Album Review: Makoto Ozone- For Someone

Makoto Ozone was among the artists who spurred my nascent devotion to jazz in the mid-1980s. I preferred the Japanese pianist’s inviting melodicies to the strident conventionalism of his generational peer Wynton Marsalis amid the infamous jazz scare of that era.

Ozone’s new album For Someone is a recapitulation of everything that makes the Chick Corea acolyte exceptional. For Someone was recorded at Bauer Studios in Germany, a facility frequently employed by ECM Records. Ozone’s affinity for the ECM sound is correspondingly clear.

The immediately appealing “Friends” is precisely the sort of gentle melody that drew me to Ozone forty years ago. Polish vocalist Anna Maria Jopek pushes the proggy fusion of the title track over the top. For Someone closes with a lovely contrafact of Bill Evan’s “Peace Peace.”

The rugged tandem of bassist Shimpei Ogawa and drummer Kunitoshi Kitai consistently steer Ozone away from delicate sentimentality. My appreciation of their decisiveness rewards the intensive jazz studies I initiated forty years ago.

Discovering Japan

Original image of a man admiring Kuroda Seiki’s Chi Kan Jo (Wisdom, Impression, Sentiment) at the Tokyo National Museum by There Stands the Glass.

Crashing out at Tokyo Station was the nadir of my first visit to Japan this month. Navigating the nation in the initial days of my trip occasionally overwhelmed me. Even after learning the ropes of the train, subway and bus systems I was easily unnerved.

For instance, I gradually moved to the front of a crowded bus as my stop in Kyoto neared. With eyes fixed on the street, I became aware of a disarming silence. I turned to discover the bus remained full. The Japanese insistence on noiselessness on public transportation seems unconditional.

Drivers rarely honk horns, pedestrians communicate in whispers and people form orderly queues. The absence of loud voices and municipal pandemonium was extremely refreshing. My mirroring of Japanese stoicism was rewarded when several locals with whom I interacted suggested I must be Canadian.

Such reticence isn’t pervasive. Discount retailers and ubiquitous convenience stores are filled with deafening motion-sensitive video advertisements on their shelves. I also have a new least-favorite song. The ambiance at a couple ramen corridors I frequented was marred by the insidious ditty “Take Me Out to the Ramen-Koji.” 

My experiences at a jazz venue and a jazz kissa will soon be documented at Plastic Sax. Finally, I’d be negligent if I failed to express my gratitude to There Stands the Glass readers who reached out regarding my unexplained absence. Thanks, as always, for reading.

Album Review: Al Foster- Live at Smoke

Catching Al Foster live at Smoke in 2019 was the capstone of one of the best nights of my life. I had so much fun at a gay German sports bar in Harlem earlier in the evening that I wasn’t really bothered when the New England Patriots knocked the Kansas City Chiefs out of the NFL playoffs.

Foster was gracious when I shook his hand during a break at the New York City venue. Saxophonist Chris Potter, one of several luminaries who joined the legendary drummer that evening, is also featured on Live at Smoke, a document of Foster’s stint at the venue in January. The storied drummer died four months later.

Bassist Joe Martin locks in with Foster. Brad Mehldau somehow plays piano with revolutionary zeal while maintaining convention. I’d only listened to Live at Smoke twice when I placed it in my ranking of my fifty favorite albums of 2025. Subsequent plays suggest it’s a perfect mainstream jazz recording.

Album Review: Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here 50

I came for Stéphane Grappelli and stayed for “Brain Damage.” Inexpert in Pink Floyd lore, I hadn’t known the jazz violinist appeared on the title track of the band’s 1975 album Wish You Were Here. A friend told me the eighth track on the massive 50th anniversary edition of Wish You Were Here includes a mix emphasizing Grappelli’s wistful contribution.

Pink Floyd stood in musical and cultural opposition to the things I claimed to embrace as a teen. In the 1970s, a lot of people I knew would get loaded before attending late-night Dark Side of the Moon-themed laser shows at planetariums. How pathetic! 

Even so, I always had a soft spot for Wish You Were Here. I’m particularly fond of the choruses of the title track and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” The new set offers insights into the development of each song. I even liked hearing live versions of Dark Side of the Moon material on the new box.

A forced immersion experience, a Roger Waters concert in 2022 and my pandemic-era opera initiative necessitate a personal reevaluation of Pink Floyd. The last of these experiences allows me to connect the sturm und drang of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” to Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. If this troubling trend reaches its logical conclusion, I’ll be staggering around planetariums in 2030.

Book Report, 2025

Original image of a passage in Seneca’s Phaedra by There Stands the Glass.

The majority of my days now fall into one of two categories: days in which my free time is devoted to reading and days centered on experiencing live music. I’ve read 110 books (so far) in 2025. I’ve attended 161 live music performances on 146 different days (so far) this year. My progress can be tracked here.

Only recently have I been less than delighted by the way in which I’m directing my leisure. I began reading Murasaki Shikibu’s 11th century novel The Tale of Genji three weeks ago. I’ve reached page 1,003 in my 1,090-page edition of the novel. The book has become a burden. 

Unlike with music, a field in which I take pride in staying up to date, I’m not particularly concerned with recently published literature. How can I properly process new works if I’m not fully conversant with the classics? A small slice of time remains for me. I have a lot of work to do if I’m to leave this world as a well-read person.

The following is a partial survey of my year in reading.

Favorite: Edward Rice- Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: The Secret Agent Who Made the Pilgrimage to Mecca, Discovered the Kama Sutra, and Brought the Arabian Nights to the West (1990)

Most entertaining: Victor Hugo- Les Misérables (1862)

Most impactful: Ian McEwan- Lessons (2022)

Most relevant: Amir Tibon- The Gates of Gaza (2024)

My biggest accomplishment: I read three installments of Will and Ariel Durant’s The Story of Civilization series: Volume 1: Our Oriental Heritage (1935), Volume 3: Caesar and Christ (1944) and Volume 4: The Age of Faith (1950).

Best surprise: Denis Diderot- Rameau’s Nephew and Other Works (18th century A.D.)

Book everyone around me tired of hearing about: George Black- Empire of Shadows: The Epic Story of Yellowstone (2012)

Biggest disappointment: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1793)

Most challenging: The Harvard Classics, Vol. 27: English Essays from Sir Philip Sidney to Macaulay (1909)

Most outrageous: Apuleius- The Golden Ass or The Metamorphosis (second century A.D.) 

Most disturbing: Toni Morrison- Sula (1973)

Best new book: Daniel Kraus- Angel Down (2025)

Best history: Barbara Tuchman- The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 (2012)

Best spiritual: Thomas Merton- The Way of Chuang Tzu (1965) 

Best music: Brad Mehldau- Formation: Building a Personal Canon, Part 1 (2023)

Best short story collection: The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories (1994)

Best book of local interest: Andy Kirk as told to Amy Lee- Twenty Years on Wheels (1989)

Best poetry: Langston Hughes- The Weary Blues (1954)

Best novel: Willa Cather- One of Ours (1922) 

Best play: Seneca- Phaedra (first century A.D.)

Best audiobook: Kid Congo Powers and Chris Campion- Some New Kind of Kick: A Memoir (2022)

Longest: Will and Ariel Durant- The Story of Civilization, Volume 4: The Age of Faith (1,196 pages)

Shortest: Wiley Blevins- Follow Me Around Japan (2018, 32 pages)

Most ambitious project: I began reading a few pages of Edward Gibbon’s epic The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776, 1781 and 1781) in bed every night. I plan to complete Decline and the Durants’ Civilizations series in 2028.

I compiled year-end book surveys in 2024, 2023 and 2022.

Joe Ely, 1947-2025

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

My old man and my girlfriend sat on either side of me in the balcony of the Uptown Theater at a Joe Ely concert on May 20, 1982. For ninety precious minutes, I had my hopes up high.

The presence of a date wasn’t surprising- I’d been girl-crazy for years. Getting my dad to the show was more complicated. Music provided common ground in our fraught relationship. I convinced him to join us by insisting Ely’s most recent album Musta Notta Gotta Lotta wasn’t all that different from the current sound of his favorite artists Waylon Jennings and Hank Williams, Jr.

The absence of alcohol in the balcony was an issue for my dad- people under the age of 21 weren’t allowed on the main floor- and the sound mix upstairs was terrible. I don’t think my date or my dad enjoyed the concert, but the night meant more to me than any of the approximately nine Ely performances I caught before and after 1982.

I pitched several of Ely’s albums on the Hightone and Rounder labels as a sales representative in the 1990s and the aughts, but Ely’s self-titled 1977 debut for MCA Records has always been my favorite. The thwarted optimism of “I Had My Hopes Up High” has long made the opening track one of my personal theme songs.

Woody Guthrie: There Stands the Glass’ 2025 Artist of the Year

Original image by There Stand the Glass.

Suggesting that an aged work of political art is as relevant as ever is a tired trope. Yet these are exhausting times. Woody Guthrie died in 1967, but he was never far from my mind in 2025. Essential anthems including “Deportee,” “Pastures of Plenty” and “This Land Is Your Land” mirrored unwelcome headlines.

A set of Guthrie’s home demos was among the year’s most essential reissues. Contemporary folkies such as the duo of Haley Heynderickx and Max García Conover upheld Guthrie’s legacy. Three Guthrie covers are included in Bob Dylan’s October release Through the Open Window: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 18.

Speaking of Guthrie’s most famous acolyte, I was pleased to see that a heartrending portrayal of a debilitated Guthrie bookends A Complete Unknown when I got around to watching the 2024 Dylan biopic a couple months ago.

I made a pilgrimage in July to Woody Fest in Okemah and The Woody Guthrie Center  in Tulsa in July. The trip made the icon the incontrovertible choice as the There Stands the Glass Artist of the Year.

Amid a downpour, I commandeered a complimentary shuttle bus to deliver me to the original Guthrie digs in Okemah. I was devastated to discover that he literally ain't got no home in this world anymore. Yet Guthrie’s legacy doesn’t require sacred ground or holy relics. His work is embedded in my soul.

Honorable mentions: Gerald Clayton, Sylvie Courvoisier and Wadada Leo Smith. Previous recipients of There Stands the Glass’ Artist of the Year designation are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (2024), Hilary Hahn (2023), Joyce DiDonato (2022), Pat Metheny (2021) and Bad Bunny (2020).

What Does Blue Mean to You?: The Top Songs of 2025

I’m baffled by the spiteful allegations of cynics regarding malevolent algorithms. I intentionally select everything I hear on streaming services. The playlist of my fifty favorite songs of the year is the result of deliberate exploration. Mainstream country, spiritual jazz, regional Mexican music, party anthems, alternative gospel and political screeds are unruffled bedfellows on my bespoke sound system. I’ve ordered the tracks to attain a semblance of continuity, but I tend to love the songs at the top a bit more than the selections near the end. Salvant’s indispensable Toni Morrison-inspired composition, however, is in first place for a reason. As always, none of the lead artists featured here appear on the ranking of my favorite albums of 2025.

1. Cécile McLorin Salvant- “What does blue mean to you?”

2. Sault- “L.U.”

3. BadBadNotGood featuring V.C.R- “Found a Light (Beale Street)”

4. Nathy Peluso featuring Rawayana- “Malportada”

5. Carin León, Diego El Cigala and Chanela Clicka- “Te Quiero Y Me Miento”

6. Charlie Hunter and Ella Feingold- “Shirley Chisholm”

7. Gabriel Jacoby- “Be Careful”

8. Okonski- “October”

9. Damon Locks- “Holding the Dawn in Place (Beyond, Pt. 2)”

10. SML- “Chicago Four”

11. DJ Koze- “Aruna”

12. Emma-Jean Thackray- “Thank You For the Day”

13. Sherelle- “Don’t Want U”

14. Danny Brown featuring Quadeca- “Book of Daniel”

15. Horsegirl- “Where’d You Go?”

16. Kali Uchis- “Sugar! Honey! Love!”

17. Saya Gray- “...Thus Is Why (I Don’t Spring 4 Love)”

18. Alfa Mist- “Avoid the Drones”

19. Larry June, 2 Chainz and the Alchemist- “Bad Choices”

20. MC Yallah- “Tunyedde”

21. PremRock featuring Cavalier and Eludid-  "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"

22. Speed- “Peace”

23. Charli xcx featuring John Cale- “House”

24. Lorde- “What Was That”

25. Mackenzie Carpenter featuring Midland- “I Wish You Would”

26. Morgan Wallen- “I’m the Problem”

27. Evan Bartels- “Montana”

28. Jordan Davis- “Bar None”

29. Lorna Kay- “I’m Never Drinking Again (Again)”

30. Black Country, New Road- “Happy Birthday”

31. Marshall Allen featuring Neneh Cherry- “New Dawn”

32. Lonnie Holley- "That's Not Art, That's Not Music"

33. Chance the Rapper featuring Jamila Woods- “No More Old Men”

34. Key Glock- “Watch Da Throne”

35. TheBabeGabe featuring Monogram- “1999”

36. Burna Boy- “Sweet Love”

37. Little Simz- “Free”

38. Gabito Ballesteros and Fuerza Regida- “Chrome Hearts”

39. Mekons- “Before the Ice Age”

40. СОЮЗ featuring Tim Bernardes- “Lingua Do Mundo”

41. Lil Wayne- “Welcome to Tha Carter

42. Mobb Deep- "Against the World"

43. Viagra Boys- “You N33d Me”

44. Sam Gendel and James McAlister- “Stair 1”

45. Brandee Younger- “Gadabout Season”

46. Bon Iver featuring Dijon and Flock of Dimes- “Day One”

47. Margo Price and Tyler Childers- “Love Me Like You Used Do”

48. Lana Del Rey- “Henry, come on”

49. Colter Wall- “Memories and Empties”

50. Bonnie “Prince” Billy- “Turned To Dust (Rolling On)”

See also: The Top Performances of 2025, The Top Albums of 2025, The Top EPs of 2025, The Top Reissues and Reimaginings of 2025

and

The Top Albums, EPs and Reissues of 2024, The Top Songs of 2024, The Top Performances of 2024

The Top Albums of 2025

Since Debí Tirar Más Fotos was released on January 5, I’ve listened to the album by There Stands the Glass' 2020 Artist of the Year several times a week. Bad Bunny’s blend of vintage and futuristic sounds remained fresh, a trait that’s made Debí Tirar Más Fotos my favorite new album throughout the year. Selections two through ten in the following account battled for second place. Notable omissions including Cécile McLorin Salvant, SML and Morgan Wallen are represented in my ranking of the best songs of 2025. As always, there’s no overlap between the two listings.

1. Bad Bunny- Debí Tirar Más Fotos
Shake it like a Polaroid picture.

2. Rosalía- Lux
Her beautiful dark twisted fantasy.

3. Linda May Han Oh- Strange Heavens
My review.

4. Clipse- Let God Sort Em Out
So be it.

5. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Bone Bells
A perfect tandem.

6. Patricia Brennan- Of the Near and Far
Chamber jazz.

7. Billy Woods- Golliwog
Dank.

8. Gerald Clayton- Ones & Twos: Expanded Edition
My review.

9. John Glacier- Like a Ribbon
Icy.

10. Clarice Jensen- In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness
Bach-based drones.

11. Charles Lloyd- Figure in Blue
Hushed brilliance.

12. Armand Hammer- Mercy
Gold produced by the Alchemist.

13. Vox Clamantis- Pärt: And I heard a voice
My kind of praise and worship music.

14. Sylvie Courvoisier and Wadada Leo Smith- Angel Falls
Angels flying too close to the ground.

15. Karol G- Tropicoqueta
The rumors are true: I’m in the tank for the Columbian star.

16. Vijay Iyer and Leo Wadada Smith- Defiant Life
Resistance.

17. Mike- Showbiz!
No business.

18. Emily D’Angelo, Ben Bliss, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Metropolitan Opera- Tesori: Grounded
My review.

19. Military Gun- God Save the Gun
Bang! You’re dead.

20. Destroyer- Dan’s Boogie
Luxurious dissipation.

21. Tucker Wetmore- What Not To
My review.

22. Nick Shoulders- Refugia Blues
High and lonesome in the Ozarks.

23. Mister Water Wet- Things Gone and Things Still Here
The best album out of Kansas City in 2025.

24. Kelela- In The Blue Light
Live.

25. Carl Allen- Tippin’
My review.

26. Sō Percussion- 25x25
An eight-hour anniversary celebration.

27. Tyler, The Creator- Don’t Tap the Glass
Golf wang forever.

28. Nels Cline- Consentrik Quartet
My review.

29. Laura Jurd- Rites & Revelations
European folk-jazz fusion.

30. Anouar Brahem- After the Last Sky
ECM-core.

31. Camila Nebbia, Marilyn Crispell and Lesley Mok- A Reflection Distorts Over Water
Free trio.

32. Mike and Tony Selzer- Pinball II
Tilt.

33. Ches Smith- Clone Row
With Mary Halvorson, Liberty Ellman and Nick Dunston.

34. Sumac and Moor Mother- The Film
Horror show.

35. James McVinnie- Dreamcatcher
My review.

36. Olivia Dean- The Art of Loving
Pop life.

37. Salif Keita- So Kono
Transcendent.

38. Young Miko- Do Not Disturb
Ring the alarm.

39. Oren Ambarchi- Ghosted III
Haunting.

40. Juana Molina- DOGA
A lovely comeback.

41. Aruán Ortiz- Créole Renaissance
Solo piano.

42. claire rousay and Gretchen Korsmo- quilted lament
Meaningful ambience.

43. Cosmic Ear- Traces
My review.

44. Trio of Bloom- Trio of Bloom
Innovative power trio.

45. Grupo Firme- Evolución
Instant party.

46. Dijon- Baby
Princely.

47. Atmosphere- Jestures
My review.

48. Tim Berne- Yikes Too
My review.

49. Jeff Tweedy- Twilight Override
So many songs.

50. Al Foster- Live at Smoke
With Chris Potter, Brad Mehldau and Joe Martin.

The Top EPs of 2025

Only because the rollout of his recent work was so aggravating, I disqualified Makaya McCraven for this exercise. I dispensed with the four excellent EPs released by the disruptive musician in 2025 by collectively placing them at #9 in this ranking. A few household names are interspersed with weirdos of all stripes in the following list of multi-song sets with run times of less than thirty minutes.

1. Gabriel Jacoby- gutta child
D’Angelo lives.

2. Nathy Peluso- Malportada
Dizzying salsa.

3. Prism Quartet- El Eco de un Tambor
My review.

4. Earl Sweatshirt- Live Laugh Love
More rap songs.

5. Maruja- Tir na nÓg
My review.

6. Adrian Younge- Something About April III
Orchestral MPB.

7. Billy F Gibbons- Cruising with Billy F Gibbons
Beer drinker and hell raiser.

8. Rafiq Bhatia- Each Dream, A Melting Door
Paint them black.

9. Xiao- Control
Swedish power violence.

10. Hyldon- JID023
The Brazilian octogenarian revived and refreshed.

11. Jack White- No Name Live
Back in the garage.

12. Mavi- The Pilot
Underground sobriety.

13. Himari- Himari
Child prodigy.

14. Squint- Drag
Heavier than the Gateway Arch.

15. Stakes Is High- Stakes Is High
KC punx.

16. Lizzie Berchie- Night Shift
Lush neo-soul.

17. Sam Gendel and James McAlister- Diamond Staircase
One of several new Gendel EPs.

18. RMW and Maadcxmmander- Pretty Boy Swag
This, right here.

19. Julius Asal- Siena Tapes
Ravel recital.

20. DJ Python- i was put on this earth
Downcast beats.

21. Anysia Kym- Purity
Beats by Tony Seltzer.

22. Lazerbeak- To Be Tubing
Gently down the (Doomtree) stream.

23. Matt Pryor- The Salton Sea
Adult emo.

24. Flooding- adult 1
Kansas City art-punk.

25. Vince Gill- 50 Years from Home: Secondhand Smoke
Tender mercies.