Streamnotes: May 27, 2025

Most of these are short notes/reviews based on streaming records from Napster (formerly Rhapsody; other sources are noted in brackets). They are snap judgments, usually based on one or two plays, accumulated since my last post along these lines, back on April 28. Past reviews and more information are available here (25832+ records).

New Music

Kris Adams/Peter Perfido: Away (2021 [2025], Jazzbird): Singer, has several albums going back to 1999, teamed with a drummer who was a long-time associate of guitarist-composer Michael O'Neil (d. 2016), playing many of his songs. Also with Bob Degen (piano) and André Buser (bass). B+(*) [cd]

Albare: Eclecticity (2025, Alfi): Australian guitarist Albert Dadon, 16th album, also uses a guitar synth, offers a nice groove album setting off Phil Noy's saxophone riffs. Title is quite the tongue-twister. B+(*) [cd]

Marshall Allen's Ghost Horizons: Live in Philadelphia (2022-24 [2025], Otherly Love/Ars Nova Workshop): Alto saxophonist, joined Sun Ra in the 1950s and continues leading his ghost band as he's turned 101. Bandcamp page isn't very forthcoming about recording date(s) and credits -- says group founded 2022 and includes "guitarist DMHOTEP alongside an all-star cast of rotating musicians including Immanuel Wilkins, Yo La Tengo's James McNew, James Brandon Lewis, The War on Drugs' Charlie Hall, Wolf Eyes, and more." (Later info: the group first appeared in 2022, and this "collects 16 exploratory tracks from the ongoing series' first two years, captured live on stage at Solar Myth." The still incomplete list of musicians also includes William Parker, Eric Revis, Luke Stewart, Chad Taylor, and vocalist Tara Middleton. One vocal pegs Allen as 99. Another source mentions nine performances "between November 2022 and January 2024.") Some interesting material here, but there's a lot of it (88 minutes), and it's can be scattered and/or marginal. B+(***) [sp]

Anika: Abyss (2025, Sacred Bones): British-born, Berlin-based singer-songwriter Annika Henderson, also a DJ and a political journalist, debut album 2010, this seems to be her third, not counting a band called Exploded View (two albums, 2016-18). Runs on the noisy side of new wave, which is smart. B+(***) [sp]

Julien Baker & Torres: Send a Prayer My Way (2025, Matador): Two singer-songwriters with enough reputation for me to have checked out their solo catalogs -- three Baker, four Torres -- and accorded them respectable if unenthusiastic B+(*) grades (5, with ** for the first Torres, B for the middle Baker; Baker is also one-third of Boygenius, stuck at B for a widely-admired album and two EPs), merged here as "an American country duo," which means common songs with somewhat southern voices and (mostly) acoustic arrangements. The vocal contrasts help sustain interest, which may be all the songs ever needed. B+(***) [sp]

Jon Batiste: Beethoven Blues [Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1] (2024, Verve): Pianist from Louisiana, studied at Juilliard, was music director and bandleader on Colbert 2015-22, has since moved on to other projects, which this as the first of a promised series of solo piano explorations, with a mix of original pieces and covers. Given my ingrained antipathy to nearly all classical music, the best I can say here is that nothing here bothers me, and this is downright pleasant. B+(*) [sp]

Håkon Berre: Mirror Matter (2025, Barefoot): Norwegian drummer, based in Denmark, several albums since 2009, various side credits (especially with Maria Faust). This one is solo, with electronics as well as percussion. B+(**) [sp]

Eric Bibb: In the Real World (2024, Stony Plain/True North): Blues singer-songwriter, couple dozen albums since 1972, has a nice, easygoing manner for his songs. B+(**) [sp]

Bloodest Saxophone Featuring Crystal Thomas: Extreme Heat (2024, Dialtone): Japanese jump blues/swing band founded 1998 and led by Koda "Young Corn" Shintaro, seems to have made a breakthrough when Big Jay McNeely toured Japan for a pair of 2016-17 live albums. They reciprocated with In Texas, working with blues singers (Texas Blues Ladies, Texas Queens), finally settling on Thomas, who also plays a mean trombone. B+(*) [sp]

Buck 65: Keep Moving (2025, Handsmade): Rapper from Nova Scotia, started releasing albums around 1999, with 2003's Talkin' Honky Blues an early masterpiece, ran out of steam around 2014, but nearly everything since his 2022 reboot has been terrific. This one compiles 31 short, sharp pieces (51:25). A- [bc]

T Bone Burnett: The Other Side (2024, Verve Forecast): Americana singer-songwriter, probably better known these days as a producer but his 1980-92 releases were much esteemed, my favorite the last one, The Criminal Under My Own Hat. Only a few proper albums since, but this one is in much the same vein -- not that he doesn't sound older, and a bit less assured. B+(**) [sp]

Chris Cain: Good Intentions Gone Bad (2024, Alligator): Blues singer-guitarist, "(4)" at Discogs, but he's been around, had three albums on Blind Pig in the early 1990s, second on Alligator (the first inevitably titled Raising Cain). Seems easy, but grew on me. B+(**) [sp]

Mackenzie Carpenter: Hey Country Queen (2025, Valory Music): Country singer-songwriter from Georgia, first album, makes a nice impression. B+(*) [sp]

Cyrus Chestnut: Rhythm, Melody and Harmony (2024 [2025], HighNote): Mainstream pianist, emerged as a major figure in the 1990s with his Atlantic albums, has found an agreeable home here. Quartet with Stacy Dillard (tenor/soprano sax), Gerald Cannon (bass), and Chris Beck (drums). Six originals, three covers, "There Is a Fountain" is especially nice. B+(***) [sp]

Yuval Cohen Quartet: Winter Poems (2023 [2025], ECM): Soprano saxophonist from Israel, brother of Anat and Avishai and member of the 3 Cohens, backed here with piano (Tom Oren), bass (Alon Near), and drums (Alon Benjamini). This is lovely, a secluded calm before the cataclysm. B+(**) [sp]

George Colligan: You'll Hear It (2024, La Reserve): Pianist, based in Portland, counts as his 38th album (starting in 1996), I'm not finding a credits list, but opens as a trio, with some horns and a singer and switching to electric on the second track. B+(*) [sp]

Gustavo Cortiñas: The Crisis Knows No Borders (2022 [2025], Desafio Candente): Drummer from Mexico, based in Chicago, has a couple previous albums. Quartet with Mark Feldman (violin), Jon Irabagon (tenor sax), and Dave Miller (guitar), all freely into crossing borders, plus a long drum solo. B+(***) [sp]

Alyn Cosker: Onta (2025, Calligram): Drummer, from Scotland, first album 2009, side credits from 2003 including Tommy Smith and Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. Assembled from multiple sessions with various musicians, including several vocalists. I do like the closing folk song ("Làrach do Thacaidean"). B+(*) [cd]

The Coward Brothers: The Coward Brothers (2024, New West): Howard and Henry Coward, the former better known as Elvis Costello, the latter as T Bone Burnett, with a back story that goes back to 1956, and an actual single from 1985. If you take Burnett's solo album as a reference, this one is much more eccentric, for better and for worse. B+(*) [sp]

Chuck D: Chuck D Presents Enemy Radio: Radio Armageddon (2025, Def Jam): Public Enemy majordomo retains his signature sound, which sounds as hard-edged as ever, but the impact is blunted by the radio concept, which chops and screws everything. B+(*) [sp]

Lucy Dacus: Forever Is a Feeling (2025, Geffen): Singer-songwriter from Virginia, fourth album since 2016, not counting her share of Boygenius. This almost won me over with sound, and the lyric videos almost convinced me the words have weight. I don't normally factor politics into my reviews, but while I was sitting on the fence here, I read in Wikipedia of her referring to Obama as "war criminal" and took that as the tie-breaker. A- [sp]

James Davis' Beveled: Arc and Edge (2024 [2025], Calligram): Flugelhorn player, from Chicago, wrote all the pieces here, joined by a second flugelhorn player (Chad McCullough), two bass clarinetists (Jeff Bradfield and Michael Salter), bass, and drums. Nice postbop mix. B+(***) [cd]

Alabaster DePlume: A Blade Because a Blade Is Whole (2024 [2025], International Anthem): British saxophonist and spoken word artist Gus Fairbairn, ninth album since 2012, not sure exactly when this was recorded but liner notes quote him as saying "the album was written before the genocide started, but I had Palestine on my mind all the time." I can't say as I followed this closely enough to understand the point, but he does have some interesting goings on. B+(**) [sp]

Destroyer: Dan's Boogie (2025, Merge): Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Bejar (and/or band), more than a dozen albums since 1996. I never noticed him/them until Kaputt (2011) got a lot of hype, and since then I haven't been impressed much, but "boogie" is a welcome novelty (at least while it lasts). B+(**) [sp]

DJ Dadaman & Moscow Dollar: Ka Gaza (2025, Nyege Nyege Tapes): South African, no Discogs history that I can find, just a note that DJ Dadaman "started his journey way back in 2003," in something called "bacardi music" ("a potent cocktail of kwaito, house and synth pop"), with a hint that this may be older music belatedly released. B+(***) [sp]

Djrum: Under Tangled Silence (2025, Houndstooth): Felix Manuel, Discogs lists as DJ Rum but recent albums have run the alias together. B+(***) [sp]

Paul Dunmall Quartet: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (2022 [2024], RogueArt): British avant-saxophonist (tenor/soprano), many albums, with Liam Noble (piano), John Edwards (bass), and Mark Sanders (drums). Joint improv, making it look easy as well as dazzling. A- [cdr]

Early James: Medium Raw (2025, Easy Eye Sound): Singer-songwriter James Mullis, from Alabama, third album, produced by Dan Auerbach, showed up on a blues list for could just as well be taken for a low-fi folkie. B [sp]

Maria Faust Sacrum Facere: Marches Rewound & Rewritten (2024 [2025], Stunt): Alto saxophonist, from Estonia, based in Denmark, debut album 2008, third album with this group, which stems from a 2014 album title. Group consists of six horns -- three brass (including tuba), three reeds -- plus two drummers. B+(**) [sp]

Joe Fiedler Trio 2.0: Dragon Suite (2024 [2025], Multiphonics Music): Trombonist, moved to New York in 1993, where he quickly established himself in big bands (Satoko Fujii, Anthony Braxton, Andrew Hill, Charles Tolliver) while pursuing diverse side projects, including tributes to Albert MAngelsdorf and Captain Beefheart and a trombone/tuba choir called Big Sackbut. Discogs lists four previous Trio albums -- I recommend I'm In -- but the revision here has less to do with personnel (Michael Sarin returns on drums) than configuration: filling the bass slot with Pete McCann on guitar. B+(***) [bc]

Erik Friedlander: Dirty Boxing (2024, Skipstone): Cellist, several dozen albums since 1991. This one is backed by Uri Caine (piano), Mark Helias (bass), and Ches Smith (drums). B+(**) [sp]

Erik Friedlander: Floating City (2024, Skipstone): Discogs combines this as a second CD with Dirty Boxing, but Spotify has they as separate albums. Another quartet, with Mark Helias returning on bass, but the piano/drums replaced with guitar (Wendy Eisenberg) and voice (Sara Serpa). B [sp]

Bill Frisell/Andrew Cyrille/Kit Downes: Breaking the Shell (2022 [2024], Red Hook): Guitar, drums, organ. Label was founded by a former ECM producer, which may help explain the big names and small ambitions. B+(*) [sp]

Satoko Fujii This Is It!: Message (2024 [2025], Libra): Pianist-led trio with trumpet (Natsuki Tamura) and drums (Takashi Itani), third group album, although the first two probably have close to a hundred together, and this is their most basic grouping, and exemplary as usual. A- [cd]

Galactic and Irma Thomas: Audience With the Queen (2025, Tchoup-Zilla): New Orleans-based jam (or funk) band, active since 1996, with a couple dozen albums, functioning here as backup for "the soul queen of New Orleans" -- a title she earned with hits in the 1960s. She's 84 now, a decade past her last album, but she sounds strong, and the band does her proud. B+(***) [sp]

Don Glori: Paper Can't Wrap Fire (2025, Mr Bongo): Australia-based songwriter Gordon Li, plays muiltiple instruments, uses various singers (sounding like typical "alt-r&b"), also employs a pretty fair saxophonist, likes Brazilian grooves, shows some promise but doesn't deliver much. B [sp]

Jon Gold: Chasing Echos (2025, Entropic): Pianist, other keyboards, has a couple Brazil-themed albums, co-produced this with drummer Mauricio Zottarelli, scattered musician credits not that the comings and goings make much difference, with vocals often filling in for horns, or maybe just caught up in the flotsam. C+ [cd]

Larry Goldings: I Will (2023-24 [2025], Sam First): Probably better known as an organ player, many albums since 1991, playe piano here, a trio with bass (Karl McComas-Reichl) and drums (Christian Euman), one original and five standards, the title tune from Lennon-McCartney. B+(*) [sp]

The Haas Company Featuring Samuel Hällkvist: Vol. 3: Song for Mimi (2025, Psychiatric): Fusion group led by drummer Steve Haas, each volume featuring a guest, in this case playing guitar. B+(*) [cd]

Hamell on Trial: Harp (for Harry) (2025, Saustex): Folkie singer-songwriter from Syracuse, couple dozen albums since 1996, did this one sounds live sometime after last November 6, which you can tell because he asks how the audience is coping. Just guitar and voice, like The Pandemic Songs, which is all he really needs. A- [sp]

Joel Harrison: Guitar Talk Vol. 2: Classical Duos/Jazz Duos (2025, AGS, 2CD): Guitarist, has a couple dozen albums since 1996, organized something he calls Alternative Guitar Summit, releasing a batch of solos in 2024, followed here by two sets of duos: the titular Classical Duos with Fareed Haque & Dan Lippel, and Jazz Duos with Gregg Belisle Chi, Nels Cline, Adam Levy, Camila Meza, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Anthony Pirog, Brad Shepik, and Mike Stern, with scattered bits of voice. B+(*) [cd]

HHY & the Kampala Unit: Turbo Meltdown (2025, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Jonathan Uliel Saldhana, a producer from Portugal, working with the label's Ugandan house band. B+(**) [sp]

Hieroglyphic Being: Dance Music 4 Bad People (2025, Smalltown Supersound): Chicago house producer Jamal Moss, many albums since 2008. B+(***) [sp]

Art Hirahara: Good Company (2023 [2024], Posi-Tone): Pianist, regular albums since 2011 plus side credits on many of the label's albums, this one with Paul Bollenback on guitar and Ron Horton on trumpet/flugelhorn. B+(*) [sp]

HiTech: Honeypaqq Vol. 1 (2025, Loma Vista): Techno group from Detroit, rapper-producer-DJs go by King Milo, Milf Melly, and 47Chops; two previous albums, 11-12 cuts but time probably comes up short. B+(*) [bc]

Homeboy Sandman & Brand the Builder: Manners (2025, self-released, EP): Even shorter than usual: four songs, 10:50. B+(*) [bc]

Jenny Hval: Iris Silver Mist (2025, 4AD): Norwegian singer-songwriter, studied in Australia, started in a gothic metal band, worked through a couple more bands, moved back to Norway, this her ninth solo album, plus she has two more as Lost Girls, and four novels. The metal influence may have contributed to the C+ album in my database, but it's an outlier. I certainly don't mind this one, but can't say I'm following it carefully. B+(***) [sp]

Christoph Irniger Pilgrim: Human Intelligence Live (2023 [2025], Intakt): Swiss tenor saxophonist, sixth group album, postbop quintet with piano (Stefan Aeby), guitar (Dave Gisler), bass, and drums. B+(**) [sp]

Melissa Kassel & Tom Zicarelli Group: Moments (2022 [2025], MKMusic): Jazz singer-songwriter and pianist-composer, have at least one previous album, backed by bass (Bruce Gertz) and drums (Gary Fieldman), with help from Phil Grenadier (trumpet). B+(*) [cd]

Salif Keita: So Kono (2025, No Format): Legendary Malian griot, started with Les Ambassadeurs, still going strong at 76. B+(**) [sp]

KnCurrent: KnCurrent (2024 [2025], Deep Dish): Bandleader is alto saxophonist Patrick Brennan, who has several albums going back to 1999, some as Sonic Openings Under Pressure. Group adds Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Cooper-Moore (generally a pianist but plays his homemade diddley-bo here), and On Ka'a Davis (guitar). B+(***) [cd]

Alex Koo: Blame It on My Chromosomes (2024 [2025], W.E.R.F.): Belgian pianist, sings some (but not especially well), mother is Japanese, father was a missionary sent to Japan, fifth album since 2014. B+(*) [sp]

Kingdom Molongi: Kembo (2025, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Portuguese producer/composer Jonathan Uliel Saldanha, has worked with African groups like HHY and the Macumbas. Mostly chorals. B- [sp]

Marilyn Kleinberg: Let Your Heart Lead the Way (2022 [2025], Waking Up Music): Standards singer, only album I can find but I read things like "brings a lifetime of experience" and "storied jazz singer." Will Galison produced, and gets a "featuring" credit, playing chromatic harmonica, which is an effective alternative to adding a saxophonist, to backing of piano (John DiMartino), bass (Noriko Ueda), and drums (Victor Lewis). Well chosen songs, done with authority. B+(***) [cd]

Le Vice Anglais: Vas-y (2023-24 [2025], 4DaRecord): Portuguese duo, Ricardo Guerra Pires (electric guitar) and Bruno Parinha (alto sax), where "electronic processing and loops were made 'live'." Titles are a mix of French and English, but just as titles. The music emerges from ambient industrial noise, but just barely. B+(***) [cd]

Ute Lemper: Pirate Jenny (2025, The Audiophile Society): German singer and actress, released her first Kurt Weill collection in 1987 (her only previous album was the original German cast recording of Cats), and has returned several times, with a side line of cabaret songs. B+(*) [sp]

Jinx Lennon: The Hate Agents Leer at the Last Isle of Hope (2025, Septic Tiger): Irish poet with music, 16 albums since 2000, has messages, stories, and anger -- more than I can digest, but enough to respect. B+(***) [sp]

Magnus Lindgren & John Beasley: The Butterfly Effect (2023 [2024], ACT Music): Saxophone and piano duo, the former playing tenor, clarinet, and flute. Originals by either or both, plus "Come Together." B [sp]

Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo': Room on the Porch (2025, Concord Jazz): The former has been warming up blues and roots songs since 1967, has written plenty of his own but has a genius for covers that rivals and has probably caught up with Ray Charles. The latter got a lot of hype in the 1990s when he tried to fill those shoes but failed. They finally got together, hyped as two "blues giants," in 2017 for a nondescript album, but this one is better, perhaps because it's loose enough to just let that genius seep to the surface. B+(***) [sp]

Fergus McCreadie: Stream (2024, Edition): Scottish pianist, several albums since 2018, this a trio with bass (David Bowden) and drums (Stephen Henderson). Some serious piano jazz. B+(***) [sp]

Nate Mercereau: Excellent Traveler (2024, Third Man): Guitarist, debut was the 2019 album Joy Techniques, appears on a couple albums with Carlos Niño (who gets a guest spot here, as does André 3000), otherwise this is solo, aside from samples. Listed as electronic, but shows up on jazz lists, but could work as some kind of experimentalist soundtrack. B+(***) [sp]

Mira Trio: Machinerie (2022-23 [2025], 4DaRecord): Miguel Mira (cello), Felice Furioso (drums), and Yedo Gibson (saxophones). Two pieces, first a pretty impressive 22:38 slab of inventive improv, second a puzzle that spends way too much time at the barely audible level, which is a personal peeve (in part, perhaps, because I'm not a high volume listener). Mira, by the way, is building up a pretty substantial discography, having started with Rodrigo Amado's Motion Trio. Gibson isn't Amado, but he's often impressive. I don't know if the drummer coined his name, but it's a good one (but not warranted on the second track). B+(**) [cd]

Model/Actriz: Pirouette (2025, True Panther/Dirty Hit): Boston rock band, new-wavish, Cole Haden the singer, second album. B+(**) [sp]

Hedvig Mollestad Trio: Bees in the Bonnet (2024 [2025], Rune Grammofon): Norwegian electric guitar-bass-drums trio, with Ellen Brakken and Ivar Loe Bjørnstad. Fast, heavy fusion. B+(***) [sp]

David Murray Quartet: Birdly Serenade (2025, Impulse!): Tenor sax great, pretty great on bass clarinet as well, fought his way through the NYC lofts, and spent the 1980s and 1990s on small foreign labels (mostly Black Saint in Italy and DIW in Japan), compiling the most prodigious discography in modern jazz. After 2000, he slowed down a bit, gated by small labels in Canada (Justin Time) and Switzerland (Intakt). So this is supposedly a big deal: a major label debut (Impulse! is one of many brands managed by Universal, which is as major as they get), recorded at Van Gelder Studio. Same Quartet as has appeared recently on Intakt: Marta Sanchez (piano), Luke Stewart (bass), and Russell Carter (drums). This offers eight Murray originals, with titles that fit well enough with "The Birdsong Project" (a tie-in to a group that issued a 20-LP Grammy-winning box celebrating the avian world, with little if any connection to Charlie Parker). Two feature vocals by Ekep Nkwelle, a third with poetry by Francesca Cinelli. They're ok, but I'd rather just listen to the sax (and especially to the bass clarinet), and the rhythm section is exceptionally fluid. I should point out though that despite how much as I enjoy this, I wouldn't rank it in his top dozen albums (or probably two dozen, or maybe even three). But still: A- [sp]

Natural Information Society and Bitchin Bajas: Totality (2025, Drag City): Two fringe jazz/rock bands from Chicago, the former led by bassist Joshua Abrams, with Jason Stein (bass clarinet), and Mikel Patrick Avery (drums); the latter with Cooper Crain (organ/keys), Rob Frye (flute/synth), and Dan Quinlivan (electronics). B+(**) [sp]

Willie Nelson: Oh What a Beautiful World (2025, Legacy): Per Wikipedia, Nelson's 77th solo studio album (I have 114 albums rated under Nelson's name), a collection of a dozen very good Rodney Crowell songs, a nice production with a singer still good enough to cover anything. Seems too easy, but at his age what more can you hope for? A- [sp]

Nikara Presents . . . Black Wall Street: The Queen of Kings County (2022-23 [2024], Switch Hit): Vibraphonist Nikara Warren, from Brooklyn, granddaughter of Kenny Barron, group name recapitulates title of her 2021 debut album. Most tracks with trumpet (Alonzo Demetrius), tenor sax (Craig Hill), keyboards, guitar, electric bass, and drums, plus some extras (including several Barrons), working covers of Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield in with the originals. B+(**) [sp]

Bruno Parrinha/Carlos "Zingaro"/Fred Lonberg-Holm/João Madeira: Enleiro (2024 [2025], 4DaRecord): Chamber jazz quartet, with bass clarinet, violin, cello, bass, emphasis on strings, but also free improv that is always in motion. B+(***) [cd]

John Patitucci: Spirit Fall (2024 [2025], Edition): Bassist, has many albums since his eponymous debut in 1988, few I've bothered checking out, but a trio with Chris Potter (tenor/soprano sax, bass clarinet) and Brian Blade (drums) is promising, playing nine of his own songs, plus one from Wayne Shorter. B+(***) [sp]

Pé: Æzæl: Eternity of Nonexistence (2025, Tokinogake): Probably Puria M. Rad, "a Bandar Abbas-based musician and sound designer/engineer who was born and raised in Tehran, studied audio production in Malaysia and has been exploring experimental electronic music since 2014" -- my doubts because this and another album on the same Japanese label have yet to appear on Discogs, although a 2021 album and a couple of 5-file FLACS are listed there, and the notes fit: title is an Arabic word, tied to Sufism, also used in Farsi. Not without interest, but pretty minimal, obscurantist even. B [bc]

Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band: Honeysuckle (2025, Family Owned): Actually just a trio, from Brown County, Indiana, with the Reverend on guitar and vocals, Breezy Peyton on washboard, and Jacob Powell on drums. Eleventh album since, with some guest spots. B+(**) [sp]

Dan Phillips Trio: Array in Brown (2025, Lizard Breath): Guitarist, leader of Chicago Edge Ensemble, trio here with Krzysztof Pabian (bass) and Avreeayl Ra (drums). B+(***) [bc]

Enrico Pieranunzi/Marc Johnson/Joey Baron: Hindsight: Live at La Seine Musicale (2024, CAM Jazz): Italian pianist, many recordings since 1975, a long-running trio with bass and drums -- his association with Johnson goes back to 1992, with various drummers (Billy Higgins, Paul Motian) until Baron took over in 2009. B+(**) [sp]

Simona Premazzi/Kyle Nasser Quartet: From What I Recall (2024 [2025], OA2): Piano and saxophone (tenor/soprano), backed by bass (Noah Garabedian) and drums (Jay Sawyer). B+(**) [cd]

The Reddish Fetish With the Jersey City All Stars: Llegue (2025, F&F): Drummer Jason T. Fetish, in a tribute to his father, wrote one song while covering standards from Parker and Strayhorn, Silver and Timmons, and both Coltranes. I don't recognize any of the supporting cast, but they sail through some fetching melodies, with a couple vocals (J Hacha De Zola on "Señor Blues" and "Lush Life"). B+(***) [cd]

Ron Rieder: Día Precioso! (2025, Meson): Composer, from Massachusetts, pictured with piano but not listed as playing here, second album, cover notes arrangements by Ricardo Monzón, 8 songs, 32:48, a mix of Afro-Cuban jazz, sambas, mambos, and tango. B+(*) [cd]

Sault: 10 (2025, Forever Living Originals): British funk group, a dozen albums since 2019, don't know what the four with numerical titles are meant to signify. B+(*) [sp]

Scheen Jazzorkester & Fredrik Ljungkvist: Framåt! (2023 [2025], Grong): Norwegian big band, started as a jazz composers workshop in 2011, nine albums, most feature guest artists like the Swedish tenor saxophonist here, who composed all of the pieces here. B+(***) [cd]

Elijah Shiffer: City of Birds: Volume 2 (2024 [2025], self-released): Alto saxophonist, several previous albums including Volume 1 (2023), "dedicated to the birds of New York city," with a field guide on the cover, but the grooves are effectively a cutting contest with Kevin Sun (tenor sax), backed by bass and drums. B+(**) [sp]

The Gary Smulyan and Frank Basile Quintet: Boss Baritones (2024, SteepleChase): Two baritone saxophonists, Smulyan by far the better known, with a steady stream of albums since 1997 (including a Tough Baritones with Ronnie Cuber), while Basile mostly has side-credits with big bands (starting at UNT in 1999). Backed here by piano (Steve Ash), bass (Mike Karn), and drums (Aaron Seeber). Anyone expecting a rousing sax joust will be disappointed, but not much: these are nice guys who prefer to swing and bop in tandem. B+(**) [sp]

Stereolab: Instant Holograms on Metal Film (2025, Warp): English-French electropop group, principally Tim Gane (guitar, keyboards) and Latetia Sadier (vocals, keyboards), was fairly big 1993-99, released albums less frequently through 2010, regrouped in 2019, this their first new album. B+(*) [sp]

Luke Stewart/Silt Rembrance Ensemble: The Order (2023 [2025], Cuneiform): Bassist, DC area, has a lot of projects over the last decade, the best known being Irreversible Entanglements, but he's also played on recent albums by David Murray and James Brandon Lewis, has two very good Silt Trio albums, and a Remembrance Quintet album. This combines those two groups, so you get three saxophonists (Jamal Moore, Brian Settles, and Daniel Carter, the latter also on trumpet), with Chad Taylor (drums). While much of this is very impressive, some of the horn thrash just wore me out. B+(***) [dl]

Melinda Sullivan/Larry Goldings: Big Foot (2024, Colorfield): Goldings is well known for his organ and piano work. First album for Sullivan, who Wikipedia identifies as a dancer, but she's effectively a percussionist here, with variations on tap dance, while Goldings plays piano figures on one hand, and synth baselines on the other. Some cuts add extra musicians, with Goldings' daughter Anna offering a vocal. B+(*) [sp]

Sumac and Moor Mother: The Film (2025, Thrill Jockey): Canadian-American metal band, five albums on their own since 2015, also have three collaborations with Keiji Haino before this one with jazz rapper Camae Ayewa. (This was preceded by a Moor Mother remix of a Sumac track on a 2024 EP.) She adds weight a message that they probably already considered, while they provide the gravity. Just "don't look away." A- [sp]

Joona Toivanen Trio: Gravity (2025, We Jazz): Finnish pianist, debut in 2000 with this same trio: Tapani Toivanen (bass) and Olavi Louhivuori (drums). Has an interesting ambient feel. B+(**) [sp]

Tune-Yards: Better Dreaming (2025, 4AD): Duo of Merrill Garbus (vocals, etc.) and Nate Brenner (bass, etc.), sixth studio album since 2009. I can't say as I've ever been impressed, amused and/or simply pleased, although I keep trying. (Friends love their albums, notably Robert Christgau, who has graded the series { A, A, A-, A-, A }, vs. my { **, *, **, B, B }.) Some interest here, but hard to hear her even with three plays. File under "distinctions not cost-effective." B+(*) [sp]

Kali Uchis: Sincerely, (2025, Capitol): Pop singer-songwriter, born in Virginia, father from Colombia, where she lived during her high school years, has a couple albums in Spanish as well as those in English, this her fifth since 2018. Hit or miss in the past, neither this time, although I could see getting comfortable in her groove. B+(**) [sp]

Gregory Uhlmann/Josh Johnson/Sam Wilkes: Uhlmann/Johnson/Wilkes (2023 [2025], International Anthem): Guitar/sax/bass + effects all around. Gives this a certain plastic quality, which comes home on the "Fool on the Hill" cover. B+(**) [sp]

Julia Úlehla and Dálava: Understories (2021 [2025], Pi): Singer-songwriter, trained as an opera singer, draws on Moravian folk music, has studied at Stanford and Eastman, worked in New York and Vancouver, but bio is short on specifics. Dálava is basically Aram Bajakian (guitars, bass, piano, synths, percussion), sometimes supplemented by others: Peggy Lee (cello) and Josh Zubot (violin) appear on several tracks each. Strikes me as dark and heavy, but there's something to it. B+(**) [cd]

Jordan VanHemert: Survival of the Fittest (2024 [2025], Origin): Also saxophonist, born in Korea, based in Oklahoma, third album, a postbop sextet with familiar names: Terell Stafford (trumpet), Michael Dease (trombone), Helen Sung (piano), Rodney Whitaker (bass), Lewis Nash (drums). B+(**) [cd]

Nasheet Waits: New York Love Letter (Bitter Sweet) (2021-22 [2024], Giant Step Arts): Drummer, many side credits (both free and mainstream, perhaps best known for Tarbaby and Jason Moran), just his third album as leader (although Discogs counts over 20). With Mark Turner (tenor sax), Steve Nelson (vibes), and Rashaan Carter (bass), opening with two originals, with pieces by Moran and Andrew Hill before closing with two Coltranes. Turner, in particular, was having a very strong year. B+(***) [bc]

Michael Waldrop: Native Son (2024 [2025], Origin): Drummer, Discogs shows a 2002 album, I have four since 2015. Cover credits for Vasil Hadžimanov (piano) and Martin Gjakonovski (bass), recorded on their turf in Serbia, and small print for percussionists Brad Dutz and Jose Rossy (6 and 3 cuts, respectively). B+(**) [cd]

The War and Treaty: Plus One (2025, Mercury/UMG Nashville): Duo of Michael Trotter and the former Tanya Blount, both strong singers, credited on their 2016 debut as Trotter & Blount, fourth album under this name, slotted as country but blows up huge with rafter-raising chorus. B- [sp]

David Weiss Sextet: Auteur (2023 [2024], Origin): Trumpet player, FSNT debut 2001, some interesting albums/projects (including New Jazz Composers Octet), this one five originals plus covers from Freddie Hubbard and Slide Hampton. With Nicole Glover (tenor sax), Myron Walden (alto sax), piano, bass, and drums (EJ Strickland). B+(***) [sp]

Ben Wendel: Understory: Live At The Village Vanguard (2022 [2024], Edition): Canadian saxophonist, based in New York, ten or so albums since 2009, with a "world-class rhythm section" of Gerald Clayton (piano), Linda May Han Oh (bass), and Obed Calvaire (drums). Original pieces (one cover), well done. B+(**) [sp]

Carolyn Wonderland: Truth Is (2025, Alligator): Blues singer-songwriter from Houston, née Bradford, based in Austin, dozen albums since 2002, has some songs and a powerful voice. B+(**) [sp]

Billy Woods: Golliwog (2025, Backwoodz Studioz): Rapper, from DC, mother a lit professor from Jamaica, father a "Marxist intellectual" from Zimbabwe, tenth solo album since 2003, not counting collaborations, most notably in Armand Hammer. Dense, rambling, hard for me to get a solid handle on this, but I have no doubt there's much to return to when/if I can find the time. A- [sp]

Clay Wulbrecht: The Clockmaster (2024 [2025, Instru Dash Mental): Keyboardist, evidently some kind of prodigy, "released three albums before he was a teenager," "selected as a Disney All American in 2018," but this is his first album in Discogs. Promises "rich themes, dramatic performances, with bits of his wit," and, sure, he delivers all that. B+(*) [cd]

Neil Young: Coastal: The Soundtrack (2023 [2025], Reprise): Solo album, "features 11 songs selected from Young's 60-year career, recorded live on his 2023 tour," cast as a soundtrack for a video tracking the tour. B+(*) [sp]

Carlos "Zingaro"/Flo Stoffner/Fred Lonberg-Holm/João Madeira: Na Parede (2023 [2025], 4DaRecord): Violin, guitar, cello, bass, pretty much the same avant-chamber jazz lineup as on bassist Madeira's other recent production (Enleiro, listed under Bruno Parrinha, replaced here by the guitarist; both records are, of course, joint improv). Although this seems like a self-limiting concept, but details really replay close listening. A- [cd]

Recent Reissues, Compilations, Vault Discoveries

Borghesia: Clones (1984 [2025], Dark Entries): Electronic music group founded 1982 in Ljulljana (now Slovenia), could pass for Krautrock, recorded extensively through 1991, regrouped in 2009. Second album. B+(**) [bc]

Charles Brackeen: Rhythm X (1968 [2025], Strata-East): Tenor saxophonist (1940-2022), first album, originally appeared 1973, cover also notes "The music of Charles Brackeen" and "Dolphy Series 4," and lists the musicians: "Edward Blackwell (drums), Charles Brackeen (saxophone), Don Cherry (trumpet), Charlie Hayden (bass)." B+(***) [sp]

The Brass Company: Colors (1974 [2025], Strata-East): Bassist Bill Lee (1928-2023) has very little under his own name -- people who recognize his name today mostly as Spike Lee's father -- but Discogs lists 206 performance credits, and the notes describe him as "an integral member of the Strata-East family." Group here is deep in brass, with trumpets (Bill Hardman, Eddie Preston, Harry Hall, Lonnie Hillyer, plus Charles Tolliver takes a guest solo), trombone, tuba, and euphonium, plus drums (Billy Higgins, Sonny Brown), with a solo spot each for Clifford Jordan (tenor sax) and Stanley Cowell (piano). B+(***) [sp]

George Colligan: Live at the Jazz Standard (2014 [2025], Whirlwind): A really good pianist since the late 1990s, but it's a crowded field. This is a live set, coming off a trio album with Jack DeJohnette and Larry Grenadier, with Linda May Han Oh subbing for the bassist. B+(**) [sp]

Stanley Cowell: Musa: Ancestral Streams (1974 [2025], Strata-East): Pianist (1941-2020), made a big impression on me with his 1969 debut Blues for the Viet Cong, was co-founder (with Charles Tolliver) of the Strata-East label. Solo here, with some electric and kalimba (thumb piano). B+(***) [sp]

Stanley Cowell: Regeneration (1975 [2025], Strata-East): Pianist, but strays from his usual fare here, mostly playing kora or mbira behind various singers and lots of flutes. B [sp]

Stanley Cowell/Billy Harper/Reggie Workman/Billy Hart: Such Great Friends (1983 [2025], Strata-East): Documenting a live tour in Japan, the pianist opens, with the saxophonist holding back until the second tune, when he unleashes his full power and glory. Second half evens out a bit as a group. A- [sp]

The Descendants of Mike and Phoebe: A Spirit Speaks (1973 [2025], Strata-East): One of bassist Bill Lee's projects at the label, with "soprano" (meaning operatic) vocals by A. Grace Lee Mims, plus flugelhorn (Cliff Lee), piano (Consuela Lee Moorehead), and percussion (either Billy Higgins or Sonny Brown). B [sp]

Ellery Eskelin: Trio New York About (or On) First Visit (2011-13, Ezz-Thetics): Remaster of Trio New York and Trio New York II, previouly released on Prime Source -- hence the title fudging for what is normally a series of previously unreleased tapes. Leader plays tenor sax, with Gary Versace (organ) and Gerald Cleaver (drums). A- [dl]

Shamek Farrah: First Impressions (1974 [2025], Strata-East): Alto saxophonist, born Anthony Domacase in New York City, started playing in Latin jazz groups, first album, group here is as unfamiliar to me as he is: Norman Person (trumpet), Sonelius Smith (piano), Milton Suggs (bass), Ron Warwell (drums), Calvert "Bo" Satter-White (congas). B+(***) [sp]

Shamek Farrah & Sonelius Smith: The World of the Children (1976 [2025], Strata-East): Second album, the pianist getting co-credit with two songs to the alto saxophonist's one, the other songs coming from Joseph Gardner (trumpet) and Milton Suggs (bass). B+(**) [sp]

Joe Fiedler's "Open Sesame": F . . . Is for Funny (2018 [2024], Multiphonics Music): The trombonist's group is a quintet formed for the 2019 album Open Sesame, with Jeff Lederer (soprano/tenor sax), Steven Bernstein (trumpet), Sean Conly (bass), and Michael Sarin (drums). This reissues that and another album from 2021 (Fuzzy and Blue), with some vocals by Miles Griffith. B+(**) [bc]

Ella Fitzgerald: The Moment of Truth: Ella at the Coliseum (1967 [2025], Verve): Previously unreleased live tape, from the year she moved from Verve to Capitol, which tried to throttle her jazz instincts and move her into covering contemporary pop songs -- two examples here are "Alfie" and "Music to Watch Girls By" -- but her band here was well stocked with Ellington horns (including Gonsalves, Hodges, and Carney on saxophones, Cat Anderson and Cootie Williams on trumpet) and she couldn't help but swing. B+(**) [sp]

John Gordon: Step by Step (1975 [2025], Strata-East): Trombonist (1939-2003), led two albums for Strata-East, and a later Trombones Unlimited album, while his side credits mostly occurred in big bands (Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Ernie Wilkins). Hard charging sextet here with Charles Tolliver (trumpet), Stanley Cowell (piano), Roland Alexander (tenor/soprano sax/flute), Lisle Atkinson (bass), and Andrew Cyrille (drums). B+(**) [sp]

Billy Harper: Capra Black (1973 [2025], Strata-East): Tenor saxophonist (b. 1943), first album (or a couple dozen through 2013), shows he always had this huge raise-the-rafters sound, fortified here with brass, piano (George Cables), bass, drums, and a choir that can be a bit too much. B+(**) [sp]

John Hicks: Hells Bells (1975 [2025], Strata-East): Early album, released in 1980 but recorded well before his 1979 debut, a trio with Clint Houston (bass) and Cliff Barbaro (drums), three original pieces plus Barbaro's title tune. B+(***) [sp]

John Hicks: Steadfast (1975 [2025], Strata-East): Solo piano, recorded in London, not released until 1990. Four originals, standards from Ellington ("Sophisticated Lady" and "In a Sentimental Mood") and Strayhorn ("Lush Life") to Waldron ("Soul Eyes"), all nicely, if not remarkably, done. B+(**) [sp]

James Moody: 80 Years Young: Live at the Blue Note March 26, 2005 (2005 [2025], Origin): Bebop saxophonist (1925-2010), mostly tenor, also played quite a bit of flute, joined Dizzy Gillespie in 1946 and was a regular in his various bands, while he established his own career with "Moody's Mood for Love" in 1952. He opens this 80th birthday bash singing "Benny's From Heaven," badly at first but so infectiously he won me over. He opened with a solid band -- David Hazeltine (piano), Todd Coolman (bass), and Adam Nussbaum (drums) -- then brought out the stars for the back stretch: Jon Faddis (trumpet), Paquito D'Rivera (alto sax/clarinet), Slide Hampton (trombone), plus guest spots for Randy Brecker (trumpet) and Cedar Walton (piano). He turns this into an old-fashioned bebop revival, reprising his hits as well as "Cherokee," "Birk's Works," and "Bebop" itself. A- [cd]

James Moody: The Moody Story: James Moody Septet 1951-1955 (1951-55 [2025], Fresh Sound, 3CD): Saxophonist (1925-2010), started on alto but mostly played tenor, played in an army band during WWII, then joined Dizzy Gillespie in 1946, and even now is probably best known for his work in later Gillespie bands. After a few years in Europe, he returned to the US, and recorded these early sessions for Mercury and Prestige. Various lineups here, but aside from the odd vocalist he appeared in septets, with Dave Burns (trumpet) prominent enough to get larger type on the box. [NB: Volume 1, which covers 1951-54, is not available to stream, so is unheard here. This grade only covers Volume 2 (1954-55) and Volume 3 (1955), which I've played, but the separate volumes only seem to exist for streaming.] B+(***) [sp]

The New York Bass Violin Choir: The New York Bass Violin Choir (1969-75 [2025], Strata-East): Directed by Bill Lee, seven tracks, compiled from five sessions, so it's doubtful the six bassists (including Ron Carter and Richard Davis) were all in play at the same time. Other guests pop up here and there, including Sonny Brown (drums), Harold Mabern (piano), and George Coleman (tenor sax). B+(**) [sp]

Billy Parker's Fourth World: Freedom of Speech (1974 [2025], Strata-East): Drummer, from Buffalo, d. 1996, this appears to be the only album under his name but he appeared on several other Strata-East albums. Parker composed the long (16:00) title piece, the other four pieces coming from band members Cecil Bridgewater (trumpet), Ronald Bridgewater (tenor sax), Donald Smith (piano), and Cecil McBee (bass). Smith sings on the opener, and Dee Dee Bridgewater later on. B+(**) [sp]

Cecil Payne: Zodiac (1972 [2025], Strata-East): Baritone saxophonist (1922-2007), started on Savoy in 1946, early into bebop but often found himself in mainstream settings. His own albums start in 1956, with just this one album for Strata-East -- part of their "Dolphy Series" -- before he moved on to Muse and Delmark. Quintet with Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Wynton Kelly (piano and organ), Wilbur Ware (bass), and Albert Heath (drums). B+(***) [sp]

Art Pepper: An Afternoon in Norway: The Kongsberg Concert (1980 [2025], Elemental Music): Another stop on a European tour that's been getting a lot of coverage recently, with the alto saxophonist's regular touring group of Milcho Leviev (piano), Tony Dumas (bass), and Carl Burnett (drums). Terrific, if course, but no better than the Geneva 1980 date I recently reviewed. B+(***) [sp]

The Piano Choir: Handscapes (1972 [2025], Strata-East): Multiple pianos, some electic, also credits for "vocals, percussion, African piano, and harpsichord," the performers listed as Stanley Cowell, Nat Jones, Hugh Lawson, Webster Lewis, Harold Mabern, Danny Mixon, Sonelius Smith. This runs very long (9 tracks, 104:55), which makes it hard to find the point. B [sp]

The Piano Choir: Handscapes 2 (1974 [2025], Strata-East): Further sessions, five pieces, 33:30, same pianists (possibly excepting Danny Mixon; the other six are featured once or twice) with extra percussionists (Mtume, Jimmy Hopps, John Lewis). Liveliness and brevity help a bit. B+(*) [sp]

Pink Floyd: Pink Floyd at Pompeii MCMLXXII (1972 [2025], Columbia): Live concert from 1972, released as a film in 1974, and newly remastered, so the songs here predate their mega hit albums -- The Dark Side of the Moon came out in 1973, but there are two takes of "Echoes" (from 1971's Meddle) prototype here. B+(*) [sp]

Charlie Rouse: Two Is One (1974 [2025], Strata-East): Tenor saxophonist (1924-88), best known for his 1960s work in the Thelonious Monk Quartet, although he has some fine albums on his own (mostly later). This was his only album between 1964-78, with especially prominent funk guitar -- George Davis, who wrote 2 (of 5) songs and/or Paul Metzke --backed with cello, bass, and drums. I don't mind that, but was hoping for more of his distinctive sax. B [sp]

Louis Stewart & Jim Hall: The Dublin Concert (1982 [2024], Livia): Irish guitarist (1944-2015), a couple dozen albums from 1975 on, plays host here to the more famous American guitarist (1930-2013). Easy does it. B+(**) [bc]

Strata-East: The Legacy Begins (1968-75 [2025], Strata-East, 4CD): Label established in 1970 by two young musicians, pianist Stanley Cowell and trumpeter Charles Tolliver, who each had a significant debut albums earlier (Cowell's Blues for the Viet Cong, later reissued more innocuously as Travellin' Man, and Tolliver's The Ringer) but who were witnessing the near collapse (or, just as bad, the mad scramble toward fusion) of most of the decade's major jazz labels. Taking "black power" as something more than a slogan, they took control of their own business to open up space for their visionary art. They weren't especially successful, but managed to release 50+ albums in the 1970s, and even after the principals moved to other labels in the 1980s, much of the catalog has been kept in print, with the occasional extra tape surfacing. When Mack Avenue picked it up, their initial foray has been to put together this label sampler -- a massive 33 tracks over 4 hours, 21 minutes -- plus a few select vinyl reissues and an initial batch of 25 albums on digital streaming platforms. I worked my way through nearly all of the 25 before putting this one on, which works for me more as interesting background than tour de force. B+(***) [sp]

Sun Ra: Inside the Light World: Sun Ra Meets the OVC (1986 [2024], Strut, 2CD): "OVC" stands for Outer Space Visual Communicator, a device Bill Sebastian invented, "a giant machine, played with hands and feet, that allowed artists to create and finger-paint with light similar to how musicians create and explore sound with their instruments." I doubt the visuals make any difference, although Sebastian could hardly hope for a more fortunate alliance. B+(***) [sp]

Horace Tapscott's Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra: Live at Widney High December 26th, 1971 (1971 [2025], The Village): A phenomenal pianist from Los Angeles, also notable as a community organizer, ran this not-quite-big band at least through 1979's Live at I.U.C.C.. Starts strong with a 25:03 version of John Coltrane's "Equinox," with Al Collins on tenor sax, two trumpets (Butch Morris and Walter Graham), two trombones, two bassists, drums and congas. The following pieces, with vocalist Linda Hill and "word musician" Kamau Daáood are no less wonderful. A- [bc]

Masahiko Togashi: Session in Paris Vol. 1: Song of Soil (1979 [2025], We Want Sounds): Japanese drummer (1940-2007), recorded this album with Don Cherry (cornet/flute/trumpet/percussion) and Charlie Haden (bass). A minor add to the Cherry discography, but he's not likely to be remembered for his flute. The drummer is worth focusing on. B+(**) [bc]

Masahiko Togashi: Session in Paris Vol. 2: Colour of Dream (1979 [2025], We Want Sounds): Same time and place, but less star power: Albert Mangelsdorff (trombone), Takashi Kako (a Japanese pianist based in Paris), and Jean-François Jenny Clark (bass). A minor add to the Mangelsdorff discography -- the German is less reknowned in the US than Cherry or Haden, but should be regarded as a comparably major figure -- and this suggests that Kako might be worth further investigation. B+(**) [bc]

Charles Tolliver With Gary Bartz/Herbie Hancock/Ron Carter/Joe Chambers: Right Now . . . and Then (1968 [2025], Strata-East): The trumpet player's first side credits came in 1965 with Jackie McLean, followed by work with Booker Ervin, Horace Silver, and Max Roach. This could have been his first album, although it looks like it wasn't released until 1971, first as Charles Tolliver and His All Stars, then on Arista/Freedom as Paper Man. A 2019 reissue adopted this title/cover, and added a bonus track, which has now grown to two. The "stars" were pretty young at the time -- Carter was 31, Hancock and Bartz 28, Chambers and Tolliver 26 -- but well on their way, with Tolliver writing all the songs (I would have guessed Horace Silver). A- [sp]

Charles Tolliver's Music Inc: Live at the Loosdrecht Jazz Festival (1972 [2025], Strata-East): Live set from a festival in the Netherlands, five songs, 64:55, a quartet with John Hicks (piano), Reggie Workman (bass), and Alvin Queen (drums). B+(***) [sp]

Charles Tolliver Music Inc & Orchestra: Impact (1975 [2025], Strata-East): Maximalist big band, with 14 horns, 8 strings (not counting extra bassists), Stanley Cowell on piano, drums and extra percussion. Impressive, especially the trumpet, but perhaps too much? B+(**) [sp]

Charles Tolliver Music Inc: Compassion (1977 [2025], Strata-East): Trumpet, quartet with guitar (Nathan Page), bass (Steve Novosel), and drums (Alvin Queen), recorded in Paris, originally came out in 1980, also released as New Tolliver (mostly in Japan). Four songs (39:15), snappy up front, seductive when they take it easy, oustanding trumpet both ways. A- [sp]

Charles Tolliver: Live in Berlin: At the Quasimodo (1988 [2025], Strata-East): Two live sets, originally released as separate volumes, here totals 10 tracks, 114:40 (including a bonus track), a quartet with Alain Jean-Marie (piano), Ugonna Okegwa (bass), and Ralph Van Duncan (drums), all Tolliver songs except for the "'Round Midnight" bonus. B+(***) [sp]

Harold Vick: Don't Look Back (1974 [2025], Strata-East): Tenor saxophonist (1936-87), didn't lead many' albums -- his best known is his one Blue Note album, from 1963 -- but racked up a steady stream of side credits, especially with organ players. Also plays soprano, bass clarinet, and flutes here, with Joe Bonner (piano), Sam Jones (bass), Billy Hart (drums), and others in spots. B+(**) [sp]

Albert White: The Definitive Albert White ([2025], Music Maker): Blues guitarist/singer, had an uncle known as Piano Red and started playing with him in 1962, is 82 now, had two albums released on Music Maker 2007 & 2016 but they seem to have been tapes from the 1970s. No dates given for this, but title suggests this is also collected from old tapes. B+(*) [sp]

Hiroshi Yoshimura: Flora (1987 [2025], Temporal Drift): Japanese ambient musician (1940-2003), first album 1982, this one only released in 2006, after his death. Starts mostly piano, shifting later to contemplative synth tones -- which recall early Eno ambients, reportedly an influence. B+(***) [sp]

Old Music

Armonicord: Esprits De Sel (1977, L'Électrobande): French free jazz band, formed 1973, this their only album until a live tape from 1975 surfaced in 2023, only name I recognize is Juke Minor (baritone/sopranino sax, flutes, contrabass clarinet, guimbri, also wrote the liner notes and composed all but the Django Reinhardt cover), joined here by Jean Querlier (alto sax, oboe, English horn, flute), Joseph Traindl (trombone), Odile Bailleux (harpsichord), and Christian Lété (drums). Rough in spots, but vital. B+(***) [yt]

The Buttress: Endofunctor (2023, self-released, EP): Rapper Bethany Schmitt, from New Jersey, second album (per Discogs, this one short at 9 songs, 21:53; the other, from 2011, even shorter, at 6 songs, 6:13), title here "a mathematical function that leads back into itself," with an analogy to satanism, an interest that suggests an abusive Christian upbringing. The murkiness is no doubt intentional. B+(**) [sp]

The Buttre$$: Structural Stabilization of an Historic Barn (2011, self-released, EP): Early work, six pieces, 6:13, noise exercises generated on EMU modular synthesizer, not the worst I've heard, but not something I'm much interested in. B [bc]

Don Cherry/Lennart Åberg/Bobo Stenson/Anders Jormin/ Anders Kjellberg/Okay Temiz: Dona Nostra (1993 [1994], ECM): Trumpet player (1936-95), started with Ornette Coleman, continued in that vein with Old and New Dreams, but moved to Scandinavia, where he had huge influence and developed his own unique world fusion jazz. Last album, first three names (trumpet, soprano/tenor sax/alto flute, piano) above the title, others (bass, drums, percussion) below. B+(***) [sp]

Stanley Cowell: Brilliant Circles (1969 [1992], Black Lion): Early album, initially released on Freedom in 1972, then part of Arista's 1975 reissue series, which introduced me to a lot of great early-1970s free jazz. Four musicians wrote one song each: Cowell (piano), Woody Shaw (trumpet), Tyrone Washington (tenor sax, flute, clarinet), and Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), joined by Reggie Workman (bass) and Joe Chambers (drums). B+(***) [sp]

Stanley Cowell: It's Time (2011 [2012], SteepleChase): The pianist started appearing on the Danish label in 1989, eventually recording 16 albums for them. Many were trios, this one with Tom DiCarlo (bass) and Chris Brown (drums). B+(**) [sp]

Joe Fiedler: Will Be Fire (2023, Multiphonics Music): Trombonist, experiments with effects here, adding tuba (Marcus Rojas) to reinforce the bottom, along with Pete McCann (guitar) and Jeff Davis (drums). Seems like good ideas with mixed results. B+(**) [bc]

John Hicks: After the Morning (1979, West): Pianist (1941-2006), led 30 albums, played on more than 300, started with Art Blakey and Betty Carter, but I know him best for his later work with David Murray and several albums he led. This duo with Walter Booker Jr. (bass) plus drums on one tracks was the first album released under his name, but not the first he recorded. B+(**) [sp]

Khan Jamal: Cool (1989 [2008], Porter): Mallets player (1946-2022), spent his career on the margins of free jazz, starting with a group called Sounds of Liberation. This "percussion and strings quartet" didn't appear until 2002, with a later reissue. Vibraphone, with John Rodgers (cello), Warren Ore (bass), and Dwight James (drums). B+(**) [sp]

Nate Mercereau: Joy Techniques (Deluxe) (2019 [2020], How So): Guitarist, most tracks guitar synth, also credits for programming and percussion, but label says "no keyboards were used in the making of this record," and most tracks have Aaron Steele on drums. Deluxe version adds 4 tracks. B+(**) [sp]

James Moody: In the Beginning (1949 [2017], Inner City/Solid): Possibly the tenor saxophonist's earliest records, the first five tracks released as Max Roach Quintet (with Kenny Dorham trumpet, Al Haig piano, and Tommy Potter bass), the other seven as James Moody Quartet & Orchestra (with Art Simmons piano, Buddy Banks bass, and Clarence Terry drums). B+(**) [sp]

James Moody: Moody's Mood for Blues (1954-55 [1994], Prestige/OJC): Tenor saxophonist (some alto), compilation originally relesed in 1969, draws from four sessions, most originally released on the short albums Moody and James Moody's Moods (art work for both on cover, although half of the latter is skipped). A mixed bag of blues, ballads, standards ("Over the Rainbow," two takes of "It Might as Well Be Spring"), and bebop, with two Eddie Jefferson vocals and one where Ilona Wade channels Billie Holiday. B+(**) [sp]

James Moody: At the Jazz Workshop (1961 [1998], Chess/GRP): Reissue of Cookin' the Blues, which came out in 1965, plus some extra cuts. Septet again, Howard McGhee (trumpet) the best known, plus trombone, baritone sax, piano, bass, and drums, with Eddie Jefferson singing on three tracks. B+(**) [sp]

James Moody: Homage (2003 [2004], Savoy Jazz): Nothing in my database for him between 1961 and 1996 -- years when he got by with his Las Vegas gigs and road work but I also missed at least a dozen albums on Muse, Vanguard, and Novus. After Dizzy Gillespie died in 1993, he mounted something of a comeback up to his death in 2010. This is a good example of his rich tone and easy flow. Raps a bit at the end. B+(**) [sp]

Cecil Payne: Patterns of Jazz (1956 [1959], Savoy): Baritone saxophonist, possibly his first album -- originally released in 1956 as Cecil Payne Quartet and Quintet, reissued as Cecil Payne in 1957, and again under this title in 1991. Starts as a quartet with Duke Jordan (piano), Tommy Potter (bass), and Art Taylor (drums), back half adds Kenny Dorham (trumpet). Bebop but ballads too, with a horn built more for comfort than for speed. B+(***) [yt]

Cecil Payne: Cerupa (1993 [1995], Delmark): After a couple albums on Muse 1973-76, the baritone saxophonist languished through the 1980s (one album on Stash) before his comeback in his 70s, with this the first of four 1995-2001 albums for Delmark. Eric Alexander (tenor sax, 25 at the time) is a driving force, allowing him to switch to flute on two tracks, and Harold Mabern (piano) is vibrant. B+(**) [sp]

Dudu Pukwana and Zila: Life in Bracknell & Willisau (1983, Jika): South African alto saxophonist (1938-90), went into exile with the Blue Notes for a career that spanned and fused his native township jive with avant-jazz. Two festival sets from England and Switzerland, featuring credit for vocalist Pinise Saul, the band including Harry Beckett (trumpet) and Django Bates (piano) as well as African percussionists. A- [yt]

Sumac: The Healer (2024, Thrill Jockey): Sources refer to them as "American/Canadian metal band." I'm always put off by the metal label -- not something I disapprove of in principle, but I've rarely found any reason to enjoy in practice -- but this album got enough widespread approval last year I'm surprised that I didn't get to it earlier. Fifth album since 2015. Four long pieces, for 76:08. Guitar/bass/drums, with Aaron Turner growling. B+(*) [sp]

Torres: What an Enormous Room (2024, Merge): Singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott, sixth album since 2013, one I didn't bother with at the time, figuring she had settled into a rut and I wouldn't have anything to say anyway. Slightly better than that, but still don't have much to say. B+(**) [sp]

Harold Vick: Steppin' Out (1963 [1996], Blue Note): The tenor saxophonist's one (and only) Blue Note album, his first of fewer than a dozen (through 1977), doesn't stray far from his many side credits, especially those in organ-led soul jazz groups: many with Jack McDuff, more with Jimmy McGriff and John Patton, who plays here, along with Blue Mitchell (trumpet), Grant Green (guitar), and Ben Dixon (drums). B+(**) [sp]

Joanna Wang: Modern Tragedy (2018, Sony): Singer-songwriter, originally Wang Ruolin, from Taiwan but raised in Los Angeles, a dozen or so albums since 2008, some with titles in Chinese (this one has a Chinese title on Spotify, but Discogs gives English titles for album and songs, which are mostly in English). B+(**) [sp]

Carl Winther/Richard Andersson/Jeff "Tain" Watts: WAW! (2023 [2024], Hobby Horse): Piano/bass-drums trio, just last names on the cover. The Danish pianist started in his father's group -- Jens Winther (1960-2011), played trumpet -- and has led his own groups since 2010. B+(**) [sp]

Limited Sampling

Records I played parts of, but not enough to grade: -- means no interest, - not bad but not a prospect, + some chance, ++ likely prospect.

Isaiah Collier/William Hooker/William Parker: The Ancients (2023 [2025], Eremite): Young tenor saxophonist, making a name for himself, also credited with "Aztec death whistle, siren, little instruments," with and drummer and bassist who probably figure they qualify. ++ [bc: 22:41/93:40]

Grade (or other) Changes

Sometimes further listening leads me to change an initial grade, usually either because I move on to a real copy, or because someone else's review or list makes me want to check it again. Also some old albums extracted from further listening:

Marshall Allen: New Dawn (2024 [2025], Mexican Summer): Alto saxophonist, joined Sun Ra's Arkestra in 1958, has led the ghost band since 1995, started work on this shortly after his 100th birthday, also playing kora and EWI, leading a large band with a string section and guest vocalist Neneh Cherry. I'm seeing hype for this as his "debut" album, although I have eight previous albums under his name in my database, not all co-credited to Sun Ra Arkestra. I'm also seeing a lot of people treating this as monumental album, but I'm still not hearing it. Wishful thinking, perhaps? It seems unlikely to me that they're appraising it against the 81 Sun Ra albums I've heard, as well as 6 more under Allen's own name. On the other hand, I paid so little attention first time around that I got the title wrong, so felt I had to fix that. [was: B+(*)] B+(***) [sp]

New Orleans Party Classics (1955-91 [1992], Rhino): Nowhere near as classic as Rhino's 3-LP (later 2-CD) The Best of New Orleans Rhythm and Blues (the CDs came out in 1988, the LP titles never made it into my database, but most likely appeared in 1987 as A History of New Orleans Rhythm & Blues), so this is an afterthought, which I initially devalued. As with many Rhino comps of this period, this scoops up obscurities, and extends well past the classic period: e.g., the Wild Tchoupitoulas, Dr. John doing "Iko Iko," the Dirty Dozen Brass Band doing "Lil Eliza Jane," but they also include "Sea Cruise," which I have on at least a dozen comps. It's not all great, but hits more than it misses, and it's proven a great way to start off more than a few days. Top earworm: Oliver Morgan's "Who Shot the LaLa." Song that finally erased the minus from my upgrade: "Second Line -- Pt. 1" by Stop, Inc. [was: B+] A [cd]

Music Weeks

Music: Current count 44276 [44107) rated (+169), 22 [25] unrated (-3).

Excerpts from this month's Music Week posts:

May 5, 2025

Music: Current count 44154 [44107) rated (+47), 21 [25] unrated (-4).

Another week, with little to show for it, other than a high rated count, thanks to being able to use the Strata-East reissue bonanza as a checklist (in turn pointing me to some related albums). I also followed up on social media mentions to dig up a few old albums I had missed but by artists I've listened to much by (Don Cherry, Dudu Pukwana). I also largely caught up with the release schedule of my demo queue, but I have so little sense of the current date that I may have slipped behind again.

I might also note that I while I rarely request review copies, I did ask for the Murray album, and despite what I took to be a favorable reply, never got it. But since I could stream it, I did. I also didn't receive the Eskelin, nor have I heard the remaster, but I graded both constituent albums A- when they came out, and relistening showed that the grades held up, so I went ahead and wrote the best review I could. One more note is that I got a nice letter from Jon Gold hoping I like his album, a day or two after I plainly didn't like it. Seems like a nice guy who probably deserves a more sympathetic ear than I could muster at the time.

I published a fairly substantial Loose Tabs last week. I didn't update the file this time, but have some new material in the Tabs and Books files. I finally got around to updating the books archive, clearing the way for a new column.

I have an invite to vote in DownBeat's Critics Poll, deadline May 12, so I'll probably try to knock that out. The invite promises it will take less than an hour to fill out, but I've never done it in less than 3-4 hours, and the only way I can do it in less than 6-8 is by shifting to a mode where I stop caring and just copy down answers from previous years. It occurs to me that George Russell may finally be eligible for their Hall of Fame Veterans Committee. They have a weird system that makes it easier for someone who died young to get into their Hall of Fame (e.g., Booker Little, Scott LaFaro) than someone like Russell, whose career was long with many remarkable aspects.

Carlos Lozada's The Washington Book is stimulating a lot of thought on my part. One nice thing about it being an essay collection is that when I run across a chapter I like, I can usually find a link to the original that I can share. The biggest and most important piece so far is 9/11 was a test. The books of the last two decades show how America failed. I've read about half of these books, plus twice as many more, but reached this same conclusion before I read any. I'm not sure I can find the citation, as I wasn't blogging at the time, but my initial reaction was that it was a "wake up call," a challenge to reexamine one's values and make remedies to get back into the right. But I started with a pretty keen awareness that America wasn't always right or honorable or even decent. While that much I learned since growing up with the Vietnam War, what the last twenty-four years have taught me is that Americans have not only "failed the test," they've become much worse people as a result.

May 12, 2025

Music: Current count 44197 [44154) rated (+43), 21 [21] unrated (-0).

Another week, and not a hell of a lot to show for it, although the rated count remains rather high -- boosted by wrapping up the rest of the Strata-East reissues I hadn't prioritized last week. Since then, and with my demo queue mostly caught up, it's been a struggle to find things to check out, although I now have a fairly sizable checklist based on the DownBeat Critics Poll ballot, which is sending me back to 2024 records, many of which never even placed in my 2024 EOY Aggregate (which among other things means they went unmentioned in the 2024 Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll).

I blew out a full two days of my time filling in the 73 categories DownBeat asked me to vote for. As usual, I took notes, this time being careful to copy down all of the nominees they offered in all of the categories. To save time, I dispensed with attempting any sort of running commentary -- as I've often done in previous years (which start in 2003, well before they first invited me to vote) -- although I may return and add some later. As my method is to start with last year's notes and edit them as I go, I'm aware that most of what I dropped were lists of snubbed musicians (which in major categories like alto sax and piano could be very long; but to do them properly, as opposed to just reiterating last year's lists, would take a lot of effort, something I was in no mood for).

I also have thoughts on the design and implementation of the poll, but they would do little good. Some I've actually shared with DownBeat, like splitting Hall of Fame into separate living and dead sections, since they tend to be judged differently, and the two-per-year process is too limiting -- cf. the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's by-the-dozen approach, which, easy to say, is way too much. I also think the album categories should be calendar aligned: that critics should have an extra 3 months to consider the past year, and that readers should have 9 months, should not just be deemed a feature but relished as a luxury. It takes time to catch up, and more time for things to sink in, so why not take advantage?

I have a million other complaints -- ok, more like a couple hundred, but the mass is way too daunting to detail. The least I can do is mention this line from the invite: "As you already know, it's a LOOOONG ballot and will probably take a little less than an hour to complete, but your input is truly valued." I've never completed it in less than three hours, and that was only by cribbing from past note sheets and voting for 90% of the same people again. Even this year, where my revotes came close to 80%, it took me 6-8 hours, spread out over three days. There are 73 categories, and each one offers 40-75 nominees (with new jazz albums peaking at 136 -- only 22 on my A-lists, out of 110 for 2024, so 80% of my top picks don't even get nominated).

Other than that, I managed to get a small amount of house work done last week. I cleared out a pile of dead, decrepit, and/or just disgusting electronics and hauled them off to recycle. I've done some sweeping, some window cleaning, and some yard work. I more-or-less fixed a porch rail that's been leaning alarmingly. I found where an air conditioner plastic slab has broken, so I need to figure out how to straighten it out and get it level. The big task of finding proper places for all the CDs and books, including weeding a few out, remains, as does the more confusing job of sorting out the tools and hardware and putting them where I can find them. The garage and basement need major cleaning.

I should go shopping for glasses. While my eyesight is improved, short/medium distances are still troublesome. I need to work on my planning, especially for writing, website development, and finding a new car. Unclear how long the current one will even keep running. It certainly doesn't inspire me to consider any sort of road trip.

I do have enough material for a Loose Tabs this week. Possibly for a Books post as well: draft file has 16 main section books; while in the past my standard has been 40, I've been wanting to cut that down, especially as the sublists have grown, and I once posited 20 as a good size. We're beginning to see the first post-2024 election books, and there are a number of important new books on Israel. I also have a big section on jazz books, which I've rarely compiled before. And I still have a lot of tabs open.

I also have a couple of questions I hope to answer -- I considered knocking them out today, but don't want to delay posting any more than necessary. How much of this stuff I'll get done next week is anyone's guess. The only project I'm actually enthusiastic about is a dinner, which will give me a chance to combine the salad I missed from the Burmese birthday dinner last October with a couple of old Thai favorites (including one, panang curry duck, that I haven't made since a birthday dinner over a decade ago).

Minor housekeeping note: as I've been listening to 2024 releases, I've been adding them to the appropriate 2024 files, including tracking, jazz and non-jazz, and even the EOY aggregate (although I'm making no active effort to collect more data for it). I've basically given up on the idea of including previous-year albums that were unknown to me in the new year lists (as I had done for many years). Eventually, I think that all of the older annual lists should be resynched to calendar year, although at this stage the amount of work involved is hard to imagine doing.

I'll also note that my Bluesky account has finally topped 100 followers. I got nervous for a while when the count dropped from 100 to 99, especially as that happened right after a non-music post that no one seems to have understood.

May 19, 2025

Music: Current count 44235 [44197) rated (+38), 22 [21] unrated (+1).

I published a Loose Tabs on May 14 (actually, late Tuesday night). I figured I should clear the decks, as I would be cooking on Wednesday and Thursday. I had shopped on Tuesday, and planned out a fairly grand Thai menu -- panang curry duck, pad thai, tom kha gai (soup) -- plus that Burmese tea leaf salad I wasn't able to pull off for my birthday dinner. I thought of pineapple upside down cake for dessert, with ice cream. I also picked up some odds and ends, which turned into three side dishes: cucumber salad, water chestnut salad, and grilled Japanese eggplant with Thai peanut sauce. I wrote up lots of notes as I worked. Rather than trying to recap them here, you can find them in my notebook.

The two days of cooking took my mind of writing, including reviewing any records. That's reflected in the reduced rated count this week, but not severely. I think we have a nice mix of exceptional records this week, although I did fall down on my promise to tweet about them on the fly. I don't feel like I'm getting much value out of Bluesky at the moment, although I'll concede that part of the problem there is I'm not putting much work into it.

I have very little idea what I'll be doing this coming week. I could try to wrap up a books file, but the amount of stuff worth mentioning is huge -- especially if you include the propaganda and nonsense that one can only ridicule.

May 26, 2025

Music: Current count 44276 [44235) rated (+41), 22 [22] unrated (+0).

Notes

Sources noted as follows:

• [cd] based on physical cd
• [cdr] based on an advance or promo cd or cdr
• [bc] available at bandcamp.com
• [sp] available at spotify.com
• [yt] available at youtube.com
• [dl] something I was able to download from the web; may be freely available, may be a bootleg someone made available, or may be a publicist promo

Grades are probably self-explanatory, aside from B+, which is subdivided 1-2-3 stars, because most records that come my way are pretty good, but they're not all that good.