• Music

    Bernard Purdie – Purdie Good!

    Imagine having a resume working with the following acts: James Brown, The Beatles, Jeff Beck, Hummingbird, Steely Dan, Aretha Franklin,Gil Scott-Heron, King Curtis, The Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Randy Brecker, Quincy Jones, Hall & Oates, Isaac Hayes, Cat Stevens, Hair and Larry Coryell among so many others. Bernard “Pretty” Purdie is something akin to an institution in modern drumming. This album, reissued by Prestige Records, is one of his more mellow jazz excursions.  The sound is meaty, and it shows off a pleasant finesse he has with percussion.  His touch is about as golden as it gets as…

  • Music

    Various Artists – Zona Electronica

    Zoharum are one of Poland’s longest-lasting experimental, ambient, minimal and industrial/dub/illbient labels.  On January 30, they released a comp of musicians who are critical in Poland’s underground music scene.  Among familiar names, of course, are Jeff Gburek, Hubert Heathertoes and Mike Majkowski, but the new names I’m hearing on this release are equally as intriguing.  Zoharum have done sterling work documenting the current goings-on of their local scene.

  • Music

    Gui Duvignau – Baden

    Bassist and composer Gui Duvignau was born in France, but raised in Brazil.  In his latest album, he interprets some classic work by the legendary Brazilian guitarist Baden Powell, whose work left an indelible mark on the samba and bossa nova scene worldwide.

  • Music

    Dragon & Jettenbach – Tales from the Algorithm

    This is so pleasantly dark and focused that I don’t think calling it ambient would do it justice.  Dragon & Jettenbach are a project out of the United Kingdom who produce a sound that, while bleak, is also musically organized, reminding me of some of the modern Berlin School electronic artists of the 1980s, mixed with a vibe one would have heard from post-Industrial music on cassette during the same time period.  As this is the period where I was reared on great music, it brings a sense of nostalgia to me, and I feel that, for those between 40…

  • Music

    Chris Conway – When Pianos Dream

    Though his bio on Bandcamp calls him a superlative jazz pianist, I would have to add that Chris Conway handles modern classical music with as much aplomb.  He has also worked with some stellar musicians, including Guy Barker, Andy Sheppard, Stan Sulzman, Martin Speake and the legendary Finnish sax player Sakari Kukko (leader of Piirpauke) amongst others. This album, released today, I believe, is a collection of improvisations and ambient electronic music he gathered while working with the United Isolation Ensemble, of which he is a member.  How ECM Records hasn’t signed such a prodigious talent is beyond me, but…

  • Music

    Mong Tong 夢東 – Mystery 秘神

    We had the pleasure of reviewing Mong Tong last year.  They have produced yet another surreal post-progressive electronic gem.  On this album, there are elements of post-rock, modified traditional Taiwanese music, but also the eerie grooves which would do bands like Goblin proud, as the creepiness is quite subtle.  Read their Bandcamp site for a more in-depth account of this latest album.

  • Music

    ‘t Geruis – Slow Dance on Moss Beds

    Our dear friends at Lost Tribe Sound start the year with two powerful releases, though I’ll concentrate on one today (with the other in the next week or so).  This one is by Belgian composer ‘t Geruis (a rather unusual name, which, in Dutch, means “The Noise” or “The Murmur“).  The album, at least the four rather remarkable tracks available to hear, have a grainy, organic quality to the loops which build and collapse in a still-life manner.  The music has more in common with graphic art or experimental film than it does with cold, staid experimental music.  Quite an…

  • Music - Uncategorized

    Various Artists – Mainstream Funk: Funk, Soul, Spiritual Jazz 1971-1975

    From the label’s Bandcamp site: Wewantsounds continues its collaboration with Bob Shad’s formidable label Mainstream Records, to present a selection of 12 turntable-friendly tracks recorded between 1971 and 1975 and showcasing the label’s superb blend of Spiritual Jazz, Funk and Soul by the likes of Buddy Terry, Sarah Vaughan, LaMont Johnson and Johnny Coles. Most of the tracks are released on vinyl for the first time since their original release in the early 70s. What makes this comp so incredibly tasty is the heavy spiritual jazz vibe crossing wires with Melodie’s that easily evoke singers like Marvin Gaye’s most crucial…

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    Various Artists – Tape Rolling! with Bunny Lee and Friends

    England’s Pressure Sounds continue to release mind-blowingly good reggae compilations.  This one features the production work of Bunny Lee pairing up with such luminaries as Eric Donaldson (whose raw version of Cherry Oh Baby adds grit to the warmly produced original. From the Bandcamp release website: “In 1971, despite his run of hits, Bunny Lee was still having to support himself with freelance producing at Dynamic Sounds, but by 1974 he was fully independent and poised to dominate Jamaican music in the mid 70’s. The tracks on this compilation capture that moment of transition, when the smaller ghetto producers were…