's scheme, see Alex Ward: Tom Cotton's big plan to "beat China," explained. Cotton's plan has two major planks. The first is to "decouple" from China's economy, isolating China from world trade, in the hopes that will lead to an economic collapse that will bring down the political order and end Communist Party rule. Something like that did happen to cause the collapse of the Soviet Union, but there are many differences between the two cases, and far more stringent efforts to isolate North Korea, Cuba, and Iran only resulted in the targeted regimes digging in deeper to maintain their hold on power. The second plank is a set of reforms to the American economy to make it more competitive with China, and to use US power around the world to force other countries to curtail their trade with China and to buy more American exports. This section is less coherent (e.g, "the senator singles out Japan as a place that could buy more American goods, and points to Malaysia and Vietnam as having labor forces that could produce these goods at competitive prices"), and in some cases comes close to admitting that Chinese state-directed methods are more effective than the US "free market" fetish (e.g., in the production of valuable "rare earth" metals). We need to consider four questions to evaluate Cotton's plan:
If you honestly consider these questions, I'm pretty sure you'll see that Cotton's "plan" is one of the dumbest and most reckless ever. Indeed, the answers are so obvious one might quickly move on to real puzzles, like what motivates Cotton in this case? Romanticism for the lost Cold War? Defense industry graft? The macho certitude that America can always bend the world to its will? Let's take these questions one by one: 1. What are the risks to the US of forcing regime change on China? Are there risks so great that they would limit US action? Regime change is a tall demand, one that few rulers are willing to acquiesce to, and consequently one that is rarely insisted upon. Even the US compromised in accepting the less-than-unconditional surrender of Japan in 1945. America's Cold War aim was containment of the Soviet Union, not regime change. So Cotton's call for ending Communist Party control of China is an extremely aggressive stance. Admittedly, the US has insisted on regime change when confronting small and relatively weak countries, like Panama, Iraq, and Afghanistan. But China is not small nor weak. China, like the US, possesses nuclear weapons and missiles that can deliver them anywhere on earth. China is about the same physical size as the US, has a comparably sized economy, and close to four times as many people. While the US may have technical military advantages, China is too big to attack, and there are major limits on how much the US can intimidate China. Conversely, the US is too vulnerable to a Chinese counterattack to risk any existential military threat to China. Cotton probably understands that much, but is hoping to find some internal flaw in the Chinese system that will cause it to collapse if given a little push -- as happened with the Soviet Union. This view is very naive. Chinese leaders observed the collapse of the Soviet system in Russia and Eastern Europe very closely, and moved decisively to repress dissent, and to direct needed economic reforms from the top down, reinforcing rather than undermining Party power. And they've been very successful, with a sustained 30-year track record of economic growth that far exceeds the performance of any other country or system, not least compared to the US. 2. Economic sanctions are widely regarded as a low-risk alternative to direct military action. But are they effective at achieving Cotton's goals, specifically regime change? Short answer is no. The US has tried blockades and crippling economic sanctions against a number of much smaller, less self-sufficient nations (North Korea, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, more recently Venezuela), and the net effect has been to entrench existing regimes even further. Moreover, after the US did force regime change in Iraq, there was no groundswell of public support for their "liberation" -- rather, there was an armed revolt against US occupation. The only case of sanctions working was against South Africa, where they threatened long-standing economic ties between the West and the Apartheid regime. (This suggests that sanctions might be effective at influencing Israel to reform its own Apartheid regime, although I can think of reasons to be skeptical.) The standard response to sanctions is autarky: if you can't import goods, make them yourself. This is tough for small nations, especially those with export-dominated economies. (Cuba especially struggled, most severely after the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia stopped buying up their sugar surplus and providing them with oil, but Cuba survived nonetheless.) China is big, diverse, and already provides most of its own needs. But also China's size makes other nations doubt the value of sanctions. It's easy for a US "ally" to forego trade with North Korea or Cuba or Myanmar, but China is a big trade partner for everyone, with a lot of hard currency (especially dollars) to buy and invest abroad. And China offers the irresistible prospect of a very large market for foreign exporters and investors, and they've long plied this prospect for favorable terms. It's hard to think of major US companies who don't have investments and operations tied to China. That, in turn, buys China political favors, as when they got Boeing to lobby for approval of China's WTO membership. 3. Even if Cotton's plan can be implemented successfully without risk, is it really something Americans would and should want to do? This is the question least likely to be raised, given how easy it is for Americans to slip back into a Cold War mindset. Right-wingers forget that the Nixon thaw with China was actually a Cold War ploy to isolate the Soviet Union, and that China was long regarded as a Communist country we could do business with. Labor Democrats worried about losing jobs to China, but that only started bothering Republicans when Trump made it an issue in 2016. Trump canceled TTP and played some tariff games, but did nothing to rebalance trade with China, let alone safeguarding American jobs. Meanwhile, neoliberal Democrats took advantage of Chinese abuses of human rights, adding to the list of dictatorships Trump was accused of cozying up to. Meanwhile, right-wingers panicked over the "rising tide of socialism" among Democrats, resurrecting the deep paranoia of the racist "who lost China?" charges of 1949-50. Still, what difference does any of this make? The oft-repeated charge that China wants to dominate the next century the way the US has dominated the last one, but that only brings up two further questions: has domination really paid dividends to most Americans? And is domination by any country even desirable looking forward? I'd argue both answers are no, and I'd further assert that the charge reflects Americans' own dissatisfaction with their supposed rule. Policing the world is a big job the US isn't up to (and was never much good at). Bankrolling the world is another big problem. Politics in the US has been ceded to special interests, whose orientation doesn't even come close to satisfying domestic needs, let alone those of people elsewhere. Despite the absence of democratic controls, the Chinese government is probably more in tune with the needs and desires of its people than the American system is. After all, over the last 30 years, China has lifted the majority of its population out of poverty, while income and wealth of most Americans has stagnated or declined. You can also look at the "defense" postures of the two countries. The US projects power through nearly a thousand bases scattered all around the world. The US spends as much on "defense" as the rest of the world combined. China spends about one-quarter as much, enough to control its own population, defend its borders, and deter attack, but has little presence beyond its borders. The main points of contention between the US and China are Taiwan -- formerly part of China, which broke away when Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalist Army retreated there in 1949, although it had been occupied by Japan from 1895-1945; after retreat, Chiang continued to claim mainland China, and tried to foment guerrilla war against Mao's government -- and various uninhabited islands in the China Sea, which China wants to exploit economically. These are old claims, which China has been steadfast in but has pursued very cautiously. China has also fought several border skirmishes with India, based on conflicting border claims dating back to British control of India, but China hasn't sought to extend its territory beyond the disputed claims. Chiang was a brutal and corrupt military ruler, but since his death Taiwan has developed into a stable, prosperous democracy. It would be a shame to see it incorporated into a China that falls far short of those rights, but it would take extraordinary ego and folly for either the US or China to threaten nuclear war over a 70-year-old claim. But this seems more likely to happen if the US manages to push China into a corner than if we retain diplomatic manners. And less likely to happen if China becomes even more secure in a world with fewer arms and more openness. Of course, various Americans, for various reasons, seize every instance of political repression for propaganda purposes. These are not insignificant issues, but they also aren't things that Americans have much standing to publicize. There are international organizations which focus on human rights issues, who are far better positioned to speak out on China's abuses, but they are supported by the US only in rare occasions of political convenience, and more generally opposed because the US and its "allies" (especially Israel) are often every bit as guilty. For instance, the US complains about Chinese treatment of Uighur Moslems while the US has long detained them in Guantanamo. The situation in Hong Kong is more complex, but again you can find lots of similar examples in US management of its territories. The US has economic grievances as well, but none are worth going to war over. Two cases Cotton dwells on are "intellectual property" rents and China's monopolization of rare earth metals. The former is a scam to force poor nations to pay tribute to the richest people in richer nations, thus maintaining the global system of inequality. US trade policy has focused heavily on rents because the people who collect them have exploited the corruptness of the American political system for their purposes. We'd be better off abolishing the whole concept. Of course, China doesn't like "IP" rents not because they care about the principle of the thing, but because currently they'd wind up having to pay tribute to richer countries like the US. But one could easily imagine the balance of payments flipping in the future, in which case China will happily agree. One thing the rare earth venture shows is that China understands monopoly power, at least when they come out on top. In one sense, this seems like a case where a country which does national economic planning can come out ahead of a nation which trusts "the market" to make all the decisions. But this can just as well be viewed as a classic capitalist gambit to corner the market for some rare commodity. We're told that the problem is that these metals have military applications, so it would be bad for the US military to be dependent on a potential rival for resources. Of course, it would be straightforward for the US government to direct resources at breaking this monopoly. It just wouldn't necessarily be the capitalist thing to do. But that doesn't bode well for the argument that we need to kill off the Chinese Communist Party to make the world safe for capitalism. Cotton goes way beyond these obvious complaints. He wants to prevent Chinese students from studying in US universities, on the theory that they might learn something that could be used against us. He wants to prohibit the Chinese from buying up companies in Hollywood, because he's afraid they'll use their influence to corrupt American culture. (Re-read that sentence slowly to savor every nuance.) But Cotton also thinks that Covid-19 was a Chinese bioweapon gone amok. Or maybe he just finds such inflammatory charges convenient in his crusade to make the US despicable. It's hard to see anything in this litany of complaints where the elimination of China as a military and/or economic rival would materially improve the lot of most Americans. Sure, there may be some business interests who would come out ahead, but many more would lose markets and/or suppliers. Even professional warmongers like Cotton would be better off preserving China as a token threat than scheming without enemies (not that he wouldn't find new ones). On the other hand, war never gives you an ideal outcome. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the most miserable decade in Russian history, where social cohesion broke down and property was sucked up by criminal oligarchs, a situation so dire that Putin's gangsta nationalism looked like salvation. China is far less dangerous under its present order than it would be if smashed into chaos. 4. Aside from the direct costs and risks of waging economic warfare, what are the significant opportunity costs -- other things that the US should be doing -- in choosing to oppose China? The obvious point here is that China has a lot to say about whether the world comes to grips with climate change. A couple decades ago, China was so preoccupied with development it seemed likely to use up most of the world's coal reserves, but recently they've shifted gears and started to embrace non-carbon sources of energy, quickly becoming more responsible than the United States has been. Open source technology is another area where cooperation could be advantageous to both countries and to the world. Clearly, both the US and China could have done a better job of coordinating in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. The fact that both nations view one another in a quasi-siege mentality has made cooperation difficult. I suspect that American hostility has added to Chinese paranoia over free speech. While there is no need for Americans to approve of Chinese repression, we do need to be less confrontational about it. For this, we must recognize and respect that Chinese participation in international organizations is essential. For that, we'll need diplomats who can see multiple sides and look for mutually beneficial solutions. And we'll need to keep "paper tigers" like Cotton locked up in their cages. As the links at the start of this post indicate, Biden has thus far been cautious in his approach to China. I haven't noticed him doing anything grossly stupid, although he has chosen to surround himself with reflexive hawks like Anthony Blinken and Jake Sullivan, and he hasn't actively challenged the provocations of outright hawks like Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz. The Politico article quotes several "China experts" warning about a "negotiation trap," as if there was any path but negotiations that could ever lead to mutual understanding. (Said "experts" were in fact Trump's China hands, who no doubt contributed to Trump's ineffectiveness.) On the other hand, Biden did seize his first opportunity to do something really stupid in the Middle East: he ordered an airstrike in Syria in response to a so-called provocation in Iraq attributed to a militia allegedly representative of Iran. (See Stephen Miles: Biden's Syria strikes: A perpetual cycle of endless war.) This is significant not just because it continues the "endless war" model that US president have followed since Bill Clinton found he could relieve his personal anxieties by bombing Iraq, but because Biden jumped at his first opportunity to order death-from-air. As Trita Parsi, in Biden said 'Diplomacy is back!' Then he started dropping bombs: it took Trump four months before he ordered the bombing of Syria. As I recall, the first murder Obama ordered was the killing of Somali pirates, which was an even more personal decision than the sanitized military operations Trump and Biden rubber-stamped. I'm not sure who was the last US president not to directly order some kind of military or covert operation aimed at killing people abroad. (Probably Herbert Hoover.) Hannah Arendt referred to Eichmann's excuse that he was just following orders as "the banality of evil." I'm not sure whether Biden's callous, carefree order, made simply by approving a plan someone else drew up, is more evil, or just more banal. But the immediate effect is to throw a monkey wrench into prospects for returning to the Iran nuclear weapons deal -- a signature Obama achievement, one that Biden had campaigned on. That's welcome news in Israel and Saudi Arabia, who never seriously worried about Iran's nuclear program but saw it as a way to manipulate Washington into an unthinking anti-Iran alliance. It's not surprising that Trump fell for the con -- the only thing that really mattered to him was cashing the checks. Nor does Biden's background suggest he's capable of independent thought in this arena, but until he realizes the need to reformulate "American interests" in terms of peace, order, justice, and cooperation, he is likely to be blindsided by the various parties convinced that projecting American power is its own virtue. PS: For examples of the latter, see Robert W Merry: Keeping the hegemon-addicted in their proper place. Parsi followed up the bombing attack with Iran rejects meeting as Biden's slow diplomacy hits predictable snag. Michael T Klare has some constructive suggestions in: Biden, climate change, and China. Biden also has a recognizing reality problem with Russia, as Dave DeCamp reports: Biden says US will 'never' accept Russia's annexation of Crimea. Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, February 22, 2021 Music Week
February archive (in progress). Music: Current count 34967 [34957] rated (+10), 249 [253] unrated (-4). I made my excuses in last week's No Music Week, so won't repeat myself here. Not much to report, but also no reason not to kick this out on schedule. I've been erratic since Wednesday, not writing anything up on Sunday, when I was cooking a fairly serious dinner. (Salmon teriyaki, fried rice, stir-fried lima beans, some frozen potstickers, flourless chocolate cake. Picture on Facebook.) Only played the Sam Rivers album today, figuring it to be the best shot at an A- record -- may have cut it some slack, finishing my review before the long closing flute lead, so phobes beware. Started of trying to explore the late rasta toaster U-Roy, but didn't get very far, mostly because his discography boggled my mind. I should note that Clifford Ocheltree recommended two records I couldn't find: The Lost Album: Right Time Rockers (1976 [2010], Sound System); and Version of Wiscom (1978-79 [1990], Front Line/Virgin). He carried on into the 21st century, but the 1970s look to be his prime time: my own pick is still the 1969-70 Your Ace From Space. Percussionist Milford Graves also died last week (1941-2021). He had a pretty sketchy discography since his 1965 Percussion Ensemble. Some highlights include Real Deal (1992, with David Murray), Beyond Quantum (2008, with Anthony Braxton and Wiliam Parker), and Space/Time: Redemption (2015, with Bill Laswell). Last Monday of the month, but I'm in no mood to turn over my Streamnotes file, so maybe I'll aim for a February 28 Music Week on Sunday, and feel more like it then. New records reviewed this week:
Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:
Old music:
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Wednesday, February 17, 2021 No Music WeekFebruary archive (in progress). The last two weeks have been brutal. My wife fell and broke her leg. While she was in the hospital, I developed an infection and was sick for the better part of a week. And, as most of you are no doubt aware, it's been brutally cold in the Midwest, even as far south as Wichita (with the whinging even louder in Texas). Second longest stretch of sub-20F weather in history, hitting a low the other day of -17F. Snow more days than not, and while it still doesn't amount to more than six inches, none of it has melted. Looks like it will stay below freezing through Friday, then edge over, then finally warm up a bit next week. Laura got home from hospital last Friday, and we've been struggling on all accounts -- although the first days were the worst, and we're doing a bit better day-by-day. Haven't been out since Friday, aside from taking the trash/recycle cans to the curb on Monday, where they remain untouched. I made a grocery store run on Thursday. Picked up a chicken (since boiled, then baked under biscuits), a piece of chuck steak (since fried, then baked with mushroom gravy), some hamburger (turned that into sloppy joes), and beef/lamb for a future meatloaf. All old family comfort dishes. Took a break from that yesterday and made a Chinese classic, Ants Climbing Tree, with cellophane noodles and ground pork, with garlic and scallions, bean paste, cooked in chicken stock. I bought the essential ingredients many months ago. We can probably go weeks pulling things out of the freezer, although staples we normally keep fresh like potatoes and onions are in short supply. One thing I haven't done is listen to new music, let alone write about it. I usually have a bit of a down after wrapping up a year, but lately I've stuck with old reliables, mostly from the travel cases (Mississippi John Hurt at the moment, preceded by Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield). Started to stream Ethan Iverson's Bud Powell album, but only made it four cuts in. When I realized I wasn't going to have anything to report for Monday's Music Week, I reconciled myself to not reviewing anything until I do a "No Music Week" post. Main thing I wanted to accomplish there was to catalog my incoming mail, which I had neglected for a couple weeks. Took me to Thursday to catch up with the "unpacking." The resulting top line looks like this: Music: Current count 34957 [34955] rated (+2), 253 [233] unrated (+20). The +2 fixes some bookkeeping errors. Related to that, note that I muffed the previous week's count, revising the rated count down from +68 to +58. Still 43 shy of 35,000. Odds of hitting that next week would be 4-6 normally, but this is no normal week. The +20 is the unpacking below. No actual reviews to offer this week, so I'm not even holding anything back. Not sure whether there will be a Music Week on Monday. Depends on whether I can shift out of this rut. Rush Limbaugh died this week. The only time I actually listened to him was a few days in early 2009. We hired a guy to install tile in our kitchen, and he and his son came in with a big boom box tuned to Limbaugh. I was at first pleasantly surprised to find out that Obama is a socialist, but like all of Limbaugh's spew, that turned out to be way off the mark. But lack of direct contact didn't shield me from his impact. He probably ranks as the most toxic figure in American politics ever. I have yet to find any piece that remotely does him justice -- although even efforts to be "fair and balanced" show him to be totally repulsive. If you want to read something, you might start with Zack Beauchamp: Rush Limbaugh's toxic legacy. As the author points out, "The Republican Party he poisoned is very much alive." One particular grudge I have against Limbaugh is that he used a book title I had been toying with: The Way Things Ought to Be. I've been thinking about that title recently, as I've found myself less and less interested in either writing about how vile the Republicans are -- a major concern during the GW Bush years, not that anything they've done since has blunted my outrage -- or what the Democrats need to do to more effectively resist and overcome the Republican derangement (more of an inclination during the Trump years than reiterating the obvious). That always struck me as an aspirational title rooted in basic philosophy and ethics, and that's the sort of thing I feel like working out now. Needless to say, Limbaugh's book was nothing of the sort. Published in 1992, it was mostly a hatchet job on Anita Hill. If you recall the name, you'll recognize several of the levels on which that was inappropriate. (One that I wasn't aware of was that Clarence Thomas officiated over Limbaugh's third wedding, two years after the book was published.) Just noticed that Jamaican toaster Ewart Beckford, better known as U-Roy, has just died, at 78. I strongly recommend the one early record I've heard: Your Ace From Space (1969-70 [1995], Trojan). But many more followed. Maybe I'll check out some more. Minor bookkeeping points:
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Tuesday, February 9, 2021 Music Week
Expanded blog post, February archive (in progress). Music: Current count 34955 [34897] rated (+58), 233 [231] unrated (+2). This will, sorry to say, have to remain brief. I doubt I'll ever get around to writing up a 2020 year-end essay, despite having follow the year's records more closely than ever before. However, no regrets about letting the plague year fade into historical memory. Let's get this over with. I'm surprised to find this post is only a day late. I took ill on Sunday, spent much of Monday with doctors, and tried my best to sleep through Tuesday -- failing mostly because the dog had other ideas. Urinary tract infection, nasty business. Presumably the antibiotics will kick in and I'll be back to normal in a few days. Two additional factors have compounded my misery. For one thing, we're in the middle of what the Wichita Eagle has called our worst cold snap since 1983. That mostly means daytime temperatures in the teens, with overnight lows close to zero. We got a bit of snow early on, and a bit more since. It doesn't amount to much, but it isn't melting either, so going out (as I did on Monday) is treacherous, and the cold itself is painful. The other big thing is that my wife, Laura Tillem, fell on the porch Wednesday and broke her thigh bone. They operated on her, a procedure they call intramedullary nailing. The "nail" is a long titanium rod inserted into the canal of the femur, so it provides weight-bearing structural support even before the bone heals. She was in the hospital through Monday morning, then transferred to a rehab clinic (actually, another hospital on the northwest edge of Wichita). If all goes well, she may come on Friday. Needless to say, her absence has made my condition much harder to deal with. Although the review count is high, all of that came from before Sunday. Since then, the only CD I've played downstairs has been The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 8, where Ben Webster, Red Callender, and Bill Douglass join Art Tatum. It's a extraordinary set of gentle ballads -- perfect, soothing background music, which is all I've been up for. My Year 2020 file has been frozen. The latter is an archive file which captures what I knew at the moment when I decided the year was done. I'll continue to update the former for a year. Same for my jazz and non-jazz EOY files, though I'm likely to stop bothering with them when/if I create 2021 files. The current A-lists are 83 jazz, 72 non-jazz, with old music breaking 12-17. B+(***) records broke 152-105 (27-18 for old). The division among lower grades is pretty close (490-487; 52-41 for old). Total number of reviewed records (from tracking file): 1610. That total was inflated a bit by my decision to include all 2019 albums that hadn't appeared in my 2019 tracking file, plus all December albums even if they had appeared, but that only added 52. I believe my previous high was 1334 albums in 2011, followed by 1230 in 2010, with 1222 in 2019 a close third. (I didn't check every year. Just did an initial sort by file size, then fgrep|wc for the counts. Also, I used the frozen files, to keep the comparisons fair.) I won't be doing that again. My 2021 tracking file has very little in it beyond albums I have promo copies of. Last year I primed my EOY Aggregate files with review grades (mostly from AOTY and Metacritic, but I also tracked other sources, especially jazz and country), so I had a pretty good real-time idea how the year was stacking up before the EOY lists started appearing. I'm not doing that for 2021. While I enjoyed keeping on top of so much information, it took up a lot of time, and I'm thinking that time could be better spent. On the other hand, without that data to guide me, I expect I'll be listening to many fewer albums in 2021. I spent much of last week scrounging up more data for the EOY Aggregate. I think we can say that's done now. The best-regarded albums for 2020 (points in braces, my grades in brackets, with * subdividing B+):
Lenker's Songs and Instrumentals were separate digital releases, but combined on CD. I graded each half, but most list sources combined the two. Most of the recent changes were due to my counting of individual ballots for Francis Davis's Jazz Critics Poll, the Uproxx Music Critics Poll, and the Pazz & Jop Rip-Off. My initial tactic was to only count ballots of individuals I've counted in past years, but I added a few more names where I thought the picks were particularly interesting. One effect of this was to secure 2nd place for RTJ4, after Punisher had briefly topped it. The JCP ballots (all but 17 were counted) explain why jazz is represented here much more than in other aggregates (28, 43, 44, 45, 48, 63, 65, 71, 75, 75, 84, 93, 96, 96). I consider that a feature. New records reviewed this week: 2nd Grade: Hit to Hit (2020, Double Double Whammy): Jangle pop band from Philadelphia, first album, Peter Gill wrote the songs, sings and plays guitar. B+(**) Jhené Aiko: Chilombo (2020, Def Jam): Alt-r&b singer-songwriter, from Los Angeles, third album, title her (and her father's) surname. Pretty chill. B+(*) Thana Alexa: Ona (2020, self-released): Jazz singer-songwriter, born in New York, parents Croatian, plays violin, second album, some strong political themes. Drummer Antonio Sanchez (her husband) is the standout in a sharp band, and various guests drop in. B+(**) Gyedu-Blay Ambolley: 11th Street, Sekondi (2019, Agogo): Highlife musician from Ghana, 31st album since 1973, plays tenor sax and sings. B+(**) [bc] Tim Berne/Matt Mitchell: Spiders (2020, Out of Your Head): Duo, alto sax and piano, former credited with compositions, one of several records they've done together recently, from a partnership going back at least to 2010, but this is the first I've managed to hear all the way through. First-rate pianist, drawing Berne out for a live album that is both intimate and imposing. A- [dl] Jake Blount: Spider Tales (2020, Free Dirt): Banjo and fiddle player from DC, sings some, has a degree in ethnomusicology and puts it to good use, first album after an EP and a couple of group credits (e.g., The Moose Whisperers). B+(***) [bc] Busta Rhymes: Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God (2020, Conglomerate/Empire): Rapper Trevor Smith, tenth album since 1996, returns to his third title after 22 years, offering us 5 more years. Good chance he'll disccover another such event in 2042, by which point his beats and growl will be even older school. Still, I've never understood the point of worshipping a god who promises such wrath, let alone associating with the people who relish devastation. Lost a point for the "Satanic" ending. B+(*) Chika: Industry Games (2020, Warner, EP): Rapper Jane Chika Oranika, from Alabama, got accepted by Berklee but saved money by going local, then dropped out after a year. Second EP (first on a label, 7 cuts, 20:14). Finding her legs, "I'm 22, making money." I can recall the feeling, and it sure beats what went down before. B+(**) Common: A Beautiful Revolution [Part 1] (2020, Loma Vista): Chicago rapper Lonnie Lynn, debuted 1992, a pretty big star with gold records through 2007, with a half-dozen records since; has done some acting, writing, political activism, making him a target for the Fox News crowd (and Obama). Still, surprising this one was so thoroughly ignored -- some pegged it as an EP, but I count nine tracks, 34:14, and it's all pretty solid. B+(***) Chris Crack: White People Love Algorithms (2020, New Deal Collectives): Rapper Christopher Harris, claims a "coming of age as a drug-dealing math wiz." 16 tracks, 28:05. B+(**) Ani DiFranco: Revolutionary Love (2021, Righteous Babe): Buffalo folksinger, now transplanted to New Orleans, 20th studio album since 1990, music a little on the slick side, lyrics sometimes sneak up on you. B+(**) Kevin Dixon: The Summer We All Bought Guns (2020, Covid Charlie's Demo-lution): Singer-songwriter from North Carolina, quarantine project was to "whip up a few demos for my beloved band, Zen Frisbee," but got carried away, winding up with 33 songs that average close to 4 minutes. Lo-fi, a lot to sit through, especially as moments of clarity are rare. B [bc] Che Ecru: Til Death (2020, F Plus): R&B singer-songwriter from Boston, second album, don't know much more -- website says "I'm bored and I make music." B+(**) Wendy Eisenberg: Auto (2020, Ba Da Bing): Guitarist, from Boston, past records tend to be avant/jazz, adds voice here. Some parts are basically strum and warble, but crank up the intensity and things start to break in interesting ways. B+(*) [bc] En Attendant Ana: Juillet (2020, Trouble in Mind): French indie pop group, second album, Margaux Bouchaudon writes and sings, plays guitar and keyboards. Titles in English, although I can't follow the lyrics (or pick up stray French). Nice crunchy riffs. B+(**) See'J Foster: HiSonGreWings (2020, self-released): Rapper, from Mobile, Alabama, dedicates this to his father, who died a year past, contemplating the hole his death left. B+(**) [bc] Gabriel Garzón-Montano: Agüita (2020, Jagjaguwar): Singer-songwriter born in Brooklyn, parents Colombian and French, third album since 2014. B+(*) Dana Gavanski: Yesterday Is Gone (2020, Ba Da Bing): Canadian singer-songwriter, of Serbian descent, from Vancouver, based in Toronoto. Picks up a bit midway. B+(*) Dana Gavanski: Wind Songs (2020, Ba Da Bing, EP): Five songs (22:59), covers, one Serbian folk, others airy ballads. B [bc] Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Live at Le Guess Who? 2018 (2018 [2020], Transgressive): Singer-songwriter, b. 1944 in Philadelphia, father reportedly played classical piano 4 hours a day, mother sang spirituals, "one of the first black students to study at McGill University in Montreal," spent most of his life in Canada, recorded an album of electronics in 1986, "began publicly identifying as a trans man in 2002." References suggested filing under folk or jazz, but is so "beyond category" as to mock it. Plays piano, sings with operatic high notes, talks a lot. B+(***) Goodie Mob: Survival Kit (2020, Organized Noize/Goodie Mob Worldwide): Major Atlanta hip-hop group for three 1995-98 albums, before Cee-Lo Green went solo. Reunited for a 2013 album (Age Against the Machine), and again here. They were overshadowed by OutKast in their heyday, and barely remembered today, but with a little editing this would be the perfect complement to RTJ4. A- Conan Gray: Kid Krow (2020, Republic): Singer-songwriter, "social media personality," first album after singles and an EP, has some pop smarts, issues with alcohol, can blow things out of proportion. Choice cut: "Wish You Were Sober." B+(*) Gunna: Wunna (2020, YSL/300): Atlanta rapper Sergio Kitchens, second album plus the Drip Season series of mixtapes. B+(*) Juniper: Juniper (2020, self-released): Last name Shelley, 15-year-old singer-songwriter from New Jersey, draws on 1960s girl groups plus some bubblegum and a bit of cha cha ("Poke Your Eye Out"). Refreshing to hear teen music I can relate to my teens. (Well, not mine personally, but my general era.) A- [bc] KMRU: Peel (2020, Editions Mego): Joseph Kamaru, a sound artist/producer from Nairobi. Ambient. The 15:10 opener barely engages your consciousness, but isn't bad for background. The one called "Klang" gets a bit louder, but not enough to merit the title. B+(*) [bc] LCSM [Likwid Continual Space Motion]: Earthbound (2020, Super-Sonic Jazz): London group, seems to have existed in various guises at least since 2003, with Ian Grant (aka IG Culture) the central figure (his albums go back to 1994; he's described here as "one of the most important protagonists of the UK's broken beat jazz scene"). What we could call "jazz-funk," but never really satisfied with a groove. B+(***) [bc] Madlib: Sound Ancestors (2021, Madlib Invazion): Otis Jackson Jr., raps a little but is more DJ/producer, with more collaborations than albums under his own name (especially recently). This time it's Kieren Hebden (Four Tet), but he just blends in. B+(*) Maluma: Papi Juancho (2020, Sony Music Latin): Colombian reggaeton star Juan Luis Londońo Arias, fifth album since 2012, long (22 songs, 73:30). Very consistent, nothing really jumps out. B+(**) Shawn Mendes: Wonder (2020, Island): Canadian pop star, fourth album since 2015. Awkward start, recovers, but erratic. Will have a recommendable Greatest Hits some day. Lyric I jotted down: "I'm not the type to overthink." B+(*) Moor Mother & Billy Woods: Brass (2020, Backwoodz Studioz): Philadelphia poet Camae Ayewa, part of jazz group Irreversible Entanglements but also has a number of hip-hop moves, including this with one-half of Armand Hammer. Lot here, but didn't catch much of it. B+(**) Nihiloxica: Kaloli (2020, Crammed Discs): Group bills itself as "Kampala's darkest electro-percussion group." Billed as their "full-length debut," although they have a 26:12 eponymous EP on Nyege Nyege Tapes. B+(**) Kassa Overall: Shades of Flu: Healthy Remixes for an Ill Moment (2020, Flu Note): Drummer, straddles hip-hop and free jazz, combines the two with this 37:24 remix of jazz tracks. Label is a play on Blue Note, down to the logo. B+(*) [bc] Palberta: Palberta 5000 (2021, Wharf Cat): Indie rock band from New York, three women, first DIY albums (2013-14) were called My Pal Berta and Shitheads in the Ditch. Transitioning from punk to pop, not really either at the moment. B+(*) Tayla Parx: Coping Mechanisms (2020, Taylamade): Pop/r&b singer, given name Parks, second album. B+(*) Penya Na Msafiri Zawose: Penya Safari E.P. (2020, On the Corner): UK group, linked to Tanzania at least through vocalist-percussionist Zawose (you may recognize the name, as the daughter of Hukwe Zawose), though on their own they slump toward more basic electronica. "E.P." in title, but runs 34:05 (7 songs). B+(*) [bc] Real Estate: The Main Thing (2020, Domino): Indie band, originally from New Jersey, singer-guitarist Martin Courtney and bassist Alex Bleeker constants through five albums since 2009. Sweet voice, nice indie strum, very par for the course. B+(*) Roddy Ricch: Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial (2019, Atlantic): Los Angeles rapper Rodrick Moore, first album after a couple mixtapes and some singles ("The Box," included here, was a hit). B Roshin: Unrequited (2020, self-released): From Toronto, "raps, sings and plays rudimentary keyboard lines." B+(*) [bc] Lingo Seini Et Son Groupe: Musique Hauka (2020, Sahel Sounds): From Niger, a rare recording of Hauka ritual music -- Hauka was a fringe religious movement which developed over a century ago as resistance to French colonialism (Wikipedia "see also": Cargo cult, Ghost dance). Vocals and percussion, mostly calabash. Recent recording, I presume, but I doubt if the music has changed much in the last century. Notes say that Seini has been performing for 60 years. B+(**) [bc] Shamir: Shamir (2020, self-released): Last name Bailey, singer-songwriter from Las Vegas suburbs, 2015 debut got some attention, but he's been self-releasing since 2017, and this is a short digital only (8 songs plus 3 short skits, 27:41). More rockish, don't get much out of the voice or synths. B Skyzoo & Dumbo Station: The Bluest Note (2020, Tuff Kong, EP): Brooklyn rapper Skyler Taylor, albums since 2006, often with co-credited producers. Dumbo Station is a nu-jazz group from Italy, one previous album, playing rather than sampling the classic jazz riffs (notably Francesco Fratini on trumpet). Hometown tales, steady going. Six tracks, 19:52. A- Skyzoo: Milestones (2020, Mello Music Group, EP): Seven track (24:35) "conceptual EP," recapitulating autobiography from son to father of his own son. Knows his jazz, named his son Miles, doubling the meaning of his title. Another obvious choice: rapping over "Song for My Father." With no children of my own, I'm surprised I find this so touching. A- Stove God Cooks: Reasonable Drought (2020, The Conglomeration Entertainment): Rapper Aaron Cooks, first album, produced by Roc Marciano, who sometimes gets co-credit. B+(**) Thick: 5 Years Behind (2020, Epitaph): Brooklyn punk trio, three women, first album after a bunch of singles/EPs, 11 songs, 27:08. B+(**) Ty Dolla $ign: Featuring Ty Dolla $ign (2020, Atlantic): Trap rapper Tyrone Griffin, from Los Angeles, third album, major effort, doesn't return much. B Westside Gunn: Who Made the Sunshine (2020, Griselda/Shady/Interscope): Buffalo rapper, second album (plus a mixtape) this year. Takes on God and/or the Sun in the opener, but loses me after, impressing me mostly with intensity for some unfathomable purpose. B+(*) Matthew Wright: Locked Hybrids (2020, Relative Pitch): British composer, I guess, perhaps more like a jazz DJ, creates "sound installations" with turntables and electronics, figure this as his quarantine project, working with archived samples of Evan Parker, Toma Gouband, and Mark Nauseef, dating from 2018. Can't say as he really makes much of them. B [bc] YoungBoy Never Broke Again: Top (2020, Never Broke Again/Atlantic): Rapper Kentrell Gaulden, second album, came out before he turned 21. I'm struck by how cramped this feels, and how little I can follow. B- Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Birds of Prey: The Album ([2020], Atlantic): Dubbed a "candy-colored, R-rated new entry in the DC Extended Universe" -- more a conceptually-aligned side-project than a soundtrack, especially since the movie Birds of Prey has its own "Original Motion Picture Score." Fifteen sharp-edged pop tunes by women, only four household names chez moi (Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Halsey, Summer Walker; ok, I've also heard of K.Flay and Jurnee Smollett-Bell). Does it a few high points. B+(***) Billy Brooks: Windows of the World (1974 [2002], WeWantSounds): Trumpet player (1926-2002), played for Lionel Hampton, recorded this one album under his own name, a big band Ray Charles co-produced and released on his Crossover Records. Lasting impact was a sample A Tribe Called Quest lifted. Best forgotten: flute with horn blasts. B- [bc] Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Transmissions: The Music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland (1970-2019 [2020], Transgressive): Scattered picks from "her" eponymous debut through "his" latest live outings (repeating "Deep River" from Live at Le Guess Who? 2018). The gospel electronica of "A Little Talk" is a favorite, followed by stronger rhythm tracks, but the album is interesting in all sorts of ways. A- [bc] Honey Radar: Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years (2015-18 [2020], Chunklet Industries): Jason Henn's alt/indie group dates back to 2008, starting in Indiana and winding up in Philadelphia, along the way throwing some lo-fi singles out on this Atlanta label. B+(**) Portals: A Kosmische Journey Through Outer Worlds and Inner Space ([2020], Behind the Sky): Thirteen artists, mostly 5-minute chunks, working with analog synths for a retro space vibe, with a "Berlin-school" influence. Presumably recent music, although some of the artists (Ian Boddy, Steve Roach) go back to the 1980s. B+(***) [bc] Nancy Sinatra: Start Walkin' 1965-1976 (1965-76 [2021], Light in the Attic): Frank Sinatra's daughter, 25 when she scored her iconic hit ("These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"), 80 last week when she made the news for saying something intemperate about Donald Trump (her father was famously liberal until he switched rat packs to pal around with Spiro Agnew). Her only other bit hit was a duet with Dad, skipped here, focusing on songs with Lee Hazlewood (mostly writing/producing, but some duets; label has reissued a lot by Hazlewood). Bag gets mixed over time -- more his fault than hers. Low point: "Arkansas Coal" ("so this is how it feels to be dead"). B+(**) Southeast of Saturn: Michigan Shoegaze/Dream Pop/Space Rock (1990s [2020], Third Man): Obscure bands, which seems about right for this kind of anonymous drone. B+(*) Voz Di Sanicolau: Fundo De Marę Palinha (1976 [2020], Analog Africa, EP): Short album (6 tracks, 18:39) recorded in Rotterdam by Cabo Verdean emigrés. B+(**) [bc] Mike Westbrook: Love and Understanding: Citadel/Room 315 Sweden '74 (1974 [2020], My Only Desire): British pianist, ambitious composer, a Penguin Guide favorite I've heard very little from. Commissioned by Sveriges Radio, played by their big band -- most famous: Arne Domnérus (alto sax/clarinet), Jan Allen (trumpet/alto horn) and Bengt Hallberg (piano) -- with Westbrook on electric piano and John Surman on his usual reeds. High point is the 14:40 "Pastorale." A- [bc] Old music: Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Keyboard Fantasies (1986, Atlast): Six minimalist compositions played on a Yamaha DX-7 Synthesizer and a Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer, fetching in their simplicity, plus voice, which is an acquired taste. B+(**) [bc] Playboy Tre and DJ Swatts: Goodbye America: Da Story of a Drunk Loner (2008, Last Call Entertainment): Saw this on a 2013 list of "The Five Best Atlanta Hip-Hop Albums of All Time," topped by OutKast, Goodie Mob, Ludacris, and Bubba Sparxxx, the only one I had never heard of. Still surprised to find that neither AMG nor Discogs lists this (at least under "Playboy Tre"), while Wikipedia redirects me to B.o.B. -- someone else, linked by the production group HamSquad and the occasional shout outs. This rapper Clarence Montgomery III, from Decatur, Georgia, formerly dba Y.B.M., for all I know may be calling himself something else these days. Sloppy mixtape, with enough brilliant runs to mark it as a cult classic. But he was already selling his future short. As he put it: "Cause, you know, I like to get fucked up." A- Playboy Tre: Liquor Store Mascot (2009, Playboy Music): Banner across top proclaims: "DJ Swatts and Ham Squad Present." The beats get you going, but the interludes work too, and the star has an appealing delivery. Too much alcohol, but "Remember Me" will sober you up. Epitaph: "the breaks won't come for you." A- SK Kakraba: Songs of Paapieye (2015, Awesome Tapes From Africa): From Ghana, plays gyil, a "xylophone made of 14 wooden slats strung across calabash gourd resonators." Label specializes in reissues, as its name claims, but Kakraba moved to Los Angeles, and this seems to be a recent recording. B+(**) [bc] Unpacking: Sorry, I haven't gotten around to listing the half-dozen or so CDs I received in the mail last week Ask a question, or send a comment. Sunday, January 31, 2021 Music Week
Music: Current count 34897 [34864] rated (+33), 231 [224] unrated (+7). I started this week a day late, and ended it a day early to squeeze all I could into January, but rated count is pretty decent for 5 days. I hoped I could wrap up 2020 by the end of January, and move onto 2021 and possibly a new stage in my life/work, but as the clock wound down, I had to decide whether to publish on time or hold back and try to wind things up. I decided to publish what I have, leaving a bunch of things to wrap up later. These include: indexing January Streamnotes; freezing Year 2020; ending updates to the EOY Aggregate and writing up some kind of summary of what I've learned from the year. I should get all of those things "done" by next week. I normally continue to add stragglers to the jazz and non-jazz EOY files for some time after "freeze" date, so no decision there. Freeze means I save off a copy of the file as of an arbitrary date, but I usually continue updating the Year files until the end of the following year -- the new entries are flagged by using different color type. Very little time to write more here. One source of records here was Robert Christgau's latest Consumer Guide and Dean's List. The Dean's list encouraged me to recheck a couple of country albums I liked earlier and like even more now, as well as a couple albums Christgau published reviews of yet. Several more quick notes:
New records reviewed this week: Karrin Allyson Sextet: Shoulder to Shoulder: Centennial Tribute to Women's Suffrage (2019, EOne Music): Standards singer, from Kansas, all women in the sextet -- Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Mindi Abair (alto sax), Helen Sung (piano), Endea Owens (bass), Allison Miller (drums) -- but John Daversa did much of the arranging, and a few men (and many more women) drop in as guests, ranging from old texts (though Sojourner Truth hasn't lost much relevance since 1851) to a Rapsody rhyme. B+(***) Callum Au/Claire Martin: Songs and Stories (2020, Stunt): British trombonist and vocalist, the latter with 20+ albums since 1992, a debut for the former, flexing his talents arranging for big band plus strings (24 violins, 8 violas, 6 cellos, 4 basses, harp). Standards Sinatra would be at home with. B+(**) Peter Bernstein: What Comes Next (2020, Smoke Sessions): Guitarist, couple dozen albums since 1992, many more side credits. Early album titles included A Tribute to Tal Farlow and A Groovy Affair, and and he's rarely tried to extend those boundaries. With Sumner Fortner (piano), Peter Washington (bass), and Joe Farnsworth (drums). B+(*) Binker and Moses: Escape the Flames (2017 [2020], Gearbox): Popular UK sax/drums duo Binker Golding and Moses Boyd, several records together, as well as notable solo efforts. Six pieces averaging a bit over 10 minutes. At speed they are terrific, and even the change-of-pace pieces have their moments. Too bad it's not on CD. A- [os] The Bombpops: Death in Venice Beach (2020, Fat Wreck Chords): San Diego band, founded by Poli van Dam and Jen Razavi (both guitar/voice), debut was a 2009 EP. Punk speed/intensity, storming through 12 songs in 29:42, with bass and drums, but also cello -- no chamber move, just more intensity. B+(**) Peter Campbell: Old Flames Never Die (2020, self-released): Jazz singer from Toronto, third album since 2014 (with a fourth hot on its heels), dedicates this to voice teacher Joyce McLean. Kevin Turcotte (trumpet) and Reg Schwager (guitar) have nice turns. I have to admit that the voice has a strange allure, but I could see getting tired of him fast. B+(*) Luca Collivasone/Gianni Mimmo: Rumpus Room (2019 [2020], Amirani): Duo, Mimmo plays soprano sax, Collivasone has an invention called the cacophonator, which generates a variety of string and percussive sounds, though not quite a cacopohany. B+(*) Brandon Evans: The Grove (2020, Human Plastic, EP): Saxophonist (plus woodwinds), considerable discography since 1997 which I've never explored -- found his name in my database for work with Anthony Braxton. Solo bass clarinet, also credits synthesizers but they're not conspicuous. Three tracks, 23:58. B+(**) Justin Farren: Pretty Free (2020, Bad Service Badger): Singer-songwriter from Sacramento, fourth album since 2004, the kind of unheralded, eloquent folkie Christgau has been finding and pushing lately, doesn't get interesting for me until he works up some tension, as in "Two Wheel Drive and Japanese." A- Michael Formanek: Pre-Apocalyptic (2014 [2020], Out of Your Head): Bassist-led quartet with Tim Berne (alto sax), Craig Taborn (piano), and Gerald Cleaver (drums). Stellar spots, sometimes tends to slip away. B+(***) [dl] The Henrys: Paydirt (2020, HR-2019): Instrumental folk group from Toronto, seventh album since 1994. Easy listening. B+(*) Dave Liebman/Randy Brecker/Marc Copland/Drew Gress/Joey Baron: Quint5t (2020, Inner Voice Jazz): All-star group, order on the cover, but the Bandcamp stream I found singled-out Copland -- the only one who didn't contribute a song, unless he suggested Ellington to open. Also appears that Ralph Alessi took over trumpet on 2 tracks (leaving 7 for Brecker). B+(**) Gianni Mimmo/Alison Blunt: Busy Butterflies (2020, Amirani): Italian saxophonist, albums since 2005, plays soprano here, duet with the violinist. Kind of scratchy, but not without charm. B+(**) Mukdad Rothenberg Lankow: In the Wake of Memories (2020, Clermont Music): Three surnames: Syrian oud player Wassim Mukdad, based in Berlin, as is percussionist Volker Lankow. They are joined by New York-based musicologist David Rothenberg -- he writes books on bird and bug music, encountering the others while researching his Nightingales in Berlin Project. Here he plays clarinet. Fine work all around, nice balance, comparable to Aly Keita's Intakt records. A- Ratboys: Printer's Devil (2020, Topshelf): Chicago indie group, Julia Steiner sings, writes, plays one (of two) guitars. Third album since 2015. B+(*) Enrico Rava/Matthew Herbert/Giovanni Guidi: For Mario (Live) (2020, Accidental): Trumpet-electronics-piano, dedicated to the pianist's late father, Mario Guidi. B+(*) [bc] Raw Poetic & Damu the Fudgemunk: Moment of Change (2020, Redefinition): Rapper Jason Moore and producer Earl Davis, five records together since 2017. B+(**) [bc] Tim Ray: Excursions and Adventures (2019 [2020], Whaling City Sound): Pianist, early records from 1997 and 2003, more side credits including a recent stint with Tony Bennett. Trio with John Patituci and Terri Lyne Carrington. Two originals, one piece each from the others, wide range of covers from Monk to "Paint It Black." B+(*) Reciprocal Uncles [Gianni Lenoci/Gianni Mimmo]: The Whole Thing (2019 [2020], Amirani): Piano and soprano sax duets, group named for a previous effort, pianist died in 2019 a few months after this was recorded. One 50:48 joint improv. B+(**) Romare: Home (2020, Ninja Tune): British electronica producer Archie Fairhurst, third album, singles and EPs back to 2012. Strong dance beat patterns, run on a bit. B+(**) Mara Rosenbloom Trio: Respiration (2020, Fresh Sound New Talent): Pianist, from New York, records since 2009. Trio with Sean Conley (bass) and Chad Taylor (drums), five originals plus two songs each by Ellington and Amina Claudine Myers. B+(**) David Rothenberg: Nightingales in Berlin (2019, Terra Nova): Clarinet player, couple dozen albums since 1995 but is probably more famous as a musicologist specializing in sounds of nature. He's written a number of books on this, often tied into albums, ranging from Bug Music to Whale Music via Why Birds Sing. This is another one, mostly bird song with human accompaniment -- eight guest artists as well as clarinet. B+(*) Jeff Rupert/George Garzone: The Ripple (2017 [2020], Rupe Media): Two tenor saxophonists, both educators, one teaches at Central Florida, the other is a legend. Backed here by Richard Drexler (piano), Jeremy Allen (bass), and Marty Morell (drums) -- names on the cover close enough to the headliners that Discogs credits the album to all five. B+(*) Dave Stryker: Baker's Circle (2019 [2021], Strikezone): Guitarist, long career, mainstream with a soft spot for soul jazz, and good taste in saxophonists: Walter Smith III makes a strong impression early here. With Jared Gold (organ), McClenty Hunter (drums), and extra percussion here and there. B+(***) [cd] [03-05] Tchami: Year Zero (2020, Conession): French house producer Martin Joseph Léonard Bresso, first album after five years of EPs and singles. B+(**) TOC: Indoor (2019 [2020], Circum-Disc): French group, touted as "unclassifiable" ("free hypnotic pop punk, post-rock, jazz-core"), initials for Jérémie Ternoy (keyboards), Peter Orins (drums), and Ivann Cruz (guitar). Discogs treats this as an EP, but with 8 tracks (41:25) I don't see why. Dense rhythm tracks, nothing as comfortable as a groove. B+(***) TOC & Dave Rempis: Closed for Safety Reasons (2019 [2020], Circum-Disc): Picked up a saxophonist here, a damn good one who adds direction and a leading voice to the volume. Four pieces, the 15:18 finale adding a second saxophonist (Sakina Abdou) to kick it up yet another notch. A- [bc] Anna Webber: Rectangles (2019 [2020], Out of Your Head): Tenor saxophonist, quartet with piano (Marc Hannaford), bass (Adam Hopkins), and drums (Mark Ferber). One 34:30 live piece, plus an promo excerpt (the bit you can hear on Bandcamp) -- probably the hot spot. B+(**) [dl] Ndabo Zulu & Umgidi Ensemble: Queen Nandi: The African Suite (2020, Mageba Music, 2CD): Trumpet player, from Durban, first album. Strikes me as big and messy, especially with the vocals, but the trumpet is fine, as is the sax (Linda Sikhakhane?). B+(*) Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Dexter Gordon: Montmartre 1964 (1964 [2020], Storyville): The tenor saxophonist moved to Paris in 1962, then on to Copenhagen, recording often enough at this Jazzhus that when I first heard of this, I confused it with later recordings. Quartet with a "local" rhythm section -- Tete Montoliu (piano), Niels-Henning Řrsted Pedersen (bass), and Alex Riel (drums). Gordon sings one song -- an anomaly not without interest. Real nice "Misty." B+(***) Dexter Gordon: The Squirrel: Live at Montmartre Copenhagen '67 (1967 [2020], Parlophone): Another live date from Jazzhus Montmartre, another quartet -- Kenny Drew (piano), Bo Stief (bass), Art Taylor (drums) -- didn't appear until Blue Note released it in 1996. Stretches out four cuts (66:18), starting with Tadd Dameron's title track. B+(**) New Orleans Mambo: Cuba to NOLA (1974-2019 [2020], Putumayo World Music): "Latin tinge" has been a New Orleans calling card since long before Jelly Roll Morton named it. This mostly picks New Orleans bands that push the concept hard. While they are enjoyable, I'm more impressed with Poncho Sanchez bouncing through "Going Back to New Orleans." B+(***) The Tabansi Studio Band: Vol. 3: Wakar Alhazai Kano/Mus'en Sofoa (1970s [2020], BBE): Nigerian (Igbo and Hausa) Afrobeat, label ran from 1975-85, dates no clearer than that, but these are two supposedly very rare albums from the period plus two short edits as bonus tracks, total 67:14. High energy, can't even fault the vocals. A- [bc] Turn Me Loose White Man (1900-60 [2020], Constant Sorrow, 30CD): Admittedly, I have done little more than thumb through the accompanying 352 pp. book, which offers detailed notes on this massive trove of early American music. (Actually, just the first 15 CDs, through 1930. The forthcoming Volume 2 should cover the rest, but the CDs are all here.) It's likely to take me months to get through the whole thing, maybe even a life time for it all to sink in, but the production (and Lowe's reputation as a voracious connoisseur and astute critic) tempt me to assign this preliminary (and most likely minimal) grade. Besides, I'm trying to wrap up 2020 this month, and I'd rather not leave this bookkeeping detail hanging over my head. A- [cd] Old music: Charles Mingus: Jazz in Detroit/Strata Concert Gallery/46 Selden (1973 [2018], BBE, 5CD): Live radio shot, recorded over a week, digital has 12 tracks, 249:56 (including a 38:59 interview), 5-CD and 5-LP versions a bit less. Quintet, with Joe Gardner (trumpet), John Stubblefield (tenor sax), Don Pullen (piano), and Roy Brooks (drums). This got a lot of attention when it first appeared, but I could only find fragments to stream. Strikes me as patchy, especially compared to the live 1973 Bremen set Sunnyside unearthed last year. B+(***) [bc] Further Sampling: Records I played parts of, but not enough to grade: -- means no interest, - not bad but not a prospect, + some chance, ++ likely prospect. Luke Norris: Northernsong (2020, Ears & Eyes): Saxophonist (soprano/tenor), quartet with guitar (Mike Baggetta). [bc: 3/8, 22:16/57:21]: + David Ramirez: My Love Is a Hurricane (2020, Sweetworld): Ex-folkie turned crooner. [r: 3/10]: -- Grade (or other) changes: Hayes Carll: Alone Together Sessions (2020, Dualtone): Quarantine project: acoustic versions of old songs, many memorable, ranging from 2002-19, plus a Lefty Frizzell cover, with extra help phoned in (Darrell Scott "played just about all the instruments"; Allison Moorer and Ray Wylie Hubbard sang one each). Line I jotted down: "why doesn't anybody speak about truth any more/maybe that's what songs are for." That from Trouble in Mind, still his best. I discounted the old songs when I first heard this, but it works fine as a best-of for our diminished times. [Was B+(**)] A- Ashley McBryde: Never Will (2020, Warner Nashville): Country singer-songwriter from Arkansas, based in Nashville, second big-league album, strong voice, big production, but enough attitude and observation and storytelling moxie to break through it. "Album of the year" according to the country music critics. [was: B+(**)] A- Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Tuesday, January 26, 2021 Music Week
January archive (in progress). Music: Current count 34864 [34804] rated (+60), 224 [221] unrated (+3). The end of January is usually my demarcation point between years. Last year I postponed Music Week to get to January 31, giving me the full month to try to wrap up 2020. This is the last Monday of January, so should be the last week, but lots of things feel unsettled. I thought about giving myself a few extra days, like last year, but when I ran the week's count, it was so high I decided a better plan would be to publish what I have now, then move next Music Week up a day, so it will land on January 31 instead of February 1. Or I could run it on next Monday, but back-date the files. Besides, I won't be doing a Weekend Roundup, so the slot's open. It will be a "short" week, but promises to be an intense one. Accordingly, I won't try to write up any EOY comments here. (No guarantee I will get it done next time, but that's the plan.) You should be able to find links to the usual files here. One thing I will be adding will be Robert Christgau's 2020 Dean's List, which I've heard will be delivered to subscribers on Wednesday. I know this because I had to make some updates to his website to fix errors he noticed in working on this. (My Young M.A regrade was occasioned by one of those errors. I initially reviewed it in late 2019, when it came out, before he reviewed it in March 2020.) Surprised I didn't come up with more A- records this week, but I've had quite a few distractions. The two I did find are obscure African reissues, checked out when I finally got around to adding the 65-deep reissues list from Ye Wei Blog (Jason Gross). In fact, most of the reissues/old music entries below were recommended by Jason, or one-step removed, including the Mainstream jazz reissues. Note that some items from his list appear as "old music" instead of as "reissues": I designated the latter when I found a reissue date, otherwise I reverted to the original release date. I need to make some changes in my music coverage after this month, but no need to rush into that now. Suffice it to say that I will continue to try to write up notes/reviews on the new (for me) records I hear, especially those CDs I receive as promos. But I will be less aggressive about tracking and searching out new music -- e.g., I have a 2021 music tracking file, but it has little in it beyond what I have heard or have in my queue, and I'm not starting a metacritic/EOY aggregate file as I've done for the last few years. I've started to play more old records for nothing but my own pleasure, and I hope to have a happier year in 2021. New records reviewed this week: Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet: Social Distancing (2020 [2021], Saponegro): Peruvian trumpet player, teaches at NYU, albums with his Sextet since 2008, adds some guests here, vocals up front. B+(**) [cd] [01-29] Juan Pablo Balcazar: Suite Resbalosa (2018 [2020], Fresh Sound New Talent): Spanish bassist, label credits him with 7 albums since 2005, his first remembered as a fine HM in an early Jazz CG. All original pieces, with two alto saxophonists, piano, and drums. B+(***) Big Sean: Detroit 2 (2020, GOOD Music/Def Jam): Detroit rapper Sean Anderson, fifth studio album sice 2011. B+(**) Nicholas Brust: Frozen in Time (2018 [2020], Fresh Sound New Talent): Alto saxophonist, studied in Boston, based in New York, first album, postbop quintet with piano (Tuoo Uusitalo), guitar (Ben Eunson), bass, and drums. B+(**) Aaron Burnett & the Big Machine: Jupiter Conjunct (2019 [2020], Fresh Sound New Talent): Tenor saxophonist, from California, studied at Berklee, several previous records. Sextet with trumpet (Adam O'Farrill), vibes (Joel Ross), piano, bass, drums, plus two Esperanza Spalding vocals (not a plus). B Cable Ties: Far Enough (2020, Merge): Australian garage rock band, Jenny McKechnie sings, second album, brash but catchy enough. B+(***) Cam: The Otherside (2020, RCA): Country singer-songwriter Camaron Ochs, from California, third album. B+(***) A.G. Cook: Apple (2020, PC Music): Initials for Alexander Guy, British electropop producer, founded PC Music label in 2013, may be better known for work with Charli XCX. Second LP after a number of singles and EPs back to 2013. B [bc] Deerhoof: Future Teenage Cave Artists (2020, Joyful Noise): Experimental rock group, discography starts in 1996, not one I was tempted to follow but Greg Saunier (drums) and John Dieterich (guitar since 1999) have been showing up in jazz and hip-hop contexts recently. (The other long-termer is bassist-singer Satomi Matsuzaki.) Scattered psychedelia, somehow more appealing than you'd expect. B+(*) Deerhoof & Wadada Leo Smith: To Be Surrounded by Beautiful, Curious, Breathing, Laughing Flesh Is Enough (2020, Joyful Noise): Two live sets, the first (6 tracks, 17:52) with just the band, the second (5 tracks, 19:04) adds the trumpet player. B+(**) [bc] Deerhoof: Love-Lore (2020, Joyful Noise): Surprise album, nominally a covers album, with five medleys (one 19:02, which winds through Silver Apples/Police/Kraftwerk through Babbitt/B52s to Penderecki/Cage/Brecht). Very mixed bag, but the short B52s bit is great, as is the Velvet Underground ("All Tomorrow's Parties"). B+(*) Eyelids: The Accidental Falls (2020, Decor): Indie band from Portland, fourth album since 2014. B+(*) Laura Fell: Safe From Me (2020, Balloon Machine): Singer-songwriter, from London, day job psychotherapist, first album. B+(*) Fireboy DML: Apollo (YBNL Nation/Empire): Nigerian singer-songwriter Adedamola Adefolahan, second album, closer to global soul/hip-hop than to afrobeat let alone juju, but pretty upbeat. B+(*) Keeley Forsyth: Debris (2020, The Leaf Label): English singer-songwriter, better known as an actress -- I'm sure I've seen her in a half-dozen series going back as far as Dalziel and Pascoe (2002), but I don't see any starring roles. First album at 41 -- a short one, 8 tracks, 27:56, but slow enough it seems longer. B Angelica Garcia: Cha Cha Palace (2020, Spacebomb): Singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, based in Richmond, second album, an arty pastiche with nods to Mexican and Salvadoran roots. B Groupe RTD: The Dancing Devils of Djibouti (2020, Ostinato): From the former French Somaliland, a tiny enclave on the Red Sea between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, mostly known in these parts for hosting a US military base (although they also have bases for France, Japan, and China). RTD is Radiodiffusion-Télévision Djibouti, the state-controlled media. Upbeat crossroads music, whiffs from Bollywood to Jamaica, maybe a bit of Scottish jig. B+(***) HHY & the Kampala Unit: Lithium Blast (2020, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Portuguese producer Jonathan Uliel Saldanha, has a couple soundtracks, pop-jazz albums with the Macumbas, now this slab of electronica, now this slab of electronica from his visit to Uganda. B+(*) Juniore: Un Deux Trois (2020, Le Phonographe): French indie pop group, led by Anna Jean (daughter of novelist JMG Le Clézio), second album, in French, big beats and cool vibes. B+(**) Kiwi Jr.: Football Money (2020, Persona Non Grata): Canadian group, from Toronto. Punk economy (10 songs, 27:18) with grander pop gestures. B+(**) [bc] Adrianne Lenker: Instrumentals (2020, 4AD): Big Thief leader (singer/guitarist), has released a couple solo albums alongside four group efforts. This one was bundled with Songs on CD, but the digitals are separate, so I didn't feel compelled to review this when I did Songs [B+(*)]. However, so many reviewers and EOY lists combined the two I counted them as one. Only later did I realize that this isn't instrumental versions of the Songs but two more pieces (total 37:24). Not bad, but strikes me as rather trivial. B Lydia Loveless: Daughter (2020, Honey, You're Gonna Be Late): Alt-country singer-songwriter Lydia Ankrom, from Ohio, coming off five albums on Bloodshot. I was impressed by her feisty debut, but she's settled down since then. B+(*) Melkbelly: PITH (2020, Wax Nine/Carpark): Chicago noise rock band, second album, Miranda Winters sings, seems a bit off. B Blake Mills: Mutable Set (2020, New Deal/Verve): Singer-songwriter from California, has some production credits and a rep as a guitarist (including a Dylan side-credit), fourth album since 2010. Slow, quiet, painstaking. B Moby: All Visible Objects (2020, Mute): Electronica producer, big in the late 1990s, someone I had lost track of since 2013's still-pretty-good Innocents (sixth studio album since). Familiar use of vocals, big beats, lush textures. Hit and miss, but glorious when it works. B+(*) Jim Noir: A.M Jazz (2019, Dook): Singer-songwriter from Manchester, UK; plays guitar, bass, keyboard, drums; fifth album since 2005. Not jazz, but he enjoys letting waves of wound wash over, sort of a lighter, airier shoegaze effect. B+(**) [bc] The Orielles: Disco Volador (2020, Heavenly): British indie band ("surf pop, garage/psych"), from Halifax (West Yorkshire), second album. Shiny. B+(*) Popcaan: Fixtape (2020, OVO Sound/Warner): Jamaican singer-songwriter Andre Hugh Sutherland, fourth album since 2014, draws on dancehall, punches it up. B+(**) Pottery: Welcome to Bobby's Motel (2020, PTKF): Five piece indie rock/garage punk band from Montreal, which is to say a bit much for punk. So no surprise this feels a bit luxe, but does rock a bit. B+(*) Spanish Love Songs: Brave Faces Everyone (2020, Pure Noise): Rock band from Los Angeles, Dylan Slocum singer, described as punk but lacks the economy, compensating with volume. Not bad as this sort of thing goes, but by the time he pleaded "don't take me out back and shoot me," I was beginning to have second thoughts. B- Special Interest: The Passion Of (2020, Thrilling Living): New Orleans group, but nothing you'd associate with the Big Easy -- Cleveland, maybe, or Leeds, new wave industrial not without a hint of dance beat. B+(***) Macie Stewart & Kia Kohl: Recipe for a Boiled Egg (2020, Astral Spirits): Violin and cello duo, both also credited with voice. B+(*) [bc] Dougie Stu: Familiar Future (2020, Ropeadope): Doug Stuart, from Oakland, first album; plays bass, keyboards, percussion. Jeff Parker helps out on guitar. Fusion, funky but glossy. B Teyana Taylor: The Album (2020, GOOD Music/Def Jam): R&B singer-songwriter (with lots of help) from New York, third album, second ran lite (22:52) but this one doesn't stop until 77:19. Too much, but most of it is cracking good. B+(***) Teenage Halloween: Teenage Halloween (2020, Don Giovanni): Punk group from New Jersey, second album, fast and short: 10 songs, 23:23. B+(*) Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Damily: Early Years: Madagascar Cassette Archives (1995-2002 [2020], Bongo Joe): Malagasy musician, Discogs lists four albums 2007-18, plus this earlier archive. B+(***) The Disciples: For Those Who Understand (1991-95 [2020], Partial): British DJ/dub producer Russel Bell-Brown, aka Russ Disciple, aka Russ D, doing business since 1986. This was originally released on his Boom Shacka Lacka label in 1995, and reissued on vinyl in 2020. Always good, but probably a lot of similar material over the years. B+(**) [bc] Bonnie Hayes With the Wild Combo: Good Clean Fun (1982 [2020], Blixa Sounds): First album, a Christgau pick I missed at the time, subsequently followed by a 1984 EP he panned, and two albums since (1996, 2003) he ignored. Rocks hard enough I could see the attraction, but not sure it delivers much. New edition tacks on the panned EP and five demos. B+(**) Kakai Kilonzo & Les Kilimambogo Brothers: Buffalo Mountain (1975-85 [2020], No Wahala Sounds): Kenyan band, a pioneer in the guitar-driven benga style, a bit less flashy than the better-known Daniel Owino Misiani, but infectious nonetheless. Dates are approximate ("mid-1970s to mid-1980s"), with Kilonzo dying in 1987, aged 33. A- [bc] Pedro Lima: Maguidala (1985 [2020], Bongo Joe): Touted as "the people's voice" after Sao Tomé gained independence from Portugal in 1975, died in 2019 boasting "his funerals were the biggest ever organized on the island." Four songs, sustained grooves averaging 9 minutes, voice is exemplary but the secret sauce is Leopoldino "Gúndu" Silva's guitar. A- The Mighty Three's: Africa Shall Stretch Forth Her Hand (1978 [2020], Jah Fingers): Jamaican vocal trio, released some singles, this plus a dub album. B+(**) [bc] Jay Migliori and Dick Twardzik: Jazz Workshop Quintet: A Harvard WHRB Session (1954 [2020], Fresh Sound): Tenor sax and piano, with vibes (Johnny Rae), bass, and drums. Twardzik is semi-infamous, having made a huge impression with Chet Baker (also Russ Freeman and Lars Gullin) then dying at age 24 (heroin overdose). Migliori (1930-2001) had a less meteoric career, although Discogs tells us that he "played on more than 4,000 commercial recordings, ranging from Charlie Parker to Tito Puente, and from the Beach Boys to Celine Dion. Radio shot, both principals and Rae have good spots. B+(**) Tony Oxley: February Papers (1977 [2020], Discus Music): English avant-jazz drummer, released this album on Incus in 1977. Basically a strings group -- two violins, electric guitar, Barry Guy on double bass and bass guitar, which keeps it abstract and scratchy. B [bc] Max Romeo: Revelation Time (1975 [2020], 17 North Parade): Reggae singer-songwriter Maxwell Smith, first hit 1969, introduced to US audiences via his 1976 album War Ina Babylon (with Lee Perry). B+(*) Scorcha! Skins, Suedes and Style From the Streets 1967-1973 (1967-73 [2020], Trojan): Soundtrack tied to Paul Anderson's book on the UK skinhead subculture, same title, originally released as a box of 10 45rpm 7-inch singles. Cover shows a white couple in close dance embrace. Songs are mostly obscure, but the artists I recognize are Jamaicans: Desmond Dekker, Cornel Campbell, Tommy McCook, Ken Boothe, Phyllis Dillon ("Don't Stay Away"), the Melodians ("Sweet Sensation"). B+(*) Phil Seymour: If You Don't Want My Love (1980-85 [2020], Sunset Blvd): There was a moment in 1976 when Dwight Twilley seemed like the future of rock and roll, although like other contenders (Nick Lowe, Bruce Springsteen) his key was a knack for summoning past glories. He came out of Oklahoma, which may have had something to do with why I was partial to him. Seymour was his drummer, and embarked on a short-lived solo career in 1980-82, another band (the Textones, 1984-85), and cancer (died 1993 at 41). These are mostly demos from around his first album, with a couple Textones live cuts. Note writers on title song: John Prine and Phil Spector. B+(**) Silkworm: In the West (1994 [2020], Comedy Minus One): Indie band, founded by Tim Midyett, Joel RL Phelps, and Andy Cohen in Missoula in 1985, changing their name from Ein Heit in 1987. Moved on to Seattle in 1990 and later to Chicago. Three later records on Touch & Go appeared in Christgau's CG, then they broke up in 2005 after their drummer was the victim of a car homicide. Early record, seems very much part of the time. B+(***) Sugar Billy: Super Duper Love (1975 [2020], Mainstream): Willie Garner, from Detroit, cut some singles for New Day and Fast Track 1971-76, plus this one-shot album. Aims for funk, but he's got a lot of grit in his voice and blues in his soul. Reminds me of Swamp Dogg, but not as funny, nor as lazy when he sells out. B+(***) Keith Tippett: The Monk Watches the Eagle (2004 [2020], Discus Music): British avant pianist, commissioned to write a large choir piece, with Julie Tippets contributing the text, and a pair of saxophone quartets. Probably should have turned it off as soon as I realized the setup, but I sat through to the end. Hated the voices, of course, and had mixed feelings about the saxes. Missed his piano. B- [bc] Old music: Bonnie Hayes With the Wild Combo: Good Clean Fun (1982, Slash): Thought I'd strip the expanded reissue back to the original album to see how it holds up on its own. Better. B+(***) Stan Hope: Stan Hope (1971, Mainstream): Pianist from New Jersey, handful of records since 1968, this a trio with bass (Peck Morrison) and drums (Walter Perkins). B+(**) [bc] Charles McPherson: Charles McPherson (1971, Mainstream): Alto saxophonist, started with Prestige in 1964 as a bebopper, broadened his horizons with three albums for Mainstream 1971-73, then five for Xanadu 1975-81, and is still active in his 80s. With Lonnie Hilliard on trumpet, two electric guitars, more focus on groove. B+(**) [bc] Reggie Moore: Furioso (1972, Mainstream): Pianist, from New York, father was Billy Moore Jr. (1917-89), a pianist and arranger for Jimmie Lunceford, Charlie Barnet, and others. Trio with bass (Hank Haynie) and drums (Chip Lyles). Four originals, four covers, ranging from Wynton Kelly to Bo Diddley -- my fave is "High-Heeled Sneakers." B+(**) [bc] Prince Alla: The Best of Prince Alla (1976-79 [1981], Redemption Sounds): Roots reggae singer, started with the Leaders, singles date from 1975, this 8-track LP was only his second, and I'm not totally clear on dates (especially the "Disco Style" versions which open and close (the latter being closer to dub). B+(**) Clark Terry & Bob Brookmeyer: The Power of Positive Swinging (1965, Mainstream): Bob Shad ran this label from 1964 to 1978, starting with reissues from Commodore (1939-54). This is the only Mainstream record on my old shopping list, so seemed like a good place to start with their catalog on Bandcamp. Quintet, leaders on flugelhorn/trumpet and trombone, backed by Hank Jones (piano), bass, and drums. B+(***) Clark Terry/Bob Brookmeyer Quintet: Gingerbread Men (1966, Mainstream): Another quintet, also anchored by pianist Hank Jones. Vocals on "I Want a Little Girl." Terry is credited, but he's bouncing off someone else. B+(**) [bc] Clark Terry: Mumbles (1966, Mainstream): Nickname for when he "sings," a slurry of gravel and muck I've seen more politely referred to as "verbal salad." I'm not aware of him ever doing it for an entire album. Even here, it's only on 3-4 cuts, and in limited doses it can be inspired. Of course, he also plays his superb trumpet and flugelhorn, with Jerome Richardson on reeds, Frank Anderson on organ and piano, two guitars, two basses, even more percussion (including Willie Bobo on congas). B+(**) Ernie Wilkins and His Orchestra: Hard Mother Blues (1970, Mainstream): Saxophonist from St. Louis, 1919-99, played in and arranged for big bands, most famously Count Basie's, favoring the form into the 1990s -- he led an "Almost Big Band" in the 1980s, and his Kaleidoduke (1994) is a personal favorite. He shows up as a producer on many Mainstream releases, and takes the helm here, with light and frothy arrangements of tunes like "Dock of the Day" and "Funky Broadway," with organ and full horn sections. B+(*) Pete Yellin: Dance of Allegra (1972, Mainstream): Saxophonist, pictured playing flute on the cover of this debut album, recorded a half-dozen more through 2008, many more side credits including stretches with Buddy Rich, Joe Henderson, Bob Mintzer and Tito Puente. Eddie Henderson opens strong on trumpet, Kenny Barron plays electric piano, Stanley Clarke bass, and Billy Hart and Dom Um Romao keep the rhythm bubbling. B+(**) [bc] Further Sampling: Records I played parts of, but not enough to grade: -- means no interest, - not bad but not a prospect, + some chance, ++ likely prospect. Roscoe Mitchell: Splatter (2017 [2020], I Dischi Di Angelica): Big band, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, plus the saxophonist on his compositions. [bc: 1/3, 5:32/74:07]: - Grade (or other) changes: Young M.A: Herstory in the Making (2019, M.A Music): New York Rapper Katorah Marrero, first album after EP Herstory, a couple mixtapes, a hit single ("OOOUUU"). Gender not always clear, especially when she goes on a rant about her "bitches." [was: B+(*)] B+(***) Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
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