Music Week (10:5)

A few select reviews from week 5 of month 10 (October 2026).

It's been a heavy week for me, starting with my rather extravagant birthday dinner. I wound up with tons of leftovers. Lacking any better ideas, I've been nibbling on them all week, probably piling on the pounds. I finally finished the noodles tonight, simply cooking more guanciale, draining most of the fat, then stir-frying them in what's left, with a sauteed bell pepper blended in. That still leaves me with ravioli, some of which went into a tomato sauce, seeing as I had lots of leftover tomatoes. I probably have two more meals of them, after which I'm likely to just toss whatever is left. (The torte and tiramisu are gone. There's still macedonia left, but I've never been much for fruit.) I sliced a bit of leftover bread and made a grilled cheese for lunch today. I probably enjoyed that as much as any of the fancy fare.

It feels like the end of the road for my major cooking exploits. Too bad, as it's one of the few things left I feel I'm much good at. Another such thing is my political analysis. I spent much of last week cobbling together two posts in anticipation of next week's elections: Elections Past and Present, and Trump's Greatest Hits. I'm pleased to report that the latter piece will be reprinted in a new-for-me publication on Monday. Hopefully that will steer a few new subscribers this way. My three non-music posts this week basically crashed-and-burned, at least according to the stats that Substack has provided: views are down about 30% from my music posts, and signs of approval/enthusiasm are down much further.

Meanwhile, I barely came up with any music to report on this week, with one album sneaking it from after my cutoff. Aside from the three posts, I put most of the last two days into a Loose Tabs (temporary link, if you want a head start, assuming I update the website). I really hoped to get that done by the end of October, but my drop-dead date is now Monday — otherwise all the pre-election speculation rots faster than my cooking. The full Music Week should come out with the same update (actually, it is queued ahead, so I'm unlikely to add much more introduction).

My wife often adopts "no future thoughts" as a mantra when worries about the future are all but inevitable. I'll try to honor that for now. Then maybe in a week or two I'll have a better idea what the future holds, and how to deal with it. I'm really at a loss for words right now.

[PS: On the mailing, I included the Marc Ribot cover pic, but failed to pick up the album review. Added below.]

◆ ◆ ◆

Gustavo Cortiñas: The Drum Also Sings (2026, Desafio Candente): Drummer, born in Mexico, studied in New Orleans, based in Chicago, fifth album since 2013, an all-drummer trio with Dave King and Isaiah Spencer — Max Roach is naturally on their minds, but they hedge their bets and slip in some actual vocals. B+(**)
[Bandcamp]

Devra Hoff: Baile as Baile (2019 [2026], AUM Fidelity): Bassist, aka (or fka, formerly known as?) Devin Hoff, under which name Discogs lists 12 albums and 130 appearances, as opposed to 4 appearances as Devra (including Sharon Van Etten and Julia Holter). No recording dates or indication that this is a slightly augmented and re-ordered reissue of a self-released 2019 album. Mostly solo bass, two tracks with Holter (harmonium) and Tara Jane O'Neil (prepared autoharp). Should be of limited interest, but I find myself loving the deep resonance of the instrument, and the slow unfolding of the melodies. A−
[Bandcamp]

Miko Marks: Hell or High Water (2026, Redtone): Singer-songwriter from Flint, Michigan, based in Oakland, released two albums 2005-07, emerged again in 2021-22 with two albums slotted Country/Americana in 2021-22, appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, had a bit part on Beyoncé's "country" album. Goes flat-out blues this time, with producer Justin Phipps on guitar and much more, Steve Wyreman adding more guitar, bass, and keyboards. Some Muddy Waters licks go a long ways. A−
[Bandcamp]

Mali Obomsawin: Automatic (2025 [2026], Out of Your Head): Bassist-singer-songwriter, from Canada (Odanak First Nation), debut album 2022, followed that with a Greatest Hits that wasn't. Group includes Adam O'Farrill (trumpet), Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet), bass clarinet, two tenor saxophones, guitar, turntables/electronics, and drums. I never made much sense out of the voices, but the horns frequently impressed. Eight songs (35:46). B+(***)
[Bandcamp: incomplete]

Marc Ribot Quartet: Hurry Red Telephone (2024 [2026], Pi): Guitarist, hype sheet starts "for more than four decades," so he's been around, and "refusing to stay in one place, moving restlessly between jazz, rock, No Wave, singer/songwriter, solo guitar, music for film, Cuban music, and free improvisation." Spins says "Quartet," but credits list 8 musicians, with just Ribot and Chad Taylor (drums) on all six tracks, the bass divided between Hilliard Green and Sebastian Steinberg, the fourth slot a saxophone (James Brandon Lewis, Briggan Krauss, or Brian Settles), with some extra bagpipes on one track. Lewis is especially strong. Maybe Ribot didn't want to overdo it. A−
[Bandcamp: incomplete]

Bulayo: Guitar Songs From Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, and DR Congo (1979-80 [2026], Mississippi): Eleven songs (30:10), field recordings by "a young British-Kenyan musician named John Low [on] the road to learn finger-style guitar from his heroes." This seems slight, but it is beguiling as few vintage African records are. A−
[Bandcamp]

Julius Hemphill/Joseph Bowie/Abdul Wadud/Bobo Shaw: Black Artists' Group: February 6, 1974 [Live From Studio Rivbea, Volume 5] (1974 [2026], NoBusiness): Alto sax, trombone, cello, and drums, with less credited "special guest" Raymond Lee Chang on violin, and some voices I can't quite figure out. Hard to parse the cover, but the individuals are named first. BAG was a collective formed in St. Louis, active there 1968-72, with some members moving to Paris in 1973, then to New York in 1974 (Oliver Lake, Hamiet Bluiett, and Baikida Carroll are among the former members not in this group). Three long pieces, 50:15, two by Bowie, the other by Wadud. A find, especially for the trombone. A−
[Bandcamp]

Sunny Murray/Arthur Doyle/Rasul Siddik: New Light (1999 [2026], NoBusiness): Avant-garde drummer, at first I thought he ruined Coltrane, but I've slowly warmed to some of their work together (although I've yet top revisit his ESP-Disk albums). But he released a superb album in 1998 (We Are Not at the Opera), and this label is finding more from that period. This is a free bash with Doyle (tenor sax/flute/voice) and Sidik (trumpet): two improvs, one piece by Doyle, one by Don Cherry. [And if you want more, also available from the same session, the more-of-the-same Incantations.] A−
[Bandcamp]