Archive
* Favorite Instrumental Albums of 2009 *
Disclaimer (with a nod to Andy Whitman of Paste): No, I haven’t heard all 8,000+albums released this year. I’ve heard about 200 of them, which makes me at least 97.5% likely to be wrong. I make no claims to objectivity. These albums are my favorites from 2009. You might think that the one you’ve heard that I haven’t heard is the best album of 2009. And you might be right. So go ahead and vent. Enjoy!
As I start this post, I will say that this is all very subjective and really put together for my own purposes. I’ll also state that, yes, some of the music below does have some vocals. For the most part, it’s sequestered to a track or two on a long CD of mostly instrumental goodness. My list, my rules, and/or my breaking of the rules. With that being said, all of the artists below tend to be in the jazz and instrumental frame of reference anyway.
Hopefully my spilling out of music that I like finds interest with someone else. But if not, thanks for stopping by… check out their webpages, SpaceBook pages, yadda yadda yadda. OK, now on to the best of what’s hit my ears this year on the mainly instrumental front…
Honorable mentions: Uri Gurvich‘s The Storyteller, John Zorn‘s Filmworks XXIII: El General, Ahleuchatistas‘ Of the Body Prone, Secret Chiefs 3‘s Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini (The Severed Right Hands of the Last Men), and Skerik & The Dead Kenny G’s Bewildered Herd.
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Where do I get most of these jazz and other instrumental releases? My #1 favorite source for jazz is Downtown Music Gallery in New York. Manny and Bruce and their great staff are superb… and being the official distributor for John Zorn’s Tzadik doesn’t hurt my affection for them. I usually do a monthly Tzadik order (if the releases strike my fancy), and they have a ton of other non-Tzadik jazz and avant-garde releases as well.
And, no, I’m not affiliated, I don’t get a commission, and beyond my initial “big tax refund / gotta get caught up on Zorn order of 2005,” I haven’t gotten a discount with DMG. I just love and support what they do.
My Other Favorites of 2009 Recaps:
tons of news
Nine Stories!
In this episode: The new Masada Quintet with special guest Joe Lovano, the Jenny Owen Youngs‘ video that I somehow missed, Nellie McKay‘s Election musical, Fanfarlo for $1, the deaths of JazzTimes & Jeff Hanson, the resurrection of Futurama, a new Wussy video, and Asthmatic Kitty’s most excellent Library Catalog Music Series…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The new Masada Quintet with special guest Joe Lovano just came out for June on Tzadik Records. It’s the original Masada Quartet (John Zorn on alto sax, Dave Douglas on trumpet, Greg Cohen on bass & Joey Baron on drums) plus pianist Uri Caine… plus special guest tenor sax Joe Lovano. Holy cow!!! It’s the first official studio release from the Masada Quartet since 1999’s י [Yod] (or 2005 if you count the unreleased/rarities compilation Sanhedrin). This album is bound to be at the top of my “best of” list for 2009.
This video from Jenny Owen Youngs came out in September 2007. How did I miss it? It’s a brilliant singer-songwriter cover of rapper Nelly‘s “Hot in Herre” (so take off all your clothes). I bought the iTunes single… great stuff:
Nellie McKay is writing a musical based on the book/movie Election. Read more about it over on Brooklyn Vegan blog.
Fanfarlo just put on their debut album, Reservoir, for $1. Fanfarlo is a London-based band founded by Swedish musician Simon Balthazar. Nice textured indie pop… think Sigur Rós meets Sufjan Stevens. The album, in full, is available for only $1.00 until July 4th, 2009 at http://www.fanfarlo.com/.
The economy took another print-media victim. This time it’s the death (or “temporary suspension”) of JazzTimes magazine. The 38 year old magazine couldn’t maintain readership in the new era of online content. It’s a sad day, as it was a great magazine. I hope it’s able to come back later in some form or another under new ownership, as mentioned in the Howard Mandel article.
Whispy singer-songwriter Jeff Hanson died last Saturday (6/5) after an accidental fall on his cement-floored apartment in St. Paul, MN. Jeff was known for his feminine vocal style and songwriting/sound similar to late indie rocker Elliott Smith (who also died young). He had three great albums out on Kill Rock Stars. I hate to sound selfish, but I’m bummed I missed him when he recently came through Portland. We lost another one, far too young…
In “Oh Sweet, Futurama’s On” News, the resurrection of Futurama is eminent. Much like Family Guy, the popularity soared even after being originally canceled. Futurama had some straight-to-DVD movies recently, and it will return with new 26 episodes on Comedy Central in the winter 2010.
A favorite band of mine from Cincinnati, Wussy, has a new “acoustic from an RV” video of “Maglite.” They recently put out their 3rd full length album, and it lives up to the quality and momentum in their prior two albums (plus 1 EP). Check out the video and then check out the album at Shake It Records:
Asthmatic Kitty’s most excellent Library Catalog Music Series just came out. The naming of the series sounds… boring. However, it’s really great instrumental music. There are three issues thus far: 900X: Music for Lubbock 1980, Law of the Least Effort: Music for Measurements, and Casey Foubert/James McAlister: Music for Drums. My favorite is the 900X one. Really, really good electronic, post-rockiness. If you liked a more “sane” version of Sufjan Steven’s Enjoy Your Rabbit, I bet you’d like the LCMS. Check it out at Asthmatic Kitty Records.
REVIEW: SFJazz Collective @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – – 3/19/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
This is my second time seeing the SF Jazz Collective. Last time (Feb 2008) was a tour dedicated to Wayne Shorter. This time, it was a McCoy Tyner-focused tour. The same line-up as last year, except for this show we were missing Stefon Harris’ vibraphone playing. Perhaps he wasn’t able to make it or isn’t in the touring version of the band this spring. He’s on all of the promo photos. Regardless, they likely wouldn’t have had room for him, as it was a packed stage at the Shedd with the seven members of this tour: Dave Douglas (on trumpet), Joe Lovano (on tenor sax), Miguel Zenon (on alto sax), Renee Rosnes (on piano), Robin Eubanks (on trombone), Matt Penman (on bass), and Eric Harland (on drums).
The show started promptly at 7:30pm, and the band hit the stage after a short introduction. I’m getting spoiled with these Shedd shows: no opener, 90-120 minutes – – boom goes the dynamite, and then you’re done and home at a reasonable time (we even got home in time to watch 30 Rock; i.e.- the best show on network TV right now).
The band started in a way quite opposite to what I just told my wife… “oh, SF Jazz isn’t avant-garde, they’re much more poppy / groove-oriented.” Well, I’d never heard McCoy Tyner, and the first song started out with a bunch of free jazz “noodling” that almost sounded like a warm-up. I like this kinda of stuff (hey, I’m a big John Zorn fan)… but I looked over at my wife, and she had this look of, “oh, crap, this is gonna be a long night.” Well, this noodling quickly turned into the swinging, groovy jazz fest that I came to know from the prior SFJC show and their CDs. So, I think my wife had a good time despite the uncertain start. :)
Setlist: [solos noted as best I remember… I likely forgot to note some of them]
- Fly with the Wind – by McCoy Tyner, arranged by RR
- Three Flowers – by McCoy Tyner, arranged by MP; solo: DD
- Yes We Can (Victory Dance) – by Robin Eubanks; solo(s): RE, DD, RR
- Sycamore – by Dave Douglas; solo(s): MP, JL, MZ, JL & MZ trade-off
- Jazz Free – by Joe Lovano; solo(s): basically everyone
- No Filter – by Miguel Zenon; solo(s): RE, MZ (was on fire) (*fave of the night*)
- Encore: Concensus – by McCoy Tyner, arranged by EH; solo: DD
Oddly enough, they had a congo drum over to the right but never used it… well, other than for Miguel to rest his hands on occasion. Oh well… they treated us to 90 minutes of some great, smokin’ jazz… so, 7 songs over 90 minutes – – you do the math. The show was a wonderful treat, and I hope they keep this up in the coming years.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- SFJazz Collective
- Dave Douglas (trumpet)
- Dave Douglas on MySp
- Joe Lovano (tenor sax)
- Miguel Zenón (alto sax) – 2008 MacArthur Foundation Grant recipient
- Robin Eubanks (trombone)
- Renee Rosnes (piano)
- Matt Penman (bass)
- Eric Harland (drums)
- Stefon Harris (vibraphone – not at the show)
- McCoy Tyner (SFJC ’09 tributed artist)
- http://www.theshedd.org/
~Dan – np: Paul Brody’s Sadawi – Kabbalah Dream
SF JAZZ COLLECTIVE PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
REVIEW: Ornette Coleman and SFJazz Collective @ PDX Jazz fest (Portland – – 2/15/08)
Gettin’ there… oy… bad “car on fire” accident just outside of Salem. Parking around the venue was wicked bad. It’s near Portland State University… which automatically means “minimal parking options” and there were tons of roads closed for construction… I ended up parking about a mile away. Grabbed a notdog from a hotdog shop en route. It was a yummy spicy Boca variety. Yay! I love living in Oregon — you can actually get a non-meat protein, horseradish-and-ketchup-into-your-system delivery device in a fauxtube-steak format from a fastfood-type outlet.
Anyway, post-dawg… I showed up at the venue at 7:23pm for the 7:30 show. I ran part of the way; so it was a close one…
Ornette Coleman @ the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
The main dude (artistic director) for the PDX Jazz Fest 503(c)(3) looked sorta like James Randi — alas, he wasn’t (he’s Bill Royston). He announced the sponsors: Oregonian A&E, Qwest Communications, and the Portland Trailblazers. My a priori understanding of the Oregonian A&E is that they have TV shows of Criss Angel-types who make your pilate mat and hummus plate disappear while playing indie rock in the background at silly volumes. I might be wrong, though. Qwest Communications is most famously known for providing reasonably-priced, high-speed internets that aren’t available at my address. The Portland Trailblazers play what I understand to be a game called “basketball.” It’s like a big game of team-based ping-pong. Except the table is huge, you stand on it, and the net isn’t in the middle, it’s on the ends of the huge table. Oh, and you can hit the net, but you don’t use paddles. You use your hands!! Oh, and the ball is huge and not made out of plastic. So, the Trailblazers are basically a ping-pong team. Once Mr. Royston got the sponsors out of the way, he introduced SF Jazz’s Joe Lovano who introduced Ornette Coleman…
Ornette started playing around 7:40pm… his band wasn’t the band from his last CD (the Pulitzer Prize winning Sound Grammar); and I didn’t get their names, as they weren’t listed in the program. He had a drummer (possibly his son), a guitarist, and two bassists (one upright, one electric). I’m more horrible with Ornette’s song names than just about anyone, though. I do know for a fact that he played “Lonely Woman” (from The Shape of Jazz to Come). I also think he played “Song X.” He only announced one song from the stage (the opener to the set), but he’s got a slight lisp and the mic wasn’t on all the way. It sounded like he said “Buttered Helen.” So, yeah, I don’t know. He and his band played a blistering hour+twentyfive improv set, only stopping briefly prior to the encore. Ornette primarily played his trend-bucking non-metallic white sax. He also played violin (lefty) and trumpet during some songs. It was a brilliant free jazz set all around. I’m thoroughly glad that I got to see this pioneer of the free jazz movement.
I left as the band left the stage the second time… to get to the Newmark Theatre for Round 2 of the PDX Jazz Fest. Luckily the Newmark Theatre is 50 yards away, if that. Which was good, because as I was planning online, Ask.com’s maps… well, they’re utter crap. It said the venues were 1.2 miles away by foot. Wrong!
SF Jazz Collective @ the Newmark Theatre
Mr. Royston announced a new sponsor for this SFJC show: American Airlines. I hear that they are a busline that provides “air vents” for every passenger’s seat. Seems “OK” for a bus trip. I’d rather fly, though. He then introduced The Bad Plus (who I wish I could have seen last week in Eugene, they rock) who introduced the 8-piece SF Jazz Collective…
SF Jazz Collective is a group that is commissioned each year to arrange and play the works of a jazz great. Past years have been Ornette Coleman (2004), John Coltrane (2005), Herbie Hancock (2006), and Thelonious Monk (2007). This year’s group arranged Wayne Shorter tunes. I haven’t gotten into Wayne Shorter (yet), but I know he played with Art Blakey, Miles Davis, and he’s on Herbie Hancock’s V.S.O.P.. Oh, I guess I’ve also heard his band Weather Report. So, I lied, I have gotten into him at least through WR and Herbie… Anyway, the SF Jazz Collective build a new repertoire each year based on a jazz great and then they all each write a new tune for the group.
The band for 2008 (links and instruments below) is Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas (one of my fav jazzmen), Stefon Harris, Miguel Zenón, Robin Eubanks, Renee Rosnes, Matt Penman, and Eric Harland. This was Dave’s 2nd season with the group. This show was their first show of the 2008 season, but they were far from rusty. They played for about an hour and half before I left (I had to bail half way through the encore in order to get home by 1am… oy). They announced their songs from stage, and they had a handy-dandy program available, too. Here’s what they played: “Go” [Wayne Shorter: hereafter WS], “Armageddon” [WS], “The Angel’s Share” [Matt Penman], “The Year 2008” [Eric Harland], “Black Nile” [WS], “Infant Eyes” [WS], “Secrets of the Code” [Dave Douglas], and the encore was announced by the pianist as “another Wayne Shorter tune that I’m sure you know.” Alas, I didn’t know it. It started out with piano… so I’ll leave it at that.
8 songs, 90 minutes. You do the math (I’ll give you a hint: divide, don’t multiply. Show all work to receive partial credit).
Also in their 2008 repertoire (sets change nightly): Wayne Shorter tunes “Aung San Suu Kyi,” “Diana,” “Footprints,” “El Guacho,” and “Yes or No.” Band member tunes “Aurora Borealis” [Renee Rosnes], “Frontline” [Miguel Zenón], “Road to Dharma” [Stefon Harris], “This That and the Other” [Joe Lovano], and “Breakthrough” [Robin Eubanks].
Oh, I forgot to say… somehow my ticket for SFJC was in the “wheelchair section.” That ruckin’ focked!! I could spread out. Totally luck of the draw on the ticket… but I tain’t complainin’…
The Appropriate Linkage:
- PDX Jazz
- Ornette Coleman
- Ornette Coleman on MySp
- SFJazz Collective
- Dave Douglas (trumpet)
- Dave Douglas on MySp
- Joe Lovano (tenor sax)
- Miguel Zenón (alto sax) – 2008 MacArthur Foundation Grant recipient
- Stefon Harris (vibraphone)
- Robin Eubanks (trombone)
- Renee Rosnes (piano)
- Matt Penman (bass)
- Eric Harland (drums)
yay… Glen Phillips and Belà Fleck next week…
~Dan – np: Charlie Hunter Trio – Copperopolis
EDIT (4/7/08): Allaboutjazz.com has a nice review of the Ornette show HERE