Trying to Keep Tempo with Jazz

One thing I have always wish I did better here in The Room is offer up a bit more discussion of different musical genres, particularly jazz. Sure, there have been the occasional post, but as I look back over the posts, this blog is definitely heavy in the indie-rock-folk-pop-etc. vein which does not necessarily reflect the balancing of listening that goes on here in the homefront. I think that is in part due to, at least, three things.

One, I haven't found a good way to write about music that I have listened to for a long time and have been more focused on new music. That is related to the second item which is that I don't buy as much new jazz as those other categories (or classical for that matter) which leads to the third reason, which is that I tend to think of jazz albums as having more staying power and therefore I am willing to listen to them more often over time and feel less need to search out more or new albums.

Now I believe I have a solution to the first problem which I will be trying my hand at soon. As for the third reason, while the staying power of certain jazz albums is accurate I think, it is also a mistake to assume there is not more and different efforts coming out that deserve a listen (which means I am just being lazy, right?). Which leads back to the second issue of searching out and checking out (literally) more jazz. So over the last few days, here and there, I have been trying to track down different resources for finding new jazz. Here are a few that I have found interesting and will be checking in with in one form or another.

In the obvious category, Downbeat is still the staple and serious consideration to renewing a subscription is occurring. Actually, I just need to do it, in part, because their website is, well, not really all that helpful, which I find curious.

The Checkout is an NPR a show by Josh Jackson about new jazz music which appears on the big jazz station WBGO streaming out of Newark, but The Checkout also has a great website where you can keep up with new music and hear live studio sessions like this nice interview and session last week with Gretchen Parlato whose new album is on the to get list. WBGO also has a fine blog for keeping up with the jazz goings-ons. And, of course NPR also has it's own blog devoted to jazz, A Blog Supreme, which is worth following.

Another interesting effort, which we recently tweeted about is Nextbop which is a site by two young guys trying to offer up jazz catalogs on line for folks to check out--although they have been running into a few hiccups that will be familiar to all of us who have been discussing post take downs, recording companies, and the ethics of what we try to do with music blogs.

Lastly is Jazz.com which has got a great aggregator page of perpetually updated links to all the jazz news that is breaking at other sites--just point and click. They also have a fine blog.

That is a start. Obviously there are a lot more out there and I would love to hear about resources you follow for jazz, whether they be print, web, Twitter or somewhere else. And hopefully, this will all lead to a bit more jazz talk here in The Room.

9/14/09 Update: A Blog Supreme just launched Jazz Now designed to introduce jazz artists of the present--great idea!

A Wonderful Ruckus of Music and Lyrics

Late summer. The air hangs close with humidity, the cicadas riot in the trees and the world seems overgrown from some sort of mad crush of production before fall arrives. A perfect time to talk about Frontier Ruckus. With songs that are thick with harmony, a full, backwoods acoustic folk sound and crammed full of lyrical poetry, this indie folk band from Michigan provides a bounty of sound and imagery that seems to revel in the physical and natural world while simultaneously worrying about the inevitable changes of season, spirit and time.

The album in question here is The Orion Songbook released in 2008 which you can pick up over at Quite Scientific Records. There is also an extended version with new songs an additional EP available on vinyl over at Lower Peninsula Records and there are lots of other songs for the listening over at their MySpacey Place.

I will say right off, that had I stumbled on FR last year, they would have definitely been on the list of albums from 2008 to pick up. That said, these guys are either a "like 'em or leave 'em" band for most I imagine and that has much to do with front man Matthew Milia who also writes all the songs on this album.

Let's start with the lyrics (which makes me wish we had a poet here in The Room to help with the analysis). Milia's songs, while not all the same by any stretch, are primarily a free form set of images on a theme. Some songs do have verse and chorus, but many are much more like blank verse starting with an image and pushing that forward with smart connections and related imagery. I don't think it is unfair to suggest you may think of Dylan when listening to the lyrics here (no, Dylan fans, I am not saying he is Dylan, but the form and approach is similar).

Themes are focused on love and relationships, growing up and family, religion and (to my delight) these are often overlaid with a good deal of Michigan imagery and references. As I have suggested, Milia seems very focused on the physical and natural and there is a whole lot of animals, bodies, fluids, love, plants, smell, decay, death and the everyday physicality of life (perhaps Whitman is the better reference here than Dylan?).

Now the music needs some discussion, because I imagine this will have more to do with your reaction to them. First, Milia has a very warbley, tenor voice and you gotta dig that if you are going to like this album--think Colin Meloy from The Decemberists or even Pat McDonald from Timbuk3 at times. Of course, most songs also enjoy the harmonies of Anna Burch which are key to the music (and their voices together are what made me think of Timbuk3). The two together have a wonderful sound and they sing with such sincerity it is hard not to get caught up in their singing.

Milia also plays some wonderful guitar on this album. His musical partner in crime here is David Jones who plays banjo throughout the album, providing both a steady rhythm to many tunes, and some nice fills and leads, particularly on the upbeat tunes. There are a variety of instrumentations here with harmonica, dobro, piano and trumpet added in, but we cannot finish this post without discussing the saw. Yes, the saw.

I don't think that I have another album where the singing-saw plays such a role (or any for that matter). Now not to pick on Zach Nichols who plays the saw, but it is a bit overdone here. There are songs where it is understated and add a haunting texture to the song, but then there are others where it seems like more novelty than anything and I would have preferred another instrument. But this is a small complaint in the end compared with the overall strength of this album.

Okay, so I have already told you where to go get the album, so let's check out a couple tunes. As usual with discs I really enjoy, choices are difficult. I probably could have given you a couple others to convey the full range, but here are two that I really like both musically and lyrically.

Bethlehem

Rosemont

And as an added bonus, here is one more of those great wandering around Michigan videos that made me want to hear more of this Ruckus. This also happens to be one of my favorite tunes on the album.

Dexateens Serve Up The Summer Album of 2009

Earlier, I hinted that you would be hearing about the album I thought was the find of the summer, but really all the credit goes to LD over at the The Adios Lounge who has been carrying the Dexateens torch and got me to pick up their latest effort Singlewide. I suggest that you do the same. First, a little background for those of you, who like me until three months ago, didn't even know this band.

The Dexateens are based out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and are centered around the writing, singing and playing of John Smith and Elliott McPherson. They have actually been around for a decade in one form or another and Singlewide is their fifth album as far as I can tell. A big question will be where to go in terms of other albums since this outing is so strong in my opinion. But first to the album at hand.

First off, this album hit at just the right time. The great garage country sound was perfect for the summer. The tunes are toe-tappers and laid back all at the same time. The duo sings like a southern version of the Jayhawks with their southern accents coming through loud and clear.

But this is not just a simple summer album either. The songs are varied enough in tempo and sound to keep you interested all the way through and the lyrics, while not overreaching, are solid. I mean anyone who can draw a line from Charlemagne to Jesse James through to Bob Crane has got it going on--the connection being the devil who shows up a couple times on this album. There is definitely a sense of these guys finding themselves and learning to accept who they are. The highlights in that vein are the two slow tunes "Singlewide" and "New Boy."

Ultimately, this is one of those albums I keep finding fits my mood whether I am driving, hanging out or dancing about in the kitchen while whipping up a meal.

Let me leave it there and let the music speak for itself. First up in the samples is the opener which exemplifies both the live feel of the recordings (you have to wait a moment until someone in the booth suggests they get going). Second up is perhaps my fav song, "New Boy" which captures a feeling I often have of wanting to change, but also accepting who we are: "I want to be a new boy, but I can't regret." Lastly is Charlemagne with it's intricate lyrics looking at forces that drive behavior that might be thought of as a bit on the deviant side. Could have picked just about any of the songs, so you are just going to have to pick this one up to hear it all.

Dexateens / Singlewide (Buy Album)

Down Low

New Boy

Charlemagne

Hiromi Makes Me Smile

So I realize that I haven't been bringin the love lately on the albums I have reviewed and I had every intention of posting about what has been my favorite find of the summer tonight (and promise I will in the next couple of days), but truth is it just wasn't in the cards today. I just returned from taking the family up to Cleveland this weekend where they are going to hang a few days before we head up for vacation on the big lake and had to return for a few more days of work and that just put a damper on the mood.

But while finishing up some work around the house and dealing with the prolific garden, I heard a great interview on WPFW with Hiromi Uehara who is playing at Blues Alley this weekend. Now Hiromi is someone who has been getting a lot of attention for the last few years as a young jazz/fusion piano player because one, she can play the ivory right off of the piano keys and two, because she is a young phenom who seems to attract some of the greats of jazz--Ahmad Jamal, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and more. But I am a bit stodgy about jazz, so I have my reservations.

But in her interview today, Larry Applebaum asked her what she thought success was for an artist and she said she just wanted people to smile--and was she was so damn sincere and innocent sounding, you had to believe her. So a little poking around on the tubes led me to some various tunes, and watching and listening to them, I could not help but, well, smile. And that is truly a wonderful thing. So while I am not able to offer up much critical reflection on her music (happy to hear it, if you got it), I am going to share a couple videos that will hopefully make you smile as well.

First up is some totally funked out jazz.

Next up, Oscar Peterson meets Tom and Jerry.

Son Volt's Long, Slow Trip

The new Son Volt effort, American Central Dust, has me thinking about driving across Nebraska in the summer time (and I don't mean the short way, I mean east-to-west or west-to-east). Here's the deal.

I have driven across Nebraska in the summer, both directions, a few times. There is no way to get around the fact that it is a long drive and as you make your way, you can't help but be amazed at the sameness as you pass mile after mile. There are wonderments along the way, like the moments when the Platte drops down and winds around the highway and you can't imagine how that water keeps moving through this flat plain and isn't it wonderful how it connects the mountain water from the east of the continental divide with the big ole' Miss. Or when you hit the western end of the state as you start climbing into Wyoming and the outcroppings of rock begin to appear and the fields of sunflowers bending to the slanting sunset stretch for miles. But ultimately, when you are driving through Nebraska, you are generally pretty much just looking forward to being in Wyoming or Iowa and, well, that is saying something isn't it?

And that is how I feel about the new album. There are a few interesting moments here and there, but the sameness comes across less as a well thought-out consistent collection and more as a somewhat unimaginative routine effort. I have put this album on a lot in the last few weeks since I got it along with the new Wilco album (couldn't help it), but I continue to find myself losing attention and then wondering where I am--what song I am currently listening to as it sounds a lot like the other songs?

The album opens just fine, but then never really goes anywhere. There are moments when you say that is a nice waltz, or nice low-key growly guitar, or etc. But there are just as many times that it is unremarkable at best. I could kind of dig the long, slow musical dirge as I watch the miles past theme if the lyrics were stronger, but they end up being somewhere between overstated to bad poetry for the most part.

Now, I am over-doing it a bit here--I am still hoping for another Son Volt album that I can really dig, but for now, I am going to always choose Trace or The Search from the spectrum of SV albums before this one.

So before this post starts to feel like dirving across Nebraska, here are a couple tunes to give you a sample. It was hard to choose given the sameness of the album, but here is the opener and one of the few electric guitar tunes on the album.

Son Volt (Buy Album)

Dynamite

When the Wheels Don't Move

Mike Clark: It's About the Jazz

Summertime isn't necessarily a heavy jazz-listening season for me, but I have had Mike Clark's 2008 effort stacked up in my potential blog posts for a while, so I thought we would switch gears for a minute here and talk a little jazz.

So first off, I am going to bet that the name Mike Clark is not all that familiar even to jazz listeners--at least it wasn't to me until this album. That is probably for two reasons. One, I am hopeless about attending to who plays on what album in supporting roles. Two, I am not a big fusion fan and so don't have a lot of Herbie Hancock coming through the Headhunter phase. And it is there that Mike Clark got his real recognition, playing with Hancock on several albums though the mid-70s.

But with this album, which is part of a series intended to focus on "some of jazz music's eminently worthy but less widely known innovators," Clark, according to the liner notes, is out to

defy the stereotype of my identity as a funk or fusion drummer. I have devoted my entire life to playing jazz--the music I love the most--both before and after my successful association with Herbie Hancock's Headhunters. While I made a name of myself during the early years with Hancock, specifically on the Thrust album, and I love that music, has has always been where my strongests talent lies and my devotion begins.

Many seem to believe he succeeded as this album was clearly well received, getting solid reviews including making Downbeat's Best of 2008 list.

This is definitely a strong album--with Christian McBride on bass, Patrice Rushen on piano, Christian Scott on trumpet, Donald Harrison on alto (who many think steals the show) and Jed Levy on tenor (see that is me attending to the cast of characters)--but you have definitely got to be into the bop and still a little bit into the funk for this one--don't be hanging around waiting for the slow-swinger here.

Now, I have to say that I am not a huge follower of bands led by drummers with the notable exception of Art Blakey. The reason is that I am not real keen on either drum solos (which in my estimation should be left to live performances as they are in part visual spectacle) or, quite frankly, the drums being way out in front musically. Don't get me wrong, I love a strong drummer in the rhythm section who drives the beat and a well-done drum fill is a thing of beauty, but I am too hooked on melody to have the drums leading the song. And in some cases, that is a problem on this album for me, but only a little.

The tunes have a certain quality that is reminiscent of some great 50's Blue Note bop with the theme laid down and the band, which is definitely tight, passing the improvs around but with the theme re-emerging throughout. From a musical performance standpoint, you can see why the album received high marks. Most of the songs are straight jazz and even when they do veer into a funky attitude, it fits. Clark's drumming is quick and light, although very omnipresent in these songs--space is not really the goal here.

Ultimately, you gotta like the bop and you gotta like the drums and a lot of sound to dig this album. Here are three tracks to give you a taste. First up is the opener "In The House" which is a really solid opening track but a perfect example of a drum solo that is more an interruption to me than a highlight. Next up is Tim Ouinette's fine composition, "10th Ave. 1957" which brings some fine New Orleans swagger to the album. And last up is "Loft Funk" which brings the bop/funk sound fully together.

See what you think.

Blueprints of Jazz, Volume I (Buy Album)

In The House

10th Ave. 1957

Loft Funk

Forbidden love; or, Wherein wobs has his posting privileges summarily revoked

Craig had some awful nice things to say about me in his introductory post. I do like to think that I have a good ear for music and that my understanding of it has evolved past the Beavis & Butthead binary of "this rocks/this sucks." I think it's fair to say that my appreciation of music mirrors my appreciation for beer - I have a palate for all of the various incarnations, I have an understanding of the processes that go into producing each type, I can intelligently discuss the subtleties, and, of course, I can spend hours enjoying it.

And with music, as with beer, there is some (what some might term "sub-standard") b(r)and that led me down the path to a broader appreciation, a b(r)and to which I continually return - shamelessly - for reasons of nostalgia and because, quite frankly, I still like it. Ladies and gentlemen, David Lee Roth-era Van Halen is my PBR of music.

So what if the lyrical content never veers beyond your standard "beers & broads" hair band fare? I defy you to name a band that did it as well, or who did it in a way that withstands decades of listening. Over 30 years after its initial release, Van Halen still possess in its rawness and aggressiveness, in Roth's smirking delivery, in Eddie's pyrotechnic genius, and in Michael and Alex's unremarkable but competent rhythms, an undefinable joy that still draws me back years later. Their whole Diamond Dave-era output is worth revisiting, but honestly, there is one reason I will always return to this band: the opening drum solo and guitar licks of 1984's "Hot For Teacher" played at speaker-blowing volume. It's the equivalent of an ice-cold tall boy of PBR on a hot summer day.



Our musical tastes had to start somewhere. Mine started here with a band that never sucked (at least until Sammy Hagar showed up).