Music Monday: Slo-Mo, Lithic, and Tenor

Working at Isthmia gives me less time to listen to music than working in Cyprus, but this weekend, I did have time to listen to the latest Ambrose Akinmusire and Mary Halvorson album, Slo-Mo Neon Luminate Hoverings (2026). I have to admit that I don’t know many albums that feature a duet between a trumpet and a guitar (although the concept seems to align with ECM’s mid-1970s sound). This album, though, is nothing like mid-1970s ECM. Akinmusire’s trumpet is too assertive—maybe along the lines of Wadada Leo Smith—and Halvorson’s guitar has an interesting edge that brings this album to life in an utterly contemporary way. I’ve also been listening to Joe Henderson’s 1985 recording at the Village Vanguard: State of the Tenor (1986) with Ron Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums. It’s an album (actually two albums “Volume 1” and “Volume 2″) that I should listen to more seriously when I get home, but it’s been a nice companion this summer. Finally, I’ve been enjoying Laura Misch’s new album,…