Yes, Virginia, there has been some good—some GREAT—music released this year! It’s not like “music” is collapsing, too! Uh huh, I know about AI, but music is looking for its slingshot. I will not overtax your time here and get to the very notables:

Anthony Joseph’s on a run of four consecutive terrific poetry-with-rhythm recordings, and the sound behind his new release seems to signify outreach, a fine thing. I’ve long been a fan of Sasha Geffen’s groundbreaking alternate history of pop, Glitter Up The Dark, and it’s inspired a joyous, ebullient record from Jesse Desilva. I continue to be so bewitched by the seemingly endless flow of recordings from the Nyege Nyege Tapes label that I have dreams about a future box set and keep promising myself to create an only-the-wildest mixtape; both new offerings below spring fascinatin’ rhythms. One afternoon last month, I was trying to nap, running my “Records to Check Out ’26” Apple Music playlist on shuffle to try to catch up subconsciously, when my nap was spoiled/made moot by a cool is-this-r&b-and-if-not-whatzis flow of songs; thus, XG has made me a K-Pop X-Pop fan! It’s tempting to claim that everything Zev Feldman’s found in his deep bag of archival jazz concerts is amazing—it’s close—and his 2026 finds from Joe Henderson and Ahmad Jamal cast no doubt on that. Garrett T. Capps is MAFA (“Making Americana Fun Again”). Los Thuthanaka’s street-sweeper dance (?) music continues to stupefy, and I do not use that verb pejoratively. I tried to turn Nicole on to Robyn when she was recently on SNL—I failed, and even I thought her performance there was flat—so don’t tell her how much I love her sexplosive new one. Finally, This is Lorelei’s deluxe release almost gave me the fantods with its pop ’n’ roll rush and loving covers…almost. Have fun and take a chance!

SPOTLIGHT ALBUM OF THE MONTH

Anthony Joseph: The Ark

(Heavenly Sweetness) *****

New in March (click this for the Jan-Feb list; this for March’s list—I’m gonna hone it into one list eventually)

No asterisk = good / *** = very good / **** = great / ***** = really great / Italics = an excavation

Rodrigo Amado/Joe McPhee/Kent Kessler/Chris Corsano: Wailers (European Echoes Archives Series) ***

Angine de Poitrine: Vol. II (self-released)

Black Nile: Indigo Gardens (Hen House Studios)

Garrett T. Capps: I Still Love San Antone (self-released)

Caroline Davis: Fallows (Ropeadope) ****

Jesse DeSilva: Glitter Up The Dark (Nine Athens) ***

Antoine Dougbé et L’Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou: 1977 – 1982 (Analog Africa)

EDU & JUDGITZU: Nuku (Nyege Nyege Tapes) ****

Joe Henderson: Consonance–Live at the Jazz Showcase (Resonance) ****

Ahmad Jamal: At the Jazz Showcase–Live in Chicago (Resonance) ***

Kehlani: Kehlani (Atlantic) ****

LOS THUTHANAKA: Wak’a (self-released) ****

Branford Marsalis Quartet: Belonging (Blue Note) ***

MC Paul Barman & Kenny Segal: Antinomian Pandemonium (Fused Arrow) ****

Myra Melford & Satoko Fujii: Katahari (Rogue Art) ***

Robyn: Sexistential (Konichiwa/Young) ****

Adam Rudolph: Sunrise (Meta) ****

Serokolo 7: Maramfa Musick Pro (Nyege Nyege Tapes) ***

Sonic Youth: “Diamond Seas” Plunderphonics RSD Mix 12” *** (Check eBay….)

Starker: Living Type Dangerous, Volume 1—North Face Nace (self-released mixtape) ***

This is Lorelei: Box for Buddy, Box for Star (Super Deluxe) (Double Double Whammy) ****

Various Artists: Fight The Fire—Digital Reggae, Conscious Roots and Dub in Nigeria 1986-91 (Soundway Records)

Jessie Ware: Superbloom (EMI) ***

XG: The Core (XGALX) *****

Vintage Albums I Deeply Enjoyed This Month

Ornette Coleman Quartet: The 1987 Hamburg Concert

Dead Moon: Trash & Burn

Joe Dyson: Look Within

The Fall: Bend Sinister

Andrew Hill: Dance with Death

The Essential Billie Holiday, Vols. 1-3 and 8

Hot Chocolate: Cicero Park

Abdullah Ibrahim: Water from an Ancient Well

International Submarine Band: Safe at Home

Gene Jackson: 1963

Gene Jackson: The Jungle

Jlin: Black Origami

The Essential Joyce 1970-1996

Larry Levan: Journey Into Paradise—The Larry Levan Story

Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage

James Brandon Lewis: For Mahalia, with Love

James Brandon Lewis: Apple Cores

Michot’s Melody Makers: Blood Moon

Jimmy Scott: Dream

Sir Victor Uwaifo: Guitar-Boy Superstar 1970-1976

Various Artists: Big Apple Rappin’—The Early Days of Hip-Hop Culture in NYC 1979-1982

Various Artists: No New York

Various Artists: North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic, Vols. 2 and 3

Various Artists: RED HOT + RIOT

Mal Waldron: The Quest (with Eric Dolphy and Booker Ervin)

Hey! I Read, Too—and So Should You!

Paul Alexander: Bitter Crop—The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday’s Last Year

Adele Bertei: Now New York—A Memoir of No Wave and The Women Who Shaped The Scene

Brandon Hobson: Where The Dead Sit Talking

Bob Proehl: Flying Burrito Brothers’ The Gilded Palace of Sin (33 1/3 #61)

Lisa Sandlin: Sweet Vidalia

Stephanie Shonekan: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s Sorrow Tears and Blood (33 1/3 – not numbered)

Bryan Wagner: The Wild Tchoupitoulas (33 1/3 #142)

James Edward Young: Nico—Songs They Never Play on the Radio

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