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To this list we must add Jan Garbarek.
Every musician brings something unique to the aural world. A way of phrasing. Romanticism of melody. Cryptic storytelling with chords. Energy. Shocking bursts of seeming anti-logic. Tone.
Tone.
In the jazz/instrumental music realm, tone is it. The musician's voice. We as listeners identify with that sound and can use it, even in 'blind' situations, to make an identification. It's always amazed me how quickly that connection can be made. A pair of notes follow by an octave (well, almost) leap and we know it's Ornette Coleman. A few dark notes from Miles' trumpet...and you're there.
If we're talking about Jan Garbarek, a single note is sufficient. One high, expressive note from that soprano sax and you just know. There's no mistaking Garbarek's sound.
Now, if you want to categorize Garbarek's music, well, that's a more difficult task. He's produced out-there abstractions, variations on Nordic folk music, pensive and ambient solo workouts, film music and majestic neoclassical beauty (just check out his collaborations with the Hilliard Ensemble).
Garbarek's latest, In Praise Of Dreams, brings some new bits into the mix. Namely, the viola of Kim Kashkashian and the percussion of Manu Katché.
Katché, who has played with an impressive list of artists from many genres including Al DiMiola, Loreena McKennit, Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'Dour, Sting, and Jan Garbarek, adds just a hint of groove, never gets in the way and seems to be on the hunt for 'the perfect accent'.
In Kim Kashkashian, Garbarek may have found his ultimate counterpart. Tonally, her viola is more than just complementary to Garbarek's sax (both soprano and tenor)...it is at home.
Together, these three musicians work some understated magic. On "Knot of place and time", Katché sets up the shell of a groove while Garbarek and Kashkashian play melodic statements and counterpoints. It's like hearing the two players dance.
Garbarek, in a nod to his film work, also makes use of some samples and looped electronics here and there. This doesn't move In Praise closer to the electroacoustic genre, but instead adds nice atmospheric touches. In the middle of "Scene from afar", Katché is left alone to play some skittish brushes on the snare, while something is going on the in the background...the wind in the air? a reversed bell tone? a snippet of conversation? It's hard to tell, but it does get your attention.
It's taken Jan Garbarek six years to bring us In Praise Of Dreams (Rites came out in 1999). The decision to work together with Kashkashian and Katché was a fine one. I, for one, am left wanting more from this trio. Let's hope the wait is a little less than six years.
For me this is the ultimate record to be spinning this time of year. So many holiday seasons have gone by and the tv special A Charlie Brown Christmas never fails to bring it all home.Plus, "Linus and Lucy" is just so much fun.
Merry Chistmas 2004 everybody. Hope everybody is safe and warm on this freezin' cold day (ya, ya...you guys out west and in Florida can just shut up about it).
No, your selection sucks?
Well, if your store wasn't such a godawful mess, maybe I'd have half a chance?
I'm not that cranky.
This year I go back to Sinatra, Martin and Davis, who seemed to always being playing on the house stereo when I was a kid. They were also on the tube a fair amount, though it's a safe bet that I had no idea why they seemed so funny. And speaking of TV, check out the closing "Auld Lang Syne", taken from The Dean Martin Show. There's some off-key, late and slurry stuff going on there...which makes me think that they'd been living up to their reputation and tipping a few back.
Though this compilation contains material found on other records, there are a few gems not found anywhere else: Sammy Davis' "Jingle Bells", Dean Martin's "Peace On Earth/Silent Night". There are also a couple of other Sammy Davis rarities: "Christmas All Over The World" and "The Christmas Song", the latter taken from Sammy's tribute album to Nat King Cole.
It has been one crazy year. What I need now is some downtime with the family, some original lounge music, and maybe just a little of the 'ole egg nog (which may or may not have a little somethin' in it).
What with all of the holiday goings-on, the bits of nasty weather, work deadlines, awful Christmas Specials on the tube, etc...a person can get just plain frazzled this time of year. So what's needed on the drive to work is some romatic & swanky musings. Pink Martini definitely fits the bill.The suave Oregon-based collective bravely mixes together influences from many, many genres to produce something completely unique. I can't even give it a label. In fact, let's not even try.
Just consider this giant array of instruments: trumpet, trombone, violin, cello, bass, guitar, mandolin, koto, harp (you know, the "angelic" kind), vibraphone, cangas, drums, piano. Take that tonal palette and apply it to some bossa nova, samba, jazz and a pile of other genres. It's very cool stuff, and somehow manages to relax and get the toes tappin' at the same time.
Oh, and then there's the delicious voice of China Forbes. In English and in French...I am enthralled. The title track, which reminds me of the class "Lousianna Fairytale", has a beautiful and winding melody that almost too good.
Pink Martini's slant on their musical, uhmmm...."polyglotness", is best summed up by founding member and pianist Thomas Lauderdale:
...or when driving to work on a snowy Friday morning.
Then Google comes along to announce that they're going to index just about every book ever printed.
It's just too funny.
Here are the pop, rock & whatever records that have spent the most time in my player.
I think of Waits as my cranky old uncle. With bits and pieces of his voice sampled and turned into percussion, you're gonna have to search far and wide to find anything with this much texture. Americana from the wrong side of tracks.
(Original Blogcritics review here)
If Tom Waits is my cranky old uncle, then Bjork is my oddball cousin (probably a kissin' cousin too, but I can't into that now, this being the holidays and all). An album built around the human voice. Spectacular.
(Original Blogcritics review here)
The bratty California punkers branch out with a punk rock opera. Some people were miffed at the political stance. Hey, this is punk. You want conformity? Politics aside, the music is a total blast.
(Original Blogcritics review here)
The backlash was inevitable. I don't care. This is a voice that melt's the coldest heart.
(Original Blogcritics review here)
Those who've given up on U2 have, well...given up on U2. The rest of us can sit back an enjoy one of the finest records they've ever done.
(Original Blogcritics review here)
Just when the yapping about Jack White hit its peak (the consensus being that White is a guitar god...and that White is a poser), he teams up with Country goddess to produce one of the best country records I've heard in years. Loretta Lynn on Interscope Records? Who woulda thunk it?
(Original Blogcritics review here)
Ani goes lo-fi to come up with a most intimate and powerful album.
(Original Blogcritics review here)
Sure, nostalgia plays a big part in my love of this one. But still, these guys can flat out play.
(Original Blogcritics review here)
On a freezing cold night in Portland, Maine, this pop band just about redefined the extatic musical experience.
(Original Blogcritics review here)
Fans of the E-Street Band, in particular those who've been to the shows, know that Patti's got it going on. This record proves it.
(Original Blogcritics review here)
Night, under a bridge on the banks of the Kennebec river in a central Maine town. A high school adventure. My friend Andrew has a bottle of Guinness Stout. One swallow and...hmmmm....roofing tar with slight coffee notes. Good thing it was dark outside. I bet my face twisted up, as we liked to say, "somethin' awful". Since I now consider the dark brew from Ireland a magical thing, I can only look back at my young self and think, "Well, maybe that's what you get for tryin' stuff like that at the age of sixteen!"
And speaking of magical beverages: in the living room of a close friend's home in rural Vermont. Scotch. Laphroaig, to be specific. Mmmmm....the smokiness, the complexity. I'm hooked right from the start. Part of me is a little embarrassed for smugly looking down my nose all those years at snooty movie and television characters pouring themselves a glass of something amber from a swanky crystal decanter. Am I snooty now?
Scenario #4. It hasn't happened yet. It involves fois gras. Sorry, I'm just not interested. My mind is closed on this one. Yes, I've heard all about the velvety texture and the supreme flavor. No. I've never been keen on liver-y things..and then there's the 'how' of fois gras. Icky.
Sushi. Stout. Scotch. Fois Gras: acquired tastes. This description, obviously useful when getting at food adventures, is also handy in the world of music. Acquired tastes? There are plenty of them. Ornette Coleman. Anthony Braxton. Sun Ra. Philip Glass. Cecil Taylor.
But...John Scofield? He's just a jazz guitar player. Is he that far up on the quirk scale? Yes and no. What most folks seem to object to is the tone of his guitar. Sco's torqued and phase-washed sound is far removed from the purity of a Jim Hall or a Wes Montgomery. Still, it's his chosen voice, just like the funk-edged music he comes up with.
At first you might think that the food/music parallel is just too much of a stretch. But our relationship to the foods we consume and our reactions to them can be quite complex...and, like music, our preferences for a particular item can change over time. When you first heard Miles Davis, did you have a "sushi" reaction? Or was it more of a Guinness thing? The charms and complexity (of food and music) can be partially hidden, revealing themselves more fully over time.
But what about the fois gras, the music to be avoided? Think of it as an opportunity. For years you've heard about the oddness and abstraction of a particular musician. He's always spoken of in glowing terms. You keep wondering what, if anything, you've been missing. Go ahead, take a chance. You may surprise yourself.
Oh, I should probably mention this way cool John Scofield album I picked up yesterday. Yes, he of the acquired taste guitar tone has put together a fantastic live record. Scofield and cohorts Steve Swallow (electric bass) and Bill Stewart (drums) played live at the Blue Note over one evening last year, producing some tasty single-malt-as-sound. Swallow and Stewart dance around the song structures while Scofield weaves in the particulars. Sco's penchant for angular phrasing is on full display here. Some of the runs almost seem like they're going to trip up and faceplant, yet somehow that never happens. One musical thought is begun...and is picked up by another player. These guys have known each other for many years and it shows. The slippery funk of closer "Over Big Top" is just too much fun. Sensitivity? Check out the cover of Bacharach's "Alfie". In the liner notes, Scofield comments:
He was talking about the Scofield/Swallow combination, but it really does apply the the trio.
Anybody hungry yet?
A couple of good friends of mine are heading down to New York City this weekend. The lucky dogs are getting to see The Bill Frisell Quintet at the Village Vanguard.Man, oh man...am I more than just a little bit jealous (though here I have to admit that, not being much of a city person, I would have to think long and hard about actually going to NYC, and would probably find a way to not make the trip).
Bill Frisell is right up there on my list of favorite guitarists. He's added his distinctive style (that should be styles) to the records of a diverse roster of artists including Paul Motian, Jan Garbarek and John Zorn. His solo projects, while rooted in jazz/improvised music, can be mild and searching or caustic and angular. Frisell isn't afraid to mix those elements up. Americana, ambient (sort of), sheets of sonic torture....sometimes all in one tune!
I picked this particular record because the lineup is closer to what's going on with the current quintet (with horns and such). Plus, in a typical Frisell-type quirk, several of the tunes use a tuba to hold down the bass parts. If you've never heard Bill Frisell before, this might be a good place to start. You can hear the shimmering, attackless guitar, the distorted, coming-from-all-directions guitar and a stellar band (Kenny Wheeler on horns, Bob Steward (tuba), Jerome Harris (electric bass) and the incredible Paul Motian (drums)).
I hope Ty & Meg enjoy themselves at the Vanguard. I'll be sitting on the couch watching Trading Spaces...trying not to pout.
Gees, what the hell is wrong with people?
Maine Millenium.Not to start an argument or anything, but I do believe that this particular hot sauce is one of, if not the, tastiest hot sauces I've ever had the pleasure of scorching my mouth with.
You can get it from the great Maine company Porcupine Island. They also have picked fiddleheads, if you're interested in such things.
Well, maybe my chemistry's off just a little.
Time for some vitamin I (ibuprophen) and a shower.
So I flip on the tube last night and see Larry King interviewing the members of Motley Crue. What? On Larry King?Well, the Crue is getting back together to go on a world tour, put out a greatest hits package and make us all wonder if maybe we didn't just miss that 'ole hair metal just a little bit.
Still, what struck me hardest about the interview was just the King/Crue juxtaposition. I mean, this is big news? Is the record coming out on a label owned by Cnn/Time/Warner? Is Larry King a fan of the Crue? (I would have payed money to hear him announce the Crue on stage "...Motley F*cking Crue!!!")
Uh, anyway....I'm working at home today because of the lovely snow & freezing rain...and I've got Shout At The Devil blasting on the stereo. Gees, what's next? Quiet Riot?
P.S. Check out Blogcritic Matt Wardlaw's Motley Crue Reunion post. It's got actual facts & stuff.
Because of this, my expectation is that Dylan can't carry on a conversation. Turns out it's not true....though some of the single-syllable answers were pretty danged funny. "You wrote 'The Times They Are A Changing' [or whatever the song was, can't quite remember] in 15 minutes?"...."Yep".
That riddle-ish story is the favorite koan of world-ly musician Stephan Micus.
Koan? Koans are stories used by Japanese Zen masters to help their students transcend the limits of the rational mind (probably the most famous of these is "What is the sound of one hand?")
You've got to go back over a 25 years to see just how important this story of the master, student and life has been to Stephan Micus. The text of the koan was put on the cover of his 1977 ECM record, appropriately titled KOAN. Micus chose that title because he felt that koans and "all good music" share the same capacity to liberate.
Capacity to liberate. Hmmm...I'll have to get back to that.
But first: why describe Micus as "world-ly"? He visits different parts of the world, seeking out, studying and making his own various exotic instruments and their related musics. On Life, for example, instruments are used from Burma (chimes), Ireland (tin whistle), Japan (sho), Bavaria (zither), India (dilruba), Egypt (nay), Ghana (talking drum) and Ethiopia (bagana). This is not "world music" (never really liked that term), this is world-ly music.
For 53 minutes, Micus tells the story employing his collection far-flung instruments and his voice (the koan's text is sung in Japanese). One particularly interesting aspect is the 'inverted' structure. As Micus describes it, most compositions begin at the simple end of things, building toward complexity. However, the nature of the story suggested an opposite approach: complex at the start (the introduction and back story of the monk and the old master's question), simple at the end (the master's answer, presented as a solo voice).
Emotionally, the results also range widely. From the stately and prayerful ending of "The Master's Answer" to the passionate explosion of "Naration One and The Master's Question". The story is well told, with much love and attention to detail.
The capacity to liberate? Music can do that? Yes. We 'use' music for many things. Entertainment. Distraction. Emotional salve. All are valid. I can look back at my own early listening years and see clearly the recordings that started cracks in my idea of what music could be (an 'out' Chick Corea album, A.R.C, comes to mind). That 'liberation' was a small (but important!) part of my transformation toward becoming the writer/musical obsessive that I am today.
Stephan Micus recognizes that music does indeed have the power to liberate. He's traveled all around this globe to prove it. What is the meaning of Life? We all have to decide for ourselves.
Several chunks of media over that last two days have pushed me in direction of pulling out this old gem.The first was a very interesting interview on New Hampshire's NHPR show The Front Porch (audio here or here) with Laurie Sargent and Billy Conway, two members of the group Twinemen. The second was a Boston Globe review of the soon-to-be-released Mark Sandman box set.
I was a huge fan of Morphine. What a sound. Dubbed "low rock", Morphine played a kind of sorta-jazz/sorta-blues/sorta-rock with a minimalist instrument lineup of bass, drums and baritone sax. It was shocking and depressing when Sandman, such a creative force, passed away from a heart attack at the age of 46.
After Sandman's passing, a collective of Boston-era musicians formed Orchestra Morphine. One of the members of that group was Laurie Sargent, formerly of the Boston pop/rock group Face To Face (anybody remember the song "10, 9, 8"?). Sargent and Conway (who are married, living in Hopkinton, NH) along with Dana Colley went on to form Twinemen.
I own the first Twinemen CD but haven't listened to it in a while. The snippet they played during the interview though, brought chills. The sound is very Morphine-ish, but with Sargent's vocals woven in. It reminds me of when I was first discovering Morphine. I was hooked, and played Good nearly every day for weeks. It also reminded me of when the band I used to be in played the song "Out Of My Hands", by Face To Face. "10,9,8" may have been a little new-wavish confection, but "Out Of My Hands" rocked!
If you've never heard Morphine before, Good is the place to start. By the time you hit the slinky "You Look Like Rain", you'll be hooked too.
I feel like this site needs to be reformatted somehow. But I think that same danged thought every year about this time and then the thought goes away over the holiday break.
It was an interesting show (heck, it was an interesting network, back when the 'M' actually stood for "music"). Can an artist/band deal with going 'naked', the protective cover of studio sheen stripped away? Enough creativity and imagination to pull off a reinvention?
Sometimes, the results were impressive and powerful. The emotions embedded in songs seemed to be magnified.
Some of these ideas where on my mind when I reviewed Seal's Seal IV. The tunes that hit the hardest ("Touch", "Tinsel Town", "Don't Make Me Wait") had their Trevor Horn-levels dialed way, way back. Seal's voice took over.
A whole pile of tunes have been given such a treatment on disc #2 of Seal's greatest hits package Best | 1991-2004. "Acoustic" versions of Seal's hits are presented, showing not only what a great songwriter the man is, but also: The Voice (as if we had any doubts about that!)
Now, I'll admit here that, in general, I'm not much of a modern R&B fan. It almost always boils down to the production, which just seems too, uhm...inorganic. Maybe it's the overuse of ProTools. Dunno. So maybe I can't be called a 'real' fan of Seal, since his more amped up songs leave me cold. But I appear to be heading back in the other direction. This voice has so much power, soul and inner detail that I'm beginning to see it as supporting and enhancing the production. On first listen, I doubted I'd be headed back to disc #1 very often. Now I'm having to reconsider.
Very often, record companies are accused of attempting to "trick" people into buying Best-Of packages by offering things like alternate takes and/or previously unreleased live tracks. In this particular case, that charge is without merit. Seal's "acoustic" disc stands alone. Proudly.
After getting my hair cut last night I drove up to the old homestead to drop off all of the housekeys that we'd assembled during the Thanksgiving break (including the funny flame-colored and tie-dyed ones we got for the guys). I went to the door and knocked and the lady of the house came over and jokingly said "Hey, you don't live here anymore!". Y'know, it's an odd thing to be waiting for someone to answer the door when it used to be your own door for so many years.
I also got complements from the lady of the house's mom on my decoration choices. Nice to hear after all of the snotty suburban "it's weird" comments.
