Musical Ramblings

Nguyen Le – Purple

These last few years I have listened to a lot more music without harp than music with harp, and even though I still listen to a lot of harmonica compared to most, I like to give visibility to non-harp albums once in a while. Purple: Celebrating Jimi Hendrix is one such album, that deserves better recognition in my opinion. Jimi Hendrix is widely recognised as a master of rock guitar who influenced many great musicians in his wake, and justly so. Unfortunately, this means that we get fed tributes, compilations and frankly, pointless covers on a regular basis.

Now, I’m generally all for covers when they bring something to the original, be it a different arrangement, a re-reading, something. But Hendrix covers, maybe because he’s such a revered figure, usually end up as below-par versions of the original. About the only exception I can think of off-hand (altough I should point out that I’m not familiar with Gil Evans' Play's the Music of Jimi Hendrix which has a strong reputation as far as Hendrix rewritings go) is Stevie Ray Vaughan’s posthumously released version of ‘Little Wing’. While faithful to the original, this specific rendition is a vehicle for a spark of improvisational genius that SRV displayed too scarcley, in my opinion, but really shines on this particular track.

Having said that, the following review may come as a surprise to you, considering that this record is nothing but Hendrix covers. Purple, by French jazz guitarist Nguyen Le is even subtitled Celebrating Jimi Hendrix, hence the contradiction. Except… except Purple is nothing like a bland album of subpar imitation. The ten classic or slightly obscure Hendrix compositions included here are given a complete reinterpretation in a jazz rock context that never imitates and yet is in a way more faithful than the most faithful imitation.

Evidently, there was a strong design agenda in the conception of this album which makes it the strange yet compelling aural object that it is. First of all, an oddity in the realm of jazz rock, the vocal component is heavily emphasised. Three different singers grace this record with their vocal cords, with only one full instrumental in the track list. These three singers are female, which adds another layer of surprise to the mix.

Another important element is a blend of the heavy sound that Hendrix spearheaded and a sort of ‘back to the roots’ component, the roots here being, quite obviously, Africa. A number of songs (Manic Depression, Voodoo Chile) are sung in an African language (I think it's Malian) rather than the original English, and several tracks have tribal drumming or acoustic North African instruments in the mix.

By now, presumably, you’re completely lost, and you wonder why on Earth I would recommend that you listen to this record. Well, unlikely as it sounds, the odd blend works. It really does. All of the Hendrix songs (expect the last track Third Stone from the Sun, kind of a disappointment for me) are instantly recognisable and yet strikingly different from the original. It feels to me like, through some strange alchemical process, Nguyen Le has managed to extract the essence of the songs and rewrite them using this essence as their core.

For example, take Purple Haze. The song kicks in not with the infamous devil’s interval that made this song widely popular but on a quick wah-wah guitar hook. The powerful riff that follows in the original is also not there, at least not to begin with. Instead, a funky bass line and heavy drumming give way to the vocals, heavily distorted, for a first verse that ends up on the familiar break, with a clear but heavy guitar sound on the riff. Then the second verse ends up on a reharmonised version of the intro riff from the original, followed by an impressive jazz-rock guitar solo and finally we fall back on that ‘devil’s interval’ which forms the backdrop for a powerful drum break. Pure genius.

This is but one example, but this work on structure also opens a lot of space for a style of improvisation reminiscent of the stuff I love in jam rock. On the opener, 1983 - A Merman I Should Turn To Be, the rhythm section breaks halfway through to give way to a very jazzy and pulsating piano solo by guest pianist Bojan Z. The backdrop is very sparse, with only tiny sparks of the orginal chord structure. If you close your eyes you can just imagine this going on for ten minutes in a live context, although the constraints of the studio limit it to a couple of minutes. Similarly, the powerful rhythmic drive of If Six Was Nine is a fruitful context for a long guitar improvisation by Nguyen Le in which he displays both his mastery of the Hendrixian sound and his credentials as a jazz guitarist.

To me, the greatest thing about this record, is that it really emphasises Hendrix as an outstanding composer, a talent that is often clouded by Hendrix’s fire as an interpreter and showman. It’s no coincidence that most of the tracks here come from Hendrix’s ‘Experience’ phase, before he sort of lost it in the world of glitz and drugs. That’s when his compositions were the strongest and most original, and that is, fairly obviously, the genius that Nguyen Le wanted to showcase. Hence Celebrating Jimi Hendrix.

Of course, this kind of ambitious project only works with stellar musicians, and Nguyen Le brings not only his own amazing talent on guitar, but has assembled a cast of superior collaborators : drummer Teri Lynne Carrington who turns out to be an astounding singer with a raspy voice and funk-jazz bassist Michel Alibo form the core of his band. Most tracks, however, also feature percussions, piano or different vocalists, which give the record both it’s variety and, in a sense, it’s unity. I’m always loathe to try and interpret an artists’ work if his aim is not explicitly stated, but I suspect that if Nguyen had wanted to insist on Jimi’s female sensitivity and fascination with his ancestral roots, he wouldn’t have gone otherwise.

Just as a finishing note, a word of caution: I’m an avid listener of new, different stuff. I love it when musicians mix influences and styles, when they break down barriers. You may not be like me. If the idea of jazz-rock rewritings of Hendrix tunes does not appeal to you in the first place, either because it says jazz or because you love Hendrix too much to tolerate any deviance from the canon, then this record is probably not for you. You can safely ignore all the above enthusiasm, it won’t make you enjoy something that you’re not ready to take in!

ScrapOmatic - ScrapOmatic

There isn't actually much harmonica in this record. It's so good, however, that I felt like reviewing it for the world out there, just in case someone is reading this.

ScrapOmatic was originally a New York City based duo composed of singer Mike Mattison and guitarist Paul Olsen. It's my understanding that they now play with a tuba player and a drummer as well. Their first, self-titled album, however, is a full band exercise and benefits from a fine instrumentation under the supervision of producer John Snyder.

Why mention the producer, you ask ? Well, it may not count for much in many cases, but I believe it does here. John Snyder has a list of credits as long as my right arm, featuring names as prestigious as Ornette Coleman, Dave Brubeck, Robert Lockwood Jr, and Charles Brown. A few years ago, dispirited by the orientation taken by the music industry, he created a non profit independent label named Artists House. This label records artists, known or lesser-known, with a great freedom of interpretation but with a quality both in terms of recording conditions (session musicians, studios, etc.) and production (packaging, accompanying DVD, etc.) that equals the best majors.

That being said, let’s talk about ScrapOmatic. If you absolutely had to pin them down to a musical genre, you would most likely find them in the ‘rhythm n' blues’ section of your record store, but that’s ‘rhythm n' blues’ in the noble sense of the word, the R&B of the 60s. Mike Mattison's voice is evidently in that vein, warm and slightly veiled, with an impressive range from a cute falsetto to a mean bluesy growl. Paul Olsen’s guitar work is most likely more forward in their habitual live formula, but here it is subtle and mostly in accompaniment rather than fiery improvisation.

Before going into more detail about the music, I wanted to mention the backing band put together to support these two excellent musicians. John Snyder hired the cream of Louisiana session musicians, locked them in a rural studio for a week with ScrapOmatic, and the result is a gumbo with a strong ‘soul’ favor but distinct aftertastes of New Orleans blues and jazz. Any cook will tell you that too many different spices are likely to kill the dish, but Snyder’s reputation is not overblown : he’s a hell of a cook. The various perfumes here mix well, without cancelling each other up, and the result is one of my favorite musical discoveries this year.

The album opens on what is most likely its best original tune , the soulful Moanin’, a story of a cowardly man, some women and a green card. If Mike’s work with the Derek Trucks Band wasn’t reason enough to consider him an exceptional vocalist, this tune alone would blow away any doubts. Plaintive and warm, with just the hint of irony required by the lyrics, it is simply perfect. There's a mix of lazy Louisiana feel and hints of Mediterranean music which blend superbly to support and enhance the vocal performance.

The second track is a very different but just as powerful cover of Mississipi John Hurt’s, Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me. The arrangement is heavily New Orleans, and gives it just the right kind of pulse : a lazy, languorous feel, for a cynical song about what happens after we die…

Ten more tracks follow, flirting with soul-pop (like Bubblegum Song, sung entirely falsetto), delving deep within the soul genre, like the growling Lovefreak, or acknowledging the blues influence, like the aptly named Apocalypse Blues, on which Slide Guitar genius Sonny Landreth gives a hand. There'a a nice piece if harp playing on there as well, in this elusive style that most accomplished players can't do anymore, a sort of 'not quite mastered but sounding great nonetheless' approach.

The record is steadily good and concludes on an exceptionally funky Can you help me ?, which ends as a pure New Orleans homage. In fact, if the sleeve notes didn't tell me otherwise,  I’d swear it was the Dirty Dozen Brass Band backing!

When the album is over, you’re in a quietly joyful mood, that kind of lazy southern feel that life is worth taking your time. You also feel that these guys, hopefully, will go somewhere, because not only do they deserve it, but this first opus is serious credentials already. Incidentally, it’s pleasant to hear young guys doing genuine ‘soul’, far from the dumbed down and overproduced garbage that passes as ‘soul’ these days. And to top it all, the CD is released with an accompanying DVD that chronicles the studio recording, with interviews, commentaries, mp3s and sheet music, at no extra cost. What more could you want?

And the best thing about this particular review, is that you don’t have to trust me. Just go to the Artists House webpage, click on the album cover, launch the mp3 player there, and you can listen to five full tracks and form your own opinion. You can also find additional info on the band on their website www.scrapomatic.com

Shtreiml - Spicy Paprikash

I know next to nothing about klezmer music. When Jason Rosenblatt and I got in touch last year and discussed me reviewing Spicy Paprikash, I told him that I had very little background to substantiate a review, but he didn’t seem to mind. Maybe it’s better, after all, since I can only base my appreciation on what I hear, notwithstanding elements of background on the genre.

Shtreiml is a Quebec based klezmer band with, at its core, five musicians : Josh Dolgin on Accordion and Vocals, Thierry Arsenault on Drums, Ariel Harrod on Bass, Rachel Lemish on Trombone and the aforementioned Jason Rosenblatt on Harmonica and Keyboards. There are also several guests playing on the record. It is my understanding from reading the sleeve notes (and what little background I do have on Jewish music) that the clarinet is the traditional soloist instrument of klezmer, and that is the role that Jason is filling with the diatonic harmonica instead.

The record opens on a fiery original entitled Uncle Tibor’s Spicy Paprikash, a minor theme with a suitably eastern oriental feel. It is as good an introduction to Jason’s playing as you can get: although he is obviously very fluent on the diatonic, Jason doesn’t abuse this fluency in needless fireworks, he uses it to forward the feel of the genre, with lots of ornamentations and heavy vibratos. Halfway through, unsurprisingly, the theme starts again a double the original speed, in a very energetic fashion. Great tune, great playing.

Although the opener sets the tone, there is also a more modern feel on some pieces as expressed by the second track Rachel’s Bulgar, a slower theme arranged with a near-swing backing. This oscillation is felt throughout, some pieces that I identify (perhaps wrongly considering my lack of background) as “traditional” and some that seem to stray further from the canons of the genre. In fact, Jason’s electric keyboard playing seems to be a strong contributor to this feel of “modernity”.

Apart from Halevai, an energetic piece sung in English, and Trombonic Tanz which has a spoken part in (I guess) Yiddish, the record features only instrumentals, but they are fairly varied both in feel and instrumentation. There are some very lively numbers, including the aforementioned Paprikash, but also an entertaining Gas-Nign and my favourite piece from the record, Hora Ca Din Caval.

In a similar fashion to the first track, Hora Ca Din Caval is a two-part piece with the same theme, once played comparatively slow and then played again at neck breaking pace. The theme is a call and response between accordion and harmonica backed by bass and cimbalom (a metallic string instrument, I’d never heard of and had to look up. It’s a kind of zither, more info to be found here) Anyway, it’s a romping piece, on which Jason displays great expressivity, with vibratos that sound nearly like ululations. I’m guessing that’s a clarinet trick he stole.

There are also slower and sadder themes on Spicy Paprikash. In particular, Nign, in which Jason plays using the now classic “harp in a cup” is a very melancholic tune, soberly backed up and very tastefully played. I guess that fits my limited understanding of the genre in which joyous pieces cohabit with more somber numbers, sometimes in the same song. Kind of like in New Orleans style brass bands, for those who, like me, know that style better.

At the end of the day, Spicy Paprikash is a record I enjoyed at first listen and which clearly stands the test of repeated listening. It’s hard for me to say whether it’s a great klezmer record, but I’m fairly confident in recommending it to harmonica enthusiasts who like world music. Jason’s use of the diatonic is both very impressive technically and yet always tasteful. Even the few times at which he goes in jazz-mode improvisation, like on the end of Trombonic Tantz, are musical and not flashy. I hope that as Jason’s skills and fame grow (as they both will inevitably do) he always keeps this sense of taste he displays here. I will certainly stay tuned to his further releases as long as he does! For more on Shtreiml, you can go see their website, and if you're interested in purchasing the record, it's on sale here at www.cdroots.com and at www.cdbaby.com.