#1. 22 Nov 2016

i've been thinking about the fact that i've called this email list "recommended listening." the title is meant to be somewhat ironic because i always just recommend you check ME out. so i'm gonna go ahead and actually recommend a few things at the top here.

here's some stuff by my friends that i've been listening to and enjoying. i'm proud as hell of these folks and the stuff that they're doing.

Caroline Davis "Doors : Chicago Storylines" - caroline is a force. especially lately. this album shows off her compositional prowess and her beautiful saxophoning. it's also full of interviews w/ chicago stalwarts painting a really vivid picture of the realest vibe.

Dustin Laurenzi's Natural Language - dustin is a monster tenor player. this album is really beautiful and thoughtful and just sounds really really really good.

Salt People "Deep Swim" - i don't want to sound patronizing by calling this band "young," so let's just say that they're getting an early start at being awesome. they've actually been playing together a long time and it shows. oscillating constantly between tender, aggressive, poppy/catchy, and just straight up difficult these guys are so awesome.

Ruth Garbus "Hello Everybody" - battle trance just spent a couple days "on the road" with ruth and she is incredibly brilliant. casually so. listen to everything that she does. dig deep. it's worth it.

Robinson and Rohe "The Longest Winter" - liam and jean are the best. just the best. i love this recording. it shows off their voices and their songwriting and their twisted but actually probably way too realistic view of the dark side of the holidays (and the light, too, but who really cares about that?)