Dengue Fever, Cannibal Courtship (2011)

Dengue fever is embarking on a new chapter in their unique career with their fourth album Cannibal Courtship. There’s distinctly less emphasis on the vintage Cambodian pop and ’60s psych rock influences because the Los Angeles-based septet is incorporating so many other sounds into their style.

Cannibal Courtship Photo: Amazon.com

Funk and jazz are the most noticeable additions, but surf rock, ’60s psych pop, and soul also appear as distinct elements on the album. It’s not that they’ve never touched on these things before, but they are messing noticeably with their formula. They are experimenting so much that each song makes its own individual statement. Some of them are downright odd, but thankfully none are dull.

Guitarist Zac Holtzman also sings more often and more prominently on this new album. This is very brave of him because it would be hard for anyone to sound good next to Cambodian-born singer Chhom Nimol, who is the the band’s main vocalist and arguably its main attraction. Holtzman sometimes sings in an unvarnished alt-rock manner that can clash with Nimol’s highly stylized vocals. However, when he adopts a more mannered style of his own, as he does on psych-pop tracks like  “Only a Friend” or “2012 (Bury Our Heads)” their duets are great.

And yet the high points of the album are still the extended tracks like “UKU,” where Nimol sings solo in Khmer. That’s Dengue Fever’s home base and they are doing that better than ever, no doubt because of the freedom they gave themselves to experiment this time around. The Khmer-sung ballad “Sister in the Radio” is the album’s absolute peak.

If Dengue Fever never tried to expound on their initial psychedelia-meets-vintage-Khmer-pop idea there would be nowhere fresh for them to take it after awhile and the act would degenerate into kitsch — the prodigious talents of all concerned notwithstanding. There might be a few too many ideas on this album, which leaves it feeling a bit open-ended, but this is a good thing.  As the last notes of “Durian Dowry’s” Cambodian surf die away you are already wondering what the next Dengue Fever album could possibly sound like. (http://blog.mtviggy.com/2011/03/28/album-review-dengue-fever-sounds-new-on-cannibal-courtship/)

01 - Cannibal Courtship

02 - Cement Slippers

03 - Uku

04 - Family Business

05 - Only A Friend

06 - Sister In The Radio

07 - 2012 (Bury Our Heads)

08 - Kiss Of The Bufo Alvarius

09 - Thank You Goodbye

10 - Mr. Bubbles

11 - Durian Dowry

Seun Kuti & Fela's Egypt 80, From Africa With Fury: Rise (2011)

Youngest son of Afrobeat firebrand Fela, Seun Kuti has succeeded where most celebrity offspring fail, succesfully updating his father's musical legacy. It helps he inherited a brilliant band, Egypt 80, but Seun has added his own generational voice. On his second album, Afrobeat's loping rhythms are tautened for the digital age, while staccato guitars and intricate horns are laced with electronica (courtesy Brian Eno among others). Seun is a gruffer, less persuasive singer than Fela, but his songs sting just as strongly. Decrying Nigeria's plight, he sings of "Monsanto and Halliburton [which] use their food to make my people hungry". Protest music for modern times.

Most obviously he’s still using Fela’s band Egypt 80 as his own. The sleeve design by Lemi Ghariokwu (whose chaotically busy, subversive art graced around half of Fela’s albums) is another conscious echo – even if the inadequate detail afforded by the tiny CD format underlines its limitations when compared with the old 12" vinyl covers. Seun has even taken on his dad’s ‘Anikulapo’ moniker, which means "he who carries death in his pouch". He’s also adopted more of Fela’s vocal mannerisms, and as the title of this confident new album suggests, his lyrics are just as concerned with "kicking against the pricks".

And in Nigeria, as in the rest of Africa (see Ivory Coast, Libya, Zimbabwe) it’s very much a case of new pricks, but old tricks, as the striking opener African Soldier spells out in a fiery tirade against former soldiers who become dictators for 20, 30, or even 50 years. Penned by Rilwan Fagbemi, it’s a lean and muscular update of the Afrobeat template, setting the pace of this largely up-tempo record, which only really slows down on its epic centrepiece/title-track Rise. This finds Seun railing against multinational oil and diamond companies as well as Mosanto (sic) and Halliburton. The other standout track is Mr Big Thief, mainly for the snappy interplay between Seun’s alto sax and the brass section, as well as his sharp vocal sparring with the female chorus singers.

Brian Eno has long been an enthusiastic champion of Afrobeat, so he’s an appropriate choice as co-producer (with John Reynolds and Seun himself) although it’s not easy to hear any radical departures instigated by Brand Eno that really distinguish it from the fine work of Martin Meissonnier on Seun’s 2008 debut, Many Things. However, Seun is singing with more confidence – or perhaps, authority – and Egypt 80 are firing on all cylinders.

The album is not without filler, with Slave Masters and For Dem Eye making rather less of an impression. Some may find the relative lack of slower tempos a disappointment, but dancers may well disagree. Overall, then, From Africa With Fury: Rise is a pretty solid second effort.

01- African Soldiers

02- You Can Run

03- Mr. Big Thief

04- Rise

05- Slave Masters

06- For Dem Eye

07- The Good Leaf

Tim Berne, Insomnia (2011)

La nueva publicación de estudio del respetado y bien calificado saxofonista estadounidense Tim Berne en realidad data de varios años atrás, se remite al verano de 1997, tiempo en que reclutó a todo un ensamble a grabar música que le produjo cierta obsesión, se dice que incluso no dormía sin antes ensayar algo. El macroensamble no se presenta como una típica Big Band, en realidad es preferible hablar de ellos como una fusión entre instrumentación clásica (chelo, clarinete y violín) e instrumentación jazzística (saxos, trompeta, batería, bajo, guitarra). En el centro de la formación están Berne y sus colaboradores de antaño, los de su bandaBloodcount, pero con contribuciones especiales, por ejemplo, de los veteranos Marc Ducret (guitarra) y el chelista Erik Friedlander (chelo).

Una vez comprometidos todos los integrantes del ensamble, dieron lugar a dos piezas clave de la música de Berne, The Proposal y Open, Coma, en donde le dan otro significado a lo que es la improvisación, extienden los momentos aleatorios de una forma majestuosa y convergen en ellos elementos clásico/contemporáneos. Es de aplaudir lo intensivo de los patrones rítmicos, las ricas texturas, y obviamente los asombrosos solos.

Comparado con algunos trabajos de Masada, de Vandermark 5 o hasta de Henry Threadgill, Berne logra explorar territorios extra-jazzísticos, tomando múltiples caminos y posibilidades, y en algunos momentos incluso aparenta caer accidentalmente en cuestiones de R.I.O. (http://progmundo.blogspot.com/2011/04/tim-berne-insomnia-2011.html#comments)

1. The Proposal (35:58)

2. Open, Coma (29:56) 

Baikida Carroll (trumpet)

Michael Formanek (bass)

Marc Ducret (12-string guitar)

Dominique Pifarely (violin)

Erik Friedlander (cello)

Chris Speed (clarinet)

Jim Black (drums)

Tim Berne (alto and baritone sax)

Mathias Eick, Skala (2011)

Mathias Eick’s intensely melodic trumpet occupies the centre-stage in this album of self-penned tunes which will appeal to an audience beyond “jazz”. Against the powerful backdrops offered by his sleek, modern band, driven by two drummers, he delivers richly lyrical soliloquies. Although regarded as a 'jazz' album by virtue of its instrumentation (trumpet, saxophone, rhythm section, plus occasional harp and keyboards), trumpeter Mathias Eick 's second ECM recording as leader is as likely to draw inspiration for his fluent, accessible compositions from pop and classical music as from jazz.

True, Jan Garbarek's 'plaintive cry' is cited as among the sources of one of the album's most striking pieces, 'Edinburgh' (Tore Brunborg featured on tenor), but other tunes have their sources in rock music: 'Oslo', for example, is discernibly influenced by Radiohead's trademark melancholic soar over assertively scurrying drums; 'Joni' nods to the great Candian singer/songwriter via the sincerest form of flattery by using her hypnotically compelling, long-lined verse structure – centred on Andreas Ulvo's rolling piano – as the basis for one of the album's standout tracks.

Eick's trumpet style relies, in his words, on an attempt to 'create a tone that was a mix of all the sounds I loved' (among his trumpet models are Kenny Wheeler, Chet Baker and Tomasz Stanko), and there is indeed a haunting purity in everything he plays, particularly when set, as in the album's closer, 'Epilogue', against the vigorous drumming of Torstein Lofthus.

There are moments on this attractive, immediately appealing album when a ravishing soundscape (cf. another recent ECM album featuring Brunborg, Manu Katché's Third Round) cannot quite compensate for the lack of two of jazz's (arguably) defining features, grit and unpredictability, but overall, Eick admirers will find Skala irresistibly seductive.

01. Skala

02. Edinburgh

03. June

04. Oslo

05. Joni

06. Biermann

07. Day After

08. Epilogue

Mathias Eick: trumpet, vibraphone, guitar, bass;

Tore Brunborg: tenor saxophone

Andreas Ulvo: piano

Morten Qvenild: keyboards

Audun Erlien: electric bass

Torstein Lofthus: drums

Gard Nilssen: drums

Sidsel Walstad: harp

info |

http://www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/2100/2187.php?cat&we_start=0&lvredir=3092

Battles, Gloss Drop (2011)

Nuevo disco de esta superbanda (ya menos con la salida de Tyondai Braxton), parece que han intentado suplir su ausencia con algunas colaboraciones... 

1. Africastle

2. Ice Cream - Battles & Matias Aguayo

3. Futura

4. Inchworm

5. Wall Street

6. My Machines - Battles & Gary Numan

7. Dominican Fade

8. Sweetie And Shag - Battles & Kazu Makino

9. Toddler

10. Rolls Bayce

11. White Electric

12. Sundome - Battles & Yamantaka Eye

Pitom, Blasphemy and other Serious Crimes (2011)

In their second CD for Tzadik, a sonic homage to the Day of Atonement, Yoshie Fruchter and his remarkable band Pitom continue their exploration of the New Jewish rock sound with their unique blend of punk, noise rock, metal and jazz filtered through the Jewish tradition. Echoes of the Melvins, Mahavishnu, Zappa and Masada make this a fiery and soulful CD that you will listen to again and again. Intense new Jewish Music from this exciting quartet of punk rebels. (tzadik.com)

1. In the Merit of…

2. Blasphemy and Other Serious Crimes

3. Head in the Ground

4. Resentful Repentance

5. Stumbling Block

6. Confusion of the Heart

7. A Crisis of Faith

8. Neilah

9. An Epic Encounter

10. Vos Zogt Ir

11. Azazel

Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz: Bass 

Yoshie Fruchter: Guitar 

Kevin Zubek: Drums 

Jeremy Brown: Violin, Viola 

info |

http://www.tzadik.com/index.php?catalog=8158

http://www.pitommusic.com/

http://www.myspace.com/pitom

Ron Anderson’s Pak, Secret Curve (2011)

Ron Anderson es un intuitivo creador multi-instrumentista en cuyas composiciones, bandas, colaboraciones y proyectos en solitario combina un intenso heavy rock con improvisaciones y un nivel de complejidad compositiva rara vez combinados. Paraeste tercer CD con su banda PAK, ha evitado la guitarra eléctrica y ha orquestado un sonido rico y orquestal con los teclados, cuerdas, trompetas y electrónica. Una de las más enloquecedoras publicaciones que ha creado, Secret Curve es un agitador de mentes y una de las obras maestras de Ron. Con colaboraciones de los mejores jugadores de la escena del downtown, es una brillante nueva dirección para este valiente explorador musical que ha trabajado con artistas tan diversos como Elliot Sharp, Sun City Girls, Otomo Yoshihide, James Chance y Haco. (tzadik.com)

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Ron Anderson is a multi-instrumentalist intuitive music maker whose compositions, bands, collaborations and solo projects combine heavy rock intensity with improvisation and a level of compositional complexity rarely matched. For his third CD with his band PAK, he has avoided the electric guitar and orchestrated a rich and orchestral sound with keyboards, strings, horns and electronics. One of the most maddening releases he has ever created, Secret Curve is mind blower, and one of Ron's masterpieces. Featuring some of the best players out of the downtown scene, it is a brilliant new direction for this brave musical explorer who has worked with artists as diverse as Elliott Sharp, Sun City Girls, Otomo Yoshihide, James Chance and Haco. (tzadik.com)

01 overture 01:08

02 let me tell you something 06:29

03 caffeine static rendezvous 03:24

04 no future 02:30

05 caro-kann 09:40

06 secret curve 06:13

07 mamas little anarchist 01:05

08 e4 or d4_ 03:00

09 trebuchet 04:58

10 blinding light 02:34

11 kempelens automaton 05:17

Ron Anderson: Bass Guitar 

Anthony Coleman: Piano 

Keith Abrams: Drums, Percussion 

Tim Byrnes: Trumpet, French Horn, Keyboards 

Jérôme Noetinger: Electronics, Tape Manipulation 

Eve Risser: Piano, Prepared Piano 

Tom Swafford: Violin 

Stefan Zeniuk: Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone, Bass Saxophone, English Horn 

info |

http://www.tzadik.com/index.php?catalog=8079

Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis Feat. Norah Jones, Here We Go Again (2011)

Celebrating the genius of Ray Charles

Once in a while the stars align and something magical happens...as on the night Jazz at Lincoln Center presented a salute to the late, great bluesman, Ray Charles. Two musical iconoclasts, Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis, along with the stunning songstress Norah Jones, collectively brought their unique musical perspective to the legendary artist's hits such as "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Hit the Road Jack," and "Unchain My Heart."

Country music legend Willie Nelson and Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz artist and Jazz at Lincoln Center Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis share more in common than their multiple GRAMMY® awards. They also share great respect and admiration for the late musical pioneer Ray Charles. Nelson and Marsalis joined musical forces for a two-night Jazz at Lincoln Center concert event at New York City’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Their set list explored the legacy of Charles, cleverly sequencing the songs to tell the story of a love affair from beginning to end and beyond. This fine idea was made finer by the inclusion of fellow multiple GRAMMY® winner Norah Jones, whose style suggests a middle ground between Nelson and Marsalis. The sold out performance was captured and the resulting footage expertly mixed and mastered for the brand new CD, WILLIE NELSON AND WYNTON MARSALIS PLAY THE MUSIC OF RAY CHARLES. (bluenote.com)

01 Hallelujah 

02 Come Rain or Come Shine 

03 Unchain My Heart 

04 Cryin' Time 

05 Loosing Hand 

06 Hit The Road Jack 

07 Movin' On 

08 Busted

09 Here We Go Again 

10 Making Whoopie 

11 I Love You So Much It Hurts 

12 What'd I Say 

info |

http://www.bluenote.com/ArtistDiscography.aspx?ArtistId=926555

TV on the Radio, Nine Types of Light (2011)

TV on the Radio have been many things in the decade since they first dive-bombed New York City's outer boroughs. Arty a cappella reductionists on 2003's Young Liars EP; sky-bound funk-slop visionaries on 2004's still-epic Desperate Youth,Blood Thirsty Babes; tenacious, politically ravaged anthemists on 2006's Return to Cookie Mountain; and most recently, a manic pixie dance band on 2008's Dear Science. Throughout, their songs have been marked by lead singer Tunde Adebimpe's to-the-heavens demon howl, producer/multi-instrumentalist Dave Sitek's searing gospel-funk hoedowns, and an ineffable sense of drama -- theirs is a sound that is meaningful but shaded, aggressive but delicate. It can burn as quickly as it can fade away. TV on the Radio make Important Music for Important Times.

So, as the country claws its way back to sanity, if not normalcy, Nine Types of Light begins as a surprise of sorts: It's lovers rock. Which isn't to say this band has never loved. Guitarist Kyp Malone's "Lover's Day" from Dear Science remains an oft-quoted Brooklyn sex jam, and they are an undeniably physical band -- not quite hip-thrusters, but Adebimpe's wounded, off-kilter sensuality is a particularly unusual brand. They just haven't been this intimate about their feelings before. "I'm gonna keep your heart / If the world falls apart / I'm gonna keep your heart," Malone sings softly on the chorus of the stuttering, mandolin-accented "Keep Your Heart." Later, on "You": "You're the only one I ever loved." "Will Do" is a torch song that begins with such plainspoken unfussiness that it could appear on a Taylor Swift album.

While drummer Jaleel Bunton and bassist Gerard Smith were Science's lifeblood, pumping and chugging out some fractured take on disco, now they're barely audible at times. And is that a banjo on "Killer Crane"? It all raises another question: What happened to the lupine fury? The apocalypse of the soul once proffered with such ferocity? It's still there intermittently -- "New Cannonball Blues" and the stomper "Caffeinated Consciousness" jerk the wheel into the oncoming traffic of blues rock.

But mostly Nine Types of Light feels like the liquefying of a band, ten years and four albums deep, into the soft tenderness of pre-middle-age satisfaction. Like, maybe family life sounds pretty good right about now -- and it fits them well. Interpreting the album's title is a dicey proposition, but taken literally, it's revealing: TV on the Radio have shifted constantly, from the humble visible form of light that brightens the world in their earliest days to the violent gamma explosions of Return to Cookie Mountain, straight to the cosmic light of the sky -- a destination not unfamiliar to this band during Dear Science. And here, they return to the earth's surface, intact, with their eyes open to what's right in front of their faces.

They want to be -- and have the chops to be -- all kinds of bands. And this album has a there-and-back quality, one they couldn't have pulled off five years ago. TV on the Radio have flashed unknowable cool, have been a troupe for our times, and have shaken their asses to kingdom come. Acquiescence is no simple trick when you've conquered. But then, what's wrong with a night on the couch with a loved one?

By Sean Fennessey (http://www.spin.com/reviews/tv-radio-nine-types-light-interscope)

1. Second Song 

2. Keep Your Heart 

3. You 

4. No Future Shock 

5. Killer Crane 

6. Will Do 

7. New Cannonball Blues 

8. Repetition 

9. Forgotten 

10. Caffeinated Consciousness

info |

http://www.tvontheradio.com/

Paul Motian, The Windmills Of Your Mind (2011)

In March 2011, Paul Motian celebrated his 80th birthday, and on this occasion Winter & Winter releases its new album "The Windmills Of Your Mind" with Bill Frisell (guitar), Thomas Morgan (bass) and Petra Haden (vocals, and daughter Charlie Haden), an original group. Paul Motian presents tubes Broadway as "Let's Face the Music and Dance ", or "I Love You Porgy" and original compositions. Stefan Winter recorded the concert in September 2010 without any digital manipulation, performing a special two-track analog output and true high-definition. The album was also pressed in limited release as 24-bit and 180 grams vinyl collector.

01. Introduction (1)

02. Tennessee Waltz

03. The Windmills Of Your Mind

04. Let's Face The Music And Dance

05. Lover Man

06. It's Been A Long, Long Time

07. Little Foot

08. Easy Living

09. I've Got A Crush On You

10. Backup

11. I Loves You Porgy

12. Trieste

13. If I Could Be With You

14. Wednesday's Gone

15. I Remember You

16. Introduction (2)

Bill Frisell: Guitar

Thomas Morgan: Bass

Petra Haden: Vocals

Paul Motian: Drums

info |

http://www.winterandwinter.com/