As I wrote in my Critic’s Choice for drummer and former Chicagoan Weasel Walter, who plays Friday night at Enemy and Tuesday night at Elastic, he’s been churning out recordings since he moved to Oakland in 2003, especially in the past few years. He dials down his usual frenzied energy on the brand-new Last Distractions (Singlespeed) with reedist Aram Shelton (another former Chicagoan) and cornetist Josh Berman, and he’s part of an unlikely meeting with drummer Grant Calvin Weston—a longtime cohort of James Blood Ulmer—on last year’s Nassira (Amulet). He’s also put out several albums via his own UgExplode imprint—which he’s been running since his Chicago days—where he plays with folks like Mary Halvorson, Peter Evans, Greg Kelley, and Marc Edwards. He also recently released a knockout archival dig of music by no wave combo the Toy Killers (pictured), The Unlistenable Years.
