One Hand Clapping, a set of 1974 live recordings by Paul McCartney and Wings, charmed me upon its release last month. Having adored Wings’ Band on the Run as a child in 1973, I figured One Hand Clapping would be my favorite archival recording of the year. Then I heard WEBO. Recorded at the New York City venue Webo in 1991, the 121-minute document documents the third performance by saxophonist Charles Gayle, bassist William Parker and drummer Milford Graves. The incendiary free jazz might have inflicted irrevocable psychological damage on me in 1973. The direction of my life almost certainly would have been altered had I been in attendance at Webo in 1991. In 2024, I’m all in.
The Top Reissues and EPs of 2023
The Top Ten Reissues and Reimaginings of 2023
1. Bob Dylan- Fragments: Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997); The Bootleg Series, Vol. 17
2. Jessye Norman- The Unreleased Masters
3. Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus and Max Roach- Hot House: The Complete Jazz at Massey Hall Recordings
4. Milford Graves- Children of the Forest
5. Fred Davis- Cleveland Blues
6. Bob Weir- Ace: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
7. Reba McEntire- Not That Fancy
8. RP Boo- Legacy, Volume 2
9. William Basinski- The Clocktower at the Beach
10. Cat Power- Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert
The Top Ten EPs of 2023
1. Julian Lage- The Layers
2. Theo Croker- By the Way
3. Noah Preminger and Kim Cass- The Dank
4. Truth Cult- Walk the Feel
5. Midwestern- Cartoon Network
6. Big Boss Vette- Resilience
7. $uicideboy$- Yinyang Tapes: Spring Season 1989-1990
8. Mozzy- Kollect Kall
9. Ilhan Ersahin, Dave Harrington and Kenny Wollesen- Your Head You Know
10. Marquis Hill- Rituals + Routines
Album Review: Milford Graves- Children of the Forest
Pat Metheny’s transcendently beautiful album Dream Box will be among my most-played releases of 2023. But when I’m in need of visceral catharsis, I go all in on improvised cacophony. Children of the Forest, a new collection of previously unreleased 1976 sessions, is 54 minutes of raw power. Drummer Milford Graves is joined by multi-instrumentalists Arthur Doyle and Hugh Glover in the scathing barrage. Milford’s praise of Doyle in the accompanying notes reflects the intent of the sessions: “something happened there that was beyond the immediate intellectual control of the people who was doing it.” The transcendently harsh Children of the Forest is essential noise.