Showing posts with label musica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label musica. Show all posts
30.9.15
11.6.15
28.3.15
Kenosha Kid ~ 'Inside Voices'
Artwork by Ryan White
With plenty of heart and some wry smiles, Kenosha Kid's newest album Inside Voices is dense with smoldering intensity and musicianship at the apex of instrumental/experimental jazz (or post-rock or whatever genre peg you prefer to hammer home). Recently self-released on 12" vinyl and digital, guitarist-composer-arranger Dan Nettles helms another inventive outing as Kenosha Kid based in Athens, GA. Joined by an international crew of horn players, tonight is the album release party at Hendershot's, sets at 8:30 & 10:00, as part of the music/electronic art/tech Slingshot Festival.
"Vanishing Point" opens the album with melancholic horns in harmony giving way to floating guitar interwoven with more spirited trumpet lines from Jacob Wick. Nettles' guitar work is effortless and subtle, laying out warm melodies with blue tinges while drummer Marlon Patton unleashes cymbal sparkle.
Wrapping up side A is the gorgeous, slow burning "Liberty Bell", a reverent anthem rife with deeply soulful guitar work accompanied by lush tenor saxophone from Greg Sinibaldi and superbly restrained drumming.
On "Map of the Universe" Handley lays back on bass, reigning in pent up energy from repeated horn rhythms, giving the tune a sense of steady pull, like hauling in an ancient vessel, hand over hand, slowly inching toward the longshore. Patton's shuffling drums engender a blend of drive with a soft touch. Nettles' guitar takes turns with saxophone soaring over the groove as feet become inches until contact. This is perhaps the album's best simmering mix of careful arrangement and wild improvisation.
Inside Voices has been in the works for two years, explains Nettles: six to eight months writing and arranging, another year fleshing out the songs through live performance, and finally a week-long residency at Hendershot's Coffee Bar paired with concurrent studio time at Studio 1093, just blocks from Nettles' home. Getting everyone together in Athens was a challenge, but ringleader Nettles says he's "thankful to have a pool of great musicians who know my songs". Once assembled, the project coalesced between nightly on-stage experimentations and daily recording sessions, essentially the distillations of the prior evening's flashes of inspiration. "It takes a little more spice to keep my ears on board," adds Nettles. The album and Kenosha Kid's live shows are always exhilarating as a result.
The vinyl release is adorned with some very special photographs, graphically incorporated with style by Ryan White. Nettles' grandmother cheerfully graces the cover. His aunt, Bea Nettles, is the source of the timeless negatives used on the album; she's well-known in fine art circles for her photography, especially her tarot card series. Aesthetic sophistication evidently runs in the family.
The B side feels looser like the group has found a cruising trajectory. The horns add creepy levity to the 60's throwback vibe of "Zombie Party"; Patton's landslide drum fills tumble like gore strewn across varsity sweaters. "Mushmouth" swings with funk guitar, sending the listener on something like a Chips-era highway chase; later, an all-too-brief bass solo from Handley is punctuated by joyful horn hits and more Meters'-style guitar from Nettles. Patton's bass drum is propulsive and his intro on "Everyone I Know" displays his mastery of the instrument with fully-automatic, hair-trigger sensitivity as the band rises to a fever.
Clearly Nettles, Patton and bassist Robby Handley possess the sort of self-described "telepathic" musical relationship which constitutes the essential heart of Kenosha Kid. To see their live performance as a trio is to witness the finest in creative collaboration; they also genuinely seem to have a great time playing together. Inside Voices is the boiled down essence of more than a decade of musical partnership. The final package is clean but not clinical, with an emphasis on ensemble playing, approachable melodies, and spontaneity with dashes of electronic effects to enliven the senses.
6.2.15
Woke Up on the RIght Side of the Bed
I do have plenty to be thankful about.
How about you?
The longer version of this tune is in the Sound Recordings archive at CulturalEquity.org. The online repository is packed with Lomax's field recordings, films, interviews, festival performances, photographs, and so much more--the living history of our country's sonic and visual culture.
How about you?
The longer version of this tune is in the Sound Recordings archive at CulturalEquity.org. The online repository is packed with Lomax's field recordings, films, interviews, festival performances, photographs, and so much more--the living history of our country's sonic and visual culture.
26.11.14
R.L. Burnside & Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax is well known as the pre-eminent field recordist and folklorist who helped bring the musical traditions of Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta to the public interest (setting aside his trove of recordings from around the world). Together with his pioneer folklorist father, John Avery Lomax, their impact on American culture reverberates still.
For a narrow slice of the Lomax legacy--and a subject close to my heart--collected here are films he made of R.L. Burnside of Holly Springs, Mississippi. I came to know Burnside's music after a series of late 90's remixes on Fat Possum Records and listened back from there. On a trip to New Orleans, I spotted him in these historic photos, probably taken before he was ever recorded.
The first tune below is from Sound Machine Groove, an album released in 1997 but recorded in1979 & '80. The film was shot two months before I was born. In college, I listened to this song over and over--couldn't get enough of that shuffling feel!
Here Burnside's sons get into it. You can imagine these kids playing along with their dad before they could manage instruments.
Those 90's remixed blues tunes, oddly enough, put R.L. Burnside on folks' radar. It's where I first heard him, and in one of the tunes he calls out, "On drums, my grandson, Cedric Burnside...". I've since seen Cedric Burnside playing live to a sparsely occupied venue in Athens, GA. Most people there didn't understand the tradition that this young guy was carrying forward. Despite the meager crowd, he was as solid singing behind the drum set as his grandfather was behind a guitar.
One of the comments under this video says it all: Cedric Burnside is "the best example of a self-actualized person I have ever seen. Pure joy!" Here he is doing a mean hambone with longtime collaborator Trent Ayers. See if you don't agree.
R.L. Burnside - bio and discography at Fat Possum
R. L. Burnside - Delta Boogie interview
Alan Lomax - at CultureEquity.org, field recordings & plenty more
24.10.14
28.9.14
Israel "Cachao" Lopez
Who is Cachao?
Israel "Cachao" Lopez is often lauded as the creator of Mambo, which then led to the advent of Salsa music. More broadly, he is respected as the greatest bassist in modern Cuban musical history. Over six decades his innovations on the instrument and his participation in countless groups have made him a giant who has spread the Cuban sound out of the Caribbean and into the mainstream.
I came upon Cachao and his musical legacy via the actor (and avid percussionist) Andy Garcia in a documentary entitled Cachao: Uno Más, currently on PBS's American Masters. Discussed in the film, the recording above is a version of Lopez's seminal cut called "Chanchullo", originally titled "Rareza de Melitón" in 1937, and clearly the source for Tito Puente's "Oye Como Va" later popularized by Carlos Santana. Below is the film's synapsis from PBS:
The Grammy-winning bassist Israel “Cachao” Lopez died in Coral Gables, Florida in March 2008, almost 90-years old. A maestro of legendary status on the world stage and ultimately considered one of the greatest Afro-Cuban musicians of all time, he had made his home in the United States for the past four decades. Coming from a family of classical musicians, he had formal conservatory training and held a seat in the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra for 30 years, performing under the direction of all of the legendary international conductors of the time – beginning at age 10! American Masters pays tribute to the Father of Mambo in the series’ bilingual film, Cachao: Uno Más premiering Monday, September 20, 2010... The film is produced, narrated and illuminated by the actor Andy Garcia, a close friend and ardent fan, who helped re-establish Cachao’s career in the ‘90s. Among the film’s many treats is Garcia playing the bongos with Cachao.
Here's one of Cachao's first American releases--can't wait to hear it!
27.2.14
30.1.14
Yasiin Gaye by Amerigo Gazaway
5.1.14
11.11.13
4.10.13
Levon Helm
This post started last year as a remembrance of the late Levon Helm (1940-2012). After this long, though, I'll let the music talk. With fall settling on the South, this tune venerates the farmer and connects us to his/her plight, still.
20.5.13
11.5.13
3.2.13
The Odd Trio: Birth of the Minotaur Review
The Odd Trio stirs up familiar but still exhilarating stew with their self-produced second release, The Birth of The Minotaur (2012). With a penchant for playfully thoughtful, woven expressions on saxophone, guitar, and drums, the Odd Trio concoct a decidedly well-penned, avantjazz menu. What started out as a joyful exploration on their debut Lo-Fi Hi-Jump (reviewed here) has had its flavors deepened into a cerebral yet tuneful dish in this most recent effort.
To open, the trio head far south of their native Athens, GA to the brackish Gulfside font of American music with "Raucous Bacchus". Atop a rump-swinging rhythm from percussionist Todd Mueller, reed king Marc Gilley and loop-laying guitarist Brian Smith trade syncopated riffs beside funky blues-tinged bayous. The lead-off shuffle and Nocentelli-like guitar licks issue the calls of Mardi Gras indian chiefs with a tipsy feel; including throaty baritone sax punctuation, the track is an intoxicating pleasure referencing the Greek god it aptly venerates.
While the tongue-in-cheek "Whiskey" is experimental good fun with a discorock vibe and shredded guitar (an impossible combo?), "Sunday Morning Improvisation" closely approximates some of the Odd Trio's more subdued live musings as a free-flowing, improvised route through nebulous, sandy territory. At live shows, the resourceful Mueller, Gilley, & Smith let this kind of track pool and flow in numerous directions at once while the crowd finds a handhold for a novel journey. On record, layered themes wash over the listener in the same manner that the best orchestral music builds in waves of melodic interplay.
"Ricio de Mare" stands out as the set's most complete cut. A solid rocking introduction leads into shifting time signatures--a go-to Odd Trio technique that keeps the listener teetering edgewise. The effect is equally theatrical and bombastic, like the questionable safety of a wooden roller coaster: risky but thrilling nonetheless. Gilley's soprano soars, casting shadows around the cymbal-flecked landscape, while Smith and his guitar build drama with searing crunch. Just before a clever circling back to the start, themes in unison lend some stability to what is, at times, a fairly gnarly ride; it's packed to the gunwales with inventiveness from this classically trained cohort.
The Odd Trio seems to draw from volumes of discipline, creativity, and overall gusto with Birth of the Minotaur. Expect future explorations to continue confounding and invigorating with their by now well-established taste for challenging, original material at the forefront of instrumental jazz.
The Birth of the Minotaur - the full release via BandCamp
or B o.t. M - via CDBaby
"Pasiphae's Wild Ride" - Enjoy a side of visuals, at no extra charge
The Odd Trio @ Facebook
or T.O.T. @ SoundCloud
To open, the trio head far south of their native Athens, GA to the brackish Gulfside font of American music with "Raucous Bacchus". Atop a rump-swinging rhythm from percussionist Todd Mueller, reed king Marc Gilley and loop-laying guitarist Brian Smith trade syncopated riffs beside funky blues-tinged bayous. The lead-off shuffle and Nocentelli-like guitar licks issue the calls of Mardi Gras indian chiefs with a tipsy feel; including throaty baritone sax punctuation, the track is an intoxicating pleasure referencing the Greek god it aptly venerates.
While the tongue-in-cheek "Whiskey" is experimental good fun with a discorock vibe and shredded guitar (an impossible combo?), "Sunday Morning Improvisation" closely approximates some of the Odd Trio's more subdued live musings as a free-flowing, improvised route through nebulous, sandy territory. At live shows, the resourceful Mueller, Gilley, & Smith let this kind of track pool and flow in numerous directions at once while the crowd finds a handhold for a novel journey. On record, layered themes wash over the listener in the same manner that the best orchestral music builds in waves of melodic interplay.
"Ricio de Mare" stands out as the set's most complete cut. A solid rocking introduction leads into shifting time signatures--a go-to Odd Trio technique that keeps the listener teetering edgewise. The effect is equally theatrical and bombastic, like the questionable safety of a wooden roller coaster: risky but thrilling nonetheless. Gilley's soprano soars, casting shadows around the cymbal-flecked landscape, while Smith and his guitar build drama with searing crunch. Just before a clever circling back to the start, themes in unison lend some stability to what is, at times, a fairly gnarly ride; it's packed to the gunwales with inventiveness from this classically trained cohort.
The Odd Trio seems to draw from volumes of discipline, creativity, and overall gusto with Birth of the Minotaur. Expect future explorations to continue confounding and invigorating with their by now well-established taste for challenging, original material at the forefront of instrumental jazz.
The Birth of the Minotaur - the full release via BandCamp
or B o.t. M - via CDBaby
"Pasiphae's Wild Ride" - Enjoy a side of visuals, at no extra charge
The Odd Trio @ Facebook
or T.O.T. @ SoundCloud
4.1.12
Charles Bradley on WNYC
America still hasn't lost its soul.
And here's proof.
Find more music from Charles Bradley on Daptone Records.
Check out more videos from WNYC's Soundcheck.
And here's proof.
Find more music from Charles Bradley on Daptone Records.
Check out more videos from WNYC's Soundcheck.
28.10.11
The Odd Trio: Lo-Fi Hi-Jump Review
Although the title cut from The Odd Trio's debut packs a viciously funky wallop, the surrounding tracks also cover a varied topography of tight, avant-garde compositions alongside liberating improvisations. On the whole, Lo-Fi Hi-Jump is an essential jazz fusion tasting menu from a group whose work has only just begun to ripen.
"Do What Now" features the three classically trained musicians on their tippy toes, reaching for the fruits of guitarist Brian Smith's songwriting labors. As a member of the Georgia Guitar Quartet, and now a new psyche-chamber ensemble called Revien, Smith deliberately leaps between tricky syncopation with saxophonist Marc Gilley (the HEAP) and alternatingly liquid yet sometimes heavily-shredded metal riffs. Drummer Todd Mueller (Arasmus Ensemble) drives the trio's evident "interest in shifting meters" deftly holding together this taut theme.
On "Lost Man's River", The Odd Trio most closely approximates its fevered live explorations. According to some succinct liner notes, this spontaneous track was recorded at the group's very first session, yet it already has the feel of years spent together in the discipline of jazz creation. With an utter sense of openess, nothing is lingered upon, no single melodic phrase or rhythm drops anchor, so the entire piece rocks and meanders without ever becoming capricious.
"Indian Summer" serves up a considerable dose of Latin seasoning that underpins floating alto-sax lines from Marc Gilley, Flamenco-style classical guitar accents from Smith, and driving rimshots with shuffling pandeiro from Mueller. On the whole, this one drums up pastels, the art-deco Miami waterfront, choppy Atlantic waves reflecting off chromed rides, at least for this reviewer. The echoing melody contrasts brightly against one of the more understated electric guitar solos of the collection.
With a two-year anniversary on the horizon, there's no indication of letting up for The Odd Trio. The three crafty musicians have, by now, become attuned to one another's nuanced playing, especially in live performance. If anything, what Lo-Fi Hi-Jump tends to hold on reserve is delivered at full amplitude on stage. Expect the recorded catalog to grow; these songs represent just one vintage from a vast cellar of highly energetic, consistently inventive artistry.
Lo-Fi Hi-Jump ~ listen and buy the debut release from The Odd Trio
The Odd Trio ~ the official band page
"Do What Now" features the three classically trained musicians on their tippy toes, reaching for the fruits of guitarist Brian Smith's songwriting labors. As a member of the Georgia Guitar Quartet, and now a new psyche-chamber ensemble called Revien, Smith deliberately leaps between tricky syncopation with saxophonist Marc Gilley (the HEAP) and alternatingly liquid yet sometimes heavily-shredded metal riffs. Drummer Todd Mueller (Arasmus Ensemble) drives the trio's evident "interest in shifting meters" deftly holding together this taut theme.
On "Lost Man's River", The Odd Trio most closely approximates its fevered live explorations. According to some succinct liner notes, this spontaneous track was recorded at the group's very first session, yet it already has the feel of years spent together in the discipline of jazz creation. With an utter sense of openess, nothing is lingered upon, no single melodic phrase or rhythm drops anchor, so the entire piece rocks and meanders without ever becoming capricious.
"Indian Summer" serves up a considerable dose of Latin seasoning that underpins floating alto-sax lines from Marc Gilley, Flamenco-style classical guitar accents from Smith, and driving rimshots with shuffling pandeiro from Mueller. On the whole, this one drums up pastels, the art-deco Miami waterfront, choppy Atlantic waves reflecting off chromed rides, at least for this reviewer. The echoing melody contrasts brightly against one of the more understated electric guitar solos of the collection.
With a two-year anniversary on the horizon, there's no indication of letting up for The Odd Trio. The three crafty musicians have, by now, become attuned to one another's nuanced playing, especially in live performance. If anything, what Lo-Fi Hi-Jump tends to hold on reserve is delivered at full amplitude on stage. Expect the recorded catalog to grow; these songs represent just one vintage from a vast cellar of highly energetic, consistently inventive artistry.
Lo-Fi Hi-Jump ~ listen and buy the debut release from The Odd Trio
The Odd Trio ~ the official band page
27.10.11
Fela Soul by Amerigo Gazaway
This guy has a way with amalgamation. I couldn't resist sharing this collaboration put together by one Amerigo Gazaway (then in Nashville with Gummy Soul), which blends De La Soul's classic Three Feet High and Rising with samples of Fela Kuti, from the vaults, along with a handful of other recognizable artists -- Gorillaz, for one.
"Trouble In The Water" slings a hip-hop arrow carried aloft via a classic afrobeat saxophone riff by Nigeria's legendary native son. "Itsoweezee" slips a skankin' vibe beneath De La Soul's original tune to make, in the words of the late Peter Tosh, a "brand new secondhand".
And so on. Enjoy.
* Please be advised of some rough language right from the start. Ear muffs, y'all little ones.
Kuti started his jazz career on trumpet at London's Trinity College of Music, in case you need more Nigerian horn after hearing the diamonds in Gazaway's tracks below.
"Trouble In The Water" slings a hip-hop arrow carried aloft via a classic afrobeat saxophone riff by Nigeria's legendary native son. "Itsoweezee" slips a skankin' vibe beneath De La Soul's original tune to make, in the words of the late Peter Tosh, a "brand new secondhand".
And so on. Enjoy.
* Please be advised of some rough language right from the start. Ear muffs, y'all little ones.
6.10.11
ⵜⵏⵔⵓⵏ Tinariwen: Making of 'Tassili'
With the prospect of finally seeing Tinariwen, a Touareg group out of Northern Mali, I went sifting and found this beguiling documentary short which features the band, 'in situ', laying down tracks amidst the wind and sand and crackling fire of Tassili n'Ajjer located in southeast Algeria.
The album, called simply Tassili, promises to entrance listeners as ever, although this time leaning more heavily on acoustic instruments rather than the electrified mesmerizations of the group's past projects. Take a moment to drift with Tinariwen.
The album, called simply Tassili, promises to entrance listeners as ever, although this time leaning more heavily on acoustic instruments rather than the electrified mesmerizations of the group's past projects. Take a moment to drift with Tinariwen.
For the observant, the guys in this video "thumbnail" are Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe of the American indie rock band TV On The Radio who decided to make the trip over for some desert collaborations on a handful of tunes.
Tinariwen - official website
Tassili - more on this wind-sculpted region, like an Arches or a Zion N.P. of North Africa. Actually, it turns out, because of its amazing rock formations and abundant cave paintings, Tassili is a national park, too!
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