Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball 2012

Heavy lies the crown on Bruce Springsteen's head. Alone among his generation -- or any subsequent generation, actually -- he has shouldered the burden of telling the stories of the downtrodden in the new millennium, a class whose numbers increase by the year, a fact that weighs on Springsteen throughout 2012's Wrecking Ball. Such heavy-hearted rumination is not unusual for the Boss. Ever since The Rising, his 2002 return to action, a record deliberately tailored to address the lingering anger and sorrow from 9/11, Springsteen has eschewed the frivolous in favor of the weighty, escalating his dry, dusty folk and operatic rock in tandem, all in hopes of pushing the plight of the forgotten into public consciousness. Each of his five albums since The Rising have been tailored for the specific political moment -- Devils & Dust ruminated over forgotten Americans in the wake of the Iraq war; We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions was an election year rallying call; Magic struggled to find meaning in these hard times; Working on a Dream saw hope in the dawning days of Obama -- and it’s no mistake that Wrecking Ball fuses elements of all four into an election year state of the union: Bruce is taking stock of where we are and how we’ve gotten here, urging us to push forward. If that sounds a bit haughty, it also plays that way. Springsteen has systematically removed any element of fun -- "Mary’s Place" is the only original in the past decade that could be called a party song -- along with all the romance or any element of confessional songwriting. He has adopted the mantle of the troubadour and oral historian, telling tales of the forgotten and punctuating them with rallying calls to action. Wrecking Ball contains more of the latter than any of its predecessors, summoning the masses to rise up against fatcat bankers set to singalongs lifted from Seeger. There's an unshakable collectivist hootenanny feel on Wrecking Ball, not to mention allusions to gospel including a borrowed refrain from "This Train," but Springsteen takes pains to have the music feel modern, inviting Tom Morello to do aural paintings with his guitar, threading some trip-hop rhythms into the mix, and finding space for a guest rap on "Rocky Ground." As admirable as the intent is, the splices between old-fashioned folk protests and dour modernity become too apparent, possibly because there's so little room to breathe on the album -- the last recorded appearance of Clarence Clemons helps lift "Land of Hope and Dreams" above the rest -- possibly because the message has been placed before the music. Springsteen is so focused on preaching against creeping inequality in the U.S. that he's wound up honing his words and not his music, letting the big-footed stomps and melancholy strumming play second fiddle to the stories. Consequently, Wrecking Ball feels cumbersome and top heavy, Springsteen sacrificing impassioned rage in favor of explaining his intentions too clearly. AMG.
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U2 - October 1981

U2 sounded so confident and assured on their debut that perhaps it was inevitable they would stumble slightly on its follow-up, October. The record isn't weaker than its predecessor because it repeats the formula of Boy. It's because the band tries too hard to move forward. Bono, in particular, tries too hard to make big political, emotional, and religious statements, but the remainder of the band isn't innocent. In general, the music is too pompous, with the sound overwhelming the actual songs. But when U2 do marry the message, melody, and sound together, as on "Gloria," "I Threw a Brick Through a Window," and "I Fall Down," the results are thoroughly impressive. AMG.
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Luambo Makiadi et le Tout Puissat O.K. Jazz - Candidat na biso Mobutu 1984

When Congolese jazz guitarist Franco Makiadi died in 1989, the whole of Zaire (formerly the Belgian Congo) went into mourning; it was a fitting farewell for a musician who, over the course of 40 years, issued over 150 albums, containing more than 1000 songs, and who had a decisive influence on the shape of African music.

Franco began his musical ventures with a homemade guitar, recorded his first single, "Bolingo Na Ngai Beatrice," at the age of 13, and by the age of 15 was a regularly contracted recording artist with the Loningisa Studio's house band. Part of Franco's appeal lay in his winning looks and common man accessibility, but as much as this, he was known for his inventive guitar style. In 1956, Franco helped form OK Jazz (later TPOK Jazz), a band that was to define Congolese music for decades. Franco's sound was an easy blend of Cuban rumba and Congolese rhythm. A fruit of the government's drive to promote authentic Congolese culture, Franco's was categorically a music performed to be danced to. Although Franco worked within and through the praise song tradition, he was not above preaching at times, for which he occasionally found himself in jail. Such brushes with the law only served to heighten the kudos that surrounded the man and his music.

A dominant motif in his repertoire was the often uneasy relationship between the sexes, a friction that he deplored and worked hard to alleviate. The distillation of this philosophy can be heard on Mario & Response de Mario. In 1988, Franco released a dire musical warning to his fans to avoid contracting AIDS. His own death, the following year, fuelled rumors that he had himself died from AIDS-related complications, although these were never substantiated. What will remain in people's minds is the incredible legacy bequethed by Franco to both Zaire and to the world. AMG. Thanks to African Music
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Joe Morello - Joe Morello 1962

A brilliant drummer, Joe Morello played early on with Phil Woods and Sal Salvador. He had short stints during 1952-1953 with Johnny Smith, Stan Kenton's Orchestra, and Gil Melle, but really gained a strong reputation for his work with the Marian McPartland Trio (1953-1956); he also played during the period with Tal Farlow and Jimmy Raney. Morello gained fame as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet during 1956-1967, making it possible for Brubeck to experiment with unusual time signatures. Due to his failing eyesight (he went blind in 1976), Morello mostly worked as a drum instructor in later years (Danny Gottlieb was a student), but still played and participated in reunions with Brubeck and McPartland. He led sessions for Score (1956), RCA (1961-1962), Ovation (1969), and DMP (1993-1994). Morello died on March 12, 2011 at his home in Irvington, NJ. He was 82.
In 1961, Joe Morello, drummer with the Dave Brubeck Quartet for the past six years (with six more years to go), received an opportunity to lead his own album. It's About Time featured ten songs with the word "time" in their title. Of these, five of the six quintet selections (starring Phil Woods and a young Gary Burton) and two of the four other songs (which has the quintet augmented by a brass section) are on this, along with a totally unreleased big band session from the following year. A powerful drummer with impressive technique, Morello is also a master of subtlety and, although an important part of this set, does not dominate the music. With Manny Albam contributing the arrangements, It's About Time was a happy surprise, a hard-driving set of swinging music. AMG.
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Lee Garrett - Heat For the Feets 1976

Songwriter Lee Garrett co-wrote Steve Wonder's number one R&B hit "Signed, Sealed and Delivered I'm Yours"; the Wonder-produced number one R&B hit by Jermaine Jackson, "Let's Get Serious"; and The Spinners' "It's a Shame." Garrett's resumé includes stints as the music director for Philadelphia soul music radio station WHAT and singing in nightclubs. Garrett first met Wonder at the Michigan School for fhe Blind. The two began writing songs together with the first fruit of their collaboration being the Spinners' 1968 Motown number four R&B hit "It's a Shame." "Signed, Sealed and Delivered I'm Yours," co-written by Garrett, Wonder, Syreeta Wright (who had a Motown number four pop hit duet with Billy Preston, "With You I'm Born Again"), and Lula Mae Hardaway, held the number one R&B spot for six weeks and went to number three pop on Billboard's charts in summer 1970. The Signed, Sealed Delivered I'm Yours LP peaked at number 25 pop in fall 1970.

In 1976, Garrett signed to Chrysalis and had a moderate R&B hit with "You're My Everything," taken from his lone solo album, Heat for the Feets. Back with Stevie Wonder, he wrote the kinetic "Let's Get Serious" for Jermaine Jackson, which parked at number one R&B for six weeks and hit number nine pop in spring 1980. The Let's Get Serious album went gold, going to number six pop in summer 1980. AMG.
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U2 - Boy 1980

From the outset, U2 went for the big message -- every song on their debut album Boy sounds huge, with oceans of processed guitars cascading around Bono's impassioned wail. It was an inspired combination of large, stadium-rock beats and post-punk textures. Without the Edge's echoed, ringing guitar, U2 would have sounded like a traditional hard rock band, since the rhythm section and Bono treat each song as an anthem. Of course, that's the charm of Boy: all of its emotions are on the surface, delivered with optimistic, youthful self-belief, yet the unusual, distinctive guitar textures give it an unexpected tension that makes it an exhilarating debut. The songs may occasionally show some weakness -- the driving "I Will Follow," the dark "An Cat Dubh," and the shimmering "The Ocean" stand out among the sonic textures -- yet the band's musical and lyrical vision keep Boy compelling until the finish. AMG.
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Courtney Pine - Underground 1997

The first thing that becomes clear on Courtney Pine's Underground is that the hip-hop-jazz hybrids of the 1990s (such as Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest, US3, or even the Dream Warriors) missed their target; the combination is much stronger when it's jazz-hip-hop, and the latter becomes a textural element. Pine sticks to his guns-frenetic melodies, engaging song structures, and a keen ability to keep his jazz cool and never lite. Those talents shine further when given the icing of exquisite samples, particularly when the rapid-fire cuts and sharp sense of humor show a respect for turntablism. And lest Pine's jazz fans be dismayed, tracks like "Invisible" seamlessly slip back into Pine's masterful (more traditional) jazz persona. Of particular note is "Tryin' Times," one of the few tracks with vocals, which acts as both a lounge singer vehicle as well as venue for Pine's dizzying saxophone acrobatics. Underground is a great introduction to Pine's work, and if there's any justice, will someday be recognized as a benchmark jazz-hip-hop hybrid experiment. AMG.
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Afro Celt Sound System - Volume 1 Sound Magic 1996

The traditional music of Western Africa and Ireland is fused into a seamless blend by Afro Celt Sound System. The band's exciting performances have become a popular attraction at the WOMAD festival in Reading, England, since 1995, while their 1996 debut album, Volume 1, remains one of the most successful examples of cultural exchange. Afro Celt Sound System bring together top-ranked musicians, including traditional Irish vocalist Iarla O'Lionard, uillean pipers Davy Spillane (Moving Hearts) and Ronan Browne, whistle player James McNally (the Pogues), Kenyan nyatiti player Ayub Ogada, and Baaba Maal bandmembers Kauwding Cissakho and Massamba Diop. Jo Bruce, the son of British bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce (Cream), rounds out the group on keyboards and electronic programming. Several tracks on the band's debut album, produced by Grammy-nominated producer Simon Emmerson, featured members of Shoonglenifty on mandolin, bongos, banjo, guitar, and fiddle. Released initially on the EMD/Real World label, Volume 1 was issued in the U.S. by Caroline Records. Afro Celt Sound System made their U.S. concert debut in July 1997. Their second album, Volume 2: Release, was finally issued in 1999 by Real World. Volume 3: Further in Time, which featured guest vocals on "Life Begins Again" by Robert Plant, was released in spring 2001. Seed followed in 2003, with the accompanying Pod DVD arriving the following year. In 2005 the group found a new home on the Narada label with Volume 5: Anatomic. AMG.
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Johnny Hartman - Songs From The Heart 1956

Johnny Hartman's album debut is a set of tender ballads, each word of which is treasured by Hartman's expansive, evocative voice. The ballads appear not only especially chosen, but practically written with Hartman in mind. He shines on highlights like "I Fall in Love Too Easily," "We'll Be Together Again," "Moonlight in Vermont," and "I See Your Face Before Me," often transforming midtempo songs into completely downtempo ballads and shifting the emphasis on different beats with his phrasing. The backing -- from drummer Ralph Sharon, trumpeter Howard McGhee, bassist Jay Cave, and drummer Christy Febbo -- is soft, spare, and completely supportive. A CD reissue by Bethlehem Archives adds six bonus tracks, alternate takes of tracks from the original LP. AMG.
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David Murray Quartet - A Sanctuary Within 1991

Initially an inheritor of an abstract/expressionist improvising style originated in the '60s by such saxophonists as Albert Ayler and Archie Shepp, David Murray eventually evolved into something of a mainstream tenorist, playing standards with conventional rhythm sections. However, Murray's readings of the old chestnuts are vastly different from interpretations by bebop saxophonists of his generation. Murray's sound is deep, dark, and furry with a wide vibrato -- reminiscent of such swing-era tenorists as Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins. And his approach to chord changes is unique. Although it's apparent that he's well-versed in harmony, Murray seldom adheres faithfully to the structure of a tune. He's adapted the expressive techniques of his former free jazz self (slurred glissandi, indefinite pitches, ambiguous rhythms, and altissimo flights) to his straight-ahead playing, with good results. He'll plow right through a composition like "'Round Midnight," hitting just enough roots, thirds, fifths, and sevenths to define the given harmonies, then filling every other available space with non-chord tones that may or may not resolve properly. In other words, he plays the wrong notes, in the same way that Eric Dolphy played the wrong notes. Like Dolphy, Murray makes it work by dint of an unwavering conviction. The sheer audacity of his concept, the passionate fury of his attack, and the spontaneity of his lines -- in other words, the manifest success of his aesthetic -- make questions of right and wrong irrelevant.

Murray's parents were musical; his mother played piano and his father guitar. In his youth, Murray played music in church with his parents and two brothers. He was introduced to jazz while a student in the Berkeley school system, playing alto sax in a school band. When he was 13, he played in a local group called the Notations of Soul. Hearing Sonny Rollins inspired Murray to switch from alto to tenor. He attended Pomona College, where he studied with a former Ornette Coleman sideman, trumpeter Bobby Bradford. Around this time, he was influenced by the writer Stanley Crouch, whom he met at Pomona. Murray moved to New York at the age of 20, during the city's loft jazz era -- a time when free jazz found a home in deserted industrial spaces and other undervalued bits of urban real estate below 14th Street. Murray and Crouch opened their own loft space, which they called Studio Infinity. Crouch occasionally played drums in Murray's trio with bassist Mark Dresser. In a relatively short time, Murray (with help from his unofficial publicity agent, Crouch) acquired a reputation as a potential great. Murray's early work was exceedingly raw, based as it was on the example of Ayler, who had a penchant for multiphonics, distorted timbres, extremes of volume, and forays into the horn's uppermost reaches and beyond. He made his first albums in 1976, Flowers for Albert (India Navigation) and Low Class Conspiracy (Adelphi), with a rhythm section of bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Phillip Wilson. Also in 1976, Murray became -- with Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake, and Hamiet Bluiett -- a founding member of the World Saxophone Quartet. Around this time, Murray was commissioned by theatrical impresario Joseph Papp to assemble a big band, which enjoyed a degree of critical success. Out of the big band came the formation of an octet, which provided him a platform for his increasingly ambitious compositions.

In the '80s, Murray performed with the WSQ, his octet, and various small bands, recording mostly for the Italian Black Saint label. His octet records of the time -- though very roughly executed -- showed him to be a talented (if unformed) composer. Murray's recording activity reached nearly absurd levels in the '80s and '90s; probably no contemporary jazz musician has led more dates on more labels. It was in the '80s that Murray began relying more on the standard jazz repertoire, especially in his small ensemble work. As he got older, the wilder elements of that style were toned down or refined. Murray incorporated free jazz gestures into a more fully rounded voice that also drew on the mainstream of the jazz improvising tradition.

In the 1990s, the influence of his swing- and bop-playing elders became stronger, even as the passionate abandon and spontaneity that marked his early work were replaced by his attention to the craft of playing the horn. Murray recorded just as often as he had with Black Saint. DIW signed a distribution deal with Columbia in the early '90s. He recorded a number of important albums during that decade, including Special Quartet with McCoy Tyner, Fred Hopkins, and Elvin Jones and Shakill's Warrior with Don Pullen on Hammond B-3, drummer Andrew Cyrille, and guitarist Stanley Franks -- the latter stretched the B-3 soul-jazz genre into entirely new terrain. He cut a one-off album for Red Baron entitled Jazzosaurus Rex, and fronted Pierre Dørge's New Jungle Orchestra for the Jazzpar Prize album. During this period, Murray's Black Saint albums began to appear as reissues on CD, so record store shelves were bursting with his titles. In 1995 Murray released one of the most compelling and little-known albums in his career on France's Bleuregard imprint. Flowers Around Cleveland was recorded with pianist Bobby Few, drummer John Betsch, and bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel -- the rhythm section from the Steve Lacy Quartet. It was a risky match that paid off gloriously; it offered proof that in spite of his towering presence as a soloist, Murray was also a sensitive stylist and team player.

In fact, Murray became an inimitable stylist, which was underscored by DIW's release of Ballads for Bass Clarinet that same year. He threw jazz fans a true and deeply satisfying curve ball in releasing Dark Star: The Music of the Grateful Dead on Astor Place, with a large group that included Hopkins, Craig Harris, and even the Dead's own Bob Weir. Murray also began a long and fruitful relationship with Justin Time, a Canadian label distributed through Enja. He recorded what was -- at the time -- the most revolutionary and controversial recording of his career in Fo Deuk Revue, which featured a large group of African and American musicians, with layers of drums and chanted vocals along with poetry and recitations by Amiri Baraka. It wove together funk, jazz, and various African folk styles that began to draw Murray in. They would emerge full-blown in the 21st century. In 1998 he issued four albums of new material. First was another variation on the B-3 soul tip with Jug-A-Lug on DIW, his tribute to the music of Gene Ammons with organist Robert Irving, electric bassist Darryl Jones, and guitarists Bobby Broom and Darryl Thompson, with Olu Dara guesting on trumpet. This was followed on the same label by the moving The Long Goodbye: A Tribute to Don Pullen and the stellar The Tip. Murray also recorded his second album for Justin Time in 1998 with Creole, a large-group album that offered a meld of jazz as influenced by numerous Latin and Brazilian styles. Murray also continued to record and tour with the World Saxophone Quartet.

In the 21st century, Murray began the decade prolifically. In 2000 he released three albums and in 2001 four. Of these, the most satisfying was the 2000 release Octet Plays Trane on Justin Time. In 2002 Murray made the stellar Yonn-Dé for the label, his first David Murray & the Gwo-Ka Masters offering; the others would be 2004's Gwotet (with Pharoah Sanders) and 2009's The Devil Tried to Kill Me. Murray issued a dizzying array of recordings in that first decade, including Now Is Another Time with his Latin Big Band, Waltz Again in 2005 featuring his quartet in a setting backed by strings, and Silence in 2008, as well as five more with the WSQ. In 2010, Murray's complete Black Saint and Soul Note recordings were given the box set treatment. His first recording of new material in the century's second decade found the saxophonist on Emarcy with a new band called the David Murray Cuban Ensemble. Their debut for the label was Plays Nat King Cole en Español, released in October of 2011, which interpreted, song for song, two albums the singer and pianist recorded in Spanish and Portuguese -- in 1958 and 1962 -- respectively. Murray's fiery persona as a vanguard improviser still reveals itself in his performances and on select recordings. That said, manifested more frequently now are his abilities as an artful composer, arranger, and bandleader who also happens to be a master technician on the tenor saxophone and bass clarinet. AMG.
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Jimmy Carl Black & The X-tra Combo - Mercedes Benz 2003

While it is certainly one of the best representations of rock veteran Jimmy Carl Black as a vocalist, Mercedes Benz slightly suffers from a touch of schizophrenia, as if it was a "mercy-D" with an ashtray belonging to a lesser brand of car. The effect is not the result of the CD being made up of material from two different sessions, one in 1997 and one in 2001. That production aspect comes together seamlessly. The X-Tra Combo is what might be called a rock & roll and rhythm & blues show band, a couple of horns and a couple of keyboards adding to a sound that is much bigger than the number of people on-stage. On the lion's share of the CD's tracks, Black is backed up on various songs from a repertoire he has slowly been building up in his various activities with bands such as the Grandmothers, the Muffin Men, and so forth. These numbers come off so vividly that it almost seems like carping, or complaining about the ashtray in a beautiful car, to mention that when vocalists from the X-Tra Combo take over and Black steps down there is a diminishing in personality, if not technical quality. The tracks without Black in part go for more of a swing feel, a bit like a Brian Setzer performance in this style. It is good music, but simply not as enjoyable as the Black vocal repertoire, a span that covers authentic blues, goofy Zappa, and vintage psychedelia. "Low Ridin' Man" is a songwriting collaboration from years back with Tjay Cantrelli, once a member of Love as well as Black's Geronimo Black project in the '70s. "Big Leg Emma" and "Road Ladies" are from the Zappa think-tank and like many of the performances here might be the ultimate versions of Black doing these songs, the X-Tra Combo playing as tight as a tick's grip on the back of a dog. The reading of "I'm Willin'" stands up alongside any of the other myriad versions of this Lowell George epistle, and Black's own compositions, including "Lady Queen Bee," are played with punch as opposed to the Grandmothers' light slap. AMG.
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Seawind - Seawind 1976

This influential late-'70s pop/jazz outfit boasted in-the-pocket grooves, clever horn charts, and Pauline Wilson's signature vocals set to lyrics that (more often than not) clearly communicated a Christian world view. In their peak, Seawind produced only three albums, but Pauline and husband/drummer Bob released an album in the early '80s, and various other members have made their mark in the L.A. studios, playing on a myriad of projects.
Imagine this: a Hawaiian band that could play gritty, Tower of Power-influenced funk one minute and instrumental jazz fusion the next, and often expressed a Christian viewpoint. Seawind really did fit that description, and while such uniqueness would terrify a lot of marketing people, it earned the Hawaiian outfit a small but loyal cult following. Seawind wasn't nearly as big as it deserved to be, but those who were hip to the band really swore by it. Produced by drummer Harvey Wilson in 1976, Seawind is a superb, highly imaginative debut that thrives on diversity. Singer Pauline Wilson excels on sweaty funk gems like "Make Up Your Mind," "We Got a Way," and "You Gotta Be Willing to Lose," and she is equally expressive on more jazz-oriented offerings such as "The Devil Is a Liar" and "He Loves You" (both of which underscore her Christian beliefs). Meanwhile, Wilson doesn't do any singing at all on the jazz fusion instrumentals "Roadways" and "Praise." Although Seawind fared well on quiet storm formats, black radio tended to shy away from the album. And at the same time, Seawind didn't appeal to jazz purists. But even if Seawind was, from a commercial standpoint, too eclectic for its own good, this LP never sounds unfocused -- the band knew exactly what it was doing in 1976. All of Seawind's albums are worth owning, but this one is arguably its most essential.  AMG
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Harvey Mason - Marching in the Street 1976

Throughout his career, Harvey Mason has been a busy studio musician and a highly versatile drummer able to excel in many different situations. Mason attended Berklee and graduated from the New England Conservatory. Early gigs included four months with Erroll Garner in 1970 and a year with George Shearing from 1970-71. Soon after leaving Shearing, Mason moved to Los Angeles and quickly became established in the studios, working in films and television. In addition to his anonymous work through the years, Mason has often been part of the jazz world. He played with Herbie Hancock's Headhunters in 1973, Gerry Mulligan during a 1974 Carnegie Hall concert, Freddie Hubbard, Grover Washington Jr. (appearing on Mister Magic), Lee Ritenour, Victor Feldman, George Benson (playing drums on "This Masquerade") and Bob James, among many others. In 1998, Mason paid tribute to Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in some local Los Angeles club gigs. Mason's two albums as a leader (commercial efforts for Arista in 1975 and 1981) feature fellow studio vets. AMG.
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Jack Bruce - Things We Like 1970

Enthusiasts expecting to hear a continuation of the type of material that Jack Bruce (bass) had been responsible for during his tenure(s) with Cream or the Graham Bond Organisation might be in for quite a shock when spinning Things We Like (1970) for the first time. Instead of an album's worth of blues-based rockers, the seven instrumentals feature Bruce with other former Graham Bond stablemates John McLaughlin (guitar), Jon Hiseman (drums), and Dick Heckstall-Smith (sax) performing post-bop and free jazz. A majority of the compositions were penned by Bruce in his preteen days of formal scholarship at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music, where he also mastered the cello and composed a string quartet at the age of 11. After having gained significant clout from Cream, Bruce assembled what was initially a trio. However, after a chance meeting with McLaughlin -- who was so broke he had to refuse an offer to fly stateside to join the newly formed Tony Williams Lifetime -- Bruce incorporated the guitarist into the fold in order to help him finance his journey, which was ultimately successful. The entire effort was recorded and mixed in less than a week during August of 1968 -- less than three months prior to the infamous Farewell Concert of Cream at the Royal Albert Hall on November 26, 1968.

As a testament to Bruce's expansive musical tastes, capabilities, and horizons, this disc sounds more like a collection of Rahsaan Roland Kirk sides than anything even remotely connected with Cream. This is especially true of the frenetic pacing of the brief opener, "Over the Cliff." Heckstall-Smith's ability to perform alto and soprano saxophone simultaneously likewise lends itself to Kirk's distinct reed polyphony. "Statues" is an interesting exercise, again with Heckstall-Smith providing some excellent extemporaneous blows during the darkly toned introduction working well against the nimble melody. While Hiseman's style is decidedly less aggressive than that of Ginger Baker, his drumming helps to amalgamate the song's various sections. McLaughlin's unmistakably sinuous leads are commanding throughout the "Sam Enchanted Dick" medley, with a cover of Milt Jackson's "Sam's Sack" and a Heckstall-Smith original titled "Rills Thrills." The tempo is slowed on the smoky cover of Mel Tormé's "Born to Be Blue." This interpretation is part West Coast cool and part Chicago-style blues. McLaughlin's contributions to "HCKHH Blues" is similar to that of Robert Fripp's jazzy fretwork throughout the Islands (1971) era King Crimson. While it was the first of Bruce's solo records to be recorded, he chose to issue the more rock-oriented Songs for a Tailor (1969) prior to Things We Like, which was perhaps considered an indulgent side project rather than a permanent musical diversion. [The 2003 CD reissue contains the previously unissued track "Ageing, Jack Bruce, Three, from Scotland, England," which is another brilliant Heckstall-Smith piece with all four musicians in top form -- especially McLaughlin, who provokes a variety of sonic imagery, ranging from intense fingerpicking to chiming notes and chord augmentations.] AMG.
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Ivo Papasov - Orpheus Ascending 1989

A little while before the klezmer explosion of the 90's there was Ivo Papasov and his Bulgarian Wedding Band. More Bulgarian than klezmer per se, this music nonetheless evokes a similar spirit, especially with Papasov's frenetically intense and beautiful clarinet runs and vocalist Maria Karafizieva's impassioned singing. He employs an electric and slightly funky rhythm section which, while arguably diluting the true nature of the music, does serve to make it extremely listener friendly, providing a solid ground for the wilder instrumental forays. The compositions tend to alternate from whiplash tempos to languidly mournful dirges; for every joyful wedding there's a sad funeral. No post-modern self-consciousness here, his band skitters through the rapid dances with a barely contained exuberance and shows deep respect on the laments. Papasov's solo feature, "Ivo's Dream", is a breathtaking showcase of his control, depth of feeling and sheer virtuosity and Nechko Neshev's accordion work is a joy throughout. Listeners who enjoyed many of the jazz/rock/klezmer hybrids which manifested in the 90's on labels like Tzadik owe it to themselves to check out one of the antecedents to that music, this hugely fun wedding band. Orpheus Ascending is a marvelous, impossible-to-dislike album. AMG.
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