{"id":5537,"date":"2023-01-15T21:58:15","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T03:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=5537"},"modified":"2023-01-16T06:20:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T12:20:27","slug":"january-2023-capsule-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/january-2023-capsule-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"January 2023 Capsule Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>With the start of a new year, we also start a new feature on this site. These capsule reviews aim to provide very brief reviews &#8211; a few hundred words at most &#8211; of albums of note which have come out around the month at issue. For this month, only one of these albums &#8211; Lakecia Benjamin&#8217;s <em>Phoenix<\/em> (Whirlwind, 2023) &#8211; comes out in January proper. The other three &#8211; Satoko Fujii&#8217;s <em>Hyaku, One Hundred Dreams<\/em> (Libra, 2022), Patricia Brennan&#8217;s <em>More Touch<\/em> (Pyroclastic, 2022), and Leland Whitty&#8217;s <em>Anyhow<\/em> (Innovative Leisure, 2022)- are holdovers from 2022 which are nevertheless worth remark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lakecia Benjamin,&nbsp;<em>Phoenix<\/em>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"350\" height=\"470\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 350px; height: 470px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=1746444219\/album=3324344640\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Benjamin\u2019s immediately preceding work was a star-studded tribute to the couple Coltrane. While reviews of&nbsp;<em>Pursuance<\/em>&nbsp;heavily emphasized the alto saxophonist\u2019s approach to the works of John, it was her relationship to Alice\u2019s music that provided a base for the entire album.&nbsp;<em>Phoenix<\/em>&nbsp;builds upon Benjamin\u2019s connections to the contributions of her female elders by underscoring their works on the transmutability of artistic forms. Poet Sonia Sanchez blurs the lines between the blues and haiku on \u201cA Haiku Song\u201d and \u201cBlast.\u201d Patrice Rushen\u2019s genre-leaping keyboard stylings provide vitality to \u201cJubilation.\u201d The soulful vocals of Dianne Reeves and the emboldened spoken words of Angela Davis provide further depths to their respective tracks. The guest artists are fitting for an album by an artist who continues to impress with her own disregard for boundaries between jazz, R&amp;B, pop, and hip hop. Where&nbsp;<em>Pursuance<\/em>&nbsp;highlighted Benjamin\u2019s ability to show homage to the masters,&nbsp;<em>Phoenix<\/em>&nbsp;showcases her continued prowess as a composer, forging her own path with guidance from the masters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Satoko Fujii,&nbsp;<em>Hyaku, One Hundred Dreams<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"350\" height=\"470\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 350px; height: 470px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=3498974790\/album=2305133241\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fujii\u2019s hundred &#8211; more if you could Bandcamp only releases- album discography is replete with excellent solo, duo, trio, and large ensemble works.<em>&nbsp;Hyaku<\/em>, the recording commemorating her output officially reaching the triple digits, is among her best. It finds her exploring the thin edge between avant-garde jazz and contemporary classical music with an impressive team of collaborators. Many of Fujii\u2019s bandmates would be familiar to those even passively familiar with this site: Ingrid Laubrock, Sara Schoenbeck, Wadada Leo Smith, Natsuki Tamura, Ikue Mori, Brandon Lopez, Tom Rainey, and Chris Corsano. Fujii puts care into the use of each idiosyncratic artist\u2019s voice by essentially carving the suite\u2019s five parts into an extended series of solos. Adopting this structure allows themes to rise to the top and provide a better context to the work. This is most evident in part one, where the duality of nature as simultaneously a peaceful and violent force is brought to the fore by Mori\u2019s distorted birdcalls and Fujii\u2019s simulations of a babbling brook and a heavy rapid. Schoenbeck\u2019s bassoon further amplifies the mysteriousness of the surroundings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Patricia Brennan,&nbsp;<em>More Touch<\/em>&nbsp;(Pyroclastic, 2022)&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"350\" height=\"470\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 350px; height: 470px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=1715071689\/album=2823866232\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many fine vibraphonists today- Joel Ross, Sasha Berliner, and Chris Dingman, among them. Brennan certainly belongs in their company as she continues to forge her own path on the instrument. If one listens closely enough to the original compositions on&nbsp;<em>More Touch<\/em>, one can hear the Mexican folk music from Brennan\u2019s youth. But it\u2019s hardly a retrospective affair. The instrumentation &#8211; three percussionists and a bassist- is forward-thinking and unique. Even more so after one considers the bandleader\u2019s affinity for electronic effects, which adds an exotic element to the work. The result is equally familiar and foreign. This is perhaps best experienced on \u201cEl Nahualli,\u201d which envisions the rampage of a mythic beast by manipulating a simple and laid-back melody into a frenetic collage of sound. With a practitioner like Brennan, the vibraphone\u2019s mallets are in good hands as the instrument enters its second century.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Leland Whitty,&nbsp;<em>Anyhow<\/em>&nbsp;(Innovative Leisure, 2022)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"350\" height=\"470\" style=\"position: relative; display: block; width: 350px; height: 470px;\" src=\"\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/track=1720466419\/album=2088445790\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=0687f5\/tracklist=false\/\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although best known for his work as the saxophonist in BadBadNotGood, Whitty is adept at several instruments. On his solo debut, <em>Anyhow<\/em>, he adds flute, clarinet, guitar, violin, viola, Wurlitzer, and synth to his arsenal. While the project sounds a bit removed from the jazz-hip hop hybrid for which BBNG is known, it, too, takes something from sampling. Looped sounds are the building blocks for sonic environments. The album is cinematic, with each track evocative of a particular mood. The distorted flute refrain on the opener, \u201cSvalbard,\u201d speaks of loneliness, while the closing title track suggests dreamlike tranquility. Throughout, Whitty sets an air that he is doing less with more. He uses sparse instrumentation to reach emotional depths that a highly orchestrated ensemble would struggle to achieve. Though it packs a punch, <em>Anyhow <\/em>is a short record; hopefully the first of many solo works from Whitty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the start of a new year, we also start a new feature on this site. These capsule reviews aim to provide very brief reviews &#8211; a few hundred words at most &#8211; of albums of note which have come out around the month at issue. For this month, only one of these albums &#8211; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":52,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1226],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capsule-reviews-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/BeFunky-collage21.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peRkRR-1rj","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":274,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-lakecia-benjamins-pursuance-the-coltranes\/","url_meta":{"origin":5537,"position":0},"title":"Review: Lakecia Benjamin&#8217;s &#8216;Pursuance: The Coltranes&#8217;","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"March 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In the over fifty years since John Coltrane\u2019s death, dozens, if not hundreds, of recordings have honored his artistic genius. The sheer quantity seemingly dwarfs even the number of releases by the saxophonist during his lifetime. This, of course, raises a fairly simple question: does the world truly need yet\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lakecia Benjamin","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/lakeciabenjamin_slider.png?fit=751%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/lakeciabenjamin_slider.png?fit=751%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/lakeciabenjamin_slider.png?fit=751%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/lakeciabenjamin_slider.png?fit=751%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5693,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/february-2023-capsule-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":5537,"position":1},"title":"February 2023 Capsule Reviews","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"February 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"For February - just under the wire - we provide capsule reviews of recent works with an eye towards avant-garde expressionism. Two of the selections explore the contributions of legends of the music, while the others showcase the voices of younger practitioners of the craft. For this month, only one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Capsule Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Capsule Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/capsule-reviews-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/BeFunky-collage-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/BeFunky-collage-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/BeFunky-collage-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/BeFunky-collage-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8686,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/engagement-lakecia-benjamin\/","url_meta":{"origin":5537,"position":2},"title":"Engagement: A Conversation with Lakecia Benjamin on &#8216;Phoenix Reimagined (Live)&#8217;","author":"Rob Shepherd","date":"June 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"There is something special about a live recording compared to one edited in the studio. An increased openness to risk and chance creates a palpable energy that is difficult to recreate in a more controlled setting. This is particularly true for improvised music, where art is crafted in a fleeting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/9d6d406a-8e4f-4274-a7cb-b38cd2b58350.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/9d6d406a-8e4f-4274-a7cb-b38cd2b58350.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/9d6d406a-8e4f-4274-a7cb-b38cd2b58350.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/9d6d406a-8e4f-4274-a7cb-b38cd2b58350.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5740,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/march-2023-capsule-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":5537,"position":3},"title":"March 2023 Capsule Reviews","author":"PostGenre Writing Staff","date":"March 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"For March, Brian Kiwanuka and Rob Shepherd provide capsule reviews of three recordings \u2013 C\u00e9cile McLorin Salvant's Melusine (Nonesuch, 2023), Tomas Fujiwara's March On (Firehouse 12, 2023), and Rubin Kodheli's Departure (self-release, 2023)- and a SXSW performance venue - the Qobuz Sessions at KMFA Studios. C\u00e9cile McLorin Salvant-\u00a0Melusine C\u00e9cile McLorin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Capsule Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Capsule Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/capsule-reviews-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image.jpeg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image.jpeg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image.jpeg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Image.jpeg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5804,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/april-2023-capsule-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":5537,"position":4},"title":"April 2023 Capsule Reviews","author":"PostGenre Writing Staff","date":"April 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"For April, Brian Kiwanuka and Rob Shepherd provide capsule reviews of four recordings by saxophonists who are pushing music in new directions: Ingrid Laubrock\u2019s\u00a0The Last Quiet Place\u00a0(Pyroclastic, 2023) [which you can also read more about here], James Brandon Lewis\u2019\u00a0Eye of I\u00a0(Anti, 2023), Ben Wendel's All One\u00a0(Edition, 2023), and John Zorn's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Capsule Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Capsule Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/capsule-reviews-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_5257.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_5257.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_5257.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/img_5257.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5549,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/thumbscrew-multicolored-midnight\/","url_meta":{"origin":5537,"position":5},"title":"Review: Thumbscrew\u2019s \u2018Multicolored Midnight\u2019","author":"John Chacona","date":"January 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The fourth cut on Thumbscrew\u2019s\u00a0Multicolored Midnight\u00a0(Cuneiform, 2022) is entitled \u201cShit Changes.\u201d You don\u2019t have to be a climate scientist or Sam Bankman-Fried to appreciate the truth of that phrase, and it could just be another of bassist Michael Formanek\u2019s cheekily subversive titles. Yet despite ten years of consistently provocative and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/artist_photo-Thumbscrew-2022-1-credit_Brian_Cohen.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/artist_photo-Thumbscrew-2022-1-credit_Brian_Cohen.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/artist_photo-Thumbscrew-2022-1-credit_Brian_Cohen.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/artist_photo-Thumbscrew-2022-1-credit_Brian_Cohen.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5537"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5543,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5537\/revisions\/5543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}