Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

This month we move more in the direction of Avant-garde music. Please note that the mentioned records aren’t (necessarily) records that have been published in 2008; they are merely records I have discovered and listened to in this month and which I find special enough to recommend.

1. Fausto Rometelli – Professor Bad Trip

Fausto Rometelli is an Italian avant-garde composer that, unfortunately, died at the age of 41. This record, which appeared in 2003 is the piece ‘Professor Bad Trip’ played by the Belgian Ensemble Ictus from Brussels with Georges-Elie Octors, conductor. This work was inspired by the Belgian poet Henri Michaux and is a fantastic listening experience! Hybridation, mixing contemporary and rock music, distortion, saturation, psychedelic inspiration, “dirty” harmonies are the main words to describe his non-formalist musical universe. It is one of the most interesting works I have heard lately.

2. Jean Michel Jarre – La Cage / Erosmachine (EMI Pathé)

I think this was the first single of Jarre and I think it’s pretty hard to find. It is a great work, I like it much better than most of his later works. Both tracks are fabulous: hypnotic rhythm patterns made with concrete sounds, dark vibes, early synth waves, progressive layers of weird sounds, tape manipulations. Definitely a collectors item.

3. Bernard Gerard- Tempo (Unidisc)

This is a fantastic record with funky, minimalist psychosomatic avant-garde music. Unfortunately its even harder to find than the previous record so I doubted about mentioning it, but if you have the chance to lay your hands on it you sure should, especially if you are into weird 70′s soundscapes! It appeared on the Unidisk label.

4. The Art Ensemble of Chicago – Reese & The Smooth Ones

This is experimental jazz, but really good one! The entire record is one big improvisation. The Art Ensemble of Chicago is one of the most inventive, funny and creative groups that was out there around these times. Must have for any avant-garde jazz lover, and a very good listen for anyone else too, really.

5. Funkfu – Psycho Funk vs Rare Grooves 1970-1976

This isn’t really avant-garde but it’s one of the best funk records ever! It contains rare to find and forgotten tracks of several 70′s masterpieces of funk: The Lords of Percussion, Hippy Skippy Moon Street and other bands – one of the most played records in my collection! It appeared in 2001 on the Big Cheese records label.

These are the five records I’ve played the most in November 2008 – not records that have appeared in that month.

‘Jazz Samba’ of Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd is one of the best Jazz records I own – They are samba’s and Bossa Nova played by the two American jazz musicians Getz and Byrd and the result is incredible – this is some of the smoothest, perfect jazz you will ever hear. It sends shivers down my spine every time i hear it and makes me wanna slowdance through the room with whomever is unfortunate enough to be there. Classic record.

‘Campanitas de Cristal’ from the legendary pioneer of Latin Jazz in the 40′s, Noro Morales, head of the famous El Marocco club. This is a record that can’t miss in anyone’s collection when you like Latin Jazz or Latin music. Great big band sound, tight performances, notable is the piano performance of Morales himself. Unfortunately this record is no longer available but it exists out there in digital form.

This is probably one of the best records of Chavela Vargas, one of the most tragic voices and great singers in the Mexican tradition. ‘Noche Bohemia’ an unmissable, grand record that did set a new standard for vocalists in the Mexican tradition. There are very few voices out there that sing on this level.

Aw, Maria Dolores Pradera, the most awesome Spanish voice in my opinion. This record is very very good. It infuses your bloodstream with a taste of ‘Mediterranee’ that’s so acute your ears will turn into gondolas and your brain into shrinking olive in the sun. Ay!

If you love the American sound, and I do, or if you like Bluegrass music this record is an absolute must have. It might not be the best bluegrass record out there but it is certainly a very good one and above all a very classical one. The best songs are ‘The other side of town’ and ‘Angry man’ – that last one is one of the best country/bluegrass songs I know.

Not in any particular order of favour:

Oana Catalina Chitu, Bucharest Tango, 2008

This is a great record that appeared on the Asphalt label. Oana sings old Bucharest Tango music as it was played before in Rumenia.

“Bucharest Tango” is a unique album, one that resurrects a lost music, the sound of Romanian Tango as played in Bucharest cafes and parks, restaurants and clubs across the 1930s. Oana Cătălina Chiţu (pronounce Kitsu) and her musicians combine the lost tango songs of that era with the folk ballads of Maria Tanase (1913-1963; the Romanian Piaf).

Oana was born in rural Romania and grew up listening to her father sing the lost tangos. Visiting relatives in Bucharest she found they had old gramophones and scratchy 78 recordings of the tangos. She began to memorise this beautiful, vanished music. At the same time she loved the songs of Maria Tanase, the tragic diva of Romania, whose voice once haunted the nation. No other singer of the younger generation from Romania has been able to approach both the tangos à la romanesque and Tanase’s ballads so authentically yet freely.

Probably the best Romanian accordion player these days – and already a living legend! A must have for all accordion admirers! Compilation from the archives of Electrecord, Romania.

The Album is the laibachian interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s work The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge). The majority of the material has been created already in 2006 and premierly performed the same year on June the 1st at Bachfest in Leipzig.

What is Melingo the Magnificent’s recipe? Take a pinch of Roberto Goyeneche, the passionate tango singer known as “El polaco”, for some true tango roots, mix him up with a bit of Nick Cave, the bad seed of the underground, some Tom Waits for an arty vibe, add a little Gainsbourg, and all these growling, throaty voices and lived-in faces will give you some idea of the devilish Melingo, an old rascal who isn’t actually that old, though he’s infinitely roguish.

His tango is built on a bed of rock. That’s the way it is in today’s Argentina. It began in the 80s when he was cutting his teeth on the turbulent alternative rock scene born of military dictatorship and collapsing moral order and featuring groups like Los Abuelos de la Nada (the ancestors of bugger all!) and Los Twist. So is Melingo off his head? It’s more complicated than that. The impish singer with the enormous voice is also a sparrow chilled by the damp morning mists of the river Plate.

Ok, this is probably maybe not the best Jazz record around but its definately one of the coolest Jazz records you could find. It’s really really groovy, atmospheric and totally blows my brains out.

Drummer Chico Hamilton introduced many top young players during his years as a bandleader, but few probably realize that Larry Coryell made his recording debut with Chico a year before joining Gary Burton’s quartet. This CD reissue brings back Coryell’s initial appearance on record, and at times he sounded oddly like Chuck Berry (especially on “The Dealer”). Also heard on this set are altoist Arnie Lawrence, bassist Richard Davis, organist Ernie Hayes (on two numbers), and, on his spirited boogaloo “For Mods Only,” Archie Shepp making a rare appearance on piano. Most of the performances still sound surprisingly fresh, especially the explorative “A Trip,” making this an underrated but worthy release.

It happens rarely that I hear a record that hits me so hard upon the first hearing that I’m simply hooked from the first moment I hear it, but LAIBACHKUNSTDERFUGE is simply their best record in years and perhaps the most brilliant Laibach work ever made. I’m completely spellbound by this record.

The Album is the laibachian interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s work The Art of Fugue (Die Kunst der Fuge). The majority of the material has been created already in 2006 and premierly performed the same year on June the 1st at Bachfest in Leipzig.

Bach himself lived and worked in Leipzig from 1723 till the end of his life in 1750. In this period he also wrote the Art of Fugue, one of his most mysterious and baffling works. The Art of Fugue is a collection of fugues and canons that display the full gamut of fugal transformational techniques, such as augmentation and diminution. The theory that the work was intended as an intellectual exercise rather than for performance is borne out by the fact that no instruments are specified in the score. But although the Art of Fugue (the title was not Bach’s own) reveals Bach in his most academic and puzzle-solving guise, it is no mere pedantry and there is much here of great energy and inspiration. Since Bach did not specify any instrumentation, the big question is: what instrument or instruments should the Art of Fugue be played on? There are many keyboard recordings, but versions are available for everything from saxophone quartet to orchestra. Since the work is very much based on mathematic algorithms, Laibach decided to use computer and computer program as the key »instrument«, providing a very special electronic interpretation and showing that J.S. Bach with his work could as well be understood as the pioneer of electronic, techno, computer music.

For more information the Laibach website

Another great Latin artist: Luis Kalaff. Specialist in the Merengue, a music form originating on the Dominican Republic. The Merengue is sort of an uptempo salsa, but it offers plenty variation and on this record we see plenty of jazz influences also. Great horn section! My favourite track is ‘Ahi Viena la Nena’ which, if my Spanish is sufficient, is a song about the Hurricane? At any rate this record is a must have for lovers of Latin American music. It was published in 2007 on the West Side Latino Records Label.

My favorite record lately is ‘Heart of a Legend’ by Chico O’Farrill, published in 1999 on the Milestone label. I played it constantly last week. O’Farrill is one of the most interesting names in Latin jazz music, and this record has an overall excellent quality of tracks, with ‘Trumpet fantasy’ and ‘Sing your Blues away’ as highlights. I am seriously in love with Latin jazz lately and O’Farrill plays in a variety of styles: he combines a big band sound with improvisation and free jazz, and the result is unique and a pleasure to listen to. Maybe this is my all-time favourite Latin jazz record, I am not sure.

The funny thing is, O’Farrill was the major influence of one of my other favorites, Cal Tjader. It’s a pity that many of O’Farrill’s recordings are out of print, but this record offers some good highlights for those unfamiliar with his work.

Have you been making out ok?

Listening to the voice of Al Green
is like stepping out of a long, white limousine
straight on top of the clouds. The moon slides
by to shine new boots. Your white suit
crinkles like dust under the hooves
of the pooling sun. The warm
leather of a smile creaks
on the ceiling, Jesus is waiting,
the angels dealing.

When you step through the diamond door,
he looks up from the mirror,
with a banknote in his hand and says
‘are you the one I’ve been looking for?’

His voice, a silk broom of rays,
swindles the cracks of the world.

Sweet Jesus, just a white snort away
from eternities dollaring pearls.

M.H.Benders, 18-09-2008

At the moment I am busy collecting old and new Carribian and especially Cuban music through the internet. People often know only the stuff Ry Cooder brought into the light which is a pity because that is just the tip of the iceberg. Cuba has a long jazz, bigband and latin tradition with plenty of brilliant artists. Here are some records I have listened to this week:

 

This record is from 1995, predating the Cooder hype. It’s a very good record with very soulful music, quite simular to the Cooder sound. Best song for me is ‘Borombon’ which has a great Bigband sound and a very good instrumental interlude.

This is one of my favorite Cuban records. It’s a collection of music from the older orchestras. Orquesta Aragon, one of the most legendary Cha Cha Cha ensembles, with a typical ‘big brass’ sound – really wonderful! Chepin and his Oriental Orchestra is another must have. ‘Son Mis Bodas Di Oro’, the opening song, is fantastic.

It’s a record from 1994 but most music on it was made in the 70′s. Very mellow and creative latin american jazz, with swinging and slowdancing songs on it. Tjader was the master of the Virbraphone. Almost all songs are domatinated by that instrument but boy, he knew how to play it really well.

 

Vicentico Valdes is not too well known but beats me why, because he was a fantastic singer and musician. This record is from 2003 and is a great collection of songs. ‘Obsesion’ is probably my favorite song – this record is a must have for people who love the ‘old’ cuban sound.

 

One of the greatest themed records in my collection is ‘Atomic Platters: Cold war music from the golden era of homeland security ‘. For anyone who is interested in propaganda from the 50′s and 60′s this record is simply a must-have. Besides that, the music is simply awesome. A selection of pretty rare and weird songs, such as ‘Atomic Nightmare’ from the Talbot Brothers of Bermuda and the weird ‘Satellite Baby’ by Skip Stanley. And what about some romance in the Fallout Shelter? Just listen to Billy Chambers!

The album doesn’t entirely consist of songs, also radio commercials are included, from the government program ‘Civil Defense Spot’ where musicians warn Americans what to do in case of a nuclear attack. One of those is Johnny Cash.

In these times where Cheney tries to to ignite a new Cold War this cd is a good start to get in the mood for it. Do we need to get in the mood for a cold war? Well if we believe the Pilgrim Travellers, ‘Jesus is gonna hit us like an Atom Bomb when he comes’…

One of the more interesting funk/soul figures of the 70′s was doubtlessly Les McCann, who often collaborated with Eddie Harris on various records. Anyone who enjoys 70′s sounds, funk or soul must absolutely get acquinted with the work of Les McCann:



Together with Ovis Wright McCann is one of the important underrated soul artists of the 70′s area. I have no idea why, since his work is excellent and just as good or even better than the work of others that got much more recognition.