Omar Sosa, Senses (Otá Records)
A Review
Don’t think of Omar Sosa as a Cuban pianist/composer. Think of him, instead, as a shaman for whom music is a spiritual
instrument for opening a window onto the other world, enlarging our capacity for
compassion and joy, celebrating the life force.
On Senses, which finds him solo at the piano, he uses it to heal himself in an emotionally difficult period and to apply balm to any chafed spirit who listens.
Sometimes you just know—and quickly, too.
The first time I heard Jimi Hendrix was on a Friday afternoon in 1967. I was hanging with my friend Eric Walsh at his parents’ house after school when he put on Are You Experienced. It was only a few seconds into “Purple Haze” that, eyes wide and forearm hairs standing involuntarily erect, I knew I had never heard anything like it before and wanted to hear more. It filled a void whose existence I hadn’t even suspected.
Jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson had a life-
changing experience when she first heard Hendrix at the tender age of 11 or so. She abandoned the violin she’d been sawing away at for a few years, grabbed herself a black-and-white Stratocaster and some tablature books, and started on her quest to play like Jimi Hendrix.
The circle came full last week when I slid Halvorson’s Bending Bridges CD (Firehouse 12 Records, 2012) into the tray and hit Play. I knew in just a few seconds that I was hearing something previously unheard. There was something in the angle of the melodic lines, the way the horn lines rubbed against each other, something in the gloriously doleful feel that said: “New voice. Pay attention.”
She’s bringing her quintet—with Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Jon Irabagon (alto saxophone), John Hébert (bass), and Ches Smith (drums)—to the Outpost this Thursday, and I’ll be wearing bells. Continue reading
Alexis Cuadrado, A Lorca Soundscape (Sunnyside)
A Review
Bassist, composer, and Barcelona native
Alexis Cuadrado may be the most lyrical cat on the New York scene these days. One thing’s certain: his latest release, A Lorca Soundscape, is the evocative musical analogue to the poetical phantasms of Federico García Lorca’s Poeta en Nueva York, a dark and
magical record of the poet’s experience in
Depression Era New York City.
For Cuadrado, the parallels between that time, the early 1930s, and our own are clear and disturbing, as this collection of
compositions makes absolutely clear. He calls the pieces a protest against the “inequality, racism, and injustice” that endure as part of our “daily narrative” 80 years after Lorca’s work was published. We could also call them an eloquently lyrical portrait of a world out of balance, and a stunning artistic achievement. Given the personnel on the album—Cuadrado (bass, percussion, background vocals), Claudia Acuña (voice), Miguel Zenón (alto sax), Dan Tepfer (piano), Mark Ferber (drums), and Gilmar Gomes (percussion)—the high level of artistry on the album should come as no surprise at all.
Bambi Wolf, Crystal Clear (indie)
A Review
Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Bambi Wolf reaches for the light on her moody new solo
album, 
Crystal Clear, whose songs center on a personal struggle for freedom from dark memories and haunting self-doubt. With the exception of vocalist Leah Burkhardt on one track and bodhrán player Benjamin Jackson on another, the entire album was “written, composed, arranged, performed, recorded, mixed, and produced” entirely by Wolf,
according to the liner notes. She draws on classical, rock, and folk elements to craft a richly layered sound that verges on the
orchestral at times. (See end of review for Sunday’s CD release party info.)
When was the last time you heard the words “moonglow” and “tapeworm” in the same song?
Right, never—unless you’ve heard Birds of Chicago, a musical collective that spins around its two singer/songwriters: J.T. Nero (aka Jeremy Lindsay), of the rock/soul band JT and the Clouds, and Allison Russell, best known as half of the urban folk band Po’ Girl.
Their penetrating, poetic, off-center but on-target songs take flight on two of the more
distinctive voices on the Americana scene. Nero’s scratched, soulful vocals and phrasing bring Sam Cooke to mind, while Russell brings a crystalline warmth that can tease out the most
delicate emotions. Each of those voices seems to provide the perfect backdrop for the other, and together, they take a firm but gentle hold on your ears and won’t let go.
Gliding on the wings of their eponymous premiere album, Nero and Russell, with help from bassist Chris Merrill and drummer Nick Chambers, will bring their blues, soul, country, rock,
zydeco, folk, honky tonk, what-have-you tunes to the Old Church in Corrales this Tuesday, and it’s not to be missed.