Saturday, 31 May 2014
Zuzuca
Out of Brazil comes Zuzuca with 'O Trem',
which translates as 'The Train', a fact that
won't surprise you when you hear the tune.
It's taken from the 1972 LP 'O Bom Sambista',
released on the famous Okeh label and is
insanely catchy - even as a confirmed non-
dancer, I, unconsciously and ultimately
unsuccessfully, found myself trying to throw
some shapes when it popped up on random play
a couple of days ago. Not a pretty sight.
Wednesday, 28 May 2014
GoGo Penguin
Richard Williams, over at The Blue Moment,
recently penned an interesting piece on the
current crop of piano led jazz trios and, as
a consequence, I spent much of yesterday
afternoon checking out his recommendations.
Five combos, each with their own distinct
approach to the form and all worthy of further investigation, Manchester's GoGo Penguin being my pick of the bunch at the moment.
Try sitting still to the groovy 'Hopopono'.
Tuesday, 27 May 2014
Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté
The Kora is a beautiful and mysterious instrument. It faces
towards the player, who makes very little
physical movement, yet simultaneously
creates the rhythm, melody and
improvisational flourishes for each piece.
There are no pedals, gadgets or loops, just
21 strings.
The oral history of Toumani Diabaté's Malian family tells that he is the 71st consecutive generation of musician in a patrilineal line. Last Thursday evening he appeared in concert with the 72nd generation, his son Sidiki. Toumani, probably the world's greatest living exponent of the Kora, provided the gravitas and experience, while Sidiki, encouraged by his Father, pushed, prodded and improvised in a slightly more attacking fashion, driving his tradition forward. Together, the music they made verged on the other-worldly.
The oral history of Toumani Diabaté's Malian family tells that he is the 71st consecutive generation of musician in a patrilineal line. Last Thursday evening he appeared in concert with the 72nd generation, his son Sidiki. Toumani, probably the world's greatest living exponent of the Kora, provided the gravitas and experience, while Sidiki, encouraged by his Father, pushed, prodded and improvised in a slightly more attacking fashion, driving his tradition forward. Together, the music they made verged on the other-worldly.
Saturday, 24 May 2014
51 Years Ago Today
Nine acts in two hours!
Back in the summer of 1963, given the choice between nipping just around the corner to catch The Big 'O', The Fabs and Gerry & his mates at the local fleapit, or heading off to Southend-on-Sea to work on my inflatable ball balancing routine....well, it would've been no contest really.
Mind you, if someone had told me about Erkey Grant (& the Earwigs), I'd like to think that my answer might've been quite different.
Labels:
Erkey Grant,
music,
Photographs and Memories,
Walthamstow
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Nic Jones
It's something that until 2010 was utterly
unthinkable. Even after his unexpected re-emergence it was going to be
very, very unlikely. I'm talking about the
fact that this afternoon I purchased a ticket
to see the great Nic Jones in concert. I've
typed the sentence, but can still barely
believe it's true. After four years of
sporadic festival appearances, Nic and his
son Joseph have announced a short tour of
small venues in October, so if you live in,
or near, Swansea, Leicester, Bristol,
Birmingham, Norwich or Lewes, get over to
Nic's official website and bag yourself a
ticket pronto. These will be emotionally
charged evenings.
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
Version City #27 - Simba sing Richard Berry, The Kingsmen & many others...
We've probably all been privy to more
versions of 'Louie Louie' than is strictly
necessary in one lifetime, the best of them
transcendent and the worst unlistenable.
Here's a new one on me though. Simba were an
unlikely amalgam of South African band
Assagai and UK progsters Jade Warrior, who
came together in 1971 to issue this, their
one and only single. I discovered it on the
appropriately titled 1973 compilation LP, 'Afro Rock Festival'.
Monday, 19 May 2014
Version City #26 - The Clash sing Sonny Okosun
If you'd've come round to my house in late
1978, chances are that one of the records on
my turntable would've been 'Fire in Soweto'
by Nigerian artist Sonny Okosun. It was a
staple. So imagine my surprise (albeit 26
years later) to discover that The Clash
demoed the very same song, retitled 'Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)', the following summer, for possible
inclusion on 'London Calling'. A poor quality
recording of that demo appeared on the 25th
Anniversary edition of the album in 2004.
Saturday, 17 May 2014
Micah Blue Smaldone
It's been 10 years since curiosity led me to
pick up a copy of Micah Blue Smaldone's solo
debut, 'Some Sweet Day', while on holiday in
New York - without previously having heard a
note. A year later I stumbled upon his next
album, 'Hither and Thither' (still one of the
all-time great LP titles), in similar
circumstances. And that's the way it's
continued really. Self publicity isn't high
on Micah's agenda, so it's been a case of
bumping into his new releases, side projects
and one-off tracks more by luck than
judgement, while remaining frustratingly
unaware of his occasional European visits
until long after the event.
In April, however, I dropped by Micah's infrequently updated website to discover, to my great delight, that a UK tour was imminent and a couple of weeks ago, in the unique and intimate surroundings of The Foundling Museum in London, I finally, finally, saw the great man live in concert.
In recent years, his studio recordings are sometimes embellished by other musicians, live though, it's just Micah and his 12 string guitar, intense and direct, delivering a series of dark, lyrically dense, folk-noir songs interspersed with Piedmont fingerstyle instrumentals. It was a performance I waited ten long years to witness and I barely breathed for it's duration. It was quite magnificent.
From Micah's latest LP, 'The Ring of the Rise', one of my favourite tunes of 2013, 'Time'.
And here's a live reading of 'The Clearing' from 2008's 'The Red River'.
(Previous Micah Blue Smaldone post here.)
In April, however, I dropped by Micah's infrequently updated website to discover, to my great delight, that a UK tour was imminent and a couple of weeks ago, in the unique and intimate surroundings of The Foundling Museum in London, I finally, finally, saw the great man live in concert.
In recent years, his studio recordings are sometimes embellished by other musicians, live though, it's just Micah and his 12 string guitar, intense and direct, delivering a series of dark, lyrically dense, folk-noir songs interspersed with Piedmont fingerstyle instrumentals. It was a performance I waited ten long years to witness and I barely breathed for it's duration. It was quite magnificent.
From Micah's latest LP, 'The Ring of the Rise', one of my favourite tunes of 2013, 'Time'.
And here's a live reading of 'The Clearing' from 2008's 'The Red River'.
(Previous Micah Blue Smaldone post here.)
Wednesday, 14 May 2014
Courtney Barnett and Honeyblood - Live
My recent run of gigs continued last night
with a trip to the small Waterfront Studio in
Norwich. Support for the evening came from
Scottish duo Honeyblood, who made a fine old
racket and justifiably went down a storm with
an engaged audience. A strong set of songs,
effortlessly delivered.
I featured Courtney Barnett back in February (here) and am very familiar with her material, but I was totally unprepared for just what a force she and her band have become after a few months on the road. Barnett now fronts what, at times, can only be described as a power trio. They truly were a sight and sound to behold and the clutch of new songs scattered through the set from her upcoming debut LP, show absolutely no dip in quality. Miss Courtney and her band at your peril - they won't be playing such intimate venues for very much longer.
Here's an audience recording of 'Depreston', from Brighton last week. A solo performance of a new song with a twist in the tail.
I featured Courtney Barnett back in February (here) and am very familiar with her material, but I was totally unprepared for just what a force she and her band have become after a few months on the road. Barnett now fronts what, at times, can only be described as a power trio. They truly were a sight and sound to behold and the clutch of new songs scattered through the set from her upcoming debut LP, show absolutely no dip in quality. Miss Courtney and her band at your peril - they won't be playing such intimate venues for very much longer.
Here's an audience recording of 'Depreston', from Brighton last week. A solo performance of a new song with a twist in the tail.
Monday, 12 May 2014
Sign Here Please - Ian Dury
My family's move to Ipswich in 1975 afforded me regular access to live music for the first time, as local venue, The Gaumont, was a stop on the national circuit and only a short distance from home. After a concert, my pals and I invariably headed straight round to the back of the building, in the hope of getting our programmes autographed as the band headed from the stage door to the tour bus - as a result I amassed quite a collection after a few years. Reality started to bite in the early 1980s, however, when I found myself in charge of a record shop in Essex and discovered that managing my personal finances was trickier than managing staff and stock levels. Consequently, I sold the majority of my autographed programmes for a pittance (along with large swathes of my record collection and anything else that wasn't absolutely essential at the time) to help make ends meet. Just a precious few souvenirs have survived from those evenings at the Gaumont.
In July 1979, a week before the release of 'Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3', Ian Dury & the Blockheads came to town for a two night stand. Perhaps it was because it was the first of those two shows and he was in no hurry to go anywhere, or maybe it was what he always did, but my pals and I were saved a wait round at the back door, when, 10 minutes after the concert ended and the majority of the audience had dispersed, Ian ambled back into view from the wings, sat himself down on the lip of the stage and began chatting with whoever was still around. Typically, on the one occasion where I had all the time in the world to grab an autograph, I found myself with nothing for him to sign. There either weren't any programmes available or I chose not to buy one that evening, I can't remember which. Half a dozen of us chewed the fat with Ian for ten minutes while I patted my pockets, trying to find a scrap of paper for him to squiggle on. I opened my wallet and there it was - a pound note. I handed it over and asked Ian if he'd mind signing it. He gave a big, wheezy laugh, lent over the note and wrote 'Ian X' and went to pass it back, then changed his mind. 'Hang on a minute' he said, before adding more writing beneath his autograph. 'What's that say?' I asked. 'I'm Mr 10%' he said with a grin.
Ian Dury would've been 72 today. Here he is in 1983 with 'Really Glad You Came', a post-Blockheads single, perhaps sonically a little of its time, but a neglected gem nonetheless. The TV show is Pebble Mill at One and Ian looks less than thrilled to be there. Check out that stare at the end of the song!
In July 1979, a week before the release of 'Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3', Ian Dury & the Blockheads came to town for a two night stand. Perhaps it was because it was the first of those two shows and he was in no hurry to go anywhere, or maybe it was what he always did, but my pals and I were saved a wait round at the back door, when, 10 minutes after the concert ended and the majority of the audience had dispersed, Ian ambled back into view from the wings, sat himself down on the lip of the stage and began chatting with whoever was still around. Typically, on the one occasion where I had all the time in the world to grab an autograph, I found myself with nothing for him to sign. There either weren't any programmes available or I chose not to buy one that evening, I can't remember which. Half a dozen of us chewed the fat with Ian for ten minutes while I patted my pockets, trying to find a scrap of paper for him to squiggle on. I opened my wallet and there it was - a pound note. I handed it over and asked Ian if he'd mind signing it. He gave a big, wheezy laugh, lent over the note and wrote 'Ian X' and went to pass it back, then changed his mind. 'Hang on a minute' he said, before adding more writing beneath his autograph. 'What's that say?' I asked. 'I'm Mr 10%' he said with a grin.
Ian Dury would've been 72 today. Here he is in 1983 with 'Really Glad You Came', a post-Blockheads single, perhaps sonically a little of its time, but a neglected gem nonetheless. The TV show is Pebble Mill at One and Ian looks less than thrilled to be there. Check out that stare at the end of the song!
Saturday, 10 May 2014
50 Years Ago Today
I was 4 years old and less than a mile away. I could've gone to the early show and still been home for bedtime.
Friday, 9 May 2014
Oliver Cherer
'Sir Ollife Leigh & Other Ghosts' is the
first LP Oliver Cherer has chosen to issue
using his own name, previously working exclusively under the Dollboy moniker. The record
examines loss and the end of life, with
artists such as Robert Wyatt, Martin Carthy
and Syd Barrett initially coming to mind as
musical touchpoints.
From 'Sir Ollife Leigh & Other Ghosts' this is 'When We Shut Down'.
And in case you're not familiar with his previous work, here's Cherer in Dollboy mode, with the beautiful 'One Liner' from 2009's 'A Beard of Bees'.
From 'Sir Ollife Leigh & Other Ghosts' this is 'When We Shut Down'.
And in case you're not familiar with his previous work, here's Cherer in Dollboy mode, with the beautiful 'One Liner' from 2009's 'A Beard of Bees'.
Sunday, 4 May 2014
Friends Reunited
I caught up with four old friends recently.
We were absolutely inseparable back in the
day, but unfortunately lost touch over 45
years ago. They haven't changed a bit.
Chillin' with the guys back in '65 The gang today
Labels:
Henry Curtis,
Life,
Photographs and Memories,
Reggae
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