December 30, 1999–January 6, 2000

cover story

The Top 5s

CP’s best of genre

Classical/New Music

Leon Fleisher

Plays Copland, Liszt, Mozart, Rachmaninoff and Ravel

(EMI)

As a young lion in the early 1950s, Fleisher helped put America on the classical music map. He is represented here by a bristling selection of performances of diverse styles of music.

 

Grigory Ginzburg

Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century

(EMI)

Due to his seclusion behind the iron curtain, Ginzburg is not a household name. But this Soviet-era artist gives us supreme elegance and mind-blowing virtuosity in one package. His Liszt, in particular, ranks with the greatest ever recorded.

 

Rene Jacobs, Concerto Köln

Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutti

(Harmonia Mundi)

This is an alert, beguiling, profound and deeply emotional performance of one of the most beautiful operas ever written. A landmark period instrument performance, with soloists and orchestra breathing with a naturalistic pace.

 

Mstislav Rostropovich, with the Leningrad Philharmonic

Shostakovich: Cello Concerto

(BBC Music)

The great concerto was written for Rostropovich in 1959 by his mentor and friend. This was one of the first recordings, and it will peel the paint off the walls.

 

Various Artists

Leon Kirchner: In Honor of His 80th Birthday

(Music And Arts)

Kirchner is one of our great living composers, capturing a modern sensibility in a clear and passionate voice. Here is a luminous array of his music, including chamber music, concertos and one delightful theater piece, all performed superbly.

—Peter Burwasser

Hip-Hop

The Arsonists

As The World Burns

(Matador)

These five MCs who incite rhyme-fires are also impressive b-boys and graf-writers to boot. Insert this CD with caution, as you will be entering a zone where hip-hop is about metaphors and similes that stretch the imagination, camaraderie and good times. Gunshots not included.

Les Nubians

Princesses Nubiennes

(Omtown/Higher Octave)

Singing almost entirely en Francais, Celia and Helene Faussart still managed to draw a sold-out crowd right here in Philly. The two songbirds croon about the struggles of the African Diaspora over jazz, hip-hop and Nubian riddims.

 

Mos Def

Black on Both Sides

(Rawkus)

The chart-climbing Black on Both Sides is quite possibly the antithesis of what the industry has been pushing for almost a decade. Mos Def paints linguistic landscapes in rhyme, wails his heart out in song and rocks harder than Limp Bizkit. He even dabbles in production, playing bass and vibraphone, among other instruments. God bless the child — he’s got his own mind.

 

Pharoahe Monch

Internal Affairs

(Rawkus)

On his solo debut, intergalactic Monch stops off at Earth to communicate with the simpletons, as well as snatch his slice of hip-hop’s pie with ear-grabbing hits. But don’t expect him to stay for long. Monch is highly unpredictable, and will script-flip to keep things fresh and prove he’s one of the most introspective MCs.

 

The Roots

Come Alive

(MCA)

Ripping it lovely with their incomparable live performance highlighted by the enchanting voices of Jill Scott and Jaguar, The Roots give you "What You Want" — classic material — and then some.

—Hamida Kinge

Jazz

Two views.

Take One

 

Paul Bley/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian

Not Two, Not One

(ECM)

This is that rare album that manages to match progressive exploration with emotional depth. This trio’s first reunion in over 30 years is a far-ranging affair, infused not only with ruminative pointillism ("Dialogue Amour") but also bluesy swagger ("Fig Foot"). Even the virtuoso flourishes serve a greater purpose here.

 

Steve Coleman and Five Elements

The Sonic Language of Myth

(RCA Victor)

Coleman’s opus fuses tight, odd-metered funk grooves with thematic material inspired by ancient African, Egyptian and Indian cultures. Coleman’s alto weaves through this heady mix like a boxer in the ring, underscoring this disc’s balance of intellect with grit.

 

Branford Marsalis

Requiem

(Columbia)

This session, one of Kenny Kirkland’s last, serves not only as a tribute but also an apotheosis; this thoughtful, minor-key disc is the Marsalis quartet’s finest recorded hour.

 

Masada

Live in Jerusalem 1994

(Tzadik)

While Masada’s studio efforts have always been impressive, there’s something especially compelling about their performances. Enter Live, one of a series of recordings which floated around as a prized bootleg for a few years before finding official release. John Zorn’s blend of Jewish klezmer with ’60s Ornette Coleman has never sounded fresher or more insistent.

Joe Morris Quartet

Underthru

(Omnitone)

Morris, the Les Paul-wielding experimentalist, employs elasticity and groovy angularity to great effect. His bandmates fill in the gaps with admirable finesse. Call it chamber jazz with sharp edges.

—Nate Chinen

Take Two

Don Byron

Romance with the Unseen

(Blue Note)

Byron’s first non-genre record in years is a program of crackling playing that goes from harmonious to abstract without losing the center. The clarinetist leads a robust band that features guitarist Bill Frisell and drum legend Jack DeJohnette cutting loose on everything from the Duke to The Beatles to Byron’s erudite originals.

 

Duke Ellington

At Newport 1956 (Complete)

(Columbia)

Ellington’s rollickingly musical and important comeback performance went unreleased in its proper and complete form for 40 years, making this "new" two-CD version (featuring the unabridged set in stereo) a highlight of the Duke’s centennial.

 

Ruben Gonzalez

Introducing…

(Elektra/Nonesuch)

Last year’s Buena Vista Social Club gave a group of forgotten Cuban musicians a chance to play again, and pianist Gonzalez sounds like he’s thankful for every joyful, soulful note.

 

Brad Mehldau

Art of the Trio 4: Back at the Vanguard

(Warner Bros.)

This pianist and his telepathic band keep growing and improving at a sprinter’s pace. The lessons of the past get revered and absorbed, but new ideas get incorporated too, allowing room for covers of both Miles and Radiohead in the same set.

 

Jeff "Tain" Watts

Citizen Tain

(Columbia)

Watts is one of the best young drummers around, and the heir to Elvin Jones’ driving rhythmic style delivers his debut as a leader with a smart concept: Get a bunch of serious cats (including the late Kenny Kirkland and Wynton and Branford Marsalis) and have them play serious jazz like motherfuckers.

—Brian Glaser

Experimental/Noise

Abunai!

The Mystic River Sound

(Camera Obscura)

Move over Beta Band, now there’s something groovier! These Boston tricksters recorded all the songs for this fake compilation of a faux music scene, complete with elaborate liner notes on all the "bands." The reason for the hoax is that Abunai! found the material too disparate, which actually translates to diverse, eclectic and imaginative.

 

Bardo Pond

Set and Setting

(Matador)

Philly’s influential space-rockers decided to pilot their own rocket, experimenting at home in their Lemur Haüs studios and self-producing a claustrophobic head-trip of a record.

 

Doldrums

Desk Trickery

(Kranky)

The guitar is spooky and mechanical. The beats are muscular. The vibe is ethereal and turned-on, but they embrace technology instead of playing the role of hippies with vintage instruments and production techniques. Head music of the future, today!

 

Ghost

Snuffbox Immanence

(Drag City)

Revisionist Japanese psychedelic historians perform dark and enlightening folk-rock with lush instrumentation and drug-addled English lyrics. Sushi for the soul.

 

Roy Montgomery

324 E. 13th Street #7

(Drunken Fish)

As a compilation of singles (1994-1995) from New Zealand’s answer to Roger McGuinn and Leonard Cohen, this recording offers Montgomery’s most song-oriented work. Though his baritone monotone is an acquired taste, his guitar sings like a kiwi bird.

—Chris Nosal

Roots

Afro Celt Sound System

Volume 2: Release

(Realworld)

Hauntingly energetic combinations of Irish pipes, African kora, percussion from around the world and, especially, studio toys and a DJ make Afro Celt’s latest a CD to echo in your mind, long after it has been put away.

 

Joshua Bell and Edgar Meyer

Short Trip Home

(Sony Classical)

Makers of new acoustic and bluegrass music Mike Marshall (guitar) and Sam Bush (mandolin) join classical violinist Bell and multi-genre bassist Meyer to interpret Meyer’s riveting, original string compositions.

 

Bruce Daigrepont

Paradis

(Rounder)

Cajun accordionist, singer and songwriter Bruce Daigrepont has the enviable talent of creating new works which sound as if they’d been around for years. He writes complicated songs in excellent French while preserving the old sound.

 

Lloyd Jones

Love Gotcha

(Blind Pig)

Lloyd Jones, who has played with some of the blues greats like Big Walter Horton, received a commission from his mentors: Keep this music alive. Original songs like "Treat Me Like the Dog I Am" and "Nickels and Dimes" are sure to be borrowed by other artists and should help to do just that.

 

Kepa Junkera

Bilbao 00:00h

(Alula)

Basque accordionist Junkera has already earned a gold record in his native Spain for this two-CD set. Contemporary banjo player Bela Fleck, Phil Cunningham (Scots accordion), La Bottine Souriante (nine Québecois madmen extraordinaires) and Irish piper Liam O’Flynn are just a few of virtuosi who provide a wide spectrum of traditions for Junkera to explore and adapt to his own music.

 

Honorable Mention:
Enrique Morente, Lorca (Narada);
Phil Leadbetter, Philibuster (Rounder);
Brave Old World, Blood Oranges (Red House);
Inti-Illimani, Amar de Nuevo (Xenophile);
Kíla, Tóg É Go Bog É (Green Linnet)

—Mary Armstrong

Techno/ Electronica

Thomas Brinkmann

Soul Center

(W.v.B. Enterprises/NL)

The notorious German minimal techno producer punches out slow-paced funky tech-house jams smeared with gospel vocals. Guaranteed to shake your butt and stick in your head for weeks.

 

Theorem

Ion

(Minus)

Very deep, synth-washed minimal house out of Detroit. Theorem’s entrancing treadmill of slowly morphing, placidly sinister emotion locks you into a confusing dream-state while making you feel totally enlightened at the same time.

 

Richie Hawtin

Decks, EFX & 909

(Novamute)

A flawless 38-track mix CD ranging from deep tech-house to harder and tribal Detroit, German and U.K. techno. Just as in his live DJ sets, Hawtin spellbinds his listeners with machine-like perfection as he slowly and almost imperceptibly morphs the energy in and out, up, around and down again.

 

Plaid

Rest Proof Clockwork

(Warp Records)

A soothing synthesis ranging from smooth jazz to synth-pop to funkadelic and hip-hop. Flowing, washed-out guitars, corky synth sounds and some occasional cuttin’ and scratchin’ develop the constantly evolving mood of the album — from somber and heartbroken to chirpy and childish.

 

Stewart Walker

Stabiles

(Force Inc./Mille Plateaux/Tektite Recordings)

Very sparse, emotionless minimal techno à la G-Man or Mike Ink. Each track pulls you through a little mental journey, ultimately placing you in an anxious state of comfortable well-being.

—Sean O’Neal