Jazz 08 Part One: This Year in Jazz!

I'm just going to come out and say it- disagree if you want, but this is an honest belief of mine- 2008 has been the best year for new jazz in a long, long time. Everything seemed to come together in 2008; 90 year olds released some of the best albums of their careers (Marian McPartland and Buddy DeFranco) and other well-established artists made some major leaps (Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Brad Mehldau). Most of the best records came from artists on the periphery of the jazz establishment, either too weird or too young: artists like Vijay Iyer, his cohort Rudresh Mahanthappa, Esperanza Spalding, Jenny Scheinman, Mathias Eick... the list goes on and on.

Even the disappointments weren't that bad (of course there are exceptions; the Wynton and Willie record was deathly boring, and Dianne Reeves' latest was unlistenable); when Ambrose Akinmusire's "Prelude to Cora" can be put on any kind of list of disappointments you know it was a good year. Perhaps the most surprising moments of the year came with the announcement of the year's MacArthur Fellowships (in a bad way) and Monk Institute Competition winners (in a surprising and sorta good way).

Of course the jazz media fixated on the same boring old people it always does (Sonny Rollins is, for probably the fortieth year in a row, the tenor saxophonist of the year according to Downbeat critics in spite of the fact that he doesn't perform regularly and didn't release an album this year) as opposed to focusing on the cool old people it tends to ignore (McPartland and DeFranco spring to mind- and I'm convinced that the only way Lee Konitz can get into the Downbeat Hall of Fame at this point is by dying).

The music this year speaks for itself, however. Rural Jazz has hit its peak with records like "History Mystery" and "Crossing the Field," and the Jewish Jazz scene only gets better with every barely-heard Tzadik release by somebody like Daniel Zamir or Paul Shapiro. And of course there's Esperanza, the girl of the moment, who deserves to be the next Norah Jones (perhaps the only Norah Jones). Young Ms. Spalding came out of nowhere (well, I'd heard of her, but I also go to Berklee), was suddenly featured on the cover of every jazz magazine and played on Letterman and Kimmel over the course of a week, not to mention her emergence as one of the go-to bassists of the Monk generation.

All in all, a stellar year. Next time on the Jazz Monster I'll have part two of my Jazz 08 series: The Superlatives, all leading up to the final edition of the Jazz 08, my top ten. So tune in a few days, because there's more to come.

Albums I Wish Existed

Alright, so here's the deal: I have not posted in this blog in about a week due to a faulty modem in my new apartment. The problem has not been fixed yet (hopefully it will be in the near future), but for the time being I am stuck piggy-backing on a terrible wireless connection that is too slow and fickle for me stream or download any of the music that I would later review here. The good news, however, is that I can at least continue to blog about news or write ridiculous entries like this one, which has nothing to do with anything. Hopefully somebody close to the people I mention here will see this and go "man, you should really make that record," but they probably won't. Either way, here are some albums that I desperately want to hear:

"Jazz Moves On to the Year 3000: Robert Glasper Plays the Music of Kool Keith"
Robert Glasper plays all of The Automator's beats from "Dr. Octagonocologyst" in much the same way he plays a bunch of Dilla beats on "J-Dillalude" from "In My Element."

"Bronenosets Potyomkin" by Dave Douglas
Dave Douglas' new project, featuring some brilliant young musicians- including acclaimed young tenor saxophone player Walter Smith III- and a healthy dollop of electronics, is an attempt at making music for the early silent-era films of the Soviet auteur Sergei Eisenstein. Douglas' long and well-researched liner notes contain a 20 page essay on Eisenstein's life and career.

"Everything" by Gary Burton's late-60s Quartet
All of those impossible-to-find-yet-apparently-brilliant records, starting with 1967's "Duster," that I desperately need to hear, are now being reissued in one neat little 10-disc (it includes plenty of out-takes) package. The kicker, of course, is that it only costs $10. Apparently guitarist Larry Coryell's work on this stuff is brilliant and influential, but of course I haven't heard it yet.

"Experimental, Thought-Provoking Music" by Jan Garbarek
The long-coming follow-up to 1974's "Witchi-Tai-To" that has only been hinted at in his discography since.

"Donny McCaslin Plays the Music of Chris Potter"
I know I know, I didn't notice when Chris Potter was replaced by Donny McCaslin in Dave Douglas' quintet, and you won't notice that it is in fact Downbeat rising star of the year Donny McCaslin playing Potter's solos- note for note- on this brilliant new album.

"Black and Proud: The Malcolm X Suite" by Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis' brilliant new suite, written about the great African American leader Malcolm X, was inspired by sources as eclectic as Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, and will be played at Lincoln Center for the predominantly white audience that can afford to go to view "America's Classical Music" before being released as a five-disc opus.

Yes, this whole entry was a stupid, nerdy joke. I promise I'll have a substantive review as soon as the comcast people come and give me a replacement modem. Until then, though, you can enjoy this interview with Donny McCaslin, whose new "Lift-" excuse me, "Recommended Tools-" is now out on Greenleaf.

Critics Poll 2008: Tally and Grievances!

There were some major upsets in this year's Critics Poll; upsets that nobody could have seen coming in a billion years. Upsets so insane, so absolutely inconcievable (Bela Fleck beating Toots Thielemans for Miscellaneous Instrument?!), that not even I had the faintest idea that they could even occur.

Alright, so I didn't get everything right. By any stretch. But I did get enough right that this blog should from now on be your guide to the annual Downbeat Critics Poll. Here's the final tally:

Will Win: 27/50
Should Win: 19/50

So out of the fifty categories, I got 27 absolutely right, although I suppose it was more like 28 with an asterisk (*while I didn't actually say that Esperanza Spalding would win Rising Star Bass, you read a prediction of her meteoric rise right here at the jazz monster). The more fun part is pointing out the major upsets anyway. First off, the pleasant surprises: Cassandra Wilson won the female vocal poll! There could be hope for jazz after all if she dethroned Dianne Reeves. Also, props to Josh Roseman, my pick for the should-be-winner of the Poll who actually won in spite of the fact that I was too lazy to actually pick him as the actual winner. Also, Eric Harland deserves anything he gets, and I'm not surprised at his win even though I called it for Matt Wilson.

And that's about it for the pleasant surprises. Come on! Vijay Iyer won nothing this year, in spite of his releasing the both the brilliant "Tragicomic," the game-changing "Still Life With Commentator" and the absolutely killin' "Door" over the course of the year. That said, though, John Hollenbeck deserved his wins even though I wouldn't have predicted them. As for guitar, Pat Metheny somehow managed to weasel his way into the number one spot over the better choice, Bill Frisell. The biggest upset, however, was the aforementioned win by Bela Fleck over Toots Thielemans for Miscellaneous Instrument by an absurdly wide margin (128 to Toots' 97). This is the first time in something like 20 years that Thielemans hasn't won. Uh, what?

There is only one decision that actually has me seething though, and I mean it from the absolute bottom of my heart when I say that Miguel Zenon does not deserve to be on the "Rising Star Alto" list, let alone that he deserves to beat out all three of my picks for the category. Come on, do downbeat critics actually think that Miguel Zenon is a better or more interesting player than Steve Lehman? Than Rudresh Mahanthappa? Give me a break. Miguel Zenon's playing is reminiscent of Ynwie Malmstein as covered by David Sanborn at his most melodramatic.

That's it for this year's Critics Poll; I didn't do that badly. Congratulations to (most of) the winners. Next time I'll have a review of "Essen," the killer new album by Paul Shapiro, who has not and probably will not make the Downbeat Critics Poll tenor saxophone list, ever.

Guess the Downbeat Critics' Poll 2008!

Yeah, I know, I'm about four days late with this post. I apologize. It won't happen again; I missed a few days because of a little bit of general topsy-turvey-ness. As far as I'm concerned, though, this post was worth the wait. It's time for my first annual "Guess the Downbeat Critics' Poll" post! Here's how it works: I'm going to name a category, name who I believe the winner will be, and then give my personal pick for who should win the category. Occasionally, where necessary, I'll add some kind of ad hominem attack or random side note.

Jazz Artist: Herbie Hancock. Should Win: Herbie Hancock. Downbeat loves people who get major non-jazz awards; case in point: Ornette Coleman last year.
Jazz Album: Herbie Hancock's "River: The Joni Letters." Should Win: Vijay Iyer's "Tragicomic."
Hall of Fame: Herbie Hancock. Should Win: Lee Konitz.
Record Label: Blue Note. Should Win: Sunnyside. Or Pi. The former if we're going for volume of good albums, the latter if we're looking for a label that puts out few records, but records that are consistently brilliant.
Rising Star Jazz Artist: Vijay Iyer. Should Win: Always Vijay Iyer. Even though he's a legit star.
Jazz Group: Dave Holland Quintet. Should Win: Dave Holland Quintet.
Rising Star Jazz Group: This is tough. I'm going to go with Vijay Iyer's quartet, as neither of last year's winners have released new albums in a while. But there could be an upset from anybody from The Bad Plus to the Chris Potter Underground.
Big Band: Maria Schneider Orchestra.
Rising Star Big Band: No idea.
Composer: Maria Schneider. Should Win: Vijay Iyer, who will be relegated for another year to rising star.
Rising Star Composer: Vijay Iyer. Should Win: Anat Cohen. We need fresh blood in this category, even though I love Vijay Iyer to death.


Female Vocalist: Dianne Reeves. Ugh. Should Win: Cassandra Wilson.
Rising Star F Vocalist: Gretchen Parlato. Should Win: Gretchen Parlato.
Male Vocalist: Kurt Elling Should Win: Who cares.
Rising Star M Vocalist: Somebody. Should Win: Somebody else, probably.

Alto Sax: Ornette Coleman. Should Win: Ornette.
Rising Star Alto: Steve Lehman. Or maybe Jaleel Shaw. Or possibly Rudresh Mahanthappa. This is a really tough one, to be honest. All three have either released good albums or done good side-man work this year. But I can't pick one so I'll just throw Steve Lehman out there.
Tenor Sax: Sonny Rollins. Should Win: Chris Potter. Are you kidding me? Sonny Rollins wins every year in spite of his senility. Chris Potter had two killin' albums out last year and was involved in the making of countless others.
Rising Star T Sax: Chris Potter. Should Win: Anat Cohen.
Soprano Sax: Wayne. Should Win: Wayne.
Rising Star S Sax: Steve Wilson. Should Win: Chris Potter.
Baritone Sax: This is a tough one. It really depends on whether or not James Carter's "Present Tense" was heard by critics before votes were due. If it wasn't, this category belongs to Gary Smulyan. Should Win: Either one.
Clarinet: Don Byron. Should Win: Don Byron. Always.
Rising Star Clarinet: Anat Cohen. Should Win: Anat Cohen.
Flute: James Moody. Perhaps Frank Wess. Should Win: Nicole Mitchell, but she's too young.
Rising Star Flute: Nicole Mitchell. Should Win: Nicole Mitchell.

Trumpet: Dave Douglas. Should Win: Dave Douglas. Dave Douglas beat out Wynton by more than a hundred votes last time. Here's hoping the gap gets wider...
Rising Star Trumpet: Jeremy Pelt. Should Win: Steven Bernstein. Duh. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though, this is a tough category. Expect Avishai Cohen to move up in this category.
Trombone: Steve Turre. Should Win: I have no idea, but Steve Turre always wins.
Rising Star Trombone: Again, no idea. Should Win: Josh Roseman.

Acoustic Piano: Herbie Hancock. Should Win: Kenny Werner, who won't even make the list.
Rising Star Piano: Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, or Vijay Iyer. Should Win: Either Jason Moran, Robert Glasper, or Vijay Iyer.
Organ: I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Dr. Lonnie Smith. Should Win: Sam Yahel.
Rising Star Organ: Sam Yahel. Should Win: Uri Caine.
Keyboard: Uri Caine. Should Win: Uri Caine. I'm crossing my fingers, this is probably the only category in which a "rising star" type figure has a real shot at getting one of the major awards, as last time he came in second after Joe Zawinul, who is now dead.
Rising Star Keyboard" Craig Taborn. Should Win: Craig Taborn. Or Uri Caine. Either one.
Vibes: Bobby Hutcherson. Should Win: Gary Burton.
Rising Star Vibes: Stefon Harris, even though he isn't a rising star by any stretch. Should Win: Chris Dingman; his work on "Prelude: To Cora" by Ambrose Akinmusire and "On Meaning" by Steve Lehman was brilliant.

Drums: Roy Haynes or Jack DeJohnette.
Rising Star Drums: Another tough category. I'm going to say Matt Wilson, but it could go to anyone from Jef Ballard to Eric Harland to Nasheet Waits. Should Win: Eric Harland. But I love Matt Wilson.
Percussion: Poncho Sanchez.
Rising Star Percussion: Suzie Ibarra or Hamid Drake.

Guitar: Bill Frisell. Should Win: Bill Frisell. "History, Mystery" is one of the two best albums of the year.
Rising Star Guitar: Either Lionel Loueke or Kurt Rosenwinkel. Should Win: Liberty Ellman! Pick a real rising star, fer chrissake...
Bass: Dave Holland. Should Win: Dave Holland.
Rising Star Bass: Larry Grenadier. Should Win: Larry Grenadier, but Esperanza Spalding could come out of nowhere and win this category on the basis of "Esperanza" and a recent article in Downbeat.
Violin: Regina Carter. Should Win: Jenny Scheinman. I really hope Jenny Scheinman can pull this one off, both of her recent albums are gems.
Rising Star Violin: Jenny Scheinman.
Miscellaneous: Toots Thielemans. Should Win: This is a stupid category.
Rising Star Miscellaneous: Erik Friedlander.

So there you have it. When the August issue of Downbeat comes out (in the middle of July, of course) I'll tally up my guesses and see how many are right. For the time being, though, if you disagree, agree, or want to gossip, please feel free to comment.

Top Five(ish) Jazz Tunes of the Spring!

As I've said over and over again, so far this has been an incredible year for jazz; while it doesn't look like the flow of brilliant albums and tracks will let up in the near future, I thought it was worth commemorating what may well be the best spring in jazz since the fifties with something of a Top Five list. The problem (if you can call it a problem) is that after listing a large number of my favorite tunes since March or so and then whittling it down, I was incapable of creating a list of less than eight. I've tried to link you to the song wherever possible. So here you are, in alphabetical order, my almost-top-five of Spring 2008:

"A Change is Gonna Come" by Bill Frisell: Bill Frisell is quite possibly the single most interesting musician to gain status as one of Jazz's premier artist. He got his start playing tons of sessions for ECM, and made a name for himself by spending half of his time with Paul Motian and the other half with John Zorn; for the past ten or so years he has divided his time between working with brilliant guitar trios and making country-jazz records. "A Change is Gonna Come" represents something of a departure; neither country nor jazz, the song is a cover of a Sam Cooke song from the 60s. Greg Tardy plays a ridiculously good tenor solo after Frisell himself finishes up his own trademark solo featuring a lot of space and some notes that nobody else would play.

"Cuerro Y Alama (Body and Soul)" by Esperanza Spalding: While I have not reviewed Esperanza Spalding's "Esperanza" yet (I haven't been able to get ahold of it in it's entirety), based on the tracks featured on her myspace- and this gem, a spanish 5/4 cover of Body and Soul, in particular- that it could be brilliant. At first, when I'd heard that she spent more time singing on this album than on her gorgeous, underplayed debut "Junjo," I was a little bit apprehensive, but her voice is beautiful, and her bass solo on this track is brilliant in a melodic way.

"HumSong (Skidrow Anthem) Remix" by Ambrose Akinmusire and Yellow Then Blue: While the original is without a question growing on me (the more I listen to the album, the more I feel like I may have been a little too harsh on Akinmusire; he really is a shining light in the new jazz scene, so I suppose my expectations were just too high), the remix of "HumSong" as done by Yellow Then Blue just has a vibrancy that the original is lacking. The entrance of Walter Smith III into the track almost halfway through is accompanied by particularly spastic drums, and the sequenced percussion only makes the track seem more innovative and vital. Smith and Akinmusire in passionately trade fours, and Smith hits notes with incredible intensity.

"Lonely Woman" by Marian McPartland: If one more person reminds me that Marian McPartland just turned 90 I may cry; on the basis of her recent "Twilight World" album, she is just as vital (if not more vital) as a musician as she was in the 50s. "Lonely Woman," an Ornette Coleman cover, somehow does manages to fit in with the rest of the album. The most
astonishing thing about her cover of "Lonely Woman" is that she, a ninety year old who came up in the hard bop scene, has managed to make one of the best free jazz recordings of the year.

"Nonvignon" by Lionel Loueke: I didn't love Lionel Loueke's "Karibu;" to be blunt, it wasn't accessible like his live show in spite of Blue Note's efforts to smooth out all of the rough edges in this music. "Nonvignon," however, is without a question Lionel Loueke's most beautiful song. While the version on "Karibu" isn't as great as an earlier solo version on "In A Trance" or the version I saw at his show in Oberlin- he got the audience to sing along-, there is no question that it is one of the best songs of the Spring. In spite of extended movements away from the normal harmony in the middle, Loueke always manages to come back to the gorgeous chords of the song. If more people listened to "Nonvignon" the world would be a much happier place.

"The Remedy" by Kurt Rosenwinkel: The title track of Kurt Rosenwinkel's new live album from the Village Vanguard has the best groove of any jazz song I've heard all year, perhaps the best groove since the title track of Kenny Werner's "Lawn Chair Society," and the band is absolutely incredible. The major stand-out (with the exception of Rosenwinkel, saxophonist Mark Turner, drummer Eric Harland... hell, everybody in this band is a stand-out), for me at least, is pianist Aaron Goldberg, who, while groaning along a la Keith Jarrett, plays one of the simplest, funkiest, most brilliant motivic lines I've ever heard during his solo.

"Threnody" by Vijay Iyer: I've already talked at length about this particular track on this blog, twice. To put it simply, Rudresh Mahanthappa is the most innovative, violent saxophone player in jazz right now, and by the time he comes into the picture you've already been mesmerized by Iyer's interplay with bassist Stephen Crump.

"Wonderwall" by Brad Mehldau: Brad Mehldau, like Kurt Rosenwinkel, has been less than prolific in recent years; "Live," the latest from his trio, was worth the wait. "Wonderwall," a rhythmically interesting (the bass plays in a different time signature from the piano and drums; but the band meets up during the bridge, creating a sort of Steve Coleman vibe without sounding at all like Steve Coleman) cover of an Oasis tune, features Mehldau's usual gorgeous, funky, restrained piano playing. Mehldau, more than anyone else in the jazz world, understands that less is more, and he's come a long way since his note-heavy early records. His music manages to be complex enough to satisfy a jazz snob or music school student, but is simple and catchy enough to be accessible to just about anyone.

First Post

Hello all, I figured before I actually got into anything I may as well write a quick explanation of what this blog is, why you should read it, and how it's going to make me the premier music critic in America, and possibly the world.

First off, this is a blog of music criticism and news with a concentration on jazz (or at least the capacity to pay attention to it; which is more than I can say for any other major news source on the subject).

Second, you should read this so that you don't accidentally stumble across a CD, or online video, or live performance (granted, its hard to stumble upon a live performance that already happened) that sucks. You don't want that to happen, do you? I know I don't want that to happen to you.

Third, I don't know how this is going to make me, Callum MacKenzie- the "jazz monster" for the purposes of this blog- the premier music critic in America, but its going to happen. And when it does you can say "wow, I read that guy's blog while he was in college, he sure deserves to be the premier music critic in America!"

Anyway though, the next entry will have substance. I promise.