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).

Dagsavisen's (Norw.) Critics Poll

Missed the announcement of the results of the Norwegian Critics Poll last week. The list was topped by Frank Ocean's channel Orange. No surprises there. My ballot was as follows:

Albums:

1. Steve Lehman Trio: Dialect Flourescent (Pi Recordings)
2. Todd Snider: Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables (Aimless)
3. Loudon Wainwrigh IIIt: Older Than My Old Man Now (2nd Story Sound)
4. Grass Roots (Sean Conley, Alex Harding, Darius Jones & Chad Taylor): Grass Roots (AUM Fidelity)
5. The Mountain Goats: Transcendental Youth (Merge)
6. Tom Zé: Tropicália Lixo Lógico (Passrinho)
7. Vijay Iyer Trio: Accelerando (ACT)
8. Miguel: Kaleidoscope Dream (RCA)
9. Carolyn Mark: The Queen of Vancouver Island (Mint)
10. Ab-Soul: Control System (ToP Dawg Entertainment)

Songs:

1. Todd Snider: "New York Banker" (Aimless)
2. Miguel: "Adorn" (RCA)
3. Frank Ocean: "Pyramids" (Def Jam)
4. Japandroids: "Adrenaline Nightshift" (Polyvinyl Record Co.)
5. Usher: "Climax" (RCA)
6. Sweden: "Hey C'Mon" (Vestkyst)
7. Taylor Swift: "State Of Grace" (Big Machine)
8. Kacey Musgraves: "Merry Go 'Round" (Mercury)
9. Allo Darlin': "Tallulah" (Slumberland)
10. Pussy Riot: "Putin Lights Up The Fires" (selvutgitt/internett)

Comments: voting for jazz records in this poll is a futile exercise, so I left out all bar three: the ones that were just too damn good to omit. As for the rest, well, only Miguel and Loudon Wainwright III out of my top 10 made the final top 40, 'though I could conceivably see myself voting for three or four of the others on any other day (Ocean, Kendrick Lamar, Saint Etienne and Cloud Nothings). Make of that what you want. 

Additional comment: Tame Impala. The key word is "tame".

2012 pre-poll record round-up (Listening-booth extra)

I'm throwing these notes and grades out there ahead of the poll deadlines.

• Grass Roots (Sean Conly, Alex Harding, Darius Jones & Chad Taylor): Grass Roots (AUM Fidelity) - [Reviewed in Klassekampen, Nov. 19th, 2012: 5,5 stars out of 6] 8

• Titus Andronicus: Local Business (XL Recordings) - [Reviewed for Klassekampen Oct. 22nd, 2012: 4,5 stars out of 6] 7

• Ceremony: Zoo (Matador) - If there is one thing I've learned over the years of following punk and hard core, it's that "hard core" hard core fans tend to be an annoyingly retrograde bunch. The smart HC/punk bands know this, too, just ask Ian McKaye or Mike Watt. So when the latest Ceremony, formely of hard core powerhouse Bridge Nine, received fairly mixed reception seemingly on the grounds that they had abandoned their roots, I shrugged. Me, I find that their new garage leaning, slightly off-kilter, stop-start punk approach coupled with a newfound penchant for writing, y'know, hooks haven't softened their message one bit, but rather given their music focus and purpose. 7

• Ravi Coltrane: Spirit Fiction (Blue Note) - Ask me not why it took me so long to get to this, although I must admit to not having been fully convinced by Ravi Coltrane's previous efforts. But the band here – Ravi Coltrane on saxophones, Luis Perdomo on piano, Drew Gress on bass – E.J. Strickland on drums – serves up some free-as-in loose, mostly flitting and airy tunes, some of them very short, with their interweaving improvised melodic lines that make for a very compelling and rewarding listen. About as soothing as modern jazz can get, without disappearing into the background, 'though "Check Out Time" also provides some oopmh. 7

•  Gavlyn: From the Art (Broken Complex) - Tough, sassy, quick witted, articulate (you bet that counts) and with an assured flow that blows most of her male collegues out of the water. The backdrop heavily sampled and funky, like a loving homage to 90's era Stones Throw ("What I Do", "Staring Problem", "Why Don't You Do Right") 7

• Jasmine Lovell-Smith's Towering Poppies: Fortune Songs (Paintbox Records) - Quintet led by New Zealand born, New York based soprano saxophonist Jasmine Lovell-Smith, currently studying music at Wesleyan University. I've seen chamber jazz applied, but to me this is less arranged, yet still 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. 8

• Sonic Avenues: Televison Youth (Dirtnap) - These Montreal, QS, pop-punks lovingly recreate the 70's British forefathers, even down to the accent, with a splash of 60's garage rock. Hardly revolutionary, but at times quite catchy ("Givin' Up On You" "Television Youth"). 7

• Cities Aviv: Black Pleasure (Mishka) - Barely audible half rap, half spoken words over stark synths. Interesting sounds, but few themes, no hooks, no stories of interest. Not much of anything here, really. Apart from sounds. 6

• Clinic: Free Reign (Domino) - 6

• Henry Cole & The Afrobeat Collective: Roots Before Branches (self-released) - 7

• Donald Fagen: Sunken Condos (Reprise) - 7

R.I.P. Dave Brubeck

The iconic jazz pianist Dave Brubeck has passed away, aged 91. Far better obits than I can whip up on the fly are already available elsewhere on the web, for example on BBC here or even better, Ben Ratliff's obit for the NY Times. I will say this, though: Time Out and "Take Five" are monumental, but Brubeck had much more to offer than that.