2012 Top CD's 1st quarter

Catching up after the holidays. So here are 3 more that just don't quite make the cut, but are excellent records.

Dave Brubeck Quartet-Their Last Time Out.
Acquired: Gift
Rating: 89

Some sound quality issues, but this is the classic quartet. This group is one of those that got me into Jazz- a bit of a theme for this posting. I only wish this had Blue Rondo on it, but I guess they didn't play it that day. Eugene Wright comes off a bit boomy in the mix, but for a live recording of this vintage you have to give it some slack. If you have Time Out and Time Further Out, this side really shows the quartet playing some charts that you wouldn't have already. Great blowing by all through some standards as well as the tune they are most famous for. For Bass Players, Eugene's open solo at the beginning of "Set My People Free" is a highlight.

Toshiko Aikiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band- Mosaic Collection
Acquired: Label Website
Rating: 91

This is a 3 disc set that comprises Toshiko's early JVC/Japan sides- Kogun, Long Yellow Road, Tales of a Courtesan and Insights. The first time I ever heard a big band (that I wasn't in) was Northern Illinois under Ron Modell in '85. They opened with "Road Time Shuffle". I thought the world was coming to an end. I bought this 3 disc set just for that track. It's left a lasting impression. Toshiko's writing only got more meaning for me over the years. The lead trumpet on these sides is Bobby Shew. I got the opportunity to go out on the road with Bobby as a Freshman in college. Unfortunately all anybody wanted to talk about was playing with Steely Dan. I wish I was hip to these sides then. Toshiko doesn't get played as much as she should. The charts are just that hard. They start off all swinging in a Thad Jones kind of vibe, then the flutes piccolos and other assorted woodwinds get taken out. You need aces in every section to even think about trying her stuff. Which is too bad. Highly recommended big band. Not dated to my ears at all.

Keith Jarrett-Rio
Acquired: Gift
Rating 95

A double disc improvised piano disc could be like a root canal, no matter who the player is. And they can be pretty great too. I can't compare this to La Scala, as I don't have that side. But this concert in Rio is really happening. Keith uses the whole tonal spectrum from the angular stuff you'd expect to some moments of conventional beauty so moving even my wife digs it. Each track is different, and this is really a side you want to listen to complete. And yet the movements each stand alone. As usual for the ECM label, the sound is just as clear and full as can be. It's like being inside of the lid of the piano.

2012 Top Cds part 2

Working my way through CD's acquired during the first three months of 2012. Here are four more that just didn't make the cut.

Clayton-Hamilton Big Band- Live at MCG
Acquired: Artist's Table
Rating: 82

Some really solid swinging big band. A few moments where I scratch my head. A few tracks I just don't like. One of the tracks I don't like is "Nature Boy". I'll call this reviewer bias. I've never liked that song, instrumentally or otherwise.

What this band does the best is expand on the legacy of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis band. In the pocket swing like on "Captain Bill" or blazing through Rhythm choruses on "Eternal Triangle" and "Squatty Roo".

Renee Rosnes-As We are Now
Acquired: Jazz Record Mart
Rating: 87

I had the opportunity to meet and hang out with one of my Twitter friends while he was on the road in Chicago. After lunch we went to kick around at the record mart. I found this side. I said to him: Renee Rosnes, Chris Potter, John Pattituci and Jack DeJohnette. I'm sure this record must suck.

I should have looked a bit closer at the disc, it was a used out-of-print and had a $30 price tag, but I'm glad I have this side. The production does make it sound a bit dated, and it sounds like they recorded Jack's kit in an airplane hangar.

My favorite track on this is the title track. Chris Potter lays out and it's just a beautiful modern composition. I don't have many recording that John and Jack play on. I should seek more out as they are fantastic together.

Charlie Haden and Hank Jones-Steal Away
Charlie Haden and Hank Jones-Come Sunday
Acquired: Amazon
Rating: 85 (each)

I'll cheat and review these together. This is the first time I've actually clicked "add to cart" when I got the "frequently bought together" message. It was very interesting to see the contrasts in the second meeting years later. I feel that Steal Away is a bit looser, in a good way. It comes off as more of a jazz reading. Much of Come Sunday is simple readings of Hymns. Of course, nobody ever sounds better playing in an understated way than Charlie Haden. I don't have an exact measurement, but it seems that Charlie takes more of a lead role on Come Sunday than he does on Steal Away.

So Steal Away- more of an improvised session. Come Sunday, slightly better material selection (totally subjective on my part) and a bit more bass heavy.

2012 top CDs'

Once again, time for me to work on my year end list. As with last year, this is a list of CD's I personally received over the past year. Not being a full time reviewer, just about everything on this list is stuff I bought. I think I received two promos in the past year. Also the CD's listed could have wildly varying release dates, and are in most cases, not from 2012.

I'm going to organize this by quarter. So first will be the best CD's acquired in January, February and March. First up are the albums that didn't make the cut.

Orchestre National De Jazz- Shut up and Dance (released 2010)
Acquired: Retail- Jazz Record Mart, Chicago
Rating: 64

A very experimental album, featuring the music of John Hollenbeck. I believe I first was aware of this disc from Jason Crane's Jazz Session podcast. As the release was pretty limited, I had to pay a fair premium for this disc. To my tastes, it's a bit uneven. There is a lot of rhythmic interest, but I prefer that there be a melodic interest to go along with that. Strict rhythmic interest is fine in doses- I do like a good drum solo, but my ears just need more.

My favorite tracks were Melissa Dance, Racing Heart Heart Racing, Bob Walk and Life Still.

Bob Walk illustrates what this disc is when it works best. A heavily syncopated, yet light grove sets the exposition. A reed solo starts to lay in, as melodic fragments from the ensemble build tension. As the piece moves forward, more harmonic material is interlaced. There are a variety of ostinato figures, without being overused. The rhythmic contrast helps develop the story this song would tell.

Worth seeking out for fans of the artist or the genre.

John Patitucci- Songs, Stories & Sprituals (released 2003)
Acquired Retail-Jazz Record Mart, Chicago
Rating: 73

A solid all-around disc, but with not enough bright moments for me. The recording of "It Never Entered My Mind" actually sounds like it is in the wrong key for the vocalist. That vocalist is Luciana Souza, and it kills me to not write something glowing about her. A far better track is "Lei" written by brazilian Djavan. This is the sort of thing I bought the record for. A fantastic groove set up by Brian Blade and Ed Simon, six-string bass pyrotechnics, and Luciana's singing of something that's in her wheelhouse. This also has a fantastic string quartet and bass arrangement of "In the Bleak Midwinter" that's worth the price of a download. I expected to see Gil Goldstein as the arranger, but it's JP's work.

Various Artists- Soda Fountain Favorites (compiled & released 2011)
Acquired-gift
Rating: 71

A good collection of the genre. Not too many fillers, but a few songs that aren't as "Favorite" as others. I review them all. Of course a collection such as this has the benefit of 55 years of hindsight, and could always have been stronger. There's probably nothing on this you haven't heard before.

Fun with Loop Recording

Here's a tech tip for you players in Twitter Symphony and elsewhere. When you are being your own engineer and playing something that takes both hands, and sometimes a yet un-evloved third one, it can be tricky getting ready to play that first note of a piece you are recording. Then add in the "red-light jitters" many of us can get and even a single clean take can be very frustrating, time consuming and in general not be an enjoyable experience.

I was having a tough time with our Director Chip Michael's latest piece "Flutter By". Symphony No 2, which is finished for my part, had everything in straight tempo. Flutter By introduces rallentando and accelearando. For symphony No 2, I had made my own click tracks in logic, my own measure markings, and could easily jump to a bar or subdivsion if I needed to make a little tweak.

However, we tried to find a way to move from Chip's DAW to Logic 9 which I use. There might be a way to do it but I never found one. Nor did I have any luck trying to exactly approximate the tempo variations. I thought I was just going to have to learn how to play this straight through.

To get ready to play it straight through I first started playing along with the sample track we get sent. At first I was playing it in iTunes, which became a pain in the butt having to restart it every time. I had the idea I could import the audio to Logic and use the loop playback function. I'd simply highlight the entire sample track and Logic would repeat it until I pressed the stop button. This became a great practice tool, and then I thought "I wonder if I can record this way..."

Turns out you can. Here's the tutorial I followed. It's short and to the point. It's for Logic but check around for your DAW. I'd bet Garage band is very similar.

http://audio.tutsplus.com/tutorials/mixing-mastering/how-to-comp-tracks-in-logic-pro-8/

This was done in Logic 8, but 9 is the same stuff.

So I have my loop running. And I decided I'd play through 7 or 8 times. Then I sat down and listened to each "take". I used the music, and had the sample playback going too, so I could hear any errors. I listened to each one, marked what wouldn't work and I came up with
8th take- clean
7th take- Measures 23 and 24 were wrong, but correct in take 6
3rd take- Measure 32 was wrong, but correct in take 5. Also measures 71-72 were wrong but correct in take 4.

This recording was easy. I didn't have to worry about playing the first note write. The whole first take was a mental write-off to me. I still had some "red-light jitters" but they were minimized since I didn't have to stop playing. All I had to do was composite the takes. Here's a screen shot of what that looked like.

So that's it in a nutshell. It was a lot less stressful to play, and I didn't have to be perfect the whole way through.

A tale of 2 free gigs.

Here's my experience with a free gig, I took online and a contrast to another one I won't be taking.

The first is "Twitter Symphony" organized by Composer Chip Michael. This gig was a huge musical challenge. It involved re-learning skills I've not used in some time, upgrading my studio setup and countless hours of practice. In the time working with Chip, he's promoted my music right along with his own. He has also worked tirelessly to find us means of monetary compensation. All that work is ongoing. This is a true joint venture, even though my role is subordinate to Chip's direction of the ensemble.

The next is Amanda Palmer's effort to get free musicians to back her on her current tour. Well you get a T-shirt, a hug, and smoke blown up your ass. The key difference here is AFP has already FOUND the money. She just doesn't see any need to share it. Amanda has one of the most followed accounts on Twitter. Do you think she'll take the minimal effort it would take to post a soundcloud link of her all-volunteer string quartet? Not likely. Plus she can easily afford minimum scale for each city on this tour. If the Musicians' Union is worth a damn (debatable in another post) they should shut these shows down.

Ms. Palmer "doesn't see the problem" with her actions. The problem is she knows perfectly well her fame and goodwill in the indie community can save her $500 per production in costs. That is exploitation pure and simple. It is wrong, and for someone who got a million upfront from her fans really ought to get in touch with the reality of the situation. Upfront fee or not, these aren't free performances she is giving.

I'm hoping some of the exploited musicians blog about their experiences. But I'm pretty sure playing with AFP a couple tunes is going to do as much for your "exposure" as waving in the background behind a news camera.

To Vonski

This story is not unique.

I had just graduated high school. We thought our school was pretty hip, since we had an extra-cirruclar Jazz band. No other schools in our district had one. A few people took interest in me and encouraged me. Most notably Georgia Boyer, my Mother's best friend. For my graduation, Aunt Georgia offered to take me on a tour of Chicago Jazz clubs. Georgia knew where I could get in and not be hassled about my age, so long as I didn't try to order a beer, or do anything stupid.

One of the places we went was Andy's. I liked it there and continued to come back on my own that summer. You couldn't hang out at Andy's long and not meet Von Freeman.

Von insisted that I sit in. I was so green, I had the turn-around for Bb blues written across my thumb as a cheat sheet. I didn't even know my way through a blues form yet, but Von had me get up there. I had never played with anyone past the group of cats in my high school band.

This story is not unique.

Many years have passed, but Von never said a harsh word. Yet that's not the same thing as just being encouraging just to boost someone's self-esteem. I should have had a ride cymbal thrown at me those early years, but that never happened. As months and years rolled by, Von would say "Yeah baby, you're growing! I can hear it".

Von became very important to me. Often, we'd have dinner at Gold coast hot dogs a few doors down from Andy's after the set, and I'd happily take him home to the south side, before driving out to Elmhurst, or worse, Naperville.

I never made it to the Apartment, I regret never doing that. However, I've played with Vonski more times than I can count. I never got a check to do it, but wouldn't change it.

There are two ways of inviting cats to sit in and jam. One way was the way Vonski did it. Most people don't make it about inclusion and passing knowledge on the bandstand. Von was always able to make everyone welcome. Even a green suburban white kid, who had no idea who he was about to play with a guy who turned down Miles Davis.

This story is not unique.

The last time I saw Von was after a set at Millennium Park. I picked up his latest side, and he signed it "With Love, Vonski". I'm sure that's not unique either. Von probably signed every disc that way, it's who he was.

This story is not unique. Earl LaVon Freeman was.

With Love,

Matt

The value of music

There is this idea that the sheer volume of recorded music somehow devalues the commercial viability of records. This is commonly espoused by the self-appointed industry gate-keepers. It's just not true. If anything, the majors cheapen music when they shove yet another auto-tuned hack waving her T&A in our faces. If Ke$ha sells more singles than the Beatles, clearly something is ass-backwards

What the gate-keepers don't realize is they are the ones that inspired us to take up music to begin with. So if you don't want new musicians, new media then stop making music in the first place.

Even when we consider how little we spend on arts education, there is never a shortage of new talent. And since none of us were born knowing how to play, we've always aspired to the greatness we've seen in others.

If your lawn wasn't so nice, I wouldn't want to play in your yard.

How to be a pro musician

Ok, listen up, because I'm only going to go over this once. I don't care what level of chops you have. 90% of what we are looking for here is guys who are pros. I know cats who were pros at 13 and couldn't actually play their way out of a paper bag. I'm not talking about chops. 70% of the music out there doesn't require a ton of chops to play. You could barely know 40% of the notes on your instrument and probably get through a bunch of gigs. So here's how to be a pro- you do this stuff, and you'll get work.

1) Communicate with the contractor/leader. If you get a text for a gig, it's cool to text back. A phone call warrants a phone call. Etc. However you are contacted, then reply back. I've booked gigs via DM on twitter. But communicate. It should never take longer than 12 hours to get back to someone unless you have been hit by a car or stabbed by a stripper. If you can't do that: stay off the fucking bandstand.

2) Be a team player. A team player is responsible for their own shit and accountable to everyone else in the band. I welcome anybody to tell me when I'm not holding my end up. Frankly, it very rarely happens, but I take care of it when it does. If there's something I can't execute, I practice it until I can, or I can prove to myself or anyone else that I'm playing this my absolute best. The last thing I want to do is trip on my dick and spoil it for the rest of the band. If you can't do that: stay off the fucking bandstand.

3) Playing music costs you money unless you are a fucking Beatle. There's a billion dollar industry around accessories. Reeds, stirngs, mutes, straps, you name it. I'm not buying you a bowtie or any of that other shit. I've dumped countless dough I've never recouped into sounding good. I've bought sets of strings I've never touched, just to have a set of spares. Do you know how long it takes to re-string an upright? I bust a string, I'd have to spend the rest of the gig fixing it. But so what, I have what I need and a spare. I took an entire Fender Jazz in pieces on the road once to Mexico because I knew there wouldn't be parts there. So bring all your shit (see 2 above). And if you cant do that..... stay off the fucking bandstand.

4) Learn to sight read. Nobody is going to pay you to practice. That or get an encyclopedic knowledge of the styles you are going to play. Western Europeans love printed music. It's not the end-all be all. If you know the language, a chart just gets in the way. But you have two choices. Ace the sight reading, or know how to play your ass off. If you can't do one of those things, or ideally both, then you can be anywhere else but the Fucking bandstand.

5) Commit. Commit to your art. Commit to yourself and have some self respect. If you read the history of music, you will find people who died for their art. Actual, no-shit, dead as a stick. Does it get more serious? This can be fun. It's SUPPOSED to be fun. Putting up with somebody who doesn't give a damn about their art just pisses everyone off. If you can't commit, then get off the fucking bandstand before somebody THROWS you off.

6) Learn some history. If I ask you who your influences are, you should have an answer. This is what musicians do to learn about each other. If we were dogs, we'd sniff each others asses, but we are musicians. And as an aside, there's a difference between an influence and artists you admire. There's cats I love that I play nothing like. If you don't know any of the history of the music you are playing, say it with me: stay off the fucking bandstand.

7) Somebody else wants your gig. And guess what? They play better than you do. And they don't pull any of your childish bullshit. So better to not even get on the bandstand in the first place.

8) There is no lottery. You want to stay in your basement, smoke grass and pull your pud, I'm not going to stop you. STAY THERE. If you think ascending in your career involves steps 1-7 above, go prove me wrong. But prove it from somewhere else than my fucking bandstand.

You can't be a lumberjack if you can't hold your end of the log.

An Open Letter to @OliverHSax

Oliver:

You've been asking me over twitter what music theory a 15-16 year old should know. You'll have to forgive me here, because I don't know much about you. But I'm happy to answer your question. Though this isn't so much as what a 15-16 year old should know, but I think this is something every advancing student should know. So many musicians don't know beep about theory, and most are never taught it. Theory is often treated as this strange voodoo that is little understood and infrequently taught.

As I mentioned, playing bass or a rhythm section instrument kind of forces you to learn some theory. I learned song forms, chord structures and scale relationships before I even got to a theory "class". But there were a lot of gaps in what I knew.

In my first class, which was a high school elective and not offered to all students, we spent a great deal of time on these:

-Intervals to the first octave, and the inversions of each. Unison, minor and major seconds, minor and major thirds, perfect 4th, tritone, perfect 5th, minor and major 6th, minor and major 7th.

-The circle of 5ths (and the inversion of the circle of 4ths) in major and minor. We would spend weeks just drilling this. C major, no sharps or flats, play a C major scale call out every note by name, G major, one sharp, F#, play a G major scale etc, etc, etc,

We would go all the way around the circle, and not simply stopping at the 6th key. For Example:

E-sharp major, 11 sharps, F-double sharp, C-double sharp, G-double sharp, D-double sharp, A-sharp, E-sharp, B-sharp. Play the scale, which is E#, F##, G##, A#, B#, C##, D##, E#.

Again, most people quit at 7 sharps or flats, but our theory teacher was a hard-ass. It's way easier reading in Fmajor instead of E# major.

Once key relationships are ingrained, we moved on to diatonic chords. So in C, you have C major triad C-E-G, D minor triad D-F-A, etc. Do that in all 12 keys, and understand it.

Then you can move on to scales and modes within each key, the chords for each and how they are applied and work. At this point you start to get into 7th chords, 9th chords and all that pretty jazz stuff.

Realistically, while its a few concepts, practicing it and getting it ingrained can take a few months of solid practice time.

None of the above makes you a better player, rather it helps you understand the music you are already making, and then provides portals into new areas to explore.

Non-partisan example of why SOPA is bad for politicians

Dear Congressman, Senator or staffer.

Thanks for taking the time to read. Here's why SOPA and PIPA are bad for YOU.

I'm sure you are enough of a political junkie to remember the 1984 Democratic debate, when Walter Mondale famously said "Where's the Beef?" to Gary Hart. Mr. Mondale even acknowledged it was from an ad, but didn't say what company. Now I know, and you know, he wasn't trying to sell hamburgers, but SOPA isn't smart enough to know that. SOPA allows copyright infringement to be defined by the plaintiff.

Let's say something similar happens today. That video clip would certainly be on a campaign website. Being a funny story, it'd circulate and get several thousand views. Along comes the Attorney General. Now, I realize in our great democracy the AG never prosecutes certain crimes for political gain. That's why AG's are always partisan appointments, right? So the AG decides your using a burger chain slogan, and posting a clip on your website is copyright infringment. Poof- you are now off the web. Do you use the web for soliciting campaign donations? Of course. Well that revenue stream is now gone too. No trail, no hearing, no due process. Just gone.

Take it a step further. The burger chain decided you've damaged their brand. Let's say they decide for every web view, they've lost a dollar, and you've had 2000 web views. You are now charged with Felony Copyright Infrigement. You can fight it, but hey, you are guilty the way SOPA is written. Ask Dan Rostenkowski what happened to his political career after his felony conviction. Since he's passed on, I'll answer for him. It was over.

This bill is fatally flawed. Do not pass it.

Final 4, Top CDs of 2011

In no particular order, other than alphabetical

Best small group jazz, with vocals and two bass players at once:

Tierney Sutton Band-American Road

There is just so much to love about this record. First, Tierney is one of the most inventive singers working today. The band functions like a band, it is not Tierney with a backing band, this group is the Tierney Sutton Band or TSB. They have been a functioning unit for a decade or so now, and you get the kind of rapport you just can't manufacture over a week in a studio. This entire recording is a textbook case on how to take a song and make it your own. The grammy-nominated cover of "On Broadway" uses a shifting harmony to tell the story in a whole new way. The disjointed early harmony sets in sharp contrast the optimistic youthful dreams of Broadway stardom. I'm given a sense of the trepidation that goes along with moving to the city to pursue your dreams. Then the harmony shifts to a more "happy" vibe, so I guess there was a happy ending after all.

"Amazing grace" opens with a solo setting, and then really uses some inventive harmony, and even a change to the melodic phrasing to turn the song into something new. "The Eagle and Me" is an amazing example of what you can do with two bass players in one band. The roles switch back and forth so much and the interplay between them and Tierney's vocals is just amazing.

Best classical/americana fusion

Y0-Yo-Ma, Chris Thiele, Edgar Meyer, Stuart Duncan-The Goat Rodeo sessions.

I know some of you gangsta wannabes with your loud car radios think you have bass. You don't. Nobody alive or dead has the tone Edgar Meyer has when he hooks into a low sustained note. Which comes into play about a minute in to the opening track "Attaboy". At times it's tricky to tell the parts between Edgar and Yo-Y0. Yo-Yo has certainly made quite a career out of exploring music of other cutlures. While he may never have learned how to improvise (which I really don't understand), he plays his parts in such an expressive manner you'd think it was improv. So much modern classical is devoid of any real emotion. It's great there are players like Yo Yo who break that mold.

"Quarter Chicken Dark" is a very fun tune that grooves about as hard as anything else I've heard all year. The album isn't a huge chop-fest as you might expect, but if you're looking for that sort of thing, the track "13:8" delivers plenty. Aofie O'Donovan guests on vocals for a few tracks, and she and Chris Thiele provide some memorable moments on "Here and Heaven" and "No One But You"

Best R&B Duo performance with Wah-Wah Bass pedal

Kira Small and Bryan Beller-Live at the White house

This music, recorded in an intimate setting has so many personal moments, at first listening it was almost voyeurism. I felt like "should I be listening to this?" at times. But I got over it. Clearly these two love each other a lot, and don't mind letting us in on the fun. I have absolutely no idea why "Shouldn't we be in Love?" isn't a hit record. Shows what I know- and more to the point, what the rest of the world doesn't know. You all should find out. Bryan Beller plays a ton on this record. Most people would settle for one solid bass tone. There's countless tones used, and lots of toys. They all work great, and really help filling up the sound of just two people. Don't let his spoken intro to John Pattituci's "Backwoods" fool you. He can play plenty of Jazz. Kira's "I Will Raise My Voice" is another song that deserves a ton of airplay. It's just as solid of an R&B ballad-anthem as you could hope to hear. And there's a line from "Hootchie Mama" that's just stuck in my head. Kira's "24/7 365 Ho Patrol". Aren't we all?

Best Large-Ensemble Jazz/World fusion happening

Vince Mendoza-Nights on Earth"

From the opening Brazilian rhythms of "Otono", south american rhythms loom large on this side. Luciana Souza sings beautifully on "Ao Mar". There is a reason all the hip kids have her sing vocals on their projects. "Lullaby" is a Cello/Bandeon duet that is as beautiful as anything you might ever hear. I had to look up what a Bandeon is, it's like an accordion, and that's what I thought I was hearing at first. I always like a record that has instruments on it I've never heard of.

So that's it at last. I certainly took every opportunity to pickup sides this year due to the unfortunate Borders bankruptcy. I still really miss them. But I got a lot of great music this year. Oddly enough, none of the top 4 bought from them, and all of the top 4 bought online. But cutting inventory of records to carry posters and knick-knacks certainly dried up the amount of money I could spend there. I guess they figured nobody would illegally download a knick-knack.

Top CD's of 2011, down to 4

I had seven left in contention for top CD of the year. Now dropping 3 to work down to 4

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society-Infernal Machines.

Phobos and Transit are the top tracks. Much of this album is very inspiring, including "Redeye". There are two tracks that just lack when compared to the rest of the album. Hey-I'm down to the last few, it's definitely nit-pick time.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones-Rocket Science.

Same kind of issue. Very strong album, but not outstanding. Beginning tracks are great, end tracks are great. Sags a bit in the middle. It's great to hear Howard Levy back with the band.

John Scofield and the Metropole Orkest-54

Very inspiring record, like Infernal Machines. But with the same featured voice, it can get a bit redundant on repeated listening. But again, a minor complaint. All 3 sides are highly recommended.

Top CD's of 2011 Round 3

So working my way down to a Top 7. These are the discs that just didn't make the cut.

Boston-Boston. Still are record I just can't get tired of. If I'm ever in a rock band, this is how it should sound. But let's be honest, this record is from 76, and it's not like I never heard it until this year. If you have to buy a major label re-release this year, buy Boston.

Geoff Keezer-Falling Up. Really strong material, great players. The song "Featherfall" is just beautiful on so many levels. This record has everything from Lord of the Rings music by Howard Shore, to Bach and just about everything in between. Since it's still head to head, it just lost out to Goat Rodeo Sessions by Yo Yo Ma. This is one to search out and play for people who "Don't Like Jazz". Or BAM as the case may be.

We weed out the remaining Smithsonian Jazz Anthology discs in this round, in favor of fresher releases. The collection is outstanding though, and the liner notes got absolutely freaking ROBBED by the Grammy voters.

John Coltrane-My Favorite Things. Another excellent album hits the curb based on it not being exactly new, or new to me. Though a long Coltrane solo is something I need to be in the mood for, and I guess I wasn't on the re-listening for round three. Great stuff, but I could have done with the tracks being slightly shorter. Opinions are like...

Tedeschi Trucks Band-Revelator. Just an incredible record, but going up against another great current record. I would like to have heard more from the horns on this (may have mentioned that before). "Until You Remember" is just a powerful track. "Learn How To Love" gets honorable mention for "S. Q." Stank Quotient. Go buy this and play it for people who think R&B is the same thing as Urban Contemporary drum-machine no-low-end baloney.

Howard Levy-Tonight and Tomorrow. Fantastic straight ahead contemporary jazz playing. Trio takes or trio plus harmonica. I'm still not sure if Howard played piano first or the harmonica first. While Howard will always be known for his harp playing, the piano playing on this side is just great. "Chorino" is just a beautiful Brazilian jazz piece. All the writing on this side is just first rate.

That brings me down to 7 sides...