Rob Shepherd’s Favorite Albums of 2023

In terms of my music writing, 2023 started off frustratingly with a few interviews that fell through and one that took place but ultimately exploded in my face.  However, the year ended very strongly. During 2023, I produced several album reviews and released thirty-two interviews, with many more done but yet to be released.  

Many of my published interviews for 2023 were of artists on my favorite albums of the year, with links provided below where appropriate. Others include those with an artist composing pieces based on lace patterns, a trumpeter at the forefront of electronic experimentation, the most prominent proponent of prepared saxophone, and two artists pushing the vibraphone and cello into new areas. I also spoke to several musical masters- Billy Harper, Lonnie Liston Smith, Zakir Hussain, and two artists named George who couldn’t be any more different in terms of musical aesthetic: George Benson and George Lewis. 

Speaking of gentlemen named George, there is one album missing from my list below that, under other circumstances, likely would have been included. George Burton’s holiday-themed work, The Yule Log (self-release, 2023) is an excellent recording that tries to breathe new life into old tunes and musically restore some of the magic of the season. I had a blast writing the liner notes for the album (shameless plug: any musicians reading this, reach out about possibly writing notes for you!), however, it conflicted me from approaching the album with the rest of this list. 

Another highlight of 2023 was returning to the Newport Jazz Festival. Leading up to the event, I started an ongoing series on historical albums from the event. I also interviewed longtime festival photographer/driver Jack Casey, artistic director Christian McBride, and trumpeter Giveton Gelin on the legacy of Louis Armstrong. At the festival – the first day of which is reviewed here, with the other two days to come in the new year – I had the joy of watching my one-year-old dance to the irresistible funk of Scary Goldings. 

I’m looking forward to what 2024 has to offer. Among other things, my most recent interview with Mary Halvorson has been selected for inclusion in the Jazz Journalists Association’s 20th Anniversary anthology. I’m also in the beginning phases of creating a professional-level recording studio, with more to come. I also already have several interviews brewing.

But no one came here for my thoughts on next year. Below are thirty-five albums that I felt were the best of 2023. The first ten are listed in reverse numerical order, followed by the next 25 numerically.

10.  Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, Shahzad Ismaily – Love in Exile (Verve)

In John McDonough’s problematic (racist, really) Downbeat review of Love in Exile, he referred to the album as “tedious monotony.” It is a sad state when someone’s biases are so strong that they keep them recognizing even the obvious brilliance before them. 

The album is an incredible journey of three artists creating in the moment as they seemingly question preconceptions of improvised music. Heck, they even eschew the term “improvisation” in favor of “live composing” to dispel ignorant implications they are somehow making up their parts as they go. Similarly, far too many people believe creative music must have a frenzied flurry of notes. The trio can tap into the magic of spontaneous conversations amongst themselves while staying quieter and more serene. Even supposed rules on how instruments should sound are stretched by this trio, as when Aftab’s Urdu sounds more like a horn than a human voice. The result is a mesmerizing experience that sounds unlike any other. 

You can check out my interviews with Vijay on the trio here and here. 

9. Brandon Seabrook Epic Proportions- Brutalovechamp (Pyroclastic)

Over the almost decade and a half since his brutal Seabrook Powerplant (RIO/Avant-Prog,2009), guitarist-banjoist Brandon Seabrook has scorched a trail through flurries of sonic pyrotechnics. Or as one loving listener at the Village Voice deemed his music, a “magic clusterfuck of merciless banjo torture.” Seabrook’s frenzied expressions are great, but how long can the youthful zeal behind them last?

Brutalovechamp is an octet recording that finds the leader’s performances a little more subdued in favor of focusing his energies on compositions. He particularly draws on creating wordless lyrical passages that blur jazz, folk music, and the works of Schoenberg and Webern. The compositions themselves are exquisite and secure Seabrook’s status as a composer of significant merit. That is not to denigrate his prior works but solely to denote that the increased maturity evident in his latest release brings Seabrook to a new level of artistry.

Check out my interview with Brandon from earlier this year, here. 

8. Ingrid Laubrock – Monochromes (Intakt)

A single thirty-nine-minute track where creative music heavyweights – Laubrock, Jon Irabagon, Zeena Parkins, and Tom Rainey perform atop four tape pieces. The tape pieces build upon the leader’s compositions, written in both traditional Western and graphic notation, and include Nate Wooley’s performance of twenty-nine trumpet lines in a manner inspired by Ligeti’s Atmosphéres and a duet between Laubrock and JD Allen inspired by artist Harry Bertoia’s somambiant sculptures. The intersection between live quartet and prerecorded blueprint is fascinating, with textures frequently shifting into unpredictable directions. 

You can read my interview with Ingrid from earlier this year on The Last Quiet Place (included below on this list) here. 

7. Wadada Leo Smith and Orange Wave Electric: Fire Illuminations (Kabell)

By mere concept – avant-garde master forms a rock band- Fire Illuminations should not be as good as it is. But Smith never half-does anything. The trumpeter packs his new group, Orange Wave Electric, with a heavy-hitting crew: Nels Cline, Lamar Smith, Bill Laswell, Mauro Refosco, Hardedge, longtime collaborator Pheeroan akLaff and two legs of the Harriett Tubman tripod: Brandon Ross and Melvin Gibbs. Smith dedicates two of the tracks to Muhammad Ali. It is fitting for a work that punches the ideas of Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1959) far outside the ring; further than even Miles felt comfortable. In the process, the band declares that the jazz-rock hybrid increasingly marginalized by the rise of jazz neoconservatism in the 1980s and 1990s is nevertheless as vital as ever. 

You can read my 2021 interview with Wadada here and here. 

6. John Zorn and Bill Laswell – Memoria (Tzadik)

Memoria finds two living masters paying their respects to three of their recently departed brethren: Pharaoh Sanders, Milford Graves, and Wayne Shorter. Instead of approaching compositions by those icons, Zorn and Laswell provide fully improvised experiences recorded live in real-time. Their ability to rely on their four decades of collaboration allows the duo to create an ambient sonic terrain that nourishes a strong representation of their subject matter. As a result, Zorn’s flutters and screams on “Pharaoh Sanders” recall the fiery cries of its namesake. Sharp horn articulations and an undulating bass evoke the cardiographic explorations of Graves. “Wayne Shorter” captures the inquisitiveness the saxophonist exhibited throughout his career. The recording, as a whole, is heartfelt and raw. At times, it sounds as if the duo is trying to create a hushed dialogue with the listener on the secrets of what made the honored artists great. 

You can read my 2022 interview with Bill Laswell here and here. 

5. Anna Webber – Shimmer Wince (Intakt)

Webber’s conceptual underpinning on Shimmer Wince – the integration of concepts of Just Intonation into the improvised music context – is a fairly esoteric one. Conceptual works sometimes risk alienating those ignorant of their theoretical underpinnings. But Shimmer Wince is imminently approachable. A casual listener, unaware of the album’s backstory, could point out that something sounds a little “off” but would not be fully turned off by its eccentricity. In part, the relatability of the album derives from the leader’s choice not to fully abandon equal temperament in favor of just intonation but to marry the two. The result is a thought-provoking work that isn’t afraid to groove, albeit over minimalist-influenced ground. 

You can read my interview with Anna on Shimmer Wince here. 

4. Angel Bat Dawid – Requiem for Jazz (International Anthem)

For almost the entirety of its existence, critics and theorists have questioned the viability of jazz. Many people are aware of the debates over whether Jazz’s obituary was penned sometime in the late 1960s or 1970s. But those discussions predate the era of Nixon, Ford, and Carter. Even in 1959, often heralded as the golden year of jazz, Edward O. Bland’s film The Cry of Jazz posited that the spirit of the style is dead, but its spirit survives. It is this spirit that guides Requiem for Jazz. 

Across the album, Angel Bat Dawid unquestionably unites hues of jazz, blues, spirituals, gospel, hip hop, electronic, and soul music by way of a funeral service for jazz. Instead of separate “genres”, each is part of a singular representation of the Black American experience, a journey of suffering and joy with society continually trying to put chains around the spirit. The album’s structure as an oratorio even draws the classical and operatic works of great Black composers, from Henry Lawrence Freeman to Anthony Davis into the picture. 

But do not mistake the work – Dawid’s best to date – as mere historical analysis. The inclusion of artists like the impressive Isaiah Collier, who is still in his early 20s, also underscores a forward focus. So does the presence of Knoel Scott and almost-centenarian Marshall Allen on “Lux Aeterna – Eternal Light/My Rhapsody.” The Arkestra duo harkens back to Sun Ra’s presence on The Cry of Jazz while underscoring how the passage of over six decades has still made the Man from Saturn’s musical contributions no less futuristic. 

You can read my review of Angel Bat Dawid’s incredible Hush Harbor Mixtape session at this summer’s Newport Jazz Festival here. 

3. James Brandon Lewis Red Lily Quintet – For Mahalia, With Love (Tao Forms)

The follow-up to Jesup Wagon (Tao Forms, 2021) moves from the legacy of George Washington Carver to shine a light on one of the greatest vocalists to ever live. Many would refer to For Mahalia, With Love as a tribute album, but the recording is far more than a work honoring its stated subject. 

Structured as a three-way conversation between Lewis, his grandmother, and the gospel legend herself, the work does not merely cover the songs that endeared Jackson to so many. Instead, Lewis examines how her music fits into his creative DNA. As a result, his original composition “Sparrow” slips effortlessly into the old “His Eye is On the Sparrow” as if the two were destined for unity. “Swing Low” – a piece that Jackson may have never sung – is turned into a reflection of both the significance the singer had on the Civil Rights Movement and the fortitude Lewis’ grandmother, and countless others, had to live through the era. It’s a beautiful recording from an artist who continually pushes the music forward yet does so with reverence for his forebears. The top-notch personnel of Chad Taylor, Kirk Knuffke, Chris Hoffman, and William Parker also certainly helps. 

You can read my interview with James on this project here. 

2. Steve Lehman & Orchestre National de Jazz – Ex Machina (Pi) 

A misguided music journalist friend recently stated that he did not appreciate avant-garde music because it “only deconstructs existing standards; it never creates something.” On its face, this claim is laughably inaccurate. But it’s hard to find an album that better disproves his commentary than Ex Machina.

Building upon George Lewis’ Computer Music and various electro-acoustic projects, Lehman uses IRCAM-crafted artificial intelligence to reach new realms. Where many see AI as a conceptual boogeyman, Lehman sees the tool’s potential. He then adds in his long-established interest in spectral harmony. Along the way, he finds a kindred spirit in Frédéric Maurin and the Orchestre National de Jazz. Together, they turn the longstanding big band format on its head and give it renewed vigor. By reaching out – to newer technologies, more novel methods of composition, and freer solos- the group builds something wholly new. Lehman has yet to produce an album that is not essential listening. But even among that lofty crop, Ex Machina seems to rise to the top. 

You can read my interview with Steve on this project here. 

1. Susan Alcorn and Septeto Del Sur – Canto (Relative Pitch)

Canto finds pedal steel maestro Susan Alcorn leading several Chilean musicians – Luis “ToTo” Alvarez, Claudio “Pajaro” Araya, Francisco “Pancho” Araya, Rodrigo Bobadilla, Amanda Irarrazabal, and Danka Villanueva – across a series of original compositions and a Victor Jara cover. All was recorded in a remote studio in Chile.

Alcorn herself believes this work is not jazz. That perspective seems to make sense as at its core lies Chilean nueva canción, a folk form that played a profound role in the pro-democracy social upheavals in that country during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. As such, the sound of Canto comes more from singer-songwriter music from Latin America than the Black American lineage that guides jazz. 

But what is jazz if not a continued artistic search for freedom? In this sense, Canto’s nueva canción roots grow from a similar ground as jazz. Both provide a voice to the oppressed seeking a better life. Both forms highlight the artistic excellence that can emerge from dire circumstances. And both prevail through hardship. Perhaps most importantly, Canto actually sounds like a melding of jazz and Chilean folk music. There are also occasional flourishes of contemporary classical with emerging hues of Messaien and Morricone, among others. Further, on a purely technical level, the album’s approach to nueva canción adopts Alcorn’s harmonic language, one rich in microtonality and dissonance, two aspects shared with both avant-garde jazz and New Music.

Canto is a gorgeous recording that is continually emotionally stirring. Its remorseful tunes hit your heart hard before leaving you with the hope of everyone someday having a “right to live in peace.”

Stay tuned for a forthcoming interview with Susan on this album. 

11. The Mexico City Experiment  – The Mexico City Experiment (Ropeadope)

In many ways, guitarist Todd Clouser had his work cut out for him in making The Mexico City Experiment. All prior Experiments were in American cities where the sonic terrain was pretty well-established to most listeners, whether the soul-infusion of Philly or the electronic facets from Detroit. To many in the States, the largest North American city, is a musical enigma. Mexico City does not have the press coverage of, say, LA or London. But Clouser uses this relatively blank canvas of listener expectations to paint vivid scenes of his adopted metropolis. Guadalupe Galvan’s spoken word and Clouser’s warm guitar transport the listener to the busy city streets of the City of Palaces. The Mexico City Experiment is more avant-garde inspired than its prior outings – Mexican free jazz heavyweight German Bringas helps- but it nevertheless welcomes sonic travelers with open arms. 

You can check out my interview earlier this year with Todd here. 

12. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson- Les Jardins Mystiques, Vol. 1 (Brainfeeder)

Several years ago, I became hip to Atwood-Ferguson’s work from his recordings with Flying Lotus and Thundercat. I was shocked to learn he had not yet released a full album under his own name. Fourteen years in making, the hefty – first of a three-part project- Les Jardins Mystiques was worth the wait. The album is packed with impressive guest artists, but the work’s majesty arises primarily from the intricate construction of the pieces and the leader’s capability to highlight the elegant tradition of his chosen viola while stretching its bounds. 

You can check out my interview earlier this year with Miguel here. 

13. Rubin Kodheli – Departure (self-release)

Departure could provide the soundtrack to a group of explorers daring to go to undiscovered regions and the perilous conditions they continually encounter. Brian Chase, whose credits are primarily in the alternative rock realm, provides nice steadily urgent rhythms for the group that suggest the movement – perhaps even running- of footsteps from whatever the most recent terror may be. By trading a traditional cello in for a Ned Steinberger electric one, the leader can provide a palette of otherwise, based on the trio’s instrumentation, unavailable sounds. A good example is on “Mountainous Crag” where the electric cello sounds like a trumpet. And Trevor Dunn has long ago proved his capability to transverse the region between avant-garde jazz and metal. Throughout, Departure is unpredictable and impossible to ignore. 

14. James Brandon Lewis –  Eye of I (Anti-)

Like Kodheli, on Eye of I, Chris Hoffman takes the cello into new territory, this time through the use of pedals. Taking the Sonny Rollins pianoless trio format and substituting a bass for altered cello, pushes the concept to the current era. Aggressive heavy metal, punk, and avant-garde jazz all congeal into a memorable work that would speak as much to headbanging rock fans as jazz aficionados. How good is this album? Well, for a long time, it was actually in my top ten. If it weren’t for Lewis creating a stronger work in For Mahalia, it very well may have stayed there. 

You can read my interview with Lewis on the trio here. 

15.  Mendoza Hoff Revels – Echolocation (AUM Fidelity)

“Echolocation” is a natural form of sonar that allows animals to sense what is before them based on the vibration of sound waves. The ability to echolocate is particularly helpful to bats who need the effect to help them navigate through darkened passages and across the night sky. Echolocation is also a fitting title for the first collaborative recording by Ava Mendoza and Devin Hoff (along with James Brandon Lewis and Ches Smith).  Across the album, textures and harmonic shifts guide the listener through a mysterious and unrevealed terrain. On the title track, Mendoza’s guitar even elicits a shimmering effect, reminiscent of a chiroptera’s skittery calls bouncing off of cavernous walls.

16. Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet – Emergence (Play On)

Emergence features a sextet of artists from my adopted home city of Austin, Texas. ATX isn’t particularly known for its jazz scene, but this album suggests it should be. Coke and Michel have worked together for decades – since  Tina Marsh’s Creative Opportunity Orchestra in the ‘80s- and the strength of those forged bonds is evident in their communication. The unusual drumless instrumentation of the album – horns, guitar, harp, pedal steel, contrabass, and vibes – mirrors the weirdness of Austin. But the recording isn’t inherently avant-garde. Instead, the album weaves together tango, folk, pop music, and classical chamber music in a distinctive manner found only here. 

17. The Gaslamp Killer & The Heliocentrics- Legna (Cuss) 

With all of the coverage the last several years on the UK jazz scene, it is a tad surprising that the Heliocentrics aren’t more discussed in the states. The decreased recognition is certainly not for lack of pedigree. Past collaborators include Archie Shepp, Mulatu Astatke, Shabaka Hutchings, and DJ Shadow. With Legna, the Malcolm Catto and Jake Ferguson co-led ensemble is paired with DJ/producer Gaslamp Killer. Gaslamp Killer is deep into psychedelic rock, instrumental hip-hop, and various groves from cultures around the globe, which melds incredibly well with the Helicentrics’ expansive multi-genre approach to music. 

18. Henry Threadgill – The Other One (Pi)

Henry Threadgill long ago cemented his reputation as one of the most consequential composers of our time. Close to eighty, he has very little he still needs to prove to anyone. He nevertheless continues to shock and amaze. This most recent work is a three-movement suite executed by a twelve-member ensemble. Threadgill does not perform on the recording, but his distinctive voice is unmistakable. 

You can read my 2021 interview with Threadgill for the Jazz Gallery here and here. 

19. Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah – Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning (Ropeadope)

It takes guts to put aside the instrument that has made you well-known to create music that sounds very little like your prior output. Chief Adjuah of the Xodokan Nation of Maroons and Grand Griot of New Orleans is nothing if not fearless. With Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning, the trumpeter once known as Christian Scott puts aside his horn in favor of the Adjuah Bow – a custom kamele n’goni gravi-hybrid – and his own voice. He also steps away from the electronics and sampling which played a prominent role in his Stretch Music and Centennial projects. The new setting is a primarily acoustic affair guided by the New Orleans R&B and African and Native American rhythms that make Mardi Gras Indian music so unique. The album is an intimate folkloric experience unlike anything else the Chief has made to date. 

20. Jason Moran – From the Dancehall to the Battlefield (Yes)

James Reese Europe was a major figure who remains far too underappreciated. In addition to his service during World War I, Europe busted down doors for musicians, especially Black composers. With From the Dancehall to the Battlefield, Jason Moran succeeds in providing a reevaluation of Europe’s contributions. A combination of originals and tunes once played by Europe’s Harlem Hellfighters, the music runs the gamut in a way that transcends eras or stylistic impulses. As a result, Europe’s “Ballin’ the Jack” feeds seamlessly into Geri Allen’s “Feed the Fire” and Europe’s “Flee as a Bird to Your Mountain” honoring the fallen effortlessly becomes Albert Ayler’s “Ghosts.” The album provides a tribute to a historical figure without getting mired in the sounds that came before. 

You can read my interview with Jason on this project here and here. 

21. Darius Jones – Fluxkit Vancouver (Its Suite but Sacred) (Northern Spy/We Jazz)

Jones’ four-movement homage to Fluxus – an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers, and poets during the 1960s and 1970s – perfectly captures the experimental nature of the movement. The album finds the saxophonist joined by Gerald Cleaver and a coterie of some of Canada’s finest creative musicians: Peggy Lee, James Meger, and the Zubot brothers. Very little is overtly explained to the listener, with Jones instead favoring ambiguity and abstraction. 

You can read my interview with Darius on this project here. 

22. Cautious Clay – Karpeh (Blue Note)

In full disclosure, I was unfamiliar with Cautious Clay, the stage name of Joshua Karpeh, until he was announced to perform at this summer’s Newport Jazz Festival. Shortly after, I received Karpeh from Blue Note and was intrigued by the inclusion of Julian Lage, Joel Ross, Julius Rodriguez, Ambrose Akinmusire, Arooj Aftab, and Immanuel Wilkins. I’m glad I was. The guest stars, while significant, are only part of the story as Clay himself excels across the album on many different instruments. At times, Karpeh’s blending of jazz and R&B recalls works by the Soulquarians. At others, as with “The Tide is My Witness”, the leader’s saxophone sounds reminiscent of Fela Kuti, just with the background changed from Afrobeat to a different kind of groove. The album tells stories from Karpeh’s familial history, adding some substantive weight to the fun captured. 

You can read my interview with Joshua on this project here. 

23. Caroline Davis – Alula: Captivity (Ropeadope)

Captivity, a call for criminal justice reform, is the latest in a long line of politically minded jazz releases. The incorporation of samples of speeches by people failed by the criminal justice system provides a jarring element to the work that demands the listener’s attention. With a band this strong – Tyshawn Sorey, Chris Tordini, and Val Jeanty – Davis’ quartet was bound to receive significant notice regardless. However, the samples do add additional weight to the work. One can tell the project’s message is particularly important to the saxophonist-bandleader given the intricacy of the compositions.   

You can read my interview with Caroline on this project here. 

24. Ingrid Laubrock – The Last Quiet Place (Pyroclastic)

The Last Quiet Place finds saxophonist Laubrock leading a uniquely instrumented ensemble of violin, cello, guitar, bass, and drums. The unusual lineup gives the group expertise in eliminating any gaps between avant-garde jazz, chamber music, and rock. There is a particular magic inherent in the moments where Laubrock’s horn collides with Brandon Seabrook’s guitar lines. One should not misread the album’s title to suggest the music on the record is always gentle or soft. At times, it can be, but conflicts are also not absent. 

You can read my interview with Ingrid on this project here. 

25. Matthew Shipp – The Intrinsic Nature of Shipp (Mahakala)

Matthew Shipp has several solo piano albums to his credit, many of them great. But Intrinsic Nature seems to hit differently. Shipp has never been one to sacrifice his idiosyncratic approach to not only performance but also composition and improvisation. With this release, it seems the artist has realized the potential of his distinct language in a way that goes beyond his prior output. He’s more comfortable with space and silence here, under the concept that it is the space that gives his ideas meaning. He can still unleash a sonic fury on the piano where needed – as on “The Bulldozer Poetics” but it comes across less as a default approach and more as one type of brushstroke he can use to create his overall portrait. 

You can read my interview with Matthew on this album here. 

26. Kate Gentile – Find Letter X (Pi)

Find Letter X is an album by a quartet that sounds as if it were a much larger group. The band’s deceptiveness as to its size comes primarily from the sheer breadth of ideas that the group can squeeze into its – somehow too short – three-disc release. The pieces on Find Letter X are built around fragments of music rather than traditional chordal changes, which seem to give the group more space to explore ideas from not only creative music but also brutal death metal, electronic music, and more. A magnificently wild ride. 

You can read my interview with Kate on this album here. 

27. Eddie Henderson – Witness to History (Smoke)

A title like Witness to History could be interpreted one of two ways. The first would boast about the current release being somehow groundbreaking. The second would be a reflection on the artist’s role in events passed. This album takes the second perspective. Eighty-three-year-old Henderson is one of the few legendary trumpeters still with us whose career extends from Louis Armstrong, his first teacher, to the modern era. Across the way came works with Hancock’s Mwandishi, albums under his own name, and the Cookers. Two of his cohorts in the latter, Donald Harrison and George Cables, are present on Witnessl. So is drummer Lenny White, whom the leader has worked with at least since his debut album fifty years ago. These long-term relationships seem central to the mystical improvisatory communications denoted across the album, whether atop a super funky “Scorpio Rising” or a laidback Miles-influenced “It Never Entered My Mind.”

Stay tuned for a forthcoming interview with Dr. Henderson on this album and his upcoming performance at the John Coltrane Festival. 

28. Sylvie Courvoisier – Chimaera (Intakt)

Chimaera draws inspiration from the paintings of French Symbolist artist Odilon Redon, often viewed as a forefather of Surrealism. His works are often dreamlike and find a great parallel in this recording by Sylvie Courvosier’s new sextet. The firepower behind this album – Courvoisier with Wadada Leo Smith, Nate Wooley, Christian Fennesz, Drew Gress, and Kenny Wolleson – is by itself notable. But it is the delicate construction of compositions in which shadowy mysteries emerge. Fennesz’s electronics are particularly critical as they disrupt any status quo that may develop. The result is long-form pieces like the noirish “Le Pavot Rouge” and the balladic “Annâo.”

You can read my interview with Sylvie (and Mary Halvorson) from 2021 here. 

29. Illegal Crowns – Unfolding (Out of Your Head)

Now onto their third album, Illegal Crowns – a collaboration between Mary Halvorson, Benoit Delbecq, Taylor Ho Bynum, and Tomas Fujiwara – is as strong as ever. Unclosing features strong melodies and equally forceful improvisatory manipulations. Delbecq’s prepared piano – which I interviewed him on here – adds additional mysterious textures to the already compelling conversation between four distinctive artists. 

30. Ghost Train Orchestra with the Kronos Quartet – Songs and Symphoniques: The Music of Moondog (Cantaloupe)

Historians often don’t know how to categorize the music of Louis Hardin, better known as Moondog or the Viking of Sixth Avenue. Part of the difficulty in labeling comes from the fact Moondog himself avoided such treatment of his work during his lifetime. Due to his refusal to box in his music, Moondog’s followers and admirers similarly transverse the musical gamut. With Songs and Symphoniques, the Brian Carpenter-led Ghost Train Orchestra gives equal opportunity to his legacy in different fields by combining the jazz orchestrations of the large ensemble with the classical moorings of the Kronos Quartet and the rock hues from various guest artists. It’s not a work that strictly adheres to recreating Moondog’s music but instead reflects the composer’s unique essence. 

You can read my interview with Brian Carpenter on this project here. 

31. Sheldon Suter – Berceuses & Nocturnes (Clean Feed) 

Swiss drummer Sheldon Suter’s solo debut uniquely melds Satie’s furniture music, Indonesian gamelan, and post-rock groups like Tortoise. Suter’s fully improvised work avoids overdubs or loop machines yet finds ways to sound like a fuller band than a singular man behind a drum. His creative use of cymbals and adoption of a bowed zither and a fluttering shruti box – essentially a droning harmonium of Indian origin – creates a sound that is somehow equally soothing and unsetting yet consistently compelling. Are we hearing a lullaby or the score for a horror film?

32. Tomas Fujiwara – Pith (Out of Your Head)

Tomas Fujiwara is one of the best drummers on the scene today, so it is interesting when he releases a work that sets his sticks further into the background. Don’t misread that; Fujiwara still shines on Pith, but he also knows when to step aside to support Patricia Brennan on vibes and Tomeka Reid on cello. Both Brennan and Reid, of course, approach their instruments in untraditional ways. While the former uses her characteristic electronics, the latter often adopts a low-end pizzicato that emulates an acoustic bass. The result is a work that quickly moves from organized chaos on a piece like “Other” to tranquility on “Breath” while borrowing from avant-garde jazz, post-rock, ambient music, contemporary classical, and more. 

33.  Daniel Villarreal, Jeff Parker, Anna Butterss – Lados B (International Anthem)

One of my live music highlights of 2023 was seeing Villarreal perform at one of his South by Southwest dates, with his group Panamá ‘77. Lados B in a smaller setting with two equally skilled artists. The trio outing is generally more calming than invigorating. The album features generally slower moving tempos and ambient textures, compared to the pyrotechnics on Villarreal’s prior release. “Things Can Be Calm” even finds the drummer putting aside his kit in favor of the kalimba. But even less accelerated and more laid back, Lados B still grooves hard. 

34.  Kris Davis – Diatom Ribbons Live at the Village Vanguard (Pyroclastic)

As much as things change, they also stay the same. Diatom Ribbons Live at the Village Vanguard represents this idea more than most. Throughout its history, artists have made memorable music at the venue by pushing beyond convention. Davis does that as well, by interjecting samples, electronics, and cues from Messiaen and other classical composers into a deceptively middle-of-the-road sound. In so doing, the quintet of Davis, Terri Lyne Carrington, Val Jeanty, Julian Lage, and Trevor Dunn honor the past of the storied venue without being bound to replicate it. They find their own way forward. 

You can read my interview with Kris on this album here. 

35.  Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra – Lightning Dreamers (International Anthem)

 

Any new Exploding Star Orchestra album is worth celebrating. Lightning Dreamers finds the bandleader’s trumpet more subdued than on most prior releases. He often leaves space for the rest of the band to shine, which is brilliant given the strength of its membership: Jeff Parker, Craig Taborn, Angelica Sanchez, Damon Locks, Gerald Cleaver, Nicole Mitchell, and Mauricio Takara. The late jaimie branch also makes an appearance. As he’s done countless times over the last thirty years, Mazurek is still an electro-acoustic torchbearer, and Lightning Dreamers is an exhilarating experience. 

Stay tuned as we continue our season of lists. Agree or disagree with the choices above? Please comment below.