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ACOUSTIC LEVITATION Dear Readers, It's been a particularly good year for new music, even if my own list contains perhaps more reissues than new releases. The usual disclaimers stating the obvious but pertinent: We were not able to hear all the concerts and discs of 2010. We merely give credit to the ones we geographically, financially or by circumstance were able to lay our ears upon. Happy hunting to
all, and an artistically rich 2011.
PERFORMANCES: KRALLICE
@ Knitting Factory Brooklyn, NY 1/10/10 NAUTICAL ALMANAC
@ Coco 66 Brooklyn, NY 3/18/10 10 @ the
Bank Baltimore, MD 4/10/10 MEPHISTA
(Susie Ibarra, drums; Sylvie Courvoisier, piano; Ikue Mori, electronics) @ the
Stone NY, NY 6/25/10 DAVID CHAIM
SMITH seminar on his artwork @ the Stone NY, NY 7/26/10 KEITH FULLERTON
WHITMAN @ Issue Project Room Brooklyn, NY 9/27/10 LAURIE ANDERSON
@ BAM Brooklyn, NY 10/2/10 SWANS @
Masonic Hall Brooklyn, NY 10/8/10 AKI ONDA &
CARBON @ Issue Project Room Brooklyn, NY 11/4/10 MEREDITH MONK
@ Le Poisson Rouge NY, NY 12/12/10 SERGIO
AZOÑOS Mejores discos del 2010 1. CHRISTIAN
SCOTT. Yesterday You Said Tomorrow. The revealing and powerful intimacy of a modern jazz worthy of the new decade. 2. MARC BURONFOSSE
SOUNDS QUARTET. Face The Music. The contemporary nature of their music, together with the beauty of his melodies, becomes a very interesting proposal of a new jazz, cool and captivating. 3. PORTICO QUARTET.
Isla. A young group, very purposeful and fresh; a set of sounds that are sweet to the ear and also an exuberant improvisation. 4. BRANDT BRAUER
FRICK. You Make Me Real. The concept based on electronic composition but acoustic, very interesting and creative. 5. TRILOK GURTU.
Massical. Trilok's rhythmic magic is always captivating. This record is the confirmation of the fusion of traditional music and new musical trends from the mind of Trilok Gurtu 6. KENDRICK
SCOTT. Reverence. Drummer Kendrick Scott rescues the essential elements of jazz tradition and creates new sounds which reaffirm jazz for years to come. 7. JASON MORAN.
'Ten. A fine and subtle music with contemporary touches which place it on my best albums list. 8. BRAD MEHLDAU.
Highway Rider. The harmonic richness of Brad and his dazzling piano jazz is, as always, intimate but very expressive. 9. TIEFSCHWARZ.
Chocolate. The clearly expressed electronic minimalism, well-defined concept and revitalization of their sound, exemplified in their song "Black Tick," makes this a disc to hear in 2010. 10. DAFT PUNK.
Tron Legacy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack). A surprising orchestration created by the French group puts them on a new level which explores really interesting new horizons. 11. FOALS.
Total Life Forever. Rock much-inspired by the '80s but the use of different rhythmic patterns gives them a unique, forward-looking sound, creating an interesting and fresh atmosphere in indie rock.
BEST DISCOVERIES OF 2010 Hello again. This year's list includes world, avant classical, bird song, and improvised music's - mixed together into a single alphabetical order. Rather than limit the pool to strict dates, I've included the highlights of my own path of discoveries during 2010. You'll notice that some of the music (and the interview) comes from cool websites that have remarkable resources. I hope you discover sounds that bring you great joy! INDEX: AMM. Sounding
Music. John Butcher, Ute Kanngiesser, Eddie Prevost, John Tilbury, and Christian
Wolff. Matchless Records. MRCD-77. 2010. matchlessrecordings.com Pierluigi BILLONE.
1+1=1. Vienna: Kairos 1260-2. 2006. www.kairos-music.com,
allegro-music.com Für zwei Bassklarinetten (2006) 70'02". I missed
this when it first came out. Billone is one of the few composers who knows how
to write meaningful extended techniques for bass clarinets. He dedicated a piece
to Evan Parker, and really understands the achievements of the improvisers. BIRDS. Bird Mimicry. London: The British Library Board, NSA-CD-28. 2006. Available from the Online Bookshop at bl.uk This is a terrific collection of birds imitating other bird species, horse neighs, human speech, and a computer modem. Most striking of all is the imitation by a Bowerbird in Papua New Guinea, of ladders, hammering, sawing, ball bearings inside a spray paint can, and Pidgin English speech. BRITISH EAST
AFRICA. The Columbia Library of Folk and Primitive Music, Vol. 10.
Harley GABER.
Indra's Net. Munich: Edition RZ, 1022. 2010. edition-rz.de
This album represents the long-awaited return of a remarkable composer who was
active in the 1960s and 70s, then switched to visual art until recently. Devotees
of The Winds Rise in the North will be thrilled to have more music from
that fertile period. Also hear his new work on Innova Records, as well as his
excellent website. Welcome back Harley! From the liner notes: David GORTON. Trajectories. Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom: Metier Records, MSVCD-92104. 2010. divine-art.co.uk David Gorton's first album demonstrates his unique voice, especially through the string quartet "Trajectories," wherein he extends the pioneering work of Giacinto Scelsi into new territory. This is a rich exploration of timbre and small changes in pitch. Check out his YouTube video, with score excerpt. Tim HODGKINSON. Klarnt. Surrey, United Kingdom: ReR Megacorp, ZRTH-3. 2009. www.rermegacorp.com This is a whole album of solo Bb clarinet music. The 44-minute set puts extended techniques to the task of creating a coherent, flowing discourse. This is real music, not grandstanding or experimentation. Maintaining the order of the original performance (there are 11 tracks) has given the album a logic that results in a fun, challenging, and satisfying whole. A fine addition to the solo woodwind catalog. INDONESIA.
West Papua. Dema - Music from the Marind Anim. Leiden, The Netherlands:
PAN Records, 4018. panrecords.nl/content/index.php Helmut LACHENMANN.
Musique Concrète Instrumentale: Helmut Lachenmann in Conversation
with Gene Coleman. Philadelphia: Slought Foundation. MP3@64kbps. 75 minutes.
2008. slought.org A wonderful
site that also has free jazz and cutting edge intellectual postings. Here, Lachenmann
gives a great deal of insight into his music. From the website: Rytis MAZULIS.
Musica Falsa. Molenbeek, Belgium: Megadisc, CD-7794. 2010. megadisc-classics.com Stefan NICULESCU.
Ison 1a / Echos / Ison 2. Bucharest: Electrecord LP. CARLOS
GÓMEZ New Age Electronics
2010 Top Releases All in all, not a bad year. In no particular order, it's actually a top 11.5, since the Dave Douglas consists of two separate and distinct discs.
DISCS Note: I'm usually bemoaning how erratic the quality of music on the Innova label. This year it seems as if I'm under their employ (I'm not). Anthology: BABY HOW CAN IT BE? - SONGS OF LOVE, LUST AND CONTEMPT FROM THE 1920s AND 1930s. A wonderfully-sequenced compilation of blues, Cajun, hokum, old-timey and their subgenres, one theme per disc. Meager notes, but the price is very low. Another plea against digipaks, as all three plastic panels were smashed when this arrived in the mail. Dust-To-Digital DTD-16, 3 CDs, dust-digital.com NEWMAN TAYLOR BAKER. Drum Suite Life. This joins the pantheon of solo percussion discs by Milford Graves, Andrew Cyrille Pheeroan ak Laff and a few select others, differing only in that these works were composed, touching on the traditions of the drum in African-American history. Subtly breath-taking. Innova 238, 51:10, innova.mu, BEETHOVEN. Symphony 9. La Chambre Philharmonique, Emmanuel Krivine, conductor. Whereas last year's Beethoven 3 by Andrew Manze gave me new ears, Krivine's HIP [historically-informed performance] ensemble "merely" makes me hear the 9th with delight, the winds especially frisky, the singers ensemble with the band. Naïve V5202, 63:09, naiveclassique.com, naxos.com Anthology: Music In Tribute, Volume 6: ALBAN BERG. Giacinto Scelsi: Poema No. 4 a la memoire d'Alban Berg. Berg: Sonata for Piano; Four Songs op2. Ross Lee Finney: 10 Variations on a theme by Alban Berg. Jacob Gilboa: Reflections on Three Chords of Alban Berg. Hans Erich Apostei: Variations from Lulu, for four hands. Ieva Jokubaviciute, piano. Marjorie Dix, mezzo; Vlaimir Valja revic, second piano. Labor LAB 7086, 60:55, laborrecords.com, ievajokubaviciute.com, naxos.com, classicsonline.com BLOB. Earphonious Swamphony. The quartet of John Lindberg, Ted Orr, Harvey Sorgen and Ralph Carney conjure insidious swamp-themed improvisations. Innova 237, innova.mu, myspace.com/tedorraudio, johnlindberg.com, myspace.com/harveysorgen, akroncracker.com GEORG BREINSCHMID. Brein's World. Austrian bassist's delicious followup to last year's marvelous Wien bleibt Krk. To get a sense of the joie de vivre of Breinschmid's various groupings, imagine the joys of the Dutch free jazzers Han Bennink and Willem Breuker, Viennese waltzes, Django, and cabaret. Excellent audio as well. Preiser PR 90787, 2 CDs, &5:12 + 78:23, preiserrecords.at, georgbreinschmid.com DAVID CARLSON. Anna Karenina. Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, SLSO. Stewart Robertson, conductor. Libretto by Colin Graham. A new opera which, despite erratic vocal writing, is dramatically compelling. Signum SIGCD154, 2 CDs, 72:12 + 67:35, full notes and libretto, qualiton.com, signumrecords.com. COMMITMENT. The Complete Recordings: 1981/1983. Will Connell, Jr., Jason Kao-Hwang, William Parker, Takeshi Zen Matsuura. NoBusiness NBCD 14-15, 2 CDs, 75:35 + 48:40, nobusinessrecords.com SUGA DAIRO TRIO. No English title given on this solid and wacky piano-bass-drums trio of standards and originals. Let's just call it Joyous. Okay, the title on the DMG website: Sakamoto Ryoma Handgun: S&W Model 2 of The Far East. CoolFool CLFL-0001, 51:22, sugadairo.com DELANEY AND BONNIE. On Tour. Exciting classic roots rock album expanded to four discs in a cute but space-wasting "touring case" with a styofoam insert holding the four digipaks and folio. Well worth the trip. Rhino Handmade RHM 52479, 4 CDs, rhinohandmade.com JACK ELLIOTT. At Lansdowne Studios, London [1959]. The a capella "Night Herding Song" is a spine-tingling great yodel-call. And yes, that's nearly 90 minutes on a single compact disc. Bear Family BCD 16330, 88:40, bear-family.de MARK FELDMAN
and SYLVIA COURVOISIER. Oblivia. This violin-piano duo is equally
strong live and on disc. The improv is favored but the classical roots are totally
integrated. For spirit and mind. Tzadik TZ 7633, 51:35, tzadik.com,
markfeldmanviolin.com,
Anthology: THE HISTORY OF INDIAN FILM MUSIC: A SHOWCASE OF THE VERY BEST IN HINDI CINEMA. A 128-page hardback book all in English and two folios of CDs in a thick cardboard slipcase, this ambitious compilation covers the 1920s through today in all its complexity and, sometimes, perplexity. I confess I prefer listening to film music this way, without the visuals. Sare Sama TDICP 054S, 10 CDs and book, amazon.com/History-Indian-Film-Music/dp/B003O5MPB0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1294256344&sr=1-1-spell CHARLES IVES. Sonatas 1 and 2. Jeremy Denk, piano; Tara Helen O"Connor, flute. Fluid and frisky, forceful without being crass, Denk proves an Ivesian of the first rank. The melodies are integrated but clear. 24 pages of notes and photos. Think Denk Media TDM2567, 77:35, jeremydenk.net/blog/ DARIUS JONES. Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing). Deeply-rooted sax trio with Cooper-Moore and and Rakalai Bob Moses. AUM Fidelity AUM057, 52:49, aumfidelity.com JP, CHRYSSIE & THE FAIRGROUND BOYS. Fidelity: Deluxe CD+DVD Edition. I love the first two Pretenders albums, none after those. The lyrics sometimes a wee earnest, but the group rocks. Chryssie sounds at her peak, which to say as she did in the '70s. JP Jones is previously unknown to me, but his generic rocker's voice meshes well with Hynde. The DVD contains one music video. I usually complain about digipaks, but this all-cardboard package is mashed and torn down the spines. La Mina/Rocket Science RSVFB026, rocketscienceventures.com, thepretenders.com JAMES LEVINE. Celebrating 40 Years at The Met. Corigliano's marvelous Ghosts of Versailles, Lulu, Wozzeck, Figaro, Trittico, Bartered Bride, Ariade, Elektra, Rosenkavalier, Don Carlo, Mahagonny, and In Concert At The Met. Met Opera (no catalog nr.), 21 DVDs, slipcase, metopera.org SMILEY LEWIS. Rocks. Thirty-five Imperial and one bonus Epic recording from the New Orleans standard-bearer. Bear Family BCD 16676 AR, 85:43, bear-family.de GYöRGY LIGETI. String Quartets 1 & 2, Andante and Allegretto. Parker Quartet. The competition (Artemis on EMI, Hagen & LaSalle in a DG box) handles different aspects slightly differently, but none is better and neither offer the "Andante and Allegretto." Budget price. Naxos 8.570781, 55:46, naxos.com HANNIBAL LOKUMBE. Dear Mrs. Parks. Detroit SO, Rackham Symphony Choir, Brazeal Dennard Chorale, soloists, Thomas Wilkins conductor. The trumpeter and composer (earlier known as Hannibal Marvin Peterson, then just Hannibal) skillfully weaves European, African and American idioms in this modern classical oratorio recorded before an appropriately enthusiastic live audience. Naxos 8.559668, 59:03, libretto, naxos.com, hanniballokumbe.com DENMAN MARONEY. Music for Words, Perhaps: Poems by Yeats and Wallace Stevens. Theo Bleckmann, Shelley Hirsch. The pianist composer, known for his "hyperpiano," plays both inside and out, compositionally and pianistically, with most beautifully sung and presumably notated spoken lines in the 40-minute Yeats cycle, which finds Bleckmann in especially haunting voice. Innova 717, 65:05, texts, innova.mu, naxos.com THE McPEAKE FAMILY. Wild Mountain Thyme. TopicTSCD583, 50:23. Belfast folkies, 1962, topicrecords.co.uk JEMEEL MOONDOC. Muntu Recordings. Live and studio recordings from the '70s "loft jazz" era. NoBusiness NBCD 7-8-9, 3CDs, and 114-page book in English, slipcover, nobusinessrecords.com PAT MUCHMORE. Fracture: Anti-Social Music. The cellist goes wild, slashing hardcore alternately with, against and in confluence with various "chamber" ensembles from flute and accordion to bass clarinet and viola. Equally appealing to fans of jazzpunk skronk and French chamber music. Innova 760, 67:00, innova.mu, patmuchmore.com, naxos.com Anthology: THE NYFA COLLECTION: 25 Years of New York New Music. Five booklets with detailed notes for each work of over 50 composers, more downtown than uptown but some upstate, from Oliveros to E#, Halac, Chadabe and Mahanthappa to Vierk to Tower and Tsontakis. The proverbial treasure trove, sponsored by the New York Foundation For The Arts. Innova 233, 5 CDs, innova.mu Anthology: …NEXT STOP IS VIETNAM: The War On Records: 1961-2008. Bear Family nails it yet another breath-taking, thought-provoking topical anthology of interviews, radio broadcasts, but in deed mostly pop songs related to the war pro, con and neither. 13 CDs, 312-page, all-English 12" x 12" hardcover book with images of each original vinyl disc or cover plus historical photos, and lots of fascinating text. Bear Family BCD 16070 MS, hardboard slipcase, bear-family.de OTOMO YOSHIHIDE NEW JAZZ TRIO +. Lonely Woman. Ornette's classic tune interpreted six ways: quitar solo, trio and quintet with electronics from Sachiko M and Jim O'Rourke. Mindblowing. Doubt dmf-138, 48:11, doubtmusic.com, japanimprov.com/yotomo EVAN PARKER, BARRY GUY, PAUL LYTTON. Nightwork: Live At The Sunset. Do you need another disc with these guys? Yes. The secure feeling of master musicians who listen to each other over two extended improvisations, far from high-energy squeal. Marge 46, 61:10, futuramarge.free.fr, barryguy.com, evanparker.com Anthology: PALENQUE PALENQUE: Champeta Criolla & Afro Roots In Colombia 1975-1991. Soundway SNDWCD022, 72:10, soundwayrecords.com RED BARAAT. Chaal Baby. An easy winner for anyone into the klez-Baltic-jazz scene, except this time the joy is sourced from India. Sin SR0100, 56:14, redbaraat.com Putomayo Presents RHYTHM & BLUES. A deliciously programmed anthology of classic and "retro" R&B artists, ranging from Snooks Eaglin and Irma Thomas, to Keb' Mo' and Sharon King, but thank you for introducing me to Cracked Ice, one of my favorite finds this year. Get their CD Soul Noir. Putomayo PUT 297-2, putomayo.com DINO SALUZZI. El Encuentro. Sax, cello and the Metropole Orchestra join the great bandoneon player in this live set of four beautiful (but not sappy) extended tracks. ECM 2155/ B0014477-02, 79:10, ecmrecords.com, saluzzimusic.com CHRISTIAN SCOTT. Yesterday You Said Tomorrow. Finally! A jazz disc that uses trad Blue Note, Miles, and modernist settings but without pandering to soft, electronica, fusion or wimpjazz elements. Perfectly realized modern jazz. Excellent ensemble playing. Concord Jazz CJA-31412-02, concordmusicgroup.com, christianscott.net PERCY SLEDGE. The Atlantic Recordings. Underappreciated southern soul great who is way more than "When A Man Loves A Woman." A perfect follow-up to last year's Wilson Pickett Complete Atlantic. Rhino Handmade RHM2 526138, 4 CDs in an 8x8" velvet-hardbound book, 76:29 + 79:47 + +. rhinohandmade.com SUN RA. Live In London 1970. A particularly squeaky and raucously fun set of, dare I use the word tribal, sets at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Makes me recall Zappa/Mothers recordings from there too. [A feature on the Transparency label is upcoming in these pages.] Transparency 0317, 2 CDs, 70:00 + 46:00. TAMMI TERRELL. Come on and See Me: The Complete Solo Collection. Early recordings from Checker, Scepter and Wand, all her Motown sides plus Live At The Roostertail reveal many facets of this alternately sultry and vivacious singer. Excellent fat booklet notes. Motown/Hip-O Select B0014792-02, 2 CDs, 72:49 + 64:57, hip-oselect.com TONY JOE WHITE. That On The Road Look. Live from 1971 with Duck Dunn, the Swamp Fox is absolutely smoldering country funk soul. Warner/Rhinohandmade RHM2 524696, 66:46, rhinohandmade.com, tonyjoewhite.com
HANDEL: PARTENOPE. New York City Opera. Cinducted by Chrstian Curnyn. The production was excellent overall, but the creamy voice and charming acting of Iestyn Davies as Prince Armindo of Cornith was an exemplor of what countertenors should be like. SHOSTAKOVICH: THE NOSE. Production by William Kentridge. Conducted by Valery Gergiev. Metropolitan Opera. Beautifully sung by all, with amazing use of multimedia, the set all at the service of a story of the absurd. NATE WOOLEY AND JACOB WICK, trumpet duo. Downtown Music Gallery, NYC. Free Sunday in-store performance series. natewooley.com, jacobwick.info, downtownmusicgallery.com
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARK TWAIN, Volume 1. Very single pragraph makes me grin or laugh out loud. Too large to carry on the subway, it's the perfect bed or comfy-chair book. University of California Press, 760 pages, oversize hardbound, ucpress.edu THERESA SAUER. NOTATIONS 21. Sauer compiles a striking art/music book of graphic scores, taking up where John Cage's original Notations book left off. Beautiful for musicians and nonmusicians alike. Look for concerts worldwide under the Notations21 aegis. Mark Batty Publishers, large format hardbound, 320 pages, notations21.net, markbattypublisher.com BARRY WALLENSTEIN. Tony's World. Birch Brook Press ISBN 9780978997489, birchbrookpress.info Poet Wallenstein, a contributor to these pages, creates a universe of savory unsavory characters. Read my review in Big City Lit.
ANGELS IN AMERICA: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner. Cast: Robin Bartlett (Hannah Pitt), Christian Borle (Prior Walter), Bill Heck (Joe Pitt), Zoe Kazan (Harper Pitt), Billy Porter (Belize), Zachary Quinto (Louis Ironson), Robin Weigert (the Angel) and Frank Wood (Roy Cohn). Directed by Michael Grief. Signature Theatre, NYC. The texture and tone remain fierce, and the slight revisions refocus on the contemporary and "national themes." signaturetheatre.org/angels A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE by Martin McDonagh. Atlantic Theater Company. Schoenfeld Theatre, NYC. Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Anthony Mackie, Zoe Kazan. Directed by John Crowley. Wickedly funny script, each was at the top of his craft but Rockwell nearly stole the show. atlantictheater.org LA BÊTE by David Hirson. Directed by Matthew Warchus. Music Box Theatre, NYC. Mark Rylance's role and performance were the epitome of a tour de force, but the largely non-speaking David Hyde Pierce was a brilliant straight man, his whole body responding in subtle horror to Rylance's antics. COLLECTED STORIES by Donald Margulies. Linda Lavin and Sarah Paulson. Directed by Lynne Meadow. Samuel J Friedman Theatre, NYC. We knew Lavin was going to be brilliant here, but the surprise was the shading of Paulson's characterization of the writer's mentee; the subtle evolution of her character's strength was mind-boggling. THE COLLECTION and A KIND OF ALASKA by Harold Pinter. Classic Stage Company, Atlantic Theater Company, NYC. Karen Kohlhaas, director. Larry Brygman. Darren Pettie, Rebecca Henderson, Matt McGrath, Lisa Emory. Pitch-perfect performances of these Pinter gems. atlantictheater.org, classicstage.org A FREE MAN OF COLOR by John Guare. George C. Wolfe, director. Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center, NYC. Deliciously sprawling entertainment of American history as a very American French farce. lct.org THE GLASS MENAGERIE by Tennessee Williams. Roundabout Theatre Company, NYC. Directed by Gordon Eisenstein. Patch Darragh, Judith Ivey, Keira Kelley, Michael Mosley. A true ensemble cast with Judith Ivey 's unique tour de understated force as Amanda. roundabouttheatre.org HAUNTED by Edna O'Brien. Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester (Brits Off Broadway series) 59E59 Theater, NYC. Directed by Braham Murray. Brenda Blethyn, Niall Buggy, Beth Cooke. Perhaps the saddest play I ever experienced, brilliantly acted and brilliantly written; Blethyn was shattering. britsoffbroadway.com, 59e59.org, royalexchangetheatre.org.uk I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER by Robert Anderson. Directed by Jonathan Silverstein. Keen Company: Keir Dullea, Marsha Mason & Company. The film leaves me cold; I couldn't imagine a more moving performance than this one. KING JOHN by William Shakespeare. The Guerilla Shakespeare Project. Medicine Show Theater, NYC. Directed by Jordan Reeves. Ginger Eckert as Constance left us breathless, less a performance than an appropriately terrifying embodiment. guerillashakespeare.com TIME STANDS STILL by Donald Margulies. Cort Theatre, NYC. Laura Linney, Brian d'Arcy James, Eric Bogosian, Christina Ricci. Directed by Daniel Sullivan. Linney and Ricci embodied incredible solid, nuanced personas on which the plot was pinned.
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