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What are you listening to? Part III
- Thread starter S.B.G
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Friday night jazz explorations... this time around, some contemporary jazz, a just-out album from Laura Jurd: Stepping Back, Jumping In.
This is quite wonderful. Trumpets, banjos, percussion, strings, synths, may have heard a cowbell? and a possibly "prepared" piano? Well not all at once. Reminds me serially of Gershwin and Bartók and western US campfires and the Middle East so far... Bumped into mention of it in the Financial Times, which seems to have pegged the style correctly as "eclectic." Once in awhile that sub really pays off.
Tracks are all 8 minutes or better. My listen is via Apple Music.
This is quite wonderful. Trumpets, banjos, percussion, strings, synths, may have heard a cowbell? and a possibly "prepared" piano? Well not all at once. Reminds me serially of Gershwin and Bartók and western US campfires and the Middle East so far... Bumped into mention of it in the Financial Times, which seems to have pegged the style correctly as "eclectic." Once in awhile that sub really pays off.
Yes, exactly this band.
They composed the song that was used as the theme music to the satirical comedy TV series Father Ted.
The Balance - 2019 release by the now 84-year old South African jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim and his septet Ekaya. Very fine for a summer Sunday morning.
excerpt from Larry Blumenfeld's (paywalled) WSJ review:
excerpt from Larry Blumenfeld's (paywalled) WSJ review:
"In his native country, Mr. Ibrahim has long been known as both pioneer and freedom fighter. As a member of the Jazz Epistles, alongside musicians including trumpeter Hugh Masekela and saxophonist Kippie Moeketsi, he introduced local audiences to bebop’s sound, incorporating the music’s complex harmonies and swinging rhythms into Cape Town’s sound, and adapting its implicit message into the South African struggle against apartheid. His composition “Mannenberg” became an anti-apartheid anthem; he played at Nelson Mandela’s 1994 inauguration.
There are several dimensions of balance at play within this music. One concerns high and low registers, especially on a fast-paced version of Thelonious Monk’s “Skippy,” during which Cleave Guyton Jr.’s piccolo and Marshall McDonald’s baritone saxophone play prominent roles. The album’s smart sequencing balances the often-lush sound of Ekaya, the septet Mr. Ibrahim has led in various incarnations for more than 30 years, and his own commanding presence as a solo pianist on three improvised pieces.
On “Song for Sathima,” Ekaya’s reeds and horns form a church-like choir. On “Nisa,” they voice percussive counterpoint to his melody line. As did the pianists who inspired him, such as Ellington and Monk, Mr. Ibrahim offers clear direction as a bandleader with just a few notes or a well-placed chord or two. Alone at the piano, he remains a modern master—steeped in blues, with a classicist’s touch and poet’s sense of phrasing. On “Tonegawa,” named for a Japanese martial-arts guru, his graceful playing leans on equal measures of force and restraint, of dense clusters and open space."
Here is the track "Devotion" from The Balance. (Ibrahim was once known as "Dollar Brand" in his home country.)There are several dimensions of balance at play within this music. One concerns high and low registers, especially on a fast-paced version of Thelonious Monk’s “Skippy,” during which Cleave Guyton Jr.’s piccolo and Marshall McDonald’s baritone saxophone play prominent roles. The album’s smart sequencing balances the often-lush sound of Ekaya, the septet Mr. Ibrahim has led in various incarnations for more than 30 years, and his own commanding presence as a solo pianist on three improvised pieces.
On “Song for Sathima,” Ekaya’s reeds and horns form a church-like choir. On “Nisa,” they voice percussive counterpoint to his melody line. As did the pianists who inspired him, such as Ellington and Monk, Mr. Ibrahim offers clear direction as a bandleader with just a few notes or a well-placed chord or two. Alone at the piano, he remains a modern master—steeped in blues, with a classicist’s touch and poet’s sense of phrasing. On “Tonegawa,” named for a Japanese martial-arts guru, his graceful playing leans on equal measures of force and restraint, of dense clusters and open space."
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EUSA - Yann Tiersen.
Just arrived in the post this morning.
This is an album of solo piano pieces - with a sound reminiscent of the piano solos in the movie (and soundtrack) of Amélie.
Just arrived in the post this morning.
This is an album of solo piano pieces - with a sound reminiscent of the piano solos in the movie (and soundtrack) of Amélie.
I still need to watch that movie. I think it's on HBO right now? They have so many classic songs, and Freddie Mercury has an amazing voice. Love the "Under Pressure" duo with Bowie, also one of my all-time favorites.
Some Brahms quintets today. Not my usual summer fare, but the album cover struck me as I was scrolling through music on my XR and I was drawn to the clouds; they are just like the ones overhead here in the mountains today. I welcome them too, because it's about 20 degrees cooler now than it was yesterday.
So for me right now it's Jon Nakamatsu, Jon Manasse and the Tokyo String Quartet: Brahms Op 34 piano quintet, and the Op 115 clarinet quintet. It's a 2012 recording, especially interesting for having quintets from very different periods, the Op 34 when Brahms was quite young. The Op 115 was written after Brahms had already retired but was drawn back to work after hearing the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, for whom Brahms eventually wrote four chamber pieces.
So for me right now it's Jon Nakamatsu, Jon Manasse and the Tokyo String Quartet: Brahms Op 34 piano quintet, and the Op 115 clarinet quintet. It's a 2012 recording, especially interesting for having quintets from very different periods, the Op 34 when Brahms was quite young. The Op 115 was written after Brahms had already retired but was drawn back to work after hearing the clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, for whom Brahms eventually wrote four chamber pieces.
This was not a good film. I guess I enjoyed it much it never made much sense.
On the other hand, the score is a masterpiece. Leaves anything Hans Zimmer has done in the dust.
There's also an electronic album too, but it's not to everyone's tastes. I enjoyed both.
The Alan Parson's Project LP of I Robot arrived a few days ago. It was rather dirty (bought used from Discogs.com) and has a big ass scratch on side 2. It was listed as having some surface scratches but that they "didn't overpower the music".
I received a record cleaning kit from Amazon today and washed the album and a few others and put it on. The album looks worse than it sounds, so I'm happy about that. It actually doesn't sound much different than some of my other old and used ones. It looked really rough before I washed it, but it's not so bad anymore.
I also bought an acrylic shelf to hold the album covers for my "now playing" selection. (The album cover is sideways in the photo, I know).
I received a record cleaning kit from Amazon today and washed the album and a few others and put it on. The album looks worse than it sounds, so I'm happy about that. It actually doesn't sound much different than some of my other old and used ones. It looked really rough before I washed it, but it's not so bad anymore.
I also bought an acrylic shelf to hold the album covers for my "now playing" selection. (The album cover is sideways in the photo, I know).
