list.co.uk/music JAZZ & WORLD
JAZZ DJANGO BATES Beloved Confirmation (LM) ●●●●●
British pianist Bates pays homage to Charlie Parker through the idiosyncratic deconstruction of bebop classics, twisting the alto sax legend’s lines into weird shapes, while retaining their puckish sense of adventure. Bates’ knotty improvisations and skewed Monk-like basslines are fiendishly clever, but full of life and beauty, bursting into flurries of birdsong. Bassist Peter Eldh and drummer Peter Bruun match Bates’ creativity, rolling in like a steam train on ‘We Are Not Lost . . .’ before a drunken stumble around time signatures. On Bacharach and David’s ‘A House Is Not A Home’, the trio is joined by singer Ashley Slater and a swelling reverb, turning notes into phantoms. (Stewart Smith)
WORLD FANGA/MAALEM ABDALLAH GUINEA Fangnawa Experience (Strut) ●●●●● A collaboration between French collective Fanga and Moroccan maalem (master musician) Abdallah Guinea, Fangnawa Experience seeks to fuse Gnawa, the sacred music of North Africa, with the more familiar (to Western ears) sound of West Africa. Fanga have the latter styles down to a tee, adding a heady dose of electric Miles Davis shimmer to their funk grooves, baritone sax and guitars. Their lively sound complements Guinea’s gruff vocals, but the most striking moments come when Fanga step back and let the maalem’s gimbri (three-string lute) ring out in all its plaintive, stubbly beauty. A successful fusion and an appetite-whetting introduction to Gnawa. (Stewart Smith)
WORLD VARIOUS Diablos Del Ritmo: The Colombian Melting Pot 1960-1985 (Analog Africa) ●●●●● Analog Africa cross the Atlantic for this testament to the hybrid sounds of the Caribbean: Puya, Porro, Gaita, Cumbiamba, Mapale, Chande, Terapia, Palenque and Afrobeat. In the Colombian melting pot of the title African, Latin American, European and indigenous flavours are blended to create a
heady brew of hot rhythms, energetic vocals and distinctive instrumental voicings. Fuentes Allstars and Wganda Kenya bring the funk, while Los Salvajes blow their
golden horns. But perhaps most striking are the curveballs such as Andres Landero’s rowdy accordion jam or Cumbia Soledena’s ‘El Garabato’. (Stewart Smith)
JAZZ WILLIAM PARKER ORCHESTRA Essence of Ellington (Centering) ●●●●● The Wynton Marsalis paradox: the works of jazz legends deserve to be celebrated, but by treating them like classical repertoire, you lose jazz’s spirit of spontaneity and invention. It’s that essence that William Parker taps into so successfully on this glorious tribute to Sir Duke’s innovative genius, leading a peerless free jazz orchestra through radical Ellington
interpretations. Ellington built his arrangements around his musicians’ personalities; an approach Parker shares, giving solos to tenor saxophonist Kidd Jordan and pianist Dave Burrell (a sophisticated thunderstorm), while allowing the ensemble to improvise, pushing the music in several directions while swinging like crazy. (Stewart Smith)
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SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
Such was The List’s excitement at the joys contained in the Singles & Downloads sandbox this month that we thought we’d try a wee experiment. How about, we thought, if we could get to the end of this column without mentioning any of the crap? Then let’s start with Glasgow’s Deadline Shakes ‘Sweeten the Deal’ (Flowers in the Dustbin) ●●●●●, which is really good, a winsome, mandolin-led blast of power-country of the sort Kassidy wish they were making.
It’s a big month in minimal, techy alternapop from the mighty How to Dress Well ‘& It Was U’ (Weird World) ●●●●●, a slice of lithe, sexy digisoul set to a warm rap beat, and the first effort from Jets ‘Jets EP’ (Leisure System) ●●●●●, the new project from Jimmy Edgar and Machinedrum. They’ve only given us one track (‘Lock Lock Key Key’), but it’s a sub- tle, glitching dancefloor monster in the same vein as TNGHT, HudMo’s recent collaboration with Lunice.
The Dave ‘TV On the Radio’ Sitek-produced Telepathe ‘Destroyer’ (Federal Prism) ●●●●● is a power-anthem which leans towards the genre of wintry, feminine-voiced balladry, a nice segue into Poliça ‘Lay Your Cards Out’ (Memphis Industries) ●●●●●, if you can imagine Everything But the Girl gone R&B, and the tender tidal wave of Daughter ‘Smother’ (4AD) ●●●●●.
The experiment’s going well, although to head for a home run we’re going to tread softly past some merely quite good songs (sorry, Animal Collective and How to Swim), although The Temper Trap ‘Miracle’ (Infectious) ●●●●● narrowly scrapes in for sounding like a cross between The Script and a mid-90s trance compilation by Sasha. As for Single of the Fortnight, we’d love to give it to the insufferably catchy Yeasayer ‘Reagan’s Skeleton’ (Mute) ●●●●●, but Rennes Les Bains Clan (pictured) ‘What You Fighting For’ (Flowers in the Dustbin) ●●●●● has grabbed our attention, a sharp and incisive protest song set to a boiled-down, Specials-like kind of North African ska. (David Pollock)
Buddy Morrow and his Spooky Friends Music to Scare Your Neighbours (Fingertips) ●●●●● A jazz reissue, based on writings of Edgar Allan Poe. Expect a 50s drive-thru movie feel and a beatnik-styled English lecturer telling tales along to spooky, doo wop jazz melodies. Dead Sea Souls We Were Always Electric (Big Rock Candy) ●●●●● West Lothian skanking. And some very knowing lyrics about the cynicism and snobbery of the music scene, especially at the unsigned end of things. One for fans of Twin Atlantic’s high- energy riffery.
Trapped Mice Winter Sun (Armellodie) ●●●●● A debut LP from five guys from Edinburgh, using horse hooves, accordions, spoken word and lyrics about ‘longing, confusion . . . and the good fight for artistic credibility’. Earnest, melancholy avant-folk.
Keser Audeamus (Alex Tronic) ●●●●● Ambient Eno-esque electronica from Gavin Clark and Kevan Whitley, put out by Leith label Alex Tronic, with atmospheric, New Agey vibes, and an aptly titled opener ‘Aqua Aura’ – meaning ‘natural crystal coated in gold fumes’.
James Walsh Lullaby (Smith & Songs) ●●●●● James ‘Starsailor’ Walsh joins Sacha Skarbek (hit-writer for Lana del Ray & James Blunt) on this underwhelming rock concept LP, inspired by Chuck ‘Fight Club’ Palahnuik’s tale of a deeply chilling baby- killing African lullaby. Mudhoney Live In Berlin, 1988 (!K7 Records) ●●●●● A DVD of Mark Arm and co the first time they played abroad, paving the way for grunge to take over the 90s. A satisfying mess of long hair, on-the-knees riffage, wailing and their usual, entertaining onstage dicking about.
18 Oct–15 Nov 2012 THE LIST 89