Filed under: Arts, creativity, music | Tags: african music, Classica Orchestra, classical jazz, classical music, entertainment, fela kuti, jazz, world music
I discovered this record in Italy. It was produced there and that maybe explains why there are no reviews to be found in Google. But take it from me if you like African music you will surely love this classical/jazz take on the work of Fela Kuti.
Utterly beguiling.
Filed under: Arts, creativity, music, Scotland | Tags: Also in White, Bill Wells Trio, Domino Records, east neuk, East Neuk of Fife Music scene, Fence collective, folk, freeform jazz, jazz, King Creosote and Jon Hopkins, scottish folk, scottish jazz
This track is as good as jazz gets.
I rushed out and bought the album which is called “Also in White” available online from The Domino Records website. He’s Scottish.
Domino also published King Creosote and Jon Hopkins’ album earlier this year.
Have a try
It is sublime.
Filed under: Arts, music | Tags: Baby I'm a fool, Grammies, jazz, melody gardot
At last, a Melody Gardot video.
It perfectly catches her silky smoothness. But the album’s title track (My One and Only Thrill) is even better. This album has Grammy written all over it – in a good way – trust me.
Filed under: Arts, music, Uncategorized, videos, Youtube | Tags: jazz, joan as policewoman, rufus wainwright
On the subject of female singer songwriters…here’s another one.
The second album by Joan as Policewoman will not go down well if you don’t like jazz. So don’t even go there. It isn’t an outright Jazz album, but it certainly leans in that general direction. She comes from a great musical stock having first come to my attention as one of Antony and the Johnston’s band members. And is currently supporting Rufus Wainwright who puts in an appearance on the new album. She was Jeff Buckley’s bird you know.
Her debut, ‘Real Life’ last year firmly put her on the map in her own right
The new one, ‘To survive’ is an absolute peach. Languid, free-flowing and lush with unconventional song structures. It’s not all verse-chorus and makes for a very easy listening experience
Great with a good book and a glass of red wine.
Try this for size – from Real life.
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Filed under: gigs, music, photography, Youtube | Tags: jazz, melody gardot, wearisome heart
Saw this cracking new Jazz singer at The Voodoo Lounge last night. She was knocked over by a Jeep a couple of years ago which has affected both her sight and her ability to walk, vbut this just addsan air of mystique to her personality.
She performed a very intimate (short) set with her band consisting of trumpet, drums and bass under two fixed red spots which gave it a really old fashioned Jazzy feel. all it needed was for everyone in the audience to be smoking and we’d have been transported to a New York Basement Bar circa 1956.
Anyway, a superb singer that had the fortune not to have been beaten by the ugly stick.
To be honest I thought the choice of live songs meant she was better live than she is on her album; Worriesome Heart.
But it’s pretty good nonetheless.
Filed under: Arts, music, videos, Youtube | Tags: funk, helsinki jazz, jazz, tuomo
Whoa. Here’s a wee cracker for ya!
Heard this on the Craig Charles Funk Show tonight.
Jazz funk from Finland.
Get on down man…
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Filed under: life, music | Tags: ethiopia, ethiopian music, ethiopiques, jazz, very best of ethiopiques, world music
Sometimes a record comes along that literally blows your mind.
This is it.
It’s a collection of the Ethiopian club music scene of Addis Ababa circa 1968 – 74. And it’s unique, hypnotic, sexy, trance-like because the rythms are so un-western. Yet it adopts western influences of jazz and soul and meshes them with military precision (many of the artists are from the Ethiopian army bands) and African mystery.
It is actually, to die for. OK, some tracks fail to quite mesh with my westernised ear – but not many.
Unquestionably my album of the year so far.
You can hear more (and read all about) here!
Needless to say, the kids hate it.
Filed under: life, music, Youtube | Tags: jazz, nightlly, nonald fagen, steely dan, wjaz
Och I know my love of Donald Fagen is not widely shared but I stumbled upon this after a long night on the keyboards. It is not a great video. In fact it is fairly bad. But what a great song. The older I get the further it creeps up my top 100. It’s well into the top ten now.
Cue funeral music.
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Filed under: Arts, humour, photography, videos, Youtube | Tags: 20th Century fox, 60's, Alec Guinness, animation, Carrie Fisher, darth vader, George Lucas, Harrison Ford, jazz, light sabres, Obi wan Konobi, Princess Leyla, Saul Bass, star wars
I’m not a particularly great fan of Star Wars but I’ve seen enough of the movies to know that this is quite a sweet touch. It’s based on the premise of transporting the credits of the whole franchise back to the 60′s and I am grateful to Dennis the Menace for bringing it to my attention.
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Filed under: Arts, life, music, videos, Youtube | Tags: chamber music, jazz, penguin cafe orchestra, simon jeffes
By now, dear reader you will have worked out that I like the odd song. You’ll know that I am a music enthusiast and you’ll be aware that I do not hold back in the superlatives department.
It came to my attention however that I have never blogged and shared with you my love for Penguin Cafe Orchestra. The prompt came from a member of the South Queensferry Arts Festival committee of which I am chairman. (How esteemed I must be; you must think.)
Anyway, at home alone tonight and watching dull football I thought I’d trawl youtube for some PCO stuff.
I wasn’t disappointed.
Now, let me drool.
I love PCO.
Thinking about my relationship with them it may outstrip any other band or performer I love: The Clash, The Cure, The Stranglers, Belle and Sebastian, New Order, Aimee Mann, Tom Waits – all have, at times, had profound effects on me and most are very long term – but for some reason PCO are more visceral, more important.
Perhaps it’s because their leader Simon Jeffes died so young (of a brain tumour before he was 50) and out of respect they were shelved (until recently).
Perhaps it is because they make the most beautiful music ever. The aforementioned bands might not merit descriptors that could be widely aknowledged as beautiful.
I believe PCO can.
Yes, some people say to me “get that shite off”.
I pity them.
PCO is a profound and beautiful musical experience. The PCO may be the greatest thing ever to happen to music.
But you can be the judge of that.
This particular tune (they only ever did one “song” on their first album) is called Music for a Lost Harmonium and features a harmonium.
Uncommon, lilting, infectious. I may love the Harmonium as much as I love PCO.
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Filed under: Arts, music | Tags: canada, canadian music, folk, jazz, Joni mitchell, rock, singer songwriter
I love Joni Mitchell!
Fact.
Although, I feel I am too young to be this devoted.
After all, she is old enough to be my mother. That said, you can’t ignore class. The Beatles coulda been my Grandads; the Stones too.
Jimi?
Well, he’d just be a badly influential uncle.
Joni is pure and utter class. And she has ‘classes’ of fans, her folk fans, her Jazz fans, her in-betweeni fans.
I’m one of them. The inbetweeni.
And this is one of those albums. Closest call in her past life? Hejira!
The album opens with a two chord piano riff that takes your breath away. It is possibly the perfect opening stance. Two aces in a Texas Hold ‘em.
The song (well it’s an instrumental) recalls a beautiful summer day and it is the best piece of music I have heard this year, bar none. The fact that it is instrumental is, I think, a brilliant holding device because how will Joni sound when she finally sings after a self imposed ten year retirement from the music scene?
Growly, gruff, mature, wondrous. That’s how she sounds.
The album is self assured, beautiful and flawed. Her 21st century take on Big Yellow Taxi that is the centrepiece of this great album doesn’t work for me, because it lacks the youthful rebellion of its inception.
‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling is given an interpretation that I think comes off, just.
But, overall, if I was 65, retired 10 years and making a comeback, this is how I’d like to do it.
Think Eric Cantona Playing for Man Utd in the Champions League and scoring a hatrick.
Then again. Think Joni Mitchell at the top of her game.
5 star. No doubt.
And, you know what. This confirms that Canada is music country of the year. If you are in any doubt check it out here.
