Conventional wisdom would have people believe that jazz and punk are diametrically opposed forms of music. The transgressive spirit of the two forms are actually the same. As a teenager swept up in the initial punk revolution, Television’s Marquee Moon and Miles Davis’ Dark Magus seemed like two sides of the same coin when the albums were released in 1977. Both recordings sound like precursors to Echolocation, the new album by guitarist Ava Mendoza, saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, bassist Devin Hoff and drummer Ches Smith. The quartet fuses raw metallic power with free improvisation on the crunchy Echolocation.
Feelin’ U: The Top Albums and Songs of 2022
The Top 50 Albums of 2022
1. Moor Mother- Jazz Codes
2. Mary Halvorson- Belladonna
3. Natalia Lafourcade- De Todas las Flores
4. Oren Ambarchi- Ghosted
5. Joyce DiDonato- Eden
6. Rosalía- Motomami
7. Nate Wooley- Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes
8. Pusha T- It’s Almost Dry
9. The Weeknd- Dawn FM
10. Dave Douglas- Songs of Ascent: Book 1- Degrees
11. Sarah Davachi- Two Sisters
12. Billy Woods- Aethiopes
13. Bad Bunny- Un Verano Sin Ti
14. Tim Bernardes- Mil Coisas Invisíveis
15. Brad Mehldau- Jacob’s Ladder
16. Bobby Watson- Back Home in Kansas City
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
25. Beyoncé- Renaissance
26. Hermon Mehari- Asmara
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
36. iLe- Nacarile
37. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Drone Mass
38. Lucrecia Dalt- ¡Ay!
39. Lise Davidsen and Leif Ove Andsnes- Edvard Grieg
40. Daniel Villarreal- Panamá 77
41. Wilco- Cruel Country
42. Sault- 11
43. Tedeschi Trucks Band- I Am the Moon III: The Fall
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
48. Benny the Butcher- Tana Talk 4
49. Sault- Air
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!
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
6. Sault- Aiir
7. Iceboy Violet- The Vanity Project
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
3. Miles Davis- That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7
4. Brian Harnetty- Words and Silences
5. Prince and the Revolution- Live
6. Son House- Forever On My Mind
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
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
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
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
Album Review: Miles Davis- That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7
I purchased Miles Davis’ Decoy as a new release in 1984. In my world- then as now- all genres are on equal footing. Decoy had to compete for my attention with Prince’s Purple Rain, Run-D.M.C.’s self-titled debut and Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense. Decoy held its own. My bond with Davis’ unfairly maligned 1980s work is indelible. Consequently, the new 211-minute set That’s What Happened 1982-1985: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7 resembles musical manna from heaven. The essential outtakes and live recordings aren’t merely further affirmation of the icon’s genius. Davis’ forty-year-old discards are more vital than a disheartening share of the jazz being made today.