tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48925257790565977682024-03-05T10:28:57.073+01:00Cardboard MusicJoe Higham's take on music, life and the universe ..... sometimes!joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-58458866152087432952018-11-25T13:38:00.000+01:002018-11-25T13:38:16.326+01:00Triadic systemsHere's something that I thought I'd post about triads for improvisation, after speaking several years ago - via the net - to David Valdez about triadic improvisation. I should point out that this is not my own idea (originally), this is something I learnt from <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ruocco" target="_blank">John Ruocco</a> way back in 1989. In fact there's a little bit of a back story behind how I came across this system. I remember I was introduced to John after seeing him play in the Travers jazz club, which no longer exists, by a good friend. My friend, <a href="https://www.jazzinbelgium.com/person/bernard.dossin" target="_blank">Bernard Dossin</a>, suggested I speak to John and ask for a few lessons. He kindly agreed an told me to come by the next morning. John used to stay at the club after gigs, so I met him the next day up in the kitchen of the club. He must have seen I was just a beginner, but after showing me a few basic patterns which we played through, he gave me a piece of paper with his triad ideas written out on. Naturally it meant nothing to me, but I copied it down anyway. I spent the next year or so showing it to various local jazz musicians who didn't see what it was, or how it could be used. After some time I did gradually start to see what it was, but had by that time lost interest in the whole thing.<br />
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It was only in the following years when saxophonist <a href="http://waltweiskopf.com/" target="_blank">Walt Weisskopf</a> published his book on triadic, or intervalic improvisation, that this became a really widely practised system. When I say 'widely practised' I mean that everyone had the book, or had a teacher that had studied with Jerry Bergonzi or Walt Weisskopf and C°. Anyone into John Coltrane will immediately know that he'd been using this system (as can be heard on many albums) and which he developed to become more and more densely sounding in his later years. John's (Ruocco) way of looking at it is almost mathematical, he leaves no stone unturned. If you think he didn't use some of the crazy sound combinations you'd be wrong. I have some bootleg recordings with him playing some of the more out combination stuff, which sound great!<br />
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<a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/232092345/Ruocco-Triads#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Ruocco Triads on Scribd">Ruocco Triads</a> by <a href="https://www.blogger.com/undefined#from_embed" nbsp="" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View 's profile on Scribd"></a> on Scribd</div>
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So, how does it work? Well, if you're a seasoned jazzer you'll need no explanation, but for anyone just starting I'll save you a lot of head scratching and explain the basics, you'll need to download the chart and look through it (naturally). I'm not going to go into detail about where to use all of them, but more what the principle is. Firstly, John has looked through all the possibilities of combing two triads, in any shape major, minor, diminished or augmented. If, when you put two triads together, there's one note the same, then he eliminates it. As an example C major and Db minor both have an 'E' in them, so they're out! After that John just looked at every one to see what colour it makes against another triad and then linked them to the chord sounds he liked, or could justify harmonically.<br />
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Above is an example of just one of the ideas. You'll notice I've taken a Dominant 7th chord (G in this case) and used the beginning few examples of Johns first column. The classic use of triads every musician knows is 1 over flat 7 - in this example that mean G over F. This equals chord tones: 1, 3, 5 over b7, 9, 11. Its followed by G (1) over E augmented (6+) which = 1, 3, 5 over 13, b9, 11. Notice how he makes the 6 triad augmented, otherwise you'd have a repeated note, or two times a 'B' (G, B, D and E, G#, B). I then follow the Maj' column down using each example - stopping at the flat 5 just so the page isn't too long. After that it's pretty simple, if one follows through the example. </div>
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<i>On John's sheet he tries 1/major 7, but I've left this one out (although it does work), just so one can see the context. </i></div>
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My example uses a dominant 7th chord, but in reality you could use any chord. As an example, on a F major chord, why not try A minor over B diminished = 3, 5, Maj 7 over #11, 13/6, Tonic. As you'll notice, the problem is there's just so many possibilities. But, if you look through them and try them out you'll soon see/hear which ones you like, or what type of dissonances you can handle over a chord progression. It's also important to remember to look at them in different ways, to be played in intervals, with approach tones, odd combinations of 3 notes against 4 notes (ex: G, B, D, + F, A, C, F), making them rhythmically interesting. </div>
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I hope you have fun, and, if there's any questions, post them in the comments section below. </div>
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Here's a few links to the excellent David Valdez's posts on the subject. You'll get plenty of good ideas <a href="http://davidvaldez.blogspot.com/2005/10/gary-campbells-triad-pairs-for-jazz.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://davidvaldez.blogspot.com/2010/08/triad-pairs-redeemed.html" target="_blank">here also</a>.joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-81097876435679089492017-11-18T12:29:00.000+01:002017-11-18T12:29:20.123+01:00Music for Adults: Part 1<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's been a long time since I've posted anything here. I could blame a new job in part, but more simply I guess it was just laziness. Anyhow in the meanwhile I've been mulling over an idea, for the past year, which concerns music for adults, or to put it another way: "What can an adult listen to, whilst developing and discovering new music?" It does seem an easy question to answer, but many friends of mine still listen to, and talk about, groups and artists that they've been listening to since they were teenagers. Its not uncommon to see how old favourites, due maybe to nostalgia, remain at the top of many peoples lists. If one reads the commentaries on Amazon you'll soon notice how people don't appreciate an artist who changes direction! </div>
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Naturally, not all people stay with their teen and university years listening habits. Many develop further by becoming (as an example) jazz fanatics, classical buffs or maybe folk and world music fans. But, for the majority it has been hard to understand the success of the X-Factor generation of music celebrities, be they good musicians or not. It's interesting to note that much of today's - popular - music business is based around the individual. If one looks back at the seventies and eighties lists of top 20 stars there seems to be 'in general' more bands, rather than individual stars. We do have <i>Maroon 5</i> and <i>Pentatonix,</i> but they are the exception rather than the rule. For those interested take a brief look at the website <a href="https://weeklytop40.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Weekly Top 40</a> (*) and click on any year between 1970 to 1989, then compare with (ex) 2012. You immediately notice the difference in the number of individual stars as opposed to groups in the 70s and 80s. But even so, today's idols such as Katy Perry, Rihanna, Justin Bieber or Kanye West, to name but a few, are a long way musically from the past glories of David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Annie Lennox or Aretha Franklin. </div>
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Anyhow, I'm not here to judge such artists, and they don't appear on any of my top albums of the year. The reason in general is that they (in my humble opinion) lack a certain inventiveness and individuality. That doesn't mean that all today's stars are blank pieces of paper, <span class="st"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CeeLo_Green" target="_blank">CeeLo Green</a> </span>(aka Gnarls Barkley) or the excellent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hozier_%28musician%29" target="_blank">Hozier</a> both have not only great voices, but also mature and strong material. However, many, as far as I can see, are more busy making mainstream music which follows fashion rather than looking for creative directions which push at the boundaries. However, having said that I guess the series <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1001_Albums_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die" target="_blank">1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die</a> wouldn't agree!</div>
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The idea of my 'Music for Adults' is to introduce, in a short presentation form, some albums of artists working today who produce music that although not necessarily mainstream (in some cases), gives the listener something to savour musically and intellectually. It is also a list of suggestions for those who are still interested to find alternative but satisfying musical directions other than that of their past teenage years heroes or heroines. So, without further ado I'd like to start with a recent album (which interestingly my brother introduced me to - that's what are older brothers are for):</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Darlingside: Birds Say (2015)</b></span></span><br />
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I chose this as the first record to present, probably the most recent record (and group) I've heard that conjures up the past by its sound and subject matter. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlingside" target="_blank">Darlingside</a> is a quartet who sound somewhere between the Beach Boys meet Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. That isn't a put down, in fact I'd say in this case it's a recommendation. Darlingside have produced a record with very catchy folk-rock melodies and tight harmony vocals that - as I said - hark back to another period yet remain thoroughly modern.<br />
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The bands sound is made up of a very simple line up (instrumentally), which is probably what makes the music sound so pure. With the various members just using acoustic instrumentation, except for a bass guitar, the group keeps everything down to a bare minimum - I particularly like the idea of someone stomping on the bass drum like a one-man-band. The album is full of great catchy melodies, check out "White Horses", "Birds Say" and "Harrison Ford" to get an idea of the sound and melodic direction of Darlingside. <br />
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The band: Don Mitchell (guitar, banjo, vocals), Auyon Mukharji (mandolin, violin, vocals), Harris Paseltiner (guitar, cello, vocals), David Senft (bass, kick drum, vocals)<br />
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The band website can be found here: <a href="http://www.darlingside.com/">www.darlingside.com</a> <br />
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* = An excellent site with plenty of interesting figures such as album charts, top artists of a period, etc. </div>
joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-48864999298832542712015-08-10T23:30:00.000+02:002015-11-30T09:44:34.818+01:00New Directions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the past months time has just flown by, hence the lack of posts. I've been doing a lot of teaching (in different forms), as not only a way to earn a living, but also giving me some breathing space to look at ways in which I'm interested in composing and performing music. One of the problems with the system (where I live) is that you have to play concerts to keep your employment status. This sounds great to most artists, however, there is one drawback, to find concerts you 'mostly' have to have a public, in other words the more mainstream the product the more chances you have to get work. If you work in more obscure areas of musical composition then you can indeed find it difficult to find performance possibilities, especially on a permanent basis.</div>
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I've always been interested in sound as a form of music, in fact when as a kid the Beatles released the "Yellow Submarine" my favourite bit was the mechanical noise section - listen to the single <a href="https://youtu.be/e_cwWP5Qf1k?t=1m27s" target="_blank">around 1.27mins</a> - which I used to put on my turntable non stop. I liked many of those 'bits' in music, I guess sound was 'in' at that period thinking back to it. Another single that had something special was "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWj7-TIb3cc" target="_blank">You Know My Name, Look Up The Number</a>", which was the B-side to "Let it Be". I loved the way the Beatles strung together all these different styles to make a song. The Moog Synthesiser was also becoming popular. My teachers at secondary school often played us Stockhausen, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-On_Bach" target="_blank">Walter (Wendy) Carlos</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Coconut" target="_blank">Electric Coconut</a> and Tangerine Dream, to name a few. It was a good period for hearing experimental music often sold as commercial pop music(*).</div>
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I spend a lot of time working on my computer with Pure Data (<a href="http://cardboardmusic.blogspot.be/2013/07/solos-number-1-sax-solo.html" target="_blank">see one project here</a>) and SuperCollider. However, I recently I decided that I really like working with a hands on approach, much the same as playing an instrument. And so I invested in a bit of equipment to start trying to develop a live solution to making music which is built of samples, synths, saxophones and noise. I thought I'd post a few of the tracks as a way of getting my ideas out there. Of course one can just sit at home and work on stuff, but I like to get ideas down on my DAW, then post them on my Soundcloud page as a way of seeing what it looks (sounds) like. </div>
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All the work is done with the idea that it can be played live (almost). I set up my material and do as much as possible in one go. This accounts for some out of tune playing (sax), or some odd changes, but that's just the way I'm working at present. I'll clean up the ideas later to try and get melodies in some areas and form also. But at present its spontaneous ideas first, I hope you like them, and of course any comments and criticisms are well appreciated.</div>
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<i>Some (all?) of the tracks are little long, so you may wish to skip forwards at points to see where the music is going, but that's what sketches are about, I guess.</i> </div>
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"<b>Piano 1</b>" is built using Supercollider. I built a file using three octaves of a piano, edited them and wrote a program to read the files randomly or in a pre determined order.</div>
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"<b>Soprano SH 101</b>" refers to the soprano sax (of course), and the SH101 is an old Roland synthesiser. Its a bit broken down now and needs some work done on it, unfortunately its also not midi compatible, which causes a few hiccups when working with other machines. I guess I'll probably have to look into updating to a Novation Bass Station!</div>
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"<b>Synth 2a</b>" is another track using the Roland SH 101. To listen to this you may need to plug in some headphones as what sounds like silence has (in fact) a synth line being played and modulated.</div>
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"<b>Ades</b>" refers to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Ad%C3%A8s" target="_blank">Thomas Ades</a>, an amazing English composer. This track is made using samples from his work and others from Elliot Carter's works. I patched the whole thing together using an Akai MPC 1000 and my trusty soprano sax. I guess I should get in touch with Mr Ades to see if he's in agreement over my use of his work.</div>
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"<b>Trains</b>" (actually "Trains 2") is built from sounds which I used for another sketch mixing train track sounds. On this one I employ an Akai Remix 16 (see picture below) and an Akai MPC 1000. There's also some sounds from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integra_Live" target="_blank">Integra Live</a> that I've sampled and fed back into the Sampler. </div>
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Lastly here's "<b>Koto</b>". I've been using Koto samples in other pieces - using Pure Data - but this is a mixture of ideas, a bit inspired by a Four Tet recording I heard. I've mixed up samples from a recording of made in Bali and an amazing box set of Koto recordings that I love listening to. Add to that the MPC's ability to make drum patterns (made from different samples), and you get a very 'in your face' piece. It needs a lot of work on it, but I like the idea so much (just a one off take), that I kept it, warts and all. I'll have to refine it a later date. </div>
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So there's a few pieces (others can be found on my Soundcloud page). Of course its not swinging jazz, but that's not the idea. I hope that people find them stimulating and fun to listen to, although I'm sure that to some they're just noisy sounds with no direction. As for me I'm just frustrated that I probably won't be able to perform them anywhere, or not as a more long-term project. However, that's not the point, its about making music (and sounds) that I like. </div>
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Lastly I thought I'd post a picture (below) of my trusty Akai Remix 16. Many people use these like beat boxes, as they do MPCs also. But these old machines have much more potential for adding colour to performances live, check out the amazing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Bang" target="_blank">Jan Bang</a> for what can really be done with these. Unfortunately they only have - or mine does - 2GB of RAM memory. You can add more, but finding it is another problem as these things went out of production many years ago. In fact Akai sent me a nice email telling me that it was the old Akai that built these, not them! One of my buttons/pads is broken (#7) which leaves me with a slight handicap. So, if anyone comes across this article that has some spares PLEASE don't hesitate to contact me, I'd be most grateful.</div>
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*= All the major (and minor) rock and pop groups had synthesisers in them, experimental sounds were everywhere. </div>
<br />joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-72283190741903341412015-01-18T22:32:00.000+01:002015-01-23T16:05:25.689+01:00Alexandra Grimal and Giovanni Domenico: Chergui (Ayler, 2014) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of my favourite musicians/artists of all time was
saxophonist Steve Lacy. For me Lacy towers above most improvising
musicians, due in part to his approach to music, sound and improvisation, which were not only individual but also spiritual. He, like musicians such as Mike Brecker, still have no real successors, possibly demonstrating how unique they were, which made them hard to imitate without becoming a carbon copy. Another facet which links Lacy's name to greatness is his famed solo performances and recordings. Lacy not only improvised on the melody but added a layer to his improvisations using his sound or/and the sound of the room, giving his performances an extra dimension. Although I'm sure that many musicians use this 'extra dimension' nowadays, it is rare to hear new saxophonists that approach this territory in the same way that Lacy did. </div>
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Recently I sat and listened to the new record(*) of saxophonist Alexandra Grimal and pianist Giovanni di Domenico's titled <i>Chergui. </i>Many of the aspects that drew me to Steve Lacy's work seem to have re-emerged on this fine recording, making it one of the most inspiring albums I've heard in a long while. For all those unaware of <a href="http://www.alexandragrimal.com/" target="_blank">Alexandra Grimal</a>, head over to either <a href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Grimal" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> for a biographical update, which is indeed interesting, or, for her recordings, go to the <a href="http://www.freejazzblog.org/" target="_blank">Free Jazz Blog</a> and type 'Grimal' into the search box where you'll find several in depth reviews of her recordings. <a href="http://giovannididomenico.com/" target="_blank">Giovanni di Domenico</a> is a pianist, based in Brussels, who has a gift for sound exploration combined with melody. The two musicians have already worked together and on this recording they really show how music is something far beyond the notes, just as Lacy did on many occasions. </div>
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<a href="http://www.ayler.com/alexandra-grimal-giovanni-di-domenico-chergui.html" target="_blank"><i>Chergui</i></a>, a double album, is a collection of duets and solo pieces which are - I imagine - a combination of improvised performances and some compositions. The record opens with the extraordinary <i>Prana, </i>a solo piece by Alexandra Grimal, who develops an initial idea on her soprano which also makes use of the sound of the room - recorded in the Theatre du Châtelet (Paris) - to give the piece this extra dimension that Lacy also enjoyed using. Grimal makes full use of the acoustic, taking advantage of the theatre's sound to get the best out of the space between notes. It is an 8 minute track which is completely hypnotic, showing perfectly how an idea can be developed into several layers. What also strikes me on this, and the following performances, is the amazing control and clarity
of sound that Grimal brings to this difficult saxophone, making the
recording a pure joy to hear. The album never lets up from here over it's eighteen tracks, leading the listener through an intimate and yet searching set of works. <br />
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Alexandra Grimal chooses soprano on most tracks, however, on <i>The Window was Camel-less</i> we get to hear the tenor saxophone. Grimal's approach to the tenor is slightly different and brings something quite special to the duo's sound which makes you wonder why she didn't use the instrument on some of the other pieces. The album is, one could say, a celebration of sound and space where Grimal and di Domenico use the theatre's space and acoustic to build some remarkable duet and solo works. One such work that appears in different guises dotted throughout the album, six in all, is piece titled <i>Koan</i> - versions numbered 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 & 19. These wonderful duets, almost short vignettes between the piano and soprano sax, seem to have planned themes (slightly different each time), which the duo come back to, using a slightly different approach each time to create new work. <br />
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As mentioned already there are two discs in this set. The main difference between the two is that the second disc places the emphasis on Giovanni di Domenico. This gives us a perfect chance to really listen to this composer/improviser/pianist, working melody and developing improvisations in a way which are at times close to modern 20th century piano works, and truly captivating also. Pieces such as <i>Zai </i>or <i>Let sounds be themselves </i>show di Domenico's way of combining contemporary techniques and melody into his own sound world, complementing Grimal's solo pieces on the CD. Nevertheless, the second album also has several duets which carry on from the first album. <i>Tema Per Jan Svankmayer </i>has a melody which leads the two to explore delicate spaces in the acoustics of the theatre. <i>Ballata dei Piedi Volanti </i>is another piece, that as the title suggests, treads carefully, only revealing the true nature of the melody at the end of the piece.<br />
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This recording is a must for all that enjoy improvisation at its highest level and I should add, that if there's one album you should have bought last year*......it's this one! <br />
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<i>Here's a short piece which may give you some idea of the music on this fine album: </i></div>
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<i>Ballata dei Piedi Volanti </i>(CD2, tk9)<br />
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Head over to <a href="http://www.ayler.com/" target="_blank"><b>Ayler Records</b> to get more details</a>, and whilst your there don't forget to look over their excellent catalogue!<i> </i></div>
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* = <i>The record was released in the last half of 2014, unfortunately due the sheer quantity of recordings released this album got stuck in the 'things to listen to' pile and the review comes a little late, although in this case better late than never! </i>joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-56786051816910588842014-12-22T19:06:00.003+01:002014-12-23T15:02:32.220+01:00Oblik: Order Disorder (Ormo Records, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: normal;">Let's not beat around the bush, this is one hell of a record. I have to wonder how come I've never heard of these guys before? Luckily, for me, Sylvian Didou dropped me a line from Nantes (France) to see if I'd be interested to hear his record, <i>ObLik: order disorder</i>. ObLik's bandcamp site describes their music as: "<i>A la croisée entre le jazz et la musique improvisée, cette formation mélange tradition et modernité</i>"*, which indeed sums up the group's music very succinctly. The album<span style="font-family: inherit;">,</span> out on the small French label <a href="http://www.ormomusic.com/" target="_blank">Ormo Music,</a> <span style="font-family: inherit;">is</span> an outlet for several of Didou's projects. The label has a few other little gems also worthwhile checking out, one example being <a href="http://thewoooh.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">The Wøøøh</a> - more on that at a later date. In the meanwhile I'll stick to the most recent release, <i>Oblik.</i></span></span><br />
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In a time when jazz tends to be based around <i>the</i> virtuosic soloist, this record demonstrates how the group is stronger than the individual. The album has a fantastic collection of compositions which enable the superb ensemble to create many delightful musical episodes. Composer and bassist, Sylvain Didou, has made some remarkable arrangements which really hold together well, describing the compositions as 'Mingus-esque' might give you some sort of clue as to the direction the music takes. <br />
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The quality of the music means that each track has plenty of high points, great melodies, group and solo improvisations, rhythmical developments, in fact so much it's nigh on impossible to pick out any one thing. Of the ten pieces, the amazing opening track <i>Le Chat</i> (tk1) takes us on a thirteen minute tour which makes you curious to find out what else will follow. The stuttering melody and sprinkled piano lines lead us into a complex arrangement where the whole group comes together to play a looping melody. The horns are split up into various configurations so that some play the unison melody whereas others join the piano and bass to play a counter melody. It's a powerful start to the album. The melodies of <i>Longitudinal </i>(tk2), <i>Jazz, Jazz</i> (tk3), <i>Yeah</i> (tk5) and <i>Enea</i> (tk8) are other compositions which shine out brightly. Even if melody is one of the main elements, pieces, such as <i>Perdrigon</i> (tk7), start with a skilfully arranged theme, but soon the ensemble dives into free form improvisation where everyone adds their voice as needed. <i>3D</i> (tk9) builds from a tenor
sax/bass duet into a finely detailed miniature piece where the
sax line holds the composition together leaving the other instruments to gradually creep in unnoticed, playing atonal bluesy lines that wind around each other. On this record the soloists all come up with fine offerings, but, interestingly no one soloist grips the limelight, making the album a real ensemble work. <br />
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As I mentioned earlier, the way the compositions are built reminds me a little of the way <i>Charles Mingus </i>liked to compose, finding ways to inspire his players but also to work within the framework of each piece, which could include tempo changes, stop-time and much more. Another reference is the ensembles sound - partly due to the groups make up - echoes, in a way, <i>Elton Dean's Ninesence, </i>mixing styles and strong melodies to great effect.<br />
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I said at the beginning this a very fine album which has many strengths. It's certainly one of the best albums I've heard this year, I suggest that you rush off to <a href="http://oblik1.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">ObLik's bandcamp site</a>, give it a listen, and see if you agree!<br />
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Highly recommended. <br />
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Here's an mp3 of <i>Perdrigon, </i>track seven from the album </div>
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<i>ObLik is: Pierre-Yves Merel - Tenor sax; Alan Regardin - Trumpet; Alexis Persigan - Trombone; Cyril Trochu - Piano; Fabrice L'Hotellier - drums; Sylvian Didou - Double bass.</i> <i><br /></i></div>
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If you're a Facebook user (I'm not) then there's also a link to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ormo-Records/678425495514558" target="_blank">Ormo Record's page here. </a><br />
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* = Translation: Somewhere between jazz and improvised music, this group mixes tradition and modernity" <br />
joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-9903050841580195512014-12-07T11:52:00.000+01:002014-12-08T21:47:55.719+01:00Olie Brice Quintet: Immune to Clockwork (Multikulti, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is a recording that I've been waiting for since sometime. Hints on <a href="http://oliebrice.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Olie's site</a> about the existence of the group, and the probable recording, have been appearing for some time, therefore, to finally see (and hear) the fruits of this group is very exiting. Along with Olie Brice (bass and compositions), there's UK musicians <a href="http://markhanslip.blogspot.be/" target="_blank">Mark Hanslip</a>, tenor sax; <a href="http://www.alexbonney.co.uk/" target="_blank">Alex Bonney</a>, trumpet; <a href="http://www.willfulmusic.com/" target="_blank">Jeff Williams</a> on drums, and an interesting addition is that of Polish clarinettist, <a href="http://www.waclawzimpel.pl/" target="_blank">Waclaw Zimpel</a> on alto clarinet. Fusing a combination of rhythmic and rubato melody lines, the music that Olie Brice writes reminds me, at times, of Ornette Coleman's 1970s <i>Broken Shadows</i> period. The idea of chord-less
quintet playing a mixture of free oriented musical styles,
makes for interesting listening, and something which suits this approach to making an improvised music which is neither totally free, nor written, but another form of modern jazz which takes its inspiration from all genres. <br />
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Brice's compositions, although strongly routed around free improvisations, also have melodies and chord progressions, which are used as a backbone for the group to develop their own free-er ideas. This helps make the album easily accessible and yet in no way compromises the soloist's own playing. The musicians manage to sustain the high level of group work throughout the album, working around the themes to produce some fine music. Each piece has its own atmosphere, often presenting a melodic motif which the group then dissects as it chooses. <br />
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Mark Hanslip's sinewy tenor sound snakes over the compositions, moving
happily between dense melodic lines or textured multi-phonics to create
some great music. The underrated Waclaw Zimpel, for all that don't know him, is one of the new breed of clarinettists working on the excellent Polish improvised music scene. His playing is always exciting, rooted in melody, yet always looking for new ideas and ways of expression. Check out his playing on the Hera records (on Multikulti), in collaboration with other's, or his own quartet. The other front-line player, Alex Bonney, also deserves a quick word. His playing is definitely understated, yet always perfect for each situation he plays in (he's also a laptop wizard, engineer and producer). Here he uses melody in a way that reminds me of players such as Bobby Bradford. <br />
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As for the music on the album, there are several highlights to be found pasted throughout, here are some which spring to mind:<br />
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On the opening piece (<i>The Hands, </i>tk1), Mark's
tenor roams around finding lines that work with the original melody
which he also manages to incorporate within his solo, something we
rarely hear nowadays in jazz. <br />
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<i>Crumbling Shyly</i> (tk4) and <i>Tell Me Again </i>(tk7) both hark back to 60s style rubato melodies that lurch forward before opening up to allow the horns to weave lines over the turbulent rhythm section. <i>Tell Me Again, </i>which closes the album, has a particularly poignant melody which the soloists seem to capture perfectly.<br />
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<i>What Might Have Been </i>(tk5) a fine ballad feature for tenor sax where Mark Hanslip shows how he is a master of free form and melody. <br />
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<i>The Old Yedidia </i>(tk2), starts with a melancholic theme before giving way to a lilting 6/8 section for the solosits. Alex Bonney's trumpet leads off, playing some lovely phrases which keep within the boundary of compositions original idea. Waclaw Zimpel follows a different path, taking a more open approach to the music. His improvisations although rich in melodic ideas, react differently to the themes. His playing, which reminds me a little of John Carter, goes more for a mixture of sonic textures, sometimes gentle and at other times his searing lines push the rhythm section to follow him.<br />
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On <i>Immune to Clockwork </i>(tk3) the ensemble works tightly together, improvising as a group before letting Olie Brice and Jeff Williams take over, leading us to the end of the piece with a mixture of rhythm and melody.<br />
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This leads me to the fine work of Olie Brice and Jeff Williams throughout the record. They both work with the front-line in a way that compliments and supports both the front-line and the music throughout, a perfect team in such a situation. It's a pleasure to hear these fine musicians working together, it would be great to see the group live as music such as this benefits from being heard played in front of an audience. However, the music that the quintet makes is strong, manages to remain innovative and truly accessible, what more can one ask!<br />
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Recommended.<br />
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Try this track "Crumbling Shyly" (track #4): <br />
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joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-90745797277440805902014-09-23T12:51:00.000+02:002014-09-23T18:33:27.252+02:00Antunes, Wooley and Corsano: Malus (No Business, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Unfortunately due to a very busy timetable this one has been sitting on my computer for the past few months, however, as they say, better late than never!<a href="http://nobusinessrecords.com/NBLP73.php" target="_blank"> Malus</a> released by the excellent <a href="http://nobusinessrecords.com/crew.php" target="_blank">NoBusiness Records</a> is the first record from the trio of <a href="http://cor-sano.com/" target="_blank">Chris Corsano</a>, <a href="http://hugoantunez.wix.com/hugoantunes" target="_blank">Hugo Antunes</a> and <a href="http://natewooley.com/" target="_blank">Nate Wooley</a>. The trio have been working together for the past few years, and, from the sound of this record, hopefully they'll become a permanent working unit. The music made by the group is something special, using a variety of techniques to create a captivating collection of pieces ranging from dynamic rubato melodic improvisations to more abstract musical outings.<br />
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The album's strength is probably its varied approaches to the trio format, which the group explores from all angles. Although the trios sound is the main back-bone of the record, there are two pieces which are built from duo improvisations, and a third piece which showcases the group in an unusual format as an amplifier trio! But the music as a whole is beautifully paced throughout, often leaving plenty of space, both sound wise and musically, giving us a chance to discover details in each of the pieces. The crystal clear sound also helps making the record a joy to listen to, especially as on this recording you are able to hear each instruments individual timbres, due to the excellent work of sound man/wizard <a href="http://airodeon.be/index.html" target="_blank">Michel Huon</a> (who deserves a credit). <br />
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As for the pieces on the record.... <i>Gentlemen Of Four Outs</i> (tk1), is an energy powered improvisation showing how the trio can combine melody and rhythm in a completely fluid way. <i>4 Cornered</i> (tk2) continues in the same direction, introducing more abstract ideas and techniques, many of which are developed throughout the record. On this track, by creating space, the trio gives us a chance to really hear the developing process of building an improvisation. This continues on <i>Sawbuck</i> (tk3), the first of the duo pieces - bass and drums. Antunes and Corsano's use of bows at the beginning probably inspired the title (?), but the duo gradually works into a more rounded sound.<br />
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The intriguing <i>Seven Miles From The Moon</i> builds from a single bass
note, developing gradually into an delightful palette of sound colours. At the start of this piece
Nate Wooley uses his trumpet as a percussion instrument, digging into his bag of sound effects to combine with the bass and drums. The trio's work on this piece shows exactly how well they manage to combine ideas without overcrowding each other playing. <br />
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<i>Sandbagged</i> (tk5) continues the duo idea, this time for bass and trumpet. Both players rely on the staccato possibilities of their individual instruments, developing a conversational idea sounding not unlike two birds in a tree. <i>Sewn </i>(tk6) shows the group working with amplifiers, a technique which Wooley has been developing as a musical colour for the past few years. Here, the whole group delves into this sonic landscape to conjure up a distorted wall of sound, bluring the individual edges of each instrument, in a way that makes the music become an impressionist painting. <br />
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The last track <i>Gentlemen of Three Inns</i> (tk7) brings us back to the world of pure acoustic sound. Hugo Antunes's crystal clear bass lines opens the track before being joined by Nate Wooley and Chris Corsano. This is again a piece that uses melody as its central idea, Wooley using his muted trumpet in a way that gives the trios sound an intimate feel, not unlike Jimmy Giuffre's late trio sound - with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow. <br />
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This is one of those records that deserves being heard by as many people
as possible, and especially those who think of 'free-jazz' as something
unlistenable. Its also a fine example of three musicians listening to each other, making music that is truly the sum of three individuals who combine together to produce a music which although probably not ground breaking, remains fresh, inventive and very listenable.<br />
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Highly recommended! <br />
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Musicians: <i>Nate Wooley - trumpet, amplifier; Hugo Antunes - double bass; amplifier and Chris Corsano - drums, amplifier </i>(track 6).<br />
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* I'd normally put a little excerpt for (or video) to give an idea of the music. However, if you pop over to the NoBusiness site you'll be able to hear some samples of the music on the <a href="http://nobusinessrecords.com/" target="_blank">record company's website</a>. joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-45148970425483562242014-09-12T17:01:00.000+02:002015-01-18T21:43:21.847+01:00Marc Ducret: Tower-Bridge (Ayler Records, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For all of those who haven't heard Marc Ducret's <i>Tower</i> series, now is maybe the time to start. This record represents the last instalment of an incredible journey through many musical territories, yet with one musical thread tying them together, that of Marc Ducret's original musical thinking. <i><a href="http://www.ayler.com/marc-ducret-tower-bridge.html" target="_blank">Tower-Bridge</a> </i>is the fifth, and supposedly last part of the series (see below) which took as its inspiration Vladimir Nabokov's novel <i>Ada. </i>There are copious liner notes - as liner notes throughout the various volumes - which give some explanations to the connection between the music and the book, but for this short review it is suffice to quote the Ayler Record's presentation which states, "[t]he music [is] composed to convey
Nabokov's text complex structure and writing process"¹.<br />
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Although I reviewed several albums from the series - digital versions sent by Ayler records - so I haven't seen the covers. However, I did get a hard copy of this latest record. I'll mention the music shortly but the packaging of this disc merits a detour. The album is made up of double CD, with triptych folding sleeve, a small booklet with extracts from Nabokov'<i>s Ada, </i>and an interesting fold-out with some notes from Ducret - which include a score of his composition <i>Real thing #3</i>. A last bonus is quite a crowd draw, access to exclusive video content, a 23 minute film by Sylvain Lemaire titled<i> Tower in the Mist</i>. I won't tell you what's on the film, after all that would only spoil the surprise! So, what can I say except buying a 'physical' copy is well worth the money.<br />
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The music on the album is taken from two live concerts recorded in Strasbourg in 2012, producing around a 100 minutes of music over the two CDs. Like the previous albums, this recording re-examines pieces from the 'tower' series. An example such as <i>sur l'électricité </i>(tk1 CD1), has been presented in two formats. The first time was on volume two with Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Dominique Pifarély: violin and Tom Rainey on drums, along with Ducret on guitar. The second time was on volume four (an excellent album), where Ducret performed a selection of these pieces in solo format on acoustic guitar.² The appeal of <i>Tower-Bridge</i> lies more in the extended performances of these pieces, and of course the line extended up that performs them. The musicians, 12 in all, are the sum of all the albums in the series, forming a sort of mini big-band. This produces plenty of sparks and some fine music with powerful solos supported by tight ensemble playing.<br />
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If you haven't heard Marc Ducret's music before and you're open to rock meets free-jazz meets Zappa meets contemporary classical music, then you'll love this. There's plenty of dynamic interaction between the musicians. Ducret has a knack in providing action-packed pieces, his rhythmic concept often develops around tight interlocking contrapuntal lines to produce long melodies which have a logic of their own. He also loves to use dissonance as a tool, combining it with rhythm in a powerful combination.<br />
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There is so much on this record it would be impossible to delve into each piece. A few highlights include Tim Berne's inimitable alto leading the way on<i> sur l'électricité</i> (tk1 CD1). This track has a lot of information, a great theme, and plenty of muscular interludes with several gripping solos. The fantastical atmospheres conjured up in <i>Real thing #1</i> (tk2 CD1) builds around a succession of duet/trio sections leading gradually to feature for the violin of Dominique Pifarély. Track 3 (CD1)<i>, real thing #2 </i>has a wonderful strident solo from Kasper Tranberg (trumpet) who manages to ride over the heavy rocking ensemble, punctuated by powerful piano chord clusters. <i>Softly her tower crumbled into the Sweet Silent Sun </i>(tk1 CD2) flies out of the speakers like an angry neighbour shouting. The final track of the album <i>L'Ombra di Verdi </i>(tk3 CD2) produces a mysterious theme in the closing half which hangs somewhere between a film <i>noir </i>theme and a 6/8 rock ballad.<br />
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What else can we say about such a great record? I guess that if you haven't heard Ducret before this is a good place to start, there's fine compositions and performances all here. And, if you like this then you'll need no encouragement to look into his work even further. As for Marc Ducret fans, if you haven't got this one, buy it!<br />
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The website says this is a limited edition of 1000. <br />
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<i>Here's a video of the group live. The recording is more 'centred' sound-wise, but here you get some idea of the groups sound, and size. If you look for Ducret's Tower-bridge project on Youtube you'll find plenty of other examples. </i><br />
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The musicians on this record are: Kasper Tranberg - trumpet; Dominique Pifarély - violin; Tim Berne - alto saxophone; Matthias Mahler - trombone; Fidel Fourneyron - trombone; Alexis Persigan - trombone; Frédéric Gastard - bass saxophone; Antonin Rayon - piano; Sylvain Lemêtre - percussion,vibraphone, xylophone, marimba; Tom Rainey - drums; Peter Bruun - drums and Marc Ducret - electric guitar<br />
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<b>Other albums in the Tower-bridge series:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.ayler.com/marc-ducret-tower-vol-1.html" target="_blank">Tower, vol. 1</a>, <a href="http://www.ayler.com/marc-ducret-tower-vol-1.html" target="_blank">Tower, vol. 2</a>, <a href="http://www.ayler.com/marc-ducret-tower-vol-3.html" target="_blank">Tower, vol. 3</a>, <a href="http://www.ayler.com/marc-ducret-tower-vol-4.html" target="_blank">Tower, vol. 4</a><br />
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¹ http://www.ayler.com/marc-ducret-tower-vol-1.html, accessed Sept. 6, 2014.<br />
² It's interesting to add that volume four is the only record that has pieces unique to that record. There are a few pieces which are re-examined from the other volumes, however, tracks: <i>From a Distant Land</i>; <i>Sisters</i>; <i>Ada</i>; <i>... A Distand Land</i>;<i> Sybil Vane</i>, and <i>Electricity </i>(by Joni Mitchell), are to be found only on this album. <br />
<br />joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-58131331876546271512014-08-13T13:28:00.000+02:002014-08-13T15:08:29.625+02:00Russ Johnson: Meeting Point (Relay Records, 2014)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's always exciting when I see <a href="http://timdaisy.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Tim Daisy</a>'s name on a record. For me he's one of the top drummers out there on the jazz and improvised music scene. In the past few years he's started his own label and this is the twelfth release - if you include the four live recordings in the catalogue. If you don't know the label be sure to check out the <a href="http://timdaisyrelayrecords.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">back catalogue</a>, which has some fine recordings. If you don't know Tim's playing then I suggest you take some time to listen to his past work. He's been involved in some of the most interesting contemporary jazz and improvised music projects of the past years.</div>
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This latest release is from trumpeter Russ Johnson. Johnson is a fine player who's no newcomer to the jazz and improvised music scene. If you check out his <a href="http://russjohnsonmusic.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> you'll see a fine range of projects he's been involved in. I originally saw him many years back with Michael Bates' <i>Outside Sources, </i>playing some gigs in Europe. Since then his name has appears regularly, either in one of his own units, with bassist Cameron Brown or the Belgian saxophonist, Robin Verheyen's NY Quartet. </div>
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In the meanwhile, the new record from <a href="http://timdaisyrelayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/meeting-point-relay-008" target="_blank">Russ Johnson </a><i><a href="http://timdaisyrelayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/meeting-point-relay-008" target="_blank">Meeting Point</a> </i>is the eighth studio project to come out on <i>Relay Records</i>. On this record Russ has chosen a quartet line-up made up of: <a href="http://www.jasonsteinmusic.com/" target="_blank">Jason Stein</a> – bass clarinet; <a href="http://www.antonhatwich.com/" target="_blank">Anton Hatwich</a> –bass; <a href="http://timdaisy.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Tim Daisy</a> – drums, and of course Russ – trumpet.</div>
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The album uses melody, combined with free elements, to build compositions and improvisations, giving a nice balance between the two, that make the music easily listenable, yet challenging. The first track <i>Lithosphere</i> is a funky piece, with bass and bass clarinet underpinning the melody in what could be either a bass-line, or counter-melody. When the solos start, the bass and drums keep the whole thing together, but, whilst the trumpet solos above, the bass clarinet punctuates below, coming in from time to time with ideas to accompany. Eventually the two wind instruments swap places, as one fades out the other steps forward. </div>
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The other pieces constantly move between styles. <i>Confluence </i>tracks 2-4, are (I imagine) a sort of suite - titled: 'Introduction', 'Part I', 'Part II'. Russ Johnson leads the way using the material from <i>Part I</i>, developing it as a drum duet. He stays close to the melody, not tempted to use his chops, other than for dynamics. Eventually the whole band joins in and the piece takes a sort of slinky feel, looping around the bass line with Jason Stein playing some excellent bass clarinet, managing to avoid melodic clichés by searching out sounds that fit within the harmony. It's a solo bass clarinet that carries us across into the <i>Part II</i>, creating a dark sombre atmosphere. Russ Johnson plays a lovely rubato theme which gives the ensemble a cue to step up the volume and energy. Tim Daisy leads the way with a great drum solo which evolves out of the music, until almost from nowhere we are introduced briefly to the first theme, which fades into the background. Great piece, fine playing all round.</div>
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There are three pieces titled <i>Conversation</i>, (tk5 with Stein, tk7 with Hatwich, tk9 with Daily). These improvised duet pieces add a nice touch (and interlude) to the album's main tracks. Each one has something special, according to the instrumental combination.</div>
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This leaves us with <i>Clothesline</i> (tk6), <i>Chaos theory</i> (tk8) and <i>Half Full</i> (tk10). <i>Chaos theory </i>is an excellent track, starting off with an 'Ornette-ish' type theme, which develops into a wonderful rubato piece where the rhythm section and soloist play off each other, melodically and rhythmically. It has great energy, and an elastic feel which keeps you listening. And, there's some fine soloing from everyone!</div>
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The last track <i>Half Full </i>is a very gentle piece, again using the melody as a bass line and the basis for the improvisations. It's a great way to finish off the album. The track gradually builds up its energy as it heads towards the end, stretching the time feel like an accelerating train. This gives a sense of urgency to the track, and brings us to the end of a very satisfying album. </div>
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The music and the group are top notch throughout, keeping you fixed to your seat. It really combines so many elements, but, it a coherent way. It's a slow burner, as I've noticed through the weeks, which is perfect, after all who wants to know a whole album straight away? </div>
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Great album, recommended to all who enjoy swing, freedom, melody and creativity. </div>
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joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-37985493588129832842014-06-17T11:45:00.001+02:002014-06-17T12:02:21.386+02:00More from Singlespeed: #2 - Cory Wright Outfit: Apples + Oranges<div style="text-align: justify;">
Welcome to part two of Singlespeed Music's releases this month. Today it's the turn of the <a href="http://singlespeedmusic.org/store/current/cory-wright-outfit-apples-oranges/">Cory Wright Outfit</a> with "Apples and Oranges", or is that, as written, "Apples + Oranges"......?</div>
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I have to say straight away that this is a new one for me, a great surprise. Singlespeed mentioned in a press release that he was bringing out a record from Cory Wright, unbeknown to me this record was going to blow me out of my chair - sofa in fact.</div>
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Next, what type of music is it?<br />
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What really defines the music on this release is the excellent ensemble playing, combined with beautifully written charts and arrangements, there isn't one duff track on the record. The underlying trend of the music is built on tradition, and in particular that of hard-bop. Yet, the group, and the compositions, take this much, much further. The music develops in an extremely organic fashion, using some intriguing methods, tempo changes, improvised sections and hot fiery solos. The music sits on neither side of the fence, taking in straight ahead and improvised musical traditions. Cory Wright has put together a set of charts which succeed in the same way that the <i>Ken Vandermark</i> <i>Five</i> have tried in the past. Other groups, such as <i>Atomic </i>or <a href="http://cardboardmusic.blogspot.be/2011/05/motif-facienda-its-lot-of-music.html" target="_blank"><i>Motif</i></a>, have also pushed in the same direction, combining accessible melodies with alternative ways of soloing over (or with) material. </div>
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On this record examples of that can be found from the start <i>Freddie Awaits the Sleepers</i> blasts off the record, a theme that could come straight from the Marsalis song-book (with a difference). Great melody, wonderfully arranged interlocking hits and rhythm section breaks, before letting the soloists play their magic over the whole thing.</div>
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That's just the beginning of the record, things keep coming at you! <i>Low Impact Critter </i>(tk2) starts off with some great free blowing before coming together for a theme, using an impro/theme/impro/theme type form, to great effect. <i>St. Bruno's Preview </i>(tk3),<i> </i>gives you a breather, a short 'to the point', quasi ballad. Many of the pieces tread a fine path between total freedom and organised melody, added to this the soloists negotiate each piece, fitting in perfectly. One of the key soloists, Evan Francis (alto sax and flute), plays some very fiery solos, using strong sinewy lines to bring tension to the music. Cory Wright also plays some excellent tenor sax, reminding me of Oliver Nelson at times - a way of playing a sax like a composer. He also plays clarinet on <i>The Sea and Space </i>(tk5), giving us new colours in the ensemble sound, and of course the solos also. But the whole ensemble is clearly top notch, Rob Ewing, on trombone, plays a key role in the ensemble's sound, adding fine imaginative solos along the way. Add to that the fine bass and drums team of Lisa Mezzacappa and Jordan Glenn who do a great job of bending over backwards to fit into all situations with equal energy and inventiveness. The album clearly works best listened to as a whole, the shorter pieces - all titled <i>St. Bruno's</i> .... - work as melodic interludes connecting the larger scale pieces. </div>
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Finally, as you can see there's plenty to say about this record. It's a top notch album that should be heard, especially by those interested to hear inventive music from the American west coast. This is how one imagines jazz should be, fresh, musical, adventurous, and certainly no pretensions. </div>
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The musicians: Cory Wright - tenor sax & Bb clarinet; Evan
Francis - alto sax, flute; Rob Ewing - trombone; Lisa Mezzacappa - bass;
Jordan Glenn - drums.</div>
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Enjoy the clip from YouTube "Freddy Awaits the Sleepers", which is a pretty good taste of what the album sounds like.<br />
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If you enjoy this check some more releases on the <a href="http://singlespeedmusic.org/" target="_blank">Singlespeed Music</a> label. <br />
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<br />joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-57103266046277664952014-05-17T10:42:00.000+02:002014-05-17T10:42:00.865+02:00Some more from Singlespeed: #1 - Aram Shelton's Ton Trio II.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Well here we are again after many months away, surely it's time to get a few posts up and running again? To start the ball rolling are a couple of new releases from Aram Shelton's <a href="http://singlespeedmusic.org/" target="_blank">Singlespeed</a> music label. </div>
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Aram's cooperative label has been gradually developing with nine releases to date so far. The latest three albums are all really top level releases deserving wide-scale attention from all those who are interested, especially those interested in creative improvised music but with composition, structure, melody and swinging free-bop as some of the central points. </div>
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First up is Aram's own release, <b>Ton Trio II: On and On (Singlespeed Music, SSM-013)</b>.</div>
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I haven't heard the first album from the Ton Trio, released back in 2009, titled "<a href="http://singlespeedmusic.org/store/current/ton-trio-the-way/" target="_blank">The Way</a>". However, if this latest album is anything to go by I'll be ordering a copy to catch up on this very creative band. The musicians in the trio have now changed with the excellent <a href="http://alexvittum.com/" target="_blank">Alex Vittum</a> drums and Scott Brown on bass and Aram on alto sax, naturally. The thing that struck me most on first listen is the sheer energy and creativity in the music, which stays at a high level throughout the whole album. His style of composition, and playing treads a line between that of (the free-er side) Jackie McLean and the inner melodic logic of Ornette Coleman. Of course it's certainly not a copy, but the sound of Aram's alto, the bass and drums trio set up, make it difficult to ignore such a comparison. The other aspect that brings these giants to mind is the wonderful set of compositions which all have melody at their heart, almost catchy at times. </div>
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As for Aram Shelton, like Jackie McLean, he seems capable of combing several elements into his music.This aspect comes up on his other albums and shows a strong melodic understanding, which also comes across in his playing. Melody is a constant thread throughout the improvisations, even with multi-phonic stabs or wild atonal lines. </div>
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On this album the band pulls together at all levels showing some fine empathy for the compositions, floating through the free-er improvisations moving between free-bop and rubato sections with ease. <i>Orange Poppies</i> (tk2) burns away falling into a free section where the band follow each other like a dog chasing its tail. <i>We Were Told</i> (tk3) is a rubato melody that lays the groundwork for an open piece with plenty of space. Aram works on the tonal possibilities of the sax whilst Alex Vittum's drums accompany. It's also a chance to hear Scott Brown's bass playing as he steps forward on a short solo workout. <i>On and On</i> (tk4) and <i>Let's All Go</i> (tk5) are both pieces which tackle a 3/4 (or 6/8) feel both have bouncing melodies to accompany them. Interestingly both tunes make space for Alex Vittum to play some fine solo drum workouts which build themselves into the compositions. <i>Freshly Pressed</i> (tk7) is an all out free-bop romp, the alto steps aside at one stage to play some gently unison lines with the bass, leaving the drums to keep the high energy going. <i>Findings</i> (tk8) is the closest you come to a ballad on the record. The last track <i>Turncoats </i>show the group swinging hard. There are burning lines from Aram and some highly playful backing from the bass and drums who try to re-think the rhythmic pulse in several different ways, giving a constantly twist to the music. The music finishes by returning to an almost film like melody which is tinged with a certain sadness, a fine ending to a great album.</div>
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This splendid album is a 'must' for all those who really enjoy music that sits somewhere between open structures and melodic free-bop. It will surely appeal to anyone who has been (or is) a fan of Jackie McLean. There is a resemblance, although brought up to date, to such classics from Jackie's highly productive period of "Destination..Out", "One Step Beyond", "Old and New Gospel" or even the musical experiments of Grachan Moncur III*. Of course if you haven't heard Aram's music before then you'll be in for a treat. </div>
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<b>There are a couple of videos from the trio to be found on YouTube, but I found this one "Freshly Pressed" nicely sums up the various aspects of the album</b> </div>
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* = Fine records, which have long been forgotten such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_%28Grachan_Moncur_III_album%29" target="_blank">Evolution</a> (1963) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Other_Stuff" target="_blank">Some Other Stuff</a> (1964).joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-3355898305007765742013-07-16T22:46:00.000+02:002013-07-20T09:53:51.985+02:00Jazz Education<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A very quick post to point people to my Jazz Education survey (or questionnaire). I'm writing a paper on jazz education which has to be ready for the end of August. One thing that seemed important was to get a few results and information from other people about their learning experiences. I decided to make an online survey, which you'll see below. Obviously its not completely perfect and doesn't really leave much leeway when answering the questions. One musician - quite rightly - pointed out that <i>yes</i> or <i>no </i>was a bit to restrictive for some of the questions. However, unfortunately the way the survey is built it's difficult to do it any other way without making people really spend a lot of time on the questions. The idea that people leave their addresses tried to cover this 'hole' in the survey as I can contact individual people to ask them more detailed questions.<br />
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If you're a musician and have been working in improvised music please take a look at my survey as it will be very useful for having some sort of figures to present to the university - even if they are not stricktly controlled, it does give some sort of general idea of musicians experiences in teaching, or learning about improvisation via education (or not).<br />
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Please <a href="http://app.evalandgo.com/s/?id=JTk5ayU5MWo=&a=JTk1cSU5OWglOUY=" target="_blank">take a look at the survey here</a>. If you have other musician friends around please don't hesitate to pass on the link (or survey) ..... I'd be most grateful!<br />
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<b><i>I should add that the questions (see the comments section below) are very 'general' due in part to the format which makes them a bit restrictive. I could have made them much more 'write what you think' style, but I was worried that people may find that too time consuming. Unfortunately I was wrong, but it is a little late to change after so many people have answered the survey - very thoroughly. Please feel free to contact me directly - here - if you'd like to help me get some more in depth information. Thanks!</i></b> <br />
<br />joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-4762655141918319042013-07-12T14:49:00.000+02:002013-07-12T14:49:00.056+02:00Solos Number 1: sax solo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A new project that I'm starting to work on is called "Solos". In reality its a slightly pointless project because I'm imagine that: <b> </b><br />
<b>- a) I won't be able to sell it </b><br />
<b>- b) I won't be able to perform it live! </b><br />
But what the hell, why not make music that you find interesting, and hope that someone else will as well. Naturally the non-performable aspect is a little bit of a problem, but maybe eventually I can work around that?<br />
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The project is going to be a series of simple improvised solos that are then transformed with acousmatic elements, some sound transformations using <i>Spear</i> and <i>Pure Data</i>, and of course cutting and editing on my Logic program. All this should come together to form an albums worth of material all based on solos. I haven't yet decided if it's always going to be my saxophone or clarinet that I'll be using. I had wondered if I could ask different performers to record a simple piece which I then work on - a piano piece, another saxophonist, a trumpet, a violin etc. All things to think about in the future. <br />
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Here's the first idea which I've been working on. It has a working title, surprise, surprise of <b>Solos Number 1: sax solo</b>. I haven't decided if it's a finished piece yet, but one way of trying things out is by taking the work out of the garage and letting it sit for awhile. This way one gets a better look - or listen - at it from a distance. How does it stand the test of time? Who knows, and will it inspire me to continue onto something else (the next solo)? Will it ever be on an album, or maybe it will just sit around on my hard disc for the next few years! <br />
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<object height="81" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F99324003&color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&show_playcount=true&show_comments=true"></param>
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F99324003&color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&show_playcount=true&show_comments=true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%" height="81"></embed></object><span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/joehigham/solos-number-1">Solos: Number 1</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/joehigham">joehigham</a></span> <br />
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:::::: <b>Solos Number Two</b> is already under-way!joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-77322579565052034112013-07-04T19:05:00.000+02:002013-07-04T20:24:36.691+02:00L'âne il fait "Hi Han", and Sound Language<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here's my first post since a good few months! I've been back at university for the past year working on a MA in musicology. Many people have asked what can you do with a MA in musicology, and the answer is .... not much really. Or to be more truthful it's more that there's no such job as 'musicologist'. One could work in a museum or teach music from a historical perspective, and of course there's various other 'musicological' posts out there in research areas, or educational functions within organisations. However, all is not based around what job you hope to get with your diploma, there are other interesting stuff which can be developed, or discovered, whilst learning and working at the university (UCL - Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium in my case).<br />
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One course in particular has been very enlightening called '<i>Langage Sonore</i>' (language of sound OR sound language even). This course discusses 'what' sound can be, trying to define it in different cultures such as oral culture and written culture, how it differs and in what ways. It's also dealing with people like <a href="http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/emc/schafer-r-murray" target="_blank">Murray Schafer</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_L%C3%A9vy" target="_blank">Pierre Levy</a>, <a href="http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%B3nagy_Iv%C3%A1n_m%C5%B1veinek_list%C3%A1ja" target="_blank">Ivan Fonagy</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Piaget" target="_blank">Jean Piaget</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Sanders_Peirce" target="_blank">Charles Sanders Peirce</a> whom have all influenced our understanding, in some way, in which we understand sound, speech and music. What is sound, what is music, archaeoacoustics, what is noise, the way our society reacts to sound and music, how children learn language, how they react to music, and many other ideas. I could (and maybe will) write a long blog article on this subject, but for the moment I'll just leave it at that.<br />
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Furthermore what made the course particularly interesting was the possibility to work with recordings. One of the projects was the development of a short recorded idea, seeing what could be done with it but in a defined way - using some small rules to produce a piece of sound/music. I decided to keep my piece particularly simple so as not to get bogged down in my soundscapes or various editing techniques. The piece I produced is called <i>L'âne il fait "hi han"</i> (the donkey goes HeHaw) and is made up of 5 people reading from a children's book called '<a href="http://www.amazon.fr/Le-Livre-Bruits-Soledad-Bravi/dp/2211074227" target="_blank">Le livre des bruits</a>', everyone read the same ten pages at their own speed. Oddly enough everybody read - without knowing it - the material in the same amount of time (44 seconds), except my daughter who spent a few seconds extra on each animals noise. The piece is built in sections of 4 bars + 2 extra bars each time eventually leading to the 10 pages being read in one go. Listen to the piece and you'll understand better the process. <br />
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<object height="81" width="100%"><param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F99650885&color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&show_playcount=true&show_comments=true"></param>
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<embed allowscriptaccess="always" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F99650885&color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true&show_playcount=true&show_comments=true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%" height="81"></embed></object><a href="http://soundcloud.com/joehigham/l-ne-il-fait-hi-han">L'âne il fait "Hi Han!"</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/joehigham">joehigham</a><br />
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A few things that were interesting - I thought - was that everybody, without knowing about it, took 44 seconds to read their pages, except my daughter who took 58 seconds. This meant that by simply placing the readings together it already produced a sort of rhythm of its own. The other nice effect (if you listen with headphones) is that you'll notice a sort of 'thud' in the rhythm of the reading, which is the people turning the pages. <br />
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All that remains is to re-work the piece by taking a more acousmatic approach and introducing many more rules and possibilities into the piece. In its present state it's quite a simplistic piece, but that's also maybe its charm also. I'll be trying this in the next few weeks and naturally will be posting it back here (via my Soundcloud page). joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-85506078750125162382013-03-25T10:48:00.000+01:002013-03-25T23:00:10.310+01:00Funny stuff!<div style="text-align: justify;">
I love these 'Nocturnal Comedy' videos. You should have a look at a few more on youtube. Here's an excellent one that concerns a medicine (that I personally don't know) for I guess helping you sleep? However they have plenty of funny videos on subject from ransoms to condoms. Enjoy ..... </div>
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joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-22992054403537143912013-03-21T10:25:00.000+01:002013-03-21T10:25:22.699+01:00Could I be more famous?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was just reading the BBC article on <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18303195" target="_blank">Esperanza Spalding</a> (posted 3rd June '12) with her take on making music, or as the article mentions 'Bringing Jazz to the Masses'. I should maybe also bring to your attention articles from Ronan Guilfoyle on his <a href="http://ronanguil.blogspot.be/" target="_blank">Mostly Music</a> blog (<a href="http://ronanguil.blogspot.be/2012/03/thank-heavens-were-saved-again.html" target="_blank">article 1</a> - <a href="http://ronanguil.blogspot.be/2012/03/collective-consciousness-true-jazz.html" target="_blank">article 2</a>) which talk about the effect of pop music on jazz and how some musicians benefit from the 'press' of popular music by playing a type of jazz music which is less 'pure', or one could say leans towards pop music. So, who is this guy >> on the photo, what's he got to do with jazz musicians playing more commercial music, and so why did I put him there?<br />
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Some of you reading this will already know the identity of the 'Viking' in the photo. However it's maybe enough to say .. "<i>Once upon a time there was a man who believed in his music so much that he didn't care about anything but just living and making <b>his</b> music, and his name was</i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moondog" target="_blank">Moondog</a>". Of course he was (and is) just one of thousands of musicians who are prepared to die for their art form. But does that make their music any better for it? I guess not, because believing in your music (or art form) is what really matters, and one cannot say that musicians such as Esperanza Spalding don't believe in their music. I think Esperanza Spalding really does, and to add to it she's a great musician. What's more interesting (for me) is how <i>'selling out'</i> seems to be a very American thing to do, and in particular a jazz musician's thing to do. So what makes these musicians - with great potential - feel the need to become successful in a more commercial area?<br />
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It's unclear what started this trend off, or even if there was a starting period. After all musicians such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Armstrong" target="_blank">Louis Armstrong</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Bechet" target="_blank">Sidney Bechet</a> both liked the idea of 'playing to the audience'. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_Roll_Morton" target="_blank">Jelly Roll Morton</a> also loved the idea of being popular and like all the others around him understood that for them jazz was about entertainment, and not necessarily about pushing boundaries forward. I imagine that none of these musicians ever thought about trying to substitute chords, change time signatures and play in odd meters superimposed over 13 bar forms. I guess that whilst jazz was fashionable young players didn't feel the need to look elsewhere for a public. However after 1960 jazz music, even though important, started to loose ground to popular music of the day, and by 1970 many more young people were listening to rock than jazz. This is probably where dissent started to creep in and those who were lucky enough to have mass appeal (and had selling power) such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lloyd_%28jazz_musician%29" target="_blank">Charles Lloyd</a> or Dave Brubeck were lucky enough to play what they wanted <i>and</i> sell out large concert halls to a younger audience. Labels such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CTI_Records" target="_blank">CTI</a> (standing for Creed Taylor Inc) had artists play in more commercial setting and some of the results were great. Wes Montgomery, George Benson, or Freddy Hubbard produced fine crossover music without compromising their artistic values. The music also spoke to younger people, although due to it's sophisticated sound it didn't make inroads into the area of rock and roll youth culture. In fact one of the main complaints today (among jazz musicians) is that the average age of the public is often quite old. The age of the public, however appreciative, does have an effect on the musicians. The energy of a room full of 50 year olds (my age) and a room full of 25 year olds <b><i>is</i></b> different. <br />
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So what is it that drives theses musicians to be commercial? I imagine that it's mostly from public attention, after all it is exciting to see a whole room (hall) of people jumping up and down to your music, even if you're not that convinced. Musicians enjoy public attention, something good for the ego, and a source of inspiration. The fact that you become commercial also doesn't mean you're not relevant, or innovative. Some groups that combined commercial and popular music, ex: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Byrd" target="_blank">Donald Byrd</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVN8lS8934M&feature=share&list=PL6BBD2BB527C76EDE" target="_blank">the Blackbyrds</a>, were pioneering in terms of cross over music, and to a certain extend this jazz-soul approach certainly shaped much of our musical culture from the 70s. It's also left a very strong mark on the younger musicians of today such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamiroquai" target="_blank">Jamiroquai</a> to name just one. Many writers and groups have been heavily influenced by the sound of 70s film music and 70s soul. Of course less commercial cross over jazz such as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6pdv01ihBM" target="_blank">Herbie Hancock's '<i>Crossings</i>'</a> and the <a href="http://youtu.be/_SYPBdmGobg" target="_blank">Mwandishi 6tet</a> has also been highly influential even if due to logistical and financial concerns it isn't reproduced by modern day groups. The Soul music coming out of the states at the time was very political in direction, and the Free Jazz movement was also interested in making a statement about society, something which is less prevalent now. Music such as Marvin Gaye's '<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27s_Going_On" target="_blank">What's Going On</a></i>' and <a href="http://youtu.be/iq6nZ5BR8QE" target="_blank">Curtis Mayfield</a> combined biting social commentary into their lyrics along with very danceable rhythms and more importantly sophisticated harmony (chord progressions, melody and arrangements), something which today seems less relevant to mainstream performers. <i></i><br />
<i><br /></i>Following the same thread that politics and music making are linked, an interesting idea that comes from the times of Plato and his <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timaeus_%28dialogue%29" target="_blank">Timaeus</a> is the idea that the world, when in harmony, produces music which is also in harmony. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Murray_Schafer" target="_blank">M. Murray Schafer</a> illustrates this very well in his '<a href="http://books.google.be/books/about/The_Tuning_of_the_World.html?id=SIufAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y" target="_blank">Tuning of the World</a>' by quoting Herman Hesse, "<i>Therefore the music of a well-ordered age is calm and cheerful, and so is its government. The music of a restive age is excited and fierce, and it's government is perverted. The music of a decaying state is sentimental and sad, and it's government is imperilled." </i>Or in real terms what this means he<i> </i>explains:<i> "The Thesis is also borne out well in tribal societies where, under the strict control of the flourishing community, music is tightly structured, while in detribalized areas the individual sings appalling sentimental songs."</i> I wonder if this rings any bells when talking about the development of popular music today via such channels as the 'X-Factor', '.....'s Got Talent', or 'The Voice'? You could even take a look at the average chart selection for any month/week of the year to then wonder if this statement reflects something about our society and the politics of these past years? <br />
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So finally we could ask is it possible to sell out?<i> </i>I guess in
real terms the answer is no, I suppose the bottom line is; if you're
happy doing what you're doing who can criticise you?<br />
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<i>To read more about the politics of music and life in the community read <a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520245914" target="_blank">Steve Isoardi's 'The Dark Tree'</a>, a brilliant biography of the life of <a href="http://www.posi-tone.com/tapscott/bio.html" target="_blank">Horace Tapscott</a>, someone who decided to choose community over fame</i>.</div>
joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-14574663150111072542013-03-04T10:10:00.000+01:002013-03-04T10:11:39.696+01:00ILK releases + Mark Solborg.<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was surprised to realise that I've been a fan of the <a href="http://www.ilkmusic.com/" target="_blank">ILK music</a> label longer than I'd realised! In fact I'd be tempted to say that along with Clean Feed it's probably one of the most interesting and forward looking improvised music labels out there. One look at the catalogue and most jazzheads that enjoy something a little different will be wondering which albums 'not' to buy! Artists such as <a href="http://www.lotteanker.com/" target="_blank">Lotte Anker</a>, <a href="http://evanparker.com/" target="_blank">Herb Robertson</a>, <a href="http://evanparker.com/" target="_blank">Evan Parker</a> or <a href="http://www.osgood.funky.dk/" target="_blank">Kirsten Osgood</a> can be found on the label in various formations. Although I haven't heard all the records (naturally) each one that comes my way is certainly worth more than a quick listen. In the past month I've received three excellent records, one from last year of 2012, and the other two from this year 2013. The records in question are <a href="http://www.ilkmusic.com/catalogue/album/solborg-441" target="_blank">Mark Solborg's <i>'4+4+1'</i></a> from 2012, Mark Solborg's <i><a href="http://www.ilkmusic.com/catalogue/album/the-trees" target="_blank">'The Trees' </a></i>(2013) and a very gifted trumpet player <a href="http://www.ilkmusic.com/catalogue/album/tom-trio" target="_blank">Tomasz Dabrowski's <i>'Tom Trio</i></a>' also from 2013. </div>
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I'll review <a href="http://www.tomdabrowski.com/" target="_blank">Tomasz Dabrowski's</a> record on the next post, but here I'll bring you up to date with two excellent releases from Mark Solborg, a guitarist who is obviously able to work in both areas of free improvised music and written arranged composition. He also clearly has a very melodic ear when it comes to writing a tune ... read on to find out more. </div>
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<b><u>Mark Solborg 4+4+1 (ILK music, 2012)</u>.</b><br />
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Here's the review of<i> '4+4+1'</i> which I posted on the Free Jazz review site:</div>
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<i>Well this is one of those discs I wished I'd heard earlier, it would
definitely have been on my top CDs of 2012. Anyhow, it seems this
one,like a few others we're reviewing recently, slipped through the net
and got left to one side. Furthermore <a href="http://www.ilkmusic.com/" target="_blank">ILK</a>
has steadily been releasing some excellent albums over the past few
years, some of which have been reviewed here and often with very
positive remarks. </i></div>
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<i>
I remember reviewing another record of with Mark Solborg (see below)
which also impressed me. His ability to cross between improvised and
composed seems one of the major strengths in his style. This extended
line up also moves very gracefully between completely improvised
passages into beautifully written material. His writing uses a rich
mixture of brass that includes a tuba and a bass, really giving the
music real punch yet also bringing a very warm and rich sound to the
ensemble. The group playing is very high quality, judging dynamics, solo
space,
tempos and open improvised sections down to a 't'. There isn't one
wasted minute on the record.</i><br />
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Looking at the musicians below you'll notice Chris Speed, the +1 in the
ensemble. His solos when they appear are spot on as always, but it's
refreshing to hear that Solborg didn't over use him, giving over plenty
of space to his other musicians as well. One voice that stands out is
that of Gunnar Halle, a fine trumpeter from the same lineage as Arve
Henriksen or Jon Hassell. Halle gets to shine on the delicate '2620'
(tk2), sounding like a voice echoing in a valley that drifts around you
in the early morning air. He also unites the ensemble on the excellent 'The Whispers'
(tk4), where along with Anders Banke's fine bass clarinet playing the
two horns rise above the group, gradually bringing them back together
like a feather landing. Solborg takes a 'modest' position in the group,
adding dynamics, chords, doubling melodies (etc) as needed. But of
course he leaves his mark not only with his very subtle interjections
but also with the immaculate compositions. </i><br />
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The music is so full of details that I expect every listen will bring
out new details. Furthermore they are all fairly lengthy pieces, which
makes for perfect listening. Every one - five in all - has something
unique, an ambience, or a theme which is developed throughout the
composition by using free improvised sections, ostinatos, silence and
hard hitting themes. A theme like 'Almost' (tk3) unfolds from a
simple drum/tenor sax
duet into ensemble passages which each time open up to more collective
improvisations, yet unknowingly we are transported into a menacing theme
which has somehow crept in without anyone noticing. All this simply
shows how well this music has been crafted together, and was probably,
from what we hear, a great concert also. However, luckily for us it's
all on the record, so to say!</i><br />
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On this record, recorded live in 2007, the line-up is made up of two quartets: <b>Anders
Banke</b> (tenor sax/bass clarinet), <b>Solborg</b> (gtr), <b>Jeppe Skovbakke</b> (bass),
<b> Bjørn Heebøll</b> (drums) + <b>Gunnar Halle </b>(tmpt), <b>Laura Toxværd</b> (alto sax),
<b>Torben Snekkestad</b> (tenor:soprano saxes/clarinet), <b>Jakob Munck</b>
(tuba/trombone) + <b>Chris Speed</b> (tenor/clarinet) = 4+4+1. </i><br />
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You can listen to a <a href="http://www.deezer.com/en/album/3948131" target="_blank">few extracts from the album here</a>.<i> </i><br />
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<b><u>Mark Solborg 'The Trees' (ILK music, 2013)</u>.</b><i><b> </b></i><br />
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A more recent release from Mark Solborg is his glorious 5tet, made up from <b><i><a href="http://www.solborg.dk/" target="_blank">Solborg</a></i></b> on guitars, <i><b><a href="http://www.matseilertsen.com/" target="_blank">Mats Eilersten</a></b></i>: double bass, <i><b><a href="http://www.ilkmusic.com/artist/artist/peter-bruun" target="_blank">Peter Bruun</a></b></i>: drums, percussion, kalimba, <i><b>Herb Robertson</b></i>: trumpet, voice, pump organ, kalimba, <i><b>Evan Parker</b></i>: tenor & soprano saxes, kalimba & gong. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsTHT8SzzCnepA4Wac302cZJI-CH9FAneAi8LEpH3_Xuwx60jTQ33ZWzNVcS-441aAq1aFvzGXGneZR159dsvzeL0wYWrnohbVbA3iFiKYgBIFObLq0_xhWpTAs5-Y1b171JE4LzWmiVw/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsTHT8SzzCnepA4Wac302cZJI-CH9FAneAi8LEpH3_Xuwx60jTQ33ZWzNVcS-441aAq1aFvzGXGneZR159dsvzeL0wYWrnohbVbA3iFiKYgBIFObLq0_xhWpTAs5-Y1b171JE4LzWmiVw/s200/images.jpg" width="200" /></a><i>This is one hell of a record, and - for me - yet another direction taken by Mark Solborg. Solborg seems to be able to take elements of music and mould his writing and the choice of players to get the best out of them. On previous recordings such as '4+4+1' and '<a href="http://www.freejazzblog.org/2012/01/hopscotch-bigoni-solborg-and-brow-ilk.html" target="_blank">Hopscotch</a>' the music has been more 'conceived', whereas this project obviously relies on team work. In fact what stands out on this recording is the empathy between the players and the natural group sound, everyone places themselves at the service of the music. One example that stands out is Peter Bruun's drums. He probably never really hits the drums in a way one would expect to hear from this instrument. He uses his kit in such a subtle way that you only realise that the drums are not 'in your face' quite late in the recording. He plays percussion as well on this recording which may account for the subtlety of the silent sound approach. It makes me think of some of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersilent" target="_blank">Supersilent</a> and early <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_%28band%29" target="_blank">Food</a> records where <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathprod" target="_blank">Deathprod</a> (</i><i>Helge Sten) took out instruments giving the music space, which often has more impact. </i><br />
<i><br /></i><i>Describing the individual tracks on this record isn't really very helpful as in reality the album works best as one whole piece/listen. Once you've pressed the play button you'll find yourself in a dark world of sounds which keep you fixed to your sofa. I imagine you could pick out 'a' track to listen to, but the atmosphere of the combined tracks seems more natural for a listening experience. There are moments where the sax of Evan Parker or </i><i><i>Herb Robertson's </i>trumpet come right to the fore such as the opening track. The two horns play a mournful duet which suddenly stops to let Mark Solborg's guitar step forward playing a solo as if accompanying a silent partner. The music steps off from this point never looking back. I could name a few moments where each instrument takes it's place as the principal voice, but probably the fact that the others decided 'not' to play is of equal importance. I should add that there are several tracks where the horn players play kalimbas or other percussion instruments which adds some very nice textures to the music and of course adds even more space.</i><br />
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<i>The majority of the music is restrained, not unlike the cover photo, and comes across a little like sunlight trying to break through a dense forest. Picking an extract from this record is extremely difficult, after all where to break into the flow of things? Finally I just went for a short piece called 'Dogwood'. The group goes into full flight for just a few minutes before plunging back into the silent filled gaps of the record.</i><br />
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<b>Dogwood (tk 3) from Mark Solborg's 'The Trees' (ILK music, 2013)</b></div>
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Both records are thoroughly recommended. I'll be following up more of ILK's catalogue in the future, certainly a very interesting label. Look out for the next review which will be <b>Tomasz Dabrowski's</b> <i>'Tom Trio</i>' also from ILK music (2013). </div>
joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-47560418293339761572013-01-22T22:02:00.004+01:002013-01-22T22:02:53.445+01:00Music as science?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's a long time since I've had time to sit down and write an article on my own blog. However, in the past months I've been busy working on various papers for my university, several of them have been based around music and science, something that a modern day music fan, or musician, may not make the link to at first thought. What might surprise many people is that music was considered science until the 17th Century. Only in recent times have we decided that music is an art, and not a science. And why the move away from science towards an 'ego' based vision of music? Probably in part due to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes" target="_blank">Descartes</a> stating that '<i>The basis of music is sound</i>'! </div>
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More importantly I wonder what would have happened if we had stayed with our concept of science and music? I try to imagine how our world would look at music as something of value, not just as an art, but as an investment to our society. We are reassured to know that somewhere in a laboratory whole teams of scientists are researching cancer, cardiac problems, HIV, depression and a whole lot more. Most of these are based around our egocentric vision of the world. How long will I live? How long will our earth be around? How much money can I make out of ...? But what would people think if we invested more in musical research? </div>
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In terms of investment the entertainment industry is really only
interested in one thing, profit, which is fair enough considering our
business model in modern society. What may be interesting
is to ask how this has also influenced our musical tastes. Music is no longer of any
intrinsic value to many people. Try to imagine a 'Britain's Got Talent'
style program where the audience watches a panel of properly qualified
judges examining new developments in composition, sound research, and
instrumental development! What was originally seen as the job of a clown
is now that of mainstream television shows such as the x-factor. It's
difficult to know if people enjoy these programs because it's
(apparently) funny to watch sincere people, no matter how bad they are,
being insulted by a panel of non qualified judges, or whether the
general public really do enjoy seeing copycat performers who are often a
pale imitation, or pastiche, of some already known singer. </div>
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So, should our society be prepared to invest in music as something other than 'clown' entertainment? If so how could we change the attitude of society to understand music as something worth investing in? As I mentioned at the beginning of the post we did once take music very seriously. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boethius" target="_blank">Boethius</a> 480AD to 525AD, taught what he called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrivium" target="_blank">Quadrivium</a>. The four subjects that made up the Quadrivium were: music, astronomy, mathematics and geometry. These were considered <i>the</i> subjects to study, and naturally all intellectuals studied these. Even up until the 1500's and beyond these ideas were taken very seriously. For another example see the picture at the top of the page taken from <a href="http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/library/universalharmony/reisch.html" target="_blank">Gregor Reisch, Margarita philosophica (1512)</a>. Reisch was one of the several people that wrote about music as a science. At this period the general thinking, influenced by the 'mythical' discoveries of Pythagoras relating to intervals and pitch, was that anything that moved produced a sound, which is perfectly true. Sound was what our world was made of and was a way of understanding how the planets, the earth and the solar system were linked via sound. Our world vibrated in harmony! Connections were made linking the distance between the earth, the moon and the sun, and the distance between our feet, heart and brain. Of course we've come a long way since then, but probably what might surprise many people is that another important discovery was made via music. In part due to astrologists and scientists people like <a href="http://publicdomainreview.org/2011/09/13/robert-fludd-and-his-images-of-the-divine/" target="_blank">Robert Fludd</a> (see the diagram below) along with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Kepler" target="_blank">Johannes Kepler</a> studied distances between the planets in terms of musical intervals. Due to this 'musical' scientific research Kepler cracked the big nut, understanding the idea of planetary ellipses. <br />
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At the moment the only real money being invested into music is sadly, although understandably, for
commercial gains. Even though society has<i>, </i>often without being aware, benefited from research in universities, it seems that most people still think that the only important music is the commercial music field. I wonder how many people are aware that universities have developed keyboards
such as the Yamaha <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_DX7" target="_blank">DX7</a>, software like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_%28software%29" target="_blank">Max-MSP</a> and games such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Hero" target="_blank">Guitar Hero</a>, to name a few. Without these inventions we wouldn't have had even half of the pop music that we've taken for granted since 30 years. As mentioned already TV spends it's time trying to persuade us to
participate in modern day gladiatorial style media shows, where we
witness people who have no sense of self value. I suspect because of
this much of our capacity to evaluate real culture is fast disappearing. Modern avant garde music is of minority interest and considered marginal, when in fact it's this music that develops the sounds that we take for granted tomorrow. Governments still refuse to invest properly in music (not pop music, variety and television), and that also includes helping struggling artists who can't make ends meet without taking day jobs to pay the telephone bill. <br />
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Unfortunately it is not possible to go further into all these theories in
this blog post. However, considering these ideas shaped our culture, both east and west, up until the seventeenth century. So how come we've strayed so far from the notion of music as something central to understanding ourselves, our universe and lives? Will we ever see a resurgence of music as science? We take it for granted that one has to pay for health care, after all we couldn't live without it. But could we live without the arts?<br />
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We probably spend most of our waking hours listening to music via the radio, on computers, watching films on YouTube, looking at images in newspapers and magazines. All these are part of the arts and one has to wonder what type of world our society would be with none of these. Seems like a bleak prospect to me!</div>
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joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-17924525581639591052012-10-31T11:43:00.000+01:002013-03-22T12:04:17.618+01:00What's in a jazz solo, and why not play solo?<div style="text-align: justify;">
One blog that I read from time to time is Sam Newsome's blog. He's been one of my favourite players since way back, his playing in the early formations of Terence Blanchard were for me great models of intelligent soloing that was clearly musical and original. He <i>really</i> developed his solo lines, not just finger twiddling and high class plagiarism that we mostly hear, including great players even. Listen to the early recording of the Terence Blanchard's 5tet - '<i><a href="http://www.allmusic.com/album/simply-stated-mw0000610953" target="_blank">Simply Stated</a>'</i>, '<a href="http://www.allmusic.com/album/terence-blanchard-mw0000264178" target="_blank"><i>Terence Blanchard</i></a>' and '<i><a href="http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-malcolm-x-jazz-suite-mw0000618632" target="_blank">The Malcolm X Jazz Suite</a>' </i>to hear how Sam often took very simple ideas and moved them, either transposing, or developing his idea in such a graceful way. For me it was a very logical (and not unsurprising) step for Sam to make when he started working on solo performance, and also the soprano sax, although I always found his tenor playing particularly good. <i><br /></i></div>
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Recently one of Sam's posts was about playing solo, as in solo performances - totally unaccompanied. The short but interesting article titled '<a href="http://sopranosaxtalk.blogspot.be/2012/10/me-myself-and-i-reflections-on-solo.html" target="_blank"><i>Me, Myself and I : Reflections on solo playing</i></a>' brought up a very interesting point which was : why don't more jazz players play unaccompanied performances? So, why is this? Here's the reply (comment) I posted on Sam's blog, although for it to make complete sense read the blog-post first which I've linked just above this. <i> </i></div>
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<i>"Interesting idea Sam. You're of course quite right when pointing out the difference between classical and jazz solo performances. However, I would suggest that Steve Lacy's solo concerts are an exception to the rule, in fact I find some of his work akin to the Bach Cello suites (comparison wise that is). </i><i>But most jazz performers do not play original melody when improvising, that is to say most players play the same thing BUT it's the way they do it which makes it original, and so interesting. Lacy, was a true original and played improvisations that were certainly well rehearsed - he practised ideas which used and developed in his solo work - and extremely individual for each performance. He also had a highly original approach melodically, another comparison to Bach. <br /><br />There are a few players such as yourself and Evan Parker (as an example) who work more on the performance and construction, which means it's more solid as a listening experience. Classical music is composed and thought over so that it will be interesting, likewise folk music also which are again compositions.<br /><br />What's probably most interesting is that when we realise that jazz doesn't translate to solo playing so easily, we can identify (probably), why jazz is less interesting to the general public. It may also make jazz players reassess their work as not real art, but a form of plagiarism. But that's moving away from the subject. <br /><br />Thanks again for the blog." </i><b><i> </i></b><br />
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<b>And Sam's response :</b><br />
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<i>"I agree that 'jazz does not translate to solo playing easily.' And not
that it should, being that they are two very different formats, each
requiring a very different sensibility from the performer. Just speaking
to solo playing, the reason why Steve Lacy and Evan Parker recordings
are engaging and don't make the listener feel that something is missing,
is because of the thought and planning that goes into the construction
of the piece as a whole and not just being focused on the
improvisational component of the piece. This holds especially true with
regards to Lacy, whose performances are akin to a classical composer
using the jazz vocabulary as a resource. And also as you succinctly put
it: "Classical music is composed and thought over so that it will be
interesting." <br /><br />And I appreciate your thoughts on this matter.
Maybe it will spark further discussion from like- and maybe,
not-so-like-minded individuals.<br /><br />Thanks!"</i><b><i> </i> </b><i> </i></div>
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And indeed it does make one reassess what jazz musicians and jazz music is actually about now? I don't think it was <i>so much</i> different in the past, one just has to listen to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Mobley" target="_blank">Hank Mobley</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_Gordon" target="_blank">Dexter Gordon</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Jordan" target="_blank">Clifford Jordan</a> to name three brilliant players, to hear that they all used the same vocabulary/patterns. There is nothing strange in this, that's the nature of jazz, and to be honest if we compare this with language we understand that we all use the same words and phrase constructions (in any one language), but this doesn't make us any less an individual. What did interest me though is that musicians that go out of their way to be creative. Or try melodic possibilities that are maybe not so accessible on first hearing and also develop areas of their instruments possibilities that are less used.<br />
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However, I can think that it's interesting to think of a few <i>solo</i> recordings that I've found particularly interesting over the years. Probably the BIG four for me have been - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxNm20r6e2A" target="_blank">Lee Konitz '<i>Lone-Lee</i>',</a> <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/album/alto-saxophone-improvisations-1979-mw0000866387" target="_blank">Anthony Braxton '<i>Alto Saxophone Improvisations 1979</i>'</a>(*), <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/album/snips-live-at-environ-mw0000088520" target="_blank">Steve Lacy's '<i>Snips (live at Environ)</i></a>' and also <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/album/six-of-one-mw0000230811" target="_blank">Evan Parker's <i>Six of One</i></a> which just the first track alone has kept me hypnotised each time I listen to it! What would be interesting would be a listing of all solo saxophone records. Unfortunately this won't be happening on this blog for obvious reasons concerning time and space. Just to think of a few more interesting soloists (not their records) that come to mind are Joe McPhee, John Butcher, Louis Sclavis, Roscoe Mitchell, John Surman, Daunik Lazro, Ab Baars, Sabir Mateen, David Ware, Dave Liebman, Lol Coxhill to name a small number. Naturally I can't include everyone who's made a solo recording, and I certainly haven't heard all of them! If you're interested to check out a limited list of recordings look at <a href="http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.be/2008/01/solo-sax_15.html" target="_blank">this list on the free jazz blog </a>(some of which I've heard as I write for the blog).<br />
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<i>Here's Roscoe Mitchell playing 'Ericka' from the album 'Nonaah' apparently a truly remarkable recording. I haven't heard the 'whole' record, so I didn't put him in my top 4. I've heard (from people) that this is one of THE recordings to hear. I'll be checking it out one day soon ..... finances/time permitting. </i><br />
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<i>Sonny Rollins</i> and <i>Coleman Hawkins</i> .... weren't on my list, why? Well, I certainly think they are great saxophonists (read : giants), but somehow I don't find what they recorded 'solo' as pushing the limits in terms of the saxophone. Yes, it's true that Coleman Hawkins was doing something truly original when he recorded 'Body and Soul' solo - nobody had <i>even</i> thought about that medium AND, he was also harmonically ahead of his time. But, he didn't do any other solo recordings from that period, probably because it was completely 'non-commercial'? However, it seems more of a historical document, rather than a true sax solo record. As for Sonny, he just does what all jazz musicians do when they're practising. They blow round chord progressions in their little apartments, on street corners, practice rooms etc, Sonny just went onto stage/studio any recorded the same thing.<br />
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Lastly what makes a solo recording/performance relevant? I think a true solo recording/performance should be a piece or performance specially thought out as for that instrument, and not <i>'oh well, I'll just pretend there's a rhythm section here'</i> and play a jazz standard in 4/4 or whatever. What makes Lee Konitz recording 'Lone-Lee' so interesting is his approach to playing without a rhythm section, almost (to my ears) like a Bach Cello suite.<br />
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Anyhow, thanks Sam (Newsome) for bringing up the point about solo performances. I hope to look into this a little further and see what else can be deemed from working on, or listening to, such music. <br />
*= <i>Strange that this seminal album doesn't have a more interesting summing up on any musical website. AMG - shame on you! </i></div>
joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-82811553189332290602012-09-02T17:38:00.000+02:002012-09-02T19:20:10.534+02:00Music from another world<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Earlier this summer I participated in a weeks workshop at <a href="http://www.musiques-recherches.be/index.php" target="_blank">Musiques et Recherches</a> in Belgium, the course : Acousmatic composition, taught by <a href="http://www.electrocd.com/en/bio/vandegorne_an/" target="_blank">Annette Vande Gorne</a>, one of Europe's leading Electro-Acoustic, and more importantly, <b>Acousmatic</b> composers. Unless you're a member of the small group - worldwide - of musicians, or electro-acousticians, who are interested by the possibilities of reorganisation of sound into music, this might be an unknown word. However it is probably one of the most interesting areas of music I've become involved with since a long, long time. If you've seen my blog articles concerning my project with <a href="http://www.roaldbaudoux.org/" target="_blank">Roald Baudoux</a> (<a href="http://cardboardmusic.blogspot.be/search/label/Kurt%20Schwitters" target="_blank">Kurt Schwitters - The Man with the Glass Nose</a>) you'll have already seen or heard some of my experiments with sound away from the traditional directions. It also seems (to me) a very exciting area of music which completely re-defines our perception of what <b><i>is</i></b> music. </div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acousmatic_music" target="_blank">Acousmatic music</a>, in a brief explanation, is music made up of sounds, either real or electronically produced, transformed into soundscapes which are interpreted into musical (a bad word in this case) compositions. Probably an easier way to perceive the idea is to think of it as a film sound-track without pictures. Another image used to describe acousmatic composition/music/sound is like an illusionist - the composer - which has the ability to stimulate the imagination into hearing things that may not be there. </div>
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Sounds are often constructed (to be used) in a composition, and that means they can be produced/generated in many different ways - one example could be : <i> </i></div>
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<i>Taking two sounds, joining them together, such as the sound of hitting a cushion (a) added onto a bell sound (b). Sound '<b>a</b>' can be edited and added onto sound '<b>b</b>' producing a new sound, often unavailable in the real world. The above example would thus be the 'hit' of a cushion and the reverberation of the bell, and thus clearly two opposing, or contradictory sounds, which come together as a completely new sound. The new sound may not have any reference point for the listener, almost like imagining salty sugar! Of course you could also just use one (1) sound source, altering it to</i> <i>create a new sound, as an example</i> <i>by reversing or altering it in various ways.</i></div>
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As you can surely imagine there are many techniques and ideas which can be used to form new sounds in fact far too many to discuss here. However if one is interested you can find several bits of information here (<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0yEG3mJP3HDQlRqcHpBblFsZnc" target="_blank">pdf text</a>) about <a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Schaeffer" target="_blank">Pierre Schaeffer</a> and his ideas on <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0yEG3mJP3HDcGlGVGdrVzVMMjg" target="_blank">Solfège de l'Objet Sonore</a> (*) an interesting interview with Schaeffer transcribed into English (in pdf form). Of course Wiki's take on the subject of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroacoustic_music" target="_blank">electro acoustic music</a> is probably interesting to look at, but more importantly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acousmatic_sound" target="_blank">acousmatic sound</a>, which is something different again, may give you some fresh ideas. </div>
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To move back to the weeks workshop I should add that five pupils took part all of us new to the subject, and all curious to discover more about ways of opening up our minds and ears to musical sound possibilities offered by acousmatic composition. One of the main obstacles is to overcome preconceived ideas of composition, such as melody, rhythm and harmony. One has to learn to hear sound as images that can be linked together, and hopefully lead the listener from one idea to another. This might seem (at first look) as very easy to do .... but not so. To a certain extent free improvisation also has some of these problems. How to play without using preconceived musical language or structures, and yet continue to play for (in a concert) up to 1h30 at a time! All five pupils listened intently to a morning class given by Annette Vande Gorne who talked us through ideas and examples from the vast catalogue of her past experience. As an ex-pupil of Pierre Schaeffer and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Reibel" target="_blank">Guy Reibel</a>, she had the chance to meet and work with such greats as <a href="http://www.magison.org/" target="_blank">Francois Bayle</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Parmegiani" target="_blank">Bernard Parmegiani</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Henry" target="_blank">Pierre Henri</a> and a lot more. She talked about ideas for creating sounds from singular or multiple sources, using techniques such as I described above. Also how to use sound to attract, or hold the listeners attention using such ideas as insertions or silence. There was <b>so</b> much to discuss and digest as it really is an intensive course (which normally takes up the first year of the BA Hons course that she teaches). However, I think we all came away with a lot of material to work on, and with. The afternoons were workshops with <b>Loup Mormont</b> another professor at Mons Conservatory. He worked us through recording techniques and also sound manipulation on our computers. Every afternoon we worked, listened, discussed ideas, heard suggestions and so gradually developed over the 6 days a composition. The final afternoon we all listened to each others works and commented in a mini concert. </div>
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I hope to be able to present my colleagues compositions from that week at the workshop a little later on. However, for the moment I'm placing my short piece (03m07sec) from that week, which I really enjoyed working on. To give you a quick idea of how the piece was built up I should say each one of us spent time wandering round the area (of the workshop) recording sounds from : the garden, roads, studio doors, gates, water taps etc. It is from these sources that all the sounds (on my piece) were built. You'll probably (certainly) be able to recognise some of these, others I hope will be a little more camouflaged! I should add that to get the best from the piece you should either <b>a)</b> listen through headphones. <b>b)</b> plug your computer into the hi-fi.</div>
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Workshop #1</div>
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I'll certainly be continuing with this style of music/sound, I was very inspired by the whole
week and now wonder how to develop the material learned, either in live
situations (combined with an instrument), or as pure compositional
work. Of course if you have any questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment or contact me. </div>
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*= It's easier to read about this theory - <b>Solfège de l'Objet Sonore</b> - rather than explain it on a blog. </div>
joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-74307102364701894752012-08-04T11:54:00.001+02:002014-05-08T22:23:55.147+02:00The ghosts of Chicago and Aram Shelton.<div style="text-align: justify;">
A few weeks ago a little white box dropped onto my doorstep from Oakland (USA). Inside were two albums sent from <a href="http://singlespeedmusic.org/" target="_blank">Singlespeed Music</a>, <i>Aram Shelton Quartet : 'Everything for Somebody'</i> and <i>Arts and Science : 'New You'</i>, a nice surprise indeed. I'll get to the excellent <i>Arts and Science</i> later on, but firstly ....</div>
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The ghost of Ornette (?!), and Aram Shelton ...</div>
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I'd come across Aram's music a few years ago when reviewing an album from <a href="http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.be/2011/01/grey-ghost-broad-oration-self-publisehd.html" target="_blank"><b>'</b><i>Grey Ghost</i><b>'</b> on the Free Jazz Blog</a>. From re-reading the review I obviously liked the record and it seems that it was a good introduction to the work of <a href="http://www.aramshelton.com/" target="_blank">Aram Shelton</a>, a saxophone player who's presently based in Oakland. Since then I've heard one of Aram's 'Arrive' projects which I also found excellent and probably more in tune with the most recent release. What's so refreshing to hear is Aram's approach to playing, his harmonic concept in musical language. Most players today take their models as Mark Turner (=Warne Marsh+Coltrane), Chris Potter (=Bird+Coltrane) or maybe a more modern giant such as Mike Brecker. But rarely do I hear younger players developing their ideas from the free-er schools. Here Aram Shelton and his team really develop this area in what (I guess) seems to be something of a Chicago school style? Players such as Von Freeman, Ken Vandermark, or even that of Joe McPhee, Roscoe Mitchell and Braxton don't seem to be on the top of the list for younger players looking to develop musically in conservatories, and I must say (on hindsight) I wonder why? More recently some of the younger players emerging from the shadows are looking again for new directions developed from lessons learnt on the free scene. The AACM and Ornette Coleman are two names that are more known by the general 'jazz listening' public, however the average club or association still finds it difficult to program more experimental sounds. This is where the music of Aram Shelton really finds an interesting crack in the armour. His style of composition and playing certainly look for new directions, at the same time managing to stay bluesy and open ended.<br />
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Lastly, one shouldn't forget the team that works with Aram on this album. It seems (from what I read) that Aram spent much time up in Chicago and met and started working with various top players from the windy city. His excellent quartet is made up of fine players - from Chicago - all of whom make the music happen, as it should. <a href="http://timdaisy.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Tim Daisy</a> (is to my mind) one of the top drummers on the jazz scene. Due to not living in NY he doesn't often feature in top lists of drummers. However, to my mind, Daisy is on the same lines as drummers such as <i>Tom Rainey</i> or <i>Jim Black</i>. A very swinging drummer also playing improvised music, abstract or melodic. Check out <a href="http://daverempis.com/the-engines/" target="_blank">the Engines</a>, or <a href="http://www.kenvandermark.com/work.php?band_id=1" target="_blank">Vandermark 5</a> for a few references. <a href="http://keefejackson.com/" target="_blank">Keefe Jackson</a> (tenor sax) is very active on the Chicago scene and seems to be involved in many projects. His playing somehow reminds me of the direction that Dewey Redman took in Ornette's band, certainly a player that I'll be following up. And finally <a href="http://www.antonhatwich.com/" target="_blank">Anton Hatwich</a> the bassman on this record swings like the clappers and provides solid support for the front-line to play their winding melodies or improvisations. There are few moments on the record that we get to hear Anton play some solo points but he basically anchors the whole thing together along with Tim Daisy ... amazing stuff.</div>
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Here's the review I posted on the Free Jazz blog :<br />
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<i>As the press release states, this is jazz music inspired by the likes of Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Mingus and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. I guess that looks like a tall order to fill, but Aram Shelton doesn't fail you one second on this excellent release. It's also - for those interested (like me) - the second album from the 4tet on Shelton's Singlespeedmusic label.<br /><br />Everything for Somebody is one of those albums like much of the music coming out of the Chicago scene, a mixture of free and composed jazz. Although Shelton isn't based in Chicago he seems to have put together this group from his earlier residency there. Members Keefe Jackson (tenor sax), Anton Hatwich (bass) and the most recent addition Tim Daisy (drums) .. a name that shouldn't need any introduction! One could try and get philosophical about this music, but somehow there doesn't seem to be any need as it's music that touches the listener right from the opening notes. 'Anticipation' which dances away on a simple joyful swinging melody leaves space for the two major soloists of Jackson and Shelton to blow simple melodic improvisations. The dancing melody starts as an easily memorable melody but the two soloists dig deep helping to yield hidden secrets gradually, balancing a fine line between free-bop and more dense melodic improvisation. It's this 'fine line' that carries itself through the record, and for me makes this not only highly listenable, but also a refreshing breath of air.<br /><br />The opening sounds of 'Everything for Somebody' almost takes you back to hearing Ornette for the first time with his famous quartet, although here it's two saxes. Keefe Jackson blows some powerful free-bop lines that really hang together in the same way the Dewey Redman managed. Aram Shelton seems to play some serious lines on this tune which are a marvel to behold, floating over the swinging bass and drums like a butterfly in the wind. The energy of the the whole group never lets up for one minute, holding your attention throughout. All the tunes on this release are very strong, adventurous in style and thinking, they ultimately carry the musicians to areas where they can find new ideas. 'Joints and Tendons' really explores sound textures for all the group, setting up each member in a duo context whilst cleverly weaving in melodic fragments.'Deadfall' is a mournful cry for the solo alto of Shelton cueing in the group (several minutes into the piece) into a gorgeous arpeggiated melody. The rest of the band grab this and gradually build into a wailing free-for-all before finding their way back to the serenity of the initial melody. 'Fleeting', the final track treats us to some fine free flowing ideas from the whole band with solos from all and a wonderful Ornette-esque melody to sandwich the ideas.<br /><br />Another fine album from Aram Shelton who seems (from what I've seen) to be a very interesting voice in the world between improvised music and free jazz. His wonderful Arrive albums (*), electro acoustic experiments, Cylinder and other such projects go to show that Shelton is constantly looking for new avenues of experimentation.<br /><br />A highly recommended album for those who enjoy the meeting of swing and free jazz. Some tags could be - Ornette Coleman, Atomic, Motif, The Engines, Vandermark 5 ... if you see what I mean! <br />
<br />*= There's a first Arrive album is on Singlespeedmusic.</i><br />
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Barely Talking (Tk 4)</div>
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Lastly, if you find all of this interesting I've noticed that Aram Shelton seems to be open to working with
many people and can be found on a vast array of albums coming out at the
present. Some of these are<i> Fast Citizens</i>, <i>Art and Science</i> (to be reviewed soon), <i><a href="http://freejazz-stef.blogspot.be/2011/04/darren-johnston-cylinder-clean-feed.html" target="_blank">Cylinder</a>,</i> <i>Jason Adasiewicz's Rolldown</i>, and of course his own projects. If you pass by <a href="http://www.aramshelton.com/" target="_blank">Aram's website</a> you can investigated all the various projects and latest news of releases on his Singlespeed Music label.
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<b>A few tips ... visit <a href="http://candydinner.com/" target="_blank">candydinner.com</a> to find a copy of Grey Ghost and a LOT of other tasty pieces of music, for free (although a little donation won't hurt).</b></div>
joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-5511037474053856442012-07-30T15:07:00.000+02:002012-07-30T15:20:38.340+02:00AG8tet - blowing my own trumpet.<div style="text-align: justify;">
Since the past year (or less) I've been rehearsing with the <b>AG8tet</b>. AG = Antoine Guenet, a keyboard player I met whilst playing for a short while with Michel Delville's <a href="http://www.wrongobject.com/homepage.php" target="_blank">Wrong Object.</a> Antoine and I enjoyed writing and playing tricky charts for that group, and since we had plenty of shared references (music and musicians) I was very happy that when he decided to form his AG8tet he invited me to be a part of that project. The basic principal for his octet is 3 groups made up of two trios, and one duo. The groups are as follows : </div>
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<b>Antoine Guenet : Yamaha CP-80 Electric Grand Piano<br />Susan Clynes : Vocals<br /><br />Steven Delannoye : Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet<br />Lieven Van Pee : Double Bass<br />Simon Segers : Drums<br /><br />Joe Higham : Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet<br />Dries Geusens : Electric Bass<br />Stijn Cools : Drums</b></div>
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The music that Antoine writes is written differently (mostly) for each ensemble. That means that whilst one group is busy counting away in 5/8 the other one may be counting their scores in 7/4 etc. There's also a fair bit of room to decide (in some cases) which notes you decide to play also as sometimes you have rows of notes to play in rhythmic groups, of which you must choose when and how to play. Antoine seems to play both parts, making a kind of harmonic glue which holds the whole thing together. Susan Clynes writes the words which at times reminds me of Annette Peacock's psychedelic alternative look at the world type of texts. And to a certain extent her voice (Susan's) comes across in the same way .... interestingly she hadn't heard of Annette Peacock. </div>
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The first concert that we did was a small try-out in the Trefpunt, a Gent institution which prides itself on nurturing new talent. However the 'big' concert, or premier, was to be at the <a href="http://www.gentsefeesten.be/" target="_blank">Gentsefeesten</a> (*) a large yearly event which (if you look at the program) features loads of live music, theatre events and other animations, with non stop drinking for ten days. Anyhow, luckily for us the festival (which is organised by Trefpunt) was filmed. It was interesting to be able to see how the whole thing sounded, and looked, after all that rehearsing. The concert can be found on YouTube (in six parts) if you're interested, and of course you can follow through to see the whole thing - see below. </div>
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I'd of posted all the videos but unfortunately the embedding code is switched off, however as you can see below there is one part (Pt3) that's available. If you like this then click the following link and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEcuBCGW-ss&list=PL69A978C625EB24CA&feature=view_all" target="_blank">happy viewing and listening</a> - it's about 50mins in total. </div>
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*=<i> If you're interested you should look up the history of this festival as it's rather interesting. </i> </div>joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-33702881201501825072012-07-05T15:00:00.000+02:002012-07-06T15:31:34.450+02:00A summer breeze is here!<div style="text-align: justify;">
There's a kind of buzz in the air here in Brussels. The buzz which last for a few days is the waves created by by the exodus of thousands of people leaving the city for the summer. Many head back to their families in Morocco or Turkey, the rest of them head to France, Spain, Italy or wherever they can find sun, or is that the holiday house? Summer is nearly upon us, well at least we have a bit of sun and blue skies, my kids are on holiday officially and things are not so busy. Time to find something that's bright and breezy to listen to? No problem there as <a href="http://www.davidcaldwellmason.com/" target="_blank">David Caldwell-Mason</a> came to the rescue a few weeks ago when he sent me this excellent CD - titled, '<b>Cold Snap</b>'. </div>
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Yes, I don't expect anything when people send albums to me. Most are a pleasant surprise, although I don't always write about all of them. The best thing is to remember the old Monty Python idea of 'expect the unexpected', and either the music is completely mind blowingly avant-garde or on other occasions it's mainstream music (often jazz) that has a slightly different edge to it. After all, not everybody has to re-invent the wheel, although often some seem to think they do. In my (limited) experience just playing honest music gives the best results, although not always an audience or fame. Here we have an album which to me is a great example of pure jazz, modern and accessible, swinging and melodic. David Caldwell-Mason's <i>Cold Snap</i> is anything but cold. In fact - to my ears - it's the opposite, more like a warm breeze which blows through your house. The trio works it's magic around some very catchy melodies which is certainly an important argument when recommending an album such as this. Often young players today have formidable techniques, play at any tempo and can swing in 4/4 or any odd meter thrown at them. But unfortunately there's one gift that cannot be taught and that is a melodic ear! Whether you talk about mainstream jazz or avant-garde searchings, someone who has a melodic ear will make music out of whatever resources they have at hand. Caldwell-Mason seems one such person, and his music is surely very romantic in melodic richness, a little along the same lines as <a href="http://www.fredhersch.com/" target="_blank">Fred Hersch</a> ... if I have to make a comparison. Here David Caldwell-Mason has used a set of compositions which are often deceptively simple, yet give the group ample scope to exploit the form and melodies in many different ways. Tunes such as the opening <i>Unfold </i>(tk1) and <i>Don't Worry, Mama</i> (tk2) along with <i>Without Fear or Trembling</i> (tk8) all seem to have a strong sense of modern Americana in their melodies, conjuring up images of an American landscape of small towns that are familiar to all yet not often visited. Maybe this connects the music to folklore of sort, and probably hints of European roots as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWt9IyhtE6tFJJUdtKXtLIep36lrbQt7aIZ_FosV8WPZl4WnEl-1Voj6ETklm2rI0ChVYRikmaimKlH-hTmKcS9tPf7IDpQj87LwRs-Sq_MPkA-Vjsdk-Pc2sDlEoYg-oIf-7eGZ3OQ1H/s1600/DavidCaldwell-Mason.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWt9IyhtE6tFJJUdtKXtLIep36lrbQt7aIZ_FosV8WPZl4WnEl-1Voj6ETklm2rI0ChVYRikmaimKlH-hTmKcS9tPf7IDpQj87LwRs-Sq_MPkA-Vjsdk-Pc2sDlEoYg-oIf-7eGZ3OQ1H/s320/DavidCaldwell-Mason.jpg" width="238" /></a>But not all the melodies are bright and breezy. <i>With Fear and Trembling (Tk3)</i> is exactly what it says and the title track <i>Cold Snap </i>is certainly more of a thoughtful reflection, a moment of introspection. Two tracks which both jump off the CD are the inclusion of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyonc%C3%A9_Knowles" target="_blank">Beyonce's</a> <i>Single Ladies</i> and great re-take on <i>Meteor</i> from the very original pop group <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bird_and_the_Bee" target="_blank">The Bird and the Bee</a>. Both tracks are well crafted versions of the two pop songs. I suppose that we're now well used to hearing updated versions of chart hits redone for jazz records, and these two little remakes certainly add to the originals. It's particularly interesting to hear how much the group gets out of <i>Beyonce's</i> monophonic hit, in it's original version a melody that pivots harmonically, spinning around a very basic monotone riff. Here David Caldwell-Mason finds some very nice middle ground in-between, keeping the basic idea but really adding some subtle touches to open up the tune to improvise on. 'Meteor' is already much richer material, but the group really changes the main section (originally a verse?) becoming a laid-back swinging pedal with hits and an altered melody which develops into a gentle improvisation. <i>Talk Talk</i> (Tk 7) is almost a pop tune in it's own right - who will write some lyrics for this one - and for me one of the highlights of this CD. <br />
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Without fear or trembling (Tk8)</div>
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In all of this you have a very solid rhythm section that pushes David and the music to all possible places. Kellen Harrison (*) and <a href="http://www.arihoenig.com/" target="_blank">Ari Hoenig</a> play in a very fluid way which carries the music way beyond your average piano trio. There seems to be a great vibe going on between bass, drums and piano, playing somewhere between straight ahead jazz and with a slight pop sensibility, very relaxed and very swinging.<br />
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All in all I'd thoroughly recommend searching this one out, especially if you're a piano trio fan, and of course if you like your jazz modern but not 'out'. Lastly I suspect that this could be one hell of a group to check out live (if they play live), and one only hopes that we'll hear more of David Caldwell-Mason as it will be interesting to see how he develops this very accessible jazz music that he's developing. <br />
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* = <i>Kellen seems to get around, and probably very versatile if this album is anything to go by. I couldn't find out much, but I noticed he was already reviewed on the <a href="http://cardboardmusic.blogspot.be/2012/04/rock-this-town.html" target="_blank">Beninghove's Hangmen</a> .... another nice group! </i></div>joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-15773813845532702132012-06-21T11:54:00.002+02:002012-06-21T11:54:50.538+02:00The ghost of Getz, or how recordings once sounded!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As an avid vinyl collector I love it when an LP comes through the post to be reviewed. I could almost say .... it makes my day! I was born in 1960 when that was the way of the world. I remember saving up my pocket money until I had enough to buy a 45, or single as it was known. I'd head off down to my local record shop looking for a particular record with particular a title or song in my head that I'd heard that morning on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Stewart" target="_blank">Ed Stewart</a> show on Saturday mornings, or even better <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Freeman" target="_blank">Alan Freeman</a>'s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pick_of_the_Pops" target="_blank">Pick of the Pops</a> (*) with his great <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY85ET2gXGQ" target="_blank">Sign of the Swinging Cymbal</a> theme tune. Of course if you weren't sure if it was the right record, or that you actually liked the record, you could stand and listen in a booth. <br />
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So why the nostalgia? Well here's a record recorded recently with the loving technology of the past, and with (what to me seems) great respect for sound and musical quality which reminds me of the work of recording artists in the 50s. As you will notice (from the cover) this is a recording from <a href="http://www.jamesallsopp.co.uk/" target="_blank">James <b>Allsopp</b></a> (tenor sax),<a href="http://riaanvosloomusic.com/" target="_blank"> Riaan <b>Vosloo</b></a> (double bass), <a href="http://www.pureblissmusic.com/artist/ross-stanley" target="_blank">Ross <b>Stanley</b></a> (piano), Tim <b>Giles</b> (drums). They've made a slight detour away from the normal paths of modern jazz that they follow in their own spare time to give us a '<a href="http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/66500.html" target="_blank">blast from the past</a>', but on their own terms. <i>Once In A While</i> is dedicated to the sound and style of the great jazz recordings of the 50s. It's a collection of standards with a couple of tunes re-written over standard changes that conjure up the atmosphere from past times perfectly. You may wonder .. does that mean the music is old fashioned, not so! For anyone who follows the jazz scene today we know the majority of musicians are trying to find new avenues of adventure to present themselves in - which is a good thing. However, it's rare to hear young musicians taking such care to reproduce not only the music, but also the sound. Tunes such as <i>Moonlight in Vermont</i>, <i>Isfahan</i> or <i>Chelsea Bridge</i> are not only loving remakes (which will have you curled up around a real fire), but also fine pieces of playing in their own right. The sound of James Allsopp's tenor sax literally gave me deja-vu. Even if his solos are truly his own one can help but hear 'The Sound' (**) himself hanging in the air, as if somewhere unforeseen in the studio. Yes, the ghost of Stan Getz (for me) looms high over the group, giving the music a timeless feel. <i>One For Swiss</i> played over the changes of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee_%28Ray_Noble_song%29" target="_blank">Cherokee</a> bring back memories of <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/album/stan-getz-and-the-oscar-peterson-trio-mw0000191869" target="_blank">Getz and Oscar Peterson's</a> versions of <i>Tours End</i>, or Cherokee itself from the <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/album/hamp-and-getz-mw0000651155" target="_blank">Getz and Lionel Hampton meet Peterson</a> collaboration. All the players on this release seem totally immersed in the music and play it with the true feeling that is needed. Ross Stanley accompanies the group totally within the idiom, and he solos hard when needed. Tim Giles and Riaan Vosloo do what a rhythm section should do .... play time and make everybody sound good! The solos are short and never outstay their welcome, giving a balance to the recording which makes it thoroughly enjoyable on many levels. One can enjoy the music for what it is, and from a modern viewpoint looking back as a tribute of sorts. However this is not some sort of nostalgia record, the music swings hard when needed (in fact most of the time), and with the inclusion of Coltrane's <i>Syeeda's Song Flute </i>you have reference to the bridge between the Broadway musical tradition and modern post bop which brought us contemporary jazz as we know it today. <br />
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Lastly the aspect which caught my imagination (and ear) so much is the beautiful sound of the recording, something which I think is worth more than a passing phrase. When listening to the record one notices how warm the music is, not only the notes but also the sound itself. This not only adds to the music, but is in fact part of the music, and something we rarely hear (or notice) nowadays on recordings. A band on CD sounds nothing like a band live, due to the 1s and 0s being so perfect. However, this recording places the group right in your front living room with just the right balance between the instruments and the brightness of the sound, or as already mentioned it's warmth. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLk8j-p2B6mhnyjTRv2DNXfg5dK2zkELzqiBSpP5cJV9LmME95BDgWwvf2J39i1umkP_5bO73goa3w7IHIPb0VWlBIjFMnAv97EnR0G21zO-A1zEN3q_3XKs0k8uszOz_bi-9z6hskfHiI/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLk8j-p2B6mhnyjTRv2DNXfg5dK2zkELzqiBSpP5cJV9LmME95BDgWwvf2J39i1umkP_5bO73goa3w7IHIPb0VWlBIjFMnAv97EnR0G21zO-A1zEN3q_3XKs0k8uszOz_bi-9z6hskfHiI/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
I asked Riaan about the making of the record to which he replied :<br />
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<i>"We wanted to make a record that was relaxing to listen to, not only in
terms of the musical content but also in terms of the sound. There was
no digital involved in making this record at all, we recorded to tape,
mixed to tape and then mastered directly from the tape to the lacquer!
The only time digital came into the equation was when we recorded the
vinyl into the computer!"</i><br />
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What more can I say about this record? Not much really, it's a record to own not only because of the excellent music, but also the concept and presentation of the project - you can always <a href="http://allsopstanleyvosloogiles.bandcamp.com/album/once-in-a-while" target="_blank">check out this album here</a>. But if you want a real treat buy the LP (***) and enjoy that lovely warm sound of vinyl which will fill you (and your room) with music as it should sound. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTCSK-RmUynect3Ez6RusD68KwC74ZcZwiMDlfCZfPPjaREK09O2HMFD4HE4aoTm8yAfk-5R1MDX8su_B7VMyQBc8e8G1Tl3bqfScochH2LO9Oy-WdjpBsefsjpB-KRzO8Ufy67_Z1zER/s1600/images-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTCSK-RmUynect3Ez6RusD68KwC74ZcZwiMDlfCZfPPjaREK09O2HMFD4HE4aoTm8yAfk-5R1MDX8su_B7VMyQBc8e8G1Tl3bqfScochH2LO9Oy-WdjpBsefsjpB-KRzO8Ufy67_Z1zER/s1600/images-2.jpg" /></a><b><i>Footnote on the art of the LP</i></b> : Of course all that seemed to have disappeared and we now have mp3 downloads, and CDs with covers that are so small it's difficult to read some of the text, if they have any cover notes. Here we are in 2012 and it seems that vinyl is in a healthy state considering it was meant to have been wiped out many years ago. For a few I won't have to convince you, but for others who threw away their systems, LPs, decks and amplifiers I recommend you spend a few bob and reconsider moving back into the vinyl world. It not only has the advantage of being it's sounds great (especially with the new 21 gram releases), looks great, AND it can't be copied, or at least as easily as mp3s, and it's a real object ... you can hold it! Long Playing Records, also known as LPs, a 12 inch or a 33 (because they turn at 33½ rpm), also have the advantage of their 12" square cover size, inspiring many great covers (or art works), something that CDs don't lend themselves to so easily. Check out some of the more original, or bizarre covers for <a href="http://lpcoverlover.com/category/jazz/" target="_blank">jazz</a> here, or <a href="http://lpcoverlover.com/category/rock/" target="_blank">rock</a> here. Oh well, enough of all that, who needs convincing, they're just great, I wouldn't give them up for anything!<br />
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* = <i>Check out this amazing link with a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxX4ZEN8TB0&feature=related" target="_blank">complete recording of Pick of the Pops</a>. What's amazing is the reel-to-reel featured. We also (my dad) used to record the program sometimes so we could listen later. This way I'd single out certain tracks and be able to find out who'd sung or played what. It's also wonderful to be able to hear (again) what we were listening to at the times.</i><br />
**= <i>Stan Getz was know as</i> <b>'The Sound'</b>, and rightly so. <br />
***=<i> Be warned, this a limited edition (of 300 copies)! </i></div>joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4892525779056597768.post-77937465046515860962012-06-18T11:41:00.002+02:002012-06-18T12:29:57.870+02:00I still have a life, I think?!<div style="text-align: justify;">
There seems to be a glut of article recently on topics which bring into question some of our basic understandings and values concerning free time, creativity, the family, our private lives and today's modern society. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14899148">UNICEF recently published a very interesting report</a> which highlights some of the major problems facing our society today. It seems that and our materialistic approach to life is not helping to create happy and stable families.........what a surprise! One of the most interesting things in the BBC article was the comments section where people again and again talked about family values, Sunday opening times, the pressure of both parents having to work, meal times, and even property prices being on a long list of possible causes. I doubt anything will change in the future as politicians and the public alike seem to be unable to get a grasp on our society which is running out of control. This little blog article doesn't seek to change anything, but I was inspired to put some of my thoughts into writing, and as a child of the sixties remember things from a different vue-point.</div>
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Recently in a language class we were talking about activities at home. Many of the students all answered when asked to name activities in the house (with and without their children) everyone said "I watch television." When it came to my turn I had to think of an alternative answer, as I have no television. The teacher asked, rather surprised, "You have no television?"</div>
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"No" I replied. </div>
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"But, what do you do with you time?" One of the students asked.</div>
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I must admit I was at a loss as what to answer for two reasons. </div>
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a) I didn't have enough vocabulary to answer the question properly - <i>It was a Flemish (Dutch) course.</i> </div>
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b) I'd never been at a loss for things to do, in fact there just isn't enough time in the day to everything I'd like to do.</div>
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I finally answered "I read, or listen to music!", which was perfectly true also.<br />
At that point the classroom went into near mass hysteria debating between themselves (and across the class), how was that possible, nobody can live without a TV. If you can imagine <i>Chicken Run</i> being re-enacted in my classroom, then you have the picture. However, it did make me understand that the majority of our society in
the western world (and other technologically reliant countries) are all controlled, or one could say 'slaves to', the television and it's various
derivatives. Of course the fact that you're reading this <i>online</i> means I use this medium, and you to read it. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgviSX-t2WPpciph5WbJC2NlBfxrrzRl2YI_phiVojeJGt_suN64oVo1RpSqpqfbXBYHc21s8tE7RLORYfDQfoNXFngakDocaSsEtXVfqXifscbVFgbH6M_zrtgc_29tF5jVeR3MYRqjQfy/s1600/2514404399_da9fd40b4f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgviSX-t2WPpciph5WbJC2NlBfxrrzRl2YI_phiVojeJGt_suN64oVo1RpSqpqfbXBYHc21s8tE7RLORYfDQfoNXFngakDocaSsEtXVfqXifscbVFgbH6M_zrtgc_29tF5jVeR3MYRqjQfy/s320/2514404399_da9fd40b4f.jpg" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The great 'Banana Splits' from the late 60's.</td></tr>
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Being a child of the sixties I was brought up on television. Saturday mornings meant <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Banana_Splits">The Banana Splits</a> (which we loved), Batman, Spider Man, along with a whole load of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Anderson">Gerry Anderson</a> - Captain Scarlett, Thunderbirds, Doctor Who and many others. However, television was not only controlled - yes children's TV was ONLY from 15h30 to 17h45 on weekdays, and a few programs for schools in the morning such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_School_%28UK_TV_series%29">Play-School</a>, BBC 2's program for children. I think adults TV also stopped at midnight +/- which probably sounds boring, but somehow I suspect is a little healthier for our society. From day to day I find books of all sorts piling up, novels and non-fiction, CDs and LPs lying around in bigger and bigger piles, sometimes just for my own pleasure others for reviewing. At that point I haven't even started practising my instruments (I'm a musician for all those who don't know), composing, writing parts and scores for the various groups. I love photography and could spend all day walking around taking pictures, working on them etc (<i>I was working in 'real film' until recently, but my last camera started to break down .... so I've gone digital, for the moment</i>). And of course the list goes on with - my children, getting out to run or bike or go walking, and so on and so forth. I think one can see that an average 24 hour day is not long enough, and I hope that the same applies to you (whoever you are), after all there's so much to do and so little time AND it's exciting to create, discover and learn, don't you think so?</div>
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How do we fill our creative time now and are we aware of how important that time is? Do we make our own decisions and are we able to ignore the sheer power of large corporations, social media sites and the like? Here's an article on the BBC news pages that you should take a look at, and in my opinion ask yourself some serious questions on how we are living our lives - <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14921491" target="blank"> Beyond the couch : TV goes social, goes everywhere.</a></div>
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The above article from the BBC seems to confirm for me the worst fears
concerning today's modern world, the inability to make our own choices. What makes an individual is the
possibility to be creative, or at least I would think so. I'm astounded at the amount of people who still support Facebook - and for that matter (me included) MySpace - especially when you see what these sites end up being used for, marketing. I was surprised to notice a remark from an outraged Facebook user
recently who seemed shocked that he was being 'tailed' by Facebook,
even when so called <i>off-line.</i> <u>For all facebook readers who don't realise it, <i>you
are not logged off</i>, even if you think you are</u> <a href="http://nikcub-cache.appspot.com//logging-out-of-facebook-is-not-enough" target="blank">read this article</a>!
I'm also surprised that people seem surprised they're being controlled or followed on a daily
basis by their own computer. It's kind of scary to realise
that social media sites are helping control what to watch, make
suggestions about which websites your browsers will find interesting, and so take
away your creative choice. Some may argue that having such systems
means that you're constantly being kept up to date, but in reality it
has been shown that if you don't wipe your cookies (daily) from your
web browser then you won't actually discover new web pages. Your browsing history determines what you see, or I should say
what Google, <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/" target="blank">Stumbleupon</a> or whoever <i>thinks</i> you <i>should</i> see. In his very interesting article '<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/nov/26/dark-side-internet-freenet" target="blank">The Dark side of the Internet</a>'
Andy Beckett explains - among other things - what browsing is and why
we should ask ourselves who controls what we see, and of course 'what'
we see. If you're interested (i.e. you don't find what you're
looking for on Google) you can always head to the Freenet - <a href="http://freenetproject.org/" target="blank">here</a>.<br />
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Finally, the X-Factor and such programs seem (to me) to misdirect people as to
what is and isn't good music. The TV is flooded with quiz shows
that show our general ignorance but surprisingly appeal to a mass
audience. Not only are the executives busy boycotting to get your attention, I have to wonder what the internet and controlled media are doing to the arts? In the music world the market for more experimental music is harder and harder to access and of course promote. Due to the ability of certain artists to spread themselves around the net like viruses it's difficult to make your own smaller (and humble) presence known. Many artists are now becoming experts on website building, tweeting, or just sending emails to alert people of their next concerts - even if you don't live in the same country. How do we know what is good any more? It's frightening to think that what you know, is only what you're being shown. Or maybe it doesn't matter and the phrase 'survival of the fittest' is what it's all about?<br />
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A small final thought : I once imagined a situation where an alien spacecraft was passing by our solar system and (without meaning to) somehow sent a massive magnetic pulse or wave out affecting our planet. The result of this magnetic wave was to knock out all electrical systems for the next 1000 years, the result being no electricity, total destruction of our computer systems, telephone networks, and all the rest. We of course would survive no problem, and so would literature, acoustic music, manual labour, agriculture and craftsmanship. I wonder if the future would be so bleak? <br />
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<i>As usual I apologise for straying away from subjects that are more in line with my profession (music) and will have something more in line with that subject to publish on the blog ... soon! Thanks for following. </i></div>joeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15282590943897598903noreply@blogger.com0