Chris Barton for LOS ANGELES TIMES – In a year when disaster seemed only a tweet away, music seemed more precious than ever. Capable of both providing shelter and uniting us, the sounds on these albums amplify voices — some new, some familiar — that demanded to be heard, whether in the pointed interstellar imaginings of Nicole Mitchell, the maximalist virtuosity of L.A.’s Cameron Graves or the dignified cornet of Ron Miles in a record that drew from the civil rights struggle. Instead of the current chaos, the best of 2017 always focused on what lay ahead.

Cameron Graves, “Planetary Prince” (Mack Avenue): One of the many albums that resulted from the marathon L.A. recording sessions that yielded Kamasi Washington’s zeitgeist-capturing “The Epic,” this debut from one of the West Coast Get Down’s keyboardists shares many of that record’s personnel and carries a similarly cathartic power brimming with cosmic soul-jazz virtuosity.

Read the full list on L.A. Times

Cameron Graves on TKA

Francis Davis for NPR – This is what consensus in jazz looks like now: In winning the vote for 2017’s best new recording in NPR’s Fifth Annual Jazz Critics Poll, Vijay Iyer’s Far from Over was named on 53 of 137 ballots — almost twice as many as either Steve Coleman’s Morphogenesis or Tyshawn Sorey’s Verisimilitude, which finished second and third, respectively. (Thelonious Monk’s music for the 1960 French film Les Liaisons Dangereuses, unused by the director Roger Vadim and released only this year, made a whopping 66 ballots to finish first in Rara Avis, a category reserved for reissues and vault discoveries. Then, Monk is settled law.)

Iyer was one of three musicians to notch a third victory in this year’s poll (his Historicity won in 2009, the poll’s 4th year, when I was conducting it for the Village Voice, and Accelerando won in 2012, when the poll’s sponsor was the music-streaming service Rhapsody). Cecile McLorin Salvant again won in Vocal, as she did in 2013 and ’15, and Miguel Zenón won in Latin, as he did in 2009 and ’11. The winner in Debut, where there can be no repeaters, was Jaimie Branch, a fiery trumpeter recently transplanted from Chicago to Brooklyn. (And that the top three finishers in this category are women is cause for cheer.)

On Cécile McLorin Salvant’s Dreams and Daggers: Recording live at the Village Vanguard has become a rite of passage for performers on their way up. A program ranging from ’20s black vaudeville to feminist-themed originals shows off everything this talented singer can do, which is plenty — even if I’m not sure it had to be a double album. (Mack Avenue)

On Charles Lloyd Quartet’s Passin’ Thru: In his late 70s, Lloyd has become as unlikely a critics favorite as Ahmad Jamal. As one of his longtime detractors, even I have to admit this latest live album is terrific — and not entirely owing to Jason Moran’s spry piano. Has Lloyd ever sounded as energetic as he does on a remake of 1967’s “Dream Weaver,” the gospel segue especially? (Blue Note)

Read the full list on NPR

Cécile McLorin Salvant on TKA

Charles Lloyd on TKA

via Rolling Stone (12/13/17)

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has officially announced next year’s inductees: Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, the Moody Blues, the Cars and Nina Simone will all join the class of 2018. Sister Rosetta Tharpe will be given an Early Influence award.

The induction will be held at Cleveland’s Public Hall on April 14th, 2018. An edited version will air later on HBO and there will be a radio broadcast on SiriusXM. Ticket details will be announced in the near future.

Read More HERE