For the last few weeks, I've been obsessing over year-end lists,
aggregating
hundreds of polls, not so much to see who comes outon top as to discover
interesting items on the fringes. Most of what follows are items
that looked interesting on various lists. There's also some
late-arriving jazz, notably from Allen Lowe and Steve Swell --
although it's worth noting that four of the A- jazz records were
picked up off the net (Ray Anderson, Michael Gibbs, Tomeka Reid,
Daniel Rosenboom).
Most of these are short notes/reviews based on streaming records
from Rhapsody (other sources are noted in brackets). They are snap
judgments based on one or two plays, accumulated since my last post
along these lines, back on December 15. Past reviews and more
information are availablehere (7538 records).
Recent Releases
Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman: Lice (2015, Stones
Throw, EP): Two rappers usually strong enough on their own, double
down for a 5-track (17:34) freebie which starts with head lice and
ends with "Get a Dog." Still, doesn't feel short.A-
Scott Amendola: Fade to Orange (2014 [2015], Sazi):
Drummer, member of Nels Cline Singers and Oranj Symphonette, has ten
albums under his own name since 1999. Record consists of a 17:13
title piece with a guitar-bass-drums trio (with Nels Cline and Trevor
Dunn) wrapped up in the full-blown Magik*Magik Orchestra, followed
by four remixes that average 5 minutes each. I find the beats more
appealing, but the original classical-fusion clash has some interest.B+(*)
Ray Anderson's Organic Quartet: Being the Point
(2015, Intuition): Trombonist, one of the all-time greats, though
health problems have kept him out of the limelight for much of
this decade. However, he comes back swinging here, aside from the
title piece, which is one of those ordeals you have to live through
to fully appreciate. With Steve Salerno (guitar), Gary Versace
(organ), and Tommy Campbell (drums) -- the organ an especially
inspired choice.A-
Lotte Anker: What River Is This (2012 [2014], ILK
Music): Danish saxophonist (soprano, alto, tenor), more than a
dozen albums since 1997. Perilous to extrapolate from only 2 (of
10) cuts, especially with so many hard-to-parse elements: Borges
lyrics, Phil Minton vocals, Ikue Mori electronics, Fred Frith
guitar, clarinet and viola.B+(*)
Babyface: Return of the Tender Lover (2015, Def Jam):
Kenny Edmonds, emerged in the late 1980s with a softer, slicker R&B
sound, something I never got into (although there were exceptions, as
always), although he was always listenable. Releases thinned out from
2007 until last year's marriage opera with Toni Braxton. The Tender
Lover was his first platinum hit. This reboot is more energetic,
but hardly anyone has noticed. Recommended: "Standing Ovation."B+(***)
Beauty Pill: Beauty Pill Describes Things as They Are
(2015, Butterscotch): DC group, principally Chad Clark, made EPs in
2001 and 2003, an LP in 2004, then nothing until this record. One of
those neo-prog things I generally can't stand, but this has moments
of charm and grace, interest even.B
Blanck Mass: Dumb Flesh (2015, Sacred Bones): Solo
project by Benjamin John Power, better known (if that) from Fuck
Buttons. Post-rock, synths with or (mostly) without incomprehensible
words, in all cases led by a drummer who drives and sometimes overruns
everything.B+(***)
Samuel Blaser: Spring Rain (2014-15 [2015], Whirlwind):
Swiss trombonist, leads a sharply skilled quartet with Russ Lossing on
piano/keyboards, Drew Gress on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums. Nice
to hear a trombone up front, but fine as Blaser is the instrument itself
is hard pressed to keep up.B+(**)
Peter Brötzmann/Steve Swell/Paal Nilssen-Love: Krakow
Nights (2015, Not Two): Well, just one night, but running 74:27
it may have seemed like more. When you play with Brötzmann, you play
his bleeding edge rough and tumble. Within those limits the trombonist
smoothes off the edges and works in a few jabs, and the drummer works
this ring as well as anyone.
B+(***) [cd]
Cam: Welcome to Cam Country (2015, Arista Nashville, EP):
Camaron Ochs paid her dues writing songs for others, then dropped this
four-song (13:19) EP on her way to a December debut album. First impression
is that she does better with the ballad ("Burning House") than with the
stomper ("Runaway Train").B
Cam: Untamed (2015, Arista Nashville): Debut album, the
extra songs add heft and nuance, enough to make her a person of interest,
even if the big time Nashville production isn't.B+(**)
Cécile & Jean-Luc Cappozzo: Soul Eyes (2015, Fou):
Piano and trumpet, respectively, with the latter occasionally pulling
out his bugle. He has a handful of avant-leaning albums since 2004,
but I hadn't run across her before. Nicely done, built on a firm
foundation of Mingus and Waldron compositions.B+(**) [cd]
Car Seat Headrest: Teens of Style (2015, Matador):
Will Toledo is one of those DIY guys who took advantage of Bandcamp
to release everything that pops into his head -- 12 albums since
2010 until he got a contract and scaled up to a band. Presumably
Matador is more discriminating, but the lo-fi ethic prevails here,
not without tunes but not a lot of them.B
François Carrier/Steve Beresford/John Edwards/Michel Lambert:
Outgoing (2014 [2015], FMR): My favorite alto saxophonist
and his sidekick drummer from Montreal sojourn to the Vortex Jazz
Club in London this time, pick up bassist Edwards, and pianist
Beresford sits in for three (of five) cuts. Exceptional this time
is the free rhythm, especially with the fractured piano. Carrier,
as expected, is superb.A- [cd]
Brian Charette/Will Bernard/Rudy Royston: Alphabet City
(2014 [2015], Posi-Tone): Organ trio, the leader at one point looking
like he might find new opportunities in the old instrument, but lately
settling into old-fashioned soul jazz grooves. Probably helps that the
guitarist and drummer were born to play soul jazz.B+(*)
Container: LP (2015, Spectrum Spools): Alias for Ren
Schofield, a techno producer from Nashville. His three longer albums
all bear the title LP, although Rhapsody identifies this as an
EP (seven cuts, 26:52).B+(**)
Chick Corea & Béla Fleck: Two (2015, Concord, 2CD):
Two musicians (piano and banjo), second album together, something like
that -- although this was reportedly selected "over 55 shows from that
seven-year period," Most likely a treat for fans but for me a waste of
time.B
Stanley Cowell: Juneteenth (2014 [2015], Vision
Fugitive): Pianist, first record came out in 1969, Blues for
the Viet Cong, and he has a couple dozen since. This one is
solo, mostly a ten-piece suite which picks up strands from "Dixie"
to "Strange Fruit," a lifelong subversive veering mainstream.B+(*)
Crack Ignaz: Kirsch (2015, Melting Pot): German rapper,
or maybe I mean Austrian -- info is hard to come by, but he has at least
three albums. Sounds chopped and screwed, but I can make out German words
here and there.B+(*)
Adrian Cunningham: Ain't That Right! The Music of Neal Hefti
(2014 [2015], Arbors): Australian reed player, clarinet and flute but mainly
tenor sax, backed by piano-bass-drums (Dan Nimmer-Corcoran Holt-Chuck
Redd), with trombone (Wycliffe Gordon) on four tracks. Hefti (1922-2008)
is better known as an arranger, especially for Count Basie, than as a
composer, but his tunes are indelible, and the band swings.B+(**)
Dej Loaf: #AndSeeThatsTheThing (2015, Columbia, EP):
Detroit rapper, Deja Trimble, has a couple of mixtapes and a "viral"
single, gets a big label intro with a 6-cut, 23:01 EP. Two big name
guest spots do her no favors (Big Sean, Future) -- she has promise
to be more than a background singer.B
Lana Del Rey: Honeymoon (2015, Interscope): As slowcore
as Low, and probably lower though that's a contest I won't volunteer to
referee. Certainly prettier, by which I mean both fetching and haunting,
dream pop in bright sunlight. Must be a California thing.B+(***)
Deradoorian: The Expanding Flower Planet (2015, Anticon):
Last name, first Angel, formerly of Dirty Projectors, a widely hailed
group I've never been able to stand. I didn't get that reaction here,
but I also didn't get much out of the densely layered art-song, so it's
almost a wash.B
The Deslondes: The Deslondes (2015, New West): Country
group from New Orleans, first album, pleasant demeanor, worked as the
opening act for Hurray for the Riff Raff. Seems about right.B
Downtown Boys: Full Communism (2015, Don Giovanni):
Punk band from Rhode Island, with two saxes and a female singer
(Victoria Ruiz) skewing them a bit toward ska, promising "leftist
activist anthems you can pogo to," and delivering 12 in 25:46
(closing with a delirious cover of "Dancing in the Dark" -- cue Emma
Goldman).A-
Dr. Dre: Compton (2015, Aftermath/Interscope): Only
his third album, tied into a movie based on his former group, better
known now as a producer, which gives some creedence to his boast "I'm
the black Eminem." Lots of guest spots, song songs sporting as many
as 14 writers (some merely sampled), can't quite be terrible but I'm
picking up so many plot points the record it most reminds me of isHamilton (plus sirens and gunshots).B-
Dr. Yen Lo: Days With Dr. Yen Lo (2015, Pavlov Institute):
Rapper Ka and producer Preservation styled this concept album after the
notorious Chinese doctor-hypnotist in The Manchurian Candidate,
which also provides occasional snatches of dialog. The story strays but
the music is hypnotic, with or without the monotone raps.A-
Dungen: Allas Sak (2015, Mexican Summer): Swedish group,
vocals in Swedish which seems intentionally chauvinistic given how common
English-speaking groups are in Sweden, but they have a prog streak that
transcends language, or perhaps caring about it.B
Dyke Drama: Tender Resignation (2015, Salinas, EP):
From Olympia WA, Sadie Switchblade project (drums, bass, guitar, vocals,
tambourine), she of GLOSS and other groups, if that is indeed the right
pronoun -- I suppose it doesn't matter. Six songs, 16:59.B
Open Mike Eagle: A Special Episode Of (2015, Mello
Music Group, EP): Based just on the cover, I would have parsed this
differently, noting that the title is above the artist name, and in
the lower left cover (larger than the title but smaller than the
artist name) I read Split Pants at Sound Check!. Six songs,
19:22.B+(**)
Kevin Eubanks Quintet: Things of That Particular Nature
(2014 [2015], Sunnyside): Trumpet player, younger brother of Kevin and
Robin, cut two albums 1999-2001 and two since. This six-member Quintet
has the look and feel of a hard bop group, with impressive chops at tenor
sax (Abraham Burton) and piano (Marc Cary), lightened with a little extra
tinkle from Steve Nelson's vibraphone.B+(**)
The Greg Foat Group: The Dancers at the Edge of Time
(2015, Jazzman): British pianist, also plays organ; group is nominally
a quintet although the credits list is longer, and not just guest spots.
With electric bass and guitar, organ and glockenspiel, a full range of
strings, flute and cabasa, this is almost grotesquely expansive -- the
sort of thing that in the 1970s might have been taken for prog rock,
except uncommonly jazzier. The digital version packs on an extra 14:49
of crashing waves, to no obvious point.B+(*)
Jean-Marc Foussat & Jean-Luc Petit: . . . D'Où Vient La
Lumière! (2015, Fou): Petit plays bass clarinet, sopranino
and alto saxophones, a mix of eardrum-piercing and softer tones.
Foussat is credited with "dispositif électro-acoustique," which is
to say he brings the noise. I found it more often annoying than
interesting, but not without the latter.B [cd]
Nils Frahm: Solo (2015, Erased Tapes): German pianist,
works on the avant edge of electronica, prolific enough that AMG credits
him with fourteen albums since 2009. Mostly quiet piano improv -- maybe
he wrote it all out but my comparison framework is jazz, and its
organization (if not its dynamics) holds its own there.B+(**)
Future: 56 Nights (2015, Freebandz, EP): More prominent
on the cover is DJ Esco's name, but not clear what he did, and virtually
every source assigns it to rapper Future. Basic, bare even, runs 28:46
(10 cuts), hip-hop largesse, or marking time?B+(*)
Michael Gibbs/The NDR Bigband: In My View (2013-15
[2015], Cuneiform): British composer-arranger, b. 1937 in what was
then Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe); studied
at Berklee, played trombone in Barry Guy's LJCO, has done a lot of
soundtracks and obscure big band records. He started working with
NDR in the 1990s and they've become his pickup band of choice.B+(***) [dl]
Michael Gibbs & the NDR Bigband: Play a Bill Frisell Set
List (2013 [2015], Cuneiform): Gibbs met Frisell at Berklee,
taught him, and took him on tour, so this loops back on one of both
artists' longest associations. The Bigband has a regular guitarist,
Stephan Diez, but Frisell sits in, gets to sign his work, and the
massedhorns certainly love him. Only about half Frisell compositions.
I wouldn't have recommended the Beatles tune, but it's never sounded
grander.A- [dl]
Patty Griffin: Servant of Love (2015, PGM):
Singer/songwriter, ninth album, usually filed under folk but most of
this is blues, and by far the strongest part.B+(**)
Halsey: Badlands (2015, Astralwerks): Ashley Frangipane,
b. 1994 in New Jersey, finds herself growing up on meaner streets than
Springsteen imagined forty years ago, unable to afford college until she
hustled some internet buzz into a contract and a hit record. Electropop,
I wouldn't call it dark but it's far from frothy and I don't hear words
well enough to dismiss the reputed anger and dismay. Actually, seems
about right, given how the world is headed.A-
Hamilton [Original Broadway Cast Recording] (2015,
Atlantic, 2CD): Lin-Manuel Miranda's "hip-hop musical" tracing the
the biography of Alexander Hamilton -- Ron Chernow is credited for
recounting facts in the public record, and the many who know next
to nothing of the story may learn a thing or two, but the style is
something else completely -- though no more far-fetched than, say,
Antonin Scalia's "originalism." As a hatchet job on history, it's
all rather amusing. As music it's rather didactic, clear enough to
follow the story's nuances, as if they matter.B+(**)
Have Moicy 2: The Hoodoo Bash (2015, Red Newt): In
1976 Rounder Records advertised their "dream come true: the Rounders
on Rounder": they were referring back to the Holy Modal Rounders, a
primitivist and rather bent folk group with Peter Stampfel and Steve
Weber (originally) that recorded a pair of 1964 classics, then got
corrupted by the Fugs and others such that by 1976 they had become
Unholy. They were the scratchy heart and soul of Have Moicy!,
an album as dear to me as The Velvet Underground or Pet
Sounds or A Love Supreme, but it wasn't just the irrascible
Stampfel that made the album work. It was headlined by Michael Hurley,
who never again wrote such sly and funny songs, and Jeffrey Fredericks& the Clamtones added cornball filler. But most of all, both sides
were capped by Antonia songs, one prophesying: "When we have kids, we
will tell them the story/'Bout the night we got the spirit at the
Hoodoo Bash." Now, Hurley's a recluse and Fredericks is dead, leaving
Stampfel, with grandkids and protégés (but evidently no Antonia), to
regale us with the glories of his youth -- except, of course, he can't
quite pull it off. So instead of a three-headliner supergroup, we get
an unsigned ("various artists") mish-mash, where the inspirational
lyric comes from Robin Remailly: "the songs are idiotic/and that's
the point/just to lighten up the freakin' joint." Often enough they do.A-
Ted Hearne: The Source (2015, New Amsterdam): A
post-classical pastiche, libretto assembled by Mark Doten from
text fragments from (or relating to) Chelsea Manning's Wikileaks
with Hearne writing the music for strings, electric guitar &
bass, keybs and drums -- musically not far removed from Laurie
Anderson. Politically, I'd say that Obama and his administration
are responsible for grave injustice against many "leakers," but
their treatment of Manning has been especially atrocious. So give
this a star for focusing on the injustice, but not something I'd
play for pleasure.B+(*)
Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott: Wisdom, Laughter and Lines
(2015, Virgin EMI): Heaton was the auteur behind the Beautiful South,
which I would rank above Pavement, Nirvana, and everyone else has the
great rock group of the 1990s -- no less when Abbott moved up front.
Their second post-group album together, parts sound as fabulous as I
expected, but the production is a little cluttered, and it starts
longer on volume than ideas. Enough so I could probably learn to love
it, but would prefer to play their older albums -- even last year's.B+(***)
John Hébert: Rambling Confessionss (2011 [2015],
Sunnyside): One of the top bassists of his generation, leads a piano
trio (Andy Milne, Billy Drummond) plus singer (Jen Shyu). Starts with
a striking "September Song" -- stretched out to remind me of Sheila
Jordan -- before delving into the bassist's compositions, written
wtih Carmen McRae in mind. I find Shyu much more appealing here than
on her own record, but the only other track that grabs me is "Alfie."B+(*)
Amy Helm: Didn't It Rain (2015, E1): Levon's little
girl, debut album although she spent most of the last decade fronting
the roots-rock band Ollabelle. Impressive voice -- reminds me most of
Dusty Springfield, with faint echoes of her father and worth noting
that her mother was also a singer (Libby Titus, had a couple albums
under that name, perhaps more famously moved on to Mac Rebennack and
wound up marrying Donald Fagen).B+(**)
Hieroglyphic Being & J.I.T.U. Ahn-Sahm-Buhl: We Are Not
the First (2015, RVNG Intl): Chicago DJ Jamal Moss uses the
former name (among others). As far as I can tell, the latter is the
band (the initials stand for Journey Into The Unexpected) and the
rest sort of resembles Ensemble. The musicians have more or less
jazz cred -- saxophonist Marshall Allen has the most, and drummer
Greg Fox (Liturgy, Zs) could sub anywhere he wants. Even without
Allen, it's hard to hear this and not wonder what Sun Ra would
sound like today if he'd really been born on Saturn.A-
Hieroglyphic Being: The Acid Documents (2013 [2015],
Soul Jazz): Considered a reissue but only if you could a run of 100
CDRs available through one record store as a release. Even this is"a one-off edition of 1000 copies on coloured double vinyl," but I
doubt that the CD and digital variants are so constrained. The music
is fairly minimal, pretty much all beats until a little synth noodle
at the end. Not as interesting as his jazz record, but still pretty
irresistible.A-
Wayne Horvitz: Some Places Are Forever Afternoon
(2015, Songlines): Pianist, proficient with electronics as well,
an adventurous postbop composer whose efforts are, for me at least,
hit-and-miss. Subtitle "11 Places for Richard Hugo" -- a poet
(1923-82), evidently based in the northwest, like Horvitz and his
small chamber orchestra: Ron Miles (cornet), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon),
Peggy Lee (cello), and Tim Young (guitar), bass and drums. Stately,
and often quite gorgeous.B+(***)
Jenny Hval: Apocalypse, Girl (2015, Sacred Bones):
Singer-songwriter from Norway, started out singing in a goth metal
band, recorded two albums as Rockettothesky, and now three under her
given name. Arty, less a cross between Laurie Anderson and Björk
than a triangulation from both reference points into the unknown.
I'm tempted to be repulsed, but actually I'm not.
B+(*)
I Love Makonnen: I Love Makonnen 2 (2015, OVO Sound,
EP): Makonnen Sheran, from Los Angeles and/or Atlanta, has more than
a dozen mixtapes since 2011, five titled Drink More Water, and
two EPs (this one 7 cuts, 29:21).B+(*)
The Internet: Ego Death (2015, Odd Future/Columbia):
LA-based R&B group founded by Matt Martians and Syd Tha Kyd [Syd
Bennett], spun off from the Odd Future hip-hop collective, still
reflected in the group's slack beats. Vocals are slack too, even when
they turn to gospel.B+(**)
Andrew Jamieson: Heard the Voice (2015, Edgetone):
Pianist, AMG lists three previous albums. Solo here, despite the front
cover claim, "piano/in dialogue with/African American spirituals/and
church music." The call and response is in his head, but inspiration
and expression flows through his fingers and keys. Doesn't sound
churchy, and, well, I wouldn't know spiritual, but I'm moved.A- [cd]
Jlin: Dark Energy (2015, Planet Mu): Jerrilynn Patton,
from Gary IN, first album, close enough to Chicago her staggered beats
and bashes are considered footwork. Reviewers tend to dwell on the"darkness" but I don't get that at all -- I'm more impressed by her
ability to stagger the beat while maintaining it.B+(***)
Henry Kaiser & Ray Russell: The Celestial Squid
(2014 [2015], Cuneiform): Two guitarists of the fusion persuasion
but not really in anyone else's bag, and while I've read that Kaiser"admirse and has been influenced by" Russell, the latter is only five
years older. Band includes four saxes (Steve Adams, Joshua Allen,
Phillip Greenlief, Aram Shelton), both electric and acoustic bass,
First cut gets the speed and noise just right, so it's disappointing
when later cuts wobble a bit.B+(***) [dl]
Kanaku y El Tigre: Quema Quema Quema (2015, Strut/Tigers
Milk): Indie folk duo from Peru.B+(*)
Toby Keith: 35 MPH Town (2015, Show Dog Nashville):
A big Nashville star since his first album (1993) went platinum, and
he became one of worst yahoos in the business. But maybe we should
cut him some slack: he hasn't gone platinum since 2006, nor struck
gold with four of his last five. He makes a coarse effort at going
inclusive with his "Drunk Americans" anthem, and ordinary American
Bobby Pinson co-wrote 7 of the other 9 songs. But couldn't Pinson
have written better songs? Or could Keith not tell the difference?B
Kelela: Hallucinogen (2015, Warp/Cherry Coffee, EP): Last
name Mizanekristos, born in DC of Ethiopian heritage, based in LA, the
sort of R&B singer most likely to show up buried in trip hop beats,
an aesthetic she carries over into her own writing. Six songs, 23:48.B+(*)
Becky Kilgore/Nicki Parrott: Two Songbirds of a Feather
(2015, Arbors): Standards singers-plus: the former plays guitar and has
mostly recorded as Rebecca Kilgore with a couple dozen albums since 1993;
the latter plays bass, contributed an occasional vocal and proved adept,
lately turning into a headliner. With the singers playing, all it takes
to flesh out band is Mike Renzi on piano and Chuck Redd on drums, plus
Harry Allen takes a stellar turn on tenor sax.B+(***)
Kneebody + Daedelus: Kneedelus (2015, Brainfeeder):
Kneebody is a LA-based jazz band -- Shane Endsley (trumpet), Ben
Wendel (tenor sax), Adam Benjamin (keyboards), bass, and drums --
with nine records since 2002, the best known has Theo Bleckman singing
Charles Ives songs, but others are nothing like that. Daedelus is
beat producer Alfred Weisberg-Roberts, aka Alfred Darlington, with
a large pile of work, also since 2002. Also involved somehow is Steve
Ellson, aka Flying Lotus, whose label brokered this not-quite-future
of jazztronica.B+(***)
Kode9: Nothing (2015, Hyperdub): Steve Goodman, from
Glasgow, moved from DJ to producer, I have him down for programming
rather than electronics but other than a cold analytical feel I can't
tell you why. Just feels like a bag of tricks that sometimes add up.B+(**)
Julian Lage: World's Fair (2014 [2015], Modern Lore):
Guitarist, tabbed as a prodigy by age eight and subject to great
expectations ever since. Takes this one on solo acoustic. Nice
for what little it is.B+(*)
Jeffrey Lewis: Jeffrey Lewis & the Jrams (2014,
self-released): This seems to have passed by unnoticed, but the band
tracks are as vital as those on Lewis's more recent, much heraldedManhattan, and the other stuff is the sort Lewis has been
doing before he developed chops as a musician -- it would take time
I don't have to sort all that out.B+(***) [bc]
Lifted: 1 (2015, PAN): Leftfield electronica, main
driver seems to be producer Matthew Papich, but Max D is credited
with most of the percussion (synthetic, at least; probably short for
Maxmillion Dunbar, i.e. Andrew Field-Pickering, whose 2013 albumHouse of Woo impressed me) and several other people (if that's
what Motion Graphix and Jordan GCZ are) make the credit list.B+(***)
Lightning Bolt: Fantasy Empire (2015, Thrill Jockey):
Noise rock group going back to 1999, principally Brian Chippendale
(drums) and Brian Gibson (bass). I checked out a couple earlier albums
and found them unappealing. This one is similarly intense, but more
serviceable, at least as long as the beat stays on track. Some vocals
but nothing you'd call singing, and not much of that.B+(**)
Liturgy: The Ark Work (2015, Thrill Jockey): Started
out as a black metal band but has evolved into something artier, with
a few surprise appearances on EOY lists, and a drummer who impressed
me much on that Hieroglyphic Being album. Alas, he hardly gets a fair
shake here, with synth horns massed for the intro "Fanfare" and rarely
far from the action elsewhere. The result is hideous, like Steve Reich's"Four Organs" -- played by a black metal band.C-
Lnrdcroy: Much Less Normal (2014 [2015], Firecracker):
Leonard Campbell, can't say as I know anything more. He put this out
on cassette in 2014, so some listmakers treat it as a reissue, but it's
scored two top-five finishes among lists I've counted. A little wobbly
out the gate, but once the beats kick in it's pretty mesmerizing.B+(***)
Amy London/Darmon Meader/Dylan Pramuk/Holli Ross: Royal
Bopsters Project (2015, Motéma): Vocal group, dedicated to
vocalese -- the art of making up lyrics to fit the contours of bebop
horn solos. Not sure where the idea of making them royalty came from --
as far as I can tell, all are Americans (none far removed from New
York) and should know better. Note cameos from the elders -- Jon
Hendricks (94), Bob Dorough (92), Sheila Jordan (87), Annie Ross (85),
and the late Mark Murphy (was 83 when he died in October). Jordan's
the best, but then I always say that.
B
Lionel Loueke: Gaia (2015, Blue Note): Jazz guitarist
from Benin, eschews big label moves in favor of a return to his trio
of some time back, with Massimo Biolcati (bass) and Ferenc Nemeth
(drums).B+(**)
Low: Ones and Sixes (2015, Sub Pop): Alan Sparhawk
and Mimi Parker founded this Duluth group, running through several
bass players as they've released 18 albums since 1994. Alternately
dubbed slowcore, sadcore, and dream pop because they're slow, sad,
and sometimes dreamy, a combination which always read better than
it sounded -- I'm tempted to add "dull" but they'd turn that into
dullcore. Still, this one has some presence, maybe even an aesthetic.B
Allen Lowe: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora (2015,
Constant Sorrow): My first acquaintance with saxophonist Lowe was
c. 1992, when I sent him money for his first two albums (At the
Moment of Impact and New Tango '92), which Francis Davis
had praised in his early Jazz Consumer Guide columns. Lowe's first
acquaintance with me was after I took over the JCG franchise: he
went back and read everything I had written on music, firing off a
flurry of emails in the process. I like to think of myself as someone
who tries to devour and systematize everything, but compared to him
I'm downright lazy. At the time, I thought of him mostly as a critic
and historian. His book, American Pop: From Minstrel to Mojo
tells you everything you really need to know about American music in
the first half of the 20th century, and he collated an 11-CD anthology
to illustrate the point. He followed with That Devilin' Tune: A
Jazz History (1895-1950), and turned that into four 9-CD sets.
Then there's the one I haven't gotten to: Really the Blues? A
Horizontal Chronicle of the Vertical Blues, 1893-1959 (with
another 36 CDs on the side). (And now I see there's another book I
hadn't been aware of: God Didn't Like It: Electric Hillbillies,
Singing Preachers, and the Beginning of Rock and Roll, 1950-1970,
but as yet no CDs.) However, since 2009 he's returned to his music
with the same burst of systemic energy he put into his books: highly
recommended, his 3-CD Blues and the Empirical Truth (2011),
and the 4-CD Mulatto Radio: Field Recordings (2014). Those
were easy for me to grade because the sprawl just kept building on
itself, obliterating any temptation to nitpick. This time he decided
to make my job more difficult by releasing his four CDs (plus one
more attributed to Matthew Shipp) separately. Had he boxed them all
up, I could say that he's somehow managed to top even himself. But
since he didn't, let's nitpick:
Allen Lowe: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora: Where a Cigarette
Is Smoked by Ten Men (2015, Constant Sorrow): Lowe plays alto
and tenor sax here, but often gives way to clarinetist Zoe Christiansen,
especially on three "Blue for Pee Wee" (as in Russell) pieces. Those
pieces tie an album that otherwise seems to have more affinity for
Jimmy Giuffre's modernist abstractions back to their common roots.A- [cd]
Allen Lowe: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora: We Will Gather
When We Gather (2015, Constant Sorrow): An octet, although
that seems less a matter of harmonic design than who showed up: three
saxes, with Lowe on alto openin up a spot for Ras Moshe Burnett on
tenor, and Hamiet Bluiett -- little heard in recent years -- heroic
on baritone, more than making up for no trombone; Matt Lavelle's
trumpet the only brass; guitar instead of piano, with Ava Mendoza
determined to rock against the rhythm section's blues-based swing.
Four titles referring to blues and gospel are interweaved, but this
strikes me more as a spirit-channeling part record, a more moving"hoodoo bash" than Peter Stampfel's record.A-
Allen Lowe/Matthew Shipp/Kevin Ray/Jake Millett: In the Diaspora
of the Diaspora: Ballad for Albert (2015, Constant Sorrow): The
simplest of the series, starts with a piano solo of the title cut, and
ends with a piano-alto sax duet of the same. In between Ray (bass) and
Millett (electronics and turntable) add some depth but little detail. So
you basically get signature snippets of Lowe and/or Shipp, falling apart
instead of growing together.B+(***) [cd]
Allen Lowe: In the Diaspora of the Diaspora: Man With Guitar:
Where's Robert Johnson? (2013 [2015], Constant Sorrow): Cover
goes on to describe this as "A Soundtrack," but I know not what for.
Also note that the credits include no guitar or voice, but there are
occasional samples (actually, sounds more like banjo), presumably
picked up from the sound track the music was composed for. Matters
little, since this is basically an alto sax showcase, and the fact
that I can't distinguish the 7 tracks Gary Bartz takes over from
Lowe's 9 tracks without looking at the conter is a high compliment.
Band also includes piano (Lewis Porter), trombone, and tuba, along
with various electronics sources (including DJ Logic).A- [cd]
Old Man Luedecke: Domestic Eccentric (2015, True North):
Singer/songwriter from Nova Scotia, plays banjo so it's tempting to file
this under bluegrass, although folk is probably more accurate.B+(***)
¡Mayday!: Future/Vintage (2015, Strange Music):
Miami hip-hop crew, had a record with Murs last year that I liked
a lot (¡Mursday!) and produce the same underground vibe
here without a domineering front man.A-
Meek Mill: Dreams Worth More Than Money (2015,
Atlantic/MMG): Lord, I get tired of the N-shit, but sometimes I
can hear through that and find decent aspirations.B+(*)
Mika: No Place in Heaven (2015, Casablanca): Michael
Penniman, Jr., British pop singer born in Beirut. Last two albums hit
my pleasure spots consistently; this one less so but I'm occasionally
reminded how exciting he can be.B+(**)
Milo: So the Flies Don't Come (2015, Ruby Yacht):
Rapper, Rory Ferreira, from Wisconsin, second album plus the usual
lesser efforts. Underground vibe, music takes over toward the end.B+(**)
Møster!: When You Cut Into the Present (2015, Hubro):
Norwegian group, third album, name comes from saxophonist Kjetil Møster,
I'm tempted to call this "prog jazz" given that fusion stagnated back
in the 1970s and this ain't that -- denser, heavier, maybe faster, with
guitar-bass-drums (Hans Magnus Ryan, Nikolai Haengste Eilertsen, Kenneth
Kapstad) and everyone contributing extra percussion.B+(***)
The Necks: Vertigo (2015, Northern Spy): Piano trio
from Australia -- Chris Abrahams (piano), Lloyd Swanton (bass), Tony
Buck (drums), but I don't have credits and doubt that's all -- has
eighteen records and a cult reputation since 1989; I heard of them
several years ago but this is the record I've heard: a single 43:56
piece, has an industrial/ambient feel, lots of drone not normally
expected from a piano trio.B+(*)
Neon Indian: Vega Intl. Night School (2015, Mom +
Pop Music): Electropop group from Texas, principally Alan Palomo.
Second album. A bit like the Pet Shop Boys, only less brainy, and
with synths a bit soggier.B+(*)
Noertker's Moxie: Simultaneous Windows (2015, Edgetone):
Third installment in bassist Bill Noertker's "Blue Rider Suite,"
pieces based on (mostly Paul Klee and Wasily Kandinsky, at least
here). Noertker shuffles another dozen musicians in and out, mostly
reeds (including oboe and flute), trumpet on two tracks, piano on
three, four drummers.B+(**) [cd]
Noonday Underground: Body Parts for Modern Art (2015,
Stubbie): This seems to be the work of Simon Dine, who also does work
as Adventures in Stereo and with Paul Weller, although early on you
mainly notice vocalist Daisy Marley. Divided into three long parts,
the first would make a pretty good alt/indie disc, while the second
is rather captivating instrumental trip-hop, and the third is more
(maybe too much).B+(***)
Larry Novak: Invitation (2014 [2015], Delmark):
Pianist, b. 1933 in Chicago, cut a record in 1964, worked with
Peggy Lee and Pearl Bailey, taught at DePaul, finally cut another
record last year. Trio with Eric Hochberg and Rusty Jones, standards
counting the first two from Bill Evans.B+(***) [cd]
Nozinja: Nozinja Lodge (2015, Warp): Alias for Richard
Hlungwani, a South African producer/performer who was most prominent on
Honest Jon's 2010 compilation, Shangaan Electro: New Wave Dance Music
From South Africa. Pitches this toward the worldwide electronic dance
market, but the drums and vocal harmonies come out of Zulu traditions,
as potent as ever.A-
The Nu Band: The Cosmological Constant (2014 [2015],
Not Two): Previously I filed this group's albums under Roy Campbell's
name, but now that the band has survived the trumpeter's death I had
to move the quartet under its own entry. The replacement is Thomas
Heberer (cornet); the survivors are Mark Whitecage (alto sax/clarinet),
Joe Fonda (bass), and Lou Grassi (drums). All contribute songs, but
not a lot of energy -- or maybe someone just turned the knobs down.B+(**)
Evan Parker/Peter Jacquemyn: Marsyas Suite (2012
[2015], El Negocito): Duets, soprano/tenor sax and bass/voice, free
improv pieces recorded live in Brugge. As usual, Parker has different
approaches to the two saxes, the bassist handling both, and good for
some solo rumble.B+(***)
John Patitucci Electric Guitar Quartet: Brooklyn
(2015, Three Faces): Bassist, plays electric here, along with two
guitarists (Adam Rogers and Steve Cardenas) and drummer Brian Blade,
all compatible mainstreamers with a lot of Wes Montgomery in their
hip pockets. Still, despite nods to Mali and gospel they don't do
much with it.B
Bucky Pizzarelli: Renaissance: A Journey From Classical to
Jazz (2015, Arbors): A guitar duo -- something he's excelled
at in the past -- with Ed Laub, backed by Dick Lieb's orchestra --
strings, woodwinds, flute, French horn -- on a program that starts
with Tedesco. Gets more interesting (and a lot more charming) as they
ditch the orchestra and move on to "Stardust" and "Satin Doll" but
early on they dug a pretty deep hole.B
Pusha T: King Push -- Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude
(2015, Def Jam): Terrence Thornton, formerly of Clipse, talks gangsta,
but as Christgau pointed out, "that's just talk." Lot of talk here, too,
but his beats make a point, and so do his boasts.B+(***)
Raury: All We Need (2015, Columbia): First name artist,
last name is Tullis, first album, age 19 but strikes me as more mature
than most adults. Sings more than he raps, and gets decent music to work
to.B+(*)
Dave Rawlings Machine: Nashville Obsolete (2015, Acony):
Nashville-based singer-songwriter, played with Gillian Welch, noted for
his flatpicking, come off more folk than country or bluegrass, not sure
that his "Machine" even qualifies as a band, making it an odd moniker.B+(*)
Tomeka Reid: Tomeka Reid Quartet (2015, Thirsty Ear):
Cellist, originally from DC but moved to Chicago for her Master's,
studying at DePaul and falling into the AACM orbit. She's appeared on
some notable records, and has lined up Mary Halvorson (guitar), Jason
Roebke (bass), and Tomas Fujiwara (drums) for her Mike Reed-produced
debut. An especially good outing for the guitarist, but when furror
builds it powered by the cello.A-
Max Richter: From Sleep (2015, Deutsche Grammophon):
German-born British "post-minimalist" composer, put together an 8-hour
cycle called Sleep. This is a one-hour extract, a sampler if
you like, short enough that it's not guaranteed to put you to sleep,
although it will certainly calm and soothe.A-
Rival Consoles: Howl (2015, Erased Tapes): British
electronica producer, (IDM, experimental techno), third album, beats
play with a slight guitar sound.B+(**)
RJD2/STS: STS X RJD2 (2015, RJ's Electrical Connections):
STS is shortened from Sugar Tongue Slim, an MC out of Atlanta, here
hooked up with prolific beatmaker Jon Krohn.B+(***)
Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen: Hold My Beer, Vol. 1
(2015, Lil' Buddy Toons): Texas boys, associated with something called
red dirt music although that name derived from the bright clay around
Stillwater, Oklahoma. I don't know whether Texas has similar soil, but
if you take neotrad and dial it back several generations and park it
in a honky tonk, you'll come close. Both did their time in Nashville,
and are glad to be out, just not always sure what to do with their
newfound freedom.B+(***)
Daniel Rosenboom: Astral Transference & Seven Dreams
(2014 [2015], Orenda, 2CD): Trumpet player, credits Wadada Leo Smith as
his "first trumpet teacher" and dedicates the seven-movement "Dreams" to
him, although the 31:31 "Astral Transference" would also be fit tribute.
The long piece is an octet with two saxes, piano, guitar, cello, bass,
and drums, and is glorious. The band cuts back to five for the less
expansive "Dreams." Probably could have fit on one CD (80:12), but
sensibly split.A-
Royal Headache: High (2015, What's Your Rupture):
Australian post-punk group, second album, straight, rigid even --
a telling sign, I suspect, is that they think you're garbage. B+(*)
Todd Rundgren/Emil Nikolaisen/Hans-Peter Lindstrøm: Runddans
(2015, Smalltown Supersound): Synths, something Rundgren has been into
for decades but he's pigeonholed as a pop song guy -- even though a
quick check of my database shows I haven't listen to any of his albums
since Hermit of Mink Hollow (1978). Starts splashy, but gets
bogged down in a swamp of vocals.B-
Alejandro Sanz: Sirope (2015, Universal): A huge star
in his native Spain since his second (1991) album went 9xPlatinum, he
broke the Mexican and US Latin markets in 1997, this making his sixth
straight top-ten album there. An impressive performer, but has never
broken out of his language market, not even here.B+(*)
Schnellertollermeier: X (2013 [2015], Cuneiform):
Swiss power trio, one part each Andi Schnellmann (bass), Manuel
Troller (guitar), and David Meier (drums). Debut album; strong,
regular drive, which can be tedious or liberating.B+(**)
John Scofield: Past Present (2015, Impulse!):
Guitarist, sounds much like he did in his heyday before dozens of
other guitarists tried to sound like him. What's perked him up is
most likely a terrific quartet, with Larry Grenadier on bass, Bill
Stewart on drums, and Joe Lovano superb on tenor sax.B+(***)
Christian Scott: Stretch Music (2015, Ropeadope):
Trumpet player from New Orleans, added "aTunde Adjuah" to his name
on his 2012 album and some sources append them here. Some sources
also add "(Introducing Elena Pinderhughes)" -- a flute player who
isn't all that prominent here. The horns (including alto sax and
trombone) do stretch out over the roiling rhythm section (with
guitar, piano/Fender Rhodes, bass, and "Pan-African drums."B+(*)
Matthew Shipp: Matthew Shipp Plays the Music of Allen Lowe:
I Alone: The Everlasting Beauty of Monotony (2015, Constant
Sorrow): Front cover runs on: "Or: The Future, He Thought, Was Never
When He Expected It to Be," then follows with a list of musicians,
not including the alto saxophonist, who appears with band on half
of the tracks. The other half are solo piano -- more what I expected
from the title. I have no feel for Lowe as a composer, other than
the assumption that given his vast research he is adept at picking
out lines here and there and turning them around. (At one point I
recognized "Lullaby of Birdland" only to hear the next line head
somewhere else.) But I have heard a lot of solo Shipp, and his work
here is quite refreshing. The group pieces are even more fun, with
guitarists Michael Gregory Jackson and Ryan Blotnick standing out,
and Lowe's alto delightful.A- [cd]
Troye Sivan: Blue Neighbourhood (2015, Capitol):
South Africa-born, Australian singer/songwriter/actor/YouTube
personality barely out of his teens. Mid-tempo pop, keeps to an
even keel but catchy enough. I found myself admiring the drums.B+(*)
Sophie: Product (2013-15 [2015], Numbers, EP): Samuel
Long, London-based electronica producer, first album is a singles
compilation that I had to pick and order to play on Rhapsody, eight
songs, 25:17. Some are striking with their synth curtains and helium
vocals, but together they can clash or get stuck.B+(**)
Skylar Spence: Prom King (2015, Carpark): Aka Ryan
DeRoberts, b. 1993 on Long Island, originally planned to perform as
Saint Pepsi but the lawyers nixed that. Disco, in much the same sense
as Mayer Hawthorne plays Motown, which these days is good enough for
me.A-
Dexter Story: Wondem (2015, Soundway): Singer-songwriter
from Los Angeles, picked up an interest in Ethiopian which runs through
these pieces, especially several instrumentals.B+(*)
Susanne Sundfør: Ten Love Songs (2015, Sonnet Sound):
Norwegian singer-songwriter, works in English, a star at home but this
is her first album to get much notice elsewhere. Synth-based backdrops,
can't quite call them pop although they can be when she cuts down on
the drama.B+(*)
Steve Swell: Kanreki: Reflection & Renewal (2011-14
[2015], Not Two, 2CD): "Kanreki" is a Japanese celebration of one's 60th
birthday, something the avant-trombonist celebrated in 2014, similar to
a Festschrift in academia. For this one, Swell has compiled seven
pieces from as many places with as many groups -- actually six groups,
as one piece is solo. A long set with Guillermo Gregorio and Fred
Lonberg-Holm stands out, while the whole adds up to a fine portrait.B+(***) [cd]
Steve Swell: Steve Swell's Kende Dreams: Hommage à Bartók
(2014 [2015], Silkheart): The trombonist's liner notes clearly say
the album title is Kende Dreams, but that apostrophe on the
cover has misdirected pretty much everyone. A kende is an
ancient Hungarian religious figure, one eclipsed by the warriors
so prominent since Atilla the Hun. Supposedly Béla Bartók drew on
this history as well as the complex rhythms of east-central Europe,
but no Bartók is played here (unless pianist Connie Crothers slipped
some in). Rather, you get a quintet with two horns -- the leader's
trombone and Rob Brown's alto sax -- complementing each other, and
all the support anyone could hope for from William Parker and Chad
Taylor.
A- [cd]
Steve Swell: The Loneliness of the Long Distasnce Improviser
(2015, Swell): Solo trombone. Not sure if this is the first in the two
dozen or so albums Swell has led since 1996, but there aren't many --
the instrument is slow and its range is limited, and torturing it for
unusual sounds rarely works. Helps here that he keeps his pieces short,
often built on vamps, and mixes them up. But then he's an exceptional
trombonist.B+(***) [cd]
They Might Be Giants: Glean (2015, Idlewild): I was
completely dazzled by their 1986 debut, but soon lost interest despite
numerous instances where they were cute and/or clever. This is another,
their 19th album, and this time they rock a little harder too.B+(*)
The Thing: Shake (2015, Thing): Norwegian avant-power
trio, although Bandcamp page says Austin, where bassist Ingebrigt Håker
Flaten has been hanging out -- he's evidently their web guy. The volume,
however, is mostly due to Mats Gustafsson (baritone/tenor sax) and Paal
Nilssen-Love (drums), and they're as rough and explosive as ever, just
not always -- the softer stretches hold this together. Possibly their
best since their 2000 eponymous debut, although how good is hard to
tell.
B+(***)
Samba Touré: Gandadiko (2015, Glitterbeat): Guitarist
from Mali, first record was a tribute to Ali Farka Touré and he carries
on from there. No flash or punch, but he calmly grows on you.
B+(***)
Dale Watson: Call Me Insane (2015, Red House):
Nashville has neo-trad, but this Texan has no neo in him at all,
aside from a penchant for writing new songs that sound like long
lost old songs. He leads off with a pretty fair Merle Haggard
likeness, then follows with one George Jones should have done
("Bug Ya for Love" -- a better tribute than the more obvious"Jonesin' for Jones"). On the other hand, the only one I can
imagine him palming the title tune off on is Marty Robbins,
who'd add a giddy smile, one of the few things not in Watson's
toolkit.B+(**)
Kenny Werner: The Melody (2014 [2015], Pirouet):
Pianist, close to forty albums since 1977, leads a trio with Johannes
Weidenmueller (bass) and Ari Hoenig (drums), exploring his favorite
subject.B+(**)
Barrence Whitfield & the Savages: Under the Savage Sky
(2015, Bloodshot): Retro rocker ever since the 1980s.B+(*)
Wolf Alice: My Love Is Cool (2015, Dirty Hit/RCA):
British group, from London, with Ellie Rowsell the main singer, with
their first album. The sort of group/album I could imagine people
caring about without doing so myself.B+(*)
Nate Wooley/Ken Vandermark: East by Northwest (2013
[2015], Audiographic): Duo, trumpet and clarinet/tenor/baritone sax.
Starts with a piece by John Carter, so figure they're mindful of the
Carter-Bradford Quartet, just without the extra guys who fill out
the sound and move it around. Mindful of that, too.B+(**) [bc]
Recent Reissues, Compilations, Vault Discoveries
Bobby Bradford & John Carter Quintet: No U Turn: Live
in Pasadena 1975 (1975 [2015], Dark Tree): Back cover lists
Carter first, as indeed most of this now-legendary group's albums
did, but spine breaks the tie in favor of Bradford (credited with
cornet but photographed on the cover with flugelhorn). Previously
unreleased. Takes some time to get going.A- [cd]
Billie Holiday: Banned From New York City: Live 1948-1957
(1948-57 [2015], Uptown, 2CD): A totally marvelous singer, but I'm not
sure how badly we need every little bootleg scrap. Mostly she does songs
you know much as she always did them, although the 1948 sets with Red
Norvo that fill up most of the first disc will be of interest to vibes
fans. The second disc picks up a tour of France and various TV shots.B+(***)
Kenny Knight: Crossroads (1980 [2015], Paradise of
Bachelors): Georgia-born, Denver-raised, played in bands from his
teens and off and on until he cut this his one-and-only album, a
country-rock troubadour, pleasantly light with more substance than
you realize at first.B+(***)
Rastafari: The Dreads Enter Babylon 1955-83 (1955-83
[2015], Soul Jazz): Rastafarianism emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s in
response to Marcus Garvey's "back to Africa" movement, offering a
glorious picture of the Conquering Lion in lieu of a cheap ticket to
a foreign country, but the music came later, and this tries to capture
it at the roots with little regard to the stars. The main figure here
is Count Ossie, whose primitivist nyahbinghi recalled African drums
and promised mystic revelation, and most of the rest stick to the
program -- the two obvious exceptions are ska star Laurel Aitken and
Calypsonian Lord Labby, who made the cut with clear anthems of Haile
Selassie and Ethiopia. But I doubt clarity was ever the point.A-
Ed Sanders: Yiddish-Speaking Socialists of the Lower East
Side (2006 [2015], Okraina, EP): I knew him first as a poet --
pretty sure some of his work appeared in my brother's 9th grade poetry
notebook, the one that got him expelled -- but by that time he was
also dabbling in song in a group called the Fugs (not "mythical,"
as the website proclaims, but we'll settle for "infamous"). He went
on to cut a couple solo albums -- not very good, sad to say -- then
this came out on cassette in 1991. This version was recorded later
and is finally available on 10-inch vinyl. Not much music here, but
appreciate the history lesson.B+(*) [bc]
Ty Segall: Ty-Rex (2011-13 [2015], Goner, EP): Garage
punk artist, released a 12-inch T Rex covers album in 2011, followed
that up with a 7-inch Ty-Rex II in 2013, the nine cuts (31:17)
collected here. An appropriate icon, and it doesn't hurt to scuff them
up a little.B+(*)
Sherwood at the Controls, Volume 1: 1979-1984 (1979-84
[2015], On-U Sound): British new wave/dance producer Adrian Sherwood,
mostly obscure English groups with so much in common he could have
passed as the auteur -- reggae rhythms with somewhat industrialized
dub effects, the precursor of dubstep.B+(**)
Sonny Simmons: Reincarnation (1991 [2015], Arhoolie):
Alto saxophonist, emerged in the mid-1960s moving with the avant-garde,
had trouble finding recording dates between 1970 and 1990 but has
worked extensively since then. I don't see where this live set was
previously released. It features Barbara Donald ("with" credit on
the cover) on trumpet, plus piano-bass-drums, healthy workouts on
three originals plus "Body and Soul" and "Over the Rainbow."B+(**)
Idrissa Soumaoro: Djitoumou (2010, Lusafrica):
Singer-guitarist from Mali, b. 1949, had some success in the 1970s,
joined Les Ambassadeurs, worked with Amadou & Mariam. This
popped up on a 2015 EOY list, but all sources show it earlier.
Moreover, while they suggest that it was new then, one song has
a guest spot for Ali Farka Touré, who died in 2006, so I don't
have any real idea when it was recorded.
B+(***)
The Staple Singers: Freedom Highway Complete: Recorded Live
at Chicago's New Nazareth Church (1965 [2015], Epic/Legacy):
Only three titles in common with the Freedom Highway comp of
the group's 1965-67 Epic sides that Legacy issued in 1991 -- still
my first recommendation -- and the times differ (by 0:06, 0:25, and
1:09 on the title track). On the other hand, this adds 31:17 to the
edited 1965 LP, mostly restoring the church experience. Not my idea
of a plus, unless the spirit moves you.B+(*)
Sun Ra and His Arkestra: To Those of Earth . . . and Other
Worlds (1956-83 [2015], Strut, 2CD): British DJ Gilles Peterson
selected and possibly mixed this selection from Ra's "immense 125
LP back catalog -- the label's second trawl through the trove after
Marshall Allen's In the Orbit of Ra. Dates are approximate:
I couldn't find half of the sources in discographies, and at least
several tracks are previously unreleased. Like Allen, Peterson leans
heavily on vocal pieces, which often come off as weird, amateurish, or
both. I guess no one wants to remember him as a big band impressario
like Benny Goodman, although he was that, too -- hard to contain, or
to sum up.B+(***)
Dale Watson: Truckin' Sessions, Vol. 3 (2014
[2015], Red River): At some point Watson decided Red Simpson and
Dave Dudley hadn't recorded enough trucking songs, so he wrote a
bunch more. The first volume appeared in 1998, a second in 2009,
and in 2014 Red River added this to the first two for a 3-CD set,
waiting a year to make this third volume available separately.B+(***)
Old Music
Michael Gibbs: Tanglewood 63 (1970, Deram):
Second album, like its predecessor a full big band plus strings --
I'm counting 32 musician credits, many names I recognize now but
would have been pretty young then. The first pieces aren't all that
striking, but "Five for England" blasts off with a Chris Spedding
guitar solo that drives the piece for 12:02.B+(*)
Michael Gibbs With Joachim Kühn: Europeana: Jazzphony No.
1 (1994 [1995], ACT): Recorded in NDR Studios with a full
orchestra (Radio Philharmonie Hannover NDR), pianist Kühn's trio,
and seven guest soloists (including Albert Mangelsdorff and Richard
Galliano).
B+(**)
Henry Kaiser: Devil in the Drain (1987, SST): After
a decade on obscure jazz labels like Metalanguage, the experimental
guitarist gets a ride with the era's definitive alt-rock label, and
makes an experimental but modestly intriguing solo guitar album. The
one exception is the title piece, where the devil lays on a guilt
trip over losing a goldfish down the drain, and gets flushed himself.B+(*)
Henry Kaiser & David Lindley: A World Out of Time, Vol.
2 (1993, Shanachie): The Americans get credit but the stars
here are Malagasy acts, some of whom went on to sell their own albums
in the West (Rossy, Tarika Sammy, D'Gary) -- an island close to Africa
geographically but not really ethnically. Nice lilt, but they sound a
bit like they're trying to appeal to a quirky guitarist and an oddball
popster.B+(*)
Negro Religious Field Recordings: From Louisiana, Mississippi,
Tennessee (1934-1942): Vol. 1 (1934-42 [1994], Document): Austin
Coleman, Washington Brown, Roy McGhee, groups like the Union Jubilee
Quartet and the Halloway High School Quartet of Murfeesboro deliver
gravel and grit, hollers and exultation. The field recordings are
every bit as dirty, which seems appropriate. Allen Lowe recommended
this and, of course, he's right.A-
Team Hegdal: Vol 1 (2009 [2010], Øra Fonogram):
Norwegian free jazz quartet with two saxes -- Eirik Hegdal (sopranino,
alto, baritone, clarinet) and André Roligheten (soprano, tenor, bass
clarinet) -- bass (Rune Nergaard) and drums (Gard Nilssen). Sharp
interplay, drags a bit in the middle, most impressive when they
really crank it up.
B+(***)
Team Hegdal: Vol 2 (2011, Øra Fonogram): Same piano-less
two-sax lineup, but with Mattias Ståhl (vibes) and Ola Kvernberg (violin,
viola, bass violin) joining the team. Strikes me as more composed, and
much fancier, which works nice at times but nothing suits them so much
as speed and daring.
B+(***)
They Might Be Giants: Long Tall Weekend (1999, Idlewild):
Originally released as download-only, a marketing stratagem that seemed
more alien at the time than now -- a concept that made it inaccessible
at the time: even though I was more Internet-savvy than most at the time,
I was stuck on the concept that purchases should be limited to objects
(come to think of it, I still am). So I missed this, despite Christgau
flagging it as the group's only A- record between 1992 (Apollo 18)
and 2008 (Here Come the 123s). Re-reading Bob's review, I wonder
whether his positing of Wichita as the polar opposite of New York as
personal (it was, after all, written the year I moved back to Wichita).B+(***)
Revised Grades
Sometimes further listening leads me to change an initial grade,
usually either because I move on to a real copy, or because someone
else's review or list makes me want to check it again:
Leonard Cohen: Can't Forget: A Souvenir of the Grand Tour
(2012-13 [2015], Columbia): Outtakes from the tours that produced Live
in Dublin, the more video-friendly sequel to the magnificent Live
in London -- left out for their relative obscurity, but I'm such a
sucker for his "golden voice" (and not-quite-angelic choir) I'm surprised
I didn't fall for this when it came out. As I recall, the problem was
technological.
[was: B+(***)] A-
Future: DS2 (2015, Epic): I caught so little of this
the first time around I wound up writing as close to a nothing review
as ever. Then it did respectably on subconscious beats, which get
sharper with each play. And while I don't approve of his junkiedom,
I find it more admirable, not to mention poignant, than the usual
gangsta mack.
[was: B+(***)] A-
Grimes: Art Angels (2015, 4AD): Now comfortably
ensconced in my EOY Aggregate top ten (number eight after a late
start and steady rise that will probably knock off Julia Holter
but not Tame Impala). Christgau and Tatum reviewed this within a
day or two of each other and disagreed (A vs. B-). I played this
almost two months ago, the week it came out (Nov. 6), and my one
spin split the difference between their grades. Another spin tells
me that I hear more of what Tatum describes (K-pop morphing into
anime porn) than what Christgau claims ("hyperfeminist individualism
for a post-rock mindset"), but find that nudging the grade up.
[was: B+(**)] A-
Additional Consumer News:
Previous grades on artists in the old music section.
