Entries associated with the tag "Best of 2008":

Last year I wrote a piece about the deluge of reissues from Africa over the past few years, particularly those that have uncovered obscurities in danger of being lost to history. A few months ago Ken Braun, a longtime American employee for UK label and distributor Sterns--one of the most important sources for African music outside Africa--reminded me that such reissues, whether by former superstars or by bands that never made a ripple outside their backyards, just don't sell much. Reissuing this material is first and foremost a labor of love.

In 2008 Braun was responsible for Francophonic Vol. 1 (Sterns), an astonishingly good double-CD retrospective of Congolese bandleader and guitarist Franco, whose band Le TP OK Jazz was one of the true juggernauts of African music, with a career spanning more than four decades. Few artists in any style from any era can rival Franco in his cultural importance and musical genius, but the fact is very few Americans have any clue who he is--so this set is just as welcome as the sets of rare music from Nigeria or Benin I wrote about in June.

Franco cut nearly 2,000 songs, so Braun certainly had his work cut out for him. This thoughtful chronological survey, which runs from 1953 to 1980, traces the maestro's development and assimilation of new ideas. The 48-page booklet Braun wrote explains the conventions of Congolese music, points out which qualities were derived from Cuban music and which from local ethnic traditions, and provides both sociopolitical and musical contexts. Yet even these thorough liner notes can't hope to be anything more than icing on the cake--the cake being 148 minutes of addictive music. The songs combine an ever shifting rhythmic matrix--the classic "Marie Naboyi," for example, shimmies through four distinct episodes, each with its own irresistible groove and melody--with gorgeous vocal harmonies, intricate lattices of guitar, and punchy horn charts, and in the sebene section (introduced to Congolese music by Franco's mentor Henri Bowane) the players take extended solos. It's an excellent introduction, more than enough to satisfy the needs of the casual listener--though it should be said that it's pretty hard to stay just a casual listener of Franco.

Last year Sterns also continued its invaluable Authenticité series, named after a state policy in post-independence Guinea that, beginning in 1959, attempted to encourage homegrown culture. The Syliphone Years is a double-CD set from Balla et Ses Balladins, led by Balla Onivogui, a member of the first authenticité band, the Syli Orchestre National, which doubled as a sort of music school, training young players and helping them form other groups to represent each of the country's 34 regions. Onivogui and bandmate Kélétigui Traoré broke off to start their own sanctioned groups (a double CD by Kélétigui et Ses Tambourinis is coming soon on Sterns), and The Syliphone Years contains a superb selection of the music Onivogui made between 1968-1980. The sound of Cuba is inescapable--in fact the disproportionate influence of such outside cultures was one reason president Sékou Touré launched the program--but the dominant rhythms, melodic ideas, and lyrical themes are indeed indigenous, drawn from Malinké and Fula traditions.

Germany's Analog Africa imprint released a knockout 14-track collection by Benin's Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou called The Vodoun Effect--super-rare material originally released on tiny local labels between 1972 and 1975. This is the third reissue CD by this band, which was hugely popular in West Africa during its lifetime, following equally great but very different releases on Soundway and Popular African Music, and it proves how consistent the group was across a variety of styles. Here Orchestre Poly-Rythmo works with local rhythmic manifestations of vodoun called sata and sakpata, combined with the heavy funk that characterizes most of the band's music. The grooves are the first thing you'll notice, but there's no missing the fiery guitar that crackles above the beat. The set also includes a beautiful 44-page booklet packed with band shots, label photos, record sleeves, and studio logs--to say nothing of the extensive background info researched by label honcho Samy Ben Redjeb, who conducted lengthy interviews with surviving members of the band. (Full disclosure: I did some minor, unpaid copyediting of these notes.)

Finally, moving north a bit, we come to 1970’s Algerian Proto-Rai Underground, an amazing vinyl-only release from Sublime Frequencies. The eight tunes here aren't truly proto-rai--the form dates back to the 30s, when women would sing racy songs in bars accompanied by sparse hand percussion and gasba flutes--but this music clearly served as a model for the modern rai sound popularized by singers like Khaled and Cheb Mami. Percussion, organ, and trumpet are the main instruments, and the beat is more frantic and dance oriented than in the earliest examples of the genre. Two of the best tracks are by Bellemou & Benfissa, a duo featuring Bellemou Messaoud, often called "the Father of Rai," who introduced his trumpet into the mix--he's no doubt a big reason that so much of the synthesized rai from the late 70s and onward clearly tries to mimic the sound of the trumpet. Nothing against that chintzy electronic rai--I actually love the stuff--but these tracks are really outstanding, and Sublime Frequencies deserves big ups for digging them up.

Some other terrific African reissues:

Various artists, Highlife Time: Nigerian & Ghanaian Sound (Vampi Soul)
Rail Band, Mansa (Sterns)
Fela Ransome Kuti & Africa 70, Alagbon Close/Why Black Man Dey Suffer (Wrasse)
Ry-Co Jazz, Bon Voyage!! (RetroAfric)
Sir Victor Uwaifo, Guitar-Boy Superstar 1970-76 (Soundway)

OK, I'm through. On to 2009!

Today's playlist:

Eli Degibri Trio, Live at Louis 649 (Anzic)
Lotte Anker, Sylvie Courvoisier, and Ikue Mori, Alien Huddle (Intakt)
Kenneth Gaburo, Lingua II: Maledetto/Antiphony VIII (Pogus Productions)
Magnus Broo Quartet, Painbody (Moserobie)
Gang Gang Dance, Saint Dymphna (Social Registry)

I'm still planning to write about some of my favorite African reissues of 2008, but it's going to take a couple more days. I did want to quickly mention a handful of records that failed to make my list of favorite new releases mostly because I forgot about them when the time came to tally everything up. Every one of these five might well have made it onto that list.

Q-Tip, The Renaissance (Universal Motown)
Juana Molina, Un Dia (Domino)
Calle 13, No Hay Nadie Como Tú (Norte)
Common, Universal Mind Control (Geffen)
Taylor Ho Bynum, Asphalt Flowers Forking Paths (Hatology)

I promise I'll be done with this year-end-list shit after I talk about those reissues. Really.

Today's playlist:

Otis Redding, Live in London and Paris (Stax)
Le Trio Joubran, Majaz (Randana)
Miles Davis, The Musings of Miles (Prestige)
Solomon Burke, This Is It (Shout!)
Nine Horses, Snow Borne Sorrow (Samadhi Sound)

When it comes to music, the Internet is increasingly fulfilling its early promise as the ultimate library. Though much of the music it holds is illegally or quasi-legally posted, sometimes it feels like you can find nearly everything ever recorded online if you're willing to do some serious digging.

Thankfully it's not always necessary to resort to this vast gray market to find great music that fell out of print decades ago. In 2008 legitimate record labels continued to churn out killer reissues--so many, in fact, that I was often tempted to simply let myself recede into the past, basking in vintage sounds as fresh and vital as anything made today.

Leading the charge over the past couple years has been the revived Fania Records, which was the key salsa label from the 60s through the early 80s. One of the label's best reissues of 2008 went back even further, though--the music on the first two volumes of Tito Puente's The Complete 78s (two more are on the way) originally came out on the great Tico label in the late 40s and early 50s.

Puente, a New York native, first made a splash in the early 40s, as the timbale player in Machito's big band--his flair for the dramatic inspired his boss to move him to the front of the stage, a position that soon became standard for all timbaleros. After returning from the war and forming his own band, Puente put out a ridiculous number of records. The four Fania double-CD collections will include all 156 tracks he cut for 78 RPM release between 1949 and 1955 in New York City--ground zero of the mambo craze he helped fuel, where nightclubs like the Palladium drew the hip and beautiful with a steady diet of Afro-Caribbean sounds.

Puente enjoyed a long and fruitful career, but these recordings are some of his most potent and important, setting the stage for the salsa explosion of the 60s. Though he'd later weather and adapt to just about every mutation the music went through, with these songs he was shaping it himself.

Next week I'll discuss more reissues, including a bumper crop from Africa.

Today's playlist:

Mamoru Fujieda, Patterns of Plants II (Tzadik)
Fucked Up, The Chemistry of Common Life (Matador)
Joe Lovano, Symphonica (Blue Note)
Jards Macalé, Macao (Biscoito Fino)
New Bloods, The Secret Life (Kill Rock Stars)

The third Village Voice Jazz Poll, put together by critic Francis Davis (not to be confused with their Pazz & Jop Poll, which runs next month), is in the paper's current issue; 79 jazz writers submitted ballots. I participated for the first time this year, and it was a little strange paring down my regular (and discombobulated) year-end list to include only "jazz" titles. Considering how capricious the process sometimes seems, though, I didn't lose any sleep over it--and looking at my choices again, I have no regrets.

Overall the poll's top honors went, unsurprisingly, to Sonny Rollins's Road Shows Vol. 1 (Doxy/Emarcy), a vault dig of shows from the past few decades, but the rest of the results were less predictable.

Here's my list:

NEW RELEASES

REISSUES

VOCAL

DEBUT

LATIN

Bebo Valdés & Javier Colina Live at the Village Vanguard (Calle 54/Norté)

Today's playlist:

Sun Ra, Some Blues but Not the Kind That's Blue (Unheard Music Series)
AC/DC, Black Ice (Columbia)
Ideal Bread, The Ideal Bread (KMB Jazz)
Various Artists, Conquer the World: The Lost Soul of Philadelphia International Records (Philadelphia International/Legacy)
Curtis Fuller, The Opener (Blue Note)

10. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Dig, Lazarus, Dig! (Anti-/Mute)
Last year Nick Cave shook off the dust with the snarling humor and no-nonsense muscle of his Grinderman project, and on his latest with the Bad Seeds he's absolutely on fire, tapping into the wild energy of his Birthday Party days but this time holding it firmly under control. At 51 he's sharper and smarter than ever.

9. Rachel Unthank & the Winterset, The Bairns (Real World)
I doubt this British folk outfit would've landed so high on my list if they hadn't completely wowed me during the World Music Festival. Rachel Unthank and her small but resourceful band use gorgeous vocal harmonies, clever arrangements, and a subtle pop sensibility to bring new life to tunes that have survived centuries--and the easy charm and wit of their live set made their striking inventiveness seem totally nonchalant.

8. Mary Halvorson Trio, Dragon's Head (Firehouse 12)
Probably the most original jazz guitarist to emerge this decade, Mary Halvorson has already distinguished herself in projects with Anthony Braxton, in a folksy, genre-bending duo with violist Jessica Pavone, as a member of Taylor Ho Bynum's sextet, and in the art-rock duo People, among many other contexts--but on Dragon's Head, with bassist John Hebert and drummer Ches Smith, she distills all her vast talents as a composer, improviser, and sound explorer into one compact ensemble.

7. Martial Solal Trio, Longitude (Cam Jazz)
On the one hand, Longitude is just another album by veteran French pianist Martial Solal, who's now 80. But on the other hand, every album he makes reasserts his brilliance in redefining and revitalizing post-Monk piano playing. The rhythm section--twin brothers François and Louis Moutin on bass and drums--does an especially fine job anticipating and accommodating Solal's curious lines and chords.

6. Deerhoof, Offend Maggie (Kill Rock Stars)
With the addition of a new second guitarist (former Flying Luttenbacher Ed Rodriguez), these San Francisco art-pop geniuses have regained their ultrasharp six-string interplay, and the whipped-up rhythms, loping bass lines, and hooky melodies just keep getting better. Deerhoof aren't reinventing the wheel--or rather their somewhat eccentric version of it--but man are they on a roll.

5. Kassin + 2, Futurismo (Luaka Bop)
It's hard to separate Futurismo from the two preceding records by what's come to be known as the "Plus Two"--Alexandre Kassin, Moreno Veloso, and Domenico Lancellotti. Like the others, Kassin's outing is cool, cosmopolitan, and diverse, casually shuffling between Brazilian forms, electro, rock, pop, and just about anything else that strikes his fancy. I prefer to think of it as the last disc of a mind-blowing three-record box set that just happened to be released across eight years.

4. Mike Reed's People, Places & Things, Proliferation (482 Music)
Local drummer Mike Reed transcends homage by reinventing overlooked tunes from Chicago's late-50s postbop heyday. His killer quartet, which also includes reedists Greg Ward and Tim Haldeman and bassist Jason Roebke, updates the songs with fierce multilinear improvisation and free-jazz techniques, allowing them to be heard afresh, but doesn't diminish their soulful core. The best part is the joy and mutual trust these guys radiate onstage--they're my favorite working band in town.

3. Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple (Downtown)
It didn't produce a hit like "Crazy," but Gnarls Barkley's sophomore effort is a much better album on the whole: the 60s vibe crafted by producer and keyboardist Danger Mouse fits perfectly with the raspy gospelized shout of Cee-Lo Green.

2. Donny McCaslin Trio, Recommended Tools (Greenleaf)
Saxophonist Donny McCaslin has been one of the most reliable players in jazz since the mid-80s, and in the past few years he's become one of the most exciting as well. This lean trio session with bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Johnathan Blake is a genuine tour de force: McCaslin pushes his granite-hard tone anywhere he wants it to go, from tender ballads to harmonically adventurous barn burners.

1. Atomic, Retrograde (Jazzland)
On Retrograde this Scandinavian quintet--bassist Ingebrigt Haaker Flaten, drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, and pianist Havard Wiik from Norway, trumpeter Magnus Broo and reedist Fredrik Ljungkvist from Sweden--opts for a set of compositions much looser than its usual repertoire. The musicians' intuitive rapport and high-level communication skills allow them to transform even the sketchiest melodic or rhythmic structures into gripping narratives--they nail this new paradigm with all the gusto and daring they brought to their old freebop-based approach.

Today's playlist:

Harris Eisenstadt, Guewel (Clean Feed)
Annbjørg Lien, Waltz With Me (Heilo)
Duke Ellington, Uptown (Columbia/Legacy)
Ximena Sariñana, Mediocre (Warner Music Latina)
ICP Orchestra, Live at the Bimhuis (ICP)

20. Sonantes, Sonantes (Six Degrees)
This Brazilian group is a studio side project, but it doesn't feel like one. True, it's just a producer (Rica Amabis of Instituto) plus a bassist and a drummer (Dengue and Pupillo of Nação Zumbi), fronted by one of a roster of dynamic guest vocalists (including Céu, Bnegão, and Siba). But the instrumental settings are far more diverse and intriguing than the loose rhythmic frameworks dressed up with samples that such a lineup usually produces, and the vocal melodies create a memorably dark and sensual mood.

19. Lafayette Gilchrist, Soul Progressin' (Hyena)
Baltimore pianist Lafayette Gilchrist has already turned heads in David Murray's Black Saint Quartet, but on his latest record, cut with an eight-piece called the New Volcanoes, his own sound is just as attention grabbing. At first it reminded me of the austere jazz-funk created by the M-Base crew in the 80s, but after a closer listen I'm pretty sure he's riffing on go-go grooves, not hip-hop beats like they did--either way, the music is fun as hell.

18. Sam Phillips, Don't Do Anything (Nonesuch)
On her first self-produced album, Sam Phillips proves herself an excellent student of her ex-husband, T-Bone Burnett, who was behind the boards for most of her previous records--she gives the music the same kind of unraveling, broken-down sound that he did. Her songwriting betrays her love for the Beatles and, to a lesser extent, Kurt Weill, and her husky, molasses-thick voice manages to make even her darkest lyrics (which are plenty dark) sound somehow soothing.

17. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop)
Though it's hard for me to countenance the mellow-70s-beardo look these these Seattle indie rockers favor, once they start singing I don't so much care. Leader Robin Pecknold has written some very pretty tunes, which the band plays with an appealing looseness, but it's the exquisite vocal harmonies that make this record great. The Beach Boys and country-music sibling acts are obvious inspirations, and on the opening track they approach the wild, eerie sound of shape-note singing--I still get a chill every time I hear it.

16. Rudresh Mahanthappa, Kinsmen (Pi)
Indian-American reedist Rudresh Mahanthappa has made some terrific records, both on his own and with pianist Vijay Iyer (see below). But with Kinsmen he reaches a whole new level. The music here is like an Indian analog to the brilliant fusion of jazz and Iraqi maqam that trumpeter Amir ElSaffar hit upon last year with Two Rivers, which Mahanthappa played on--it's a rigorous hybrid that gains energy and depth from the marriage. His band, drawn from the worlds of jazz and Indian classical music, includes terrific saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath.

15. Marcelo Camelo, Sou (Sony/BMG, Brasil)
Former Los Hermanos singer Marcelo Camelo hooks up with São Paulo post-rockers Hurtmold to create simple, beautiful art-pop, marked by spacious arrangements and progressing with delightful patience. Camelo's singing is fabulous as well--his sensitivity and range remind me more than a little of Caetano Veloso.

14. John McNeil & Bill McHenry, Rediscovery (Sunnyside)
Two overlooked postboppers from New York get together for a quartet session with bassist Joe Martin and drummer Jochen Rueckert, summoning the chill demeanor of 50s west-coast jazz without a whiff of formalin-scented nostalgia. As the album's title suggests, many of the tunes--by Russ Freeman, Gerry Mulligan, George Wallington, and others--are lost gems from five decades ago, but McNeil and McHenry's bold harmonies and extended instrumental vocabularies are thoroughly of the here and now.

13. Umalali, Umalali: The Garifuna Women's Project (Cumbancha)
Aside from the great Andy Palacio, who died early this year at 47, few people have done more to preserve and promote the musical culture of the Garifuna than producer Ivan Duran. Having noticed that nearly all the Garifuna records available outside Latin American were by men, he spent ten years chronicling some of the culture's best female vocalists, recording them in a thatched hut on the Belizean coast and then adding the lilting, polyrhythmic arrangements at his studio. The five excellent singers presented here sound sanguine and sorrowful, their melodies sublimely pretty whether on a ballad or a midtempo song. The group's April tour was supposed to be supporting Palacio, but instead those shows became a moving homage to his vision of a revived Garifuna culture.

12. Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet, The Breadwinner (Erstwhile)
The first collaboration between former Shadow Ring mastermind Graham Lambkin and New England experimentalist Jason Lescalleet generates strange power and mysterious beauty with tape loops, lo-fi samples, and junk from around the house. If you still think experimental music is self-indulgent, boring, and heartless, here's a record that could change your mind.

11. Vijay Iyer, Tragicomic (Sunnyside)
Reedist Rudresh Mahanthappa (see above) is a crucial foil for pianist Vijay Iyer on this burning quartet session, driven by drummer Marcus Gilmore and bassist Stefan Crump. As a composer Iyer continues to refine both his stylistic ideas and his extramusical notions about politics and social identity--by now they're razor sharp, and his band brings them to life in high-velocity workouts that flash by like lightning.

Today's playlist:

Lee Konitz and Minsarah, Deep Lee (Enja)
Majid Al Muhandis, Enjaneat (Rotana)
King Khan & the Shrines, The Supreme Genius of King Khan & the Shrines (Vice)
William Parker Quartet, Petit Oiseau (Aum Fidelity)
Sonora Ponceña, El Gigante Del Sur (Inca/Fania)

30. Thalia Zedek, Liars and Prayers (Thrill Jockey)
Well into the third decade of her career, the former front woman for Come keeps getting better. Pianist Mel Lederman and violist David Michael Curry lend the blustery rock songs new textures and depth, and Zedek's husky, powerfully affecting voice, both warm and bleak, perfectly complements her lyrics about the doubt, directionlessness, and cynicism that seem ever present in post-9/11 life.

29. J.D. Allen Trio, I Am I Am (Sunnyside)
Detroit native J.D. Allen walks the tightrope of the sax trio--all alone on the front line, with only bassist Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston for company--and comes through not only with his reputation intact but sounding more fluid and powerful than ever. He's obviously influenced by Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, but with his hard-swinging attack and impressively lean lines--he reduces things to their essence here--he also makes his own skills and ideas clear.

28. Morton Feldman, The Viola in My Life (ECM)
Morton Feldman stepped away from avant-garde techniques like graphic notation and indeterminacy for his 1970 composition The Viola in My Life, one of his most darkly melodic pieces. Violist Marek Konstantynowicz renders it beautifully, in deeply burnished tones, with the support of the Cikada Ensemble and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (conducted by Christian Eggen).

27. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar)
This is one of the few albums on my list that lots of other people seem to love. Jason Justin Vernon recorded it while spending the winter alone in a remote Wisconsin cabin, overdubbing his somewhat ramshackle vocal harmonies (most in a gently cracking falsetto) atop a foundation of driving acoustic guitar and insistent foot tapping.

26. Mostly Other People Do the Killing, This Is Our Moosic (Hot Cup)
Led by bassist Moppa Elliott, this New York quartet--trumpeter Peter Evans, saxophonist Jon Irabagon, and drummer Kevin Shea--demolishes the distinctions between shtick and sincerity, homage and satire, humor and bad taste. The band absolutely kills it, and their playing communicates a deep love and appreciation for every musical style and trend they tackle and obliterate--they have a blast doing both, and they don't care who gets his nose out of joint about it.

25. John Ellis & Double Wide, Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow (Hyena)
With this record saxophonist John Ellis a quantum creative leap. Though he definitely draws on his years in New Orleans, the group--with Jason Marsalis on drums, Gary Versace on organ, and Matt Perine on tuba--not only massages familiar second-line grooves but pushes them to the breaking point. Instead of churning out another feel-good Crescent City retread, Ellis proves the town's musical DNA can still mutate.

24. Fernando Otero, Paginas de Buenos Aires (Nonesuch)
Argentinean pianist and composer Fernando Otero, based in New York since the 90s, makes a strong case for himself as the inheritor of Astor Piazzolla's mantle. Whether playing duos or performing with an orchestra, he crafts nuevo tango of the highest order.

23. Eliza Carthy, Dreams of Breathing Underwater (Topic)
The daughter of guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson, Eliza Carthy is herself a veteran of the British folk scene, and she complements her thorough knowledge of the tradition with a determination to update its context. Here she pulls off that trick with the freshest, most natural-sounding album of her career.

22. Andrew Hill & Chico Hamilton, Dreams Come True (Joyous Shout!)
Recorded in 1993 but unreleased until this year, Dreams Come True captures a dazzling collision: brilliant, introspective pianist Andrew Hill and energetic, timeless drummer Chico Hamilton. Their interactions are full of respect and understanding, but neither yields easily to the other--the resulting tension makes this record crackle.

21. Emilíana Torrini, Me and Armini (Rough Trade)
Wonderful Italian-Icelandic singer Emilíana Torrini (pictured), based in England, follows the subdued, folksy 2005 album Fisherman's Woman with this more upbeat collection. The arrangements are fleshed out better, but not at the expense of the gorgeous, insinuating melodies, and Torrini's delicate articulation makes each song feel as intimate as an a cappella performance.

Today's playlist:

Benga, Diary of an Afro Warrior (Tempa)
Colin Stetson, New History Warfare: Volume 1 (Aagoo)
Philip Jeck, Sand (Touch)
TV on the Radio, Dear Science (DGC/Interscope)
Charles Lloyd Quartet, Rabo de Nube (ECM)

I'm using my next four posts to count down my 40 favorite albums of 2008. As I've noted before, ranking these recordings seems more arbitrary every year--the order of my picks feels like it could change every day--so don't take the exact sequence too seriously. Everything on this list pleased and/or provoked my mind and/or body.

Next week I'll devote a post or two to some of my favorite reissues of the year.

Please leave a comment if you're having trouble tracking anything down; I'll do my best to steer you in the right direction.

40. Matana Roberts Quartet, The Chicago Project (Central Control)
A former Chicagoan, reedist Matana Roberts returned from New York to make the best record of her career, working with guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Josh Abrams, and drummer Frank Rosaly (and cutting a few duets with tenor titan Fred Anderson). The rippling, muscular music pushes a postwar Chicago blues feel through ideas laid out by the AACM in the 60s, and its final stop is the present.

39. Orquestra Contemporânea de Olinda: Orquestra Contemporânea de Olinda (Som Livre Apresenta)
Olinda is in Pernambuco, Brazil, near the vital city of Recife, and this large band includes some of the area's greatest musicians, including singers Tiné and Maciel Salú (who also plays the violinlike rabeca). Orquestra Contemporânea de Olinda delivers a fantastic hodgepodge of Pernambucan styles, colored with sharply drawn touches of reggae, dub, and rock, and the fine arrangements prevent the music from sounding the slightest bit fusty or folkloric.

38. Bebo Valdés & Javier Colina, Live at the Village Vanguard (Norte/Calle 54)
Undiminished at 90, Cuban pianist Bebo Valdes conducts yet another seminar on rhythmic economy, melodic precision, and dynamic control in these intimate but energetic duos with Spanish bassist Javier Colina, in the process discovering new wrinkles in a program of Afro-Cuban classics.

37. Cassandra Wilson, Loverly (Blue Note)
Cassandra Wilson has remained my favorite jazz singer for two decades not by staying the course but by tweaking and revamping her sound. Here she returns to the standard repertoire for the first time in 20 years, refracting the songs through the same prism as the records she's been making since 1993's Blue Light 'Til Dawn--her performances are leisurely, sensual, and spacious. Bonus points for a killer band that includes pianist Jason Moran.

36. Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Lie Down in the Light (Drag City)
For all his idiosyncrasies, Will Oldham might be America's most reliable singer-songwriter. What makes this even more impressive is that he hasn't simply sought out a sweet spot and then kept on hitting it--he's made one great record after another, and no two of them sound alike.

35. Maga Bo, Archipelagos (Soot)
New York-based Brazilian producer Maga Bo floored me with this frothy blast of global grooves. His work is sample based, sure, but he doesn't just cobble something together from whatever he can find on the Internet--he travels the planet collecting new beats and arranging them with great vocals from singers and MCs from places like Portugal, Morocco, South Africa, and Tanzania.

34. Wildbirds & Peacedrums, The Snake (Caprice)
The onslaught of beguiling and original Scandinavian art-pop continues. The second album by this Swedish duo (singer and keyboardist Mariam Wallentin and drummer Andreas Werliin) hasn't been released in the U.S. yet, but in the meantime I highly recommend its predecessor, Heartcore (Leaf), to anyone unwilling to deal with import prices. The Snake somehow smooshes together indie rock, blues, parlor songs, and jazz without really sounding like any of them--and the band's even better live.

33. Lykke Li, Youth Novels (LL/Atlantic)
Young Swede Lykke Li transforms her wisp of a voice--she has an especially endearing way with heavily accented English--into a sirenlike charm, backed by music that sounds like electronic dance-pop rebuilt from whatever she could find in her living room.

32. Unni Løvlid, Rite (Grappa)
This Norwegian folksinger isn't afraid to take traditional music off its pedestal, but what makes her really superb is the things she does with it then--she's recorded a cappella music in a cavernous mausoleum and worked in a killer trio with accordionist Frode Haltli and violinist Vegar Vårdal. Here she layers her voice with a subtle electronics and orchestral arrangements, making centuries-old tunes sound vibrant and contemporary.

31. Silke Eberhard Trio, Being (Jazzwerkstatt)
Young Berlin reedist Silke Eberhard has caught my ear before--particularly on a program of Ornette Coleman tunes recorded with pianist Aki Takashi--but she really hits pay dirt here. Her tart tone clearly influenced by Ornette, she braids her generous improvised melodies through swinging structures sketched out by bassist Jan Roder (Die Enttäuschung) and drummer Kay Lübke.

Today's playlist:

Charlemagne Palestine, The Apocalypse Will Blossom (Yesmissolga)
Luis Perdomo, Pathways (Criss Cross)
The Accidental, There Were Wolves (Thrill Jockey)
Autistic Daughters, Uneasy Flowers (Kranky)
Brad Mehldau Trio, Live (Nonesuch)