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Updates coming during the week. 'til then:

Criticism, Bill Eaton, Alex Chilton, Glenn Kelly and me

"(...) a post-gig hangout with Chilton in the late '70s during which Supertramp's hit "The Logical Song" comes on the jukebox. Eaton is all ready to sneer at the thing when he sees Chilton bobbing his head to it. Once he gets over his initial shock and confusion, he processes his problem as, well, everybody else's problem. "[R]ock snobbery is an exercise in aural flagellation--a way to punish yourself because girls ignored you back in high school."

(...) a lot of people look at the critical impulse, and the work that it sometimes produces, as some kind of attempt to kill their buzz. And, beyond that, to force-feed them stuff that they don't like. It never occurs to Bill Eaton that the fact that he needed Alex Chilton to approve of a Supertramp song before he could do likewise actually says more about Eaton's own insecurities than anything else, as far as I'm concerned."

Glenn Kelly takes on Bill Eaton in Snobbery, Projection, Resentment

Agree with mr. Kelly here. Try to view criticism as a step in a disourse, with arguments - some may be good and some may be bad, some convincing while others less so - to make ones case. You may agree, wholly or not, to the arguments and the conclusion, or disagree by joining in on the discourse, whether in writing or more usually in your own head or in conversation with friends, but by golly, don't blame the critics because you haven't been able to make up your own mind.

Soon...

... I promise.

Music of the Week 11/10

I'm planning a change to this. Updates have been infrequent at best. Something along the veins of Tom Hull's jazz prospecting and Rhapsody Notes may be a good option: I could write down a few lines on any bunch of music, good or bad, I hear during a week. Not reviews as much as just jot down some impressions and thoughts, maybe even tentative grades. Updates would need to be on a specific week day, though. I'll see what I'm able to come up with. For now, quite possibly the last Music of the Week.

• Titus Andronicus: "A More Perfect Union" (from The Monitor, XL Recordings)
• Tomboyfriend: "Almost/Always"
• The Great Plains: Lenght of the Growth 1981-89 (Old 3c Records - lovely rediscovery!)
• Little Women: "Thoat 1" (AUM Fidelity)
• Steve Swell's Slammin' the Infinate: 5000 Poems (Not Two Records)
  

R.I.P. Alex Chilton

Had planned a post on Chopin, but just got the news that Mr. Chilton passed away yesterday. Too sad. Thanks for the music. More from The Commercial Appeal.

Happy birthday Ornette!

The great man turns 80 today. The good people at WKCR will celebrate the day with a special Birthday Broadcast dedicated to the man and his music. Go listen!

FAN and jazz-links

FAN #11 will be out tomorrow, so I have now posted my article on Mostly Other People Do the Killing, written for the previous edition, on the Norwegian section of Perfect Sounds.

Chicago drummer Mike Reed, whose last few records I have liked a lot, talked to Jason Crane on the frequently enjoyable Jazz Session podcast at the end of January. Mr. Reed is in the middle of a three album project inspired by Chicago's considerable, but underrecognized, hard bop-and-beyond jazz music. Around the same time, WFIU did a show on that very topic, discussing and playing the music of some of the unsung heroes of Chicago hard bop. You can listen to the program here.

Belated by:Larm reports

The Nordic mini-version of South by SW that is by:Larm went ahead and finished just over a week ago, and just like last year I watched some gigs and did some writing. If you're interested, the paper I wrote for can be downloaded here. I only had entries for the Friday and Saturday editions, and the gigs I reviewed were Massely, Pow Pow, and Supersilent for the Friday edition, and Anna von Hausswolf, plus Kira Kira as well as Kråkesølv at the Stereogum stage for the Saturday edition.

Didn't get to see much, though, so I really can't comment on the hypes. My pick of the ones I did get around to see would be Masselys, whose electronically seasoned no wave funk caught me off guard. In a good way. Here's a taste, a song called "Better and Better", albeit not my favorite of theirs.

Music of the Week 6/10

One pretty decent song off a not-so-great album by a returning funky spoken word hero, a chirpy one from Hot Chip, a joyous piece of garage pop by a re-named band, a new monster of a tune by a power jazz group, and a re-discovered (at least for me) recording by a "super group" (via Destination-Out!)

• Gil Scott-Heron: "I'm New Here" (XL)
• Hot Chip: "Brothers" (Astralwerks)
• The Soft Pack: "C'mon" (Heavenly/Kemado)
• Fight the Big Bull: "Mothra" (Clean Feed)
• New York Contemporary Five: Consequences (Fontana)
  

Coming back ...soon + Lavelle on Davis on the New Thing

I don't intend to use this blog on a too personal level outside the spheres of music consumption and the like, but I have had a few very busy weeks, hence the lack of updates. As things calm down, posting will resume.

Meanwhile, I stumbled across a post by jazz trumpet player Matt Lavelle on the Brilliant Corners blog, discussing the grumpy side of Miles Davis and his problems with "the new thing". Go read!

Jerome David Salinger, 1919-2010. R.I.P.

He was getting old, it was bound to happen at one time or another. Still, I was very sad to learn that J.D. Salinger has passed away. A fine tribute over at NYTimes.

Favorite Jazz of 2009

I've put off posting my 2009 jazz list for long enough. Pazz & Jop came up the other week, and most other lists were done even before then. I had a plan to revisit records that placed high on some of those lists, and got through a few. For the most part, I stand by my initial opinions, which I dare say I nearly allways do. A few I didn't get too, others have been slightly upgraded or down graded, albeit not by much. I also thought about writing a few words about every album here, but in the end figured there's really no need (only a few of the lists at Jazz House have comments, so I guess I'm home free). Anyway, here goes:


A few months back, 2009 looked like it was going to be a good year for larger ensembles, with interesting records by the Steve Lehman Octet and Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, and later on records by Wadada Leo Smith and Graham Collier, among others. Then a flurry of sax/bass/drum-trio records tickled my fancy, notably Fully Celebrated, J.D. Allen Trio, Marcus Strickland and later on FLY. Add to those the less traditional trio set-ups of Darius Jones Trio and Digital Primitives, as well as the Matthew Shipp, Vijay Iyer and Tyshawn Sorey records, and jazz trios certainly made their mark on Perfect Sounds in 2009. A very welcomed and strong comeback by Henry Threadgill and his Zooid and a new incarnation of David S. Ware's Quartet (guitar replacing piano) saw old(-er) masters plow new ground.

My favorite jazz (and overall) record of 2009 is Darius Jones Trio's Man'ish Boy (a Raw & Beautiful Thing), with Darius Jones on alto saxophone, Cooper-Moore on the bass-like diddley-bo and piano, and Rakalam Bob Moses on drums. Raw and beautiful are certainly fitting words to describe the music on Man'ish Boy. The melodies are often rough-hewn and blues-like, and Darius Jones' ability to switch from teeth grinding grit, as on the epic 'Trane-crashes-into-Ayler "Chasing the Ghost", to the subtle and almost carfully quiet, as on the painfully lovely "Forgive Me", makes him a stand out saxophonist in today's jazz.

That said, Cooper-Moore is all over Man'Ish Boy. He is no stranger to the raw and beautiful himself. Often playing, as he does on several tracks here, the diddley-bo (or bow, if you will), an ancient instrument that functions more or less as a bass. It sounds at times like a slapped upright, at other times like a talking drum. His piano playing is assured and can sound jagged, almost Monk-like at times. Especially note the rough blues walk on the noir-like "Cry Out". His lovely Satie-like playing on "Forgive Me" demonstrates his range as a pianist as well.

Listening to Man'ish Boy from start to finish can give the impression of a journey of some kind: the get-up call of "Roosevelt", the confident and playful stride of "Cry Out", the harrowing ride of "Chasing the Train", and the thoughtful and beautiful "Forgive Me" at the end (that is, barring the bonus cut "Chaych" with the equally talented bassist/composer Adam Lane, as well as Jason Nazary on drums). Man'Ish Boy is a great album and well deserving of my top spot.

Now, for the list:

1. Darius Jones Trio: Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) (AUM Fidelity)
2. The Fully Celebrated: Drunk On the Blood Of the Holy Ones (AUM Fidelity)
3. David S. Ware: Shakti (AUM Fidelity)
4. Digital Primitives: Hum Crackle & Pop (Hopscotch)
5. Henry Threadgill Zooid: This Brings Us To, Vol.1 (Pi Recordings)
6. Matthew Shipp: Harmonic Disorder (Thirsty Ear)
7. Vijay Iyer Trio: Historicity (ACT)
8. Tyshawn Sorey: Koan (482 Music)
9. Abdullah Ibrahim: Senzo (Sunnyside)
10. Brötzmann / Kondo / Pupillo / Nilssen-Love: Hairy Bones (Okka Disk)

11. Wadada Leo Smith: Spiritual Dimensions (Cuneiform)
12. J.D. Allen Trio: Shine! (Sunnyside)
13. Mike Reed's People Places & Things: About Us (482 Music)
14. Steve Lehman Octet: Travail Transformation & Flow (Pi Recordings)
15. Marcus Strickland: Idiosyncrasies (Strick Muzik)
16. John Zorn: Alhambra Love Songs (Tzadik)
17. Allen Toussaint: The Bright Mississippi (Nonsuch)
18. Graham Collier: Directing 14 Jackson Pollocks (Jazz Continuum)
19. Darren Johnston: The Edge of the Forrest (Clean Feed)
20. Fly: Sky & Country (ECM)
21. Tresspass Trio: Was There to Illuminate the Night Sky (Clean Feed)
22. Bill Dixon: Tapestries for Small Orchestra (Firehouse 12)
23. Quartet Offensive: Carnivore (Self released)
24. Ben Allison: Think Free (Palmetto)
25. Linda Oh Trio: Entry (Linda Oh)

Others of note: Darcy James Argue Secret Society: Infernal Machine (New Amsterdam), Gerald Cleaver, William Parker, Craig Taborn: Farmers by Nature (AUM Fidelity), Profound Sound Trio: Opus de Life (Porter), Circulasione Totale Orchestra: Bandwidth (Rune Grammofon), IPA: Lorena (Bolage), John Hollenbeck: Eternal Interlude (Sunny Side Records)

Lazy ears

Some of the points made by composer Graham Collier in this post, for example this passage "there is a pack mentality among many critics which, unfortunately for some of us, means they rarely look beyond the pile of CDs they receive to see what else is around", squares with what I wrote a while ago about how certain ever-presents on year end lists made me think too many jazz writers have "lazy ears" (That said, we all have our biases, of course. I wont deny I have mine).

I still have issues with a few of his points:

1. Seeking out new jazz (or new music in general) is time consuming work, but should be part of any reviwers job. Not merely sit and wait for CDs to fall into ones lap. However, being as it is that jazz writing in particular is being cut from the arts pages of newspapers and magazines, as well as the fact that it doesn't pay very well and that jazz PR is virtually nonexcistent these days, it can also be expensive work. We're more in need of word-of-mouth and communication - critic to critic, fan to fan, critic to fan and vice versa, musician-to-critic and vice versa - than most other arts writing departments. This need not necessarily take the form of free, physical copies being mailed to us, but dropping a line about upcoming releases does help. (For my own part, I pay for 99% of the jazz I write about. It's fair to say my jazz writing is a labour of love. I make my money from doing other things).

2. The comment borrowed from Chris Kelsey about some of the "formally conventional" big band records, is A): something I feel is not entirely correct in all instances (more formally conventional, perhaps, than Collier's) and B): makes me want to point out that paying attention to formality is something that, while certainly especially important to jazz composition, must not take the place of other important aspects of music, such as attitudes, values, stories and meanings, and the musicianship necessary (or adequate) to convey these. This is, for example, where critics of classic cinema often fail. Formality is part of the package, and can inform other aspects, but it is not the be all and end all.

By the way, at #49, is Vijay Iyer Trio's Historicity the highest placed jazz record on the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop in recent years? (Album list here. Other jazz records I've spotted so far: Darcy James Argue, Henry Threadgill's Zooid, Wadada Leo Smith, Ben Allison, Darius Jones Trio (whoop-whoop!), Steve Lehman Octet and John Hollenbeck. There are probably more).

RIP Kate McGarrigle

Touching words from Carl Wilson here.

RIP Teddy Pendergrass

RIP Jay Reatard

As you may know by now, Jay Reatard, née Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., passed away in his sleep last night. He lived (and played) fast, that's for sure, but I didn't expect him to die so young. More here.

MOPDtK's Forty Fort is a winner

I have to say that Mostly Other People Do the Killing is fast becoming one of my favorite bands of recent times. 2007's Shamokin!!! won me over with it's high energy and catchy tunes (and remains one of my fave albums of the noughties), the follow up This Is Our Moosic confirmed that here we had a unique and magnificent band with a refreshing take on the jazz idiom, and the new Forty Fort hammers down that they are truly a great band. The record is currently top of my (admittedly early and short) 2010 list.

Forty Fort is available at Dusty Groove America and SquidCo, with more merchants to follow.

Ben Ratliff on NYC Winter Jazzfest

Go read Ben Ratliff's piece on the NYC Winter Jazzfest, which featured Perfect Sounds favorites such as Vijay Iyer, JD Allen Trio, Mike Reed's People Places & Things and others. It drew a crowd of about 2.500 on Saturday. That's a creditable turn out, I think.

2009 Voice Jazz Critic's Poll + Happy New Year

My personal fave jazz records of 2009 with comments will be posted sometime over the weekend. My apologies for the delay. Until then, a happy new year to all readers & music fans (jazz and other), plus a few thoughts on the 2009 Voice Jazz Critics' Poll results that were posted on Tuesday (29th of Dec.).

The list turned out to be pretty interesting. The top two of Vijay Iyer's Historicity and Henry Threadgill's This Brings Us To, Vol. 1 are both great records and near the top of my list, too. Darcy James Argue's on 4th (winner in the debut category) and Steve Lehman's on 5th are also enjoyable releases. My fave of the year, Darius Jones Trio's Man'ish Boy made it into the top 20 (17th, 2nd best debut), while J.D. Allen Trio, David S. Ware and Tyshawn Sorey also made the list. Nice to see Allen Toussaint, Bill Frisell, Wadada Leo Smith and Ben Alison there, too. I've yet to hear the latest Bill Dixon as well as the FLY record.

Dissapointing, though, not to see personal favorites (and great records) such as Fully Celebrated's Drunk On the Holy Ones, Matthew Shipp's Harmonic Disorder, and Mike Reed's About Us anywhere. Perennial entries by Joe Lovano (ok-ish record) and Keith Jarret (yawn) makes me think too many Jazz critics have lazy ears, don't search hard enough for good music anymore, or are plainly just too conservative. Fair enough, I just wanted to have a pop there.

Xgau on Monk

The only thing disappointing thing with this piece on Monk is that Xgau fails to mention Wilbur Ware. For me, Ware's distinct, percussive approach to the bass fit Monk more than any other bassist he worked with. He is all over Monk classics such as Monk's Music and Thelonius Monk with John Coltrane. For more, see Ethan Iverson's piece on Do the Math from 2006 (via Wayback Machine). Other than that, the Dean is spot on.