It's that time of year again, when I look back at some of my favorites for the year. There were some new releases I enjoyed, some reissues I rediscovered, and some new (to me) music I hadn't yet explored.
So, without further ado, here is my look back at 2021.
Song/Record of the Year
Lyle Mays
"Eberhard"
I normally would not feature a single song, but since this was a single-track release and made such an impression on myself and others, I make the exception to include it here.
Indeed, if Lyle Mays were still with us, we probably would have seen "Eberhard" released as part of an entire album of new compositions. As it stands, Lyle was with us long enough to complete work on "Eberhard," a tune he had composed for Nancy Zeltsman to perform at her Zeltsman Marimba Festival in 2009. In 2019, Lyle assembled a group to record the piece, an all-star assemblage of musicians and vocalists (including his niece Aubrey Johnson, who is also the executive producer).
One could use the adjective "cinematic" to describe many of Lyle's works, and this one is no exception. While Lyle has long been associated with jazz, and spent a good portion of his adult life as the keyboardist in the Pat Metheny Group, he has always considered himself a composer first and foremost. Even his improvised jazz solos were devised as compositions. One hears echoes of many classical composers in his compositions as well--his influences are wide and varied.
"Eberhard" is a lengthy composition, formatted as a suite. Within the work, Lyle revisits many of his influences, summarizing all the experiences in his musical career, and combining all the best parts of his five solo recordings. It's as though he were anticipating it may be his last recording. Eberhard, of course, acknowledges legendary ECM Records bassist Eberhard Weber, who was instrumental in assisting Lyle on his first major recording date (Weber and Mays first met and recorded together on Pat Metheny's Watercolors album).
At any rate, it's a first rate composition, haunting, beautifully performed. One to add to the desert island list if you admire the work of Lyle Mays, or if you've never heard his music before, it's a fantastic entry point.
Album of the Year
Nik Bärtsch
Entendre
Nik Bärtsch surprised me this year with a new release--I had expected Bärtsch to present us an album with either his Ronin or Mobile (MO-bee-lay...this is Swiss, after all) ensembles. Instead, he released his first solo piano recording since 2002's Hishiryo. On Entendre, Bärtsch revisits past works, framing them in a new context. For those not familiar, Bartsch does not compose songs, but presents his pieces as "moduls," which in the grand scheme of things are more like blueprints for musical themes, rhythms and ideas. This allows Bärtsch to reinterpret past moduls as he did on Entendre, or combine them with other moduls as he's done on past albums with his other groups. Having heard these moduls in their ensemble settings, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Entendre surpassed my expectations. The tour-de-force "Modul 58" from Awase translated into a flurry of notes, followed by a sparse, calm section.
Given the slim pickings of notable new releases this year, this one rose to the top of my list. Bärtsch's music can take a little effort to understand but like his other recordings, multiple listenings reveal layers and surprises. Another fascinating album from this Switzerland-based artist.
Honorable Mention, Album of the Year
Béla Bartók: Orchestral Works
(Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta; Concerto for Orchestra)
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Susanna Mälkki conducting
There are more brisk renditions of these two works, my favorites being those conducted by Fritz Reiner for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the RCA Red Seal label (both immaculately reissued on vinyl by Classic Records and Analogue Productions). With this new recording, the conductor gives a unique interpretation, often changing up the tempo to highlight certain segments. The recording quality is immaculate. A fine release from the Bis label.
Honorable Mention, Album of the Year
Lady Blackbird
Black Acid Soul
This album came out of left field for me. While Lady Blackbird had a minor single in "Boomerang" several years ago (billed as Marley Monroe), this album, her first, is a stunner. The backing music is sparse, and her vocal styling to my ears resembles Sade, with hints of other greats like Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, among others. A great late-night album, the tracks feature many cover versions of tunes. The surprise to me was the track "Fix It," which adds vocals to the Bill Evans (pianist) tune "Peace Piece," giving it a haunting yet uplifting mood. Other covers include Nina Simone's "Blackbird," Tim Hardin's "It'll Never Happen Again," Allen Toussaint's "Ruler of My Heart," "Collage" by Joe Walsh, and the single from the album "It's Not That Easy" which is a revival of a 1967 recording by Reuben Bell with The Casanovas.
A good, late-night-by-the-fire album. And a promising debut from Lady Blackbird.
Honorable Mention, Album of the Year
Four80East
Mixed Up
This album might just win my best album cover award for 2021! 2020 marked the release of Straight Round, the first recording of new material by Four80East since 2015's Positraction. 2021 was a year of marking time during the pandemic with a total of three releases, one of them being their first live recording, and the other their first compilation, Cherry Picked. Mixed Up features house/dub remixes of their tunes; Rob DeBoer and Tony Grace are no stranger to remixes, having made many as the Boomtang Boys for popular Canadian artists over the years. It's an enjoyable revisiting of some of their past works, and who better to remix these tunes?
Stepping Back: Music I Discovered This Year
(My summary of albums, artists and/or bands I explored in 2021.)
The most noteworthy composer/musician I explored this year was the music of Joao Donato. I had seen his name credited in many places, heard many of his compositions, yet never looked more fully into his work. Donato has led a busy life. Many of his compositions became Brazilian standards. He was also noted for piano and trombone--he played the latter in one of Eddie Palmieri's earliest bands, La Perfecta. He's performed as a sideman on countless albums, and has had many more under his own name. For an early look at Donato's recordings, the two-fer CD, A Bossa Muito Moderna/Muito a Vontade, is a winner. It is a Brazilian jazz trio format, and introduces a handful of tunes that others would cover. Another early record is The New Sound of Brazil for RCA--a lush, warm recording with strings by Claus Ogerman.
Luiz Eça & Cordas was an album I discovered after rereading the Ruy Castro book Bossa Nova. There was a hole in the early Tamba Trio catalog, and this was the reason. The album, briefly released digitally in Japan, features the rest of the Tamba Trio, but the album is completely instrumental, and the strings were arranged by the classically-trained Eça, whose piano of course is front and center. Worth owning if you can find a copy! This album was also released as Imagem on the Philips label in Japan with an alternate cover. I also managed to find a couple of the early 70s Tamba Trio releases that were only available as import CDs.
2021 also rekindled my interest in Pete Jolly's recordings, and I discovered a handful I had never seen available before, such as the Eight Brothers recording with Shorty Rogers and Bud Shank, and The Five featuring Jolly with the Conte Candoli Quintet. Jolly's earliest albums for RCA were finally found as well--Jolly Jumps In, and Duo, Trio, Quartet. For Ava, Jolly's hit album Little Bird and its follow-up Sweet September were also noteworthy additions.
Finally, 2021 was the year I completed my A&M/CTi Records collection. Some good, some just average, but it's an interesting ride from the first album to the last. And it leaves wide open the opportunity to explore CTi beyond A&M, which I have already been doing throughout the year.
Disappointment of the Year
Unfortunately, as much as I'm a fan of Donald Fagen and Steely Dan, the two live releases this year just seemed like they were treading water. The music, of course, is unquestionable, and The Nightfly has become a modern-day classic. Yet the by-the-numbers live performances, while competently played, don't break any new ground. What really could have spiced up a live Steely Dan album would have been the inclusion of the rare tracks that we've heard on many bootleg demos for decades now, like "The Second Arrangement," "This All Too Mobile Home," and a handful of others. A lost opportunity. But, those only sell albums to the most rabid of fans, where typical music buyers want only the hits. It's not like these albums are bad by any means--you can't fault the crack Steely Dan Band for their top caliber execution of the catalog. But these aren't albums I would want to return to anytime soon. Like most live recordings, they leave me longing for the studio originals and by and large, are retreads of the studio recordings or live versions we've already heard for decades now.
So, without further ado, here is my look back at 2021.
Song/Record of the Year
Lyle Mays
"Eberhard"
I normally would not feature a single song, but since this was a single-track release and made such an impression on myself and others, I make the exception to include it here.
Indeed, if Lyle Mays were still with us, we probably would have seen "Eberhard" released as part of an entire album of new compositions. As it stands, Lyle was with us long enough to complete work on "Eberhard," a tune he had composed for Nancy Zeltsman to perform at her Zeltsman Marimba Festival in 2009. In 2019, Lyle assembled a group to record the piece, an all-star assemblage of musicians and vocalists (including his niece Aubrey Johnson, who is also the executive producer).
One could use the adjective "cinematic" to describe many of Lyle's works, and this one is no exception. While Lyle has long been associated with jazz, and spent a good portion of his adult life as the keyboardist in the Pat Metheny Group, he has always considered himself a composer first and foremost. Even his improvised jazz solos were devised as compositions. One hears echoes of many classical composers in his compositions as well--his influences are wide and varied.
"Eberhard" is a lengthy composition, formatted as a suite. Within the work, Lyle revisits many of his influences, summarizing all the experiences in his musical career, and combining all the best parts of his five solo recordings. It's as though he were anticipating it may be his last recording. Eberhard, of course, acknowledges legendary ECM Records bassist Eberhard Weber, who was instrumental in assisting Lyle on his first major recording date (Weber and Mays first met and recorded together on Pat Metheny's Watercolors album).
At any rate, it's a first rate composition, haunting, beautifully performed. One to add to the desert island list if you admire the work of Lyle Mays, or if you've never heard his music before, it's a fantastic entry point.
Album of the Year
Nik Bärtsch
Entendre
Nik Bärtsch surprised me this year with a new release--I had expected Bärtsch to present us an album with either his Ronin or Mobile (MO-bee-lay...this is Swiss, after all) ensembles. Instead, he released his first solo piano recording since 2002's Hishiryo. On Entendre, Bärtsch revisits past works, framing them in a new context. For those not familiar, Bartsch does not compose songs, but presents his pieces as "moduls," which in the grand scheme of things are more like blueprints for musical themes, rhythms and ideas. This allows Bärtsch to reinterpret past moduls as he did on Entendre, or combine them with other moduls as he's done on past albums with his other groups. Having heard these moduls in their ensemble settings, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Entendre surpassed my expectations. The tour-de-force "Modul 58" from Awase translated into a flurry of notes, followed by a sparse, calm section.
Given the slim pickings of notable new releases this year, this one rose to the top of my list. Bärtsch's music can take a little effort to understand but like his other recordings, multiple listenings reveal layers and surprises. Another fascinating album from this Switzerland-based artist.
Honorable Mention, Album of the Year
Béla Bartók: Orchestral Works
(Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta; Concerto for Orchestra)
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Susanna Mälkki conducting
There are more brisk renditions of these two works, my favorites being those conducted by Fritz Reiner for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the RCA Red Seal label (both immaculately reissued on vinyl by Classic Records and Analogue Productions). With this new recording, the conductor gives a unique interpretation, often changing up the tempo to highlight certain segments. The recording quality is immaculate. A fine release from the Bis label.
Honorable Mention, Album of the Year
Lady Blackbird
Black Acid Soul
This album came out of left field for me. While Lady Blackbird had a minor single in "Boomerang" several years ago (billed as Marley Monroe), this album, her first, is a stunner. The backing music is sparse, and her vocal styling to my ears resembles Sade, with hints of other greats like Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, among others. A great late-night album, the tracks feature many cover versions of tunes. The surprise to me was the track "Fix It," which adds vocals to the Bill Evans (pianist) tune "Peace Piece," giving it a haunting yet uplifting mood. Other covers include Nina Simone's "Blackbird," Tim Hardin's "It'll Never Happen Again," Allen Toussaint's "Ruler of My Heart," "Collage" by Joe Walsh, and the single from the album "It's Not That Easy" which is a revival of a 1967 recording by Reuben Bell with The Casanovas.
A good, late-night-by-the-fire album. And a promising debut from Lady Blackbird.
Honorable Mention, Album of the Year
Four80East
Mixed Up
This album might just win my best album cover award for 2021! 2020 marked the release of Straight Round, the first recording of new material by Four80East since 2015's Positraction. 2021 was a year of marking time during the pandemic with a total of three releases, one of them being their first live recording, and the other their first compilation, Cherry Picked. Mixed Up features house/dub remixes of their tunes; Rob DeBoer and Tony Grace are no stranger to remixes, having made many as the Boomtang Boys for popular Canadian artists over the years. It's an enjoyable revisiting of some of their past works, and who better to remix these tunes?
Stepping Back: Music I Discovered This Year
(My summary of albums, artists and/or bands I explored in 2021.)
The most noteworthy composer/musician I explored this year was the music of Joao Donato. I had seen his name credited in many places, heard many of his compositions, yet never looked more fully into his work. Donato has led a busy life. Many of his compositions became Brazilian standards. He was also noted for piano and trombone--he played the latter in one of Eddie Palmieri's earliest bands, La Perfecta. He's performed as a sideman on countless albums, and has had many more under his own name. For an early look at Donato's recordings, the two-fer CD, A Bossa Muito Moderna/Muito a Vontade, is a winner. It is a Brazilian jazz trio format, and introduces a handful of tunes that others would cover. Another early record is The New Sound of Brazil for RCA--a lush, warm recording with strings by Claus Ogerman.
Luiz Eça & Cordas was an album I discovered after rereading the Ruy Castro book Bossa Nova. There was a hole in the early Tamba Trio catalog, and this was the reason. The album, briefly released digitally in Japan, features the rest of the Tamba Trio, but the album is completely instrumental, and the strings were arranged by the classically-trained Eça, whose piano of course is front and center. Worth owning if you can find a copy! This album was also released as Imagem on the Philips label in Japan with an alternate cover. I also managed to find a couple of the early 70s Tamba Trio releases that were only available as import CDs.
2021 also rekindled my interest in Pete Jolly's recordings, and I discovered a handful I had never seen available before, such as the Eight Brothers recording with Shorty Rogers and Bud Shank, and The Five featuring Jolly with the Conte Candoli Quintet. Jolly's earliest albums for RCA were finally found as well--Jolly Jumps In, and Duo, Trio, Quartet. For Ava, Jolly's hit album Little Bird and its follow-up Sweet September were also noteworthy additions.
Finally, 2021 was the year I completed my A&M/CTi Records collection. Some good, some just average, but it's an interesting ride from the first album to the last. And it leaves wide open the opportunity to explore CTi beyond A&M, which I have already been doing throughout the year.
Disappointment of the Year
Unfortunately, as much as I'm a fan of Donald Fagen and Steely Dan, the two live releases this year just seemed like they were treading water. The music, of course, is unquestionable, and The Nightfly has become a modern-day classic. Yet the by-the-numbers live performances, while competently played, don't break any new ground. What really could have spiced up a live Steely Dan album would have been the inclusion of the rare tracks that we've heard on many bootleg demos for decades now, like "The Second Arrangement," "This All Too Mobile Home," and a handful of others. A lost opportunity. But, those only sell albums to the most rabid of fans, where typical music buyers want only the hits. It's not like these albums are bad by any means--you can't fault the crack Steely Dan Band for their top caliber execution of the catalog. But these aren't albums I would want to return to anytime soon. Like most live recordings, they leave me longing for the studio originals and by and large, are retreads of the studio recordings or live versions we've already heard for decades now.