And here we are with our Top 10 new releases of 2023. Had time allowed for deep listening, so many more recordings put out this year would’ve entered into the equation and the list would’ve surely been different. If we say this every year, that’s because it remains true. This isn’t an exercise in finality but the beginning of a long discussion.
10. Rob Mazurek – Exploding Star Orchestra – Lightning Dreamers (International Anthem) Craig Taborn’s Wurlitzer and yes, Rob Mazurek’s trumpet really bring the Electric Miles vibes, but much of Lightning Dreamers goes farther out than Davis did and does so distinctly. Damon Locks bring his words to Mazurek’s banquet once again, and the band, a scaled-down version of his Orchestra, is a murderer’s row of a major players: along with Taborn and Locks, there’s guitarist Jeff Parker, keyboardist Angelica Sanchez, drummer Gerald Cleaver, percussionist Mauricio Takara, and flautist Nicole Mitchell.
9. Josephine Foster – Domestic Sphere (Fire) The music of Josephine Foster has always had currents of the eerie and the out-of-time about it, but Domestic Sphere, her 14th solo album, gets positively otherworldly as it consists of just Foster on guitar and vocals and field recordings that are interjected throughout, sometimes subtly, at other times abruptly, by producer-collaborator Daniel Blumberg. It’s a strikingly experimental work that only amplifies the unique characteristics of Foster’s work. Anyone with fond memories of the New Weird America should step right up to this one.
8. The Clientele – I Am Not There Anymore (Merge) It’s hard not to worry a little when a band reemerges after a long absence. What exactly have they been doing all that time? I hope nothing bad. And it’s always risky when a significant progression in sound gets unveiled after that period away. Hope you like our new direction! With I Am Not There Anymore, The Clientele’s first record since the autumn of 2017, the band swung into some musical strides, but to wholly positive effect, and without disconnecting from the sound that made them such an appealing indie pop outfit for so long. What a savvy bunch of cats.
7. Satoko Fujii & Otomo Yoshihide – Perpetual Motion (Ayler) & Ikue Mori + Kaze – Crustal Movement (Circum-Disc /Libra) It proved impossible to decide on which example of pianist-composer-bandleader Satoko Fujii’s collaborative prowess was the better, so deciding got the kibosh. Perpetual Motion takes the art of the duo to rare heights in a first time meeting, as Fujii tackles the keys with intense precision, getting deep inside the instrument at times. Otomo wiggles, roars and wails like a champ. Lovers of racket will find much to dig, but it’s a sublime racket. They also explore the atmospheric.
Crustal Movement finds Fujii’s group Kaze—that’s Fujii on piano, Christian Pruvost on trumpet and flugelhorn, Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, and Peter Orins on drums, teaming with Ikue Mori on electronics, and if racket’s your bag, this one’s suitable for all-day sack races. Valves and no reeds brings Kaze a distinct flavor, and with some fine extended techniques on display. Fujii can shift from full-on energy runs to captivating restraint, and sometimes she drops out entirely, waiting to strike. Orins excels at abstract rattle and thump, and Mori’s electronic splatters and spasms have rarely sounded better.
6. Daniel Carter, Leo Genovese, William Parker, Francisco Mela – Shine Hear, Vol. 1 (577) Out of the many superb recordings 577 issued in 2023, I was particularly struck and kept coming back to this one, which brings the thunder and the skronk courtesy of pianist Genovese and saxophonist Carter, but is also quite lyrical at times, especially in the concise title track. Bassist Parker’s doubling on horns (specifically the gralla and shakuhachi) and drummer Mela’s vocalizations intensify the ’70s loft feel across Shine Hear, Vol. 1, and given Carter and Parker’s veteran NYC stature, that’s a totally organic circumstance.
5. Bill Orcutt – Jump on It (Palilalia) The incomparable Bill Orcutt has stirred up a lot of recent well-deserved attention for his guitar quartet (a performance outgrowth of Music for Four Guitars, which is all Orcutt), and the same is true for his more improv-based collabs (a recent video clip of Orcutt, drummer Chris Corsano, and saxophonist Zoh Amba is a jaw-dropper), but 2023 also brought the man’s first solo acoustic record in ten years (the last one A History of Every One hit the top spot on TVD’s 2013 best new releases list). Since, Orcutt has progressed into intimate, tangibly beautiful territory, and that’s great.
4. Madhuvanti Pal – The Holy Mother – Madhuvanti Pal Plays the Rudra Veena (Sublime Frequencies) The flat fact is that Sublime Frequencies doesn’t put out bad records. I’ve yet to hear an average release from the label, either. They do offer many excellent recordings, with The Holy Mother notable as it’s a new release, not archival. Madhuvanti Pal’s abilities on the rudra veena (a lute with an ancient history but rarely heard in recorded form) are immense. This is the first vinyl long-player of a woman playing the rudra veena ever released, two long tracks spread across four sides of wax, and it’s absolutely glorious.
3. Lewsberg – Out and About (12XU) Lewsberg have been compared to the Velvet Underground. Indeed, I’ve compared them to the Velvet Underground. But Lewsberg have always transcended that influence, leaning into indie pop at its most Moleskine notebook-like but with a refreshing lack of affectation. “Out for Milk” reminds me more than a little of Yo La Tengo in the early days before they solidified with James as a third member, but janglier and definitely more Euro. In the end, Lewsberg aren’t striving for startling originality but instead are reinvigorating the tried-and-true in a highly individual and outstanding way.
2. Matthew Shipp – The Intrinsic Nature of Shipp (Mahakala Music) Both prolific and prodigious, Matthew Shipp is no stranger to the solo piano record. Taking a look at his discography, this appears to be the twelfth time he’s stepped into a studio or was recorded on stage by his lonesome. The prior solo Shipp I’ve heard has all been worthwhile because, similar to Sublime Frequencies, Matthew Shipp doesn’t make bad records. The title is suggestive; while this is Shipp and nothing but, the compositions all belong to him and the emotional register of his playing sounds broader than ever has before. Inexhaustible.
1. Kris Davis: Diatom Ribbons – Live at the Village Vanguard (Pyroclastic) Pianist-composer-improvisor-label impresario Davis’ Diatom Ribbons issued a studio record in 2019, but none of its pieces are played on this 2CD documenting performances from May 27–28, 2022. This is also a smaller group, retaining from the studio session Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, Val Jeanty on turntables and electronics, and Trevor Dunn on acoustic and electric bass. Julian Lage is heard on guitar at the Vanguard as the prior album welcomed Nels Cline and Marc Ribot on the instrument, plus Esperanza Spalding on vocals.
Davis took a tactic from the studio record—“Certain Cells” includes the spoken words of Gwendolyn Brooks, and ran with it for the Vanguard dates, integrating an interview with Sun Ra in “VW,” the voices of Olivier Messiaen and Paul Bley in “Bird Call Blues,” and the voice of Karlheinz Stockhausen in “Parasitic Hunter.” These additions are seamlessly integrated into a band framework that’s unfailingly sharp and invitingly jazzy even as Davis and crew refuse to kowtow to traditionalism. It’s a record so enjoyable that its sustained excellence and overall achievement takes a little while to register. Once it hits…ho, boy.
It seems like every year is a hard year anymore, but the above records made it better. Great music always makes things better. Let’s all concentrate on making 2024 as positive as possible. Happy new year, everybody.
