Listening Booth: reviewed albums w/ grades, January to March, 2013

Haven't posted notes with any regularity of late, to put it mildly. I'm hoping to rectify that over the coming weeks. The below are albums and EPs that I've reviewed in 2013 up until this week for Musikkmagasinet in Klassekampen, coupled with their original published grades plus my "translated" grades for my 1-10 system.

• Yo La Tengo: Fade (Matador) - 8 (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, Jan. 7., 2013: 5 out of 6)

• Burial: Truant/Rough Sleeper EP (Hyperdub) - 7 (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, Jan. 14., 2013: 4,5 out of 6)

• Charles Mingus: The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65 (Mosaic) - 9 (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, Jan. 21. 2013: not graded)  

• Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Slippery Rock (HotCup Records) - 8 (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, Jan. 28., 2013: 5 out of 6)

• Parquet Courts: Light Up Gold (What's Your Rupture?) - 8 (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, Jan. 28., 2013: 5,5 out of 6)*

• My Bloody Valentine: mbv (self-released) - 7 (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, Feb. 11., 2013: 5 out of 6)*

• Foxygen: We Are the 21st Century Ambassodors of Peace & Magic - 6 (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, Feb. 11., 2013: 4,5 out of 6)*

• Miles Davis Quintet: Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 (Columbia) - 8 (Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet/Klassekampen, Feb. 25., 2013: not graded)
   
• Kris Davis: Capricorn Climber (Clean Feed) - 7 (Reviewed for Musikkmagasint/Klassekampen, Mar. 18., 2013: 4,5 out of 6)

* Dodged a notch for the PS scale.

Treasure: Griot Galaxy "Androgyny" - live in 1984

Music history is filled with artists and recordings that remain rare or obscure to us for a myriad of reasons. Jazz arguably more so than other genres. Some may have been projects, one offs or long standing, that for whatever reasons never officially recorded (the Henry Threadgill Society Situation Dance Band is a famous example). Others may be bands and artists that may have recorded their music, but did so for small and independent labels that eventually (and perhaps inevitably) folded and that time forgot. Even in this day and age of crate digging, specialists re-issue labels and the like, not everything gets picked up, and as such many a recording has faded into obscurity.

Griot Galaxy belong to the latter category, 'though given the length of their existence and the extent of their touring, one might argue they somehow fit in the former as well. Formed in Detroit, Michigan, sometime around 1972 by saxophonist and poet Faruq Z. Bey, who sadly passed away last year, Griot Galaxy only recorded one proper album: the fabulously weird, free, sci-fi jazz-funk of Kins, released by Black & White Records in 1982.

Griot Galaxy consisted of Bey, saxophonist Anthony Holland, bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Tani Tabbal. Other musicians have also been part of the group, among them percussionist Panda O'Bryan, who appears on the live album Opus Krampus, recorded while the band was on tour in Europe in 1984, and notably saxophonist David McMurray, who played on both Kins and GG's other live recording, Live at the D.I.A.. Their music had elements of rambunctious free jazz and propulsive funk, perhaps reminiscent of some of Ornette Coleman's harmolodic bands, as well as a hint of The Art Ensemble of Chicago, not least in their expressive and eye catching imagery.

 GG disbanded in 1989 some time after Faruq Z. Bey had been seriously injured in a motorbike accident. From what I can find, Anthony Holland seems to have done little in terms of music since then. On the other hand, David McMurray have played with everyone from Was (Not Was), Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop and Khaled, while Tani Tabbal and Jaribu Shahid have remained more closely involved in jazz. The both appear on some of James Carter's early recordings, for example, and they have both played with David Murray at various times. In fact, I was lucky enough to see Shahid play with Murray's Black Saint Quartet at Molde Jazz Festival in 2008, though at the time I was not aware that the bassist I was seeing and hearing was the very same that had played on Kins.

This leads me to this amazing recent discovery on YouTube: a live video, no less, of Griot Galaxy playing a tune called "Androgeny", recorded in 1984 at St. Andrews Hall for the Metro Times Music Awards. The picture is good, and the sound is surprisingly good, too. On this evidence, they must have been some live band in their day. (From left: Anthony Holland, David McMurray, Faruq Z. Bey, Tani Tabbal and Jaribu Shahid).

 

Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris Feb. 10 1947 - Ja. 29 2013

I received the sad news late last night that cornetist, arranger and "conductionist" Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris passed away only 65 years old, succumbing to cancer which he was diagnosed with last year. A fiercely original musician, he had worked closely with saxophonists Frank Lowe during the 70s, and David Murray for much of the 80s and early 90s some of it along with Butch's brother, Wilber, on bass.

"Butch" Morris developed a way for large ensembles to play improvised music using what he called conducted improvisation, or conduction for short. The resulting music straddled and blurred the lines between avant garde jazz and new music. The 1985 album Current Trends in Racism in Modern America was the first recorded example of Morris' conduction.

Ben Ratliff has written a fine obituary for "Butch" Morris in the New York Times.

Here's a lovingly put together video example of Morris' music, "The Composition of Conduction".

R.I.P.

The 2012 Jazz Critics' Poll

The now Rhapsody hosted Jazz Critics' Poll results for 2012 were announced yesterday. My ballot can be found here (scroll down. More comments regarding my fave jazz albums of the year here, posted on these pages just before Christmas). Album of the year was won, not surprisingly, by Vijay Iyer Trio's offering Accelerando, while reissue of the year went to the Charles Mingus box set The Jazz Workshop Concerts 1964-65 on Mosaic.

I'll echo Tom Hull's comments regarding these reissues, 'though. I voted for the Mingus set, but were lucky to get a copy in the first place. Regular albums, even if you don't get copies from the record companies or their PR agents, are usually cheap enough or accessible via streaming services, meaning you'll be able to check out a whole lot of albums if you have the time and/or inclination to do so. Box sets, especially of the limited edition sets in the mold of the lovely Mosaic sets, are a different issue. I would in normal circumstances not be receiving one from Mosaic, as I'm not on their mailing list. And these sets are usually too expensive to buy. In this instance, I had to skip the Coleman Hawkins set, also on Mosaic, and hence I couldn't vote for it, even if I'm almost certain the music on there would more than deserved a place on my ballot too. I don't know how many voters got or bought both box sets, I'm guessing not too many, so it seems to me the reissue list is probably less reflective of the critical consensus than the regular album list.

Still, the main list in particular makes for an interesting read. My biggest disappointment is that my number two album of 2012, Grass Roots (AUM Fidelity), didn't make the top 50.

Tom Hull reassess some Charlie Parker

"Christgau went on to write one of the best Parker lines ever: "No one else has ever articulated so many ear-boggling, mind-exploding, stomach-churning, rib-tickling musical ideas so easily -- so brilliantly -- so insouciantly -- so passionately -- so fast." Were it only true: the clue is "no one else" because Christgau has shown virtually no interest in any of Parker's contemporaries (aside from Thelonious Monk, who easily bests Parker on at least half of those counts -- it's worth recalling that Monk wrote music no one could play, whereas in rapid course everyone was aping Parker)."

Wholeheartedly agree. Also worth noting, his notes on the splendid The Group Live disc out on NoBusiness Records.

More Pre- and post-poll catch-ups

Only made notes of any substance for two of these, but I'm throwing the full results of the past few weeks listening sessions up nevertheless.

• METZ: METZ (Sub Pop) - Abrasive but also punchy and energetic, their screechy riffs propelled by some impressive drumming, with a touch of rock'n'roll boogie to their charge. As a whole, the album lacks something in terms of dynamism and range – why not give the bassist some, for example. Still, despite discernible influences – or at least "sound-a-likes" – such as Touch & Go groups like the Jesus Lizard, METZ don't sound like much else these days. At least for me, they are providing some much missed edgy, sharp and precise aggression as sound. 7
• Kathleen Edwards: Voyageur (MapleMusic Recordings/Zoë Records) - Edwards' sweet, breathy voice provide wistfulness to the gently soaring and/or shuffling Americana of the mid-tempo tunes, but melancholy drags down the slower ones. I much prefer the former, but they are sadly in the minority here. ("Empty Threat", "Mint") 6

• Hugo Carvalhais Trio 2: Particula (Clean Feed) - 7
• Future: Pluto (Epic) - 7
• John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen: Den eneste veien ut (EMI) - 7
• Eivind Opsvik: Overseas IV (Loyal Label) - 7
• Resonance Ensemble: What Country Is This (Not Two) - 7
• Saint Etienne: Words and Music by Saint Etienne (Heavenly) - 8
• Serengeti: C.A.R. (Anticon) - 8
• Serengeti: Kenny Dennis EP (Anticon) - 7
• Solange: True EP (Terrible Records) - 6
• THEESatisfaction: awE naturalE (Sub Pop) - 7
• David Virelles: Continuum (Pi Recordings) - 7
• White Lung: Sorry (Deranged) - 7

Favorite jazz of 2012

I handed Francis Davis my ballot for the 7th annual Jazz Critics Poll a few weeks ago, and since then several publications and writers have offered their best-of-the-year's, top 10s and so forth. I had initially considered not posting mine until after the poll results had been announced, but after going over several other top 10's/faves/etc., I had second thoughts. Some of the below (not many) already look like safe bets to place high on the poll, based on the lists I've seen. Others have (sadly) not featured as prominently elsewhere:

New albums:

• Steve Lehman Trio: Dialect Fluorescent (Pi Recordings) - Lehman looked back to some of his (post-) bop heroes, and fused their legacy with his own futuristic ideas of jazz for Dialect Fluorescent. Rhythmically complex yet groovy and propulsive, with Lehman himself weaving in and around his compatriots, Matt Brewer and Damion Reid, sometimes lightly and quietly, at other times in impressive and exhilaration leaps and hurdles. Bop for the 21st century. (Reviewed for Klassekampen, Dec. 24th, 2012)

• Grass Roots (Sean Conley, Alex Harding, Darius Jones & Chad Taylor): Grass Roots (AUM Fidelity) - Rough blues and syrupy, acoustic funk grooves combined with soulful avant-garde. The dual attack of Jones' alto sax and Harding's baritone sax over or in conjuncture with Conley and Taylor's rock solid base, make for some of the most boisterous, hearty and compelling jazz of the year. (Reviewed for Klassekampen, Nov. 19th, 2012)

• Vijay Iyer Trio: Accelerando (ACT) - Rhythms were central to Accelerando as well, and by a trio which is growing ever more assured in its interplay. Iyer has long had a percussive bend to his playing (listen to the heavy bass notes he slams down on the bassist-less Fieldwork recordings, for example), yet some of his most recent efforts have leaned towards a more melodic and lyrical side, notably on last year's solo album. Here, these approaches are combined to great effect, be it through covers - the tricky Henry Threadgill number "Little Pocket Demons" and a rewarding version of Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" - as well as in invigorating originals.

• Ben Allison, Michael Blake & Rudy Royston: Union Square (Abeat Records) - After a few records of rock tinged modern jazz, Allison returned with a slightly more traditional trio record full of gently grooving (that bass riff on "No Other Side" is the sound equivalent of a boat being rocked by waves) yet becomingly edgy jazz.

• Mike Reed's People, Places & Things: Clean On the Corner (482 Music) - Reed's efforts to channel forgotten Chicago post-war jazz into our time has perhaps never been as successful as on this year's Clean On the Corner. Rollicking, hard hitting, yet also melodic, mellow and bluesy.

• Charles Gayle Trio: Streets (Northern Spy) - 2012 saw Gayle return to the sax, bass and drum format that helped make his name in avant-garde circles in the late 80s and early 90s. While not quite the doggedly headlong venture of old, the sparser tunes on Streets, with their herky-jerky rhythms provided by seasoned bassist Larry Roland and drummer Michael TA Thompson, showcase Gayle in a wittier mood than usual, while maintaining his gruff and spiritual edge (longer notes here).

• Devin Gray, Dave Ballou, Ellery Eskelin & Maichael Formanek: Dirigo Rataplan (Skirl) - The playful improvisation and skittish rhythms on this album come at you like spontaneous and excitable burst of sound, intricate yet it never feels hectic nor crowded.

• William Parker Orchestra with special guest Kidd Jordan: Essence of Ellington (Centering) - A big band full of avant-garde luminaries as well as a host of younger talents channel Ellington, sometimes in quotes, at other times by "feel", through Parker's vision of a modern big band. With Parker at the helm, no stranger to larger ensembles, you know there will be some rollicking music coming at you. 

• Jasmine Lovell-Smith's Towering Poppies: Fortune Songs (Paintbox Records) - A gorgeous collection of subtle, loose knit, sweet with just a pinch of sour, lyricism. Nothing is rushed, here, and it's all the more rewarding for it

• FLY: Year of the Snake (ECM) - The third album from saxophonist Mark Turner, drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier, and also their best. All three quick of mind and swift of hand, the trio whip up some bouncy yet forceful tunes that at times are more than a little reminiscent of early 80's Air.

• Rich Halley 4: Back From Beyond (Pine Eagle Records)
• Henry Threadgill Zooid: Tomorrow Snny/The Revelry, Spp (Pi Recordings)
• Jason Robinson: Tiresian Symmetry (Cuniform)
• Mary Halvorson Quintet: Bending Bridges (Firehouse 12)
• Eric Revis 11:11 (Eric Revis, Jason Moran, Ken Vandermark & Nasheet Waits): Parallax (Clean Feed)
• Darius Jones Quartet: Book of Mæ'bul (Another Kind of Sunrise) (AUM Fidelity)
• Hugo Carvalhais: Particula (Clean Feed)
• David Virelles: Continuum (Pi Recordings)
• Ravi Coltrane: Spirit Fiction (Blue Note)
• Tim Berne: Snakeoil (ECM)
• Branford Marsalis Quartet: Four MF's Playin' Tunes (Marsalis Music)
• Jim Black Trio: Somatic (Winter & Winter)
• Wadada Leo Smith: Ten Freedom Summers (Cuneifrom Records)
• The Bad Plus: Made Possible (Entertainment One Music)
• Neneh Cherry & The Thing: The Cherry Thing (Smalltown Supersound)
• Elliott Sharp: Aggregat (Clean Feed)
• Hairy Bones: Snakelust (Clean Feed)
• Henry Cole & The Afrobeat Collective: Roots Befroe Branches (self released)
• Matt Wilson's Arts & Crafts: An Attitude for Gratitude (Palmetto Records)
• Pixel: Reminder (Cuneiform)

EDIT: These deserve a mention, too: The Thing & Barry Guy: Metal (NoBusiness), Eivind Opsvik: Overseas IV (Loyal Label), Resonance Ensemble: What Country Is This (Not Two) 

(William Hooker Quintet's Channels of Consciousness (No Business) sounds very promising, but arrived to late to be considered for the list).

Archive/reissues:

• Charles Mingus: The Workshop Concerts 1964-64 (Mosaic) 
• William Parker: Centering: Unreleased Early Recordings (NoBusiness) 
• Jimmy Lyons & Sunny Murray Trio: Jump Up (Hat Ology)
• Cecil Taylor: The Complete Nat Hentoff Sessions (Ais)
• Juma Sultan's Aboriginal Music Society: Whispers From the Archive (1970-78, Porter)

(Never got around to Coleman Hawkins Mosaic set, couldn't afford it, but I'm sure it would be in contention. EDIT: I also missed the Wilbur Ware Super Bass album, which sees the release of a "lost" 1969, and great, session, and what wold have been only Ware's second album as a leader).