A track titled “Eddie Harris” is positioned midway through A Time for Healing, the latest release by the percussionist and bandleader Kahil El'Zabar. The self-described “improvised soul” veteran grunts and grooves his way through the celebratory tribute to the soul-jazz star. El’Zabar pursues more strictly spiritual inclinations on most tracks. Abetted by the saxophonist Isaiah Collier, trumpeter Corey Wilkes and keyboardist Justin Dillard (each man also plays supplemental percussion), El’Zabar devises a curative form of the ancient-to-the-future formulation he shares with Chicago artists ranging from Roscoe Mitchell to Angel Bat Dawid. As with Nala Sinephro’s 2021 album Space 1.8, A Time for Healing acts as a vital prescription for empyrean and corporal sustenance.
What I Should Have Said
Screenshot of the trailer of the Dutch National Opera’s production of Der Zwerg by There Stands the Glass.
My friend and colleague Aaron Rhodes gently poked fun at my recent focus on avant-garde jazz, opera and classical music at There Stands the Glass in the new episode of our In My Headache podcast. He characterized my recent rotation as “old man music.” I failed to properly defend my inclinations, mumbling something about the value in bringing attention to neglected sounds. I’m sure Aaron hoped I’d respond with more vitriol.
I’m not ashamed of my age but I look askance at my peers. The listening habits of most people of my generation are calcified. It’s embarrassing. The graying people immersed exclusively in disposable pop are only slightly less mortifying. As I recently noted in this space, I embrace the present even as I acknowledge my years.
I reject the conventional wisdom that jazz, opera and classical music should be of interest only to old folks even though the audiences for the forms are disproportionately elderly. And to be sure, the music is frequently stale and corny. Yet there’s nothing inherently decrepit about the most exemplary representatives of the forms.
The pretensions closely associated with opera are particularly egregious. I’m committed to helping dismantle the unhealthy affiliation. I implore There Stands the Glass readers to take a look at the Dutch National Opera’s stylish new production of Alexander Zemlinsky’s forgotten 1922 opera Der Zwerg. The tide is slowly turning.
On the jazz tip, I stand by my recent endorsements of imaginative albums by the European artists Mathias Eick and Nala Sinephro. The underground rebellion on Kansas City’s improvised music scene is no less encouraging. Nonetheless, Aaron and other advocates of popular music needn’t worry about me. I’m going to get my kicks at Marc Anthony’s arena concert tonight.
September 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency
Screenshot of the trailer of 奇跡 by There Stands the Glass.
Top Ten Albums (released in September)
1. Mathias Eick- When We Leave
2. Borderlands Trio- Wandersphere
3. Nala Sinephro- Space 1.8
4. Drake- Certified Lover Boy
Infuriatingly undeniable.
5. Roscoe Mitchell- Dots: Pieces for Percussion and Woodwinds
Solemn incantations from the auspicious octogenarian.
6. Moor Mother- Black Encyclopedia of the Air
Urgent poetry.
7. Pat Metheny- Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)
8. Lea Desandre- Amazone
Sensual baroque chamber music.
9. RP Boo- Established!
Zany Chicago footwork.
10. The Count Basie Orchestra- Live at Birdland
Top Ten Songs (released in September)
1. Tokischa and Rosalía- "Linda"
Besos.
2. Priya Ragu- "Lockdown"
Not so solitary.
3. Chlöe- "Have Mercy"
Oh Lord.
4. Lauren Alaina- "On Top of the World"
5. Lydia Loveless- "Let's Make Out"
“The maid won’t be here until nine or ten.”
6. Amyl and the Sniffers- “Don’t Need a **** (Like You to Love Me)”
Rock’s not dead.
7. Paul Wall and Rich The Factor- "Countin' Paper"
Stacks.
8. Kirby- "Coconut Oil"
Silky.
9. Lady Blackbird- "Fix It"
Peace piece.
10. Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch- “Im Rhein, im schönen Strome”
I’ve contracted a nasty case of Lisztomania.
Live Music
The books I read outnumbered the shows I attended in September. I intend to venture out a lot more in October. I’ve even timed a trip to Detroit to catch a concert by an artist listed above who has conspicuously bypassed Kansas City for years.
Top Ten Films (viewed for the first time in September)
1. Lawrence of Arabia: Director’s Cut (1962)
T.E. Lawrence as white savior.
2. Body and Soul (1925)
Paul Robeson’s first film.
3. Hoří, má panenko/The Firemen’s Ball (1967)
Shameful Czech corruption.
4. The Golden Ring: The Making of Solti’s Ring (1965)
5. Street Girl (1929)
Betty Compson stars in a racy Jazz Age musical.
6. 奇跡/I Wish (2011)
Japan is now at the top of my travel wish list.
7. Cairo (1942)
Loopy wartime musical with Ethel Waters.
8. Take a Giant Step (1959)
Johnny Nash plays a beleaguered teen.
9. The Outhouse: The Film, 1985-1987 (2019)
“My” version of the Kansas venue- Tupelo Chain Sex, Sonic Youth, the Georgia Satellites, etc.- receives short shrift in the documentary.
10. The Courier (2021)
By-the-numbers cold war spy thriller.
August’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.
Album Review: Nala Sinephro- Space 1.8
I woke up on the wrong side of the bed on Sunday. In need of a pick-me-up more potent than coffee or juice, I turned to Nala Sinephro’s Space 1.8. I’d already been charmed by the London composer’s blend of new age mysticism and downtempo spiritual jazz. Could Sinephro’s “premise that sound moves matter” actually cure what ailed me? Sure enough, my discomfort eased markedly within 15 minutes. I felt fully restored by the end of the 44-minute album. Just as the apparent healing power of Space 1.8 works as a miraculous potion, it’s an artistic triumph in spite of a dubious premise. Few artists are capable of successfully combining the loopy quietism of 1980s Paul Winter with the contemporary telepathic transmissions of Flying Lotus. Yet Sinephro’s Space 1.8 is just the latest example of the magical improvised music renaissance raging in Britain.