This page will feature record and concert reviews from our DJs. John Hammel (Mozart To Motörhead) and Jeff From Oxford (The Perfumed Garden) get the ball rolling.

June Edition

Things We’ve Been Listening to Lately

Adam Rudolph’s Sunrise Trio – Sunrise (Meta Records) - Adam Rudolph - handrumset (kongos, djembe, tarija), electronic processing, fender rhodes piano, glockenspiel, thumb pianos, overtone flutes, mouth bow, mbuti harp, cup gongs, vocal, percussion - Alexis Marcelo - acoustic piano, electric keyboards, melodica, percussion - Kaoru Watanabe - noh kan, fue and c flutes, taiko, vocal, electric koto and processing - *with Stephen Haynes - cornet, flugelhorn, conch shell - Recorded by Greg DiCrosta on May 24 & 25, 2024 at Firehouse 12, New Haven, CT.

I still think of Adam Rudolph as a new kid on the jazz block. A wunderkind to boot. And then I’m jolted into the reality that he has had a 50 plus year career and I’m continually awestruck. That’s because his imagination is fecund and curious. His music always sounds fresh and exciting with energy, wit and innovation. This new trio is a prime example. The music sounds like it’s been around a thousand years and tomorrow at the same time. This is timeless music serviced by a trio that know the best music beats in the heart of emotion, color and sound, not virtuosic show boating. And it takes a master(s) to accomplish those kinds of feats! A great record. – JH

St. Vincent – Live in London – BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall (Total Pleasure/Virgin) - St. Vincent (Annie Clark) – vocals – The Jules Buckley Orchestra - Jules Buckley – conductor.

In lesser hands this could be gimmickry but we’re talking Annie Clark here. A lot of artists work with classical musicians to elevate their cache and or musical cred but in this case………St. Vincent’s turbulence is nicely juxtaposed with refined orchestral elegance adding substance to an already substantial body of work. Everyone involved sounds committed to enhancing this music, not encapsulating or inhibiting it one whit. I don’t know how many fans will purchase music they’ve heard or have elsewhere, but they will be missing out if they are trepidatious. Annie’s vocals & guitar work (where employed) shine on this release, which shines a spotlight on her song catalog in all its strengths and glories. - JH

Chuck Bergeron – Bass & Face (Summit Records) - Charles Pillow - saxophone on "Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West" - Phil Strange piano on "Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West" and Duke Ellington’s "Sound of Love (and Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans)" - John Riley drums on "Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West"

Primarily a bass/vocal duet album featuring some of the genre’s premier exponents of the vocal arts, Sheila Jordan, Janis Siegel, Kevin Mahogany, Pete McGuinness, Kate Reid, Leslie Lyons, George Rabbai, Rosanna Vitro & Nicole Yearling. – A swinging new recording with the bass featuring some of the best jazz vocalists working today. Nothing to see here other than high functioning jazz luminaries engaging in wonderful interpretive interplay to delight the aural & emotional senses. – JH

Andreja Andric - The Networked Ensemble Square Zero Concert for Computer Network (Neuma Records) - THE NETWORKED ENSEMBLE: Andreja Andric, Maja Bosnic, Marija Sumarac, Malgorzata Zurada - Laptops Server.

Yikes & wow and flutter me, flutter me, my poor trembling heart! This “thing” jumps out of your speakers like a lysergically altered dragon on a vengeance mission. Avant, electronic minimalism on a quest to crunch your soul into little bits or bytes and poop you out stumbling madly through the neon night, to paraphrase Jim Morrison. There ain’t nothing like this and it’s a mind fudge of a musical trip. I say two thumbs up and even if you hate it, you have to experience it, at least once, so that you have something visceral to tell your grandkids. – JH

Brian Dickinson Penderecki String Quartet – October Songs (Cellar Live Records) - Brian Dickinson (piano/compositions) - Kelly Jefferson (tenor and soprano saxophones) - Jim Vivian (bass) - The Penderecki String Quartet: Jerzy Kaplanek (violin), Jeremy Bell (violin), Christine Vlajk (viola), Katie Schlaikjer (cello).

You have no idea how much I admire and love third stream music. Classical and jazz. When integrated with finesse, talent, aplomb, skill and imagination, it can satisfy the loftiest of musical appreciation and sensibilities. This album and the compositions of Brian Dickinson are superb examples of this genre. Alternately elegance & engagement weave their magic with outstanding restraint and emotional depth. Absolutely rave-able and I’m a lunatic about this album. The three part title suite is worth the price of admission alone. - JH

Tia Fuller, Shamie Royston & Fuller Sound – Dynasty Vol. 2 (Cellar Live Records) - Tia Fuller (alto sax and vocals) - Shamie Fuller-Royston (piano) - Recorded as an intimate duo at Klavierhaus in New York on March 21, 2025.

A beautifully, fully realized artistic homage to their family’s musical heritage and most especially the passing, in 2022, of the family matriarch, Elthopia Fuller. Two covers, Sam River’s "Beatrice" & Freddie Hubbard’s "Dear John" are given introspective & rollicking workouts, respectively. The other tracks are imbued with searchingly heartfelt performances both instrumentally & vocally in this outstanding musical dialogue. – JH

Brian Marsella – John Zorn - Bagatelle’s Vol 7 (Tzadik Records) - Brian Marsella – piano. Is there no end to the prolificacy of John Zorn’s compositional output? The answer is absolutely NO! This man creates new music as easily as other take breaths of air. This is marvelous stuff. Jagged, ragged, intimate, serene, poignant, energetic, clustered chords……..oh, I could go on. Sometimes you get all of those sensations/emotions in one short tune. The playing is exemplary. Marsella played AND produced this record, and I must say that if there are any technical challenges in this music, it is impossible to decipher. Virtuosic. – JH

Bears Sonic Journals – Concordance – 150 Years of Charles Ives (Owsley Stanley Foundation) – John Kirkpatrick – piano – Donald Berman – piano – This O.S. Foundation release floored me on several levels. I did not realize the Ivesian influence on the Dead, particularly Phil Lesh, but once it was revealed in the astonishing accompanying book to this recording, it was an aha, of course, moment. Kirkpatrick was a champion of Ives and particularly this composition with a history of over 35 years’ experience with it by the time of this live performance at the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium on 3/7/1974. He had recorded this amazing sonata, (perhaps the most challenging and greatest of all time) but to have a live document is a revelation. It is offset by a concert recording by Donald Berman in 2025 in Concord MA. Berman was Kirkpatrick’s last student and what he learned from the master, he was able to incorporate and extrapolate with his own personality. He is more forced & energetic versus Kirkpatrick’s fluidity and finesse in flowing around these jagged juxtaposed rhythms, et. al. The sonata is Ives’ homage to the great Transcendentalists of the mid 19^th century and the movements are given their names, in order, Emerson, Hawthorne, The Alcott’s, Bronson and Luisa May & Thoreau. The music is as avant-garde today as it was when it was completed by Ives in 1915. The Berman concert also includes four short pieces commissioned by him from contemporary American composers in which they musically create portraits of other Transcendentalists, Emily Dickinson, by Eve Beglarian; Harriet Tubman by David Sanford; Louisa May Alcott by Marti Epstein, and Margaret Fuller by Elena Ruehr. All these works are more than welcome additions to the contemporary classical catalog, and I pray they have long extended lives. All in all, perhaps the classical keyboard recording of the year so far, and one that will be hard to beat. – JH

D. J. Sparr – The Tao of Muhammad Ali (Neuma Records) - All keyboards, guitars, percussion, electronics, vocals, and production by D. J. Sparr. (Donald Joseph Sparr Jr.) - Additional compositions by Isaac Miller - A Boyhood Dream Joel Puckett, vocals - Of All Times (with Sparr family jam) Kimberly Sparr, toy melodica (end section) Harris Sparr, voice (end section) - Eleven Ghosts Isaac Miller, solo Dobro (composed and performed by Isaac Miller) - Tonight’s Dream Isaac Miller, solo Dobro (composed and performed by Isaac Miller) - Great Heart Kimberly Sparr, viola - Illumination Kimberly Sparr, viola - Paddy’s LamentIsaac Miller, Dobro(co-written and performed by Isaac Miller & D. J. Sparr).

Originally conceived as music to accompany a podcast and then elongated into a portrait of the great humanitarian & champion athlete Muhammad Ali not as a reflection of the visceral nature of the “sweet science” but more a meditation on Ali’s spiritual nature. Home runs abound on this piece. Opening and ending with crystalline evocations of light and transcendence, The Zen of Muhammad Ali, this record and the music bookended by the piece, are illuminating breaths of musical complexity rendered readily palatable on the ear and in the soul. Exceptional modern & experimental music. - JH

Myra Melford – Satoko Fujii – Katarahi (Rogue Art Records) - Compositions: Myra Melford (1, 3, 4, 6), Satoko Fujii (2, 5, 7) - Recorded live on September 27th 2024 at Jazzfestival Leibnitz, Leibnitz, Austria.

For those who have been asleep at the wheel and/or out to lunch, you know how I feel about Satoko Fujii. She is one of our cherished geniuses working in music today and this rarity of a release is no exception. A rarity in the sense that she and fellow geniusical compadre Myra Melford have rarely worked together previously. To be fair this is not music for the casual or unengaged listener. If you have a penchant for the avant-garde, the rigorous, genre-busting explorations of micro-tonality and complex chordal structure, may I suggest or steer you in the direction of The Black Crowes or some such. Not a put down. It’s simply that this sort of music could hurt your brain if you’re not schooled in its intricately labyrinthine pathways. Chess or checkers? Your choice. I for one am, as my beautiful wife has described me, not like other humans. I am a musical schizophrenic. I love this. – JH

Thundercat – Distracted (Brain Feeder Records) - Stephen Bruner – A.K.A. Thundercat – basses - Gerald Albright – sax 1 – Greg Kurstin – multi instrs. 1,5, 9-11 - Domi Louna – piano 1 – J. D. Beck 1 – guitar – Jordan Katz – trumpet 1 - Mac Miller – rapper 3 – Maurice Brown – trumpet 3 - Flying Lotus (Steve Ellision) 4, 14 - rap – Lil Yachty – rapper – 4 - Beck – 5, 9 – ASAP Rocky – 5 – Channel Tres – rapper 10 - Willow Smith – 11 – Brian D’Addario – Micael D’Addario – (The Lemon Twigs) – multi-instruments – 6, 12.

Interesting new record from Bruner with many of its lyrical themes focusing on life’s struggles although you might miss that if you’re not listening closely as the production is highly polished with a sheen that underlies the dourness with an upbeat soundscape. Tons of guest vocalists from $ASAP Rocky to Tame Impala to Flying Lotus, et. al. Willow takes honors for my favorite track on Thunder Wave. She is a major talent. Thundercat is content to allow his magnificent instrumental talent to support rather than lead and that’s okay for this record. Not a major statement. Interesting. - JH

Dave Douglas – Transcend (Greenleaf Music) - Dave Douglas, trumpet - Tomeka Reid, cello- James Brandon Lewis, tenor sax - Rafiq Bhatia, guitar - Ian Chang, drums - All compositions by Dave Douglas (Dave Douglas Music BMI), except tracks 1, 4 and 7 by Duke Ellington.

Dave Douglas is so incredibly talented and has been for quite some time. Most of his output (and other artists) is released on his own Greenleaf label. This grouping of individuals is totally on a mind melding board with him as he contemplates the inner workings of the human spirit & consciousness rather than overtly visceral experience, and man is it a pleasure. He’s channeling Ellington’s sacred music and not only polishing it to a fine sheen with his own interpretive genius but conjuring new works that complement the Duke’s compositions with superlatively creating beautifully evocative soundscapes of sound that inundate your ears with luscious melodic & harmonic content. Eat it up! - JH

Raye – This Record May Contain Hope (Human Re Sources Records) – Talk about ballsy. This is an epic hour plus story of a breakup, foundational strength and overcoming emotional adversity, blending pop, jazz, soul, orchestral music and perhaps a few parts of the kitchen sink. It is by and large pulled off by the sheer adventurism and bravura vocalism of Rachel Keen. Others have found it overblown self-indulgence, and I can see it, but there is a part of me that revels in this sort of excess. Again, especially when you possess her vocal pipes. I’d give it a solid B+. Songwriting and production are exceptional which means on what day I’m listening could tip it in A territory. Dear Henry featuring Al Green is a treat! AND hope is one of the things that make us uniquely human and man, hope is in heightened need these daze. - JH

Elina Duni & Rob Luft - Reaching for the Moon (ECM Records) - Elina Duni - Voice, Percussion - Rob Luft - Guitars, Electronics – The title track written by Irving Berlin, kicks off this record and sets the stage for what is to follow. Gorgeously imagined voice (some tasteful wordless vocalizing too) & guitar explorations of the complexity of human emotions & experience with some light percussion & electronics added to flesh out the sonic color palette. These two artists are intensely focused on each other, adding depth to the spaciousness. Never more so than on Krzysztof Komeda’s Sleep Safe and Warm, Ornette Coleman’s Lonely Woman, (which closes the album) and an  original composition from both artists, Foolish Flame. An exercise in restraint capable of producing great art by both artists. - JH

Foo Fighters – Your Favorite Toy (RCA Records) – Rawly energetic punk rock thriving on enough power to fuel two solar systems. Just what you’d expect from Foo Fighters 20 years ago, and a surprising return to form at this stage of their career. Things blast off from the first track Caught in the Echo, and you know immediately that you’d better put the seat belts on. Nothing of depth lyrically but musically this is a dense, murky fog of punk ethos expertly pulled off by a bunch of middle-aged men carrying the torch and holding it hi, hi, hi. B- - JH

Ittai Shapira Hila Plitmann - Chunhyang (Neuma Records) - Ittai Shapira, Violinist and Composer - Hilá Plitmann, Soprano - Florin Parvulescu, Conductor - Royal Scottish National Orchestra – Ittai Shapira exhibits a strong compositional persona with this triptych tale & monodrama. Chungyang’s marriage, imprisonment & reunion/celebration are beautifully rendered orchestrally & vocally with incisive playing and interpretation. This is a piece which deserves to find a firm place in performance repertoire. Under 35 minutes in length with wonderful orchestral tone color supporting the soprano singing underpinning the story with penetrating insight. – JH 

Mon Rovia – Bloodline (Nettwerk Records) - Janjay Lowe (Mon Rovîa): Vocalist, guitar  songwriter. - Nick De La O: Bass guitar. - Geoff Luoma: Live tracking - Choir – Claudia Cunningham (tracks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16), Kayla Starr (tracks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16), Marty Bellari (tracks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16), Princess Jones (tracks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16).

Scintillatingly tremulous sounds morph into a subtly picked acoustic guitar before a full band kicks in. A beautiful musical opening (Black Cauldron), that softly  reveals how certain sounds, words etc. can trigger traumatic memories. Yet there is an underlying sense of peace & comfort in the vocal presentation. That is the crux of this well-crafted, emotionally powerful album of loss, regret, joyful hope & peaceful acceptance and kindness. The music is gorgeous. The artistry on display is subtle & nuanced & the restrained emotions add to the powerfully inherent messaging. Thank you for turning me on to this artist, Ray. – JH

Foy Vance – The Wake (Rounder Records) - Foy Vance: Vocals, Guitar - Ethan Johns: Producer, Guitars, Various Instruments - Neil Cowley: Piano - Jeremy Stacey: Drums - Rex Horan: Bass.

The production on this record is fantastic. Just enough nuanced left of center touches to intrigue the ear and titillate the emotions. And this is an emotional record, deeply felt and thankfully not shouting in your ear but trusting more that you’re really listening. The show opens with A.I. a blues inflected treatise on the possible apocalyptic dangers of, er, A.I. This album mainly deals with grief and it’s consequent upheaval, often in more reflectively subtle ways than boom boom moments. I understand this is the end point of a seven album cycle dealing with these profound issues grief and family. I am unfamiliar with those previous efforts but can aver that this record provides insights and closure, ending with a fervent overcoming from despair into joy with the concluding track, Bathed in Light. - JH 

Mark Turner – Patternmaster (ECM Records) - Mark Turner (tenor saxophone)
Jason Palmer (trumpet) - Joe Martin (doublebass) - Jonathan Pinson (drum) – The interplay between the members of this band is remarkable. No piano, two horns and a brilliant in the pocket rhythm section. Turner has said the compositions are inspired by speculative fiction and the intricacies extrapolated and worked out between the rhythm and the horns are inspiring indeed. Propulsive driving energy throughout w/o being too deep into your face. Any of the tracks here would be standouts on any other album. Superb. - JH

Galan Trio – Kinesis – Vol 3 (Neuma Records) - Petros Bouras, Piano - Babis Karasavvidis, Violin - Marina Kolovou, Cello – This is a wonderfully accomplished and emotional trio. The playing is able & intense with the themes of most of these pieces having to do with emotional & physical energy/movement. Another genre buster in the sense that the musical elements drawn from encompass folk, jazz, & modern classical woven together seamlessly by the players and of course the composers. This is a monumental two and a half hour release on two cds which shape shift through acoustic instruments and some electronics. I do not know who is the electronic manipulator nor who is the vocalist on the recited parts and I reckon ultimately it doesn’t matter. It’s difficult to pick a favorite but indulge me as I list the composer/compositions. Christopher Dobrian – Shadow Play. Joao Pedro Oliviera – Far Beyond. Cindy Cox – La mar amarga. – Pamela Madsen – Fragment from Wasteland – Death by Water. – Robert Denham – Pastorale. – Deborah Kavasch – From Here to There. – David Volk – Appalachian Uprooting. – Patricia Alessandrini – Trio (Hommage a Geoff Nuttal). – David S. Carter – Sifting Chapparal. – Andres Carizzo – Sospeso. – Kevin Zhang – Placed in a Puzzling Light, and Moving. – Ines Thiebaut – Syneche. – Miguel Chuaqui – La Busqueda. Ofer Ben-Amots – The Odessa Trio - All of these works are highly tonal and interesting pieces. I suggest listening to one cd at a time and allowing the music to seep under your skin a bit. If you wish start with The Odessa Trio first just for fun and to revel in the sheer gorgeousness of the melodic content. - JH

Irmin Schmidt – Requiem (Mute Records) – A poignant & profoundly meditative treatise on nature and mankind’s seeming inability to stop from ruining this planet for our own well being & habitation. Using ambient electronics, piano, and recordings of rain, air, amphibians et al, this is a hauntingly beautiful paen to the impossibility of this planet teeming with so much diversity and wonder. Amazing that Schmidt (a former member of the seminal German band Can) is still producing works of this import and genius at the age of 89. - JH

Marilyn Crispell & Anders Jormin – Memento (ECM Records) - Marilyn Crispell – Piano - Anders Jormin - Double Bass – A contemplative piano bass duo recording emphasizing the kind, the gentle, the vulnerabilities of life from which we can all draw sustenance & strength. A beautiful record, superbly recorded, quiet & deeply meditative. When one artist takes the long lines of melody the underlying harmonic structure is ably sustained by the other, by stretching the notes underneath creating elongated soundscapes that cradle the ear and heart. Crispell and Jormin have created a lasting musical masterpiece which one can go back to again and again, finding new wonders with each listen. – JH

Kim Gordon – Play Me (Matador Records) – Herky jerky rhythms and pulse pounding bass prevail on this record. Very modern and edgy as one might expect but not necessarily from an artist in her eighth decade. Gordon sings with the capriciousness and ardor of someone a third her age. Lots of buzzwords more than conventionally written out lyrical cogitation but it works for her. I’ve always been enamored of this kind of writing and singing. Very minimalistic and effective conjuring all sorts of images ofttimes leading to a shrug and a shake of the head. Just wtf is she getting at?. Ah, the mystery is part of the allure. Still jagged and pushing at the boundaries at 73 is not a very bad place to be. This is a solid A record, but I’m biased cause KG was always my favorite Sonic Youth. I’ve often wondered what a duet record of her and David Byrne would sound like? - JH

Jose Gonzalez – Against the Dying of the Light (City Slang Records) – Closely miked in order to provide the requisite intimacy which Gonzalez’s music thrives on. His solid song writing and fingerpicking style make this Argentinian/Swedish artist an easy listen. Not that this music is superfluous or lightweight. As a matter of fact, he delves into deeper feelings and subjects on this release, confronting group think (tribalism), and our finiteness, our communal understanding & reliance on nature et al. We are entering a dangerous age with our burgeoning relationship with A.I. and it would behoove us to give a closer listen to artists as relevant as Jose Gonzalez. His music is insightful and beautiful to listen to. – JH

Geoffrey Gordon – Fumée (Neuma Records) - Gotham News - Radom Chamber Orchestra, cond. Szymon Morus - Première Rhapsodie - Claude Debussy, arr. Geoffrey Gordon - Hong Kong Sinfonietta, cond. Christoph Poppen - Horácio Ferreira, B^b clarinet – Fumée - (after the chanson by Reynaldo Hahn) - Hong Kong Sinfonietta, cond. Christoph Poppen - Horácio Ferreira, B^b clarinet - Creavit Deus Hominem - Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, cond. Duncan Ward - José Luis García Vegara, oboe - Geoffrey Gordon – composer.

Wonderful new works by a composer I am unfamiliar with. Four works on this disc including the title track, Fumée. The soloists are outstanding with sure musicality and virtuosic technique. They navigate their pieces with aplomb bringing emotional variety and integrity to the works. All of Gordon’s compositions are orchestrated with great skill, nuance and color, bringing richness and diversity to the works. This is modern classical music or an irresistible nature, taking left turns here and there to tug the ear in directions not quite expected and a delight to encounter. I wanna hear more from Geoffrey Gordon! - JH

Irreversible Entanglements - Future Present Past (Impulse Records) - Camae Ayewa - voice - Keir Neuringer - alto saxophone - Aquiles Navarro - trumpet
Luke Stewart - double bass - Tcheser Holmes – drums - Recorded August 26, 2015 at Seizure’s Palace, Brooklyn, New York.

Black consciousness, freedom, survival in a hostile environment. These are the themes permeating this record. Camae Ayewa (Moor Mother) leads this journey and ensemble through the force of her understated but powerful voice & lyrics. This is a much more engaging record in many ways than previous outings for IE, with driven energy and focus underscoring the poetry on top. Wonderful usage of polyrhythms and propulsive textures weaving in and out of the listeners aural field elevate this record to must listen status. Free jazz exploring and explosions like meteors streaking across the heavens allowing us to string together the past & the present & sending us facing the future with hope and determination. – JH

Joe Jackson – Hope and Fury (earMUSIC Records) - Joe Jackson – keys - Graham Maby – bass/backing vocals - Teddy Kumpel – guitar - Doug Yowell — drums - Paulo Stagnaro – percussion – We’ve heard all of this before and it’s great to hear it again. Beautiful production, clear and upfront w/o getting in your face. Jackson’s always been a fine songwriter with a keen eye & ear for human foibles and compassionate rending of the myriad pathways the head and heart perambulate down. Hasn’t lost a micro-step in his scalpel like wit and societal observations. He retains his penchant for a neat turn of phrase and the music complements whatever is on his mind, harmonically & emotionally. The band turns on a dime with Joe and although some critics find him a bit acerbic, I don’t mind. Sometimes it’s fun to be curmudgeonly. – JH

Schizo Fun Addict - Desolate Ecstasy (Fruits De Mer)
The band that launched the label back in 2008 returns with a concept album tracing their own musical journey from wonky no-wave wigouts and sexy '60’s psych through deep shoegaze waters in the Laurel Canyon, tender girl group goodies sidling up to bomb-the-bass beats, and a soupcon of jangly toe-tappers and head-nodders - it’s a virtual jukebox of rock and roll’s last 60 years! ‘Cathedral Sunshine’’s motoric fuzz beat is Nico exploring krautrock in a sleazy back alley garage, ‘The Line Is Gone’ invites Iggy to front The Cure and the euphemistic daydreams ‘Scent Of Heather’ and ‘Coming To You’ spotlight the twin angelic cuddly coos of Jayne Gabriel and Ilona Curtis. ‘Strange Theaters’ is hypnotically addictive with headswirling guitars vibrating from Rex John Shelverton’s fingers and ‘Believe’ is strangely familiar (cf., Warpaint’s ‘Billie Holiday’). ‘Deep Beach Rise’ has hints of Tom Rapp, Pearls Before Swine, and Brian Jonestown Massacre. Finally, mashing Jesus and Mary Chain and Raveonettes (‘Tease Murderess’) was a stroke of genius. Bravo! Another winner from New Jersey's coolest band! JFO

The Jack Cades - Fade In (Beluga/Dangerhouse Skylab)
Jack Cade was a fifteenth-century rebel who led a revolt against the corrupt administration of Henry VI and his advisers. His 21st century name bearers are leading a revolution of their own against safe, stale, pompous, overly commercial rock so it’s great to hear Mike and Elsa Whittaker inaugurate The Jack Cades’ second decade with a new rhythm section and keyboardist to expand their raucous garage rock palate with welcome toe-dips into new wave and indie rock. ‘We’ll Get It Right’ is immediately accessible with hooks flying in all directions without losing their garage snarl. ‘Mute The Sound’ is a heart-stopping thrill ride and ‘Blue Sky’ is a wonderful harmony-laden tearjerker - that girl group sound wrapped in leather jackets. ‘Hanger On’ introduces a twangy, countrified element - I can imagine Dolly tackling this in her heyday. Mike’s guitar solos throughout bear an uncanny resemblance to Brian Jonestown Massacre and Raveonettes six-string slingers Anton Newcomb and Sune Rose Wagner, repectively - not bad at all, so fans of both will be right at home here. JFO

Coup Dur - The English Want... (Precious Recordings Of London)
Francophiles and other lovers of all things bright and sparkly will love the infectious pop stylings of this Belgian-French trio’s debut mini-album. (The title reflects their surprise that their debut effort was released on an English label!) From perky opener ‘Mon Amie’ to the scattershot attack of ‘J’avais Pa Pensé À Ça’ it’s all fun and games, buoyed by tight arrangements and infectious harmonies. ‘Bigger Fish In The Sea’ introduces a shuffling jazzy touch wrapped in girl group coos and there’s a punkier attitude to the fast-pasted ‘J’attendrai’ which belies their moniker (roughly, “hard blow.”)

A playful schoolgirl silkiness caresses ‘Ça’ Me Vexe’, ‘Tu Dis Des Choses’ inserts an economical solo before turning into a shambolic bust-up a la Slits, Raincoats, et. al., and ‘De La Lumiére’ wraps it up with a swaying humalong. You’ve heard of “punky reggae”; consider yourself invited to a “punky ye-ye” party! JFO

Various Artists - Pets Sounds (Skep Wax)

Musicians, like normal humans spend a lot of time with their pets, but Rob Pursey and Amelia Fletcher at Skep Wax may be the first to release a concept/tribute album to them! These 15 paeans to pets acknowledge their sometimes uncredited inspiration to what ends up on the latest record. Lande Hekt’s love song to ‘Lola’ mirrors personal relationships that often leave important feelings misunderstood, Railcard’s ‘Foxy’ has a seasonal charm with jingling bells and jangling guitars smoothing out their enigmatic lyrics, and Tugboat Captain’s ‘Rufus’ oozes Bonzoid frivolity that softens his slippers-eating tendencies!

Gay Skeleton Club brag about their ‘2 Cats’ who fight like political opposites, Jetstream Pony’s typically angelic harmonies and pop sensibilities ease the pain of ‘Grimalkin Tom’’s tragic demise, and Swansea Sound compares our protagonist’s ego and libido with his aging terrier who also won’t back down from a fight. The Burning Hell’s cautionary tale (tail?) evokes Eef Barzelay’s Clem Snide-isms, Sassihiya struggle with an unappreciative ‘Crayon Potato,’ and Oh Hippo’s Bongwateresque shenanigans (‘Orlando’) end everything on a happy note. You don’t have to be a pet lover to love Pets Sounds! - JFO

May Edition

Alister Spence – Always Ever (Alister Spence Music) - All music composed/improvised by Alister Spence – Intriguing new music from Alister Spence, in which he seems not only to be communicating with us, his audience, but communing also with his instruments at an intimately spiritual level. Primarily a pianist, on this outing he employs a wider palette of percussive effects and electronics to create expansive & expanding soundscapes that paradoxically are attractive, off-putting and intriguing. A coup de grace that is a difficult task for any improviser but ably accomplished on this release. You could pull this apart to listen to bits and pieces, but it is best appreciated in its entirety. – JH

Courtney Barnett – Creature of Habit (Mom + Pop Records) - Courtney Barnett – guitars, vocals (all tracks), bass (7), drum programming (8), Wurlitzer (10); Stella Mozgawa – drums, percussion (all tracks), bass (4), piano (2, 10), synthesiser (2, 3, 9), bass synthesizer, drum programming (5), Omnichord (6); Zach Dawes – bass (1, 3); Bones Sloane – bass (2, 6, 8–10), bass synthesizer (5), Wurlitzer (10); Waxahatchee – vocals (3); Flea – bass (5); Floating Points – synthesizer (8).

What is it about deadpan vocals that appeal? Just floating the question out there. Barnett’s fourth record is possibly her best. She’s emotionally engaged as per usual but perhaps a bit more so. That comes with maturity and time of course. Lyrically she incisively picks apart her internal and external relationships with precision & nuance. Not afraid to dig down deep and serve it up for the world to see/hear. She is an evolving artist and I look forward to her future projects. The production is up front, albeit a bit laid back, but it works fine. I loved the opening track, Stay in Your Own Lane, with its trenchant lyrics & in-your-face percussion and fuzz bass attack setting the tone of the rest of the record. - JH

Flea – Honora (Nonesuch Records) - Flea – lead vocals, bass, trumpet. Additional musicians - Thom Yorke – lead vocals, piano, synthesizer (track 3) - Nick Cave – lead vocals (track 7) - Mauro Refosco – percussion - Nathaniel Walcott – trumpet, keyboards - Josh Johnson – saxophone, synthesizer, piano, backing vocals - Jeff Parker – guitar, backing vocals - Anna Butterss – double bass, backing vocals - Deantoni Parks – drums, backing vocals - Chad Smith – drums (track 1) - Chris Warren – backing vocals - Ricky Washington – alto flute - Vikram Devasthali – trombone - John Frusciante – trumpet and snare drum treatments (track 4), treatment (track 9).

Flea’s debut solo album is killer-diller. Not content to make this simply a tour de force technical workout but more to illustrate the depth of his musical imagination & creativity. Nice touch getting Nick Cave to cover Jimmy Webb’s Wichita Lineman. Not to mention the creative workout on Funkadelic’s sublime Maggot Brain. The calls went out and the artists answered. Thom Yorke, Jeff Parker, & others eager to join in the creative process with one of the most unusual and talented musicians in rock, albeit this album hews closer to jazz than the genre that Flea grew up in. And he even pulled out his old H.S. trumpet for good measure. - JH

Ubunye – Tell Me the Truth or Don’t Tell Me Anything (33 Jazz Records) - David Evans – keys/composer. Ubunye consists of jazz drummer Steve Hanley - Nik Svarc – guitar - Sam Dutton-Taylor -  bass - singers Xolani Mbatha and Nokuthula Zondi  - Soothsayers horn section of Idris Rahman & Robin Hopcraft - percussionist Dave Hassell horn players Emma Johnson (Tenor Sax) and Aaron Wood (trumpet) - Norweigen experimental cellist Maja Bugge - poet - Michelle Scally Clarke.

Second release from this African fusion group; new to me. Zulu trad vocals, with a heady dose of soulful modern dance music. Excellently sparkling musicianship underpinning the intense rhythms and uplifting lyrics, many sung in English. I love the manner in which they segue & transition from a driving tempo to an expansive atmospheric river of harmonious sound. – JH

Abby Fisher – Continuous Interior (Neuma Records) - Abby Fisher percussion – Two things strike me about this album. The adventurous spirit of so many instrumentalists in the classical community these days. Their embrace not only of new music but new techniques. The other thing is the willingness to employ silences and space along with fearlessness in tackling slooooowwww music. This creates expansive sonic landscapes that envelopes and warmly embraces the listener. Two composers are represented on this disc. Robert Honstein’s Continuous Interior, an Escher-like loop of music for vibraphone & electronic playback. Utterly appealing and almost playful in its evolution. The other piece, Figure to Ground by Andrea Mazzariello, for vibraphone, glockenspiel & kick drum, is even more Escher-like. Playing with time, stretching, flickering in an out like quantum particles but always leaving you with a sense of a whole that is startling in the manner in which it somehow manages to create a form that coalesces in spite of what you believe is going on. Cool album. - JH

Sarah Genevieve Burghart Rice - Yet (Neuma Records) – Rather intriguing & imaginative new classical music both experimental and deeply emotional. There are three feature pieces from composer Rice, the first 3 Songs by Duo Cortona, violinist Ari Streisfield and mezzo Rachel Calloway. The music is oddly pointillistic yet appealing melodically. The texts grapple with bias trans/lesbian women must fight but opening oneself up to joy and self-affirmation. The Hardscrabble is a wind ensemble composition, satirically ironic in relating a fictional struggle between a composer artist and a businessman. Darkness & light sit easily side by side and the performance by the Nittany Winds led by Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin is a buoyant romp. The concluding piece Murmurs from Limbo, features mezzo-soprano Thea Lobo & countertenor Jordan Rutter-Covatto with a chamber ensemble led by Kathryn Hylton. This is a deeply reflective piece drawing its thematic material from death and possible resurrection, juxtaposing the struggle between faith & skepticism. The performances by soloists & ensemble are first rate. Overall a fine addition to the modern classical repertoire. - JH

Harriet Tubman – Electrical Field of Love (Pi Records) - Georgia Anne Muldrow – vocals, keyboards - Brandon Ross – electric guitar, banjo, soprano guitar - Melvin Gibbs – electric bass - JT Lewis – drums.

A collaboration between vocalist Muldrow, whose vocals tend toward the mantric and the trio Harriet Tubman. Atmospheric & deeply attractive; a fine blend of thick sound (heavily metallic) which complements the vocals/lyrics and Muldrow’s unique phrasing quite well. I like that the voice is mixed so clearly up front. Listen closely or simply let this music wash over you, a al Mile’s Bitches Brew, and revel in the fact that neither approach will disappoint. - JH

Peggy Seeger – Teleology (Red Grape Records) - Peggy Seeger – vocals - sons Calum MacColl (producer, guitar, vocals) and Neill MacColl (mandolin, autoharp, vocals), daughter-in-law Kate St. John (accordion, vocals), bassist Ben Nicholls, and drummer Roy Dodds.

What a brilliant record! 90-year old Peggy Seeger presenting a magnificent swan song to a long and distinguished career of humanitarianism, song and love of life. Songs about love, life, laughter and the passing of our spirits from this mortal coil. Her son Calum MacColl produced, and his reverently loving touch is evident throughout. He gives his mother’s voice front and center knowing her quiet strength & emotionality will carry the day. She sings her late husband’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face with an understated clarity, spaciousness and beauty. The album concludes with Apple Tree, a gorgeous rumination on life and death and passing time. One of my favorite tracks is I Want to Meet Paul Simon, in which she pays homage to the great singer/songwriter by crafting a tune utilizing lines and titles from his vast repertoire. Tongue-in-cheek and cheekily effervescent. There are no stars for an album like this. A great work of art and a fitting cap to a life well lived. – JH

Bill Frisell – In My Dreams (Blue Note Records) - Bill Frisell: Electric and Acoustic Guitars - Jenny Scheinman: Violin - Eyvind Kang: Viola - Hank Roberts: Cello - Thomas Morgan: Bass - Rudy Royston: Drums.

Well, Bill is up to his old wonderful tricks again. A cross genre-rational blending of Americana, jazz, chamber music, et. al. Working with old and new friends he has crafted his usual beautiful soundscapes that tickle & enthrall the ear. Noirish. Elegant. Seductive and endlessly alluring. The performances on this disc were recorded in 2025 at Firehouse 12 (New Haven), Roulette Intermedium (Brooklyn), and The Newman Center (Denver). Besides originals, covers run the gamut from Stephen Foster’s Hard Times to Ellington’s Isfahan, as well as a looping pedals-effects take on the last tune Home on the Range. – JH

Tinariwen – Hoggar (Wedge Records) - Ibrahim Ag Alhabib – guitar, vocals (founding member); Alhassane Ag Touhami – guitar, vocals (founding member); Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni – guitar, vocals (founding member); Iyad Moussa Abderrahmane – guitar, vocals; Eyadou Ag Leche – bass guitar, guitar, percussion, vocals, backing vocals; Said Ag Ayad – percussion, backing vocals; Elaga Ag Hamid – guitar, backing vocals; Cheik Ag Tiglia – bass; Sanou Ag Hamed – guitar, vocals.

The great Tuareg collective from southern Algeria & northern Mali release their 10^th studio effort. As always they represent through their music the Tuareg life and struggles. Persecuted throughout their existence they have never shied away from speaking out against oppression whether against their own peoples’ or others. This time they also vent against outside foreign mercenaries, particularly the Russian Wagner group. The music is as captivating as ever and expertly rendered. Hypnotic & of-the-soil, the group employ group vocals to great effect, allowing the music to worm its way into your mind. This time around they also allow outside musicians/vocalists such as Jose Gonzalez & Sulafa Elyas to join in, stretching the horizon even further and higher than the Hoggar mountains in central Sahara, for which this album is named. - JH

Bonnie Whiting - Through the Eye(s) (Neuma Records) - Bonnie Whiting, speaking percussionist – Intriguing new pieces for percussionist with recitation. Nine short compositions by female composers with texts that relate segue to each other in varying degrees. The sound world, is, as one would think, expansive and emotive, in order to integrate the texts more fully. The words deal with youth, doubt, self-examination, experience and growth. An interesting experiment and I applaud Neuma for putting out this project. Whiting’s performances are aptly apropos to the text with a sublimation of technique in service to the artistic endeavor. – JH

Miroslav Vitous – Mountain Call (ECM Records) - Miroslav Vitous – Double Bass - Michel Portal – Clarinet - Jack DeJohnette – Drums - Esperanza Spalding – Voice - Bob Mintzer – Clarinet - Gary Campbell – Soprano Saxophone - Gerald Cleaver – Drums - CSNO Orchestra

Intimacy & free improv stroll hand in hand on this fine record by Miroslav Vitous. Handling all the bass duties, of course, he employs Esperanza Spalding for her vocal skill alone and she lends fine support to the short suites, Evolution & Rhapsody. A fine use of orchestral samples augments the overall texture and feel of this record. Special note must be made for the beautifully evocative pacific duets with Michel Portal & drummer Jack DeJohnette obviously recorded prior to his passing October 2025. The album concludes with the gorgeous Mountain Call, title track. – JH

Yvonne Rogers – The Button Jar (Pyroclastic Records) – Yvonne Rogers – piano - Ms. Rogers’ mother kept a button jar which she used for crafts, items which the composer/pianist describes as odds & sods, pieces of items to be used in artistic endeavors. And so this album: playful, wistful, funny at times and serious at others. Rogers has a distinctively unique percussively punctuating style that doesn’t not remind me of Thelonious Monk. Wonder, urbanity, expansiveness and an innate sense of adventure and joy. This is a wonderful new talent for me and one I certainly look forward to hearing more of in the future. - JH

Mitch Ryder – Songs of the Road (Ruf Records) - Franz Club – Berlin – Germany – March 2025 - Mitch Ryder: Vocals - Laura Chavez: Guitar - Sean Athens: Guitar - Lea Worms: Keyboards - Tomek Germann: Bass - Denis Palatin: Drums.

One of rock’s greatest vocalists leaves nothing to chance or age by releasing this energetic rock, blues & soul album recorded live at Club Franz in Berlin from March 2025. Sounding in fine form at age 81, Mitch and this competent band of rockers project a tightly focused highly electric exercise on how to get it done no matter what your age or disposition, providing an oleo of classic rock tunes and newer material. Special praise due the two guitarists Sean Athens & Laura Chavez. Rock on Mitch. - JH

Dave Holland/Norma Winstone/Kenny Wheeler – Vital Spark (Edition Records) - Norma Winstone – voice - Dave Holland – bass - Nikki Iles – piano - James Maddren – Drums - Mark Lockheart - tenor & soprano sax - John Parricelli - guitar (on ‘Not Waving, But Drowning, Jazzonia, Fuite D’Enfance, Infant Joy & Heavenly City) - THE LONDON VOCAL PROJECT - Director: Pete Churchill

Music of Kenny Wheeler – Some of the final compositions of the great musician/composer Kenny Wheeler rendered with diligent care by all involved in this wonderful project. Not treacly at all nor overly reverent. The playing and vocals led by the supremely talented Norma Winstone, who also added some of her own lyrics to some of Wheeler’s tunes, offers a tenderly apt tribute. Overall, a deeply soulful, and affectionate album. - JH

Emma Rawicz – Inkyra (ACT Music) - Emma Rawicz tenor & soprano saxophones - Gareth Lockrane flute, alto flute, bass flute, piccolo - David Preston guitar - Scottie Thompson Rhodes, piano, Prophet - Kevin Glasgow electric bass, Jamie Murray drums - All music composed by Emma Rawicz.

Emma’s fourth release as a leader continues to show superb growth and maturity. The album opens with an expansively orchestral densely layered short tune entitled Earthrise and from there it’s a blastoff of rock grooves and syncopated jazz funk richly composed and performed by a group that appears to be in total lockstep with the composers wishes. Soloing throughout the record is always terse and appropriate. Not your typical jazz release and the world is a better place for that. - JH

Gnarls Barkley – Atlanta (10K Projects) – Cee Lo Green – Danger Mouse – A welcome return from the hinterlands for the boyz. The production is as fine as you’d imagine and the singing energetically passionate. Cee Lo has always been one of my favorite singers and of course Danger Mouse is one of the great production wizards of the past 20 plus years. The record is an homage to their home city of Atlanta, and almost sounds not just reflective but as if they’re closing some doors and resolving deep feelings. It’s been 18 years. Where has the time flown? This is not a record for the ages but I believe it will stand the rigors of time and is a welcome addition to their catalog. Hoping it’s not the last we hear from these guys. - JH

Viva Voce - Enduring Harmonies (Neuma Records) - Viva Voce – Vocal Ensemble – Nathan Zullinger – conductor – What a fine vocal ensemble led by conductor Nathan Zullinger. Intonation throughout is precise with clarity of diction and requisite balance & emotion. Seven outstanding works by five American composers whose profile should be significantly higher and a setting of Wondrous Love by the wondrous English musician David Pegg. Works by Thomas Lloyd, Steven Gerber (whom I had the great honor of interviewing), Dale Trumbore, Ingrid Arauco & Charles Fussell are given piquant performances by the ensemble, almost entirely acapella, with slight instrumental accompaniment by flutist Susanna Loewy and violist Hannah Nicholas. All of the works should be sought out by choral ensembles on the lookout for new & significantly underrepresented literature to explore and perform. – JH

Iron & Wine – Hen’s Teeth (Sub Pop Records) – Sam Beam expands his compositional & emotional palette with this release. The same extravagantly textured songwriting with added depth and nuance. Daughter Arden sings backing vocals on several tracks and there is added assistance from guests including I’m With Her on "Robin’s Egg" & "Wait," two stand out tracks. These songs were recorded in the same sessions as 2024’s Light Verse and offer a slightly darker tinged side of Beam. Absolutely beautiful Americana. - JH

John Zorn – Brian Marsella Trio – Bagatelles – Vol 6 (Tzadik Records) - Brian Marsella - Piano - Trevor Dunn – Bass - Kenny Wollesen – Drums.

The trio tackle eight of John Zorn’s massive (over 300) Bagatelles project. The Bagatelle is typically a short piece of light music usually written for piano BUT they have been composed for and adapted for every combination you can imagine. Zorn is an amazing composer. Literally hundreds and hundreds of compositions and most of an extraordinarily high quality. I have nit-picked in the past but have always been astounded by his output and always eager to hear whatever is being released either under his name or auspices. The trio engage with this music fervently, offering performances of telepathic high energy and involvement. At their most frenetic they are reminiscent of Thelonious Monk at his most angular and at their most tender, the ballad work of John Coltrane. A standout in the canon of the Zorn interpretive Bagatelle collection. – JH

Juliana Hatfield / Eric Payne – Bets (Lime Song Records) - Juliana Hatfield – vocals/guitar – Eric Payne – vocals/guitar – Chunky, clunky, coruscating at times power pop rock. Juliana's slightly disaffected vocals are much less disaffected this time around with her partner in musical crime Eric Payne providing most of the instrumentation and the music. The first two tracks, "Your Social Security" & "Only Sister," get the ball rolling or I should say kicked firmly through the uprights with aggressive assurance. Even on the ballads the exquisite tension and release doesn’t let up. I also loved the earnest tongue in cheek interpretation of Nancy Sinatra’s popadelic "Sugar Town." A home run record for Juliana. - JH

Tortoise – Touch (International Anthem Records) – Dan Bitney – drums/percussion/multi instruments - John Herndon – drums/percussion - Douglas McCombs – bass/guitar - John McEntire – drums/multi-instruments - Jeff Parker – guitar - guests: Marta Sofia Honer – viola – Skip Von Kuske – cello.

First record in nine years for the Chicagoans. A welcome return to their unique post- modernistic rock jazz fusion of experimental musical perambulations. Welcome with a caveat. Less emotionally engaging than past albums, a bit on the icier Kraftwerkian side of the equation. Although a bit more engaging as they eschew longer drawn out jams in favor of pithier shorter tracks that still evince tension & aggression in spite of being less confrontational than their usual oeuvre. - JH

The Westerlies – Have You Heard – The Music of Bill Frisell Vol 1 (Westerlies Recs) - Riley Mulherkar — Trumpet - Chloe Rowlands — Trumpet - Andy Clausen — Trombone - Addison Maye-Saxon — Trombone – Brass Quartet.

The Westerlies continue to amaze with their virtuosity and imagination. Tackling the compositions of Americana/Jazz great Bill Frisell is brilliant. Especially considering the ofttimes quirkiness of his composing methodology along with the fact that these are pandemic-era sketches which Bill “gifted” to the group to weave their magic with. These are smart-as-a-whip ebullient arrangements with enough energy and bounce to satisfy the inner child in any adventurous music lover. If you dare to dream that two trumpets and two trombones won’t be sassy enough to hold your interest over the course of 50 or so minutes you are mistaken. Do not deprive yourself of this recording. - JH

Tedeschi-Trucks Band – Future Soul (Fantasy Records) – Another release in which the artists go for more song oriented rather than jam oriented tracks and hardly to any deleterious effect. This is a tighter set than usual from TTB with a more focused take on their blues/soul sound. The heart and soul (pun intended) is Susan Tedeschi’s warm and sun-soaked vocals. Derek’s solos are more succinct than usual and thus underline the emotions of the lyrics & Susan’s voice. This is a snappily effervescent album that will reward no matter how many listens you wish to partake in. - JH

Melissa Etheridge – Rise (Sun Records) - Max Hart (guitar, keys), Eric Gardner (drums), and Erik Kertes (bass) - Produced by Shooter Jennings – Shooter seems to have gotten a rise out of Melissa and again, the pun is fully intended. Her most vibrant record in years, with Etheridge sounding more deeply involved and out to show she is one of the reasons can rock out so freely these days. She was a pioneer proving that women could rock as hard as anyone out there. I know there were others prior but she encapsulated an ethos that was no bullshit and out to prove nothing more than her talent. I remember seeing her in 1990 and she was kick-ass and assured. Just like this new album. Heartfelt and honest beyond reproach. She opens her heart in singing about resilience in the face of extreme tragedy, whether it be the death of her son in Call You, or ebullient anthemic statements of purpose like "The Other Side of Blue," or the gorgeous title track "Rise." ‘Nutha standout tracks is the co-written & performed with Chris Stapleton track "The Other Side of Blue." Great to have ME back in full form. – JH

Michelle David & The True-Tones – Soul Woman (Record Kicks Records) -
Michelle David (Vocals): Powerhouse lead vocalist originally from North Carolina.
Paul Willemsen (Guitar, Bass, Organ, Percussion): Core songwriter and instrumentalist.- Onno Smit (Guitar, Bass): Core songwriter and instrumentalist, Bas Bouma (Drums, Percussion)

Soul record of the year? I know it’s early but imaginative backup playing coupled with powerhouse whisper to a scream singing with emphasis on quiet fire intensity makes the case pretty compelling. Mo-town influences abound but so does the genre Northern Soul. Check it out. Northern Soul. It’s a thing. And it influenced scores of English bands and artists to this day, although Michelle is N.Y.-based and her band is from the Netherlands. All the tracks are stand out. – JH

Mitski – Nothing’s About To Happen To Me (Dead Oceans Records) - Mitski – (Mitsuki Laycock Miyawaki ) - vocals - Callan Dwan (guitar), Jeni Magaña (bass), Bruno Esrubilsky (drums), Ty Bailie (piano/organ), Fats Kaplin (pedal steel), and Brijean Murphy (percussion) - Orchestra Conductor/Arranger: Drew Erickson.

Ms. Miyawaki is more circumspect this trip than usual. Well, the themes of most of the material are about isolation and interiority; protecting oneself from the slings and arrows of outrageous human interaction. The restraint works well against the musical accompaniment especially when the instruments seem to be pressing the matter(s) at hand and the voice sounds like it wishes to spring there but….. A fascinating artistic statement from Mitski, perhaps her most mature work yet. - JH

Mumford & Sons – Prizefighter (Island Records) – M & S are down to three members and lots of guests on this album. Production by Aaron Dessner and it shows. A strongly characteristic album with swerve and polish. Terrific collaborations from the likes of Hozier, Gracie Abrams, Chris Stapleton and more let emotional depth to the proceedings but don’t disguise the fact that a lot of this music tends towards the formulaic at times. It’s M & S’s best work in a while and there’s nothing here to disparage. Heartfelt as always and a good listen but nothing that’ll find it’s way consistently on my playlist. - JH

Pat Metheny – Side-Eye III+ (Pat Methney Go-Forward Records) - Pat Metheny – guitar - Chris Fishman – piano/keyboards - Joe Dyson – drums - Jermaine Paul – bass – A highly accessible recording from the jazz master. His trademark lyrical guitar playing is, as always, refreshingly invigorating and centering. In spite of it being a quartet recording, it has spaciousness galore, with almost orchestral coloration alongside virtuoso playing and vibrant soundscapes. The opener "In On It", has energy to spare and provides exquisite lift-off for the balance of the album. The majority of the songs (and yes they also have a strong vocal flavor to them) unfold like the petals of an exquisite flower. Another possible Grammy contender by Metheny, as it’s both adventurous and yet easy on the ear at the same time. - JH

Squeeze – Trixies (BMG Records) - Glenn Tilbrook (vocals/guitar), Chris Difford (vocals/guitar), Stephen Large (keyboards), Simon Hanson (drums), Steve Smith (percussion), Melvin Duffy (pedal steel), and Owen Biddle (bass).

Ah, it’s so good to have the “boys” back in top form. I once opined that Difford/Tilbrook were the finest songwriting duo since Lennon & McCartney. I still stand by that. Wonderfully incisive, witty and insightful lyrics coupled with a gift for complex melody & harmony that falls pleasantly on the ear. This is the culmination of a concept that the teenaged songwriters first posited over 50 years ago, come to full fruition today. That same youthfully energetic concept about a fictional nightclub, Trixies, married to a mature songwriting capability, yielding a theatrical experience with complex themes centered around “fringe” characters, with their wants, needs & desires on display, all with a perspicuity transcending its youthful genesis but fully rendered with the capability of age and experience. This one goes near the top of excellent Squeeze recordings like ArgyBargy & West Side Story. - JH

Talking Heads – Tentative Decisions – Demos & Live (Rhino/Warner Brothers)
David Byrne – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion - Chris Frantz – drums, percussion, backing vocals - Tina Weymouth – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals - Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals.

A three CD set featuring the formative years of this band. Starting off as an art-punk ensemble (The Artistics) before morphing into a uniquely singular band that would go on to influence a generation of artists and other bands, this set offers a slew of demos and live performances. I found the live tracks much more interesting & compelling than the demos which to my mind are for fans only. As a musicological exercise it IS interesting to track the evolution of these (demo) songs and what they would ultimately become. Nothing here is as revelatory as the finished officially released music itself though. This was a band that never put out a bad album and ended while still at the heights of their powers. Listen to the two CDs of demos but stay with the third CD of live performances. Two of my favorites on the live disc are their covers of the 1910 Fruitgum Co.’s "1, 2, 3 Red Light" & Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers "Pablo Picasso." Talking Heads were no assholes. – JH

Ringo Starr – Long Long Road – Universal Music Enterprises – Americanish, country-pop rendered palatable and not much more from Monsieur Ringo. Hey, I’m not looking for the answers to life from the mountaintop. Breezy charm & affability is all I’m looking for. T-Bone Burnett wrote many of the tunes and produced, so the record sounds great, with finely polished performances. People have always expected a lot from any ex-Beatle, but Ringo is just fine splashing through life having a ball and asking you to join in for a little diversion from the big, bad wolves banging on all of our doors. I guess the critics expected a lot more with the likes of St. Vincent, Sarah Jarosz, Billy Strings, Sheryl Crow, et. al. tagging along, but I bet the artists were just thrilled to be working with one of the nicest guys on the planet. Put the record on and simply enjoy, with no expectations other than having a good time. – JH

This is a blanket overview with no specific input other than to list a batch of new releases, and in the case of Buster Williams a very welcome re-issue of one of his finest records. Three labels, Time Traveler, Elemental and Resonance Records, have taken the time and care to put into the world a plethora of outstanding live jazz, blues and singer-songwriter (Terry Callier) releases from a bevy of the finest talents and sensibilities to ever grace planet earth. There isn’t a dullard in the bunch and a bunch of bases are covered. Bop, post-bop, straight ahead, experimental jazz, soul fusion, blues et al, etc. Two of my favorite musicians of all time are featured in these releases, Bill Evans in a sterling set from the BBC archives and my personal favorite blues guitarist Freddie King from Nancy, France, in 1975. JH

Ahmad Jamal – At the Jazz Showcase – Live in Chicago (Resonance Records)
Recorded live on March 20-21, 1976 at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, IL
Ahmad Jamal piano - John Heard bass - Frank Gant drums

Bill Evans – At the BBC (Elemental Music) - Bill Evans – piano – Chuck Israels – bass – Larry Bunker – drums - Recorded March 19, 1965 for Jazz 625 on BBC2 London England

Buster Williams - Pinnacle (Time Traveler Records) - Arranged By – Buster Williams (tracks: 1 to 4), Onaje Allan Gumbs (track: 5) - Bass Clarinet – Earl Turbinton (tracks: 1, 3) - Bass [Fender] – Buster Williams (track: 1); Composed By – Buster Williams (tracks: 1 to 4), Onaje Allan Gumbs (track: 5)

Double Bass [Acoustic Bass] – Buster Williams - Drums – Billy Hart - Electric Piano – Onaje Allan Gumbs - Flute – Sonny Fortune (track: 5) - Flute [Alto] – Sonny Fortune (tracks: 3, 4) - Percussion – Guilherme Franco - Piano – Onaje Allan Gumbs - Soprano Saxophone – Earl Turbinton (tracks: 3, 4,5), Sonny Fortune (tracks: 1, 3) - Synthesizer [Arp String Ensemble] – Onaje Allan Gumbs - Synthesizer [Moog] – Onaje Allan Gumbs - Trumpet – Woody Shaw (tracks: 3, 5) - Vocals – Buster Williams (tracks: 3), Marcus (tracks: 2, 3), Suzanne Klewan (tracks: 2, 3) - Originally released on Muse Records

Cecil Taylor Unit – Fragments – The Complete 1969 Salle Pleyel Concerts (Elemental Music) - Cecil Taylor – piano – Sam Rivers – tenor & soprano sax – flute – Jimmy Lyons – alto sax – Andrew Cyrille – drums - November 3, 1969 – 8th Paris Jazz Festival – Salle Pleyel – Paris France

Freddie King – Feelin’ Alright - The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts (Elemental Music) - Freddie King – guitar/vocals – Alvin Hemphill – organ – Ed Lively – guitar Lewis Stephens – piano – Benny Tuner – bass – Calep Emphrey – drums - October 10, 1975 – Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival Nancy France

Joe Henderson – Consonance – Live at the Jazz Showcase (Resonance Records) - Joe Henderson – tenor sax – Joanne Brackeen – piano – Steve Rodby – bass – Danny Spencer – drums – Recorded live February 1978 at the Jazz Showcase, Chicago IL – Recorded live April 1979 at the Jazz Showcase – Chicago IL

Mal Waldron – Stardust & Starlight – Live at the Jazz Showcase (Resonance Records) - Mal Waldron – piano – Steve Rodby – bass – Wilbur Campbell – drums - Sonny Stitt – alto sax on Old Folks & Stardust - Recorded live April 1979 at the Jazz Showcase – Chicago IL

Michel Petrucciani – Kuumbwa (Elemental Music) - Michel Petrucciani – piano – Dave Holland – bass – Eliot Zigmund – drums - Recorded at Kuumbwa Jazz Center – Santa Cruz CA – May 11, 1987

Roy Hargrove – Bern (Time Traveler Records) - Recorded at INTERNATIONAL JAZZFESTIVAL in Bern, Switzerland on May 4, 2000 - ROY HARGROVE trumpet, flugelhorn - SHERMAN IRBY alto saxophone - LARRY WILLIS piano - GERALD CANNON bass - WILLIE JONES III drums

Terry Callier – At the Earl of Old Town (Time Traveler Records) - Terry Callier – vocals/guitar – The Earl of Old Town – Chicago IL 10 24 1967

Yusef Lateef – At the Jazz Showcase – Chicago (Resonance Records) - Recorded live in June of 1975 - at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, IL - Yusef Lateef – tenor sax – flute – oboe - Kenny Barron – piano – Bob Cunningham – bass – Albert “Tootie” Heath – drums

April Edition

Things We’ve Been Listening to Lately

VA - B B. King’s Blues Summit 100 – KTBA Records – Jesus Christos! This is a 32 track deluxe celebration of the best of contemporary electric blues and you will be hard pressed to find a better sampler. The quality of the performance’s should make your hair stand on end. It did mine and I’m bald! Too many stand out performances but two of my favs are Chaka Kahn’s & Eric Clapton’s incendiary take on The Thrill is Gone & Buddy Guy’s blistering Sweet Little Angel, where at the end he exhorts the producers to let that one go, it ain’t gonna get any better.  Every  track on this two-disc set is up to those Olympian standards. Blues legends trade tracks with contemporaneous artists and it’s a baseball fan’s dream. One home run after another. Happy 100 hundredth birthday B.B. – JH

Viktoria Tolstoy & Jacob Karlzon - Who We Are – ACT Music - Viktoria Tolstoy vocals - Jacob Karlzon piano, keyboards, programming/compositions except where noted.

The title track follows the extraordinary opener Satellites, both composed by Jacob Karlzon. Exploring the profound depths of human emotion and interactions, they are exquisitely sung by the great Viktoria Tolstoy. If you don’t this Swedish singer, you should rush to acquaint yourself. She is an interpretive singer who brilliantly balances a pop & jazz ethos with fine phrasing of line and lyric. In reality, there isn’t much in a jazz sense on this album as both artists make the decision to focus on getting the emotional content of the lyrics across and they do so with nuanced use of keyboards, electronics & synths fleshing out the vocals. Some critics felt the album lacked depth as it focused less on the dark and more on the light. Screw that. We need as much light as we can get in these tortured times. Oh, another standout cover on this album is Radiohead’s True Love Waits. - JH

Alice Sara Ott – Johann Johannsson – Piano Works – Deutsche Grammophon – A beautiful album of piano works by the late composer Johann Johannsson who composed not just in the classical idiom but widely for film. His music is alternately haunting and intimate. Most of these pieces on this album are transcriptions from movie music and the mood is eloquently sustained throughout by Alice Sara Ott. Kudos to her for allowing to music to evanesce by itself without inflicting the lister to any egotistic intrusion. Wonderful music on it’s own or meditate along with. - JH

Caleb Wheeler Curtis – Ritual – Chill Tone Records - Caleb Wheeler Curtis – stritch, soprano sax 8, sopranino sax 9, trumpet 9 - Hery Paz – tenor sax, 2,3,4,9, flute 6,7 – Emmanuel Michael – guitar - Orrin Evans – piano 3, 4,5,6 – Vicente Archer – bass – Michael Sarin – drums.

Composer and jazz virtuoso Caleb Wheeler Curtis works with a seasoned line-up of jazz vets who imbue his thoughtfully constructed compositions with aplomb, adding depth & fluidity to the already rich sonic landscape. All of this music makes organic sense and unfolds beautifully. C.W.C. has already proven his bona-fides and further cements his rep as one of the most innovatively creative musicians & composer working in this genre today. - JH

The Outskirts – Orbital – Aerophonic Records - Dave Rempis – alto/tenor saxophone - Ingebrigt Håker Flaten – bass - Frank Rosaly – drums - + Marta Warelis - piano added disc two.

Contemporaneous avant-garde free jazz compositions & improvisations that hearken back to the day (late 60’s/early 70’s Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Albert Ayler et al) but also stretch the limits of today. Two discs recorded at different venues (disc one Teatro Torresino in Padova, Italy: disc two Rataplan in Antwerp, Belgium) showcase the brilliance and interplay of this ensemble’s mind-melding musical abilities in five long compositions by Dave Rempis. Intensity commingles with more drawn out musical musings often within the same piece and the development and exposition will alternately startle and soothe to electrifying effect. – JH

Ratboys – Singing to an Empty Chair – New West Records - Julia Steiner – lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar - Dave Sagan – electric guitar, Pocket Piano - Sean Neumann – bass, synth bass, backing vocals - Marcus Nuccio – drums, tambourine, shaker, synthesizers.

Ratboys' sixth album is a fine amalgamation of their indie/post-punk/rock sound. Clanging guitars, a slight country tinge and engaging vocals wrapped up in a pretty, engaging production by ex- Death Cab For Cutie, Chris Walla. Most of the songs deal with therapy, reconciliation & closure. The songs don’t strive for more than middle of road emotionality and that works pretty much for me. How about you? – JH

Fergus McCreadie – The Shieling – Edition Records - Fergus McCreadie – Piano - David Bowden - Double Bass - Stephen Henderson – Drums.

A brilliant album hybridizing Scottish folk music & jazz. This trio inhales & exhales together almost telepathically. Capturing the temperament of the Scots, (this record was recorded in North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides) it assumes both an understated and slightly feral quality at the same time. Delicacy and frivolity dance hand in hand on this album with all the players contributing to the melodic & harmonic lines interchangeably. Sometimes a droning effect is established as a springboard to extrapolate the music (Wayfinder), other times a martial atmosphere is evoked (Climb Through Pinewood), or perhaps wistful yearning, (The Orange Skyline). This is an emotionally charged, yet understated record. - JH

Claire Dickson – Balance – New Amsterdam Records – all songs composed & sung by Claire Dickson – Zoh Amba – tenor sax 1,2 – Lesley Mok – drums 1,2, - Cleek Schrey – violin – 4,5,7 – Lex Korten – piano 1,2,3 – Maya Keren – piano – 4,5,6,7 – Jon Starks – drums – 5,6,7 – Kitba – harp – 4,5.

Berlin based composer/vocalist Claire Dickson utilizes electronics & sampling as the tectonic plates from which her intriguing music springboards. Employing various guest musicians throughout, her music creates soundscapes of alternating currents in which it ofttimes becomes difficult to discern between the electric & the acoustic. The music is mostly ambient & subtle, evoking atmospheres of surreality & ambiguity. The lyrics have a dreamy quality and are highly poetic, evocative & digestible. - JH

Dave Adewumi – The Flame Beneath the Silence – Giant Steps Arts Records – All compositions by Dave Adewumi – Dave Adewumi – trumpet – Joel Ross – vibes – Linda May Han Oh – bass – Marcus Gilmore – drums.

Way out post-bop that is unusual in the sense that it is more ethereal than hard charging. Highly creative compositions and performances by this quartet of fabulous artists. Adewumi is a highly controlled magician on this record, allowing his trumpet playing to peregrinate down alleys of weave and wonder. Don’t think this record is lightweight by any means. He lets his own playing slide and smear and curlicue around when necessary, which is enough to keep the tension quotient high enough to intrigue. What’s even more impressive is that this record was recorded live at Ornithology in Brooklyn, N.Y., and still sound’s studio perfect. – JH

Jacob Alon – In Limerence – Island Records – A gorgeous debut album from Jacob Alon. Most critics are falling over themselves with comparisons to Devendra Banhart, Surjan Stevens, Joanna Newsom et al, so I’ll jump into the pool too. When I first saw the Scottish singer-songwriter on the Graham Nortor show, I immediately felt he was partially channeling Nick Drake. Whether that is conscious or not; I’ll stand by that. Although somewhat understated, his music and lyrics burn with quiet intensity and profound emotionality. His guitar tunings remind me of the eccentricity of Joni Mitchell. His lyrics deal with situational personal issues well wise beyond his years. An extraordinary vocal range that never feels the need to scream or shout. One to watch. – JH

Bill Nelson’s Orchestra Futura – Live at Nelsonica & Clothworkers Hall – Ethersounds Records -  Bill Nelson: electric guitar, melodica, harmonica, percussion programming - Theo Travis: tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, loops
Dave Sturt: fretless bass, samples, loops, percussion programming - Recorded by John Spence live at Nelsonica, Yorkshire (various venues).

Fantabulous music making of the highest order of canorous creativity. This is not to imply that this is pop. It is not. This is atmospherically inventive improvisation bordering on the sublime. If you like your Eno, your King Crimson, Yes, electronica etc., served up in a uniquely extraordinary package, then my friends, I have just the record for you! These musicians are off the charts great. The centerpiece, of course, is the amazing guitar work of Bill Nelson. - JH

Elan Mehler – Renee Said – Newvelle Ten Collection Records - Elan Mehler (piano/compositions except where noted) - Loren Stillman (Alto Sax) - Scott Robinson (Tenor Sax) - Ben Monder Guitar - Tony Scherr Bass - Francisco Mela (Drums on all tracks except 3) - Matt Wilson (Drums on all tracks except 2, 4, 7 and 9) - On 1, 4, 5, 6, 8 Matt Wilson is the Right Channel - Francisco Mela is on the Left Channel.

8 originals from leader Elan Mehler and 2 covers, one from Paul Motian & Frank Kimbrough, pack this new release, one of several celebrating the label’s 10^th anniversary, with euphorically communicative tunes alternated with introspection. It’s an ambitious album that firmly meets its goals of conveying poignancy and depth. There is nothing to add considering the talents involved except to buy it and revel in the gorgeous sound worlds inherent. - JH

Bjorn Meyer – Convergence – ECM Records - Björn Meyer: 6-String Electric Bass – How many people groan when they hear the sentence solo bass record? What could be worse? Solo bagpipe? Well, that said, this is a brilliant record of solo compositions for bass, and when you’re a virtuoso with a heightened sense of form, harmony and melody then this comes as naturally as breathing. And this record breathes beautifully, creating sound sculptures that will stay with you long after the record has finished playing. - JH

Javon Jackson – Jackson Plays Dylan - Solid Jackson/Palmetto Records - Javon Jackson – Tenor Saxophone - Lisa Fischer – Vocalist (4) - Nicole Zuraitis – Vocalist (7) - Jeremy Manasia – Piano, Fender Rhodes - Isaac Levien – Bass, Electric Bass - Ryan Sands – Drums.

Interpretation. Or re-visioning if you will. As opposed to a covers band in which one tries to faithfully reproduce the song or album note for note. That is mimicry and lacks an essential tool of the creative art namely your own essentially characteristic stamp of individuality. Jackson is one creative artist and uses his axe as the voice to imbue the requisite emotionality on these Dylan tunes. Take one example. Hurricane. His tenor fully captures the force & complexity of Rueben “Hurricane” Carter’s personality with distinction and perhaps a bit of menace. All in all, these interpretations are all imbued with wit, lyricism and depth. Where Javon feels the human voice is a needed component, he enlists two of the finest singers working today. The phenomenal Lisa Fischer brings ferociously understated energy to Gotta Serve Somebody and Nicole Zuraiti’s take on Forever Young makes you realize how singing directly from your heart is the simplest and best way to feel and feed a lyric. Another brilliant aspect of this record is how each take segues into the next track seamlessly forming a most perfect union AND underscoring the fact that Dylan is an extraordinary melodist for which he doesn’t receive enough credit. The album begins with a gorgeous tune Jackson wrote as an homage entitled One for Bob Dylan. - JH

Yang Bao – Madlands – PentaTone Classics - Yang Bao, piano & synthesizer, composer - Jeeihn Kim, violin - Licheng Chen, violin - Lindan Burns, viola
Seoyeon Koo, cello - Griffin Seuter, cello - Soren Davick, double bass.

From the opening notes of this beautiful album, you are drawn in, or rather massaged into Yang Bao’s scintillating sound world. He describes his music as his attempt at making sense of his world through sound. It should be noted that Bao’s creative world is part and parcel of his interdisciplinary creativeness, primarily piano, sculpture and art. He also infers that his music & art infuse each other, although to my mind they stand alone equally as well. This is probing music dealing with issues on Bao’s mind; what does it mean to be fully human, what with AI & political & ecological forces tugging at us, and how do we remain connected to the core of our existential humanity. – JH

Phil Hayes – Terra - Corner Store Jazz Records - Phil Hayes – drums/percussion - Ben Monder – guitar/electronics - Peyton Pleninger – tenor sax/bells - Live through-composed improvisation - March 1, 2025 – Natalie Davis-Rooke Recital Hall – Bucknell U. Lewisburg, PA.

This is outré. In the best sense of the word. Unconventional. Forget the other adjectives that help describe the word. Excessive, over the top, shocking. And it’s not even unconventional if you’re a fan of creative, improvised music that dares to take one where one has not gone before. The three musicians displaying their chops and brain power here are busy working overtime to take you to the verge of artistic creativity. Not for the faint of heart but definitely for the bravest of those willing to jump off the artistic cliff fully expecting to fly. - JH

Dave Liebman – Billy Hart – Adam Rudolph – Beingness – Meta Records - Dave Liebman – soprano saxophone, wood flutes - Billy Hart – drum set - Adam Rudolph – handrumset (kongos, djembe, tarija), piano, percussion.

Recorded live at The Stone in NYC, this album is destined to be a template for how to create improvised music in the moment. But first you would have to assemble three masters of the creative process in one place and allow them to do their thing that they do so well. Dave Liebman is still my all-time favorite interviewee. Cogent, sensitive to the topic, focused and articulate with one idea/reply spurring the next adjacent thought to the next and consequently shaping an overarching conceptual paragon of explicative understanding. That is genius and that is how this music unfolds. Liebman weaves extraordinary lines of musical genius over the top of the complex rhythmic foundations provided by jazz drum master Billy Hart & percussionist extraordinaire Adam Rudolph. Melodic, harmonic, dissonant & adventurous textures are laid out, extrapolated and parsed with great care and meaning. This record was born to be and could only have been generated by this conjugation of spirits. This record is an instant classic. - JH

Simon Hanes – Gargantua – Pyroclastic Records - three drum sets (Jon Starks, Matt Bent, Kevin Murray), three electric basses (Anna Abondolo, Jesse Heasly, Trevor Dunn), three trombones (Jen Baker, Jacob Garchik, Colin Babcock), three French horns (Kevin Newton, Noah Fotis, Blair Hamrick) and three soprano voices (Priya Carlberg, Isa Crespo Pardo, Jolee Gordon).

The vocals stand out on this record for their sheer eeriness and spot on intonation, as well as their medieval polyphonic sense in a 21^st century setting & sensibility. This record is a masterpiece of avant-garde genre bending incorporating Renaissance music, noise, jazz and metal. Alternatingly cerebral & head banging, one can find moments to lose yourself in and at other times tunes that are deeply meditative. Dense, textural, playful and rhythmic. Simon Hanes has created a wholly new something out of bits and pieces of whole cloth. The track titles are provocative and daring. i.e., opening track A Series of Waves Tremble in a Sea of Blood. Other titillating titles being The Number of the Beast is 666 and Lucifer/Aureum Chaos. C’mon in, the waters fine. Honest. – JH

Tomeka Reid – Dance Skip Hop – Out of Your Head Records - Tomeka Reid – cello - Jason Roebke - bass, cassette - Mary Halvorson – guitar - Tomas Fujiwara – drums.

Playful, swinging avant-garde music. That’s a combination the world needs more of. With tongues planted firmly in cheeks and feet planted firmly on the ground these five improvisational compositions skitter and tug at your ear strings. Mary Halvorson in particular has never sounded so energized and engaged as she does here, whether sparkling out little microcosms from her fretboard on the opening title track or alternatively showering us with some searing hard rock post-boppish punkish lines on track 3’s Oo Long! Tomeka Reid’s cello grounds us when we need to be grounded and provides a comfort line for her musical comrades to explore the inherent possibilities of these tunes. Her rhythm partners Fujiwara & Roebke know how to complement the proceedings with wit and eclecticism. All the players are given room to shine in this music’s firmament and they do so with the magisterial ease of master musicians. - JH

Loren Stillman – Seer – Newvelle Ten Records - alto and soprano saxophones - Loren Stillman – piano - Craig Taborn - bass - Thomas Morgan.

Loren Stillman communicates with superbly understated energy. Neither a screamer nor chest thumper but rather more instinctive & uncomplicated, and with such super talents as Craig Taborn and Thomas Morgan as his rhythm partners, he is able to convey profound musical insights with calm assurance. Their combined music making results in a wide-open approach with great interaction and interplay. A relatively young arrival on the jazz scene, Stillman has quickly rocketed to the top tier of players. - JH

Jill Scott – To Whom This May Concern – Blues Babe Records – A big comeback from Jill Scott, whom we haven’t heard from since 2015’s Woman. This record fills in the gaps with Jill telling you, in her usual honest manner, exactly what’s on her mind. Her music has always doubled down on whatever’s happening in the zeitgeist moment and this is no different but this time with updated production values and comfortable genre criss-crossing. Relying heavily on the bass line allows her to lay down a seductive foundation in order to better preach about personal matters, sociological issues, racial & gender issues and to do so with strength & style. The guests don’t let her down, instead adding depth to their individual tracks by allowing Jill to dominant as they support and enhance the tunes. Favorite track for me is the soul rap Ode to Nikki, featuring Ab-Soul. But don’t get me wrong, there are no weak tracks and Jill it’s so good to have you back although it sounds like you never left. - JH

Marc-Andre Hamelin – Found Objects – Hyperion Records – Maybe the classical piano album of they year. Hamelin has always been cutting edge but he really outdoes himself this time covering an extraordinary range of composers on this outing. Starting off with Frank Zappa’s Ruth is Sleeping to Salvatore Martirano’s Stuck on Stella to John Oswald’s extraordinary Tip; John Cage’s challenging set The Perilous Night where Hamelin has to play piano, pluck the soundboard, make percussive sounds and more, he just nails it with his heightened sense of daring and technical derring-do. He completes this set with Stefan Wolpe’s 4 Studies on Basic Tone Rows; Yehudi Wyner’s Refrain and completes this tour de force with his own composition Hexensabbat. Whew. I was exhilarated and exhausted at the end of this album. Marc-Andre Hamelin possesses invisible technique, meaning that he is so intuitive that he can fully inhabit the most demanding of music with relative ease and simply concentrate on the emotional sublimity. – JH

Joe Lovano – A Raft the Sky the Wild Sea – Blue Cloud Music - Joe Lovano – tenor sax – Douglas J. Cuomo – composer - Winston-Salem Symphony – Michelle Merrill – conductor.

Expected nothing less than sweet perfection from Joe Lovano on this beautiful meeting of symphonic composition and jazz improvisation. Joe’s playing is brilliant within the context of the atmospherically moody orchestra. The title of the cd is the title of the piece in three movements simply entitled Movements I, II, III. This was a joint commission from the London, Fort Worth and Winston-Salem symphonies and composer Cuomo has produced an introspective piece which is strongly musical & deeply meditative, although the last movement picks up the pace and mood with drama & buoyancy. - JH

Ron Carter & Ricky Dillard – Sweet Sweet Spirit – Motown Gospel Records - Ron Carter – bass - New G (New Generation Chorale) – Ricky Dillard – Choirmaster, arranger, conductor.

88-year old Ron Carter is one joyously amazing bass playing fother mucker! This jazz gospel hybrid has roots strongly entrenched in the African-American community and Mr. Carter provides the anchor for this exuberantly powerful outing of splendid hymnal interpretations. The album is dedicated to Carter’s mother, Mrs. Willie O. Carter, and the love shines through like a burst of sunlight after a softly replenishing rain. The choir is outstanding and the direction by Ricky Dilliard is assured and assertive. All the vocal soloists are simply outstanding. - JH

John Zorn’s Olympiad Vol 4 – Curling – Tzadik  - Rova Saxophone Quartet (1):
Steve Adams / alto saxophone - Jon Raskin / baritone saxophone - Bruce Ackley / soprano saxophone - Larry Ochs / tenor saxophone - The William Winant Percussion Group (2): - Jordan Glenn / percussion - Robert Lopez / percussion
Scott Siler / percussion - William Winant / percussion.

Both of these ensembles have deep pasts with the works of the incredibly prolific (most compositions of an extraordinarily high quality nature) and boy does it show. Snail like intensity, deep focus and Herculean patience on the parts of both players and listeners are de rigueur to appreciate these works. The combined forces do a magnificent job dragging these rarely performed Zorn opuses into our times creating a hypnotically immersive listening experience to all. – JH

Rebecca Trescher - Changing Perspectives – Enja Yellowbird - Rebecca Trescher – clarinet, bass clarinet, composition - Andreas Feith – piano, composition - Phil Donkin – double bass - Tobias Backhaus – drums. Guests - Theresia Philipp – alto saxophone (on track 3,4,6,9,10) - Joachim Lenhardt – tenor saxophone, flute (on track 3,4,6,7,9,10) - Philipp Brämswig – guitar, fx (all, except track 7).

Some have described this outing by Rebecca Trescher as being a bit on the more obscure side of the equation but I find all of her compositions fairly accessible & linear. All the players are capable of finding their own way inside of her works, adding depth & comprehension in building these tunes from the inside out and allowing Trescher’s instrument to delineate the core message. This is a basic jazz quartet with added color supplied by reeds and guitar on a majority of the tracks. Contemplative rather than energizing but enriching nonetheless. - JH

Kris Davis Quartet – John Zorn – Bagatelles Vol 5 – Tzadik Records - Piano - Kris Davis - Drums - Kenny Wollesen - Bass – Drew Gress - Guitar – Mary Halvorson.

Wha this quartet is smoking! Alternating delicately crafted moments against high flowing electricity and vigor, this album is unlike any Bagatelles from John Zorn I’ve heard before. Mary Halvorson is capable of a soft, minimalist approach to music making and then sometimes she comes on with the fervor of an entire punk band. Even when the music is less in yer face, her spikiness stands out. She’s always getting in your space and forcing you to pay her some attention. Kris Davis, for her part, is content to let others take the spotlight, reinforcing the architecture of each piece with superb piano support and wondrous filigree. The rhythm section supports and so much more adding texture to the proceedings in spades. One of the best of the Bagatelles series! – JH

Melissa Aldana – Filin – Blue Note Records - Tenor saxophone – Melissa Aldana - pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Peter Washington - bass - Kush Abadey – drums - special guest vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant on two tracks.

The album is entitled Filin (Feeling) and boy does that translation show up in this tender & beautifully understated album. I love understatement and silences in music. Master musicians know how to utilize both to build and break tension and enhance the entire atmosphere of a tune. Atmosphere & tone abound on this record. Aldana’s husky tenor is warmly accented and supported by the rhythm section. Rubalcara is a totally committed empathetic player, as well as Washington’s loving bass accompaniment and drummer Abadey’s subtle brush work. Aldana prefers to take the listener by the hand, leading them down corridors that open into light and wonder, gently insinuating the tunes like ear worms into your consciousness. Special kudos must go to the superb guest singing of Cecile McLorin Salvant who astonishes with her work on No Te Empeñes Más (Don’t Try Anymore) & Las Rosas No Hablan (The Roses Don’t Speak).JH

Kurt Elling & The WDR Big Band – In the Brass Palace – Big Shoulders Records - Kurt Elling – voice – WDR Big Band - Bob Mintzer - saxophone, conductor.

High-powered big band music augmented with one of the best jazz vocalists of the past 30 years. The production, sound & balance are impeccable. The vocals are never lost in the mix. Elling is a man with total control of his voice & technique, most notably his straight tone singing and knowing when to release the vibrato, always utilizing it to his advantage, especially on the wonderfully arranged versions of Joe Jackson’s Steppin’ Out and Wayne Shorter’s Speak No Evil. Bob Mintzer leads the WDR with aplomb and finesse. – JH

Juan Dahmen – Ecos Paralelos – www.juandahmen.bandcamp.com – Electronics & looping. Another strong release by Juan Dahmen. I reviewed two of his promised twelve releases for this year last month and this is March’s offering. This time we’re treated to an expanded universe of ambient sound. Mystical and otherworldly. Dahmen continues to impress me with the breadth of his imagination and creative skills. This reminded me of a long journey in a pod sleep illuminative dream state. - JH

Angine de Poitrine – Vol. II – Spectacles Bonzai Records - Khn de Poitrine – microtonal guitars, bass guitar, loop station, synthesizers, vocals - Klek de Poitrine – drums, vocals - Words usually made up – This is quite simply astonishing music. This Québécois duo have imagined microtonal headbanging music into existence and the world is a better place for it. My friend James Manno turned me on to this and at first I laughed and said to myself “what’ll people think of next” and then I couldn’t get it outta mah head! I’ve watched them on Youtube, dl’d their two releases and have become a voice crying in the wilderness. This music is astronomically energetic and polyrhythmically fascinating and precise. More angina pectoris please. - JH

Meiko Kaji - Otoko Onna Kokoro No Aika (Wewantsounds)
Kaji was one of Japan’s top actresses throughout the ‘70s starring in such cult classics as Lady Snowblood and Stray Cat Rock. During this period she also released a number of albums, typically featuring theme songs from her current movies. Otoko Onna Kokoro No Aika (1974) expands her palette to include more Showa kayōkyoku (pop) and enka,(Japanese blues - the sultry ‘Shinjuki Blues.’) Still, the cinematic arrangements are not far behind. ‘Akashia No Ame Ga Yamu Toki’ and ‘Kasbah No Onna’ begin with Herb Alpert-styled trumpet blasts before settling into romantic ballads fondly recalling early Kiki Dee. There’s a Hawaiian groove to ‘Onna Kokoro No Uta’ with snappy guitar fills accompanied by harpsichord and flute and ‘Ginza No Cho’ adds a funky brass arrangement behind screaming, Mickey Baker-inspired solos. While most songs wield a tears-in-your-sake sentimentality (the title roughly translates as Sad Songs In The Heart Of Men And Women) ‘Uramachi Jinsei’ melds mandolins, clarinets, and Spanish-style guitars into a playful humalong and ‘Ame No Yatai’ skips along on a breezy arrangement before ‘Shiretoko Ryojo’ sends us home with a tear in our eye, yet hope in our hearts. JFO

The Asteroid No.4 - In Praise Of Shadows (Little Cloud)
San Francisco’s psychedelic shoegazers introduce electronic and gothic textures into their discography with their 13th album, named after Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s exploration of the dichotomy between shadowy interiors and the occasional overwhelming light of modern times. A perfect metaphor for the times we live in, the album bustles with energy from the outset, as I hear vestiges of INXS’s ‘Don’t Change’ if covered by the Psychedelic Furs in earlier digital single ‘Neptune.’ ‘Hieroglyphics’ certainly won’t disappoint Depeche Mode fans, as the band tinker with dance grooves to good effect. While ‘Pitch Black’ echoes it’s titular dark atmospherics, the vibrating guitars and stampeding drums of ‘To The Core’ harken back to vintage A4 - melodic psych with a dreamy undercurrent. ‘Shadowed’ is rougher than we previously experienced (hints of Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre danced around my head), but the spiritual comfort that envelops the listener during the hallucinatory ‘Prayer’ (and its reprise-like followup, ‘Final Waves’) are among recent career highlights. Another stunning achievement. JFO

The Claypool Lennon Delerium - The Great Parrot-Ox & The Golden Egg of Empathy (ATO)
Les Claypool and Sean Ono Lennon’s third album is a conceptual affair about artificial intelligence’s destruction of the human race. Only the Great Parrot Ox and its Golden Egg of Empathy can save us from being turned into paperclips! OK, so they’ve got a sense of humour tempered with a sense of dread. It’s not exactly Tommy, S.F. Sorrow or The Wall, but the key here is the tunes. The admirable, cautionary tale may actually work as an animated feature (its original intention, although Rich Ragsdale’s 24-page comic book will enhance its collectability and up the entertainment value for the time being), but it’s the music that will outlive the parable and if you’re a fan you won’t be disappointed. There’s a touch of prog here, dreamy psychedelia there, Zappa-meets-The Residents insanity, outrageous string-shredding (bass and guitar) solos, and a pervasive sense of fun wrapped in a serious message which a few overwrought theatrical numbers won’t diminish. Our lesson for today: technology: bad, humanity: good. JFO

The Smoking Trees - Year (Bandcamp)
The fifth album from The Smoking Trees (aka Sir Psych) continues his love of 60s psychedelia interspersed with 21st century embellishments that make each track seem like it was actually recorded in 1967, all sequenced to be experienced in a single sitting (and appropriately bookended by ‘Your Year Starts/Ends Here’ with hints of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and celebratory hoopla sneaking into the mix). There’s a playful, vintage atmosphere to the arrangements with toy town tinkling (‘Use It Or Lose It’, ‘The Image Of You’), spacey, echoed vocals (‘Pinwheel’, ‘The Highway’, ‘Vibrate With You’), and red-eyed headnodders (‘Cannabis Van’, ‘Magic Of The Morning’) throughout. With sitars, backward tapes, and sound effects-laden codas linking the tracks to enhance the “single sitting” remit you can almost smell the patchouli oil wafting out of your speakers! Four bonus tracks supplement your trip, so tune in, turn on, and float downstream. JFO

The Bevis Frond - Horrorful Heights (Fire Records; also available as a limited edition 3LP, including Horrorful Offal, a complete album of outtakes and demos)

Nick Saloman has always been generous when it comes to entertaining us with his Bevis Frond releases. Most of the Frond’s back catalogue is graced with double albums (or the occasional triple as is the case here with a bonus disc of Saloman solo demos and full band outtakes, none of which appear on the regular album, making this special edition essential for fans and completists). So settle back for over two hours of vintage Frond head rattling, catchy, chart-worthy pop, and the always insightful lyrics that actually encourage you to think while listening to his carefully constructed tunes. [A lyric sheet is helpfully included.]

'A Mess Of Stress' leaps out of the gate buoyed by a typically barnstorming solo and melancholia  settles the pace down with the western-tinged 'Best Laid Plans' and 'Momma Bear' featuring charming pedal steel solos from Louis Wigget, a first on a Frond album I believe? I like how 'Square House' picks up the pace with a nasty little toe-dip into grungier territory, six-strings a-blazing.

The title track is all sitars and tablas and patches of patchouli reminiscent of Mr. Harrison seeking enlightenment looking within and without his soul. There's a nice medieval melody tossed in for good measure. 'Romany Blue' is another pop charmer featuring one of Saloman's tenderest vocals and 'Silver Insects' has one of those druggy, dreamy Crazy Horse grooves that decorates many of Neil Young's best efforts.JFO

Golden Samphire Band - Dream Is The Driver (Wayside & Woodland)
Junkboy brothers Mik and Rich Hanscomb are joined by vocalist Hannah Lewis on this debut offering from the Sussex trio, named after a local flower. The sea plays an important role in the songs, which follow in the footsteps of other “psychogeographically-informed-psych-folk” acts as Trees, Michael Hedges, Shelleyan Orphan, and Pentangle. Dreamy acoustic sea shanties like ‘Harbour Waves’ will appeal to Renaissance fans, ‘Chalk Space’ has a nice pedal steel swagger, and ‘(We Wunt) Travel Further’ is a travelogue along a seaside stroll set to a minstrelsy backing with flickering flute and Lewis’s impressive vocal stylings. The title track sums up a central theme - “Life is a journey/not a destination/If I wish to change the path/My dream is the driver.” An impressive beginning I’ll return to often. JFO