Music: Current count 21466 [21440] rated (+26), 630 [629] unrated (+1). Average music week. Spent a lot of time with Carrier and Rempis, which in the end made a difference -- a break I don't cut everyone, but then not everyone has earned it.
Memorial Day today. Reading through the paper I'm deluged with pieces on dead soldiers. Boeing runs a full-page ad with a flag at half-staff and a list of iconic battles, starting with Normandy and Midway (in the wrong chronological order) and ending with Fallujah, the Iraq city Bush had destroyed in a fit of pique (postponed until after the election when he was beyond embarrassment). The editorial page advised us to check out Veterans Park down on Veterans Way, home of 17 war memorials (with more built nearly every year -- there was another article proposing a new one to honor Indian soldiers). Just once I wish someone would applaud real American heroes, like the Mennonites and Quakers, and for that matter God-ignoring socialists, who opposed all those wars. The Boeing ad listed Khe San, but a more poignant reminder of the Vietnam War would have been Kent State.
Updated the Jazz Prospectingarchive forMay. Monthly Jazz Prospecting totals for the last four months are { 52, 55, 55, 53 }. Those are all close to average months, but it is rare to string them together so consistently: in 2012 I varied from 29 to 90 per month, and only did 33 in January 2013. The average for 16 months is 51.375 (total 822). At some point I want to add the Rhapsody albums into the archive -- I have more than 10 jazz albums in this month's Rhapsody Streamnotes file. That will run later this week, along with A Downloader's Diary.
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Black Host: Life in the Sugar Candle Mines (2013, Northern Spy): Drummer Gerald Cleaver gets first listing on the cover, has all the song credits except one joint improv and one piece by Bartok. The other names are draws: Darius Jones (alto sax), Cooper-Moore (piano, synth), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), and Pascal Niggenkemper (bass). Jones is a powerhouse who likes to get plug ugly (as on his Little Women albums) yet can make something sublime out of the chaos (see his own albums, although I still can't vouch for Book of Mae'bul), although the most striking solos are the guitarist's.B+(***)
Will Calhoun: Life in This World (2012 [2013], Motéma): Drummer, best known for playing in the rock/metal group Living Colour, although he's been gravitating toward jazz for a while now. Big group here, including Donald Harrison (sax), Wallace Roney (trumpet), Marc Cary (piano), Ron Carter and Charmett Moffett (bass), and some Africans (best known is Cheick Tidiane Seck). Four Calhoun originals, plus some pieces from the band, plus Monk, Coltrane, Shorter, Cole Porter, etc. Runs a bit light and slick. B
François Carrier/Michel Lambert/John Edwards/Steve Beresford: Overground to the Vortex (2011 [2013], Not Two): Alto sax, drums, bass, piano; Carrier and Lambert from Montreal, have played together regularly since the 1990s; the others from England, where this was recorded. Four long pieces, group credits (although Beresford is only listed on the last two -- no credits given, but the latter half is where the piano is most evident). Carrier is superb, as usual: always searching, often finding.A-
Hamilton de Holanda & André Mehmari: Gismonti Pascoal: The Music of Egberto and Hermeto (2009-10 [2013], Adventure Music): Brazilians, 10-string mandolin and piano, respectively -- De Holanda has a substantial discography, but this is the first I've seen from Mehmari -- playing Brazilian legends, guitarist Egberto Gismonti and pop star Hermeto Pascoal, who each make a cameo (the latter on Fender Rhodes). The piano dominates, and takes some chances.B+(**)
Martin Lozano Lewis Wiens Duncan: At Canterbury (2012 [2013], Barnyard): Toronto group, playing, by the way, at Canterbury Music Company in Toronto: Jean Martin (drums), Frank Lozano (tenor and soprano sax), Jim Lewis (trumpet, flugelhorn), Rainer Wiens (guitar, mbira), Christine Duncan (voice, theremin). Joint improv, mostly set out in subdued tones and speed, an invitation to focus on subtleties, which are not without interest.B+(*)
Christian McBride & Inside Straight: People Music (2013, Mack Avenue): Bassist, mainstream guy with 14 albums since 1994 making him one of the best-known players around. Splits piano-drums duties, adding Steve Wilson (alto sax, one cut soprano) and Warren Wolf (vibes). Wolf, Wilson, and the two pianist contribute half of the songs (4 of 8), the rest McBride. Wilson plays a light, airy sax, and the vibes are all froth on top of the bassist's trademark swing.B+(**)
Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer/Helge Lien: Memnon (2012 [2013], Ozella): Subtitled "Sound Portrait of Ibsen Characters, done sparsely with an arch-soprano voice and piano accompaniment. Dark and moody, of course -- an evident labor of love, just one with little appeal to me, though better when the piano breaks free, or when the voice sinks deep into the murk.B
The Rempis Percussion Quartet: Phalanx (2012 [2013], Aerophonic, 2CD): Dave Rempis, first appeared in the Vandermark 5 on alto sax but is equally adept at tenor and soprano; one of the most impressive saxophonists to appear in the last decade. His main vehicle over the past five years has been this quartet, with two drummers (Frank Rosaly and Tim Daisy) and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten. I've only heard the previous records on Rhapsody or Bandcamp -- Flaten has a tremendous selection of his work on the latter -- and the one-two play regimen has invariably left them just shy of my A-lists, which is where this live double -- 53 minutes in Milwaukee and 75 in Antwerp -- started. Repeated play pushed it over the line, smoothing over the rough spots, easing me down during the lulls, certain that something exciting is just around the corner. A-
Cécile McLorin Salvant: WomanChild (2012 [2013], Mack Avenue): Singer, b. in Miami, mother French, father Haitian; first album, wrote 2.5 (of 12) songs; some common standards, more obscure, one in French, other outliers include "Jitterbug Waltz" and "John Henry." Backed by piano (Aaron Diehl), guitar/banjo (James Chirillo), bass (Rodney Whitaker), and drums (Herlin Riley).B+(*)
Wheelhouse: Boss of the Plains (2010 [2013], Aerophonic): Chicago trio: Dave Rempis (alto/baritone sax), Jason Adasiewicz (vibes), Nate McBride (bass). Avant, of course, but not especially fast or noisy, the bass a steadying influence, the bari sax meant to be moody.B+(***)
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
- Offiong Bassey (Moonlit Media Group)
- Beat Funktion: Moon Town (DO Music)
- Andy Bey: The World According to Andy Bey (High Note)
- Von Freeman: The Great Divide (2004, Premonition, LP)
- The Harris Group: Errands (self-released)
- John O'Gallagher: The Anton Webern Project (Whirlwind)
- Preservation Hall Jazz Band: That's It! (Legacy): advance, July 9
- RJ & the Assignment: The Stroke of Midnight (self-released)
- Mary Stallings: But Beautiful (High Note)
- Jeff Williams: The Listener (Whirlwind)
By the way, the Von Freeman LP is a record I rated A- when it originally came out.