Denmark’s SteepleChase Records has a brilliant catalog worth exploring, featuring not only homegrown talent like Niels-Henning Ørsten Pedersen and Pierre Dørge but also internationally known stars like Lee Konitz, Cedar Walton, Sun Ra and the inimitable Chet Baker among others.
This particular album is led by pianist Duke Jordan, and it is one of the smoothest sounding albums I’ve heard in a while. This is going to be playing a lot on the turntable this winter.
May you, the reader, have a wonderful Fathers Day. We’ll be reviewing again tomorrow. For now, enjoy Leon Thomas grooving.
No review today because we had to send my brother packing to his new home, so in honor of his new abode, I present you with the song perhaps best associated with the city, albeit in a slightly surreal form, courtesy of the Dead Kennedys.
ISQ are a band based out of London who have managed to carve out a rather nice niche in both the alternative jazz and house music worlds. In this new release, their track, Ode To Myself, has been remixed by legendary producer Arthur Baker, who has worked his magic with bands like New Order and Afrika Bambaataa. The vocals are smooth, the beats are warm. This should make the rounds at all the summer dance hotspots. If you prefer to hear this on Bandcamp, the song can be accessed here. It sounds phenomenal as a FLAC file.
The Beatles offer up one of the most loving tributes to a mother ever written in the rock format. A Lennon-McCartney classic, and a bit of a cleansing after seeing such hateful garbage on both Twitter and Instagram regarding mothers today.
To our Eastern Orthodox friends, we wish you a blessed Pascha. Christ is Risen!
To celebrate the day, we have the legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz singing the paschal greeting in Greek and Arabic.
As we celebrate Holy Saturday, we offer this, perhaps my favorite liturgical chant, for you, the reader, courtesy of Les Grandes Voix Bulgares.
No reviews today, as I will be celebrating Easter weekend (for those who are confused, it is because most Eastern Orthodox celebrate Easter using the Julian Calendar) with my friends. To honor Good Friday, I offer to you Tatar-Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina’s magnum opus, Sieben Worte for cello, bayan and strings. It is a composition dedicated to the last words of Jesus Christ during His passion.
For those who celebrate today, Είθε ο Θεός να μας δείξει έλεος.
Julia Hülsmann is a pianist from Bonn, Germany who has recorded quite a few stellar albums for the legendary record label ECM. This particular song is a fine rendition of This Is Not America, originally performed by David Bowie and Pat Metheny as part of the soundtrack to the film The Falcon and The Snowman.
Today, thanks to a busy schedule, no reviews will be put up (one will be edited), so I bring for your viewing pleasure the Catalonian maestro, Jordi Savall, and his troupe, Hespèrion XXI performing Lachrimæ Caravaggio. Audiophile Audition has a great writeup on the album here.