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Dave Douglas and Frank Woeste – Dada People – Greenleaf

Dave Douglas and Frank Woeste – Dada People – Greenleaf

by | Feb 23, 2017 | Jazz CD Reviews

Making music for Man Ray’s masterful art. Dave Douglas and Frank Woeste – Dada People [TrackList follows] – Greenleaf GRE-CD-1051, 63:14 [10/14/16] ****: (Dave Douglas – trumpet, co-producer; Frank Woeste – piano, Fender Rhodes, co-producer; Matt Brewer – bass; Clarence Penn – drums) Want to appreciate an artist’s efforts in a fresh way? Then try experiencing a person’s creativity filtered through another artist’s imagination. That’s the impetus behind the hour-long Dada People, the collaboration by trumpeter Dave Douglas and keyboardist Frank Woeste, alongside bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Clarence Penn. Douglas and Woeste set about penning music which offers a musical viewpoint focusing on famed artist Man Ray, who fashioned paintings, photography, “ready-mades” and other artistic endeavors (both commercial and non-commercial) and was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, though not formally a member of those groups. The ten original tracks (which are credited equally: five Douglas and five Woeste compositions) impart audio portraits but not always directly related to Man Ray’s creative output. Douglas states the material deliberately engages in the “spirit of mischievousness, of play, of mystery, and also of the ‘play of identity’ within the work of Ray and his circle.” That sphere of […]

PHILIP GLASS & ROBERT WILSON: Einstein on the Beach, Blu-ray (2016) 

PHILIP GLASS & ROBERT WILSON: Einstein on the Beach, Blu-ray (2016) 

by | Dec 31, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

Still Philip Glass’ most important work in a stunning production! PHILIP GLASS & ROBERT WILSON: Einstein on the Beach, Blu-ray (2016)  Production: Chatelet Theatre, Paris Performers: The Philip Glass Ensemble/The Lucinda Childs Dance Company/Antoine Silverman, Helga Davis, Kate Moran/Michael Reisman (cond.) Robert Wilson (stage director)/ Don Kent (screen director) Studio: Opus Arte (2 discs) [10/28/16] (Distr. by Naxos) Video: 1.33:1 (4:3) color Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, PCM Stereo Length: 263 min. Ratings: Audio: ***1/2  Video: ****  Like it or not, Einstein on the Beach remains Philip Glass’ most defining work. It is what gave him a large amount of name recognition and – at the time – ‘word on the street.’  I first became aware of Einstein in 1976, mainly by reading new music journals. I quickly bought the vinyl set of the original cast recording on the now defunct art label, Tomato Records, which I still have to this day. Einstein on the Beach is the work that paved the way for Glass’ work going beyond the small and somewhat sparsely attended concerts of his ensemble (of which I attended several) to his film scores such as the still powerful Koyaanisqatsi and the more “true” opera, Satygraha.  It […]

Free Nelson Mandoomjazz – The Organ Grinder – RareNoise

Free Nelson Mandoomjazz – The Organ Grinder – RareNoise

by | Dec 5, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

The doom metal/jazz innovators veer toward a stronger jazz vibe.. Free Nelson Mandoomjazz – The Organ Grinder – RareNoise RNR068, 70:02 [9/30/16] ****: (Rebecca Sneddon – saxophone; Colin Stewart – electric bass; Paul Archibald – drums, percussion, piano (track 5), organ (track 11); Luc Klein – trumpet (tracks 2, 5-6, 9); Patrick Darley – trombone (tracks 4, 6)) Jazz has shown an ability to combine with many other musical genres since its inception. Soul-jazz. Third stream music. Jazz-rock. One of the newer crosshatchings melds doom metal with jazz and is one of the most extreme confluences, in terms of loudness, aggressiveness and amplification. The multi-national trio Free Nelson Mandoomjazz (formed in Scotland, but only one member now resides in that area), has quickly become the vanguard for this unique and vociferous type of jazz fusion. For those unfamiliar with doom metal (which developed in the 1980s), the genre has a much thicker or heavier sound than other metal genres, and is characterized by slow tempos, low-tuned guitars and an impending perception of despair or doom. Not the kind of fare some jazz fans would be attracted to, but cuisine readymade for the RareNoise label, which promotes avant jazz and improvisatory […]

REICH: Double Sextet; Radio Rewrite – Ensemble Signal/Brad Lubman – Harmonia mundi

REICH: Double Sextet; Radio Rewrite – Ensemble Signal/Brad Lubman – Harmonia mundi

by | Aug 2, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

STEVE REICH: Double Sextet; Radio Rewrite – Ensemble Signal/Brad Lubman – Harmonia mundi HMU907671, 39:45, (7/8/16) ***1/2: Outstanding performances of these recent Reich works in the familiar style. B01FLNZNPM  Steve Reich has been, for several decades now, one of those composers who found his niche and maintains a great success within it. He was one of the pioneers of the “minimalism” movement (a term that most consider no longer wholly descriptive.) Reich’s music continues to be comprised of overlapping bits of melody and rhythm and structured phase shifting and the like and it gives his music a signature sound; propulsive, light-textured and buoyant. The two works here are two fairly recent examples of Steve’s work which has, in its own realm, developed quite a bit over the years. The Double Sextet, from 2007, is interesting in that he wrote it to be played in its present iteration – with twelve live instrumentalists – or with six playing against a pre-recorded track of the other six parts. Certainly, the Double Sextet played with all live players is more intriguing to watch or to play in, I should imagine, than the version of six playing against a recording. Another interesting facet of […]

“Ensemble Pieces” = GAVIN BRYARS & CHRISTOPHER HOBBS – Soloists – Obscure

“Ensemble Pieces” = GAVIN BRYARS & CHRISTOPHER HOBBS – Soloists – Obscure

by | Mar 16, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

“Ensemble Pieces” = GAVIN BRYARS: 1,2,1-2-3-4; The Squirrel and the Ricketty Racketty Bridge; CHRISTOPHER HOBBS: Aran; McCrimmon Will Never Return – Gavin Bryars, Christopher Hobbs, Brian Eno, var. instruments/ensemble – Obscure BCGBCD23, 36:38 [Distr. by Allegro] (11/13/15) ***: Important reissue from the early British new wave. Obscure Records had a short but interesting tenure as an LP label specializing in the music of new and – at the time – lesser-known composers from England and elsewhere. Operated by the iconic Brian Eno, the repertoire typically consisted of music by musicians who were seen as the latest permutation of experimental and cutting edge music. This disc, for example, was originally released on vinyl in 1975 and held the present four works plus a very early and pretty ‘obscure’ work by John Adams, American Standard (if readers know how to get a copy of that LP, please contact me). The most important, to me, reason to have this disc is to have an example of some of Gavin Bryars’ earliest work. We can hear in these two works, 1,2,1-2-3-4 and the entertainingly titled The Squirrel and the Ricketty Racketty Bridge, the seeds of Bryars’ later and more well-known style. We know Bryars […]