what’s new
(an occasional series)
The Books, “I Didn’t Know That” (2010)
(Want more of The Books? Here.)
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Prince Rama, “Om Namo Shivaya” (2010)
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Glasser, “Mirrorage” (2010)
two takes
Some lyrics sound as though they want to be read; others would look silly on the page but, unlike the page-worthy, they sing.
“If I Had A Boat” (Lyle Lovett)
Lyle Lovett, live (TV broadcast), 2004
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The Holmes Brothers, State Of Grace (Alligator), 2007
lagniappe
Gregory Isaacs/p.s.
Yesterday’s link to WKCR-FM’s Memorial Broadcast didn’t work right (only a fraction of the show could be accessed), but it does now.
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reading table
To fall into despair is just a high-class way of turning into a dope. I choose to laugh, and laugh at myself no less than at others.
—Saul Bellow, Letters (2010) (as quoted in yesterday’s New York Times review)
two takes
“Exit Music (For A Film)”
Radiohead, live
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Brad Mehldau Trio, live, San Francisco
Your 16-year-old daughter dies, suddenly, in a car accident.
What do you do?
If you’re pianist/composer Kenny Werner, what you do is create music.
Kenny Werner, No Beginning No End (featuring Joe Lovano, tenor saxophone), recording session, New York (NYU), 2009
recipe
3 strings
~20 hands
~10 voices
2 feet
Mix lightly; let rise.
Malem Mustafa Bakbou, gimbri; live; Gnawa lila; Morocco (Marrekech), 1990
Want more music from Morocco? Here.
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lagniappe
reading table
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
—Samuel Beckett, Worstword Ho (1983)
Great horn players don’t play—they sing.
Pharoah Sanders (tenor saxophone, with Paul Arslanian, harmonium), “Kazuko,” live, California (Marin Headland), 1982
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lagniappe
Trane was the father. Pharoah was the son. I was the holy ghost.
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Want more of the late Albertina Walker?
This week’s Gospel Memories (WLUW-FM)—available here—is devoted entirely to her music.
Today, celebrating our 400th post, we revisit a few favorites.
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street music
Whatever it is, this guy’s got it.
(Originally posted on 8/25/10.)
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take two (or is it one?)
Following up on Vijay Iyer’s take (6/30/10), here’s the original.
M.I.A., “Galang” (2005)
One of the things I love about M.I.A. is that she doesn’t let any of the usual stuff get in her way. Take her dancing, for instance: she’s, uh, not real good at it—at least not by the usual standards. Does that stop her? Nah.
(Originally posted on 7/2/10.)
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Guitar, drums—that’s all it takes.
Bambino (AKA Bombino), live, Niger (Agadez), 2010
Part 1
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Part 2
(Originally posted on 8/9/10.)
Anyone can make English sound like English.
Tom Waits, live, California (Mountain View), 1999
Part 1
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Part 2
Want more? Here.
The other night I saw these two bands—both are from Africa—at Chicago’s Logan Square Auditorium.
Kenge, Kenge (Kenya), live, Denmark (Roskilde), 2008
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Khaira Arby (Mali), live, Mali (Festival of the Desert), 2010
“Haidara”
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“Sourgou”
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Scribblings from the show (habit picked up reviewing live jazz for the Chicago Reader):
Kenge Kenge’s bass player at the start of their set: “We’ve been in America for the last three months. This is our last show. And we want to have some fun.”
Drum is king.
As much as I appreciate the musical experiences available via the ’net, they’re no substitute for live music. Among the casualties of the technological filtering are bass and drums—this music’s heartbeat.
This stage isn’t a dividing line. It’s porous, readily penetrable in both directions. Those onstage come down and dance; those offstage go up and dance. When everybody’s dancing—onstage, offstage—the performer/audience line dissolves.
African music, live, is a full-body experience: you listen not just with your ears but with your hips, your feet.
If folks aren’t dancing, this music ain’t happening.
Kinetic elegance.
At times the dancers look as if they’re in a trance.
Lightness, buoyancy, drive: this is music that takes you in its arms, lifts you up, carries you away.
Mali—one of the poorest countries economically, one of the richest musically.
Amadou & Mariam
Live, Mali (Festival of the Desert), 2010
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“Dimanche A Bamako,” live (with David Gilmour, guitar), England (Islington), 2009
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“Welcome To Mali,” “Africa,” live, South Africa (Johannesburg), 2010
Want more? Here.
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I saw Amadou & Mariam, like Orchestra Baobob, with my son Alex—last year at Chicago’s Park West.
How far away does Africa seem to Alex?
About as far, I think, as South Carolina seemed to me at 23.
music clip of the day 