Top 10 Jazz

by Shaun Brady

Blogger/bandleader Argue's so-called "steampunk big band" (more marketing than meaning, until at least one bellows-powered instrument takes the stage) fused expansive scope and taut electricity on their debut disc, a thrilling blend of jazz chops and garage-band edge.

Pianist Iyer greets every tune with an urgent rhythmic provocation, unleashed here in the freer trio format. Taking on everything from Stevie Wonder to Julius Hemphill, West Side Story to M.I.A.'s "Galang," Iyer's latest jettisons the superfluous and is fierce and focused beginning to end.

There's plenty to pontificate in saxophonist Lehman's complex compositions, which here apply spectral harmony to jazz. But with a stellar octet playing tightrope-walking tunes, no master's degree is required to approach his music.

The South African pianist offers a breathtaking solo suite, 22 miniatures that offer an emotional autobiography in sound.

Altoist Binney gathers a perfectly chosen roster of collaborators for a pensive, picturesque, album full of sonic watercolors, evoking landscapes and plays of light with his expressive writing and the soulful playing of all involved.

With his first release in eight years, Threadgill returns with another collection of eccentric sound sculptures, penned for his Zooid quartet. The altoist's striking pieces are akin to assemblages, full of striking juxtapositions and rich textures.

Philly pianist Orrin Evans and several powerhouse friends — saxophonists Stacy Dillard and J.D. Allen, bassist Eric Revis, drummer Nasheet Waits — joined forces for this co-led quintet, whose debut clocks in at a terse 39 minutes. But that's long enough to say everything it needs to, with plenty of attitude.

The piano-less trio has been a proving ground for saxophonists since Sonny Rollins axed the keys, and Fly fully embraces the airiness allowable in the format. Tenorist Mark Turner — who suffered a nearly career-ending accident with a power saw in late 2008 — combines with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard (aka Brad Mehldau's rhythm section) in the aptly-named collective trio, which never seems to quite touch the ground.

Supergroups too often work better on paper than in practice, but this quartet combines four of modern jazz's finest player-composers — Dave Holland, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chris Potter and Eric Harland — into a unit that works to the strengths of each. Assembled for the eponymous festival, the group has continued to live on past that occasion, but even on this debut meeting the chemistry is evident.

Jones dredges the dark heart of the blues on his debut as a leader, loosing a howl deep from some Delta swamp. The young altoist enlists drummer Rakalam Bob Moses and piano/diddley-bow maestro Cooper-Moore, both elders who lend grit and gravitas to the raw (and I do mean raw) material.

(s_brady@citypaper.net)