James Brown - Dead on It (U-Tern Disco Edit) (start)
Arthur Russel - Wax The Van (Ilija Rudman Remix) (5'31'')
Grace Jones - Williams' Blood (Yam Who Cosmic Jam) (11')
Crazy P - Never Gonna Reach Me (17'30'')
I Cube - Falling (24'40'')
Mark E - Your Way (Superbreak Edit) (27'30'')
Julien Jabre - And You Dont Sto (33')
Patrice Rushen - Forget Me Vox (Out In The Sticks Re-edit) (38'30'')
The Revenge - Looking Up To You (Michael Wycoff) (45'34'')
September - Are You Free Tonight (Superbreak Edit) (51'25'')
9ème mix de notre série, "Nudisco treats" rassemble plusieurs edits de classiques disco/funk que j'apprécie tout particulièrement ainsi que quelques perles nudisco/house!
Tracklisting, liens streaming et dwnld ci-dessus. Enjoy!
Catching up with interesting things I miserably overlooked these last few months, here comes "Cerulean", the superb debut album from LA-based Baths (aka Will Wiesenfeld) released last June on Anticon Records.
Similar to the deep/post-dubstep world, the downtempo/chillwave/abstract beats/call-it-whatever-you-like musical space keeps on giving birth to talented productions, but this LP definitely stands-out for me.
A mixture of sweet pop vocals, lush and colorful sound effects, deep atmospheric beats and beautiful acoustic melodies, Cerulean is boiling with creativity.
From superb melancholic songs like "Hall", "Plea" or "Lovely Bloodflow" to the heavier beats of instrumentals tracks like "Aminals" or "Maximalist", this record is full of fresh colours and vibrations. Certainly one of my favorite production in that genre since last year splendid Bibio's "Ambivalence Avenue". Below streaming of "Hall" (love this 20sec intro tuning search to reach some kind of sweet nirvana) and "Aminals" :
Sorti en Juin dernier sur le label californien Anticon Records, "Cerulean" est le premier album du jeune producteur Baths (aka Will Wiesenfeld) qui vit à Los Angeles.
A l'image de l'univers deep/post-dubstep anglo-saxon, le monde éclectique et difficile à nommer ou délimiter de ce que j'appelle le "downtempo/abstract-beats" fournit depuis quelques années des productions particulièrement novatrices.
Au milieu de ce flot sonore, cet album sort clairement du lot.
Assemblage de vocaux filtrés délicieusemenent pop, d'un kaléidoscope de sons et samples originaux, de beats atmosphériques et de mélodies aguichantes, "Cerulean" regorge en effet de créativité. Alternant de superbes titres aux vocaux mélancoliques comme "Hall", "Plea" ou "Lovely Bloodflow" et d'onctueux instrumentaux aux beats plus lourds et entêtant comme "Aminals" ou "Maximalist", les colorations fascinantes ne manquent pas sur la palette de Baths. Le disque est sans aucun doute l'une de mes découvertes favorites du genre depuis le splendide "Ambivalence Avenue" de Bibio l'an passé.
Ci-dessus streaming de "Halls" (j'aime ce pseudo réglage de radio de l'intro qui laisse place à une sorte de nirvana une fois le morceau en place) et "Aminals".
Was it the current striky mood in Paris, the rainy weather or the fact that Brooklyn Funk Essentials already visited the city and several festivals in the country earlier this year?
I don't know but it's a surprinsingly half-full Cabaret Sauvage that welcomed the nyc-based band last friday night. It was nevertheless more than enough to fill a dancefloor that did not stop shaking and grooving during their remarkable 1h30-long show!
Led by their charismatic trio of singers (Hanifah Walidah, Papa Dee & Everton Sylvester), the 9-member combo alternated between songs from their 2009-album "Watcha Playin'" and previous productions like their famous cover "The Creator Has A Master Plan" dating back from their 1994 first LP "Cool And Steady And Easy".
Everton Sylvester
Papa Dee
In fact the show was quite similar to the one I saw last July during the "Jazz à Juan" festival (review here) in south of France with the same dose of energy conveyed by the crew and amazing ability to blend funk, ragga, latin and oriental vibes for a unique world-groove experience!
Iwan Van Hetten & Erik Hausler
Ah, and I was about to forget, happy birthday Hanifah!
Below small videos of "The Day Before Adidi" and "Dance-free Night" :
Ce vendredi soir c'est un Cabaret Sauvage seulement à moitié plein qui a accueilli Brooklyn Funk Essentials. Quelles que soient leurs excuses (grèves, pluie, second passage de l'année du groupe à Paris...) les absents ont eu comme toujours....torts!
Emmené par son trio de chanteurs charismatiques ((Hanifah Walidah, Papa Dee & Everton Sylvester) le groupe new-yorkais a déroulé avec brio, énergie et bonne humeur son programme "world-groove" ou rythmiques funk, latin, ragga ou orientales s'entremêlent avec délice.
1h30 de show rafraichissant, très proche dans son tracklisting du concert que j'avais vu en juillet dernier lors du festival "Jazz à Juan" (review ici). On en redemande! Ci-dessus deux petites vidéos, "The Day Before Adidi" & "Dance-free Night", morceaux extraits de leur album "Watcha Playin'" sorti en 2009.
Brilliantly contributing to the legendary nyc salsa music scene since 2000, Spanish Harlem Orchestra is releasing its fourth album, right on time to celebrate its 10th birthday.
Produced by bandleader and legendary pianist Oscar Hernandez on Concord Picante Records, "Viva La Tradicion" blends incendiary salsa tunes with impeccable latin jazz cuts.
Tracks like "La Salsa Dura" or "La Fiesta Empezo" will have you move and try to remember those basic salsa/rumba steps that I'm sure you learned someday!
With this outstanding release the 13-member combo (5 horns, 1 piano, 3 vocals, 1 bass and 3 percs among which Luisito Quintero well-known to Nuyorican Soul and Maw fans) confirms it is one of the best contemporary salsa/latin jazz band around.
I hope they'll visit France someday, in the meantime find here their north-american tour dates here.
Below a short extract from "La Fiesta Empezo" :
I also want to highlight our recent podcast "Latin' Cookin'" focusing on some of our favorites contemporary latin (both salsa and brazil) artists, among wich Spanish Harlem Orchestra. You can find it here.
Depuis sa création en 2000 le Spanish Harlem Orchestra s'est imposé comme un des groupes phares d'une scène salsa new-yorkaise qui ne dort jamais vraiment.
Emmené par le pianiste vétéran Oscar Hernandez qui a joué depuis 40 ans avec les plus grands (notamment Ruben Blades), le combo rassemble 13 musiciens de grand talent (entre autres le percussioniste Luisito Quintero que les fans de Nuyorican Soul et des diverses productions de Louie Vega connaissent bien).
Alternant une salsa/rumba explosive avec des titres plus latin-jazz leur quatrième album, intitulé "Viva La Tradicion" est une fois encore une belle réussite, il sort sur le label Concord Picante.
Des morceaux comme "La Salsa Dura" ou "La Fiesta Empezo" sont des invitations à la danse et à une bonne humeur à laquelle ils nous ont habitué avec leurs excellents albums précédents. Ce 4ème disque confirme avec brio que "SHO" est un des meilleurs ensembles salsa du moment.
Ci-dessus un court extrait de "La Fiesta Empezo".
Pour les fans de salsa made in Ny je recommande le premier concert en France d'un autre groupe de grande qualité, "La Excelencia", qui sera le 10 Novembre prochain au New Morning.
D'autre part n'hésitez pas à écouter ma récente sélection "Latin' Cookin'" qui rassemble des morceaux d'artistes contemporains des scènes latin/brazil que j'apprécie tout particulièrement en ce moment!
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson is one of my favorite musician/producer in the spiritual jazz/experimental grooves space. Whether he teams up with his friend Carlos Nino, his own amazing orchestra (where he plays violin) or working as a producer for other artists, his has consistently been offering us outstanding music these last few years, blending subtle classical music vibes with soulful sounds.
On July 23d 2010 he gave a free show in LA with his ensemble and was joined by a host of first-class artists like Flying Lotus, Aloe Blacc, Bilal or Chris Dave on the drums.
He recently broadcasted on his bandcamp site three stunning extracts of that very special show : - "Deliver The World" feat. Aloe Blacc (cover of "Betrayal" from Guru/Gang Starr)
- "Someday We'll All Be Free" feat. Bilal (cover fromDonny Hataway)
- medley feat. Flying Lotus of "Drips" from Flying Lotus recent "Cosmogramma" album and "Take Notice" from the late J Dilla
Considering the quality of the recording and video below I guess (hope!) there may be an upcoming release of the whole show to come.
Anyway in the meantime, enjoy this!
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson met depuis plusieurs années sa formation de violoniste classique au service d'un large éventail d'univers musicaux, du spiritual jazz au hip-hop expérimental. Ses productions de grande qualité ont en commun une certaine forme de poésie, sans doute une des conséquences de l'intrusion subtile d'intruments à cordes classiques dans un cadre musical en général toujours "soulful".
Le 23 juillet dernier il a donné avec son orchestre un concert gratuit à Los Angeles accompagné par une pléiade d'atistes de premier plan comme Flying Lotus, Aloe Blacc, Bilal ou encore un de mes chouchous, le batteur Chris Dave dont j'ai beaucoup parlé récemment suite au festival de La Villette.
Miguel vient de mettre en ligne trois superbes extraits de ce show. La qualité des vidéos et des enregistrements me laisse espérer qu'il y aura peut-être un release de l'intégralité du concert dans les mois à venir, à suivre!
I usually don't pay too much attention to reissues as I am often disappointed by the lack of value added to original works.
But there are exceptions and I have to make one for Morrissey's (one of my all-time favorite artists) reissue of 1990 legendary compilation "Bona Drag".
On top of an outstanding remastering work, this 20th birthday (already!) special edition contains several splendid previously unreleased songs that are simply stamped with the Moz' genious touch. Some of these tracks had leaked a few months ago but this high-quality original release finally put them in a much-deserved spotlight.
Listening to amazing songs like "Lifeguard On Duty", "Happy Lovers At Last United" or "Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness" I just feel they've always been part of this cornerstone record that is such an important piece of my musical universe. With this release they now do, and it's a blessing.
This actually has me wondering how many more of this kind or original gems Morrissey has in his basement!
Anyway this is a must-have, period. And so is the re-release of the single "Everyday Is Like Sunday".
Below low-quality streaming of "Lifeguard On Duty" & "Please Help The Cause Of Against The Loneliness" :
Je prête en général une oreille distraite aux diverses rééditions d'albums dont nous abreuvent les maisons de disques dans un but principalement mercantile.
Il y a tout de même des exceptions et cette édition spéciale de la mythique compilation "Bona Drag" de Morrissey (un de mes artistes fétiches) qui sort à l'occasion du (déjà!) 20ème anniversaire vaut vraiment le détour.
En plus d'un superbe travail de remasterisation qui donne à ces nombreux titres légendaires une vigueur encore plus poignante, elle comprend quelques sublimes titres inédits.
Ils avaient certes pour la plupart "leaké" sur le net ces derniers mois, mais cette sortie officielle avec une qualité sonore remarquable les propulse sur le devant d'une scène dont ils avaient été jusque-là injustement privé.
En écoutant des morceaux comme "Lifeguard On Duty", "Happy Lovers At Last United" ou "Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness" j'ai en fait l'impression qu'ils ont toujours été sur ce disque tant leur son et leur qualité ne dépareillent pas avec le reste. J'en viens d'ailleurs à me demander avec envie combien d'autres merveilles Morrissey cache encore dans ses archives....
Quoi qu'il en soit cette édition est absolument incontournable pour tout fan du Moz et d'indie rock en général, de même que la ré-édition du single "Everyday Is Like Sunday".
Ci-dessus streaming (de faible qualité pour le coup) de "Lifeguard On Duty" & "Please Help The Cause Of Against The Loneliness".
Dj Shadow is supposed to release a long-awaited new LP in early 2011, in the meantime he has been leaking a couple of extracts on his site.
Here is a streaming from the second one, called "I've been trying", a little folk gem offering a mesmerizing guitar & flute-based melody, addictive melancolic vocals on a fine-tuned groovy rythmic base.
More than promessing for the whole album!
Le prochain album de Dj Shadow ne devrait sortir que début 2011, le producteur émérite a néanmoins décidé d'en donner un premier aperçu en dévoilant récemment sur son site deux premiers extraits. Vous trouverez ci-joint un streaming de "I've been trying", une petite merveille folk associant superbe mélodie guitare acoustique/flûte, rythmique subtilement groovy et vocaux mélancoliques entêtants. Si l'album est de cette qualité, ça promet!
Let's try to extend a bit the summer that supposedly ended this week by listening to the 10th (sunny) edition of Vibes4YourSoul musical selections.
Focusing on contemporary latin sounds, this 50mn-long podcast will have you travel between Brazil, Cuba, Colombia or Spanish Harlem.
From the melodic bossa grooves of Vinicius Cantuaria and Clara Moreno to the energetic latin jazz beats of The Har-You Percussion Group, The Har-Fly Orchestra or Cesar's Salad, I hope you'll enjoy this spicy trip and that you'll be willing to dig deeper into these artists works if you haven't done it already!
Vinicius Cantuaria - Praia Grande (start to 5'41'')
Diesler - Cotton Wool (5'42s to 9'31'')
Har-You Percussion Group - Barrets Bag (9'32'' to 14'10'')
Spanish Harlem Orchestra - Llego La Orquestra (14'11"" to 20'10'')
Havana Cultura Band - Arroz Con Pollo (20'11'' to 23'40'')
Nu-Braz - Roda (23'41'' to 28'28'')
Clara Moreno - Litoranea (28'29'' to 32'15'')
The Hi-Fly Orchestra - Carioquinha (32'16'' to 36'47'')
Cesar's Salad - Bolivia (36'48'' to 40'51'')
Seu Jorge - Burguesinha ( 40'52'' to 44'59'')
Calambuco - Calambuco (45' to end)
Ce 10ème épisode de nos sélections musicales vous emmènera au Brésil, à Cuba, en Colombie ou encore à Spanish Harlem pour une sélection de sons latinos prolongeant un peu l'été qui vient de s'achever.
Présentant uniquement des artistes contemporains la reçette de ce "Latin' Cookin'" regorge d'ingrédients épicés : la bossa subtile de Vinicius Cantuaria ou Clara Moreno, le latin jazz explosif du Har-Fly Orchestra ou de Cesar's Salad, la salsa joyeuse du Spanish Harlem Orchestra ou encore les cocktails novateurs de Diesler ou du Havana Cultura Band.
J'espère que le menu vous plaira et vous donnera envie de (re)découvrir cette pléiade d'artistes de talent.
Tracklisting, streaming, et dwld links du podcast ci-dessus.
The Roots never rest do they?
After their brilliant Lp "How I Got Over" released earlier this year, their participation in David Murray's original live project around the history and legacy of the Black Panthers (mentionned on this blog recently), here they come again with another amazing production.
"Wake Up!" is the result of a collaboration with soul singer/producer John Legend, and is all about that powerful socially-conscious 60's/70's R&B sound that both John and the band cherish so much.
The album is mostly a collection of covers from legendary artisits like Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone or Marvin Gaye or from several overlooked names like Les McCann, Baby Huey, Ernie Hines, Harold Melvin or Mike Kirkland. The Roots' orchestration is sober but funky enough to rejuvenate these classics (what a great gospel's touch on Nina Simone's "I wish I know how it would feel to be free") while respecting their musical atmosphere. Black Thought and Mali Yusef bring their energetic hip-hop touch on a few tracks which fits really well with the protest spirit of most of these songs.
On his side John Legend moves away from his usual crooner-sphere to add the right touch of rawness to his singing. From warm soulful parts to more aggressive, almost spoken-word, cuts or even exotic areas like his splendid reggae interpretation of "Humanity", his vocal register's depth is impressive.
Let's also mention the "young-Michael"-like performance of R&B singer Melanie Fiona in one of the two original tracks of the album, called "Wake Up Everybody" (streaming below).
A highly-recommended record for those who love this essential period in the history of Black Music!
For reference and comparison please find below the album tracklisting, for the covers there are streaming links to the original versions :
"I wish I knew how it would feel to be free" (cover of Nina Simone)
"Shine" - original track
"Wake Up Everybody" - original track
Après la sortie récente de leur excellent dernier album "How I Got Over" puis leur participation à l'ambitieux projet live du saxophoniste David Murray consacré aux Black Panthers, les infatigables Roots sont de retour avec le chanteur et producteur R&B John Legend pour la sortie de "Wake Up!" album hommage au "son" R&B/Soul engagé politiquement des années 60/70. En plus de deux superbes nouveaux morceaux soul (dont on jurerait qu'ils ont été écrits il y a une quarantaine d'années) ce disque propose des reprises d'artistes légendaires tels que Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone ou Marvin Gaye mais aussi de figures plus obscures telles que Les McCann, Baby Huey, Ernie Hines, Harold Melvin or Mike Kirkland. Avec des orchestrations sobres et une qualité de production irréprochable, The Roots s'approprient avec finesse ces classiques en les éclairant d'un jour nouveau. Leur version carrément gospel du "I wish I know how it would feel to be free" de Nina Simone illustre parfaitement leur approche, à la fois respectueuse des originaux et subtilement novatrice. De son côté John Legend sort de son registre habituel très "crooner" pour muscler un peu son jeu. D'interprétations très soulful à d'autres plus aggressives à la limite du "spoken-word" en passant par une splendide reprise reggae du morceau "Humanity" de Prince Lincoln, son éventail de possibilités est particulièrement bluffant. Ce disque ravira tous les amoureux de cette période essentielle de la musique black américaine, à ne pas rater! Ci-dessus streaming de "Wake Up Everybody", l'un des deux titres originaux de l'album, ainsi que le tracklisting avec liens vers les versions originales des reprises.
The artistic direction ofthe 2010 La Villette Jazz Festival in northern Paris, did a fantastic job not only to gather an exciting line-up of artists but also to present rare live collaborations between musicians from different horizons.
Here are a few impressions on the various concerts I could attend. I hope you'll enjoy it.
La direction artistique du La Villette Jazz Festival 2010 a non seulement réussi à assembler un plateau d'artistes de premier plan mais a aussi (et surtout) brillamment permis des collaborations scéniques quasi-inédites entre des musiciens d'horizons variés. Après cette quinzaine métissée riche en surprises voici mes impressions sur les nombreux concerts auxquels j'ai pu assister.
Abraham Inc (David Krakauer / FredWesley / SoCalled)
Cité De La Musique - 04/09/2010
David Krakauer
A fine southern soulfood cuisine chef getting his grocery supply from Nyc's legendary gourmet kosher store Zabar's may be an easy way to introduce Abraham Inc.
Fred Wesley
Assembling legendary funk trombone player Fred Wesley, famous Klezmer music clarinetist David Krakauer and canadian klezmer-hiphop producer's SoCalled, the collective started working together two or three years back I believe, released an album, but is first and foremost a crazy live project.
So how did they sound like in Paris?
SoCalled
With the help of their brilliant supporting band (special mention to Alex Coke on tenor sax), they gave a set full of joy, humour and improvisation. The combination of classic funky horns with David Krakauer's energetic clarinette and SoCalled's cool flow and dismantled beats clearly is a tasty recipe for fun. Among the highlights of the concert were the funny 10-mn long versions of JB's classics "Breaking Bread" and "House Party" where the trio kept on tchating and joking between groovy solos. These guys are having a funn(k)y time playing together and we surely could feel it! Not to be missed if they play anywhere nearby you.
Courtesy of ArteLiveWeb you can watch for a limited time this whole concert with a video streaming!
Collectif inattendu rassemblant le légendaire tromboniste funk Fred Wesley, le clarinettiste juif new-yorkais de musique Klezmer David Krakauer et le surprenant producteur hip-hop juif-canadien SoCalled, Abraham Inc était une réelle énigme pour moi. Plus du tout après quelques minutes de concert tant le mélange hip-hop/funk/musique yddish proposé par le groupe sonne comme une association évidente fonctionnant à merveille sur scène. L'énergie, la bonne humeur et l'humour dont font preuve le trio sont aussi à souligner comme l'ingrédient ultime d'une reçette explosive. Les versions longues des classiques des JB's "Breaking Bread" et "House Party" furent mémorables. Un show festif d'une rare fraicheur, à voir absolument s'ils se produisent près de chez vous dans les mois à venir.
Ci-dessus lien vers le site d'ArteLiveWeb qui diffuse l'intégrale du concert en streaming sur son site pour quelques semaines
Piers Faccini & Vincent Ségal
Cabaret Sauvage - 05/09/2010 (4pm set)
Piers Faccini
Introducing Alice Russel show, french/italian folk singer Piers Faccini and french cello player Vincent Ségal gave an intimate acoustic 1h-long set focusing on Piers's songs and various obscure covers ranging from country music to old italian songs.
Vincent Ségal
Vincent Ségal amazing cello playing style (does he play bass, guitar or actual cello with his beloved instrument?) is not a surprise for anyone who has seen him with his band Bumcello or as a musician for french pop star M, but in such an intimate set-up the finesse and sensibility of his play were simply stunning.
On his side Pier's sensible & melancolic guitar's play and vocals also conveyed a healthy dose of emotions. It really was a moving moment to see these two friends play together seven years after their close collaboration on Pier's beautiful first album called "Leave No Trace". Below a video of their interpretation of "Ugly Places" :
Jolie idée d'avoir programmé en première partie du show acoustique d'Alice Russel, le duo Piers Faccini-Vincent Ségal qui se connait bien pour avoir étroitement collaboré il y a 7 ans sur le sublime premier album folk de Piers intitulé "Leave No Trace". Se concentrant sur des morceaux de cet album plus quelques reprises improbables de chansons populaires italiennes ou d'inspiration country, les deux amis ont offert une prestation acoustique pleine de finesse et de sensibilité qui cadrait très bien avec un Cabaret Sauvage assagi dans une version places assises particulièrement "cosy".
Alice Russell - Live Acoustic Session
Cabaret Sauvage - 05/09/2010 (4pm set)
Alice Russell
After this smooth intro, Alice Russell and her young band, set-up in an acoustic fashion (cello and violins taking the place of her usual horns section), came on stage for a 1h-and-a-half set where they played several of their classic tunes plus an amazing forthcoming track and a few covers (from Sarah Vaughan or Donny Hathaway).
Compared to the "regular" non-acoustic show I had seen last year at the Bataclan, which I enjoyed but founded a bit too strict and formal, she and her band were much more relaxed and prone to improvisation this time. After several soul ballads they managed to have most of the seated audience forget about the cosy chairs to end up dancing during the last half -hour of enthusiastic acoustic funk.
My favorite moments of the show where the beautiful cover of one of my favorite classic jazz song "The Mystery Of Man" from Sarah Vaughn and her explosive new track due out this week I believe (I can't wait, but don't know the title). The audience loved it so much that everyone kept on singing the chorus between each of the remaining songs of the show! Small video of this song below :
Ayant troqué les habituels cuivres de son jeune groupe contre une contrebasse et deux violons, c'est dans une version acoustique qu'Alice Russell a interprété pendant presque 2h ses classiques soul/funk mais aussi quelques covers, dont une très belle version de "The Mistery Of Man" de Sarah Vaughan qui est une de mes chansons jazz préférées
Chassez le naturel il revient au galop et, acoustique ou pas, le groupe a accéléré le tempo pour une dernière demi-heure très funky ou le Cabaret (trop) sagement assis s'est rapidement levé pour danser. Son prochain morceau à sortir dans les jours à venir et dont le titre m'a échappé fut particulièrement dévastateur (streaming video ci-dessus).
Gil Scott-Heron
Cité de la Musique - 08/09/2010
Following his moving come-back in Paris last May for a splendid evening at the New Morning (extensive review here), Gil was back in Paris for a second time in 2010 (and in the last 10 years actually).
I'll make it quick as the 1h30mn-long show was quite similar to the New Morning one (tracklisting below) but maybe less intimate as the Cité de la Musique is a much larger venue. If I found Gil tired physically (he has been touring a lot for these last few months) he nevertheless offered us another beautiful moment of soulful spirituality.
My favorite parts of the show probably were his humoristic and powerful version of Three Miles Down and Tony Duncanson's 7- or 8-mn long astonishing congas solo on The Bottle. Tracklisting : Blue Collar - Winter In America - We Almost Lost Detroit/Work For Peace Medley - Three Miles Down - I'll take care of you - The Other Side (Parts I, II & III) - The Bottle - Better Days Ahead
As I concluded my latest post on this immense artist : if there were more Gil's, the world would surely be a better place!
Below a small video of "Winter In America" with his legendary folktale intro:
J'ai longuement relaté sur le blog le come-back à la fois splendide et émouvant de Gil à Paris en Mai dernier au New Morning. Le concert de la Cité de la Musique fut similaire en terme de tracklisting (voir ci-dessus) et si ce fut un autre grand moment de groove spirituel, la taille de la salle et la relative fatigue de Gil, qui a beaucoup tourné récemment, ont rendu cette soirée moins magique que celle de Mai. Le solo de congas de 10mn de Tony Duncanson sur "The Bottle" ou la version merveilleuse de "Three Miles Down" resteront néanmoins dans ma mémoire!
Robert Glasper's Experiment / Stefon Harris / Pete Rock
Tribute To Roy Ayers - Cabaret Sauvage - 11/09/10
Robert Glasper (my favorite contemporary jazz/groove pianist) and his brilliant inseparable crew has been teaming up recently with hip-hop producer Pete Rock and acclaimed vibraphonist Stefon Harris to throw a few live sessions focusing on the eternal music from Roy Ayers.
La Villette festival's team had the brilliant idea to invite them in the red-hot Cabaret Sauvage for what happened to be my favorite show of the whole week!
Pete Rock's sampled beats loops, Chris Dave's phenomenal drumming and Derrik Hodge's deep basslines set-up a fantastic rythmic frame, ripe to let Robert Glasper (Piano & Rhodes) and Stefon Harris (vibraphone) add a splendid layer of warm grooves so disctinctive of Ayers' universe.
On top of that Casey Benjamin took charge of vocals with his mesmerizing vocoder, while also droppin a few memorable sax solos.
What made the concert truly unique was its sort of "jam-spirit".
I really had the impression to see a giant impro session with some of the most talented musicians of the current jazz/groove/beats universe having fun readapting for more than 2 hours several Roy's classics (I Live In Philly, Searchin'...).
The concert actually really moved on to a true jam in the end when the crew improvised on several Jay Dilla anthems (Stakes Is High, The Light, Fall In Love...) or Kenny Burke's groove classic "Risin' To The Top".
They were even joined on stage by nu-soul singer Bilal to conclude a stunning 15mn-long version of "Everybody Loves The Sunshine".
An unforgettable live groove/beats moment really!
The good news is ArteLiveWeb also recorded this show, you can see it on the video streaming below , enjoy!
Projet éphémère monté par Robert Glasper (mon pianiste favori de la scène jazz/groove actuelle), ses inséparables comparses Chris Dave, Derrik Hodge et Casey Benjamin ainsi que le producteur hip-hop Chris Rock et le brillant vibraphoniste Stefon Harris, ce "Tribute To Roy Ayers" fut mon concert préféré de la semaine.
Une sorte de jam-session irréelle de presque 3h pendant laquelle ces musiciens de classe mondiale nous ont fait voyager dans l'univers groovy de Roy Ayers en passant par le hip-hop jazzy de Jay Dilla (nombreuses covers dont Stakes Is High, The Light, Fall In Love...).
La prestation à la batterie de Chris Dave fut proprement hallucinante d'intensité et de virtuosité tandis que les vocals interprétés au vocoder par Casey Benjamin ont contribué à créer une atmosphère totalement envoutante. Si on ajoute à ça les basslines profondes de Derrik Hodge puis les nappes de Rhodes distillées par Robert Glasper et les solos de vibraphone aériens de Stefon Harris cela donne une expérience unique. Sans aucun doute un des meilleurs concerts que j'ai vu ces dernières années. Juhez par vous-même gràce à l'enregistrement d'ArteLiveWeb disponible pour une période de temps limitée.
Robert Glasper Trio & Bilal
Cité de la Musique - 12/09/2010
Robert Glasper, Derrick Hodge & Chris Dave
After showing their groove side on saturday night, Robert Glasper, Derrik Hodgeand Chris Dave were back on stage with their jazz side for a sunday-afternoon set at the "Cité de la Musique" with nu-soul singer Bilal as a guest. My english vocabulary is falling short of superlatives to describe this second remarkable performance from the trio, and notably the once-again surrealist drumming performance from Chris Dave, who to me currently is one of the very best jazz/groove drummer around.
Robert Glasper & Bilal
As usual they came on stage with no clear-cut set-list and after a hilarious tchat (after having seen Robert live four times in the last couple of years, I wonder if he may not also have a future in the stand-up comedy world as his sarcastic humour is just too much fun) they started playing and improvise a great deal on one of their track. The only "pre-defined" moments of the show seemed to be the two jazz standards ("Little B Poem" and "Body and Soul") on which a sneezing Bilal tried to sing. Hopefully the crazy helped him out and fired up on all cylinders to give absolutely stunning jam-like versions of these two classics.
Robert Glasper
The rest of the set was more nu-jazz oriented with 15-mn long versions of some of their brilliant songs mixed up with some Jay Dilla themes. Bilal finally came back on stage on a better shape to beautifully conclude the afternoon with jazzy cuts of his current hit "All Matter" and of his famous Jay-Dilla-writen song "Reminisce".
These guys are an absolute must-see for any jazz/groove fan!
Après leur samedi soir mémorable en version "groove", le trio Robert Glasper, Derrik Hodge & Chris Dave a vite enfilé son costume "jazz" pour enchainer le lendemain avec une session en compagnie du chanteur nu-soul Bilal à la Cité de la Musique.
Sans rien perdre en magie et virtuosité.
Après une intro façon stan-up comedy pendant laquelle Robert Glasper a encore une fois fait mouche avec son humour sarcastique, le trio a enchainé avec quelques une de ses superbes compositions jazz en multipliant changements de rythme, solos époustouflants et clins d'oeils à Jay Dilla en glissant par moments des thèmes du mythique producteur hip-hop. Chris Dave a une fois de plus bluffé tout le monde avec une prestation époustouflante à la batterie. Il est sans aucun doute un des tout meilleurs batteurs jazz/groove du moment. Technique, précision, finesse, énergie, les mots me manquent pour décrire son jeu enthousiasmant.
L'arrivée de Bilal sur scène pour interpréter deux standards jazz ("Little B's Poem" et "Body & Soul") ne restera à l'inverse pas dans les annales car le chanteur, bien enrhumé, n'était pas dans une grande forme. Heureusement le trio s'en est donné à coeur joie pour donner une nouvelle jeunesse à ses deux titres légendaires. Bilal assura tout de même deux jolies interprétations de son hit du moment "All Matter" ainsi que de son classique "Reminisce" pour clôturer le concert.
The Roots, The Last Poets, Living Colour & David Murray Tongues On Fire, A Tribute To The Black Panthers Grande Halle de la Villette, 12/09/10
A very special artistic project dedicated to the memory and history of 70's Us black rights revolutionary movement "The Black Panthers" was scheduled for the closing of the festival.
David Murray
The show was set-up by free-jazz saxophonist David Murray, who composed the musical themes, with poems from Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan (members of the legendary politically-conscious hip-hop band The Last Poets), live contribution from members of The Roots (?uestlove, Blackthought & Ray Angry) and Living Colour (Corey Cover & Vernon Reid on guitar) plus visuals from Doctor L using original material from Black Panthers' former minister of culture Emory Douglas.
On rythmic backgrounds ranging from jazz-fusion, reggae, funk and afro vibes, the 2h-long show had us travel in time for a very interesting reflexion on this part of Us history and culture. The thought-provoking artworks from Emory Douglas were in fact my favorite part of the show with some drawings reminding me a bit of some of Fela Kuti's albums covers depicting violence, inequalities and power abuses. Even though I appreciated very much the nice balance between Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan spoken-word flow and The Roots' Blackthought groovy hip-hop vocals, it was hard for me to really get into the music as the sound quality was rather poor in La Grande Halle, which is definitely not a proper concert room. I nevertheless was particularly moved by Umar Bin Hassan beautiful poem, declaimed on a sweet sax solo from David Murray, and reminiscing about one of the Black Panthers leader who particularly influenced him and who died during one of the numerous violent arrests conducted by the authorities at that time. I really wish I could see this ambitious project in London where they played in the great Barbican venue with a great sound quality.
Pour clôturer le festival un projet ambitieux autour de l'histoire et de l'influence du mouvement révolutionnaire noir-américain les "Black Panthers" était programmé dimanche soir à la Grande Halle de la Villette. Le projet a été pensé et mis en place par le saxophoniste free-jazz David Murray qui a composé la musique, sur des textes et poèmes de Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan,deux des leaders du légendaire groupe spoken-word "The Last Poets", et la contribution musicale de membres éminents des The Roots (?uestlove, Blackthought & Roy Angry) et de Living Colour (Corey Cover & Vernon Reid on guitar). En prime des visuels marquants de Doctor L qui a utilisé en grande partie des oeuvres de l'ancien "ministre de la cuklture" du mouvement Black Panthers, Emory Douglas. Sur des sons allant du jazz-fusion, au reggae, funk ou rythmiques afro, le collectif nous a fait voyager dans cette période essentielle de l'histoire contemporaine des Etats-Unis. Si j'ai été fasciné par l'univers artistique des dessins et montages d'Emory Douglas, j'avoue avoir eu du mal à rentrer totalement dans l'univers musical du collectif en raison de l'accoustique de faible qualité de la Grande Halle. Les veinards qui ont vu le projet à Londres ou il a été présenté dans la très belle salle du Barbican ont du beaucoup plus apprecié la qualité des compositons de David Murray. Je garderai néanmoins un souvenir ému du très joli poème déclamé par Umar Bin Hassan en hommage à l'un des leaders disparus des Black Panthers qui l'a beaucoup influencé, le tout sur un subtil et poignant riff de sax de David Murray.
Thanks to Vincent for most pictures illustrating this (long) article.
Merci à Vincent pour la majeure partie des photos illustrant cet article.
Still catching up with the numerous interesting releases from this summer I am late in mentionning, "Crooks & Lovers", the debut album from Uk ambient/dubstep duo Mount Kimbie(Dominic Kamper & Kai Campos), but I had to as this possibly is my favorite album in the electro space so far this year (despite a really heavy competition!).
After two amazingly innovative Eps released in 2009 on Scuba's demanding label Hotflush, the duo presents 11 brand new tracks in a rather short format (35mn). Hopefully the quality of an album has never been a function of its length and this release proves it.
Is it ambient, is it dubstep, is it downtempo? all I know is that this LP has me travel a lot both physically and mentally.
Slow-motion tracks like "Would Know" or "Ruby" and their hypnotizing layer of deep bass put me in an exquisitely lethargic mode. Sweet candy-like (or Bibio-like as these remind me of his work somehow) tunes like "Tunnelvision", "Before I Move Off", "Ode To Bear" or "Adriatic" and their light acoustic guitars samples, have me slowly wake up in a zen but joyful state. My body is now ready to feel and enjoy the quicker pace and club-suggestive beats from "Carbonated", "Blind Night Errand", "Mayor" or "Field".
The trick is that tracks are not sorted this way! so listening to the album has me randomly move from one state to the other, losing control in some respect for a short but intense experience.
I hope I'll be able to experience it live soon (arrgh cannot go to next week Paris show), in the meantime their astonishing recent live BBC's Maida Valle Studio session is a nice introduction (check Gilles Peterson Sep 1st Worldwide BBC1 show for extracts).
Below youtube streaming of "Would Know" and "Carbonate" :
Essayant de combler mon retard sur les nombreuses sorties musicales de qualité de cet été je me devais de mentionner, même tardivement, le premier album sublime du duo anglais "Mount Kimbie" sur l'excellent label Uk Hotflush. Après deux premiers maxi délicieusement inclassables paru en 2009, ce jeune duo délivre un premier album court (35mn) mais d'une richesse et d'une intensité rare. A "tiers-chemin" entre ambient, dubstep et downtempo, on flotte entre de douces plages léthargiques aux univers sonores remplis de samples langoureux, à de joyeux réveils sensoriels lorsque les beats appuient parfois subtilement sur la pédale d'accélérateur. Probablement mon album electro favori de l'année en cours. Ci-joint streaming de mes deux morceaux favoris. Enjoy!
Another day, another young uk producer takes us through another fascinating dubstep journey on another brand new bold electro label.
This time around it is Throwing Snow's turn to drive and the label is Ho TepRecords, recently set up by one of Eglo Records founder (home of one of my favorite electro artist at the moment, Floating Points).
Un Vingt is the main attraction of this Ep.
Soulful vintage keyboards, melancolic strings, bewitching vocal sample, delightfully groovy dubstep beats for a perfect balance between deepness and excitment. A lush track really.
You can make your own opinion by listening to the streaming below :
Les (beaux) jours passent et se ressemblent dans l'univers luxuriant du deep dubstep Uk. Cette fois-ci c'est au tour du jeune producteur anglais Throwing Snow de sortir son premier maxi sous l'ombrelle du tout nouveau label Ho Tep. Le titre "Un Vingt" est l'attraction de ce disque, un petit bijou associant claviers soulful, samples vocaux envoutants, cordes mélancoliques et évidemment de délicieux broken beats finement ciselés. Le tout pour un équilibre parfait entre calme et envie irrépressible de laisser son corps obéir à un groove omniprésent. Succombez au streaming ci-joint, le dépaysement est à portée d'oreilles.
Counter Records, the excellent independant rock label from the Ninjatune galaxy will soon release the second album of Spokes, a Mancunian quintet already guilty of a brilliant first LP in 2008 called "People Like People Like You" that is a must-listen to for any fan of soulful post-rock (several extracts here).
Their second album titled "Everyone I Ever Met" should come out next November but the first single "We Can Make It Out" is just out and I have to say it is as good as it gets. Without a doubt my second big indie shock of the year following the fantastic latest Broken Social Scene album (reviewed here).
So put the volume of the below (beautiful) video up and let this refreshing indie gem take the control.
Courtesy of Ninjatune, you can also listen (and/or dwlnd) out the powerful remix from Yppah.
I think I love it even more than the original.
Counter Records, le sous-label rock de la galaxie Ninjatune va prochainement sortir le second album de "Spokes", jeune groupe post-rock originaire de Manchester, déjà auteur en 2008 d'un sublime opus intitulé "People Like People Like You". "We Can Make It Out", le premier extrait de ce second album qui s'appellera "Everyone I Ever Met" est disponible depuis quelques jours et c'est une petite merveille. Après le fantastique dernier album de mes chouchous Broken Social Scene, c'est la seconde grosse claque indie que je reçois cette année. Alors en attendant l'album complet, montez le son du lien youtube, fermez les yeux (ou pas vu la qualité du clip) et laisser cet ovni euphorisant prendre le contrôle... Pour encore plus de sensations checkez le puissant remix de Yppia qui nous est offert par Ninjatune!
Here is an album I have been expecting these last few months as I particularly enjoyed Uk singer Andreya Triana first featurings with artists such as Flying Lotus or Bonobo (on his brilliant latest LP called "Black Sands, review here).
This positive impression was also confirmed with the release earlier this year of her first solo single "Lost Where I Belong", a beautiful "folkish" song where her deep voice blends perfectly with a Bonobo-made acoustic melody.
So here it is!
This first Lp, also titled "Lost Where I Belong", produced by Bonobo on Ninjatune is a rather short album with only 9 tracks. Suffice it to say this is more than enough to demonstrate the lady's songwriting and interpretation talent!
On a musical frame oscillating between folk, soul and downtempo, Andreya delivers her river of words in an intimate way. Sweet as she may be, her voice offers a subtle dose of harshness and gravity that give her work a feeling of maturity and genuineness.
True, I had hoped that she would have explored more musical universes than downtempo ballads in this Lp as she brilliantly did in her multiple prior collaborations as a guest (electro, funkier sounds...). Let's say she has ample time to widen her solo scope in future productions!
Having seen her for a great short live shocase with Fink and Bonobo earlier this year during Gilles Peterson's worldwide awards (review here) I hope she'll be soon presenting live this album in small and intimate venues.
Below a streaming of one of my favorite track, "Draw The Stars", where the complicity with Bonobo's magical musical atmosphere is at his best :
And a beautiful acoustic version of the single, "Lost Where I Belong" :
Welcome to "Nudisco treats"!
