The Whole Music Experience

World / Native American   R. Carlos Nakai Will Clipman Awakening the Fire Canyon Records What happens when R. Carlos Nakai’s flowing flute weds Will Clipman’s tribal beats? In the liner notes for Awakening the Fire , this duo explores the contrasting realms of the Native American flute, a melodic instrument and structured percussion.  One instrument lives outside of time and space, while the other instruments mark time.  Here we have free flowing building a bridge with rhythmic structure and the musicians accomplish a virtually impossible fete where each instrument gives space to the other.  This could only happen with two musicians who have known and worked with each other for a long time.  This takes cooperation, compromise, and excellent listening skills, which Nakai and Clipman possess in abundance. When combined, the exotic percussion (Clipman has a special room full of global percussion and the intuition to always choose the right...

Gilad Atzmon & Orient House Ensemble Songs for the Metropolis World Village The last album I reviewed by saxophonist Gilad Atzmon and his Orient House Ensemble revisited cabaret-style jazz.  However, on this round, the quartet sticks with American-style jazz which the musicians graft onto impressions of metropolises from around the globe, including the chic destinations of Paris, Manhattan, Buenos Aries, and so on.  Songs of the Metropolis opens with Paris which features a conversation between sweet piano and a soft saxophone.  The rambunctious Tel Aviv follows allowing the musicians to have a bit of fun. The musicians tone it down for a sulky visit to Buenos Aries and the saxophone appears to shed tears.  Here we imagine unrequited love, tango dancers abandoned, alone on the dance floor.  We could expect the late tango master Astor Piazzolla to show up with his bandoneon.  And although this track drips with exquisite perspir...