Musical Ramblings

Traditional modernity ?

My love for brass bands is no mystery, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band in particular is one of my favorite bands ever. A couple of years back, I started exploring other New Orleans bands, focusing particularly on Rebirth Brass Band which has a meaner sound a steers more towards hip hop. Last week in London I went for a quick visit to the amazing Ray's Jazz and Blues and stumbled on a second-hand record of the Youngblood Brass Band called center : level : roar. I had only vaguely heard about them, but since it was second hand, I decided to go for it.

It's a very cool record. It's definetely more hip-hop than New Orleans jazz, and that's fine with me (I can enjoy both) and the hip hop part is definetely not an excuse to sound modern, it's at the core of the concept. That being said, there's no electronics, no sampling, no nothing, just a bradd band laying funk beats and soloing around hip hop lyrics. It's well worth a listen and I'll most likely be getting hold of the other two albums they have release. Have a try for yourself with this live video of the Youngblood Brass Band's Nuclear Summer from their latest release:

Raw British Urban Blues

If you haven't heard of Rory McLeod, you deserve to check him out. He's one of the most intense and distinctive folk musicians out there (and even calling his stuff folk is restrictive). He's also an amazing multi-instrumentalist and plays - amongst guitar, trombone, spoons and various percussion instruments - diatonic harmonica. I was looking for a clip on Youtube this morning that featured him on harmonica, and I found this superb declamatory street blues that sounds nothing like a blues. Unfortunately, embedding is deactivated for this clip, so here's a link to enjoy it directly on the tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO_xCvYGtxY

October 2007 Podcast: The Free Reed Show

The October Rambling Podcast is the Free Reed Show, as requested by popular vote. The setlist is:

1. Gus Viseur - Flambée Montalbanaise (02:10-04:05)
2. Astor Piazzola - Decarisimo (04:35-07:10)
3. Christian Marsch - La Valse (07:10-08:30)
4. Jimmy Riddle - John Henry (09:10-11:10)
5. De Amsterdam Klezmer Band - Der Mama ist gegangen (11:55-15:15)
6. Triple Harp Bypass - Menage à Trois / Sonny's Mazurka (15:35-18:40)
7. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Allah Hoo Allah Hoo (20:00-26:15)
8. Rhythm Willie - New Block and Tackle Blues (26:15-29:15)
9. Richard Hunter - Hymn for Crow (30:35-32:25)
10. Larry Adler - Roumanian Rhapsody n°1 (32:50-39:15)
11. Richard Galliano, Romane and Stochelo - Double Jeu (40:15-45:15)
12. Gotan Project - Diferente (45:35-50:55)
13. Gary Primich - Sade (52:00-59:15)

For more info on this podcast in general, check out the generic Rambling Podcast post.

The Free Reed Aerophone article in Wikipedia explains very clearly about the specific mechanics of free reed instruments. Free reed instruments featured in this podcast include the harmonica and accordion, but also the bandoneon, the harmonium and the concertina. I was unfortunately unable to locate characteristic recordings of the sheng or the melodica.

The detailed setlist is as follows:

• Gus Viseur - Flambée Montalbanaise: Gus Viseur was born in Belgium and became one of the emblematic players of musette accordion alongside Jo Privat and Medard Ferrero.  After World War II, Viseur embraced the influence of american jazz and despite the protests of musette purists developed the genre known as Swing Musette. The Flambée Montalbanaise was inspired the tragic bombing and subsequent burning of Montauban during World War II.  This particular version comes from the post-war recordings compiled on De Clichy à Broadway but it can also be found on earlier sources like Compositions 1934-1942 or on various compilations like The Sound of Paris. Viseur here plays a piano accordion. (Source: De Clichy à Broadway)

• Astor Piazzolla - Decarisimo: No one has been as influential on tango as Astor Piazzolla. Composer and bandoneon player, Piazzolla devoted his entire life to performing and growing the Argentinian Tango, absorbing influences from outside genres and giving tango a truly international visibility. Decarismo is here played by Piazzola's quintet during the 1980s and the song can be found on various compilations like The Best of Astor Piazzolla or the more complete (5 CDs) but cheaper History of Tango. (Source: October 15th, 1984 - Milan, Italy)

• Christian Marsch - La Valse: Harmonica trios used to be all the pop rage before WWII and there are still a few players around perpetuating this musical tradition. Harmonica trios were composed of a leader playing chromatic harmonica, accompanied by a bass harmonica player and a (gigantic) chord harmonica player. Christian Marsch plays all three and more in a variety of genres ranging from old-timey stuff to psychedelic funk.  (Source: Christian Marsh and Guy Dickerson - Planet Bound)

• Jimmy Riddle - John Henry:  Jimmy Riddle's name is all but lost to history and yet his harp playing has been heard by millions. He was the harmonica player behind Country star Roy Acuff, and a frequent contributor to Hee Haw and the Grand Ole Opry shows. Riddle was as much at ease on the diatonic harmonica as he was on the chromatic, as displayed on his instrumental version of John Henry. Unfortunately, his stunning album Country Harmonica - which I believe to be the one on which John Henry was featured has never been issued on CD. (Source: Jimmy Riddle - Country Harmonica)

• De Amsterdam Klezmer Band - Der Mama ist gegangen: As their name suggest, the Amsterdam Klezmer Band (also known at the AKB) is a dutch klezmer band which is both totally traditional and very modern.  Der Mama ist Gegangen is taken from their excellent record Limonchiki which is, unfortunately, damn hard to find. As an alternate souce of AKB goodness, I recommend Son, which I reviewed here. (Source: De Amsterdam Klezmer Band - Limonchiki)

• Triple Harp Bypass - Menage à Trois / Sonny's Mazurka: Triple Harp Bypass is what producers in the 60s would have called a superband, featuring four exceptional musicians including three harmonica players renowned for their playing, especially in the Irish musical genre, namely Brendan Power, Mick Kinsella and Rick Epping. They have been playing and touring together for some time, and have released a confidential record called Iron Lung which, as far as I know, has no distribution but is sold at concerts and by the individual members of the band.  (Source: Triple Harp Bypass - Iron Lung)

• Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Allah Hoo Allah Hoo: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is world renowned and probably needs no presentation. He was, until he passed away in 1997, the foremost representative of the Pakistani music known as Qawwali, the religious music of the Sufi mystics. There are many albums of his chants on the Real World label, and Allah Ooh can be found on Devotional and Love Songs.   (Source: Unknown)

• Rhythm Willie - New Block and Tackle Blues: Rhythm Willie never released albums under his name since he was probably dead before the concept was born, almthough some sources mention him being still alive in the 70s. He was born in 1910 and only recorded two sessions under his own name and less than 20 that have been unearthed. New Block and Tackle Blues is one of these sessions, recorded under the name Rhythm Willie and his gang in the 40s. It's available in an early harmonica compilation entitled Harps, Jugs, Washboards and Kazoos 1928-1940 (Source: Harps, Jugs, Washboards and Kazoos 1928-1940)

• Richard Hunter - Hymn for Crow: Richard Hunter is and has been an innovator on the diatonic harmonica for over three decades. He is famous for releasing the first and most often praised method to play jazz harmonica, aptly titled Jazz Harp. His first album, The Act of Being Free in One Act is the one on which Hymn for Crow was released, and features only solo diatonic harmonica pieces. (Source: The Act of Being Free in One Act)

• Larry Adler - Roumanian Rhapsody n°1: Larry Adler is one of the major 20th century harmonicists and, apart from Toots Thielemans, probably the most famous chromatic player. From his debut playing vaudeville, he honed his playing and moved onto variety jazz and classical music of the highest caliber. He scored many music soundtracks and was famous for refusing to submit to McCarthyism in the dark days of the American democracy. As a result, he lived most of his life in Britain. There are many, many Larry Adler records out there, but this particular version of the Roumanian Rhapsody N°1 is to be found on a particularly fine collection entitled The Great Larry Adler: Original Recordings 1934-1947.  (Source: Original Recordings 1934-1947)

• Richard Galliano, Romane and Stochelo - Double Jeu: Gypsy Jazz is by far not the only arrow Richard Galliano has in his quiver. He has become famous in the last couple of decades as an all-round jazz accordionist who nonetheless knows how to pay homage to the traditions of his instrument of choice.  The original version of Double Jeu did not feature his, it was released on the  album Double Jeu by guitarists Romane and Stochelo Rosenberg. (Source: October 15, 2006 - La Rochelle, France)

• Gotan Project - Diferente: Gotan Project is a Paris based multinational band that ressucitates old Argentinian Tango and injects modern beats, samples and electro-components in the music. Diferente comes from their 4th album Lunatico.  (Source: May 27th, 2007 - London, UK)

• Gary Primich - Sade: Amongst modern blues harmonica players, Gary Primich was considered to be one of the most originals and interesting. Besides numerous albums under his own name, Primich played on many Texas produced blues albums. The song Sade presented here is a live version taken from a compilation of Texas harmonica players called Texas Harmonica Rumble (Source: Texas Harmonica Rumble)

Which rounds up this show of the Rambling Podcast ! Many thanks to Christian Marsch, the AKB Management, Brendan Power, Richard Hunter and Gary Primich's family for allowing me to use tracks from their respective albums. The Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is the only track for which I could not trace a source but it sounds like a recording in public, so I should be in the clear. Additional thanks to Lazy Brad Lewis, Scot Ray and Joe Powers for recording great jingles. Yet more thanks to artist Saki for the superb Galliano banner. And finally, a last round of thanks to Greg Szlapczynski for letting me use his Ternaire Madness as the new theme song for the show.

Please leave comments !!!

The craziest jazz man ever...

Did I already tell you that I loved Rahsaan Roland Kirk ? Well I do. Like Mingus, he played a dirty kind of jazz, something from the guts that simply cannot be accused of any form of intellectualism. I own quite a few of his albums, but my favourite are the early Atlantic ones, especially The Inflated Tear and Volunteered Slavery. On the latter album, there's a crazy version of I Say a Little Prayer (a song made famous by Aretha), given a much heavier political meaning by Kirk than the original probably intended.

Kirk was an atypical musician in more ways than one. While his main instrument was the tenor sax, he played all kinds of strange contraptions, mostly built by him and never used by anyone else, included the fabled stritch (a modified alto sax), and the manzello (a modified soprano sax), but also the flute, the nose flute and various weird and crazy noise-making contraptions. He often played two or three of his instruments simultaneously, harmonizing his own lines.

Probably what I find the most endearing in Kirk's playing is that it's deliberately imprecise, it flirts around the beat in ways that are unique to Kirk - and sometimes pushed jazz critics then and now to accuse him of being a novelty act. To say that us, to me, ignoring the urgency and often poignancy of his music. If only jazz wasn't riddled with some many intellectuals, we could actually talk about music once in a while ;-)

This just in !

I just received this from Greg Szlapczynski's management:

Harmonica player Greg Szlapczynski, aka Greg Zlap, works on a new blues album revolving around the theme of Cinema. Yvinek (Maceo Parker, Brisa Roché, Salif Keita) is in charge of the production of this new recording.

The record will be like a musical road movie, alternating bluesified versions of movie themes and original pieces inspired by the 7th art. The raw and organic sound of that production will rival with the rootsiest John Lee Hooler or Tom Waits.

More on www.myspace.com/gregzlap.

I' m surprised at the rawer than raw tone of the press release, since one of Greg's great qualities is to have a very clean and pure sound, but we'll see !

Long Overdue Release!

A CD of the late Douglas Tate's classical work has been released. All you have heard about his superb classical playing can purchase said record, entitled An Evening with Douglas Tate and Chris Collis. It is available on the website dedicated to Douglas' work and career. Here is the list of the classical pieces featured on the record:

               

• Three Elizabethan Dances - Douglas Tate, Chris Collis
• La Cinquantaine (Marie) - Douglas Tate, Chris Collis
• Oboe Sonata (Handel) - Douglas Tate, Chris Collis
• Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven) - Chris Collis
• Impromptu No 2 (Schubert) - Chris Collis
• Arabesque (Debussy) - Chris Collis
• Irish Medley (Moody) - Douglas Tate, Chris Collis
• Celtic Airs: The Dark Island, Siubhan Ni Dhuibhir & My Lagan  Love - Douglas Tate
• Meditation from “Thais” (Massenet) Douglas Tate, Chris Collis
• Mulberry Cottage (Lloyd-Webber) - Douglas Tate, Chris Collis
• Strawberry Fair, One May Morning (Morris) - Douglas Tate, Chris Collis
• Bachianas-Brasileiras No 5 (Villa-Lobos) - Douglas Tate, Chris Collis
• Prelude No 15 “Raindrop” (Chopin) - Chris Collis
• Concerto for Harmonica – Scherzo (Spivakovsky) - Douglas Tate, Chris Collis
• Le Onde (Einaudi) - Chris Collis
• Embraceable You (Gershwin) - Chris Collis
• Danza Gaya (Dring) - Douglas Tate, Chris Collis
• Holiday for Strings (Rose arr. Haughton) - Douglas Tate, Chris Collis
• Irish Medley Reprise (Moody) - Douglas Tate, Chris Collis

Rocket Number 9 set to launch!

This just received from Electro Groove Records:

Jason Ricci is that rare individual that only comes along once in a generation – an artist with the unique ability to help shape and redefine the sound of his chosen instrument and forever change the course of music history. His style is varied and his influences far reaching, having spent countless hours absorbing everything from Sun Ra to Little Walter, the Rolling Stones to the Pixies, Lou Reed to Govt. Mule, and everything in between. The depth of his music crisscrosses the audible landscape leaving no stone unturned as he fully explores blues, jazz, funk, rock, punk, and even drawing inspiration from the current crop of jam bands, all while still retaining the stamp of his own inimitable style.

Jason has over 10 years experience living life out on the road, and performs over 300 dates a year. New Blood’s live shows have quickly attained legendary cult status with archived performances surpassing downloads on the Internet by popular acts such as the Grateful Dead and Phish. In 2005, the Mercury News even listed the band in their Top Ten Shows of the Year alongside major touring artists including Prince, Rush and Green Day.

Through hard work and dedication Jason Ricci & New Blood have built a solid fan base from the ground up, selling over 12,000 copies of their self produced/released CD “Blood on the Road,” and all without the help of record labels, national distributors, or publicists. Together with guitarist Shawn Starsky, who brings with him an arsenal of creative talent and fresh ideas, and Grammy Award winning producer John Porter at the helm, Jason Ricci & New Blood have created a visionary and sonically explosive masterpiece that is sure to shake your foundations.

Rocket Number 9 is due out on October 23rd.

Talk about a one man band...

I'm sorry about the intermittent posting recently. I've changed jobs and I'm moving around a lot. Since I woke up early this morning - that's what jet lag does to you - I thought I'd at least post a cool vid. This is fortune Teller from Australian folk-rock singer Xavier Rudd. And yes, these are three Didgeridoos he's using!