Jazzis Web Shop News 01/2008

ALBUM

Today’s addition is another release on the Vocalion label, which revives the British Jazz and Jazz-Rock scene of the late 1960s / early 1970s – the most glorious and creative period in the country’s cultural development.

Guitarist / composer Amancio D`Silva was born in Goa, India and arrived in London in 1967, where he was immediately absorbed by the burgeoning local Jazz scene. Similarly to many other musicians, who arrived in the ex-Empire’s Capital from the colonial countries (but mostly from India), D`Silva was already “armed” with a vast musical tradition of his native county. The liberal cultural atmosphere of the London scene and the openness to other cultural influences where a major factor in creating a cultural amalgam between the Western Jazz tradition and the Eastern musical treasures. Several players practiced the new Jazz-World Fusion direction, like the John Mayer / Joe Harriott ensemble with the revolutionary “Indo-Jazz Fusions“ recordings. Although D`Silva participated in a wide variety of sessions, his unique guitar voice always included a subtle Eastern undertone. However, on his solo recording projects, where his own compositions were mainly featured, this influence was much more apparent. He recorded five brilliant solo albums, of which this was the last. For some strange reason the last album was never released at the time and this is the first time this great music can be heard, which of course is a reason to celebrate, as anything recorded by this brilliant musician is an important heritage and a document of the era. The musicians participating in this recording come from the ranks of legendary British Jazz scene: Don Rendell – saxophone, Stan Tracey – piano and Alan Branscombe – flute, vibes and electric piano. A sitar and two tabla players add the Indian flavor to the music, which flows beautifully like a river of sound in an enchanted garden. Absolute must!

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BOX SET

Today’s addition is another wonderful new box set that collectors will kill for:

British Folk-Rock band Pentangle was the finest representative of the Folk-Rock genre and their unique blend of Folk, Rock and Jazz enriched the music world immensely. With the combined talents of singer Jacqui McShee, guitarists John Renbourn and Bert Jansch, bassist Danny Thompson and drummer Terry Cox they were unbeatable and reached beyond anything the audiences were familiar with. The amazing vocal harmonies and the dazzling guitar duos, backed by the best rhythm section on the British Isles were a blast. The band went through two distinct “life cycles”, the first of which is documented on this lavish and beautiful box set. The music includes some studio tracks released on the band’s albums, but over 70 % of the tracks are previously unreleased and include singles, outtakes, soundtracks and a plethora of live recordings. The first 2 CDs cover studio material and the other two include live material (concert, radio and TV) and soundtracks. I can’t even imagine any Folk-Rock / Pentangle fan not having this beauty in their collection.

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DVD

Today’s addition is a new edition of the classic Led Zeppelin film:

There would have be nothing easier for Led Zeppelin than to release the film that documents their 1973 Madison Square Garden performance as a straight-forward documentary, the same way as other concert / festival footage was released. The band decided to take this a step further and augmented the concert footage with fantasy sequences, behind-the-stage scenes and at-home glimpses of all four heroes, creating what might be considered as one of the first major scale video-clips. Regardless of the fact if this additional material is great cinematography (a debate that belongs elsewhere), the overall effect works very well and most importantly depicts the era where Rock musicians were almighty Superheroes. But of course the film also includes a brilliant performance and some of the best Rock music ever recorded. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham playing together were a Force of Nature, way beyond any other Rock band that walked the earth at the time. Phenomenal instrumental skills, telepathic interplay, dramatic vocals and a wall of sound effect of immense intensity were but a few of their virtues. The film captures all of that and more in superb visual and audio quality and the miracle is preserved for eternity. The new (2007) edition adds a whole extra DVD, which includes lots of never previously seen material, but most importantly some of the original concert footage that was edited out from the film edition. Absolutely Essential! Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS, 137 minutes.

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ALBUM

Today’s addition is a another DVD by the legendary UK musician John Mayall, which brigs us his 70^th Birthday Concert:

This superb DVD documents the special 70^th Birthday concert organized as a tribute to one of UK greatest and most important musicians - bandleader and champion of the Blues – John Mayall. Mayall was a pivotal figure, which shaped the British musical scene since the mid-1960s and was crucial as a precursor of Blues, Blues-Rock, Rock and even Jazz-Rock. Over the years Mayall’s band included the creme de la creme of British players, who later became the heroes and spawned countless famous bands. The list is just too long to be included here, but every music lover surely knows them all. The most sensational event of the concert was the one-time reunion of the Bluesbreakers lineup, which included Eric Clapton and recorded one of the most influential Blues albums of all times. Another guitar hero – Mick Taylor – also joins Mayall on the stage, and the list of legends goes on and on. These are well over two hours of some of the best Blues music one can imagine and I can’t even think of a Blues fan anywhere in the world not having this in their collection. Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS, 137 minutes.

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ALBUM

Today’s addition is a new album by a re-united Prog band of three decades ago – Cathedral:

Almost three decades ago the US Prog band Cathedral disappeared from the scene after releasing just one seminal album of classic Symphonic Prog and now they are back together and here is their new album. Prog fans were expecting this to be similar to their previous effort, but surprisingly this is quite different - after all it’s been a while and so many things changed in the meantime. Although still very much Prog, this one is not a typical Symphonic Prog, but rather a dark, hazy and heavy at times suite-like piece of music, somehow resembling the Scandinavian vein of Prog. The instrumentation moves between quiet acoustic pieces and overwhelming multi-instrumental ones, drenched with mellotron and even using saxophone overdubs. This album will suffer seriously from comparisons to its predecessor (which is understandable, but unfair) but when judged by its own merits is quite an ambitious piece of work – not for everyone of course. Good to have them back.

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ALBUM

Today’s addition is a third new Israeli Jazz album this month:

3^rd album by Israeli vocalist / pianist / composer Vered Dekel, who returned to Israel after spending many years in New York, where she studied, performed and recorded her first two albums. Vered is surely one of Israel’s most gifted female Jazz vocalists, with an unorthodox approach to music and a very unique singing technique. Although deeply rooted in the Jazz tradition, she incorporates twists and turns typical of other genres, especially Rhythm and Blues and even some World Music influences. A great sense of humor (and some cynicism) is evident in her lyrics (in English), but that does not affect the generally happy and spirited atmosphere of this live recording, which was captured at the Tel-Aviv Jazz Club “Shablul”. Guitarist Yair Laron, bassist Gil Zohar and drummer Nir Brener accompany her here and a couple of young singers supply backing vocals and harmonies to make things even livelier. Vered composed all but one of the tunes, one of which was co-composed by her NY singing partner Miles Griffith (with whom she recorded her wonderful first album “Expanded Interpretations”). This is great stuff for people who like vocal Jazz and another great document of the Israeli Jazz scene.

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ALBUM

I’m really happy to be able to add three new Israeli Jazz albums this month, a clear proof that the local scene is alive and kicking. Today’s addition is a beautiful new piano trio album:

1^st album by Israeli Jazz pianist / composer Ari Erev. The title is most appropriate, as Ari has been playing and composing for quite a while and it’s about time for us to enjoy the fruits of his labor. The album presents him in a piano trio setting (my favorite Jazz format) with Israeli veterans Yorai Oron on bass and Gideon Pasahov on drums. Of the thirteen tunes played six are original compositions, five are standards (two of them not surprisingly by Bill Evans) and the remaining two are his interpretations of Israeli evergreens by Shalom Hanoch and Nurit Hirsh. It’s pretty obvious, from the very first few chords on this album, that Ari is deeply inspired by the piano work of Bill Evans, with Evans’ spirit hovering over his shoulder at all times. The choice of material, the delicate touch, the intrinsic melancholy are all signatures of the great Master. Of course Ari manages carefully to avoid the trap of becoming an Evans impersonator, and his own personal approach is strong enough to indicate his own input. Overall this is a splendid album, quiet and introversive, full of beauty and romance. Considering the fact that this is a first of its kind recording in Israeli Jazz, I can only congratulate him for this wonderful gift to our country’s cultural legacy and Jazz achievements. Most warmly recommended!

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I managed to find some more of the now deleted Sanctuary / Castle / Essential items – just by pure luck I found a box of these beauties at one of my suppliers. This is not to be missed!

Massive re-stocking from Universal (Virgin, etc.), EMI and Cuneiform. Please check your waiting lists!

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ALBUM

Today’s addition is a new edition of a classic Prog album:

2^nd album by King Crimson and one of the most eagerly awaited follow ups in the history of Prog. Honestly how does one follow up a masterpiece such as the debut “In The Court Of The Crimson King”, which was almost instantly elevated to the status of a genre-defining masterpiece. Adding to the challenge ahead the band at the time of the recording seemed to be in a shaky state, following the exhausting touring schedule and dramatic personnel changes: Ian McDonald, who’s mellotron and flute parts were one of the most prominent features of the debut album, left the band in the midst of their US tour. Michael Giles and Greg Lake announced their departure soon after, and although they took part in the recording sessions for this album they were practically out. All this turmoil seemed to have little influence on Robert Fripp, who used his resilience and what was to become his legendary survival instinct, to reorganize the band and move on. Mel Collins joined the band to take over the flute and saxophones department. Michael’s brother bassist Peter Giles joined to provide the full force of the Giles & Giles rhythm section, which was second to none on the scene. Fripp also turned to his friends from the burgeoning (at the time) London avant-garde Rock and Jazz scene and enlisted the wonderful pianist Keith Tippet, who adds many brilliant piano trinkets on the album. Singer Gordon Haskell joined in on one song to provide his contribution. Fripp, in addition to composing all of the music (to the lyrics penned by Peter Sinfield) and playing the guitar parts, also took over the mellotron chair, maintaining the instrument’s supremacy in the overall band’s sound. Against all odds, this album is as strong, if not stronger then its predecessor. The compositions are better developed and the playing, enforced by the presence of the new members, is richer and better organized. Amazing stuff and absolutely essential. This new edition expands the original 30^th Anniversary Edition from 1999 by adding two bonus tracks – the two sides of the King Crimson single released to promote the album. This is the first time any additional material is added to the original studio albums by the band.

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ALBUM

Today’s addition is another Mexican Prog album, which shows how diversified the scene over there really is:

1st album by Mexican Prog band Torca, an instrumental trio led by Rodrigo Cantu G. – keyboards, Alan Guerra – bass and Aldo Guerra – drums. The group presents a modern version of Prog keyboards trio based on the Emerson, Lake & Palmer tradition, using a wide array of synthesizers and solid rhythm section. The performances are excellent, as is the music, all written by the leader. There is not much need to add more to this – keyboards fans will drool over this one for sure. The only drawback is that the album is quite short (just over half an hour long) and could be considered an EP rather than a full album. On the other hand this is an individually numbered limited edition, so it’s definitely worth the price of a full album. Definitely worth checking out.

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ALBUM

Today’s addition is a great album by a new Mexican Prog band:

1^st album by Mexican Prog band El Retorno De Los Brujos, which is a superb concept album, based on the turbulent Mexican history and the establishment of the modern Mexican State. The band is an instrumental trio with Jaime Garcia Mares – guitars and keyboards, José Alejandro Ortiz Galarza – bass and José Gabriel Martinez Guzmán – drums and percussion. They play a hard-edged modern Prog, with great skill and imagination, full of exceptional melodies and complex musical structures. Stylistically the are close to the Prog being created by contemporary Chilean bands like Tryo or Scandinavian bands like Anekdoten and even like some modern RIO bands. Considering this is their debut, I have really high hopes for this band. A must for all adventurous Prog fans!

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