Chicago - V
Terry Kath is a musical enzyme I have no protection against, as soon he starts bellowing or playing guitar I get loopy. As such, I’m finding I really adore this album, possibly the most of the Chicago studio albums as of today March 22, 2006 (it changes day to day). This has great grooves, improvs, songwriting, playing, arrangements, everything. Another way I can tell this connects is that I’m struggling paying attention to about 75% of what I’m playing lately, but seem to have no trouble when this comes on. I’m starting this at an 11, but I think I’ll like it enough to go up a notch or two.
Alice Coltrane - Huntington Ashram Monastery
This is probably the most obscure Alice Coltrane title that wasn’t a cassette-only release, its only CD release was the Japanese mini LP that came out in conjunction with the release of Translinear Light (or was it Fire? I can never keep that straight). Anyway it’s easier to look at an artist’s career path in retrospect, and you can pin this second release on the climbing curve that peaked with Journey to Satchidananda, Universal Consciousness and others. It’s sparse like A Monastic Trio (although I mean this in a musical sense rather than personnel), but starting to get the classic drone sound that would be very prevalent by Ptah the El Douad. Overall HAM doesn’t really leave me with a lot of impressions, it’s obviously a somewhat minor Alice release, but its subtlety may prove to be this opinion’s eventual undoing.
Art Blakey and the Jazzmessengers - Free for All
A relatively recent RVG reissue that didn’t impact my brainsphere so much. I’m not sure why yet, but I always expect my Blakey to pack more of a wallop than this one did. Given I don’t ever expect one of these to unexpectedly unfold like an Andrew Hill album, I don’t think this is ever gonna hit above a 10.
Grant Green - Grantstand
The Grant Green thing is something of a mystery to explain. So many of his albums have a wonderful late night club vibe that works perfectly for evening ambience. In fact the other night I almost stuck 6 of his CDs in the changer and hit start. When I’m concentrating I’m mostly taken by the man’s great feel on the guitar, when I’m overstimulated, the vibe is enough, gentle bluesy, drifty, provisionally positive.
Johnny Coles - Little Johnny C
Most second or third Blue Note reissues give me the feeling this Johnny Coles album does, a great upbeat hardbop album that might just click and go stratosphere. It’s got an early Joe Henderson and the rather subtle Pete La Roca on drums, both of which imply the depth to make this go far.
Pat Metheny Group s/t
My best memories of Metheny always come from seeing snippets of a performance on PBS or elsewhere. Everything seems fuller, heavier and more spontaneous than anything I’ve heard on album. This is often quoted as one of his best and I did indeed like it a little more than some of his later albums, but there’s still a production and compositional ethic at work here that doesn’t communicate with me. Despite that he’s a brilliant player.
Cephalic Carnage - Anomalies
This album sounds awfully normal for a band like Cephalic Carnage who are usually like a nightmare assault of experimental grindcore riffs with a great sense of humor (with the exception of an 18 minute doom EP). This album, so far, sounds more like a straight grind style. It’s extremely brutal, of course, and quite technical, but after two listens it’s just not quite as memorable as I’d expect from a band this wild. Then again, turning this up is an awful lot like going thermonuclear on your neighborhood.
Toby Driver - In the L… L… Library Loft
The arc of Driver’s career (Maudlin of the Well, Kayo Dot) has taken them into very unusual territory, but no more so than this first solo album. Driver strikes me as a musician fairly ahead of the curve, but often far enough out there to forget what to bring back. This is basically avant-garde work and it’s even less listenable than the more grating moments on the Kayo Dot CDs. Of course calling something self indulgent is usually more indicative of the opinion than what that opinion is covering, but the plethora of inside jokes and bizarre allusions are likely to be lost on many. I hate to say it but maybe it was Byron who was the real engine behind Maudlin?