Frank Kogan

Look forward to listening to the Matana Roberts. I liked the first two COIN COINs a lot.

Since our subject line still says "2018," I'd like to put in a plug for a jazz album from last year, WeFreeStrings' Fulfillment, which would've made my list if I'd made one. (I'm more likely to post an albums list from 2018 than 2019. If I ever get around to it – still haven't finalized/posted my singles list from 2018, though I've promised myself I eventually will. Hope to put up a very preliminary singles list for 2019 in the next couple of days.)

Among other things — besides her music — WeFreeStrings' leader, Melanie Dyer, is notable for having been the baby sitter for my wife Clare when Clare was a little girl... She and Clare are still friends, though they don't see each other much, since Melanie lives in New Jersey. Story is that Melanie picked up viola as a kid in Denver because that was the only instrument left in her elementary school's band room. Anyway, 'cause of all the strings, the sound is more "sonorous" than on most jazz albums. Has a good jazz dance to it, along with all the modern sonorities. Here's the bandcamp link:

https://wefreestrings.bandcamp.com/album/fulfillment

Yeah, I put Coin Coin Dance Chapter Four on my hacked-in Related list for NScene ballot—saved my comments for the upcoming Uproxx post on TheFreelanceMentalists, since that will need some filling out, compared to the always-congested Scenic route. Sounds great, Frank, and congratz on the family connection—she and her colleagues remind me of several configs involving jazz cellist Tameika Reid, several of them on bandcamp.

Also echo Nay for the Baroness album, which seemed really turgid (will that become a desirable tag, like sludge?).