What are you listening to right now? (VOL II)

SJB

Warren Bernhardt Trio "Ain't Life Grand"

Warren Bernhardt - piano, Jay Anderson - bass, Danny Gottlieb - drums

A string arrangement.

quote:

Originally posted by droodzilla:

quote:

Originally posted by Lontano:

That's an impressive set of awards, Adrian - care to say a little more about this one?

Thanks
Nigel

Yes it is a well decorated album. I have not played it for several years so thought I would give it a spin today as I remember being very impressed with it when last played.

Aldo is a drummer with quite a jazz history. He plays here with Danilo Rea on piano and Remi Vignolo on bass. Lots of good trio stuff, different paces and styles and just a high quality disc. Here is a little write up I found on the web.


Despite the ‘never heard of him’ status in North America, Aldo Romano, now in his 60s, has played with most of the big names in jazz, and, like the exceptional among them, is rightfully considered one of the foremost innovators in his instrument: the drums.

That a drummer could be more than just a friendly timekeeper was forcefully brought to the fore by Elvin Jones in the early 1960s as a member of the famous John Coltrane Quartet. In the spirit of a Grand Prix driver challenging the laws of physics, Jones would lag dangerously behind or ahead of the beat to the point where we feared he would lose control. The effects were revolutionary as the drum delighted in its new found voice and independence, opening up a new way of thinking about jazz percussion.

In the late 1960s, with Alice Coltrane and later Pharaoh Sanders, it became necessary to introduce a second percussionist, who would be expected, beyond the boundaries of tempo, to add inflections and articulations that drew from the entire lexicon of sound in order to more fully disclose the essence or mood of a particular composition. Nana Vasconcelos, in collaboration with Gismonti (1976-79) and Metheny (1981-82) was perhaps the first outstanding example of how the drum machine, voice and body slapping could be fused into the bio-rhythms of jazz.

Turning yet another corner in the evolution of percussion, Aldo Romano -- within the context of small ensembles that feature a single, unplugged drummer -- generates his distinct and arrhythmic pulse by completely abandoning a song’s meter in order to assume the role usually designated for the second percussionist. At any given moment in a score, he will devolve the responsibility of the beat to the listener, so the now liberated drummer can devote his energies and accents to the narration of the composition by making the percussion and main instruments equal partners in the elaboration of the musical concept.

In Threesome (2003), which features Danilo Rea on piano and Remi Vignolo on bass, the listener will discover wonderfully serene moments that reveal unexpected transparency on the snare, and feelings poignantly rendered through the uneven tap and tingle of the cymbals, all contained within the remarkable spaces and silences of a drummer at one with his instrument. Aldo Romano is a composer of uncommon imaginative gifts, who is making his place in the history of jazz percussion.

previously:
Laura Veirs "Saltbreakers"


now playing:
Elliott Smith "New Moon"

Beethoven's Sonatas for Violin & Piano no 9, 7 & 8.

Olivier Charlier, violin
Brigitte Engerer, piano

A 1996 recording on Harmonia Mundi.

On Vinyl

A tribute to Miles Davis....Kei worked with him at one time.

This is very real sounding Piano....one for Haim?

regards
Geoff

Shostakovich symphonies 9 and 10 from the Moscow Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Kirill Kondrashin - thrilling stuff.



Also, while I've only had a chance to listen to bits of this, I thought I'd flag up the latest release from Chandos's Opera in English series (particularly for ROTF) - Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte from Mackerras and the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment.



What I've heard so far is excellent.


regards, Tam

quote:

Originally posted by Geoff P:


On Vinyl

A tribute to Miles Davis....Kei worked with him at one time.

This is very real sounding Piano....one for Haim?

regards
Geoff

Geoff,

Thanks for the recommendation. I have it on a CD which sounds pretty good too.

Here is a very good sounding (as well as playing) solo piano for you:



Regards,
Haim

quote:

Originally posted by Haim Ronen:
Geoff,

Here is a very good sounding (as well as playing) solo piano for you:



Regards,
Haim

Haim....thanks I will put that on my list.

Geoff

This week I have been mostly listening to:


On Japanese 180g vinyl


On Diverse Vinyl 180g


On Speakers Corner 180g


And an original Phillips pressing of Manitas de Plata Flamenco Guitar - volume 2, a bit rice crispies but great piece of music for a fiver.

Mark

Paul Simon "1964/1993" disc 2

Just cannot get enough of Radiohead's 'In Rainbows' right now. The CDS3 suddenly thinks it's the only CD i own, IMO the best thing they have ever done.... absolutely love it.

Did i say i liked it?

Gary.

quote:

Originally posted by Lontano:

quote:

Originally posted by droodzilla:

quote:

Originally posted by Lontano:

That's an impressive set of awards, Adrian - care to say a little more about this one?

Thanks
Nigel

Yes it is a well decorated album. I have not played it for several years so thought I would give it a spin today as I remember being very impressed with it when last played.

Aldo is a drummer with quite a jazz history. He plays here with Danilo Rea on piano and Remi Vignolo on bass. Lots of good trio stuff, different paces and styles and just a high quality disc. Here is a little write up I found on the web...

Thanks Adrian, that's really helpful. I'm currently enjoying this:



After finding it rather unwelcoming at first.

Nigel

quote:

After finding it rather unwelcoming at first.

You want to try Art Pepper. Best Alto player I've heard. Including Bird.

Thanks for the prompt Gian (still rate field songs as his single most consistent album)

quote:

Originally posted by hungryhalibut:

quote:

After finding it rather unwelcoming at first.

You want to try Art Pepper. Best Alto player I've heard. Including Bird.

He's on my list of musicians I'd like to try, Nigel - I'll see if the record library has anything on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, this is simply astonishing:



Baroque violin sonatas with organ and harpsichord accompaniment - sounds potentially horrible, but it's a real delight. And yes, I am listening to it now.

Nigel

quote:

Originally posted by droodzilla:
Meanwhile, this is simply astonishing:


Baroque violin sonatas with organ and harpsichord accompaniment - sounds potentially horrible, but it's a real delight. And yes, I am listening to it now.

Nigel

Nigel,

This trio made three superb discs on ECM. The other two are:





Unfortonately, there will not be any more recordings of this magical trio since Aloysia Assenbaum died of an illness at a relatively young age.

Haim

Viola & piano for sundown.