It has been a while since I wrote a blog – the freedom of being retired and being able to run one’s own schedule … no deadlines or pressure to write … I’ll do it, when I feel like it. But the start of a New Year is a good occassion to set a few words down.
2023 started still in the shadows of covid and one can say for sure, that this isn’t over yet! Even so it is hard to get any proper information at the moment, numbers are going up everywhere and China is suffering the most. At least here in Spain the mask is still obligatory on public transport, but unfortunately not in supermarkets and other crowded areas. Hospitals struggle with flu, covid and other respiratory illnesses and a cold spell over the country doesn’t help either. As every year, there is hope on many levels that it will be a better one, especially as 2022 was a tough one globally and as a result as well individually for many. Otherwise, nature showed its beauty again early this year with a dramatic and colourful sunset over Madrid.
The previous year gave us a lot of great music in all genres, but I’ll stick to Jazz here and will, in no particular order, list some of my favourite ones, all highly recommended listening:
Julian Lage – View With A Room
John Scofield – John Scofield
Charles Lloyd – Trio of Trios
Bill Frisell – Four
Arild Anderson – Affirmation
Claudia Acuna – Duo
Wolfgang Puschnig – World Embrace
Badi Assad – ILHA
Michael Leonhart & JSWISS – Bona Fide
Zela Margossian – The Road
Chick Corea – The Montreux Years
Ketil Bjornstad, Anneli Drecker, Lars Saabye Christensen – Between Hotels And Time
Last year I started as well to bring some order in my physical music collection. Beginning with a box of Japanese Paper Sleeve releases, at which I hadn’t looked in ages. Amazing the music in there – from the Verve, Impulse, Decca, Mercury, etc. labels – some of the most important and iconic recordings, as well as some pretty odd ones, but musically incredible. I found 20 John Coltrane on Impulse, 15 Oscar Peterson on Verve, plus Charlie Parker, Ella, Billie, Keith Jarrett on Impulse, some cool Johnny Griffin and so on. Impulse alone was represented with over 120 releases …nice the original album reproduction and the various themes the series came in: David Stone Martin Collection, Verve at 50, We Like Mercury, etc. etc. Treasures all of them in more than one way.
Next were the box sets and now I’ll start with the CD collection – many boxes with no order, but once catalogued, I might finally know what I got here … and then there are a few more boxes still in Vienna … that will keep my busy for a while!
A book recommendation, or better two, from my reading list of last year:
Anthony Doerr – Cloud Cuckoo Land … an homage to books and readers .. I couldn’t stop and smiled a lot reading this imaginative work. Splendid!
Aidan Levy / Saxophone Colossus: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins – extremely well researched and detailed biography of the saxophone master. Engaging and captivating!
And looking forward, there will be a bunch of amazing new recordings coming out in the first few months of the year:
Dhafer Youssef / Street Of Minarets – featuring Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Marcus Miller and more … a fascinating and powerful new statement by the Tunisian singer and oud master
Lakecia Benjamin / Phoenix – another gem by the outstanding saxophonist, produced by Terri Lynn Carrington.
Kenny Barron / The Source – his first solo piano release since 1981. Stunning!
Dave Liebman / Live at Smalls – free improvisation recorded live at Smalls Jazz Club featuring the NEA Jazz Master alongside trumpeter Peter Evans, Leo Genovese, John Hébert and Tyshawn Sorey.
Jason Moran / From the Dancehall to the Battlefield – a concept album about the life and legacy of American ragtime musician and early jazz bandleader James Reese Europe.
And these are only a few I know about … should be a good year for jazz, as it is always when politics move globally more to the right.
I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2023!
Wulf's Music + Blog 