Jazz – Page 7 – 7th Level Music

Review: Khruangin – LateNightTales

When asked to make their own LateNightTales compilation, Khruangbin decided to make it as much a showcase of international talent as possible. The result is a luxurious musical trip around the globe.

Opening track “Illuminations” by Devadip Carlos Santana and Turiya Alice Coltrane is like the opening theme to an exotic romance / adventure film with it’s luscious harp strings, playful violins, and simple piano and guitar chords. “I Know That (When the Spring Time Comes)” by Brilliantes Del Vuelo is robotic dub with thick bass, reverbed hand percussion, and vocals that sound like a Star Wars droid. “Khushi” by Nazia Hassan is Middle Eastern disco with neon synths and a slick hand percussion beat.

Kelly Doyle‘s “DRM” is full of thumping electro-bass and fun, slightly off-kilter beats. The bass gets fatter on Sanullim‘s “Don’t Go” – a track that will go directly onto your disco and / or funk playlists. Maxwell Udoh‘s “I Like It (Don’t Stop)” is more slick disco and David Marez‘s “Enséñame” has big brass horns that Portishead would love to sample and sharp 1970’s Spanish love song vocals.

Gerald Lee‘s “Can You Feel the Love (Reprise)” is pure 1970s bedroom rock with sultry female vocals (“Here we are, sitin’ with one another, so alive and so free…”). Justine and the Victorian Punks have a pillow talk conversation over a sweet groove that would be perfect for strutting your stuff down a runway. George Yanagi and Nadja Band then saunter into the room with a Japanese slow jam that should be on any turntable in the Land of the Rising Sun if you plan on any nocturnal mixers there.

Russian lounge jazz follows that. Khruangbin slide into the mix next with a cover of Kool and the Gang‘s “Summer Madness” that is so smooth that you almost slip on it as it oozes out of your speakers and settles on the floor around you. Paloma San Basilio‘s “Contigo” has playful female vocals backed with R&B bass and wicked high hat work. The horn section on the Roha Band‘s “Yetikimt Abeba” is top-notch, knowing when to move to the front and when to stay out of the way of the vocals and effortless beat. The album ends with a spoken word piece by Tierney Malone and Geoffrey Muller. It’s a love poem that sounds like it’s from space (and, after all, much of the poem is about the speaker chasing after his love who has left the Earth) with simple banjo plucks and space transmission beeps.

It’s a lovely compilation and one that will make you seek out a lot of these artists, as any compilation should do. Hats off to Khruangbin for putting it together for us.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Badge Époque Ensemble – Self Help

Maximilian Turnbull, the frontman for Toronto’s Badge Époque Ensemble, describes their new album, Self Help, as “combining jazz-funk and mysticism.” I don’t think I can describe it better than that.

“Sing a Silent Gospel” starts off the album with something like a Steely Dan tune with its great saxophone work by Karen Ng and bright keyboards from Turnbull. “Unity (It’s Up to You)” is a funky jam with neat vocal harmonies backed by Jay Anderson‘s tight drumming any hip hop DJ would envy. “The Sound Where My Head Was” has a neat 1970s sound to it with Turnbull’s keys and Giosuè Rosati‘s putting down a retro groove.

A lovely flute solo starts “Just Space for Light” and then it melts into a beautiful song about embracing love and light – and more great flute solos from Alia O’Brien. “Birds Fly through Ancient Ruins” is almost eleven minutes of psychedelic jazz that is suitable for meditation, yoga, creating any kind of art, or even belly dancing as Chris Bezant plays dusty western guitar and Ed Squires‘ hand percussion lulls you into a trance. Ng’s sax solo is like something you’d hear in the distance while you find yourself trapped in a film noir.

Turnbull’s smooth piano carries us through the closer, “Extinct Commune,” with hopeful chords to uplift you and give you some of that self-help mentioned in the album’s title.

Self Help is indeed a good title for this album, as that jazz-funk / mysticism combination does you well. It helps you shake cobwebs out of your head and refocus. We all need that this year.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Badge Époque Ensemble release “Just Space for Light” ahead of upcoming album.

Toronto’s Badge Époque Ensemble present a new single, “Just Space For Light” (feat. Jennifer Castle), from their forthcoming album, Self Help, out November 20th on Telephone Explosion Records. “Just Space For Light” follows “Unity (It’s Up To You),” which was presented alongside an incredibly ambitious claymation video, and lead single “Sing A Silent Gospel.” With each new single, which has featured a new guest vocalist (beginning with Meg Remy and Dorothea Paas, then R&B soul artist James Baley and now Castle), Badge Époque Ensemble show more of how their sound and style can evolve into something wholly unexpected. On its onset, “Just Space For Light” is blissfully soothing, drifting with rhodes by bandleader Maximilian Turnbull, flute by Alia O’Brien, percussion by Ed Squires, and Castle’s affecting vocals. As the song approaches its peak, it transforms into a flurry of fragmented guitar and progressive instrumentation.

“’Just Space For Light’ weaves a few BÉE themes together,” says Turnbull. “The collision of disparate moods between sections, lyrics which touch on the meditative experience, and collaboration with a distinctive vocalist; in this case Jennifer Castle, who’s soulful presence on our album is a blessing.”

Listen to Badge Époque Ensemble’s “Just Space For Light” (feat. Jennifer Castle)

Recorded live over three weekends at Toronto’s Palace Sound Studio in the months before lockdown, Self Help is an exploratory record that dances across time and genre, guided by fidgety miniatures and jazz inflected collage. While constructed from the inspiration of soul, funk and film music, BÉE mediate those influences having first digested them through the productions of Madlib and the RZA.

“Unity (It’s Up To You)” (feat. James Baley) Video

“Sing A Silent Gospel” (feat. Meg Remy and Dorothea Paas) Visualizer

Pre-order Self-Help

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: Chelique Sarabia – Revolución en Música Venezolana (2019)

In 1971, the Shell Oil Company sponsored Venezuelan poet and musician Chelique Sarabia to compose an album of traditional folk music updated for modern times. This album would be given as Christmas gifts to Shell employees, friends, and customers in 1973. Sarabia enlisted local musicians to play a host of traditional instruments so he could filter those tracks through synthesizers, sequencers, tape loops, and who knows what else. The result, Revolución Electronica en Música Venezolana, was an amazing South American synth-wave album that’s still ahead of its time.

Opening track “El Pajarillo” blends funk bass with traditional guitar arrangements warped by reverb, pan, and filter controls into a trippy, exotic vacation. “Maracaibo en la Noche” blends distant female vocals and birdsongs with the psychedelic guitar. “Polo Margariteño” has what sounds like a lovely clarinet piece throughout it, and the effects are taken off the guitar to let the traditional dance rhythms come to the forefront. “Cantos de Mi Tierra” has a bit of a spooky feel to it at first, which I love, and then it curves into a beautiful dream space.

“El Cumaco de San Juan” shimmers with an underlying brightness that eventually fades as the guitars come forward as snappy as Rice Krispies. “El Diablo Suelto” is as subtle and witty as Old Scratch himself. “Polo Coriano” sounds like it’s going to be a bold piano-led track at first, but then makes a left turn and becomes a toe-tapping track that brings a smile to your face.

The opening chants of “Mare-Mare por Comer Zopoara el Pájaro Guarandol” weave in and out of the track but rarely overtake the beautiful accordion, organ, and traditional guitar flourishes. “Somobra en los Médanos” reminds me a bit of Italian romantic comedy scores from the 1960’s, and Sarabia puts the filter effects to good use again on the guitar solos.

“Barlovento” gets off to a mind-warp start and continues spinning down a rabbit hole into a Venezuelan wonderland of guitar solos, traditional hand percussion, and echoing vocal sounds. “Rio Manzanares” brings in a hot saxophone riff now and then to mix with the traditional guitar strumming, producing a great effect. Not to be outdone, the closing track, “La Bella del Tamuangue,” adds a trumpet that drifts back and forth from leading with skillful zigging and zagging to hanging out in the back with long, soft tones to add more psychedelia.

It’s a sharp record that will make you want to bug out to South American for at least a few weeks, and, again, so far ahead of its time that it sounds like it could’ve been released last week instead of almost fifty years ago.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Guerssen Records.]

Rewind Review: Calibro 35 – Sogni Di Gloria (2014)

Milano, Italy’s Calibro 35 make music for films that are either independent affairs or that never existed, but should. Their score to Sogni Di Gloria, however, is from an actual comedic film directed by John Snellinberg about two men named Giulio – one of Italian descent and the other of Chinese descent – living in Italy and trying to get by.

The score gets off to a fun start on “Maionese (Titoli de Testa)” with plenty of surf guitar to go around for everyone. “Tema dello Sbattezzato” brings in delightful organ to match the cool guitar licks. “Come un valzer” could fit right into a 1970’s Euro-crime film, and “Notturno” is the late night jazz of your dreams.

The organ chords on “Tema di Alice” bring to mind summer walks along a sunlit country road. “Tema dello Sbattezzato (Bolero)” is a nice reprise. The guitars on “Tema malinconico” take on a bit of a psychedelic touch with their surf tones. “La partita” is a fun race with groovy bass and super-spy synths. You might want to check your pulse if it doesn’t move you. The whistling on “Un rigors sbagliato” will remind you of many spaghetti western scores – something Calibro 35 do well.

The bass groove on “Lento dello Sbattezzato” is slick in its subtlety. “Come un tango” is fun, sexy, and mysterious all at the same time. More funky bass is prominent throughout “Sala da carte,” and I love that groovy 1960’s organ, too.

The score ends with reprises of “Tema dello Sbattezzato” and “Tema malinconico” before we’re treated to the lovely “Il tempo che non ho vissuto” – the only song with vocals on the record. They are, of course, in Italian, and, of course, beautiful.

I need to track down this film, and any that Calbro 35 have scored. If the films are half as good as the scores, they’ll be winners.

Keep your mind open.

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Jazz legend Archie Shepp, rapper Raw Poetic, and DJ Damu the Fudgemonk combine for “Tulips.”

Archie Shepp, Raw Poetic, and Damu The Fudgemunk have released a new single, “Tulips,” from their forthcoming collaborative album, Ocean Bridges, out May 22nd on Redefinition Records. Following its urgent lead single, “Learning to Breathe,” “Tulips” opens with a quiet array of keys, growing with bursts of saxophone and Raw Poetic’s emotive lyrics. “During the studio session, the spontaneous music that would later become ‘Tulips’ was the second idea we laid down,” says Damu The Fudgemunk. “It would set the vibe for much of the recording that followed. Raw Poetic’s lyrics really illustrate the deeper meaning behind the ‘Ocean Bridges’ album title on this tune.” Raw Poetic adds: “I let the spring vibe name the song, and the flower that bloomed was a tulip. Sometimes you gotta let the music spell it out.”

Listen To “Tulips” by Archie Shepp, Raw Poetic, and Damu The Fudgemunk –
https://youtu.be/Hf2MdTRX_7U

Initially conceived after Jason Moore (aka independent, underground rapper Raw Poetic) attended an event with his mother at the Kennedy Center honoring his uncle – legendary saxophonist, Archie Shepp – Ocean Bridges intends to signify a bridging-of-the-gap in their family’s story and a re-establishing of the connection between young and old in their general community.

Entirely improvised, Ocean Bridges was intentionally created without any direction, resulting in a finished product with natural energy, a conversation of ideas that transcend genre. The album blends live improvised music, jazz, hip-hop, and many other musical directions into a one-of-a-kind sound. It was recorded with a live ensemble – Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, wurltizer), Raw Poetic (vocals, raps, lyrics), Earl “Damu the Fudgemunk” Davis (drums, vibraphone, vocals, turntable scratching), Pat Fritz (guitar), Aaron Gause (wurlitzer, synthesizer), Luke Stewart (acoustic bass, electric bass), Jamal Moore (tenor sax, clarinet, bongos, percussion), and Bashi Rose (drums, percussion) – in August 2019 between Washington, DC and Northern Virginia, Ocean Bridges fuses different musical concepts to adapt in a hip-hop format – all of the instrumentation is accompanied by vocals.

Listen To “Learning to Breathe” (Extended Mix) –
https://youtu.be/LUirEpnXves

Watch Video For “Learning to Breathe” (Album Mix) –
https://youtu.be/iVIqsYJ9okw

Pre-order Ocean Bridges –
https://soulspazm.ffm.to/oceanbridges

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Rewind Review: Gary Wilson – Alone with Gary Wilson (2015)

I have no idea why it took me so long to get around to hearing and buying Gary Wilson‘s 2015 album, Alone with Gary Wilson. It might be because Mr. Wilson was prolific in the last decade and that I was too busy buying his Christmas album, his outer space-themed album, his album about returning to Endicott, New York, or any of the other ones he released in the 2010’s. Shame on me for missing this one, because it’s one of his funkiest.

The album starts with the short jazz oddity, “Last Night I Kissed You,” which makes one think Wilson’s head was swirling from the kiss. “You Called Me on the Phone Last Night” follows. It’s a tale of Wilson crying “all night long” as he wishes his dream of a phone call, just a phone call, from his lost love would happen. The electric piano in it is delightfully peppy, making you think that Wilson isn’t too glum.

“Let’s Walk in a Dream” puts down a funky beat as Wilson sings about dancing with his girl in the park, but his band, The Blind Dates, sing, “Gary walked away into the park. He was all alone crying in the dark.” during the chorus. It’s all a dream, but at least in his dreams he can “make the scene” with his girl. “I should’ve listened to Dear Abby’s advice,” Wilson sings on “Linda Walked Away.” The whole tune slinks along as seductively as the tick-tock of Linda’s hips, but Linda still wants nothing to do with him.

Wilson reveals that he’s the (in)famous “Chromium Clown” in a quirky track that reveals he just wants to make his girl laugh, but she’s too full of despair to enjoy a ride on a merry-go-round or anything else he has planned. The groove of “Every Night Is Friday Night” is smooth. Damn smooth. “A Thousand Trees Were Dancing in the Park” has Wilson feeling as cool as he did in high school, but then feeling weak when he sees his girl’s lovely eyes. All he can do is walk into the North Side Park and wonder how he can build the courage to approach her. Why can’t she tell (judging by the groovy swing of the tune) how cool he is?

“I Know That You Kissed Me” has some of Wilson’s sauciest lyrics as he puts down some great electric organ riffs and sings about wrapping his girl in a sheet. “Please Don’t Make Me Cry Tonight” has him lying alone as the sun goes down on another Friday night and he can only dream of taking a walk to the lake with his girl. The song dissolves into a weird nightmare.

“You Looked So Cool While You Were Dancing” is serious bedroom rock. Wilson and the Blind Dates are at the top of their funky forms on it. “I Really Dig Your Smile” has this cool beat breakdown in it before Wilson whispers the names of his secret loves. “Sea Cruise” isn’t a cover of the song by Frankie Ford (although that would be amazing), but rather Wilson singing a nice little love song about taking his girl on a nice cruise to get the both of them away from their troubles and dance the nights away at sea.

“I Will Do What It Takes” proclaims Wilson on the next track. He will do what he needs to do to take his girl fall in love with him – be it take her on a sea cruise, a date at the bowling alley, or just a walk in the park or to the beach. The slow jam sexiness of the track practically drips like honey off a spoon. The album ends with another freaky instrumental, “One More Kiss.” That’s all Wilson wants. That’s all any of us want, really.

Don’t miss out on this album like I did for five years. It’s too good for that.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Khruangbin & Leon Bridges – Texas Sun

Psychedelic jazz rockers Khruangbin and soul crooner Leon Bridges have come together to create a lovely four-song EP called Texas Sun. It’s a tribute to their home state and the reduction of the self that can happen if you spend a lot of time in the American southwest.

The title track opens the EP and begins with country acoustic guitar before Mark Speer‘s distinctive guitar sound comes in as a perfect match with Bridges’ vocals about driving along warm Texas highways at dusk. Speer puts down some romantic charm on “Midnight,” so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if the track has scored him a hundred dates by now. Plus, Laura Lee‘s bass groove on it is as seductive as the devil.

Speaking of grooves, the one cooked up by Ms. Lee and drummer Donald Johnson on “C-Side” is so slick that you should probably put a “Caution: Slippery Floor” sign in your living room when you play it. The EP ends with “Conversion,” which brings in some gospel touches to Bridges’ vocals about finding freedom in love.

This EP is a steal at a mere four bucks and a nice way to relax for a little while as you deal with the last days of winter.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Gary Wilson – Tormented

Bedroom rock maestro Gary Wilson has returned with one of his best albums in a while – Tormented. Since the painting of Wilson on the cover shows him wearing a Carnival of Souls shirt (a ghost story movie about a woman pursued by a mysterious man as she’s drawn to a beach-side park, which could be the theme of an entire record by Wilson), I can’t help but wonder if the title of the album refers to the Roger Corman film of the same name. In that movie, a man is haunted by the ghost of his former lover, and that is certainly a theme present in all of Wilson’s work – including this record.

The album ends with the short, weird “A Special Day,” in which Wilson and other ghostly voices mention it’s his girl’s birthday again and he’s planted a tree in her honor. “Happy Birthday to My Girl” follows it, and Wilson, with a jaunty keyboard groove behind him, sings a birthday song to his lover after she’s moved far away from him, oblivious to the fact that he’s bought new shoes for a date with her that will now never happen.

The synths on “The Sin Eater” are Donald Fagen-esque and Wilson’s vocals are a plea for his mysterious girl to not be afraid of the one who can take away her pain. “Oh that sounds real nice,” he sings at the beginning of “You Looked Cool in Outer Space.” He’s right. The tune is one of his funkiest and smoothest in a while.

“The Merry Go Round” is a piano-backed poem about Wilson spending another lonely night at his favorite park, where he goes every single night to think about the girl he mentions in “Midnight and You.” She’s another girl he can’t have or who he knew once but has long forgotten him. “I Married Lisa Last Night” is a brief instrumental that reminds you that Wilson is a fine pianist indeed.

“It’s Almost Midnight” is another ode to the nightlife Wilson loves so much, but he promises he’ll have his girl home before then. “Frank Roma Is Tormented” is a plunge into saxophone riffs and eerie madness. “Where Did You Go?” reminds us that “Every night is Friday night” when you’re with Mr. Wilson as it bops along a quiet, lonely road into outer space or through the North Side Park in Wilson‘s hometown of Endicott, New York (which, in case you didn’t know, is a very small town).

The title track is another creepy poem that drifts into a question Wilson asks on every record – “Where Is Linda?” It’s a hip track with more smooth synth work from Wilson, and once more the question goes unanswered. ‘The Wind” is the third poem on the album, with Wilson calling for various women as he hears their voices from afar.

The title of “Gary Lives in the Twilight Zone” could be an understatement. His albums indicate he lives in a mysterious place that shifts from dreams to reality until they are blurred and merged. Each one of his records lets us explore this odd place with him. His synth solo is great and the drums on the track are particularly snappy. The album closes with the fourth poem – “A Sad Town” – in which Wilson tries to swim to Toronto but ends up at an amusement park, tries again, but doesn’t make it – leaving us to wonder if he drowned in Lake Ontario and if Tormented is actually an album made by a ghost (a ghost who is currently touring, by the way).

I’d be fine with that. Ghosts follow Wilson around all the time, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s been one all along.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 30 albums of 2019: #’s 30 – 26

Here we are at the end of 2019. As always, there’s too much good music released every year for anyone to hear all of it, but here are my top 30 albums of 2019 (of 60 that I reviewed) this year.

#30 – Vapors of Morphine – Lyons, Colley, Dupree Live at the Lizard Lounge 5/25/2007

This is a recording of a 2007 show that was the beginnings of what would become Vapors of Morphine. It’s a great recording of jazz, low rock, delta blues, and a bit of psychedelia and was a welcome gift for this lover of Morphine.

#29 – Black Midi – Schlagenheim

This album is difficult to describe. Is it prog-rock? Post-punk? Both? Neither? I think it’s neither. I do know that it’s a wild mix of crazy guitar riffs, epic drumming, and bizarre, frantic lyrics. It’s unlike anything you’ll hear, and I fully expect (and the band has pretty much said) that the next Black Midi album will be completely different.

#28 – BODEGA – Shiny New Model

BODEGA can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes and ears, and Shiny New Model was another sharp, witty post-punk record from these New Yorkers. BODEGA capture existential ennui, technology paranoia, and the annoyance of the daily grind better than most.

#27 – Cosmonauts – Star 69

I knew as soon as I heard the single “Seven Sisters” for the first time that Star 69 would be in the top half of this list. Sure enough, the entire album is a shoegaze wallop with their heavy wall of distorted guitars and California sunshine (intentionally mixed with a bit of smog, let’s be honest). Sharp lyrics about being tired of parties and sick of hipsters are an added bonus.

#26 – King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Fishing for Fishies

Never ones to fear experimenting with multiple genres, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard decided to make a blues record and mix it with synthwave. It works. They’re probably one of the few bands who could do it, let alone make it a concept record about environmental issues and the constant creep of more technology into our lives.

Who’s in the top 25? Come back tomorrow to find out!

Keep your mind open.

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