What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XIV)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 31 December 2017
On the eve of a new year, it's time for a new thread.
Last year's thread can be found here:
Now Playing........
Diana Krall - Turn Up The Quiet
Steaming on NAS....... Waking up with Diana, a beautiful voice to start off this Friday morning.....
More funky stuff from the OPs' 1970s heyday. On gatefold vinyl... of course!
Two-LP complilation of funky sounds from the Golden State. Roy Porter's and Mike James Kirkland's contributions are outstanding...
Bobo Stenson trio - Contra la indecision.
Checking out the new album of the Bobo Stenson trio via Qobuz.
Now Playing......
Thomas Strønen, Time is a Blind Guide - Lucas
Thomas Strønen (drums), Ayumi Tanaka (piano), Håkon Aase (violin), Lucy Railton (violoncello), and Ole Morten Vågan (double bass).
Streaming on TIDAL...... Something new, a random choice from the ECM section on TIDAL, it is peaceful and beautiful and working well on this Friday morning.
Note on ECM Records here:
Norwegian drummer/composer Thomas Strønen presents a revised edition of his acoustic collective Time Is A Blind Guide, now trimmed to quintet size, and with a new pianist in Wakayama-born Ayumi Tanaka. Tanaka has spoken of seeking associative connections between Japan and Norway in her improvising, a tendency Strønen seems to be encouraging with his space-conscious writing for the ensemble, letting in more light. As on the group’s eponymously-titled and critically-lauded debut album there are excellent contributions from the string players – the quintet effectively contains both a string trio and a piano trio – and Manfred Eicher’s production brings out all the fine detail in the grain of the collective sound and the halo of its overtones, captured in the famously-responsive acoustic of Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo in March 2017.
Sean McConnell - "Sean McConnell" (2016) recommended by a musician friend I trust.
1989 - CD (rip)...
1993 - CD (rip)...
Mid 1980s vinyl. This is rock at its most preposterous - spurting guitars, brainhammer riffs, pointless displays of virtuosity, screeches, wails and shagpile carpet chests - but it's brilliant. The tunes are bagin', Ted Templeman's production is both ridiculously OTT and completely appropriate.
Mandolin Orange - "Blindfaller" (2016)
1997 - CD (rip)...
(2017)
This double album runs to two and a quarter hours of Doors singles caught me by surprise last year, much better than I had thought it might be. Well remastered it sounds great and has interesting live, mono and radio tracks.
After Pete, more Pete. This time 'Empty Glass' CD RIP to NS01.
Lisa Hannigan - "At Swim" (2016)
Alan Broadbent & Gary Foster - Concord duo series vol. 4
Allmusic.com:
This combination works quite well. Pianist Alan Broadbent and altoist Gary Foster have worked together many times through the years and they are quite familiar with each other's playing. On this set, recorded live at the now-legendary Maybeck Recital Hall, Broadbent and Foster perform creative versions of such songs as "Speak Low," Lennie Tristano's "317 East 32nd Street," "In Your Own Sweet Way," and Hoagy Carmichael's "One Morning in May," plus two of Broadbent's originals. Foster, who sounds a bit like Lee Konitz on alto, switches to tenor on a few numbers where he emulates Stan Getz. On either horn, he acts as a third hand for the very self-sufficient Broadbent and they consistently inspire each other. Highly recommended.
Michael Stanley - "Stolen Time" (2017)
Now Playing.......
John Surman - Invisible Threads
John Surman (soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet), Nelson Ayres (piano), and Rob Waring (vibraphone, marimba).
Streaming on TIDAL..... Another from the ECM Catalogue that was released today. It is sounding fantastic!
Note on ECM Records here:
Saxophonist and clarinettist John Surman is often characterized as a quintessentially English improviser and composer, and hints of folk music and a pastoral ambience are attributes of his music on well-loved albums like “The Road to Saint Ives” or “Saltash Bells.” Yet he also has a long history of working with musicians from other countries and cultures, players united by such invisible threads as a shared feeling for melody that transcends the idioms. John Surman met pianist Nelson Ayres – known to aficionados of Brazilian jazz for his work with Airto Moreira, Milton Nascimento and Banda Pau Brasil – while on tour in South America. In Oslo, Surman came to know and appreciate the playing of Rob Waring, expatriate US vibraphonist (recently heard on ECM with Mats Eilertsen). The three musicians come together to play a new programme of Surman originals – plus Nelson Ayres’s “Summer Song” – in a session recorded at Oslo’s Rainbow studio in July 2017.
- Double Bass, Bass, Baritone Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar, Electric Guitar, Synth, Electronics, Noises, Handclaps, Producer, Engineer – Jo Berger Myhre
- Drums, Handclaps, Bells, Drum Machine, Frame Drum, Xylophone, Piano, Shaker – Erland Dahlen
- Pedal Steel Guitar, Guitar [Shankar Guitar], Electric Guitar, Guitar Banjo, Resonator Guitar, Handclaps – Geir Sundstøl
- Trumpet, Electronics, Vocals, Loops, Handclaps, Producer – Nils Petter Molvær
It takes the whole of the the rather strained and ragged 1st track to get into, but upon arrival one is transported to spaced out landscapes that is a wonderful place to be.
The only thing i don't like about this album is the 1 x LP set leaves me wanting for more : )
Debs