viernes, julio 20, 2007

Björk and Jazz Trío: Gling-Gló


Gling-Gló, released in 1990, is the only album by Björk Guðmundsdóttir & Tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar, consisting of Guðmundur Ingólfsson on piano, Guðmundur Steingrímsson on drums, and Þórður Högnason on bass. Gling-Gló is an Icelandic onomatopoeia whose English equivalent is "Ding Dong," or the sound that a bell makes.

This album was recorded on September 1 and September 3, 1990 at Stúdio Sýrland. It was produced by Tómas Magnús Tómasson, the bassist of Stuðmenn, who also did the mix for this album.

Gling-Gló contains Icelandic themes, and most of the songs are sung in Icelandic. There are also three versions of English language songs by other artists: “Ruby Baby,” by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and the jazz standard “I Can’t Help Loving That Man”, by Oscar Hammerstein II and Jerome Kern; and in Icelandic “Það Sést Ekki Sætari Mey”, which means in English “There Is No Sweeter Girl”, and is misattributed in the album notes and on the CD as having been written by "Rogers/Hammerstein", but is in reality a completely reworded cover of "You Can't Get A Man With A Gun" by Irving Berlin from the famous musical Annie Get Your Gun. There is also the Icelandic version of Sway, Í Dansi með Þér.

Track List:

01 Gling Gló
02
Luktar-Gvendur
03 Kata Rokkar
04 Pabbi Minn
05 Brestir Og Brak
06
Ástartröfrar
07 Bella símamær
08 Litli tónlistarmaðurinn
09 Það sést ekki sætari mey
10 Bílavísur
11 Tondeleyo
12
Ég veit ei hvað skal segja
13 Í dansi með þér
14 Börnin við tjörnina
15 Ruby Baby
16 I Can't Help Loving That Man

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jueves, julio 19, 2007

King Crimson: Islands (1971)

Islands is an album by the band King Crimson, released in 1971.

The last King Crimson studio album before the group's trilogy of Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red, it is also the last to feature the lyrics of Peter Sinfield and the last to feature the band's 'traditional' progressive sound.

The album was not particularly well received critically, although fans have suggested that the second side of the LP is much stronger than the first, which could have something to do with the poor reviews. There are four tracks with lyrics on this album, and three of them concern women, one of them in a notoriously misogynistic way: "Ladies of the Road", about groupies, although fans have suggested that the song might be a joke.

Track List:

1. "Formentera Lady" (Robert Fripp, Peter Sinfield) – 10:14
2. "Sailor's Tale" (Fripp) – 7:21
3. "The Letters" (Fripp, Sinfield) – 4:26
4. "Ladies of the Road" (Fripp, Sinfield) – 5:28
5. "Prelude: Song of the Gulls" (Fripp) – 4:14
6. "Islands" (Fripp, Sinfield) – 11:51

Personnel:

* Robert Fripp – guitar, mellotron, Peter's pedal Harmonium and sundry implements.
* Boz Burrell – bass guitar, lead vocals and choreography.
* Mel Collins – flute, bass flute, saxophone, vocals
* Ian Wallace – drums, percussion, vocals
* Peter Sinfield - words, sounds and visions

Additional Musicians:

* Paulina Lucas – soprano vocals
* Keith Tippett – piano
* Robin Miller – oboe
* Marc Charig – cornet
* Harry Miller – string bass

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lunes, julio 16, 2007

The verve compilation: Bossa Nova Brasil


My first Bossa Nova album, one of the best compilations I ever heard. Caetano Veloso, Elisa Regina and Tom Jobim are among the many great musicians of this album.
If you ever heard Bossa Nova this is a great compilation to have, and if you never heard it, this is your opportunity to hear a great mix of artist and someway the essence of Bossa nova in Brasil.

Track List:

1. Desafinado - Gal Costa
2. Telefone - Nara Leao
3. Pra Iluminar - Leila Pinheiro
4. Aguas De Marco - Elis Regina
5. Manha De Carnival - Luiz Bonfa
6. Coracao Vagabundo - Caetano Veloso
7. Chega De Saudade - Antonio Carlos Jobim
8. De Conversa Em Conversa - Joao Gilberto
9. Pra Que Chorar - Alcione
10. Surfboard - Roberto Menescal
11. Boranda - Edu Lobo
12. Bom Conselho - Maria Bethania
13. Carta Ao Tom 74 - Toquinho
14. Falsa Baiana - Gal Costa
15. Chuvas De Verão - Caetano Veloso
16. Retrato Em Branco E Preto - Elis & Tom
17. Agua De Beber - Antonio Carlos Jobim
18. Consolacao - Baden Powell
19. Quem Quiser Encontrar O Amor - Tamba Trio
20. Influencia Do Jazz - Carlos Lyra

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Bossa n' Marley

Lounge Album. Several artist playing Bob Marley in different ways. Some of bossa nova here, some electronic stuff there. If you ever heard Rita Lee playing The Beatles you know what this album is about.

Track List:

01 - Redemption song
02 - No woman no cry
03 - Buffalo Soldier
04 - I Shot the Sheriff
05 - Stir it up
06 - Sun is shining
07 - Positive Vibration
08 - Is this Love
09 - Get up stand up
10 - One love
11 - Could you be loved
12 - Waiting in vain

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domingo, julio 15, 2007

Fela Kuti: Confusion & Gentleman


Fela Anikulapo Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, October 15, 1938 - August 2, 1997), or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.

Genre: Afrobeat Occupation: Singer-songwriter, instrumentalist Instrument: Saxophone, singing, keyboards, trumpet, guitar, drum Years active: 1958 - 1997

Track List:

1. Confusion Parts 1 & 2
2. Gentleman
3. Fefe Naa Efe
4. IGBE

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Henderson, Smith and Wooten: Vital Tech Tones



The Vital Tech Tones were an American fusion supergroup formed in the mid-1990s. It was composed of Vital Information drummer Steve Smith, Tribal Tech guitarist Scott Henderson, and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones bassist Victor Wooten. The group released two albums before breaking up due to time constraints (the band was a side project for all three members). There is still some talk of a future reunion, but no official announcement has been made. The band never played live, although Henderson and Smith did perform a concert together. The band's music is almost entirely instrumental, focused on virtuostic, free flowing soloing on top of a complex, solid groove. It is considered to be more on the rock end of the fusion spectrum.

Track List:

  1. Crash Course
  2. Snake Soda
  3. Dr. Hee
  4. Everglades
  5. Two for One
  6. King Twang
  7. The Captors
  8. Giant Steps
  9. Lie Detector

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Lennie Tristano: Descent into the maelstrom


Like Edgar Allan Poe's story.

This hard-to-find LP starts off with the utterly unique title cut. On this completely atonal track (which predates Cecil Taylor by a few years), Lennie Tristano overdubbed several pianos and created picturesque and extremely intense music. The remainder of this album is mostly comprised of leftovers and rehearsal tracks which, considering Tristano's slim discography, is quite welcome. The pianist is heard solo in 1961 and 1965, in a trio with bassist Peter Ind and drummer Roy Haynes in 1952 and (in what might be his last recordings) performing a pair of originals with bassist Sonny Dallas and drummer Nick Stabulas in 1966. Tristano fans can consider this important release to be essential.

Source: Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Track list:

1. Descent Into the Maelstrom 3:28
2. Dream: Paris 1965 6:27
3. Image: Paris 1965 4:33
4. Take 1 - Rehearsal From Recording Date 3:13
5. Take 2 - Rehearsal From Recording Date 4:06
6. Take 3 - Rehearsal From Recording Date 6:35
7. Stretch 6:11
8. Pastime 3:42
9. Ju-Ju 2:16
10. Con Con 8:47

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Django Reinhardt: Nuages



Part of the Jazz in Paris series by the Gitanes label, this compilation draws from Django Reinhardt's last pair of recording sessions in 1953 (the first eight tracks make up the original Nuages album and served as a precursor for a Norman Granz Jazz at the Philharmonic world tour), which were two of his strongest ever. Gone was the shimmering but funky acoustic guitar of his gypsy swing youth, and in its place was a spanking new electric Gibson that, with its extended quick action, allowed him further flights of fancy not only on the fretboard but also sonically. Along with bassist Pierre Michelot, pianist Maurice Vander, and drummer Jean-Louis Viale (the rhythm section was considered to be avant-garde at the time), Reinhardt was off and running, carrying his new depth and breadth of intonation and electric harmonics to funky extremes -- check the end of "Night and Day," with its razor-wire chords and inverted arpeggios. Reinhardt's form was reckless and wild -- and impeccable -- on these sessions. He had thrown away his own songbook and turned to his restlessness to guide him to a new place musically -- and it did. Here, "Blues for Ike," "September Song," the title cut, "Brazil," and "Confessin'" are reinvented harmonically. Reinhardt stretched intervals to make one or two notes, or perhaps a chord, fall on the seam, splitting the rhythm section in two between passages. Much like a singer improvising, he took the plectrum style to a new extreme, playing runs so extended one wondered where melody ended and improvisation began -- particularly when he'd enter into an Eastern scale to branch out of the color palette. And all the while, his trademark high swinging style never once collapsed under the weight of his preeminent sophistication. The last four cuts feature a new band save for Michelot. The pianist was a very young Martial Solal, and Reinhardt engaged Solal's own gift for odd textures, phrasing, and tonalities on tunes such as "I Cover the Waterfront" and "Chez Moi," along with "Deccaphonie," where the band turns in a full-on loose-rail performance where rhythm is dictated by Reinhardt's falling fingers, hammering with both quickness and uncanny weight against a rhythm section that included vibist Fats Lallemand -- check the end of the first minute where Reinhardt cuts into his solo with feedback! The sound on this CD is remarkably good considering that the last four tunes were recorded in a makeshift studio -- the rest is excellent. The liner notes are sketchy but offer basic information, and the purchase price is fair. This may not be the place to start with Reinhardt, but it is a hell of a place to end up.

Source: Thom Jurek, All Music Guide.

Track List:

01. Blues for Ike
02. September Song
03. Night and Day
04. Insensiblement
05. Manoir de Mes Rêves
06. Nuages
07. Brazil
08. Confessin'
09. Le Soir
10. Chez Moi À Six Heures
11. I Cover the Waterfront
12. Deccaphonie

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Sweet and Lowdown Soundtrack


The music performed on screen in the new movie Sweet and Lowdown -- written and directed by Woody Allen -- is collected in this swinging new set of jazz standards recorded by the best musicians of today.
For the soundtrack to this touching farce, Dick Hyman (Woody's long-time musical collaborator) has assembled an all-star line-up of jazz greats to lovingly recreate the sound of the small group swing era depicted in the film in a set of new recordings of classic tunes from the era.
The band features Howard Alden, whom Jazz Times says "may be the best guitarist of his generation"

Source: http://www.sonyclassical.com/music/89019/

Track List:

1. I'll See You In My Dreams - Dick Hyman Group/Howard Alden
2. Caravan - Bunny Berigan & His Orchestra
3. Sweet Georgia Brown - Dicky Hyman Group/Howard Alden
4. Unfaithful Woman - Dick Hyman Group/Howard Alden
5. Viper Mad - Sidney Bechet/Noble Sissle's Swingsters
6. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away) - Dick Hyman Group/Howard Alden
7. Old-Fashioned Love - Dick Hyman Group/Howard Alden
8. Limehouse Blues / Mystery Pacific - Dick Hyman Group/Howard Alden
9. Just A Gigolo - Dick Hyman Group/Howard Alden
10. 3:00 AM Blues - Dick Hyman Group/Howard Alden
11. All Of Me / The Peanut Vendor - Dick Hyman Group/Howard Alden
12. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) - Dick Hyman Group/Howard Alden
13. Shine - Dick Hyman Group/Howard Alden
14. I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles - Dick Hyman Group/Howard Alden
15. There'll Be Some Changes Made - Dick Hyman Group/Howard

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Mafia: City of lost Heaven Soundtrack


The soundtrack to the game features Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club de France, The Mills Brothers, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, Duke Ellington, Lonnie Johnson, and one track by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five. The main theme to Mafia, along with the original score, was composed by Vladimir Šimůnek, and performed by the Bohemia Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Adam Klemens. The ending credits music is a cover of the song Lake of Fire, performed by the Lordz of Brooklyn. Ironically, the last verse of the song borrows the musical arrangement of the theme song for the Godfather movies.

Track List (some of them):

City:
"Belleville"-Django Reinhardt - Heard in Central Island
"Caravan"-The Mills Brothers - Heard in Oakhill
"Chinatown, My Chinatown"-The Mills Brothers - Heard in Chinatown
"Cavalerie" - Django Reinhardt - Heard in Little Italy
"Manoir de Mes Reves" - Django Reinhardt - Heard in Hoboken
"Minor Swing"-Django Reinhardt - Heard in New Ark
"The Mooche"-Duke Ellington - Heard in Works Quarter
"Vendredi 13"-Django Reinhardt - Heard in Down Town

Countryside:
"Douce ambiance"-Django Reinhardt - Heard in Countryside
"Jet Black Blues"-Lonnie Johnson - Heard in Countryside
"I'm Living in a Great Big Way"-Buddy Clark (with Benny Goodman & his Orchestra) - Heard in Countryside Freeroam

Misc:
"Coucou"-Django Reinhardt - Heard during mission "Happy Birthday"
"Gravesend"-Lordz Of Brooklyn - Heard in End credits

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Grim Fandango Original Soundtrack by Peter McConnel


Like the game that inspired it, the music from Grim Fandango is a seamless blend of many different styles. And while the soundtrack mostly stayed within the realm of traditional jazz (from swing to be bop), the many influences of the game also found their way into the music, from mariachi (the game was based on Mexican folklore) to surf (for a scene inspired by the '50s hot-rod designs of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth).

screenshotComposer Peter McConnell describes the challenge of tying such a wide variety of influences together. "The big challenge with scoring Grim came from the diversity of the game. With settings ranging from a glitzy, Vegas-like gambling city to a temple in the clouds, down to an underwater slave colony, it wasn't easy to come up with a style of music which could bring the whole game together sonically." He finally let the various styles become apart of the larger whole. "I decided on an approach that used a kind of backbone of orchestral music in the tradition of classic film composers like Max Steiner, with sections of smaller ensemble music in different styles, embedded like ribs in the backbone, if you will."

Grim Fandango found most of its inspiration in film noir, and it is fitting that its music did the same. The music evokes not only the scores of famous noirs, but the era as well. McConnell explains his influences: "The single biggest influence had to be Duke Ellington. I studied his music both in recordings and on paper. Max Steiner, too - I got scores to study from Treasure of Sierra Madre, and the Big Sleep, among others. I must have watched those movies, plus The Maltese Falcon (scored by Adolph Deutsch) a hundred times."

Like all soundtracks, though, the most important thing is how well it enhances the game itself. Just listening to the soundtrack alone is not only an enjoyable experience, it is made more so because it reminds you of moments in the game and help evoke the game's strange world where seemingly disparate elements create a unique and enjoyable whole.

Source: Gamespot

Track List:

1. Casino Calavera (1:06)
2. Swanky Maximino (2:15)
3. Smooth Hector (2:00)
4. Mr. Frustration Man (2:19)
5. Hector Steps Out (0:55)
6. Hi - Tone Fandango (1:22)
7. She Sailed Away (0:23)
8. High Roller (1:43)
9. Domino's in Charge (1:02)
10. Trouble with Carla (1:07)
11. Blue Casket Bop (1:10)
12. Manny's Office (1:14)
13. Rubacava (1:07)
14. Blue Hector (1:59)
15. This Elevator is Slow (1:02)
16. Domino (1:07)
17. Don Copal (1:00)
18. Neon Ledge (1:07)
19. Nuevo Marrow (1:27)
20. Gambling Glottis (2:11)
21. Raoul Appears (0:18)
22. Scrimshaw (0:53)
23. Talking Limbo (0:54)
24. Coaxing Meche (1:09)
25. Lost Souls' Alliance (2:13)
26. Los Angelitos (0:59)
27. The Enlightened Florist (1:24)
28. Temple Gate (1:43)
29. Ninth Heaven (1:17)
30. Companeros (1:08)
31. Manny & Meche (2:16)
32. Bone Wagon (1:28)
33. For I am the Grim Reaper (0:51)

Bonus: Compatibility Patch for those who want to play GF with Windows xp.

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Charles Mingus: The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady (1963)

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady is a 1963 jazz composition and album by bassist Charles Mingus. The piece consists of a single six-part suite performed by an eleven-piece band. An intensely emotional work, it displays Mingus' skill as composer, orchestrator, and technician. Written as ballet, the work borrows from Ellingtonian and Latin sources, but creates a unique orchestral style that Mingus called "ethnic folk-dance music". The orchestrations (described as "one of the greatest achievements [...] by any composer in jazz history" by the All Music Guide) are rich and multi-layered. Mingus' perfectionism led to extensive use of studio overdubbing techniques, the first for a jazz album. The album liner notes were provided by Mingus' psychotherapist, Dr. Edmund Pollock.

Track List:
  1. "Track A — Solo Dancer" –6:20
    "Stop! Look! and Listen, Sinner Jim Whitney!"
  2. "Track B — Duet Solo Dancers" –6:25
    "Hearts' Beat and Shades in Physical Embraces"
  3. "Track C — Group Dancers" –7:00
    "(Soul Fusion) Freewoman and Oh, This Freedom's Slave Cries"
  4. –17:52
    "Mode D — Trio and Group Dancers"
    "Stop! Look! and Sing Songs of Revolutions!"
    "Mode E — Single Solos and Group Dance"
    "Saint and Sinner Join in Merriment on Battle Front"
    "Mode F — Group and Solo Dance"
    "Of Love, Pain, and Passioned Revolt, then Farewell, My Beloved, 'til It's Freedom Day"
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Medeski, Martin and Wood: Uninvinsible (2002)


Uninvisible is a 2002 album by experimental jazz fusion trio Medeski Martin & Wood. Medeski, Martin and Wood (1992) is an american trio of jazz consisting of John Medeski on keyboards, Billy Martin on drums and percussion, and Chris Wood on double bass and bass guitar. They're music is avant-garde jazz; their style es a mix of jazz fusion, funk and soul. They're work is based on experimental improvisation and accesible music for all kinds of public which made them popular.

Track List:

1. "Uninvisible" – 3:37
2. "I Wanna Ride You" (Medeski) – 3:28

3. "Your Name is Snake Anthony" (Hampton, MMW) – 3:12
4. "Pappy Check" – 2:46
5. "Take Me Nowhere" – 4:06
6. "Retirement Song" – 4:47
7. "Ten Dollar High" – 3:42

8. "Where Have You Been?" – 3:37
9. "Reprise" (Medeski) – 0:35

10. "Nocturnal Transmission" – 6:37
11. "Smoke" – 2:46
12. "First Time Long Time" – 2:52
13. "The Edge of Night" – 3:53

14. "Off The Table" – 4:15

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Medeski Martin and Wood with John Scofield: Out Louder (2006)

Out Louder is an album of 2006 produced as a collaboration between Medeski Martin & Wood and John Scofield. It is the first album released under the name "Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood," since 1998's A Go Go was released under Scofield's name alone. "A Go Go was John's record and we were essentially sidemen, where Out Louder musically comes from all of us" explains Wood.

Track List:

1. "Little Walter Rides Again" (Scofield) – 3:55
2. "Miles Behind" – 2:53 3. "In Case the World Changes Its Mind" – 3:41
4. "Tequila and Chocolate" (Wood) – 6:25
5. "Tootie Ma Is a Big Fine Thing" (public domain) – 4:42
6. "Cachaça" (Wood) – 4:14 7. "Hanuman" – 6:24
8. "Telegraph" – 3:55
9. "What Now" – 4:54
10. "Julia" (Lennon, McCartney) – 5:18
11. "Down the Tube" – 11:40
12. "Legalize It" (Tosh) – 3:55

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John Scofield: Überjam (2002)


Überjam is an album by the John Scofield Band which was released on January 29. 2002 on verve records. Many unique musical styles are performed throughout Überjam, including Jazz Fusion, Jazz-funk, drum n bass, and Acid Jazz. It was produced by John Scofield and Jason Olaine and recorded and mixed by Joe Ferla, executive producer was Susan Scofield. A follow-up to Überjam, entitled Up All Night, included contributions by Bortnick and Deitch, but bass player Jesse Murphy was replaced by Andy Hess, drastically changing the sound of the band.

Track List:
  1. Acidhead (Scofield-Bortnick-Murphy)
  2. Ideofunk (Scofield)
  3. Jungle Fiction (Scofield)
  4. I Brake 4 Monster Booty (Scofield-Bortnick-Murphy-Deitch)
  5. Animal Farm (Scofield)
  6. Offspring (Scofield)
  7. Tomorrow Land (Bortnik)
  8. Überjam (Scofield-Bortnick-Murphy-Browden-Rodgers-Hart)
  9. Polo Towers (Scofield)
  10. Snap Crackle Pop (Scofield)
  11. Lucky For Her (Scofield-Bortnick-Murphy)
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John Scofield: Hand Jive (1994)


Concept of Hand Jive: Hand jive is a kind of dance game to rock and roll and rhythm and blues music in 1950s. It involves complicated patterns of hand moves and claps at various parts of the body, following and/or imitating the percussion instrument while sitting at the concerts or crowding around jukeboxes. It could also be a highly elaborate version of Pat-a-cake. Hand moves include thigh slapping, cross-wrist slapping, fist pounding, chest slapping and pounding, hand clapping, elbow touching, hitch hike moves, etc.

Musicians: John Scofield (guitar); Eddie Harris (tenor saxophone); Larry Goldings (piano, organ); Dennis Irwin (bass); Bill Stewart (drums); Don Alias (percussion).

Track List:
  1. I'll Take Les
  2. Dark Blue
  3. Do Like Eddie
  4. She's So Lucky
  5. Checkered Past
  6. 7th Floor
  7. Golden Daze
  8. Don't Shoot The Messenger
  9. Whip The Mule
  10. Out Of The City
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