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Best Albums of the Decade, Part II

Albums Ranked No. 40-31

40. Patricia Barber, Mythologies 2006

Patricia Barber and Cassandra Wilson were the most inventive and imaginative Jazz vocalists of the decade I believe. This album is her musical musical telling of Ovid's Metamorphoses. Yet she does not just tell the stories, she interprets them. Sit down with a copy and read the stories, then listen to the music and let it carry you away to a mythical tales of Icarus, Orpheus, Narcissus and other wonderful tales.

39. Esperanza Spalding, Esperanza 2008

As a young, up and coming singer/bassist, I look forward to what she is going to do in the future, but this is a tremendous sophomore effort.

38. Over the Rhine, Drunkard's Prayer 2005

This is one of the most intimate albums I've ever heard. Soft and tender, Karen and Linford let us into their lives and tell the story of their marriage, hurts, love and healing.

37. Ólafur Arnalds, Eulogy for Evolution 2007

This all instrumental album of post-rock neoclassical music needs to be heard. I don't know how these Icelandic musicians are putting out so many great albums, but they seem to do it over and over. I put him up there with Sigur Ros and Emiliana Torini.

36. Roy Hargrove, Earfood 2008

This is a straight up jazz album, and there's nothing terribly new or inventive about it, but it lives up to its title. It is thoroughly enjoyable food for the ears, beautiful from beginning to end.

35. Cassandra Wilson, Glamoured 2003

Jazz and blues with a twist of African rhythms, this album has it all. This is a great introduction to a magnificent singer.

34. Yo La Tengo, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out 2000

This is probably my favorite Yo La Tengo album since it seems to capture best the spectrum of music that they put out.

33. Cat Power, Jukebox 2008

This is the most soulful of her ablums, which is why I prefer this one to her others.

32. The Weepies, Say I am You 2006

Their catchy folk/pop music will have you hooked the moment you start listening to them. This is a thoroughly enjoyable album--I haven't weeped once, yet.

31. Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters 2007

I have no idea why this album won best album. I'm not saying it didn't deserve it, but there have been several jazz albums in recent years that probably deserved to win even more. Perhaps it's because he brought in pop singers like Norah Jones to sing for him. If you're a jazz fan, don't write this off as a pop effort--this is truly jazz. If you're a pop fan, don't write this off as obscure jazz music--this is a great way to get into a style of music you may be missing.

Best Albums of the Decade

In December, I thought a quick little project I could do would be to create a list of the best (by that I mean, the best I've had the pleasure of hearing) albums of the last 10 years. I figured this would easily be accomplished by early January, when you'd expect to see things like this. However, it's now late February, and I'm just now posting it. There's always another album to find, always a realization that I have to listen to this album or that one more time. But here it is--well, here's the first ten. This is my final list until next month when I realized I got it all wrong.

50. Gretchen Parlato, In a Dream 2009

A relatively new jazz singer, Gretchen Parlato has raised the bar of vocal jazz to a new level. Not content with typical 4/4 or even 3/4 song structures, she has played with numerous time signatures and vocal rhythms to make this a truly enchanting album.

49. St. Vincent, Marry Me 2007

I love the way her sweet voice is often pit against the harsher sound of her guitar. This is a great effort, and with a song title like "Jesus saves, I Spend," you just know it has to be good.

48. Kathleen Edwards, Asking for Flowers 2007

She writes with disarming honesty, there's a genuine sweetness to her voice and an edge to her songs, both musically and lyrically.

47. Don Byron, Ivey-Divey 2004

The clarinet is just not as popular today as it once was. I don't know why, but it seems to have fallen out of favor. Don Byron is probably the best clarinetist around today, and this is arguably likely his best album of the past decade, though Do the Boomerang will give it a run for its money. It's a little on the avant-guard side of Jazz, but very enjoyable.

46. Ray LaMongagne, 'Till the Sun Turns Black 2006

With this album, you may feel you've just heard what Joe Cocker and Van Morrison would sound like if you merged them into one person.

45. Missy Higgins, The Sound of White 2005

I'm not a huge fan of pop music, but Missy Higgins sings with honesty, integrity, and simplicity. As you might be able to tell from the title, this is a no-frills pop album by a great singer-songwriter.

44. Death Cab for Cutie, Transatlanticism 2003

This is their last album before they went on a big record label and adopted a more polished and produced sound. But I think their best sound was right here.

43. The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America 2006

Yet another group that channels Bruce Springsteen for nearly every song, they still have a great sound, and the guitar work on this album is pretty great.

42. Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johannson, Breakup 2009

This album has been overshadowed by She & Him, and since it was released after their album, it would be easy to conclude that this is another actress trying to cash in on Zooey Deschenel's success. But this album was actually recorded first and released later, and it's thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. Who would have thought that Johannson could sing like that?

41. Avishai Cohen Trio, Gently Disturbed 2008

Avishai Cohen is a master of rhythm. All of albums groove better than just about anything else you're going to hear, and this is no exception. Buy this, turn it up loud and watch your stuff fall off the walls.

Daytrotter

A friend just turned me onto a fantastic website, www.daytrotter.com.  The site exists to create opportunities for independent artists to create alternative versions of released and unreleased songs for free.  This allows the site to promote new, original material and it allows music lovers to explore new artists for free.  I suspect they have about 600 artists or so that have contributed to the site, and the site lists about 700 Daytrotter Sessions.  For each session an artist will contribute three to five reworked songs for your listening pleasure.

My favorite artists on the site (so far) are Aimee Mann, Andrew Bird, Bell X1, Bon Iver, Death Cab for Cutie, Elvis Perkins, Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Ingrid Michaelson, Jaymay, Joe Pug, Kate Walsh, Langhorne Slim, Meiko, The National, Speck Mountain, Vampire Weekend and Zee Avi.

iTunes 9

I converted to a Mac about a year and a half ago, which basically forced me to convert to iTunes as well.  This was probably the most difficult part of the transition for me.  Then when I replaced my mp3 player, having to buy an iPod so that it would sync with my computer was equally disturbing.  I've made peace with my iPod, though.  There's a lot about it that I like.

iTunes, however, is a little bit different story.  I mean, I like to have a media player so that I can play media, and for me, being the music junkie that I am, I generally mean music.  iTunes has become a bloated program, stuffed with things that don't have any business being in a media player.  Why can't Apple make a different program to sync phone apps and ringtones?  Why can't iTunes function like iPhoto and simply contribute music and media to a phone-syncing program?  And the music store is so overpriced I'm amazed it still makes money.  Add to this that iTunes has been clumbsy from the beginning; the browsing has never been very good.  Even my old MusicMatch software did a better job (I was so sad when Yahoo bought that program and ruined it).  iTunes needs to be stripped down to be what it is supposed to be with a redesigned browsing interface.

That said, I must say that, for the most part,  I'm pleased with the changes in iTunes 9.  I'm convinced Apple is going to continue to bloat the program with stuff that has little or nothing to do with recording and playing media.  But many of the enhancements in iTunes 9 actually help me browse and listen to my music.  Here's some of what I like:

Smart Playlists

 

This is my favorite enhancement, though it is only useful for music junkies like me.  iTunes 8 did a decent job of making smart playlists.  My one complaint, however, has been that when you set criteria you make for your smart playlist, all the filters have to have the same Boolean operator.  Either all had to be "any" or all had to be "all."  There was no way to group or mix them to make complicated playlists.  All that now has changed.  So, I am able now for the first time to make a playlist that contains vocal Jazz music that I've rated with at least 3 stars and either was released prior to 1980 or is a compilation CD.  I've never been able to do that before.

Genius Mix

Apple upgraded the Genius engine so that it does a better job of choosing music that fits together.  They also added a mix feature on the side bar (you have to update Genius in iTunes to see it).  If you click on that, up to 12 mixes will show up.  Click on any of them, and iTunes will choose music that goes together in the genre categories it chooses for you.  This is nice, though I don't understand why you can't customize your Genius mixes to match your tastes. You're stuck with what iTunes thinks you want.  And, you can't sync them on the iPod classic, even the new one.  You would think that would be where people would want it most, since it will hold most people's entire music library.  It will work on the Nano and Touch, though.

Home Sharing

Now anyone in the family can share music if they are logged into iTunes on the same account.  I haven't moved music from my laptop to my desktop in months.  Now I set up home sharing, clicked on my laptop iTunes from my desktop iTunes, displayed all the music that was on my laptop that wasn't on my desktop, and then I just imported all of them into my desktop.  Easy as pie.

Column Browser

I may not end up using this, since I tend to work with smart playlists more, but if you do use the browser, it's improved.  I'm going to be working with it more just to see if it changes my habits.

I don't like everything about it, though.  On my Mac in iTunes 8, the + bubble used to activate the miniplayer.  That is not technically right way OS X is supposed to work--the button is supposed to toggle the zoom feature, though that feature is pretty useless with iTunes.  So, Apple fixed it so that it's consistent with the rest of the OS, but ruined it in terms of its usefulness.  Note: 9.0.1 fixes this.  Download it if you haven't.  They also changed the background color for the grid view--it was a nice, dark grey, and now it's white, and the header that lets you choose between Artist, Album, Genre, etc. defaults to being turned off.  I have to turn it back on in grid view for every playlist I've made.  All in all, however, the new iTunes will improve my music listening experience, and for that I'm grateful.

Getting into Jazz, Part 4

Digging Deeper into Contemporary Jazz

There is some great Jazz being made today.  In my second post, we looked at some of the more accessible jazz music being made today, but some of my favorite contemporary Jazz is more challenging in nature.  All the albums included here are primarily instrumental; we will cover vocal albums at a later time.

1. E.S.T (Esbjörn Svensson Trio), Seven Days of Falling (2003) or Viaticum (2005).  E.S.T. has quickly become my favorite contemporary Jazz outfit, though tragically the band leader passed way in a diving accident. The comparision may be a little over simplified, but I think of them as the Radiohead of Jazz.

2. Dave Douglas, Strange Liberation (2004), Soul on Soul (2000), or Moonshine (2008).  Dave Douglas' music is more free or avant garde in nature, but he has not abandoned melody.  His music is truly an enjoyable listen.  Strange Liberation, titled after a phrase used by Martin Luther King, ranks right up there with Seven Days of Falling as my favorite contemporary jazz albums.

3.  The Bad Plus, These are the Vistas (2003) or Give (2004).  The Bad Plus has been criticizied for relying too much on pop melodies in their music.  Some have even called them gimmicky.  But there's a time honored tradition in jazz drawing inspiration from pop music, and the Bad Plus are an extremely talented group.

4.  RH Factor, Hard Groove (2003) or Distractions (2006). This is Roy Hargove's funk group, and both of these are great jazz-funk albums.  I personally prefer Distractions, but they are both excellent albums.

5.  James Carter, Live at Baker's Keyboard Lounge (2005) or Out of Nowhere (2004). James Carter is an extremely talented woodwind player, particularly on the sax, and these two albums showcase his talent.

6.  Wynton Marsalis, Live at the House of Tribes (2005).  This is Wynton Marsalis at his finest, in concert. 

7. Brian VanArsdale Orchestra, Flood (2005).  This is Brian VanArsdale's musical interpretation of the Flood story.  It's an orchestral arrangement, but also solidly a Jazz composition, and it is thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end.

8. Various Artists, Miles from India (2008).  A group of artists who have played with Miles Davis have teamed up with Indian musicians to develop this album, which combines eastern instruments and musical styles with the music of Miles Davis.   At times, it feels like one instrument is simply replaced with a sitar, but at other times, it seems a complete rearrangement has taken place.  It is a delightful effort.

9. Ornette Coleman, Sound Grammar (2006).  One reviewer described Coleman's greatest strength as "melodic generosity." Some would call that a euphemism for melodic abandonment.  However, for an introduction to contemporary free jazz, I believe Coleman and Ware (below) are doing the best job.

10. David S. Ware, Threads (2003) or Corridors and Parallels (2001).  Of the two, Threads is more accessible, though Corridors and Parallels is more inventive.  Both can be challenging listening, but the latter is set apart by Matthew Shipp's intriguing work on synthesizer.

Other notable albums I can't seem to delete off my list:
1. Wayne Shorter, Footprints Live (2001) or Alegria (2003).
2. Terence Blanchard, Flow (2005).

Getting into Jazz, Part 3

Digging Deeper into Classic Jazz

In my first two posts, I've sought to concentrate on generating a list of great Jazz music that is pretty accessible--that is, those who are not familiar with Jazz will find these albums to be excellent entryways into Jazz music.  Now I'd like to dig a little deeper and explore some great Jazz CD that are a little more experimental or avant garde in nature.  Some of these artists have mixed Jazz with other types of music--rock, funk, soul, etc.

1. John Coltrane, A Love Supreme (1964) or Giant Steps (1959). A Love Supreme is simply one of the greatest Jazz albums of all time.  It chronicles his spiritual journey out of heroine addiction. 

Fusion

1. Miles Davis, In a Silent Way (1969), Bitches Brew (1969), On the Corner (1972). In all three of these albums, Davis progressively adds elements of rock and funk to his jazz albums.  In a Silent Way, as you may be able to tell from the title, is a very mellow album consisting of 2 twenty minute songs.  Bitches Brew is to me the standard of Jazz fusion against which all others are judged.  On the Corner is more urban but amost as good.

2. Herbie Hancock, Head Hunters (1973). This is a true Jazz-funk album with recognizable songs.

Soulful Jazz

1. Charles Mingus, Mingus Ah Um (1959), The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963).  Mingus combined elements of soul and even gospel into his music.  "Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul," one of his most famous compositions, was inspired from a church service.

2. Jimmy Smith, Back at the Chicken Shack (1960).  Jimmy Smith was a great organist who in many ways pioneered the use of a soulful organ in Jazz.  This is a very enjoyable album.
 

3. Les McCann and Eddie Harris, Swiss Movement (1969). This album is under appreciated, I believe.

Hard Bop

1. Clifford Brown and Max Roach, A Study in Brown (1955). One reviewer rightly says that Brown's trumpet is "played to perfection" on this album. It certainly Jazz trumpet at its finest.

2. Oliver Nelson, The Blues and the Abstract Truth (1961). When I put this in the CD player in my car for the first time, I don't think it came out for weeks.  I was enthralled with this album.

3. Oscar Peterson Trio, Night Train (1962). Some criticized Peterson for being too fast--like that famous criticism of Mozart in Amadeus that he had "too many notes."  I don't understand that at all. 

4. Lee Morgan, The Sidewinder (1963). Lee Morgan was in his twenties when he made this album.

Free Jazz

1. Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959). Coleman was criticized for this album because he did not make use of any instrument that played chords (like a piano), but he hinted at chords in the interplay of various instruments.  The compositional structures are rather free here, but still remains probably the best way to enter into the world of free jazz. One reviewer writes, "Any understanding of jazz's avant-garde should begin here."

2. Eric Dolphy, Out to Lunch (1964). This album may be the pinnacle of the free jazz movement.  It has the most complex rhythm section of any album I've heard, and the "melodies" are completely free form.  Definitely listen before you buy.  It took me a while to learn to enjoy this album.