Mike Gates - ukvibe - astral travelling since 1993 (original) (raw)
My favourite albums of 2023
2023 has been an incredible year for music releases; old and new. We’ve been fortunate to hear so much great music from around the globe. I’ve decided this year to focus purely on new music for my favourite 20 albums. There has, of course, been a wealth of musical gems reissued and re-released from the past, from many labels including the continuing Blue Note/Tone Poet series and ECM’s Luminessence Series, plus many others, too numerous to mention, from the likes of Luaka Bop, BBE, Jazz In Britain, Resonance Records, WeWantSounds, etc., etc., – what a year it’s been!
It’s always a challenge to compile a list of just 20 albums, but this year has been especially difficult given the number of excellent releases. I’ve particularly enjoyed these 20 picks for a whole host of reasons, from a wide range of artists, with each and every one having something very special about them. I’d also like to give mention here to a trio of European labels who continue, year after year, to release new music of a consistently high standard. April Records (Denmark), W.E.R.F. Records (Belgium), and Gondwana Records (UK) have all released several stand-out albums this year.
01. Jesper Thorn – Dragør (April) REVIEW HERE
02. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – Les Jardins Mystiques Vol.1 (Brainfeeder) REVIEW HERE
03. Ancient Infinity Orchestra – River of Light (Gondwana) REVIEW HERE
04. Natashia Kelly – Dear Darkening Ground (W.E.R.F.) REVIEW HERE
05. Tenderlonious – You Know I Care (22a Music) REVIEW HERE
06. Lara Rosseel – Hert (W.E.R.F.) REVIEW HERE
07. Yusef Gutman Levitt & Tal Yaholan – Tsuf Harim (Soul Song) REVIEW HERE
08. Stadlander – Stadlander (W.E.R.F.) REVIEW HERE
09. Okonski – Magnolia (Colemine) REVIEW HERE
10. George Winstone with Ben Monder – Odysseus (Self-released) REVIEW HERE
11. Verneri Pohjola – Monkey Mind (Edition) REVIEW HERE
12. Matthew Halsall – An Ever Changing View (Gondwana) REVIEW HERE
13. Shakti – This Moment (Abstract Logix) REVIEW HERE
14. Harris Lambrakis Quartet – Lafina (Self-released) REVIEW HERE
15. Julian Lage – The Layers (Blue Note) REVIEW HERE
16. Lage Lund – Ashes (J.M.I.) REVIEW HERE
17. Phi-Psonics – Octava (Gondwana) REVIEW HERE
18. Bill Laurence and Michael League – Where You Wish You Were (ACT Music) REVIEW HERE
19. Jacob Young – Eventually (ECM) REVIEW HERE
20. The Milk Factory with Hannah Tolf – Vandrare (W.E.R.F.) REVIEW HERE
My favourite albums of 2022
(In no particular order)
Ganesh Geymeier ‘Wuji’ (Vinayaka) REVIEW HERE
Oded Tzur ‘Isabela’ (ECM) REVIEW HERE
Erich Kleinschuster 6tet ‘ORF Recordings 1968-1971’ (WallenBink) REVIEW HERE
Work Money Death ‘Thought, Action, Reaction, Interaction’ (ATA) REVIEW HERE
Snarky Puppy ‘Empire Central’ (GroundUP)
Fabiano Do Nascimento / Itiberê Zwarg Collective ‘Rio Bonito’ (Rings/Disk Union Japan)
Hüm ‘Don’t Take It so Personally’ (Losen) REVIEW HERE
Mona Krogstad ‘Virgo Sun’ (Øra Fonogram) REVIEW HERE
Leland Whitty ‘Anyhow’ (Innovative Leisure)
Joy Ellis ‘Peaceful Place’ (Oti-O) REVIEW HERE
Matt Slocum ‘With Love and Sadness’ (Sunnyside) REVIEW HERE
Fauna 5 ‘Haptics’ (Jaeger Community Music) REVIEW HERE
Ahmad Jamal ‘Live in Paris 1971’ (Transversales Disques) REVIEW HERE
Gard Nilssen Acoustic Unity ‘Elastic Wave’ (ECM) REVIEW HERE
Wolfert Brederode ‘Ruins and Remains’ (ECM) REVIEW HERE
Johanna Elina Sulkunen ‘Terra’ (Tila) REVIEW HERE
Gisle Røen Johansen ‘Kveldsragg’ (Jazzaggression) REVIEW HERE
Ozan Tekin ‘Anarya: Conversation with a Fading Piano’ (Gülbaba) REVIEW HERE
Drori Mondlak & Karolina Strassmayer ‘Freescapes’ (Lilypad Music) REVIEW HERE
Esbjörn Svensson ‘Home.S’ (ACT Music) REVIEW HERE
I was 8 or 9 years old when I bought my first record. Even to this day, it is still one of the most vivid memories I have… It was a Chuck Berry album. I’d seen him on the TV and thought Wow! Who is this guy? I don’t remember my family being particularly musical, apart from my Dad playing Sinatra endlessly into the night, I guess for me Chuck Berry was the beginning of a love affair, an obsession even, with music. So on that fateful day, my Dad took me to Woolworths and there it was: 12″ bright and shiny Chuck Berry. I’d saved my pennies for weeks; the anticipation, the energy, the pull was so strong I was shaking with excitement. Then I realised I was a few pence short… Oh no! The devastation I felt is beyond words. “Go on then” said my Dad, “here’s the rest of the money you need.” Yes!
And so it had begun. Over the next couple of years I had discovered Elvis, Eddie Cochran, Little Richard, Bo Diddley and the greatest in my mind; Jerry Lee Lewis. Oh yes, and Showaddywaddy… cut me some slack here though, I was only 11. It was in my early teens that the voyage of discovery really began. After brief flirtations with punk, ska, heavy rock etc, it was with a close friend at school, led on by his dope-smoking errant uncle, that led us on to our next journey. By the age of 16, we were heavily into the UK and American folk/singer-songwriter scene. My vinyl collection was rapidly growing, my pockets rapidly emptying. Roy Harper, John Martyn, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Terry Callier, all becoming not just firm favourites, but an integral part of our lives. That’s what music does to us you see, it becomes a living, breathing part of us that no one can ever take away. It was, perhaps inevitably, during this time that I first picked up a guitar and started to strum. I had found my freedom. This was my place to be. I began writing songs, performing live and recording… a love affair that still burns brightly, even if not so regularly these days.
The next pivotal moment came when I was 17. The drummer in my band was also a jazz devotee. I’d never taken much of an interest in jazz or classical music up to this point, (it was only later I was to realise and understand the influences jazz and classical music had already had on me through some of the music I was already listening to). Said drummer was part of a jazz quartet, so one evening I ventured into Birmingham to the Victoria pub to see them perform. Leading the band was a 14-year-old alto saxophonist. We were introduced. His name: Chris Bowden. And therein began a lifelong friendship and a new adventure: Jazz. I was soon making new, exciting discoveries; Pat Metheny, Weather Report, Michael Brecker, Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, Charles Lloyd, and on it goes…
Writing this has made me realise something. Although it doesn’t quite match those heady days of searching out new music, long-lost albums, getting up early to travel to record fairs just to try to find that elusive album missing from my collection… since I started reviewing for UK Vibe in January 2015, I have rediscovered the excitement of what it is to be surprised and invigorated by hearing something new and unexpected. And to listen properly again… To take it all in and enjoy it. Talking/writing about someone else’s music can be a challenging task, but ultimately, and surprisingly, I find it an enjoyable, rewarding experience.
These days I don’t get to gig or record as much, but new life has recently been injected into these bones and I can now be seen and heard performing live with my daughter, Kia. She has a bright future ahead of her, hopefully in the world of music, but for now, she settles for the odd gig with her old man. Over the years I’ve had many bands, possibly the most memorable being a 9 piece folk/jazz outfit featuring Chris Bowden on saxes and Joe Murphy on violin. And on the odd occasion, I have been seen strutting my stuff as my alter-ego Rockabilly hipster Captain Jive and his Pink Secrets! Other info/interests?… On a professional level I have just about paid for the daily bread running Kingate Press, a Birmingham based printing company. We now also operate a cd/dvd printing and manufacturing business.
Interests: Food, guitars, drink, guitars, wife and 2 kids, guitars, my dogs, guitars, sci-fi, guitars, reading and writing, guitars, movies, and oh yes… Hmm, well you know what they say, you can never have too many guitars. And lamb jalfrezi, you can never have too much of that either. And Hobgoblin ale, you can never… I’ll go now. Our leader has just sent me another 20 albums to listen to and review… There just aren’t enough hours in the day.
My favourite albums of 2021
(In no particular order) Part 1 – New Releases
Belmondo Quintet – Brotherhood (B-Flat Recordings) Review Here
Muriel Grossmann – Union (RR Gems) Review Here
Piers Faccini – Shapes of The Fall (Beating Drum/No Format!) Review Here
Floating Points with Pharoah Sanders – Promises (Mr Bongo)
John McLaughlin – Liberation Time (Abstract Logix) Review Here
Jaubi – Nafs at Peace (Astigmatic) Review Here
Mathias Eick – When We Leave (ECM) Review Here
Mr Mibbler – Leave Your Thoughts Here (NXN Recordings) Review Here
Tumi Arnason – Hlynun (Reykjavik Record Shop) Review Here
Chick Corea Akoustic Band – Live (Concord Jazz) Review Here
My favourite albums of 2021
(In no particular order) Part 2 – Archival / Reissued
Ryo Fukui Trio – Live at Vidro, 1977 (HMV Record Shop Japan) 2LP
John Scofield and Pat Metheny – I can see your house from here (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) 2LP
Brad Mehldau / Mark Turner / Peter Bernstein – Consenting Adults (Criss Cross Jazz) 2LP
Carl M. Neumann / Chr. Reim Quartet – Live at Molde International Jazz Festival 1976 (Jazzaggression) LP Review Here
Neil Swainson Quintet Feat. Woody Shaw and Joe Henderson – 49th Parallel (Cellar Live / Reel to Real) LP Review Here
Various – J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz From Japan Volume 3 (BBE Music) 3LP
Lee Morgan – The Complete Live at The Lighthouse (Blue Note) 12LP
Wes Montgomery – The NDR Hamburg Studio Recordings (Jazzline Classics) Gatefold LP Review Here
Andrew Hill – Passing Ships (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) 2LP
Donald Byrd – Places and Spaces (Blue Note Classic Vinyl) LP
Mike Gates’ Best of 2020:
1. Matthew Tavares and Leland Whitty – Visions (Mr Bongo)
2. Fabiano Do Nascimento – Prelúdio (Now-Again)
3. Cat Toren’s HUMAN KIND – Scintillating Beauty (Panoramic)
4. Jasper Høiby – Planet B (Edition)
5. Will Vinson / Gilad Hekselman / Antonio Sanchez – Trio Grande (Whirlwind Recordings)
6. Ganesh Geymeier – Kailasha (QFTF)
7. Kenneth Dahl Knudsen – Uummat (Self-released)
8. Chris Potter – There is a Tide (Edition)
9. Maria Schneider Orchestra – Data Lords
10. Zen Zadravec – Human Revolution (Marmite)
11. Rob Luft – Life Is The Dancer (Edition)
12. Wolfgang Muthspiel – Angular Blues (ECM)
13. Keith Jarrett – Munich 2016 (ECM)
14. Anthony Pirog – Pocket Poem (Cuneiform)
15. Elina Duni / Rob Luft / Matthieu Michel / Fred Thomas – Lost Ships (ECM)
16. Idris Ackamoor & the Pyramids – Shaman! (Strut)
17. Rymden – Space Sailors (Jazzland)
18. Charles Lloyd – 8:Kindred Spirits [Live From The Lobero] (Blue Note)
19. Avishai Cohen – Big Vicious (ECM)
20. Sun Ra Arkestra – Swirling (Strut)
Mike Gates’ Best of 2019:
1. Dr. Mark Lomax, II – 400: An Afrikan Epic (CFG Multimedia) Review Here
2. Nat Birchall – The Storyteller: A Musical Tribute to Yusef Lateef (Jazzman) Review Here
3. Bridges with Seamus Blake – Continuum (AMP Music & Records) Review Here
4. Plume – Escaping the Dark Side (jazz&people)
5. Muriel Grossmann – Reverence (RR Gems/Dreamlandrecords) Review Here
6. Ethan Iverson Quartet with Tom Harrell – Common Practice (ECM) Review Here
7. Liam Noble – The Long Game (Edition) Review Here
8. Tom Syson – Different Coloured Days (Self-released) Review Here
9. Julian Lage – Love Hurts (Mack Avenue) Review Here
10. Esbjörn Svensson Trio – Live in Gothenburg (ACT Music)
11. Espen Berg Trio – Free To Play (Odin) Review Here
12. Szabolcs Oláh Quintet – Crystal Book (Self-released) Review Here
13. Kit Downes – Dreamlife of Debris (ECM) Review Here
14. Rebecca Nash/Atlas – Peaceful King (Whirlwind Recordings) Review Here
15. Adam Rudolph’s Go Organic Orchestra – Ragmala (Meta) Review Here
16. Crosscurrents Trio [Dave Holland / Zakir Hussain / Chris Potter] – Good Hope (Edition) Review Here
17. Enrico Rava / Joe Lovano – Roma (ECM) Review Here
18. Anton Eger – Æ (Edition) Review Here
19. Andy Hay – Many Rivers (Self-released)
20. Mike Walker – Ropes (Market Square) Review Here
Mike Gates’ Best of 2018:
1. Jamie Saft Quartet – Blue Dream (RareNoise)
Review here
2. Muriel Grossmann – Golden Rule (RR Gems)
Review here
3. JD Allen – Love Stone (Savant)
4. Ayanda Sikade – Movements (Self-released)
Review here
5. Brad Mehldau Trio – Seymour Reads The Constitution! (Nonesuch)
6. Nat Birchall – Cosmic Language (Jazzman)
Review here
7. Kamasi Washington – Heaven and Earth (Young Turks)
8. Ill Considered – 3 (Ill Considered Music)
Review here
9. Snowpoet – Thought You Knew (Edition)
Review here
10. Sinsuke Fujieda – Hyper Harmony (SoFa)
11. Julian Siegel Quartet – Vista (Whirlwind Recordings)
Review here
12. Binker and Moses – Alive In The East? (Gearbox)
Review here
13. Bruno Råberg Trio – Tailwind (Red Piano)
Review here
14. Adrien Chicot – City Walk (Gaya Music Production)
Review here
15. Andreas Varady – The Quest (Resonance)
16. Joe Lovano/Dave Douglas Sound Prints – Scandal (Greenleaf Music)
17. Woven Entity – Two (Enid)
Review here
18. Marcin Wasilewski Trio – Live (ECM)
Review here
19. Espen Eriksen Trio with Andy Sheppard – Perfectly Unhappy (Rune Grammofon)
Review here
20. Bill Frisell – Music IS (Okeh/Music On Vinyl)
Review here
Mike Gates’ Best of 2017:
1. Shahin Novrasli – Emanation (Jazz Village)
2. Angles 9 – Disappeared Behind The Sun (Clean Feed)
3. Khaled Kurbeh And Raman Khalef Ensemble – Aphorisms (Between Buttons)
4. Uri Gurvich – Kinship (Jazz Family)
5. Rob Luft – Riser (Edition)
6. Terje Rypdal – Bleak House [2017 Reissue] (Round 2)
7. Anouar Brahem – Blue Maquams (ECM)
8. Nitin Sawhney – Live at Ronnie Scott’s (Gearbox)
9. Robert Mitchell – A Vigil For Justice, A Vigil For Peace (Depth Of Field)
10. Minco Eggersman – Kavkasia (Volkoren)
11. JD Allen – Radio Flyer (Savant)
12. Jamie Saft Trio – Loneliness Road (RareNoise)
13. Charles Lloyd New Quartet – Passin’ Thru (Blue Note)
14. DeJohnette/Grenadier/Medeski/Scofield – Hudson (Motéma)
15. Adrien Chicot – Playing In The Dark (Gaya Music Production)
16. Collocutor – The Search (On The Corner)
17. Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet – Jersey (AGATE/Motéma)
18. Daniel Herskedal – The Roc (Edition)
19. Cat Toren’s Human Kind (Private Press)
20. Tony Tixier – Life Of Sensitive Creatures (Whirlwind Recordings)
Mike Gates’ Best of 2016:
1. Kenneth Dahl Knudsen Orchestra – We’ll Meet in the Rain (Two Rivers) Review here
2. Nat Birchall – Creation (Sound Soul and Spirit) Review here
3. Bänz Oester & The Rainmakers – Ukuzinikela [Live in Willisau] (Enja Yellowbird) Review here
4. Avishai Cohen – Into The Silence (ECM) Review here
5. Myele Manzanza – OnePointOne [Live at The Blue Whale] (First Word)
6. Yusef Lateef – Live at Ronnie Scott’s, 15th January 1966 (Gearbox) Review here
7. Hans Koller – Retrospection (Stoney Lane) Review here
8. Robert Stillman – Rainbow (Orinda) Review here
9. Aleif Hamdan – Emblem (Private Press) Review here
10. Keith Jarrett – A Multitude of Angels (ECM) Review here
11. Alchemy Sound Project – Further Explorations (Artists Recording Collective)
12. Empirical – Connection (Cuneiform) Review here
13. Arnan Raz – Second to the Left (Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit) Review here
14. Sarathy Korwar – Day to Day (Ninja Tune / Steve Reid Foundation) Review here
15. Shabaka and the Ancestors – Wisdom of Elders (Brownswood) Review here
16. Benjamin Faugloire Project – Birth (Jazz Family) Review here
17. Frekvens Frekvens – Vandborg (Jaeger Community Music) Review here
18. Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra – Time/Life (Impulse!)
19. Nduduzo Makhathini – Icilongo [The African Peace Suite] (Gundu) Review here
20. Leandro Kalén – Mecánica Celeste (PAI)
Mike Gates’ Best of 2015:
1. Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet – Family First (Beat Music Productions) Review here
2. Nat Birchall – Invocations (Jazzman) Review here
3. Charles Lloyd – Wild Man Dance (Blue Note) Review here
4. Ibrahim Maalouf – Kalthoum (Impulse!)
5. Géraud Portal & Etienne Déconfin – Brothers (Gaya Music Production) Review here
6. Verneri Pohjola – Bullhorn (Edition) Review here
7. Kamasi Washington – The Epic (Brainfeeder) Review here
8. Brad Mehldau – 10 Years Solo Live (Nonesuch) Review here
9. Lage Lund – Idlewild (Criss Cross Jazz) Review here
10. Brian Ellis Group – Escondido Sessions (El Paraiso) Review here
11. Emanative – The Light Years of The Darkness (Steve Reid Foundation/Brownswood) Review here
12. Gael Horellou – Synthesis (DTC) Review here
13. Makaya McCraven – In The Moment (International Anthem) Review here
14. Jan Prax Quartett – Keepin’ A Style Alive (ACT) Review here
15. Antonio Sanchez & Migration – The Meridian Suite (CAM Jazz) Review here
16. Artyom Manukyan – Citizen (Ghost Note) Review here
17. Kenny Wheeler – Songs for Quintet (ECM) Review here
18. Rotem Sivan Trio – A New Dance (Fresh Sound New Talent) Review here
19. Snarky Puppy with Metropole Orkest – Sylva (Impulse!) Review here
20. Jean Marc Padovani – Motian in Motion (Naïve Jazz) Review here