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An occasional blog about populist politics and popular music, not necessarily at the same time. LinksLocal Links Social Media My Other Websites Music Politics Others Networking Music DatabaseArtist Search: Website SearchGoogle: Recent Reading
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Music Week [0 - 9]Thursday, April 16, 2026 Music Week
Music: Current count 45803 [45771] rated (+32), 20 [29] unrated (-9). Last week's Music Week dropped a day late, on Tuesday. After that, I figured I should flush out my Loose Tabs draft file before doing another Music Week. The Trump-Netanyahu wars against Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Somalia, and random boats in the Caribbean were roiling (as they still are), with maximum cognitive dissonance to try to hack through. I've written three substantial pieces on the Iran War — really the Trump-Netanyahu War, as it's hard to see any national interests being served by actions that are hard to make any sense of except as psychotic. These are:
The latter provides a framework for trying to figure out how this ends, but as a born-and-bred optimist, my most likely error is in expecting that somehow it has to end, for better or worse. Given the two key political figures, the most likely scenario is that it doesn't end, at least as long as they remain in power, but rather cycles through periods of greater or somewhat diminished violence. The US-Iran "ceasefire" of the moment is an example of how a state of war can be extended on a budget, while Israel's continued siege of Lebanon reminds us that Israel can turn on America as readily as on anyone else. Compiling Loose Tabs gave me a chance to catch up with what people were saying about the war. (I started to say with what's happening on the ground, but reporting on the actual war and its casualties is exceptionally spotty even by usual standards: there is very little reporting from Iran, while Israel's censor covers up Iranian strikes, and US media usually sticks to what they're told.) Consequently, it's hard to make any predictions based on leverage (losses and other costs). What we can say is that certain extreme outcomes (like collapse of Iran's regime, or of Israel's and America's bombing capability) will not happen. We can also say that Trump and Netanyahu (together but mostly separately) have incoherent and/or fantastical views and goals, so it's hard to see how they can end the war with any sort of plausible victory, or afford to swallow an obvious defeat. I'm not sure what more to say about it, except to continue my usual harangues on the futility of war, and on how hard it is for the right to see this, given their habitual resort to violence to maintain domestic inequality and hierarchy. Given Trump's threats and dreams of using the armed forces against immigrants (and other Americans), how could anyone think he'd moderate against imaginary threats as feverishly hyped as Iran? He is an extremely violent man, perhaps not personally, but he has practically unlimited forces he can call on to do his dirty work, and he has little if any care or compunction about who gets hurt along the way. I'm having increasing doubts about the viability of Loose Tabs (as well as its predecessors Speaking of Which and Weekend Roundup). The problem isn't just the amount of work such collation and annotation takes, or the increasingly dire state of the world, but that so many reputable sources are disappearing behind paywalls. I think I hit 5-6 different ones in a row yesterday. Sometimes I go ahead and jot down what I can see, and sometimes that suffices to make some point, but I run into a lot of dead ends, and that is doubly frustrating: an inconvenience for me, but also a grave distortion of the information landscape. My wife is a serious newshound, and subscribes to some things I may or may not piggyback on (but that's becoming even more difficult at places like the New York Times). I grew up poor and cheap, so I'm much more reluctant to indulge. (And when I do, I usually go for books, which seem like more durable investments. I've also bought a lot of music in my day, but not so much recently.) I don't like to second-guess people on how they choose to make a living, but from a public viewpoint we'd be better off with a free exchange of ideas, which isn't possible in a world cluttered with toll booths. It wouldn't cost much to let anyone who wants to write (or engage in any other creative activity) to do so, with the fruits easily available for all. There's little chance of anything like that happening soon, not least because those in power jealously guard the artificial scarcity of information, especially given their role in fabricating much of it. On the other hand, the prohibitionist impulse, which objects to using tax money for anything one does not personally approve of, is still very much alive. The idea that we'd all be better off if other people were better off is hard to swallow for people who grew up in conditions of scarcity. At some point, I should factor AI into this question. One potential problem is that as long as information is scarce and profitable, those who have leverage will be tempted to use AI to flood the market, driving less cost-effective intelligence to the sidelines — a result which would be much favored by the AI barons, who we're making incredibly rich on the hunch they will be positioned to extract incredible amounts of profit from the economy. I'm still sitting on the fence regarding AI. I'm inclined to believe that it can be a very useful tool to help writers like myself who already have a pretty good idea how to think — several pieces in this Loose Tabs lean that way — but I have little idea how to start, or with what. But that I'm behind the learning curve seemed obvious tonight, when I went to the library and noticed a whole section of For Dummies books of various AI platforms: probably not the best place to start, but an indication that a lot of ground has been broken. Some of my needs are pretty simple, like reading my writing for typos and other grammar issues. I could also use something to dive into the old notebooks and summarize what I think about various issue. I could use a keyword generator. I could use research help. I've gotten a fair amount of value already from the AI that's recently been added to Google search. Good chance something better is available. I could also use coding help for website development. I'm a pretty fair programmer, but I don't know Javascript or Python, even tough I have a pretty good idea what one might do with both. But I don't have the energy I once had to throw myself into learning new things like that. (And, as I mentioned, I grew up cheap.) Nine days in this week, which was barely enough to nudge me over the 30 album line. I had various distractions. Most significantly (for me, anyway), I spent a couple days cooking. I wrote up a bit about the meal(s) on Facebook, including two plate pictures (one for dinner, the other for dessert). A college friend turned me onto Greek cuisine, and that was my first major breakout from my mother's Arkansas soul food. Not sure when I'll get another chance, but it seems to be one of the few things I still feel pretty competent at. Next week should be more house tasks. The biggest, most obvious thing will be getting the carport railing back up. That's been down since January (or maybe December). I probably won't do a Music Week next week, but will try to sync up again the following Monday (April 27). I'm not working very hard to track new releases, although we have an interesting batch of records this week — including one I hadn't heard of until I backtracked a subscriber to my free Substack — I seem to be stuck at 99 subscribers there, so if you haven't already, please sign up there — or was it Bluesky? New records reviewed this week: Juhani Aaltonen + Raoul Björkenheim: Nostalgia (2025 [2026], Eclipse Music): Finnish saxophonist/flautist, made some superb albums in the 1970s, with nothing under his own name between 1982-2000, but recorded much after that, including this album a few months before he turned 90. He plays flute here, in duets with the Finnish guitarist. I'm not much of a flute fan, but in the past he's stood out enough I've voted for him in polls. He's still on top here. B+(***) [sp] Rodrigo Amado/This Is Our Language Quartet: Wailers (2019 [2026], European Echoes): The Portuguese tenor saxophonist's "American Quartet," with Joe McPhee (tenor sax), Kent Kessler (bass), and Chris Corsano (drums), first appeared on the album This Is Our Language in 2012. Impressive, as always, especially when both saxes crank up. A- [dl] Atlantic Road Trip: Watch as the Echo Falls (2025 [2026], Calligram): Trio of Chad McCullough (trumpet/synths), Paul Towndrow (alto sax/flute/whistles) and Miro Herak (vibes), sort of chamber jazz. B+(*) [cd] Mara Calder: We Stay Ugly 'Til the Pretty Decays (2026, Black Metal Archives Label): According to the only www source I can find, "Mara Calder is a 16-year-old musician and street-smart resident of Black City. Known as the girlfriend and creative partner of Kai (Purple C), she possesses the supernatural ability to see the dead, accompanied by her ghost companion Eli. A talented producer and vocalist, she balances high school life with the chaotic urban underground and paranormal encounters." Based on this debut album, I don't believe a word of this (except "talented producer and vocalist"), even before noting that the website seems to be a catalog of AI characters. Label is British, goes by BMAL, motto "Always underground/always antifascist," self-described as "an artist-first collective, operating on a transparent license." First song is "Junkyard Cabaret," built from "detuned piano, upright bass, clanking metal, and found sounds," including dramatic shifts and time changes that us old-timers recall from cabaret (or postmodern opera from Meatloaf to Ethel Cain). Some ballads are just backed by piano, and are nearly as striking as the more hyper stuff. What we used to call a "tour de force." Sample lyric: "If it's crashing, let it burn." A- [sp] Chicago Soul Jazz Collective: No Wind & No Rain (2026, Calligram): Original songs by Larry Brown Jr. (guitar, some vocals) and John Fournier (tenor sax), with lead vocals by Dee Alexander, and support from Ryan Nyther (trumpet), Amr Fahmy (keyboards), Micah Collier (basses), and Keith Brooks II (drums). B+(**) [cd] Paul Citro: Keep Moving (Home) (2024-25 [2026], Calligram): Chicago guitarist, first album, quartet with Nick Mazzarella (alto sax/wurlitzer), Matt Ulery (bass), and Quin Kitchner (drums), playin original pieces by Citro. B+(*) [cd] [05-01] Caleb Wheeler Curtis: Ritual (2025 [2026], Chill Tone): Plays stritch mostly, with spots of soprano/sopranino sax and trumpet. Has several albums since 2018. This one with Hery Paz (tenor sax/flute), Orrin Evans (piano, 4/9 tracks in the middle), Vicente Archer (bass), and Michael Sarin (drums). B+(***) [cd] Fcukers: Ö (2026, Ninja Tune): New York dance-pop group (duo? trio?), first album (11 songs, 28:57) after a couple of EPs. Lightweight but functional, which may be enough. B+(***) [sp] Flea: Honora (2026, Nonesuch): Famous bassist, I recognized the pseudonym but couldn't place him (Red Hot Chili Peppers), debut solo album, plays trumpet on what is reportedly aa return to his jazz roots. That's not a parade I particularly want to rain on, but it doesn't particularly work as jazz, even as fusion. Part of this is that his social circle intrudes, and they're even less jazz-oriented than he is. B- [sp] Sophie Gault: Unhinged (2026, Torrez Music Group): Americana singer, presumably writes some songs, second album, no notes I can find on it but puts one foot firmly in country by opening with a Buck Owens song, then rocks harder than the Nashville norm. B+(**) [sp] Tomas Janzon: Jazz Diary (2025 [2026], Changes Music): Swedish guitarist, based in New York, half-dozen albums since 1999. Originals, backed by bass (Nedra Wheeler) and drums (Tony Austin or Chuck McPherson). Includes an extra track from 2000, with Wheeler on bass. B+(**) [cd] Kin'Gongolo Kiniata: Kiniata (2024 [2025], Helico Music): Congolese group, from Kinshasa, first album, handcrafted instruments, in an album that will appeal to fans of Konono No. 1. A- [bc] Kinact: Kinshasa in Action (2026, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Another Congo band, founded in 2015 by Eddy Ekete, with its own mix of electronics, homemade percussion, and industrial tools. While I find these bands hard to resist, this isn't always as musical as I'd like. B+(**) [bc] Gurf Morlix: Cobwebs & Stardust (2026, Rootball): Alt-country singer-songwriter, started connected to Blaze Foley and Lucinda Williams, went solo in 2000, has become increasingly prolific. Choice cut: "My Guitar Is a Blues Machine." B+(**) [sp] Jim Robitaille Trio: Sonic (2026, Whaling City Sound): Guitarist, at least eight albums since 2004, backed by bass (Tom Casale) and drums (Chris Poudrier), eight originals plus covers of Coltrane and Davis. B+(**) [cd] Ted Rosenthal Trio: The Good Old Days (2024 [2026], TMR Music): Pianist, debut was a trio in 1990, quite a few albums since, including a Maybeck Hall solo and many trios. This is mostly trio, a mix of originals and standards, one session with Martin Wind (bass) and Tim Horner (drums), the other with Noriko Ueda (bass) and Quincy Davis (drums), with two of the latter including "special guest" Ken Peplowski (clarinet), who has since passed. The rags are especially delightful. B+(***) [05-01] Fie Schouten/Vincent Courtois/Sofia Borges/Pierre Baux: Open Space (2025 [2026], Relative Pitch): Clarinets, cello, drums, and spoken voice (in French, which I'm not following very well, but finding interesting). B+(**) [cd] Paul Silbergleit Trio: The Stillness of July (2024 [2026], Calligram): Guitarist, has a 1996 debut album but not a lot since. Trio with Clay Schaub (bass) and Devin Drobka (drums), playing three originals plus more/less standards from Charlie Parker to Stevie Wonder. B+(**) [cd] [05-01] Harlan Silverman: Music for Stillness (2026, Intentional): Started off playing guitar for Mayer Hawthorne, member of Cosmic Tones Research Trio, first own album, on which he plays bansuri flute, cello, viola, piano, fender rhodes, aiming for "what might peace sound like?" Modest ambition, not to be scoffed at. Functional, even. B+(***) [bc] Slayyyter: Wor$t Girl in America (2026, Columbia): Dance-pop singer-songwriter Catherine Slater, from suburban St. Louis, started with a mixtape in 2019, third album. B+(**) [sp] Sky Smeed: Live at the Rock House (2026, self-released): Folkie singer-songwriter, based in Lawrence, KS (grew up near Chanute, which means something to me, probably not to you), has more than a dozen albums (4 on Discogs, as far back as 2004). A dozen songs, some attempts at audience participation, plus two "radio edits" (good to be prepared). A- [sp] Alister Spence: Always Ever (2025 [2026], Alister Spence Music): Australian pianist, dozen or so albums since 2011, including a couple of duos with Satoko Fujii. Solo. Keeps it interesting. B+(**) [cd] [04-24] Tanya Tagaq: Saputjiji (2026, Six Shooter): Canadian Inuk throat singer, seventh studio album since 2005. Played it last night and got nothing out of it, but noticed the first song was called "Fuck War," and heard if through the post-industrial din, followed by a spoken word explaining "we're children, needing nurture, not razorblades." Rest of the album wanders some, with nothing quite grabbing me the same way, but the bleak, disturbing chill comes off as its own virtue. A- [sp] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Born in the City of Tanta: Lower Egyptian Urban Folklore and Bedouin Shaabi From Libya's Bourini Records 1968-75 (1968-75 [2025], Sublime Frequencies): Seattle label has been scraping together world music obscurities for at least 20 years, including a very wide swath of Asia as well as all of Africa and the deeper recesses of the Amazon (and one I haven't heard called West Virginia Snake Handler Revival). Some striking tracks here, less groove than later raï or dabke but no less remarkable. Hedged a bit because it's not all public. [4/8 tracks] B+(***) [bc] Bill Evans: At the BBC (1965 [2026], Elemental Music): Piano trio, with Chuck Israels and Larry Bunker, two sets on one CD, runs 70:15, with Humphrey Lyttleton the announcer. Some remarkable passages, but that's not unusual for the dozen or more Evans live shots that have come out recently. B+(***) [cd] [04-18] Freddie King: Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Pulsations Concert (1975 [2026], Elemental Music, 2CD): Blues guitarist-singer (1934-76), placed three albums on Robert Santelli's list of the best 100 blues albums. Live in France, a little more than a year before he died at 42. B+(**) [cd] [04-18] Cecil Taylor New Unit: Words & Music: The Last Bandstand (2016 [2026], Fundacja Słuchaj): Avant-garde pianist (1929-2018), debut 1956, ran a legendary band called the Cecil Taylor Unit in the 1970s with Jimmy Lyons, mostly recorded duos and trios after that, including a monumental showcase in Berlin in 1988. Last recording in my database was a duo with drummer Tony Oxley from 2011, so this New Unit album comes as a surprise. With Harri Sjöström (soprano and sopranino sax), Okkyung Lee (cello), Oxley (electronics), and Jackson Krall (drums), with piano and spoken word by Taylor, in a single 79:23 take (now split into two tracks). The music is remarkable. The words, which appear in the second half, are hard to follow, but have their own musicality. A- [bc] Miroslav Vitous: Mountain Call (2003-10 [2026], ECM): Czech bassist, studied music in Vienna, then got a scholarship to Berklee, emerging in 1970 as a founder of Weather Report, leaving in 1973 to pursue an eclectic solo career. Discography jumps a decade from 1992-2002, resumes with one of his best albums (Universal Syncopations), and continues, but with nothing since 2018. This picks from several sessions, with Michel Portal (clarinets) and Jack DeJohnette (drums) in large print on the cover, and variously the first nine pieces; Esperanza Spalding (voice), Bob Mintzer (bass clarinet), Gary Campbell (soprano/tenor sax), and Gerald Cleaver (drums) in smaller print, plus "members of Czech National Symphony Orchestra" (two extended pieces near the end). B+(*) [sp] Mal Waldron: Stardust & Starlight: At the Jazz Showcase (1979 [2026], Resonance): A great pianist (1926-2002), came up during the hard bop era, is famous for accompanying Billie Holiday in her last years, but did some of his best work in the 1980s, leading free jazz groups on an Italian label. Transitional trio set here with Steve Rodby (bass) and Wilbur Campbell (drums), joined for the last two tracks by Sonny Stitt (alto sax). A- [cd] [04-18] Old music: Dorisburg & Sebastian Mullaert: That Who Remembers (2023, Spazio Disponibile): Swedish electronica producer Alexander Berg, third of three albums since 2016, Mullaert has more albums back to 2011, including a previous live album with Berg. B+(**) [sp] Ted Rosenthal: Ted Rosenthal at Maybeck [Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Volume Thirty-Eight] (1994 [1995], Concord): Solo piano, part of a series Concord recorded from 1989-95, showcasing a who's who of (mostly) mainstream pianists (first volume was Joanne Brackeen, followed by Dave McKenna, Dick Hyman, Walter Norris, Stanley Cowell, Hal Galper, John Hicks, Gerry Wiggins, Marian McPartland, and Kenny Barron). He's relatively young here (35), with just a couple albums, but he's impressive, and touches a lot of bases (two originals, Porter and Gershwin, Dameron and Tristano, Powell and Nichols, Bach and James P. Johnson, "Gone With the Wind"). B+(**) [sp] Wordsworth: Mirror Music (2004, Halftooth): Early album, savvy words and beats. B+(**) [sp] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Tuesday, April 7, 2026 Music Week
Music: Current count 45771 [45738] rated (+33), 29 [21] unrated (+8). I've written answers to two recent questions. I don't get many, which sometimes excuses my slow responses, but I'm generally game. You can ask a question here. Main thing I worked on last week was a two-part Substack post on Trump's Iran War:
The New York Times has a new piece, How Trump took the US to war with Iran, which reports on the war council meetings. It has more details like who sat where, but the outlines are exactly as I speculated in these posts. The only news seems to be that the insiders feeding the reporters these details are making sure to register their reservations, which if made obviously had no effect on Trump. It's the first draft of history, and already people want an edit. What I didn't particularly anticipate was that Trump would reverse course and issue an apocalyptic ultimatum on Easter Sunday, then back off today and agree to a two-week ceasefire. As the New York Times reports: US and Iran agree to cease-fire, avoiding (or postponing) Trump's threats of imminent devastation. I haven't figured out what's going on yet, although the "TACO Tuesday" joke occurred to me before I heard it on Kimmel. Given that Trump wound up accepting an Iranian proposal as the "basis for talks" suggests that he blinked first, and that Iran expects to gain more diplomatic leverage in two weeks than the military advantage they lose as the US and Israel rearms. But how it might make sense isn't immediately clear. I'll collect more on this during the week, and try to release a new Loose Tabs before next week. It should be shorter than the last couple, partly because I'm taking less time, and partly because I don't expect to have a lot of time this week. On the other hand, things are moving too fast to hold back just to pile up another TL;DR post. Meanwhile, you can read what I have so far in my draft file. Music Week was delayed a day this week because a friend broke her hip and shoulder, and we helped get her settled back home from the hospital. As usual, they dump people out long before they're really ready to go. Some very interesting records below, including several that don't quite work for me but might be up your alley (Raye, Chalk, Jill Scott). I've been playing old favorites to start off most days, and I paid little attention to the demo queue this week (pretty much everything I have is still in advance of release, so it didn't seem urgent. I have dinner plans for Saturday, and lots of house work to do. I'm not sure about the latter given how sore I still am from crawling around the attic last week. New records reviewed this week: Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman: Miami Lice: Season Four (2026, Rhymesayers Entertainment): Underground rappers Ian Bavitz and Angelo Del Villar II, both with long and notable solo careers, fourth EP/album together as Lice, getting closer to album length with 8 songs, 27:11. B+(***) [sp] Ali & Charif Megarbane: Tirakat (2026, Habibi Funk): Ali (140 on Discogs) is a Jakarta-based trio, with a couple of previous albums. Megarbane is a Lebanese composer-producer of somewhat longer standing, including aliases like Cosmic Analog Ensemble, The Free Association Syndicate, The Submarine Chronicles, and Trans-Mara Express. B+(*) [sp] Elles Bailey: Can't Take My Story Away (2026, Cooking Vinyl): English singer-songwriter, slotted over there as Americana, draws more on blues than country, eighth album since 2017. Strong singer, sounds good. B+(**) [sp] Chalk: Crystalpunk (2026, Alter Music): Industrial dance-punk band from Belfast, first album, Ross Cullen the vocalist, Benedict Goddard multi-instrumentalist, they seem to also have some accomplishments in film. Starts out sounding like what I think metal should sound like, but they're more varied, and ultimately not much more hardcore than, say, the Fall (or some other 1980s band I can't recall but can almost picture). That seems about right, though I still haven't plumbed much depth here. B+(***) [sp] Stew Cutler & Friends: Under Cover (Mostly) (2025 [2026], self-released): Guitarist, also plays harmonica, has several albums going back to 2000, mostly jazz side-credits (Bobby Previte, Wayne Horvitz), although I'm seeing this filed under blues (which works best when the friend is vocalist Bobby Harden; less so with the organ). Some nifty guitar in spots (but "Summer Breeze" is a bit too saccharine). B+(*) [sp] The Delines: The Set Up (2026, Decor/El Cortez/Jealous Butcher): Retro country-soul band from Portland, led by reputable novelist Willy Vlautin, Amy Boone the vocalist, seventh album since 2014. B+(***) [sp] Elucid & Sebb Bash: I Guess U Had to Be There (2026, Backwoodz Studioz): Rapper Chaz Hall, has a dozen or so albums on his own since 2007, aside from his work in Armand Hammer. With Swiss producer Sebastian Bashmolean. Pretty dense. B+(**) [sp] Avalon Emerson & the Charm: Written Into Changes (2026, Dead Oceans): Singer-songwriter from Arizona, has a reputation as a Berlin DJ and electronic music producer, but at least here sings on what I'd call electropop (or synth-pop), keeping as group name the title of her 2023 debut. A- [sp] Girl Scout: Brink (2026, Human Garbage): Swedish indie-pop group, Emma Jansson the singer, multiple songwriters, first album after two EPs. B+(*) [sp] Irreversible Entanglements: Future Present Past (2026, Impulse!): DC-based free jazz collective, fifth studio album since 2017, with Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother, vocals), Aquiles Navarro (trumpet), Keir Neuringer (saxes/keyboards), Luke Stewart (bass), and Tcheser Holmes (drums). Impressive as ever. A- [sp] DoYeon Kim: Wellspring (2026, TAO Forms): Korean, based in New York, plays gayageum (12- and 25-string), sings some, backed by Mat Maneri (viola), Henry Fraser (bass), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums). Interesting and fairly unique record, but not one I find myself particularly enjoying. B+(*) [cd] [05-01] Erica von Kleist: Picc Pocket (2025 [2026], self-released): Flute player and saxophonist, born in Connecticut, several albums since 2005, this one focuses on the piccolo (which "has spent most of jazz history on the sidelines," not without reason). Backed by piano-bass-drums, with some trombone and tenor sax. B [cd] [04-23] Kronos Quartet: Glorious Mahalia (2026, Smithsonian Folkways): Classical string quartet, founded by David Harrington (violin) in 1973, based in San Francisco, group was stable from 1978-99, with John Sherba and Hank Dutt retiring in 2024. Early albums included works of Terry Riley and Steve Reich, as well as modernists, but they've branched out widely, with Piazzolla and Partch, Dylan and Seeger, and lots of world music — Pieces of Africa (1992) a personal favorite. This tribute to the gospel great incorporates some of her singing, but is mostly built around spoken word samples, with Clarence Jones as well as Jackson, often focused on Martin Luther King Jr. A- [sp] Buck Meek: The Mirror (2026, 4AD): Guitarist in Big Thief, was married to lead singer Adrianne Lenker when they founded the band, divorced in 2018, but remains in band, while both also record solo albums. This is his fourth. B+(**) [sp] Fabiano do Nascimento & Vittor Santos E Orquestra: Vila (2026, Far Out): Brazilian guitarist, has a dozen-plus albums since 2011. Santos I know as a trombonist, but here he leads a large and rather lush orchestra: not my favorite thing, but lovely, for sure. B+(*) [sp] Nubiyan Twist: Chasing Shadows (2026, Strut): British jazz-funk group, sixth album since 2015, much depends on their funk quotient. B [sp] Bill Orcutt: Music in Continuous Motion (2026, Palilalia): Guitarist, has a noise-rock background starting in the group Harry Pussy, has quite a few instrumental albums, of late some with four guitars (including this one, but apparently here they're all him). B+(**) [sp] Puma Blue: Croak Dream (2026, PIAS): British electronica producer Jacob Allen, singles since 2016 and albums since 2019, languid beats and dusky atmospherics roughly fit the genre of trip-hop. B+(**) [sp] Raye: This Music May Contain Hope (2026, Human Re Sources): British pop/r&b singer-songwriter Rachel Keen, second album, has co-written songs for Beyoncé and Charli XCX. This is major, 17 songs for 73 minutes, with a dollop of Al Green in the middle. Too much, but half of this is as impressive as anything I've heard this year. B+(***) [sp] Jill Scott: To Whom It May Concern (2026, Human Re Sources/Blues Babe): Soul singer-songwriter from Philadelphia, debut 2000, sixth studio album (last was 2015). A pretty major effort. B+(***) [sp] Aktu el Shabazz: As Seen on TV (2026, 766303 DK): Underground hip-hop, Brooklyn-born, Vancouver-based MC, first album. B+(**) [sp] Snail Mail: Ricochet (2026, Matador): Indie-pop group from Baltimore, Lindsey Jordan the singer-songwriter, third album since 2018. B+(*) [sp] Tyshawn Sorey: Monochromatic Life (Afterlife) (2023 [2026], Dacamera): Jazz drummer, MacArthur Genius, just composer and conductor of this single 74:52 piece, played by Kim Kashkashian (viola), Sarah Rothenberg (piano/celeste), and Steven Schick (percussion), featuring the many voices of the Houston Chamber Choir: not that this sounds like a big vocal production — I'd file it under ambient, and forget it. B [sp] Stu Bangas & Wordsworth: Chemistry (2026, 1332): Hip-hop producer Stuart Hudgins, from Boston, has put his name on 33+ albums since 2012, mostly as second bill to some rapper, including a previous album with rapper Vinson Johnson, whose first album appeared in 2002. Title is true, as words and beats mesh into continuous pleasure. A- [sp] Thundercat: Distracted (2026, Brainfeeder): Neo-soul singer-songwriter Stephen Bruner, mostly plays bass, has a rep as a producer, fifth album since 2011. B+(*) [sp] Mark Turner: Patternmaster (2024 [2026], ECM): Tenor saxophonist, impressive debut in 1995, recorded for majors through 2001 then fell off, but has been busy since 2018. Quartet with Jason Palmer (trumpet), Joe Martin (bass), and Jonathan Pinson (drums), whose names appear on the over, under the title. B+(*) [sp] Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad: Jazz Is Dead 26: Antonio Carlos & Jocafi (2026, Jazz Is Dead): Brazilian duo, Antonio Carlos Marques Pinto and José Carlos Figueiredo, who brought Bahia folk into MPB, recorded at least 13 albums 1971-96, fitting the producers' focus on 1970s artists who are still kicking (now in their 80s). I'm not familiar with their old work, but this seems like it should work as a fine introductory sampler. B+(***) [sp] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Eddie Condon: Surprise! Eddie Condon at Town Hall, c. April 1944 (1944 [2026], Jazz Lives): Early swing pianist (1905-73), known more as a bandleader than as a soloist, LPs start in 1956 but recordings go back to 1928. This live set is presented as having been discovered by Michael Steinman in 1988, from the collection of J. David Goldin, and recently cleaned up, running 57:07, with a long list of notable players, identified as we go by announcer Alistair Cooke (including Sidney Catlett [or Cozy Cole], Joe Bushkin [or Art Hodes], Buster Bailey, Pee Wee Russell, Miff Mole, Billy Butterfield, and Max Kaminsky). This material has probably appeared on CD before: Jazzology released 11 volumes of Condon's The Town Hall Concerts from 1944-45. I copied them all down from Penguin Guide, which singled out Volumes 3 & 7 for 4 stars. Before this, I've only heard one later excerpt, so it's impossible to weigh this out, but I'm enjoying this almost as much as Steinman promised. Still, without an actual CD, cover, etc., one shouldn't get carried away. [Link] B+(***) [yt] Serengeti: Ajai 2 the Reimagine (2025, self-released): Chicago underground rapper David Cohn, lots of albums since 2006, one called Ajai in 2020, Agai II in 2023, previously graded (**) and (*), this one similar to one on Bandcamp called Ajai 2 Remix Album, which came out about the same time. Probably no better or worse than any other version. B+(*) [sp] Serengeti: Universe (2022 [2025], CC King): Seems to be a 2022 LP release (50 copies), followed by a digital reissue, but whereas the former had five titles on the A-side, just 1 on the B, this only shows a "side one" and "side two" (which is mostly ambient). B [sp] Old music: Kronos Quartet: Howl, U.S.A. (1996, Nonesuch): A lot of back catalog to explore. This seemed like such a obvious item for me: not only does Allen Ginsberg read his epic poem, but we also get I.F. Stone reading "Cold War Suite From How It Happens," Harry Partch's "Barstow," and an opening piece called "Sing Sing: J. Edgar Hoover." Howl was a big part of my late teen years. (I had a poster of Ginsberg glued to the ceiling over the staircase, which my mother hated, and eventually painted over; and I was a subscriber to I.F. Stone's Weekly; my interest in Partch came a bit later.) Not quite sure the music fits, nor are the readers ideal, but Ginsberg's words often overcome all that. B+(***) [sp] Kronos Quartet: Long Time Passing: Kronos Quartet & Friends Celebrate Pete Seeger (2020, Smithsonian Folkways): Friends are singers (Aoife O'Donovan, Brian Carpenter, Lee Knight, Maria Arnal, Meklit Hadero, Sam Amidon), preserving but reshaping folk songs, many classics, most original but some older, a couple surprises (I somehow missed that "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" was his song, as was "Turn Turn Turn"). An interesting and thoughtful reframing of a powerful legacy. A- [sp] Soda Stereo: Canción Animal (1990, Sony): Rock group from Argentina, seven studio albums 1984-95, this fifth album "considered to be one of the best albums of all time of the Latin Rock genre" (per Wikipedia; Google also recommended it; I only asked because I have a reader lobbying for Argentinian rock in general — I had no idea where to start until this group came up, probably from the same reader). If I could follow the words, I might be able to figure out whether they're as good or bad or whatever as, to pull a couple not-dissimilar bands off the top of my head, Guns 'N Roses or Manic Street Preachers. But I can't, so I'm going off rhythm and sonics. B+(*) [sp] Wordsworth and Stu Bangas: Two Kings (2024, Brutal Music): Rapper, goes back to 2002, and producer. I'm working back from their new one, Chemistry, and finding the same attraction here, in their first collaboration, although "the alliance of two giants" line isn't quite as interesting. B+(***) [sp] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Tuesday, March 31, 2026 Music Week
Music: Current count 45738 [45700] rated (+38), 21 [26] unrated (-5). I didn't give any thought to posting this on Monday. I was preoccupied with writing the follow up to my March 13 Iran war post, Days of Infamy. The new one attempts to explain the war through four questions: three factual, one calling for speculation. I've written quite a bit of this (you can peek at my draft file), but I wasn't happy with the final section, and still have some tidying up to do. I don't get much done these days, especially on ones where my prime time gets interrupted by other exigencies. Yesterday, we had to go deal with taxes. Today I had to take the car in for service. When I got back, Laura told me that Trump had called off the war. While I would welcome that, if true it would mean that much of the thinking behind my fourth answer was wrong. I'm not saying that at some point Trump won't want to simply call off the war, but I doubt he's come close to that point yet, and it's really not just up to him anymore. So I've done some checking, and need to do some more. The net effect is that I'm more than a few hours away from wrapping the Substack piece up. So I'm not getting that piece out today. Which means that once again I've limped through another month with only one Substack post to my credit. Given that I've yet to hit 100 subscribers, I'm feeling pretty bummed about the whole enterprise. But if I can't get that done today (and possibly not even this week), I reckon I can print out what I have for Music Week, so that follows. I don't have much more to say about this week's music. Which I suppose is fitting given how many albums below I graded without offering any further explanation. I've been focusing more on the war writing this week, and that's taking a lot out of me. It may well mean I've missed a bunch of stuff. Of course, that's always true, but this week has been exceptionally distracting. I've done the bare minimum of bookkeeping to go from March to April. I despair of ever catching up, but this coming week should be more distracted than usual, as I try to get some house work done while the weather is still relatively decent. (We've had what is probably a record number of 90+°F days for March.) One correction/explanation: Last week I included the Docteur Nico album cover, but omitted the review. I fixed that, but rather than referring you back, I've duplicated both this week. By the way, I continue to add minor bits to the March 22 Loose Tabs, but most new stuff is going into the draft file. New records reviewed this week: Joshua Abrams: Music for Pulse Meridian Foliation (2026, Drag City): Chicago bassist, debut 2002, in 2010 released a mostly electronics album called Natural Information, and has followed that with seven Natural Information Society albums. He composed to run non-stop for Lisa Alvarado's art exhibition, using two cellos, harmonium, and electronics, and mixed it down to a single 35:42 piece. Functional ambient music, and just interesting enough. B+(**) [sp] Courtney Barnett: Creature of Habit (2026, Mom + Pop/Fiction): Australian singer-songwriter, pretty good guitarist, fourth album since 2015. A nice little rock record, a consistent pleasure. A- [sp] Bonnie "Prince" Billy: We Are Together Again (2026, No Quarter/Domino): Singer-songwriter Will Oldham, started as Palace Brothers in 1993, then Palace Music, recorded a solo album under his own name in 1997, then started using this moniker in 1999, now up to 27 albums. I've always been rather put off by the name, for reasons I've never examined. B+(*) [sp] Asher Brinson: Midnight Hurricane (2026, AsherBrin): Bluegrass singer-songwriter from North Carolina, first album, quite young but gets some veteran help and makes the most of it, padding eight original songs out with one cover and two instrumental tracks. Songs are solid-plus, set in some mighty fine picking. A- [cd] [04-03] Owen Chen: Eternal Wind: The Ghibli Collection (2025 [2026], OA2): Guitarist, based in New York, first album, joined here by a second guitarist, Andrew Cheng, playing pieces written by Joe Hisaishi for Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli. Backed by piano-bass-drums, with harmonica and/or tenor sax on five (of 9) tracks. B+(*) [cd] [04-03] Cyger & Butterworth: Plaid Pants (2024 [2026], Outrageous8): Saxophonist Ron Cyger (also plays flute) and bassist Brent Butterworth (also guitar, ukulele, and percussion), each writing four (of eight) songs, backed by various percussionists. Nice groove. B+(**) [cd] Flying Lotus: Big Mama (Brainfeeder, EP): Electronica producer Steven Ellison, eight albums since 2006, seven tracks (13:19), also comes with a 13:21 continuous mix. B+(*) [sp] Tigran Hamasyan: Manifeste (2023-25 [2026], Naïve): Armenian pianist, lives in Yerevan after some time in Los Angeles, over a dozen albums since 2006, most on major labels (Verve, ECM, Nonesuch), draws on a wide array of styles, using electronics and voices (including the Yerevan State Chamber Choir). Impressive moves, just not a mix I particularly enjoy. B [sp] Joshua Idehen: I Know You're Hurting, Everyone Is Hurting, Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got to Try (2026, Heavenly): British poet, teacher, musician, sings, raps, sometimes just utters philosophical epigrams; third album since 2023. Good advice: "do not bend to fascism." While the words impress, the beats put this over. A- [sp] Grace Ives: Girlfriend (2026, True Panther/Capitol): Synth-pop singer-songwriter, third album since 2019. B+(***) [sp] Jamile/Vinicius Gomes: Boundless Species (2024 [2026], La Reserve): Brazilians in New York, vocals and guitar, along with Joe Martin on bass. B+(***) [cd] [04-03] Robert Jospé Quartet: The Night Sky (2025 [2026], self-released): American drummer, has several previous albums, going back to the 1990s (hype sheet says this is his ninth). Quartet with Daniel Clarke (keyboards), Chris Whiteman (guitar), and Paul Langosch (bass). Mostly originals (including one by Clarke), with two standards. B+(*) [cd] The Paul Keller Orchestra: Thank You Notes: The Music of Gregg Hill (2025 [2026], Cold Plunge): Hill, based in Lansing, has few if any performance credits to speak of, but tributes to his compositions have become a cottage industry in recent years. As he turns 80, bassist Keller, whose own big band is marking its 40th anniversary, gives him the royal treatment. B+(**) [cd] Steve Kovalcheck: Buckshot Blues (2025 [2026], OA2): Guitarist, several records since 2009, trio with Jeff Hamilton (bass) and Jon Hamar (drums) &mdash Kovalchek was on 2025's Jeff Hamilton Organ Trio album. Mostly originals, with Hamar contributing one, the covers including "Skylark" and "I've Been Everywhere." The latter and the title cut, in particular, have a nice bounciness. B+(***) [cd] [04-03] Scott Lee: Greetings From Florida: Postcards From Paradise (2024 [2026], Sunnyside): Composer, website shows one previous album (Through the Mangrove Tunnels, 2020 on New Focus), so evidently not Discogs' Scott Lee (5), a bassist with several albums on SteepleChase. This is music written for chamber ensemble and singer Camila Meza, drawing built around lyrics from Cuban American poet Carolina Hospital. The lyrics "balance ambiguity with clarity of message in a way that makes them perfect for setting to music." I didn't warm to the music, but the depth and art is clear. B+(*) [cd] [04-16] Roc Marciano: 656 (2026, self-released): Rapper Rakeem Calief Myer, has a dozen solo or collaborative studio albums since 2010. B+(**) [sp] Kristen Mather de Andrade: Sim Fin (2022-24 [2026], Ansonica): Clarinet player and singer from Youngstown, Ohio; based in New York, has at least one previous album; plays Brazilian music, backed here by string quartet and other notables, including Vinicius Gomes (guitar) and Vitor Gonçalves (piano/accordion). B+(*) [cd] Mitski: Nothing's About to Happen to Me (2026, Dead Oceans): Japanese-American singer-songwriter, mother Japanese, born there, but father was a US State Department official who dragged her all over before ending up in New York. Eighth studio album since 2012, popular breakthrough in 2012. One of the year's top-rated albums (so far), but once again she mostly slips past me. B+(*) [sp] Model/Actriz: Swan Songs (2026, True Panther/Dirty Hit, EP): Industrial/dance-punk band, originally from Boston, now in Brooklyn, two albums, this just 3 songs, 14:01. B+(**) [sp] Beto Paciello: The Stoic Suite (2023 [2026], Moons Arts): Brazilian pianist/composer, seems to have been around, with several albums, recorded this in New York with Eric Harland (drums), John Patitucci (bass), John Ellis (tenor/soprano sax, flute, bass clarinet), Rogerio Boccato (percussion), and Anne Boccato (voice). As is often the case, I lose this with the vocals. B [cd] [04-17] RJD2 & Supastition: According To (2026, RJ's Electrical Connections): Hip-hop producer Jon Krohn, appeared on a Def Jux Presents volume in 2001, and led his first joint in 2002. With rapper Kamaarphial Moye, from North Carolina, who goes back as far but only has one other album since 2007. Vintage beats, underground takes, clever enough even to mitigate my initial discomfort with "Bittersweet." A- [sp] Robyn: Sexistential (2026, Konichiwa/Young): Swedish dance-pop singer-songwriter, debut 1995, started to break into US market 2005-10, only her second album since, and a fairly short one at that (nine songs, 29:30). A- [sp] Marta Sanchez: For the Space You Left (2024 [2026], Out of Your Head): Spanish pianist, "(2)" on Discogs, several albums since 2008, some remarkable, including this one, solo, prepared piano but only occasionally does this move into a distorted range. A- [cd] [04-17] Dave Schumacher & Cubeye: Agua Con Gas (2025 [2026], Cubeye Music): Baritone saxophonist, albums go back to 1993, second Cubeye album, with a mixed bag of Latin jazz musicians (notably pianists Manuel Valera and Silvano Monasterios, who contribute songs/arrangements). Three Schumacher originals, and two covers from Ronnie Cuber, who somehow figures into the motif. B [cd] [04-17] Aaron Shaw: And So It Is (2025 [2026], Leaving): Saxophonist from Los Angeles, also plays bass clarinte and alto flute, first album, has some side credits with rappers (Tyler the Creator, Billy Woods), but mostly with Carlos Niño, who co-produced here. Shaw has a horrific health story which may contribute to the focus on what's called "spiritual jazz," or he may just dig Coltrane. B+(*) [sp] Sideshow: Tigray Funk (2026, 10k): Los Angeles rapper (13 on Discogs, no Wikipedia), has a couple previous albums, trap beats, 32 short pieces. B+(**) [sp] Kevin Sun: Lofi at Lowlands 三 (2024 [2026], Endectomorph Music): Tenor saxophonist, made a big impression with his 2018 Trio debut, another trio here — with Walter Stinson (bass) and Kayvon Gordon (drums) — third in a series of live albums from Lowlands Bar in Brooklyn. B+(**) [sp] Tinariwen: Hoggar (2026, Wedge): Tuareg group, formed in Algeria by exiles from Mali, spent some time in Libya before returning to Mali and getting caught up in political struggles there. Recorded an album in Ibidjan in 1991, but their breakthrough didn't come until 2001, when they started touring Europe and releasing albums there. Tenth album since 2001, all are pretty good but not very distinct. This strikes me as a bit slower and moodier than usual, which diminishes excitement but still sustains interest. B+(**) [sp] Gregory Uhlmann: Extra Stars (2026, International Anthem): Guitarist, based in Los Angeles, has several albums, notably two by the group SML, which includes most of the guests who appear on spots here — the rest, presumably, is solo, with Uhlmann credited for guitar, bass, synths, recorder, percussion, and piano. Has sort of a "fourth world" vibe. B+(*) [sp] Underscores: U (2026, self-released): Experimental electropop by April Harper Grey, based in San Francisco, third album. Bounces hard, glitches some. B+(**) [sp] Johannes Wallmann: Not Tired (2024 [2025], Shifting Paradigm): German pianist, based in New York, dozen or so albums since 2004, this one with Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Dayna Stephens (tenor sax), Nick Moran (bass), and Adam Nussbaum (drums), originals including two by co-producer Moran. B+(**) [bc] Ben Wendel: BaRcoDe (2025 [2026], Edition): Tenor saxophonist, from Canada, a dozen or so albums since 2009, accompanied here by four vibraphonists (Joel Ross, Simon Moullier, Patricia Brennan, Juan Diego Villalobos), some also on marimba or balafon, most adding EFX. B+(**) [sp] Xaviersobased: Xavier (2026, 1C/Surf Gang/Atlantic): Rapper/producer Xavier Lopez. Another one of those glitchy micro-genre joints. B+(**) [sp] Zel: Still Right Here (2026, self-released): Maryland rapper and/or producer, got a rave Pitchfork review I can't read, doesn't have a Discogs I can find, or a Bandcamp; AOTY says the genre is "plugg," or maybe "ambient plugg" and/or "jerk," which Wikipedia describes as sub- or micro-genres of trap, itself a concept I have only the vaguest sense of. First take: sound is interesting, words escape me (18 tracks, 32:07). B+(***) [yt] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Docteur Nico: Presents African Fiesta Sukisa 1966-1974 (1966-74 [2025], Planet Ilunga): Congolese guitarist and bandleader Nico Kassanda (1939-85), joined Grand Kalle et l'African Jazz at age 14, left with Tabu Ley Rochereau to form L'Orchestra African Fiesta, discography has always been spotty, but this rounds up a prime period slice from his Sukisa label, available on 3-LP or with bonus songs for digital. A- [bc] Bennie Green: Back on the Scene (1958 [2026], Blue Note): Trombonist (1923-77), from Chicago, started in the big bands of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, work in hard bop circles 1955-64 while keeping a fine sense of swing, later settled in Las Vegas, working in hotel bands. Fine quintet session here with Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), Joe Knight (piano), George Tucker (bass), and Louis Hayes (drums), playing six tunes, including a self-penned blues and two by Melba Liston. B+(***) [sp] The Lawrence Marable Quartet: Tenorman (1956 [2026], Blue Note): Drummer (1929-2012), from Los Angeles, associated with West Coast jazz starting with Hampton Hawes, Wardell Gray, and Herb Geller, extending to Charlie Haden's Quartet West. Discogs counts 246 albums he played on, but this is the only one with his name up top, and even here the title is a nod to the featured saxophonist, James Clay. He's terrific throughout, well supported by Sonny Clark (piano) and Jimmy Bond (bass). A- [sp] Twisted Teens: Blame the Clown (2025 [2026], Jazz Life): New Orleans country punk duo. Second or third label this has been picked up on. B+(**) [sp] Old music: None. Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, March 23, 2026 Music Week
Music: Current count 45700 [45655] rated (+45), 26 [39] unrated (-13). After last week's Music Week, I decided I really should publish a new Loose Tabs before the week was out. I had published my previous one on February 27, just hours before Trump started bombing Iran. I've been running about one Loose Tabs post per month, but the war news was coming so fast and furious I didn't want to wait a whole month. (Even so, the gap this time stretched out to 23 days.) In the meantime I wrote about the war in my Substack feed, Notes on Everyday Life, in a piece called Days of Infamy. Since then, I've decided to follow up with a second piece, which will try to reduce all the complexity and nuance of the war to four questions:
I'll probably take a more serious tone, but it's tempting to answer the first three flippantly:
Actually, each of those three could get very long and involved if I got into the history and how it has influenced what passes for thinking in these conservative/crypto-fascist political and military leaders and their coterie of advisers and operatives. (I should perhaps be more tentative in my views of the Iranians, both because I don't follow them as closely, and because I have less feel for their history and philosophical views, but it's a pretty safe bet I understand them better than Trump and Netanyahu do.) While I meant to post last night, the time got away from me, and I decided to wait until this afternoon: not to collect more links, but simply to add my table of contents, flesh out the section introductions a bit, and correct whatever typos I could find. But when I got up, my wife told me that Trump had called a pause in the bombing, citing productive diplomatic talks. That turned out to be not half what it was cracked up to be, but Trump did shelve his threat to start bombing Iranian power plants, causing blackouts and widespread damage and hardship. His hesitation probably saves retaliation against vulnerable infrastructure in the Persian Gulf states. Or it may signal a final recognition on Trump's part that Iran isn't going to be moved by ultimatums, no matter how deranged. I'm skeptical that Iran is going to "win" this war (to the extent that any war can be "won"), but the US is much more vulnerable, and more fragile, on many fronts than Trump was led to believe. And as these stresses interact and multiple, one shouldn't assume that the previous world order will hold. In my "Days of Infamy" piece, I spent a whole section on what I called "worser case scenarios." A week later, I find myself coming up with even worser cases. My plan is to come up with a set of equations, each modeling a key consideration. One needs to look at what concessions Iran can and cannot make, and figure out what among the former might satisfy Trump. What Trump did was as inexcusable as, say, Putin in Ukraine (or Bush in Iraq), yet still as long as he's the guy, savvy diplomats need to figure out how to save him some face, even as they pressure him into unwanted compromises. Accordingly, a big part of the question is what sort of pressures can be brought to bear on Trump. (I have various ideas there, but Arab money is one that seems to particularly appeal to him, or at least to his craven son-in-law.) Still, I don't need to figure this out, as I'll be way out of the inner circle. Some rough sketches should suffice. I wasn't only thinking about Iran last week. A while back, I went to the library, to return a couple books I hadn't found interesting enough to read, and see if I can pick up anything more appealing. I didn't really find anything other than Laura Field's Furious Minds, which I had just finished, but I checked out a couple of cookbooks for the hell of it. One was The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook, which seemed to have definitive recipes for pretty much anything one might want to cook. I've never watched their shows, but I have a bunch of their cookbooks, and I especially use them for baking. I figured I might look it over, but would wind up ordering a copy, and using it as a fallback reference. Glancing through it today, I see some of what looks like excess complication: their matzo brei recipe calls for sauteeing onions, which I've never considered; the dumplings in their chicken & dumplings look right (I've always used shortening, but I could see using schmaltz if I had it handy), but their stock is basically chicken pot pie filler, lots of extras that detract from the dumplings. I just boil a chicken, strip off the meat, cook the dumplings in the stock, fold the chicken back in, check the seasoning. The other book I picked up was Pyet DeSpain's Rooted in Fire: A Celebration of Native American and Mexican Cooking. I've barely dabbled in Mexican — I have a Diana Kennedy guide, but found it much less helpful than ATK's The Best Mexican Recipes — and know nothing of Native American cooking other than corn-beans-squash plus the latter-day addition of fry bread. But a couple recipes piqued my interest, so I figured I'd check it out, and make a dinner. After I got my "Days of Infamy" piece up, I figured I was due some fun, so I went shopping. We have some pretty good Mexican grocers here, but I still had a tough time coming up with ingredients (especially on the salad front, which called for dandelion greens, purslane, and/or water cress), as well as things like maple sugar and prickly pear syrup (which I've now found on Amazon). You can find a pic and brief write up here. DeSpain is Potawatomi, living in northeast Kansas, and was "Winner of Gordon Ramsay's Next Level Chef season one," so the aim here is less authenticity than roots-inspired fusion. Unlike my ventures into national cuisines like Burmese or Cuban or Moroccan, where I could run through a broad range of traditional dishes, I doubt there is any single Native American cuisine, nor that this even captures one facet of it, but it is an interesting concept, and none of these were dishes I had ever attempted before. The menu is long enough for a birthday dinner:
I bought more stuff than I used, including big chunk of bison (the book has three bison recipes: jerky, meatballs, braised), and various greens thinking I might substitute for use in the salads. I ran late, but a guest rescued the grill dishes while I fried the bread. I wound up using pre-shredded cheddar instead of shredding a block of cotijo I had ready. By the time I served dinner, the kitchen was as messed up as it had ever been. I was so exhausted I took a rare nap afterwards. Cleaned up in the middle of the night, and found more the next day. I thought everything came out very good. I should write some of the recipes down, but I might as well just buy the book. Not a lot more in the book I want to try. And although Laura has suggested a couple of these dishes should be in my "rotation," I don't really have such a thing. A quick check at Amazon shows several dozen other Native American cookbooks. As I suspected, there is a good deal of regional variation. A lot of records below. I've made a significant dent in the demo queue, picking them off in release date order until I moved well into next week. The reissues are old items that Blue Note recently reissued in their Tone Poet vinyl series. All of them are streamed, but I counted them as 2026 reissues, having initially listed them as such in my tracking file. I've cut back on tracking new releases quite a bit this year: aside from tracking my own reviews, I'm only adding things that come to me with specific recommendations. I may have to open this up later if/when we get into jazz critics polling, but I don't need to get into that now. New records reviewed this week: David Adewumi: The Flame Beneath the Silence (2024 [2026], Giant Step Arts): Trumpet player, first album, side-credits since 2020, label touts this "modern masters and new horizons series," offering him a live venue and major league support: Joel Ross (vibes), Linda May Han Oh (bass), and Marcus Gilmore (drums). He's off to a strong start? B+(***) [cd] [03-27] Tyrone Allen II: Upward (2024 [2026], Dreams and Fears): Bassist, based in Brooklyn, first album, a dozen side-credits back to 2018, with several notable younger players: Neta Raanan (tenor sax), Lex Korten (keys), Samantha Feliciano (harp), Aidan Lombard (trumpet), Kayvon Gordon (drums), Abe Nouri (live effects). B+(*) [cd] Aymeric Avice/Luke Stewart/Chad Taylor: Deep in the Earth High in the Sky (2025 [2026], RogueArt): I've seen every permutation of artist credit order for this, with my CD listing the Taylor (drums) first above the title, then last under the title, while Bandcamp lists Stewart (bass) first, with a cover scan that seems to favor Avice (trumpet). Discogs, with the same cover scan (I just got a CD with no packaging) credits Stewart first. I initially listed Taylor, but on second thought, let's give it to the French trumpeter (evidently his first album). Free jazz bash, with mbiras. B+(***) [cdr] Anthony Branker & Other Ways of Knowing: Manifestations of a Diasporic Groove & Spirit (2025 [2026], Origin): Composer and arranger, eleventh album since 2004, previous groups called Ascent and Imagine, this one well stocked with name talent: Steve Wilson (alto/soprano sax, flute), Pete McCann (guitars), Simona Premazzi (piano), John Hébert (bass), Rudy Royston (drums), and Aimée Allen (vocals). [cd] Carl Clements and the Real Jazz Trio: Retrospective (2024 [2026], Greydisc): Saxophonist (tenor/soprano, also bansuri), based in Massachusetts, half-dozen albums since 2004, all original pieces, backed by a European trio: piano (Jean-Yves Jung), bass (Johannes Schaedlich), and drums (Jes Biehl). B+(**) [cd] Daphni: Butterfly (2026, Jiaolong): British house producer Daniel Snaith, fourth album, label named for his 2012 debut. Nice bounce to it. B+(***) [sp] Dave Douglas: Four Freedoms (2025 [2026], Greenleaf Music): Trumpet player, many albums since 1993, live set from the Getxo Kultura Jazz Festival in Spain, quartet with Marta Warelis (piano), Nick Dunston (bass), and Joey Baron (drums). Tricky music. B+(**) [sp] Matt Dwonszyk: Live at the Sidedoor (2024 [2026], self-released): Bassist, third release as leader, eight originals, two covers, no musician credits on the packaging but per hype sheet: Josh Bruneau (trumpet), Matt Knoegel (tenor sax), Taber Gable (piano), Jonathan Barber (drums). The venue is located in Old Lyme, CT, and the musicians evidently have some kind of relationship to Jackie McLean. It comes through, and maybe a bit of Mingus too. B+(***) [cd] Kim Gordon: Play Me (2026, Matador): Sonic Youth's better half, third solo studio album, "relies primarily on Gordon's trap vocals, [producer Justin] Raisen's industrial textures, and trip hop beats." Short (29:55) and rather cryptic. B+(***) [sp] Simon Hanes: Gargantua (2024 [2026], Pyroclastic): California-born, Brooklyn-based composer/arranger, has a couple previous albums, draws inspiration from Rabelais for this "audacious new album," featuring three soprano voices, backed by three each on French horns, trombones, basses, and drum sets. The voices are the sticking point with me. B+(**) [cd] [03-27] Alexander Hawkins/Taylor Ho Bynum: A Near Permanent State of Wonder (2024 [2025], RogueArt): Piano and trumpet (well, actually cornet and flugelhorn) duo, free jazz players of repute, and considerable rapport. B+(***) [cdr] Steven Husted and Friends: Two Nights - "Live!" (2025 [2026], self-released): Bassist, worked in Bay Area before moving to Austin, website has two previous albums but none in Discogs. With sax (Grant Teeple) on the first half, guitar (Matt Berger) picking up the slack on the second, backed by keys (Milo Hehmsoth), and drums (Israel Yanez), playing eight originals plus standards by Irving Berlin, Clifford Brown, and Hank Mobley. Nice mainstream jazz. Runs over 77 minutes. B+(*) [cd] The Interplay Jazz Orchestra: Bite Your Tongue (2025 [2026], Bigtime): Big band, directed by Joey Devassy (trombone) and Gary Henderson (trumpet), formed in 2013 but this is the only album I've found, three Devassy originals plus six standards, some sharp solo work, especially in the saxophone section. B+(***) [cd] Javon Jackson: Jackson Plays Dylan (2025 [2026], Solid Jackson/Palmetto): Tenor saxophonist, has done impressive work since his 1991 debut, but hasn't always made the best choices. Plays ten Bob Dylan tunes here (after an original intro), backed by keyboards (Jeremy Manasia), bass, and drums, with two guest vocalists (Lisa Fischer and Nicole Zuraitis), singing the two canon songs I least want to ever hear the lyrics to ever again. I've heard a lot of Dylan over the years, and almost never want to hear him again these days. I've often been out of sync with other critics, which may have led to some bad feelings. But I was surprised by the three Jewels & Binoculars albums, where his melodies proved fruitful for a purely instrumental jazz trio. But this isn't that. B+(*) [cd] [03-27] Anna Kolchina: Reach for Tomorrow (2021-25 [2026], OA2): Standards singer from "the Soviet Union about 18 hours from Moscow" (an odd measurement that could mean dozens or thousands of miles, but evidently someplace with horses), moved to New York City in 2017, "a place where you can become friends with your heroes." At least one previous album, as well as a connection to Sheila Jordan. Twelve songs recorded over several years, each backed by a sole guitarist: Paul Bollenback, Peter Bernstein, Ilya Lushtak, Romero Lubambo, Russell Malone, Yotam Silberstein. I couldn't sort out the guitarists, but they might make an interesting blindfold test. They are all fine, and the singer shines with such minimal support. A- [cd] Ladytron: Paradises (2026, Nettwerk): English electropop band, eighth studio album since 2001, a long one with 16 songs running 71:31, Daniel Hunt the composer, Helen Marnie the lead vocalist. B+(*) [sp] Julian Lage: Scenes From Above (2025 [2026], Blue Note): Well-regarded guitarist, debut 2009, sixth Blue Note album, featuring credits for John Medeski (organ/piano), Jorge Roeder (bass), and Kenny Wolleson (drums), with a couple credits for Patrick Waren (dulcitone, strings). He often strikes me as a bit languid, but on occasion, Medeski kicks this up a notch. B+(*) [sp] Brian Landrus: Just When You Think You Know (2025 [2026], BlueLand/Palmetto): Baritone saxophonist, albums since 2007, also plays some tenor, bass clarinet, and flutes (down to bass flute), along with Zaccai Curtis (keyboards), Dave Stryker (guitars), Lonnie Plaxico (basses), and Rudy Royston (drums). Veers a bit toward easy listening. B+(*) [cd] Tom Lippincott: Ode to the Possible (2025 [2026], self-released): Guitarist, plays an 8-string model with electronics, first album under his own name although he has scattered credits back to 1990. Qfuartet with David Fernandez (strong tenor/soprano sax), bass, and drums, plus a Camila Meza vocal on one track. B+(**) [cd] Lisanne Lyons: May I Come In (2022-24 [2026], OA2): Standards singer, started in the Air Force, has sung in ghost bands (Harry James, Maynard Ferguson), first album, backed by a big band plus strings, produced by Mike Lewis. B+(**) [cd] Luke Norris: Moment From the Past (2023 [2026], self-released): Saxophonist, also plays clarinet and synths, has a previous album from 2020, here with Dabin Ryu (keyboards), Tyrone Allen (basses), and Kayvon Gordon (drums), with Abe Nouri adding some "wildly inventive post-production." B+(***) [cd] Adam O'Farrill: Elephant (2024 [2025], Out of Your Head): Trumpet player, son of Afro-Cuban Jazz majordomo Arturo O'Farrill (himself the son of famed Cuban bandleader Chico O'Farrill), has the chops to ply the family trade but on his own plays uninflected but often brilliant postbop. Quartet with Yvonne Rogers (piano), Walter Stinson (bass), and Russell Holzman (drums), with some electronics. A- [cd] Meg Okura/Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble: Isaiah (2022 [2026], Adhyâropa): Violinist, born in Japan, makes a point in the notes of being an outsider ("an immigrant, a Jew by choice in an interracial marriage, and as a musician moving from classical to jazz"), but finding "solace" in composing, and in leading this twenty-year group with prominent names that don't strike me as conspicuously Asian. It's a terrific group, augmented by guests like Randy Brecker and Sam Newsome, playing scores that come from and go to pretty much everywhere. A- [cd] Chenxi Pan: This Very Moment (2025 [2026], Origin): Jazz singer-songwriter, from China, moved to New York 2021, debut album, with tenor sax/clarinet, piano, guitar, bass, drums, violin, and cello. Matt Wilson produced. B [cd] Poppy: Empty Hands (2026, Sumerian): Singer-songwriter Moriah Rose Pereira, tenth album since 2016, opens in pop mode, but follows up with metal thrash, which I'm surprised to enjoy more. B+(*) [sp] Benjie Porecki: Faster Than We Know (2026, Funklove Productions): Pianist, also plays organ and other keyboards, from the DC area, eighth album sice 1996, eight original pieces plus a cover of "Superstar" (which I'm told was "famously covered by the Carpenters," but I associate with songwriters Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell). I prefer the piano to the organ. B+(*) [cd] Reverso: Between Two Silences (2024 [2026], Alternate Side): Trombonist Ryan Keberle, his name no longer up front in this chamber jazz trio, with Frank Woeste (piano) and Vincent Courtois (cello), in what is at least their fifth album together (back to a Ravel-inspired 2017 album), this one original material from all three (3-5-2), this time inspired by Satie. B+(***) [cd] [03-27] Joel Ross: Gospel Music (2026, Blue Note): Vibraphonist, grew up in Chicago, based in Brooklyn, fifth Blue Note album since 2019 (or 7th if you cound Out Of/Into, the "supergroup" I file under his name). Mostly original pieces (two exceptions), mostly quintet with Josh Johnson (alto sax), Maria Grand (tenor sax), Jeremy Corren (piano), Kanoa Mendenhall (bass), and Jeremy Dutton (drums), with a couple of guest spots for vocals and others (like Brandee Younger on harp). B+(**) [sp] Harvie S: Bright Dawn (2024 [2026], Origin): Bassist, originally Swartz, shortened his name because so many people (including me) misspelled it, side-credit since 1973, has a couple dozen albums as leader or in duos (notably with Sheila Jordan). Quartet here with Peter Bernstein (guitar), Miki Hayama (piano), and Matt Wilson (drums). B+(**) [cd] Walter Smith III: Twio Vol. 2 (2026, Blue Note): Tenor saxophonist, from Houston, studied at Berklee and now chairs the woodwind department there, debut 2006, third album on Blue Note, revisits the concept of his 2018 album Twio, with a trio playing standards supplemented by two "eminent elders" (this time Ron Carter and Branford Marsalis; the bassist and drummer are also new this time, Joe Sanders and Kendrick Scott). B+(***) [sp] Yuyo Sotashe & Chris Pattishall: Invocation (2022 [2026], self-released, EP): Singer and piano (or synths or sound design), four songs, 20:35, makes an impression. B+(**) [cd] Harriet Tubman & Georgia Muldrow: Electrical Field of Love (2026, Pi): Avant-fusion trio of Brandon Ross (guitar/banjo), Melvin Gibbs (electric bass), and JT Lewis (drums), sixth album since 1998, with Muldrow added for vocals and keyboards (more than a dozen albums on her own since 2006). Heavy. B+(***) [cd] [03-27] Immanuel Wilkins Quartet: Live at the Village Vanguard Vol. 1 (2025 [2026], Blue Note): Alto saxophonist, became an instant star when Blue Note released his Omega in 2020, has made the rounds as well as keynoting the Out Of/Into label all-star group. First live album, with Micah Thomas (piano), Ryoma Takenaga (bass), and Kweku Sumbry (drums); is being rolled out in bits, with this on CD and LP, and later digital-only releases for Vol. 2 (April 17) and Vol. 3 (May 15). I imagine that at some point I'll have to treat the combination as a single album, at least for polling purposes. I'm underwhelmed so far, but I've upgraded him in the past. B+(**) [sp] Winged Wheel: Desert So Green (2025 [2026], 12XU): Discogs calls then "an indie supergroup," although I recognize just one name (Steve Shelley, from Sonic Youth), and two more bands (Circuit des Yeux, Tyvek), and never ran across their two previous albums. Does have a little Sonic Youth background sound. B+(**) [sp] Jack Wood: For Every Man There's a Woman (2026, Jazz Hang): Standards crooner, "long a fixture in Southern California," has connections to Las Vegas and Utah (where most of this was recorded, cover cites special guests: The Lenore Raphael Trio with guitarist Doug MacDonald. Also strings. I have something of a soft spot for this sort of thing. B+(***) [cd] [03-24] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Docteur Nico: Presents African Fiesta Sukisa 1966-1974 (1966-74 [2025], Planet Ilunga): Congolese guitarist and bandleader Nico Kassanda (1939-85), joined Grand Kalle et l'African Jazz at age 14, left with Tabu Ley Rochereau to form L'Orchestra African Fiesta, discography has always been spotty, but this rounds up a prime period slice from his Sukisa label, available on 3-LP or with bonus songs for digital. A- [bc] Hank Mobley Sextet: Hank (1957 [2026], Blue Note): Tenor saxophonist, Leonard Feather called him the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone," which suggested that he couldn't compete with Coltrane and Rollins, but was masterful under any other light. This is pretty early, but one of seven albums from 1957 that Wikipedia lists, most with redundant or unimaginative titles, some tied to his membership in the Jazz Messengers. With John Jenkins (alto sax), Donald Byrd (trumpet), Bobby Timmons (piano), Wilbur Ware (bass), and Philly Joe Jones (drums). Reissued in Blue Note's Tone Poet series. B+(***) [yt] Lee Morgan: City Lights (1957 [2026], Blue Note): Trumpet player, a key player in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, off to a very solid solo career. With George Coleman (tenor/alto sax), Ray Bryant (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), and Art Taylor (drums). Superb when he goes in hot, less so with a ballad. B+(**) [sp] Tyrone Washington: Natural Essence (1967 [2026], Blue Note): Tenor saxophonist, b. 1944, recorded three albums 1968-74, leaving music for religious reasons, and eventually becoming a Sunni Muslim minister (as Mohammad Bilal Abdullah). He joined Horace Silver for The Jody Grind in 1966, and Larry Young for Contrasts in 1967. This was his first as leader, with Woody Shaw (trumpet), James Spaulding (alto sax/flute), Kenny Barron (piano), Reggie Workman (bass), and Joe Chambers (drums). This is pretty exciting, especially Shaw. Evidently a second Blue Note session was recorded but never released. A- [sp] Old music: Hank Mobley: With Donald Byrd and Lee Morgan (1956 [1957], Blue Note): Tenor saxophonist, one of seven albums he released in 1957, a four-song hard bop blowing session with the two trumpet players, piano (Horace Silver), bass (Paul Chambers), and drums (Charlie Persip). B+(**) [sp] Hank Mobley: A Caddy for Daddy (1965 [1966], Blue Note): One of the few 1960s albums I missed by the tenor saxophonist, a sextet with Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), McCoy Tyner (piano), Bob Cranshaw (bass), and Billy Higgins (drums), playing four originals and one Wayne Shorter piece. B+(*) [sp] Barbara Rosene With Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks: Deep Night (2000-01 [2001], Stomp Off): Trad/swing jazz singer, Michael Steinman raved about a recent performance so I thought I'd look her up. Nothing new since 2013's Nice & Naughty, but I had missed this first album, and I felt like a break from the new stuff. Discogs doesn't list musicians, but Giordano plays tuba and bass, and his band recorded from 1984-2006 (also backing Loudon Wainwright III on his 2020 I'd Rather Lead a Band). AI suggests Conal Fowkes (piano), Dan Levinson (sax/clarinet), Jon-Erik Kellso (trumpet), and Andy Stein (violin). B+(**) [sp] Barbara Rosene & Her New Yorkers: Ev'rything's Made for Love (2003, Stomp Off): Another generous batch of old-timey songs (25, 73:40), backed by a nine-piece band where Jon-Erik Kellso (trumpet) and John Gill (drums) are probably the best known, with notable contributions by Conal Fowkes (piano), Matt Munisteri (guitar/banjo), and Meg Okura (violin). B+(***) [sp] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Saturday, March 14, 2026 Music Week
Music: Current count 45655 [45603] rated (+52), 39 [11] unrated (+28). This is indeed the first Music Week of March. I've been slow all year, and I'm not very optimistic about ever catching up, but I do keep plugging away at it. Last Music Week actually appeared around March 2, but was backdated to February 28, which was a fairly honest cutoff date. I had been held back trying to wrap up an overgrown and unruly Loose Tabs, which barely made it just before Trump's decapitation strike against Iran, and then got sidelined by a minor illness. The squeeze kept me from sending anything to my Substack newsletter, Notes on Everyday Life, although I had a draft piece on comfort cooking in the works, and several more ideas. Those all got shelved by the Iran war. I was shocked and appalled the moment I heard the news, although the shock wore off as soon as I replaced the initial hypothetical (why would any rational leader do something as obviously stupid and counterproductive?) with the names of the actual leaders: Trump and Netanyahu. It's not that they are incapable of reason, although each is trapped in his own matrix of myths (some self-generated, especially for the exceptionally vain and gullible Trump), but their judgment is perverted by enchantment with power and a genuine lack of care for their victims, let alone any longer-term consequences. I felt the need to write something, if only to clarify my own thoughts. I remembered what I had written on March 18, 2003, the day after Bush started his full-scale war on Iraq. I started out:
At the time, the effort to sell Americans on the war didn't seem remarkable: it had started with the neocon Project for the New American Century in 1997, and went into hard sell, no-lie-left-unturned mode in September 2002. In the end, it's fair to say that the snow job failed, with Bush arbitrarily starting the war and palming it off as fait accompli (PR, much like his later "mission accomplished" moment). But as I started thinking about the "day of infamy" quote, it occurred to me that the word belonged more to the ones attacked. A more accurate word for the attackers would be "ignominy": the dictionary starts with "deep personal humiliation, public shame, or total disgrace," then adds "dishonorable actions or loss of reputation." While both wars started in fits of arrogance, Trump's is unique in his disregard for any sense of democracy. I'm not much impressed by Democrats who would like to support this war but who balk on procedural grounds, but they do have a point: this is not just a war against Iran, but one against whatever's left of democracy in America. It seeks not just to engage in war, but to deprive the people of any say in when or why the US goes to war. And while Democrats have often contributed to exalting presidential power — e.g., Obama's bombing of Libya and Syria — this time it feels different, because Trump's ambitions are domestic as much as foreign. The rest of the Iraq war posts are interesting enough I'm tempted to dust them off as a "Big Lookback." On March 25, 2003, one week after the war started in earnest, I wrote:
I also wrote this on April 11, 2003:
I mentioned the looting, the killing of shi'ite collaborators, and mob reprisals against Ba'ath leaders. I could have mentioned Rumsfeld's blasé "stuff happens" quote. I ended with "So happy last Wednesday. That's very likely to be the last one for a long time now." It was. Anyhow, it took longer than I expected (what else doesn't these days?), but I finally sent out my Days of Infamy piece on March 13. Reaction so far has been underwhelming: three likes, no comments. A notice on Facebook got one like, no comments. (I've rather arbitrarily limited my Facebook "friends" list to people I know personally, but that's still over 100. By the way, I just enabled "Professional Mode," which I think will allow non-Friends to follow me. I don't really know a lot about this, but settings are pretty open, and we'll see how that goes.) Probably a lot of "TL;DR." It could have been longer, even beyond the earlier draft of a final section I cut (but it's still in the archive file, along with two more attached footnotes. I'll have more to say as I collect links for Loose Tabs (if you're interested, the draft file has a couple dozen already, as well as a few extras). I'll try to wrap that up fairly quickly (perhaps before next Music Week, which is likely to skip next week). I'm also thinking about following up the Iran piece with a second, hopefully more succinct one. I'm thining the format there should be questions and answers. Here's my first stab at a list:
Most of these questions are addressed in my piece, but not in a very well organized way. I could be more explicit about the political prospects for Trump and Netanyahu, but I thought I'd slip that in under "regime change" (since those are the regimes that really need to change). I could also break out the question of terrorism and other economic impacts. Important stuff, but I think secondarily (even through they're already receiving a lot of attention). Or I could just stop with the first four, and let the rest of the chips fall where they may. Maybe ask readers for questions. I do have a little-used question form. Oscars tomorrow night. My wife has been plotting to see all the nominated movies (except some rejected out of hand). We watch a couple hours of TV every night every night, which sometimes she wants to use for a movie. I have only rarely enjoyed movies for quite some time now. My most obvious complaint is the need to fit a whole story into allotted time, either compressing it or stretching it out, with a story arc that grows ever more clichéd, essentialist, and/or dreary. Still, given that I have a moment here, and I like to be reasonably well informed, I thought I'd run down the nominee films. No reviews, or even grades (which I've been known to do, but long ago). No real criticism (but some griping). Just notes. The best film nominees, as far as I know:
Other films with prominent nominees:
I skipped over several films in the song, makeup, sound, and visual effects categories. In international features, we didn't see: Sirat; The Voice of Hind Rajab. We didn't see any of the documentary features. I didn't see any of the animated features, although L may have. Almost two weeks of records below. Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide got me to reevaluate Buck 65 and Gogol Bordello. Phil Overeem's February list was also useful. I've done some minor updating to the EOY Aggregate. I doubt I'll be doing much more of that, but hard to say for sure. I did save off my frozen 2025 file as of March 1, which is a month earlier than last year, but typical of previous years. Seemed like a good enough breaking point, as my appetite for more 2025 releases has sunk down to my level of interest in 2026 releases. I will continue adding late 2025 releases to that file, marked in color, as well as to the year-end lists for jazz and non-jazz. Aside from the Streamnotes bookkeeping, I've finally caught up with my unpacking, hence this week's oversized list. I'll work on knocking that down. New records reviewed this week: Melissa Aldana: Filin (2025 [2026], Blue Note): Tenor saxophonist from Chile, debut 2010, third album on Blue Note, a quartet with Gonzalo Rubalcaba (piano), Peter Washington (bass), and Kush Abadey (drums), mostly playing Cuban ballads arranged by Rubalcaba. Cécile McLorin Salvant sings two of them. B+(**) [sp] Kal Banx: Rhoda (2026, Top Dawg Entertainment): Rapper Kalon Berry, Discogs credits him with a couple of singles, also seems to have some production experience, first solo album a sprawling 25 tracks, 81 minutes. First half consistently solid; second slipped in and out. B+(**) [sp] Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore: Tragic Magic (2026, In Finé): The former is known for wrapping choral vocals in electronic loops, with four solo (and now three collaborative) albums since 2011. The latter, with solo albums back to 2013, adds harp. B+(*) [sp] By Storm: My Ghosts Go Ghost (2026, Dead Air/By(e) Storm): Two-thirds of Arizona hip-hop trio Injury Reserve (rapper Nathaniel Ritchie and producer Parker Corey), carrying on after rapper Steppa J. Groggs died in 2020. Working through some pain, somewhat short of voice. B+(*) [sp] Ron Carter & Ricky Dillard: Sweet, Sweet Spirit (2026, Blue Note): Bassist, best known as part of the Miles Davis Quartet (1963-68), nearing 90 he probably holds the record for most recording sessions ever (per Wikipedia: 2,221). Dillard is a gospel choirmaster, starting with his New Generation Chorale in 1990, and out in force here. Standards arranged around bass lines composed by Carter, it's fun to focus on the bass, although the rest is overkill. B+(*) [sp] Charli XCX: Wuthering Heights (2026, Atlantic): An unlikely follow up to the huge Brat, a slim (34:34) batch of 12 songs tied to a new movie version of Emily Bronte's 1847 novel. Strings for soundtrack ambiance, and the ambiance is thick, but some songs are striking. B+(***) [sp] Steve Cohn/Billy Stein: Up From the Soil (2021-24 [2025], Hathor Music): Cohn plays piano, shakuhachi, trombone, drums, and Fender Rhodes in four duets with the guitarist. B+(**) [cd] The Cucumbers: As You Heard Me: Songs From "Hello George" (2026, Life Force): New Jersey group, formed by Deena Shoskes (vocals) and Jon Fried (guitar), released a good EP in 1983 and a great LP in 1987, with various stops and restarts ever since. This is a collection of 16 very fetching songs, based on the novella Hello George by Fried (who has several more short story collections). [PS: I have the novella, but haven't read it yet. Too much war in the way.] A- [cd] Daggerboard: The Skipper and Mike Clark (2022 [2026], Wide Hive): Group led by Erik Jekabson (trumpet) and Gregory Howe (percussion), has a handful of albums since 2021. Skipper (bassist Henry Franklin) was a guest last time, joined here by keyboardist Mike Clark, Dave McNab (guitar), Dave Ellis (tenor/soprano sax), Mads Tolling (violin), and Babatunde (congas). B+(**) [cd] Dead Pioneers: Po$t American (2025, Hassle): Indigenous punk rock band from Denver, second album, spoken word, so no compromising he messages by searching for rhymes. The music is as pointed as the critique of settler colonialism, with lines like "the audacity (no the caucasity)," "there will always be another settler to take your place," and an Indian name I can't transcribe which means "white person who talks too much, presumes too much, and has no boundaries, which is a mouthful." A- [sp] DJ Eprom: We Are the Biobots (2026, JuNouMi): Polish electronica producer Michal Baj ("who has ties to Silesia") has synthesized the perfect Kraftwerk album, built from turntable scratch samples and electronically processed vocals. Thankfully, the robot world is one we can still laugh at. A- [sp] Art Edmaiston & Chad Fowler: Memphis Mandala (2024 [2026], Mahakala Music): Tenor/soprano saxophonist from Tennessee, based in Memphis since 1990, has quite a few side credits since 1997, mostly with blues groups like JJ Grey & Mofro. Gets a shot at a free jazz album, with label head Fowler playing strich and flute, backed by bass (Damon Smith) and two drummer/percussionists (Ra Kalam Bob Moses and Clifford "Pee Wee" Jackson). Seems a little subdued. B+(*) [sp] John Ellis & Double Wide: Fireball (2019 [2026], Sunnyside): Saxophonist from North Carolina, albums since 1997, band connected to New Orleans with Jason Marsalis (drums), Alan Ferber (trombone), Matt Perrine (sousaphone), and Gary Versace (keyboards; one track also with Rogerio Boccato on percussion). Recording date inferred from doc. The low brass is delightful. B+(**) [sp] Fakemink: The Boy Who Cried Terrified (2026, EtnaVeraVela, EP): British rapper, has a previous album (21:17) as 9090gate, this one runs 7 songs, 14:39. B+(*) [sp] The Femcels: I Have to Get Hotter (2026, Getting Hotter): British group, first album, sketchy punk-pop, often slips off the beat and sometimes out of tune, which is both appeal and some kind of limit. 16 songs, 32:31. B+(**) [sp] Bill Frisell: In My Dreams (2025 [2026], Blue Note): Jazz guitarist, major figure since 1980, one frequent theme is his use of folk materials (including "Hard Times" and "Home on the Range" here). Group with strings — Jenny Scheinman (violin), Eyvind Kang (viola), Hank Roberts (cello), Thomas Morgan (double bass) — and drums (Rudy Royston). B+(**) [sp] Peter Furlan: The Peter Furlan Project Live at Maureen's Jazz Cellar (2025 [2026], Beany Bops): Tenor/soprano saxophonist, composer and arranger, Discogs credits him for this and two other albums (1981-83). Fairly large group (nine pieces), allowing for some interesting solo textures. B+(*) [cd] Heavenly: Highway to Heavenly (2026, Skep Wax): British twee pop band, released four albums and an EP 1991-96, Amelia Fletcher the singer, first album since reuniting in 2023. B+(*) [sp] Imarhan: Essam (2026, City Slang): Tuareg desert rock band from the Algerian side of the Sahara. Reports are that earlier albums distinguished themselves by rocking harder than their similar-sounding contemporaries, but this one starts out leisurely, and hardly suffers from doing so. B+(***) [sp] Jon Irabagon: Focus Out (2022 [2026], Irrabagast): Saxophonist, alto here, a star in Moppa Elliott's Mostly Other People Do the Killing, has a substantial discography on his own. Quartet with Matt Mitchell (keyboards), Chris Lightcap (bass), and Dan Weiss (drums), plus guest spots, including two Kokayi raps, and spots for trumpet, guitar, and tenor sax (two at once). B+(***) [cd] [03-13] Jon Irabagon and Dan Oestreicher: Saturday's Child (2023 [2026], Irrabagast): Instruments not listed, but Oestreicher is a New Orleans-based baritone saxophonist who likely goes even lower here, giving this a delightfully jaunty oom-pah feel. Just the two of them, as far as I can tell. B+(***) [cd] Lazy Californians: Back to San Francisco (2026, Angel Island): Group led by Cameron Washington, plays trumpet and vocals, based in San Francisco, patterned on New Orleans brass bands but supplements trad jazz with rap and funk organ and more. B+(***) [cd] Shawn Lovato: Biotic (2024 [2026], Endectomorph Music): Bassist, has a couple previous albums, this one a trio with Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax) and Henry Mermer (drums), a fine example of the form. B+(***) [cd] Mandy, Indiana: Urgh (2026, Sacred Bones): French singer-songwriter Valentine Caulfield, mostly in French, organized the band in Manchester, although they also have a toehold in Berlin. Second album, with Scott Fair (guitar, production), Simon Catling (synthesizer), and Alex Macdougall (drums) sharing writing credits. Mostly going off sound here, which is dense but hard to parse. B+(**) [sp] The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis: Deface the Currency (2026, Impulse!): Guitar-bass-drums trio had a couple albums (2018-19) before they joined up with the powerhouse tenor saxophonist. I filed the early albums under rock as the bassist (Joe Lally) and drummer (Brendan Canty) came from Fugazi, although guitarist Anthony Pirog had a fringe-jazz resume (two albums with Henry Kaiser, one a conduction of Terry Riley, a couple more I've heard but don't particularly recall). Time to move them into the jazz file, but I'm not all that pleased. The saxophonist makes a strong effort, but it's hard to sort him out. B [sp] Pat Metheny: Side-Eye III+ (2026, Ubiquity Music): Jazz guitarist, long career, exceptionally popular, second Side-Eye recording (after 2021's Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)), but a different group — the trio with Chris Fishman (keyboards) and Joe Dyson (drums) gets cover billing, plus guests including a vocal ensemble. B+(*) [sp] Van Morrison: Somebody Tried to Sell Me a Bridge (2026, Townsend Music/Orangefield): He turned 80 last year, has developed a reputation as a sociopolitical crank, and he's writing fewer songs (4 of 20 here, not sure how many are new), but keeps active, here with his 48th studio album, mostly blues covers that get a fresh dose of swing. He's in good voice, and plays a little saxophone, some harmonica, a bit of guitar, while entertaining guests like Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal, and Buddy Guy. Sounds good, but wears a bit thin before ending strong. B+(*) [sp] Quinsin Nachoff: Patterns From Nature (2023 [2026], Whirlwind): Canadian saxophonist, based in New York, albums since 2006, some earlier side credits (especially with Michael Bates). Two long, complex pieces (one dubbed a concerto), played by a large ensemble with extra strings, a bit much for my taste. B+(***) [cd] Negative Press Project: Friction Quartet (2025 [2026], Envelopmental Music): Bay Area chamber jazz octet led by Ruthie Dineen (piano) and Andrew Lion (bass), debuted in 2017 with an album called Eternal Life: Jeff Buckley Songs and Sounds, this their fifth album (although Discogs only lists their first), supplemented here by the Friction Quartet ("a cutting-edge string ensemble"). B+(*) [cd] Angelika Niescier: Chicago Tapes (2025 [2026], Intakt): Alto saxophonist, born in Poland, debut album 2000, with a fairly well known pick up band in Chicago, names on the cover: Jason Adasiewicz (vibes), Nicole Mitchell (flute), Mike Reed (drums), Dave Rempis (alto/tenor sax), and Luke Stewart (bass). B+(***) [sp] PVA: No More Like This (2026, It's All for Fun): British electropop, or perhaps trip-hop, group; second album, has a striking sound. B+(***) [sp] Ratboys: Singin' to an Empty Chair (2026, New West): Chicago indie rock band, Julia Steiner the singer, guitarist David Sagan the other principal, sixth studio album since 2015. B+(**) [sp] Ron Rieder: Compositions in Blue and Other Hues (2024 [2026], Meson): Composer, based in Boston, has a couple of recent Latin jazz albums, this a collection of more conventionally postbop pieces, played by a quintet I scarcely recognize — Yaure Muñiz (trumpet) is on some Cuban albums I've heard, and Mark Lockwood (bass) was in the Fringe. B+(**) [cd] Brandon Seabrook: Hellbent Daydream (2026, Pyroclastic): Guitarist, also plays banjo, albums since 2014, many credits, has leaned toward metal noise, does some kind of chamber jazz experiment here, with bass (Henry Fraser), violin (Erica Dicker), and keyboards (Elias Stemeseder). Has some interest, but not much appeal. B+(*) [cd] Shabaka: Of the Earth (2026, Shabaka): Last name Hutchings, British saxophonist, has been a major figure in groups like Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming, his own Ancestors, has a couple solo albums, at one point swore off sax in favor of flute, but seems to have recovered. Solo, with rhythm tracks and some rap. Still a lot of flute. B+(*) [sp] Sleaford Mods: The Demise of Planet X (2026, Rough Trade): British post-punk duo, started in 2007 with raw rap vocals, has evolved into something slightly more sung, like Psychedelic Furs. Lyrics matter, but so far I'm mostly taking theirs on faith. B+(**) [sp] Squirrel Nut Zippers: Squirrel Nut Zippers Starring in "Fat City" (The Ballad of Lil' Tony) (2026, Music Maker): Swing revival band from North Carolina, first appeared in 1995, five albums up through 2000, after which Jimbo Mathis recorded as a solo, and others scattered. A couple revivals later, he returns with a suite of songs based on his grandfather, Tony Malvezzi, "a bootlegger and juke joint operator" who moved on to promoting big bands in New Orleans. B+(**) [sp] Karen Stachel, Norbert Stachel & LehCats: Live @ the Breakroom With Giovanni Hidalgo (2024 [2025], Purple Room Productions, 2CD): Wife and husband, she sings and plays flutes, he plays soprano and tenor sax (and more flutes), the band includes Matt Clark on keyboards, Dan Feiszli on bass, and Dan Gonzalez on drums, with guest percussion for more than a little Latin tinge. B+(*) [cd] [03-20] Teen Jesus & the Jean Teasers: Glory (2025, Mom + Pop Music): Australian riot grrrl-inspired quartet, second album after a couple EPs, 10 snappy songs in 29:16, songcraft up, energy down. B+(**) [sp] They Might Be Giants: Eyeball (2026, Idlewild, EP): John Flansburgh and John Linnell, their 1986 debut was my favorite album of the year, although I've never again been so taken by their musical and lyrical wit. Four songs, 8:31, one a remix. B- [sp] Zu: Ferrum Sidereum (2026, House of Mythology): Italian group, founded 1999, came to my attention in jazz but always had a fondness for noise and lately have gravitated toward metal. Principally Luca T Mai (sax) and Massimo Pupillo (bass), both also on keyboards, plus new drummer Paolo Mongardi. I have this tagged as "avant-metal," but it's instrumental, and as tricky as ever. B+(**) [sp] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Kelan Phil Cohran & Legacy: African Skies (1993 [2025], Listening Position): Trumpet player (1927-2017), in Sun Ra Arkestra 1959-61, recorded several albums, leading Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. Plays various instruments here (congas, flute, guitar, harp, trumpet, violin uke, and his own invention of an electrified kalimba, the frankiphone). Starts uncertain, with some vocals, but finds its groove, highlighted by a blues. A- [bc] Marty Ehrlich/Julius Hemphill: Circle the Heart (1982 [2026], Relative Pitch): Hemphill (1938-95) founded the Black Artists Group in St. Louis, which Ehrlich joined before moving to New York. Duets, both playing soprano and alto sax, and flute, with Ehrlich also on bass clarinet. B+(**) [sp] Grupo Um: Nineteen Seventy Seven (1977 [2026], Far Out): Brazilian jazz group, with Roberto Sion (soprano sax/clarinet), Lelo Nazario (keyboards), Zeca Assumpção (electric bass), and Zé Eduardo Nazario (drums), released three albums 1979-82, this find dating from a bit earlier. B+(**) [sp] Abdallah Oumbadougou: Amghar: The Godfather of Tuareg Music Vol. 1 ([2024], Petaluma): Tuareg guitarist-singer from Niger (1962-2020), a pioneer in the Saharan rock style practiced by many later bands from Niger and Mali. No info on when this well-selected classic material was recorded, but Sahel Sounds released another good album from 1995, Anou Malane. A- [sp] Ranil Y Su Conjunto Tropical: Galaxia Tropical ([2026], Analog Africa): Cumbia group, from Iquitos deep in the Pervian Amazon, led by singer Ranil (Raúl Llena Vásquez, 1935-2020). Dates are hard to come by, but he/they released a dozen albums starting in the 1970s (Discogs only has dates on three 1974-77 singles, plus some later compilations). This German label came up with a previous compilation in 2020 (plus a digital-only supplement called Stay Safe and Sound Rail Selection!!). A- [sp] Old music: Dead Pioneers: Dead Pioneers (2023, self-released): Indigenous punk-rap group from Denver, Gregg Deal the vocalist, with two guitars, bass, and drums, racing through 12 songs in 22:01. Starts with: "America's a pyramid scheme, and you ain't at the top." Continues: "The foundation of this country is rooted in slavery and genocide, born in the bosom of colonialism," then after noting capitalism adds "this structure is a rigged game." He goes on to admit to being a "Bad Indian" and a "Doom Indian" ("doom sustains me; it's no longer a description so much as a solid indigenous character; doom is angry and real and could care less about how it makes you feel." A- [sp] Madonna: Madame X: Music From the Theater Xperience (2020 [2021], Warner): As the pace of her studio albums has slowed, she's gotten into the habit of punctuating them with live megatour albums — the tours being the main point of the albums. Thus we have The Confessions Tour (2007), Sticky & Sweet Tour (2010), MDNA World Tour (2013), Rebel Heart Tour (2017), and now this, following her excellent Madame X album (2019). This one was recorded in Lisbon, where Madonna moved in 2019, and incorporates a fado segment, among the new songs that mix in with the always welcome hits. In between, her banter is more sharply political than ever. Good. B+(***) [sp] Madonna: MDNA World Tour (2012 [2013], Interscope): Her fourth live album, following MDNA, her twelfth studio album (2012), one of her better ones. The new album contributes 9 songs ("Turn Up the Radio" is one of the best), in a 114-minute, 24-song program. Sound is a bit thin, but the music is terrific, as ever. B+(***) [sp] Madonna: Rebel Heart Tour (2016 [2017], Eagle): Another megatour, behind her thirteenth studio album, Rebel Heart (2016), a concert from Sydney, originally released as a 138:16 video, later reduced by a 22-track, 99:01 album. Eight songs from a good but not great album, plus many more. B+(**) [sp] Masaka Kids Africana: Greatful (2021, Masaka Kids Africana): Group of Ugandan teens (more or less), under the name of a nonprofit that helps "orphaned, vulnerable and abandoned children," in this specific case to become YouTube dancing and musical stars. Second album after a 2019 debut, one more since plus several EPs, including some Xmas music. Several sources misread the album title as "Grateful," which they may well be, but they're also pretty great. A- [sp] Range Rats: Range Rats (1986 [2010], Mississippi): Ragged-but-right country-rock band led by Fred and Toody Cole, "some sad lilting ballads & some punk as hell," seems to be their only album under this name but the Coles have other credits, including the Rats (1980-83, before their country turn) and Dead Moon (1988-2004; I have two of their albums at A-). A- [sp] Michael Hurley/The Range Rats: Dead Moon Night (1986-2017 [2024], Mississippi, EP): "Limited one time edition," consists of the folksinger covering a Dead Moon song from Portland's first Dead Moon Day (in honor of the band, after Freddy Cole's death), followed by a previously unreleased Range Rats song. Curios at best. B [bc] Grade (or other) changes: Buck 65: Do Not Bend (2026, Vertices): Rapper/beatmaker Richard Terfly, from Nova Scotia, seems to be in Toronto these days, called his 1988-96 juvenilia compilation Weirdo Magnet, has released many albums since, with a 2014-22 break, but he's been superb ever since. Short one (14 tracks, 26:43), snappy, as exceptional as ever. Noted: "I don't like this universe, let's move on to another one." [Label unspecified, but Christgau used Buck 65's Substack title. Lyrics here.] [was: B+(***)] A- [bc] Gogol Bordello: We Mean It, Man! (2026, Casa Gogol): New York-based punk band, principally Eugene Hütz, the one constant since 1999, draws heavily on his Ukrainian background. Strong album. [was: B+(***)] A- [sp] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week (actually last several, as I had fallen way behind):
Ask a question, or send a comment. Saturday, February 28, 2026 Music Week
Music: Current count 45603 [45565] rated (+38), 11 [27] unrated (-16). I'm writing this introduction on March 2, but it seems fair to backdate this one. Not that I'm not happy to be done with February, but the shortfall of days messed up my schedule (or would have, if I had followed a normal schedule in February). Besides, the cutoff is honest. All of these reviews were logged by Feb. 28, and I haven't written any more since. Saturday was disrupted by having someone come over to trim the giant elm tree in the backyard. Then I picked up some kind of stomach bug, and I spent most of Sunday in bed. I'm feeling somewhat better today, but remain in a bad mood, and I don't expect that to alleviate any time soon. I published a rather massive Loose Tabs on Friday, where I obviously didn't pay enough attention to the likelihood that Trump would be so befuddled as to launch a war against Iran. I did a minor update last night, where I noted that Franklin Roosevelt's designation of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor as "a day in infamy" applies equally well to Trump's attack on Iran and to Bush's 2003 attack on Iraq. I also wrote:
I wasn't able to follow the news as the attack unfolded, and thus far I've barely skimmed a couple of reports. As far as I've been able to glean, Trump wants to continue bombing for several more weeks. As such, he's wasting the opportunity caused by killing Khamenei: a pause would allow cooler heads to regroup, while keeping up the attack will only increase Iran's resolve to fight back — as they are doing, but thus far to limited effect. I wouldn't dismiss the possibility that Iran could make their attackers feel real (if not commensurate) pain, but what worries me more at the moment is the extraordinary exhilaration and hubris Trump and Netanyahu are feeling in flexing their power to destroy and wreak havoc, especially given how unpopular their warmaking is. I doubt either of them will meet the justice they deserve. I just fear that they're on a path that will only get worse until someone finally stops them (as if anyone could or would). In old age, I often reflect back on maxims I learned when I was a child. One of the most enduring is: power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Sure, Trump was pretty corrupt long before he had the absolute power to kill thousands or millions of people. I don't know how people couldn't have seen through Trump, but for all of my lifetime, we've been brought up to adore and trust American power, despite constant reminders that we cannot and should not. I finally cracked into the 2026 promo queue last week (or two), so that's much of what you'll find below. I have more that I haven't unpacked yet. Main thing that's slowed me down is that my office space has descended into a horrible mess. I'll try to straighten that out next week. Meanwhile, my main source for new non-jazz picks this week is RiotRiot. I also looked up some Neil Sedaka after his death — I've been playing The Brill Building Box, where Stairway to Heaven is a favorite (here's a live take, in a medley) — and I also sampled a couple of this year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees that I had nothing rated by (still missing for me are Inxs and Iron Maiden). I'm not invited to vote, and almost certainly never will be, but Chuck Eddy is, so I followed his link as a checklist, then I compiled a table of the 17 nominees' graded albums: only 4 had A/A- graded albums (Joy Division/New Order, Pink, Shakira, Wu-Tang Clan), so I would have been very hard-pressed to meet their minimum of 7 votes: I wouldn't begrudge Vandross, and admit that lots of (almost exclusively British?) people like Oasis to a HOF degree, and I'm somewhat into the post-New Edition solo/trio albums. But it feels to me like in their rush to induct everyone they've started scraping the bottom of the barrel — although I'm pretty sure that if I did a bit of research I could find many much better individuals and/or bands they've overlooked (e.g., Pere Ubu, Pet Shop Boys, Kid Creole & the Coconuts, Pavement). New records reviewed this week: Michael Aadal: Aggressive Hymns, Energetic Ballads (2025 [2026], Losen): Norwegian guitarist, tenth album since 2009, cover lists last name only, quartet with André Kassen (tenor/baritone sax), Audun Ramo (acoustic/electric bass), Gunnar Sæter (drums), all original pieces, most pretty strong. B+(***) [cd] Joshua Achiron: Climbing (2026, Calligram): Young guitarist, from Chicago, first album, playing original pieces (plus one Ellington), backed by veteran who elevate his game: Geof Bradfield (tenor sax), Clark Sommers (bass), and Dana Hall (drums). B+(**) [cd] Naseem Alatrash: Bright Colors on a Dark Canvas (2025 [2026], Levantine Music): Cellist, Arabic heritage, teaches in Boston, is a member of Turtle Island Quartet, has credits with Danilo Perez and Simon Shaheen. Seven original compositions, 32:03, backed by piano, bass, string quartet, and drums. Zips right along. B+(***) [cd] [02-27] Eddie Allen's Push: Rhythm People (2023 [2026], Origin): Trumpet player, originally from Milwaukee, based in New York, credits back to 1987 (Lester Bowie, Mongo Santamaria), albums from 1993, one called Push from 2014. Sextet here, plus "special guest" Steve Turre (trombone). B+(**) [cd] Courtney Marie Andrews: Valentine (2026, Loose Future): Country singer-songwriter, ninth album since 2008. B+(*) [sp] Kris Davis and the Lutoslawski Quartet: The Solastalgia Suite (2024 [2026], Pyroclastic): Pianist, originally from Canada, put together a series of impressive albums in the 2000s, then moved to the forefront when she set up a label that is much more than just herself. Now she's making moves, this one with a scratchy Polish string quartet that doesn't allow you the option of not listening. A bit too "classical" for my taste, but those not similarly prejudiced are likely to be impressed. B+(***) [cd] Hilary Duff: Luck . . . or Something (2026, Atlantic): Pop singer-songwriter, sixth album since 2002 (when she was 15), only second album since 2007 (when she was 20), started as a Disney "teen idol," has a fairly long (if not all that distinguished) list of acting credits, and has written a trilogy of "young adult" novels. B+(**) [sp] Gaudi: Jazz Gone Dub (2025, Dubmission): Italian producer Daniele Cenacchi, plays keyboards, has been dabbling in jazz, electronica, and especially dub since the late 1980s, moving to London in 1995. B+(**) [sp] Gogol Bordello: We Mean It, Man! (2026, Gogol): New York-based punk band, principally Eugene Hütz, the one constant since 1999, draws heavily on his Ukrainian background. Strong album. B+(***) [sp] Andy Haas: In Praise of Insomnia (2025 [2026], Resonant Music): Saxophonist, career goes back to the 1980s, including the notable group Radio I-Ching. Solo exercises, credit "saxophone, circular breath, nano pulsar"). This format is inevitably limited, but revelatory if you pay close attention. Helps that it is varied but short: 12 tracks, 29:24. B+(**) [cd] Hemlocke Springs: The Apple Tree Under the Sea (2026, AWAL): Pop singer-songwriter Isimeme Udu, has degrees in biology and medical informatics, released a well-regarded EP in 2023, first album (10 songs, 33:22). B+(***) [sp] Joyce Manor: I Used to Go to This Bar (2026, Epitaph, EP): Punk band from California, Barry Johnson the singer-songwriter, Chase Knobbe on guitar, Matt Ebert on bass, various drummers since 2011, seventh album, but at 7 songs, 19:03 I'm inclined to treat it as an EP. B+(*) [sp] Gil Livni: All In (2024-25 [2026], OA2): Guitarist from Israel, seems to be his second album, a quartet with Amit Friedman (sax), Yonatan Riklis (organ), and Yonatan Rosen (drums), so soul jazz? Three covers (including a Lennon-McCartney), seven originals, pretty lively. B+(**) [cd] Chris Madsen/Dana Hall/Clark Sommers: Threefold (2025 [2026], Calligram): Tenor/soprano saxophonist, name listed last but type suggests crediting him first. If so (he produced and wrote 4/8 songs, the others by bassist Sommers), this may be his first, although he has side credits back to 2000. This is very solid. B+(***) [cd] [03-06] Luke Marantz/Simon Jermyn: Echoes (2025 [2026], Chill Tone): Presented as duets (although a drummer is also credited), Marantz plays piano/keyboards, Jermyn electric guitar and bass. Marantz has a fair number of side credits since 2011. Jermyn, from Ireland but based in New York, had a debut album in 2010 (solo electric bass). B+(**) [cd] Bruno Mars: The Romantic (2026, Atlantic): Pop genius Peter Gene Hernandez, broke through with Doo-Wops and Hooligans in 2010, and since then has shown occasional flashes of brilliance without putting together another compelling album. But this is only his fourth, with a 10-year gap since 2016's lame 24K Magic. This isn't lame, but the overproduction is pretty severe. B+(*) [sp] Megan Moroney: Cloud 9 (2026, Columbia Nashville): Country singer-songwriter from Georgia, third album. B+(***) [sp] Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon: As of Now (2026, Lex): Rapper Jamonte Lyde, from Charlotte but he's been around, Discogs lists 15 albums since 2019 but this is his big step forward. A- [sp] Kate Olson: So It Goes (2025 [2026], OA2): Soprano saxophonist, from Seattle, has a previous (2009) album of "improvised duets" I wouldn't hold against calling this a debut, and side work with Wayne Horvitz, who appears as a guest here (3 tracks). Mostly quartet with Conner Eisenmenger (trombone), Tim Carey (electric bass/guitar), and Evan Woodle (drums), with extra double bass (Geoff Harper) on three tracks. B+(***) [cd] The Paranoid Style: Known Associates (2026, Bar/None): Singer-songwriter Elizabeth Nelson, with husband Timothy Bracy, fifth album, pens historico-politico-philosophical tracts set to conventional, guitar-heavy but far from sludgy rock and roll. As someone who is slow to grasp lyrics, I tend to be less than impressed at first, then start to notice phrases and appreciate the clarity of the music. Main thing I've noted so far is that these songs are all hooked to their titles, which are somewhat more oblique than usual ("Tearing the Ticket," "A Barrier to Entry," "Shark Eyes," "Elegant Bachelors," the title song). A- [sp] Pony: Clearly Cursed (2026, Take This to Heart): Toronto indie-pop group, Sam Bielanski the singer-songwriter, third album, with Matty Morand now the exclusive guitarist. Ten songs, 30:45. B+(**) [sp] Brad Schrader: Late Nights With Brad Schrader (2025, self-released): Standards singer, been plying his trade for 25 years, nothing under Discogs, this seems to be his first. Seven standards (23:50, including the all-but-obligatory Jobim), backed nicely by piano (music director Jerry Vezza), bass, drums, and sax. B [cd] Noé Sécula/Jorge Rossy: A Sphere Between Other Obsessions (2023 [2026], Fresh Sound New Talent): French pianist, second album, mostly duo with vibraphone (7/10 cuts), mostly playing Monk tunes. B+(*) [bc] Dave Stryker: Blue Fire: The Van Gelder Session (2025 [2026], Strikezone): Guitarist, from Nebraska, called his first album First Strike (1988), co-led a long-running group with saxophonist Steve Slagle, has lately been in the habit of releasing something new every January. This year's offering is a back-to-roots session with organ (Jon Gold) and drums (McClenty Hunter). B+(**) [cd] Mattias Svensson: Embrace (2022 [2026], Origin): Swedish bassist, studied in New York but returned to Sweden, has a couple previous albums under his own name, plus several dozen side-credits (especially with Jan Lundgren and Viktoria Tolstoy). Wrote all the pieces here, performed with Bill Mays (piano) and Morten Lund (drums). Nice outing. B+(**) [cd] Craig Taborn: Dream Archives (2024 [2026], ECM): Pianist, first came to my attention in James Carter's 1990s quartet, has a wide-ranging solo career with several dozen albums and many more side-credits, ultimately leading to a MacArthur grant in 2024. Trio with Tomeka Reid (cello) and Ches Smith (drums). Talented group, but doesn't really take off (unlike, say, 2025's Trio of Bloom). B+(*) [sp] Vance Thompson: Lost and Found (2024 [2026], Moondo): Trumpet player, founder/director of the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, lost his ability to play due to focal dystonia, but has returned to music here, playing the vibraphone in a quintet with piano, guitar, bass, and drums. B+(*) [cd] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: John Vanore & Abstract Truth: Easter Island Suite (1989-2024 [2026], Acoustical Concepts): Trumpet player, several albums since 1991, started composing this suite in the 1980s and recorded the first movement in 1989, returning to the studio for the middle sections in 2012, then the final movement in 2024. The groups evolved, but all are deep in brass. B+(*) [cd] Old music: Phil Collins: Face Value (1981, Virgin): First solo album by the former Genesis drummer, started a string of eight gold/platinum albums (up to 2010), none I've heard so far, which is unusual for someone being given serious consideration for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (but not the only 2026 nominee I have nothing in the database for: also INXS, Iron Maiden, and New Edition). Seems like an agreeable pop album, but the only whole song that caught my attention was the Beatles cover ("Tomorrow Never Knows"), and the only other bits I was impressed by were drum breaks. B [sp] The Damned: Damned Damned Damned (1977, Stiff): English punk rock group, first album, Dave Vanian the singer, backed by guitar (Brian James), bass (Captain Sensible), and drums (Rat Scabies), produced by Nick Lowe. I recall the group getting a lot of hype at the time, but little respect. Sounds pretty good at first, a little short of material toward the final rave up. B+(**) [yt] New Edition: New Edition (1984, MCA): Another RRHOF nominee I totally missed, released 7 studio albums 1983-2004, selling over 20 million copies. Boy group, conceived as successor to the Jackson 5, updated with some rap to coin the term "new jack swing," the five members on this second album went on to solo acts for Bobby Brown and Ralph Tresvant as well as the trio known as Bell Biv Devoe. (Later member was/is Johnny Gill.) B+(**) [sp] The OKeh Rhythm & Blues Story: 1949-1957 (1949-57 [1993], Epic/Legacy, 3CD): Label founded 1918 by Otto Karl Erich Heinemann (1876-1965), recorded early "race" records including Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Sevens. The label was sold to Columbia in 1926, sold off in 1934 and bought back by CBS in 1938, which periodically shut it down and revived it. This was their prime R&B period, with plenty of hot jump blues, but nothing I recognize from standard compilations (like Rhino's fabulous The R&B Box), and a shortage of star power (the "big" names here are Big Maybelle, Chuck Willis, Hadda Brooks, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins). B+(***) [sp] Rosé: Rosie (2024, The Black Label/Atlantic): Born in New Zealand, raised in Australia, moved to South Korea (where her parents had emigrated from) and joined the bestselling girl group Blackpink, released a solo "single album" in 2021 (6:15, expanded on CD to 12:30), then this studio album, which belatedly came to my attention thanks to the Bruno Mars feature "APT." That single sound pretty good, but it's hardly helped by an overload of ballads, even if they're not bad. B+(*) [sp] Neil Sedaka: Sings His Greatest Hits (1958-62 [1963], RCA): Brill Building songwriter, an original member of the Tokens (which had a 1961 hit with "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"), recorded a half-dozen top-ten singles 1959-62, which loom large here. Seems like he should have a memorable period compilation. This comes close. B+(***) [yt] Neil Sedaka: Neil Sedaka and the Tokens (1956-57 [1963], Guest Star): Short compilation (10 songs, 21:54), unclear exactly when recorded (Google says that Sedaka left to go solo in 1958), but 6 songs are credited to Sedaka alone, 2 with the Tokens, and 2 (twisters) to Joe Martin and His Orchestra. B [sp] Neil Sedaka: Sedaka's Back (1972-73 [1974], Rocket): Elton John's label compiled this from three UK-only LPs, including songs that were hits for others, and one that became his first since 1962, and set him up for years to come. B+(*) [sp] Unpacking: I have stuff but haven't logged it yet. Ask a question, or send a comment. Saturday, February 21, 2026 Music Week
February archive (in progress). Music: Current count 45565 [45523] rated (+42), 27 [29] unrated (-2). The usual plan is to publish Music Week on Mondays (often late). It shouldn't matter how many records I have reviewed. Most weeks I come up with about 30 albums. Last time I came up short with 5. I had been hobbled by a cold, and was way down in mid-winter dumps. A week later (Monday, Feb. 16) I felt even less like publishing, but had started to write up some albums. My main boost was from Robert Christgau's February 2026 Consumer Guide, which came out on the 11th. I also, for the first time this year, started to play new albums from my demo queue. I was running thin on 2025 albums, and it was just easier to go with what I had sitting around. By mid-week, I was starting to feel like I had enough to go with. I did the cut over Friday morning, but didn't start writing this introduction until today. The reason for the delay is that I wanted to answer a couple of questions. One was about my relationship to Christgau, and how we differ in taste. The other was about all my bitching since . . . well, there's no clear cut starting date (unless you want to blame the world, in which case 2024-11-08 is an obvious candidate, and 2023-09-07 another). But as an engineer, I know that catastrophic ruptures are always preceded by stress fractures, and I've been attuned to those particular ones for a long time now. My disappointment and dismay isn't just because they happened, but because they had seemed so totally foreordained, and because the people we trusted to solve our problems have been so clueless for so long. I don't have much in the way of future plans. I do have enough Loose Tabs for a post, so that will be next, Music Week will be pushed back until I have that squared away. I haven't found any time to work on Notes on Everyday Life letters. I have several ideas, but just haven't been able to concentrate. I organized some book outline materials for a dinner a week or two ago, but haven't followed up on that. The best I can say is that I keep reading, thinking. After several lean weeks, a lot of good records this time around. Thomas Anderson, Grant Peeples, and Tommy Womack were my initial finds from the Christgau Consumer Guide, and I wound up looking into Peeples' back catalog. The extra day gave me a chance to reevaluate Zach Bryan and Nandipha808, so I nudged them over the line as well. Phil Overeem suggested Mark Lomax II and Ren, as well as several others. I've done a bit of extra work on the EOY Aggregate, which pointed me at a couple more albums (most notably Gasper Nali). Tomeka Reid came from my demo queue (also in Overeem). I noticed that Spotify has most of the old Yazoo blues compilations, so I started looking for a few I had noted but missed. Not clear how much effort I'm going to put into finding new stuff going forward, but I do expect to continue reviewing whatever comes my way. (By the way, I have a couple recent shipments not yet logged in "Unpacking.") Still, old habits are hard to break, so my guess is that future Music Weeks will be more like this one than than the last one. But they probably won't sync up to Mondays for a while. And I'm way behind on bookkeeping work, which will continue to lag. New records reviewed this week: Idris Ackamoor Ankhestra/Rhodessa Jones/Danny Glover: Artistic Being (2024 [2025], Strut): Originally Bruce Baker, from Chicago, plays alto sax, several albums since 1973, mostly with an Afrocentric group he called the Pyramids. He leads a 14-piece group here, joined by spoken word poets — Jones recorded with him in 1985, Glover is the famous actor. B+(*) [sp] Thomas Anderson: Letters From the Hermit Kingdom (2026, Out There): Singer-songwriter from Oklahoma, debut 1988, Spotify says he gets 61 plays monthly, which is dishearteningly low for a guy with a dozen-plus albums worth your attention. This is another one, done a bit lighter than usual. A- [sp] Eric Bibb: One Mississippi (2026, Repute): Blues singer-songwriter, started in the 1970s, has been a reliable producer of easy-going, engaging albums since 1997. B+(**) [sp] Zach Bryan: With Heaven on Top (2026, Belting Bronco/Warner): Country singer-songwriter, sixth album since 2019, bestsellers since his 2022 breakthrough, runs 25 songs, 78:16. Clearly a prodigious talent. I'm not sure he's worth the trouble, but also not sure he isn't (and note that I've underrated his records before). [PS: Gave this another play, and bumped this up a bit. One line that struck me was "but what if I don't want children, to grow up like their father."] A- [sp] Buck 65: Do Not Bend (2026, Handsmade): Rapper/beatmaker Richard Terfly, from Nova Scotia, seems to be in Toronto these days, called his 1988-96 juvenilia compilation Weirdo Magnet, has released many albums since, with a 2014-22 break, but he's been superb ever since. Short one (14 tracks, 26:43), snappy but not all that exceptional. Noted: "I don't like this universe, let's move on to another one." B+(***) [bc] Cat Clyde: Live at Rare Bird Farm: A Benefit Album for Western North Carolina (2024 [2025], Socan Canada): Folkie singer-songwriter from Canada, half-dozen albums since 2017, had an attachment to Appalachia, explored here following her tour of hurricane wreckage. B+(**) [bc] Michael Dease With the MSU Jazz Trombones: Spartan Strong (2024 [2026], Origin): Trombonist, has twenty-some albums since 2007, teaches at Michigan State, rounded up a couple dozen students here, backed by piano-bass-drums, with guest spots for Benny Benack III (vocals) and Sharel Cassity (alto sax), one track each. Rather fun, but can wear thin. B+(**) [cd] Dry Cleaning: Secret Love (2025, 4AD): English group, Florence Shaw spoken lyrics over a vaguely post-punk hum and strum, attractive as far as it goes. B+(***) [sp] EsDeeKid: Rebel (2025, Lizzy/XV): UK rapper, first album, wears a mask but compositions are credited to Harley Riecansky. Sharp, goes fast through eleven songs, 20:50. B+(*) [sp] Michael Hampton: Into the Public Domain (2025, Sound Mind): Funkadelic guitarist, sometimes appeared as "Kidd Funkadelic," secure slot in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but limited discography under his own name, with a 1998 album in Japan and a collection of P-Funk Guitar Riffs for DJ's. Instrumental album, some nifty guitar pyrotechnics. B+(**) [sp] Haley Heynderickx/Max García Conover: What of Our Nature (2025, Fat Possum): Folkie singer-songwriters from Portland, each with a couple of previous solo albums, second album together, reading and thinking about Woody Guthrie here, partly to up their political game. One line I noted, about "brilliant minds to to college, just to study marketing." More here worth quoting, and probably more I missed. (Like: "The terrorists look like my mother, and do most of the same kind of stuff.") B+(***) [sp] Jackzebra: Hunched Jack Mixtape (2025, Surf Gang): Chinese plugg rapper, Zhang Zhengkai, from Chengdu, has a couple previous albums. B [sp] Liquid Mike: Hell Is an Airport (2025, AWAL): Indie rock group from Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, principally singer-songwriter Mike Maple, sixth album since 2021. Fourteen songs, 27:20. B+(*) [sp] Mark Lomax II & the Urban Art Ensemble: The Unity Suite (2025 [2026], CFG Multimedia): Drummer, based in Columbus, Ohio, has a remarkable run of album since 1999, not least thanks to powerhouse tenor saxophonist Edwin Bayard, but has been little noticed — I initially noticed his 2010 album The State of Black America, which may have been the only album of his to get any promotion at all. Here he expands beyond his usual trio (with Dean Hullett on bass) and quartet (add William Menefield on piano) to include trumpet (Kenyatta Beasley) and alto sax (Rob Dixon). Sometimes sounds (perhaps a bit too much) like the second coming of Saint John Coltrane. A- [os] Michael Moody: The Ecstasy of Love (2025 [2026], self-released): Standards singer, based in New York, has a couple of previous albums, this one fairly minimalist with just guitar (Paul Bollenback) and bass (Neil "Sugar Caine"). Starts not bad, but pretty useless. Ends with "Old Rugged Cross," a mistake B- [cd] [03-20] Gasper Nali: Chule Chule Iwe (2025, Spare Dog): From Malawi, has a couple previous albums, plays a babatoni ("a 3 meter, one-stringed home-made bass guitar - with an empty bottle and a stick"), although there's more to the band, and vocals. One reviewer I've seen calls it unique, but for me it's reminiscent of the classic township jive that spread in exile to Zimbabwe and Zambia — I'm thinking especially of Mzwakhe Mbuli. A- [sp] Nandipha808: No Vocal Album (2025, Stena Academy): South African amapiano album, 20 songs, 130 minutes. Nice array of beats, with minimal chants. Hype suggested this would blow me away, but reality is pretty subtle, something that just sneaks up on you. Looks like he has a lot of recent back catalog to consider. A- [sp] Grant Peeples: Code to Live By (2025, Ping): Singer-songwriter from Florida, dozen or so albums since 2008, I've only heard a couple of them, but he's overdue for a Wikipedia page, and maybe some catalog research. Christgau dubbed this "the most explicitly leftist album I've come across in far too long" based largely on his spoken word screed "The Ledger." I demurred a bit over the Putin reference, but adding "kleptocrat" and the state "operating like a Mafia syndicate" to "the stink of tyranny" was too much to argue with. Besides, he already hooked me with the sharpest song I've heard lately on the "Sunshine State." And he adds some nice sax behind his second spoken word rant, where among much more he notes that "if you feed a poor man, a Fascist is going to call you a Marxist." A- [sp] Kojey Radical: Don't Look Down (2025, Warner/Asylum/Bellyempty): London-born British rapper, parents from Ghana, original name Kwadwo Abu Genfi Amponsah, fourth album since 2014. B+(**) [sp] The Tomeka Reid Quartet: Dance! Skip! Hop! (2025 [2026], Out of Your Head): Cellist, grew up around DC, made her name in Chicago, connected with AACM, worked extensively with Nicole Mitchell and Mike Reed, also with Anthony Braxton and his students, released several impressive albums as leader, ultimately winning a MacArthur in 2022. Quartet here with Jason Roebke (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), and Mary Halvorson (guitar): the latter's power runs first got my attention, but the more intricate segments hold up equally well. A- [cd] Ren: Vincent's Tale (2026, Freckled Angels/Rebel Creator Services): Welsh singer-songwriter, often raps, last name Gill, his struggle with Lyme Disease led to his remarkable 2023 album Sick Boi. This short album (11 songs, 25:38) is only slightly less remarkable, with two interleaved tales, words that hit hard, beats too. ("Democracy isn't choosing between herpes and chlamydia.") A- [bc] Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project: The Longest Way Round (2025 [2026], One Trick Dog): Pianist, also plays accordion, nothing much on Discogs although I have two previous Nebula Project albums in my database. Fancy postbop, the accordion picking up folk signals and whipping them into a frenzy. B+(***) [cd] [02-27] Sault: Chapter 1 (2026, Forever Living Originals): London-based funk collective, many confusingly titled (or "untitled") albums since 2019, this their 13th. When they first impressed me, they seemed like the second coming of Chic. That comparison seemed to have passed, but this rekindles it somewhat. B+(**) [bc] Slut Intent: Slutworld (2026, self-released, EP): Minneapolis hardcore group, Katy Kelly the singer, one of several lyricists, backed by two guitars, bass, and drums. Nine hard hitting songs, 18:11. B+(*) [bc] Time Cow: Scaring 1100 Chickens to Death (2025, Kullijhan): Jamaican dancehall producer Jordan Chung, could count as his first album, although there are EPs, mixtapes, possibly other aliases. B+(*) [sp] Eri Yamamoto/Matthew Shipp: Horizon (2025, Mahakala Music): Piano duets, the former moved from Japan to New York in 1995, working extensively with William Parker. She wrote the songs here, so Shipp, who started in the 1980s, again often working with Parker, is just here to help out. B+(**) [bc] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Dub Syndicate: Obscured by Version (1989-96 [2025], On-U Sound): British dub producer Adrian Sherwood, formed this group in 1982 with Style Scott (d. 2014). A collection of remixes from what they reckon was the band's "classic period." This does seem perfect for their limited take. B+(***) [sp] Doug MacDonald Trio: Live in Beverly Hills (2012 [2026], DMAC Music): Jazz guitarist, albums go back to 1981, pulled this trio with Lou Shoch (bass, plus a vocal) and Billy Paul (drums) off the shelf. Two original pieces, plus standards from Luis Bonfa to Louis Jordan to Jerome Kern. B+(**) [cd] Paul Ricci: The Path (1996-2021 [2026], Origin): Guitarist, has some side credits back to 1995, mostly Brazilian. This seems to be his first album, drawing on sessions from 1996-97, completed in 2021, so he has a long list of scattered musicians to credit. Notable vocal by Abdoulaye Diabate. B+(**) [cd] Old music: Bo Carter: Banana in Your Fruit Basket: Red Hot Blues, 1931-1936 (1931-36 [1991], Yazoo): Mississippi bluesman Armenter Chatmon (1894-1964), first recorded 1928 (he did the original "Corrine, Corrina"), recorded 110 sides. Yazoo's third LP compilation, appearing in 1979 following Greatest Hits (1968) and Twist It Babe (1972), many double entendres. B+(**) [sp] Bo Carter: Twist It Babe 1931-1940 (1931-40 [1992], Yazoo): Fourteen more songs, released in 1973 after Greatest Hits in 1969 (which I still haven't heard). B+(**) [sp] Nanook: Ilutsinniit Apuussilluta (2022, Atlantic Music): Group from Greenland, fifth album, first ever recorded in Nuuk, with "wellknown produer Theodor Kapnas from The Faroe Islands." Sounds somewhat prog, or maybe just MOR, except in a language I can't begin to fathom, but has some appeal. B+(*) [sp] Grant Peeples: It's Later Than You Think (2008, self-released): Folkie singer-songwriter, first album, starts with the touching, fiddle-enhanced "Pitiful Little Town," includes a couple of "talking blues," one a political rant alled "Patriot Act . . . for Dave Hickey" that is even more timely today. Also, that song that so impressed me on the new album, "Sunshine State," turns out to have originated here. A- [sp] Grant Peeples: Pawnshop (2009, GatorBone): Second album, builds slowly, saving "Jesus Was a Revolutionary" for the end ("and he pissed off the rich with things that he said"). B+(***) [sp] Grant Peeples: Okra and Ecclesiastes (2011, GatorBone): Third album, good title, which pops up in a song called "My People Come From the Dirt." B+(**) [sp] Grant Peeples: Prior Convictions (2012, GatorBone):
Fourth album, produced by Gurf Morlix, features a duet with Ruthie
Foster on a Dylan song, followed by a new version of "Patriot Act
(For Dave Hickey)." "Digital Edition" (on Spotify) drops one song,
" Grant Peeples and the Peeples Republik: Punishing the Myth (2014, GatorBone): Produced by Gurf Morlix, with enough of a regular band for a co-credit, featuring duets with Sara Mac on two tracks. Good as they are, also consider their Live at Mockingbird. B+(***) [sp] Sarah Mac and Grant Peeples: Live at Mockingbird (2013, self-released): Duets, her given name McElhaney, seems to be her only album (she also has two guest spots on Peeples' 2014 album), mostly his songs with a couple covers but the opener, "I'm Not Scared," seems to be hers: "I'm not scared of anything but falling in love and wasting away" which changes to "but dying and being lonely." Ends with a bitter song about his craft: "all you want to do is make a name for yourself, sucking up to owners and promoters, could it be any god if it's something you sell?" A- [bc] Grant Peeples: A Congress of Treasons (2016, Gatorbone): Another album, more spoken word, more duets, more stuff that largely escaped my grasp. B+(*) [sp] The Roots of Rap: Classic Recordings from the 1920's and 30's (1926-36 [1996], Yazoo): Not really, but easy enough to assemble a collection of little noticed r&b records that are more talked than sung, some flirting with the notion of jive. B+(***) [sp] Charlie Spand: Dreaming the Blues: The Best of Charlie Spand (1929-31 [2002], Yazoo): Barrelhouse pianist, blues singer-songwriter, recorded 22 songs 1929-31, 8 more in 1940. This collects all the songs from the earlier sets. (He repeated some titles in 1940, so it is possible that some slipped in, but seems unlikely.) B+(**) [sp] St. Louis Town 1927-1932 (1927-32 [1991], Yazoo): Fourteen tracks from obscure eight St. Louis bluesmen: one each from Jim Jackson, Henry Spaulding, Joe Stone, and Henry Townsend; two from Hi Henry Brown, Teddy Darby, and Jelly Jaw Short; and four from Charley Jordan. (Townsend had a notable second act in the 1960s, as did J.D. Short; Jackson I think of as a Memphis guy, but he got in here with a twist on "St. Louis Blues"; Jordan was the most prolific, with three volumes on Document, and two 2-CD comps.) B+(**) [sp] Grade (or other) changes: Tommy Womack: Live a Little (2025, Schoolkids): Singer-songwriter from Kentucky, long based on Nashville, ninth album since 1998, good ones, some exceptional. Just needed an extra play. [was: B+(***)] A- [sp] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, February 9, 2026 Music Week
February archive (in progress). Music: Current count 45523 [45518] rated (+5), 29 [27] unrated (+2). It was tempting to simply declare "No Music Week" this week, but just as easy to show you what I have. It's virtually nothing, which is about the only point I have to make. I've had a very rough January. While the weather has gotten markedly better the last couple days, I'm still struggling. I've been hobbled by a cold, which is showing no signs of clearing up. But on top of all the other disappointments, I've felt like doing nothing, constructive or otherwise. I've been logging incoming music, but I've only been playing old music, moving beyond the well-worn travel cases to pick out oldies I haven't heard in years. I could see doing that for years to come. I'm not seeing much reason for doing anything else. I still plan to listen to, and write about, everything that actually comes in, but I'm in no hurry. I do feel bad about never properly wrapping up the 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll. I had every intention of adding a dozen or more comments to the published essays. I also knew that I had a fair amount of website work to do, especially at top level. I update the website piecemeal, which makes it harder to keep everything in sync. I have, for instance, made some local changes in the annual sections that haven't been propagated. I was still shocked to look at it today and find the top almost totally devoid of mention of the 2025 poll. I made some quick repairs today, and updated. I also killed off the forwarders for "25votes" and "25comments": the idea behind them was to be able to shut them down as they get spammed. I've been getting troubling reports about the latter, it what is pretty clearly some kind of scam. I have no concrete plans about the poll moving forward. While most of the participants this year were pleased to see it still active, and many were quite flattering in their thanks for my work, I have serious doubts about my ability to keep it going. Still, at present the big problem is my almost total lack of energy or enthusiasm, which applies to pretty much every other aspect of my life. I finished January with only one Substack post. I have 90 subscribers, which is +9 since 2025-11-13. I have 134 followers on Bluesky. Sure, my bad for not posting more often. (And maybe for not using their apps? I've never gotten the point — aside from the obvious one that they want to own your phone.) The only plan I do have this week is to re-open the "weird" book file. I've been reading books on the growing madness on the right, most recently Paul Heideman's Rogue Elephant and John Ganz's When the Clock Broke, and I've ordered Laura K Field's Furious Minds and Paul Starr's American Contradiction. Field's book is about the so-called "MAGA intellectuals," who are trying to derive a coherent political philosophy out of the movement's mass of irritable mental gestures. Starr is offering a broader history which goes back to the 1950s, which aligns it perfectly with my memories. I've read much more along these lines. The one book I was most impressed by was Kurt Andersen's Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America. In the introduction to the latter book (2020), Andersen wrote:
While this broad outline has long been obvious — back in the 1980s, I liked to tell people that the only boom industry in America was fraud, but I don't recall ever trying to explain how it came about, why it was so seductive, and how defenseless ordinary people had become to its pervasive rot. Recognizing the evil geniuses is only one part of the battle. The other part is understanding how the Democrats had detached themselves from the left and its principles, and how the left had disconnected from the majority of the people. I hope to make some small contribution to better understanding the democratic fumbles. I could add some suggestions on how to fix it, but doesn't everyone claim that? It's not even midnight, and I'm too tired to write any more. So I might as well let it be. Writing about music is so much a part of my routine I doubt I'll stop anytime soon. I suppose I should note that lacking any new A- records this week, I picked up covers of two better compilations I reviewed way back: Kokomo Arnold: Original Kokomo Blues 1934-1938 ([1998], EPM/Blues Collection); and Shave 'Em Dry: The Best of Lucille Bogan (1933-35 [2004], Columbia/Legacy). PS: I watched the Super Bowl, for the first time in probably 30 years. (Laura usually tunes in for the hyped half-time shows, but never learned to follow the game. I watched the first dozen Super Bowls, and was an AFL fan back when that made a difference, but it's been decades since I had any interest in the sport, the business, or the spectacle.) The game itself was easy enough to follow. Both offenses seemed inept compared by my memories, but I learned early on (thanks to Alex Karras) to focus on the line play, and both sides put on tremendous pass rush pressure. The secondaries also seemed exceptional, with New England's Christian Gonzalez singled out for praise, but that was largely because Seattle's quarterback was the more accurate passer. New England's Drake Maye struggled all game long. Nothing here is likely to bring me back to watch more, but I felt like doing nothing for the day, and the game was good for that. But I'm left with the sense that football is sinking into pure gladiatorialism. Aside from the game, the big points were the half-time show, and the commercials. I have nothing to say about Bad Bunny, but I'll look into the political reaction and see if I can make any sense of that. For what little it's worth, I've heard six of his albums, enjoying them enough for various shades of B+, but nothing higher. I don't doubt that he's earned his stardom, but much of it (and not just the language) sails right past me. I didn't get the symbolism or iconography. As for the commercials, I found them rather disturbing, but there was so much happening so fast that I never got a handle on it. Again, a subject for further research. If I understand the AI pitches correctly, they say we'll be able to get all of our work done instantly, spending the rest of our (still employed?) time at the beach. I doubt it's going to work out like that. New records reviewed this week: Al Green: To Love Somebody (2026, Fat Possum, EP): Classic, near-perfect string of hit albums from 1971 (Gets Next to You) through 1978 (The Belle Album), gospel with some exceptions from then up to 2008. Four covers (16:40): title from Bee Gees, closer from R.E.M., two Lou Reed in the middle ("Perfect Day" the single, with Raye). B+(**) [sp] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: None. Old music: Lucille Bogan/Walter Roland: (1927-1935) (1927-35 [1992], Yazoo): Classic female blues singer (1897-1948), original name Lucille Anderson, married a Bogan in 1914, later divorced him, also released songs as Bessie Jackson, the name that appears on the earliest Yazoo LP of this material (1969). Vocals divided here, with Roland playing piano or guitar, but sometimes others. Bogan's best-known songs are missing. B+(**) [sp] CeDell Davis: Feel Like Doin' Something Wrong (1993 [1994], Fat Possum): Blues guitarist-singer-songwriter (1926-2017), from Arkansas, developed a distinctive variation on slide guitar after polio, active since 1953, but it wasn't until 1993 when this first album was released (on Demon in UK; picked up by Fat Possum in US B+(***) [sp] CeDell Davis: The Best of CeDell Davis (1994, Fat Possum): Actually a new session, backed by Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit, but they may have guessed that a newly discovered bluesman well into his 60s could sell a back story. B+(**) [sp] Casey Bill Weldon/Kokomo Arnold: Bottleneck Guitar Trendsetters of the 1930's (1927-38 [1992], Yazoo): Seven tracks by each, although either could have filled a compilation: Blues Collection has a CD by each, Classic Blues as 2-CD sets, and Document has 3-4 CDs of completism, nearly all from 1934-38. They're pretty easy to tell apart, with Weldon the more genteel songster, Arnold with a darker disposition. Both have disputed birth dates (per Wikipedia), and both quit in 1938. I'm not sure that the balance particularly works (although originally intended for separate LP sides), but both could merit further research. B+(***) [sp] Ask a question, or send a comment. Friday, January 31, 2025 Music Week
January archive (in progress). Music: Current count 45518 [45484] rated (+34), 27 [23] unrated (+4). I lost my mind last night. The closest I can come to a rational explanation is that a fairly ordinary cold disrupted my schedule, and I lost all sense of time. I went to bed early, perhaps just looking for warmth, and fell asleep. I slept poorly. Laura, for whom sleeping is always difficult, expressed concern, which I had trouble processing. I woke up once, expecting it to be morning, and found the world outside unaccountably dark gray. A couple hours later, the clock registered 2:30, which I decided was enough sleep. I came downstairs, found it dark outside, noticed that I missed last night's pills. I had some breakfast, and only later I noticed that the computer clock was registering 3AM. I worked on some stuff until 6AM, then figured I might as well try bed again. I slept until noon, fitfully, but I logged over nine hours. This time when I awoke it was bright and sunny, and had warmed from 16 to 32F (and later to 40). Yesterday I started writing up a Substack post, mindful that if I didn't send another one out by the end of January my monthly stats would be wretched. I got about one paragraph into it, something about the inexorability of time, although the main subject was to be home cooking. I failed, and now in terms of monthly stats, no rush. I've signed up for a half-dozen Substacks recently, which is starting to give me a fair sampling of strategies. Michael Steinman is putting out a short piece on most days. Chuck Eddy may be even more prolific, but all I receive in the mail is a weekly index of things only his paid subscribers can read. Allen Lowe has been more erratic lately: maybe he figures he's done enough baiting and time has come to switch. Dan Weiss is the only one who has comped me a paid subscription, so I'm seeing everything there, and enjoying most of it. (I rarely bother with the interviews, but Peter Stampfel is exceptional.) I've been ambivalent about when I would post another Music Week. I wasn't ready to write off January even though it was soon enough done with me. But in my dilapidated state, I figured this is exactly the sort of brainless busy work I could handle. The hard work, which is the reviews, are already done, and while the week is short they're still of respectable quantity. No A-list albums, which is unusual but not unheard of. (I rechecked a couple albums later, and promoted one.) Besides, it clears the deck for a fresh start in February. Every year, I expect to recalibrate and possibly change direction. Usually, I'm thinking about focusing more on non-music writing. Before I took ill, I spent a week trying to catch up with the news, writing up 34,000 words in Loose Tabs. I found that easy and satisfying to write, although I have little evidence that anyone else got anything out of it. But feeling as I do, I don't much care. As far as I'm concerned, it could all grind to a halt. New records reviewed this week: Justin Bieber: Swag (2025, Def Jam): Canadian pop singer-songwriter, much-hyped debut sold millions in 2010 (when he was 16), sales have trailed off but this 7th album still went platinum, US chart peak at 2 (his first to miss the top spot). He has never gotten critical respect: I've only heard one previous album, and didn't bother with this until it appeared as the only album in the Grammy Album of the Year list I hadn't heard. Played it once. Didn't notice much, but seems like a fairly typical piece of contemporary high-budget popcraft. B [sp] Justin Bieber: Swag II (2025, Def Jam): Counted as his eighth studio album, for 23 new songs, but CD and digital also packaged with the 21-track Swag. Adds nothing much. B- [sp] Caitlin Cannon: Love Addict (2025, self-released): Country singer-songwriter, second album. Rather torchy. B+(*) [sp] Cardiacs: LSD (2025, The Alphabet Business Concern): English prog rock band, formed as Cardiac Arrest in 1977 by brothers Tim and Jim Smith, produced a demo in 1977 and a cassette in 1981, five albums 1988-99, released some new material in 2007, but disbanded after songwriter Tim Smith suffered a stroke in 2008. He eventually recovered enough to work on a new album, LSD, before he died in 2020. This is supposedly that, built around 2007 recordings with Tim Smith credited with guitar and keyboards on all tracks, vocals on five, bass on "some tracks." Fast, fanciful, "psychedelic" if you must, lost (80:11), not quite awful but certainly exhausting. C+ [sp] The Castellows: A Little Goes a Long Way (2024, Warner Music Nashvile, EP): Country sisters act, last name Balkcom, Lily the lead singer (guitar, bass, harmonica), with backing vocals from Eleanor (guitar, piano) and Powell (banjo). First EP after a couple singles: 7 songs, 22:14, several memorable. B+(***) [sp] The Castellows: Homecoming (2025, Warner Music Nashville, EP): Second EP, 7 more songs, less memorable, but they're still pretty appealing. B+(**) [sp] Brittany Davis/Evan Flory-Barnes/D'Vonne Lewis: Black Thunder (2025, Loosegroove): Singer, plays keyboards, second album, an improv thing backed by bass and drums. B+(***) [sp] For Living Lovers: Natural Name (2024 [2025], Sunnyside): Duo of Brandon Ross (guitar) and Stomu Takeishi (bass guitar), both playing acoustic, second album together. B+(*) [sp] For Those I Love: Carving the Stone (2025, September): Irish spoken word artist David Balfe, second album, holds up musically so well I find myself letting the words slip past. B+(***) [sp] Fust: Big Ugly (2025, Dear Life): Alt-country band from Durham, North Carolina, third album, lots of fiddle. B+(*) [sp] Vinny Golia/Ken Filiano/Michael TA Thompson: Catastasis (2025, Nine Winds): "Multi-reed virtuoso" ("piccolo, C-flute, Bb clarinte, sopranino, soprano, alto and tenor saxophones"), many albums since 1977, backed by bass and drums, with three set-sized pieces (115:38). B+(**) [bc] Vinny Golia Quintet: Can You Outrun Them? (2024, Nine Winds): Plays four saxophones and alto flute. Opens with strong trumpet from Kris Tiner, and the pianist (Cathlene Pineda) is impressive throughout. Also with bass (Miller Wrenn) and drums (Clint Dodson). B+(***) [bc] The Vinny Golia Quintet: Out for Blood (2025, Nine Winds): Golia plays four saxophones, panpipes and shakuhachi. Different quintet, although these are names more likely to have previous quintet albums: Michael Vlatkovich (trombone), Wayne Peet (piano), Ken Filiano (bass), and Alex Cline (drums). B+(*) [bc] Buddy Guy: Ain't Done With the Blues 2025, Silvertone/RCA): Old-timer, left Louisiana for Chicago in the 1960s, quickly established himself as a guitar virtuoso, especially when accompanying Junior Wells (1934-98). He's recorded plenty on his own, and is still going strong at 90. B+(***) [sp] Kat Hasty: Time of Your Life (2025, Jackie Java/Thirty Tigers): Country singer-songwriter, from West Texas, first album, after some singles (and a compilation). B+(**) [sp] Hvalfugl: Bag Vore Øjne Strømmer Drømme Sagte Forbi (2025, self-released): Danish trio, "Scandinavian folk meets tranquil Nordic jazz," fourth album since 2018, with keyboards (Jonathan Fjord Bredholt), guitar (Jeppe Lavsen), and bass (Anders Juel Bomholt), plus many guests, extra long (25 songs, 81 minutes). B+(*) [sp] Keefe Jackson/Jakob Heinemann/Adam Shead: Stinger (2023 [2025], Irritable Mystic): Tenor sax/bass clarinet, bass, and drums, from two live sets in Chicago. B+(**) [bc] K. Curtis Lyle/Alex Cunningham: Quantum Nursery Rhymes of the Divine Horseman (2025, Storm Cellar): Spoken word artist, a founder of the Watts Writers Workshop, recorded an album in 1971, appeared on a couple more, but didn't return as leader until 2024, and now has two more albums. This has two long pieces (15:19 + 40:21), backed by violin, for better or worse. B+(**) [bc] Miffle: Goodbye, World (self-released): Tape loops and sound collage, out of Warsaw, first album. B+(*) [sp] Kelly Moran: Don't Trust Mirrors (2025, Warp): Originally a pianist, seven albums since 2010, last three on this electronica-oriented label, but genre is unclear: Discogs offers "electronic, classical" and "experimental, modern classical," while Wikipedia throws in jazz, dream pop, and black metal. Piano sounds prepared at first, mixes with electronics, wanders around fourth world territory, winds up in ambient (a bit of a letdown). B+(***) [sp] Mehmet Polat Quartet: Roots in Motion (2025, Aftab): Turkish "ud" player (think of an oud with two extra bass strings), based in Amsterdam, several albums since 2014, this a quartet with piano (Franz von Chossy), bass (Daniel van Huffelen), and drums (Martin Hafizi). B+(**) [bc] Cleo Reed: Cuntry (2025, self-released): Singer-songwriter, based in New York, studied at Berklee, second album, hard to speak of any genre. B+(*) [sp] Jane Remover: Revengeseekerz (2025, DeadAir): Chicago hyperpop producer, latest (since 2021) of a series of aliases going back to Leroy in 2011. A lot of intense clanking, although that's not always such a bad thing. B+(*) [sp] Rio Da Yung OG: F.L.I.N.T. (Feeling Like I'm Not Through) (2025, MINE Enertainment/Empire): Detroit rapper, hit the ground running with five albums in 2019, second this year, missed a couple years in between (prison?). Aging fast. B+(***) [sp] Sharp Pins: Balloon Balloon Balloon (2025, K/Perennial): Chicago lo-fi power pop group led by Kai Slater, who also records as Lifeguard, somewhat reminiscent of Big Star. Third album. Second was Radio DDR, which AOTY lists as a 2024 release, but Discogs has in 2025. I've made a mess of these two records in my EOY Aggregate, not that it makes much practical difference. B+(*) [sp] Shrunken Elvis: Shrunken Elvis (2025, Western Vinyl): Nashville-based instrumental trio, first album, consists of Sean Thompson (guitars), Rich Ruth (guitar/synth/bass), and Spencer Collum (pedal steel guitar). B+(**) [sp] They Are Gutting a Body of Water: Lotto (Julia's War/ATO): Shoegaze band from Philadelphia, started as a solo project by Douglas Dulgarian, fourth studio album since 2018. Short (10 songs, 27:49), which seems about right. B+(*) [sp] Colter Wall: Memories and Empties (2025, La Honda): Canadian country singer-songwriter, fifth album since 2017, has an easy-going western air. B+(**) [sp] Jennifer Walton: Daughters (2025, Local Action): British singer-songwriter, first album after a couple of EPs. Doesn't really connect. B [sp] The Westerlies: Paradise (2025, Westerlies): New York-based brass quartet, first record (2013) a collaboration with keyboardist-composer Wayne Horvitz, fourth album since on their own (plus a couple more collaborations), retains founders Riley Mulherkar (trumpet) and Andy Clausen (trombone), picked up Chloe Rowlands (trumpet, 2019) and Addison Maye-Saxon (trombone, here). B+(**) [bc] Lola Young: I'm Only F**king Myself (2025, Island/Day One): British singer-songwriter, third album after My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely and This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway, suggesting a SFFR, although my grasp of her lyrics here is so sketchy I have no idea what's tongue and what's cheek. B+(**) [sp] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: The Bill Evans Trio: Moon Beams (1962 [2025], Craft): First piano trio release after Scott LaFaro's death, with Chuck Israels taking over on bass, along with Paul Motian on drums. Originals to open and close (including his first "Very Early"), along with six standards. [earlier edition was: B+] B+(***) [sp] Lee Morgan: Here's Lee Morgan (1960 [2025], Craft): Hard bop trumpet player (1938-72), played with Art Blakey 1958-65, but led about 30 albums from 1956 on, most on Blue Note. This was a rare exception, one of two on Vee-Jay, later expanded with extra takes to make a 70:54 CD, but here cut back to its original 6 songs, 37:47. Quintet with Clifford Jordan (tenor sax), Wynton Kelly (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), and Blakey (drums). B+(**) [sp] Lee Morgan: The Procrastinator (1967 [2025], Blue Note): Six tracks 40:29, from a sextet session with Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Bobby Hutcherson (vibes), Herbie Hancock (piano), Ron Carter (bass), and Billy Higgins (drums) that was released in Japan under this title in 1978 (a US edition from 1978 combined this on 2-LP with another set, but the 1995 CD, as well as this latest vinyl release, just contains the one set). B+(*) [sp] Those Poor Bastards: Songs of Desperation [20th Anniversary Edition] (2005 [2025], Tribulation): Country gothic band, from Madison, Wisconsin, first album, 13 total through 2024 (plus 7 EPs), mostly with titles like Satan Is Watching, Behold the Abyss, Inhuman Nature, and Old Time Suffering. B+(*) [sp] Tony Williams: Civilization (1986 [2025], Blue Note): Drummer (1945-97), joined Miles Davis when he was 17, by which time he had already worked with Sam Rivers and Jackie McLean. Like Shorter and Hancock, he went on to lead a major fusion band in the 1970s, but he also anchored the Great Jazz Trio (with Hank Jones and Ron Carter), and picked up many notable side credits. Rather flashy postbop, not that interesting although Mulgrew Miller is impressive on piano. With Wallace Roney (trumpet), Billy Pierce (tenor/soprano sax), and Charnett Moffett (bass). B+(*) [sp] Old music: None. Grade (or other) changes: Danny Brown: Stardust (2025, Warp): Detroit rapper, sixth album since 2010. Hyperrap: too fast to follow, too glitzy to dismiss. [was: B+(***)] A- [sp] Rechecked with no grade change: Ale Hop & Titi Bakorta: Mapambazuko (2025, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Berlin-based Peruvian electronica with Congolese guitar. B+(***) [sp] Rosalía: Lux (2025, Columbia): Coming off an album I did like, winning polls, still sounds like opera to me. B+(*) [sp] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Wednesday, January 28, 2026 Music Week
January archive (in progress). Music: Current count 45484 [45431] rated (+53), 23 [14] unrated (+9). Last Music Week came out 14 days ago, on January 12. That was the day that the 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll appeared, with fewer notes than I had expected. I was disappointed that I hadn't done a better job of pulling it all together, but I was also worn down, and glad to put it aside. I expected to add some more — if nothing else, in response to whatever flack the poll kicked up — but I had precious little time, or perhaps desire, to carry on. Besides, I hadn't done one of my Loose Tabs compilations since November 24. I had stashed some 4200 words away for another column, but I had collected very little since December 1, and, well, "stuff happens." So I decided I'd take the week and fill that draft file out a bit. I have a system which serializes blog posts, so once I committed to a Loose Tabs, Music Week would have to wait. And so it did. I finally posted Loose Tabs on January 24. By then it came up to 459 links, 31382 words. That's a lot of "stuff" that happened. I've since added a bit more, with red change bars indicating the adds. I just barely alluded to the ICE murder of Alex Pretti on Saturday. I also mentioned Trump's Davos debacle, but missed several aspects of it. I had little trouble finding and commenting on important pieces the last two weeks, but today I find myself all but paralyzed. Music Week should be easy, given that the reviews are already written, and the introduction hardly matters. I can say that aside from the Poll and Loose Tabs and notes on the music below, I've had to deal with three fairly big things:
The cold isn't ending any time soon, but we may manage to get out to the grocery store tomorrow. The one thing I still seem to be good at is cooking. I made a pan of brownies and two batches of cookies (oatmeal-raisin, chocolate chip) for the visiting cousins. Then when the deep freeze settled in, for us I went for comfort food, making my mother's chicken & dumplings one night, and meatloaf another. Records below are all from 2025. Probably the first batch since the poll picked up in November that's mostly non-jazz. I've done a very poor job of tending to my EOY aggregate this year, so I'm often short of things to listen to — not short of albums (which far exceed anyone's capacity) but short of names I recognize as promising. And then I'm short of time to properly digest the things I do hear. It's not a very satisfactory way of working, guaranteed to come up short both on quantity and quality. I wrote most of this, but didn't quite get it up on Monday. Since then I've been torn, even considering the possibility of holding the whole thing back until the end of the month (as I'm not ready to open a February archive, despite next Monday falling on February 2. Actually, I'm not up to much of anything. It's possible I'll update this later when I decide to close out the month. Or I could push whatever's left over back into February. I'm reluctant to announce any plans for the coming year, as the prospects all look too glum, and I'm not sure I'm up to any of them. New records reviewed this week: Algernon Cadwallader: Trying Not to Have a Thought (2025, Saddle Creek): Emo band from Pennsylvania, band's namesake was first mayor of their home town, released two studio albums 2008-11, first album since they regrouped in 2023. B+(**) [sp] ALT BLK ERA: Rave Immortal (2025, Earache): British electropop duo, sisters Nyrobi and Chaya Beckett-Messam, first album after a 2023 EP. Starts in dance pop territory, but midway starts rocking out, especially on "Come Fight Me for It" and "Rabbit Run." A- [sp] Leon Anderson: Live at Snug Harbor (2023 [2025], Outside In Music): Drummer, from Louisiana, teaches at Florida State, has some side credits back to 1998 but first album, a hard bop quintet with John Michael Bradford (trumpet), Ricardo Pascal (sax), Oscar Rossignoli (piano), and Rodney Jordan (bass). Nothing here that Art Blakey couldn't have done 60 years ago, but a pretty lively example of that era, with an enthusiastic crowd, is impossible to resist. B+(**) [sp] Sonya Belaya: Dacha (2025, Ropeadope): First-generation Russian-American pianist/singer, based in Brooklyn, first album, after side credits with Lesley Mok and David Leon. A song cycle, presumably in Russian, "rooted in themes of loss, cultural memory, and resilience, drawing from Soviet feminist poetry, bard traditions, and Eastern European folk songs." Most of that is lost on me, but the music is haunting. B+(**) [bc] Blawan: SickElixir (2025, XL): British DJ Jamie Roberts, based in Berlin, second album, after lots of EPs going back to 2011. Terms like "post-dubstep" and "industrial techno" crop up. B+(*) [sp] The Bug: Implosion (2025, Pressure): British dubstep producer Kevin Martin, early projects included GOD (1991-94), Techno Animal (1991-2001), and Ice (1993-99), has 10+ albums and many singles as the Bug since 1997. Fairly minimal. B+(*) [sp] Laura De Jongh: Fundus (2025, Klankhaven, EP): Belgian harpist, solo, 7 tracks, 24:55, "rooted in the strict, classical formation," "seeks a balance between the natural acoustics of her instrument and the amplified, distorted sound." B+(*) [sp] Olivia Dean: The Art of Loving (2025, Capitol/Polydor): British pop/r&b singer-songwriter, second album. B+(*) [sp] Deftones: Private Music (2025, Reprise): Alt-metal (or shoegaze?) band from Sacramento, 10th studio album since 1995, first seven albums sold well enough to collect some kind of metal, last three have charted about as well (2-5-5 in US, 5-5-2 in UK, similar elsewhere). Seemed tolerable to start, but albums like this turn into endurance tests. By the time I got to the last cut, for lack of anything more interesting to say, I added up the Spotify track plays and came up with 168 million, which is 168 million more than the next album I queued up (just using the millions; add the thousands together and the latter barely topped 1 million, but Deftones would probably pick up at least that much). B- [sp] DJ K: Radio Libertadora! (2025, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Brazilian funk producer Kaique Vieira, second album on Uganda's farthest reaching label. "In his bruxaria universe, the beats are hard, vocals are screamed and bass is explosive, creating an overwhelming, apocalyptic sound." I'd say hyperkinetic, possibly too much, but I'm sure that's the point. B+(**) [sp] DJ Love/DJ Danz/DJ Ericnem: Budots World: 3-Hit Combo! (2025, Eastern Margins): Budots is a electronic dance music style ("slacker" in Bisaya), originating in the Philippines (Davao City). None of these three have Discogs entries I can find (DJ Love also seems to go as Sherwin Tuna, but no joy there either). They split the songs 5/4/4. A- [sp] Florence + the Machine: Everybody Scream (2025, Polydor/Republic): British singer-songwriter Florence Welch, sixth group album since 2009, two more long-term members of the band (Isabella Summers, Robert Ackroyd) but her principal co-writers are "additional musicians" Mark Bowen and Aaron Dessner. This sees pretty solid. B+(*) [sp] Alex G: Headlights (2025, RCA): Singer-songwriter Alex Giannascoli, from Pennsylvania, tenth album since 2011, slightly skewed approach to songs reminds some people of Pavement, a comparison that would carry more weight if he had any songs I liked. B- [sp] Alison Goldfrapp: Flux (2025, A.G.): British electropop singer, previously the namesake for the duo Goldfrapp (7 albums 2000-17), second solo album. B+(**) [sp] Saya Gray: Saya (2025, Dirty Hit): Canadian pop singer-songwriter, second album with a couple of EPs. B+(*) [sp] Gwenno: Utopia (2025, Heavenly): Singer-songwriter from Wales, father is Cornish poet Tim Saunders, grew up fluent in Cornish and Welsh, sings in both but slips in some English in this, her fourth album. B+(*) [sp] Heartworms: Glutton for Punishment (2025, Speedy Wunderground): British singer-songwriter Josephine (Jojo) Orme, father Afghan-Pakistani, mother Chinese-Danish, first album after a 2023 EP. Pretty good. B+(***) [sp] Heems: A Hundred Alibis (2025, Veena, EP): Das Racist rapper, solo albums since 2012 (initially as Himanshu). Six songs, 19:32. Mostly sung, draws on some Indian music, but doesn't really work. B- [sp] The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band: Live at Birdland (2025, Turtle Bay): Seven piece trad jazz band, led by Simon Wettenhall (trumpet) and Conal Fowkes (piano), "New Orleans" is inspiration, but this was recorded in New York City, which seems to be home — the band is known for playing with Woody Allen. B+(**) [sp] Nyron Higor: Nyron Higor (2025, Far Out, EP): Brazilian multi-instrumentalist (keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, percussion), sings some, first album, short (10 tracks, 23:51). B+(*) [sp] Steve Hirsh: Root Causes (2023 [2025], Mahakala Music): Drummer, from New York City, based in northern Minnesota, started recording on this label in 2021, with Joel Futterman, Chad Fowler, and George Cartwright. Trio here with Eri Yamamoto (piano) and William Parker (bass). B+(***) [sp] Hotline TNT: Raspberry Moon (2025, Third Man): New York indie/shoegaze band, fronted by singer-songwriter Will Anderson, third album. B [bc] Hannah Jadagu: Describe (2025, Sub Pop): Singer-songwriter born in Texas, parents from Zimbabwe, moved to New York in 2020, released an EP in 2021, an album in 2023, and now this second album. B+(*) [sp] Vladimir Kostadinovic: Iris (2024 [2025], Criss Cross Jazz): Drummer, originally from Serbia, based in Austria, debut album 2011, recorded this in New York, with Ben Wendel (tenor sax; also Chris Potter on two tracks), Alex Sipiagin (trumpet), Joe Locke (vibes), Geoffrey Keezer (piano), and Matt Brewer (bass). Nice romp for Locke. B+(**) [sp] The Last Dinner Party: From the Pyre (2025, Island): British art rock/baroque pop group, second album, lead singer Abigail Morris, songs jointly credited. B- [sp] Leikeli47: Lei Keli Ft. 47/For Promotional Use Only (2025, Acrylic/Hardcover): Rapper, started with mixtapes (2010-15), fourth album since 2017, title seems tentative (as does length: 11 songs, 29:56). B+(***) [sp] MC BF & DJ Yuzak: Bebeto E Romário (2025, Mandelão, EP): Brazilian electrofunk duo, 13 songs, 24:30. B+(**) [sp] Monaleo: Who Did the Body (2025, Stomp Down/Columbia): Houston rapper Leondra Gay, second album, sharp in spots. B+(**) [sp] Christy Moore: A Terrible Beauty (2024, Claddagh): Irish folksinger-songwriter (b. 1945), couple dozen solo studio albums since 1969, plus live albums and group work with Planxty (1972-83). I noted a number of his albums in my database, but my interest in Anglo-Celtic folk music — from my vantage the distinctions are insignificant — this is the first I've managed to check out. Not my thing, but this pulls me in. B+(***) [sp] Navy Blue: The Sword & the Soaring (2025, Freedom Sounds): Underground rapper Sage Elsesser, from Brooklyn, ninth album since 2020. I was somewhat taken aback when I saw this genrefied as "Christian hip-hop." It doesn't hip or hop much, but does keep returning to themes of faith with heavenly airs. B+(***) [sp] Nazar: Demilitarize (2025, Hyperdub): Angolan producer Alcides Simoes, second album (after Guerrilla), coined the term "rough kiduro," "translating the normally upbeat style to expose the uglier side of what he saw in Angola." B+(*) [sp] NMIXX: Blue Valentine (2025, JYP Entertainment): K-pop girl group, singles in 2022, three albums (with variants) since 2023. Huge Spotify plays, with the title track topping 36 million. B+(**) [sp] Robert Plant: Saving Grace (2025, Nonesuch): Former singer for mega arena rock band Led Zeppelin (1969-80), not sure why I've had so little interest in his solo career, with a half-dozen gold records 1982-93, as well as considerable success with his 1998 Jimmy Page duo and his collaborations with bluegrass singer-violinist Alison Krauss (2007, 2021). He formed this acoustic folk band in 2019 with singer Suzi Dian (credited on front cover), covering mostly blues and folk songs. B+(*) [sp] Noah Preminger: Dark Days (2024 [2025], Criss Cross Jazz): Tenor saxophonist, was our Debut winner in 2008, has a solid mainstream career with 20+ albums since. Quartet with Ely Perlman (guitar), Kim Cass (bass), and Terreon Gully (drums), mostly playing originals (one by Perlman), with two covers (Don Cherry, Nando Michelin). B+(***) [sp] Juana Rozas: Tanya (2025, Sony Music Argentina): Argentinian singer-songwriter, second album, "a clubby tribute to the chameleonic sounds of the Latin rave underground." B+(**) [sp] Saint Etienne: International (2025, Heavenly): British electropop band, 13th album since 1991, Sarah Cracknell the singer, also keyboardists Pete Wiggs and Bob Stanley — the latter also fairly well known as a music journalist. This is fairly delightful, but nothing quite compelled me to upgrade. B+(***) [sp] Ternion Q Expanded: Marbles (2025, Bju'ecords): Danish bassist, long part of Brooklyn Jazz Underground, released a Ternion Quartet album in 2017, with Silke Eberhard (alto sax), Geoffroy De Masure (trombones), and Roland Schneider (drums); returns here as a septet, adding Percy Pursglove (trumpet), Julius Gawlik (clarinets/tenor sax), and Morris Kiphuis (french horn). B+(**) [sp] Jesse Welles: Hells Welles (2024, self-released): Folk singer-songwriter from Ozark, Arkansas, initially recorded as Jeh Sea Wells, with eight albums 2012-18, five more as Welles, then eight more starting with this one in 2024, under his almost real name (actually Wells). Starts with "War Isn't Murder," then "Payola" and "Cancer" ("so if you aren't expecting peace, why expect a cure?"). Double LP, 21 songs, just guitar and voice, and conscience. B+(***) [sp] Jesse Welles: Patchwork (2024, self-released): A dozen more songs, opening with a nod toward Dylan. B+(**) [sp] Jesse Welles: Pilgrim (2025, self-released): Second album of the year, after The Middle, making four in twelve months, with more to come. The songs keep coming, with the short "Philannthropist" perhaps the most pointed. B+(**) [sp] Jesse Welles: Devil's Den (2025, self-released): Eleven more songs, something of a band, starts with "The Great Caucasian God." B+(*) [sp] Jesse Welles: With the Devil (2025, self-released): Alternate version of the 11 songs on Devil's Den. Band seems looser, the extra space opening up for a more graceful singer, and perhaps easier focus on the words. B+(**) [sp] Jesse Welles: Under the Powerlines (April '24-September '24) (2024 [2025], self-released): I don't quite understand what this is, let alone the rationalization, but this rolls up 63 songs (195 minutes), presumably live, starts solo reprising songs from Hells Welles, only I'm picking up more lyrics this time around. Opens with "War Isn't Murder": "The dead don't feel honor; They don't feel that brave; They don't feel avenged; They're lucky if they got graves; Try not to think about the dead, and have a nice day." Then "Cancer": "Cancer is as lucrative a business as war; So if you ain't expecting peace, then why expect a cure?" Then "Fentanyl": "Makes Johnson Johnson oxys look like little beers; Send dough tot he enforcement, they build another jail; Give money to a hammer, they're gonna buy a nail." Later: "I like to complain; You like to complain; We can all complain together." Covers Dylan and Prine, and does a fair impression of both. Also covers Jagger & Richard. A- [sp] Jesse Welles: Under the Powerlines (October '24-December '24) (2024 [2025], self-released): 25 songs (67 minutes). B+(***) [sp] Wolf Alice: The Clearing (2025, Columbia/RCA): British alt-rock band, originally a duo of singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, added bass and drums, fourth album since 2015. B+(*) [sp] Tommy Womack: Live a Little (2025, Schoolkids): Singer-songwriter from Kentucky, long based on Nashville, ninth album since 1998, most of them good-to-better. B+(***) [sp] Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries: Herb Geller Quartet: Barcelona Session (1990, Fresh Sound): Alto saxophonist, one of the key players in the West Coast Cool Jazz scene of the 1950s, moved to Germany in 1962, playing and arranging for big bands in Berlin (RIAS) and Hamburg (NDR), resuming his own albums around 1990. This is the rest of the session that produced Birdland Stomp, with piano (Kenny Drew), bass (Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen) and drums (Mark Taylor), with two guest spots each for young trumpet players Roy Hargrove and Gerard Presencer. B+(***) [sp] Dizzy Gillespie/Sonny Stitt/Sonny Rollins: Sonny Side Up (1957 [2025], Verve): Pretty much the cutting contest you'd expect, backed by a rhythm section of Ray Bryant (piano), Tom Bryant (bass), and Charlie Persip (drums). B+(***) [sp] Billy Harper: Trying to Make Heaven My Home (1979 [2025], MPS): Tenor saxophonist, from Houston, debut 1973, his 1975 album Black Saint keynoted an Italian label that was one of the following decade's most important. Quintet with trumpet (Everett Hollins), piano (Armen Donelian), bass (Wayne Dockery), and drums (Malcolm Pinson). He's a tower of strength here, as he usually is. B+(***) [sp] Hüsker Dü: 1985: The Miracle Year (1985 [2025], Numero Group): Hardcore trio from Minnesota, six studio albums 1983-87, notable live albums to start and end, exceptional power and occasional pop hooks, had such a reputation at the time that I followed them, despite never really getting with the program. Label has been trawling through their live tapes recently, with this 4-LP (or 2-CD) box a big deal. Opens with a Jan. 30, 1985 set, following New Day Rising, that was reduced to an EP earlier this year, then jumps around many other shows. I recognize a bunch of songs, but doubt any are improved live. A couple covers do help. But the length wears thin. B+(*) [sp] Agustin Pereyra Lucena: Puertos De Alternativa (1988 [2025], Far Out): Argentinian guitarist (1948-2019), albums from 1970 on, this with a mix of solo, duo, and small group tracks. B+(*) [sp] Edison Machado: Edison Machado & Boa Nova (1978 [2025], Far Out): Brazilian drummer (1934-90), regarded as a samba pioneer, only a few albums as leader and in Bossa Três. Previously unreleased sextet session. B+(*) [sp] The Lost Secret Dave Wells' Trombone City Band: Live at Carmelo's (1983 [2025], Fresh Sound): Trombonist (1931-2003), not much under his name but he started with Harry James in 1952, played in varios ubig bands (Woody Herman, Marty Paich, Russell Garcia, Jimmy Hamilton, Billy May, Pat Longo, Henry Mancini, Don Ellis), while spinning off groups like Trombones Unlimited and side-credits like Bobby Darin and Frank Zappa. Previously unreleased tape, group with six trombones, piano, guitar, bass, and drums, with 9 tracks stretching out to 80 minutes. B+(*) [sp] Old music: Cliff Jordan: Cliff Jordan [Blue Note 1565] (1957, Blue Note): Tenor saxophonist (1931-93), second album (after Blowin' in From Chicago, with John Gilmore), cover shows his name in red, six more names in black, and the label and number in red again. The others: Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), John Jenkins (alto sax), Ray Bryant (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), Art Taylor (drums). B+(***) [sp] Clifford Jordan: Starting Time (1961, Jazzland): Tenor saxophonist, as cover notes with Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Cedar Walton (piano), Wilbur Ware (bass), and Albert Heath (drums). Three Jordan originals, two each from Dorham and Walton, plus an Ellington cover. B+(**) [yt] Clifford Jordan Quartet: Bearcat (1961-62 [1990], Jazzland/OJC): Tenor saxophonist, plays five originals, two overs (including "How Deep Is the Ocean?"), backed by Cedar Walton (piano), Teddy Smith (bass), and J.C. Moses (drums). B+(**) [sp] Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
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