Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Music Week

June archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 46097 [46048] rated (+49), 11 [20] unrated (-9).

A lot of stuff to cover this week. My preview, Music Week (6:2) came out on Tuesday, with 7 reviews, 4 of them A-, 6 new and 1 old music. It's also available on the website here. All of the Substack posts are there. After three weeks, I'm beginning to like this system. Among other things, it breaks the week's work up a bit, and moves it off Monday.

I did the cutoff on Wednesday, so picked up a couple more albums below, but I did it before I took a serious look at Robert Christgau's June Consumer Guide. I was surprised not to recognize any of the albums there. Hard to remember when that last happened. Turns out I had heard but forgotten Pony [B+(**)]. Also forgotten was a 2018 K.A.A.N. album (Subtle Meditation) which I had given an A- to. I was vaguely aware of new albums by Ashley McBryde and The New Pornographers, and I had logged EOY Aggregate points for This Is Lorelei (while only listening to the "deluxe edition" reissue of their debut). More on those records next week.

While the cutoff was on Wednesday, I didn't want to post this until I was in a better position to write about the Mid-Year Jazz Critics Poll. I had pretty much decided to do it in mid-May, but wasn't moved to commit until Bill Marx raised the question. It's a fairly straightforward proposition for me:

  1. Clone my previous poll website, and make a few edits to move from 2025 to 2026 Mid-Year (or 2025 Mid-Year to 2026 Mid-Year).
  2. Send invites out to my mailing list(s).
  3. Collect and count ballots, updating the website.
  4. Once everything is counted, write an essay, where most of the substance is in the totals tables.

Each of those is a fairly substantial piece of work, but it's work I've done many times before. I expected it to wipe out June and early July, but I've been procrastinating on my memoir, while drowning in things to critique politically/philosophically. But at least there is some demand for and interest in what I have to say about music, and that keeps drawing me back. I don't really want to do another EOY poll, but the stakes are much lower for the Mid-Year; it's clearly something I can do, and it's unlikely to get done otherwise. (Maybe someone else wants the EOY?)

I spent 5-6 days working on the website: more than was needed, but I did a pretty careful job of documenting each step, and then I did a pretty thorough rewrite of the Notes for Voters. It's unlikely anyone will read these pieces, but as an engineer, I use them to think through the various issues that will almost certainly crop up.

I finally updated the website last night, and announced the plan to my jpadmin mail list. I still had a couple of programming changes I wanted to do, and I got to them today:

  1. I wanted to be able to offer a permanent URL for individual critic's ballots. The old system was stable enough after voting was closed, but could break when new ballots were added.
  2. The reason the first point mattered is that I wanted to be able to give voters a URL they could later look up, recheck, and possibly link to so other could see, even before the end of voting. To do this, I also needed to exempt ballot viewing from my pre-publication lock code.

This turned out to be about as easy as I had expected: one new file, which mostly reused old code, and a half-dozen line edits. The totals tables are still locked up. It would have been easier to just unlock everything, but I didn't see much value in opening up the totals tables, and it could have been confusing if people saw someone only temporarily in the lead (as California's primary shows). But I think opening up the ballots will allow voters to check and publicize their own ballots, and will help voters find albums before it is too late. I'm also hopeful this will draw some more attention to the poll, which is usually a big deal for a few days after publication, then fades from attention.

The second stage has usually been my big problem area. I have a mailing list for voters (jazzpoll), which is easy to send to, but in the past has had delivery problems. It should be better now, but it's hard to be sure. So in the past, I've often had to send an extra round of invites out on a different (sending them out one-by-one using my personal account), which takes a huge amount of work. I'm hoping to avoid that this time. But the bigger problem is identifying everyone we should be sending invites to. I've never had time to do this properly, and probably won't this time either. Best I can do is to ask for recommendations, as I do in the invite and elsewhere.

Counting the ballots should be easier this year, as I've dropped the special categories that have added a lot of extra work and confusion to previous polls. Still, early on it can take as much as an hour per ballot, as I have to identify and verify each new album. In this, it helps that I keep a jazz tracking file (currently listing 311 jazz albums, but I expect it to more than double before the poll closes).

I hope to keep the essay simple and straightforward, with a top-50 table for new jazz albums, a top-25 (or so) for rara avis (reissue/historical), a list of voters, and a few side comments. Nothing I need to worry about before the time comes.

As for other matters, Loose Tabs is still pending. No chance I can really catch up with events, so the best thing is probably to just publish whatever I have this weekend, then start again. Any posts to Notes on Everyday Life are likely to be opportunistic. (I'm pleased to note an uptick in subscribers this week — a dividend from working on the poll.)

As for this week's albums, Phil Overeem's May list has been a primary source.

New records reviewed this week:

Marisa Anderson: The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music (2026, Thrill Jockey): American primitive guitarist, based in Portland, 11th album since 2006, including duos with Jim White, Torji Dashi, and William Tyler. Also plays pedal steel, accordion, and electric piano here, with guest violin/viola on two cuts. B+(**) [sp]

Chuck Bergeron: Bass & Face: Duets With Ten Premier Vocalists ([2026], Summit): Bassist, from New Orleans, Discogs credits him with three albums since 1995, 44 more side credits, including big bands and singers. The ten vocalists here are: Janis Siegel, Pete McGuinness, Roseanna Vitro, Kevin Mahogany, Sheila Jordan, George Rabbai, Lisanne Lyons, Deborah Silver, Kate Reid, and Nicole Yarling. Only recording date I can find is 2005 for Mahogany (d. 2017), but that is probably the only non-recent track. (Jordan died in 2025, but was 95 when her track was cut, so 2023-24.) A few cuts have extra guest musicians: Charles Pillow (sax), Phil Strange (piano), John Riley (drums). Some nice pieces here. B+(**) [cd]

Boards of Canada: Inferno (2026, Music 70/Warp): Scottish electronic duo (brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin), lived in Canada 1979-80, recorded first EP in 1995 and album in 1998 (their best known, Music Has a Right to Children). This is only their fifth, a long break after 2013 and 2005. B+(**) [sp]

Bop Alloy: Masters of the Artistry (2026, Bop Alloy): Hip-hop duo of Substantial (Virginia-based MC from Maryland) and Marcus D (producer/pianist from Seattle), third album since 2010, easy underground flow. Choice cut: "Last Song I'll Ever Write." A- [sp]

Alan Braufman: Anthem for Peace (2025 [2026], The Control Group/Valley of Search): Alto saxophonist, plays some flute, joined the New York avant scene in the early 1970s, his only real album appearing in 1975, then a long hiatus before 2019, when he started dusting off old tapes and recording new ones. Quartet here with Patricia Brennan (vibes), Luke Stewart (bass), and Chad Taylor (drums), with Ken Filiano and Michael Wimberly on one track. B+(**) [sp]

Columbia Icefield: A Silence Opens (2024-25 [2026], Out of Your Head): Trumpet player Nate Wooley, prolific since his 2005 debut, group named for his 2019 quartet album with Mary Halvorson (guitar), Susan Alcorn (pedal steel guitar), and Ryan Sawyer (drums). Second group album since then, with Ava Mendoza in Halvorson's place. Alcorn is credited on four tracks (the long ones, separated by five short bits, mostly Wooley but one assembles a choir), but the liner notes offer a hint that she may have finished her bits in spirit only. B+(**) [cd]

Michael Dease Big Band: Return Trajectory (2025 [2026], Origin): Trombonist, from Georgia, studied at Juilliard, teaches at Michigan State (where's he's been influenced by Gregg Hill, recording several albums of his compositions), debut 2007, has considerable big band experience going back to Illinois Jacquet in 2002. Six songs here: two originals, two by Hill (listed as executive producer), one from J.J. Johnson, and a delightful "Cherokee," all in 33:26. B+(**) [cd] [06-19]

Armen Donelian: Inquiry (2020-24 [2026], Sunnyside): Pianist, 15th album since 1981, started with solo piano then built it up over several years, adding Dominique Eade (voice), Ed Neumeister (trombone), Jay Anderson (bass), and Dennis Mackrel (drums). Originals plus "Somewhere," "Blue in Green," and something from Beethoven. My appreciation of art song remains pretty limited. B+(*) [cd]

Eddy Current Suppression Ring: In Light of Recent Events (2025 [2026], Suppression): Australian indie rock outfit, first album 2006, some earlier singles were collected into the superb So Many Things (2003-04 [2011]). B+(***) [bc]

Entropic Hop: The Quest for the Normal Is the Death of the Self (2025 [2026], ESP-Disk'): Group of Aron Namenwirth (guitar, voice, electronics), Ayumi Ishito (sax, electronics), and Kevin Shea (drums, voice, electronics), with special guest Sonic (voice, guiro), recorded in Brooklyn. Shea I recall from MOPDTK and Talibam!, and I've heard several of Ishito's albums on 577. Namenwirth has a couple albums I haven't heard [PS: below], but his guitar is key here, the foundation of their "post-human soundscape." Song titles start with "ChatGPT Grafted My Identity" and end with "Justice is no more than just ice," with scattered words, pondering much existential anguish along the way (a long one, 16 tracks, 76:47). B+(***) [cd]

Joel Futterman/William Parker: Transcendent Universe (2025 [2026], Burning Ambulance): Piano and bass duo, although I was thrown at first with a piercing sound that reminded me of saxophone (no such credit, but Futterman has played sax in the past). But as similar sounds evolved, I figured they must have been emanating from Parker's bass. But after a few minutes, this settles into what you might expect: a rhythmically adventurous pianist and a relentlessly inventive bassist. A- [bc]

Golems of the Red Planet: Surf Masada: The Compositions of John Zorn (2026, Heyday Again): Quartet from Akron — Harvey Gold (guitar/keyboards), Bob Ethington (drums/percussion), Mark Allender (bass/voices), and Matt Reese (cello); cover sticker identifies them as "members of Tin Huey, Pointless Orchestra, and Trial of Lucy" — play John Zorn compositions, with a bit of surf guitar overhang. B+(***) [bc]

Brad Goode Quintet: Live Your Dream: Live at the North Street Cabaret (2025 [2026], Origin): Trumpet player, from Chicago, 1988 debut was titled Shock of the New, has an interesting career I've never quite figured out, roughly filed under post-bop. Strong live set, with a rhythm section of Adrean Farrugia (piano), Jay Anderson (bass), and Adam Nussbaum (drums), plus a "featuring" role for tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts, who often sounds terrific. B+(***) [cd] [06-19]

Andy Haas: Messianic Time (2026, Resonant Music): Canadian saxophonist, based in New York, I first noticed him in a new wave rock band called Martha & the Muffins (1980), and later in the jazz trio Radio I-Ching. A new trio here with Brenda Rey (bass) and James Paul Nadien (drums), with effects, harmonica, and voice. This is fairly rough listening, demanding attention, as if trying to wake, or just remember, the dead (in this case, his late drummers Dee Pop and Michael Evans). [PS: Bandcamp version has 2 tracks not on CD (total 4 tracks, 50:01); CD had four tracks not on Bandcamp (6 tracks, 60:40). Title cut, curiously enough, is only on Bandcamp.] B+(**) [cd]

Jon Hamar: Música Callada (2025 [2026], Origin Classical): Bassist, has several jazz albums since 2007, a couple dozen side credits (especially with Jeff Hamilton). Duo with pianist Adrienne Fontenot, opening with a rendition of Frederic Mompou's 9-part title piece (15:36), followed by six shorter pieces (two originals, one by Hamilton, one by Ned Rorem, two by David P. Jones). B+(*) [cd] [06-19]

Aldous Harding: Train on the Island (2026, 4AD): Singer-songwriter from New Zealand, originally Hannah Topp, Harding was stepfather's name, plays piano and guitar, fifth album since 2014, John Parrish produced and mostly plays percussion, with H. Hawkline on guitar and keyboards. B+(**) [sp]

Wendell Harrison & Tribe: Tribute to Pharoah Sanders: Live at the Concert of Colors Detroit 2025 (2025 [2026], Org Music): Tenor saxophonist from Detroit, a founder of Tribe with Phil Ranelin in the early 1970s, which exemplified what I think of as the fusion of avant-jazz and black power to construct a community activist fusion music. Sanders and Archie Shepp were senior figures in that movement, as they already had international reputations. (AEC was another; Bayard Lancaster in Philadelphia, and Horace Tapscott in Los Angeles, were to follow.) No credits here, but a large group with vocals, doing several Sanders "hits." B+(***) [sp]

David Hillyard & the Rocksteady 7: Home for Dinner (2026, Org Music): Ska saxophonist based in New York, known for his work the the Slackers as well as this band, which has eight albums since 1999. Featuring percussionist Larry McDonald, with fairly prominent vibes. A mix of originals, standards, three Roland Alphonso tunes, with outliers from Kurt Weill and Jorge Ben. Two guest vocals. Pleasant enough, but Alphonso and Tommy McCook have nothing to fear. B [bc]

Ital Tek: Mind Abandon (2026, Planet Mu): British electronica producer Alan Myson, ninth album since 2008. B+(**) [bc]

JPEGMafia: Experimental Rap (2026, Peggy/AWAL): Rapper Barrington Hendricks, sixth studio album since 2016, more mixtapes 2009-15 (most as Devon Hendryx), 25 songs in 52:07, intense fast ones with jerky beats and post-metallic clang. I suppose I should be more impressed, but I'm not enjoying this much. B+(*) [sp]

Whitney Johnson/Lia Kohl/Macie Stewart: Body Sound (2025 [2026], International Anthem): String trio (viola, cello, violin), with voice and tape effects. The tone suggests drone, although the improvisation is typically more complex. B+(**) [bc]

Carolyn Lee Jones: Eklektika (2026, Catn'round Sound): Standards singer, sixth album (per notes; only one, a Christmas album from 2021, in Discogs). Cover also notes: "Jazz Retro Pop Bossa Nova," which I initially took to be a subtitle, but dropped that idea on finding this lacks even what I've come to call "the obligatory Jobim." Bio notes "she burst on to the jazz scene in 2008," and cites "her own groups": Fresh Vintage Jazz Ensemble, The Satin Dolls Band, and In Full Swing. Long list of redundant credits suggests this came from multiple sessions, which aren't dated. Some vintage standards, nicely done. [PS: She has one previous album in my database, The Performer from 2013, which I also liked.] B+(***) [cd]

KJADE: The Sound That Trees Make (2024, self-released): Rapper-singer Kendall Jade, based in Phoenix, first album, ten fractured pieces (22:11), teases for more. B+(**) [bc]

KJADE: On Everything I Love (2026, self-released): Second album, twelve pieces this time (20:52), not counting the 4:24 remix. B+(**) [bc]

Ava Mendoza: Alive Alone, Alive Together (2026, Burning Ambulance): Guitarist, based in Brooklyn, can play heavy rock as well as avant-jazz, sings/shouts some, could make it as the next Kim Gordon, but holds her own on four solo tracks here, and gets some help from Hamid Drake (drums) on four more. B+(***) [bc]

Mod Lang: Borrowed Time (2026, Just Add Water): Detroit power pop group, quartet with retro-sixties harmonies, hooks, and drums, but doesn't trigger any nostalgia for me, even for later bands in this vein like the Raspberries or the Pooh Sticks, let alone Big Star (a name-drop, but also a signature guitar quote). B+(**) [bc]

Namasenda: Limbo (2026, Year0001): Swedish-born dance-pop singer-songwriter Naomi Namasenda, parents from Uganda, first album after a mixtape and a remix album. B+(***) [bc]

Willie Nelson: Dream Chaser (2026, Legacy): Still cranking out new albums at 93, this his 79th studio effort, 10 songs in 30:50, 6 co-writes, most with producer Buddy Cannon, one with Bob Dylan. He still sounds terrific. B+(***) [sp]

Shane Parish: Autechre Guitar (2025 [2026], Palilalia): Guitarist, based in Athens GA, has recorded a good deal since 2015, including with Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet. The idea here is to play songs from the British electronica duo Autechre (15 studio albums 1993-2020) on solo acoustic guitar. I've heard three Autechre albums, which are neither for me, but I suspect I would find the electronics have more appeal than the guitar does. B [sp]

Jeff Parker ETA IVtet: Happy Today (2025 [2026], International Anthem/Nonesuch): Guitarist, born in Connecticut, studied at Berklee, moved to Chicago in 1991 where he established himself (in post-rock groups Tortoise and Isotope 217, as well as jazz groups like Chicago Underground and many other collaborations), before moving to Los Angeles in 2013. There this quartet took its name from "a Monday night residency from 2016-2023 at ETA Highland Park." With Josh Johnson (alto sax), Anna Butterss (bass), and Jay Bellerose (drums). Two 20+ minute pieces, as basic patterns iterate, mutate, and develop. A- [bc]

Ben Patterson: Stretch (2025 [2026], Origin): Trombonist, former Airmen of Note music director, fifth album since 2020, postbop with some groove and swing, backed by Shawn Purcell (guitar), Harry Appelman (keyboards), bass, and drums, with chops aplenty. B+(**) [cd] [06-19]

Kemuel Roig: Both Sides Now (2026, Life in Music): Cuban pianist, studied in Miami, side credits since 2015 with Arturo Sandoval, Ed Calle, Brian Lynch, and Aymee Nuviola. First album, a solo, mostly standards with a bonus second take of Jimmy Rowles' "The Peacocks." Not splashy, but very nicely done. B+(***) [cd]

Skullcap: Snakes of Albuquerque (2023 [2025], Cuneiform): "It might be easy to think of Skullcap as Janel & Anthony plus one": Leppin (cello) and Pirog (guitar), who have a previous record as such, plus Mike Kuhl (drums). B+(**) [dl]

The Sleeveens: National Anthem (2026, Goner): Rock band formed in 2022 in Nashville by Stefan Murphy (from Ireland, originally Stef + the Sleeveens). Second album. Seems pretty conventional to me, but give them credit for keeping the energy level up. B+(*) [bc]

Tyshawn Sorey: Members . . . Don't (2025 [2026], Pi, 2CD): Drummer, MacArthur genius, arranged four pieces by Stanley Cowell plus three more (Jymie Merritt, Gary Bartz, Max Roach/trad.), for a quintet that expands them masterfully to an average over 13 minutes, with Adam O'Farrill (trumpet), Mark Shim (tenor sax), Lex Korten (piano), and Tyrone Allen II (bass), with vocalist Fay Victor nailing the finale. A- [cd]

Gary Versace Trio: Three Track Mind (2024 [2026], Sunnyside): Pianist, has a large number of appearances since 1997, many on organ or accordion. Trio here with François Moutin (bass) and Rudy Royston (drums). This is quite nice. B+(**) [bc]

Victor Vieira-Branco's Bark Culture: The Giant Is Awkward (2025 [2026], Temperphantom): From Philadelphia, second group album, first claimed by the vibraphonist, who composed 4 (of 5) pieces, the other one by pianist Sam Yulsman, an addition here to John Moran (bass) and Joey Sullivan (drums). B+(**) [bc]

Weird Nightmare: Hoopla (2026, Sub Pop): Indie power pop band from Toronto led by Alex Edkins, formerly of Metz, which released five studio albums 2012-24 (overlapping the Weird Nightmare debut in 2022). First album blurb said, "if you're looking for a raw, sugary blast of distorted pop, look no further." That remains true, but how about a hits or two? B+(*) [sp]

White Denim: Wd13 (2026, Bella Union): Indie band from Austin, got some notice early on (2008-09), but they've kept at it, releasing another album most years since, the titles counted since 12 (most sources give this as 13, but I prefer to believe the cover). Slips and slides, with a bluesy feel that can escalate into funk (as in "adelicment"). "In the USA we are simple and free." Well, not so simple. B+(**) [sp]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Kaiso Power: Sound Revolution in Trinidad 1970-1980 (1970-80 [2026], Soundway): Some rare crate digging. B+(*) [bc]

Les Rallizes Dénudés: Disque 4: '76 Studio Et Live (1976 [2026], Temporal Drift): Japanese experimental rock group, formed in 1967 but didn't release anything until 1991, when they dropped three albums (including some old music: '67-'69 Studio Et Live and '77 Live). The overall sound, especially the guitar, was influenced by Velvet Underground, nicely stretched out to emphasize the atmospherics. A- [bc]

Old music:

Bop Alloy: Substantial and Marcus D Are Bop Alloy (2010, Elevation): Debut album, rapper Stan Robinson and producer Marcus Marino. Underground, nice flow to start. B+(**) [sp]

Bop Alloy: Another Day in the Life Of . . . (2014, Bop Alloy): Second proper album, aside from instrumental versions and remixes. B+(**) [sp]

Namasenda: Unlimited Ammo (2021, PC Music): Swedish dance-pop singer-songwriter, parents from Uganda, studied in US, signed to A.G. Cook's British EDM label for this first mixtape. B+(**) [sp]

Aron Namenwirth/Eric Plaks/Sean Conly/Jon Panikkar: Hurricane (2018 [2019], Culture of Waste): Brooklyn-based guitarist, first album, with piano, bass, and drums. Keeps you sharp. B+(***) [bc]

Aron Namenwirth/Zach Swanson/Joe Hertenstein: Gettin' Hot (2019 [2020], Culture of Waste): Guitar, bass, drums trio, recorded live (3 tracks, 30:00). [bc]

Weird Nightmare: Weird Nightmare (2022, Sub Pop): First album from Alex Edkins' Metz sugary distorted pop spin off. Plus is that the first song has minor hit potential. But the rest of the album is more determined in its Copper Blue hype. B+(*) [bc]

White Denim: Workout Holiday (2008, Full Time Hobby): Austin group, their new Wd13 testifies to aging gracefully, but reminded me that I had missed this first album, hard to find at the time (released in Europe after re-recording an EP with the same title plus some extras, then reissued for their American debut under a different title). The guitar/noise brinksmanship reminds me of a similar group from the time, No Age, whose title Weirdo Rippers would fit this as well. [Bandcamp page is for "(Deluxe Edition)" but its 5 extra tracks are listed but not available. This "first album" was released in EU, while there is a "first US album" called Exposion, which I hear is more or less the same or different — a distinction I find not cost-effective.] B+(***) [bc]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • Mike Clark: Kuon Ganjo (Time Without Beginning) (Wide Hive) [08-07]
  • Satoko Fujii: Satoko Fujii's Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra (2014, Libra, 2CD) [07-10]
  • Hein Westgaard & Matt Maneri: Chamber (Gotta Let It Out) [2024-06-27]

Ask a question, or send a comment.