December 24TH is a song by a unique song stylist, Julia Fordham. Her music typically dances on the line between jazz and pop. It is accompanied by a specific type of mood that can be laid back, accepting, sad or reserved happiness and only occasionally unbounded joy. Since I love moody music it fits right in with my melancholic state of mind.
There is a “hard truth” in this song that is so important – things don’t always turn out the way we planned and you “don’t always get back what you give.” It’s a different way of stating the golden rule of “Do unto other as you want them to do unto you” (not that they will return the favor).
A song to appeal to all adults. Holly Cole and her Trio first crossed my expanding auditory orbit when she released a jazz cover album of Tom Waits songs titled TEMPTATION. From that point on I said, “I need to know more about this amazing song stylist.”
CHRISTMAS BLUES was the title track of her very first recorded release a few years before she decided to cover Tom Waits. Who releases their first album as a Christmas album? LOL . Anyway it has become a standard and was also found on the JAZZ TO THE WORLD album of various jazz performers interpreting some of their favorite holiday songs.
The TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS has long been a favorite holiday song. I especially love this version. Reinvented by singer Dianne Reeves and French jazz percussionist Mino Cinelu. This version was released in 1995 on the WORLD CHRISTMAS compilation with proceeds benefitting Special Olympics.
The Year: 1958
The Place: Paris, France
The artist: Miles Davis.
The Film: Ascenseur pour l'échafaud, (English: Elevator To The Gallows) directed by Louis Malle.
Nineteen fifty-eight was a very special year.
But let's go back. a year earlier. Miles Davis was at a musical crossroads even contemplating retirement. He needed something different, something new. None of the projects his label and management suggested were of interest at the time. He did settle on recordings with Gil Evans which would turn into a 5 album collaboration over the next few years. Albums who's style would also be informed and influenced by the experience Miles would soon gain.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're still stuck in 1957 and miles is still "stuck" in his predicament. In November 1957 He travelled to France at the invitation of film director, Louis Malle, and was asked to compose the soundtrack for the director's first feature length film Ascenseur pour l'échafaud. Miles had never recorded a soundtrack before - let alone been asked to compose the score.
Perhaps with nothing to lose or perhaps nothing to be gained, Miles launched himself forward. He had an interest in modal jazz and was at the vanguard of that movement which was just being developed in the mid 1950s. With Miles success, it would be a guaranteed influence on generations to come. Miles was totally free. Free from the expectations that had come to fall on him from the jazz world. Film Director, Louis Malle, has suggested that he and Miles only discussed a few ideas before recording started in December 4, 1957. Miles was joined by French jazz musicians Barney Wilen, Pierre Michelot, and René Urtreger, and American drummer Kenny Clarke. Nothing was written down (composed). Nothing was planned.
The musicians sat in a darkened studio and watched the film unfold. With Miles leadership they completely improvised the score to the film based solely on the mood in the film. A film that would be a star vehicle for the smokey and dreamy Jeanne Moreau. It is a pure delight to listen to the different takes of the various themes as they each reflect the freedom of complete improvisation with nothing tied to paper. With no distractions or expectations Miles created a sound that would lead to some of his greatest work in the years to come. Coloring both his collaborations with Gil Evans but also having a huge influence on his solo recordings starting with MILESTONES (1958) and A KIND OF BLUE (1959) (arguably his greatest solo record). I'd go so far as to say that these albums would not have existed if it hadn't been for his experience in creating the score for this film.
I'd strongly encourage you to purchase a copy of the complete recordings of this amazing soundtrack Ascenseur pour l'échafaud.
Listen to what would be a nursery for the development of a new sound, new approach and new way of thinking about Jazz for generations to come.
A great song with a hilarious title and some funny as sin lyrics by one of the greatest living jazz singers from his forthcoming album SUPERBLUE. Enjoy.
Well Iggy Pop has done it again. Like Bowie and Dylan he just keeps surprising us and gets better and better. His newest album (2019), FREE, is a real breakaway from previous efforts – jazz textures abound. His primary collaborators are soundscape guitarist Noveller and jazz trumpeter Leron Thomas. Pop only co-wrote 3 of the 10 tracks. As he wrote in the liner notes he “…wanted an album in which other artists speak for me, but I lend my voice.” And what a voice it is. In addition to the three tracks he co-wrote he sings/speaks the words of Leron Thomas, Lou Reed and Dylan Thomas.
I find myself repeatedly listening to this album. I find it deeply moving. Here are a quartet of tracks.
Starting with the title track FREE which Pop co-wrote with Leron Thomas
Next is the poem WE ARE THE PEOPLE, written by Lou Reed and was published post-humously.
We are the people without land
We are the people without tradition
We are the people
Who do not know how to die peacefully and at ease
We are the thoughts of sorrows
Endings of tomorrows
We are the wisps of rulers
And the jokers of kings
We are the people without right
We are the people who have known only lies and desperation
We are the people without a country, a voice, or a mirror
We are the crystal gaze
Returned through the density and immensity of a berserk nation
We are the victims of the untold manifesto of the lack of depth
Of full and heavy emptiness
We are the people without sorrow
Who have moved beyond national pride and indifference
To a parody of instinct
We are the people who are desperate
Beyond emotion because it defies thought
We are the people
Who conceive our destruction and carry it out lawfully
We are the insects of someone else’s thought
A casualty of daytime, nighttime, space, and God
Without race, nationality, or religion
We are the people, and the people, the people
And now for something a little lighter – JAMES BOND, written by Leron Thomas. I nominate Iggy to do the theme song for the next James Bond film. What do you think?
And to round out this post here is a classic poem by Dylan Thomas,
DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT.
And do not go gentle into that good night
Old age should burn and rave at close of day
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
Though wise men at their end know dark is right
Because their words had forked no lightning
They do not go gentle into that good night
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight
And learn too late, they grieved it on its way
Do not go gentle into that good night
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
And you, my father, there on the sad height
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray
Do not go gentle into that good night
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
A wonderful Jazz keyboardist and composer. Founding member of the Pat Metheny Group who contributed so much to the tone and direction of the music. He also played with a host of great groups like Joni Mitchell, Earth Wind & Fire, Mark Isham, Steve Swallow, Eberhard Weber and many others. Lyle Mays will be missed. Rest In Piece.
Nik Bärtsch’s MOBILE is one of 3 ongoing Nik Bärtsch projects. The other being his solo piano work under his own name and the other group project Nik Bärtsch’s RONIN. All of his tracks are numbered. The one presented here is “Modul 4″and is featured on MOBILE’s latest CD, from ECM records, CONTINUUM. This is by far one of my favorite releases from 2016. This track features the quartet of piano, drums, other percussion, and a rare bass clarinet. Music that gets to the core of sound in a zen-like minimalist fashion that is surprisingly rich, full and even energetic. I hope you enjoy this wonderful track.
and a bonus track “Modul 29_14” also from CONTINUUM.
I’ve been thinking lately about thinning out my music collection (now several thousand CDs strong). I’ve been thinking about what I want to keep and what would I consider a master work. I’m going to introduce you today to a recording that fits the description of Masterwork for me. I bought this recording on a whim. I had never heard of this artist before and came upon his music by chance. I liked the cover art. The name of the artist was intriguing because it didn’t seem to fit the category of jazz that it had been saddled with and it also didn’t fit the record label it was recorded on. The description which was so general as if the writer wasn’t even sure how to categorize this music made me want to investigate this music. While each track has it’s own title – I will not be singling out song titles in this review because one needs to look at them as a series of movements in the larger work. To focus on titles would do a disservice to the overall recording.
What is that recording? BIRDS REQUIEM by Dhafer Youssef on Okeh Records. Released in 2013.
Dhafer Youssef is an Oud player, vocalist and composer. His music is probably the most perfect fusion between jazz, muezzin, quranic and sufi musical styles and influences. The EPK (electronic press kit) that was released for this album had Youssef talk about his experience with observing birds in flight. For example, how a flock of birds hovering in their aerial ballet have a perfect ebb/flow, rhythm and pulse like a murmuration of starlings. The overall rhythm and pace of the album is expertly crafted with energetic and quiet points that are perfectly timed. In fact listening to the entire album in one sitting is an audio equivalent of a massive murmuration.
While listening I find myself at times quietly inspired then lifted up in elation to the point of ecstatic release. The instrumentation is an absolutely wonderful surprise. A real delightful feature is Youssef’s imaginative yet sensitive playing of the OUD (for those not familiar with this instrument: one might call it an anscestor of the lute and then later, guitar). Piano playing by Kristjan Randalu lilts through the entire album adding snippets of melody. I was surprised at the masterful contributions by trumpeter Nils-Petter Molvaer and electric guitar and effects man Elvind Aarset (both on the ECM label). The drummer Chander Sardjoe is a study in both minimalist accents and a strong backbone of support. The delightful contributions by Aytac Dogan on the zither-like kanun add such beautiful dressing on this feast for the ears. And not to be left out is the surprising use of clarinet, which I have never, NEVER heard used this way. The Clarinet is played by Hüsnu Senlendirici who plays with soul and adds a sense of life that would be sadly missing if it were absent. The musical cast is rounded out by the Bass playing of Phil Donkin which adds the appropriate bounce and lift. I would be completely incompetent if I didn’t mention the voice of Dhafer Youssef which starts low and builds; rising in registers. His voice (singing in arabic) starts mixing tones on overtones and is at times hard to distinguish between voice/clarinet/guitar ending in a climax, a musical grand release, a staggering work of stunning beauty.
In a world that is constantly on the move where music is more of a background soundtrack to the journey – this album definitely sets itself apart by becoming a destination. A place to stop,close your eyes, be quiet, listen and feel. I would strongly encourage you to purchase the downloads or (if you’re like me) the CD. It is one of those things that while purchased actually becomes priceless. A Masterwork in its own right.
Here is a video of a live performance of track 3 from the album titled Blending Souls & Shades (to Shiraz) the instrumental lineup is different (sans trumpet and clarinet) from the album but the song is still quite powerful. Enjoy.
And Lastly, Here is another video of the track Soupier Eternal (from the DIVINE SHADOWS album) filmed in Tunisia. This trio format will give you some idea of the Clarinet/voice/guitar interplay that can frequently be heard on the album and how these three “voices” are a perfect complement to each other on both recordings.
A photo-based digital creation.
Asking & Hearing – posted as a tribute to the late Ornate Coleman 9 Mar 1930 – 11 Jun 2015.
Cheers to the man who showed us “THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME”. He also taught us that the “CHANGE OF THE CENTURY” would affirm “WHEN TOMORROW IS THE QUESTION!” and answer “FREE JAZZ” and involve “THE ART OF THE IMPROVISERS”. Right up to the end he espoused “THE NEW VOCABULARY.” Thank you for teaching us the “DANCING IN YOUR HEAD” and opening our eyes and ears to all of life’s possibilities “IN ALL LANGUAGES”.
“The idea is that two or three people can have a conversation with sounds, without trying to dominate it or lead it,” Coleman said in a 1997 interview with the French philosopher Jacques Derrida.
“What I mean is that you have to be — intelligent,” he said.
“I think the musicians are trying to reassemble an emotional or intellectual puzzle, in any case a puzzle in which the instruments give the tone.”
He had a notorious relationship with music labels. His groundbreaking works were considered on the cutting edge and he had little patience for the industry’s business side. “I’ve never had a relationship with a record executive. I always went to the record company (because of) someone that liked my playing. Then they would get fired, and I’d be left with the record company,” Coleman told Cadence Magazine in 1995.
... on being and becoming ... 