R.S. Murthi Reviews Notable Recent Jazz (& Beyond) Releases
Last Update: May 23, 1999
VARIOUS ARTISTS - Tomorrow's Jazz Classics (A-Records/ 70:20): While it's languishing in most parts of the world including the US, the music's home turf, jazz still seems to be thriving in Europe.
This CD sampler, put out by Challenge Records (its marketing manager Henry Diong is a Malaysian), one of the many small European labels valiantly supporting the jazz cause, is a testament to that fact.
The disc features some first-rate players in a mainly mainstream style that's highly influenced by the hard bop of the '60s Blue Note era.
Some of the compositions, especially saxophonist Charles Pillow's Even Steven, Dave Pietro's Joyance, Jarmo Savolainen's Just Follow and pianist Franck Amsallem's Another Time may sound a bit too familiar for comfort.
But the derivative ideas are more than made up for by an infectiously spry approach to performance and a fluid capacity for swing.
The New Cool Collective's Trust in Me, a moody acid-jazz piece, presents in stark contrast to the other tracks with its hip-hop beat and lush synth layers. And Carolyn Breuer's fusion-style interpretation of Irving Berlin's Let's Face the Music and Dance is almost fluffy in the way most fusion is.
But on the whole, you get a pretty good idea of the current state of jazz in Europe on this often stimulating compilation.
(Distributed by Challenge Records, P.O. Box 540, 6800 AM Arnhem, The Netherlands. www.challenge.nl)
THE BRAD POWELL EXPEDITION - First Step in a Long Journey (Geofonica/53:54): This came by mail all the way from the US of A, and for a fusion release, it's quite refreshing. Brad Powell is a guitarist who studied under the late, great jazz master Joe Pass, whom he fittingly pays tribute to in a specially composed suite on this debut album. Powell may not be in the same league as Pass as a player but he's a deft composer and arranger with a knack for intricate scoring as he demonstrates on such pieces as First Step in a Long Journey and Passalaqua Suite (the work dedicated to Pass). The horns are richly orchestral and the rhythms have a natural flow and swing. Powell has assembled a team of top-notch players including drummer Chad Wackerman, alto saxophonist Brandon Fields, bassist Jim Hughart and pianist Mark Massey to realize his stylistically diverse conceptions. Even the vocal tracks, which are the least interesting here, have some inspired instrumental solos. A short excerpt from an early '70s home recording of Pass duetting with Powell is a nice touch. (Available by mail from Geofonica Records, California: www.geofonica.com/bradpowell)
HEADHUNTERS - Return of the Headhunters (Verve Forecast/54:04): A quarter of a century ago, keyboardist-composer Herbie Hancock ventured into the frontiers of funk with a bunch of beat-hungry musicians and produced what was to become the first jazz album to achieve gold status.
The rhythms were hardly new and many of the riffs were just extensions of ideas taken from Hancock's work with Miles Davis. But Headhunters, the band's debut, captured the popular imagination because of its shrewd blend of jazz and pop styles. It also came just at the time when a new dance music called disco was emerging. Being beat-based, the music naturally won over crowds that had never really cared much for jazz before, and soon crossover history was made.
When the formula on the first album lost its potency, the Headhunters quickly faded and Hancock went in pursuit of new directions.
But it seems that the original Headhunters had some unfinished business, hence this new reunion recording. Bernie Maupin, Bill Summers, Paul Jackson and Mike Clark are back in the fold with Hancock as special guest and Billy Childs, Patrice Rushen, N'dea Davenport and Trevant Hardson as contributors. And the work they've created together is hardly a pale shade of their original effort.
Not only is the album full of fresh funk workouts, but it also has some of Hancock's finest electric piano work in recent times. Indeed, all the players sound truly inspired, performing with a fluidity of touch that's often infectious.
The tunes range from dance-oriented stompers topped with a hip-hop flavor to pop-inflected vocal pieces, but there're also some adventurous compositions that allow the musicians to stretch out, especially such things as Two but Not Two and 6/8-7/8.
This is fusion of a high order played by some of the funkiest jazz musicians ever to get together. And the brilliant sound only enhances the dynamic charge. (Distributed by PolyGram Records Malaysia/603-9835633)
DAMA ORCHESTRA - Spring Kisses Lover's Tears (Dama Productions/46:02): The KL-based Dama Orchestra, a group of musicians playing mainly traditional Chinese instruments, is one of Malaysia's most active ethnic music outfits. It's also one of the best units of its kind, with performances that often leave listeners captivated by the sheer grace of the musicianship on display and impressed by a sure-handed approach to a varied repertoire that includes Chinese folk melodies and old Mandarin pop songs. The music on this debut recording was first featured in a recent series of concerts paying tribute to the popular singers of the golden age of Chinese cinema (the 1930s to the 1960s). These "shi dai qui" (Mandarin pop song) exponents - celebrated stars like Zhou Xuan, Yao Li, Li Xiang Lan, Wu Ying Yin, Jing Ting, Pan Xiu Qiong and Liu Yun - elevated the interpretation of bittersweet love ballads to a highly emotional art by infusing their performances with an individualistic dramatic energy. It may seem like a daunting task to recapture the glory of that era, but Dama does a pretty good job with help from such capable guest singers as Angela Chock, Phoon Sook Peng, Lim Cheng Hock and Liau Siau Suan. Pieces like Three Years, Love Without End, Girl from Tea Mountain and Song of the Cold Rain are persuasively delivered, and much of the folk charm at the core of the tunes is compellingly brought out in the performances. The instrumentals are also beautifully executed. Those currently in a New Age state of mind would especially appreciate the pacific bliss that things like Lover's Tears, which features exquisite flute by Bong Boon Khee, and A Little Bit More, promote. And for a presumably low-budget production, the recording is superbly crisp, balanced and rich in detail and atmosphere. (Available at CD Rama/Popular Book Store outlets throughout the country and Tower Records Kuala Lumpur. Dama's web site: members.xoom.com/DamaOrchest/my.html)
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APOCALYPTICA - Inquisition Symphony (Mercury/46:54): So you think classical musicians are weenies, huh?
Well, this formidable Finnish string quartet proves that even the world of elegant music has players to match the thunder demons of heavy metal.
With just four cellos, Eicca Toppinen, Antero Manninen, Paavo Lotjonen and Max Lilja create an instrumental maelstrom that will irreversibly change the myopic rock fan's perception of classical music as an essentially soft medium.
Leader Topinen, who arranged the repertoire of metal staples (mainly by Metallica), leads his band through a ferociously inspired session that's all power play and passion.
And these guys don't need drums, amplification or effects processors to beef up their sound; their cellos have a natural distortion and rhythmic energy that creates a more lasting and musical impression than the chainsaw buzz of electric guitars and the pounding charge of high-octance drumming ever could.
They do a splendid job of reworking everything from Metallica's Nothing Else Matters and Fade to Black to Faith No More's From Out of Nowhere and Pantera's Domination. And their originals, conceived in a similar riff-intensive heavy-metal style, are powerful as well.
Anyone who's heard the Kronos Quartet's version of Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze would have realiszed the incredible natural acoustic vigour of bowed string instruments in the hands of first-rank players.
But that crossover interpretation is nothing compared to Apocalyptica's vision of metal on four cellos. (Distributed by PolyGram Records Malaysia/603-9835633.)
DEEP FOREST III - Comparsa (Saint George/50:00): Although their ideas may not be wildly original, Paris-based synthesists Eric Mouquet and Michel Sanchez have been commendably trying to do for world music in pop what the now-defunct Weather Report had done for the form in jazz. This affinity is no accident, as the collaboration with Weather Report leader Joe Zawinul on Deep Weather and a short piece dedicated to the group demonstrate. The other pieces also come from a similar melting port, with ethnic strains from Cuban, African, Mexican, Arabian and Andalusian cultures seamlessly fused and wedded to catchy dance beats. The synthesizer textures Mouquet and Sanchez create nicely complement the folk flavours, and guest performers from various parts of the world give the proceedings a deeper feel than any amount of digital sampling could. Mmmm... Very tasty... (Distributed by Sony Music Malaysia/603-4523233)
JOHN McLAUGHLIN - The Heart of Things (Verve/47:16): Any new album by John McLaughlin is always an occasion for excitement. And this challenging and often mind-blowingly dizzying modal and chordal exploration doesn't disappoint. Probably the fastest gun on the contemporary jazz-guitar frontier, McLaughlin is also a consummate texturalist and composer, one who doesn't allow his super-fluid playing to overshadow the structural intricacy of his compositions. That's what makes the tunes here so intriguing. Balancing electronics with acoustics, he paints brilliant tonal pictures like Seven Sisters, Fallen Angels and Healing Hands with the help of top-drawer sidemen (Gary Thomas, Jim Beard, Matthew Garrison and Dennis Chambers) who rise and respond to his every call. But McLaughlin also lets rip now and then, showing yet again how much hard work he puts in to create the heavenly joy that the listener is invited to partake in. The closing number, a live gut-string meditation titled When Love is Far Away, will give you an insight into the spiritual energy that guides McLaughlin's awesome muse. Simply first-rate. (Distributed by PolyGram Records Malaysia/603-9835633)
KRONOS QUARTET - Early Music (Nonesuch/68:40): The world's most intriguing string quartet offers early compositions by both classical and modern composers. The selections are eclectic, with everything from Arvo Part's Psalom (1991/1993) and John Cage's Quodlibet (1950) to Henry Purcell's Four Part Fantasia No. 2 (1680) and Guillaume de Machaut's Kyre II (14th century) getting the incisive, mood-exploring Kronos treatment. The moods range from meditative to celebratory and the interpretations and arrangements show not only depth but also exhibit brilliance. You don't have to be a classical music fan to appreciate this terrific album; all you need is an open mind. (Distributed by Warner Music Malaysia/603-2485611)
PHILIP GLASS - Kundun: Music from the Original Soundtrack (Nonesuch/60:25): There are few surprises in Philip Glass' orchestral score for Martin Scorsese's screen bio of the Dalai Lama. The minimalist master's trademarks - repeated two-note arpeggios, cyclical theme development on a constrained structure and so on - can be discerned even by those with only very basic musical knowledge. What makes it all intriguing, though, is the force of feeling and emotional urgency Glass brings to the pieces, most of which use the chant of Tibetan monks as either groundswell or unifying thread. There're some powerful moments here that demonstrate the beauty of Glass' unique musical approach. The music is wonderfully performed by a chamber group conducted by Michael Riesman. (Distributed by Warner Music Malaysia/603-2485611)
Who is R.S. Murthi?
since July 10, 1998.
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