Kálmán Balogh - The Art of the Gipsy Cimbalom

Kálmán Balogh, master of the cimbalom (Hungarian dulcimer) and sometime collaborator with Janosi and Muszikas, plays a wide range of Hungarian and Gypsy music on Art of the Gipsy Cimbalom.



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Fugi - Mary, Don't Take Me On No Bad Trip

Fuzzed out funk from the legendary Fugi! The groove is incredibly sinister -- a blend of Detroit funk (ala The Counts, Funkadelic, and others in the Westbound crew), and some of the more guitar-based influence from the Hendrix soul generation (especially the styles that were beginning to show up on the Bar-Kays albums at the time!) Fugi have a groove that's gotta be heard to be believed -- hard, heavy, and filled with soul -- dipping down down down into the dirt on the bass, and riffing up to the top again on a wave of heavy guitars! 6 tracks in all -- the complete Chess recordings by Fugi -- and titles include "Mary Don't Take Me On No Bad Trip", "Revelations", "Jo Jo", "Save A Little", and "I'd Rather Be A Blind Man"

Ter-Mar Recordings Studio, Chicago, IL.
Funky Delicacies/Tuff City. 1968...

 01. Revelations

02. Mary Don't Take Me on No Bad Trip

03. I'd Rather Be a Blind Man

04. Can't You Hear Me Call You, Woman

05. Save a Little

06. Jo-Jo

07. Red Moon

08. Sweet Sweet Lady

09. Revelations - (previously unreleased, alternate take)

 

 

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Διοτίμα - Διοτιμα 1996

 
 Οι Διοτίμα είναι ο Κώστας Χανής, ο Λευτέρης Αγγουριδάκης και ο Κώστας Παπαποστόλου -μουσικοί με προϊστορία στο χώρο του αυτοσχεδιασμού και στην εξερεύνηση των δυνατοτήτων των παραδοσιακών οργάνων. Στην πρώτη τους δισκογραφική παρουσίαση συμπράττουν χρησιμοποιώντας έναν ελεύθερο συνδυασμό κρουστών και πνευστών (μαρίμπα, βιμπράφωνο, σαντούρι, ξυλόφωνο, ντραμς, μπεντίρ, αφρικανικά τύμπανα, νέι, φλάουτο, διαφόρων ειδών φλογέρες κ.α.) χωρίς να διστάσουν να χρησιμοποιήσουν ιδιόφωνα όργανα και να παίξουν με ανορθόδοξους τρόπους. Το αποτέλεσμα είναι ένα άκρως ατμοσφαιρικό άλμπουμ γεμάτο εκπλήξεις και με μία διάχυτη ποιητική διάθεση από την αρχή ως το τέλος.
Τόσο στο άλμπουμ όσο και στις ζωντανές τους εμφανίσεις μουσική των Διοτίμα ξεπερνά στυλ και εθνικούς διαχωρισμούς, καταφέρνοντας να συνδυάσει στοιχεία από μινιμαλιστές συνθέτες του εικοστού αιώνα, τη γραμμική ανάπτυξη και τη αίσθηση της τελετουργίας του Ινδονησιακού gamelan και στοιχεία από την Ελληνική παραδοσιακή μουσική σε μία ισότιμη και κατασταλαγμένη συνύπαρξη, αποφεύγοντας τις εύκολες λύσεις ή τις προφανείς αναφορές.
μία δουλειά με σπάνια ομορφιά που αδιάκοπα προτρέπει σε παραπέρα εξερευνήσεις.

1. Ηχοαναμνήσεις
(Χανής)
2. Ξύπνημα
(Χανής)
3. Νοσταλγία της Ανατολής
(Χανής - Αγγουριδάκης - Παπαποστόλου)
4. Έρως
(Χανής - Παπαποστόλου)
5. Χορός για τρεις
(Χανής - Παπαποστόλου)
6. Όνειρο
(Χανής)
7. Μύθοι και Ύμνοι
(Χανής - Αγγουριδάκης - Παπαποστόλου)
8. Εννιά Πνοές
(Παπαποστόλου)
9. Αναζήτηση
(Χανής)
10. Κάθε Φεγγάρι Ομολογεί
(Χανής)


Κώστας Χανής: Μαρίμπα, Βιμπράφωνο, Ξυλόφωνο, Ντραμς, Πήλινες Γλάστρες, Τουμπερλέκι, Μπεντίρ, Μικρά Κρουστά
Λευτέρης Αγγουριδάκης: Σαντούρι, Βιμπράφωνο με δοξάρι, Μπεντίρ, Αφρικάνικο Τύμπανο, Τουμπερλέκι
Κώστας Παπαποστόλου: Νέι, Φλάουτο, Φλογέρα, Δίαυλος, Αυλός του Πανός




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Salah Ragab and The Cairo Jazz Band - Egyptian jazz

Salah Ragab formed the first jazz big band in Egypt in 1968, and was also the leader of the Military Music Departments in Heliopolis. On this recording the band consists of five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones, piano, bass, drums and percussion. Western jazz musicians have been fascinated with the world of Islam for many years, and it was therefore inevitable that musicians of the Arabian North African area would be equally influenced by western music. This record represents The Cairo Jazz Band responding to the American jazz scene of the 60s and 70s with influences from Mongo Santamaria, Yusef Lateef and Ahmud Abdul-Malik to Randy Weston and Sun Ra. This release marks the first time Salah Ragab and The Cairo Jazz Band's definitive works are presented to the west.

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Hazmat Modine Cicada 2011

HAZMAT MODINE draws from the rich soil of American music of the 20's and 30's through to the 50's and early 60's, blending elements of early Blues, Hokum Jugband, Swing, Klezmer, New Orleans R & B, and Jamaican Rocksteady. The band is fronted by two harmonicas which use call and response, harmony, melody, and syncopated interweaving rhythms. The band includes tuba, guitar, and percussion, claviola and Hawaiian steel guitar. The band's sound reflects musical influences ranging from Avant-garde Jazz to Rockabilly and Western Swing to Middle-Eastern, African, and Hawaiian musical styles.

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Blue Mitchell - Bantu Village -1969

One of the funkiest albums ever on Blue Note -- a set that mixes the trumpet talents of Blue Mitchell with some killer backings from Monk Higgins -- all in a groove that makes more gritty edges than the best funky soundtracks of the time! Higgins keeps the backings full, but always quite lean -- fusing all elements together into a sharp, tight rhythm that steps along with some of the slight African touches you might guess from the title -- a groove that's not really that authentic, but which resonates with some of the best inspirations that Hugh Masekela was bringing to American music at the time. And while the album might be an attempt to cash in on Masekela's groove, the feel here is really quite different overall -- as tracks are nicely stretched out, with plenty of room for jazzy solo work -- and a groove that's much harder overall, thanks to Higgins! Other players include Freddy Robinson on guitar, Wilton Felder on bass, Paul Humphrey on drums, and Plas Johnson on tenor -- and titles include "HNIC", "Flat Backing", "Na Ta Ka", "Bantu Village", and "Blue Dashiki".

Blue Mitchell Bantu Village 
Track Listing

1. H.N.I.C.
2. Flat Backing
3. Na Ta Ka
4. Heads Down
5. Bantu Village
6. Blue Dashiki
7. Bush Girl

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Moondog: The German Years, 1977-1999

Review

This deluxe double-disc box from Germany's Roof Music contains a collection of Louis Thomas Hardin's music recorded from 1977-1999 entitled The German Years as well as a second disc entitled The Last Concert, Mimi-Festival 1999. There are 44 pages of liner notes that lovingly put the complex music into as much perspective as possible, though it is up to the listener to diligently explore the lifework of this creative and unique individual. "High On a Rocky Ledge" could be John Cale in his sixth decade and is a highlight. This track and "Do Your Thing," "I'm This I'm That," and "Pygmy Pig" are culled from 1979's H'Art Songs album, one of seven different sources for the music on disc one. The performances are as delightfully diverse as the titles and keep one's attention as the parade of ideas unfolds. "Heimdall Fanfare" is a completely different outing from "Fujiyama 2 (Lovesong)," while "Do Your Thing" could certainly have found some kind of commercial success had some publisher gotten it into a film soundtrack -- or had Janis Joplin lived long enough to cover more of Moondog's compositions. The concert on disc two flows seamlessly from disc one and is so perfect that it sounds like a studio recording, except for the applause. Performed on August 1, 1999, five weeks before his passing on September 8 of that year, it is an amazing "bookend" to this compilation.
By AllMusic

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Bert Jansch - The Black Swan

The Black Swan is the twenty-third album by Scottish folk singer Bert Jansch. It was released in 2006 through Drag City.

Review

Now this really is a switch: Scottish guitar hero and songwriter Bert Jansch (Pentangle) recording for Drag City, with a host of admirers in tow -- Beth Orton, Devendra Banhart, Noah Georgeson (who performed and co-produced with Jansch), Helena Espvall, son Adam Jansch, and more. Black Swan is a collection of original and traditional tunes. Jansch turns in a performance that shows his typical restraint, and within it his wonder as a guitarist. His use of the blues, American, Celtic, and British Isles folk forms is also informed by music from Eastern Europe, and he ties them all together seamlessly. "High Days," a solo track, uses all three, as he winds out an elegy for a friend. "When the Sun Comes Up" begins with Orton's vocal and David Roback's slide guitar and Otto Hauser's drums, shuffling underneath. Jansch spills it modal and bluesy, Orton grabs onto his changes and effortlessly lets her voice wrap around his lyric lines. Her signing on the traditional number "Katie Cruel" has been brilliantly rearranged by Jansch. Banhart sings in a muted duet with Orton, but his vocal was unnecessary. It's a spooky track that's been prepared for by the preceding cuts. The slippery Piedmont blues style Jansch tucks into his British folk on "My Pocket's Empty" is evocative of an earlier, simpler time, though as revealed by the tune, times were hard then, too. Jansch's singing is at its most expressive here; he's moaning in his reedy baritone. Orton makes one more appearance here on the gorgeous and-all-too-brief arrangement of the blues tune "Watch the Stars." Hers and Jansch's vocals take the tine out of the song's Southern American birthplace and brings it into the world, one grainy line at a time. It's a singalong blues that reveals the sheer expanse of the universe in the grain of their voices. Ultimately, this disc is not so different from Jansch's others, but it is wonderfully spirited and loose. It feels live, and backroomish. It's as informal a date as one can find among superstars -- and make no mistake, you may or may not know his name, but his large catalog proves it -- Jansch is one. As for the rest, the hardscrabble dirty, slide guitar-drenched English folk of "A Woman Like You" rings as true as a Texas blues love song by Lightnin' Hopkins. Traditional public domain nuggets such as "The Old Triangle" are almost radically reworked and ring spookily true for the current era. The blues-rock of the humorously political "Texas Cowboy Blues," complete with keyboards and popping acoustic 12-strings, shimmies and even shakes in places. The last few cuts, a gorgeous instrumental called "Magdalina's Dance," and "Hey Pretty Girl" (performed solo), are drenched in historical tropes, but are thoroughly modern and soulful. The bottom line is this: for the past ten years Jansch has been undergoing a creative renaissance akin to Bob Dylan's and people are slowly but surely finding what he has on offer. Black Swan proves that the guitarist and songwriter has a bounty at his disposal. He is writing and recording music that is profound, funny, topical, worldly, and ultimately, necessary.

 By AllMusic

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John Handy & Ali Akbar Khan – Karuna Supreme [1976]

Karuna Supreme, recorded in 1975, is one of the earliest true fusions of Indian music and jazz, and remains one of the most successful. John Handy’s incredible mid-’60s quintet ably demonstrated his aptitude for modal playing, and Ali Akbar Khan had long been one of Indian music’s greatest ambassadors. Like Khan, Zakir Hussain was also the son of one of India’s finest musicians, and had been exposed to jazz as well from an early age (his father, Alla Rakha, recorded with Buddy Rich in addition to his long association with Ravi Shankar). The way these players find the common musical ground from their respective backgrounds is breathtaking. The album starts with the lively “Ganesha’s Jubilee Dance,” which has a simple but unforgettable melody that Handy and Khan use as a springboard for some amazing soloing. Handy’s improvisations are melodic and effortless, and some of the rhythmic flourishes supplied by Ali Akbar Khan are incredible. Zakir Hussain is equally stunning, reacting instantly to whatever the soloist is doing, offering both support and drive to the piece. The title cut is slower and more contemplative, but no less beautiful, and a nice complement to the animated “Ganesha’s Jubilee Dance.” “The Soul and the Atma” is a bit more reminiscent of Indian classical music, with its alap-like introduction, but once the tabla kicks in, the structure opens up for more amazing improvising. It starts kind of slowly, but gradually builds intensity over the course of its 20-plus minutes. The level of communication among the players throughout this session would be difficult to surpass. This is one of those rare East-meets-West recordings that absolutely succeeds at every level. Highly recommended.

Track Listing:
1) Ganesha’s Jubilee Dance (9:19)
2) Karuna Supreme (11:06)
3) The Soul and the Atma (20:44)

Credits:

• Artwork By [Cover Design] – Rolf Becker
• Engineer – Carlos Albrecht, Kurt Rapp
• Photography – Evelin Bachmann, Ulrich Borchert
• Producer – Joachim-Ernst Berendt*
• Sarod – Ali Akbar Khan
• Saxophone [Alto] – John Handy
• Tabla – Zakir Hussain
• Tambura – Yogish S. Sahota

    Enjoy! 

Herbie Mann - Impressions Of The Middle East 1966

Very groovy stuff -- and one of Herbie's best from the 60s! In a way, this album's very similar to some of the best Verve "groovy experimental" albums from the same period -- like some of Cal Tjader's Eastern/Latin work -- and it features Herbie playing with a wide range of instrumentation that includes oud, zither, harp, and lots of eastern percussion. Keeping things real, though, are some key jazzers like Roy Ayers, Julian Priester, and Jimmy Owens -- plus rhythm by Reggie Workman, Bruno Carr, and Patato Valdez. Tracks are very groovy -- with a mixture of jazz and exotic instrumentation -- and titles include "Turkish Coffee", "Odalisque", "Uskudar", "Eli Eli", and "Dance Of The Semites".

Tracklist

1. Turkish Coffee (5:01)
2. Incense (7:19)
3. Odalisque (7:43)
4. Do Wah Diddy Diddy (2:38)
5. Uskudar (3:38)
6. The Oud and the Pussycat (5:04)
7. Yavuz (4:37)
8. Dance of the Semites (4:29)
9. Eli Eli (3:56)

Total Time: 44:25

Line-up/Musicians

Bass – Reggie Workman (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4)
Clarinet – Hachig Thomas Kazarian (tracks: A4, B1 to B4)
Congas – Carlos "Potato" Valdes* (tracks: A1 to A4, B2)
Drums – Bruno Carr (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4)
Flugelhorn – Jimmy Owens (tracks: B1, B3, B4)
Flute – Herbie Mann (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B1 to B5)
Oud – Chick Ganimian (tracks: A1 to A4, B1 to B4)
Percussion – Geraldine Swee (tracks: A1 to A3), Hachig Thomas Kazarian (tracks: A1 to A3), Moulay "Ali" Hafid (tracks: A4, B1 to B4), Robert Marashlian (tracks: A4, B1 to B4)
Trombone – Joe Orange (tracks: A4, B2), Julian Priester (tracks: A4, B2)
Trumpet – Jimmy Owens (tracks: A4, B1 to B4)
Vibraphone – Roy Ayers (tracks: A1 to A3)
Zither – Mohamed Elakkad (tracks: A4, B1 to B4)

Enjoy!