Jazz » Turntablr

On Dan L’s Turntable: Natalia / Aldemaro Romero

Jan 022013

Sorry to y’all who have noticed the absence of posts from me since last Thanksgiving, but I just woke up from my food coma. I think mine was definitely the longest, therefor I do believe I win, regardless of the lack of established competition. Nonetheless, I am sorry for not sharing my musical discoveries and developments in the past year; with this apology, shall we embark on something new? Yes, or should I say, “algo nuevo.” Vamos.

The “new wave” movement means something different to everyone. When the term is brought up many would call upon New Wave/Punk/Cult-Hat-Sensation Devo, others on the dark, synth-pop stylings of New Order and Depeche Mode, but travel to Venezuela and you will discover something entirely different. Mention “la Onda Nueva” on the streets of Caracas and you will surely find yourself discussing the genius of Aldemaro Romero, a child prodigy turned experimental-Latin Jazz composer. At age nine Romero was a staple of Venezuelan radio, getting airtime as a piano player. At age thirteen he relocated from his home in Valencia to Caracas to play piano professionally. After moving to New York and subsequently returning to his native Venezuela he did the world the great pleasure of practically inventing and founding the “Onda Nueva.” This distinct brand of Venezuelan Jazz-Classical fusion is very easily identifiable by its use primarily of triplet based percussion patterns, deeply arranged vocals, mostly performed by small choirs along with traditional big band instrumentation.

One of the most distinct arrangements in the Onda Nueva is that of Romero’s composition “Natalia.” This piece embodies the semi-ridiculous, playful experience that the Onda Nueva is known for. Instrumentation on this lush track is incredibly sparse. The band consists of a drummer equipped with brushes laying down some light, nonetheless groovy, triplet beats and (my guess) about four (?) vocalists, split half male, half female. The men take on the traditional thumping bass parts while the women dominate the upper register with extensive, rather disorienting and technical hocketing. Natalia is a song without lyrics, but other tracks feature, of course, Spanish, so if that’s something you’re into, you’ll REALLY like this. You’ll also be pretty into it if you like to dance. It’s really hard not to.

Natalia can be found here:

And another of my personal favorites, Marisela:

On Jack’s Turntable: Sexual Healing / Hot 8 Brass Band

Posted by Jack McManus No Responses »

May 072012

Sexual Healing, The Hot 8 Brass Band
I love ridiculous covers, and this one is about as ridiculous as they come. On this radical re-interpretation, the Hot 8 Brass Band turns Marvin Gaye’s seminal classic completely upside-down, contrasting the original in every possible way like Bizarro and Superman. On “Sexual Healing,” Marvin is liquid smooth, intimate, gentle, delicate and tender; the Hot 8 Band are lively, boisterous, bold, excited and loud. Despite this seeming paradox, the cover actually succeeds in its own unique ways. The iconic bass line takes a more prominent position, played by the tubas, while an army of trumpets blast out the vocal melody during the head. The vocal section has a freewheeling, polyrhythmic feel to it, borrowing musical conventions from African-American spirituals. A few ripping solos come after that, keeping the energy up throughout. This track was the perfect pick-me-up last week when I was up late studying, and now it has become an ideal victory anthem having finished the semester. Hopefully anyone still toiling will find it as helpful as I did.

On Dan’s Final 2011 Turntable: Rescue Ranger / Rubblebucket

Posted by Dan Kipp No Responses »

Feb 182012

Rescue Ranger, Rubblebucket

For my final haphazard catalogue of 2011, I offer Rubblebucket. I don’t know much about them, except that they used to go by Rubblebucket Orchestra, and that they’ve always been funky. Music ranging from alternative to pop, some indie and eclecticism, the band is hard to pin down. I’ve gotten lost listening to Rubblebucket. Intensely upbeat to ghostly visceral, all within the same song. Trumpets and sweety synths call to mind Triangular Daisies, right nextdoor there’sa turbulent Landing laying siege to your feeet! but it all ends up alright, as they end the album with a downhome Hommage.

Rubblebucket’s 2011 album Omega La La is, admittedly, not as swanky as the band’s past creations (i.e. the three in the prior paragraph). In context with the rest of the year’s music scene, however, it’s frigin intriguing. Omega La La is comprised of three remakes — Triangular Daisies, L’Homme, and Came Out of a Lady — from prior albums, and offers some of its own joys. Light renderings like Raining and Silly Fathers are sure to please, and when the party’s over you can curl up to Lifted/Weak Arms or a Pile of Rage. The headlining song, Rescue Ranger, is an adventure of its very own.

When the song pops, Kalmia Traver’s vocals both lead and trail the drum rolling steady to a bubbling bass line, heavy saxophone saturating your dance space. Excellently paced and sure to get a lift from your face, I think it’s because they play their instruments, rather than have a cpu crank em out, that makes Rubblebucket so visceral. Although, f’sho, they’re prettily “produced by Eric Broucek (LCD Soundsystem, !!!, Holy Ghost) & mastered by Joe Lambert (Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Herbie Hancock)” – thanks wiki. And thanks for your time. Espero te disfrute! More to come! I take requests!

On Dan’s 2011 Turntable: Youth Lagoon & schultzing

Posted by Dan Kipp No Responses »

Feb 152012

Posters, Youth Lagoon

Claremont, schultzing

Sometimes, all you want from your music is a background track to whatever you’re doing… whichformeismostlyhomework. It is this aesthetic that connects the two bands featured here: Youth Lagoon, who I know nearly nothing about, and schultzing, a German jazz quintet.

Youth Lagoon. Just one dude, 22, named Trevor Powers. Cool name. The 2011 album is The Year of Hibernation. So mysterious. Guaranteed forty-five minutes of either quality background tuneage or, depending on how into it you want to get, some very legitimate music. Alt-pop powered by layers of lacy synth, from piano to steel drum. His vocals hide in the low-fi and electric, but they bravely fade into Fleet Fox-ish cathedral paintings. I haven’t listened for the lyrics once. The songs stay dreamy, an “eerie yet nostalgic” vibe reminiscent of The XX about them until he drops the bass, when things can get pleasantly epic. Youth Lagoon’s true charm, I believe, is in his patient construction of each song, building it appreciably – if at times too safely – then delivering when the moment arises. Such as at 2:20 in Posters, the first in The Year of Hibernation.

A less safe embarkment would be for the shores of schultzing. One of my now-favorite bands and a refreshing break from the indie scene. Their seven-song 2011 album is federleicht (light as a feather) and it features Mateusz Smoczyński, a Polish jazz violinist, whose heavenly strings often synch with Hanna Jursch’s singing. Their lack of capitalization reflects the experimental nature of their jazz, from the twisted nine-minute jam they called Karawahn, to Ballade, a smoky song led along by two Peters — Schwebs’ stand-up bass and Ehwald’s tenor sax. Claremont, the song featured above, pretty perfectly epitomizes the light and featheriness federleicht suggests.

No schultzing song allows you to disengage from it the same way Youth Lagoon is susceptible to, but still I find myself able to fade from and study to it. (As well, of course, as get down to it.) Both have a certain levity, that I realize now may be from their shared lack of lyrical allure. What I mean is Youth Lagoon’s are unassuming, voice so shrouded in static distance; and because schultzing’s German is incomprehensible to me it slides from my brain like rain from a rock. For neither am I tied down in one part of my mind, following the words of the song; I’m free from understanding them in a literal way.

Let them do for you what you like, and happy studies!

On Dan’s 2011 Turntable: The Girl From Ipanema / Amy Winehouse

Posted by Dan Kipp No Responses »

Jan 132012

The Girl From Ipanema, Amy Winehouse

My best of 2011 list begins with a posthumous album by Amy Winehouse, Lioness: Hidden Treasures. The album contains covers of classics such as “Valerie,” recordings of original songs like “Best Friends, Right?” and “Between the Cheats,” as well as a nasty collaboration with Nas in “Like Smoke.”

Throughout the album, Winehouse displays her impressive vocal and stylistic range, from syrupy ballads to bubbling bits of doo-wop and jazz. For someone entering the Winehouse for his first time since hearing “Rehab” on the radio – as I’m sure much of America, like myself, has done recently – Lioness is indeed filled with some hidden treasures. She holds her own in a duet with Tony Bennett, and there’s an intimate moment at the end of the album where Winehouse talks about Don Hathaway, a hero of hers—two all-time crooners in the same sentence!

The song above is a rendition of “The Girl From Ipanema” Winehouse recorded when she was just 18 years old. Remember the “bubbling bits of doo-wop and jazz” I was talking about earlier? Let the snare snap and the bass hum as Winehouse’s lips transform tones into trumpet calls. Listen as palm trees sway in the violin’s breeze and see if your feet don’t demand a tapdance or two.

On John’s Turntable: The Surrey With The Fringe On Top (Live) / The Marsalis Family

Posted by John Boudreau No Responses »

Nov 052011

The Surrey With The Fringe On Top, The Marsalis Family

I like jazz. The typical reader of this blog may not, so I promise to not go all out on jazz terminology in this post. Like dubstep or indie folk, jazz is a genre that takes a while to wrap your head around and appreciate. So you have an excuse if you don’t dig this right away, but give it a few listens before you dismiss it entirely.

The name Marsalis is big in jazz circles—trumpeter Wynton is already a living legend, saxophonist Branford regularly packs concert halls, and their father Ellis taught for many years at the University of New Orleans. In 2001 the entire Marsalis family (including trombonist Delfeayo and drummer Jason) got together in New Orleans to lay down this live album. I actually saw them on their subsequent tour, but since I was nine, I didn’t really appreciate it.

This track features Ellis on piano and Jason on drums, backed by Roland Guerin on the bass. Ellis takes a corny showtune (originally from Oklahoma!) and imbues it with a deeply funky energy.

People looking to understand what makes a song “jazz” should play the original version of “Surrey” first, and then play this version. The difference is in the phrasing: Ellis deletes notes he doesn’t like, repeats ones he does, and gets lazy with it when he wants. It’s all about feel.

Guerin sets the tone with his bass entrance at 00:46—if you don’t have speakers with good clear bass, you might miss some subtleties. Ellis opens the track up at 00:59 with an incredibly lush two-handed chord before stating the main theme at 01:22, which he swings hard.

A word, if I may, on Jason’s drum solo at 04:09. It’s not Neil Peart, that’s for sure—for starters, Jason probably has four or five drums compared to Neil’s 20+. It’s not a technically mind blowing solo, but it’s not supposed to be. Jazz drummers prize the “groove” above everything else: steady, pulsing tempo. That’s exactly what Jason does here: he locks in to a groove, and then manipulates it all over the place. It’s a different type of technical mastery.

So there you have it. That’s jazz. There’s a lot of subtlety here, and I still pick up on new stuff every time. My current favorite is Ellis’ outro at 07:42—the way he turns the melody into some sort of jazzy doorbell. They’re having fun, and that’s evident no matter how much you know about jazz.

On John’s Turntable: Nine Pound Hammer / Tommy Emmanuel

Posted by John Boudreau No Responses »

Oct 142011

Nine Pound Hammer, Tommy Emmanuel

I don’t usually go out for musical gimmicks. I like my musicians to play their music, and that’s about it. You don’t need to put a takeout container on your head, brag about how many caps you’ve popped in various people, or prostitute your technical talent so people will pay attention to you (i.e. playing fast just because you can).

Tommy Emmanuel does this (not the cap-popping or bucket-wearing), so I really shouldn’t be praising him in light of my previous statement. He’s an immensely gifted technical player, but he uses his talent as more of a curiosity than anything else. Maybe I’m just not hip to what he’s playing, but most of his songs seem overly technical to the detriment of emotional content, with the notable exception of “Nine Pound Hammer,” a Merle Travis cover.

Emmanuel’s technical mastery is evident here: he keeps his picking perfectly staccato and fluid, which lends a sophisticated polish to Travis’ down-home country lyrics. His solo break at 2:00-2:43 almost veers into virtuosic egotism, but he manages to reel things in just in time.

At 3:09 the tune takes a decided turn for what I would typically describe as “gimmicky,” but in this context it comes off as purely innovative. After exploring the percussive elements of his guitar, Emmanuel resolves into an interesting technique: brushing the body of the guitar with one hand while fingering notes on the neck with his other (check out the video below). It’s a distinctive sound that almost succeeds in convincing you that there’s a rhythm section behind him.

When Emmanuel says “I love this tune,” I can’t help but believe him—and he doesn’t need to play real fast to convince me.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC6m3A0ve3A&w=560&h=315]