2024: The Year In Music

2024 was another depressing year, and 2025 promises (threatens) to be even worse. 

But at least there was a lot of great music to listen to. Here are my choices of new releases, debut recordings, and archival discoveries and reissues:

New Releases

BassDrumBone - Afternoon (Auricle)

George Cables - I Hear Echoes (HighNote)

Phillip Golub - Abiding Memory (Endectomorph Music)

Rich Halley 4 - Dusk And Dawn (Pine Eagle)

Tom Harrell - Alternate Summer (HighNote)

Darius Jones - Legend of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity)

Ivo Perelman/Chad Fowler/Reggie Workman/Andrew Cyrille - Embracing The Unknown (Mahakala Music)

Ivo Perelman/Mark Helias/Tom Rainey - Truth Seeker (Fundacja Słuchaj)

Marta Sanchez Trio - Perpetual Void (Intakt)

Matthew Shipp Trio - New Concepts In Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disk)

Jason Stein/Marilyn Crispell/Damon Smith/Adam Shead - spi-raling horn (Balance Point Acoustics/Irritable Mystic)

Tarbaby - You Think This America (Giant Step Arts)

Nasheet Waits - New York Love Letter (Bitter Sweet) (Giant Step Arts)

Debut Recordings

John Alvey - Loft Glow (Jazz Music City)

Mathias Højgaard Jensen - Is As Is (Fresh Sound New Talent)

Archival Discoveries

Alice Coltrane - The Carnegie Hall Concert (1971; Impulse!)

Bobby Hutcherson - Classic Bobby Hutcherson Blue Note Sessions 1963-1970 (Mosaic)

Art Pepper - The Complete Maiden Voyage Recordings (1981; Omnivore)

Sun Ra – Lights on a Satellite: Live at the Left Bank (1978; Resonance)

Emily Remler - Cookin’ At The Queens (1984 &1988; Resonance)

Sonny Rollins Trio - Freedom Weaver (The 1959 European Tour Recordings) (Resonance) 

McCoy Tyner/Joe Henderson - Forces Of Nature : Live At Slugs’ (1966; Blue Note)

Mal Waldron and Steve Lacy – The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp (1995; Elemental)

Many thanks, as always, to all the musicians and recording engineers involved. And a special shout-out to all the publicists who keep me busy! 

Jason Stein, Marilyn Crispell, Damon Smith, Adam Shead: spi-raling horn

  The quartet of Jason Stein, Marilyn Crispell, Damon Smith & Adam Shead is exuberant and boldly exciting on spi-raling horn. Drummer Shead is the least experienced member of the band, but he fits in beautifully, rising to the occasion with grit and rambunctious flair. Stead and the widely acclaimed bass clarinet specialist Stein had met in the recording studio before, on their 2020 duo session Synaptic Atlas. Pianist Crispell needs no introduction to anyone with a passing interest in modern piano stylists. Bassist Smith, whose Balance Point Acoustics label has several decades of releases to be proud of, has performed in free settings with such figures as John Butcher, Henry Kaiser, Frank Gratkowski, and Peter Kowald. The recording details for this date have the notation that “This is the entire studio session in the order in which it was played,” a rarity even in the realm of freely improvised music. The power and spirited interaction of these players is a testament to their distinctive individual sounds and their willingness to give utmost priority to the music of the collective. Picking favorite selections in a session like this one is a fool’s errand. Suffice to say that there are plenty of enticingly elegant and inventive passages in these instant compositions. Heartily recommended. 

Balance Point Acoustics bpaltd20020/Irritable Mystic Records IMR003; Jason Stein (bcl) Marilyn Crispell p) Damon Smith (b) Adam Shead (d); Chicago, IL, June 19, 2023; a song paid by singing/ a universe of otherwise/ the ground laid open/ saturant moon water/ so close it cut my ribs/ back and back out/ a rusted bell’s clank; 62:18. balancepointacoustics.com

McCoy Tyner/Joe Henderson: Forces Of Nature: Live At Slugs’

Forces Of Nature: Live At Slugs’ documents a 1966 club date by the McCoy Tyner/Joe Henderson quartet, with Henry Grimes on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums. The group played for only one week at Slugs’, on New York’s Lower East Side. DeJohnette, who turned 82 in August 2024, has stopped traveling, giving him time to go through his archives, where he found the tape of this gig. Pianist Tyner and tenor saxophone master Henderson recorded together for Blue Note on a number of occasions in the early Sixties, and they were well-acquainted with one another’s musical predilections. Bassist Grimes played with seemingly everyone on the scene before he suddenly vanished in 1970, only to be rediscovered in 2002. And DeJohnette was equally at home in the Bill Evans trio and the Miles Davis Quintet, among many other credits. This set was taped by Orville O’Brien, who is also credited on such high-profile releases of the period as Alice Coltrane’s Journey In Satchidananda, Freddie Hubbard’s Night Of The Cookers, and Roy Brooks’ The Free Slave. The mix could use more piano sound, but given the quality of his other work, O’Brien was probably working under less than ideal conditions. No matter: the group is swinging hard from the first downbeat, roaring through a 26-minute version of Henderson’s In ‘N’ Out, the title track to a 1964 Blue Note album by a Henderson quintet that included Tyner. The ballad of the night, We’ll Be Together Again, slows things down, with Henderson expounding at length, Tyner playing a lovely solo, and Grimes and DeJohnette holding it all together. Taking Off is a lengthy minor blues improvisation, nearly a half hour long. It starts out pretty fast and stays that way. Henderson blows up a storm for half the length, as the rest of the band rolls and tumbles behind him. Tyner follows with his characteristic powerful attack. A potent drum solo and Grimes’ unflappable bass presence make this a memorable and exciting excursion in pure improvisation. Tyner’s The Believer follows, an early composition that was first recorded by John Coltrane for Prestige in 1958. Tyner never recorded it himself, which makes this passionate performance a true revelation. The set ends with a relatively brief foray into Henderson’s Isotope, first heard on his 1964 Blue Note album Inner Urge. That was a quartet session with Tyner at the piano, and this rendition is distinguished by the lively interplay between saxophone and piano. With liner notes by Nate Chinen, plus reminiscences and commentary by DeJohnette, Jason Moran, Joe Lovano, Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, Nasheet Waits, Terri Lyne Carrington and others, the booklet is the icing on the cake, but the overwhelming power of the music will make it tough to read and listen at the same time. Waits’ metaphor for the strength of this music is that it’s like running “a sprint for a couple of miles.” So when you sit down to listen to Forces Of Nature, be prepared to be both elated and exhausted. The mid-Sixties was a particularly dire time in jazz history, with rock and soul music in ascendance, but this quartet is working hard, thrilling the jazz die-hards in the small club, and now, decades later, thrilling the audience at home. Passionately recommended. 

Blue Note (2 CDs, 2 Lps, or digital); Joe Henderson (ts) McCoy Tyner (p) Henry Grimes (b) Jack DeJohnette (d); NYC, 1966: Disc 1 (41:00): In ‘N’ Out/ We’ll Be Together Again. Disc 2 (45:28): Taking Off/ The Believer/ Isotope. www.bluenote.com

Tom Harrell: Alternate Summer

  Trumpeter and composer Tom Harrell has a very full discography, beginning with his recording debut as a member of the Stan Kenton orchestra in 1969. He made his first album as a leader in 1976, and he has recorded steadily since then. His latest is Alternate Summer, with a new batch of tunes to intrigue and inspire his stellar cast of musicians. The rhythm section of Luis Perdomo on keyboards, Ugonna Okegwo on bass, and Adam Cruz on drums has been with him for a few years. For this outing, he’s brought in two of the most prominent and stimulating tenor saxophonists of the day, Dayna Stephens and Mark Turner, as well as the accomplished guitarist Charles Altura on four tracks. Harrell’s exceedingly lovely and burnished trumpet sound is intact as he nears 80 years young. The groove is paramount in his compositions, a lesson no doubt learned in his tenure with Horace Silver from 1975-1979. Highlights of the disc include the funky UV with Perdomo on soulful organ, the mellow Heliotrope with its enticingly poised trumpet solo and delicate acoustic guitar from Altura, the dramatic Plateau with inspired solos by Stephens and Perdomo, and the lengthy and inventive Wind with its sinuous Turner solo. And a shout-out to Okegwo and Cruz, a most adaptable and dynamic bass and drums duo that provides the lift that Harrell’s music thrives upon. Alternate Summer is an hour of sheer delight, and one of the best albums of the year. 

HighNote HCD 7344; Tom Harrell (tpt) Dayna Stephens (ts on 4-6,8) Mark Turner (ts on 1-3,9-10) Luis Perdomo (p on 4,6-10; Fender Rhodes el p on 1-3; B-3 org on 5) Charles Altura (ac & elec g on 2,3,5,7) Ugonna Okegwo (b) Adam Cruz (d); NYC, November 28 & December 27, 2022; 1.Miramar/ 2.Peanut/ 3.Alternate Summer/ 4.Intermezzo/ 5.UV/ 6.Chalcedon/ 7.Heliotrope/ 8.Plateau/ 9.Wind/ 10.Radius; 59:52. www.jazzdepot.com

Sun Ra: Lights On A Satellite (1978 AND 2024!)

  When it comes to the universe of Sun Ra, there are no such things as coincidences. So it makes perfect sense that two albums of the Arkestra’s music, each titled Lights On A Satellite and recorded many decades apart, should be issued in the same month. In 1978, the Arkestra appeared at the hippest spot in Baltimore, Maryland: the Left Bank Jazz Society’s presentations at the Famous Ballroom. Lights On A Satellite: Live At The Left Bank captures the Arkestra in performance. I had the immense pleasure of seeing the Arkestra several times in the late Seventies, and they never failed to give a spectacular show, complete with fabulous home-made costumes, space chants, dancers, Sun Ra’s insanely wonderful synthesizer forays, and the great sax section with John Gilmore on tenor, Danny Davis and Marshall Allen on altos, and Danny Ray Thompson on baritone. The set list for this blistering performance includes such goodies as the title track, Fletcher Henderson’s Yeah Man (1933), Horace Henderson’s Big John’s Special, an Arkestra favorite first recorded in 1934, We Travel the Spaceways and what might be my favorite Sun Ra composition, the infectious Watusi. The band is in great form, and Ra himself plays with his usual wit and great spirit, especially on the three consecutive piano features, beginning with his excursion Over the Rainbow. The packed booklet features photos, including some from the show, notes by J.D. Considine who was at this performance, and a reminiscence by filmmaker Robert Mugge, whose film Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise was shot at this Baltimore appearance. (Mugge also contributed a couple of pieces to this release as bonus tracks, the swinging piano improvisation called Left Bank Blues and an Arkestral look at ‘Round Midnight, with Ra at the organ.) The booklet also includes snippets of interviews with the late Dan Morgenstern, Marshall Allen, saxophonist Gary Bartz, pianist Craig Taborn, and the unique perspective of Michael D. Anderson, who was one of the drummers at the Famous Ballroom. Anderson later became the archivist for the Arkestra, and he co-produced this release with Zev Feldman. This Lights On A Satellite is a total delight, with Sun Ra’s music given the impeccable treatment that it deserves.

Resonance HCD-2074 (2 CDs or 3 Lps): Walter Miller (tpt) Michael Ray (tpt, vcl) Craig Harris (tbn) Marshall Allen (as, fl, picc) Danny Davis (as, fl) Eloe Omoe (as, bcl) John Gilmore (ts, cl) Danny Ray Thompson (bari s, fl) Sun Ra (kybds) Damon Choice (vib) Dale Williams (g) Richard Williams (Radu) (ac & el b) Michael D. Anderson, Eddie Thomas (d) Atakatune (cga) James Jacson (ancient infinity drum, bassoon) The Jingle Brothers (bells, perc) June Tyson (vcl); Baltimore, MD, July 23, 1978; Disc 1 (47:03): Band Intro; Thunder of Drums/ Tapestry From an Asteroid/ Somewhere Over the Rainbow/ A Pleasant Place in Space/ Space Travelin’ Blues/ Yeah Man/ Big John’s Special/ Lights on a Satellite/ Lady Bird; Half Nelson. Disc 2 (48:36): Cocktails for Two/ Watusi/ They Plan to Leave/ Images in a Mirror/ We Travel the Spaceways/ Left Bank Blues*/ ‘Round Midnight*. *Bonus tracks from Robert Mugge’s film, Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise. resonancerecords.org 

     Marshall Allen, who celebrated his 100th birthday in May 2024, has been leading the band since Ra departed this earthly plane in 1993, and by now, he’s been in the Arkestra longer than Sun Ra! To celebrate this milestone, Frank Kleinschmidt of IN+OUT Records brought the Arkestra into a New York studio to record Lights On A Satellite, with ten tunes representative of the current version of the ensemble. The set list, in addition to favorites like the title track, Friendly Galaxy and Tapestry From an Asteroid, includes a previously unheard Sun Ra composition, the uncharacteristic love song Baby Won’t You Please Be Mine, one-time Arkestra member Phil Cohran’s Dorothy’s Dance, Big John’s Special, an Arkestra favorite first recorded in 1934, and, of all things, Way Down Yonder in New Orleans, a Turner Layton composition that made its debut on record by the Dixie Daisies in 1922. The Art Ensemble of Chicago’s famous motto, Ancient To The Future, finds one of its deepest manifestations in the Sun Ra Arkestra’s immense repertoire. With the presence of some long-time Arkestra musicians, including trumpeter Michael Ray, saxophonist Knoel Scott, French hornist Vincent Chancey, guitarist Carl LeBlanc, and percussionist Elson Nascimento, there’s plenty of institutional memory and experience for Marshall Allen to draw upon for support in this ongoing project. Allen solos with his distinctive alto saxophone sound at various points throughout a generous program of nearly 80 minutes, and to these ears, his interjections provide the most exciting moments of the whole album. The sprawling and bracingly wild Reflects Motion is probably my favorite track here, evoking, as it does, more of the uncompromised sound of the Sun Ra Arkestra in its prime. All in all, a beautiful present to the great Marshall Allen on his century on the planet. Recommended.

IN+ OUT IOR 77158 (CD or 2 Lps); Michael Ray (tpt, vcl) Cecil Brooks (tpt) Vincent Chancey (Fr hn) Brent White (tbn, b tbn) Dave Davis, Robert Stringer (tbn) Marshall Allen (as, EVI, gong, vcl) Knoel Scott (as, bari s, cga, vcl) Chris Hemingway (as) Anthony Nelson (cl, bari s) Nasir Dickerson (ts) James Stewart (fl, ts) Tara Middleton (vcl, vln) Owen Brown, Jr., Gwen Laster (vln) Melanie Dyer (vla) Nina Bogomas (harp) Farid Barron (p, kybds, Moog theremin) Carl LeBlanc (gtr, vcl) Dave Hotep (g) Tyler Mitchell (b) George Gray (d) Elson Nascimento (surdo, perc) Jose Jorge Da Silva (perc); NYC, June 16, 2024; Lights on a Satellite/ Dorothy’s Dance/ Big John’s Special/ Images/ Friendly Galaxy/ Baby Won’t You Please Be Mine/ Holiday for Strings/ Tapestry From an Asteroid/ Reflects Motion/ Way Down Yonder in New Orleans; 80:17. inandout-records.com

Morpheus Trance: In Trance We Trust

  Guitarist Christy Doran is hard to pin down, working in a broad assortment of styles across his career, from the pioneering band Om, which he co-founded in the Seventies, collaborations with electric bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Yang Jing, who plays pipa and guqin, pianist John Wolf Brennan, drummer Han Bennink, and so many others. His latest project is the aptly named Morpheus Trance. This trio of Doran, electric bassist Wolfgang Zwiauer, and drummer Lukas Mantel has concocted In Trance We Trust, an extremely pleasing blend of groove, improvisation, and concentrated interaction. Sometimes the music is raucous (the title track), sometimes it’s sedate and dreamy (the lovely Starry Sky), but the trio never loses sight of the profound abstraction of trance. Morpheus is usually thought of as the god of sleep, but this mythical figure is also known as the god of dreams. It’s easy to just drift along with the music for 47 minutes, and end up feeling relaxed and refreshed. Then it will be time for another, closer listen to the set. The egalitarian mix allows the listener to focus with ease on different instruments: Doran’s spiky and adaptable guitar, Zwiauer’s melodically flowing bass guitar and Mantel’s minimalist yet propulsive drums. In Trance We Trust is a most enjoyable release, with music that’s worthy of repeated listening. 

Double Moon DMCHR 71452; Christy Doran (el g, devices) Wolfgan Zwiauer (el b, devices) Lukas Mantel (d, perc); Bern, Switzerland, 2023; Desert Flow/ BA-rock (duo version)/ In Trance We Trust/ Starry Sky/ Bali Sketches/ Continuum/ Small Round/ La Corrección/ BA-Rock (trio version); 47:09. morpheus-trance.ch

B.B. King: In France: Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival

  The mighty guitarist and great blues singer B.B. King enjoyed one of the more fascinating careers in the music business. Starting out on the radio in Memphis at the end of the Forties, B.B. King had his first hit in 1951 with 3 O’Clock Blues. Touring the USA in a bus with his band, and playing almost exclusively to African-American audiences, he continued to have success through the Sixties. But the scene had started to change, and under the direction of Sid Seidenberg, his new manager towards the end of the Sixties, King benefitted from a new wave of interest in the blues on the part of the largely white rock and roll audience. His music didn’t change much, and on the newly released In France: Live at the 1977 Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival, there are still a couple of songs in the set that go back to the Fifties, like Sweet Little Angel and Sweet Sixteen. The wonderfully paced program also features his biggest hit, The Thrill Is Gone, an extended version of Brook Benton’s 1959 hit It’s Just a Matter of Time, the perennial live favorite Why I Sing the Blues, and To Know You is to Love You, a song by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright that was the title track on a 1973 King album. The most remarkable thing about King’s live performances is that whether he’s playing for theater audiences in Chicago or a jazz festival in Europe, he and his band stay true to themselves and make the crowds meet them on their own terms. It’s a measure of King’s character that he doesn’t hog the spotlight and takes every opportunity to introduce the members of his group, many of whom stayed with him for years. He even gives second guitarist Milton Hopkins a few chances to strut his stuff. Liner notes by French journalist Jean Buzelin provide context for King’s European appearances, and the photos of King on stage in Nancy are an added attraction. It would be nice if King’s vocals and guitar were more upfront in the mix, but the band and B.B. King are rocking the house, so there really isn’t much to complain about. As King sings in Why I Sing the Blues, “I’ve been around a long time, and I’ve really paid my dues,” and that’s the truth. Happily recommended.

Deep Digs DD003 (CD or 2 Lps); Eddie Rowe (tpt) Cato Walker III (as) Walter King (ts) James Toney (org) B.B. King (g, vcl) Milton Hopkins (g) Joe Turner (b) Calep Emphrey, Jr. (d); Nancy, France, October 7, 1977; Medley: Blue Monk, Caldonia/ Sweet Little Angel/ I Like to Live the Love/ It’s Just a Matter of Time/ Why I Sing the Blues/ I Got Some Outside Help (I Don’t Really Need)/ The Thrill is Gone/ I Need My Baby/ Sweet Sixteen/ Blues Instrumental/ To Know You is to Love You/ When I’m Wrong/ Have Faith/ Outro Blues Instrumental; 79:12. www.elemental-music.com