Musical Ramblings

Best of 00s: Noir Désir - En Public (2006)

It's kind of weird to review an album of French rock in English, especially since Noir Désir was such a massive phenomenon in the late 90s and early 00s in France, but it's good music, and I guess if I can listen to albums sung in various languages I know nothing about and enjoy them the same must be possible for non-French speakers with albums in French...

Anyway, I'd pretty much given up on Noir Désir with their last studio album Des Visages, Des Figures which I thought was pretentious and political. I love the early Noir Désir because it's all about the music, but they fell victims to the same syndrom U2 fell to (in my opinion) which is that your music becomes a vehicle for your persona rather than something worthy in and of itself. But when I heard some of the first excerpts from En Public, I started to reconsider, and I don't regret buying it one bit.

It's not every band, especially bands as popular as Noir Désir was back then who can completely reinvent itself live, offer 3 hours of live music that doesn't just cover the singles and famous songs but offer new interpretations and instrumentations of most of their repertoire. The early Noir Désir was atmospheric and evocative. Furious or darkly dreamy, it would always carry you somewhere else with a combination of intelligently poetic lyrics and innovative songwriting.

With En Public, Noir Désir shows that it found itself again towards the end, beyond the public image, the lesson giving and the posturing. They found the ways into their back catalog as well, rewriting songs like Les Ecorchés (as a kind of dark swing), rediscovering Pyromane from their first EP, revisiting the pulsating Le Fleuve with a string quartet. 

In many ways, En Public is a fitting end to Noir Désir's career as a band because it's not just representative of a period of the band's life but rather visits their whole lifespan in a really interesting and mature way.

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Best of 00s: Avishai Cohen - Continuo (2006)

Gently Disturbed is the album that made Avishai Cohen explode on the European Jazz scene, attracting huge crowds and expanding way beyond the traditional jazz audience. And yet Continuo, the album that preceded Gently Disturbed is the one I find the most interesting, perhaps because the blend of musical cultures is slightly more pronounced.

It's no surprise that Avishai Cohen's and his trio are adept at drawing from multiple influences: Cohen himself is Israeli born and bred but came to musical prominence in New York City backing the likes of Chick Corea. Sam Barsh started classical piano before switching to jazz with a blend of funk, r&b and groove on top. These threads are immediately apparent when you listen to his playing. Mark Guiliana is a New Jersey born drummer with fingers in both the jazz and the rock pies and adept at mixing both. Maybe this overview of the trio give you a sense of the musical blend I was talking about earlier. The addition of Amos Hoffman on Oud on a couple of tracks adds the little bit of spice that makes Continuo exotic.

What I like about the music on Continuo is that it's uncompromisngly melodic without being tame. It seems to me that Jazz has a complicated relationship with melody because it's a necessary element that you must nonetheless kill if you can. Avishai Cohen's trio manages both to perfection in my opinion. Fans of exploratory jazz improvisation might feel frustrated I guess, but for me the limited level of "out" is just right. Listen to Nu Nu, the opener: slow dirge intro to strong syncopated oriental melody gives to hard groove with oud and bass improvisations. There's variety and entertainment without compromise.

Avishai Cohen demonstrates that even in the 21st century you can play jazz with integrity but without necessarily sacrificing listenability. You can also play a jazz that draws from very varied influences without compromising the essential jazz nature of the music. That's what excites me about this record, and - to be honest - the two Avishai Cohen records that followed.

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Best of 00s: Jean-Jacques Milteau - Blue 3rd

Milteau is one of the most interesting contemporary blues harp players. He walks a fine line: respecting the musical tradition that inspires him (blues and soul) and approaching in his own, unique way. Of his recent output, Blue 3rd is the most interesting and thrilling to my ears. This album is defined by voices. Human voices, of course, and not the least of those (Terry Callier, Gil Scott-Heron, N'dambi) but also instrumental voices, epitomised by the grainy sound of Howard Johnson whether on sax or on tuba.

There's an enticing duality about Blue 3rd: Milteau and his band lay a velvet cushion for his guests to shine on and at the same time their backing in itself is a gem, and Milteau's playing even more so. This is the epitome of his particular vein of sparse, tone focused approach. Fans of harp histrionics, move on, this is not what Blue 3rd is about. Fans of african-american inspired music and particularly Memphis soul blues should absolutely find their fill here!

When I first listened to that album there were tracks that absolutely blew me away. Terry Callier's Some Kind of Pressure is stunning, with this deep, raw double bass sound throughout. Gil Scott-Heron's Home is where the Hatred is grooves like the days of the Midnight Band. Turtle Walk and Fishing Blues are both instrumental gems, bridging the gap between trad blues and blues note jazz. All of these are total winners. I was somewhat less convinced originally by some of the instrumentals that sounded a bit too much like the current brand of R&B, but with time even these I grew to appreciate and The Lonely Knows with N'dambi has become a favourite of mine.

This is a superb album that really manages what it sets out to do: showcase interesting voices or tones in a musical context deeply respectful of the afro-american tradition it draws from.

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Best of 00s: Project Z - Project Z (2001)

I have already stated my boundless admiration of Jimmy Herring when I reviewed the ARU's Nice, so imagine my thrill when I found out that Herring was releasing an album with a quartet of like minded jazz-rockers! Project Z's debut album (there would be only two due to the untimely demise of bassist Ricky Keller) is an exhilerating ride all around the jazz-rock landscape featuring a mix of very accessible numbers, some really wild experimentation verging on free and somewhere in the middle, my favourite stuff, the roaring and inventive tracks that pepper this record.

Now I may be a Herring fan, but the rest of Project Z are no slouches. Jeff Sipe is on drums and beyond being a former ARU bandmade of Herring's his musical CV is a long as my right arm. Ricky Keller is a killer bass player, fast and furious. Rev. Oliver Wells accompanies the trio on Keyboards with gusto and vibe, and Count M'butu (also a former ARU guy now with the Derek Trucks Band) joins on percussion on a couple of tracks. Speaking of Derek Trucks he guests on a couple of numbers as well.

Raging Torrent opens Project Z. It's one of these roaring and inventive ones: a fury of drum rolls and a super-fast bass-line sets the groove and when Herring's overdriven guitar comes in, you can't help but fall into the rushing stream. It's a great example of Herring's blend of jazz and rock influences. One of my frustration with a lot of jazz-rock is these wimpy synth-guitars that apparently some people think sound "rock". Herring's sound is mean and in your face. Rock as God intended.

Another stunner is Rainbow, the only song on the record where Herring plays acoustic guitar. It starts with a mellow piano intro played by Wells. After two minutes, when the rest of the band joins in, things get heavier, with a thick bass driven groove. The funk parade is kept mellow by Herring's acousticness though. Well's piano solo is supberb and Herring's own acoustic solo is graceful and melodic. Superb playing all the way through.

Herring lets his jazz chops rip on Separated Gestures. My guess is fans of Allan Holdsworth will lap this stuff up, although I have to say it's a little too out for my tastes. But there are many less threatening tracks on there too, like Augusta's Ankle or Mud Bug.

There's only one thing that's slightly annoying on Project Z and that's the many 30 second interludes between songs that in my opinion don't contribute anything and break the flow of listening. But in this day of iPods and music software, it's easy enough to skip and certainly doesn't justify missing out on this masterpiece of jazz-rock!

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Best of 00s: Amsterdam Klezmer Band - Limonchiki (2000)

Limonchiki was the first Amsterdam Klezmer Band album I purchased after seeing the reference in Joann Sfar's wonderful graphic novel Klezmer. I now own most of their discography (including some pretty weird collaborations!) but Limonchiki remains my favourite record of theirs.

Klezmer, like all traditional musics can be played analytically or it can be played with street smarts. The AKB is definitely in that second category and I think that's what I like. They have no excessive respect for the source material, they're always willing to experiment with jazz, and groove beats, but more importantly perhaps, they do it for fun. Now don't get me wrong, some of their music, like Klezmer in general, can exude absolute sadness, but it's the kind of sadness you get after a night of drinking Vodka and reminiscing. It's not calculated. And it's just a likely to be followed by a round of the deep laughter of friendship.

That's why I like the AKB, and that's why Limonchiki is at the pantheon of my favourite records. From the first track you're grabbed into a whirlwing of clarinet and horn-laden fun. Di Naie Chuppe is a slow minor tune with the four "horns" (clarinet, trumpet, trombone and sax) playing around the theme and around each other. It's like an introduction to the dancing material that will follow. It's just in the middle of joy and sadness like I said above. The second track, Nadja is definitely the fun one, with a really cool lopsided B section. The rest of the album alternates between these extremes of joy and melancholy, but it's always wonderfully musical and real.

A couple of tracks really stand out. The title trak Limonchiki is a whimsical song with Alec Kopyt's great vocals, reminiscent of his home town of Odessa. Der Mama ist Gegangen is a yiddish tune that starts with a drone and ends up in frenzy. And finally, the exhilarating A Chassid in Amsterdam which is a kind of klezmerish hip-hop with Job Chajes on vocals (in Dutch).

If you like any kind of ethnioc music, especially if you're after something that translates the atmosphere as opposed to literal renditions, then any AKB albums will bring you lots of joy, and Limonchiki (if you can find it) is a great place to start!

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Best of 00s: Eric Legnini - Trippin' (2009)

Legnini's ascenscion on the French jazz scene was the consequence of his willingness to revive, or is it renew, the particular vibe of some 60s pianists now mostly fallen into obscurity. The Les McCanns and Phineas Newborns are his avowed inspiration. His early albums, as enjoyable as they were, tended to be - in my opinion - a little too respectful of these masters.

In Trippin', Legnini manages the metaphorical killling of the father necessary for an artist to find his path. In part, he achieves this feat by switching - for a little over half the tracks here - to the Fender Rhodes. It seems that this change of sound liberates him, not just when he plays the Rhodes but even on the piano. The stellar cast that backs him, the groove-heavy Mathias Allamane on bass and the always inventive Franck Agulhon on drums play their part in this liberation, pushing the leader into a territory where his roots are respected but his individuality soars.

Trippin' opens the album; foot-tappingly funky, wonderfully electric, it sets the tone. Casa BamakoRock the Days to the deliciously old fashioned Them That Got. Legnini even awards himself the successful luxury of a few solo pieces, including the mysterious The Secret Life of Plants, a kind of Oscar Peterson revisits Stevie Wonder introspection.

If you like jazz trios, if you think that the modern scene lost a particular vibe that was prevalent in the 60s, or simply if you like your jazz to be groovy and intelligent, then it's a good bet that Trippin' will be to your liking...

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Best of 00s: Tao Ravao & Vincent Bucher - Lazao Izy (2009)

Tao Ravao and Vincent Bucher have been playing malagasy music together for over a decade, and Lazao Izy is, in a sense, a return to their common roots. Recent albums, starting with Hé, là-bas! and especially Soa had morphed into a kind of full-band afro-pop which was less distinctive. Lazao Izy is as rootsy as the 90s' Tany Manga and is - in this reviewer's opinion - all the better for it. Is that enough to mark it as one of the best albums of the decade? Yes, undoubtedly.

A little bit of background might be necessary to understand what Tao and Vincent's music is about. Tao's origins are in Madagascar while Vincent is French born and bred. They met playing blues, and started collaborating. Naturally, when Tao's musical wanderings brought him closer to home and the rich Malagasy music tradition, Vincent followed. Their collaboration could therefore be described as Malagasy Blues, although that might miss the point. This is not a world music juxtaposition, it's more of a meeting halfway in between...

The instrumentation on Lazao Izy is sparse. Tao plays guitar, kabosy (a sort of Malagasy ukulele) and valiha (a cylindrical zither). He does most of the singing too, in Malagasy, English and French. Vincent plays harmonicas (diatonic and chromatic) and sings, mostly backing vocals. They are joined by a percussionist on a few numbers. This setup leaves a lot of space for the music to breathe and shine. It also highlights some of the unusual sounds, harmonies and rhythms that make Malagasy music so unique.

Listen to Ianao: it opens on a valiha riff, with this peculiarly sharp sound, and Vincent's harp is mostly chugging, highlighting the typical indian ocean rhythm. It's a slow hypnotic piece in Malagasy and sets the tone for the record. The harp sounds completely at home here, and that says a lot about the work Vincent has put into understanding and building on the Malagasy musical structures. Changer de Visage is perhaps more representative of the melange. It's sung in French, and hard driven by percussions. It sounds very rootsy, despite the language. It also sounds bluesy, with Vincent ripping on his solo, always navigating the seas between the two musical worlds. The rhythmic patterns are Malagasy, some of the roaring bends are clearly bluesy. Speaking of which, another masterpiece on this record that will have harmonica players shaking their heads is Quadrille des Filles, a solo diatonic piece. As the name suggests it's a Louisiana sounding dance number. It's sober and rhythmically driven, and yet when you try and analyze what Vincent is playing (which any harp player is prone to do) it's mindblowing...

Lazao Izy is a delicious moment of musical exoticism without any of the pretention to universalism that some world music professes to have. This is world in the good sense, a blend of genres and roots that remains respectful of all it draws from. Check it out, you won't be dissapointed!

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Best of 00s: Stanton Moore - III (2006)

While I wasn't fully convinced about the hommage nature of Elbicho's II, I'm absolutely sure that Stanton Moore titled his album III in reference to Led Zeppelin, if only because of the cover of When the Levee Breaks (even though that song was on IV). A jazz-funk album referring to a monument of rock also tells you something about the inspiration that went into it and the mood. And III delivers on these implicit promises: it's raw and in your face.

The opener, Poison Pushy, highlights the core trio of this album: Stanton Moore on drums, Robert Walter on organ and Will Bernard on guitar. Three jazz musicians who are very much at ease with funk, blues and rock as well, and who enjoy what I often call gut music. Stanton is very forward in the mix on this album, as perhaps one would expect on an album led by a drummer, but it conveys a different feel to what you normally hear, and it's all the more interesting as a consequence. Listen to that intro on Poison Pushy: polyrythms galore, Stanton in a nutshell.

The whole album is excellent, and variety is introduced in the line-up with some horns from Skerik (saxes) and Mark Mullins (trombone), as on Chilcock, a heavy thumping groove number which would totally fit on a Galactic album or Dunkin' in the Deep, a more classical jazz sounding tune.

The two highlights of the album though are both covers. The aforementioned When the Levee Breaks is a gem of deep sorrow, slow, mean and heavy. It distills the essence of the song in instrumental form and really succeeds at a very perilous exercice. Considering the New Orleans origins of Stanton Moore and his involvement in post-Katrina rebuilding, it conveys even more weight to this truly amazing cover. The interpretation of Abdullah Ibrahim's Water from an Ancient Well is given a treatment just as deep and reinvented as a gospel. This is the kind of beautiful melody that you would expect hearing in a baptist church in the Deep South. Truly moving.

And what do you say of an album that can move you tears one moment and get your feet stomping on the next, both with as much abandon? You say it's a winner.

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Best of 00s: Elbicho - II (2005)

I first read about Elbicho described as progressive rock with flamenco roots. That sounded sufficiently strange that I of course immediately sought out their recently released record, II. You might wonder, incidentally, if that's a nod to Led Zeppelin and while I don't really hear an identifiable influence in the music, I wouldn't be surprised if it was.

The three distinctive features of Elbicho that make their music truly unique are singer Miguel Campello's voice and flamenco delivery, Victor Iniesta's amazing spanish guitar playing and the near ubiquitous flute woven by Juan Carlos Aracil. And yet this is rock; in fact, it's rock with attitude to boot. It's just the most unusual brand of rock you've ever heard.

The strange and successful mix practived throughout the record is perfectly epitomized by De Rodillas. The song starts with a delicate spanish guitar chord, but as soon as the echo from the first chord dies, a fuzzed wah-wah guitar starts noodling around the chord sequence. Then Campello's powerful and emotion-drenched singing comes in. The atmosphere is melancholy with this constrained tension that characterises Flamenco singing. Then the band comes in: drums, flamenco percussions, bass, horns and flute on top of the two guitars. The sound is rich and powerful, intense. But there are great dynamics at play here and two thirds in the volume comes down for a flute laden singing part that slowly builds up again to the finale. Just the kind of clever songwriting I love (even if I'm missing out on the lyrics, not being a spanish speaker...)

Where's the prog', I hear you say. Well, while the construction of many of the songs is reminiscent of progressive rock, there's one track on II which is pure prog. It's called La Suite, a 14 minute instrumental track with several distinct movements, great variations in mood, intensity and structure, and it's an absolute delight if you're into this kind of stuff. It's Soundchaser if Yes had been Spanish, Echoes if Pink Floyd had been Iberic.

II is a jewel of global music, true to the traditions it draws from and yet fully original. Don't miss out!

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Best of 00s: Son of Dave - 02 (2005)

To say that Son of Dave is an odd character would be an understatement (just check out this documentary of you want assurance of that fact), but it is, I suspect, this oddity that pushes him towards untrod musical paths. I've been following his ascent ever since I first heard of him in the late 90s, but 02 really is the album that made him stand-out.

Son of Dave is a one man band for the 21st century. His tools are harmonicas, various percussions and electronic loops. What he does is usually lay a looped chord sequence or rhythmic pattern on the loop to then sing and solo over. Sounds minimalistic, and it is (that's a great part of the charm) but that's not to mean that he sounds like an old mississipi street musician. Dance music and trip hop stand between blues and Son of Dave. Mind you he wouldn't fit in either of these categories either. He's just his own genre.

02 is great because despite the lack of variety in the instrumentation (with the exception of a thrilling vocal collaboration with Martina Topley Bird on Devil Take My Soul), there's a great variety in moods. Goddamn is a raw, primitive sounding yell when San Francisco is a laid back melodious song with great harmonies and a superb harmonica solo. The aforementioned Devil Take my Soul got some well deserved visibility when the album came out, and it is undoubtedly the strongest tune on the record, driven soul-blues with a solid dance beat.

02 is both relaxing and exciting. It's the kind of music I love to listen to on the road. Check it out, this guy is dragging the harp into the new century kicking and screaming!

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