Stephan Micus is a unique musician and composer. He collects and studies instruments from all around the world and creates his own musical journeys with them. This is his 25th solo album for ECM and its sound is dominated by the four-metre long Tibetan dung chen trumpet, an instrument he has recently learned and is using for the first time. It was the thunderous sound of this instrument that led to the album’s name and its nine tracks celebrating deities around the world. “I dedicate this music to the big family of thundergods around the world, humbly hoping that - when they hear it - their destructive powers will be somehow pacified,” he says. It features instruments - all played by Stephan Micus - from Tibet, India, Burma, Borneo, Siberia, Japan, South America, Gambia, Namibia, Sweden and Bavaria.The album will be released to coincide with Stephan’s 70th birthday January 19.
Monday, 12 December 2022
Drifting
After Mette Henriette’s critically acclaimed, self-titled first recording comes Drifting – an album pervaded by trio conversations of idiosyncratic and original expression. With Johan Lindvall returning on piano, new addition Judith Hamann on cello and herself on saxophone, Mette’s chamber musical elaborations prove of a concentrated and exploratory quality, marked by subtle yet intense interaction. Motifs and recurring patterns crystallize and reveal a concise, intricate narrative. The saxophonist-composer explains how “this album is in movement. It’s on its way somewhere and has its own pace – its creative agency is fundamentally different from what I’ve done previously.” Recorded in Oslo, completed in Studios La Buissonne and produced by Manfred Eicher, Drifting presents the trio’s deep investigations into hushed textures and rich tones with precision and clarity.
A Short Diary
Sebastian Rochford: drums, composition; Kit Downes: piano
ECM 2749 CD 6024 4534944 9 Release: 20 January 2023
This “short diary (of loss)”, as drummer Sebastian Rochford calls it, is offered as “a sonic memory, created with love, out of need for comfort.” It is dedicated to Rochford’s father, Aberdeen poet Gerard Rochford, 1932-2019, and to his family. Seb, one of ten siblings, wrote most of the music shortly after Gerard’s death and delivers it here, in performances of deep feeling and hymn-like clarity, together with pianist Kit Downes. The final wistful piece, “Even Now I Think Of Her” was composed by Gerard Rochford. Sebastian explains: “It’s a tune my dad had sung into his phone and sent me. I forwarded this to Kit. He listened, and then we started.”
Rochford recalls how, after his father passed away, “music just seemed to come to me, sing inside me every day, sometimes even as I woke. Though initially I felt conflict in writing and hadn't wanted to, in it's coming, it realised in me a sense of comfort and also a way to sense physically what I was feeling. So in a musical way, it became my diary of this time.” As far as diaries go, this may be a quietly reflective one; however, it is also imbued with striking melodic themes and poignant chord progressions, replete with many nuances and different shades of tone and timbre spread across a simple grand piano and the bare necessities of a drum-kit.
The album was recorded at Rochford’s childhood home in Scotland – its intimate acoustics captured comprehensively and with crystalline transparency. “As my parents always loved music being played at home and we would not be able to keep the house, I thought to record the music there, also as a sonic memory of where I grew up, played on my grandfather's piano, gifted to us by my father's brother, a tribute to the wonderful, kind hearted man I called my dad.”
As the drummer wrote the music, sitting at his father’s piano, he took notes in a manuscript book, making sure to record, in words, the details of atmosphere and ambiance that can’t be expressed through scores. “All the music has sheet music and as the tone is an important part of the feeling, Kit and I spoke about achieving certain dynamics, as I felt if the piano went past certain dynamics, the feeling was lost for me. The writing of the music was also a comfort for me at this time, so I wanted the music we recorded to reflect that.”
For the opening, hymnal “This Tune your ears will never hear” in his manuscript book Seb jotted down: “Like a child calling out alone into an empty void”. Regarding “Night of Quiet”, performed on piano solo, Rochford points out the setting: “It was late. I could hear people speaking in the other room. I played the minimum, just to know the notes, very quietly.” And for “Love You Grampa”, where common chords and hymnal tendencies return to be further investigated, the drummer-composer again emphasises the importance of family bonds. These thoughts transcend the music, and the music returns the favour.
Rochford approached Manfred Eicher – with whom he had previously worked playing drums on Andy Sheppard’s albums Trio Libero (2012), Surrounded By Sea (2015) and Romaria (2018) – and asked if he’d be open to producing A Short Diary. “I feel Manfred understands how to concentrate and intensify what the artists he has chosen to work with are aiming to achieve, allowing them to bloom. Due to the circumstances of how this album came together and my previous experience of him, I felt he would understand and be sensitive to this music, as this was vital to me.”
A meticulous production process in collaboration with Eicher, who then mixed the album in Munich, followed: “Listening to Manfred’s mixes was like he was showing me what I had made and hearing the music for the first time. To be honest, I don't even know how he made the music sound the way it does, but I felt he had intensified and brought into focus everything about it.”
Sunday, 11 December 2022
Space Alley
Plastic Crimewave Syndicate has finally returned with a wide-ranging/raging new album — recorded two years ago in an expansive, benevolent alleyway in the midst of a dark, diseased, claustrophobic time of global chaos. The new PCWS album, entitled "Space Alley," boldly travels into the relatively unexplored malevolent terrain of free doom, space/noise punk, and darkly dubbed-out library/soundtrack grooves (call it 70's crooked-cop show/ freak-funk, if you must). This is all capped off with a sidelong, (beat of the) earthharvesting modal exploration of synthed-out kraut-throb. With new bassist Rob Rodak (Dead Feathers) aboard, and guests like sax-skronk legend Taralie Peterson (Spires That in the Sunset Rise), flautist Sara Gossett (Spiral Galaxy), and synthlord Will MacLean (Protovulcan), new influences have seeped into PCWS's dystopian vision. The Syndicate have opened for revered deities like Nik Turner, Loop, Simply Saucer, Chrome, and Josefus; but now a more diverse and groovy array of past underground sounds like Skin Alley, Artist: PLASTIC CRIMEWAVE SYNDICATE Title: SPACE ALLEY Labels: Cardinal Fuzz (Europe), LION Records (USA), Release Date: 20th Jan 2023 Sound of Imker, Here and Now, Mann/Sharrock, Black Sun Ensemble, Parson Sound, and Schizo have influenced PCWS's journey. Recorded by Eric Block (Rhys Chatham, Sick Gazelle) of Rec Rooms studios, and mastered by Monster Magnet/Desert Sessions guitar god JP McBain, the mind-fry level is set to 11 ½ on Space Alley!
The Golden Pond
Cardinal Fuzz (UK/Europe) and Centripetal Force (North America) are pleased to announce Upupayāma's forthcoming album The Golden Pond. The album will be made available for pre-ordering on October 21st, with the album being released on November 25th (Europe). "Alessio Ferrari has let himself wander further into the wild cosmos of German Progressives, French soundtrack psych, and Middle Eastern raw ‘70s rock." - Raven Sings the Blues Upupayāma is the musical persona of Alessio Ferrari, an Italian multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who lives in a small mountain village above the city of Parma. Upupayāma’s music is rooted strongly in Eastern and Western folk traditions, an approach that Ferrari blends with his own modern sensibilities and style. In addition to playing guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums, Ferrari himself also incorporates a number of other instruments into his sound, including sitar, erhu, flute, and a variety of percussion instruments. Artist: UPUPAYAMA Title: THE GOLDEN POND Labels: Cardinal Fuzz (Europe), Centripetal Force (USA), Release Date: 25th November 22 For Ferrari, Upupayāma's 2020 debut was all about the journey. The album served a series of musical vignettes that visited and weaved its way through a succession magical settings. The Golden Pond, conversely, is all about location. Inspired by his frequent visits to a small lake near his mountain home, Ferrari intentionally focused on the details of the place he inhabited, a practice he decided would translate well with his approach to writing music. This is something Ferrari feels is best exemplified with the album's opening companion pieces, "Cuckoos from the House of Golden Tin" and "Entering the Time of Wilderness." The Golden Pond also continues Ferrari's practice of using "invented language" in his lyrics. Ferrari wants his voice to be heard as if it were an additional instrument, a tool that does not convey specific messages. His goal is to allow the listener to assign personal meaning to the music. He says, "I want my incorporating invented language is a way of breaking down the barriers that are sometimes created by language, by having to define something at all costs. Ferrari adds, "I think one of my unconscious dreams is not to have to define anything, but just to be carried away by our feelings." Earlier this year Ferrari put together a group of musicians to help him deliver his live vision of Upupayāma. They made their debut in Rome in May, and they will play a couple of shows in advance of the album being released. Both dates will be in October, one in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland and the other in Esslingen, Germany. Plans to tour throughout Europe in the spring of 2023 are currently in the works via El Borracho Booking. The Golden Pond will be Upupayāma's second album with Centripetal Force and Cardinal Fuzz, the first being the well-received self-titled debut in 2021, which is being repressed to coincide with the release of The Golden Pond in November.
Bajo este sol tremendo
Inspired by Carlos Busqued's book "Under this terrible sun" (Bajo este sol tremendo) trombonist and composer Daniel Iván Bruno explores a variety of sonorities with creative musicians from Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires. Recorded in one take, this album mixes melodies, textures and improvisation in a joyful way.
credits
Daniel Bruno - Trombone
Teby Frontera - Electric guitar
Julian Maliandi - Electric guitar
Martin Delassaletta - Electric Bass
Luciano Monte - Drums
Alive At The Village Vanguard
Due out January 9, 2023 on Palmetto Records, Alive at the Village Vanguard features two of jazz’s most revered artists in captivating form at the legendary NYC club
Pianist/composer Fred Hersch and vocalist/bassist/songwriter esperanza spalding (stylized in all lower case) can both be counted among the most acclaimed and inventive artists in modern jazz. The Village Vanguard is the music’s most revered venue, having played host to countless legendary musicians and beloved live recordings. The duo and the club converge for a magical performance on Alive at the Village Vanguard, a rare opportunity for listeners to enjoy the singular and thrilling collaboration between two marquee jazz artists at the top of their game. Due out January 9, 2023 via Palmetto Records, Alive at the Village Vanguard showcases the astonishing chemistry shared by these two master musicians, who bring out distinctive aspects in each other’s playing. Hersch and spalding have convened for only a handful of New York City performances since their first meeting in 2013 during the pianist’s annual duo series at the Jazz Standard. In that limited time the pair has developed a wholly personal approach, not only in the annals of piano-voice duets but in their own already highly individual practices. Taking the stage with no set arrangements and only a vague sense of the repertoire they’ll explore, the dauntless pair delights in playing without a safety net. “This recording sounds like you’re in the best seat in the Vanguard for a very live experience,” says Hersch. “You can really feel the vitality of the room, of the audience, and of our interplay. We decided on the word Alive for the album title as you can really feel the intimacy and energy of the performances.” Alive at the Village Vanguard marks Hersch’s sixth recording from the storied club, where he’s been invited to headline three weeks annually for many years. The album also vividly spotlights Hersch’s stunning sensitivity and engagement as a duo partner; in recent years he’s worked in a similar setting with such incredible musicians as guitarists Julian Lage and Bill Frisell, clarinetist/saxophonist Anat Cohen, saxophonist Miguel Zenón, and trumpet maestro Enrico Rava. Hersch and spalding will celebrate the album’s release with a return to the Village Vanguard for a weeklong engagement beginning on January 10. That will be followed by a three-week U.S. tour [see above]. “Playing with Fred feels like we’re in a sandbox,” spalding says. “He takes his devotion to the music as serious as life and death, but once we start playing, it’s just fun. I like to live on the edge in my music, but I find myself trying things that I usually wouldn’t when I play with him, finding new spaces to explore in the realm of improvised lyrics.” Always a determined original in her own projects, spalding rarely sings standards, and her approach here is unique to her partnership with Hersch. She’s revealed on this outing as not just a phenomenal scat singer but a charming and imaginative improvisational storyteller. The Gershwins’ “But Not For Me” becomes a witty, poetic extemporization on the lyric itself, examining the changes in language represented by the original’s sometimes archaic terminology. Neal Hefti and Bobby Troup’s chauvinistic ditty “Girl Talk” comes under barbed scrutiny from not only a feminist but also an eco-conscious perspective. “I don’t think anybody’s heard esperanza sing like this,” Hersch says. “She’s a fearless vocalist, and is one of the biggest talents I know. She’s got a huge reach in her intellectual knowledge and is a big thinker in both her projects and in her outlook.” Hersch’s preternatural reflexes, profound emotional expressiveness and unparalleled gift for interpreting and reimagining repertoire with each new performance are on mesmerizing display throughout the album. His “Dream of Monk” has been a staple of the duo’s sets since the beginning. With lyrics penned by the pianist himself, the tune is a dedication to one of the pianist’s most indelible influences, whose own “Evidence” shows why Hersch is such a revered interpreter of the Monk canon. “Little Suede Shoes” transforms another bop-era classic, spinning a playful update on the Charlie Parker calypso. “Some Other Time” is a Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne song, less well known than the Leonard Bernstein classic of the same name but a favorite of Hersch, who weaves an elegant and vivid tapestry during his mesmerizing solo. Egberto Gismonti’s “Loro” is launched by spalding’s unconventional scatting, which she eventually uses to engage in a nimble dance with Hersch’s propulsive piano. The album closes with Hersch’s best-known composition, “A Wish (Valentine),” with magnificent lyrics by Norma Winstone. Though it’s hard to believe given the buoyant spirits and playful interaction of the performances, both spalding and Hersch were working through pain on the October 2018 weekend that this music was recorded. Although the stint ended on a celebratory note with the occasion of Hersch’s 63rd birthday, he was also scheduled to enter the hospital the very next day for hip replacement surgery. “I was in a lot of pain and walking with a crutch,” he recalls. “Just getting down the famous stairs to the Vanguard was an ordeal, but once the music started the pain disappeared completely.” spalding, meanwhile, was struggling with family issues while juggling an intense schedule that included writing an opera with the master composer Wayne Shorter and beginning a teaching position at Harvard University. “I was going through a very difficult time in my life,” she admits. “I was miserable every day when I got to the Vanguard, so I had to decide to plug into the capacity for this music to heal. I wanted to emanate something positive even though I was feeling so horrible. Neither of us were feeling well in our lives outside of the music, so the stage of the Vanguard became an alchemizing place for both of us, and I think you can feel that in the music.” Fred Hersch A select member of jazz’s piano pantheon, Fred Hersch is an influential creative force who has shaped the music’s course over more than three decades. A fifteen-time Grammy nominee, Hersch has long set the standard for expressive interpretation and inventive creativity. A revered improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator and recording artist, Hersch has been proclaimed “the most arrestingly innovative pianist in jazz over the last decade” by Vanity Fair, “an elegant force of musical invention” by The L.A. Times, and “a living legend” by The New Yorker. For decades Hersch has been firmly entrenched as one of the most acclaimed and captivating pianists in modern jazz, whether through his exquisite solo performances, as the leader of one of jazz’s eradefining trios, or in eloquent dialogue with his deeply attuned duo partners. His brilliant 2017 memoir, Good Things Happen Slowly, was named one of 2017’s Five Best Memoirs by the Washington Post and The New York Times. esperanza spalding Five-time Grammy Award-winning visionary esperanza spalding aims to ignite and portray various hues of vital human energies through composition, singing, bass playing and live performance. A lover of all music, especially improvisation-based musics emerging from black American culture, spalding’s musical aesthetic is prismatic. With projects like Radio Music Society, Chamber Music Society, Emily’s D+ Evolution and 12 Little Spells, she has inventively combined and reimagined influences from jazz, funk, rock, musical theater and beyond. She has taught at Berklee College of Music and Harvard University, founded the Songwrights Apothecary Lab, and wrote the opera ...(Iphigenia) in collaboration with Wayne Shorter.
Pasado en Claro
Saturday, 10 December 2022
Grace Tame Is President
A one off collaboration in homage to 2021 –and forever- Australian Of The Year Grace Tame by songwriter/performer Dave Graney and studio cat/multi instrumentalist Plutonic Lab aka Leigh Ryan. All instruments played by Plutonic Lab .
A Ryan-Graney Production.
“Grace Tame is president – in the nations’ brain she’s resident!!” Dave Graney
Dave Graney listened to Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins address the National press Club in Canberra February 9th 2021 and heard them speak truth to the nations power. A stellar cultural political moment for the nation. He was driving the Hume Highway between Melbourne and NSW. When he stopped for the night he opened his phone and used to Twitter to sent a message to Plutonic Lab saying they should collaborate on a track called Grace Tame Is President. (The title a playful tip to Eric B and Rakims classic Eric B Is President) Plutonic said “yes” straight away and here we are.
Dave Graney asked some fellow players and singers to come on board with their voices and the finished track includes vocal takes and textures from Jodi Phillis, Jane Dust, Penny Ikinger, Lisa Gibbs, Julie Graney, Edwina Preston and Anna Smyrk.
Any money generated to be donated to the Grace Tame Foundation which is a not-for-profit philanthropic organisation established by the 2021 Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, to campaign for and help fund initiatives which work to prevent and respond to sexual abuse of children and others
