Monthly Archives: December 2013

Today’s post reveals the 2nd through the 5th Bird is the Worm albums of the year.

*****

For each album considered for inclusion, I was looking for it to hit me right in my heart, provoke a strong emotional reaction.  I was also looking for it to engage my brain, provide some intrigue or fascination with the music being presented.  Extra points were awarded for doing Something Different or building on a premise that embraced the best qualities of creativity.  Strong musicianship alone is not enough.  Many solid albums didn’t make the list.  It literally pains me when I see some of the albums that weren’t included.  But I listen to a lot of music, and one of the rare downsides to encountering so much great Jazz is that some of it won’t receive the recognition it deserves.  So there you have it.

These are not reviews.  They are simple thoughts, reminiscences, fragments of recollections, and brief opinions about how each album struck me both now and when I first heard it.  There is a link to a more formal review following each entry… that’s where you go to find out what’s what about each recording.  Most reviews are accompanied with embedded audio so you can hear some of the music, as well as personnel and label information, links to artist, label, and retail sites, and anything else that seemed relevant at the time I wrote the review.

Let’s begin…

*****

2.  Emilio Teubal – Música Para un Dragon Dormido

This music has a boundless energy, and it grabs me each time I hit the play button.  Teubal brings both modern jazz and Argentinean music to the table, but infuses it with other influences to where it’s not so easy to draw a clear lineage.  Apparently this was Teubal’s intention, and it clearly worked.  A stunning album of immaculate beauty.  It’s about as near perfect as an album could be, and I still find it hard to believe it didn’t end up as my Album of the Year.  On saxophones, Sam Sadigursky puts out some of the best moments on a jazz album in 2013.  Cellist Erik Friedlander had a quietly massive 2013, putting out a beautiful album under his own name, and also performing on some of 2013’s top recordings in a supporting role.  On the fourth and fifth tracks, “El Acrobata” and “Un Dragon Dormido,” which could be considered the same composition, Friedlander interacts with other ensemble members to create some heavenly sonic expressions, of a supreme elegance and stately beauty.  Jazz is more diverse than ever, and the internet age has opened up new avenues for jazz artists to record and produce their own music, thus making it tougher for the general public to decipher what they should be listening to… but when someone asks you what will be considered the classic albums of this modern jazz age in fifty years time, you should point to this recording as one of them.  As near to perfection as you can get.

Released on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

3.  Arun Ghosh – A South Asian Suite

Clarinettist Ghosh has one of the more original sounds on the modern jazz scene.  His style of Indo-Jazz is both eccentric and amicable, diverse and complex, yet so easy to connect with.  I was taken with his previous recordings quite a bit, but on his newest recording, he brings an even fuller sound to the table, one more rounded out and self-assured.  Melodies that strike to the heart of the matter and rhythmic architectures that offer up plenty of ornamentation and structural fireworks.  Or said differently, this album sounds like it has a lot going on, and it does, and yet by crafting rich, beautiful melodies, Ghosh makes this gregarious album so easy, and enjoyable, to spend time with.  His mix of modern jazz approaches with that of regional musics from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka spin a breathless weave of influences, all which abide comfortably under the same roof of one album, and which import a sense of excitement as the sound shifts from scene to scene.  Just an outstanding album.

Released on Camoci Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

4.  Ben Goldberg – Unfold Ordinary Mind

Goldberg opened 2013 with two strong recordings, released simultaneously at the outset of the year.  Unfold Ordinary Mind was the stronger of the two (though Subatomic Particle Homesick Blues was certainly no slouch), courtesy of how Goldberg’s ensemble managed to create challenging music cloaked in catchy melodies and intermittent grooves.  It’s not unlike an avant-garde rendition of a Motown recording session.  Goldberg has always been an innovative sort, delving into projects that probably shouldn’t work, but producing engaging, often very listenable music despite the odds.  He does that here, too, and the result is no less impressive or fascinating with many many subsequent listens.  An outstanding achievement in a career marked by them, and a fun album, to boot.

Released on BAG Production Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

5.  Nicolas Moreaux – Fall Somewhere

This is an album of beautiful melodies.  The melodies aren’t stated… they’re slowly exhaled.  Tenor sax man Bill McHenry is the perfect musician for this type of album, with songs of a languorous demeanor, even when they’re moving at a brisk pace.  His big sound is delivered with a peaceful ease, and matches well with Moreaux’s ensemble, which utilizes a dynamic percussive approach that serves more as an undercurrent of crackling electricity, and allows the melodies to serve up the heavy voltage.  Bassist Moreaux has been collaborating with jazz-folk saxophonist Jeremy Udden, and this album clearly illustrates that those two are peas of the same pod… they both have that eminently peaceful sound, of a warmth that provides sufficient heat to prevent the music from ever getting terribly sleepy.  This is a strong album that, unfortunately, seems to have flown a bit under the radar.  Hopefully this will kick-start some interest.  It should, because this is a gorgeous recording.

Released on Fresh Sound New Talent.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

Tomorrow’s post reveals the Bird is the Worm 2013 Album of the Year.

Cheers.

Today’s post reveals the 6th through the 10th Bird is the Worm albums of the year.

*****

For each album considered for inclusion, I was looking for it to hit me right in my heart, provoke a strong emotional reaction.  I was also looking for it to engage my brain, provide some intrigue or fascination with the music being presented.  Extra points were awarded for doing Something Different or building on a premise that embraced the best qualities of creativity.  Strong musicianship alone is not enough.  Many solid albums didn’t make the list.  It literally pains me when I see some of the albums that weren’t included.  But I listen to a lot of music, and one of the rare downsides to encountering so much great Jazz is that some of it won’t receive the recognition it deserves.  So there you have it.

These are not reviews.  They are simple thoughts, reminiscences, fragments of recollections, and brief opinions about how each album struck me both now and when I first heard it.  There is a link to a more formal review following each entry… that’s where you go to find out what’s what about each recording.  Most reviews are accompanied with embedded audio so you can hear some of the music, as well as personnel and label information, links to artist, label, and retail sites, and anything else that seemed relevant at the time I wrote the review.

Let’s begin…

*****

6.  Tim Horner – The Head of the Circle 

This album just keeps getting better with each listen.  A sextet built upon one excellent melody after the next, and possessing a sound of such fullness as to suggest that it’s more than just six musicians at work.  The quality I most love about this recording is the anticipation it builds for the next firework display of melody in the subsequent song, even as the current one is still working its way through to its conclusion.  In that way, I find it somewhat reminiscent of a 2012 album released by Horner’s label mate Florian Hoefner, Songs Without Words.  Horner has vibraphonist Joe Locke sitting in on this session, and that turned out to be a very wise decision.  An album that engages the listener in concise, fascinating conversations.

Released on Origin Arts.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

7.  Reijseger / Fraanje / Sylla – Down Deep

This trio recording of piano, cello, percussion and chant harks back to the Codona trio recordings of Don Cherry, Collin Walcott and Nana Vasconcelos.  In this instance, cellist Ernst Reijseger, pianist Harmen Fraanje, and percussionist Mola Sylla bring their own expression of jazz and folk music.  Like the Codona recordings, Down Deep leans far heavier to the folk music side of that equation, but like the Codona recordings, the music is just too damn beautiful for it to really matter what genre the album belongs to more.  Peaceful seaside music that ambles patiently from note to note, a rustic kind of serenity that can fill the space of a lazy Sunday afternoon with sublime music that sparks with life and drifts like dreams.  A stunning album built on nuance and grace.

Released on Winter & Winter.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

8.  Anna Webber – Percussive Mechanics

I love how all the moving parts on this complex album just seem to fall into place at exactly the right time.  An album that made a terrific first impression, then went through a series of slow reveals of additional interesting facets as the first blush faded and the real work of getting to know an album got underway.  The rhythmic action is this album’s bread and butter, but it’s the way melodies coalesce from within a percussive fog that elevates this recording up a notch or three.  Not easy to make a challenging album so damn simple to connect with, but Webber pulls that feat off.  No end to this album’s ability to fascinate.

Released on Pirouet Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

9.  John Zorn – The Mysteries

A trio recording of guitarist Bill Frisell, harpist Carol Emanuel, and Kenny Wollesen on vibes (and bells), performing the compositions of John Zorn, following up on last year’s Gnostic Preludes, and mining the same themes.  It’s a sea of rhythmic eddies and curls and ripples, and the melodies are glimpses of fish darting beneath its surface.  Those fish are what the eye is drawn to, but the reason for the magic in the first place is the environment created by the rhythmic approach.  It’s also why, despite the album’s heavy melodic presence, these songs speak more to tapping the foot and bobbing the head than they do humming along to the music.  A mesmerizing album, one that a listener can just immerse themselves in.  Each time it ends, I feel like something has been taken away from me, and often feel compelled to hit that play button again and start over from the beginning.

Released on the Tzadik label.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

10.  Nicole Mitchell’s Ice Crystal – Aquarius

I kept expecting this album’s mesmerizing quality to shatter.  Its haunting presence, its dissonant personality, its sharp angles and edgy demeanor… all of these things should be sufficient to keep the listener at a safe distance, but the music’s abiding warmth makes it safe to get right up close, and its why once eye contact is made with this recording, it won’t let go.  There’s something almost hypnotic about this music.  That is possesses this characteristic while presenting challenging music… that’s an accomplishment that can’t be esteemed too greatly.  Mitchell keeps making music that’s a little bit different every time, yet retains a signature sound that translates to each successive project.  I’m amazed at how amazing this music continues to be.

Released on Delmark Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

Tomorrow’s post reveals the Bird is the Worm numbers 2-5 2013 albums of the year.

Cheers.