Music Week (7:1)

A few select reviews from week 1 of month 7 (July).

Most of my time continues to get sucked up in running the Francis Davis Jazz Critics Mid-Year Poll. With 2 days left to the July 5 deadline, I have 88 ballots counted, with a few more commitments to make the deadline, an increasing number of declines, and many more people I simply haven't heard from. I'll send a reminder to the mailing list tonight, but no time left to do any further invites. There's always a big "mid-terms" slack in voting. We will certainly top 2024's 90 ballots, but probably not 2025's 113 ballots. Still, the people who have voted have done a terrific job. When all is said and done, I think people will be pleased and surprised by all that they discover.

As I explained last week, the ballots are already available online, as well as lists of all albums that have received votes. The totals will only appear when we publish the poll results at ArtsFuse, in mid-July. I hope to move into the writing phase more quickly than usual, as I want to get this done and out of the way.

The idea behind these Notes on Everyday Life posts is to pick out 6-8 reviews from the week's batch, and send them out before I post the whole thing (53 rated, 7 A-list) on my blog (should be up later today, or worst case tomorrow). I'll probably go into things at more depth there. The other main idea here is to keep the intro short, so I don't trip myself up. (This one is mostly recycled, but the news is still timely.)

All jazz this time, as that's been my overwhelming focus this week. There will be a couple of non-jazz albums in the full week post, including a country-ish album I like by Maya De Vitry, which I skipped here because it won't be released until July 24.

I've included Bandcamp links where they lead to full albums (and omitted them when they don't).

Patricia Brennan/Sylvie Courvoisier: Talamanti (2024 [2026], Antlia): Mallets player, from Mexico, based in New York, won our debut poll in 2018, finished 1st and 2nd overall with her last two albums, in a duo here with the Swiss pianist. Piano-vibes duos are rather common, partly due to similar tones, but also because the vibes focus the piano as a percussion instrument. You get a taste of that early here, but then the piano meanders into its own less-but-still-interesting space. B+(***)

Ron Carter & Yotam Silberstein: Duets (2026, Jojo): Bass and guitar duo: the 89-year-old bassist almost certainly holds some kind of record for most albums appeared on; while he's still best known for his 1960s work with Miles Davis, one could probably construct a whole CG from his duo work, and delight in doing so. (Pick hit would be Chemistry, his 2016 duo with Houston Person.) The guitarist has appeared regularly since 2008, with a soft tone and delicacy that I find pleasant but rarely give a second thought. But this brief set (2 originals, 7 standards, 34:02) raises pleasant to pleasure. A−

Alden Hellmuth: Tether (2026, Leiter): Alto saxophonist from Connecticut ("she grew up surrounded by the legacy of the great saxophonist Jackie McLean"), based in New York, second album, seems to be a quartet with two basses (Logan Kane and Miller Wrenn) and drums (Justin Brown), but also "additional instrumentation" (trumpet, piano, voice, guitar, sound design, lots of effects). B+(***)
[Bandcamp]

Goran Kajfeš Subtropic Arkestra: & Avin Omar (2026, We Jazz, EP): Swedish trumpet player, leading a group that includes two saxophonists (one is Jonas Kullhammar), keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums, featuring the Kurdish-Swedish vocalist, leads off with a trad Kurdish piece ("Suleymanieh") that is pretty captivating. Three songs (23:38), the first of three planned EPs with vocalists. B+(***)
[Bandcamp]

James Brandon Lewis Quartet: Omni (2025 [2026], Intakt): Tenor saxophonist, possibly the best and certainly the most accomplished of any near his age (42), has won two of our jazz polls, often splitting his vote among multiple projects. Sixth quartet album on this Swiss label, with Aruán Ortiz (piano), Brad Jones (bass), and Chad Taylor (drums). Still keeps you on edge. A−

SML: Spontaneous Music Live (2025 [2026], International Anthem): Los Angeles-based jazz quintet, third album, two pieces (23:46 + 24:34), selected and mixed from a three-night stand (credit Bryce Gonzales, who mixed Jeff Parker's live EVA IVtet albums). Close-knit group, most also known for their solo efforts: Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Josh Johnson, Booker Stardrum, Gregory Uhlmann. Groove is somewhat minimalist, but the differences matter. A−
[Bandcamp]

Martin Wind: Stars (2025 [2026], Newvelle): German bassist, close to 30 albums since 1993, the title may well refer to the talent he lined up here: Kenny Barron (piano), Anat Cohen (clarinet), Matt Wilson (drums). A mix of originals and standards, with "The Stars Fell Down on Alabama" especially delectable. A−
[Bandcamp]