Hi folks, it's been a while since my last update. As you can see, I've redesigned my whole site from scratch; the reasons were a) it was time, and b) I've been learning some new tools and this was a good opportunity to put them to use--for the design-nerd details, I created the site as a whole in Adobe Muse, the homepage animation in Edge Animate, and the blog is still in Wordpress with a customized template (since Muse doesn't yet have its own compatible blogging engine). Please have a look around--there are now pages for my projects, albums, a new bio, my design & illustration portfolio, a list of upcoming events, and you can let me know what you think at the new contact page!Gigs-wise things have been interesting--I've got at least two more hits with Circus Bella this summer, had a really challenging and interesting show with the great Satoko Fujii at Duende (I hope they'll continue their adventurous programming now that Rocco Somazzi is leaving), and am busily preparing for the world (!) premiere of my new piece for Quintet+1, "Interview Music"  (if you follow the jazz media at all you'll get the joke/reference), this September at the California Jazz Conservatory. Ben Stolorow and I have also just confirmed Duocracy's first San Francisco appearance, at Bird & Beckett in October.Finally, I'm overdue to give you a "New to Me" installment—here's a quick rundown of some of the music that's been on heavy rotation in my ears lately.The top five:

• Israel: The Music of Johnny Carisi — I can't overstate how deeply this record has bowled me over since I picked it up (on Marc Myers' recommendation) earlier this year. So intricate, so creative, so swinging--it's everything I aim for in my own music.
• Olivier Manchon: Orchestre de Chambre Miniature — This random used CD pickup was a lucky find. Gorgeous small-group string writing by this French violinist, lush harmony, creative textures, layered through with solid blowing by John Ellis and Gregoire Maret (who I was lucky to get to play with a few times in NYC). This is listed as "volume 1"—I hope more is on the way because this one is over way too quickly.
• Hindemith: Kammermusik 1-7 (Berliner Philharmoniker/Claudio Abbado)  — This is a bible of modern contrapuntal technique. Drop the (virtual) needle anywhere for an immediate sonic bath of virtuosic counterpoint and texture. He makes it sound so easy (maybe it was for him). The cello-focused #3 is my current favorite, but they're all amazing.
• Villa Lobos: Wind Music  — As much as I love Hindemith, he can sometimes feel a little dry emotionally—the first time I heard this record, it made me think of a more soulful (and due to the Brazilian connection, inevitably more reminiscent of jazz harmonies) version of a Hindemithian texture. The duo, trio and quartet are all great. I am stealing lots of stuff from this record.
• Halvorsen/Fujiwara/Formanek: Thumbscrew — I was lucky to hear these guys last month during their Duende residency (where else would that ever happen outside of NYC?) and was really floored. All three players are forces of nature, and the tunes are perfect vehicles for what they do best. (Although they do just fine without tunes as well, as demonstrated by the all-improvised second set they did with perfectly attuned sitter-inner Ben Goldberg when I saw them.) This (as well as the Satoko Fujii show) has really inspired me to get into more free playing.

Other records I've been crazy about lately include:

• Darcy James Argue: Brooklyn Babylon
• Donald Byrd: How (with incredible string charts by Clare Fischer)
• Jimmy Giuffre: New York Concerts
• Charles Mingus: Pre Bird ("Half-Mast Inhibition"!)
• Henry Cowell: Piano Music
• Kirk Knuffke: Chorale  (Finally got to hear him live recently with Todd Sickafoose--one of my favorite young trumpeters cornetists)
• John Swana: Bright Moments (My friend Lorin turned me on to Swana, who is a mother$#&* of creative changes-playing and sounds equally scary on trumpet and EVI)

... plus a bunch of other great stuff I'm forgetting! Anyway, that's a good start. Stay tuned for more news about "Interview Music" and part 2 of "Blues, Authenticity, and the Hopefully Not-So-Abstract Truth."

Happy New Year! (You can thank me later for not saying "jazzy.") Lots going on, so here goes:Here Comes Duocracy!Duocracy, my soon-to-be-released duo album with my good friend pianist Ben Stolorow, is being pressed as we speak! (You can read a lot more about the album here: Ian Carey, Ben Stolorow, and Duocracy.) Ben and I are currently gearing up for our two CD release shows:

• East Bay: Friday, February 21 at The Jazzschool in Berkeley
• North Bay: Friday, March 7 at Old St. Hilary's in Tiburon

If you're not going to be able to make either of those, we're also playing a private preview show in Richmond on the afternoon of January 20 (MLK Day)--email me (ian [AT] iancareyjazz.com) if you're interested in attending.Winter CircusLater this month, I'm happy to be involved in a rare off-season performance with the great Circus Bella, featuring outstanding original music by accordionist/keyboardist/guitarist/composer/"Nice Guy" Rob Reich, with the Circus Bella All-Star Band (with Rob, Greg Stephens on trombone, Ralph Carney on a potpurri of woodwinds & sundries, Michael Pinkham on drums, & me on trumpet). We'll be doing two shows on Saturday, January 26 at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco. Last chance to see us before summertime!New to Me: Arranger EditionYou may remember I have a periodic series of posts about standout albums which, while not necessarily new to the world, are new to me. As I'm about to get to work on a new, extended composition for my Quintet+1 (funded by a generous grant from the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music's Musical Grant Program—you should apply too!), which will be premiered this fall, I've been spending a lot of time seeking out new-to-me recordings by great arrangers and composers in order to help get my creative wheels turning. Here are a few:Clare Fischer Orchestra: Extension (1963) Ever run into one of those records where you know almost immediately it's going to be one of your all-time favorites? This one, which I picked up at a record store in San Rafael (along with some other finds including albums by Martial Solal & Don Cherry) was one of those records. Fischer, a burning pianist, has been featured in "New to Me" before, but this was my first time checking out his larger ensemble work. I remember Mike Mossman talking up Fischer's charts in an arranging class, and I can see why--tons of counterpoint, dense but beautiful harmonic language--all delivered without the use of trumpets, which serves the dual purpose of letting his phenomenal woodwind writing shine (lots of flute/clarinet lead) while keeping it away from that stereotypical "big band" sound that is so hard to avoid (no matter how hip the writing). Plus it swings, with some nice blowing by Fischer and the Warne-esque Jerry Coker. It's even got a Passacaglia, which is one of my favorite musical forms! Highly recommended. (P.S. Marc Myers did a great write-up about this album when it was reissued--check it out.) Buy here.Nathan Clevenger: Observatory (2013) Nathan & I run in a lot of the same circles (this album features my longtime collabo-friends Kasey Knudsen, Jon Arkin & Evan Francis, for example) and the frequency at which he can find opportunities to perform music like this with a band this size is nothing short of amazing. (With any luck we may have a double-bill in the future.) A great balance of inspiring blowing & thorny writing, tunes with surprising arcs (see "Sleepwalker's Anecdote"), and more bass clarinet than you can shake a stick at. I don't think it's too presumptuous to say I think Charles Mingus would like this record. Buy here. Speaking of Mingus:Charles Mingus: Mingus Moves (1973) This is one I somehow never got around to hearing until recently. Not everything here is my cup of tea (the singers and trumpet player, for example) but "Canon" is classic, and Sy Johnson's chart on "Wee" makes the trip worthwhile. Plus prime George Adams & Don Pullen, and of course the great Dannie Richmond & the man himself. Buy here.Michael McGinnis+9: Road*Trip (2013) I played with Mike a few times when I lived in NYC and we had a lot of friends in common. This album features a great new recording of Bill Smith's Third-Stream masterpiece Concerto for Clarinet & Jazz Combo--which is worth the price of admission by itself--but definitely stick around for McGinnis's extremely interesting title suite, which brings the Third Stream vibe into the present. The first movement is a personal favorite. Buy here.Andy Clausen: The Wishbone Suite (2012) Man, has this guy got compositional chops to burn. In addition to having no problem "putting the notes on the paper," Clausen brings an impressive amount of variety, with pieces ranging from hypercomposed and intricate to sections of open freeish blowing (I think)--I especially love the frequent lack of obvious lines where the improvisation begins and ends, which loosens up some very in-depth writing (something I've been working on in my own music). The interesting instrumentation (trombone, clarinet, piano, accordion, percussion) adds an extra layer of cohesion. Buy here.

It's been a while since the last installment, so looks like it's ime for another edition of the series where I recommend albums which have recently jumped up on my radar--some of which may be new, some of which may be not-so-new, some of which I may be the last person on Earth to hear about (are you guys hip to this "Maybe Call Me" thing?). So here are four great records which are New to Me!Fly — Year of the Snake (2012): This actually is a new one! I was lucky enough to see these guys (Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, and Jeff Ballard, that is) a few years ago when they released their previous album, the great Sky & Country, and they're just getting better. The tunes especially are going new places--everybody's got multiple composing credits and a wide variety of tune types are represented, from the Mingus-y straightahead "Salt & Pepper" to the sound-painting of some of the miniatures that make up the five-part "Western Lands" set. I had a regular trumpet/bass/drums trio for a while in my 20s, and really enjoyed writing music for that format, since--assuming you don't want to just play tunes (which can be fine, too)--it forces you to do more with less, and makes a case for the whole "restriction as inspiration" idea. (See the Ravel below.) Counterpoint becomes especially important, and Fly makes great use of it on this record--see Grenadier's "Kingston." These guys make me want to start writing for that kind of small chord-instrument-free band again.Contemporary Quartet — Plays music of Bacewicz, Kisielewski, Komsta, Lutoslawski, Penderecki (2002): I think this album came to my attention by way of someone on Facebook (like my page here) but I can't remember who. So thanks, whoever you are! The record consists of free jazz-ish renditions of pieces by contemporary Polish classical composers. You can check out the first track, a version of Penderecki's Prelude, here. The tonal palette and instrumentation (definitely the clarinet!) gives it shades of some of my favorite work by the great early-60s Jimmy Giuffre 3 (with Bley & Swallow). Some of the tracks are a little on the thorny side, but it definitely has its moments and is worth a look.Ryan Kisor — Power Source (2009): I've heard a fair amount of Ryan Kisor live and on record in a bunch of different formats (from big bands like the LCJO and the Mingus Big Band, to small groups at... Smalls), and he always sounds good, but this record is my favorite thing he's done so far. It's a pianoless quartet (a no-doubter band of Chris Potter, James Genus and Gene Jackson) and the format seems to really bring out the stretch in everybody. The tunes are geared towards blowing--two Mingus staples, Ornette's "Bird Food," and Potter originals ("Pelog" almost has an Okinawan vibe!) --and everyone delivers, especially Kisor, who has a great sound and fresh ideas, and makes it sound easy. (Side note: Maybe it is, for him! Who knows, all players are not created equal. Sure is nice to listen to, though.)Music at Marlboro— Ravel: Piano Trio / Sonata for Violin & Cello (2011): This is another one I was hipped to by my friend the voracious music consumer (and improvising vocalist) Lorin Benedict. I picked it up mainly for the duo Sonata (played here by Jaime Laredo and Leslie Parnas), which packs more color and texture into two instruments than other composers could get out of entire orchestras. Written in 1922, it reminds me at times of another favorite of mine, Stravinsky's then-recent Histoire du Soldat—especially the 2nd movement, seen here:... while other spots wouldn't be out of place in a Schoenberg piece, and the blues-scale-y opening of the first movement would fit right in with Gershwin, Milhaud or the other jazz borrowers of the 20s. But since it's Ravel, the whole thing works cohesively and will further convince you of what an unremitting badass that guy was. As my old professor Henry Martin said, "pretty much everything he wrote was a masterpiece--except 'Bolero.'" That's a pretty good sign, when your worst piece is one of the most popular tunes in history!

Last year I inaugurated a feature where I talk about music which, while not necessarily hot off the presses, is still New to Me--since it's been a while since the last installment, here are a few albums which have recently been turning my crank:Geri Allen — The Nurturer (1990) & Maroons (1992): I once got to go hear Geri Allen at the Village Vanguard after a friend who worked at an artist's credit union discovered money for her which she'd forgotten about, and going to her show seemed like the best way to get in touch. She was off my radar for a while before a friend loaned me an album last year, which led to me digging up more. These two are  both fine early 90s efforts, with really interesting tunes and her own deeply personal blowing--and of special interest to trumpeters, great contributions from sidefolks like Wallace Roney and underappreciated legend Marcus Belgrave. ("Number Four," an Allen/Belgrave duet on Maroons, is worth the price of admission itself.)Derek Adlam — Masterpieces for Clavichord by Bach (2005); Christophe Rousset — Bach: Italian Concerto; Partita in B minor etc. (1992): Since stumbling on to Johnny Reinhard's "Microtonal Bach" show during WKCR's annual Bach Festival while I was in college, I've been hooked on recordings of my favorite composer made on instruments in historical, non-equal-tempered tunings--even though I love Bach on piano, once you've heard how colorful and interesting baroque modulations can be in nonequal tuning, hearing the same pieces on an equal-tempered instrument can be like going from technicolor to black & white. Rousset's rousing album features a strident harpsichord in the Werckmeister III tuning, and outstanding versions of several Bach staples, including one of my all-time favorites, the Chromatic Fantasia & Fugue in D minor (check it out here). Adlam's disc features the much more subtle clavichord (made for quiet performances in small rooms) in a tuning called "Young 2," and a program of lesser-known (to me) pieces. (Couldn't find a video but here's Adlam playing some William Byrd in nonequal tuning.) If you want to get a great intro to historical tuning and the kind of color effects I'm talking about, check out this page featuring the same baroque piece played in Meantone, Werckmeister and equal (modern) tunings. Herbie Hancock/Wayne Shorter — 1+1 (1997): It's embarrassing, but I never got around to checking out this album until recently, when a friend put on the sublime "Meridianne/A Wood Sylph" at a listening party. (We had a great time imagining the Verve execs' reaction in the studio--"Uh, are you sure you guys don't feel like throwing in a version of 'All Blues' or something?") With these giants, you know it would've been incredible even if they'd phoned it in, which they unquestionably did not. An outstanding reminder of the towering peaks still remaining to be ascended in this music. On the off chance that I'm not the last person in the world to recommend this record, I strongly suggest you pick it up.

Last winter, in lieu of a "Best of" year-end list, I wrote a "New to Me" Top 10--the idea being that these days we're all introduced to music through a wide variety of sources including radio, blogs, YouTube, live shows, word of mouth, dudes shouting on street corners, etc., and albums which jump up on my radar these days are less likely to be "new releases" as such. "New to Me" means exactly that--an album may have been around for years or decades, but I'm sharing it because it's new to me. I also promised to make this a regular series, which I've been less than diligent about. Until now!Here are a few artists and albums which have lately been getting a lot of play around my house, car, ears, subconscious. (Two of them are even literally new!)Ambrose Akinmusire - "When the Heart Emerges Glistening" (2011), "Prelude (to Cora)" (2008): Ambrose grew up around here and has been known to frequent the same jam sessions I go to when he's in town, so it's just bad luck I haven't heard him live yet--but his recent media firestorm is well-deserved. I'd been looking forward to checking out "When the Heart" since his Blue Note deal was announced, and was even more interested after reading some interviews. A few things he said actually blew my mind a little--for example: "I can sound like the most articulate trumpet player... But at the other side, I want to be able to sound like a beginning trumpet player. I want to be able to sound like I can't play. I'm thinking of that spectrum." For a jazz musician, this is kind of a shocking statement--it shouldn't be, since that whole unpolished, raw quality has been part of the music since its earliest days--but I think players devote so much (necessary) time and energy to becoming masters of technique (playing the "right notes," having a clean sound and execution, etc.) that they don't often give themselves permission to be messy and raw (and play some clams if necessary). I recently wrote that I really enjoyed David Smith's playing due to the unapologetic "trumpety-ness" of it, and Ambrose really takes this ball and runs with it. Obviously he's not the first player to combine that fondness for the messier side of the horn with solid chops (I think Dizzy, Don Cherry, Lester Bowie, Dave Douglas, and early Wynton are probably all in his artistic genealogy somewhere--he might like my hero Shake Keane too), but the adventurous unpredictability of his ideas is what really makes it stand out for me. I really enjoyed "Heart," which is pretty evenly happening (although the production sometimes gets a little weird, like when overenthusiastic use of panning gives the impression Ambrose is flying around the studio on a wire)--so I also checked out "Cora," which I think I might like even better, since it comes across as having even less studio-polish (despite a fair amount of synths) and the fearless blowing comes to the fore.Clare Fischer - "First Time Out" (1962), "Surging Ahead" (1963): Fischer first cropped up on my radar in college, when my arranging teacher Mike Mossman touted his big band charts. But I never really checked out his piano playing until recently, when I found a $5 LP of "First Time Out" after doing a gig at Bird & Beckett's and was inspired to dig deeper. So I managed to track down a used copy of "Mosaic Select: The Pacific Jazz Trios," which includes the complete tracks from "First Time," "Surging," and some unreleased odds and ends from Fischer's early 60s trio featuring the young Gary Peacock, plus other great material from West Coast pianists Russ Freeman, Richard Twardzick, and Jimmy Rowles. Fischer comes across on these albums as a really interesting improviser, tons of chops (his octave lines alone should win over the bopheads), melodicism, with an arranger's ear for harmony and plenty of daring. Highlights include "Free Too Long," a brisk free-blowing tune (over steady time) which is an interesting comparison to Peacock's (slightly) later work with Paul Bley, or Keith Jarrett's early trio albums; a burning version of "Lennie's Pennies" (Fischer was obviously working his way through Tristano's language and finds interesting, personal things to extrapolate from it); plus straightahead smokers like "Without a Song" and intricate originals like "Strayhorn," heard below:Fischer is still very active and I look forward to checking out more of his work from the past 40 years; I also came across a great podcast which includes plenty of his early playing and arranging work--check it out here: Extension: Clare Fischer in the 1960s.Avishai Cohen - "Introducing Triveni" (2010): Another strong record from a young(ish) trumpeter. Cohen has lately been playing with the SFJAZZ Collective--don't be confused by the name, the group's only connection to San Francisco is the address on their W-2s--but I hadn't really checked him out before I picked up this disc in Vancouver. (Canadian CD stores are a lot better for jazz than American stores.) (But not even close to Japanese stores.) My first band out of college was a trumpet/bass/drums trio, so I can appreciate how challenging it can be for the chops, but I remember it also encouraged interesting, less chord-dependent writing, and that's certainly the case here. The band is swinging, loose, and sound like they're really enjoying themselves. Cohen's playing is impressive and imaginative throughout (and like Akinmusire, full of raspiness, vocalizations and other effects). Highlights for me were a great version of Don Cherry's "Art Deco" and an absolutely killing live track called "October 25th." With Cohen and Akinmusire, plus other folks like Kirk Knuffke, Jason Palmer and David Smith (not to mention the badasses here in the Bay Area!), it's become clear to me that there are entirely too many happening young trumpeters out there. May be time to switch to the mellophone or something. (Nope, too late.)Well that does it for this installment of "New to Me"--those are three artists which have been floating my boat lately, and maybe they'll float yours, too. On a final cheesy note, why not take a second and Like my Facebook page? It's quick, painless, and I swear I will never fall for any of those click-through viruses which flood your wall with posts about working from home. (I mean never fall for any of them AGAIN.)

It's that time of year when people start cranking out Top 10 lists like fruitcake, so I thought I'd toss my cake in the ring and do one myself.But since I usually come across new albums via used record stores and word of mouth, I decided my list would be not necessarily the best albums which came out in '10, but the best albums that showed up on my radar for the first time this year (hence "New to Me"). Some of them are actually new! (But most aren't.) Hopefully some of them will be new to you, too.So now, in no particular order, here are ten albums which made my year:David Smith Quintet - Anticipation (2010)Action-packed second album from the NYC trumpeter, who I really admire for both his ideas and his sound, which I can only describe as unabashedly "trumpety." (They manage to do a version of "Satellite" in 7 and sound pretty relaxed.)Sonny Rollins/Don Cherry Quartet - Stuttgart/Copenhagen/Tokyo/Paris 1963Picked up these 4 discs in one fell swoop after realizing I'd never really heard them, and that was a crime. They vary in sound quality, amount of filler material from other shows, etc., but all in all a good snapshot of a strange and wonderful band in what must've been an amazing time to be alive and playing jazz. If I had to pick one, I'd say Copenhagen is most interesting--Oleo! (Hearing Sonny and Ornette on his birthday bootleg reminded me of these a little.)Gary Peacock - Shift in the Wind (1980)Picked this up in a record store in outer Portland called Vinyl Resting Place (!) and proceeded to let it gather dust for a couple of years before throwing it on this spring. Great tunes (some nice ones from pianist Art Lande), well-thought-out mix of changes and free blowing, and a good chance to hear Peacock shining in a non-Jarrett trio.Donny McCaslin - Recommended Tools (2008)Great tenor trio album from one of my recent favorite improvisers. Saw him play many of these tunes live at SFJAZZ in June, which was even better.Keith Jarrett - Death and the Flower (1974)I've obsessed my way through pretty much every phase of KJ's career over the years, but for whatever reason the American Quartet was the last one I got around to. But after a reminder last year from Do The Math I finally picked up the Impulse box, threw it on the iPod, and went for a long run in the Oakland hills while listening to Death and... from start to finish. (The 22-min title track can be tempting to skip. Don't.) By the time it was over I'd found God, as much as possible for a cynical atheist. (BTW, try listening to a bunch of American Quartet, then put on the first track of Standards, Vol. 1, and you get a little sense of what it must've felt like to "come home" to those tunes.)Charlie Haden/Egberto Gismonti/Jan Garbarek - Folk Songs (1979)I've heard this band described as too new-agey, but I think it's way too intense for that. (And Gismonti is a serious badass.) Magico, the follow-up, is great, too. Arve Henriksen - Cartography (2010) & Chiaroscuro (2004)Tuneful ambient collages from this Norwegian trumpeter and sound artist. He managed to find a totally new sound in those old tubes somehow, and I'm hooked.Mathias Eick - The Door (2008)A subtle pack of grooving, well crafted straight-8ths tunes and good playing all around. Felt a little stereotypically ECM-y at first listen, but this record really grew on me.The Holly Martins - no. no. yes. no. (2010)Superhappening voice/alto/guitar timebending swinging power trio. FYI: Lorin Benedict is the new standard for scat singing. (Disclosure: friends of mine.)Kirk Knuffke - Amnesia Brown (2010)Another new-to-me trumpeter with a great, personal sound and ideas out the wazoo. I learned about this set of free-infused miniatures from Doug Ramsay, who hasn't steered me wrong yet.Honorable mentions go to: John McNeil & Bill McHenry's Chill Morn He Climb Jenny (brand new, but already getting in some serious listening on this one), every Steve Lacy album I own (I isolated all his solos and listened to the playlist on shuffle pretty much every day); and--why not--my own album Contextualizin', which came out in February. (I know, pretty shameless, but it really was the soundtrack of my year, and this may be the only Top 10 list it gets mentioned on.) UPDATE: I forgot to mention my friend Sunna Gunnlaugs' great album The Dream! Planning on listening to that more next year.By the way, there are definitely albums which are getting a lot of love this year (Vijay Iyer, Mary Halvorson, The Ideal Bread, etc.) which I just didn't get around to checking out. (More suggestions? Throw 'em in the comments.) With any luck I'll get to them next year, and remain pleasantly behind the curve!