Music Awards Festival 2015

JAZZ/WORLD

Countless jazzbos have been influenced by the namesake bandleader of the Johnny Case Trio. For decades, the agile pianist has kept Cowtown connected with its straight-ahead jazz roots while mentoring new crops of musicians. Flipside takes improvisation to the nth degree, throwing charts to the curb to

conjure groove-based songs seemingly out of thin air. There’s little that can be called conventional about Lazy Summer’s mix of ukulele, bass, and trumpet, but the lineup is fertile ground for innovative songwriting and arrangements. Soul diva Tatiana Mayfield’s silvery, sweet voice has made her a regular at clubs and jazz festivals at home and abroad, and multi-instrumentalist Rachella Parks has a new album and a new mission — to uplift audiences through her gospel-tinged meditations. — E.B.

AVANT GARDE/EXPERIMENTAL

Phil Ford, a.k.a. BLKrKRT (“Blacker Karat”), masterfully splices, dices, and stitches hip-hop, jazz, and pop samples into dope electronica. Speaking of dope, Clear Acid’s phantasmagorical blend of overdriven, distorted guitars and muted vocals is as hypnotically trippy as it is ominous. Droidekka re-envisions early Nintendo and Sega game soundtracks with reggae beats and horns. Part drumline, part carnival show, and all funk/R&B, The End of the World Parade throws one helluva party. Momentary Gamelan Ensemble loops layer upon layer of improvised lines into pure sublimity. Tidals creates sly mind-fucks by mixing newsreels, dub, and electronica, and longform mid-tempo compositions also get the dub treatment by Wire Nest. The results are as deceptively intriguing as a Zen garden. — E.B.

PUNK

There’s something for everyone here. On the PG-rated side, Pocket Theory’s virtuosic prowess and pristine three-part vocals betray the band members’ age –– they’re still in their teens. Breakneck riffs, relentless percussive barrages, and short-form songs are the stuff of Not Half Bad and Special Guest. The Wife and Kids dig ska, and the garage-influenced Fluorescents play with a lighter, more transparent sound arranged niftily. Proto-punks Toy Gun blend rapid-fire chops with rich, poetic lyrics, while Bitch Bricks’ melodic rawness proves that angst can be just as beautiful as a Rothko. Fungi Girls transcend the

genre, with wheels-off drums, pyrotechnic guitarwork, and bright, distant vocals, and Raging Boner is a virtuosic outfit that’s unafraid to thrash. — E.B.

BLUES/SOUL

If Leon Bridges doesn’t win this one, the fix is in! Just kidding. As tremendous as the throwback crooner’s year has been, he wouldn’t be where he is without other local soul daddies and mamas to keep his game on point. Exhibit A: Chris Watson Band, whose music draws from assorted Americana traditions, especially Delta blues and Cajun swing. Feletha Black may just be catching on in the local scene, but her blend of nu-soul and ’70s R&B/funk sounds like Erykah Badu collaborating with Curtis Mayfield on acid. And don’t forget about Rick Anderson and Ray Reed, both of whom were invited to play sanctioned showcases at South by Southwest this year. Lastly, young Michael Lee and

his band will rock your socks off around the clock. — E.G.

GUITARIST PERFORMANCE

Lots of people are guitarists, and some even shred, but what good are chops without feeling? Guitar players who find ways to make a scale or chord more than the sum of its notes are the ones who really stand out. The meandering, shadowy country-rock of Jake Paleshic’s “Long May I Sleep” spills out of the headphones like a late-night drive through New Mexico, but it’s Tyler Brown’s moody picking and understated soloing that really give the track the tension of a half-remembered dream. Using lots of notes to actually say a lot, Landon Cabarubio’s sunny, NES game-nodding fretwork on Cleanup’s “Grey Lion” showcases not only highly technical skills but an ear for making an effects pedal’s sound perfectly suit a song. No shortage of blues-based axmen in town, but these two cats really stand out. On Bomb Quixote’s alt-rock funk piece “T-Virus,” Christian Funes conjures up images of Jimi Hendrix fronting Smashing Pumpkins, while Tyler Vela’s incendiary, fuzzed-out runs imbue Dead Vinyl’s lo-fi joint “Live at the Galaxar” with scuzz-rock glam. In the traditionally metallic sense, Tyrel Choat transforms existential philosophizing on The Cosmic Trigger’s “Voltaire” into a soaring astral quest on a spaceship piloted by Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, while FOGG’s Chase Jowell continues assembling the bones of Sabbath and Blue Cheer into fresh forms. His playing on “Mountain” represents new doomy heights for him. And what would a guitarists-only ballot be without any surf. On The Ape Hangars’ “La Muerte de Sigues,” Raj’s reverberating arpeggios give your ears a cinematic deep-dive into early ’60s waves and Spaghetti Western tropes. — S.S.

TEXAS MUSIC

The Red Dirt variety of Texas Music is slowly becoming more sophisticated, evidenced by a wider variety of chord patterns and instrumentation, smarter lyrics, and more estrogen. In the past, women were (barely) tolerated. Now they’re taking the lead. Charla Corn is a former Nashville songwriter and CMT correspondent-turned-radio personality at The Ranch, with a Nashvillean-spiced sound. Green Light Pistol, five sisters and a guy who married in, is stretching the genre’s boundaries in some interesting and cool directions. Phil Hamilton lacks in the estrogen department but is squeezing elements of modern pop into his decidedly Texas twang. The king of the Stockyards troubadours, Brad Hines is a longtime picker who understands the importance of strong narrative. His songs tell stories that don’t sound like they were pulled out of his ass five minutes before the sound engineer punched the “record” button. The Joey Green Band has been hitting the scene hard for years. Their shows have gotten tighter and their sound more polished and dynamic –– think Wilco instead of Willie, with plenty of rock twang and power ballads. Mike Ryan’s soulful pipes and diverse musical background give his music a polish without diluting his power and authenticity. — J.P.