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.)

It Takes Two

I’m infatuated with a trio of new duo recordings by masters of improvised music.  Less is indeed more on these masterful musicians’ spare demonstrations.  Their controlled chaos reflects the epoch of uncertainty.

Martial Solal and Dave Liebman- Masters In Paris
How is it possible that a man born in Algeria in 1927 is among the most inventive pianists working in the new millenium?  Eighty-eight years old when this session with the storied saxophonist Dave Liebman transpired in 2016, Solal made a case for being the best pianist alive on inventive readings of standards.  “Coming Yesterday,” the Solal composition closing the live set, sounds just as essential as the more familiar material.  Here’s
video evidence of the sorcery.

Tomeka Reid and Alexander Hawkins- Shards and Constellations
The seemingly ubiquitous cellist Tomeka Reid is among my favorite musicians of the moment.  She and the British pianist  Alexander Hawkins pair well on thrilling free-range explorations.  Skronk-averse listeners are encouraged to begin with the sublime “Peace on You.”

James Taylor Lewis and Chad Taylor- Live in Willisau
Saxophonist James Taylor Lewis and drummer Chad Taylor achieve a propulsive sense of forward momentum during their vigorous appearance at a Swiss avant-garde jazz festival.   They leave no room for piano or bass.


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I review Jackie Meyers’ new album Clementine at Plastic Sax.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)