CLASSICAL
John Cage
Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano (1946-’48)
Agnese Toniutti
Neuma
172
For those who find John Cage’s work too conceptual (e.g. 4’33”) or too aleatory (e.g. Freeman Etudes, Etudes Australes, etc.), the Sonatas and Interludes offer a window into the mind of Cage as a conventional composer. Of course, we use the word “conventional” in a fairly broad sense here: what it means in this case is that the music is notated and is based on a consistent musical conception (in this case, elements of classical Indian structures). But the music will still sound like nothing else you’ve ever heard, because Cage was a resolutely weird composer and because it’s written for prepared piano — an instrument into which various objects have been inserted in order to alter the sounds produced when the strings are struck. At times it sounds like gamelan; at others it sounds like toy piano or celeste; at others it sounds like unpitched percussion. Cage’s puckish humor and breadth of musical imagination are fully and delightfully in evidence throughout these pieces, and Agnese Toniutti plays them with sensitivity and relish.
Filipe de Magalhães
Masses Veni Domine & Vere Dominus est
Cupertinos / Luís Toscano
Hyperion (dist. Integral)
CDA68403
When it comes to Renaissance choral music, the Franco-Flemish masters, the Venetians, and the Tudors tend to kind of hog the spotlight. The Spaniards get a look in as well — but their contemporaries on the west coast of the Iberian peninsula are often overlooked. None more so than the great Portuguese composer Filipe de Magalhães, who (sing along with me now; you know the words) was enormously acclaimed and influential in his time but is largely forgotten today. This stunningly beautiful release by the Cupertinos ensemble should help to remedy that. These are world-premiere recordings of de Magalhães’ parody Masses on the motets “Veni Domine” and “Vere Dominus est,” and the compositions are amazingly delicate and sweet; even by the high standards of his time and place, this is unusually uplifting music, made even more so by the sensitive and pitch-perfect singing of the Cupertinos. Strongly recommended to all classical collections.
António Pereira da Costa
Concerti Grossi
Ensemble Bonne Corde / Diana Vinagre
Ramée (dist. Naxos)
RAM 2104
Another forgotten Portuguese composer is finally getting something like his due this year, with this recording of António Pereira da Costa’s only surviving collection of works: a set of twelve concerti grossi. We know that da Costa was born around 1697 (thanks to an engraved portrait included in the published version of his concerti), but beyond that almost nothing is known of his life or career. Even these pieces have only survived in a mangled format — the printing so filled with errors (and missing parts) that it was necessary for the Ensemble Bonne Corde’s keyboardist, Fernando Miguel Jalôto, to substantially reconstruct it, a task made particularly difficult by the composer’s rather idiosyncratic style. But few listeners will disagree with me that the effort was worth it. This disc contains only six of the twelve concerti; here’s hoping a second volume will be forthcoming.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Infinite Bach (3 discs)
Maya Beiser
Islandia Music
IMR012
Johann Sebastian Bach
J.S. Bach – Tranquillity
Jonathan Phillips
Divine Art
ddx 21102
The titles of these two recent Bach recordings might both lead you to expect some kind of minimalist — or maybe even New Age — approach to the music. But that’s not what’s happening in either case. With Infinite Bach, a recording of the six cello suites, acclaimed cellist Maya Beiser (who has often taken something of a maverick approach to her repertoire) is not doing anything radical with the music; instead, she’s done something unusual with the recording technique and production. Recording in her converted barn, she experimented with the different resonances and acoustics available to her in its spaces, using multiple microphones; then the recordings were mixed in an immersive binaural format, creating a unique sound even when played back on conventional speakers. As always, the playing itself is exquisite. Jonathan Phillips’ solo piano recording is more straightforward: it’s a warmly produced and intimate-sounding collection of selections from Bach’s keyboard compositions including assorted preludes and fugues, sections and movements from the Goldberg Variations and various concertos, arrangements of cantata extracts, etc. All are selected with the purpose of helping “anyone hoping to gain an overriding sense of stillness, calm, contemplation and reverence.” Phillips makes no sacrifices of rigor in his interpretations, which are both emotionally rich and stylistically thoughtful — but he has successfully selected a program that gently feeds the soul.
Ludwig van Beethoven; Anton Webern; Johann Sebastian Bach
Prism V
Danish String Quartet
ECM
485 8469
For the past eight years, the Danish String Quartet has undertaken a project they call Prism: a series of recordings each of which opens with a Bach prelude or fugue, then proceeds to a Beethoven quartet, and then finishes with a piece by a later composer that illustrates how Beethoven acts as a “prism” in music history, taking preexisting ideas and transforming them into new ones that influence later musicians in turn. The fifth and final volume in this series opens with an arrangements of Bach’s chorale prelude Vor deiner Thron tret ich hiermit, which is followed by Beethoven’s 16th string quartet, which is then followed in turn by Webern’s 1905 single-movement string quartet (written while he was a student of Arnold Schoenberg, but well before his compositional vocabulary had turned fully serial). The program ends with a Bach fugue. As always, the Danish String Quartet’s sound is simply luminous, and their grace and coordination as an ensemble breathtaking.
Various Composers
Around Baermann
Maryse Legault; Gili Loftus
Leaf Music
LM265
As its title suggests, this disc offers a program that looks at composers working “around Baermann” — i.e., at around the same time as the great clarinetist and composer Heinrich Baermann. The time was the turn of the 19th century, when the new Romantic style was providing particularly fertile ground for compositions featuring the clarinet, and composers featured here include Carl Maria von Weber (whose variations from an opera theme open the program), Felix Mendelssohn, and of course Baermann himself. (A sonatina for clarinet and piano by the underrecognized clarinetist and composer Caroline Schleicher-Krähmer is included as a bonus digital download.) Maryse Legault plays a copy of an early clarinet and Gili Loftus plays the fortepiano here, giving an added dimension of period-appropriateness to these delightful performances.
JAZZ
Kris Davis’ Diatom Ribbons
Live at the Village Vanguard (2 discs)
Pyroclastic
PR 28/29
On this two-disc live recording, pianist/composer Kris Davis reconvenes the core of the ensemble from her celebrated 2019 album Diatom Ribbons, and the makeup of the live version of this group tells you something about her intentions: legendary drummer Terri Lynne Carrington, bassist Trevor Dunn, turntablist DJ Val Jeanty, and guitarist Julian Lage. This lineup is custom-designed for experimentation and innovation, and the music doesn’t disappoint. From the improvisatory but stomping rendition of Ronald Shannon Jackson’s “Alice in the Congo” to their (second) take on Wayne Shorter’s sweet and swinging “Dolores,” Davis leads her team on a merry voyage of musical creation and discovery. The program focuses on her original compositions, though, and they’re a blast: “Nine Hats” is a fun avant-garde excursion, “VW” has a distinct Second Viennese School vibe (I mean that in a good way), and the three-part “Bird Suite” is charming in both concept and execution. For all adventurous jazz collections.
Doug MacDonald Trio
Edwin Alley (digital only)
DMAC Music
DM24
The prolific guitarist Doug MacDonald is back with another sharp and swinging trio set. The program consists entirely of originals (except for the closer, a lovely rendition of the standard “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To”), several of which, in time-honored fashion, are written on existing chord changes: for example, “Tuned Out” is based on the chord progression to “Tune Up,” while “Eyow” is written on the changes to “What Is This Thing Called Love.” MacDonald’s tone and style are swinging and straight-ahead throughout, and he is expertly supported by bassist Mike Flick and drummer Kendall Kay. I note in particular the pleasingly full and up-front bass sound on this album; in jazz production, the bass is all too frequently both too dry and buried in the mix, and the rich bass presence here creates a warm and colorful balance to the ensemble sound. Recommended.
Will Bernard & Beth Custer
SKY
Dreck-to-Disk
DTD005
This is a remarkable album from guitarist Will Bernard and clarinetist/singer Beth Custer. Well, maybe not so remarkable if you consider the duo members’ respective résumés: Custer is a film and dance composer as well as a conventional jazz musician, and has worked in trip hop and “fourth world” styles as well. Bernard is an alumnus of T.J. Kirk and of Multi Kulti and has worked as a sideman to artists as diverse as Dr. John, Tom Waits, and Ben Sidran. So what does their duo project sound like? Surprisingly quiet, introspective, and intimate. You’ll hear hints of the blues, of Erik Satie, of gospel and folk, and any number of other elements — and you’ll also hear improvisation that is never self-indulgent and experimentation that is never willfully abstruse. It’s rare to hear a recording that is simultaneously so unique and so immediately inviting. Highly recommended to all libraries.
Techno Cats
The Music of Gregg Hill
Cold Plunge
No cat. no.
The thread that binds the five musicians on this session and the composer Gregg Hill is a connection with Michigan State University and the East Lansing jazz scene — one that is perhaps surprisingly fecund given the town’s size. Hill has long been associated with that scene as a producer and composer, and this celebration of his music is a pure pleasure. The quintet is co-led by bass trombonist Chris Glassman and guitarist Nathan Borton, and also features pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Javier Enrique, and drummer Michael J. Reed. Their vibe is happy and swinging, their ensemble sound pleasingly smooth without being off-cuttingly slick. And the compositions truly are worthy of celebration: highlights include the brisk “Elden’s Bop” and the confidently loping midtempo waltz “Never Forget,” but there are no weak tracks here.
Darrell Grant’s MJ New
Our Mr. Jackson
Lair Hill
LHR 007
Pianist Darrell Grant’s combo has its roots in a 2013 invitation from the Portland Jazz Festival to organize a tribute to the Modern Jazz Quartet. But the group gelled so nicely that it has continued work together ever since — until, in 2021, the untimely death of its drummer, Carlton Jackson. (The “Our” in the title distinguishes him from MJQ charter member Milt Jackson, whose standard “Bag’s Groove” opens the program.) Our Mr. Jackson commemorates both Jackson and the MJQ by exploring commonalities between jazz and classical music — both in terms of repertoire (this program incorporates pieces by both Bach and Schubert) and in terms of delivering the pieces as genuine concert music. That’s not to say that it doesn’t swing — it swings hard (note especially Grant’s own wonderful composition “A Viennese Affair”). But, as with the MJQ’s music, undergirding the fun is always a sense of respect for the deep seriousness of this music. This is a sad and brilliant album.
FOLK/COUNTRY
Chris Murphy
The Road and the Stars (compilation; digital only)
Teahouse
No cat. no.
Multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Chris Murphy has been purveying his unique blend of Celtic-American-Bluegrass-Folk-Rock-Jazz-Blues for years now, playing original tunes that sound like they’re 100 years old and singing songs that hark back to Tin Pan Alley, 1960s folk pop, country blues, and any number of points in between. This disc brings together tracks from five of his previous releases, one of them a live recording, but the program hangs together very well as a unified musical statement. Highlights include “Kitchen Girl” — which should not be confused with the traditional Irish session tune, and interestingly enough features drummer DJ Bonebrake of X — the bitter “Vernon Tool and Die,” and the instrumental “High Country” (not to be confused with the traditional Québec tune “Pays de Haut”). Murphy’s playing and singing are both beautiful but admirably plainspoken and unfussy.
Deke Dickerson and the Whippersnappers
Honky Tonkin’ Rhythm
Major Label
MLCD-009
For several decades now, hotshot guitarist and brilliant singer Deke Dickerson has been purveying old-school rockabilly and honky-tonk country music both as a solo artist and alongside bands like the Bo-Keys, the Ecco-Fonics, the Trashmen, and even Los Straitjackets. His first full-length release since the pandemic finds him alongside the Whippersnappers, reprising a couple of songs from their earlier EP and adding an album’s worth of new songs in a variety of styles: the tongue-in-cheek classic country of “Bucket of Blood,” the Hank Williams-flavored lover’s croon of “Sugar Coated Baby,” the slightly lewd and relentlessly chugging “Here Kitty Kitty” (with its graceful Merle Travis-style guitar picking), etc. As always, Dickerson is audibly having the time of his life, and his joyful enthusiasm is as infectious as his picking is technically impressive.
Teddy Thompson
My Love of Country
Self-released
No cat. no.
Listening to Teddy Thompson’s latest, I can’t help but be reminded of Elvis Costello’s 1981 album Almost Blue. As Costello had, Thompson has signaled his love of country music on previous releases (this isn’t even his first dedicated primarily to country music), but like Almost Blue this is something more than a nod to Nashville: like Thompson’s 2007 Up Front and Down Low, it’s a collection of country standards performed in a manner deeply informed by that music’s 1960’s classical style. A big difference between the two albums: unlike Costello, Thompson has a lovely voice — and this means that he’s able to do real justice to songs like the Patsy Cline hit “I Fall to Pieces” (delivered here at a brisk honky-tonk lope rather than Cline’s torchy slow tempo) and Buck Owens’ “Crying Time.” My only complaint? According to the press materials, Thompson and his producer “assembled a list of twenty titles, then whittled it down to eleven” — resulting in a 28-minute-long program. C’mon, guys. That may be a fully authentic album length for a ’60s-style country project, but why be stingy when the songs and the performances are this good?
Chris Pierce
Let All Who Will (digital only)
Calabama Recordings
No cat. no.
Los Angeles singer-songwriter Chris Pierce performs with one foot in protest-fueled folk music and the other in soulful, greasy R&B. It’s a potent combination on his latest album, which features soully Hammond organs, growling slide guitars, and tons of sharp and sometimes bitter social commentary on matters as serious as murderous race riots (“Tulsa Town”), civil rights history (“Sidney Poitier”), and — I’m pretty sure — climate change (“Batten Down the Hatches”). Of course, it takes more than powerful lyrical content to make songs great, and Pierce offers those things as well: grittily beautiful singing, subtle but strong melodic hooks, great arrangements. And then, when you least expect it? You get a Cars cover. Wow.
ROCK/POP
Jessy Lanza
Love Hallucination
Hyperdub (dist. Redeye)
HDBCD0063
Whenever something comes out from the aptly named Hyperdub label, I’m immediately intrigued: what new twist on dark dance music will this one represent? In the case of the new album from singer/songwriter/producer Jessy Lanza, the answer is “all kinds.” From the concise house workout of the album-opening “Don’t Leave Me Now” through the stutter-step UK garage of “Midnight Ontario” and the slightly disorienting disco dub of “Big Pink Rose,” Lanza sneaks all kinds of unexpected elements into music that might sound on the surface like uncomplicated dance pop. Her voice is deceptively girlish and light — listen carefully and you’ll hear some jagged edges that you might not have expected. But there are also enough hooks here for the album to work just fine on that uncomplicated dance-pop level. Recommended to all libraries.
Sobs
Air Guitar
Topshelf
TSR252
Described by the label as “a thirty-minute trip for the post-Internet consumer,” the sophomore release from this Singapore-based trio is an indiepop tour de force. The juxtaposition of Celine Autumn’s sweet, silky voice and the alternately clean and distorted guitars and other backing instruments by Jared Lim and Raphael Ong is wave-your-hands-in-the-air thrilling. They can go from anthemic (“Lucked Out”) to intimate (“Dealbreaker”) on a dime. On the title track and the hair-raisingly catchy “World Implode” the hooks come a mile a minute, and when they get a little bit edgy (consider the jungle-inflected “Friday Night”) it’s even better. And I’ll tell you what, the Dollyrots would kill to have written “Friday Night” — at least the first part before the breakbeat freakout. Recommended to all libraries that serve patrons who like to have fun.
Various Artists
Where Were You?: Independent Music from Leeds 1978-1989 (3 discs)
Cherry Red (dist. MVD)
CRCDBOX149
Maybe not quite as consistently fun but definitely more historically significant is this new box set from the mighty Cherry Red label, which continues to document various independent music scenes from the US and the UK with well curated and lovingly documented collections. This one is for anyone who thought the Leeds postpunk scene began and ended with Gang of Four, Delta 5 and the Mekons. All three of those bands are represented here, of course, but some of the finest moments come from groups that most Americans (and probably quite a few Brits) will never have heard of: Bridewell Taxis, say, or the psychobilly Pink Peg Slax. There are also oddities from more familiar names: those who know Script Politti only as purveyors of vaguely Situationist candy-coated synth pop will be startled by the aptly-titled early track “Messthetics,” while Sisters of Mercy’s “Temple of Love” offers a scrappy, tense hint of the dark and rich Gothicism to come. Like all of these Cherry Red collections, this one is filled with fun surprises and useful information — and is therefore perfect for library collections.
Dwight Twilley
The Tulsa Years, Volume 1: 1999-2016 (reissue)
Paramour (dist. MVD)
MVD12679A
This is the first installment in what will be a two-volume reissue project. Some years ago there was a 40-song, two-CD set that documented Dwight Twilley’s career following the destruction of his California home in the Northridge earthquake and his subsequent relocation to Tulsa, Oklahoma. There he recorded six albums of original material, a couple of covers albums (including one focused on Beatles songs), a live album, a Christmas album, and a collection of previously unreleased material. The original set drew on much of this material, and then went out of print, and is now being reissued for the first time on vinyl but also as two separate CDs. For fans the releases are a treasure trove, and for newcomers it can function as an explanation as to why Twilley is known as the Father of Power Pop. For obvious reasons, it’s also a strong candidate for library collections.
Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw (expanded reissue)
Yep Roc (dist. Redeye)
YEP-3027X
And while we’re talking about great pop reissues, let’s consider this expanded rerelease of Marshall Crenshaw’s magnificent eponymous debut album. Originally issued in 1982, Marshall Crenshaw signaled the arrival of one of the most skillful songwriters of a generation. His bespectacled visage and knack for earworm hooks got him compared regularly to Buddy Holly (whom he actually portrayed in the 1987 Richie Valens biopic La Bamba), but the comparison is too confining: Crenshaw’s lyrical themes are sharper and more thoughtful, and his melodic gift is, if anything, more developed than Holly’s was (though in fairness, Holly died too young to develop his talent fully). I would defy anyone to listen to “Someday, Someway” without smiling, or to “Cynical Girl” without smirking. And as great as his songwriting chops are, his voice is almost as good – as is his knack for arranging. Even if your library already holds this album, consider the reissue for its generous helping of bonus tracks.
WORLD/ETHNIC
Madhuvanti Pal
The Holy Mother: Madhuvanti Pal Plays the Rudra Veena (vinyl & digital only)
Sublime Frequencies
SF122
The rudra veena is not the most well known of north India’s classical instruments. Taxonomically classified as a stick zither, it consists of a long fretted neck fitted with melody and drone strings and two resonating gourds. Traditionally it is played only by men, and this album represents a historic moment because it is the first recording of rudra veena played by a woman – and in this case a woman who is not only a virtuoso player of the instrument but also a teacher and instrument builder. The program includes two dhrupads, melodies intended for devotional singing, and traditionally accompanied by this instrument. In keeping with that stylistic tradition, the rudra veena has a relatively deep pitch and long sustain; the drone strings are much higher, and create a sparkling sonic matrix for the darker and more subdued melody. Pal’s playing is as impressive as one would expect, and this album is not only a very enjoyable listen but also an important addition to any library collection with a focus on Indian classical music.
Various Artists
More Fire!
Reggae Roast
MOCCD14324
As conscious roots reggae has lost favor in its native Jamaica (displaced over the years by increasingly harsh and digital dancehall and bashment styles), it has gained popularity among pockets of the West Indian diaspora — notably in Germany, France, and especially England, where multigenerational Jamaican communities have lived for decades. One of the best and most consistent purveyors of modern roots reggae is the London-based Reggae Roast label and sound system. The collective’s latest release is something of an all-star revue, featuring such legendary singers as Earl 16, Johnny Clarke, and Horace Andy alongside major young talents like Horseman, Gappy Ranks, and the remarkable Soom T. On More Fire!, the material itself consists largely of familiar songs (“Crazy Baldhead,” “Guiding Star,” etc.) and classic rhythms delivered in a style that combines up-to-the-minute production quality with old-school bass pressure and a humid, smoky Jamaican vibe. Hands down, this is the best reggae release of summer 2023.
Yosef Gutman Levitt
Soul Song
Soul Song
No cat. no.
If the name Yosef Gutman Levitt is ringing a bell with you, the faithful CD HotList reader, it’s because just last month I recommended Tsuf Harim, his gorgeous collaboration with guitarist Tal Yahalom. Now the bassist/composer is back with another, equally beautiful collaboration — this time with guitarist Lionel Loueke, Levitt’s former Berklee School of Music classmate and longtime friend. Together with pianist Omri Mor and drummer Ofri Nehemya, they’ve crafted a stunning program of tunes that draw on both Jewish and African themes and flavors: Levitt’s original “Chai Elul” is a Middle Eastern melody given a calypso-esque arrangement; note also the astringent Ashkenazi modality of “Myriad,” one of several nigunim (traditional Hasidic melodies) explored on this album. The nigun “Kave El Hashem” is given two treatments, the first gently funky and the second darker and smokier — and listen to how Omri Mor’s piano imitates a kora on “Desert Song.” Throughout the album, the music is emotionally immediate and spiritually evocative. This album is a deeply special listening experience.
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