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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 [1070 - 1079]Sunday, November 29, 2015 Weekend RoundupNot much time to collect things today, but here are a few links on the week's newsk:
Also, a few links for further study (briefly noted; i.e., I don't have time for this shit right now):
Ask a question, or send a comment. Friday, November 27, 2015 Turkey GibletsOld-timers will recall that Robert Christgau ran what he called a Turkey Shoot every Thanksgiving from 1988 to 2005. For most of that time he limited his pans of bad albums to one "dud" per month, so he tried to collect his reviews over the year. Even so, the pains of listening to so much unpleasant music built up, so when he left the Village Voice and retooled his Consumer Guide for a series of blog formats, he dispensed with the turkeys, and even the duds. I've heard it said that you have to write some negative reviews to establish credibility for your positive reviews. I even tried that for a while with my Jazz Consumer Guide, and learned two things: one is that the negatives are easier to write, and second is that people respond to them more (at least I always got more feedback on them). Still, I've always had the nagging suspicion that my distaste for a record is as much (maybe more) a reflection of my own limits as of the record's. Actually, I'm sure that's sometimes the case, but I also suspect that some records really are awful, and that it's rarely worth the time to clearly distinguish one from the other. So I mostly look for good records, and as a matter of conscientious bookkeeping note the records that for one reason or another don't make the grade. Still, a few years ago I noticed some folks complaining about Christgau no longer writing up his Turkey Shoots, so I came up with the idea of spreading the agony around by crowdsourcing a set of turkey reviews. I published the first one of these in 2012, and another in 2013. One reaction that I got from the former was that some writers would have been willing to contribute but only wanted to write about their finds, so for 2013 I added a second column, the Black Friday Special. Last year and this year I tried to talk other people into taking over this project. I failed both times, so that's your loss. I also tried rounding up some bare overrated/unappreciated lists, and didn't get much response there either (although I'll share what I did get below). That leaves me with my own subjective impressions, plus some underdeveloped data. Actually, I do have one piece of "objective" data: a list of "most overrated albums of 2015" posted at ILXOR (I'm adding my grades, where known, in brackets):
There's no formal explanation of the methodology here: just one snippet of data which makes me think they're subtracting the user score from the critic score at Album of the Year. For instance, Fifth Harmony has a critic score of 74 (based on 5 reviews) and a user score of 54 (based on 36 ratings), so it comes out +20. Sleater-Kinney has a critic score of 90 and a user score of 78, so it is +12. James McMurtry is (85 - 75 = 10). Kendrick Lamar is (94 - 88 = 6). I only checked the top 20 critics scores (plus Fifth Harmony) and they come out pretty much in this order (7 of the top 20 made the overrated list, which by my figures would also include Bassekou Kouyaté). One obvious problem here is that high critic scores are simply more likely to lead the user scores (20 of the top 20 do, with Jamie XX closest at +1, but also with the second lowest critic score, 84). Grade distribution on both scales probably makes this effect more extreme. (Users grade on a 100 point scale, where critic grades are quantized rather arbitrarily.) Other problems relate to sample size and selection: e.g., note that while Mbongwana Star and Sleater-Kinney are both +12, the latter has approximately four times the number of data points (critics: 26/7, users: 352/76). In any case, some of the user scores are so high that the record can't possibly be considered a turkey; e.g., Kendrick Lamar at 88, or even Sleater-Kinney at 78. In fact, I'd argue that Lamar's 94 critic score isn't out of line with a user score of 88, although Sleater-Kinney's drop from 90 to 78 does appear to harbor a problem: I'd argue that critics are very prone to overrating comeback albums (No Cities to Love came out 10 years after The Woods). No secret I'm not a fan of the band, but I'm not being petty in thinking that this particular record is rather overrated. Indeed, I think what we've seen so far in EOY lists shows that the record is underperforming relative to its initial (back in January) reviews: its top ranks so far are { 10, 11, 14, 23, 34, 35 }, although the record does occur on virtually every list I've tallied so far, making it tied for 12th overall. It should finish higher -- the early UK list bias hurts it a little while helping other records which will eventually fade -- but it's unlikely to come in 2nd (behind Lamar) as its critic scores had projected. Still, no matter how much other people overrate it, I don't consider No Cities to Love anywhere near turkey level. Looking at the EOY Aggregate data, the following strike me as most suspicious (again, with my grades, where known, in brackets; order comes from the aggregate score, not some measure of turkey-ness):
That doesn't include every B record in the EOY List Aggregate (but it does pick the top few), nor does it include some unlisted but fairly well known records I've run across, but mostly it doesn't include a lot of things I haven't bothered chasing down. (I did include Low, which I've never graded higher than B, and 2 (of 4) times graded lower.) But those dozen records would in my mind make a fair Turkey Day repast. Of course, crowdsourcing would have added more informed opinions, including some folks who actually get paid for listening to bad music -- and therefore pay more attention, and take more offense, at it than I do. Michael Tatum, for instance, has panned several records that I gave low B+ grades to after a cursory listen, including (first my, then his grades in brackets; I'm using his B- as a threshold here -- he listens deeper and gets more annoyed than I do, therefore grades lower):
I have very little invested in my grades of these records -- I certainly didn't play them enough to let them get annoying. I omitted Björk [C-] and Beach House [B-] from Tatum's list as I had already picked on them. He also panned some records I haven't listened to:
I got a couple other lists: Lucas Fagen went straight at the records that are dominating EOY lists:
Jason Gross also picked:
I rather enjoyed the Grimes [B+(**)] and Staples [B+(***)] albums, but again dealt with them superficially. Each appears on only a single list to date, but are certainly well known and widely regarded artists. I doubt that the Grimes will poll as well as well as her debut, but I liked it better -- more pop, which often rubs critics the wrong way. I figure Staples will do better as US lists come in -- should be one of the top 3-5 US hip-hop albums this year. I'm not convinced it's that good -- I seem to be having a lot of trouble hearing mainstream rap on Rhapsody -- although I know people who are into it. I haven't heard Adele or Newsom, but the others were mentioned above. Tame Impala is a group I regard as too perfunctory to get worked up about, and I'm even more blasé over Kurt Vile: when I see records like those on EOY lists I wonder how much listening the listsmiths have actually done. Still, my impression is that there are a lot fewer bland-outs and a lot less mopeyness on this year's lists than several years ago. Also the wave of prog shit that seemed overwhelming back in 2009 (Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors) has returned to the margins -- sure, this year we still have Father John Misty, Panda Bear, and UMO, but at a more tolerable level. Actually, the big thing that happened in 2015 was that a lot of long-departed groups have followed Sleater-Kinney's lead and come back from long hiatuses: my favorite thus far is New Order. I'm not up to reconstructing the list, but I don't doubt that the return of so many older musicians has helped to make this year seem more comforting to old ears like mine. I also asked for candidates for a Black Friday Special: records that aren't widely known but should be -- at least, records that might appeal to those of you who aren't stuck in one musical rut. My correspondents wrote back:
Tempest and Tagaq were 2014 releases, although the latter -- an electronica-charged Inuit throat singer whose record was the toast of Canada at 2014 list time but unknown elsewhere -- wrangled a US reissue in 2015, so I'd say give her another shot. I have Tempest and Lyrics Born at A, Graves/Laswell and Songhoy Blues at A-, Tagaq at high B+, and the others on my search list. I thought about trying to construct some lists from ongoing lists-in-progress, especially from Chris Monsen and Phil Overeem, but I'll leave that to you. You'll also find many A-list obscurities in my in-progress jazz and non-jazz files. Rather, my one last list come from Robert Christgau. The following are 2015 releases he reviewed in Expert Witness, graded A- (or better), and are things that virtually no one else has noticed (at least they're not in my EOY Aggregate file yet; my grades in brackets):
Less than half of those came as total surprises to me (Kruth, Paranoid Style, Paris, Rubin, Slutever -- well, I wasn't aware Anderson, LaVere, Lewis, or Tinariwen had new records but had I been I would have checked them out). I was more than vaguely aware of Trumpet, and had actually reviewed Tal National. Other 2015 A-list records according to Christgau: Sleater-Kinney, Ata Kak, Heems, Lupe Fiasco, Kendrick Lamar, Rae Sremmurd, James McMurtry, Courtney Barnett, Nellie McKay, Young Fathers, Mountain Goats, Miguel, Hop Along, Go! Team, Yo La Tengo, Boz Scaggs, Leonard Cohen, Jamie XX, Shamir, Future, Jason Isbell, Mbongwana Star, Bassekou Kouyaté, Craig Finn, Lost in Mali. Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, November 23, 2015 Music Week
Music: Current count 25829 [25787] rated (+42), 399 [420] unrated (-21). Total was goosed early in the week by finding some more bookkeeping omissions. A more accurate rated count is probably a bit over 30 (indeed, there are 33 new ratings below, although I haven't double checked to make sure that's right either). I threw away Tuesday cooking, and lost Friday afternoon to a doctor thing. Otherwise I worked pretty hard. I'm late posting this on Monday because I've dusted off last year's EOY List Aggregate scripts and started to accumulate data for 2015. Thus far I have nine lists counted (see the Legend for a full list and links to the source lists; beware that I have only made the most cursory of corrections to the text there and will have to clean it up later). Seven of the first nine lists are from the UK, and five of those are from record stores (each, by the way, running 100 records deep: Drift, Fopp, Piccadilly, Resident Music, Rough Trade). We also have the two big glossy UK rock mags (Mojo, Uncut), and two more specialized US mags (metal-oriented Decibel and Americana-focused American Songwriter). The very early returns looks like this:
I've fiddled with the formula a bit this year to provide extra points for higher placement (5 for 1, 4 for 2-5, 3 for 6-10, 2 for 11-20, 1 for > 20), and I figure I'll use that consistently for all top-tier lists (all so far count as such). Holter currently tops 3 lists (Mojo, Piccadilly, Uncut), Stevens 1 (Drift), Bjork 1 (Rough Trade), Public Service Broadcasting 1 (Fopp), Algiers 1 (Resident). The top records from American Songwriter (Chris Stapleton) and Decibel (Horrendous) don't appear on any other lists. Barnett ranks no higher than 3 on any list but appears on 8 of 9, 7 in the top 10, the other 12th. The probable favorite, Kendrick Lamar, also appears on 8 lists, but only twice in the top 10 (2 on Mojo, 2 on Uncut). The list with neither Barnett nor Lamar is Decibel's, which only has two albums that also appear on other lists: Deafheaven (2), Killing Joke (1). Last year I wound up collecting data from 676 lists. I don't expect to come close to that this year, but still it's safe to say that returns are less than 1% in. Also that some identifiable skews are present -- e.g., Sleaford Mods won't finish ahead of Sleater-Kinney once the US lists take over. I've included my grades in brackets for reference. I'm rather surprised to see this top-40 (actually 44) has 8 records (18.2%) I've rated A- (and only 2 B-, and none lower) -- usually I disagree more, often finding no correlation at all between my grades and other people's lists. I currently have 30 of these 44 albums rated, so 68.2% (which includes some things today that will show up in next week's report). Rhapsody Streamnotes came out on Wednesday, so some of today's list managed to sneak into that file (like the Ivo Peelmans). I should be closing in on my 2015 prospect list, filling out the last slots in my 2015 jazz and non-jazz lists, but surprisingly two of my A- records this week date from 2012-13: one is the Wreckless Eric/Amy Rigby album that eluded me in the past, but which I found now while looking for Eric's new album; the other is by a Bakersfield CA jazz group with a new record, but I noticed an older one, checked it out, and liked it better. Group name is: Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet. New records rated this week:
Old music rated this week:
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Sunday, November 22, 2015 Weekend RoundupMuch blather this week about the existential threat posed to the United States by the prospect of allowing 10,000 Syrian refugees to resettle here. Some demagogues like Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush insisted that we only allow Syrian Christians to enter (7.8% in 1960, the last Syrian census to bother to count sectarian identity, although a 2006 estimate bumps this up to 10%). Others insisted on a vetting process to weed out terrorist infiltrators, evidently unaware that a rather onerous one already exists. Dozens of Republican governors, including our own Sam Brownback (who recently displaced Bobby Jindal as the least popular sitting governor in the US), issued executive orders to help stanch the deluge of Syrian/Arab/Muslim immigrants. Donald Trump not only opposed all immigration, but went further to entertain the idea of a federal registry of Muslims in America. He finally received some backlash for that (rather casual) statement, but it appeals to a base distinguished only by the depths of their ignorance. I'm seeing reports that "only 49% of GOP voters in Iowa think that the religion of Islam should even be legal." Reading Wikipedia's piece on Islam in the United States would help alleviate this ignorance. You will find, for instance, that about 1% of the American population is Muslim (2.77 million). Also, Muslims are immigrating to the US at a rate of about 110,000 per year. So 10,000 extra Syrians represents less than 10% of the current immigration rate, about 0.36% of the total Muslim population (1 in 277). If everyone shut up and just let this happen, no one would ever notice anything. The problem, though, is that by making a big stink about it, you're not just barring 10,000 Syrians, you're sending a message of hate and fear to 2.77 million Americans. How does that help? About one-fourth of the Muslims in America are African-Americans, notably political leaders (including two members of Congress) and many prominent athletes and musicians. Most others are first or second generation immigrants, but some date back to immigrants from the 1880-1910 era, and some can trace their families back to the colonial era. The piece has numerous examples, plus a section on "Religious freedom" that shows that Americans were aware of Islam when they declared freedom of religion in the US Constitution. One minor point I wasn't aware of is that the first country to recognize the United States as an independent country was the Sultanate of Morocco. It's worth adding that the US had generally good relationships in the Arab world up through WWII. In the first world war, Woodrow Wilson had refused to join Britain and France in declaring war on the Ottoman Empire, and he later declined an Anglo-French proposal that the US occupy Turkey when they were divvying up the spoils of war. Before then, the US was primarily known for its missionary schools like the American Universities in Beirut and Cairo. (The Presbyterians who founded those schools restricted their missionary work to Christians so as not to offend Muslim authorities, but welcomed Muslims to study and respected them, allowing the Universities to develop as intellectual centers of liberal, nationalist, and anti-colonial thinking.) Arab/Muslim respect for America only eroded after the US sided with Israel's colonialist project and replaced Britain as the protector of the aristocracies that claim personal ownership of the region's oil wealth. US good will in the Arab world was built on a reputation for fairness and mutual respect, but has since been squandered in an anachronistic, foolhardy attempt to grab the spoils of empire. In some sense, we've gone full circle. The first significant number of Muslims to appear in colonial America were brought here from Africa, and they proved to be especially difficult to manage as slaves. Islam was then and now a religion that stood for justice and fought back against injustice. It should not be surprising that today's right-wing sees imposing Christianity on Muslims as key to ending their disobedience, as that was precisely what their forebears the slaveholders had done. After all, the prime directive of conservatism is to defend hierarchy by forcing everyone into their "proper" place. Of course, that was easier to do before conservative institutions like slavery and the inquisition were discredited, but the more we live in a world where people with money think they can buy anything, the more we see even the hoariest fantasies of conservatism come back to haunt us. Some scattered links this week:
Also, a few links for further study (briefly noted; i.e., I don't have time for this shit right now):
Ask a question, or send a comment. Wednesday, November 18, 2015 Rhapsody Streamnotes (November 2015)A substantial list of albums this month as we're approaching the end-of-year, with an above-average 15 new A-list entries (from an above-average 117 "new" albums). Good chance there's some seasonal effect here, as we tend to accumulate more information toward the end of the year. This was prepared without the benefit of any actual EOY lists -- usually the first one out comes from Rough Trade in the UK, and, just rechecking, it has arrived here). As I have in the last couple years, I've split my 2015 list up into jazz and non-jazz files, not because I think they should be judged separately as because my own professional stature gives me access to a lot more jazz than non-jazz -- indeed, my share of the latter would be pathetic except for my ability to stream records on Rhapsody (and, rarely, other sources). This discrepancy is, I think, even more glaring this year than in past years. Looking at my music tracking list, I see that thus far I've rated 540 jazz records vs. a mere 249 non-jazz. More than anything else, that explains why I only have 42 A-listed non-jazz records, vs. 60 jazz. I need to replay some records and shuffle my lists -- a lot of the ordering is pretty haphazard. The first serious deadline will be December 6, when ballots are due for Francis Davis' Jazz Critics Poll, sponsored again this year by NPR. I have about 40 unrated 2015 jazz records in the queue right now, so I need to focus on those. I also need to take a closer look at the music tracking list above, which currently lists over 1000 of this year's jazz releases. In past years I tried to prioritize them a bit, to come up with a search list I described as "estimated to have a 2% (or better) chance of making the A-list if/when I finally hear them." Pure guesswork, of course, but one clear example is Jack DeJohnette's Made in Chicago (ECM). Old music is down this month (28 records vs. 122 recent releases; it was 47 vs. 77 last month; 109 vs. 70 in September). Some back catalog was suggested by current releases -- in the case of Last Exit I was vainly looking for ESP's new Iron Path reissue -- while others were arbitrary inspirations (Marty Grosz, John Law, John Tchicai). Most of these are short notes/reviews based on streaming records from Rhapsody. They are snap judgments based on one or two plays, accumulated since my last post along these lines, back on October 24. Past reviews and more information are available here (7250 records). Recent Releases
The 14 Jazz Orchestra: Nothing Hard Is Ever Easy (2015 [2016], self-released): Big band, arranged and conducted by Dan Bonsanti, only thirteen musicians listed (4 reeds, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, 4 rhythm). Featuring credit for tenor saxophonist Ed Calle (strong performance), with Will Lee, Mark Egan, and Marko Marcinko listed as special guests. All cover material, Dorsey to Pastorius with Curtis Mayfield and the Beatles from the pop world. B [cd] Laurie Anderson: Heart of a Dog (2015, Nonesuch): Christgau pegs this as her best ever, a comparison which bumps up against United States Live and Home of the Brave and Strange Angels, just to pick two albums I have at full A and a third at A+. Compared to them (especially the latter) this strikes me as short on music -- most is spoken word over some very minimally ambient electronics. Still, fascinating wordplay, on death and love and spying and a fox terrier, ending with a bit of the late Lou Reed, unplugged. A- Dennis Angel: On Track (2014 [2015], Timeless Grooves): Flugelhorn player, third album. Scads of musicians on the back cover, including an utterly wasted "special guest" (Kenny Barron, on piano), but just below Angel you get Gottfried Stoger (tenor sax) and timeless groovmeister Jason Miles (keyboards, synths, strings, also producer). B- [cd] ASAP Rocky: At.Long.Last.ASAP (2015, Polo Grounds/RCA): New York rapper Rakim Mayers, second album (not counting the much hyped mixtape), still preoccupied with the almighty $, although that too is an oversimplification. B+(**) Bathysphere: Bathysphere (2015, Driff): Unconventional big band, 15 pieces (4 reeds, 6 brass including cornet and tuba, piano, 2 basses, drums, Andrew Neumann on analog electronics), jointly led by Jorrit Dijkstra (alto sax, lyricon, analog synth) and Pandelis Karayorgis (piano). Many avant luminaries, with the piano unusually prominent (more a solo than a rhythm instrument), and various bits for everyone else. B+(**) [cd] Beach House: Depression Cherry (2015, Sub Pop): Baltimore duo, with Victoria Legrand's plain vocals over basic keyboards, a lo-fi group that's become comfortable in its surroundings -- probably not at the beach. B+(*) Beach House: Thank Your Lucky Stars (2015, Sub Pop): Big improvement here, or so it seems to me -- these songs were cut about the same time as the better-reviewed Depression Cherry so they're practically outtakes, but the limited things this duo do have never meshed so effortlessly. B+(***) Beach Slang: The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel Like Us (2015, Polyvinyl): Philadelphia post-punk band, churns up a lot of guitar slag and makes something resembling songs out of it, probably more impressive than it seems. B Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap: The Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern (2015, Columbia): Downbeat's readers just picked Bennett for the magazine's Hall of Fame, a choice I'm not unhappy with, though not one I'd ever make myself. A glance at my database reminds me that I've never A-listed any Bennett album (though I've only rated 15, and wouldn't be surprised if I missed one). The one I had highest hopes for was The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album (1975), especially after a reviewer (in Crawdaddy, if memory serves) touted it as "the ultimate make-out album." Not really, but it did much to restore Bennett's jazz cred (his first album was called Jazz, and he worked with Basie before Sinatra did). This singer-piano pairing -- actually Charlap mostly uses his trio, and Renee Rosnes subs on a couple cuts -- will be likened to the Evans album, but Charlap is both more supportive and less distinctive, while Bennett, content to let his voice be its own reward, takes it easy even when the music dictates swing. B+(*) Josh Berman Trio: A Dance and a Hop (2015, Delmark): Cornet player from Chicago, third album, also appears in Michael Zerang's group (below). This is a straight free-leaning trio with Jason Roebke on bass and Frank Rosaly on drums mixing it up. A- [cd] Randy Bernsen: Grace Notes (2015, Jericho Jams): Guitarist, pop-funk-fusion guy I guess, dates back to Blood, Sweat & Tears; first own album came out in 1986, Mo' Wasabi. This features and was produced by bass guitarist Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets). Five originals, covers from Lennon-McCartney, Haslip-Ferrante, and Freddie Hubbard. Not bad as groove records go, mostly due to the bass support. B [cd] Nat Birchall: Invocations (2015, Jazzman): Tenor saxophonist from Britain, has a half-dozen albums since 1999. Seems like John Coltrane is the most emulated (not to mention imitated) tenor saxophonist in the world since 1970, but no one's got the whole deal -- not just tone but flow, feel, rhythm, invention, and for that matter band -- down as pat at Birchall. If he's missing anything, it's conflict, which gives him a serenity beyond. A- Bizingas: Eggs Up High (2015, NCM East): Second album from a group that calls itself an "art-rock, free-prog jazz quartet." I file them under trombonist Brian Drye (also credited here with synthesizer, organ, piano, and compositions), with Kirk Knuffke (cornet) a second horn, Jonathan Goldberger on guitar, and Ches Smith on drums and electronics. I wouldn't push the rock angle too hard -- they lose something when the beat straightens out. B+(**) [cd] Björk: Vulnicura (2015, One Little Indian): Seems to be one of her best-regarded albums, although I've given up on trying to understand, let alone like, her. Sounds like another strings-drenched passion play, most engaging when the synth-beat breaks up, least when it all coagulates. B Blackalicious: Amani, Vol. 1 (2015, OGM): Hip-hop group from the Bay Area (actually Sacramento), first album in 10 years and now projected to come out in three volumes. Like fellow traveler Lyrics Born's first in five years, their comeback leaps over and often stomps on the the state of the art, which has gone pretty slack. A- Bobby Bradford-Frode Gjerstad Quartet: The Delaware River (2014 [2015], NoBusiness): Cornet and alto sax/clarinet, respectively, the quartet filled out by Ingebrigt Hĺker Flaten on bass and Frank Rosaly on drums. Same formula as Bradford's great quartet with John Carter but, unfortunately, no John Carter. B+(**) [cdr] Leon Bridges: Coming Home (2015, Columbia): Retro soul singer, b. 1989 but aims for early Sam Cooke. Doesn't hit it, but a couple songs could be passed off as obscure period gems -- not enough to make him memorable, but most weren't. B+(*) Sarah Buechi: Shadow Garden (2015, Intakt): Swiss singer-songwriter, writes mostly in English, has several albums including one previous one on Intakt with this same piano trio -- Stafan Aeby, André Pousaz, Lionel Friedli. The songs don't fall into any tradition I recognize, but are strangely seductive. B+(***) [cd] Sarah Buechi: Flying Letters (2013 [2014], Intakt): Earlier record by same group, the piano trio named on the cover. Steps a little more awkwardly into the songs, sometimes close to spoken word, giving them an artier air. B+(*) Joăo Camőes/Jean-Marc Foussat/Claude Parle: Bien Mental (2015, Fou): Viola (violon alto), electronics (dispositif électro-acoustique), and accordion, respectively. Foussat has been working along these lines for a while now, but this is the most interesting sonic mix he has come up with yet. B+(***) [cd] Joăo Camőes/Rodrigo Pinheiro/Miguel Mira: Earnear (2015, Tour de Bras): Viola, piano, cello -- Pinheiro is leader of RED Trio, whose 2010 eponymous debut made my A-list. The strings give this a "chamber jazz" feel, although it is also more abstract. B+(**) [cd] The Chills: Silver Bullets (2015, Fire): New Zealand group, had two great albums 1990-92, and not much since, with this their first studio album since 1996 (2013's Somewhere Beautiful was a live album). This gets the sound back, maybe even pumps it up a bit (maybe too much). A- Romain Collin: Press Enter (2013 [2015], ACT): French pianist, attended Berklee, has a couple albums. Credits organized as a trio with Luques Curtis and Kendrick Scott, plus some extras, with Laura Metcalf's cello perhaps a constant. B+(**) [cd] Dani Comas: Epokhé (2014 [2015], UnderPool): Guitarist, splits this into three parts of three songs each, the first solo, then duo and trio with Jordi Matas (bass) and/or David Xirgu (drums). Ambient but intriguing. B+(**) [cd] Caroline Davis Quartet: Doors: Chicago Storylines (2013 [2015], Ears & Eyes): Alto saxophonist, has a previous album, based in New York but spent eight years in Chicago and developed an interest in history there. She interviewed thirteen Chicago jazz musicians and packed their reminiscences around her original pieces -- Mike Allemann (guitar), Matt Ferguson (bass), Jeremy Cunningham (drums). Lovely pieces, interesting raps. B+(***) [cd] Guy Davis: Kokomo Kidd (2015, M.C.): Mild-mannered gentlemanly bluesman, son of Ossie Davis, has a dozen albums since 1995. This has some interesting yarns and curious filler, not prime material but true to form. B+(*) Deerhunter: Fading Frontier (2015, 4AD): Kind of a prog band but they've moved mainstream and have a big following -- which they mostly deserved last time out (Monomania, although their previous album, Halcyon Digest, polled better). This is less challenging than either of those, prettier actually, some kind of plateau. B+(***) Destroyer: Poison Season (2015, Merge): Band vehicle for Canadian singer/songwriter Dan Bejar going back ten albums to 1998, although he's also part of New Pornographers and the duo Hello, Blue Roses. B+(*) Giovanni Di Domenico/Peter Jacquemyn/Chris Corsano: A Little Off the Top (2013 [2015], NoBusiness): Piano-bass-drums trio, free jazz, a fine example of the art. The pianist has put out a lot of material over the last few years, but this is only the second disc to come my way. B+(***) [cdr] John Dikeman/William Parker/Hamid Drake: Live at La Resistenza (2014 [2015], El Negocito): Dikeman plays alto and tenor saxophone. He was born in Nebraska in 1983, grew up in Wyoming, tried New York, then Cairo and Budapest before settling into Amsterdam. A rather squawky free player, he has a group called Cactus Truck that I've yet to be impressed by. This is a standard free sax trio cut live in Ghent, Belgium -- the sort of thing Parker and Drake could do in their sleep, but never do. B+(***) [cd] Marcelo Dos Reis/Luis Vicente/Théo Ceccaldi/Valentin Ceccaldi: Chamber 4 (2013 [2015], FMR): Guitar, trumpet, violin/viola, cello, two credited with voice although you can't exactly say they sing -- it's more of a background effect, part of a montage which despite the joint improv doesn't really move around that much. B+(**) [cd] Marcelo Dos Reis/Angélica V. Salvi: Concentric Rinds (2013 [2015], Cipsela): Guitar and harp, both trying their hand at prepared instruments, at least for part of this. Makes for some surprising sounds, and they keep the pace so moderate they can't possibly throw you off. B+(*) [cd] Kirsten Edkins: Art & Soul (2013 [2015], self-released): Saxophonist (tenor, soprano, alto), first album, produced by Bob Sheppard, with Larry Goldings on organ and piano, guitarist Larry Koonse sprucing up a couple of tracks, and dabs of trumpet and trombone here and there. Mainstream, swings hard, touches on soul jazz without getting stuck. B+(*) [cd] Empress Of: Me (2015, Terrible/XL): Lorely Rodriguez, from Los Angeles, second album, electropop, pleasurable moments. B+(*) Robin Eubanks Mass Line Big Band: More Than Meets the Ear (2015, ArtistShare): Trombonist, ten albums under his own name, side credits include Dave Holland's groups. Got a research grant at Oberlin and used that to assemble a conventional big band (plus organ and percussion and an extra trombone): his own credits include electric trombone (presumably what we're hearing on "Blues for Jimi Hendrix") and percussion pads. B+(*) [cdr] Carlos Falanga: Gran Coral (2014 [2015], UnderPool): Drummer, from Spain, second album, leading a guitar-piano trio, with Marco Mezquida again making a strong impression on piano (see his solo album below) and Jordi Matas adding tasty licks on guitar. B+(**) Sergi Felipe: Whisper Songs (2011, UnderPool): Spanish tenor saxophonist, leads a quintet with Hugo Astudillo on alto sax, Alfred Artigas on guitar, plus bass and drums. The instrumentation is designed to flow together seamlessly, and that's pretty much what it does. B+(*) [cd] Sergi Felipe/Whisper Songs: Bombú Es Libre En El Espacio (2013, UnderPool): Intent here is probably that the title of his first album be the group name, but might as well file it under the tenor saxophonist's name. Same lineup, again the guitar moderates the horns, not that they have any ambitions to be heard. B+(*) [cd] Garrison Fewell: Invisible Resonance Trio (2013 [2015], Creative Nation Music): I received a copy of this album, but when I got it the disc was badly cracked, unplayable. Trio with Roy Campbell, who died in 2014, on trumpet, and Luther Gray on drums. Sadly, I just noticed that the guitarist, perhaps best known for his work with the late John Tchicai, died earlier this year. A rather relaxed session, with Campbell exploring the cosmos and the others tagging along. B+(***) Amina Figarova: Blue Whisper (2015, In + Out): Pianist, born in Azerbaijan, based in New York, has ten or so albums since 1996. Several pieces here were commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center, nicely orchestrated postbop. I could do without the flutes and vocals, but she alternates between two ace tenor saxophonists: Marc Mommaas and Wayne Escoffery. B Clare Fischer: Out of the Blue (2015, Clavo): I don't see a recording date, but pianist Fischer died in 2012 after a long career going back to the mid-1950s with close to fifty albums. This was produced and annotated by Brent Fischer, who ends his liner notes with: "I'm eagerly looking forward to showing you more new Fischer material when it appears out of the blue!" This has the range of a retrospective, including guest spots for vocalists and drummer Peter Erskine. Fischer has long struck me as peripheral to jazz, but he does have a charming way with Latin rhythms. B+(*) [cd] Florence + the Machine: How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015, Island/Republic): Brit singer/songwriter Florence Welch plus an arena-scaled band, or possibly some mechanical approximation -- I don't much care one way or the other, nor do I follow her literary appreciation. Nor do I know the Tom Hull who is co-credited with two of her songs. B Brandon Flowers: The Desired Effect (2015, Virgin EMI): Singer for the Killers, an alt/indie band of no particular distinction, evidently still extant although three members have produced side projects. This is an impressive piece of production craft, mostly mid-tempo with hints of grandeur, the singer wrapped in background harmonies. B+(**) Robert Forster: Songs to Play (2015, Tapete): Second post-Go-Betweens album, a solid batch of songs although they take some time to sink in, partly because they move further from the group sound than the songs on Intermission. B+(**) Rich Halley 4: Eleven (2014 [2015], Pine Eagle): Tenor saxophonist from Oregon, has had a terrific run of albums lately, most with this same quartet: Michael Vlatkovich (trombone), Clyde Reed (bass), and son Carson Halley (drums). When he takes charge this is another one, but I have a few minor quibbles -- unison themes, slow patches. B+(***) [cd] Tigran Hamasyan: Luys I Luso (2014 [2015], ECM): Pianist from Armenia, returns for an album of sedate piano and choral music, featuring the Yerevan State Chamber Choir, conducted by Harutyan Topikyan. B- [dl] Alfred 23 Harth/Jörg Fischer/Marcel Daemgen: Confucius Tarif Reduit (2014 [2015], Spore Point): I'd call this a free sax trio, but instead of bass Daemgen is credited with "electronics, synthesizer," and Harth's credit reads "reeds, pocket trumpet, voice, dojirak." B+(**) [cd] Angel Haze: Back to the Woods (2015, self-released): Rapper Raykeea Wilson, released her "major label debut" at the end of December 2013, too late to get noticed, and has to follow that up with a mixtape, not as immediately appealing, but the world's a treacherous place, and she's tough enough to get through it. B+(***) Carlos Henriquez: The Bronx Pyramid (2015, Blue Engine): Bassist for Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, from the Bronx, first album. He doesn't have the full band here -- just Michael Rodriguez (trumpet), Felipe Lamoglia (tenor sax), Robert Rodriguez (piano), Ali Jackson (drums), lots of percussionists, and a guest vocal from Rubén Blades. B+(**) Holly Herndon: Platform (2015, 4AD): More electronica producer than singer, first half of the album manages to juggle an avalanche of samples. She then breaks the mood with a whispered word piece before returning to the thrash, a bit more abstractly. B+(**) Hiatus Kaiyote: Choose Your Weapon (2015, Flying Buddha): Australian "alt r&b" group, second album. Singer Nai Palm does have some diva moves, and the rhythm is so slippery they slide right past me -- neither of those are compliments, although they leave some room for disagreement. B- Keigo Hirakawa: And Then There Were Three (2014 [2015], self-released): Piano trio, with Eddie Brookshire (bass) and Fenton Sparks (drums), plus a vocal (Wenbi Lai) on one track. The pianist teaches at the University of Dayton, and has a couple previous albums. Originals except for two closing tracks: one from Bud Powell, the other "Precious Lord." Bright, upbeat, overwhelms you. B+(*) [cd] Mike Holober: Balancing Act (2015, Palmetto): Pianist, mostly associated with big bands like the Westchester Jazz Orchestra, has a septet-plus-singer here ranging from highly orchestrated (including flute) to monster sax solos (Jason Rigby and Dick Oatts. The vocalist is Kate McGarry. B+(**) [cd] Hot Jazz Jumpers: The Very Next Thing (2015, On the Bol): Sounds like an exceptionally noisy trad jazz group at first, but the trad fare ranges from "You Are My Sunshine" to "Jock-A-Mo" and sometimes slips into surrealism. Two singers (Miles Griffith and Betina Hershey), Nick Russo on guitar/banjo/resonator, David Pleasant on drums, and other part-timers. Eventually the weirdness turns annoying, especially on the "Russo Griffith Free Improv." Haven't watched the Bonus DVD. B Sam Hunt: Between the Pines: Acoustic Mixtape (2015, MCA Nashville): Nashville singer, his 2014 debut Montevallo one of the year's most overrated discs. Nice gesture that he decided to throw out this freebie, reprising some earlier songs Hunt wrote, on the anniversary of his hit. Nice, but not much better. B Aaron Irwin Quartet: A Room Forever (2015, self-released): Fourth album, plays clarinet here although I have him listed under alto sax. With no drums this could pass as chamber jazz, but trombone (Matthew McDonald) and bass (Thomson Kneeland) give it some heft, and Pete McCann slips his guitar into the mix, tying it together. B+(*) [cd] Janet Jackson: Unbreakable (2015, Rhythm Nation): Seven years since her last album, Discipline, one of the few I didn't bother to check out (coming as it did after the C+ 20 Y.O.). Tempting to say this rights a slumping career, but it merely doesn't wrong it further. Above all it shows that competency can be enjoyed by anyone with the budget. B+(*) Guus Janssen: Meeting Points (1989-2014 [2015], Bimhuis): Dutch avant pianist, has had a notable career with 1997's Zwik a particular high point. This is previously unreleased material from scattered groups, although six (of nine) tracks date from 2011 or later. Two piano-drums duos, a duo with Lee Konitz, but the most interesting are four small groups with Michael Moore (clarinet or alto sax). B+(***) [cd] Jeff Jenkins Organization: The Arrival (2014 [2015], OA2): Organ trio, with Dave Gorbus on Godin guitar and Alwyn Robinson on drums. A soul jazz throwback, pretty impeccable as those things go. B+(*) [cd] Khat Thaleth [Third Line]: Initiative for the Elevation of Public Awareness (2013, Stronghold Sound): Arabic rappers (from all over: Lebanon to Tunisia"), lyrics (I gather) politically focused, "a third electric and energized approach to looking at politics in the Arab world." Beats are fairly minimal although the traditional tones and modes sometimes leak through, and the mixes shift around a lot -- probably a plus, since I doubt that anyone here is much of a star. A- Martin Küchen/Johan Berthling/Steve Noble: Night in Europe (2014 [2015], NoBusiness): Sax-bass-drums trio, the leader playing tenor, alto, and sopranino, recorded live at Glenn Miller Café in Stockholm. Küchen has mostly worked in larger groups like Angles (also Exploding Customer, All Included, and Trespass Trio), so this is a chance to hear him in a relatively informal improv bash. B+(***) [cd] Martin Küchen/Jon Rune Strřm/Tollef Řstvang: Melted Snow (2014 [2015], NoBusiness): Another Küchen sax trio, this one with locals (not that Berthling and Noble are much more famous) and short enough for a vinyl-only release. Not much reason to choose between them, unless you're some sort of vinyl junkie. B+(***) [cdr] Nancy Lane: Let Me Love You (2015, self-released): Standards singer, first album. Mostly picks lesser-known songs, including one in French, but there's also "Cry Me a River," "All of You," and "What Is This Thing Called Love." Looks, and sounds, a bit like Diana Krall. Don't know anyone in the band, but they rotate seamlessly between piano and guitar backing, and several trumpet and sax spots are well chosen. B+(***) [cd] Adam Larson: Selective Amnesia (2015, Inner Circle Music): Tenor saxophonist, from Illinois, based in New York, plays postbop, has a couple albums, this a quintet with guitar (Matthew Stevens), piano (Fabian Almazan), bass, and drums. B+(*) [cd] Emma Larsson: Sing to the Sky (2014 [2015], Origin): Singer/songwriter (6 of 9 songs are originals), second album, backed by piano trio (Shedrick Mitchell, Eric Revis, Billy Drummond) and saxophonist Kenneth Whallum III. B [cd] Ingrid Laubrock: Ubatuba (2014 [2015], Firehouse 12): Avant saxophonist from Germany, has about 15 records since 1998 and plays on a lot of other's albums, especially with Kris Davis, Mary Halvorson, and/or Tom Rainey. This group has four horns, with Tim Berne on alto sax, Laubrock moving between alto and tenor, Ben Gerstein on trombone and Dan Peck on tuba, plus Rainey on drums. B+(**) [cd] Martin Leiton: Poetry of Sound (2014 [2015], UnderPool): Bassist, from Barcelona, has at least one previous album. This is a trio with Marcel-li Bayer (alto sax, tenor sax, bass clarinet) and Oscar Doménech (drums). Understated, crawls along at an even pace, nearly hypnotic. B+(**) [cd] Daniel Levin/Rob Brown: Divergent Paths (2012 [2015, Cipsela): Duets, cello and alto sax, both a little abstract and dry. B+(*) [cd] Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts: Manhattan (2015, Rough Trade): Comic book artist, folksinger too, although a dozen albums in he rocks harder, still crams a lot of words in, with more than a few in Yiddish. A- John Lindberg/Anil Eraslan: Juggling Kukla (2011 [2015], NoBusiness): Well known American bassist, a founder of String Trio of New York with several dozen albums under his own name, duets with Turkish cellist Eraslan. Inevitably has some hard-to-hear spots, but also much of interest. B+(**) [cdr] Luis Lopes/Jean-Luc Guionnet: Live at Culturgest (2011 [2015], Clean Feed): Guionnet is a prolific, fairly well known French alto saxophonist -- Discogs credits him with 35 albums since 1998, although that includes quite a few albums where, like this one, his name appears second or later on the credit line. I'm much more familiar with the Portuguese guitarist: he's come up with a distinctly non-fusion electric guitar style. Two long improvs here, much of it pretty ugly, although if you can stand it you might also find a tingle of excitement. B- Lyrics Born: Real People (2015, Mobile Home): Tokyo-born rapper Tsutomu ("Tom") Shimura, came up through the Berkeley underground in the duo Latyrx and a handful of his own albums. This one rocks out on the title cut, then busts several of the hottest raps I've heard this year. Catchiest too. A [cd] Roy McGrath Quartet: Martha (2014 [2015], JL Music): Tenor saxophonist, born in Puerto Rico, based in Chicago, seems to be his second album. Also plays in salsa/Latin jazz and funk groups, but this is a mainstream sax quartet -- can't read the red-on-green credits, but they're competent, and I'm a sucker for the sax leads. B+(**) [cd] Marco Mezquida Mateos: Live in Terrassa (2015, UnderPool): Pianist, from Barcelona, has a couple previous albums as Marco Mezquida. This is solo. The cover shows him from high above at a grand piano, with no cover, surrounded on all sides by rapt listeners in uncomfortable chairs, and the recording feels that intimate. But what makes it work for me is the rhythmic undertow. B+(***) [cd] Kristine Mills: Bossa Too (2015, InkWell Publishing): Singer-songwriter from Houston, fourth album, backed by Itaiguara Brandao (electric bass, acoustic guitar), piano, drums, some extra percussion. Slips a couple Jobims in with her originals. Appropriately light and frothy. B [cd] Matt Mitchell: Vista Accumulation (2015, Pi, 2CD): Pianist, has built a reputation playing in key groups (Tim Berne, Darius Jones, Dave Douglas, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Claudia Quintet), now presents his third album as a sprawling double (96:10), a quartet with Chris Speed (tenor sax, clarinet), Chris Tordini (bass), and Dan Weiss (drums). Rather dark and brooding, sorry to say, although those who stick with it will continue to be impressed. B+(**) [cd] The Monash Art Ensemble/George Lewis: Hexis (2013 [2014], Jazzhead): Pianist Paul Grabowsky founded the Australian Art Ensemble in 1994, and added students from the Monash University of Music to form this group. Lewis is the AACM trombonist, has a mixed discography that can stray far from his instrument. The combination is a stark, radical take on third stream. B+(**) Ŕlvar Montfort/Lucas Martinez/Jordi Matas/Abel Boquera/Pep Mula: Underpool 4 (2014 [2015], UnderPool): Trumpet, tenor sax, guitar, keys & synth, drums -- another postbop configuration (see Underpool 3). At one point Martinez tries to drag this into the avant-garde, but the group doesn't follow. B+(*) [cd] Jack Mouse & Scott Robinson with Janice Borla: Three Story Sandbox (2015 [2016], Tall Grass): Mouse is a drummer, playing a long list of percussion instruments here. Robinson plays an equally long list of reeds, giving us a minimal but fairly varied two-man band. Borla sings. B+(*) [cd] Larry Ochs/Don Robinson Duo: The Throne (2011 [2015], Not Two): Sax-drums duo, Ochs playing tenor and sopranino. The latter if piercingly ugly but strangely captivating. The tenor also pushes the limits of avant-ugly, but most often is invigorating, and the stretches where they slow down are most captivating. The drummer doesn't play off the riffs so much as roll with them. A- Paris: Pistol Politics (2015, Guerrilla Funk, 2CD): Oscar Jackson Jr., rapper from San Francisco, dropped his first album in 1990 and has always worn politics on his sleeve. I should make a point of checking out his early albums when he had major label deals, but the first I heard was 2003's Sonic Jihad on his own label, then even better his "featuring" role on Public Enemy's Rebirth of a Nation (2006). This is his first album in six years, and he's got a lot to talk about, with a natural flow meant to make his words clear, and perfunctory beats to keep it moving. A- [cd] Peaceful Solutions: Barter 7 (2015, self-released): Kool A.D. (originally of Das Racist) and Kassa Overall (originally a jazz drummer), aka Kool & Kass, now dba the title of their first album together. The title is presumably a play on Young Thug's Barter 6, itself a play on the still-unreleased Tha Carter V. Obviously, "the world's greatest rapper" (these days "the real one") doesn't spend a lot of time on titles. Nor on rhymes, although he lands a few anyway, and the beats render even the groaners amusing. A- [bc] Pol Pedrós/Noč Escolŕ/Albert Cirera/Rai Paz/Paco Weht/Ildefons Alonso: Underpool 3 (2014, UnderPool): Barcelona-based jazz label. I originally figured this for a sampler, but while the writing credits are scattered, it seems to be the same group on all tracks. Respective instruments are: trumpet, alto sax, tenor sax, guitar, bass, and drums. Seems like a formula for postbop, and is. B+(*) [cd] Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: Complementary Colors (2015, Leo): Tenor sax and piano duo, two avant players with intertwined histories going back at least to 1996. The focus on color keeps this on the quiet side, which is not really what either player is known for. B+(***) [cd] Ivo Perelman/Mat Maneri/Tanya Kalmanovitch: Villa Lobos Suite (2015, Leo): Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) was a famed Brazilian composer, the inspiration for but not the author of this music. The credits here are shared by the trio, with the tenor sax receding behind the two violas. Interesting music, but the tone does rub me the wrong way. B+(**) [cd] Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp/Whit Dickey: Butterfly Whispers (2015, Leo): Avant tenor sax-piano-drums trio, one that previously cut 2012's The Clairvoyant -- one of the Brazilian saxophonist's finest albums. This struggles a bit to reach that level, but eventually cranks it up a notch from the Perelman-Shipp duo, which is what adding a good drummer should do. A- [cd] Oscar Perez: Prepare a Place for Me (2015, Myna): Pianist, from Queens, played in church and listened to Cuban folk music, studied under Danilo Perez and Sir Roland Hanna, has a couple previous albums. Piano trio with a Latin lilt, plus alto saxophonist Bruce Williams on five (of nine) cuts: a nice addition but you don't notice his absence. B+(**) [cd] Roots Manuva: Bleeds (2015, Big Dada): Brit rapper Rodney Smith, seems to have lost the grime/dub beats he started out with a decade-and-a-half ago. B Michael Sarian & the Chabones: The Escape Suite (2014-15 [2015], self-released): Trumpet player, from Canada, second album, septet with two saxes, trombone, electric piano and bass -- allows a lot of texturing with little open space. B+(**) [cd] Maria Schneider Orchestra: The Thompson Fields (2014 [2015], ArtistShare): A protégé of Gil Evans, she very quickly grew into damn near every critic's favorite composer/arranger (except, I guess, mine). Probably my bad, not that I'm in any hurry to go back. But this is so richly layered, so sumptuous, I feel like there should be some dazzling visuals to subsume this into the background -- probably a nature doc, since that seems to be her thing. B+(**) [cd] Matthew Shipp Trio: The Conduct of Jazz (2015, Thirsty Ear): Piano trio, with Michael Bisio on bass and Newman Taylor Baker on drums. Shipp seems to have lost interest in his jazztronica phase, but he draws on that experience when he breaks out the heavy, tumbling rhythmic runs that set the pace here. A- [cd] Herb Silverstein: Younger Next Year (2015, self-released): Otolaryngologist, actually more of an otologist, based in Sarasota, Florida, also plays piano, writes his own songs, and has close to a dozen albums. Quintet with sax and guitar, seems like the sort of music you could hear in his waiting room. B [cd] Slobber Pup: Pole Axe (2015, Rare Noise): Avant-noise group, second album, Jamie Saft (organ, keyboards) and Balasz Pandi (drums) also in the similar Metallic Taste of Blood, joined here by Joe Morris (guitar) and most importantly saxophonist Mats Gustafsson (a newcomer to the group). B+(**) [cdr] Spanglish Fly: New York Boogaloo (2015, Caco World Music): New York group dedicated to reviving boogaloo, a funk-novelty variant (simplification?) of salsa that broke some hits in the 1970s. Still, not purists, as indicated by a preponderance of English lyrics. B+(*) Speedy Ortiz: Foil Deer (2015, Carpark): Guitar band from Northampton, MA, the female singer (Sadie Dupuis) offerng a bit of pop glow even while the jerky rhythm undermines it. B+(*) Martin Speicher/Peter Geisselbrecht/Jörg Fischer: Spicy Unit (2014 [2015], Spore Print): Reeds (alto/sopranino sax, clarinet), piano, drums. Fischer has been sending his records in regularly, mostly engaging avant encounters, but this is the first one that really clicked -- mostly thanks to the pianist's own higher order percussion. Never noticed Geisselbrecht before, but he makes a huge impression here, which Speicher's coloring complements. A- [cd] Spinifex: Veiled (2015, Trytone): Dutch quintet, has been around ten years but I'm not finding a discography -- one previous album was Hipsters Gone Ballistic (2013). Despite the presence of two horns -- Gijs Levelt on trumpet and Tobias Klein on alto sax -- the sound is dominated by guitars: Jasper Stadhouders plus Gonçalo Almeida on bass. Fusion closer to punk: if McLaughlin's goal was beyond, these guys are in your face. B+(**) [cd] The Spook School: Try to Be Hopeful (2015, Fortuna Pop): Scottish garage pop group, upbeat, like group harmony and that old rock and roll romp. B+(**) Chris Stapleton: Traveller (2015, Mercury Nashville): Has a fledgling rep as a tunesmith but picks two drinking songs off the rack and had help on most of the rest. Mid-tempo with the weight of the world on his shoulders, much of which he put there. B+(**) Statik Selektah: Lucky 7 (2015, Showoff/Duck Down Music): Patrick Baril, DJ/producer from Boston, parades a couple dozen rappers past you, not that they sound different enough to county. B+(**) Ike Sturm + Evergreen: Shelter of Trees (2014 [2015], Kilde): Bassist, from Wisconsin, third album, serves as Music Director for the Jazz Ministry at Saint Peter's Church in Manhattan. Evergreen seems to refer to the whole band, including three female singers for a bit of choral effect. Loren Stillman's alto sax is a bright spot. B- [cd] Sun Ra Arkestra Under the Direction of Marshall Allen: Babylon Live (2014 [2015], In+Out): A ghost band, but dedicated not so much to a songbook as to an attitude and some spectacle, which may be why the vocals loom larger than on Sun Ra's own albums. Overseeing the effort is the 90-year-old saxophonist, the last living link to the '50s Arkestra, maybe even the '80s one. B+(**) Survival Unit III: Game Theory (2010 [2013], Not Two): Joe McPhee on alto sax and pocket trumpet, backed by two Chicagoans: Fred Londberg-Holm (cello, electronics) and Michael Zerang (percussion). Third of four recordings since 2006, they've survived longer than McPhee's early Survival Unit II (1971; I haven't found any evidence of a Survival Unit I, with McPhee's earliest recordings in 1968). McPhee speaks out in the final piece, breaking the mood to add a political dimension to the struggle. B+(**) Survival Unit III: Straylight (2014 [2015], Pink Palace): Fourth group album, a live set at Krannert Art Museum in Chicago, with two 20+ minute pieces and a 6-minute closer. Two surprises: one is that Joe McPhee plays soprano instead of tenor sax, and that his pocket trumpet is listed first; the other is Fred Lonberg-Holm playing some very aggressive guitar in addition to his usual cello and electronics. B+(***) [bc] Total Babes: Heydays (2015, Wichita): Four blokes from Ohio -- what did you expect? A punkish group that doesn't neglect the hooks or the grind ("Circling" is an example of both). But then they let up on the gas. B+(**) U.S. Girls: Half Free (2015, 4AD): Only "Girls" band I've run across with actual females in it -- at least leader Meg Remy. Dense and rather erratic art-pop, playing it after Björk makes me see that source but that's only part of an approximation. Impresses me a bit, but I can't say as I like it. B Manuel Valera & Groove Square: Urban Landscape (2015, Destiny): Cuban-born pianist, more than ten albums since 2004, has a New York band that expertly mixes postbop with Cuban touches: John Ellis (reeds), Nir Felder (guitar), John Benitez (bass), either E.J. Strickland or Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums), plus some guests. B+(**) [cd] Jacob Varmus Septet: Aegean: For Three Generations of Jazz Lovers (2013 [2015], Crows' Kin): Trumpet player, fourth album, songs commissioned by Apostolos Georgopoulas, who recapitulated the history of the post-WWII jazz mainstream in his liner notes -- the model for the songs themselves. Group includes Hashem Assadullahi on alto/soprano sax, Pete McCann on guitar, two pianists (although it isn't clear they ever play together, bass, and drums. Has a nice flow and spots that stand up to its models. B+(**) [cd] Luke Vibert: Bizarster (2015, Planet Mu): British electronica producer, has also worked as Plug and Wagon Christ and a few less common names. This has a nice snap to it and amuses me, which is about all the sense I can hope to make out of this kind of music. B+(***) Lou Volpe: Remembering Ol' Blue Eyes (Songs of Sinatra) (2015, Jazz Guitar): Guitarist, first record looks to be 1985's Easy Jammin, and that's pretty much what you get here -- except that by combing through Sinatra's songbook he came up with a fine list of songs. Done with keyboards, bass, drums, and percussion -- no horns or vocals -- this work as elevator music but is much better. B+(**) [cd] Doug Webb: Triple Play (2014 [2015], Posi-Tone): Tenor saxophonist, studio guy from Los Angeles who moved up front around 2009 and now has six albums for this mainstream-oriented label. A fast bebop joust with Joel Frahm also playing tenor, with Brian Charette avoiding any hint of soul jazz on organ, and Rudy Royston on drums. I've considerably softened my distaste for bebop from twenty years ago, but this threatens to bring it all back. B- Carrie Wicks: Maybe (2015, OA2): Singer, third album, mostly co-writes originals but covers three standards here. Backed by piano trio: Bill Anshell, Jeff Johnson, Byron Vannoy. Interesting nuance to her voice -- "Ghost of a Perfect Flame" hits the spot. B+(**) [cd] Webb Wilder: Mississippi Moderne (2015, Landslide): Roots rocker, grew up in Mississippi listening to the Brit Invasion, has bounced around between Austin and Nashville, recording close to a dozen albums since 1986. Perhaps he's getting some Grammy notice now because he's gotten to be as old as his music. B+(*) Patrick Williams: Home Suite Home (2015, BFM): A composer-arranger, studied at Duke and Columbia, moved to Los Angeles in 1968, "wrote the scores for over 60 feature films and countless television assignments," cut a big band album in 1973 and has ten (or so) more since. This is another big band, many familiar names from the LA session world, with the title three-part suite, two vocal features (one for Patti Austin, a duet for Frank Sinatra Jr. and Tierney Sutton), and a couple titles I'm fond of: "A Hefti Dose of Basie (to the Memory of Neal Hefti)" and "That's Rich (for Buddy)." B+(*) [cd] Dave Wilson Quartet: There Was Never (2015, Zoho): Tenor saxophonist, based in Lancaster PA, has a handful of albums, this a quartet with Bobby Avey (piano), Tony Marino (bass), and Alex Ritz (drums). Six originals plus "Cassidy" (Grateful Dead), "God Only Knows" (Beach Boys), and "Summertime" (everyone). Plays fast with a commanding tone, the sort of thing that usually blows me away but somehow this doesn't. Runs a business buying and selling brass instruments -- clearly something he loves. B+(*) [cd] Michael Zerang & the Blue Lights: Songs From the Big Book of Love (2014 [2015], Pink Palace): Chicago drummer, played in Ken Vandermark's pre-5 Quartet and shows up on a lot of important albums. This group recalls the early V5 with two saxophonists: founder Mars Williams and his replacement Dave Rempis, plus V5 bassist Kent Kessler and cornetist Josh Berman for extra sparks. Terrific sax runs. A- [bc] Michael Zerang & the Blue Lights: Hash Eaters and Peacekeepers (2014 [2015], Pink Palace, EP): Billed as a "companion release to Songs From the Big Book of Love, a bit long for as EPs go (six cuts, 33:51, but released on cassette and discounted). Heavier on themes, which beefs them up and slows them down a tad, but they do impress. B+(***) [bc] Recent Reissues, Compilations, Vault Discoveries
John Carter: Echoes From Rudolph's (1976-77 [2015], NoBusiness, 2CD): Clarinet and soprano sax, mostly trio with Stanley Carter on bass and William Jeffery on drums. The first disc offers a pretty good sample of Carter as improviser. Seems like much of the second disc is given over to bass solo, which is interesting in its own right. Maybe Carter did need Bradford? B+(**) [cd] Hamid Drake/Michael Zerang: For Ed Blackwell (1995 [2015], Pink Palace): One 42:46 composition for two drum sets, in honor of the late drummer (1929-92), best known for playing in Ornette Coleman's legendary quartet from 1960, a lineup later resurrected as Old and New Dreams (with Dewey Redman instead of Coleman). This goes well beyond drum solos, almost to a system. B+(***) [bc] Free Jazz Group Wiesbaden: Frictions/Frictions Now (1969-71 [2015], NoBusiness): Early free jazz quartet from the center of West Germany, no one who later became famous although each of the players has 5-10 other credits -- Michael Sell (trumpet), Dieter Scherf (alto sax, oboe, piano, exotic flutes and such), Gerhard König (guitar, flute), Wolfgang Schlick (drums). They cut two albums which sound like they could have come much later, perhaps because Americans don't appreciate how early a linkage was established between European free jazz and "third world musics" -- perhaps because Europeans were more conscious of their states' colonial legacies. B+(***) [cd] Erroll Garner: The Complete Concert by the Sea (1955 [2015], Columbia/Legacy, 3CD): A fine pianist from Pittsburgh, fast and idiosyncratically unique, he became a popular celebrity when his 1956 Concert by the Sea album went gold. Cut live in Carmel, CA, heavily edited to 41:19 LP length, Garner led a trio with Eddie Calhoun on bass and Denzil Best on drums, the album seemed to have a magic lift. Sixty years later, the label has stretched it out, offering the unedited concert, with 11 extra tunes on two discs, plus a third disc remaster with a 14:10 post-concert interview. It's all rather redundant, but I like the raw concert at least as much as the tailored product -- indeed, I can't imagine how they could have left "Caravan" off the latter. A- [cd] Sun Ra: The Magic City (1965 [2015], Enterplanetary Koncepts): Billed as "Full Stereo Edition," I doubt this exists in anything but digital form. Indeed, a lot of old and obscure Sun Ra has been coming out in digital-only releases -- the original LPs were very limited runs, and the CDs that Evidence releasec c. 1993 are becoming hard to find. Some of their furthest out space shit, only intermittently connecting with terrestial like myself. B+(**) Old Music
The Chills: Kaleidoscope World (1982-84 [1989], Homestead): Early singles compilation, well before Martin Phillips' group's 1988 debut (but compiled a year later). Pop gems in the rough, but very rough -- interesting that the catchiest track is the instrumental. B+(*) Guy Davis: Juba Dance (2013, M.C.): Cover adds "featuring Fabrizio Poggi" -- an Italian harmonica player who inspires Brownie McGhee rhythms in Davis even when he's playing higher and sweeter than Sonny Terry. B+(**) Robert Forster: Intermission: The Best of the Solo Recordings 1990-1997 (1990-97 [2007], Beggars Banquet): The Go-Betweens broke up in 1989 and regrouped with 2000's The Friends of Rachel Worth. In between principal songwriters Grant McLennan and Robert Forster released four albums each. The idea of compiling best-ofs came after McLennan's death in 2006, before Forster could resume his solo career. It's possible to find a package with one CD by each, but in the digital world they're separate. While McLennan's albums were more immediately appealing, this adds up to a good solid half a Go-Betweens album (maybe more). Maybe I should reconsider the source albums? A- Erroll Garner: Body & Soul (1951-52 [1991], Columbia): Twenty songs collected from three piano trio sessions with John Simmons on bass and Shadow Wilson on drums. The times are uniformly within the range for 78s (2:21 to 3:45). Mostly standards, bright and fast, sometimes een showing his tenuous link to Art Tatum. B+(***) Erroll Garner: The Erroll Garner Collection, Vol. 2: Dancing on the Ceiling (1961-65 [1989], Emarcy): The second slice of a five-volume compilation of previously unreleased performances by Garner's piano trio, with Eddie Calhoun and Kelly Martin. B+(**) Marty Grosz and His Honoris Causa Jazz Band: Hooray for Bix! (1957 [1958], Good Time Jazz): An old-fashioned rhythm guitarist and sometime singer, born in Berlin in 1930 but escaped the Nazis as a toddler -- his father was famed caricaturist Georg Grosz -- and grew up as a devotee of trad jazz. First album, in fact his only one until 1983, and it's a delight. Cornetist Carl Halen gets a "featuring" notice on the front cover, although clarinetist Frank Chace is equally worthy. Songbook honors Beiderbecke, the songs as sweet as ever. A- Marty Grosz with Destiny's Tots: Sings of Love and Other Matters (1986, Jazzology): One of several group names he's used -- the Orphan Newsboys is probably the best known -- but some of the key players (especially pianist Keith Ingham) are frequent associates. Grosz sang a bit on his debut, but this is where he learns how to make his rather ordinary voice work (good example: "Until the Real Thing Comes Along"). He also does a little stand up with his tale of how Edward Elgar discovered "The English Blues." A- Marty Grosz: Songs I Learned at My Mother's Knee & Other Low Joints (1992 [1994], Jazzology): This comes from three sessions with as many groups, though they're all pretty much equivalent. B+(**) Marty Grosz and the Collectors Items Cats: Thanks (1993, Jazzology): New band name but mostly the same cats -- Keith Ingham on piano, Peter Ecklund on cornet, Dan Barrett on trombone, Bobby Gordon on clarinet and Scott Robinson on reeds. B+(**) Marty Grosz: Keep a Song in Your Soul (1994, Jazzology): Again split between two sessions/bands, but brighter from the start, often delightful. B+(***) Marty Grosz and His Sugar Daddies: On Revival Day: Live at the Atlanta Jazz Party! (1995, Jazzology): Another fine trad jazz group, with Peter Ecklund (trumpet), Bobby Gordon (clarinet), Ingham, and others. On the other hand, this seems rather subdued, especially on the usually rousing Andy Razaf title song. B+(**) Marty Grosz Quartet: Just for Fun! (1996, Nagel Heyer): Recorded live in Hamburg with what looks like a Brit trad jazz pickup group: Alan Elsdon (trumpet), John Barnes (clarinet), and Murray Wall (bass). Nothing special, but the record does pick up as the leader's tongue loosens up. [PS: Wall, b. 1945 in Australia, has played on at least two other Grosz albums. Elsdon and Barnes are English.] B+(*) Marty Grosz: Left to His Own Devices (2000 [2001], Jazzology): With Randy Reinhart on cornet, Scott Robinson and Dan Block on clarinet and sax, Greg Cohen on bass, and Mike Peters on guitar. Relatively tame, perhaps because the obscurities aren't up to it. B+(*) Marty Grosz & His Hot Puppies: Rhythm Is Our Business (2000-01 [2003], Sackville): A quintet with Randy Reinhart on trumpet and Frank Roberscheuten on clarinet (and various saxes), with the leader's trademark strum and sly vocals, more small group swing than trad, climaxing in a 10:17 medley: "Rhythm for Sale/He Ain't Got Rhythm/I Got Rhythm." B+(***) Last Exit: Last Exit (1986, Enemy): Normally when I see an eponymous group album with the individual musician names on the cover, I list it under them, but this was such a unique group I prefer to keep their albums together. The musicians: Sonny Sharrock (guitar), Peter Brötzmann (saxes), Bill Laswell (electric bass), and Ronald Shannon Jackson (drums). Laswell's rockish beat keeps it all on an even keel. Sharrock can not only joust with the sax, he often comes out on top. A- Last Exit: Köln (1986 [2005], Atavistic): A live set on saxophonist Brötzmann's home turf, which may help explain why he comes out swinging. Still, he doesn't dominate this like he does his own albums, probably because the guitar both competes and undercuts the sax. B+(***) Last Exit: The Noise of Trouble: Live in Tokyo (1986, Enemy): Another live one, another continent, the added treats including a Jimmy Reed blues sung by Shannon Jackson, and a couple of gate crashers: Japanese alto saxophonist Akira Sakata, who knows his way around the avant-garders, and pianist Herbie Hancock, who doesn't. B+(**) John Law Quartet: Exploded on Impact (1992 [1993], Slam): British avant pianist, with Alan Wilkinson (alto/baritone sax), Roberto Bellatalla (bass), and Mark Sanders (drums). Rhapsody only has two (of five) cuts (and the shorter ones at that: 19:17/55:47), so I probably shouldn't bother, or at least I should hedge a bit. A volatile combination, one that (here at least) ends much too soon. B+(***) John Law: Extremely Quartet (1996 [1997], Hat Art): British pianist, trained to play baroque but broke free in the mid-1980s and has thirty or so albums -- well regarded in Penguin Guide but hitherto someone I've missed out on. Very strong group here -- Paul Dunmall (tenor and soprano sax), Barry Guy (bass), and Louis Moholo (drums) -- and the saxophonist manages to play with some restraint, not obliterating the fascinating piano runs. A- John Law Quartet: Abacus (2000 [2001], Hatology): Pianist, with Jon Lloyd (alto/soprano sax), Tim Wells (bass), and Gerry Hemingway (drums). The first cut delivers the off-kilter thrash you expect, but then they try to show their flexibility and resourcefulness, including some slow melodic stuff that's nice and all that but detracts from the rush they're capable of. B+(***) Grant McLennan: In Your Bright Ray (1997, Beggars Banquet): Final album, distilled essence of his Go-Betweens sound but none of the songs really jump out, like they're supposed to. B+(*) Grant McLennan: Intermission: The Best of the Solo Recordings 1990-1997 (1990-97 [2007], Beggars Banquet): Like Robert Forster, McLennan released four solo albums during their break from the group they'll always be remembered for, the Go-Betweens. But McLennan was the more natural songwriter, and he was the one I followed, A-listing two of these four albums. Not sure this is better, but "Lighting Fires" tops Fireboy, and two cuts I missed from In Your Bright Ray above made the grade this time. A- John Tchicai: Cadentia Nova Danica (1968, Freedom): Danish alto saxophonist, father from Congo, first album but he had previously appeared with New York Art Quartet and on Albert Ayler's New York Eye and Ear, and also in 1968 he appeared on the first Instant Composers Pool album. I count nine musicians, with Karsten Vogel joining Tchicai at alto sax (and composing two of the pieces; Tchicai wrote two, and arranged a South American folk song), three percussionists (Giorgio Musoni on African drums), and Max Bryel switching between piano and baritone sax. Rough and tumble, but when it all connects pretty amazing. A- John Tchicai and Cadentia Nova Danica: Afrodisiaca (1969, MPS): A year later Tchicai's group peaked out at 26 musicians for the 21:45 title cut, written by trumpeter Hugh Steinmetz, part of the sudden explosion of avant-orchestras in Europe (starting with Globe Unity and ICP in 1967, plus LJCO in 1970. One of those glorious messes some people remember as stone classics. Still, the musicians thin out on the back side, and with them the excitement. B+(**) John Tchicai-Irene Schweizer-Group: Willi the Pig: Live at the Willisau Jazz Festival (1975 [2000], Atavistic): Quartet with Buschi Niebergall on bass and Makaya Nishoko on drums backing alto (or soprano) sax and piano for one long improv, originally split over two LP sides. Fine outing for Tchicai, but it's the pianist who makes it special. A- John Tchicai & Strange Brothers: Darktown Highlights (1977, Storyville): Quartet live from Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, with Simon Spang-Hanssen (tenor sax), Peter Danstrup (bass), and Ole Rřmer (drums). Stretches out a bit more than in the earlier albums. B+(***) John Tchicai: Put Up the Fight (1987, Storyville): Another quartet, but a very different with more of a groove focus, Brent Clausen playing vibes/guitar/synth, Peter Danstrup on bass guitar/synth, and Ole Rřmer drums. The regular beat does let the sax soar, and the vibes provide some sparkle. B+(*) John Tchicai: Darktown Highlights/Put Up the Fight (1977-87 [2012], Storyville, 2CD): Only print on the cover is "John Tchicai" but the best available discography settled on this title, one disc each for two Storyville albums, per above. B+(**) Additional Consumer News:Previous grades on artists in the old music section.
NotesEverything streamed from Rhapsody, except as noted in brackets following the grade:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, November 16, 2015 Music Week
Music: Current count 25787 [25726] rated (+61), 420 [439] unrated (-19). Several reasons for the huge rated bump this week: one is that I procrastinated in cataloguing the incoming so the week ended Monday afternoon instead of my usual Sunday evening (which also means I've included Monday's mail in the unpacking); I knocked off almost all of the records listed below in a single play (which actually includes the week's two A- picks); about 20 of the records were streamed -- less than half, but they tend to go quick; finally, I noticed a record ungraded in the database that I was pretty sure I had heard, so I made a quick check of all the ungraded post-2000 jazz and that bumped the rated count up from 47 to 61. I'd guess that probably close to ten records got a second play: Bathysphere, John Dikeman, Giovanni Di Domenico, Ingrid Laubrock, at least one of the Martin Küchens, Jack Mouse, Statik Selektah, both old and posthumous Sun Ra, John Carter (even though it's 2CD), Thank Your Lucky Stars. Still, the only one that came close to an A- was the Beach House, but I didn't feel like spending the extra time, especially after Depression Cherry (and Bloom and Teen Dream) had left so little mark. The Arab rap anthology (Khat Thaleth) was recommended by Bob Christgau just in time for the massive outpouring of anti-Arab vitriol that followed the terror attacks in Paris (and Beirut, but who's counting?). Even without downloading the trots, it's pretty obvious that these Arabs are not those Arabs. It comes as a unique item, although it probably isn't. The Errol Garner reissue raises the question of redundancy, as you get two takes of the concert: one complete spread out on 2CD, the other as originally edited (plus one of those interviews that are interesting the first time around but unnecessary after that). Still, I had the old 1987 CD reissue at A-, and most of the cuts that the complete edition adds are every bit as good. Also, I'm relieved to point out that the whole 3CD package only costs $12.89 (at Amazon, although if you want vinyl the price jumps to $39.36). By the way, the original CD is still in print, down at $4.99. One downside is that the CD package is irregularly sized, so most likely it won't fit on your shelf. I should also note that I was a little surprised to look back in my database and not find any other A- albums by Garner. In fact there are only three other entries: two B (Long Ago and Far Away and The Original Misty), one B+ (Easy to Love [The Erroll Garner Collection Vol. 1]). But Penguin Guide also only credits Garner with one 4-star album, no surprise given their predilection for solo piano: Solo Time! [The Erroll Garner Collection Vols. 4/5] (although they tabbed Concert by the Sea, with 3.5 stars, as a "core collection" album). Seems like there should be more because was such a distinctive stylist. I had a few more things I wanted to write about this week. Let me just briefly mention one: Tim Niland's book, Music and More: Selected Blog Posts 2003-2015. My copy arrived and it looks terrific (although the perfect binding has developed a small bubble). Tons of reviews, an ongoing chronicle of twelve of the most productive years in jazz history. I do have a couple of quibbles: there is no table of contents or index, so it's going to be hard to find any particular review; for that matter, it doesn't even have page numbers, which should have been pretty easy to set up. I imagine the search function will help out here with the Kindle edition, if you're into that platform. Still, I'm very pleased to own a print copy. I'm adding the book cover to my book roll. I also wanted to note that I've been working on my soon-to-be-obsolete Music Tracking File. I finally implemented the genre switches, and I've been scraping more sources for data: at this point I've added virtually every 2015 jazz record reviewed by Free Jazz Collective, and I've worked my way back to August in All About Jazz, resulting in a list of 1044 jazz releases this year (I've reviewed or at least own 540 of them). My coverage of other genres is much spottier, but currently adds up to 2748 records. The list will eventually give way to an EOY aggregate list, but meanwhile helps me sort out what I need (or would like to) listen to. New records rated this week:
Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries rated this week:
Old music rated this week:
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Sunday, November 15, 2015 Weekend RoundupIt's been a good week for warmongering anti-Islamist bigots, what with the Kurdish "liberation" of ISIS-held Sinjar, the ISIS-blamed bombing of a Russian airliner, the drone-murder of reality TV star "Jihadi John," and ISIS-linked murderous assault in Paris on the innocent fans of a band called Eagles of Death Metal. Ann Coulter was so thrilled she tweeted that America just elected Donald Trump as its next president. Shell-shocked post-Benghazi! Democrats were quick to denounce it all as terrorism, using the precise words of the Republican thought police. Someone even proposed changing the Freedom Fries to "French Fries" in solidarity. French president François Hollande declared that the Paris attacks meant war, momentarily forgetting that he had already started the same war when France joined the anti-ISIS bombing party in Syria. He and other decried this "attack on western civilization." Gandhi could not be reached, but he's probably sticking to his line that western civilization would be a good idea. I'll return to this subject below, but the main point to make up here is that this is above all a time to keep your cool. In fact, take a couple steps back and try to recover some of the cool we've lost ever since demonizing ISIS became so ubiquitous nobody gives it a second thought. I have no wish to defend them, but I will point out that what they're accused of is stuff that virtually all armies have done throughout history. Also that they exist because governments in Damascus and Baghdad became so violently oppressive that millions of people (who in normal times want peace and prosperity as much as everyone else does) became so desperate as to see them as the lesser evil. No doubt ISIS can be brutal to those under their thumb, but ISIS could not exist without some substantial measure of public support, and that means two things: one is that to kill off ISIS you'd have to kill an awful lot of people, revealing yourself to be an even more brutal monster; the other is that you can't end this by simply restoring the old Damascus and Baghdad powers, because they will inevitably revert to type. Yet who on the US political spectrum has a plan to do anything different? Before this flare up I had something more important I wanted to write about: inequality. Admittedly, war is more urgent: it has a way of immediately crowding out all other problems. But the solution is also much simpler: just don't do it. All you need to know about war has been said many times, notably by people like A.J. Muste and David Dellinger. It might be argued that inequality is the root of war, or conversely that equitable societies would never have any reason to wage war. The ancient justification for war was always loot. And while we've managed to think of higher, more abstract and idealized concepts for justifying war, there's still an awful lot of looting going on. In America, we call that business. The piece I've been thinking about is a Bloomberg editorial that appeared in the Wichita Eagle: Ramesh Ponnuru: Is income inequality a big deal? He starts:
If you take "worked up" in the sense of bothered, sure, but if you mean concerned, his disclaimer is less true. The bare fact is that virtually every principle and proposal conservatives hold dear is designed to increase inequality. Cutting taxes allows the rich to keep more income and concentrate wealth, lifting them up further. Cutting food stamps and other "entitlements" pushes the poor down, also increasing inequality. Maybe desperation will nudge some people off welfare into low wage jobs, further depressing the labor market and allowing savvy businessmen to reap more profits. Of course, making it harder for workers to join unions works both ways -- lower wages, higher profits -- and conservatives are in the forefront there. They're also in favor of deregulating business -- never deny the private sector an opportunity to reap greater profits from little things like pollution or fraud. They back "free trade" agreements, designed mostly to protect patent (property) owners and let businesses expand into more profitable markets overseas, at the minor cost of outsourcing American jobs -- actually a double plus as that outsourcing depresses the labor market, meaning lower wages and higher profits. Sandbagging public education advantages those who can afford private schools. Saddling working class upstarts with college debt helps keep the children of the rich ahead. And the list goes on and on. Maybe you can come up with some conservative hot list items that don't drop straight to the bottom line (abortion? guns? drug prohibition? gambling? war? -- one could argue that all of those hurt the working class more than the rich, but I doubt that's really the point). Still, you won't find any conservative proposals to counter inequality. From time immemorial the very purpose of conservatism has been to defend the rulers against the masses. From time to time that's required some adjustments to conservative thinking: in America at least, cons no longer defend the prerogatives of kings and titled aristocracy (not that they have any problems with the Saudis or Hashemites, or nearly any tin-pot dictator who lets their companies profit); and they've given up on slavery (and the most overt expressions of racism), but still can't stand the idea of unions, and they never have trusted democracy. For a while they liked the idea that America offered a chance for equal opportunity (without guaranteeing equal results), an idea Ponnuru is still fond of, not that he'd actually cross any of his betters by suggesting we do something about it. For one thing they'd probably point out that equal opportunity is how we wound up with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, whereas the worst you'd have to put up with in a closed oligarchy is someone like Jeb Bush (or, pick your poison, Donald Trump). Ponnuru refers to an article by George Packer: The Republican Class War, probably because the article starts off a "reformocon" conference organized by Ponnuru's wife April (high among the Republican Party's "family values" is nepotism). The reformocons have a book full of policy proposals that allegedly help the middle if not the lower class, but none of the things Packer mentions looks promising. Ponnuru cites a study on opportunity mentioned by Packer then dismisses it with another study on something else. He continues:
Uh, 1907? 1929? 2008? That's a pretty strong series. Maybe some lesser recessions don't correlate so well: 1979-81 was induced by the Fed's anti-inflation hysteria, so the recovery was unusual as well. Income stagnation also started with the early 1980s recession, as did the first major tax cuts for the rich, although even larger sources of inequality that decade were trade deficits (resulting in a major sell-off of assets to foreign investors) and real estate fraud (bankrupting the S&L industry, resulting in a recession). In the 1990s the main sources of inequality were the massive bid-up of the stock market and a loosening of bank regulations, and they too led to a recession in 2001. The labor market did tigheten up enough in the late 1990s for real wages to rise a bit, but that was wiped out in the following recession, and the "Bush recovery" was the worst to date at generating new jobs, as it was fueled almost exclusively by debt and fraud. Packer finally splits from the reformocons, and Ponnuru's reaction is basically a hand wave.
Ponnuru may not relish it, but being heartless is part of what it takes to be a conservative these days. So is being a devious little prevaricator. Let me close this section with a couple paragraphs from Packer (starting with the one on macro that Ponnuru thinks he disproved, because it's so very succinctly stated):
Some scattered links this week:
Some more related ISIS links: If I stayed up a few more hours I could collect many more ISIS links, but this will have to be enough for now. I doubt that my main points will change any. And I don't mind the occasional pieces that show you how maniacal ISIS can be. None prove that the US military is the answer. Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, November 9, 2015 Music Week
Music: Current count 25726 [25691] rated (+35), 439 [439] unrated (-0). Fall is coming to Wichita several weeks later than usual this year, but we raked up a first bag of leaves yesterday (many more are still on the trees, but no longer green). That got me started thinking about EOY lists. My own lists-in-progress currently show 59 jazz and 42 non-jazz new records on the A-list (reissues/historic music: 6 + 5). I added eight records to those lists this week. Michael Tatum reviewed the Chills in his latest column, and also tipped me off on two of this week's three rap albums (Blackalicious and Peaceable Solutions, although I was vaguely aware of the former). The third rap record was Paris, reviewed by Robert Christgau a while back. I had put it off because it's a double, and only gave it one spin, but it's so solid it's in my shopping basket (along with Laurie Anderson, Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, and Sleaford Mods) as a possible P&J contender. Four jazz records too. Jörg Fischer has been sending me CDs for a couple years and Spicy Unit finally hit the spot. The other two -- Ochs-Robinson Duo and Michael Zerang & the Blue Lights -- I had to stream. I spent a big chunk of time last week scanning through The Free Jazz Collective's blog and adding all the new 2015 releases they reviewed to my 2015 release list file. I don't find their ratings to be very reliable, but they do cover a lot of avant-jazz. I probably added a hundred albums, noted a couple dozen to look up, and listened to a handful. The Zerang album is the Mars Williams-Dave Rempis joust of my dreams (and its companion is either more or less depending on your perspective). And the Larry Ochs duo is as clear a showcase for his powerful tenor sax as I can recall. The trawl also located a few links below. The fourth jazz record was one I got in the mail and played a lot (4-5 times), wavering on the fence. Josh Berman is actually in Zerang's band, but he is better heard on his own new trio record. Probably would have been an easier call had I not played it right after Ochs and the two Zerangs and started worrying that everything was sounding A-worthy. (As I'm writing this, I'm playing random shit from the queue and not having that problem at all.)
The release list file is currently approaching 2500 entries (2389; about one-third are jazz: 813). I'll keep growing the file for a while, but eventually it will give way to an EOY List Aggregate file, like the one I did last year. EOY lists start showing up in mid-November, especially in the UK (which probably has more music magazines than the US does). The counter in the music tracking file shows 751 records either rated or in hand this year. Unlikely I'll hit 1000 this year, as I have done a couple of times in the past. Recommended music links: The first few links come from the Free Jazz Collective crawl.
PS: Sometime back I incorrectly got the group and album title swapped: should be The Spanish Donkey: Raoul (2015, Rare Noise). Group members are: Joe Morris, Jamie Saft, and Mike Pride. Grade: B. New records rated this week:
Old music rated this week:
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Sunday, November 8, 2015 Weekend RoundupNothing from Crowson this week: he wasted his editorial space with a celebration of the World Series victors. I enjoyed the Kansas City Royals' wins, too -- even watched a couple innings of Game 2, where I didn't recognize a single name but had no problem understanding the many nuances of the game. At least that much doesn't change much, or fade away. The main topic this week is the mental and moral rot that calls itself conservatism, also known as the Republican Party. Scattered links:
Also, a few links for further study (briefly noted; i.e., I don't have time for this shit right now):
Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, November 2, 2015 Music Week
Music: Current count 25691 [25653] rated (+38), 439 [447] unrated (-8). A busy week, in all regards except unpacking. Rated count is back up after last week's dip. I got a jump there by looking at everything I hadn't previously heard on Alfred Soto's "third quarter report" (ASAP Rocky, Speedy Ortiz, Florence + the Machine, Brandon Flowers, Angel Haze, Destroyer, Robert Forster, Janet Jackson). Some good records there, but nothing I especially loved. Still, the exercise did send me back to Forster's best-of (didn't get to Grant McLennan's companion comp, something I should remedy; at least with McLennan I'm more familiar with the source albums, a couple of which I've A-listed -- Watershed and Horsebreaker Star). Most importantly, Michael Tatum published a new A Downloader's Diary last week. (My archive copy is here.) Not a lot there I hadn't heard already -- Deerhunter, Forster, and Destroyer are in my list this week but I got them earlier, without the benefit of Tatum's advice. (I came up with slightly lower grades for Deerhunter, Forster, and Jill Scott -- any of which could be chalked up to lack of patience with records a bit outside of my wheelhouse.) Aside from ratings quibbles, I should point out that the Heems and even more so the Kendrick Lamar reviews rank among the year's best music writing. I did get two A-list records from Robert Christgau's Expert Witness this week: Laurie Anderson's Heart of a Dog and Jeffrey Lewis' Manhattan. I gave them two spins each -- not enough to rise beyond A-, although Lewis was getting better, and I can certainly see the appeal of Anderson's stories (I'm just not as swept away by the music as I was by Strange Angels, or even Home of the Brave). I'll probably break down and order copies of both, but actually the new record that impressed me the most this week was Lyrics Born's Real People (also two spins). Evidently it came out in May but the first I heard of it was when it showed up on one of Mosi Reeves' Rhapsody lists. Tom Shimura is as much a cult-favorite among Christgauvians as Anderson or Lewis, so I'm surprised no one flagged it. (Or did I just slip up and not notice?) Very rare that I actually buy records any more: after Yesterdays closed there are no decent record stores in Wichita, and the impulse buys I would occasionally pick up at Best Buy petered out as their inventory continued to shrink. I do continue to buy books, though not often music books. (I did feel a desire to own, but haven't yet read, Michaelangelo Matos' The Underground Is Massive.) I was tempted last week by the two Allen Lowe books I don't own: Really the Blues? A Horizontal Chronicle of the Vertical Blues, 1893-1959 (the companion to his massive 36-CD trawl through blues history) and, especially, God Didn't Like It: Electric Hillbillies, Singing Preachers, and the Beginning of Rock and Roll, 1950-1970, but I got weak knees in Paypal hell (maybe later). However, the book I did order, and want to offer a preëmptive plug for, is Tim Niland's Music and More: Selected Blog Posts 2003-2015. I've been reading Niland's Music and More blog for many years now, not so much to find new music (since we seem to be on the exact same mailing lists) as to check my sanity. Blogs are pretty much designed to be disposable but his is the opposite: if compiled into an indexed, searchable Christgau-like website it would be viewed as an essential reference resource. His 822-page book is the next best thing. Bargain-priced, too. Two more A-listed new jazz albums this week (plus one old one). You may recall that I also liked Nat Birchall's Live in Larissa last year. Maybe the Coltrane-isms are too obvious, but it's not like we'd turn out noses up at a new vault discovery. The fact is I'd take either Birchall album over The Offering (the 1966 tape that swept the polls last year). I've never gotten anything by Birchall in the mail, so reviewing him is strictly a Rhapsody bonus (with the usual caveats: in this case I have no idea who else played on the album, although they're pretty damn good). Matthew Shipp's trio took a lot more time to suss out -- I must have given it five (maybe six) spins. Without doing any A/B, I think it's his best trio since he moved back away from the jazztronica of last decade, maybe because I hear more of the knockabout rhythmizing of the Ware Quartet and his later albums with Ivo Perelman. I should probably mention that there will be a memorial "to celebrate the remarkable life of Elizabeth Marcia Fink," who died on September 22. I've seen a very nice invitation, but can't find any public posting of it, so here are the details: the memorial will be on Saturday, November 7, 2015, from 3:00-6:00 pm, at Union Theological Seminary, 3041 Broadway at 121st Street, New York, NY 10027. The invitation asks for RSVP. We're not up for another trip to New York at the moment, but we do miss Liz -- in fact, remark on it every single day. New records rated this week:
Old music rated this week:
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
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