J.D. Porter
@jdporter.bsky.social
https://www.jdporter.org/ Literature/DH scholar, Price Lab at UPenn | I work on text mining, canons, literature and philosophy, and so on | Writing in PMLA, Synthese, The Atlantic, Cultural Analytics, the Stanford Literary Lab pamphlet series, etc
Finally, I just want to mention Dave Sumner’s monthly roundups of new releases on Bandcamp. These are really useful for keeping up with new work and discovering new artists, since he covers a wide range of styles/labels/scenes/etc. I really enjoyed reading his work this year.
The Best Jazz on Bandcamp, November 2025
Our guide to the best jazz LPs on Bandcamp.
daily.bandcamp.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Finally, I just want to mention Dave Sumner’s monthly roundups of new releases on Bandcamp. These are really useful for keeping up with new work and discovering new artists, since he covers a wide range of styles/labels/scenes/etc. I really enjoyed reading his work this year.
Along those lines, I saw a video where Akinmusire recommends Paul Jacobs’s recordings of Schoenberg piano pieces. I’ve never really enjoyed Schoenberg, but this new context unlocked a lot of the beauty in his work, and sheds some interesting light on Akinmusire’s soloing, too.
Paul Jacobs - Arnold Schoenberg's Three Pieces, Op. 11 (1975, High-Quality Remaster)
YouTube video by wayneongaku
www.youtube.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Along those lines, I saw a video where Akinmusire recommends Paul Jacobs’s recordings of Schoenberg piano pieces. I’ve never really enjoyed Schoenberg, but this new context unlocked a lot of the beauty in his work, and sheds some interesting light on Akinmusire’s soloing, too.
One thing I’ve really enjoyed recently is pairing albums—listening to one and then the other a few times in a cycle.
I found the Glover album around the same time I was getting into Wayne Shorter’s Schizophrenia, and each made the other a lot more fun; they tell different stories when juxtaposed.
I found the Glover album around the same time I was getting into Wayne Shorter’s Schizophrenia, and each made the other a lot more fun; they tell different stories when juxtaposed.
Tom Thumb
YouTube video by Wayne Shorter - Topic
www.youtube.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:17 PM
One thing I’ve really enjoyed recently is pairing albums—listening to one and then the other a few times in a cycle.
I found the Glover album around the same time I was getting into Wayne Shorter’s Schizophrenia, and each made the other a lot more fun; they tell different stories when juxtaposed.
I found the Glover album around the same time I was getting into Wayne Shorter’s Schizophrenia, and each made the other a lot more fun; they tell different stories when juxtaposed.
Oh is a brilliant composer, crafting song structures that use memorable hooks/riffs and melodic phrases to scaffold wide-ranging improv. Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, one of my favorite current musicians, plays warm, brilliant lines, and drummer Tyshawn Sorey unifies the group.
December 30, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Oh is a brilliant composer, crafting song structures that use memorable hooks/riffs and melodic phrases to scaffold wide-ranging improv. Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, one of my favorite current musicians, plays warm, brilliant lines, and drummer Tyshawn Sorey unifies the group.
#1
Strange Heavens
Linda May Han Oh
Kind of Like: Andrew Hill, certain Woody Shaw, Ornette Coleman, Tomeka Reid Quartet
Good for: Everything, just put this on all the time
I couldn't get this short enough, so see the next post for a description.
Strange Heavens
Linda May Han Oh
Kind of Like: Andrew Hill, certain Woody Shaw, Ornette Coleman, Tomeka Reid Quartet
Good for: Everything, just put this on all the time
I couldn't get this short enough, so see the next post for a description.
Strange Heavens, by Linda May Han Oh
12 track album
lindamayhanoh.bandcamp.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:15 PM
#1
Strange Heavens
Linda May Han Oh
Kind of Like: Andrew Hill, certain Woody Shaw, Ornette Coleman, Tomeka Reid Quartet
Good for: Everything, just put this on all the time
I couldn't get this short enough, so see the next post for a description.
Strange Heavens
Linda May Han Oh
Kind of Like: Andrew Hill, certain Woody Shaw, Ornette Coleman, Tomeka Reid Quartet
Good for: Everything, just put this on all the time
I couldn't get this short enough, so see the next post for a description.
#2
Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Nicole Glover
Kind of like: Wayne Shorter
Good for: The part of the roadtrip where you enter or exit the city; late night reading
Combines accessible, pretty melodies/harmonies/songs with adventurous, knotty solos. It’s peaceful without ever being somnolent.
Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Nicole Glover
Kind of like: Wayne Shorter
Good for: The part of the roadtrip where you enter or exit the city; late night reading
Combines accessible, pretty melodies/harmonies/songs with adventurous, knotty solos. It’s peaceful without ever being somnolent.
Obsidian
YouTube video by Nicole Glover - Topic
www.youtube.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:11 PM
#2
Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Nicole Glover
Kind of like: Wayne Shorter
Good for: The part of the roadtrip where you enter or exit the city; late night reading
Combines accessible, pretty melodies/harmonies/songs with adventurous, knotty solos. It’s peaceful without ever being somnolent.
Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Nicole Glover
Kind of like: Wayne Shorter
Good for: The part of the roadtrip where you enter or exit the city; late night reading
Combines accessible, pretty melodies/harmonies/songs with adventurous, knotty solos. It’s peaceful without ever being somnolent.
#3
Apple Cores
James Brandon Lewis
Kind of like: Jeff Parker, Don Cherry, certain Archie Shepp
Good for: The ride to work or the bar after, cooking with a game on in the background
Smart, high energy, angular yet catchy. The album works as a coherent piece, with recurring themes and sly callbacks.
Apple Cores
James Brandon Lewis
Kind of like: Jeff Parker, Don Cherry, certain Archie Shepp
Good for: The ride to work or the bar after, cooking with a game on in the background
Smart, high energy, angular yet catchy. The album works as a coherent piece, with recurring themes and sly callbacks.
Apple Cores, by James Brandon Lewis
11 track album
jamesbrandonlewis.bandcamp.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:09 PM
#3
Apple Cores
James Brandon Lewis
Kind of like: Jeff Parker, Don Cherry, certain Archie Shepp
Good for: The ride to work or the bar after, cooking with a game on in the background
Smart, high energy, angular yet catchy. The album works as a coherent piece, with recurring themes and sly callbacks.
Apple Cores
James Brandon Lewis
Kind of like: Jeff Parker, Don Cherry, certain Archie Shepp
Good for: The ride to work or the bar after, cooking with a game on in the background
Smart, high energy, angular yet catchy. The album works as a coherent piece, with recurring themes and sly callbacks.
#4
Solace of the Mind
Amina Claudine Myers
Kind of like: Debussy, Oscar Peterson, Kris Davis, Messiaen, Mary Lou Williams
Good for: Walking the dogs at sunset, looking out a train window
A serene blend of hymns, ambient, gospel, and quiet avant garde. I’m new to this album, but it stays with you.
Solace of the Mind
Amina Claudine Myers
Kind of like: Debussy, Oscar Peterson, Kris Davis, Messiaen, Mary Lou Williams
Good for: Walking the dogs at sunset, looking out a train window
A serene blend of hymns, ambient, gospel, and quiet avant garde. I’m new to this album, but it stays with you.
Solace of the Mind, by Amina Claudine Myers
10 track album
redhookrecords.bandcamp.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:08 PM
#4
Solace of the Mind
Amina Claudine Myers
Kind of like: Debussy, Oscar Peterson, Kris Davis, Messiaen, Mary Lou Williams
Good for: Walking the dogs at sunset, looking out a train window
A serene blend of hymns, ambient, gospel, and quiet avant garde. I’m new to this album, but it stays with you.
Solace of the Mind
Amina Claudine Myers
Kind of like: Debussy, Oscar Peterson, Kris Davis, Messiaen, Mary Lou Williams
Good for: Walking the dogs at sunset, looking out a train window
A serene blend of hymns, ambient, gospel, and quiet avant garde. I’m new to this album, but it stays with you.
#5
Myra Melford Splash
Myra Melford w/Michael Formanek & Ches Smith
Kind of like: Ethan Iverson, early Cecil Taylor
Good for: Contemplating, doing a bit more work at 9pm
Melford is one of those improvisers where you feel like you can hear her thinking as she plays. It’s very fun to think with her.
Myra Melford Splash
Myra Melford w/Michael Formanek & Ches Smith
Kind of like: Ethan Iverson, early Cecil Taylor
Good for: Contemplating, doing a bit more work at 9pm
Melford is one of those improvisers where you feel like you can hear her thinking as she plays. It’s very fun to think with her.
Myra Melford Splash, by MYRA MELFORD with Michael Formanek and Ches Smith
10 track album
intaktrec.bandcamp.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:05 PM
#5
Myra Melford Splash
Myra Melford w/Michael Formanek & Ches Smith
Kind of like: Ethan Iverson, early Cecil Taylor
Good for: Contemplating, doing a bit more work at 9pm
Melford is one of those improvisers where you feel like you can hear her thinking as she plays. It’s very fun to think with her.
Myra Melford Splash
Myra Melford w/Michael Formanek & Ches Smith
Kind of like: Ethan Iverson, early Cecil Taylor
Good for: Contemplating, doing a bit more work at 9pm
Melford is one of those improvisers where you feel like you can hear her thinking as she plays. It’s very fun to think with her.
First some honorable mentions:
Jacob Garchik - Ye Olde 2 (complex, free, loud, cool guitar work)
Steve Lehman - The Music of Anthony Braxton (sharp, pretty renditions of classic work)
Mary Halvorson - About Ghosts (her usual brilliant, slurry, angular, intellectual work)
Jacob Garchik - Ye Olde 2 (complex, free, loud, cool guitar work)
Steve Lehman - The Music of Anthony Braxton (sharp, pretty renditions of classic work)
Mary Halvorson - About Ghosts (her usual brilliant, slurry, angular, intellectual work)
December 30, 2025 at 8:05 PM
First some honorable mentions:
Jacob Garchik - Ye Olde 2 (complex, free, loud, cool guitar work)
Steve Lehman - The Music of Anthony Braxton (sharp, pretty renditions of classic work)
Mary Halvorson - About Ghosts (her usual brilliant, slurry, angular, intellectual work)
Jacob Garchik - Ye Olde 2 (complex, free, loud, cool guitar work)
Steve Lehman - The Music of Anthony Braxton (sharp, pretty renditions of classic work)
Mary Halvorson - About Ghosts (her usual brilliant, slurry, angular, intellectual work)
Jazz did a lot of heavy lifting for my sanity in 2025, and for whatever reason (coincidence? not?) it was a really good year for new jazz releases. I wanted to do a little thread about my favorite albums, and give a top five.
December 30, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Jazz did a lot of heavy lifting for my sanity in 2025, and for whatever reason (coincidence? not?) it was a really good year for new jazz releases. I wanted to do a little thread about my favorite albums, and give a top five.
The extent to which everyone refuses to learn whether it's "Sliwa" or "Silwa" is very funny to me
November 3, 2025 at 9:15 PM
The extent to which everyone refuses to learn whether it's "Sliwa" or "Silwa" is very funny to me
The occupied city winning because its diverse prosperous team came through thanks to guys who don’t usually get the glory is what we’re going for here, I think.
November 2, 2025 at 4:31 AM
The occupied city winning because its diverse prosperous team came through thanks to guys who don’t usually get the glory is what we’re going for here, I think.
Love this piece by Laura McGrath, who finds an important question for the book industry—“What if we’ve been over-estimating the role that genre plays in the life of a reader?"—in a recent paper I wrote with James English.
The Omnivore Dilemma
Digging into the Data of Contemporary Readers
laurabmcgrath.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Love this piece by Laura McGrath, who finds an important question for the book industry—“What if we’ve been over-estimating the role that genre plays in the life of a reader?"—in a recent paper I wrote with James English.
As a metaphor maybe
October 20, 2025 at 10:56 PM
As a metaphor maybe
I think a lot of people feel an almost familial pride in and love for their cities, and among other things these marches highlight each city, its particular faces, slang, colors, streets, communities. It's ineffable but I think it’s profound.
October 19, 2025 at 6:24 PM
I think a lot of people feel an almost familial pride in and love for their cities, and among other things these marches highlight each city, its particular faces, slang, colors, streets, communities. It's ineffable but I think it’s profound.
Roughly 40% of political journalism is “Right Wing Guy Dislikes Left Wing Thing”
October 13, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Roughly 40% of political journalism is “Right Wing Guy Dislikes Left Wing Thing”
It’s so clear he didn’t write this: the fanfic cadence, coherent narrative, diverse (for him) vocab, topical focus, quotations, a sense of other people’s experience, the notion that he spoke to Melania. These Potemkin ramblings show that even his old delights (griping online) are beyond him now.
“A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday — Not one, not two, but three very sinister events! First, the escalator going up to the Main Speaking Floor came to a screeching halt…”
September 25, 2025 at 1:00 AM
It’s so clear he didn’t write this: the fanfic cadence, coherent narrative, diverse (for him) vocab, topical focus, quotations, a sense of other people’s experience, the notion that he spoke to Melania. These Potemkin ramblings show that even his old delights (griping online) are beyond him now.
If eating road kill were just a little more dangerous, I wouldn't have COVID right now.
September 9, 2025 at 6:09 PM
If eating road kill were just a little more dangerous, I wouldn't have COVID right now.
Really excited to see this piece come out! Studying eclectic readers has been a fascinating and extremely rewarding challenge. We wound up operationalizing both genre and eclecticism in ways that (classic DH stuff here) point to the limits of both concepts.
culturalanalytics.org/article/1429...
culturalanalytics.org/article/1429...
The Eclectic Reader | Published in Journal of Cultural Analytics
By James English, J. D. Porter. Using Goodreads data, this study explores the overlooked eclecticism of readers, revealing both patterns of cultural hierarchy and the conceptual limits of eclecticism ...
culturalanalytics.org
August 22, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Really excited to see this piece come out! Studying eclectic readers has been a fascinating and extremely rewarding challenge. We wound up operationalizing both genre and eclecticism in ways that (classic DH stuff here) point to the limits of both concepts.
culturalanalytics.org/article/1429...
culturalanalytics.org/article/1429...
These were the best donuts in the world, and really good kolaches, too. Now we're a year from them being as bad as Krispy Kreme, <5 years until they're gone entirely.
July 28, 2025 at 8:16 PM
These were the best donuts in the world, and really good kolaches, too. Now we're a year from them being as bad as Krispy Kreme, <5 years until they're gone entirely.
Dorothy Ashby
Lee Konitz
Yosuke Yamashita
Andrew Hill
Lee Konitz
Yosuke Yamashita
Andrew Hill
July 25, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Dorothy Ashby
Lee Konitz
Yosuke Yamashita
Andrew Hill
Lee Konitz
Yosuke Yamashita
Andrew Hill
I realized I forgot about Paterson, because I was on a bus, and that's the kind of movie that permanently colors certain experiences, not least: riding a city bus. Anyway I'd put it roughly 6th on this list.
July 2, 2025 at 7:04 PM
I realized I forgot about Paterson, because I was on a bus, and that's the kind of movie that permanently colors certain experiences, not least: riding a city bus. Anyway I'd put it roughly 6th on this list.
Out of the cradle, endlessly boppin
June 28, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Out of the cradle, endlessly boppin