Bird is the Worm Best of 2013: Albums 26-30

Today’s post reveals the 26th through the 30th Bird is the Worm albums of the year.

*****

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

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

Let’s begin…

*****

26.  Mike McGinnis – Ängsudden Song Cycle

This chamber jazz recording that merges jazz, classical, folk, and poetry seems a bit daunting at first blush, but the more I listened to this album, the friendlier it became… until it got to where I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t get along famously with it right from the start.  A haunting beauty to go with warm harmonies and the occasional catchy melody.  Music inspired by the majestic beauty of Swedish Angsudden archipelago, and that beauty translates right on through.  I could’ve easily justified featuring McGinnis’s album in my Something Different series… and I might have, had I not grown so familiar with the music as to where it began sounding quite normal.

Released on 482 Music.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

27.  Christian Muthspiel 4 – Seaven Teares

This chamber jazz recording is an extended lullaby, a suite of good night tunes that only seem to be separated by the brief moments of silence between tracks.  The trombone’s mix of punchy attitude and delicate sonorous murmurs is probably what sells me on this album, though the way vibes enhances both of those qualities might be what seals the deal.  An album I keep coming back to, and one that works splendidly for those peaceful times of early morning and late night, when it seems like the whole world is asleep and the music fills the silence with sublime, peaceful sounds.

Released on ACT Music.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

28.  Power of the Horns – Alaman

This one still bowls me over.  An avant-garde big band that shouts to the skies with the same wild abandon of similar ensembles of the 70s free improv scene.  Melodies don’t stick around for long, as both soloists and accompaniment go charging off in random directions.  But through all that wild swinging and swerving, the rhythm section is a tight air tunnel of focus, keeping the tunes on the tracks no matter how many explosions the band sets off from the engine room.  Fun, exciting, and all kinds of maniacal.  Pure creative energy, unbounded and limitless.

Released on For-Tune Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

29.  Cliff Hines – Wanderlust

I still don’t know what to make of this recording.  It’s pretty common for younger musicians to utilize all the influences in their development to that point and attempt to present as many of the creative thoughts bouncing around in their heads all at once.  This often leads to some crazily exciting music, with the measure of success a secondary consideration.  Wanderlust is a mix of modern and old-school jazz, pop music, folk, ambient post-rock, and probably a few other things I’m leaving out.  Somehow it all works.  And, more specifically, it works like a charm.  Most impressive perhaps is that this album possesses a single identity, an album cohesion locked in place regardless of how the shifting tides of influence and expression change throughout this very fun, very likable, near magical recording.  There was just no way to leave this off my Best of 2013 list.

The album is Self-Produced.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

30.  Nashaz – Nashaz

An album with catchy melodies and breezy rhythms.  The rhythmic element is terrifically dynamic, and the fact that it’s so rich and yet retains a light fluid motion is a testament to the music’s enduring strength.  Based upon the theory of maqam, an approach typical to traditional Arabic music, Nashaz is able to build songs around strong melodies that serve as a launching pad for improvisation.  And it gives the opportunity to hear the oud as the lead instrument on a jazz recording, and illustrates just how vast is Jazz’s range of expressiveness.

The album is Self-Produced.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

Tomorrow’s post reveals the Bird is the Worm numbers 21-25 2013 albums of the year.

Cheers.