Recent Reading

Music Database

Artist Search:

Browse

Website Search

Google:

Music Week [270 - 279]

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

April archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 35216 [35184] rated (+32), 211 [209] unrated (+2).

Allergies kicked in with a vengeance this week, which is one (but by no means the only) reason I'm miserable and in a deep funk. That may have taken a toll here, as all of the recommended albums are in the "old music" section. Still, nothing new came close enough to make me suspect my mood overrode my objectivity -- except maybe the Spoon and White Stripes best-ofs (from 2019 and 2020, respectively). On the other hand, more A-list in the Old Music section than usual.

Was looking forward to Robert Christgau's April Consumer Guide, but got very little from it. I had previously given B+ reviews to the records from Mike, Dua Saleh, and Neil Young, so didn't revisit them. Couldn't find If I Have to Wreck L.A., but I did scrounge up a pretty good collection of earlier Willie Headen songs. I played White Stripes twice, and can imagine why fans like them, but wasn't moved to bump the grade up. The Spoon collection mentioned in the White Stripes review wasn't available anywhere, but I was able to create a songlist with everything on it. I always liked that band, but can't say their songs stand out, even from an average album (like the one I previously missed, Gimme Fiction). On the other hand, that early Spoon album was quite a surprise (but also note, I liked A Series of Sneaks).

Sonny Simmons died last week, so I thought I should take a look at what I missed, but didn't get very far. (Also see how group Cosmosamatics. Rapper DMX also died, but I didn't get to him at all.

New records reviewed this week:

Tamar Aphek: All Bets Are Off (2021, Kill Rock Stars): Israeli singer-songwriter (in English), plays guitar and keyboards, and plays them hard. Ends, improbably, with "As Time Goes By." B+(**)

Rahsaan Barber: Mosaic (2020 [2021], Jazz Music City, 2CD): Saxophonist (alto/tenor/baritone, sometimes two at once -- who does that remind you of?), third album, quartet with piano-bass-drums, guest trumpet and/or trombone on some tracks. Roland Barber's trombone is a nice touch. B+(**)

Benny the Butcher: The Plugs I Met 2 (2021, Black Soprano Family, EP): Buffalo rapper Jeremie Pennick, has a bunch of mixtapes since 2004, two albums, five EPs -- this one's more like a short album (9 songs, 28:33). B+(**)

Cabaret Voltaire: Dekadrone (2021, Mute): British new wave/industrial pioneers, debut 1978, disbanded 1994, returned as an alias for founder Richard H Kirk with a 2020 album. Early stuff was hit and miss, but they found an awesome groove in the mid-1980s (e.g., The Original Sound of Sheffield '83-'87: The Best of the Virgin/EMI Years). Not much groove here, with a single 49:55 track, ambient that prods you incessantly. I enjoy short stretches, but find it a bit tedious at such length. B+(*)

Sarah Mary Chadwick: Me and Ennui Are Friends, Baby (2021, Ba Da Bing!): Singer-songwriter from New Zealand via Australia, Discogs lists his as her eighth album since 2012, mostly on labels I've never heard of (like Bedroom Suck and Rice Is Nice). Lo-fi, cut in her living room, stark and barren. I don't much care for it, but if you let it in, you may care a lot. B+(**)

Eminem: Music to Be Murdered By: Side B (2020, Shady/Aftermath/Interscope): Sequel to the "Side A" January, 2020 release, again playing off Alfred Hitchcock samples. Physical package recycles "Side A" as a second CD, but we'll ignore that here (I just deleted the extra tracks, which I gave a marginal A- to back in February). This is a bit more scattershot, but while his shtick isn't new, he can still dazzle. B+(***)

Joe Fahey: February on Ice (2021, Rough Fish): Minneapolis singer-songwriter. Has a couple previous albums, but nothing Discogs or Wikipedia have noticed. Rocks some, chills out, lyrics tend to ramble, but unique enough he may be worth the trouble. Or maybe not. Choice cut: "Fuck the Republicans." B+(***)

Girl in Red: Chapter 1 (2018, AWAL/Human Sounds, EP): Norwegian singer-songwriter Marie Ulven, started recording songs in her bedroom and releasing them on Soundcloud, her debut ("I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend") getting 100 million streams. It leads off five songs here, 13:25, understated jangle pop. B+(*)

Girl in Red: Chapter 2 (2019, AWAL, EP): Five more songs, 15:53. B+(*)

Hennessy Six/Colorado Springs Youth Symphony: The Road Less Traveled (2020 [2021], Summit): Four tracks composed by Sean Schafer Hennessy (trumpet), the others by band members Cully Joyce (tenor sax/alto flute) and Colin McAllister (guitar). The Symphony adds to the kitchen sink effect, mostly strings. I find it all a bit excessive, but it does have some moments. B+(*) [cd]

Yvette Janine Jackson: Freedom (2021, Fridman Gallery): Sound engineer, based in Kansas, two pieces (22:09 and 19:42), plus two excerpts from same. Electroacoustic "radio opera," occasional words. LP has liner notes by Gregory Tate. B+(*) [bc]

Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas: Soundprints: Other Worlds (2020 [2021], Greenleaf Music): Poll winners at tenor sax and trumpet, at least when they convened this quintet in 2013. Third album, with Lawrence Fields (piano), Linda May Han Oh (bass), and Joey Baron (drums). Five compositions each for the leaders. Too much talent here to make a bad record, but that talent is wasted on the unison riffing. B+(*) [cd] [05-07]

Dax Pierson: Nerve Bumps (A Queer Divine Dissatisfaction) (2021, Dark Entries): Played keyboards in band Subtle (2001-08) before an auto accident paralyzed him from chest down. Returned as a techno producer, with Live in Oakland in 2019, now this. B+(**)

Jacques Schwarz-Bart: Soné Ka-La 2: Odyssey (2020 [2021], Enja): Saxophonist, from Guadeloupe, debut 1999, released Sone Ka-La in 2006. Band with piano, bass, drums, and extra percussion, incorporating gwoka rhythms. So far, so good, but I'm less fond of vocalist Malika Tirolien, scatting along like an extra horn. B+(*) [cd] [05-21]

The Weather Station: Ignorance (2021, Fat Possum): Canadian band fronted by singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman, folkie roots, fifth album since 2009. B+(**)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Gary Lucas: The Essential Gary Lucas (1981-2020 [2021], Knitting Factory, 2CD): Guitarist, from Syracuse, played with Captain Beefheart circa 1980, and memorialized him with his Fast 'N' Bulbous tribute band (again in 2017 with Nona Hendryx). This is billed as a 40-year retrospective, with 36 songs from 30+ widely scattered albums. Hard to find details online, but first disc is fairly conventional singer-songwriter fare (with better-than-average guitar), with second more eclectic/experimental (often, but not necessarily, better). B+(*)

Spoon: Everything Hits at Once: The Best of Spoon (2001-19 [2019], Matador): Indie band from Austin, founded in 1993 by Britt Daniel and Jim Eno, seven albums 2001-17 (plus reissues of 1990s work). Conceived of as an introduction/overview, but does have two hit singles ("Don't You Evah" and "Got Nuffin"), two more chart songs (30, 31). Given how many Spoon albums I've A-listed (4), I'm surprised I don't find this more engaging. [Songlist from other sources.] B+(***)

The White Stripes: My Sister Thanks You and I Thank You: Greatest Hits (1998-2007 [2020], Third Man): Critically acclaimed alt/indie band from a period when I had lost my interest in same, so while I heard (and sometimes rated favorably) their records, I don't remember anything on them, or recognize anything here except for the occasional cover. This is a generous selection (26 songs, 79:28), probably a useful substitute for their six albums, not that you need one. Despite some impressive guitar I can't say as I enjoyed it much. B+(***)

Old music:

Willie Headen: Blame It on the Blues (1954-60 [2006], Ace): R&B singer, recorded singles for Dootone/Dooto, a dozen of which were collected in a 1960 LP with this artwork, except his name appeared as Willie Hayden. Reissue doubles the length, picking up some previously unreleased takes. Has a bit of Bobby Bland in his voice. B+(***)

Justin Hinds & the Dominoes: Carry Go Bring Come: The Anthology (1963-72 [2005], Trojan, 2CD): Ska singer, worked with Duke Reid from 1963, recording scores of singles to 1972, none bigger than the title song in 1964 (original credited to Billy Ward & the Dominoes, with a second version later), which stand out, with dozens of other songs coming close enough. A-

Justin Hinds and the Dominoes: Jezebel (1976, Island): After leaving Reid, Hinds worked the Jack Ruby. This is the first of two albums Island released, which got lost behind the bigger names. Rasta roots, plenty of groove. B+(***) [yt]

Justin Hinds and the Dominoes: Just in Time (1978, Mango): Second album, also produced by Jack Ruby. Opening songs are "Let's Rock," "Let Jah Arise," "Help Your Falling Brother," but the one that hooks is "Bad Minded People." Second side goes pop, with a bubbly "(On) Broadway" and the self-evident "Groovin'," but the originals are even more seductive. A-

The Itals: Early Recordings 1971-1979 (1971-79 [1987], Nighthawk): Reggae vocal trio, roots oriented, issued four albums on this label 1981-88, plus this compilation of early singles and other tracks I can't trace. B+(*)

The Itals: Give Me Power (1983, Nighthawk): Second album, after Brutal Out Deh (1981). B+(**)

The Itals: Rasta Philosophy (1985 [1997], Nighthawk): Third album, a short one (CD has 7 songs, 26:25, one more song than the original vinyl), but some of their best harmonies. B+(***)

The Itals: Cool and Dread (1988, Nighthawk): Fourth album, can hold a groove, have something to say. Still, at the end of the album, I found myself carrying on, with some other song in my head. B+(**)

The Plastic People of the Universe: Apokalyptickej Pták (1976 [2017], Galén): Czech rock band led by bassist Milan Hlavsa, founded in the "Prague Spring" of 1968, drawing inspiration from Frank Zappa and the Velvet Underground. Went underground in 1970, and were tried and imprisoned in 1976, shortly after this concert was recorded. They broke up in 1988, with some members joining the similar-minded Pulnoc, and regrouped in 1997, continuing after Hlavsa's death in 2001. Live artifacts detract somewhat, and I suspect the bouts of Zappaesque artiness, but the instrumental stretches are extraordinary. A-

Duke Reid's Treasure Chest (1964-70 [1992], Heartbeat, 2CD): One of Jamaica's top producers in the ska and rocksteady eras, set up his sound system in 1953, died in 1975. This collects his work for Treasure Isle Records. Some classics here, lots of also-rans. B+(**)

Sonny Simmons: Staying on the Watch (1966, ESP-Disk): Alto saxophonist, cut a couple records with Prince Lasha before this debut, a quintet with wife Barbara Donald (a blistering trumpet), John Hicks (piano), bass, and drums. B+(***)

Sonny Simmons: Music From the Spheres (1966, ESP-Disk): Quintet with Barbara Donald (trumpet), piano, bass, and drums, plus tenor sax (Burt Wilson) on one cut ("Dolphy's Days"). Fast and bracing. A-

Sonny Simmons: Manhattan Egos (1969 [2000], Arhoolie): Alto saxophonist, also plays English horn. Original album with trumpet (Barbara Donald), bass/congas (Juma), and drums (Paul Smith). CD adds four tracks from a live set in Berkeley, with a different group -- no trumpet, but add Michael White (violin). A-

Spoon: Telephono (1996, Matador): First album, a trio with singer-songwriter Britt Daniel (guitar), Andy Maguire (bass), and Jim Eno (drums). Fourteen tight, twisted songs, 34:59, intense, bass cranked up. A band with a future, even if as something else. A-

Spoon: Gimme Fiction (2005, Merge): The one album I missed from 1998 on, probably because Christgau's B+ review made it seem inessential, and I hadn't discovered streaming yet. I won't swear he's wrong, but this seems every bit as consistent as the "best of," and if anything the relatively light touch on the vocals is a plus. B+(***)

Further Sampling:

Records I played parts of, but not enough to grade: -- means no interest, - not bad but not a prospect, + some chance, ++ likely prospect.

• Adeena Karasick/Frank London: Salomé: Woman of Valor (2020, Nuiu Music): [bc: 1/14, 3:53/?]: +

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Rossano Baldini: Humanbeing (RareNoise): cdr [05-28]
• David Friesen & Bob Ravenscroft: Passage (Origin)
• Rich Pellegrin: Solitude (OA2)
• Three-Layer Cake: Stove Top (RareNoise): cdr [05-28]
• Michael Waldrop: Time Frames (Origin)
• Rodney Whitaker: OutroSpection: The Music of Gregg Hill (Origin)

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, April 5, 2021

April archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 35184 [35141] rated (+43), 209 [212] unrated (-3).

I had less trouble finding records to listen to last week. I picked some obvious new records off Napster's recommendations list, and decided to follow up Dr. Lonnie Smith's new one with a dive into old catalogue. Aside for a few CDs, most of the rest came from Chris Monsen's 1st quarter round-up, and AOTY's Highest Rated Albums of 2021. I had heard 6 of 20 records on Monsen's (only 2 from promo CDs), so I scrambled to add 9 more, including both of this week's A- records. (Actually, I wrote up Miguel Zenón's Law Years before Monsen posted, so at the time I claimed 7/20, but the review is in this week's batch.) The other five don't seem to be available online, at least complete enough to review.

I'm not tracking reviews this year, so had no idea which albums might be on the AOTY list, and indeed had no idea most of them existed. (The ones I had previously reviewed were: Floating Points, Ghetts -- the former is on the Monsen and Phil Overeem lists, while the latter was the first thing I checked out from the AOTY list. Julien Baker is also on Overeem's list. I've heard 15 of Overeem's 30 records, counting Baker this week.

Just saw Dave Sumner's Best Jazz on Bandcamp: March 2021. I've heard 3 of 14 records. More alarmingly, I haven't heard of most of the artists. More evidence I'm falling far behind.

I'm a bit chagrined over the two A- records this week. Zenón's publicist still sends me most records. I got some email on this one, but the CD never showed up. Takase's label was sending me promos up to some time in 2019, so not getting this one was less of a mystery. I made up for the lost promos by streaming most of their releases on Napster, which is where I found this one. I'd be happy to continue in that way, but their more recent releases aren't on Napster, and one by Alexander Hawkins that came out the same day as Takase's has been withdrawn. Intakt does use Bandcamp, but don't offer complete albums there, so they're no substitute for reviewers. I count six A- records on Intakt last year, so not being able to review their releases will be a major loss.

April should be less stressful -- unless, as forecast, we get hit by an exceptionally rough tornado season, or the earthquakes on the east side of town get more severe. (It is established that they're caused by injection wells between Wichita and El Dorado.) I got my second Covid-19 vaccination a couple weeks ago, and Laura got hers on Saturday. Perhaps we'll soon be able to entertain for the first time in more than a year.

One frequent dinner guest from recent years will be missed. Rubena Bradley died last week. I haven't seen an obituary yet, but have heard from good friends -- two of her six daughters. They've invited us to Thanksgiving several years -- one with all six daughters visiting. A remarkable family. We're fortunate to have known Ruby.

New records reviewed this week:

The Anchoress: The Art of Losing (2021, Kscope): Catherine Anne Davies, born in Wales, grew up in England, got a PhD in "literature and queer theory" (published a book, Whitman's Queer Children), played in Simple Minds 2014-18. Second album, debut was Confessions of a Romance Novelist. Makes a strong impression here, although I'm not prepared to try to figure out whether she's as smart as she seems. B+(***)

Julien Baker: Little Oblivions (2021, Matador): Singer-songwriter from Tennessee, third album (not counting all-star trio Boygenius). Rocks a little harder than her "sad girl" works. B+(*)

Yaala Ballin: Sings Irving Berlin (2021, SteepleChase LookOut): Standards singer, from Israel, moved to New York "in 2004 to study with Sheila Jordan," fourth album -- her second, On the Road (2011), was a personal favorite. Backed by a swing-oriented band -- Michael Kanan (piano), Chris Flory (guitar), and Ari Roland (bass) -- hard to go wrong with Berlin. B+(***)

Jon Batiste: We Are (2020 [2021], Verve): Pianist, from New Orleans, debut 2005, upped his profile in 2015 as music director of Stephen Colbert's Late Show. Title song, with its New Orleans marching band backup, was released as a single in June 2020, inspired by Black Lives Matter protests. Vocals abound -- I count 11 credits, but that includes Gospel Soul Children -- so slot this under r&b, not jazz. Choice cuts: "Freedom," "Sing." B+(**)

John Butcher/Veryan Weston/Øyvind Stonesund/Dag Erik Kriedal Andersen: Mapless Quiet (2018 [2020], Motvind): Tenor/soprano sax, piano, bass, drums; one 49:28 piece, recorded live in Norway. Some strong patches, but seems to run out early. B+(**) [bc]

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis: Carnage (2021, AWAL): Singer-songwriter from Australia, started 1970s in the Birthday Party, has fronted the Bad Seeds since 1983. I've never liked his albums, but many critics do, and it's possible someone could compile a best-of I'd have to show some respect to (a concession based mostly on use of their songs in Peaky Blinders). Ellis joined the Bad Seeds in 1994, and has done a number of side projects with Cave (mostly soundtracks). His trademark is the murky darkness his voice strains against. A couple spots here test my resistance, but I still came away with no interest. B

Michael Dease: Give It All You Got (2019 [2021], Posi-Tone): Trombone player, originally from Georgia, more than a dozen albums since 2005. Jim Alfredson can lay the organ on a bit thick at times, but Gregory Tardy (tenor sax) and Anthony Stanco (trumpet) impress. B+(*)

Dry Cleaning: New Long Leg (2021, 4AD): English post-punk band led by singer Florence Shaw, first album after EPs and singles. Talks over rock solid riffs. B+(**)

Paul Dunmall/Percy Pursglove/Olie Brice/Jeff Williams: Palindromes (2020 [2021], West Hill): Tenor sax, trumpet, bass, and drums, live set at Café Oto in London. B+(***) [bc]

For Those I Love: For Those I Love (2019 [2021], September): David Balfe, Irish, first album self-released in 2019, given a proper unveiling this year. Heavily accented spoken word over electronica. B+(***)

Frode Haltli: Avant Folk II (2021, Hubro): Norwegian accordion player, albums since 2002 including folk and classical as well as jazz. Assembled this group for a 2018 album, with Hardanger fiddle, violin, sax, trumpet/goat horn, organ/synth, guitars, bass, and drums. B+(**) [bc]

Joseph Howell Quartet: Live in Japan (2018 [2021], Summit): Clarinet player, second album, dedicated his debut to Buddy DeFranco, mostly plays Joe Henderson songs here, along with three swing era standards. Backed by a Japanese piano trio -- pianist Keigo Hirakawa is most impressive. B+(**) [cd]

Kari Ikonen: Impressions, Improvisations and Compositions (2020 [2021], Ozella): Finnish pianist, new to me but eight albums since 2001. Nominally solo, but in spots the strings produced so much resonance I wondered whether a guitar or bass had slipped in. B+(***)

La Femme: Paradigmes (2021, Disque Pointu): French "psych-punk" band, some women in the band but founders wee Sacha Got and Marlon Magnée. Third album since an EP in 2010. Genre strikes me as iffy, but first album was called Psycho Tropical Berlin, and I don't have any alternative suggestions, especially as each song points them in another direction. B+(**)

Charles Lloyd & the Marvels: Tone Poem (2020 [2021], Blue Note): Tenor sax legend, also plays some flute, third group album, with Bill Frisell (guitar), Greg Leisz (steel guitar), Reuben Rogers (bass), and Eric Harland (drums). Three originals, after two Ornette Coleman pieces and Leonard Cohen's "Anthem," a 10:26 stretch on "Monk's Mood," a couple others. B+(***)

Pat Metheny: Road to the Sun (2021, BMG Modern): Popular jazz guitarist, composed two suites here, the first ("Four Paths of Light") played by Jason Vieaux ("perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation"), the title set played by the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. Wraps up with Metheny playing a solo piece by Arvo Pärt. B

Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge: Jazz Is Dead 4: Azymuth (2020, Jazz Is Dead, EP): First three albums listed Younge first. No idea why they swapped, but Muhammad is older (1970 vs. 1978), and his tenure with A Tribe Called Quest may have made him more famous (not that I recognized the name). Focus here is the Brazilian jazz-funk group, dating from 1972 up to 2016. This runs longer (8 tracks, 41:25), but is less engaging. B

Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge: Jazz Is Dead 5: Doug Carn (2020, Jazz Is Dead): Eleven tracks, 41:03, so they've outgrown the series' EP start. Carn is a soul jazz pianist, husband of singer Jean Carn, recorded 1969-77 and occasionally thereafter, changed his name to Abdul Rahim Ibrahim by 1977. He mostly plays organ here. High point is a sax solo, probably Gary Bartz. B+(***)

Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge: Jazz Is Dead 6: Gary Bartz (2021, Jazz Is Dead, EP): Alto saxophonist, cut some avant-soul fusion albums in the early 1970s with his Ntu Troop, later struck me as a pure bebop player. His sax nudges this entry back into jazz territory, no matter where the producers go with the rhythm. Eight tracks, 27:35 B+(***) [bc]

Nubiyan Twist: Freedom Fables (2021, Strut): Large British jazz-funk group, third album. B

R+R=Now: Live (2018 [2021], Blue Note): "All-star jazz collective," formed in 2018 for a studio album and a live stand at New York's Blue Note club, Robert Glasper (keyboards) cited as leader, with Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah (trumpet), Terrace Martin (sax/vocals), Taylor McFerrin (synth), Derrick Hodge (bass), and Justin Tyson (drums), plus spoken word on one of the better tracks, but pretty hit-and-miss. B

Dan Rose: Last Night . . . (2017 [2021], Ride Symbol): Rose cut an album in 1979, a couple in the 1990s, released two this year. This one is solo guitar, cautiously feeling his way through standards, some in medleys. B+(*) [cd]

Dan Rose/Claudine Francois: New Leaves (2019 [2021], Ride Symbol): Guitar-piano duo. Francois is French, has an album from 1984 but not much since. Four originals (two each), five more pieces, mostly from pianists (Monk, Silver, Waldron, Bley, Swallow). "Señor Blues" is especially tasty. B+(**) [cd]

Serpentwithfeet: Deacon (2021, Secretly Canadian): Singer-songwriter Josiah Wise, from Baltimore, grew up in his mother's church choir, studied classical music and was infatuated with opera. Second album, short (11 songs, 29:09). Choice cut: "Fellowship." B+(*)

Skarbø Skulekorps: Dugnad (2020 [2021], Hubro): Norwegian drummer Øyvind Skarbø, several albums since 2009, second under this group name, which includes trumpet, three saxes (Signe Emmeluth, Eirik Hegdal, and Klaus Holm, who also plays clarinet), guitars (including pedal steel), and bass, with a couple guests. B+(**)

Dr. Lonnie Smith: Breathe (2021, Blue Note): Organ player, not to be confused with his contemporary Lonnie Liston Smith (more of an electric piano guy), has wavered between soul jazz and pop, never impressing me much, but this is pretty agreeable. Produced by Don Was, half trio with Jonathan Kreisberg (guitar) and Johnathan Blake (drums), half adding horns (John Ellis, Robin Eubanks, Sean Jones), with two vocals toward the end (Alicia Olatuja on something gospelly, and Iggy Pop crooning "Sunshine Superman"). B+(**)

Veronica Swift: This Bitter Earth (2021, Mack Avenue): Jazz singer, semi-famous musical parents (Hod O'Brien, Stephanie Nakasian), cut a record when she was 10 with Richie Cole and her father's piano trio. (O'Brien was pianist on Roswell Rudd's Flexible Flyer, which is my favorite Sheila Jordan album ever.) Second big label effort, backed by Emmet Cohen (piano), bass, and drums, occasionally others. Standards, some common but most not, done with authority and panache. B+(***)

Aki Takase/Christian Weber/Michael Griener: Auge (2019 [2021], Intakt): German piano-bass-drums trio, the pianist moving from Tokyo to Berlin in 1987. Explosive. A-

Thumbscrew: Never Is Enough (2019 [2021], Cuneiform): Guitar-bass-drums trio (Mary Halvorson, Michael Formanek, Tomas Fujiwara), sixth album since 2014, nary a false step -- a fine context for the guitarist. B+(***) [dl]

Tony Tixier: I Am Human (2020 [2021], Whirlwind, EP): French pianist, has a couple albums. Originally released as a 6-track EP in 2020, reissued with an extra track (bringing it to 25:12). Two solo pieces, the others duets, including a lovely "Someone to Watch Over Me" with his twin brother Scott Tixier on violin. B+(*)

Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad: Jazz Is Dead 3: Marcos Valle (2020, Jazz Is Dead, EP): R&B producers, first volume entertained several guest artists, but the second one focused on a single artist (Roy Ayers). Valle is a Brazilian pop star, started with the bossa nova craze in 1963, and still working at 77. Not sure whether these are new performances or remixes, but the luscious samba groove argues for the latter. Eight tracks, 27:29. B+(***)

Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo: El Arte Del Bolero (2020 [2021], Miel Music): Alto sax and piano duo, from Puerto Rico and Venezuela respectively, but have played together often over the last decade-plus. Six songs by as many composers, taken at a leisurely pace (51:47). B+(***)

Miguel Zenón/Ariel Bringuez/Demian Cabaud/Jordi Rossy: Law Years: The Music of Ornette Coleman (2019 [2021], Miel Music): Alto saxophonist, one of the major players of his generation, has spent most of the last decade cultivating his Puerto Rican roots, looks another direction here, for this live set from the Birds Eye Jazz Club in Basel, Switzerland. The others, from various points in Latin America, play tenor sax, bass, and drums, on seven Ornette Coleman compositions. The tunes are as radical ever, and played with aplomb. But for some reason I'm not nearly as blown away as I was on first hearing The Shape of Jazz to Come. A-

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Roberto Miranda's Home Music Ensemble: Live at Bing Theatre: Los Angeles, 1985 (1985 [2021], Dark Tree): Bassist, born in New York, parents Puerto Rican, long based in Los Angeles, teaches at UCLA, most of his recordings are connected to the "four giants" here: Bobby Bradford (cornet/trumpet), John Carter (clarinet), James Newton (flute), and Horace Tapsott (piano). Band also includes two members of the bassist's family: Louis R. Miranda Sr. (vocals/percussion), and Louis R. Miranda Jr. (drums), along with a few others. Starts with some brilliant piano, works around to give everyone a spotlight, some better than others. B+(***) [cd]

Neil Young: Young Shakespeare (1971 [2021], Reprise): Between After the Gold Rush and Harvest, Young did a solo tour, his set captured here at Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford, Connecticut. B+(**)

Old music:

Lonnie Smith: Think! (1968 [1969], Blue Note): Played organ on George Benson's early albums, which led to his own 1967 debut, Figer Lickin' Good Soul Organ. Then, as Benson moved into pop, Smith went with a fading but still powerful jazz label, picking up Melvin Sparks (guitar), David Newman (tenor sax/flute), Lee Morgan (trumpet), and lots of percussion. B+(**)

Lonnie Smith: Turning Point (1969, Blue Note): With Bennie Maupin (tenor sax), Lee Morgan (trumpet), Julian Priester (trombone), Melvin Sparks (guitar), and drums. Two originals, three covers: "See Saw" up his alley, "Eleanor Rigby" not nearly as awful as one would expect. B+(*)

Lonnie Smith: Move Your Hand (1969 [1970], Blue Note): Third Blue Note album, live from Club Harlem in Atlantic City. Four 8-11 minute tracks, two original and two covers ("Charlie Brown" and "Sunshine Superman"). Two saxes (Ronnie Cuber and Rudy Jones), guitar, and drums. Vocal on the title cut. B+(**)

Lonnie Smith: Live at Club Mozambique (1970 [1995], Blue Note): Live set from Detroit, issued 25 years after the fact. Two saxes (Ronnie Cuber and Dave Hubbard), George Benson on guitar, extra percussion. Six originals, including a vocal on "Peace of Mind," followed by covers from Sly Stone and Miles Davis. B+(***)

Lonnie Smith: Mama Wailer (1971, Kudu): After Blue Note, one album on Creed Taylor's soul jazz subsidiary (released 39 records 1971-79, 8 by Grover Washington Jr., who plays tenor sax and flute here). Two Smith originals, two covers ("I Feel the Earth Move" and "Stand" -- the latter running 17:20). B+(**)

Lonnie Smith/Alvin Queen: Lenox and Seventh (1985 [2000], Black & Blue): Reorded in Paris. Original release listed drummer Queen's namme first, and added "feat. Melvin Sparks," but the reissue (with an extra cut) swapped the order, and left Sparks on a sidebar, where the organ player's name starts with "Dr." Like everything on this label, leans hard on the blues. B+(***)

Dr. Lonnie Smith: Boogaloo to Beck: A Tribute (2003, Scuffin'): Smith recorded for minor various labels in the 1970s -- Kudu, Groove Merchant, LRC -- and doesn't really pick up until he signs with Palmetto for Too Damn Hot in 2004, or this from a year earlier. First record I can find credited to Dr. Lonnie Smith was The Turbanator in 2000, recorded in 1991. No idea why he'd record a tribute to 1990s rock star Beck unless he was just hard up, which he was. Eleven Beck songs, larded out with plenty of boogaloo (the only one I recognized was "Loser," although Odelay was my favorite album of 1998), with guitar, drums, and "special guest" Fathead Newman (tenor sax) on five. B+(*)

Dr. Lonnie Smith: Rise Up! (2008 [2009], Palmetto): He cut four albums 2004-2009 for Palmetto, this the third, and only one I missed. Mostly quartet with Donald Harrison (alto sax), Peter Bernstein (guitar), and Herlin Riley (drums). B+(**)

Neil Young: Eldorado (1989, Reprise, EP): Released in Japan only, shortly before Freedom, which it shares three songs with (different mixes), plus two songs that don't appear elsewhere, totalling 25:30. B+(**) [yt]

Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Arc (1991, Reprise): Edited from their 1991 tour, picking out noisy bits from various songs and piecing them together into a single 35:00 mixtape. Originally appeared along with two CDs of live songs, packaged as Arc-Weld, then split into separate releases. I skipped both at the time, then accidentally queued up this one while looking for that one. Not as unlistenable as I had been led to believe. B

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Damata: What's Damata (Dugnad) [04-16]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, March 29, 2021

March archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 35141 [35113] rated (+28), 212 [218] unrated (-6).

Very little I feel like adding here. Rated count is down. I blame that Peter Stampfel monstrosity, but I probably would have made up the loss had I gotten onto an archive kick. New A-list this week is marginal, but at least it's all 2021 releases. And while I don't feel very certain about Lana Del Rey, I did play it four times, so I figure I gave it plenty of chance. Stampfel only got one play, as did the live doubles from Neil Young and Charles Lloyd.

Life remains stubbornly stuck. Wrote a bit in my memoir, but not much. Spent a little more time collecting bits for a book roundup. I'll probably post that mid-week.

New records reviewed this week:

Nik Bärtsch: Entendre (2019 [2021], ECM): Swiss pianist, has an impressive string of albums since 2000, most with his Ronin and Mobile groups, where he seems more intent on improvising rhythm than melody. This is solo, several pieces looking back. The opener wanders, but he eventually returns to form. B+(**)

Lana Del Rey: Chemtrails Over the Country Club (2021, Polydor/Interscope): Singer-songwriter, seventh studio album since 2012, following up her hugely acclaimed Noran Fucking Rockwell with something slower, softer, harder to grasp. Closes with a Joni Mitchell song, leaving precisely that impression. Not sure that's right, but two plays leave me wondering how much more work to put into it. B+(**)

Floating Points/Pharoah Sanders & the London Symphony Orchestra: Promises (2021, Luaka Bop): British electronica producer Sam Shepherd, three previous albums, puts his classical training and passion for jazz to good use. The saxophonist is the draw here, the other bits of minor interest. B+(**) [bc]

Amit Friedman: Unconditional Love (2018 [2021], Origin): Israeli saxophonist (tenor/soprano), third album, backed by piano-bass-drums, plus oud and/or percussion on a couple tracks. Nice tone. I don't care for the two vocal pieces. B [cd]

Ghetts: Conflict of Interest (2021, Warner): British rapper Justin Clarke, third studio album plus six mixtapes. Grime beats, thoughtful lyrics. B+(*)

Barry Guy: Irvin's Comet (2019 [2020], NoBusiness): British bassist, leader of London Jazz Composers Orchestra, offers an impressively varied solo performance. B+(*) [cd]

Chris Hopkins: Meets the Jazz Kangaroos: Live! Vol. 1 (2020, Echoes of Swing): Retro-swing pianist, based in Germany, mostly records as Echoes of Swing. I haven't found anything else by the Jazz Kangaroos, but they're Australian, led by violinist/vocalist George Washingmachine, with David Blenkhorn (guitar) and Mark Elton (bass). Standards, ends with "Fine and Dandy." Vocals are passable, but the violin moves this into Hot Club territory. B+(**)

Jonathan Kane and Dave Soldier: February Meets Soldier String Quartet (2020 [2021], EEG): Kane plays drums, guitar, and bass. Soldier is credited with strings. Four extended riff pieces, "file under rock-blues-jazz-experimental. B+(**) [cd]

Achim Kaufmann/Ignaz Schick: Altered Alchemy (2016 [2021], Zarek, 2CD): German pianist, fairly prolific since 2004, takes the lead here, with Shick adding more-or-less ambient noise (turntables, sampler, live electronics). B+(**) [cd]

Mark Lewis Quartet: Naked Animals (2019-20 [2021], Audio Daddio): Alto saxophonist, also plays flute, backed by piano, bass, drums. Albums date back to 1979, and title cut here may have been recorded in 1990 (liner notes unclear). B+(*) [cd] [04-02]

Loretta Lynn: Still Woman Enough (2007-20 [2021], Legacy): Fourth album since 2016 produced by John Carter Cash, all including sessions from 2007 plus later songs. I don't know the mix, but she's 88 now, and had a stroke in 2017 which delayed the release of Wouldn't It Be Great. So it's surprising she sounds so steady all the way through this one. Helps that it's short (35:09), mostly built arounnd new versions of her classics, padded out with three gospel pieces (including the creepy "I Don't Feel at Home Anymore." Still, happy to hear her singing so strong. A-

Magnet Animals: Fake Dudes (2020 [2021], RareNoise): Guitarist Todd Clouser, originally from Minneapolis, based in Mexico City, also sings and talks, second album for this group -- Eyal Maoz (guitar), Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz (bass), Jorge Servin (drums) -- also has another trio, A Love Electric, and other projects back to 2006. Not sure about the lyrics, but the guitar improvs stagger, even if they lean to the rock side of fusion. A- [cdr]

Mai-Liis: Mai-Liis on Life (2019-20 [2021], OA2): Singer-songwriter, originally from Toronto, based in Vancouver (or maybe Seattle), first album, gets help from pianist Darin Clendenin with the melodies. Backed by piano trio, plus guest spots on most songs. B+(**) [cd]

Wu Man/Kojiro Umezaki: How (2019 [2021], In a Circle): China meets Japan in Los Angeles with this pipa and shakuhachi duo. B+(*) [cd]

Ben Patterson: Push the Limits (2020 [2021], Origin): Trombonist, originally from Oklahoma, spent 22 years in the US Air Force's Airmen of Note, now based in DC, has a couple previous albums (including one featuring Chris Potter), not the pianist Ben Paterson (who has albums on the same label). Quintet, Shawn Purcell's guitar the other lead, plus keyboards (Chris Ziemba), bass, and drums. B+(*)

Ignaz Schick/Oliver Steidle: Ilog2 (2020 [2021], Zarek): German duo, Schick on turntables and electronics, Steidle drums and more electronics, both with discographies dating back to early 2000s. Feints toward noise, but an early bit with sampled vocals reminded me of DJ Shadow, and the drumming ultimately nudged this over. Their previous Ilog came out in 2015. A- [cd]

Peter Stampfel: Peter Stampfel's 20th Century in 100 Songs (2021, Louisiana Red Hot): One song per year, $60 for CDs (not sure how many, but at least 4) with an 88-page booklet that's bound to be interesting. Stampfel has one of the most distinctive voices ever, but tones down the weirdness that's been his stock and trade, while still wandering eclectically. Hit and miss, especially later years. B+(**) [bc]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Edo Funk Explosion Vol. 1 (1980-85 [2021], Analog Africa): From Benin City, in south-central Nigeria, twelve tracks, 78:37, limited to three major artists of the period: Akaba Man, Sir Victor Uwaifo, and Osayomore Joseph. B+(**)

Allen Ginsberg's The Fall of America: A 50th Anniversary Musical Tribute (2021, Ginsberg): Fifty years after publication of the poet's The Fall of America: Poems of These States, 1965-1971, adds new music to 20 poems, many read by Ginsberg himself. Dedicated to the late Hal Willner, figuring this is the sort of production he might have done. (Willner produced another Ginsberg project, The Lion for Real, in 1989.) B+(**)

La Ola Interior: Spanish Ambient & Acid Exoticism 1983-1990 (1983-90 [2021], Bongo Joe): I was attracted to this by the fact that it's historically and geographically specific, but it doesn't sound distinct from any generic ambient compilation, anywhere, any time (well, since 1980). B+(*) [bc]

Charles Lloyd Quartet: Montreux Jazz Festival 1967 [Swiss Radio Days Volume 46] (1967 [2019], TCB, 2CD): Saxophonist, debut 1964, by 1967 was playing the Fillmore and Monterey, like a potential star. Young quartet here, fast becoming famous: Keith Jarrett (piano), Ron McClure (bass), and Jack DeJohnette (drums). The leader is hit-and-miss, leaving a lot of space to the band. The drummer is especially sharp. B+(**)

Now That's What I Call Music! Outlaw Country (1968-2015 [2021], NOW): I've never bothered with this series or any of its offshoots -- the flagship line is up to 78 volumes now, and Now This Is What I Call Country is up to 10. Needless to say, this is envisioned as another series, most likely with the usual diminishing returns. Still, "outlaw country" started with a compilation, and that's always seemed like its natural format. No surprise that the core comes from the 1970s. The three post-2000 songs (Chris Stapleton, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert) don't fit the bill, but are gritty enough to fit in. B+(***)

Joe Strummer: Assembly (1986-2002 [2021], Dark Horse): Clash frontman, had a checkered solo career brought to a sudden end by a massive coronary in 2002 (age 50). Three previously unreleased live versions of Clash songs, most of the rest from his three Mescaleros albums (1999-2003). About half of this is also on the 2-CD 001, and every bit as erratic. Too bad. B+(**)

Neil Young With Crazy Horse: Way Down in the Rust Bucket (1990 [2021], Reprise, 2CD): Another bootleg (originally appeared as Feedback Is Back and Home Grown in 1991), given an official release: 19 songs, 6 topping 10 minutes, total 156:59. Slot after Freedom and Ragged Glory, a return to form after wasting much of the 1980s experimenting with electronics and/or horns. Familiar songs here, most memorably from a decade earlier. Can't say as they're exceptional takes, but far from disappointing. B+(**)

Old music:

Allen Ginsberg: Songs of Innocence and Experience (1970, MGM/Verve Forecast): The beat poet recorded many readings of his works, but this is something else, as he set 18th-century English poet William Blake's "Songs" to music -- drawn on English folk models, but not too rigidly. Aided by jazz-oriented musicians -- notably Don Cherry and Bob Dorough -- Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky sing inexpertly, with others pitching in. B+(***)

Allen Ginsberg: The Complete Songs of Innocence and Experience (1970 [2017], Omnivore, 2CD): Reissue adds a second disc of "Blake Songs" and three "Mantras." Not as much fun as the original, but that's here too. B+(**)

A Love Electric: Son of a Hero (2014, Ropeadope): Guitarist-vocalist's Todd Clouser trio, with Aaron Cruz (bass) and Hernan Hecht (drums), fifth album since 2010. Songs predominate, which may not be the band's strong suit. B

A Love Electric: A Permanent Immigrant (2020, Imagination Demand): Leans harder into the trio's sound, occasionally with spoken vocals which cut against the grain. B+(*)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Rahsaan Barber: Mosaic (2020 [2021], Jazz Music City, 2CD) [04-09]
• Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas: Soundprints: Other Worlds (Greenleaf Music) [05-07]
• Jacques Schwarz-Bart: Soné Ka-La 2: Odyssey (Enja) [05-21]
• Natsuki Tamura/Satoko Fujii: Keshin (Libra) [04-09]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, March 22, 2021

March archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 35113 [35082] rated (+31), 218 [223] unrated (-5).

More old music than new, again. Probably too early to call that a trend, but the relative ease of processing familiar artists was the main thing that pushed the rated count above 30 this week. Old jazz this week. Started with a friendly link to Drums Parade, which might have rated higher had I given it more time, which would have happened if I had an actual CD to look at while it played. Some good stuff there, especially toward the end. That led to Sid Catlett and Baby Dodds. I might note that The Chronological Cozy Cole 1944 is even better than the Catlett. And the reminder that most of the trad jazz albums on American Music are on Napster pointed me to New Orleans clarinetist George Lewis. I also thought I'd check out Joe Chambers' back catalog after not liking his new album, and didn't much care for the old ones either. Oh, well.

By the way, I counted up Chambers' Blue Note albums for the review below, but held back from noting my guess of how many A-list albums he was on. It think that guess was 10-12, but when I checked, famous albums by Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Sam Rivers, Wayne Shorter, and McCoy Tyner fell short. Here's the actual list (all A-):

• Andrew Hill: Andrew!!! (1964, Blue Note)
• Andrew Hill: Compulsion!!!!! (1965, Blue Note)
• Bobby Hutcherson: Dialogue (1965, Blue Note)
• Bobby Hutcherson: Happenings (1966, Blue Note)
• Bobby Hutcherson: Oblique (1967, Blue Note)
• Archie Shepp: Fire Music (1965, Impulse!)
• Archie Shepp: Kwanza (1969, Impulse!)

Since I'm no longer tracking new releases, I'm having some trouble finding new things I want to listen to. Some records below come from Phil Overeem, who seems to be struggling a bit himself. I doubt I'll ever manage the 7-CD Julius Hemphill box, or for that matter William Parker's 10-CD Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World. (I have a promo sampler of the latter, and haven't bothered to play it yet.) More likely I will check out Peter Stampfel's 20th Century in 100 Songs, as it seems to be complete on Bandcamp (minus the "88 pages of liner notes," which is likely to make a difference).

Laura's been bugging me to stream movies, especially ones that got nominated for awards. I haven't been enjoying them much, but as best I can recall, here's a graded list, consulting the Wikipedia list (also for 2021), plus a few titles I picked up from IndieWire's "50 Best Movies":

• Bacurau: Kleber Mendonça/Juliano Dornelles, Brazil's wild, wild east. [B+]
• Da 5 Bloods: Spike Lee rips off Vietnam. [B-]
• The Dig: Simon Stone, digs up an ancient ship. [B+]
• Enola Holmes: Harry Bradbeer invents a sister for Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes. [B+]
• Judas and the Black Messiah: Shaka King, on Fred Hampton. [B+]
• Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: George C Wolfe does August Wilson's play. [C+]
• Mank: David Fincher, on Herman Mankiewicz, on William Randolph Hearst (and Louis B Mayer). [B+]
• Nomadland: Chloé Zhao, on getting away from it all. [B]
• Promising Young Woman: Emerald Fennell, revenge the hard way. [B+]
• Small Axe: Mangrove: Steve McQueen, the trial. [B+]
• Small Axe: Lovers Rock: Steve McQueen, the party. [B+]
• The Trial of the Chicago 7: Aaron Sorkin doesn't totally screw up the trial of the century. [B+]
• The United States vs. Billie Holiday: Lee Daniels. [B]

The Small Axe movies might deserve higher ratings, but they're very different, and I hedged because we didn't bother with the other three. Collectively, they're more like a limited series, which would move them into another, and more competitive, set. We haven't been to the movie theater since Bill Warren sold out his local chain (roughly a year before Covid-19 shut it down), in large part because my patience for 2-hour movies has worn thin. We watch a fair number of TV series, and I'm much happier with their pacing, character development, and story telling.

I don't have any opinions on actors, except that Amanda Seyfried was good in Mank, and Gary Oldman wasn't. Note no less than three appearances for America's nemesis, J Herbert Hoover, and they were all merciless. The music films bothered me in lots of ways, but rarely for their music -- one minor exception was how Audra Day mastered Billie Holiday's tics but missed the seamless phrasing that made them seem natural. I also didn't like the treatment of Lester Young, who has a story worth exploring on its own (although hopefully not by anyone so ham-fisted). (By the way, neither point figures in Nitish Pahwa's What's fact and what's fiction in The United States vs. Billie Holiday, but if you watch the film, you'll be wondering.)

I feel a bit weird about not writing Weekend Roundup any more, as my Sundays have become days of rest instead of intense pressure in such a sisyphean task. Every now and then I think of writing a standalone piece, but only pulled it off once so far. One idea that appears to have rotted on the shelf was a piece torching Keith C Burris' Two cults column. I'm not sure which is worse: the notion that because the right-wing has become a cult, anything on the left must be equally cultish; or that George Will and Barry Goldwater somehow constitute the vital center of American political thought.

On the other hand, I did finally knuckle down and write a couple pages for my memoir. Not much, but a step toward restarting after February's freeze up. Also, I got my second Covid-19 vaccination last week. Still have a couple weeks until Laura gets her second. After which I hope to cook something for some long-neglected friends. I won't claim that's a return to normal, but seems like a step in the right direction.

New records reviewed this week:

Joe Chambers: Samba De Marcatu (2020 [2021], Blue Note): Drummer, I associate him with Blue Note albums of the late 1970s (I count 24 from 1964-69, including 9 with Bobby Hutcherson), has more than a dozen albums under his own name since 1974. By the way, he picked up vibraphone, which he overdubs here, along with various percussion instruments. One thing I don't associate him with is Brazilian (or Latin) music. Even here, it only enters as occasional whiffs (especially with the two guest vocals). B

Charley Crockett: 10 for Slim: Charley Crockett Sings James Hand (2021, Son of Davy): Hand was a country singer-songwriter, died last year at 67. I sampled two of his albums, rated both high B+. Crockett is much younger, but survived his own health scare in 2019, so that may have factored in here. Or maybe he was just looking for better songs. B+(**)

Rebecca Dumaine and the Dave Miller Trio: Someday, Someday (2020 [2021], Summit): Standards singer, half-dozen albums, swapped billing order with Miller's piano trio on number four. Bright voice, plenty of poise, can't say I enjoyed this particular batch of songs, but they were catchy and nicely turned out. B+(*) [cd]

Michael and Peter Formanek: Dyads (2019 [2021], Out of Your Head): Famous bassist and his unknown son, playing tenor sax and clarinet, probably his first album. Something more than a nice duo album, the bass solos could stand on their own, but the extra color and shading extends interest, in this case all the way to 72:36. A- [cd]

George Haslam/João Madeira/Padro Catello Lopes/Mario Rua: Ajuda (2019 [2020], Slam): Tárogató, bass, percussion, drums; the title the name of the studio in Lisbon where this was recorded. Haslam, also notable as a baritone saxophonist, has a long career in the British avant-garde, thirty-some albums since 1989 (few I've heard, nearly all on this label, which Haslam owns but which has hosted dozens of other musicians). B+(***) [cd]

Marcus Joseph: Beyond the Dome (2021, Jazz Re:freshed): British alto saxophonist/spoken word artist, has a previous EP. Opener is a pretty irresistible groove piece, at least once the tuba jumps in. The spoken word is neither here nor there, but I would have cut the album one track short, omitting singer Randolph Matthews' feature. B [bc]

Reza Khan: Imaginary Road (2020 [2021], Painted Music): Guitarist, from Bangladesh but based in New York, sixth album, silky grooves, often augmented by other slick guitarists (Sergio Pereira, Miles Gilderdale). B- [cd] [03-26]

João Madeira/Hernâni Faustino: dB Duet (2020 [2021], FMR): Double bass duo, Portuguese, Faustino best known for RED Trio, Madeira has a much shorter discography starting in 2015. Sonic range is limited (as expected), but much of interest going on. B+(***) [cd]

Roberto Magris & Eric Hochberg: Shuffling Ivories (2019 [2021], JMood): Italian pianist, couple dozen records since 1990, duo here with the American bassist, recorded in Chicago. Fluid, light touch, very nice. B+(**)

Logan Richardson: Afrofuturism (2020, WAX Industry): Alto saxophonist, impressive FSNT debut in 2006, has been erratic since then. B [bc]

Schapiro 17: Human Qualities (2020 [2021], Summit): Big band, second album, leader Jon Schapiro composed 7 (of 8) pieces, the sole cover from Ewan MacColl, but doesn't play. Roberta Piket (piano), Eddie Allen (trumpet), Deborah Weisz (trombone), and Sebastien Noelle (guitar) are among the better known musicians. Solid group. B+(**) [cd]

Zoe Scott: Shades of Love (2020, Zoe Scott Music): Singer, originally from London, left for Rome, then Los Angeles, acted, sang in rock bands. Has a couple albums, this one leaning toward bossa nova, mostly Jobim and Bacharach, but also slips in Chrissie Hynde, Stevie Wonder, and Amy Winehouse ("I'm No Good). B+(*) [cd]

Archie Shepp & Jason Moran: Let My People Go (2017-18 [2021], Archieball): Tenor sax and piano duo, recorded at two European festivals (Paris and Mannheim). I've lost track of the pianist since he retreated to his own label and stopped promotion, but he is secondary here anyway. High point is Shepp inching his way through gorgeous ballads (like "Lush Life"). Low point is probably his singing, but only when the spirit moves him. B+(***) [bc]

Ruth Weiss: We Are Sparks in the Universe to Our Own Fire (2018 [2021], Edgetone): Beat poet, born 1928 in Berlin, died 2020. She grew up in Vienna, managed to keep one step ahead of the Nazis, moving to Amsterdam in 1938, then to America, eventually San Francisco. She has some twenty books of poetry since 1958, and several jazz albums. Fairly minimal backing, with synth, bass, wooden log, and tasty squibbles of Rent Romus sax and flute -- puts this record over the top. By the way, Romus credits George Russell with introducing him to Weiss (in 2013). A-

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band: Hot Night in Roslyn: 1976 Radio Broadcast Recording (1976 [2021], Hobo): She had a couple solo albums out, and most recently co-credit on Gram Parsons' posthumous Grievous Angel. Parsons provides most of the song list here, with a nod to Patsy Cline ("Sweet Dreams"), Merle Haggard ("The Bottle Let Me Down"), Chuck Berry ("C'est La Vie"), Buck Owens ("Together Again"), Hank Williams ("Jambalaya"), and others nearly as obvious. This surfaced as a bootleg in 2014, but looks to be official now. B+(***)

Juju: Live at 131 Prince Street (1973 [2021], Strut): Saxophonist Plunky Nkabinde and what I take to be a mostly African group -- later known as Oneness of Juju -- including Babatunde on congas and Lon Moshe on vibraphone. The address was Ornette Coleman's gallery, and the music fits the bill. Seven long pieces (114:44), Pharoah Sanders' "Thembi" a highlight, but they're all rearkable. A- [bc]

Byard Lancaster: My Pure Joy (1992 [2021], Strut): Saxophonist (1942-2012), should be better known for his 1970s work, which I think of as black power/avant-garde fusion -- an attempt to make the latter more accessible by making it more political. Starts out with flute here, backed by "Drummers From Ibadan." B+(***) [bc]

Old music:

Sid Catlett: The Chronological Sid Catlett 1944-1946 (1944-46 [1997], Classics): One of the great swing drummers (d. 1951 at 41), mostly leading his own groups including a quartet with Ben Webster, plus a couple tracks each led by Edmund Hall and Al Casey. Nearly everything directly under Big Sid's name, but he played with everyone from Armstrong and Henderson through Condon and Goodman and Hawkins and Young and on to Byas and Gillespie. I don't have full credits here, but Art Tatum and Barney Bigard are on the jam session opener, and Illinois Jacquet comes along later. Closes with two blues vocals and two boogie tracks. A-

Joe Chambers: The Almoravid (1971-73 [1974], Muse): Drummer, first album as leader, four originals, covers of Joe Zawinul and Andrew Hill, titles rooted in Muslim world. Recorded in three sessions, only one with horns -- Woody Shaw (trumpet) and Harold Vick (flute/tenor sax). B

Joe Chambers: Phantom of the City (1991 [1992], Candid): A live set at Birdland, Bob Berg (tenor sax) getting second tier type, smaller for Philip Harper (trumpet), George Cables (piano), and Santi Debriano (bass). Postbop, seven pieces stretched out, some good spots for Berg. B+(*)

Joe Chambers: Mirrors (1998 [1999], Blue Note): Plays vibes as well as drums in his return to Blue Note. Some quintet tracks with Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Vincent Herring (saxes), Mulgrew Miller (piano), and Ira Coleman (bass), or subsets all the way down to solo. B+(*)

Baby Dodds: Baby Dodds (1944-45 [1993], American Music): New Orleans drummer (1898-1959), brother of clarinetist Johnny Dodds, played from 1918 with Sonny Celestin, Fate Marable, and King Oliver, following Louis Armstrong through his Hot Five and Hot Seven groups. Mostly talking and drum solos -- special interest, but gives you an idea how much thought goes into his craft -- with a few group cuts interspersed. B+(*)

Baby Dodds: Jazz A' La Creole (1946-47 [2000], GHB): Several sessions (some only dated "Mid 1940s"), but the 1946 trio included Albert Nicholas (clarinet) and Don Ewell (piano), and the 1947 quintet had Nicholas and James P. Johnson (piano), plus an uncredited singer (Dodds?). B+(***) [yt]

Drums Parade: From New Orleans to Swing 1937/1945 (1937-45 [1997], Jazz Archives): French label used by EPM Musique for 160+ CD compilations vintage jazz released 1988-2004. I bought at least a dozen back in the day, so when I saw the link, I figured this would be fun. For what it's worth, the New Orleans cuts are few and late: two each for Baby Dodds and Zutty Singleton, all 1940 or later. The only pre-1939 cuts are two with Chick Webb. Also skips luminaries like Gene Krupa, but gives a nod to Lionel Hampton, Sid Catlett, Cozy Cole, and Jo Jones, along with some less famous names. High point: the three-track Cozy Cole sequence (two with Coleman Hawkins). Also an especially hot ending. B+(***) [yt]

George Lewis: George Lewis and His New Orleans Stompers: Vol. 1 (1943 [1994], American Music): New Orleans clarinet player (1900-68), played in various bands in the 1920s but didn't record as a leader until these sessions. In the 1950s he became the most famous of New Orleans revivalists, perhaps because he got in early and never wavered. B+(***)

George Lewis: George Lewis and His New Orleans Stompers: Vol. 2 (1943 [1994], American Music): Eleven pieces, but four are alternate takes, all exciting. B+(***)

George Lewis: At Manny's Tavern 1949 (1949 [1994], American Music): Credits include cornet, two trumpets, and a second clarinet player (Bill Shea), with Lewis also switching to alto sax. B+(***)

George Lewis: Hello Central . . . Give Me Doctor Jazz (1953 [2001], Delmark): Radio shot from San Francisco, the clarinetist leading a septet with trumpet (Kid Howard), trombone (Jim Robinson), piano (Alton Purnell), banjo, bass, and drums. B+(**)

George Lewis: The Beverly Caverns Sessions, Vol. 2 (1953 [1996], Good Time Jazz): I've long considered the previous volume, from the same Hollywood club, to be Lewis' pinnacle, but these are hardly sloppy seconds. Same septet, classic tunes, as buoyant as ever. Kid Howard and Joe Watkins each get a vocal. A-

George Lewis With George Guesnon's New Orleans Band: Endless the Trek, Endless the Search (1962 [1997], American Music): New Orleans trad jazz, shows its roots in old marching bands without getting mired. With Kid Thomas (trumpet), Jim Robinson (trombone), banjo (Guesnon), bass, and drums. A-

George Lewis: At Castle Farm 1964 (1964 [2001], American Music): Relatively late, showing signs of slowing down. Ends with the classics. B+(**)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Hennessy Six/Colorado Springs Youth Symphony: The Road Less Traveled (Summit)
• Joseph Howell Quartet: Live in Japan (Summit)
• Dan Rose: Last Night . . . (Ride Symbol)
• Dan Rose/Claudine Francois: New Leaves (Ride Symbol)

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, March 15, 2021

March archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 35082 [35047] rated (+35), 223 [228] unrated (-5).

Music Week is mostly a function of time, so I should be able to knock these out every Monday, as long as I spend any time listening to new or previously unrated music. That habit persists, although I'm not working nearly as hard at searching out new records. Indeed, I only rarely bother to add things to the tracking file, and I'm not following metacritic ratings at all. In theory, this gives me more time to work on other projects, but that hasn't worked out very well so far. I did finally write a possible first page for the memoir, but even after turning the lines over in my mind for weeks, I have no feel for how good or bad it is.

Seems like I don't have much feel for anything these days. Life's a chore, making it all the harder to get anything done. Took me 30 minutes tonight just to change a light bulb. (Curses on whoever invented G10 sockets! Next time a bulb burns out, I'm replacing the fixture -- and the dimmer, because it won't work with new fixtures.) Still have to do laundry tonight, and the dryer door latch is broken, so that'll be a lot more work than it should be. (Something else I need to fix, but have you ever tried ordering replacement parts?) And those are just among the little things.

Probably my fault that I don't have anything new I really recommend. (In Layers is probably the best of this week's jazz albums.) But the week hasn't been a complete waste. Still scrounging the bottom of the reggae barrel, and finding a few notable albums.

New records reviewed this week:

Baker's Brew: New Works (2020 [2021], Psychosomatic, 2CD): Los Angeles experimental jazz group led by drummer Maury Baker, whose side credits date back to Janis Joplin and "played with" list includes Scott LaFaro (d. 1961), as well as the band Ars Nova. Second album under this name. First disc is "New Jazz Works"; second "New Electronic Works." I rather prefer the latter, although it doesn't sound very electronic. Maybe because the former doesn't sound very jazzy. B+(*) [cd]

Dan Blake: Da Fé (2019 [2021], Sunnyside): Saxophonist (soprano/tenor), half-dozen albums since 2011, postbop quintet with two keyboard players (Carmen Staaf and Leo Genovese), bass, and drums. Runs impressively fast and loose, but not the most appealing sound. B+(**)

Jakob Bro/Arve Henriksen/Jorge Rossy: Uma Elmo (2020 [2021], ECM): Norwegian guitarist, albums since 2003, fifth on ECM, trio with trumpet and drums. Atmospheric, not much beyond the trumpet. B

Ian Charleton Big Band: A Fresh Perspective (2020 [2021], none): Conventional 17-piece big band, the leader composed four songs, arranged the rest, but isn't credited as playing (seems to have originally been a saxophonist). Second album. Nothing new, but well done. Emily Charleton joins for two vocals -- I especially liked her "Everything I've Got." B+(***) [cd] [03-16]

Pat Donaher: Occasionally (2020 [2021], none): Alto saxophonist, also a yogi, based in Boston, Bob Brookmeyer protégé, fourth album, lush and vibrant postbop sextet with Jason Palmer (trumpet), Carmen Staaf (piano), guitar, bass, and drums. B+(**) [cd] [04-09]

Satoko Fujii: Hazuki: Piano Solo (2020 [2021], Libra): Japanese avant-pianist, tons of records since 1995, cut this solo at home in Kobe during lockdown. No idea how many solo albums she has -- certainly fewer than Keith Jarrett or Cecil Taylor, but I'm not sure about anyone else. By her standards, we'll call this "contemplative." B+(***) [cd] [03-19]

In Layers: Pliable (2018 [2020], FMR): Free jazz quartet: Luis Vicente (trumpet), Marcelo Dos Reis (guitar), Kristján Martinsson (piano), Onno Govaert (drums). Nice balance, Vicente continues to impress. B+(***) [cd]

Lukas Ligeti: That Which Has Remaindd . . . That Which Will Emerge . . . (2015 [2021], Col Legno): Percussionist, also electronics, son of famed Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti, studied in Vienna and South Africa, teaches in Los Angeles, widely scattered projects since 1991. This one was the result of a residency at the POLIN Museum in Warsaw, a meditation on the Holocaust. I can't much follow the singer (Barbara Kinga Majewska), so I'm missing that whole dimension. B+(**) [cd] [03-26]

Hafez Modirzadeh: Facets (2018-19 [2021], Pi): No Wikipedia entry -- seems like a pretty big omission. Born in North Carolina (1962), Iranian descent (if memory serves), Professor of Creative/World Music at San Francisco State, has developed the idea of "chromodal discourse," which is the basis of this and other works. Plays tenor sax, in duets with three pianists (Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, and Craig Taborn). B+(***) [cd]

Ben Monder/Tony Malaby/Tom Rainey: Live at the 55 Bar (2020 [2021], Sunnyside): Guitar-sax-drums trio, recorded last March just before lockdown, a piece called "Suite 3320" (3 parts, 61:35). I've never thought of Monder as a free player, but evidently he's had an association with Malaby for some time, playing with various drummers. Good luck this particular night. B+(***)

Gary Negbaur: You've Got to Be Carefully Taught (2020 [2021], BluJazz): Pianist-singer, wrote 3 (of 10) songs, covers include the Rodgers & Hammerstein title song about bigotry ("to hate all the people your relatives hate") and two from Lennon-McCartney. B+(*) [cd]

Reggie Quinerly: New York Nowhere (2020 [2021], Redefinition): Drummer, from Houston, studied at Juilliard and wound up teaching there. Fourth album since 2012, postbop quintet with trumpet (Antoine Drye), tenor sax (John Ellis), piano (John Chin), and bass. B+(*) [cd]

Jason Ringenberg: Rhinestoned (2021, Courageous Chicken): Former front-man of 1980s country-rock band Jason & the Scorchers, cut a solo album in 1992, but didn't get serious about it until 2000, and often as not called himself Farmer Jason. I didn't notice much of that until his terrific 2019 album, Stand Tall. The best parts here are comparable, and it's a good sign that they are all originals (e.g., "The Freedom Rides Weren't Free"). On the other hand, he might reconsider his covers (starting with "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today"). B+(**)

Charlie Sepúlveda: Charlie Sepülveda & the Turnaround (2020 [2021], HighNote): Trumpet player, from the Bronx, cousin of Eddie Palmieri. Hot Latin jazz group plus a roster of special guests, including Steve Turre and Miguel Zenon. B+(**) [cd] [03-26]

Jim Snidero: Live at the Deer Head Inn (2020 [2021], Savant): Alto saxophonist, many albums since 1989, this one billed as his first live album since then, a "safe, limited-audience gig at Pennsylvania's famed Deer Head Inn." Quartet leans retro -- Orrin Evans (piano), Peter Washington (bass), Joe Farnsworth (drums) -- and the program is all standards, from "Now's the Time" to "Old Man River." B+(**) [cd] [03-26]

Steve Swell: The Center Will Hold (2019 [2020], Not Two): Trombonist, cover adds a "featuring Andrew Cyrille," but doesn't mention Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello), Robert Boston (piano/organ), or Ariel Bart (harmonica). Strings are a little squelchy here, but the free trombone is superb. B+(***)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Derek Bailey/Mototeru Takagi: Live at FarOut, Atsugi 1987 (1987 [2020], NoBusiness): Guitar and soprano sax duets. Bailey (1932-2005) was a major figure in the English avant-garde, with a vast discography I've barely sampled and never made much of. This seems typical of his abstract scratch. Takagi (1941-2002) has at least a dozen albums, from 1971 on, mostly playing tenor sax. B+(**) [cd]

Irene Mawela: The Best of the SABC Years (1982-88 [2019], Umsakazo): South African singer, active from the late 1950s to recent, but her name is usually buried in vocal groups, some as legendary as Dark City Sisters and Mahotella Queens. Twenty-two easy going transcriptions of radio shots. B+(***)

Old music:

Bob Andy: Bob Andy's Songbook (1966-68 [1970], Studio One): Reggae singer-songwriter Keith Anderson (1944-2020), a founder of the Paragons. First album, actually a compilation of early Studio One singles. "I've Got to Go Back Home" is the one I know best from Tougher Than Tough, but all 12 songs have a gentle, knowing flow, and many have terrific sax refrains. A-

Ken Boothe: Mr. Rock Steady (1968, Studio One): The Jamaican hitmaker's first album, lays his claim to the new style, with bigger hits to follow. I rarely like Jamaican covers of American soul hits, but his "Mustang Sally" is terrific. B+(**)

Dillinger: CB 200 (1976, Mango): Lester Bullock, started as a DJ, emerged as a toaster, gangsta name suggested by Lee Perry. Early album, probably his second, had a hit with "Kokane on My Brain." A- [yt]

Don Drummond: Jazz Ska Attack 1964 (1964 [1999], Jet Set): Trombone player for the Skatalites, credited as "backing band" here, but Drummond (1932-69) is credited with writing all 20 pieces, recorded at Treasure Isle and produced by Duke Reid. B+(**)

Clancy Eccles: Freedom: The Anthology (1967-73 [2005], Trojan, 2CD): More reknowned as a producer and entrepreneur than as a singer-songwriter, although his name claims or shares the artist credit on more than half of these 50 singles -- Eccles has no albums, just a few compilations -- and I recognize few of the other names. Has enough moments that a single-CD edit would rate a bit higher, but still seem minor. B+(*)

Alton Ellis: The Best of Alton Ellis (1968-69 [1969], Studio One): Genre-defining rocksteady star, singles start around 1962, but I can't date anything here before 1968 -- Discogs credits him with 19 singles in 1968, so there's a lot more where these came from, and many more years -- he recorded regularly into the 1990s, and died in 2008. B+(**)

The Maytals: Never Grow Old: Presenting the Maytals (1962-63 [1997], Heartbeat): Vocal trio, with Raleigh Gordon and Jerry Mathias flanking soon-to-be-leader Toots Hibbert. Early tracks, not quite together although the organ points the way. Reissue adds four terrific bonus tracks, starting with their fully formed "Six and Seven Books of Moses." B+(***)

Jackie Mittoo: Now (1970, Studio One): Jamaican keyboard player, hooked up with Coxsone Dodd while still in his teens, recording "thousands of tunes," many with their house band, the Skatalites. Plays organ here, mostly groove-steady instrumentals, Skatalites minus horns. B+(**)

Scientist: Scientist Meets the Space Invaders (1981, Greensleeves): King Tubby protégé Hopeton Overton Brown, proclaimed himself Heavyweight Dub Champion in 1980, and went on to orchestrate dozens of mythic battles, encounters, and jams, of which this is one of the more legendary, although it feels like something he could do dozens of times. B+(***)

Scientist: Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of Vampires (1981, Greensleeves): More dub themes, titles add werewolves, zombies, and "Ghost of Frankenstein" to the vampire mix. Roots Radics plays, the bass gets deeper, and while I've already forgotten what the vocal was about, it was a highlight track (not that I recall which one). A-

Scientist: Scientist Encounters Pac-Man (1982, Greensleeves): Not sure what "Pac-Man" signifies here -- not a collaborator, and not likely anything related to the video game, but the cartoons on the cover suggest some kind of menace. Seems like his average album. B+(**)

Scientist: Scientist Wins the World Cup (1982 [2002], Greensleeves): Original album offered 10 untitled tracks, later grouped as "Ten Dangerous Matches," with the addition of five "Extra Time" and one "Golden Goal." B+(**)

Scientist/Hempress Sativa: Scientist Meets Hempress Sativa in Dub (2018, Conquering Lion): Latter is Kerida Johnson, who has a previous (2016) album, Unconquerebel. She provides a center for his dub early on, although my favorite cut is Ranking Joe's feature on the closer. B+(***)

Sizzla: Bobo Ashanti (2000, Greensleeves): Dancehall star Miguel Collins, debut 1995, prolific since them. After 10 albums in 5 years, thinking rastafari here. B+(**)

Skatalites: Ska Authentic, Vol. 1 (1967, Studio One): Hype sheet describes these as "solid tracks," which is exactly right. B+(**) [bc]

Skatalites: Ska Authentic, Volume 2 (1970, Studio One): Occurs to me that these compilations were recorded over multiple years, but I'm only identifying when they originally came out. More ace grooves, occasionally developed into memorable songs, always with their crack horn section. B+(***) [bc]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Amit Friedman: Unconditional Love (Origin) [03-19]
• Achim Kaufmann/Ignaz Schick: Altered Alchemy (Zarek)
• Mark Lewis Quartet: Naked Animals (Audio Daddio) [04-02]
• Mai-Liis: Mai-Liis on Life (OA2) [03-19]
• Wu Man/Kojiro Umezaki: How (In a Circle)
• Roberto Miranda's Home Music Ensemble: Live at Bing Theatre: Los Angeles, 1985 (Dark Tree)
• Ben Patterson: Push the Limits (Origin) [03-19]
• Ignaz Schick/Oliver Steidle: Ilog2 (Zarek)

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, March 8, 2021

March archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 35047 [35005] rated (+42), 228 [236] unrated (-8).

I don't feel like writing much, but have a bunch of things to run through, so let's make it quick.

I finally did the indexing on February Streamnotes, so that's out of the way. Only added 74 albums in February, way down from 273 in January. I expected to cut back after a record-setting 2020, but not that much. I wound up only posting two Music Weeks in February. Illness and injury had much to do with that, but the last week didn't post until March 1, after I had gerrymandered January to leave nothing.

I still haven't moved on to any of the projects I anticipated for 2021, but did make a modest first step in adding the final Weekend Roundups to my compilation of Trump era notebooks/blog posts. You can download a copy, still using its working title: The Last Days of the American Empire IV: Extracts From a Notebook (2017-2021). Beware that it runs 2,750 pages (1,027,184 words), including an Appendix of earlier Trump-specific posts. Also, it's in ODT format, so you'd need a word processor to browse it -- I recommend the free LibreOffice package, but others should work as well.

The title is a leftover from my first compilation of poltical posts, on the Bush-Cheney years (2001-2009). Early in those years there was much bluster about America as an empire, but even then it was clear that the exertion of power against unimpressive militaries but unconquerable nations like Afghanistan and Iraq would fatally erode the post-Cold War assumptions of the neocons. By 2009 the debacle was essentially complete, but Obama came not to bury Caesar but to rationalize him, as if a smarter War on Terror would end differently. Obama's folly was such that I kept adding to the title, writing as much on his first term as I had written on eight years of Bush-Cheney, and writing a bit more on Obama's second term. One clear lesson of America's "endless war" machine since 1945 is that while it is hard to claim anything plausibly resembling a victory, it's much easier to delay and deny defeat -- which is what matters most to politicians. All it takes is deliberate self-deception, lot of money, and sheer contempt for the lives of others. For all his supposed brains, Obama turned out to be as naively deluded as any of his predecessors.

If the title seems less appropriate to Trump's years, that's partly because the damage his "America First" strategies did to America's reputation in the world seems paltry compared to the threat he posed to the Republic. Also, it's unclear how much of Trump's legacy will be quickly reversed and forgotten, and how much will haunt us well into the future. What I am certain of is that the only way Biden's "America's Back" reset works is the US starts working alongside the world instead of against it (as Trump was wont to do). But what could (and should) happen in US foreign policy is a different writing chore. What Trump did is history, even if it seems more incredible.

Next step would be to sift through that file and see if I can come up with a short but still worthwhile version -- although choices over length and utility are likely to be personal and arbitrary, so I'm not especially hopeful. I can only say that when I go back to those old writings -- and there are three previous volumes (one on Bush, two on Obama) that aren't much shorter than the Trump tome -- I'm frequently impressed by the depth of information, coherency of argument, and even the quality of the writing. I dare say most people could learn a thing or two there. But will they?

I also updated a file with my occasional notes on things other than politics and music. I doubt it's of any interest to anyone other than myself. I was looking for fragments of memoir, but didn't find much. I had written a few dozen pages some while back, and lost them among the crashes. Fortunately, it's mostly from memory, and I still have a fairly good command of that.

Listened to a lot of old reggae last week, following the recent deaths of U-Roy and Bunny Wailer. I've been playing the latter's Crucial! a lot recently, so bumping the grade up a notch was the right thing to do. I've been working off a Mojo list of The 50 Greatest Reggae Albums, which strikes me as skewed toward instrumentals and dub, but identified a few holes to plug. One thing I'm especially happy about is knocking off two previously U-graded Big Youth albums: I found Progress on LP, and A Reggae Collection on CD. Finding anything around here always seems like a major victory. None of these records are rating super-high on my all-time list (as can be seen from my reggae grade list). Best choice if you're a neophyte is still the 4-CD box set, Tougher Than Tough: The Story of Jamaican Music. I've been referring back to it regularly over the last months.

Got a first COVID-19 vaccination last week. Laura's is scheduled for Wednesday. I went to the former library downtown, but with Laura's lack of mobility, we'll try the drive-through (which has been harder to schedule, not that mine was easy).

New records reviewed this week:

Albare: Albare Plays Jobim Vol. 2 (2020 [2021], Alfi): Guitarist Albert Dadon, Australian tycoon though born in Morocco and grew up in Israel and France, has released albumsm since 1992, including his previous Albare Plays Jobim in 2020. B+(*) [cd]

Cowboys & Frenchmen: Our Highway (2020 [2021], Outside In Music): New York-based group, two saxophonists (Owen Broder and Ethan Helm), piano (Addison Frei), bass, and drums. Group name from a David Lynch name, but with more cowboys. Third album. The saxes make a strong initial impression, but then the flutes come out, and more postbop doldrums follow. B+(*) [cd]

The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band Featuring Bonnie Eisele: Hot Night in Venice: Live at the Venice Jazz Club (2020 [2021], Origin): Drummer, sings some, reminds me in that regard of Louis Prima, more so when he brings his better half out a third of the way in: second third of the set features Eisele, and both sing toward the end. All standards, most obscure is the funniest ("Woe Is Me"). No horns. They've had hotter nights. B+(*) [cd]

Yelena Eckemoff: Adventures of the Wildflower (2019 [2021], L&H Production, 2CD): Russian pianist, classical training, came to US in 1991 and switched to jazz, has a substantial catalogue since 2010, original compositions, last two albums doubles. She recorded this one in Finland with local musicians, trio plus spots for guitar, sax, and/or vibes. B+(**) [cd] [03-19]

Elephant9: Arrival of the New Elders (2020 [2021], Rune Grammofon): Norwegian fusion band, ninth album since 2008, members: Ståle Storløkken (keyboards), Nikolai Hængsle (bass/guitar), Torstein Lofthus (drums). B+(**)

Frank Gratkowski/Achim Kaufmann/Wilbert de Joode/Tony Buck: Flatbosc & Cautery (2018 [2020], NoBusiness): Free improv: alto sax (plus clarinets/flutes), piano, bass, drums. Can get noisy, but pianist is heroic both as alternate lead and support, and the bassist goes a long way toward holding it together. A- [cd]

Doug MacDonald Duo: Toluca Lake Jazz (2020 [2021], Doug MacDonald Music): Guitarist, albums since 1981 but more frequently of late, with Harvey Newmark on bass, adding depth without making himself conspicuous -- the effect is much like a solo guitar album, but sounds a bit better. Nice mix of MacDonald originals and overs -- "These Foolish Things" is especially tasty. B+(**) [cd]

Sana Nagano: Smashing Humans (2020 [2021], 577): Violinist, from Tokyo, moved to Oregon as an exchange student, studied at Memphis and Berklee, based in New York, first album, with Peter Apfelbaum (tenor sax), Keisuke Matsuno (guitars), Ken Filiano (bass), and Joe Hertenstein (drums). B+(***) [cd] [03-19]

Charlie Porter: Hindsight (2020 [2021], OA2): Trumpet player, third album, all originals, two with lyrics (sung by Jimmie Herrod, plus a rap by Rasheed Jamal and a cut with Hallowed Halls Gospel choir. Various lineups, built around a piano trio led by Orrin Evans. B [cd]

Idit Shner: Live at the Jazz Station (2019 [2021], OA2): Alto saxophonist, based in Oregon, juggles jazz and classical repertoires with several albums in each. This is jazz, backed by piano trio, the band contributing a song each (two for pianist Torrey Newhart). B+(**) [cd]

John Stowell/Dan Dean: Rain Painting (2018-20 [2021], Origin): Jazz guitarist, couple dozen albums since 1977, this a duo where Dean is credited with "vocals, fretless acoustic bass guitar, electric & fretless electric basses, percussion, drum programming." The vocals, mostly scat, are the problem. B [cd]

Theo Walentiny: Looking Glass (2020 [2021], self-released): Pianist, from New Jersey, based in Brooklyn, first album, solo, all original pieces/improvs. Several impressive stretches. B+(*) [cd] [04-02]

Chris White/Lara Driscoll: Firm Roots (2020 [2021], Firm Roots): Piano duets; Driscoll from Chicago, released an album I liked last year; White from Toronto (although Discogs attributes this album to a British saxophonist of same name) but now based in Chicago. five original pieces plus four covers, including Walton and Silver. B+(**) [cd]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Don Cherry: Cherry Jam (1965 [2021], Gearbox, EP): Plays cornet here, already famous as part of Ornette Coleman's Quartet but didn't step out as a leader until 1965. Four tracks, 22:24, cut in Copenhagen with a pick up quintet: tenor sax (Mogens Bollerup), piano (Atli Bjørn), bass (Benny Nielsen), drums (Simon Koppel). All nice. B+(*) [os]

Old music:

Big Youth: Dreadlocks Dread (1975, Klik): Jamaican toaster Manley Buchanan, his 1972 debut Screaming Target is the definitive classic of the style. Tony Robinson produced this follow up, the riddims seductive but understated, as are the toasts, which tail off toward the end. B+(***)

Big Youth: Natty Cultural Dread (1976, Trojan): Sings more here, not much of a ballad voice although he's enough of a weirdo to get away with most of it. Exception: a pop ditty I wish I could unhear. B

Big Youth: Hit the Road Jack (1976, Trojan): Starts with four covers: "What's Going On?"; "Hit the Road Jack"; "Wake Up Everybody"; "Get Up Stand Up." Nothing terribly interesting there, although he has much more feel for Marley than for Gaye. Rest is his improvisational toasting/singing mix, impressive when he finds his groove, but he's not his best producer. B+(*) [yt]

Big Youth: Isaiah First Prophet of Old (1978, Negusa Nagast): Seems to have rounded off his rough edges without losing his faith. B+(**)

Big Youth: Progress (1979, Negusa Negast): Rasta is real, but few prophets/entertainers have enjoyed themselves more in its service. A- [lp]

Big Youth: A Reggae Collection (1973-80 [1992], Essex Entertainment): Best-of, roughly equivalent to Trojan's 1980 Everyday Skank (Best of Big Youth), repeating 9 songs (of 15), but I happen to have picked up this one somewhere along the way. Still, no best-of matches Screaming Target (1972), but if you want more I'd suggest Blood & Fire's 3-CD Natty Universal Dread 1973-1979, or maybe Trojan's 2-CD Ride Like Lightning: The Best of Big Youth 1972-1976. Still: A- [cd]

Big Youth: The Chanting Dread Inna Fine Style (1973-82 [1982], Heartbeat): Compilation, second on label following 1981's Some Great Big Youth, not much info on when these tracks were recorded, but they were licensed from Negusa Nagast, and they get the general vibe right, albeit modestly. B+(***)

Big Youth: Live at Reggae Sunsplash (1982 [1984], Sunsplash): Live, skips through a decade of material, with a light touch that lets' him flow. Wish he'd skipped "Every Ni**er Is a Star," but it fades quickly as he reverts to rasta roots revival, and after the band is introduced to "Roll River Jordan," his last pop shot ("Hit the Road Jack") climaxes on schedule. B+(**) [yt]

Big Youth: A Luta Continua (1984 [1985], Heartbeat): The struggle continues, the music getting easier while the inspiration gets harder. Still, not a bad balance. B+(**)

Big Youth: Manifestation (1988, Heartbeat): Seems like a perfectly average album, which at this stage could be taken as decline. Still love the riddim. B+(*)

Big Youth: Higher Grounds (1995, VP): His discography thins out after 1988, aside from this and another album in 1995 and another in 2006. Still, this is a pretty solid effort, unlikely to be mistaken for anyone else. B+(*)

Dr. Alimantado: Best Dressed Chicken in Town (1973-76 [1978], Greensleeves): Winston Thompson, Jamaican toaster, producer and DJ, first (and most famous) album, various singers (two for Gregory Isaacs) and engineers (including Upsetter and King Tubby). B+(***)

Eek-a-Mouse: Wa-Do-Dem (1981 [1982], Greensleeves): Jamaican singer Ripton Hylton, second album. Playful name, playful vocals, starting with the nonsense title rhyme. B+(***)

Joe Gibbs & the Professionals: African Dub All-Mighty (1975, Joe Gibbs Record Globe): Jamaican producer, studied electronics, started with a repair shop, built it into a sound system, hired a band, and cut hundreds of hit records. Cover is ambiguous here, with "Solid Gold," and "a Joe Gibbs production" also appearing, but credit is usually as stated. Instrumental pieces, tight, crunchy grooves. B+(***)

Joe Gibbs & the Professionals: African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 2 (1976, Joe Gibbs Record Globe): B+(***)

Joe Gibbs & the Professionals: African Dub All-Mighty Chapter 3 (1978, Joe Gibbs Record Globe): Some vocals here. I don't see the credit, and it may not matter, because they're more like cheers, mixed in with other special effects. A-

Joe Gibbs & the Professionals: African Dub Chapter 4 (1979, Joe Gibbs Music): "All-Mighty" no longer evident on the cover, although some sources still claim it. Omission probably not an admission that this is the first "Chapter" to feel like they're going through the motions. B+(**)

Joe Gibbs & the Professionals: African Dub Chapter Five (1984, Joe Gibbs Music): More, more, more. B+(**)

Marcia Griffiths: Naturally (1978, Shanachie): Jamaican singer, started with Byron Lee in 1964, sang backup and duets with Bob Marley, whose backup singers recorded as the I Threes. Second solo album, nice voice over classic riddim, but only standout song is "Melody Life." B+(**)

The Heptones: Cool Rasta (1976, Trojan): Jamaican vocal trio, one of the first groups picked up by Island/Mango for US release, but didn't have much kick. By the time Night Food (1973) appeared in the US, they tried something more roots/rasta, but it still came out rather smooth. B+(*)

Bunny Wailer: Protest (1978, Island): Second album, like his debut Blackheart Man picked up by Island in US/UK, but has never been as well-regarded -- I missed it even when I was writing the Rolling Stone Record Guide entry on Bunny. Some kind of pop move, betraying its title with soft funk, and reprising his "Johnny Too Bad" as bubblegum. B

Bunny Wailer: Struggle (1979, Solomonic): Jamaica-only album, prime political anthems although one could quibble that he sees his struggle against "the old dragon" (aka Lucifer) as opposed to more mundane sources of injustice. Five (of seven) songs repeat on Crucial! Roots Classics, which is the one you want. Without that alternative, I could have graded this higher. The other two songs are pretty good, except I could do without the "unborn children" line. A-

Bunny Wailer: Rock 'n' Groove (1981, Solomonic): Politics may be a higher calling, but dancehall pays the bills. And he delivers as advertised. B+(***) [yt]

Bunny Wailer: Tribute (1981, Solomonic): Bunny Wailer Sings the Wailers reclaimed the group's early songs, mostly his own, with scant reference to Bob Marley, whose became a huge star after Bunny and Peter Tosh left. But with Marley dying in 1981, Bunny knocked off this quickie, with seven of Marley's most famous songs. Not sure we need the extra versions. B+(**) [yt]

Bunny Wailer: Time Will Tell: A Tribute to Bob Marley (1981 [1990], Shanachie): The label started carrying Bunny's albums in 1983, starting with an augmented reissue of In I Father's House (new title: Roots Radics Rockers Reggae). This is another, reissuing Bunny's Bob Marley Tribute plus two cuts, presumably (not that I'm sure) from the same sessions. "Bellyfull" is nothing special, but "Rebel Music" is. B+(***) [yt]

Bunny Wailer: Marketplace (1985, Shanachie): "The more we live together/the irier we shall be." B+(*)

Bunny Wailer: Liberation (1989, Shanachie): Lots of words on the cover -- one of the ways he's found to make his political points without compromising his dancehall groove. Not what I'd call an ideal synthesis, but has some merit. B+(**) [yt]

Grade (or other) changes:

Bunny Wailer: Crucial! Roots Classics (1979-82 [1994], Shanachie): Neville Livingston claimed the Wailers' spirit even as he left the group to Bob Marley. Still, I've been playing this compilation a lot more recently than I have anything by Marley, not just because it delivers on its subtitle, but because this may be the most inspiring political music ever recorded. Also because the earworms are irresistible. Bunny just died, at 73, so let's give him his due. [was: A] A+

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Jared Feinman: Love Is an Obstacle (West of Philly): [cdr]
• Michael and Peter Formanek: Dyads (Out of Your Head)
• George Haslam/João Madeira/Padro Catello Lopes/Mario Rua: Ajuda (Slam -20)
• In Layers: Pliable (FMR -20)
• João Madeira/Hernâni Faustino: dB Duet (FMR)
• Roberto Magris & Eric Hochberg: Shuffling Ivories (JMood)
• Gary Negbaur: You've Got to Be Carefully Taught (BluJazz)
• Charlie Sepúlveda: Charlie Sepülveda & the Turnaround (HighNote) [03-26]
• Jim Snidero: Live at the Deer Head Inn (Savant) [03-26]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, March 1, 2021

March archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 35005 [34967] rated (+38), 236 [249] unrated (-13).

Last week I speculated that I might nudge this week's Music Week up a day to fit it into February. Of course, it could have been that I was in no mood to wrap up February Streamnotes. (I certainly wasn't.) However, my post on Tom Cotton's Big Plan chewed up all my time on Sunday. Then it occurred to me that February was a wasted month anyway, so why not cut my losses and get a fresh start on March. It was easy enough to move this week's reviews forward. And I can still postpone the wrap up bookkeeping a few days, so no pressure there.

I did make a dent in the new CD queue this week, but still quite a lot to get to there. Admittedly, didn't find much I liked there. Also my attempts at streaming new non-jazz (Willie Nelson, The Hold Steady, Slowthai) were also disappointing, so my only solid recommendations below are old music. I started the week listening to more records by the late Jamaican toaster U-Roy (including two recommended by Clifford Ocheltree), then stumbled onto some more reggae I felt like playing. After floundering around a bit, I decided to look for an expert list, and found this one on Mojo: The 50 Greatest Reggae Albums. I'm not sure it's a very good list, but it gave me some ideas to follow up on. I feel like sticking with it for a while. My own interest in reggae started in the 1970s, when I got on Island's promo list (although I may have had some earlier). Over the years, I've listened to a fair amount (although there's plenty more I haven't gotten to).

The reggae albums were just the push I needed to lift the rated count over 35,000. I was surprised to see that happen this week, but it's a big, round number I've been closing in on, so was just a matter of time before I would hit it. Not something I have to think about any more.

One thing I am tempted to think about is Chuck Eddy's 150 Best Albums of 1976. That was the year before I moved to New York, when Don Malcolm and I were planning out Terminal Zone, when my view of the rock world was at its most idealistic. My years in New York were richer in life experiences, and probably in music, but 1976 was when I started to feel like I really knew something.

Worth noting that Eddy's top two records are probably mine as well: Have Moicy! and Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. Also that at the time I used to figure I had to have at least one mainstream rock band in my top ten, and he has the year's two best: Blue Oyster Cult's Agents of Fortune (5) and Bob Seger's Night Moves (7). I can't imagine I'll ever warm to Aerosmith or Thin Lizzy or Boston or Crack the Sky or Heart, but I should track down some of his disco obscurities, especially as others are prominent on my list (and we share Silver Convention's Madhouse). Personal fave I'm surprised to see here is Michael Mantler's The Hapless Child and Other Inscrutable Stories (114).

Lawrence Ferlinghetti died last week, at 101. Seems like just yesterday we were touting his 101st birthday, so I'm still more in the mode of celebrating his life than mourning his death. There was a day (many decades ago) when I read a lot of poetry, and he was the North Star everyone else rotated around.

New records reviewed this week:

Franco Ambrosetti Band: Lost Within You (2020 [2021], Unit): Trumpet/flugelhorn player, from Switzerland, debut in 1965, father was a saxophonist (both played with George Gruntz). Group with John Scofield (guitar), Scot Colley (bass), Jack DeJohnette (drums), and either Renee Rosnes or Uri Caine (or DeJohnette) on piano. B+(**) [cd]

Emmet Cohen: Future Stride (2021, Mack Avenue): Pianist, debut 2011, has taken to looking back recently, with four Masters Legacy Series volumes and a mostly-Fats Waller joint called Dirty in Detroit (with glances toward Monk and Cedar Walton). This is a mix of oldies and original reflections thereon, mostly trio (Russell Hall and Kyle Poole), with Marquis Hill (trumpet) on four tracks, plus Melissa Aldana (tenor sax) on three of them. B+(**)

Randal Despommier: Dio C'è (2019 [2021], Outside In Music): Alto saxophonist, from Louisiana, debut album, co-produced by Jimmy Haslip. Title track is a hymn, but with vocals sounds more like a displaced Christmas song. I didn't like it at all, but the instrumental pieces are nice enough. B [cd]

Yoav Eshed/Lex Korten/Massimo Biolcati/Jongkuk Kim: A Way Out (2019 [2021], Sounderscore): Israeli guitarist, based in New York, several albums since 2013, backed by piano, bass, and drums. Nice enough. B+(*) [cd]

Futari: Beyond (2019 [2021], Libra): Duo, Taiko Saito (vibraphone) and Satoko Fujii (piano), mostly the latter's compositions. B+(*) [cd]

The Hold Steady: Open Door Policy (2021, Positive Jams): Craig Finn's post-Lifter Puller group, eighth album since 2004, Tad Kubler (guitar) and Galen Polivka (bass) constants since the group's founding, while Finn has recorded a few solo albums. Something slightly off about the sound here, but the songs are deeply observant -- I doubt anyone else writes more third-person songs about women. B+(**)

Ethan Iverson/Umbria Jazz Orchestra: Bud Powell in the 21st Century (2018 [2021], Sunnyside): Pianist, "Do the Math" blogger, has another big project called "MONK@100," so seems to be focusing on roots recently. Half originals, one Monk tune, the rest from Powell, played by Italian big band horns arrayed aroud an all-star quintet: Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Dayna Stephens (tenor sax), Ben Street (bass), Lewis Nash (drums). Not sure why I'm not more impressed. Maybe what was radical in 1950 is old hat today? B+(**)

Jazz Worms: Squirmin' (2017 [2021], Capri): Denver quintet -- Ron Miles (cornet) and Keith Oxman (tenor sax) are the best known, with Andy Weyl (piano), Mark Simon (bass), and Paul Romaine (drums) -- cut a debut record in 1987, regrouped here for a pretty straightforward 30th anniversary bash. B+(*) [cd]

Andy LaVerne: Rhapsody (2021, SteepleChase): Pianist, several dozen albums since 1976, played with Stan Getz 1977-79, someone I clearly haven't payed enough attention to (my one database record is 1993's A- First Tango in New York). Quartet with Zach Brock (violin), Mike Richmond (bass/cello), and Jason Tiemann (drums). B+(**)

Johan Lindström Septett: On the Asylum (2020 [2021], Moserobie): Swedish guitarist, also plays "pedal steel and more, group includes saxophonists Per Texas Johansson and Jonas Kullhammar, trombone, organ/piano, bass and drums, plus "special guests" -- Elvis Costello snuck in a lyric, which started the album off in a hole. B+(*) [cd]

Shai Maestro: Human (2020 [2021], ECM): Israeli pianist, sixth album, second for ECM, previous one a trio with Jorge Roeder (bass) and Ofri Nehemya (drums), this one adds Philip Dizack on trumpet. B+(*)

Meridian Odyssey: Second Wave (2020 [2021], Origin): Seattle musicians at one point, since scattered but reconvened in Alaska to record this group album: Santosh Sharma (tenor sax), Martin Budde (guitar), Dylan Hayes (keyboard), Ben Feldman (bass), Xavier Lecouturier (drums). All five contribute songs, tightly wound postbop. B+(*) [cd]

Willie Nelson: That's Life (2021, Legacy): A second volume of Frank Sinatra songs, following 2018's My Way, same producers (Buddy Cannon and Matt Rollings), feels like leftovers, or just an afterthought. I've never quite bought the notion that there even is a "Sinatra songbook" -- he worked the same songs many others did, and while he had an exceptional knack, few strike me as being exclusively his (one here is "Luck Be a Lady"). Nelson can also be a pretty great interpretive singer, but not in the same way, and their hyped association doesn't amount to much more than famous people are conscious of one another. This album's duet partner is Diana Krall, who should be a step up from Norah Jones, but when you queue up "I Won't Dance," the one that's stuck in my head is by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. B

Larry Newcomb Quartet: Love, Dad (2020 [2021], Essential Messenger): Guitarist, Bucky Pizzarelli a mentor, third album since 2015 although he's old enough to have three songs, including featured bassist Jake Newcomb. Quartet adds Thomas Royal (piano) and Dave Marsh (drums). Six originals, but the covers stand out more, especially the closing "The Song Is You." B+(*) [cd]

Grete Skarpeid: Beyond Other Stories (2018 [2021], Origin): Singer-songwriter, from Norway, has a degree in Music Therapy, second album, recorded in New York, produced by pianist Aruán Ortiz, with Rob Waring (vibes), Cameron Brown (bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums). Originals take a while to sink in, but her cover of "My Favorite Things" leaps out. B+(**) [cd]

Slowthai: Tyron (2021, Method): British rapper Tyron Frampton, debut the memorably titled Nothing Great About Britain, sophomore effort just another of many times rappers have name-checked their given names. Organized as two discs, but they only add up to 35:17. B+(*)

Yuma Uesaka/Cat Toren/Colin Hinton: Ocelot (2019 [2021], 577): Young Brooklyn-based trio, reeds/piano/drums; Uesaka has a debut out in January, a duo with Marilyn Crispell, while Toren's first record dropped last year. This is a quiet record, with an understated strength, the pianist most impressive. B+(***) [cd] [03-26]

Rodney Whitaker With the Christ Church Cranbrook Choir: Cranbrook Christmas Jazz (2020 [2021], Origin): Release date Jan. 15, so they missed the season, and listening to this in February is trying my patience. Usual songs, Vanessa Rubin leads a long list of singers backed by the Choir. Leader plays bass, and Sextet is ably fronted by Timothy Blackmon on trumpet. Not bad if you're in the market. B [cd]

Greg Yasinitsky Yazz Band: New Normal (2019-20 [2021], Origin): Saxophonist, alto probably his main choice but also plays soprano, tenor, and baritone. Big band, or close enough for practical purposes. B [cd]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Hal Galper Quintet: Live at the Berlin Philharmonic 1977 (1977 [2021], Origin, 2CD): Pianist, born 1938, steady stream of albums since 1971, always superb but I often need something extra to single out one of his albums. Here it's the horns, with Randy Brecker on trumpet and Michael Brecker on tenor sax. Discs run 51:31 and 36:08, three long tracks each, with the usual bass (Wayne Dockery) and drums (Bob Moses) solos. Superb piano, too. B+(***) [cd]

Juozas Milasius/Tomas Kulavicius/Dalius Naujokaitis/Lithuanian Young Composers Orchestra: Live at Willisau, 1993 (1993 [2020], NoBusiness): Guitar/piano/drums, with extra participation from the "orchestra" -- most credited with "vocal, cymbal, clapping, tramping"; i.e., screams and cacophony. Not to my taste. C+ [cd]

Masauyki JoJo Takayanagi/Nobuyoshi Ino/Masabumi PUU Kikuchi: Live at Jazz Inn Lovely 1990 (1990 [2020], NoBusiness): Japanese free jazz, something of a specialty for this Lithuanian label: guitar, bass, piano -- the pianist (1939-2015) best known for his Tethered Moon group, the guitarist (1932-91) known for several recent reissues on Blank Forms Editions. A bit sketchy, opening up space for all three. B+(**) [cd]

Old music:

Johnny Clarke: A Ruffer Version: Johnny Clarke at King Tubby's 1974-78 (1974-78 [2002], Trojan): A big star in Jamaica from the early 1970s, working mostly with Bunny Lee and the Aggrovators, signed by Virgin in 1976, and moved on to England in 1983. He released albums through the 1990s, and a few since. King Tubby adds his customary dub echoes, but this leaves me with the question: ruffer than what? B+(**)

Johnny Clarke: Dreader Dread (1976-1978) (1976-78 [1998], Blood & Fire): Same years, but different recordings -- only song in common is "Play Fool Fe Get Wise" (longer here). Bunny Lee's productions are more balanced. B+(***)

Phyllis Dillon: One Life to Live (1972, Trojan): Rocksteady singer, recorded singles for Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label from 1966, leading up to this single LP. Mostly covers of US-UK pop hits, poorly selected ("Love the One You're With," "Something," "Close to You"). B-

Mikey Dread: World War III (1980, Dread at the Controls): Reggae singer Michael George Campbell (1954-2008), trained as an engineer, worked as a broadcaster, recorded with Lee Perry and Joe Gibbs, aligned with dub. Third album. Rasta themes, dense and dark, title track posits war could happen any minute, then attacks with weird whistles, not that he doesn't have better ideas. B+(***)

Mikey Dread: Pave the Way (1982, Heartbeat): Eighth album, but the interval is mostly dub quickies. B+(**)

Keith Hudson: Pick a Dub (1974 [1994], Blood & Fire): Dub producer/toaster, nicknamed "Dark Prince of Reggae," died 1984 (38). Mostly instrumental, hits some unsettling low notes, but carries on. B+(**)

Keith Hudson: Rasta Communication (1978, Greensleeves): He moved to New York in 1976, signed with Virgin, got dumped, and returned with this record. He sings here, rasta/roots themes, not much dub effect. B+(**)

Prince Buster: Fabulous Greatest Hits (1964-68 [1968], Melodisc): Cecil Bustamente Campbell (1938-2016), early Jamaican ska star, associated with Coxsone Dodd. This early compilation misses his early singles (from 1961), but includes his biggest ("Al Capone") and several others (especially "Take It Easy"). A better package may be possible, but this is classic. A-

The Upsetters: Return of Django (1969, Trojan): Lee Perry's band's first album, title a reference to Sergio Corbucci's 1966 spaghetti western Django. Perry kept the group name through 1978 (plus a 1986 album), the titles mostly drawing on movies (most famously 1976's Super Ape). Instrumental pieces, Glen Adams' organ most prominent, with a few vocal intros. B+(***)

The Upsetters: The Good, the Bad and the Upsetters (1970, Trojan): Lee Perry's second album, more instrumentals, more focus on chunky rhythm. B+(***)

U-Roy: 30 Massive Shots From Treasure Isle (1970-74 [2009], Attack): Duke Reid productions, with U-Roy toasting over various singles, some familiar, some obscure. The only ones I've been able track down date from 1970-71, and they represent a small subset of U-Roy's singles from the period. B+(**)

U-Roy: Version of Wisdom (1971-74 [1990], Front Line/Virgin): One of several CD reissues with similar covers. Notes say this combines two albums -- Version Galore (originally attributed to Hugh Roy) and With Words of Wisdom (1979) -- but the 1978-79 dates were reissues of the original Jamaican albums. A- [dl]

U-Roy: The Lost Album: Right Time Rockers (1976 [1998], Sound System): Originally released in 1977 as Dubbing to the King in a Higher Rank (King Attarney, in Canada). A- [dl]

U-Roy: Love Is Not a Gamble (1980, TR International): After his big decade, he seems ready to cruise along into middle age. Tony Robinson produced, capturing his sound and style, and adding a little rocksteady groove. B+(***)

U-Roy: Serious Matter (1999, Tabout 1): Roots throwback, songs feature vocalists, most from back in the toaster's heyday -- Horace Andy, Dennis Brown, Beres Hammond, Gregory Isaacs, Third World, Israel Vibration -- old verities (like "money is the root of all evil"), possibly old tunes too. B+(*)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Magnet Animals: Fake Dudes (RareNoise): cdr [03-26]
• Hafez Modirzadeh: Facets (Pi) [03-05]
• Ruth Weiss: We Are Sparks in the Universe to Our Own Fire (Edgetone)

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, February 22, 2021

February archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 34967 [34957] rated (+10), 249 [253] unrated (-4).

I made my excuses in last week's No Music Week, so won't repeat myself here. Not much to report, but also no reason not to kick this out on schedule.

I've been erratic since Wednesday, not writing anything up on Sunday, when I was cooking a fairly serious dinner. (Salmon teriyaki, fried rice, stir-fried lima beans, some frozen potstickers, flourless chocolate cake. Picture on Facebook.) Only played the Sam Rivers album today, figuring it to be the best shot at an A- record -- may have cut it some slack, finishing my review before the long closing flute lead, so phobes beware.

Started of trying to explore the late rasta toaster U-Roy, but didn't get very far, mostly because his discography boggled my mind. I should note that Clifford Ocheltree recommended two records I couldn't find: The Lost Album: Right Time Rockers (1976 [2010], Sound System); and Version of Wiscom (1978-79 [1990], Front Line/Virgin). He carried on into the 21st century, but the 1970s look to be his prime time: my own pick is still the 1969-70 Your Ace From Space.

Percussionist Milford Graves also died last week (1941-2021). He had a pretty sketchy discography since his 1965 Percussion Ensemble. Some highlights include Real Deal (1992, with David Murray), Beyond Quantum (2008, with Anthony Braxton and Wiliam Parker), and Space/Time: Redemption (2015, with Bill Laswell).

Last Monday of the month, but I'm in no mood to turn over my Streamnotes file, so maybe I'll aim for a February 28 Music Week on Sunday, and feel more like it then.

New records reviewed this week:

• Benoît Delbecq: The Weight of Light (2020 [2021], Pyroclastic): [cd]: B+(**)
• Signe Emmeluth: Hi Hello I'm Signe (2020 [2021], Relative Pitch): [r]: B
• Katarsis 4: Live at the Underground Water Reservoir (2019 [2020], NoBusiness): [cd]: B+(*)
• Joe Lovano: Trio Tapestry: Garden of Expression (2019 [2021], ECM): [r]: B
• Mast: Battle Hymns of the Republic (2020 [2021], World Galaxy): [r]: B+(**)
• Yoko Miwa Trio: Songs of Joy (2020 [2021], Ubuntu Music): [cd]: B+(**)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

• Sam Rivers Quartet: Braids [Sam Rivers Archive Project, Volume 4] (1979 [2020], NoBusiness): [cd]: A-

Old music:

• U-Roy: Dread in a Babylon (1975, Virgin): [r]: B+(**)
• U-Roy: Foundation Skank: 1975-1975 Rare Sides by the DJ Originator (1971-75 [2009], Sound System): [r]: B+(***)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Satoko Fujii: Hazuki: Piano Solo (Libra) [03-19]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

February archive (in progress).

The last two weeks have been brutal. My wife fell and broke her leg. While she was in the hospital, I developed an infection and was sick for the better part of a week. And, as most of you are no doubt aware, it's been brutally cold in the Midwest, even as far south as Wichita (with the whinging even louder in Texas). Second longest stretch of sub-20F weather in history, hitting a low the other day of -17F. Snow more days than not, and while it still doesn't amount to more than six inches, none of it has melted. Looks like it will stay below freezing through Friday, then edge over, then finally warm up a bit next week.

Laura got home from hospital last Friday, and we've been struggling on all accounts -- although the first days were the worst, and we're doing a bit better day-by-day. Haven't been out since Friday, aside from taking the trash/recycle cans to the curb on Monday, where they remain untouched. I made a grocery store run on Thursday. Picked up a chicken (since boiled, then baked under biscuits), a piece of chuck steak (since fried, then baked with mushroom gravy), some hamburger (turned that into sloppy joes), and beef/lamb for a future meatloaf. All old family comfort dishes. Took a break from that yesterday and made a Chinese classic, Ants Climbing Tree, with cellophane noodles and ground pork, with garlic and scallions, bean paste, cooked in chicken stock. I bought the essential ingredients many months ago. We can probably go weeks pulling things out of the freezer, although staples we normally keep fresh like potatoes and onions are in short supply.

One thing I haven't done is listen to new music, let alone write about it. I usually have a bit of a down after wrapping up a year, but lately I've stuck with old reliables, mostly from the travel cases (Mississippi John Hurt at the moment, preceded by Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield). Started to stream Ethan Iverson's Bud Powell album, but only made it four cuts in. When I realized I wasn't going to have anything to report for Monday's Music Week, I reconciled myself to not reviewing anything until I do a "No Music Week" post. Main thing I wanted to accomplish there was to catalog my incoming mail, which I had neglected for a couple weeks. Took me to Thursday to catch up with the "unpacking." The resulting top line looks like this:

Music: Current count 34957 [34955] rated (+2), 253 [233] unrated (+20).

The +2 fixes some bookkeeping errors. Related to that, note that I muffed the previous week's count, revising the rated count down from +68 to +58. Still 43 shy of 35,000. Odds of hitting that next week would be 4-6 normally, but this is no normal week. The +20 is the unpacking below. No actual reviews to offer this week, so I'm not even holding anything back. Not sure whether there will be a Music Week on Monday. Depends on whether I can shift out of this rut.

Rush Limbaugh died this week. The only time I actually listened to him was a few days in early 2009. We hired a guy to install tile in our kitchen, and he and his son came in with a big boom box tuned to Limbaugh. I was at first pleasantly surprised to find out that Obama is a socialist, but like all of Limbaugh's spew, that turned out to be way off the mark. But lack of direct contact didn't shield me from his impact. He probably ranks as the most toxic figure in American politics ever. I have yet to find any piece that remotely does him justice -- although even efforts to be "fair and balanced" show him to be totally repulsive. If you want to read something, you might start with Zack Beauchamp: Rush Limbaugh's toxic legacy. As the author points out, "The Republican Party he poisoned is very much alive."

One particular grudge I have against Limbaugh is that he used a book title I had been toying with: The Way Things Ought to Be. I've been thinking about that title recently, as I've found myself less and less interested in either writing about how vile the Republicans are -- a major concern during the GW Bush years, not that anything they've done since has blunted my outrage -- or what the Democrats need to do to more effectively resist and overcome the Republican derangement (more of an inclination during the Trump years than reiterating the obvious). That always struck me as an aspirational title rooted in basic philosophy and ethics, and that's the sort of thing I feel like working out now. Needless to say, Limbaugh's book was nothing of the sort. Published in 1992, it was mostly a hatchet job on Anita Hill. If you recall the name, you'll recognize several of the levels on which that was inappropriate. (One that I wasn't aware of was that Clarence Thomas officiated over Limbaugh's third wedding, two years after the book was published.)

Just noticed that Jamaican toaster Ewart Beckford, better known as U-Roy, has just died, at 78. I strongly recommend the one early record I've heard: Your Ace From Space (1969-70 [1995], Trojan). But many more followed. Maybe I'll check out some more.

Minor bookkeeping points:

• I've decided to start tracking downloads in the "Pending" section of my Year 2021 music file, and in the "Unpacking" section of my Music Week reports. I needed a mechanism to keep track of records I've downloaded, and that seems like the most obvious way to do so. I am, however, still not entering those records into my database until I've reviewed them.
• I've decided to treat all of this week's NoBusiness package as 2021 records (flagged "-20") in the file above. Official release date was Nov. 15, 2020, and I was aware of a couple in my 2020 Tracking File, but I've usually filed late promos in the year received. Just unusual here to have such a large batch.
• I've changed the formatting of the Music Year 2021 file, putting the lists into tables tagged with the grades. I've wanted to do for ages, and it's a good sign that I mustered the programming chops to do it today.

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Derek Baiey/Mototeru Takagi: Live at FarOut, Atsugi 1987 (NoBusiness -20)
• Dan Blake: Da Fé (Sunnyside) [03-12]
• Ian Charleton Big Band: A Fresh Perspective (none) [03-16]
• The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band Featuring Bonnie Eisele: Hot Night in Venice: Live at the Venice Jazz Club (Origin)
• Rebecca Dumaine and the Dave Miller Trio: Someday, Someday (Summit) [03-12]
• Frank Gratkowski/Achim Kaufmann/Wilbert de Joode/Tony Buck: Flatbosc & Cautery (NoBusiness -20)
• Barry Guy: Irvin's Comet (NoBusiness -20)
• Jazz Worms: Squirmin' (Capri)
• Katarsis 4: Live at the Underground Water Reservoir (NoBusiness -20)
• Reza Khan: Imaginary Road (Painted Music) [03-26]
• Johan Lindström Septett: On the Asylum (Moserobie)
• Juozas Milasius/Tomas Kulavicius/Dalius Naujokaitis/Lithuanian Young Composers Orchestra: Live at Willisau, 1993 (NoBusiness -20)
• Charlie Porter: Hindsight (OA2)
• Reggie Quinerly: New York Nowhere (Redefinition) [03-12]
• RED Trio & Celebration Band: Suite 10 Years Anniversary (NoBusiness, 2CD -20)
• Sam Rivers Quartet: Braids [Sam Rivers Archive Project, Volume 4] (1979, NoBusiness -20)
• Schapiro 17: Human Qualities (Summit) [03-12]
• Idit Shner: Live at the Jazz Station (OA2)
• John Stowell/Dan Dean: Rain Painting (Origin)
• Masauyki JoJo Takayanagi/Nobuyoshi Ino/Masabumi PUU Kikuchi: Live at Jazz Inn Lovely 1990 (NoBusiness -20)
• Thumbscrew: Never Is Enough (Cuneiform): download [02-26]
• Sabu Toyozumi/Mats Gustafsson: Hokusai (NoBusiness -20)
• Nate Wooley/Liudas Mockunas/Barry Guy/Arkadijus Gotesmanas: NOX (NoBusiness -20)

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Expanded blog post, February archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 34955 [34897] rated (+58), 233 [231] unrated (+2).

This will, sorry to say, have to remain brief. I doubt I'll ever get around to writing up a 2020 year-end essay, despite having follow the year's records more closely than ever before. However, no regrets about letting the plague year fade into historical memory. Let's get this over with.

I'm surprised to find this post is only a day late. I took ill on Sunday, spent much of Monday with doctors, and tried my best to sleep through Tuesday -- failing mostly because the dog had other ideas. Urinary tract infection, nasty business. Presumably the antibiotics will kick in and I'll be back to normal in a few days. Two additional factors have compounded my misery. For one thing, we're in the middle of what the Wichita Eagle has called our worst cold snap since 1983. That mostly means daytime temperatures in the teens, with overnight lows close to zero. We got a bit of snow early on, and a bit more since. It doesn't amount to much, but it isn't melting either, so going out (as I did on Monday) is treacherous, and the cold itself is painful.

The other big thing is that my wife, Laura Tillem, fell on the porch Wednesday and broke her thigh bone. They operated on her, a procedure they call intramedullary nailing. The "nail" is a long titanium rod inserted into the canal of the femur, so it provides weight-bearing structural support even before the bone heals. She was in the hospital through Monday morning, then transferred to a rehab clinic (actually, another hospital on the northwest edge of Wichita). If all goes well, she may come on Friday. Needless to say, her absence has made my condition much harder to deal with.

Although the review count is high, all of that came from before Sunday. Since then, the only CD I've played downstairs has been The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 8, where Ben Webster, Red Callender, and Bill Douglass join Art Tatum. It's a extraordinary set of gentle ballads -- perfect, soothing background music, which is all I've been up for.

My Year 2020 file has been frozen. The latter is an archive file which captures what I knew at the moment when I decided the year was done. I'll continue to update the former for a year. Same for my jazz and non-jazz EOY files, though I'm likely to stop bothering with them when/if I create 2021 files. The current A-lists are 83 jazz, 72 non-jazz, with old music breaking 12-17. B+(***) records broke 152-105 (27-18 for old). The division among lower grades is pretty close (490-487; 52-41 for old). Total number of reviewed records (from tracking file): 1610. That total was inflated a bit by my decision to include all 2019 albums that hadn't appeared in my 2019 tracking file, plus all December albums even if they had appeared, but that only added 52. I believe my previous high was 1334 albums in 2011, followed by 1230 in 2010, with 1222 in 2019 a close third. (I didn't check every year. Just did an initial sort by file size, then fgrep|wc for the counts. Also, I used the frozen files, to keep the comparisons fair.)

I won't be doing that again. My 2021 tracking file has very little in it beyond albums I have promo copies of. Last year I primed my EOY Aggregate files with review grades (mostly from AOTY and Metacritic, but I also tracked other sources, especially jazz and country), so I had a pretty good real-time idea how the year was stacking up before the EOY lists started appearing. I'm not doing that for 2021. While I enjoyed keeping on top of so much information, it took up a lot of time, and I'm thinking that time could be better spent. On the other hand, without that data to guide me, I expect I'll be listening to many fewer albums in 2021.

I spent much of last week scrounging up more data for the EOY Aggregate. I think we can say that's done now. The best-regarded albums for 2020 (points in braces, my grades in brackets, with * subdividing B+):

1. Fiona Apple: Fetch the Bolt Cutters (Epic) {814} [A-]
2. Run the Jewels: RTJ4 (Jewel Runners/RBC/BMG) {664} [A]
3. Phoebe Bridgers: Punisher (Dead Oceans) {619} [**]
4. Taylor Swift: Folklore (Republic) {434} [***]
5. Bob Dylan: Rough and Rowdy Ways (Columbia) {401} [A-]
6. Dua Lipa: Future Nostalgia (Warner) {390} [A-]
7. Waxahatchee: Saint Cloud (Merge) {364} [A-]
8. Haim: Women in Music Pt. III (Columbia) {327} [**]
9. Sault: Untitled (Black Is) (Forever Living Originals) {318} [***]
10. Perfume Genius: Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (Matador) {314} [*]
11. Fontaines DC: A Hero's Death (Partisan) {259} [*]
12. Yves Tumor: Heaven to a Tortured Mind (Warp) {240} [**]
13. Jessie Ware: What's Your Pleasure? (Interscope) {231} [A-]
14. Moses Sumney: Grae (Jagjaguwar) {219} [B]
15. Rina Sawayama: Sawayama (Dirty Hit) {217} [B-]
16. Sault: Untitled (Rise) (Forever Living Originals) {215} [***]
17. Charli XCX: How I'm Feeling Now (Asylum) {194} [***]
18. The Weeknd: After Hours (Republic) {187} [B]
19. Tame Impala: The Slow Rush (Interscope) {179} [*]
20. Fleet Foxes: Shore (Anti-) {178} [B]
21. Adrianne Lenker: Songs and Instrumentals (4AD) {172} [*|B]
22. Laura Marling: Song for Our Daughter (Chrysalis/Partisan) {172} [**]
23. Caribou: Suddenly (Merge) {164} [**]
24. Thundercat: It Is What It Is (Brainfeeder) {162} [B]
25. Freddie Gibbs & the Alchemist: Alfredo (ESGN/ALC/Empire) {160} [*]
26. Idles: Ultra Mono (Partisan) {158} [***]
27. Bruce Springsteen: Letter to You (Columbia) {156} [**]
28. Maria Schneider Orchestra: Data Lords (ArtistShare -2CD) {150} [**]
29. Soccer Mommy: Color Theory (Loma Vista) {150} [***]
30. Porridge Radio: Every Bad (Secretly Canadian) {145} [*]
31. Kelly Lee Owens: Inner Song (Smalltown Supersound) {142} [**]
32. Roisin Murphy: Roisin Machine (Skint) {137} [**]
33. Bad Bunny: YHLQMDLG (Rimas) {135} [**]
34. Chloe x Halle: Ungodly Hour (Columbia) {133} [*]
35. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit: Reunions (Southeastern) {133} [*]
36. Lady Gaga: Chromatica (Interscope) {133} [***]
37. The Strokes: The New Abnormal (Cult/RCA) {131} [*]
38. Sufjan Stevens: Ascension (Asthmatic Kitty) {123} [A-]
39. Grimes: Miss Anthropocene (4AD) {122} [***]
40. Mac Miller: Circles (Warner) {120} [A-]
41. Megan Thee Stallion: Good News (300 Entertainment) {115} [A-]
42. Khruangbin: Mordechai (Dead Oceans) {114} [*]
43. Jeff Parker: Suite for Max Brown (International Anthem) {113} [**]
44. Nubya Garcia: Source (Concord) {109} [**]
45. Ambrose Akinmusire: On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment (Blue Note) {108} [**]
46. Deftones: Ohms (Reprise) {105} [C+]
47. Lil Uzi Vert: Eternal Atake (Atlantic) {104} [*]
48. Shabaka and the Ancestors: We Are Sent Here by History (Impulse!) {100} [A-]
49. Hayley Williams: Petals for Armor (Atlantic) {100} [*]
50. Lucinda Williams: Good Souls Better Angels (Highway 20) {97} [A-]
51. Jay Electronica: A Written Testimony (Roc Nation) {96} [*]
52. Bartees Strange: Live Forever (Memory Music) {96} [*]
53. The Chicks: Gaslighter (Columbia) {94} [***]
54. Lianne La Havas: Lianne La Havas (Nonesuch) {92} [*]
55. Protomartyr: Ultimate Success Today (Domino) {87} [**]
56. Taylor Swift: Evermore (Republic) {86} [***]
57. Bill Callahan: Gold Record (Drag City) {83} [B]
58. Clipping: Visions of Bodies Being Burned (Sub Pop) {81} [***]
59. Jarv Is: Beyond the Pale (Rough Trade) {80} [A-]
60. Drive-By Truckers: The Unraveling (ATO) {79} [A-]
61. The Microphones: Microphones in 2020 (PW Elverum & Sun) {79} [**]
62. The Flaming Lips: American Head (Warner/Bella Union) {78} [*]
63. Bright Eyes: Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was (Dead Oceans) {76} [**]
64. Mary Halvorson's Code Girl: Artlessly Falling (Firehouse 12) {76} [B]
65. Ashley McBryde: Never Will (Warner Nashville) {73} [A-]
66. Eric Revis: Slipknots Through a Looking Glass (Pyroclastic) {73} [A-]
67. Destroyer: Have We Met (Merge) {72} [*]
68. J Hus: Big Conspiracy (Black Butter) {72} [**]
69. Margo Price: That's How Rumors Get Started (Loma Vista) {72} [*]
70. X: Alphabetland (Fat Possum) {72} [*]
71. Immanuel Wilkins: Omega (Blue Note) {70} [A-]
72. Working Men's Club: Working Men's Club (Heavenly) {69} [**]
73. The 1975: Notes on a Conditional Form (Dirty Hit) {68} [***]
74. Lil Baby: My Turn (Quality Control) {68} [**]
75. Ariana Grande: Positions (Republic) {67} [*]
76. Irreversible Entanglements: Who Sent You? (International Anthem) {67} [A-]
77. Jyoti [Georgia Anne Muldrow]: Mama, You Can Bet! (SomeOthaShip) {67} [**]
78. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: Sideways to New Italy (Sub Pop) {67} [**]
79. Billy Nomates: Billy Nomates (Invada) {65} [A-]
80. Andy Shauf: The Neon Skyline (Anti-) {65} [**]
81. Chris Stapleton: Starting Over (Mercury Nashville) {65} [**]
82. AC/DC: Power Up (Columbia) {64} [B]
83. Jeff Rosenstock: No Dream (Polyvinyl) {64} [B]
84. Moses Boyd: Dark Matter (Exodus) {63} [**]
85. US Girls: Heavy Light (4AD) {63} [B-]
86. Susan Alcorn Quintet: Pedernal (Relative Pitch) {61} [**]
87. Halsey: Manic (Capitol) {60} [***]
88. Arca: KiCk i (XL) {59} [*]
89. Hum: Inlet (Earth Analog) {59} [B]
90. Touché Amoré: Lament (Epitaph) {59} [**]
91. Bonny Light Horseman: Bonny Light Horseman (37d03d) {58} [B]
92. Code Orange: Underneath (Roadrunner) {58} [B]
93. Carla Bley/Steve Swallow/Andy Sheppard: Life Goes On (ECM) {57} [***]
94. Elizabeth Cook: Aftermath (Agent Love) {57} [A-]
95. Pearl Jam: Gigaton (Monkeywrench/Republic) {57} [B]
96. Beabadoobee: Fake It Flowers (Dirty Hit) {56} [**]
97. The Beths: Jump Rope Gazers (Carpark) {56} [*]
98. Brandy Clark: Your Life Is a Record (Warner Nashville) {56} [A-]
99. Georgia: Seeking Thrills (Domino) {56} [***]
100. Mary Lattimore: Silver Ladders (Ghostly International) {56} [*]
101. Rudresh Mahanthappa: Hero Trio (Whirlwind) {56} [A-]
102. Oneohtrix Point Never: Magic Oneohtrix Point Never (Warp) {56} [*]
103. Sorry: 925 (Domino) {56} [**]
104. Sun Ra Arkestra: Swirling (Strut) {56} [A-]

Lenker's Songs and Instrumentals were separate digital releases, but combined on CD. I graded each half, but most list sources combined the two. Most of the recent changes were due to my counting of individual ballots for Francis Davis's Jazz Critics Poll, the Uproxx Music Critics Poll, and the Pazz & Jop Rip-Off. My initial tactic was to only count ballots of individuals I've counted in past years, but I added a few more names where I thought the picks were particularly interesting. One effect of this was to secure 2nd place for RTJ4, after Punisher had briefly topped it. The JCP ballots (all but 17 were counted) explain why jazz is represented here much more than in other aggregates (28, 43, 44, 45, 48, 63, 65, 71, 75, 75, 84, 93, 96, 96). I consider that a feature.

New records reviewed this week:

2nd Grade: Hit to Hit (2020, Double Double Whammy): Jangle pop band from Philadelphia, first album, Peter Gill wrote the songs, sings and plays guitar. B+(**)

Jhené Aiko: Chilombo (2020, Def Jam): Alt-r&b singer-songwriter, from Los Angeles, third album, title her (and her father's) surname. Pretty chill. B+(*)

Thana Alexa: Ona (2020, self-released): Jazz singer-songwriter, born in New York, parents Croatian, plays violin, second album, some strong political themes. Drummer Antonio Sanchez (her husband) is the standout in a sharp band, and various guests drop in. B+(**)

Gyedu-Blay Ambolley: 11th Street, Sekondi (2019, Agogo): Highlife musician from Ghana, 31st album since 1973, plays tenor sax and sings. B+(**) [bc]

Tim Berne/Matt Mitchell: Spiders (2020, Out of Your Head): Duo, alto sax and piano, former credited with compositions, one of several records they've done together recently, from a partnership going back at least to 2010, but this is the first I've managed to hear all the way through. First-rate pianist, drawing Berne out for a live album that is both intimate and imposing. A- [dl]

Jake Blount: Spider Tales (2020, Free Dirt): Banjo and fiddle player from DC, sings some, has a degree in ethnomusicology and puts it to good use, first album after an EP and a couple of group credits (e.g., The Moose Whisperers). B+(***) [bc]

Busta Rhymes: Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God (2020, Conglomerate/Empire): Rapper Trevor Smith, tenth album since 1996, returns to his third title after 22 years, offering us 5 more years. Good chance he'll disccover another such event in 2042, by which point his beats and growl will be even older school. Still, I've never understood the point of worshipping a god who promises such wrath, let alone associating with the people who relish devastation. Lost a point for the "Satanic" ending. B+(*)

Chika: Industry Games (2020, Warner, EP): Rapper Jane Chika Oranika, from Alabama, got accepted by Berklee but saved money by going local, then dropped out after a year. Second EP (first on a label, 7 cuts, 20:14). Finding her legs, "I'm 22, making money." I can recall the feeling, and it sure beats what went down before. B+(**)

Common: A Beautiful Revolution [Part 1] (2020, Loma Vista): Chicago rapper Lonnie Lynn, debuted 1992, a pretty big star with gold records through 2007, with a half-dozen records since; has done some acting, writing, political activism, making him a target for the Fox News crowd (and Obama). Still, surprising this one was so thoroughly ignored -- some pegged it as an EP, but I count nine tracks, 34:14, and it's all pretty solid. B+(***)

Chris Crack: White People Love Algorithms (2020, New Deal Collectives): Rapper Christopher Harris, claims a "coming of age as a drug-dealing math wiz." 16 tracks, 28:05. B+(**)

Ani DiFranco: Revolutionary Love (2021, Righteous Babe): Buffalo folksinger, now transplanted to New Orleans, 20th studio album since 1990, music a little on the slick side, lyrics sometimes sneak up on you. B+(**)

Kevin Dixon: The Summer We All Bought Guns (2020, Covid Charlie's Demo-lution): Singer-songwriter from North Carolina, quarantine project was to "whip up a few demos for my beloved band, Zen Frisbee," but got carried away, winding up with 33 songs that average close to 4 minutes. Lo-fi, a lot to sit through, especially as moments of clarity are rare. B [bc]

Che Ecru: Til Death (2020, F Plus): R&B singer-songwriter from Boston, second album, don't know much more -- website says "I'm bored and I make music." B+(**)

Wendy Eisenberg: Auto (2020, Ba Da Bing): Guitarist, from Boston, past records tend to be avant/jazz, adds voice here. Some parts are basically strum and warble, but crank up the intensity and things start to break in interesting ways. B+(*) [bc]

En Attendant Ana: Juillet (2020, Trouble in Mind): French indie pop group, second album, Margaux Bouchaudon writes and sings, plays guitar and keyboards. Titles in English, although I can't follow the lyrics (or pick up stray French). Nice crunchy riffs. B+(**)

See'J Foster: HiSonGreWings (2020, self-released): Rapper, from Mobile, Alabama, dedicates this to his father, who died a year past, contemplating the hole his death left. B+(**) [bc]

Gabriel Garzón-Montano: Agüita (2020, Jagjaguwar): Singer-songwriter born in Brooklyn, parents Colombian and French, third album since 2014. B+(*)

Dana Gavanski: Yesterday Is Gone (2020, Ba Da Bing): Canadian singer-songwriter, of Serbian descent, from Vancouver, based in Toronoto. Picks up a bit midway. B+(*)

Dana Gavanski: Wind Songs (2020, Ba Da Bing, EP): Five songs (22:59), covers, one Serbian folk, others airy ballads. B [bc]

Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Live at Le Guess Who? 2018 (2018 [2020], Transgressive): Singer-songwriter, b. 1944 in Philadelphia, father reportedly played classical piano 4 hours a day, mother sang spirituals, "one of the first black students to study at McGill University in Montreal," spent most of his life in Canada, recorded an album of electronics in 1986, "began publicly identifying as a trans man in 2002." References suggested filing under folk or jazz, but is so "beyond category" as to mock it. Plays piano, sings with operatic high notes, talks a lot. B+(***)

Goodie Mob: Survival Kit (2020, Organized Noize/Goodie Mob Worldwide): Major Atlanta hip-hop group for three 1995-98 albums, before Cee-Lo Green went solo. Reunited for a 2013 album (Age Against the Machine), and again here. They were overshadowed by OutKast in their heyday, and barely remembered today, but with a little editing this would be the perfect complement to RTJ4. A-

Conan Gray: Kid Krow (2020, Republic): Singer-songwriter, "social media personality," first album after singles and an EP, has some pop smarts, issues with alcohol, can blow things out of proportion. Choice cut: "Wish You Were Sober." B+(*)

Gunna: Wunna (2020, YSL/300): Atlanta rapper Sergio Kitchens, second album plus the Drip Season series of mixtapes. B+(*)

Juniper: Juniper (2020, self-released): Last name Shelley, 15-year-old singer-songwriter from New Jersey, draws on 1960s girl groups plus some bubblegum and a bit of cha cha ("Poke Your Eye Out"). Refreshing to hear teen music I can relate to my teens. (Well, not mine personally, but my general era.) A- [bc]

KMRU: Peel (2020, Editions Mego): Joseph Kamaru, a sound artist/producer from Nairobi. Ambient. The 15:10 opener barely engages your consciousness, but isn't bad for background. The one called "Klang" gets a bit louder, but not enough to merit the title. B+(*) [bc]

LCSM [Likwid Continual Space Motion]: Earthbound (2020, Super-Sonic Jazz): London group, seems to have existed in various guises at least since 2003, with Ian Grant (aka IG Culture) the central figure (his albums go back to 1994; he's described here as "one of the most important protagonists of the UK's broken beat jazz scene"). What we could call "jazz-funk," but never really satisfied with a groove. B+(***) [bc]

Madlib: Sound Ancestors (2021, Madlib Invazion): Otis Jackson Jr., raps a little but is more DJ/producer, with more collaborations than albums under his own name (especially recently). This time it's Kieren Hebden (Four Tet), but he just blends in. B+(*)

Maluma: Papi Juancho (2020, Sony Music Latin): Colombian reggaeton star Juan Luis Londoño Arias, fifth album since 2012, long (22 songs, 73:30). Very consistent, nothing really jumps out. B+(**)

Shawn Mendes: Wonder (2020, Island): Canadian pop star, fourth album since 2015. Awkward start, recovers, but erratic. Will have a recommendable Greatest Hits some day. Lyric I jotted down: "I'm not the type to overthink." B+(*)

Moor Mother & Billy Woods: Brass (2020, Backwoodz Studioz): Philadelphia poet Camae Ayewa, part of jazz group Irreversible Entanglements but also has a number of hip-hop moves, including this with one-half of Armand Hammer. Lot here, but didn't catch much of it. B+(**)

Nihiloxica: Kaloli (2020, Crammed Discs): Group bills itself as "Kampala's darkest electro-percussion group." Billed as their "full-length debut," although they have a 26:12 eponymous EP on Nyege Nyege Tapes. B+(**)

Kassa Overall: Shades of Flu: Healthy Remixes for an Ill Moment (2020, Flu Note): Drummer, straddles hip-hop and free jazz, combines the two with this 37:24 remix of jazz tracks. Label is a play on Blue Note, down to the logo. B+(*) [bc]

Palberta: Palberta 5000 (2021, Wharf Cat): Indie rock band from New York, three women, first DIY albums (2013-14) were called My Pal Berta and Shitheads in the Ditch. Transitioning from punk to pop, not really either at the moment. B+(*)

Tayla Parx: Coping Mechanisms (2020, Taylamade): Pop/r&b singer, given name Parks, second album. B+(*)

Penya Na Msafiri Zawose: Penya Safari E.P. (2020, On the Corner): UK group, linked to Tanzania at least through vocalist-percussionist Zawose (you may recognize the name, as the daughter of Hukwe Zawose), though on their own they slump toward more basic electronica. "E.P." in title, but runs 34:05 (7 songs). B+(*) [bc]

Real Estate: The Main Thing (2020, Domino): Indie band, originally from New Jersey, singer-guitarist Martin Courtney and bassist Alex Bleeker constants through five albums since 2009. Sweet voice, nice indie strum, very par for the course. B+(*)

Roddy Ricch: Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial (2019, Atlantic): Los Angeles rapper Rodrick Moore, first album after a couple mixtapes and some singles ("The Box," included here, was a hit). B

Roshin: Unrequited (2020, self-released): From Toronto, "raps, sings and plays rudimentary keyboard lines." B+(*) [bc]

Lingo Seini Et Son Groupe: Musique Hauka (2020, Sahel Sounds): From Niger, a rare recording of Hauka ritual music -- Hauka was a fringe religious movement which developed over a century ago as resistance to French colonialism (Wikipedia "see also": Cargo cult, Ghost dance). Vocals and percussion, mostly calabash. Recent recording, I presume, but I doubt if the music has changed much in the last century. Notes say that Seini has been performing for 60 years. B+(**) [bc]

Shamir: Shamir (2020, self-released): Last name Bailey, singer-songwriter from Las Vegas suburbs, 2015 debut got some attention, but he's been self-releasing since 2017, and this is a short digital only (8 songs plus 3 short skits, 27:41). More rockish, don't get much out of the voice or synths. B

Skyzoo & Dumbo Station: The Bluest Note (2020, Tuff Kong, EP): Brooklyn rapper Skyler Taylor, albums since 2006, often with co-credited producers. Dumbo Station is a nu-jazz group from Italy, one previous album, playing rather than sampling the classic jazz riffs (notably Francesco Fratini on trumpet). Hometown tales, steady going. Six tracks, 19:52. A-

Skyzoo: Milestones (2020, Mello Music Group, EP): Seven track (24:35) "conceptual EP," recapitulating autobiography from son to father of his own son. Knows his jazz, named his son Miles, doubling the meaning of his title. Another obvious choice: rapping over "Song for My Father." With no children of my own, I'm surprised I find this so touching. A-

Stove God Cooks: Reasonable Drought (2020, The Conglomeration Entertainment): Rapper Aaron Cooks, first album, produced by Roc Marciano, who sometimes gets co-credit. B+(**)

Thick: 5 Years Behind (2020, Epitaph): Brooklyn punk trio, three women, first album after a bunch of singles/EPs, 11 songs, 27:08. B+(**)

Ty Dolla $ign: Featuring Ty Dolla $ign (2020, Atlantic): Trap rapper Tyrone Griffin, from Los Angeles, third album, major effort, doesn't return much. B

Westside Gunn: Who Made the Sunshine (2020, Griselda/Shady/Interscope): Buffalo rapper, second album (plus a mixtape) this year. Takes on God and/or the Sun in the opener, but loses me after, impressing me mostly with intensity for some unfathomable purpose. B+(*)

Matthew Wright: Locked Hybrids (2020, Relative Pitch): British composer, I guess, perhaps more like a jazz DJ, creates "sound installations" with turntables and electronics, figure this as his quarantine project, working with archived samples of Evan Parker, Toma Gouband, and Mark Nauseef, dating from 2018. Can't say as he really makes much of them. B [bc]

YoungBoy Never Broke Again: Top (2020, Never Broke Again/Atlantic): Rapper Kentrell Gaulden, second album, came out before he turned 21. I'm struck by how cramped this feels, and how little I can follow. B-

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Birds of Prey: The Album ([2020], Atlantic): Dubbed a "candy-colored, R-rated new entry in the DC Extended Universe" -- more a conceptually-aligned side-project than a soundtrack, especially since the movie Birds of Prey has its own "Original Motion Picture Score." Fifteen sharp-edged pop tunes by women, only four household names chez moi (Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Halsey, Summer Walker; ok, I've also heard of K.Flay and Jurnee Smollett-Bell). Does it a few high points. B+(***)

Billy Brooks: Windows of the World (1974 [2002], WeWantSounds): Trumpet player (1926-2002), played for Lionel Hampton, recorded this one album under his own name, a big band Ray Charles co-produced and released on his Crossover Records. Lasting impact was a sample A Tribe Called Quest lifted. Best forgotten: flute with horn blasts. B- [bc]

Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Transmissions: The Music of Beverly Glenn-Copeland (1970-2019 [2020], Transgressive): Scattered picks from "her" eponymous debut through "his" latest live outings (repeating "Deep River" from Live at Le Guess Who? 2018). The gospel electronica of "A Little Talk" is a favorite, followed by stronger rhythm tracks, but the album is interesting in all sorts of ways. A- [bc]

Honey Radar: Sing the Snow Away: The Chunklet Years (2015-18 [2020], Chunklet Industries): Jason Henn's alt/indie group dates back to 2008, starting in Indiana and winding up in Philadelphia, along the way throwing some lo-fi singles out on this Atlanta label. B+(**)

Portals: A Kosmische Journey Through Outer Worlds and Inner Space ([2020], Behind the Sky): Thirteen artists, mostly 5-minute chunks, working with analog synths for a retro space vibe, with a "Berlin-school" influence. Presumably recent music, although some of the artists (Ian Boddy, Steve Roach) go back to the 1980s. B+(***) [bc]

Nancy Sinatra: Start Walkin' 1965-1976 (1965-76 [2021], Light in the Attic): Frank Sinatra's daughter, 25 when she scored her iconic hit ("These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"), 80 last week when she made the news for saying something intemperate about Donald Trump (her father was famously liberal until he switched rat packs to pal around with Spiro Agnew). Her only other bit hit was a duet with Dad, skipped here, focusing on songs with Lee Hazlewood (mostly writing/producing, but some duets; label has reissued a lot by Hazlewood). Bag gets mixed over time -- more his fault than hers. Low point: "Arkansas Coal" ("so this is how it feels to be dead"). B+(**)

Southeast of Saturn: Michigan Shoegaze/Dream Pop/Space Rock (1990s [2020], Third Man): Obscure bands, which seems about right for this kind of anonymous drone. B+(*)

Voz Di Sanicolau: Fundo De Marê Palinha (1976 [2020], Analog Africa, EP): Short album (6 tracks, 18:39) recorded in Rotterdam by Cabo Verdean emigrés. B+(**) [bc]

Mike Westbrook: Love and Understanding: Citadel/Room 315 Sweden '74 (1974 [2020], My Only Desire): British pianist, ambitious composer, a Penguin Guide favorite I've heard very little from. Commissioned by Sveriges Radio, played by their big band -- most famous: Arne Domnérus (alto sax/clarinet), Jan Allen (trumpet/alto horn) and Bengt Hallberg (piano) -- with Westbrook on electric piano and John Surman on his usual reeds. High point is the 14:40 "Pastorale." A- [bc]

Old music:

Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Keyboard Fantasies (1986, Atlast): Six minimalist compositions played on a Yamaha DX-7 Synthesizer and a Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer, fetching in their simplicity, plus voice, which is an acquired taste. B+(**) [bc]

Playboy Tre and DJ Swatts: Goodbye America: Da Story of a Drunk Loner (2008, Last Call Entertainment): Saw this on a 2013 list of "The Five Best Atlanta Hip-Hop Albums of All Time," topped by OutKast, Goodie Mob, Ludacris, and Bubba Sparxxx, the only one I had never heard of. Still surprised to find that neither AMG nor Discogs lists this (at least under "Playboy Tre"), while Wikipedia redirects me to B.o.B. -- someone else, linked by the production group HamSquad and the occasional shout outs. This rapper Clarence Montgomery III, from Decatur, Georgia, formerly dba Y.B.M., for all I know may be calling himself something else these days. Sloppy mixtape, with enough brilliant runs to mark it as a cult classic. But he was already selling his future short. As he put it: "Cause, you know, I like to get fucked up." A-

Playboy Tre: Liquor Store Mascot (2009, Playboy Music): Banner across top proclaims: "DJ Swatts and Ham Squad Present." The beats get you going, but the interludes work too, and the star has an appealing delivery. Too much alcohol, but "Remember Me" will sober you up. Epitaph: "the breaks won't come for you." A-

SK Kakraba: Songs of Paapieye (2015, Awesome Tapes From Africa): From Ghana, plays gyil, a "xylophone made of 14 wooden slats strung across calabash gourd resonators." Label specializes in reissues, as its name claims, but Kakraba moved to Los Angeles, and this seems to be a recent recording. B+(**) [bc]

Unpacking: Sorry, I haven't gotten around to listing the half-dozen or so CDs I received in the mail last week

Ask a question, or send a comment.

prev -- next