Best of 2004

Nate Dorward · February-16th-2004, 09:25 PM

Yes, I know it's only mid-February, I know it's ridiculously early, but so what. I've already started to jot down the odd title so I don't forget anything by the end of the year. Here's three strong discs that will be in the running then--

Dead Cat Bounce, Home Speaks to the Wandering (Innova). I suppose it sounds like a backhanded compliment for me to say that fans of the Vandermark 5 should check this out pronto (given that I'm not KVDM's biggest fan) but there's a similar punchiness here in charts that come off like a blend of jazz & rockabilly sensibilities. There's even a little Irish pennywhistle at one point(!). It's a sextet--four horns, bass, drums. Mostly unfamiliar names (Jared Sims, Matt Steckler, Drew Sayers, Arie Werbrouck, Bill Carbone) except that of Charlie Kohlhase. Nominee for title of the year: "I Once Was Vaccinated with a Phonograph Needle" (a lift, I take it, from Groucho Marx).

The Joe Hunt Trio (Dreambox Media). Gorgeous straightahead Bill Evans style piano trio. 99% of the time that's codespeak for "soporific"--it's unbelievable how many tenth-rate Evans imitators there are out there--but pianist Steve Rudolph is a real find, & Joe Hunt sounds just as good as he did back in the 1960s when he was on all those George Russell discs.

Bite the Gnatze, Wilde dans in een afgelegen Berghut (Trytone). New Dutch swing (the most familiar players are Jorrit Dijkstra & Alan Purves), but with a countrified sensibility (fiddles, lapsteel). This sounds way better than anything Frisell's managed to come up with in a decade of trying.

al j · February-22nd-2004, 11:41 AM

It's never too early, Nate. I was thinking of starting this thread myself.

Dog Out - s/t - This disc is better than anything I heard last year, so it's bound to make any list I make for this one.

Sophie Agne// Olivier Benoit - Rip-stop - This is the first thing I've heard from these musicians and it won't be my last. This disc sounds at once experimental and beautifully put-together. I've never heard a piano or guitar quite like this.

gnhrtg · February-22nd-2004, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Christmas
Sophie Agne// Olivier Benoit - Rip-stop - This is the first thing I've heard from these musicians and it won't be my last. This disc sounds at once experimental and beautifully put-together. I've never heard a piano or guitar quite like this.

They had this playing while I was browsing around in Jussieu Jazz in Paris. I was impressed enough to ask what it was they had on - with my weird collage of english/french.

al j · February-22nd-2004, 11:55 AM

Sounds like we all need to visit Jussieu Jazz in Paris.

Jon Abbey · February-22nd-2004, 12:05 PM

labels, Al? you can't just list something called Dog Out as better than anything you heard all last year and not even tell us who's on it.

al j · February-22nd-2004, 12:16 PM

Jon, Dog Out is a Swedish quartet that plays jazz-based music. Their disc is on the Moserobie label.

Fredrik Nordström - tenor, alto
Alberto Pinton - baritone, c-melody sax, clarinet, contrabass clarinet
Mattias Welin - bass
Jon Fält - drums

I don't know that you'd like it, but then I see here and elsewhere that you've been listening to some traditional (with respect to instrumentation) improv lately. The Dog Out disc is certainly as fresh as anything I've heard from a sax-based ensemble in years.

al j · February-22nd-2004, 12:18 PM

rip-stop is on In Situ.

Captain Hate · February-22nd-2004, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Christmas
I don't know that you'd like it, but then I see here and elsewhere that you've been listening to some traditional (with respect to instrumentation) improv lately.

Would somebody alert Uli to kill the fatted calf; the prodigal son has returned.

Pete C · February-22nd-2004, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Christmas
Sounds like we all need to visit Jussieu Jazz in Paris.

Jussieu, Jus' Me.

Tanager · February-22nd-2004, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Christmas
Sounds like we all need to visit Jussieu Jazz in Paris.

I'm going in May, I'll have to stop by...

Nate Dorward · February-23rd-2004, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joe Christmas
Dog Out - s/t - This disc is better than anything I heard last year, so it's bound to make any list I make for this one.

Hm, I've heard a lot of music critics grousing about how 2003 was a mediocre year for new releases.... I'm still mystified by this, there were about 30 discs or so that I thought were excellent--I found it a challenge even to squeeze things down to 10 or 20 titles for a year-end list.

Hm, the Nordstrom's that good? Heard his earlier disc On Purpose & thought it good enough but not terribly exciting. It was basically an attempt to capture the avant-Blue-Note sound of the 1960s (Hutcherson, Rivers, Dolphy, &c), except for one track where the bassist used some buzzy distortion.

al j · February-23rd-2004, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Nate Dorward
Hm, I've heard a lot of music critics grousing about how 2003 was a mediocre year for new releases.... I'm still mystified by this, there were about 30 discs or so that I thought were excellent--I found it a challenge even to squeeze things down to 10 or 20 titles for a year-end list.

No grousing here. I heard plenty of good music last year, even if most of it was a result of the noise bug that bit me. But this disc is exceptional and it's been a couple of years that I've been as excited as I am about these musicians.

Quote:

Hm, the Nordstrom's that good? Heard his earlier disc On Purpose & thought it good enough but not terribly exciting. It was basically an attempt to capture the avant-Blue-Note sound of the 1960s (Hutcherson, Rivers, Dolphy, &c), except for one track where the bassist used some buzzy distortion.

Nordström sounds fantastic here, but then I don't have anything else of his for comparison. The disc you describe sounds like something I'd like to hear, minus the buzzy bassist. Have you heard Pinton, Nate? I'm about to jump on his Clear Now discs.

Nate Dorward · February-23rd-2004, 04:57 PM

No I don't know Pinton. I don't have On Purpose anymore I'm afraid, otherwise I'd pass it on.... It's not bad, just a bit of a retro exercise that didn't really strongly grab me. Here's what I wrote at the time:

Quote:

Fredrik Nordström: On Purpose (Caprice CAP 21684)

Sometimes a recording can be of interest not for having a particularly original vision but for evincing an intelligent and unhackneyed choice of stylistic models. The press release quotes Nordström as saying “I’m constantly searching for new sounds - sounds that are up to date. To try and describe the music it would be: Jazz of today where you may occasionally hear elements of modern classical music and rock.” Well, that’s one story. More telling to my mind is the CD booklet photo showing the band’s five young Swedish players relaxing around a table with a pile of old LPs on the floor. The predominant influence here is the more forward-looking, avantgarde jazz of Blue Note in the 1960s - an area in jazz that’s still underexploited as a resource compared to the stripmining endured by the oeuvres of Coltrane and Davis. The opening track is patently drawn from Dolphy’s Out to Lunch; the last track, “Blondino,” cements the reference to that album and to Hutcherson’s Dialogue by its use of march rhythms. The leader gets a nice raspy sound on his tenor which owes a debt to Sam Rivers (most noticeably on “First delivery”); and the other players (vibist Mattias Stahl, trumpeter Magnus Broo, bassist Filip Augustson, drummer Fredrik Rundqvist) are skillful players who follow the obvious stylistic allegiances for their respective instruments.

All of which sounds like faint praise. But that’s not quite what I mean to convey - it’s actually a very accomplished, very playable album, and I liked listening to it, even if my pleasure was inextricably mingled with the pleasure of its bringing to mind some of the original 1960s albums. Ultimately what limits the album’s impact isn’t its lack of innovation, but its lack of the emotional depth of its models: it could use a little more inwardness. But it’s a well-crafted album that marks Nordström and his companions as players to watch.

mke · February-23rd-2004, 08:52 PM

"But it’s a well-crafted album that marks Nordström and his companions as players to watch."

If you want to follow Broo, you can check out Atomic, reviewed in the Reviews section.

SinginSumo · March-5th-2004, 05:07 PM

Tierney Sutton - Dancing In The Dark
Cheryl Bentyne - Talk Of The Town
Harvie S - Texas Rumba

hornplayer · March-23rd-2004, 03:40 PM

out April 6... Playground... Russell Malone (MaxJazz) I think you'll be surprised...

chuckyd4 · March-31st-2004, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SinginSumo

Harvie S - Texas Rumba

I can second this one... actually all of the stuff I've heard on Zoho so far. On the Harvie S, I say skip the first track and jump right in to their longer works. Nothing revolutionary here, but everything is working perfectly in gear. Makes you think and gets your ass shaking.

crawjo · March-31st-2004, 03:18 PM

Cecil Taylor - Owner of the River Bank

Nate Dorward · May-2nd-2004, 01:36 AM

Hm, been spending time with Rip-Stop lately &....it's good, but somehow isn't clicking all that much with me. It's kind of monochrome, perhaps. Xmas, have you heard Rouge Gris Bruit, Agnel's disc on Potlatch with Noetinger/Marchetti? I'd found that a lot more engaging. Still, Rip-Stop's more than worthwhile. Incidentally, watch out for Arc Voltaic on the same label, by Carles Andreu & Francois Tusques, though it's not jazz or improv by & large. It's a very engaging collection of settings of texts by the Catalan Futurist poet Joan Salvat-Papasseit. It's a lot of fun, among other things.

To my earlier list I'd now add

André Nendza, Wild Open Rooms, Crecycle
James Finn, Opening the Gates, Cadence

as distinct possibilities. Once the deglitched version of Broetzmann/ McPhee/ Kessler/ Zerang, Tales Out of Time, is released, it'll also go on the list.

gnhrtg · May-11th-2004, 06:41 PM

I see that I've bought lots of discs this year though only a few are new/recent releases. Here is what I have so far (and no, these aren't all I've bought so there is some selection involved):

Dave Douglas - Strange Liberation
Frank Gratkowski - Spectral Reflections

hermann · May-15th-2004, 11:05 AM

Allthough it's a bit fresh in my ears, I start with :
Pierre Favre + ARTE Quartet + Michel Godard --> Saxophones ( Intakt 091 )
Seems to be a highlight for this year

SilentKnowledge · May-16th-2004, 04:45 AM

Gary Windo-Anglo American

SinginSumo · May-16th-2004, 09:21 AM

Steve Kuhn - Promises Kept

jazzfiend · May-16th-2004, 03:26 PM

Sumo, point well taken. But how could you fail to mention:

Frisco · May-16th-2004, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate Dorward

Once the deglitched version of Broetzmann/ McPhee/ Kessler/ Zerang, Tales Out of Time, is released, it'll also go on the list.

Yes, that one second glitch would certainly keep it off my list as well (?!!?) Thanks for reminding me. I almost forgot to send mine back or ask for a refund.

walto · May-16th-2004, 10:40 PM

Leandre/Maneri/etc., "For Flowers"
Tilbury/Prevost, "discrete moments"

kenny weir · May-17th-2004, 10:25 PM

Keith Hounslow/Tony Gould - McJad Goes Organic (Move Records)
Aaron Choulai - Place (Move Records)
Paul Grabowsky - Tales Of Time And Space (Sanctuary)
Mike Nock's BigSmallBand - Live (ABC Jazz)
Mark Isaacs - Keeping The Srandards (Vorticity)

May-17th-2004, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzfiend

Sumo, point well taken. But how could you fail to mention:

Damn Jazzfiend, I've never heard of her before, but I'm IN LOVE!!!!!!

Incredibly I've just realized that I have only bought TWO Jazz cd's this year!! And maybe only five cd's total.

Man, something is seriously wrong.

So Jazzooo's Two Days in November gets my nod as best unfortunately by default.

Also picked up Branford Marsalis' Romare Beardon Something Or Rather(can't recall the actual title right off the top of my head). Incredibly unimpressive. Especially following up such strong efforts over the last few years like Footsteps Of Our Fathers, Contemporary Jazz, and Requiem.

Nate Dorward · May-18th-2004, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frisco

Yes, that one second glitch would certainly keep it off my list as well (?!!?) Thanks for reminding me. I almost forgot to send mine back or ask for a refund.

It's five seconds actually.

Nate Dorward · May-29th-2004, 01:39 PM

Toss in Geoff Goodman, Naked Eye (technically 2003 but I don't think many people outside Germany will have heard it till this year). Rudi Mahall fans take note--the tall gangly guy with the bass clarinet is present here & is in excellent form. The music's post-Ornette/post-Frisell but rather hard to pin down too much. There's a funny cover of "Topsy" which sounds rather like Zorn's News for Lulu project. The opening "Strip Poker" is a nice blast through a disguised "Bemsha Swing". A nice threnody for John Lennon on here too.

The Favre is nice but I'm not sure I'd put it among the year's best. Maybe it'll grow on me.