Published by James January 17th, 2007
in Album, Review and 2006.
One of the challenges that I set before myself was to explore more Jazz, in particular artists that a creating compelling and novel work today. The reason is that I am a hypocrite because of the fact that with regards to Pop musics (Rock, Punk, Electronic, etc) I crave and demand new releases, anything more than a few years old is passed over like day old sushi. However, with Jazz, I am mired in works often no younger than thirty years and that truly is a travesty as there are albums and artists that are making beautiful art who should be listened to. Nils Wogram & Root 70 is one such ensemble.
Nimble and articulate would be good adjectives as would delicate and gentle. Like Mulligan, Wogram takes a seemingly ungainly instrument, in this case a trombone, and transforms it into lyrical dancer that can move with both speed and grace. The opening track to Fahrvergnügen demonstrates his sensitivity and care with approaching his instrument as it features flowing duet with Hayden Chisholm on alto sax. Following is “The Myth” which showcases his sharp precision as he winds his way through tight clean lines.
Wogram, however, is not the only star in the group as Root 70, comprised of Hayden Chisholm on alto sax and bass, Matt Penman on double bass, and Jochen Rückert on drums shows themselves to be in fine form. Rückert’s drumming is crisp with restrained power that bridges nicely between the type of work heard some forty years ago and today’s desire to hear a sound that is more forthright–”Bird’s Trip” highlights his style of playing well. Penman is restrained yet warm as he hold up the bottom end and his solo on Desert is captivating.
Do yourself a favor and grab the two free tracks from the album, “Breathing” and “The Myth“, from his website. Fahrvergnügen is highly recommended, especially if you are like me searching for new sounds in Jazz that still satisfy your cravings for the past.
Published by James December 13th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
All Is Fair is a meditative album. It slowly stretches, winding its way through folk forms from nearly every continent while managing to fold in elements of Jazz, Rock, and the Western Classical tradition all of which results in a fine example of Fusion. If you are a fan of Kronos Quartet, and in particular their trance-like work Night Prayers, then you might find yourself drawn to the work on here as it possesses many of the same qualities though approaching them from different angle as Gojogo blend together upright bass, violin, tablas, with various brass and woodwinds to create a sometimes dark yet warm tapestry of sound.
“All Is Fair In Love and War”, nestled near the middle of the album and by far one of my favorite songs on the album, shows the group shaking loose the somnolent work of the prior tracks in the opening bars with a rhythm section built upon an angular tabla line and flanked by a very aggressive staccato violin and bass. Layered on top of it is a slightly restrained guitar line that growls and paces like a caged cat growing more pensive as the piece moves forward. At the midpoint it all crashes, falling on top of itself, and out of it emerges a plaintive melody on trumpet carried by soft woodwinds. Gojogo, in this track, demonstrates a keen ability to construct a narrative through the composition and choices in arrangement. Conversely, “Taal Mama”, which you can stream over at Myspace, is likely one of their more Trance-like pieces as it built around a cluster of simple rhythms and melodies that ensemble makes use of to hang variations on themes. It is understated but very enjoyable at the same.
All Is Fair is a breath of fresh air as it seamlessly blends together so many disparate musical traditions capturing the Trance elements of Modal Jazz and Abstract Electronic with Folk forms of Africa, Europe, and the Americas while maintaining a sense of urgency often found in Rock. It makes for a compelling listen and I highly recommend it. All Is Fair is one of my picks for Best of 2006.
Published by James December 5th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
Katherine Whalen’s latest, Dirty Little Secret, will make you do a double take as it covers a wide territory of styles, sometimes skittering between them in a matter of breaths. It is an ambitious album that takes risks with production as well as with arranging and composing which yields moments of genius as well as some where you might find your fingers seeking the skip button. In the end though Whalen, along with collaborator David Sale, create a compelling album that is worth giving a listen.
What mars the listening experience for me is the sheen of Adult Contemporary that glosses many of the tracks, in particular the Dance Pop of You-Who which feels awkward and forced as if Sale and Whalen hashed out the song’s concept in a committee with the express purpose of targeting the mothers of tweens. Whalen’s voice really isn’t suited to confection, rather it works best on songs where she can settle into a warm smokiness. Conversely, she shines on the breathy number Angel which is steep deeply in nostalgia for 80’s style Pop.
Where Whalen truly shines is when she is working over Jazz styled Rhythm & Blues numbers like the opener, “The Funnest Game” and “Want You Back”, and this is where the arrangements feel looser and the one-man ensemble of Sale sounds frisky even with the drum programming that drives the track. These numbers are a nice balance to the more ambitious attempts on the album and are definitely a reward when taking the work as a whole. Dirty Little Secrets, in the end is a really good album, and it will be interesting to see what direction she’ll take in the future.
Published by James November 26th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
James Mathus, Jas Mathus, Jimbo “Hambone” Mathus, and Jimbo Mathus. Take your pick. Thankfully, the last name is consistent as Mathus apparently likes his nicknames, though, on some level it adds to the charm of his being some sort of errant Southern troubadour cloaked in fond memories of the dimming past of last century.
Old School Hot Wings sees him paired up with Knockdown South delivering a warm and intimate performance that mixes traditional numbers with covers and a handful of originals. There is nothing ground breaking about this album but the warmth that Mathus and his band imbue the songs with make it a worthwhile listen. The opener, “Voice of a Pork Chop”, is a lively toe-tapper that never fails to get me humming and my stomach rumbling though it is tempered by the stinging rebuke of “Wouldn’t Treat a Dog”, which rounds out the back half and leaves the listener wondering how much of the song is directed at his ex-wife.
If you’re looking for music to pair with some sipping whiskey or something that conjurs up humid nights sprawled on the front steps then Old School Hot Wings is the perfect choice. Head over to his Myspace page to stream and download three songs from this album. Highly recommended.
Published by James November 2nd, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
Afrobeat is the new hotness what with re-releases of Thomas Mapfumo, a renewed focus on the work of Fela Kuti, and a blizzard of releases in the past year by neo-Afrobeat groups like Akoya and Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. Now, it might be easy to lump Nomo into this wave but there is something more going on. New Tones certainly holds a sheen of Afrobeat but that glimmer quickly disappears when you get deeper into the album and pay closer attention to the arrangements. Percussive guitar lines, thumb pianos, and syncopated cowbell does not make an album Afrobeat and Nomo is, by all rights, more a Jazz act than anything and one that pulls from a wide and diverse musical palette.
Soul, Funk, R&B, Breaks, and Afrobeat are all equally represented but all are interpreted through the lens of Jazz with a strong focus on modality, soloing, and interplay between voices during bridges and choruses. The weakly titled “New Song” is representative with the faint noir leanings of the guitar work channeling the sensibilities of James Hardway as saxophone and trumpet solos work to lay the melodic structure for the bridges leading into further solos or choruses. “If You Want” maintains the same level of soloing with Piccolo and Piedra providing a percussive backdrop ala Tony Allen. Closing the album is the sweetest track, “Sarvodaya”, with its cascading organ line that buoys a saxophone solo that flutters gently, howls as it plummets and screams as it soars all the while the arrangement maintains a quiet and meditative sense of peace in those contrasts.
New Tones easily slips onto my Best of 2006 list with its sly way of bending sounds into shapes that are at once provocative and party like. Nomo would make for one hell of a house band if the energy from this recording is any indication of their passion for their music. Grab it. Play it. You won’t have any regrets.
Published by James October 17th, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
Let me lead this post off by saying that if Ubiquity Records were a girl I’d be sending her flowers and poetry that professed my undying love and unassailable adoration for her everyday. Really, when has a label so consistently pummeled the market with so many excellent and can’t miss releases? Seriously, try and answer that. Anyways, the latest to hit my desk is Radio Citizen’s Berlin Serengeti, a pastiche of Soul Jazz, Hip Hop, Grooves, and Afro-Cuban breaks. It follows the trend–like Loka, James Hardway, and Quantic–of constructing songs that emulate live sessions and seeing as I am a sucker for anything that remotely approximates modal Jazz with a dash of Afro-Cuban rhythms I’m all over this release.
The opening track, “The Hop” is a bit of an anomaly as it introduces the album cloaked in Downtempo breaks: compressed drum patterns, a growling organ pacing about, light vocals from Bajaka give it a human element. It is a solid track but is deceptive as the remaining album slips into a moody and atmospheric Jazz breaks like the slippery “Mondlicht” which floats on patters of crash cymbals, soft reed and organ chords, and a bass line that slides down the arrangement. Tracks like that make Berlin Serengeti perfect for listening when you are trying to shake the effects of slumber, whether it is pulling you in or you are pushing it away the music is a perfect companion for the contemplative, quiet, and solitary moments.
Bajaka is a welcome addition as her smooth voice is reminiscent of an Eartha Kitt as she swallows her vowels with a splash of scotch and lime, warm yet slightly tart. She pairs well with the crackling breaks on “Everything” and the rubbery Dub and Bossa leaning “El Cielo” where the production seems to be channeling both Thievery Corporation and Tosca at once. For pacing, her five appearances are sprinkled throughout the entirety of the album as welcome islands to survey the album’s scope.
As we slip deeper into Autumn here in the Northern Hemisphere you can do no better than slipping on your headphones and shuffling through the leaves in the late evening to “Berlin Serengeti”. Check out Radio Citizen at Myspace, grab the 3hive freebie, or read more about the group over that Ubiquity’s website, and, as always, eMusic has the album.
Published by James October 3rd, 2006
in Album, Review and 2006.
Opening with shivering strings, An Announcement to Answer imparts a tangible organic feel that wraps itself about the listener in warm, textured folds but it is over all too quickly, unwinding just shy of the forty minute mark. On this, his third release, Will Holland, finds himself digging deeply into the Cuban Soul and Funk diaspora from the 60’s and 70’s, layering them thickly alongside elements from Japan and Africa to create an album that is at once sunny and exotic but tinged with a sense of moodiness. It is an intoxicating journey from start to finish, one that left me a little breathless and looking to repeat it immediately.
this is an album for muggy August nights, strolling underneath pale streetlights casting an orange glow as a stray dog skirts about just on the edge of darkness. “Sabor”, with its swollen horn arrangements, nimble guitar work, and loping vocals builds a fantasy of summer streets late at night with people lounging indolently against dirty brick walls or stretched out on the steps of a building breathing in the scent of the city slowly. Closing out the album is the delicately sweet “”Tell It Like You Mean It” with a saxophone arrangement that strikes closely to the feel and flavor of Rova’s “Suite For A Better World” if it were dropped in the middle of a Brazilian Carnival with undulating bass lines and lightly skipping percussion.
This is what good music does, it is transportive, carrying the listener out of the mundane and to something more vibrant and nuanced. Not many do this as well as Holland, under his Quantic moniker. An Announcement to Answer is sultry listen, one that is warm to the touch, confident and breathless at the same moment. For all its quickly evaporating thirty-eight minutes captured my mind and heart easily putting it on my Best of 2006 list. To get a feel, you can sample the album over at his website.
