Recap: Best of 2013

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

*****

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

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

Let’s begin…

*****

6.  Tim Horner – The Head of the Circle 

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

Released on Origin Arts.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

7.  Reijseger / Fraanje / Sylla – Down Deep

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

Released on Winter & Winter.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

8.  Anna Webber – Percussive Mechanics

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

Released on Pirouet Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

9.  John Zorn – The Mysteries

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

Released on the Tzadik label.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

10.  Nicole Mitchell’s Ice Crystal – Aquarius

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

Released on Delmark Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

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

Cheers.

Today’s post reveals the 16th through the 20th 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…

*****

16.  Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society – Brooklyn Babylon

I keep shaking my head each time I’m reminded that I haven’t yet reviewed this album, but when I consider everything bouncing around in my head about this recording, it’s really no wonder at all.  Argue’s sophomore release has all the excitement of his debut, with the added bonus of it being a companion piece of a multi-media event.  His inventive sound for jazz orchestra continues to round itself out, even as it heads out in new directions.  A recording that keeps revealing new aspects of itself, inciting a brand new sense of excitement with each listen.

Released on New Amsterdam Records.

A Bird is the Worm article HERE.

*****

17.  Alan Blackman – The Coastal Suite

A suite based on a one-day cycle on the water’s edge, and married to watercolor paintings of an artist who specializes in that theme, this sublime recording has all the serenity of that landscape, as well as its nuanced unpredictability.  I was taken right in by this mesmerizing recording, an album which has become a bit of a refuge for me from those days when life just won’t get the hell out of my face.  Along with the below link to the review, if you search on Blackman’s name on my site, you’ll pull up a video for which album music is set against the paintings associated with the various songs.  Just beautiful music… the kind in which the artist succinctly translates the source of inspiration and leaves plenty of room for the listener to personalize the music to themselves.

The album is Self-Produced.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

18.  Frank Wess – Magic 101

A bittersweet entry for this one.  Veteran saxophonist (and flautist) Wess recently passed away, not long after the release of this album, and just before the follow-up (hitting the streets in 2014).  The most straight-ahead and old-school of all the albums in this year’s Best Of list.  What I find most remarkable about the album is how much listening to it made me feel like back in the day when I was just discovering Jazz and picking up albums by McCoy Tyner and Donald Byrd and Red Garland… this sense of excitement, about this new music, sounding so fresh and alive and vibrant, with no thought to the fact that it was decades old, because it sounded like today.  Well, this music is from Today, and it sounds like it, even as it breathes the bop and swing and swagger of Jazz from fifty years ago.  Outstanding.

Released on IPO Recordings.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

19.  Will Martina – Modular Living By Design

Not easy leading a jazz ensemble as cellist, but Will Martina has pulled off the feat successfully on his last two recordings.  The previous release The Dam Levels was remarkably straight-ahead.  On his newest, he dips more into the chamber jazz thing, but pianist Jason Lindner knows how to work a groove, and drummer Richie Barshay can work the crease between jazz and indie-rock, and so the album has more intimate warmth than a stately elegance more common to chamber jazz recordings.  That makes this a winner, with a series of sublime pieces that twitter with life and glide along on pretty melodies.

The album is Self-Produced.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

20.  Operation Northwoods – The Bureau of Fiction

A chamber jazz recording that makes as effective use of silence and pauses as any recording released in 2013.  An album for the late nights when the city is asleep and you don’t want to play anything that might wake it and shatter the beautiful silence.  And, yet, this isn’t sleepy music.  With no bass or drums, the quartet has to share the heavy work on developing a tempo, and their punchy attitude keeps things lively.  But the real joy on this recording are the sublime fragments of melody that the quartet lifts up into the air and lets hang there for a brief, beautiful moment before drifting delicately away… just to be replaced by the next, and the next, and the next.  A gorgeous recording, in a cerebral sort of way.

Released on PJCE Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

Tomorrow’s post reveals the Bird is the Worm numbers 11-15 2013 albums of the year.

Cheers.

Today’s post reveals the 21st through the 25th 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…

*****

21.  Brian Landrus Kaleidoscope – Mirage

I was perpetually fascinated throughout the year in how Landrus was able to mesmerize with his blend of mainstream jazz, old-school soul jazz, and string quartet.  A reed man who specializes in the low end of the register, Landrus’s music had the added gift of the haunting warmth of contra-alto & bass clarinets and bass & bari saxes.  This, when balanced against the lightness of strings and the shimmering glow of a mainstream sound, resulted in a textured sound that hit the mark time and time again.  Just a remarkable album.

Released on BlueLand Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

22.  Gary Burton Quartet – Guided Tour

The communion between Burton’s vibes and Julian Lage’s guitar is the winning formula on this recording.  Sanchez and Colley on drums and bass sure didn’t hurt, but Burton’s icy brightness and Lage’s charming twang was a partnership in sound that gave this album its defining character.  An instance where a straight-ahead recording differentiates itself from the pack, and displays that there is no end to the singular ways to express old languages in new, exciting ways.

Released on Mack Avenue Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

23.  Matt Holman’s Diversion Ensemble – When Flooded

Back when I made this album my eMusic Pick of the Week, I described this recording as having a “heavy serenity.”  I still think that’s an apt description.  The trumpet led outing possesses a gravity that precludes analogizing this album with terms of flight, and yet the addition of clarinets, guitar, and cello provides a delicate touch that belies its prevalent weightiness.  That contrast is one of the qualities that make this such a winning album.  Beautiful drifting melodies would be another.

Released on Brooklyn Jazz Underground.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

24.  Damir Out Loud – Graduation Day

There is an abiding warmth to this music that has never waned for me.  Modern in approach, and yet it hits on enough hard bop moments of the past to appeal to both the old- and new-schooler in me.  Melodies that emerge suddenly, but structured in a way that keeps on the memory long after each song has ended.  The interplay between trumpet and vibes carries the day on this charming debut recording, and solidify its position as one of the best recordings of 2013.

Released on Unit Records.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

25.  Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra – The Reason Why Vol. 1

The hyper-exhilaration of this album just won’t fade with time.  Backed by his Subtropic Arkestra, Kajfes channels the simultaneous imagery of outer space big band jazz like Sun Ra, and the finely textured ambient drive of Krautrock acts like Cluster, while voicing this music with his personal blend of jazz, rock, and psychedelia.  This recording’s spot-on blend of colorful orchestration, catchy melodies, and rhythmic fireworks would be equally at home in late-night dance halls as it would be as a soundtrack to a James Bond action flick.  There’s something undeniably cool about this music, enhanced by its ability to elicit smiles on command.

Released on Headspin Recordings.

A Bird is the Worm review HERE.

*****

Tomorrow’s post reveals the Bird is the Worm numbers 16-20 2013 albums of the year.

Cheers.