#^d 2016-12-19
#^h Music Week
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<p>Music: Current count 27465 [27433] rated (+32), 383 [385] unrated (-2).</p>

<p>Spent most of last week building the website for the 11th Annual Jazz
Critics Poll, which NPR will publish tomorrow, or maybe a bit later. I
won't disclose anything here, other than that we received 139 ballots,
down a bit from last year's record 147 (where's John Chacona? Steven
Dollar? David Hajdu? Lyn Horton? Garrett Shelton?). When they do go up,
my pages will look a lot like
<a href="http://hullworks.net/jazzpoll/15/">last year's</a>. Francis
Davis again deserves a big round of applause for making this happen.</p>

<p>Mostly picking things off lists opportunistically, as well as mopping
up a few 2016 stragglers in my queue: down to 6 pending records. With
all the JCP work, I've done very little on my own
<a href="/ocston/nm/notes/meta2016.php">EOY Aggregate</a> file: today
belatedly adding only a few of the recent lists (Blare, Gigwise, Line
of Best Fit, Pitchfork, Q, Tiny Mix Tapes). I'll add more when I get
some time next week, although several things are going to slow me
down. For one, I have dinners to cook on Tuesday and Saturday. For
another, I have ballots due for the Village Voice (evidently not
Pazz &amp; Jop anymore) and El Intruso polls, though those at least
I can safely wing.</p>

<p><hr class="brk"></p>

<p><b>New records rated this week:</b></p>

<ul>
<li><b>Ab-Soul: <i>Do What Thou Wilt</i></b> (2016, Top Dawg): [r]: <b>A-</b></li>
<li><b>Idris Ackamoor &amp; the Pyramids: <i>We Be All Africans</i></b> (2016, Strut): [r]: <b>B+(***)</b></li>
<li><b>Babyfather: <i>BBF Hosted by DJ Escrow</i></b> (2016, Hyperdub): [r]: <b>B-</b></li>
<li><b>Black Art Jazz Collective: <i>Presented by the Side Door Jazz Club</i></b> (2016, Sunnyside): [r]: <b>B+(**)</b></li>
<li><b>Jane Bunnett &amp; Maqueque: <i>Oddara</i></b> (2016, Linus Entertainment): [r]: <b>B</b></li>
<li><b>Jeff Collins: <i>The Keys to Christmas</i></b> (2016, Crossroads): [r]: <b>C-</b></li>
<li><b>Alexis Cuadrado: <i>Poetica</i></b> (2016, Sunnyside): [r]: <b>B+(**)</b></li>
<li><b>Deap Vally: <i>Femejism</i></b> (2016, Nevado): [r]: <b>B+(***)</b></li>
<li><b>The Dining Rooms: <i>Do Hipsters Love Sun (Ra?)</i></b> (2015, Schema): [r]: <b>B+(**)</b></li>
<li><b>Dog Leg Dilemma: <i>Not This Time</i></b> (2016 [2017], self-released): [cd]: <b>B+(*)</b></li>
<li><b>Dave Douglas/Frank Woeste: <i>Dada People</i></b> (2015 [2016], Greenleaf Music): [r]: <b>B+(***)</b></li>
<li><b>Mark Dresser Seven: <i>Sedimental You</i></b> (2016, Clean Feed): [cd]: <b>B+(**)</b></li>
<li><b>Fire!: <i>She Sleeps/She Sleeps</i></b> (2015 [2016], Rune Grammofon): [r]: <b>B+(**)</b></li>
<li><b>Freddie Hendrix: <i>Jersey Cat</i></b> (2010 [2016], Sunnyside): [r]: <b>B+(**)</b></li>
<li><b>Dre Hocevar: <i>Transcendental Within the Sphere of Indivisible Remainder</i></b> (2016, Clean Feed): [cd]: <b>B+(*)</b></li>
<li><b>Bobby Kapp/Matthew Shipp: <i>Cactus</i></b> (2016, Northern Spy): [r]: <b>A-</b></li>
<li><b>Irene Kepl: <i>SololoS</i></b> (2016, Fou): [cd]: <b>B+(*)</b></li>
<li><b>Brad Mehldau Trio: <i>Blues and Ballads</i></b> (2012-14 [2016], Nonesuch): [r]: <b>B+(**)</b></li>
<li><b>Moker: <i>Ladder</i></b> (2016, El Negocito): [r]: <b>B+(*)</b></li>
<li><b>Donny Most: <i>Swinging Down the Chimney Tonight</i></b> (2016, Summit, EP): [cd]: <b>B</b></li>
<li><b>Motif: <i>My Head is Listening</i></b> (2013-15 [2016], Clean Feed): [cd]: <b>B+(**)</b></li>
<li><b>Nao: <i>For All We Know</i></b> (2016, Little Tokyo): [r]: <b>B+(*)</b></li>
<li><b>Nots: <i>Cosmetic</i></b> (2016, Goner): [r]: <b>A-</b></li>
<li><b>Frank Ocean: <i>Blonde</i></b> (2016, Boys Don't Cry): [r]: <b>B+(**)</b></li>
<li><b>Schoolboy Q: <i>Blank Face LP</i></b> (2016, Interscope/Top Dawg): [r]: <b>B+(***)</b></li>
<li><b>Steve Swell/Gebhard Ullmann/Fred Lonberg-Holm/Michael Zerang: <i>The Chicago Plan</i></b> (2016, Clean Feed): [cd]: <b>B+(***)</b></li>
<li><b>Mat Walerian-Matthew Shipp Duo: <i>The Uppercut: Live at Okuden</i></b> (2012 [2015], ESP-Disk): [bc]: <b>B+(***)</b></li>
<li><b>Mat Walerian/Matthew Shipp/Hamid Drake: <i>Jungle: Live at Okuden</i></b> (2012 [2016], ESP-Disk, 2CD): [bc]: <b>B+(***)</b></li>
<li><b>Neil Young + Promise of the Real: <i>Earth</i></b> (2015 [2016], Reprise, 2CD): [r]: <b>B+(*)</b></li>
<li><b>Neil Young: <i>Peace Trail</i></b> (2016, Reprise): [r]: <b>B+(**)</b></li>
</ul>

<p><b>Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries rated this week:</b></p>

<ul>
<li><b>Bob Dylan: <i>The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert!</i></b> (1966 [2016], Columbia/Legacy, 2CD): [r]: <b>B</b></li>
<li><b>Dizzy Gillespie &amp; Friends: <i>Concert of the Century: A Tribute to Charlie Parker</i></b> (1980 [2016], Justin Time): [r]: <b>B+(*)</b></li>
<li><b>Evan Parker/Daunik Lazro/Joe McPhee: <i>Seven Pieces: Live at Willisau 1995</i></b> (1995 [2016], Clean Feed): [cd]: <b>B+(***)</b></li>
<li><b>Howard Riley: <i>Constant Change 1976-2016</i></b> (1976-2016 [2016], NoBusiness, 5CD): [cd]: <b>B+(***)</b></li>
<li><b>Neil Young: <i>Bluenote Café</i></b> (1987-88 [2015], Reprise, 2CD): [r]: <b>B+(*)</b></li>
</ul>

<p><b>Old music rated this week:</b></p>

<ul>
<li><b>Neil Young + Promise of the Real: <i>The Monsanto Years</i></b> (2015, Reprise): [r]: <b>B+(**)</b></li>
</ul>

<p><hr class="brk"></p>

<p><b>Unpacking:</b> Found in the mail last week:</p>

<ul>
<li><b>Jim Black/Óskar Gudjónsson/Elias Stemeseder/Chris Tordini: <i>Mala Mute</i></b> (Intakt): January</li>
<li><b>Ellery Eskelin/Christian Weber/Michael Griener: <i>Sensations of Tone</i></b> (Intakt): January</li>
<li><b>Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo: <i>Peace</i></b> (Libra): January 27</li>
<li><b>Cynthia Hilts: <i>Lyric Fury</i></b> (Blond Coyote): January 13</li>
<li><b>Gary Lucas' Fleischerei: <i>Music From Max Fleischer Cartoons</i></b> (Cuneiform)</li>
<li><b>Tell Tale: <i>Film in Music</i></b> (Drip Audio)</li>
</ul>