It seems like it’s never been more difficult to be a working musician than right now, and it also seems like there’s never been as much quality new music. Here’s part one of the best new releases of 2022.
20. Tyshawn Sorey Trio, Mesmerism (self-release) Tyshawn Sorey is a fantastic drummer, with his ability shining on this set featuring pianist Aaron Diehl and bassist Matt Brewer. Yes, a piano trio, but organized by the drummer (giving it a tangible stylistic twist) as the group tackles a few jazz standards and works from the Great American Songbook (“Detour Ahead,” a tune associated with Bill Evans, “Autumn Leaves,” Duke’s “REM Blues”) plus a few less celebrated gems (Horace Silver’s “Enchantment,” Paul Motian’s “From Time to Time,” Muhal Richard Abrams’ “Two Over One”). Boppish, but very fresh.
19. Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves, Hurricane Clarice (Free Dirt) The eponymous 2019 album from banjoist de Groot and fiddler Hargreaves is a terrific debut, and this environmentally themed follow-up, which references both a noted storm from the 2018 hurricane season and the great Brazilian novelist Clarice Lispector, is even better. Combining vocal numbers with often torrid instrumentals (“Nancy Blevins” is a smoker) and original material with inspired trad choices, Hurricane Clarice is as smartly assembled as it is instrumentally sharp.
18. The Reds, Pinks & Purples, Summer at Land’s End & They Only Wanted Your Soul (Slumberland) Based in San Francisco, the Reds, Pinks & Purples, an act propelled by the songwriting prowess of one Glenn Donaldson, have had a prolific year; in addition to this pair of LPs, the first one issued in early February and the second in mid-October, there’s been four digital only EPs and a full-length digital only instrumental album that was originally a companion to the Summer at Land’s End vinyl. Amongst all this activity, the consistency shines. Diggers of Felt, The Clientele, and Creation Records, step right up.
17. Tomas Fujiwara’s Triple Double, March (Firehouse 12) Triple Double features Fujiwara on drums and vibraphone, Gerald Cleaver on drums, Thumbscrew bandmate Mary Halvorson on guitar, Brandon Seabrook on guitar, Ralph Alessi on trumpet, and Taylor Ho Bynum on cornet. The instrumental configuration brings the name of the band into focus as the sound is appealingly distinctive, the double brass in particular. There are plenty of harried moments across this set, and a whole lot of guitar scorch and wiggle. Indeed, March could easily serve as the doorway into the avant-garde for curious rock fans.
10. Tyler Mitchell featuring Marshall Allen, Dancing Shadows (Mahakala Music) Craft Recordings’ fresh edition of The Futuristic Worlds of Sun Ra came out in 2022, a fine reissue (if not strong enough to land on our Best Reissues of 2022 list). Marshall Allen played on Futuristic Worlds, and he’s in exemplary form on Dancing Shadows by Tyler Mitchell, a Sun Ra alum from the ‘80s and again later post-Sun Ra’s passing when the Arkestra was under the direction of Allen. The connection to Futuristic Worlds is notable as many of the pieces here are Sun Ra compositions from the same era. Raucous and rhythmic.
9. Joy Guidry, Radical Acceptance (Whited Sepulchre) Bassoonist-composer Guidry self-describes as “Black, Fat, Queer and Non binary.” Radical Acceptance is their debut album, its title taken from a therapeutic practice of honoring the whole person and in turn reducing self-harm and promoting positive mental health. Guidry’s music is appropriately wide ranging, Opening with a spoken artist’s statement railing against toxic judgements, the selections alternate ambient pieces with robust free jazz but with a clear compositional component from Guidry. Fully realized, yet promising.
8. The Whitmore Sisters, Ghost Stories (Red House Records / Compass Record Group) Siblings Eleanor and Bonnie Whitmore are experienced musicians (Eleanor has made four records with husband Chris Masterson as The Mastersons and Bonnie has released four solo albums), but this is their first as a duo, and it’s an utter delight, packing a rootsy yet pop savvy wallop upon introduction and refusing to lessen in its appeal after repeated listens. Ghost Stories is a direct byproduct of the Covid pandemic, cut during a sisterly visit but avoiding the scaled-down aura of so many pandemic era recordings.
7. Éliane Radigue & Frédéric Blondy, Occam XXV (Organ Reframed) Organ Reframed is an experimental music festival focused on the organ and only the organ, curated by composer/performer and London’s Union Chapel music director Claire M Singer, with their first release a commissioned work from the renowned electronic composer Éliane Radigue, her first piece for organ and an extension of her Occam Ocean series, with the commission performed by multihyphenate Frédéric Blondy. It is a gradually building and fascinatingly subtle work nearer to experimental drone than to the cathedral.
20. Sonic Youth, In/Out/In (Three Lobed Recordings) Sonic Youth’s disillusion in 2011 was a tough one for fans for a variety of reasons; that they were still functioning musically at a very high level (I have a particular fondness for Rather Ripped, which rates up there with the band’s finest albums) certainly contributed to the bummer deal. And so, getting this LP of mostly instrumental material recorded between 2000–2010 was a surprise and a total treat. Five tracks, two of them hovering in the ballpark of 12 minutes, underscore that the Sonic Youth stands amongst the best rock bands to ever do it.
19. Cheri Knight, American Rituals (Freedom to Spend) Later known for work in an alt-country mode solo and in Blood Oranges, Cheri Knight’s early 1980s output while based in Washington State (moving there to attend Evergreen State College) is art-pop with Minimalist tendencies that’s aligned with the fertile post-punk underground of the time. The DIY spirit is strong as the similarities to the concurrent NYC downtown thing are palpable, but the arts college ambiance lends distinctiveness to the collection. Everything here is sourced from compilations, most highly scarce, making this a real public service.
18. David Blue, Stories (eremite) The best album by Blue, released in 1971 by Asylum to no fanfare. An accomplished singer-songwriter and colorful fringe character (and sometime actor) on the scene, Blue started out in the mid-’60s as a replicator of Dylan-isms (his self-titled debut released by Elektra), but by the point of Stories was nearer to Leonard Cohen augmented with non-twang country-ish currents a la Neil Young. Maybe not the most earthshattering reissue of 2022, but it’s always nice when an early ’70s singer-songwriter album hits closer to Townes Van Zandt than to James Taylor.
17. William S. Fischer, Circles (Real Gone) Released in 1970 on Embryo, Herbie Mann’s Atlantic Records subsidiary (but with nary a heavy flute in earshot), Circles is a fascinating record from composer-arranger-multi-instrumentalist Fischer. Blending symphonic soul-funky rock with then nascent electronic composition (the serious stuff, as Fischer studied electronic composition in Vienna in the mid-’60s), Circles is a bit like Sly Stone or Shuggie Otis with a side order of Subotnick and a touches of Hot Buttered Soul. There is also a non-Mann-ish jazz connection, as Ron Carter and Billy Cobham are on board.
10. Savage Republic, Tragic Figures Expanded 40th Anniversary Edition (Real Gone) & Africa Corps Live at the Whisky A Go Go 30th December 1981 (Independent Project Records) Tragic Figures remains one of the more underrated records to have emerged from the US underground of the 1980s, expanded here to 2LP by Real Gone with an extra album of rehearsal recordings. Afrika Corps’ live set is from the same period, with nearly all the cuts from Tragic Figures represented during the set. It’s a sweet complement to the studio work, as the Flipper meets Einstürzende Neubauten feel burns bright during “Real Men.”
9. Pepper Adams with the Tommy Banks Trio, Live at Room at the Top (Reel to Real) Pepper Adams (who passed in 1986) might not be the highest-profile baritone saxophonist (that honor likely still belongs to either Gerry Mulligan or Harry Carney), but he’s far from obscure, having worked consistently for decades as a leader and a key sideman on records and on the bandstand. In September of ’72 he lit out for Alberta, Canada between stints in the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band and hooked up with a local trio led by pianist Tommy Banks. This 2LP documents the performance, imperfect and lowkey, yet sublime.
8. The Flamingos, Flamingo Serenade (Real Gone) Most great doo-wop LPs weren’t recorded as such, instead being compilations of singles with a few unreleased cuts possibly added in to pad out the runtime. Flamingo Serenade is an exception, and indeed a thematically constructed LP full of The Flamingos’ vocal group interpretations of pop standards cut at the behest of End Records producer George Goldner. What could’ve been a snooze fest is transformed by inspired harmonies and in-the-pocket instrumental backing. And you’re not going to find an original that’s not marred with crackle.
7. Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, Spielt Eigen Kompositionen (Mississippi) This is a fresh edition of Mississippi’s earlier reissue of Ethiopian Nun Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru’s privately pressed debut album from 1967, originally a 10-inch that now sells for hundreds of dollars. The set’s five tracks were also included on Éthiopiques 21: Piano Solo, a set devoted entirely to the works of Gebru, who was born in 1922 and is still with us today. A documentary on Gebru is titled Honky-Tonk Nun, but her vibrant piano compositions are in the classical tradition with distinctive Ethiopian flavor.
10. V/A, Life Between Islands, Soundsystem Culture: Black Musical Expression in the UK 1973–2006 (Soul Jazz) There’s no shortage of compilations devoted to Jamaican music currently in the store racks, which makes it difficult to stand out amongst the sheer volume. Soul Jazz’s thematic releases are consistently near the top of the heap through ambitiousness and sheer listenability, and this 3LP is no exception. The Jamaica-UK connection is long-established, but Life Between Islands goes deep, spanning five decades and never running out of gas as the 20 selections cover a wide range of reggae sub-genres.
9. Elvin Jones, Revival: Live at Pookie’s Pub (Blue Note) Recorded in late July of 1967, just three nights after John Coltrane’s death, this 3LP set is a wonderful discovery, with drummer Jones up front in the mix and in often spectacular form. Joe Farrell, who made his biggest mark in the fusion scene, dishes some potent Trane-esque tenor sax, the mysterious Billy Greene is sharp on piano (organist Larry Young sits in on piano for “Gingerbread Boy”), and Wilber Little holds it down on bass. Had Farrell concentrated on tenor and left his flute at home, this would’ve climbed a little higher on the list.
8. The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, Grounation (Soul Jazz) When roots are mentioned in relation to Jamaican music, it’s generally referring to the roots reggae style as personified by Horace Andy, Toots & the Maytals, The Congos, and of course, Peter Tosh and Bob Marley. But Grounation is an altogether deeper and stylistically broad plunge into Jamaican roots, and with an intense historical focus. Reggae is part of the equation, but The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, led by drummer Count Ossie, can swing into horn-laden grooves that at times radiate a similar intensity to Dustin Laurenzi’s Snaketime. Wow.
7. Frank Kimbrough, 2003–2006 – Volume One: Lullabluebye / Volume Two: Play (Palmetto) This set, available as a 2CD and 4LP, combines two CDs released consecutively by Palmetto but by different trios (Kimbrough obviously the shared link), Lullabluebye with bassist Ben Allison and drummer Matt Wilson and Play with bassist Masa Kamaguchi and drummer Paul Motion. It serves as an excellent tribute to the departed pianist. 2003–2006 expands the possibilities of the piano trio configuration rather than just luxuriating in them, focusing almost exclusively on original material, mostly Kimbrough’s.
When the Muzak wasn’t playing, one might have heard a cavernous echo of sound floating down the corridors and followed the noise to discover its origin. If you were lucky enough, you’d find teen-icon, pop princess, 
Lincoln, RI | In an age of streaming, Kangaroo CDs & Tapes still giving customers something to hold onto: It’s a June night in 1997 and the Wu-Tang Clan just released their new album, “Wu-Tang Forever.” Two-hundred eager customers line up at Kangaroo CDs & Tapes on Mineral Spring Avenue for the store’s midnight release of the album. There’s just one problem – the town of North Providence does not allow midnight sales. Store owner Linda Bowen recalls the police arriving on the scene that night to shut it down. As she remembers it, she didn’t realize the late-night release would be an issue, but the police “were nice enough to let all the kids in line pick up their CDs and tapes.” In today’s world of Spotify and various other music streaming services, Bowen doesn’t encounter situations quite like that one anymore. But she’s still making sales and serving customers at the storefront that’s been a 
Duluth, MN | Globe News, landmark store in Superior, changing ownership: A landmark Superior collectible store—along with its iconic sign—has been sold to new owners who plan to maintain all its nostalgic charm. Globe News owner Tom Unterberger announced last week that he has sold the historic building at Tower Avenue and Belknap Street along with all its contents to a partnership group headed by a longtime customer. Unterberger and his wife, Jill, purchased the building with the help of his parents in 1982 and slowly converted its corner newsstand into a retail store filled with books, music, trading cards and a wide variety of vintage gifts. The store will officially change hands Jan. 1. …Globe News 
While they are well-remembered today, I also suspect that few people these days would rank the Dave Clark Five as one the tiptop exemplars of the Brit Invasion, and that’s an interesting scenario because during the phenomenon’s initial wave, only The Beatles achieved a higher level of popularity. Contemplating the subject for a bit leads me to a handful of reasons for the lessening of the DC5’s status over time.
