The Whole Music Experience

Mario Romano Quartet Valentina Alma Records Opening with the chestnut, Night in Tunisia , Mario Romano Quartet brings a “Latin tinge” to the debut album, Valentina . It’s hard to imagine that a man who runs a construction company in Toronto, Mario Romano also possesses an extraordinary gift as a pianist. In fact, the press notes cite that Romano waited 40 years before following through on his passion for music. In a way that ‘s a shame, given that jazz audiences waited 4 decades to enjoy Romano’s musical gift.   But on the other hand, he brings maturity, grace, and elegance to his debut album. Sometimes we just have to wait. Romano’s Latin-style piano playing is immersed in Pat LaBarbera’s stunning tenor saxophone, Mark Kelso’s syncopated drumming; and held down by Roberto Occhipinti’s bass. The four musicians travel through mostly jazz standards such as Dizzy Gillespie’s Night in Tunisia , the Beatles’ Norwegian Wood , Jacques Pervert Autumn Leaves (perfect timin...

Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu Bernstein, Gershwin, Novacek, D’Rivera American Music for Clarinet and Piano Harmonia Mundi The clarinet either rubs people the wrong way or in the right hands, enchants its listeners. The reed instrument finds itself in the right hands with Jon Manasse when he pairs up with pianist John Nakamatsu, performing compositions by Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, John Novacek and Paquito d’Rivera. On the recording, American Music for Clarinet and Piano , listeners (even those who don’t enjoy the clarinet), find themselves immersed in a diverse range of musical genres, from blues to nuevo tango, jazz, and of course, American classical. Bernstein and Gershwin of course need no introduction unless you’re reading this review from a remote part of the world. But outside of Pan-Latin jazz, Paquito d’Rivera might be new to listeners’ ears (though hardly new to mine), and John Novacek (the youngest composer on the recording, in his 40s), actually waxes...

Suzanna Owiyo My Roots Kirkelig Kulturverksted Skruk and Mahsa Vahdat In the Mirror of Wine Kirkelig Kulturverksted The Norwegian label Kirkelig Kulturverksted champions women and has been doing so for decades. In the few years that I’ve been reviewing recordings produced by KKV, I’ve come across several compilation albums that brought women musicians from around the world together to fight injustice and celebrate their womanhood. The women that appear on the label lean towards community organizing, championing worthy causes, and employing their musical gifts to better the world, especially their corner of it. I’m thinking of Palestinian vocalist/composer Rim Banna who visits the refugee camps and loans her talents to furthering peace for the Palestinians, and I’m thinking of the Iranian sisters Marjan and Mahsa Vahdat who defied the ban on Iranian women singing in public and gave a concert at the Italian Embassy in Tehran ( Songs from a Persian Garden )....

Marina Rossell Clàssics Catalans… Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona World Village Only an accomplished vocalist/folkloric interpreter could open a concert with a fragile love song sung a cappella ( Touch Me ) and nearly bring the house down. However, Mariana Rossell, a Catalan folkloric specialist delivers a commanding performance ripe with heartfelt emotions. On her CD,  Gran Teatre Del Liceu  from the concert released in 2009 on World Village, I could already hear Rossell’s immaculate phrasing, and felt amazed at the life she breathed into 100 year old songs. The DVD concert offers an hour and half of sheer pleasure as the collection of songs reflecting about love, death, patriotism for Catalonia, and defiance. And if that’s not enough, Rossell treats each story as if they’re her own and she’s a consummate storyteller too. The DVD, Clàssics Catalans provides the entire sold-out concert along with a 30 minute documentary about a handful of the songs Rossell perfo...

Randall Paskemin Good Night Sweet Dreams to You, I Love You Native American Lullabies and Songs for Children Canyon Records Talibah Navajo Songs for Children Canyon Records Plains Cree Indian and a loving father of several children, Randall Paskemin brings us a collection of gentle songs which can be sung to children at bedtime or anytime. Sung in a round dance style with the calm pulse of the mother earth heartbeat drum, Paskemin sings mainly in English and has provided lyrics to the songs on his album Good Night Sweet Dreams to You, I Love You. While these songs feel sweet and simple enough for a young child to grasp and even sing along, I believe that the tranquility presented in each song could also assist adults in relaxing after a challenging day. Use these songs as de-stressors for the entire family (provided you don’t have teens that rebel against the idea). Therapists of all stripes could also apply this love-felt music to healing the inner child. While the s...

Huun Huur Tu Ancestors Call World Village There are few musical cultures left on the planet that take us to a deeply primal place and even some of those cultures, mainly hailing from indigenous people have been swallowed up by electronic music or turned into popular culture in the form of world music. But for any of you who have listened to an a cappella Saami yoik, a traditional Navajo chant, Aboriginal didgeridoo, Tibetan nomadic music, or Tuvan throat-singing have experienced that deep primal place. Your root chakra opens. Shamanism and music were wedded to each other hundreds of thousands of years ago. The first flutes, drums, harps, etc were put to shamanic use, as were many of the early singing traditions. These shamans knew about the power and intent of sound and put it to good use either healing others in some way or put it to bad use through sorcery to trip up an adversary. But even without any prior knowledge of shamanism or ancient musical practices, a music list...

Mike Marshall An Adventure 1999-2009 Adventure Music I’m not sure that a prolific musician such as master mandolin player Mike Marshall needs a retrospective. The musician’s output is already on this side of incredible and he’s teamed up with just about every kind of musician out there from early music to bluegrass players and Brazilian legends. His album with the Swedish trio Vasen made sense too because similar to the musicians that comprise Vasen, Marshall also knows his way around winding musical roads. On the other hand, to take in the wide scope and breadth of Marshall’s work on the Adventure Music label, lasting over a decade now, a retrospective places this musician’s work in perspective. His musical output has been phenomenal --not just in the number of albums released, but in his versatility and adaptability to varying musical genres. This guy performs virtuoso mandolin in so many musical languages that it must cause listeners’ heads to spin. I’m not talking Lind...

Septeto Nacional Iganacio Piñeiro ¡Sin Rumba no hay Son! World Village Fans of old-style Cuban son unite. Get ready to dance. In its 9th decade Septeto Nacional Iganacio Piñeiro sizzles and the 14 tracks that appear on ¡Sin Rumba no hay Son! run the gamut from soulful ballads to sole-burning son habaneros and rumba-tinged sons. The crisp, clear production on the recording brings out the sparkling horns, lush clave-lead rhythms, and shimmering très. The musicians run a tight ship performing one punchy song after another to the point where it’s almost impossible not to leap out of this chair and dance. Seductive, oh, yes! This is Cuban son at its finest, and well, this national treasure had 90 years to perfect their craft. Similar to wine vintage, Cuban son also grows better with age. Now featuring its 4th generation of players, Eugenio Rodrìguez in his perfectly modulated voice leads the way. He’s equally at home on a fast number like the opener Embale tiene la llave ...

Jovino Santos Neto (and friends) Veja O Som (See the Sound) 2 CDs Adventure Music The music that Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Jovino Santos Neto performs and composes possesses a sunny vibration. This warm vibration won’t toast you, but leave you feeling warm and slightly tingly when listening to his new recording, See the Sound . Certainly I find Jovino’s music falling on the healthier side of things as I find much of Brazilian jazz and traditional music. On See the Sound (title derived from a quote at a recording session), involves some world travel, 20 fabulous duets with North and South American musicians, and performances not soon to be forgotten any time soon. Let’s start with the list of musical duo partners which includes: David Sanchez (tenor sax), Mike Marshall (mandocello and mandolin), Gretchen Parlato (voice), Paquito d’Rivera (C clarinet), Bill Frisell (electric guitar), Airto Moreira (voice, percussion), Tom Lellis (voice, shaker), Anat Cohen (so...

A Romance on Three Legs Glenn Gould’s Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano Katie Hafner Bloomsbury USA In 1982 or 1983 I experienced a supernatural encounter in a department store in north Bellingham. My mother and I both recall me walking up to one of those electronic keyboards in fashion at the time, turning it on, and then playing something virtuosic. I only remember turning the keyboard on and then waking from a trance and seeing a small crowd of people standing around applauding. My mother recalls the actual impromptu performance. Prior to this “episode” I had never taken piano lessons, thought I sucked as a musician based on a personal tragedy I experienced when I auditioned for the high school band and I had nearly flunked music theory at Western Washington University. I had given up the notion of ever pursuing my dream career as a musician or composer until a boost of confidence from the department store incident changed the course of my life. That was my firs...

Cèdric Tiberghien Chopin Mazurkas, Polonaise-Fantaisie, Scherzo and Nocturne Harmonia Mundi Listening to a Chopin piece feels like the equivalent to luxuriating in a delicious cup of tea. The Romantic era Polish composer/pianist’s compositions alternating between introspective and invigorating. His work centered on one instrument, the piano for the most part and this deeply expressive music can and does rival bigger orchestrated works of the Romantic Era. Perhaps Chopin represented the microcosm in relation to the macrocosm or the individual in relation to the whole. Even the piano/composer virtuoso Franz Liszt praised his contemporary. In the CD liner notes, Lizst cites, “…By restricting himself to the exclusive framework of the piano, Chopin has in our view demonstrated one of the most essential qualities for an author: a sure appreciation of form in which he is capable of excelling.” A half a century after Chopin composed his music, French Impressionist composer Maur...

Ravi Shankar Raga (A Film Journey into the Soul of India) Archival DVD 1971/2010 East Meets West Music/Harmonia Mundi When you think about it, times haven’t changed all that much since the late 1960s. Sure, the 1960s and 70s were littered with drugs, drop-out mentality and multimedia distractions in contrast to today’s distractions including the Internet, I-Pads and other digital devices, the same problem remains which is the lack of attention spans and impatience. Traditions that were revived in the 1950s and 60s through the return to cultural roots re-emerged with world music, but again we are faced with the digital distractions, including drum machines and synthetic instruments wedded to more traditional acoustic ones. One of Pandit Ravi Shankar’s regrets from the 1960s, portrayed in the 1971 documentary Raga (A Film Journey into the Soul of India) was the distractions and impatience found in people from the West. But even in India, he laments about one of his Indian ...

Anna Prohaska and Bernarda Fink Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater Harmonia Mundi Easily one of my favorite classical music recordings for 2010, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater performed by the baroque orchestra Akademie Fur Alte Musik Berlin with soprano Anna Prohaska and alto Bernarda Fink hailing from the pianto genre. Antonio Vivaldi’s Sinfonia RV 169 (“Al Santo Sepolcro”) and Pietro Antonio Locatelli’s Concerto #4 (“Il Pianto d’Arianna”) frame Pergolesi’s masterpiece. We are also treated to Pergolesi’s Salve Regina for 2 voices. I have listened to this recording several times now and it grows in beauty and power with each listen. Stabat Mater revolves around Mother Mary and the tragic loss of her son Jesus Christ, but the tragic theme expands outward and encompasses all mothers who have lost their children prematurely and through tragic means. This could include the anguish of losing a son or daughter to war, inju...

Rahim Alhaj Little Earth (2-CDs) UR Music Miraculous, one of a dozen adjectives describes Iraqi oud player/composer Rahim Alhaj’s Little Earth . I say miraculous because musicians from mostly western musical traditions join the exiled composer on such instruments as accordion, guitar, Native American flute, and orchestral arrangements performing microtonal compositions with exotic rhythms foreign to most western listeners’ ears. And as the title of the recording suggests, the coming together of musicians from South America, the American southwest (Robert Mirabel), US, China, Cape Verde, Iran, Brazil, and Iraq certainly portrays a small world after all, (quoting the Disney classic song). On the track, Missing You/Mae Querida , Cape Verdean Maria de Barros marries a mourna (Cape Verdean lament) to Alhaj’s maqam (Arabic mode/structure), and in contrast to this composition about loss, the guitar-oud duo ( Morning In Hyattsville ), with jazz musician Bill Frisell takes on the pl...

Cree Confederation Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at Twenty-Nine Palms CD & DVD Canyon Records Bear Creek Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live at San Manuel CD & DVD Canyon Records Attending an actual pow-wow provides the best way to experience pow-wow drumming and singing. Recordings, even live recordings remove listeners too far away from the context and the dynamics of the drumming and singing, although present on recordings, acts as a poor cousin to watching the singers and drummers performing, sometimes under pressure of a competitive environment. Having said that, pow-wow song recordings provide musical teaching tools for singers and drummers, as well as, providing archival material for ethnomusicologists. These recordings provide souvenirs for those folks who were unable to attend the pow-wow. Both Cree Federation’s and Bear Creeks’ live recordings feature DVD footage of songs performed in electrically-charged pow-wow environments. You hear the master of ceremony ...

Estun-Bah (Tony Duncan, Darrin Yazzie and Jeremy Dancing Bull) From Where the Sun Rises Canyon Records It has been years since I’ve heard a contemporary acoustic Native American recording such as Estun-Bah’s From Where the Sun Rises . Inspired by the work of R. Carlos Nakai and most likely Burning Sky, here we have warm acoustic guitar playing alongside a frame drum and lilting Native American flute. The sweet rolling melodies captivate my imagination and I find these tracks deeply relaxing. No doubt From Where the Sun Rises appeals to new age and Native American music listeners, but it could also appeal to those seeking warm and uplifting music that plays in the background as they go about their work (including me). I don’t know the age of the musicians, but they look like they just graduated from high school. Though they’re musical talent reveals maturity, especially with the polished arrangements and performances. The three musicians hail from Northern Plains, Dakot...

Stile Antico Puer natus est Tudor Music for Advent and Christmas Harmonia Mundi It’s the first week of September and I’m not dreaming about the Christmas holiday. In fact, I’m clinging to the last embers of summer so why would I review 2 Christmas music albums (see the Anonymous 4 review below), this month?  Puer natus est is the second Stile Antico album I’ve heard, Song of Songs was the first. Again the young English choir sings with razor-sharp intonation and the soprano vocals possessing bell-like clarity, grounded by the tenors, baritones, basses, and altos. Stile Antico isn’t the first young early music choir I’ve heard that performs Thomas Tallis sacred works or Catholic Church music of the Tudor period (English Tudor kings and queens reign).  The Tudor Choir of Seattle can boast the same claim. And both choirs provide their audiences with compelling and stunningly beautiful programs. Certainly someone could listen to this sacred music with a rel...

The East Village Community School Songs from the East Village Independent release When I was around 7 or 8 years old my mother bought me my first record player, one of those portable players with the handle on top, mine was orange and white. She also bought me my first collection of 45s which featured old American folk and Disney tunes which my sister and I learned with much enthusiasm. My favorite song was “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” and I could sing that song all day long. And although our school district was a poor one, it provided music programs from 1-12 grades. I imagine that music even brought the community together and I certainly felt more at peace having music in my childhood years. While many grade schools especially have lost their music programs due to budget cuts, many schools find a way to incorporate music into their educational programs despite what the economy is doing or not doing. The East Village Community School in the Lower Eastside of New York City brought...