With the house wrecked, not much time at the computer these days. Voice has the Jazz CG draft. No print schedule yet. Don't have all of my transitional paperwork done -- e.g., haven't culled through the "done" file to trim down the surplus of records I'll never find space for. Meanwhile, I've started prospecting for next time. The following represents two weeks of relatively light prospecting.

One thing I did spend some time on was the Village Voice Jazz Poll. Last year I retabulated the results by listing each album, the critics who voted for it, and my own grade. This year I did the same, and then some: added the minor categories. I've listed the records in order of finish where that was tabulated, but beyond that I ignored the points system and just counted votes. Mostly this was a lot easier, but I think it's also better information. Mechanically converting 1-10 rank into 10-1 points makes one person's top record count for 10 times as much as a number 10 record, a spread which would almost never occur if voters assigned their own weights. (The Pazz & Jop poll allows that, dividing 100 points with an album range limit of 30-to-5 points, a 6-to-1 maximum. Given the choice, very few voters use more than a 4-to-1 range, and many much less. When Idolator tried to simplify that system they proposed a 15-to-6 scale, giving a 2.5 range.)

I haven't done much with this yet. A simple counter tells me that 329 records received votes, and that I managed to get to 59% of them. Obviously, some of those missing 40% are records I should try to track down. Also I need to find my copy of Rudresh Mahanthappa's Kinsmen and make up my mind about it -- last time I played it the South Indian classical synthesis was sounding more credible, richer and more expressive than the simpler Apti, which I fell for on the first play. I should also pull that Charles Lloyd CD off the shelf and give it another shot. I'll look at this more over the next couple of weeks. May learn something.

Anat Cohen: Notes From the Village (2008, Anzic): I knew I had this somewhere. Made several searches in the last couple weeks of last cycle looking for it, but only found it too late. So chalk it up to the curse of the advance/promo only: they start off with little motivation to be played, then languish in hard-to-find limbo, and finally (if I can't dismiss them out of hand) put back into limbo, perhaps wondering why finalize my opinion on a non-final copy. What I can say: Cohen seems to be following her polls, in that she's leading with clarinet here; that's not such a bad thing, but her one tenor sax feature, an original "Lullaby for the Naive Ones," fairly jumps out of the grooves. Her originals certainly hold up. Her take on "A Change Is Gonna Come" is a bit tentative, and the Brazilian piece is neither here nore there, but she gets a lot of mileage out of "Jitterbug Waltz." Good band support, with strong solos from pianist Jason Lindner. Probably her best since Place and Time, before all the hoopla began. A-

The Matt Savage Trio: Hot Ticket: Live in Boston (2008, Savage): Child prodigy, now a seasoned vet at age 16. I took a swipe at him last time; was a little surprised he came back for more. I still think he has some growing up to do to develop real depth, but can tinkle those ivories, and I like the slow one where he gives the bassist some ("El Fuego"). Can't follow the live commentary. B-

Steve Herberman Trio: Ideals (2008, Reach Music): Guitarist, based in DC, has a couple of previous records. A subtle craftsman, hard to pin down -- cites Joe Pass, Joe Diorio, Lenny Breau, and Gene Bertoncini on his website, which gives you an idea of family resemblance, but he's better than three of those, and different from Pass. Covers include pieces by Weill, Jobim, Gershwin; also "Will You Still Be Mine?" and "Delilah" and Mal Waldron's "Soul Eyes." Originals flow nicely. With Tom Baldwin on bass, Mark Ferber on drums. B+(***)

John Escreet: Consequences (2008, Positone): Young pianist, 24 (evidently b. 1984), somewhere in UK, moved to NYC 2006, Manhattan School of Music, studying with Kenny Barron and Jason Moran. Leads a quintet with some hot avant moves -- Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Dave Binney (alto sax), Matt Brewer (bass), Tyshawn Sorey (drums). First piece, "The Suite of Consequence," runs out to 30:28; nothing else over 10:19, with the closing cover, Andrew Hill's "No Doubt," just 4:00. Some strong spots, especially where the piano blocks and tackles for the horns. A little rough around the edges. B+(*)

Melody Gardot: Worrisome Heart (2005-06 [2008], Verve): Advance copy, has been languishing quite a while; can't find any supporting hype, credits, anything more than a song list. Singer, b. 1985, from Philadelphia, was disabled in a car wreck at age 19, somehow channels that into her music, or so one says. Nice singer, not much jazz effect, more of a singer-songwriter. "Some Lessons" is a striking song, sensible, thoughtful. B+(*)

Massimo Biolcati: Persona (2008, ObliqSound): Bassist, b. 1972 in Sweden, grew up in Torino, came to US on a scholarship to Berklee, moved on to USC then to New York. First album, split into "Motion" and "Stillness" sections. The former provides a nice showcae for guitarist Lionel Loueke; the latter includes one vocal each by Lizz Wright and Gretchen Parlato, neither making much of an impression, but Peter Rende's piano gains stature, as does his accordion. B [advance]

Ron Blake: Shayari (2007 [2008], Mack Avenue): Saxophonist, sticks to tenor here but plays soprano elsewhere, b. 1965, Virgin Islands, based in NYC, several albums since 2000. Seems torn between the idea of crossing over and developing more of an inside jazz rep. This one swings hard toward the latter. Most cuts are duos with Michael Cain on piano, introspective ballad fare. Two cuts add bass (Christian McBride), five drums (Jack DeJohnette), three percussion (Gilmar Gome), one violin (Regina Carter), although the additions never really shift the equation. Impresive straightahead player. Still not sure what he'll find when he finds himself. B+(**)

Yoshie Fruchter: Pitom (2008, Tzadik): Part of John Zorn's far-ranging, mostly admirable Radical Jewish Culture series, the twist this time being a guitarist-led "punkassjewjazz" band; sounds more heavy metal than punk, more amusing copping Black Sabbath riffs than klezmerizing Frank Zappa. B-

Delmark: 55 Years of Jazz (1944-2007 [2008], Delmark, CD+DVD): Bob Koester is still in charge 55 years after founding this estimable Chicago label, known more for its renowned blues catalog than for its underrated, and rather scattered, jazz efforts. The CD picks interesting if not all that representative material, with some archives -- Coleman Hawkins' early bebop from Rainbow Mist -- and a mix of interests: trad jazz from George Lewis and Art Hodes; honking r&b from King Curtis; an early adventure by Sun Ra; a vocal by Francine Griffin; some quasi-mainstream hard bop; stray excursions into pan-Africanism; a groove piece from Ted Sirota's otherwise further out Breeding Resistance. Nothing pushes you very hard -- don't look for Anthony Braxton's For Alto, or Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell, or Ken Vandermark, all facets of Delmark's history. The DVD has less to choose from: the dates there range from 2004-07 and they hold less interest, mostly bare concert shots, sometimes with cheap effects -- Kahil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio with guest Billy Bang is the exception, a much better showing for Ari Brown than his own date; a 15:30 excerpt from Chicago Underground Trio is compelling musically, but unwatchable. B+(*)

Savina Yannatou/Primavera en Salonico: Songs of an Other (2007 [2008], ECM): Greek soprano, neither folk nor classical as far as I can tell -- rather, she rises far above the fray; I much prefer the stretches where the band, including accordion, violin, oud, and nay, find their ground in Balkan rhythms, when her contrast becomes ethereal. B+(*)

Samba Meets Boogie Woogie (2008, Adventure Music): An ad hoc group, with guitarist Mario Adnet the probable leader, a half dozen vocalists named on the cover, and a strong set of Rio de Janeiro studio pros, none with any obvious expertise in boogie woogie; so no surprise that samba predominates, or that it reduces the concept to cute and clever -- that it starts to win you over is the real surprise. B+(*)

Putumayo Presents: Women of Jazz (1998-2008 [2008], Putumayo World Music): If you trust Putumayo to do your programming, you won't be disappointed here: with so much to choose from, they could hardly fail. Still, they came up with nothing more than a decade old -- Etta Jones is the only artist who worked much earlier. Some standards, some singer-songwriter fare, not much scat, nothing avant, no reason to get alarmed; no one to remind you of Betty Carter or Sheila Jordan. I hear a lot of jazz vocalists -- note that all ten picks are vocals; none are instrumentals -- and would have picked a completely different set, with Della Griffin the only find here I would have regretted missing. Not very useful, but still a very listenable set. B+(*)

Herbie Hancock: Then and Now: The Definitive Herbie Hancock (1964-2008 [2008], Verve): This could have been programmed by an accountant: two title cuts from classic Blue Notes; an obvious title from Fat Albert Rotunda; two cuts from the bestselling Head Hunters; the overwrought Stevie Wonder turn from Gershwin's World (on a song by W.C. Handy -- what was that doing there?); a piece from the Round Midnight soundtrack (Hancock did a nice bit of acting there); two takes of "River," the bonus with Joni Mitchell as herself; a Nirvana song from The New Standard; a Billie Holiday song from the Starbucks vanity plate album Possibilities, with Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan; a cheaper live take of "Rockit" from a stray DVD. This does indeed span Hancock's career, from hard bop to funk to fusion to cashing in and coasting. His later material fares poorly, and the fusion hasn't aged very well -- although "Rockit" is still a hoot. But the first cut thrilled me as much as ever: I finally got to this album the day Freddie Hubbard died, and there he was, unmistakably brilliant, playing with four-fifths of the Miles Davis Quintet and easily displacing the leader. The album, Maiden Voyage, is still brilliant. Start there and you'll never want to go here. B [advance; PS: later found my final copy]

Tim Ries: Stones World: The Rolling Stones Project II (2008, Sunnyside, 2CD): Rolling Stones songs. Ries plays tenor sax, quite a bit of soprano too. Spent some chunk of his career touring with the Rolling Stones, which may or may not give him some special insight, but certainly helps when he needs a drummer -- Charlie Watts on 5 cuts here -- or a little lap steel (Ronnie Wood) or harmonica (Mick Jagger). The original The Rolling Stones Project came out in 2005, an eclectic sampling of idiosyncratic band arrangements, most with guests singers of uneven merit. This one is even more so: think of it as The Rolling Stones Project hits the road. The sessions are labelled: Africa, Brazil, Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, NYC, Paris, with most of those plus Mexico somehow joined into a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual "Salt of the Earth." Huge range of guests: flamenco in Spain, fado in Portugal, a Tuareg group in Africa, Milton Nascimento in Brazil, tablas in India, Eddie Palmieri in Puerto Rico, Bill Frisell in New York, Keith Richards in Japan. So many disparate ideas here it's hard (probably futile) to make sense of them all -- might be a better candidate for Choice Cuts. Second disc is "enhanced," whatever that means. In the CD player it adds four tracks to the nine on the first. [B+(**)]

The Matthew Herbert Big Band: There's Me and There's You (2008, !K7): The leader was born 1972 in England, works primarily as DJ and producer, has a couple dozen albums since 1996 and a ton of remixes, most as Herbert, some as Doctor Rockit, Wishmountain, and Radio Boy. Fourth Matthew Herbert Big Band album. Didn't recognize this as a promo at first -- smashed jewel box fooled me -- but cover is one sheet blank on back, with no obvious information. Only found one hype sheet, not clearly complete: claims album features "the cream of British jazz musicians," but doesn't bother to identify any. (I gather from secondary sources that the lead singer is named Eska Mtungwazi.) Most songs have vocals, and they have a brassy, Broadway sound. I have trouble following the plot (if there is one). Herbert also has a rep as a political theorist, which I don't have any real grasp of. Could be better if I did, or worse. B [advance]

The Ron Hockett Quintet: Finally Ron (2008, Arbors): Trad jazz clarinetist, based in DC for last 29 years, mostly with the US Marine Band, plus 9 years with the Jim Cullum Jazz Band in San Antonio, leads his first album. Arbors treats him right, filling out the quintet with John Sheridan (piano), James Chirillo (guitar), Phil Flanigan (bass), and Jake Hanna (drums). One original blues; covers as obvious as "Beale Street Blues" and "On the Sunny Side of the Street," and as modern as Bob Wilber. Doesn't sound important, but does sound terrific. I keep forgetting how much I like Chirillo. ]B+(***)]

Nicole Henry: The Very Thought of You (2008, Banister): Singer, MySpace page says she's 90 years old, although from the pics I've seen I wouldn't put her a day over 39. Based in Florida. Second or third album. Favors standards -- "Almost Like Being in Love," "At Last," "All the Way," the title cut, a relatively obscure obligatory Jobim -- which she approaches with respect and care. Figure her for a Carmen McRae lineage. Impeccable, for whatever that's worth. B+(*)

Carol Fredette: Everything in Time (2008 [2009], Soundbrush): Vocalist, standards singer, or maybe I mean cabaret? Fourth or fifth album -- one attributed to David Matthews & New Satelite gives her a "featuring" credit. Previous ones include one with Steve Kuhn, another singing Dave Frishberg and Bob Dorough songs. Band varies, including a number of Brazilians. One Jobim tune -- "Vivo Sonhando (Dreamer)" -- of course, plus one from Ivan Lins, another from Jayme Silva -- "O Pato (The Duck)", with lyrics by Jon Hendricks, an amusing novelty tune -- but they are overwhelmed by the usual standards. Voice has a subtle but interesting character. B [Feb. 10]

Ruby Braff: For the Last Time (2002 [2008], Arbors, 2CD): Touted as Braff's "Historic Final Performance," with a sextet including tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton and pianist John Bunch, a mixed and rather tepid souvenir; not clear whether Braff was ailing but he rarely takes charge, or tops Hamilton, who has many memorable moments. B+(*)

Fay Claassen: Red, Hot & Blue: The Music of Cole Porter (2007 [2008], Challenge): Dutch vocalist, b. 1969, fifth album, counting her 2-CD Chet Baker tribute as one. The Cole Porter songs are all from the top drawer -- first three are "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Easy to Love," and "Love for Sale." Backed by a piano trio which doesn't quite deliver the requisite, or at least expected, swing. A capable singer, but doesn't add much of interest here, except for her scat breaks -- not often when I find a record where I enjoy the scat more than the text. B-

Viktoria Tolstoy: My Russian Soul (2008, ACT): Swedish vocalist, b. 1974, née Kjellberg, but for her career assumed the surname of her great-great-grandfather, Leo Tolstoy. Eighth album since 1994, past titles notably including White Russian and My Swedish Heart. For this record, she bases most of her compositions from Russian classics, especially one "P. Tschaikowsky," presumably the same guy Chuck Berry meant to clue in on rock and roll. Maybe that's giving her too much credit: the lyrics, in English, are credited to Anna Alerstedt (with two exceptions, neither to Tolstoy), and the music was adapted and arranged by Jacob Karlzon (also pianist here) and Joakim Milder (saxophonist, a well known name in his own right; he specifically gets credit for the ubiquitous but not all that intrusive strings). Album was produced by Nils Landgren, whose trombone smears are the only thing that seems out of place in what otherwise soundsp like an album of pristine show music. B-

The Leonisa Ardizzone Quintet: The Scent of Bitter Almonds (2008 [2009], Ardijenn Music): Vocalist. Has an evidently successful daytime career as an educator, but has also maintained a group with husband-guitarist Chris Jennings since 1994. Her previous record, Afraid of the Heights, has been on my HM-to-do list since it came out in 2007 -- I liked it when I heard it, then largely forgot about it. This is much more mixed: "My Romance" sounds awkward, "Take the 'A' Train" sillier than ever, but the normally treacly "Willow Weep for Me" scores both on the vocal and the guitar solo, and "Well You Needn't" makes a plausible case for vocalese -- both of those are tough tricks. B+(*)

Lisa Hearns: I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good (2006 [2008], [no label]). Vocalist, has a published birthday but not year, grew up in Massachusetts, graduated from Berklee, based in New York. First album. Presumably self-released, without bothering to think up a label name. Out of her depth on the title song, which shouldn't be sung by people with no plausible reason to complain, and therefore nothing to overcome. Standards, arranged by bassist Kelly Friesen, who does a fine job; pianist Keith Ingham helps out, and guitarist Howard Alden shines on four tracks -- especially "Plus Je T'Embrasse," a fast one in French even I can follow, which turns this album from slightly annoying to moderately engaging and charming. B+(*)

Yuganaut: This Musicship (2005 [2008], ESP-Disk): Piano trio. Steven Rush doesn't actually list piano among the dozen-plus instruments. Moog and Fender Rhodes are his main instruments, plus lots of percussion and blow-toys (ranging from harmonica to elk calls). Rush teaches at Michigan, where he directs the Digital Music Ensemble, an out fit that plays John Cage, Philip Glass, and LaMonte Young. Bassist Tom Abbs -- the member I recognize due to his work with Assif Tsahar and others in New York -- wanders to violin, cello, tuba, didjeridoo, and percussion. Drummer Geoff Mann adds cornet, flute, and mandolin to the more expected vibes, mbira, and percussion. Something of a scattered noise fest, interesting here and there, cluttered, not so much annoying as random at worst. Last cut, the 10:09 "Hymn for Roscoe" (presumably Mitchell), is unusual for its straightforward structure, even when it erupts in the album's loudest passage. Choice cut. B+(**)

Shakers n' Bakers: YfZ (Yearning for Zion) (2008, Little (i) Music): Scary music, although it loosens up and calms down a bit in the end. The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming, as the Shakers were formally known, split off from the Quakers in 1747, forming utopian religious communes dedicated to expunging sin and purifying the soul. They worked themselves into trances -- I'm tempted to say delusions -- which became ritualized in song and dance. I still doubt that their songs bore any resemblance to Jeff Lederer's avant skronk, but he's turned them into a vision of heaven and hell that can move even nonbelievers. Mary LaRose and Miles Griffith declaim the presumably authentic texts. At least some of the music comes from recent neoclassicism -- John Adams, Gyorgy Ligeti, Arvo Part. The rest of the band and guests are well known jazz pros. A lot going on here, but it's not for the squeamish. B+(**)

Bob Mintzer Big Band: Swing Out (2007 [2008], MCG Jazz): Looking at Wikipedia, Mintzer's credits are pretty evenly split between Yellowjackets and his Big Band. The latter has been cranking since 1985, 6 years earlier than his tenure started with the Yellowjackets. Both groups have their points, but neither are consistent enough to recommend. While Mintzer is easily the best player in the Yellowjackets, it's less clear that anyone stands out in the Big Band. This one sounded strong and brassy at first, then gradually wore out its welcome with too much of the same bombast. One track in the middle features boy singer Kurt Elling, who recapitulated that dynamic even faster. B-

And these are final grades/notes on records I put back for further listening the first time around.

Harry Shearer: Songs of the Bushmen (2008, Courgette): The research here is pretty thorough, ranging from Colin Powell's knack for slipping responsibility to Dick Cheney's witness protection program for Scooter Libby. High points include Condoleezza Rice's workout routine "Gym Buds"; Donald Rumsfeld's "Stuff Happens" song and dance; and ever willing to take one for the team, the serving up of "The Head of Alberto Gonzalez." The songs read critically, but given their subjects they strike me as much too nice. I don't know that more direct rants would be more effective, but I wish someone would try: it is hard to heap too much abuse on the Bush administration. Indeed, it's hard to completely grasp how vile this government has been. B+(***)

Tobias Gebb & Trio West: An Upper West Side Story (2008, Yummy House): Joel Frahm's tenor sax commands your attention on the four tracks he guests on, sharing two with an equally imposing vocalist, Champian Fulton. The guest shots punctuate a drummer-led piano trio, which fills in the remaining spaces with wit and class. B+(***)