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| Updated: 3/02/12 | © 1999 - 2012 Cool Bunny Media | Da Cool Bunny sez 'Spank that Plank, Baby!' | |
#3 |
Bill Wren & Frank Ralls - Journey Around The Sun: A Mayan Odyssey
Bill Wren is a composer who makes albums without performing on them - by that I mean that he composes the music and finds the best musicians possible to perform and record his albums for him. In this instance Journey Around The Sun: A Mayan Odyssey is a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist and arranger Frank Ralls. From the album's title you may be expecting an album of exotic sounding music derived from the Mayan culture, but in reality you have a set of fourteen tracks of impressionistic instrumentals, based on Mr Wren's romantic view of the Mayans. To be honest I don't think anyone really knows how Mayan music sounded. That aside, this is a wonderful selection of highly atmospheric sonic sketches that is rich in audible detail, lush melodies, and classic musicianship. For me I would classify this more as 'easy listening' in the original usage of the term rather than 'new age'. There is more emotional depth in the music than the usual pallid new age stuff that is designed to get you zoned out. There are far too many people involved as performers for me to mention in the space I have but Frank Ralls is the man responsible for most of the orchestrations and arrangements, and provides keyboards, synths, percussion and programming. The track titles are: Winter Solstice 2012, Between Heaven & Earth, Water & Flame, Journey Around The Sun, Apocalypse Island, Mayan Prophecy, Mayan Moonlight, The Lost City of Maya, The Voyage, Vessel of the Seven Lords, Road To Chichen Itza, Beyond The Misty Veil, New Heave New Earth, Eternal Hope. The CD also contains two bonus videos of album tracks. Journey Around The Sun: A Mayan Odyssey is an album that rises above categorisation, it is as much an event as it is a collection of tunes. It deserves to be widely heard and enjoyed, and it wouldn't surprise me if someone like the Discovery Channel don't come knocking on these gentlemen's doors wanting to use this music on their documentaries. Highly recommended. For more information about this artist, album and availability visit: www.journeyaroundthesun.com, www.billwrenmusic.com, www.frankralls.com Lia Scallon
- Crystal Keys One of the key tenets of new age music is that it heal wounded souls and provide a positive charge against the negativity of modern life. The subtitle of Lia Scallon's new album Crystal Keys is "Songs To Awaken and Heal", and it seems to be ready-made for that task. Over ten tracks Ms Scallon utilises her expressive voice in a variety of chants and vocal gymnastics, set against a series of drone-like or low-key melodic sequences. The musical palette is a rich one, featuring instruments from the mystical Far East and Aboriginal Australia: Crystal bowls, kalimba, chimes, keyboards, didgeridoo, flute, bells and Tibetan bells. The musicians performing on the album are: David Jones, Mark Mannock, David Hudson and Nigel Pegrum. The track titles are: Pearl, Sapphire, Amethyst, Smokey Quartz, Citrine, Clear Quartz, Emerald, Ruby, Gold and Diamond. The tracks are names after the colour of the alchemy crystal bowls used on the album. The sleeve notes make much about expanding your consciousness, and that music similar to this was used in the healing temples of ancient Egypt, Atlantis and Lemuria - well, I'll let you make your own mind up about that. You really need to be a spiritual person to receive the benefits of this music, I'm not and I have to admit it didn't really appeal to me. However, if you have a need for spiritual music to help in your healing process then I suggest you visit the website listed below and explore any sample tracks there. For more information about this artist, album and availability visit: www.soundsofsirius.com This album explodes from the first seconds of Do I Dare - a question most musicians must ask themselves when deciding to become a solo artist. This is, I think, Sean Jelinek's debut album as bandleader, and his drums are erupting throughout the first track. Jazz, of course, and post bop in style, Common Tones is an extraordinarily forthright album. The twelve tracks literally sizzle with energy and musicianship, thanks to a band who, I imagine, have been playing together for some considerable time. The rest of the band are: Marques Carroll - trumpets and flugelhorn, Christopher McBride - alto sax, Melvin Butler - tenor sax, Greg Spero - keyboards, and Kurt Schweitz - electric bass. And Mr Jelinek's drums are certainly not shy in coming forward on most tracks - thankfully, their appearance is always bang on and propels the music onwards. As for the ten tracks, I was quite taken with the upbeat and tuneful In The Path Of The Tornado, and as I said above Do I Dare is full of the energy and enthusiasm that comes when recording a new album. Pisces Moon heads in a more mellow direction, with some nice piano by Greg Spero. Common Tones is a very confident sounding album, there is nothing hesitant about the music, and in a live setting I can imagine this music connecting with the audience. If you like your jazz brash but still holding a good tune then I think Common Tones may be the album you are looking for. It is available from CD Baby and you can find out more about Sean Jelinek on facebook.com, just search for his name there. For more information about this artist and album and availability email: jellydrum7@yahoo.com Bobby Avey
- A New Face This new album by pianist/composer Bobby Avey certainly opens with a lot of movement and propulsive rhythms. Late November [track 1] is about as in your face as you can get with a piano. Indeed, the entire album, all eight tracks of it, is extremely pushy - it's as if the music can't abide to be still and reflective for more than a few moments. It's a bit like watching a huge cloud of starlings skewing here and there across the twilight sky before roosting for the night. In terms of style this is modern jazz, very post bop and almost avant-garde in its dissonances, indeed classical music composers Bartok and Messiaen are strong influences for the pianist/composer. The band are David Liebman on sax, Thomas Kneeland on bass and Jordan Pearlson on drums. The tracks are: Late November, In Retreat, Delusion, A New Face, Half Is Less Than Half, Influence, Insight, and Time Unfolding. All eight tracks have been written by Mr Avey, and all have an uncompromising attitude to stretching the idea of a melody to a near infinite point in time. Jazz is a broad church nowadays and A New Face is beyond my comfort zone. But if you enjoy cutting edge music then this album and these musicians are the ones to impress you - visit the website below and seek out any sample tracks before buying. For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.bobbyavey.com Ann Sweeten
- Just This Side Of Spring There is something of a bittersweet taste to pianist Ann Sweeten's new album, Just This Side Of Spring. The music on the album is tinged with the sadness of the loss of her dog, Nicki, to cancer, and her own ongoing battle with breast cancer for the second time. Being a long term pet owner myself I can understand and share that sorrow in losing a loved pet, but I can only wish Ms Sweeten success in finding the strength to survive her own ongoing fight. Having said that you expect Just This Side Of Spring to be an album of anger and loss, but the overriding feeling is of bittersweet loss and hope for the future. In terms of sound, this is a simple album, mostly acoustic piano, and occasional strings, guitar [by Will Akkerman], violin, bass and flute. The eleven track titles are highly evocative: December Snow, Light From A Narrow Window, True North, A Light Rain, Crossing Over and of course, Nikki's Song. The music on this album is rather 'wintry' in tone but also extremely rich in atmosphere and emotion, as you might expect, and inspirational for any long term health sufferers. It is a very soothing collection of music, ideal for relaxation and meditation, but it also has that emotional depth and edge that lifts it above mere easy listening. I must also add that the inlay booklet has some wonderful landscape photos, a beautiful portrait of Nikki and Ms Sweeten's heartfelt sleevenotes. For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.annsweeten.com This is the third album by pianist Isaac Shepard but the first received here at the Borderland. In style I think Mr Shepard's music falls into the New Age or simply Instrumental categories - perhaps even just Relaxation if that exists. The ten tracks on The Renewing have a distinctly meditative atmosphere to them and most have a slow tempo mood suitable for just kicking back and relaxing to. Track titles are: Tears Can Fall, Let Me Sleep, Good Company, Doors Of Life, Countdown, Simple Moments, Pretty Finger, All Smiles, Dimming The Light, and Slow Down. While most of these tunes just sort of flow by, Doors Of Life is a little more energetic and forceful. Mr Shepard has been creating music for nearly twenty years and there is an unmistakable maturity to the music on this album. It has a ebb and flow which is very soothing to the listener - I can't say that the tunes are memorable in the sense of whistling them around the house, but than I don't whistle. However, this is music to chill out to and in the current recession and political confusions this music may at least offer some peace if you allow it. It is also pleasant to hear the acoustic piano played with conviction and accuracy while conveying strong emotions. I think The Renewing is an album worth seeking out if you need some peace in your life. For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.isaacshepard.com The
Children - Play I've never heard of The Children before, and the group's name is a rather nondescript one which doesn't give any clues to the type of music they play. As it turns out The Children perform a hybrid made up from elements of rock, folk and jazz. The overall sound and musicianship is understated rather than the usual overblown vapidness of other 'mix and match' projects. This is aided by the semi-acoustic nature of much of the music here which helps keep the album intimate. The personnel of the group seem to shift between tracks but the core appear to be Armorel Weston on vocals, John Gibbons: Guitars/vocals, Alfredo Genovesi: guitars/pedals, Frank Hall: drums, Anne Wood: violin, and Gail Brand: trombone. Legendary jazz trombonist Annie Whitehead guests on a couple of tracks. Play is such a listenable album that picking out selected tracks is difficult, though Get Shaggin' and Boychild stick in the mind. If I had to off a thumbnail description of The Children's sound then imagine The Beautiful South with added irony and wryness plus a set of cool jazz licks. Nice! Adiemus
- The Journey I'm not sure who or what Adiemus is, though I think the music is composed by Karl Jenkins, late of the Soft Machine. The reason for my uncertainty is that the CD I'm listening to is a pre-release version with no inlay booklet. Be that as it may, the Adiemus sound is a well known one, played all the time on Classic FM, used for tv ads for BA etc. If you hear this CD you'll recognise at least a handful of the tunes. For anyone who hasn't heard of Adiemus then you'll be in for treat - what we have here is something akin to modern classical music: orchestral, with a global rhythm section, and a female chorus. The track titles are mostly in latin and mean bugger all to the lay[wo]man, musical influences cover the world - you'll hear bits that remind you of Africa, the Balkans, the arab world, India... The Journey is a compilation from the previous two or three Adiemus albums, and it is both restful and invigorating, and you'll be humming a lot of these melodies after just a few listens. Good stuff. Phil
Beer, Ashley Hutchings & Chris While - Ridgeriders This is essentially a soundtrack album for a tv documentary series on a series of ancient roads, ridgeways, that criss-cross southern England. Providing the music is folk legend Ashley Hutchings and a number of musicians who are members of his Albion Band. In terms of music this is modern folk - new songs drawing on the heritage of English traditional music and the legends of these near mythical ancient roadways. As well as being a tv soundtrack these songs also carry on the folk tradition of social commentary, so while there's nothing here that constitutes a 'pop' song, the material is very accessible without seeing the tv series. Songs such as The Drover's Song, Turnpike Reel and Shapes on the Landscape all evoke strong images of Southern England, of the past and the now. The performances are everything you would expect of such high quality musicians, and Chris While's beautiful voice floats over everything with lambent tranquility. This is a beautiful album that deserves more notice than being simply a tv soundtrack. If you enjoy quality songwriting and musicianship seek this CD out. The
Carnival Band - Hoi Polloi
This band of folk/roots/world musos are new to me, but what a pleasurable introduction to make. Hoi Polloi is one of the most entertaining albums I've heard in a long time. The musicians here have selected a wide range of traditional tunes from around the world, embracing 1920's American jazz [Bear Cat Mama] and folk [Old Joe Clark], European renaissance [Praetorious' Bransles De Poictou] and a variety of tunes from Macedonia, the Ukraine, the Sudan and Sweden. Played on a mixture of acoustic instruments ancient and modern, the only other group that comes anywhere near this is the late lamented Gryphon, from back in the '70's. This is a good humoured album, the musicians play with gusto, refraining from adding too many modern brushstrokes, though a few tracks have some ambient keyboard washes, and there are some hints of dub and latin rhythms here and there. All in all Hoi Polloi is an album to cheer the soul up after a dispiriting day at the workpit. Chaka
Khan - I'm Every Woman: The Best Of Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan is that little funky little pintpot with the ginormous voice, a soul diva stuffed full of soul. This excellent compilation, a renamed reissue, is a pretty convincing career profile, starting with some cuts from her days with Rufus and then straight into her solo career: Ain't Nobody, I Feel For You, I'm Every Woman, Tell Me Something Good, What Cha Gonna Do For Me and a clutch of classic album cuts too! The dame picked good songwriters as well: Stevie Wonder, Prince, Ahford/ Simpson, Bruce Hornsby, Dizzie Gillespie, Christine McVie. Essentially this is a party album, with enough soul and disco classics to keep the soulboys happy. Great stuff Deep
Purple & Orchestra of the Light Music Society - Gemini Suite Live Several of the rock bands from the late 60's and early 70's toyed with orchestral music and symphonic backings - especially prog rockers such as Barclay James Harvest and ELP. It surprised everyone when Deep Purple did so - they weren't exactly famed for purveying the bloated overkill of pomp-rock. This recording is truly for DP fans and true collectors, it is the live recording of the debut performance of Jon Lord's second orchestral work, way back in September 1970. According to the excellent sleevenotes, none of the group, apart from Lord himself, were really committed to this music, and the orchestra, conducted by Malcolm Arnold, had barely rehearsed the three movement piece before this world premiere. And yet, despite these shakey foundations, there is power in the music on this CD. I have to admit that it isn't really to my taste, but one can't ignore the commitment of the musicians when they finally came to perform it. Whether this is rock or classical music I leave others to judge - for me there is a lack of interconnection between the orchestra and the group. Each element performs separately most of the time, with hardly any integration of the rock instrumentation with that of the orchestra. This was one of many experiments to meld rock and classical together, and I guess they will continue until someone gets it right. According to the sleevenotes Jon Lord has revised and re-recorded this work several times, but this CD contains the original version. Like I said, one for the collectors only, I think. (Real World CDRW 84)
The music on this album was written for a movie of the same name, and while it isn't the direct soundtrack I assume it faithfully represents the soul of the movie. Iarla Ó Lionáird is not a name I know but he is a composer/musician who seems to straddle many musical categories all at the same time. While I Could Read The Sky is nominally an Irish traditional album it also incorporates elements of rock, trance, drum 'n' bass, celtic, and afro/indian music. So much so that it becomes a true WORLD music album. Contributors include Sinead O'Connor, Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill, Noel Hill, Caroline Dale, and Ri-Ra. As far as I can make out the music is based around the story of Irish workers coming to England to work as navvies and builders. The overriding atmosphere throughout the album is of alienation and isolation - this is not a happy, feelgood album - and ultimately, violence. Instrumentally richly layered, Iarla Ó Lionáird has created something very extremely memorable, though I don't think I Could Read The Sky will find a wide appeal with many listeners, it's just too downbeat and depressing. Hollydrift
- Hail the Frozen North
This CD single is something of an oddity - it consists of three tracks ["Smile For Me!, "Lost In Flight", "Buried By The Briar"] that are essentially soundscapes built up from a variety of sampled sounds, music clips and voice samples. If you think The Orb but without the trippy beats and loops then you will have a glimpse of what I mean. The only name on the inlay listed as composer is M. Anderson, so the CD retains its anonymity, which is pretty fitting considering the strangeness of the music here. As it stands I can't detect any reason for these particular samples to be married together in this way - these tracks aren't conventional 'pop' songs, they strike me as being more like sound installations, and these tracks are mere excepts of much longer versions. That said, I actually enjoyed all three tracks, unlike most techno music these are quite restful and set up a relaxed ambience and leave you wanting to hear more. Not many singles or albums do that to me these days! Cheb
Mami - Meli Meli
Cheb Mami is a Rai singer from Algeria, but now living in exile in France. For those who've never hear of Rai it is a secular version of Islamic devotional music and performing it can bring a death sentence in hard-line fundamentalist Islamic states. You might have seen Cheb Mami recently performing alongside Sting on his Desert Rose single. But Meli Meli is Mami's fourth album, full of infectious arabic pop music, mixed with modern dance beats and ethnic instrumentation. The eponymous title track is a belter of an opening track, part spiritual and part rave beat fest. Bledi is a heartfelt tribute and plea to his country to find peace. Most of the songs deal with love and variations on that theme, and while the lyrics may be simplistic to reach a wider arabic audience, the music is a pure joy. The album also includes some extra tracks of dance remixes, and these [if they had a chance] could be dancefloor hits here. Meli Meli is one of the best albums I've heard in a long time - don't worry about the arabic lyrics, just let the great music wash over you. |
Maria
Jameau & Blue Brazil - GEMA
For more information about this artist, album and availability visit: www.mariajameau.com WJO (Westchester Jazz Orchestra) - Maiden Voyage Suite
For more information about this artist, album and availability visit: www.westjazzorch.org Grupo
Falso Baiano - Simplicidade: Live At Yoshi's
For more information about this artist, album and availability visit: www.grupofalsobaiano.com Acoustic Ocean - Reflections On Still Water
For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.acousticoceanmusic.com Chie
Imaizumi - A Time Of New Beginnings
For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.caprirecords.com Sylvia
Bennett - Smile
For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.sylviabennett.com Yuko Ito
- Mania De Voce
For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.Yukosings.com Carol
Morgan Trio - Opening The main idea behind this new album by jazz trumpeter Carol Morgan was to record a tribute to the music created back in the 50s and 60s on the famous Blue Note label. It began as a series of successful club gigs and then evolved into a recording project and ultimately, this CD. Of the eight tracks two are definite covers of Blue Note artists, Horace Silver's Nica's Dream, and Bud Powell's Celia, plus there's a cover of Jimmy VanHeusen's Like Someone In Love - the rest are homage's written by the band members. The band are Carol Morgan on trumpet, Harvie S on bass, Rich Derosa on drums and guest Woody Witt on tenor and soprano sax. In style the music performed by the trio is bop and post bop, not really my kind of jazz, if I'm truthful. But the band play with verve and fluidity, and a strong conviction that this music is the true music. If you enjoy this area of jazz I suggest you visit the band's website [listed below] and listen to any sample tracks there - if you like what you hear think about buying the album and supporting these musicians. For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.carolmorganmusic.com I hadn't realised until recently just how many strings a guitar can have - some of the permutations can be quite perplexing - the acoustic guitar that Fred Fried plays on this album has eight. And what a mellow, subtly muscular sound it makes. This isn't the first album by Mr Fried [though it's the first I've encountered], but it is his first with his new band, Core. I say band, but actually comprise Michael Lavoie on bass and Miki Matsuki on drums. Having said that, the three musicians make a lovely, warm sound, completely acoustic, no electronic enhancements outside the actual recording equipment used. All nine tracks on the album are written by Fred Fried, and it is a joy to hear melody and tunes coming from those fingers and any improvisation is restrained within those melodies. In many ways I think this album is for the fan of the guitar as much as it is for the jazz fan. There is much to enjoy here - not least the simpatico support of the drums and bass, and then there is the marvellously warm and accurate sound of the recording. Kudos to the studio sound engineer [Peter Kontrimas] who has managed to record the guitar and not the scrapes and ticks of the fingernails that can be so distracting on guitar recordings. I find it difficult to pick out highlight tracks for you to check out on the website, but Leanne's Number and Cloud Dancer should hook you into this terrific album. I think Core 3.0 is a warm-hearted piece of work and I can't recommend it highly enough. For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.fredfried.com Ras.Al.Ghul - Spatial Pulseheight
(Edition Neumann)
This is most clearly evident on all of the tracks on Spatial Cluster, but most notably on the first few tracks: Galaxy Cluster, Partial Plastic Flow and Logarhytmic Plot. I'm very impressed, this short album [approx 33 minutes] was all over far too quickly and I wanted to hear more. Its mix of cosmically ambient soundscapes and chilled out dance beats is simply invigorating.
Ras.Al.Ghul - Sinmatic Layers (This.Co)
For more information about this artist and album and availability visit: www.thisco.net or write to: Ras.Al.Ghul can be contacted at ThisCo, R.S.Marçal, 75 R/c 1200-419, Lisboa, Portugal. Sci Fi
Industries - Dead People On Stylish Chairs As far as I can make out from the Portuguese sleevenotes Sci Fi Industries is composer/musician and studio wizard Luis Filipe Seixas. Dead People On Stylish Chairs is a collection of hard edged electronica, veering from thumping techno drum 'n' bass, to industrial and ambient. Opening track Looking Thru is a prime example of the techno genre, but it has enough quirky sounds in its deep space echo mix to make it listenable, and even hummable after a few listens. Organismo II follows, a more lightly percussive piece with sampled dialogue clips mixed in with the synths and drum machines. A throbbing pulse opens Positiva, which opens out into a cavernous ambient soundscape, with sounds flying between the speakers. Listen to this with the headphones on and and it'll do your head in! The remaining tracks on this 12 track cd follow similar blueprints, this is cutting edge techno, and depending on the cd programming, is suitable for the dance floor or the chill-out room. In small doses I enjoyed some of these tracks, but I found listening to the whole album in one sitting very wearying. I'm not sure who will be stocking Dead People On Stylish Chairs here in the UK. Try your usual import specialists, or contact van@netcabo.pt, or check out www.bairroalto.net/ultravioleta. You could also try www.thisco.net. Various
Artists - Voices of the Real World
Hawkwind
- EpochEclipse:
Gordon
Giltrap - Fear of the Dark, Perilous Journey, Visionary
Fear of the Dark was the first of Giltrap's hit albums, and it is easy to see why: layered guitars, keyboards and a string section to give it a lush sound. For an ex-folkie it is surprising that these albums didn't draw on traditional music, like Oldfield did, but went for something a lot grander. The extra tracks on this album include a pretty fine version of Peter Green's Oh Well, and the single version of Fear of the Dark. Perilous Journey is more of the same mix of acoustic guitars and quasi-orchestral backing, this time the extra tracks include a version of Parry's Jerusalem, and a fifteen minute demo track of the album, featuring all the main themes. 1977's Visionary still featured the acoustic guitar, but was a little more electronic, with synths coming to the front more. The extras this time include a fully orchestra version of Quest, the demo of Heartsong and a twenty-one minute compilation of the demo tracks, with Giltrap calling out the chord changes - something any guitarist will find useful if trying to learn these pieces. Okay, crunch time - I love these albums, I did when they first came out, and that hasn't changed but it is interesting to hear them together and see just how much they were cut from the same cloth. These three albums sound as if they could have been recorded at the same sessions - most of the same musicians, arrangers and production team are involved on each album, and it makes it hard to distinguish one album from another. But then, with musicianship this high, who cares! Klaus
Schulze - X Vol 1
Bill
Foreman - Building St. Petersburg
Bill Foreman
- Seventeen Miles Past Indio
So how does ...Indio stand-up? Pretty damn well, if you ask me - there are a variety of styles here, from Dylanesque rant Can't Wait To Be Free, the gently understated St Louis, Byrd's-style 12-string folk/country Queens, and short, almost jazzy instrumentals The Professah and Smile, to joyous dance tune The Sun Is A Mighty Lamp. All told there are a dozen tracks here and they cover a wide variety of moods, opinions and styles. On some tracks Bill Foreman provides all the instrumentation and on others he is joined by a small band of musicians who provide sympathetic and extremely tight support. The bottom line is that ...Indio doesn't sound like a compilation of tracks from a number of years, the songs work together and create a pretty good picture of Bill Foreman's talents as musician, songwriter and performer. If you enjoy songs that have some bite to them I don't think you'll find better this year than Seventeen Miles Past Indio. Bill Foreman
- Chevy w/ Balding Tires
Bill
Foreman - Poison Against Poison: Bill Foreman is not a stranger to these review pages as I've had the pleasure of hearing several of his highly idiosyncratic albums over the last few years. Bill is a prolific songwriter and with a home studio that means everythings is recorded, so this triple cd anthology acts as both a 'Best Of', sampling from all of his albums plus a collection of the best of the rest, including a bunch of alternate takes of album tracks. Bill is changing his life, moving from the USA to work for the foreseeable future in Senegal in Africa. So this beautifully produced booklet of cds and lyrics is a clearing of the decks for a new life. It would be an easy generalisation to say that Bill comes from the Dylan school of writers and performers, but he has his own style which is rough and ready and the opposite of the slick major studio artists - which is one reason why I like his music. This isn't music for the charts, it's there to resonate with its audience and find an honest home with those who put the song first. And that's why I strongly urge you to check this out and perhaps try before you buy by visiting Bill's website and download a few sample tracks first. You can visit the General Ludd Music web site at www.generalludd.com/, and order the above CDs or listen to selected tracks via mp3 or RealAudio. You can contact General Ludd Music by email: generalludd@generalludd.com. |
|
I
have to admit that my heart skips a beat when I open a jiffy
bag and find an album of Latin Jazz within - I really love music
from Brazil and Latin America. It is even more welcome when
it arrives in the middle of the so-called English summer, and
the sun actually lit up when I started playing the said album.
I'm sure you can guess that I am talking about Maria Jameau's
new album, GEMA. Eleven tracks of guaranteed sunshine,
the album ranges across latin, jazz, funk, Spanish flamenco
and Africa for its sources, but thanks to the musical genius
of Ms Jameau's band Blue Brazil it is all blended together into
something that wouldn't be out of place on a beach at Rio. The
band are: Pablo Rodriguez - guitar/vocals, Nate Lopez - electric
8-string hybrid bass and guitar, Jacob Harris - percussion/vocals,
Bob Afifi - flute, and Ms Jameau on lead vocals. The whole album
is performed with an ease and charm that is overwhelming - GEMA
is an album that wants to hug you. The eleven tracks are: Gema,
Tristeza Pe No Chao, Fatou Yo, Mas Que Nada, Casinha Pequenina,
Triste, Malaika, Sonho Meu, Girl From Ipanema, A La Nanita Nana,
Gracias A LA Vida. While the band may be great Ms Jameau's
voice is a revelation - exuding warmth and good humour, it has
an unforced charisma that will win even the most hardhearted
listener to thinking of flying to Miami Beach or the exotic
delights of Rio. GEMA is one of the most enjoyable and
uplifting albums I have heard in some time. It has to be one
of my albums of the year, without a doubt. 
Over
the history of Jazz there have been many major performers and
composers instantly recognisable by their first name [and the
signature style of their music, of course], and Herbie Hancock
has long been one of these. One of the first of his solo albums
that became a landmark in Jazz was Maiden Voyage, back in the
mid-1960's, long before he became a chart name with his fusion
of jazz, hip-hop and rock in the 80s. The Westchester Jazz Orchestra
have spent several years bringing together their version - a
re-imagining, as current marketing parlance would have it -
but essentially a newly rearranged version of the original music.
I have never heard the original album so I can't compare the
two versions, but something tells me that Herbie Hancock would
be very pleased with this new version. The WJO consists of seventeen
musicians and they make an extremely impressive sound - tight,
exceptionally focused and punchy as hell. The music is big band
bebop, and it has a filmic quality that extends out of the speakers.
The band also swing mightily, and I have the distinct feeling
that this is the forerunner to the jazz music featured in the
crime movies of the late 60s and early 70s [think Clint Eastwood
and the Dirty Harry series of movies, and the French Connection].
The track details are: Prologue, Maiden Voyage, Eye of the
Hurricane, Little One, Interlude, Survival of the Fittest -
Part 1, Survival of the Fittest - Part 2, Dolphin Dance, Epilogue.
The music was arranged by Mike Holober, Pete McGuinness, Jay
Brandford, and Tony Kadlek - all members of the WJO. Maiden
Voyage Suite stands up as an excellent jazz album in its
own right, and I'm sure Herbie Hancock fans will love it too.
Highly recommended.
I
have always enjoyed live albums, for me they represent the artists
in their truest location on stage, sans studio trickery - though
I know this has been flouted many times with rock albums that
required much TLC after-production. But the best live albums
simply capture the artists on stage doing what they do best.
And that is the case with Simplicidade: Live At Yoshi's
by Grupo Falso Baiano [GFB]. This quartet of American musicians
with guests play acoustic Brazilian traditional music in all
its intimate and embracing glory. I believe the style is called
Choro, and predates the Bossa Nova. The overriding feeling I
had from listening to this CD was the lightness of touch of
these musicians and their dedication to the music itself. The
musicians are: Zack Pitt-Smith - sax/flute, Jesse Appelman -
mandolin, Brian Moran - 7 string guitar, Ami Molinelli - percussion
- the guest musicians are Jovino Santos Neto - piano/accordion/flute
and Brian Rice - percussion. The location of the recording is
in Oakland, California, some way from Brazil, but these local
musicians have caught the style and sound of the music as well
as any Brazilian can. I assume Yoshi's is a small bar or club,
as the audience sounds small but appreciative and refrain from
the usual American vocal gymnastics. The ten track titles are:
Caminhando, Simplicidade, Cheguei, Feira Livre, Kenny É
Você, Rosa Cigana, Bem Brazil, Deixa O Breque, Doce De
Côco, Forró Na Penha. Simplicidade: Live
At Yoshi's is a wonderful album, full of good humour and
musical fireworks that light up the CD and raise it well above
the average. Highly recommended.
This
is the second Acoustic Ocean album I have received in recent
years and most welcome it is too. For the uninitiated Acoustic
Ocean are Peggy Morgan on Celtic harp and vocals and Bette Phelan
on a multiplicity of other acoustic instruments, plus guest
musicians Kay Aldrich on cello and Anne Berliner on flute. While
this music is 'new age' in category, there is a strong traditional
or 'folk' feel to the music, in particular the sounds of Ireland
[thanks to the use of the Celtic harp], but thankfully not of
faux Ireland. The music here just evokes the images of rural
Ireland and of other peaceful soundscapes. It is a bit ironic
that many of the tracks were inspired by locations on Hawaii,
the musicians' home - but it still sounds more Irish to me,
but that could be just my British ears! Track titles include:
Night Flight, Moon Over Mauna Kea, Rainbow Falls, Dancer
Of The Deep, Motherless Child, Devas In The Garden, Place Of
Refuge, Voyager, Reflections On Still Water, and Safe
Journey. As with their previous album, 
Chie
Imaizumi is a New York-based, Japanese-born, composer and arranger
and A Time Of New Beginnings is her second album. In
the way of Duke Ellington she has written nine instrumental
pieces for the big band format. These are, for want of another
description, tone poems about the world around her, reflecting
her dual homelands of Japan and America. From the album's cover
photos you could also say that this album is a love letter to
New York. As with Ellington's more serious work this music transcends
the simple category of jazz and big band - these nine tracks
have a much richer subtext to them. They conjure up images and
feelings beyond the usual groove and vibe, there is something
strongly cinematic about this album. The track titles are: My
Heartfelt Gratitude, Information Overload, Fear Of The Unknown,
A Time For New Beginnings, Run For Your Life, Today, Sharing
The freedom, Many Happy Days Ahead, and Fun And Stupid
Song. The band is big, a ten piece with some of the musicians
playing more than one instrument, so there is a richness of
sound throughout that makes this music stand out from the crowd.
While Ms Imaizumi may not perform on this CD, her music is brought
to vibrant life by these musicians - one can sense their admiration
and commitment throughout. A Time Of New Beginnings is
a marvellous album, rich in musical imagery and not short of
a good tune or three. Highly recommended.
It
is amazing how versatile the Great American Songbook has become
- and, of course, how much of an important resource for jazz
vocalists and musicians it has become. That is the case with
vocalist Sylvia Bennett - she has selected fourteen popular
songs, many famous from usage in movies and musicals, and given
them a Latin feel to update them. On the whole this works very
well, even those normally associated with a swing beat. So,
along with a sultry version of the title track, Smile,
the other tracks include: Look Of Love, Witchcraft, Shadow
Of Your Smile, The very Thought Of You, Make Someone Happy,
Night & Day, Fly Me To The Moon and several more. What
is surprising is how rich the instrumental sound is, despite
there being a core of only six musicians in the band [Mike Levine,
piano; Chuck Bergeron, bass; Richard Bravo, drums and percussion;
Sammy Figueroa, Shaker; Jeremy Miller, additional violin overdubs],
plus the Vienna Strings on many of the tracks. Together they
make a luxurious and extremely full sound - some judicious double
tracking, methinks. The magician here who deserves credit is
producer, engineer and guitarist Hal S. Batt, who has given
the album a sheen and sound reminiscent of those old Capitol
Records albums by Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra.
And finally, but not least, there is Ms Bennett's voice, light
enough to glide effortlessly over the music, and also to be
so completely wistful at the same time. This is an excellent
album, rich in melody and rhythm and it reinforces that clichéd
idiom that 'they don't write them like that anymore'! 
There
is something rather enticing about Brazilian music - especially
when one is still freezing their backside off in what is a recalcitrant
winter that doesn't know spring has arrived. Those golden Rio beaches
and the tanned lithe überbabes... I'm a bloke, I can fantasise!
So, the warm vibes of this new Brazilian jazz album by Japanese
vocalist Yuko Ito are very welcome. From the first flourishes of
latin percussion on the opener, Berimbau, Mania De Voce
charms and dazzles the listener into thinking they are on one of
those beaches drinking something fruity and cold. Ms Ito has a
lovely voice, beguiling, sexy, but also with a little grit in there
when required. Her septet band of Brazilian musicians are equally
superb, supporting her voice with a sympathetic flourish and lashes
of latin insouciance, and just a hint of restrained funkiness when
required. The ten tracks on this CD constitute a masterclass on
how to sing the Great Brazilian Songbook [Jobim, Djavan, Baden
Powell, Carlhinos Brown] the right way, and its interesting that
this is the second successful album by a Japanese vocalist singing
Latin American jazz [in Portuguese] to reach me this month - there's
obviously something going on in the Japanese air! Tracks on this
album include Smile, Girl From Ipanema, Dindi, Corcovado, Qui
Nem Jiló and many others. Mania De Voce is a
gorgeous album, a work of luscious joy for romantics everywhere,
and a harbinger of the summer to come. One of my albums of the
year without any doubt. 
Ras.Al.Ghul
are a Portugese electronica group [Fernando Cerqueira and Paulo Rodrigues]
that I've heard of by reputation only so when Richard Wileman of Karda
Estra passed these two cds on to me I was very interested to hear
them. Others have mentioned that Ras.Al.Ghul are the 'missing link'
between the melodic electronica of Tangerine Dream and the more dance
oriented beats of Kraftwerk, and having now heard both cds I can understand
that analogy, yet there also seems [to me] to be a strong vein of
world music influences running throughout the music. This appears
most strongly in the percussion sequences: synthesised ethnic drum
rhythms and time signatures from Africa, South America and Asia. 
Sonic
Yonic is the newer album and it pretty much carries on with the
same winning formula though the dance beats are a bit more industrial
sounding and less ethnic-sounding this time. Planar Modulator is
an infectious cosmic shuffle beat pared down to just the basic sounds
which slowly evolve into new patterns before the track ends. Floating
Zone is a jazzy crystallo-sounding piece, almost funky. Low
Multiloop begins as a piece of ambience with gently looping percussion
that takes the track to its conclusion. For a slice of cosmic ambience
you can't better Coil Wound - nearly seven minutes of shifting
ambience and shuffle beats. The rest of Sonic Yonic is much
the same mix, all very listenable and more imaginative than you might
expect. 
And
here all the way from sunny Lisbon is the latest album from Ras.Al.Ghul.
Sinmatic Layers has ten tracks, Diplexter opens in mid-tempo
drum 'n' bass style, along with some spritely synth layers, topped
by a trumpet in the Herb Alpert Style. Bicrystals is similar
but sans the trumpet, but with treated voices. Thankfully by the time
we get to Cooling Cycles the strident beats have moderated
somewhat and we're approaching Kraftwerk territory with beats and
a melody. With Matrix Precursor, the beats have again been
moderated, with some additional shuffle rhythms and changing time
signatures to make it interesting. Radius Ring and Spectral
Symetries are probably my favourite tracks: slow beats, spacey
synths, assorted bleeps and beeps - much more to my taste.The remaining
tracks continue in a more spacious way, and certainly preferable on
my ears than the opening half of the album. In fact the D'n'B vibe
seems to permeate most of the album tending to make it much more upfront
than previous albums - which is a shame as I prefer the more spacey-sound
of the earlier albums. I can see club DJs playing this in the 'chill
out' rooms, or whatever they are called now, to bring the dancers
down. 
There
are many labels promoting 'world' music but few are as well known
as Real World, founded by musician Peter Gabriel. Real World is now
ten years old and to celebrate the label have issued this excellent
compilation of the most superlative vocal music it has released in
that decade. Musicians featured include Shu-De, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
& Peter Gabriel, The Holmes Brothers, Toto La Momposina Y Sus
Tambores, The Dimitri Pokrovsky Ensemble, Remmy Ongala & Orchestre
Super Matimila, Sheila Chandra, Papa Wemba and a host of others. There
are eighteen tracks altogether and the music comes from all over the
world, with every continent represented. The abiding emotion throughout
this CD is of joy - for life, love and the planet. If you've never
really investigated 'world' music then you couldn't do better than
start here.
It
was spacerock legends Hawkwind's thirtieth anniversary this year,
but the group have been over-anthologised in recent years. However,
this CD does contain the essential tracks that gave the group their
early identity. A subset of a new boxset, even so it gives a good
account of the hits and near misses the group had back in the late
60's/early 70's. Silver Machine, Master of the Universe, Urban
Guerilla, Assault & Battery, Motorhead, Quark Strangeness &
Charm, Motorway City, and many more excellent slabs of space rock.
Hawkwind have been an easy target for the sneer merchants over the
years, yet they have stuck to their [ray] guns and kept on rocking,
outlasting many a pimply rocker and boy band who have had their one
minute of fame and vanished. As with many 60's rock bands, Hawkwind
have managed to keep an extremely active fanbase going over the decades,
fanatical in their devotion and providing the reason for Dave Brock
and the lads to keep rocking. This is a superb compilation, EMI have
digitally remastered all the tracks, and provided a pretty decent
inlay booklet full of photos and in depth bio. The ultimate Xmas pressie
for a 'wind fan - unless you can afford the box set.
Ashley
Hutchings is simply a national treasure, his efforts to bring tradional
English folk music to a wider audience created a new musical genre
- folk rock - several groups of international repute [Steeleye Span,
Fairport Convention and the Albion Band], he has brought many excellent
new folk musicians into the limelight [Phil Beer, Chris While, Julie
Matthews and Cathy LeSurf] and discovered many seams of English music
that had lied dormant for decades. This excellent compilation brings
together some of his best recordings from the last couple of decades
with the theme of the countryside, and it features contributions from
Martin Carthy, Simon Nicol, Dave Swarbrick and John Tams. It is bloody
difficult, if not impossible, to pick out highlights from this album
- every track is a highlight! But push come to shove, listen to Shapes
Of The Landscape, The Oak, Speed The Plough, Life On The River
for just a few gems. The only downside is the meagre inlay booklet
Mooncrest have provided, a compilation like this really would have
benefited from some in-depth notes or article along with detailed
track notes. That aside I recommend wholeheartedly this album for
the discerning music lover fed up with monotonous dance beats. This
is quality stuff and no mistake!
Mike
Oldfield started something when his Tubular Bells and subsequent albums
were all monster hits. No-one had thought instrumental rock albums
would sell, but his did, and former folksinger Gordon Giltrap found
similar success with his own series of instrumental albums during
the mid-70's. Voiceprint have now reissued these albums, and all of
them have extra tracks, many of which are rarities for the fans.
In
the world of electronic music there are none more renowned than German
Klaus Schulze: a founding member of Tangerine Dream, he left before
they broke through with Phaedra to start a lengthy solo career.
X dates back to 1978, and is part of a double album [though for
some reason Thunderbolt are releasing the CDs separately] subtitled
"Six Musical Biographies". The opening track
is a portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche, the philosopher, and
is a twenty-five minute epic of high class music. Swirling lines of
synths and sequencers take you on a very spacey journey, but it's
always anchored by a strong percussive riff, supplied by a real drummer
rather than a drum machine. Harald Grobkopf supplies the drumming
for all the tracks, and it gives the music a very human beat to march
with. George Trackl is the next portrait, though the name is
unfamiliar with me - this is a much shorter track, very ambient and
laid back after the previous storm. We're off into space again with
Frank Herbert, a musical portrait of the author of Dune - again
the sequencer riffs set the pace, and this is a stomping piece of
electronica where you can almost imagine the sandworms of Dune slicing
through that arid planets' surface. The final track is dedicated to
Freidemann Bach, and is more adventurous, exploring the musical
character of one of that family of great composers. The music is almost
gothic, with a screechy synthesised violin and string section rampaging
through an echoey old house. This is a great album, certainly on a
par with the best of Tangerine Dream from that period.
We
are repeatedly told that the current state of popular music is dire,
that the homogenised corporate mentality of the major labels is stifling
creativity. That may be true for the major labels, but there is a
new underbelly of small, vibrant independent labels which have bypassed
the traditional retail outlets for distribution and now sell their
wares via the Internet and through specialist networks. One of these
labels is General Ludd Music, co-founded by songwriter/poet Bill Foreman,
and Building St. Petersburg is his new album [not sure if it's
his debut album, if so then it's a very assured one]. Most of the
songs on this CD are pretty acerbic about the good life in the USA,
and Bill's performing style should appeal to those who like Loudon
Wainwright III and Jonathan Richman - it's a voice of character, it
might waver a bit on the odd note but it is honest and true and warm.
If you want to categorise the style then I guess modern folk or Americana
is the most appropriate. Best songs include Building St. Petersburg,
the spoken Talking Ballroom Blues, and The Good Life.
Bill keeps the instrumentation simple, mainly acoustic guitar, a little
piano and penny whistle, and that makes for as refreshing change where
many others fill every nano-second with sounds. A little silence and
space works wonders at times. This is a good album worth seeking out
if you have an adventurous spirit.
Songwriter
Bill Foreman's latest album Seventeen Miles Past Indio is a
round-up of the best of his work, collated into a nicely packaged
and produced album that acts as a superb showcase for his talents
as writer, performer and acerbic commentator on American life. I guess
that here in the UK his style of rootsy music would be classed as
Alt.Country, and if you enjoy Lambchop, Wilco and the Handsome Family
then you should go for this album in a big way. There's no indication
which previous albums these songs originate from, but as many of these
were low printrun tapes I guess the intention is to make ...Indio
the breakthrough album to push Bill's music into the professional
arena.
The
latest collection of ten songs by Californian songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
Bill Foreman shows that he is still on top form when it comes to writing
songs full of sharp observations and barbed wit. Utilising a mostly
acoustic format, with occasional flourishes of Mexican music, Bill
just lets his voice rip and roar over the music, sometimes spitting
the lyrics out and sometimes gently crooning them. Like the UK's very
own folk punk Billy Bragg, nobody could describe Bill's voice as that
of an angel but it is stuffed full of character and commitment, and
is the ideal vehicle for these songs. If there is a recurring theme
to this set of songs it is that they are all set in and around Bill's
home town of Riverside, California. I'm not going to single out a
few tracks for the usual commentary as the quality is consistently
high, besides, part of the fun is exploring this album yourself. I
will however list a few personal favourites: A Man & His Laboratory,
the ramshackle instrumental My Favourite Recipe [For Dawn],
and To An Angry Pot Farmer. Chevy w/ Balding Tires falls
ssomewhere within that marketing category of Alt. Country or perhaps
Americana, about as far away from Top 40 as possible and all the better
for it. Originality comes with a price - pay it!