October 26, 2011

Idris Ackamoor



















...
After incredible performances and experiences during the fall of 1972 Margo, Kimathi and myself left Amsterdam on our way to Africa in December 1972. We flew to Malaga, Spain and then to Tangier, Morocco. We were almost turned away from touching the ground of Africa by a bellicose customs official who thought we were "hippies". Fortunately, we got pass the official and entered the mystical legendary Kasbah. The smells, and colors of the Kasbah were just more musical fodder for ater compositions.
We finally landed in Accra, Ghana where we made our home. A young Ghanaian named Kojo befriended us and his family led by the "Diamond Queen", Aunti Bea. We stayed with the family of Aunti Bea at her compound entitled, "Weekend in Havana". From this base Margo, Kimathi and myself became immersed in the color, fascination, and incredible musical life and culture of Ghana. Ghana was a musicians dream!! Music was everywhere.
We were musicians, college students, seekers, and acolytes in Africa. Margo and myself took an amazing musical spiritual journey up into Northern Ghana. The land of the Fra Fra of Bolgatanga, and the Islam influenced Dagom ba in Tamale. We had our instruments and a tape recorder in hand. It was as if we had stepped back five hundred years into an ancient Africa complete with court musicians and colorful pageantry....(Idris Acamoor in linear notes)






















disk 1
1 Shepherd's Tune
2 Lands of Eternal Song Suite, Pt. 3
3 Lalibela
4 Masenko Nights
5 Ya A Ya A
6 River Ganges
7 Mohgo Naba
8 Queen of the Spirits, Pt. 3

disk 2
1 Aomawa
2 Birth/Speed/Merging
3 Black Man of the Nile
4 Africa
5 Spiritual Rebirth
6 Topanga
7 Centurian
8 Cubana

thegoodone is the word to say
pass by or stay
you are welcomed anyway :)

2-CD collection of the ex-leader of legendary Afro-spiritual/deep funk/free jazz group from 1970s Ohio (later in SF), The Pyramids.
Their music is one of the most deep attempts by African-Americans, deep sounds like Strata-East, aggressive performances like Tribe or Black Jazz, every free jazz/funk collectors should agree on it. Featuring 10 pieces of The Pyramids taken from their 3 albums and unreleased (!) recordings (included first live recording in Holland!). Notably The Pyramids had even stayed in African countries like Morocco, Ghana, Kenya & Ethiopia and studied real African culture & music there in the early 1970s. Do you know other African-American jazz musicians who had done such a road trip in early 1970s?

Also featuring never heard pre-Pyramids, P. Sanders & Strata East recording as The Collective, and 4 pieces from the late '70s to '00s, recording as Idris Ackamoor Quartet/Ensemble.

REVIEW:
As with every review of a release on EM records, we feel obligated to gush just a little. WHAT AN AMAZING LABEL! Most definitely the coolest reissue label going. Completely off the wall releases dug up and given new life. Amazing packaging, killer liner notes, tons of photos. So much love and passion obviously goes into each and every release we'd almost buy every one regardless of the music. Thankfully, pretty much everything we've heard so far is absolutely amazing, and well deserving of a deluxe reissue treatment. read more

October 11, 2011

Jagjit Singh lives...


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jagjit Singh

Saanwara- Krishna Bhajans & Kirtan


1. Baat Nihare Ghanshyam
2. Hey Krishna Gopal Hari
3. Tum Dhundho Mujhe Gopal
4. Krishna Maurariji Aankh Base
5. Banek Bihari
6. Krishna Pranat Pal Prabhu
  
.ღ•:*´♥`*:•ღ.

  

there is nothing left to say that friend Ajnabi did not say 100 times better:

 

The Voice That Gave Us Courage Is No More: Jagjit Singh

 

Jagjit Singh’s biography

 

Jagjit Singh (born February 8, 1941) is an Indian ghazal singer. He sings in the Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi languages, and Gujarati language.  Jagjit Singh was born in Ganganagar, then in Rajputana in British India. His father Sardar Amar Singh Dhiman, employed by the Government of India, was a native of the village of Dalla in what is now Ropar district in Punjab and his mother Bachchan Kaur came from a deeply religious Sikh family from Ottallan village near Samrala. His siblings include four sisters and two brothers and he Singh is known as Jeet by his family. Although his late father wanted him to join the Indian Administrative Service, he was later reported to be happy with his son's achievements in the world of music. Singh went to Khalsa High School in Ganganagar. He then studied science after matriculation at Government College,Ganganagar and went onto DAV College, Jalandhar in to graduate in arts. He also achieved a post-graduate degree in history from Kurukshetra University, Haryana.


Jagjit Singh's association with music goes back to his childhood. He learnt music under Pandit Chaganlal Sharma for two years in Ganganagar, and later devoted six years to learning Khayal, Thumri and Dhrupad forms of Indian Classical Music from Ustad Jamaal Khan of the Sainia Gharana school. The Vice-Chancellor of Punjab University and Kurukshetra University, Late Professor Suraj Bhan encouraged his interest in music. He arrived in Mumbai (then Bombay) in 1965 in search of better opportunities as a career musician and singer. His early struggle in the music industry, though not too harsh by his own account, still had its share of trials and tribulations. He lived as a paying guest and his earlier assignments were singing advertisement jingles or performing at weddings and parties.

During 1970s, in India, the art of ghazal singing was dominated by well-established names like Noor Jehan, Malika Pukhraj, Begum Akhtar,Talat Mahmood and Mehdi Hassan. However, Jagjit was still able to make his mark and carve out a niche for himself. In 1976, his album The Unforgettables (On HMV LP Records) hit the music stores. Essentially a ghazal album, it's emphasis on melody and Jagjit's fresh voice was a departure from the prevalent style of ghazal rendition, which was heavily based on classical and semi-classical Indian music. Skeptics had their own reservations, purists scorned it but it was widely successful among listeners and the album set new sales records.

In 1967 he met Chitra, also a singer, while doing jingles. After a two year long courtship they got married in 1969. They epitomise the first successful husband-wife singing team. Jagjit Singh, with Chitra, has contributed immensely towards changing the course of this genre of music known as 'Ghazal' making it more ear friendly, melodic and enojoyable by a wider audience.

Later successful releases of the duo include Ecstasies, A Sound Affair and Passions. While these albums were breezy, Beyond Time released in the opening years of 1990s was an experimentation with sounds and conveyed a feeling that was beyond space and time. Around this time the duo was struck by grief as their only son, Vivek, who was twenty-one, met an untimely death in a road accident. Not only Jagjit and Chitra, it was a big shock to his numerous fans also. The album is a tour to the soul, ethereal, conscientious and introspective. The ghazals have a moving quality to them since they express the personal loss of Jagjit and Chitra. 'Someone Somewhere' was the last album containing ghazals sung by both. After that, Chitra quit singing.

Jagjit Singh continued singing his later albums, including Hope, In Search, Insight, Mirage, Visions, Kahkashan (meaning "Galaxy"), Love Is Blind, Chirag (meaning "Lamp"/"Flame") also achieved success. Sajda (an Urdu word meaning "offering"), which has ghazals sung by Jagjit and Lata Mangeshkar was another brilliant release and made its mark as a classic Ghazal album. The combined successes of his many albums made him arguably the number one ghazal singer in India. The audience wanted more and Jagjit Singh obliged with his Punjabi albums. Ebullient, effervescent and bubbly, his Punjabi songs are pleasant as well as joyous. Their enchanting ghazals use the choicest poetry by renowned poets including Mirza Ghalib, Ameer Meenai, Kafeel Aazer, Sudarshan Faakir and Nida Fazli…. and contemporary writers like Zaka Siddiqi, Nazir Bakri, Faiz Ratlami and Rajesh Reddy.

Jagjit also sang (as playback singer) for various songs in Bollywood films including Arth, Saath Saath and Premgeet (all from 1980s). The scores remain popular even today. In fact, all the songs of film Premgeet were composed by Jagjit. His compositions for the TV serial Mirza Ghalib (based on the life of the poet Mirza Ghalib), remain extremely popular among ghazal aficionados. The elusive element of Ghalib's poetry was sensitively and wonderfully brought out in the soulful compositions of Ghalib's ghazals by Jagjit Singh. The album could veritably be called a magnum opus.

Compared to his earlier ghazals (sung during 70s and 80s) his later ghazals have acquired a more soulful and poignant demeanour, as in albums such as Marasim, Face To Face, Aaeena, Cry For Cry. But all through this, romance never took a backseat! The journey to the soul is punctuated by romantic pauses like Dil Kahin Hosh Kahin. A testimony to his popularity is his ghazals in recent Bollywood flicks like Dushman, Sarfarosh, Tum Bin and Tarkeeb.

Most of the earlier albums of Jagjit Singh had English titles. Later, these had Urdu names like Sahar (meaning "Dawn"/"Morning"), Muntazir (meaning "In waiting"), Marasim (meaning "Relation"/"Relationship"/"Affinity" ) "Soz" (Pathos) etc.. The switchover may not be deliberate but marks a milestone in his singing. These new albums show a far better selection of lyrics and yes, even the singing has scaled new peaks.

Besides ghazals, Jagjit Singh has also sung Bhajans and Gurbani(Hindu and Sikh devotional hymns respectively) . Albums such as Maa, Hare Krishna, Hey Ram...Hey Ram, Ichhabal and also Man Jeetai Jagjeet in Punjabi, put him in the league of Bhajan singers such as Mukesh, Hari Om Sharan, Yesudas, Anup Jalota and Purushottam Das Jalota. The soothing effect that Jagjit's voice has on frayed nerves has prompted psychiatrists in metros (as large cities in India are called) to prescribe them as stress relievers.

Jagjit Singh is accredited with bringing the ghazal genre, which was previously restricted to the elite classes, to the masses. His music direction can be seen to be pioneering in changing the sound layout by adding more Western instruments while mostly retaining the traditional orchestra (which includes a tablaa, and harmonium, and a couple of string instruments]. Jagjit Singh is also nicknamed Gazaljit Singh.

Jagjit Singh is accredited with finding one of the foremost playback singers in Bollywood in modern times, Kumar Sanu. As he played a big part in Sanu's initial career, in an interview Sanu said that Singh took him to meet the legendary music composers Kalyanji Anandji after hearing his voice, from there on Sanu has become a legend in Bollywood for his range and singing as he went to win five male playback Filmfare Awards in a row. A record that still stands.

Jagjit Singh voiced his opinion against artists from Pakistan being allowed to sing in India, when Pakistan refuses to reciprocate the gesture.

In addition to cultivating his own successful career, Jagjit Singh has been involved in guiding many new, talented singers such as Abhijeet Bhattacharya,Talat Aziz, Ghanshyam Vaswani, Ashok Khosla, Siza Roy and Vinod Sehgal. He also lends active support to several philanthropic endeavors such as the Library at St. Mary's (Mumbai), Bombay Hospital, CRY, and ALMA (an organization that adopts under-privileged students for further education and development).

Jagjit Singh lives...

j

wiki


October 10, 2011

Ljubo Stipišić Delmata RIP

Just a few days ago we had posted his Antology, on 09.10.11 this guardian of Dalmatian musical heritage, took of for the stars. His words and work show a man deeply spiritual, conductor, composer, arranger and melodist, leader and founder of numerous klapa groups, he has also published several books of poetry and aphorisms. "If this all doesn't have purpose of becoming a better man, than it doesn't have eny meaning at all". Described as natural, secretive and upright, lived a modest life in joyful gratitude, witnessing the truth in a world, where truthful walk alone. His works have long been making their mark, and their value is priceless ...

more on spirit

An interview in croatian


Certany moast known of his works...

October 9, 2011

SavoirFaire - Running Out of Time





















SavoirFaire explodes with joyous enthusiasm at the sounds made by another musician. So many times have I seen these expressions of pleasure and heard these shouts of approval. I 'realize that in these moments, he simply cannot contain his excitement and what a great thing that is.
Next I see an inward-centered and dark- edged violinist performing his elegiac classi­cally bent solo piece "Aspen's Woes". The melody plays like the rainy-day watercolors of a child's mind: focused, wistful and dreamy. More than a song about one particu­larly special girl, the composition becomes a tribute to child princesses (and princes) everywhere, to their fragility, vulnerability and strength.
On the drive to the recording sessions one summer afternoon Savoir discussed the illu­sion we have all had that those around us are somehow background players to our own leading roles in life, as though we had the stage all to ourselves, to our egos. He spoke of music breaking down these walls, these facades — the harmony recreating itself in other forms, and die struggle to write and record the music that is always on the verge of slipping away.
I muse on Savoir's curiosity, his love of explo­ration and new ideas: his thirst for knowing about people and this planet in all of its man­ifestations: cultures ancient and present: where we are going and where we have been: and ultimately his interest in these questions; How can we put more of our lives into this design? What sort of soundtrack will truly accompany and enhance the state of our spirits today? What kinds of songs can promote our evolution and encourage us to be stars, that is - shining beings?...
Bill MacKay in linear notes



1. Running Out Of Time
2. One Inch Angels
3. Room For More
4. Martitha
5. Pendulum
6. Surazal
7. Interlude
8. Timetable
9. Sommer's Ashes
10. Aspen's Woes

Time well spent
word
thegoodone


Samuel SavoirFaire Williams

Born and raised on Chicago's south side, violinist SavoirFaire cut his improvisational teeth at local jazz sessions. His first performance was at age 5 on stage at Chicago Symphony Center's Orchestra Hall as one of 25 special Suzuki students. SavoirFaire

SavoirFaire might sound like the name of someone who specializes in dance music; it isn't hard to imagine a deep house, chillout, downtempo, or trance artist adopting the stage name SavoirFaire. But this SavoirFaire (whose real name is Samuel Williams) doesn't provide any of those things on Running Out of Time; he is a Chicago-based jazz violinist -- and when it comes to instrumental jazz, he is not easy to pigeonhole stylistically. Samuel "SavoirFaire" Williams (who wrote everything on this Bob Koester-produced CD) is quite capable of jumping from post-bop to fusion to avant-garde jazz; anyone who listens to the album in its entirety will get the impression that along the way, he has appreciated everyone from Regina Carter to Stuff Smith to Billy Bang to Jean-Luc Ponty. Parts of Running Out of Time find the Chicagoan getting into a '60s-minded post-bop groove; "Room for More" and the title track give listeners some idea what saxophonist Wayne Shorter or guitarist Grant Green might have sounded like on the electric violin when they were signed to Blue Note. But a more abstract and dissonant SavoirFaire emerges on the electric free jazz of "Surazal," which contains the disc's most outside playing. "Pendulum" moves into fusion territory, and the wistful ballad "Sommer's Ashes" has a '40s-like sense of romance; had SavoirFaire been around back then, the piece would have been appropriate for Lester Young, Stan Getz, or the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Much to SavoirFaire's credit, all this eclecticism doesn't sound forced or unnatural; he comes across as someone who genuinely appreciates a wide variety of jazz styles and has a need to express that appreciation on his violin. Running Out of Time demonstrates that SavoirFaire is well worth keeping an eye on. ~ Alex Henderson

October 8, 2011

Fragance of Dalmatia III


















Broad beans

and artichokes

Mladi bob sa artičokama


Artichoke is a medical plant that is recommended for people with elevated cholesterol, because it has a natural ability to lower blood fats. It also helps with indigestion, heartburn and flatulence problems and abdominal pain. With all this listed, artichoke is very delicious, so try to find a way to place your desk.
In the writings of traditional medicine says that the tea leaves of artichokes help you regain appetite, helps digest fats, stimulates urination, heal the liver and gall bladder, removed uric acid (urea)from the blood, a toxic product of disturbed metabolism in the body, cures jaundice, congestion and liver cirrhosis. It helps in case of sickness of the spleen, kidney stone, gout, rheumatism, and swelling with dropsy. Helps older people especially in the case of uremia, ie poisoning with toxins that are caused by the body's own diseased kidneys, obstructed urination, and the like.
Intensive scientific clinical trials have confirmed the beneficial effects of artichoke extract, and deepened understanding of this precious plant.


• 10 artichoke
• 300 g baby broad beans
• 300 g of young pea
• parsley
• garlic
• bread crumbs
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• good white wine

Clean the artichokes by cutting off their stalks and leaves that are slightly damaged, and they are usually at the bottom of the artichoke. When you clean them, put them into boiling, salted water, with few drops of lemon juice. Soak the artichokes so that are upside down and cook then for about ten minutes. When blanched, take them out and drain.
Cook peas and broad beans, length of cooking depends on how young or freash are broad beans and peas. Chop a couple of cloves of garlic and plenty of parsley, and mix with the cooked peas and 2-3 tablespoons of baby broad beans. Pour over enough olive oil, add salt, pepper and bread crumbs (all together is should be a compact mixture). Spread the leaves of artichoke and fill them with stuffing. Put filled artichokes in a pot with olive oil and butter.

The pot in which you cook artichokes should not be too deep, artichokes have to stand upright. Around them, put the rest of the baby broad beans and all the remaining filling. Then add about 3 deciliter of broth (the water you cooked with artichoke stalks, chopped parsley, salt and pepper and a bit of good, dry white wine). Cook gently for about 30 minutes. Enjoy your meal!

translated form
All apologies to english language, I tried to give my best :)

Some tips from my mother:
Lemon is used to prevent the artichoke from changing colour or prevent oxidation, use at least half of the lemon. Artichoke should be fresh and green, it must not turn dark of course.
You can prepare the filling without beans, or you can add hard boiled eggs to it, beans and peas are added when you start coking the artichokes for 30 min. if you have frozen peas and beans, put them next to artichokes when water starts boiling, you can also add some tomato concentrate. The level of the water shouldn't be to high, just to cover it all.

other source for the recipe in croatian.

There are several ways of prepering the tea from Artichoke.
Tea against rheumatism and water in the joints:
Dip the flower heads of artichoke in a hot white wine, let it sit for about 2 hours to use as a tea.
Also, you can pour over some boiling water over a pinch of leaves,and let it sit for a while to let the healing agents come out.
2.5 to 4 grams of dried leaf pour 250 mL of boiling water, let stand for 10-15 minutes and strain. This quantity is prepared exclusively fresh three times a day and drink it between meals. However, the infusion of artichoke leaf is extremely bitter and is rarely used. Formerly a bitter infusions used to increase appetite.




---------------------------------

And of course something for your ears while your tongue, liver and belly are enjoying.





















Ljubo Stipišić Delmata
Antologija – Dalmatino povišću pritrujena

01. Dalmatino poviscu pritrujena - Oktet DC (Vranjic)
02. Intrade san popi - Oktet DC (Vranjic)
03. Namisto molitve ime ti ponavjan - Oktet DC (Vranjic)
04. Baren se iskaji, nevirna - Oktet DC (Vranjic)
05. Zlata jemas, dare primas - Oktet DC (Vranjic)
06. Prosti meni vilo - Oktet DC (Vranjic)
07. Ako smo mali djiografskin kartan - Oktet DC (Vranjic)
08. Dvi ruke u vrj sviju - Oktet DC (Vranjic)
09. Na posteji mojon ca san je udila - Oktet DC (Vranjic)
10. Ima posta slipi ol' ubogi - Oktet DC (Vranjic)
11. Imam dragoga - Klapa Luka (ž - Rijeka)
12. Mi ne domo cacu (Sprovod) - Klapa Nostalgija (Zagreb)
13. Ako vas svit dico moja - Klapa Cesarice (women - Zagreb)
14. Kod lepanta sunce moje - Vokalisti Salone (Solin)
15. Umra jedan bidni - Vokalisti Salone (Solin)
16. Testamentum - Vokalisti Salone (Solin)
17. Nostalgija za bogom Vokalisti Salone (Solin)
18. Pod krizem Vokalisti Salone (Solin)
19. Oce nas - Vokalisti Salone (Solin)
20. Gremo mi puntari - Gradski zbor Brodosplit (Split) (citty choir Split)
21. Dalmatino poviscu pritrujena - Gradski zbor Brodosplit (Split)

Something from dalamtia for full belly and full ears, oh, the pass simply must be thegoodone.



In the year 2009 Zadar Public Library is undertaking the digitization project of Mr. Ljubo Stipišić Delmata opus (b. 1938.).

Ljubo Stipišić Delmata's (or simply Maestro Delmata's) personality contains a multitude of traits: composer, poet, melodiographer, painter, producer, conductor of acappela ensambles, etc. Maestro Delmata has been honored numerous prestigious music awards including several lifetime achievement awards.

For his cooperation with the Zadar Public Library Maestro Delmata is honored the title as "Zadar Public Library best man". Together with the library, Maestro works in various projects ranging from acappela concerts, surveys and founding of children acappela choirs, exhibitions, guidebooks for acappela conductors etc. Wealth of common work conducted so far developed into the next stage of cooperation – digital presentation of his work, including music painting and literature.

The basis of Delmata project is a collection of rare tone recordings made during Delmata's ethnomusicological works. These recordings are being digitized together with accompanying notes, books etc. and put on the library webpage (www.gkzd.hr/delmata).

Delmata's work is of immeasurable musicological and cultural importance, especially for preservation and strengthening of the identity of South of Croatia, i.e. Dalmatia. The value and the importance of the project are recognized by the Ministry of Culture of Croatia and Raiffeisenbank who support the project (www.kultura.hr).

Once it is finished, the Delmata Project will be presented on the Zadar Public Library webpage and also on the Croatian Ministry of Culture web through the Croatian Cultural Heritage portal.

Delmata Project is meant for use by students, musicians, musicologists, ethnomusicologists and general public who want to learn about Croatian musical heritage, perform research, experiment, relax, or find inspiration for creative work.









October 5, 2011

Ismael Ivo


“I let movements within me live their own life,
 not knowing which hand or foot they come from.
 I place my body at their disposal, so that ideas and movements can act
 - then I am back at my own roots. It’s like being in trance. 
I give my body over to the idea, letting the idea work within me
 without trying to fix anything beforehand.
Everyday you go down to the river, but the river is never the same,
 so you always have to bring new life energy back.”







Born in São Paulo in Brazil, Ismael Ivo is an international star of modern dance and choreography who moves provocatively along the border between dance theatre and expressive dance and is concerned with the taboo on the body in the Western world. 
After receiving various honours in his hometown São Paulo and studying at the Alvin 
Ailey Dance Centre in New York, Ivo emigrated in 1985 to Europe, where has worked mainly in Berlin with colleagues like Johann Kresnik and George Tabori and for the
 House of World Cultures.




He defines existence in bodily terms. His existentialism makes him wary of the popular notion of conventions set by a social group as a whole, since he wants to get in touch with his public directly and physically: 

“Existence, as I see it, is fiction. Existence is Utopia. This involves a faith in life in the sense of transforming moments and relationships, opening new possibilities again and again… I believe in the body, not only in the soul. It’s my present home. And I can try to explore it more and more and to make it more sensitive. I am trying to find a new spatial order, a spatial order from body to body, from dancing to the public… What are the possibilities of communication? The body is an open house of possibilities. It’s so complex that I am always holding a dialogue with it without ever understanding it.”


September 28, 2011

Lloyd Miller & The Heliocentrics






















On the heels of Strut’s successful award-winning pairing of the UK psychedelic electro funk/jazz ensemble The Heliocentrics with East African Ethio jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke last year, the label decided to pair this British band with another enigmatic cosmopolitan jazz legend – Lloyd Miller. Casting off their electronic edge, for this project The Heliocentrics provide a deep, organic, and hypnotic Afro-Arab acoustic funk that flows and swings with agility behind the exotic tones and textures of Miller’s multi-instrumental explorations of Persian modalities and colors.
Miller is not just another jazzer attempting to jump on the world music bandwagon, but rather he is deeply committed to the foreign, namely Persian and Asian, musical traditions that give his brand of global jazz fusion a profound depth and authenticity. In fact, Miller has been mixing Middle Eastern music with jazz since the late 1950s, when he moved to Iran with his family. Building on his background as a Dixieland clarinetist and pianist, Miller studied with Middle Eastern music masters such as Dr. Daryush Safvat and Mahmoud Karimi, developing talents on multiple Persian instruments. He first showcased his unique Eastern-infused jazz on his seminal recording Oriental Jazz from the 1960s, which has since become a cult classic for global jazz connoisseurs and can now be heard on A Lifetime in Oriental Jazz, a recent compilation CD put out by the UK label Jazzman.
read more

....
As an appreciator of exotica jazz, it’s hard to find a better one-stop shop than Miller. Born to a family where his father played clarinet and his mother was a ballet dancer, Miller spent time in Tehran, Beirut and most of continental Europe before receiving a B.A. in Asian Studies from Brigham Young University and an M.A. in Persian Studies from the University of Utah. During this time, he developed a talent for playing santur, zarb, oud, sehtar, dan tranh and dam kim in addition to piano. Persistent touring over the years has helped him stay fresh as a septuagenarian. The origins of this collaboration can be traced to a Jazzman compilation out earlier this year called A Lifetime in Oriental Jazz, which netted an invitation to the U.K. to work with Nostalgia 77 and The Heliocentrics. The latter collaboration produced an EP, and further studio time in February 2010 led to the music presented here.
Read more


1. Electricone
2. Nava Listen
3. Pari Ruu
4. Salendro
5. Spirit Jazz
6. Modality
7. Rain Dance
8. Lloyd Lets Loose
9. Bali Bronze
10. Cuzco
11. Charhargah
12. Sunda Sunset


Helio word is thegooodone

















Considering your styles are almost diametrically opposed, was there a lot of initial dischord between you and the Heliocentrics, or was the process pretty smooth?

They're very talented musicians, they hear that thumping rock beat, that hip-hop sound, and I just can't do anything with that. I don't even think Shelly Manne could do anything with it. It was a hard process -- it wasn't like they were bad musicians or bad guys, but it was like Tiger Woods going against wrestlers out to trip limbs. Not even Tiger Woods could do well dealing with that in the grass. I like to play jazz, and they're such nice guys that I didn't want to make them feel bad.

But there were people throwing their sticks on the floor, swearing and screaming. When they sent me the tracks, I initially said that I couldn't play on that junk. To me, it sounded like background music for a horror film. I try to make music that’s very beautiful, but not syrupy -- the sort of beautiful that Miles Davis made on "Kind of Blue." I want to make things that feel like watching the sun set at Santa Monica or Laguna. They wanted to make jumpy, scary music, so there was a problem.

...

When do you think things started to go downhill?

It was about 1955 or something. There was still some good jazz after that and I don't want to blame the four apostles of the devil for being out to destroy world music, but things just got wilder and louder and out of hand. But I think there's people out there who still connect to the old days. There's a bass player in my band who wears her hair like she lived in the 1930s or 1940s -- like she was straight out of a Doris Day film.

What might happen is that we go in this direction like the Salt Flats in Utah, where we're going 400 miles an hour and pretty soon you realize that you can't go any farther and you have to return to where you came from to avoid disaster.

Do you feel that there's a legitimate chance of this happening?

I’m kind of hoping that on my death bed, there's a neo-Puritan revival. I hope that people get tired of being drugged out and sleepless, and that there will be a movement among youth to wear long dresses and nice suits and not get any tattoos. They'd drink wheat grass, and praise the Lord and not be part of corporate entities that are quick to sell them junk. And they'd gravitate toward beautiful dreamy music like Ravi Shankar and Japanese cultural music, and maybe, just maybe, they’d discover an old LP from Lloyd Miller, and say that this idiot was trying to do it a very long time ago and he was ahead of the curve.



September 26, 2011

Archimedes Badkar – Tre






















"What a long strange trip it was", to paraphrase The Grateful Dead, only it wasn't that long - but it sure was strange! Archimedes Badkar ("Archimedes' Bathtub") was started by yours truly in elementa­ry schools eight grade (1972) in Grondal, southern Stockholm as a combined light-show(!) and music unit: just a bunch of kids messing around, our influences ranging front complex Zappa-isms and Coltrane/Shepp/Sanders -free jazz" to the mini­malistic methods ofTerry Riley widened with the arrival of "real musician- Jorgen Adolfison, who brought with him his vast knowledge of traditional music Irons all over the globe. Our real-life heroes were the grown-ups in -FIlisket Brinner" (with Sten Bergman), "Triid, Gras & Stenar- (with Thomas Mcra Gam and Torbjorn Abelli), "Arbete OcIs Fritid" (with Bengt -Beebe- Berger, Kjell Wesding, and later Tord Bengtsson) and the late Don Cherry, who resided in Sweden at the time, and whose fellow musicians included Christer BotIsa and -Beebe" Berger. Making a record was a seemingly unobtainable fantasy.

So it still amazes inc that in 1979 Archimedes Badkar had released four albums (including a dou­ble one), Don Cherry had been a frequent guest artist, Kjell Westling had recorded and toured with the band, and the other musicians mentioned above were all members of the band !

But before that the first years of playing bene­fit gigs and free festivals were really chaotic, in sort ola "anything goes" spirit of the time - to say that the audiences never knew what to expect would be a subtle understatement: hell, we didn't know what to expect ! The number of people on stage would range from four to twenty (including fire- eaters and extravagantely dressed dancers - Sun Ra surely was an influence). Guys we had never seen before would turn up with guitars and big amps (including one Che Guevara-look-a-like biker with enormous chains around Isis waist). It was hard to tell who was actually a member of the band, and what instrument they played.This is cer­tainly true in the case of brilliant guitarist and bass- player Christer Bjernelind, who would turn up for rehearsals carrying the pieces of a clarinet in a plastic bag, a tenor saxophone with a rope as neck- strap, or, on one particulary memorable occasion, a vibraphone Ise had transported across town on it's wheels.

By the time -Tre", our third album, was recorded in 1977 things were comparatively more tightly structured. But we still kept things quite open, moving from thumb piano duos to indian instrumentation with electric bass soloing, to full "jazz- line-up of horns, piano, bass and drums.


When I left the band to fully concentrate on my duties in "Peps Blodsband" Bengt became band­leader and eventually transformed the band into "The Bitter Funeral Beer Band", developing his arrangements of music from Ghana that had star­ted with "Darkpen". The album "BITTER FUNERAL BEER" (ECM 8393082) features Don Cherry, the Adolfssons, Bothen, Kjell Westling, Krantz, Thomas Mera Gartz, Tord Bengtsson and others. Christer Bother' recorded one of the best albums I've heard (big words, but I mean it), "TRANCE DANCE" (up-coming CD- re-release on MNW) featuring musical impressions of his stays in Mali and Morocco with Bengt, Mera, the AdolSsons, Wesding, Krantz, Bengtsson and his newly-formed band "Bolon Bata".

jorgen and Tommy continued to work as a duo called the "KARL BROTHERS" (though they are only musically, not genetically, brothers), recording a great album in 1994 (Slask Records SI.ACD 009).

I have made nine solo albums to date (inclu­

ding one collaboration with the late painter and poet Mati Klarwein) featuring contributions from the Adolfssons, Botha, Berger, Christer Bjerne­lind, and Peter Ek who together with Jorge!' is part of my current band which can be heard on the CD "UNIVERSAL RIDDIM" 1'M1VW/RUBCD 17).

Archimedes Badkar has yet to follow the on­going trend of re-unions, but with the release of this CD, who knows ?

— Linear notes Per Tyernberg,

Stockholm, May 2003 •



1 Badidoom
2 Wildlife
3 Akombah
4 Bhajan
5 Slum
6 Thumb Piano Music
7 Suite: Pharoah / El Legend / Marrakech
8 Desert Band
9 Tzivaeri
10 Nomads
11 Yugoslavian Dance
12 Jorden ("The Earth")
13 Charmante Yerevan
14 After The Rain / Waterfalls
15 Darkpen



word to pass around the bathtub is thegoodone

September 24, 2011

Spirits & Gifts


the focus for today is on this contemporary  rhythm shaman and renaissance man :

Originally from Chicago, composer and handrummer/percussionist Adam Rudolph has, for the past three decades, appeared at festivals and concerts throughout North & South America, Europe, Africa, and Japan.
In 1988 Rudolph began his association with the legendary Yusef Lateef, which lasts to this day. He has recorded 14 albums with Dr. Lateef including their large ensemble collaborations: “The World at Peace” (1995), “Beyond the Sky” (2000) and 2003’s “In The Garden” with Rudolph conducting his Go: Organic Orchestra. He has performed worldwide with Dr. Lateef in ensembles ranging from their acclaimed duo concerts to appearing as guest soloist with Koln, Atlanta and Detroit symphony orchestras.
Since the 1970’s Rudolph has been developing his unique syncretic approach to hand drums in creative collaborations with many masters of cross-cultural and improvised music such as Sam Rivers, Pharoah Sanders, L. Shankar, and Fred Anderson. He is known especially for his innovative small group and duo collaborations with Don Cherry, Jon Hassel, Wadada Leo Smith, and Omar Sosa.



Since 1992 Rudolph has led his own performing ensemble, Adam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures, featuring drummer Hamid Drake, Ralph Jones, and Venice based Butoh dance innovator Oguri. The group has performed in both Europe and the United States, and has released several CD’s featuring Rudolph’s compositions. In 1995 he premiered The Dreamer, an Opera based on Friedreich Nietzsche's "Birth of Tragedy".

links:

http://www.metarecords.com/adam.html
http://www.metarecords.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Rudolph



"Most musicians come to grasp an understanding of music in terms of style - such as the predominant style of music of the sixties. When you look underneath style, then you see more basic components, like rhythm and harmony. But at an even more essential level there is music as vibration; and I think this is the deepest level of understanding we can pursue".




"What's passed on is specific musical information about intervals, rhythms, use of sound and silence. But the more profound things that we learn from the elders have to do with an attitude and a reverence toward the creation of music. Don [Cherry] said to me: 'You have to respect the silence before you can respect the sound.'




2 gifts to keep you busy:)



Spirits with Pharoah Sanders and Hamid Drake

Gift of the Gnawa with Hassan Hakmoun and Don Cherry