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;
Antonio Forcione - Touch Wood
I was reminded of this the other day (by HH actually) and realised I hadn't played it in ages. Putting that right now. Recommended if you are a AF fan, or indeed if you are not.
John Hicks - On the wings of an eagle
Staying with John Hicks.
Allmusic.com:
John Hicks is heard with his working trio on what is likely his final recording, made two months to the day prior to his unexpected death. With bassist Buster Williams and drummer Louis Hayes, also seasoned veterans and bandleaders themselves, the set list for this well-recorded studio session is a hard bop lover's feast, drawing from both familiar and less frequently heard repertoire. Hicks throws quite a few curves into Gigi Gryce's "Minority" by tossing in a few vamps then getting right to business with improvising rather than bothering to offer a chorus of its theme, with Williams' fleet bassline and Hayes' brushwork powering him in full flight. The leader's sole original is a salute to Cedar Walton, an upbeat piece called "As Birds Fly (Walton's Mountain)" in which the musicians easily scale its heights. The bassist contributed two originals, including the lush, somewhat moody "Strivers Jewels" and the delicate tribute to his then-young niece "Christina." Hayes is an asset throughout the recording, particularly standing out in the powerful interpretation of Dexter Gordon's "Cheesecake." John Hickswas clearly at the top of his game at the end of his life, and this final recording adds an important chapter to his recorded legacy.
Thumpermonkey - Electricity
Sound & Videos - https://thumpermonkey.bandcamp.com/album/electricity
This Is Not A Fire - Rhythm Section - http://geargods.net/playthroug...-a-fire-playthrough/
Because I'm going to see Nerina perform at Hoxton Hall, London next Wednesday.
MDS posted:
Because I'm going to see Nerina perform at Hoxton Hall, London next Wednesday.
Lucky you, Mike. This is a terrific album IMHO.
Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter - CD Rip
Edward
I'm in the mood for more Nerina now 
Tame Impala - Currents (2015)
Followed by The New Pornographers - Whiteout Conditions (2017)
Just finished this double header........
Jacob Young - Evening Falls
Jacob Young (guitar), Vidar Johansen (Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone), Mats Eilertsen (double-bass), Jon Christensen (drums), and Mathias Eick (Trumpet)
A mention from JEROEN20 earlier today had me place this in the TIDAL Queue.......
Streamed from TIDAL......
And
Joe Sample - Old Places, Old Faces
Joe Sample (piano, Fender Rhodes), Charles Lloyd (tenor saxophone), Dean Parks (guitar), Jay Anderson (bass), Ralph Penland (drums), and Lenny Castro (percussion).
Played this the other day and enjoyed Joe's piano playing so much I wanted to listen to the album again!
Streamed from the NAS
Runrig
Searchlight - CD Rip
Edward
Now Playing......
Pierre Favre Ensemble - Fleuve
Philipp Schaufelberger (guitar), Frank Kroll (soprano saxophone, bass clarinet), Hélène Breschand (harp), Michel Godard (tuba, serpent), Wolfgang Zwiauer (bass guitar), Bänz Oester (bass), and Pierre Favre (percussion, drums)
Exploring the ECM catalogue...... Very enjoyable, works well for a cold, wet and overcast afternoon
Streaming from TIDAL
Now Playing......
Judith Owen - Ebb & Flow
A mention from GRAHAM RUSSELL the other day had me put this album in the TIDAL queue and now taking it out for a spin.
Through two tracks and Judith is excellent, great voice with great supporting musicians!
Portugal. The Man - Woodstock (2017)
Gladiator medley is a favourite, closely followed by Inception.
Now Playing.......
Hamza El Din - A Wish
Hamza El Din (composer, hand clapping, oud, taragat, and vocals), Joan Jeanrenaud (cello and clarinet), Hani Naser (clay drums, doumbek), Kemani Tatyos Efendi (composer), Shabda Owens (hand clapping), Amy Cyr (Nay), William Allaudin Mathieu (piano), and Shizuru Ohtaka (vocals)
A mention the other day by HAIM RONEN and KEN C of Hamza El Din peaked my interest and placed a couple of his albums in the TIDAL queue and I'm now taking 'A Wish' out for a spin.
ECM on Tidal is opening up many avenues.
.sjb
Couldn't resist...
From 2005, playing now at 5:15 PM, last one before dinner:
another recommended ECM title.
.sjb
Now Playing.......
Pierre Favre Ensemble - Singing Drums
Pierre Favre (chorale, cymbals, drums, gong, and percussion), Paul Motion (calebasse, chorale, drums, gong, and percussion), Fredy Studer (drums, cymbals, gong, and percussion), and Nana Vasconcelos (bells, berimbau, congas, percussion, shaker, timpani, and vocals & voices)
Taking another of the ECM albums out for a spin......
Possibly not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it is fantastic, quite enjoyable!
Notes from the ECM website found here:
Singing Drums brings together some of ECM’s most formidable percussionists in this one-off incarnation of the Pierre Favre Ensemble. For this date, Favre welcomes Paul Motian, Fredy Studer, and Nana Vasconcelos into his fold. The results are, while brilliant, likely to be overlooked due to the special interest of its instrumental makeup. Let this not deter anyone, however, from experiencing its wonders. What I love most about this session is that each player’s style is so instantly recognizable. Between the twangy call of Vasconcelos’s berimbau, the crotales of Favre, the delicate cymbals of Studer, and Motian’s earthly patter, we can easily tease out every thread of conversation being woven before us.
One finds in these atmospheres broad intimations of times and places, a blurring of geographic and cultural signatures into a mosaic of worldly mindedness, a space where human and animal blur into one another, such that the hands of the player become the keen pounce of a lion in the bush and the leap of the gazelle who thwarts it. Drones and footsteps exchange glances amid the branches of the opening “Rain Forest,” while other tracks like “Metal Birds” work in more clipped gestures. Vasconcelos’s chanting is a vital thread here, and seeks only to enhance the pitch-bent drums and other sinuous energies around him.
This is a profound album of subtle creativity that gets only deeper with every listen. Anyone who knows these performers will not expect an all-out frenzy, but the careful and porous readings of “Edge Of The Wing” and “Prism,” not to mention the whispered accents of “Frog Song.” Theirs is a journey both of anthropology and dislocation, a masterful text written “Beyond The Blue,” which leaves us to ponder the cries of our ancestors, as countless as the stars above our heads.
Now Playing.......
Jakob Bro - Gefion
Jakob Bro (guitar), Thomas Morgan (double bass), and Jon Christensen (drums)
Love this album.......
Note from ECM website here: 'Gefion' is Danish guitarist Jakob Bro’s first ECM album as leader, following recordings for the label as sideman with Paul Motian and Tomasz Stanko. Like the work of those masters Bro’s balladeering distils a sense of jazz history in its specific and highly personal atmospheres. The open forms of Bro’s compositions leave plenty of space for his companions – drum legend Jon Christensen and creative bassist-of-the-moment Thomas Morgan - to make their statements, interactively and in parallel. And there is space too for the listener’s imagination to follow the flow and the delicate melodic tracery of Bro’s electric guitar in this thoughtful and poetic album. 'Gefion' was recorded in Oslo’s Rainbow Studio in November 2013 and produced by Manfred Eicher.
And then I ended up here....
.sjb