I like Adele as much as the next romance-minded person. I’m also a day-one Snoop Dogg fan. And the latest batch of songs from the sublime collaboration of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss thrills me. But of all the music released on November 19, the artistic standout is Retrospect in Retirement of Delay: The Solo Recordings.
Where are the throngs of music lovers around the world singing the praises of Hasaan Ibn Ali’s excavated recordings from the rooftops? I’m doing my part by hailing one of the most profound sonic discoveries of 2021 in this humble forum.
Hasaan Ibn Ali sounds like Thelonious Monk’s evil twin on the 151 minutes of solo piano recorded from 1962 through 1965. The Philadelphian vigorously advances the avant-garde implications of Monk’s innovations. Some listeners will find the sketchy sound quality and an occasionally poorly tuned piano problematic. The off-kilter murk and incidental chatter actually compliment the heedless gusto of Ibn Ali’s approach.
Prior to this year, the 1965 album The Max Roach Trio featuring the Legendary Hasaan was the pianist’s only official recording. His violent muscularity is heard to good effect on "Almost Like Me" on that date. Yet Retrospect in Retirement of Delay, along with the similarly astounding April release Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album, necessitates a dramatic revision to the annals of American music.