WWOZ's show hosts have begun compiling their lists of the best CDs of 2014. When it's time to shop for your favorite music lovers (or yourself!), let those-in-the-know point you to the latest great New Orleans, Cajun, Jazz or Blues tunes.
T.R. Johnson | Mockingbird | Sondra Bibb | Russell Shelton | Allan "Alski" Laskey | A.J. Rodrigue (Boudin Man) | Jelly Roll Justice | David Kunian | Nita Ketner | Breaux Bridges | Missy Bowen | Jim Hobbs | Murf Reeves
T.R. Johnson Jazz from the French Market with T.R. Johnson
These aren't in ranked in order, but rather just alphabetical by album title.
"All Rise" -- Jason Moran
"City Folk" -- James Farm
"Divine Travels" -- James Brandon Lewis
"Dark Night" -- Avishai Cohen
"East to West" -- Marcello Bennetti
"Field Notes" -- Will Blades
"Force Majeure" -- Paul Giallorenzo
"Floating" -- Fred Hersch
"From the Region" -- Jason Adasiewicz
"Gathering Call" -- Matt Wilson
"Gathering Light" -- Oran Etkin
"High Red Center" -- Jason Roebke
"International Report" -- Audio One
"Landmarks" -- Briad Blade
"Live at the Village Vanguard" -- Marc Ribot
"Macroscope" -- Nels Cline
"Midwest School" -- Audio One
"Mise en Abime" -- Steve Lehman
"New Throned King" - Yosvany Terry
“No Deal” – Melanie De Biasio
"Numbers" -- Nic Payton
"Pharaoh and the Underground" -- Chicago Underground
"Present Joys" -- Uri Caine
"Return the Tides" -- Rob Mazurek
"Riverside" -- Dave Douglas
"The Imagined Savior is Far Easier to Paint' -- Ambrose Akinmusire
"The Trip" -- Tom Harrell
"Thumbscrew" -- Mary Halvorson
"Times Tales" -- Jeff Ballard
"Trios Live" -- Josh Redman
"Velvet Blue" -- Harrison Bankhead
In alphabetical order...
Carolina Eyck & Christopher Tarnow - Improvisations for Theremin and Piano
Dillon, Vidacovich, and Singleton - Bones
Hafez Modirzadeh - In Convergence Liberation
John Escreet - Sounds, Space, and Structures
Kali Z. Fasteau - Piano Rapture
Kali Z. Fasteau - Prophecy: The Whale and the Elephant Trade Notes on the State of the World
Les Claypool's Duo de Twang - Four Foot Shack
Marcello Bennetti - East to West
Mostly Other People Do the Killing - Blue
Nels Cline Singers - Macroscope
Oran Etkin - Gathering Light
Peter Epstein Quartet - Polarities
Rob Mazurek and Black Cube SP- Return the Tides (Ascension Suite and Holy Ghost)
Trio 3 - Wiring
George Colligan
The Endless Mysteries (Origin)
Ambrose Akinmusire
The Imagined Savior is Far Easier to Paint (Blue Note)
Mark Turner
Lathe (ECM)
Pat Metheny Unity Group
Kin (<->) Nonesuch
Chick Corea
Trilogy (Concord)
Stanton Moore
Conversations (The Royal Potato Family)
Otis Brown III
The Thought of You (Blue Note)
Edward Simon
Venezuelan Suite (Sunnyside)
Orrin Evans
Liberation Blues (Smoke Sessions)
Sean Jones
Improvise (Mack Avenue)
Jason Moran
All Rise - A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller (Blue Note)
James Farm
City Folk (Nonesuch)
In no particular order:
Steve Wilson & Lewis Nash - Duologue
Nicholas Payton - Numbers
Johan Bylling Lang Organ Quintet - Up for Grabs
Wil Blades - Field Notes
Ali Jackson - Amalgamations
Marcello Benetti - From East to West
Paul Giallorenzo - Force Majeure
Paul Shapiro - Shofarot Verses
Ginger Baker - Why?
Jason Roebke Octet - High/Red/Center
Craig Scott Quintet - Introducing Craig Scott Quintet
Dillon, Vidacovich, Singleton - Bones
Top Releases 2014 (no particular order)
The Grits - Make A Sound (very modern take on classic funk)
Tony Allen - Film of Life (master drummer/Fela music director's latest release)
Macy Grey - The Way
DeRobert & the Half-Truths - I'm Tryin' (southern funk and soul)
Black Roots - Ghetto Feel (classic British reggae)
Quantic - Magnetica (latest from prolific Colombia based producer multi-genre)
Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens - Cold World (r&b based hard gospel)
Orlando Julius with the Heliocentrics - Jayiede (afrobeat pioneer in collaboration with British jazz collective)
Ana Tijoux - Vengo (Chilean rapper combines native music and hip hop)
The Souljazz Orchestra - Inner Fire ( jazz, funk, latin, afrobeat)
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 - A Long Way To the Beginning (afrobeat with a strong political edge
Dub Colossus - Addis to Omega (Ethiopian/Reggae mashup)
Sonny Knight and the Lakers - I'm Still Here ( hard funk James Brown style)
Boudin Man’s 2014 Favorites:
Lost Bayou Ramblers, Gasa Gasa Live
Lucinda Williams, Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone.
Quintron, Spellcaster II Death in Space
Gary Wrong Group, Floods of Fire
Missing Monuments / Missing Monuments
The Black Lips, underneath the rainbow
Ricky B, I Am Legend
Big Freedia, Just Be Free
Cedryl Ballou & the Zydeco Trendsetters, Country Road
The Specials, Live 2014 the Tour Edition CD
A late 2013 release that I missed:
Boozoo Chavis, Festival Stage 1989 (late 2013 release)
45’s:
King James and the Special Men, Special Man Boogie / BJ’s Bounce
King James and the Special Men, Guitar King / Love My Baby
2014 yielded a phenomenal number of remarkable jazz CDs. What follows are a list of 12, not in any particular order, with at least another 30 outstanding albums, each of which could easily claim to be included:
Geoff Clapp: Bend in the River
Tony Dagradi: Gemini Rising
Michaela Harrison and Amari Johnson: Listen to the Music
Kyle Roussel: Rookie of the Year
Nicholas Payton: Numbers
Mike Dillon + Johnny Vidacovich & James Singleton: Bones
Marcus Roberts Trio With Wynton Marsalis: Together Again: Live In Concert
Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band: Landmarks
Joshua Redman: Act Natural
Jorge Luis Pacheco: My Favorite Themes
Preservation Hall Jazz Band: That's It
Dr. John: Ska-Dat-De-Dat...Spirit of Satch
These are in an order, but you have to figure out what the order is:
Audio One - Midwest School - powerful and passionate versions of Hard Blues and Yoyo win me over
Aurora Nealand and Royal Roses - Lookback Transmission - killer swing/trad that makes it live today.
Steve Lehman - Mise En Abime - great playing and a unique sound
Henry Butler/Steven Bernstein Hot 9 - Viper's Drag - Serious jazz that has some humor and very danceable.
Shotgun Jazz Band - Don't Give Up the Ship - trad jazz played by people who sound like it is a matter of life and death
Revolutionary Snake Ensemble - Live Snakes - Sun Ra meets the 2nd Line
DVS - Bones - abstract yet meaty from musicians who can complete each others' sentences.
Marc Ribot - Live At The Village Vanguard - wild and dug in.
Jimmy Greene - Beautiful Life - deep doesn't even begin to describe it.
Bud Powell - Birdland 1953 - bebop at its best in a live setting
Charles Lloyd - Manhattan Stories - love hearing what Slugs Saloon sounded like.
John Coltrane - Live at Temple - Intense and rewarding. I'll be getting something out of this recording for a long time.
Albert Ayler - Spiritual Unity - reissue of maybe the best avant garde album ever. Still blows me away.
Jason Moran - All Rise - Fats Waller for the 21st century.
Miguel Zenon - Identities Are Changeable - Combines a great premise and great music without sacrificing either
Bad Plus - Rite of Spring - a reinterpretation for our times.
Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter 3: River Run Thee - Sound rich and provocative
Benjamin Booker – Benjamin Booker – raw and spirited
Lydia Loveless – Somewhere Else – sung like she's lived it
Jolie Holland – Wine Dark Sea – great unexpected sounds and songs
Old 97s – Most Messed Up – best rock record I've heard in a long time. Maybe best thing I heard all year
John Mooney – Sun and Moon – the record we've been waiting for and it's all that...
Lee Bains and the Glory Fires – Dereconstructed – loud and raucous and political in the best of ways
Me'shell Nedegeocello – Comet Come To Me – sometimes she can do no wrong
Hurray for the Riff Raff – Small Town Heroes – great and serious songs. She ain't small town no more
Joseph Arthur – Lou – Lou Reed like you've never ever heard him
St. Paul and the Broken Bones – Half the City - soulful
Lost Bayou Ramblers – Gasa Gasa Live – these guys get better and better and better
Luke Winslow King – Everlasting Arms – ambitious and rocking
Drive By Truckers – English Oceans – fantastic songs, stories, and, as usual, guitars!
Sun Ra Arkestra - In the Orbit of Ra - one of the best compilations of the planetary traveler, philosophiser, and master of time and space.
Let's get some New Orleans artists in the mix!
ReBirth Brass Band - Move Your Body
Derrick Freeman - DWB
Davis - Ex Machina
Big Sam's Funky Nation - EVOLution
Debbie Davis & the Mesmerizers - Linger Til Dawn
Los Otros - Los Otros
Bamboula 2000 - Bamboula 2014
Eric Lindell & Co. - Indian Summer
Water Seed - Retro Electro
Gaynielle Neville - Woman Power
Henry Butler & Steve Bernstein - Viper's Drag
Mainline Brass Band - Mainline Brass Band
Paul Sanchez - The World Is Round: Everything That Ends Begins Again
T-Roy - New South Dub
Breaux Bridges
Breaux Bridges’ Favorite Jazz Records 2014
Charlie Haden & Jim Hall – Live from Montreal International Jazz Festival, Canada 1990
Nir Felder – Golden Age
Pat Metheny Group – Kin (<->)
Jonathan Kreisberg – Wave Upon Wave
John McLaughlin & The Fourth Dimension – The Boston Record
Paul Bollenback – Portraits in Space and Time
Bobby Broom – My Shining Hour
David Friessen – Where the Light Falls
Stanton Moore – Conversations
Matt Wilson Quartet + John Medeski – Gathering Call
Rudy Royston – 303
Jimmy Cobb – The Original Mob
Jeff Ballard Trio – Time’s Tales
The Stockton Helbing Quartet – Handprints
Sonny Rollins – Road Shows, Vol. 3
Azar Lawrence – The Seeker
Charles Lloyd – Manhattan Stories
Billy Hart Quartet – One Is the Other
Chick Corea Trio – Trilogy
Dave Douglas & Uri Caine – Present Joys
Charlie Denard – From Brazil to New Orleans
Craig Handy – Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith
Jacques Schwarz-Bart – Jazz Racine Haiti
Eric Alexander – Chicago Fire
Cyrus Chestnut – Midnight Melodies
Eric Reed – Groovewise
Fred Hersch Trio -- Floating
Hiromi & The Trio Project – Alive
Mike Longo – Step On It
Ark Ovrutski – 44:33
Cory Weeds – As of Now
Dave Douglas – Riverside
Henry Butler & Steven Bernstein – Viper’s Drag
Dillon, Vidacovich, Singleton -- Bones
The Bad Plus – Inevitable Western
Tom Harrell – Trip
Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood – Juice
Trio 3 + Vijay Iyer – Wiring
Branford Marsalis – In My Solitude: Live at Grace Cathedral
Missy Bowen Blues and R&B with Missy Bowen
Two terrific tributes:
John Mooney – Sun and Moon
The slide master pays homage to his mentor and nails it solid. Ably guided by Jake Eckert on the other side of the board.
Dave and Phil Alvin – Common Ground: Dave Alvin + Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy
Some chestnuts, a couple of lesser-known tunes, and a TOUR to back it up that brought these legends to the Rock N’ Bowl. Plus it gave me a reason to break out “What’s Up With Your Brother?”
Dave Ray – Legacy
Lovingly curated by Tony Glover, this astonishing 3-CD set chronicles the musical career of one of the blues-folk world’s most under-sung and talented legends. Dave, with Koerner Ray and Glover, influenced John Lennon and Beck, among others, and me.
Rory Danger and the Danger Dangers – Age of Exploration
Danger! Danger! Teenage Exploration: The cat is watching.
Johnny Sansone – Once it Gets Started
The Butanes – 12 Frozen Favorites from the Upper Bayou
Eden Brent – Jigsaw Heart
James Booker – Classified Remixed – Don’t know if this slid in under the wire last year but it’s fine if it makes it twice.
Peter Harris – The Jackal
Tom Fischer - No Blues
Also:
Gal Holiday - Last to Leave
Jimmy Carpenter - Walk Away
Jason Marsalis – 21st Century Trad Band
Lost Bayou Ramblers – Gasa Gasa Live
Rebirth Brass Band - Move Your Body
Charlie Dennard - From Brazil to New Orleans
Dr. John - Ske-dat-de-dat the Spirit of Satch
John Hiatt Terms of My Surrender
Marcia Ball – Tattooed Lady and the Alligator Man
Selwyn Birchwood - Don’t Call No Ambulance
Calvin Johnson Jr. – Native Son
A reminder to musicians to get your music to us if you want us to play it.
Jim Hobbs Cajun and Zydeco with Charles Laborde or Jim Hobbs
Bonsoir, Catin. Light the Stars. Valcour.
Thirteen tracks. Traditional songs arranged by Kristi Guillory, seven originals by Guillory and one Big Joe Williams blues ("Baby, please don't go"). The late Al Berard's daughter Maegan Berard joins Anya, Kristi, Christine, Yvette and Danny. Produced by Joel Savoy and Kristi Guillory. "This album is dedicated to the memory of Al 'Pyook' Berard. Peace on Earth and Love."
Magnolia Sisters. Love's lies. Arhoolie.
Twelve tracks. Four women take us where old-style Cajun meets thirties-style string band music and marcelled hair.
Pine Leaf Boys. Danser! Valcour.
Thirteen tracks. Wilson Savoy, Courtney Granger and more. Fifth studio album in eight years. Produced and recorded by Joel Savoy. Enhanced CD with lyrics.
Various artists. Brand new songs : recycling the Lomax recordings. Center for Louisiana Studies.
Super concept album: pair songs from the Lomax 1934-37 Louisiana field recordings with modern versions of the same song. Twenty-four tracks or 12 pairings. Modern versions as old as the 1981 Fiddler's Convention Barres de la prison and as recent as the 2013 "Trois jolie tambours" by Les Bassettes (The Shorties), with most recorded since 2000.
Murf Reeves New Orleans Music Show with Murf Reeves
Stand out albums of 2014
Man, end of the year, trying to create a list of the best new music gets harder and harder. The digital age today allows for so much music to get out there, so much more to sift through. I have a hard time using the word “Best” because it becomes exclusionary, so I would rather refer to the following recordings as stand out.
Hurray for the Riff Raff – Small Town Heroes, ATO Records
A beautiful, and stark album simultaneously haunting and beautiful, filled with stories of everyday sprinkled with transcendental truths sweetly highlighted by the sound of today’s Americana. The songs reflect a traveler observing hardships of today’s world but still grasping onto the hope of getting back home and the next backyard jam session with good friends.
Rory Danger and the Danger Dangers – The Age of Exploration Independent
New Orleans is infamously notorious for bands within bands and band members having many side projects, all gambling which band or song is the one that is going to hit, and pave the way for the next tour and/or recording.
The Age of Exploration is a collaboration of New Orleans musicians whose collective resume is an Encyclopedia of Who’s who, but the remarkable thing about the Dangers Dangers is this is a stylistical band that differs from the members other projects. Combing Surf and Rockabilly with each musician exploring their own alter ego within the band, making for a wildly unpredictable and awesomely fun live show. Please discover this band immediately!
Luke Winslow King – Everlasting Arms, Bloodshot Records
The ever-dapper Mr. King has dropped another collection of tight blues tunes leaning on the acoustical side, but this go around has King’s delivery strengthened with road experience and confidence in songwriting. His singing partner from the last record, Esther, returns to assist on vocal duties, but this time as King’s wife. The songs also showcase the experience king has picked up on the road, with some songs delivered with a power not heard on previous recordings, check out,”Swing That Thing” and the New Orleans influenced, “La Bega’s Carousel.”
Tank and the Bangas – Think Tank, Independent
Tank and the Bangas are doing one heck of a job bringing sounds and stories to us in a fresh, engaging way. Tank is a one of a kind performer, spoken word, actress, vocalist, who becomes the character in her songs to get the point across on a multilevel performance so the listener will see her connections to the universe and themselves. The Bangas can be as lean as a four piece or swell to an eight-piece band with the secondary singers (I hesitate to say backup) bringing emphasis and sometimes character counterpoint. The band eagerly follows Tank on her lyrical explorations of Wal-Mart, ex boyfriends, soul and the natural world and be careful; this music is infectious and dangerously positive.
Liz Vice – There’s A Light, Deeper Well
I stumbled onto There’s a Light, through a recommendation by iTunes and took one look at the album photo and knew the music inside was gonna move me. A Faith singer who captures her words with a passionate, groovy 70’s sound that gently pushes your body into motion. Vice’s lyrics never sway from celebration of God and Jesus, but, it is celebration, not preaching and the groove beckons you to follow along. The lyrics are also inspiring in the fact she had found her faith and is sharing it with the world. The track, “Pure Religion,” is a ground shaker. Liz also has another project, “The Followers” and is also worth taking a listen to.
Trigger Hippy – Trigger Hippy, Independent
An unsung super group of sorts, Trigger Hippy has brought to our ears a collection of tunes with a rock n roll backbone and rich with emotional imagery. The band employs two vocalists, Jackie Greene and Joan Osborne, which give the songs a unique dynamic, circa Godchaux era of the Grateful Dead. Drummer Steve Gorman (Black Crowes) lays down a beat filled with years of road experience and Nashville session cats, Tom Bukovac and Nick Govrik, round out the band. The opening song, “Rise up Singing” a song full of life and the belief in love and all it brings. Look for them this summer crushing festivals.
Lee Fields & The Expressions – Emma Jean, Truth and Soul Records
Lee Fields most recent release is an introspective collection of soul songs that move your heart as well as your booty. The tempo is on the slower side as Fields focuses on the lyrics of his songs and the love and loss he has experienced. The band lays down rhythm that brings the strength of Field’s lyrics to the forefront as we get a deep look into the Soul singer’s soul.
Brad Mehldau and Mark Guliana – Mehliana: Taming the Dragon
A project between Keyboardist Mehladau and Drummer Guliana, Taming the Dragon is a dream brought to life, by instrumental textures and soundscapes. Drums and Keyboards receive all kinds of treatments as the dream is revealed through each track. The two joyfully and creatively play off each other creating a rhythmical environment that entertains and takes the listener on a journey through the streets of Los Angeles and their own cosmic connection.
Honorable Mentions
7 Seconds – Leave a Light On
Tommy Guerrero – No Man’s Land
D’Angelo – Black Messiah
People Under the Stairs – 12 Step Program
Hard Working Americans – Hard Working Americans
