martes, 27 de septiembre de 2011

Slivovitz, Hubris (2009)



Let me start this review simply by letting all of you non-Balkan peoples know that Slivovitz is a plumb brandy. As soon as you taste it you will love it forever, just don’t drink too much!. If you think that this reviewer writes this while drunk on brandy, you’re wrong, and shall be sued for libel. But if you think that this reviewer is under the effects of a Neapolitan band who shares a name with this popular brandy, in that case you are completely right.

Slivovitz is a 7-piece band coming out from Naples, Italy with wide musical influences ranging from Balkan ethno motifs, a mixture of Canterbury and Frank Zappa jazz rock with the addition of John Zorn’s insanity. But it doesn’t stop, there are plenty of musical elements gathered up from all around the world. The originality that permiates every second of this 70 minute long achievement show that the guys in Slivovitz have a great deal of skill.  I feel that Hubris is the type of album that you would never  be able to truly label, which speaks a great deal about its quality. Combining elements of Latin music, Rock Progressivo Italiano, funk, African rhythms, Eastern-European folk, reggae, even pop with the aforementioned jazz-rock-fusion base all make Slivovitz a serious “treat” to the bands/artists which are of the same/similar orientation.

The first thing that comes into sight is the musicianship. You can’t never know which of the Slivovitz band members will take a leading role. All you can do is to express the overloading exaltation to Pietro Santangelo’s saxophon-ing in the opening: Zorn A Surriento, which is an homage to aforementioned John Zorn. Caldo Bagno brings African motives into the game with guest appearance of Giovanni Imparato who has lent his vocal and percussive abilities. Mangiare is the first track on Hubris where you come face to face with Zappaesque-jazz rock, which features Marco Pezzenati’s vibraphones and relaxing saxwork. Errore di Parallasse pushes forth accordion and saxophone, but I must praise the rhythm section on this piece as, in my opinion, they are the most interesting part of the track. The second half of this song is totally dominated by violin soloing a la Jean-Luc Ponty. Ne Carne and Ne Pesce are the only pieces that create the impression of being straight jazz, Ne Carne being totally dominated by saxophone and Ne Pesce by drums. Dammi Un Besh O is a characteristic piece with Balkan-Gypsy folk music, pretty  energetic. It’s one of those that will make you jump and start doing some kind of… well, dancing. If you recall, I wrote above that Hubris also consists of pop moments. Well, there are few of them in CO2, it’s gained with the acoustic guitar of another guest musician: Ugo Santangelo and saxophone work that goes in that direction. Sono Tranquillo Eppure Spesso Strillo – STRESS brings up a combination of funk and jazz fusion. Last three tracks on the album have been recorded in 2004 and included on their debut called Slivovitz, and been remastered for Hubris. As a liner notes the band has stated:

“100% made in Napoli (with a lot of caffe espresso and a lot of slivovitz!)”

If you would love to “taste” something good, then try Slivovitz. Just it’s upon you which one you are going to check out. My recommendation is that you listen to Hubris while drinking the brandy. (http://www.prog-sphere.com)

01. Zorn a Surriento
02. Caldo Bagno
03. Mangiare
04. Errore di Parallasse
05. Ne Carme
06. Ne Pesce
07. Dammi Un Besh O
08. CO2
09. Sono Tranquillo Eppure Spesso Strillo
10. Canguri in 5 *
11. Tilde *
12. Sig. M Rapito Dal Vento *

Domenico Angarano: Electric bass, fretless bass
Stefano Constanzo: Drums and percussions
Marcello Giannini: Electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Ludovica Manzo: Vocals
Derek Di Perri: Harmonica
Pietro Santangelo: Alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, vocals
Riccardo Villari: Violin

with guests:
Giovanni Imparato: Bata percussions and vocals (Caldo Bagno)
Marco Pezzenati: Vibraphone (Mangiare)
Ugo Santangelo: Acoustic guitar (CO2)


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Ahleuchatistas, Location Location (2011)



Things have changed in the world of Ahleuchatistas, as they always seem to. For five albums, the band operated as a guitar-bass-drums trio, and though the line-up changed, the music—in all its dissonant, confrontational jazz-punk-rock fury—continued to mesmerize and confound. The sound morphed; the sonic palate expanded a little more with each record; but at least in those common musical elements we could find a comfortable ground, a foundation on which to stand firm, even as these guys circled tangled compositions around us in barbed heaps.

Location Location, though, marks the band’s first album as a duo. After 2009’s excellent Of the Body Prone, bass player Derek Poteat left the band, leaving guitarist Shane Perlowin and drummer Ryan Oslance (who joined the band just before Of the Body Prone) to soldier on. What they’ve done as a duo here is awfully impressive. In losing a vital piece of their rhythm section—Poteat’s serpentine bass tumbled brilliantly all over their songs—Perlowin and Oslance used the opportunity not to slim down but rather to stretch in new ways. Gone, mostly, are the terse squalls of distortion and cymbals that berated us awake in early records, replaced here with explorations of texture and sonic heft. They still grind, make no mistake, but this grind rumbles a bit deeper, opens up sinkholes under its own foundation. Songs crumble and reassemble, and two players somehow sound just as big and dynamic as three ever did.

For all the abstractions and rabbit holes in their sound, though, the title of Ahleuchatistas’ record is surprisingly literal. The duo maintains the spontaneity of their sound by shifting locations for the recordings that make up this collection. Opener “Waterboarding” and the quick unruly burst of “Blind Way” were both recorded live in-studio, and each sounds fittingly ragged. Both players are sharp, of course, but while you can hear them drift away from each other only to circle back around and synch up, there’s little that sounds planned about it. It’s a sound of discovery as the last few guitar notes echo out alone at the end of “Blind Way” or as the seething layers of atmosphere fill up the space around Perlowin’s tight guitar riff.

Elsewhere, we get the home-recorded “Mistaken Identity”, which combines electronic beats made years ago with surprisingly soft tones from Perlowin’s guitar. The tense-to-snapping, bunched-up notes yield to something more spacious and resonant here, which stands in stark contrast to “A Little Goes a Long Way”. This track has the most obvious location, recorded live at a show at the Grey Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina. Perlowin’s looped guitars push insistently forward, often rising up in sunbursts of jittery plinking, while Oslance slowly works his drumming up into a muscled fury. The song ends in a towering wall of distortion and crashing drums, and when it abruptly cuts out, the sound of the amazed audience is as jarring as the band’s noise was.

If these new textures are inspired by place, then that somehow becomes a theme that manages to sustain itself through this dense instrumental record. Ahleuchatistas—who take their name from a Charlie Parker composition—do not shy away from politics, but they do not use voice to preach. Instead, they deal in a revelatory sort of politics that conveys tension through sound. Note the remarkable “Israel”, which was the first recording Perlowin and Oslance made as a duo. The guitars sometimes erupt in quick, grit-toothed bursts, but Oslance’s syncopated guitar work establishes a lower but constant tension one that pulls itself taut over the song’s six minutes. There’s also the dyspeptic groaning bubbles of sound on “No Sleep” that sound so damned isolating, removing you from place and filling you with the swirling thoughts that come from sleepless nights.

It’s not that Ahleuchatistas have something to tell us about the state of things, it’s that they, like us, live in the world, and their music is a simultaneously confused and confusing representation of that. We can feel both frustration and resistance, both fatigue and boundless energy. It’s hard not to miss Poteat’s bass a little here, the frantic arrhythmic heartbeat to their sound, but Perlowin and Oslance have managed a sound that doesn’t feel hollowed out by that lack of bass. In fact, this low end—achieved through layers of guitar, through those intricate drums, through endless dynamic layers of sound—rumbles plenty, even if it doesn’t quit cut through the buzz the way only bass can. Location Location never makes it easy for us, but when difficult music also sounds this striking from moment to moment, you’ll be more than happy to lose where you are and follow Ahleuchatistas on this tour of the small places in the mountains of North Carolina, where they found their haunting sounds. (By Matthew Fiander)

1 Waterboarding 5:33 
2 A Little Effort Goes Away 4:18 
3 No Sleep 3:57 
4 Heraclitean 5:34 
5 Channel Zero 7:11 
6 Second Self 3:56 
7 Mistaken Identity 3:37 
8 Blind Way 1:56 
9 Israel 6:31 
10 Our National Anthem 2:39 

Shane Perlowin: Guitar
Ryan Oslance: Drums


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viernes, 23 de septiembre de 2011

Jamie Saft, Borscht Belt Studies (2011)



"Keyboard virtuoso, dub-master supreme, heavy metal guitarist, soundtrack composer, versatile arranger, master butcher and zonked madman, Jamie Saft has been responsible for some of the wildest and most soulful sounds heard on the Tzadik Jewish series. After his startling heavy metal CD Black Shabbis, he returns to the keyboard for a moody and heartfelt tribute celebrating the rich creative legacy of the Borscht Belt! Featuring six remarkable duets with the masterful clarinetist Ben Goldberg, four hypnotic solo pieces and a reggae track with his newest band the New Zion Trio this is moody, wild, and lyrical music that takes Jewish music one step further into the 21st century." (tzadik.com)

"Borscht Belt Studies is Jamie Saft's first record on Tzadik since 2009's stellar Black Shabbis, a death metal meditation on the historical persecution and homelessness of the Jewish people. Obviously, Borscht Belt Studies is stylistically different. Saft returns to more familiar territory here, playing only piano and Fender Rhodes throughout. He is accompanied by Ben Goldberg's clarinet on six of 11 cuts, and by his current group, the New Zion Trio with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Craig Santiago, on one. Saft divides the album into musical sections that alternate by cut. Some compositions are based on blues, jazz, and Yiddish melodies, some in modern composition and vanguard classical music, and the closing track in reggae! The set opens with "Issachar," with Saft on Rhodes playing a soulful jazz melody with Yiddish overtones with Goldberg, and vamping on the changes. This is contrasted with "Hellenville," an acoustic piano piece that delves into improvisation before resolving beautifully on variations of three sequential chords. "Pinkus" is a blues that Saft introduces on the Rhodes. His melodic invention, chord voicings, and harmonic restraint are feints when juxtaposed against his phrasing, colors, and the textural possibilities afforded by the instrument. When Goldberg enters, he extends Saft's lines almost exponentially. The most difficult piece here is "Jews for Joseph (Maneri)," but it is also one of the most satisfying, as a tribute to his advanced improvisation teacher. In duet with Goldberg, Saft explores various threads of microtonal improvisation based on Maneri's ideas, but he reflects back an extended harmonic line by paradoxically reining it in almost pointilistically; he moves that line further, almost imperceptibly, in increments, ending in a very different place than the point of origin. The dynamic exchanges between the duo in improvisation are instinctive. The set closes with "New Zion," the signature tune of Saft's new trio playing reggae jazz in near dub style (listen to Grenadier's rock-solid bassline). It's jazz all right, but it juxtaposes (with beautiful glissandi and ostinati) how close to reggae Yiddish folk song is as a form. It's a mysterious, labyrinthine piece that is a stunner in the end -- it reflects the rest of Borscht Belt Studies beautifully." ~ Thom Jurek (Allmusic.com)


01. Issachar 5:15
02. Hellenville 3:52
03. Darkest Arts 3:30
04. Pinkus 5:13
05. The Pines 3:29
06. Darash 4:13
07. Solomon County 6:54
08. Jews For Joseph (Maneri) 7:01
09. Kutshers 4:34
10. Azulai 3:44
11. New Zion 4:58

Jamie Saft: Piano, Fender rhodes
Ben Goldberg: Clarinet (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10)
Larry Grenadier: Acoustic bass (track 11)
Craig Santiago: Drums (track 11)


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jueves, 22 de septiembre de 2011

Apkallu, Apkallu (2011)



"The Apkallu (Akkadian) or Abgal, (Sumerian) are seven Sumerian demigods said to have been created by the god Enki (Akkadian: Ea) to give civilization to mankind. They served as priests of Enki and as advisors or sages to the earliest "kings" or rulers of Sumeria before the flood. They are credited with giving mankind the Me (moral code), the crafts, and the arts. They were seen as fish-like men who emerged from the sweet water Apsu. They are commonly represented as having the lower torso of a fish, or dressed as a fish. They have also been depicted with wings, having either a human head or an eagle's head. 

Adapa (U-an, Oannes) was the first of the Apkallu. The others were U-an-dugga, En-me-duga, En-me-galanna, En-me-buluga, An-enlilda, and Utu-abzu."

1. U-an 05:42
2. U-an-dugga 03:09
3. An-enlilda 06:44
4. En-me-galanna 07:48
5. En-me-duga 07:21
6. En-me-buluga 01:49
7. Utu-abzu 08:42
8. Apsu 01:26

El Pricto: Alto Saxophone and Conduction 
Pere Masafret: Trombone 
Luiz Espiga: Bass Clarinet 
Vasco Trilla: Drums and Percussion 


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Reptilian Mambo, Reptilian Mambo (2011)



"Nuevamente el producor y músico El Pricto y el baterista Julián Bonequi forman equipo, aunque en una formación expandida que viene a ser una liga de improvisadores de gran talento. La inestabilidad e indefinición del curso de la música es característica de todos los tracks, inusuales formas aleatorias aparecen en todos los instrumentos, sobre todo el par de saxos. Y como sello distintivo colisionan las improvisaciones desde el medio electrónico, lo que genera una experiencia auditiva fresca y nueva.

No es uno de esos discos del free salvaje basados en pura agresividad y cacofonía, los movimientos son muy libres pero sin embargo alcanzan a definir algunas estructuras, complejas sincronías instrumentales, casuales odd-times y momentos más tranquilos llenos de suspenso. Sin duda este es otro acierto tanto para Discordian Records como para la escena barcelonesca en general. Es posible escuchar este disco y otros más en línea si se sigue el enlace del bandcamp del sello discográfico." (http://progmundo.blogspot.com)

1. Reptilian Mambo #1 03:19
2. March Of Varanos 10:23
3. Annunaki 05:02
4. The Lizard Priests 06:02
5. Planet X 07:57
6. Alpha Draconis 01:49
7. In God We T(h)rust 04:59
8. Reptilian Mambo #1 Again! (Alt. Take)

Recorded, mixed and mastered by El Pricto at The Hodge Podge, Barcelona.

Don Malfon: Alto and Baritone Sax 
El Pricto: Alto Sax, Synthesizer and Conduction 
Martin Del Litto: Synthesizer 
Julian Bonequi: Drums (R) and Vocals 
Avelino Saavedra: Drums (L), Percussion, Reptilian Call and Electronic Devices 


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Acid Mothers Temple SWR & Umezu Kazutoki, Sax & The City (2011)



Sax & The City was recorded during the first collaborative performance betweenAcid Mothers Temple SWR & Umezu Kazutoki. The album was recorded in multi-track and then broken down into bits and pieces only to be reassembled into perfection. The two forces would quickly move from one groove to a completely different sounding groove with ease. Together they formed an elastic and aggressive sound that can bend like rubber in continuous fluid motions. The album mixes rock, jazz, progressive, psychedelic, traditional Japanese music all into one tight improvisational package. This album is epic in its' scale and is a definitive HearJapan Hot Pick! Also be sure to check out the new album from Korekyojinncalled TUNDRA which comes out on the same day! Both bands have Tatsuya Yoshida as a member.

1 The Jetplane Of The Derangement 5:59
2 Feng Shui Infected Schweitzer – A Free Agent Declaration 7:56
3 Sax, Truck, Doujiima Roll 6:48
4 To Our Parents? Parents? Parents 7:18
5 No Stone, No Woman, No Record 8:31
6 Sax & The City 3:04
7 Timeless Kitchen 6:55
8 Battle Of Komeido 4:18

Atsushi Tsuyama: Bass, Flute, Vocals
Kazutoki Umezu: Clarinet, Saxophone Alto
Tatsuya Yoshida: Drums, Keyboards, Vocals, Recorded By, Mixed By, Edited By, Design
Makoto Kawabata: Guitar, Synthesizer Guitar


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domingo, 18 de septiembre de 2011

Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton, Play the Blues Live from Jazz at Lincoln Center (2011)



United by dalliances with purism as young men and an abiding love of classic blues and jazz, Eric Clapton and Wynton Marsalis are a more comfortable fit than it may initially seem. Both musicians are synthesists, not innovators, stitching together elements from their idols in an attempt to preserve the past while bringing it into the present, so their sensibilities are aligned and, in 2011, they’re amenable to a partnership that explores their common ground. So, Clapton and Marsalis held a series of concerts at New York City’s Jazz at Lincoln Center in April of 2011, the guitarist selecting the songs (apart from “Layla,” performed upon the request of bassist Carlos Henriquez), the trumpeter picking the band and working up the arrangements, using King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band as his template yet finding room for piano and, of course, guitar. 

Clapton’s choice of songs leans heavily toward the '20s -- so much so that the dip into postwar electric blues via Howlin’ Wolf’s “Forty Four” feels a bit of a shock -- and the arrangements are faithful to classic New Orleans jazz yet loose, never quite hidebound to tradition and finding plenty of space for every one of the players to roam; Clapton and Marsalis surely solo plenty, but so do trombonist Chris Crenshaw, clarinetist Victor Goines, and pianist Dan Nimmer. There’s not much ego on display -- even the inclusion of “Layla” doesn’t feel forced, thanks to Marsalis’ inventive New Orleans funeral arrangement of this overly familiar tune -- but the joy is palpable and the chemistry natural. Compared to Wynton’s duet albums with Willie Nelson, this is both more traditional and riskier, and compared to Clapton’s latter-day duets with B.B. King and J.J. Cale, this finds the guitarist none too deferential. These are consummate musicians united by playing music they love, and their passion resonates so strongly it’s hard not to enjoy Clapton and Marsalis playing the blues.

1. Ice Cream 7:38
2. Forty-Four 7:13
3. Joe Turner’s Blues 7:48
4. The Last Time 4:18 
5. Careless Love 7:43 
6. Kidman Blues 4:21 
7. Layla 9:09 
8. Joliet Bound 3:50 
9. Just A Closer Walk With Thee (feat. Taj Majal) 12:20
10. Corrine, Corrina (feat. Taj Majal) 10:22

Wynton Marsalis: Trumpet
Eric Clapton: Guitar, Vocal
Dan Nimmer: Piano
Carlos Henriquez: Bass
Ali Jackson: Drums
Marcus Printup: Trumpet
Victor Goines: Clarinet
Chris Crenshaw: Trombone, Vocals
Don Vappie: Banjo
Chris Stainton: Keyboard


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miércoles, 7 de septiembre de 2011

Senogul, Senogul III (2011)



Con el no demasiado intrigante título de 'III', el grupo español Senogul obsequia al mundo su tercer disco de estudio desde su patria querida Asturias. Teniendo en cuenta la increíblemente positiva impresión que causó con justa razón su homónimo disco debut (2007), y luego el giro tan radical hacia matices sonoros totalmente diferentes que se articuló en su segundo álbum 'Concierto De Evocación Sonora' (2009), la expectativa en torno a estenuevo disco era grande. Suficiente constancia de las infinitas ganas de proyectarse hacia diversas gamas estilísticas de parte de los músicos deSenogul había no solo en estos dos discos sino también en los diversos proyectos colaterales que fueron surgiendo en torno a este ensamble. (http://www.portalesquizofrenia.com/cms/senogul---iii-2011.html)

1. The Nightstalker (0:37)
2. Pijamas (8:01)
3. La Serpiente de Jade (5:14)
4. Paraná (6:06)
5. The Black Cat (9:09)
6. Tales From Buanga (3:47)
7. Gameland (2:02)
8. Sopa Colorá (13:41)

Pablo Canalís: Bajo eléctrico, percusiones, voces
Eduardo Gª Salueña: Piano, teclados, minimoog
Pedro A. Menchaca: Guitarras eléctrica y acústica
Israel Sánchez: Guitarras eléctrica y acústica
Eva D. Toca: Batería

Invitados:
John Falcone: Fagot
Alejandro M. Ares: Acordeón 
Iris Cárcaba: Violín 
Juan Antonio Martínez: Saxos barítono y alto 
Rafael Yugueros: Batería 
Chema Fombona: Batería y percusiones
Marcos Mantero: Sintetizadores 
Theodosii Spassov: Kaval 
Luis Cobo "Manglis": Guitarras eléctrica y acústica 
Pedro Ontiveros: Saxo soprano, flauta travesera 
Abelardo Freitas: Abotronics


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jueves, 1 de septiembre de 2011

Indigo Trio & Michel Edelin, The Ethiopian Princess Meets The Tantric Priest (2011)



Nicole Mitchell and Michel Edelin are two of the most creative flutists in music of any sort today, brilliant improvisers with highly developed sensitivities to sound. Yet their personal approaches to playing one of the oldest instruments in the world represent two far ends of an esthetic spectrum…

… So The Ethiopian Princess Meets the Tantric Priest demonstrates what happens when opposite poles touch. Like a marvel of physics, the reverberations generate something new: in this case, previously unimagined dimensions of pure song. The sonic spheres the Princess and the Priest conjure – with wonderful support from bassist/pianist Harrison Bankhead and drummer Hamid Drake – are akin to what's born by a spirit of the air in congress with a guardian of the earth…

01. Top Secret (9:23)
02. Inside the Earth (5:07)
03. Dérives (5:07)
04. Wind Current (9:05)
05. Call Back (6:46)
06. The Ethiopian Princess Meets the Tantric Priest (7:42)
07. Ambre Sunset (6:32)
08. Return of the Sun (6:13)

Nicole Mitchell: Flute, alto flute, piccolo
Harrison Bankhead: Double bass, piano
Hamid Drake: Drums, frame drum
Michel Edelin: Flute, alto flute


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Marbin, Breaking The Cycle (2011)



Marbin's Breaking The Cycle -- their sophmore effort, and their first for MoonJune Records -- is a poised and powerful new release that is already garnering high praise from critics around the globe.

The duo of Dani Rabin (guitars) and Danny Markovitch (saxes) display a chemistry, depth and maturity which truly belies their young ages. Breaking The Cycle is powered by the renowned rhythmic thrust of Pat Metheny Group veterans Paul Wertico (on drums) and Steve Rodby (on bass). A great mix of fusion, prog, jazz, folk and ambient music, the band's lithe interplay is sensitive and organic -- creating moments of surreal beauty. Rabin and Markovitch interact on an almost subconscious level producing music subtle, intuitive and flowing.

1. Loopy (5:59) 
2. A Serious Man (3:49) 
3. Mom's Song (2:05) 
4. Bar Stomp (3:04) 
5. Outdoor Revolution (3:08) 
6. Western Sky (2:12) 
7. Burning Match (5:11) 
8. Claire's Indigo (2:11) 
9. Snufkin (2:48) 
10. Old Silhouette (4:12) 
11. Winds Of Grace (8:39)

Dani Rabin: Guitar
Danny Markovitch: Saxophones
Steve Rodby: Bass
Paul Wertico: Drums

with Special Guests:
Jamey Haddad: Percussion (on Tracks 2, 4 6, 8, 9 & 10)
Mat Davidson: Vocals (on Tracks 3 & 6)
Leslie Beukelman: Vocals (on Tracks 3 & 6)
Makaya McCraven: Drums (on Track 4)
Daniel White: Lyrics and Vocals (on Track 11)


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