The Qobuz Guide to November 2024

Jazz

Ganavya made one of the finest jazz releases of the year by melding genres—and a wealth of contributors—into a free-flowing, gorgeous celebration of life on Daughter of a Temple. A joyful collaboration between Berke Can Özcan and Jonah Parzen-Johnson, It Was Always Time, demonstrates their labor of love was worth the curious effort. McCoy Tyner and Joe Henderson lead a blistering performance by a quartet of players as capable of being bandleaders as they were of incredible accompaniment on the reissue of Forces of Nature: Live At Slugs’. The U.K. collective Work Money Death mine Pharoah Sanders’ sense of spiritual peace and reckoning on People of the Fast Flowing River, their finest and most evocative work yet. Omar Sosa’s 88 Well-Tuned Drums documents the pianist and composer on his never-ending quest to craft perfect Afro-Cuban jazz via his many other musical interests. It will be difficult to not feel grounded and connected after listening to All is Sound from Portland, Oregon’s The Cosmic Tones Research Trio; it may also move you to tears. Tension matches Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke with Hoodna Orchestra, a 14-piece Afrobeat group from Tel Aviv, and the resulting grooves are intoxicating and hypnotic.

Rock

Kim Deal displays flashes of her previous bands but mostly veers from worn territory on Nobody Loves You More—amazingly, her first solo full length. Throughout their career, The Cure have repeatedly made a case for being the Best Band Ever, and Songs Of A Lost World, their first new album in 16 years isn’t going to hurt that claim. Robert Smith guides you through a sea of immense feelings where glimpses of hidden beauty keep you afloat. Adding percussion for the first time since early in their long career, The Innocence Mission careen through wonderful folk songs tinged with sadness on Midnight Swimmers. Spiritualized’s J Spaceman and John Coxon’s bluesy fever-dream score to William Eggleston’s black and white documentary Stranded in Canton gets a release nearly a decade after its on-site improvised recording at London’s Barbican Gallery. The Fleshtones provide a bunch more rippers (and songs about werewolves) on It’s Getting Late (…and More Songs About Werewolves), a delightful and unexpected new collection.

Electronic

OKRAA correlates a trip to Colombia to traveling through time and dimensions on La Gran Corriente, an experimental overhaul of his already wild electronic soundscapes. Hosono House Revisited pays deserving tribute to Haruomi Hosono’s 1973 genre-busting solo debut album. “Bara to Yaju” even gets covered twice: Jerry Paper delivers a playful and bubbly take while Cornelius’s version is a trip to space on a bossa rocket. Chizawa Q’s blend of jazz, electronica and techno on the Qobuzissime-awarded Xenoverse makes for an easy yet still challenging listening experience. Murcof’s gorgeous and ominous soundscapes on Twin Color toe the line between experimental, ambient, and neoclassical. Nigeria Special Volume 3 chronicles electronic music of the African country from 1978-93—a time of great political and cultural upheaval, through which the joyful rhythms persisted.

Rap / Hip-Hop

Chromakopia, Tyler, the Creator’s most compelling and mature output to date, finds the rapper digging into his past while still maintaining confidence in his now-older self. The 20th anniversary reissue of MF Doom’s MM.. FOOD re-emphasizes the word and beat wizardry that made him an absolute legend. A year that was slated for no new Kendrick Lamar music ended up being one of his most memorable, with the unexpected banger, GNX, his pièce de résistance. Freddie Gibbs’ You Only Die 1nce earmarks a return to excellence in a year where he’s been celebrating anniversaries of his best works. Both Harry Fraud and Boldy James have delivered incredible releases throughout 2024 so it makes sense that the marvelous collaboration, The Bricktionary, is near-perfect. Cavalier teamed with producer Child Actor for CINE, an unflinching, funny and generally fantastic record—exactly what we’d expect from them.

Classical

Rising star recorder player Lucie Horsch showcases fourteen historic instruments from Frans Brüggen’s collection in The Frans Brüggen Project. In celebration of his 80th birthday, William Christie presents Bill & Friends, a heartfelt album featuring talented young artists close to him, including Myriam Rignol, Justin Taylor, Thomas Dunford, Gwendoline Blondeel, and more. Arcade Fire’s Sarah Neufeld ventures into dynamic minimalism with her latest work, First Sounds. Emerging cellist Edgar Moreau showcases his skill as both a soloist and chamber musician in Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme. The legacy of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, one of Australia’s most revered artists, lives on through the posthumous release of Banbirrngu – The Orchestral Sessions (Orchestral Version).

Pop

London duo Girlhood–Tessa Cavanna and Christian Pinchbeck—delivers good vibes and also some excellent mood sax on Hot Mess. Twenty years after the musical adaptation of Wicked hit Broadway, the film version (well, part one) arrives with a soundtrack stuffed with from-the-diaphragm performances led by pop diva Ariana Grande and EGOT-in-waiting Cynthia Erivo. Songs, the self-released quirky second album from New York City-via Moscow piano folkie Regina Spektor finally sees the light of day with a remaster from Bob Ludwig, who stepped out of retirement to work on it. Belgian musician Sylvie Kreusch charms her way through her Qobuzissime-awarded second album, Comic Trip, which draws inspiration from French pop new and old. TRANSA, the latest benefit compilation from the Red Hot organization, is four hours of music presented in chapters to raise awareness for trans rights. The nearly 100 performers include trans artists like Beverly-Glenn-Copeland and allies like Sade, who contributes “Lion,” a devastating paean to her trans son—and also her first new music in 15 years.

Reissues

The gorgeous, evocative songcraft of John Cale’s third solo album, Paris 1919, gets an expanded reissue, featuring a Heba Kadry remaster and a second disc of bonus tracks. Talking Heads: 77, the game-changing debut album from Talking Heads gets the super deluxe treatment. Featured here along with a brand new remaster, outtakes and alt takes is a really great-sounding recording of the art punks’ last-ever CBGB’s show. The Albemarle Sound, the third album from Elephant 6 associates the Ladybug Transistor, is an indie baroque-pop beauty that you’d be hard pressed to believe was created in south Brooklyn in 1999. This expanded anniversary edition includes B-sides, instrumentals and demos, including their lush cover of the Bee Gees’ “Massachusetts.” Weezer’s self-titled first release is still a pop-rock masterpiece and now re-released with the infamous Kitchen Tapes that propelled them to their signing and subsequent superstardom. Whitney Houston celebrated the election of Nelson Mandela and the end of apartheid by putting on one of the best performances ever known with The Concert for A New South Africa, finally available on streaming.

Written by Nitha Viraporn, Sujan Hong, Jeff Laughlin/Qobuz USA