Author Archives: Joseph Neff

Part one of the TVD Record Store Club’s look at the new and reissued releases presently in stores for January 2022. 

NEW RELEASE PICKS: Stefan Schönegg, Enso: Strukturen (impakt Köln) This is the Cologne-based Schönegg’s fourth release featuring Enso, an assemblage described by the bassist-improvisor-composer as his “chamber music ensemble with changing instrumentations.” This time out, Enso features clarinet (Michael Thieke), bassoon (Sandra Weiss), cello (Nathan Bontrager), double bass (Schönegg), and extended snare drum (Etienne Nillesen). Of Enso’s four recordings, this appears to be the first issued on vinyl (it’s also the first I’ve heard), offering ten pieces, the first six titled “Struktur” and the last four “Reflexion” (the tracks distinguished by roman numerals), with the whole reflecting Schönegg’s stated interest in reductive strategies and his desire for Enso to embody slowness in contrast to the fast pace of modern life. This leaves room for a range of sonic possibilities, as portions of the record engage with extended tone clusters that are reminiscent of chamber drone, though as the number of pieces and the format should indicate, none of the durations are especially long. Unintrusively captivating. A

Fred Hersch, Breath by Breath (Palmetto) Hersch’s skills as a pianist are beyond reproach. This is not to say that every one of his releases is perfect. It’s just that Hersch’s handle on his mastery is as firm as his playing is lyrical. For this ambitious CD, he’s joined by bassist Drew Gress, drummer Jochen Rueckert, and for one selection (“Mara,” a standout), percussionist Rogerio Boccato, along with the Crosby Street String Quartet, which features Joyce Hammann and Laura Seaton on violins, Lois Martin on viola, and Jody Redhage Ferber on cello. Breath by Breath consists of The “Sati” Suite in eight parts and a closing ninth piece, “Pastorale,” an homage to the German composer Robert Schumann. While the relationship of jazz and strings has been a historically rocky one, too often sounding stitched together and unsatisfying, the combination flourishes here from the compositional foundation to the execution, with both the trio and the quartet displaying heightened sensitivity. As Hersch’s conception was inspired by his practice of meditation, the suite exudes a comforting energy. It’s never overly tranquil. A

Michael Hurley, The Time of the Foxgloves (No Quarter) When this record came out late last year, on December 10 in fact, I elected to set it aside until just after the New Year, in hopes that Hurley had worked his magic once more and I would’ve gifted myself a fresh treat for 2022. Smart move on my part. Snock’s hooking up with a sizeable indie label might’ve landed him a sweet profile in the New York Times, but fear not, as No Quarter is run by a longtime fan, so that the 11 tracks here are pure Hurley. Opener “Are You Here For the Festival?” adds another classic to a repertoire already full of them, the vocal duets are wonderful (The Louvin Brothers’ “Alabama” with Betsy Nichols and “Jacob’s Ladder” with Josephine Foster are the best at this early juncture), the instrumentation is diverse, including fiddle, banjo, baritone ukulele, upright bass, bass clarinet, xylophone, even electric piano (a Wurlitzer A200) on another standout cut, “Blondes and Redheads.” Exactly where this one will land in Hurley’s discographical hierarchy will require time to assess, but rest assured it’s whole is exquisite. A

REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICK: Michael Beach, Gravity/Repulsion (Goner) ‘tis true that Gravity/Repulson came out a mere four years ago, but four years can register as a long time; think of a presidency that ran from 2016 to 2020 and tell me how fucking long that felt like. Anyway, Goner’s reissue of this fine record (the follow-up to Beach’s masterful 2013 album Golden Theft) came out just last month, and as it’s likely many missed the boat on its existence back in ’17, it’s a great opportunity to get acquainted with one of the 21st century’s sharpest extenders of what I’ll call the classic ’80s-’90s indie rock sound. Not that I missed the boat myself, as I gave it a full review upon release for this very website. But don’t get the idea that I’m gloating, since I just recently caught up with Beach’s Dream Violence, which Goner put out last March. His latest continues an impeccable streak of quality, with Golden Theft remaining his best, but good luck finding a vinyl copy of one now. Here’s an opportunity to scoop up a record that’s nearly as great, so don’t sleep. After a few fresh spins, it’s clear that Gravity/Repulsion hasn’t lost a thing. A

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As we arrive at the final tippy-top ten of the Best New Releases of 2021, it easy to envision the scroll-downs and the scrunched-up frowns: “hey, where is _____?” Please understand that the fave in question is likely in a queue still waiting to be heard, or was heard but is hanging just off the periphery, perhaps even making an early draft of the list, or was simply elusive in the modern avalanche of high quality sounds. As said at the beginning of the week (seems like much longer than week ago, and it’s only Friday), these lists are never really final. Lists are in fact, at their best, just part of an ongoing conversation…

5. Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt, Made Out of Sound (Palilalia) & Binker & Moses, Escape the Flames (Gearbox) Versatility and adaptability are common, near constant, traits in the great “jazz” drummers, characteristics that allowed Elvin Jones to productively create with Barry Harris (RIP), John Coltrane (of course), Lee Konitz and Sonny Sharrock.

I mention this because Chris Carsano is definitely a “jazz” drummer in all the best ways, and on Made Out of Sound he gets very much into a Elvin-like zone in tandem with the soaring beauty of guitarist Bill Orcutt, who locates those fleeting moments of transcendence heard from some the great expansionist string benders of the 1960s-’70s (a few of them also “jazz”) and then just hangs out there beautifully. It’s impossible for me to contemplate listening to Made Out of Sound and not feeling good.

Corsano and Orcutt dish an exemplary serving of duo exchange, but Escape the Flames hits the “classic” exploratory sax-drums target right in its bullseye with “The Departure,” and then takes a big groove offramp with “Intoxication From the Jahvmonishi Leaves.” That means this 2LP is likely not as skronky as some hardcore aficionados of freedom might prefer, but Binker Golding’s tenor is still cut from the cloth of ’60s Coltrane (some of finest woven aural threads, anywhere). And with “Fete By the River” he brings Impulse-era Sonny Rollins to mind, partly because Boyd displays some of that versatility spoken of up above. The crowd loves it (yes, this set was recorded live). Then they tear it up some more…

4. Thumbscrew, Never Is Enough (Cuneiform) & Colleen, The Tunnel and the Clearing (Thrill Jockey) Is there a better leaderless “jazz” trio than Thumbscrew currently working? By which, let me clarify, amassing a discography; this is guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist (upright and plugged-in) Michael Formanek, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara’s sixth album. The appeal is partly based in ceaselessly sharp playing, partly in structural acumen (each point on this triangle brings three compositions to the table), and partly about heightened interaction. One could call it a series of beautiful conversations, but it’s more like snapshots of three brilliant humans living together and attaining a rare level of harmony.

Shifting from group settings to the solo paradigm, The Tunnel and the Clearing is another exceptional record from Cécile Schott. With a synth and keyboard-based approach, often glistening in its retrofuturist qualities (but never trite), her stuff is solid as marble structurally, with her vocals adding considerable value. And there is a sense of quiet, of intimacy, on her latest that is never labored. The songs, and Schott is as much a crafter of songs as she is an architect of atmospheres, are excellent listening any time of day, but especially so late at night.

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As we head into the Best List home stretch with a shift of focus onto the new, it bears repeating that the sheer number of potential candidates for inclusion was even larger than it was for the box sets and reissues, and with a mountain of interesting releases still unheard. Considering how the decks are currently stacked against musicians in so many ways, the perseverance is downright inspiring. So are the ten records listed below.

10. Alicja-Pop, Howlin’ (Black & Wyatt) & Deerhoof, Actually, You Can (Joyful Noise) From a standpoint of a music reviewer, one reliable yardstick of high quality is when you keep a record in heavy rotation for a week or two (or more) after the review has posted. The problem of course, it that this situation is never evident until…well, you’ve probably figured it out.

But it just dawned on me that I could mention this circumstance in relation to Howlin’ by Alicja-Pop, the solo endeavor/ group venture of the extremely musically active Alicja Trout of Memphis, TN, because I’d already sussed that this self-described compilation of several years of songs was a solid effort while reviewing it a few months back. That Trout’s forte on Howlin’ is modestly scaled pop-rock likely solidified my initial level of assessment, but after soaking up “Vines B” for the umpteenth time and for the sheer hell of it, the depth of her talents became clear. And so here we are.

Modestly scaled isn’t an accurate description of Deerhoof. On Actually, You Can, their music is as thunderous and agile as ever it was before, but the nine tracks are also notable for being built with the intention to be reproduced on live stages. A goal, taking it (safely) out on the road, that’s thoroughly understandable, with the record effectively unwinding as enticement to witness them playing live. A handful of the tracks are certain to trigger pockets of fan frenzy as they begin, particularly “Scarcity is Manufactured” and its air of joyousness. A little joy is something we could all use right about now.

9. Van Dyke Parks & Verónica Valerio, “Only in America–Solo en América” (Modern Recordings) & Okuté, S/T (Chulo) As was mentioned earlier this week in part one of 2021’s best reissues, rarely do singles and EPs make these lists, but there are exceptions, as is the case this year with the repress of Maximum Joy’s debut 12-inch (which inspired the observation), as so it is with this 4-song 10-inch.

“Only in America–Solo en América” is a collaboration of uncommon richness, though that’s not especially surprising, as Van Dyke Parks is handling the orchestrations, and he’s near the very top of his game. This is immediately apparent in the opening version of Agustin Lara’s “Veracruz,” and it continues through the three original compositions by Valerio. Make that three vibrant compositions by Valerio. Whose singing (and speaking) elevates this EP to a special plateau. And the cover art by Klaus Voormann? Mighty nice on the eyes.

This S/T album from Okuté is also the Havana, Cuba-based band’s debut. That’s lead vocalist Pedro “Tata” Francisco Almeida Barriel on the cover, joined in the group by percussionists Machito, Ramoncito, Roberto Vizcaino Sr. and Roberto Vizcaino Jr, trésero Juan “Coto” de la Cruz, and bassist Gaston Joya. They tap into the essence of rumba and other Cuban styles, with ties to the African root and guitar playing that has a familiar edge to it. Produced by Jacob Plasse, who plays trés guitar in Brooklyn’s Los Hacheros along with running Chulo Records, Okuté has virtuosity to spare but is never slick. At times, like during the killer guitar solo in “Gaston’s Rumba,” it gets downright raw.

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For part two of 2021’s best reissues the tide turns toward releases of an expansive, often jazzy nature, and with a double dose of punk bite in the mix.

5. Mujician, 10 10 10 (Cuneiform) + Paul Dunmall, Keith Tippett, Philip Gibbs, Pete Fairclough, Onosante (577) Amongst the honorable mentions this year is the initial handful of installments (including a compilation) in Decca’s British Jazz Explosion series, which does a very fine job getting the ball rolling in regards to the worthiness of a scene that’s still thriving in multiple ways (that’s what we call foreshadowing). But in terms of retrospective releases of Brit jazz, I must admit that this pair of discs pulled my chain most effectively in 2021.

The connecting threads are multi-reed man Paul Dunmall and pianist Keith Tippett. The leaderless group Mujician teamed them with Paul Rogers on bass and Tony Levin on drums. Across 10 10 10’s two long selections, the sparks of freedom do fly, but there are still palpable connections to jazz tradition, with these ties never token gestures. Earlier in the year, I compared Mujician’s leaderless thrust to the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and I stand by that, though I’ll add that the two don’t sound all that similar. It’s a matter of tactics.

Keith Tippett, likely the most well-known member of Mujician, died on June 14, 2020, spelling the end of the group, though to my knowledge they hadn’t been active for quite a while, as 10 10 10 is designated as their final studio album, cut in Bristol Music Studios in Bristol, UK on October 10, 2010 (hence the title). Onosante was recorded on November 15, 2000, initially released on CD in an edition of 100, with guitarist Philip Gibbs and drummer Pete Fairclough joining Dunmall and Tippett for a dialogue that’s effectively as leaderless as 10 10 10.

There’s a little more collective heat, skronk, and rumble on Onosante, but the group’s relationship to the jazz root is still discernible and it’s always sincere (never a ritualist move). And in a bit of wonderful news, Onosante is the first of hopefully many Dunmall reissues from 577; the next one, Mahogany Rain by Keith Tippett, Julie Tippetts, Philip Gibbs, and Dunmall, is scheduled for release on February 18, 2022. Killer!

4. Screamers, Screamers Demo, Hollywood 1977 (Superior Viaduct) + The Gun Club, Fire of Love Deluxe Edition (Blixa Sounds) In the never-ceasing ever-flowing world of reissues and archival collections, there’s a need to single out the truly essential items from those that are merely very good or (certainly) less, and not just at the end of a calendar year.

This is especially true of punk rock, as it’s so easy for the impressionable to be led astray. And it’s always necessary to champion the Screamers, the Los Angeles synth-punks from before synth-punk had a name. This demo, finally legitimately released after decades of bootlegging, is as essential as it gets, because in terms of edge, it hasn’t lost a thing.

Now, a fair argument can be made that dropping The Gun Club’s debut album onto this list is just squeezing out the reissue of a punk album that’s in greater need of a spotlight in 2021. Yes, Fire of Love has been reissued a handful of times (including by the very label that put out the Screamers record above) and it’s never been hard to find, but never in an edition with bonus tracks, and certainly not with an entire previously unreleased live set (Live at Club 88 – March 6, 1981) attached.

The point of this pairing (well, one point of the geometry, anyway) is that something special was happening in LA (and all over California, in fact) starting in the late ’70s, which pinpoints the Screamers, and that this specialness was still struggling to be heard in the early ’80s amid a stagnant sea of genericism and commercialism. And so, the Fire of Love, which has never sounded as good and for so long as it does in 2021.

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As 2021 draws to a close, the best of the year lists have been ramping up. Unlike in (some) years previous, this rundown of the best box sets and expanded releases could’ve been much longer (doubled, essentially), but to borrow a song title from the Richard Hell and the Voidoids album directly below, there is the issue of Time. Time to listen, time to consider, time to write, time to scrap those ideas and listen again, all while carving out time to listen to more.

As such, lists designating the Best _____ of _____ are never final. No, not really. They are but a document of assessments made and conclusions drawn at a specific moment of…time. Like, right now, dig it? It’s these ten large-scaled releases that had the deepest impact across this last 12-month stretch.

5. Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Destiny Street Complete (Omnivore Recordings) + Bush Tetras, Rhythm and Paranoia: The Best of Bush Tetras (Wharf Cat) Having been a fan of Hell and the Voidoids’ second and final album since the late 1980s (yes, having sought it out in order to hear “Time,” which had been covered by the Minutemen on their posthumous live comp Ballot Result), I’d long considered it an underrated effort by one of punk’s true originators, and also something of a final (musical) statement, as hardly a recorded peep had been heard from Hell (Dim Stars excepted) for a long while after Destiny Street’s 1982 release.

And so, Destiny Street Repaired, credited to Hell & the Voidoids but featuring guitarists Marc Ribot, Bill Frisell, and Ivan Julian in place of Robert Quine and Naux (both deceased) from the original sessions was a surprise upon arrival in 2009, a recording made possible through Hell’s discovery of a tape holding only Destiny Street’s rhythm tracks, allowing him to correct an album mix he’d long disdained and deliver a wholly worthwhile revision. In 2019, Destiny Street’s original 24-track masters, once thought lost, were uncovered, meaning Hell could finally mix his second album the way he wanted. Destiny Street Complete offers all three versions plus demos, solidifying it as an essential punk document.

The reasons for pairing Bush Tetras with Richard Hell should be pretty clear. There’s geography for one, specifically NYC. There’s genre for another. Sure, Hell is a cornerstone of the First Wave while Bush Tetras are rightly tagged as belonging to the No Wave, but from my perspective, and not to get all Billy Joel up in here, it’s all punk rock to me.

And yet, there is another less obvious reason for coupling Hell and Bush Tetras, and it has to do with beating the odds. Hell did it by not only not screwing the qualitative pooch when altering a record that was long-ensconced in punk history, but actually improving its stature overall. And Rhythm and Paranoia illuminates how Bush Tetras beat the odds over the span of decades by reuniting twice without a trace of crappiness either time. And magnifying the longshot nature of their endeavors, the sound of Bush Tetras evolved significantly, meaning they always sounded like a contemporary band, never a nostalgia act. RIP to Bush Tetras drummer Dee Pop, who passed in his sleep on October 9.

4. Kazuki Tomokawa, 1975–1977 (Blank Forms) + V/A, The Harmonic Series II (Important) 1975–1977 is a 3CD set collecting three LPs, Finally, His First Album (1975), Straight from the Throat (’76), and A String of Paper Cranes Clenched Between My Teeth (’77), all originally issued by Harvest Records (note: not the UK Harvest Records) and all to be reissued separately on vinyl by Blank Forms in 2022 (the three are available for pre-order now, with April the prospective release month as of this writing). The memoir Try Saying You’re Alive!: Kazuki Tomokawa in His Own Words is also available now in hardcover and paperback from Blank Forms Editions.

To borrow Blank Forms’ description, Tomokawa is a “poet, soothsayer, bicycle race tipster, actor, prolific drinker, self-taught guitarist, and living legend of Japanese sound,” an artist many mavens of u-ground Japan know through his extensive association with the P.S.F. label. Called the “screaming philosopher” of Japan, Tomokawa does raise the roof vocally, but importantly, only sometimes. Stylistically, he spans from folk to psych-rock to assorted varieties of pop. The vinyl reissues offer a great opportunity to own them affordably on the format, but the CD box drives home that they should be collected together, as they constitute a whole of engaging diversity. Sometimes with backing singers.

The Harmonic Series II is comprised of six long-form works in just intonation, one each per album side by Kali Malone, Duane Pitre, Catherine Lamb, Tashi Wada, Byron Westbrook, and Caterina Barbieri. It follows the first installment from 12 years hence, that one issued on CD, with both curated by Pitre. It all joins together to deliver not just a wonderful collection of sounds, but an affirmative statement on the health of an avant-garde tradition that spans back to the 1960s.

Well, further than that, much further than that, to be sure. It was the early ’60s when just intonation began to have an impact on happenings in New York City (woven into the story of the Velvet Underground, subject of one of the best documentaries, on music or otherwise, of 2021), which means that for many, the story (the drone) starts right there. That’s wrong, but enough, as this digression does disservice to the brilliance spanning across The Harmonic Series II, from the pipe organ and bass clarinet in Malone’s piece, the “unknown instrumentation” in Pitre’s, the eight violins in Wada’s, and the varied use of synthesizers in Lamb’s, Westbrook’s, and Barbieri’s. The range is as wide as the pieces are unified.

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Part two of the TVD Record Store Club’s look at the new and reissued releases presently in stores for December 2021. Part one is here.

NEW RELEASE PICKS: Duane Pitre, Omniscient Voices (Important) Pitre is an American experimental composer and musician (borrowing the description from his website) with an extensive discography in the ballpark of 20 full-length releases including collaborations (and excluding compilations, like this year’s outstanding The Harmonic Series II, also on Important), though for Omniscient Voices Pitre is in solo mode on electronics and a justly tuned piano. Equally prioritizing the piano and the electronics, Pitre employs a Max/MSP-based generative network to convert his piano motifs into data that is then fed into a pair of polyphonic, microtonal hardware synths with patches of Pitre’s own authoring. There is also controlled improvisation. The complexity of Pitre’s method (and I’ve even synopsized a bit) might suggest a rigorous if not quite unrelenting experience, but the five pieces (fitting nicely onto LP) engage with the minimal (cited influences: Morton Feldman, Arvo Pärt, Philip Glass, Steve Reich) in a productive and often surprising manner. Tense resonances are plentiful, but also an underlying sense of order. A

Gas, Der Lange Marsch (Kompakt) Gas is the ambient-techno project of Wolfgang Voight, debuting with a self-titled record in 1996, followed by Zauberberg the next year and Königsforst in 1998 (these three were compiled in the 10LP set titled Box in 2016), and then a long break that ended in 2017 with Narkopop. Arriving in 2018 was Rausch, and now Der Lange Marsch, which is comprised of 11 pieces, all of them title-tracks numbered sequentially. Purchasing either the 2LP, CD, or digital from Kompakt’s online store comes with an email download of the 11 files plus all the music in one file as a continuous track (not sure how this works with purchases made in brick-and-mortar shops or even other online retailers, as there is no download card). I mention the continuous track because it would seem to be the best (though certainly not the only) way to experience this set, partly because once the rhythm kicks in, it doesn’t let up, and it doesn’t really change). Still, don’t let the ambient or minimal descriptor give you the wrong idea. There is a lot going on throughout Der Lange Marsch, all of it worthy. A-

REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICKS: V/A, Etching the Voice: Emile Berliner and the First Commercial Gramophone Discs, 1889-1895 (Archeophone) Captured by Emile Berliner’s disc gramophone in Europe (Germany to be exact) between the years of the title, these 102 tracks on two CDs represent, per Archeophone (frankly experts on the matter), the earliest and also the scarcest manufactured sound recordings in the world. That wall of LPs you’re (hopefully) cultivating? These sounds are square one. But if it’s a lengthy plunge into late 19th century musicality you seek, please adjust those expectations. Musical pieces, mostly played or sung solo but occasionally by bands or choirs, are certainly part of the weave, but so are recitations of speeches, nursery rhymes, jokes and prayers (mostly in German, sometimes in English or Spanish). There’s even a person clucking like a chicken and barking like a dog. Sweet. Surface noise is abundant, but in fact these recordings sound better now than they ever did before, even when new. It is a fascinating trip enhanced by the wonderful 80-page booklet. A

Doug Carn, Adam’s Apple (Black Jazz – Real Gone) This is the fourth and final record multi-instrumentalist (with a focus on keyboards) and bandleader Doug Carn made for the Black Jazz label (nobody made more, not even the guy who founded the label, Gene Russell). It’s also often nearer to progressive R&B than jazz (“Mighty Mighty” by Earth, Wind & Fire gets a nice cover, that in a sweet twist, delivers Adam’s Apple one of its jazziest moments), but with other enhancing elements integrated into the scheme, e.g. proggy organ (see “The Messenger” for evidence), numerous spiritual jazz motions, and some very interesting use of Moog synth (again, scope out “The Messenger”) Plus, even as Carn’s vocalist wife Jean Carn has departed the scene, there’s still an abundance of vocals (John Conner and Joyce Green joining Doug for the duties). Also: Calvin Keys on guitar. While Adam’s Apple strives for accessibility, it lacks in any brazen commercial gestures, unless you consider R&B to be a brazen commercial gesture. In which case…what in the fuck are you thinking? A-

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Part one of the TVD Record Store Club’s look at the new and reissued releases presently in stores for December 2021. 

NEW RELEASE PICKS: Beauty Pill, “Instant Night” (Northern Spy) The title track of this 4-song EP came out digitally last year. In his notes accompanying this physical expansion (clear vinyl in a transparent plastic sleeve and a clear CD with a silver center in a transparent jewel case), Beauty Pill’s singer-guitarist-producer-chief songwriter Chad Clark describes the song’s political-protest genesis, it’s poetical (rather than polemical) sensibility, and it’s unexpectedly quick finish via socially distanced recording (on a rooftop), so that the cut was rush released by Northern Spy in hopes of inspiring citizens to vote in the Presidential election in November of 2020. The track is also noteworthy for its lack of drums and for highlighting Beauty Pill’s woodwind quartet. Clark says it sounds like Phillip Glass music, which is detectable but not blatantly. The main thing is that the song is built to last rather than carrying the rapid-fire datedness of so much political music. The drums roll back into the picture on the other cuts, and the horns stick around for the swank “You Need a Better Mind,” which gets a nifty remix. A-

Robert Ashley, eL / Aficionado (2021) (Lovely Music, Ltd.) Per the title, this is a 2021 recording of an opera by the late avant-gardist Ashley, a work that premiered in 1987 with many performances following over the next seven years and a prior recording released by Lovely Music in ’94. Until October 21-23 of this year at Roulette in NYC, the opera was last performed in 1995. This CD, released on 10/22, features the cast of the 2021 production, with mezzo soprano Kayleigh Butcher stepping into the role formerly played by baritone Thomas Buckner. eL / Aficionado offers a series of conversations between an “agent” (Butcher) and her three interrogators (Brian McCorkle, Interrogator No. 1; Bonnie Lander, Interrogator No. 2; Paul Pinto, Interrogator No. 3). Espionage and intrigue are essential components in the work, but Ashley’s intent wasn’t to construct a spy story, not even a post-modern/ nonlinear example of such. Instead, the unwinding complexity seems focused upon the friction between public personas and private-inner lives. Tom Hamilton’s orchestration, recording, and mixing are essential. A-

REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICKS: Robert Ashley, Foreign Experiences (Lovely Music, Ltd.) For this 1995 recording of Foreign Experiences, an opera that’s part of Ashley’s early 1990s tetralogy, with Perfect Lives and Atalanta (Acts of God) to follow, Sam Ashley is Don and Jacqueline Humbert is Linda, characters familiar from Improvement (Don Leaves Linda), which preceded Foreign Experiences in said tetralogy, first recorded for Nonesuch in 1991 (a new recording of Improvement (Don Leaves Linda) was released on CD in 2019 by Lovely Music, featuring a new group dedicated to realizing Ashley’s work). For this release of Foreign Experiences, the ensemble consists of Robert Ashley himself along with Thomas Buckner, Margareta Cordero, Joan La Barbara, and Amy X Neuburg, this group having interpreted Ashley’s work from 1992-2012. Here, they are recorded by Tom Hamilton and Cas Boumans, with the release mixed and edited by Hamilton. Even at this relatively early point, the “band” is in prime form, and the prose is some of Ashley’s very greatest. He was an absolute master of language. A+

Calvin Keys, Proceed With Caution (Black Jazz – Real Gone) Keys got his start in the ’60s backing up a slew of soul jazz organ heavyweights, and on Shawn-Neeq, his debut as leader from 1971 (reissued early in 2021 as part of Real Gone’s Black Jazz reissue program and already sold out at the source), it’s not hard to tell, as he has a crisp, lithe, clean approach that’s occasionally reminiscent of Grant Green. Keys notably nixed the organ for Shawn-Neeq, electing instead for the electric piano of Larry Nash, a decision retained for Proceed With Caution, though the pianist this time is Kirk Lightsey. Those allergic to Fusion need read no further, but ears open to the style should understand that while Shawn-Neeq is a solid effort, its follow-up is an all-around improvement; the scope is broader both instrumentally and compositionally, there’s plenty of heat and edge, and nary a trace of smoothness. The year was 1974. Had this been released by one of the major labels in the mid-’70s, say Columbia or Warner Brothers, my guess is it would be perennially in print rather than getting its first-time vinyl reissue in 2021. A–

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