Playing This Week in the Kevmobile

Even though I was sick for most of this week, I still taught every day and thus listened to music in the car. But when my iPod got sick as well, the nature of the music changed a bit...

• MONDAY/TUESDAY: Christian Scott, Yesterday You Said Tomorrow. The young New Orleans-born trumpeter came up with his most complete effort to date earlier this year. And while the subject matter of the tunes is often dark and controversial, the music is an enjoyable listen, melding various styles and eras of jazz with rock and pop influences (even covering a tune by Radiohead's Thom Yorke).


• WEDNESDAY: Le Boeuf Brothers, House Without a Door. As I noted on the Twitter post, this is not some sort of celebrity vanity band, as neither Le Boeuf Brother is named "Shia." Rather, identical twins Remy (saxophone) and Pascal (piano) lead their New York-based band through a collection of innovative original compositions that showcase their varied influences (Debussy and Radiohead among them). Notable band members include Marcus Strickland and Clarence Penn.


• THURSDAY: Pat Metheny Group, We Live Here. On Thursday afternoon, the iPod froze up and stayed that way for several days, which meant I didn't get to listen to my typical indie jazz that I acquire via eMusic. Still, I do have CDs in the car, and I dipped into the Wallet of Old Favorites for a couple of days. This particular Metheny album, from '95, is one that most listeners either love or hate, since it started his "I'm having fun with electronics" period. But the songwriting is as strong as anything he's ever done, and the playing is beautiful as always (if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm in the "love" camp with regard to this CD).


• FRIDAY: Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, Winterwood and They Might Be Giants, Factory Showroom. Being a roadtrip day, I listened to more than one CD. The former, from a group that I've blogged about in the past, is an enjoyable mix of originals and remakes of the likes of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington (and, best of all, it's still a free download at their website). The latter is from a longtime favorite and includes some of the usual wacky TMBG stuff, such as a tune recorded completely on an Edison cylinder.


• SATURDAY/SUNDAY: Snarky Puppy, Tell Your Friends; Freiheit, Fantasy; and Brecker Brothers, Return of the Brecker Brothers. Quite a potpourri for yesterday's roadtrip: The newest live effort from the Pups; the English-language classic (at least to me) from my favorite Beatlesque band from Germany (and the subject of a recent blog post); and wrapping it up with the first CD from Michael and Randy's early-90s reunion.

And the iPod sprang back to life again today (I'll discuss that tomorrow), so the offerings should go back to their usual indie flavor during the week ahead.