Tag: Buck 65

April 2024: Music I Lived to Listen To

I will again try to comment meaningfully on each of the following alphabetically-ordered new release in single complete sentences. Two introductory notes, though:

  1. Later this year, Phil Freeman’s Cecil Taylor biography In the Brewing Luminous will be published. I’m reading a review copy, and I’m here to tell you it’s outstanding. First of all, this book was badly needed, given Taylor’s singular genius and influence; second of all, in well-documented form it gathers much info that’s out there in one place; third, it’s so comprehensive it’s alerted this passionate fan to recordings he’s never heard of; fourth–no surprise with Mr. Freeman–it advances some critical arguments very convincingly; and fifth, in a continuance from Freeman’s stellar electric Miles investigation, Running the Voodoo Down, the author excels–really excels–at describing a furious, sometimes byzantine music in very distinctive and accurate detail. That’s a trick I really envy; if I could do a fifth as good a job as Freeman, I’d be writing about jazz much more frequently. Check out Phil’s chock-full Burning Ambulance Substack to learn more.
  2. I’m not that much a fan of Light in the Attic’s new Lou Reed tribute The Power of the Heart–at all–but that damn Bobby Rush will be ninety-one in November, and if Sally truly can’t dance, he sure as hell can. He elides a few phrases in Reed’s lyric I bet he wasn’t wholly comfortable with, but he, as per usual for many, many years, sells the song. Hear it in the Spotify Playlist linked at the bottom!

April Top 15 New Platters:

Byron Asher’s Skrontch Music: Lord, when you send the rain (Sinking City)–Like Asher’s previous Skrontch Music album, the problems of New Orleans’ (and other places’) present send him backwards into the future, with spoken clips, traditional instrumentation, and post-modern feints and juxtapositions helping us get why.

Bruno Berle: No Reino Dos Afetos 2 (Psychic Hotline)–The Bandcamp description of this soothing singer’s project (the first volume is excellent, too) informs us that lo-fi, dub step, and other ingredients are utilized to help Berle break away from the Brazilian expected–but I also note that it notes the album’s “sun-soaked” and “sun-drenched” affect, so maybe that’s just historical gravity, not at all a bad thing.

Beyonce: Cowboy Carter (Parkwood Entertainment)–OK, so it’s not all that country (please dig out featured vet Linda Martell’s Color Me Country if you want that)–it’s just a really good Beyonce album, but, with much less pre-release hype and in-release bombast, I’d argue Mickey Guyton made a stronger statement with Remember Her Name in ’21 without riding a horse or wearing a cowboy hat (plus she turned whiskey into wine).

Buck 65, doseone, Jel: North American Adonis (Handsmade)–Rap earworm line of the year from this on-a-serious-verbal-roll Canadian MC is that he bets his CDs are gonna be “alive in a landfill”–that’s thinking ahead.

Cedric Burnside: Hill Country Love (Mascot / Provogue)–The North Mississippi Hill Country blues practitioners are getting whittled down something considerable, R. L.’s grandson’s has gamely tried keep the style alive with some gently modern tweaks, and he finally nails it here.

James Carter: UN (J.M.I. Recordings)–J.M.I.’s cutting analog jazz vinyl, and, while I have not heard them all (David Murray’s 2023 offerings, solo and with Plumb, were impressive), this is tops for them so far, causing one to wonder why it’s taken JC this long to wax an unaccompanied set…though I’m still waiting for his Earl Bostic tribute album.

Big Freedia & The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra: Live at the Orpheum Theater (Queen Diva)–A bounce orchestra’s taking it too far, you might think, but you SHOULD already know not to sell the Queen Diva short.

Miha Gantar: New York City (Clean Feed)–When I received a digital review copy of this 5-disc collection of new compositions and improvisations by the 26-year-old Slovenian pianist, I rolled my eyes but, as I have sworn to do with these “gifts,” gave it a shot–then found myself so mesmerized not only by the variable moods and configurations (strings, solo, drums only, collab with sax sensation Zoh Amba, etc.), but also by the distinctiveness of the six-count-’em-six pieces that I listened to the whole thing straight through and determined that it’s my favorite jazz release of the year.

Matt Lavelle and the 12 Houses: The Crop Circles Suite, Part 1 (Mahakala Music)–NYC clarinetist, trumpeter, composer and conductor Lavelle, long a very underrated player on the jazz scene, released this, (it looks like the first half of) his “life’s work,” on his 54th birthday: easily one of the genre’s most ambitious, successful and inspiring records of the young year.

Meshell Ndegeocello (and Friends): Red Hot & Ra – The Magic City (Red Hot Org)–You know you cannot resist the pull of the perennially underrated Ndegeocelleo, assisted by jazz compatriots Immanuel Wilkins and Darius Jones, putting a fresh spin on The Sun One–which the Red Hot Org label seems recently dedicated to doing, with a Kronos Quartet set in the offing.

Tomeka Reid Quartet: 3 + 3 (Cuneiform)–More and more predictably, when you put Reid and guitarist Mary Halvorson in the same room, sparks will fly along with those fingers, and aural magic will be the result, as it is here.

Ann Savoy: Another Heart (Smithsonian Folkways)–Surprise of the month: a passionate combo of covers (Springsteen, Sandy Denny, Kinks!) and originals sung and played by acclaimed Cajun historian and member of one of the style’s most acclaimed and hardest working families, a Top-Tenner to my ears (and…heart).

Reyna Tropical: Reyna Tropical (Psychic Hotline)–I swear I’ve run into one of these albums every month for a couple of years: a moody, sexy, lithely swinging, electronic trance-r&b–maybe in this case, yeah, trance–tropical–album that I can’t quit playing and beats monkey gland shots or whatever, which means I might need to dive into the artist’s considerable (for her age) back catalog.

Fay Victor: Life is Funny That Way—Herbie Nichols Sung (TAO Forms)–I’ll admit that, while an earlier 2024 group from Brazil did successfully sing Bill Evans, I thought star-crossed jazz pianist Nichols’ quirky compositions were too high a hurdle, but then I didn’t know diddley about Victor, whose scatting isn’t just experimental but vies with Carter, McRae, Ross, and Vaughan (stylistically, not really Ella, though) at their most daring; the band makes it over the bar as clearly.

Bob Vylan: Humble as the Sun (Ghost Theater)–A youngster for our times, though, compared to his last two records, this one seems almost autumnal, as if the pure revolutionary fire he regularly lights has prematurely aged him–but these times can do that, too.

April Top 10 Old Platters [Post-Record Store Day CD Meteor Shower (for me, every day is RSD)].

Alice Coltrane: The 1971 Carnegie Hall Concert (Impulse!)–The latest entry in the Alice Coltrane revival is the rowdiest and maybe the best, thanks to horns shaking things up.

Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru: Souvenirs (Mississippi Records)–As they do a Professor Longhair platter, all homes that dig music need a record by the recently-departed, ghost-fingered Ethiopian pianist and nun, but this is her first recording with vocals, which I wasn’t completely certain hadn’t slowed down her already sauntering roll–but, upon two more listens, I was wrong again.

Grupo Irakere: Teatro Amadeo Roldan Recital (Mr. Bongo)–Cuban bands come no hotter than this one, and this is their long-unavailable debut recording (and it’s not just hot).

Rail Band: Rail Band (Mississippi Records)–Another debut recording by a legendary band, this one from Mali, this one too long-unavailable, and featuring not one but two legendary vocalists:  Salif Keita and Mory Kanté.

Sonny Rollins: Freedom Weaver–The 1959 European Tour Recordings (Resonance)–My good pal Chris Gray, referring to this album, wondered who could complain about “live Rollins ’59,” and. while I whole-heartedly agree, especially since Sonny’s working in a trio format, Sonny would soon hit the bridge to…woodshed; I promise you that if you’re ever this good at what you do that you think you’re not good enough, you might just need lysergic therapy. (Note: RSD 2024 choice now available on CD.)

Sun Ra: At the Showcase Live in Chicago 1976-1977 (Elemental Music)–Ra in Chicago, always a spot for top-of-the-line spaceworks, with the band orbiting. (Note: RSD 2024 choice now available on CD.)

Art Tatum: Jewels In the Treasure Box (Resonance)–Mainly, you need to know this Tatum is in trio mode, which naturally cuts into his usual carnival of pianistics but also allows guitarist Everett Barksdale and legendary bassist Slam Stewart to show their scintillating stuff. (Note: RSD 2024 choice now available on CD.)

Various Artists: Congo Funk! Sound Madness From The Shores Of The Mighty Congo River (Analog Africa)–Key words: “Congo,” “Funk!” (exclamation point earned), “Sound Madness,” “Mighty”–and “Analog Africa; in other words, “Merde, putain, lâche-toi le cul et jam !” (Et j’adore de la confiture!)

Various Artists: New York City Hardcore: The Way It Is (Revelation Records)–I had not heard of any of these bands, but all the vocalists sound in some way like my best friend, former ranter, opera buff, free jazz buff, French-Canadian advocate, European football nut, and scientist Mark Pelletier, so it’s a win.

Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy: The Mighty Warriors Live in Antwerp (Elemental Music)–Both these now-underrated instrumentalists started out trad, in a way–pianist Waldron accompanying twilight-era Billie Holiday, soprano saxophonist Lacy playing New Orleans jazz–but ended up taking things just out enough to be trenchantly in, and they were master players, especially live, and here they are backed by two more flexible and pretty legendary rhythm controllers you heard about last week: bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Andrew Cyrille. (Note: RSD 2024 choice now available on CD–and it might be the pick of the litter.)

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST:

LABELS TO WATCH: Psychic Hotline (Durham, North Carolina), Sinking City (always—New Orleans), Mahakala Music (Little Rock, Arkansas)

Integrated List Solutions: 2023’s Best Discs With a Month to Go

RIP Shane MacGowan.

PREJUDICES:

  1. I don’t trust critics’ positive evaluations of art when they’re mostly grounded in politics (of one sort or another). Yet I am frequently guilty of it here.
  2. Related: For much of my life I have thought women were clearly the superior of the two traditionally recognized genders. My wife has helped me sustain that viewpoint; the last seven years of public mad, toxic explosions has convinced me we are equally flawed. Just sayin’: if the upper reaches of my list are dominated by women, it’s not because I’m still guided by romantic notions.
  3. I love jazz right now more than any other major genre. Within that larger genre, I find experimental and free jazz more interesting than its other subgenres. It engages my mind and skin more regularly than other kinds of music. That said, it’s really hard to rank such records. I could spend another hour rearranging my favorite experimental and free jazz records, and I’d change that arrangement again this afternoon. In addition, it’s been a GREAT (and scintillatingly varied) year for those.
  4. Few country records are on my list. I’m not resistant to that genre; I just insist on distinctly unique singing (it’s a tradition) and interesting lyrics. I was weaned on George, Merle, Willie, Dolly, Lorretty, and Tammy–what can I say?
  5. As a writer, I “come out of” punk, garage rock, and rock when it rolled–my first writing “gigs” were with punk zines. Over the last decade, a group of friends on Facebook have given me a great crash course (if a crash course can last a decade) in busting out of that particular popular/semipopular music pen, though I still like galloping around in it. It could be, as a result, that I am too eager to enthuse about intriguing poptimistic sounds. Also, some eyebrows might jump at the exclusion from the list of a certain mega-phenomenon in light of that admission. I still struggle with blandness, even impressively mounted and executed blandness. Oh, and about my punk-pen-past: if the band Dredd Foole & the Din is unfamiliar to you, change that (see “Excavations and “Reissues”).
  6. I like music made by melanated people more than the pale offerings. I don’t think about it beforehand–it just turns out that way. Sue me.

TRUNCATED OBSERVATIONS–PAIRINGS!:

–So-called “desert blues”? Folks, if you don’t know about it or have never gotten on the train, it’s not too late to hop on, and your first stop should be Bounaly’s glowing-orange-hot wailing guitar record Dimanche a Bamako. All hail the Sahel Sounds label. Next stop: Bombino’s Sahel.

–Prolific rappers? From Canada? Yep–it’s old news. BUT…Buck 65’s placed two releases in my Top 25 records of the year, and I had to think and listen awhile before I moved one of those out of the Top 10. Crisp beats, consistently engaging words, and a confident flow. I want to pose a question to aficionados: Buck 65 or Homeboy Sandman, if you could only take one of these fecund MCs’ oeuvres to a desert island?

–Brazilian music: I forgot a prejudice! I start out leaning forward when I put on a new Brazilian record, especially if it’s been touted by Rod Taylor of the Brazil Beat blog. And this year my Top 40 (so far) contains two great and VERY DIFFERENT–yet uniquely Brazilian–releases: Adriana Calcanhotto’s addictive samba-with-Waitsian-rhythmic-flecks Errante and Filipe Catto’s dark-toned tribute to the departed tropicalia legend Gal Costa, Belezas Sao Coisis Acesas por Dentro. Note 1: Catto’s album and Anohni’s still-chart-topping My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross is a terrific pairing as well.

The Updated List

–If an album makes the list, it sounds and feels to me like the equivalent of a Pitchfork 7.5 or better, an All Music 3 ½ stars or better, or an Xgauvian **Honorable Mention or better.
–It can be assumed that my Top 30-40 sound to me the equivalent of an A-, but I’m a teacher in my other incarnation so watch me for grade inflation. It cannot be assumed safely, though, that my Top 10 are all straight A’s.
–After the first 50, my “rankings” are a bit loose; similarly, the entirety of my “Excavations and Reissues” I rank pretty loosely other than the Top 3. Also, I usually jigger the rankings every month upon reflection.
–Items in bold are new to the list I posted at the end of the previous month.

Note 2: I’ve repeatedly pored over this month’s list and rearranged it, after some re-listening and simple reflection. My Top 50 is approaching as much permanence as I’m capable of, though Bounaly’s record so thoroughly kicked my ass last night it may take the top spot. We also have four weeks to go….

  1. Anohni: My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross (Secretly Canadian)
  2. Bounaly: Dimanche a Bamako (Sahel Sounds)
  3. Gina Birch: I Play My Bass Loud (Third Man)
  4. James Brandon Lewis: For Mahalia (with Love) (AUM Fidelity 2-CD version)
  5. boygenius: the record (Interscope)
  6. Buck 65: Punk Rock B-Boy (self-released)
  7. Olivia Rodrigo: Guts (Geffen)
  8. Jamila Woods: Water Made Us (Jagjaguwar)
  9. Romy: Midair (Young)
  10. Noname: Sundial (AWAL Recordings America)
  11. Jessie Ware: That! Feels Good! (Universal)
  12. Robert Finley: Black Bayou (Easy Eye)
  13. The Mark Lomax II Trio: Tapestry (CFG Multimedia)
  14. billy woods & Kenny Segal: Maps (Backwoodz Studios)
  15. Miguel Zenon & Luis Perdomo: El Arte del Bolero, Volume 2 (ArcArtists)
  16. Wild Up: Julius Eastman, Volume 3—If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich? (New Amsterdam)
  17. 100 gecs: 10,000 gecs (Dog Show/Atlantic)
  18. Corinna Bailey Rae: Black Rainbows (Black Rainbows)
  19. Adriana Calcanhotto: Errante (BMG)
  20. Big Freedia: Central City (Queen Diva)
  21. Buck 65: Super Dope (self-released)
  22. Ohad Talmor: Back to the Land (Intakt)
  23. Gard Nilssen’s Supersonic Orchestra: Family (We Jazz)
  24. Aesop Rock: Integrated Tech Solutions (Rhymesayers)
  25. Mark Turner: Live at the Village Vanguard (Giant Step Arts)
  26. Assiko Golden Band de Grand Yoff: Magg Tekki (Mississippi Records)
  27. Ethnic Heritage Ensemble: Spirit Gatherer—A Tribute to Don Cherry (Spiritmuse)
  28. Wadada Leo Smith: Fire Illuminations (Kabell)
  29. Tyler Mitchell Octet: Sun Ra’s Journey featuring Marshall Allen (Cellar Live)
  30. Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah & Chief Adjuah: Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning (Ropeadope)
  31. National Information Society: Since Time is Gravity (Eremite)
  32. Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: In the Dark (ESP-Disk)
  33. Armand Hammer: We Buy Diabetes Test Strips (Backwoodz Studios)
  34. Hamell on Trial: Bring the Kids (Saustex)
  35. Liv.e: Girl in The Half Pearl (Real Life / AWAL)
  36. Jelly Roll: Whitsitt Chapel (Stoney Creek)
  37. Fire! Orchestra: Echoes (Rune Grammofon)
  38. Filipe Catto: Belezas Sao Coisis Acesas por Dentro (Joia Moderna)
  39. Dropkick Murphys: Okemah Rising (Dummy Luck Music)
  40. Ashley McBryde: The Devil I Know (Warner Nashville)
  41. Kari Faux: REAL BITCHES DON’T DIE (drunk sum wtr records)
  42. Jason Adasiewicz: Roscoe Village—The Music of Roscoe Mitchell (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
  43. William Hooker: Flesh & Bones (Org Music)
  44. Tyshawn Sorey: Continuing (Pi Recordings)
  45. Yaeji: With a Hammer (XL Recordings)
  46. Bettye LaVette: LaVette! (Jay-Vee)
  47. Brandy Clark: Brandy Clark (Warner)
  48. Jason Moran: From the Dancehall to the Battlefield (Yes Records)
  49. Janelle Monae: The Age of Pleasure (Bad Boy)
  50. Zach Bryan: Zach Bryan (Belting Bronco)
  51. London Brew: London Brew (Concord)
  52. J.D. Allen: This (Savant)
  53. Ryoko Ono & Satoko Fujii: Hakuro (label unknown)
  54. Rodrigo Campos: Pagode Novo (YB Music)
  55. Kali Uchis: Red Moon in Venus (Geffen)
  56. Bobby Rush: All My Love for You (Deep Rush / Thirty Tigers)
  57. Kelela: Raven (Warp)
  58. Les Raillizes Denudes: Citta’ ’93 (Temporal Drift)
  59. Isach Skeidsvoll: Dance to Summon (Ultraani Records)
  60. Killer Mike: Michael (Loma Vista)
  61. Emil Amos: Zone Black (Drag City)
  62. Marina Sena: Vicio Inerente (Sony)
  63. Shabazz Palaces: Robed in Rareness (Sub Pop)
  64. Young Fathers: Heavy Heavy (Ninja Tune)
  65. Maria Jose Llergo: Ultrabella (Sony)
  66. Irreversible Entanglements: Protect Your Light (Impulse! / Verve)
  67. Jaimie Branch: Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) (International Anthem)
  68. David Mirarchi: Ink Folly, Orchid Gleam (Unbroken Sounds) 
  69. Superless: Superless (Oyvind Jazzforum)
  70. Algiers: Shook (Matador)
  71. Buselli – Wallarab Jazz Orchestra: The Gennett Suite (Patois Records)
  72. Lewis Capaldi: Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent (Vertigo Berline)
  73. Tyvek: Overground (Gingko)
  74. corook: serious person (part 1) (Atlantic)
  75. Ice Cold Bishop: Generational Curse (Ice Cold Entertainment)
  76. Allen Lowe and The Constant Sorrow Orchestra: America—The Rough Cut (ESP-Disk)
  77. Tri-County Liquidators: cut my teeth (Hitt Rex)
  78. ensemble 0: Jojoni (Crammed Discs)
  79. JLin: Perspective (Planet Mu)
  80. Sexxy Red: Hood Hottest Princess (Open Shift)
  81. Henry Threadgill: The Other One (Pi)
  82. Zoh Amba & Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt: The Flower School (Palilalia)
  83. Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids: Afro-Futuristic Dreams (Strut)
  84. Amanda Shires & Bobbie Nelson: Loving You (ATO)
  85. aja monet: when the poems do what they do (drink sum wtr)
  86. Knoel Scott (featuring Marshall Allen): Celestial (Night Dreamer)
  87. Steve Lehman & Orchestre National de Jazz: Ex Machina (Pi)
  88. Emmet Cohen & Houston Person: Houston Person—Masters Legacy Series, Volume 5 (Bandstand Presents)
  89. Peso Pluma: GENESIS (Double P)
  90. Chappell Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (KRA)
  91. Elijah Shiffer: Star Jelly (self-released)
  92. Grupo Frontera: El Comienzo (Grupo Frontera)
  93. Ember: August in March (Imani)
  94. Kevin Sun: The Depths of Memory (Endectomorph Music)
  95. Florian Arbenz: Conversation #10—Inland (Hammer)
  96. Withered Hand: How to Love (Reveal)
  97. Lafayette Gilchrist: Undaunted (Morphius)
  98. Meshell Ndegeocello: The Omnichord Real Book (Blue Note)
  99. The Fugs: Dancing in the Universe (Fugs Records)
  100. Taj Mahal: Savoy (Cheraw S.C.)
  101. Haviah Mighty: Crying Crystals (Mighty Gang)
  102. Willie Nelson: I Don’t Know a Thing About Love—The Songs of Harlan Howard (Legacy)
  103. Morgan Wade: Psychopath (Ladylike)
  104. Parannoul: After the Magic (Poclanos/Top Shelf)
  105. Felo Le Tee & Mellow & Sleazy: The Ill Wise Men (New Money Gang)
  106. The Necks: Travel (Northern Spy)
  107. Lori McKenna: 1988 (CN Records / Thirty Tigers)
  108. Tyler Keith & The Apostles: Hell to Pay (Black & Wyatt)
  109. KAYTRAMINE: KAYTRAMIUNE, Amine, & KAYTRANADA (CLBN)
  110. Rome Streetz: Wasn’t Built in a Day (Big Ghost)
  111. Hein Westgaard Trio: First as Farce (Nice Things)
  112. The Urban Art Ensemble: “Ho’opomopono” (CFG Multimedia 16-minute single)
  113. Itamar Borochov: Arba (Greenleaf)
  114. Rodrigo Amado / The Bridge: Beyond the Margins (Trost)
  115. ANTiINDSTRY: Numinous Interference (Muteant Sounds)
  116. Islandman (featuring Okay Temiz and Muhlis Berberoglu: Direct-to-Disc Sessions (Night Dreamer)
  117. Edward Simon: Femeninas (ArtistShare)
  118. Trio San (featuring Satoko Fujii and Taiko Saito): Hibiki (Jazzdor)
  119. Susan Alcorn: Canto (Relative Pitch)
  120. Kill Bill—The Rapper: Fullmetal Kaiju (EXO)
  121. Speaker Music: Techxodus (Planet Mu)
  122. Andy Fairweather Low: Flang Dang (The Last Music Company)
  123. ARO40: On the Blink (Aerophonic Records)
  124. Money for Guns: All the Darkness That’s in Your Head (CD Baby)
  125. Matana Roberts: Coin Coin Chapter Five—In the garden (Constellation)
  126. Bombino: Sahel (Partisan)
  127. Rough Image: Rough Image (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  128. Ingrid Laubrock: The Last Quiet Place (Pyroclastic)
  129. Victoria Monet: Jaguar II (Lovett Music)
  130. Homeboy Sandman: I Can’t Sell These Either (self-released)
  131. Havard Wiik & Tim Daisy: Slight Return (Relay)
  132. Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra: LightningDreamers (International Anthem)
  133. Kaze & Ikue Mori: Crustal Movement (Circum/Libra)
  134. DJ Black Low: Impumelelo (Awesome Tapes from Africa)
  135. Belle and Sebastian: Late Developers  (Matador)
  136. Satoko Fujii & Otomo Yoshihide: Perpetual Motion (Ayler Records)
  137. feeble little horse: Girl with Fish (Saddle Creek)
  138. Rocket 88: House of Jackpots (12XU)
  139. L’Rain: I Killed Your Dog (Mexican Summer)
  140. DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ: Destiny (Spells on the Telly)
  141. Nasty Facts: Drive My Car (Left for Dead)
  142. Taiko Saito: Tears of a Cloud (Trouble in the East)
  143. JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown: Scaring the Hoes (self-released)
  144. Kalia Vandever: We Fell in Turn (AKP Recordings)
  145. Water from Your Eyes: Everyone’s Crushed (Matador)
  146. Lakecia Benjamin: Phoenix (Whirlwind)
  147. Amaarae: Fountain Baby (Golden Angel/Interscope)
  148. Blondshell: Blondshell (Partisan)
  149. Satoko Fujii: Torrent (Libra Records)
  150. Javon Jackson: “With Peter Bradley”—Soundtrack and Original Score (Solid Jackson)
  151. Doja Cat: Scarlet (Kemosabe)
  152. Tianna Esperanza: Terror (BMG)
  153. YMA & Jadsa: Zelena (Matraca)
  154. Palehound: Eye on the Bat (Polyvinyl)
  155. J Hus: Beautiful and Brutal Yard (Black Butter)
  156. Das Kondensat: Anderen Planeten (Why Play Jazz)
  157. Iris DeMent: Workin’ On a World (FlariElla)
  158. David Murray, Questlove, and Ray Angry: Plumb (J.M.I.)
  159. Tyler Childers: Rustin’ in the Rain (Hickman Holler)
  160. Baaba Maal: Being (Atelier Live/Marathon Artists)
  161. Ed Sanders: The Sanders – Olufsen Poetry and Classical Music Project (Olufsen)
  162. Bob Dylan: Shadow Kingdom (Columbia)
  163. City Girls: Raw (Quality Control/Motown)
  164. Grrrl Gang: Spunky (Kill Rock Stars)
  165. Lana Del Rey: Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (Polydor)
  166. Teenage Jesus and The Jean Teasers: I Love You (Triple J Unearthed)
  167. Caroline Davis: Alula—Captivity (Ropeadope)
  168. Kiko El Crazy: Pila’e Teteo (Rimas)
  169. Romulo Froes & Tiago Rosas: Na Goela (YB Music)
  170. Florian Arbenz: Conversation #9—Targeted (Hammer Recordings)
  171. James Brandon Lewis: Eye of I (Anti-)
  172. Sofia Kourtesis: Madres (Ninja Tune)
  173. DJ Manny: Hypnotized (Planet Mu)
  174. Josephus and The George Jonestown Massacre: Call Me Animal—A Tribute to the MC5 (Saustex)
  175. Joanna Sternberg: I’ve Got Me (Fat Possum)
  176. Tracey Nelson: Life Don’t Miss Nobody (BMG)
  177. Etran De L’Air: Live in Seattle (EP) (Sahel Sounds)
  178. Everything But the Girl: Fuse (Buzzin’ Fly)
  179. Tomas Fujiwara’s Triple Double: March On (self-released)
  180. Ice Spice: Like…? (10K Projects / Capitol Records EP)
  181. otay:onii: Dream Hacker (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  182. Sylvie Courvoisier & Cory Smythe: The Rite of Spring—Spectre d’un songe (Pyroclastic)
  183. Nourished by Time: Erotic Probiotic 2 (Scenic Route)
  184. Walter Daniels: “From Death to Texas” / “Seems Like a Dream” (Spacecase Records 45)
  185. Nakimbembe Embaire Group: Nakimbembe Embaire Group (Nyege Nyege Tapes)
  186. Shirley Collins: Archangel Hill (Domino)
  187. Karol G: Manana Sera Bonito (Universal Music Latino)
  188. Tinashe: BB/ANG3L (Nice Life)
  189. Hollie Cook: Happy Hour in Dub (Merge)
  190. Andrew Cyrille: Music Delivery / Percussion (Intakt)
  191. Kate Gentile: b i o m e i.i (Obliquity)
  192. Yves Tumor: Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) (Warp)
  193. Dan Ex Machina: Ex’s Sexts (self-released)
  194. Open Mike Eagle: another triumph of ghetto engineering (AutoReverse)
  195. Yonic South: Devo Challenge Cup (Wild Honey)
  196. Rudy Royston: Day (Greenleaf Music)
  197. Chien Chien Lu: Built in System—Live in New York (Giant Step Arts)
  198. Pangaea: Changing Channels (Hessle Audio)
  199. Lewsberg: Out and About (Lewsberg / 12XU)
  200. Basher: Doubles (Sinking City)
  201. That Mexican OT: Lonestar Luchador (Good Talk)
  202. Daniel Villarreal: Lados B (International Anthem)
  203. Staples Jr. Singers: Tell Heaven (EP) (Luaka Bop) Note: the vinyl gets you more great minutes of testifying.
  204. Brandee Younger: Brand New Life (Impulse!)
  205. Babe, Terror: Teghnojoyg (self-released)
  206. Heinali: Kyiv Eternal (Injazero)
  207. Vinny Golia Quartet: No Refunds (Unbroken Sounds)
  208. Kresten Osgood / Bob Moses / Tisziji Munoz: Spiritual Drum Kingship (Gotta Let It Out)
  209. The Art Ensemble of Chicago: From Paris to Paris (Rogue Art)
  210. Clarence “Bluesman” Davis: Shake It ForMe (Music Maker Foundation)
  211. The War and The Treaty: Lover’s Game (Mercury Nashville)
  212. Aroof Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad, Ismaily: Love in Exile (Verve)
  213. Asher Gamedze: Turbulence and Pulse (International Anthem)
  214. Normal Nada the Krakmaxter: Tribal Progressive Heavy Metal (Nyege Nyege Tapes)
  215. Natural Child: Be M’Guest (Natural Child Music)
  216. Tanya Tucker: Sweet Western Sound (Fantasy)

Excavations and Reissues

  1. Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens: Music Inferno—The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89 (Umsakazo Records)
  2. Kashmere Stage Band: Texas Thunder Soul 1968-1974 (Now-Again)
  3. The Replacements: Tim—Let It Bleed Edition (Rhino)
  4. Dorothy Ashby: With Strings Attached (New Land Records)
  5. Walter Bishop, Jr.: Bish at the Bank—Live in Baltimore (Cellar Live)
  6. Various Artists: Yebo! Rare Mzansi Party Beats from Apartheid’s Dying Years (BBE)
  7. Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra: 60 Years (The Village)
  8. Os Tincoas: Canto Coral Afrobrasiliero (Sanzala Cultural)
  9. Various Artists: Ecuatoriana (Analog Africa)
  10. Leon Keita: Leon Keita (Analog Africa)
  11. Hiroshi Yoshimura: Surround (Temporal Drift)
  12. Balka Sound: Balka Sound (Strut)
  13. Sonic Youth: Live in Brooklyn (Silver Current)
  14. John Coltrane: Evenings at The Village Gate (Impulse!)
  15. Various Artists: Playing for The Man at The Door (Smithsonian Folkways)
  16. Gabe Baltazar: Birdology (Fresh Sounds)
  17. Hiatus Kaiyote: Choose Your Weapon (Flying Buddha / Sony Masterworks)
  18. Dream Dolphin: Gaia—Selected Ambient & Downtempo Works (1996 – 2003) (Music from Memory)
  19. Various Artists: The Soul of Congo – Treasures of the Ngoma label (1948​-​1963) (Planet Ilunga)
  20. Sonny Stitt: Boppin’ in Baltimore—Live at the Left Bank (Jazz Detective)
  21. Ihsan Al-Munzer: Belly Dance (BBE)
  22. Dredd Foole & The Din: See God 1985-1986 (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
  23. Johnny Griffin: Live at Ronnie Scott’s, 1964 (Gearbox)
  24. Nina Simone: You’ve Got to Learn (Verve)
  25. William S. Burroughs: Nothing Here But the Recordings (Dais Records)
  26. Eddie & Ernie: Time Waits for No One (Mississippi Records)
  27. Various Artists: Purple Haze from East, Volume 1 (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  28. Various Artists: Purple Haze from East, Volume 2 (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  29. The Southern University Jazz Ensemble: Goes to Africa with Love (Now-Again)
  30. Roy Campbell / William Parker / Zan Matsuura: Visitation of the Spirits—The Pyramind Trio Live, 1985 (No Business)
  31. Sonny Rollins: Live at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki 1972 (Svart)
  32. Various Artists: The Best of Revelation Records 1959-1962 (NarroWay)
  33. Shizuka: Heavenly Persona (Black Editions)
  34. Jacqueline Humbert & David Rosenboom: Daytime Viewing (Unseen Worlds)
  35. Bob Dylan: Time Out of Mind Stripped Naked (Columbia)
  36. Various Artists: Blacklips Bar—Androgyns and Deviants / Industrial Romance for Bruised and Battered Angels 1992-1995 (Anthology Recordings)
  37. Wes Montgomery: Maximum Swing (Resonance)
  38. Various Artists: Con Piano, Sublime—Early Recordings from the Caribbean 1907-1921 (Magnificent Sounds)
  39. Various Artists: Space Echo—The Mystery Behind the Cosmic Sound of Cabo Verde Revealed! (Analog Africa)
  40. Ibrahim Hesnawi: The Father of Libyan Reggae (Habibi Funk)
  41. RP Boo: Legacy Volume 2 (Planet Mu)
  42. Les Raillizes Denudes: ’77 Live (Temporal Drift)
  43. Alon Nechushtan: For Those Who Cross the Seas (ESP-Disk)
  44. Eddie Lockjaw Davis and Shirley Scott: Cookin’ With Jaws and The Queen (Craft)
  45. Professor James Benson: The Gow-Dow Experience (Jazzman Records)
  46. Little Bob and The Lollipops: Nobody But You (Mississippi Records)

THIS STUFF! FEELS GOOD!: 110 Truly Interesting Records We’ve Received So Far in ’23 (not bad!)

Hi! I hope summer is off to as dazzling a musical start for you as it has for me! Not only have the records come marching in, but I am teaching a very enjoyable asynchronous class for Stephens College that’s built around Susan Rogers‘ and Ogi Ogas‘ This Is What It Sounds Like (you yourselves might well love not only the book but its fun associated website), which take a look at why our brains push us toward certain kinds of music and not others. My students are doing excellent work: I will send an essay by one of them up very soon, in which the author will enter the current Lewis Capaldi fuck-him/marry-him/kill-him scrum in enthusiastic form. They have to construct, explain, and interpret their unique listening profiles (see the book) for their final project, and I’m definitely looking forward to that.

Nut Notes:

*Boy howdy, that boygenius album has subtle and often barbed charms. Is it just me, or has the counterattack begun?

*It’s quite a boast, but Buck 65 wins this month’s “Truth in Title Advertising” award by a hair over…

*…JESSIE WARE, who got extra points for punctuation and makes me feel young again–seriously. For the record, I am currently 61, and can someone put her and Roisin Murphy on a US tour so I can go dance deliriously and live deliciously?

*The Dropkick Murphys dropped their second (?) album of (literally) unsung Woody Guthrie songs last month–how’d I miss the first, which came out LAST YEAR (it just came in the mail yesterday)? While I was blasting it on Memorial Day, Nicole remarked, “Does his stuff stay relevant or what?” She’s an Okie, so she might be biased–but she’s also correct.

*Wild Up released their third record interpreting the amazing minimalist (but not exactly) work of Julius Eastman. This one is a bit more in your face, which is partly the particular Eastman compositions they chose to work with, but I bet they’ve spent some time with Eight Songs for a Mad King, where he makes one particular unforgettable vocal appearance.

*Nourished by Time…that is one eccentric but impressive r&b album. I was lazy sampling it and assumed from the cover it was going to be a rap album–I know next to nothing about this act–but it sure as hell is not.

*Little Rock, Arkansas’ Kari Faux has a special title message for you that she backs up on her new record.

*Simply put, you’re gonna want that Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens record at the top of the “old stuff” list. I can’t believe it looking back, but I saw a show on that tour–I should have been too ignant to know–and it.is.theshit.

*You think harp and jazz is a twain that never should meet? Brandee Younger does not agree, nor did Dorothy Ashby, whose very convincing soon-come 5-LP reconsideration by New Land Younger contributes notes for.

*”If you’re doing business with a religious son of a bitch, get it in writing!” It is SO nice to hear William S. Burroughs‘ inimitable and often prophetic voice coming from my speakers again, via Dais Records’ sharply assembled compilation of 1960s recordings. (That italicized quote isn’t on the record–look for Uncommon Quotes, if it’s still available–but many other worthy utterances are.)

*MARK LOMAX II never makes a foolish move.

*Brazil in the house…always. Check out #27 and #31 for sure.

*Kate Gentile‘s new free/experimental/jazz record is like walking blindfolded through a wind-blown percussion forest in the middle of the night.

*I have a feeling that The Gennett Suite, in which the artists “elasticize” the sound of the original classic recordings released on that label (think Bix), may meet with some jazz argumentation. I stand with Buselli and Walarab–the originals are strong enough to be stretched. They shine in this new light.

*Many (of the few) readers of the blog probably already know that Lux Interior and Ivy Rorshach of The Cramps were ace 45 collectors. I’m a BIG fan of theirs, but even I was not aware that Righteous Records is more deeply mining their collection, getting past that legendary stuff (“Love Me,” “I Can’t Hardly Stand It,” “The Strangeness in Me,’ “Bop Pills”–I can go on) and finding even more pretty worthy curiosities. Don’t miss the latest at the very end of the list, and it’s just the latest volume.

(Bolded items are new to the list)

  1. Gina Burch: I Play My Bass Loud (Third Man)
  2. 100 gecs: 10,000 gecs (Dog Show/Atlantic)
  3. boygenius: the record (Interscope)
  4. Buck 65: Super Dope (self-released?)
  5. Jessie Ware: That! Feels Good! (Universal)
  6. billy woods & Kenny Segal: Maps (Backwoodz Studios)
  7. Liv.e: Girl in The Half Pearl (Real Life / AWAL)
  8. Kelela: Raven (Warp)
  9. National Information Society: Since Time is Gravity (Eremite)
  10. Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: In the Dark (ESP-Disk)
  11. Rodrigo Campos: Pagode Novo(YB Music)
  12. Ethnic Heritage Ensemble: Spirit Gatherer—A Tribute to Don Cherry (Spiritmuse)
  13. Yaeji: With a Hammer (XL Recordings)
  14. Jason Moran: From the Dancehall to the Battlefield (Yes Records)
  15. London Brew: London Brew (Concord)
  16. Fire! Orchestra: Echoes (Rune Grammofon)
  17. Wadada Leo Smith: Fire Illuminations (Kabell)
  18. The Mark Lomax II Trio: Tapestry (CFG Multimedia)
  19. Dropkick Murphys: Okemah Rising (Dummy Luck Music)
  20. Islandman (featuring Okay Temiz and Muhlis Berberoglu: Direct-to-Disc Sessions (Night Dreamer)
  21. Parannoul: After the Magic (Poclanos/Top Shelf)
  22. Belle and Sebastian: Late Developers (Matador)
  23. Satoko Fujii & Otomo Yoshihide: Perpetual Motion (Ayler Records)
  24. The Urban Art Ensemble: “Ho’opomopono” (CFG Multimedia 16-minute single)
  25. The Necks: Travel (Northern Spy)
  26. Kali Uchis: Red Moon in Venus (Geffen)
  27. Marina Sena: Vicio Inerente (Sony)
  28. Wild Up: Julius Eastman, Volume 3—If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich? (New Amsterdam)
  29. Willie Nelson: I Don’t Know a Thing About Love—The Songs of Harlan Howard (Legacy)
  30. Allen Lowe and The Constant Sorrow Orchestra: America—The Rough Cut (ESP-Disk)
  31. Edward Simon: Femeninas (ArtistShare)
  32. Tyshawn Sorey: Continuing (Pi Recordings)
  33. Nourished by Time: Erotic Probiotic 2 (Scenic Route)
  34. Walter Daniels: “From Death to Texas” / “Seems Like a Dream” (Spacecase Records 45)
  35. Tyler Keith & The Apostles: Hell to Pay (Black & Wyatt)
  36. Algiers: Shook (Matador)
  37. KAYTRAMINE: KAYTRAMIUNE, Amine, & KAYTRANADA (CLBN)
  38. Withered Hand: How to Love (Reveal)
  39. ensemble 0: Jojoni (Crammed Discs)
  40. Henry Threadgill: The Other One (Pi)
  41. Kari Faux: REAL BITCHES DON’T DIE (drunk sum wtr records)
  42. Kiko El Crazy: Pila’e Teteo (Rimas)
  43. Kill Bill—The Rapper: Fullmetal Kaiju (EXO)
  44. Lewis Capaldi: Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent (Vertigo Berline)
  45. Rough Image: Rough Image (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  46. Ingrid Laubrock: The Last Quiet Place (Pyroclastic)
  47. Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra: Lightning Dreamers (International Anthem)
  48. Kaze & Ikue Mori: Crustal Movement (Circum/Libra)
  49. DJ Black Low: Impumelelo (Awesome Tapes from Africa)
  50. Rocket 88: House of Jackpots (12XU)
  51. Taiko Saito: Tears of a Cloud (Trouble in the East)
  52. JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown: Scaring the Hoes (self-released)
  53. Lakecia Benjamin: Phoenix (Whirlwind)
  54. Mat Muntz: Phantom Islands (Orenda)
  55. Satoko Fujii: Torrent (Libra Records)
  56. Javon Jackson: “With Peter Bradley”—Soundtrack and Original Score (Solid Jackson)
  57. Das Kondensat: Anderen Planeten(Why Play Jazz)
  58. Iris DeMent: Workin’ On a World (FlariElla)
  59. David Mirarchi: Ink Folly, Orchid Gleam (Unbroken Sounds) (coming soon….)
  60. Baaba Maal: Being (Atelier Live/Marathon Artists)
  61. Romulo Froes & Tiago Rosas: Na Goela (YB Music)
  62. Buselli – Wallarab Jazz Orchestra: The Gennett Suite (Patois Records)
  63. Florian Arbenz: Conversation #9—Targeted (Hammer Recordings)
  64. James Brandon Lewis: Eye of I (Anti-)
  65. Tomas Fujiwara’s Triple Double: March On (self-released EP—coming in March)
  66. Ice Spice: Like…?(10K Projects / Capitol Records EP)
  67. otay:onii: Dream Hacker (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  68. Sylvie Courvoisier & Cory Smythe: The Rite of Spring—Spectre d’un songe (Pyroclastic)
  69. Nakimbembe Embaire Group: Nakimbembe Embaire Group (Nyege Nyege Tapes)
  70. Karol G: Manana Sera Bonito (Universal Music Latino)
  71. Andrew Cyrille: Music Delivery / Percussion (Intakt)
  72. Kate Gentile: b i o m e i.i (Obliquity)
  73. Yves Tumor:Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) (Warp)
  74. Lonnie Holley: Oh Me Oh My (Jagjaguwar)
  75. Lana Del Rey: Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (Polydor)
  76. Yonic South: Devo Challenge Cup (Wild Honey)
  77. Rudy Royston: Day (Greenleaf Music)
  78. Lankum: False Lankum (Rough Trade)
  79. Staples Jr. Singers: Tell Heaven (EP) (Luaka Bop) Note: the vinyl gets you more great minutes of testifying.
  80. Brandee Younger: Brand New Life (Impulse!)
  81. Heinali: Kyiv Eternal (Injazero)
  82. Tri-County Liquidators: “Flies” / “Weep Then Whisper” / “Bitter” (self-released)
  83. Vinny Golia Quartet: No Refunds (Unbroken Sounds)
  84. Black Country, New Road: Live at Bush Hall (Ninja Tune)
  85. The Art Ensemble of Chicago: From Paris to Paris (Rogue Art)
  86. Clarence “Bluesman” Davis: Shake It For Me (Music Maker Foundation)
  87. Aroof Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad, Ismaily: Love in Exile (Verve)
  88. Asher Gamedze: Turbulence and Pulse (International Anthem)
  89. Angel Bat Dawid: Requiem for Jazz (International Anthem)
  90. Kara Jackson: Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? (September Recordings)
  91. Billy Valentine: Billy Valentine and The Universal Truth (Flying Dutchman)

Excavations and Reissues

(Note: These are not in order of my love for them–still sorting that out.)

  1. Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens: Music Inferno—The Indestructible Beat Tour 1988-89 (Umsakazo Records)
  2. Dorothy Ashby: With Strings Attached (New Land Records)
  3. Walter Bishop, Jr.: Bish at the Bank—Live in Baltimore (Cellar Live)
  4. William S. Burroughs: Nothing Here But the Recordings (Dais Records)
  5. Balka Sound: Balka Sound(Strut)
  6. Hiatus Kaiyote: Choose Your Weapon (Flying Buddha / Sony Masterworks)
  7. Dream Dolphin: Gaia—Selected Ambient & Downtempo Works (1996​-​2003) (Music from Memory)
  8. Various Artists: Purple Haze from East, Volume 1 (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  9. Various Artists: Purple Haze from East, Volume 2 (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  10. Shizuka: Heavenly Persona (Black Editions)
  11. Jacqueline Humbert & David Rosenboom: Daytime Viewing (Unseen Worlds)
  12. Bob Dylan: Time Out of Mind Stripped Naked (Columbia)
  13. Various Artists: Blacklips Bar—Androgyns and Deviants / Industrial Romance for Bruised and Battered Angels 1992-1995 (Anthology Recordings)
  14. RP Boo: Legacy Volume 2 (Planet Mu)
  15. Les Raillizes Denudes: ’77 Live (Temporal Drift)
  16. Luther Thomas: 11th Street Fire Suite (Corbett vs. Dempsey)
  17. Eddie Lockjaw Davis and Shirley Scott: Cookin’ With Jaws and The Queen(Craft)
  18. Professor James Benson: The Gow-Dow Experience (Jazzman Records)
  19. Various Artists: Strontium 90, Shrimps & Gumbo—Lux & Ivy Dig Motorcycle Boots & Mutants (Righteous Records)