Way back in March, 2011, I posted a review of a DVD entitled ”Mighty Uke”, a paean to the ukulele and its marvelous comeback in the 21st Century - http://genecdvd.blogspot.com/2011/03/mighty-uke-amazing-comeback-of-musical.html - In my haste to crowd as much as possible into a manageable space, I did not at that time make reference to the world’s largest ukulele club, the Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz (California). I now have a chance to rectify that omission, by telling you about another, equally entertaining uke film, “Under The Boardwalk”, devoted specifically to the Santa Cruz organization.
There are a few spots where this film (understandably) overlaps the other, in giving you a brief look at the instrument’s history and modern-day popularity, and offering additional glimpses into a few of the same people you saw in “Mighty Uke” (most notably the now-deceased Bill Tapia, seen performing with amazing dexterity at age 97). But this is very definitely a film about a specific group of people, focusing on specific members and their unique personalities (musically and otherwise), rather than treading over the same ground the earlier film explored so well..
It is to be expected that a film about a ukulele club would feature the ukulele, and of course it does. But filmmaker Nina Koocher realized that the people who play an instrument are just as important to her story as the instrument itself. So we’re given ample chance to meet a number of very interesting people with distinct personalities, but with a common musical interest - to promulgate the ukulele as an instrument people of all ages and states of well-being can have fun with in a social setting. Yes, there are collectors who show off their impressive collections of historical and unique instruments. Yes, there are performances by a number of well-known musicians, including singer-songwriter Jayme Kelly Curtis, 60’s-rockstar-turned-pop-music-historian Ian Whitcomb, guitarist George Kahumoku, and Herb Ohta, Jr., son of the famed Ohta-San, who brought the ukulele to worldwide, major-label audiences in the 1970’s.
But mostly we get to see just-plain-folks having fun playing the uke, regardless of their individual skill levels. In many cases, the skill level is quite high, but this is a club open to everybody, so members who merely strum along during the club’s entertaining sing-a-longs are just as welcome as those who can wow the crowds during the organization’s open jam sessions. And as we see people having fun, the infectious sounds they make encourage even the passive viewer to have fun along with them.
In case tou’re wondering wqy the film is entitled after a mid-60’s Drifters hit, the song has become one of the staples of the sing-a-longs. The members do a lot of Hawaiian songs as well, both from the islands and from Tin Pan Alley. But they certainly are open to all sorts of music, from Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Tommy James, even a “Hank Williams Night,” to pop songs of even earlier vintage. The idea, after all, is to have fun, not to be “ethnomusicologically correct”.
Of course, life is not always fun all the time. One of the most affecting segments is the memorial service for a key member of the club, Gene Galli, whom we first meet singing “On A Slow Boat To China” with his wife Emily. Galli also built a 12-foot pineapple-shaped ukulele for the express purpose of burning during the club’s “Burning Uke” ceremony, patterned after Nevada’s “Burning Man” ritual. So, it’s only appropriate that someone we see depicted as a colorful personality is memorialized by an event more celebratory than mournful. a surfboard-paddling service in which his ashes are dumped into the surf.
And that essentially sums up the club and, for the matter, the film - colorful, yet respectful of everyone present; lots of fun, but also thoughtful; championing an instrument and a laid-back way of life, but deserving of being taken seriously, albeit in a playful way. It’s a measure of the special qualities of this film that it makes me wish we had just such a ukulele club in MY town.
The main feature runs 74 minutes, but there is a generous offering of Bonus Features as well. Andy Andrews, who pretty much emerges as the main spokesman of the film (though certainly not the only major figure) discusses the derivation of the word “ukulele”. A couple members show us some of the more unusual items in their instrument collections, none perhaps as unusual as Ukulele Ray’s hand-crafted lunchbox ukes. And there are some fine performances, including Herb Ohta, Jr.’s full-length solo uke arrangement of “Over The Rainbow” (excerpted in the body of the film).
The DVD does not seem to be available through Amazon, which is instead selling a documentary by the very same title, about the game of Monopoly. I don’t doubt that’s a worthy film, too, but it has nothing to do with this film. Check out the ukulele “Under the Boardwalk” at http://www.NinaKoocherFilms.com
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Jazz Icons: Series 5 (Mosaic)
Mosaic Records is best-known for their jazz completist sets, such as “The Complete (name of label) Recordings of (name of artist)”. And they’ve done a tremendous number of these over the years, performing an invaluable service for collectors, historians, libraries, and just-plain jazz lovers. More recently, they’ve turned their attention to the music-video market, taking over the release of the latest in a series of multi-DVD sets under the overall title of “Jazz Icons”, the first four sets of which had been distributed by the Naxos label..
This latest set of six DVD’s, “Jazz Icons: Series 5”, is the first one I’ve seen, but it’s plainly obvious Mosaic has performed another, equally valuable service. It may be an even more valuable service than their audio-CD sets, since most of the music they’ve released in audio form (excepting previously unissued takes) has been previously made available to the public, though generally scattered and in various formats. The music video format, while now a well-established medium, has yet to release many of the treasures which have been filmed and/or broadcast throughout the years. What’s more, many of these treasures have been issued only on the now-disgraced VHS format. (Despite the downturn in DVD sales, I think it may be a while before we can use a similar adjective for the DVD format, since it can be utilized by most computers. I hope I’m not mistaken!)
The first of the six DVD’s comprising this set - each disc has its own case and its own liner notes in a 12-page booklet, but the six are only available together as a boxed set - will doubtless sell the box all by itself. “John Coltrane Live In France: 1965” is a 52-minute black-and-white film recorded at the Antibes Juan-les-Pins Festival, with THE John Coltrane Quartet (McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison, bass; Elvin Jones, drums). “Naima“ starts out somewhat tentatively, but it begins to flow in an explorative manner once Trane begins to double time.Watching the master working his way in and out of the changes is to see a man lost in his own special world that not even his sideman could enter. From then on, it’s never-look-back, with intense Coltrane solos that reach for the stars while exploring the nether world between inside and outside blowing, probing modal comping and strong solos by Tyner, robust bass work by Garrison, all over relentlessly propulsion by Jones. Garrison’s finest moment is an extended, unaccompanied tour-de-force in between “Ascension” and “Impressions”, in which he strums the bass like a flamenco guitar, as well as plucking and bowing his instrument.
But by far the most important aspect of this disc is that it contains a portion of the one and only live performance of John Coltrane’s masterwork, “A Love Supreme”, which alone makes this worthy of being seen by every living human being who considers him- or herself a music lover. But it’s also the most disappointing aspect of the disc - because, if you’ll read that again, it only has a PORTION of the performance, namely the first twelve minutes of the piece. The original LP version was a four-movement work, but here we have Part 1 (“Acknowledgement”) and a sizable, but incomplete segment of Pt. 2 (”Resolution”). To be sure, this is not something for which Mosaic can be blamed, since the footage of the remaining 2-plus movements simply no longer exists. If ever found, which seems unlikely, it would be a discovery on a par with the mythical Buddy Bolden cylinder. In any case, we must be extremely thankful we have what we have. It strikes me as a surprisingly laid-back and comfortable version of the piece - indeed, Tyner sounds downright playful on Pt. 2. But David Liebman’s liner notes tell us the audio which still exists of the complete performance is highly intense, especially in the third movement. Would we could see it all, but what’s here is well worth savoring, even if it is only partial.
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“Thelonious Monk: Live In France 1969” is a completely solo television concert, unhindered by the need to fit in with a band - as if fitting in was ever a major concern of Monk’s. A program of this nature would be hard to imagine on American television during that time period. US t.v. producers like to exert control. But Monk was such an idiosyncratic figure that one never quite knew what to expect from him. And indeed, this set is by no means predictable, which is just what one wants from a Monk performance.
The film opens with a rehearsal sequence. If it weren’t for the sounds of the the t.v. crew setting up. it could pass for an official part of the program. From that point on, it’s all Monk, no extraneous narration or song intros, aside from one point where Monk does make the comment that he doesn’t know what to play. Watching Monk carefully pick notes and chords that defy expectations is watching thought transferred to piano keys. It could ALL be “rehearsal”, it could ALL be “performance”, and is really both at the same time.
There is no differentiating life from art in Monk’s music, especially on the more static, slow-tempoed pieces. On the moderate-tempoed tunes - nothing is really UPtempo - he flirts with the more entertainment-slanted aspect of jazz, calling to mind stride piano and Art Tatum, though without the latter’s dazzle. But he still makes them sound like an intimate party-of-one. “Epistrophy” in particular is refreshingly spare and playful; Monk even conjures up a bright smile at the end of it. Throughout the set, he plays as if no one would ever be listening. Indeed, at one point, he looks up into the camera as if to say, “What are you doing here?”
Since one is never quite certain whether a Monk dissonance is deliberate or a miscue, it’s impossible to criticize any of his playing, aside from the most jarring moments, of which there aren’t many. Just roll with Monk’s flow, and be rewarded. He plays “Monk’s Mood” twice, which I suppose was indeed a reflection of Monk’s mood at the time. There are two ingratiating readings of standards among the Monk originals. The longer the goes on, the more Monk sweats, to the point where one wishes someone had thrown a towel in his direction. But since he doesn’t seem at all comfortable with t.v. cameras trained on him, I doubt any wanted to risk turning his genius off by interrupting him.
The main program runs about 55 minutes, but there are several bonus features which extend the disc by some 10-15 minutes. We see Monk and his beloved wife, Nellie, riding in a car upon arriving in France. The footage is not especially interesting, but it does serve to demonstrate that he was every bit as uncomfortable with a camera in his face offstage as well as on. There is a brief soundcheck which preceded the t.t. performance. But the mosty telling bonus is raw footage of a very awkward attempted interview of Monk by Henri Renaud. The interviewer throws Monk off by asking questions in a mix of French and English. Monk’s confused responses are rather inarticulate, and eventually both Renaud and Monk give up in frustration. But of course, it’s the solo performance you’re buying, not the bonus footage, which you will no doubt not care to watch more than once. A 12-page booklet rounds out the package.
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As any true post-bop jazz fan knows, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers had what seemed to be an almost constant turnover in personnel throughout its approximately 35-year career (1954 till the end of the 1980’s). Blakey, who died in 1990 at the age of 71, was the combo’s only constant through the years. Well, no, that’s not really true. Blakey’s unwavering commitment to excellence and his ability to continually discover, mentor, and promote new talent, including many players who would go on to make a difference in the course of jazz history, were also constants.
Blakey’s variety of jazz was known as “hard-bop”, “bop” because it developed out of the rhythmic, compositional, and arranging innovations of bebop, “hard” because of its driving emotional force and its musical influences from blues, gospel, and r&b, styles regarded as the “earthier” genres of African-American music during the 1950’s. To us, today, hard-bop sounds more like what many people consider to the “mainstream” of jazz, meat-and-potatoes jazz, the way it sounded before the various contradictory levels of avant-gardism, commercialization/”smoothing”, and fusion concepts altered the music and its identity. Jazz used to be one thing at a time, now it has become an umbrella term covering many different things. Blakey’s music represents an era when, looking back from the vantage point of 2012, it seems to have been pretty much all-one-thing, even though people didn’t necessarily think so at the time..
The Jazz Messengers seen and heard on the DVD “Live In France 1959” is one of the classic editions of the band, featuring the superb Lee Morgan on trumpet and Wayne Shorter on tenor sax. Morgan would go on to great success as a solo artist (even achieving hit-single status in 1963 wirh his recording, “The Sidewinder”), while Shorter would go on to change the world, during stints with Miles Davis and as co-leader of the pioneering fusion band, Weather Report. Indeed, Shorter is now hailed by some to be jazz’ greatest living composer, Walter Davis, Jr. on piano and Jymie Merritt on bass (Blakey introduces him by pronouncing his first name “Jimmy”; guess I’ve been saying it wrong all my life!) round out the quintet, leaving not a single hole in the process.
There is very little inherently visual about this performance, even when the music sounds as if it’s on fire, which is often. Blakey’s facial expressions and powerhouse arm movements on the drums are as close to a visual element as you’ll find here. Shorter is downright impassive, putting all his emotion into his playing, remaining rod-stiff when playing, and standing statue-like during Morgan’s solos. But then, these men are not faux-hipsters pretending to act cool, they are serious artists and very much aware of that fact. It’s all about the music, and the French audience loves every second of it, as well they should. The.crowd reszponds instantaneously to “No Problem”, played at a barn-burning clip. No doubt they recognize it as Duke Pearson’s theme from the French film “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”, which had only recently been released.
The main program is 82 minutes long. There is an interesting three-minute interview with Blakey, as well an additional partial performance from the concert, “Nellie Bly”, only a brief portion of which still survives, and that is mostly drum solo. The whole concert is a gem.
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Johnny Griffin was known as “the Little Giant”, and the name was appropriate for more than just his diminutive stature, He was a giant in terms of imagination, intensity, and technical virtuosity. While he may not have been the sort of innovative force who broke new ground for jazz, his bold, fiery approach to uptempo tunes - Fastest Sax in the West! - and his sensitive ballad style enriched jazz tremendously for several decades.
There are two concerts represented on “Johnny Griffin Live In France 1971”. Both are chock full of creativity and soulfulness. Yes, he could play fast, but these were by no means empty phrases played rapidly to mask a proficiency totally devoid of inspiration, regardless of the speed. The one negative aspect about the first concert presented here (which is actually the later of the two concerts, by seven weeks) is the piano of Vince Benedetti. While he’s a decent enough musician, and probably would fit in nicely with other musicians of like caliber, he simply is not on Griffin’s level. Fortunately, Griffin’s fellow hard-bop expatriate, drummer Art Taylor, an estimable musician with tons of major-name credentials under his belt, is around to take up any slack. The second concert (the earlier of the two) is indeed credited to The Johnny Griffin - Arthur Taylor Quartet, and replaces Benedetti with the far superior Rene Urtreger. Not surprisingly, Taylor gets more solo space on this co-billed concert than on the other. Bass player Alby Cullaz, a French musician little known in the US, but who recorded with such American stars as Hank Mobley, Chet Baker, and Steve Grossman, is a very solid accompanist and a worthwhile soloist as well. The concert with Benedetti finds Dizzy Gillespie making a guest appearance for two songs. While his playing is a bit inconsistent, he seems to inspire Griffin.
Both films are in black-and-white, but the camera work on the earlier film is much more imaginative, with many intriguing angles and moody lighting. Griffin’s theme song, “Blues For Harvey” appears in both segments, first as a quartet tune, the second time as a duet with Taylor. Running time for the two concerts together is an action-packed 77 minutes. No extras, but nice liner notes by Don Sickler in the 12-page booklet.
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Freddie Hubbard represents the next generation in jazz, which came to the fore at the end of the 1960’s, rooted in hard-bop, incorporating some of the tonal possibilities and techniques of the 60’s free-jazz revolution (albeit in a manner more palatable to the broader jazz public), and extending the music by introducing the more populist elements of funk rhythms and electric keyboard textures.
“Freddie Hubbard Live In France 1973” gets off to powerhouse start, with Hubbard’s trumpet searing over a strong drum backdrop by Michael Carvin, before “Straight Life” settles into a comfortable groove laid down by bassist Kent Brinkley. Junior Cook bears down on tenor sax, followed by a subtle George Cables solo on electric piano. At less than eight minutes, this is by far the shortest of the three tunes on the disc.
“Intrepid Fox” again opens in a free-jazz vein, before the rhythm section takes us on a sprightly modal ride. Indeed, the three musicians work so tightly that it almost sounds like one mind with six hands. Hubbard’s mastery of his horn and his continually vivid imagination can still bowl a listener over almost 40 years later. Cook approaches his solo with less abandon, more structurally - and one wishes he’s stood a bit closer to the mic - but proceeds to build up to free-jazz screaming emotionalism, before coming down to a somewhat cryptic conclusion. Cables sounds relaxed and melodic in his solo, as Brinkley and Carvin drive the music along. The drummer’s solo is more textural than bombastic, first concentrating primarily on snare fundamentals, mixing in the toms, eventually zoning in on cymbals and kick drum. Someone adds a bit of chanting at one point, as Carvin moves to incorporate his whole kit. The piece lasts about 22 minutes, but it goes by in no time.
The 19-minute “First Light” comes from a different program filmed at the same concert. Once again, we’re given a freely improvised opening, before Cables introduces a Latin-jazz-flavored groove. But this is definitely not easy-listening jazz. Hubbard is all over his trumpet, with some awe-inspiring lines strung together into a coherent solo. Cook switches to flute, which he plays melodically, but without the flair he put into his sax solos. Cables utilizes the sustaining capabilities of the electric piano wisely in his too-brief solo. Hubbard’s restatement of the theme has his most subtle playing of the entire concert.
This is Freddie Hubbard at his artistic peak - brash, brimming in self-confidence, with all the chops and inventiveness needed to back up the swagger, before Creed Taylor’s studio production formula cooled off his fire (at least on records), and before he became too much the showman in live performance (as implied in Neil Tesser’s liner notes in the enclosed booklet).
Only 50 minutes (three songs plus a tag ending), with no extras, but I doubt anyone will go away hungry.
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Rahsaan Roland Kirk is no longer considered the major figure he looked as if would become when he was first making his mark as a member of Quincy Jones and Charles Mingus aggregations. Though he virtually defined the term “multi-instrumentalist” with his vast array of familiar (tenor sax, clarinet, flute) and unfamiliar (manzello, stritch, and an assortment of folk and home-made flutes), he was so much the entertainer that many critics came to feel his stage presence overtook his musical legitimacy. ”Live In France 1972” confirms the dominance of the showman in his concert presentations, but it also demonstrates that he was one heck of a superb musician as well.
On this set, he includes a few well-known jazz standards, giving them straightforward interpretations that are refreshingly low on gimmickry, showcasing the skills of a talented band of rhythm players in the process.The opening “Blue Train” is a particularly ingratiating spotlight for the sprightly and tasteful piano of Ron Burton. Bassist Henry Pearson and drummer Richie Goldberg keep things moving nicely, while Kirk’s tenor offers some fine moments before he stretches out a bit too long; self-editing was never one of his strong points. It’s refreshing to watch Kirk apply the time-honored world-folk technique of circular breathing to the tenor sax. which means his phrases never have to pause unless he wants them to. One wonders, though, if this didn’t encourage him to sometimes play a solo longer than he should have.
“Lester Leaps In” is uncommonly calm, and is noteworthy for the way Goldberg plays definite pitches on his tom-toms by blowing air into them through a rubber hose. I would explain further, but I don’t understand it myself! Kirk plays the “Satin Doll” medley on tenor sax and manzello (a variant of the soprano sax) simultaneously, both horns sticking into his mouth at the same time, fingering both at the same time, playing parallel lines and a bit of self-counterpoint. Yes, it’s a gimmick, but one he’s able to pull off with his technical prowess and dexterity. Of the six DVD’s in this box set, this is the one which is most dependent on being seen as well as heard.
The fourth track is entitled “For Bechet and Ellington and Bigard and Carney and Rabbit”. Annotator John Kruth seems to think the term “Rabbit” refers to the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, but from the context it seems far more obvious to me that the reference is to Eliington alto saxist Johnny Hodges, whose nickname was :Rabbit”. Despite the composition being obviously based on Ellington’s “Black and Tan Fantasy”, Kirk’s clarinet solo is very much of the then-modern (1972) era. “My Cherie Amour” strikes me as jazz-lite to the point of flimsiness, but there’s no doubt Kirk knew his way around a flute, both played straight and using his influential multiphonic approach of humming into the instrument while he played. He later switches to an array of small flutes and whistles, including a nose flute (makeshift, not the traditional Hawaiian ohe hano ihu) and something that looks like a type of toy harmonica, but sounds more like a piccolo. “One More Winter/Summer” has some humorous multiphonic flute, plus a driving solo by Burton.
Kirk plays Dizzy Gillespie’s “Groovin’ High” on the stritch, a cousin of the alto sax. He uses his circular breathing on the awkward-looking horn to play a sheets-of-sound solo, quoting a few familiar tunes (as he does elsewhere in this concert as well), while the rhythm keeps things moving behind him. Kirk remains on stritch for “Soul Eyes”, in which Burton is in peak form, tastefully supported by Pearson. Kirk picks up the tenor and leads into “Volunteered Slavery”, a funk piece featuring a group vocal, as well as the awe-inspiring sight of Kirk playing THREE horns at once (tenor sax, manzello, stritch)., as percussionist Joe Texidor - barely needed through most of the disc - bangs enthusiastically on a tambourine. Kirk’s tenor sax solo may be repetitious to the max, but the longer it goes on, the more effectively it captures the emotions of the moment. The piece ends in a maelstrom of whistles, bass drone, and percussive texture, before seguing into “The Inflated Tear”, which travels between lovely-ballad and noise-exploration.
In all, despite my occasional misgivings as stated above, this is overall an impressive and highly entertaining concert, by a musician whose like we may never see again. The film is in color, quite attractive color at that, despite the packaging’s claim that it is “B&W”. 74 minutes, no extras except for the 12-page booklet.
This latest set of six DVD’s, “Jazz Icons: Series 5”, is the first one I’ve seen, but it’s plainly obvious Mosaic has performed another, equally valuable service. It may be an even more valuable service than their audio-CD sets, since most of the music they’ve released in audio form (excepting previously unissued takes) has been previously made available to the public, though generally scattered and in various formats. The music video format, while now a well-established medium, has yet to release many of the treasures which have been filmed and/or broadcast throughout the years. What’s more, many of these treasures have been issued only on the now-disgraced VHS format. (Despite the downturn in DVD sales, I think it may be a while before we can use a similar adjective for the DVD format, since it can be utilized by most computers. I hope I’m not mistaken!)
The first of the six DVD’s comprising this set - each disc has its own case and its own liner notes in a 12-page booklet, but the six are only available together as a boxed set - will doubtless sell the box all by itself. “John Coltrane Live In France: 1965” is a 52-minute black-and-white film recorded at the Antibes Juan-les-Pins Festival, with THE John Coltrane Quartet (McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison, bass; Elvin Jones, drums). “Naima“ starts out somewhat tentatively, but it begins to flow in an explorative manner once Trane begins to double time.Watching the master working his way in and out of the changes is to see a man lost in his own special world that not even his sideman could enter. From then on, it’s never-look-back, with intense Coltrane solos that reach for the stars while exploring the nether world between inside and outside blowing, probing modal comping and strong solos by Tyner, robust bass work by Garrison, all over relentlessly propulsion by Jones. Garrison’s finest moment is an extended, unaccompanied tour-de-force in between “Ascension” and “Impressions”, in which he strums the bass like a flamenco guitar, as well as plucking and bowing his instrument.
But by far the most important aspect of this disc is that it contains a portion of the one and only live performance of John Coltrane’s masterwork, “A Love Supreme”, which alone makes this worthy of being seen by every living human being who considers him- or herself a music lover. But it’s also the most disappointing aspect of the disc - because, if you’ll read that again, it only has a PORTION of the performance, namely the first twelve minutes of the piece. The original LP version was a four-movement work, but here we have Part 1 (“Acknowledgement”) and a sizable, but incomplete segment of Pt. 2 (”Resolution”). To be sure, this is not something for which Mosaic can be blamed, since the footage of the remaining 2-plus movements simply no longer exists. If ever found, which seems unlikely, it would be a discovery on a par with the mythical Buddy Bolden cylinder. In any case, we must be extremely thankful we have what we have. It strikes me as a surprisingly laid-back and comfortable version of the piece - indeed, Tyner sounds downright playful on Pt. 2. But David Liebman’s liner notes tell us the audio which still exists of the complete performance is highly intense, especially in the third movement. Would we could see it all, but what’s here is well worth savoring, even if it is only partial.
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“Thelonious Monk: Live In France 1969” is a completely solo television concert, unhindered by the need to fit in with a band - as if fitting in was ever a major concern of Monk’s. A program of this nature would be hard to imagine on American television during that time period. US t.v. producers like to exert control. But Monk was such an idiosyncratic figure that one never quite knew what to expect from him. And indeed, this set is by no means predictable, which is just what one wants from a Monk performance.
The film opens with a rehearsal sequence. If it weren’t for the sounds of the the t.v. crew setting up. it could pass for an official part of the program. From that point on, it’s all Monk, no extraneous narration or song intros, aside from one point where Monk does make the comment that he doesn’t know what to play. Watching Monk carefully pick notes and chords that defy expectations is watching thought transferred to piano keys. It could ALL be “rehearsal”, it could ALL be “performance”, and is really both at the same time.
There is no differentiating life from art in Monk’s music, especially on the more static, slow-tempoed pieces. On the moderate-tempoed tunes - nothing is really UPtempo - he flirts with the more entertainment-slanted aspect of jazz, calling to mind stride piano and Art Tatum, though without the latter’s dazzle. But he still makes them sound like an intimate party-of-one. “Epistrophy” in particular is refreshingly spare and playful; Monk even conjures up a bright smile at the end of it. Throughout the set, he plays as if no one would ever be listening. Indeed, at one point, he looks up into the camera as if to say, “What are you doing here?”
Since one is never quite certain whether a Monk dissonance is deliberate or a miscue, it’s impossible to criticize any of his playing, aside from the most jarring moments, of which there aren’t many. Just roll with Monk’s flow, and be rewarded. He plays “Monk’s Mood” twice, which I suppose was indeed a reflection of Monk’s mood at the time. There are two ingratiating readings of standards among the Monk originals. The longer the goes on, the more Monk sweats, to the point where one wishes someone had thrown a towel in his direction. But since he doesn’t seem at all comfortable with t.v. cameras trained on him, I doubt any wanted to risk turning his genius off by interrupting him.
The main program runs about 55 minutes, but there are several bonus features which extend the disc by some 10-15 minutes. We see Monk and his beloved wife, Nellie, riding in a car upon arriving in France. The footage is not especially interesting, but it does serve to demonstrate that he was every bit as uncomfortable with a camera in his face offstage as well as on. There is a brief soundcheck which preceded the t.t. performance. But the mosty telling bonus is raw footage of a very awkward attempted interview of Monk by Henri Renaud. The interviewer throws Monk off by asking questions in a mix of French and English. Monk’s confused responses are rather inarticulate, and eventually both Renaud and Monk give up in frustration. But of course, it’s the solo performance you’re buying, not the bonus footage, which you will no doubt not care to watch more than once. A 12-page booklet rounds out the package.
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As any true post-bop jazz fan knows, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers had what seemed to be an almost constant turnover in personnel throughout its approximately 35-year career (1954 till the end of the 1980’s). Blakey, who died in 1990 at the age of 71, was the combo’s only constant through the years. Well, no, that’s not really true. Blakey’s unwavering commitment to excellence and his ability to continually discover, mentor, and promote new talent, including many players who would go on to make a difference in the course of jazz history, were also constants.
Blakey’s variety of jazz was known as “hard-bop”, “bop” because it developed out of the rhythmic, compositional, and arranging innovations of bebop, “hard” because of its driving emotional force and its musical influences from blues, gospel, and r&b, styles regarded as the “earthier” genres of African-American music during the 1950’s. To us, today, hard-bop sounds more like what many people consider to the “mainstream” of jazz, meat-and-potatoes jazz, the way it sounded before the various contradictory levels of avant-gardism, commercialization/”smoothing”, and fusion concepts altered the music and its identity. Jazz used to be one thing at a time, now it has become an umbrella term covering many different things. Blakey’s music represents an era when, looking back from the vantage point of 2012, it seems to have been pretty much all-one-thing, even though people didn’t necessarily think so at the time..
The Jazz Messengers seen and heard on the DVD “Live In France 1959” is one of the classic editions of the band, featuring the superb Lee Morgan on trumpet and Wayne Shorter on tenor sax. Morgan would go on to great success as a solo artist (even achieving hit-single status in 1963 wirh his recording, “The Sidewinder”), while Shorter would go on to change the world, during stints with Miles Davis and as co-leader of the pioneering fusion band, Weather Report. Indeed, Shorter is now hailed by some to be jazz’ greatest living composer, Walter Davis, Jr. on piano and Jymie Merritt on bass (Blakey introduces him by pronouncing his first name “Jimmy”; guess I’ve been saying it wrong all my life!) round out the quintet, leaving not a single hole in the process.
There is very little inherently visual about this performance, even when the music sounds as if it’s on fire, which is often. Blakey’s facial expressions and powerhouse arm movements on the drums are as close to a visual element as you’ll find here. Shorter is downright impassive, putting all his emotion into his playing, remaining rod-stiff when playing, and standing statue-like during Morgan’s solos. But then, these men are not faux-hipsters pretending to act cool, they are serious artists and very much aware of that fact. It’s all about the music, and the French audience loves every second of it, as well they should. The.crowd reszponds instantaneously to “No Problem”, played at a barn-burning clip. No doubt they recognize it as Duke Pearson’s theme from the French film “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”, which had only recently been released.
The main program is 82 minutes long. There is an interesting three-minute interview with Blakey, as well an additional partial performance from the concert, “Nellie Bly”, only a brief portion of which still survives, and that is mostly drum solo. The whole concert is a gem.
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Johnny Griffin was known as “the Little Giant”, and the name was appropriate for more than just his diminutive stature, He was a giant in terms of imagination, intensity, and technical virtuosity. While he may not have been the sort of innovative force who broke new ground for jazz, his bold, fiery approach to uptempo tunes - Fastest Sax in the West! - and his sensitive ballad style enriched jazz tremendously for several decades.
There are two concerts represented on “Johnny Griffin Live In France 1971”. Both are chock full of creativity and soulfulness. Yes, he could play fast, but these were by no means empty phrases played rapidly to mask a proficiency totally devoid of inspiration, regardless of the speed. The one negative aspect about the first concert presented here (which is actually the later of the two concerts, by seven weeks) is the piano of Vince Benedetti. While he’s a decent enough musician, and probably would fit in nicely with other musicians of like caliber, he simply is not on Griffin’s level. Fortunately, Griffin’s fellow hard-bop expatriate, drummer Art Taylor, an estimable musician with tons of major-name credentials under his belt, is around to take up any slack. The second concert (the earlier of the two) is indeed credited to The Johnny Griffin - Arthur Taylor Quartet, and replaces Benedetti with the far superior Rene Urtreger. Not surprisingly, Taylor gets more solo space on this co-billed concert than on the other. Bass player Alby Cullaz, a French musician little known in the US, but who recorded with such American stars as Hank Mobley, Chet Baker, and Steve Grossman, is a very solid accompanist and a worthwhile soloist as well. The concert with Benedetti finds Dizzy Gillespie making a guest appearance for two songs. While his playing is a bit inconsistent, he seems to inspire Griffin.
Both films are in black-and-white, but the camera work on the earlier film is much more imaginative, with many intriguing angles and moody lighting. Griffin’s theme song, “Blues For Harvey” appears in both segments, first as a quartet tune, the second time as a duet with Taylor. Running time for the two concerts together is an action-packed 77 minutes. No extras, but nice liner notes by Don Sickler in the 12-page booklet.
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Freddie Hubbard represents the next generation in jazz, which came to the fore at the end of the 1960’s, rooted in hard-bop, incorporating some of the tonal possibilities and techniques of the 60’s free-jazz revolution (albeit in a manner more palatable to the broader jazz public), and extending the music by introducing the more populist elements of funk rhythms and electric keyboard textures.
“Freddie Hubbard Live In France 1973” gets off to powerhouse start, with Hubbard’s trumpet searing over a strong drum backdrop by Michael Carvin, before “Straight Life” settles into a comfortable groove laid down by bassist Kent Brinkley. Junior Cook bears down on tenor sax, followed by a subtle George Cables solo on electric piano. At less than eight minutes, this is by far the shortest of the three tunes on the disc.
“Intrepid Fox” again opens in a free-jazz vein, before the rhythm section takes us on a sprightly modal ride. Indeed, the three musicians work so tightly that it almost sounds like one mind with six hands. Hubbard’s mastery of his horn and his continually vivid imagination can still bowl a listener over almost 40 years later. Cook approaches his solo with less abandon, more structurally - and one wishes he’s stood a bit closer to the mic - but proceeds to build up to free-jazz screaming emotionalism, before coming down to a somewhat cryptic conclusion. Cables sounds relaxed and melodic in his solo, as Brinkley and Carvin drive the music along. The drummer’s solo is more textural than bombastic, first concentrating primarily on snare fundamentals, mixing in the toms, eventually zoning in on cymbals and kick drum. Someone adds a bit of chanting at one point, as Carvin moves to incorporate his whole kit. The piece lasts about 22 minutes, but it goes by in no time.
The 19-minute “First Light” comes from a different program filmed at the same concert. Once again, we’re given a freely improvised opening, before Cables introduces a Latin-jazz-flavored groove. But this is definitely not easy-listening jazz. Hubbard is all over his trumpet, with some awe-inspiring lines strung together into a coherent solo. Cook switches to flute, which he plays melodically, but without the flair he put into his sax solos. Cables utilizes the sustaining capabilities of the electric piano wisely in his too-brief solo. Hubbard’s restatement of the theme has his most subtle playing of the entire concert.
This is Freddie Hubbard at his artistic peak - brash, brimming in self-confidence, with all the chops and inventiveness needed to back up the swagger, before Creed Taylor’s studio production formula cooled off his fire (at least on records), and before he became too much the showman in live performance (as implied in Neil Tesser’s liner notes in the enclosed booklet).
Only 50 minutes (three songs plus a tag ending), with no extras, but I doubt anyone will go away hungry.
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Rahsaan Roland Kirk is no longer considered the major figure he looked as if would become when he was first making his mark as a member of Quincy Jones and Charles Mingus aggregations. Though he virtually defined the term “multi-instrumentalist” with his vast array of familiar (tenor sax, clarinet, flute) and unfamiliar (manzello, stritch, and an assortment of folk and home-made flutes), he was so much the entertainer that many critics came to feel his stage presence overtook his musical legitimacy. ”Live In France 1972” confirms the dominance of the showman in his concert presentations, but it also demonstrates that he was one heck of a superb musician as well.
On this set, he includes a few well-known jazz standards, giving them straightforward interpretations that are refreshingly low on gimmickry, showcasing the skills of a talented band of rhythm players in the process.The opening “Blue Train” is a particularly ingratiating spotlight for the sprightly and tasteful piano of Ron Burton. Bassist Henry Pearson and drummer Richie Goldberg keep things moving nicely, while Kirk’s tenor offers some fine moments before he stretches out a bit too long; self-editing was never one of his strong points. It’s refreshing to watch Kirk apply the time-honored world-folk technique of circular breathing to the tenor sax. which means his phrases never have to pause unless he wants them to. One wonders, though, if this didn’t encourage him to sometimes play a solo longer than he should have.
“Lester Leaps In” is uncommonly calm, and is noteworthy for the way Goldberg plays definite pitches on his tom-toms by blowing air into them through a rubber hose. I would explain further, but I don’t understand it myself! Kirk plays the “Satin Doll” medley on tenor sax and manzello (a variant of the soprano sax) simultaneously, both horns sticking into his mouth at the same time, fingering both at the same time, playing parallel lines and a bit of self-counterpoint. Yes, it’s a gimmick, but one he’s able to pull off with his technical prowess and dexterity. Of the six DVD’s in this box set, this is the one which is most dependent on being seen as well as heard.
The fourth track is entitled “For Bechet and Ellington and Bigard and Carney and Rabbit”. Annotator John Kruth seems to think the term “Rabbit” refers to the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, but from the context it seems far more obvious to me that the reference is to Eliington alto saxist Johnny Hodges, whose nickname was :Rabbit”. Despite the composition being obviously based on Ellington’s “Black and Tan Fantasy”, Kirk’s clarinet solo is very much of the then-modern (1972) era. “My Cherie Amour” strikes me as jazz-lite to the point of flimsiness, but there’s no doubt Kirk knew his way around a flute, both played straight and using his influential multiphonic approach of humming into the instrument while he played. He later switches to an array of small flutes and whistles, including a nose flute (makeshift, not the traditional Hawaiian ohe hano ihu) and something that looks like a type of toy harmonica, but sounds more like a piccolo. “One More Winter/Summer” has some humorous multiphonic flute, plus a driving solo by Burton.
Kirk plays Dizzy Gillespie’s “Groovin’ High” on the stritch, a cousin of the alto sax. He uses his circular breathing on the awkward-looking horn to play a sheets-of-sound solo, quoting a few familiar tunes (as he does elsewhere in this concert as well), while the rhythm keeps things moving behind him. Kirk remains on stritch for “Soul Eyes”, in which Burton is in peak form, tastefully supported by Pearson. Kirk picks up the tenor and leads into “Volunteered Slavery”, a funk piece featuring a group vocal, as well as the awe-inspiring sight of Kirk playing THREE horns at once (tenor sax, manzello, stritch)., as percussionist Joe Texidor - barely needed through most of the disc - bangs enthusiastically on a tambourine. Kirk’s tenor sax solo may be repetitious to the max, but the longer it goes on, the more effectively it captures the emotions of the moment. The piece ends in a maelstrom of whistles, bass drone, and percussive texture, before seguing into “The Inflated Tear”, which travels between lovely-ballad and noise-exploration.
In all, despite my occasional misgivings as stated above, this is overall an impressive and highly entertaining concert, by a musician whose like we may never see again. The film is in color, quite attractive color at that, despite the packaging’s claim that it is “B&W”. 74 minutes, no extras except for the 12-page booklet.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Sounds and Silence: Travels With Manfred Eicher” (ECM)
For over forty years, Manfred Eicher has been one of the most heralded, most creative, and most fastidious of all record producers - fastidious in terms of the quality of the music he presents, and equally fastidious in the quality of sound he bestows upon his ;productions. An artist recording for Eicher’s ECM label knows he/she/they will be expected to make exceptionally fine music, and that his/her/their performances will be heard by the home listener to a degree which is as close to in-person perfection as a musician has a right to expect.
This nearly-90-minute documentary film allows us to watch Manfred Eicher at work, encompassing the major varieties of music issued by the ECM label - jazz (often, but hardly exclusively, European in artist origin and in style), classical, experimental world-music, and unclassifible. The film is both a visual and audio representation of Eicher’s accomplishments, presenting top international artists such as Estonian composer Arvo Part, Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, and Argentine bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi, to cite the best-known names here. We do not hear from such famed ECM artists as Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, or Pat Metheny, which may disappoint a few people, but may be just as well. Too many big names might detract from the focus on the producer and his work.
Essentially, we see Eicher traveling to several different countries to supervise recording sessions, which are interspersed alongside interview segments with the artists participating in those sessions. We also get an occasional glimpse inside the ECM home offices in Germany. Rather than bogging down the proceedings with an unneeded narration droning on interminably, directors Peter Guyer and Norbert Wiedmer represent Eicher’s travels with views from airplane windows, lights on the highway, etc. We witness Eicher listening, directing, thinking. Listening and thinking may be nebulous activities to try to depict visually, but the directors have captured the sense that this is exactly what we are seeing. There is a great deal of presence to thew music in this film, as befits the subject. What’s more, the film is not afraid to lavish its subject with silence, or at least quietude, dimensions that Eicher’s productions have never been afraid to value alongside the sounds.
The interviewees are, of course, ready to sing their producer’s praises. But they also discuss his art as well as their own. Arvo Part tells us a record producer must not only know how to set up mics correctly, he also has to inspire the musicians. Italian reedman Gianluigi Trovesi, a new name to me, relates the backgrounds of his variegated compositions and collaborations in such a manner that I feel the need to sample more of his music. Saluzzi takes cellist Anya Eichner to meet a group of veteran tango musicians, and talks about music as communication. Oud player Anouar Brahem musically explores the borderline between Western and Middle Eastern music. All these insights tell us much about the music, the people who perform it, and the motives and methods of the man who channels it to the worldwide audience. There is one more scene which is a testament to Eicher’s exactitude and need to approach perfection - we watch a piano tuner working on a piano to be used in a Nik Batsch session. The message is simply - Manfred Eicher cares.
Bonus features include the trailer and A 6-1/2-minute music video for a 2007 piece by Manu Katche, called “Playground” - very nicely done, as you would expect.
This nearly-90-minute documentary film allows us to watch Manfred Eicher at work, encompassing the major varieties of music issued by the ECM label - jazz (often, but hardly exclusively, European in artist origin and in style), classical, experimental world-music, and unclassifible. The film is both a visual and audio representation of Eicher’s accomplishments, presenting top international artists such as Estonian composer Arvo Part, Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, and Argentine bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi, to cite the best-known names here. We do not hear from such famed ECM artists as Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, or Pat Metheny, which may disappoint a few people, but may be just as well. Too many big names might detract from the focus on the producer and his work.
Essentially, we see Eicher traveling to several different countries to supervise recording sessions, which are interspersed alongside interview segments with the artists participating in those sessions. We also get an occasional glimpse inside the ECM home offices in Germany. Rather than bogging down the proceedings with an unneeded narration droning on interminably, directors Peter Guyer and Norbert Wiedmer represent Eicher’s travels with views from airplane windows, lights on the highway, etc. We witness Eicher listening, directing, thinking. Listening and thinking may be nebulous activities to try to depict visually, but the directors have captured the sense that this is exactly what we are seeing. There is a great deal of presence to thew music in this film, as befits the subject. What’s more, the film is not afraid to lavish its subject with silence, or at least quietude, dimensions that Eicher’s productions have never been afraid to value alongside the sounds.
The interviewees are, of course, ready to sing their producer’s praises. But they also discuss his art as well as their own. Arvo Part tells us a record producer must not only know how to set up mics correctly, he also has to inspire the musicians. Italian reedman Gianluigi Trovesi, a new name to me, relates the backgrounds of his variegated compositions and collaborations in such a manner that I feel the need to sample more of his music. Saluzzi takes cellist Anya Eichner to meet a group of veteran tango musicians, and talks about music as communication. Oud player Anouar Brahem musically explores the borderline between Western and Middle Eastern music. All these insights tell us much about the music, the people who perform it, and the motives and methods of the man who channels it to the worldwide audience. There is one more scene which is a testament to Eicher’s exactitude and need to approach perfection - we watch a piano tuner working on a piano to be used in a Nik Batsch session. The message is simply - Manfred Eicher cares.
Bonus features include the trailer and A 6-1/2-minute music video for a 2007 piece by Manu Katche, called “Playground” - very nicely done, as you would expect.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
“Fulanito: Greatest Video Hits” (Cutting Records)
For those of you who may not follow developments in popular Latin music, Fulanito is a group of Dominican-Americans from New York who emerged in 1997 with a unique combination of the traditional and the up-to-date.
Their first hit - and to my mind, still their finest achievement - was a record called “Guallando”, which combined the older, accordion-driven style of Dominican merengue music known as perico ripiao with rap/hip-hop vocals. Merengue is known for its very speedy dance tempo and (originally) accordion and/or (in the more commercial merengue of recent decades) saxophone riffs that circle and swirl around the melody line. The band’s mash-up of not just merengue rhythms with hip-hop elements, but specifically accordion-led merengue was a stroke of genius which caught fire throughout the Latin music world and made them near-instant international superstars.
The music video for “Guallando” is here, along with a number of other videos by the group, culled from five CD’s recorded between 1997 and 2004. The group’s star began to fade around that time, but they have since returned to the spotlight, which no doubt encouraged the release of this collection. About half the songs feature the accordion, played usually by Arsenio de la Rosa (their original producer’s father), and those are among the most distinctive tracks heard here. Other songs employ elements of bachata, reggaeton, salsa, and other current Latin pop styles, all combined with both solo and interactive, call-and-response, group-rap, in a style that’s as fresh as it is lively.
As with so many music videos, there’s a lot of visual emphasis on sexy girls in bikinis, which many people may find off-putting. I notice that even my college-age students have tired of the amount of emphasis on physical attributes in music video, but Fulanito only occasionally cross the line into the sort of obscenity that has given music video a bad name. I would consider much of this as racy, rather than pornographic. The worst offender is “Take It Off”, the lyrics of which (In English) consist largely of a repetition of the title phrase, which becomes highly annoying before long. Many people may find the cock-fighting scene in “Pecho a Pechuga” more upsetting than the title, which is bad enough. On the other hand, “Asi Es Que Vivo Yo” is a rather imaginative production which seems to portray an Old West Medicine Show in a Dominican village setting - but don’t quote me on that; I could be misinterpreting!
The “play all” function plays the tracks in a different order from that printed on the case - the trackss from the “Remixes” CD come AFTER those from “Americanazao”, rather than the other way around. There are two bonus videos (which play immediately after the official twelve in “play all”), including a live version of “Guallando” and a special-effects English-language disco version of “Millenium Cookout”. In all, this is a lot of fun, taking into account the caveats mentioned previously.
Total time, including the bonus videos, is about 64 minutes.
Their first hit - and to my mind, still their finest achievement - was a record called “Guallando”, which combined the older, accordion-driven style of Dominican merengue music known as perico ripiao with rap/hip-hop vocals. Merengue is known for its very speedy dance tempo and (originally) accordion and/or (in the more commercial merengue of recent decades) saxophone riffs that circle and swirl around the melody line. The band’s mash-up of not just merengue rhythms with hip-hop elements, but specifically accordion-led merengue was a stroke of genius which caught fire throughout the Latin music world and made them near-instant international superstars.
The music video for “Guallando” is here, along with a number of other videos by the group, culled from five CD’s recorded between 1997 and 2004. The group’s star began to fade around that time, but they have since returned to the spotlight, which no doubt encouraged the release of this collection. About half the songs feature the accordion, played usually by Arsenio de la Rosa (their original producer’s father), and those are among the most distinctive tracks heard here. Other songs employ elements of bachata, reggaeton, salsa, and other current Latin pop styles, all combined with both solo and interactive, call-and-response, group-rap, in a style that’s as fresh as it is lively.
As with so many music videos, there’s a lot of visual emphasis on sexy girls in bikinis, which many people may find off-putting. I notice that even my college-age students have tired of the amount of emphasis on physical attributes in music video, but Fulanito only occasionally cross the line into the sort of obscenity that has given music video a bad name. I would consider much of this as racy, rather than pornographic. The worst offender is “Take It Off”, the lyrics of which (In English) consist largely of a repetition of the title phrase, which becomes highly annoying before long. Many people may find the cock-fighting scene in “Pecho a Pechuga” more upsetting than the title, which is bad enough. On the other hand, “Asi Es Que Vivo Yo” is a rather imaginative production which seems to portray an Old West Medicine Show in a Dominican village setting - but don’t quote me on that; I could be misinterpreting!
The “play all” function plays the tracks in a different order from that printed on the case - the trackss from the “Remixes” CD come AFTER those from “Americanazao”, rather than the other way around. There are two bonus videos (which play immediately after the official twelve in “play all”), including a live version of “Guallando” and a special-effects English-language disco version of “Millenium Cookout”. In all, this is a lot of fun, taking into account the caveats mentioned previously.
Total time, including the bonus videos, is about 64 minutes.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
“Troubadour Blues” (Tom Weber Films)
It would be hard to make any statement to the effect that the singer-songwriter, offering original song material to the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar, has gone completely unnoticed by the commercial music industry. One need only drop such names as Bob Dylan, James Taylor, and Leonard Cohen, to name but a few who have risen from the ranks of the so-called “folkie” singer-songwriters to great mainstream success. But those few names that are known by the public at large are a vast minority. In a world dominated by rock, pop, hop-hop, and now dubstep, the modern-day singer-songwriter has become akin to a prophet crying out in the wilderness.
That’s what makes Tom Weber’s film, “Troubadour Blues” a much-needed corrective to mass media’s constant exaltation of the same old insubstantial, uninspiring commercial banalities constantly being exposed on radio and on t.v. competition programs. There are dozens of creative, highly skilled singer-songwriters who have something interesting to say and the ability to say it in a manner that has a great deal of meaning among those listeners open to receiving the message. These performers may be heard on the radio, true, but only if you know when and where to turn, to the “right” station. A few may occasionally pop up on television, but don’t hold your breath waiting to see them, because it doesn’t happen often.
“Troubadour Blues” is a documentary look at the singer-songwriter scene of the past decade. It is by no means an exhaustive study of the phenomenon. Many of the artists seen here in performance and/or in interviews - not everyone interviewed is given a performance spogtlight - have devoted regional followings, some are nationally known. They may be heralded in one area of the country, and completely obscure in others. There are many artists whom I might have expected to turn up here who are not mentioned at all, and a few who ARE here whose names I’ve never encountered.Thus is the nature of the world of the “contemporary-folk” or “Americana” artist, to name two appellations used to lump a diverse assemblage of artists into genres for more efficient marketing. One hears influences from folk, country, rock, blues, and the proverbial “much more”, yet they all share a common attribute, the necessity to make their living by traveling from town to town, playing small venues for nowhere near enough money. Weber’s choice of artists is by nature subjective, but there is not one artist here - borderline-famous or mostly unknown - who doesn’t deserve far more exposure than they have received in the past.
Weber devotes a considerable amount of space to his major “case study” (yes, it’s a pun), Peter Case. Case, who grew up in Hamburg, NY (not all that far from GenEc’s “offices” here in Fredonia), was at one time a rock star, with the Nerves and the Plimsouls. But he chose to “downsize” his career into becoming a solo artist, with or without additional musicians. Early in the film, there is a striking collage of Case singing the same song in many places over a period of time, making it seem fresh for every new audience, despite the rigors of the road. (Case suffered serious heart problems during the time was being made, but is back on the road. Indeed, as I write this, there’s a report of a Nerves “reunion” making the rounds, albeit not the entire band.) The other “rock star” name here is Dave Alvin, who achieved cult status with the Blasters and X before turning toward a more folk/Americana direction. We also hear from Slaid Cleaves, Gurf Morlix, Amy Speace, to name a few of the more widely-known artists. Tracy Grammer is here, with a short memorial tribute to her old partner, Dave Carter, another victim of the hard life independent musicians must endure.
There is a lot to enjoy musically. There is much to learn from the interviews, so that fans of this particular sub-class of music will find this an essential addition to their DVD collections. But with any luck, this disc will reach far beyond the already-committed singer-songwriter audience, to let even those people who may be unfamiliar with ANY of the artists in this film know that there is something very worthwhile, very aesthetically satisfying going on in an underground of sorts that has difficulty attracting large numbers of new listeners. I certainly hope “Troubadour Blues” manages to reach that larger audience, and that the artists in the film can open many new doors as a result.
There are no extra bonus features on this disc. But the DVD case lists this as a 91-minute film. Actually, if you count the credits at the end - which most films do - it’s more like 95 minutes. In an era when some commercial DVD companies have taken to adding the total time including bonus features, trailers, photo galleries, and whatnot into the running time of the disc, I find Weber’s under-statement refreshing.
The film has its own website - http://www.troubadour-blues.com/
That’s what makes Tom Weber’s film, “Troubadour Blues” a much-needed corrective to mass media’s constant exaltation of the same old insubstantial, uninspiring commercial banalities constantly being exposed on radio and on t.v. competition programs. There are dozens of creative, highly skilled singer-songwriters who have something interesting to say and the ability to say it in a manner that has a great deal of meaning among those listeners open to receiving the message. These performers may be heard on the radio, true, but only if you know when and where to turn, to the “right” station. A few may occasionally pop up on television, but don’t hold your breath waiting to see them, because it doesn’t happen often.
“Troubadour Blues” is a documentary look at the singer-songwriter scene of the past decade. It is by no means an exhaustive study of the phenomenon. Many of the artists seen here in performance and/or in interviews - not everyone interviewed is given a performance spogtlight - have devoted regional followings, some are nationally known. They may be heralded in one area of the country, and completely obscure in others. There are many artists whom I might have expected to turn up here who are not mentioned at all, and a few who ARE here whose names I’ve never encountered.Thus is the nature of the world of the “contemporary-folk” or “Americana” artist, to name two appellations used to lump a diverse assemblage of artists into genres for more efficient marketing. One hears influences from folk, country, rock, blues, and the proverbial “much more”, yet they all share a common attribute, the necessity to make their living by traveling from town to town, playing small venues for nowhere near enough money. Weber’s choice of artists is by nature subjective, but there is not one artist here - borderline-famous or mostly unknown - who doesn’t deserve far more exposure than they have received in the past.
Weber devotes a considerable amount of space to his major “case study” (yes, it’s a pun), Peter Case. Case, who grew up in Hamburg, NY (not all that far from GenEc’s “offices” here in Fredonia), was at one time a rock star, with the Nerves and the Plimsouls. But he chose to “downsize” his career into becoming a solo artist, with or without additional musicians. Early in the film, there is a striking collage of Case singing the same song in many places over a period of time, making it seem fresh for every new audience, despite the rigors of the road. (Case suffered serious heart problems during the time was being made, but is back on the road. Indeed, as I write this, there’s a report of a Nerves “reunion” making the rounds, albeit not the entire band.) The other “rock star” name here is Dave Alvin, who achieved cult status with the Blasters and X before turning toward a more folk/Americana direction. We also hear from Slaid Cleaves, Gurf Morlix, Amy Speace, to name a few of the more widely-known artists. Tracy Grammer is here, with a short memorial tribute to her old partner, Dave Carter, another victim of the hard life independent musicians must endure.
There is a lot to enjoy musically. There is much to learn from the interviews, so that fans of this particular sub-class of music will find this an essential addition to their DVD collections. But with any luck, this disc will reach far beyond the already-committed singer-songwriter audience, to let even those people who may be unfamiliar with ANY of the artists in this film know that there is something very worthwhile, very aesthetically satisfying going on in an underground of sorts that has difficulty attracting large numbers of new listeners. I certainly hope “Troubadour Blues” manages to reach that larger audience, and that the artists in the film can open many new doors as a result.
There are no extra bonus features on this disc. But the DVD case lists this as a 91-minute film. Actually, if you count the credits at the end - which most films do - it’s more like 95 minutes. In an era when some commercial DVD companies have taken to adding the total time including bonus features, trailers, photo galleries, and whatnot into the running time of the disc, I find Weber’s under-statement refreshing.
The film has its own website - http://www.troubadour-blues.com/
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Classic Motown Performances on the Ed Sullivan Show - 3 separate DVD’s (SOFA Entertainment)
For those of you who are too young to remember the Ed Sullivan Show, which ran on the CBS television network from 1948 to 1971, it was a variety program very much unlike the competition-style variety shows on-air today (and that means you, “America’s Got Talent”). Rather than present amateur or entry-level pro talent hoping to make it big, which is the raison d’etre of current music and dance shows on t.v., the Ed Sullivan Show featured the very finest and most popular performers of the day - in music, dance, comedy, puppets, vaudeville-style specialty acts (jumping dogs, plate spinners, and a host of etceteras) - you name it, Sullivan had it. To be sure, Sullivan was the quirkiest t.v. host you could imagine, with a tendency to start mumbling if he had to say more than a couple sentences, frequent mispronunciations ans scrambled names (as when he introduced Tommy James as “Tony Jones”) , and a variety of facial expressions and distinctive body movements that made him an easy target for impressionists looking for a celebrity to mock. But darned if he didn’t present some of the finest pop music on the airwaves, during an era rich with music shows featuring top-drawer professional talent. Would we had someone like him today. Television really WAS better when I was a kid!!
Which brings us to three new DVD’s (actually four, as the anthology has two discs) devoted to Sullivan appearances by some of Motown’s finest artists during that fabled label’s Golden Era. We’ll start with the various-artists set, ”Motown Gold From The Ed Sullivan Show”. This set consists of three “volumes” of 40 minutes each, with Vols. l and 2 on the first disc, and Vol. 3 on the other DVD. (One wonders if these had originally been released separately on three discs or three VHS tapes.) It’s fascinating to watch the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Gladys Knight and the Pips, all in their prime all these years later. And, given all we know - from the highest highs to the tragic lows - about what happened to Michael Jackson in his subsequent solo career and off=stage foibles, it’s refreshing to see young Michael and his Jackson 5 siblings so fresh, energetic, enthusiastic, and, um, “normal” at the beginning of their stardom.
There is a definite imbalance among the performers, whether due to perceived audience demand or availability of strong performances. But the Supremes and Temptations dominate the proceedings. We see two glimpses of Stevie Wonder, first as a 13-year-old boy genius, singing and playing up a storm on chromatic harmonica, plus a more mature Stevie on “For Once In My Life”. But Wonder’s finest hours post-dated the Sullivan Show. Marvin Gaye has one, only one selection, and that’s not even of one of his better-remembered songs (“Take This Heart Of Mine”, only a #44 hit) - BUT this was Gaye’s ONLY appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, for reasons I don’t know. Likewise Martha and the Vandellas are here only once, looking splendid for “Dancing In the Street”. But we must be thankful for what we do have here. There are no selections at all by the Marvelettes, Isley Brothers, or Jr. Walker - I can’t recall after all these years if any of them ever appeared on Ed Sullivan or not.
For the most part, Sullivan allowed his guests to shine without undue interference. They sang, they danced (Motown was very careful to school their artists into being all-around entertainers, not simply singers who stood rock-still around microphones), they dressed well, they were presented in a attractive surroundings, their orchestrations were professionally handled. There were no “Shindig”-style go-go-girls, half-naked models, or embarrassing attempts at singing songs totally unsuited to them. Yes, there are times when Motown’s finest sang covers of other people’s hits and/or jazzy, nightclub-pop songs instead of “The Sound of Young America” - the Four Tops do it twice here - but that was also part of Motown’s concept of grooming artists for what they hoped would be long-term careers. So these atypical songs were not removed from what these artists might do in a nightclub situation removed from their usual Funk Brothers backing. There’s just so much good stuff here, I can’t imagine any fan of Motown, of 60’s music in general, heck, of music period being disappointed by this set.
If you’re looking for individual artists instead of an anthology, SOFA has at least two DVD’s by classic Motown groups, though there is a great deal of overlap between these individual discs and the above set (plus some material that appears on the individual discs and not in the set).. “The Best Of The Supremes On The Ed Sullivan Show” not only contains strong performances by three editions of the trio, it shows the original line-up of Diana/Mary/Flo assuming a variety of identities. Unfortunately, it’s not presented in strict chronoloigcal order (the key word being “strict”; it does, however, appear to be arranged in early-to-late order; the clips are undated), but the changes the group underwent through the mid-to-late 1960’s are quite visible.
We start in 1964 with “Come See About Me” in black-and-white. (Subsequent clips are all in color.) All three large-haired singers are crowded together as a unit, with Diana’s big eyes and infectious grin showing an innocent delight in getting their big break in the national spotlight. All three seem a bit uneasy, as if their fabled lessons in dance and deportment hadn’t quite taken hold yet. By the time of the second clip., “You Can’t Hurry Love”, from 1966, the hair has been re-styled, eye makeup has been slathered on injudiciously, the wardrobe seriously upgraded, and - most telling of all - Diana Ross has been separated from Mary and Flo, less a unit than a star with backup singers. The grueling dance lessons pay off in “Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart” (also released in 1966), as this is Flo Ballard and Mary Wilson’s most significant contribution to the performance seen here. By the time of “The Happening”, 1967, Florence Ballard seems pushed even further into the background.
The move away from the Sound Of Young America to a more polished pop identity in the trio’s nightclub engagements (a move which eventually paid off in Diana Ross’ solo career) is represented in the lushly-orchestrated swing-waltz version of “My Favorite Things”. (Speaking of orchestration, I’m thinking Motown’s touring-unit musicians are absent from these Sullivan shows; backing was probably supplied by Sullivan’s regular bandleader, Ray Bloch.) Pop becomes increasingly prevalent, including an uncharacteristic version of “More”, which begins with unison trio vocals. Flo and Mary show themselves to be much more graceful than Diana in a brief dance sequence. Irving Berlin’s “Always” starts out as pure supper-club, before an ill-fated decision to add a hipper, more “contemporary” uptempo beat to it.
Changing fashion finds the Supremes sporting Afro wigs and wearing a ghetto-chic wardrobe for “Love Child”. Flo Ballard is gone, replaced by Cindy Birdsong. One of this second edition Supremes’ last performances on the Sullivan Show, “No Matter What Sign You Are” (an only-modest hit from 1969), finds them in stunning colorful, loose-fitting,reflective, glitter-laden gowns that are far more striking than the cliche-filled, asgrology-themed song. The glitter returns on more conservative dresses for one of the group’s less well-remembered gems, “Forever Came Today” (1968), but the backing vocals by Mary and Cindy are almost hidden.
Regardless of staging, wardrobe, hair-do’s, choreography, and all the other changes from clip to clip, the performances are generally first-rate throughout. The one disappointment is a medley of ultra-short snippets of their greatest hits. Indeed, the excerpts are so short and go by so quickly that there is an occasional bit of confusion by the trio. Bit it \’s nice to watch Diana, Mary and Flo interacting as they do here.
Ed Sullivan was, in retropsect, an enigmatic television host, without charisma, polished delivery, or apparent talent other than supervising a consistently entertaining collection of diverse acts from week to week. His interviewing skills would often leave his guests bewildered. At one point, he introduces the Supremes as three girls from three different states, to which Diana has to point out that they are all from Detroit. In another clip, the perennially befuddled Sullivan tries to get in on the act by adding a bit of comic dialog and even singing briefly, leaving the viewer wondering why. But we watched him faithfully every week; to those of us who grew up watching him, he remains a cultural touchstone.
The program itself is 41 minutes long, but there is a welcome bonus song at the end - “Up The Ladder To The Roof”, the 1970 Top 10 debut of the post-Diana Supremes, featuring Jean Terrell as lead singer. Based on this opening success, the future looked very bright. But within two years, the hits began to dry up. But the highlights of the Supremes’ golden era, as captured on the Ed Sullivan Show, are a testament to one of the greatest singing groups ever. Highly recommended, whether you want to analyze, or simply enjoy.
_____________________________________________________________________________
The Temptations’ career was also dogged by a variety of soap-opera-like incidents, if the much-debated late 90’s mini-series (based on a book by Otis Williams, the last remaining original Tempt still alive, who is still singing with the group) is to be believed. But the Tempts’ problems were never as public as those of the Supremes, so it’s not as much of a game to try to read things into the performances on “The Best Of The Temptations On The Ed Sullivan Show”. Better to just sit back and enjoy!
This DVD includes both the “David Ruffin Temptations”, so to speak, and the “Dennis Exdwards Temptations”, though of course the group was much more eager to spread lead-vocal chores around than the Supremes ever were. Oddly enough, the earliest performances seem rather tentative, Ruffin in particular seeming much more under wraps than one would guess from his soulful singing on the corresponding records. But Eddie Kendricks and the choreography combine to rescue them. Thank goodness, Ruffin’s jitters - if that’s what the problem was - settled down on later Sullivan appearances. No such problem with Dennis Edwards, however, who is consistently emotional and professional at all times.
One of the definite highlights of the disc is a “duet” (if you can consider eight people in two separate groupings a “duet”!) with the Supremes, singing each other’s hits. Diana Ross sounds especially fine on “My Guy” (i.e., “My Girl”), while Ruffin comes to life on “Stop! In The Name Of Love”. Ross and Ruffin share “I’m Losing You,” which includes some energetic dancing by all eight.
“Runaway Child Running Wild” has some clever stasging, while “Psychedelic Shack” has some unusual visual effects. (Sullivan calls U.S. Congressman John Conyers to the stage at the end of “Shack”, as he had just honored the Temptations in the Congressional Records.) Eddie Kendricks is especially mellow on “Just My Imagination”, which the group uncharacteristically sings while sitting down. It’s to the credit of the Sullivan Show’s production staff that they could continue to come up with new ways of showcasing groups who appeared on the program multiple times.
The most unexpected example of that phenomenon may be a pop version of “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” (not usually thought of as a Motown song even though it was co-written and originally recorded by Motown artist Brenda Holloway). The Tempts sing to, then dance with five beautifully dressed female dancers, in a style suited to a number of other variety shows but not often seen on Sullivan. It’s a very entertaining segment, choreographed by Louis Johnson of “The Wiz” fame. The Temptations were always one of the most versatile of all Motown groups, as witnessed by their many stylistic changes throughout the years (and notable here). So it’s not surprising that a medley of “Ain’t No Mountain High enough” and “My Sweet Lord”, done in a nightclub style, works as well as it does, even though the Tempts fail to put their own identifiable stamp on the tunes.
The body of the program lasts a somewhat scanty 35 minutes, but there are two bonus clips, both in the Copa vein - a jazzy, finger-snapping “Hello Young Lovers” (from the Ruffin era, sung primarily in unison), and a bossa nova-tinged “Autumn Leaves” (from the Edwards period). Both are well worth including, to round out this glimpse of the most beloved American group vocal groups in their prime (no pun intended).
If you buy the individual discs, you will already own a sizeable chunk of the anthology. It’s up to the individual purchaser to decide if you want to concentrate on particular artists or the overview.
http://www.EdSullivan.com
http://www.facebook.com/EdSullivanShow
https://twitter.com/#!/EdSullivanShow
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheEdSullivanShow
Which brings us to three new DVD’s (actually four, as the anthology has two discs) devoted to Sullivan appearances by some of Motown’s finest artists during that fabled label’s Golden Era. We’ll start with the various-artists set, ”Motown Gold From The Ed Sullivan Show”. This set consists of three “volumes” of 40 minutes each, with Vols. l and 2 on the first disc, and Vol. 3 on the other DVD. (One wonders if these had originally been released separately on three discs or three VHS tapes.) It’s fascinating to watch the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Gladys Knight and the Pips, all in their prime all these years later. And, given all we know - from the highest highs to the tragic lows - about what happened to Michael Jackson in his subsequent solo career and off=stage foibles, it’s refreshing to see young Michael and his Jackson 5 siblings so fresh, energetic, enthusiastic, and, um, “normal” at the beginning of their stardom.
There is a definite imbalance among the performers, whether due to perceived audience demand or availability of strong performances. But the Supremes and Temptations dominate the proceedings. We see two glimpses of Stevie Wonder, first as a 13-year-old boy genius, singing and playing up a storm on chromatic harmonica, plus a more mature Stevie on “For Once In My Life”. But Wonder’s finest hours post-dated the Sullivan Show. Marvin Gaye has one, only one selection, and that’s not even of one of his better-remembered songs (“Take This Heart Of Mine”, only a #44 hit) - BUT this was Gaye’s ONLY appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, for reasons I don’t know. Likewise Martha and the Vandellas are here only once, looking splendid for “Dancing In the Street”. But we must be thankful for what we do have here. There are no selections at all by the Marvelettes, Isley Brothers, or Jr. Walker - I can’t recall after all these years if any of them ever appeared on Ed Sullivan or not.
For the most part, Sullivan allowed his guests to shine without undue interference. They sang, they danced (Motown was very careful to school their artists into being all-around entertainers, not simply singers who stood rock-still around microphones), they dressed well, they were presented in a attractive surroundings, their orchestrations were professionally handled. There were no “Shindig”-style go-go-girls, half-naked models, or embarrassing attempts at singing songs totally unsuited to them. Yes, there are times when Motown’s finest sang covers of other people’s hits and/or jazzy, nightclub-pop songs instead of “The Sound of Young America” - the Four Tops do it twice here - but that was also part of Motown’s concept of grooming artists for what they hoped would be long-term careers. So these atypical songs were not removed from what these artists might do in a nightclub situation removed from their usual Funk Brothers backing. There’s just so much good stuff here, I can’t imagine any fan of Motown, of 60’s music in general, heck, of music period being disappointed by this set.
If you’re looking for individual artists instead of an anthology, SOFA has at least two DVD’s by classic Motown groups, though there is a great deal of overlap between these individual discs and the above set (plus some material that appears on the individual discs and not in the set).. “The Best Of The Supremes On The Ed Sullivan Show” not only contains strong performances by three editions of the trio, it shows the original line-up of Diana/Mary/Flo assuming a variety of identities. Unfortunately, it’s not presented in strict chronoloigcal order (the key word being “strict”; it does, however, appear to be arranged in early-to-late order; the clips are undated), but the changes the group underwent through the mid-to-late 1960’s are quite visible.
We start in 1964 with “Come See About Me” in black-and-white. (Subsequent clips are all in color.) All three large-haired singers are crowded together as a unit, with Diana’s big eyes and infectious grin showing an innocent delight in getting their big break in the national spotlight. All three seem a bit uneasy, as if their fabled lessons in dance and deportment hadn’t quite taken hold yet. By the time of the second clip., “You Can’t Hurry Love”, from 1966, the hair has been re-styled, eye makeup has been slathered on injudiciously, the wardrobe seriously upgraded, and - most telling of all - Diana Ross has been separated from Mary and Flo, less a unit than a star with backup singers. The grueling dance lessons pay off in “Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart” (also released in 1966), as this is Flo Ballard and Mary Wilson’s most significant contribution to the performance seen here. By the time of “The Happening”, 1967, Florence Ballard seems pushed even further into the background.
The move away from the Sound Of Young America to a more polished pop identity in the trio’s nightclub engagements (a move which eventually paid off in Diana Ross’ solo career) is represented in the lushly-orchestrated swing-waltz version of “My Favorite Things”. (Speaking of orchestration, I’m thinking Motown’s touring-unit musicians are absent from these Sullivan shows; backing was probably supplied by Sullivan’s regular bandleader, Ray Bloch.) Pop becomes increasingly prevalent, including an uncharacteristic version of “More”, which begins with unison trio vocals. Flo and Mary show themselves to be much more graceful than Diana in a brief dance sequence. Irving Berlin’s “Always” starts out as pure supper-club, before an ill-fated decision to add a hipper, more “contemporary” uptempo beat to it.
Changing fashion finds the Supremes sporting Afro wigs and wearing a ghetto-chic wardrobe for “Love Child”. Flo Ballard is gone, replaced by Cindy Birdsong. One of this second edition Supremes’ last performances on the Sullivan Show, “No Matter What Sign You Are” (an only-modest hit from 1969), finds them in stunning colorful, loose-fitting,reflective, glitter-laden gowns that are far more striking than the cliche-filled, asgrology-themed song. The glitter returns on more conservative dresses for one of the group’s less well-remembered gems, “Forever Came Today” (1968), but the backing vocals by Mary and Cindy are almost hidden.
Regardless of staging, wardrobe, hair-do’s, choreography, and all the other changes from clip to clip, the performances are generally first-rate throughout. The one disappointment is a medley of ultra-short snippets of their greatest hits. Indeed, the excerpts are so short and go by so quickly that there is an occasional bit of confusion by the trio. Bit it \’s nice to watch Diana, Mary and Flo interacting as they do here.
Ed Sullivan was, in retropsect, an enigmatic television host, without charisma, polished delivery, or apparent talent other than supervising a consistently entertaining collection of diverse acts from week to week. His interviewing skills would often leave his guests bewildered. At one point, he introduces the Supremes as three girls from three different states, to which Diana has to point out that they are all from Detroit. In another clip, the perennially befuddled Sullivan tries to get in on the act by adding a bit of comic dialog and even singing briefly, leaving the viewer wondering why. But we watched him faithfully every week; to those of us who grew up watching him, he remains a cultural touchstone.
The program itself is 41 minutes long, but there is a welcome bonus song at the end - “Up The Ladder To The Roof”, the 1970 Top 10 debut of the post-Diana Supremes, featuring Jean Terrell as lead singer. Based on this opening success, the future looked very bright. But within two years, the hits began to dry up. But the highlights of the Supremes’ golden era, as captured on the Ed Sullivan Show, are a testament to one of the greatest singing groups ever. Highly recommended, whether you want to analyze, or simply enjoy.
_____________________________________________________________________________
The Temptations’ career was also dogged by a variety of soap-opera-like incidents, if the much-debated late 90’s mini-series (based on a book by Otis Williams, the last remaining original Tempt still alive, who is still singing with the group) is to be believed. But the Tempts’ problems were never as public as those of the Supremes, so it’s not as much of a game to try to read things into the performances on “The Best Of The Temptations On The Ed Sullivan Show”. Better to just sit back and enjoy!
This DVD includes both the “David Ruffin Temptations”, so to speak, and the “Dennis Exdwards Temptations”, though of course the group was much more eager to spread lead-vocal chores around than the Supremes ever were. Oddly enough, the earliest performances seem rather tentative, Ruffin in particular seeming much more under wraps than one would guess from his soulful singing on the corresponding records. But Eddie Kendricks and the choreography combine to rescue them. Thank goodness, Ruffin’s jitters - if that’s what the problem was - settled down on later Sullivan appearances. No such problem with Dennis Edwards, however, who is consistently emotional and professional at all times.
One of the definite highlights of the disc is a “duet” (if you can consider eight people in two separate groupings a “duet”!) with the Supremes, singing each other’s hits. Diana Ross sounds especially fine on “My Guy” (i.e., “My Girl”), while Ruffin comes to life on “Stop! In The Name Of Love”. Ross and Ruffin share “I’m Losing You,” which includes some energetic dancing by all eight.
“Runaway Child Running Wild” has some clever stasging, while “Psychedelic Shack” has some unusual visual effects. (Sullivan calls U.S. Congressman John Conyers to the stage at the end of “Shack”, as he had just honored the Temptations in the Congressional Records.) Eddie Kendricks is especially mellow on “Just My Imagination”, which the group uncharacteristically sings while sitting down. It’s to the credit of the Sullivan Show’s production staff that they could continue to come up with new ways of showcasing groups who appeared on the program multiple times.
The most unexpected example of that phenomenon may be a pop version of “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” (not usually thought of as a Motown song even though it was co-written and originally recorded by Motown artist Brenda Holloway). The Tempts sing to, then dance with five beautifully dressed female dancers, in a style suited to a number of other variety shows but not often seen on Sullivan. It’s a very entertaining segment, choreographed by Louis Johnson of “The Wiz” fame. The Temptations were always one of the most versatile of all Motown groups, as witnessed by their many stylistic changes throughout the years (and notable here). So it’s not surprising that a medley of “Ain’t No Mountain High enough” and “My Sweet Lord”, done in a nightclub style, works as well as it does, even though the Tempts fail to put their own identifiable stamp on the tunes.
The body of the program lasts a somewhat scanty 35 minutes, but there are two bonus clips, both in the Copa vein - a jazzy, finger-snapping “Hello Young Lovers” (from the Ruffin era, sung primarily in unison), and a bossa nova-tinged “Autumn Leaves” (from the Edwards period). Both are well worth including, to round out this glimpse of the most beloved American group vocal groups in their prime (no pun intended).
If you buy the individual discs, you will already own a sizeable chunk of the anthology. It’s up to the individual purchaser to decide if you want to concentrate on particular artists or the overview.
http://www.EdSullivan.com
http://www.facebook.com/EdSullivanShow
https://twitter.com/#!/EdSullivanShow
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheEdSullivanShow
Thursday, December 15, 2011
“Celtic Angels at Christmas” (Newvideo)/”Celtic Crossroads: World Fusion” (DPTV)
It’s that time of year, when I make my seasonal-music DVD recommendation for last-minute shoppers, perhaps looking for something special for the somewhat older member of the family. (Of course, you may feel free to buy it for yourself as well.). Last year, it was Andy Williams, this year it’s a marvelous collection of smooth Celtic Christmas music from the heavily Scottish island of Cape Breton, off the coast of Nova Scotia in the Maritime region of eastern Canada.
The Celtic Angels are not so much a “band”, as they are an ensemble of six women (including four from Nova Scotia, one from Prince Edward Island, and one from and island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland),. who perform solo and in small groupings, never all six at one time. The Angels perform on harp and fiddle as well as vocals, and are backed by a handful of (male) musicians on guitars and keyboards. The mood is very placid and peaceful, even on uptempo tunes, the performances polished to a very fine sheen. Even so, there is a lot of the Celtic tradition and of the earth in these moving renditions of centuries-old songs.
The tunes in this American release of a Canadian television special include several tunes that will be familiar to everyone - “Ave Maria” played by fiddler Gillian Boucher, “O Holy Night” by Kendra MacGillivray, ”The Holly and the Ivy” sung by Patricia Murray, and a bilingual (English and Gaelic) interpretation of “Silent Night”. “Winter Wonderland” is notable for the graceful step-dancing of Sabra MacGillivray and a few talented children, while Boucher ends the program by combining “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” with an Irish jig.
But rather than simply perform the old popular favorites, the Angels also delve into the traditional folk repertoire. Cape Breton singer Stephanie Hardy opens the proceedings with “The Holly Bears & Berry”. Murray gives us the beloved Irish “Wexford Carol”, while Hardy travels south to Appalachia for an uncharacteristically perky reading of John Jacob Niles’ “I Wonder As I Wonder”. There are spirited fiddle tunes both by the MacGillivrays and by Gillian Boucher. But the finest selections of all may be the Gaelic hymns sung in the old tongue by the classic Scottish singer Maggie MacInnes (daughter of the acclaimed traditional singer Flora MacNeil), to her own accompaniment on the clarsach (Celtic harp).
There’s hardly a misstep to be found in any of the arrangements. The production is an ode to the effectiveness of simplicity - nothing fancy, nothing extraneous, hardly anything in the way of sets or visual hooks, nothing to detract from the music itself. There are short spoken introductions to put the songs into a context, but these are helpful rather than intrusive.
At only 48 minutes, the performance is rather short, no doubt a length dictated by the absence of commercials, which would have stretched this to fit an hour-long t.v. time-slot. (The commercials are far from missed!) But the 48 minutes are jam-packed with fine music, lovingly performed. I notice Amazon is selling this for less than $12, so the short length seems reasonable enough. A very nice addition to the growing catalog of Christmas music on DVD.
______________________________________________________________________________
The DVD by Celtic Crossroads is not a seasonal disc by any means, but would doubtless make a greatly appreciated gift for the Irish-music lover on your gift list. Where the Celtic Angels aim for serenity, the 9-member Celtic Crossroads touring ensemble (seven musicians/singers playing over twenty instruments, plus two dancers) heads in the direction of visceral excitement. Both groups do a fine job of representing Celtic traditions (Irish in the case of Crossroads); the choice will depend on which mood you’re in at the moment.
The performers on this PBS special are all young in years (most look to be in their 20’s), but with a solid awareness of traditional Irish music and the history behind it. But they also like to add contemporary elements into the mix. For the most part, the ensemble sound has audible origins in the small group; of neo-traditionalists who popularized the old dance, air, and ballad repertoire during the 1970’s, bands such as De Danann, Planxty, and the Bothy Band. Like those iconic bands, Celtic Crossroads features the “classic” melodic instruments, such as fiddles, uillean pipes, wooden flute, tenor banjo, and accordion, adding a Celtic harp to conjure up comparisons to the Chieftains. But - also like the neo-traditional bands just mentioned, they add strong, rock-tinged accompaniment on acoustic guitar, bouzoukee, mandolin, and mandola, instruments rarely encountered in more rigorous performances by the hardest-core traditionalists.
They also essay some strictly contemporary songs - Andy Briggs’ “Last of the Great Whales”, Americana songwriter Steve Earle’s “Galway Girl” (which, to be sure, sounds as Irish as an Americana song possibly can), and - the most radical choice of all, “U2’s “With Or Without You”. But before you get to thinking they’ve jumped the shark with that last selection, I quickly point out that it’s given a lush, lyric-ballad treatment built around Celtic harp and flute (plus folk-style vocal). Viewers of all ages - and the live-concert audience skews toward gray - should be able to easily tolerate, even enjoy it. The title of the concert, “World Fusion”, is a reference to the fact that the group also performs some distinctly non-Irish pieces, such as Italian composer Vittorio Monti’s famous violin piece, “Czardas”, written in the style of Hungarian gypsy music; a medley of US fiddle favorites, “Cotton-Eyed Joe” and “Orange Blossom Special”; and a piece curiously entitled “Cajun Blues”, which doesn’t sound especially Cajun to me, perhaps because it’s played on the tenor banjo. These non-Irish pieces are played with a showier, virtuosity-for-virtuosity’s sake abandon, less controlled than the pieces from their own tradition, but are entertaining as showpieces nonetheless. (When I say “their own tradition”, let me not overlook the fact that there’s an American and a Norwegian in the line-up.)
What separates Celtic Crossroads from other neo-traditional bands is the excellence of the dancing. Dancers Marcus Donnelly (who shows his agility on an old “brush dance” or “broom dance”, in which he dances with and around a broom) and Charlene Morrison are championship caliber, thus helping to make the Celtic Crossroads show a “complete package”. The singing is fine, the musicianship is intelligent - as a former bodhran player, I particularly appreciate Diarmid Hurley’s skill and inventiveness on the goat-frame drum - the arrangements true to their roots. It’s the “real deal”, for sure, but it’s a contemporary version of the real deal, not a preserved museum piece.
The concert itself lasts about 80 minutes. There is also a bonus feature in which the producers of the entourage talk bout the background of the show and its participants. Newcomers to Irish music, in particular, may learn quite a bit, while I found it held considerable interest throughout its 23-minute length. The sponsor of the concert and disc, Tourism Ireland, has appended three short promotional travelog segments plus a few seconds of several other promotional more clips, presented in such an ingratiating manner that one almost forgets one is looking at a commercial.
Relevant websites are http://www.newvideo.com and http://www.dptvmedia.org
The Celtic Angels are not so much a “band”, as they are an ensemble of six women (including four from Nova Scotia, one from Prince Edward Island, and one from and island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland),. who perform solo and in small groupings, never all six at one time. The Angels perform on harp and fiddle as well as vocals, and are backed by a handful of (male) musicians on guitars and keyboards. The mood is very placid and peaceful, even on uptempo tunes, the performances polished to a very fine sheen. Even so, there is a lot of the Celtic tradition and of the earth in these moving renditions of centuries-old songs.
The tunes in this American release of a Canadian television special include several tunes that will be familiar to everyone - “Ave Maria” played by fiddler Gillian Boucher, “O Holy Night” by Kendra MacGillivray, ”The Holly and the Ivy” sung by Patricia Murray, and a bilingual (English and Gaelic) interpretation of “Silent Night”. “Winter Wonderland” is notable for the graceful step-dancing of Sabra MacGillivray and a few talented children, while Boucher ends the program by combining “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” with an Irish jig.
But rather than simply perform the old popular favorites, the Angels also delve into the traditional folk repertoire. Cape Breton singer Stephanie Hardy opens the proceedings with “The Holly Bears & Berry”. Murray gives us the beloved Irish “Wexford Carol”, while Hardy travels south to Appalachia for an uncharacteristically perky reading of John Jacob Niles’ “I Wonder As I Wonder”. There are spirited fiddle tunes both by the MacGillivrays and by Gillian Boucher. But the finest selections of all may be the Gaelic hymns sung in the old tongue by the classic Scottish singer Maggie MacInnes (daughter of the acclaimed traditional singer Flora MacNeil), to her own accompaniment on the clarsach (Celtic harp).
There’s hardly a misstep to be found in any of the arrangements. The production is an ode to the effectiveness of simplicity - nothing fancy, nothing extraneous, hardly anything in the way of sets or visual hooks, nothing to detract from the music itself. There are short spoken introductions to put the songs into a context, but these are helpful rather than intrusive.
At only 48 minutes, the performance is rather short, no doubt a length dictated by the absence of commercials, which would have stretched this to fit an hour-long t.v. time-slot. (The commercials are far from missed!) But the 48 minutes are jam-packed with fine music, lovingly performed. I notice Amazon is selling this for less than $12, so the short length seems reasonable enough. A very nice addition to the growing catalog of Christmas music on DVD.
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The DVD by Celtic Crossroads is not a seasonal disc by any means, but would doubtless make a greatly appreciated gift for the Irish-music lover on your gift list. Where the Celtic Angels aim for serenity, the 9-member Celtic Crossroads touring ensemble (seven musicians/singers playing over twenty instruments, plus two dancers) heads in the direction of visceral excitement. Both groups do a fine job of representing Celtic traditions (Irish in the case of Crossroads); the choice will depend on which mood you’re in at the moment.
The performers on this PBS special are all young in years (most look to be in their 20’s), but with a solid awareness of traditional Irish music and the history behind it. But they also like to add contemporary elements into the mix. For the most part, the ensemble sound has audible origins in the small group; of neo-traditionalists who popularized the old dance, air, and ballad repertoire during the 1970’s, bands such as De Danann, Planxty, and the Bothy Band. Like those iconic bands, Celtic Crossroads features the “classic” melodic instruments, such as fiddles, uillean pipes, wooden flute, tenor banjo, and accordion, adding a Celtic harp to conjure up comparisons to the Chieftains. But - also like the neo-traditional bands just mentioned, they add strong, rock-tinged accompaniment on acoustic guitar, bouzoukee, mandolin, and mandola, instruments rarely encountered in more rigorous performances by the hardest-core traditionalists.
They also essay some strictly contemporary songs - Andy Briggs’ “Last of the Great Whales”, Americana songwriter Steve Earle’s “Galway Girl” (which, to be sure, sounds as Irish as an Americana song possibly can), and - the most radical choice of all, “U2’s “With Or Without You”. But before you get to thinking they’ve jumped the shark with that last selection, I quickly point out that it’s given a lush, lyric-ballad treatment built around Celtic harp and flute (plus folk-style vocal). Viewers of all ages - and the live-concert audience skews toward gray - should be able to easily tolerate, even enjoy it. The title of the concert, “World Fusion”, is a reference to the fact that the group also performs some distinctly non-Irish pieces, such as Italian composer Vittorio Monti’s famous violin piece, “Czardas”, written in the style of Hungarian gypsy music; a medley of US fiddle favorites, “Cotton-Eyed Joe” and “Orange Blossom Special”; and a piece curiously entitled “Cajun Blues”, which doesn’t sound especially Cajun to me, perhaps because it’s played on the tenor banjo. These non-Irish pieces are played with a showier, virtuosity-for-virtuosity’s sake abandon, less controlled than the pieces from their own tradition, but are entertaining as showpieces nonetheless. (When I say “their own tradition”, let me not overlook the fact that there’s an American and a Norwegian in the line-up.)
What separates Celtic Crossroads from other neo-traditional bands is the excellence of the dancing. Dancers Marcus Donnelly (who shows his agility on an old “brush dance” or “broom dance”, in which he dances with and around a broom) and Charlene Morrison are championship caliber, thus helping to make the Celtic Crossroads show a “complete package”. The singing is fine, the musicianship is intelligent - as a former bodhran player, I particularly appreciate Diarmid Hurley’s skill and inventiveness on the goat-frame drum - the arrangements true to their roots. It’s the “real deal”, for sure, but it’s a contemporary version of the real deal, not a preserved museum piece.
The concert itself lasts about 80 minutes. There is also a bonus feature in which the producers of the entourage talk bout the background of the show and its participants. Newcomers to Irish music, in particular, may learn quite a bit, while I found it held considerable interest throughout its 23-minute length. The sponsor of the concert and disc, Tourism Ireland, has appended three short promotional travelog segments plus a few seconds of several other promotional more clips, presented in such an ingratiating manner that one almost forgets one is looking at a commercial.
Relevant websites are http://www.newvideo.com and http://www.dptvmedia.org
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