Archie Shepp & Jason Moran, "Let My People Go" (Archieball). What a gripping contrast -- Shepp's coarse, emotive soprano & gutty tenor beside Moran's stirring, sensitive piano on a duet program of somber standards. And when Shepp groan-sings, he makes you feel the bondage & liberation as few reputed vocalists can.
William Parker, "Trencadis" (AUM Fidelity). Those lacking the leisure to wade through veteran New York bassist-composer Parker's 10-CD "Migration of Silence Into and out of the Tone World" can preview the journey via this sampler. Gospel piano, narration, Afro-griot chant, strings, Caribe, vocal ensemble -- a colorful sequence of spontaneous salads, exemplified by the New Orleans funeral and omni-jazz resocialization (with harmonica!) of "Leone" and the ghostly woodwinds of "Cultivation." Eclectic hardly describes it, but original begins to.
Baker's Brew, "New Works" (Psychosomatic 2-disc). Cultivated art-rock drummer Maury Baker (Ars Nova, Tim Buckley, Frank Zappa) strokes it light & spacious on jazz and electronic tunes/jamz with bandmates Jim Goetsch (sax), Daniel Colleng (guitar) and Carl Royce (bass). Detailed recording and trippy surround-sound complement tuned-in performances and moody intelligence for a deeply involving audiophile experience, if that ain't a dirty word.
Mr Murmur, "I Am Still Gone" Spare electro groove and languid urbanity from G.E. Stinson and an exceptional crew: Garrett Wingfield, John Fumo, Miller Wrenn, Phillip Greenlief, Steuart Liebig. Poetry that creeps like a waking dream. Listen/buy here.
MAST, "Battle Hymns of the Republic" Clashes become dances as composer-intrumentalist Tim Conley employs elegant repetitions and jazzy improvisations to make chill political statements. L.A. troopers such as trumpeter Dan Rosenboom, saxist Gavin Templeton, cellist Artyom Manukyan and vocalist Dwight Trible join in a swirl of Spanish marches, arabesque guitars and bass mantras, and the battle is ours. Listen/buy here.
Jon Raskin, Chris Brown, Jason Hoopes, Vladimir Tarasov, "Synergy Signals" Drummer Tarasov gravitizes pianist Brown's avant geysers with his ribcage thrum, as ROVA saxist Raskin stuffs the turkey on dense bari or fibrous alto, and bassist Hoopes greases the intervals. This familial Bay Area quartet has developed not just synergy, but a surprising precision. Listen/buy here.
Flatland Quartet, "Songs From the Urban Forest" Like hummingbirds around honeysuckle, Jon Raskin and Sacramento cohorts Ross Hammond (slide guitar), Darren Johnson (trumpet) and Jon Rafus (drums) slice through wide-open airspace and converge in subliminal patterns of crackling wisdom. Listen/buy here.
Jon Raskin & Mike Cooper, "Hotel Noctambulo" Raskin's saxes & diversions are the breath & earth; Cooper's slide guitars, electronix etc. are the slippery slope on which you climb. Get distracted by the textures and you might fall, which would be fine. Listen/buy here.
Scot Ray, "Conlanger" Why is slide guitar the instrument of the moment? Must be cuz it avoids fixed points, making us feel we can slip away. Add a box o' electronic trix to Ray's gossamer acoustic string technique, and we can survive most anything. Listen/buy here.
Phillip Greenlief, "Polyphonetic for Sun Ra, Ted Brinkley and David Boyce" Multi-tracking his own extended saxophones, Greenlief pours inner conflicts into a pressure cooker and turns up the heat, stopping just short of explosion and leaving the tough stuff cooked just right. Consume and take a nap. Listen/buy here.