Still in that limbo period working on new Jazz CG while the previous one still hasn't been published. Sometime mid-September is the expectation. Meanwhile, cruising through the incoming, with occasional breaks for old stuff and new. Those are easier than jazz, partly because I feel less pressure to write about them, partly because they're just easier. The breaks did help to fatten up the August Recycled Goods, which I'll post after I write the intro. I've also been working on my by-now-annual critique of the Downbeat Critics Poll, which I got to rather late this year. I'll post that later this week.

Bill Frisell/Ron Carter/Paul Motian (2005 [2006], Nonesuch): I was coming to think that Frisell was avoiding me when I finally found the right contact and got not just his new album but some back catalog. I'm never quite sure what I think of Carter. Bass is an instrument you miss when it's not there, but rarely listen to when it is. Carter's rep was established by association with Miles Davis, but has been reinforced only erratically since then. I've run across records where is sounds wonderful, and others where it could have been anybody. He's in between here. Motian is less distinctive than usual, but I have no doubts as to his import here. His skill at shifting a piano trio into slightly eccentric orbits is unmatched, so you can figure he's a big part of the reason the leader's guitar never slips into cliché. Ten songs: two Frisell originals, one from Motian, one Carter co-write with Davis, two Monks, four Americana standards -- one from Broadway, the others country. Haven't sorted them all, but the last four are marvelous -- even the overdone, overly obvious "You Are My Sunshine." [B+(***)]

Bill Frisell: East West (2003-04 [2005], Nonesuch, 2CD): Two live trio sets: one from the Village Vanguard (New York) in December, 2003 with Tony Scherr (bass) and Kenny Wollesen (drums); the other from Yoshi's (Oakland, CA) in May, 2004, with Wollesen again and Viktor Krauss (bass). West mixes three Frisell originals looped around strong rhythmic figures with three sly covers -- "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Shenandoah," "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" -- for about as fine a demonstration of Frisell's schtick as I've heard. East is more diverse, a bit more obscure, and a little shakier, but again the familiar tunes rendered as minimalist abstractions win out. A-

New Guitar Summit: Shivers (2008, Stony Plain): Three guitarists, none of whom strike me as new or novel or whatever the implication is: Gerry Beaudoin, Jay Geils, Duke Robillard. Actually, a fourth dinosaur shows up for two cuts: Randy Bachman, sings too. They work around bass and drums. Sweet sound. Not much action. B

Brad Mehldau Trio: House on Hill (2002-05 [2006], Nonesuch): Another background record. I had caught, liked, but poorly remember, several early Mehldau albums, but none since 2001, so I'm catching up. This is the same trio he worked with since 1993 or so: Larry Grenadier on bass, Jorge Rossy on drums. At a high level, he strikes me as similar and comparable to Jarrett -- a bit less labored, or maybe he just makes it look easier, no doubt a remarkable pianist. All originals. Mehldau's liner notes run on at great length on how his art relates to Brahms and Bach, maybe Monk too -- it's way over my head. B+(***)

Metheny Mehldau Quartet (2005 [2007], Nonesuch): Mehldau's trio, with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard having replaced Jorge Rossy on drums, plus Metheny, who leans on his lyrical side. Support is admirable, of course. I could see other folks liking this a lot, but I just don't have much to say about it. B+(**)

Bob Mover: It Amazes Me . . . (2006 [2008], Zoho): Saxophonist, lists alto ahead of tenor, also sings, b. 1952, broke in playing with Charles Mingus in 1973 and Chet Baker 1973-75. Cut a few albums 1977-88, including two 1981 albums AMG likes on Xanadu. (As far as I know the Xanadu catalog is out of print, but there were some wonderful things on it -- Charles McPherson's Beautiful! is one of my all-time most played records.) AMG lists one more in 1997, then this one; CDBaby describes this as his first in over 20 years. It's quiet storm: slow, smokey ballads, the rich, burnished lustre of sax. Kenny Barron plays some of his best accompanist piano since Stan Getz died. Mover sings on 6 of 10 songs. Voice reminded me first of Sinatra, but without the chops. Technically, he's not even as skilled as Baker, but doesn't have Baker's bathos, which is what folks seem to love. Still, I find Mover's vocals touching. B+(***) [Sept. 9]

François Carrier/Michel Lambert/Jean-Jacques Avenel: Within (2007 [2008], Leo): Avenel is a French bassist, best (or almost exclusively) known for his work with Steve Lacy from 1975 on. He has one record under his own name, a world jazz piece called Waraba, which I recommend highly. Reportedly, he also plays sanza here (according to the booklet) or kalimba (according to the label's website). Carrier plays alto and soprano sax, mostly the former. He's released a number of records since 1998, mostly trios, virtually all with drummer Michel Lambert. Three pieces here, the middle one called "Core" runs 40:18. Takes a while to kick in, and requires more attention than I normally muster, but I've always loved Carrier's sound, and find the intricate free improv fascinating. [Note: Available on CD, but also as a download for $6.49, a bump up from Leo's usual $5.49 price, probably reflecting the declining value of the dollar. The downloads are available in OGG format, which sounds like a good idea to me, but it wasn't easy to get them -- actually, I just tried some of their 30-second samples -- to play on a MS Windows machine. Wound up downloading and installing zipf and firefox. One reason I thought of the download option is that Carrier has a new 7-CD set available as download-only on Ayler Records -- a label I regard highly, but haven't listened to since they switched to download-only releases, figuring it's all too much hassle. But I'm starting to be tempted.] A-

Donny McCaslin Trio: Recommended Tools (2008, Greenleaf Music): A tenor saxophonist who, it was immediately obvious, has all the tools. Still, I always managed to resist him, mostly because his fancy postbop harmonies rubbed me the wrong way. I figured he'd eventually turn out an album that simply blew away all my objections, and he still may. But for now he just ducked under them, making a stripped down trio album -- Hans Glawischnig on bass, Jonathan Blake on drums -- with a whole lot of sax appeal. It's like he's gotten over following in Chris Potter's footsteps and instead aimed for Sonny Rollins. A-

Joe Lovano: Symphonica (2005 [2008], Blue Note): You can probably figure this out by the title. If not, note that while the WDR Big Band is a crack jazz outfit which works cheap and occasionally pays dividends, the Rundfunk Orchester is a classical outfit distinguished primarily by its massed strings. The saxophonist is often magnificent, the effect heightened by the swirling sea of indistinct sounds all around him. The latter at least don't induce nausea, small comfort for symphonyphobes. B+(**) [Sept. 2]

Hans-Joachim Roedelius/Tim Story: Inlandish (2008, Gronland): Two synth players. Roedelius was part of the kraut rock group Cluster (sometimes just a duo with Dieter Moebius) from 1970 on, also making a couple of 1977-78 ambient records with Brian Eno. Story came along in 1981. He has a dozen or so records, mostly filed under New Age (one was released on Windham Hill), although there's not a lot of difference between the two. Non-swing ambient pieces, the first one in particular ("As It Were") is especially enchanting; the weaker tracks merely more inscrutable. B+(**) [advance]

Bill Cantrall: Axiom (2007 [2008], Up Swing): Trombonist, originally from New Jersey, educated in Chicago, based in New York. First album. Composed 8 of 10 pieces. Group is a septet: four horns (Ryan Kisor on trumpet, Sherman Irby on alto sax, Stacy Dillard on tenor sax), piano (Rick Germanson, bass and drums. Qualifies as postbop, tightly arranged, well played, avoids common harmonic unpleasantries by leading with trombone. B+(*)

Jorge Lima Barreto: Zul Zelub (2005 [2008], Clean Feed): Portuguese pianist, b. 1949. I've seen a note that credits him with several books and 16 records, mostly working through groups: AnarBand (1972), Conceptual Music Association (Associaçao Música Conceptual, with Carlos Zingaro, 1973), Telectu (with Vitor Rua, since 1982). Also listed in a "classical composers database" -- good chance some of his work is classified as postclassical avant whatever. AMG knows about three records (including one Telectu), plust side credits with Raimundo Fagner, Derek Bailey, Carlos Bechegas. This is solo piano plus sound effects. The 45:12 "Zul" is accompanied by "radio SW" -- a source of common tuner sweep noise. For the 30:10 "Zelub" he uses "4 cd players." The latter are lower key and offer less contrast in a slightly slower, but still remarkable, piece. The former is quite wonderful. The piano as a brittle sound, something I associate with prepared pianos, but there's nothing in the notes about that, and the effect is less pronounced. A-

Paulo Curado: The Bird, the Breeze and Mr. Filiano (2006 [2008], Clean Feed): Portuguese alto saxophonist, also plays a bit of flute (not bad, but a bit of a letdown). Don't have much biographical info: discography starts 1999, with several appearances in groups like Lisbon Improvisation Players, but most likely he goes back further. Bruno Pedroso plays drums. The bassist, as you can guess, is Ken Filiano, who does his usual superb job, around which the free improvs spin and dance. B+(**)

Angles: Every Woman Is a Tree (2007 [2008], Clean Feed): Sextet, file under Swedish alto saxophonist Martin Küchen, who wrote all the pieces, produced the album, wrote the liner notes, etc. Group includes two more horns: Magnus Broo on trumpet, Mats Äleklint on trombone. Also vibes (Mattias Ståhl), bass (Johan Berthling), drums (Kjell Nordeson). Six pieces, titles reflect war (or antiwar) themes. Takes a while to brew, but the mulitple hornplay really takes charge in the third cut, "My world of mines," and the group rarely flags thereafter. [B+(***)]

Adam Lane/Lou Grassi/Mark Whitecage: Drunk Butterfly (2007 [2008], Clean Feed): Bass, drums, alto sax/clarinet respectively. All three contribute pieces (Lane 4, Whitecage 3, Grassi 2), with the sax inevitably rising toward the top. Basically freebop, one foot in the tradition, the other lunging forward. (In her liner notes, Slim calls it "Avant Swinging Bebop," which is close enough.) [B+(***)]

Conference Call: Poetry in Motion (2005-06 [2008], Clean Feed): Quartet, consisting of Gebhard Ullman (soprano sax, tenor sax, bass clarinet), Michael Jefry Stevens (piano), Joe Fonda (bass), George Schuller (drums). Ullman and Stevens go back ten years, and Stevens and Fonda go back further, with a co-led group where Fonda gets top billing. All write. All play free, with some harsh notes, but mostly inside their framework. Ullman, whom I've often doubted, is especially solid here. B+(**)

Trio Viriditas: Live at Vision Festival VI (2001 [2008], Clean Feed): Alfred Harth (aka A23H) on reeds, pocket trumpet voice; Wilber Morris on bass; Kevin Norton on drums. Harth is a new one to me. (Not really: I found one co-credit in my database, but it didn't register in my memory.) AMG lists him under Opera with virtually no info. Other sources show a discography going back to 1969, including 7 albums as Duo Goebbels/Harth (that would be keyboard player Heiner Goebbels); collaborations with John Zorn, Peter Brötzmann, Lindsay Cooper, Otomo Yoshihide; various groups, sample names: Just Music, Duck and Cover, Vladimir Estragon, Gestalt et Jive, Imperial Hoot, Sogennantes Linksradikales Blasorchester (So-Called Left-Radical Brass Band). He's usually identified as a multi-media artist. Morris and Norton are, or should be, well known, at least in avant-jazz circles. This starts up awkwardly, but settles into free jazz's alternative equivalent of a groove. Not credited, but I could swear this ends with a long quote from "On the Street Where You Live." B+(**)

Patricia Barber: The Cole Porter Mix (2008, Blue Note): Advance copy, had it a long time, played it a couple of times in the car, and was itching to get along with it. First impression was that Barber's down-and-out voice and demeanor was a poor match for the supremely buoyant Porter. She literally tackles ten Porter tunes, blocking them, wrassling them to the ground, rubbing dirt in the wounds. They're slower and smokier than ever before. Neal Alger's guitar is the dominant instrument, working the same vein, but five songs have tenor sax solos which break the mold -- there's nothing depressive about the way Chris Potter plays here. Three originals thus far seem more for flow than competition. Looking forward to a final copy. [B+(***)] [advance, Sept. 16]

Marc McDonald: It Doesn't End Here (2007 [2008], No End in Sight): Alto saxophonist, b. 1961, London, UK; has "led groups for over 25 years in the New York/New Jersey area and such cities as Honolulu, London and Athens." First album, although he has a side credit from 1986, and a few more from 1998 on. Wrote 8 of 11 pieces, covering "Night and Day," "This Heart of Mine," and "Blue Skies." Piano-bass-drums quartet, with guitarist Steve Cardenas guesting on 5 cuts. Very mainstream. I wondered at first why he would bother, but it's clearly for the sheer beauty of the music. B+(**)

Judith Berkson: Lu-Lu (2006 [2008], Peacock): Singer, based in Brooklyn, no more bio available. First record, solo, plays piano/Wurlitzer. Four originals, five covers, 38:11 total, which is really quite enough. Slow and arty, with little of special interest, although the closing "Some Enchanted Evening" did something -- more haunted than enchanting, but something. C+

Brian Cullman: All Fires the Fire (2008, Sunnyside): Singer-songwriter, from New York, first album. AMG classifies him as World, mostly based on liner notes he (presumably the same person) wrote for albums by the likes of Ghazal, the Sabri Brothers, Hassan Hakmoun, and Vernon Reid (who returns a blurb quote). Hype sheet quotes someone likening him to Leonard Cohen, which isn't way off base if you subtract about 95 years off Cohen's voice. Cullman has a sweet, wry voice, with an effortless meander to the songs, and something of a philosophical bent. "No God but God" gives me the creeps. B+(*)

Justin Time Records 25th Anniversary Collection (1986-2007 [2008], Justin Time, 2CD): Canadian jazz label, with some folk, blues, and world overtones. Got into the business in 1983 with pianist Oliver Jones; has a long list of jazz singers, including the discovery of Diana Krall, and steady work by Jeri Brown and Susie Arioli; scored their biggest coup in landing David Murray in 1996, who led them to Billy Bang, D.D. Jackson, and Hugh Ragin. Sidelines not documented here include their Just A Memory archival series and reissues from Enja's catalog. All this adds up to an eclectic sampler, with high points from great albums and filler from weaker ones, unnecessary except to draw attention to a label that's long been worth following. B

Cryptogramophone Assemblage 1998-2008 (1998-2007 [2008], Cryptogramophone, 2CD+DVD): Another jazz label sampler, founded by Jeff Gauthier to record a series of tributes to the late Eric von Essen's music, moving on to document work by Alex and Nels Cline, Mark Dresser, Bennie Maupin, Erik Friedlander, Myra Melford, various others. A more useful reference than the Justin Time sampler -- it covers a narrower band of music more comprehensively, with better documentation -- but still a mere sampler. B

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

Al Green: Lay It Down (2008, Blue Note): That he always sounds so great turns out to be a handicap: it's such a given that no matter how good his new records sound they'll never measure up to the old great ones that it's easy to set them aside. Streamed this first from Rhapsody, liked it, but hedged my bets. Since I got a copy, I've played it maybe ten times. The songs hold up, notably without any contribution from Jesus; the guests don't intrude, and the singer is magnificent. Not Call Me or I'm Still in Love With You or The Belle Album, of course, but I've enjoyed this as much as anything recent, and have yet to feel any need to go back. A-

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