Without fanfare or further ado, here they are:
1 The Ditchflowers: Carried Away (Sunshine Drenchy). This a first for me — the first time in more than two decades of writing year-end Top 10s that I've given the No. 1 spot to an independent release by a Bay area band. I'm aware that some of you are thinking, "Well, it's about time, dude," and that's a valid response. But more to the matter at hand: The Ditchflowers — veteran local popsmiths Ed Woltil and Brian Merrill (plus cohorts) — created a masterful collection of songs that blend grabby power-pop, singer/songwriter fare and just enough quirky touches to dodge genre constrictions. This is thinking-person's stuff, with reflections on love, spirituality, family and other weighty concerns, but the disc is not without humor, as the bad-women ode "Kind Kind Kind" proves. Woltil and Merrill exude terrific chemistry throughout; it's as if Carried Away came together via a whole bunch of serendipitous magic. You should at least log on to theditchflowers.com and sample a tune or two.
2 Feist: The Reminder (Cherrytree/Interscope). When it comes to female singer/songwriters — or singer/songwriters in general, for that matter — it sometimes seems like all the turf's been covered. So when someone like Feist emerges from the indie ranks with a major-label album that brings new twists and turns to the genre, it's reason for celebration — and repeated listening. Her whisper-to-a-wail voice is one-of-a-kind; the songs — from rockers to hushed ballads — have real staying power; and the arrangements pack plenty of unexpected sonic detail. The Reminder is blessed with a range of moods, from romantic frustration ("Limit to Your Love") to whimsy ("1 2 3 4").
3 Chris Whitley & Jeff Lang: Dislocation Blues (Rounder). The late Chris Whitley was one of my favorite artists throughout the '90s and early '00s. Dislocation Blues, a collaboration with Aussie singer/guitarist Lang, was recorded just months before Whitley died of lung cancer in November 2005. His whispery voice has become more spectral than it used to be, but by and large he's in pretty good form on this set of tunes, which includes originals and a couple of Dylan songs. The sound is loose, unfiltered and largely acoustic — and deeply soulful. Both artists bring serious guitar chops and feeling to the proceedings. This may be the last posthumous Whitley release, and if so, it's a damn good way to wrap it up.
4 Galactic: From the Corner to the Block (Anti-). New Orleans' lauded jam/funketeers Galactic opted for a different direction this time out, enlisting top artists from the underground hip-hop scene to lay riveting, socially conscious raps over their deep, organic grooves. Guests include Lyrics Born, Mr. Lif, Chali 2na, Gift of Gab and other spitters, as well as New Orleans luminaries Trombone Shorty and Chief Monk. Corner to the Block can bring the party vibe, too, especially on the grinding "Hustle Up," where Boots Riley hollers, "Everybody on the flo'/ Hustle up/ Rustle up, muscle up/ What the fuck?"
5 Black Francis: Bluefinger (Cooking Vinyl). Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV's punk-rock persona, Black Francis, took center stage this year with this hardscrabble set of sinewy throwdowns filled with primal hooks, caterwauls, corrosive guitars and dissonances. And there are even a couple of slow tunes. You can hear echoes of the Pixies, of course, and some Velvet Underground and early Stones, but this is essentially Black Francis blowin' it out. Side note: His rootsy alter ego, Frank Black, made my Top 10 last year with the disc Fast Man Raider Man.
6 Abbey Lincoln: Abbey Sings Abbey (Verve). The 77-year-old jazz artist revisited songs she'd written or co-written over her illustrious career, shaping them into a kind of cabaret-blues suite, with little side trips to the Delta. Lincoln's rough-hewn voice caresses these personal lyrics with sublime emotional heft. She phrases as if she's singing directly into your ear.
7 Alfredo Triff: Boleros Perdidos (dadaMiami). Cuban expatriate Triff, a violinist/composer living in Miami, quietly put out this quietly charming record, a suite of forlorn Latin ballads about unrequited love. (Boleros perdidos means "love songs lost.") The sensual, undulating Latin grooves, mostly down tempo, massage the listener, but the main calling card here is the husky, despairing voice of Roberto Poveda. For a little taste of Triff's triumph, plug "Alfredo Triff" into MySpace.
8 Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy: Cornell 1964 (Blue Note). Culled from a tape unearthed by Mingus' widow Sue, this sprawling, two-disc set finds the legendary bassist/composer in an exuberant mood, performing with perhaps his best small ensemble. Two of the selections run a half-hour. Mingus' bands didn't tidily state the melody and take turns soloing; the arrangements are freewheeling, even chaotic; the pieces range from rambunctious swing (Strayhorn's "Take the 'A' Train") to meditative and abstract ("Fables of Faubus"). The firebrand Dolphy (on alto sax, flute and bass clarinet) adds the extra juice.
9 The Holmes Brothers: State of Grace (Alligator). The venerable trio — brothers Wendell and Sherman Holmes and drummer Popsy Dixon — joined forces again with producer Craig Street to make an utterly beguiling set of tunes rooted in gospel, but touching on secular styles and themes as well. Their vocal harmonies have the ragged but right quality of Pentecostal church music. Although the disc includes a few originals, its best songs are radical remakes of Elvis Costello's "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?" (loping country soul), Creedence Clearwater's "Bad Moon Rising" (zydeco) and Cheap Trick's "I Want You To Want Me" (a churchy ballad).
10 Slow Poke: At Home (Palmetto). Slide guitar wizard Dave Tronzo is one of my favorite musicians, but he's all but unknown to most anyone outside of the New York "downtown" avant-garde scene. Slow Poke was an ad hoc group that also included saxophonist Michael Blake, bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wolleson. In 1998, the quartet piled into Scherr's Brooklyn apartment and cut this loose, flowing set of jams with a blues/funk bent. Along with originals, they recast Neil Young's "Harvest" and Ellington's "Rockin' in Rhythm." Tronzo, who generally plays slow, soulful lines, is in full effect. This is a download-only release. Go to palmetto-records.net.
DVD. John Coltrane: Live in '60, '61 and '65 (Reelin' in the Years Productions). Culled from European TV, these three sets, presented in crisp black and white, show the saxophone titan in three phases of his short but legendary career. The '61 concert features Eric Dolphy. On the '65 show, Trane blows some wild, out-there shit.
This article appears in Dec 26, 2007 – Jan 1, 2008.