Unheard tapes from Mingus' 1964 Town Hall concert to be released

This is what you get for not paying close enough attention to the Twitter and Facebook updates of people you follow. On March the 8th earlier this spring, it was announced on Mingus' Facebook page (run by his widow Sue, I assume) that tapes for a Part 2 of the great 1964 Town Hall Concert featuring Eric Dolphy was being prepared for release. The message explained that the tapes had not been issued earlier as they (i.e. Sue and Charles) had ran out of funds after the release of part one, or what is just known as Town Hall Concert (1964). There's also a possibility for a Mosaic box set.

Read the full FB update here.

Listening Booth, week 19: catching up with 2011

These notes have been sitting on my hard drive for ages, and since I don't have anything else written at the moment, I thought I'd just throw them out there. I'll hopefully have notes on the new Mary Halvorson Quintet and the Wadada Leo Smoth 4 disc set ready shortly.

• Ambrose Akinmusire: When the Heart Emerges Glistening (Blue Note, 2011) - Big on year-end lists and polls for 2011. In short: hip-hop and nu-R&B colored modern post-bop. Akinmusire's  trumpet tone is rounded and smokey, and the band here is solid, if a bit safe. The biggest problem is that I don't find his thematic and melodic ideas very interesting nor terribly engaging, and the rhythmic patterns, with their latin-tinged hip-hop leanings, sound dated and uninspired to me. He's definitely got talent, and I really do like his tone. 6*

• Gerald Cleaver Uncle June: Be It As I See It (Fresh Sound, 2011) - Adventurous drummer Gerald Cleaver leads a rollicking and big sounding semi big-band with several "younger" heavy hitters of modern jazz, among them Drew Gress (bass), Tony Malaby (soprano and tenor sax) and Craig Taborn (piano). At times the album is boisterous, as reeds and piano pile on over a steady rhythmic backdrop, but these sections are counter balanced by more meditative pieces, some with voice. Electro-acoustic noise adds color. The five part "Fence & Post (For Mom & Dad" is the centerpiece. Ambitious, even if it fails to hold my attention throughout. 6*

• Orrins Evan: Captain Black Big Band (Posi Tone, 2011) - Fairly straight forward formally, but big and punchy, just the way I like it, and there are some good tunes as building blocks, especially the slow building "Easy Now." The ancestor seems to be Basie rather than Ellington, but the tempos are definitely bop-derived. Enjoyable. 7*

• DJ Quik: The Book of David (Mad Science, 2011) - Expert veteran beat maker adds shrapnel to his vintage good spirited electro funk, and bite to his rap, particularly on the opener "Fire and Brimstone." He's always up for killer dope and good times, and serenading women, especially the "real women." "I don't need nobody," he claims on the albums best tune, as if he only cared about himself, and yet he brings his special brand of the electric boogie to the party and manages to spread more good vibes than most these days. 8*

Some records with grades but missing notes:

• Tim Berne: Insomnia (Clean Feed, 2011) - 7*
• Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project: Seriously (Smog Veil, 2011) - 7*
• Cities Aviv: Digital Lows (mixtape, 2011) - 7*
• Freddie Gibbs: Cold Day In Hell (mixtape, 2011) - 5*
• Kendrick Lamar: Section.80 (Top Dawg Entertainment, 2011) - 7*
• Neptune: Silent Partner (Northern Spy, 2011) - 6*
• The Rapture: In the Grace of Your Love (DFA/Modular) - 6*
• Craig Taborn: Avenging Angel (ECM, 2011) - 7*

* The Perfect Sounds Listening Booth series is where I post jotted down thoughts and impressions of records. The writing of these notes is mostly done during listens, without too much consideration to composition and/or argumentation, and while the intention is that these notes will form the basis of possible future reviews, they should not be considered fully formed reviews in and of themselves. The grades are tentative and liable to change.

R.I.P. Adam Yauch aka MCA

Very sad to learn that Adam Yauch has passed away. Not sure I how to process it at the moment, bar spinning old Beastie Boys tunes. LOUD!

“I’m gonna die gonna die one day 
Cause I’m goin and goin and goin this way 
Not like a roach or a piece of toast 
I’m going out first class not going out coach"


EDIT: Sasha Frere-Jones has a lovely, and personal, piece up on his New Yorker blog.

Listening Booth, week 16, 2012: Darius Jones Quartet

Darius Jones Quartet: Book of Mæ'Bul (Anther Kind of Sunrise) (Aum Fidelity) - In his ongoing epic, Darius Jones seems intent on picking musicians to fit the music he has imagined for each album, or verse, as he calls them: For the excellent raw and bluesy debut Man'ish Boy, he enlisted elder statesmen Cooper-Moore (diddley-bo and piano), and Rakalam Bob Moses (drums), while for the groovier and punchier follow-up Big Gurl (Smeel My Dream), Adam Lane (bass) and Jason Nazary (drums) were brought in. This trend of building a band around the music continues on Book of Mæ'Bul, where the band has been expanded from a trio to a quartet, adding piano to the sax-bass-drum mix.

The first thing you hear on the opener "The Enjoli Moon", are the hushed tones - Satie like in it's minimalism - of Matt Mitchell's piano, before bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Ches Smith join Jones in stating a plaintive theme. From this, they spin out into a short, controlled frenzy, only to return to the theme. The song fluctuates between these sections, until, towards the end, the tune lifts to a crescendo, before the band lands safely back into the original theme as the song ebbs out. It's a perfect opener, as it contains much of the elements that typifies the album, and that sets it apart in Jones' discography.


There's not much of the swagger, groove, and headlong excitement that typified the music on Man'ish Boy and Big Gurl here; only the sprightly post-bopish "Winkie" speeds things up beyond mid-tempo. Mæ'Bul is in turn looser, freer and also has a softer touch: the airy "So Sad" is one of the albums highlights. Yet for all its differences, Jones' unique personality and tone permeates the music here as it does on all of his records. 


 Where Jones' trios were like a three-pronged spear with Jones in the middle, the roles here seem more set. The dexterous rhythm section of Dunn and Smith mostly stay back and provide a loose-knit platform for the melodic/thematic and solo duties shared between Jones and Mitchell. But here and there, the interplay and the ceding of space between the main soloists comes across almost like turn-taking exercises, as in the latin tinged mid-section of the otherwise lovely "Be Patient With Me", rather than to organically rise from the themes. As such, oarts of the otherwise lovely music here seems jagged and disconnected. 


 Bill Shoemaker noted in his review in the March, 2012 issue of Point of Departure that the previous records have "largely documented potential" and that that this record is "a significant step forward." I'm not so sure I agree. Book of Mæ'bul dips to a much greater degree into the classic jazz landscape, albeit the classics that came out of the more avant-leaning post-bop of the 60s, such as, say, the music of Andrew Hill. That he is able to weave more "classic" sounding jazz into his own music suggests that this is definitely a broadening of horizon, the addition of the piano also helps. But in turn the record loses some of the energy and freshness that made Man'ish Boy and Big Gurl such exciting and stand-out albums. This punk rocker-at-heart firmly believes that well articulated energetic music can be as mature a statement as so-called contemplative-meaning-quieter music, and so I found that Mæ'bul's predecessors' more vigorous tempos and rougher edges were fully formed statements in their own rights, and perhaps even better documents of Jones' unique voice as a musician and composer in the modern jazz landscape. 7*


* The Perfect Sounds Listening Booth series is where I post jotted down thoughts and impressions of records. The writing of these notes is mostly done during listens, without too much consideration to composition and/or argumentation, and while the intention is that these notes will form the basis of possible future reviews, they should not be considered fully formed reviews in and of themselves. The grades are tentative and liable to change.

R.I.P. Levon Helm

Just got that news that drummer, singer and mensch Levon Helm, "[T]he only drummer who can make you cry", has passed away. It was to be expected, perhaps, considering the recent news about his deteriorating health. I'm nevertheless devastated. R.I.P.

JJA Jazz Awards 2012 Nominees: Notes

The 2012 JJA Jazz Awards Nominees were announced recently. I've copied & pasted them below, with some wholly off-the-cuff and knee-jerk comments. My picks in bold, but what does that matter, as I'm not allowed to vote.

1) LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN JAZZ

Muhal Richard Abrams

Ron Carter

Wayne Shorter

Horace Silver

I'm guessing Wayne Shorter will win this, and it's not like he doesn't deserve it. I just happen to prefer Muhal Richard Abrams, but he's too much of a fringe artist for the majority, I think.

2) MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

Ambrose Akinmusire

Vijay Iyer

Joe Lovano

Christian McBride

Sonny Rollins

I miss a whole bunch in this category, but the most obvious one is Craig Taborn, who was all over the spectrum, with great results, last year. Of the nominees, I'd pick Sonny.

3) COMPOSER/ARRANGER OF THE YEAR

John Hollenbeck

Guillermo Klein

Vince Mendoza

Maria Schneider

Hmm, hard one. I liked Kris Davis' arrangements on Tony Malaby's Novela, as well as Ben Allison's on his 2011 album. Still, Hollenbeck is a gifted arranger too.

4) UP AND COMING ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Chris Dingman

Tyshawn Sorey

Ben Williams

Warren Wolf

There's a wealth of talent around these days, my favorite being Darius Jones. He's been around a few years, though, but so has Tyshan Sorey, who'd be my pick of the above.

5) RECORD OF THE YEAR

James Farm (Nonesuch)

Keith Jarrett, Rio (ECM)

Christian McBride's Big Band, The Good Feeling (Mack Avenue Records)

Sonny Rollins, Road Shows, Vol. 2 (Doxy Records)

Wadada Leo Smith's Organic, Heart's Reflections (Cuneiform Records)

Craig Taborn, Avenging Angel (ECM)

Miguel Zenon, Alma Adentro – The Puerto Rican Songbook (Marsalis Music)

Naturally, I miss a host of nominees here: Avram Fefer, Darius Jones and Tony Malaby's efforts chief among them (See my favorites section or my 2011 Jazz Critics Poll ballot for more. Plus, does Keith Jarrett have to be nominated for an award every time he squeezes out a record? Oh, he does. Well, sorry then. I guess one wouldn't want angry Jarrett harassing you.) Of those nominated, I'd pick Wadada Leo Smith's (Disclaimer: I've not heard the McBride album yet).

6) BEST HISTORICAL OR BOXED SET

Miles Davis, Bootleg Sessions, Vol 1, Quintet Live in Europe 1967 (Columbia Legacy)

Julius Hemphill, Dogon A.D. (Mbira/Freedom-International Phonograph)

Bill Dixon, Intents and Purposes (RCA Victor-International Phonograph)

Roscoe Mitchell, Before There Was Sound (Nessa)

The Complete Jimmie Lunceford Decca Sessions (Mosaic)

I actually really enjoyed all of these, but Hemphill edges it for me.

7) LABEL OF THE YEAR

Clean Feed

ECM

Pi Records

Sunnyside Records

You know, I'm inclined to say Engine, a tiny label out of Chicago. Clean Feed is still releasing ace quality jazz albums, but have been stronger in previous years. ECM is, well, ECM, so I’m going with Pi here.

8) LARGE ENSEMBLE

John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra

Maria Schneider Orchestra

Mingus Big Band

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

No strong preference here, really, 'though I would've like to see Captain Black's Big Band get a look in.

9) SMALL ENSEMBLE

James Farm

Jason Moran & Bandwagon

Joe Lovano Us Five

SFJazz Collective

James Farm is a super group of sorts, so I'd either put my money on them or Moran's group to win it. I have absolutely no preference among these, though. I wish Avram Fefer's Trio - with Eric Revis and Chad Taylor, by now a working group - was nominated. There's also the exciting Endangered Blood, as well as the great Mostly Other People Do the Killing, who toured and released a live album in 2011. So where does that leave us ...

10) MALE SINGER OF THE YEAR

Freddy Cole

Kurt Elling

Giacomo Gates

Gregory Porter

11) FEMALE SINGER OF THE YEAR

Karrin Allyson

Rene Marie

Gretchen Parlato

Tierney Sutton

I'm betting on Parlato to win this, but my fave female singers of 2011 was Andrea Wolper and Fay Victor, though the latter probable belongs in a separate category all together: ace performer of the year.

12) TRUMPETER OF THE YEAR

Ambrose Akinmusire

Tom Harrell

Brian Lynch

Wadada Leo Smith

You just know Akinmusire will win this, but I'm a Wadada fan myself.

13) TROMBONIST OF THE YEAR

Steve Davis

Robin Eubanks

Wycliffe Gordon

Steve Turre

14) MULTI-REEDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

James Carter

Anat Cohen

Roscoe Mitchell

Ted Nash

Scott Robinson

15) ALTO SAXOPHONIST OF THE YEAR

Lee Konitz

Rudresh Mahanthappa

Phil Woods

Miguel Zenon

Darius Jones all the way for me, but he's not here, so I'll go with Mahanthappa, 'though he was arguably a greater presence in 2010 than in 2011.

16) TENOR SAXOPHONIST OF THE YEAR

J.D. Allen

Joe Lovano

Chris Potter

Sonny Rollins

As much as I love and worship Sonny Rollins, I'd love to see J.D. Allen get some plaudits, but I'm guessing Rollins or Lovano will win it.

17) BARITONE SAXOPHONIST OF THE YEAR

James Carter

Ronnie Cuber

Claire Daly

Gary Smulyan

18) SOPRANO SAXOPHONIST OF THE YEAR

Jane Ira Bloom

Dave Liebman

Branford Marsalis

Wayne Shorter

19) FLUTIST OF THE YEAR

Jamie Baum

Nicole Mitchell

Lew Tabackin

No preference. I should note that Henry Threadgill toured in 2011, so one wonders why he wasn't nominated. Would win it for me if he was.

20) CLARINETIST OF THE YEAR

Don Byron

Evan Christopher

Anat Cohen

Ken Peplowski

21) GUITARIST OF THE YEAR

Mary Halvorson

Bill Frisell

Pat Metheny

John Scofield

Halvorson for me. Frisell a close second.

22) PIANIST OF THE YEAR

Vijay Iyer

Keith Jarrett

Matthew Shipp

Craig Taborn

Close one, but Taborn appeared on several great albums in 2011, proving he's an innovative and interesting musician in several different settings, and I'd vote for him. Iyer has a new album out this year, and Shipp is still a major player who I follow with great interest.

23) KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Joey DeFrancesco

Larry Goldings

Mike LeDonne

Gary Versace

No preference.

24) BASSIST OF THE YEAR

Ben Allison

Ron Carter

Christian McBride

William Parker

Esperanza Spalding

William Parker is one of my favorite living musicians regardless of instrument, but I still miss several nominees in this category. Adam Lane did stellar work on Darius Jones' record, Eric Revis perhaps even more so with Avram Fefer. There was John Lindberg on Wadada Leo Smith's Heart's Reflection's and Trevor Dunn with Endangered Blood. Still, Parker's work with Taborn on the second Farmers By Nature album was stellar as always, as was his playing on Fay Victor & Other Dimensions In Music's Kaiso Stories and with David S. Ware on Planetary Unknown. Ben Allison is a great musician, arranger and composer, but he'd place below my nominees. I admire McBride greatly, and Ron Carter is a legend, but neither of those impressed my nearly as much in 2011 as my nominees.

25) VIOLINIST/VIOLIST/CELLIST OF THE YEAR

Billy Bang

Regina Carter

Mark Feldman

Jenny Scheinman

R.I.P. Billy Bang.

26) PERCUSSIONIST OF THE YEAR

Cyro Baptista

Hamid Drake

Sammy Figueroa

Marilyn Mazur

Adam Rudolph

Poncho Sanchez

27) MALLETS INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR

Gary Burton

Stefon Harris

Joe Locke

Warren Wolf

Uh, where's Chris Dingman?

28) TRAPS DRUMMER OF THE YEAR

Jack DeJohnette

Eric Harland

Roy Haynes

Paul Motian

Matt Wilson

You'd think Paul Motian would win this posthumously. Such is the way human nature works. Flabbergasted that neither Pheeroan akLaff (for his work on Wadada Leo Smith's Heart'sReflections. He was the heart, after all) nor Damien Reid for his work on Greg Ward's Phonic Juggernaut aren't nominated.

29) PLAYER OF INSTRUMENTS RARE IN JAZZ

Edmar Castaneda, harp

Gregoire Maret, harmonica

Toots Thielemans, harmonica

Gary Versace, accordion

Meh. 'Though, there's Jacob Sacks' work with harpsichord.

On hiatus...

...not "dead". Posting will resume sometime in the 2nd week of April.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cecil Taylor alone at the piano (video)

Cecil Taylor turns 83 today (or on the 25th, depending on your sources), and I was made aware of the this wonderful video of Cecil improvising alone at the piano by he guys at Destination: Out, and so I felt the urge to post it here on the blog as well.

Regular posting will resume sometime next week, with notes on the new Darius Jones Quartet, Mary Halvorson Quintet, Ro Sham Beaux, Devin Gray and more.

Listening Booth week 7: Charles Gayle Trio

• Charles Gayle Trio: Streets (Northern Spy Records, 2012) - Streets is Charles Gayle's first studio album since his two 2006 releases, Consider the Lilies (Clean Feed) and the solo piano Time Zones (Thompkins Square.) Streets is also the first album to feature Gayle's alter ego, Streets the clown, the significance of which I shouldn't speculate too much on, although Gayle has performed in clown painting for a while. Me, I figure the title refers to his many years spent homeless on the streets of New York. If the clown somehow allows him to put himself in the mood of that period, well, then all the better. Charles Gayle has become somewhat of a sax-bass-drum trio specialist over the years. 'Though he hasn't performed exclusively in that format, much of the time he has, and his most memorable albums are trio albums: the soulful Homeless (Silkheart, 1988), with the deep rolling bass of Norris "Sirone" Jones and Dave Pleasant on drums, and the heady rush of the now deservedly classic Touchin' On Trane (FMP, 1991), with William Parker's rumbling, talking drum-like bass lines and the fleeting drumming of Rashied Ali. As with those two albums, Streets is a trio recording, and also one very much marked as much by Gayle's compatriots as his own distinct style and timbre. Bassist Larry Roland's playing here is the very essence of plucking, creating percussive patterns with only minimal sustain, barring the odd sections such as the intro to "March of April." Gayle himself has never been too occupied with themes or melodies. He is all about feel. It's as if he just steps up to the podium and speaks his mind. So it is perhaps fitting that the first thing you hear on Streets is the sharp sound of Gayle's tenor. He has, either by age or by design (I'd be inclined to say the latter), by and large abandoned the lung bursting runs and screams that used to be synonymous with much of his music. Rather, him and Roland play in bursts, with sudden stops or pauses, and the rhythmic pattern becomes almost Monk-like, especially on "Compassion II." Drummer Michael TA Thompson is much more of a constant, laying down a platform for Gayle and Roland's interplay as well as pushing them on. Although these are patterns and elements you'll find throughout the album, they are used to different effect: "March of April", with Roland's aforementioned menacing bass intro, is ominous, the closing "Tribulations" is fierce and a nod back to Gayle's older material, and the prayer "Glory & Jesus" is peaceful and gorgeous. Streets is not only a worthy addition to Gayle's discography, I'd be tempted to say it's also his best since Touchin' On Trane. 8*

* The Perfect Sounds Listening Booth series is where I post jotted down thoughts and impressions of records. The writing of these notes is mostly done during listens, without too much consideration to composition and/or argumentation, and while the intention is that these notes will form the basis of possible future reviews, they should not be considered fully formed reviews in and of themselves. The grades are tentative and liable to change.

Pazz 'n' Jop 2011: notes

As you may know by now, The Village Voice's 2011 Pazz 'n' Jop Critics Poll results were announced last night. The albums winner is tUnE-yArDs' w h o k i l l, which surprised me a bit, albeit pleasantly so; even if it is some way down on my personal 2011 favorites list, I can hear why it is an affecting record, warts and all. The singles winner is Adele's Rolling in the Deep, which seemed like a safe bet beforehand.

My ballot can be found here. My top seven records have been pretty much nailed on for a long time. Those seven records stand out, for me, by being more consistent and more solid works than the rest, and I attempted to indicate that by the scores I handed out for my ballot. Below those seven, there has been some fluctuation -- compare my pazz 'n' jop ballot to the latest revision of my favorites list -- though have revisited Paul Simon numerous times lately, I'm tempted to put it in the same category as my top 7.

A couple of points:

• None of my top 10 albums finished in the poll's top 10, but two are in the top 20, Frank Ocean and Fucked Up. If we go to the top 25, there are three counting Pistol Annies.
• My number one pick, Wussy's Strawberry, landed at 109th place, getting ten mentions.
• I was the only one to vote for Avram Fefer's Eliyahu and Wadada Leo Smith's Heart's Reflections (misspelled in the poll). Both are jazz records, and Eliyahu got only two votes in Rhapsody's Jazz Critics' Poll, from Tom Hull and myself, so that's no surprise, really. Darius Jones Trio's Big Gurl (Smell My Dream) , the third jazz record I voted for, got two more votes, from Steve Dollar and Tad Hendrickson.
• Matana Roberts' Coin Coin Chapter One... was the highest placed jazz album at 78, unless you count Colin Stetson, which we probably should, at 42.
• My sole Norwegian pick, Razika's giddy ska tale about the pains of growing up in "Vondt i Hjertet", got one other vote, incidentally by current poll organizer Maura Johnston.

Hoping to post some non-list related writing here during next week. I have a piece on jazz drumming in the pipeline plus, hopefully, a 2011 catch-up of Listening Booth notes, and the return of The 1984 Box Set.

The 2011 Jazz Critics' Poll + notes

Late last year, I was invited by Francis Davis to vote in the 6th edition of the Jazz Critics' Poll, which he has been running the past five years at the Village Voice, but has now been moved to the US based streaming site Rhapsody. Over 120 jazz writers participated, and the results were posted yesterday. Tom Hull has the individual ballots at his site, including mine (look for me in the batch "Kaplan - Nastos", or under Ballots [4])

I predicted the runner-up to win it, based upon what I've read on over the past year, 'though I suppose Sonny Rollins was among the favorites also. A few quick observations:

• Six of my chosen ten picks made the top 60
• Of those, Wadada Leo Smith placed highest, at no. 13.
• My runner-up, Darius Jones Trio, was second highest at no. 19.
• My number one pick, Avram Fefer, received only two votes: Me and Tom Hull, who had it as his runner-up.
• I count 13 among the top 60 that are also on my "2011 favorites" list (records graded 7, i.e. recommended, or higher.) (Though, I have some five records in my pending pile that made the list.)

My three picks for best reissue also made up the top three in the results, albeit not in the same order. I'd also note that had I known Monk's Music had been reissued this year, it would have been my number one pick, it quite possibly being my favorite Monk album. Then again, the record has been widely available for a while in various formats, so it doesn't quite feel like a reissue in the same way my top three does.

R.I.P. Sam Rivers

The sad news broke today of the passing of saxophonist, composer, "free bopper" and Loft Jazz great Sam Rivers. In the wake of some Twitter and Facebook rumors, Peter Hum was one of the first to write about it on his Ottawa Citizen jazz blog. Sam Rivers deserves more time and space than I'm able to give him now, so I'm hoping to return at a later time with a lengthier post, remembering some of his great and, sadly, largely forgotten musical output. R.I.P.

EDIT: More from Nate Chinen in the NY Times and from others via Chinen's blog.

Listening Booth, week 52, 2011

• Mats Eilertsen: Skydive (Hubro) - Bassist and composer Mats Eilertsen (b. 1975) was born in Trondheim, Norway, and got his education at that city's renowned Jazz Academy. He's been an in-demand session musician since the 90s-- among others for Jacob Young, Solveig Slettahjell as well as playing on a trio of Sonny Simmons releases -- 'though he has in recent years also been releasing several albums of his own compositions, the last of which is Skydive on the tiny Hubro label. As a bassist here, he doesn't assert himself much, eschewing vamps, riffs, and walks/runs, and instead keeps a rather low profile, staying in the background, grounding and accentuating Olavi Louhivuori's drum beat as well as the occasional cymbal hit with full and rich sounding drawn out notes, making the tunes seemingly glide along. There's little in terms of heads or themes here, instead there are narrative-like melodies, which saxophonist Tore Brunborg, guitarist Thomas T. Dahl and pianist Alexei Tuomarila take turns in moving along. It's all very sweeping and wooshing, contemplative and "calming" if not very exciting music. But the records is wonderfully produced and it sounds great, as most Hubro releases do. 6*
  
  * Grades are tentative, based on three or four listens, though quite often a few more. Much of the writing is done during listens, and should be considered notes rather than final reviews.

Listening Booth, week 47: shorts: Magic Pocket

I don't write much about Norwegian jazz here. That's partly a conscious choice -- Norwegian jazz releases are well covered in mainstream media (I feel dirty using those words with Fox "News" in mind) media, which I was always trying to provide an alternative to -- but considering the bulk of those who visit these pages live abroad and may be curious about jazz from these shores, I'm making an exception today. Also, it's a damn fine record.

• Magic Pocket: The Katabatic Wind (Bolage) - Magic Pocket is a young-ish brass and drums quartet (all born between 1975 and '82) consisting of Erik Johanessen on trombone, Hayden Powell on trumpets, Daniel Herskedal on tuba, and Erik Nylander on drums, tabla machhines and drum machine. For this release, they're augmented by the electronics and piano of Morten Qvenild. The music here is atmospheric, drawn out melodic lines and sheets of sound underpinned by understated grooves. The tuba moves in and out of it's rhythmic "bass" role, the brass blends with the electronics, trickles of piano here and there without ever getting ambient territory. The bolero-esque "The Thar Desert" is particularly enchanting, while the bouncy "Darts" showcase their more playful side. Lovely stuff. 8*

* Grades are tentative, based on three or four listens, though quite often a few more. Much of the writing is done during listens, and should be considered notes rather than final reviews.

Listening Booth, week 47: Greg Ward's Phonic Juggernaut

• Greg Ward: Greg Ward's Phonic Juggernaut (Thirsty Ear) - Chicago born, now New York residing saxophonist and composer Greg Ward's credentials indicate that he's a man of varied tastes and that he's a musician willing and capable of handling several genres, from various strains of jazz, to Klezmer and classical music. I know him best from his collaborations with drummer Mike Reed. This is Ward's second album as a leader after 2010's Fitted Shards: South Side Story -- which I missed -- on 19-8 Records. Phonic Juggernaut is a sax-bass-drums trio record, and an enthralling one at that. The impressive opener "Above Ground" moves through several stages, starting off with Ward's blocks of intervals over the hectic yet forceful polyrhythms of drummer Damion Reid, into pockets of near calmness, and then back again. Much like the album as a whole. Reid's drumming, which reminds me a little bit of Ronald Shannon Jackson, provides much of the sonic freshness of this record. The drums are very much front and center, almost relentless, throughout, and especially so on the more heady pieces. And Phonic Juggernaut is fast paced at times, as the name would suggest, but combines that with the spacious and lyrical, such as on the lovely "Velvet Lounge Shut-In". Bassist Joe Sanders is the minimalist in the trio, relatively speaking, working off and in between Reid's busy rhythms and Ward's sharp and clear alto leaps with a mixture of insistent vamps and lyrical playing -- check his melodic interplay with Ward on the closing "Sectionate City". The bass is mixed unusually low and given little bottom, and although I miss its fullness and punch at times, the result works remarkably well within the sonic whole of the record. I'm hoping there's more to come from this trio, because there's clearly a unique musical chemistry between the three. 7*


Bonus: Listen to the title track, "Phonic Juggernaut", courtesy of Thirsty Ear Recordings on Soundcloud.



* Grades are tentative, based on three or four listens, though quite often a few more. Much of the writing is done during listens, and should be considered notes rather than final reviews.

Listening Booth, week 46, 2012: ASAP Rocky

• ASAP Rocky: LiveLoveA$AP (mixtape/selfreleased/liveloveasap.com) - This Harlem, New York native declares an affinity for Houston and doesn't want to be likened to a certain New Orleans rapper. Still, his slightly-behind-the-beat flow as well as the nasal timbre of his voice certainly has similarities with the Carter. The lyrical universe of LiveLoveA$ASP is filled with references to recreational drugs, reveling in it's effects. But it's the sonics of the record that really impresses. Delightfully produced, especially the tracks by Clams Casino and Beautiful Lou, it conjures up the sort of trippy soundscapes that Tricky once mastered so well - note in particular the laid-back groove and the sampled guitar lick of "Trilla", produced by Beautiful Lou. Additional color is provided by syrupy beats and rumbling bass (and hence the Houston love, I guess), Clams Casino's "Bass" a case in point. When the moods do get darker, they do so without succumbing to the techniques of horror core schlock, neither sonically or lyrically. No stoopid shock effects here. ASAP doesn't need such cheap tricks to be interesting. 8*

* Grades are tentative, based on three or four listens, though quite often a few more. Much of the writing is done during listens, and should be considered notes rather than final reviews.

Listening Booth, week 46, 2012: Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet

• Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet: Apparent Distance (Firehouse 12) - A four piece suite, originally commissioned through a New Jazz Works grant. The sextet consists of Ho Bynum on trumpet, Jim Hobbs (of Fully Celebrated "fame") on alto sax, Bill Lowe on bass trombone and tuba, Mary Halvorson on guitar, Ken Filiano on bass and Tomas Fujiwara on drums. Ho Bynum and Halvorson has played under the tutelage of Anthony Braxton, but there's not a whole lot of traces of him here, barring the odd twirling theme here and there. The obvious center piece of the album is the 20 minute long "Source", where Ho Bynum and Halvorson play interweaving melodic lines that Hobbs and Lowe eventually join in on and create their own paths out of, over Filiano and Fujiwara's funky and propulsive rhythms. The piece builds to a cacophonous crescendo during Hobbs' solo, and slides back into grove. There are a lot of interseting things going on here, with Hobbs in particular shining alongside Ho Bynum, while Halvorson often stays in the background for long sections, riffing with Filiano to help create dense grooves. 7*

* Grades are tentative, based on three or four listens, though quite often a few more. Much of the writing is done during listens, and should be considered notes rather than final reviews.

Listening Booth, week 41, 2011: Darius Jones Trio

There haven't been much activity here, and there won't be until after the 15th of Nov. at the earliest. Below are a few notes on Darius Jones latest plus some grades for a couple of other records I've listened to lately, but do not have any notes to speak of.

• Darius Jones Trio: Big Gurl (Smell My Dreams) (AUM Fidelity) - Darius Jones debut, Man'ish Boy (a Raw and Beautiful Thing), was stunning. A riveting and deeply moving album by a saxophonist with a distinct voice, both in terms of his playing and his compositions. His new record, Big Gurl (Smell My Dreams), may lack some of raw emotion of his debut, but it makes up for it in power and groove. Replacing multi-instrumentalist Cooper-Moore and drummer Rasid Bakr in the trio is Adam Lane on bass, an original musician and composer in his own right, and Jason Nazary on drums, who both played on the debut's "hidden track". Big Gurl is full of hard hitting, groovy free-bop sprinkled with more contemplative pieces, such as the haunting "I Wish I Had a Choice". Jones alto sound is stirring, sometimes piercing, and he is wont to leaps and shrieks, but always maintains a strong sense of melody and theme. Adam Lane plays thick, powerful, syrupy yet somehow nimble lines and riffs as only he can, while Nazary glides in and out of the beat. The opener "E-Gaz" and the menacing closer "Ol' Metal-Faced Bastard", with it's rhythmically stumbling sections, come charging at you with swagger and purpose, while the above-mentioned "I Wish I had a Choice" and "My Special 'D'" are quieter, more reflective pieces. There's also a reworking of "Chasing the Ghost", one of the center pieces of Man'ish Boy. While much of the allure of he original version was how Jones sounded like he was losing his way on this headlong chase, here, augmented by Lane's stubborn bass lines, it sounds galvanized, more confident, as if with a renewed sense of mission. Somehow very fitting, I think. 9*

• Dave Alvin: Eleven Eleven (Yep Roc) - 7*
• Girls: Father: Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther) - 8*
• Jens Lekman: An Argument With Myself (Secretly Canadian) - 8*
• Mekons: Ancient and Modern: 1911-2011 (Bloodshot Records) - 8*
• Kanye West & Jay-Z: Watch the Throne (Def Jam) - 8*

* Grades are tentative, based on three or four listens, though quite often a few more. Much of the writing is done during listens, and should be considered notes rather than final reviews.

R.E.M. - a few quick words

R.E.M. called it quits this week. The web is flooded with eulogies by now, but even though we've grown apart, so to speak, in recent years, I thought I'd write a few words as a way of saying my final goodbye.

R.E.M. grew out of the prolific (and under-appreciated) so-called Amer-Indie scene of the 1980's into one of the biggest rock'n'roll bands on the planet (read more about that in the Slate piece I've linked to above). They worked together for over 30 years, and over that time they honed their original voices as songwriters and created a thoroughly distinctive sound, which has resulted in an extremely consistent oeuvre; even if I haven't cared much for their records since New Adventures in Hi-Fi, the worst I can say about their most recent albums is that they've sounded uninspired (Ok, some songs are downright boring, but still).

R.E.M. was also rare in that they are one of the few bands since, well, the 70's where the record buying masses and critical approval went hand in hand, especially in the early 90's. Granted, that rise to mass fame coincided with the alternative rock/grunge explosion, but their's felt separate somehow, and the groundwork for their popularity arguably was laid with the late 80's records Document (peaked at no. 10, 33 weeks on the chart, certified platinum) and Green (peaked at 12, certified double platinum).

Their popularity is just a side note, though. It means they'll probably stay in the public consciousness as one of the "great bands", but it's not their popularity that has made them that. It is, quelle surpirse, the quality of their music (than you, Mr. Obvious).

On a personal note, I discovered Green via the striking video for "Orange Crush" some time in 1989, and it became one of the first records that got me seriously interested in music as something more than, eh, "entertainment", though I might not have been able to articulate that at the time. So in a way, R.E.M. was integral to my coming of age as a consumer, in every possible sense of the word, of music. Thank you for that, as well as for the great songs.

To end this short note, my thoroughly off-the-cuff ratings of R.E.M. records up to and counting Hi-Fi:

• Chronic Town EP (1982, I.R.S.) 7
• Murmur (1983, I.R.S.) 8
• Reckoning (1984, I.R.S.) 7
• Fables of the Reconstruction (1985, I.R.S.) 6
• Life's Rich Pageant (1986, I.R.S) 7
• Document (1987, I.R.S) 9
• Green (1988, Warner Bros.) 8
• Out of Time (1991, Warner Bros) 9
• Automatic for the People (1992, Warner Bros.) 8
• Monster (1994, Warner Bros.) 7
• New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996, Warner Bros.) 7

R.I.P Graham Collier

Sad to hear that English bassist, bandleader and composer Graham Collier passed away recently. More here.