noble Archive
MALIJA (Lockheart/Hoiby/Noble) – Instinct – Edition
MALIJA (Lockheart/Hoiby/Noble) – Instinct – Edition Records EDN1096 – 49:29 (9/8/17) ****½; Outstanding trio jazz with a chamber music discipline and compositional reach. (Mark Lockheart: saxophones/ Jasper Hoiby: double bass/ Liam Noble: piano) The players comprising the trio Malija—Mark Lockheart, Liam Noble and Jasper Hoiby—are major figures on the U.K. jazz scene. Readers of these pages are likely to remember the accolades bestowed on the Jasper Hoiby’s 2016 release “Fellow Creatures.” The release here of the drummer-less trio is typical of the UK label Edition, smart and disciplined improvised music unconstrained by post-bebop conventions. This is the group’s second outing, but from the evidence of both recordings, we can surmise that this is a veteran working unit. No one is calling out standards in the studio; Instead, each player contributes original and intricate charts to the session. The arrangements are very well done. The opening line of Kindred Spirit, with its exacting unisons and jagged rhythm, is a good indication of things to come. No drums are needed as this trio are adept at managing a swinging pulse. Hoiby’s bass is a huge driving force throughout; he alternates between snappy ostinato and unison lines. TV Shoes is a marvel of […]
“O Eterne Deus” – Music of HILDEGARD VON BINGEN – Vajra Voices/ Karen Clark – Music & Arts
Millenium-old music from Hildegard von Bingen, visionary, mystic and polymath, sung by an inspired choir, Vajra Voices. “O Eterne Deus” – Music of HILDEGARD VON BINGEN – Vajra Voices/ Karen Clark – Music & Arts 1291, 50:20 (5/13/16) *****: As a man, I feel it may be inappropriate for me to review this all-female endeavour. But I very much enjoyed the full CD of music by Hildegard von Bingen, and the story behind it. Hildegard was the tenth child of a noble family, born in 1098 near present-day Frankfurt, Germany. From an early age she had spiritual visions, possibly one reason why her parents offered her to the nearby Benedictine monastery. She took her vows at age 14, and entered a stone cell (or “tomb”) under the tutelage of Jutta von Spanheim, six years older and also from a noble family. Jutta instructed Hildegard in Latin and religious practices, and the student learned much, and well. In one of her visions, Hildegard received a divine directive to write down all she experienced. A visiting monk-priest, Volmar, helped her with this, as well as teaching her music notation and performance on the ten-stringed psaltery. Other visitors spread the word of Hildegard’s […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
