E/O and Mulatu Astatke, “Munaye” – Mulatu has a new CD coming out, featuring the E/O.  Some fancy tuning at 5:12.

E/O and Mahmoud Ahmed, “Bemen Sebab Letlash”

E/O and Mahmoud Ahmed, “Atawarulegn Lela” – I love this one!

E/O and Mahmoud Ahmed, “Ashkaru”

When we recorded the “EthioGroove” DVD in Paris (April, 2006), we did a second gig at a local club.  I think this footage comes from that gig:

Man, those were great gigs.

Best, R.

• Here
• And Here

And on Youtube, a series of audience videos:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Nifty, eh?

Best, R.

Joanne Brackeen is so great.  She is yet another musician who I read about when I was growing up in the midwest, but had to move to Boston to hear.  The first time I ever heard her music was not on record, but live at the Berklee Performance Center in the spring of 1993.  She was celebrating her new gig on the piano faculty, which, as far as I was concerned, was VERY cool.  Her music is intricate, dense, a whirlwind of sound, and she hires incredible musicians.

• Tring-a-Ling – with Billy Hart, Michael Brecker, and (my former teacher) Cecil McBee.  The band glides through this somewhat complex music effortlessly.  McBee, in particular (from my totally biased vantage point) is especially incredible.
• Prism – did I mention something about incredible musicians?  This is a duo record with the great Eddie Gomez.  Fantastic.
• Keyed In – augmenting the Brackeen/Gomez duo is Jack DeJohnette.  A great record.  In the AllMusic Guide, critic Scott Yanow (rightly) notes how strange it is that this record would be on Bob James’ label, Tappen Zee.  Very odd, but I’m very happy that it happened.

Dollar Brand, aka Abdulla Ibrahim, released what has become an incredibly influential album, at least to current and past (and probably future) members of the Either/Orchestra.  African Marketplace, the album, features the song of the same name, which we have played a zillion times.  Excellent, excellent tune, played by a great band that stars Carlos Ward, and Cecil McBee’s amazing bass playing.

Like Joanne Brackeen (and so many others), it took a move to Boston to get my ears in front of speakers blasting Anthony Braxton.  I have never seen him live, but since he is only 2 hours away in CT, I hope to.  His work on Arista is incredible.  In fact, I grant the status of BFF to anyone who decides to give me this collection.  Ok, maybe not BFF (that has to go to the person or institution that helps me fix my bass – long story, for another post), how about BF-for-a-really-long-time?

• New York, Fall 1974 – My favorite Dave Holland period is around this time.  Ok, there is this early 1980s thing, too, that I love about Holland.  But in Braxton’s band, playing this music…?  Amazing.  Same with Kenny Wheeler (ok, ok, they both have solo albums that I adore!).
• Five Pieces (1975) – My absolute all-time favorite Anthony Braxton album.
• Creative Orchestra Music (1976) – Speechless.
• NW5-9M4: For Trio – I love this one, too.  Reminds me of that great Henry Threadgill album X-75, Volume 1, although now that I say that, I wonder if it is a musical likeness or if it’s just because of the title?
• In The Tradition – A former teacher of mine (Allan Chase) asked in class one day, “Does it matter if an improviser who is associated with the jazz avant garde plays the jazz tradition?”  Incredible question.  I think this album, and Seven Standards, Vol. 1, show incredible courage on Braxton’s part.  He sounds nothing like, I mean, well, he only sounds like Anthony Braxton.  From the vantage point of a mainstream jazz musician, it’s not really going to work out.  But anyone with ears who is willing to open themselves up to another approach will find that his playing on these tunes really is amazing.
• Seven Standards, Vol. 1 – speaking of this record, it’s great.  Actually some of my favorite Rufus Reid is on this album.

What a strange way to end a Brackeen, Brand, Braxton string of records, that is, with Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars, Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians debut LP. Maybe it’s the bassist’s Clevinger Electric Upright bass talking, but I love this record.

I was so, so fortunate to play one semester in a big band at New England Conservatory that Bob Brookmeyer coached.  Actually, it was a jazz composers’ orchestra, so we played the music of his students (plus 2 of his), but he was there and had many insightful things to say.  I realized then how many Brookmeyer albums I have.  Maybe not as a bandleader, but definitely as a sideman.

• Jazz is a Kick – A great small group date, with fantastic performances by Charlie Persip and Paul Chambers (on different tunes, plus other amazing musicians).  This version of “You’re My Everything” is lovely; “Air Conditioned” is burning…
• And Friends – And what friends!  Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Gary Burton, Elvin Jones.  “Jive Hoot” is killer, and “Skylark” is gorgeous.
• Small Band, Live at Sandy’s Jazz Revival – I listened to this one about 4 times before moving on.  This is truly magical.  Michael Moore knocks me out.
• Live at the Village Vanguard – with Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra.  Really great.  Clark Terry takes some wonderful solos, and a great duo with Brookmeyer.  Dick Oatts sounds amazing – actually, I never played with him, but I have played several gigs with his brother Jim. A great record with incredible writing.

Ok, so that does it for now.  On to Clifford Brown…

Best, R.

Funny that Lester Bowie is up next, and not because of the alphabet.  No, what with my trip to Milano last weekend, it’s strange that I started and ended the trip listening to Lester.  That’s because the only time I ever saw him was in the Sistine Chapel.  Really.  No, I’m not joking, it’s actually true.  Just ask Colin Fisher and Miguel Zenon – we were on an Either/Orchestra tour in 1999.  Unless it was his doppelganger, but I really think it was him.

Well, anyway, here’s the (regrettably small) collection:

• All The Magic – A fascinating two record set.  In particular, I love the solo trumpet pieces, and as always, Fontella Bass is amazing.  Check her out, also, on the Art Ensemble of Chicago record Les Stances a Sophie.
• The Great Pretender – And here, for me, his sense of humor really comes out.  Bob Stewart is a killer on tuba.  The arrangement of the title tune is a marvel.
• Avant-Pop – Must own.  Simply put.

I have some CDs, a bunch of Art Ensemble Records, The Leaders, and various and sundry other appearances by Mr. Bowie, but those will have to wait for a different section of the alphabet, or a switch to CD.  For those of you who don’t know, he did play on the David Bowie record Black Tie White Noise.  The Bowies.

Best, R.

Audience footage of E/O w/Mulatu Astatke playing “The Broken Flowers Suite”

Same tune, different camera

Playing Mulatu’s “I Faram Gami”

With Mahmoud Ahmed, playing “Khulun Manqualesh”

Pretty cool, eh?  And the AlterEGO had yet another flawless trip abroad…

In other news, looks like the new Mulatu Astatke CD will be coming out soon – it stars the E/O (that means me, too).  Looking forward to checking that out.

Best, R.

Best, R.

• Space Oddity – One of the last in his catalog for me to hear.  I like his decision to use the LP as a canvas for images of his space travels.  You know, just like Sun Ra, er, sort of.  I don’t always like the music on this LP, but it’s super early in his career, so there is plenty more music to check out.
• The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars – Yes.  Incredible.  Anyone who has not heard this must.  “Starman” is one of my all time favorite tunes.  “Moonage Daydream” is so, so rockin’.  I confess that I do need to sort of turn my attention away from the music during Bowie’s alto solo on “Stone Love,” but if that’s the only moment that doesn’t quite suit my tastes, then it’s quite a record.
• Alladin Sane – The follow up to Ziggy is a bit of a left turn.  I like Mike Garson’s Cecil Taylor moments and Bowie’s singing on “Time,” but most of the rest of this record (”The Jean Genie” being a classic, of course) is not quite my cup of tea.
• Hunky Dory – never been a fan of ch-ch-ch-changes, but I love the rest of this album.  “Life on Mars” is extraordinary, “Quicksand” is lovely.  I love this line in the liner notes – “I played some guitar, the saxophones and the less complicated piano-parts. (inability).”  Bowie’s voice is in great form on this record.  I like, particularly, how much he sounds like Bob Dylan on “Bob Dylan” and how much he sounds like Lou Reed on “Queen Bitch,” and he does that without sounding like an impersonator (or as Bowie doing an impression of Rich Little).  Great, great record.
• Pin Ups – a record of covers.  I think that “See Emily Play” is every bit as interesting as the Pink Floyd original.  I’ll wait for that shoe to drop.  Ok, now onward.  You know, this record is really weird.  That must be why I like it so much.  The free sections of some of these tunes are just plain crazy.
• Diamond Dogs – Welcome, Tony Visconti.  You rock.  Not my favorite Bowie record, but definitely a rockin’ one.  Ok, let me be more generous – “Sweet Thing” is lovely and is there anything not to like about Aynsley Dunbar’s playing, ever?  Couple more thoughts – side 2 is really great.  I hear in the first two tracks some prediction of his Phillie style that would emerge on with Young Americans, and in “Big Brother” and “Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family” there is more than a whiff of his Berlin period.  On second thought, I like this record.  Oh, and compared to the Dynaflex RCA LPs I have been listening to, this RCA International German pressing (”Imprime in Alemagne”) is pretty warm a lovely sounding.
• Young Americans – New cast.  The Spiders from Mars are pretty much out, with new peeps like Willy Weeks (one of my all-time faves – check his playing in Rufus, on Donny Hathaway Live, and even on Chuck Mangione’s record Feels So Good), Carlos Alomar, Earl Slick (who is way too cool on the Reality Tour DVD), David Sanborn (that’s right!), Luther Vandross (again, that’s right!), and some guy named John Lennon.  Tony Visconti continues to be incredible.  Bowie sounds great on “Across the Universe,” too – hints of Station to Station in his voice (speaking of which…).
• Station to Station – Bowie’s singing on “Station to Station” is among my favorite moments in his catalog.  His voice is in supreme form, even though I believe this is one of the records that he doesn’t actually remember making.  Again, Earl Slick and Carlos Alomar are too cool for school on this record.  Most confusing moment for me?  “Wild is the Wind” – I still think that’s a cover of a jazz tune.  I love it.  “Golden Years” has always been a fave of mine.  Least fantastic moment for me?  “TVC15.”  George Murray is my new hero.
• Low – My first several listens through this left me cold.  I should like this record more.  Maybe I need to spend more time with Eno records (I have checked out Here Come the Warm Jets and Music for Airports – I prefer him as a producer – he’s amazing at that – waitaminute…he produced Low – I should like that record more).
• “Heroes”- Tricky time in Bowie’s life, but fantastic music.  I think the Bowie/Eno/Fripp/Visconti combination is unbelievable.  Strangely, even though the structure of “Heroes” is very similar to Low, I like “Heroes” a bit more.  Who knows why?  George Murray is still amazing.  The gate effect on “‘Heroes’” is so classic, and I think Bowie’s voice on “Sons of the Silent Age” is absolutely incredible.  “The Secret Life of Arabia” is also pretty darn great, although the “Secret, secret” backing vocals remind me of something else, something not as hip…it will come to me…something 1980s…something with hairspray and spandex…oh yeah, some backing vocals from “Mr. Roboto” by Styx ["Secret, secret, I've got a secret"].
• Stages – A double live album, from the era of double live albums.  Adrian Belew is incredible on this album, same – again – with George Murray.  Actually, the whole band sounds great. “Station to Station” is shorter, losing much of the long intro.  I still feel the same about “TVC15″…sorry.  But what a difference a decade or two makes (insofar as what an audience likes is concerned).  I mean, the applause – which could have been flown in from something else – at the end of “Warzawa” is enthusiastic.  Could you imagine Jay-Z or Lady Gaga or someone else today releasing a record of electronic music (closer to Stockhausen than electronica) – instrumental music, by the way – and having a gigantic audience for it?  Ok, one more thing.  Although this record is live, there is really not much about it that is different from the studio albums.  No, the aesthetics are not the same thing as jazz records (never play the same thing once), but still, there has to be some experimentation somewhere, right?  Why not on a live album?
• Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) – Hello Robert Fripp.  I know you were there on “Heroes” but man, you are totally here on this record and sound amazing.  This album is super weird and documents yet another transition for Bowie.  Many of the same musicians on this record, playing like they have been together for a couple of years (and they have).  Side one is like perfect or something.  Side two is very nice, but not quite as attention grabbing for me, although “Because You’re Young” is such a cute 1980s pop song smashed into doo wop.
• Tin Machine – Ok, so not exactly a David Bowie album, but I file it there anyway.  It might get lost otherwise, and who would want that?  Remember Tin Machine?  I liked them at the time.  I still think that Reeves Gabrels is un-freaking-believable.  I have come this close to playing with him a couple of times, but it never worked out, sadly.  For now, I’ll just have to remember seeing him pacing on stage at the Orpheum a few years ago, rocking a kilt (that was the Earthling tour).  On this record, I like “Prisoner of Love” and Under the God” – remember that one?  Nice version of “Working Class Hero,” too.

So, that’s it.  Another installment of My Record Collection in Alphabetical Order.  Love it.

Best, R.

Blood, Sweat & Tears (B, S & T) – Child is Father to the Man – I heard this album long after I had already heard B, S, & T, 3, and 4 (but way before I heard the rest of the catalog).  I got it because I was convinced that it had to be way, way jazzier than the others, since the others had so many pop moments.  I  was wrong, but in a great way.  Loaded up with jazz, rock, horns, rock, psychedelia, some Music Concrete, jazz, and rock, this album is part Bob Dylan, part Sgt. Pepper, and part Edgard Varese (”the present day composer refuses to die!” as told inside the gatefold to Freak Out), with droplets of Coltrane sprinkled throughout.  I met Al Kooper shortly after he moved to Boston in the late 1990s.  We were splitting a double bill at a festival in Maine.  I walked into the green room and he was just hanging out at the piano, playing the Gil Evans arrangement of “The Duke” from the Miles Davis album Miles Ahead. I could only say “Al, you rock” to him.

Blood, Sweat and Tears – I adored this record when I was a kid.  What’s not to love about Satie’s “Trois Gymnopedies” arranged in minor, produced with a flanger effect?  I loved “Smiling Phases” at a time when I thought that Traffic was something that cars sat in.  I think the arranging on this record is brilliant, with such attention to detail that you can hear the brush strokes.  But it’s not over produced in the way that the post-Steely Dan digital age would bring (which I also sometimes love – a lot).  I had tons of fun listening to this one again.  Bobby Columby is incredible – he plays rock like a jazz musician, and I love that.  Also, I worry that the reason I quote “In-A-Gadda-da-Vida” so much is because of this record.  Yikes.  Oh, and nice “Spoonful” quote, too.

B, S, & T 4 – By the time I got to this record (as a kid), I was a pretty serious hard rock fan.  I mean, think about John Paul Jones & Geddy Lee’s bass playing and give me a single reason why I shouldn’t have liked them.  So this record – “Go Down Gamblin’” in particular – totally worked for me.  Bobby Columby (again!) is amazing on “Redemption.”

Arthur Blythe – I never even heard of him until around 2000, and then when I heard him, I freaked out.  What a sound!  His writing is lovely and intriguing, and his recordings on CBS in the early 1980s are a most beautiful balance of welcoming and experimental.  His playing on Joey Baron’s CD Down Home is also incredible.

Blythe Spirit is a fantastic outing, a must own for the Blythe uninitiated.  Curious instrumentation with fantastic instrumentalists (Bob Stewart is the man!) playing fascinating tunes.  “Contemplation, “Faceless Woman” and “Spirits in the Field” are perennial “note to self: transcribe” tunes for me.

Light Blue: Arthur Blythe Plays Thelonious Monk – talk about daring!  Alto saxophone, cello, tuba, drums and guitar is the instrumentation, and Bob Stewart continues to be amazing.  “Nutty” is great!  My other favorite “Plays Monk” record is the Steve Lacy album School Days (check out Henry Grimes on “Brilliant Corners”!)

Basic Blythe – With strings; a fantastic sound.  This time, instead of tuba, Anthony Cox is playing bass (fantastically).  I have so few John Hicks recordings that I’m not sure how his playing rates on this album, other than to say that his solo on “Lenox Avenue Breakdown” – in particular – is wonderful.  A lovely version of “Ruby, My Dear” and another great version (although this one is a little more tame than the Blythe Spirit version) of “Faceless Woman.”

Booker T & the MGs – The Best of Booker T & the MGs – practically the Bible on groovin’.  I have been a pretty big Donald “Duck” Dunn fan since I was about 12 years old.  I mean, the rest of the band is great, too, but the bass playing is the perfect balance of function, lyricism and sophistication.

I believe the we have made it to the Bowie section.

Best, R.

On New Year’s Eve, I had a gig (Either/Orchestra, First Night at the Boston Public Library – extremely fantastic) with Charlie Kohlhase.  One small portion of our conversation went something like this:

RM – Hey Charlie.
CK – Hey there, Rick.  How’s that listening project coming along?
RM – Great.  I’m making my way through Blind Faith and Blondie.
CK – [Scowls] I see.  Well, those are two artists whose work you are unlikely to find represented in my record collection.

So here we are – recordings by Blind Faith and Blondie.  I could try to deny owning them, or simply not post anything about them.  I could write a tome about why I own these records, or simply list their existence and let the chips fall where they may.

How about this instead:

I like Blind Faith and although I am no Blondie/Deborah Harry completist, I’m perfectly happy owning the three Blondie albums I have.  I think Deborah Harry is great, and although I’m not such a fan of the records she did with Passport, I think that she could make some excellent jazz records (and they will absolutely be better than Rod Stewart’s – I promise).

• Blind Faith – I like this record.  I always have.  I know that Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert is not exactly championed as his greatest work, and somehow this record gets lumped into some associated category unfortunately.  But ever since I heard “Presence of the Lord” on that LP, I have been into Blind Faith.  Steve Winwood’s voice is in excellent form, EC plays to his strengths, Ginger Baker holds down the fort…it’s just great.  His tune, “Do What You Like” is a non-Prog Rock tune in 5/4.  Methinks Ginger doth like Dave Brubeck.
• Blondie - Eat to the Beat - It’s great.  “Dreaming” is track 1 (check the fantastic Bad Plus version for something a little more typical of my tastes).  “Accidents Never Happen” is surely related to the Elvis Costello “Accidents Will Happen” somehow.  If it isn’t, it should be.  “Atomic” is delightful.
• Blondie – Autoamerican – I love liner notes.  In this MP3 age, we can barely keep track of the artist/title, and you can forget about personnel.  But the age of the liner notes profiled some of the production sub-plot.  Take, for example, Tom Scott on this album, or Howard Kaylan & Mark Volman (aka Flo and Eddie), or – best of all – supreme jazz bassist Ray Brown.
• Blondie – The Best of Blondie – What’s not to love on this album?

I wonder what crazy records are next?

Best, R.