Kev's Top Ten Jazz CDs of 2012

Happy New Year! As I try to get back to regular blogging (a pursuit which has often been sidetracked by my involvement with Facebook and Twitter), one of the seemingly obvious things to post here would be a list of my ten favorite new jazz releases of the past year. If you're my friend on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, you've seen all these recordings under the "Playing in the Kevmobile" heading (a weekly summary of which should return here this coming weekend, and I'll try to update the missing past year or so shortly), but I've never actually tried to rank them in any way until now.

So without further ado, here's my list. (Your mileage may vary, of course, and you're welcome to put your own thoughts in the comments.)

• 10. The eponymous debut by the Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio (Dafnison Music). Cuban-born drummer is joined by keyboardist Jason Lindner and singeresbjorn/rapper Kokayi fuse together a wide variety of styles into something that's truly unique.
• 9. Christian Scott, Christian aTunde Adjuah (Concord Records). Ambitious double-length release from New Orleans-born trumpeter who constantly pushes the boundaries of his music into adventurous new places.
• 8. Donny McCaslin, Casting for Gravity (Greenleaf Records). Prolific tenorman who would be a household name in a perfect world scores with a new release that blends electronics with more traditional sounds and includes a great cover of a Boards of Canada song.
• 7. Esbjörn Svensson Trio, 301 (ACT Music). The late Swedish pianist had not one, but two albums' worth of music in the can at the time of his untimely passing. The first one, Leukocyte, had a much darker air about it than any of the trio's earlier releases; the remaining material, found here, is overall a return to the more uplifting mood that one came to expect from e.s.t. Overall, a fitting coda to a remarkable body of work.
• 6. Neil Cowley Trio, The Face of Mount Molehill (Naim Label). I've really been getting into a lot of European piano trios who have been doing some very interesting and creative things with that format, and this UK threesome's latest release is loaded with memorable tunes that keep me coming back again and again.
• 5. Snarky Puppy, groundUP (groundUP). The Pups celebrate their own imprint under the Rope-a-Dope umbrella with their second "live in the studio" effort. As always, it's full of win--memorable tunes, funky grooves and virtuosic musicianship. These guys have done their hometown of Denton proud, though their repidly-expanding tours mean they don't get to come home as much these days.
• 4. Kenny Garrett, Seeds From the Underground (Mack Avenue Records). Perhaps the finest altoist of his generation (and certainly, outside of Bird and Cannonball, the most-imitated by younger players), Garrett returns with his first album of all originals in a while, and to these ears, it's his best work since the classic Songbook album.
• 3. Gwilym Simcock/Tim Garland/Asaf Sirkis, Lighthouse (ACT Music). The Lighthouse Trio has appeared on a couple of previous albums under the leadership of saxophonist Garland (and primarily featuring his compositions). But with their ACT debut, the trio has moved towards being more of a true collective, with everyone contributing to the songwriting and the musicianship of young British pianist Simcock coming more toward the forefront. The tunes are catchy, the musicianship is superb, and the combination of textures (Garland often puts the sax aside in favor of bass clarinet, and Sirkis' unconventional drum kit is made up of all kinds of things) is always enjoyable.
• 2. The eponymous debut by the Pat Metheny Unity Band (Nonesuch Records). The highly-anticipated meeting of the eminent guitarist with reedman Chris Potter, bassist Ben Williams and Metheny's longtime drummer Antonio Sanchez more than lives up to expectations; it truly is a unified whole, rather than just another "supergroup," and the collaboration translated to an equally impressive live show.
• 1. Jacob Karlzon 3, More (ACT Music). The Swedish pianist, joined by cohorts Hans Andersson on bass and Jonas Holgersson on drums, was not unfamiliar to me, as I already owned two of his prior releases, but when this new release was announced on Karlzon's Facebook page, the audio samples and teaser video grabbed me and never let go. It's as though Karlzon is taking the work of his late countryman Svensson to interesting new places, with a strong Metheny vibe thrown in (especially on the opener, "Running"). There are a lot of styles represented here (he covers Nik Kershaw and Korn on this album), and of all the recordings that made it into my CD player or laptop this year, this is the one that had the biggest emotional hold on me and kept me coming back for, well, More.

OK, there's an elephant in the room here--an album that I can't possibly rank, but it deserves mention in any year-end post on this blog: Kris Berg and the Metroplexity Big Band, This Time/Last Year. Why can't I rank it? Because I play on it! But I'd sure love it if you bought it, and I'd like to think that I'd listen to it regularly even if I wasn't one of the performers. My longtime friend and colleague has come up with some outstanding compositions and arrangements for large ensemble, and the solos--from the likes of Wayne Bergeron, Clay Jenkins, Chris Vadala, and Delfeayo Marsalis, as well as some outstanding local players, are just killin'.

Also, you may notice that three of the albums on the list come from Germany's ACT Music, which has easily emerged as one of my favorite labels this year. I finally got a couple of actual CDs from them (the Lighthouse recording, and one by the Yaron Herman Trio), and I love the packaging and liner notes as well. I'd buy all of their stuff in hard-copy form if the imports weren't so pricey.

And coming up in 2013, the most anticipated new release of this month ahead has to be Chris Potter's ECM debut, Sirens, with Craig Taborn, David Virelles, Larry Grenadier and Eric Harland. It drops in just four weeks!

Metheny Deserves a Pat on the Back for Latest Effort

As I said on Twitter a while ago, it's not often that I go to the trouble of buying a CD on its release date these days (for that matter, I rarely buy physical CDs themselves right now, thanks to my eMusic subscription). But a new Pat Metheny release is a big deal, especially one as unique as his new solo effort, Orchestrion. It's a "solo album" in every sense of the word, but--in contrast to his 1978 recording, New Chautauqua, where he also played all the instruments, overdubbed in the studio--modern technology allows him to "play" everything live.

So exactly what is this Orchestrion thing, anyway? I'll let Pat do the talking for a moment, from his website:

Orchestrionics" is the term that I am using to describe a method of developing ensemble-oriented music using acoustic and acoustoelectric musical instruments that are mechanically controlled in a variety of ways, using solenoids and pneumatics. With a guitar, pen or keyboard I am able to create a detailed compositional environment or a spontaneously developed improvisation, with the pieces on this particular recording leaning toward the compositional side of the spectrum. On top of these layers of acoustic sound, I add my conventional electric guitar playing as an improvised component.

[...] In the late 1800s and early 1900s, with the emergence of player pianos (pianos played mechanically by moving rolls of paper through a mechanism that physically moved the keys), the next logical step was to apply that same principle to a range of orchestral instruments, often including percussion and mallet instruments. These large instrument arrays were called orchestrions.

Orchestrions flourished in the era that directly proceeded the advent of sound recordings. In many ways, that period of time stands as an interesting middle zone; the first technology that brought a performer to an audience once removed, while retaining the essential characteristics of that performer's message.

[... ]For a number of years leading to this project, I have been gathering the forces of a group of talented inventors and technicians from around the country, and commissioning them to construct a large palette of acoustic sound-producing devices that I can organize as a new kind of orchestrion.

And to my ears, he's definitely succeeded with this project. Included in the mix are piano, bass, a variety of mallet percussion instruments, and some unusual things like a "guitarbot" and a device that blows air into bottles. And top of it all is Pat's signature guitar. (He explains more about the various devices and their inventors here.)

As for the music itself? I'm totally digging it. (As I said on Twitter, I can't imagine a Metheny album being released that I don't absolutely love.) Because no matter what's going on behind him, it's still Pat writing the music and Pat playing guitar, and I'm a huge fan of both of those areas. But here's the thing: There might be only one person playing live, but the music doesn't in any way sound contrived or fake; in fact, it has all the warmth and humanity that's always associated with a Metheny recording.

And the tour for all this starts this weekend. They're coming to the DFW area in April, and I intend to be there when it happens. Sure, it won't be quite the same as watching the interaction between Pat and Messrs. Mays, Rodby, Sanchez, et al., but one look at the setup of all the instruments featured on the CD cover is enough to convince me that this is a must-see, if for no other reason than to experience how this whole thing works.

I've been intrigued by this whole thing ever since it was announced on the Metheny website last year, and I'm happy to say that the hype is justified. Well done, Pat, and good luck with the start of the tour.

More New (to Me) Sounds, Part II

And now I'll finish the post that I started yesterday. I ended up having so much to say about Alexis Cuadrado that I decided to save a couple of other new favorites for a separate post, so here we go:

• I mentioned the Swiss pianist/composer Nik Bärtsch in passing in an earlier post, where Holon, his newest recording with the group Ronin, had found its way into regular play in the Kevmobile. From first listen, I was pretty much hooked on what Bärtsch calls "ritual groove music," an amalgam of funky jazz and minimalism, and I picked up his other ECM release, Stoa, in fairly short order. I even threw down some semi-righteous import bucks for an earlier release,Rea, on his own Ronin Rhythm Records. I had every intention of picking up the rest of his back catalogue a little bit at a time (since the imports were a bit pricey), so you can imagine my delight this past week upon finding the entire Bärtsch ouevre at Amazon Downloads. I promptly snagged Aer (yes, that's Rea backwards, but that's not how the music came out) by Bärtsch's other group, Mobile (which shares some personnel with Ronin but includes a keyboard percussionist). He also has a solo piano recording that makes him sound, thanks to string dampening and other techniques, almost like a band all by himself. With the lower prices of the downloads, I'll be able to complete this collection in a much shorter time than otherwise.
  
  If you're a fan of Steve Reich-style minimalism with unusual sonic textures and cool grooves, Nik Bärtsch is a name to check out.
• Our other featured musician has also spent some time on the ECM label, but in this case, it was earlier in his career as opposed to now. Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer is someone whose music I had never heard until this past weekend, but once I did, I couldn't stop listening. He's considered a leading figure in the European arm of Nu-jazz, a mixture of jazz and electronica. The album that hooked me was Khmer, his 1998 ECM debut (which doesn't sound the least bit dated). Just imagine if Miles Davis had lived long enough for electronica to become really popular in the U.S., keep the strong sense of melody and the sparse playing, and marinate in some Tomasz Stanko for a while, and throw some skronky guitar into the spaces in the melody, and that will scratch the surface of what Molvaer's music is all about.
  
  Molvaer didn't stay on ECM for long, migrating to the Thirsty Ear label (home of Matthew Shipp and others who have toyed around with electronics themselves) and putting out a series of albums that sound great from the previews; I'm looking forward to my monthly allotment of eMusic downloads next week. He's also dabbled in film scoring a bit, which makes sense, as a lot of these tunes are very good at telling stories. I'm not sure exactly what the primary element of this music is that has grabbed me so, but I find myself going back to it again and again.
  
  Is it straight ahead? Not in the least. But as I noted in the Marco Benevento post a few weeks ago, I find that a lot of the "most played" artists in my iTunes at the moment are those of the straight-eighth variety who make "cool sounds." I'm not by any means abandoning the swing, but, as a leader of a very dormant sextet that I would like to see become un-dormant once I recover from my upcoming surgery, I can't help but think that some of the elements of what I'm listening to will work its way into my own music.

There are some other new artists that I'm checking out lately, including one who just recently found me on MySpace and hasn't formally recorded his music yet. I'll have other posts like this one and yesterday's from time to time.

A heads-up to the brick-and-mortars: Let me say from the outset that I realize that the chain megabookstores aren't necessarily meant to be everything-to-everyone CD stores as well, but, with the loss of most of the so-called mall record chains (and a lot of the mom-and-pop stores), they're pretty much all we've got besides the Internet. It so happens that I was introduced to the music of both of the artists featured in today's post because I saw them on the shelf at one of the Big Two bookstores in the past year, because these stores are cool enough to carry some ECM titles. The German label has a distinctive sound (thanks in no small part to the production values of founder Manfred Eicher), and the wide, cardboard-sleeved jewel box covers with the recognizable font make ECM releases stand out on the shelf. For someone like myself who likes the ECM sound (and it is a sound; write "ECM" at the top of a chart, and a smart drummer will instantly know what style to play), I'll gravitate towards those titles while browsing, check them out, and often end up making a purchase.

But here's the thing: In the case of Bärtsch, I'd read an ad for Holon in a recent Down Beat magazine, and I wanted to check it out. But the megabookstore where I saw it had broken listening stations all around, so I couldn't check it out, and, at a list of $18.98, I couldn't afford to experiment, so I came home, listened to it on Amazon Downloads, and liked it so much that I bought it there. And this past weekend, I heard Molvaer's Khmer when I found it out of the blue at the other big bookstore. While I could hear some of the tracks (whereas every other ECM CD in this store seemed to only play track 2--not 1, but 2), I wasn't about to pay $17.98 for it. Again, I went home, visited Amazon Downloads, and it was mine in a click.

Part of me felt bad about this; were it not for the bookstores, I might never have seen Bärtsch's CD in the flesh or even heard of Molvaer. But if the brick-and-mortars are going to price themselves out of the market like that, what's a guy to do? I want these places to stay around, so I can browse and listen and sip coffee, but I can't pay list price for things out of sheer altruism. As cool as it is to have a "real" CD, I'll happily pay ten bucks less for the download in most cases. (Even stranger is the fact that, as I look at Bookstore #2's website just now, I see Khmer for four bucks cheaper--three with my membership. Does it cost that much more to keep an item on the shelf? And if not, how about doing a price-match with your own website to keep the brick-and-mortar customers happy?)

I'll probably have more to say on this subject in a separate post.

More New (to Me) Sounds, Part I

I got to rave about one of my favorite new (to me) artists in this space the other day; now, let's talk about some more people that have recently flown onto my radar screen.

I was originally going to discuss a few people today, but I ended up having so much to say about Alexis Cuadrado that he gets his own post, and I'll save the rest for tomorrow. The Spanish-born bassist and composer--a New York resident since the late '90s--has three recordings to his credit, and each one explores a slightly different side of this multitalented musician:

• Metro (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2001), is a fine debut featuring the woodwinds of Kris Bauman (whose quartet features Cuadrado among its members) and Steve Cárdenas' guitar. The program features all original compositions, including the slightly off-kilter Afro-Cuban groove of Nit to the Methenyish New and Old and the wacky 11/8 romp of 'Round Mingus.


• On VIsual (FSNT, 2004), Cuadrado expands his group to a sextet, scrapping the keyboard while adding two horns: the amazing John Ellis joins Bauman on woodwinds, while Alan Ferber--brother of drummer Mark, also in the group--rounds out the horn section on trombone. (Any relation between the instrumentation of this group and my own sextet only adds to the interest on this end.) All the compositions are again Cuadrado originals save one (the well-known folk song "Te Recuerdo Amanda" by the Chilean Victor Jara), and he puts his expanded instrumentation to good use (besides the common saxophone-guitar unison, he also puts trombone with guitar as an underpinning for the two saxophones, and bass clarinet with bass. Also, he does a good job of apportioning the melody between different horns, and he's not averse to calling for collective improvisation on occasion. (Extra points are awarded in my book for giving Cárdenas the chance to rock out on occasion.) Among my personal favorite tunes are the ECM-in-7/4 gem "Black Tulip," the mellow "Camperdown Elm" and the funky closer, "Quick."


• Cuadrado calls his newest effort, Puzzles (Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, 2008), his most personal album to date, and it could be said that this is literally true, since the set was recorded in his Brooklyn living room. The instrumentation is reduced to a quartet: Mark Ferber remains on board, while Brad Shepik replaces Cárdenas on guitar, and the sax honors are done by the Brooklyn-based wunderkind Loren Stillman (indeed, being a Stillman fan was what turned me onto Cuadrado in the first place, through an eMusic search that led me to this album; that's one of the reasons why I'm sticking with the service despite its upcoming policy changes). There's even a homecoming of sorts, as Alan Ferber's trombone makes an appearance on a few tunes, as does organist Pete Rende (who played Rhodes and pedal steel on Metro) on "B&W Pop."
  
  Cuadrado shows growth as a melodist on this set; the tunes are even more hummable than before. The interplay between the musicians is extremely effective, and Stillman sounds so at home on this set that I would have sworn that he had written some of them himself. Personal favorites include the opener, "Bright Light," the energetic 5/8 "Quintessential" and the Latin-influenced "Tango." Even though all three of these albums have had slightly different personnel, the Puzzles quartet is one that I would love to see in person and hear on a few recordings.

Remember the name Alexis Cuadrado; I'm willing to bet that he'll be making a major contribution to jazz for a long time to come.

TOMORROW: I'll go all ECM on you guys for a bit.

Playing This Week in the Kevmobile

A few months ago, I subscribed to a service called eMusic. It's a reasonably priced, legal music download site, and they have a pretty decent jazz selection. I'm on the plan that allows you to download 75 tracks a month for $19.95, and it's allowed me to get not only some brand-new stuff, but some classic recordings as well. There may not be anything from the really big labels (Blue Note, Verve or ECM) that I can find there, but my "saved for later" list is up to 70 CD's at the moment, so this should keep me busy for a while.

At any rate, this means that I've been listening to quite a bit of new music on my daily commute; here's a sampling:

• Kenny Garrett: Sketches of MD: Live at the Iridium featuring Pharoah Sanders (Mack Avenue Records). The alto saxophonist reunites with his Beyond the Wall co-conspirator Sanders in this live set. There are only five long tracks on here, which gives the saxists and their new rhythm section a chance to stretch out. Among the surprises is hearing Garrett play through electronic effects. The set ends with a juiced-up, multiple-ending version of "Happy People," complete with the audience singalongs that he started a decade ago on "Sing a Song of Song."
  


• Yellowjackets: Lifecycle, featuring Mike Stern (Heads Up). Bob Mintzer and company are back, this time working with a guitarist for the first time since their Robben Ford days (before Mintzer even joined the band). Stern proves to be the perfect foil for Mintzer, and their sounds blend wonderfully on the seven tunes done in quintet format. (Stern also contributed two compositions to the mix.) This music is contemporary but never "smooth;" as I said in two previous concert reviews of the group, it's "fusion with integrity." Another fine effort.


• Dave Pietro: The Chakra Suite (Challenge Records). I heard my former schoolmate play this new music at the final New York IAJE conference a year and a half ago, and it's cool to see it come out on CD (for some reason, eMusic had it available way in advance of its official "street date" of next Tuesday). Pietro blends the East Indian influences implied by the title with his usual Brazilian/bop casserole, and the results are very enjoyable. Gary Versace shines on both keyboards and accordion (no, really!). I'd love to hear this music live again in a full-length show; the IAJE showcase only whetted my appetite for this CD.


• Nik Bärtsch's Ronin: Holon (ECM). The newest acquisition to my collection. I'd read about this group in the ECM advertisement in Down Beat Magazine, but I didn't actually get to hear them until Sunday evening via Amazon Downloads. Swiss pianist Bärtsch leads a quintet of electric bass, drums, percussion and a bass clarinetist/saxophonist who goes only by the name of "Sha" (and the compositions all have the word "Modul" in the title, followed by a number). The music, which the leader has described as "Zen funk," is mostly Steve Reich-type minimalism, but with an underlying funky groove (though the woodwinds add a Philip Glass touch at times). One track, "Modul 46," sounds like guitar-less early Pat Metheny Group, so it fits perfectly on ECM (where Pat got his start), and label mogul Manfred Eicher's production makes for an exquisite sound, even on the download version.


• Dave Holland Sextet: Pass It On (Dare2 Records). I've been a fan of Dave Holland's quintet and big band for a number of years, but for this release, he trots out a slight variation on his small group (which was premiered at Birdland two years ago, at which time it was decided to document the group on this recording, which took place in August of '07). Trombonist Robin Eubanks remains a constant, but all the other chairs have different players: Antonio Hart (on alto) mans the saxophone chair, while trumpeter Alex Sipiagin adds a third horn to the mix; Eric Harland (of SFJAZZ Collective fame) handles the drum duties, while Mulgrew Miller plays piano, a rare feat for a Holland group. The compositions (a couple of new ones, along with some reworked versions of pre-Quintet originals from Holland) are complex and enjoyable, the arrangements are outstanding as always, and the new mix of players adds a lot to the experience. (I'd love to hear a showcase presentation like the one that spawned this group: One night with the big band, one with the quintet, one with the sextet, one in a duet with vibraphonist Steve Nelson. I'd have tickets for every night...)


• Esbjörn Svensson Trio: Leucocyte (Decca). Since this is the group's final recording (made barely a month before Svensson's passing this summer), I'll review it separately in a day or two.

Not all of the above came from eMusic, but this seemed like the right time to mention the service. I've also managed to land such things as The Remedy, the double-CD live set from Kurt Rosenwinkel at the Village Vanguard; two out-of-print Chris Potter CD"s, Concentric Circles and Pure, as well as SMV, featuring the bassists' dream matchup of Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten.

It's always cool to have fresh tunes in the car. With about 7 new CD's guaranteed to come my way each month, I'll try to do these updates on a regular basis.

Buried Treasure at $7.77 a Pop

I love used CD stores. They're especially great for jazz fans, because you can always find some really obscure stuff--sometimes even things that you had no idea were even out on CD yet. It's a fairly recent phenomenon, of course; sure, people have done well with used vinyl stores, but vinyl tends to depreciate much more, and much earlier, than a CD. (Speaking of that, whatever happened to that prediction people were making in the early '90s that CDs would eventually just lose all their digital information? Not so far...) CDs can be bought used--maybe even several times over--and still sound virtually like new.

The best stores for jazz in the Metroplex, at least in my opinion, are CD Source in Old Town, Forever Young Records in Arlington (Grand Prairie? Not sure where the border is...) and Recycled Records in Denton. Halfling and I went to Recycled on Sunday night after the Soul Station concert, and I came up with a few treasures, for the low, low price of $7.77 each:

JOHN COLTRANE: Impressions (Impulse! 314 513 416-2) . I bought a low-budget live version of most of this program during a trip to CD Source last spring, but now I finally own the real thing. What can I say, it's a classic, especially the title track, where Trane takes the chord changes (all two of them!) from the Miles classic "So What," crafts a new head, puts the tempo in hyperdrive, and plays some of the most meaningful stuff you'll ever hear on two chords. Joined by Eric Dolphy on alto sax and bass clarinet, McCoy Tyner on piano, and either Jimmy Garrison or Reggie Workman on bass and Roy Haynes and Elvin Jones on drums.

BOB MINTZER/JOHN ABERCROMBIE/MARC JOHNSON/PETER ERSKINE: Hymn (OWL R2 79250). I got to hear most of this group (with John Patitucci replacing Johnson) a few years ago for free at Guitar Center--very cool stuff. On this earlier recording (1990), the quartet goes through a collection of Mintzer originals plus one collective improvisation. The group meshes better than many all-star collectives, and Mintzer is his usual amazing self, both on tenor and a generous helping of bass clarinet, on which he sounds better than nearly anyone else. What can I say--it's Mintzer; gotta have it. If I'd only had $7.77 going in there, this would've been my acquisition for the day.

Needless to say, stores like this can be pretty dangerous for me in the wallet area, so I have to buy in moderation...but they're a real treat for the ears. Anytime I uncover a real gem, I'll usually post about it, and suffice it to say, it'll be playing that week in the Kevmobile.

QUOTE OF THE (YESTER)DAY: "If you don't know the name of that song, ask a neighbor whose hair has been touched by the winds of time."--John Murphy, at last night's Rep Ensemble concert, after the group played "Honeysuckle Rose." It was indeed a varied audience; as the arts council director said in his introduction, it included "people in their twenties, as well as people who remember the Twenties." The group did a fine job of recreating some standards from that era, and guest pianist Steve Harlos was dazzling on "Rhapsody in Blue."