Grego Applegate Edwards Blogs on Music and Musicians, with Some Attention to Guitarists, Bassists, and other Creative People

February 8, 2010—What makes Imogen Heap popular now, after so long more-or-less on the underground of the scene? Her latest album, “Ellipse,” is not really more commercial that the last. It is on RCA though, and seemingly getting some promotion. Her guest appearance with Jeff Beck on an album and on his Ronnie Scott DVD surely helped.

“I Megaphone” was quite a bit edgier than what she does now. That was the early-ish ‘90s. Her “Fru Fru” disk was really fetching, to me at least, but did not get her a great deal of fame, so to say. The last CD was quite beautiful.

In the end, perhaps the audience is just finally coming to recognize what was always there.

“Ellipse” continues the trend of Imogen multi-tracking elaborate vocal parts and showing off her impressive range and vocal colors. The arrangements are quite good, but take a back seat to the main attraction, Ms. Heap’s glorious vocal instrument. She can yodel, soar into a high range, do the quiet, breathy mid-range, and get polyphonic vocal group sounds of great beauty. The songs are very evocative. She is a rare songbird, a singer-songstress of unparalleled singularity. “Ellipse” is as good as anything she’s done. I can’t say enough about her without getting gushy. She is a true artist.

February 5, 2010—Today's posting looks at the Prog-Fuse group Doubt. It is located at our sister site http://gapplegateguitar.blogspot.com. Please go there to read it. Thanks.

February 4, 2010—Austin, Texas supports music. I gleaned that when I visited there some time ago. I've heard compilations of bands from Austin in the past, some better than others. A new compilation came out last week that seems definitive for what’s going on there right now for the Alt-Garage-Punky sort of thing. It’s called “Causal Victim Pile” (Matador).

What you get is 19 bands you’ve probably not heard of unless you are hanging out down there. The music is edgy and raw. It does not make overtures to mainstream “Rock” radio play, at last not in any overt sense, and that helps make it a satisfying listen. Here’s your chance to check out Kingdom of Suicide Lovers, Elvis, the Stuffies, the Teeners, Lost Controls and the rest of them. It’s a healthy injection of the slashing, thrashing and twanging world of real bands that play their own instruments and think that MIDI controllers are alien mind-control devices.

February 3, 2010—Gentle Giant in retrospect turned out to be one of the most important and prolific Prog Rock outfits to emerge in the early ‘70s. At the time I didn’t think so, mostly because I just never gave them the listen they deserved. Their fourth album “Octopus” (Vertigo/Columbia) (1972) finds them with an ambitious program of what one can only term “Art Rock Songs,” elaborate, sophisticated pieces with contrapuntal devices, long and interesting melodic arches, arranged instrumental parts of much interest and all-around musicianship.

It happens to be an excellent place to enter into their musical vision. You get 35 minutes of Prog at its high level. The more you listen, the more impressive it gets. That is my take. The problem: these fellows were actually too good to be very popular back then. As time goes on, Gentle Giant begins to gain the stature they always should have been awarded. Listen to "Octopus" and you’ll get an idea why.

I am not the one to give you a free download of this record. I do recommend you buy a legitimate copy. It is around. In this way you support the artists, at least in the abstract, and also you generate the royalties Gentle Giant are due.

February 1, 2010—There is no lack of talent out there in musicland. Singer-songwriter Basia Bulat numbers in the ranks of such artists coming into the fray. She celebrates her second album release (OK, so I am a week late) with “Heart of My Own” (Rough Trade). It centers around an angelic warbling voice-as-instrument. It’s fragile or robust, depending, and it is dead-on, a rapid vibrato a little like Tracy Chapman but with less of a burnished quality. She strums her acoustic (and at least once a ukulele) and directly communicates her songs in a straightforward way. Arrangements tend to be minimal but effective. Some cellos, or perhaps muted horns, rhythm section, a dulcimer or autoharp. She sounds like a representative for a tradition that does not yet exist, a tradition of Basia Bulat music.

The songs are the thing and they are sensitive folksy alterative essays in feelings and passions remembered later, when there’s time to reflect. Now she might say “no, that’s not it.” I don’t know. The point is that she has a personal way of expressing her life and it is musically entrancing.

I find such music necessary. If she did not exist in this space and time, someone would have to invent her. We need good songs right now. A voice for the today that is here and passing daily, only to return again. “Heart of My Own” is good musical travelling. May she continue to develop and claim an audience that is rightfully hers, even if some of them don’t realize it yet.

February 1, 2010--It is summer in Brazil; it sure is not in New Jersey. So it’s fitting that we kick off February with a Brazilian offering by bassist Nilson Matta and his group Brazilian Voyage, namely “Copacabana” (Zoho).

This is good contemporary Samba-Bossa played in a loosely hip way. Matta and his rhythm-mates drummer Mauricio Zottarelli and percussionist Ze Mauricio make sure the music has the lift and movement that is a prime facilitator for music like this to work. And Nilson’s solo spots have some heft. Harry Allen’s tenor has a sort of Getzian cool, which of course fits right in; flautist Anne Drummond and pianist Klaus Mueller give a good accounting of themselves in the solo sphere.

It’s a program of mostly originals with a few warhorses thrown in, but it all works nicely. If these sorts of sessions float your boat, “Copacabana” should give you a refreshing musical taste of a southern hemisphere summer, most welcome here in the heart of a northern winter.

January 29, 2010—There are times when the cumulative effort of listening to CD after CD of music can bog the senses. It is enormously time consuming, enormously tedious at times, and frustrating on a number of levels. The point is, when something doesn’t stand out one way or another, when it sounds like 500 other CDs you’ve heard in the last year, what do you say about it?

Thankfully today’s CD does not have that problem. The Godforgottens’ “Never Forgotten, Always Remembered” (Clean Feed) does stand out from the pack. It’s a free improvisation distinguished by Paal Nilssen-Love’s anarchic everything-but-the-trashcan drumming insouciance, by Johan Berthling’s earthy, rumbling double bass, and perhaps most of all, the brazen excitement of Magnus Broo on trumpet and the keyboard work of Sten Sandell.

The beginning of the performance has a droning quality set off by Sandell’s Hammond B3 and Broo’s cosmically directed trumpet. The sound of the group here is much more than the ordinary free improv ensemble at work. They hover and drone around a pitch center with avant asides and somehow manage to invoke that eastward gazing “Universal Consciousness” sort of sound that Alice Coltrane created in her prime, but without directly referencing it.

The second section has a rough-and-tumble, head-over-heels quality that is abetted especially by Nilssen-Love’s cacophonous crashing and clashing of timbres and textures. The final section brings the B3 into the mix once again with drones and melodic sustains, and with some really rather bracing trumpet from Broo.

This is accessible avant garde music that does not run through the usual exercises of how to attain a group collectivity. It’s different and it’s very good.

January 28, 2010—There is a legend out there that the German Progressive Rock band Eloy is a legend. They formed in 1969, made a ton of albums, the best known being the 1977 “Ocean." Now I wasn’t into the German scene very much back then. It wasn’t because I thought the music was in any way inferior. I just didn’t hear most of it until later. When I did, I appreciated what had been happening. And Eloy was an important part of that. They were progressive, spacey and had songs that caught one’s attention.

For the 40th anniversary of the group's founding they’ve gone into the studio (first time in ten years) and produced a new album, “Visionary” (Laser’s Edge). It’s some pretty strong music, and it shows a retro quality that will give people plenty of new music if they have been attracted to the classic Prog Rock from days of yore. Eloy is to be congratulated for putting their music vision together again, in a way that does not sound at all strung together. Good for all Eloy fans and those who want to get in touch with roots Prog.

January 27, 2010—In Jazz guitar-land, there is the mainstream that breathes new life into itself and there is a Mainstream (capital em) that essentially conserves a particular set of stylistic tendencies. Charlie Apicella & Iron City’s forthcoming album “Sparks” (CArlo Music) belongs to the second camp. It’s Funky organ trio music, well done, but completely in the pocket of the pocket of the style. Apicella has fully internalized the schtick, as has his teammates, Hammond man Dave Mattock and drummer Alan Korzin. Principal guest, tenor Stephen Riley shows himself into the groove in a kind of Turrentinesque fashion.

There are quite workable, soulful Apicella originals and some chestnuts from the repertoire. Apicella wholly gives out with what is expected without distinguishing himself as somebody innovative and Mattock does the same.

Sometimes all this can be true and the music still sounds good. That’s what happens here. It’s bound to find its audience. And it doesn’t displease. An organ trio version of “Billie Jean” though? I suppose. I might tend to prefer the original organ trio grooves by guys like Grant Green and his ilk. That's not to say there isn't room for a new batch of players that are in the tradition.

January 26, 2010—Elizabeth Fraser has a beautiful voice. She’s one-half of the Cocteau Twins but today marks the release of a 12” EP under her own name. It’s "Moses" (Rough Trade) an unforgettable song in its original form and with two equally different and interesting remixes. She dedicates the record to the late Jake Drake-Brockman, who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident last fall. He was a very good friend and an inspiring musician, having played important roles in Echo and the Bunnymen, BOM and the Hook ‘Em Boys. She is joined by Jake on this recording as well as Damon Reece, her partner and musical collaborator.

The proceeds from the sale of "Moses" will help benefit Drake-Brockman’s family. It’s available as a 12-inch or you can download it through i tunes.

This is music that envelopes one with a poignant, beautifully rendered vocal line, a harmonically unusual accompaniment and three different arrangements, which make it a sort of suite. It is hauntingly beautiful.

January 25, 2010—There is a two-man band known as Fragment King and they offer a bunch of free downloads at their site halforganic.blogspot.com. The download I’ve been listening to is “Desolation of the Soul: Live at the Prague Industrial Festival 12/9/05.”

They categorize their music as Doom Drone or Drums and Doom. One guy rumbles long distorted drones on bass; the other guy plays beats on a set of electric drums. Every once in a while somebody yells some vocals. This music, as might be expected, is not chipper. It is on the extreme dark edge of metal-industrial and for 45 minutes you are subject to an onslaught of their semi-musical blasts.

The music has the virtue of never deviating from its objective. It's really extreme, all the time, non-stop. And I suppose you could dance to it, or run for the exits, or listen in a sort of horrified awe.

Now I don’t expect many people are going to like this music. But hey, if you are looking for something decidedly weird, this is free for you from the band, as are a number of other recordings. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though!

January 22, 2010—What is New World Flamenco? It’s the title of a CD (Tierra Negra) by Tierra Negra & Muriel Anderson. Tierra Negra is the duo of Leo Henrichs and Raughi Ebert, Spanish guitar adepts. Muriel Anderson, similarly, is a skillful finger guitarist and harp guitarist. For this album they are accompanied by drummer Danny Gottlieb and bassist Mark Egan, both known for their associations with Pat Metheny. Victor Wooten also joins the gathering on bass.

This is a quite enjoyable collection of Flamenco-inspired instrumentals. The nylon and steel string guitar work is ravishingly good. Rhythms vary from Spanish-based to Samba. It’s not so much improvisational, although there is some of that, as it is a well-conceived, entirely pleasant collection of instrumentals that show off the guitarists’ subtle acoustic-quasi-Flamenco technique. For acoustic guitar lovers everywhere.

January 21, 2010—Fusion had a sort of peak around 1975, when the market became glutted with bandwagon wanna-bees. The worst offenders were musicians who thought they could cash in on the style by adding some mediocre Funk underpinnings while playing their usual solos on top. Other factors came into play too, but we have discussed these things elsewhere.

Lately the form has made a comeback and there is some very good music being made. Today’s CD by Nicolas Masson Parallels typifies what’s happening with the best. Their new album “Thirty Six Ghosts” (Clean Feed) gives you nine thoughtful and well thought-out compositions for quartet—Nicolas Masson on tenor sax, Colin Valton on electric piano, Patrice Morel on double bass and Lionel Friedli on drums.

This is subtle, sophisticated music. Masson plays a chromatic tenor that ventures into territories that Dave Liebman and Michael Brecker have treaded, but he follows his own path. He turns in some excellent work here. The rhythm team of Vallon, Moret and Friedli set up long-spinning grooves with plenty of rhythmic and harmonic variation. Valton solos with discerning taste and Friedl’s drums can really kick the band along.

"Thirty Six Ghosts" is a recording that breathes new life into the Rock influenced channels of improvisatory music. It is simply superlative and highly recommended.

January 20, 2010—The New Haven Improvisers Collective is a loosely knit gathering of like minded musicians that regularly get together for sessions and concerts in the city of Hew Haven, Connecticut. The organization welcomes all players on some nights, and puts together ensembles of specific musicians on others. Similarly, there may be intricately worked-out aspects of any given piece, or the players may just improvise based on a title of a work. They have several interesting CDs out as NHIC, and numerous free downloads of various sessions on their www.nhic-music.org site.

Today we look at a recent CD documenting a side project of the organization, the Elm City Guitar Quartet + 3 performing “Crash” (NHIC). This informal gathering was headed up by guitarist and NHIC organizer Bob Gorry. The ensemble consists of four electric guitarists (the quartet) two reeds (one doubling on accordion) and a drummer.

This is wild and wooly spontaneity, sometimes anarchic, other times held together by a rockish rhythm or a basic pulse. Keys may be stated or implied, or any combination of key centers may be invoked. As with anything that goes off to an edge of music and takes chances to achieve a spur-of-the-moment creative act, there are parts of this CD that come together nicely and other parts that do not.

It is basically a kind of Free Rock using elements of the Rock idiom quite loosely and combining them with vocabulary that is sometimes intuitive, sometimes out of the syntax of Free Improvisation as practiced in various forms from the sixties onwards. This is not music for everybody and its frankly experimental nature requires that you approach it with an open set of ears and an open mind to appreciate it. It is a healthy sign that music today can come out of any combination of influences. This is stylistic mutation in the process of coming together. The final form, if there is to be one, has not yet emerged from the forge. Yet there is much to appreciate if you listen without preconceptions.

January 19, 2010—Today a guitar-centered Jam-ish Band and then we’ll move on to other things for a while. Up on my player is Mother Hips at the Soho Bar on May 26, 2007. This band spends some care on their songwriting and the jams follow a more conventional lead-guitar-breaks-with-rhythm sort of routine. I can’t find anything to object to, which I suppose is a compliment. On the other hand I can’t say they made me perk up and take notice much either.

Again, find the show for free download at archive.org’s Live Music section.

January 14, 2010—I find that with Jambands, sometimes there’s a formula that I don’t always find enthralling. Brothers Past serves as an example, at least in terms of their live recording from February 18, 2006 (Recher Theater, Towson, MD). The jams are mostly of the Trance variety. The drummer gets into an almost Disco beat and the guitar and keys start playing repetitious patterns. Now just any old repetition is boring, to me at least. And these sorts of jams are almost Electronica with real instruments, or Drums and Bass with other instruments included. Well. OK. But if the things chosen for repetition don’t have any real interest, my eyes start glazing over.

Brothers Past work hard on their songs and some aren’t bad. But I’m afraid that they didn’t do much for me. Anybody looking for a Trance concept might do well to listen to Balinese Gamelan and Minimalist composers and see how they get and maintain interest.

This Brother Past set is downloadable for free at the archive.org Live Music holdings.

January 14, 2010--Another live show by Ours today, again found on the archive.org Live Music section. Fletcher's in Baltimore is the setting, August 20, 2004. It was just before they went into the studio to record their second album. The sound is a little raw but gives you the excitement of the band live.

It shows off leader Jimmy Gnecco's incredible vocal pipes and has a little unplugged music, a very interesting instrumental and passionate renditions of some of the best of their early repertoire. There is some occasional hum from the PA or a guitar amp but it is minor. You get two full CDs of the band in top flight. Then of course you should go out and buy a commercial release or two if you like them.

January 13, 2010—One-Eyed Jack is the name of the riveting Marlon Brando Western with Karl Malden and Slim Pickins in some of their most dastardly roles. It is also the name (in the possessive form) of the sleazy club over the Canadian border in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” series. Today what concerns us is the One-Eyed Jack jamband from New Jersey.

Yes, it’s time to look at another legal download of a Live Archive show at www.archive.org. We join the band at the Eastport Clipper in Annapolis, Maryland on October 4th, 2003. This is a good Dead-Allman’s lineage group that has a nicely loose interplay between the lead and lead-rhythm guitarists and an effective rhythm section. The originals aren’t bad at all. Some sound more original than others. Jams on this particular date are pretty supercharged, with an expansive girth, some punch and hot lead soloing. The vocalists have a decent Rock presence. Worth hearing!

January 12, 2010—There was a time when Jack Kerouac’s “Big Sur” was at the top of my list of favorite novels. It harrowingly portrays the dark side of the bohemian road euphoria that Kerouac captured in such bright colors. Everything goes to smash in his life as “kicks” turn into alcoholism, hallucination, loneliness and utter despair.

This past year a documentary film about this part of Kerouac’s life was released, and the soundtrack, “One False Move Or I’m Gone” (Atlantic) came out as well. It’s Jay Farrar and Benjamin Gibbard in 12 songs that relate to the movie via the lyrics. It has a Rock-Folk-Country feel in the manner of Neil Young in a certain phase, though neither the songs nor the vocals have any direct derivation from Neil’s style.

It’s mostly acoustic guitar, pedal steel and a fairly straightforward studio sound. The songs stick in the memory. I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I don’t know how that works, but the music is certainly nice enough.

January 11, 2010—Who the heck is Mocky? He’s a songwriter-multi-instrumentalist originally from Canada. His fourth album “Saskamodie” (Crammed) came to me for review and the more I listened, the more I felt I was in the presence of a well-crafted “light,” “easy listening” not-quite-Musak sort of thing. It has plenty of wordless vocals, and a few with words, some memorable melodies, some interesting arrangements, and on from there.

It’s almost like listening to aspects of vintage Brazilian Pop with all the Brazilian aspects removed, or most of them anyway. Then combine that with a kind of transformation of Motown arragements into something more ambitious. It has a Jazz-ish flow sometimes and it is quite pleasant. One thing though, it’s not your parents’ lounge lizard music. It’s hip lounge lizard music for today. There are moments of R & B influences but mostly it just breaks the mold. So I can’t say I don’t like it. The quirkiness of the arrangements saves it from mere pap.

January 8, 2010—Latin Jazz can be all over the place today. Pablo Menendez & Mezcla and their new album “I’ll See You in Cuba” (Zoho) furnishes an exemplary model for this. Pablo and his guitar head up the mid-sized band that contains a number of respectable horn soloists and a good Latin rhythm section. There’s a scorching Latin Fusion number dedicated to Michael Brecker, there’s a Salsa soaked reworking of “I Got Rhythm,” some outright humour-fluff in “I’ll See You in Cuba,” a Blues-Latin Rocker or two so that Menendez has a chance to show some post-Santana guitar finesse, then a Latinized “Round About Midnight,” and so forth.

It’s not always exactly a guitarist’s album. Menendez is a voice among many, and not at all a bad one, but it’s the arrangements and band collective that is in the spotlight much of the time. There are some silimarities with the Fort Apache lineup in past years--contemporary, hip and extending the Latin roots. When it’s good it’s quite respectable and enjoyable. There are a few less inspired moments (mostly in the Fusion-Funk areas) but all in all this is quite decent modern music and there are some nice spots for the guitar. Bueno!

January 7, 2010—Bassist Buell Neidlinger has played an important (if on-again, off-again) role as a “Jazz” bassist since the ‘50s when he was an integral part of Cecil Taylor’s earlier units. At the same time he has been active and prolific as a Classical and Avant Classical player. He’s also dabbled in other stylistic universes, notably in his “New Grass” Bluegrass group Buellgrass.

A CD has come out centering around his work in Classical Avant areas. It involves performances of a number of pieces for solo contrabass as well as chamber works that feature the instrument prominently. It’s called “Basso Profundo” (Vivace). On it are six compositions, one each by Busotti, Xenakis, Bernstein and Kagel, and two by Robert Ceely.

These pieces have some very difficult parts for the bass and Buell handles them with comparative ease. The sound of the recording is not overly bright, but it’s not at all detracting to the presentation either. The pieces are Modernist and so tend to be rather abstract. It’s not a CD that is going to jump out at you and play itself. Close listening is necessary if you are to appreciate what is happening. There haven’t been many such releases available through the years, so this one ranks high by default if nothing else. The late Bertram Turetzky did some very good work as a virtuoso contrabassist in the Avant field. You might listen to some of his disks out as well, if you can find them. All in all “Basso Profundo” will be instructive to the bassist seeking to broaden his knowledge of the literature and techniques of the field. Dedicated Modern Classical listeners will find it interesting. Others may not.

January 6, 2010—Sometimes a primal garage sound, if done properly, can cut through the grease of existence like New Blue SOS. Other times or if you aren’t in the mood, you might as well go for the slick dishwasher. The Black Angels hail from the UK, I believe, and they’ve been scouring my system for a few days. They have shows on www.archive.org. A decent sounding recording from Detroit’s Lager House, April 13, 2007 has caught my ear. They proceed out of the Velvet Underground lineage in their drone mode, but they don’t sound like them particularly.

These aren’t guitar virtuosos ready to take on the lickmeisters of the world. Far from it. But what they do they do perfectly well. It’s raw, exciting skronk art. If you like that, give the music a hearing.

January 5, 2010—When Elysian Fields released their first full length album “Bleed Your Cedar” (Radioactive) in 1996 I was working 90 hour weeks developing a series of city guides for the airlines. I covered New York but not in any depth. So I missed that group. It was only when I had the chance to review “Convivencia” (Tzadik) a while ago (see this blog) that I noticed something was up. The album was an Elysian offshoot of sorts. Principal Elysian members Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow (vocals and instruments; and guitar, respectively) headed up this project, took some old Sephardic songs and made something inimitable out of them.

So I tracked down an old promo copy of “Bleed Your Cedar” recently and I am very glad I did. I believe they have a new CD coming out, so I am not untimely. Based on “Bleed,” Elysian Fields do a kind of dark Art Rock that has a laconic, quietly despairing quality that comes out via some really nice songs and terrific vocals by Jennifer. It sometimes sounds like a funerally slowed down Sonic Youth, but much more than that. It is some wonderful music and I emphatically recommend it. It's one of those bands that makes you want to hear everything they've done. At least that's what I feel.

January 4, 2010—We herald the new year and jump right in with an Alt Rock outfit named Spoon. You might not know them. They have around 50 shows posted at the archive.org live music site and the August 12, 2006 Berkeley gig gives you a solid disk’s worth of their music. It’s well recorded and they go through a fistful of their originals which have a quirky alternative quality—slightly retro and quite appealing. I don't think they especially sound like anybody--maybe a little Stones but that's only a reference point for you. Mostly they sound like a band that takes the song-oriented approach and makes something new with it. They are primal without being raw. The lead singer has charm and the band is well rehearsed. They were the opening act for Death Cab for Cutie for a time and they no doubt held their own in such illustrious company.

This is not a Jamband per se but they are most worth a listen. For free you can take a chance.

December 31, 2009—What is a gas giant? Apparently the name applies to planets such as Uranus, which are giant gas balls compared to earth. It’s also the name of a Space Metal power trio that comes out of the UK.

They have a bunch of shows posted on archive.org. I’ve been checking out their February 8th, 2002 gig at Illses Erika, Leipzig. The sound is good and the band stretches out with nicely spaced jams and a huge metal sound. The guitarist does a pretty good job and the band has some real torque. Since the new year is about to arrive, you may choose to celebrate it in outer space. I have other plans myself but here’s a band that will get you in orbit if you are attending the cosmic hoedown tonight. Peace and a 2010 filled with positive creative acts (with a positive creative axe?).

December 30, 2009—Billy Bang has been one of the most active of improvisational violinists since coming up after Leroy Jenkins established himself. I’ve heard a number of his recordings and my reactions have mostly been mixed. On occasion the intonation he utilizes doesn’t entirely gibe with my own ears. That is not true of the recording he made with CIMP in 1996, “Spirits Gathering.”

The date at hand features Bang in a quartet setting with interesting sidemen who create a chemistry that helps set things off. Guitarist Brett Allen chords thoughtfully and solos with a restrained intelligence. Akira Ando supplies good push on bass and helps the session swing. The late veteran Denis Charles is as always a uniquely dynamic and hip time presence on drums. Billy Bang is inspired by his surroundings and puts through some of his best work.

This is a straight ahead on the surface but Bang creates expressive solos that often go beyond the implications of the tonality and enter free territory. That can either come across well or sound out of synch. On “Spirits Gathering” it works. A mix of standards, originals and blues helps create a rooted quality to this set that enhances the appeal.

This is another that remains in print and is recommended for its sonorous dynamics. Go to www.cadencebuilding.com to find out more

December 29, 2009—There are artists of whom, after a good number of listenings, I just don’t have a clear vision. What are they doing? That’s the case with Robert Francis and his last CD “Before Nightfall” (Atlantic). He’s a singer-songwriter, mostly acoustic guitar twanger who has a pleasant enough voice and writes songs that have Pop-Rock-Country flavorings. There’s a moody sensitivity to much of his writing. Nothing is settled and stable in his lyrical universe. Francis describes a kind of alienated, rather unhappy existence, and I suppose captures a mood some may feel today. Imagery serves to convey a fleeting impermanence. When all the gears are in synch, like on his “Junebug” or "Darkness," words, music and arrangements work together. Other times there’s a kind of Pop banality that belies the lyrics.

So I guess what that means is that his is a musical universe that either hits—and if fortune smiles, charts—or it misses. Perhaps he will grow and mature as an artist. He is pretty young. There are some nice moments and those appeal to me. Other moments sound a little ordinary. The lyrics consistently hold interest. May he keep on keeping on.

December 28, 2009—The old year wanes and many of us return to a shortened work week in anticipation of the new year to come. And we take a look today at guitarist/jazz composer/bandleader David White, a name deserving of recognition in the coming years. I was not familiar with him at all until grabbing the CIMP release of a session from 1996, still in print. I speak of “Object Relations,” a quintet date with White’s mostly electric guitar along with Tim Armacost on tenor and soprano, Valery Ponomarev on trumpet and a very good rhythm section.

This is Bop inflected, fired-up Modern Jazz with interesting songs and not your everyday chord changes/chord comps. The songs allow plenty of room for the soloists and Ponomarev shows he’s not as straightforwardly out of the Clifford Brown-Lee Morgan school of trumpeters as it might have seemed in his work with Art Blakey. He references Bop but loosens up and shows heat at the same time. Tim Armacost has line running facility and constructs solos that do not partake of the clichés of the Hard Boppers. David White too does not fall into easy and predictable soloing. Like middle-period Pat Martino, his playing shows great line running density and the ability to work at the edges of the harmonic implications of the chords, modes and tonality of any particular tune. And he does that without sounding like Pat Martino.

“Object Relations” hammers home the idea that you can work from within the structure of Modern straight ahead Jazz without being constricted by tradition or hemmed in by what the players that came before would have done in any given situation. The songs are complicated and give the listener plenty to digest.

There’s even an abstracted version of the “Lovely Rita” song from Sgt. Peppers. Now that is cool.

A very much deserving David White and his cohorts provide 70-plus minutes of intriguing and burning music for your appreciation. Nab this one while it’s still available—at www.cadencebuilding.com.

December 23, 2009—Combine later Pig-Pen Era Grateful Dead with Southern Country Rock influences, a female vocalist that matches the male vocalist for distinctiveness and some interesting folkish harmonies, then add a fiddle to the mix. Now make all of this a Jamband of sorts and you have Donna the Buffalo.

One must not forget that the Dead didn’t just jam; they made their career on the strength of their tunes. (I've said this before, but it bears repeating.) Donna the Buffalo have some good ones. You can catch them on a night where everything is clicking and the tapes are rolling. I refer to the 9:30 Club gig in Washington, DC, five years back, December 12, 2004. Archive.org (the Live Music section) has the recording for free download and it fills up several CDs. It’s artist approved, like all of the Archive’s holdings.

They are joined by Bluegrass vet Del McCoury for a few songs and that works out just fine. Otherwise it’s a loose-tight band that just has that something that puts them at the top of the pack. You might find them to your liking. I did.

December 22, 2009—If you like the Power Pop Alt of Blink 182 and maybe Weezer, then you probably have already heard of Mayday Parade. But hey, I just review them, I don’t read minds, not like the guy on that TV show. Mayday Parade’s late 2009 release, “Anywhere But Here” (Atlantic), has the young sensitive guy vocals, guitar drenched, hook-laden songs, and contemporary all-pots-tweaked-to-max production.

I don’t mind this music. If I were 15 again, I would probably like it even more. It’s guitar-centered, which puts it square in this blog page.

December 21, 2009—Psylab plays live “Electronic Dance Music,” as their website puts it. They consist of a bass player, a sample and visuals person, an electronic drummer and a synth-keys person. I was curious, so I downloaded their May 4, 2006 gig from Framingham, Mass on the archive.org artist-approved Live Music holdings.

It’s a disk worth of the band’s live show, apparently a number of improvisations. There are grooves set up by the drums, bass riffs most of the time and then a wash of synth textures and samples. Sometimes it seems as if these are backing tracks for a soloist that never shows up. Of course Electronica can be that way. There is a trance element but it’s mostly a long groove “background” in search of a melodic “foreground.” Now I don’t mean to be unkind. This music is played live after all, and that is something. And the recording was made towards the beginning of their existence. Perhaps they have evolved from this point. I cannot be sure. At any rate it is nice of them to make their music available to people gratis for their consideration.

December 18, 2009—Technique on the electric Rock lead guitar has at times been emphasized at the expense of musical inventiveness. The faster some guitarist play, the faster they try to play. Then there are those who may be able to play fast, but use their technique to the overall end of making a musical statement. A guitarist in the latter category would be Eric McFadden. He plays a Blues-tinged Rock tempered with some Country influences. He sings OK too.

You can check out his playing on a good night at the free and legitimate, artist-approved archive.org Live Music holdings. There’s a show from, of all things, a Go-West T-Shirt Company Party at Ft. Collins, Colorado on October 6, 2005. It’s an evenings worth of music he played with his trio and it’s both fun and worth hearing for his Rock artistry. Now I don’t know his albums but this night he jammed, he picked and he covered much ground. He can play machine gun Blues-Rock lines when he feels like it, but it’s all part of a larger musical whole. The download is free and you get three solid CDs of music.

December 17, 2009—New-York based tenor saxophonist Stephen Gauci hit the ground running several years ago and he has kept on going ever since. He’s racked up numerous CDs as a leader, on CIMP, Cadence, Ayler, etc., and been quite active recording as a sideman with Michael Bisio’s group too. (See this blog and the gapplegatemusicreview.blogspot.com sister site for review coverage of many of these disks.)

One of his free-er explorations can be had in his recent CD “Red Feast” (Cadence Jazz). It’s a quartet date with a bass-drum rhythm section of Ken Filiano and Mike Pride, respectively, and it brings in the well seasoned, much discussed guitarist Nels Cline. Nels was on a break from touring with Wilco, apparently, and the opportunity arose for a session with Stephen.

The tracks recorded on that resultant date are quite spontaneous and free but with the kind of inherent structure that always comes with a gathering of players who know what they are about and interact as a unit by keen listening and able response.

Gauci and Cline are clearly open to a dialog throughout the set and they are congenitally abetted by Filiano and Pride. The program goes from quiet musical conversations to high-intensity shout-outs, never taking the tried and true or safe route through the musical thickets they set up for themselves.

As you come to expect from Stephen Gauci, there is integrity to everything on this CD. Nobody’s jiving at any point in the program. Why should they? They have all the preparation they need to create meaningful sounds whenever and wherever the chance arises. “Red Feast” brings out a free-er side to Gauci’s performance practices. And it turns out—not surprisingly—that he can benefit from the circumstances of this sort of a date as much as he can excel in a more structured environment. And Nels Cline shows us the same proclivity.

Go to www.cadencebuilding.com, then click on Cadence Records for more information on the album.

December 16, 2009—Jamaican Dance Hall Music, Reggae, call it what you will, it is very much alive today. It has incorporated Rap and Hip Hop elements and made them dance to the Reggae sensibility.

There’s Sean Paul as a good example. His last album “Imperial Blaze” (Atlantic) has dense barrages of the electronic beats and synthesizers, but a continuous, spaceless vocal style that has an intensely rhythmic quality, rapping that is more tuneful and Jamaican, and vocal refrains that hook your ears.

It’s a music that doesn’t induce a “brown study.” Thought disappears in the face of the unrelenting beating and vocalizing. Well, I’m sure Sean Paul did not put this music together for people who want to read Heidegger as they listen. Trust me, it won’t go well.

That aside, this music has real flair. It is a genuine innovation, something rare and to be appreciated in that light for starters. Those who listen to this music do not need to be told. People like me, outside the scene looking in, can get much from a serious listen. I did.

December 15, 2009—An ensemble of flute, electric guitar, cello, drums and conga playing straight-ahead Jazz will right off the bat have a certain sound. It is one that many will find pleasing. I am one. The old Chico Hamilton ensembles had the guitar, flute, cello, drums and bass combination; Eric Dolphy on flute and Ron Carter on cello teamed with bass and drums on some early sides for Prestige. I have liked these recordings for many years. So when The Reese Project came forward with the initially mentioned lineup, I perked up a bit.

The Reese Project's soon-to-be-released “Eastern Standard Time” (In the Groove) features the flute of Tom Reese, the guitar of Bobby Brewer, the cello of Laurie Haines Reese, and Aaron Walker on drums with guest Johnny Acevedo on the congas. Tom Reese plays a respectable flute. His tone is warm and he generally negotiates hairpin turns in the Bop bag with skill. It’s guitarist Bobby Brewer who impresses me though. He has the post-Kenny Burrell sensibility, very good facility, a penchant for blues-oriented lines and some quite tasteful chording choices. And Laurie Reese acquits herself with good musicianship when called upon for a bowed passage or a brief solo.

The band divides its program between pleasantly swinging originals and old chestnut standards. Despite the fact that many have covered this ground before, the band swings along brightly and does not falter when called upon to come through. But Brewer that has the strong presence that makes it all worthwhile. Bluesy Bop never sounds dated to me and so he can play those licks like he does (with some soul) and get me feeling good. Tom Reese has some abilities, mind you, but it’s Mr. Brewer that gets the brass ring on this one. And of course there is the ensemble sound, like a plush velvet set of gloves filled with quicksilver. That would be a little messy, but I suspect you get the idea.

December 14, 2009—Ladyfinger (NE) put out their second album “Dusk” (Saddle Creek) earlier this year. They have a hard edge. . . it’s Rock with a hint of Punk and Retro but with well thought-out guitar, bass and drum parts that don’t rely on cliché. The vocals are strong and there are varied Hard Rock songs that have their own integrity and keep things interesting.

Like much of what Saddle Creek puts out, "Dusk" has its own center of balance. This is a solid unit playing within the world it has created. Ladyfinger (NE) is in the idiom without letting the idiom overrule their own identity. They have obviously worked hard to make their own music what it is, and they are worth your attention. Here’s another good place for your ears to be. Go there if you can.

December 11, 2009—John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra did for Fusion in the early ‘70s what Miles Davis’ small group from 1955-60 did for Bop. It established a reference point from which more or less all groups in that style embarked.

Now some nearly 40 years later, original Mahavishnu drummer Billy Cobham has collaborated with arranger-director Cohn Towns and the HR Big Band in a reappraisal of classic Mahavishnu numbers, this time out arranged for a large ensemble. [“Meeting of the Spirits” (In and Out)].

Martin Scales steps in as the guitar soloists and while he does not sound like McLaughlin, he plays nicely. But the main thrust of the music is the rearrangement for a larger group and Cobham’s out-front, aggressive drum style. There are solos by Scales, as mentioned, and a number of reeds and hornmen, all decent.

Anybody not familiar with Mahavishnu should probably listen to “Birds of Fire” (Columbia) for the high velocity-high temperature tenor of the original band and McLaughlin’s dense, impassioned guitar work.

The CD at hand gives you another look at the repertoire and though it does not reach the dizzying heights of the original sides, it compensates by coloring the melodic content with the tonal resources of the big band instrumentation.

Mr. Town’s arrangements are quite satisfactory, although not especially distinguished, and Mr. Cobham spices the session with his usual steady, busy style and virtuoso solos. All in all this is a fun listen and will appeal to Mahavishnu fans and those interested in big band Fusion outings. [See today's posting at my http://gapplegateguitar.blogspot.com site for a look at another Fusion oriented big band.]

December 10, 2009—I’ll be the first to admit that I do not have the time or inclination to follow what the commercial radio stations are playing, what gets music video coverage on TV and related mediums. So when the increasingly dummed down home page that greets me every boot up informed me the other day that such and such was the top “one hit wonder” of the decade, then went on to caution that there may be those who might have been too young to remember it (we’re talking about 2003, for cripes sakes) but to everybody else the song was all-pervasive. So I listened/watched the video for the heck of it and I found out I had never heard the song, not even once.

If my supermarket isn’t playing it, I probably wont know it. Part of this has to do with hit singles today. They are listened to and purchased by an ever-shrinking minority of the populace. A number one hit at one time was truly in everybody’s face, like it or not. That has changed rapidly. It’s like who the WWF wrestling champ is at any point. Face it, it isn’t something that most people care to know about. Top 40 radio has become like that.

So when a good hearted marketing fellow sent me the new Skillet CD, it might as well been by the Nobodies. I Wikied them and and it turned out they’ve sold gazillions of records, are a Christian Rock band, and blab la bla.

Not everything popular is bad and not everything unpopular is good. So I listened to “Awake” (Atlantic) with open ears and I must say they have a vocal style I’ve heard before. (Is this the same guy that sung a Chevy pickup truck jingle a few years ago? Could have been. . . ) Sort of hoarse, emotional. . . and then there’s a female singer who interjects some lines, especially on the “Hero” cut, and I like her. It’s Power Pop Rock and it is sincerely done and rather well done. And it may be interchangeable with 100 other groups who will come along and sing like that. That’s as far as I would like to take it. Now I am not under the illusion that the web will be buzzing tomorrow with the knowledge that “Grego likes Skillet.” Nobody cares and they are correct in that feeling. Groups like this do not depend on bloggers like me.

(By the way, the term “blogger” is one I don’t like. It means to me amateurs who write for free because there is nobody who would pay them in any case. I used to be paid handsomely for my writing. I don’t consider myself a publishing scab. Really! I am an ar-teest! An alienated genius living in my garret and baking liverwurst in my oven for dinner every night because that’s all I can afford. OK?)

For what it is worth, I think Skillet is quite decent musically. Does that mean I would sit around and listen to their music all day? Well, no. So what.

December 9, 2009—Engineers have a new one after four years. It’s their second. It’s very good. It’s called “Three Fact Fader” (Kscope). It combines lustrous walls of sound with gentle, lyrical, youthful vocals in harmony, the latter with a resonance that sometimes reminds me of the original Byrds and the sort of cosmic Raga Rock they and other groups perfected, only minus the incense and sitars. “Reminds me” does not imply that Engineers sound derivative. No. It’s the rich vocal modalities that sit atop long pedal drone carpets that have familial linkages with some of the best psychedelic tracks that came out of a very different period in Rock culture.

It’s almost as if Light Rock meets Dark Rock in a kind of pumpernickel swirl tumbling into a vortex of sensual sound. There’s nothing light about the instrumental, orchestrally girthed presence of such numbers as the title cut, “Clean Coloured Wire,” or “Helped By Science.” They are all-enveloping, tour de forces of powerful Prog Rock production. The vocals have a contrasting sunny, airly lightness though and that’s what makes me think of the swirl in the bread.

Kscope artists are making breathtaking records these days. And this Engineers disk is right up there with the most stunning of them. They are doing for Prog Rock what ECM did for modern Jazz. Changing it, redefining it, casting the first lovely stones in a sound revolution. That’s how it hits me in any case. Beauty can still be a criterion. At least with Engineers. They make beautiful music. Music that shines even in its moments of sadness and regret. Exquisitely. It has that “saudade” quality that is so important to Portuguese Fado music. A melancholy so beautiful that it transcends itself. A regret that climbs out of itself and becomes its opposite, yet remains what it was in the first place.

I hope we do not have to wait another four years for the next Engineers album. Revel in this one now, though. It’s here for that.

December 8, 2009—The contemporary vocalist doing Jazz-Cabaret is in some ways at a crossroads. The Great American Songbook has been the preferred repertoire for such singers since the mid-‘50s on. Now these are classic songs, most of them, and they generally derive from musicals and pop endeavors from the late ‘20s through early ‘50s. Many of the vocal greats have sung these songs, and also the vocal not-so-greats. Today the field seems to be glutted with lesser talents, for whom the subtle phrasings of a Holiday or the pyrotechnics of Betty Carter may be models, but the vocal instruments they wield may not be up to the challenge. To be blunt, there are many vocalists out there that do not really merit the exposure they get. And the Great American Songbook has begun to be over exploited, like those 40 or so so-called “Classic Rock” tracks some radio stations play endlessly. Nevertheless the Jazz Vocal medium is popular among many who otherwise might not listen to Jazz. Overproduction, formula, and stereotypical performances are the result.

Into this situation arrives another newcomer, Kelley Suttenfield, and her debut “Where Is Love” (Rhombus). She is not at all typical of the overproduction we endure. First of all, she is dead-on musical, with a pure but slightly smokey lower register and a bell-like upper. She varies her delivery in ways that sound natural and unforced. There are no self-consciously mannerist attempts to over-interpret the song materials. That is most refreshing. Her band is very solid, with nice solos from Jessie Lewis on the electric guitar or Tony Romano on acoustic, and some good key work from Michael Cabe.

Then there’s her repertoire. It has some of the Great American Songbook classics like “I Fall in Love Too Easily” but also some Jazz associated numbers like Stanley Turrentine’s “Sugar,” Wes Montgomery’s “West Coast Blues” and an Indian tinged “Nature Boy.” She also is not afraid to tackle newer standards like “Charade” and the title song, “Where is Love” from the musical “Oliver.” Arrangements are well thought-out and help rejuvenate the material.

Kelley Suttenfield has a most pleasant, unforced artistry that makes this record a very rewarding listen. May she be well-received!

December 7, 2009—Today we are whisked off to Sweden for the instrumental Prog group Makajodama (Laser’s Edge) and their inaugural release. Guitarist Mathias Danielsson writes the attractive music and plays acoustic and electric. The ensemble of guitar, violin, cello and drums mixes well together in improvised and written ensemble passages that have a kind of Prog meets Post folksy flavor. This is music that wafts at you like a series of small waterfalls in a country stream. Sometimes those rivulets become more turbulent, like on the early Crimsonish "The Ayurvedic Soap." Then there is a kind of Baroque Beatles meets spooky-cosmic-mood psychedelia of the closing "Autumn Suite." It’s quite nice, perhaps not indispensible, but a very pleasurable listen. It's music to live inside of. . .might be good for a rainy day.

December 4, 2009--For Friday a new group in the Alt mode, uuvvwwz (Saddle Creek). This is a band with some edge, crafty guitar work, and, most importantly, a new vocal presence. At first, the vocals irritated me--perhaps a good sign. They are sing-songy. They are at times over the top. Not in a punky way, in their own way. Now, several listens later, I appreciate it all. A female vocalist has appeared with an agenda her own and songs to match. This is a solid bunch of music; music with distinction.

They seem quite original to me. So naturally I would suggest that you check it. See if you agree.

December 3, 2009—If you are one of those who wants to play some Christmas music but either have enough or have had enough of the 20 usual songs everybody does, there are other options. You can go Medieval-Renaissance, Folk, or there are the odd releases here and there.

One of them is by Sissel (Kyrjebo), angelic soprano from Norway. Somebody sent me her “Northern Lights” (Denon) CD, which is based on a PBS Special first shown in 2007. It’s a performance of lesser-known Christmas carols, winter songs, and things not originally intended for the Christmas season but tunefully done. Her voice is wonderful, the arrangements good examples of the Classical Crossover bag, and it’s all very nice. You get a different sort of version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” a lovely Norwegian song called “Koppangen,” and a ravishing “Ready to Go Home,” among others. This is Christmas-Winter music on the religious side of things. Well done at any rate.

December 2, 2009—1969 was a most productive year for Rock. We don’t need to rehearse the details. Looking back, one of the high points of the period was the formation of King Crimson and the release of their first album. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the occasion, Robert Fripp has produced a series of definitive editions of the classic first recordings.

There have been general instances in the past when deluxe editions of classic tracks (not of King Crimson, mind you) ended up being more a matter of sophisticated re-packaging and marketing than in a radical improvement or addition to what’s already come out. Not here. I have been checking out the Anniversary Edition of that first KC album, "In the Court of the Crimson King" (KCSP). It was a pretty startlingly great piece of pioneering Progressive Rock then and it does not sound in the least dated today.

That first incarnation of Crimson had much going for it: Greg Lake’s bass and wonderful vocals, of course Fripp himself, Ian McDonald on reeds, mellotron and etc., Michael Giles as the busy, musical drummer. The program had songs and arrangements that made a huge impact on the Rock scene at the time. The moods segued dramatically from song to song, climaxing in the self-titled “In the Court of the Crimson King.”

I nearly wore out my LP copy in that first year. In 2004 a digitized version of the master tapes came out on CD. Because KC's studio situation of 1969 entailed a bouncing of several tracks onto a typically limited number of channels, the balance of instruments could not be finessed once the finalized tape tracks were completed. Also, several generations of analog tape were needed in the process. The master tapes then had a pretty significant amount of signal loss, which of course was hardly unusual at the time. It was more or less the standard route for an involved set of tracks.

For the Anniversary Edition, Robert Fripp and Pineapple Thief’s Steven Wilson were able to go back to the original session tapes, including the pre-bounced “slave” tracks, and remix the entire album in first generation mode, with access to each track as originally recorded so that the mix could vary the prominence of each instrument in the mix at any point in a song.

What you get is the band as it really sounded in the original tracking. The new edition contains the newly remixed album in two-track stereo on the CD and a 5:1 surround mix (done by Wilson) on the DVD. The results are pretty stunning. The increased definition and staging of each musical voice in the mix gives a rather breathtaking clarity the original master lacked. The surround mix cannot be described. It is the best use made of that configuration I have heard in the Rock domain to date.

The set contains lots of extras, much of which exposes Fripp’s guitar work in greater detail. There are alternate backing tracks, alternate rough takes, rehearsals, remixed final backing tracks from the original tapes, and even a short film clip of the band performing “Schizoid Man” live that year.

Whether you have listened to this album many times or are new to it, this Anniversary Edition will bring you the definitive sound of that band in all its progressiveness. The extras underscore how musically intricate and inventive these tracks were, even with arrangement ideas that were later set aside in the final versions.

Many CD reissues have had a disclaimer on the insert to the effect that “the defects in the original analog master tapes may be noticeable due to the high definition nature of the digitalization process." Here is a reissue where you can say that “any defects in the original master tapes have been corrected!” This is a must for any Crimson/Fripp fan and a terrific introduction for the novice.

December 1, 2009—You might not be Jewish. You probably are not a Rastafarian. It isn’t Passover. It’s December 1st. These factors in another universe might matter. In this one today, namely with David Gould’s new recording “Feast of the Passover” (Tzadik) they are neutral. Because bassist David Gould has put together a mid-sized group doing Reggae versions of traditional Passover songs, and all of this transcends category in the best sense.

Gould creates convincing reggae with really interesting arrangements, especially for the horns. It has an attractive groove orientation, a nice looseness and that Mid-Eastern modality which gives the music a real twist. The guitar and horns solo appropriately and the rhythm section burns. This is yet another example of what Tzadik artists are doing with the diaspora inflections available to them. It's an especially good one. And it’s absolute (serious) fun. Gould does for Reggae what the Klezmer musicians did for the Eastern European-American musical diaspora. Now that's something!