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MUSIC | Records – Jazz & World
JAZZ & WORLD EXPOSURE
JAZZ STEVE LEHMAN Sélébéyone (Pi Recordings) ●●●●● Composer and saxophonist Steve Lehman is one of the sharpest conceptualists in contemporary jazz. Here, he aims to create an uncompromising jazz and hip hop fusion in which all elements are fully integrated. Rather than have his band recreate hip hop loops in real time and then improvise over them, Lehman has developed complex tracks in which the MCs flow and horn players blow over asymmetric beats and shifting metres. The manic Wolof chatter of Senegalese rapper Gaston Bandimic is a good match for HPrizm's gruff New York philosophising, and both MCs negotiate the metrical hurdles and rhythmic traps Lehman sets for them with remarkable skill. Drummer Damion Reid sets off a series of controlled explosions around Lehman and co-composer Maciek Lasserre’s intricate drum programming, while keyboardist Carlos Homs creates sonic fictions from spectral harmony.
JAZZ NATE WOOLEY, HUGO ANTUNES, JORGE QUEIJO, MÁRIO COSTA, CHRIS CORSANO Purple Patio (No Business) ●●●●●
Chris Corsano can do the job of several drummers at once, so teaming him with two other percussion maestros might seem like overkill. It’s testament to the skill and musicality of this US-Portuguese quintet that Purple Patio sounds as open as it does. While Corsano can play with astonishing speed and agility, he’s primarily interested in extending the sonic range of the drumkit. As such, he’s a brilliant foil for fellow drummers Jorge Queijo and Mário Costa, as well as Nate Wooley, one of the most innovative trumpet practitioners around. The first few minutes are a high-energy stramash, but it soon settles into a more exploratory mood, with Wooley working through a series of ideas while the drummers find ways to resist the gravitational pull of Hugo Antunes’ bass.
WORLD NOURA MINT SEYMALI Arbina (Glitterbeat) ●●●●● When Noura Mint Seymali played Glasgow's Counterflows festival in 2015, she instigated a full-blown Scottish-Mauritanian ceilidh, the audience dancing wildly in a circle to her band’s psychedelic desert-rock. Her second album Arbina wisely eschews guests and gimmicks to focus on the essentials: Seymali’s soaring, intricate vocals, and the warm storm of her husband Jeiche Ould Chighaly’s guitars, backed by a fluid rhythm section steeped in funk, reggae and rock. Chigaly burns through hypnotic riffs and serpentine coils of quarter-tone flash, while Seymali declaims majestically, a true 21st-century griot.
WORLD METÁ METÁ MM3 (Jazz Village/PIAS) ●●●●●
2016 has been a strong year for Brazilian avant-rock, with septugenerian Elza Soares receiving deserved acclaim for her searing The Woman At The End of the World. Metá Metá might be younger, but their ‘samba sujo’ (dirty samba) pulls off a similar trick of fusing the melodic delicacy of Brazilian song with the energy of punk. Metá Metá guitarist Kiko Dinucci was a key player on that album, and brings jagged post-punk riffs, spacey textures and buoyant Afropop licks to the rhythm section’s chunky grooves here. Saxophonist Thiago Franca plays a largely melodic role, making occasional forays into free-jazz all the more exciting, while Juçara Marçal is a compelling vocalist.
WORLD PAT THOMAS Coming Home: Original Ghanaian Highlife & Afro- beat Classics 1967–1981 (Strut) ●●●●● Pat Thomas, aka ‘The Golden Voice of Africa’ released his first international studio album last year, a self- titled effort with the Kwashibu Area Band. The album found the great Ghanaian singer in fine voice. This compilation fills in the back story, taking us from the highlife of the late 60s, through to the Afrobeat classics of the 70s. Highlights include the remarkable electro-disco banger ‘Gyae Su’ and two fierce collaborations with the mighty Ebo Taylor. (All reviews by Stewart Smith)
SAVAGE MANSION
It’s all potent power pop and dreamy fuzz from Glasgow’s Savage Mansion. Comprising Craig Angus and pals – namely Catholic Action’s Jamie Dubber and Andrew MacPherson, plus Rapid Tan’s Taylor Stewart – the group have an EP on the way in October. We caught up with Angus for a chat about the record, civic pride and who they rate on the scene these days. On their upcoming EP All the songs on Everyone to the Savage Mansion were written in the space of a week – it was quite liberating. I’d recently moved back to my parents’ house and I was crossing paths with people from my childhood and adolescence, and my cat had just died, so there was a lot going on in my head.
On their creative workings I write all the songs, I demo them by myself and send them to everyone and then we jam it out. At that point they improve significantly. I’m lucky to have the other guys on board, they’re absolutely brilliant musicians and they’ve all made contributions to the songs that make them what they are. On their peers Spinning Coin are excellent – they’re doing things on their own terms and reaching people who don’t like them just because they’ve been hyped relentlessly. I’m a big fan of the Yawns and Sean [Armstrong, Yawns vocalist]’s solo stuff. Lush Purr are excellent too. Anxiety are incredible and one of the best live acts I’ve seen in a long time.
On Scotland’s music scene There’s so many folk making music it’s hard to keep up, which is a positive thing. There’s a community spirit, y’know? But I listen to music from all over the place and don’t let the civic pride take over too much. I notice a lot of the bands are making connections across the UK and Europe and putting on like-minded bands. That kind of networking keeps everyone going. (As told to Kirstyn Smith) ■ Everyone to the Savage Mansion is out via Cool Your Jets on Fri 7 Oct.