2017 has arrived today, so time to start this thread afresh.
Last year's thread can be found here;
Really enjoying this album, completely took me by surprise. He is in fine voice and a really first class selection of songs. Highly recommended. I have it on 24 bit high resolution download and it sounds rather good too.
Just finished.......
Sean Rowe - New Lore
A fantastic album!
Now Playing.....
Lucinda Williams - West
Just love Lucinda's music, a great album.......
Now Playing.......
Ghazal - The Rain
Kayhan Kalhork(amancheh), Shujaat Husain Khan (sitar, vocals), with Sandeep Das (tabla)
A mention from HAIM RONEN a couple of weeks had me read the review and decided to order. It arrived today and ripped to NAS and now streaming.
Review from All About Jazz found here.
The titles of these three pieces are hardly subtle: "Fire," "Dawn," and "Eternity." They represent a continuum and embody a spectrum of tone and energy. "Fire" has a punchy (though still meditative) vitality, its conversations tending toward terse statements strung together in a sequence with surprising continuity. "Dawn" turns inward, and "Eternity" offers an unapologetic atmosphere of revelation and resolution.
The Iranian and North Indian musical traditions share harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic features dating back centuries, and despite an ostensible contrast between styles, there's more in common than may immediately be apparent. Shujaat's ear is equally attuned to the serene drone-like and expressive melodic qualities of the sitar, which he uses alternately to support Kalhor and render ideas of his own. The thirty-something Sandeep Das lends understated support on the tabla throughout.
Iranian music rarely reaches Western ears for political, cultural, and economic reasons, and so it's a pleasure to hear Kalhor play his violin-like instrument in and around this hybrid idiom. It's tonally centered and grounded in a relatively fixed harmonic framework, but within these confines his creative range is extremely broad. Bowed or pizzicato, foreground or background, subtle or extroverted, his voice feels warm and personal.
The hour of music presented on The Rain comes from a 2001 live performance in front of an audience at Radio DRS in Bern, which of course only enlivens the proceedings. For the uninitiated, this duo presents a wonderfully accessible and dynamic gateway into an under-appreciated zone of the musical universe.
#10...
In the category of "I've seen it all now." Japanese women in Kimono playing Classical Mexican Veracruz style "Son Jarocha" music.
On the harp. 
Now Playing.........
Eberhard Weber - The colours of Cloe
Eberhard Weber (bass, cello, ocarina), Rainer Bruninghaus (piano, synthesizer), Peter Giger (drums, percussion) Ralf Hubner (drums), Ack van Rooyen (fluegelhorn), Cellos of the Sudfunk Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart
Arrived this afternoon - Ripped to NAS and now streaming....... I recently picked up a number of Eberhard Weber's albums and have enjoyed them quite a bit!
From ECM Reviews here:
Listening to an Eberhard Weber album, one can always count on an immersive experience. This is especially true in his first as frontman. From its enigmatic title and charming cover to its fine musicianship and well-conceived instrumentation, The Colours of Chloë remains an ECM classic and may just be the perfect introductory album for those looking to know why the label was so influential even in its infancy. In a span of 4 compositions and 10 times as many minutes Weber produces a veritable mélange of flavors, textures, and, of course, colors. On that note, “More Colours” gives us just that as Weber’s bass cuts a slow swath of orchestral goodness. The title track features an ethereal ocarina* that swirls into a resplendent piano solo from longtime Weber collaborator Rainer Brüninghaus. “An Evening With Vincent van Ritz” draws from the same palette as the first track, but soon breaks into a run with some inspired drumming and a stellar fluegelhorn solo by Ack van Rooyen, while “No Motion Picture” reprises the spacey feel of the title track and shows Weber at his most profound. Not to be forgotten, Brüninghaus also has some breathing room here and provides some of the more transcendent moments in this all-too-brief journey.
Although a glance at the cover art or lineup may not exactly cry “Jazz!” Weber knows where he and his instrument stand. The music is firmly rooted in the genre’s orthodox structural standby: i.e., a solid thematic framework with plenty of room for improvisation along the way. While compositionally astute, Weber’s greatest strength is his “eye” for sound. His feel for blending instruments is highly idiosyncratic and backed by an obvious passion for music-making. His distinctive combination of bass, piano, percussion, horns, and strings is such that no one instrument or group is ever dominant for too long. Each musician is only as good as his altruism toward the ensemble as a whole. That being said, one cannot help but marvel at Weber’s signature sound at the heart of it all, or at his uncanny playing that walks the line between affirmation and mourning. This album is not to be missed.
Now Playing.......
Hommage A' Eberhard Weber
Eberhard Weber (Electric bass, Synthesizer [from tape]), Pat Metheny (guitars), Jan Garbarek (soprano saxophone), Gary Burton (vibraphone), Scott Colley (double bass), Danny Gottlieb (drums) Paul McCandless (english horn, soprano saxophone), Klaus Graf (alto saxophone), Ernst Hutter (euphonium), SWR Big Band, Michael Gibbs (conductor), Helge Sunde (conductor)
Delivered this afternoon - Ripped to NAS and now streaming......
Notes from the ECM website: In January 2015 musicians and listeners converged upon Stuttgart’s Theaterhaus for two consecutive nights to celebrate the 75th birthday of Eberhard Weber. The concerts centered around a specially commissioned 35-minute suite by Pat Metheny, with whom Weber had played and recorded back in the 1970s. Featuring Metheny, the SWR Big Band conducted by Helge Sunde, Gary Burton, bassist Scott Colley and Danny Gottlieb on drums, the composition was arranged around recordings of solos by Weber. Other performers during the two nights playing selections from Weber’s vast body of work were Weber’s longtime companions Jan Garbarek, Paul McCandless, and arranger Michael Gibbs, all drawing ovations from the packed house.
“A truly special event, this.” Michael Tucker, Jazz Journal.
Enjoying some ECM titles on Tidal.
.sjb
Serkin recorded this piece 5 times and this is an early collaboration with Szell. I'd rather like it as they are full of energy and got a very nice driving force.
dave marshall posted:
Gary Clark Jr. Blak And Blu.
Gary's debut album, which I seem not to have played for a while ................ quite LOUD ..................... spot on!
Great record Dave!
Now Playing.......
Notes from the ECM Records website: Acoustic Guitar magazine called Brahem/Couturier/Matinier “the oddest trio ever to play contemporary Arabic music”, before going on to laud the work: “The result is far more than an expression of Arabic traditions; echoes of Satie, Paris cafés, flamenco, and Balkan music infuse the melodies. Accordion, oud and piano continually exchange roles, each providing melody, rhythm, and ornamental filigree.” “Le Voyage de Sahar” features persuasive, emotionally powerful new compositions by Anouar Brahem, and also incorporates new approaches to three of his most requested pieces: “Vague”, “E la nave va” and “Halfaouine”
November 1990
Now Playing......
Sarah Jane Morris & Antonio Forcione - Compared To What
A mention from GRAHAM RUSSELL yesterday had me placed this album in the TIDAL queue and now streaming........
Through the 2nd track and very, very nice!
Review on ISRABOX Found here:
Sarah Jane Morris and Antonio Forcione come together in a worldwide tour to promote the launch of their collaborative album: Compared to What. This duo have each been compared to an impressive array of musical geniuses including Janice Joplin and Tom Waits (vocally) as well as Jimi Hendrix (instrumentally) – a comparison Antonio wears with pride. Django Reinhardt also comes to mind. In truth, Sarah Jane and Antonio are great artists in their own right. Channelling their energies together, they share audiences in Italy, Britain, and all over the world. Together they increase their spheres of appreciation, giving loyal fans the chance to experience favourites afresh, as well as attracting new audiences with the strength and artistry of their unique partnership. Compared to what is the result of a fruitful and varied songwriting collaboration. It covers a number of traumatic social issues and many songs of emotional intensity which reflect the urgent concern both artists feel for the tragedy of refugees. One song in particular deals with the boat people - a drama most keenly felt in Italy and by Italians - with Sarah Jane and Antonio acting as tribunes of conscience. This sense of witness describes many of Sarah Jane's most passionately felt songs from the recent past, and in new material Antonio adds his own awareness and artistic response. Alongside the songs of conscience, Compared to What includes some wry comedy, also love songs and some memorable covers, notably Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan. Sarah Jane's and Antonio's set touches heights of great musical beauty both in Antonio's unique virtuoso guitar playing and Sarah Jane's legendary voice, now more subtle and persuasive than ever, with range and power undiminished. The whole is a triumph of collaboration between two of the most individual and richly talented musicians on the world stage.
On CD:-
Joe Cocker - Have A Little Faith
DenisA posted:
Charlie Cawood - The Divine Abstract
Wonderful musicianship, using instruments I'd never heard of are making this a fascinating listening experience. A true (7 year) labour of love from Charlie has succeeded in creating something complex, dense and interesting and deserves a wide audience to enjoy his ensemble compositions
Denis, thanks for the heads up. I've only just got around to trying it and it's immediately going around for the second time. Lovely stuff, a great recommendation.
(1987)
Playing Charlie Cawood's Divine Abstract album earlier got me wondering how David Sylvian's voice might work with a couple of the tracks? Quite well I imagine...
Joss Stone - The soul sessions.
Richard Hawley - Standing at the Sky's Edge.
Richard drops a tab, and becomes a space cadet.
Incidentally, it was the soundscapes on this album which convinced me to move from CDS 3 to NDS ............ awesome!
