New music: Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, Linda May Han Oh, Morton Feldman

POP/ROCK

Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks

Buckingham Nicks (Rhino)

There are two ways to review Buckingham Nicks, the long-awaited digital reissue of the 1973, pre-Fleetwood Mac album by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, their only recording project as a duo.

Imagine you had never heard of them, that they were an obscure 1970s act who made one album and broke up. You might think of Buckingham Nicks as a kind of period curiosity, a taste of vintage Los Angeles singer-songwriter pop, with its folkish stylings, well-crafted melodies and earnest sensibilities.

The scale is modest and nothing is likely to strike you as a lost classic, but you’ll probably take to at least a handful of the 10 songs — the strumming riffs, the catchy choruses, the way Buckingham’s sensitive tenor is filled out by Nicks’ husky vibrato. You might end up wondering what happened to the two hippie-artists.

But if you’re in the great universe of Buckingham-Nicks obsessives, you’ll find (or rediscover) a trove of clues and portents. The skillful acoustic picking that opens the instrumental Stephanie will remind you of Buckingham’s work on Fleetwood Mac’s Never Going Back Again. The opening gallop and heavy bass of Don’t Let Me Down Again looks ahead to Second Hand News and the slow buildup of Lola My Lola feels like a test run for The Chain.

The reissue adds clarity to the sound of Buckingham Nicks that you don’t get from the muddled, unauthorized downloads that turn up online. And the album has a solid cast of session musicians, including Elvis Presley veterans Ronnie Tutt on drums and Jerry Scheff on bass and LA fixture Waddy Wachtel on guitar. But the arrangements never quite anchor or amplify the songs the way drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie would after Fleetwood’s fateful invitation to Buckingham to join his band, and Buckingham’s fateful insistence that his girlfriend come along.

Give Fleetwood Mac a listen if you haven’t lately and the difference will grab you from the opening track, Buckingham’s Monday Morning — an instant leap into a future that Buckingham and Nicks had only begun to imagine. ★★★ out of five

STREAM: Races Are Run

—Hillel Italie, The Associated Press

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JAZZ

Linda May Han Oh

Strange Heavens (Biophilia Records)

It’s a no-brainer to suggest that the jazz trio is a foundational format of the genre. This iteration has leader/composer bassist Linda May Han Oh with longtime colleagues Tyshawn Sorey on drums and Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet. It is a delight.

The compositions offer full scope of moods and energy for all three, with Akinmusire’s trumpet offering the most powerful solo riffs within Oh’s vibrant leadership. Her melodies are simply excellent, displaying a thoughtful and challenging compositional style.

The opening track, Portal, begins with a driving bass intro, leading to Sorey and Akinmusire increasing the tension of the melody wonderfully. The title track is more restrained, with Oh offering the story as the main informant. Living Proof moves the needle more to the hard edge and Akinmusire abandons any linear approach to the tune. Sorey and Oh dig in too, with great results.

Acapella is a meditative ballad that could even hold up to sad lyrics. The Sweetest Water drives the energy level substantially with Akinmusire testing both the high- and low-range options for a trumpet. Folk Song is another example of an evocative melody that is both restrained and powerful. Oh’s arco bass lines are just right and the track is a highlight.

Perhaps the best attribute of this album is the remarkable chemistry between all members. The unison moments are clean and respectful and they lead to explosive solos, especially by Akinmusire, who flies through dissonant changes that are woven into the reaction of the others with total aplomb. While having many melodic moments, the non-melodic ones are also accessible and enjoyable.

One of the most exciting things about contemporary jazz is the constant re-invention of the “basic” elements, such as the jazz trio. With this album the three tell their stories not just with musical skill but with heart. Highly recommended. ★★★★½ out of five

STREAM: Folk Song, Noise Machinery

— Keith Black

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CLASSICAL

Morton Feldman

The Viola in My Life (Harmonia Mundi)

In this upcoming, less-is-more release, French violist Antoine Tamestit showcases the music of 20th-century composer Morton Feldman. Four shorter, individual pieces comprising The Viola in My Life explore different instrumental combinations with the string instrument, each drawing the listener into its innermost depths of quiet contemplation.

One becomes instantly riveted by the first piece of the cycle, in which the soloist juxtaposes his nuanced, sparse lines against the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln chamber ensemble, led by Harry Og.

This is carried further during the second offering with its ascending motifs, a ghostly celesta and clarinet added to the mix of viola, violin, flute and percussion.

The penultimate movement, featuring only viola and piano, particularly highlights Tamestit’s well-controlled, refined artistry, as his string lines seamlessly bleed into pianist Paulo Álvares’s simple harmonic underpinnings.

Last but not least, the solo viola rises above the full orchestra, now led by François-Xavier Roth during the final movement, originally commissioned by the Venice Biennale in 1971. Its plaintive voice seems to pose questions without any answer, in this highly abstract, haunting new addition to the Feldman discography. ★★★ out of five

STREAM: The Viola in My Life, ‘III’

— Holly Harris