Good day today, two CDs that have had me listening avidly, & avoiding the work I planned for this evening ... neither of them new, but in the discount piles.
Suzanne Vega - 99.9F. Has a real bite to it, I'll have to hear it a couple more times to work out why. As for now it's a lot of fun.
The Christians - The Christians. Had this ages ago on vinyl in a previous Linncarnation. Just as good as I remembered it, close harmony with attitude.
I shall skip over the 3rd, Steely Dan (Aja) is not in the same league for me. I guess I prefer my 70s jazz without words, excellent recording quality notwithstanding.
Posts: 129 | Location: Burley-in-Wharfedale, Yorkshire, UK | Registered: Sun 25 February 2001
It has jazzy overtones, certainly, but it's far nearer pop than jazz. Listen a few more times and get seriously hooked: Steve Gadd's drumming on the title track is just stunning beyond belief, Peg was good enough for De La Soul to make a whole other record out of it, Josie goes into Great Riffs Of Our Time with a lead line distilled to one note perfection...
If it's 70s jazz you're after, maybe try something like Headhunters.
Pete.
Posts: 638 | Location: Scotland, UK | Registered: Mon 31 July 2000
OK I admit I was being a little tongue in cheek about Aja. I like just about any music, just some to a greater degree than others. The only music I have ever disliked enough to sell is Layla (Derek & the Dominos). Thanks for the recommendation.
Simon
Posts: 129 | Location: Burley-in-Wharfedale, Yorkshire, UK | Registered: Sun 25 February 2001
I just bought 'Searching for the Young Soul Rebels' by DMR for £2.75 2nd hand. This is one hell of an album, is there a better feeling than rediscovering an old classic!
Posts: 976 | Location: England | Registered: Wed 02 August 2000
by Clark Tracey, son of the wondrous Stan Tracey (a great British jazz pianist/composer if you haven't come across him before). This got various "Jazz CD of the week" accolades in the papers' review sections recently, and what with it being in the Linn Top 10 and thus a tenner including postage, I thought I'd check it out.
And it's really very, very good. There's a stellar cast from current British jazz, plus a string quartet too, and they're used brilliantly: The Boy Tracey knows his arranging as well as his drumming (knowing when to sit the drums out completely, for example, on a gorgeous arrangement of a Monk tune called "Ugly Beauty"). Stylistically it hops about all over the place, but is none the worse for that. Recommended.
(I did get some baroque stuff in the same order, but there hasn't been space in the CD player for it yet!)
Pete.
Posts: 638 | Location: Scotland, UK | Registered: Mon 31 July 2000
Pete I got that as well. It really is excellent. The Tracey quintet plays live here a lot and they are always a treat. Great underapprecited local talent.
I saw the Henri Texier Trio this week at the pizza Express and bought their latest CD Ramparts dArgile. To say this is stunning would be an understatment. Texier a bassist is a doyen of the French jazz scene and plays with his son Sebastien on Alto and bass clarinet and drummer Tony Rabeson. Texier has a stupendous deep sonorous sound on bass and the son a beautiful individual dry sound on reeds. the music was made for a rescreening of a 1970 movie of the same name by Jean De Berticulli . The music incorporates N African rhythmns , free jazz and bop. For those who care about these things the CD is beautifully recorded. Cant recommend this one highly enough. Its on the French Label Bleu.
John
The gig was excellent. John Fordham was there the same night as me and reviews it in todays Guardian.
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