Tag: Sun Ra Arkestra

MAY 2024: Music I Lived to Listen To

This was a tough month. I was finishing up teaching and getting ready to start up again, very fatigued; trying to organize scholarship awards in memory of a too-soon-departed friend; playing Cecil Taylor albums every day very loudly (Nicole hadn’t finished teaching yet, so I was home alone with six cats and the stereo turned to 11), thanks to Phil Freeman’s outstanding upcoming biography In the Brewing Luminous (read my pal Ken Shimamoto’s outstanding review here); experiencing unusual trouble really getting into new albums (I can hear my current Conservatory students and my lovable provocateur Kevin Bozelka whispering, “Get into singles, get lit, and sing some karaoke, Phil!”); and…also being more than a bit depressed about the state of the country and this world, my mom having to be in an assisted living facility, and already having 62 trips around the sun under my belt while, with Sandy Denny on heavy rotation, wondering in vain who really knows where that time has gone. I couldn’t even imagine getting this done.

BUT the indefatigable Adeem the Artist–why could I not muster the energy to go see them when they were playing a little club here, after all they’ve done for humanity in just three albums?–Mdou Moctar‘s defiant guitar and words, and a wonderfully weird Sun Ra excavation jolted me into action. I hope you all are not having the same struggles. But I bet you are having some of them.

(I would also like to thank, along with the above artists, my current students in an alleged “rock and roll” class at Stephens College for delighting me with their work and commentary–enjoy their “Top 5 Album” lists below.)

These records made me happy in May.

Adeem The Artist: ANNIVERSARY (Thirty Tigers /Four Quarters) From the personal to the public, this pansexual writer continues to vividly capture the complications and cruelties that are us–they could stand to work on the melodies, though, but I’ll settle.

Les Amazones d’Afrique: Musow Dance (Real World). Jumpin’, jubilant, empowering, even if I’m not an African woman and I don’t understand the words–and I love the synths and 808s!

Anitta: Funk Generation (Republic / Universal) This Brazilian temptress is edging toward “force of nature” status, and I think the label may have misspelled the first word of the album title.

Bloodest Saxophone featuring Crystal Thomas: Extreme Heat (Continental Record Services) I am charmed by this jubilant 25-years-together-and countin’ Japanese jump blues outfit, and Ms. Thomas, while not exactly Ruth Brown or Etta Jones–those are high bars–gives it her boisterous all.

Creation Rebel: High Above Harlesden 1978-2023 (On-U Sound) I am pretty new to the Creation Rebel experience–I knew not of their Prince Far I and Adrian Sherwood connections–but the inexpensiveness and cover photo, plus a reggae jones that I can never quite dampen, pushed me forward with the following result: I’ve listened to the entire six-disc box three times and, thanks to some pit-stops in space and other non-Caribbean locations, they hold one’s attention.

Billie Eilish: HIT ME HARD & SOFT (Dark Room / Interscope) I listened to it and heard a remarkable stylistic tour de force for one so young (including a very welcome opening-up of her voice and one of the most vivid, longing, and funny oral sex songs I’ve ever heard); many others listened and heard a scattershot record, so…whom do you trust more, me or the many?

Ibibio Sound Machine: Pull the Rope (Merge) 2017’s Uyai lifted me so much I still have a poster of Eno Williams up in my office, but she and they have struggled to match that one since, though this comes awfully damn close.

Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, and Tyshawn Sorey: Compassion (ECM) A bracingly calming (is that a possible state of being?) set by three relatively young masters–I can simply listen to Sorey and be entranced–and maybe that’s what they mean by “compassion”: couldn’t we all stand to be braced by calm?

Matt Wilson’s Good Trouble: Matt Wilson’s Good Trouble (Palmetto) I received a review copy of this and, for some reason, the cover photo (which is fine) left me in a mood of obligation when I slid it into the CD changer, but I found it exciting: a) John Lewis’ title concept we still need to be reminded to mind; b) Wilson’s one helluva a drummer; c) the saxophonists–Jeff Lederer and Tia Fuller–are on fire; and d) they cover Prime Time Ornette (“Feet Music”!) with panache.

Joe McPhee (with Ken Vandermark): Musings of a Bahamanian Son (Catalytic Sound) Anyone who’s followed my blog for long knows I ride or die with this 84-year-old multi-instrumentalist, imaginative noise-maker, and cultural envoy from Poughkeepsie–but damned if I expected he’d release a terrific album of original poetry (with some honking assists by long-time buddy Ken Vandermark) that any young gun will have trouble topping this year.

Mdou Moctar: Funeral for Justice (Matador) I have been to many concerts in my life, and heard some amazing guitar players–including Sonic Youth’s at their absolute peak–but the 10+-minute wildfire I saw Moctar start in a little cafe in Columbia, Missouri, in 2019 tops them all, and this AOTY candidate’s his first one that gets within spitting distance of that (oh, and the translations are worth reading, as the album title has probably already tipped you).

Rapsody: Please Don’t Cry (We Each Other / Jamla Records) I’ve actually been longing for a new Rapsody record for awhile, as perhaps many of you have, and, for the patient–it’s a bit of an epic–the wait’s been worth it, especially because one of the best rappers alive tempers her wrenching reportage of her mental health struggles with a very combative spirit.

Sun Ra: Excelsior Mill (Sundazed / Modern Harmonic) The Sun One, in a perfect sound-image of the Phantom of the Opera, playing “the biggest pipe organ in the South” at Atlanta’s title club with just a bit of percussional help from the Arkestra–if you think that over 40 minutes of that would have to be a bit much, you’re just wrong, as it is an astonishing aural trip–complete with wry quotes, Ellingtonian choo-choo noises, phantasmagoria, and (of course space) travel–that was by far my favorite trip of any kind in May.

Sun Ra: Pink Elephants on Parade (Modern Harmonic) Most readers who know the work of Sun Ra and His Arkestra also know they would occasionally knock out a Disney cover, and, while this could actually benefit from a little more weirdness, it’s fun for the whole family, unlike most Arkestra records.

Students in Stephens College’s outstanding Conservatory are taking an asynchronous online course with me that’s stubbornly titled “Rock and Roll History” by the school. It’s actually built around Berklee neuroscience professors Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas’ book This is What It Sounds Like, which examines what brain science tells us about our connections to music, most fascinatingly through establishing a listening profile that asks the reader to truly examine their attractions. The neat thing–to me, anyway–is that students bring their own musical passions to the course and don’t have to endure me cramming “historically significant works” down their throats. To try to keep a toe in the titular pool, every week they are required to ask me a question about “rock and roll history”–and I ask them one. I often go to great lengths to answer their questions (it’s actually the lecture section of the course) and they (wisely) go to lesser lengths to answer mine.

Last week, I asked them to assess Billie Eilish’s new album (their takes resemble very closely the current critical division on that subject), plus post their Top 5 albums. When I ask students about their jams, I’m consistently amazed, considering how much music I listen to and how widely I range to do so, how little I really know about. For your pleasure, here are their lists (for their amusement, I bolded the relatively few albums they’ve chosen that I’ve actually heard). Mine (at least at the time of my posting them) are at the end–they change daily, if not hourly.

Student 1

(I am only naming the students if I have their permission, and I’m still waiting for some of those.)

A Letter To My Younger Self – Quinn XCII

Inside – Bo Burnham

Death of a Bachelor – Panic! at the Disco

Off to the Races – Jukebox the Ghost

The Greatest Showman – Various Artists

Student 2

Cowboy Carter – Beyonce

GUTS – Olivia Rodrigo

Emails I can’t send – Sabrina Carpenter

The Rise and Fall Of a Midwestern Princess – Chappell Roan

IGOR – Tyler, The Creator

Student 3

Obviously – Lake Street Dive

SOUR – Olivia Rodrigo

Emails I Can’t Send – Sabrina Carpenter

Oh the Places You’ll Go – Doechii

Stick Season – Noah Kahan

Student 4

The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology – Taylor Swift

Songs I Wrote in My Bedroom – Anson Seabra

cemeteries and socials – Paris Paloma

Now That I’ve Been Honest – Maddie Zahm

EPIC: The Underworld Saga – Jorge Rivera-Herrans

Student 5

Shrek the Musical

Hadestown

The Lightning Thief

Come from Away

Something Rotten!

Student 6

evermore – Taylor Swift

Muna – Muna

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – Chappell Roan

the record – boygenius

The Tortured Poets Department – Taylor Swift

Claire McLewin

Build a Problem – Dodie

Demidevil – Ashnikko

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? – Billie Eilish

Typical of Me EP – Laufey

Midwest Kids Can Make It Big – Lauren Sanderson

Student 8

Misadventures – Pierce the Veil

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – Chappell Roan

How to Be a Human Being – Glass Animals

After Laughter – Paramore

SOUR – Olivia Rodrigo

Sawyer Nevins

Julie Is Her Name – Julie London

Latin ala Lee – Peggy Lee

Tragic Kingdom – No Doubt

Under the Pink – Tori Amos

Les Demoiselles de Rochefort – Michel Legrand

Student 10

ORQUÍDEAS – Kali Uchis

Gemini Rights – Steve Lacy

Willow – Willow

Volcano – Jungle

Portals – Melanie Martinez

Student 11

Montero – Lil Nas X

Call Me By Your Name Soundtrack – Sufjan Stevens and Various Artists

Something To Give Each Other – Troye Sivan

Night Work – Scissor Sisters

I Disagree – Poppy

Student 12

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? – Billie Elilish

RAZZMATAZZ – I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

American Boys – Don McLean

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – Chappell Roan

Now, Not Yet – Half•Alive

Izzy Porzillo

AAAH!BA – Brian David Gilbert

SCREAMING IN THE MIRROR – Sunday Cruise

Big Man Says Slappydoo – GUPPY

LOUDMOUTH – VIAL

Am I Pretty? – Sunday Cruise

Makenzie Schutter

Impera – Ghost

The Connect: Déjà vu – Monsta x

How to: Friend, Love, Freefall – Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Who Am I? – Palewaves

Inside – Bo Burnham

Kaley Sikora

Next to Normal – Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY – Taylor Swift

Happier Than Ever – Billie Eilish

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 – Dave Malloy

Love Me Forever – Pinkshift

Paige “Blue” Trew

When the World Stopped Moving: The Live EP – Lizzie McAlpine

Prelude to Ecstasy – The Last Dinner Party

Sunset Season: EP – Conan Gray

Through the Tides – Fish in a Birdcage

Waterfall – Fish in a Birdcage

Student 17

Into The Woods – 2022 Broadway Cast Recording

Faith In the Future (Deluxe) – Louis Tomlinson

The Comeback – Zac Brown Band

Portraits – Birdy

Kid Krow – Conan Gray

Student 18

Where Owls Know My Name – Rivers of Nihil

The Violent Sleep of Reason – Meshuggah

Masego – Masego

It Is What It Is – Thundercat

Remember That You Will Die – Polyphia

My Lists (of course I had to make two)!

My five favorite albums when I was 19:

The Clash: London Calling

Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited

Public Image Limited: Second Edition

Gang of Four: Entertainment

John Coltrane Quartet: A Love Supreme

My five favorite albums at 62 (these change from day to day–I have thousands of them):

Professor Longhair: Crawfish Fiesta

Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys: The Tiffany Transcriptions, Volume 3–Basin Street Blues

Carmen McRae: As Time Goes By-Alone-Live at the Dug

Joni Mitchell: Blue

Tie: The Velvet Underground: 1969 Live / The Flying Burrito Brothers: The Gilded Palace of Sin

Bark Out Thunder, Roar Out Lightning–Albeit in a Small Dose: 150 Absorbing New and Old Recordings Released So Far in 2023

Grey Matter Natter

I am still behind–I feel I owe ten or fifteen records I haven’t laid ear to some time–but sometimes it be’s that way. The most important thing about this update is a new record is at the top of my list. If I graded albums, it just might be an A+. I don’t even give those to my students’essays.

  1. I am a helpless gestaltist–I am really blown away by works that, though they must be somewhat imperfect, make a powerful impact as a whole. From its wraith-like but oh-so-corporeal vocals to its music to its lyrics to its production to its accompanying art to its title to its assessment of this world, Anohni’s My Back Was a Bridge For You To Cross checks the boxes. Even if I wasn’t a Missourian, where cruelty is our state adjective, it would have knocked me out. After all, I am still an American. I’ve always been careful not to overrate a record that is topical in ways I care deeply about, but a) the cruelty the record addresses is definitely nothing new; b) it’s an undeniable message from the targets of cruelty; and c) as a work of art, it would move me if it were sung in Sanskrit. My Back Was a Bridge For You To Cross is the best–and my favorite–album of the year. It rocks in good measure, too, for those who must have that.
  2. I am also a helpless devotee of New Orleans music, especially any that is connected with the Mardi Gras Indian tradition. Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s been on a roll, but I’ve been too late to recognize his last couple of releases. Not this time. In some ways, it’s a strong pairing with Anohni’s record–but again, if it were sung in Tamasheq, I’d be down with it. Oddly, he doesn’t play much trumpet but it doesn’t really matter.
  3. In Columbia, Missouri, the indefatigable Matt Crook, a Howard Zinn-inspired high school social studies teacher and father of two youngsters, annually puts together the Columbia Experimental Music Festival (as well as ancillary shows of fascinating variety). This year, in partnership with another great local and annual offering, the We Always Swing Jazz Series, Matt and WAS founder Jon Poses will be bringing the Sun Ra Arkestra to our citizens. I saw Sun Ra himself with the Arkestra here twice, once in the late Eighties and once in the early Nineties, shortly after which The Sun One passed. I’d never have expected that, in 2023, I’d be seeing bandleader Marshall Allen still blowing at 99. I mention Allen because he and fellow Arkestra member Knoel Scott come very correct on the latter’s new album Celestial. Reaper, stay thy scythe.
  4. For Mr. Crook, “experimental” folds in hip hop culture, and why shouldn’t it? Last year, he arranged for three pretty underground figures to give a beat- and bar-making workshop at a local high school; this year, he’s snagged London-born, Queens-raised, Bed Stuy-representing Rome Streetz, whom I’d never heard of (Matt always snaps my earlids up like roller blinds). He’s tough, talented, and worth your time–even if you can’t come to Columbia for the fest.
  5. Regarding the Coltrane and Simone excavations–you’ve probably already heard this–temper your sonic expectations and instead focus on the expression and before-your-very-ears musical evolution you’re experiencing. Evolution isn’t ever…pristine.

(Bolded items are new to the list)

  1. Anohni: My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross (Secretly Canadian)
  2. Gina Burch: I Play My Bass Loud (Third Man)
  3. 100 gecs: 10,000 gecs(Dog Show/Atlantic)
  4. boygenius:the record (Interscope)
  5. Bettye LaVette: LaVette! (Jay-Vee)
  6. Buck 65: Super Dope (self-released?)
  7. Jessie Ware: That! Feels Good! (Universal)
  8. billy woods & Kenny Segal: Maps (Backwoodz Studios)
  9. Liv.e: Girl in The Half Pearl (Real Life / AWAL)
  10. Kelela: Raven (Warp)
  11. Big Freedia: Central City (Queen Diva)
  12. National Information Society: Since Time is Gravity (Eremite)
  13. Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: In the Dark (ESP-Disk)
  14. Ethnic Heritage Ensemble: Spirit Gatherer—A Tribute to Don Cherry (Spiritmuse)
  15. Jason Moran: From the Dancehall to the Battlefield (Yes Records)
  16. London Brew: London Brew (Concord)
  17. Fire! Orchestra: Echoes (Rune Grammofon)
  18. Wadada Leo Smith: Fire Illuminations (Kabell)
  19. The Mark Lomax II Trio: Tapestry (CFG Multimedia)
  20. Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah & Chief Adjuah: Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning (Ropeadope)
  21. Janelle Monae: The Age of Pleasure (Bad Boy)
  22. Dropkick Murphys: Okemah Rising (Dummy Luck Music)
  23. Isach Skeidsvoll: Dance to Summon (Ultraani Records)
  24. Wild Up: Julius Eastman, Volume 3—If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich? (New Amsterdam)
  25. Parannoul: After the Magic (Poclanos/Top Shelf)
  26. Yaeji: With a Hammer (XL Recordings)
  27. The Urban Art Ensemble: “Ho’opomopono” (CFG Multimedia 16-minute single)
  28. Felo Le Tee & Mellow & Sleazy: The Ill Wise Men (New Money Gang)
  29. Brandy Clark: Brandy Clark (Warner)
  30. Rodrigo Campos: Pagode Novo (YB Music)
  31. The Necks: Travel (Northern Spy)
  32. Kali Uchis: Red Moon in Venus (Geffen)
  33. Marina Sena: Vicio Inerente (Sony)
  34. Young Fathers: Heavy Heavy (Ninja Tune)
  35. Willie Nelson: I Don’t Know a Thing About Love—The Songs of Harlan Howard (Legacy)
  36. Peso Pluma: GENESIS (Double P)
  37. Ice Cold Bishop: Generational Curse (Ice Cold Entertainment)
  38. Allen Lowe and The Constant Sorrow Orchestra: America—The Rough Cut (ESP-Disk)
  39. Tyshawn Sorey:Continuing (Pi Recordings)
  40. Nourished by Time: Erotic Probiotic 2 (Scenic Route)
  41. Walter Daniels: “From Death to Texas” / “Seems Like a Dream” (Spacecase Records 45)
  42. Tyler Keith & The Apostles: Hell to Pay (Black & Wyatt)
  43. Algiers: Shook (Matador)
  44. KAYTRAMINE: KAYTRAMIUNE, Amine, & KAYTRANADA (CLBN)
  45. Withered Hand: How to Love (Reveal)
  46. ensemble 0: Jojoni(Crammed Discs)
  47. Henry Threadgill: The Other One(Pi)
  48. Kari Faux: REAL BITCHES DON’T DIE (drunk sum wtr records)
  49. Lewis Capaldi: Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent (Vertigo Berline)
  50. aja monet: when the poems do what they do (drink sum wtr)
  51. Knoel Scott (featuring Marshall Allen): Celestial (Night Dreamer)
  52. Meshell Ndegeocello: The Omnichord Real Book (Blue Note)
  53. Taj Mahal: Savoy (Cheraw S.C.)
  54. corook: serious person (part 1) (Atlantic)
  55. Haviah Mighty: Crying Crystals (Mighty Gang)
  56. Rome Streetz: Wasn’t Built in a Day (Big Ghost)
  57. Kiko El Crazy: Pila’e Teteo (Rimas)
  58. Islandman (featuring Okay Temiz and Muhlis Berberoglu: Direct-to-Disc Sessions (Night Dreamer)
  59. Edward Simon: Femeninas (ArtistShare)
  60. Kill Bill—The Rapper: Fullmetal Kaiju (EXO)
  61. Rough Image: Rough Image (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  62. Ingrid Laubrock: The Last Quiet Place (Pyroclastic)
  63. Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra: LightningDreamers (International Anthem)
  64. Kaze & Ikue Mori: Crustal Movement (Circum/Libra)
  65. DJ Black Low: Impumelelo (Awesome Tapes from Africa)
  66. Belle and Sebastian: Late Developers  (Matador)
  67. Satoko Fujii & Otomo Yoshihide: Perpetual Motion (Ayler Records)
  68. Rocket 88: House of Jackpots (12XU)
  69. Taiko Saito: Tears of a Cloud (Trouble in the East)
  70. JPEGMAFIA x Danny Brown: Scaring the Hoes (self-released)
  71. Water from Your Eyes: Everyone’s Crushed (Matador)
  72. Lakecia Benjamin: Phoenix (Whirlwind)
  73. Amaarae: Fountain Baby (Golden Angel/Interscope)
  74. Satoko Fujii: Torrent (Libra Records)
  75. Javon Jackson: “With Peter Bradley”—Soundtrack and Original Score (Solid Jackson)
  76. YMA & Jadsa: Zelena (Matraca)
  77. Palehound: Eye on the Bat (Polyvinyl)
  78. J Hus: Beautiful and Brutal Yard (Black Butter)
  79. Das Kondensat: Anderen Planeten (Why Play Jazz)
  80. Iris DeMent: Workin’ On a World (FlariElla)
  81. David Mirarchi: Ink Folly, Orchid Gleam(Unbroken Sounds) (coming soon….)
  82. Baaba Maal: Being (Atelier Live/Marathon Artists)
  83. Bob Dylan: Shadow Kingdom (Columbia)
  84. Lana Del Rey: Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (Polydor)
  85. Romulo Froes & Tiago Rosas: Na Goela (YB Music)
  86. Buselli – Wallarab Jazz Orchestra: The Gennett Suite (Patois Records)
  87. Florian Arbenz: Conversation #9—Targeted (Hammer Recordings)
  88. James Brandon Lewis: Eye of I (Anti-)
  89. Sexyy Red: Hood Hottest Princess (Open Shift)
  90. Joanna Sternberg: I’ve Got Me (Fat Possum)
  91. Tracey Nelson: Life Don’t Miss Nobody (BMG)
  92. Etran De L’Air: Live in Seattle (EP) (Sahel Sounds)
  93. Everything But the Girl: Fuse (Buzzin’ Fly)
  94. Tomas Fujiwara’s Triple Double: March On (self-released EP—coming in March)
  95. Ice Spice: Like…? (10K Projects / Capitol Records EP)
  96. otay:onii: Dream Hacker (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  97. Sylvie Courvoisier & Cory Smythe: The Rite of Spring—Spectre d’un songe (Pyroclastic)
  98. Nakimbembe Embaire Group: Nakimbembe Embaire Group (Nyege Nyege Tapes)
  99. Shirley Collins: Archangel Hill (Domino)
  100. Karol G: Manana Sera Bonito (Universal Music Latino)
  101. Andrew Cyrille: Music Delivery / Percussion (Intakt)
  102. Kate Gentile: b i o m e i.i (Obliquity)
  103. Yves Tumor: Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) (Warp)
  104. Lonnie Holley: Oh Me Oh My (Jagjaguwar)
  105. Yonic South: Devo Challenge Cup (Wild Honey)
  106. Rudy Royston: Day (Greenleaf Music)
  107. Basher: Doubles (Sinking City)
  108. Lankum: False Lankum (Rough Trade)
  109. Staples Jr. Singers: Tell Heaven (EP) (Luaka Bop) Note: the vinyl gets you more great minutes of testifying.
  110. Brandee Younger: Brand New Life (Impulse!)
  111. Babe, Terror: Teghnojoyg
  112. Heinali: Kyiv Eternal (Injazero)
  113. Tri-County Liquidators: “Flies” / “Weep Then Whisper” / “Bitter” (self-released)
  114. Vinny Golia Quartet: No Refunds (Unbroken Sounds)
  115. Black Country, New Road: Live at Bush Hall (Ninja Tune)
  116. The Art Ensemble of Chicago: From Paris to Paris (Rogue Art)
  117. Clarence “Bluesman” Davis: Shake It For Me (Music Maker Foundation)
  118. The War and The Treaty: Lover’s Game (Mercury Nashville)
  119. Aroof Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad, Ismaily: Love in Exile (Verve)
  120. Asher Gamedze: Turbulence and Pulse (International Anthem)
  121. Normal Nada the Krakmaxter: Tribal Progressive Heavy Metal (Nyege Nyege Tapes)
  122. Natural Child: Be M’Guest (Natural Child Music)
  123. Kara Jackson: Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? (September Recordings)
  124. Tanya Tucker: Sweet Western Sound (Fantasy)
  125. Billy Valentine: Billy Valentine and The Universal Truth (Flying Dutchman)

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. Dorothy Ashby: With Strings Attached (New Land Records)
  4. Walter Bishop, Jr.: Bish at the Bank—Live in Baltimore (Cellar Live)
  5. Various Artists: Yebo! Rare Mzansi Party Beats from Apartheid’s Dying Years (BBE)
  6. Nina Simone: You’ve Got to Learn (Verve)
  7. William S. Burroughs: Nothing Here But the Recordings (Dais Records)
  8. Balka Sound: Balka Sound (Strut)
  9. John Coltrane: Evenings at The Village Gate (Impulse!)
  10. Hiatus Kaiyote: Choose Your Weapon (Flying Buddha / Sony Masterworks)
  11. Dream Dolphin: Gaia—Selected Ambient & Downtempo Works (1996 – 2003) (Music from Memory)
  12. Various Artists: Purple Haze from East, Volume 1 (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  13. Various Artists: Purple Haze from East, Volume 2 (WV Sorcerer Productions)
  14. The Southern University Jazz Ensemble: Goes to Africa with Love (Now-Again)
  15. Shizuka: Heavenly Persona (Black Editions)
  16. Jacqueline Humbert & David Rosenboom: Daytime Viewing (Unseen Worlds)
  17. Bob Dylan: Time Out of Mind Stripped Naked (Columbia)
  18. Various Artists: Blacklips Bar—Androgyns and Deviants / Industrial Romance for Bruised and Battered Angels 1992-1995 (Anthology Recordings)
  19. Various Artists: Ecuatoriana (Analog Africa)
  20. RP Boo: Legacy Volume 2 (Planet Mu)
  21. Les Raillizes Denudes: ’77 Live (Temporal Drift)
  22. Luther Thomas: 11th Street Fire Suite(Corbett vs. Dempsey)
  23. Eddie Lockjaw Davis and Shirley Scott: Cookin’ With Jaws and The Queen (Craft)
  24. Professor James Benson:The Gow-Dow Experience (Jazzman Records)
  25. Various Artists: Strontium 90, Shrimps & Gumbo—Lux & Ivy Dig Motorcycle Boots & Mutants (Righteous Records)

LET’S STAMP (and maybe something GOOD will happen)!–Some of the Best New (and Newly Excavated Music) from 2022

Odd-servations:

  1. Up for a cool oud-fuelled album? I thought so. Jussi Reijonen’s Three Seconds I Kolme Toista (Challenge Records International) is just the thing for you. Reijonen (also on stunning guitars) is joined on his sophomore recording by players from Turkey, Jordan, Japan, Palestine, and America, on instrumentation ranging from violin to cello to microtonal piano, and creates a potent, moody brew that eludes genre and features fresh textures that connect back to the leader’s broad travels. “Something different” is a much-abused description, but this is that.
  2. I have missed Gogol Bordello. Lucky enough to have seen their live and mad rabble-rousing twice, I’ve wondered over the past couple of years just what they’d been up to. On first listen, I thought their new Solidaritine was a tad lacking in dynamics; on the second, third, fourth, and fifth listens I haven’t cared much. At all. Our rabble needs rousing, and sometimes dynamics can stall the ol’ rabble motor.
  3. I had to explain to several of my current students (I teach at the country’s second-oldest women’s college) that I was not pandering to their taste in admitting that I love the new Harry Styles album (he’s an acute singer–not just a cute one–I like the settings, and yes, it is dynamic) and like the new Taylor Swift album. The latter would be only the third one I’ve ever seriously listened to. The first was her first, which a fierce 10th grade student burned for me back in the burnin’ days and insisted I listen to; the second was the day before Midnights came out, at the behest of a fierce college sophomore who noted, after I mentioned in class that Mickey Guyton was working in the space Taylor made, that Taylor was in a whole different space and I needed to listen to Folklore, which I kind of loved until it went on too long (it–and the LONG version of Midnights–seemed like a marathon phone call from a friend with problems I wasn’t qualified to answer). But, hey, I listened to a couple artists I’d have been too snooty to before.
  4. Special shout out to the White Wino, who pushed me to check out the new Elaine Elias album, which is simply lush, rolling bossa nova sung and played with expertise and ease.
  5. I can always count on Jeffrey Lewis to write a song that hits me right where I’m living at the time. My oldest cat is still hangin’ in there, but Lewis’ writing on his new record’s title cut is all too specific.
  6. Anybody know Cecilia, Louisiana’s Dickie Landry? Sharp-as-a-tack horn player with the Cajun Traveling Wilburys–Little Band of Gold–before that co-conspirator with the likes of Laurie Anderson and a frequent New Orleans bandleader, but most notably a genius musician who has never seen a challenge he didn’t like. Fans of Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together might want to make a bee-line to the 84-year-old’s new music-and-spoken-word album with Lawrence Weiner (#118 below).
  7. Speaking of numbers? I would not trust my current numbering system as reliable rankings even as far as my own favorites are concerned. A simply overwhelming amount of music is roaring out, and this is just a hobby for me, ya hear? A HOBBY!
  8. This month, I happened upon an article about a group I’d never heard of, Les Rallizes Denudes, and record label Temporal Drift’s superb effort to bring them to our attention (out digitally but not as a physical copy). If you love “I Heard Her Call My Name” and the Velvets’ dynamics–there’s that word again–in particular, I strongly recommend you at least sample the group’s Oz Days recordings.
  9. If you’re a Ran Blake fan (his The Short Life of Barbara Monk is one of the most heartbreaking jazz records ever recorded), don’t miss his tender, wistful, autumnal Tompkins Square record, perfectly titled Driftwoods. Give the man props while he’s livin’, as a very wise man who is no longer with us once said.
  10. Joyce Moreno! Joyce Moreno! Joyce Moreno! See Brazil Beat to find out what’s right with me–and Joyce!

Note: New additions to the list are in bold.

RELEASES OF NEWLY-MADE MUSIC

Jerry Lee Lewis…so long.

  1. 75 Dollar Bill: Social Music at Troost, Volume 3–Other People’s Music (Black Editions Group)
  2. Rosalia: MOTOMAMI (Columbia)
  3. Willie Nelson: A Beautiful Time (Sony)
  4. Beyoncé: Renaissance (Parkwood Entertainment)
  5. Tanya Tagaq: Tongues (Six Shooter) 
  6. Ricky Ford: The Wailing Sounds of Ricky Ford—Paul’s Scene (Whaling City Sounds)
  7. Stro Elliot & James Brown: Black & Loud—James Brown Reimagined (Polydor)
  8. Gogol Bordello: Solidaritine (Das Grand Kapital)
  9. Tommy Womack: I Thought I Was Fine (Schoolkids Records)
  10. Wadada Leo Smith: The Emerald Duets (TUM)
  11. Wet Leg: Wet Leg (Domino)
  12. Anitta: Versions of Me (Deluxe) (Warner)
  13. Ka: Languish Arts (Iron Works)
  14. The Mountain Goats: Bleed Out (Merge)
  15. Sudan Archives: Natural Brown Prom Queen (Stones Throw)
  16. Lady Wray: Piece of Me (Big Crown)
  17. Harry Styles: Harry’s House (Columbia)
  18. Bob Vylan: Bob Vylan Presents The Price of Life (Ghost Theatre)
  19. Horace Andy: Midnight Rocker (On-U Sound)
  20. Superchunk: Wild Loneliness (Merge)
  21. Gonora Sounds: Hard Times Never Kill (Phantom Limb)
  22. Amanda Shires: Take It Like a Man (ATO)
  23. black midi: Hellfire (Rough Trade)
  24. Heroes Are Gang Leaders: LeAutoRoiGraphy (577 Records)
  25. ensemble 0: Music Nuvulosa (Sub Rosa)
  26. Ches Smith: Interpret It Well (Pyroclastic)
  27. The Ogun Meji Duo: Freedom Suite (self-released)
  28. Phelimuncasi: Ama Gogela (Nyege Nyege Tapes)
  29. 700 Bliss: Nothing to Declare (Hyperdub)
  30. The Chats: Get Fucked (Cooking Vinyl)
  31. Jinx Lennon: Pet Rent (Septic Tiger)
  32. Steve Lacy: Gemini Rights (RCA)
  33. Freakons: Freakons (Fluff & Gravy)
  34. Mary Gauthier: Dark Enough to See the Stars (Thirty Tigers)
  35. Etran de L’Air: Agadez (Sahel Sounds)
  36. Homeboy Sandman: I Can’t Sell These (self-released)
  37. Bitchin’ Bajas: Bajascillators (Drag City)
  38. Miranda Lambert: Palomino (Vanner)
  39. Horsegirl: “Billy” / “History Lesson, Part II” (Matador)
  40. Mark Lomax Trio: Plays Mingus (CFG Multimedia)
  41. Florian Arbenz: Conversation #5—Elemental; Conversations #6 and 7
  42. Moor Mother: Jazz Codes (Anti-)
  43. Mdou Moctar: Niger EP Volume 1 (Matador)
  44. Various Artists: Lespri Ka—New Directions in Gwoka Music from Guadeloupe (Time Capsule Sounds) 
  45. Billy Woods: Aethiopes (Backwoodz Studios)
  46. Mark Lomax II: Prismatic Refractions, Volume I (self-released)
  47. James Brandon Lewis: MSM Molecular Systematic Music—Live (Intakt)
  48. Daniel Villareal: Panama ’77 (International Anthem)
  49. Kehlani: blue water road (TSNMI/Atlantic)
  50. Elaine Elias: Quietude (Candid)
  51. Horace Andy: Midnight Scorchers (On-U Sound)
  52. Ka: Woeful Studies (Iron Works)
  53. Lucrecia Dalt: Ay! (RVNG International)
  54. Amber Mark:Three Dimensions Deep (PMR / Interscope) 
  55. Morgan Wade: Reckless (Deluxe) (Ladylike) 
  56. Zoh Amba: O, Sun (Tzadik)
  57. Jussi Reijonen: Three Seconds I Kolme Toista (Challenge Records International)
  58. Ran Blake: Driftwoods (Tompkins Square)
  59. Whit Dickey: Root Perspectives (Tao Forms)
  60. Dan Ex Machina: All is Ours, Nothing is Theirs (self-released)
  61. Anna von Hausswoolff: Live at Montreaux Jazz Festival (Southern Lord) 
  62. Felipe Salles: Tiyo’s Songs of Life (Tapestry)
  63. Steve Lehman: Xaybu—The Unseen(Pi Recordings)
  64. Tom Zé: Lingua Brasiliera (Selo Sesc)
  65. M.I.A.: Mata (Island)
  66. Taylor Swift: Midnights (non-expanded) (Republic)
  67. Nancy Mounir: Nozhet El Nofous (Terrorbird)
  68. Rick Rosato: Homage (self-released)
  69. The Beths: Expert in a Dying Field (Carpark)
  70. Alvvays: Blue Rev (Polyvinyl / Transgressive)
  71. Oumou Sangare: Timbuktu (World Circuit Limited)
  72. Various Artists: Hidden Waters—Strange and Sublime Sounds from Rio de Janiero (Sounds and Colours)
  73. Sun Ra Arkestra (featuring Marshall Allen): Living Sky (Strut / Omni Sound)
  74. SeaJun Kwon: Micro Nap (Endectomorph Music)
  75. Gilla Band: Most Normal (Rough Trade)
  76. Brian Eno: FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE (Verve / UMC)
  77. Nduduzo Makhathini: In the Spirit of Ntu (Universal)
  78. Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity:Elastic Wave (ECM)
  79. Miguel Zeñon: Musica de las Americas (Miel Music)
  80. Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few: Lift Every Voice (Division 81 Records)
  81. Tyshawn Sorey: The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism (Pi)
  82. Priscilla Block: Welcome to the Block Party (InDent)
  83. The Comet is Coming: Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam (Impulse)
  84. Serengeti: Kaleidoscope III (Audiocon)
  85. Kendrick Lamar: Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (pgLang/Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath/Interscope)
  86. Makaya McCraven: In These Times (International Anthem)
  87. Charm Taylor: She Is The Future (Sinking City)
  88. OGJB: Ode to O (TUM) (Note: Band name – O = Oliver Lake, G = Graham Haynes, J = Joe Fonda, B = Barry Altschul / Title – O = Ornette) 
  89. Andrew Cyrille, William Parker, and Enrico Rava: Two Blues for Cecil (TUM) 
  90. Luke Stewart’s Silt Trio: The Bottom (Cuneiform) 
  91. Tyler Mitchell: Dancing Shadows (featuring Marshall Allen) (Mahakala Music)
  92. Wild Up: Julius Eastman, Volume 2—Joy Boy (New Amsterdam)
  93. Crow Billiken (aka R.A.P. Ferreira): If I don’t have red I use blue (self-released)
  94. The Paranoid Style: For Executive Meeting(Bar/None)
  95. Carl Stone: Wat Dong Moon Lek (Unseen Worlds)
  96. Joy Guidry:Radical Acceptance (Whited Sepulchre)
  97. Meridian Brothers and El Grupo & Renacimiento (Ansonia)
  98. Marxist Love Disco Ensemble: MLDE(Mr. Bongo)
  99. Jeffrey Lewis: When That Really Old Cat Dies (self-released)
  100. Mitski: Laurel Hell (Dead Oceans)
  101. Jockstrap: Jockstrap (Rough Trade)
  102. Breath of Air: Breath of Air (Burning Ambulance Music)
  103. Immanuel Wilkins: The 7th Hand (Blue Note) 
  104. David Murray Brave New World Trio: Seriana Promethea (Intakt)
  105. Fulu Miziki: Ngbaka (EP)
  106. David Virelles: Nuna (Pi / El Tivoli)
  107. Javon Jackson & Nikki Giovanni: The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni (Solid Jackson) 
  108. Leikeli47: Shape Up (Hardcover/RCA)
  109. Witchcraft Books: Volume 1—The Sundisk (Iapetus Records)
  110. Hurray for The Riff Raff: Life on Earth (Nonesuch)
  111. Rokia Koné and Jacknife Lee: Bamanan (3DFamily)
  112. Tomas Fujiwara: Triple Double (Firehouse 12)
  113. DJ Black Low: Uwami (Awesome Tapes from Africa)
  114. Ibibio Sound Machine:Electricity (Merge)
  115. Zoh Amba: O Life, O Light, Volume 1(577 Records)
  116. Burton/McPherson Trio: The Summit Rock Session at Seneca Village (Giant Step Arts)
  117. Kahil El’Zabar Quartet: A Time for Healing (Spirit Muse)
  118. Pastor Champion: I Just Want to Be a Good Man (Luaka Bop)
  119. Dickie Landry & Lawrence Weiner: Having Been Built on Sand (Unseen Worlds)
  120. Nduduzo Makhathini: In the Spirit of Ntu (Blue Note)
  121. Pusha T: It’s Almost Dry (G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam)
  122. Elza Soares: Elza Ao Vivo No Municipal (Deck)
  123. Nilufer Yanya: Painless (ATO)
  124. Open Mike Eagle: a tape called component system with the auto reverse (Auto Reverse)
  125. Tommy McLain: I Ran Down Every Dream (Yep Roc)
  126. Satoko Fujii and Joe Fonda: Thread of Light (Fundacja Słuchaj)
  127. Charli XCX: Crash (Atlantic)
  128. Pete Malinverni: On the Town—Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein (Planet Arts) 
  129. JID: The Forever Story (Dreamville)
  130. Dedicated Men of Zion: The Devil Don’t Like It (Bible & Tire)
  131. Tyshawn Sorey Trio: Mesmerism (Pi Recordings)
  132. Space Afrika: Honest Labour (Dais)
  133. Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul: Topical Dancer (DeeWee)
  134. Earl Sweatshirt: Sick! (Tan Cressida / Warner) 
  135. Big Thief: Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You (4AD)
  136. Ashley McBryde: Presents…Lindeville (Warner Nashville)
  137. Jeff Arnal and Curt Cloninger: Drum Major Instinct (Mahakala Music)
  138. Tee Grizzley: Half Tee Half Beast (self-released)
  139. Hoodoo Gurus: Chariot of The Gods (Big Time Photographic Recordings)
  140. Natsuki Tamura: Summer Tree (Libra)
  141. (D)ivo: Perelman, Berne, Malaby, Carter (Mahakala Music)
  142. Daniel Carter et al.: Telepatica (577 Records)
  143. Ghais Guevara: There Will Be No Super-Slave (self-released)
  144. Pierre Kwenders: Jose Louis and the Paradox of Love (Arts & Crafts)
  145. Manel Fortia: Despertar (Segell Microscopi/Altafonte)
  146. Ray Wylie Hubbard: Co-Starring Too (Big Machine)
  147. Various Artists: if you fart make it sound good (WA Records)
  148. Marta Sanchez: SAAM (Spanish American Art Museum) (Whirlwind)
  149. Sonnyjim & The Purist: White Girl Wasted (Duape)
  150. Earthgang: Ghetto Gods (Dreamville/Interscope)
  151. Mavis Staples & Levon Helm: Carry Me Home (Anti-)
  152. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom: Reset (Domino)
  153. Blue Reality Quartet: Ella’s Island (Mahakala Music)
  154. Sarah Ruth and Monte Espina: quatro estaciones (Full Spectrum)

ARCHIVAL DIGS

  1. Los Golden Boys: Cumbia de Juventud (Mississippi Records)
  2. Albert Ayler: Revelations—The Complete ORTF 1970 Fondation Maeght Recordings (Elemental)
  3. Cecil Taylor:The Complete Legendary Live Return Concert at the Town Hall (Oblivion)
  4. Tommy Womack: 30 Years Shot to Hell! An Anthology (Schoolkids Records)
  5. Various Artists: Lovers Rock—The Soulful Sound of Romantic Reggae (Trojan)
  6. Albert Ayler: La Cave Live 1966 (Ezz-Thetics) 
  7. Various Artists: Cumbia Sabrosa—Tropical Sound System Bangers From The Discos Fuentes Vaults 1961-1981 (Rocafort Records)
  8. Biluka y Los Canibales: Leaf-Playing in Quito (1960-1965) (Honest Jon’s)
  9. Various Artists: OZ DAYS LIVE ’72​-​’73 Kichijoji–The 50th Anniversary Collection (featuring Les Rallizes Dénudés)  (Temporal Drift)
  10. Various Artists: A Chat About the Beauty of the Moon at Night–Hawaiian Steel Guitar Masters 1913-1921 (Magnificent Sounds)
  11. The Rolling Stones: Live at the El Mocambo (Interscope)
  12. Son House: Forever on My Mind (Easy Eye Sound)
  13. Lavender Country: Blackberry Rose and Other Songs & Sorrows (Don Giovanni)
  14. Mal Waldron: Searching in Grenoble—The 1978 Solo Piano Concert (Tompkins Square)
  15. Horace Tapscott Quintet: The Quintet (Mr. Bongo)
  16. Horace Tapscott Quintet: Legacies for Our Grandchildren (Dark Tree)
  17. Various Artists: The D-Vine Spirituals—Sacred Soul (Bible & Tire)
  18. Kabaka International Guitar Band: Kabaka International Guitar Band (Palenque Records)
  19. The Pyramids: AOMAWA—The 1970s Recordings (Strut)
  20. Hermeto Pascoal: Hermeto (Far Out Recordings)
  21. Sun Ra: Sun Ra Arkestra Meets Salah Ragab in Egypt (Strut)
  22. Asha Puthi: The Essential Asha Puthi (Mr. Bongo)
  23. Malik’s Emerging Force Art Trio: Time and Condition (moved-by-sound)
  24. Volta Jazz: Air Volta (Numero)
  25. Blondie: Against the Odds—1974-1982 (3-CD Rarities Version) (UMe / Numero Group)
  26. Joyce Moreno: Natureza (Far Out Recordings)
  27. Various Artists: From Lion Mountain—Traditional Music of Yeha, Ethiopia (Dust-to-Digital)
  28. Charles Stepney: Step-on-Step(International Anthem)
  29. Ronnie Boykins: The Will Come is Now (ESP-Disk)
  30. John Ondolo: Hypnotic Guitar of John Ondolo (Mississippi Records)
  31. Luciano Luciani y sus Mulatos: Mulata, vamos a la Salsa (Vampisoul)
  32. Cecil Taylor: Respiration (Fundacja Stuchaj)
  33. Norma Tanega: Studio and Demo Recordings, 1964-1971 (Anthology)
  34. Irma Thomas: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 1976 (Good Time)
  35. Afrika Negra: Antologia, Volume 1 (Bongo Joe)
  36. Various Artists: Summer of Soul (Legacy)
  37. The Heartbreakers: LAMF—The ’77 Found Mixes (Jungle)
  38. Various Artists: Let’s Stamp—1950s Folk Dance Recordings from Bulgarian and Yugoslavian 78 Discs (Canary Recordings)