13 albums deserving of last look

A last look at 2013 offers 13 albums that deserved more love from music fans than they got:

Ashley Monroe, Like a Rose, Warner Bros. As a member of the Pistol Annies and a contributor to the music of TV’s Nashville, Monroe is hardly unknown. Like a Rose was one of 2013’s best albums. Rose, like the excellent work by Kacey Musgraves (Same Trailer, Different Park) and Brandy Clark (12 Stories), worked with traditional country music settings and told thoroughly modern stories.

Townes Van Zandt. Ominvore Records reissued several of the great Texas singer-songwriter’s albums, including High Low & In Between and Late Great Townes Van Zandt and a two-CD set of previously unreleased recordings, Sunshine Boy. Van Zandt is known for songs such as “Pancho and Lefty,” “If I Needed You” and “To Live Is to Fly.”

Sarah Vaughan. Two 2013 releases showed off the singer’s brilliance: the four-CD box Divine: The Jazz Albums 1954-1958 (Verve Select) and Sophisticated Lady: The Duke Ellington Songbook Collection (Pablo/Concord), the latter a combination of two releases from 1979 and 1980. Vaughan’s range, unerring musicality and emotional interpretations rival an opera singer’s.

Chris Thile, Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1, Nonesuch. Bach wrote these complex and difficult pieces for the violin, but Chris Thile plays them on his mandolin. So what does a musician playing a quintessential bluegrass instrument bring to this? Thanks to his exceptional musicianship, imagination and heart, the music is alive and rings with passion, joy and melancholy.

Mavis Staples, One True Vine, Anti-. As anyone who attended her Little Rock show can attest, Mavis Staples is a stirring singer whose voice demands a response and stirs the spirit. This mostly gospel collection is intimate, hushed and thoughtful, contemplating the human condition and loneliness. Staples takes us there yet again.

Jeri-Mae G. Astolfi, Here (and There), Innova. The contemporary classical pianist moves the heart and the head with this wonderful collection, which opens with “Crystal Springs,” a haunting piece written by Phillip Schroeder, who teaches theory and composition at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.

Mary Gauthier, Live at Blue Rock, CD Baby. Mary Gauthier’s Louisiana roots shine in these sometimes intense, sometimes confessional, always intelligent songs. “I Drink” is a sobering, searing and insightful inspection of a real-life problem. Other standouts include “Our Lady of the Shooting Stars” and “Wheel Inside the Wheel.”

Rebecca Martin, Twain, Sunnyside. Jazz, folk and pop are elements of this singer-songwriter’s work. On the surface, everything seems OK. But listen more closely … and there is an unease that sorrow could be just around the corner. Hearts break, dreams are challenged and perceptions may be gauzy.

Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette, Somewhere, ECM. This wonderful trio, recorded live, plays a deeply moving set of mostly standards, including the title song and “Tonight” from West Side Story, Johnny Mercer’s “I Thought About You” and Harold Arlen’s “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.”

James Booker, Classified, Rounder. This exceptional reissue of the late, influential New Orleans pianist’s last album, which was remixed by original producer Scott Billington, is nearly doubled with the addition of bonus tracks. It is that rare album on which the unreleased material only makes the original stronger.

The Mavericks, In Time, Valory Music Group. The group’s first album in 10 years is a rootsy, retro, gripping work that thrills from first song to last. Led by the powerfully expressive voice of Raul Malo, the group embraces a true melting pot musical approach that touches on blues, Mexican, Cuban, countrypolitan, Tex-Mex and more. Malo’s voice echoes Roy Orbison and Marty Robbins, rich and emotional.

Over the Rhine, Meet Me at the Edge of the World, Great Speckled Dog. So many artists can’t sustain a single album, let alone a two-CD set. Not a problem for husband/ wife duo Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler. This rootsy music embraces jazz, blues, folk, pop and more. How can you resist “Called Home” when Bergquist sings “evening shadows come to fall/on the awful and the beautiful/Every wound you feel that needs to heal.” Don’t.

Ted Ludwig Quartet, Stand Up, Wig Wom. Ted Ludwig, a New Orleans jewel of a guitarist, is a fixture at Little Rock’s Afterthought Bistro and Bar and the Capital Hotel Bar and Grill. His fluid, heartfelt playing, coupled with the strong support of the late and wonderful bassist Joe Cripps, pianist Mike Pellera and drummer Brian Brown makes Stand Up a rewarding, often enthralling listen. Ludwig is a distinctive player with a deep melodicism and a lot of heart.