Another week of triage, slogging through the backlog of CDs, including a few things from the logjam when I was in Detroit. Still haven't gotten to unpacking the travel cases. If I had nothing better to do, and more confidence than I feel, I'd say that next week should be the one where I buckle down and finish Jazz CG #18. It's due. The records are there. I'm anxious to get to the Anthony Braxton box. One problem is that it's going to be another bad week of house work. Another is that I'm still feeling like I'd rather be reading, especially now that I've finally gotten to Arno Mayer's Plowshares Into Swords, or writing about other things.

Note a relatively large number (9) of bracketed grades this time. Those records are all due for at least one more listen. Some are because I got distracted and didn't get a clear take; some are because something surprised me that I need to go back and figure out; some are because they might grow on me further. All, in other words, are because I'm working too fast. Which, for better or worse, is standard operating procedure here. One good question is why aren't there more bracket grades. Part of the answer there is that I'm not trying to write authoritative reviews of everything I listen to. I'm doing prospecting for a Jazz Consumer Guide column, and often I can decide a record isn't a prospect without fully forming a viewpoint on it. I can't claim that's fair, but over the long haul I think I wind up with pretty interesting record lists. If I wasn't unfair I suspect the whole process would paralyze. Some weeks that seems close to happening, which may be why I bring it up now.

Idit Shner: Tuesday's Blues (2008, OA2): Alto saxophonist, grew up in Israel, studied in Oklahoma, graduated from UNT, played in Sherrie Maricle's DIVA Jazz Orchestra; now based in Oregon. First record, a quartet with Stefan Karlsson on piano, Mike League on bass, Steve Pruitt on drums. Four of seven songs are listed as traditional: "Yellow Moon," "Elisheva Doll," "Adon Haselichot," and "Ha Lachma." I wouldn't classify them as klezmer, but the folk melodies help center the album. A bit of solo sax near the end is particularly nice. B+(**)

Dan Heck: Compositionality (2007 [2008], Origin): Guitarist, graduated from Berklee, was in Seattle for a while with a band called Bebop & Destruction; now based in South Florida. First album, calling out trumpeter Thomas Marriott for a featuring role. Nice, tasty postbop, with the guitar rolling gently off the trumpet leads. B+(*)

Jeff Johnson: Tall Stranger (2002 [2008], Origin): Google shows up many Jeff Johnsons; AMG lists 14. This one is a mainstay of the Seattle jazz scene, playing bass, with four albums since 1999, several dozen side credits, especially with pianists Jessica Williams and Hal Galper. This is a trio, with Hans Teuber (tenor sax, bass clarinet) and Billy Mintz (drums). Slow pieces, strongly shaped by the bass, with Teuber's reeds following the same contours. Somewhat abstract, very seductive, rewards attention. [B+(***)]

Roy Assaf & Eddy Khaimovich Quartet: Andarta (2007 [2008], Origin): Two Israelis, who met by chance in New York and found they fit. Assaf plays piano; Khaimovich bass. The quartet fills out with Robin Verheyen on sax and Ronen Itzik on drums, but Verheyen sits out a couple of cuts to make way for Roy Hargrove on trumpet. Postbop with a dash of world groove. B+(*)

Asaf Sirkis Trio: The Monk (2007-08 [2008], SAM Productions): Israeli drummer, b. 1969 in Petah-Tikva; left Israel in 1998 for Holland, then France, finally settling in London, where he joined Gilad Atzmon's Orient House Ensemble. Trio includes electric bassist Yaron Stavi and guitarist Tassos Spiliotopoulos. The electric instruments give the record a fusion feel, but upside down, with the drums out front and the chord instruments striving to catch up. Fifth album as a leader -- three with a group called Inner Noise. Sounds like someone to explore further. [B+(**)]

McCoy Tyner: Guitars (2006 [2008], McCoy Tyner Music/Half Note, CD+DVD): Quartets, with Ron Carter on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and a smattering of guitarists sharing the center stage with Tyner: Marc Ribot, John Scofield, Derek Trucks, Bill Frisell, and Bela Fleck (uh, banjo). Scattered results, with Ribot's metallica and Fleck's hokum the outliers, and Trucks playing it safest with "Slapback Blues" and "Greensleeves." Scofield's "Mr. P.C." is pretty safe, too. Frisell's closer, "Baba Drame" from Boubacar Traore, is the choice cut. Comes with a DVD I haven't seen yet. B+(*)

Ruslan Khain: For Medicinal Purposes Only! (2008, Smalls): Bassist, from Leningrad (booklet says St. Petersburg), Russia, b. 1972, in New York since 1999. Hard bop quintet -- could have been cut by Hank Mobley (actually, Chris Byars) or Lee Morgan (Yoshi Okazaki) in the 1960s. Maybe a little looser, a bit less hard (by which I don't mean soft; more like less rigid). Richard Clements is on piano; Phil Stewart on drums. B+(***)

Adam Birnbaum: Travels (2008, Smalls): Pianist, first album. Group is nominally a quartet, but saxophonist Sharel Cassity is rarely to be heard. Postbop, I suppose. Bright and sharp, but runs on. B+(*)

Dan Cray Trio: Live: Over Here and Over Heard (2007 [2008], Crawdad): Piano trio, with Clark Sommers on bass, Greg Wyser-Pratte on drums. Fourth album. One original, plus covers from Jobim, Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Henry Mancini, "More Than You Know," "That Old Black Magic." Can't think of much to say about it. B

John Burnett Swing Band: West of State Street/East of Harlem (2008, Delmark): Chicago-based big band, four trumpets plus guest Randy Sandke, four trombone, five reeds, the whole kit and kaboodle. Burnett hails from England, holds down a steady job as a radio DJ, directs the band. Frieda Lee sings two songs, and Tony Pons does his best Satchmo impersonation on "Hello Dolly." Website cites them as "keeping alive the sounds of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and others" -- most obviously Basie, especially when they crank up "April in Paris" more than one more time. B+(*)

Sonny Rollins: Road Shows Vol. 1 (1980-2007 [2008], Doxy/Emarcy): I've read so many Gary Giddins columns raving about Sonny Rollins' live performances that my first reaction here is: is this the best you can do? Looking at the fine print, we see: 7 songs, from 7 different venues, 2 from 1980, 1 from 1986, 1 from 2000, 3 from 2006-07. The groups are nearly as scattered, with 2 pianists, 3 bassists, 5 drummers, trombonist Clifton Anderson on 4 cuts, guitarist Bobby Broom on 3, 2 percussionists on 3 cuts. Still, the striking thing is that none of that matters. One thing you can't say about Rollins is that he's a team player. He sounds exactly the same in any context over this 28 year stretch, so overwhelming it hardly matters who else is on stage. That isn't to deny the occasional piano or guitar solo. It's just to wonder who else could piece together such a coherent album from scraps like this? Giddins wrote the liner notes, proclaiming this one of Rollins' finest albums. I wouldn't put it in his top ten, and refer you all back to G-Man, which -- never having seen him live myself -- is how I've come to imagine him live. I don't doubt that this series will eventually turn tedious, especially once Rollins' heirs start vetting the takes, but for now this is just further evidence of what "saxophone colossus" means. A-

Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra: We Are MTO (2005 [2008], Mowo!): Different label, otherwise they could have called it MTO Volume 2. Bernstein's downtown big band is a spinoff from his work on Robert Altman's Kansas City film, basically an attempt to update the blues-based swing bands that toured around Kansas City in the 1920-30s. Or, at Bernstein puts it in explaining the title cut: "Don Redman meets Funkadelic at Count Basie's summer home by the lake." Old songs from Redman, Basie, and Fats Waller -- a nasty, strung-out "Viper Song"; also obscurities from Cecil Scott and Preston Jackson, a gritty "Makes No Difference," a hymnal "All You Need Is Love." Vocals on most pieces by guitarists Matt Munisteri and/or Doug Wamble. Violin by Charlie Burnham. Even better are the horns, which clash just enough to remind you that this is post-avant-garde swing. A-

The Peggy Lee Band: New Code (2008, Drip Audio): Cellist, from Vancouver, been around long enough now you should recognize her. Group is octet, mostly Vancouver avant-gardists I recognize from elsewhere, like Brad Turner (trumpet), Jon Bentley (tenor sax), and Dylan van der Schyff (drums). Two guitars (Ron Samworth and Tony Wilson), and electric bass thicken up texture, setting off the cello and horns. Starts with a bent take on Dylan's "All I Really Want to Do." Tends toward the atmospheric after that, but complex with surprises. [B+(**)]

Benny Powell: Nextep (2007 [2008], Origin): Trombonist, b. 1930 in New Orleans, came up through the Lionel Hampton and Count Basie bands. Has a lot of side credits, but very little under his own name -- this is the third title AMG lists. No special reason to credit, or blame, him for this one either. Most of the songs were written by saxophonist-flautist T.K. Blue or pianist Sayuri Goto, not exactly brand names. No complaints about the trombone, or drummer Billy Hart, but the rest tends to get soupy, especially when Blue plays flute. Ends on an up note, with a Blue calypso called "The Caribbean Express." B-

Kieran Hebden/Steve Reid: NYC (2008, Domino): Hebden is a laptop patch musician, best known for his records as FourTet. Reid is a storied drummer -- early credits include Martha and the Vandellas, James Brown, and Fela Kuti -- who cut a couple of notable avant-garde albums in the 1970s, then largely vanished until a couple of years ago. His latest record, Daxaar, is overdue for recognition in my Jazz CG A-list. The pair have two previous records, listed under Reid's name. This is an advance, so things may change, but right now it looks like Hebden's name comes out first. He has an uncanny knack for synth tunes, and the pieces here would be worth listening to even without Reid's drumming, but they feel more complete with it. [B+(***)] [advance, Nov. 18]

The James Moody and Hank Jones Quartet: Our Delight (2006 [2008], IPO): With Todd Coolman on bass, Adam Nussbaum on drums. Title song is by Tad Dameron, who's good for three more, including "Good Bait" co-credited to Count Basie. One Moody song, plus three from long-time employer Dizzy Gillespie, and one from Sonny Stitt; Jimmy Heath's tribute, "Moody's Groove"; "Body and Soul" and "Old Folks" -- no stretching here, just a couple of octogenarians delighted to still be able to play the music of their youth. I'm not very familiar with Moody, but he sounds suave and polished. And Jones is always a gentlemanly accompanist. Anyone sentimentally inclined toward respecting their elders will be delighted too. I'll keep it open, in case I am one. (Moody plays flute on a couple of cuts, which aren't bad but can't sound as good as his tenor sax; Roberta Gambarini sings the "bonus" cut: "Moody's Groove" -- a nice toast.) [B+(***)] [Nov. 18]

Barbara King: Perfect Timing (2008, CCC Music Group): Vocalist, from Brooklyn, voice described as "Sarah Vaughan-like," which gives you the general idea: deep, dusky, but despite the title, she doesn't quite have the moves down pat. No recording date(s), with a lot of musicians shuffling in and out, not making much difference. Song selection is an issue. She manages to make something out of "Let It Be," but "Forever Young" is beyond redemption. B

Marcus Goldhaber: Take Me Anywhere (2007 [2008], Fallen Apple): Vocalist, b. 1978, "a suburban kid in Buffalo, NY"; second album. Has a high, thin voice much like Theo Bleckmann's, but tastes less esoteric, fancying himself as a crooner, with Chet Baker to fall back on -- compare "I Fall in Love Too Easily," which he sings better than Baker, without making the difference matter. Backed by the Jon Davis Trio -- Davis on piano -- with Hendrik Meurkens providing a guest harmonica spot. Long: 17 cuts, 75:11. I can imagine some people falling in love with it, but I can't imagine me ever giving it the time. B

Jerry Costanzo With Andy Farber and His Swing Mavens: Destination Moon (2004-07 [2008], Semi-Quaver Jazz): Costanzo is a vocalist, as dead a ringer for Sinatra as I've heard in many years -- if anything, he makes it look easier, and the band helps in that regard. Repertoire has something to do with this: "I Thought About You," "Come Fly With Me," "Young at Heart," "Fly Me to the Moon"; with all the flying he throws in one from Nat Cole: "Straighten Up and Fly Right." Two sessions, separated by three years and quite a bit of turnover in the band. The edge goes to the later edition. B+(**)

Amina Figarova: Above the Clouds (2008, Munich): Pianist, b. 1966 in Baku, Soviet Union, now Azerbaijan; based in the Netherlands. Has at least nine albums since 1995, focusing more on her compositions than her piano. I figure this as postbop, probably with some "third stream" elements -- in any case, a mixed bag, with a lot of horns, some pleasant, promising arrangements. Probably deserves further research, but hasn't motivated me yet. B

Mark Weinstein: Lua e Sol (2008, Jazzheads): Flute player, has a dozen or so albums since 1996, mostly in Latin idioms. This one is firmly rooted in Brazil, with Romero Lubambo on guitar, Nilson Mata on bass (and co-producing), and Cyro Baptista on percussion. I've never cared much for flute, but can't complain here: he ranges from decorative to delectable, and Lubambo is especially superb. B+(*)

Johnny Varro Swing 7: Ring Dem Bells (2007 [2008], Arbors): Veteran swing pianist, b. 1930, broke in Bobby Hackett in 1953, spent much of the next decade with Eddie Condon. Has a pile of records on Arbors -- his Swing 7 group is pretty much the label's all-stars: Randy Sandke (trumpet), Dan Barrett (trombone), Scott Robinson (tenor sax), Ken Peplowski (alto sax/clarinet), Frank Tate (bass), Joe Ascione (drums). Such a group could hardly do wrong, especially on proven standard fare, but they never kick it up that necessary notch. Scattered pleasures, shy of a tour de force. B+(*)

Bucky Pizzarelli and Strings: So Hard to Forget (2008, Arbors): The strings are kept small, essentially a quartet -- Sara Caswell and Aaron Weinstein on violin, Valerie Levy on viola, Jesse Levy on cello -- plus bass (Martin Pizzarelli, Jerry Bruno), with Frank Vignola dropping in for a second guitar on 2 tracks. Nor are the strings very imposing: a lot of this sounds like solo guitar, with the strings occasionally adding dabs of background color. That's also the part that works best, which makes me wonder: why bother with the strings? Partly because it puts him into a delicately meditative mood, bringing out an aspect of his guitar playing we haven't hear much of lately. Partly because when it does work it can be sublime. B+(**)

Mort Weiss: All Too Soon (2008, SMS Jazz): Plays clarinet, b. 1935, grew up in the bebop generation, only dabbled in music until he retired from business and started issuing his own records. This is a duo with seven-string guitarist Ron Eschete, probably a better known player, although the album cover doesn't attempt to link to his market. Starts with "Scrapple From the Apple," adding "Blue Monk" and "Django," but also slips in a few standards -- "Like Someone in Love," "Softly as in Morning Sunrise," etc. About what you'd expect: low key, nicely done. Thank God for FDR, Charlie Christian, and Charlie Parker. B+(**)

Corey Christiansen: Roll With It (2008, Origin): Guitarist, 37 (I assume that means b. 1971), based in Utah after some time in St. Louis, second album since 2004. Basically a soul jazz group, with Pat Bianchi on the B-3, David Halliday on tenor sax, Matt Jorgensen on drums. Fresher than most; nice tone on the sax, slick lines from the guitar. B+(*)

Joe Locke: Force of Four (2008, Origin): Quartet, the vibraphonist joined by Robert Rodriguez on piano, Ricardo Rodriguez on bass, and Jonathan Blake on drums. Robert Rodriguez has recorded with trumpeter Michael Rodriguez as the Rodriguez Brothers. Ricardo also seems to be a brother, but doesn't get much credit on the group's website. Three cuts add a horn: one with Thomas Marriott on trumpet, two with Wayne Escoffery on tenor sax. Neither the pianist nor the horns have much impact, but Locke continues to play remarkably. B+(*)

Bill Carrothers: Home Row (1992 [2008], Pirouet): Pianist, b. 1964, based in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan -- home of one of the great jazz fiction in cinema: Jimmy Stewart, in Anatomy of a Murder, hops out of his convertible and strides into a local bar, where Duke Ellington is playing. AMG starts Carrothers' discography in 1999, listing 11 albums. Carrothers' webpage shows 20 album covers, but doesn't offer a discography. This was cut much earlier. With Gary Peacock on bass and Bill Stewart on drums. Sounds a bit rough to me -- "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" is rushed almost unrecognizably, to no clear purpose. Still, an impressive debut -- admittedly, easy to say after a decade-plus of later records. B+(*)

Lafayette Gilchrist: Soul Progressin' (2008, Hyena): Pianist, based in Baltimore, has played in David Murray groups. This is his fourth album, the second with a horn-heavy octet he calls the New Volcanoes. He keeps a regular beat here, as if he's trying to pass this off as a funk album, but it's more angular, with bits of dissonance, sometimes a straying horn. I don't recognize anyone in the band, and none really stand out -- it's easy to imagine someone like Murray in this mix, which would kick this up to the level of a nastier Shakill's Warrior. But even with ordinary horns, this kicks like he's finally onto something. B+(***)

Charlie Haden Family & Friends: Rambling Boy (2008, Decca): Born 1937 in Shenandoah, IA, into a musical family which played country and folk music on local radio stations, Haden picked up the bass, played a bit with Hampton Hawes and Art Pepper, then not much more than 20 found himself in the Ornette Coleman Quartet, and the rest, as they say, is history. This is a memoir, and a showcase for his own musical family, a bunch of folk/country songs with too many vocalists and a very steady bassist. One cut is from the scrapbook, billed as "feat. 2-yr-old Cowboy Charlie," juvenilia for sure, but you have to cut him some slack for the yodel, and the back cover photo is beyond cute. Several more cuts feat. his three daughters, billed as the Haden Triplets -- the opening "Single Girl, Married Girl" is the album's choice cut. They could carry their own album, which can't be said for the two male voices in the Haden family. The Friends are hit and miss, with Rosanne Cash, Vince Gill, Elvis Costello, and Ricky Skaggs doing about what you'd expect, and Jack Black doing a bit better than I expected. Still, the other choice cut here is the one instrumental, feat. Pat Metheny, a lament on Hurricane Katrina called "Is This America?" needing no lyrics. B+(**)

The Warren Vaché-John Allred Quintet: Live in Bern Switzerland at Marians Jazzroom: Jubilation (2007 [2008], Arbors): The leaders play cornet and trombone, respectively, although Allred makes less of an impression than usual, and Vaché is clearly the leader. With Tardo Hammer on piano, Nicki Parrott on bass, Leroy Williams on drums. Seems like a typical cross-section of Vaché's shtick: Gershwin and Berlin, "Caravan," "Old Devil Moon," a couple of newer tunes strong on melody (two from Horace Silver, one from Junior Mance), a couple of his haphazard but charming vocals, one a trash-talking duet with Parrott (pronounced "pa-rot") -- in fact, called "Sweet Hunk o' Trash." B+(**)

The John Bunch Trio With Guest Frank Wess: Plays the Music of Irving Berlin (Except One) (2008, Arbors): That's the back-cover version of the title. Arbors often has different versions of titles on the spine, front cover, back cover, and the disc itself. I usually choose the more compact spine, but this time I figured I'd let them spell it all out. The "except one" is a song by Gus Kahn, Carmen Lombardo, and Johnny Green: "Coquette." The other eleven songs are Berlin standards, half deeply ingrained in every musical consciousness, half less so, allowing for breaks. Bunch is a veteran swing pianist, b. 1921, Indiana; reportedly learned to arrange for big bands as a POW in WWII Germany; worked for Georgie Auld, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Tony Bennett; later pops up in groups with Bucky Pizzarelli and Scott Hamilton. Always a delight, his lithe tone meshes especially well here with Frank Vignola's guitar and John Webber's bass -- the famous melodies float by as light as clouds, which is why Wess, on 6 of 12 songs, can stick to flute and not gum anything up. [B+(***)]

Cosmologic: Eyes in the Bck of My Head (2006 [2008], Cuneiform): San Diego quartet, formed in 1999, same lineup through four albums: Jason Robinson (tenor sax), Michael Dessen (trombone), Scott Walton (bass), Nathan Hubbard (drums). Songs are pretty evenly divided between Hubbard, Dessen, and Robinson. Mostly free jazz, with two horns flaying apart, the trombone more than holding its own. B+(**)

Randy Brecker: Randy in Brasil (2006 [2008], MAMA): The surviving Brecker Brother. Has a checkered, mostly fusion-oriented, solo career, but pops up in other contexts, like the Mingus Big Band. Not sure how much Brazilian music he's done in the past, but he was married to Eliane Elias, which certainly counts for something. This one was cut in Brazil, produced by keyboardist Ruriá Duprat, with a local band including guitarist Ricardo Silveira. Two originals, plus a lot of Djavan, Ivan Lins, Gilberto Gil, and João Bosco. Flows well, and the trumpet is competent, but nothing stands out. B-

No final grades/notes this week on records put back for further listening the first time around.

For this cycle's collected Jazz Prospecting notes, look here.