"After he left John Coltrane's group in the mid-1960s, McCoy Tyner continued to explore the modal territory opened up by Coltrane. His many Milestone albums constitute a sort of library of the modal approach to modern jazz...In some cases, the three horns are multiplied through overdubbing, creating dense and intricate textures...Focal Point has an aura unique to Tyner but different from any of his other recordings."
From All Music Guide:
"...On this CD reissue, Tyner and his 1976 trio (with bassist Charles Fambrough and drummer Eric Gravatt) are joined by a trio of talented reed players (Gary Bartz, Joe Ford, and Ron Bridgewater) and percussionist Guilherme Franco for three of Tyner's originals; in addition, Ford is the only horn on his feature "Theme for Nana," and "Parody" is a Tyner-Gravatt duet...
Keeping on the atmospheric tip, here is another band who contacted me through the site. Jean Parlette is based in the Netherlands and describe themselves as:
"...a quartet from the North of Holland...Principle songwriter Jos Blomsma started the band in order to take his unique blend of home-made electronics and classical instruments on the road...Jean Parlette has been compared to acts such as Tunng and The Notwist, but the unusual line-up and the sometimes even more unusual way the instruments are played make Jean Parlette stand out as an intriguing live band....The electronic elements in their songs are complemented by Laurens van der Meulen’s shimmering rhodes parts, David van Egmond’s exquisite fingerpicking and Suze Steemers’ tastful cello...Jean Parlette likes to sing about the Big Topics of Life but leaves just the right gaps in his lyrics for the listener to fill..."
I just happened to listen to them for the first time on a Sunday morning and their music fit in perfectly. For more information (and a ton of audio and video), visit their MySpace page or website.
This band (or more likely 'their people') contacted me through the website. The in-bound email was fairly spammy, was not addressed to me, etc. I am glad that did not stop me from listening...
Regular readers of this blog might not know it but I have a thing for trip-hop and its related kin like ambient, down-tempo...Portishead, Thievery, etc...
"The Shock combines trip-hop and down-tempo grooves to create this eclectic mix of textures and sound. This is Electro-Lounge Music - a soundtrack to life in the city."
The band has makes a significant amount of material available through its MySpace page and they also sent a review MP3 with their email, a cover of The Carpenters' "Superstar", which will be featured on their upcoming debut record It's About Time. Of the audio and video I could peruse I highly recommend:
Released on Bill Laswell's Axiom Records in 1990, Soul Searcher contains but one track, the 50-minute-plus 'Ragam, Tanam, Pallavi'. From All Music Guide:
"...The music combines all the common elements of traditional Indian music -- syncopated tabla rhythms, droning tamboura, dazzling vocals -- with Shankar's breathtaking violin melodies, then adds keyboards courtesy of Peter Gabriel...a wonderfully accessible introduction for newcomers looking to delve into the genre."
This really is a unique, pretty record. Shankar has had an interesting and varied career, as well, crossing paths with everyone from Ornette Coleman, Frank Zappa and most famously, John McLaughlin in Shakti.
I spent most of the 1990s on a heavy and extended Bill Laswell kick. In retrospect, my time of greatest interest, say 92 - 98, coincided with a period of creativity and productivity for him which continues to amaze...One of Laswell's primary outlets during this period was Axiom Records. From Wikipedia:
"Axiom was a record label founded by musician Bill Laswell in 1989, with the support of Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records. Axiom was an independent subdivision of Blackwell's Island Records, with Laswell being afforded a budget for a certain number of albums each year, basically of his own choosing. The freedom Blackwell gave Laswell gave rise to a number of studio albums and field recordings that otherwise would likely not have been made within the confines of a normal major label structure...In 1989, Chris Blackwell had sold Island Records, which became a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group - with Blackwell staying on as CEO. In 1997, Blackwell resigned from Polygram after struggling with what he saw as restrictive oversight of his management. Axiom was (at that moment) shuttered as well, with most of the catalog falling out of print since then..Under Island's watch Axiom released Sonny Sharrock's Ask the Ages and Henry Threadgill's Too Much Sugar for a Dime, as well as records by Laswell projects such as Praxis and Material. A series of stellar world releases also came out through Axiom, including Simon Shaheen's tribute to M.A. Wahab, Shankar's Soul Searcher and pristine field recordings of Gnawa musicians in Morocco, Mandinka & Fulani Music in the Gambia and the famed Master Musicians of Jajouka in the Rif Mountains of Morocco. The major label backing that Blackwell gave allowed Laswell to trek to these far out regions with modern equipment and make what are arguably the most pristine recordings of these ancient musics to date in their home environments."
This description of the label is not hyperbolic at all. Several of these records I consider Important-with-a-capital-I...Very, very few of the label's releases are in print which is such a shame. iTunes, emusic and Amazon's MP3 store would be perfect outlets for this material...such a drag.
Over the next few weeks I plan to use this site to get some of the Axiom records back out there. There are roughly 30 releases on Axiom and I will post in full the ones out of print with my usual one track from the ones still available...First post in a few days...I hope you enjoy this music as much as I have over the years.
Keith Godchaux was the third keyboard player for the Grateful Dead. His tenure with the band (Oct 71 - Feb 79) coincides, at least for the first few years, with the widely-accepted peak years of the band, in terms of audience and artistic growth. Keith was a major contributor to the band's "free" approach to arena rock through 1974.
Today would have been Keith's 60th birthday, had he not died in an auto accident a little more than a year after leaving the band (...on July 23, 1980. Ten years later Keith's successor would play his own last show with the band before dying several days later...).
This compilation contains only a very few of hundreds of highlights of Keith's years with the band. Feel free to post comments about ones I missed or even better - upload me some!
If you have a copy of this out-of-print record would you be willing to share? I would like to hear all of the tracks, but I am equally interested in a scan of the booklet. I have had one of the tracks, "Make It Fast Make It Slow" by an artist listed as "Rob" and I am eager to know if the liner notes say anything else about him or point to other music of his...it is damn near impossible to search on him given the short, common name...J. Dilla recently sampled this track an a production he did for Guilty Simpson and I was very surprised to hear the track used...
If you could help out and would be so kind, I can take uploads here.
Thanks. I would be glad to post it all hear for sharing as well.
This is the first McCoy record I ever purchased. Man, a heavy introduction to his work as a bandleader...
"...Fly with the Wind gave Tyner a rare opportunity to write for strings. Joined by bassist Ron Carter, drummer Billy Cobham, flutist Hubert Laws, piccolo, oboe, harp, six violins, two violas and two cellos, Tyner performed four of his originals (including the title cut) plus the standard "You Stepped Out of a Dream."...Tyner's orchestral piano blended with the strings very well."
- All Music Guide
From producer Orin Keepnews' notes on the "Keepnews Collection" reisuue:
"Although I had been very much impressed by his work with [John Coltrane], listening to [McCoy Tyner] in New York clubs in the years that followed made me aware of how remarkably he was developing. He was, and still remains, one of the most powerful pianists I have ever heard; many years ago having learned to merge that strength with a very personal form of lyricism—an unusual, unique combination. To me, it is this linking of power and beauty—in both the writing and the playing here—that distinguishes Fly With the Wind and makes it possibly my personal favorite among the 17 albums that I worked on with this extraordinary artist during our eight years together at Milestone."
That, to me, really is the essence of McCoy and has been a common theme in these posts: McCoy's "power and beauty". Dig it in action:
"Papa Michigan (born Anthony Fairclough) and General Smiley (born Erroll Bennett) were among the first dual-toasters on the Jamaican scene. Beginning in the late '70s while still in school, the humorous duo (Smiley got his name because he never smiles) scored immediately with "Rub a Dub Style" and "Nice up the Dance," two ubiquitous songs on the dancehall circuit...They broke up in the late '80s, although occasional attempts at reunions have been made recently."
"For Rastas, smoking cannabis, usually known as ganja or herb, is a spiritual act, often accompanied by Bible study; they consider it a sacrament that cleans the body and mind, heals the soul, exalts the consciousness, facilitates peacefulness, brings pleasure, and brings them closer to Jah. The burning of the herb is often said to be essential "for it will sting in the hearts of those that promote and perform evil and wrongs." By the 8th century, cannabis had been introduced by Arab traders to Central and Southern Africa, where it is known as dagga, and many Rastas say it is a part of their African culture that they are reclaiming. It is sometimes also referred to as "the healing of the nation", a phraseology adapted from Revelation 22:2...They believe that the smoking of cannabis enjoys Biblical sanction and is an aid to meditation and religious observance...According to Rastafarian and other scholars, the etymology of the word "cannabis" and similar terms in all the languages of the Near East may be traced to the Hebrew qaneh bosm קנה-בשם that is one of the herbs God commands Moses to include in his preparation of sacred anointing perfume in Exodus 30:23...It is also said that cannabis was the first plant to grow on King Solomon's grave..."
Talk about truth in advertising...this site posts links to some of the better quality source files of bootlegs from a wide, wide variety of artists. Led Zeppelin is a common theme but a recent sampling included Prince, Coldplay, Steely Dan, Black Sabbath, Radiohead, etc.
Readers of my blog know I like to collect and post live shows but primarily of those I attended. I had to get out of being a crazy completist hoarder years ago...
I can't find any information about this artist - Paul Sinclair - anywhere. I even checked this cool new (to me at least) resource, Reggaepedia. Despite the lack of details this track still seems worthy of getting out there...
I do know that it is a rip of a 7" originally put out on Paul Sutherland's War record label.
If you have any biographical info on or other tracks from this artist, please let me know.
"Born in Ghazvin, Iran in 1962, Madjid Khaladj began studying the tombak at age seven. As a traditional musician...he is unanimously recognized as a master of Iranian percussions. Highly active internationally, he has perfomed in festivals, concerts, and conferences around the world. He has produced various recordings and art movie soundtracks (especially with Ry Cooder and Lisa Gerrard), and has appeared in radio and television broadcasts...Madjid Khaladj constantly investigates the vast possibilities in improvising within the Persian musical system, and beyond. The unequalled beauty of his style, his mastery of rhythms and the brilliance of his spontaneous creations not only place him in the top ranks next to great classical Persian music masters, but also distinguish him as a major figure in world percussion."
This record is interesting on a few fronts...it marks McCoy's first record of trio recordings since 1964 (about 11 years prior), the line-up smokes (McCoy, Ron Carter and Elvin Jones) and half of the tracks feature McCoy on either harpsichord or celeste.
Elvin destroys the traps on the aptly-named track Elvin (Sir) Jones as well as on a couple of breakdowns on today's track...
Noise, minimalism, modern composers, electronic, experimental, avant-garde...these are just some of the Things on the Doorstep of this fascinating blog...
"Antibalas (pronounced /ɑntiˈbɑlɑs/, or approximately "ahn-tee-BAH-las", from the Spanish for "bulletproof") is a Bushwick, Brooklyn based afrobeat band that is modeled after Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra. Although their music is primarily afrobeat, it incorporates elements of jazz, funk, dub, improvised music, and traditional drumming from Cuba and West Africa..."
From NPR.org:
"It's no secret that Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti was highly influenced by the funk inspirations of James Brown. But in contrast to the fast, furious singles churned out by Brown and the JBs, Kuti preferred the "go slow" method, a nod to the plague of traffic jams inflicted upon many Nigerian cities. The best Afrobeat songs don't throw down lightning bolts from the first downbeat, but rather unfurl in slow, rolling peals of percussive thunder and intermittent brass showers....New York's Antibalas (a.k.a. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra) has mastered the best traditions of Kuti's craft, especially the importance of patience."
All I can hope is that you enjoy visiting and reading this site as much as I enjoy working on it. If you like what you find here, please leave a comment. It means a lot to hear from you.
Follow Burning Dervish
Burning Dervish Email
Subscribe to receive a digest of Burning Dervish posts each day, just enter your email address here. If there are not posts that day, no email goes out. Do not worry, I will not ever share your info with anyone. Promise.
From the Concord Music Group website:
. Of the audio and video I could peruse I highly recommend:
GHANA SOUNDZ: AFROBEAT FUNK & FUSION 70'S VOL 1
