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;
Their first album from last year. Tipped to be a band to watch in 2017 by some people I know in the US.
Not heard this for a while, log fire burning, snow outside, this may be a relaxing day....
Admittedly, a bit like trying not to look when there is an accident on the other side of the Autobahn. Stephan Micus music, for me always juggling between kitsch, esoteric quotes, world music, doubtless talents on countless instruments and “shivers down the spine” moments. I bought all of his ECM catalog (is there other recordings ?), and also couldn’t resist his latest. I am not disappointed (with the above disclaimer)
Stanley Cowell - Departure #2
Allmusic.com:
Stanley Cowell was already a talented pianist at the time of his recording debut as a leader in 1969, but this 1990 trio session for Steeplechase demonstrates a seasoned artist whose chops had grown tremendously. His remakes of two compositions from his first release, "Departure #2" and "Photon in the Paperworld," seem light years ahead of the original versions. He has yet another salute to Art Tatum, the greatest pianist of them all, with a rollicking trio interpretation of "Just One of Those Things" that overwhelms the listener with his cascading runs. On the other hand, his easygoing approach to Charlie Parker's "Relaxin' at Camarillo" finds him taking a backseat for the first few choruses as he showcases bassist Bob Cranshaw. His sensitive renditions of ballads like Duke Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss" and Benny Golson's infrequently performed "Voices All" merit praise. Whether on sticks or brushes, drummer Keith Copeland adds just the right touch to this outstanding studio date.
J.S. Bach - the Cello solo Suites - played by Thomas Demenga
Undecided.
about as difficult to find new corners in the cello suites as in the Goldberg variations.
still a great (sounding) recording.
It is still dark outside at 6:06 AM so the Nocturnes don't stand in contrast to the time of the day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUdoxvigIl8
sjust posted:about as difficult to find new corners in the cello suites as in the Goldberg variations.
Agreed, Stefan. I have been experiencing the 'difficult of finding new corners' not only with particular pieces but also with musicians that after few further attempts I just give up on them.
Great fun, playing out on the main system and a couple of Muso QB's whilst we do jobs
Mal Waldron - Free at last
story has it that the title was not only referring to the free Style Waldron and companions play, but also may have to do with the fact that Manfrd Eicher finally decided to start his own „record business“, and to quit playing as a musician, himself.
ECM 1001, the first ever ECM recording, and the launch of a fantastic story in music „business“, and at the same time not shabby music, at all !
Christopher_M posted:
The photoshoot looks laugh a minute
Doppleganger! - Mr Bean above, Art Pepper below:
Kevin Mahogany - Another time another place
Allmusic.com:
Kevin Mahogany has a big, rich, mellow, bear hug of a voice suitably matched to his physique, and he also has a musical brain, no doubt enriched by his experience as a baritone sax player. Yet this big voice is agile enough to tackle the slippery stream of words in "Cloudburst" -- and there are other surprises on his second Warner Bros. album that one normally does not expect from one of today's mostly conservative jazz vocalists. For one thing, he actually opens Another Time Another Place with a scatting extravaganza called "Big Rub," with solos all around for a band that includes smokin' Joe Lovano on tenor and Cyrus Chestnut on piano. Elsewhere, Mahogany tries a somewhat daring experiment, matching his swinging tune "I Believe She Was Talkin' 'Bout Me" with country singer Randy Travis in a duet. Next to Mahogany, Travis has a small voice, and he doesn't dare scat with the master, but this unlikely yet friendly cultural exchange actually has a lot of charm. That and Mahogany's self-penned, marvelously wry take on the record business, "Fix It in the Mix," indicates that he has a real future as a composer. And of course, the big man displays his strengths with standard ballads like "Nature Boy" and "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," singing with a gentle finesse that recalls Johnny Hartman. Check it out.
Paul Bley - with Gary Pacock
Sequentia’s Hildegard von Bingen Project: Initially in collaboration with the West German Radio Cologne (WDR Köln) Sequentia made a series of recordings of the complete works of Germany’s most important medieval composer, the abbess and visionary Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179).
Haim Ronen posted:
Sequentia’s Hildegard von Bingen Project: Initially in collaboration with the West German Radio Cologne (WDR Köln) Sequentia made a series of recordings of the complete works of Germany’s most important medieval composer, the abbess and visionary Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179).
Bingen is one hour from where I live, and there are traces to be found as testimonies of her life. I will check this recording if I can find it.
Hollies - Distant Light
Another vinyl freebie from my father.
Towner / Burton - Matchbook
How mesmerizing !
Christian Scott, Stefon Harris & David Sanchez - Ninety Miles
Allmusic.com:
This album is a collaboration between vibraphonist Stefon Harris, trumpeter Christian Scott, and tenor saxophonist David Sánchez, recorded in Havana with Cuban musicians, including pianists Rember Duharte and Harold López-Nussa. It's not a Latin jazz album, though; these guys are primarily interested in moving classic hard bop into the future with infusions of hip-hop sensibility and groove, and that aesthetic permeates Ninety Miles, though there are occasional keyboard montunos and plenty of conga-driven rhythms to be heard, particularly on the album's peak, the hard Afro-Cuban/New Orleans funk workout "Congo." In a way, Ninety Miles is a puzzling album, because it doesn't seem to be making any explicit political statement; it's about the artistry, and nothing more. Christian Scott is a blazing young trumpeter in the Clifford Brown mold; Stefon Harris, who came up under Greg Osby, is keenly aware of the vibes' traditional position within jazz, and makes the most of that; David Sánchez is a powerful saxophonist with a flair for melody over muscle-flexing displays of lung power. And that's all they really want you to take away from this album. It's a blowing session that just happens to have been recorded in Cuba, with Cuban musicians backing them. Which, in its way, is a political statement, if an oblique one. But the album is well worth hearing on purely musical grounds.
Now Playing......
Jakob Bro - Streams
Jakob Bro (guitar), Thomas Morgan (bass), and Joey Baron (drums)
Streaming from NAS....... Since listening to the 'Ballardeering' album from Jakob Bro a few months back it certainly set me on a path to listen to all of his work and to explore the work of Paul Motian and Bill Frisell. ......and of course Thomas Morgan appears on 'Time' & December Song' from Loveland Records as well Geifion & Streams from ECM. The connections like branches on a tree forever leading to others, lot of fun exploring.......
Notes from ECM Records here: On his second leader album for ECM – following on from the prizewinning Gefion - Danish guitarist Jakob Bro continues to refine his trio project, with its emphases on melody, sound, space, layered textures and interaction. The rapport between Bro and Thomas Morgan (Bro calls him “my musical soul mate”) has become something extraordinary, and often guitarist and bassist develop improvisational ideas in parallel. There’s an historical aptness, too, in the choice of Joey Baron as the band’s new drummer, for Bro first encountered Morgan when the bassist was playing in Baron’s band a decade ago… On Streams Joey Baron dives into the music’s detail with obvious pleasure. This recording features five new Bro pieces: “Opal”, “Full Moon Europa”, “Shell Pink”, “Sisimiut” and “Heroines” (heard in both a trio version and a particularly lovely solo version). Completing the album’s repertoire is the freely improvised “PM Dream”, dedicated to the late Paul Motian. Jakob’s approach to melody acknowledges the influence of Motian, and both Bro and Morgan played in the late drummer’s ensembles . Recorded at Studios La Buissonne in the South of France in November 2015 and produced by Manfred Eicher.....
From 2010:
Recorded at Sing Sing, Melbourne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT054K8MlQk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8JX-r8jBmY
(1967 | 2017)
Because this is a wonderful, vibrant hi-res remaster (extracted from Blu-Ray) of an old classic that sounds fresh and fab. One of my favourite albums of 2017.
Robert Plant - Carry Fire.
Yes, I know this has been played to death in the Music Room, but, ............. ho hum.
This has definitely been a "grower" where I'm concerned, but, ............ know what?
It's become my favourite Percy album ................. until the next one, I suppose. 
A+3 16/44.1 James Brown - Live At The Apollo
11 years, we had a quick exchange of opinions on Charlie Haden - Helium Tears here, and I was the only one fighting for this (admittedly) non mainstream record. Others hated it or found it boring, at least. Hasn’t lost its fascination for me, since. Just tuns in to „Koputai“, advance to 5:00 and let the music blow you away. Or the trombone solo in „I could see forever“. Yummie - in the humble eyes of the beholder.
