CraigP

On what other recordings can I hear Webster?

Congrats, Jim! I'm looking forward to listening. As to what to call it, I suggest something I read in a blog recently: "technical Japanese death metal."

The Hebert and the Kris Davis releases got lost in the shuffle, as they were released very late in 2013, after that year's "best of" lists had already been published. I don't understand why Clean Feed does their last batch of releases so late every year, for this reason.

Looks like Miles, all his life, saw where the leading edge was and reacted against it. Bop, Parker? Miles invented a contrary modern jazz, birth of the cool. Hard bop, with its soul and little big bands? Miles' contrary music was the Gil Evans works on the one hand, his evolving quintet, including the radical Trane, on the other hand. Was Ornette's freedom now the leading edge? Folks, here are modes, easier for your digestion. Yet in spite of Miles' nastiness toward Ornette, Miles' quintet, as Hancock pointed out, evolved to become Ornettelike. The subsequent years of fusion adventures, nearing half of his musical life, were a retreat of sorts. Leading, retreating, so what. He played a lot of the best music ever. I like where you're going with this, but what do you mean when you say his fusion years were a retreat?

Dr. Funkenstein, you reminded me that I need to go listen to Melissa Aldana on Spotify.

It's on Spotify.

I'm a little uncomfortable with the whole "best" thing, but I like seeing what people rate highly, so here goes: Top 10 (in order) Steve Lehman – Mise en Abime (Pi Recordings) Anna Webber – SIMPLE (Skirl) RED Trio & Mattias Ståhl - North And The Red Stream (NoBusiness Records) Max Johnson – The Prisoner (NoBusiness Records) Jorrit Dijkstra’s Pillow Circles - Live Bimhuis Amsterdam (Driff Records) Samuel Blaser/Benoit Delbecq/Gerry Hemingway - fourth landscape (Nuscope Recordings) Wadada Leo Smith – The Great Lakes Suites (TUM) Stephen Gauci/Kirk Knuffke/Ken Filiano - Chasing Tales (Relative Pitch) Luis Vicente/Rodrigo Pinheiro/Hernani Faustino/Marco Franco - Clocks and Clouds (FMR Records) Anthony Braxton – Trio (New Haven) 2013 (New Braxton House) Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order by last name) Rodrigo Amado - Wire Quartet (Clean Feed) Bobby Bradford/Frode Gjerstad Quartet – Silver Cornet (Nessa Records) Anthony Braxton – 12 Duets (DCWM) 2012 (New Braxton House) 3d: Tomasz Dabrowski/Kris Davis/Andrew Drury – vermillion tree (ForTune) The Danny Fox Trio- Wide Eyed (Hot Cup Records) Ideal Bread – Beating the Teens (Cunieform Records) Tyshawn Sorey – Alloy (Pi Recordings) Reissues (in order) The Jimmy Giuffre 3 & 4 – New York Concerts (Elemental Music) Miles Davis – Miles at the Fillmore: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3 (Columbia/Legacy) Howard Riley Trio – Angle/The Day Will Come (Hux Records) Debut Recording Tesla Coils – S/T (Setola di Maiale) Their first as a group, although at least one member has other albums out, so I don’t know if this counts as a true “debut”.

I see your point, but I don't believe he has his Doctorate yet.

The Anna Webber album on Skirl, Simple, is one of the best things I heard this year.

Composer/drummer Tyshawn Sorey has a new trio CD on Pi Recordings called Alloy. Here's an excerpt from my review: "Alloy is an album that draws you in with its introspective beginning, and an almost deceptive simplicity. But the four compositions Tyshawn Sorey has prepared for the listener reveal greater depths with each listen, and end up traversing a great deal of territory... I’ve always admired the fact that Mr. Sorey’s music isn’t about the drums per se, his primary instrument, but is always in service to the composition and the group as a whole. His previous album on Pi, Oblique-I, seemed overly indebted to M-Base and was too much of a good thing – I wore out before the entire CD was finished. But on Alloy his structures support superb interaction between the trio, and I think I know which sections are composed, but I’m not sure – not that it matters in the end. No matter how egalitarian a piano trio, it’s hard not to focus on the pianist, and Cory Smyth demands the spotlight by conjuring a remarkable range of expressiveness, from wee-hours-of-the-morning quietude to a rumbling attack that will remind one of Cecil Taylor. He can play with real economy and restraint when he chooses, without losing the thread of the narrative he’s creating. In these moments he shows a kinship with Craig Taborn’s ECM output. If an alloy is composed of two materials such as two metals, then this Alloy is a compound with no distinct boundary between compositional and improvisational materials..." You can read the full review of Alloy on Improvised Blog.

For me, the new Grunen CD with Achim Kaufmann is the standout.

Majestic, perhaps?

Acoustic Snakeoil's not dead...but does it smell funny?

The Norwegian trombone/piano/drums Lana Trio have released their second CD, Live in Japan. Here's an excerpt from my review: “One gets the sense that the Lana Trio looks at things a little differently upon inspection of the cover of Live in Japan. Sharing space with images of Japanese food and someone wearing traditional garb is a shot of fishermen on a dolphin hunt. Couple that with the name of the Norwegian label that released it, Va Fongool, an Italian phrase that translates to “Go f_____ yourself”, and things could get bumpy. Although The Lana Trio is a free improv group, it turns out things never get totally out of hand. The members of the trio traverse territory ranging from sparse, minimalist ruminations to sections of high intensity… There are some really nice sections where Jerve (piano) and Wildhagen (drums) engage in intense dialog, the pianist mixing traces of Bley with some of the dissonance and lower register work of Cecil Taylor. Live in Japan is good, no-holds-barred free improv, even if some of the “lower case” stuff doesn’t work as much for me.” My full review is at improvised blog.

I love Taborn, but Farmers By Nature has never really grabbed me for some reason, don't know why.

Thanks RogerF!

What's Subterranean's URL?

Thanks for the heads-up.

If I were a label or artist in the genres we generally discuss here, there's no way I'd stream my catalog. Niche artists get paid peanuts by the likes of Spotify, etc. Pi Records used to have their stuff up on streaming sites, and then pulled it.

The Nabatov Nichols tribute is great, as is the Braxton Quartet (Moscow).

Canadian saxophonist and composer Erik Hove has recently released Saturated Colour, featuring his Chamber Ensemble. Here's an excerpt from my review: "It took me a minute to get used to the unusual harmonies Hove uses, but once I acclimated I was all in. It reminds me a little of Steve Lehman’s Octet, and no wonder, as both Lehman and Hove have been influenced by the spectral techniques of composers such as Murail. Both Hove and Lehman play alto, and both have a tart, angular style. But Hove definitely has his own take on the spectral school, with more pastel shading to his music and a more impressionistic approach vs. Lehman. The spectral influence does result in that unique shimmering sound that I noted in my review of Lehman’s Mise en Abîme, and as I listened to Saturated Colour I had the feeling of being held in suspended animation. Hove makes beautiful use of the combination of woodwinds and strings in the arrangements, such as on the track Ascending. There’s a slight third-steam influence here as well, which I really dig, but without the stiffness or stuffiness that is sometimes ascribed to that movement. Enigmatic, in a good way." You can read the full review of Saturated Colour on improvisedblog.

Thanks, watched the first few minutes and I definitely want to watch the whole thing.

Has anyone heard the sextet recording, I believe it's called Wow? Opinions?

Our own esteemed Chuck Nessa has just released Silver Cornet by the Bobby Bradford/Frode Gjerstad Quartet. Here's an excerpt from my review: "The instrumental line-up and Bradford’s history would suggest that their music would be heavily influenced by Ornette, but at least as a listener that’s not really the case. In fact, the Quartet really reminds me of Other Dimensions In Music in the way the music rises and falls in a very natural way. Bradford has what I call an “organic” approach to improvising; everything flows, nothing seems forced, and it’s very conversational. You really hear the history of jazz and free music in his playing. Listening to Frode is like what I imagine watching Pollock at work was like: At first everything looks random and disconnected, but over the course of time you see an arc, a progression. He infers, rather than states, and he’s a great foil for his front-line partner. The acoustics of the Dallas show made picking up the bass difficult, so it’s great to hear Ingebrigt’s contributions so much more clearly. He’s all over his instrument, with a lightening-quick approach that reminds me of Barry Guy at times. And Frank Rosaly? Well, I’ve never seen anyone play like he does. His approach involves rapidly taking various cymbals off their stands, placing them on top of drumheads, and striking or swiping them. It’s mesmerizing live, and what almost got lost was how well he can drive the band when needed. Once the Dallas performance was finished, I had a vision in my mind that the music hadn’t really stopped, that it was a river that would keep flowing. Silver Cornet is proof of that." You can read the full review of Silver Cornet on improvisedblog.

Wadada Leo Smith has recently released The Great Lakes Suites on TUM Records. Here's an excerpt of my review: “I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this when I learned who was on it, an all-star quartet with Henry Threadgill, John Lindberg and Jack DeJohnette. But beyond the players, it’s the strength of the compositions, particularly the three suites that comprise the first CD, that grabs one’s attention. The opening Lake Michigan has an unusual and arresting stop-start theme, with a structure that leads to a couple of false endings over its length…There’s a sense throughout that the musicians are really taking their time to explore each suite, so that the mind doesn’t really record whether the tempos are fast or slow; everything flows in an organic fashion through to the final track, the music shuffling off like a freighter moving out to the horizon. Mr. Smith’s trumpet has always had a majestic quality, with a little hint of Miles, and that is still the case here, but now there’s an additional richness, an emotional resonance, that I don’t remember hearing from him before. I was looking forward to hearing Threadgill in a context other than his own groups, and he doesn’t disappoint. His solos seem to be…about juxtaposing interesting textures and building blocks of sound in interaction with the other players… It’s a treat to hear Lindberg and DeJohnette, both of whom just kill throughout the Suites. I don’t know why we don’t see more of Lindberg, but I’m glad Smith uses him regularly, and DeJohnette is all over his kit, bringing to mind his hyperactive work with Miles during the Fillmore days.” You can read the full review of The Great Lakes Suites on my blog. Anyone else heard this? I'm curious what others think.