Louie Belogenis’s Blue Buddha, Blue
Buddha (Tzadik Records)
A Review
On Blue Buddha (Tzadik Records), Louie
Belogenis, the free-blowing Buddhist
saxophonist, teams up with Dave Douglas, the shape-shifting trumpeter, to embark on a what is billed as a sort of spiritual ceremony,
supported by the luminous, effects-driven electric bass of Bill Laswell and the spacious, clean, intense drumming of Tyshawn Sorey. Continue reading
Baracutanga, Importados
A Review
You don’t need to know a cumbia from a
festejo from a candombe to dig Importados, the first full-length album from Albuquerque’s rhythm wizards, Baracutanga. A seven-piece band whose members come from as far north as Kansas and as far south as Bolivia, Baracutanga mixes South American rhythms in innovative ways, making unusual rhythmic combinations that might also include Middle Eastern and Cuban forms. They incorporate folkloric instruments, such as the quena, an Andean flute, and top it off with modern North American harmonies and instruments—electric guitar, vibes—to create a unique and highly danceable fusion.
The album’s sheer musicality might come as a surprise to those who know the band only as a high-energy live act that fills the dance floor. Yes, you can play the album at high volume and dance till you drop, but you can also settle back in your easy chair and appreciate the
craftsmanship of the writing and arranging, the attention to detail, and the sonic textures. Recorded in four different studios in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Cadiz, Spain, the album
features more than 50 instruments and 25 musical styles, and just about every one of those
instruments and styles finds just the right place. Continue reading
Albums like the eponymously titled What The What serve to remind us, if we needed
reminding, that we needn’t travel to New York, Los Angeles, or Wherever The Wherever to hear top-drawer music—not if we live in Santa Fe or Albuquerque anyway. What The What—a trio featuring J.Q. Whitcomb
(trumpet), Jon Gagan (bass), and Robby
Rothschild (percussion)—could play
anywhere, and each of them has, in one
aggregation or another.
The album includes five compositions from Gagan and one from Whitcomb. They are all straightforward, easily accessible tunes, and they all have quirks that hook pleasantly into the ear. The performances ride on Gagan’s rhythmic horse, propelled by Rothschild’s unobtrusive percussion, and against that rhythmic foundation, Whitcomb’s long, lyrical lines create a nice musical tension. Continue reading
Vinicius Cantuária, Vinicius canta Antonio Carlos Jobim (Sunnyside Records)
A Review
The New Mexico Jazz Festival gets up and
running this week with a “new trend”—or as it is more familiarly known, bossa nova—in the person of guitarist, composer, percussionist, and vocalist Vinicius Cantuária. Cantuária, who moved from his native Brazil to New York City in the ’90s, made a name for himself in the neo–Brazilian music world and in NYC’s Downtown scene, itself noted for new trends. On this recording, Cantuária hews close to the classic style, with subtle jazz shadings, and makes Jobim the star of the show. Continue reading
John Hollenbeck, Songs We Like a Lot
(Sunnyside Records)
A Review
Percussionist/composer/arranger John
Hollenbeck has a well-earned reputation as a musician who embraces many traditions,
mixing genres the way a chef mixes disparate ingredients. You can taste traces of the
individual ingredients in the final dish, but the overall result has a character all its own.
With Songs We Like a Lot (Sunnyside Records; available June 23), Hollenbeck applies himself to an equally disparate selection of tunes, from pop to ecclesiastical to techno, and texts, from Rumi to Kenneth Patchen. He cooks up
sumptuous arrangements and compositions that are stunningly performed by the Frankfurt
Radio Bigband, along with vocalists Theo Bleckmann and Kate McGarry and keyboardists Uri Caine and Gary Versace. Continue reading