Medeski, Martin & Wood
Roseland Theater, Portland, Oregon
February 26, 2010
This was a concert I could not pass up. I hadn’t been to a concert in so long, let’s just say it has been years. A number of reasons can lead to a number of excuses which leads to funds and blah blah, unimportant in the grand scheme. I looked to see if one of my favorite bands, Medeski, Martin & Wood, were going on tour any time. I discovered they would be going through the Pacific Northwest, including a stop in Portland, Oregon. I had the opportunity to go, and with a free schedule, I purchased (yes, I bought it) a ticket and I was on my way.
Before I review the show, a quick story. I’ve seen MMW three times before, all in Seattle: two shows at the Moore Theater, once at the Paramount. At the Moore show on April 1, 1999, they played “No Ke Ano Ahiahi”, and if you hunt down a live recording of the show, you’ll hear a guy yelling out “HANA HOU!” at the end. That would be me. This was also the same time that DJ Logic was sitting in with the group, and would play an opening set. The second show teamed them up with Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. The third time I saw them was when Skerik would organize local musicians to play within his horn section. Each show was great, and one of the best moments was on The Dropper tour, when Medeski jumped onto his organ and rode it during “We Are Rolling”.
This show would be the first time I’ve seen MMW in Portland, and the first Portland concert I’ve been to in years (Frankie Goes To Hollywood & Belouis Some on June 22, 1985.) I was staying at a hotel within walking distance of the Roseland Theater, so when I headed out there by walking, I had taken the wrong street and got lost. I ended up walking in a complete circle in downtown Portland, before I recognized a gas station I had passed hours before. I saw the blinking lights of the Roseland marquee, and I was only two blocks away. I reached my destination, sweaty and exhausted, but in time. I was ready. I’ve passed the Roseland many times when I’ve traveled to Portland, but I’ve bought more records and CD’s than anything. After this show, I find myself wanting to explore all of Portland’s concert venues. But anyway, the review.
I’ve kept up with all of MMW’s output up until the recent Radiolarians albums, and I knew they would be doing a lot of material from those three releases. The thing with MMW is, even if you’re not familiar with their songs, if you love their chemistry and the vibe they feed off to crowds (which at times can be a reaction to what audiences give to them), you’ll love it anyway. The band are all about improvisation, so they may play one song, feel the need to take things to another place, and then come back. At their core is jazz, so they take the freedom of jazz and bring it into their own circle. When Chris Wood plays, whether it’s a Hofner or Fender electric or his stand-up bass, you know he’s going to do some serious damage, and he did throughout the show. Billy Martin always brings his arsenal of drums and percussion, sharing the sounds and spirits of other cultures from Brazil to Africa, then playing his drums in the traditions of Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, and Idris Muhammad. When he wants to add little textures within a complex time signature, everyone in the band knows it and keeps things open. Then of course there’s John Medeski, who will bounce back and forth from a grand piano to a Mellotron to a Hammond B-3, and to his side a Leslie speaker spinning and waiting. He’ll either be a traditionalist and take it to the days of Dixieland, or he’ll get a calling from the almighty Sun Ra and play offnotes, but in the Ra philosophy book there are no wrong notes. Then Medeski will drift into space and take fans on a psychedelic trip to the unknown, as he bends, pounds, and maintains all of this with incredible perception of his surroundings. Sometimes, all of these songs happen in one section of a song.
These are the things MMW did on this night in Portland, beginning with a first set that was pretty much non-stop for an hour. After an intermission, they came back for a second set and I was catching some familiar songs from The Dropper and Uninvisible. After an hour, they said goodnight but the crowd wasn’t having it. Their encore was a song that had been a staple of their live set for years in the mid to late 90’s, and almost became an inside joke for the band as documented on the many live recordings circulating. But as soon as Medeski played the opening notes to “Bubblehouse”, the crowd knew what they would be in store. At the point of the song where they build up and are on a much faster tempo than at the song’s point of entry, Medeski started bringing the wind in, or at least the sound of a heavy “WHOOOOOOOSHHH” and Martin kept himself locked in a groove as Wood was just jiving to the funk and keeping everything locked. When it came time to slow down and bring the song home with that grungy feel, they did it flawlessly before tinkering with how to end the song, and then… it was over. Incredible show, incredible band.
A few more things to add. I witnessed the first half of the show at the top level where the bar was. It was a standing room only show, which sucked. Had I known ahead of time, I would’ve bought myself some Chair Pants. However, I got locked into the jazzy funk and danced nonetheless. The only shitty part was that I had to deal with countless people talking. I’m sorry, but when I go to a show, I want to lock myself into the music and nothing more, I zone out. I walked down to the floor on the second half and made myself kick back in the back. I was in a good position to see ladies dance in their carefree ways, and I was loving that. But you also had a bunch of guys doing the same, but hey, everyone was dancing and having a good time. Plus: no one talking on either side of me, I got to concentrate on the music. Plus, I got a much better view of MMW than I did on the upper level. There was also a 2 or 3-year old girl at the show with her mom, and she was dancing too. I’m sure she had earplugs, but what a thing to experience as a little kid.
If there’s one group I would travel around like a Deadhead to see show after show after show, it would definitely be Medeski, Martin & Wood. But maybe that’s too much of a good thing, maybe it’s best to enjoy a show as much as possible and as you’re going through withdrawals, anticipate the next time they come around. If you can afford to though, by all means, hop on the MMW caravan.
This league is human, but they’re a noise bunch that happen to be silent. Yeah I know, hurry up with it. They’re called The Silent League, a band founded by Justin Russo when he was sitting in with Mercury Rev on keyboards. Today, The Silent League are as big as the Chicago Transit Authority, with seven members strong, and they’re about to prove how strong they are with the release of the cleverly titled album …but you’ve always been the caretaker, on the cleverly titled label Something In Construction. Their sound mixes up some of the analog synth sounds of the 70’s, mixes it in with the modern music twists and a love for infectious pop, and you’ll be able to sense what they’re trying to come up with. People like Prince, Weezer, Todd Rundgren, and P. Willy Mungmung would be most welcome into their ffurth. People who have been looking for pop music to be properly fingered again will fall in love with the scissors techniques of The Silent League.
When the album is released, the hard copy will come with a second CD featuring remixes (including the Neon Indian Remix of “Here’s A Star” (7.5mb), instrumentals, and covers of songs by Electric Light Orchestra (one of their primary influences) and Alicia Keys.
If can’t wait another two months, the album was released a month ago in the UK, and you can purchase it through Rough Trade.
The villagers known as Black Moth Super Rainbow are about to release a brand new album called Eating Us (Graveface), and if you like their previous work, or want to become a new convert, you’ll want to start here.
My review of the album is up and running now at Okayplayer. If you missed out on what they did before, my review of the fantastic Dandelion Gum can be found here.
The album comes out on May 26th, and you can pre-order the standard CD or a special limited edition “hairy version” of it through their official website.
Welcome to The Run-Off Groove #234. I am John Book, welcome.
This column is about music reviews, along with music-related books, DVD’s, etc. Each review will usually be followed by a graphic, when upon clicking you can make a purchase: (for compact disc) (for MP3’s) (vinyl) (DVD) (books)
The point of this is to make readers aware of some of the good music out there, music I hope to be able to pass along to you. With that said, all MP3’s here are “legal”, which means they are being passed on to you with permission from the artist and/or publicity firm. All of you that are tech savvy should know where to get all the free music anyway, but please make a purchase whenever possible, whether it’s from your favorite store or in many instances from the artist themselves. If your tax return is coming in, get to those bills first and foremost, but with a bit of extra change buy a few albums.
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Now, the column.
To say that you’ve heard every piece of music John Zorn has ever released or composed would mean that you are an impossibility, unless you have spent your entire life following Zorn and his musical legacy everywhere. The only person who may have heard everything Zorn has made is Zorn himself, and even he may have forgotten a piece or two. If you’ve come across Zorn and his music anytime in the last 30 years, you know how intense it can be, to the point where you feel like you either want to get involved or run out of fear. These are the emotions that writer John Brackett tries to define and demolish in his book John Zorn: Tradition and Transgression (Indiana University Press).
Brackett’s book is very in-depth in terms of analyzing every twist and turn to Zorn’s creativity, to the point where you may put down the book after a chapter or two, if not after a paragraph. Brackett is an assistant professor of Music at the University of Utah, and therefore what you’re reading is very much a collegiate view of one’s music, which isn’t a bad thing. If you want a casual read, this is definitely not for you. This is very much like enrolling in Zorn 101, and the pace of the book is always at its peak for that is what the music demands and maybe represents. You can either listen to it as a barrage of choreographed noise, or examine it the way rock and jazz critics examine their favorite artists. Yes, Zorn is known for his work in jazz, but he has been accepted in the experimental and avant-garde worlds, even if Brackett challenges the notion. If there is one method to describe what he’s trying to establish, it’s this: Zorn is. Zorn isn’t. He’s both. He’s neither.
It gets into things more seriously of course, but it is intense as it is difficult to read, and it has nothing to do with Brackett’s writing style. This isn’t something where you will read things such “Zorn is Jewish. Zorn likes to incorporate his upbringing and experiences into his music. This is the music. It is on this album. Zorn likes to bring in other elements, some traditional, some not.” Every little element in Zorn’s pieces is carefully examined and deciphered to where you feel you’ve entered the point of no return, and one becomes more appreciative of Zorn’s work, even if it might not be completely understood. One can say the same thing about Brackett and his book, for while you’re not going to fully embrace the research put into it, it will eventually sink in and become overwhelming. In many ways, just like Zorn’s music.
Keri Hilson has portrayed herself in many ways, or I should say her image has been put out to show Miss Hilson as a number of different things. Some may see her as the cool and confident “around the way girl” who is down for whatever. For others, she may be that sexy, hot fucktoy with the confidence men demand but will never completely get because she is the one in control. She may be promoted in that fashion, and some of it may be true, some of it pure hype. But beyond the hype is the music and for someone who has received a lot of hype, how does In A Perfect World (Interscope) measure up? Quite good, actually.
Her music, which she had a major hand in writing, flirts with the idea of what she is, tantalizing the listener with what she makes herself out to be so that fans will become devoted believers. In “Turnin’ Me On” (the first single featuring Lil’ Wayne), a song that at times sounds close to Aaliyah’s “Read Between The Lines”, she tells her man that she’s more than a good shop at the mall and a lady who wants to see the bottles poppin’, she is someone who “gotta be feeling your energy” first and foremost before one dares to know anything more. In other words, she’s a lady, treat her that way. “Set Your Money Up” has her teaming up with Keyshia Cole and Trina and for this one it’s a girl’s night out at the club. The Timbaland-produced “Return The Favor” sounds like both of them entered a game room and never escaped, while NE-YO helps out in “Knock You Down”, only for Kanye West to pick it up and steal it for himself.
It takes five songs for In A Perfect World to reach its first ballad, the Prince-flavored”Slow Dance”, followed by the seductive “Make Love”. She’s very comfortable in her musical pillow talk, but immediately wants to move and groove in a mid-tempo fashion with “How Does It Feel” and “Alienated”, each of which show her as someone who uses the familiar hooks in today’s R&B to lure people into hearing what she’s really all about. In other words, her sexy lyrics and voice are what brought you to listen, now you have to listen, and what a listen it is.
As a songwriter, she knows how to write effective hooks and decent verses that at times show a gifted storyteller, or at least someone who is willing to tear out pages from her mental diary and pass it on to you. I hope she continues to establish herself as a songwriter as I have a funny feeling there’s a lot more she wants to share but is waiting for the right time to do so. Her voice is much more polished and developed than Ciara, and along the lines of Keyshia Cole and Mel B. If I have to compare her sultriness and occasional hints of hip-hop attitude to anyone, I would compare her to Monica Payne of The Gyrlz/Terri & Monica fame, as both share those high tones that are able to excite and surprise due to ones own expectations of their vocal capabilities. Hilson goes beyond that, and after hearing and enjoying this album, I can see her going beyond what this album represents and getting into more challenging projects.
Because of the circumstances that MF DOOM has shown in the last two years, people have wondered if the fake DOOM’s that have been showing up at his concerts are part of an elaborate scam, or part of what DOOM wants to represent as an artist. Regardless of what the situation is, DOOM said in a recent interview that when it comes to music, he wants you to listen, not to see, so what you see may be not what you want or expect. If you keep it on that premise alone, Born Like This (Lex) is the return of DOOM in the flesh, still with his shiny mask.
People have been quick to say that DOOM has weakened, that the new album is trash, and I will say this: if you liked DOOM back when he was dropping 12″ singles on Fondle ‘Em, you will like DOOM now as he gets abstract in his tales of thievery, bravado, pride, and even some “Microwave Mayo”. The man is nuts, but anyone who craves a lot of lyrical gems on their nuts will eat this up like crazy, this is pure, insane wit just like mama used to holla at. DOOM finds no need to drive a hook home, not when he has stories to tell. In “Angelz”, his track with Ghostface Killah he talks about getting involved in a major drug deal, only to be confronted by none other than Mr. T, who wants to take part in hanging out with seductive bitches. One almost feels that DOOM became DOOM became who he is when Black Bastards was rejected by Elektra, and what what we’ve been hearing for the last 15 years os resentment and rejection from someone who wants to go out of his way to prove that he has what it takes to do damage. If he can’t do it as himself, he’ll take on a persona in order to execute his performances like, in the words of his old friend MC Serch, like sex endurance.
What does this have to do with DOOM’s new album? A lot. DOOM raps about things that are so off the wall at first, but take a step back and one begins to see a better developed picture. This is as close as you will ever get to his mic, and either you’re hopping on for the ride or not. Born Like This, at least for now, is the real man behind the mask and his return only means other MC’s better plan on stepping down before being demolished by this supervillain.
The He’s Just Not That Into You soundtrack (New Line) puts together 17 songs that were featured in the movie, and that alone could be used for any other review representing a soundtrack. What you want to know is if the songs are good. Truth: they are.
First off, there are two different soundtrack albums for this: one being the soundtrack of various songs (black cover), the other being the film’s score (white cover). You’ll want the black cover to hear songs by Corinne Bailey Rae (the addictive “I’d Like To”), Tristan Prettyman (“Madly”), and The Ting Tings (“Fruit Machine”). Even Scarlett Johansson (who appears in the film) offers up “Last Goodbye”, and the song will definitely appeal to those who felt her debut album last year was an epic fail, for she is much more spirited here than she was on her tribute to Tom Waits (I felt the album was great, but as I said in my review at Okayplayer, I think too many people expected something different because of how she looks and presents herself to the public.) The original mix of Maroon 5’s “If I Never See Your Face Again”, sans Rihanna, appears here too.
The soundtrack is balanced by a number of older tracks, such as Talking Heads‘ “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)” (one of my favorite TH songs), The Replacements‘ “can’t Hardly Wait”, The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love”, and The Black Crowes‘ “By Your Side”, each one meant to represent the different characters in the film. I think fans of the older tracks will definitely welcome the new material, while fans of the current artists will find something of value in listening to the songs of yesteryear. Fans of the film are sure to enjoy hearing these songs as a whole, but even if you never plan on seeing the film, it makes for a soundtrack worth keeping in your collection.
If the cover to Melodia (Ivy League/World’s Fair) looks familiar, and you’re wondering “wow John, you’re reviewing an album that came out last year?”, then you’re probably wondering why I am indeed reviewing it.
The album by The Vines was recorded a year ago, released in Australia but was not released in North America. Melodia finally gets released domestically and they are hoping to get the same success they’ve received around the world. The band are in top form and show all of the qualities they presented before: catchy melodies, good hooks, and an energy that feels powerful and believable. Some feel they should be as abrasive as their older material, while others want them to be more hook-savvy, but do The Vines satisfy? If you love the band, you’ll like them regardless, but if you truly love the band, you probably bought this last year and have been waiting for them to come to your town. I don’t blame you. There are a lot of great songs here, including the tentative/sensitive ballad hit “True As The Night”, the fierce and funky “Braindead”, and the reckless “Jamola” (which I wish went on for another minute or two instead of limiting itself to a mere 59 seconds), and in between you get potential hits, soon-to-be-concert staples, and that gritty pop crunch fans have come to enjoy and appreciate.
Pray IV Reign (Diplomat/Sony) is Jim Jones‘ fourth album, and this is definitely his best album to date.
On the surface, he has a number of special guests on the album, including Juelz Santana, Rawanna, Ron Browz, Oshy, Ryan Leslie, NOE, Ludacris, and Busta Rhymes, but Jones’ style and grace doesn’t allow him to let them overshadow him, not when you’re in top form and going in for the lyrical kill. He plays the mack and pimp roles very well, not afraid to talk about bitches, money, and the price of fame. but he also knows that when you execute yourself as a man of the street, you have to be willing to die for the street, or at least that’s how the story goes. If it’s not the life he lives, it’s definitely the life he has witnessed through others, and no one quite does it the way Jim Jones does, with effort, power, and an incredible sense of humor that at times comes off like dry wit. In other words, he knows he can crack a few jokes and it may take a few listens before you realize you’re supposed to laugh.
My top picks: “My My My”, “Blow The Bank”, “This Is The Life”, “This Is For My Bitches”, “Girlfriend”, and “Let It Out”.
Ali Baba Abnormal has been around for a few years, and with House Of Baba (the first of two “mix tapes”) he sets himself off as the leader of a hip-hop clientele that is hard to break through. Or at least that’s the semi-theme here, creating a concept that makes him out to be the it man, and he does it by delivering some really good songs and beats that are a healthy exchange between MC and producer.
Worthy stuff for the most part, but the concept (and I use the word loosely) gets a bit thin about half way through but this is a mix tape so maybe it’s not meant to be executed properly. What he does execute are fine songs with lyrics that are worthy, nothing wasteful, and I would like to hear an official album with a bit of diversity in topics.
Bipolar are purists of jazz of the highest order, or are they? They could be purists of Western classical music, but these are jazz renditions of classical pieces, so why mention anyone being purists? Beats me, but what you will hear is pure musicianship from the people behind Bipolar, and perhaps this is the disorder in question: riding the thin line between jazz and classical and rather than hold to a preference, they handle both on Euphrates, Me Jane (self-released).
Jed Feuer (trumpet, flugelhorn), James Windsor-Wells (drums), David Ostrem (double bass), Stephanie Long (saxophones, flute), Craig Swanson (piano), and Robert C. Kelly (drums) work in unison to create a style of music that sometimes goes back to the glory days of Dave Brubeck, or at least that’s how I hear it. The music is played clear and distinctly without friction, and in a song like “Killer Beau (Soir)” you may not realize that it is a classical piece without reading the liner notes (or this review). Their version of Grover Washington Jr.’s “Just The Two Of Us” has a nice jump that the original lacked, and probably would have done well in this setting if Bill Withers was a jazz vocalist circa 1956 or ‘57, and the piano work from Swanson would have made people move and bow down for its majestic touches. Feuer’s arrangement of The Beatles‘ “And I Love You” is as beautiful as any other version released since 1964, and hearing it makes it difficult to believe the song is 45 years old. I like this a lot.
Blue Sky 5 + 2 are a group who get into a style of swing jazz perhaps long gone, but it goes back to an era when jazz was king. Five Minutes More (Groove Juice) is their second album, and the band (fronted by Craig Gildner shows that while the music may be considered old and nostalgic, if you have what it takes, you can put yourself in those days of yesterday or more realistically find yourself wanting more of that music played today.
The album features many standards: “Me, Myself and I, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”, and “You’re A Sweetheart”, and what these songs reveal at times are a sense of innocence that we tend to ignore or neglect these days, when companionship meant a stroll through the park and maybe ice cream at the parlor, nothing more. In fact, “Every Young Girl Should Know” establishes the rules between woman and man, and one wonders how much better we as a people would be if we still held on to the values of our grandparents. If you want quality swing with vocals that don’t go beyond its boundaries or capabilities, get this album.
Pianist Bob Albanese would be considered a wiz kid in his prime, but he’s no longer a kid or young man, but very much playing in his prime, if One Way/Detour (Zoho) is any indication.
Albanese is described on the back cover as being “a rhymer, a poetic soul whether he is thinking and talking or composing and playing”. To put it simply, he is good at what he does, and what he does is highly respected by his peers. On this album he performs with a group of musicians who have always played with power and they do so with no remorse: drummer Willard Dyson, bassist Tom Kennedy and legendary saxophonist Ira Sullivan. People love the term “instant classic”, and that definitely applies to an album like this, featuring a number of Albanese originals (including the textural title track, “Friendly Fire” and the appropriately titled “More Friendly Fire”). If there is a fire, it’s the heat between these four gentleman playing in a way that puts everyone on their A-game. It’s serious music where you’re constantly trying to create mental pictures of the music before you realize your strokes are wrong. But wrongs can be turned into rights, and by saying that I mean these guys can do no wrongs even if they tried. Each of them show their individual personalities through their playing, especially the Dyson/Kennedy rhythm section, you hear the ta-da-dat-dat-DAT of Dyson’s drums and then he’ll tighten up with some wicked funk before Kennedy pulls him back into the program. “Morning Nocturne” could easily be interpreted by Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, or Shinichi Osawa. There’s not one bad song on here, you want to listen and see if Albanese or any of these musicians are playing live. With luck, they’ll be playing near you soon and you may find yourself wanting to hear extended jaunts of each of the ten tracks featured here.
(One Way/Detour will be released on April 14th, and can be pre-ordered through CD Universe.)
Southern rock has a rich legacy, with a number of older bands still playing across the country and the world, and many new artists getting into it in order to keep the vibe alive. Brothers Of The Southland is a collective of musicians and singers who went on tour to share their love of Southern rock and the South, and this 13-track album (Zoho Roots) will be something fans of classic rock will eat up. “Can’t You See” and “Dreams” (the latter the classic Allman Brothers Band song are both taken to new levels with the help of American Idol runner-up Bo Bice, while Jimmy Hall and Henry Paul trade vocal duties from song to song, handling “Dixie Highway”, “Blue Sunrise”, and “a number of D. Scott Miller originals (Miller produced the album) that gets to the roots of it all to show where it all came from and where it could be leading.
The South rises once again.
(Brothers Of The Southland will be released on June 9th, and can be pre-ordered through CD Universe.)
The laid back jazz of a trio known as Framework (Jay Epstein on drums, Chris Olson on guitars, and Chris Bates on bass) is the perfect music to listen to on a rainy day like the one I’m experiencing as I’m listening to the music and writing a review of said music. Olson’s guitar is on the George Benson/Pat Martino tip throughout their self-titled CD (GoneJazz), and you don’t need complex arrangements or heavy twists and turns when you are more than capable of playing smoothly, melodically, and thematically without sounding too soft. “Yesterday’s Past” fits the mood of the title extremely well, , and Bates’ bass work almost has the same kind of roundness Roger Waters‘ is known for, where it’s deep but not plodding.
It is indeed a Framework with these guys, but it’s not robotic or predictable, everything just sounds… proper. Music that is for rainy days like these, or for hot silky nights with a significant other. Bust out the warm jellies, Framework are about to tickle your fancy and then some.
Cool jazz, true jazz: many words can be said about a certain sound that moves people in to the music and not allowing them to escape, but jazz covers a lot of ground. The Frank Wess Nonet go back to that time for a bit on their new album, with a title that is more than self-explanatory. One can say that that time in jazz was once in a lifetime, but for Wess and friends, Once Is Not Enough (Labeth Music).
Most of the songs on this album are Wess originals, and it’s hard to tell considering how well written and arranged they are. When you hear Wess’ arrangement of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life”, it becomes perfectly clear how genius this guy is. His sax work makes you feel welcome, and when his nonet offer up a big band vibe or allow him to glide with a bit of Duke Ellington or John Coltrane flair, it hits you immediately. Steve Turre’s trombone work throughout the album stand out, easily ranking alongside his own albums over the years, listen to his solo in “Sara’s Song” for proof. Together, the musicians here (Wess and Turre along with Winard Harper, Frank Greene, Peter Washington, Gerald Clayton, Scott Robinson, Ted Nash, and Terell Stafford) have a little swagger to their step and playing, which shows the confidence in their playing and the fun they have together as creators of this music called jazz. With the exception of the brief “Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)” (which is a mere 2 minutes and 48 seconds), all of these songs are well over five minutes in length, with “Lush Life” and “Sara’s Song” being the most demanding, clocking in at 9:39 and 8:22 respectively), and one wishes they could’ve went on another two to three minutes. When he swings, he really gets caught up in it and you don’t want him to stop.
It’s hard to believe that any major label would want to drop people with incredible talent, but it seems after one album, Warner Bros. Records gave Leela James a pink slip. She received a lot of attention for her voice, music, and of course her big hair, but the hair was a partial lure to get people to listen. Again, why anyone would drop someone like her is anyone’s guess, but she’s now an indie artist and with her second album she has had to resort to doing cover versions at this early stage in her career.
She gives each of these songs a nice soulful treatment, especially the jazzified take of The Rolling Stones‘ “Miss You”. Foreigner’s “I Want To Know What Loves Is” is taken back to church, while Betty Wright “Clean Up Woman” honors the original with respect. The rest of it is respectfully done but I would have preferred more original arrangements as some of them just lack that extra something. I hope the downfall of today’s soul music doesn’t limit her to just a cover artist, for the world needs people like James to carry on the legacy and traditions.
Modulok could be described as a dark themed MC, or perhaps that’s the way he presents himself in his words and lyrics, and along with producer Leon Murphy they help make Cities And Years (Takaba) an EP of importance.
Why important? I think this guy is on to something, and he awaits a mass audience who will appreciate him, and that time should be now. What I hear on this album is someone who has a gift of songwriting, he knows how to transfer stories from head to pen to paper (or computer screen) in a way that feels like a movie, and he does it by allowing Murphy to twist up his stories through different musical sculptures. “Ink Spots” sounds like crunk dressed up in PVC, while “A Certain Time Of The Day” sounds like something he might do with DJ Krush, while “A Certain Time Of The Day” has him sounding like a mixture of Mos Def, Common (think his first two albums), Justin Warfield, and Jesse Dangerously, as he talks about where he’s from, where he’s been, touching on his Guyanese roots and how “people don’t realize how deep that shit is/but it’s real, deeper than the fucking Grand Canyon”. There is an incredible sense of energy in his words, methods of speaking, and the music that tells me he’s hungry for interaction and feedback, and while he not call himself a teacher, I would say he is an educator of sorts, someone who wants to be able to pass on his experiences in an honest way that doesn’t take away any of his integrity or credibility. An EP of importance? I’ll take four a year, please.
Radam Schwartz is a madman on the Hammond B-3, and what he’s able to do with the instrument on his album Blues Citizens (Savant) is nothing short of brilliant. Those who have read my reviews of a number of jazz albums will know that I’m a huge fan of the B-3, just love the song and it would be great to learn how to play. When I hear someone tear it up as if there’s no tomorrow, it brings a metaphorical tear to my eye, and it’s heard in tracks like “Dem Philadelphia Organ Blues”, “Hangin’ With Smooth”, and “Pay Up”, the latter a vocal track featuring singer Kice. Schwartz knows how to play rugger blues, jazz, and ballads beautifully, and the little things he adds in songs like “Driftin’” helps give the song a bit more flavor when needed, like sprinkles of bacon salt. What’s also amazing is that not only does Schwartz play the melodies and solos, but he also handles the basslines too, and along with drummer Cecil Brooks III they make one hell of a rhythm section.
I also love the distinctive sound he produces with the B-3, it’s as if you’re feeling the organ breathe, pant, and moan. He doesn’t use it throughout but when it’s there, you feel it in the gut. I also like Eric Johnson’s guitar work here, played with class and style the way Wes Montgomery would have liked it. Tight as punani.
3/4’s of these guys look like they’ve been smoking a lot in the last 30 years, so when you got that kind of tar buildup you know it has to result in something wicked. This is the sound of Rufus Huff, which is not the name of any one individual but a band consisting of Chris Hardesty (drums), Jarrod England (vocals, and the young man of the group), Greg Martin (guitarist, known for his work with The Kentucky Headhunters), and Dean Smith who play some of the best hard rock I’ve heard in quite some time. Their self-titled debut album Zoho Roots) shows their brand of rock to be of the Bad Company, Blackfoot, and Electric-era Cult, the kind of hard rock Rick Rubin would be excited to record. Now this isn’t just rock drenched in heavy blues, this is by all means Southern rock with an extra crunch and some type of beef jerky soaked in whiskey. Imagine Soundgarden from the Louder Than Love period playing and singing with an incredible amount of intensity, and you’ll know what “13 Daze” is. “High On Heaven Hill” sounds like what Alice In Chains would be making today if Layne Staley didn’t pass away, and in fact if you want to know how the distinctive Seattle sound got that heavy influence, you can hear the Southern influences in a band like Rufus Huff with that sweaty bottle neck blues that will make you want to shag your ol’ lady for weeks.
A lot of younger hard rock bands, or bands who claim they play hard rock, are nothing but bullshit artists hoping for a big break and the stupid eggets of the industry deliver crap. Rufus Huff, as they say, is “the truth”, these are guys who truly love the music and make it sound heavier than anything you’ve heard in your life. I hope the folks at Zoho Roots (their label) will think about releasing this on vinyl, as this is “vinyl worthy”, which means it gets my stamp of approval.
(Rufus Huff’s self-titled debut will be released on April 14th, and is available for pre-order through CD Universe.)
The liner notes on the album begin this way: We are well aware of the benefits of performing the great jazz standards of the past. Now is the time for new compositions, making them new standards by the mere fact that once they are heard, everyone would want to play them.
With a mission like that, you can’t lose, and that’s what bassist Steve Haines and his quintet (Thomas Taylor, Rob Smith, David Lown, and Chip Crawford) attempt and succeed with on Stickaboom (Zoho), one of those albums that makes you feel proud to be a jazz fan and enthusiast.
For this one, Haines lets drummer Taylor play on only two tracks, since Jimmy Cobb wanted to jam with the guys. Together, they create songs that not only sound good, but feel good, especially “Sutak 9-1-1″, “Prospect Park”, and Cobb’s own “Composition 101″. The sax work of Smith and Lown suit the mood of the songs very well, they both seem to describe the landscapes that the songs depict, and when Crawford feels like driving his way into the grooves with his piano work (as he slyly does in the title track), you know they’re all about creating a common musical picture with beautiful colors and tones. If you’re a bassist, you’ll love what the leader of these sessions does, especially with Cobb and the two tracks with Taylor. It’s the type of music you’ll want to hear over and over.
Stickaboom sounds incredible thanks to engineer Rob Hunter, who mixed and mastered this one. He probably wanted to be able to capture that same sense of space found on many jazz albums of the last 55 years, but still letting the listener know that this is 2009, not 1954. Whether it’s an intense dancer or a rainy day with a loved one, there’s something for everyone here, and enough music to keep you going until they record a new album.
Yoshi Wada is an artist not easy to pin down, but for those who know his name and the pieces he has created, he is someone who is of intense value. The reissue of his Earth Horns With Electronic Drone through the Japanese Em label has already been the topic of discussion for fans of drone, and you get that on this album, which is nothing but a drone.
A drone? That’s it. If you are into experimental, avant-garde, or minimalistic pieces,you will really like what he does here, and sadly this single disc is a 77 minute excerpt of a 2h42m performance. What you get are a number of “Earth horns” created by Wada and played by a number of people, mixed in with electronics. The piece is just one continuous drone, but the joys is hearing how one horn weaves into the other, sometimes playing all at once, other times interacting, all while a drone carries it through. They are playing along with the drone, but not in a jazz way where one is creating a melody around it, but at the same key. The only thing that interrupts the performance are the coughs from the audience (there is also a photo of the crowd for proof.) I can’t tell you if it works or not, but it did work for me. A simple drone can be very meditative and for some quite spiritual, and at 77 minutes it does seem too short.
Youth Group released The Night Is Ours (Ivy League/World’s Fair) last year in their native Australia, and after gaining a buzz for their brand of addictive power pop, it is getting a stateside release. Their style of music mixes up the best of U2, Depeche Mode, Coldplay, and some critics have said that Toby Martin’s voice reminds them of Matthew Sweet.
It sounds like the band really wants to make music that speaks to and unites their audience, for potential anthems that will carry people to the next decade. Songs like “Two Sides” and “All This Will Pass” can sound like either early 80’s pop or early 90’s British power pop, which if anything helps explains the band’s influences. Their lyrics are not too complex or lazy either, it’s again about making songs that not only move people, but are able to tap into the consciousness of a generation who are looking for something to believe in. I’m not saying Youth Group are this generation’s Ramones, but they are special. Don’t ignore these gents.
That’s it for this week’s Run-Off Groove. If you have any new music, DVD’s, books, or hot sauce, please contact me through my MySpace page and I’ll pass along my contact address. In the past I have generally frowned over receiving digital files, but I will accept them on a case by case basis. I still prefer hard copy as I want to hear the quality of the recording (which is important to me), but digital files are fine.
I’m also slowly catching up with the barrage of music that came out in the last month, so if you sent something, have patience, they will be reviewed.
Outside of my column, I am also a contributor to the Reviews section at Okayplayer.com, and this week I have two reviews that I’d like for you to read. They are reviews of:
Take a look, and if the reviews move you, buy the CD by clicking each individual CD icon above. I would also recommend browsing the Okayplayer Reviews section.
Welcome to The Run-Off Groove #230. I am John Book, and it seems a lot of people are angry at President Barack Obama even though he hasn’t been in office for a year. Why the hate, mates? Let’s not get political here, there are countless websites and blogs where you can discuss this.
Anyway, if you are new to this column, let me tell you a little about things here. Each review features links to the artist’s home page or MySpace page, so if you want to hear them, you can do so easily. Links are also provided to make a vinyl, CD, or digital purchase, since your local mall probably doesn’t have most of these titles. If you would like to buy the compact disc, click the icon that looks like this:
If you wish to make a digital MP3 purchase, you can click the digital player icon that looks like this:
Vinyl junkies, you are in luck too:
DVD junkies, look no further:
Also please consider clicking some of the links under the “Music and more” category to the right, which will help keep this website afloat.
Now, the column.
Los Angeles heads, along with DJ and turntable fanatics, will no doubt know who Tarek Captan was. Better known as DJ Dusk, he was an important part of the L.A. DJ’ing community who united the best and showed what hip-hop was, is, and what it could/can be with a series of shows and presentations that live on with the help of various DVD releases and YouTube clips. Dusk was known for putting together the Root Down Soundclash, which brought the Jamaican aesthetic of battling your sound system through music and equipment into DJ territory. As with ska, reggae, and dancehall, the soundsystem is a musical geek out, where you take pride in knowing you are killing someone with sound.
The passing of DJ Dusk three years ago did place a void in the L.A. DJ’ing community, and to be honest no one had intentions of releasing this. DJ Dusk’s Root Down Soundclash (Mochilla) is a lo-fi affair in that it was nothing but two guys with camcorders documenting an event, something both Brian Cross (a/k/a photographer/author B+) and Eric Coleman did on a regular basis. The sound is taken directly from the camcorders, not the board, so you beat bootleggers will have to recreate these sounds on your own. The footage can be rough at times, but if you like the look of homemade porn, you’ll enjoy the bootleg vibe of this show. But what you get in the three soundclashes on here are examples of hip-hop battling, using the techniques rooted in the music and culture’s Jamaican roots.
The DVD begins with a battle between Madlib and Cut Chemist, Southern California record junkies taking things to the upper level and beyond. In early 2001, Cut Chemist still had the woolly hair and Madlib was still the hidden secret for many underground hip-hop heads. Each of them tap into their own catalogs to create, recreate, and preview songs from their catalogs, so you may hear hints of Pleasure Web’s “Music Man” within. Madlib concentrates deeply on his set-up while Cut Chemist has a bit more fun, although equally as determined to make sure his system is the best. The most interesting soundclash is the battle between will.i.am and Thes One, and this is will.i.am in early 2002, months before mainstream American discovered who he was. Thes One shows off his skills in the beats he created, but with will.i.am combining music from his hard drive and playing a Moog live, one can clearly see a genius and musical nerd at work, and it’s a trip to see and hear. Then it’s a 2003 soundclash between Ohno and Exile, and this one is really loose and incredibly funky as both DJ’s dig deep into their crates and slowly develop the tracks that they have been known for. In each of the performances, each producer slap each other silly as if to say “now do me one better” and each battle has a clear winner. You have to watch this and decide for yourself.
I would have preferred this DVD if it was mixed from a board recording, but DJ Dusk’s Root Down Soundclash is very much of the moment, without edits, cuts, or post-production overdubs. What you see and hear is what people in the audience saw and heard as well, and you will be blown away in the same manner as That Kid Named Miles, J-Rocc, Rhettmatic, Egon, and Nu-Mark are when you see them on stage reaction to music and history in the making. The DVD in many ways shows respect to DJ Dusk, who did this not only to hear great music and share it with the people but to allow DJ’s and producers to, to paraphrase a Jeru lyric, leave their egos at home and brings their skills to the battle. A respectable document from start to finish.
Jupiter Rising, according to their bio, create “sounds from teh past, present, and future”. If that’s true, the future doesn’t look too bright.
Okay, I’ll admit that that is a bit harsh, but this self-proclaimed urban-electro duo are nothing but a pop duo with R&B touches and The Quiet Hype sounds like everyone else on the Top 100 charts. “Guarded” has vocalist Jessie Payo sounding like everyone from Jessica Simpson to Faith Hill, and the bad thing about that is if radio is the first time you’re exposed to Jupiter Rising, you’re going to get lost among the countless other anonymous singers who sound the same. The music, created by the production half of Jupiter Rising, Spencer Nezey, is done quite well but to me it works just as well as commercial knock-off music. You know, brand name deodorant wants a Justin Timberlake vibe but can’t afford Timberlake or his recording, so they find something cheaper. This is what they would end up finding.
Truth is, Payo is not a bad singer and Nezey definitely knows how to make incredible music, but they’re wasting their talents on creating bullshit music like this. Then again, it might not be bullshit to the potential millions who will know them, or at least the anonymous million people who will care when it’s heard but not seen at an ice hockey game. It’s musical wallpaper created for the lowest common denominator, and if this is all that they’re capable of doing as a duo, why would anyone want to stick around to hear their next projects? If Nezey does an album under his own name or another project that is distant from this, he could become one of the hottest producers of the 10’s (i.e the next decade.). We’re only one year from that, so I’ll wait until he comes up with his masterpiece-in-the-works. Reach towards the back pocket, I can’t wait.
LoDeck & Omega One are back together with one of the more impressive hip-hop albums of the last year, Postcards From the Third Rock (Johnny 23). LoDeck has been called one of the more gifted lyricists of our time, and he proves himself many times over in tracks like “On A Pain”, “A Day In The Triangle”, and “Shrimp”. What also makes this album work is how different each song is from the other, LoDeck makes a successful effort in changing his style and flow for each song, and Omega One compliments him by digging deep into the archives for a range of sounds that sound like an alien circus just came into town.
The best song off this album is “Maui”, and not just because it has a Hawaiian word in the title, but LoDeck is low-key, lo-fi, and almost coming off as a low-rider as he raps in a way that sounds like he just left a garage full of pakalolo smoke, with B-Real, Chino XL, Madlib, King Tee, and Funkdoobiest passing the bong around. You can smell the resin as he speaks about something that comes off like a sick freestyle, it’s just his mind at work, coming up with stuff that may not make sense at first but give him a few more lines and everything finally comes into focus.
Postcards From the Third Rock is an album that is of its own time, on its own rhymes and beats, in its own world, there aren’t many (if any) albums that sound like this. It’s a straight up hip-hop album where fans of raw lyrics and tight beats are going to leave yellow puddles in their listening areas. In other words, this is a quality hip-hop album that is spontaneous because there isn’t an effort to make this sound like the last twenty albums that were trying to copy the next big thing. A true original, now go get some Bambu
Cool, calm, and collected: a lot of times you don’t need the extravagance to share your talents to the world, and one person who doesn’t plan on going over board is jazz vocalist Mark Winkler, whose album title is self explanatory: Winkler is about to do his thing Till I Get It Right (FreeHam).
Long time readers of this column will know how fickle I can be with jazz vocal albums. If it’s really good, I’m going to praise it inside and out. If it’s nothing more than “dentist jazz”, I still want to be able to find something that I may like, even if the music is ugly. Winkler doesn’t have to worry about making ugly music, for he sounds like the kind of guy who knows and loves the music and goes out of his way to make it each own. He’s in jazz and pop mode throughout, but he and the band also dabble into a bit of soul too, such as “How Can That Makes You Fat?”. For an extra touch of class, Manhattan Transfer’s Cheryl Bentyne duets with him in “Cool”, and as the album goes on, one can’t help but enjoy and admire Winkler’s performances. Again, cool, calm, and collection, and very smooth.
The cover photos may show hints of him admiring the spotlight (if not himself), and perhaps it is deserving, but there’s no ego involved, the emphasis is on the songs, the vocal performances, and the musicianship. You can listen to this on repeat and not get bored, the type of jazz album you may want to buy for family and friends even though you know it’s your guilty pleasure. Don’t feel guilty.
Electronic music is one of my favorite genres, and I’m not talking about just the electro boom bap bim with all of the chug-a-lug of the Chemical Brothers, but also some of the minimalist electronic excursions that I allow myself to get involved in, at least for 45 to 60 minutes. Roger O’Connell has provided my next excursion in the form of his second album, Songs From The Silver Box (Great Society/World’s Fair), and whether you like Brian Eno, Kraftwerk, Richard Wright, Gary Numan, or Tangerine Dream, there is something for everyone on this album.
O’Connell has performed with The Cure for years, but he wanted to be able to let loose on his own without the restrictions of his boss. His previous album The Truth In Me, received positive reviews by the press and while I didn’t hear it, I can sense a bit of tranquility in the music he creates. The entire album was performed with a Moog Voyager, everything done by multitrack, and what you hear are songs that offer a warmth within the mechanics of his creation. They would be the perfect music to listen to on an escalator, as it would to hear them at a huge open air music festival as the crowd weaves back and forth like a field of grass. The playing and arrangements are very open, sometimes sparse, and that gives the music its minimalistic touch, where you have to ride it out with him in order for everything to gel together. Once it does, it will become a personal favorite that you want to suggest to everyone willing to listen. Songs From The Silver Box is very cinematic, but in a very monochrome way, and after listening to it and walking away, you’ll understand why.
Jazz music in a different motif: some shun the idea while others embrace it and change into the outfit the music provides. Billet-Deux are a quintet consisting of Troy Chapman (guitar), Roger Bennett (drums), Michael Yocco (bass), Josephina Hunner (guitar), and James Hinkley (cello/vocals), and their music sounds like something you’d hear in a European cafe or jazz festival on the East Coast than the place they call home: Seattle. Then again if you know your Seattle history and the city’s ethnic heritage in the last 150 years, their brand of gypsy jazz will make perfect sense. Chapman plays with such fluidity that you may catch yourself playing the song repeatedly to catch every note and melody, while Bennett’s drumming is subtle but powerful enough to remind you of the many drumming greats of yesteryear. When you hear them play Dizzy Gillespie’s “Be-Bop” or Charles Mingus‘ “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”, one can only imagine these legends smiling and tapping their feet if they were around to do so (Mingus might yell and curse them out, but that would be his way of showing approval).
You do hear a heavy Django Reinhardt on Deux (self-released), as both Chapman and Hunner have a way of letting themselves go and letting the time and essence of things take its course. When Hinkley gets in their with his band mates, he can either sprinkle the music with delicate sounds or take a lead role, as he does in “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat”.
The aforementioned songs sound nothing like what you’d expect, especially not in this setting, and yet you feel a need to welcome their interpretations into your lives because it feels… right. Gypsy jazz may not be the most perfect term to describe what they do, but if it’s the entry to the gateway, Billet-Deux have a number of keys ready to present to you.
While not as prosperous as the almighty Sizzla Kalonji, Mavado is proving himself to be one of the hottest reggae/dancehall artists out now. His last album was very rugged and raw, ripped from the streets of Jamaica where it seemed one could not escape. For Mr. Brooks… a better tomorrow (VP), Mavado has recorded an album that is more accessible, pop friendly, and it could easily help him gain a greater audience around the world.
It’s a positive album, and not that he didn’t promote positivity before, but it almost seems like a 180 for him. In “So Blessed” he talks about not being lured in by the fires of babylon, and that regardless of what happens, he know he will survive any situation. Rather than this being an album about someone looking out from the inside, it’s Mavado looking at the world with a very different outlook than before, and the transformation is quite impressive. “Overcome” has Mavado extending the struggle outside of the island nation and letting other sufferers around the world that one has to have to look and live positively.
I’m someone who generally hates Auto-Tune, and while it is heard throughout this album, it’s used sparingly, something other artists should listen to. It’s hard to say what Mavado I like best: the brutal ruffneck who isn’t afraid to speak out, or the one who wants to offer guidance through peaceful living. Mr. Brooks… a better tomorrow represents the latter, and I’m curious to see how much this will influence other Jamaican artists to do the same.
(Mr. Brooks… a better tomorrow will be released on March 3rd.)
Elephant Man is unpredictable, you never know what he’s going to say in his music. In the last few years he has made a huge impact on the world of dancehall music and now you’ll get to celebrate him with the 18-song Energy God: The Very Best Of Elephant Man (VP). You get a chance to hear “Elephant Message” (using the famous diwali riddim), “Pon De River, Pon De Bank”, “Nuh Linga”, “Jook Gal”, “Genie Dance” (both using the Coolie Dance riddim) “Krazy”, “Bun Bad Mind”, and “Gully Creppa”, and many more throughout this album, and if you’ve never been moved to dance to one of his tracks, you will now. He is truly indeed the dancehall king, although Beenie Man might have issue with that.
The CD comes with a bonus DVD featuring an interview, some live performances, and a look at some of his more well known music videos.
(Energy God: The Very Best Of Elephant Man will be released on February 17th.)
Reigns create the kind of electronic-based music that will take you to the unknown and leave you there to dwell in its mystical odor until you suffocate in pleasure. At least that’s what I experienced upon listening to The House On The Causeway (Monotreme).
The group like to create their albums centered around a theme, and in this case brothers Tim and Roo Farthing take on the surroundings of where the music was recorded and turn it into a moody collection of melancholy with eeriness and chicken skin felt throughout. If Ween were a goth band who were heavily influenced by Rise Robots Rise and early Depeche Mode, well… it’s a silly way to make a comparison but I hear some of those elements in Reigns’ atmospheric, minimalistic sounds, the kind of sounds The Buggles would be happy in making in their own way. “Everything Beyond These Walls Have Been Raised” (free MP3 download) would be the kind of song that would make new fans bow down in honor of their newly found musical gods. From the carefully selected pace of the singing to the spacing in the musical arrangements, everything is deliberate and despite the electronic landscape, it’s very personal and very human, intimate as well if you allow it to be that.way. The mixture of natural sounds also helps enhance the mood and texture of each song.
A very moving album from siblings who know how to egg each other without cracking the shell.
Gretchen Phillips has been know for years for her bold music, and for those who have loved her brand of “lesbian folk music”, they will be surprised at the pop touches of I Was Just Comforting Her (Seasick Sailor). Some of the music holds true to her folk roots, but in a track like “Honey, I Feel So Good” you hear the kind of early 60’s, pre-Beatles pop that are a staple of thrift stores across the country, with a mix of old style country, and a bit of innocence in the lyrics that makes it sound of a time, timely, yet also timeless: Don’t ever stop loving me so
Just this way, I love what you know
I relinquish control, it just gets in my way
My legs are tingling I’m exploding through space
And you’ve got that sweet lovemaking look on your face
My pleasure is yours
Honey, I feel so good
Honey, I feel so good
You may get a few memories of classic records by Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Crystal Gayle, and Loggins & Messina just hearing the twang of the steel guitar and the voice choir heard in the background, and just as those sounds may have sounded daring years ago, it’s a bold statement now to the qualities that are still strong in the 21st century.
Despite the pop tendencies, Phillips’ lyrics are just as moving, strong, and occasionally humorous as they ever were. Older fans will not need to worry, because the pop-oriented songs will only help people get into the works of this very creative artist, someone isn’t afraid to say “I tried and I tried to get you by the side of the pool so I could stick my fingers into you” (from “Swimming”) or “I had the pleasure of being stuck in traffic again/behind a car whose bumper sticker read: ”Blessed Is The Country Whose God Is The Lord”/I guess that means the U.S., and I guess that means your heathen country will have to be destroyed” (from “In Case Of Rapture”)
The pop qualities of I Was Just Comforting Her could easily make her accessible to fans of The Dixie Chicks, Kasey Chambers, and Wilco, and by covering Sonic Youth (as she does in “Burning Inside”) she will keep the edginess in alternative/underground circles, which is a good thing. Phillips herself calls this album “a big, thick slab of humanism”, and after hearing the last few minutes of “In Case Of Rapture”, you’ll want to get human with someone and celebrate the rich artistry of someone who will no doubt continue to tantalize and excite her inner muse. This will be the album music fans will talk about ten to twenty years from now as an album of value.
NOODLES!!!
Okay, maybe it’s not the best word to start a review, but it is one legitimate way to describe the music on Devotion (Coalition of Creative Artists) by The Rocco John Group. It’s jazz with e leaning towards bebop and hard bop, but Rocco John Iacovone (alto and soprano saxphones), along with Dalius Naujokaitis (drums and percussion), Aaron Keane (bass), and Michael Irwin (trumpet) sound like four guys from different places coming into New Orleans, playing jazz in their own way while honoring the influence the city and its music has had on them.
The music on the album are, in th words of Iacovone, about searching for “limitless possibilities”, and they do just that in “Riffin’ For Eric”, said to be written in honor of Eric Dolphy, whom you can definitely hear in Iacovone’s playing, especially as he goes modal. He bites the reed, and the band continue on, getting involved with each other and themselves, and one of the best moments is when drumer Naujokaitis casually walks into a bit of funk before coming out, dusting his sticks off and getting back into jazz mode. A lot of times when jazz artists cover the music of the past, it’s the old standards and warmed over chestnuts, which isn’t a bad thing. But when a group of musicians get trippy and start showing their love of jazz as it became more “out there” than ever, that’s when I stop everything I’m doing and take a listen, and on top of them, they’re good too. Devotion could not have been a more appropriate title that not only honors the musicians of the past, but the jazz of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
These days in the music business, you go to where the money is, even if it means doing things that your core audience will think is foolish, even if it means “a check”. Case in point: Jake Hertzog. He is the music director for The Naked Brothers, the TV group featuring Nat and Alex Wolff, the sons of musician Michael Wolff (the one-time band director for The Arsenio Hall Show, and who plays piano on three of the ten tracks here). If you gave kids, nephews, nieces, or have a think for Nickelodeon, you probably know who The Naked Brothers are. A smart person also knows that The Naked Brothers make better music than The Jonas Brothers, but that’s another topic, another time. So sure, it’s what gives Hertzog the checks, but for a chance to hear how he truly plays, pick up his new album, Chromatosphere (That’s Out).
Hertzog plays some nice decent jazz with a bit of a rock edge, so if you’re a fan of Allan Holdsworth, Steve Lukather, or Al DiMeola, you’ll enjoy the world Hertzog plays here. “California Hills” sounds like the kind of jazz fusion one might have heard on the first three Journey albums, or some of the more progressive moments of a lot of rock/pop bands of the mid to late 70’s. “Almost Like Being In Love” is straightforward jazz with a slight nod to bebop, and in “Bonding” he goes out of his way to not play by the rules. “Back” is on the soulful tip, and one could easily imagine Michael McDonald, George Benson, or Al Jarreau doing their thing to it. “Lullaby For A Dreamer” is mellow enough to gain some smooth jazz radio airplay, but he surpasses the limits of mainstream radio in the 9 minute “In Your Own Sweet Way”, which I’m sure is further explored in a live setting.
After hearing this, you’ll realize Hertzog is a musician’s musician, and it makes sense that he apply his talents to a group like The Naked Brothers, because he knows how to play any and all genres without hesitation, even though he keeps himself within the boundaries of jazz and soul. Chromatosphere is maybe not the full vision of his musical capabilities, but it is sure a nice glance into the world that he will hopefully continue to dive in to in the years to come. The man is only 22, so as long as he keeps healthy and stays on a good path, we have at least 40 years of music to look forward to.
The swing of bossa nova and smooth Latin jazz comes through with Matt Finley, whose Brazilian Wish (Kingsmill Music) is an album that makes you wish you could shave all over and get a full body tan. It’s that good.
This is the kind of jazz that you can’t argue over nor deny, the kind of smoothness that may bring to mind the sounds of Herb Alpert, Herbie Mann, or some other guy with Herb in their name. Finley plays trumpet and flugelhorn, and as he plays he does it in a way that is soothing, romantic, and yet clear and distinct, no stress whatsoever. When he and the band get into a samba or something more furious, it’s their chance to let loose and get into the minds of its listeners, then they go right into something more luxurious and sensual. Good jazz makes you want to listen seriously, but good jazz also makes for the best mood music, perfect for those early Sunday morning lovemaking sessions. Get your suntan lotion, your bedroom is going to smell like coconut tonight.
For jazz fans who want something a bit more exotic, take a listen to Boleros (self-released), the new album by Raquel Bitton.
She takes on jazz with a Spanish and French flair, with the kind of charm and gentility that has thrilled audiences around the world. Upon listening to “Solamente una Vez”, one can tell why many have compared here to the legendary Edith Piaf, and upon covering standards like “Besame Mucho” and “Toda una Vida”, you can hear why these songs are as strong as they were then they were originally written and recorded. One can say that this is lounge music, but it’s the best lounge jazz you haven’t heard in years.
The album was recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, so if you enjoyed the many albums that have been down there, you will hear that sound on this album, produced by Bitton and Gerald Prolman and engineered by Raga Sardina and Jesse Nichols. It’s one of those albums where you wish a higher resolution was available, but even if you listen to this on a clock radio, you will hear one hell of an album by one hell of a woman with one hell of a voice. Aiya!
(Boleros will be released on March 17th.)
Iron City are a band fronted by guitarist Charlie Apicella, and he leads a combo that includes drummer Alan Korzin and Hammond B-3 man Beau Sasser. Put The Flavor On It (self-released) is the perfect album for fans who love their jazz with a pinch of boogaloo and 70’s-flavored jazz fun, and of course for those who love the guitar and the thickness of the B-3.
While Apicella is the primary focus, he allows both Sasser and Korzin to stand out on their own, and they do this in tracks like “Goodnight Tonight”, “Chappy’s Groove”, and “Dalia Soul”, all Apicella originals. They take on the Burt Bacharach classic “Walk On By” (made famous by Dionne Warwick and later covered by Isaac Hayes) as if they were the originators, and you really have to hear it to know what I mean. Jerry Butler’s “Hey Western Union Man” is also hear, and Apicella honors another great guitarist, Dave Stryker, with his interpretation of “24 For Elvin”.
Put The Flavor On It is an album that deserves better distribution, the kind of album that should be released by a bigger label, released as an advanced resolution disc or even better, on vinyl. Yes, this is a “vinyl worthy” album, the type that you hope to pass on to the next generation of jazz fans and the next two after that. May this album take them to places never imagined.
That’s it for this week’s Run-Off Groove. If you have any new music, DVD’s, books, or hot sauce, please contact me through my MySpace page and I’ll pass along my contact address. In the past I have generally frowned over receiving digital files, but I will accept them on a case by case basic. I still prefer hard copy as I want to hear the quality of the recording (which is important to me), but digital files are fine.
For part 2 of the season premiere, American Idol went to Kansas City, Missouri. What happened? Well, I will say there were some good singers, names I don’t remember right now. There were of course the bad ones, and they sucked.
You know what seems fake? When they have a segment dedicated to one particular song and you hear the rejected people sing lines, edited with those who were in the crowd waiting. It just seems random, and kind of Disney-like. Pfftt.
I’m not going to watch anything past the auditions, but I read somewhere that in order to bring in and keep viewers, people will be able to see footage of the primary contestants get “catty” in the house they stay at. In other words, The Real World but 50 times worse, because instead of seeing anyone be themselves, everyone will be “on” and “in the act”, because “every opportunity can become THE opportunity”. Phony bologna, that’s all I have to say.
If you are coming to this review after doing a Google search for anything and everything American Idol, let me warn you that this is not a website that tries to be nice or trendy, even though I do give positive reviews on things. I can be very opinionated, and therefore use language that can be harsh for some readers. I will say for the last time, if you are offended by profanities, please click away. I mean this sincerely as I know the show has many young viewers so take this as a warning. Ready? Let’s begin.
First off, those of you who are regular visitors to my site or know of my work are probably asking “John, WTF? American Idol? That’s bullshit.” Let me tell you the truth. I am not an American Idol devotee, but with that said, I had watched the last show of the first season and thought it was interesting. That lead me to watch Seasons 2 and 3, and then I realized it was a fricken dog show with better howls. Why did I watch it in the first place? I love music, first and foremost, I love talent and people who show and share it. But what the show presented was something that was not quite accurate. The auditions for the show are based on talent and a bit of exploitation, but as I’ve said before in other circles, all musical artists sign the dotted line in order to be “exploited”, and it’s done in the form of promotion. You go on tour, the label funds it (or you find a company that is willing to sponsor it), you go into the studio, it is funded, and if you do not make up the money they gave you, the music you have will be worked until there is nothing more to work. If the song is a success, you’ll hear it even more. You want to hear “Who Let The Dogs Out” for the nthteenth time? Sure you do.
Another thing not accurate: that’s not how the music industry really works, but then again American Idol doesn’t exactly represent the music industry. It’s about entertainment, and what they want is an “American Idol”, someone who not only sings, but has the looks, charisma, and maybe likability to make it possible for the winner to appear in television and film. Sometimes there is someone whose only agenda is to make good music, and I prefer those. I do realize in these troubled times, people are doing what they can in order to survive, whether it’s a little suck and blow action or selling their virginity on eBay, you know how it is, but I want the music. Most of the audience for this show could care less about the music, and in many ways the music is secondary, for the most part it sounds like it. It’s a bunch of half-assed people who can carry the voice but emulate a bit too much without showing their flavor.
What makes this new season any different? I watched the season premiere of Season 8 and I discovered that what has changed is… not much. I like Simon Cowell because he is genuinely honest, and while people jump on him for his views, he is the one who comes off as authority, or the one who is essentially saying “I’m the one who could give you a chance to be a huge artist, you want me to put a million dollars and a recording contract in your pocket for that?” All artists who step out of the rehearsal room and onto any stage is automatically up for ridicule, and yes it’s harsh. Negative reviews may feel like it hurts, but what writers want is something better if you can offer better. Paula Abdul… can someone tell me how someone who didn’t have much of a voice, whose best moments on record were actually sung by former Mary Jane Girls vocalist Yvette Marine, gets to be a judge for talent? I’m not taking away her love of dancing, she made it as a Laker girl and as a choreographer, but maybe she represents what she’d like to see from people, “the total package”. Randy Jackson to me has always been the “true” ear of the three, because he’s a musician and singer, so he knows what to spot. The bass player may be neglected by some, but he’s the guy who, along with the drummer, holds it down, so I trust him. But now we have a new judge in the form of songwriter Kara DioGuardi, and I think she’s great, I think she is a welcome addition and if Paula Abdul for whatever reason leaves the show, DioGuardi will hold things down just fine.
Now the show. I only care about the auditions, because not only do I want to see good people win, but in a sadistic way I also love to watch people fail. The audition shows show both, and there were a lot of duds. If there was one singer I was highly impressed with, I would have to say it’s Stevie Wright.
In terms of a voice, I thought she was one of the best. I came across a blog a few seconds ago where someone asked “why all the 16-year olds?” Before I get into why I think they look for 16-year olds, let me talk a bit about Miss Wright. She has a very good voice, and she doesn’t sound “affected”. It seems there are too many singers these days who emulate what they see and hear, but that’s it. There’s no true charisma, it doesn’t sound like it comes from the heart, but what I hear in her is someone who truly loves to sing. I hope that as the show continues, she will be someone who will be able to shape herself into an even better singer, and this is where the 16-year olds come in.
Perhaps what industry insiders like is someone who can be molded, someone who isn’t too affected, someone who can be recreated into what someone else wants to hear. Unless you are someone who is trained and knows about how to bob and weave through different styles of music, you’re going to think any criticism is a personal attack. It’s not. If you are 16 and are striving for success, you will need an outside ear to train you to be your best. When you reach a certain level, then you can take off and bob and weave the way you want, with the confidence that says “fuck off, son”. Out of everyone on the show last night, Wright was the best and I’m curious to see what happens with her, although I’ll find out at the end of the show (more later).
But you know who else I was highly impressed by? Kara DioGuardi. There was a moment when a young lady named Katrina Darrell auditioned with a bikini.
Cut and petite, not slammin’ by any means but in the audition she made an attempt to sing Mariah Carey’s “Vision Of Love”. To my ear, it was off at times, in fact she adjusted the key of the song to where it was a hot mess. DioGuardi told her it wasn’t that good, and she proceeded to sing. Darrell then said that DioGuardi was not that good, and c’mon. DioGuardi may not be an artist, but she is a songwriter and proved that she can indeed sing (and to be honest, if she became an artist, I think she’d do very well). Abdul told Darrell that the insult was not nice, and DioGuardi kinda acted as if to say “fuck that, I’ll sing the way the song should be sung.” Catty? Yeah, but as Ethel Merman once said, there’s no business like show business. Surprisingly, Darrell made it through the first stage. Did she have a decent voice? To be honest, in the words of Jackson, it was just a’ight. In truth, I think if she lays off the phony act and puts that enthusiasm into her singing, she could be a true contender.
On the Polynesian side of things, there was a Samoan guy from Utah who auditioned and made it past the audition, so we’ll see how well he does.
This season premiere is a two parter, with a new 2 hour presentation happening on FOX at 8pm Eastern/Pacific (7pm Central, check your local listings blah blah blah). I will watch that too.
Can I make one suggestion for the show, and if any of the show’s producers are reading this, read on. I’d like to see the contestants perform songs that are outside of the popular mainstream. We always have to have Elvis Presley, Bon Jovi, Celine Dion and the same crap that people eat up as if it was a macadamia nut-covered pile of poop (with whipped cream and a cherry on top, don’t forget the cherry) from Farrell’s. I would love to hear someone sing King Crimson’s “Epitaph”, especially the line “the faith of all mankind, I see, is in the hands of fools”:
Could American Idol handle that kind of intensity? Yeah, they’ll probably do a High School Musical tribute than cover anything off of In The Court Of The Crimson King, or how about Maxwell’s “Get To Know Ya”?
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