Best New Records I Heard in December 2023

Maybe not as many made the cut, but I kept on listening all month long

Adriana Calcanhotta – Errante. I don’t spend enough time investigating Brazilian music as I should. Whenever I find a real gem like this new album by a veteran singer and songwriter I’ve never encountered before, it reminds me just how good adventurous music can be. Calcanhotta has a sinuous, sensuous voice, and she delivers her firm yet delicate melodies with little coloration. She lets the musicians behind her offer all sorts of rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic punctuations that make each song even more memorable than the infectious tunes would be on their own. I don’t know who these players are, but they are clearly among the cream of the Brazilian crop these days. Speaking of what I don’t know, all the songs save one are in Portugese, so I can’t say what she’s singing about. But, since “Lovely,” the one number in English, has the lyric, “I can be whoever you want me to be / I’m formless,” I must confess some translations might be worth seeking out.

Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band – King’s Highway. Blade is one of the most inventive jazz drummers, but he’s also fiercely loyal. This band has been together with only a couple line-up changes for almost thirty years. Blade and pianist Jon Cowherd write the tunes. Cowherd, at least on this record, has more introspective and tightly composed pieces, while Blade writes more complex melodies and leaves much more space for improvisation. Myron Walden and Melvin Butler trade off sharp saxophone solos when they’re not harmonizing beautifully together, and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel explodes several times on this album. The record ends with a lovely 19^th century hymn, a nice way to wind down after some serious modern jazz.

Danny Brown – Quaranta. The title is the word forty in Italian, and that’s the decade Brown is navigating these days at the age of 42. This new album has some of the wildman approach that made him famous, but it’s also full of introspective low-key tracks. Either way Brown remains highly effective, rapping with a peculiar grace, a seemingly effortless tangle of rhymes and syllables that lures you in with its sounds before you realize he’s talking about the end of a relationship which led to depression and alcohol troubles that led him to rehab last year. “This rap shit done saved my life / And fucked it up at the same time,” he says in the title track. That’s a powerful statement about a career spent in the spotlight, and now he’s trying to figure out a way to keep the first part true without falling prey to the second.

The James Dean Joint – Walkin’ the 606. This Chicago combo is back with seven new songs of its sorta garage rock / sorta bar band approach to rock’n’roll. Led by singer/harmonica player James Porter, the JDJ has a knack for deceptively simple and exceedingly catchy rock songs that benefit from exceptional rhythm guitar chordings, consistently inventive piano and keyboard lines, and a drummer who is in the pocket yet likes to drop in little tidbits you don’t even notice until the third or fourth listen. The bass player is really good, too. It’s Porter’s growl of a baritone and use of blues harp as primary lead instrument of the band that makes the band stick in the memory banks, though.

Greatdane – Nail It Down. This young Swiss rock band sounds like AC/DC backing up Terry Anderson (of the Woods and the Yayhoos, though most of you might only know his song “Battleship Chains” as performed by the Georgia Satellites). It’s a great feeling to discover you’ve been waiting your whole life for something that manages such a specific combination. Crunching guitar riffs combine with anthemic roots rock. It’s exhilarating, I tell ya. Every time I play this, I start off enjoying the immediacy of it, and end up bouncing all over the room singing “Talking About Earlier” Or “Drink Out My Whiskey.” If you ever believed in rock’n’roll music, I’ve heard not one single record this year that will revive your spirits the way this one does.

Walter Wolfman Washington – Feel So At Home. Though Washington was a big part of the New Orleans music scene in the 60s and 70s, he didn’t start recording his own music until he was nearly 40 years old back in 1981. This posthumous release – Washington died of cancer just about one year ago – was recorded after his diagnosis was made, so it’s intended as something of a final testament. These songs, a mixture of covers and originals, are way more relaxed than most of his career highlights. The focus is on Washington’s vocals, here mostly a crooning, mellow, intimate approach that is matched by his elegant guitar parts. While “Lovely Day” strikes me as a pale imitation of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” there is no denying the passion and the vitality Washington brings to it. The rest of the album is lovely and perfect in its own way.

Ha Ha Tonka – Blood Red Moon. For those unfamiliar, which is most everybody not from Missouri, and even probably most people from Missouri, these guys named themselves after a state park near their home town, where there is a famous ruins of a stone mansion modeled after ruins of  much older European stone mansions. That kind of works with the band’s music, which is modeled after Americana modeled after much older folk forms. But they also rock, so it’s not so simple. This is only their second album in the last ten years after spraying them out in their younger days. As they hit 40, they are contemplating their lost youth a bit which hasn’t let them lose those trademark vocal harmonies or the vitality of their sound. In between songs referencing the Arkansas River, the Old Rye River, and the Mississippi River, they also have a cry against the madness of mass gun violence.

Tyler Mitchell – Sun Ra’s Journey. Mitchell, now aged 65, played bass with Sun Ra in the last years of that giant’s life. So, when he decides to do a tribute album showing off the compositional genius of the Arkestra days, he easily brings along Marshall Allen (now 97) on alto sax, and alumni like Wayne Smith on drums and Farid Barron on piano. Add Chris Hemingway on tenor, Nicoletta Manzini on alto, Giveton Gelin on trumpet, and Ron McBee and Elson Nacimento on percussion, and you’ve got a flexible outfit that can handle all the requirements of the classic Sun Ra sound. Or should I say “a” classic Sun Ra sound? He never really stood still. The tunes chosen for this one highlight the melodic strength of Ra and Allen’s compositions. While there is plenty of trademark harmonic density, rhythmic slipperiness, and improvisational blasts (notably, of course, from Allen), these are tunes you can walk away humming after you hear them. There are no wrong moves on this record – it’s as intoxicating a way to pass an hour as you can find these days.

Czarface – Czartificial Intelligence. I was already pretty intoxicated by the pulse-pounding beats and deftly dropped samples when I came across the fifth track, “Mama’s Basement.” Here’s a guy circa 40 years old reminiscing about the comic books he left behind at mom’s house and he gets to the line “I got more back issues than Larry Bird in ’92.” Now I know there have been more clever lyrics in hip hop history, but this one just stopped me cold and made me smile long and deep. Then the song picks up and ends not where you think it’s gonna end. Lots more great tracks from Inspectah Deck (of Wu-Tang Clan fame) and his cohorts 7L and Esoteric follow, too. On a sonic level, this is such a highly enjoyable hip hop record. Then tracks like “Gatecrasher,” with guest star Logic dissing somebody’s alter ego, and “Marvel at That (Road Trip)” which is an alphabet game naming Marvel comics characters for each letter of the alphabet (though Z is left unknown, leaving Baron Zemo out of history, I guess), bring more smiles to my face.

Cory Walker – School Project. I only dip my toes in bluegrass now and then, but when I do I’m amply rewarded. Walker is an A-team banjo picker in those circles, and he’s played with plenty of the giants like Ricky Skaggs and the Dillards. Here, surrounded by players undoubtedly familiar to my bluegrass immersive friends, he presents a solid selection of mostly instrumental material filled with spritely tunes and impressive soloing. Guest vocalists include Tim O’Brien, who always makes me happy, Rodney Dillard whose been around long enough to turn up in Andy Griffith Show reruns, and Sierra Ferrell. There are two Bob Dylan songs, including a fiery take on “Nashville Skyline Rag,” while Dillard and Herb Person sing together on “One Too Many Mornings.” There’s also a lovely jazz piece written by Biréli Lagrène. The rest is just fantastic bluegrass.

O.N.E. the Duo – Blood Harmony. “I don’t care if it’s country / Or if it’s rock’n’roll / Cause if it moves my body / It feels good in my soul.” Tekitha Supreme and her daughter Prana sing the hell out of whatever genre of music you want to call what they’re doing. Marketed in Nashville, heavily influenced by r&b, and willing to lean into rock, this Duo is part of the great wave of contemporary mostly female and more often than most people think African-American country acts popping up seemingly every week. Obviously, the role model here is the Judds, but Tekitha and Prana seem to be equals as vocalists where Naomi was clearly secondary to the once-per-decade talent of Wynonna. Tekitha spent time as part of the extended Wu-Tang Clan, and in fact Prana’s father is RZA. Music is pretty much the connecting rod for their family, and they have the songs and the chops to make this debut album a great listen.

Darius Jones – fluXkit Vancouver (its suite but sacred). The title is supposed to have a line going through the bottom third of the word “its” but I don’t know how to do that on the keyboard. I’m not worried, though, because the music is immersive enough to transcend any questions of font. Jones has composed four rich pieces which go together beautifully. His alto saxophone is joined by Gerald Cleaver on drums, Jesse and Josh Zubot on violins, Peggy Lee (not the late singer) on cello, and James Meger on bass. The strings can play as furiously as Jones and Cleaver, and in fact they dominate on two of the compositions. While there is plenty of improvisation throughout these long pieces, it’s the ensemble sound that stands out. Jones likes to overblow, and the violins and cello like to slide around the upper registers, while Cleaver is a powerhouse on drums. There is no wasted motion here, just communication on a high level.

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society – Dynamic Maximum Tension. I rarely get excited about albums that push near the 2 hour limit, as I tend to want to shift gears more often than that allows. But this 18-piece jazz group offers automatic transmission enough for my itchy desires. You go along for just over an hour and realize you’ve heard nine exceptionally inventive compositions filled with twists and turns and strong improvisations. Then they drop a 34-minute piece, “Tensile Curves,” which is billed as a response to Duke Ellington’s Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue.” I don’t notice any direct comparison points, but I do think this is pretty nearly as great as that. Finally, Cécile McLorin Salvant drops by to sing an interesting number somehow related to Mae West. And I almost forgot to mention the “Last Waltz For Levon” which is dedicated to Levon Helm and contains some cool quotes (on bass no less) from “The Weight.”

Al Backstrom – Wild Colonial Boy. I know next to nothing about this guy save for the fact he’s Australian but living in Nashville because he’s enamored of classic country music. And that’s what he offers on this record, spirited country that has plenty of rock’n’roll in its DNA. He covers “Ooh Las Vegas” by Gram Parsons and “Hayride to Hell” by his fellow Aussies the Hoodoo Gurus. That should give you a sense of what to expect from his originals, none of which disappoint. He has a particularly catchy rocker called “Analog Guy” in which he bemoans all the digital mod cons. I’d swear the horns on this cut are synthesized, but what do I know? I can definitely say this record is nothing but pure fun.

Rodrigo Amado The Bridge – Beyond the Margins. I was not familiar with any of the musicians on this record, though the name Gerry Hemingway (drums) was familiar. Rodrigo Amado is a European tenor saxophonist, and he decided to name this quartet after Sonny Rollins classic record The Bridge. I don’t hear many similarities to anything Rollins specificially did, but the exploration, innovation, and search for expression here does call Rollins to mind. Along with pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach and bassist Ingebrigth Håker Flaten, Amado and Hemingway hold nothing back on the opening forty minute title track. The music flows seamlessly from Amado’s opening sax salvo to Schlippenbach’s complementary piano solo to all sorts of combinations of the four players as we move along. At one point Hemingway starts making a sound like a cat purring, and he throws in some other vocal oddities as we go along. Near the end of the piece, the band starts swinging hard. The two shorter pieces, “Personal Mountains” and “(Visiting) Ghosts)” are nice, too, though not as epic as the long opener.