Matthew Shipp, "The Piano Equation" (Tao Forms). Shipp celebrates his 60th birthday with a smorgasbord of solo piano improvisations exploiting his outspun brand of softly layered melody and internalized swing. It sounds like joy.
Leni Stern, "4" (LSR). Whether bubbling or soothing, Stern's quartet with bassist Mamadou Ba, drummer Alioune Faye and keyboardist Leo Genovese keeps our ears engaged and our bodies moving. Her most exciting guitar solo: on the hesitational "Japalema." Most beguiling arrangement: the deceptively simple "Miu" slides into something like an African fugue. Guest Mike Stern busts out the fusion on "Habib" after Ba and Faye whip up the rhythm; Genovese taps both classic acoustic and novel tweaky tones while locating those radioactive notes within the beauty. Always fresh.
James Carney Sextet, "Pure Heart" (Sunnyside). L.A. pals who miss pianist Carney since he moved back East will be glad of this focused collection featuring a gang of avant all-stars. Carney chose well in drummer Tom Rainey and bassist Dezron Douglas to anchor his counterslapping rhythms; Ravi Coltrane, Ocar Noriega and Stephanie Richards are the kind of horn ensemble that fulfills dreams. Richards' trumpet and Noriega's bass clarinet overlap their cries of past memory and present pain in the quietly dissonant lament for a "Forty Year Friend." And the rushing groove of "Gerrymandered" segues into an unexpected but wonderfully resonant unaccompanied meditation from Carney.
Steuart Liebig, "Nostalgia" Productive L.A. composer Liebig lavishes five long tracks of translucent synthesizer, their ambiguous Tarkovskyan atmosphere reflected in the title. A true soundtrack for this moment. Listen/buy here.
Vatcher-Golia-Liebig, "Wish You Were There, Volume 2" Dig Vinny Golia's moody twists and phat sound on some big ol' sax as percussionist Michael Vatcher and bassist Steuart Liebig bounce off the walls like raquetballs. Then the trio hit an Egyptian bazaar to haggle rug prices. Shades of Ra. Two tracks, 41 minutes, recorded live in 2004, so it's historic. Listen/buy here.
Carlos Niño & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, "Chicago Waves" Dawn breaks, birds call, the world seems suddenly at peace; percussionist Niño and stringman Atwood exude the most breatheable air you can inhale. Listen/buy here.
Vogel/Saxon Duo, "Live" Funny how our avian friends seem to be speaking to us now. Here they twitter amid drones, environmental percussion and plaintive sax in a live set from 2013 wrapped up by a reverential "Coltrane Suite." Listen/buy here.