Top Ten Albums of 2000
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2 JASON MORAN Facing Left (Blue Note) There are many reasons to love the second album by pianist Jason Moran–the most obvious of which is that he’s a technically dazzling player. But he’s also a flexible one: though he covers a vast amount of territory, none of his odd choices ever seems like a stretch. He takes on everything from Ellington’s “Wig Wise” to Bjork’s “Joga,” and derived the melody to “Thief Without Loot” from the speech patterns of a Japanese woman. And his hot rhythm section, bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits, often steps into the foreground–Waits is the star of “Murder of Don Fanucci,” and Mateen’s Monk-ish composition “Another One” calls for all three members to go full throttle at once.
4 BILLY BRAGG & WILCO Mermaid Avenue Vol. II (Elektra) The second collaboration between Billy Bragg, Wilco, and dead folk icon Woody Guthrie is more raw and less immediately engaging than its wonderful predecessor, but although most of the contents were outtakes from the original sessions, they sound like anything but leftovers. Between Jeff Tweedy’s flexibility–he moves easily from the Dylan-esque blues of “Feed of Man” to the delicate pop of “Secret of the Sea”–and Bragg’s newfound ability to convey emotional nuance with his limited voice, it seems like this pairing can do no wrong. Good use of Corey Harris and Natalie Merchant, even–bring on volume three.
9 ALIM QASIMOV Love’s Deep Ocean (Network) A master of mugham, the classical music of Azerbaijan, Alim Qasimov sings with the sort of power, emotional nuance, and soul that can stop time. At its most eerily feminine peak, his arresting falsetto takes on a life of its own, recalling the unbridled passion and improvisational daring that allowed Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to reach listeners completely removed from the qawwali tradition. Backed only by spare hand percussion and melancholy Middle Eastern strings, Qasimov proves that emotion speaks louder than words.
