Music Week

Music: Current count 27056 [27020] rated (+36), 370 [359] unrated (+11).

PublishedStreamnotes last week, so most of the finds (4 of 5 pictured albums) are already known to you. I wrote there about catching up with the Downbeat Readers Poll albums ballot, and I've continued doing that -- only eleven more that I haven't looked up, so I'll probably finish this week, even if that means listening to Yellowjackets. Of course, that leaves 20 records I tried finding on Rhapsody (and often on Bandcamp) but failed. Of those, the ones I most miss are the HighNotes/Savants (JD Allen, Kenny Burrell, George Cables, Joey DeFrancesco, Tom Harrell, Jeremy Pelt, The Power Quintet) and Roscoe Mitchell's Celebrating Fred Anderson (Nessa). I'll publish a revised grade breakdown when I hit the bottom of the list. Needless to say, the curve has been edging down, with only the George Coleman and David Murray records (ones I picked off on the first day) joining the A-list.

I got a letter from Oliver Weinding, who runs Babel Label and the Vortex Jazz Club in London, a while back, noting he's putting on a series of showcases for Intakt artists and mentioning my review of"the Lucas Niggli album" -- that would be Kalo-Yele, which I filed under the first name, Aly Keita, a balafon player from Côte D'Ivoire. That, by the way, is still my top-rated record this year. Don't know whether this will result in me getting any physical mail, but I'll point out that Babel's catalog is pretty much all on Bandcamp, and I think their material is well represented on Napster. I've long associated the label with guitarist Billy Jenkins, who Icredit with five A- records and one full A: 1998's True Love Collection. I wanted to give you the Bandcamp link, but there doesn't seem to be one, and to top that it's out of print. Basically '60s cheese ("Mellow Yellow,""Everybody's Talking,""Feelin' Groovy,""Sunny,""Dancing in the Streets," with avant twists connecting it all together, including terrific work by Django Bates and Iain Ballamy. It's on my all-time list. Meanwhile, the Paul Dunmall record is here.

I stopped using All Music Guide this week. Recently they added some JavaScript that broke on my browser, so whenever I went to a page they printed a message about something horrible happening then looped forever. I could still see their pages on a Chromebook I keep open on the desk nearby, but they decided to escalate their anti-Ad Blocker campaign and make their site unavailable unless users either allow ads, pay them money, or something else I don't understand (seems to be some kind of scam to sell your name to other advertisers). I'm not unsympathetic to people who'd like to make some money off their hard work, and I could probably afford to pay them something as much as I use their site, but I'm also retired, have no income to speak of, make all of my web work available gratis, and have contributed numerous corrections to their site, but mostly I don't like the way this has gone down. It does, however, mean that I have less access to information -- mostly using Discogs a lot, and should find a way to better use MusicBrainz, which is more dependably free, and which I contributed to for a while -- and that's bound to hurt my reviews (main frustrations to date: verifying dates and credits).

More bad web news: I gather that Spin is shutting down its review section, starting by firing staff reviewers including Dan Weiss (check him outhere). Back when I followed webzines better, Spin had one of the more reliable and adventurous review sections anywhere, including more hip-hop than any other non-specialist source. Supposedly Spin will limp on doing news and features, but even when I bought whole copies of their print magazine I rarely read anything but reviews -- I really don't know what else they have to offer. Weiss is so knowledgeable and so prolific I expect he'll land somewhere else, but those opportunities are vanishing -- and not just because people like me are too cheap to pay for professional work ("content-providers" get squeezed from both directions).

Unpacking picked up this week with nearly everything I received actually scheduled for September or October release. But part of the reason for the uptick is that I went ahead and added six releases I received today -- I usually hold Monday's mail for the following week.

PS: Just noticed Michael Tatum has a new Downloader's Diary.

New records rated this week:

• Lucian Ban Elevation: Songs From Afar (2014 [2016], Sunnyside): [r]: B+(*)
• Black Top: #Two (2014 [2015], Babel): [bc]: B+(***)
• Brian Bromberg: Full Circle (2016, Artistry): [r]: B
• Larry Coryell: Heavy Feel (2014 [2015], Wide Hive): [r]: B+(*)
• Ian William Craig: Centres (2016, 130701): [r]: B
• Elysia Crampton: Demon City (2016, Break World, EP): [r]: B+(***)
• Kris Davis: Duopoly (2015 [2016], Pyroclastic): [cd]: B+(***)
• Paul Dunmall/Matthew Bourne/Steve Davis/Dave Kane: Mandalas in the Sky (2013 [2015], Babel): [bc]: A-
• David Gilmore: Energies of Change (2015 [2016], Evolutionary Music): [r]: B+(**)
• Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet: Family First (2015, Beat Music Productions): [r]: B+(**)
• Joel Harrison 5: Spirit House (2013 [2015], Whirlwind): [r]: B+(*)
• Gilad Hekselman: Homes (2014 [2015], Jazz Village): [r]: B+(*)
• Cory Henry: The Revival (2016, Ground Up): [r]: B-
• Hiromi: Spark (2016, Telarc): [r]: B+(*)
• Dylan Howe: Subterranean: New Designs on Bowie's Berlin (2014, Motorik): [r]: B+(**)
• Lydia Loveless: Real (2016, Bloodshot): [r]: B
• Romero Lubambo: Setembro: A Brazilian Under the Jazz Influence (2015, Sunnyside): [r]: B+(*)
• Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord: Make the Changes (2016, Hot Cup, EP): [cdr]: A-
• Tom McCormick: South Beat (2016, Manatee): [cd]: B+(*)
• Pat Metheny: The Unity Sessions (2014 [2016], Nonesuch, 2CD): [r]: B
• Northern Winds and Voices: Inside/Outside (Sisällä/Ulkona) (2016, Edgetone): [cd]: B+(*)
• Lina Nyberg: Aerials (2016, Hoob Jazz, 2CD): [r]: B+(**)
• Ralph Peterson/Zaccai Curtis/Luques Curtis: Triangular III (2016, Truth Revolution/Onyx Music): [r]: B+(**)
• Enrico Pieranunzi: Proximity (2013 [2015], CAM Jazz): [r]: B+(**)
• Enrico Pieranunzi with Simona Severini: My Songbook (2014 [2016], Via Veneto): [r]: B+(*)
• John Pizzarelli: Midnight McCartney (2015, Concord): [r]: B
• Gregory Porter: Take Me to the Alley (2016, Blue Note): [r]: B-
• Herlin Riley: New Direction (2016, Mack Avenue): [r]: B+(*)
• Jamison Ross: Jamison (2015, Concord): [r]: B
• Luciana Souza: Speaking in Tongues (2015, Sunnyside): [r]: B
• Marcus Strickland's Twi-Life: Nihil Novi (2016, Blue Note): [r]: B-
• Marlene VerPlanck: The Mood I'm In (2015, Audiophile): [r]: B+(***)
• Cuong Vu/Pat Metheny: Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny (2016, Nonesuch): [r]: B+(*)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries rated this week:

• Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984 (1975-84 [2016], Cherry Red, 4CD): [r]: B+(*)
• Shirley Horn: Live at the 4 Queens (1988 [2016], Resonance): [cd]: A-
• Joi: Joi Sound System (1999-2007 [2015], RealWorld, 2CD): [r]: A-
• Senegambia Rebel (2016, Voodoo Rebel): [dl]: A-
• Sunburst: Ave Africa: The Complete Recordings 1973-1976 (1973-76 [2016], Strut, 2CD): [r]: B+(*)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Shirantha Beddage: Momentum (Factor): September 9
• Ron Carter Quartet & Vitoria Maldonado: Brasil L.I.K.E. (Summit)
• The Roger Chong Quartet: Funkalicious (self-released)
• Lajos Dudas Quartet: Brückenschlag (Jazz Sick)
• Shirley Horn: Live at the 4 Queens (1988, Resonance): September 16
• Franklin Kiermyer: Closer to the Sun (Mobility Music)
• Cameron Mizell: Negative Spaces (Destiny): October 7
• The Phil Norman Tentet: Then & Now: Classic Sounds & Variations of 12 Jazz Legends (Summit)
• Ray Obiedo: Latin Jazz Project Vol. 1 (Rhythmus): October 7
• Oddsong: Jailhouse Doc With Holes in Her Socks (JCA): September 30
• Opaluna: Opaluna (Ridgeway)
• Little Johnny Rivero: Music in Me (Truth Revolution): September 29
• Dave Stryker: Eight Track II (Strikezone): September 2
• The U.S. Army Blues: Swamp Romp: Voodoo Boogaloo (self-released)