The Top Songs, Albums, Livestreams and Concerts of 2020 (So Far)

The Top 25 Songs of 2020 (So Far)
1. Zsela- “Drinking”
Misery loves company.
2. 070 Shake- “Guilty Conscience”
Pop perfection.
3. Pongo- “Uwa”
Pure joy.
4. Little Simz- “Might Bang, Might Not”
“A one-woman army.”
5. Thundercat featuring Steve Arringtona and Steve Lacy- “Black Quails”
“Am I keeping it real?”
6. Future featuring Drake- “Life Is Good”
Is it, though?
7. Sleaford Mods- “Second”
Miscount.
8. Mozzy featuring King Von and G Herbo- “Body Count”
Let the bodies hit the floor.
9. Earl Sweatshirt featuring Maxo-  “Whole World”
Dank.
10. Bob Dylan- “Murder Most Foul”
He contains multitudes.

11. Six9ine- “Gooba”
I wish I didn't love it so much.
12. Polo G, Stunna 4 Vegas & NLE Choppa feat. Mike WiLL Made-It- “Go Stupid”
Genius.
13. Roy Ayers, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge- “Synchronize Vibration”
Everybody loves the sunshine.
14. J Balvin- “Amarillo”
Not-so-mellow yellow.
15. Playboi Carti- “@Meh”
Dadaism.
16. Ashley McBryde- “First Thing I Reach For”
Downward spiral.
17. Kehlani featuring Jhené Aiko- “Change Your Life”
Essential R&B.
18. Moneybagg Yo featuring DaBaby- “Protect Da Brand”
Goon squad.
19. Sam Hunt- “Hard to Forget”
There stands the glass.
20. Laura Marling- “Strange Girl”
Trouble child.

21. Sa-Roc- “Hand of God”
Dexterous.
22. Against All Logic featuring Lydia Lunch- “If You Can’t Do It Good, Do It Hard”
Can’t stop. Won’t stop.
23. Terrace Martin featuring Denzel Curry, Daylyt, Kamasi Washington and G Perico-“Pig Feet”
Rage.
24. Chloe x Halle- “Don’t Make It Harder On Me”
Supreme(s).
25. Tony Allen and Hugh Masekela- “Agbada Bougou”
Immortals.


The Top 25 Albums of 2020 (So Far)
1. Peter CottonTale- Catch
My review.
2. Jay Electronica- A Written Testimony
My review.
3. Beatrice Dillon- Workaround
My review.
4. Flying Lotus- Flamagra (Instrumentals)
My review of the original album.
5. Bad Bunny- YHLQMDLG
My review.
6. Freddie Gibbs and the Alchemist- Alfredo
My review.
7. Clarice Jenson- The Experience of Repetition as Death
My review.
8. Ambrose Akinmusire- On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment
The best working band in jazz.
9. Run the Jewels- RTJ4
One-two punch.
10. Jennifer Curtis and Tyshawn Sorey- Invisible Ritual
Avant-garde hoedown.

11. Mac Miller- Circles
His self-awareness is devastating.
12. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Last and First Men
My review.
13. José James- No Beginning No End 2
Even the Billy Joel cover pleases me.
14. Gil Scott-Heron- We’re New Again: A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven
An almost perfect tweak.
15. Childish Gambino- 3.15.20
My review.
16. Blackstarkids- Surf
Kansas City N.E.R.Ds.
17. Nicolás Jaar- Cenizas
Dark shadows.
18. Nine Inch Nails- Ghosts VI: Locusts
My review.
19. Jeremy Pelt- The Art of Intimacy, Vol. 1
Heartbreakingly gorgeous.
20. Kaja Draksler Octet- Out For Stars
My review.

21. Bad Bunny- Las Que No Iban a Salir
Even Bad Bunny’s YHLQMDLG also-rans are excellent.
22. Sara Serpa- Recognition
Anti-colonialism chamber-jazz.
23. Yaeji- What We Drew
Forward-thinking electro-pop.
24. Mike and the Moonpies- Touch of You: The Lost Songs of Gary Stewart
My review.
25. Kassa Overall- Shades of Flu: Healthy Remixes for an Ill Moment
Exhibit #2,637 in the case of the jazz/hip-hop continuum.


The Top 10 Concerts of 2020 (So Far)
1. Post Malone, Swae Lee and Tyla Yaweh- Sprint Center
My review.
2. Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin- Folly Theater
My Instagram image.
3. Roddy Ricch with Cuuhraig and Xslapz- Uptown Theater
My review.
4. Luciana Souza, Chico Pinheiro and Scott Colley- Folly Theater
My review.
5. Jerry Hahn, Gerald Spaits and Todd Strait- Black Dolphin
My Instagram clip.
6. Pavel Haas Quartet with Boris Giltburg- Folly Theater
My review.
7. Bill Frisell’s Harmony- Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
My review.
8. Miranda Lambert with the Randy Rogers Band and Parker McCollum- Sprint Center
My review.
9. The New Pornographers with Diane Coffee- The Truman
My Instagram clip.
10. Joseph with Deep Sea Diver- Madrid Theatre
My Instagram clip.


The Top 10 Livestreams of 2020 (So Far)
1. Bang on a Can Marathon #1 (Mary Halvorson, Vijay Iyer, Meredith Monk, etc.)
2. Bang on a Can Marathon #2 (Iva Bittová, Roscoe Mitchell, Terry Riley, etc.)
3. Daniel Barenboim- at Pierre Boulez Saal
4. Post Malone- Nirvana at home
5. Stacey Pullen- Movement at home
6. A Night For Austin (Alejandro Escovedo, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, etc.)
7. Molly Hammer- at the Gem Theater
8. KC Bands Together (Samantha Fish, The Greeting Committee, Krystle Warren, etc.)
9. Bill Frisell- Blue Note at home
10. Kandace Springs- Blue Note at home

(Screenshot of Roscoe Mitchell performing on the Bang On a Can Marathon by There Stands the Glass.)

April 2020 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Top Five Albums
I’m glad so many people claim to love Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters.  I’m not among them.

1. Peter CottonTale- Catch
My review.
2. Clarice Jenson- The Experience of Repetition as Death
My review.
3. Dvsn- A Muse In Her Feelings
A not so quiet storm.
4. Tomeka Reid and Alexander Hawkins- Shards and Constellations
My review.
5. Laura Marling- Song For Our Daughter
Both sides now.

Top Five Songs
Even better than my beloved’s halting piano recitals.

1. Frank Ocean- “Dear April”
Vital correspondence.
2. Zsela- “Drinking”
In the parlance of the moment, I feel seen.
3. Playboi Carti- “@meh”
Modern art.
4. The Streets and Tame Impala- “Calling My Phone Thinking I’m Doing Nothing Better”
I don’t know how to dismiss an incoming call either.
5. Earl Sweatshirt featuring Maxo- “Whole World”
My favorite iteration of Earl.

Top Five Livestreams
I continue to appreciate nightly opera productions thanks to the generosity of the Metropolitan Opera.

1. Daniel Barenboim- plays Chopin at Pierre Boulez Saal
2. Post Malone- plays Nirvana at home
3. Stacey Pullen- in Detroit
4. Boombox Cartel- Room Service Festival
5- Taylor Swift- One World: Together at Home

I conducted the same exercise in March, February and January.

(Screenshot of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Rossini’s Cenerentola by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Peter CottonTale- Catch

My life partner feared I might succumb to Jerusalem syndrome during our trip to Israel three months ago.  She was relieved by the absence of unhinged surges of spiritual intensity during our ecumenical pilgrimage to holy sites.  The ecstatic mania she expected me to exhibit at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre manifested in my living room on Friday night as I listened to Peter CottonTale’s Catch.  Not only does Jesus save, the new music He inspired interrupted my obsessive bingeing of devilish ambient music.

My profound appreciation of the gospel recording isn’t surprising.  Its tone and personnel parallel my top album of 2019 (Jamila Wood’s Legacy! Legacy!) and my #2 album of 2016 (Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book).  I adored performances by Peter CottonTale’s collective at a pair of Chance the Rapper concerts in Kansas City and in a star-studded performance by The JuJu Exchange at the Chicago Jazz Festival last year.

I anticipate finding inspiration in vital hymns like “Hi 5,” “Feels Like Church” and “Pray for Real” for the remainder of my life.  The joy-imbued Catch is a vigorous representation of the optimism at the core of my faith.  Aside from the inclusion of a brief skit, my sole grievance is the brevity of the selections.  Songs fade out moments after my delirious convulsions begin to kick in.


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I report on the results of the American Jazz Museum’s Charlie Parker Song Contest for KCUR.

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I review the Cur3’s The Anecdote at Plastic Sax.

(Original image of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by There Stands the Glass.)