Beach Music

My biggest concern while spending a few days in the California sunshine has stepping on a stingray.  The blissful environment wreaks havoc on my sonic acumen.  Of all the music I hear on the beach and on the boardwalk, the only two styles that sound right are contemporary country/pop hits like Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise" and classic West Coast hip-hop like Snoop Dogg's "Up Jump Tha Boogie".  I have little doubt that had I been raised in this environment, my interest in jazz would be negligible and my knowledge of ska would be deeper than the Pacific Ocean.


---
Here's my Local Listen feature about Quixotic for KCUR's Up To Date.

---
D/Will created a video for "Meeting With God."

---
Gee Watts' latest video is "Gator Dance/Dreams".

----
I prefer Richard Reed Parry's new classical album Music For Heart and Breathto the output of Arcade Fire.  RIYL: Nico Muhly, string sections, Terry Riley.

---
The guys in Deltron 3030 reveal what's in their bags.

---
Sean Jones' im.pro.vise never before seen is a fine mainstream jazz album.  RIYL: Orrin Evans, tradition, Wynton Marsalis.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concert Review: Eric Taylor at Knuckleheads

Eric Taylor threatened to shoot me last night. 

I walked into the back room of Knuckleheads shortly after Taylor's first set began.  I was immediately entranced by the folk songs and halting speech of the Texan.  Even so, I was compelled to respond to a couple text messages about 15 minutes after I took a seat among the audience of ten. 

Taylor took offense. 

In a profanity laced tirade in which he referenced his open carry license, he demanded that I "turn off my f*cking cell phone."  Partly because his stage set consisted of a glass of red wine, a prescription pill canister and an unopened bottle of water, I heeded his warning without objection. 

I passed on appearances by Richard Buckner and Old Crow Medicine Show/Carolina Chocolate Drops in favor of paying $15 to see Taylor for the first time.  Still haunted by my failure to witness a performance by Townes Van Zandt, I figured I'd take a flier on Taylor.  Sure enough, Taylor told a tale or two about his former running buddy.

Taylor's stories were at the core of his two sets.  He spoke about the series of strokes he'd suffered, the deafness in his right ear, the physical pain he associates with abandonment by women, Pentecostal snake handling, heroin and moonshine.  A recording of Taylor's tribute to Bill Morrissey captures the tone of last night's performance.

His approach is in keeping with the Texas troubadour tradition of Vince Bell, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, Billy Joe Shaver and his ex-wife Nanci Griffith.  A glowing profile in The Houston Chronicle serves as a helpful introduction for the uninitiated. 

I called Taylor out on his threat after the show.  He insisted that his ominous warning was merely "a bit" and that the prescription bottle was just a prop that contained guitar picks.  The mea culpa was unconvincing.


---
I reviewed a concert by Pat Benatar/Neil Giraldo and Rick Springfield.

---
Johnny Winter has died.  His production of Muddy Waters' Hard Again was among my primary entry points to blues. 

---
Elaine Stritch has died.

---
"Sound Bite" is a track from Ces Cru's forthcoming Ego Stripper album.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Charlie Haden, 1937-2014

Charlie Haden played a crucial role in molding me into the listener I am today.  Here are just three examples of the many ways in which Haden expanded my appreciation and understanding of music.

As a nascent jazz fan in the pre-internet era, I became aware of the provocatively titled Liberation Music Orchestra.  When I finally got my hands on a copy of the 1969  album, I didn't know what to make of it.  It's not "jazz."  Haden helped me to realize that musical boundaries don't really exist. 

The 1991 album Haunted Heart caused me to reevaluate music I'd written off as pablum.  By incorporating old recordings of Jo Stafford and Jeri Southern into Quartet West's concept album, Haden convinced me to drop my bias against pre-rock pop vocalists.  My subsequent flirtation with music by the likes of Tony Bennett and Rosemary Clooney has yet to cease.

Finally, Haden's gorgeous collaborations with Pat Metheny reminded me of the immense power of austerity.  As a lover of noise and groove, I require quiet works like Beyond the Missouri Sky keep me centered.

Haden died last week.


---
I reviewed a concert by Gavin DeGraw, Matt Nathanson and Mary Lambert.

---
I featured Jorge Arana Trio's Oso at Plastic Sax.

---
Here's my Local Listen segment on Ensemble Ibérica.

---
The Mahoots' Girl From Topeka is probably my favorite project by my friend Steve Wilson since No Price On Earth, the classic 1982 album by the Thumbs.  RIYL: Alex Chilton, rock and roll hearts, Guided By Voices.

---
Dom Chronicles' video for "Get Focused" was shot at the castle-like structure in the Jazz District.

---
Stik Figa made a video for "The Book of Chad".

---
Tommy Ramone has died.

---
After a career filled with good albums, Jim Lauderdale finally made a great one.  I'm a Song is RIYL: Buck Owens, 1965, George Jones.

---
Leela James' Fall For You is solid.  RIYL: Anthony Hamilton, adulthood, Mary J. Blige.

---
Should Brian Wilson decide to take a naked romp on a Brazilian beach, Sébastien Tellier's L'Aventura would make an ideal soundtrack for the outing.

---
David Binney's Anacapa is a wonderful mainstream jazz album.  RIYL: Pat Metheny, imagination, Wayne Shorter.

---
Nick Waterhouse's Holly is RIYL: Hanni El Khatib, Uma Thurman's character in Pulp Fiction, The Blasters.

---
The Village Voice's examination of the origins of Bob Marley's Legend is fascinating.

---
Bobby Hutcherson's Enjoy the View fails to hold my attention.  RIYL: David Sanborn, Blue Note Records, Joey DeFrancesco.

---
The cowboy rides away with a gross of $60 million.  The financials of 2014's top tours are fascinating.

---
Cyrus Chestnut's Midnight Melodies is a fine live piano trio album. 

---
Good on Metallica.

---
Sage Francis is very angry.  Copper Gone is RIYL: Mac Lethal, sour grapes, Aesop Rock.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Radkey- Spotify Sessions

My friends look at me as if I'm a heretic every time I mention Radkey's striking resemblance to the Misfits and Glenn Danzig.  I guess I didn't get the memo that pointing out the obvious characteristic of the St. Joseph trio is forbidden.  I happen to adore Danzig, so my taboo commentary isn't an indictment.  My primary concern about the young band's prospects are related to the quality of their songs.  The raw power of Radkey's live performances, however, is incontestable.  That's why the new Spotify Sessions is my favorite Radkey recording.


---
I would have enjoyed last week's concert by François Rabbath even more if the woman next to me hadn't been chomping on gum.  Here's my review.

---
I reviewed a concert by Sarah McLachlan at Starlight Theatre.

---
I review Everette DeVan's new album at Plastic Sax.

---
D/Will's 13-minute mixtape Ready. Aim. Beautiful is nice.

---
The blasphemers behind the Studio Rio project have extracted the original vocals from iconic songs and recast them in Brazilian settings.  Listen to them mess with Billie Holiday's "You've Changed".  Welcome to the future.

---
Drums are dumb.  That's my takeaway from Scott Feiner's A View From Below.  A Brazilian hand drum replaces a drum kit on the fascinating release.  The trio's keyboardist provides the low end while the fusion-happy guitarist is given plenty of room to meander.

---
Lizzo's new album LizzoBangers is delightful.  RIYL: Lazerbeak, honesty, Missy Elliott.

---
I can't believe that I'm infatuated with a Judas Priest album in 2014. Redeemer of Souls is surprisingly solid.

---
As a concept album, CunninLynguists' Strange Journey, Volume Three is terrible.  As pure entertainment, it's very good.  RIYL: Grieves, rhyming dictionaries, Aesop Rock.

---
Mournful Congregation's Concrescence Of The Sophia is RIYL: funerals, Tombs, 20-minute death metal jams.

---
Kendrick Lamar parodied ignorant rappers on "Backseat Freestyle."  Most of These Days, the new album by his label mate Ab-Soul, sounds like the moronic music Lamar mocked.  Largely because it could have been great, the project infuriates me.  Here's Lamar's contribution to the mess.  RIYL: Kendrick Lamar, darkness, Jay Rock.

---
Ginger Baker's Why? is RIYL: Charlie Watts' jazz, Charles Mingus, Jack Bruce's jazz.

---
A lot of the cool kids are touting Forgetting the Present, the latest release by the Mogwai-affiliated Remember Remember.  My verdict?  It's a propulsive new age album.  RIYL: Shadowfax, the healing properties of crystals, Nightnoise.

---
Bill Frisell goes surfing.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Bobby Womack, 1944-2004

I was late to Bobby Womack's party.  By the time I purchased the CD pictured above in the early '90s, I'd already become conversant with the works of most soul greats.  Hearing songs like "Lookin' For a Love," "That's the Way I Feel About Cha" and "Across 110th Street" for the first time was stunning.  I wondered how these gems weren't played alongside familiar radio hits by James Brown and Al Green.  After finally catching up with Womack, I was able to enjoy subsequent albums as new releases.  Womack died last week.  Here's Raphael Saadiq's new tribute song.

---
I reviewed Saturday's concert by Tech N9ne, Freddie Gibbs, Jarren Benton and the Psych Ward Druggies.

---
I reviewed Ray LaMontagne's concert at Starlight Theatre.

---
I yakked about music on KCUR's Up To Date last week.  Here's the stream.

---
Lee McBee has died.

---
Tech N9ne made a video for "Fear."

---
Here's the trailer for Arrows Into Infinity, a new documentary about Charles Lloyd.

---
I'm a Led Zeppelin freak but I'm not an apologist.  Here's essential documentation of LedZep's transgressions.  The insidious ads are a small price to pay.  (Tip via There Stands the Glass reader Phil.)

---
Har Mar Superstar stars in the excellent video for Trampled By Turtles' "Wild Animals."

---
Jimmy Cobb's The Original Mob bores me to tears.  I suppose that makes me a bad person.

---
It's not exactly funky, but Worry Later by the unapologetically geeky jazz trio of Ben Goldberg, Adam Levy and Smith Dobson is a sublime tribute to Monk. 

---
Mastodon's latest release sounds exactly like another Mastodon album.  Here's the video for "High Road".  RIYL: size, The Mars Volta, volume.

---
It takes 2 hours and 35 minutes to play the new compilation Role: New Sounds of Brazil.  Much of it is exemplary.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)