Sometimes I joke to myself that I could just re-file any month’s best-of list as my year-end list, too. My laughter kind of caught in my throat when June’s list came under consideration: There are albums included below that I have been listening to obsessively, and it’s not enough to spread the word to the masses via this column, I also feel compelled to tell people I encounter walking down the street, sitting next to at the bar, anywhere I go—consumed with the belief that everyone’s lives would be made better if they, also, had this music in their lives. But, right now, I’ve got you, so, let’s begin.
Illegal Crowns
Unclosing
Compact Disc (CD)
God, yes, this. This, all the time. Cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, guitarist Mary Halvorson, pianist Benoît Delbecq, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara all the time. The quartet is a waterfall, fluid and dynamic, one that eagerly comes crashing down, and hard. When there’s a melodic flash, grab it tight and enjoy it in that moment, ‘cause it’s fleeting. And that’s okay, because the next melodic expression will be just as good—probably better. The music is a bundle of energy; volatility is the watchword on Unclosing, yet, intriguingly, there’s a noir quality to the affair that catches the breath and elicits a sense of patience—a calm at the center of chaos. More of this, thank you and please.
Orrin Evans
The Red Door
Compact Disc (CD)
This exquisite set from pianist Orrin Evans runs with some old-school and some new-school, but the blues hangs over everything, expressed across the breadth of its emotional gamut, from solemn to soulful to heartwarming to euphoric. On this session, the pianist works with two separate core ensembles: Trumpeter Nicholas Payton, tenor saxophonist Gary Thomas, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith; and trumpeter Wallace Roney, bassist Buster Williams, tenor saxophonist Larry McKenna, and drummer Gene Jackson. But his vision’s strength is such that it brings a unity between the different collaborative efforts. The sole guest appearances by Jazzmeia Horn and Sy Smith are worth the price alone. Horn erupts with raw energy on “Big Small,” and the quintet soaks up the electricity and feeds it right back. And Sy Smith’s contribution to “Amazing Grace” is pure heartbreak, the kind you welcome because it reminds you of the experience of love.
Linda May Han Oh
The Glass Hours
There’s a choreography to these pieces, where unpredictable changes can be faintly discerned before springing into action—a sense of Linda May Han Oh establishing a balance between energetic and methodical. Within that framework, thrilling bits of nuance jump out: Melodic piano flurries from Fabian Almazan; rhythmic counterpunching between tenor saxophonist Mark Turner and drummer Obed Calvaire; a harmonic turn of phrase from vocalist Sara Serpa. In the end, the listener can either choose to get lost in the details or take it all in from a big-picture perspective.
Ricardo Dias Gomes
Muito Sol
Vinyl LP
This album is massively enchanting, and I’m pretty sure when it’s all said and done, Muito Sol will be my favorite recording of 2023. Ricardo Dias Gomes’s updated Tropicália session gets in plenty of the Brazilian musical styles, along with modern jazz, pop, psychedelia, and rock, but there’s a clean simplicity to it, like a single fluid breath, and it washes over everything with warmth and lyricism. For those jazz fans who might not immediately register a name-drop like Caetano Veloso, I’ll reference, instead, the music of Bill Frisell’s Intercontinentals ensemble and Vinicius Cantuaria. I recognize this synopsis amounts to nothing more substantive than a euphoric fanboy rant, but that’s the effect this album had on me. God, is it beautiful.
The Peggy Lee Band
A Giving Way
Compact Disc (CD)
The concept of melodic subtexts speak to the heart of Peggy Lee’s music. The cellist’s approach of juxtaposing nuanced excursions against bigger, bolder statements creates an impression like tiny rivulets forming patterns within a larger stream. And when it’s bundled into a framework of skittering tempos and grand, sweeping harmonies, you get a captivating session like A Giving Way. Ultimately, ‘captivating’ applies to all the music from Lee’s ensemble—which, on this session, features trumpeter Brad Turner; tenor saxophonist Jon Bentley; trombonist Jeremy Berkman; guitarists Ron Samworth and Tony Wilson; electric bassist André Lachance; and drummer Dylan van der Schyff.
Lucia Cadotsch
AKI
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Perhaps the most arresting quality of the music of Lucia Cadotsch is the way the vocalist’s off-the-cuff, casual delivery incites an atmosphere of simmering moodiness. With just a bent phrase, a staggered accentuation of words, and a slow pour of tone, Cadotch makes a song resonate like crazy. It’s a method she employed to great effect on her 2017 release Speak Low, where jazz standards were given a fresh breath of life, and it continues on her latest. Cadotsch is joined by pianist Kit Downes (who also switches over to organ on this session), bassist Phil Donkin, drummer James Maddren, and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, who guests on two tracks.
Secret Night Gang
Belongs on a Place Called Earth
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD), Cassette,
For nearly 50 years, no album has delivered the message: “Summer Is Here!” quite like the bright melodies and celebratory grooves of Sun Goddess, the collaboration between jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis and members of Earth, Wind & Fire. It could be argued that the sophomore release from Secret Night Gang is its modern-day equivalent. The infectious blend of jazz, funk, soul, and R&B is a wave of optimism—a reflection of the joyful hope gifted by the summer season—and that mood prevails even when juxtaposed with themes of societal challenges.
Rudy Royston Flatbed Buggy
DAY
Compact Disc (CD)
The music of Rudy Royston’s Flatbed Buggy is so damn personable. It’s very expressive, yet it’s unassuming in its delivery—not unlike how a simple warm smile can brighten up your entire morning. The melodies of DAY resonate like mad. The drummer, joined by cellist Hank Roberts, accordionist Gary Versace, bassist Joe Martin, bass clarinetist John Ellis, is situated in that place where modern jazz, folk music, and Americana meet at the border. If you aren’t in a position to quietly sit and enjoy the serenity of a sun setting over the horizon, DAY will fill that role perfectly for you.
Donny McCaslin
I Want More
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
It’s understandable how the pulsing tempos, brisk pacing, and darting motion of the music might be viewed as the feature attraction of I Want More. But ever since Donny McCaslin began drifting away from a conventional post-bop sound, he’s been experimenting with ways to make a melody thrive under these conditions. The saxophonist’s latest is the clearest manifestation of his endeavor’s success. There are a few tracks I can’t get out of my head—and I don’t want to; I want them accompanying me everywhere I go. Regular collaborators Jason Lindner (synthesizers and Wurlitzer), Tim Lefebvre (bass), and Mark Guiliana (drums) are all locked into the same vision.
Ben van Gelder
Manifold
Compact Disc (CD), Vinyl LP, , Poster/Print
On Manifold, tight melodic trajectories are imbued with a sense of the grand scale, of a far expanse glimpsed through the finite dimension of a telescopic lens. This leads to a sense of scene changes within any one particular piece, of shifting landscapes undergoing transformation in tiny increments. A flirtation with tempo changes, a quick twist of melody, harmonies made heady like wine before sent splashing gently apart—all qualities that lend to the absorbing nature of Ben van Gelder’s latest. Add to that mix the occasional application of a cinematic tone, and the level of fascination escalates dramatically.
Susan Alcorn | José Lencastre | Hernâni Faustino
Manifesto
Compact Disc (CD)
Volatility need not be harsh or dissonant; a dark night filled with the insistent chatter of crickets and dancing flurries of fireflies is serenity personified. It’s a concept particularly germane to this trio session from pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn, saxophonist José Lencastre, and bassist Hernâni Faustino. This music has a moody streak, but often bubbles up from deep contemplation with bursts of irrepressible personality. Even in the context of an unconventional instrumentation combo, they switch things up a bit, with Alcorn adding lap steel for one track, Lencastre painting with different tones on alto and tenor saxes, and Faustino switching between electric and acoustic sounds with his basses.
Iseul Kim’s Two Voices
Evolving
At times, Evolving unfolds as if a strict choreography were being enforced while systematically unraveling it; other times, the ensemble is set loose in free-flowing motion. Isuel Kim’s concoction of modern jazz, Korean traditional music, and classical musics lend themselves well to that environment—thrive in it, really—and the pianist-composer brings it to its fullest bloom. Instruments such as haegeum, daegeum, and janggu lock hands with piano, flute, bass, and drums, their steps as one, as violin and cello sweep them along.
Teitur & Aarhus Jazz Orchestra
Songs From a Social Distance
Compact Disc (CD), Vinyl LP
We’re still processing the pandemic. Even as it presents new (and old) challenges today, it’s a normal human reaction to look back upon the actions, emotions, and thoughts that shaped and guided us at the initial outbreak of COVID-19. Songs From a Social Distance does it through music. Teitur Lassen, Roy Freirich, and the Aarhus Jazz Orchestra touch upon the themes of those early days (human contact, the tools of prevention, the adaptive choices of going out in public, the internet as a refuge), and by approaching them with raw sincerity, the ensemble causes to emerge the vulnerability, the gravity, and the humor of the moment.
Yoni Mayraz
Dybbuk Tse!
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
The grooves of Dybbuk Tse! draw a direct line from a universal beat to your heart and feet. The melodic inspirations swirl and twist around the trajectory of the beats. It’s that multi-directional motion, channeled through the tight focus of the songs, that makes the debut of Yoni Mayraz so seductive. It borders on catchy, but eschews the use of a blatant hook. The keyboardist, instead, conjures up melodies that breathe with life.
The End
Why Do You Mourn?
Compact Disc (CD), Vinyl LP
There aren’t many musicians out there capable of generating the raw intensity of Mats Gustafsson. Whether it be in a trio formation (i.e. The Thing) or a group much larger (Fire! Orchestra), the saxophonist brings a sound that delivers the impact of a sonic boom. Thus it is with The End, a collaboration with vocalist Sofia Jernberg, wind instrumentalist Kjetil Møster, guitarist Anders Hana (on baritone and bass guitars for this session, as well as a langeleik), and drummer Børge Fjordheim. These are all musicians known for wearing their hearts on their sleeves, bringing a combo of sheer power and unguarded vulnerability.
