Ird News

Stefano Bollani e il suo Danish Trio in Sostiene Bollani

2011-09-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

Abbiamo il piacere di presentare i tre cds che Stefano Bollani ha inciso con il Danish Trio ossia a Jesper Bodilsen e Morten Lund che compongono la sezione ritmica del programma in onda la Domenica Sera su Rai TRe.

- Gleda - Reinterpretazioni di canzoni tradizionali scandinave. http://youtu.be/bNnkHRLl3_0

- Mi Ritorni In Mente - Cd altrettanto bello con la rilettura di Mi Ritorni In Mente di Lucio Battisti in chiave jazzistica http://youtu.be/nkwiNMzjUcw

- Stone In The Water - L'album della maturita' dove accanto a standard e musica brasiliana compaiono composizioni originali sia di Stefano che di Jesper.
http://player.ecmrecords.com/bollani

Oltre a questi tre cds vi segnaliamo

Jesper Bodilsen,

che ha inciso un ulteriore progetto che merita la nostra massima attenzione per la sua delicatezza e bellezza non solo musicale ma anche propriamente poetica. Stiamo Parlando di

Short Stories For Dreamers

un bellissimo cd che trasforma l'esperienza musicale in immagine e l'immagine in musica. E' da ascoltare molto attentamente come una bellissima poesia affinche' ti entri dentro creando quelle sensazioni che soltanto un' opera creata dalla sensibilita' di questo artista può dare. Atmosfere rarefatte e da sogno creano paesaggi immaginari dove le emozioni prendono posto, una ad una. Per raggiungere questo risultato Jesper si è fatto accompagnare da amici-musicisti molto raffinati quali Ulf Wakenius ( che gli amanti dei virtuosi della chitarra acustica ameranno sicuramente ) , Peter Asplund (tromba molto delicata ), Severi Pyysalo (vibrafono). Insomma un cd che merita la nostra massima attenzione.

http://youtu.be/xj4vzVfqeYM

http://www.jazzconvention.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=877%3Ajesper-bodilsen-short-stories-for-dreamers&catid=2%3Arecensioni&Itemid=11

http://www.tgcom.mediaset.it/rubriche/articoli/1010326/a-jazz-meeting-jesper-bodilsen.shtml

Tingvall Trio : Vagen

2011-09-14T00:38:00.000-07:00

Vagen, ( The way ) è stato registrato in uno degli studi piu' cari alla comunita' audiofila nostrana ossia quegli Arte Suono studio di Stefano Amerio in quel di Udine, tempio ormai dell'audiofilia mondiale. Quindi qualita audio di assoluto livello a disposizione di un trio veramente unico espressione di paesi ( e quindi di approci musicali ) diversi. In Martin Tingvall ( ovviamente anima del trio ) è possibile riconoscere il tocco e l'ispirazione di Bobo Stenson, cui si affianca il percussionista tedesco Jurgen Spiegel. E fin qui il jazz nordico la farebbe da padrone se non arrivasse il bassista Omar Rodriguez Calvo, scuola rock cubana, a mescolare totalmente le carte introducendo nei suoni jazzistici europei quel calore cubano che si fonde miracolosamente dando energia al trio. In questo nuovo il trio si "allarga" facendo spazio ad una vera e propria piccola orchestra con Gregor Lentjes – Horns, Strings De Luxe Jansen Folkers – Violin Adam Zolynski – Violin Axel Ruhland – Viola Martin Bentz – Cello; tutti magistralmente diretti da Martin Tingvall & Wolf Kerschek. Come nei precedenti cd, anche in questo la musica trae ispirazione da quanto vissuto dagli artisti durante i loro tour o personalmente, comunque sempre in stretta relazione con la natura che li circonda sia essa ispirare calde ballate spagnole o suoni piu' propriamente orientali sempre miscelati e resi propri dall'esperienza artistica dei nostri.

"Vägen" (The Way) retraces the trio's imprssions on the way taken over the last few years. "Sevilla", the opening track took birth on the extended tour of Spain in 2010 and "Shejk Schröder" (Schröder the Sheik) could easily provide the backdrop for a camel race. The title tune "Vägen" is one of those compositions, where you literally hear the stardust swirl, offering space for reflection and lookinginward at what was, what is and what jsut might come to pass. As the previous ECHO JAZZ AWARD winning album "Vattensaga" the album was once again recorded at the highly acclaimed Italian Arte Suono studio of Stefano Amerio. On "Efter Livet" (After Life) Martin Tingvall has also gingerly supllemented the "triophonics" with additional instrumentation by arranging string and horns like splashes of color

Hans Theessink : The Jedermann Remixed

2011-09-12T23:14:00.001-07:00

Come tutti sapranno il festival di Salisburgo è uno dei piu' imporanti festival per gli amanti della musica operistica e lirica. Si tiene ogni anni nella citta' che diede i natali ad uno dei piu' grandi geni della musica europea ossia Mozart ed è seguito da tantissime persone, un vero e proprio evento nazionale, con i giovani nella piazze a farla da padrona. Ed è proprio in questo contesto, che nel 1920, quando forse nessuno ancora capiva cosa sarebbe successo, venne presentato sul palco princiapale di quel festival lo Jedermann, divenuto da allora uno dei momenti piu' importanti e piu' seguiti dell'intero festival ( clicca qui x maggiori info Jedermann ). Si tratta della rappresentazione di una novella dove l'uomo , ( rappresentato dal ricco Jedermann ), Dio e la Morte si impersonificano e ci accompagnano durante il nostro ultimo giorno per farci prendere consapevolezza di quanto e come abbiamo vissuto. Da questa rappresentazione è stato tratto un film e la colonna sonora scelta per rappresentare questo viaggio esistenziale è la musica che piu' di ogni altra si adatta con l'anima : l'essenzialita' del Blues. E chi in Austria avrebbero potuto chiamare per un simile progetto se non il nostro Hans Theessink ? Per l'occasione Theessink ripercorre la storia del blues "moderno", quello post bellico per intenderci, affiancando a sue composizione originali brani di Bo Diddley, Tom Waits, Hank Williams, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash fino agli Stones della coppia Jagger/Richards. Classici e composizini originali vengono rielaborate e presentate in una versione essernziale dove a farla da padrona sono la voce e la chitarra semiacustica del nostro.

Dutch morality play Elckerlyc was written in the late 15th-century and may well have been the original source for the English play Everyman. In 1911 Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted Everyman as Jedermann, and since 1920 Jedermann has been performed every year on the steps of the Cathedral in Salzburg as part of the Salzburger Festspiele. The open-air performances have been one of the highlights of the Festival season ever since. Throughout the years many famous German language actors/actresses have been part of Jedermann in Salz burg. Actors playing Jedermann include Attila Hörbiger, Will Quadflieg, Curd Jürgens, Maximilian Schell, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Helmut Lohner, Gert Voss, Peter Simonischek and Nicholas Ofczarek. His famous “mistresses” (Buhlschaft) include Christiane Hörbiger, Senta Berger, Sunnyi Melles, Veronica Ferres and Birgit Minichmayr ...

Based on Everyman and enhanced with dramatic modern adaptations, Jedermann presents God, Death, the Devil and other abstract beings as personifications. The rich Jedermann is faced by unexpected Death, calling him to his judgment. Allowed company on his final journey, he is deserted by his loyal servant, his friends and his money; the figures of Good Works and Faith help him repent and save his soul before he is lowered into his grave.

In 2011 the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF commissioned film director Hannes Rossacher to produce the film “Jedermann Remixed” to commemorate the success-story of 90 years Jedermann phenomenon in Salzburg. Rossacher used archive footage from 9 decades to put together a cultural historic puzzle and create a unique performance of Jedermann that has not been seen in this form before. ORF and Hannes Rossacher asked me to produce the soundtrack for the film and we selected the songs that would fit the themes and scenes.

Besides several Theessink originals we recorded songs by many legendary songwriters: from Bo Diddley to Tom Waits, Hank Williams to Ray Charles, Johnny Cash to Rolling Stones Jagger/Richards. We also struck gold with some tradi tional songs that have been handed down through time.

For me it was a wonderful challenge to create this soundtrack to support the images of the film.

I‘ve tried to reduce the arrangements to the basic essentials; sometimes just one guitar-one voice.

It‘s the nature of film music that only certain passages of the songs are used where the film needs it. Still we recorded the songs in their full length; resulting in “Jedermann remixed” the soundtrack.

Felice Clemente Quartet - Nuvole Di Carta // Doppia Traccia

2011-07-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

Nuvole di Carta is my heartfelt tribute to a beloved friend who left us three years ago, at a very young age. A young man very rich in spirit, with many projects he wanted to realize. This latest work of mine is dedicated to him and to his dreams; the title, Nuvole di Carta, alludes in fact to the fusion between dreams (the clouds) and their realization (paper), as if, someway, with my notes I wanted to give a shape to his open eyed dreams.
Clouds then acquire the shape of our dreams, which, as our life and our experiences go by, change, sketching outlines that are always different and more complex, sometimes even simpler, but in everlasting movement. Alas, his clouds have stopped still, crystallizing in an eternal present, becoming made of paper. The journey through this cd's tracks would like to melt this painful fixity entrusting that magic of music, which is able, from time to time, to turn even the last drop of the hourglass into honey. I have worked very hard on the choices of timber and rhythm, on the shape of the tracks, trying to deconstruct the themes so to give more space to the creative improvisation of the musicians, without renouncing that melodic element that I consider an indispensable part of my stylistic hallmark. The result is an aesthetic experience, always changing, in continuous metamorphosis, rich with continuous surprises even for us musicians, who have tried to leave the singing to instinct, heart, emotions, anything that can shape dreams and make them come true. The dreams of us, of our friend, and, I hope, of everyone who will listen to us.

Felice Clemente

Felice Clemente - tenor and soprano sax
Massimo Colombo - Piano
Giulio Corini - doble bass
Massimo Manzi - drums

DOPPIA TRACCIA

The music contained on this disc is written, either for the duo compositions either for piano. In discussion is for aid in the study of classical music to jazz address, which must be interpreted with "swing" and with some notion of improvisation, in fact a good jazz practice is necessary. Some compositions have a polyphonic language and needs a good listen of classical music, particularly the Baroque repertoire. It is music for classical or jazz musicians, first of these to give an interpretation, for the other ones to explore and develop creative compositions while keeping firmly to its original score.

The " 9 notturni " (op. 581) are compositions for alto saxophone and piano inspired by the famous collection of Frédéric Chopin, among the greatest piano composers of the Romanticism, marvelous piano player and an excellent harmonizer, absolutely one of the most influent classical musician in the modern context.
For the easy singability, the romantic expressivity combined with simplicity, the harmonization to the border between romance and jazz (thinking of Bill Evans) are essential components of the collection. The " 9 Notturni" can also be performed by piano only keeping the same score.

The "duo Fantasia" (Op. 624) for piano and soprano sax is a track more complex in form, rhythm and interaction between written and improvisated parts, in which it develops improvisation while maintaining a strict classical evolution.

The "15 immagini" (op.480) for solo piano are easy samples in which are discussed different musical styles: jazz, latin, choral, folk song, blues.

The two compositions at the end of this disc, "L'insaziabile tono" and "La linea di spago", are made following jazz techniques, even if contaminated with developments related to classical culture: at the thematic exposure follows improvisation on the same structure. The same thematic element is also the final restatement.

Massimo Colombo

FELICE CLEMENTE

Born in August, 9 1974 in Milan. He developed his passion for music in the family circle, under the guidance of his grandfather, who taught clarinet. He continued to study clarinet at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan, where he obtained a first-class degree with M° L. Tessari; afterwards, he attended the two year post-diploma training program. At the same time, his discovery of jazz and the saxophone lead him to pursue its study with saxophonists Paolo Tomelleri, Pietro Tonolo and Tino Tracanna.
He obtained a first class degree in jazz music with M° Tino Tracanna at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Milan. In Milan, in 2001, he attended the Masterclass in jazz arrangement taught by Corrado Guarino and, in 2002, the jazz Masterclass taught by Dave Liebman and Massimo Colombo. In 2005 he obtained the teacher certification for "classi di concorso 31 e 32 A". At 36, his recording activity can already claim 8 records as a leader and coleader and 7 records as a sideman, plus a hectic concert activity.

AWARDS

As a clarinetist he came in first at the Concorso Internazionale di Musica "Premio Ispra" (Va) in 1991, the Concorso Nazionale di clarinetto "Vito di Lena" of Segni (Rm) in 1994, the Torneo Internazionale di Musica T.I.M. Erba (Co) in 1997.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FROM SPECIALIZED MAGAZINES

He has had many reviews and recognitions in Italian and foreign magazines specialized in record productions. He has been described by Enzo Siciliano in Repubblica as "the best young Italian saxophonist", and by Cadence magazine (USA) "a talent destined to make jazz history". He has been voted as one of the best saxophonists of the year in the referendum TOP JAZZ 2007, 2008 and 2009, organized by the magazine "Musica Jazz", and JAZZIT AWARD 2011 organized by the magazi "Jazzit".

MUSIC COLLABORATIONS

In addition to his own usual musicians, he has collaborated with artists that are amongst the greatest on the national and international scene, such as Gregory Hutchinson, Xavier Davis, Danny Grissett, Ugonna Ogekwo, Jimmy Greene, Quincy Davis, Asaf Sirkis, Yuri Goloubev, Marco Tamburini, Marco Brioschi, Paolo Birro, Tino Tracanna, Massimo Colombo, Massimo Manzi, Sandro Gibellini, Bebo Ferra, Stefano Di Battista, Andrea Dulbecco, Stefano Bagnoli, Riccardo Fioravanti, Ferdinando Faraò, Rudy Migliardi, Geggè Munari, Giorgio Rosciglione, Antonio Zambrini, Pietro Lussu, Roberto Cecchetto, Claudio Fasoli, Guido Bombardieri, Tullio De Piscopo, Laura Fedele, Sergio Orlandi, Massimo Pintori, Bruno De Filippi, Luigi Martinale, Alberto Mandarini, Giovanni Falzone, Stefano Bertoli, Javier Perez Forte, Francesco D'Auria, Montecarlo Night Orchestra and Nick The Nightfly directed by Gabriele Comelio

ENSEMBLES AND PROJECTS

As of now he directs his own quartet (with Massimo Colombo, Giulio Corini and Massimo Manzi), which sometimes is expanded to a quintet with Bebo Ferra's presence.
He co-directs the duo with Javier Pérez Forte.
He co-directs the duo with Massimo Colombo.

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Resonance Records : Dado Moroni - Freddie Hubbard

2011-06-17T03:27:00.000-07:00

Dado Moroni - Live In Beverly Hills

( Cd e Dvd Blue Ray )

Dado Moroni è uno dei pochi, se non l’unico pianista italiano ad essere popolare di qua ed al di là dell’Atlantico e il recentissimo 4 stelle e mezzo che il cd Live In Beverly Hills ha "portato a casa" niente meno che dalla bibbia del jazz statunitense Downbeat ne è la riprova. Nel suo ultimo lavoro, produzione della californiana Resonance pubblicata in edizione CD + DVD e Blu-ray, dal titolo “Live At Beverly Hills” è accompagnato da Peter Erskine alla batteria e Marco Panascia al contrabbasso. Dado si conferma uno tra i grandi della tastiera jazz e di cui il nostro jazz può andare orgoglioso. L’approccio è quello Swing-centrico, ma Dado Moroni dimostra padronanza assoluta dell’idioma jazz in ogni sfumatura cosi l’ex ragazzo prodigio del nostro jazz, ora uomo fatto, ci dimostra un volta di più che “jazz is a state of mind”. CD + DVD – Blue-ray

Moroni was born and raised in Genoa, Italy, and took to jazz early. "My parents bought a piano for my sister, but she didn't show a lot of interest in it. When I came along, I was immediately taken with it from the age of three. My father was always playing jazz records in the house - people like Earl Hines, Fats Waller and Count Basie. I fell in love with those records, and started trying to imitate them on the piano. My mother, who played accordion, saw how interested I was in the instrument, and put me on her lap to explain the difference between major and minor chords. And that was the beginning!"

Originally self-taught, Moroni would heed the advice of a family friend and study piano formally, eventually gigging with local Italian, as well visiting American musicians. Unsure he'd be able to mount a successful career in music, Moroni actually enrolled in law school. But a chance encounter accompanying famed bebop trumpet pioneer Dizzy Gillespie would forever alter Moroni's musical path, with the elder jazz statesman telling him, 'Man, there are too many lawyers out there. You should play piano!' "That was the turning point," Moroni says. "I decided right there that I could make a living doing what I loved to do. So I took him seriously, and quit law school!"

Moroni's love for the jazz language is evident across all seven tracks of Live in Beverly Hills. The album opens with Moroni's fierce left-hand anchoring a sea of buoyant band interplay on his own "Ghanian Village," complete with Kenny Barron-esque piano proddings that recall the elder pianist's rhythmic renegade. "If I'm playing a song and I hear a sound that makes me think of someone like Kenny Barron, who I love and is one of my dearest friends, I say hello to him in the music," Moroni says. Other infectious album cuts include a metrically-modulating romp through famed Modern Jazz Quartet pianist John Lewis' "Django," as well as a Bossa Nova-infused take on "Where Is Love?" from the musical Oliver!

Freddie Hubbard

Pinnacle - Live & Unrealeased From Keystone Korner

A trent’anni dalla data di registrazione di due indimenticabili concerti di questo gigante della tromba (Keystone Corner, SanFrancisco Giugno e Ottobre 1980) la Resonance decide di pubblicarli in quanto rappresentano al meglio il talento di un grande della tromba, prima che la malattia minasse le sue capacità espressive. Il compianto Hubbard, scomparso nel 2008, andrebbe ricordato attraverso questo cd dove per un’ora imperversa alla tromba. (Ascoltatelo cosa riesce a fare di un classico del sax come la Coltraniana “Giant Step”)

Considered by many to be among the top echelon of jazz trumpeters, Freddie Hubbard is at a career peak during these live performances, recorded with two different groups during several 1980 sets at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco. The core group includes pianist Billy Childs and bassist Larry Klein, with either Eddie Marshall or Sinclair Lott on drums. Hubbard's take-no-prisoners attitude is apparent in a power-packed performance of his "The Intrepid Fox" (adding trombonist Phil Ranelin and tenor saxophonist David Schnitter), though the spotlight is on the leader, aside from a brief feature for Lott. Childs switches to Fender Rhodes for Hubbard's driving bossa nova "First Light," while "Happiness Is Now" is a funky affair. Hubbard was underrated as a ballad interpreter, though his poignant take of Michel Legrand's "The Summer Knows" (from the film Summer of '42) is a brilliant showcase for him on flügelhorn. One of the great thrills is Hubbard's first known recording of "Giant Steps," with the leader tackling it with his sextet at a fast tempo, showcasing tenor saxophonist Hadley Caliman and Childs, as well. This well-packaged, previously unissued music from producer Todd Barkan's (the owner of the long defunct club) personal archives, includes detailed liner notes by several contributors and lots of period photographs. ( All Music )

Red Records : Vito Di Modugno - Pablo Bobrowicky - Edward Simon

2011-06-14T07:07:00.000-07:00

Vito Di Modugno - East Side

L’affermazione nel referendum delle celebre rivista statunitense Down Beat, che lo ha inserito nella top ten mondiale dei solisti di organo Hammond, ha incoraggiato il barese Vito Di Modugno – e con lui il discografico Sergio Veschi, patron della Red Records – a insistere sulla strada intrapresa di un «hard bop» personale, ma al contempo per nulla vergognoso della propria discendenza stilistica da quel «Blue Note Sound» che resta tutt’oggi fra i più amati dagli appassionati. E i fasti della celebre etichetta fondata nel 1939 da Francis Wolf e Alfred Lion vengono rievocati non appena si scorre la copertina del cd East Side, nel quale il Nostro, oltre ad aver allestito una formazione ampia, degna di certe sedute di Jimmy Smith (si pensi a The Sermon o House Party), ha inserito anche Zoltan, The Moontrane e Softly As in a Morning Sunrise, ovvero tre temi tratti da Unity, l’album del 1965 nel quale l’indimenticato Woody Shaw aveva «incrociato» la propria tromba con il sax di Joe Henderson e, soprattutto, l’organo Hammond di Larry Young (il batterista, per la cronaca, era Elvin Jones).
Sostenuto dai fidati Pietro Condorelli alla chitarra e Massimo Manzi alla batteria, Di Modugno ospita allora la tromba di Fabio Morgera, il sax di Jerry Bergonzi e, in alcuni brani, anche quello del pugliese Michele Carrabba, per un disco nel quale la cifra jazzistica non fa sconti a nessuno e segue opportunamente solo il rigore stilistico, l’entusiasmo, senza ammiccamenti modaioli di sorta.
L’apertura di East Side Blue, con i suoi aromi di balkan jazz, sembra quasi pensata a mo’ di prologo per Zoltan, che Shaw compose in omaggio al musicista ungherese Zoltan Kodaly. Seguono poi due brani originali di Di Modugno, il ternario Jury’s Bite, in slow tempo e il gustoso Sidran, del quale si apprezza l’afrolatin beat. Tipicamente in stile Blue Note è poi anche Tilt di Bergonzi, protagonista anche del succitato Softly... con un aspro assolo di sax. In The Moontrane, Carrabba si dimostra ben all’altezza dei blasonati colleghi, mentre di nuovo Di Modugno firma gli indovinati Clemmy e Unity, espresso omaggio alla registrazione di Shaw, mentre tocca a Morgera chiudere la scaletta con The Incredible Truth, che sembra riproporre gli aromi levantini del brano iniziale.
Un cd che piacerà, c’è da starne certi e che continuerà a consolidare la fama di Di Modugno al di là dell’Oceano. ( Tratto dalla Gazzetta Del Mezzogiono )

VITO DI MODUGNO ORGAN COMBO

feat. JERRY BERGONZI & FABIO MORGERA
PIETRO CONDORELLI, GUITAR
MASSIMO MANZI, DRUMS
MICHELE CARRABBA, SOPRANO & T. SAXES
JERRY BERGONZI, T. SAX
FABIO MORGERA, TRUMPET

Tracks

1. East side blue (V. Di Modugno) 8,54
2. Zoltan (W. Shaw) 6,41
3. Jury's bite (V. Di Modugno) 7,02
4. Sidran (V. Di Modugno) 6,51
5. Tilt (J. Bergonzi) 7,18
6. Softly (S. Romberg) 6,52
7. The moontrane (W. Shaw) 4,28
8. Clemmy (V. Di Modugno) 6,33
9. Unity (V. Di Modugno) 6,15
10. The incredible truth (F. Morgera) 4,32

Pablo Bobrowicky - Southern Blue

Esiste un libro che può dirci molte cose su Pablo Bobrowicky. L’ho scoperto per caso, prima ancora di ricevere l’incarico di scrivere le note di Southern Blue. Nel leggere Evaristo Carriego di Jorge Luis Borges, realizzavo che tra le pagine e la vicenda del chitarrista, i punti di contatto erano molteplici.

L’essere argentino è il primo tratto comune tra Evaristo e Pablo. «Sebbene i miei parenti e genitori siano immigrati, la mia cultura è argentina; sono proprio loro che lo hanno fortemente voluto. Ho ereditato un cognome “straniero”, che viene da lontano ed è difficile da pronunciare». Pablo non è creolo, ma come Evaristo è senz’altro porteño: «Sono nato e vivo a Buenos Aires da sempre. Questa città è molto simile a New York, un crocevia di razze capace di generare simultaneamente una nuova cultura locale».

Le ‘razze’ di cui parla Pablo, sono discendenti neanche troppo lontane di quelle che abitavano il quartiere Palermo raccontato in Evaristo Carriego. Émir Rodriguez Monegal dice che Borges, scrivendone la biografia, salva Evaristo, poeta minore realmente vissuto (1883-1912) e il suo mondo dall’oblio, una Buenos Aires «di cattivi ragazzi, piccole genti, di tango e duelli al coltello»; Pablo invece, ‘salva’ tradizioni musicali di quello ‘stesso’ mondo; le ricostruisce, integrandole e sintetizzandole col jazz. «Qui ci sono molti artisti, poeti, compositori, che esprimono genuinamente i mondi delle genti, come fanno il jazz e la musica classica, ma non sono considerati universali. Sono inevitabilmente impregnato di quest’arte e non posso smettere di stimarla, viverci attraverso, godermela; è quello che respiro e spesso lo trasformo in jazz, il linguaggio che ho deciso di esprimere».

Pablo come Borges lavora dall’interno, conosce i luoghi, i lineamenti dell’etnie, il suo ‘panorama’, riprendendo un’indovinata intuizione di Mark Corroto, ‘evoca’ la vita e per questo è di valore inestimabile: «la musica popolare è l’espressione delle genti e non l’invenzione di una sola persona». Sin da bambino, suona musica popolare argentina e jazz, ma limitare la sua conoscenza al solo folklore locale, significa negare il più ampio oscillare tra le tradizioni. È stato il grande musicista Norberto Minichillo a fargli comprendere come jazzificare il folklore, in un continuo processo di andata e ritorno col jazz: «Per tre anni ho lavorato con Norberto che mi ha aiutato ad esprimere in jazz la musica popolare e viceversa».

La prova di questo procedere ci veniva fornita in “South of the world” (Red 269), un disco avanguardistico, realizzato con Minichillo e Luis Agudo («L’uso che quei due facevano delle forme popolari era impressionante»), in cui una profonda conoscenza dei linguaggi potenziata da una conturbante naturalezza espressiva, permetteva un trascendimento degli stessi. L’indefinibilità delle musiche diveniva la forza del disco – brani come De Buenos Aires a Rio e Tierra, Aire Y Fuego rifuggono ogni etichetta. Fu invece Jim Hall ad accorciare la distanza tra Pablo e la ‘tradizione’ jazz: «Lui mi diede il titolo di “chitarrista jazz” e l’impulso per diventare una vero “Zen teacher”».

Nel punto di confluenza tra l’esperienze con Minichillo e gli studi con Hall, si trova la forza innovatrice di Pablo Bobrowicky, da cui emerge un jazz nuovo. Il suono e il fraseggio immediatamente riconoscibili, il personalissimo senso del tempo, sono vettori di una prospettiva differente e pertanto unica, segnata da tratti tipicamente argentini e sudamericani. Pablo è riuscito a calamitare il nord è il sud delle Americhe. Bisogna tornare al primo Gato Barbieri o ai lavori di Norberto Minichillo per rintracciare qualcosa di simile, che qui trova una definitiva compiutezza.

Standard, folk poetry, e inedite fusioni (come scorporare il tema di Barbados dall’incalzante Murga Urugaya messa in moto da Pepi Teveira?) compongono Southern Blue. Dai sessantasette minuti di Where we are (Red 288) si è passati ai cinquanta di quest’ultimo lavoro. «Per me la durata ideale di una registrazione è di quaranta minuti; lo stesso tempo sul quale organizzo il set live. Così facendo soddisfo il pubblico, lasciandolo con un pizzico di desiderio. Southern Blue prevede quaranta minuti in trio e dieci in solo; credo che ci sia un buon equilibrio». Davvero dettagli? Può darsi; ma anche indicatori dell’attenzione che Bobrowicky rivolge a tutti gli aspetti del suo essere musicista.

Accanto a Pepi Teveira («Pepi is my musical brother») uno dei più quotati e richiesti contrabbassisti d’area newyorkese: Ben Street. Nuovamente, la scelta non è stata casuale: «Nel 1994, durante il mio soggiorno a New York, ho suonato in una session con Pepi e Ben e da quel momento ho voluto registrare con loro. Quindici anni dopo, grazie al supporto della Red, quel “sogno” è divenuto realtà. Devo ringraziare Ben per la sua collaborazione, per avere viaggiato da New York a Buenos Aires quand’era necessario». D’allora Ben Street ha suonato e registrato con alcuni dei più interessanti jazzisti emersi nell’ultimo quindicennio (due pianisti su tutti: Edward Simon e Danilo Perez). Oltre a Pablo, ha accompagnato chitarristi come Ben Monder, Kurt Rosenwinkel e più recentemente Lage Lund.

In Southern Blue il suo ruolo è quello di sostenere e alleggerire i pesi. Se in Where We Are il carico solistico gravava in gran parte sulle spalle di Pablo, ora i compiti sono ripartiti. La cavata di Ben favorisce l’insieme, contribuendo a formare un suono sferico, che mantiene rotondità e densità nonostante il continuo rimbalzare tra i brani. Pablo e Ben s’inseguono come nel caso dell’esposizione tematica di Sos Vos?, la sola composizione firmata Bobrowicky, il brano più out del disco, basato sulla splendida All The Things You Are: «Ho cambiato il tempo da 4/4 a 3/4, modificato la melodia e qualche accordo». Il tema destabilizzante viene tenuto sotto controllo dall’interplay del trio e dalle linee quasi complementari di chitarra e basso. Ben muove il solo sulla reiterazione di brevi figure melodiche continuamente alzate e abbassate lungo il manico.

Quando il trio rallenta, relax e lirismo entrano in gioco. Il bolero cubano Eclipse de Luna (AABA form), la canzone brasiliana Luiza (in 3/4, tema di 24 battute) incarnano il quiet mood del terzetto. Pepi lavora con le spazzole poche figurazioni, gli armonici di Ben vibrano tra le frasi della chitarra. L’attenzione è votata al suono e a poche note che pesano come macigni: Pablo è maestro in questo.

I suoi soli si sviluppano senza fretta, lui stesso è persuaso che con poco si può dire tutto. Vale quanto Horace Parlan diceva di Grant Green: «[He has] the natural ability to know when not to play». Per trovare il suo spazio, in un universo chitarristico che predilige la velocità e l’urgenza inespressiva, torna indietro in cerca dei propri referenti: «Ciò che più mi attrae in un musicista è il suono, sentire che mi “parla”, che mi racconta una storia, una poesia, qualche segreto della sua anima. Un esempio di questa sintesi è Lester Young». Come Prez, si attacca alle melodie senza mai lasciarle, divenendo un raffinatissimo improvvisatore ‘orizzontale’. Nel subordinare la tecnica al feeling ci espone una visione del mondo e della musica, oggigiorno quasi sempre assente: «Spesso noi musicisti ci dimentichiamo del pubblico; pensiamo troppo a noi stessi, la rincorsa al successo e alla reputazione, ci rimuove dalle cose genuine. Personalmente vorrei che il disco e il suono, aiutassero l’ascoltatore a sognare, divertirsi, condividere momenti, amicizie, solitudini».

Ad un suono svincolato dai modelli, ottenuto lavorandoci ‘sopra’ senza sosta («Ogni tanto, quando suono delle linee, utilizzo un octavador analogico»), Pablo associa un innato senso dello swing. Tempi, metri, il ‘sentire’ ritmico di Southern Blue, ne sono pervasi. Coabitano nel chitarrista sia il quattro tipico del jazz sia ritmi provenienti da altre tradizioni e culture: «Molte musiche, dalle quali il jazz non è escluso, condividono una radice afro, la presenza di poliritmie, metri come 3/4, 6/8 e anche 4/4». Pablo è un ‘narratore’ che ha molto da raccontare e sa come farlo.

Chi ha suono genera suoni, e infatti dietro all’apparente ed ingannevole semplicità del trio, si celano segreti. Occorre attenzione per sentire come vengono accompagnati i chorus e i break di Ben Street in Luiza e Cottontail: suoni inaspettati e inauditi, ottenuti grazie a una fine cesellatura dei volumi tenuti a valori minimi («Lavoro molto sul sound acustico della chitarra cercando di tirar fuori un insieme di colori il più possibile utilizzabile. Cerco di farlo tutti i giorni»).

La Gibson ES175 diviene un armamentario timbrico. Il sound più convenzionale dell’accompagnamento di “C” Jam Blues si scontra con il palm muting del bridge di Rhythm-A-Ning eseguito all’unisono con Ben Street. Si può discutere sugli aggettivi adottati, ma non si può non notare la differenza tra la chitarra materica e metallica di Cottontail e quella più chiusa e ovattata di Rhythm-A-Ning.

L’intera poetica di Southern Blue è però racchiusa in Idle Moments. Non c’è miglior brano che può illustrarcela. Il beat viene rallentato, Pepi riprende in mano le spazzole, le trentadue battute del tema così come l’incedere bluesy di Pablo, vengono immersi nelle stesse atmosfere smooth e malinconiche di Eclipse de Luna e Luiza, non a caso due brani sudamericani. Il trattamento a cui viene sottoposto il brano di Duke Pearson, lo carica di nuovi significati. Se come dice Borges a proposito del tango: «La solitudine, come nel blues e nelle letterature sudamericane, fu un tema d’elezione», allora quello che si ascolta diviene progressivamente spleen porteño. Con gran senso della ‘storia’, il trio riveste uno dei brani-capolavoro del jazz con un velo ricamato in Sudamerica. Non solo. Registrare Idle Moments – ne è responsabile il produttore Sergio Veschi – significa rendere omaggio all’omonimo disco di Grant Green (Blue Note, reg. 1963), una delle session più belle e dimenticate della storia jazz, a cui presero parte musicisti come Joe Henderson e Bobby Hutcherson. Esistono rarissime riprese del pezzo (una, recente, contenuta in “On Fire” di Mike LeDonne) ragion per cui, la versione del Southern Blue’s trio diventa ancora più preziosa.
Argentina, Brasile, Uruguay, Cuba. Il jazz. Lo sguardo di Pablo va ben oltre il Rio de la Plata, le sue orecchie hanno filtrato suoni provenienti da un continente intero. Ecco perché prendendo in prestito una figura retorica, la sua Buenos Aires può essere letta come una metafora del Sudamerica. D’altronde anche quella di Evaristo era popolata d’italici, creoli, altri sudamericani… Di fronte a Southern Blue lo stesso concetto di latin si sfilaccia e la musica di Pablo Bobrowicky viene a coincidere con l’idea, più geograficamente e musicalmente ampia, di jazz sudamericano.

Luca Civelli – Musica Jazz

Edward Simon - La Bikina

Il miglior pianista della sua generazione nella sua opera seminale osannato dalla critica e da musicisti come Herbie Mann, Bobby Watson, Terence Blanchard, Paquito De Rivera, Greg Hosby etc. Un disco fondamentale nel jazz del 2000 fra jazz, folk, caraibi e latin tinge

Edward Simon, piano;
Adam Cruz, drums, pans & percussion (tk4);
Ben Street, bass;
Mark Turner, tenor sax;
David Binney, alto sax;
Pernel Saturnino, percussion;
Diego Urcola, trumpet;
Milton Cardona, vocals

Tracks

The Prayer
Uncertainty
The Process .
El Manicero (The Peanut Vendor) Part 1
La Bikina
Qunita Anauco
The Cha Cha
Ericka
El Manicero Part 2

The process by which Simon became an internationally regarded jazz musician began in the small coastal town of Cardón, Venezuela, where he grew up surrounded by the sounds of Latin and Caribbean music. Born in 1969, Simon credits his father, Hadsy, for developing his passion for music and supporting him and his two brothers, Marlon and Michael, to become professional musicians.

He attended the Philadelphia Performing Arts School, graduating at 15, then received a music scholarship from the University of the Arts where he studied classical music with concert pianist Susan Starr. Later he transferred to the Manhattan School of Music where he studied jazz piano with Harold Danko.

Upon arriving on the New York jazz scene in 1989, his reputation as a pensive, rhythmically astute, versatile player caught the ear of noted musicians Greg Osby, Jerry Gonzalez, Bobby Hutcherson, Herbie Mann, Kevin Eubanks and Paquito D’Rivera, all of who would later employ him. In 1989 Simon took the piano chair in Bobby Watson’s influential group Horizon (1989-94), later moving to the Terence Blanchard Group (1994-2002).

Simon made his first recording as a leader in 1994 (Beauty Within, Audioquest), giving birth to the Edward Simon Trio–- the same year he took third place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. Since then he has founded, established and served as musical director of several jazz ensembles such as: the Edward Simon Quartet, Ensemble Venezuela and Afinidad. Today, the Edward Simon Trio has become an established voice with five recordings and recent performances at such well-known jazz venues as the Village Vanguard, Jazz Bakery and Casa del Jazz.

Fueled by a strong desire to break boundaries through improvised music, in 2000 Simon co-founded the quartet Afinidad with saxophonist/composer David Binney, which includes bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez. Afinidad's mission is to create and perform eclectic contemporary American music with a focus on jazz, reflecting a wide range of musical influences such as Pop, Brazilian, Latin American and contemporary classical music. With this ensemble he produced two critically acclaimed recordings: Afinidad (Red Records, 2001) and Oceanos (Criss Cross, 2007). In 2008, Chamber Music America awarded Simon a New Works: Creation and Presentation Program grant (2008-09) to compose and present Sorrows and Triumphs, a work for Afinidad and special guest artists guitarist Adam Rogers, vocalist Gretchen Parlato and percussionist Rogerio Boccato.

At the same time, Simon has become increasingly interested in the folk music of his native land. In 2003 he founded Ensemble Venezuela, an outlet for exploring the marriage between jazz and Venezuelan music through new works and arrangements of works by Venezuelan masters. Two years later he was awarded a second grant from Chamber Music America to compose and perform the Venezuelan Suite, a work that crosses the barriers between jazz, chamber music and Venezuelan folk music. Considered by some to be his most important work to date, the Venezuelan Suite inspired the creation of a series of abstract paintings by artist Ellen Priest: "Jazz Paintings on Paper: Improvisations on the Venezuela Suite."

Simon has received Fellowships in Music Composition from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (2005), the State of Florida (2007) and the New York Foundation for the Arts (2008).

He has served as faculty at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, the City College of New York and the University of the Arts. He has taught master classes and clinics at music conservatories and universities around the world and continues to teach piano and improvisation at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. He has been honored on two different occasions (1999, 2004) for this work with a Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Service to Jazz Education from the International Association for Jazz Education. In 2008 Simon had the rare opportunity to share his knowledge and experience with fellow Venezuelans. Thanks to a grant from the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and The U.S. Department of State, he was a visiting professor at the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Musicales in Caracas, Venezuela.

Simon has recorded 10 critically acclaimed albums as leader, including two New York Times Top Ten Jazz Records of the Year: Edward Simon (1995) and Simplicitas (2005). He has appeared as guest artist on more than 50 recordings, including Paquito D'Rivera's Grammy Award winning Funk Tango (Best Latin Jazz Album, 2007) and several Grammy Award nominated albums.

His performing career spans 20 years of international touring as pianist with prominent artists and ensembles. His recent collaborations include Don Byron, Miguel Zenon, Luciana Souza, Paquito D’Rivera and John Patitucci.

In 2010 Simon was named Guggenheim Fellow by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He is currently a member of the San Francisco Jazz Collective, a prominent musician/composer jazz ensemble dedicated to creating new work and highlighting the music of historically significant jazz composers of the modern era. The Collective is comprised of “eight of the most in-demand” (New York Times) artists performing today.

AWARDS & HONORS

MacDowell Fellow, 2011

Guggenheim Fellowship, 2010

New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Music Composition, 2008

Chamber Music America, New Works: Creation and Presentation Program, 2008 | 2004

Fulbright Senior Specialist, The J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board, 2008

State of Florida Music Composition Fellowship, 2007

New York Times Top Ten Jazz Records of the Year, 2005 | 1995

Certificate of Appreciation for Contributions in Promoting Venezuelan Culture and Outstanding Accomplishments in the Field of Jazz, The Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, 2005

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship in Jazz Composition, 2005

ABeat Novita' : Emoticons - Riggio Ensamble - Santimone / Tavolazzi / Paio - Mu

2011-06-13T04:11:00.001-07:00

Emoticons - No Project

The project "Emoticons" starring some of the best musicians of the Italian and European scene. A draft cultural breath in step with the times that blends and mixes inspirations that belong to the contemporary world characterized by globalization . It is thus an exciting job, played with absolute mastery and that is remarkable for freshness and modernity. The roots of this project originates in the tradition but develop in a sign of modernity, bringing to the fore a project that stands out for variety of references and also a rare listening pleasure.
The repertoire of "No Project" ranging from Radiohead to Komeda,from McCartney to Leonard Cohen, from Stevie Wonder to Shorter also includes two new songs. The partecipation of Danilo Rea, winner of the last Top referendum jazz as best pianist, completes and perfects an artistic proposal in wich sound and style appear as the most exciting of the last decade.

Cristiano Arcelli : alto sax
Luigi Masciari : guitar
Alessandro Paternesi : drums
Luca Pirozzi : doublebass
Danilo Rea : piano

Riggio Ensamble With Tom Harrell - Audrey

The CD “Audrey” features the compositions of Claudio Riggio, supported by excellent musicians who in turn give rise to different ensembles (duo, trio, quartet, ...) and Tom Harrell who once again descends into a Italian weblog Abeat recording project of great scope.A disc which is linked to a series of tracks in the form of cameos lasting a few minutes, sometimes seconds. A dimension almost timeless and "impressionist"in which Tom Harrell said to feel comfortable as rarely happens. The result is an unusual expressive intensity. The songs develop as "images" that take shape almost painterly brushstrokes of copyright and in which the palette of "sounds" is changing every time like in a kaleidoscope of "colors". An album of immense class and elegance in which the compositions resonate without hesitation even a typical Italian, stirring lyricism of Opera, classical music, the band tradition of the country... A superb CD and also a shining example of european art which is accompanied by international artists of absolute value.

Marco Ariano : drums
Piero Bronzi : alto, tenor,and baritone sax, flute
Alessandro De Angelis : piano ,fender Rhodes
Tom Harrell : trumpet, flugelhorn
Claudio Riggio : classical and electric guitar
John Stowell : nylon strings and baritone guitar
Nicolao Valiensi : trombone

Daniele Santimone - Ares Tavolazzi- Riccardo Paio

A Little Bartòk

Some of the most acclaimed jazz musicians of the Italian scene they create a recording project that revisits some of the melodies from the opera Mikrokosmos, the famous cycle of piano pieces composed by Bela Bartok. The intent is to bring out the lyricism of these short compositions rich in references to popular music of many peoples of Eastern European and Middle East and put them in a context very close to the harmonic and rhythmic atmosphere of modal jazz. A 'transaction of great value also because this reading is set up as a rarity in the contemporary jazz. The presence of musicians of great value and intensity of expression of the soloists give the album a touch of class and elegance that make the listening experience interesting from both an emotionally and intellectually.

Riccardo Paio : drums
Daniele Santimone : guitar
Achille Succi : alto sax,clarinet & bass clarinet
Marco Tamburini : trumpet & flugelhorn
Ares Tavolazzi : doublebass

Mu - Sensilenti

I MU, si inseriscono come grande novità nel panorama della nuova musica italiana, creando un loro unico ed inconfondibile stile, tra nu-jazz e worl music. Musicisti di estrazione jazzistica che partendo dalle loro radici s’inventano una musica davvero originale miscelando vari elementi con istintiva passione e geniale razionalità. La scelta di strumenti e timbri seducenti, un sapiente accostamento di armonie tipicamente jazz a melodie spesso semplici e reiterate, una libera improvvisazione che a tratti sembra scomparire per poi riemergere inaspettatamente, costituiscono la loro cifra stilistica. Il contesto lacustre e naturale in cui i brani di Sensilenti sono stati concepiti ( i musicisti vivono nell’area di uno dei più grandi laghi italiani) , ha donato loro un carattere meditativo, lineare, dolce e gentile. Ci si immagina trasportati lentamente da una barca che avanza con il suo tipico incessante dondolio. Ci si ritrova immersi a volte in un dolce risveglio nel bel mezzo di un paesaggio dalla natura incontaminata. La sensazione derivante dalla latente presenza dell’acqua genera un effetto quasi catartico. Questa impagabile atmosfera di serenità interiore fanno di Sensilenti un disco tutto per intero godibile, mai noioso, intelligente e raffinato.
MU : una ennesima sorprendente scoperta che farà molto parlare di sè.

Riccardo Chiaberta : drums, vibes, vox
Davide Merlino : vibes, glokenspiel,ibodrum,pipephones, cymbals, vox
Simone Prando : bass. vox
Dario Trapani : guitar, ebow, vox

James Maddock - Sunrise On Avenue C

2011-06-10T11:01:00.001-07:00

James Maddock is quietly becoming one of the breakout musical stories of 2010. With the release of the exquisite song cycle, Sunrise on Avenue C, Maddock has re-established himself as one of the most respected singer/songwriters on the scene.

When Columbia Records released Songs from Stamford Hill in 2000 it looked like James Maddock was destined for stardom. All the benchmarks of burgeoning success were there; a top 5 Triple A radio song, prominent placements in TV/Film, inclusion on the first Dawson’s Creek compilation, and extensive touring with the likes of Paula Cole and Train. Although James created a small base of rabid fans, he didn’t achieve the wide recognition he deserved. With his grass roots touring presence around the country and airplay on some of the most influential stations in the country (WXPN, WFUV, Sirius/XM), what seemed meant to be in 2001 is taking shape in the new decade.

Vin Scelsa of WFUV and Sirius/XM puts it this way; “I fell head over heels in love with James Maddock's music around the turn of the century when his band Wood released Songs From Stamford Hill. My heart broke when James seemed to disappear completely from the music scene without a follow-up. From time to time I would search for him on the Internet, to no avail, and play the songs from Wood's only album with a bittersweet ache that matched the mood of the music. Imagine then how thrilled I was to discover at the end of the decade James was living and working right under my nose in New York City, far below the radar, honing his skills, biding his time. Then understand how exhilarated and thoroughly gladdened I became upon hearing his new songs, heartbreakingly beautiful, exquisitely crafted, which pick right up where Stamford Hill left off. James Maddock's talent has a timeless quality he shares with the great songwriters. His music touches the soul. How happy I am to have him back on the radar screen ... the world at large needs artists like this.”

Markelian Kapedani - Balkan Bop

2011-05-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

Il jazz è già arrivato là. Ma non è mai partito da là a questo livellThe Shape Of Jazz To Come intitolava Ornette Coleman all'inizio degli anni 60 uno dei suoi dischi manifesto.
Oggi si potrebbe definire la musica di Kapedani One of the Shapes Of Jazz To Come.
Brani come Caravan, Nardis, Black Nile, Punjab, Delilah, Medina, Sama Layuca, Blue Rondo A La Turk, Turkish Mambo, Bedouin etc. sono già da tempo parte della letteratura jazzistica. Alcuni famosissimi altri meno ma non per questo meno belli o meno importanti.
Già dagli anni 60 in Europa musicisti come Tete Montoliu, Pedro Iturralde, Claudio Lo Cascio, Dusko Gojkovic, Csaba Deseo e altri si sono ispirati a vari folclori dei loro paesi o del bacino del mediterraneo coniugando melos popolari di varia provenienza e il jazz ma nella sostanza erano e sono stati visti come delle cose esotiche e un po marginali.
Oggi invece con la musica di Markelian Kapedani si assite ad un processo inverso.
Ciò che era ed è ancora periferico diviene via via più centrale. Non è più il jazz che ingloba altre culture ma sono culture "altre" che inglobano il jazz per evolversi e diventare altro da quello che sono. Quello che in alcuni composizioni di Ellington, Evans, Davis, Randy Weston, Victor Young, Bobby Hutcherson, McCoy Tyner, Lennie Tristano, Dave Brubeck etc. erano delle aperture su culture limitrofe al jazz sono per Kapedani l'humus, il suo naturale background su cui si innestano le tecniche e le metodologie improvvisative del jazz. In questo c'è un precedente illustre: Dollar Brand, oggi meglio conosciuto con il nome di Abdullah Ibrahim, che all'inizio degli anni 70 fece in qualche modo una operazione analoga con il suo celebre African Piano.
E' forse non inutile ricordare che quella musica comparve proprio con l'emigrazione di una folta rappresentanza di musicisti Sud Africani in Europa e a Londra in particolare sullo sfondo di una più vasta ondata migratoria di gente in fuga verso migliori condizioni di vita e di lavoro che dall'Africa si dirigeva in Europa e in particolare proprio verso l'Inghilterra e la Francia.
Markelian Kapedani viene dall'Albania del Nord, dalla zona di Skoder (Scutari). Figlio d'arte, il padre è pianista, compositore, direttore d'orchestra e una sua composizione è inserita in questo album. Kapedani possiede un solidissimo background di studi pianistici e musicali classici e la sua musica è qui ispirata a varie musiche non solo della sua terra ma dell'area balkanica, mediorientale e mediterranea. Si va dalla Bulgaria alla Spagna del Flamenco, e quindi della musica Arabo Andalusa (parafrasando un'altra Sketch of Spain), passando per varie forme, melos, metri dell'Albania, Grecia, Turchia, Egitto. Il risultato non è folclore ma musica che riflette come pochi i tempi che viviamo. Anche Kapedani, che da anni vive in Italia e Svizzera, è un figlio dell'emigrazione massiccia che dai paesi dell'Est e del Nord Africa, e non solo, si riversa in Europa .
Di questa diaspora, Kapedani, è, a suo modo, un interprete profondo e sincero che ci porta in dono il suo mondo musicale che incrocia i Balkani con il Jazz, sullo sfondo di varie culture che non si sommano ma si mescolano e danno vita ad una sintesi musicale che nasce da varie tradizioni per osmosi naturale e non per volontaristico, anche se nobile, atto di fede o ideologia, il che è lo stesso.
Nella sua inesorabile naturalezza e contemporaneità queste musiche assurgono già di primo acchito all'universale proprio perché non aspirano ad essere ma già sono la musica delle genti, che forse vorremmo ignorare o non vedere, assieme a cui viviamo in un crogiuolo in cui timori e speranze si fondono in un comune quanto ormai inesorabile destino.

Sergio Veschi

Balkan Bop
Brano legato all’idioma del be bop con forti riferimenti di intonazioni melodiche dell’area balcanica. La melodia affidata al pianoforte si appoggia ad una matrice ritmica mutevole: dal ritmo Malfuf allo Swing e vice versa. Il basso accompagna energicamente tutta l’esposizione del tema. Il finale del brano si ispira alle *Jare (Yaareh) Shkodrane, ), ballate malinconiche della città di Scutari (Shkodër).

Blue Penthaton
Brano basato sulla ritmica composta (2 + 2 + 2 +3) detta anche “Kars” o “Karsilamas”. Questa particolare ritmica che spesso caratterizza le danze e la musica Greca e turca, costituisce l’elemento di sostegno della melodia. Tale struttura ritmica la possiamo ritrovare anche nelle danze della Macedonia e dell’Albania.
Dal punto di vista melodico, il Tema si sviluppa sul modello pentatonico. La ritmica Karsilamas viene concettualmente incastonata su di una Matrice Blues che segue una struttura binaria in 4/4. Esposta in tal modo, la melodia, ad un primo ascolto, risulta alquanto sfuggente.

Nashke
Brano che richiama le intonazioni del nord-est dell’area Mitteleuropea. La melodia si muove per mezzo di intonazioni slavo-tzigane evocando la briosa atmosfera delle feste balcaniche. Le situazioni melodiche, armoniche e ritmiche si mescolano in modo naturale con il linguaggio del jazz.

Cous Cous in Tunisia
Questo brano si ispira alla tradizione ritmica delle Antille ed in particolare all’energia della musica Afro/Cubana. La melodia segue un andamento in Clave 2/3. Il basso “viaggia” sul Tumbao. Non manca una citazione (anche se brevissima) del motivo del celeberrimo brano A Night in Tunisia.

Bop Drops
Il Brano si ispira alla tipica tradizione Jazz, lo Swing.
La melodia costituita da successioni di quarte è basata su una struttura modale pentatonica.
Tale disposizione degli elementi melodici, conferisce al brano un andamento incisivo e scattante.
I Remember My Dad
Ballad.In ricordo del Compositore albanese Gjon (John) Mark Kapidani, padre dell’autore, recentemente scomparso. Il brano attinge dalle forme di Jare* (Yahre)*, ballate malinconiche della città di Scutari (Shkodër) luogo natale dell’autore. La prima parte di solo piano (“ad libitum” - quasi una fantasia) è ricca di elementi contrappuntistici. La melodia si estende sul tessuto armonico con ampi intervalli.

One for Bud
Brano dedicato a Bud Powell, grande figura centrale e caposcuola del pianismo jazz di tutti i tempi. Il brano si ispira dalla tradizione del be bop.
Oriental Traveller
Un viaggio immaginario attraverso le terre d’oriente, dove miraggi, sogni, realtà e fantasia si confondono e … si perdono nell’orizzonte.Questo brano si basa sulla matrice ritmica di Sayyiddi*, tipica delle danze mediorientali.

Quickly
Brano composto sulla tipica struttura dell’Anatole.

Davaj
Il brano inizia con il pianoforte solo. Sin dalle prime note del pianoforte si percepiscono le intonazioni della musica popolare Russa. La melodia ricrea l’atmosfera della poesia di S.Esenin: Oh, la mia cara Russia.

Malfuf = avvolto. Ritmo binario di origine Egiziano/Yemenita.

Yare, di etimo incerto. Alb – Jare; forse dalla lingua araba – Jaareh = ferita. Probabilmente si conferiva questo termine alle canzoni di carattere malinconico che segnavano neprofondo i sentimenti (come un “indelebile ferita” al cuore).
Sayyiddi Arabo: 1). “Sayyiddi” = mio signore, 2). Meno probabile il termine “Sàeed” = fortunato. Ritmo in 4/4 di origine Mediorientale.

Anatole, di etimologia incerta, disegna una struttura formale tipica del jazz, meglio nota come rhythm changes.
Davaj, Russo – ДABAЙ = avanti.

Markelian Kapedani

Dave Douglas United Front : Brass Ecstasy At Newport

2011-04-04T08:44:00.001-07:00

Trombettista, compositore, leader originalissimo Dave Douglas omaggia Lester Bowie e la sua “Brass Fantasy” grazie a questo nuovo cd non a vaso intitolato Bras Ecstasy At Newport dove ben tre dei musicisti che lo affiancano (Luis Bonilla al trombone, Marcus Rojas al tuba e Vincent Chancey al corno francese) sono stati componenti del gruppo di Bowie. La formazione, completata dal batterista Nasheet Waits, ha gia al suo attivo il cd, "Spirit Moves", consigliato dalla stampa di settore come uno dei migliori del 2010. Il critico Aldo Gianolio ha giustamente rilevato che lo spirito e la sonorità del gruppo di Bowie vengono mantenuti intatti, ma al tempo stesso si avverte una componente intellettuale e virtuosistica prettamente “douglasiana”.

Dave Douglas elabora gli stili di Clifford Brown, Booker Little e Miles Davis. Come i migliori artisti contemporanei, sfrutta la sua profonda conoscenza della tradizione, coniugandola con quell’urgenza espressiva tipica del jazz contemporaneo e inglobando i linguaggi musicali più disparati, dal klezmer al folk balcanico, dall'avanguardia più radicale alla musica elettronica, senza rinunciare ai ritmi e alle armonie del jazz. L’incontro con John Zorn (quartetto “Masada”) e le collaborazioni con Myra Melford, Uri Caine e Don Byron, rappresentano tappe importanti della sua crescita artistica. Con i dischi “Sanctuary” (1997) e “Soul on Soul” (2000), Douglas ha conquistato il primo posto nei più prestigiosi referendum internazionali.

( Ringraziamo il Piacenza Jazz festival sia per il bellissimo concerto di sabato sia per la splendida presentazione dell'artista )

Tracklist :

1. Spirit Moves (live) 5:02
2. Rava (live) 10:04
3. Fats (live) 3:34
4. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (live) 7:30
5. United Front (live) 6:17
6. Bowie (live) 12:28

Originally recorded by WBGO Jazz 88 and presented as part of NPR’s live concert series, the album captures the group’s spectacular performance during the 2010 Carefusion Newport Jazz Festival.

“There was a special feeling for us on taking the drive out to the festival grounds at Fort Adams State Park,” said Douglas. “On the day of the gig, each of us was flying in from a different location. The weather was cooperating, and I remember watching boats in the harbor…such a magnificent setting. During the set each of the tunes grew into new proportions that day, stretching in all sorts of directions from their original studio release.”

Picking up where their critically acclaimed debut Spirit Moves (Greenleaf 2009) left off, United Front (Douglas’ 32nd release) sees this all-star band plunging into Douglas' compositions (plus one Hank Williams Sr. tune) with an intensity and exuberance garnered only at a live jazz concert, particularly one with the legacy and spirit of Newport. The album features tunes from Spirit Moves including the 12-plus minute set closer “Bowie” – a tribute to Lester Bowie - that steadily works the crowd into a loud and appreciative frenzy. Also included are two previously unreleased songs, “Spirit Moves” and “United Front.”

Savant Novita' : Eric Reed - Jerry Bergonzi

2011-03-23T08:57:00.001-07:00

Da casa Savant, un’uscita che miglior celebrazione non poteva essere allo spirito del jazz della label di Joe Fields, sicuramente la più “jazz” della popolata scena contemporanea. In quest’occasione le “luci” vengono da due personaggi semplicemente giganteschi: il sax del celebrato Jerry Bergonzi ed il pianista Eric Reed in due nuovissimi progetti.

ERIC REED - THE DANCING MONK

Look in the dictionary under "Renaissance Man" and you may just find a picture of Eric Reed. Not only did Ahmad Jamal cite him as "one of my very favorite pianists," not only has he worked with such diverse talents as Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Jessye Norman, Patti Labelle, Quincy Jones, Natalie Cole and others but he has composed scores for film makers Eddie Murphy and Tim Story and annually serves as musical director for "Revelations with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater." Somehow he still finds time to teach, perform and cut his latest disc for Savant, "The Dancing Monk." Here the genius of Thelonious Monk is refracted through the prism of Eric's own creativity resulting in 'thoughts on' rather than a 'tribute to' one of the true titans of improvised music. As Eric wrote in his album annotations, "Far beyond what his legacy entails artistically, [Monk] stands as tall and strong as an oak in his character, singular determination, thirst for knowledge, raw defiance and tenacity to swing. It is with the greatest respect that I offer this first album of treatments of Thelonious Monk's compositions."

Eric Reed - piano;
Ben Wolfe - bass;
McClenty Hunter - drums

Tracks :

Ask Me Now; Eronel; Reflections; Light Blue; Ruby, My Dear; Pannonica; Ugly Beauty; The Dancing Monk; 'Round Midnight; Blue Monk

JERRY BERGONZI - CONVERGENCE

If you like your jazz full of ostentatious show and torrents of notes full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, be warned that you encounter nothing but sheer musicality when it comes to the Boston saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi. But Bergonzi's no-nonsense approach to music cannot mask the fact that he is one of the most remarkable jazz saxophonists on the planet. His tenor sound has developed a rather crackling quality now, and between the twisting, dry-toned runs he can sometimes hammer home a dramatic punctuation of snorting Coltrane-like split-notes. He's a supreme spontaneous melodist, however. The sound effects of the avant-garde are merely markers on compellingly logical yet constantly diverted journeys. Bergonzi is backed by his usual colleagues, Dave Santoro (bass) and Andrea Michelutti (drums) and this time out he is joined by pianist Bruce Barth. Featuring a program of Bergonzi's quirky compositions and a track by Jerry's favorite songwriters, the Gershwins, the musicians work together with a uniformity of intent and vision that perfectly personifies the release's title, "Convergence."

Bergonzi - tenor & soprano saxophones;
Dave Santoro - bass;
Andrea Michelutti - drums;
Bruce Barth - piano

Tracks: Lend Me a Dream; I've Got a Crush On You; Squid Ink; Stoffy; Silent Flying; Osiris; Mr. Higgins; Ddodd; Convergence; Seventh Ray

Pierre Dorge Presents New Jungle Orchestra

2011-03-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

Domenica 13 Marzo la New Jungle Orchestra sara' Diretta dal maestro JOHN TCHICAI in occasione della rassegna musicale Aperitivo in concerto al Teatro Manzoni di Milano

Pierre Dørge è una figuria ormai entrata nella storia della scena jazzistica danese. Innamoratesi del jazz moderno quasi fin dall'inizio della sua carriera, nel 1960, nel corso degli anni ha anche mostrato curiosità per altre culture musicali che hanno influito nella propria musicalita' incorporando elementi europei, asiatici, africani e tradizioni musicali afro-americane che sono stati assemblati da questo geniale chitarrista danese in una sintesi originale. Ad accompagnarlo in questo cd e nel concerto che il 13 Marzo si terra' al Manzoni di Milano in occasione dell'Aperitivo in concerto ci sara' la New Jungle Orchestra, nata nel 1980. Prende il nome dal leggendario approccio "giungla" della Duke Ellington Orchestra negli anni Trenta e di cui alcune composizioni vengono ricreate con sprito dadaista e con intelligente capacità di riadattamento e di idiomaticità. Le influenze di Carla Bley, Charlie Mingus e Gil Evans sono facilmente avvertibili nelle pagine della New Jungle Orchestra, e vengono rielaborate attraverso sofisticati arrangiamenti e il contributo di alcuni eccellenti solisti. Un cd e un concerto unici per gli amanti di questo genere.

Pierre Dørge and New Jungle Orchestra are celebrating a generation of international music- making. That longevity, allied with their perennial freshness of sound, places them right up there with great enduring bands of the past - Basie, Herman, Kenton, Ellington. Ensembles that reinvigourated themselves over the decades, while remaining true to their original purpose. The comparison between Dørge’s N.J.O. and the Ellington orchestra is pertinent since Duke was and is a constant inspiration to Pierre. And both men provided most of the material for their aggregations, always
composing with specific soloists in mind.

Thirty years, three decades, is a wide wedge of a lifetime for any group of creative artists to stay together. To remain as a unit for so long, the stimulation and demands of the repertoire have to be exceptional. And every member must feel satisfied that he/she is making a full contribution to the evolution and development
of the whole. A player who feels marginalised will soon seek opportunities elsewhere. A vital core of four musicians have been with the N.J.O. from the start. Of course there were personnel changes along the way, so that now the ensemble is truly multi-generational. But there is an ongoing stable foundation that can accommodate an occasional infusion of new voices. The present line-up is virtually unchanged since Pierre returned to the SteepleChase fold in 2007 with the orchestra’s brilliant CD “Jazz Is Like A Banana” (SCCD
31636).

While the NJO’s continued existence is now assured, it was not always so. The first 13 years were a struggle. Often a gig would pay quartet wages to a group of ten. In those circumstances it was love of the music that sustained the ensemble. As Pierre observes, the turning point came in 1993 when the orchestra was chosen as a state ensemble, representing Denmark on royal visits at home and around the world. For instance when Danish royalty went to South Africa at the invitation of Nelson Mandela, the N.J.O. was there too.

Suddenly Pierre and his colleagues were in terrific demand, playing 80 concerts a year, and a growing audience was attracted to the band’s unique blend of jazz, folk and classical elements merged into a vibrantly exciting, international whole. “I never set out to be a bandleader,” says Pierre. “I was interested in composing and arranging and I obviously wanted to hear my music performed. But then I found out you had to negotiate fees, make travel arrangements and deal with a whole lot of administrative stuff. In the first year none of us talked about money, but finance has to be a factor if musicians are turning down other jobs to play with you.”

Then there were the social and musical problems that inevitably arise in every band.
“One guy doesn’t want to play Ellington tunes, another wants to play only Ellington material. Someone else demands that we should concentrate on free jazz. So, as a leader, you have to try to keep everyone happy. My philosophy was that we should use all the best elements from the many different styles of music, combining them in our own way". “When writing, I have tried to employ the most powerful side of each musician’s character, and to set them a challenge. I also try to put myself in the place of the audience and think about what would be interesting and pleasing to their ear. When we have added new players, it has provided fresh inspiration, stimulating different ideas and possibilities which are reflected in the writing. It is important to stay open-minded in music.”

The N.J.O. made its debut at the Music Cafe, Copenhagen, on 24 September, 1980, so in September 2010 that 30-year milestone was being marked by a week’s celebratory tour of Denmark, and release of this outstanding anniversary CD, the orchestra’s 22nd recording. The band was due to play a number of these pieces during their September progress. For this collection, Pierre decided to structure each composition to focus on a particular member of the orchestra. “I spoke to each musician and asked if they had any special preferences or wishes about which side of their style they would like me to portray. They approved of the idea and I
received very positive feedback". “My concept was to create 10 pieces of music, as 10 abstract pictures, each of them as an image of an individual, creative, New
Jungle musician. They responded with their special wishes for the individual piece.

I knew that the music would not shine unless the composition inspired and challenged each individual’s creativity. I can write the music, ut it is the musician who is the true creator of the spontaneous expression in the music - the here and now.”

June Tabor - Ashore

2011-03-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

Da casa Topic abbiamo il piacere di presentarvi una folksinger inglese giunta a livelli di assoluta eccellenza grazie alle sue performace live ma soprattutto alla grande capacita' di interpretazione di Ballads che potremmo classificare come folk moderno . Uno stato di grazia artistica riconfermato a 35 anni dal debutto da un nuovo album di canzoni che trattano di relazioni umane, del mare, del quotidiano e che la critica inglese ha già gratificato del titolo di “capolavoro” in chiave folk moderno.

June Tabor’s recording career has consistently reached ever higher standards of performance and interpretation. Each of her albums has sought to match the highest technical standards with emotionally powerful performances and scintillating musical arrangements. Her forthcoming album – a stunning collection of songs concerning humankind’s relationship with the sea – is already being hailed by critics and long-time fans as another career highpoint.

June’s range and depth are unparalleled, and with Ashore she fully justifies her reputation as England’s foremost song interpreter. Ashore features a powerful set of contemporary songs alongside classic traditional ballads like ‘The Bleacher Lassie Of Kelvinhaugh’ and ‘The Great Selkie Of Sule Skerry’. The contemporary material includes a spine-tingling version of Elvis Costello’s ‘Shipbuilding’; a new recording of Ian Telfer’s ‘Finisterre’ (first recorded by June with the Oyster Band on ‘Freedom & Rain’) and two remarkable songs from the pen of Cyril Tawney – ‘The Grey Funnel Line’ and ‘The Oggie Man’. The album was recorded with June’s regular musicians – Andy Cutting, diatonic accordion; Mark Emerson, viola and violin, Tim Harries, double bass and Huw Warren, piano.

Line Up :

June Tabor vocals
Andy Cutting diatonic accordion
Huw Warren piano
Mark Emerson violin, viola
Tim Harries double bass

Tracks

1 Finisterre - 2 The Bleacher Lassie Of Kelvinhaugh - 3 The Grey Funnel Line - 4 Le Vingt-Cinquieme du Mois d’Octobre - 5 Shipbuilding - 6 Jamaica - 7 The Great Selkie Of Sule Skerry - 8 Winter Comes In / Vidlin Voe - 9 The Oggie Man - 10 The Brean Lament - 11 Le Petit Navire - 12 Across The Wide Ocean

“It’s 35 years since June Tabor’s debut album, but this has to be among her best.”
★★★★ The Times
“A thing of compelling beauty, and stands head and shoulders above most folk albums you’re likely to hear this year… Pure class.” English Dance & Song

“This deeply affecting collection of sea stories demonstrates the core of her art almost to perfection.”
★★★★ Mojo
“This is wonderful. England’s foremost folk singer performs 13 fascinating songs that key into our historical and emotional relationship with the sea. It’s a remarkable record.” The Word

Aspettando Timeline, il nuovo cd degli Yellowjackets

2011-03-07T01:37:00.000-08:00

In attesa del nuovo cd dei Yellowjackets vi proponiamo una serie di video dove sara' possibile conoscere piu' a fondo l'universo musicale dei singoli componenti del gruppo. Questa settimana vi presentiamo Jimmy Haslip

Buddy Miller's The Majestic Silver Band

2011-03-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

Ricercato guitar-project tra canzone country e tradizione da parte di un grande personaggio accompagnato da Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot e Greg Leisz, Julie Miller, Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Anne McCrary e Marc Anthony Thompson (Chocolate Genius). CD + DVD contenente un documentario di ventuno minuti e l’esecuzione dal vivo di “Why Baby Why”.

Oltre ad essere una sorta di “padrino” della canzone d’autore di matrice roots tra country e rock, Buddy Miller, è un grande autore e chitarrista di vaglia. In “Majestic Silver Strings”, per non smentire il titolo di tanto progetto, unisce le proprie forze a quelle di alcuni maestri della chitarra quali Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot e Greg Leisz. I quattro ripercorrono e rivedono, come certifica l’autorevole Buscadero, alcune delle più famose canzoni country, in modo decisamente originale ed innovativo. Un guitar sound ricercatissimo in tutto degno degli strumentisti presenti che amano esprimersi nei più diversi ambiti musicali. La parte vocale non è certo da meno grazie alla presenza di Julie Miller, Emmylou Harris, Lee Ann Womack, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Anne McCrary e Chocolate Genius tra i protagonisti, oltre allo stesso Buddy Miller.

The Majestic Silver Strings album is Buddy’s re-imagination of classic country songs loaded with guitars, atmosphere and attitude. Buddy and the 3 acclaimed guitarists - Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot & Greg Leisz (together they are the Majestic Silver Strings) - push each song into a new cosmos. Guest vocalists include Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Lee Ann Womack, Chocolate Genius and Julie Miller.

Tracklist

Cattle Call (Buddy Miller sings) - No Good Lover (Buddy Miller & Ann McCrary sing) - I Want To Be With You Always (Buddy Miller & Patty Griffin sing) - Barres De La Prison (Marc Ribot sings) - Meds (Lee Ann Womack sings) - Dang Me (Chocolate Genius sings) - Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie (Marc Ribot sings) - That’s The Way Love Goes (Shawn Colvin sings) - Freight Train (Instrumental) - Why I’m Walkin’ (Emmylou Harris sings) - Why Baby Why (Buddy Miller & Marc Ribot sing) - Return To Me (Lee Ann Womack sings) - God’s Wing’ed Horse (Buddy & Julie Miller sing)

The Majestic Silver Strings: Members

Buddy Miller

Buddy, who has spent much of this year on the road leading Robert Plant’s Band of Joy, recently collaborated with both Plant and Patty Griffin to produce two of the current Grammy® nominated albums. (Robert Plant’s Band Of Joy is nominated in the Best Americana Album category while Patty Griffin’s Downtown Church is nominated in the Best Traditional Gospel Album category.) Buddy currently holds the Americana Music Association honor as Instrumentalist of the Year, while two years ago he swept the awards taking home trophies in almost every category including Album of the Year for Written in Chalk, a collaboration with his wife Julie. Written In Chalk, only the second collaboration from the couple, quickly received high marks among the industry's elite critics including 4 stars in Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Maverick and Mojo.

Bill Frisell

Bill Frisell is one of the most sought-after guitar voices in contemporary music. His prominence as a composer and bandleader has grown steadily over the past 25 years. He has also contributed to the work of such collaborators as Elvis Costello, Paul Motian, Jim Hall, Ginger Baker, Jack Dejohnette, Ron Carter, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Suzanne Vega, Loudon Wainwright III, Van Dyke Parks, Vic Chesnutt, Buddy Miller, Rickie, Lee Jones, Ron Sexsmith, and numerous others, including Bono, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell and Daniel Lanois on the soundtrack for Wim Wenders’ film Million DollarHotel.

Greg Leisz

Greg Leisz is an American guitarist and multi instrumentalist known particularly for his work on lap and pedal steel guitars. A native of Southern California, he began playing guitar in the fertile garage band scene of the early to mid 60's and was soon drawn into the west coast's emerging synthesis of folk, rock, blues, and country music. In the late 80’s/early 90s Greg played on a number of seminal albums by emerging roots artists and singer / songwriters including Jim Lauderdale, Dave Alvin and kd lang. Since then he has had an extremely prolific career as a studio and touring musician playing on hundreds of albums by a wide variety of artists including Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Beck, Allison Krauss and Robert Plant, John Fogerty, Miranda Lambert, Lucinda Williams and Ray Lamontagne. Greg has also collaborated on a number of projects with fellow Majestic Silver Strings member Bill Frisell. In 2010, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement for Instrumentalist Award by the Americana Music Association.

Marc Ribot

Marc Ribot, who the New York Times describes as “a deceptively articulate artist who uses inarticulateness as an expressive device,” has released 19 albums under his own name over a 30-year career, exploring everything from the pioneering jazz of Albert Ayler to the Cuban son of Arsenio Rodríguez. Rolling Stone points out that “Guitarist Marc Ribot helped Tom Waits refine a new, weird Americana on 1985's Rain Dogs, and since then he's become the go-to guitar guy for all kinds of roots-music adventurers: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, John Mellencamp.” Additional recording credits include Elton John/Leon Russell’s latest The Union, Solomon Burke, John Lurie, Marianne Faithful, Joe Henry, Allen Toussaint, Marisa Monte, Allen Ginsburg, Trey Anastasio, Madeline Peyroux, Patti Scialfa, Sam Phillips, Akiko Yano, The Black Keys, and many others. Marc works regularly with Grammy® award winning producer T Bone Burnett and NY composer John Zorn. He has also performed on scores such as "Walk The Line (Mangold)," "The Kids Are All Right," and "The Departed" (Scorcese)."

Johannesson & Schultz

2011-03-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

Nel mondo audiofilo e non solo all'etichetta discografica Proprious viene naturale associare Jazz AT The Pawnshop, la serie di inimitalibi cd che per purezza di incisione, profondita' del suono e bellezza artistica sono stati e sono tuttora punto di riferimento per gli audifili piu' esigenti. Sulla stessa frequenza è bene ora inquadrare questo nuovo lavoro edito dalla stessa proprius che per l'occasione presenta un quartetto di tutto rispetto : il batterista Peter Sixtus Johannesson, il chiatarrista Max Schultz, il pianista Bobo Stensson e il bassista Martin Sjostedt. Mentre per Bobo Stensson penso non sia necessario fare alcuna presentazione qualche riga vale la pena spenderla su Johannesson e l'amico Schultz. Entrambi suonano insieme da piu' di un decennio e hanno come punti di riferimento musicale lo stesso Bobo Stensson e Herbie Hancock con cui hanno spesso suonato durante i tour dello stesso in Svezia e Norvegia. Il loro è un jazz cristallino, ritmato, soprattutto godibile ma mai banale. Gli assoli sono pulitissimi, la batteria e il basso la fanno spesso da protagonista ma il piano è sublime, attento, mai invadente accompagnatore di questo lavoro. Gli assoli di Chitarra entrano limpidi al punto giusto, senza virtuosismi ma dando spessore ritmico a questo cd tutto da scoprire.

It was in 1988 that Peter Johannesson invited his friend and mentor Herbie Hancock to join him on a tour of Sweden and Norway. Max Schultz naturally joined them on the tour. Peter and Max had been playing together for almost ten years at this time, initially at sporadic gigs but, from the mid 1980s, on a more regular basis. They are both self-taught musicians, something that is becoming much less usual among established musicians today.

The collaboration with Herbie Hancock continued with concerts between 1990 and 1995 and they recorded an album entitled Sixtus which was released as a CD in 2001 under Peter Johannesson's name, Max Schultz contributed with four of the compositions on this CD. Peter Johannesson's next CD, New Life, appeared in 2005, also with Max Schultz collaborating.

At this time Peter and Max performed a succession of concerts with another pianist, Bobo Stenson, who had been an idol of their youth. As they performed together the idea of recording an album with this constellation began to take form: Johannesson & Schultz together with Bobo Stenson. Over the course of a couple of years they produced a series of new compositions from which they made a careful selection for the album. This was recorded in 2008 and has resulted in the present CD. Also performing is bass-player Martin Sjöstedt who was the natural choice for this role. Martin's musicality and authority is much in demand today both in Swedish and international contexts, as will be evident from his performances on this disc.

Peter and Max, who have both performed on innumerable occasions with a diversity of different musicians often return to Bobo Stenson during their conversation; an important source of inspiration to them both as well as of vast importance to them and to musical life in Sweden. Johannesson & Schultz perform with invigorating simplicity and a beautifully down-to-earth presentation that one can listen to again and again - both in the form of this album and in concert.

Tracks :

1. Maria - 2. Way Back - 3. Too Simple - 4. Big McKee - 5. Timeless - 6. The Force - 7. Footloose - 8. Kling - 9. Blues for Elvin - 10. Impressions - 11. Sixtus - 12. Sjöstedts Tolva - 13. Maria (alternative version) - 14. Drums for Katinka

Aspettando Timeline, il nuovo cd degli Yellowjackets....

2011-03-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

In attesa dell'imminente uscita del nuovo cd degli Yellojackets "Timeline" vi presentiamo in anteprima il brano Why Is It tratto dal nuovo album eseguito al Blue Note Di Milano nell'ottobre 2010

North Mississippi Allstars - Keys To The Kingdom

2011-03-01T06:29:00.000-08:00

Abbiamo più volte celebrato la band dei fratelli Cody e Luther Dickinson e questo loro nuovo cd “Keys To The Kingdom” ci fa capira ancora una volta di piu' la grandezza di questa band. . Il disco arriva dopo la scomparsa del grande padre, maestro ed ispiratore, Jim Dickinson e possiamo affermare tranquillamente che è la prima volta che ci capita di assistere ad un album prodotto per e non prodotto da. Celebrazione della vita dopo la morte, di un personaggio di grande carisma che era un autorità del Memphis blues e della musica nera in generale e delle sue radici. Un’esaltazione del passato attraverso il presente dei fratelli Dickinson e del bassista Chris Chew che in ambito blues e dintorni non ha uguali. Che ci troviamo di fronte a qualcosa di speciale è testimonianoto anche dalla caratura degli ospiti ossia Ry Cooder, Mavis Staples, Spooner Oldham, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Gordie Johnson, Jim Spake, Jack Ashford.

In the beginning, a father passed away and a child was born. Luther and Cody Dickinson lost their father, Memphis music legend Jim Dickinson, only months before Luther became one. Jim had always told them, "You need to be playing music together. You are better together than you will ever be apart." Coincidentally, the Dickinson brothers were not together when Jim passed. At that moment, they were both off on their own, Luther with The Black Crowes and Cody with the Hill Country Revue. So in the spring of 2010, the North Mississippi Allstars reformed and went into the Zebra Ranch, the familys recording studio where they had spent countless hours together with their dad, to create a record that could help them cope with the loss, and, at the same time, rejoice in his honor. The first line of Jims self-written eulogy was, I refuse to celebrate death." Luther, Cody and Chris Chew took heed and aimed to celebrate life instead; and the songs for the new record, Keys To The Kingdom (Songs of the South), came pouring out of their souls.

"As is our family's tradition, we gathered in our homemade studio and recorded," Luther says. "We carried on as we've been taught and dealt the only way we know, by making music. Our dad used to say that production-in-absentia is the highest form of production. The credits read: Produced for Jim Dickinson. Keys To The Kingdom is definitely our finest collaboration."

Very close friends of the family joined the band in fellowship to see NMA through this deepest of moments, among them Mavis Staples, Ry Cooder, Spooner Oldham, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Gordie Johnson and Jack Ashford (Motown Funk Brother tambourine player). All had collaborated with Jim and the boys over the years at one point or another and feel a deep kinship with the Dickinson family to this day.

Keys To The Kingdom is a song cycle, a celebratory declaration of life in the face of death as well as a musical interpretation of the Dickinson family's recent experience with the cycle of life, written and recorded honestly, fast and raw. There are moments of rock 'n roll rebellion and sexified blues, but the heart of the record reflects the journey that traverses through the mirrored gates of life and death.

"It's said that anger is the first stage of grief and that's how the album begins - angry," says Luther. As such, the first song, "This A'Way," kicks in with a boogied-up guitar line and quickly introduces the rallying cry of "I hate to be treated this a'way," soon to be followed by the clattering country punk of "Jumpercable Blues," with the screams of "Hey, hey, well, well, well, all y'all can go straight to hell!" It's them against the world, gathering their gumption and keeping one another strong. The family will stay together and it will grow and carry on with its traditions in tact. This is the battle.

From there, the boys explore varying meditations on mortality, often from the perspective of their father as he is preparing to die. The songs grasp the subject matter with fierce honesty yet never become maudlin. From the Mavis Staples ghost-dance gospel soul of "The Meeting," in which one struts and swaggers confidently through the pearly gates with head held high, to the Replacements meets Big Star-inspired rock of "How I Wish My Train Would Come," which speaks of actually desiring to move beyond life's struggles, to "Hear the Hills," which depicts the acceptance and letting go experience of the final moments of a life well lived and loved, we find the boys looking for meaning and answers as they work through their pain. Spooner Oldham, Jim's favorite piano player, lends a hand on these last two songs. Luther chose Oldham to play the "piano from heaven," and blends it beautifully with a recording of Mississippi bugs conversing on a desolate hot summer night. As the song fades, it sounds like a distant country church house somewhere off in the woods.

Luther explains the inspiration: "When we were little children, we lived in a house on a dirt road in between a juke joint and a lake where local churches held baptismal services. I remember hearing the music come through the woods at night and on Sunday mornings."

The one cover on the record is Bob Dylan's "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again."

"One night, while in the hospital, dad had the great idea that 'Stuck Inside' could be done as a one-chord hill country blues song," Luther shares. "He couldn't talk so he wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed the idea to me. I promised him then that we would do it."

"'Let It Roll,' 'Ol' Cannonball' and 'Ain't None O' Mine' are some of the most hardcore traditional blues originals NMA have ever laid down on tape," says Luther. The former is a new take on a song he wrote and recorded three days after Jim passed away and originally released on a record called Luther Dickinson & The Sons of Mudboy. "Ol' Cannonball is played in the acoustic string band tradition with Alvin Youngblood Hart on vocals and harmonica. "Ain't None O' Mine," drunk on juke-joint, Peavey-amp distortion and reverb, is inspired by Otha Turner's lusty tales of old-time, late-night country courtship and provides a necessary aspect of the cycle of life - sex.

In between these three songs, sits the emotional centerpiece of the record, the ultimate love letter from a son to his lost father, "Ain't No Grave." The song features Jim's old partner in crime Ry Cooder on guitar and is simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting, gut wrenching and empowering. Says Luther, "I woke up one morning on NMA's bus, and the lyrics to 'Ain't No Grave' came to me as fast I could write them. That night, after the show, I picked up a guitar, opened my lyric book and the melody came to me just as easily. The song is brutally honest and heartfelt."

NMA ends the cycle with two somewhat lighter takes on death. "New Orleans Walkin' Dead" is a humorous zombie-rock take on the notion of resurrection, while "Jellyrollin' All Over Heaven" is in the spirit of a New Orleans funeral procession during which the marching band plays uplifting and joyful music on the return parade from the burying ground. Once again, Oldham plays his angelic piano, and the bugs carry the spirit of the Mississippi night as they have for thousands of years and the record fades to black.

Jim always advised in a very no-nonsense way, "Play every note as if it's your last because one of them will be," and that's just what NMA set out to do on Keys to the Kingdom. The results are powerfully played and deeply visceral as the best blues music is - spiritual without being god fearing, heavy without being depressing.

"In the end," Luther says, "We recorded our best country blues and Mississippi rock 'n roll record yet -- as if our lives depended on it." Ten years after the release of their debut album, Shake Hands with Shorty, Chew sums it up: "This is grown folks music."

On Keys to the Kingdom, some children are born and others become adults; naïve idealism gets squashed by stark realism, yet there is no choice but to move on, and so they do -- the quest for joy, celebration and truth palpable in every note of the mighty NMA sound.

THE BAND

The North Mississippi Allstars were founded in 1996; a product of a special time for modern Mississippi country blues. RL Burnside, Jr. Kimbrough, Otha Turner and their musical families were at their peak; making classic records and touring the world. Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson soaked up the music of their father, Jim Dickinson, and absorbed the North Mississippi Blues legacy while playing and shaking it down at the juke joints with their blues ancestors. Luther (guitar and vocals) and Cody (drums and vocals) joined up with bassist Chris Chew to form the core of their own band, The North Mississippi Allstars. Through the filter of generations of Mississippi Blues men, the Allstars pioneered their own blues-infused rock and roll.

After touring as an opening act for a variety of artists and honing their chops as a unit, the North Mississippi Allstars issued their debut album, Shake Hands With Shorty in the spring of 2000. Their debut proved to be a success and earned them a Grammy nomination for “Best Contemporary Blues Album”. Bringing their hill country blues-infused rock & roll to stages all over the country and the world (including multiple tours in Europe and Asia), the Allstars quickly gained a loyal fan base. The band gained additional popularity for their work in the Gospel-Blues band The Word, which also featured John Medeski and Pedal Steel player Robert Randolph. By 2005 the North Mississippi Allstars’ had released 4 studio records, 3 of which were Grammy nominated and earned the reputation as one of the most intriguing acts to emerge from the loam of Southern blues and roots rock.

The band released Hernando in early 2008, which represented a return to the blues-rock roots the band started with more than a decade ago. It was also the first release on the trio’s own label, Songs of the South Records. In January 2009, the band finished their retrospective record entitled ‘Do It Like We Used To Do’. The 2 CD/1 DVD package features two discs of music that chronologically highlight the band’s live performances over their first twelve years together, and also includes a full-length documentary DVD on the history of the band. The documentary captures rare live footage, interviews with the guys, and tells the story of a classic American band.

Tingvall Trio Discografia

2011-02-28T06:26:00.000-08:00

Da casa Skip, abbiamo il piacere di presentare la discografia di questo straordinario trio che tanto successo hanno avuto nel nostro paese grazie alle recensioni delle riviste specializzate soprattutto in ambito hi end. In tutto sono tre i cd di questo trio guidato dal pianista svedese Martin Tingvall cui si affianca il batterista tedesco di scuola rock Jürgen Spiegel e il bassista cubano Omar Rodriguez Calvo. La diversita' di provenienza geografica e musicale consente al trio di presentare un jazz permeato di influenze folk scandinave a cui si aggiunge un buon ritmo. Per quanto rigurada la qualita' dell'incisione segnaliamo che i vari lavori sono stati disco del mese dell'autorevole Audioreview.

VATTENSAGA

Following "Skagerrak" and "Norr" the trio finalizes their trilogy of nordic stories with "Vattensaga". Recorded at the famous ArteSuono studio in Italy, bestknown for a series of great ECM recordings, the album stands for an even improved group sound and the outstanding songwriting qualities of Martin Tingvall. Thirteen new musical pearls, leaving space for sound paintings of drummer Jürgen Spiegel , the mediterranean lightness of double bass player Omar Rodruguez Calvo and the bright piano playing of Martin Tingvall , experiencing a Fazioli grand piano fort he first time. A definite highlight of the trios band history so far.

NOOR

To put it mildly, the consistency of the young trio have continued to pursue and refine their very own sound as a group on "Norr" is stunning. Nordic ballad elegies like "Utsikt" or "Båtsregn" alternate with groove-accented cuts like "Grrr", pieces like "Barnslig", a track that could have been inspired by Lyle Mays, or "Mjau" , whose lightness emerges from something surprisingly similar to what might have been a calypso number like "St.Thomas" by Sonny Rollins. A refreshing follow - up album for hard-core jazz fans and a broad group of listeners from other genres simply interested in the melodies and grooves.

Press Quotes:

Hessischer Rundfunk "Mikado" CD of the Week 03/08:"When the term piano trio falls, naturally they've listened to their key role figures in Jazz and let those idols flash through in their music, but they are not afraid to show their own qualities, either. First and foremost Martin Tingvall, the pianist, whose class as a composer comes fully to bear here."

Radio Berlin Brandenburg "Kulturradio" 03/08:
"Soft, tender melodies are layered to form tight, powerful and rhythmically complex songs. On 'Norr', this trio proves that its creative substance is nowhere near exhausted. Fantastic."

Nordeutscher Rundfunk "Jazz Aktuell" 03/08:
"Album of the Week"
"With 'Norr', the band revolving around Swedish pianist Martin Tingvall is refining and expanding the course it had taken on 'Skagerrak', their debut, in a convincing manner."

Jazzthing 02/08:
"Today's sounds are ready and waiting the minute the CD from the Tingvall Trio starts spinning in the player. Music that appeals with no ifs, ands or buts."

Image Hifi 02/08:
"Norr has even surpassed its hard-to-beat first album. The pianist's 11 new pieces have become more spellbinding, more change-of-pace and more emotional. Like this, piano trios do have a future!"

Financial Times 03/08:
CD of the Week
"The celebration carries on with 'Norr'. Ballads turning on that wistful Scandinavian sound, compositions wrought with classical figures, mighty groove pieces. The roles within the trio are liquid and change in mid-flight. The main thing is that the music packs a punch."

Stereo 04/08:
"The Swedish-German Tingvall Trio has occupied a front-row seat in the spectrum of recording artists without kicking up a fuss. Notoriety like that ought to assure them the attention of listening audiences in the long run."

Stereoplay 04/08:
"Norr is a happily refreshing second LP. Chilled, not just cool."

SKAGERRAK

Fitted out with a wonderful warm sound captured by Iceland's genius at the board Hrolfur Vagnsson, the debut CD "Skagerrak" is a marvelous cross-section of finely spun jazz compositions such as "Medvind", Latino tracks like "Mustasch", rhythmically no-hold-barred ass-kickers like "Norrland Guld" and pensive fantasies like "God natt". "Movie" instantly generates frame sequences in the mind, while with "Nimis" it's easy to imagine Will Downing constructing a relaxed pop number out of it. An outstanding jazz - piano . trio !

Press Quotes:

NDR 5'06:
"Impressive and capital evidence of fresh, unspoilt musicality."

Jazz Podium 6'06:
"Tingvall's songs are intensely melodic, yet little hooks and refined turnabouts pop up in the melodies time and again."

Audio 7'06:
"Everything flows while each bar conceals a mini-surprise. The Tingvall Trio grooves with reminiscences of Drums 'n Bass, Funk and Rock - A retort to the Esbjörn Svensson Trio."

Stereoplay 7'06:
"Sound Tip of the Month"

Stereo 07'06:
"TT sets its own accents in the ranks of young keyboard trios bringing forth Jazz which is both catchy and accessible at the same time."

Rondo 7'06:
"Again and again, this magnificently floating Trio Jazz transports listeners anew to a world full of fantasy and tenderness, even after hearing it several times."

Brigitte 21.6.06:
"Their northern Jazz is fresh and played with virtuosity, It has elements that rock and elegiac passages in which pianist and listener blend as one."

Rolling Stone 7'06:
"Self-written compositions between Folk Jazz, McCoy Tyner and Pop affiliates. Delectable!"

Music Manual Winter '06:
"Like a horn, the songs by Martin Tingvall bend themselves around strikingly impressionist Jazz motifs to mouth into brilliant trio improvisations. Appealing melodics remain the basis of a tantalizing fantasy."

Delmark Novita' : Ernest Dawkins, Grana Louise, Magic Sam

2011-02-25T06:05:00.000-08:00

Grana' Louise

Internationally recognized Graná Louise has delighted countless music fans around the world with her outstanding blues performances. Her deep, rich voice belts out the kind of raw, gut blues that makes your spine tingle and heart ache. Graná performs at Chicago's hottest blues clubs including Blue Chicago, Buddy Guy's Legends, B.L.U.E.S and The Kingston Mines. She has been a repeat featured act at the Chicago Blues Fest, performing both blues and gospel. Graná has rocked the house at the acclaimed Apollo Theater in New York and festivals from Detroit to Mexico, Reykjavik to the French Riviera, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Latvia, Germany, Brazil and beyond. Getting' Kinda Rough! combines studio and live recordings, brand new original songs and covers that have been personalized so as to make them her own.

Ernest Dawkins'

In 1978 Ernest Dawkins formed New Horizons Ensemble, a group which today continues to create a sound that showcases their unique combination of jazz, bebop, swing, and avant garde. The Chicago Tribune describes them as "a band with an uncommon versatility that erupts into new music bursts of dissonance and color. This band can enlighten an audience while enthralling it." The Prairie Prophet is NHE's fifth Delmark CD and features Ernest Dawkins, saxophone; Steve Berry, trombone; Marquis Hill, trumpet, Jeff Parker, guitar; Junius Paul, bass; Isaiah Spencer, drums. Contains all new original Ernest Dawkins compositions. This CD is dedicated to Fred Anderson

Magic Sam

One of the greatest blues albums of all time, West Side Soul was chosen by Living Blues magazine as one of it's top ten Desert Island Blues Discs. The new Digipak case contains previously unissued photos and 1960s pluggers (promoting west side gigs) from the private collection of Bill Lindemann. The source material for the CD is the original 1967 analog stereo mix by Stu Black who recorded many of Delmark's classic 1960s blues and jazz recordings. With Mighty Joe Young, guitar; Stockholm Slim, piano; Earnest Johnson or Mac Thompson, bass; Odie Payne Jr. or Odie Payne III, drums. 12 songs include That's All I Need, I Need You So Bad, Feelin' Good, All Your Love, Don't Want No Woman, Sweet Home Chicago and more

Anthony Braxton Quartet - Mestre 2008 ( Composition 367 )

2011-02-24T03:27:00.000-08:00

Il genio di Chicago degli strumenti ad ancia è tornato con il suo nuovo Quartetto, “Diamone Curtain Wall Quartet” grazie all’italiana Caligola. Del resto la popolarità del più geniale e creativo sax del free jazz internazionale nel nostro paese è indiscutibile e gli vale fans ed ammiratori di ogni generazione. Una fama ed un seguito che Anthony Braxton, classe 1945, merita ampiamente per ciò che rappresenta nel panorama del jazz mondiale. Ma chi pensasse di trovarsi di fronte a un cd live di "ricordi" di ciò che è stato il jazz si sbaglia di grosso. Anthony è un innovatore, un ricercatore di suoni e questa sua natura non può essere tradita. Ecco che allora in “Mestre 2008”, Anthony si esibisce utilizzando l'intera gamma dei sassofoni dal sopranino al contrabbasso e una grande varietà di clarinetti ma in una dimensione inconsueta nell'attuale panorama jazz affiancato da Taylor Ho Bynum ( cornet, flugelhorn, piccolo and bass trumpets, valve trombone ) Katherine Young ( electric guitar ) , considerata una delle piu' interessanti realta' del chitarrismo contemporaneo e Mary Halverson ( bassoon ) . Il cd ritrae fedelmente il concerto che Braxton tenne al Centro Culturale Candiani a Mestre nel 2008 durante il quale esegui' la Composition 367c.

------bio-----

Anthony Braxton, polistrumentista e compositore, è nato il 4 giugno 1945 a Chicago, e qui si è laureato prima in armonia e composizione al Chicago Musical College, poi in filosofia alla Roosevelt University. Suona anche il flauto ed il pianoforte, ma ha dimestichezza soprattutto con li sassofoni ed i clarini. Approda nell’AACM di Chicago, scuola–associazione fondata da Richard Abrams e Roscoe Mitchell, poco più che ventenne, ma si mette in luce già nel 1968 registrando due importanti dischi come leader, «Three compositions of new jazz», con Muhal Richard Abrams, piano, Leo Smith, tromba, Leroy Jenkins, violino, e soprattutto «For Alto», un album doppio per sax solo, avveniristico per l’epoca, che aprirà la strada ai lavori solistici di altri sassofonisti.
Fra il 1969 ed il 1974 Braxton compie frequenti viaggi a Parigi, dove ha occasione di registrare numerosi dischi e di incontrare molti esponenti dell’avanguardia jazzistica europea. Fra il 1970 ed il 1971 guida un interessante quartetto, “Circle”, con Chick Corea, pianoforte, Dave Holland, contrabbasso, e Barry Altschul, batteria. Di questo gruppo esce nel 1971 un album live, «Circle: Paris concert». Corea segue un’altra strada, ma la coppia ritmica del “Circle” diverrà la base, fino al 1976, di tutti i suoi futuri quartetti, prima con il trombettista Kenny Wheeler, poi con il trombonista George Lewis. In questo periodo d’intensa attività, ed anche di larga popolarità, incide duetti con Muhal Richard Abrams al pianoforte e Richard Teitelbaum al synth. Realizza quindi due ambiziose registrazioni per grande orchestra: «Creative Orchestra Music» nel 1976, ispirata alle tradizioni bandistiche americane, e «For four orchestras» nel 1978, dove vengono utilizzati ben 160 esecutori. A cavallo fra gli anni ’70 ed ’80 cambiano sempre più spesso i componenti dei suoi quartetti. Ray Anderson prende il posto di George Lewis al trombone, mentre al contrabbasso si succedono John Lindberg e Mark Helias, alla batteria Thurman Barker e Ed Blackwell. Dalla fine degli anni ’80 guida un quartetto con Marilyn Crispell, pianoforte, Mark Dresser, contrabbasso, e Gerry Hemingway, batteria. Braxton registra più volte in duo con Max Roach, e torna a lavorare episodicamente anche al sax solo. Molte e fruttuose le collaborazioni, che lo vedono a fianco di Roscoe Mitchell e Ornette Coleman, ma anche di improvvisatori europei come Derek Bailey, Evan Parker e Willem Breuker.
Da quando, nel 1985, ottiene la cattedra di composizione al Mills College – ma qualche anno dopo si trasferisce alla Wesleyan University di Middletown – la sua attività concertistica inevitabilmente si dirada, ma ciò non gli impedisce di registrare, anzi. A partire dalla seconda metà degli anni ’80, grazie all’appoggio dell’etichetta indipendente inglese Leo Records, Braxton pubblica decine e decine di dischi – quasi un centinaio sino ad oggi – che rappresentano un’accurata e preziosa documentazione della sua musica. Utilizza quasi esclusivamente sue composizioni, eseguite dai più diversi organici. Influenzato da sassofonisti di scuola jazzistica come Charlie Parker, Eric Dolphy e Ornette Coleman, ma anche da compositori contemporanei come John Cage, Karlheinz Sockhausen e Arnold Schoenberg, Braxton va valutato non solo come sassofonista, per quanto innovatore ed originale, ma soprattutto come compositore. Non è un caso che Leo Records abbia recentemente pubblicato un cofanetto di 9 dischi interamente occupato da trascrizioni della sua musica per pianoforte. I suoi brani, che spesso privilegiano le parti scritte rispetto a quelle improvvisate, hanno quasi sempre per titolo dei simboli grafici e/o matematici, apparentemente poco comprensibili e distinguibili. Alcuni di questi diagrammi indicano la posizione dei musicisti durante la performance, ed hanno quindi anticipato la musica aleatoria di John Zorn, che di Braxton è sempre stato un grande estimatore.
Laureato in filosofia, appassionato giocatore di scacchi e fumatore di pipa, l’ormai sessantenne sassofonista chicagoano non è l’unico jazzista ad aver coltivato un interesse profondo per la scienza dei numeri: Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, hanno spesso giocato con algoritmi e moduli numerici. Ma il caso di Braxton è diverso: spesso, anche se non sempre, numeri e formule costituiscono le matrici generative fondamentali della sua musica. I “patterns” melodici, le sequenze ritmiche, persino molte combinazioni timbriche derivano da una serie più o meno estesa di rigorosi principi matematici.
Negli ultimi tempi Braxton più che rileggere “standards” predilige suonare la sua musica, che ama definire “ghost trance music”, insieme a giovani interpreti, anche di formazione classica. Il quartetto con cui affronta questo nuovo cd è assolutamente inedito, ed ha una composizione piuttosto inconsueta nel mondo del jazz, mettendo insieme il fagotto e gli ottoni, la chitarra elettrica e le ance (od i clarini) del leader. Il tutto condito da una buona dose di elettronica.

Aspettando il nuovo cd dei Yellojackets : Bob Mintzer

2011-02-24T01:18:00.000-08:00

Monty Alexander - Uplift

2011-02-23T03:40:00.000-08:00

Quando noi parliamo di genius siamo consci che questa parola può sicuramente assumere diversi significati a seconda dei personaggi a cui la asccostiamo. Nessuno di noi penso possa dubitare che possiamo usare tale attributo con musicisti del calibro di Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, Erroll Garner, Hank Jones sino a Oscar Peterson. Ciascuno di questi straordinari musicisti è riuscito a personalizzare la propria arte attraverso una ricerca che ha esaltato al massimo le proprie caratteristiche e potenzialita' creando nell'ascoltatore emozioni nuove, facendogli scoprire un mondo che era li ma che non si aveva gli occhi per vedere. Ecco, se noi ulilizziamo in tal senso la parola Genius allora è indiscusso che calzi perfettamente all'arte di Monty Alexander e il suo ultimo cd prodotto dalla Jazz Legacy non fa altro che confermalo.

Feat :
Monty Alexander - piano
Hassan Shakur - bass
Herlin Riley - drums
Frits Landesbergen -drums

Tracklist :
1. Come Fly With Me / 2. One Mint Julep 3. Renewal / 4. Sweet Georgia Brown / 5. I Just Cant See For Lookin’ / 6. Django / 7. Body and Soul / 8. Hope --- Medley --- 9. Home / 10. Fungii Mama

The words “genius”, “piano”, “virtuoso”, and “jazz” are very seldom used in the same sentence. Over the long history of jazz these four words have only consistently appeared together when discussing the work of Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, Erroll Garner, Hank Jones, and Oscar Peterson. You can argue the case for quite a few virtuoso jazz pianists of past and present, but when their body of work is compared side by side, you will always end up with the names of Tatum, Cole, Garner, Jones, and Peterson on top.

What you are about to listen to is the sixth artist whose name undoubtedly belongs next to the aforementioned legends. Like Mr. Garner, he does not read traditional music. Like Mr. Tatum, he displays a technique that is a once-in-a-lifetime wonder to behold. Like Mr. Cole, his musical taste and lyrical expression are second to no one alive. Like Mr. Jones, he possesses an exquisite touch. And like Mr. Peterson, his output of work (62 CDs as a leader) and his sense of drama, timing and swing can only be described as extraordinary, joyous, and incredibly moving. After one listen to this collection of live performances, you will quickly realize that these facts are undeniable—and that all men are NOT created equal. Some men are simply touched by a higher force as a great and profound gift for us all to savor.

In Hal Leonard’s 2005 book The Greatest Jazz Pianists of All Time, Mr. Alexander placed in the top five of all time. In his homeland of Jamaica, he received the highest honor bestowed upon an artist: Commander in the Order of Distinction, “for outstanding services to Jamaica as a worldwide music ambassador.”

He has spent the majority of his distinguished career traveling the globe, performing in the greatest concert halls on earth. Well known in more foreign countries than I can list here, the American jazz fan has not had as much occasion to witness his incredible mastery as they should have. But so many performance offers have constantly poured in from around the planet that we’ve had to share his great artistry with the rest of the world.

We can thank Frank Sinatra and his best friend Jilly Rizzo for hiring Monty after he moved to the United States in 1961 at the age of seventeen. It was at Jilly’s famed New York City nightclub that Monty caught the ears of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Milt “Bags” Jackson. It was Bags that introduced him to the great bassist Ray Brown, and the rest as they say, is history.

It has been an honor, blessing, and great privilege to call this man my dear friend for many years, and to produce this magnificent collection of music for the rest of the world to enjoy. I personally feel that this project is one of the finest I’ve ever been associated with.

I must say, in my very humble opinion, that this CD… is a masterpiece. Webster’s dictionary defines the word UPLIFT as a verb: to lift up, elevate, improve the spiritual, social, or intellectual condition.
That is Monty’s mission.

Prepare to take off.

John Lee

Bruce Cockburn - Small Source Of Comfort

2011-02-22T03:36:00.000-08:00

“Small Source Of Comfort” è il primo disco in studio degli ultimi sei anni per questo leggendario songwriter canadese la cui carriera è arrivata alla quarta decade di attività. 14 nuovi brani che riflettono i vari interessi di questo impegnato songwriter. Dei ritorno da un viaggio in Afghanistan, Bruce ha trovato nuove fonti d’ispirazione ed un rinnovato impegno politico-sociale. Oltre che un songwriter di indiscusso valore, come provano 40 anni alla True North, label canadese di musica d’autore per eccellenza, Cockburn è un chitarrista molto considerato dagli addetti ai lavori tanto che è stato paragonato dal New York Times a figure leggendarie quali Andrès Segovia, Django Reinhardt e Bill Frisell.

Tracks :

Iris Of The World /Call Me Rose / Bohemian 3-Step / Radiance / Five Fifty-One /Driving Away / Lois On The Autobahn / Boundless / Called Me Back / Comets Of Kandahar / Each One Lost / Parnassus And Fog / Ancestors / Gifts

With a career that has spanned four decades producing an acclaimed body of work that has sold over 2 million copies worldwide, Bruce Cockburn continues to be revered by fans and fellow musicians alike as one of the most important songwriters of his generation.

Small Source of Comfort is Cockburn's first studio album in six years - a rhythmic
and highly evocative collection of 14 new tracks inspired by his renowned unusual and diverse muse - recent trips to Afghanistan and ponderings on the re-incarnation of Richard Nixon, to road trips and unreturned phone calls. The album boasts some of the best musicians recording today, including violinist
Jenny Scheinman, former Wailin’ Jenny Annabelle Chvostek, and long time collaborators Gary Craig, Jon Dymond and producer Colin Linden.

As both a songwriter and a guitarist, Bruce Cockburn is considered among the world’s best. The New York Times called him a “virtuoso on guitar,” while Acoustic Guitar magazine placed him in the esteemed company of Andrés Segovia, Bill Frisell and Django Reinhardt.

Cockburn’s songs have been covered by such diverse and talented artists as Elbow, Jimmy Buffett, Judy Collins, Anne Murray, Chet Atkins, K.D. Lang, Barenaked Ladies, and the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia

Abeat Presenta : A. Menconi,A. Romano L. Mannutzza ; Ann Malcolm ; Amato Jazz Trio; Fausto Ferraiuolo Trio

2011-02-21T01:56:00.000-08:00

Alessio Menconi, Aldo Romano, Luca Mannutza

Adventures Trio

Due fra i migliori rappresentanti del jazz italiano moderno unitamente all’inesauribile “mito” Aldo Romano, danno vita ad un disco in cui tradizione e modernità si fondono in maniera superlativa. La peculiarità risiede nel sound scaturito, frutto dello stile personale dei componenti magistralmente condotti dalla sapiente vena di Romano, perfetto “ baricentro” dell’ensamble. Alessio Menconi è unanimemente riconosciuto come vero talento dello strumento. Forse uno dei pochi chitarristi italiani ad aver elaborato uno stile affrancato dai soliti modelli . Già chitarrista di Paolo Conte, fa parte del Bobo trio con Faso e Meyer ( la ritmica di Elio e le Storie Tese ); è stato inserito inserito nel gotha mondiale dei chitarristi insieme a Robben Ford, Steve Lukather, Hiram Bullock, Larry Corryell e altri, in occasione di una compilation americana dedicata a Jimi Hendrix.
Luca Mannutza, vincitore del premio Massimo Urbani nel 2002 ha inanellato una serie di collaborazioni entusiasmanti ed oggi è annoverato tra i migliori pianisti della scena jazz contemporanea. In questo progetto si cimenta per la prima volta discograficamente con l’organo.
Aldo Romano non ha bisogno di presentazioni particolari : artista a tutto campo ( scultura, pittura, poesia e musica ) è trait d’union fantastico fra i due giovani musicisti.
Classe, eleganza, raffinatezza, modernità ed al contempo leggerezza costituiscono l’eccellenza di questo disco.

Two of the best representatives of the Italian modern jazz together whit the inexhaustible "myth" Aldo Romano put on a disk in which tradition and modernity are merged in a superlative way. The sound is one peculiarity of this record , the result of personal style of the trio, masterfully conducted by Aldo Romano, perfect "center of gravity" of the ensemble. Alessio Menconi is widely recognized as talent of the instrument. Perhaps one of the few guitarists to have developed an Italian style freed from the usual models.menconi has been inserted into the elite world of guitarists with Robben Ford, Steve Lukather, Hiram Bullock, Larry Corryell ont an american production devoted to Jimi Hendrix.
Mannutza Luca boasts a number of exciting collaborations and today is among the leading pianists of the contemporary Italian jazz scene. In this project he plays organ for the first time in his discographic career .
Aldo Romano needs no special presentations: all-round artist (sculpture, painting, poetry and music) is wonderful trait d'union between the two younger musicians.
Class, elegance, sophistication, modernity and lightness at the same time constitute the excellence of this record.

Ann Malcolm octet feat. Tom Harrell

The Crystal Paperweight

Ann Malcolm è straordinaria singer americana da alcuni anni residente in Svizzera con alle spalle pubblicazioni di grande pregio internazionale ( per esempio al fianco di Kenny Barron, Ray Drummond, Keith Copeland, Brian Lemon, Szakcsi, Robi Lakatos, Vince Benedetti, Junior Mance, Reggie Johnson ed altri ancora ).
“ The Crystal Paperweight ” rappresenta per Ann Malcolm una delle più esaltanti realizzazioni di sempre ed ha caratteristiche davvero speciali: innanzitutto vede Tom Harrell coinvolto non solo in qualità di trombettista ( dalle doti uniche al mondo) ma anche di arrangiatore dell’intero disco e compositore. Ann Malcolm ha realizzato alcuni testi che per la prima volta affiancano alcune notissime composizioni dello stesso Harrell: ciò costituisce un notevole valore aggiunto se si considera che nella storia compositiva di Tom Harrell è cosa raramente concessa.
Il disco offre una varietà stilistica e di sound notevole rimanendo sempre elegantissimo e curato. Le spiccati doti di sensibilità ed espressione della Malcolm nonchè la maestria degli arrangiamenti hanno permesso di oscillare da esecuzioni mainstream a jazz ballad sino ad ammiccare al pop ed al soul di "Remember The Time "( M. Jackson).
Ann Malcolm è l'incarnazione della cantante jazz femminile odierna , sofisticata e potente allo stesso tempo, con eccellente e plastico timbro . Ann Malcolm è nato in Iowa, Stati Uniti .

The charismatic jazz vocalist Ann Malcolm is the embodiment of the traditional female jazz singer and the power that lies behind sophisticated, restrained notes. The beautiful, accentuated sound she produces allows her to sing in a cool melodic style that swings, picking up every detail of mainstream music, ballads and modern jazz with her clear jazzy into- nation and acute sensitivity. Ann Malcolm was born in Iowa, USA and finished her BA and Masters Degrees
in Music in Iowa and Boston respectively. She lives in Basel, Switzerland since many years and performs throughout Europe. On this new recording "The Crystal Paperweight" arranged by Tom Harrell, Ann is accompanied by an ensemble of perfectly matched jazz
talents with a wealth of experience. Between them, and the fantastic arrangements and soloing of Tom Harrell, they succeed in creating an intimate atmosphere that gets right under the skin.

Feat :

Tom Harrell : trumpet,composer, arranger
Domenic Landolf : alto flute
Ann Malcolm : vocal, lyrics, alto sax
Patrice Moret : upright bass
Daniel Pezzotti : cello
Alejandro Rutkauskas : violin
Andy Scherrer : tenor sax
Dejan Terzic : drums
Colin Vallon : piano, fender Rhodes
Wolfgang Zwiauer : electric bass on tracks 3 and 8

Amato Jazz Trio

Well

Amato jazz trio : una delle più forti espressioni del jazz tipicamente italiano.
"L’Amato Jazz Trio è uno dei più originali trii d’Europa e oltre”. (Franco Fayenz/ Amadeus)
“Well” è la ulteriore dimostrazione di come una profonda conoscenza delle radici del jazz possa magnificamente sposarsi ed integrarsi con alcune componenti tipicamente mediterranee ed europee.
Un trio magmatico come la lava del vulcano che sovrasta da sempre la Sicilia. Le composizioni immergono l’ascoltatore in una atmosfera densa di colori e sapori che rimandano alla ricchezza e alla tipicità della loro terra.
La disinvoltura esecutiva, l’interplay naturale (i fratelli Amato suonano insieme da quando erano bambini), la profonda vena intellettuale da una parte ed il fuoco e la solarità dall’altra, hanno reso questo trio uno degli esempi più originali e potenti del variegato panorama italiano. Alcuni brani originali ,una doppia elaborazione di alcune partiture di Stravinskij, danno l’idea di come all’ombra del vulcano la musica possa essere nuovamente sciolta, liquefatta, disgregata e restituita in forma nuova. Una perla nel panorama jazzistico degli ultimi anni.

Amato jazz trio : one of the strongest expressions of the typical Italian jazz.
The Amato Jazz Trio is one of the most original trio of Europe and beyond. " (Franco Fayenz / Amadeus)
"Well" is another demonstration of how a deep understanding of the roots of jazz can marry with some Mediterranean and European components.
A trio of magma as the lava of the volcano that dominates Sicily has always been. Their music puts the listener in an atmosphere full of colors and flavors that recall the richness and typicality of their land.
The ease of implementation, the natural interplay (Amato brothers have played together since they were children), the deep intellectual vein on one side and the fire and the brightness of the other, have made this trio one of the most original and powerful of the varied Italian scene. Some originals songs and a double processing of a couple of Stravinsky's scores give an idea of how, in the shadow of the volcano, the music can be disoolved,re-melted, melted, broken up and returned in a new form . A real jewel in the Italian jazz scene.

Feat.

Alberto Amato : doublebass
Elio Amato : piano
Loris Amato : drums

Fausto Ferraiuolo trio, feat. Johannes Faber

artnam-mantra

Artnam, un ambigramma che letto al contrario si legge Mantra. Entrambe le parole contengono il suffisso nam che in sanscrito significa” dedicarsi a qualcosa con passione”, significa anche onore , lode, devozione, armonizzare la propria vita con la legge dell’universo ed anche attingere energia e ...
Artnam-Mantra è musica senza musica, melodia senza tempo che sottende ogni ricerca spirituale e che si fa gioco dei nomi e degli autori nascondendosi l’uno nell’altro.
Ecco che allora il motivo ispiratore di questo cd aleggia sin dall’inizio conducendo l’ascoltatore in una dimensione di bellezza e piacere emotivo e spirituale.
Terzo cd di Fausto Ferraiuolo per Abeat che si conferma pianista dalle doti non comuni.
Dotato di grande tecnica messa interamente al servizio di composizioni di rara bellezza.
Il disco manifesta una intensità espressiva elevatissima ed è impreziosito dalla perfetta fusione con la tromba di Johannes Faber.
Il disco è sin dal primo ascolto convincente ed emozionante : il pianismo di Ferraiuolo è lirico ed intenso supportato da una ritmica perfettamente oliata...( Paolo Fresu).
Composizioni interessanti...suonate con energia ed abilità. Faber alla tromba è incantevole e seducente... ( John Taylor ).

Artnam, an ambigram that reads Mantra read backwards. Both words contain the suffix nam which in Sanskrit means "to dedicate themselves to something with passion," also means honor, praise, devotion, to harmonize their lives with the law of the universe and also draw energy and ...
Artnam-Mantra is music without music, timeless melody that underlies every spiritual quest and makes fun of the names of the authors and hiding in each other.
So then the central concept of this CD hangs from the start leading the listener into a dimension of beauty and pleasure emotionally and spiritually.
Third cd by Fausto Ferraiuolo for Abeat . He is a pianist with uncommon qualities.
Equipped with great technique developed entirely at the service of compositions of rare beauty.
The record shows a high intensity of expression and is enhanced by blending perfectly with the trump of Johannes Faber.
The record is convincing and exciting since the first listening: the piano playing of ferraiuolo is lyrical and intense, also supported by a well-oiled rhythm ... (Paolo Fresu).
Interesting compositions ... played with energy and skill. Faber on the trumpet is charming and seductive ... (John Taylor).

Feat :
Riccardo Barbera : doublebass
Mattia Barbieri : drums
Johannes Faber : trumpet
Fausto Ferraiuolo : piano

Bocephus King - Willie Dixon God Damn !

2011-02-15T02:39:00.000-08:00

Ritorna Jamie Perry, in arte Bocephus King. Un nome che poco o nulla dira' se non agli addetti ai lavori, ma un nome che può essere tranquillamente accostato per poetica e intensita' dei testi ai grandi profeti del rock irrequieto e in cerca di senso : Kurt Cobain e Jim Morrison su tutti. Musica e poesia oscurate dalla pensatezza di una vita non facile, che richiede senso. E su questa ricerca con sonorita' che potremmo accostare ai grandi songwriter oscillando ora tra un novello Van Morrison, ora tra un navigato Cohen, che bisogna ascoltare il nuovo album che testimonia lo stato di grazia di questo eclettico rocker canadese di Vancouver : un album maturo, intenso ed ispirato. Il viaggio è ancora lungo ma ha trovato molti compagni anche nella nostra Italia. Il ragazzo ne ha di esperienza da raccontare, e il talento è immenso. Questo cd non è solo un lavoro discografico, questo cd è un urlo di riscatto, una richesta di senso che vuole essere ascoltata e perchè no corrisposta.

- Bocephus King – Willie Dixon God Damn! Non un tributo al grande del blues, ma un disco rock, bello e variegato, come non speravamo di (ri)scoprire da questo personaggio che alla fine del millennio aveva lasciato tanto sperare. Un talento ritrovato!

Come Bocephus King si descrive :

...........Just As Long As You Arrive....B.King/J.L.Perry......... I've been waiting forever. I can wait forevermore. I'll just sit here and feel it, till my feelings get sore.~~~ The crow tried to tell me, but I didn't understand.. said if I ever felt TRUE love, It could kill me where I stand.~~~ There is no running water. No works of fiction or fact. They tried the Quarter-Back-Sneak.. it got the Quarter-back sacked.~~~ They arrived quite early this morning, without a single, muttered word. No news of my Mother, I hope her wayward mind is cured.~~~ She's been hearing all of them voices. Eating all of them pills. Marrying strong men, who hit her hard but pay the bills.~~~ This station's gloom is familiar. Didn't we meet here before? Singing "Jesus loved the leper, just as Jesus loved the whore."~~~ St. Francis wants to meet you. He's seen you in all of my prayers. His laugh makes me so nervous, but I know how desperately he cares.~~~ It puts Hell in my heart, mama.. to know that I've made you cry.. and now I don't care if you arrive late, love, just as long as you arrive.~~~ There's no advice to be taken. No worn path you can walk. But wait too long for your wishes.... and they'll be outlined in chalk.~~~ There is no promise I can make you. There are no guarantees. But I won't just fight the inevitable, until one of us flees.~~~ I took your warning too lightly. I got the old Monk high. Now there's death on the highway and I forgot how to cry.~~~ The thought of you starts me shaking, but at least I know I'm alive. I don't care if it kills me. Some part of me will survive.~~~ I can't take all that you show me. Don't like some things that I see. But your love is my light, babe. The only light there for me.~~~ I got troubles a plenty. You've got your troubles too. But it's only for your touch, that I could ever be true.~~~ The lying mind: I murdered. His mistresses, I bribed. Now I don't care if you arrive late, love.. just as long as you arrive.~~~ I've been coming through slaughter.... with the reins clenched in my teeth. The horses died in the canyon. My guides, they died in their sleep.~~~ Maybe I died when I met you.. and now I'm only your ghost. Haunting every last raindrop.. on the gold, miraculous Coast.~~~ The seige is relentless. The enemy: un-bowed. Our promise, not broken, is all that we have allowed.~~~ We're not always so wretched... but this place brings it right out. Right out in the open. Out there for all things to doubt.~~~ This ain't the first time I've fallen. But it's the first time it's stuck. Maybe my Sun has stopped setting. Maybe I'm pushing my luck.~~~ I see your eyes everywhere, dear.. gazing from some distant time. Maybe that time we were lovers. Maybe that time you were mine.~~~ They're building on grim speculation. The empty prisons just wait. Tell your boozy-breath-Priest, to keep his hands off your plate.~~~ Ask no more of the doubter. She wants now only to sleep. If it's at all worth going, it's worth going that deep.~~~ Too many nails in the coffin. The lid is on now for good. She only said she could love him, she never said that she would.~~~ You want to be upright and singing, If we're going to do this thing. Stronger than the hollow vows, stronger than the ring.~~~ We've got to be Geronimo-brave, love. Be packed and ready to go. Lest we see only the shadows, of love's holy glow.~~~ If the truth is worth anything, anything more than a dare. then the truth is, I love you and I will always be there.~~~ Be there scars on your soul mama. Be there stars in your eyes. There are always exceptions, Not every sleeping heart lies.~~~ You've always been so strong. You just hide it so well. But I deciphered the message, from the walls of your cell.~~~ You may not like my methods. Their madness steals all your breath. You think this plot may still kill me, but I don't care about death.~~~ I know there are pastures of plenty. Your soul is suspecting it too.. and now it's hard to make your heart keep doing, something it don't want to do.~~~ The truth will tear you wide open. But the trip is surely worth the fall... if any of this whole mad trip.. is worth anything at all.~~~ I've know joy, pain and pleasure. Measured many maidens charms.. but it all lost it's meaning, once I'd danced in your arms.~~~ I know that I wasn't dreaming. At least, I'm not anymore. I'm lost in the truth, baby. I've never been here before.~~~ I saw the whole messy story. It seemed a little contrived. Now I don't care if you arrive late, love.. just as long as you arrive.~~~ Baby, everybody loses. Baby, everybody grieves. There's a place without doubt... it's just so hard to believe.~~~ I've won, lost and wondered, what the whole, ugly game meant. They all live hard in dellusion. For fun they sin and repent.~~~ Their words all are empty. Their lessons rob you of years. They've got apologies for everything When that fails, they have tears.~~~ The world is much bigger, than a few broken hearts. There's a train at the station, and soon my love, it departs.~~~ I got a ticket this morning. O.K., I got two... guess I don't mind being foolish, If I am foolish for you.~~~ The Sun's been up for hours but everyone's still asleep. Except for my wounded neighbor, through the walls I hear her weep.~~~ The night left precious reminders, of how lucky I was to survive. Now I don't care if you arrive late, love, just as long as you arrive.~~~

Bgo Novita' : MUDDY WATERS - FATS DOMINO – THE HOLLIES – LITA FORD

2011-02-15T01:16:00.000-08:00

Da casa BGO siamo lieti di presentare alcuni classici del blues, del rock & roll sino ad arrivare al beat ed al più moderno rock. Titoli spesso introvabili rivedono la luce in cd in questa appetibile ed economica formula.

The Hollies – Bus Stop + Stop! Stop! Stop!

Two US Imperial label albums from 1966. ‘Bus Stop’ and ‘Stop! Stop! Stop!’ were both US Top Ten singles that same year. The albums themselves made the Billboard Top 100 chart
Today, the Hollies with original members Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliot still continue to record and tour.

Digitally remastered and slipcased

Tracklist :

Bus Stop: Bus Stop - Candy Man - Baby That’s All - I Am A Rock - Sweet Little Sixteen - We’re Through - Don’t Run And Hide - Oriental Sadness - Mickey’s Monkey - Little Lover - You Know He Did - Whatcha Gonna Do ’Bout It

Stop! Stop! Stop!: What’s Wrong With The Way I Live - Pay You Back With Interest - Tell Me To My Face - Clown - Suspicious Look In Your Eyes - It’s You - High Classed - Peculiar Situation - What Went Wrong - Crusader - Don’t Even Think About Changing - Stop! Stop! Stop!

Fats Domino – Rare Dominos Vol. 1 & 2

A selection of tracks dating from 1949 – 1957 .A mixture of B-sides, EP tracks and (at the time) unreleased items
Digitally remastered and slipcased

Tracklist :

Rare Dominos Vol. 1: Don’t Lie To Me - Sometimes I Wonder - Nobody Loves Me - Rocking Chair - Dreaming - Careless Love - I’ve Got Eyes For You - Right From Wrong - No No Baby - My Baby’s Gone - Boogie Woogie Baby - How Long - Rose Mary - Fats Domino Blues - What’s The Matter Baby - Stay Away - Don’t Leave Me This Way - Hey La Bas Boogie

Rare Dominos Vol. 2: Yes My Darling - Help Me - Don’t You Know I Love You - Don’t Know What’s Wrong, Set Me Free - Oh Baby - Don’t Leave Me This Way - Hey Fat Man - How Long - Korea Blues - Mardi Gras In New Orleans - I Guess I’ll Be On My Way - The Fat Man’s Hop - I’ll Be Gone - You Know I Miss You - Little Bee - Don’t You Know - I Lived My Life - Trust In Me

Lita Ford – Stiletto

Ex-Runaways member Ford's 1990 album which made the US Top 100 albums chart
Digitally remastered and slipcased

Tacklist :

Your Wake Up Call - Hungry - Dedication - Stiletto - Lisa - The Ripper - Big Gun - Only Women Bleed - Bad Boy - Aces & Eights - Cherry Red - Outro

Muddy Waters – They Call Me Muddy Waters + Live At Mister Kelly (2lps Chess 1971 in 1 cd)

Kenny Wheeler - John Taylor - Steve Swallow - One Of Many

2011-02-14T02:33:00.000-08:00

Grazie anche a casa Cam, abbiamo realizzato di come le strade del pianista John Taylor e quelle di Kenny Wheeler spesso si incrocino per regalarci paesaggi sonori di incomparabile bellezza. Abbiamo imparato a conoscere Kenny Wheeler in molte sfumature, e tutte diverse tra loro: dal mitico trio Azimuth; con Anthony Braxton ancora prima, con Dave Holland poi. Lo abbiamo ammirato per il suo stile nella cosiddetta musica improvvisata; come compositore e arrangiatore anche, specie per Maynard Ferguson. Tuttavia negli ultimi anni quando si ascolta un disco di Wheeler non si può che rimanere impressionati dalla sua arte poetica, da quel suono (alla tromba e al flicorno), da quel lirismo inconfondibile che agisce sulla soggettività del poeta, con prevalenza degli aspetti emotivi e sentimentali su quelli razionali. Così sono anche le sue composizioni, soavi ma risolute. “One Of Many”, che lo vede impegnato in trio con John Taylor e Steve Swallow, favoloso e completo motore ritmico ma anche melodico,di “One Of Many”, opera di rara intensità e bellezza.

Leggi qui il bellissimo articolo che All About Jazz Italia ha dedicato agli 80 anni di Kenny Wheeler

Kenny Wheeler has long been one of the most advanced voices on his instrument. Blessed with a full, lovely tone and an astounding range, Wheeler sounds equally at home in fiery free jazz explorations or softer, more lyrical post-bop meditations. Wheeler has written over one hundred compositions and is a skilled arranger for small groups and larger ensembles. His compositions blend lyrical melodies with a distinctive and ever changing harmonic palette. Although resident in England since 1952 and often thought to be an English musician, Kenny Wheeler was born in Canada in 1930 and began playing trumpet at age 12. After studying at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory, he moved to London in 1952, where he gigged with swing and dance bands. In the 1970s, Wheeler played with Anthony Braxton, and went on to record the well-received Gnu High, which established him as a soloist of note. Wheeler turned out a series of excellent albums, including 1977’s Deer Wan and 1983’s Double, Double You (that year, Wheeler also began a four-year run with the Dave Holland Quintet). Several more generally fine outings followed in the ’90s, including the ECM dates Music for Large and Small Ensembles and The Widow in the Window and other recordings. Kenny Wheeler is a true innovator and a consequential part of modern music.

Now about him Johannes Wohlleben ( Kenny Recording Engineer says : " Many years ago I recorded Kenny Wheeler in different jazz formations, but it was the Cam Jazz recordings that showed me Kenny's playing as absolutely unique"

HARRY BELAFONTE SING THE BLUES

2011-02-14T01:06:00.000-08:00

Harry Belafonte cantante jazz e blues, negli anni ’50 ha suonato come un’autentica rivelazione per il grosso pubblico che lo conosceva solo come folk-singer. Questo lungo cd raccoglie tutte le sue registrazioni jazz and blues oriented dove è accompagnato da jazzisti di prima grandezza che esaltano la sua levigata ed espressiva voce. Registrazioni prese da “Sing The Blues” (1949 e da “The Blues Is Man” (1955) per un totale di ben 19 brani. Presentato una prima volta nel 1958, vede finalmente la luce in cd per la gioia di collezionisti ed appassionati, o, più semplicemente, per chi è sensibile ai grandi interpreti.

- Harry Belafonte – Sing The Blues Feat. Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Dan Fagerquist, Hank Jones, Jimmy Rowles, Plas Johnson, Milt Bernhart, Red Callender, Brew Moore, Zoot Sims, Al Haig.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Songs From A Zulu Farm

2011-02-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

I Ladysmith Black Mambazo fanno parte della storia del Sud Africa recente dove la musica ha sicuramente giocato un ruolo fondamnetale per l'affermazione dei diritti umani. Questo gruppo a cappella ha cantato la storia della propria patria per oltre 40 anni promuovendo la loro cultura con chiunque avesse avuto la curiosita' di avvicinarsi. Ed è cosi' che il gruppo si è ritrovato a collaborare con personaggi del calibro di Paul Simon ( raggiungendo una notorieta' mondiale grazie all'album Graceland ), Stevie Wonder fino a Dolly Parton. Dopo questo lungo viaggio musicale oggi 2011 i Ladysmith tornano alle loro radici, alla loro terra, alle loro tradizioni con Zulu Farm, una raccolta di canti tradizionali che i genitori sono soliti insegnare ai propri figli per ricordar loro da dove provengono affinchè sappiano dove andare. E per assurdo anche se ambientate in un contesto territoriale ben preciso queste canzoni diventano universali perchè riguardano le paure, i sogni e le speranze di tutti i ragazzi, il rispetto per ciò che li circonda e l'amore dei propri genitori.

"There's such a rich, wonderful history. A personal history that comes from the group that's not always found in their CDs," Mitch Goldstein, the band's manager, tells Weekend Edition Sunday host Liane Hansen. "When we were sitting down and talking about the next project they wanted to work on, I suggested that they share with their audience — with their fans — their personal side.
"I've been to the farms where they grew up outside of Ladysmith [a town in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa]," Goldstein says. "When I'm there with Joseph [Shabalala], the founder of the group, and Albert [Mazibuko], they share stories of their childhood and the songs and what their parents used to teach them."

Quindi la musica come momento di educazione tradizionale e di crescita come in "Imithi Gobakahle (Children Come Home)," che insegna ai bambini come comportarsi all'arrivo improvviso di una tempesta o in "Ntulube (Away, You River Snakes)." che invece accompagna i bimbi durante le loro nuotate al fiume insegnando loro il rispetto della natura che li circonda. Insomma un ennesimo piccolo tassello per conoscere piu' da vicino una cultura divenuta celebre al mondo grazie agli ultimi mondiali di calcio ma che rivendica la propria autonomia dal Waka Waka globalizzato.

Per ascoltare la bellissima intervista ( in inglese ) su npr cliccate qui

Since their earliest recordings, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has maintained a respect and a reverence for their past. Indeed, the centuries-old story of their homeland – sometimes joyous, sometimes troubled, but always rich and exhilarating – has been at the very foundation of this vocal group since its very beginning. But alongside the South African history witnessed by an entire world, there’s a quieter, more personal past shared by the members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo – a time of youth and innocence, when the world consisted of nothing more than the hills and open fields of their parents’ farms in Zulu country. Before the stage performances, before the collaborations with other artists, before the Grammy awards, before all of that and so much more, the only songs these children knew were the traditional folk tunes handed down to them by their parents, their grandparents, and the countless generations that preceded them.

And yet, for all the decades that have come and gone, these songs are still very much alive. Ladysmith Black Mambazo shares them with the world in their new recording, Songs From A Zulu Farm, set for release in January, 2011. Founder and frontman Joseph Shabalala and the other members of the group recreate the idyllic world in which they once lived and offer a glimpse of it to fans and audiences around the globe. To say this is their most personal work to date would be an understatement.

“These are songs from the earliest time in our lives,” says Shabalala. “These are stories our fathers and mothers and other relatives shared with us, songs our grandparents sang. These songs represent an important memory of our early life. When we sing these songs, we’re singing songs from our history. It is such a joy for us to put these stories and songs together for our fans to enjoy too.”

Included among the sixteen tracks is “Old McDonald…Zulu Style,” a South African rendition of the well known children’s song, “Old McDonald Had a Farm.” This original classic is reworked in ways never before imagined as it is piped through the language and culture of the Zulu people. As well, there are various traditional tunes taken directly from the Zulu culture. Some are cautionary tales: “Imithi Gobakahle” (“Children Come Home”) calls the children inside when the skies grow dark and a rainstorm threatens, while “Ekhaya” (“Don’t Leave Home too Soon”) encourages teenagers to stay with their families until they are truly ready to live on their own. Other songs are about the various mischievous and troublesome animals so prevalent in Zulu country: “Ntulube” (“Away, You River Snakes”), is an attempt to chase snakes and frogs out of the river to make the water better for swimming, while “Uthekwane” (“The Prettiest Bird?”) is an ode to a vain bird who boasts of her beauty to the other animals. Toward the end of the cd, Shabalala professes his love and longing for the times and places of his youth in “Thalaza,” a song he composed to encourage people of every nation and culture to reconnect to innocence of their younger years."

“Your roots are who you are,” says Shabalala, who revisits the farmland of his youth every month. “I go home to see the sights I’ve known since I was a baby. When I see that field I see my father and mother standing with me as a little boy. I love going home because it is just that…home.”

While Songs From A Zulu Farm may originate from the culture of South Africa, it speaks to certain joys of childhood that are universal. “There are children being told – or being sung – stories that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. These are the same stories and songs that they too will share with their children. We hope that these songs sung to children in South Africa can be shared with and enjoyed by families in other places in the world.

ALLIGATOR: 40 ANNI DI “GENUINE HOUSEROCKIN’ MUSIC”

2011-02-10T01:16:00.000-08:00

Quella che a prima vista potrebbe sembrare l'ennesima compilation economica in realta' è un lavoro di ricordi, di confronto e di verifica che l'Alligator, nata a Chicago nel 1971, vuole fare con i suoi fans per riflettere insieme sui suoi primi 40 anni di storia. Per i piu' appassionati sara' sicuramente una grande gioia poter riascoltare brani che hanno fatto da colonna sonora per oltre meta' della nostra vita. Ma questa compilation si rivolge soprattutto alle nuove generazioni che vogliono accostarsi seriamente a questo genere che tanto ha dato alla musica moderna. Ecco allora a voi questo doppio cd di Chicago blues, 38 brani e 157 minuti di musica dove sara' possibile ascoltare il blues piu' puro ma anche “roots-rock”, o “rockabilly” , “porch soul”,“gospel” e tutti quei generi musicali accomunati dalla medesima matrice : Il Blues !!!!

- Alligator Records – 40th Anniversary DeLuxe edition di 2cd, 38 brani, 157 minuti di musica. Feat. Hound Dog Taylor, Steve Ray Vaughan, Roy Buchanaan, Johnny Winter, Holmes Brothers. Eric Lindell, James Cotton, Shemekia Copeland, Albert Collins, e molti dei maggiori artisti Alligator!
You could say that Alligator Records was born in January, 1970, at a little neighborhood bar called Florence’s Lounge on Chicago’s South Side. On a Sunday afternoon, a blues fan newly arrived in the city dropped in to check out a gig by a tall, gangly guitarist that everyone called “Dog.” When I stepped into the crowded little club packed with dancing, drinking, laughing patrons, I was overwhelmed by joyful, raw and energized electric boogie blues. Hound Dog Taylor, perched on a folding chair with a steel slide on the fifth of his six fingers, was pouring out piercing, distorted licks and chords on a cheap Japanese guitar and singing in a high, cracking true bluesman’s voice. He was accompanied only by a broken-toothed second guitarist named Brewer Phillips, playing ever-changing bass lines on an old Fender Telecaster, and a gum-chewing drummer named Ted Harvey who propelled every song forward, picking up the tempo on his minimalist kit, and making it impossible to keep from dancing. It was simply the happiest music I ever heard, and I knew it had to be recorded.

I spent the next year and a half learning everything I could about making and selling records from my boss and mentor, Bob Koester of Delmark Records. Finally, in May of 1971, I was ready to take this amazing little band into the studio. I wanted to capture the spirit of Florence’s Lounge on tape, for all the world to hear. And fueled by a sufficient amount of Canadian Club and the encouragement of my co-producer Wesley Race, they delivered just that spirit. They fulfilled my dream, and started another one—now I wanted to record the other wonderful bands I was hearing every night in the little blues bars on the South and West Sides of Chicago, musicians like Koko Taylor and Fenton Robinson and Carey Bell and Son Seals. And soon, the dream expanded to recording blues musicians from all across the country, legendary artists like Albert Collins and Professor Longhair and Gatemouth Brown and Johnny Otis, and talented newcomers like Shemekia Copeland and Corey Harris.

When I created Alligator Records, the very first promo piece to promote that very first Hound Dog Taylor album was headed “Genuine Houserockin’ Music.” That became our slogan, and we wear it proudly today. “Genuine” because the music we record is deeply rooted in the blues tradition (even when it pushes the standard definition of blues) and is created by musicians who have honed their songs not on synthesizers in their bedrooms, but in front of real audiences, responding to the emotional needs of their listeners. “House” instead of “theatre” or “arena” or “stadium,” because our music is ultimately intimate, even when it’s big and loud. It’s not meant to be presented. It’s meant to be shared between the musicians and the audience, like everyone at Florence’s shared the music with Hound Dog Taylor. And “Rockin’” because it’s designed to move you. Most of Alligator’s records will move your feet or your body, but we’ve tried to make records that will move that other part of you—your soul. Sometimes that can mean music that cleanses your inner pain by pulling it out of you, the “hurts so good” that is so special to the blues. And sometimes it just means the pure release and fun of musicians pouring their energy into a great groove.

Over the forty years, our definition of “Genuine Houserockin’ Music” has expanded to include not only pure blues artists, but also musicians and songwriters who have taken the spirit of the blues and created their own sounds and styles, sometimes called roots rock or rockabilly or front porch soul or, in a few cases, gospel, the ultimate soul-rockin’ music. But our mission has remained the same—to record honest, blues-infused music that moves the feet and soothes the soul, and hopefully makes you feel as good as a Sunday afternoon at Florence’s Lounge.

– Bruce Iglauer ( fondatore dell'Alligator )

Giovanni Guidi - We Don't Live Here Anymore

2011-02-09T01:03:00.000-08:00

This recording catches you off-guard and has nothing to do with his previous ones... Giovanni claims once again with awareness and tenacity his desire to stay in the game.
"Awesome!" "Extraordinary!" "Mature!"

Se i lavori discografici di Giovanni Guidi fossero una album fotografico sarebbe impressionante constatare come ogni singola pagina e ogni singola foto sia completamente diversa dall’altra. A soli venticinque anni il pianista Folignate impressiona infatti per coraggio e consapevolezza: al quarto album inciso per CAMJazz con questo “We Don’t Live Here Anymore” Guidi rivendica ancora una volta, con consapevolezza e caparbietà, la voglia di mettersi in gioco. Un album che spiazza, e che nulla a che spartire con i precedenti “Indian Summer”, “The House Behind This One” o “The Unknown Rebel Band”, perché ogni volta c’è una nuova storia da raccontare, un concept su cui costruire un’architettura musicale, un momento della vita che va fissato nella memoria attraverso la sala d’incisione, quasi fosse una necessità. L’ultimo lavoro, inciso alla corte del genio indiscusso del sound engineer James Farber nei celebri studi Sear Sound di New York, è un album che alterna composizioni di Guidi a libere improvvisazioni, che vive e trova la propria forma nel dialogo e nel sentire reciproco dei musicisti che il pianista ha voluto accanto a sé. Una ricerca impressionante sul timbro e sul tocco, quello del pianoforte prima di tutto, che giorno dopo giorno si sta trasformando non solo in un suono, ma nel proprio suono. E poi quello dell’altro italiano che Guidi ha voluto accanto a sé, quel Gianluca Petrella che oltre ad essere uno dei più brillanti e geniali artisti in circolazione, sta diventato per diritto uno dei partner privilegiati di Guidi e con il quale sempre più spesso a condividere palchi e progetti. Oltre a Petrella ad impreziosire molto il progetto troviamo anche il sax di tal Michael Blake che impressiona per bravura ma anche per duttilita' e capacita di adeguarsi nei vari progetti ove viene chiamato in causa. Un Sassofonista assolutamente da seguire e scoprire.

Giovanni Guidi Piano
Gianluca Petrella trombone,
Michael Blake sax,
Thomas Morgan bass,
Gerald Cleaver on drums.

Tracklist

1 DESS 4:53
2 FURIOUS SEASONS 4:47
3 WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE 6:35
4 SHE COULD TELL THEY WERE FRIENDS 3:34
5 DISTURBING THE PEACE 5:52
6 THE DREAMERS 3:21
7 BEGATTO KITCHEN 2:39
8 OVERNIGHT REVOLUTION 7:50
9 WHAT REMAINS 7:01
10 IN PURSUIT OF SILENCE 8:27

L'uscita del cd sara' accompagnata da un tour promozionale assolutamente da seguire Ecco le date

16 Marostica - Panic Jazz Club
17 Parigi - Sunset Jazz Club
18 Vicchio- Teatro Giotto
19 Torino - Conservatorio Verdi
20 Gioia del Colle - Uéffilo
22 Roma - Teatro Studio Auditorium
23 Assisi -Teatro degli Instabili
24 Bologna - Bravo Caffè
25 Ferrara - Torrione Jazz Club
27 Sant'Elpidio - La Limonaia

Dodicilune Novita' : Cinzia Spata, Salvo Lazzara, Camilllo Pace

2011-02-08T00:47:00.000-08:00

Cinzia Spata - Into The Moment

Preparazione, originalità, voglia di rischiare, e una line-up straordinaria, un gruppo tutto americano con il talento di Bruce Barth al pianoforte e il vibrante tenore di George Garzone su tutti: queste le doti di “Into the moment”, ultimo splendido lavoro di Cinzia Spata, una delle voci italiane maggiormente stimate all'estero, vera e propria musicians' musician.
Mezzo espressivo primario, per Spata la voce è pensata e “suonata” come un vero strumento, con le sue modulazioni, la sua tecnica improvvisativa, le sue nuances. Cinzia Spata pensa la voce e pensa i brani, da lei tutti arrangiati: un florilegio di nuovi e vecchi standards, da "Questar" a "My Favourite Things", da "The widow in the window" a "Soul Eyes". Un disco che denota un gusto leggero e regala un piacere centellinato e fine, fatto di goduriosa eleganza e sottile gioia.

Cinzia Spata, vocal
Bruce Barth, piano
Dave Clark, double bass
Yoron Israel, drums
Ken Cervenka, trumpet, flugelhorn
George Garzone, tenor sax

Salvo Lazzara Pensiero Nomade – Materia E Memoria

" I think at life as a continuous flux of experiences, a passing through of events, a daily ritual of memory. Maybe music is the best way, just like poetry, to stop the time and grab the sense of life in this constant change and mutability. "

Salvo Lazzara, guitars, oud, bass, loop & samples
Davide Guidoni, drums, percussions, programming,
Alessandro Toniolo, flute, devices,
Luca Pietropaoli, trumpet, flugelhorn, devices,
Fabio Anile, piano, keyboards, programming, percussions.

Camillo Pace & Connie Valentini – Uhuru Wetu

Un giorno mi vedo recapitare a casa un cd con sei fra i più famosi brani di Bob Marley, Hallelujah di Leonard Cohen e il brano originale “Il volo dell’angelo”, interpretati con gusto e maestria dalla voce di Connie Valentini e da Camillo Pace in veste di contrabbassista, arrangiatore e compositore. Insieme a loro, la chitarra di Nando Di Modugno, le percussioni di Pippo Ark D’Ambrosio, che completano con classe la ritmica appropriata a questo tipo di sound, e le voci di Nyamai Anthony Mukoko e di Likono Alexander Ashivaka, che, con i loro cori, sottolineano il clima tribale-mediterraneo di questo progetto. Accanto a tutto questo non potevano mancare gli interventi di Roberto Ottaviano che con le sue frasi sempre originali, puntuali e con un bellissimo suono, crea energia e tensione positiva. Ho lasciato per ultimo Vincenzo Deluci , perché, quando ho ascoltato “No Woman No Cry”, le sue note, già dall’introduzione, mi hanno emozionato per la loro anima profonda e sincera. Quando , dopo qualche giorno, mi ha chiamato Camillo per chiedermi se mi era piaciuto il cd e se mi andava di partecipare alla registrazione, non ho potuto fare a meno di accettare con entusiasmo l’invito. Questa è la storia di “Uhuru Wetu”. "
Marco Tamburini

Camillo Pace, doublebass
Connie Valentini, voice
Marco Tamburini, trumpet, flugelhorn (4, 5, 6)
Roberto Ottaviano, soprano sax (1, 3, 8)
Vincenzo Deluci, slide trumpet (2)
Nando Di Modugno, guitar
Pippo Ark D’Ambrosio, percussions
Nyamai Anthony Mukoko, voice (5, 6, 7, 8)
Likono Alexander Ashivaka, voice (5, 6, 7, 8)
All arrangements by Camillo Pace

WIDESOUND ITALIAN ETNO-FOLK

2011-02-08T00:09:00.000-08:00

TERRE DEL SUD – IL PASSAGALLO – RIBRIGANTI BAND

Da casa Wide, una nuova collana discografica che propone musica tradizionale italiana, in chiave acustica, con strumenti riconducibili alla cultura popolare senza tralasciare le varie espressioni e contaminazioni. Dal centro Italia, Ethno-folk non privo di contaminazioni world attuali e decisamente “trendy” in pregevoli produzioni che esaltano le tradizioni agro-pastorali e mediterranee d’Abruzzo.

- Ri briganti Band – Musicultura Sud(d)ista

- Terre del Sud - Musiche e balli tradizionali

- Terre del Sud – Tarantella alla Macella

- Il Passagallo – Co’ l’occhi bassi ( musica popolare in Terra D’Abruzzo)

- Ri Briganti Band – Musicultura Sud(D)Ista

- Terre Del Sud - Musiche E Balli Tradizionali

- Terre Del Sud – Tarantella Alla Macella (Musiche e balli tradizionali)

- Il Passagallo – Co’ L’occhi Bassi ( Musica popolare in Terra D’Abruzzo)

Novita' Ace Records del mese di Febbraio

2011-02-07T02:04:00.000-08:00

Da casa Ace, nuova corposa uscita che spazia tra rock & roll e musica nera in tutte le loro sfumature, per non parlare dei grandi autori che hanno contribuito all’evoluzione della musica americana. Un a fonte inesauribile per collezionisti ed appassionati di questi generi, che troveranno materiale rarissimo e da anni introvabile raccolto in cd a lunga durata. Il passato di blues, rock & roll e black-music in genere rivive attraverso questa label.

THE SONGS OF DAN PENN & SPOONER OLDHAM

SWAMP DOGG

DORIS TROY

JACKIE DE SHANNON

RICK NELSON

THE MUSIC CITY STORY

Sweet Inspiration – The Songs Of Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham

We have received many requests to add Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham to our songwriter series. It’s never really been about if we would, so much as when. With 2011 being something of a “Year Of Southern Soul” for Ace and Kent, what better way to kick it off than with a genius gathering of 24 of the best songs ever to bear their names below the title.

“Sweet Inspiration” does a bang-up job of assembling the key songs Dan and Spooner wrote together during the 1960s and early 1970s. A quick look at the track listing will show prospective buyers that my co-compiler Bob Dunham and I have tried hard to make sure that there’s a version of every major Penn and Oldham composition included. We haven’t always chosen the obvious versions, so there will be some nice surprises here for even the most avid collectors. It was difficult to bring what started out as a massive wish list down to just 24 selections, but we think our choices do justice to the performers of the songs and, most importantly, the writers.

Everyone will have their own highlights. Mine would include Arthur Conley’s Fame recording of ‘In The Same Old Way’ (which was originally written as a straight ahead country song) and country thrush Jeanne Newman’s riveting, previously unissued Goldwax recording of ‘It Tears Me Up’, one of the earliest songs Penn and Oldham wrote together. I’m also very partial to the Southern sincerity of the Box Tops’ ‘Everything I Am’ (a UK Top 3 hit for Plastic Penny in late 1967) and Tommy Roe’s little-known 1966 take on ‘Wish You Didn’t Have To Go’, a number made more famous a year later by James and Bobby Purify. But greatness abounds from beginning to end of this set, and it’s unlikely that any prospective purchaser will not be totally impressed by everything it contains.

A companion volume – which will also include songs co-written by Dan and/or Spooner with collaborators such as Donnie Fritts, Rick Hall, Marlin Greene and Chips Moman – will hopefully see the light of day next year. In the meantime, here’s over an hour of the sweetly inspired songwriting of Wallace Daniel Pennington and Lindon Dewey Oldham. Oh, what a power!

Tracklist

01 OUT OF LEFT FIELD - Percy Sledge //02 I'M YOUR PUPPET Dionne Warwick // 03 SWEET INSPIRATION The Sweet Inspirations // 04 A WOMAN LEFT LONELY Charlie Rich // 05 I WORSHIP THE GROUND YOU WALK ON Etta James // 06 I'M LIVING GOOD The Ovations // 07 TAKE ME (JUST AS I AM) Solomon Burke // 08 CRY LIKE A BABY Arthur Alexander // 09 IT TEARS ME UP Jeanne Newman // 10 SLIPPIN' AROUND WITH YOU Art Freeman // 11 I MET HER IN CHURCH Tony Borders // 12 ARE YOU NEVER COMING HOME Sandy Posey // 13 LET IT HAPPEN James Carr // 14 EVERYTHING I AM The Box Tops // 15 FEED THE FLAME Ted Taylor // 16 WATCHING THE TRAINS GO BY Tony Joe White // 17 IN THE SAME OLD WAY Arthur Conley // 18 DENVER Ronnie Milsap // 19 DREAMER Patti LaBelle & The Bluebelles // 20 GOOD THINGS DON'T COME EASY Irma Thomas // 21 I NEED SOMEONE The Wallace Brothers // 22 HE AIN'T GONNA DO RIGHT Barbara Lynn // 23 WISH YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO GO Tommy Roe // 24 LET'S DO IT OVER Joe Simon

Swamp Dogg – It’s All Good (A singles Collection 1963 – 1969)

Some compilation CDs carry titles that oversell their content, but not this one. As the compiler and annotator of the project, I can say with hand on heart that here’s one collection with a title that you can truly believe in.

What you get here really IS “all good”. The songs may not have made their creator rich, or famous beyond the circle of collectors who avidly seek out each and every note he recorded, but these 24 tracks amply demonstrate why Jerry Williams aka Swamp Dogg is held in such high regard by soul fans, and why there’s still enormous demand for his music almost 60 years after he cut his first recordings as an 11 year-old piano-playing prodigy.

“It’s All Good” brings you more than 25 year’s worth of primo Swamp, in a variety of styles and under almost as many aliases. It embraces everything from Jerry Lee Lewis impersonations (‘Hum Baby’, ‘She’s So Divine’) and Northern Soul anthems (‘If You Ask Me’), big city balladry (‘Baby You’re My Everything’ and Swamp’s previously unissued, stunning version of ‘Oh Lord What Are You Doing To Me’) to sublime Southern Soul (‘Knowing I’m Pleasing Me And You’) and then some. More than anything, it demonstrates the multitudinous talents of Jerry Williams Jr. as musician, singer, songwriter, producer and arranger of some of the best music made across the last 50 years.

We’ve managed to find room for a couple of great 60s sides that, for one reason or another, managed to evade release at the time of their recording. The rest of the selections were all originally issued on singles. Some of them also appeared on Swamp albums, but we have used the 45 versions – many of which have never appeared on CD – to give collectors something new. With superb sound quality throughout and a booklet packed with pics and info, it’s a treat that will enthral Dogg-lovers all over the world.

“It’s All Good” comes to you with the personal seal of approval of Swamp Dogg himself. As well as being a great listen in its own right, it’s the perfect complement to our earlier “Blame It On The Dogg” compilation, as well as other Kent titles by Doris Duke, Sandra Phillips/Bette Williams, Irma Thomas and Charlie “Raw Spitt” Whitehead that bear his unmistakable stamp. If “It’s All Good” lives up to its title and your expectations, you could do worse than invest in any and all of those.

Doris Troy – I’ll Do Anything (The Doris Troy Anthology 1960 – 1966 )

I’ll never understand why the term “one hit wonder” has come to be seen as pejorative. One hit is certainly one more than I ever had – how about you?

Doris Troy placed only one song on the US Hot 100, but what a song! ‘Just One Look’ has endured as a much-covered standard, heard in countless movies and commercials. If that one wonderful hit is all you know of singer-songwriter-producer-arranger-session vocalist-actress Doris Troy, then here’s chance to catch up with what you missed. I’ll give you a hint – you’ve missed a lot. Doris Troy earned every hyphen. “I’ll Do Anything: The Doris Troy Anthology 1960-1996” amasses, for the first time ever, songs from every phase of a most illustrious career, ranging from her very first recording to her last.

Affectionately dubbed Mama Soul, Doris Troy cut her teeth singing in church and worked as a teenaged usherette at New York’s legendary Apollo Theater before joining Cissy Houston, Dionne and Dee Warwick and Judy Clay in forming the premier New York studio backup group (two Chuck Jackson classics that feature cameos by Doris are included herein). She released two singles in 1960 as Doris Payne and a 1961 duet under the name Jay & Dee (all three make their digital debut here) before striking gold with her self-penned superhit.

10 sterling examples of her tenure with Atlantic Records comprise the heart of this set, including the irresistibly catchy ska-tinged ‘What’cha Gonna Do About It’ and ‘Please Little Angel’, co-written with a then-fledgling writing team named Ashford and Simpson. Incidentally, Doris co-wrote the song that gives this anthology its title, ‘I’ll Do Anything’, with another nascent writing combine you may have heard of named Gamble and Huff.

Both sides of the ultra-rare 1967 Capitol single ‘He’s Qualified’ and ‘Face Up To The Truth’ make their CD bow here. After that release, Doris decamped to England, again becoming the go-to girl for background vocals on classic hits for Dusty Springfield, George Harrison, Pink Floyd and the Stones, to name a few. In cahoots with Harrison, she released a brilliant LP on Apple in 1970, represented on this disc by ‘Ain’t That Cute’ and ‘You Tore Me Up Inside’.

Two definite high points are 1974’s Dandy Livingstone-produced reggae-inflected romp through Eddie Floyd’s ‘Don’t Tell Your Mama’ and a sparkling disco workout from 1977, ‘Can’t Hold On’, both new to CD. By this time, Doris had moved back to the States where she eventually starred in the musical based on her life, Mama I Want To Sing, written by her sister, New York radio luminary Vy Higgensen. The sisters are heard on a high-spirited duet released here for the first time anywhere.

Doris’ final recording was for Ace in 1996 – ‘Hear Me Calling’, a duet with British blue-eyed soul wunderkind James Hunter. Doris’ heartfelt, gut-wrenching reading of the gospel standard ‘Take My Hand, Precious Lord’ provides a poignant and powerful coda to a poignant and powerful collection.

The customary worth-the-price booklet includes rare photos and cuttings, remembrances from friends and colleagues Ady Croasdell and David Nathan, and Mick Patrick’s biographical essay drawing from a previously unpublished 1995 interview with Mama Soul herself. If you’ve only given just one look to Doris Troy, “I’ll Do Anything: The Doris Troy Anthology 1960-1996” is a golden opportunity to rectify that oversight.

Jackie DeShannon – Come And Get Me (The Complete Liberty And Imperial Singles Vol. 2)

Ace’s first volume of Jackie DeShannon’s Liberty and Imperial singles left her at the end of 1963. The same girl who performed a blistering set of folk and blues at LA’s Ash Grove venue had, a few weeks later, effortlessly climbed the Wall of Sound with Jack Nitzsche to produce one of the generation’s great pop records, ‘When You Walk In The Room’.

1964 saw Jackie composing more quality pop with new writing partner Randy Newman, then touring the States as specially requested support act to the Beatles hollering out ‘Shout’ to the screaming fans, and finishing the year in England exploring the boundaries of rock and folk with Jimmy Page.

1965 started gloriously with Jackie’s breathtaking recording of Bacharach and David’s homage to world peace ‘What The World Needs Now Is Love’. She co-starred with Bobby Vee in the teen movie C’mon Let’s Live A Little, laid down a riveting and still unreleased demo album of her own songs in the folk style, toured on the Caravan of Stars with the Drifters and Peter and Gordon, and took a break to study at the renowned Chouinard Art Institute.

In 1966 she recorded with the Byrds, released the sophisticated album “Are You Ready For This?” and signed a new recording and songwriting contract with Liberty.

This second volume of Jackie’s collected 45s leaves her at the start of 1967, when she laid down two ultra smooth and classy recordings of major film themes.

I’ve had the enormous pleasure of meeting Jackie a couple of times. Always excited, always enthusiastic, her conversation moves from spot-on analysis of the latest singers and bands, to recollections of every aspect of her life, to the thrill and tension of live performance.

Jackie DeShannon’s unwillingness to be typecast or pinned down to a single style has been the backbone of her splendid career and the reason why her loyal band of admirers – and all of those who have caught up with her over the years – find her performances, her songwriting and her recordings, a constant source of pleasure. Explore “Come And Get Me” at your leisure, you won’t be let down, you’ll smile with recognition and open your eyes wide at the unexpected, but most of all you’ll spend an hour and a bit with a young woman fully engaged in her career of making music of the highest quality.

Rick Nelson – In Concert The Troubadur, 1969

Rick Nelson and his four backing musicians were booked to play a week’s engagement at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. It wasn’t the first time the group had played there, but this time, between 30 October and 2 November 1969, the shows would be recorded for an album that would give new credibility to its star.

Six months earlier Rick had cut the Dylan song ‘She Belongs To Me’ and had used the steel guitarist Buddy Emmons on the session. Back in 1967, when Rick was recording his “Country Fever” album, Emmons had played steel on the old Jim Reeves song ‘When You Are Gone’, but the track was aborted. Rick was unable to secure the services of Emmons on a regular basis, so had toured for four months with his new trio of Randy Meisner, Allen Kemp and Pat Shanahan with the promise that “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow would join in time for the Troubadour recording. Let down at the eleventh hour, top pedal-steel player Tom Brumley joined just a day before the gigs began. The “In Concert” LP marked Rick’s first new recordings without his super sideman James Burton.

The album came as quite a shock to some people. Here was an artist considered by many to be a fabricated teen idol. Fired up and ready to go, at age 29 Rick Nelson had never looked or sounded better, singing the songs he loved, and some he’d written himself. How could he interpret Bob Dylan, Eric Andersen and Tim Hardin? It turned out that he could do so very well and the calibre of his own songs such as ‘Easy To Be Free’ even approached theirs. “In Concert” was a groundbreaking album that made a big contribution to the new style of music that came to be called country rock.

The album was released by Decca in the USA in January 1970 as a showcase for Rick and his new band. Not only did it receive critical acclaim, Rick’s fans also loved it. It was issued in a superb gatefold sleeve, folding out to reveal some great colour photos of Rick and the band, with a close up of Rick in action on the front cover. All the Troubadour concerts were recorded over a four-day period, sometimes with three shows a night. The tapes were edited down and Rick made the final choice of 12 tracks for release. Those tracks were transferred from 8-track to 16-track for overdubbing.

Having been deleted for many years, the album is reissued here in glorious expanded form over two complete CDs – more than Rick’s legion of fans could have ever hoped for. As the compilers of this musical treat, we were able to listen to nine reels of previously unissued material, from which we selected the best tracks. CD1 comprises the original 12-track album from the actual master recording remastered with dramatically improved sound plus 10 previously unreleased live cuts. Some might say that these 10 tracks alone, remixed with great care by Rob Keyloch and mastered by Duncan Cowell, would make a great Rick Nelson CD. CD2 contains a further 20 unissued mixes of live recordings from the Troubadour shows. All sound so fresh and up-to-date that it’s hard to believe that they were recorded live and not in the studio. All the alternate versions have been mixed directly from the original 8-track recordings to produce pristine sound.

The Music City Story

Ray Dobard’s Music City Records of Berkeley, California, across the Bay from San Francisco, is a catalogue of mythic proportions that has been cherished for decades by a small hardcore of R&B, vocal group and, latterly, soul fanatics. Based on the available evidence – 50-odd 45 and 78rpm releases – and a lot of hearsay and rumour, many have spent hours fantasising about the purported riches in the possession of its famously protective, zealous owner.

Ace Records is thus proud to unlock the Music City vault for the edification and entertainment of the world at large with the 3CD set “The Music City Story”, an unprecedented survey of the label’s 25-year operation, and an excellent primer for Ace’s forthcoming genre- and artist-based compilations of Music City material, telling the story with many rare gems from the catalogue and a surfeit of previously unissued goodies.

Although Ray Dobard experimented with recording a variety of genres, the legend of Music City is predicated on its role as a premier exponent of black rhythm and blues styles, with a strong regional flavour. Most significantly, the sound of Music City was street. Much of what appeared on the label and lies in its voluminous cache of unreleased recordings can be said to reflect the evolution of black popular music between the early 50s and the mid-1970s. It reflects reality: this is what was heard in clubs and juke joints, at high school auditoria and rec centres, rent parties or literally out on the sidewalk, with all the dissonance and unoriginality that might imply, but matched equally by huge, invigorating dollops of innocence and exuberance, and a surprising amount of inspiration.

Amongst the set’s 78 tracks are names familiar to doo wop and blues collectors – the Crescendos, Gaylarks, Rovers, 5 Lyrics, Alvin Smith etc – while behind several others lurk famous names (James Brown, Lou Rawls) or others soon to be famous (Sugar Pie DeSanto, members of Sly & the Family Stone). From the raucous jump blues of Del Graham’s ‘Your Money Ain’t Long Enough’ to the hip street soul of Darondo, the breadth of genres represented is extensive, but the overall emphasis in “The Music City Story” is upon the black vocal group, be it 50s, 60s or 70s vintage. It is the rich seam of Bay Area groups mined by Music City that collectors most closely associate with the label. Dobard had only a couple of minor hits – the 4 Deuces’ popular ‘W-P-L-J’, Johnny Heartsman’s raucous ‘Johnny’s House Party’ – but kept the tape machine running pretty much constantly for much of his quarter-century in the business.

It has been many years since as significant a stash as Music City’s has come to light, and accompanying the tantalising musical treats is an extensive, heavily-illustrated sleeve note detailing the label’s history. Given that the late Dobard was notorious evasive, an air of mystery has always surrounded his activities in music, but this is the first time a recounting of the Music City saga has been based upon hard data, rather than supposition. Documents, letters, tape box annotations, discographical notes, session chatter, even recorded phone conversations form a considerable body of evidence, that helps bring into focus what this fiercely independent and pioneering black entrepreneur achieved. Ray was no Dootsie Williams or Jake Porter, but nevertheless, a picture emerges of a fascinatingly complex figure, whose role in the black music scene in the mid-20th century cannot be discounted. As venerable East Bay bandleader Johnny Talbot puts it, “to me, Ray Dobard was the foundation of Bay Area music. There was hardly anyone who did anything later who didn’t bump into Ray, so he had to be a foundation.”

Track list

CD 1

01 W-P-L-J The 4 Deuces - 02 YOUR MONEY AIN'T LONG ENOUGH Del Graham with Que Martyn's Orchestra - 03 KEEP ME SATISFIED, BABY Golden Boy with Chick Morris & His Band - 04 A PRAYER Al Joseph Harris with Chick Morris & His Band - 05 GUITAR BLUES Sidney Grande - 06 ON MY WAY Alvin Smith - 07 HERE LIES MY LOVE Mr Undertaker - 08 ANNIE PULLED A HUM-BUG The Midnights - 09 LATE LAST NIGHT The Twilighters - 10 ICHI-BON TAMI DACHI The Rovers - 11 JOHNNY'S STOMP Johnny Heartsman - 12 TELL ME, DARLING The Gaylarks - 13 I'M A WORKIN' MAN - The 5 Lyrics - 14 MORRINE - The 5 Campbells - 15 I DON'T STAND NO QUITTIN' - Gloria Jean - 16 CROSSING THE RIVER - The Dreamers - 17 THIS WICKED RACE - The Golden West Singers - 18 JERRY - The 3 Dons & Donna - 19 LIL TIPA-TINA The 5 Swans - 20 THE WHEEL Jimmy Nelson - 21 WRONG DOING WOMAN Jasper Evans - 22 DING DONG The Gayteens - 23 FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART Leon Pryor - 24 BURY ME IN THE SOUTH Al Bennett with The Country Travellers - 25 THE WALLFLOWER Unknown Duo - 26 BIG SIX RADIO AD

CD 2

01 JOHNNY'S HOUSE PARTY PARTS 1 & 2 Johnny Heartsman with The Rhythm Rockers & The Gaylarks - 02 ROCKIN' SATELLITE The 3 Honeydrops - 03 JUST ONE MORE CHANC Lord Luther - 04 LOVE ME TENDER The Fidels - 05 GONNA BLOW OUT THE LAMP Gene Lee & The Blues Rockers - 06 ARE YOU MY BOYFRIEND Wally & Theresa - 07 INDIAN JANE The Marcels - 08 I NEED YOU BABY Robbie Meldano - 09 FLIPPIN' & A-FLOPPIN' Pee Wee & Sugar Pie - 10 STATION L-O-V-E The Holidays - 11 BLUES ALL AROUND MY BED Jimmy Raney - 12 ELAINE The Klixs - 13 MUSIC CITY HOP Johnny George - 14 HEAVEN'S OWN CHOIR The Five Crystels - 15 DYNAMITE Kary Lynn - 16 LOVER'S PLEA The Pagans - 17 THE SLOPP Willie Moore - 18 BEVERLY MY DARLING Joe Blackwell & The Individuals - 19 PARTY AT VERN'S The Satellite Band - 20 MY HEART'S DESIRE The Crescendos - 21 YOU GAVE ME LOVE Lee Durrell & The Tamaras - 22 I WALK IN CIRCLES Little Lynn - 23 CHURCH ON THE HILL Bob & Jessie - 24 LOVE YOU ALL NIGHT LONG Little Willie Littlefield - 25 MIRAGE The Night Caps - 26 MAGNIFICENT MONTAGUE RADIO SPOT
Magnificent Montague

CD 3

01 SCHEMING Wanda Burt & The Crescendos - 02 ALL AROUND THE WORLD Vermettya Royster with James Brown's Band - 03 OCEAN OF LOVE The Franciscans - 04 THE KASAVUBU WALTZ D'Vonya White - 05 NATURE BOY The 4 Rivers - 06 LONELY ONE The Derbys - 07DON'T FENCE ME IN Jackie Day 08 I FEEL SO BLUE The Italics - 09 I'M WAITING The Fantastics - 10 WHAT TO DO The Swingin' Brothers - 11 YOU ARE MY LOVER GIRL The Powell Brothers - 12 I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE Johnnie Marie Thorne - 13 SOMETHING IN MY EYE The Music City Soul Brothers - 14 PASSING THRU MUSIC CITY Music City Swingers - 15 DO THE PHILLY The Music City All Stars - 16 TOO LATE TO CRY Lou Rawls - 17 FEELING FINE, FEELING GOOD Wanda Burt - 18 SHE'S COMING BACK The Soul Brothers - 19 HE'S ALL RIGHT The Heavenly Tones - 20 STOP TELLING ME The Two Things In One - 21 A MAN THAT IS NOT FREE The Soul Sensations - 22 DIDN'T I
Darondo - 23 LOVING YOU ISN'T ENOUGH The Ballads - 24 WHEN WE GET MARRIED PART 2
Tear Drop Tears - 25 FAREWELL GOODBYE MY LOVE The Performers - 26 KYA NEWSBEAT SPOT

SUGAR BLUE

2011-02-05T06:17:00.000-08:00

L’Alligator ristampa due dei più noti album di questo blues-harmonica virtuoso da anni introvabili. Sugar Blue, più noto per la sua collaborazione con i Rolling Stones (“Some Girls”, “Send It to Me” e la celeberrima “Miss You”) che per la sua attività di blues-man che lo ha pur portato a collaborazioni importanti (Willie Dixon, Roosevelt Sykes, Johnny Shines, Memphis Slim, Brownie McGhee). Queste due produzioni di metà anni ’90 per la major del blues Chicagoano ci danno l’esatta misura dell’incendiaria armonica blues di questo blues-man newyorkese.

- Sugar Blue – Blue Blazes

- Sugar Blue – In Your Eyes

Shanachie Novita' : Keiko Matsui

2011-02-04T02:13:00.001-08:00

Keiko Matsui

A quattro anni di distanza da “Moyo” ritorna questa popolare pianista giapponese con un nuovo disco per la Shanachie. “The Road” può essere considerato sicuramente un importante disco per capire sino a che punto la carriera di questa giovane e talentuosa pianista possa arrivare. Sicuramente Keiko deve essere considerata una pianista jazz ma in lei sono facilmente riscontrabili forme armoniche provenienti dalla scuola "classica" occidentale che si fondono con sonorita' piu' propriamente world e new age sino a creare quel sound unico e non definibile che noi chiamiamo “smooth jazz” d'autore.

- Keiko Matsui – The Road.....

After an atypical four-year hiatus, piano/keyboard virtuoso Keiko Matsui graces us with another gem, to be released Jan. 25, 2011. The quiet and beautiful wonder of Japan presents her 22nd U.S. release with The Road…, a kind of embrace of all she has been since the early years until now. There’s a bit of the period that serenaded us through Under Northern Lights and Cherry Blossom to Dream Walk and, most recently, Moyo with its nod to the exoticism of African rhythms and culture.

Having followed Matsui from the very beginning, with her debut release, A Drop of Water, and her incredible musical journey with the ever-memorable vocalist Carl Anderson, I can say that her growth has been such a breathtaking experience to behold. Witnessing a seed that was actually already budding when it was first planted, one didn’t have to be a clairvoyant to see where this young talent was headed and how promising a career she had. It has all come to full bloom and continues to produce bountiful dividends. As Danny Weiss of Shanachie Entertanment, which just signed Matsui, so accurately states: “Keiko Matsui is beyond category. She is a great jazz player, of course, but her music has such strong classical, world, and new age influences that the result is truly unique.” Unique has been Matsui’s signature since the beginning. There is no other with her sound, her touch, her feel for the elements and pictures that she so eloquently paints. That has always been her claim to fame and, I’m sure, will always be such.

Now, on to The Road… The album even reaches back to the early years and calls upon one of the first drummers with whom she ever recorded, Vinnie Colaiuta, on several tracks, then adds newness by featuring for the first time renowned saxman Kirk Whalum on the tracks “Awakening” and “Affirmation.” Saxman Jackiem Joyner is also still a vibrant and firm presence as he offers his telling sax on the final and title track.

The African thread is well sewn into this fabric with the collaboration with Cameroonian bassist, guitarist, and vocalist Richard Bona, who co-wrote the songs “Nguea Wonja” and “Touching Peace,” both very impressive indeed.

There’s even a touch of the blues on track 5, “Embrace,” in a way that you can only imagine the beauty that this charmer can evoke with the blues in her own sweet way. The blues never sounded cozier.

No Keiko Matsui album is complete without her “quiet” acoustic piano moments (and there are a few) where she demonstrates her mastery of the solemn, solidly sweet melodies that obviously tell a thousand stories of the places she’s been literally and in her heart. She can easily take you there as well, as she does with the previously mentioned co-written track “Touching Peace.”

All in all, this is once more Keiko Matsui in all her glory. The Road…, as is always the case with her road, is laced with melodies and imagination that make for quite the splendid journey. It is always a pleasure to be on that journey. – Ronald Jackson

Blue Rose Novita' : The Statesboro Revue - Paul Thorn

2011-02-03T01:42:00.001-08:00

Grazie alla tedesca BlueRose, possiamo apprezzare una delle più belle realtà della scena southern-rock Usa, gli Statesboro Revue, ed il nuovo album della rivelazione cantautorale di Tupelo, Mississippi, Paul Thorn con il suo ultimo album arricchito da un DVD con materiale live ed acustico inedito.

The Statesboro Revue – Different Kind Of Light

- The Statesboro Revue – Different Kind Of Light Band rivelazione di Stewart Mann che sembra in grado di ridefinire il rock and roll, con robuste iniezioni di blues e country, le vere e più autentiche sonorità roots del southern-rock contemporaneo! Per capire l'importanza e l'ambizione del progetto basti pensare che il nome della band è stato ispirato da un brano reso celebre da Willie McTell ripreso in molte esibizioni live dagli Allman Brothers. Quindi racidi blues e sudiste di prima qualita' tanto che del gruppo si è accorto uno dei piu' importanti talent scout d'oltreoceano, quel David Z's (Prince, Buddy Guy, Johnny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Govt Mule, Billy Idol, Fine Young Cannibals) che può essere considerato il Guru della Southern Music in ogni sua sfacettatura.

The Statesboro Revue was formed in March of 2007 after lead singer/primary songwriter Stewart Mann returned from a stint in Los Angeles. Too long so say he. After 7 years of trying his hand in Atlanta, Nashville, Austin, and Los Angeles, the native south Texan decided it was time to come back home and return to his roots. So he filled up a uhaul and hit the road never to look back, the kind of guy he is. "The past is what brings us to the present and the future, so treat it as if it's taken you somewhere, not as if it were still here." I would venture to guess that little line has multiple meanings behind it.

On to the band name, which comes from a Blind Willie McTell tune that was covered by The Allman Brothers, who just so happen to be Mann's all-time favorite band. The Revue, as opposed to the commonly misused review, derived from a night when Mann found each of his band members entertaining folks as if each were a member of a circus...we'll just leave that up to the imagination.

After recording a debut album as Stewart Mann and the Statesboro Revue, with the help of Jacob Sciba (Govt Mule, Taj Mahal, etc) at none other than Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studios, the band quickly hit the road, and hit it hard. Playing over 250 shows in 2007 alone (well 9 months anyway), they started turning heads everywhere they played. Playing anywhere and for anyone, they quickly earned the reputation as the hardest working, hardest playing band out there.

After selling over 15,000 records with little to no distribution, Mann was bound and determined to make more waves in 2008. After rotating a few band members, Stewart came across lead/rhythm guitar player Todd Laningham, who Mann calls the "most tasteful tunesmith I know." Already intact was drummer Beau Wadley, who lived on Mann's couch for 6 months after "taking an extended break" from Texas A&M, where Mann spent 2 years prior to his Nashville move. Bass player Rob Alton shortly followed, by way of Boston's esteemed Berklee School of Music. Lead guitar/rhythm guitar player Will Knaak is the latest addition to The Statesboro Revue, and it's with open arms. "Will Knaak commands an audience that's for sure, and between the two of us we feel like we can take down the world, in the most modest way possible." No need to clarify, after seeing them I believe it wholeheartedly.

After playing 300 shows in 2008, show 301 led them to what could be their ticket to a successful future. The Chuggin Monkey on 6th street on a Monday night was the setting, and little did the guys know their playing would bring an important someone in from off the streets. Rose Melillo, whose name has been relatively obscure aside from with industry people up until this point, happened to be in town and out and about on a random night. Lucky for Stewart and the guys, she was listening as a hobo ran off with her pizza. Distraught and needing a drink to settle her nerves she says she heard Stewart's voice from across the street. After stopping in for a listen, she left not expecting to see Stewart again. Shortly thereafter, however, she heard the same voice again inside another bar. Stewart had taken a break and jumped up on stage with friend Sam Sliva across the street from where he was playing. Fate one might ask? Stewart began talking to Rose and the rest is history so they say.

After a few amazing showcases Stewart and the boys are in the midst of signing with Rose and good friends, A&R guru Patrick Clifford (RCA, etc), and Grammy-winning mega producer David Z's (Prince, Buddy Guy, Johnny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Govt Mule, Billy Idol, Fine Young Cannibals, etc) new label venture (yet to be named as of press time).

With their interweaving of rock, blues, and country, Stewart's innate ability to write songs that touch and move the soul, and musicians that can hang with the best of them, The Statesboro Revue are bound and determined to make 2009 their year. With a live show that reminds of a cross between the Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers, Black Crowes, Al Green and Van Morrison; equal parts dynamic and soulful vocals, energetic showmanship, delightful musicianship, moving lyricism and melody for days, mixed in with jam band like grooves, this band is the best of everything that existed in the late 60s early 70s. Not since the Black Crowes in the early 90s has a band come out of the woodworks with such piss and fire and the arsenal to back it up. This is one hell of a band."

Paul Thorn – Pimps And Preachers

Il pubblico internazionale si è accorto di questo nuovo cantore - cantautore nell'anno appena trascorso per le sue innumerevoli apparizioni live che lo hanno portato ad aprire i tours di Bonnie Raitt, Mark Knopfler, e John Prine tra gli altri. Ma per Paul è finalmente arrivato il momento di brillare di luce propria e, che dire, la luce che emana è quasi accecante. Nella sua voce c'è rabbia e smarrimento ma anche una ricerca di redenzione, nel suo stile la chitarra grida e supplica creando emozioni contrastanti. Insomma un poeta dei nostri giorni pronto a regalare al nostro spirito tutta la sua genialita'. Non è il suo album di esordio ma penso possa essere considerato quello della maturita'. Imperdibile.

Among those who value originality, inspiration, eccentricity, and character - as well as talent that hovers somewhere on the outskirts of genius, the story of PAUL THORN is already familiar. Now, Thorn reveals another layer of his fascinating history on the album Pimps & Preachers, addressing that subject on the title cut and in the intriguing "family portrait" he painted for the cover, which highlights his daddy the preacher and his uncle the pimp.

The cover depicts a teeming street scene at the unlikely intersection of Redemption Lane and Turn Out Boulevard. Two figures dominate: a pimp and a preacher, both dressed to the nines beneath broad-brimmed hats, surrounded by hookers, holy rollers and hangers-on, and all on their paths to salvation or perdition. Nearly lost in this tumult is a small boy banging a tambourine branded with the name of Jesus, but backed up against a streetwalker holding a fistful of greenbacks. “That little boy represents me,” says Thorn. “I'm in the church group, but my eyes are looking back to the street where all the sin is going on. It shows me being intrigued by the broad world. That's why I made this my album cover. It describes who I am.”

Born in Tupelo, Mississippi and raised among the same spirits (and some of the actual people) who nurtured a young Elvis generations before, Thorn has rambled down back roads and jumped out of airplanes, worked for years in a furniture factory, battled four-time world champion boxer Roberto Durán on national television, signed with and been dropped by a major label, opened for Bonnie Raitt, Mark Knopfler, and John Prine among many other headliners, and made some of the most emotionally restless yet fully accessible music of our time.

Still, Thorn's story has never been complete. If you follow it back through his songs, at some point near the beginning the mysteries gather like a mist, obscuring the picture and leaving unanswered the question of how he acquired his ability to find brilliance buried in shadows, darkness in daylight, poetry in the mundane, and truth in the brutal beauties of life.

Pimps & Preachers addresses this lingering riddle. On Thorn's ninth album, the answer begins in the title and the cover image, painted by Thorn with the same power, paradoxes, rough edges and passions that animate his writing and performance. Specifically, it takes us to a central theme of Thorn's youth: the pull of polar opposites - one representing the severe ecstasies of fundamental faith and the other, the pleasures stigmatized and yet glamorized by the church.
Similar ambiguities fuel the work of other artists to whom Thorn can be compared, from Tom Waits and Lucinda Williams all the way back to Robert Johnson and Hank Williams. What stands Thorn apart from this august company is how personally this dichotomy guided his formative years. In his seminal albums, particularly his landmark Mission Temple Fireworks Stand, his upbringing as the son of a Church of God pentecostal minister became a matter of record. What hasn't been clear, though, is the parallel impact of his father's brother, who showed up suddenly from California when Thorn was 12 years old. “He was a pimp back in the day,” Thorn says. “I had never met him before, so when he came back to Mississippi he had all this street wisdom and I started hanging around him as well as my father. My father was my mentor, but I learned a lot from my uncle too. Everything I've accomplished has been influenced by the time I spent around these two men.”
Thorn remains close to his father and his uncle today, closer than ever since his uncle has long abandoned his former livelihood. Yet the qualities that so strongly affected Thorn endure in the lyric to the title track, which honors them both; one for teaching him to love, and the other for teaching him to fight. For all the moral questions raised by the choices each man made, Thorn came to accept what they represented as essential and complementary. His embrace of opposites leads to a unity of spirit in Thorn's music, which is brought fully to life by his gift as a narrative writer.

This message rings throughout much of Pimps & Preachers, perhaps most intimately on “I Hope I'm Doing This Right.” The confession implicit in its title is tempered by Thorn's conviction that life is a full-color proposition. “The song says 'Hank Williams was in the darkness when he sang I Saw the Light. I believe there's good in everyone, I hope I'm doing this right',” Thorn reflects. “I was talking to somebody the other day about this and they said, 'As big an alcoholic and a screw-up as Hank Williams was, how did he ever write a song that beautiful?' And I said, 'He was able to write it because he was an alcoholic and a screw-up. Otherwise, he wouldn't have even recognized where the darkness and light were.”
Elsewhere on Pimps & Preachers, Thorn conveys this theme through brief but epic vignettes - parables, almost - in the tradition of his father's Biblical exegeses. “Love Scar” grew from a conversation Thorn had with a woman backstage at London's Royal Albert Hall shortly before he would open for Sting. He noticed that her shoulder bore a tattoo of an eye shedding a tear. When he asked what it meant, her answer was sadder and deeper than he had expected. “She told me about how she met a handsome guy and they had some drinks together,” Thorn recalls. “She had a one-night stand with him and got so distracted by his charm that she went out and got this tattoo because of his opening line when he had started to hit on her: 'If I could be a tear rolling down your cheek and die on your lips, my life would be complete.' Unfortunately, that tattoo is with her forever, even though he was gone the next day.”

Each track recounts its own story while clarifying and reinforcing Thorn's broader vision. The comic yet unsettlingly candid account of romantic opportunity lost too soon on “Nona Lisa,” the immeasurable intensity of love captured in the artfully offhand lyrics of “That's Life” (taken entirely from words spoken to Thorn by his mother), the assurances extended to all who suffer through uncertain times in “Better Days Ahead” - every moment on Pimps & Preachers speaks universally but with a fluency that stems from the earthy blues, haunted old-school country, and stripped-down urgency of the gospel music that surrounded Thorn throughout his Mississippi upbringing.

But Thorn's knack for using snapshots from everyday routine as the elements of this exquisite writing owes entirely to his distinctive abilities and commitment to linking these elements into a profession of mercy and forgiveness - ultimately, the real message of Pimps & Preachers. “Look, there's nothing wrong with songs about holding hands or sitting by the phone and waiting for a girl to call,” he says. “But I wrote songs like that when I was 15. I'm trying now to sing about things that mean something to me, for people who want something real, who not only want forgiveness but are willing to give it. Besides,” he concludes, bringing Pimps & Preachers back home. “If I came back to my dad or my uncle with songs like that now, they'd both kick my ass! So I'm still just trying to follow their lead.”

Highnote Novita' : Jeremy Pelt - Ernestine Anderson

2011-02-02T01:49:00.000-08:00

Jeremy Pelt's The Talented Mr. Pelt

Quando pensiamo ad una casa discografica che abbia un'idea di cosa sia il jazz, di cosa sia stato il jazz e come si stia evolvendo, penso di non poter essere smentito se dico che il primo pensiero corra all'etichetta Highnote. Per coloro che desiderano suffragare tale affermazione ecco la nuova produzione di questo personaggio semplicemente gigantesco: l’acclamato trombettista emergente Jeremy Pelt, con l’atteso seguito di “Man Of Honor”.

Jeremy Pelt's "The Talented Mr. Pelt" is just the kind of album one thinks of when it comes to how jazz is supposed to be: cool, confident, swinging and just a little mysterious. Pelt's group is that rarest of all things in jazz, a working band, and the familiarity and communication that come from extensive time spent playing together is evident. All the players are among the foremost 30-something neo-bop players in jazz today giving the group an all-star-type reputation with a well-rehearsed sound that comes only with familiarity and countless gigs. Pelt's own playing has earned accolades for his staggering virtuosity, which has elicited comparisons to trumpet icons like Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard, as well as for his studious, cerebral approach to the music.

Jeremy Pelt, trumpet, flugelhorn;
J.D. Allen, tenor saxophone;
Danny Grissett, piano;
Dwayne Burno, bass; Gerald Cleaver, drums

Ernestine Anderson – Nightlife

Solo l’Highnote di Joe Fields poteva firmare il ritorno di questa vocalist blues-jazz texana molto popolare negli anni ’60 /’70 grazie alla sua produzione per la Concord che aveva ottimizzato la voce di questa signora di colore, oggi ottantenne, dopo una lunga militanza nelle orchestre di Johnny Otis e di Lionel Hampton. Il nuovo album dal vivo la trova in ottima forma in compagnia di una stellare line-up di jazzisti contemporanei guidata da un altro veterano, il tenor sax Houston Person.

Honest-to-goodness, real-life jazz singing is almost as rare these days as a nickel cup of coffee. There are far too few remaining practitioners of the honorable art of singing good songs with the lift, the swing and the subtle blending of music and emotion that characterizes the work of the best jazz improvisers. Ernestine Anderson is one of those rare beings. Years of singing and living have shaped a vocalist who can make your heart cry one moment and dance the next. Poignant ballads, sassy swing, and down-home blues — Ernestine Anderson is master of them all. Here from the world-famous jazz-Mecca, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola Ernestine is joined by tenor saxman Houston Person for a set of blues, sultry torch songs and up-tempo cookers, all of which convey a hypnotic and sensual presence that have earned her the title "jazz legend."

Ernestine Anderson, vocals;
Houston person, tenor saxophone;
Lafayette Harris Jr, piano;
Lonnie Plaxico, bass;
Jerome Jennings, drums

Cowboy Junkies - The Nomad Series Demons Vol. 2

2011-02-01T01:37:00.000-08:00

In questo secondo atteso volume ( dei quattro previsti ) delle Nomad Series della rock band canadese guidata dai fratelli Timmins il protagnosta principale è uno dei piu' importanti e sicuramente uno dei padri di quel genere che oggi noi chiamiamo "Americana". Infatti questo cd è considerato da piu' parti come l'ultima chance per i cowboys di pagar tributo ad uno dei loro padri ispirativi, quel Vic Chesnutt con il quale sono stati in tour piu' volte e dal quale sono stati affascinati per la capacita' di creare storie cantate con un umorismo quasi noir dove ladri e sconfitti senza speranzo erano i protagonisti di un atteso riscatto. Folk e alternative country con sonorità avvolgenti e di notevole intensità contraddistinguono questa nuova prova indipendente del popolare gruppo di Toronto che si conferma una delle più belle ed originali realtà della scena rock canadese.

- Cowboys Junkies – The Nomad Series Demons Volume 2 (Margo, Michael e Peter Timmins e Alan Anton in gran spolvero!)

The Cowboy Junkies have been a consistently perplexing source of music for over two decades. From album to album, the music finds its breath in the shadows of rock, folk, blues, post-punk, alt-country, and pop. It’s an endlessly interesting catalog that explores new textures and themes while somehow always sounding like the same band that cut a low-fidelity collection of blues covers in their garage in 1986.

Last year, the band released Renmin Park, volume one of their four part Nomad Series. The album blended ambient recordings of China’s overwhelming din with the band’s most adventurous playing to date to create a work that captures the love and fear of life in a foreign land. On volume two, the band shifts their attention to Georgia and the music of Vic Chesnutt. The eleven Chesnutt covers that make up Demons are a fitting tribute recorded by a band well suited to handle his macabre sense of humor that teeters between hopelessness and laughter, often in a single verse.

Vic Chesnutt’s songwriting never lacked for honesty. His life unfolded in his music in a way that was often unsettling. His life performances often elicited a swinging pendulum of emotions from the audience who could find him grating and transcendent in the same moment. Much like Townes Van Zandt, his extraordinary music is most appreciated by other artists who understand the perfect realization of emotion in his work. In 1996, Sweet Relief II was released and Vic’s star briefly burned with R.E.M., Cracker, Garbage, and Mary Margaret O’Hara providing memorable covers of his earliest songs. It brought some long overdue attention to his work and helped offset his mounting medical expenses brought on my a car accident in 1983 that broke his neck and left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. His career would slide back under the radar after a brief stint on a major label but each new album managed to find an audience.

After hearing Chesnutt’s West of Rome, Cowboy Junkies ventured to Vic’s hometown of Athens, GA to record 1996’s Lay It Down. The album remains a high water mark in their career both musically and lyrically. The band would go on to tour with Chesnutt several times and he joined them in Toronto in 2007 for the Trinity Revisited project. The seeds for a Junkies/Chesnutt project were planted during Revisited but time ran out on the idea. On Demons, Cowboy Junkies turn the lost opportunity into a beautiful overview of Chesnutt’s career. In doing so, the band digs deeper into their own music and unearths a sound that recalls The Band’s finest work.

“Wrong Piano” opens the album and immediately dispenses any notion that Cowboy Junkies are playing it safe on Demons. The thick fuzz of Michael Timmins’ guitar rides atop a droning organ and transforms Chesnutt’s acoustic original from Is The Actor Happy? into a driving rocker that maintains the loose spirit of Chesnutt’s best recordings. There was never a certainty of direction when Vic played and the band manages to sustain that spirit of adventure in larger arrangements.

Slow and dark, “West of Rome” spins a web of alcoholism and lonely masturbation in a motel. Much like the original, the music provides minimal adornment to the lyrics and leaves singer Margo Timmins alone to sort through the emptiness. The setting remains the same on “Square Room” (from The Salesman and Bernadette); another hopeless tale of a suicidal alcoholic “chasing rum with rum” while “shivering and homesick.” The task of capturing these emotions falls on Margo Timmins and she does so with a tender sense of resignation.

Capturing some of the unusual tics in Chesnutt’s work would be impossible but Cowboy Junkies do not shy away from his most challenging material. On “Supernatural”, the intentional disagreement of “it weren’t supernatural” casts a mysterious glow over the proceedings. Rising to a falsetto and turning words into elongated syllables of sadness that dance with a clarinet, “We Hovered With Short Wings” is one of Chesnutt’s most eclectic compositions. The Junkies follow it closely, with a clarinet tip toeing over shuffling jazz and Chesnutt’s own voice joining their chilling arrangement.

On 2009’s At The Cut, Chesnutt’s voice and resolve sounded strong when he declared “oh death, I’m not ready” on “Flirted With You All My Life” but only months later, he was gone. Cowboy Junkies strike all the right chords with a performance that breaks through any tragic irony. Margo Timmins’ voice soars towards the heavens and the music swings in celebration of Vic Chesnutt’s life. Before he left this world, Townes Van Zandt wrote a song for Cowboy Junkies and sang “there’s a hole in heaven where some sin slips through.” After sketching out all his demons in song, Chesnutt found that hole and will be waiting on the other side to play more songs when we arrive.

Fonte : No Depression

ANDERS OSBORNE WINS TWO OFFBEAT - "BEST OF THE Beat" AWARDS

2011-02-01T00:46:00.000-08:00

Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Anders Osborne won two OffBeat magazine "Best Of The Beat Awards" in a ceremony held in New Orleans on Friday, January 28.
Osbone took home the award for Best Roots Rock Album for his recent Alligator CD American Patchwork, as well as the honor for Best Guitarist.
In his review of the CD, OffBeat writer John Swenson wrote, "American Patchwork is the album Osborne fans have been waiting for. The record is a focused and tuneful triumph. Osborne's gifts as a guitar player are significant. His voice is so emotionally intense it feels like an explosion. He writes with remarkable eloquence...This is the living definition of great art."
Osborne is currently taking a break from touring with his own group to play a series of dates with The Voice Of The Wetlands All-Stars, a band that includes Tab Benoit, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, Cyril Neville, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, and Waylon Thibodeaux

Cuneiform Novita' : John Surman - Carlo DeRosa - Planeta Imaginario - Gutbucket - Led Bib

2011-01-31T02:13:00.000-08:00

Da casa Cuneiform, di cui segnaliamo la disponibilità dell’intero catalogo, presentiamo le prime uscite del 2011. Una label di sicuro affidamento e punto di riferimento per i cultori del progressive, del free, del rock più creativo e contaminato e del miglior British-jazz..

John Surman - Flashpoint

For nearly 45 years, John Surman has been one of England's best known modern jazz musicians. His career began in the late 60s as both a sideman and a leader with such notable greats as John McLaughlin, Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, Terje Rypdal, Mike Westbrook, Barre Phillips, Albert Mangelsdorff, Chick Corea and many others. He began working with the ECM label in the late 1970s where he has released a string of fine work that continues to this day. Every period of his career is filled with highlights, which is why Cuneiform is exceedingly proud to release for the first time ever this amazing document of the late 60s 'Brit-jazz' scene.
The NDR Jazz Workshop was a weekly show featuring all manner of jazzmen of the day. The taping of this NDR show was around the same time as Surman was recording his second album as a leader, How Many Clouds Can You See, so this is a unique chance to get an expanded view of his formative work as a leader and also at the early work of his musical compatriots who appear with him here. For this occasion, Surman led a ten-piece ensemble featuring the cream of modern British jazz players: John Surman - soprano and baritone sax, Kenny Wheeler - trumpet and flugelhorn, Alan Skidmore - tenor sax and flute, Ronnie Scott - tenor sax, Mike Osborne - alto sax, Malcolm Griffiths - trombone, Harry Miller - bass and Alan Jackson - drums, as well as two Austrian musicians, Fritz Pauer - piano and Erich Kleinschuster - trombone.

Heard and seen on Flashpoint for the very first time since the original broadcast over 40 years ago are five great peformances, including two excellent Surman compositions that he never recorded elsewhere. High quality audio recordings from these musicians from this period are quite rare and video footage is basically non-existent. Captured in crisp, clear black and white footage and in excellent mono sound, this release is a exeptional and hugely important document that will blow the minds of Brit-jazz fans and will open the ears, eyes and minds of those who don't know the great and distinctive work of these fine musicians!
- John Surman – Flashpoint (CD + DVD edition) NDR Jazz Workshop feat John Surman - soprano and baritone sax, Kenny Wheeler - trumpet and flugelhorn, Alan Skidmore - tenor sax and flute, Ronnie Scott - tenor sax, Mike Osborne - alto sax, Malcolm Griffiths - trombone, Harry Miller - bass and Alan Jackson - drums, as well as two Austrian musicians, Fritz Pauer - piano and Erich Kleinschuster - trombone (Raro documento ’60 di questo British jazz hero dell’epoca celebre per il suo lavoro con musicisti del calibro di John McLaughlin, Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, Terje Rypdal, Mike Westbrook, Barre Phillips, Albert Mangelsdorff, Chick Corea, oltre che per le sue numerose registrazioni ECM..)

Carlo DeRosa - Brian Dance

Proficient, creative, a first-call, in-demand bassist, Carlo De Rosa has earned a reputation of very high standards. As a composer and band-leader of the quartet Cross-Fade, he also has very high standards, but outside of New York City clubs, this work has not been widely recognized. Brain Dance is set to remedy that situation!

Cross-Fade is a band of top-drawer musicians. In addition to Carlo's work on bass, the band features the constantly inventive saxophone work of Mark Shim, who released three albums on Blue Note and who plays here with an amazing fire and fervor, playing fast and intricate melodic lines as if cutting butter. Drummer Justin Brown is the youngest member of the group and the least known at this time, but his playing here is agile, assured and quite mind-boggling. Pianist Vijay Iyer should need no introduction; he is the rising young piano star of jazz today. Iyer was named the 2010 Musician of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association and he is up for a Grammy in February for 'best instrumental jazz album'.

These are obviously all great players, but great players deserve great material and one of the notable things about Brain Dance is the writing. The compositions give the players malleable material with which to work with; there's plenty of thematic material, but also plenty of room for them to add their individuality. The end result is greater than even the sum of their musical talents and the compositions. The music constantly moves between the modern, avant-garde and electric jazz worlds, never standing still, but taking the most interesting and attractive elements of these worlds and combining them into a new whole. For the listener who appreciates modern, cutting-edge jazz as well as cutting-edge jazz/rock, this album will be a hugely enjoyable musical revelation!

"Great writing and ensemble playing. Deep thoughtful solos."
– Jack DeJohnette

- Carlo DeRosa – Brain Dance Bassista, compositore e band-leader. Feat. Mark Shim, sassofoni, Justin Brown, batteria, e Vijay Iyer, pianoforte.

Getbucket - Flock

What happens when you take four highly opinionated, strong-willed and creative composer/musicians and put them in a band together? You might have a volatile problem on your hand...or else you have Gutbucket. From the beginning Gutbucket has had no single bandleader; the result has been an expansive yet unified and recognizable group sound.

With Flock, the group's fifth release, the twelve year-old Brooklyn-based quartet push their composer-driven, art-rock-tainted chamber jazz into new terrain. The group attacks their jazz with the ferocity usually reserved for punk. Their music is filled with layers of mature arrangements and a full-throttle blend of energy, chops, melody, intricacy and noise.

From the beginning, Gutbucket’s music challenged New York’s downtown norm – “a no-holds-barred approach to the jazz-rock paradigm” (The New York Times, 2010) – bringing a completely unique, road-tested performance and a sound that tilted much further towards rock than many of its jazz contemporaries. Gutbucket’s brand of jazz continues to have its signature biting edge, cunning sense of humor and appreciation for the loud and theatrical. Improvisations are woven seamlessly and sometimes unexpectedly into the band’s growing repertoire, and each composer in the group has developed an individual voice that simultaneously supports the collective.

Flock cements Gutbucket’s sound – still wearing the indie rock influences on its sleeve, but delving deeply into all four members’ work as individual composers, assimilating contemporary classical, free jazz, mathy art rock, and more. Audibly, Gutbucket learned from its decade of record-making and has produced its most ambitious disc yet. The band has produced a CD that is hard-hitting yet nuanced, with a new sonic and compositional breadth. Gutbucket’s imagination is in full bloom on Flock; the band sounds exactly like itself: immediate, ferocious, ambitious and inviting. During their dozen year ride, Gutbucket has brought its “impressive balance of passionate lyricism and pummeling angularity” (Time Out New York) to festivals, clubs and concert halls in 33 US states and 19 countries. All of this work and energy and power has been harnessed on Flock, the latest in their series of impressive albums!

“...achieves an impressive balance of passionate lyricism and pummeling angularity.”
- Time Out New York

“Forcing a conversation between punk, funk and free jazz for saxophone, guitar, bass and drums.”
- The New York Times

“A classic case of a band that defies categorization.”

– The Washington Post

- Gutbucket – Flock Il New York Times li ha sintetizzati con: “Forcing a conversation between punk, funk and free jazz for saxophone, guitar, bass and drums.”

Led Bib - Bring Your Own

A tremendously popular act at home in the UK, their last album, Sensible Shoes (their first with Cuneiform) was a 2009 'Album of the Year' winner with the prestigious Mercury Prize. They regularly play large-scale festivals and concert halls in the UK as well as festivals and shows elsewhere in Europe. So, in the wake of the huge press attention lavished on them due to the Mercury, and having appeared on UK's Channel 4 News, performing their version of the theme music to literally millions in front of the telly, did the mighty Bib decide to tone it down? Turn it back a notch? Definitely not. If anything, Bring Your Own contains some of their hardest rocking material to date, mixing the full throated cry of the dual saxes over loudly amplified Fender Rhodes and heavy bass and drums.

Those familiar with the Led Bib sound will recognize the trademark hooky melodies and idiosyncratic improvisation on this album. The raw energy and style remains, but it has never sounded so confident or accomplished, so genre-crossing and definition-defying. Here eastern melodies tumble into rock and roll grooves, there jazz phrases open up pastoral overtures, and elsewhere crescendos rise and disappear into whirring kraut-rock wormholes. The group has been playing together for over 7 years – and it shows. There’s an electricity here, a ‘group mind’ built out of a confidence in each of the member’s playing that means risks can be taken and their unique sound world cracked open and reassembled time and time again. The band has come a long way from their humble beginnings as Holub’s college music project!

Led Bib were formed in 2003 and have had the same formation since their beginnings; Mark Holub, drums; Liran Donin, bass; Toby McLaren, Rhodes and Chris Williams and Pete Grogan, alto sax.

"This is the sound of a band having fun… like a hot chainsaw through butter." – The Wire

"One of the UK’s most adventurous groups" – Jazzwise

"You’ll be hard pressed to keep the lid on this explosive tour de force of ensemble intelligence" – The Independent

"Rarely have two saxes, keyboard, bass and drums sounded so dangerous yet so compelling" – Observer Music Monthly

"It’s exuberant, intense, varied and exciting."
– BBC Music Magazine

" …a masterpiece of musical foreboding"
– The Metro

"...like a gale of fresh air"
– The Guardian

- Led Bib – Bring Your Own Secondo album Cuneiform per un gruppo che Jazzwise ha definito: “One of the UK’s most adventurous groups”.

Planeta Imaginario - Optical Delusions

As long-time fans of the 'Canterbury School' style of jazz/rock, a very appealing, very English, sometimes slightly whimsical blend of electric jazz with complex rock have sadly learned, this style and sound is rarely invoked nowadays. Planeta Imaginario are a creative and extraordinary six piece Spanish jazz/rock band that take some of the best influences from Canterbury style music and blend it with an original, very Mediterranean feel for a end result that is strongly their own but that is also redolent of 40 years of creative work in bringing jazz and rock together.
To get an idea of what their third album, Optical Delusions, has to offer, think of a great rhythm section of keyboards (Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes piano, acoustic piano, synths), electric bass and drums, influenced by creative rock bands like The Muffins, Hatfield, Caravan, National Health. Be sure to make note of the fact that the keyboardist is a excellent writer and arranger. Now add three jazz musicians on trombone, trumpet and alto, soprano and baritone saxophones, as well as guests on additional saxes, flute and French horn. Give all the musicians great tunes to play and don't forget to throw in a little dollop of weirdness to keep everything just a little bit off the (well) beaten track. This scenario is what you have here.

I would not have expected that the best current exponents of that great Canterbury sound would be a group of musicians from Barcelona, the heart of Spain's Catalan region, but expectations are made to be destroyed and Optical Delusions will utterly destroy you!

"From this album's earliest jittery unison lines and rocked up beats, this Spanish post fusion band sets the genre clock back to the 70's. Funny thing is, with its ensemble moxie and personal peculiarities, Planeta Imaginario wins expressive points in a style we might have given up for dead or irrelevant. The charm is in the details and the quirks.... It reminds us of what was lacking in much fusion of old: a sense of humour on the cultural playground. Could it be that fusion is ripe for a renaissance? Maybe musical models such as this one-from unexpected corners, globally and stylistically, will hasten a reconsideration of fusion's early demise."
– Josef Woodard, Jazziz, July/August 2008

BANG – IT’S ALL MEAT ( In vinile 180gr )

2011-01-31T01:11:00.000-08:00

Dalla tedesca Green Tree, ancora ristampe rock tei tardi ’60 e primi ’70 in vinile audiofilo 180 gr. Alcuni gruppi molto popolari in ambito psicho-rock-blues e hard-psichedelia dell’epoca molto appetiti da collezionisti ed appassionati.

- Bang - Bang (Hard rock band 1971)

- Bang – Bow To The King (1972)

- It’s All Meat - It’s All Meat (Garage rock band di Toronto, 1970)

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE

2011-01-31T01:08:00.000-08:00

Se ci chiedessero qual’è la miglior live band della scena psichedelica della Bay-Area dei sixties, ci troveremmo in imbarazzo nel rispondere. L’uscita di questi quattro live inediti della prestigiosa serie della Collector’s Choice sicuramente ci aiuta a poter dare una risposta. Non vi è dubbio che il duo Jorma Kaukonen – Jack Casady, asse portante del gruppo come lo sono stati per gli Hot Tuna, rappresenti due dei migliori specialisti dei rispettivi strumenti, che Spencer Dryden, anche se sottostimato, sia un grande batterista, che il buon Marty Balin sia un ottimo blue-eyed soul vocalist. Che dire poi della voce tagliente come un laser della grande Grace Slick e del songwriting di Paul Kantner, bravo tanto come vocalist quanto come chitarra collante di tanta band? Detto questo, siamo orgogliosi di presentare quattro concerti d’epoca in due cd singoli e due doppi, inediti ed ottimamente registrati, di questa Weast-coast band ancora in grado di emozionare profondamente.

- Jefferson Airplane – Signe’s Farewell Live At The Fillmore Auditorium 10/15/66 Late Show-Signe’s Farewell

- Jefferson Airplane - Grace's Debut. Live At The Fillmore Auditorium 10/16/66 Early & Late Shows-Grace’s Debut

- Jefferson Airplane - We Have Ignition Live At The Fillmore Auditorium 11/25/66 & 11/27/66-We Have Ignition Questo sottotilo perché è qui che si sono trasformati da “high flyin’ bird into a psychedelic spaceship” (2cd)

- Jefferson Airplane - Return To The Matrix Return To The Matrix 2/1/68 (2cd)

FRANK SINATRA

2011-01-30T07:50:00.000-08:00

Grazie alla Blue Moon e alla Spagnola Fresh Sound, abbiamo modo di poter apprezzare il Sinatra anni ’50, vale a dire il miglior Sinatra di sempre: “Una voce” che, accompagnata dalle più prestigiose orchestre dell’epoca, ha fatto sognare più di una generazione. Molto curata e prestigiosa la veste grafica e l’edizione digipack di questa collana che, nonostante il medio-prezzo, si presenta veramente molto bene. 12 cd che rappresentano un must per chi ama la buona musica!

- Frank Sinatra - Songs For Young Lovers + Swing Easy (Due 10 inch 1954 in 1 cd con l’orchestra diretta ed arrangiata da Nelson Riddle)

- Frank Sinatra - In The Wee Small Hours (1955 - con l’orchestra diretta ed arrangiata da Nelson Riddle)

- Frank Sinatra - This Is Sinatra Vol. 1 (1956 - con l’orchestra diretta ed arrangiata da Nelson Ridde. Billy May Axel Stordahl, e Heinie Beau)

- Frank Sinatra – Songs For Swinging Lovers (1956 + 2 bonus tracks e con l’orchestra diretta ed arrangiata da Nelson Riddle)

- Frank Sinatra - Closet To You (1956 + 1 bonus tracks e con l’orchestra diretta ed arrangiata da Nelson Ridde e l’Hollywood String Quartet.

- Frank Sinatra - A Swinging Affair (1957 + 2 bonus tracks - con l’orchestra diretta ed arrangiata da Nelson Riddle)

- Frank Sinatra - Where Are You? (1957 + 2 bonus tracks - con l’orchestra diretta ed arrangiata da Nelson Ridde e Gordon Jenkins)

- Frank Sinatra - Come Fly With Me + Come Dance With Me (2lp, 1958 e 1959 con l’orchestra condotta ed arrangiata da Billy May)

- Frank Sinatra - This is Sinatra Vol. 2 (1958 + 7 bonus tracks con l’orchestra diretta ed arrangiata da Nelson Ridde)

- Frank Sinatra – No One Cares (1959 + 2 bonus tracks con l’orchestra diretta ed arrangiata da Nelson Ridde e Gordon Jenkins)

- Frank Sinatra - Look To Your Heart (1959 + 3 bonus tracks con l’orchestra di Nelson Ridde e Ray Anthony e arrangiamenti di Nelson Ridde e Dick Reynolds)

- Frank Sinatra - Only The Lonely (1958 + 1 bonus track con l’orchestra diretta ed arrangiata da Nelson Ridde)

Barbara Casini - Barato Total

2011-01-29T01:05:00.001-08:00

Attendere un cd di Barbara è come attendere la primavera dopo un lungo inverno. Penso che sia questo il pensiero dei suoi numerosi fans che le riconoscono una classe e un'arte musicale fuori dal comune ma anche una personalita' attenta e sensibile. Barbara Casini è da anni una delle massime interpreti del jazz italiano nota tanto per le rivisitazioni della musica brasiliana quanto per quelle della canzone d’autore francese. Voce e chitarra fiorentina sin da ragazzina la fanno volare fino in Brasile che è diventato la sua seconda patria musicale. Barbara Casini è stata più volte definita la più importante interprete di musica brasiliana in Italia tanto da essere invitata piu' volte a esibirsi durante feste organizzate per promuovere la cultura di questo immenso e per la maggior parte ancora sconosciuto paese fatto si di divertimento ma anche di poverta' e tanta voglia di uscirne. La sua conoscenza della musica popolare brasiliana le hanno tra l'altro dato occasione di esibirsi piu' volte dal vivo con un altro grande musicista italiano che condivide con lei questo immenso amore per le melodie verdeoro ossia Stefano Bollani e i suoi Convidados di cui Barbara è per l'appunto la voce. Amore per il brasile che si è concretizzato in questo nuovo cd con cui Barbara vuole rendere omaggio a Gilberto Gil, "stupefacente compositore,chitarrista, cantante, poeta , cosi' profondo e cosi' giocoso". Godiamoci dunque questo nuovo lavoro di Barbara e lasciamoci pervadere dalla primavera in un inverno ancora cosi' lungo.

Barbara Casini - Canto Percussioni
Beppe Fornarelli - Chitarra 7 corde
Sandro Gibellini - Chitarra Elettrica
Special Guest
Stefano Cocco Cantini - Sax soprano e tenore
Massimiliano Rosati - Chitarra Classica Solo

Tracklist :
Pop Wou Wei - Drao - Ladeira da Preguica - Logunedé - Balafon - O Rouxinol - Flora - Expresso 2222 - Se Eu quiser Falar Com Deus - Um Carro De Boi Dourado - O Sonho Acabou - Nossa - Barato Total

Blind Pig Novita' : Damon Fowler – Devil Got His Way

2011-01-27T09:24:00.001-08:00

Grazie a casa Blind Pig, ritorna questo chitarrista di Tampa, Florida, che ha lasciato un segno quanto nel pubblico del rock quanto in quello del blues. Una conferma a livello nazionale ed internazionale per un’autentica promessa dello slide-guitar sound di matrice rock-blues accostato dalla stampa specializzata a personaggi del calibro di Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck e Duane Allman ossia puro Southern rock, swamp blues and lightning slide

Fowler's guitar work has been compared to Johnny Winter and Jeff Beck, while his slide guitar has a hint of the late Duane Allman. He can play fiery guitar runs with the best of them, but it's his lyrical work on lap steel and Dobro that makes him stand out among the legions of guitar heroes.
On Devil Got His Way, Damon fulfills the tremendous potential that his acclaimed Blind Pig debut, Sugar Shack, promised. His remarkable songwriting skills and vocal expressiveness are maturing, and his instrumental voice, by turns incendiary and deeply lyrical, is even stronger. Damon and his band have been touring extensively since the release of Sugar Shack, and there is quite a buzz already about this release.

"Make way for the next big-time guitar slinger, wire-walking Tampa, Fla., native Damon Fowler. This kid can play... Even better, he shows no need to kill you with pyrotechnics on his major-label debut for San Francisco's Blind Pig." -Chicago Sun Times

"After three self-released albums, Florida native Damon Fowler makes his Blind Pig debut with this notable project. Fowler oscillates between country, electric blues and Americana. He's a formidable slide guitar player... He has also mastered lap steel and dobro as well as electric guitar, and his playing throughout the album is deft. Indeed, Fowler may be so skillful that he prefers pickin' tasty to larger-than-life guitar heroics. Fowler wrote nine of the 12 tunes on the album, and his original material is solid. Billboard

"Sugar Shack is lean and slinky, powered by Fowler's exceptional work on electric guitar, slide, Dobro and lap steel...On Sugar Shack, Fowler is first-rate all the way." - Orlando Sentinel

"In the Blues world - or any other genre, for that matter--the complete package is hard to come by...to combine facile fervor on a Tele, a lap-steel, and a flattop with a truly compelling vocal style and soulful songwriting -- that's something rare in an artist of any age. It's even more impressive when such maturity and authenticity come from a 25-year-old like Damon Fowler." - Guitar Player

- Susan Cattaneo – Heaven To Heartache

2011-01-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

Conosciuta ed apprezzata nel nostro paese per aver trascorso un anno dei propri studi a Roma tanto da essersi formata oltre ad una sua Band d'oltreoceano anche una Band tutta italiana che la accompagna durante i suoi italici tour Susan è davvero qualcosa di straordinario. Grinta, Rock e vena compositiva non le mancano di certo cosi' come la voglia di farsi notare, di far strada in un ambiente non certo facile. E la cosa non è di certo passata inosservata visto che nel 2010 Susan è stata tra gli ospiti del Buscadero day mentre non indugia in complimenti la rivista inglese Maverick che di lei dice “Blending a powerful combination of blues, rock, country and soul this record is definitely set to make a mark on her musical career”.

- Susan Cattaneo – Heaven To Heartache (Vocalist rock oriented USA)

Passion, drive, and great writing – these adjectives define the music and life of Susan Cattaneo. Raised in the farm country of New Jersey, Susan found her place in the musical world at an early age, singing six-part harmony with her family around the dinner table. After stints in bands in college, she spent a year in Italy, where she studied Italian and performed a mix of standards and traditional Roman songs in various piano bars in Rome. Upon her return to the States, she began a dual career in New York City. By day, Susan was a television writer/producer, earning an Emmy nomination and NY State Broadcasters Award. By night, she was the lead singer in the Blackfish Band, a funk-folk outfit that also launched the career of Mike Errico, and that became a regular fixture at clubs like The Bitter End and Kenny’s Castaways. Applying her writing talents to the craft of songwriting was a natural next step, and following her musical dream, Susan headed to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music on a vocal talent scholarship.

Hired by the Berklee songwriting department upon graduation, Susan has spent the past few years splitting her time between teaching, raising two kids, and writing in Nashville, where three of her songs have been signed by producer/A&R man Michael Lloyd (Dirty Dancing, Belinda Carlile, Righteous Brothers, Frank Sinatra) for Curb Publishing.

In 2009 she returned to performing and released her first full solo album, Brave and Wild. The record was voted Boston debut of the year and one of the Top 10 records of the year (along with releases by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and the Avett Brothers) by Wicked Local.

JOLLY STORY VOL 1 & 2 – FAUSTO LEALI

2011-01-21T04:22:00.000-08:00

Dalla gloriosa casa italiana anni ’60, grazie al prezioso intervento della BTF, alcuni pezzi da 90 di questo catalogo che ha lasciato un segno nella musica italiana del periodo. Curatissima,come sempre la confezione e la veste grafica.

- Maurizio – Maurizio (Album Saar 1970 + 1 bonus track per il leader dei New Dada)

- Fausto Leali – Fausto Leali & I Suoi Novelty (Album Saar 1965 + 5 bonus tracks)

- Jolly - Story Vol. 1 Compilation dal 1959 al 1969 di 18 brani. Feat. Adriano Celentano, I Ribelli, I Campioni, Remo Germani, Le Amiche, Nicola DiBari, Tony Dallara, Roberta Mazzoni, Gli Scooters, The Casuals, Armando Trovajoli, Franco Battiato, I Quattro di Lucca.

- Jolly - Story Vol. 2 Compilation dal 1959 al 1969 di 18 brani. Feat. Adriano Cementano, I Giullari, Tony Dallara, Totò Savio, Fausto Leali, Enzo Jannacci, Ricky Shaine, I Ragazzi del Sole, Bob Mitchell, Augusto Rigetti, I Fuggiaschi, Peppino Gagliardi, Fausto Billi.

Bruce Cockburn in vinile 180gr HQ

2011-01-21T03:35:00.000-08:00

Per i cultori della musica d’autore, questo songwriter canadese ormai giunto a più di 25 album da quando ha iniziato la sua carriera nel 1970, rappresenta un punto di riferimento sicuro. Ecco dunque il pregevole progetto di ristampare i suoi album piu' significativi in vinile in un formato audiophile 180 gr vergine. Questo progetto può essere dunque considerato un evento che aiuterà ad apprezzare maggiormente l’opera di un eclettico songwriter baciato dalla musa dei cantautori dell’Eastern Canada. Per chi non ha mai avuto la possibilita' di ascoltarlo sino ad ora è bene ricordare che Cockburn ingloba nella sua musica tutto il genio, la sensibilità, le doti umane, e, non ultima, la spiritualità che fanno di lui un personaggio unico, per cultura, sensibilita' e voglia di ricerca tanto che nelle sue songs possiamo trovare le più disparate influenze: dal finger-picking guitar style degno del blues di Mississippi John Hurt sino alle armonie del jazz modale, non senza echi e suggestioni world che inglobano il lirismo ed i ritmi dell’India, l’Asia, e quelli della musica africana. In questi primi tre Lp abbracciamo comunque il Cockburn piu' folk e cantautorale degli esordi. Ogni Lp è accompagnato da una "card" con cui potrete scaricare gratuitamente e LEGALMENTE i brani piu' i bonus tracks apparsi a loro volta nelle ristampe su cds.

- Bruce Cockburn – High Winds White Sky (1971)

With 1984’s Stealing Fire, Bruce Cockburn’s words and music took a greater urgency thane ver before. The previous year, he made his first trip to Central America on behalf of the international development group OXFAM. While in southern Mexico, he visited a refugee camp that had recently been attacked by the helicopters of the U.S.-backed Guatemalan army.

The horrific experience sparked the anger- filled “If I had a rocket Launcher” a song which brought him unprecedented attention _ garnering heavy radio airplay and regular video rotation on MTV. Stealing Fire is full of many of Cockburn’s most powerful political songs, yet it boasts some of his most romantic numbers as well. From “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” to “Making Contact” whether issuing calls to action or cries for help. Bruce Cockburn's poetry demands affection. Upon its release Stealing Fire immediatly staked a claim as one of the most compelling albums by singer -songwriter in the 1980s. Nearly twenty years later, the album's impact is undiminished.

- Bruce Cockburn – Stealing Fire (1984)

"World of Wonders" Cockburn wrestles with both the beauty and ugliness that the world around him has to offer.

- Bruce Cockburn –World Of Wonders (1986)

Images and references to rivers, birds, mountains, and espacialy, sunlight abound on 1971's High Winds White Sky _ as they do on Cockburn's previus self-titled debut album and the subsequent Suwheel Dance. The three albums formed a powerful acoustic triology that established Cockburn as one of Canada's most important performers of introspective, literate songs.
High Winds White Sky remains a landmark recording _ as fresh and adventurous sounding as the day it was released.

René Aubry - Refuges

2011-01-20T03:11:00.000-08:00

Siamo lieti di presentare Refuges il nuovo lavoro del chitarrista e compositore autore di molti capolavori nell’ambito della musica per balletto e colonne sonore. Aubry è universalmente conosciuto come autore di melodie affascinanti e ricche di patos capaci di creare nell’ascoltatore sensazioni che coprono tutta la gamma delle umane emozioni giungendo con questo suo nuovo disco sulla vetta dei “sound artists”, al pari di altri grandi nomi come Francois de Roubaix, Pascal Comelade ed il nostro Ennio Morricone. Come quest’ultimi, l’alchimia della sua musica comprende di tutto: l’electro, il dub, il flamenco, il celtico, il rock, musica minimalista, orchestrale, il jazz, il bebop, e tutto quanto è fatto di ritmo e melodia. Riduttivo definire emozioni musicali a 360° con termini come new age o musica per balletto. Uno dei grandi musicisti del nostro tempo è tornato per darci dei picculi rifugi musicali in cui per qualche attimo riposare.

- Rene Aubry - Refuges Feat. Marc Buronfosse, Daniel Beaussier, Antoine Banville, Jun Miyake, Ali El Khatib.

" Music fills both air and bodies, meant for all and for none. It is music that reaches out to the unknown. Music is there not to convince or conquer, and when it wrings our hearts, it is to remind us that life is ardent, that man and the stars may be linked by invisible bridges. It progresses through the world, enfolding our lives like so many rings of power to render us invincible. Music does not choose who will love her, each of us is free to turn away or to embrace her, she invades our minds and takes her stand in the midst of our memories. For all eternity, this has been her rightful place and only human circumstances have momentarily dislodged her. Her place is at the heart of our history, like the calling of the wind, the echoing surf of the oceans, the rumbling of the storm.
René Aubry has invented a mysterious alchemy of sounds and melodies which one day stole into the world as if nothing were more normal than to soar beyond the clouds with the sole aim of lapping everything in a softer skin. This music, like a new lover, seems to recall long-buried memories of another time, another place, evoking a multitude of slight instances, the sketching of a gesture, a perfume, the sidelong glance of a woman passing.
The first time chance led me to these strange sounds, they were the accompaniment to a television portrait of Jean Genet.
I went straight to the film's director and producer to find the name of a composer inexplicably missing from the credits. Once I had tracked down the precious CD, I listened to it repeatedly day after day. At each hearing I experienced the same astonishment, the same mind-shift encouraging me to glide into worlds close by yet parallel, where fresh-created feelings welled up and flowed into landscapes newly invented at every instant, just for me, by the music. For this is a music that recreates the worlds of childhood, first loves, laughter and melancholy, lace gowns and Venetian carnival masks, where the solemn and the naive blend like voice and breath, banjo and concertina. What words, what novels, have been written to the sounds of "Dérives", "Steppe" or "Après la pluie" ? What secret connections exist between music and writing, both nourished in mysterious ways, both with the power to make the heart vibrate like a plucked violin string ?
We should thank these enchanters, who restore enchantment to the world ; we should welcome them gladly, telling them over and over again that they give meaning to our existence and that, without them, our long and only road would be that much more strewn with brambles and tears.

Yves Simon

Bear Family Novita' Gennaio 2011

2011-01-19T02:01:00.001-08:00

Due produzioni che, in modi diversi ma con risultati analoghi, testimoniano l’unicità di questa label tedesca amata come poche da collezionisti e revivalisti in genere

Next Stop Is Viet Nam – The War On Record : 1961 – 2008 Box di 13 cd e libro di più di 300 pagine con la guerra che ha segnato l’America e gli americani vista non solo attraverso gli occhi dei politici, ma soprattutto dai musicisti e dagli uomini dello spettacolo

13-CD set, LP-sized slipcase with 304page hardcover book. 334 tracks, playing time: more than 16h:49min). The most comprehensive anthology of music inspired by the Vietnam War ever released. Over 330 titles covering all facets of the war and its aftermath featuring The Doors, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Country Joe McDonald and dozens of other artists. Rarely heard documentary material including patriotic Public Service Announcements, field news reports and intercepted North Vietnamese radio transmissions of Jane Fonda and Hanoi Hannah. A heavily illustrated, full-colour 304-page book containing extensive artist/song notes, Vietnam War history and recollections by vets on their favourite songs. Two discs of music exclusively by Vietnam veterans. Never-before-released tracks recorded during the war by in-country soldiers. Mister, Where Is Vietnam ...NEXT STOP IS VIETNAM: The War On Record, 1961-2008 is a stunning, years-in-the-making anthology of the Vietnam War's musical legacy. Presented on 13 CDs with a 304-page book illustrated with numerous archival photographs, this collection examines the war in a powerful and unprecedented way. Over 330 music and spoken word tracks take the listener through a guided tour of this epochal period of modern history. From America's first, na‹ve impressions of a country called Vietnam through the spirited musical debate over the morality of the war to the healing meditations on the conflict's lengthy aftermath, this set captures it all and more. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez,Merle Haggard, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Ochs, Johnny Cash, Yoko Ono, John Lennon, The Doors, Country Joe McDonald and dozens of other artists including many Vietnam veterans are the tour guides through this enlightening and entertaining journey. - The full-color book that accompanies the music is packed with information on the songs and the artists who recorded them by music scholar Hugo A. Keesing; a history of the war by Vietnam historian Lois T. Vietri; and an oral history of the tunes that 'incountry' vets loved best by authors Doug Bradley and Craig Werner. The introduction to this remarkable tome is written by the legendary Country Joe McDonald. Strap in for a long and fascinating ride ...NEXT STOP IS VIETNAM.

- Johnny Horton & Johnny Cash – I’m Fishing Man (Johnny & Johnny andavano a pescare insieme, singolo di 3 brani sul tema dei due più uno di Hank Williams ed uno splendido quadro metallico con foto inedita corredato da spille magnetici. Al solito, molto curata ed originale la confezione)

A metal bulletin board with magnetic keyholders A rare, never-before-seen photo of Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton printed on a metal base to accompany an amazing CD single of Cash and Horton together! The photo comes with four attached magnets, so you can hang your keys! The CD has Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton on Rock Island Line and Hank Williams' I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Livin'. Plus there's Johnny Horton's demo of I'm A Fishin' Man.
AVAILABLE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!

Novita' Dodicilune Mese Gennaio

2011-01-18T13:34:00.000-08:00

Emanuele Cappellotto & Gianluca Sabbadin - Four Clockworks For Mandolin & Guitar Ben 17 duetti per chitarra e mandolino con due virtuosi quali Emanuele Cappellotto, mandolin, e Gianluca Sabbadin, guitar.

Mariano Di Nunzio Trio Barracina - Sonata a 3+2 Trumpet virtuoso con un originale line-up. Feat. Massimo De Stephanis, double bass Daniele Fusi, drums, Sandro Marra, alto sax, clarinet, Andrea Rellini, cello.

Roberto Marino – Trasparenze Piano solo da un talento emergente!

- Angelo Lazzeri Trio – Pipelettes Guitar trio da un virtuoso. Feat. Daniele Mencarelli, contrabbasso, e paolo Corsi, batteria.

- Sergio Armaroli Axis Quartet – Prayer And Request Vibrafonista alla guida di un quartetto con Claudio Guida, sassofoni, Marcello Testa, contrabbasso e Nicola Stranieri, batteria.

Xiomara - La Voz

2011-01-18T03:37:00.000-08:00

Al secondo album di Xiomara ci rendiamo conto che ci troviamo sempre piu' di fronte ad un fenomeno unico. Xiomara Laugart nella sua carriera è stata piu' volte accostata a Celia Cruz, Diana Ross, Macy Gray e ad ad altre "divinita'" del vocal jazz soprabbutto made in cuba come Omara Portuondo. Premesso che tali paragoni sono piu' che giustificati per quanto riguarda la caratura artistica del personaggio vi è anche da aggiungere che Xiomare è unica nel suo genere per le sue virtù peculiari e per la sua maestria impossibile da manipolare o imitare. Qualità vocali che trovano piena espressione in questo nuovo cd “La Voz” dove rivela in modo inequivocabile una flessibilità e sensibilità espressiva accompagnate una grande estensione vocale, “liquida” e fluente, che ben esaltano le influenze jazz. A impreziosire l’opera casa Chesky ci regala una registrazione in SACD superba per ascoltare questa latin-jazz o cuban-jazz cercando anche nell'incisione quell'emozione e quel brivido che solo gli audiofili piu' esperti sanno riconoscere.

- Xiomara – La Voz Feat. Axel Tosca Lougart, piano, Chris Smith, contrabbasso, Pedro Martinez, percussioni, Yosvany Terry, sassofoni.

They compare her to Celia Cruz, to Diana Ross, to Macy Gray, and to many other divas and music legends.

One thing for certain is that Xiomara Laurgart awakens a particular passion among her admirers and critics alike.

Xiomara Laugart is a diva, period. Xiomara can only be compared to Xiomara: she has her own spotlight, charisma, and a singular voice.

Considered by many as one of the most exceptional Cuban singers of all time, Xiomara is well versed in many genres: rumba, mambo, son, danzón, danzonete, merengue, guaracha, guaguancó, cumbia, hip-hop, the enormous gamut of Brazilian sounds, plena, tango, bolero, ballad-pop, rap, reggae, and even reggaeton... Her voice lets her get away with anything.

Some people, such as singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés recognize her as one of the best Latin American singers. Some go even further and make a place for her in the history of international music.

Those that go to her concerts are left amazed at how she carries herself with such grace, charisma, at what she puts into her songs, and the moving voice of the singer who could do the impossible with the range of her voice. While there is a lot to say about this woman who fills auditoriums anywhere she goes in the world, the majority of people prefer to save their breath and call her simply Xiomara Laugart.

Greg Trooper - Upside-Down Town

2011-01-17T01:10:00.000-08:00

Siamo orgogliosi di presentare il nuovo album di questo songwriter di Little Silver, New Jersey, che, a dispetto della visione musicale a 360° gradi sulla musica americana, è stato costretto ad autoprodursi (dopo aver conosciuto le produzioni di Dan Penn, Eric Ambel e Buddy Miller). Arrivato alla terza decade di attività e con una nutrita discografia alle spalle, Greg, che come pochi sintetizza la trinità della musica “Americana” (Memphis soul, Greenwich Village folk and Nashville twang.) ed ha scritto canzoni riprese da Steve Earle, Vince Gill, Billy Bragg, Robert Earl Keen, si ripresenta con “Upside-down Town” dove esprime tutto il suo talento in chiave di un attualissimo folk-rock. Per chi ha nel cuore le sonorita' alla Otis Redding, Bob Dylan e Hank William non potra' fare a meno di scoprire questo cd e soprattutto questo geniale cantautore.

- Greg Trooper - Upside-down Town Uno degli album più attesi di un grande songwriter Usa!

Rarely has there been a more aptly named singer/songwriter than Greg Trooper. Over three decades, the New Jersey native has soldiered on through the victories and setbacks unique to a career dedicated to music, proving through gestures large and small that he's one of our best. It's evident in the company he keeps, the critics who praise his recordings, the fans who invest in his shows and the artists who learn his songs, wishing they'd written them.

Raised in the shore town of Little Silver, NJ Trooper became enthralled by the greater New York area's rich music scene. He discovered a sort of holy musical trinity in the work of Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, and Hank Williams, with their guiding lights of passion, literary dexterity and plainspoken honesty. It's one reason Trooper's music feels equally informed by Memphis soul, Greenwich Village folk and Nashville twang.

Trooper has made an impact on the music scenes in all the places he's lived since leaving home after high school: Austin, Texas, Lawrence, Kansas, New York and Nashville. His albums have demonstrated creative vision as well as a collaborator's heart. Americana star Buddy Miller produced 1998's 'Popular Demons' album, while soul legend Dan Penn steered 2005's extraordinary 'Make It Through This World'. In the studio and on the road, Trooper's colleagues have come from roots music's most rarified circles: Larry Campbell (Dylan), Garry Tallent (Bruce Springsteen), Kenneth Blevins (John Hiatt), as well as headliners like Maura O'Connell and Bill Lloyd. His songs have been recorded by Vince Gill, Steve Earle, Billy Bragg and Robert Earl Keen, among others.

In a review of his live album 'Between A House And A Hard Place', music critic Barry Mazor said that Trooper "sings with a clarity of purpose and a variety of effect that few in the acoustic world match." Billboard magazine has called him "an artist of considerable insight and passion." Nashville music critic Robert K. Oermann has said Trooper's "songs and delivery grab you by the throat." Fans know a voice of grit and experience signing songs in which they recognize themselves. They also know that come the proverbial hell or high water, Greg will still be forging forward, trooper that he is.

Los Lobos - Tin Can Trust

2011-01-15T03:26:00.000-08:00

Dopo una lunga attesa, resa spasmodica dal bene che si è scritto sulla stampa specializzata, ecco finalmente disponibile “Tin Can Trust”, il nuovo album dei Lupi di Los Angeles. Un paio di canzoni latine molto belle circondate da grande rock in the finest Lobos tradition. Un album di grande sostanza, corposo e ben suonato, che lascia trasparire la forza della più popolare band di East L.A. L’incontro di due mondi, due culture, che cercano di amalgamarsi attraverso uno dei più affascinanti progetti di sintesi musicale lungo ormai un quarto di secolo.

- Los Lobos - Tin Can Trust Con una cover dei Grateful Dead (West LA Fadeaway), e canzoni come “Burn It Down” con Susan Tedeschi, “Yo Canto”, “27 Spanishes”, “Mujer Ingrata”,”Do The Murray”, “On Main Street”. La coppia Hidalgo-Perez in gran spolvero!

More than three decades have passed since Los Lobos released their debut album, Just Another Band from East L.A. Since then they’ve repeatedly disproven that title—Los Lobos isn’t “just another” anything, but rather a band that has consistently evolved artistically while never losing sight of their humble roots.

For Tin Can Trust—Los Lobos’ first release for Shout! Factory (due August 3) and first collection of new original material in four years—the venerable quintet reconnected directly with those roots by returning to East L.A. and recording at Manny’s Estudio, “in a rundown neighborhood,” says Los Lobos songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Louie Pérez. “That took us out of our comfort zone and allowed us to do what we hadn’t done in quite some time: to play together in the same room, as one. This was not about putting your feet up; this was about working.”

This was a no-frills studio,” adds David Hidalgo (guitar, violin, accordion, percussion, vocals). “We didn’t even have a couch to sit on; we had to bring one in.” We went into that studio and the first day everyone was asking, ‘Does anyone have any material?’” recalls guitarist/vocalist Cesar Rosas. “So I said, ‘Well, I have a couple of songs.’ Then Dave started hitting the keys and he came up with something, and then Louie followed. That’s the way everything worked out; that’s the way we made this record.”

What I liked about making this album,” says Hidalgo, “was the spirit of it: nobody said no to anything. If you had an idea, OK, try it. Just go for it and see where we end up.” It felt more like a group effort,” agrees bassist/vocalist Conrad Lozano. “We went into the studio with no ideas and worked some out. Before, everybody would come in with a finished product.” That unified vision and strong work ethic are evident in each of the 11 tracks comprising the self-produced Tin Can Trust, but so is something even greater, “an intuitiveness,” says Pérez, “that happens only from being in a band for so long.”

A rare example of longevity in a volatile music world that stresses style over substance, Los Lobos’ lineup has remained uninterrupted since 1984, when saxophonist/keyboardist Steve Berlin joined original members Pérez, Hidalgo, Rosas and Lozano, each of whom had been there since the beginning in 1973.

“This is what happens when five guys create a magical sound, then stick together for 30 years to see how far it can take them,” wrote Rolling Stone, and indeed, Los Lobos is a band that continually redefines itself and expands its scope with each passing year, while never losing sight of where they came from. Through sheer camaraderie and respect for one another’s musicality, they’ve continued to explore who Los Lobos is and what they have to offer, without succumbing to the burnout that plagues so many other bands that stick it out for any considerable length of time. Their influence is vast, yet they remain humble, centered and dedicated to their craft. Each new recording they make moves Los Lobos into another new dimension while simultaneously sounding like no one else in the world but Los Lobos. As All About Jazz raved, “The genius of Los Lobos resides in their innate ability to find the redemptive power of music, no matter the style they choose to play.”

“We’re long haul guys,” says Berlin. “If you’re in it for the long haul it makes staying together a lot easier. It’s a challenge, but the thing I’m most proud of is that we’ve never rested on our laurels. We keep trying to make every record feel like the first one and try to do the best we can and not tread on territory we have already trod on. What you hear is exactly what we wanted to do.”

Tin Can Trust, like so much of Los Lobos’ previous work, is an album that speaks to the time and place in which it was conceived. But it wasn’t until the songwriting and recording process was well under way that it occurred to the band that an underlying theme was trying to make itself heard. The phrase that ultimately became the album’s title can be traced back more than a century, but for the band it’s apt for the rickety state in whichso many of us find ourselves—and our world—today.

The characters that populate Tin Can Trust are often anxious and hurting yet they remain resilient and proud. The scenarios in which they find themselves and the emotions they are experiencing are all familiar. It wasn’t until Pérez and his songwriting partner Hidalgo had crafted the title track and another highlight of the album, “On Main Street,” that the album’s focus started to come into view. Says Pérez, “I usually have to find the direction everything wants to go. I try not to resist because as soon as you start fighting and move it in another direction, it just doesn’t work.”

A number of tracks on Tin Can Trust are Hidalgo-Pérez collaborations, including the album’s opener “I’ll Burn It Down,” with blues-rocker Susan Tedeschi offering a guest vocal harmony, and “Jupiter Or the Moon” – both of which feature Lozano on the upright acoustic bass. Hidalgo and Pérez are also behind “Lady and the Rose,” which Berlin calls “incredible, one of my favorite songs on the record, with great lyrics”; the dance instrumental “Do the Murray,” whose curious title is a tribute to Hidalgo’s recently deceased dog; and the album-closing “Twenty Seven Spanishes,” which attempts to encapsulate in one song nothing less than the entire tale of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, “blow by blow,” as Pérez says.

Of the remaining four tracks, three were written in whole or in part by Rosas, and the other is a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “West L.A. Fadeaway.” Lobos and the Dead have a shared history that extends back into the 1980s when the Angelenos befriended and opened shows for their northern peers. Los Lobos previously covered the Dead’s “Bertha” for a tribute album, and as Tin Can Trust took shape it occurred to the band to tuck “West L.A. Fadeaway,” which originally appeared on the Dead’s most successful album, 1987’s In the Dark, into their own new project.

We were fooling around with it live for awhile,” says Pérez, “and then when we got into the studio I think it was Cesar who said, ‘We’ve been messing with “West L.A. Fadeaway” for a while in our live shows. Why don’t we try learning it?’

We said, ‘That would certainly light up a lot of lives,’ because the Dead fans and Lobo-heads have always asked, ‘Why don’t you do another Grateful Dead song?’” Astute Dead Heads will also notice the co-authorship credited to Robert Hunter, the Grateful Dead’s chief lyricist, on “All My Bridges Burning,” which he wrote with Rosas. Amidst soaring, fuzzed-out guitars, spiritual organ from guest Rev. Charles Williams, rock-solid drumming and Lozano’s dependably in-the-pocket bass grooves, Rosas delivers Hunter’s words with heart and soul.

Rosas supplied the two Spanish-language numbers on Tin Can Trust, the cumbia “Yo Canto” and the norteño “Mujer Ingrata,” both of which forge a connection to the Mexican folk songs played by Los Lobos in their formative years and on their classic 1988 album La Pistola y El Corazón. “‘Mujer Ingrata,’” says Rosas has to do with a relationship gone bad. The title means ungrateful woman. And ‘Yo Canto’ is about seeing different people and looking at some nice chicks! These aren’t social comments about anything,” he adds with a laugh. “I write the plain songs and the traditional songs.”

It was during their earliest years that the particular hybrid of traditional regional Mexican folk music, rock and roll, blues, R&B, country and other genres began finding a sweet spot in the music of Los Lobos. “In 1973, when we first formed,” says Pérez, “we were four guys from East L.A. who were friends from high school who played in local rock bands. Then once we got out of high school you still had four guys who were just hanging out together. So the natural progression of things is to just start playing music again. You’d think that we’d form a rock band but then out of nowhere somebody got this idea of ‘Let’s learn a Mexican song to play for somebody’s mom for their birthday’ or something. Mexican music was largely just wallpaper for us—it was always in the background, and we never paid much attention to it. We were modern kids who listened to rock and roll. Then when we finally dug up some old records to learn a couple of songs, that was a real revelation to us that this music is actually very complicated and challenging. So at that point we were off and running.”

To sit around in the afternoons and play these old songs we had heard when we were kids, it felt good,” adds Hidalgo. “We’d get some Budweiser and some flatbread and string cheese and hang around. It was cool. Then it grew. The old folks were blessing us and thanking us for playing this music. That’s why we’re still here, because of moments like that.”

Their first several years, says Pérez, were a “chapter,” as Lobos began discovering who they were as a creative unit. The band’s 1978 Spanish-language debut found only a small audience, and quality gigs were few. “We ended up doing happy hours strolling in a Mexican restaurant. That wasn’t what we had in mind,” says Hidalgo.

By 1980, though, they began to turn up the volume, returning to rock music. At first, acceptance was evasive—at one notorious gig, Los Lobos was rejected by a hostile hometown crowd while opening for John Lydon’s post-Sex Pistols band Public Image Ltd. Before long though, Los Lobos had begun to build an audience within L.A.’s punk and roots-rock world. An opening slot for hometown rock heroes the Blasters at the Sunset Strip’s legendary Whisky A-Go-Go in 1982 was a breakthrough, and that band’s saxophonist Steve Berlin took a special interest in Lobos, joining the group full-time for 1984’s critically acclaimed Slash Records debut, How Will the Wolf Survive?

As the ’80s kicked in for real, Los Lobos’ fortunes quickly turned in a positive direction, and they became one of the most highly regarded bands to emerge from the fertile L.A. scene. “It was one of those places and times, like ’67 in San Francisco or Paris in the ’20s,” says Berlin. “A lot of really superlative creative energy was focused in that place at that time. It was a very collegial atmosphere because everybody was experimenting with everything: with their identities, with their music. It was a very exciting time to be in a place where everybody around you was doing really interesting stuff. To this day I think that ethos informs a lot of what we do.”

One of the most momentous events in Los Lobos’ history arrived in 1987, when the band was tapped to cover “La Bamba,” the Mexican folk standard that had been transformed into a rock and roll classic in 1958 when it was recorded by the ill-fated 17-year-old Ritchie Valens. Valens, the first Chicano rock star, was catapulted to legendary status the following year when he died in a plane crash along with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper and it was a natural choice that Los Lobos be asked to remake his signature hit for the forthcoming biopic of the same name. Little did anyone suspect that the remake would spring to number one on the charts!

We had met Ritchie’s family and they had asked for us,” says Pérez. “Of course, our emphasis at that time was on making our next album, By the Light of the Moon. Then ‘La Bamba’ came out and when the other record came out a few months later it was, By the Light of the Moon, what’s that? It was completely pre-empted by this massive hit. We had no idea what was going to happen.”

What happened was that Los Lobos was now reaching a vastly larger audience. “We were opening up for bands like U2 and the Clash and traveling around the world,” says Lozano. “You’d walk into an airplane and some little kid would be singing ‘La Bamba.’ It was a great time.”

Rather than capitalize on the elevated commercial profile that “La Bamba” had given them, Los Lobos instead chose to record as a followup La Pistola y El Corazón, paying tribute to their acoustic Mexican acoustic music roots. The next breakthrough came in 1992 with the release of Kiko, an album cited by many—including all of Los Lobos—as one of the best of their career. Bringing together all of the elements on which they had previously drawn and taking more liberties than in the past, Kiko “demonstrated the breadth of their sonic ambitions,” as the All Music Guide website put it. Comments Rosas, “With that album we didn’t want to be tied down to all the conventional ways of recording, so we started experimenting and making up sounds.”

Since then, on equally stunning albums such as 1996’s Colossal Head, 2002’s Good Morning Aztlán and 2006’s The Town and the City, Los Lobos has continued to deliver dependably solid and diverse recordings, a live show that never fails to disappoint, and just enough side trips—a Disney tribute album and a couple of live ones, solo and duet recordings (among them Hidalgo and Pérez’s ’90s diversion Latin Playboys), Berlin’s many production and sideman gigs—to keep their creative juices flowing. Tin Can Trust pushes Los Lobos ahead a few more notches while retaining everything the band’s loyal fans have come to expect.

There’s this thing that still happens, this musical thing,” says Pérez. “But if you took everything away, even the music, you’d still end up with four guys who were friends and hung out and grew up in the same neighborhood. And you can’t take that friendship away from us.”

We’re brothers and we all equally recognize that,” says Rosas. “That’s what keeps us going, knowing that we need to help each other and we need to get through this and we work well together. And we keep it real.”

We’re incredibly lucky,” adds Berlin. So are we—lucky to have Los Lobos.

Graham Parker - The Official Bootleg

2011-01-14T00:58:00.000-08:00

Graham Parker non ha bisogno d’introduzioni, si tratta di uno dei migliori cantautori ed interprete inglesi di sempre come testimonia la sua discografia anni ’70 dov’era accompagnato da una delle migliori bands del periodo, i Rumour. Questo box di 6 cd per la sua etichetta Up Yours in edizione privata ed ora disponibile anche in commercio grazie all'attenta Floating World ad un prezzo più che accessibile per i suoi numerosi fans rappresenta un evento per i cultori del rock d’autore. 6 cd di materiale inedito o “live” dai suoi archivi personali rappresentano un’attrattiva unica per tutti i suoi ammiratori e non solo. Personaggio più maturo e complesso dell’intero pub-rock movement che racchiude ”il soul sanguigno di Van Morrison, il folk arrabbiato di Dylan, il country introverso di Neil Young e la veemenza proletaria di Springsteen”. E come ogni buon vero (official ) bootleg che si rispetti ricordiamoci che è in tiratura limitata.

- Grahama Parker – The Official Bootleg Splendido box di 6 cd in edizione digipack, graziosa ed originale, dall’aspetto di un vero e proprio bootleg contenente: “Graham Parker & The Figgs – Live From Somewhere”, “The Bastrd Of Belgium’s Bastard Brother”, “Yer Cowboy Boot”, “Platinum Bastard”, “Graham Parker And The Small Clubs – Burning Bridges” e il ricercatissimo “Graham Parker & The Rumour Live At Newlands Tavern 1975”.

Track List

Disc 1: Graham Parker and The Rumour, Live at Newlands Tavern 1975

1.Chain of Fools 2.You Silly Thing 3.Between You and Me 4.Nothing’s Gonna Pull It Apart 5.The Raid 6.Don’t Ask Me Questions 7.Rockin’ Hawk (instrumental) 8.Gypsy Blood9.Not If It Pleases Me 10.Express Delivery 11.Back to Schooldays 12.Soul Shoes

Disc 2: Graham Parker and The Twang Three, Yer Cowboy Boot

1.Over the Border (to America) 2.Anything for a Laugh 3.Sugaree 4.Force of Nature 5.I Don’t Know 6.Success 7.Cruel Lips 8.You’ve Got to Be Kidding 9.Love Gets You Twisted 10.Tornado Alley 11.Almost Thanksgiving Day 12.Crying for Attention 13.Three Martini Lunch 14.Mr. Tender 15.Fool’s Gold 16.Nation of Shopkeepers 17.You Can’t Be Too Strong 18.Crawling from the Wreckage (Revisited) 19.Tell Me 20.She Never Let Me Down 21.High Horse

Disc 3: Graham Parker and The Small Clubs, Platinum Bastard

1.Nothing’s Gonna Pull It Apart 2.Back Door Love 3.Clear Head 4.Saturday Nite is Dead 5.Empty Lives 6.Dark Side of the Bright Lights 7.Canned Laughter 8.I Don’t Know 9.Dancing for Money 10.Brand New Book 11.Long Stem Rose 12.Oasis 13.Short Memories 14.Yesterday’s Cloud 15.Release Me 16.Mr. Tender 17.Platinum Blonde 18.Worthy of Your Love 19.Love is a Burning Question

Disc 4: Graham Parker and The Small Clubs, Burning Trousers

1.Three Martini Lunch 2.Anniversary 3.Here It Comes Again 4.Love is a Burning Question

Disc 5: Graham Parker and The Figgs, Live Cuts from Somewhere

1.No Holding Back 2.Devil’s Sidewalk 3.High Horse 4.Discovering Japan 5.Love Gets You Twisted 6.Jacksonville Intro 7.I’ll Never Play Jacksonville Again 8.Tough on Clothes 9.That’s What They All Say 10.Love is a Burning Question 11.Get Started, Start a Fire 12.If It Ever Stops Raining 13.That’s When You Know 14.Hotel Chambermaid 15.Shake Your Hips 16.Big Fat Zero 17.Sheena is a Punk Rocker 18.Fool’s Gold 19.Syphilis and Religion 20.Local Girls 21.Dark Days 22.Soul Shoes

Disc 6: Graham Parker, The Bastard of Belgium’s Bastard Brother

1.Over the Border (to America) 2.Watch the Moon Come Down 3.Guillotine of Guadalupe 4.Devil’s Sidewalk 5.Anniversary 6.White Honey 7.Soul Corruption 8.Stick to Me 9.Don’t Ask Me Questions 10.You Can’t Be Too Strong 11.Discovering Japan

GRAHAM PARKER needs no introduction, one of the UK'Sbest ever singer, songwriters and performers has a careergoing back into the 70’s with one of the hottest bands of
the day THE RUMOUR.
This box set from GP’S personal archive contains 6 discs from his own UP YOURS Label and is now widely available for the first time.Each disc is housed in a cardboard sleeve, looking just like a proper bootleg and features live and rare material.

Particular interest must be the 1975 recording LIVE ATNEWLANDS TAVERN with THE RUMOUR.

An essential purchase for any GP fans

Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop

2011-01-13T08:11:00.001-08:00

Da casa SGGW abbiamo il piacere di presentare le prime uscite in cd della storica etichetta di Stefan Grossman, personaggio che i cultori della chitarra acustica in stile folk, blues e ragtime ben conoscono ed apprezzano. Ecco in versione cd, con tanto di file PDF con le tablature visibili su qualunque computer , ( abbiamo indicato i brani con le tablature con un asterisco ) quanto aveva prodotto in vinile per la Kicking Mule/Sonet. Un must per i cultori della chitarra acustica e per tutti coloro che amano la chitarra

- Stefan Grossman & John Renbourn – Same Primo album di duetti datatp 1978 per John Renbourn l’ English-folk guitarist, e Stefan Grossman an American-blues guitarist. ( tutti i brani di questo cd ad esclusione di "Spirit Levels" contengono il file con le tablature )

Tracks
1. Snap A Little Owl 2. Bermuda Triangle Exit 3. Theme from Charles Mingus' The Shoes Of The Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers 4. Luckett Sunday 5. Why A Duck 6. The Drifter 7. Looper's Corner 8. Luke's Little Summer 9. Spirit Levels 10. The Way She Walks 11. Woman From Donori

“To label John Renbourn an English-folk guitarist, or Stefan Grossman an American-blues guitarist, amounts to the same: nothing. Renbourn, who's best known for his Pentangle association and fine solo albums, has played medieval, early classical, traditional, blues, regional English folk and contemporary jazz compositions. Stefan Grossman, who's also cut a pile of solo albums, has played classic and contemporary ragtime, delta blues, boogie, and regional American folk compositions, among others. Yet the performers and last Tuesday night's capacity crowd at the Other End shared a single mindedness that makes one music of all this eclecticism: a passion for the acoustic guitar and its infinite expressive possibilities. The evening was not only one of the most musically exhilarating in my experience, but one of the most educational as well – a relaxed class on styles and technique and a distillation of British and American sensibilities...

...They included a few numbers from their elegant new hybrid album, Stefan Grossman & John Renbourn. The album is all instrumental, all – except for a Mingus composition – original. Though it's much more bluesy, lilting, and sly, it reminds me of John McLaughlin’s acoustic album, My Goal's Beyond, with its gentle-jazz whispers and dramatic pauses. If one has ever picked or, plucked, the album is an invitation to figure out new ways to contort the fingers. If one hasn't, the liner notes skillfully decode who is playing which guitar line and when, As the concert did, the album pulls together the improbable and comes up with a surprising complement, rather like ordering a measure of ordering mead to quaff with your hot dog. And why not?”
– Jan Hoffman – The Village Voice

- Ton Van Bergeyk, John James, Dale Miller & Sam Mitchell – I Got Rhithm (Jazz compositions and rags da questi guitar-virtuosi)
The music that was popular from the turn of the century to the 1940's offers the guitar player some fascinating sounds to arrange. This album is a collection of pop standards, novelty instrumentals, serious jazz compositions and rags. There are many ways to approach this wide spectrum of music. This album features four of the finest acoustic guitar players. From the United States we have Dale Miller, from Holland the Dutch Wizard, Ton Van Bergeyk, from Wales John James and from England Sam Mitchell.

Each guitarist has his own individual sound and ideas for arranging. It is interesting to hear the differences in texture and feel that these four guitarists bring to their music. As well, this album shows the strength of the guitar as an instrument for capturing the sounds of a bygone era. From Sam Mitchell's slide guitar to John James' well thought out duets to Dale Miller's delicate combo like approach to Ton Van Bergeyk's complete sounding six string orchestra we get a glimpse into how one can try arranging and performing this music on the guitar. This album also has a certain humor. You can hear this clearly in Anno 1926 or (Who's That) Knocking At My Door or even the surf like Sophisticated Slide.

Tracks

1. I Got Rhythm*
Ton Van Bergeyk
2. Under The Moon
John James
3. Sophisticated Slide
Sam Mitchell 2
4. Medley For the Duke:
Jubilee Stomp & Take It Easy*
Ton Van Bergeyk
5. Anno 1926*
Ton Van Bergeyk
6. Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Dale Miller
7. Sugar*
Ton Van Bergeyk
8. The Cat And The Dog*
Ton Van Bergeyk
9. (Who's That) Knocking At My Door
John James
10. Frog-I-More Rag*
Ton Van Bergeyk
11. Dirty Dozens
Sam Mitchell
12. Ain't Misbehaving
Dale Miller
13. Stumblin'*
Ton Van Bergeyk
14. Ballin' The Jack
John James
15. These Foolish Things
Dale Miller

- John Renbourn & Stefan Grossman – In Concert
To label John Renbourn an English folk guitarist, or Stefan Grossman an American blues guitarist, amounts to the same: nothing. Renbourn, who's best known for his Pentangle association and fine solo albums, has played medieval, early classical, traditional, blues, regional English folk and contemporary jazz compositions. The obstreperous Grossman, who's also cut a pile of solo albums, has played classic and contemporary ragtime, delta blues, boogie, and regional American folk compositions, among others. Yet the performers and last Tuesday night's capacity crowd at the Other End shared a single-mindedness that makes one music of all this eclecticism: a passion for the acoustic guitar and its infinite expressive possibilities. The evening was not only one of the most musically exhilarating in my experience, but one of the most educational as well – a relaxed class on styles and technique and a distillation of British and American sensibilities.

John Renbourn performed solo opening with several traditional tunes from the British Isles. Renbourn looks the part – like Robin Hood's Littlejohn perhaps: a big-boned frame; broad ruddy cheeks; short, curling fair hair and beard; small, amused blue eyes. When he sings about Glasgow town and fair maids, we followers of traditional music believe him largely because of the songs’ simple beauty, but we also, I think, harbor a bad case of merrie olde anglophilia. Renbourn doesn't sigh wistfully for a lost world simultaneously bawdy and innocent – he recreates that world. He also played some instrumentals. Whether he's doing an alehouse blues or a 16th-century Italian dance, Renbourn's guitar style is characteristically delicate and controlled. He took a swig on his beer bottle and bent over Booker T. Jones's Sweet Potato, which opens with a taut bluesy little riff and then builds almost in spite of itself. Renbourn couldn't hold it in check, and the piece burst open at the seams as he leaned into it, the chords and fingerings hurtling faster and faster. Finally the tune receded into the neat, unassuming opening tiff, and ended. "You're amazing, John," somebody blurted out. The audience laughed and applauded, agreeing.

Enter Grossman, sporting a bright colored ukulele shirt and an uncompromising New Yawk accent ... Grossman is a wild, funny carny man. He banged and pulled at his bass strings, occasionally flatpicked, and sang-talked old blues and rags. Both guitarists commanded immediate respect. But while the audience was awed by the modest Renbourn's music-sculpting, they stamped and rebel-yelled for Grossman, who seemed antsy just to spit the songs out, playing strident delta blues and Reverend Davis ragtime like nobody's Aunt Sally. Grossman's brand of Americanism is as mythic as the world of traditional British balladry: red hot dogs and red hot mamas, a restless, cheerful braggadocio.

They played together for a final set that included the loopiest rendition of Candy Man I've ever heard, and a few numbers from their elegant new hybrid, Stefan Grossman & John Renbourn CD (SGGW119). The album is all instrumental, all – except for a Mingus composition – original, and a good deal more studied and dreamy than anything I'd have thought Grossman would put his hand to. Though it's much more bluesy, lilting, and sly, it reminds me of John McLaughlin's acoustic album, My Goal's Beyond, with its gentle-jazz whispers and dramatic pauses. If one has ever picked or plucked, the album is an invitation to figure out new ways to contort the fingers. If one hasn't, the liner notes by Karl Dallas of Melody Maker skillfully decode who is playing which guitar line and when. As the concert did, the album pulls together the improbable and comes up with a surprising complement, rather like ordering a measure of mead to quaff with your hot dog. And why not?

CD One:
1. Looper’s Corner 2. The Shoes Of The Fisherman’s Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers 3. Twelve Sticks 4. Cocaine Blues 5. Pretty Girl Milking A Cow 6. Tightrope 7. Make Believe Stunt 8. Medley: Sheebeg An Sheemore/Drunken Wagoner 9. The Assassination of John Fahey 10. Medley:Cincinnati Flow Rag/New York City Rag/Hot Dogs

CD Two:
1. Medley: Judy/Angie 2. Lindsay 3. Medley: Lament For Owen Roe O’Neill/Mist Covered Mountains of Home/ The Orphan 4. So Early In The Spring 5. The English Dance 6. Great Dreams From Heaven 7. Sweet Potato 8. Medley: Bonaparte’s Retreat/Billy In The Lowgrounds 9. Goodbye Porkpie Hat 10. Candyman 11. Midnight On The Water 12. Spirit Levels 13. Mississippi Blues

DVD:
1. Looper’s Corner 2. The Shoes Of The Fisherman’s Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers 3. Struttin’ Rag 4. The Assassination of John Fahey 5. Tightrope 6. Medley: Judy/Angie 7. Whitehouse Blues 8. Medley: Trotto/The English Dance 9. Goodbye Porkpie Hat 10. Candyman 11. Spirit Levels 12. Take A Whiff On Me

- Stefan Grossman – Shining Shadows (Album di blues anni ’20 e ’30 datato 1984)

Stefan Grossman's life story unfolds like the plot of a fantastically farfetched novel studded with mythical and mystical characters and music at every turn. You can look at it like this: At age 15 Stefan began his tri-weekly pilgrimages from Brooklyn to a shack on Park Avenue in the heart of New York City's Bronx to take lessons from a legendary bluesman, the late Rev. Gary Davis. He then became a dedicated member of the "Blues Mafia" - a group of researchers intent on rediscovering the great bluesmen who had performed on the race records of the '20s and '30s - where he became close friends with Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and other great black American bluesmen and songsters. Never one to rest on the oars, Stefan has authored many music books that present these styles to pickers worldwide.

Before moving to Europe in 1967 Stefan gigged with the Even Dozen Jug Band, an early counterculture rock band known as the Fugs, and Mike Bloomfield in the band Chicago Loop. While living in Italy several years later, Stefan decided that there was a shortage of good guitar records, so he co-founded Kicking Mule Records in 1973. With a lineup of artists that included guitarists Dave Evans, Ton Van Bergeyk, Happy Traum, Duck Baker, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and Davey Graham. Stefan was instrumental in promoting and preserving the best in blues, ragtime and contemporary picking. And in addition to his record producing, personal recordings, instructional writings and other projects, Stefan has kept up his live appearances.

Tracks (ogni brano contiene la tablatura )

1. Blues For The Mann 2. Requiem For Patrick Kilroy 3. Logan’s Water 4. Lemon’s Jump 5. Ms. Josephine Ayres 6. Beyond The Pleasure Principle 7. Sparkling On The Wind 8. Shining Shadows 9. Capricorn Five 10. Just a Closer Walk With Thee 11. Lament For A Goodman

- Duck Baker – King Of Bongo Bongo (Ancora Fingerstyle guitar playing su noti blues anni ’20 e ’30.)
Duck Baker plays all types of music. His playing combines genres as varied as rags, blues, country, gospel, cajun, bluegrass, Celtic music, ballads and jazz, swing, New Orleans jazz and free jazz.
In this album he joins with Mike Piggott on fiddle and Stefan Grossman on guitar to offer an
exciting excursion in to the music of the 1920s and 1930s. Fingerstyle guitar playing with the Duck touch!

Tracks

1. New Righteous Blues 2. Crazy Rhythm 3. I Found A New Baby 4. No Love 5. There'll Be Some Changes Made 6. See You In My Dreams 7. I Ain't Got Nobody 8. Mama's Getting Younger, Papa's Getting Older Each Day 9. Immaculate Conception Rag 10. River Blues 11. Chicken Ain't Nothing But A Bird 12. King of Bong Bong 13. Business As Usual

- Rev. Gary Davis – At Home And Church (Box 3 cd di Religious songs, folk tunes, blues, rags)
In 1962 I started to take guitar lessons from Rev. Gary Davis. Each weekend and school holiday I would take two trains from my home in Brooklyn up to Park Avenue in the Bronx. Rev. Davis’s home was hidden behind a worn out tenement building, down a flight of stairs where the garbage cans were kept and then up another small flight of stairs to a single dwelling that was surrounded on all four sides by apartment buildings.

To say it was “different” would be to understate the effect it had on me. But once the screen door was opened and the scent of White Owl cigars hit my nose I knew I was at home. The warmth, generosity and education that I found in this “country shack” in the midst of the great New York City has lasted me a lifetime.

This set of three CDs captures Rev. Davis at home and church - teaching, talking and philosophizing. The first two CDs are material recorded at his Bronx home. Religious songs, folk tunes, blues, rags and memories are included. The music ranges from the heavenly to the bawdy. The third CD features a service I recorded where Rev. Davis plays and delivers sermons.

Tracks

Disc One (At Home):
1. Twelve Sticks 3 2. Sally, Where’d You Get Your Liquor From 3. Babylon Is Falling 4. What Could I Do 5. Children of Zion 6. Hesitation Blues 7. Candyman (on 5 String Banjo) 8. Steal Away And Pray 9. Goin’ To Chattanooga 10. Packing Up, Get Ready To Go 11. Untitled 12. You Cry Because I’m Leaving 13. Don’t Let My Baby Catch You Here 14. Lord Let Me Live Longer 15. I Want To be Saved 16. Waltz Time Candyman 17. Little Boy Who Made Your Britches 18. Talks about Verses Not Sung 19. C Rag 20. Two Step Candyman

Disc Two (At Home):
1. Piece Without Words 2. Lord Search My Heart 3. Slippin’ To My Gal Comes In Partner 4. Sun is Going Down 5. Raise A Ruckus Tonight 6. Save Up Your Money, John D. Rockefeller, Put the Panic On 7. Soon My Work Will All Be Done 8. You’re Gonna Need King Jesus
9. I’m Going Back To Jesus 10. Blues in C 11. Saddle It Around 12. People Who Use To See 13. Italian Rag 14. Candyman 15. Nobody Don’t Care For Me 16. Fox Chase 17. Talk on Blind Boy Fuller

Disc Three (In Church):
1. Amazing Grace 2. Sermon 3. I’m a Soldier In The Army Of The Lord 4. Sermon 2:40 5. Lord, I Feel Just Like Goin’ On 6. Steal Away 7. Can’t Make This journey By Myself 8. Sermon 9. I Will Overcome Someday 10. God Be With You

From the Mariposa Folk Festival:
11. I Got Religion I’m So Glad 12. I’m a Soldier In The Army Of The Lord

- School Of Ragtime - 10 Classic Rags

by Scott Joplin. Feat. Duck Baker, Lasse Johansson, Ton Engels, John James and Tim Nicolai arrangiamenti per chitarra di ragtime di scott Joplin)

In the early 1960's guitar players from the cities started to tackle arranging classic rags onto the guitar. Prior to this period there was no recorded evidence of guitarists attempting to do this. At the turn of the century Vess Ossman and Fred Van Eps successfully transcribed classic rags for the five-string banjo. But the role of the guitar was dormant until David Laibman and Dave Van Ronk started to experiment with these ideas.
This album presents ten Scott Joplin classic ragtime arrangements. They illustrate the fascinating approach that a guitar can take when playing ragtime. Plus they are great challenges for guitarists to master. In the world of fingerpicking these type of instrumentals are left for the "advanced pickers."

Tracks ( ciascun brano contiene la propria tablatura )

1. Maple Leaf Rag
Duck Baker
2. Solace - A Mexican Serenade
Lasse Johansson & Claes Palmqvist
3. Nonpareil (None To Equal)
Ton Engels
4. The Favourite
Lasse Johansson
5. The Strenous Life
Ton Engels
6. The Rosebud March
John James
7. Eugenia
Lasse Johansson & Claes Palmqvist
8. Weeping Willow
Ton Engels
9. Scott Joplin’s New Rag
Tim Nicolai
10. Elite Snycopations
Ton Engels

- The Entertainer – The classics of Scott Joplin rags arranged for six string guitar Featuring Ton Van Bergeyk, Leo Wijnkamp Jr., Jim McLennan, Bob Evans, Tim Nicolai, David Laibman & Dick Fegy.
The 1960s ragtime revival was the coming of age of a generation of fingerpicking guitarists. In ragtime, they found a music that was vastly challenging, great fun to play, and one that adapted well to the instrument. These were, for the most part, players who had taken up the guitar during the '60s folk revival and learned how to fingerpick Elizabeth Cotten or John Hurt tunes and were looking for more demanding material. Ragtime more than filled the bill - even 'easy' guitar ragtime is a workout.

The first guitar ragtime recording, by Dave Laibman and Eric Schoenberg, was released in the late 60s and shows how high a level of skill young fingerpickers had reached in their attempts to master the idiom. This present collection features arrangements by a slightly younger Europeans inspired by Laibman, Schoenberg and Stefan Grossman. The Swedish team of Johansson and Palmqvist are possibly the most accomplished guitar duo to play ragtime. As with tennis, playing duos requires a particular skill.

Two Dutch soloists are presented here - Ton Van Bergeyk and Leo Wijnkamp Jr. - two of the finest fingerpicking virtuosi of the day. The United Kingdom is represented by Welshman John James, who has gone on to a very active career on the British folk scene and Englishman Ton Engels, who has, like most of the performers here, gone off into other pursuits. This is also true of the fine Canadian guitarist, Jim McLennan. Dick Fegy has remained very much on the scene as David Bromberg's most dependable bandmember over the years, playing mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and acoustic and electric guitars. He is also a first-rate solo fingerpicker, as you will hear. He must toss off Paganini encores in his spare time!

Tracks

1. The Entertainer*
Jim McLennan
2. Magnetic Rag*
Ton Van Bergeyk
3. Paragon Rag*
Tim Nicolai
4. Heliotrope Bouquet*
Jim McLennan
5. Scott Joplin Medley: Fig Leaf Rag/Bethena - A Concert Waltz/ Maple Leaf Rag*
Bob Evans
6. Sycamore - A Concert Rag*
Leo Wijnkamp Jr.
7. Kismet Rag*
Dick Fegy
8. Wall Street Rag

- Ton Van Bergeyk – Lulu’s Back In Town (Ragtime music)
Ton Van Bergeyk is a guitarist's guitarist. That is not to say that his playing is at all over-technical or hard for non-guitarists to appreciate. To the contrary, his music is quite direct and engaging. Ton has absorbed elements of a great many widely varied guitar stylists and is himself already a major influence among younger players.

Ton's first record, FAMOUS RAGTIME GUITAR SOLOS (SGGW104) remains a classic in the field. With FAMOUS FINGERPICKING GUITAR SOLOS FROM THE GOLDEN ERA OF AMERICAN POP MUSIC (SGGW124) and his tracks on I GOT RHYTHM (SGGW133) Ton expanded his interests to include swing tunes of the 20's and 30's. The present release evinces his still widening tastes and abilities, including modern jazz, blues, contemporary pop, more swing tunes and even Mexican serenadas. The range of guitar styles and sounds (Ton uses a nylon-strung as well as a steel here) is extraordinary and makes for great listening.

Tracks ( ciascun brano contiene la propria tablatura )

1. Georgia On My Mind 2. Black and Tan Fantasy 3. Nobody's Sweetheart 4. Mexico Bonito 5. The Boogie Dance 6. Rocking Chair 7. Between The Lines 8. We're All Alone 9. The Fabulous Rosina 10. Blue Monk 11. Cry Me A River 12. Hombre Mio 13. Lulu's Back In Town 14. Rosa De Castilla 15. Lady Madonna 16. March Of The Hoodlums

- Bert Jansch Conundrum – Thirteen Down (Album del 1979 per l’ex Pentangle. Feat. Martin Jenkins, Nigel Portman-Smith, Luce Langridge e Jacquie McShee)
Bert Jansch formed the Bert Jansch Conundrum in the late 1970s as a touring unit for his solo performances following the breakup of the original Pentangle. Thirteen Down, recorded in 1979, was the only studio album by this aggregation. Joining Jansch here are multi-instrumentalists Martin Jenkins and Nigel Portman-Smith along with drummer Luce Langridge. In addition, Jansch's Pentangle vocal mate, Jacquie McShee, guests on "If I Had a Lover."

The selection of tunes offered on Thirteen Down is uniformly strong. Several tracks could best be described as "funky folk music," especially the instrumental, "Una Linea di Dolcezza." Other standout tracks include "Down River," "Time and Love," "In My Mind" and "Sweet Mother Earth." The blend of British Isles folk, jazz and pop will be familiar to fans of Pentangle, and Jansch's vocals and guitar work are as unique as ever. Jenkins' violin and flute provide the textural colors that keep the arrangements varied from song to song. Ranking with the best work of Bert Jansch's lengthy career, Thirteen Down is a must-have for folk and acoustic music enthusiasts.

Tracks

1. In My Mind 2. Sovay 3. Where Did My Life Go? 4. Bridge 5. Time and Love 6. If I Had a Lover 7. Una Line di Dolcezza 8. Let Me Sing 9. Down River 10. Nightfall 11. Ask Your Daddy 12. Sweet Mother Earth 13. Single Rose

(Gennaio 2011)

Steve Wynn - Nothern Aggression

2011-01-13T00:24:00.001-08:00

Ottimo ritorno del leader dei Dream Syndacate Steve Wynn che con i suoi Miracle 3 ci propone il suo disco più rock psichedelico dai tempi dei Dream Syndicate. Un guitar rock sound molto solido ma non aggressivo come suggerisce il titolo, molto musicale e con canzoni molto belle e di grande musicalità. Una pacifica ed elettrica “northern aggression” venata di psichedelica esaltata dalla bravura dei Miracle 3 gruppo con cui Steve sembra essere ormai definitivamente giunto ad una seconda giovinezza artistica iniziata nel 2001 con il lavoro considerato unanimemente il suo piu' bel cd da solista ovvero Here Comes the Miracle, doppio album che riassume tutta la potenzialita' di Steve . Seguiranno che "Static Transmission", tick ... tick ...tick , Live Tick, Crossing Dragon Bridge e questo nuovo capitolo,Northern Aggression appuntamento immancabile per tutti i fans di questo ottimo chitarrista ma anche per tutti coloro che sono cresciuti a Pane, Dylan e Lou.

- Steve Wynn & Miracle 3 – Northern Aggression (Nuovo ed atteso album dell’ex Dream Syndicate)

Italian Tour

11 - 2- 2011 - Verona
12 - 2- 2011 - Milano
13 - 2- 2011 - Roma
14 - 2- 2011 - Vicenza

I remember when the Miracle 3 and I entered the city limits of Richmond, Virginia last Fall, ready to embark on the recording of our first new album together in over five years. I got on the phone with my old pal and bandmate Stephen McCarthy who jokingly warned me to "leave your northern aggression at the door." The phrase seemed funny, ironic, apropos and, thus, naturally it became the favorite catch phrase of the session and, of course, became the inevitable title.

We were the fast-talking, hard hitting, hyped up, tightly coiled yankees (and I'm not making a baseball reference here-I'll save that for my other combo) and we were sliding into the slower, easier, drawling, mysterious Southern lifestyle for a week. Anyone who has followed my recording history knows that I love throwing myself and my fellow musicians into unfamiliar territory, leaving open the possibility of surprise, befuddlement, inspiration and adventure.

And the results, the head-on collision of the personalities and cultures makes sense. I thin that "Northern Aggression" is psychedelic, greasy, sneaky, manic, wise, seasoned, nervous and ragged in all the right places. We certainly had the freedom to let it fly. Working with the father-son engineering team of Bruce and Adrian Olsen (the former engineered both Gutterball albums, the latter was barely out of diapers at the time) allowed Jason, Linda, Dave and I the chance to work around the clock. Bruce was behind the board at 8am every morning. Adrian would close up shop around 2 in the morning. I think we slept at some point amidst the down hours in between.

"Northern Aggression" is the third album that Jason Victor, Linda Pitmon, Dave Decastro and I have made together (the others were "Static Transmission" and "...tick...tick...tick"). The title is a tongue in cheek reference to what those behind the Mason/Dixon line sometimes call the Civil War, as in "the war of northern aggression." But this was no civil war, no bloody battle, no historical reenactment. No, this was me and the Miracle 3 doing what we do best-colliding against each other and our surroundings, not holding back and barely taking stock until all was done. It's what we do. To paraphrase Ornette Coleman, THIS is our Northern Aggression. Enjoy.

RESOLUTION-The first track, the first single, the opening gambit. I had forgotten about this particular tune in the palette of ditties that I brought down to Richmond, Virginia until late one night in the studio when Dave put his foot down and said, “Okay, here's the thing. We gotta do that song in D, you know the one.” And I did. One take later we had the version that you've hopefully already heard. It's a mission statement, a zen koan. Time is the great equalizer-as is a good droning D chord, of course.

WE DON'T TALK ABOUT IT-The Southern tip of the Northern Aggression. Tony Joe White filtered through the Lower East Side, Captain Beefheart strolling through the Bowery. Linda said she tried to deny the funk but, as you can hear, that was impossible. What's it all about, Alfie? Well, shine a light deep into the dark recesses, the cracks that nobody can see and the most interesting things arise. And then? Shut off the light and don't tell anyone what you saw.

NO ONE EVER DROWNS-I wrote this when I was 20 years old (one year before forming the Dream Syndicate) for a band a band called Goat Deity, which was me and two sisters who went on to form Wednesday Week. We played it at our only gig, which took place in their mother's living room. The song was never recorded in any way but somehow I remembered the music and lyrics 30 years later and it just seemed like this was the time, place and record in which it was time for some dusting and preening. A statement of defiance and bruised optimism from a precocious kid, barely out of his teens.

CONSIDER THE SOURCE-Had this bit of music floating around since around the time of “Static Transmission.” Never could find the right words or story to tell. But in the laboratory that was the recording of my third album with the Miracle 3 I decided to give it a shot. I sat down at a Wurlitzer electric piano and just started playing. The band caught all of the changes on the fly, I made up the lyrics on the spot (it's a live vocal, thank you) and amazingly enough my fingers never flubbed on the 88's. That's Jason on organ (the solo was overdubbed). Yep, so much for Guitar Rock, although Jason says this is his favorite recorded solo.

COLORED LIGHTS-More on topic, this is us doing that Miracle 3 thing. Hazy psychedelia, riffs galore and a rave-up at the end. It's what we do, man! Van Morrison said something about not pulling punches or pulling a river. But he said it more quietly. Oh, and I have always loved colored lights. I guess it's some kind of visual Ritalin.

THE DEATH OF DONNY B-Okay, here's the deal. I didn't write this. But I don't know who DID write it either. Jason discovered it as the soundtrack of a short, early 70s film on YouTube not long before we went into the studio and it became our mutual obsession for weeks. What a great film! What a great song. And late one night in Richmond we decided to record it just for kicks. Once again, a live performance, a live vocal, one take bit of magic. And, best yet, it was all documented on film by our friend Ford Loving. Go ahead, type in the title on YouTube. You might get the original film or you might get our version and they're both worth your internet time over a cup or two of strong coffee.

THE OTHER SIDE-My bandmates don't understand-nay, are somewhat repelled by my not so guilty pleasure enthusiasm for the occasional endless live jam bootleg documentation of the Allman Brothers and/or Grateful Dead. More about that at another time but I knew that I had to sneak this one by them by wrapping it up in Television wrapping paper and it does feel like the improbably link between Jerry Garcia and Tom Verlaine. Can you imagine the band they might have had together? The song was inspired by a duo show that Jason and I played in Austin at South By Southwest a few years ago. The rains nearly washed the show away before giving way to bright sunlight and some kind of low-grade epiphany that became this song. It's all about transcendence; it's all about breaking on through. It's all about the other side.

CLOUD SPLITTER-I was going to call this “Jihadist Dream” but knew that was just looking for trouble. But it also might give some clue to this opaque pop tune. Animals tell us all kinds of things but they're also sometimes an unreliable narrator, practical jokers, not always concerned with our best interests. Can we touch the sky? Maybe, just maybe-go ahead and give it a shot.

ST. MILLWOOD-Another song with an alternate title, “I Brought My Own Sorrow” which tells you all you need to know. Or maybe if I tell you that I had considered “Grief Tourism” as an album title, well you might get the idea. Or how about Emotional Ambulance Chasers? I've got a million of 'em. Stephen McCarthy's pedal steel work on this one brings me to tears every time.

ON THE MEND-Wrote this one in a Ljubljana hotel room, singing all of the various jam rock riffs into my tape recorder (a cassette, no less!) I think this song could have gone on for another 20 minutes and might do just that when we bring it to a stage near you. It's a story I've told many times before-the dark side of recovery and rehabilitation but I've never set it to something that could have been a Dennis Coffey out-take. I've never played it live (which is true for almost every song on this record, actually) but if I was a betting man, I would bet on this being one of the highlights of the upcoming tour.

RIBBONS AND CHAINS-And ending it all on a happy note, the unexpected Hollywood Ending. It turns out that everything that rises really truly absolutely must resolve and it's not necessarily a bad thing. For all of the desire to shape, mold, move, steer, deny and dissolve, you usually just end up where you started. With more miles, a few weathered cracks, a couple of jokes and the path and directions to begin the next circle or two.

Novita' Ace Records del Mese di Gennaio2011

2011-01-12T01:20:00.000-08:00

Da casa Ace una nuova corposa uscita che spazia tra rock & roll e musica nera in tutte le loro sfumature. Ancora una volta queste pubblicazione risultano essere una fonte inesauribile per collezionisti ed appassionati di questi generi che troveranno materiale rarissimo e da anni introvabile raccolto in cd a lunga durata.

- The Sons Of Truth – A Message From The Ghetto (Raro classico funk-gospel album primi anni ’70!)

The ultimate funk and gospel amalgam. One of the greatest examples of religious grooves meeting big 70s funk rhythms. Released on CD for the first time.

When we started the BGP Funk & Jazz Classics series earlier this year we had an idea that we would put a few albums out, and that would be that. But as we reach our third batch of five we have found that there is a whole world of sought-after original albums, which for a myriad of reasons have failed to turn up in the reissue racks. This time we have come up with something very special, digging deep into the Stax Records vaults to rescue five of the most collectable albums on the label.

The Sons Of Truth LP appeared on Stax’s Gospel Truth subsidiary. The group look like they could be in Funkadelic, while their music is a blend of compelling funk and harmony soul that doesn’t appear to be based on traditional gospel in any way. Cuts from this album have started to be played in progressive soul clubs.

- John Zacherle – Monster Mash + Scary Tales (2 colonne sonore di popolari film horror in 1 cd + bonus tracks)

Operating out of Philadelphia, Cameo-Parkway was among the most successful independent record companies of the early 1960s, turning out a veritable production line of teen-friendly singles by artists such as Chubby Checker, the Orlons, the Dovells, Dee Dee Sharp and Bobby Rydell. This month sees the release on Ace of the latest batch of collections from the vaults of Cameo and sister logo Parkway in the shape of twofers from Dee Dee Sharp, the Dovells and self-appointed “Cool Ghoul” John Zacherle.

John Sebastian did the notes for the John Zacherle set. Yep, that John Sebastian, he of the Lovin’ Spoonful. It seems he was a bit of a Boris Karloff fan, which is how he first became aware of John Zacherle, who hosted re-runs of old horror movies on WCAU-TV out of Philadelphia in the late 1950s. The craze for scary movies spread to the record biz, which led to Zacherle reaching #6 with ‘Dinner With Drac’ in 1958. (OK, we’re a bit late for Hallowe’en with this release, but hey, there’s always next year.)

- Ernie Hines – Electrified (Super rare funk masterpiece feat “Let’s straighten it out”)

Super-rare Stax funk masterpiece, a big favourite of Pete Rock who sampled it on his classic ‘Let’s Straighten It Out’.

When we started the BGP Funk & Jazz Classics series earlier this year we had an idea that we would put a few albums out, and that would be that. But as we reach our third batch of five we have found that there is a whole world of sought-after original albums, which for a myriad of reasons have failed to turn up in the reissue racks. This time we have come up with something very special, digging deep into the Stax Records vaults to rescue five of the most collectable albums on the label.

Ernie Hines “Electrified” was recorded for Stax’s We Produce subsidiary. Hines had been signed to the label by Al Bell on the recommendation of the publisher of Jet magazine. The album is a fantastic piece of southern soul, with a couple of funk tracks, including ‘Our Generation’, a politically-edged call to arms, that became very sought-after when it was sampled by Pete Rock.

- The Goodes – Condition Red (‘60s girl group culto con inediti e rari singoli)

As 1968 drew to a close the golden age of girl groups had seemingly been and gone. The Shangri-Las, the Ronettes and the Chiffons hadn’t had a sniff of a hit record since 1966. Then along came the ominous ‘Condition Red’, a cleverly-produced psychodrama enacted by the Goodees, a trio of foxy teenagers from the roster of Stax Records’ small rock-oriented Hip offshoot. The group comprised childhood pals Sandra Jackson, Judy Williams and Kay Evans, all residents of the Sherwood Forest neighbourhood of East Memphis, Tennessee.

The group’s previous single, ‘For A Little While’, penned and produced by Stax’s top songwriting duo Isaac Hayes and David Porter, was one of the last sessions to feature the original Bar-Kays, who perished alongside Otis Redding in that fateful plane crash in December 1967.

Production duties then shifted to the Detroit-based team of Don Davis and Freddie Briggs, the brains behind ‘Condition Red’, which brilliantly re-cast the group as ladies in waiting to the Shangri-Las. The success of the single led to the release of the girls’ “Candy Coated..Goodees” LP, a mix of original material with covers of familiar numbers. To hear the lyrics of the Swingin’ Medallions’ ‘Double Shot’ sung by girls must have raised a few eyebrows at the time.

The Goodees’ third 45, ‘Jilted’, was another intriguing and complex number, but was there a market for a four-minute opus about a knocked-up teen dumped at the altar? That there wasn’t soon became apparent and this rich slab of Southern Gothic sank without trace. Their final single ‘Goodies’, written and produced by giants of Southern soul Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, went the same way, just as the girls hung up their rock’n’roll shoes.

This collection contains every known recording the Goodees made, 18 of which are making their CD debut. In addition to the complete “Candy Coated..Goodees” album are four sides drawn from non-LP singles and seven previously unissued titles. ‘Show Me How’, ‘Last Of The Good Guys’, ‘Have You Ever Hurt The One You Love’ and the alternate version of ‘Didn’t Know Love Was So Good’ all emanate from the trio’s early Memphis sessions with Hayes and Porter. Produced by Penn and Oldham, ‘Angry Eyes’ and ‘Love Me Love’ were cut in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The final track ‘Love Pill’, to the best of Sandra’s memory, was recorded as a demo at American Studios in Memphis. The set comes with a booklet featuring notes based on an exclusive interview with Sandra, illustrated with a host of rare memorabilia and gorgeous photographs from her collection.

- Mel & Tim – Omonimo (Secondo raro album di questo duo funk-soul targato Stax)

Mel & Tim’s super-rare second album for Stax. A beautiful amalgam of funk and soul with some folk elements, much sought-after for the classic ‘Keep The Faith’.

When we started the BGP Funk & Jazz Classics series earlier this year we had an idea that we would put a few albums out, and that would be that. But as we reach our third batch of five we have found that there is a whole world of sought-after original albums, which for a myriad of reasons have failed to turn up in the reissue racks. This time we have come up with something very special, digging deep into the Stax Records vaults to rescue five of the most collectable albums on the label.

This long-player from Stax’s 1974 schedule was Mel & Tim’s second for the label. An astounding slice of southern soul, this is particularly in demand these days because it includes the folk-funk classic ‘Keep The Faith’, but it is consistently good from start to finish.

- John Gary Williams – Same (Memphis soul album ’73 + rari singoli dall’x Mad Lads)

Classic Memphis soul from the former Mad Lads man. Full to the brim with great tracks, plus two bonus titles. LP’s first time on CD.

When we started the BGP Funk & Jazz Classics series earlier this year we had an idea that we would put a few albums out, and that would be that. But as we reach our third batch of five we have found that there is a whole world of sought-after original albums, which for a myriad of reasons have failed to turn up in the reissue racks. This time we have come up with something very special, digging deep into the Stax Records vaults to rescue five of the most collectable albums on the label.

First is John Gary Williams’ 1974 solo album. The former Mad Lad’s soul masterpiece was issued just as Stax started to fall apart and so it sold very poorly. The magnificent ‘The Whole Damn World Is Going Crazy’ is one of the stand-out tracks, but the set is a classy affair from start to finish. We have also included the non-LP single ‘Come What May’, which was probably recorded at the sessions for the album.

- Roy Lee Johnson & The Villagers – Same (Funk-soul targato Stax primi ‘70s)

This album has been in-demand since the late 80s for its uncompromising blend of funk and sample-friendly numbers. Here on CD for the first time.

When we started the BGP Funk & Jazz Classics series earlier this year we had an idea that we would put a few albums out, and that would be that. But as we reach our third batch of five we have found that there is a whole world of sought-after original albums, which for a myriad of reasons have failed to turn up in the reissue racks. This time we have come up with something very special, digging deep into the Stax Records vaults to rescue five of the most collectable albums on the label.

Roy Lee Johnson & The Villagers brilliant LP was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama. Johnson is famous as the man who wrote ‘Mr Moonlight’, as covered by the Beatles in 1964. By the early 70s he had developed an incendiary live act, which prompted Muscle Shoals Sound’s Jimmy Johnson to sign him to Stax. The result is one of the most consistent funk albums of all time. Worth the price of admission is the astounding ‘Patch It Up’ and ‘The Dryer’, but every cut is good or better.

- The Dovells – For Your Hully + You Can’t Sit Down (2lps in 1 cd per questo gruppo vocale nei primi ‘60s)

Operating out of Philadelphia, Cameo-Parkway was among the most successful independent record companies of the early 1960s, turning out a veritable production line of teen-friendly singles by artists such as Chubby Checker, the Orlons, the Dovells, Dee Dee Sharp and Bobby Rydell. This month sees the release on Ace of the latest batch of collections from the vaults of Cameo and sister logo Parkway in the shape of twofers from Dee Dee Sharp, the Dovells and self-appointed “Cool Ghoul” John Zacherle.

In blue-eyed proto-soulster Len Barry, the Dovells had themselves another great singer. The Cameo-Parkway stable ruled the airwaves in dance crazy Philly – all over the USA, in fact. Between them Chubby Checker, the Orlons and Dee Dee Sharp had the market for Twist, Limbo, Mashed Potato, Bird, Watusi, Crossfire and Shimmy records all sewn up. The Dovells grabbed a piece of the action too with their first hit ‘The Bristol Stomp’, which shot to #2 in 1961, spawning further hit 45s such as ‘Do The New Continental’, ‘Hully Gully Baby’ and ‘The Jitterbug’. By the end of 1963 the quartet had racked up eight chart 45s, following which Barry quit for a solo career. Their debut LP, issued to cash-in on that initial hit, was recorded in a bit of a rush. No worries: here we get their second and third albums, both of which were assembled with a bit less urgency, and were all the better for it. Gene Sculatti supplied the notes for this package.

- Dee Dee Sharp – It’s Smashed Potato Time / Do The Bird (2lps in 1 cd per questa vocalist dei primi ‘60s)

Operating out of Philadelphia, Cameo-Parkway was among the most successful independent record companies of the early 1960s, turning out a veritable production line of teen-friendly singles by artists such as Chubby Checker, the Orlons, the Dovells, Dee Dee Sharp and Bobby Rydell. This month sees the release on Ace of the latest batch of collections from the vaults of Cameo and sister logo Parkway in the shape of twofers from Dee Dee Sharp, the Dovells and self-appointed “Cool Ghoul” John Zacherle.

Gospel-trained Dee Dee Sharp had three years experience in the record biz by the time she made her first showing on the charts singing anonymously alongside Chubby Checker on ‘Slow Twistin’’ in 1962, having paid her dues providing background vocals on records by artists such as Freddy Cannon, Ray Charles, Jackie Wilson, Lloyd Price and Fabian. Her first solo single, released when she was just 16, zoomed up the Hot 100 too, as did a clutch of others over the next couple of years. When the Beatles came along, the hits dried up for Dee Dee, but she was soon snapped up by Atlantic Records, only to find herself in competition with Aretha Franklin. Sometimes life just ain’t fair. Here on this paring of her first two long-players, you get three of her biggest charters, some original tunes from the Cameo song factory plus knockout versions of other hits of the day. To hear her wail Ted Taylor’s ‘Be Ever Wonderful’ is a joy to behold. The booklet contains an essay by Ed Osborne featuring some fun quotes from Dee Dee herself.

- Barrance Whitfield And The Savages – Same Album d’esordio dell’84 + 10 inediti live per questo rock &/ roll group revival di Boston)

In the spring of 1985, my old friend Dave Woodhead, who had turned me on to many musical treasures, including Jim Ford’s “Harlan County”, lent to me an album he’d picked up on a trip to the States. When Dave recommended something I took notice.

The LP was the debut release of an R&B band then unknown outside of the Boston area. It was one of those moments in which I had to disagree with Bo Diddley: more often than not you can judge a book by the cover. Likewise an album. This one displayed an amateurish illustration of a cauldron in a jungle which itself carried with it a no-nonsense implication. The name of the band also advertised a record that was going to be uncompromising. Barrence Whitfield and the Savages sounds, on its own, like a declaration of rock’n’roll authenticity.

Uncompromising would have been a description of Barrence and the Savages that the Del Fuegos would rather not have had confirmed only a few days after Dave had lent me the LP. I was standing next to them, on the side of the stage in a huge quayside club in Boston. The Del Fuegos were the headliners that night. And the man opening for them was, at that moment, being borne around the room on the hands of a frenzied crowd, a little black ball of energy in a turban and dark glasses – honking, wailing, testifying and twisting – as his band, the Savages, some distance away on stage, ripped through the swagger of ‘Walking With Barrence’. The Del Fuegos looked like they wanted to go home.

What positioned Barrence and the band way beyond any other rock’n’roll of the era was a unique marriage of Barrence’s personality and R&B shouter elan to the bounce and insolence of Peter Greenberg’s essentially rockabilly guitar style. With the addition of much ill-mannered saxophone, we have here a band which embodied the heart and soul of rock’n’roll.

I hadn’t got to the end of Side 1 of Dave’s loaned copy before I called the number in the States on the back. It was that of Barrence’s manager, Andy Doherty. “They’re playing this Friday and Saturday,” he said. That did it. I just hopped on a plane and went to Boston for the weekend. Andy, a nice man and professional fan, put me up.

Barrence and I became instant pals and soul brothers. The source of his R&B credentials was clear on a walk with him around Boston. Barrence could not pass a collectors’ record shop and actually worked part-time in one. He knew his stuff and, unusually for a young black guy at the time, he was a real enthusiast for old R&B, soul, blues and country. Around the city, Barrence’s popularity was astonishing. Everyone seemed to recognise and adore the little bugger. If he’d run for mayor, I’m convinced he’d have walked it.

I came home to evangelise on Radio 1 about the live experience of the band whose debut LP tracks on my programme were already sending listeners daft. And I did what I could to help set up the first British dates for Barrence and the band.

Now, at last released on CD, is that astonishing album. If you were with us in 1985, you’ll welcome a replacement for your elderly Savages vinyl. If you are about to meet Barrence for the first time, be prepared to be shaken to your soul by the LP which made me hop immediately on a plane to the States and compelled one listener, another R&B screamer called Robert Plant, to track me down and phone me at home to reserve his ticket for Barrence’s first British gig. Be prepared, in fact, to be Savaged.

- Jackie Lee – The Duck (Album del ’65 con l’omonimo hit per questo eccellente vocalist di colore di L.A.)

Mirwood’s style was born with ‘The Duck’, but was epitomised for the UK’s uptempo soul fanatics by the pulverising tempos and shimmering sounds of ‘Do The Temptation Walk’ and ‘The Shotgun And The Duck’. ‘Do The Temptation Walk’ was the second song to be bootlegged for the burgeoning Old Soul scene way back in 1970 before the term Northern had been coined.

Though Mirwood undoubtedly aped Detroit’s Motown machine and Chicago’s slick soul sounds, the small indie label came up with its own recognisable brand. The instrumentation was always spot on, never over-embellished, but it was those upfront, uptight, girly vocals that proved to be the Mirwood watermark. In Sherlie Matthews the company had not only a great songwriter and singer but the best and most creative backing vocals arranger in the country.

Those distinctive feminine interjections on the hit ‘The Duck’ must have been noted and by the time of the LP’s recording and the next single ‘Your P-E-R-S-O-N-A-L-I-T-Y’, (interestingly not featured here) the girls’ vocals were even more to the fore. On ‘The Duck Pt 2’ and ‘Do The Temptation Walk’, Jackie and the girls are in call and response mode.

On this LP, a nod was given to Berry Gordy’s inspiration with the inclusion of ‘Dancing In The Street’ and ‘Do You Love Me’, but the subsequent Mirwood application gave those old songs (in pop terms) a new twist, that must have been both vibrant and exciting at the time. Like most US albums cashing in on a hit, it’s instinctive stuff and funnily enough it is tracks such as ‘Hully Gully’ and ‘The Bounce’, probably used to give Fred Smith some songwriting royalties, that embraced the new groove as well as any.

Coming out in 1965, I was a little too young and poor to carry this icon around at school, advertising my hipness. I’m sure a few of the old modsters will stick their hands up to that. Like Major Lance on his Okeh photos, Jackie looks the business; a hip young black guy with neat cropped hair and a sharply cut cardi to show those dance moves in. This disc will take your mind back to those halcyon days; even if your body can’t quite make the trip.

Pierre Bensusan - Vividly

2011-01-11T10:31:00.000-08:00

Clamoroso ritorno di questo guitar-virtuoso franco-algerino che ripropone la sua intera discografia in una nuova pregevole edizione remastered ed in digipack per la sua etichetta Dadgad. Per chi non conoscesse il suo genio consigliamo “A La Carte” una compilation a lunga durata che raccoglie il meglio della sua trentennale attività mentre per gli intenditori siamo lieti di presentare il album “Vividly”. Per gli amanti della chitarra acustica e delle sonorita' world-age un appuntamento sicuramente imperdibile.

- Pierre Bensusan – Vividly 14 brani di diversa estrazione: Celtic, Folk, World music, New Age, jazz, musica latino-americana! Nuovo album.
- Pierre Bensusan – A La Carte (Compilation works 1975 – 2010)
- Pierre Bensusan – Pres De Paris (1975 – pluripremiato Folk-album)
- Pierre Bensusan – 2 (1977)
- Pierre Bensusan – Musiques (1979)
- Pierre Bensusan – Solilai (1981 Feat. Didier Malherbe e Emmanuel Binet)
- Pierre Bensusan – Spices (1987 feat. Didier Malherbe, Denis Benarrosh, Franck Sitbon, Emmanuel Binet, Nico Nissim, Doatea Bensusan).
- Pierre Bensusan – Wu Wei (1994 + 3 bonus tracks)
- Pierre Bensusan & Didier Malherbe – Live In Paris (1997)
- Pierre Bensusan – Intuite (2000 Guitar album of the year per le riviste folk speializzate)
- Pierre Bensusan – Altiplanos (2005 feat Didier Malherbe, Michel Benita, Blaise Boulefeu)

Se la “World Music” è quel che rende omaggio allo spirito di un insieme di esseri umani attraverso ritmiche particolari, strumenti tradizionali e coloriture armoniche, possiamo definire il chitarrista franco-algerino, cantante e compositore Pierre Bensusan uno dei più eloquenti e variegati musicisti world del nostro tempo.

Naro a Orano nell’Algeria francese, nel 1957 quando la Francia stava smantellando il suo impero coloniale, si sposta a Parigi con la famiglia all’età di quattro anni. Inizia studi regolari di piano all’età di sette e a undici è autodidatta alla chitarra. Influenzato nei primi passi dalla fioritura del folk revival in Inghilterra, Francia e America del Nord, Bensusan esplora prima di tutto il proprio particolare retaggio musicale, per poi muoversi verso ulteriori orizzonti. A diciassette anni firma il primo contratto discografico, e un anno dopo il primo album Pres de Paris vince il Grand Prix du Disque al suo debutto al festival svizzero di Montreux.

Descritto dal L.A. Times come "uno dei più straordinari e brillanti esperti della chitarra acustica sulla scena attuale della world music", Pierre Bensusan sarà votato Miglior chitarrista World Music del 2008 dai lettori di Guitar Player. Il suo nome diventa sinonimo di genio chitarristico dell’acustica contemporanea, prima ancora che termini come New Age, New Acoustic o World Music fossero inventati. Ha la capacità di fare suonare una singola chitarra come un’intera band, accompagnando il pubblico in un viaggio musicale straordinario. E ancora, Bensusan è molto di più di quanto ogni musicista o amante della musica si possa aspettare da un chitarrista. È compositore e ottimo improvvisatore vocale, combina fischio e risonanti note basse con quella che è la sua particolare tecnica di scat.

Nel suo lavoro si trova al tempo stesso un senso di serietà e giocosità, un incomparabile sentimento di libertà nelle sue composizioni e improvvisazioni. La sua stessa "maniera" di suonare sfida le classificazioni - incrociando world, classica, jazz, tradizionale, folk e altro. Nessun elemento può essere isolato semplicemente come “brasiliano”, "arabo" o “francese”; piuttosto, questi rappresentano il nostro mondo per quello che è, un pianeta che è possibile condividere con la fusione di culture diverse in modi di cui non abbiamo mai fatto esperienza. Da non perdere!

Miglior chitarrista World Music nel 2008!
(votato dai lettori del Guitar Player Magazine - USA)

”La magica musica di Pierre mi fa venire i brividi. Nessun altro chitarrista può offrire le sue particolari doti di raffinatezza, accessibilità e gioia assoluta. Anche nei passaggi più complessi, la musica di Pierre ha solo bisogno di orecchie che abbiano il piacere di ascoltarla.”
Leo Kottke

”Ascoltare Pierre Bensusan è come ringiovanire. Aldilà del tocco e dei toni straordinari, le note e la melodia si rivolgono direttamente al lato più delicato della nostra natura umana.”
Steve Vai

”Uno dei musicisti davvero dotati dei nostri tempi – suona la chitarra come se fosse la sua anima più profonda.”
George Winston

”Bensusan accompagna i suoi seguaci in un mondo dove il cielo non è solo una diversa sfumatura, ma un’intera struttura differente, cui viene data un’altra funzione ancora. Invece di offrire un tetto al suo universo, si tratta piuttosto di un trampolino per un piano totalmente altrove. Conquistato il pubblico, l’inveterata ricerca di Bensusan per le musiche meno frequentate continua a essere un numero che scatena gli applausi, che risuona a lungo anche dopo la nota finale.”
Siobhan Long, The Irish Times (Ireland)

”Incredibilmente meraviglioso.”
David Curry, The Canberra Sunday Times (Australia)

”Ogni qual volta che si parla di Bensusan a un chitarrista, un appassionato della chitarra o chiunque sia seriamente impegnato nella musica, la risposta è sempre di rispetto, reverenza e incantato sconcerto per la incomparabile abilità dell’uomo e la sua creatività nella chitarra acustica. Ha pubblicato il suo primo album nel 1975, e da allora si è fatto conoscere come uno dei chitarristi più innovativi, praticamente senza rivali in campo acustico (o forse anche elettrico). La musica di Pierre, per quanto particolarmente complessa, si riconosce per la melodia e l’accessibilità. Un pezzo di Pierre Bensusan si può canticchiare. Le linee melodiche si fissano facilmente nella mente e nello stesso tempo vi fanno pensare a comesia possibile che riesca a fare tutto ciò.”
Kernan Andrews, The Galway Advertiser (Ireland)

”Bensusan, il costruttore di ponti.”
Don O'Mahony, The Irish Examiner (Ireland)

"Una musica palpabile, figurativa, infinitamente poetica e celestiale. Un inno all’umanità."
L’Arche (France)

"Altiplanos è un’impresa monumentale; tra quelle che sicuramente troveranno posto nella storia della musica."
Penguin Eggs (Canada)

"Album dell’anno, di gran lunga.”
Roots (UK)

"Con Altiplanos, Bensusan dimostra come sia diventato uno dei più personali e autorevoli chitarristi."
Mike Joyce/The Washington Post (USA)

"La notevole abilità tecnica di Bensusan non è mai stata in discussione, ma sono l’assoluta musicalità e il lirismo del corpo del suo lavoro a costruire la sua immagine di uno dei più capaci chitarristi acustici del pianeta. Altiplanos, con la sua combinazione di brani in solo, pezzi accompagnati e multitraccia, riafferma con chiarezza la già stellare reputazione di Bensusan."
John Kelman, Allaboutjazz.com (USA)

"Un meraviglioso equilibrio tra la nostalgia del Rinascimento e lo swing più contemporaneo."
Le Soleil de Quebec (Canada)

"Un musicista nella tradizione dei più famosi e popolari alchimisti. Semplice, efficace, eclettico e squisito, il suo stile è capace di trasformare ogni poltrona in un tappeto volante."
Le Petit Bleu (France)

"Dieci album all’attivo, e il leggendario chitarrista acustico fingerstyle francese, Pierre Bensusan è tanto lontano dalla ripetitività quanto la Cappella Sistina dai barattoli di zuppa di Andy Warhol... Sono la voglia di sperimentare di Bensusan e le sue scorrerie in territori solitamente dominio dei maestri di danza a portare l’ascoltatore a cercare le sue opere precedenti. Più che a paesaggi ci troviamo di fronte a un’architettura acustica, che riempie di riferimenti letterari francesi i vapori di un’immaginazione sonora che non riesce a stare ferma."
Siobhan Long, The Irish Times, 4 Stars (Ireland)

"Ammaliante... il Bensusan compositore sfida il Bensusan chitarrista mostrando la capacità di raggiungere luoghi mai tentati da un chitarrista solista... creando dei capolavori, destinati a rimanere in cima a tutte le liste di grandi dischi di chitarra di questo o ogni altro millennio!."
James Jensen/AcousticMusicResources.com

"Ciò che rende unico Bensusan sono la passione, l’animo, l’intensità e la complessità ritmica che configurano anche i suoi brani più tranquilli ed eleganti. Bensusan può generare vero entusiasmo e drammaticità pur facendo tutto da solo con melodie intriganti, ricche ornamentazioni e intrepida destrezza."
The Twin Cities Journal-USA

"Impetuosa" è il termine che forse rappresenta meglio la performance di Bensusan. Il suo messaggio articolato si presenta con una inconfondibile "joie de vivre".
Jazziz (USA)

PREMI
* Miglior chitarrista World Music nel 2008
(votato dai lettori del Guitar Player Magazine - USA)
* Premio AFIM (American Association for Independent Music) 2002, per il Miglior Album Acustico Strumentale
* Album del Mese (Journal de Montreal/Canada)
* Album dell’anno (fRoots/UK)
* Migliori Albums (Guitarist Magazine/UK)
* Bravo de la Redaction (Trad. Mag./Francia) 2002/2006
* Naird Award (USA 1983)
* Grand Prix du Disque Montreux Festival (Svizzera 1976)

Kevin Eubanks - Zen Food

2011-01-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

Per ben 18 anni, 5 giorni alla settimana Kevin Eubanks ha accompagnato Jay Lano al "Tonight Show" non deve quindi meravigliare se in america è un vero e proprio mito popolare. Ma quello che gli stessi americani devono scoprire è che Kevin è anche uno dei chitarristi jazz più creativi e moderni con uno stile e una tecnica unica. La sua abilità, al pari della diversità, ne hanno fatto un punto di riferimento per i cultori dello strumento diventanto un punto di riferimento anche per gli altri musicisti. Kevin ha il dono di fondere il jazz con molti altri generi e, badate bene, non voglio usare la parola fusion per questo chitarrista. Infatti il suo è un sound attuale, in un certo senso “moderno”, in grado di suonare e miscelare bluesy, blues-soul, jazz in senso stretto, gospel mentre, al pari di uno chef, il suo piatto forte sono sicuramente le acustiche ballate acustiche . Che chiedere di più ad un chitarrista in grado di sublimare tutte le forme espressive tra jazz e blues?

- Kevin Eubanks – Zen Food Feat. Gerry Etkins, tatiere, Rene Camacho. Bill Pierce, basso, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, batteria.

For nearly two decades, the world at large knew precisely where to find the acclaimed guitarist Kevin Eubanks. For five nights a week, Eubanks was cranking up the band and issuing steamy solos as music director on NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” In spring of 2010, after 18 years on the job, Eubanks decided to move on, although retirement was the last thing on his mind. That much is clearly stated in potent musical terms on Zen Food, his first recording for the Mack Avenue label. The title of the album is more than a piece of wordplay for Eubanks. “I think it’s a wonderful thing to acknowledge music as being food for your soul. The whole idea of it being Zen is that it’s a state of ‘being,’ not an ambition to become something else. It’s realizing everyone’s fingerprint is unique and expressing that uniqueness with sound, with ideas, with music. It’s all the same thing. It’s just another source of nutrition.”

Eubanks was born in Philadelphia into a highly musical family, between his respected pianist and pedagogue mother, Vera, who holds a Masters Degree; notable Jazz and Blues pianist uncle Ray Bryant; and Kevin’s accomplished brothers Robin—considered one of the greatest living trombonists—and the fine trumpeter Duane. Kevin was first drawn into music listening to the energetic sounds of fusion and progressive rock, then went on to study at Berklee. He has played with icons including McCoy Tyner, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Dave Holland and Ron Carter. In his own distinctive early career, Eubanks released many recordings for Elektra, GRP and Blue Note before his current signing with Mack Avenue in 2010.

In his band, Eubanks has a powerful rhythm section ally in drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith, who, like Eubanks, was a commanding presence on the music scene before heading west to the “Tonight Show” bandstand. Completing the ranks of this bold unit, which deftly combines “fusion” in the best sense with other stylistic turns, are saxophonist Bill Pierce, who holds the Woodwind Chair at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, keyboardist Gerry Etkins and bassist Rene Camacho. Zen Food evokes a sense of diversity and also collective continuity, qualities long in the making, and now ready to “hit the road” in a global way.

As for his long stint as musical foil for Jay Leno, Eubanks asserts, “I enjoyed the job. I enjoyed learning all these new things and meeting new people, and just seeing another side of what I didn’t know. Where I cut my teeth, I was never privy to what happens in Hollywood, by and large. I heard about it and knew a few people here and there. So, to get a bird’s eye view of all that was fascinating, and it still is.”

As he is quick to clarify, with a laugh, “I can’t very well say, oh, I’ll just go back to what I did. I’m a product of both things now, and happily so. I embrace everything I've learned and continue to learn about the mysterious ways of Hollywood.”

This “new” chapter in Eubanks’ life is, as he says, “not so foreign, because that’s all I used to do. It’s just at a different level. Musically, I’m at a different level, as well as personally. Everything is in a progressive state, with more experience in a lot of areas. It should be an interesting adventure.”

Speaking of his new chapter, Eubanks reasons that, “as physical and emotional human beings, we go through different phases in our life. I just think it was time for a change, for all the right reasons. It was a natural process, and I respected that. I thought, ‘ok, then do it.’ At the time that I took the job, I'd been on the road for 15 years, and I was tired of saying goodbye to everyone that I met. I thought it would be nice to be in one place for a while. I never dreamed it would turn into 18 years. It’s kind of the same process.”

Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows

2011-01-07T06:38:00.001-08:00

Quale maggior tributo si poteva dare ad uno dei più grandi autori della nostra musica? Che la musica di John Prine sia realmente "senza tempo" lo dimostra il fatto che a rivisitare le sue canzoni non i soliti noti ma i più grandi interpreti del nuovo rock USA dai My Morning Jacket ( ospiti con lo stesso Prine al Letterman show )a Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band da Josh Ritter a Justin Townes Earle da Avett Brothers ai Old Crow Medicine Show da Sara Watkins ai grandissimi Drive-By Truckers da Deer Tick a Those Darlins da Justin Vernon e Lambchop a Justin Vernon dei Bon Iver. Se tutta una nuova generazione di rocker Usa hanno sentito l'esigenza di dar omaggio a questo misconosciuto nonnetto del meglio del songwriter americano qualcosa dovra' pur significare....

- Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows – The Songs Of John Prine

Tracklist

1) Justin Vernon of Bon Iver – “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)"
2) Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band – “Wedding Day In Funeralville"
3) My Morning Jacket – “All The Best"
4) Josh Ritter – “Mexican Home"
5) Lambchop – “Six O'Clock News"
6) Justin Townes Earle – “Far From Me"
7) The Avett Brothers – “Spanish Pipedream"
8) Old Crow Medicine Show – “Angel From Montgomery"
9) Sara Watkins – “The Late John Garfield Blues"
10) Drive-By Truckers – “Daddy's Little Pumpkin"
11) Deer Tick featuring Liz Isenberg – “Unwed Fathers"
12) Those Darlins – “Let's Talk Dirty In Hawaiian"

In the songs of John Prine, there exists a near-perfect intersection of understatement and insight. Prine does not trumpet his truths: they just emerge, crawling out of sparse, carefully arrayed and encapsulated moments, presented with unflinching, unsentimental clarity. Assumptions are neatly overturned with a disarming, almost casual turn of phrase, while long-accepted aspects of human nature are brought to light in unexpected contexts that only reinforce their universal nature. It's devastating stuff, yet strangely uplifting. The contrasts and paradoxes Prine uncovers – combined with his unquestionable abilities as a craftsman – have insured that his music continually influences generation after generation of maverick artists.

Among Prine's earliest supporters were controversial, innovative figures such as Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, and Johnny Cash. Today's avant-roots renaissance owes a great debt to Prine's laconic, ever-questioning poetic quality – a debt that is warmly repaid by Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, available June 22nd on Oh Boy Records. Featuring twelve newly-recorded versions of classic Prine songs, Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows boasts an enviable roll call of lauded, inventive musicians and songwriters, including My Morning Jacket, The Avett Brothers, Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band, Old Crow Medicine Show, Lambchop, Josh Ritter, Drive-By Truckers, Nickel Creek's Sara Watkins, Deer Tick featuring Liz Isenberg, Justin Townes Earle, Those Darlins, and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. That Prine's perspective flourishes so vividly in these modern recastings is testament to not only the sheer power of his songs, but to the subtly defiant undercurrent that runs throughout Prine's oeuvre.

Since his first, self-titled album was released in 1971, former Illinois letter carrier Prine has been slowly distancing himself from musical movements and institutions: simultaneously defining and defying the post-Dylan singer-songwriter movement from which he sprang. Bolder and stranger than the rest, yet beguilingly old-fashioned, Prine functions on his own timetable and by his own rules, going so far as to found his own label with longtime manager Al Bunetta, Oh Boy Records, and thus liberating himself from the cat-and-mouse pressures of major label recording. Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows was born in the Oh Boy offices, as a group of staffers at the five-person company were discussing their favorite artists and wondering how some of these newer acts would go about interpreting John Prine's music. From there, inquiries began to be made...

“We took a fair amount of time putting this thing together," said Oh Boy staff member and compilation producer Josh Talley. “We left the album in the hands of the artists. Each artist picked the song they wanted to do, and we made no suggestions or demands as to how they should make it sound. We also didn't give many of them a due-date – we felt like if we put a deadline on it, the artists wouldn't have a chance to really get inside the songs. Consequently, this took over two years to all come together."

Astonishingly, despite the various perspectives, studios, personnel, and voices, Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows holds together as a compelling unified statement. More of a heartfelt thank-you note than a tribute (after all, Prine is still creating some of the best music of his career), Prine's irreverent spirit permeates every note here, while the range of textures and styles reflects Prine's own wide-ranging influences, which encompass everything from vintage country and stringband music to stinging, snarling R&B.

Justin Vernon of the underground sensation Bon Iver opens the set with an expansive version of the title track to Prine's 1978 classic “Bruised Orange" that preserves the original's gentle sway, yet embroiders it with rich harmonies, swelling organ, and thick, cavernous reverb. The song's bittersweet core persists, shimmering through the undulating waltz rhythm and glassy electric guitars. From there, Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band's take on “Wedding Day in Funeralville" (from 1975's Common Sense) arrives like a headlong rush: a compact country-rock joy ride clocking in at barely over two minutes yet resoundingly complete. Those first two cuts immediately set up the range of possibilities – from hauntingly sparse to rollickingly thick and ragged.

Steel guitar and glimmering synthesizer make for unlikely bedfellows on My Morning Jacket's winsome, wining stroll through “All the Best," which hails from Prine's 1991 Grammy-winning disc The Missing Years. Similar in its respectful revisionism, Nashville country-soul iconoclasts Lambchop reconstruct 1971's haunting “Six O'Clock News" with a gently propulsive backbeat laced with gurgling synth loops, topped by Kurt Wagner's chillingly distressed vocal. Tennessee punk/pop/country alchemists Those Darlins provide a dose of humor and sly insouciance with their swaggering, throbbing turn on “Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian." Equally rousing is the Avett Brothers' “Spanish Pipedream," resurrected from Prine's seismic 1971 self-titled debut.

Even Prine's most familiar material is reborn with visceral, aching intensity. The gritty, punk-inflected stringband Old Crow Medicine Show approach “Angel from Montgomery" with clearheaded resolution and deliver a stunning performance that captures the song's inherent weariness and wistful destitution with immediacy and soul. “Far From Me," cited by Prine as one of his own personal favorites of the songs he's written, is rendered equally plain and pure by Justin Townes Earle, with just thumping finger-picked guitar, upright bass, mandolin, and wheezing reed organ for accompaniment.

Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows echoes with both appreciation and adventure, implying that – above all – the confidence and freedom to play by your own rules is Prine's most precious lesson. “After all the years gone, you wonder if John Prine feels a distance between the songs and the listeners. If these old songs seem folded over by now," writes Justin Vernon and author Michael Perry in a perceptive sleeve-note. “But then it's back to another element of Prine songs – humility. A delicate humility, not to be confused with weakness. And that is how we offer these songs, Mister Prine: humbly, with gratitude, our tuppence to honor you and your life's works. Your songs are still here, John, beautifully breathing and beating us up."

Fausto Cigliano - L'Oro Di Napoli 2

2011-01-07T06:26:00.000-08:00

Da casa PoloSud, un’altra concept opera destinata a lasciare il segno. Una delle più belle voci napoletane di sempre, il bravo cantante-chitarrista Fausto Cigliano, interpreta i classici della canzone napoletana. E' una sorta di song-book dedicato alla sua Napoli dove emerge la sua sensibilità espressiva e il suo magico feeling con questo repertorio.

- Fausto Cigliano – L’Oro Di Napoli 2 (14 storiche canzoni napoletane che sono proprio “l’oro” di questa città.) In più è presente nel cd “Catarì” il brano che Fausto interpreta nel film Passione di John Turturro.

Nuove Uscite da Casa Caligola

2011-01-07T04:29:00.000-08:00

Da casa Caligola siamo lieti di presentare il miglior jazz che viene dal “nordest”. In questa nuova uscita sono di scena alcuni personaggi in continua crescita artistica e creativa come il vibrafonissta Giuliano Perin che ci regala un brillante progetto in quintetto con Marcello Tonolo al pianoforte e Luciano Milanese al contrabbasso. Oltre alla collaborazione con Giuliano Perin, Marcello Tonolo ci incanta con un nuovo piano trio. Completa il quadro la N.i.o.n. orchestra del pianista Claudio Cojaniz dove spiccano solisti del calibro di Cuong Vu, tromba, Francersco Bearzatti, sax tenore, e Giancarlo Schiaffini, trombone, e Quejas de Bandoneon, gruppo italo-argentino con due bandoneon virtuosi come Daniel Pacitti e Marco Fabbri, in un elegante sestetto jazz-tango che riprende numerosi classici del genere. Una label all’insegna dell’alta qualità artistica e audiophile. Di seguito il dettaglio delle nuove uscite.

- Marcello Tonolo Trio – Lazy Afternoon Piano-trio. Feat. Marco Privato e Jimmy Weinstein.

- Claudio Cojaniz & N.I.O.N. Orchestra – Howl Feat. Cuong Vu, Francesco Bearzatti, Maria Vicentini, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Danilo Gallo, Romano Tedesco, Luca Grizzo, Zeno De Rossi. ( Clicca qui per leggere la recensione di All About Jazz )

- Giuliano Perin Quintet – Massima Cubatura Feat. Marcello Tomolo, Maurizio Scomparin, Luciano Milanese, Massimo Chiarella, Neil Leonard.

- Queias De Bandoneon – Live Feat. Daniel Pacitti e Marco Fabbri, bandoneon, in un sestetto con violino, flauto, basso e pianoforte.

Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues

2011-01-06T13:45:00.001-08:00

Ad essere onesti la prima cosa che abbiamo pensato alla notizia di un disco del figlio di Steve Earle è stata : Eccone un altro. Grazie al cielo il nostro scetticismo è stato tradito e proprio come gia' accaduto per il figlio di Dylan prima e per la figlia di Greg Brown poi ora possiamo tranquillamente goderci questo nuovo songwriter risplendere di luce propria. Il cognome che questo ragazzo porta non è da poco, ma ad aumentare l'attesa è lo stesso nome Justin Townes, un omaggio al grande idolo di Steve, quel Townes Van Zandt che tanto ne ha influenzato l'arte. Ecco allora che con orcoglio che da casa Bloodshot, alternative country label di Chicago, presentiamo questo figlio d’arte con il suo album più completo e maturo dopo il promettente esordio di “The Good Life” ed il più recente “Midnight At The Movies”. “Harlem River Blues” in effetti è la miglior produzione di questo country folk singer Nashvilliano che si ispira a Woody Guthrie. Album autoprodotto con Skylar Wilson, e il supporto di Brian Owings on drums, Paul Niehaus (Calexico) on pedal steel guitar, and Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show) on harmonica.e Jason Isbell.

That hard working earnestness has paid off, to say the least. Justin won the Best New and Emerging Artist at the 2009 Americana Music Awards. His record, Midnight at the Movies, was named one of the best records of last year by Amazon, received four stars in Rolling Stone and found a sweet spot in the blackened hearts of fans and critics alike. GQ Magazine named him one of the 25 best dressed men in the world in 2010. He also appeared on HBO’s Treme with his dad, troubadour Steve Earle, on whose Grammy Award-winning Townes record Justin also guests.

The aforementioned Woody Guthrie once said, “Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple.” On Harlem River Blues, Justin chose the simple route. The record’s not a wall of sound produced to the rafters. It’s rockin’ and reelin’ at times, sweet and slow at others—and it’s great. Like good fried chicken, a well-cut suit and a handmade guitar, there’s heaven to be found in the beautifully crafted simpler things.

Compared to the much-lauded Midnight at the Movies, Harlem River Blues is more mature and increasingly nuanced, while still embracing the raw voice and clean sound of previous standout tracks like “Mama’s Eyes.” Harlem River Blues kicks off hot with the title track’s choir of backing singers and electric guitar, slow dances through a decrepit tenement on “One More Night in Brooklyn,” and swings à la Jerry Lee Lewis on “Move Over Mama.” “Working for the MTA” is a modern day railway ballad, embracing the labor movement in classic folk singer style over some heartbreaking pedal steel from Calexico’s Paul Niehaus. With percussive guitar, killer standup bass lines by Bryn Davies and a guest appearance from Jason Isbell, this record hums along like a 6 train jumpin’ the tracks and heading straight for the Tennessee state line.

Harlem River Blues straddles not only the Mason-Dixon, but time itself. As versed in Mance Lipscomb as he is in M. Ward and sporting Marc Jacobs suspenders, Justin Townes Earle is a man beyond eras. With Harlem River Blues, a record that’s perfect for late Indian summer nights on either the front porch or fire escape, Justin’s found yet another way to be a timeless original.

Ernesto Vitolo - Vitologic

2011-01-05T01:02:00.000-08:00

Dalla napoletana PoloSud presentiamo il cd di Ernesto Vitolo conosciuto al grande pubblico per le sue fortunate collaborazioni come pianista e tastierista di Pino Daniele, Edoardo Bennato, Alex Britti, Irene Grandi, Eugenio Finardi solo per citarne alcune oltre ad aver partecipato forse all'album piu' importante per la musica pop italiana ossia “Bollicine” di Vasco Rossi. Ma Ernesto è soprattutto un artista e con questo progetto vuole dare il proprio contributo interpretativo alla bellezza della musica contemporanea. Il cd può essere suddiviso idealmente in due parti: una Jazz/Fusion con molti ospiti e 14 brani, tra cui inediti e cover dei Doors, Miles Davis, Chick Corea in una formazione che potremmo quasi definire Mediterrnean JazzRock Quartet ; la seconda invece Ernesto si cimenta con la sua altra grande passione ossia l' organo Hammond qui presentata nella formazione del duo

- Ernesto Vitolo – Vitologic (75 minuti di un grande tastierista napoletano)

Fresh Sound Novita' del 4 Gennaio 2011

2011-01-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

Da casa Fresh Sound, una nutrita serie di ristampe di classici prodotti da labels indipendenti degli anni ’50 e ’60. Materiale rarissimo, nonché d’incredibile valore artistico, rivede la luce in cd per la gioia di collezionisti ed appassionati di tutto il mondo.

- Teddy Edwards & Les McCann Trio – It’s About Time (1960) Feat. Amos Trice, Ronnie Ball, Ron Jefferson, Tony Bazley, Ben Tucker, Al Levitt + Gloria Smyth, voce.

- David “Fathead“ Newman – The Sound Of The Wide Open Spaces! + “Straight Ahead (2lps in 1 cd 1960) Feat. Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Charlie Persip (o Sam Jones e Art Taylor)

- Conrad Gozzo & His Orchestra – Goz The Great! (1955) Unico album da leader di questo grande trombettista. Feat. Herbie Harper, Ted Nash, Tony Rizzi, Paul smith, Al HendricksonVito Mangano, John Best, Sam Cheifetz, Irv Cottler, Harry Klere.

- Paul Bryant – The Blues Message (2lps World Pacifico in 1 cd 1960) Feat. Jim Hall, Curtis amy, Jimmy Bond, Clarence JonesRoy Brewster.

- Paul Chambers – Chamber’s Music + A Jazz Delegation From East (2lps in 1 cd 1956) Feat. John Coltrane, Kenny Drew, Philly Joe Jones, Curti Fuller, Pepper adams, Ron Alexander.

- Freddie Green – Mr. Rhythm (Unico album da leader 1955 del grande chitarrista di Basie. Feat. Joe Newman, Henry Coker, Al Cohn, Milt Hinton, Osie Johnson)

- Lenny McBrowne - “And The 4 Souls” + Eastern Lights” – Complete Recordings (2lps in 2 cd + bonus tracks dal disco di Gloria Smyth ) Feat. Daniel Jackson, Terry Trotter, Herbie LewisDonald Sleet.

- Teddy Edwards Quartet – Sunset Eyes Complete recordings with Joe Castro, Leroy Vinnegar e Billy Higgins + Gloria Amyth, voce (1958 – ’60) 2 cd.

MATTEO SABATTINI NEW YORK QUINTET - Dawning

2011-01-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

Grazie alla spagnola Fresh sound new talent posiamo apprezzare New York dell’alto sassofonista Italiano Matteo Sabattini. Alla guida di un grande gruppo jazz americano di tendenza, formatosi nell’ autunno 2004 all’interno della New School University, Matteo realizza e sviluppa una musica originale con una formazione internazionale di post-boppers di prim’ordine. Il Quintetto é nato con lo scopo di suonare e sviluppare la musica originale dei suoi membri. In particolare le composizioni esplorano diversi ritmi e sono basate su avanzati concetti armonici e poliritmici. Non mancano una lunga cover di “Estate” del nostro Bruno Martino e di “Nearess Of You” di Carmichael.

Featuring: Matteo Sabattini (as),
Mike Moreno, Lage Lund (g),
Kristjan Randalu (p),
Matt Clohesy (b),
Obed Calvaire (d)

Tracklisting:

01. Estate (7:25)
02. Dawning (6:37)
03. Prism (12:52)
04. My Journey (9:41)
05. Distensions (6:00)
06. Sons Of A Mitch (7:37)
07. The Quiet Before Sunrise (5:59)
08. The Nearness Of You (6:47)

Joey De Francesco - Never Can Say Goodbye

2011-01-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

Il jazz ha una lunga tradizione nel far diventare la musica popolare veicolo per l’improvvisazione ed è in questo solco che possiamo collocare il progetto del tastierista, Hammond virtuoso e multistrumentista Joey DeFrancesco legato alle musiche di Michael Jackson. Con questo cd DeFrancesco non solo mantiene viva l'anima delle canzoni dell'icona pop mondiale, ma rida' ad esse un nuovo groove, prendendole a pretesto per le improvvisazioni proprie dell'ambito jazz. Quasi a voler dire, Hey Michael, grazie per la "dritta", ora da qui vado avanti io...
"Never Can Say Goodbye" non è un cd di tributo, "Never Say Goodbye" è la continuazine di un lavoro tra due grandi musicisti. Sono sicuro che anche i fan piu' intransigenti di Michael non potranno che apprezzare questo cd come molti suoi fans club in tutto il mondo testimoniano dandogli spazio e attenzione.

Jazz has a long history of taking popular songs of the day and making them vehicles for improvisation. Joey DeFrancesco's current exploration of the music associated with Michael Jackson is merely the latest addition to the list. Though this music is linked with the undisputed "King of Pop," this is jazz at its finest — complex and virtuosic yet easily accessible, at times intense, at others fun-filled, and always with the feeling of the unknown that comes with truly spontaneous and inspired improvisation. Without sacrificing a whit of the popular groove of these tunes, Joey and his cohorts give them fresh color and new and different life. Jackson and his music have become part of the American landscape every bit as much as the singers that preceded him and the songs, as DeFrancesco's spirited readings bear witness to, give themselves smartly to an improvisatory approach.

Joey DeFrancesco, organ & trumpet
Paul Bollenback, guitar
Byron landham, drums
Pat Bianchi, keyboards
Carmen Intorre, percussion
Ann Fontinella, violin (on "She's Out of My Life")
Annie Sciola & Samantha Auriello, background vocals

TRACKLIST
Tracks: Thriller; Never Can Say Goodbye; Beat It; Human Nature; Rock With You; She's Out of My Life; The Way You Make Me Feel; Lady in My Life; Billie Jean

BIOGRAPHY

Joey DeFrancesco comes from a musical family. His Grandfather Joseph DeFrancesco (his name sake) was a reed man. And of course his father "Papa" John DeFrancesco is a fine jazz organist in his own right. At the age of 4 Joey began taking a strong interest in the organ. By the time he was five, he was playing Jimmy Smith songs verbatim. As the years went on his interest and love for the organ and music grew stronger. From the ages of 5-10 his father would bring him to his own gigs and let him sit in. At 10 years of age he began to play in a Band in Philadelphia, which featured legendary players Hank Mobley on Tenor Saxophone, and "Philly" Joe Jones on the Drums. At 16 he signed an exclusive recording contract with Columbia Records, releasing his first record "All Of Me" at 17. This record was single handedly responsible for the great resurgence of the Hammond sound in popular music. Also in his 17th year he was called on by the great Miles Davis to join his band, and toured all over Europe. At 18, Joey began touring with his own quartet. At 22, John McLaughlin called him along with drummer Dennis Chambers, to form the group the "Free Sprits". This band toured extensively for 4 years. Joey has been around the world and back dozens of times with his own trio, but also playing with some of the greatest musicians in the world such as, Benny Golson, James Moody, Steve Gadd, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Cobb, George Benson, Pat Martino, John Scofield, Joe Lovano, just to name a few. He has won the the Down Beat Critics and Readers poll ever year since 2002, as well as Jazz Journalist award, and countless others. In 2004 Joey was nominated for a Grammy for his record "Falling In Love Again" which featured the great actor Joe Pesci on vocals(AKA Joe Doggs). At the present moment Joey not only continues to tour with his trio which includes Byron Landham on drums, and Paul Bollenback on guitar, but he's also touring with David Sanborn. After several releases as a leader, he's very excited about his next release which features the music of Michael Jackson, entitled "Never Can Say Goodbye". Joey also is involved along with Elvio Previati in the development of a marvelous new organ (KeyB organ) which replicates the sound of a classic Tonewheel organ perfectly. The company is an Italian company call DLQ. Joey also loves teaching and sharing his knowledge about music and the organ.