The Revolution Will Not Be Computerized

Naruyoshi Kikuchi's 'Dub Sextet' is a conventional jazz quintet (tenor sax, trumpet, piano, bass & drums) augmented by a sixth member, Pardon Kimura, who is credited as providing the dub. Kimura's contribution seems to entail moments where reverberating echo has been added; others where blooping oscillators come in; and others still where the acoustic sounds break up into glitchy electronic static, etc. It's not obvious to me which, if any, of those effects were applied 'live', or if they were all varieties of studio post-processing. In any case, they strike me more as decorations than as structurally-integral parts of the music.

I wouldn't imagine the album would have sounded radically different if it had been a dub-less quintet performance. The musicianship is excellent: Kikuchi is the saxophonist, leader and principal composer; Shinpei Ruike on trumpet is no lesser player; and drummer Tamaya Honda is terrific, often threatening to steal the show. Pianist Masayasu Tzboguchi and Masato Suzuki on bass both provide one composition apiece, which serve as notable showcases for their playing.

For the less adventurous listener like me, the first couple of tracks are impressive but somewhat challenging free-ish jazz, which, depending on my mood, can either seem bracing or else slightly tiresome. In the second half of the CD there are stronger melodies, and more easily-graspable grooves. One number is named after Susan Sontag; another after the French cinematographer Caroline Champetier. The latter, and the track 'Invocation' that precedes it, are my favourite pieces on the record.

Comments

All Wrapped Up

Here's another of the compilation cassettes I bought this summer, having taken home a Denon twin-deck hi-fi cassette player from the local charity shop. All Wrapped Up is a 1983 compilation of singles by The Undertones, with Side One filled with A-sides, and B-sides on Side Two. A cassette must be the least desirable medium for such an arrangement, with a long rewind required if one just wants to hear the hits repeatedly. The Undertones were unapologetically provincial and anti-fashionable, with their songs sharply-written slices of life that pointedly avoided any mention of politics, or of the then-continuing violence in their native Derry. My favourite tracks are the obvious choices: 'Teenage Kicks', 'Jimmy Jimmy', 'Here Comes the Summer', 'My Perfect Cousin' & 'Wednesday Week'. Their later singles showed increased sophistication but lack the some of the straightforward charm of their earlier work. The B-sides, not unexpectedly, are mo...

In Heat

Having acquired the soubriquet "the walrus of love", Barry White thereafter became something of a figure of fun, something that misled me (and presumably others) into disregarding his music. Only within the last few years have I begun to pay it more attention. After picking up a copy of his '74 album Can't Get Enough last summer, which I loved, I sought out some of the music by his protegés Love Unlimited. From a Discogs seller I ordered well-used copies of Under the Influence of... ('73) and In Heat ('74) for only £6.25. The only unappealing thing about In Heat is its awful title. The songs and the singing are strong; the arrangements rich & warmly enveloping. As one would expect from White, the thematic focus is firmly fixed on amatory matters. The opening number 'Move Me No Mountain' (the only one on the record not written by White) offers a refreshing rebuttal to the kind of lyrical hyperbole in songs like 'Ain't No Mountain High E...

Bananas Are Not Created Equal

I knew Jay Berliner's name from his contributions to Van Morrison's Astral Weeks and Charles Mingus' The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady , so when I saw this curiously-titled LP at the local charity shop I was intrigued, and bought it even though I had no idea what kind of music it might contain. This was after the days when one could still buy records there for a pound apiece, but I don't think I paid more than a fiver for it. The music turned out to be an all-instrumental blend of funk, soul & jazz. Berliner's virtuoso lead guitar is only one of many attractions here. The band of first-rate session musicians behind him are all uniformly excellent too, and, crucially, sound like they're having a blast. Cornell Dupree's supporting guitar work, while less showy than Berliner's, is beautifully-judged, and the rhythm section is terrific. Arranger/conductor Wade Marcus was no slouch either, judging from the way everything comes together. Two of the funk...

This is a Recording

Search This Blog