I don't know, and certainly don;t know enough to describe it musically. I find it magical, and increasingly so with each listen. (Whereas I am having a harder time with what I gather is called "hard bop", which often sounds to me like someone trying to get somewhere in a frantic hurry). It's striking me more as I listen to Kind of Blue that many of the musical figures that are interjected along the way are quite modest in scope but have exquisite tone and touch and timing - I'm hearing that more and more in the piano, including when it's not in the foreground. There is a sheer beauty of texture in some of the notes and passages that both Davis and Coltrane coax from their instruments without it lapsing into something too "pretty". Thanks for the list - I have Time Out and Giant Steps was next on my list after some reading last night. I'll listen to the rest also.
ETA, I've been trying to like A Love Supreme, but so far not succeeding very well - I feel like I want someone to give me running commentary on what they are hearing in that one.
I would actually love to know your reaction to Shape of Jazz to Come. It seems all five of those albums try to increase by melodicism and timbre against the strictures of time and harmony. Shape sounds more traditional now than sixty years ago, but I think it's DNA is in more of the most adventurous Jazz that has followed (including Love Supreme).
- A slightly weird but quite enjoyable release from Testtube Netlabel:
- "We cant always promise exactly who is going to play which instruments, but usually you can expect to hear cello, trombone, a bit of electronics, maybe some tuba, a touch of clarinet, plus e.g. recorder and other flutes, double bass, alpine horn, voice, bird calls, a few toys, and whatever else we come across that might produce some type of sound. We also know that while it is true that Bristophe enjoys being on stage, their definition of just where that is appears to be a somewhat different one, as they tend to wander all around the room, playing behind or in the midst of the audience; or furthermore to disappear behind curtains or onto the hallways."
- I found this one in a Gregg Kowalsky / Amie Street folder, I have no idea why it ended up there but this is really excellent stuff:
- "Emerging from the loins of roots dub combo The Beatroots, Aron Bennett (guitar, flute, rhodes, electonica) and Loz Fitzgibbon (bass, harmonium, vintage tapes and FX) formed Green Monitor in 2003 as a project to showcase their more experimental ideas. With a mutual respect for the likes of Lee Scratch and King Tubby's studio approach, they set about stripping both folk and dub-roots music and reconstructing it using both acoustic and technological processes. They were joined in this endeavor by Clive Gash (drumkit, tattoos and world percussion) and the internationally acclaimed Annette Buckley.
Later that year Green Monitor contributed several tracks to the award winning Irish Burning Man documentary Dust Devils and released their eponymous titled debut album, garnering international recognition and praise from the likes of Darren Emerson, Ashley Beedle (X-Press2) and Nightmares On Wax, with the latter featuring their skank opus Green Skins both live and on his radio shows.
Live the band has wowed audiences up and down the country playing the blossoming Irish festival circuit like The Electric Picnic, Mantua, Green Gathering and Life Festival, as well as supporting New Zealand's Fat Freddys Drop and Pitch Black at their Cork shows."
@BT, I am utterly engrossed in this right now. Greatly enjoying it - really nice sound, and drawing fascinating shapes in the air. Thank you!!
ETA: it's $2.94 at emusic. If I were my daughter's age, I would say "omg!" Not a hard decision.
I guess the one advantage of not knowing a genre is being able to get all excited about things that have been standards for decades. For this first-time listener this is thrilling stuff. "Peace" especially.
Tentatively I would say that I am liking jazz best when it lets me hear the space between the notes and between the instruments and between the players so that timbre and timing stand out; I am tending to like it least when it fills every aural niche with frenetic simultaneous activity.
@BT I listened a couple of times on Spotify first and was spellbound. And after a few listens to "Peace" I played Coltrane's "Psalm" again and it made more sense to me.
Gp, not sure what format you're listening to A Love Supreme, but it's pretty important to realize a specific fact about "Psalm" - that Coltrane is "reciting" in his solo the prayer that he includes in the album's liner notes. You can read about it here. It's pretty head-turning the first time you listen in context.
@kargatron, yes, I've actually been using a video from the Coltrane Church site that subtitles the track with the relevant lines from the text. It does indeed open up the track in all kinds of ways (as the music opens up the words). Thank you for the article link though - that looks helpful and might help me with the rest of the album, which I've been slow to "get" musically.
ETA: Really, thank you - that's exactly the kind of music review I most want to read - something that helps me identify what is going on in the music rather than just rehearsing the history if its production and uttering some cliches about whether it has been done before or not.
I've been listening a lot to the new Loscil album today paired with older recordings. I read a review a couple of days ago that suggested that the new album is essentially a repeat of his past work. While there is a very definite loscil sound that is here, and some of the same tactics, I really don't think that's true. I think it's his best in a while and does some new things without losing continuity. If I can find the words for any of it (and the time) I might write about it at some point.
Comments
A little Guvera cred + a little Amazon cred
- "We cant always promise exactly who is going to play which instruments, but usually you can expect to hear cello, trombone, a bit of electronics, maybe some tuba, a touch of clarinet, plus e.g. recorder and other flutes, double bass, alpine horn, voice, bird calls, a few toys, and whatever else we come across that might produce some type of sound. We also know that while it is true that Bristophe enjoys being on stage, their definition of just where that is appears to be a somewhat different one, as they tend to wander all around the room, playing behind or in the midst of the audience; or furthermore to disappear behind curtains or onto the hallways."
@BT, I'll find time to give it a proper listen and get back to you.
I quite like Bitches Brew.
ETA, "Peace" and "Psalm" certainly seem related.
- This is just soooooo brilliant !
Over and over and over again....
I like this one.
@BT, I am utterly engrossed in this right now. Greatly enjoying it - really nice sound, and drawing fascinating shapes in the air. Thank you!!
ETA: it's $2.94 at emusic. If I were my daughter's age, I would say "omg!" Not a hard decision.
I guess the one advantage of not knowing a genre is being able to get all excited about things that have been standards for decades. For this first-time listener this is thrilling stuff. "Peace" especially.
Tentatively I would say that I am liking jazz best when it lets me hear the space between the notes and between the instruments and between the players so that timbre and timing stand out; I am tending to like it least when it fills every aural niche with frenetic simultaneous activity.
(url=>amz)
Thanks to Scott Paper Products for FAC. Dance 02. :-D
This is the new loscil release, Sketches from New Brighton. I'ts very recognizably loscil but with a few new tweaks. Very enjoyable.
Yeasayer - Fragrant World
One of my absolute favorite bands.
Craig
I downloaded this one recently from Noisetrade, but just now getting a chance to listen to it in its entirety. Very impressive.
Earlier:
@GP: Wow! I'm surprised you would go straight to downloading it. Moreover, I'm surprised that you enjoy it so much (no complaints here).
:-)
ETA: including a fantastic coverversion of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
ETA: Really, thank you - that's exactly the kind of music review I most want to read - something that helps me identify what is going on in the music rather than just rehearsing the history if its production and uttering some cliches about whether it has been done before or not.
I've been listening a lot to the new Loscil album today paired with older recordings. I read a review a couple of days ago that suggested that the new album is essentially a repeat of his past work. While there is a very definite loscil sound that is here, and some of the same tactics, I really don't think that's true. I think it's his best in a while and does some new things without losing continuity. If I can find the words for any of it (and the time) I might write about it at some point.