What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XIII)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 01 January 2017
2017 has arrived today, so time to start this thread afresh.
Last year's thread can be found here;
Now Playing......
Anouar Brahem - Le Pas du Chat Noir
Anouar Brahem (oud), François Couturier (piano), Jean-Louis Matinier (accordion)
Received this album in the afternoon mail, ripped to NAS and now streaming.......
Review from All About Jazz found here: The outstanding clarity of Anouar Brahem's new trio record demonstrates the composer's ability to combine several cultural influences without sounding contrived or disjointed. For this project, Brahem composed 12 pieces for the most unusual combination of piano, accordion, and oud (a type of lute). The music came out of a long period of listening and composing on piano in Tunis, where Brahem found himself unable to return to his voice on the oud after an intense session for 1997's Thimar.As he developed his ideas, Brahem returned to the oud and assembled a final version which also includes pianist François Couturier and accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier.
What's most remarkable and surprising about Le Pas Du Chat Noir ("the black cat's footsteps") is that music composed with such attention to detail can be transmitted through the right hands into a thoroughly improvised feel. Make no mistake, this is chamber music: understated, deliberate small-group interplay. But at the same time, it offers dramatic waves of sound that wash ashore in tidal fashion. The overtones of the string instruments here allow an effective means to color notes, while the accordion provides a feeling of breath and inspiration. As for the trans-cultural underpinnings of Le Pas Du Chat Noir, it's hard to separate the intertwined strands—as hard as it is to dissect the culture of Tunisia itself. But the rhythms suggest the striding pulse of North Africa and the lilting lightness of Eastern Europe; the harmonies often occupy the ground of Northern European neoclassical minimalism; and melodies regularly take advantage of the minor modes of Arab and Middle Eastern music. (And, of course, each instrument brings with it a specific musical tradition, in this specific case straddling the boundaries that make up post-colonial Tunisian musical culture.)
Le Pas Du Chat Noir is a recording of exquisite sensitivity and nuance, tilted toward composition despite an palpable improvisational feel. Brahem has thrown a most unusual cocktail of musical elements into his blender in order to create this chamber music. The record may deviate far enough from the jazz tradition to disappoint die-hard afficionados of improvised solos, standards, and swing. But if you're willing take Le Pas at face value, it's mesmerizingly beautiful.
Dave Holland, Pepe Habichuela - Hands. CD-rip. More Friday fun!
CD John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John - Grease Sound Track.
I couldn't find the LP and It wasn't ease to find the CD. I'm seriously considering to start ripping again.
The Pentagon - S/t. CD-rip.
Cedar Gorudon (p), Clifford Jordan (ts), Sam Jones (b), Billy Higgins (ds), Ray Mantilla (cga). Recorded during May 17, 1976, at New York, Media, Sound Studio. DSD Japanese remastered pressing
Now Playing.........
Anouar Brahem Trio - Astrakan Cafe
This arrived in the mail a couple of days ago and taking it out for a spin. Through the first five tracks and it is special!
Review from Jazz Times found here:
Anouar Brahem’s oud playing is expressive, entrancing and beautiful. It’s so moving and anthemic it’s hard to believe any listener wouldn’t be frequently overwhelmed by Brahem’s brilliance. While one can debate whether Brahem’s music should be considered jazz or world or some hybrid of the two, there’s no denying the songs on Astrakan Cafe rank among the most lyrical and elegant in any genre. Brahem blends elements of traditional Arab and Islamic religious and popular music with just a slight nod to the American improvising tradition. His spiraling passages and energetic forays reflect some jazz influence, but the overall tone and sound of the work is more North African and Eastern than Western.
Barbaros Erkose, on clarinet, and Lassad Hosni, on percussive instruments bendir and darbouka, prove equally exciting players. The usual splendid ECM engineering and production ensure a rich, rippling trio sound that fully accents the quality of Brahem’s oud flights, Erkose’s clarinet answers and Hosni’s delicate alternating between challenging and exemplifying the duo’s statements. The song menu shifts from serious recountings of vintage compositions to film soundtrack pieces, joyous exchanges and somber, probing exchanges. This is Anouar Brahem’s sixth date for ECM; here’s wishing that he’ll get many more chances to display his amazing abilities for international audiences.
Tidal. Liza Wright - Dreaming Wide Awake
Now Playing......
Anouar Brahem - Thimar
Anouar Brahem (oud, composer), John Surman (soprano saxophone, bass clarinet), and Dave Holland (double bass)
This was the second album that arrived today in the mail and continuing on with the Anouar Brahem theme, another beautiful and brilliant album.
Review from All About Jazz by Glenn Astarita found here: The oud is an ancient short-necked, plucked Arabic instrument. On Thimar, East meets West with oud instrumentalist Anouar Brahem along with jazz masters, saxophonist/bass clarinetist John Surman and bassist Dave Holland. The opener, "Badhra," commences with Surman's light as a feather soprano work while Holland and Brahem successively join the festivities as if they were doing one of those "let's introduce the band" exercises. "Taiwin" leans toward the Arabic end of the spectrum as Holland and Brahem perform Middle Eastern unison lines. Holland's rich, exuberant sound provides a huge bottom for Surman and Brahem while also providing tonal color and rhythmic balance. This attribute serves as an interesting contrast to Brahem's oud. "Mazad" features some extended ensemble work from the Trio. The muscular rhythmic pulse is provided by Holland and Brahem while Surman develops attractive themes with his fluid and crystal clear soprano work. Here, Surman's phrasing and nimble tone seems angelic and mystical.
The entire recording is amiable, wonderfully produced and absorbing. The ever present Middle Eastern feel is always an underlying factor; however, Holland did his homework to devise and implement the unorthodox pulse required to pull this off. Surman rides the top and provides the nuance and thematic movements. The entire project is captivating yet at times seems innocent and humble as if this were a spiritual exercise. Either way you look at it Thimar is entertaining and impressive. There's a lot going on here. Recommended.
Erich posted:
Tidal. Liza Wright - Dreaming Wide Awake
Having listened to all of Lizz Wright's album on TIDAL, I can say that there is not a bad one among them. Great voice, great music.......
Brilliant posted:Dave Holland, Pepe Habichuela - Hands. CD-rip. More Friday fun!
After reading the review I placed this in the TIDAL queue to play over the day or two. A nice write up certainly perked my interest. Thanks for the mention......
His 2nd album and just as marvelous as the first.
Bruggen: Haydn Symphony 86 & 88 - '88 rec.
Sounds proper ( it's played on period instruments ) but I am not entirely convinced if Bruggen's Haydn is the way to go.
Janine Jansen - Bach concertos
Only available as an import from Japan at the moment. Trax are specially chosen by the man himself from his 2015 tour of Japan.
A great musical start to the weekend as I mix the ingredients for the Christmas cake.
New album, laid back jazz....
New jazz trio, good first album. While would like a bit more excitement ...
For people liking Steven Wilson, you might also like to give this a spin....
(2002)
Cutting Robert Palmer short which something I rarely do with any album, because I just noticed that Fever Ray released her new album Plunge yesterday. This is a very pleasant surprise I wasn't aware there were plans for another album particularly since its been over eight years since her last solo offering. Just one track in and I'm liking it.
kuma posted:
Bruggen: Haydn Symphony 86 & 88 - '88 rec.
Sounds proper ( it's played on period instruments ) but I am not entirely convinced if Bruggen's Haydn is the way to go.
Love his older recorder playing of Telemann.