Best of 2010 (Part 2)

Rudresh Mahanthappa was nothing if not noticeable this past year.  Besides one excellent and one very good "twin altos" CDs, he appeared with Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers Ensemble and guitarist Nguyen Le's Saiyuki Trio, recorded with Danilo Perez, and more.  It's the "twin altos" projects that really hit the spot.  "Apex" (Pi Recordings) is his collaboration with septuagenarian Bunky Green - the music soars, roars, and pours from the 2 saxophonists. There is a smashing rhythm section of drummer Damion Reid and bassist Francois Moutin along with pianist Jason Moran - Jack DeJohnette appears on 4 tracks. The energy level is impressive as is the interplay and ideas. 
Mahanthappa's other duo was with Steve Lehman on "Dual Identity" (Clean Feed), a fiery program also fueled by Reid and featuring guitarist Liberty Ellman and bassist Matt Brewer. Both recordings are worth your attention.

Ted Hearne's "Katrina Ballads" (New Amsterdam), initially released as a download-only in 2008, received its "physical" release around the time of the 5th anniversary of the disastrous hurricane.  If anything, the music and the words (all taken from news reports) are just as striking and damning as they were on initial listening.

One "modern classical" CD I received but did not review was "10 Mysteries" (Tzadik) from guitarist/violist John King. His music is quite involving, making one pay attention as the string quartet Crucible (featuring King, violinists Cornelius Dufallo and Mark Feldman with cellist Alex Waterman) move effortlessly through the challenging material.  The title track is a 32+ minute, 9-part suite while the other 2 pieces feature "live" electronics - "Winds of Blood" gets 2 performances because of the chance nature of the electronic environment and that experimentation is thought-provoking and an intelligent manner in which to show how the music changes and grows off the page.

The newest release from Kronos Quartet, "Rainbow" (Smithsonian Folkways), features music and musicians from Central Asia including Afghan composer and rubab player Homayun Sakhi and Azerbaijani composer/vocalist/percussionist Alim Qasimov.  Mixing the Western "classical" string quartet sound with traditional Asian instruments might smack of elitism but here, this music is captivating, joyful, mesmerizing and unlike anything most Westerners have been exposed to.  


Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records released a slew of fine recordings in 2010.  My favorites include trombonist Mike Fahie's "Anima", the David Smith Quintet's "Anticipation", pianist Jeremy Siskind's lovely "Simple Songs (For When the World Seems So Strange)" and Owen Howard's "Drum Lore" (which I cited in Part 1.) Each CD is different yet each explores the boundless universe of modern jazz without sounding cliche-ridden, pompous or under-done. 

 The next 2 entries in the list come from British-born pianists.  Gwilym Simcock released the 2-CD set "Blues Vignette" ( Basho), displaying 3 distinct sides of his musical personality.  Disk 1 features 8 solo piano works that blend numerous styles, never sounding phony or forced.  The final 2 tracks on the CD feature cellist Cara Berridge on Simcock's "Suite for Cello and Piano."  While purists might find any number of links to European composers, the piece has a great flow and good interplay.  Disk 2 is an hour's worth of music with Simcock's working Trio of bassist Yuri Goloubev and drummer James Maddren. There is a pleasing airiness to the set that separates this group from the "heavier" piano trio styles of The Bad Plus and Brad Mehldau.  

I continue to be impressed by pianist-composer John Escreet's sophomore effort, "Don't Fight the Inevitable" (Mythology Records). Escreet, with a knock-out ensemble featuring co-producer David Binney (alto saxophone, electronics), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Matt Brewer (bass) and Nasheet Waits (drums), creates a challenging program that asks a lot of the listener and is very rewarding in the end.  Everyone plays at the height of their abilities, the music goes in many directions and, while there are moments that descend into chaos, this is really "human" music. (Don't miss his 2008 debut, "Consequences", released on Posi-Tone - it features the same musicians with Tyshawn Sorey on drums instead of Waits)

That's the phrase ("human music") I used to describe "Vertical Voices: The Music of Maria Schneider" (ArtistShare), the fine recording painstakingly created by the duo of Julia Dollison and Kerry Marsh.  Utilizing Ms. Schneider's classy rhythm section, Ms. Dollison and Mr. Marsh replaced the reeds and brass with their voices (yes, multiple overdubs) and their experiment succeeds wonderfully.  Of course, these compositions are already ripe with melodies and harmonies; fans have come to expect that.  Still, these voices add new layers to the music, new emotional possibilities. Great stuff!


Per usual, I have another 5 or 6 CDs that easily fit here. I heard some wonderful music in the past 12 months and look forward to another year of creativity and interplay.  I wish you all good health and peace in 2011.

Nguyên Lê's Sai, recorded with Danilo Perez,