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.

September Edition

Things We’ve Been Listening to Lately

Ambrose Akinmusire Mary Halvorson - Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings (Nonesuch)  Ambrose Akinmusire – trumpet - Mary Halvorson – guitar. How do you even rate or score music like this? Two luminaries in the avant jazz world choosing to combine forces (guitar-trumpet duets anyone?) to stretch each other out and perhaps expand the listener’s consciousness along with their own. This music takes intent listening skills along the lines of being an empath and I don’t just mean on the part of the listener but the players especially. I’m hearing both artists making sounds I’ve never heard either employ previously and to my ears they are a ravishment. BTW – there are also electronics used liberally & deliciously throughout. 4.5 stars in the firmament. – JH 

Tucker Zimmerman – Dream Me A Dream (Big Potato Records) – This is a gorgeous recording. Simplistic sounding folk tunes swathed in sensitive harmonies and synth washes that layer the lyrics with warmth & humanism. Tragically Tucker and his wife (who appears generously in harmony with him) were lost in a house fire that took both their lives on January 17^th, 2026. Although holding a degree in music theory & composition as well as being a Fulbright Scholar, Tucker never let that hold him back from his love of folk music(s) and paring his lyrical content down to its most sincerely heartfelt core. Whether carving his thematic material around life in general (Rooftops of San Franciso, based on a poem he wrote at age 19), art or life-long love (Sun in Scorpio), his work was (as it is on this recording) full of wit (Cross Walk) and profoundness through simplicity. Interestingly he covers Adrienne Lenker’s (Big Thief), song Stay (I Want You to Stay), another love song and a rare deviation from a career only performing his own music. Tucker Zimmerman was a rare talent and shamefully underappreciated by the general public. A ++ recording. – JH

Brittany Haas – Natalie Haas – North Node (Padiddle Records) – Natalis Haas - cello – Brittany Haas – fiddle – Sam Bush – mandolin - Tracks 4, 10) – Darol Anger – fiddle (Track 12)

Remarkable album of fresh tunes that sound timeless and almost futuristic at the same time by two of the foremost exponents of their respective instruments in the folk genre today. Two things conspiring to make this album sound so genre defying/defining are the sister’s experience making music with international ensembles through the years. Couple that with a couple of outstanding guest appearances and then you have what some have dubbed chambergrass. I love that. And it fits aptly for a duo making and playing music that effortlessly crosses the boundaries of folk and classical with such musical integrity. - JH 

The War and Treaty – The Story of Michael and Tanya (Atlantic Outpost Records) – What great singers. Michael Trotter & Tanya Trotter nee Blount are searing old school vocalists operating with new school technology in order to emotionally burn down the house around your ears. And talk about emotional courage & honesty. Whew. I felt like an intrusive eavesdropper on these daring revelations concerning their life & marriage. Any track could be THE standout in the hands of these singers. Emo subculture can’t hold the shadow of a candle in the presence of music making like this. Nothing about this is self-pitying but instead raw, brutal and unpretentiously soulful storytelling. - JH 

Cécile McLorin Salvant Metropole Orkest & Jules Buckley - With Every Breath I Take (Nonesuch Records) - Coproduced and arranged by Darcy James Argue, with Jules Buckley conducting the Metropole Orkest – Within this orchestra there is a core trio making sure that the arrangements (which are superbly stunning) stay grounded in order for Salvant to soar into the stratosphere or plunge to the emotional depths she is so ably capable of. Pianist Sullivan Fortner, bassist David Wong, and drummer Kush Abadey are the musically emotional anchors that allow Salvant to richly explore every nuance of the lyrical content. Jules Buckley keeps the orchestra fully reined in & supportive so that the voice is right in your ear allowing the songs to unravel with stunning intimacy. This record lays bare the argument that Cécile McLorin Salvant is the closest thing we’ve got to the inimitable Sarah Vaughan working in the tradition of the Great American Songbook alive today. - JH

Chris Coull Quartet w. Imogen Ryall – Songs from Porgy and Bess (Rubicon Records) - Imogen Ryall – vocals – Chris Coull – trumpet - John Turville – piano – Simon Thorpe – bass – Matt Fishwick – drums.

Chris Coull, for me, is the standout performer on this release. His trumpet playing and the arrangements and playing by the band are in the best post-bop tradition, with Coull encapsulating the essence of these tunes both in his fluid improvisational lines and soaring ebullience, as well as his ability to play with melodious nuance. Imogen Ryall gets to the heart of the matter more often than not displaying immaculate intonation in these more subtle rather than theatrical performances. A cool breezy way to spend an evening with Gershwin’s magnificent music from his groundbreaking opera. I do love ending the record with an acapella rendition of Summertime. Brilliant! – JH

Tift Merritt – Sugar (One Riot Records) – I just don’t know how to categorize music like this. It’s countrified singer songwriter roots rock et al. All I know is it’s a terrific return for Merritt after nine years of silence. A core band including her producer Lawrence Rothman, provides the diamond hard backing on these riveting songs of emotional maturity & vulnerability. And it’s not just human relationships but also coming to grips with performance & fame (Sugar), or the stunning plea with the line “I’m trying to sing all the locks off your heart”, (Locks). The arrangements incorporate subtle use of keys, percussion and guitar throughtout, further underscoring the depth and quiet passion of this album. Tiff, don’t make us wait so long next time. More of your kind of mature artistry is sorely needed in these or for that matter any other times. - JH

Martin Owen – Mozart – The Four Horn Concertos (Chandos Classics) - Martin Owen – Horn - Manchester Camerata – Gabor Takacs-Nagy – conductor. – Geez Louise but Martin Owen is the real deal. Playing an instrument as ornery as the French Horn requires tremendous technique, dedication, breath control & an emotional makeup able to withstand the most stressful conditions known to musicians. Martin Owen is a rock. His playing is spot on, his technique superb and his intonation (always a challenge for Hornists) is simply otherworldly. When he hit his first triple tongue series I almost fell off of my chair. Nonpareil. This is an exhilarating exhibition of the Mozart concertos which is pulled off with flair & aplomb. He is by turns lyrical, flamboyant, dramatic and sweetly alluring in this exemplary set. The Manchester Camerata led by conductor Gabor Takacs-Nagy is nimbly fleet-footed, providing extraordinary support to the soloist and adding depth to the amazing music of Herr Mozart. Eight months in and I don’t believe a better Mozart record will appear this year. – JH

Chris Potter – Alive With Ghosts (Edition Records) - Chris Potter - tenor and soprano Saxophones - Bill Frisell -  guitar - Burniss Travis - bass - Nate Smith -drums - Rane Moore - clarinet - Zekkereya El-magharbel - trombone - Sara Caswell - violin.

This is an ambitious beyond ambitious project on the part of Potter and the fact that it succeeds so well is testament not only to his compositional capabilities but also to the masterful ensemble he has assembled for this project. Hey, is Bill Frisell eventually going to be on everyone’s record? Geez, I kinda hope so. His guitar presence always adds to the olio and his indelible sound-scaping is a continuous source of musical wonder & joy for me. The band, particularly violinist Caswell, moves sinuously around Potter’s lead lines to create music that is a rare combination of chamber jazz with folkish elements. The ambition of the project is amplified by all these tunes being thematically connected to the story of abolitionist John Brown who believed that the power of persuasion had to be ratcheted up with overt action. I don’t believe you could read/interpret any political/polemical leanings directly via the music other than the titles and that’s okay. My and I’m sure Chris Potter’s hope is that the provocative titles, i.e., Osawatomie Brown, This Earth Would Have No Charms For Me, Into Africa et al, will prod the listener into further study and reflection thus allowing some of these historical ghosts to finally find their rest instead of permeating our culture through the cycling of the kind of demagoguery that, alas, finds its way into our lives and discourse all too frequently.– JH

Steve Swallow – Winter Songs (ECM Records) - Mike Rodriguez – Trumpet - Chris Cheek - Tenor Saxophone - Steve Cardenas – Guitar - Gil Goldstein – Piano - Steve Swallow – Bass - Adam Nussbaum – Drums.

Swallow’s first album as a leader since 2013 and after the passing of his partner & musical muse Carla Bley. The tracks are simply titled One, Two, Three, Four……..et al, perhaps in order to keep the listener focused more intently on this deeply felt chamber jazz. Nothing to distract with any imagined themes other than the deep connection music of this kind can make with its limpid melodic flow and subtly harmonic profundity. No ego driven distractions either, just persuasive conversing among a group of master musicians sharing their innermost thoughts and expressions. And nothing cold or “wintry” about any of these tunes which instead exude much needed consolatory warmth. – JH

Christina Ruf – That Light in the Night Sky Could Be (www.cr.bc.com) - Christina Ruf: Electric Cello, Electronics, Acoustic Cello (1) – I love the music and the sentiment of the first track, Open Windows, Collide with Birds, with its blending of the natural world and cellos (acoustic & electric) and electronics adding more nuance to the fabric of this unique encounter. Christina Ruf is one of those artists who has leapt into the fray and carried the Eno ambient universe forward into ever new prismatic & imaginative sound worlds. One of my favorite two new artist discoveries over the past few years. It has been my pleasure to track her growth as an artist which has expanded my musical universe immensely. – JH

Ryan Adams – The Suicide Handbook (Pax Americana Records) - Ryan Adams – Vocals, acoustic guitar - Bucky Baxter – Pedal steel guitar, occasional backing vocals, and guitar.

Lemme get this outta the way. Ryan Adams has admittedly acted reprehensibly in the past regarding women, including with his ex-wife. He eventually apologized publicly for his behavior and quietly resumed his extraordinary career, and I use the work extraordinary because he simply is an astonishingly gifted songwriter. This release has been sought after and heralded by collectors for years and Ryan decided to clean up the bootlegs and officially release the songs in the middle of this year. He kept the production stripped back enhancing the sheer profundity of the intimate power of these variegated stylistic compositions. Some have belittled the seemingly one note melancholic quality of the songs but screw ‘em. They are melodically and emotionally rich renderings of the most personal human experiences. BTW. If we refused to engage with the art of every artist who has exhibited foibles & failings we wouldn’t be engaging with much art. I get that some argue they don’t wish to enrich “those” types of people but I would propose that you could buy/dl the music and possibly enrich yourself (and shun the live performances if you must, where most of the real artist money is made) and read the section of the bible in which Christ exhorts those who are totally free of sin to please feel free to cast the first stone. – JH

Claire Booth – Jams Coleman - Life Stories (Orchid Classics) - Claire Booth (soprano), Jâms Coleman (piano). This is a beautifully crafted and performed album of Weimar Republic & French cabaret songs balanced with interpretations of more modernistic classical song via the compositional pens & genius on display via Poulenc’s Banalities, Hans Eislers’ Hollywooder Liederbuch & Thomas Ades' Life Story op. 8b, and the album kickoff cycle Zoe Martlew’s brilliant & ironically hilarious Hotel Babylon. Clair Booth exhibits a wide range of emotional verisimilitude, inhabiting each song/cycle expertly & fully. She easily slips on and sheds multiple personas as required with terrific theatrical flair. Jams Coleman is the most sensitive of accompanists, providing not only ample & able support but imbuing the songs with the requisite underscoring, acting as a fully engaged partner in the presentation. He gets the spotlight in the Gershwin tunes interspersed as palette cleansers through the album with wit, & insouciance. – JH

Rodney Crowell – Then Again – (New West Records) - What is it with these artists waiting decades to release brilliant material. Well, in Rodney’s case he has stated that the record did not jive with his artistic vision in 2005-06. Point taken and if such be the case then this rack of finely wrought tunes has aged like the finest cabernet. His usual slightly off kilter, provocative wordplay and finely tuned songcraft are in magnificent fettle here. His musical partners on some of these tunes mesh easily and well, whether it be the sadly departed Guy Clark on Are You One of Us?, Kieran Goss & Annie Kinsella on Sing Your Heart Out, to Lyle Lovett & Chely Wright on Whatcha Gonna Do Now # 2, and finally Emily Harris & Lera Lynn on the specular Go Light A Candle, the album closer. My favorite cut may be If I Could Speak to Leonard, a deep muse on poetry, art and mortality that drips with heart felt sincerity. – JH

Samantha Fish – Paper Doll Live (Rounder Records) - Bijou Theatre – Knoxville TN - S F – guitar/vocals - Ron Johnson (bass), Mickey Finn (keys) & Jamie Douglass (drums) - special guests – The McCrary Sisters (Ann, Regina, Alfreda).

Fish’s first live album and it’s a killer-diller affair. Recorded at Knoxville’s beautiful Bijou Theatre, this recording is in your face and full of spitfire. It beautifully illustrates Fish’s astonishing guitar virtuosity and feral energy as well as her more sensitive balladic side. If you don’t know Samantha Fish’s blues rock discography it’s not too late to make up for lost time. Risk a speeding ticket and rocket over to your favorite terrestrial record store, pick this disk up, and anything else they may have laying around of Fish’s. Genius moment arrives right at the beginning when she kicks off the concert and this record with a ball’s nailed to the wall cover of the MC 5’s Kick Out the Jams. The record concludes with her own Black Wind Howling and why not leave your listeners wiped out and panting for more! – JH

Earth Ball - Actual Earth Music - Volume 3 & 4 (Upset the Rhythm Records) - Isabel Ford (vocals, bass), John Brennan (drums, percussion), Jeremy Van Wyke (vocals, guitar, trumpet), Kellan Maclaughlin (guitar, talkbox), and Liam Murphy (saxophone).

Pretty caraaazzzy stuff here from this Canadian improvisational unit. I was immediately struck by the doppler like vocalizations of bassist Ford. She sets the stage for the first of two tracks Live at Cave 12, which quickly expands into an almost out of control examination of time & rhythm, wild skronkiness & nearly indecipherable vocals from Jeremy Van Wyke which are in turn answered musically by the entire amazing ensemble. I said almost out of control because these folks don’t “lose it” for one second, keeping the planetary gravitational field(s) intact and infinitely intriguing. Second track Live at EKKO, continues our descent (ascent!) to the verge of musical madness with further fractal-ing of the instrumental and vocal maelstrom creating sonic expressions of unmitigated improvisational genius. Are you not entertained? The vast majority are probably not but I aver, rock on! If you wish to drive unwanted guests out of the house, this may just be the tonic. - JH

Eivind Aarset - Strange Hands - Jazzland Records - Eivind Aarset - guitarist and electronics - violinist Sara Ovinge, bansuri player Mira Thiruchelvam. Huge elements of Nu-Jazz on this fine recording. Basically, jazz instruments, complex chords, incorporating electronics and a more contemplative, downtempo ambience. In spades here, excitingly so, with less conventional & more exotic instrumentation. Gorgeous melodies, unconventional instrumentation & harmonies with a propulsive forward sense of movement and we got a winner, winner, chicken dinner here! – JH

Ralph Alessi – A Sun That Never Sets – ECM Records - Ralph Alessi – Trumpet - Joseph Alessi – Trombone - Matt Mitchell - Piano - John Hébert - Double Bass - Ches Smith - Drums, Vibraphone.

Music both rigorous and malleable, which has always been a strong characteristic of Ralph Alessi’s work. And whoa a minute, what have we here? A rare musical conjoining of the Alessi brothers. Joseph on t’bone adding a brass front that adds to the energy of the music in the most complementary fashion. The rest of the ensemble is made up of some of the most invigoratingly fresh improvisational faces currently working in jazz with spirits that imbue these eleven new compositions with adventure, wit, fluidity and insight. No, the sun never sets on creative music as exhilarating as this, which is also articulate, facile, (in the best sense), and cogently powerful. – JH

Prism Quartet – Generate Music – XAS Records - Timothy McAllister: soprano saxophone Zachary Shemon: alto saxophone Matthew Levy: tenor saxophone Taimur Sullivan: baritone saxophone - New works by Yotam Haber, David Krakauer, Myra Melford, Diane Monroe, Ursula Rucker, Tyshawn Sorey, Susan Watts, and Fred Wesley. David Gilmore: electric guitar Erica Hunt+: recitation, poetry - David Krakauer: clarinet - Juliette Kang: violin Diane Monroe: violin - Will Robbins: bass - Reuben Rogers: acoustic and electric bass - Ursula Rucker: vocals, poetry - Tyshawn Sorey: drums, percussion - Susan Watts: trumpet, vocals + track 11 only, track 6 only.

A brilliant album of cross genres, i.e., klezmer, avant-garde music, classical, poetry, jazz and maybe a bit of funkiness to boot. You could easily consider this a super group of musicians led by P Q most especially Pulitzer Prize winner Tyshawn Sorey and clarinet virtuoso David Krakauer. All of this music is ear catching and attractive thereby making the strong social commentary that much easier to digest and fit for digestive cogitation. This album is transcendentally resonant to our times and universally applicable in both its antecedents and hope for the future of our species. Ursula Rucker alludes to promises unkept although this recording is artistic promise making & keeping that everyone should take the time to listen to. Standout track is Rucker’s harrowing but necessary Requiem for AJ. - JH

Fred Frith Cornelius Claudio Kreusch & Johannes Tonio Kreusch - Pink Neon - Galileo Music Communication – To me Fred Frith has been one of the most daringly, innovative guitarists on the planet for decades. Here he is joined by keyboardist Cornelius Kreusch & fellow stringed adventurer Johannes Kreusch, and the two brothers are welcome additions to and equal musical compadres for Frith to ruminate sinuously down his unique paths & byways. The full panoply of sounds softly unfold here creating music of astonishing power, depth and sweep. Droning, ostinatos, extended techniques & evolutionary soundscapes both gently fluid and expansive as well as subtle and powerful are easily within reach of, and, at these masterful musician’s disposal, as they converse with one another on an almost symbiotic level. Two cd’s of music is almost too much of a bouquet of tonal riches to enjoy but if I must, I must, and willingly, as this is simply a great ruminative listen. They wait until track 6, Surgical Colours on cd 1, before they allow their freak flag to fly high but even then, the sounds they evoke are infinitely more intriguing than off putting. CD 2 is the more elementally fractal and experimental of the two discs. – JH

Pharaoh’s Daughter – Songs of Desire – Tzadik Records – Basya Schecter oud, guitar, vocals, percussion - Daphna Mor flutes, shams, ney, vocals - Meg Okura violin - Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz bass, 12-string guitar - Yuval Lion drums Mathias Kunzli percussion - Uri Sharlin keys, piano, accordion.

Exotically lush music & multi-language singing (Spanish, English & Hebrew) of biblical texts centering on the love relationship between the Queen of Sheba & Solomon. The music moves through mainly middle eastern modalities fluidly & fluently. Basya Schecter leads the ensemble and several guest artists with assurance, skill and a mellifluous voice that makes you want to go crate digging to unearth more records from this group. Founded in 1999, their last outing was in 2014 with Dumiyah. – JH

Hawkins Davies Drake Mitchell Wright - No Nation but Imagination – Intakt Records - Alexander Hawkins: Piano, Synthesizer, Sampler Rhodri Davies: Harp - Hamid Drake: Drums - Nicole Mitchell: Flute - Matthew Wright: Turntables, Live Sampling.

A gander at the line-up and instrumentation involved might give you an idea that this record is not going to take you down any familiar roads nor cater to any pop sensibilities, and man does it deliver. Right off the bat, Solo Way Far Gone with its sinewy synth lines, albeit ez on the ear, lets you know that this record is going to sonically enchant with harmonic extrapolations and musical lines that weave tightly in and around each other. The use of electronics & sampling are simply magnificent. The music on this album may be in the avant abstract vein, but it draws you in with its attention to detail & balancing of control and freedom. This is postmodernism at its finest and I can’t help thinking Sun Ra is smiling down from his celestial throne somewhere out there beyond Saturn. - JH

Mick Goodrick & Fred Hersch - Feebles, Fables & Ferns – ECM Records - Mick Goodrick (guitar), Fred Hersch (piano) – An intimately fecund melodic & harmonic outing originally recorded waaaayy back in 1988 but released this year. Thankfully. Why this gorgeous duet album sat in the can is anyone’s guess as it would surely have been in the top tier of releases in any given year. Goodrick spent the majority of his life teaching, releasing very few recordings as a leader, but his work always exhibiting lyricism, imagination and a mischievous sense of daring. He passed away in 2022 from complications of Covid & Parkinsons at the age of 77. This record works as both an honorarium to his art as well as showcasing his innate sense of perfect communion with whomever he was working with, in this case the marvelous Fred Hersch. This is a highly refreshing set of easeful renditions of originals and covers, most notably Goodrick’s title track, Hersch’s Heartsong and Mal Waldron’s Soul Eyes. Both artists breathe naturally and never get in the other’s way on this record. – JH

Mary in the Junkyard – Role Model Hermit – AMF Records - Clari Freeman-Taylor (lead vocals, guitar, cello, viola) - Saya Barbaglia (bass, viola, violin, backing vocals) - David Addison (drums).

I understand why Wet Leg chose this band to open for their American tour. Very simpatico in essence. MitJ are an assured trio of performers who sound like they have honed their sound, both musically & lyrically for decades, rather than a year or two. Freeman-Taylor has a confident, strong vocal delivery whether she is serving up grittiness or displaying a more tender poignant side. Some of the lyrics are deliberately obtuse yet you always have the sense that you know exactly what they’re going on about. The lyrical concerns overall can swing between metaphorically maritime tales of disaster Mouse balancing nicely with more socially edgy vulnerable tracks. The production sound of the music is expansive, (some referring to it as cinematic), even when just whispered vocals and a precisely picked acoustic guitar as in Candelabra, & plush more overt tunes, Crash Landing, which is quite a compliment for a three-some. - JH

Helen Sung Big Band – Oracles – Sunnyside Records  - Helen Sung’s big band debut is a banger. Most of the tunes and arrangements are by Sung and she displays a deft hand all the way round the musical mulberry bush. Her piano playing is non-pareil and the arrangements are richly rife and harmonically lush showcasing her ability to blend jazz with elements of classical rectitude that serve both genre’s beyond well. Alan Ferber conducts the 17-piece band with vibrant energy, keeping the ensemble on their toes. The music encapsulates a bright toned musical vision whether spinning out with filmic grandeur or more nuanced tranquility. She pays homage to her musical heroes/mentors with compositional homages to Wayne Shorter, Wayne’s World, Ron Carter, Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, and Barry Harris as well as a gorgeous cover/arrangement of Horace Silver’s Peace, which concludes the album. Her three-part pianism suite is outstanding, in which Sung emulates three of her most admired pianists, Barry Harris, Kenny Barron & Herbie Hancock in a triptych that balances beautifully with wonderful trade-offs with the horn & percussion sections. – JH

Lars Danielsson Liberetto – Echomyr – ACT Music - Lars Danielsson (cello, double bass, electric guitar, piano), Magnus Öström (drums, percussion), Gregory Privat (piano), John Parricelli (6-string acoustic guitar Arve Henriksen trumpet on #3, 7 - Magnus Lindgren flute & alto flute on #6, Carolina Grinne English horn on #8)

‘Nutha record with elements of jazz, & classical but this one with some folk infused influences as well. The title word explains a lot here. Norse for resonant moor, it lets you know that this music is going to be more on the directly introspective side of the musical equation(s). The core band integrates beautifully with the guests who tastefully interact with the band on key tracks, i.e., Supreme, featuring Arve Henriksen, on a Coltrane inspiration in emotion if not in overtness. The overall chemistry of the band is superb, underlining the fact that they have played together for years. – JH

Jakob Bro Wadada Leo Smith Marcus Gilmore – Murasaki – Loveland Music - Wadada Leo Smith: Trumpet - Marcus Gilmore: Drums - Jakob Bro: Guitar - All songs by Jakob Bro, Wadada Leo Smith & Marcus Gilmore.

83 year old Wadada Leo Smith is one of my favorite composer/artists on the planet & has been for years. So, when I see a record with his name attached, I get excited. Turns out all of these artists in this trio are world class and it is evident in these seven spontaneous creations. The liner notes brag that this record was recorded in one day at NYC’s Power Station with zero overdubs, retakes or prior discussion. This kind of free improvisation can only occur with decades of experience cause what you hear is highly charged tension & release, intense communication coupled with rhythmic freedom & adroit stylishness with not one whit of artifice. Outstanding technique lashed to mind melding musical honesty. - JH

Knats – A Great Day in Newcastle – Fonatan Records –2nd album from northern English ensemble Knats, and for me it’s a winner with slight reservations. A bold undertaking with spoken word (Cooper Robson) declaimed over some cogent, and exciting big band workouts. This is a scrappy record and that’s something to say for a large band. There is a palpable energy throughout that lends spiky sparkle to the music. These guys sound like they’re having the times of their lives. Most of the spoken word revolves around the hard scrabble existence of folks existing on the lower end of working-class Northeastern England and for me it’s the same sad tale of eking out an existence everywhere in the world if you’re on the lower rungs of society. Very effectively rendered both dramatically & musically. - JH

Juan Dahmen – Parches – www.jd.bc.com – If you can imagine it, the sheer daring & courage to release a recording of percussion utilizing drumheads and nothing else. No cymbals, chimes, bells, et al. And still, through sheer force of artistic vision & will to create an intriguing statement that is both expansive & captivating. This guy has caught my attention this year and when I see an offering on his Bandcamp page I jump on it. I have not been disappointed yet and btw, you don’t have to imagine anything. Juan Dahmen already has. - JH

Abel Selaocoe – Four Spirits – Warner Classics - Abel Selaocoe – composer/cello/vocals - Bernhard Schimpelsberger – percussion - Aurora Orchestra – Nicholas Collon – conductor - Queen Elizabeth Hall – London – 08 03 2025.

Another genre-defying recording! Abel Selaocoe displays astounding vocal ability and flexible gymnastics. His rugged voice growls, soars, whispers and employs multi-toned throat singing. The core interaction is between his vocals and the percussionist Bernhard Schimpelsberger. The are well simpatico. His cello playing is highly complimentary to his thematic material and vocal performance & equally astounding. The five movements of the suite Four Spirits was inspired by his background growing up in the township of Sebokeng, South Africa and his incorporation of popularly folkish elements fused to classical music is superb. The orchestra under Nicholas Collan operates on a symbiotic level, following the musical peregrinations of Selaocoe wherever he chooses to go. This is an uniquely exhilarating record. – JH

Olivier Duet – Open (Rewound Echoes Records) - Isabelle Olivier – harp – Raphael Olivier – guitar/vocals/cello - Jacques Dor – vocals 11 – Any record that begins with bird song is going to put me in a positive mood right off the bat. The duo exhibit a sensitivity to the material which is idiomatically Gallic, throughout. Most of the tunes/songs are originals with sensitive covers of Moon River, and a tune called Woman Farmer, credited to Radiohead(?). The harp is particularly pleasing to the ear and handles the jazzier elements of this music with flair and facility. Balance is wonderful and with a bit of added bite considering that son Raphael opts for an electric vs acoustic guitar. A rather unique pairing which leaves a pleasant aural taste lingering. JH

The Joshua Breakstone Quartet – Wonderful (Capri Records) - Joshua Breakstone – guitar - Barry Harris – piano - Earl Sauls – bass - Leroy Williams – drums.

Originally issued in 1984 on the Sonora label, this re-release offers a welcome re-evaluation of the enormous talent of Joshua Breakstone. J.B. exudes a strongly confident stylistic technique which bounces around several sub-genres with strength and precision. i.e., coolish jazz, bop, & post-bop. His original’s neatly sit side by side with Tadd Dameron (Soul Train), Lennie Tristano (Two Not One) and Reinhardt’s Django’s Castle which leaves one with the impression that this cat was bolting out of the starting gate eager to show he belonged. He hasn’t released a new record in ten years and that is a damned shame. – JH

August Edition

Alan Braufman - Anthem for Peace – Valley of Search Records - Alan Braufman - alto saxophone, flute - Patricia Brennan – vibraphone - Chad Taylor - drums, percussion - Luke Stewart – bass - “Snow in Central Park”: Ken Filiano - bass, Michael Wimberly – percussion.

Very cool record with a disparate overlapping genre defying sound both funky and adventurous. It made me think of cool, post-bop, free jazz, soul jazz et al. A salivating-ly beautiful record with tinges of middle eastern elements thrown into the mix as well. The players display strength and virtuosity galore, navigating all the highways and byways of this captivating music. Braufman’s richly hewn technique is used to play off of Brennan’s wonderful vibes playing and vice versa. They provide perfect foils for each other. A+ record. – JH

Tori Amos – In Times of Dragons – Fontana Records - Tori Amos – vocals, piano, production (all tracks); keyboards (track 2), harpsichord (3, 15), synthesizer (4, 5, 8, 10–12, 14–17) - Mark Hawley – engineering, mixing (all tracks); guitar (1–5, 7–11, 14–16), ukulele (7) - Matt Chamberlain – drums (all tracks), percussion (1–5, 7–16) - Jon Evans – bass (1–15) - John Philip Shenale – recording arrangement (2, 10, 13, 16, 17); keyboards, string arrangement (11); synthesizer (13, 16) - Natashya Hawley – vocals (8, 9, 12, 16).

Hey, was Tori influenced by the House of Dragons or has this concept been in her back pocket for a long time. Whatever. This is her best record in a long while and that’s saying a lot. She has always been in the top echelon of artists in my book, and she hits all the high marks with this concept recording of a woman who needs to and escapes a tech billionaire husband with the aid of a witch and “Dragons.” The lyrics are overripe, bordering on too too theatrical, but that’s always been Tori’s penchant. I like it. Goth & prog and art rock ‘n’ roll combined into one delicious musical sandwich. Musically this record is held in tight control with Tori’s keyboards and the rhythm section of her long-time cohorts. - JH

Willie Nelson – Dream Chaser – Legacy Records - Willie Nelson – lead vocals, guitar - Michael Rojas – Hammond organ, piano, vibraphone, Wurlitzer piano - Fred Eltringham – drums, percussion - Bobby Terry – acoustic guitar - James Mitchell – electric guitar - Mickey Raphael – harmonica - Tommy White – steel guitar - Ben Isaacs – upright bass.

A really short record. 30 minutes. A really great Willie record, up there with his best. Less about the impending rigors of mortality and a return to just plain ole honest storytelling. Tales of love, betrayal, drinking and friendship. Nelson sounds 50 years younger than his 93 years. Terrific lyric writing and intimately profound playing by all involved in service to the “song.” I hope (although I know it’s magical thinking) that Willie could live another 93 years. - JH

Aldous Harding – Train on the Island – 4AD Records - Aldous Harding – (Hannah Sian Topp): Vocals, guitar, piano - John Parish: Producer, drums, acoustic guitar, synths. - Huw Evans (H. Hawkline): Bass, guitar, organ, vocals. - Sebastian Rochford (Polar Bear): Drums. - Joe Harvey-Whyte: Pedal steel. - Mali Llewelyn: Harp. - Thomas Poli: Synth.

This is a fascinating record. Child-like hushed vocals, either in a low register or a head voice, but always eerily quiet, conjuring all sorts of imagery which doesn’t quite coalesce but intrigues enough to lure you down her twisty byways. I don’t always know what the hell she is singing about but I am hypnotized and willing to board the train in spite of any apprehensions. Key track – What Am I Gonna Do? with its sinuous jungle rhythms and quick shifts in time and texture. – JH

The Black Keys – Peaches - Easy Eye Sound/Warner Brothers Records – Some critics have stated that this album might be a bit too staid or complacent. What the hell are they listening to? This is a brilliant return to form for The Keys. A gritty grimy record with paradoxically crystalline sound production. A bunch of blues covers that reeks of authenticity and unsubtle charm. Powerhouse crunching guitar playing and punch in the gut rhythms with contributions from a dozen other instrumentalists help to make this sound like it was all recorded in one take. – JH

Austin Oting Har – The Ghost Act I Part I – Neuma Records - Laura Wachsmann – Soprano - Jeremy Boulton – Baritone - Jackson Tuynman – Bass.

What an intriguing record. Again, shades of Harry Partch permeate my mind and I’m so happy there is a tradition. This is fascinating stuff. Exotic instruments, Guzhen, side by side with more traditional ones, i.e, clarinet, guitar, cello, drums electronics & voices, all stretched outside their normal parameters, creating a unique sound world. The libretto is in ancient Attic & Doric Greek, alongside an invented language to tell the story of dreams, myths and distorted “reality”, pitting masculinity, femininity, fractious intersectionality and more into an otherworldly cosmology that I would love to see live. This music/art is beyond mere description and I can only recommend you download a copy to experience & explore for yourself. I’ll have to figure out when & how I can present this on my radio show. – JH

Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band – Time – Resonatin’ Records - Taj Mahal: Vocals, Harp - Tony Braunagel: Drums, Percussion - Larry Fulcher: Bass, Vocals - Johnny Lee Schell: Guitar, Vocals, Producer - Joe Sublett: Saxophone - Les Lovitt: Trumpet - Jon Cleary: Piano - Mick Weaver: Hammond Organ - Background Vocals: Maxayn Lewis, Kudisan Kai, Sir Harry Bowen.

I can’t believe this record sat on the shelf for over 15 years. Taj hasn’t sounded this relaxed with material for decades. Not that he’s ever put out a bad record, but he and the band and backup singers are so deeply entrenched in the pocket that you’re capable of overdosing on groove and soulfulness. The previously unreleased Bill Withers song Time is so imbued with depth and feeling that it brings tears to your eyes for the sheer gorgeousness. And when he sings with his tongue a bit in cheek (as he so wondrously has done throughout his career) on the song You Put the Whammy on Me, it simply elevates mediocre material into the stratosphere. More Taj, please. Don’t keep stuff like this in the vault. The world needs music this joyously generated more than ever. – JH

Bill Orcutt – Almost Waking – Unheard of Hope Records - Guitar by Bill Orcutt, Cello and vocals by Mabe Fratti, except tracks 1,3,4 and 6 that were written by Bill Orcutt & Mabe Fratti with contributions on the cello arrangement by I.La Católica.

Wow! This is something I didn’t think would work, but work it does in spades. Orcutt is an off the beaten path type of guitarist but never off putting. His raggedy playing (which always makes emotional sense) coupled with the more lyrically oriented cello of Fratti makes for an odd couple pairing that works to each other’s advantage, with balance, and sweetness resting comfortably side by side with Orcutt’s idiosyncratic tendencies. – JH

Steve Wilson – Enduring Sonance – Smoke Sessions Records - Steve Wilson - alto & soprano saxophone, flute - Joe Locke – vibraphone - Renee Rosnes - piano & Fender Rhodes - Jay Anderson – bass - Kendrick Scott – drums - Kevin Newton - french horn on “Quiet Girl” and “Francisco.”

This is old fashioned post-bop power ballad jazz carrying on in the tradition with a keen sense of improvisation on the main melody with consummate ensemble skill and taste. Lush life indeed. Put this record on while having a romantic dinner or just with the lights on low and the ardor on high. Beautiful playing. – JH

Christina Ruf – Dreamwalker’s Prism – www.cr.bc.com - Composed by Christina Ruf - Christina Ruf: Acoustic Cello, Electric Cello, Electronics, Synths, Viola. – Christina Ruf is one helluva talent. Classically trained and with an imagination to match her technique. These are beautifully brilliant soundscapes that defy a normal sense of emotion & musical architecture. You know how light is refracted through a prism? Well imagine that same phenomenon principled via sound. These pieces don’t just swirl or inundate they seem to merge & meld with your aural dna becoming part of you and allowing you to immerse yourself fully in the music. Stunning music to either meditate to or fully engage as is your wont. - JH

Christina Ruf – To Disentangle Time – www.cr.bc.com - Composed by Christina Ruf - Christina Ruf: Electric Cello, Electronics. – Oh boy lucky me. I get to listen to two new Christina Ruf releases in one month. This one is a bit heaver, industrial even, most especially on the opener, Drifts, which if this is drifting, I don’t want to get in its way when “it” wafts by me. Marvelous music as usual with flowing ambience meshing with a spiritual oneness within the fabric of time and the universe. Ruf is able to poetically project her musical voice into seemingly inanimate or less conscious forms of nature, forcing the alert listener to dig deeper into the meaning(s) of life and cognizance. I.E., Sphagnum’s Talk. Sphagnum is a genus of mosses that can store water, and as it grows, spread into drier conditions forming mires, et al. It had me wondering what it had to say & whether Ruf was interpreting what she imagined or heard. All I know is that Christina Ruf “hears” the world, especially the musical world, differently than the rest of us and I for one love to hear what she has on HER mind. – JH

Soft Machine – Thirteen – Dyad Records - John Etheridge - Electric Guitar
Theo Travis - Tenor and Soprano Saxes, Flutes, Duduk, Fender Rhodes Piano, Piano (1), Mellotron, Electronics - Fred Thelonius Baker - Fretless Bass Asaf Sirkis - Drums, Percussion, Piano (6) - With guests - Daevid Allen - Glissando Guitar (13) - Pete Whittaker - Organ (2,5), Fender Rhodes piano (2), Nick Utteridge - Gong (5).

Soft Machine is sixty years old. Guitarist John Etheridge has been associated with the band for more than fifty years and this latest iteration is perhaps as good as they’ve ever been. A sterling sounding and performed recording. This is outstanding prog-rock-jazz or whatever the hell SM are or have been. Simply superlative music superlatively played with enough hooks to keep your attention in the middle of a tornado. Nothing new per se here but enough to keep you gawking on the sidewalk rather than to heed the admonitions from others to move along. – JH

David Sanchez – Tambo – Ropeadope Records - David Sánchez - Tenor Saxophone, percussion - Ricky Rodriguez - Acoustic bass, electric bass, Luis Perdomo - Piano, Rhodes - Tony Escapa – Drums - Jhan Lee Aponte - Barril de bomba, hand drum percussion - Camilo Molino - Barril de bomba, percussion, Franklin Tejedor - Tambor alegre, tambor llamador, tambora - Emelina Reyes Salgado “La Burgos” and Franklin - Vocal sample.

Romantic and textured and energetically charged post-bop/Caribbean jazz. Organically rich playing and compositional genius expertly rendered in a series of works that are guaranteed to embrace you in their warmth & reflectively exuberant timbres. Sanchez’s playing is akin to enjoying a lush cup of java on a cool beach during a morning sunrise. – JH

Pooja Goswami Pavan - The Mind, Ecstatic – Songs of Kabir – Neuma Records
Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan – vocalist - Composers: - Pooja Goswami Pavan (1, 2, 3, 5 & 7) - Pandit Surendra Goswami (4 & 6) - Poetry: Sant Kabir Das (Kabir).

Another genre blending/bending mind meltingly beautiful record. Two things. My generation was introduced to Indian classical music via The Beatles, particularly George Harrison and his study of the form and with Ravi Shankar. Once introduced I could not help but be joyfully overwhelmed and struck by it’s complexity and beauty, particularly the clear delineation of the melodic and harmonic line and the complex reliance of rhythm and bass punctuation adding drama and texture to the structure. This record is rife with Dr. Pavan’s sweetness of lyrical line and leaps of stratospheric passion which bring you to the cliffs of awe and wonder. The depth of feeling couple with her effortless flexibility are wondrous. A masterclass & a masterpiece of modern Indian classical music. - JH

Oliver Darley & Chad Lelong - THE SEAT WITH THE CLEAREST VIEW (The Songs of David Bowie Re-Imagined) – Lateralize Records - Oliver Darley - Lead Vocalist - Chad Lelong - Piano - Jamie McCredie - Guitar - Julia Graham - Cello - Debs White - Violin - Charis Jensen - Violin - Rachel Robson - Viola - Jihad Jay-Darwish - Upright Bass.

These are very spare, very beautifully sung covers of David Bowie songs. They illustrate what a fine writer/lyricist Bowie was. A seminal artist, hugely influential on multiple levels, Bowie’s songwriting capabilities are ofttimes taken for granted. This should set the record straight. The primary collaboration is between trained vocalist Darley and pianist Lelong who are joined by various other instruments as the warrant the occasion. The arrangements are subtle and highly musical. This record has had some divergent criticisms, nothing less than three stars (inexplicably to me) and as high as 4 stars. I give it a solid 4.5 stars. The emotion is right for each song and that is no mean feat for as artist as chameleonic as Bowie was. – JH

Ed O’Brien – Blue Morpho – Transgressive Records - Ed O'Brien – lead vocals, guitar - Eska – backing vocals (tracks 1, 7) - Yves Fernandez – bass guitar (tracks 1, 4–7) - Luke Mullen – keyboards (track 1, 4) - Nick Ramm – keyboards, Crispin 'Spry' Robinson – percussion (tracks 1–4, 7) - Dan See – drums (tracks 1, 4, 7) - Tallinn Chamber Orchestra – orchestra - Dave Okumu – bass guitar (tracks 2–3) - Philip Selway – drums (tracks 2–3) - Shabaka Hutchings – flute (track 6).

Shades of Krautrock, Triphop, Nick Drake, Radiohead, classical & jazz and what the heck evah is laying around the kitchen sink and it all comes off marvelous dahling. Beautifully arranged and conceived, this is an undeniable strong effort from Ed O’Brien. An album of deeply personal spiritual struggles and successes in richly textured cinematic fashion. Finely layered music which ultimately leaves the listener uplifted. A triple A+ record. – JH

The Rolling Stones – Foreign Tongues – Polydor Records - Mick Jagger – vocals (tracks 1–9, 11–14), background vocals (1–12), electric guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 14), harmonica (1, 8, 9, 11), acoustic guitar (2, 5, 6, 11), percussion (4, 5, 7, 12) - Keith Richards – electric guitar (all tracks), background vocals (2, 4, 6, 11, 12), acoustic guitar (4, 9, 10), piano (8), vocals (10, 14) - Ronnie Wood – electric guitar (1–13), bass guitar (1, 2), background vocals (4, 10) - Charlie Watts – drums (8)

The Stones in their eighties have lost none of their swagger no matter how unseemly it might seem to see octogenarians cavorting around like teenagers. They get away with it primarily because of Jagger’s apparent deal with the devil in retaining his vocal prowess and Richards still ringing in his riffs from whatever devil he’s made his pact with. I’d easily give this record 4 stars but I’m a boomer. This stuff resonates with me on a primal level. I’m not sure how millennials and younger relate, but it is good rock ‘n’ roll and that stuff never grows old. I love it that the same guys who whined in 1965 about never gittin’ any “satisfaction” are spewing out lyrics with enough fire to ignite the next Space X rocket. Sample from "Divine Intervention" (and my favorite sentiment) “dystopian values are too hot to handle, and I’m going out in a blaze.” – JH

Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts – As Time Explodes – Reprise Records - Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts are: Neil Young (guitar, pump organ, piano and vocals) - Spooner Oldham (organ and piano) - Micah Nelson (guitar, Stringman and vocals) - Corey McCormick (bass and vocals) - Anthony LoGerfo (drums and vocals).

I ain’t gonna lie. "Cortex the Killer" is one of my favorite Neil Young tunes and his guitar playing on it is one of my all time favorite guitar performances. Edgy, gritty, lyrical at times, slow & stately but with a rusty razor’s edge. These are standout performances of Young chestnuts, and the fact that you get not one fantastic tune but two with mind bending guitar performances on one record (Like A Hurricane) hits all the dopamine levels I need this week. The band is killer diller and items like "Ohio," which should sound dated, aren’t due to the commitment, energy and playing of all involved. Neil’s voice has aged well into the lyrics of these songs. Go on old folks. Keep flying yer freak flags as high as they ever were. – JH

Marisa Anderson – The Anthology of Unamerican Folk Music – Thrill Jockey - Marisa Anderson – vocals/guitar. – Marisa is a classically trained American Primitive guitarist. Let me say, an astonishing guitarist of both sterling technique, stunning lyrical virtuosity and ear catching fluidity. This is an eleven out of ten record of interpretations of music from around the world from countries that the United States has been in conflict with at one time or another. Somehow she is able to imbue each piece with not only the indigenous music she is interpreting but also melding disparate traditions from American folk music into the weave of her miraculous musical webbing. This is an important release which illustrates the unifying principles which tie all of humanity together rather than focusing on the surface elements used as a wedge to drive us apart. This is easier to listen to and allow to permeate your being than it is to articulate. – JH

Gabrielle Cavassa – Diavola – Blue Note Records - Gabrielle Cavassa - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar (Titel: A4) - Jeff Parker - Guitar (Titel: A1 to B3) - Larry Grenadier - Bass (Titel: A2 to A6, B2, B3) - Brian Blade - Drums (Titel: A2 to A6, B2, B3) - Paul Cornish - Piano (Titel: B2 to B4) - Joshua Redman - Tenor Saxophone (Titel: A2, B3).

Why haven’t I heard of this woman before? What a terrific singer. She opts for understatement, i.e. more breathily, whispery vocals. She also has a supreme gift of bending the melody just enough to grab the ear’s attention w/o losing the composer’s intention one iota. The arrangements suitably underscore and enhance her vocal & interpretive choices. What is equally impressive to me is the sense of intimacy yet how upfront the vocals and instruments are. A fine production choice. Speaking of choices, the song selection is finely attuned to the overarching theme of light vs dark or perhaps the duality of those forces on the human psyche & heart. – JH

Hiss Golden Messenger - I'm People - Chrysalis Records - MC Taylor – vocals/guitar - Chris Boerner - Alex Bingham - Sam Fribush - Nick Falk. – MC’s Dylanesque vocals are nostalgia inducing. Reminiscent of da Bob in more ways than one although, heh, heh, there can only ever be one Bob. But Taylor catches the vibe and extends it with today’s modern production methods and his mixological genre blending of indie psychedelic rock, folk, country et al with his heartfelt heartland lyrical bent and voila! You have a Hiss Golden Messenger amalgamated record of the first order. Easy to listen to, easy to like and easier to sing along with. Music as balm in this fractious world we’ve living in. – JH

Laurie Anderson & Sexmob – Let X=X – Nonesuch Records - Laurie Anderson – vocals - Sexmob—Steven Bernstein and Briggan Krauss on brass, Kenny Wollesen on percussion, Douglas Wieselman on winds and guitar, and Tony Scherr on bass. - Various venues from a 2023 tour. – Laurie Anderson was born to lull. That’s her performing voice. Always quiescent, always soothing, luring you into her askew artistic world. And then once you’re drooping and ready to drop yer head into slumberland, she bops you over the sensory inputs with a left turn or phrase or a word bomb that makes you question not only what you’ve just heard but your possible sanity. She is controlled chaos, letting out enough line to allow the fishies to think they’re in control, but no. This record is the culmination of a tour with the eclectic NYC based jazz band Sexmob. Various venues represented here with Anderson’s singular vision leading the way. She is apt to drop pithy pieces of advice seemingly from out of nowhere, but her insights and sentences hold profound truths altered through the prism of a child like prism. I.E., “Learn how to be sad, without being sad.” That’ll make your head explode. She and the band also re-interpret Lou Reed’s collaboration with Metallica, "Junior Dad," but whittle it down considerably, allowing them and you to get to its core in much less time than usual, dropping you off at your stop with time to spare. Cool stuff and a record of the year. My favorite “track” is the audience scream. – JH

Isaiah Rashad – It’s Been Awful – Top Dawg Entertainment/Warner Records – Proper sampling is an exalted art form in its own right, and the numerous sampled excerpts, (including Ms. Stevie Nicks), are exemplary. Then there is the voice of Isaiah Rashad which embodies via his lyrics and ofttimes lyrical production and delivery, the full gamut and dichotomy of human existence and the complexities that struggle & reside within all of us. Whether examining his sexuality, relationships, both romantic or familiar, Rashad cuts to the quick. Openly courageous music making as he revels in his personal relationship with the world rather than the world at large, either politically or socially. Great hooks abound on this release and perhaps he won’t make us wait so long for another glimpse into the sound world & psyche of Isaiah Rashad. – JH

Laura Cannell – Live at Café Oto – Brawl Records - Performed by Laura Cannell - Violin, Overbow Violin, Octave Violin, Double Recorders & Bass Recorders. - 25th April 2025 – London. – Violin, viola, recorders, looping, electronics. All part and parcel of the tool kit that Laura Cannell can draw from to evoke the most wonderfully intriguing sounds. Time seems to slow forward and backwards simultaneously in her music and it’s a sound that is both meditative and richly alluring, drawing the listen in with lapping waves of sound that embrace and caress your inner ear & imagination. - JH

Jasper Høiby - 3Elements: Conversations of Hope – Edition Records - Jasper Høiby - Double Bass - Xavi Torres – Piano - Naíma Acuña – Drums. – This is highly listenable music with a shared sense of space & time amongst the three players. Feeling like they are in real conversation instead of playing to or around each other. Hoiby’s compositions are grounded and rely on close interaction which his bandmates readily and aptly supply. I was particularly struck by Torres’ fluid and dynamic piano playing and the elongation of notes & phrases with beautifully articulated use of stretching time with judicious use of the pedal. A top notch trio outing that pushes the limits & expectations of what a trio should sound like in today’s modern jazz world. – JH

Juan Dahmen – Plotzlich Weiter (All of a Sudden) – www.jd.bc.com - All music & instruments Juan Dahmen. – I am so intrigued by the imaginative sound world of Juan Dahmen. The music is dynamic and full of drifts & shifts & surprises that delight my ear and take me to places I think I can see clearly, but am always delighted to find I’m in an even more interesting environment than I previously thought. This is ambience taken to places that ought to thrill Brian Eno. - JH

Juan Dahmen – Grietas (Cracks) – www.jd.bc.com. - In GRIETAS, we have an old improv on the drums merged with new soundscapes. Music and recording by Juan Dahmen at estudio Parche, Spain. – Prolific is a word used to describe someone like John Zorn but it can be easily shared here by Juan Dahmen. He is primarily an ambient artist but one doesn’t always think of aggressive as an apt adjective with this genre of music. This record leans more heavily on his gifted percussion abilities as well as his more nuanced use of electronics and touch guitar. He is a subtle artist whose music is always more than I anticipated, leaving me deeply immersed in his astonishing sound world. – JH

Jonny Greenwood Shye Ben-Tzur & The Rajasthan Express – Ranjha – World Circuit – This is magnificent stuff. I Israeli composer/vocalist Shye Ben-Tzur, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood (synths/bass/guitar) and a 21 piece Indian classical music ensemble featuring the (to me always) extraordinary vocal gymnastics of Qawwali vocal singing by Zakir Ali Qawwal. Trance-y and with lovingly lush string arrangements throughout. Sufi meets modernism and you don’t need any other drug but the music to take you on a magic, swirling trip of expansive consciousness. Noted contributions from violinist Jyotsna Srikanth and shehnai virtuoso Rajendra Prasanna add texture and a sense of time flowing in both directions at once throughout. Adding jazz drummer Tom Skinner doesn’t hurt matter one whit. – JH

Arvo Pärt– Complete Symphonies – Eva Ollikainen – Chandos Records -
Iceland Symphony Orchestra – Eva Ollikainen – conductor – The extraordinary music of Arvo Pärt is lyrical, dramatic, atonal, tonal, ragged, effervescent, luxurious; well, I could go on as it is too encompassing for any one description. This set is wonderful. The orchestra splendidly captures the sense of the architecture and breadth of Pärt’s writing, imbuing it with all the requisite color & energetic vision(s) that Pärt creates. Over the course of his musical career he had been an adherent of twelve-tone serialism until he realized his true calling and created music employing tintinnabulation (an onomatopoeic sound world mimicking the ringing of bells) and his all-encompassing embrace of mystical minimalism. It is all superbly on display in this beautiful set of his four short symphonies. Whether you are a classical music devotee or a casual dilettante, you will find much to enjoy in this gripping recording. – JH

Michael Gordon - Field of Vision – Canteloupe Music - Doug Perkins and performed by the University of Michigan Percussion Ensemble. – Gordon, co-founder of the groundbreaking Bang On A Can All-Stars ensemble of seminal composers/movement, has composed this large-scale work for 36 percussionists performing on various “standard” and extensive percussive instruments, including tuned metals, wood, and “found” industrial objects. The result is a highly intriguing immersion into a specially constructed hourlong sound world; a movable feast of thunderous booming to rhythmic tapping and swelling cacophonies that captivate the ear. If you’re a drummer you’re going to love this record. Some of you might get a headache. The more adventurous will revel in a configuration of sounds that will surely lead you down paths you might not have ventured down on your own. – JH

Satoko Fujii’s Bunker Ulmenwall Orchestra - Libra Records - Live Recording: November 22, 2014 – Bunker Ulmenwall, Bielefeld, Germany. – Those who know me or listen to my show for any length of time know how much I admire Satoko Fujii as one of the most inventive & vibrant composers alive today. But holy mackerel! This record is off the charts. The opening piece from this, here to now, unreleased live concert, Shiki, which can mean several things, depending on context, and was also the title of a popular novel by Fuyumi Ono, is remarkable. It is simply an indescribable fusion of jazz, avant-garde, improvisation, rock, et al. Stunning in its musical journey of over 46 minutes and its peregrinations musically, harmonically and emotionally, this piece should be a showcase for any large ensemble capable or courageous enough to take it on. Although the record was recorded twelve years ago, it sounds contemporaneously artistically conspicuous. The second part of this, either double cd or long single dl, is given over to three other composers who demonstrate not only their talents but the ability of this ensemble to handle the disparate stylistic challenges thrown their way. Andrea Kaling’s Yamantaka (Destroyer of Death) is appropriately rugged and powerful; Natsuki Tamura’s Jasper – Luise Volkmann’s Antischwarm & Satoko’s Gen Himmel (Into the Sky/Heaven) all provide rhythmic contrast and dynamic tension & release, illustrating that the creative musical scene is certainly alive and thriving! Rock on! - JH

Satoko Fujii Orchestra Kobe – After the Storm – Libra Records – Two count ‘em two new Fujii releases in one month. Thank God. Avant-garde big band suite composed during the Covid pandemic. This is parcel of a larger city-based large ensemble series of releases (see above) and a worthy entry. The music can be spare, ragged, dense et al as it should be considering what she is musically representing. The worst pandemic in our lifetime. The suite begins with a disjunct bass solo that blossoms/spreads out into an ensemble motif(s) that continues rippling out harmonically allowing various solo instruments to speak their mind. The record ends with a magnificent guitar feature fronting the entire band creating a joyful noise. Fujii was quoted as saying that she had hopes that after the pandemic the world would find it within themselves to compete for peace but……. this is music with a pounding heart pleading for community and kindness in spite of the bad-er angels of our flawed human nature. Another worthwhile addition to the significant Satoko Fujii canon. - JH

Skúli Sverrisson and Bill Frisell – For All Your Flowers – Newvelle Records -
Skúli Sverrisson – bass/compositions - Bill Frisell – guitar/Baby composer. – This is a warmly embracing lambent album of superior duet music making by two masters. Frisell allows Sverrison’s limpid bass to do most of the talking/walking at times & comments & accompanies superbly with profoundly plangent interpolations allowing the conversation to evolve organically and with a plethora of wistfulness in the mist. Conversely Sverrison returns the favor fluidly stretching time & lines out so that Frisell can explore melodically & harmonically the wonderfully evocative musical soundscapes that evolve seamlessly from this collaboration. For all your flowers indeed. These guys are making bouquets shimmer down from the clouds straight to your ears. – JH

Randy Ingram – Sound Within – A Celebration of Bill Evans – Chill Tone Records - Randy Ingram – piano – Rufus Reid – bass – Joe LaBarbera – drums – Randy Ingraham wisely eschews imitation in any way, shape or form of Bill Evan’s unique and highly influential style. Instead, he opts for a nuanced interplay with his trio partners, allowing the music to reference Evans while also adding texture and insight to the music associated with the late, great pianist. It doesn’t hurt that he is working with two grandmasters of jazz, both of whom have this music in their cellular structures and both of whom worked with Evans, Reid, briefly in 1978, and of course LaBarbera who was in the final trio. Melodically & harmonically a richly pleasing outing, rife with invention and wit. – JH

Ran Blake - Dominique Eade – Roots & Byways – Sunnyside Records - Ran Blake – piano – Dominique Eade – vocals – A rather diverse collection of songs, clearly expostulated straight to the heart of the matter by Eade, and expertly harmonized by Ran Blake with dense, clustered chords, but so intimately and lyrically rendered that it sorta goes by unnoticed just how revolutionary it all is. Interestingly all of the selections were chosen by Blake which really underscores just how simpatico Eade and he are in their long running partnership as interpreters & expanders of the Great American Songbook. My favorite re-interpretation (which includes 14 duets and two piano solos on this recording) is their unique and inspiring take on Hank William’s "Lost Highway." - JH

New England Jazz Collective – Tributaries – ACP Records - Ken Schaphorst – conductor. – Four composers featured on this outing. Jeremey Cohen, Matan Rubenstein, Darryl Harper, and Sam Spear, each with clearly distinct voices & deep personalities. The band is quite eclectic, easily gliding from New Orleans stylings to African highlife with aplomb. Keep in mind this is a debut recording for this ensemble and the appreciation deepens considerably. Each composer creates within their respective sound world a strong architectural musical structure for the featured soloists to rise above the clouds of improvisation and soar among the stars. Elegantly joyful music & I can’t wait to hear what else they have up their sleeves. Ken Schaphorst, not surprisingly, keeps this ship trim, tight and musically adept. – JH

Jagged Edges & Elegant Lines - The Music of Ayn Inserto– Summit Records – Ayn Inserto – conductor/composer – WDR Big Band featuring Sean Jones – This is music both sweepingly epic & jaggedly stabbing at times. The juxtapositional compositional style is exhilarating to say the least. I had never heard of Ayn Inserto (further proof that there is SO much great music & music makers out there) so this was a delightfully fulfilling experience all the way ‘round. Making it all the more remarkable is that this is a live recording. Trumpeter Jones is of course a strong presence inserting his personality where required with energy, artistry & aplomb, but the highest kudos go to the incomparably strong compositions especially the suite which ends this release entitled Suite for Sean Jones. Its four movements are entitled "The Artist," "The Educator," "The Husband and the Father," and "The Human Soul" which amply displays both his and Ayn Inserto’s fabulous & unique gifts. This is an especially expressive recording making the case for more big band releases from Ms. Inserto. - JH

Anne Sofie von Otter – Berlin! Berlin! Berlin! Kabarett und Exil – BIS Classics – Anne Sofie von Otter – mezzo-soprano – Salon Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin – Adam Benzwi – piano/musical director – I love this music of the Weimar period in German history. Gets the ole ancestral DNA percolating or something. The orchestrations are period era spot on and of course von Otter, who has always been a supreme interpreter of the words on the musical page shines brightly here. The heavyweight composers of the era are represented, (Brecht, Eisler, Bruno Balz, Weil et al), and the variety of emotions mirrors the times the pieces were written in. Bawdy, romantic or rousingly political. It was a heady mix of stylistic eclecticism before Nazisim reared its repulsive censorious specter over the culture. Whether this music sates your appetite for further exploration or simply sends you to your favorite streaming service to watch or re-watch Cabaret, this disc will have accomplished its goal. – JH

Plus Minus Ensemble – Where the Paths End – NMC Records - Mark Knoop – conductor/piano/accordion - Vicky Wright – clarinet(s) - Roderick Chadwick – piano - Tom Pauwels – (electric) guitar - Marcus Barcham-Stevens – violin - Alex Waterman – cello - Joanna Bailie & Matthew Shlomowitz – auxiliary instruments, Sean Clancy – composer.

I love encountering new classical music and “meeting” new composers. Sean Clancy is one such new-found delight. Hailing from Ireland he brings a highly constrained almost stoic mathematical precision to his work. That is not to suggest that his music lacks emotion. Quite the contrary. This music is full of tension and when it does reach its point of release, well, it’s almost orgasmic in intensity. I guess in many ways it could be considered minimalist, but this is minimalism with strongly beating heart and an overpowering sense of profound sentiment and underlying sorrow. The ensemble should be applauded for their astonishing lucidity & command considering how exposed so much of this music is. – JH

THE DARLING BUDS - Same Sun | Same Sky (Cherry Red)
Joining the welcome list of ‘80s female-fronted bands rising like a phoenix from the ashes of their C86/Britpop past (Primitives, Popguns, Lush, Transvision Vamp, et.al.) the Welsh Darlings return with a revamped line-up accompanying lynchpin singer/songwriter Andrea Lewis Jarvis on this catchy collection of hook-laden, guitar-driven pop tunes, their first in nearly 40 years! From the explosive opener ‘Hey Saint Jude,’ Erik Stams’s rat-a-tat drum attack on ‘Intruder,’ and tingly earwig ‘Lost Time’ to the delectably inviting ‘Jump In’ you’ll be, er, jumping around the room and singing along to the infectious energy emanating from the twin guitar attack of Matt Gray and Paul Chaz Watkins, and Dave Corten’s punchy basslines snaking around Stams’s full-throttled drum work (Stams shines throughout, particularly on ‘Cast A Stone’ and ‘Pretenders.’) ‘Leaving The Scene’ slows things down for a momentary respite to catch our breath. It’s a lovely, slightly romantic, and rather melancholic offering that ranks with their finest work and wraps up their return back into our hearts and onto the charts. JFO

JULEZ AND THE ROLLERZ - Dirty Little Rock ‘N’ Roller (Lolipop [sic])
Wrap the ballsy punk crunch of the Runaways, Pandoras, Donnas, Suzi Quatro, and Girlschool inside a poppier Go-Go’s/Bangles sheen and you’ve got the debut album from these L.A. glam garagers led by the strident screaming and nimble-fingered string bending of Jules Batterman accompanied by her rockin’ and a-reelin’ Rollerz, bassist Morgyn Payge, synth player Shea Carothers, and drummer Sarah “Spark” Park. ‘Time’ kicks things off like a spaceship landing in your backyard before the poppy hooks grab you and you’re singing along with the irresistible chorus leading to Julez’s nifty six-string slinging. ‘I Don’t Know You’ is another shoutalong that should be a hit single in a perfect world. “Spark” Parks really lets loose on the kit on the handclapping, bootstomping Slade-meets-Gary Glitter ‘I Need Love’ and ‘Hot Take’ provides the album’s title along with another wall-rattling, fistpumping chorus that could do for the Rollerz what ‘Do You Wanna Touch Me’ did for Joan Jett and The Blackhearts! Gnarly solo from Julez seals the deal. The band is off to a flying start - SRO crowds won’t be far behind. JFO

FOGLIGHTS - Nous Deux EP (Skep Wax / Slumberland Cassette)
Eva Tedeschi (The Cords) and Archie Ingram (Stone Anthem) wrap their romantic reveries inside tender pop ballads on this 4-track cassette. ‘The Rain Felt Kind’ drips with glistening guitars and sleepy vocals a la Spacemen 3 in a sensory deprivation tank and the mellow vibe continues with ‘I Don’t Know’, a whispered, tenderly-strummed musical soufflé with Tedeschi and Ingram’s cooing vocals entwined in a warm embrace. There’s a hint of Everything But The Girl in their aesthetics and presentation with ‘A Brighter Kind Of Almost’ showcasing their heavenly harmonies. JFO

THE ETTES - Passionate Liars EP (Self-released)
Coco Hames and Poni Silver return from a 13-year sabbatical with five tracks in under 15-minutes from speaker-shredding garage noise (‘Dangerous Girl’) to not-so-innocent girl next door sweetness (the incredibly infectious ‘Not At All’ and ‘One More.’)
Intelligent lyrics throughout reflect heartbreak, regret, and recovery with Gene Clark’s unreleased melancholic weeper ‘On The Run’ another standout. Yea-Ming and Fabienne Delsol fans will find a fellow traveler in Hames’ passionate vocals and the duo’s magic mixture of 60’s girl group charm with the Limiñanas minimalist crunch.

ABSOLUTE GREY - CBGB’s 1985 (Heyday Again)

[Full transparency: Pat Thomas is a friend and fellow musicologist who also heads the great psychedelic improv band Mushroom. That didn't influence my review one bit :)]

The alternative powerhouse’s 12 April 1985 performance at the famed NYC punk venue (a week after drummer Pat Thomas’ 21st birthday!) has long been available only on a contemporary Acid Tapes cassette. This reissue includes contemporary photos, video captures and liner notes from poet Karen Schoemer and former Geffen, Dreamworks, and Interscope record executive Luke Wood, along with Jim DeRogatis’ 1985 The Bob magazine feature and 40-year postscript reassessing his original commentary. Known for their incendiary live performances, this may be the perfect entry point for the uninitiated and a welcome upgrade for fans struggling through their presumably wobbly-sounding 40-year old original. Drummer Pat Thomas’ solid foundation melds seamlessly with bassist Mitchell Rasor’s rhythmically plonky bass lines and serpentining guitar notes from Matt Kitchen while vocalist Beth Brown’s confident delivery and throaty perambulations focus our attention on every word she throws at us. By the second song, ’Umbrella’, the band are already firing on all cylinders - I thought Thomas’s drum kit might fall off the stage and Brown’s attention-grabbing personality drew the punters away from the bar to confirm the word-of-mouth that correctly identified these kids from Rochester, NY as an act to watch. JFO

July Edition

Paul McCartney – The Boys of Dungeon Lane (Capitol Records)

Paul McCartney – vocals, production (all tracks); acoustic guitar (tracks 1–13), bass guitar (1–5, 7–14), electric guitar (1, 2, 4–7, 9, 10, 12, 13), drums (1, 2, 4, 5, 7–9, 11–13), piano (1, 3, 5, 8-11, 14), synthesizer (1, 5, 11), percussion (1, 5, 12), harpsichord (1, 5), shaker (1, 11), Rhodes (1), pump organ (3), maracas (4, 5, 11), Wurlitzer electronic piano (5, 8, 9), magnetic tape treatments (5, 9), tambourine (5, 11–13); bongos, Moog bass (5); Mellotron (7, 9, 11, 13), hand claps (8, 13); organ, recorder (9); spinet (13), nylon-string guitar (14); Andrew Watt – production (all tracks), electric guitar (1, 7, 9), synthesizer (1, 4, 10, 11), Wurlitzer electronic piano (1), Mellotron (4), tambourine (4, 8, 9), acoustic guitar (8, 10, 11), maracas (8), drums (9), magnetic tape treatments (9); Ringo Starr – tambourine (1, 10); vocals, drums (10)  Mike Davis – trumpet (4, 13) - Nancy McCartney – spoken word (5) - Chrissie Hynde – background vocals (10) - Sharleen Spiteri – background vocals (10) - Ben Foster – conductor, co-arrangement (11, 13, 14) - Giles Martin – co-arrangement (11, 13, 14).

Paul McCartney has always inhabited two personas; a prolific dichotomy if you will. There is the Paul of Yesterday, I Will, and For No One and the Paul of Long Tall Sally, Helter Skelter and Oh Darling, and both of these singular vocal attributes are on full representation here. This album is deeply nostalgic with Paul looking back to his formative years and early relationships with family, old friends and soon to be Beatles. He hits the mark throughout using his now wizened voice to perfectly articulate fondness, a wee bit of longing and recognition of the building blocks of emotion, friendship & familiar love that have sustained him throughout his life and spectacular career. As You Lie There kicks off the proceedings with a moving look back at a pined-for love and teenage obsession. The album is filled with wonderfully insightful emotional dissections and again, Paul sings with tenderness and raucous passion, as each song requires. His duet with Ringo, Home To Us, is a standout, simply for the opportunity to hear the last two living Beatles harmonizing so beautifully together. This album is as good as Paul McCartney gets or has ever gotten. A worthy addition to a catalog of music that is among the greatest in human musical history. - JH

Ballister + Luke Stewart - Clocking the Wheel (Aerophonic Records) - Dave Rempis – soprano/alto/tenor/bari saxophone - Fred Lonberg-Holm – cello; Paal Nilssen-Love – drums - + Luke Stewart - bass (track 2).

This is an atom bomb of improvisational jazz. A release that further cements Dave Rempis’ standing as one of our greatest living reedsmen and musical magicians of titanic imagination and talent. He has aligned himself on this release with two of the finest creative compadres on the planet. Together the trio weave and dodge their way through two outstanding tracks recorded live at Roulette in Brooklyn, N.Y. on April 3, 2025. There are only two tracks comprising about 73 minutes of some of the most mind melding music you are likely to hear this year. Carpet Joint is the opener and on the second track, Sauce for the Goose, bassist Luke Stewart is added to the mix bringing his own percussive technical wizardry to the proceedings. Jump into the water but keep in mind that it’s a swirling vortex of dizzying proportions and a life jacket may be required. – JH

Neil Diamond – Wild At Heart (Capitol Records) - Neil Diamond: Vocals, Guitar; Mike Campbell: Guitars, Bass guitar - Benmont Tench: Keyboards -  Smokey Hormel: Guitars, Bass guitar -  Matt Sweeney: Guitars -  Jonny Polonsky: Guitars; Marvin B. Gordy: Timpani – Rick Rubin – producer.

Whew! A great record. A lot of friends ask me how important is a producer? Jesus, just look at Rick Rubin’s track record. Look at the records he has produced, and the artist’s work before and after. Now ask me that question again. With that said, you need a world class talent to begin with. Johnny Cash, Wu-Tang Clan, Lady Gaga, and Neil Diamond. Granted some of the artists probably didn’t need him but some did, i.e., Cash and Diamond most notably. He was/has been able to strip them down to their elemental interpretive powers. These are leftovers from Diamond’s work with Rubin in 2008, the Home Before Dark sessions. The mainly acoustic production and upfront vocals with Rubin getting Diamond to shed the grandiose excesses and just sing from the heart produces one of his strongest records ever. Reminds me of Robbie Roberston’s astonishing production partnership from 1976, Beautiful Noise. Diamond's writing, coupled with his heart-on-sleeve delivery and subtle throb in the voice yields huge results. - JH

Tyshawn Sorey – Members…..Don’t (Pi Records)  - Tyshawn Sorey – drums, arrangements - Adam O’Farrill – trumpet, electronics - Mark Shim – tenor saxophone - Lex Korten – piano - Tyrone Allen II – bass - Fay Victor – vocals on “Members, Don’t Git Weary”.

It may seem like I only review (or write about) great albums/music but there is a cornucopia of great music out there and I wish I had the capability to hear it all. C’est le guerre. This record is another hurricane of propulsive forward energy from Tyshawn Sorey. This record is a modern update/re-imagining of the great Max Roach release from 1968 entitled Members, Don’t Git Weary. An exhortation on Max’s part to the African-American community to keep on pushing; don’t give up the fight. At the time of its release, it was a landmark work both as a musical statement and as an example of exemplary post-bop jazz. Sorey and his musical cohorts have taken the update into the free jazz realms w/o losing any of the power, beauty, post boppishness and magnificence of the original. This is not just an archeological examination but a creation that respects and builds on the original in innovative ways. The vocal on the title track, Members, Don’t Git Weary, was handled by the estimable Andy Bey in 1968 and is grandly exposited by Fay Victor in this iteration. - JH

Brian Jackson – Now More Than Ever (BBE Music) - Brian Jackson – Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Piano, Synthesizer, Vocals - Carl Cornwell – Saxophone; Axel Tosca – Keyboards - Ivan Renta – Tenor Saxophone - Alex Norris – Trumpet -  Gene Perez – Bass - Luisito Quintero – Percussion [1, 2]

Another gargantuan record that examines the Black experience in American through the lens of 50 years since the creation of these collaborations between Brian Jackson and Gil-Scott Heron bringing them up to date as the line hasn’t shifted significantly since their initial creation. Back then Jackson & Scott-Heron utilized funk and jazz and soul and contemporaneously we can add house & hip hop to the mix. The core band led by Jackson re-create these compositions with verve and fervor. Main vocal collaborators, Raheem DaVaughan, Raquel Ra Brown, Rahsaan Patterson, Black Thought, Moodyman, Omar and others acquit themselves well, headlining songs that were written before most of them were born. - JH

Sharon Minemoto – Goodbye Strawberry Hill (Cellar Live Records) - Sharon Minemoto – piano - Jon Bentley - tenor saxophone - Darren Radtke - bass; Bernie Arai - drums and hotchiku (wooden flute).

The U.S. is not alone in shameful racist acts over the course of its history. It is sadly part & parcel of the human condition. Canadian Sharon Minemoto chronicles, over the course of this  excellent album, the tribulations of her family’s internment & relocation during WW II when Canada invoked the War Measure Act to incarcerate over 22,000 Japanese-Canadians, most of whom were citizens. Strawberry Hill was the name of the family farm her family was forced to evacuate & which they were forbidden to return to. These instrumentals, nine of which she composed are emotionally wrenching reflections of the family’s experience. And yet, resilience & hope are two other key components of human nature and so here too the music rises gradually and exultantly to personal triumph. The tenor work, smoothly assured throughout is a particular pleasure as well as the finely honed integration between all the players. Bernie Arai’s short, dulcet hotchiku solo on Meditation, is wondrous. Other reviewers have given this record a 3½ star rating. I give it a solid 4 for stellar musicianship and profound emotional content. - JH

Bruce Hornsby – Indigo Park (Zappo Productions) - Bruce Hornsby: Piano, vocals, production - Gibb Droll: Guitar - John Mailander: Violin/Mandolin - J.V. Collier: Bass - Chad Wright: Drums - J.T. Thomas: Keyboards.

This album carries a theme. An older, hopefully wiser person looking back and commenting on life. Hornsby has always been a bit left of center and it works well both for him and potentially for us. The core band is excellent and the plethora of guests stand in integrative-ly not out to steal the spotlights. Bonnie Raitt on Ecstatic, Might as Well Be Me, Florinda featuring Bob Weir and Blake Mills & Ezra Koenig on Memory Palace. Another ho-hum (in the finest sense of that colloquialism) release from Hornsby. He continues to add to his impressive body of work blending AOR, with classical and newish musical elements with ease. - JH

The Phoenix Trio – Tomorrow is Today (Giant Steps Arts) - tenor sax - Mark Turner – bass - Joe Martin - drums - Marcus Gilmore - recorded live at Ornithology Jazz Club – NYC – March 23 & 24, 2025.

This is a groovy laid back album. The music unfolding organically with no jagged twists or turns but plenty of shape and texture. Turner is a remarkable player and a subtle improviser. Before you know it, he’s taken you down some roads you weren’t expecting and weren’t sure how you got there but the scenery sure is pleasant. It’s Turner’s album and although he takes the lead, naturally, there is a ton of give & take between the three players offering lots of counterpoint & harmony to munch on between big bites of delicious melody along with judicious use of space. – JH

Kenny Barron Trio - So Many Lovely Things Live in Brecon (Elemental Records) - Kenny Barron – piano – Ray Drummond – bass – Ben Riley – drums. Live at Brecon Jazz Festival Christ College in Wales on August 12, 1995.

God bless these re-issue archival labels. This is a sterling set with ineffable sound quality of a live set that showcases the astonishing interplay between these three master musicians. In case anyone has never noticed, Kenny Barron in particular, was a superb musical mind with a depth of color and emotion in his playing that transcended description. He always had to be experienced up close and personal and a live setting was best. This is the next best thing and this trio’s rendering of the covers of Monk, Hubbard, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Great American Songbook standards with two Barron originals is simply a soul satisfying and musically salivating experience. One of the best lost live recordings I’ve heard in years. – JH

Renee Fleming – Bela Fleck – The Fiddle and the Drum (Thirty Tigers Records)
Renee Fleming – vocals – Bela Fleck – banjo - Michael Cleveland – fiddle - Dominick Leslie – mandolin - Jeff Partin – dobro - Mark Schatz – bass - Jake Stargel – guitar.

Oh my soul, who woulda thunk it. This is an outstanding album by operatic soprano superstar Renee Fleming who scales her voice waaaaaay back, utilizing her middle register to imbue these traditional tunes and covers of Joni Mitchell, T-Bone Burnett & Elvis Costello, Bela Fleck & Hazel Dickens with soul scorching depth and deeply felt emotional weight. Wow! Wonderful duets with a cherry-picked bunch of vocal collaborators that will knock you back on the seat of your pants. Dolly Parton, Aoife O’Donavan, Vince Gill, & guitar virtuoso Jerry Douglas blast this release into the stratosphere. The best part of this outing is everyone works in service to the songs & lyrics. Again, outstanding release. - JH

Dan Penn – Smoke Filled Room (The Last Music Company) - Dan Penn – vocals/composer - Andy Peake on drums/programming, Mike Durham and Gary Nicholson on guitars, Paul Ossola on bass, and Carson Whitsett on keyboards.

Blue-eyed soul singing from classic song-writer nonpareil Dan Penn. These are archival recordings of demos. Demos. The singing outshines the vast majority of folk’s carefully produced and finished tracks. The composer & co-composer of some of the greatest soul tunes of all time ("Dark End of the Street" anybody?), this album is a fine addition to Penn’s catalog of heart on sleeve emotional style. The accompaniment is pretty bare bones and that’s a plus. The voice & songs speak for themselves and to us w/o any additionally unnecessary adornment. - JH

Eric Watson John Lindberg Steve Lacy - The Amiens Concert (Label Bleu) - Steve Lacy - soprano sax - Eric Watson – piano, composer 1-3,6 - John Lindberg – bass - Enregistré en public La Maison De La Culture D´Amiens 26. 27. 28. Novembre 1987.

This is an old one that has been re-released and boy is it a stunner. This is gorgeous music rendered even more so by the astonishing sense of controlled dynamics throughout. No drums. The music has to be carried, and forcefully so, but in a quiet storminess kinda way, by the piano & soprano sax. They create a post-bop sense of swing & eclecticism which should be parsed and taught in all music academies regardless of genre. Watson’s near classically delineated lines allow Lacy, arguably the greatest exponent of the soprano ever, to extrapolate fluidly and with ruminative inventiveness. Lindberg counterpoints and anchors at the same time, no small feat. A marvelous record. So happy I finally stumbled upon it 39 years after its initial release. - JH

Nine Inch Nails – Boys Noize - Nine Inch Noize (The Null Corporation/Interscope Records) - Boys Noize (Alexander “Alex” Ridha) – production, mixing - Trent Reznor – production, mixing - Atticus Ross – production, mixing.

Interesting. Not stupid. And not even necessary if you’re already a NIN fan. Not enough different from the originals BUT there is a big thumping high-octane energy going on here which enhances the aural sensory experience. Less guitar histrionics and much, much more atom bomb pulsating assaults to keep the Daisy Festival crowd sated. A bit repetitive for my tastes but savored (if that’s the right word) in small doses it will provide enough satisfaction until the next thing comes along. Oh and the fake crowd noise doesn’t help things at all. – JH

Paul Dunmall – Afraid to Speak (Discus Music) - Paul Dunmall: tenor and C soprano saxophones, Bb clarinet - Corey Mwamba: vibraphone - Steven Saunders: electric guitar - Dave Kane: double bass - Miles Levin: drums - special guest; Xhosa Cole: concert flute and piccolo (track 5 only)

Apparently not afraid to speak and speak Dunmall does with the exquisite mastery he has displayed for over 50 years of gracing the world with his insightfully meaningful artistry and improvisational genius. This record encompasses the heights, widths and breadths of musical creativity. I love music like this. Not afraid to go soft or to explode with titanic force where the musicians feel the music needs to be carried or caressed. Kudos to everyone involved and here’s to 50 plus more years of hearing Paul Dunmall explore the musical cosmos taking us along gracefully for the ride. - JH

Simone Dinnerstein, Baroklyn – Hourglass (Naïve Classics) - Simone Dinnerstein – piano - Baroklyn is a rotating ensemble comprised of  Violin: Rebecca Fischer (Concertmaster), Gabriela Diaz, Monica Davis, Pauline Kim Harris, Colleen Jennings, Karla Donehew Perez, Annaliesa Place, and Suzy Perelman. Viola: Caeli Smith, Celia Hatton, Oriana Hawley, Jeremy Kienbaum, and Caeli Smith. Cello: Alexis Pia Gerlach and Julian Müller. Bass: Lizzie Burns, Marguerite Cox, and Anthony Manzo.

Oooo boy. Heightened expressivity a-bounding here folks. I can’t tell you why Philip Glass’ music has always touched me, but it does. It’s minimalist, often, and repetitive, and also emotionally charged. Dinnerstein, a noted Glass interpreter, and the revolving member ensemble Baroklyn, wring every bit of feeling out of these wondrous interpretations of the suite from Glass’ soundtrack to The Hours and the Tirol Piano Concerto. They take the Hours Suite at a slower than usual pace and in doing so imbue it with even more sweep and majesty. Shouldn’t work as well as it does, but there you are. The piano concerto dances, pirouettes, leaps and glides across the floor of your aural arena and has a tantalizing ebb and flow. This is a home run of a record. – JH

Rimma Sushanskaya – Beethoven – The Nine Symphonies (Quartz Music) - Jennifer Davis (soprano), Bethany Horak-Hallet (contralto), Sam Furness (tenor), Stephen Loges (baritone) - Brighton Festival Chorus - The National Symphony Orchestra of the UK – Rimma Sushanskaya – conductor.

These may not be the definitive Beethoven recordings you’ll go to, but they are not only historic, in the sense that, unbelievably, they are the first issuance with a female conductor, but they are finely wrought, well thought out, balanced and with incisive energy and propulsion where needed. A few caveats with the engineering balance in spots, but that shouldn’t detract from full & complete enjoyment. For me, the mark of a great conductor is how they interpret the 7^th, my favorite Beethoven symphony. This symphony, more than the others, feels like it’s being composed on the spot. Sushanskaya hits all the marks with an ebb and flow resulting in an organically flowing rendition that can rub shoulders with anyone out there. There is nothing showy about this entire set, just well-honed and balanced interpretations of the greatest set of symphonies ever created, culminating in an exciting 9^th symphony with excellent soloists acquitting themselves with aplomb. – JH

Gregory Hutchinson – Kind of Now - The Pulse of Miles Davis (Warner Records) - Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Ron Blake (tenor sax/bass clarinet), Jakob Bro and Emmanuel Michael (guitars), Gerald Clayton (piano), and Joe Sanders (bass) Gregory Hutchinson (drums).

Imitation is the highest form of flattery so the poets say. Miles in heaven should feel not only flattered but full of elation. This is a remarkable record with Hutchinson and his earnest musical cohorts spanning the entire trajectory of Mile’s oeuvre from be-bop to cool to modal to fusion to electric to hip hop and never once sounding like mere imitators. They imbue the music with freshness as well as reverence, adding subtle touches & shades of nuance throughout. What a primer to the music of Miles Davis that should excite the long-time jazz aficionados and newbies alike. It unfair and difficult to single out one musician but Akinmusire has to provide the Milesian lines and man does he deliver. - JH

Hedvig Mollestad Weejuns - Bitches Blues (Rune Grammofon Records) - Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen – guitar - Ståle Storløkken – organ and synth - Ole Mofjell – drums.

Whoa, what a beautiful ride. Dynamics abounding and sweetly so at times & then punchy and aggressive and distorting at others. Love this record. The three lock in and support each other with the most beautiful sublimation of musical & artistic ego. Wonderful example is Mollestad’s strumming support behing Storlokken’s gorgeously cheesy keyboard earworm on For A Moment I Thought I Could Hear You. Texture, dynamics, intertwining rhythmic structures…this is active integrative musical listening, with melody and harmonics to intrigue and aurally delectate the ear! – JH

Ize Trio – Global Prayer - www.it.bc.com - Chase Morrin – piano/compositions – Naseem Alatrash – cello – George Lernis – percussion - Guests: John Patitucci – bass 2 – Lihi Haruvi – sopranino 2 - Vasilis Kostas – lauto 4 – Viniv Yacoby – bazouki 4 – Layth Sidiq – violin 4

‘Nutha home run record. Folk music, jazz, classical, Middle Eastern maqam…………. throw any item into the stew pot and it’s going to add to the flavor of this outstanding record. These guys can handle it. And the guests all slip into the blender easily making this one hell of a tasty stew. Melody and harmony weave into and around each other effortlessly adding piquancy to the already heady trace like offerings on display. No lyrics, but the titles bring political and social statements to the fore. From the Stars, Global Prayer & Jam for the End of the World are standout tracks on this sublime release. - JH

Laibach – MUSICK (Mute Records) - Ivan "Jani" Novak – synths – Milan Fras – vocalist – Wow. Super production from Laibach and I mean clean, well-oiled Euro-pop/disco with Milan’s usual hyper-distorted-sounding froggy vocals pegged against real guest singers, too many to fully enumerate. Some critics feel that Milan’s growl’s become tiring as the record goes on, but I love the juxtaposition. They hired seasoned singers like Senidah, Donna Marina Martensson, Gregor Strasberger, et. al. to sing straight from the hip to Laibach’s satirically ironic words frying modern pop music & culture, and for me it works well. Check out the tracks Love Machine, Luigi Mangione & Yes, Maybe, No in particular. These guys have never cared about commercial success and decades on they are still creating outstanding art at a high level. – JH

Nate Wooley & Columbia Icefield – A Silence Opens (Out of Your Head Records) - Nate Wooley – trumpet and amplifier, feet, whistling, voice - Susan Alcorn – pedal steel guitar - Ava Mendoza – guitar and voice - Ryan Sawyer – drums, shakers, and voice.

A beautiful album of commemoration and remembrance. Originally conceived by Nate Wooley for the late, too soon departed Ron Miles, a fellow composer and trumpeter, the album took an unexpected double left turn when Icefields extraordinary Susan Alcorn suddenly died. Whammy to the unfunny bone. Three tracks are Ron Miles compositions, Howard Beach, Darken My Door, and You Taste. Wooley contributed We Say Goodbye Twice/Wildwood Flower. The music and playing, as to be expected, is outstanding. Columbia Icefield has always defied expectations with their unusual trio set up, and with Wooley’s tenderly poignant to raging trumpet playing skimming and skidding over the top, it just adds layers more to the soundscape. The short opening track, the Chilean protest El Derecho I immediately begins painting the landscape with a haunting whistling solo from Wooley. There are four other short iterations of this tune in between all the compositions on the album, as well as ending the collaboration with a short haunting version bookending the opening. This tune was a particular favorite of Alcorn’s and translated as either the Law or used as an adjective means something that is not bent but remains erect. This is upright music indeed. - JH

Miguel Zenon – Expressions – Concerto for Alto Sax & Barcelona Art Orchestra (Miel Music Records) – Recorded live on the 29th of November 2025 at l'Auditori Sala 2 in Barcelona. Most interesting work on display here. Highly collaborative in the sense that the soloist and orchestra are totally integrated into and around each other and the compositions. Interestingly, this is not the work of one composer but four. Also, an un-traditional concerto format employing four movements rather than three. Mvt 1 – Silencio (Nestor Gimenez) – Mvt 2 Canta/Parla (Live Cesares) – Mvt 3 – Xiuxiuig/Esglai (Joan Vida) – Mvt 4 – Lament/Crit (Lluis Vidal). The pieces flow lyrically into each other and the music throughout is both highly modal and fecund. Zenon plays alto throughout and the overall effect is one of fluid conversation with nothing jarring the sensibilities. The music is wonderfully composed and intriguing melodically & harmonically. – JH

Lyle Workman – Liver at Alva’s (Blue Canoe Records) - Guitar: Lyle Workman - Keys: Matt Rohde - Keys: Stan Cotey (Guitar - “Born Ready” “Pass the Torch”)
Bass: Jorgen Carlsson - Drums: Ezequiel Ghilardi - Alvas Showroom - San Pedro, California – 11 22 2025.

Great live album. If you love rock guitar or prog rocky guitar jazzy fusionistics then this is a must-have for you. The band is tight as a clam shell at 5,000 fathoms, able to turn on a dime and give you back nine cents change. Workman is a multi-faceted composer guitarist. He has released over a handful of solo albums in the past as well as scoring films. The playing by Workman and this group is nonpareil and passionate. The music is melodious and rhythmically intriguing. I think I’m a-gonna rush out and buy some more Workman albums. – JH

M.I.A. – M.I.7. (Ohmimusic Records) – I love the manner in which this record is structured, i.e., with the seven trumpet interludes as a chain & bridge to spiritual musings. It’s intriguing and a bit of a shock to the system that this album lyrically is so heavily personal with paens to her own personal salvation via Christianity. Deeply personal as opposed to her strong past outings detailing political and social iniquities. Her music has both influenced and been influenced by electronica, hip hop, world music etc. I’m not sure how this record will be received by fans and whether they will be as affected by this story of personal spiritual redemption. It’s a bold step for Mathangi Arulpragasam, and I wish her continued peace of mind and soul. The music is up to her usual excellent high standards and is finely wrought to the lyrical content, most significantly with the added musical influence and integration of gospel into her arsenal of music techniques on the track Calling - JH

James Taylor Quartet – Te Deum (Acid Jazz UK Records) - Benenden Chapel Choir - James Taylor – Hammond organ, keyboards - Mark Cox – Guitar; Andrew McKinney – Bass - Pat Illingworth – Drums.

What the hell is this? What a joyful wonder of a record. No this isn’t that James Taylor, this is the British acid-jazzer who has been leading ensembles for over thirty years now. This may be his most fantabulous record yet. He is a gifted Hammond B-3 player whose creative use of that music machine always feels fun and righteous. This is an astonishing re-imagining of 4^th century sacred texts set to an incredible amalgamation of funk, Latin, jazz & pop grooves. When the first tune, Have Mercy On Us, jumped out of the “grooves” I laughed out loud with delight. I gotta tell you, I’ve never heard a church choir or its members sing like this. Late 60’s flower children reveling in the sunshine and by God letting it all in so that they can then turn around and shout it back out at ‘cha. Seriously if you’ve ever thought (and I know you haven’t) of blending Gregorian chant with Brazilian samba, then you will love having your mind blown by this record. – JH

Philip Blackburn - Another Intensity (Neuma Records) - Philip Blackburn, instruments, electronics, composition – Philip Blackburn is a master composer in getting the maximum out of the minimum. His slow burn compositions not only create gorgeous sonic soundscapes but seem to seep/meld into your cerebellum and inhabit your mind & body completely, creating a musical feeling of joyful symbiosis. The opening composition, In Praise of Clouds is high praise to the clouds indeed. I had the feeling I was drifting on a cumulus cloud and viewing the ground below through a kaleidoscopic dream state. The next piece up, Dawn Chorus, Still Life, is a wonderful companion piece to the opening track with astonishing sheng extended technical prowess from Wang Zheng-Ting. In its entirety this is a recording to be savored multiple times as one will easily find new neural pathways to go down allowing your imagination to discover creations galore around every corner. There are six shortish pieces in all with the album culminating in the work, An Illegible StoneJH  

Jesca Hoop – Long Wave Home – (Last Laugh Records) - Jesca Hoop: Vocals, songwriting, production - Sam Amidon: Fiddle, guitar, banjo. - Jon Thorne: Bass - Sebastian Rochford: Drums - Jesse D. Vernon: Arranger (brass/percussion) - Rachel Rimmer: Backing vocals - Chloe Foy: Backing vocals.

Idiosyncratic sorta kinda cuts it with Jesca Hoop. Peter Biedermann turned me on to her and I was a made an instant fan. She is quirky in the best of all possible Kate Bush or Bjork-ish ways. Lyrically she is always surprising you with a left turn inside a left turn and the poetic imagery sticks with you like an unwanted wad of gum on the bottom of your shoe. Her voice is strong and clear and straight as an arrow from her brain and heart to yours if you keep yours open & receptive. Sharp, incisive social commentary holds hands with deep personal introspection and she gets her capable accompanists to utilize their talents & instruments to her singular vision. So many stand out tracks. Some favorites are the opener Adam and then the one two punch in the middle of the record Caravan and Playground, a startlingly devastating statement about the horrible impact of war on innocence. She argues that all protest music is also personal music and when stating that case with her unique lyrical & musical vision, it’s hard to disagree. – JH

Laura Cannell – AURORAE (Brawl Records) - Laura Cannell - church pipe organ, alongside soft synths, cello and fiddle – Music composed to emulate the Northern & Southern aurorae. This is an illustration of Cannell’s usual high standards and keen compositional mind. Gently unfolding sonic dronescapes that evoke a sense of medieval ecclesiastical spirituality and dream worlds inhabited by ice and gently soothing fire warming the soul. Finely honed minimalism that is never off putting & always ardently embracing. – JH

Joachim Kühn - Joachim Kühn & Young Lions (ACT Music) - Joachim Kühn (piano), (compositions) - Jakob Bänsch (trumpet) - Andrés Coll(marimba) - Nils Kugelmann (bass) - Sebastian Wolfgruber (drums).

Bam! Right out of the gate. Infectious. Vibrant. Enough energy to CONTAIN an atom bomb. Appropriately entitled Slick Stuff, the music sets the stage for what’s to come. Experience meets the volatility of youth. Off kilter rhythms, cross currents of sound, patterning waves intensely crashing against the waves of conformity. Brashly wonderful stuff. Yeah, Marimba and trumpet shine while the rhythm section along with Kühn holds down the fort or kicks it in the behind as needed. Every track is a standout, and of course I love the Monkian angularity of Elliott Carter. Right up my alley. Should be able to park a car in your garage too. – JH

Steven Bernstein – ResoNation Trio & Ultra Resonance (Royal Potato Family)  - Two cd set from Bernstein. ResoNation is a piano less all acoustic set with Bernstein eschewing his customary electronics. A couple of master musicians make this trio work seamlessly. Scott Colley on bass & Nasheet Waits on drums. Very easy-going conversational interplay between the trio with plenty of space and support throughout. Beautiful playing and compositions make this a highly relaxing albeit cerebrally fulfilling listen. The second disc is infinitely intriguing. Bernstein handed the acoustic sessions over to Scotty Hard, a friend & musician he has been working with for decades. Scotty re-imagined the tracks, naming them for precious metals and gases. The effect of his sonic manipulation is akin to putting the tunes through a futuristic sci-fi blender to stunning effect. Radical textures abound making this a thoroughly enjoyable spookily eerie listening experience. – JH

Ksenija Sidorova - Prophecy (Alpha Classics) - Ksenija Sidorova – accordion - Estonian Festival Orchestra & Paavo Järvi – conductor – If you can live with occasional imbalances between the orchestra and the squeezebox, you will discover a plethora of great new music on this disc as well as the virtuoso playing of Ksenija Sidorova. The opening piece Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Prophecy asks the orchestra and soloist to maneuver through challenging rhythmic minefields as well jagged discourse & circus like Weimar Republic Weill-esque sound worlds. Fascinating and expertly played. Tõnu Kõrvits's Dances offers a whole other thang with a more effervescently lyrical tonal palette putting the soloist’s stamina & concentration to the test. This is a delicious piece of music in four parts beginning with a movement entitled Darkness: Under the Cajun Moon and then evoking Italian dance rhythms for the remaining three movements. The disc recital ends with a short piece by Pēteris Vasks, The Fruit of Silence. It is beautifully meditative in nature and provides a rather apparitional calm ending to a well thought out and performed program. A plus for the music, soloist & orchestra. - JH

Joe Lovano - Paramount Quartet (ECM Records) - Joe Lovano - Tenor Saxophone, Tarogatos - Julian Lage – Guitar - Asante Santi Debriano - Double Bass - Will Calhoun – Drums.

Very beautiful conversational work going on here. Joe has always been a player concerned with dialogue not only with his colleagues but with his audience. He’s picked a crew of great like-minded musicians on this record. Listeners first who then respond appropriately. Lage, since his bursting out on the scene, has been a favorite of mine not only for his ability to get down & dirty, but his penchant to equally create gorgeous atmospheres for others to springboard off of or glide through. Debriano, primarily on electric bass is able to create wonderful textures alongside his bandmate Will Calhoun’s provocative and sensitive drumming. The Lovano originals stand firmly alongside their excellent covers of Wayne Shorter’s Lady Day & Charlie Haden and Abbey Lincoln’s First Song, which appropriately kicks off the album. - JH

Kronos Quartet – Glorious Mahalia (Smithsonian Folkways Records) - David Harrington – violin – John Sherba – violin Hank Duff – viola – Sunny Yang – cello. Sampled voices – Mahalia Jackson Studs Terkel – Dr. Clarence B. Jones – Jonathan Greenberg – Stacy Garrop – Glorious Mahalia – Antonio Haskell – God Shall Wipe All Tears Away arr: Jacob Garchik – Zachary James Watkins – Peace Be Till.

An astonishing collaboration between Kronos and these three composers. This fabulous project incorporates new compositions with archival audio of Mahalia speaking with Studs Terkel and archival audio of Dr. Clarence B. Jones & Jonathan Greenberg discussing racial and social politics. Glorious Mahalia is an extended piece in five movements. The Haskell piece is well known and acts as a short interlude leading into Watkins’ five movement Peace Be Till. All of the music is tenderly evocative and richly American in texture and scale with the sampled vocals expertly woven throughout. Kronos’s playing is alternately soothingly lyrical and raggedly aggressive, illustrating and underlining the content of the spoken clips. A glorious release, powerful & evocative! – JH

John Medeski Trio – John Zorn - The Bagatelles Vol. 8 (Tzadik Records) - John Medeski – Organ - David Fiuczynski – Guitar - G. Calvin Weston – Drums – Yikes! Furiously ferocious & bolting outta the gate these guys are determined to  psychedelically assault your mind & body with transonic intensity. This is not your momma’s Bagatelles! Splintering notes around the room like a wildly out of control playground merry-go-round, you wonder, am I mad or have I entered a musical maelstrom? These three guys are carazzay. Bagatelle #223 sets the tone for this record immediately, with off-kilter highly charged metallic rockin’ jazz grooving you on your journey to the outer reaches of the solar system. You like loud? You like powerhouse drumming and fusion pushing you all around the room until you fall to the floor exhausted and completely satisfied, then this is the record for you. Oh yeah, there are a coupla lyrically moving interpretive breaks along the way so you can catch your breath and they are luscious. My favorite interpretation of Zorn’s enormous Bagatelle series yet. - JH

Kacey Musgraves – Middle of Nowhere (Lost Highway Records) – Good lyrics with clear eyed concision and straight to the point. Less folkish and much more countryish than her more recent outings. Great playing and terrific guest appearances especially from the likes of Billy Strings on Everybody Wants to be a Cowboy and Miranda Lambert on the standout track Horses and Divorces makes this a rather strong outing from Lambert. Strong imagery throughout, which is always a plus for me. My favorite track is the final cut on the album, Hell On Me. Stripped down and primarily acoustic with a heart-melting lyric. - JH

Joseph Arthur – You’re Not A Ghost Anymore: FAITH (Lonely Astronaut Records) – Arthur has been an intriguing artist for years and this may be the most interesting record of his career. The first part of a projected three disc project, this record focuses on his spiritual recovery and comeback from years of physical & mental addiction & turmoil. Heavily vocodered vocals (not unusual for him), which he enhances with looping, multi-tracking and reverb, & instrumental distortion add extra layers to the metaphysical nature of the lyrics. Arthur simply presents his case and doesn’t proselytize allowing the listener to be drawn in deeper to his message. This record plays with various genres from indie to prog rock and does so rather seamlessly. – JH

John Zorn - Alea Iacta Est (Tzadik Records) - Brian Marsella – Piano - Jorge Roeder – Bass - Ches Smith – Drums - Sae Hashimoto – Vibraphone.

Alea iacta est is Latin for the die is cast, & it doesn’t help to explain the music on this disk one iota. Perhaps John Zorn knows. For me what it means is less important than how it sounds & it sounds marvelous dahling. This is a piano concerto for jazz quartet rather than for orchestra and it is a composition of a highly complex intricate nature. The players are required to mind-meld and these are monster masters of their instruments and art who have no problem with any demands made upon them. Contrast, lyrical moments, volcanic shifts in texture and time all contribute to a kinetically charged piece that architecturally satisfies the mathematically music loving mind. Zorn is out of this world great. - JH

Judith Berkson - Thee They Thy – ECM Records - Judith Berkson - Voice, Piano - Trevor Dunn - Double Bass - Gerald Cleaver – Drums.

Boy, I’d love to hear Judith Berkson and Theo Bleckmann put out a duet album. The share a certain sense of phrasing and straight-line controlled singing that would accord & vibrate with each other’s musical personalities quite well. Each circling the others celestial body like simpatico planets and moons. That quasi silly thought out of the way, this is a deeply entrancing and resonant recording. The album opens and closes with two through-composed tunes. Slow & Sated. Slow is an understatement as a metaphor for this albums tracks. Berkman can maintain pitch and intensity with snail like timing & precision creating tension and nuanced release both in her singing & piano playing. She sought out players for this trio outing, which she felt could aid in bringing her art to fuller fruition. She certainly picked the right folks. Both players stick to her rigorous and quirky compositional twists & turns with ease & appreciation for what she is trying to accomplish. Cleaver is given a solo spotlight with Cleav, and man is it a knockout. 2 minutes and 47 seconds of percussive master class accomplishment. Berkman incorporates multiple genres in her works and especially on the second track V’shamru (a well-known Jewish prayer from Exodus which is a reminder that observing the Sabbath is a pact between the Jewish people and God), where she gets to show off her considerable Cantorial skills as well. Deeply original & thoughtful recording. - JH

John Zorn & The Gnostic Trio – Sing Me Now To Sleep (Tzadik Records) - John Zorn – composer - Carol Emanuel: Harp - Bill Frisell: Guitar - Ikue Mori: Electronics - Kenny Wollesen: Vibraphone.

You may be asking yourself, how many albums and/or music does John Zorn create/release each year? The answer is lots. Lots of lots. Cascades of compositional flow. He is simply amazing in the generosity of his output and the exceptional quality of his works. Here he shows a softer, more genteel side to his compositional genius. There have been noises and quibbling from critics about this recording being perhaps a bit aimless or lacking his usual creative intensity, but I rather enjoy Zorn’s bravery in allowing this side of his soul to emerge so expertly. The music on this disc is more spacious and minimal and thus the sheer lyrical beauty is allowed to flourish openly with succulent heart on sleeve. Once upon a time Zorn’s voluminous creative output made me recoil a bit. That was on me. Over the years, I’ve become a convert. BTW – The playing on this record is what you’d expect from these substantive artists. Frisell’s guitar weeps, shimmies and shines. Emanuel’s harp adds beautifully to the ambient texture. Wollesen’s vibes are laid back and dream-scapey and Mori’s electronics are “otherworld-enly” divine. – JH

Christopher Shultis - Waldmusik – (Neuma Records) – Forest music. Compositions inspired by over a decade of walks in the woods. Nature has been motivating composers since we climbed down from the trees and perhaps prior. Name any major composer and I’ll show you music inspired by wind, sun, rain, flora and fauna. Five works on this disc. The first piece Circlings is written for percussion, played by the composer, electronics, and the Gyeonggi Gayageum Ensemble. The gayageum is a South Korean plucked zither dating back over 1,500 years. Lots of space here in which to mediate, ruminate or simply allow the music the seep under your skin. This reminded me so much of Harry Partch and his influence on keen-eared and tuned-in composers like Christopher Shultis. The music overall is spacious and ofttimes sounds otherworldly with the notable exception that it was all created on this planet! Field recordings are utilized generously throughout the album. Leaves rustling, voices chanting, et. al.

The second piece is entitled Wissahickon, Pulpit Rock, French Creek for percussion, piano and field recordings, featuring Ashley Oakley, piano; Douglas Nottingham, percussion. This piece is more aggressive and even more percussive than Circling & less averse to relying on a strong sense of spaciousness. Next up is Devisadero: Six Preludes for Piano Solo featuring Curt Cacloppo. It is named for a trail near Taos, N.M. and for me (as a climber and hiker over the years) it evokes not only a sense of the wide open but of the enormity and inconsequentiality of the individual within the awesome, placid power of a mountain. Curt Cacloppo is also featured on World’s End Preludes, a piano solo in four movements.

The liner notes detail a grisly history associated with the piece and evoked by the power and strength of this composition and performance. Finally, we are treated to One Far Noise written for Simone Macuso on tam-tam. The title is taken from the writings of the great American monk and social activist Thomas Merton. ….”to have the only one far noise is not equivalent to silence.” At the end of the composition, out of the turbulence of the tam-tam’s rising sound come the voices of birds in song, which act as a catalyst to quiet the percussion, perhaps to a more contemplative place. Yes! When I am out walking or hiking or riding my bike,  I love listening to the language of our avian neighbors, and this is a beautiful way to end an exceptional album of newish compositions by a composer with a keen ear for the extraordinary in the natural world and the spaces in between our thoughts and senses. - JH

Love, Burns - Pavement Drawings (Spinout Nuggets/Jigsaw)

Phil Sutton is a busy guy, having released albums with over half a dozen groups including Comet Gain, Velocette, Pale Lights, et.al. This is his third album fronting Love, Burns, and it continues his love of Brill Bulding, Monkees-style pop. The current line-up is perfectly suited to Sutton’s remit, featuring members of Jetstream Pony, Ladybug Transistor, and Jeanines. ‘You Have To Be Sad’ is feather light and endearingly catchy with delightful collaborative vocals from Sutton and Jo Roman, a highlight throughout. ‘Goodnight Charlie’ is another uplifting pop confection - you’ll be toetapping this one for days.

The title track and ‘One More Night In The Park’ bear the unmistakable charm of Lloyd Cole, Sutton’s guitar interplay with Kyle Forester and the latter’s swirling keyboards recall vintage Felt, particularly on the effervescent ‘Baby, Don’t Look Away,’ and last year’s ‘Dear Carole’/’Drawn Together’ single gets a new coat of paint to good effect, swapping Rachel Love’s original vocals for Jo’s. One of the year’s pleasantest surprises that’s sure to induce smiles and good vibes throughout the year. JFO

Yea-Ming and The Rumours - Residue (Dandy Boy)

Yea-Ming Chen reunites with her RYLI rhythm section (bassist Rob Good and drummer Luke Robbns) and longtime collaborator guitarist Eóin Galvin on her fourth Rumours album, another brilliant collection of perfect pop tunes with the occasional foray into fuzzy garage attacks on ‘Paper Doll’ with Galvin’s omnipresent desert swamp pedal steel adding a decidedly West Coast country folk vibe. Familiar signposts on tracks like ‘Uncommon Dreaming’ offer hints of Mojave 3, Camera Obscura, Saint Etienne, and a melancholic Nico and Chen’s breathy vocals never fail to elicit warm and fuzzy dreams of that unobtainable girl next door.

‘Cheap Thrillls’ is an early highlight, Galvin’s solo perfectly embedded into Chen’s observational lyrics that set the heart a-flutter and the mind pondering while ‘Sweet Opiate’ is as addictive as its title suggests. ‘Cold’ offers another perspective into countrified garage pop, Phil Spector’s ghost hovers over ‘Treasury Of Loved Ones’ with Hal Blain’s legendary drum beat forming a bedrock for girl group fantasies and Galvin’s Beach Boy guitar fills, and ‘Fine Afternoon’ is a lazy, cloudgazing swing in the hammock. Another essential listen. JFO

Fabienne Delsol - Indigo Red (Damaged Goods)

With her irresistibly infectious blend of garage, psychedelic pop, exotic soundtrack music, and yé-yé, Delsol (along with April March, Fleur, Coup Dur, Limiñanas, et.al.) has spearheaded the yé-yé revival in the 21^st century, carrying the banner established by Francoise Hardy, Jacqueline Taieb, Marie Laforet, Juliet Greco, et. al. over 60 years ago. Following two albums fronting The Bristols, Delsol forged a solo career in 2004. Her fifth album continues her tradition of breathing fresh life into obscure ‘60s chestnuts along with imbuing her contemporary tunes with an unmistakable ‘60s spin.

‘She Is Gone’ features a wobbly guitar solo that adds a further air of mystery to Delsol’s echoed, little girl vocals (quite reminiscent of Yoko Ono!) which carries over to the melancholic ‘I Heard About A Friend’ buoyed by snaking keyboards, a galloping drum beat, and wah-wah guitar emulating a Hawaiian kettle drum ceremony!

Delsol has a few surprises in store beginning with an unusual cover of the Silver Apples’ ‘I Have Known Love’, eschewing Simeon Coxe’s dominant electronics for an almost calypso-like cha cha beat with subtle choral sounds that add a disturbing, goosepimply chill. The Count Five B-side ‘The Morning After’ retains hints of Lovin’ Spoonful’s ‘Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind’ but Delsol’s drowsy delivery better encapsulates the effects of the night before.

‘I’m Leaving You’ is devilishly coquettish, but nothing we’ve heard so far prepares us for the no holds barred revisit of Sharon Tandy (and Fleur De Lys)’ ‘Daughter Of The Sun’ wherein Delsol lets her hair down and runs rampant through this fire-breathing stomper! Toss in some phased guitars, heart pounding drums, Deep Purplish keyboards and a solo rivalling Bryn Haworth’s unbridled original.

‘Peacekeeper’ resurrects phased wah-wah vocals to create a ghostly atmos-fear, tosses in a weeping guitar solo, and sets us up for a wonderful interpretation of Francoise Hardy’s ‘Le Premier Bonheur du Jour’ that’s not a patch on the unimprovable original but retains its sexy, whispered ambience, gloomy, introspective message, and dreamy arrangement. Welcome back, Fabienne, c’est magnifique! JFO