2023, for the record.
2023, for the record.
A year-end roundup of 23 recordings that made a strong impression in 2023, plus additional recommendations and event listings for the next seven days.
The lead-in.
Before I write another word, time to address the elephant in the room: Substack still has a Nazi problem, which is that Substack doesn’t have a problem platforming literal Nazis and making a profit in the process. Their defense, trumpeting free speech and insisting that sunlight is the best disinfectant, is embarrassing. (This once, do read the comments.)
I’ve seen compelling arguments for leaving Substack, like the one Talia Levin posted today to relaunch The Sword and the Sandwich on Buttondown. I’ve seen earnest arguments for staying, like the one Thomas Zimmer outlined today on Democracy Americana. Among fellow musos, Sasha Frere-Jones is headed to the exit; Damon Krukowski is staying put, at least for now.
I left Substack once before, only to have an unsatisfying experience with the platform held up at that time as the chief competitor. I came back to take advantage of Substack’s easy, enjoyable back end and robust networking system. Now, I’m exploring a new alternative platform that isn’t the one I used before.
I’m sending out today’s post – which I reckon could be one of my more widely read and shared oferings of late – via Substack… not to indicate that everything’s okay, but rather to note that I’m weighing all options carefully right now.
I hope you’ll bear with me a bit longer, and I wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.
23 for ’23
This is not a list of “The Best Albums of [year here].” No one could hear everything released in any given 12-month span, especially if you’re prone to listening outside the lines. Worthy, acclaimed albums you’ve seen listed elsewhere might well be absent here simply because I didn’t get around to them and won’t pretend to have done so. Omission does not imply dismissal.
This is the music that resonated with me most this year… recordings to which I returned over and over for uplift and transport, revelation and joy.
The topmost selection in the first three categories denotes a top pick; everything else is alphabetical, as is the entire final list of further recommendations.
The link embedded in each label cited leads to the most accessible listening site available—mostly Bandcamp, except where that site isn’t applicable.
I hope you’ll discover something you’ll enjoy.
Louth Contemporary Music Society - Folks’ Songs - Chamber Choir Ireland/Paul Hillier; Esposito Quartet - compositions by Cassandra Miller, Laurence Crane, and Linda Catlin Smith (Louth Contemporary Music Society)
Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily - Love in Exile (Verve)
Laurence Crane - Natural World - Juliet Fraser, Mark Knoop (Another Timbre)
Sarah Davachi - Long Gradus - Quatuor Bozzini, Rebecca Lane & Samara Dunscombe, Rage Thormbones, and Judith Berkson (Late Music)
Marc Ducret - Palm Sweat: Marc Ducret Plays the Music of Tim Berne (Out of Your Head)
Jürg Frey - Continuité, fragilité, résonance - Quatuor Bozzini, Konus Quartet (Elsewhere)
Mary Jane Leach - Woodwind Multiples - Manuel Zurria, Libby Van Cleve, Sam Dunscombe, Shannon Peet (Modern Love)
Liza Lim - Annunciation Triptych - Emily Hindrichs, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln/Cristian Măcelaru (Kairos)
Missy Mazzoli - Dark with Excessive Bright - Peter Herresthal, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/James Gaffigan, Arctic Philharmonic/Tim Weiss (BIS)
Cassandra Miller - Traveller Song/Thanksong - Juliet Fraser, Plus-Minus Ensemble, Quatuor Bozzini (Black Truffle)
Jason Moran - From the Dancehall to the Battlefield (Yes)
Awadagin Pratt - STILLPOINT - Roomful of Teeth, A Far Cry - compositions by Jessie Montgomery, Paola Prestini, Alvin Singleton, Pēteris Vasks, Tyshawn Sorey, and Judd Greenstein (New Amsterdam)
Éliane Radigue - Occam Hepta I - Quatuor Bozzini (Collection QB)
Robert Rich - Traveler’s Cloth (Soundscape)
Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the Garden… (Constellation)
Sarah Saviet - SPUN - compositions by Liza Lim, Lisa Streich, Evan Johnson, Arne Gieshoff, and Lawrence Dunn (Coviello Contemporary)
Annika Socolofsky - Don’t say a word - Latitude 49 (New Amsterdam)
Alex Temple - Behind the Wallpaper - Julia Holter, Spektral Quartet (New Amsterdam)
Anna Thorvaldsdottir - ARCHORA/AIŌN - Iceland Symphony Orchestra/Eva Ollikainen (Sono Luminus)
Ben Vida - The Beat My Head Hit - Nina Dante, Laura Barger, Russell Greenberg (Shelter Press)
George Walker - Five Sinfonias - National Symphony Orchestra/Giancarlo Noseda (NSO)
Anna Webber - Shimmer Wince (Intakt)
Eric Wubbels - if and only if - Josh Modney, Mariel Roberts, Eric Wubbels (Carrier)
12 reissues and archival releases.
Ruth Anderson & Annea Lockwood - Tête-à-tête (Ergot)
Derek Bailey & Paul Motian - Duo in Concert (Frozen Reeds)
Baikida E.J. Carroll - Orange Fish Tears (Souffle Continu)
John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy - Evenings at the Village Gate (Impulse!)
Tony Conrad/Arnold Dreyblatt/Jim O'Rourke - Tonic 19-01-2001 (Black Truffle)
Charles Curtis, Alan Licht, and Dean Roberts - May 99 (Blank Forms)
Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar - Vrindavan 1982 (Black Truffle)
Wayne Horvitz - Live Forever, Vol. 2: Horvitz, Morris, Previte Trio: NYC, Leverkusen 1988-1989 (self-released)
Laraaji - Segue to Infinity (Numero Group)
Éliane Radigue - Naldjorlak - Charles Curtis (Saltern)
Alan Skidmore - A Supreme Love (Confront)
Abdul Wadud - By Myself (Gotta Groove)
12 records that rock.
Tomb Mold - The Enduring Spirit (20 Buck Spin)
Bell Witch - Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate (Profound Lore)
Enslaved - Heimdal (Nuclear Blast)
The Fierce and the Dead - News from the Invisible World (Spencer Park Music)
Peter Gabriel - i/o (Real World)
Ghostmass - Kvvvlt/ooong - 苦痛 (Dying Art)
Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium (Season of Mist)
Khanate - To Be Cruel (Sacred Bones)
Lunar Chamber - Shambhallic Vibrations (20 Buck Spin)
Sunwatchers - Music Is Victory Over Time (Trouble in Mind)
VoidCeremony - Threads of Unknowing (20 Buck Spin)
Steven Wilson - The Harmony Codex (Virgin)
More recordings of distinction.
John Luther Adams - Darkness and Scattered Light - Robert Black (Cold Blue)
Ambrose Akinmusire - Owl Song (Nonesuch)
andPlay - Translucent Harmonies - compositions by Catherine Lamb and Kristofer Svensson (Another Timbre)
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society - Dynamic Maximum Tension (Nonesuch)
Tim Berne/Hank Roberts/Aurora Nealand - Oceans And (Intakt)
Lea Bertucci - Of Shadow and Substance (Cibachrome Editions)
Thomas Buckner - Spontaneous Musical Invention: Thomas Buckner Sings Robert Ashley (Recital)
Seamus Cater - A History of Musical Pitch (Another Timbre)
Christopher Cerrone - In a Grove - Metropolis Ensemble (In a Circle)
Les Certitudes - Construire sur les ruines d'un passé encore fumant (Discreet Editions)
Claire Chase - Density 2036: Parts VI-VIII - compositions by Phyllis Chen, Sarah Hennies, Olga Neuwirth, Pamela Z, Liza Lim, Ann Cleare, Wang Lu, and Matana Roberts (New Focus)
Moniek Darge/Vanessa Rossetto - Dream Soundies (Erstwhile)
Kris Davis - Diatom Ribbons Live at the Village Vanguard (Pyroclastic)
Julius Eastman - Vol. 3: If You're So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich? - Wild Up (New Amsterdam)
Lainie Fefferman - White Fire (Gold Bolus)
Carrie Frey - Seagrass: Works for Solo Viola - compositions by Carrie Frey, Alec Goldfarb, Adrianne Munden-Dixon, Maria Kaoutzani, Anthony R. Green, and Buck McDaniel (Gold Bolus)
Jürg Frey - Les Signes Passagers - Keiko Shichijo (Elsewhere)
Jürg Frey - String Trio - Apartment House (Another Timbre)
Peter Garland - The Basketweave Elegies - William Winant (Cold Blue)
Kate Gentile - b i o m e i.i - International Contemporary Ensemble (Obliquity)
Magnus Granberg - Evening Star, Vesper Bell - Apartment House (Another Timbre)
Gérard Grisey - Dérives - Katrien Baerts, Kora Pavelić, WDR Sinfonieorchester/Sylvain Cambreling, Emilio Pomàrico (bastille musique)
Robert Honstein - Lost and Found - Tigue, New Morse Code, Michael Compitello (New Focus)
Iceland Symphony Orchestra/Daníel Bjarnason - Atmospheriques, Vol. 1 - compositions by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Missy Mazzoli, Daníel Bjarnason, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir, and Bára Gísladóttir (Sono Luminus)
Evan Johnson - indolentiae ars - Carl Rosman (Huddersfield Contemporary Records)
ladyybirdd (Gina Izzo) - Tomorrow’s Yesterday (Innova)
Catherine Lamb - parallaxis forma - Lotte Betts-Dean, EXAUDI, Explore Ensemble (Another Timbre)
Yaz Lancaster - AmethYst (People Places Records)
Ingrid Laubrock - The Last Quiet Place (Pyroclastic)
Steve Lehman & Orchestre National de Jazz - Ex Machina (Pi Recordings)
George Lewis - Afterword: An Opera in Two Acts - International Contemporary Ensemble (Tundra)
Eden Lonsdale - Clear and Hazy Moons - Apartment House, Rothko Collective (Another Timbre)
Cecilia Lopez & Ingrid Laubrock - Maromas (Relative Pitch)
Žibuoklė Martinaitytė - Hadal Zone - Synaesthesis (Cantaloupe Music)
Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quintet - Hear the Light Singing (RogueArt)
Lesley Mok - The Living Collection (American Dreams)
Adrianne Munden-Dixon - Lung - compositions by Phong Tran, Maria Kaoutzani, Carrie Frey, Adrianne Munden-Dixon, Cassie Wieland, and David Bird (Gold Bolus)
Meshell Ndegeocello - The Omnichord Real Book (Blue Note)
Angelika Niescier/Tomeka Reid/Savannah Harris - Beyond Dragons (Intakt)
Éliane Radigue - Occam Delta XV - Ensemble Dedalus; Occam XX - Ryoko Akama (Montagne Noire)
Brad E. Rose - I’m Scared of Dying (Room40)
Steven Schick - Soundlines: On Language and the Land - compositions by Iannis Xenakis, Vivian Fung, George Lewis, Lei Liang, Frederic Rzewski, Vinko Globokar, Roger Reynolds, and Sarah Hennies (Islandia Music)
Patrick Shiroishi - I was too young to hear silence (American Dreams)
Todd Sickafoose - Bear Proof (Secret Hatch)
Linda Catlin Smith - Dark Flower - Thin Edge New Music Collective (Redshift Music)
Tyshawn Sorey Trio - Continuing (Pi Recordings)
Andrew Weathers - A Cardinal with a Sign of Blood (Full Spectrum)
Wet Ink Ensemble - Missing Scenes - compositions by Sam Pluta, Alex Mincek, and Kate Soper (Carrier)
Ivan Vukosavljević - Slow Roads (Elsewhere)
John Zorn - Full Fathom Five (Tzadik)
Night After Night Watch.
Concerts listed in Eastern Standard Time.
3
Mary Halvorson
The Stone at The New School
55 W. 13th St., Greenwich Village
Wednesday, Jan. 3–Saturday, Jan. 6 at 8:30pm; $20 cash at the door only
thestonenyc.com
Guitarist, composer, and bandleader Mary Halvorson anchors the first Stone residency of 2024, starting on Wednesday with a project called Clone Decay featuring trombonists Kalia Vandever and Weston Olencki. Duos with saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins and guitarist Joe Morris follow on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The run ends on Saturday with the quartet Sterno – Halvorson with trumpeter Brett Deschenes, pianist Dan St. Clair, and bassist Nat Baldwin – playing together for the first time since 2002.
5
“Here and Now Winter Festival”
Bargemusic
Fulton Ferry Landing, Brooklyn
Friday, Jan. 5 at 7pm, Saturday, Jan. 6 at 6pm, Sunday, Jan. 7 at 4pm; $35
Saturday, Jan. 6 at 4pm; free admission
bargemusic.org
Bargemusic rings in the New Year with three programs of contemporary music, starting on Friday evening with a Henry Cowell celebration featuring pianists Nicole Brancato, Geoffrey Burleson, Mikael Darmanie, Kathy Supove, Adam Tendler, and Blair McMillen in music by Cowell, six premieres, and electronic interludes. On Saturday, Dal Songo Ensemble spotlights women composers, including a world premiere by Stefania De Kenessey. And on Sunday, clarinetist Lloyd Van’t Hoff and pianist Lisa Moore rock the boat with their new duo, CRUX, in a program of new compositions and arrangements. Bargemusic also hosts a free Saturday matinee event by Dal Songo Ensemble, featuring music by New York women composers.
New Ear Festival
Fridman Gallery
169 Bowery, Greenwich Village
Friday, Jan. 5–Sunday, Jan. 7; $25–$35, students $15, festival pass $90
fridmangallery.com
Fridman Gallery gets the new year off to a strong start with a three-day festival encompassing new music, visual art, and video. It all starts Friday with Alaara, the trio of Sonya Belaya, Nicole Patrick, and Grey Mcmurray, and Larum, the duo of Chet Doxas and Micah Frank, with special guest Taylor Deupree. The second night’s pairing of Bilal and Pink Siifu promises to be especially fiery; the final bill includes the trio Nepenthae and duo HxH.
7
Carrie Frey
Cutelab NYC
DM cutelab_nyc for address
Sunday, Jan. 7 at 7:30pm; $15/notaflof
instagram.com
Violist Carrie Frey celebrates the release of Seagrass: Works for Solo Viola, the intense, arresting solo debut she released last month on the Gold Bolus label. She’ll play some of the works from that album, and join her fellow members of The Rhythm Method in a performance of her most recent string quartet.
9
Kris Davis Trio
Village Vanguard
178 Seventh Ave. S., Greenwich Village
Tuesday, Jan. 9–Sunday, Jan. 14 at 8 & 10pm; $40
villagevanguard.com
Pianist Kris Davis turned heads and topped charts with her most recent album, Diatom Ribbons Live at the Village Vanguard, taped at the city’s most hallowed jazz room. She returns now with a rock-solid trio featuring bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Johnathan Blake.
Photographs by Steve Smith, except where indicated.