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For Mahalia, With Love (CD)
James Brandon Lewis & Red Lily
Using songs associated with the most iconic Gospel music legend as a jumping-off point for arrangements that lead into group improvisations is not that crazy, actually. In fact, this recording is a thing of great beauty!
James Brandon Lewis - tenor saxophone
Kirk Knuffke - cornet
William Parker - bass
Chad Taylor - drums
Chris Hoffman - cello
Also, Mendoza/Hoff Revels' "Echolocation", which also features Lewis as well as drummer Ches Smith (joining electric guitarist Ava Mendoza and bassist Devin Hoff) rips!
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Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden (LP)
Matana Roberts
This installment of Roberts' musical investigation of her family's history centers around an ancestor who died following complications from an illegal abortion.
If you haven't heard previous chapters in her Coin Coin series, this might be a good place to begin.
Music, noise, sound art, singing, darkness, starkness, beauty.
Jazz? I don't know or care.
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Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((world war)) (LP)
jaimie branch
Rest in Power, and thank you for this magic.
jaimie branch – trumpet, voice, keyboard, percussion, happy apple
Lester St. Louis – cello, voice, flute, marimba, keyboard
Jason Ajemian – double bass, electric bass, voice, marimba
Chad Taylor – drums, mbira, timpani, bells, marimba
+ guests
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Protect Your Light (LP)
Irreversible Entaglements
Okay, yes, there's a theme here, I see: a lot of invocations, incantations and intonations, by women-led groups (or in the case of "For Mahalia", inspired by Lewis' beloved grandmother's love for the music of Mahalia Jackson. But the spells are just about as potent.)
Irreversible Entanglements: check it!
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Crazy Horse Never Died (LP)
Roxy Gordon
Your favorite poet's favorite poet. Like if Terry Allen fronted Crass
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Everything Harmony (LP)
Lemon Twigs
Hooks, looks, emotion. A working model for the next decade of Rock and Roll.
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Fairweather Friend (LP)
Umbrellas
I love this record because it makes me happy and sad at the same time.
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Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (LP)
Lucinda Williams
This record blends country, pop & rock in a manner so tasteful, so perfectly contextualized, it can be paralleled only by the genre-defining seminal work of The Byrds' "Sweethearts of the Rodeo"
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The Narrow Gate (Cassette)
Bridge Gamble
The indentation left on modernity by nature's mystery leads to high weirdness in the high desert while mama and papa pray for their child from back home.
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Ska-Boo-Da-Ba (LP)
Skatalites
Reissue of what is arguably their best album. Tremendous, start to finish.
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In Person (CD)
Gregory Issacs
Lovely mid-70's Gregory album given the deluxe reissue treatment
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Eccentric Soul: The Saadia Lable (LP)
V/A
One of Soul's most collectible labels gets the Numero reissue treatment. Essential music from Florida
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One Step Ahead
Sugar Minott
Superb cover of the Aretha Franklin classic. Produced by the one Victor Axelrod. Find this.
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The Peace-Maker (LP)
Harold Land
Excellent understated gem finally gets a nice U.S. vinyl repress. Such a great album. Plus Bobby Hutcherson!
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Vibrations In Color (LP)
Nu Vintage
Mellow but not lo-fi, heavily jaz-inspired beats, coming out of the Bay Area. The harder you listen, the better it gets.
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L.I.S.A. (LP)
Odd Holiday
Maybe my favorite project of 2023, with Mattie on the mic throughout & Daylight Robbery with teh dusty, soulful, lovably weird production
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Lightweight Heavy (LP)
Fat Jon
2023 repress of the classic instrumental project from 2004. Not to sound like an amateur audiophile in the Discogs comments, but a phenomenal pressing.
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Uptown Rulers / Uptown Rulers (Professor Shorthair Remix)
Connie Price & The Keystones
Apani B Bly is back! Easily one of my very favorite MC's ever since the Polyrhythm Addicts EP, and she's definitely still got it. Now who's gonna finally press up her 2003 solo album on vinyl?
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Live From Austin, TX '89 (LP)
Waylon Jennings
A record that makes you wanna fire up the hog on a hot summer's night and take a ride down easy street
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