Jack Mayesh – You Carry My Hope: Judeo​-​Spanish Songs in Los Angeles, Sept. 1942 – Feb. 1943

Canary Records is at it again.  As a Los Angelino, I have to say I didn’t know there was much of a Judeo-Spanish community here, though it does make sense, as many Spanish and Mexican families may very well have Sephardic roots hidden from the Catholic majority.  The recordings are spectacular considering the age of the shellacs (thanks to Ian Nagoski’s incredible mastering work), and it’s nice to hear Jack Mayesh crooning in a Spanish from another angle.

Robert Scott Thompson – Placid

Robert Scott Thompson, the ambient music alchemist, has released several new albums recently, but I wanted to start with Placid, a rather chilling work that references works by the maestros (Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Klaus Schulze), a touch of Warszawa-period Brian Eno/David Bowie, and his own more musical compositional bent.