On Capitol Nashville, various artists (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band et al…cast of many)
In honor of the passing of Doc Watson I’ve been listening to this (two CD set from 2002). It was originally released in 1972 as 3 LPs and 3 cassette tapes (my LPs were long ago worn out). My favorite is Doc Watson’s version of the Jimmie Driftwood song Tennessee Stud.
The title taken from Iran’s Green Revolution…more on the album at the link above. Really interesting sonics, rhythms, instrumentation and delightfully quirky. My favorite on the album is Manami.
The first edition has sold out. So a second edition of 2,500 copies will be released shortly. Both the book and music have a delightfully ancient quality about them. Ambient sounds, chamber music, vocals and electro-acoustic music. As one friend put it, “…it’s a lovely album.” It really is. There are sound samples at the link above.
Tracks CD1: 1) Credo In Cantus (vocal by Lucy Crowe); 2) A Richer Earth; 3) Under The Infinite Sky; 4) Grand Central; 5) Kissing Gate; 6) Pasquinade; 7) Rain on Sage Harbour; 8) Ice Maiden; 9) River of Life; 10) Desert Passage; 11) Seven Ancient Wonders (vocal by Belinda Sykes); 12) Desert Passage (reprise); 13) Circle of Light; 14) Forgotten Angels; 15) Courtesan; 16) Ghosts of New York; 17) Shipwreck of St Paul; 18) Cortege
Tracks CD2: 1) Credo In Cantus (instrumental); 2) Sojourn; 3) Speak of Remarkable Things; 4) Nocturne; 5) Long Road Home; 6) The Golden Leaves of Fall; 7) Credo; 8) Under The Infinite Sky (guitar ensemble version); 9) The Stuff of Dreams; 10) Old Sarum Suite (five parts); 11) For Eloise; 12) Winter Song; 13) Ghosts of New York (piano version); 14) Daniel’s Theme; 15) Study In Scarlet; 16) The Lives of Others; [sic] 18) Forever Always
When many think of the music of Anthony Phillips, often they first remember his association with the early days of the band Genesis, even though it has been more than forty years since he left that band. After formal music training in the early 1970s, Ant did continue to collaborate with Mike Rutherford on The Geese and the Ghost and Smallcreep’s Day, in addition to Ant’s other solo works such as Wise After The Event and Sides in the mid to late 1970s. Ant has released about thirty albums to the general public, in addition to the many compilations of his extensive catalog.
Anthony Phillips
The younger Andrew Skeet has worked as an arranger and orchestrator for George Michael, Suede, Unkle, Sinead O’Connor and Hybrid. Since 2004 Skeet has worked with Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy on three albums as musical director, arranger, and playing piano as well as touring throughout Europe. Andrew Skeet also established the music production company Roxbury Music with Luke Gordon (former Howie B collaborator) and together their music has been featured in film, television and commercials: The Apprentice, Dispatches, and Banged Up Abroad. Skeet has also orchestrated and conducted scores for The Awakening and Upstairs Downstairs. The album The Greatest Video Game Music was produced in 2011 by Andrew Skeet along with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and has been one of the most successful classical releases in many years.
Andrew Skeet
Ant and Andrew crossed paths when Universal Publishing Production Music commissioned Ant to write a collection of cinema-related music for UPPM’s Atmosphere label. Much of Ant’s music career for the last twenty or so years has been writing what is often referred to as “library music” or stock music composed for use in films, television or commercials in addition to other commisioned and self-produced works. Periodically Ant has collected these tracks, edited and in some cases re-recorded them for his Private Parts and Pieces, Missing Links or other album releases that are available to the general public (primarily through the Voiceprint and Blueprint labels).
It is always of particular interest to me to dig through Ant’s music to find the roots of some of his library work. I do miss the days of his more rock-oriented albums and singing, but recognize that getting that kind of work published these days is not easy or commercially viable. Ant goes through periods where his work is more keyboard oriented, but in 2005 he released a gorgeous double CD entitled Field Day filled with varying acoustic guitar work written and recorded from 2001 to 2005 (the exception being a re-recording of his 1975 piece Nocturne from PP&PP2 Back to the Pavilion…one of my favorite albums of his earlier solo works).
Field Day forms the basis for portions of Seventh Heaven where some of the solo guitar works have been orchestrated in addition to pieces that Ant and Andrew co-wrote later. Ant is credited with having written ten of the thirty-five compositions. The orchestrated pieces from Field Day that I can identify include: Credo, Nocturne, River of Life, Sojourn, Rain on Sag Harbour and the exquisite Kissing Gate. Each of these pieces is lightly orchestrated and perfectly complements the original to heighten the sentiments of the composition.
For fans of Ant’s prog-rock work this album might be a stretch, but if listeners enjoyed the album Tarka (the orchestral collaboration with Harry Williamson released in the late 1980s) then I think this Phillips and Skeet collaboration will be well received. The orchestration and recording is lush yet is not overdone. Many of the compositions are quite visual and evoke certain moods or a sense of place. The orchestrations vary from solo instrument (guitar, piano) to full orchestra, chamber or ensemble.
There are some really gorgeous tracks, from the opening of CD1 Credo In Cantus (based on Ant’s Credo from Field Day) and the transition into A Richer Earth and the dramatic Under The Infinite Sky. Grand Central evokes a sense of motion as in a view taken from the station in New York on a busy morning. Desert Passage by contrast is a stark and dramatic piece based around (I think) a mandocello with Middle Eastern themes along with woodwind soloist (and collaborator from PP&PP6 New England) Martin Robertson.
CD2 opens with an instrumental reprise of Credo In Cantus and ties the two discs together. A spirited orchestral version of Sojourn follows and then the mysterious piano of Speak of Remarkable Things links to the poignant and beautiful guitar Nocturne from long ago—it has an ageless quality to it. Long Road Home has the image of a beginning (and it is quite cinematic in its breadth) with first full orchestra followed by solo woodwinds and closing with piano. The Golden Leaves of Fall continues a similar piano theme and to me the two pieces seem strongly connected. Mid-disc is Old Sarum Suite in five short movements and it has a brilliant range of instrumentation and themes, and shows the versatility of Phillips and Skeet’s collaboration. It has an historic feel to it similar to Henry: Portrait From Tudor Times from “Geese”. CD2 closes with an introspective piece Forever Always, (a common thread, reflection, in Ant’s own work since “Geese” Collections/Sleepfall: The Geese Fly West).
There are extensive liner notes with the CDs as well as photographs of the recording sessions with the orchestras and biographies on the soloists and principal players (John Parricelli, Belinda Sykes, Martin Robertson, Lucy Crowe, Paul Clarvis and Chris Worsey). The works were recorded in three phases (from 2008 through late 2011), with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir in Prague, then with string section at Angel Studios and then some tracks were re-recorded at Abbey Road along with recordings at Ant’s studio. The only quirk that I noticed is that CD2 actually has seventeen tracks, although it skips from 16 to 18 in the liner notes (typo!).
Seventh Heaven is both a collaborative work with Anthony Phillips as well as a splendid introduction to the work of Andrew Skeet. Whether a fan of Anthony Phillips’s prog-rock, instrumental or library compositions, I think this is a great addition to his oeuvre. Seventh Heaven is an expansive, sophisticated, and elegant work.
Tracks: 1) Sneak Close; 2) Stash; 3) Raging Chisel; 4) Sympethizer; 5) Happy Thoughts; 6) Unrecognized; 7) Unserious; 8) Clear Sighing; 9) Remember Sweet; 10) I Let Me In; 11) Orange and Pink; 12) Walking Up Dandelions
Bonus MP3 EP: 1) Comfort Zone 2 (acoustic); 2) Raging Chisel; 3) Stash (Part Timer Remix); 4) End Sinister; 5) Random tracking; 6) Soft Setting; 7) Stash (Vieo Abiungo Remix)
Not so long ago I took a chance on purchasing an album based on a brief write-up and it turned out to be a real gem— Will Samson’s Hello Friends, Goodbye Friends. It has happened again with Cock and Swan’s Stash. I read a summary, and I also noticed the great care that Lost Tribe Sound had put into their limited edition release (cloth binding with mixed hand made papers). I could not resist, and what an enchanting surprise this album is.
Cock and Swan are Johnny Goss (bass, guitar, percussion, vocals and production) and Ola Hungerford (vocals, piano and clarinet). Supporting musicians include, Adam Kozie (drums), William Ryan Fritch (vibraphone, marimba, saxophone, flute and cello). Paintings are by Robert Klein and photography by Angel Ceballos.
Photo courtesy of Cock and Swan
There is something delightfully ancient and psychedelic about Stash. I won’t dwell for too long on what other albums I am reminded of—the percussion (including deep bass drums), woodwinds, soft and dreamy vocals. First, the ballads feel like they are drawn from the same cloth as Comin’ Back to Me from Surrealistic Pillow by the Jefferson Airplane (1967). Second, the drums—rough, full and sometimes behind the beat are very close to Michael Giles on both Cadence and Cascade from In The Wake of Poseidon by King Crimson (1970) and the alternate lyric version (by B. P. Fallon instead of Peter Sinfield) Flight of the Ibis from the eponymous album McDonald and Giles (also from 1970).
Some of the tracks on this album are acoustic remakes of more obscure electronic versions from their two prior albums (Unrecognized, Unserious, Sympethizer, I Let Me In, Stash, Tectonic Plates). It is evident that Cock and Swan were searching for a sound to fit the songs and I think in this album they have found it—softer, comfortable and more accessible (and with a hint of the sadly departed Sparklehorse).
Sneak Close and Stash both have guitars sounding like dulcimers, drum sticks counting time, whispering woodwinds, Ola Hungerford’s ethereal vocals and the overall sound of an old music box working against its well-used mainspring. Raging Chisel is an excellent combination of the obscure and edgy sounds of their earlier albums woven with melodic instrumental and vocal passages. Sympethizer is a short instrumental and Happy Thoughts moves slowly with a contrasting faster interlocking rhythm and subtle use of electronics. Tectonic Plates has a lush beat, sounds are layered (ambient and instrumental) and Ola’s voice floats in between. It’s easy to be drawn into this peaceful and dreamy realm.
The drums are strong, but never overpowering on Unrecognized and there is a charming mix with ambient sounds and solo acoustic guitar. The largely instrumental Unserious has a stately piano backdrop with woodwinds and soft percussion. Clear Sighing is a short instrumental percussion and woodwind link leading into the vocally and instrumentally beautiful Remember Sweet (with one of my favorite touches…a background of pin-piano during the choruses). I Let Me In has a rhythmically languid, but swaying vibe.
The standout piece on this album for me is Orange and Pink. Acoustic guitar, mallet-struck percussion and piano start with lightly teasing interplay until Ola and Johnny’s vocals feather into the mix and then yield to a hovering piano counterpoint before fading—it’s simply gorgeous. The album closes with the soft anthem Walking Up Dandelions, a combination of many of the sounds throughout the album.
While the arrangements are relatively simple throughout, the layering of the instruments, vocals and ambient surroundings give the album a lush quality. My only wish?—that a lyrics sheet were included. Other than that, this album is just wonderful.
I am likely less-than-qualified to discuss this work since it is steeped in layers of academia and has densely studied connections with artistic subjects. Yet, with all that Four Shibusa is a beautiful and very accessible collection of music on its own. It has a stark clarity that I am coming to understand and appreciate more in the recent works of Monty Adkins. I am most familiar with two of Adkins’s prior works, Five Panels from 2009 and Fragile.Flicker.Fragment from 2011.
This is an example of Monty Adkins’s work from Fragile.Flicker.Fragment
Remnant:
There is a companion video to “Remnant” here and I think it’s gorgeous:
Monty Adkins studied music at Pembroke College in Cambridge, UK where he specialized in French Medieval and Italian Renaissance music. After an introduction to electronic music by ECM artist Ambrose Field, Adkins formally studied acousmatic music (a form of electroacoustic music). More information on his studies and background can be found at his website noted above. In addition to his own solo works, Adkins has been commissioned to create musical works for art installations, dance and other performances as well as curate collections with other composers of electronic, ambient and musique concrète (influenced by the pioneering work of Pierre Schaeffer). He is on the faculty at the University of Huddersfield Music Department in the UK.
Shibusa is the concept of seeing the inherent simplicity and beauty in everyday objects. This has been the basis for an artistic collaboration between visual artist Pip Dickens and Monty Adkins (both having an interest in Japanese culture and thought) that recently culminated with the release of this album along with a book and exhibition entitled Shibusa – Extracting Beauty, edited by both artists. I have not yet had a chance to see the visual works (though some illustrate the CD cover) or book, in person. I have read that the visual work is an exploration of color, pattern, rhythm and vibration in Japanese Katagami stencils and fabrics and the interplay of light, shadow and color—relationships which can range from spirited to introspective and reflective. The CD, Four Shibusa is a collection of thoughtful and precise music compositions. At times, their simplicity belies their great depth.
More information on the artistic collaboration is at this link:
Sendai Threnody, I posit, is a lament resulting from the massive and tragic 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This piece is brilliantly played by clarinettists Heather Roche and Jonathan Sage. The subtlety of the blending of consonant to dissonant tones adds to the power and serenity of this tribute. Minimal electronics supplement this track.
Entangled Symmetries returns to sound explorations similar to Fragile.Flicker.Fragment, yet with a greater sense of restraint. There is a deep inner reflection in this piece. The more complex portions seem to be taking cues from the visual works of collaborator Pip Dickens where sonic patterns combine and vibrate.
Kyoto Roughcut has a distinctly mysterious quality. It opens with very subtle and not readily discernable combinations of electronics and clarinets. There is a building tension and the sounds expand with chattering and visceral undercurrents. As the piece progresses, the clarinets are revealed with shrill edges, full tones and liquid electronics are woven and pulsed into the fabric of sound until it overtakes and floods the entire soundstage and gently wanes. The clarinets return briefly and then all gradually fades.
Permutations opens with solo clarinet and a growing misty undertow of electronics with sounds reminiscent of meshed tonal percussion, strings and choral voices. It is a somber theme similar to Sendai Threnody—almost like a beacon calling out in a steady rain. Eventually, the clarinet melody shifts and the electronics gradually transform to purer tones like the clarinets and then the combined atmosphere of sound subsides, leaving a lone clarinet.
There is a meditative purity throughout Four Shibusa, but it is in no way a sterile. The timbre of the clarinets adds a warmth to the overall work. In each piece, there is a masterful sophistication and balance, and despite the use of electronics, the sound is never synthetic. Sometimes the power is in the silence and the spaces, not always in the sound. This I am coming to understand more with each new work by Monty Adkins. As a record label, Audiobulb has again held fast to their tenet of being “…an exploratory music label designed to support the work of innovative artists.”
More information about clarinettists Heather Roche and Jonathan Sage:
I trace my interest in electro-acoustic and electronic music back to the late 1960s and early 1970s when I built crystal radios and electronic circuits, and started listening to shortwave radio broadcasts. Searching the radio dial late into the night, I often found the spaces on the radio dial between the stations as fascinating as the broadcasts from far away lands. Drifting in and out of sleep, it was the sounds of unfiltered carrier frequencies, blended oscillations, static and hiss, high-speed Morse code, and fading music and voices that I found so alluring.
This brings me to the mysterious realm that Andrew Hargreaves occupies in his third release under the moniker of Tape Loop Orchestra. Andrew is also one half of the duo known as The Boats (the other half being Craig Tattersall), and their most recent CD Ballads of the Research Department is a delightful collection of dreamy instrumental and vocal works released on the 12k Label: #12K1068 (http://www.12k.com/index.php/site/releases/ballads_of_the_research_department/).
The first CD in this two CD set, The Word On My Lips Is Your Name is an interconnected anthology of Andrew’s recent sonic explorations, deeply shrouded layers on metal oxide tape, no doubt for later use in a broader context. These linked recordings project a feeling of being cast adrift on a gently rolling sea, while fading in and out of consciousness. The pieces vary from deeply veiled Mellotron-string harmonies, muffled bell-tones, placid swells of dissolving piano, and cello (by Danny Norbury) on the edge of a choir. Every so often, a familiar instrument appears, but there is clarity only long enough to establish a presence in the loop before it blends into the other-worldly haze. Some portions are reminiscent of my favorite Edgar Froese album, the lush (largely Mellotron-ic work from 1975): Epsilon in Malaysian Pale/Maroubra Bay. There is a thoughtful (yet often ethereal) romanticism in this collection.
In the second CD, The Burnley Brass Band Plays On In My Heart, I feel a deeply held sentimentality for an era of long ago. It is a sonic (and also quite visual) tour filled with an indescribable yet comforting melancholy. It starts as a largo of highly obscured brass (of some sort). The journey shifts from obscurity to clarity as each connected section of sound layers emerge from the mist of clicks, blips and gentle tape hiss. The transitions are subtle as different layers of instrumentation are introduced and others drift away. There are soft winds blowing, restrained choirs with distant horns, hints of an orchestra, perhaps a church organ, and a string quartet. The looping introduces a calming pulse, and as the journey nears an end, the somber brass largo returns with added strings and fading choir.
Works such as this, is what brought me back to listening to electronic and electro-acoustic music in the last couple of years. I felt like so many instrumental works of this genre in the 1980s and 1990s sounded hollow, synthetic and inauthentic. This collection from Andrew Hargreaves of Tape Loop Orchestra is like a pleasant distant memory of the nights of long ago, hearing far-off lands and dreaming of how those places might have been, while drifting in and out of reverie late into the night.
A short excerpt…
****
Post-script: Perhaps intended? The timing of each CD (and the resultant total) is not lost on me—a tribute to the 90 minute cassette tape format.
Italian bassist Lorenzo Feliciati is better known in European modern Jazz circles than in America and elsewhere. His previous solo albums include, Upon My Head from 2003 and Live at European Bass Day and More from 2006. More recently, he collaborated with English keyboardist Roy Powell, trumpeter Cuong Vu (who has worked with The Pat Metheny Group) and drummer Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson’s drummer in line-ups 5 through 7 and ProjeKcts) under the moniker of Naked Truth with a strong and intriguing album entitled Shizaru also on the RareNoiseRecords label.
Shizaru was crafted around no single voice—more like a musical conversation built around varying moods. For Frequent Flyer, Feliciati has not strayed from that concept, adding an even more diverse set of collaborators (many of whom are from the Italian Progressive Rock and Jazz scene). This is an album that blurs genres of Rock, Fusion, Funk, Jazz and includes the edges of Latin and Afro-Cuban sounds. Comparisons of Feliciati’s work have been made to bassists such as Jaco Pastorius and Percy Jones, but technically and stylistically, my vote is for Jeff Berlin (with some influences of Miroslav Vitous).
The subtitle of Frequent Flyer also reveals, I think, something more about the background of the music: Diary of a Traveling Musician, not only documenting the quotidian aspects of diaries, but perhaps disclosing thoughts and desires related to the foundations the work. Musically, Frequent Flyer is as diverse as the moods one might find within a written diary. Feliciati has noted that, “I wanted to do an album with all the wonderful musicians during my traveling around for gigs, festivals and sessions.” Portions of this album had actually been recorded prior to the start of the Naked Truth project.
There are many strong pieces in Frequent Flyer, some more favorable to my ears than others. Two tracks (as noted below) seem a bit underdeveloped in structure, and thus held my interest less. But as with all music, first impressions of an album are often not the lasting impressions after repeated auditions. This album has grown on me as I have listened to it in different environments (home, car or walking). What I appreciate the most is the range of explorations in addition to Feliciati’s musicianship.
****
The Fastswing Park Rules: At first I was fooled–by the mournful saxophone opening (being reminiscent of Bill Bruford’s Earthworks’ It Needn’t End In Tears), only to be lured into a dark and industrial atmosphere of expansive saxophone, bass and percussion improvisation.
Groove First: Is a very playful, funky and cheerful piece, with melodic and rhythmic shifts reminiscent of Percy Jones and Stanley Clarke and quite similar in many ways to the spirit of some of Brand X’s Moroccan Roll mixed with some Return to Forever and Weather Report. Fender Rhodes and congas provide vigorous and upbeat counterpoint throughout.
93: Is a really great and lyrical piece with dense textures and a deliberate syncopated rhythm that is reflective yet mysterious and is expansive in its arrangement (with a touch of melancholy, in instrumentation, akin to some of the work of the late Mark Linkous, AKA Sparklehorse).
Riding The Orient Express: Percussion and guitar are used to represent the presence of a train and there are breaks where the bass takes the melody. This has some of the feel of Steve Hackett’s recent work in his album Out of the Tunnel’s Mouth. The development of this piece, however, seemed a bit plodding and thin–one of the weaker pieces on the album, for me.
Footprints: Is a very inventive, and fun (yes, I said fun!) arrangement of Wayne Shorter’s piece from the album Adam’s Apple originally by the quartet of Shorter, Hancock, Workman and Chambers. It really shows Feliciati’s quick-hands, musicianship and interpretive skills quite well. In this version, Feliciati takes the Shorter sax melody on bass and is supported by spirited Brazilian-like ensemble percussion. I found a video version of this piece—a great illustration of the spirit of this track.
Footprints Video
Never Forget: Is mysterious, edgy and atmospheric. Bass and electronics punctuate as Cuong Vu’s trumpet floats between diaphanous spirit and sinister animal. This is another great track with expansive cinematic qualities.
Gabus & Ganabes: Is spunky and rhythmically driving with bass chordal and melodic drifts and violin work by Andrea Di Cesare reminiscent of Jean Luc Ponty’s mid-career works.
Perceptions: Is contemplative with a piano opening similar in spirit to some of Harold Budd’s work and forms a backbone for this meditation with fluid bass improvisation and sound samples by DJ Skizo.
The White Shadow story: Is funky, visual, electronic, buzzing and starts off brooding, then goes up-tempo with a ripping guitar solo.
Law & Order: This track is the other weaker piece on the album (and that’s my opinion only), it’s rather plodding and a bit too methodical despite the challenging bass and organ runs, which are supported by percussion and guitar. Some might see some similarities with works of Emerson Lake and Palmer.
Thela Hun Ginjeet (for those in-the-know, an anagram of Heat In The Jungle, the story of street encounters with authority): Is a driving cover from the 1981 King Crimson album Discipline. The story I’ve read is that this piece is often played by Feliciati and band mates during sound checks. I’ve always loved this KC album, and this is a great interpretation of the original with some incredible handwork by Feliciati, Gualdi and Block.
****
Frequent Flyer is an energetic, musical and diverse album to explore. It has great dynamics and a solid sound throughout. I always enjoy being pushed into new musical territories and Lorenzo Feliciati’s travels with a talented group of musicians is a great introduction to his work and influences.
****
Tracks and players:
1) The Fastswing Park Rules with Bob Mintzer (saxes) and Lucrezio de Seta (drums)
2) Groove First with Roy Powell (Fender Rhodes and Moog) and Paulo La Rosa (percussion)
3) 93 with Pat Mastelotto (drums) and Aidan Zammit (Wurlitzer and strings)
4) Riding The Orient Express with Pat Mastelotto (drums) and Phil Brown (guitar)
5) Footprints with Robert Gualdi, Stefano Bagnoli and Maxx Furian (drums)
6) Never Forget with Cuong Vu (trumpet), DJ Skizo (turntables) and Pier Paolo Ferroni (drums)
7) Gabus & Ganabes with Patrick Djivas (bass solo) and Andrea Di Cesare (violin)
8) Perceptions with DJ Skizo (turntables) and Pier Paolo Ferroni (drums)
9) The White Shadow story with Daniele Gottardo (guitar), DJ Skizo (turntables) and Pier Paolo Ferroni (drums)
10) Law & Order with Jose Florillo (Hammond organ) and Daniele Pomo (drums)
11) Thela Hun Ginjeet with Roberto Gualdi (drums) and Guido Block (bass, lead and backing vocals)
Tracks: 1) The Pelican and The Girl; 2) Monkey; 3) How The Ostrich Became a Girl and Her Bicycle; 4) Pickering’s Hyla; 5) Widow, Daddy, and the Wolf; 6) Peacock and the Kitty; 7) Dolphin
Spoken word recordings have existed since the advent of wax and foil cylinder recorders. In the 1920s as Jazz was developing as a musical genre, poets were exploring differing rhythms and styles in their works, breaking away from more traditional forms of meter and rhyme. These were the explorations of E. E. Cummings, T. S. Eliot, Jazz Poet Langston Hughes and others. Syncopated rhythms, phrases repeated, and with some poets, the rejection of traditional conventions of punctuation and manuscript.
The Dwindlers are poet Michelle Seaman and bassist composer Benjamin Dauer. Their collaboration started in 2002 in Chicago and they now create their work in the southeastern US. Their first album was the digitally released “Dreams” on the FeedbackLoop Label #FbL 008.
Allegories combines instrumental Jazz with poetry and includes printed poems (of tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7) with illustrations by Seaman and instrumentation (I assume) by Dauer. It’s a very interesting and challenging album and I find the approach to be quite refreshing! It is a relatively short recording, spanning between a long EP and a full-length CD. Subjects relate to fauna, instincts, desire, observations, phobias and inner monologues (without being self-indulgent). The printed poems appear to be a framework for the apparently improvised recorded performances (might there be further improvisations during a live performance?).
As Jazz music is about listening, sharing, improvising, and responding, poetry can be used as another instrument or voice in an ensemble for counterpoint or support. Beat Generation writers expanded on this, like Jack Kerouac who was sometimes accompanied with improvised music during poetry readings (composer David Amram was known to sit-in and jam piano or bongos during readings). Jazz and Jazz Poetry has also been about activism and in the 1970s Gil Scott-Heron emerged (being influenced by Hughes) as a powerful voice in topical and confrontational spoken-word Soul, Jazz & Blues. Scott-Heron (also a rap music pioneer) greatly influenced later hip-hop groups like Public Enemy.
Other artists have continued to explore the spoken-word with a variety of music and multi-media artists influences: Jim Morrison and The Doors (described as “electric poets”), Laurie Anderson, David Byrne, Harold Budd (as on his 1991 album By The Dawn’s Early Light), and more recently the 2011 collaboration of Brian Eno and poet Rick Holland on their album Drums Between The Bells, and the growling reflections of Leonard Cohen on his 2012 album Old Ideas.
The voices of Allegories are sultry with occasional interplay of the technically descriptive. There are changing points of view and perspectives—seeing through another’s eyes (not necessarily human). The way the words are phrased against the music; they sometimes transform into layered double-entendres. The often-hypnotic and stark instrumentation punctuates the spaces between the words with a foundation of acoustic bass, layered electronics and percussion, adding to the tension and release.
The Pelican and the Girl starts with a shimmering veil and then plays between female and male voices and further heightens an implied sexual tension as descriptions shift from bird to woman and back. There are points where the words lure one into an imagined scene only to be returned to a stark lesson on natural history. The drums and bass during Monkey are reminiscent of Morello & Wright’s vibe on Take Five (from the album Time Out) and voice, although monotone; is similar to the interplay of Desmond and Brubeck. Pickering’s Hyla is an instrumental break and sounds akin to a forest at the vernal pools at dusk. The second half of the album is more layered, electronic and ambient after a sensuous acoustic “theme and response” bass introduction to Widow, Daddy and the Wolf. Peacock and the Kitty and Dolphin gently pulse with Seaman’s voice stroking fur, feather and flowing through water.
Allegories is a provocative and engaging album of poetry—vivid and shifting with very musical, alluring and technical Jazz counterpoint. The recording has a welcomed softness that does not compromise the clarity. It would certainly be suitable as background music (and would likely pique the curiosity of a roomful of listeners), but I found it best played at the level of a live performance to fully appreciate it.
The Pelican and the Girl (and two others) - The Dwindlers
Tracks: 1) Glass Lullaby; 2) A New Day; 3) Bent Bayou; 4) Star Gazing; 5) Edith Street; 6) The Fifth; 7) Waterways; 8) The Billows; 9) Monsieur Vintage; 10) Rapid Eye Movement; 11) Brain Funk; 12) Spontaneous Story; 13) Two For Ya; 14) Invisible
Chad Wackerman is a gracious host and shares willingly (including authorship). Although he starts his album with a mellifluous and spacious solo percussion track, he really has nothing to prove—no pyrotechnic drumming meltdowns required. He has collaborated with and provided support for the best: Frank Zappa, Allan Holdsworth, James Taylor, and many others as a session musician. He has toured with his own Chad Wackerman Trio (Doug Lunn, bass and Mike Miller, guitar) as well as conducts drum clinics. Chad has chops, but doesn’t feel the need to shove it to the front of the mix.
On “DNAI”, the album players include: Chad (drums and percussion), Allan Holdsworth (guitars, Synthax & Starr Z-Board), Jim Cox (keyboards) and Jimmy Johnson (bass). This is Chad’s fifth solo album, others include: Forty Reasons (1991), The View (1993), Scream (2000) and Legs Eleven (2004).
What I’ve always appreciated about Chad’s work (having seen him perform live a few times) is that he is technically precise, versatile, quick-handed, and uses varied dynamics with aplomb. Some might rush out to buy this album as another Allan Holdsworth trio album, but that’s not at all what this album is. Aside from his solo pieces, Chad either trios as an equal with Holdsworth and Johnson or Cox and Johnson, and one duo piece with Cox. This album displays a variety of styles from Funk, hard-driving Fusion, mellow instrumental Jazz, and brooding Progressive.
Chad provides a solid backbone for the trios and punctuates each piece with deftly placed accents including tone and color often missing from percussionists who play purely for speed and to impress. Wackerman’s work is energetic yet not overpowering to his trio-mates, and this is evident in tracks like “A New Day” where the percussion introduces Holdsworth’s broad chordal backdrop and is followed by Johnson’s steady bass and Holdsworth’s Synthax solo with synchopated off-beat fills by Wackerman. I don’t find the Synthax to be nearly as expressive (melodically) as Holdsworth’s guitar solos, but that’s a matter of taste, I suppose. “Star Gazing” is a far better piece featuring Holdsworth’s Synthax—broader fabric of sound.
Some pieces begin with a drum solo, such as “Edith Street”, but again Wackerman moves quickly aside for his trio players’ contributions. One nice aspect to this album is that it does display a wider variety of guitar sounds from Holdsworth and Cox’s keyboards add edginess, depth and an even broader sound. The album hits its stride with “The Fifth”, which starts solidly and languidly moves through a variety of textures and fills on percussion, guitar and bass—a really fantastic piece written by Wackerman with lyrical solos by Johnson and Holdsworth. “Waterways” is a floating tonal exploration. “The Billows”, another self-penned has more of the classic sound and feel of so many works that Wackerman-Holdsworth-Johnson have recorded previously. It also includes a brief and effective drum solo. Solo drums return on “Rapid Eye Movement” and great care has been taken with how the drums and cymbals are mic-ed, it’s a very spatial mix, befitting the title, and again, not overly flashy. “Brain Funk” has a visceral organ sound provided by Cox and this is a piece where Chad drives the beat—it has a great feel as does “Two For Ya”. To close the album with a subtlety I appreciate, “Invisible” is a suspended arhythmic other-worldly exploration.
This is an excellent album. It’s well-recorded and engineered across two studios and a really pleasurable listening experience.
Cortney Tidwell’s – Boys: A really interesting (and at times experimental) exploration of songwriting and sound. This and her previous albums, one self-titled from 2005 and “Don’t Let The Stars Keep Us Tangled Up” from 2006 (with Kurt Wagner and William Tyler of Lambchop) have also resulted in some inventive remixes (by Hands Off Cuba) and videos. Available from: http://www.cityslang.com/
Savvas Ysatis + Taylor Deupree’s – The Sleeping Morning: A four track EP resulting from a 2007 collaboration. Electro-acoustic, peaceful and recorded directly to multi-track with minimal editing. The CD might still be available at some distributors, but a download is at: http://www.12k.com/ Try also…looks like the CD is still here: http://darla.com/
Lambchop’s – Damaged: Another in the canon of calming beautiful works with delightful wordplay as in the opening track “Paperback Bible”. Available at: http://www.mergerecords.com/
Gareth Dickson’s – Collected Recordings: After listening to Gareth’s latest album “Quite A Way Away” on the http://www.12k.com/ label, I hunted around for his previous work and found this, a collection of recordings from the previous five years on the http://driftingfalling.com/ label.
KORT’s – Invariable Heartache: This is actually the album that got me familiar with Cortney Tidwell’s solo work. A great album of re-recorded songs that were once on the Chart record label (run by Cortney Tidwell’s grandfather, Slim Williamson). Kurt Wagner of Lambchop is the collaborator, so Cort + Kurt = KORT. You can get this album here: http://www.mergerecords.com/store/store_detail.php?catalog_id=846
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Afternoon Postscript: OK, I was slow and missed the chance to get the original issues on CD and vinyl, so I settled for a 12k/iTunes download and burned CDs, so this is what’s on this afternoon:
Marcus Fischer – Monocoastal: I’m just listening for the first time as I type this. A combination of field recordings, found sounds, harmonics and textures woven and inspired by Fischer’s wanderings up and down the west coast for 20 years. This is Marcus Fischer’s website: http://unrecnow.com/dust/about
Taylor Deupree + Marcus Fischer – In A Place Of Such Graceful Shapes: This was originally issued as a small box with a CD and clear vinyl 7″. It really looked beautiful and am sorry to have missed out on it. More electro-acoustic heaven. More about this album and both artists here: http://www.12k.com/index.php/site/releases/in_a_place_of_such_graceful_shapes
Tracks: 1) Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You; 2) Losing My Breath; 3) Winter Garden; 4) Entangled; 5) Harmony And The Play Of Light; 6) Heavy Heart Some More; 7) White Ceramic; 8) Stay With Me; 9) South Of Heaven; 10) Dream On
There are certain situations, places, visions, works of art or music that evoke emotions or memories that defy explanation; reactions that are beyond words, or perhaps descriptions that cannot do a sensation or experience justice. They are in effect, indescribable. This is the alluring feeling I am left with after listening to “Winter Garden”, the first simultaneous release by Eraldo Bernocchi (Italian musician and producer), Harold Budd (pianist and composer) & Robin Guthrie (producer, guitarist and founder of Cocteau Twins and Violet Indiana) on the RareNoiseRecords label.
In the December 2011 issue of HiFi Zine I reviewed Harold Budd’s latest solo work, “In The Mist”. (Please see: http://www.hifizine.com/2011/12/harold-budd-in-the-mist/ ). I won’t dwell much on Budd’s many prior collaborations, other than to say that he has worked with many artists, including Robin Guthrie on at least seven releases. I am familiar with Budd’s work with Eraldo Bernocchi on Music For ‘Fragments From The Inside”–music for an art installation by Petulia Mattioli (a long time collaborator of Bernocchi). “Fragments…” was recorded live in 2006 and released on Sub Rosa as catalog #SR239 JC. Coincidentally, Petulia Mattioli provided the graphic design and photos for “Winter Garden”.
I admit to knowing little of Eraldo Bernocchi’s extensive prior work, and that exploration is for another time, so I will stay focused here on what I know. For background, I offer some brief thoughts on recent overlapping collaborations with both artists and Harold Budd: the 2011 Darla release entitled “Bordeaux” with Robin Guthrie, as well as “Fragments…” with Bernocchi. In “Fragments…” Budd’s piano work presents as a languid yet grounded introduction to Bernocchi’s electronic peregrinations consisting of treatments, rhythms, samples and deep pulses. Budd’s piano seems to reach for and tame the electronic wanderings while sensuously weaving, almost teasing Bernocchi’s explorations. To close the seven-part work of “fragments”, Budd’s piano returns as the foundation of the work—how this related to the video installation, I don’t know.
With “Bordeaux”, the nine named tracks aren’t driven by rhythm, but by Guthrie’s guitar work forming fabrics of textures, colors and emotions for Budd to gently punctuate. The feeling of this work is of warmth and sensuousness. Guthrie usually leads-in with his layered shimmering guitar before Budd responds, to play off the direction and mood that Guthrie has set. There are exceptions to this on pieces like “So Many Short Years Ago”, “The Belles of Saint Andrew” and “Southern Shore” where Guthrie’s textures respond to Budd’s piano phrasing and chord changes.
In “Winter Garden”, as the album’s title suggests, there is a chilled and mysterious sense of expansive desolation throughout. It is imbued with the vividness of the changing color of a winter sky; sharp golden light to warm the blue-grey chill of the winter air. There is also a dream-state cinematic quality to this album. The trio of Bernocchi, Budd & Guthrie play as a meshed ensemble with each artist taking the lead, depending on the piece or feeling being expressed.
I posit that this album is more than just collected individual tracks, but it is a sonic novella. The titles and accompanying music express a direction, emotion or location in a somewhat enigmatic unknown story. Perhaps it is imagined or real, or a combination of both. It is evident that the opening track “Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You” is a beacon cast as the main theme (played by Budd) that later returns in “Winter Garden” and again in track 9 “South of Heaven”, each in slightly altered forms. I speculate that track 9 is the actual ending of the overall “story”, with track 10 “Dream On” being a postscript. To me, this album presents in sound, as a cohesive and plausible story. A brief overview of the tracks:
1) Don’t Go Where I Can’t Find You: Budd’s piano takes the main theme with Guthrie’s layered guitar and light treatments from Bernocchi. The theme is an entreaty of sorts and there is a feeling of longing and desolation in the music.
2) Losing My Breath: There are long pauses that create a sense of tension in the theme, played by Guthrie, with brief responses from Budd. A sense of suspension and anticipation is apparent with slow movement to arrive at a destination.
3) Winter Garden: The title track, with main theme by Budd and supporting chords and bass line by Guthrie and Bernocchi. Despite what seems to be a desired arrival and sense of place, there is a dissonance in the sound overlays that I perceive as portraying doubt, a possible foreshadowing. Yet, there is also comfort and resolution in the theme.
4) Entangled: Bernocchi begins with a pulsing bass line, a sense of apprehension, but also movement with descending keyboard tones as the piece progresses. The “conversation” is between Budd’s treated and bending piano and Guthrie’s guitar melodies and chords, with Bernocchi overlaying rhythmic intrigue.
5) Harmony And The Play Of Light: A soft bass pulsing with layered keyboards and guitar, but here the piano is compressed, piercing the background and giving a sense of brightness. There is also a feeling of suspension and anticipation.
6) Heavy Heart Some More: The feeling in this track is somber, with a foreboding as it advances: deep piano and bass notes creating a sense of darkness.
7) White Ceramic: This track, to me, seems to be a pause of sorts (and I admit to having some trouble placing this is in the overall story). Perhaps it’s an aftermath. The tones are bell-like and the phrasing and melodies are wandering, and seem to me to be searching.
8) Stay With Me: A quiet beginning, piano and layered electronics leading to a subtle rhythmic backdrop and then movement, a sense of traveling somewhere again, perhaps from the winter landscape to return to an unknown destination.
9) South Of Heaven: The recapitulation of the slightly altered opening theme on piano, layered in shimmering guitars and bending electronics and subtle (deep) comforting bass notes, suggesting an ending and perhaps resolution.
10) Dream On: As if the sun is descending on a chilled landscape, a chorus of guitars and layered electronics move with the waning sunlight, a flowing bass line in support and piano as if thoughts are wandering…in reflection.
The recording of “Winter Garden” is expansive and crystalline. I found it so easy to listen to with rapt attention. It draws one into whatever the story that is being told. As soon as it ended, I wanted to begin again–gorgeous.
Stay With Me (Track 8):
Note: This article will be published shortly at a music & audio equipment-related online e-zine and IS a solicited review (although I already had purchased the recording).
