What’s the connection between two members of the avant-garde group The Thing (Paal Nilssen-Love – drums and Mats Gustafsson – saxophone), Ethiopian musician Mesele Asmamaw and the legendary Dutch post rock/avant-garde outfit The Ex? Room 101 of the Baro Hotel, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia on February 27th 2010.
The Ex has been going to Ethiopia for quite a while. The first tour, with Han Bennink, in the north, was in 2002. The next one, in the south, during 2004. Through all the new and improvised music festivals they play, The Ex has connection with many adventurous musicians. So they started a series of projects in Ethiopia. With breakcore pop duo Zea in May 2008, followed by Silent Block from France (tables full of self-made instruments, experimental electronica and much more), in May 2009. And then two projects with “Saxophone”. Not only they bring Friso Heidinga from the saxophone repair-shop Amsterdam Winds, who fixed dozens of instruments, but also great players like Ken Vandermark, Ab Baars, Mats Gustafsson, who performed in combination with The Ex members and Norwegian free jazz drummer Paal Nilssen-Love. And all cooperated with many amazing Ethiopian musicians and dancers. Like Getatchew Mekuria, Melaku Belay, Indriss Hassen, Misale Legesse and krar-player Mesele Asmamaw (who we knew before from the Mohammed Jimmy Mohammed Trio). Read more Paal Nilssen-Love, Mesele Asmamaw and Mats Gustafsson – Baro 101 (2012)
jazz
T.R.A.M. – Lingua Franca (2012)
Although “Lingua Franca” is their debut album, it would be a mistake to think this is a new band. True, the project were started last summer when Adrián Terrazas-González was introduced to Tosin Abasi, but a band made of exclusively well knowned and appreciated musicians like this definitively exclude the suspicion of some beginners. Terrazas (Saxophone, Flute, Bass Clarinet, Percussion) might be familiar from bands such as The Mars Volta, Omar Rodríguez-López, Troker, etc. Javier Reyes and Tosin Abasi both are famous by their leading progressive metal band Animals As Leaders, while Eric Moore since 2008 is the drummer both for Suicidal Tendencies and Infectious Grooves. Read more T.R.A.M. – Lingua Franca (2012)
Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio (2012) and remix contest!
“Real music is crash protected,” state the liner notes of “Black Radio”, the newest album by the Robert Glasper Experiment that boldly stakes out new musical territory and transcends any notion of genre, drawing from jazz, hip-hop, R&B and rock, but refusing to be pinned down by any one tag. And pushing further the experiment, “Move Love” featuring the soul trio KING, drummer Chris Dave, bassist Derrick Hodge, multi-instrumentalist Casey Benjamin, was set for remix at Indaba Music.
I bring up my noisy, dubstep flavored synths, some tensioned jazz bass and severe cellos, asked a favor to a brilliant drummer, Thomas O’Brien, and delivered a quite different version of this song working exclusively with Robert Glasper piano track and the vocal track. I’m quite pleased by the result, this is definitively a genre-defying remix. Read more Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio (2012) and remix contest!
Kayo Dot – Gamma Knife (2012)
Kayo Dot, the brainchild of Toby Driver is a quite different musical project then most of the nowadays trendy runners. It’s an everchanging mixture of rock, jazz, metal and avant-garde elements, it’s definitively not a common, usual, easy to label and listen kind of music. But it’s much more alive.
A partial live recording with overdubs added in the studio, they delivered 25 minutes of their usually unusual music, this time kind of saxophone fueled noise metal, a quite contorted trip, eventually with the exception of the title track which it’s an almost classical track with chamber and (possible) Gregorian aromas and offers a chill exit for the listener. Read more Kayo Dot – Gamma Knife (2012)
William Parker and ICI Ensemble – Winter Sun Crying (2011)
Screaming bloody avant-garde, the opening “Bells” kicks out with death howling and bumbling saxophone licks, mysterious cymbals, bells and other unidentified noises, surprising and emotionally fulfilled, breathing alive, but masterly outlined and powerfully shaped, this is jazz in its most pure, uncompromised and most creative form. Free jazz. Anyway, jazz without freedom, without liberty, it might be some kind of music, but definitively not jazz.
Composer and bassist William Parker joins forces with the Munich based ICI (International Composers & Improvisers) Ensemble to create this work build upon the elements of improvisation. Read more William Parker and ICI Ensemble – Winter Sun Crying (2011)
Jennifer Lo-Fi – Noia (2011)
“Troffea” starts as an indie fueled jazz song, complex rhythmic constructions, powerful vocals and smooth guitar works build up an interesting, but dizzy song. Jennifer Lo-Fi? Inspired and catchy name for a newcomer band.
“Neveo” follows in a more conventional manner, if we can admit as conventional a mixture of power pop and indie rock aromas and psychedelic rock resonances with some tasty Brazilian spices. “Ovos” starts as a rock ballad with indie, blues and jazz infusions, they simply shifting from one thing to another, playing tight, energy full and from smooth and hypnotic themes they get violently hardcore. Impressive. And the best is yet to come. Read more Jennifer Lo-Fi – Noia (2011)
John Zorn – At The Gates of Paradise (2011)
Products. We’re living in a world of quite well defined rules and products. Sometimes maybe the rules might not seems so strictly outlined, but they actually are. It’s part of the “phenomenon” that I called “are we getting stupider?”, but generally speaking we’re know exactly about almost everything we consume what it is. Anyway, at least they make us believe we do. 😆 I mean, when you buy a cheeseburger at the fast-food at the corner you know for what you pay for, when you buy a Mercedes you know what you pay for, when you buy a Michael Jackson CD, well, you know exactly what are you gonna listening to.
When you listen a new Zorn album, you don’t even know what to expect of. And ladies and gentleman, that’s why I love Zorn and I believe he worth all our attention. Read more John Zorn – At The Gates of Paradise (2011)
Bill Frisell – All We Are Saying… (2011)
“All We Are Saying is give peace a chance” became the anthem of the anti Vietnam-war movement back in ’69. Guitarist and composer Bill Frisell took his chances on some of the most famous songs written by John Lennon and record his take on the classic songs such as “Across the Universe”, “Nowhere Man”, “Imagine”, “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”, “In My Life”, “Come Together”, “# 9 Dream” or “Mother”.
Some might know Bill Frisell from John Zorn’s Naked City, but before that, he worked with Jan Garbarek on “Paths, Prints” in 1981 and one year later Pat Metheny recommended Frisell to Paul Motian who was recording “Psalm” for ECM Records. Frisell became ECM’s in-house guitar player. In ’83 he collaborated once again with Garbarek on “Wayfarer”.
Frisell’s first solo release was In Line featured solo guitar and duets with bassist Arild Andersen in 1983 and since he released almost 30 solo albums and had collaborate with Vernon Reid, Elvis Costello, Jack DeJohnette, Tim Berne, Michael White among many other artist on several release. Read more Bill Frisell – All We Are Saying… (2011)
Jacuzzi Project – Sweeeeet Muse (2011)
Reminds me of Red Snapper, but still, Jacuzzi Project sounds quite different and more dense. Full of energy, groovy, eventually less trippy, but still filled with lot of different tasty aromas and perfumes, Jacuzzi Project delivered their own genre and style of nu jazz, a powerful mixture of broken beats and nu soul, a twist of psychedelic and juicy brasses with funky basses. Colorful mixture, a nice combination of explosive free jazz sounds and licks with scratching electronics and modern beats and grooves. Read more Jacuzzi Project – Sweeeeet Muse (2011)
Buckethead – Empty Space, Underground Chamber, Look Up There (2011)
Buckethead’s 32nd studio album, as well the second edition in the Buckethead Pikes series following “It’s Alive” . More experimental, much heavier, contorted, but beautiful, “Empty Space” with a total length of 32 minutes (ten songs) bring to the surface some intense riffs, noisy textures and wild, hurricane-like solos, but also funky basses, avant-garde experiments, industrial soundscapes, in few words, Buckethead shot all his big guns at our ears and once again he spare no energy to create music. Can’t stick labels to this, can’t force it into some boxes, his music have no genre, but style and class. Probably both, genius and madman, Buckethead is by excellence the most fascinating guitar wizard. Read more Buckethead – Empty Space, Underground Chamber, Look Up There (2011)
