The internets are all abuzz with various opinions on Radiohead's release strategy for this, their latest album. Was it a rebellion against record label hegemony? Or was it a cynical marketing ploy? Or just the right thing to do?

Aside from my delight that they actually released a new recording that sounds pretty good, I'm kinda "meh" on the whole internet download thing. My take is that it's about frickin' time. Since the Radiohead release, a handful of bands have announced similar intentions. Even the Material Girl is turning against the big labels.

As far as the music goes, it's very much a Radiohead-ish recording, albeit maybe a bit more poppy with fewer electronic hijinks found in the last few albums. Although I prefer the electronic edge of Kid A or Amnesiac, I'm enjoying In Rainbows, maybe even more so after three or four listens. Not bad for music that can be had for free...although I tossed the band about $5, keeping in line with a Record Archive used cd purchase seemed like a good place to be.

Posted by ksmoker at 10:38 PM | Permalink

 

Here's a cast of jazz-funk superstars, along with a handful of funk-jazz superstars, who apparently decided to get together and share their combined passion for Parliament Funkadelic. What could be better?

Answer: Mix up the cast a bit and record a tribute to Sly and the Family Stone.

Posted by ksmoker at 9:43 PM | Permalink

These cats are still at it. They stoke the hype with unusual cover tunes, then live up to that hype with beautiful originals. This time around, the covers include Tears for Fears' “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” Rush's “Tom Sawyer,&rdquo and David Bowie's “Life on Mars.&rdquo The originals cover a lot of ground, from the thundering “Physical Cities” to the bouncing “1980 World Champion&rdquo and lilting and thoughtful “Giant.”

Posted by ksmoker at 9:13 PM | Permalink

This is classic jazz fare from one of last year' jazz fest headliners. Even though this cd is a recent addition to my collection, I feel as if I've been listening to it for years. And actually, I probably have been listening to tunes like “El Gaucho” and “Teru” in various live performances in local clubs or at previous fests.

Posted by ksmoker at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (141)

As with A Go Go, John Scofield joins John Medeski, Billy Martin, and Chris Wood for a groovin' good time. I've had this one going on my iPod for the past month or so as a warm-up for the imminent Jazz Fest.

Posted by ksmoker at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (84)

Jonesing for the impending release of the third item in the Groundtruther trilogy, I decided to pick up Hunter & Previte's earlier collaboration. Here, they hang back a little farther from the 'edge', but there is still plenty to hold one's interest. It's hard to believe there are only two musicians playing live, Hunter with his eight-string guitar weaving bass lines and melody together in his inimitable way and Previte laying the foundation on his acoustic kit + electronic drums + sampler.

Out there awaiting a listen is also Previte's Coalition of the Willing, which includes Hunter, Sex Mob's Steve Bernstein, and features Stanton Moore, Les Claypool, and Skerik, among others.

Posted by ksmoker at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (282)

Plopped this cd in after seeing Greg's post about the robot that plays Giant Steps. It's not quite a fair comparison. I mean, there's no rhythm section and you can hear the clicking of the mechanical fingers. But definitely, as Greg says, there's something missing. If you do need a point of reference, here is my favorite online version of the Coltrane classic.

The video is six or seven years old, though. The technology seems to have come a long way since then. Admittedly, it isn't Coltrane, but the Toyota trumpet-playing robot has picked up at least a tiny amount of soul in the musical (if not the metaphysical) sense.

So yes, I'm sure that someday in the not too distant future, perhaps even within my lifetime, airport bars and hotel atria will start sporting robotic house bands. This could certainly be seen as an improvement over piped in Muzak and not much of a stretch beyond player pianos, but does this signal the end of the small-time, independent musician?

Mmmm no, I don't think so. The question of whether the sounds of tomorrow's robots can be distinguishable from the music that humans produce is really moot. Making music will remain a human endeavor for eons to come. It's the metaphysical soul that is the engine for musical soul. Until robots have the former, they will only be able to emulate the latter.

Posted by ksmoker at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1850)

Apparently, Larry Goldings has become so identified with his Trio lineup that he felt it was necessary to use the size of this new ensemble as the album's title. Although I was initially disappointed to learn that Goldings mostly eschewed his Hammond B-3 on this cd, there's no arguing with the results. This group includes Larry Goldings (piano, organ, etc), John Sneider (trumpet, cornet), Ben Allison (bass), and Matt Wilson (drums) who manage to navigate several different styles while maintaining a coherent mood and sensibility throughout.

There is a cover of Björk's "Cocoon," the Fellini-esque "Dario and Bario," some wicked plunger-playing by John Sneider on "A Dream About Jackie Byard," a touching rendition of "We Shall Overcome," but my favorite pieces are the originals where the group's thoughtful and entrancing interplay really shines through. Here's hoping that Goldings expands the quartet section of his discography in years to come.

Posted by ksmoker at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (322)

 

Groundtruther is Charlie Hunter on guitar and Bobby Previte on drums plus one special guest on each of a three album project. The project, like many Thirsty Ear productions, is an exercise in expanding the definition of jazz. These recordings blend a wide variety of musical elements and influences from rock, hip-hop, funk, and a range of jazz genres.

The first of the three albums in the Groundtruther project, Latitude, features Greg Osby on sax. This is a mostly ethereal and atmospheric cd with most of the few groove moments provided by Previte's drum-machine triggered samples as opposed to the more conventional approach expected from Hunter. Longitude with DJ Logic sitting in, is more groove-laden and still very much "experimental," jazz. This time, Hunter trades in the lighter, funky guitar plucking for a grinding, almost Hendrix-like sound.

The third of the set, to be called Altitude, is supposed to be released this fall. I'm looking forward to exploring the heights.

Posted by ksmoker at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (313)

Best listened to with headphones in a darkened room. Scotch optional.

John Adams resists the terms "requiem" or "memorial," calling this piece a "memory space." Whatever one calls it, it is a fitting tribute to the tragic events of 9/11.

Posted by ksmoker at 8:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is the cd that has pushed Gnarls Barkley to the background in my mind. I could say that it's just a dj goofing around with his turntables and a mixer, and II would be right. Except that this dj is Cut Chemist and he's not just goofing around, he's goofing around in style.

Posted by ksmoker at 8:45 PM | Permalink

I don't know, maybe I'm getting caught up in the hype, but holy crap, this is a great cd.

Danger Mouse, he of the (in)famous Grey Album plus also part of the revamped Gorillaz cast, teams up with rapper Cee-lo for this genre-bending tour-de-force. And yes, I know that "genre-bending" is an over-used term. Danger Mouse calls it "psychadelic soul," which might be good enough, if you can figure out what that means.

What it really is is some great, soul-influenced pop that somehow sounds fresh and familiar at the same time.

Posted by ksmoker at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (102)

[Today I'm catching up on posting some CDs purchased at the RIJF that I've been listening to lately.]

These guys from Sweden sound almost Bad Plussish¹ except without the somewhat rakish attitude. On stage, they employed an effects machine that would, for example, create washes of sound from the piano and chirpiness from the drums. Also, the piano player at one point got up and began plucking the strings of the grand piano by hand. Regardless, the music on this cd is lush, inventive, and intriguing.

Posted by ksmoker at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (295)

A litle farther to the avante-garde side of things than e.s.t., this Dutch trio manages to produce unique sounds without the effects machine. At first, the music seems merely chaotic, but their idiosyncrasies end up melding together to form an entertaining and joyous whole.

Their "order-out-of-chaos" formula is exemplified by this CD: the title of each song thereon is formed from the anagram of the CD title.

Posted by ksmoker at 8:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (91)

Hunter (whose eight-string guitar-playing style has to be seen to be believed) fits squarely into the genre of music that I'v come to identify as funkified-jazz. This CD leans a little harder to the funk side (which is just fine with me).

Posted by ksmoker at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (72)

Speaking of funk, well, here it is, New-Orleans-style.

Posted by ksmoker at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (69)

Playing music self-described as Cajun-Gypsy-jazz, this group specializes in soulful dancehall music (Country swing, Texas two-steps, Cajun waltzes) all perormed with a Lousiana delta flair.

Posted by ksmoker at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (286)

Our friends warned us that the musical landscape of our house would be altered after Ben's arrival. They were right. Although it is at times annoying to be stuck with the Bob the Builder theme song running around in your head, luckily for us, much of the change hasn't been so bad.

Take, for example, this cd by They Might Be Giants. It's goofy in a way that four-year-olds and adults can both appreciate. I got the bright idea to put this cd in when we were on our way to see the UR Philharmonic in which our friend Jane plays the violin. One of the songs on the cd is entitled, simply, "Violin." Boy, were we sick of that song by the end of the night after Ben insisted that we play it over and over.

Frankly, some of the cd is over Ben's head, especially when you factor in his still incomplete command of the English language. For example, I'm not sure he "gets" the joke in "Four Minutes of Two" in which a man waiting for a two o'clock date falls asleep and wakes up, Rumplestilskin-like, to a futuristic world but is reassured by the clock on the wall that still says four minutes of two. Even though he might not get the joke, Ben still likes to sing along with the "four minutes of two" refrain.

We're going to have to look for other kid cd alternatives, though, as this one is starting to grow old. This isn't really a criticism. It's been in the cd player for three weeks now.

Posted by ksmoker at 6:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I can't help myself. Thanks to the magic of the iTunes shuffle mode, I heard the tune "Dead Man's Party" last night. On a whim, I downloaded the whole album to my iPod. Since then, I've had a combination of "Dead Man's Party," "No One Lives Forever," and "Weird Science" running around in my head for the past 24 hours.

I first became familiar with this cd during my stint in Columbus where an importunate co-worker force-fed the shop a steady diet of 80's New Wave music. This cd was on a more or less continuous loop during Halloween.

Seriously, the saxophone riff from "No One Lives Forever" has been a particularly nasty earworm today. Since I'm already hooked, I'm temporarily giving my ears over to the genius of Danny Elfman by putting this one into heavy rotation.

Posted by ksmoker at 11:22 PM | Permalink

This is a cd, narrated by Leonard Bernstein, takes kids through Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, Saint-Saen's Carnival of the Animals, and Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. We had played this cd for Ben, mainly for the Carnival of the Animals bit, but when we learned that he would be taking a field trip with his preschool class to see a local youth ballet group perform Peter and the Wolf, we made sure to play that for him as well.

I hadn't heard it in a while, but, man, that is a seriously scary story for a young kid. As soon as the French horns started up, Ben's eyes got big and he climbed into my lap for protection. The bassoons were hardly any better, especially since Kari was acting out the parts (a bit too dramatically, perhaps). Although he seemed to be mostly enjoying himself, by the time the wolf had eaten the duck, Ben was so distraught that we had to stop the cd.

A couple of days later we listened the whole way through sans Kari's pantomime and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy about 80% of it and this time was only creeped out by the remaining 20%. When the wolf began snapping at the bird, he covered his ears and told us he didn't like that part, so we fast forwarded to the hunter's entrance.

All of this made me a little skeptical about sending him to see this in person, until I learned that the piece he would be seeing was going to be performed by 4- through 12-yr-olds. Obviously, they didn't portray anything too psychologically damaging and Ben was filled us in on all of the details: the cat climbing the tree, Peter catching the wolf by the tail, etc. He didn't mention the duck being eaten; maybe he closed his eyes at that point.

We played the cd again tonight at his request and he chickened out again when the wolf first appeared. So we watched Bob the Builder instead.

Posted by ksmoker at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (312)

So I've been digging the back and forth (and back and forth) between The Bad Plus and Darcy James Argue re: Miles Davis' recent induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Wanting to understand more, I went ahead and began my investigation with this, his first exploration of jazz-rock fusion.

In the past, I've been one to naively pooh-pooh Davis' departure from "pure" acoustic jazz. Now, after listening to this and reminding myself that it was recorded in 1969, I am simply blown away.

Posted by ksmoker at 10:57 PM | Permalink

Some serious sampling going on here: Brazilian rhythms, bop-era bass licks, de-tuned marimbas, driving swing beats, etc., etc. Released eight years ago, Tobin's meticulous craftsmanship still sounds fresh today.

Posted by ksmoker at 9:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (263)

I picked this up at the local Barnes & Noble a while back. This recording isn't all that flashy and I'm not blown away as sometimes happens with other Glass works, but it is certainly phillip-glassy enough for my tastes and, hey, for $5, I've got no complaints. I'm thinking that the Naxos label has got a great thing going here.

Posted by ksmoker at 10:55 PM | Permalink

For this cd, the Thievery Corporation eschewed their typical studio alchemy in favor of providing a dance mix cd comprised of a couple dozen songs from their vast archive. As such, it represents a cross-section of influences. Taken as a whole, the cd is meant to provide a suggestion of the Thievery Corporation's sound. It's sometimes difficult though to see the forest for the trees, but that's fine, each tree is beautiful on its own.

Posted by ksmoker at 9:37 PM | Permalink