Of the four all-star lists of the year’s best releases, the section covering outside music is the one that brings the thrill of discovering the crazy ideas that come out of the minds of artists who give no fricks about expectations and conventions. Nope, these avanteers are the ones who most readily chase wherever their intuition, heart, muse — whatever you want to call it — leads them without much regard to public reaction. Many times, that sort of personal liberation has led to some very interesting and occasionally, groundbreaking music.
Below is a list of what I found to be the best works from the vanguards in 2018, from the sample of those recorded works that have been given a good rundown on this site. They come from artists young and old, some well-known in avant-garde circles and others that should be.
In recent times the most compelling experimental jazz records have been led by women: Mary Halvorson and Jaimie Branch made albums that were in my view the best releases for their respective years. This time, it was real, real hard to keep an astonishing album by guitarist Wendy Eisenberg from being the top pick. An album that topped Machinic Unconscious Trio had to be incredibly original and daring. But there was one that managed that feat…
Roberto Maria Zorzi, Michael Manring, Scott Amendola – Facanapa & Umarells and the World Wide Crash: When legendary experimental guitarist Henry Kaiser writes about a record, that “the two things that I appreciate most about listening to any music is being surprised and hearing things that I have never heard before. That’s what I hear going on here,” then you probably should probably pay close attention to said record. And that record, Facanapa & Umarells and the World Wide Crash by Roberto Maria Zorzi, Michael Manring and Scott Amendola, is indeed as distinctive as Kaiser is making it out to be.
The guitarist from Italy (Zorzi) teamed with the electric bassist (Manring) and drummer (Amendola) from the San Francisco Bay Area to craft a record that harnesses three out-of-the-ordinary musical personalities into a unit that’s collectively dropping surprises at every turn. Consider, as an example, “La Ballata Di Pipetta E Samo,” the ‘ballad’ of the lot: “You’ll never hear such sumptuous, yawning sounds that Michael Manring wrests from an electric bass and Zorzi’s elusive looping effects has his notes playing backwards as well as forward, together. Amendola’s exotic spurts of percussion come in and out of focus to complete the perfect music for some psychedelic rain forest.”
Not to be outdone, Kaiser himself collaborated on an album this year that adds another plum to his outsider legacy. And yes, it’s on the list below.
BEST OF 2018: THE BEST OF THE REST
Quoan – Fine Dining: A feast of so many ways two horns and a rhythm section can generate excitement and keep us guessing what happens next.
Anteloper (Jaimie Branch and Jason Nazary) – Kudu: Anteloper’s Kudu suggests that there is so much art waiting to be tapped with only a trumpet, drums and a little bit of circuitry.
Henry Kaiser/Simon Barker/Bill Laswell/Rudresh Mahanthappa – Mudang Rock: Kaiser has long found spiritual fulfillment playing music informed by the ancient songs of Korean Shamanism. This time he finds further fulfillment in the camaraderie of musicians who like him understand the power of the mudang.
Brandon Seabrook Trio – Convulsionaries: The way a chamber string trio is being used by the Brandon Seabrook Trio is bonafide wack; it’s akin to G.G. Allin hosting Masterpiece Theater.
David Dominique – Mask: Dominique shows a creative zeal for using traditional jazz as a springboard into the abyss, much as Mingus, Kirk and Lacy did.
Ryan A. Miller – Atrophy Torque Fly: Miller’s a true original, who goes all in on angular lines, through-composing, avant-prog progressions and improvisational fury with equal heaping helpings.
Andrew Lamb Trio – Casbah of Love: As an old school guy who thrives in the outer reaches of jazz, Lamb leads another formidable trio date ‘Casbah of Love’ with a lot of both head and heart.
Wendy Eisenberg – Machinic Unconscious Trio: Eisenberg is elbowing her way to the vanguard of guitarists who radically rethink the guitar as Machinic Unconscious Trio proves that she can shine in the company of New York’s best.
Roscoe Mitchell Sextet – Sound: Before any of those seminal recordings by the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the rest of the AACM family could happen, Roscoe Mitchell’s Sound needed to.
< S. Victor Aaron’s Best of 2018 (Modern and Mainstream Jazz) ||| S. Victor Aaron’s Best of 2018 (Fusion Jazz) >
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