Music RECORDS JAZZ & WORLD
JAZZ TOM BANCROFT: TRIO RED First Hello to Last Goodbye (Interrupto) ●●●●● Led by Scottish drummer Bancroft, Trio Red’s impressionism can be so subtle it’s barely there, but at its best their thoughtful exploration of space and sonic detail is as emotionally affecting as it is musically intriguing. A mash-up of Joan Armatrading’s ‘Opportunity’ and Ornette Coleman’s ‘Lonely Woman’ deftly balances stillness and movement, with Cawley’s airy piano suspensions and Bancroft’s delicate shuffles threatening to drift into the ether, only to be pulled back by Monk-via-John Cage prepared piano clunks and Zanussi’s slurred bass figures. Meanwhile, Bancroft’s homage to Rickie Lee Jones’ ‘Don’t Break Your Heart’ shows his knack for classic balladry. (Stewart Smith)
JAZZ WILLIAM PARKER Centering. Unreleased Early Recordings 1976–1987 (No Business) ●●●●● This revelatory six disc set brings to light recordings from avant-garde bassist, composer and improviser William Parker. Moving from thrillingly intense loft jazz duos with saxophonists Daniel Carter and Charles Gayle to stunning big band sets, Centering is testament to Parker’s creative brilliance. The way he breaks a 13-piece group down to squealing and honking alto and baritone is inspired, while his use of female vocalists for cosmic abstractions and soulful refrains rivals Sun Ra. Big Moon Ensemble’s free bop is all squalling trumpets, arco bass and torrential drums, while the Centering Dance Music Ensemble’s ‘Dawn Voice’ suite, with its eerie clarinet and violins, is breathtaking. (Stewart Smith)
WORLD JANKA NABAY & THE BUBU GANG En Yay Sah (Luaka Bop) ●●●●● WORLD STAFF BENDA BILILI Bouger Le Monde (Crammed Discs) ●●●●●
Famed as the moderniser of bubu music, a traditional style from Sierra Leone, Janka Nabay has hooked up with Brooklyn musicians for this Western debut released on David Byrne’s world music record label. En Yay Sah sympathetically upgrades his sound with dubby bass, stinging guitar leads and sci-fi synth and organ. Jon Leland’s electronic drums bring a real-time swing to the futuristic jackhammer sound of Nabay’s drum machines. ‘Feba’ (‘Look- Alike’) is an arresting opener, with Nabay recalling the conflict which saw him leave his homeland. ‘Tay Su Tan-Tan’, with its sunny keyboard riff, is a fantastic showcase for Nabay’s gruff interplay with Syrian-born Boshra AlSaadi’s lush backing vocals. (Stewart Smith)
The story of Staff Benda Bilili is inspiring: four disabled musicians from the Democratic Republic of Congo who formed a band with homeless teenagers, rehearsing in Kinshasa zoo and playing on the streets until their discovery by producer Vincent Kenis. Success hasn’t divorced them from their roots: they continue to live in Kinshasa and have founded a school for disabled kids. This second album is a polished and
punchy affair, but no less charming and idiosyncratic than their hit 2009 debut, Très Très Fort. The rhumba rhythms and soulful melodies lift the soul, while the seven vocalists bring much character. And of course, there are Roger Landu’s wailing tin can and string solos, sounding like Hendrix at 45 rpm. (Stewart Smith)
68 THE LIST 23 Aug–20 Sep 2012
RECORD APPRECIATION CLUB CLASSIC ALBUM SUNDAYS S
What’s the difference been hearing and listening? One answer might be that the former is passive and the latter is active. Like the difference between turning up at work and actually working. With music, one byproduct of broadband and streaming technologies – where everything is available, on demand, forever – is how passively we listen to music now. Even when it’s not competing with the noise of the kitchen, workplace or car engine, it’s always something we can abandon and come back to later. Combine this with an audio quality limited by the spec of mass-produced hardware, YouTube’s streaming rate and the ubiquity of headphone listening everywhere and you can begin to understand why Classic Album Sundays has quickly grown from its London roots into a worldwide programme of events.
Seeking to encourage active listening through ‘a
communal and audiophile listening experience’, the first Edinburgh event visited the Fringe last Sunday and hits Glasgow in September. The album? Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. So what’s it like? Well, the afternoon session taking place
as part of a weekend of events at Edinburgh hi-fi temple Loud and Clear began with a passionate introduction by American Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, who set up Classic Album Sundays, she says, ‘out of necessity’, to encourage the act of listening to music back towards being ‘an immersive experience’. OK, much like hiring a yacht, part of it is experiencing a
music system you may never own, but it’s the social aspect of the event that’s central – browsing the racks of 180mg vinyl brought in by Newport’s Diverse Music, listening to related music beforehand and talking about it with other music lovers over some impressively high-end drinks and snacks. ‘This is absolutely not about a £90,000 hi-fi system,’ says
Loud and Clear’s John Carroll. ‘Music being freely available everywhere has resulted in it being devalued as an artform – something that you listen to in the background whilst you read email or do something else – we’re trying to counteract that.’ And yes, it sounds great. Most notably, drums sound like drums, and I certainly heard things in there I’d never heard before – even after stretches of heavy listening to this particular album (on tape, of course) that only a teenager is capable of. Primarily though, it’s the enforced absence of other activity that defines the experience. Much like the difference between watching a film on TV and in the cinema, Classic Album Sundays seeks to create an group environment for listening to music that goes some way to acknowledge the effort that went into making it. (Hamish Brown) ■ Classic Album Sundays, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Berkeley Suite, Glasgow, Sun 30 Sep, 5pm–8.30pm, £6.