What is the truth, and where did it go? Ask Oswald and Ruby, they oughta know "Shut your mouth, " said the wise old owl Business is business, and it's a murder most foul
Mysterious Traveller. Weather Report, 1974. The album starts with a quite festive tune by Zawinul: "Nubian Sundance". Zawinul dominates the piece and makes extensive use of his ARP 2600 and its wide variety of sounds. Interesting dual drum section. The days of the acoustic upright bass are over, and Alphonso Jones hands the electric bass guitar duties (a position he would hold for a couple of years). Having been born and raised in Buenos Aires, whenever I see the word "tango" in a composition by a foreign musician I feel curious. "American Tango" might be a new kind of tango (an American ) but, believe me, it has nothing to do with the genre. But who cares, it's a very pleasant piece with co-composer Vitouš playing bass for the last time. Zawinul (the other co-composer) offers some lovely synth parts. Based in an ingenious bass line by Jones, "Cucumber Slumber" is a very funky tune. Wayne Shorter plays both tenor and soprano while Zawinul entertain us with his battery of keyboards. Very tight and solid playing. Shorter's "Mysterious Traveller" starts with ominous sci-fi synths until the piano (played by Shorter) enters and states the rythmic structure. Once again, two drummers play together (Ismael Wilburn and Skip Hadden), this time against each other and to great effect. Both Shorter (on soprano and tenor) and Zawinul (on Rhodes) keep their solo parts simple and down-to-Earth (ironically, given the title was inspired by the Kohoutek comet). The musical approach is pure Weather Report abstraction, but with a steady (and sophisticated) beat behind. Excellent track. "Blackthorn Rose" is another tune by Shorter. Written for keyboards (piano and melodica) and soprano sax, it works perfectly as a gentle (and complex) relief from the previous funky landscapes. "Scarlet Woman" is a collaboration between Johnson, Shorter and Zawinul. An intriguing moody piece with a very simple melody played by the soprano sax and the synthesizer in unison (nice slightly dissonant harmony). Minimal percussion work (just to keep the tension), short delicate soprano sax solo, wah-wah bass lines, synth wind. Splendid! The album closes with "Jungle Book", an almost Zawinul solo performance. He plays all keyboards, tamboura, kalimba and maracas and is joined only by a small percussion section. I would describe as an African-flavoured cheerful piece, but then again, I might be wrong about what African music really is, just as like many people are about tango. Whatever, who cares about labels, it's very nice, and that's all that matters. I enjoyed this album more than Sweetnighter. There's a better balance between funky vamps and experimental musical journeys.
This was a great listen. Very hypnotic/mesmerizing. I would even give a majority of it the "acid jazz" label. This would be a great album to put on late at night to crash to. Quite smooth but still weird although not jarring or wild like some of Sun's more avant garde stuff. It's all about the groove here. Highly recommend.
This was a great first lesson as well. It much more traditional jazz but in the Mingus sense where things can still go haywire at any point. Highly recommend.
“Jungle Book” is such a wonderful piece of music. It actually makes me think of Amazonia more than Africa, but either way it’s a lovely musical tone poem. It evokes one of my favorite films of all-time: Mosquito Coast.
This OST was just right for the Wenders film, both full of wonder: new songs, perfect sequencing, great mix, and best of all, the most eclectic batch of songs ever. Wonder if Sun Ra would have contributed a piece of music had they asked? T-Bone's Humans From Earth is infectious, Nick Cave's song is the perfect dessert of the pair, both reminding me of like, right at this very moment of existence of our bewildering now. Some things we plan We sit and we invent and we plot and cook up Others are works of inspiration, of poetry And it was this genius hand that pushed me up the hotel stairs To say my last goodbye To her hair white as snow and her pale blue eyes Sayin', "I gotta go, I gotta go The bomb and the bread basket are ready to blow" In this town of men with big mouths and no guts And with the horses prancin' through the fields With my knife in my jeans and the rain on the shield I sang a song for the glory of the beauty of you Waitin' for me in your dress of blue Thank you, girl, thank you, girl I'll love you till the end of the world ``n cave
Flood. Herbie Hancock, 1975. Originally a Japan-only release. Recorded in Tokyo in 1975. It features the Headhunters as the backing band.
Shuffling along preparing thyself for another weird Sunday morning of life in the bush of a ghostly town, java up, java down...
Another Sunday morning with Harry Nilsson: Duit On Mon Dei, Sandman and ...That’s The Way It Is. Of these three I like Sandman best.
Dave Rempis Jasper Stadhouders Frank Rosaly ICIOCI sax-guitar-drums improv like never existed previously recorded live on December 1st, 2017 in Amsterdam on Rempis’ Aerophonic records