best records of 2009

[p_ano]

umm, hey everyone.. i had a hard time coming up with a top 10, but the top 3 were easy ->

delicate sen - s/t [copy for your records]
keith rowe + sachiko m - contact [erstwhile]
vanessa rossetto - dogs in english porcelain [music appreciation]

[PaulK]

So far this year [still 5 ' 48 " to go]
Krebs / Davies : Project
Davies/Patterson/Minton/Doneda /?? : Midhopestones
David Stackenäs : Separator.
Arturas Bumsteinas : Uniforms

Plus a 16 min improvisation by John Fahey of 'Dance of the Inhabitants of the Palace of King Philip XlV of Spain' from 1976 that I found yesterday.

Downside -
missing Borbetomagus
live improvised music withering away from lack of support.

there you go!
P

[jon abbey]

here is my recommended list for ErstDist, I'm still tweaking a little, but this is pretty close to final. it obviously doesn't include Ersts, although Soba to Bara, imaoto and Keith's 4 Tokyo sets (reconfigured as a double CD) would top my list.

=============================================

Tetuzi Akiyama/Erik Carlsson/Toshimaru Nakamura/Henrik Olsson-In Search of Wild Tulips (Bombax Bombax)
Tetuzi Akiyama/Toshimaru Nakamura-Semi-Impressionism (Spekk)
Dave Barnes/Richard Kamerman/Graham Stephenson-Three Duos (Copy For Your Records)
Lucio Capece/Radu Malfatti-Berlinerstrasse 20 (B-Boim Records)
Cornelius Cardew-Treatise (performed by Keith Rowe/Oren Ambarchi) (Planam)
Cremaster-Noranta Graus A L'Esquerra (Monotype)
Morton Feldman-Triadic Memories/Howard Skempton-Notti Stellate A Vagli (performed by John Tilbury) (2 CDs) (Atopos)
Joe Foster/Hong Chulki/Takahiro Kawaguchi/Ryu Hankil-Oscillation Vacillation (Balloon & Needle)
Cor Fuhler-Wenen (Conundrom)
Graham Halliwell/Lee Patterson-Terrain (Confront Collectors Series)
Ryu Hankil-Becoming Typewriter (Taumaturgia)
Robin Hayward/Rhodri Davies/Taku Unami-Valved String Calculator (Hibari)
Jason Kahn-Vanishing Point (23Five)
Margareth Kammerer & Ruby Ruby Ruby-The Shadow of Your Smile (Zarek)
Takahiro Kawaguchi-n (Hibari)
David Kirby-Cittacaura (Homophoni)
Tomas Korber/Utah Kawasaki-Pocket Size Isolationism (Esquilo)
Patrick Kosk-Mondweiß (Edition RZ)
Annette Krebs/Rhodri Davies-Kravis Rhonn Project (Another Timbre)
Graham Lambkin-Softly Softly Copy Copy (Kye)
Sebastian Lexer-Dazwischen (Matchless)
Loris (Farmer/Hughes/Jones)-The Cat From Cat Hill (Another Timbre)
Radu Malfatti/Taku Unami-Goat Vs Donkey (Taumaturgia)
Radu Malfatti/Taku Unami-Kushikushism (Slub)
Andrea Neumann-Pappelallee 5 (Absinth)
Noid/Taku Unami- ￢ + : * (Manual)
Kevin Parks/Joe Foster-Prince Rupert Drops (Homophoni)
Lee Patterson-Egg Fry #2 (Cathnor)
Phosphor-Phosphor II (Potlatch)
Michael Pisaro-Hearing Metal 1 (Edition Wandelweiser)
Radian-Chimeric (Thrill Jockey)
Eliane Radigue-Triptych (Important)
Stasis Duo (Matt Earle/Adam Sussmann)-3 (Organized Music From Thessaloniki)
Masahide Tokunaga-Alto Saxophone (Slub)
Various-Relay: Archive 2007-2008 (Manual)

[Dan Warburton]

Margareth Kammerer & Ruby Ruby Ruby-The Shadow of Your Smile (Zarek)

This is one I never managed to warm to, somehow.

[kp*]

Ami Yoshida & Toshimaru Nakamura Soba To Bara was just devastating.

I have to say, I am somewhat surprised that this is not the runaway favorite of the year or close to it. I thought it would break everyone's top 3-5 and thought for sure that it sit on top of perhaps half the lists.

I am also surprised that no one has added Naldjorlak for Charles Curtis, (Shiiin, 2008) which was published in December 2008 and didn't hit the shelves or land in most folks paws until well into 2009.

I am too busy to make a proper list. If i did Soba To Bara would head it, with Imaoto, Contact, Relay: archive also way up top.

Some other records I liked in 2009 (no special order)

Radu Malfatti & Klaus Filip • Imaoto
Keith Rowe & Sachiko M • Contact
Noid & Taku Unami • ￢ + : *
Burkhard Stangl & Kai Fagaschinski • Musik – Ein Porträt in Sehnsucht
Relay: archive 2007-2008
David Kirby • Cittacaura
Taku Unami, Robin Hayward, Rhodri Davies • Valved String Calculator
Taku Unami & Radu Malfatti • Goat -vs- Donkey
Takehiro Kawaguchi • n
Takahiro Kawaguchi & Shinjiro Yamaguchi • Hello
Michael Pisaro • Hearing Metal 1
Vanessa Rossetto • Dogs in English Porcelain
Annette Krebs & Rhodri Davis • Kravis Rhonn Project
Andrea Neumann • pappelallee 5
The ECM Feldman Viola in My LIfe

I am sure I am forgetting some. That's partways why i hate trying to make these lists off the top of my head.

Squeaking in at the last minutes of 2009 is the excellent: foster/chulki/kawaguchi/ryu oscillation/vacillation

Haven't yet heard:
Keith Rowe & Toshimaru Nakamura - Erstlive 008
Ryu Hankil's becoming typewriter

Improv discovery of the year is prolly Takehiro Kawaguchi. I look forward to hearing more of what he comes up with (was i the only one who really dug Hello?)

[kangaroo?]

really liked Hello myself, though i havent had many chances to listen to it so far (blame the greek army)

really happy to see the Stasis Duo disc in these pages, btw

am i the only one though, who really dug Haptic's Trebuchet?

[Stephen]

am i the only one though, who really dug Haptic's Trebuchet?

No, I really like it to, just not as much as their The Medium from earlier in the year.

Kept meaning to say that while of course praise is rightly heaped on erstwhile and another timbre at this time of year, I thought organised music from thessaloniki had a really great year (and I haven't even herad the Stasis Duo) so thanks.

[kangaroo?]

thanks for the good words stephen, that almost made me blush and hide behind the couch or something...
wish i had the time + $ to keep it up in 2010 (not that i dont plan to put an effort)

re: Haptic. I guess i'm more into their shorter/surprising tracks (their 7" for example) than their longer ones. Maybe it's just a case of short attention span, but after i'd heard the first two tracks on Trebuchet, i told myself it's the best thing they'd put out no matter what came next. Don't have the time to really sit and think about the reason behind this right now, but i do feel their music's textures come stronger and really enjoy the way the cd's tracks lead to one another

[faster]

organised music from thessaloniki

Agreed.

[free math]

since i don't think it got linked here, robert's year-end list. parts in order are "catching up," 20-11 and 10-1
http://www.spiralcage.com/blog/?p=1077
http://www.spiralcage.com/blog/?p=1086
http://www.spiralcage.com/blog/?p=965

[Bill Barton]

The Best Recordings of 2009
compiled by Bill Barton
host/producer: Bright Moments, KBCS Bellevue-Seattle 91.3 FM www.kbcs.fm
co-host: Flotation Device, KBCS
contributing writer: Signal to Noise magazine





Discs marked with an asterisk* are on my original 2009 Top Ten list prepared for KBCS:

Von Freeman: Vonski Speaks, Nessa

Satoko Fujii & Myra Melford: Under the Water, Libra

Moraine: Manifest Density, Moonjune

Fred Anderson: 21st Century Chase, Delmark

Hailey Niswanger: Confeddie, www.haileyniswanger.com

Mary Halvorson/Reuben Radding/Nate Wooley: Crackleknob, hatOLOGY

Austin Jazz Workshop Plays Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Mystery Note, AusJazz Music

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble: Mama's House Live 35th Anniversary Project, Katalyst

Jacam Manricks: Labyrinth, Manricks Music Records

John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble: Eternal Interlude, Sunnyside









It was a great year for adventurous jazz on recordings, with major works by masters Bill Dixon, Henry Threadgill and Wadada Leo Smith among the highlights.

Anyone who still thinks jazz is strictly a young person's art should listen to the powerful new recordings from octogenarian Chicago tenor saxophonists Fred Anderson and Von Freeman. If I had to rank my Best of the Year list in order of preference, Vonski Speaks and 21st Century Chase would be #1 and #2.

Some brief comments are included. Just because a disc lacks a comment doesn't mean that it is "less worthy."

Artist - title - label



Stefon Harris & Blackout - Urbanus - Concord
Strikes me as an inconsistent but notable recording. When it's good it's very, very good.
Allen Toussaint - Bright Mississippi - Nonesuch
Toussaint's exploration of trad jazz repertoire has that New Orleans thing plus remarkable playing by Don Byron, Marc Ribot, et al. A lovely recording.
Nels Cline - Coward - Cryptogramophone
A fascinating over-dubbed solo strings outing that moves in a variety of creative directions.
Alex Cline - Continuation - Cryptogramophone
The crowning jewel so far in Cline's discography. Richly textured, meditative and joy-filled, some of Myra Melford's and Peggy Lee's contributions here are among their finest recordings.
Henry Threadgill Zooid - This Brings Us To, Vol. 1 - Pi
One of the major composers in the music provides another chapter in his colorful story. Long overdue and highly recommended.
Rudresh Mahanthappa - Apti - Innova
A trio that provides an opportunity to appreciate Mahanthappa's fully developed technique, rich timbre and audacious ideas in a more "stripped-down" setting than other recent discs.
Wadada Leo Smith - Spiritual Dimensions - Cuneiform
An amazing two-CD set from a master. Not to be missed!
*Fred Anderson - 21st Century Chase - Delmark
Anderson and Kidd Jordan take tenor dialogues to new heights here. Recorded at Anderson's 80th birthday party at The Velvet Lounge, this is long-form improv at its most inspired.
John Moulder - Bifrost - Origin
"ECM-ish" guitar-led group with some fine compositions.
*Von Freeman - Vonski Speaks - Nessa
The Truth. Record of the year.
Aram Shelton's Fast Citizens - Two Cities - Delmark
This came out late in the year and my first impressions are very positive.
Juozas Milasius - Slow - Nemu
This Lithuanian guitarist has come up with an impressive solo disc: atmospheric, moody and occasionally quite noisy. A must for guitar fans.
Jason Adasiewicz's Rolldown - Varmint - Cuneiform
Another end-of-the-year release that's going to take more than one more spin to digest. First impression? High on next year's list!
Samuel Blaser Quartet - Pieces of Old Sky - Clean Feed
Swiss trombonist with chops aplenty. A group that listens and breathes. One of the year's most
significant and enjoyable "discoveries" for me.
Viviane Houle - Treize - Drip Audio
Another genre-busting improv salade from Vancouver.
Minamo (Satoko Fujii & Carla Kihlstedt) - Kuroi Kawa-Black River - Tzadik
I'm still digesting this one and there's a lot to chew on. Lookin' like #1 on the 2010 list so far!
Charles Evans & Neil Shah - Live at Saint Stephens - Hot Cup
Bari sax/piano duo that provides many Bright Moments.
*Bill Dixon - Tapestries for Small Orchestra - Firehouse 12
A masterpiece (and I don't use the word lightly.) The music, audio/video production and graphics are A++ on this two-CD, one DVD set.
Andrew Green et al. - Narrow Margin - Microphonic
Azar Lawrence - Prayer for My Ancestors - Furthermore
*Mary Halvorson/Reuben Radding/Nate Wooley - Crackleknob - hatOLOGY
Roswell Rudd - Trombone Tribe - Sunnyside
Jimmy Bennington Trio - Another Friend: The Music of Herbie Nichols - ThatSwan!
Delightful and quirky with marvelous piano playing by David Haney.
Etienne Charles - Folklore - www.etiennecharles.com
Soulful, Caribbean folklore-inspired gumbo and my introduction to trumpeter Charles. He's an artist to watch.
Brian Groder & Burton Greene - Groder & Greene - Latham
*Jacam Manricks - Labyrinth - Manricks Music
He's a composer of enormous depth, sensitivity and imagination. One of this year's major "discoveries" for me.


*Ethnic Heritage Ensemble - Mama's House Live: 35th Anniversary Project - Katalyst
Corey Wilkes & Abstrakt Pulse - Cries from Tha Ghetto - Pi
The edition of Kahil El'Zabar's EHE with Corey Wilkes is an often volcanic and always adventurous group. Captured "live," they absolutely tear it up. Wilkes' own Abstrakt Pulse combines groove and creativity in a very personal fashion. This man is playing The Truth.

Enrico Pieranunzi/Marc Johnson/Joey Baron - Dream Dance - Cam Jazz
A program of memorable original compositions by Pieranunzi. One of the finest working piano trios these days.
Bobby Bradford/Tom Heasley/Ken Rosser - Varistar - Full Bleed
Kudos to Heasley for this disc with the sadly little-documented Bradford. It was a good year for Bradford fans with this one plus the Nessa reissue.
*Austin Jazz Workshop - Mystery Note: AJW plays Rahsaan Roland Kirk - AusJazz
Rah's spirit lives on through recordings such as this one and Claire Daly's Rah Rah Rah. It's a living legacy rather than a museum piece. Alex Coke et al. let this music breathe.
The Brother Thelonious Quintet - Brother Thelonious - www.northcoastbrewing.com
Robert Glasper - Double Booked - Blue Note
James Weidman - Three Worlds - Inner Circle
Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Strings - Renegades - Delmark
Terence Blanchard - Choices - Concord
Blanchard's tapestry of spoken word from Dr. Cornel West and powerful music is his most compositionally fully-realized CD to date. If you think of him as a neo-con this disc may open your mind.
*Hailey Niswanger - Confeddie - www.haileyniswanger.com
Because of my personal tastes/interests and the niche focus of Bright Moments it's rare that a "mainstream" recording captures my imagination. This one did and continues to do so. At age 19, this Portland, Oregon native now studying at Berklee already has a personal sound and approach on alto saxophone. A promise of great things to come...
Josh Berman - Old Idea - Delmark



reissues:

Roscoe Mitchell - Nonaah - Nessa
Leo Smith - Spirit Catcher - Nessa
Philip Cohran & The Artistic Heritage Ensemble - On the Beach - Katalyst
Roscoe Mitchell - The Solo Concert - Katalyst
Bobby Bradford with John Stevens and the Spontaneous Music Ensemble - Nessa
Lester Bowie - All the Numbers - Nessa
The Roscoe Mitchell Art Ensemble - Congliptious - Nessa
Steve Lacy - The Forest and the Zoo - ESP Disk

reissue label of the year:

Nessa



label of the year:

Delmark








Huge:

2009 was a year packed with creative, boundary-breaking "big band" or large ensemble releases. Eternal Interlude tops the list with compositions and playing at the very highest level. Sound Assembly's Edge of the Mind with music written by David Schumacher and J.C. Sanford is another of the year's highlights. The legacy of George Russell and Gil Evans is in good hands these days. Infernal Machines has been widely praised, and I praise it as well. It - and the more mainstream-oriented Groove's Mood - feature some of the year's best recorded solos in a big band context.

*John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble - Eternal Interlude - Sunnyside
Sound Assembly - Edge of the Mind - New Amsterdam
Darcy James Argue's Secret Society - Infernal Machines - New Amsterdam
Dave Rivello Ensemble - Facing the Mirror - Allora
Jentsch Goup Large - Cycles Suite - Fleur De Son
The Aggregation Under the Direction of Eddie Allen - Groove's Mood - www.EddieAllen.net
Abdullah Ibrahim & WDR Big Band Cologne - Bombella - Intuition/Sunnyside
Abdullah's beautiful compositions are center stage on this large ensemble recording. There are some breathtakingly gorgeous arrangements here. The promo release came out toward the end of the year. This will be a strong contender for the 2010 list.







Pacific Northwest:



Tom Varner - Heaven and Hell - Omni Tone
Ex-New Yorker, now Seattle resident's musical meditation on good and evil, post-9/11. This is a suite that sighs and thunders, contemplates and testifies. A major work. I hadn't had time to listen in-depth before compiling my KBCS 2009 Top Ten. It's a shoe-in for #1 on the list in 2010.
Tom Baker Quartet - Save - Present Sounds
The Tony Wilson Sextet - The People Look Like Flowers at Last - Drip Audio
Sunship - Sunship - (self-produced)
Search this one out. You won't be disappointed.
Not to be confused with the London-based band with the same name.
http://www.myspace.com/sunshipmusic
http://sunshipmusic.blogspot.com/
Stuart Dempster/Tom Heasley/Eric Glick Rieman - Echoes of Syros - Full Bleed
Beautiful ambient soundscapes with mutated tuba and prepared Rhodes...

Dennis Rea:
*Moraine - Manifest Density - Moonjune
Iron Kim Style - Iron Kim Style - (self-produced)
Guitarist Rea with two very different projects, Moraine tightly structured and Iron Kim Style wildly loosey goosey.

The October Trio + Brad Turner - Looks Like It's Going to Snow - Songlines
The Tiptons Sax Quartet – Laws of Motion - Zipa!/Spoot Music
Brilliant! Fun! Difficult to resist...
Bill Frisell - Disfarmer - Nonesuch
More melancholy Americana from Frisell. A lovely record
Reptet – Agendacide – Monktail (7” vinyl)


It was a very good year for Pacific Northwest guitar fans, with fine new recordings from Tom Baker, Brian Heaney with Sunship, Tony Wilson (Vancouver, BC), Bill Frisell and two from Dennis Rea.

[frozen reeds]

The Best Recordings of 2009...

OK, that's what I call a post. Thank you for the information.

[faster]

Anyone who still thinks jazz is strictly a young person's art

Hehe

[Gerardo A]

1) Ami Yoshida & Toshimaru Nakamura - Soba to Bara
2) Keith Rowe & Sachiko M - Contact [Erstwhile]
3) Graham Lambkin - Softly Softly Copy Copy [Kye]
4) Radu Malfatti & Klaus Filip - Imaoto [Erstwhile]
5) Keith Rowe & Toshimaru Nakamura - Erstlive 008 [Erstwhile]
6) Nmperign - Ommatidia [Intransitive]
7) Mattin - Feedback Conceptual [Larraskito]
8) Kevin Drumm - Imperial Horizon [Hospital Productions]
9) Various Artists - Relay: Archives 2007-2008 [Manual]
10) David Kirby - Cittacaura [Homophoni]

[p_ano]

Bobby Bradford/Tom Heasley/Ken Rosser - Varistar - Full Bleed
Kudos to Heasley for this disc with the sadly little-documented Bradford. It was a good year for Bradford fans with this one plus the Nessa reissue.

glad to see tom is still blowing on that tuba..

regarding the list, wow.. that's a big list.

lastly, glad to see a few net releases getting props, especially the foster/parks... i really love that recording. jon had asked me a while back to listen to the entire homophoni catalog in one sitting and write about it during the entire experience. so, i did.. the foster/parks had just been released, so it was the last piece i heard during the 13 hr listening session. needless to say, it blew my friggin mind. sadly the accompanying writings didn't turn out so well. release of that notebook could be embarrassing indeed... hehehe...

[Ttai]

justin meyers - permanent pressure
henning christiansen - fluxorum organum
jana winderen - heated: live in japan
eliane radigue - vice versa, etc...

[Zeno Marx]

Bastard Noise - Rogue Astronaut CD
Contrast Attitude - Apocalyptic Raw Assault LP/CD
Destino Final - Atrapados LP
Emeralds - What Happened CD
Instinct of Survival - North to Nowhere LP/CD
Hitoshi Kojo - Ezo 10"
Kylesa - Static Tensions LP/CD
Phill Niblock - Touch Strings 2CD
Slogun - Bloody Roots CD
Solanaceae - s/t CD
Teitanblood - Seven Chalices 2LP/CD
Brotzmann-Kondo-Nilssen-Pupillo - Hairy Bones CD

reissues:
Spiracle - Ananta 2CD

Couldn't decide which Matt Shoemaker, so I skipped him.

[kcorcoran]

There remains much I have yet to hear from 2009 so I did not plan to put together a list of this sort at first, but thinking back and listening again to some of the pieces that initially stood out to me, I realize 2009 saw some very important pieces of music in this area, specifically in terms of structure, and I'd like to share what stood out to me most.

In terms of moving me to think:

Rowe/Sachiko M Contact, second disc
Murayama/Ezaki/Kinoshita Ready'n, final track
Barnes/Kamerman/Stephenson Three Duos, final track
Hayward/Davies/Unami Valved Strings Calculator
Malfatti/Unami Goat vs. Donkey

In terms of moving me to feel:

Keith Rowe/Toshimaru Nakamura Erstlive 008
Ryu Hankil Becoming Typewriter
Andrew Chalk The Cable House

Previously released but heard for the first time last year:

Michael Pisaro Transparent City 1-4
Frank Denyer Music for Shakuhachi, performed by Yoshikazu Iwamoto

Despite buying and hearing less music this year than last, I do think I was more deeply interested in what I heard in 2009, and looking forward to catching up on a handful of discs in the next couple months.

[Yii]

-*

http://andoar.blogspot.com/2009/12/best ... -2009.html

[kp*]

Posts like the one above truly make me wish i had moderator privileges. Making folks scroll through that whole list again to get to ONE new piece of information is highly annoying. Please don't do that.