1 Angel Bat Dawid & Tha Brothahood “Live” The free jazz album dropped digitally last October to thunderous acclaim; now art becomes artifact, finally, with the long-delayed arrival of physical releases on vinyl and CD.
2 Josh Caterer “The Hideout Sessions” The Smoking Popes frontman booked the venerable Chicago club for a one-night set of genial, sweetly slamming rock takes on “songs your grandparents used to dance to.”
3 E Woods “Late Night” It only takes a few syllables—purred or growled, or shot sky-high like shrapnel—to confirm that R&B singer-songwriter E (for Emily) Woods is the real goddamn deal.
4 Joanie Pallatto “My Original Plan” The veteran jazz singer-songwriter teams with guitarist Fareed Haque for a seamless set of original tunes that cover a dizzying stylistic range, from samba and swing to pop and torch.
5 queen mars “Trust Issues” The lowercase styling of her name is possibly a sly reference to the scaled-back singer-songwriter’s seductive casualness; she rides serenely over an EP’s worth of stylish, genre-embracing pop.
Robert Rodi is an author, spoken-word performer and musician who has served as Newcity’s Music Editor since 2014. He’s written more than a dozen books, including the travel memoir “Seven Seasons In Siena.” His jazz quintet recently completed a two-year residency at Uncommon Ground, and he regularly hosts a jazz singers’ jam at Lizard’s Liquid Lounge. His literary and music criticism has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Salon, The Huffington Post and many other national and regional publications. Contact: robert@newcity.com
Music Top 5: March 2021 Outstanding new album releases by stellar Chicago artists, available now.
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