Friends and family remain mystified by my embrace of opera. The widespread assumption that the form is the exclusive domain of wealthy elitists is pervasive- and deservedly so. Yet until approximately 100 years ago, opera was a ubiquitous form of popular music. The music didn’t change. Instead, the ways in which the music was presented became cost-prohibitive and classist. Joyce DiDonato is aware of opera’s image problem. The celebrity soprano dedicated a significant portion of her energy in 2022 to audience outreach. Without compromising her artistry, DiDonato’s concerts in support of the glorious album Eden and her other projects rendered opera relevant and accessible. Harmonious with my own attitude, DiDonato’s initiatives make her There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year.

Honorable mention: Mary Halvorson, Moor Mother and Sault. The previous winners of the Artist of the Year designation are Pat Metheny (2021) and Bad Bunny (2020).

William Brownlee

December 14, 2022

Feelin’ U: The Top Albums and Songs of 2022

William Brownlee

December 14, 2022

The Top 50 Albums of 2022

1. Moor Mother- Jazz Codes

Review.

2. Mary Halvorson- Belladonna

Review.

3. Natalia Lafourcade- De Todas las Flores

4. Oren Ambarchi- Ghosted

Review.

5. Joyce DiDonato- Eden

6. Rosalía- Motomami

7. Nate Wooley- Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes

Review.

8. Pusha T- It’s Almost Dry

9. The Weeknd- Dawn FM

Podcast discussion.

10. Dave Douglas- Songs of Ascent: Book 1- Degrees

11. Sarah Davachi- Two Sisters

Review.

12. Billy Woods- Aethiopes

13. Bad Bunny- Un Verano Sin Ti

14. Tim Bernardes- Mil Coisas Invisíveis

15. Brad Mehldau- Jacob’s Ladder

Review.

16. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City

Review.

17. Anat Cohen- Quartetinho

18. Caroline Shaw and Attacca Quartet- Evergreen

19. Miranda Lambert- Palomino

20. François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles- Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande

21. Vince Staples- Ramona Park Broke My Heart

22. Sault- (God)

23. Matthew Shipp Trio- World Construct

24. Mitsuko Uchida- Beethoven: Diabelli Variations

Review.

25. Beyoncé- Renaissance

Review.

26. Hermon Mehari- Asmara

Review.

27. Samantha Ege- Black Renaissance Women

28. Danger Mouse and Black Thought- Cheat Codes

29. Tyshawn Sorey- The Off-Off Broadway Guide to Synergism

30. Nduduzo Makhathini- In The Spirit of Ntu

31. Silvana Estrada- Marchita

32. Carolin Widmann- L’Aurore

33. Robert Levin- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Piano Sonatas

34. Megan Thee Stallion- Traumazine

35. Gerald Clayton- Bells on Sand

Review.

36. iLe- Nacarile

37. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Drone Mass

38. Lucrecia Dalt- ¡Ay!

39. Lise Davidsen and Leif Ove Andsnes- Edvard Grieg

Review.

40. Daniel Villarreal- Panamá 77

41. Wilco- Cruel Country

Review.

42. Sault- 11

43. Tedeschi Trucks Band- I Am the Moon III: The Fall

Review.

44. Cyrille Dubois and Tristan Rais- Fauré: Complete Songs

45. Clarice Jensen- Esthesis

46. Caroline Shaw and I Giardini- The Wheel

47. Tony Malaby’s Sabino- The Cave of Winds

Review.

48. Benny the Butcher- Tana Talk 4

49. Sault- Air

Review.

50. 2 Chainz- Dope Don’t Sell Itself

The Top 50 Songs of 2022 (Spotify playlist)

1. Porridge Radio- “End of Last Year”

2. Kae Tempest featuring Lianne La Havas- “No Prizes”

3. Celeste- "To Love a Man"

4. Anna Butterss- "Doo Wop"

5. Ice Spice- “Munch (Feelin’ U)”

6. Jana Rush featuring DJ Paypal- “Lonely”

7. Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation- "How Good It Is"

8. Lee Fields- "Forever"

9. Rod Wave- "Cold December"

10. More Eaze featuring Claire Rousay- "floor Pr. 2"

11. DJ Snake- “Disco Maghreb”

12. Anitta featuring Chencho Corleone- "Gata"

13. Horace Andy- "Watch Over Them"

14. Kaitlin Butts- “She’s Using”

15. Soul Glo- “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmya–)”

16. Drake- "Down Hill"

17. Leikeli47- “LL Cool J”

18. Babehoven- “Fugazi”

19. Sunny Sweeney featuring Vince Gill- “Married Alone”

20. Cécile McLorin Salvant- “Ghost Song”

21. Steve Lacy- "Bad Habit"

22. Aldous Harding- “Fever”

23. Ibibio Sound Machine- “17 18 19”

24. Blackstarkids- “Sex Appeal”

25. Camilo and Nicki Nicole- "Naturaleza"

26. Hailey Whitters- “Everything She Ain’t”

27. Plains- “Hurricane”

28. Big Joanie- “In My Arms”

29. Horse Lords- “Rundling”

30. SleazyWorld Go featuring Offset- “Step 1”

31. Rauw Alejandro featuring Baby Rasta- “Punto 40”

32. Cole Swindell- “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”

33. Willie Nelson- “I’ll Love You Till the Day I Die”

34. Tank and The Bangas featuring Lalah Hathaway and Jacob Collier- “Where Do We All Go”

35. Drake and 21 Savage- “Major Distribution”

36. SZA- “Kill Bill”

37. Big K.R.I.T.- “So Cool”

38. Emily Nenni- “On the Ranch”

39. Ohma- “Seeing Beyond What Is Here”

40. Thotcrime- “You’re Like a Black Hole, The Way You Expect My Life to Revolve Around You”

41. The Smile- “Opposite”

42. Jon Pardi- “Mr. Saturday Night”

43. Lyle Lovett- “12th of June”

44. Animal Collective- “Cherokee”

45. Hiatus Kaiyote- "Get Sun (Georgia Anne Muldrow remix)"

46. Coi Leray- "Players"

47. Leland Whitty- "Awake"

48. Regina Spektor- “Becoming All Alone”

49. Craig Finn- “Messing With the Settings”

50. Peter Lehndorff- “Nothing Can Change”

The Top 25 EPs of 2022

1. Earl Sweatshirt- Sick!

Review.

2. Tom Skinner- Voices of Bishara

3. Drug Church- Hygiene

4. DJ Premier- Hip Hop 50, Vol. 1

5. The Adam Larson Trio- With Love, From Kansas City

Review.

6. Sault- Aiir

7. Iceboy Violet- The Vanity Project

Review.

8. Shabaka- Afrikan Culture

9. Your Old Droog- Yod Stewart

10. Christian Nodal- EP #1 Forajido

11. Christina Aguilera- La Fuerza

12. Flee Lord- Pray for the Evil 3

13. Duckwrth- Chrome Bull

14. Ryley Walker- So Certain

15. Your Old Droog and Tha God Fahim- The Wolf On Wall St. 2

16. WiFiGawd- Chain of Command

17. Chubby and the Gang- Labour of Love

18. Brain Tourniquet- Brain Tourniquet II

19. Lil Uzi Vert- Red & White

20. Khruangbin and Leon Bridges- Texas Moon

21. Otoboke Beaver- Super Champon

22. Portico Quartet- Next Stop

23. Elvis Costello- The Resurrection of Rust

24. Flatland Cavalry- Songs to Keep You Warm

25. Lil Ugly Mane- I Believe the World Would Be a Better Place Without You

The Top 25 Reissues, Compilations and Reimaginings of 2022

1. Charles Stepney- Step on Step

2. Saturno 2000: La Rebajada de Los Sonideros 1962-1983

Review.

3. Miles Davis- That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7

Review.

4. Brian Harnetty- Words and Silences

Review.

5. Prince and the Revolution- Live

6. Son House- Forever On My Mind

Review.

7. The Beatles- Revolver: Super Deluxe

8. Ray Charles- Live in Stockholm 1972

9. Pastor Champion- I Just Want to be a Good Man

10. Bert Jansch- Bert at the BBC

11. The Pyramids- Aomawa: The 1970s Recordings

Review.

12. Quattro Modigliani- Schubert: The String Quartets

13. Elton John- Madman Across the Water: Deluxe Edition

14. África Negra- Antologia Vol.1

15. Andrew Cyrille, Elliott Sharp and Richard Teitelbaum- Evocation

16. Pavement- Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal

Review.

17. Biluka y Los Canibales- Leaf-Playing in Quito, 1960-1965

18. Geri Allen, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian- Live at the Village Vanguard: Unissued Tracks

19. Cecil Taylor- The Complete, Legendary, Live Return Concert at the Town Hall N.Y.C. November 4, 1973

20. Charles Mingus- The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s

21. Norah Jones- Come Away With Me: Super Deluxe Edition

22. Nancy Mounir- Nozhet El Nofous

Review.

23. Marius Constant- Xenakis: Syrmos, Polytope de Montréal, Medea, Kraanerg & Oresteia

24. Staples Jr. Singers- When Do We Get Paid

25. Pauline Oliveros and James Ilgenfritz- Altamirage

William Brownlee

October 24, 2022

Book Review: Bill Frisell, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed the Sound of American Music, by Philip Watson

William Brownlee

October 24, 2022

Original image by There Stands the Glass

Pitchfork’s list of The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s inspired outraged tirades last month. Recently reading Philip Watson’s new book Bill Frisell, Beautiful Dreamer: The Guitarist Who Changed the Sound of American Music reminded me that by including guest appearances and collaborations, an enthusiast could compile a solid “The 50 Best Bill Frisell Albums of the 1990s” list.

The music of the staggeringly prolific Frisell became a staple of my rotation during that decade. The guitarist who is a genre unto himself hasn’t slowed much in the intervening years. I continue to listen to a lot of Frisell, and I’m fortunate to have attended many of his performances. Having devoured Beautiful Dreamer, I’ll continue overdosing on Frisell for the foreseeable future.

The primary value of Beautiful Dreamer for this reader is its detailed accounting of works that had escaped my memory. Even though I own physical copies of the ensemble’s albums including I Have the Room Above Her, I’d forgotten about Frisell’s trio with Paul Motion and Joe Lovano. Furthermore, I hadn’t known that John Zorn played a significant role in Frisell’s evolution.

Watson wrote Beautiful Dreamer with the participation of Frisell. He’s susceptible to accusations of being a fawning flatterer, but Watson is not wrong in his assertion that Frisell is the modern-day equivalent of titanic figures of American music like Duke Ellington, Jimi Hendrix and Thelonious Monk.

I’ve never been particularly interested in the private lives of artists. I’m not disappointed, consequently, that Watson treads lightly on the subject of Frisell’s spectrum-ish disposition. Besides, the portion of the biography’s 548 pages dedicated to listening sessions with admirers ranging from Mary Halvorson to Justin Vernon are more insightful than theoretical armchair psychology.

Even after reading Beautiful Dreamer, I’m not mad at Pitchfork for overlooking Frisell. I like the publication’s rankings although my list would include only a couple dozen of the same titles. I’d begin by sifting through Frisell’s discography were I to take on the task today. Thanks partly to Watson’s invaluable biography, the list-making would be delectably difficult.

William Brownlee

August 3, 2022

Album Review: Nate Wooley- Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes

William Brownlee

August 3, 2022

We can never fully know one another. Even if we wished to, none of us are able to properly express all of the things that make us what we are. One of the most extraordinary aspects of music is the form’s capacity to communicate the otherwise indecipherable.

Nate Wooley’s new album Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes is an uncannily accurate representation of what’s going on in my head when I wake up at 4 a.m. Mary Halvorson’s interrogative guitar squiggles in one channel and Susan Alcorn’s melancholic pedal steel musings in the other signify conflicting trains of thought.

The trumpet and amplifier sounds created by Wooley and the drumming of Ryan Sawyer signify the firing of additional synapses. Peaceful moments of clarity are overwhelmed by anxious clamor. Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes is decidedly acidic. In the annoying parlance of social media, I feel seen.

William Brownlee

May 24, 2022

May 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

William Brownlee

May 24, 2022

Screenshot of soprano Sara Blanch in the trailer of the Donizetti Opera Festival’s staging of Gaetano Donzetti’s La fille du régiment by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (Released in May, excluding 5/27 titles)

1. Mary Halvorson- Belladonna

My review.

2. Ches Smith- Interpret It Well

My review.

3. Bad Bunny- Un Verano Sin Ti

Summer soundtrack sorted.

4. Leikeli47- Shape Up

Fit.

5. John Scofield- John Scofield

Sublime solo set.

6. Shabaka- Afrikan Culture

Hushed Hutchings.

7. Daniel Villarreal- Panamá 77

International Anthem indeed.

8. Mary Halvorson- Amaryllis

My review of the companion album.

9. Andris Nelsons- Strauss

My review.

10. Kendrick Lamar- Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers

The transformation of King Kendrick into Captain Obvious is a hard pill to swallow.

Top Ten Songs (released in May)

1. Charles Stepney- “Daddy’s Diddies”

My favorite sound.

2. Tank and the Bangas with Lalah Hathaway and Jacob Collier-

“Where Do We All Go”

Fulfillingness’ second finale.

3. Becky G- "Kill Bill"

Dead.

4. Dougie B- “I’m Back”

Bumpin’ me against the wall.

5. Flee Lord with Mephux- "Out the Mud"

True grit.

6. Hollie Cook- “Happy Hour”

Red Stripe special.

7. Ty Segall- “Saturday Pt. 2”

A stroll in Itchycoo Park.

8. Belle and Sebastian- "Do It for Your Country"

Ask not.

9. Flora- "Hey"

Ya.

10. Kevin Morby- “A Coat of Butterflies”

Hallelujah.

Top Ten Performances of May (and the last weekend of April)

1. Little Joe y La Familia at the Guadalupe Center

My review.

2. Samantha Ege at the Folly Theater

My review.

3. Logan Richardson + Blues People at the Ship

My review.

4. High Pulp at the recordBar

My review.

5. Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason at the Folly Theater

My Instagram snapshot.

6. The Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s “Tosca” at Muriel Kauffman Theatre

My review.

7. Kind Folk at the Black Box

My Instagram clip.

8. Drew Williams, Brandon Cooper and Seth Andrew Davis at Charlotte Street Foundation

My Instagram clip.

9. Brian Scarborough Quintet at Westport Coffee House

My Instagram clip.

10. Guitar Elation at Green Lady Lounge

The dueling guitars of Brian Baggett and Danny Embrey.

Last month’s survey is here.

William Brownlee

May 18, 2022

Album Review: Mary Halvorson- Belladonna

William Brownlee

May 18, 2022

My first experience with the contemporary classical sound known as new music was a bitter disappointment. At a time in which my music budget was extremely limited, I took a flier on Anthony Davis’ 1987 album Undine. Rather than the cutting-edge jazz I’d expected, the long out-of-print release on the Gramavision label contains a pair of challenging compositions in the vein of Morton Feldman. I didn’t get it.

Mary Halvorson’s thrilling new Belladonna album compelled me to return to Undine for the first time in more than 30 years. The discordant strings that struck me as an incomprehensible slap in the face in the 1980s now sound entirely natural. I was uniquely prepared, consequently, for Belladonna. Featuring the guitarist’s squiggly freakouts over the similarly strident work of the Mivos Quartet, Belladonna is an adventure in dissonance.

I came to Halvorson’s distinctive attack about a year before the only time I’ve seen her perform. It’s since become obvious that Halvorson is one of the most important musicians to emerge in the first quartet of this century. Belladonna, and to a lesser extent its companion album Amaryllis, is precisely the sort of confrontational sound I’ve spent three decades unknowingly preparing to appreciate.

William Brownlee

November 15, 2020

Album Review: Susan Alcorn Quintet- Pedernal

William Brownlee

November 15, 2020

I occasionally subject friends and strangers to unsolicited spiels about my affinity for hillbilly jazz. The obsession for the melding of jazz and country began when my dad picked up Merle Haggard’s Bob Wills tribute album in 1970. The late Claude "Fiddler" Williams is among the musicians known for winsome versions of the style. Abetted by guitarist Mary Halvorson, violinist Mark Feldman, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Ryan Sawyer, Susan Alcorn brings the noise to the concept on Pedernal. While much of the pedal steel guitarist’s new album expands on the twangy chamber jazz associated with Bill Frisell, the best segments are harsh big city freakouts of the type I documented at the Big Ears Festival last year. Imagine Thurston Moore in overalls.

William Brownlee

November 1, 2020

Revelation

William Brownlee

November 1, 2020

My late friend R. and I huddled with a few dozen other weirdos in the basement of All Souls Unitarian Church for a performance by Peter Hammill in 1979. The extraordinarily unlikely event was my first meaningful experience with a literal and figurative music underground. Artlessly Falling, the frequently harsh prog-rock freakout by Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl, reminds me of the transformative concert. Not only does Artlessly Falling feature Hammill’s art-rock peer Robert Wyatt on three tracks, I witnessed Halvorson’s showcase of what I suspect was some of the same material at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville last year. I realize it’s the perilous times talking, but I fear that if my presence at the 1979 concert in Kansas City was the inception of my proclivity for patronizing performances of outsider music, my trek to Tennessee to catch Halvorson might end up being its unexpectedly premature conclusion.

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I reviewed I’m Feeling Mellow, the new album by the Kansas City vocalist Molly Hammer, at Plastic Sax.