Mnnqns Pacific Trash Patch

This three-CD set from the prestigious Mosaic Select label has the Pacific Jazz trio performances led by pianists Russ Freeman, Richard Twardzik, Jimmy Rowles, and Clare Fischer. One of the Rowles' sessions is actually a quartet date with guitarist Al Hendrickson added, but it certainly has the feel of a trio. The first disc has 14 titles featuring Freeman from 1952-1957 and the only seven studio sides led by the ill-fated Twardzik (other than a rehearsal session released elsewhere). The music was originally issued as Russ Freeman/Richard Twardzik, Russ Freeman Trio and Jazz Swings Broadway. Freeman shows that he was the definitive West Coast jazz pianist of the '50s while Twardzik hints at an original style that was never allowed to fully develop. The second disc showcases the sparse and witty style of Jimmy Rowles on its first 11 numbers (mostly from the album Rare But Well Done) while the remainder of the disc and all of CD number three have the music from Clare Fischer's First Time Out and Surging Ahead, some of the rarest material on the three-fer. All in all, this is a highly enjoyable and logical reissue, bringing back some particularly rewarding performances from four underrated pianists.

Bob Mould reconnected with his essential primal roar on 2012's Silver Age, embracing the endless possibilities of a power trio thanks to his allegiance with drummer Jon Wurster and bassist Jason Narducy. A rhythm section every bit as powerful as Hüsker Dü and as nimble as Sugar, Wurster and Narducy provided a needed anchor when life started to get heavy, as it did shortly after the release of Silver Age.

Here’s the deal. In 2012, people loved Silver Age (to a degree that surprised me, pleasantly), likewise Beauty & Ruin in 2014 (despite the heaviness of the subject matter, which I thought might be a bit alienating… apparently not. Another pleasant surprise.). But PATCH THE SKY is the darkest one. After the Letterman performance in February 2015 where “dust fell from the rafters,” it would have seemed logical to go the punk rock route—an entire album of two-minute songs—but that wasn’t where my soul was at. I withdrew from everyday life. I wrote alone for six months. I love people, but I needed my solitude. The search for my own truth kept me alive. These songs are my salvation. I’ve had a solid stretch of hard emotional times, and thanks for the condolences in advance.

Over the course of their lush, strange album “Althaea”, London duo Trailer Trash Tracys condense a number of disparate styles into music that thrillingly broaches the void between figuration and abstraction. While undeniably beautiful and quite often infectious in parts, this is certainly not pop music by any traditional definition; rather, it appeals to the more intuitive of mind and wild at heart. More than simply becoming a philosophical exercise however, the result is their most ambitious and idiosyncratic body of work to date, one which operates at the very limits of what pop music can be.

Soul Jazz Records’ long-lasting Punk 45 series are high-quality editions of early punk 45s. While previous editions have focussed on the early days of punk in Los Angeles, Cleveland, Akron, France, and proto-punk, this new edition focusses on mainly do-it-yourself, or self-released 45s, all made in the UK in the early days of punk.
While only a handful of Punk 45s were released in 1976, the following two years produced an avalanche of them. Aside from the few punk bands who signed to major labels, many of these singles were self-released private press 45s or independent label 45s. With limited distribution and access to the media, many of these sunk without trace and were lost in history. This album features many of these independent punk 45 gems, lost nuggets of gold from the sea of time!

Release from the veteran British rockers. There's a genuine buzz in the Quireboys' camp as the rock 'n' rollers ready their most ambitious album to date. 'It's never been black and white where The Quireboys are concerned,' said frontman Spike. 'There have always been shades of the blues. And now we've got the perfect chance to put a new twist on some old classics. But why now? After a successful foray into the world of Americana and the release of their most raucous album to date (2016's Twisted Love), the decision to record a raft of iconic blues tunes might seem like a surprise - almost sideways - move. Far from it.

World premiere recordings of two elusive Jerry Goldsmith scores! Legendary composer creates his very first theatrical film score with Black Patch, low-key 1957 western for Warner Bros. with George Montgomery, Leo Gordon, Sebastien Cabot, Diane Brewster. Allen Miner directs, Gordon scripts, effective black & white photography by Edward Colman (of Mary Poppins fame.) Original session elements are missing in action, but happily Goldsmith’s manuscript scores survive unscathed, allowing full reconstruction of musician parts for all-new recording made in October 2021. Composer scores for standard orchestra but omits trumpets, lending finished work a brooding, darker edge. Extremely well-written music offers masterful architecture from the get-go, a Goldsmith trademark.