Archive for May, 2008
Spring Heel Jack
Songs and Themes
Thirsty Ear Records (www.thirstyear.com)
Thi57183.2
Spring Heel Jack started out as an experimental electronica act. But increasingly, John Coxon and Ashley Wales have incorporated avant-jazz players, and more of the free-improv aesthetic, into SHJ releases. They’ve also steadily grown as musicians, adding an arsenal of instruments and playing styles to their repertoire. Thirsty Ear’s Blue Series, an ongoing set of recordings highlighting the fusion of contemporary jazz with electronica, hip hop, and other styles, has been a fertile venue for this avenue of experimentation from Coxon and Wales.
Indeed, some of the cuts off their latest CD, Song and Themes, hew closer to free jazz than ‘out electronica.’ Samples and electronics are present, but they are just one texture among many: guitars, drums, basses, saxophones, trumpets, strings, vibes, and even glockenspiel! While there are a number of excellent performances on the disc, the stars of the show are trumpeter Roy Campbell and saxophonist John Tchicai, both of whom seem entirely comfortable in this hybrid environment. Particularly invigorating are their solos on “Church Music” and “Antiphon.”
That said, SHJ is still capable of sci-fi sonics, as on the multi-textured, enthralling “Folk Players.” Spiritualized’s Jason Pierce, here billed as J Spaceman, is along for the ride, turning in guitar squalls on the clangorous “Garlands” and “1,000 Yards.” Coxon and Wales preside over a motley crew and put them through a variety of paces, but the end results keep getting better and better.
-Christian Carey
No Comments »
It’s always nice to hear from former compositions students; it’s even nicer to get CDs from them.
Austin King studied with me in 2002-3 at William Paterson University. A talented composer-pianist with an interest in both jazz and pop, he’s since gone on record as Manchild (www.manchildband.com and www.myspace.com/manchildband). His latest self-released CD, Manchild Zone, is a wonderful mix of funky pop songs and fusion-inspired instrumentals.
Manchild’s brand of pop owes a debt to David Sancious, the keyboardist for both Springsteen and Peter Gabriel, who released several albums in the seventies that managed to be both ambitiously prog and eminently soulful. Manchild Zone is at its best when it treads this narrow pathway, on pieces such as “Haters (be Gone!)” and “Fallen Planet Variations.” He’s able to incorporate a wide variety of sound sources, from Fender Rhodes and Hammond Organ to synths from the digital domain.
There’s also a lightness of touch, even the occasional Zappa-esque zaniness, that is appealing. On “Prince Harry the Nazi,” Manchild crafts a soulful ode, tongue planted firmly in cheek, to an ill-fated costume decision and its attendant press flurry.
No Comments »
The Dowland Project
John Potter
Romaria
ECM Records (www.ecmrecords.com)
ECM New Series 1970
Sure, the Labyrinth brought listeners outside the classical fold to early music, specifically to the wonderful songs of John Dowland, but it’s nice to hear the experts tackle ancient repertoire again. Tenor John Potter and his collaborators in the Dowland Project – violinist/violist Milos Valent, wind-player John Surman, and baroque guitarist Stephen Stubbs – explore Medieval and Renaissance music other than Dowland on their latest CD, Romaria; but they treat it with the same combination of informed performance practice and innovative exploration as the Elizabethan material they’ve previously recorded.
Perhaps the most “exploratory” sonic signature on Dowland Project recordings is Surman’s use of saxophone, an instrument that wasn’t invented until centuries after this music was composed; but his manner of playing, with limited vibrato and sensitive phrasing, allows the sax to fit into the proceedings. He also plays on a variety of recorders and the bass clarinet; the latter instrument lends a particularly beautiful drone to “Veris dulcis,” a composition from the Carmina Burana manuscript (13th
century). Another piece from the Carmina Burana MS, “Dulce Solum,” features sensitive interplay between Potter’s legato lines, sustained string-playing from Valent, and Stubbs’ delicate arpeggiations, as well as an undulating soprano saxophone solo from Surman.
The Sanctus from Josquin Des Prez’s Tu solis qui facis, featuring Stubbs’ filigrees, Surman’s sonorous bass recorder, and Potter’s poignant sustained lines, is exquisitely lovely. A Credo by Orlando di Lasso is another sumptuous highlight, creating maximal grace with economical means. The group also performs livelier fare, such as the Iberian Marian ode O Rosa, which features intricate rhythms amid wistful snippets of vocal melody.
Romaria is a wonderful example of early music performed with the immediacy and vitality of works written just yesterday.
-Christian Carey
No Comments »
This Friday, the Halcyon Trio ( www.halcyontrio.com) will be premiering my new work Innesscapes at the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey . Pre-concert talk at 7:15; concert at 8. More information is at www.njartscollective.org. Innesscapes
A trio for clarinet, viola, and piano, Innesscapes is based on the life and work of landscape painter George Inness. His late painting, Sunset (1892), served as initial inspiration for a work in which I’ve sought to reflect various facets of Inness’ personality and richly resonant paintings. It is cast in three movements.
I. Montclair - This duo movement for clarinet and viola is a meditation on the mysterious beauty of Inness’ late paintings, many of them landscapes depicting his farm in Montclair. Although the settings for these works seem on the surface to be idyllic, spectral figures and enigmatic flashes of color – like the burst of orange so prominent in Sunset (1892) – endow them with a multifaceted character that would seem to invite a host of different perspectives. This ambiguity is reflected by the wide harmonic palette, variety of articulations, and the elusive phrasal design of the duo.
II. Brush Flurry – Inness was known to work in a most vigorous manner, attacking canvasses with brushes and even, upon occasion, his fingers, when inspiration took hold of him. He was also quite willing to repossess paintings, even ones he’d already sold, in order to “improve them.” Brush Flurry whimsically imagines Inness’ creative zeal in a flight of editorial enthusiasm.
III. Swedenborg – The theological writings of Emmanuel Swedenborg were another key source of inspiration for Inness. Many of his paintings include religious symbolism and mystical allusions to Swedenborgianism. In Swedenborg, elements from the first two movements reappear, but kaleidoscopically altered, forming a series of variations on an elaborate ostinato refrain.
Innesscapes was commissioned for the Halcyon Trio by the Montclair Art Museum and NJ Arts Collective.
-Christian Carey
No Comments »
|
Entries (RSS)