ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

My jazz and world music choices are in today's Sunday Times. Full details below the fold.

JAZZ

Patricia Barber: Mythologies (Blue Note)

Solveig Slettahjell: Pixiedust (ACT)

Various Artists: The House That Trane Built (Impulse!)

Andy Panayi Quartet: News from Blueport (Woodville)

Mina Agossi: Well You Needn't (Candid).

WORLD MUSIC

Ali Farka Touré: Savane (World Circuit)

Gal Costa: Hoje (Trama)

Lila Downs: La Cantina (EMI/Narada)

Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint: The River in Reverse (Verve).

Various Artists: World 2006 (Rhino/Korova)

Jazz

Chicago’s Patricia Barber is a singer-pianist who always avoids the tried and trusted. She took an even more daring leap into the unknown on Mythologies (Blue Note), a suite of songs inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses. If that sounds dry and scholarly, don’t be fooled: Barber’s smoky voice evokes Diana Krall, and she leads the funkiest band around.

In a fruitful year for singers, Norway’s Solveig Slettahjell triumphed with Pixiedust (Act), a seductive set of electronica-tinged originals and standards from her Slow Motion Quintet. Scandinavian soul. No self-respecting record collection should be without its quota of orange and black sleeves from the Impulse! label. Tied in with the publication of a fine book by Ashley Kahn, The House That Trane Built (Impulse!) offers a leisurely four-CD stroll through the back catalogue, finding room for the romance of Ben Webster and the incantations of Albert Ayler. There was a similar retrospective flavour to the Andy Panayi Quartet’s News from Blueport (Woodville), an immaculate home-grown tribute to the music of that baritone master Gerry Mulligan. Drum'n'bass is not renowned as the most subtle music on the planet, but the French-Beninese singer Mina Agossi delivers a wholly original acoustic variant on Well You Needn't (Candid). A true one-off, she somehow finds a way of combining bop, soul, hip-hop and a hint of free-jazz mischief without tying herself in knots. World One of Africa’s great pioneers was silenced this year. Fortunately, Ali Farka Touré left behind a fitting testament in Savane (World Circuit), released shortly after his death. Having retreated to his home in the hinterland of Mali, the guitarist dug deep within himself to create a series of soundscapes that combine stark beauty with raw emotion. When the Barbican played host to the heroes of Brazil’s Tropicalia movement, the demure singer Gal Costa helped revive memories of Rio’s swinging Sixties. Proving that she is not content to live in the past, she came up with Hoje (Trama), her most assured album in a long time. Writing contributions from the underrated Lokua Kanza gave the bossa-influenced material even greater depth than usual. A Frida Kahlo lookalike and former Grateful Dead fan who has transformed herself into one of the new luminaries of world music, Lila Downs is on a startlingly strong run of form. La Cantina (EMI/Narada) is another of her hallucinogenic journeys into the Mexican heartlands. Long before anyone dreamt up the term “world music”, New Orleans was a city where all manner of styles and traditions were blended into a wholesome gumbo. With the city still trying to recover from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, one of its most famous sons, the songwriter, singer, pianist and all-round ideas man Allen Toussaint, entered into a collaboration with Elvis Costello on The River in Reverse (Verve). It’s a glorious, loose-limbed meeting of two artists. A useful alternative to camping at Womad, Charlie Gillett’s annual compilations always throw up some exuberant juxtapositions. Although illness has curtailed his activities, the double album World 2006 (Rhino/Korova) turned out to be his most uplifting selection so far. The mystery tour rumbles on and on, through Balkan backstreets and French cafes.

Comments

[james higham]

...Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint: The River in Reverse (Verve)...

Now isn't that an interesting combination?

[Keyworth Tiredlegs]

Hmmm. Started at the top of the list (Mythologies) on Napster. The Moon is currently playing... does it get better? :)

I loved the new James Bond by the way (and I wish I was 18).

Wait - the alto sax has just kicked in. This is more like it.

[Clive D]

The Barber CD does take a bit of time to get used to. If you've never heard her before, I really recommend starting with her last album, "Live: A Fortnight in France". There should also a video clip of her in the "Juke Box" section in the sidebar of this blog.

As for Elvis C, he's not normally my kind of singer, but he also delivers some lovely jazz ballad singing on the chat & vocals CD in Marian McPartland's "Piano Jazz" series.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Piano-Elvis-Costello-Marian-McPartland/dp/B0009W5JIC/sr=8-1/qid=1165780934/ref=sr_1_1/026-6597689-0338851?ie=UTF8&s=music

[Keyworth Tiredlegs]

The Barber CD is pretty good. OK, the start is deceptivly crap, but up until they start rapping about whales I'm sold. Good recommendation!

2nd artist on the list only had one track on Napster, so no comment, however I enjoyed the 3rd (very Ronnie Scotts) and 5th album too. I think the 4th was MIA on Napster too (I don't buy CDs anymore)

Oh, it's all legal btw.

Not started on the world music yet.

[Keyworth Tiredlegs]

Thanks for the pointer to the jukebox. I will check it out.

I'll depart now... my only request is that they play 'round midnight' at my funeral. By someone good... Failing that I'll settle for A Place Called Home by Kim Richey on CD. :)

Night all!

[VR]

I liked every song on Mythologies except the last two. I didn't care much for the rapping at the end of Phaeton. It seems out of character.

Her previous cd is good and standout tune is "Crash". I don't mind "Verse" - it is a bit wordy.

My favourite cds apart from Barber's are Dave Holland's "Critical Mass" and Charles Lloyd's "Sangam".