Quarterly picks: 20 fave album releases circa July through September (and a bit), 2024.
My aim with the Midweek Pick, which has been the main recurring series on this Substack, has been and will continue to be to produce short write-ups of music that I for various reason haven’t or won’t be able to cover elsewhere (there has, as far as I can remember, been only one exception to this rule-of-thumb). My main written output is still for a weekly supplement and a quarterly magazine, both Norwegian, and my music endorsements from those outlets have only appeared here as part of round-ups.
Thus, in addition to what other uses such lists may have, they can give readers of this Substack who cannot or have not read those other reviews a fuller picture of what has struck my fancy over a particular period, even if a good chunk of those endorsements will appear here without much or any explanation for why I like those particular selections. Seeing as we have now passed three fourths of 2024, it seems like a good time to have another such round-up. These picks were releases from July (except for two from late June), when I resumed work after a three week long vacation, through the first week of October.
Although these aren’t ranked in any strict sense, and all are highly recommended, I do feel more strongly about those near the top. Such as the brilliant self-titled debut by the international quartet ØKSE. On the surface a jazz meets hiphop-venture, but one where the involved musicians are as obviously steeped and the language of modern beats as they are in improvised interactions, and so the end result is a lot more involved, and interesting, than ”just” jazz plus hiphop. There’s also the stirring return to the sax, bass & drums trio by Darius Jones, one of a handful of picks in that format, Kirk Knuffke proving that there’s still a lot of interesting things you can do with (jazz) standards, whether well-known and more obscure, Joel and the Neverending Sextett going out on some fascinating Threadgillian excursions, and much more.
ØKSE: ØKSE (BackwoodzStudioz) — Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet, Klassekampen Aug. 9.
Darius Jones: Legend of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity) — Review to be published in Musikkmagasinet, Klassekampen, Oct. 11.
Kirk Knuffke: Super Blonde (SteepleChase) — Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet, Klassekampen, Sept. 6th.
Joel and the Neverending Sextet: Marbled (Motvind Records) — Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet, Klassekampen, Sept. 13th.
Frode Gjerstad Trio: Unknown Purposes (Circulasione Totale) — Midweek pick, Sept. 25th.
Patricia Brennan: Breaking Stretch (Pyroclastic) — Reviewed for Jazznytt #272, Fall 2024
Rempis / Adasiewicz / Abrams / Damon: Propulsion (Aerophonic Records) — Reviewed for Jazznytt #272, Fall 2024
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (Exit) Knarr: Breezy (Sonic Transmissions Records) — Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet, Klassekampen, Sept. 27th.
Wendy Eisenberg: Viewfinder (American Dreams Records)
Lux Quartet (Myra Melford, Allison Miller, Danya Stephens, Scott Colley): Tomorrowland (Enja/Yellowbird) — Reviewed for Jazznytt #272, Fall 2024
Sulida: Utos (Clean Feed) — Midweek pick, Aug. 7th.
The Jesus Lizard: Rack (Ipecac Records)
Jessica Ackerley: All Of the Colours Are Singing (AKP Recordings)
Harald Lassen: Opplevelser Fra N (Jazzland) — Reviewed for Musikkmagasinet, Klassekampen, Aug. 16.
Corsano Baiza Watt Trio: Corsano Baiza Watt Trio (Yucca Alta Records)
Luís Vicente Trio: Come Down Here (Clean Feed Records)
Kris Davis Trio: Run the Gauntlet (Pyroclastic) — Reviewed for Jazznytt #272, Fall 2024
Rob Mazurek - Exploding Star Orchestra: Live at the Adler Planetarium (International Anthem)
Superposition: II (We Jazz) — Midweek pick, Aug. 15th.
SML: Small Medium Large (International Anthem) — Midweek pick, July 31st.