Jimmy Johnson "Every Day of Your Life (Delmark)"
From Delmark:
Four decades ago, Jimmy Johnson permanently established himself as a front-rank Chicago bluesman with his unusually imaginative Delmark debut album Johnson’s Whacks (DE 644). Now he’s come full circle: Jimmy’s back on Delmark with this exciting release, which shows that he remains a vital blues force into his 90s. Johnson’s fluid, slicing guitar licks dart and spark with unpredictable elasticity throughout this set. His voice soars to the heavens time and again, never misplacing its melismatic passion no matter the tempo.
From the funky opening original “Every Day Of Your Life,” constructed around a wise lyrical message, to a churning “Down In The Valley” and exquisitely tailored revivals of the lights-out slow blues “Strange Things Happening” and a hard- driving “I Need You So Bad,” Jimmy is never less than masterful. Few contemporary bluesmen are so devastating when working in a minor key— witness Johnson’s personalized treatment of Fenton Robinson’s classic “Somebody Loan Me A Dime.” “My Ring,” another standout original, takes a swaying and unexpected reggae turn (pushing the stylistic envelope has long been one of Jimmy’s trademarks), and Johnson sits down behind the 88s for a solo reprise of Bobby “Blue” Bland’s uplifting “Lead Me On” to close the album in deeply moving style.
Funny thing is, Jimmy only became a full-time blues guitarist in the mid -1970s. Prior to that, he mostly traversed the R&B side of the tracks. Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Johnson grew up along with another future blues luminary, Matt Murphy. “I picked up a guitar because Murphy had a guitar,” he says. Sacred and secular sounds competed for his attention. “My first time of singing in front of an audience, I was singing gospel,” notes Jimmy. “My uncle had a Victrola, the ones you wind up, and I got to hear John Lee Hooker, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, Sonny Boy Williamson.”
Check out the laid-back funk “Down In The Valley.”
Eduardo Fernández "Guitar (Delmark)"
From Delmark:
For his debut on Delmark Classics guitar virtuoso Eduardo Fernández put together a program covering two centuries of music and two continents. From Paganini to Brouwer, this album offers a variety of schools, tendencies and techniques that very few performers can match. In addition to brilliant pieces by Denisov and Chávez, this CD features a rarely heard works by Mertz and Rebay. An internationally recognized guitarist and scholar, Eduardo Fernández was born in Uruguay in 1952. He studied guitar with Abel Carlevaro. In 1975 he was awarded at the Radio France (Paris) competition and won the Andres Segovia Competition in Spain. His New York debut in 1977 received critical accolades. Since then, Fernández has been performing and teaching all over the world as well as releasing numerous acclaimed albums
Check out the absolutely stunning performance of Niccolò Paganini’s “Sonata No. 24 in G Major: I. Minuetto.”
of Montreal "UR FUN (Polyvinyl)"
Though its always been a great time to be a fan of of Montreal, the last few years have been especially varied and prolific. UR Fun (Polyvinyl) is the culmination of the last stretch of records. This is as bouncy, poppy, and as fun as his music has ever been. Forgoing recording with a band and instead locking himself at his home studio for 12 hours a day recording and sequencing himself, UR Fun is as true a representation of the inside of Kevin Barnes’ mind as we’ve ever been gifted with (unless you also happen to be a doctor with access to an x-ray he had taken after wearing a very tight hat for too long*). Every song on this album could, and should, be a chart-topping single. Like a David Bowie album from the 80s, or Cyndi Lauper’s She’s So Unusual, this is stacked from top to bottom with artistically leaning pop mastery. I hate to recommend a song here since really, every song on here is a focus track. But check out the driving “Polyaneurism.”
Oval "Scis (Thrill Jockey)"
From Thrill Jockey:
Oval began in the early 90’s and rapidly gained acclaim for its innovations in electronic music. Composer Markus Popp championed software intuition over his own role in music making for many years, anticipating the AI trend in composition by nearly 30 years. Early albums found a critique of the entire system of recorded music built into every gesture. Popp toured with a desktop computer and projected his screen, constructing remarkably evocative and emotional performances from file manipulation. Each new Oval release saw Popp radically redefine his practice, introducing new elements and embracing new creative challenges, integrating cutting-edge technology and processes into his practice to ensure that each record sounded as contemporary and exhilarating as the last.
New album Scis and its companion EP Eksploio see the producer focus on composition, working with a fresh palette of sounds to create his most emotive work to date. Popp injects a newfound playfulness into his complex loop architectures, with both album and EP exploring and subverting elements of club music. The intricate, organic drum sounds Popp introduced on the Oh! EP and O album have here been replaced with driving electronic rhythms, albeit still approached by Popp as an instrumentalist rather than a beat-maker.
Check out the quirky build of “Impecco.”