World & Latin
VOICES Notes and news on World & Latin releases
Hiromi In Full Bloom
29 JUN 09 JOHN C. BRUENING
Already a purveyor of edgy, progressive jazz that occasionally flirted with the avant garde, pianist Hiromi Uehara upped the ante when she assembled Sonicbloom to record Time Control (2007) and Beyond Standard (2008). Between the release of those CDs, cameras rolled when Sonicbloom performed at the Tokyo International Forum Hall. The result is Hiromi's Sonicbloom: Live In Concert, a DVD that captures seven songs in an hour and 45 minutes of concert footage.
Made up of Hiromi, bassist Tony Gray, drummer Martin Valihora and guitarist David "Fuze" Fiuczynski, JazzTimes aptly dubbed the foursome "a quartet of fusionistas in Deep Purple mode."
Armed with a double-necked guitar throughout the performance, Fiuczynski -- whose resume includes work with John Medeski, John Zorn, and his own quartet, Screaming Headless Torsos -- provides the ideal pyrotechnic foil for Hiromi's high-speed and highly expressive piano work. And the mere fact that Gray and Valihora can hold these two together for any length of time is a testament to their individual and combined abilities.
The visual element in this set reaffirms and even amplifies the high level of intensity first heard on the aforementioned CDs. The performance draws heavily from Time Control, including the playful "Deep in the Night," the effects-heavy "Time and Space" and the sometimes fiery and sometimes ambient "Time Control, Or Controlled by Time." Other noteworthy numbers include the experimental "Note from the Past" and the high-energy encore, "Return of Kung-Fu World Champion."
Hiromi is playing the East Coast now. Hiromi's Sonicbloom continues to push piano jazz to entirely new places. Keeping up may be a challenge, but it's ultimately worth the ride.
-
Time And Space
Hiromi, from Hiromi's Sonicbloom: Time ...
-
My Favorite Things
Hiromi, from Hiromi's Sonicbloom: Beyond ...
-
Kung-Fu World Champion
Hiromi, from Brain
in this playlist.
Get Schooled In Calypso
19 JUN 09 JOHN C. BRUENING
For more than a quarter century, steel pan artist Andy Narell has been on a one-man crusade to expand the role of calypso music within the jazz idiom. His resulting body of work has been an engaging hybrid of traditional jazz and exotic Caribbean grooves. His latest outing is University of Calypso.
It is a collaborative set with guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Relator (aka Willard Harris), who is considered one of Trinidad's finest calypso players. Inspired by calypso artist Lord Kitchener (born Aldwyn Roberts, later nicknamed Grandmaster), who made early forays into jazz in the calypso heyday of the 1950s and '60s, Narell and Relator serve up lively renditions of 15 classics by Kitchener and a few of his contemporaries: Lord Melody, Mighty Terror, Roaring Lion, Spider. Relator lends a few of his own songs to the mix, and a crew of fine Latin jazz players -- including special guest Paquito D'Rivera on clarinet and alto sax -- make for a richly layered backup unit.
Whether it's the comical "Love In The Cemetery," or the spirited "Hold Onto Your Man," evocative of Trinidad's Carnival season, Relator's engaging vocals add a layer of intrigue and appeal to Narell's lively pan work. On the occasional instrumentals -- the easygoing "Pan in Harmony" and the melodic "Sugar For Pan" -- the guitar and pans hold a lively conversation all their own.
"Oddly enough, there has been very little interaction between calypsonians and small jazz bands since the '50s," said Narell. "Relator and I are drawing a lot of inspiration from the idea of picking up where Kitchener left off 50 years ago."
The album comes out June 23. A few summer classes may be in order at the University of Calypso.
-
Dee Mwa Wee
Andy Narell, from The Passage
-
Unusual Bird
Andy Narell, from Fire In The Engine Room
-
Segura Ele
Andy Narell, from Behind The Bridge
-
Tu Mariposa
Paquito D'Rivera, from 100 Years Of ...
in this playlist.
Odd Man In
27 MAY 09 JOHN C. BRUENING
Early in his career, Brazilian guitarist Djalma de Andrade was the only black man in his first jazz gigs in his native Rio de Janeiro in the 1940s. Based on this demographic imbalance, he earned the nickname Bola Sete, the name for the 7-ball in the Brazilian version of billiards, which is the only black one in the game. His clever stage name notwithstanding, Bola Sete is by no means the odd man out on Tour De Force.
A trio date that features Fred Schrieber on bass and John Rae on drums, Tour De Force was originally released as an LP on Fantasy in 1964, then re-released on CD in 1999. It is a bit more mellow than the spirited and driving Bossa Nova (his debut recording in 1962), but no less satisfying.
Three of the tracks are originals, and the rest are well known Brazilian songs like the brief but seductive "Manhã de Carnaval" and the lively "Samba de Orféu." There is also an eclectic mix of covers, including Henry Mancini's "Moon River" and the title track by Dizzy Gillespie, who had discovered the guitarist just a couple years earlier and introduced him to the world via the 1962 Monterey Jazz Festival.
Perhaps most intriguing, though, are the songs culled from European sources -- Isaac Albeniz's flamenco-styled "Asturias" and a solo interpretation of J.S. Bach's "Bourrée." While he may have felt outnumbered in his early days, Bola Sete had clearly developed the confidence to take on the world by the mid-point of his career.
-
Manha De Carnaval
Bola Sete, from Tour De Force
-
Moon River
Monica Mancini, from Ultimate Mancini
-
Tour De Force
The Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band ...
in this playlist.
Afropean Down Time
11 MAY 09 JOHN C. BRUENING
Zap Mama, the cross-cultural musical entity led by Afropean vocalist and songwriter Marie Daulne, is sending everyone on holiday with their new Heads Up release, ReCreation. She explains that the apparent double meaning within the title ultimately points to a single idea.
"That moment you are relaxing and enjoying yourself is the perfect moment to create a new person within yourself -- to heal yourself and let go of all the negative aspects of your life," she said. "In those times when you relax, you recreate yourself."
The joyous, effervescent tone of ReCreation -- underscored by a mix of Brazilian, African and European grooves -- is a marked departure from Zap Mama's previous release, Supermoon (2007), which was recorded shortly after the death of one of Daulne's close friends. Lending a hand on this new CD are a number of guest vocalists, including Bilal, G. Love and French actor Vincent Cassel (La Haine, Oceans Twelve).
Among the noteworthy tracks are "Singing Sisters," a reunion of Daulne with vocalists Sylvie Nawasidio and Sabine Kabongo -- members of Zap Mama's original a cappella lineup in the early 1990s -- and "Paroles, Paroles," a duet recorded with Cassel in Brazil. The latter is a remake of an Italian pop song from the early 1970s (recorded here in French) that Daulne remembers from her childhood. Cassel reappears in "Non, non, non," a song about flirtation that Daulne admits was inspired by Cassel's wife, Italian actress Monica Bellucci, which should come as no big surprise.
"This new record is about the joy that comes with being reborn," said Daulne. "Even if you can't go on a holiday, you can listen to this album and feel renewed. This is how I want people to feel."
BROWSE ARCHIVE OF WORLD & LATIN VOICES
