Best Albums of 2018 List Soon

A lot's been going on recently. Been busy but hoping to cover some albums from 2018 I really enjoyed, excluding those I reviewed already. Also find me at http://www.freejazzblog.org/ . I'm writing there now too

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Aby Ngana Diop Liital ★★★½ A dizzying spiral of sounds and rhythms that seem completely out of this world. Just from the cover and seeing Diop's calm expression and slight smile, you'd never expect this music. And I always love when my expectations are so meaningless and opposite from the reality. This album is also unlike a lot of other African music I've heard, I guess the closest would be that Music from Saharan Cellphones series but still that's not quite there.  This electronic whirlwind mixed with the drums creates an atmosphere much like that of drum and bass or jungle. Of course the vocals are really what sets this album apart and it would be incomplete without them. Not only is Aby's voice demanding of an audience, but her backups also create this army of voices; shouting and chanting in a manner that presses forward through anything in its way.  The first track, "Dieuleul-Dieuleul", is arguably the catchiest and most unique...
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Jason Lescalleet The Pilgrim ★ ★ ★★ Everything I've been listening to has been really great recently. This is a very heavy and somber record by Jason Lescalleet. Part of the newer cohort of abstract electronic music, he's known for working with people like Graham Lambkin and Kevin Drumm. This class of individuals have been creating intense and vivid textures in their music with the help of outside sources, mostly field recordings. That concept is also utilized here but not in the usual manner.  Summed up, this album is about the relationship Jason had with his father, and a sort of memorial in remembrance of his passing. It's not easy to create an artistic project like this for anyone, in any medium or platform. Especially not in the niche and sometimes conceptual subgenre that Lescalleet resides in. But he does it beautifully and in great effect. The album starts off with a spoken introduction bye Lescalleet describing how his father felt about his mus...
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Maurice McIntyre Humility in the Light of Creator ★★ ★ ★ Starting anew, and most likely less frequently. But all the same I hope to keep listening to as much new music as possible. And I'm happy to have stumbled upon Maurice McIntyre's Humility in the Light of Creator . The cover can tell you a few things: the era this music was created in, with the boteh or paisley shirt pattern and background. The Eastern, Middle Eastern, and African influences were continuing to develop in American music and very much so in jazz. The Delmark label was also a great platform for independent or more "out" musicians to record and release their music. McIntyre himself was a leader and important member in the conception of the AACM or the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. This Chicago scene helped secure a home for creative and avant jazz that came after the Coltrane era. Its musicians continue to put out music and they have served as leaders and contr...
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