2007, Year in Review

As the calendar quickly runs out of days, time again to look back over the year just passed. As for the sheer numbers, I caught nearly 400 films this year, listened to somewhere around 550 new CDs, saw around 200 shows. And now for the bests of the batch:

Top 10 Jazz CDs
My list for the Citypaper with small write-ups for each is here, but the quick list run-down is:
1. Maria Schneider Orchestra - Sky Blue (artistShare)
2. Chris Potter Underground - Follow the Red Line: Live at the Village Vanguard (Sunnyside)
3. Human Feel - Galore (Skirl)
4. Theo Bleckmann/Ben Monder - At Night (Songlines)
5. Nels Cline Singers - Draw Breath (CryptoGramphone)
6. David Torn - Prezens (ECM)
7. Amir ElSaffar - Two Rivers (Pi Recordings)
8. Exploding Star Orchestra - We’re All From Somewhere Else (Thrill Jockey)
9. Michael Brecker - Pilgrimage (Heads Up)
10. David Murray Black Saint Quartet - Sacred Ground (Justin Time)

Top 10 Non-Jazz CDs
This is my list for Citypaper's BOTY rock/pop list, and is pretty unsatisfactory, but it turns out I missed hearing quite a bit outside the jazz world this year. Anyway, here's the list, one of which I'll be writing a little blurb for in next week's CP Top 21 list:

1. Battles - Mirrored (Warp)
2. Tin Hat - The Sad Machinery of Spring (Hannibal)
3. EL-P - I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead (Def Jux)
4. Big Business - Here Come the Waterworks (Hydra Head)
5. Dirty Projectors - Rise Above (Dead Oceans)
6. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - In Glorious Times (The End)
7. Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha (Fat Possum)
8. Dalek - Abandoned Language (Ipecac)
9. Pelican - City of Echoes (Hydra Head)
10. Illuminea - Out of Our Mouths (High Two)

Top 10 Films
This is exclusive to the blog, as is the following list of shows. For films, I'm sticking to things that opened in Philly in 2007 for qualifications; hence the Tsai Ming-Liang, which I didn't get to see until this year's Philly Film Fest. And I've seen There Will Be Blood, which would be on the list except it doesn't open here until January, so check back in a year:

1. I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (Tsai Ming-Liang)
2. The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik)
3. I'm Not There (Todd Haynes)
4. No Country For Old Men (Joel & Ethan Coen)
5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel)
6. Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg)
7. Zodiac (David Fincher)
8. Paprika (Satoshi Kon)
9. The Host (Bong Joon-Ho)
10. Superbad (Greg Mottola)

Performances of the Year
Screw the 10s. These were all great. In chronological order:
2/9: Chris Potter Underground @ Chris' Jazz Cafe
2/10: Rova::Orkestrova @ Intl House
3/4: Borbetomagus @ Intl House
3/26: ICP Orchestra @ Houston Hall
4/1: PIMA Group: What a Quaint Scene We Were That Night @ CEC
4/24: Buffalo Collision @ Rose Recital Hall
5/5: Gene Coleman & Jack Wright @ The Rotunda
6/10: Big Four @ Rose Recital Hall
6/29: Fred Lonberg Holm's Valentine Trio/Louis Moholo & Marshall Allen @ Intl House
7/21: The Melvins (performing Lysol) @ Slim's, San Francisco
9/13: Ellery Eskelin/Vincent Courtois/Sylvie Courvoisier @ Rose Recital Hall
9/20: Joelle Leandre/Globe Unity Orchestra @ Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial Ctr
9/20: David Murray & Kidd Jordan's All-Stars @ Creole, NYC
10/11: Claudia Quintet @ Philadelphia Art Alliance
11/17: Tiger Okoshi @ Kimmel Center
12/17: Angelica Sanchez Quartet w/ Marc Ducret @ Intl House

With honorable and, yes, very nostalgic mention going to Van Halen, 10/3 at the Wachovia Center. Might as well jump.

Happy new year, I'll try and keep the rest of the month updated but if not, see you in '08.
Shaun

Citypaper, December 20

In this week's CP: my top ten list of the year's best jazz CDs (more best lists to follow shortly in a subsequent post); a feature review of Tamara Jenkins' long-awaited sophomore feature, The Savages, and a short review of Tim Burton's adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd; and a pick for the sax/bass duo of Ivo Perelman and Dominic Duval.

Daily News, December 14

For the weekend's Yo! section, an interview with Philly native and Trane disciple Sonny Fortune; and a pick for bassist Hubert Dupont's Dupont T trio plus altoist Rudresh Mahanthappa, at the Art Museum.

Metro, December 10-17

This week, an interview with John Zak, half the cast of the Walnut Independence Studio on 3's production of "Greater Tuna"; a piece on the Whirling Dervishes of Istanbul, at the Annenberg Center (issue not online); and, just because it's the last piece before the holiday so why bother giving it its own post, a piece on Relache's annual Rittenhouse Square performance of Phil Kline's "Unsilent Night" (credited to Brendan Huffman, but I swear I wrote it).

Citypaper, December 13

In this week's CP, a review of the better-than-expected Jason Reitman dramedy Juno, and another for the not-quite-as-bad-as-expected-but-still-sure-as-hell-not-good (despite-Mike-Patton-voicing-the-monsters) I Am Legend; my interview with pianist/Wurlitzer player Angelica Sanchez, who just played a pretty phenomenal show with Tony Malaby, Drew Gress, Tom Rainey and Marc Ducret; and a pick for the Norwegian double-bill of Huntsville and Frode Gjerstad, a somewhat underwhelming show in the end.

Daily News, Nov. 30-Dec. 7

The first week of December saw my interview with Toronto saxophonist Jane Bunnett, brining her Cuban-influenced band to the Kimmel; a pick for singer Andy Bey and another for Uri Caine, bringing his Mozart project to the Gershman Y.

Metro, December 3-7

In this week's Metro, an interview with actor/singer/lecturer/raconteur/folk music preservationist/what else ya got?/all-around artist Theodore Bikel; a story on Dave Isay and his StoryCorps oral history project; and a piece on Philly-based "Jewish Sun Ra" band Klingon Klez.

Citypaper, December 6

This week's issue had a review of Ridley Scott's new "This is the last time, I really, really mean it" Blade Runner: The Final Cut; a feature on the Brit morbid-cabaret act The Tiger Lilllies about their "Suicide for Christmas" tour; a pick for Chicago improv supergroup The Engines; a Soundadvice mention for the Dirty Projectors; and an Arts pick for David Kessler's Bambi Gallery installation, "Shadow World", featuring his interviews with under-the-El dwellers in North Philly.

Daily News, November

The end of October had a piece with interview of Chinese-American pipa player Min Xiao-Fen and Japanese-American trumpeter Tiger Okoshi, both of whom hit town in November with projects that fused jazz and traditional Asian music; an interview with pianist Fred Hersch, playing the Painted Bride with his Trio +2; Lisa Thorson's JazzArtSigns, a performance with live painting, sign language, and audio description for full accessibility, as part of the Independence Starts Here fest; and an interview with South Philly guitar legend Pat Martino, playing at Chris' with saxist Eric Alexander.

Metro, November

Not nearly as busy as last month, November's Metros had: interviews with two horror-metal bands to wrap up October - Finnish monster-rockers Lordi and Brit death-metal ghouls Cradle of Filth; a piece on the Amaryllis Theatre Company's production of "Molly Sweeney"; an interview with German cabaret revivalist Max Raabe (which doesn't appear to be online); a piece on the opera-performing puppets of the Salzburg Marionettes; a story about the Martha Graham Dance Company's career-retrospective show coming to Philly; a piece on the feminist-gorillas Guerrilla Girls, which I can't seem to find and may or may not have run; a piece on I-House's Shohei Imamura retrospective; one on the Philly-based Courtyard Dancers, which isn't online; an interview with Senagalese superstar Youssou N'Dour; and a story on the Rosenbach Museum and Library's new Maurice Sendak gallery, kicking off with an exhibition devoted to "Really Rosie", Sendak's musical-TV collaboration with Carole King.

Citypaper, November

Another month - ok, month and a half - another postless stretch. So I'll do another batch of month-long roundups for each paper and we'll see what happens with December. New Year's Resolution to post more often, maybe?

Nov.1: A review of Sidney Lumet's latest, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, and another for the doc My Kid Could Paint That; an Arts pick for "Got the Picture?", a First Person Fest event screening David Kessler's doc If You Break the Skin, You Must Come In, about Philly photog Zoe Strauss, in conjunction with a local youth program. And five CP Choice Awards, for Joseph Gervasi, Dustin Hurt, WRTI's Friday night DJs, Mascher Space Co-op, and Bobby Zankel.

Nov. 8: A film review for the tepid biopic Music Within, and an Arts pick for First Person's screening of Strange Culture, a doc on PATRIOT Act casualty Steven Kurtz.

Nov. 15: A review of John Turturro's train-wreck of a blue-collar musical, Romance and Cigarettes, and another for Justin Lin's Bruce Lee mockumentary Finishing the Game. Plus a Q&A with West Philadelphia Orchestra honcho Gregg Mervine.

Nov. 22: Two film reviews for Thanksgiving weekend: one for Noah Baumbach's latest gathering of miserable intellectuals, Margot at the Wedding; and another for the media-spin doc War Made Easy.

Nov. 29: A review for Rape of Europa, a fascinating doc on the Nazi's hordes of stolen art; and a sidebar review of Daydream Nation, a collection of Swedish animated shorts and music videos; an interview with Steven Bernstein prior to his visit with Sex Mob; and an Arts pick for photographer Michael Grecco, in town to promote his book Naked Ambition, full of up-close-and-personal portraits of porn personalities.

Daily News, October

In this month's DN, I had picks for four pianists: Anat Fort, Ezra Weiss, Burton Greene, and Cyrus Chestnut; a feature on Philly-born Benny Golson, being honored at the Kennedy Center with a living legend award, with a sidebar of Benny telling the stories behind a couple of his famous tunes; my interview with New Orleans saxophonist Kidd Jordan (my friend David Adler reviewed the show here); a preview of Exhumed Films' 24-hour horror film 10th anniversary show, with a sidebar of the guys' Halloween viewing picks; and my email interview with saxophonist Charles Lloyd, playing this weekend in MontCo.

Metro, October

Ok, deep breath; this'll be a big'un. Over the course of the tenth month, I had an interview with Robert Benton which ran on 10/1 (issue not online); an interview with King Buzzo of The Melvins that got cut (I'd post it here, but it wasn't that good to begin with; somebody bug me if you'd actually care to read it); a piece on Slought Foundation's exhibition of video work from the collection of the Kunstmuseum Bonn; pieces on This Ambitious Orchestra's cabaret-inspired show and prog-poppers Pinback; a preview of the Philly Zine Fest; a piece on the Art Museum's Renoir Landscapes show; my interview with Sandra Bernhard, prior to her conversation at Penn with Camille Paglia; pieces on Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, appearing at the Kimmel, and George Manney's doc on Philly jazz bagpiper Rufus Harley; a preview of Philadanco's annual experimental show, Danco on Danco; an interview with Mostly Other People Do the Killing's Moppa Elliott; a piece on Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, appearing at the Zellerbach; pieces on James Scruggs' one-man multi-media show "Disposable Men" and the American Composers Orchestra's "Hybridity" show, featuring pieces by Susie Ibarra and Steve Coleman, in the 10/19-21 issue, not online; an interview with James McNew of Yo La Tengo about their Freewheeling tour; a preview of the Beijing LDTX dance company at the Annenberg; and (finally) an interview with Scott Kettner of the maracatu-meets-American-folk band Nation Beat. Whew.

Citypaper, October

Oct. 4: An Artspick on outsider music champion Irwin Chusid, visiting Kelly Writer's House; a feature on a graffiti discussion between photographer Jon Naar and Darryl "Cornbread" McCray, the disputable pioneer of the form; a pick for Marilyn Crispell's trio with Mark Helias and Andrew Cyrille; a feature review of The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford and a short on Michael Clayton.

Oct. 11: A feature on Evan Lipson and Alex Nagle, members of both Normal Love and Satanized, who have new CDs out; a pick for The Claudia Quintet at the Art Alliance; Soundadvice mentions for Project/Object with Napoleon Murphy Brock and the Edge City Collective; and a feature review of Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited.

Oct. 18: My grudging (on his part) interview with Werner Herzog, in town for a four-day Penn Cinema Studies symposium; a much friendlier (and in-person) interview with the Darjeeling Limited writing team of Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, and Roman Coppola; and an extended version of my Film Fest review of Kurt Cobain About a Son.

Oct. 25: An Artspick for Grover Silcox's fun, annual one-man Poe show at Hatboro's Old Mill Inn; a Soundadvice mention for guitarist Rob Price at the CEC; a review for the treacly, 'Hey, why abort when you can heal my hit-and-run past?' film Bella, and another for the Nicky Barnes doc Mr. Untouchable.
and ano

Daily News, September 28

Just a pick for a Wynton Marsalis benefit concert, aiding North Philly's Young Scholars Charter School.

Metro, September 24-28

This week: an interview with Don Preston, prior to an appearance by the ex-Mother's Akashic Ensemble; a piece on I-House's "Group Sounds" night, with a screening of the 1968 film Go Forward and an appearance by modern GS purveyors The Captains; a story on the Bryn Mawr/Ambler/County Theaters' 8-film Janus Films retrospective; an interview with the Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth; and a short piece on the first annual Mid-Atlantic Blues and Music Festival.

Citypaper, September 27

Man, I'm a full month behind. So I'll sweep up September with a couple more weekly posts, and then full-month October posts for all three papers.

So, in this week's CP, I had an Artspick for Hans Rickheit's Chrome Fetus Comics, which he was projecting images from in a Puppet Uprising show; an essay on Van Halen's reunion tour, and why I had to attend*; Soundadvice mentions for German trumpeter Birgit Ulher's show under Gene Coleman's Soundfield umbrella and a solo set from violist Jessica Pavone; a sidebar on the inaugural Wildwood By the Sea Film Festival, focusing on George Manney's Rufus Harley doc Pipes of Peace; and three reviews, a feature on Peter Berg's The Kingdom, a short on Robert Benton's Feast of Love (also see my Metro interview with the director) and another for the Traffic knock-off Trade.


*I must say that while I more or less dismissed Michael Anthony's absence in the piece, his presence was sorely missed during the show, which was otherwise a blast, a solid two hours of good songs with barely a breather being taken. Wolfie held his own, but looked nervous and uncomfortable (as any 16-year-old forced onto the world's largest stages would be). Anthony's personality was the loveable Sancho Panza to the battle between Diamond Dave's smarmy, spotlight-hugging asshole and Eddie VH's back-of-the-room whiz kid, and without him, the balance was subtly thrown off.

Daily News, September 21

Just a pick this week, for Bobby Zankel's new John Coltrane tribute piece at the Church of the Advocate in North Philly.

Metro, September 17-21

A preview of I-House's film series DocumentaChile; one for Gene Coleman's Ensemble N_JP, playing experimental-meets-traditional-Japanese compositions; and a piece on Exhumed Films' Teenage Rebellion show, featuring Rock 'n' Roll High School, Joysticks, and Satan's Cheerleaders.

Citypaper, September 20

This week: a Fall Guide feature on the ten years-plus existence of the monthly hip-hop event The Gathering; the annual Fall Jazz Calendar; Soundadvice mentions for the From Between Trio and Lafayette Gilchrist; a pick for former Prime Time guitarists Bern Nix and Charles Ellerbee; and reviews for The Hunting Party, December Boys, In the Shadow of the Moon, and Dedication.