This is not an album, but a treasure with the characteristic of a dynamite: it will explode right in your face in the very moment when you will push play.
Although there is a solid line-up of gifted singers such as Jesse Harris or Sofia Rei, the crown belongs to the genius of Mike Patton. He’s really something and he is brilliant, sparkling and unique each and every time, with each song he reveals another shade or dimension of his unlimited possibilities to approach and perform a song. It’s both admirable and completely disarming.
But the release feature a whole army of outstanding musicians conducted by the man who put all this “atoms” and “elements’ to work, the Magus John Zorn. Marc Ribot – Guitar; Trevor Dunn – Bass; John Medeski – Organ, Piano, Fender Rhodes; Kenny Wollesen – Vibes, Joey Baron – Drums and Cyro Baptista – Percussion are the solid foundation of these sonic buildings. Read more John Zorn – The Song Project Vinyl Singles Edition (2014)
jazz
Krokofant – Krokofant (2014)
Kongsberg, a town located at the southern end of the traditional region of Numedal, is perhaps best known for being the home of Norway’s major defence contractor, Kongsberg Gruppen, formerly Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk. Two of its well known products were the Kongsberg Colt and the Krag-Jørgensen rifle. The latter was adopted in the late 19th century as the standard army rifle in Denmark, Norway and U.S.A.
Notable, since 1964, the town has hosted Kongsberg Jazzfestival, an annual international jazz festival where prominent world acts such as BB King, Diana Krall, Ornette Coleman, Joshua Redman and John Scofield have played in recent years.
Also, Kongsberg it’s the home of some prominent artists such as Morten Harket – the lead singer of A-ha; jazz pianist Morten Qvenild; jazz guitarist Ivar Grydeland and pianist Håkon Austbø – among many others. And while Oslo it’s proud of Shining, now Kongsberg have this murderous trio called Krokofant. Krokofant?
What can we expect from a band named after a bizarre mixture between crocodile and elephant? Definitively good stuffs! Read more Krokofant – Krokofant (2014)
John Zorn – In The Hall Of Mirrors (2014)
Under the John Zorn moniker a lot of quite different records are released regularly. He write classic music, chamber music and all sort of experimental jazz sometimes with roots back to Jewish traditional music, sometimes tripping over the frontiers of our average perception. “In The Hall Of Mirrors” features three extraordinary talented musicians, a rhythm section made of bassist Greg Cohen and drummer Tyshawn Sorey, and the virtuoso pianist Stephen Gosling. We’ve got 48.46 minutes of sparkling, refreshing, intense, still extremely enjoyable experimental (jazz) music.
Blending classical and jazz music, this is a breathtaking and intense album throughout, reveling new dimensions and sounds, introducing the listeners to a limitless open space full of flavors and surprises. The performance of Stephen Gosling it’s fascinating and very inspired, while the dynamic rhythm section of Cohen and Sorey offers a breathtaking and solid groundwork. Simply splendid! Read more John Zorn – In The Hall Of Mirrors (2014)
Dog Fashion Disco – Sweet Nothings (2014)
Originally named Hug The Retard, Dog Fashion Disco was formed in 1995 by Todd Smith, Greg Combs, and John Ensminger in Rockville, Maryland. Tod, Greg and John were high school colleagues. Combining many different music styles from the 70’s psychedelic, through jazz to heavy metal and circus music, Dog Fashion Disco was categorized as avant-garde metal band being heavily influenced by Mike Patton’s Mr. Bungle. The band’s lyrical content is often highly esoteric and satirical, with constant tongue-in-cheek references to the occult, drug use, and other oddities.
Their first two albums were self released and low budget products. The first – “Erotic Massage” (1997) – was funded by a loan taken out by drummer John Ensminger. The second self-released album was titled “Experiments In Alchemy” and released in 1998. While the first album was Read more Dog Fashion Disco – Sweet Nothings (2014)
Gli Putridissimi and Panzanellas – Comete, split album (2014)
Lepers production from Itali it’s a free net label, we share weird music for free since 2005. They promote them self as the best free net label and it might be quite possible. But what I’m absolutely sure is that I love both Gli Putridissimi and Panzanellas and the positive madness they dislocate and spread around.
Gli Putridissimi it’s an experimental project from Bari which combines black metal with jazz. Hard not to love the rough insanity they deliver. But – for some probably surprisingly -, they manage to bring to the surface also memorable melodies and some pretty addictive grooves. They have a kind of friendly acid/psychedelia/space rock vibe from the 70’s mixed with modern grooves and non-conformity. We’ve got Read more Gli Putridissimi and Panzanellas – Comete, split album (2014)
John Zorn – Psychomagia (2014)
“Psychomagia” is the new album by the fabulous quartet of Abraxas, the follow up of the 2012’s “Abraxas: Book of Angels Volume 19”, the debut album by led by Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz performing compositions from John Zorn’s second Masada book, “The Book of Angels”.
Now they perform a complex new suite of music written expressly for them by Downtown alchemist John Zorn in the same vivid manner of tribal rock. Drawing inspiration from the magical writings of Giordano Bruno, Alejandro Jodorowski and others, Zorn has written a bold collection of compositions that challenging the musicians and exploring the limits.
This new volume in Zorn’s mystic series matches the intensity and power of Moonchild, PainKiller and Naked City. Fans will devour it, but also those who are sometimes scared away bt Zorn’s abstract (astral?) journeys, may try and enjoy “Psychomagia”. Read more John Zorn – Psychomagia (2014)
Animals As Leaders – The Joy Of Motion (2014)
It is the third album by instrumental progressive (metal) group Animals as Leaders, introducing new drummer Matt Garstka along guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes. Three years after “Weightless” the band sound fresh and feels explosive. Wicked riffs, complex rhythmic structures and build-up, nice harmonic breakdowns and surprising turns are all part of their arsenal. Although I like jazz and instrumental jazz albums, I generally don’t like instrumental rock albums. Animals As Leaders have the creativity and intensity to capture my attention and it’s always a pleasure to take the ride through their albums. Song by song they build-up vivid, unexpected spaces and the mixture of sounds and styles their perform it’s outside the box, above genres. Between the subtle shades of “Air Chrysalis” and the heavy tones of “Tooth And Claw”, Animals As Leaders mix and merge Read more Animals As Leaders – The Joy Of Motion (2014)
Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia died at 66
BBC announced that world-renowned Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia has died aged 66 in Mexico, reportedly of a heart attack while playing with his children on a beach. R.I.P.!
Paco de Lucía, born Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 1947 – 26 February 2014) was a Spanish flamenco guitarist, composer and producer. A leading proponent of the New Flamenco style, he was one of the first flamenco guitarists who has also successfully crossed over into other genres of music such as classical and jazz. Richard Chapman and Eric Clapton, authors of Guitar: Music, History, Players, describe de Lucía as a “titanic figure in the world of flamenco guitar”, and Dennis Koster, author of Guitar Atlas, Flamenco, has referred to de Lucía as “one of history’s greatest guitarists”.
De Lucía was noted for his innovation and colour in harmony and his remarkable dexterity, technique, strength and fluidity in his right hand, capable of executing extremely fast and fluent picados. A master of contrast, he often juxtaposes picados with rasgueados and other techniques and often adds abstract chords and scale tones to his compositions with jazz influences. These innovations saw him play a key role in the development of traditional Flamenco and the evolution of New Flamenco and Latin jazz fusion from the 1970s. Read more Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia died at 66
Mehliana (Mark Guiliana and Brad Mehldau) – Taming the Dragon (2014)
“Taming the Dragon” it’s the debut album from the electric duo Mehliana made of Brad Mehldau (synthesizers, Fender Rhodes and piano) and Mark Guiliana (drums and electronics). Because the dense electronics this have a powerful jazz-rock sound, but it’s a vividly groovy, experimental and breath taking experience throughout with space-rock inspired soundscapes and exciting jazz improvisations. There is an extremely refreshing balance between all the flavors, sounds, elements and moods of the album. Mark Guiliana delivered some extremely tasty drums while Brad Mehldau added dimensions and colors. A perfect mixture of passion, energy and experimentation with tasty melodies, meditative searching and emotions.
Mark Guiliana (born 1980, Florham Park, New Jersey, United States) is an American drummer, composer, and leader of the band Beat Music. He is known for his playing with Brad Mehldau, Meshell Ndegeocello, Gretchen Parlato, Jason Lindner, Lionel Loueke, Avishai Cohen (bassist), Avishai Cohen (trumpeter), Dhafer Youssef, Tigran Hamasyan, Matisyahu, European Read more Mehliana (Mark Guiliana and Brad Mehldau) – Taming the Dragon (2014)
Cynic – Kindly Bent to Free Us (2014)
Label Cynic as a metal band it’s at least ignorance. They grew out of that box pretty quickly and although they merged technical death metal and influences with jazz and progressive rock elements, their music was always something special and different. “Kindly Bent to Free Us”, their third full-length album, it’s a flawless mixture of modern sound and classic, progressive rock flavor with some jazzy reflections. Have some sort of King Crimson and Pink Floyd type of timeless and shiny (brilliant 🙂 ) feel.
The current line-up consist of veterans Paul Masvidal – vocals & guitars, Sean Reinert – drums & percussion and longtime, mainly studio collaborator Sean Malone – fretless bass, chapman stick.
Engineering by Jason Donaghy (Rob Zombie – Hellbilly Deluxe 2), mixed by R. Walt Vincent (Pete Yorn, Liz Phair, Tommy Keene and Jonathan Elias’ The Prayer Cycle), mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Adrenaline Mob, Sepultura, Halford, Armored Saint, Cathedral , etc), featuring the art work of Robert Venosa (among other works, the pre-sketches and conceptual design for the movie Dune), “Kindly Bent to Free Us” it’s a psychedelic sci-fi trip. Read more Cynic – Kindly Bent to Free Us (2014)
