Juhani Aaltonen Trio - Mother Tongue

 

Artist:       Juhani Aaltonen Trio

Album:     Mother Tongue

Year:        2003

Line-up:   Juhani Aaltonen – tenor saxophone, flute

                Ulf Krokfors – bass

                Tom Nekljudow - drums

Label:      Tum Records

”The music flows so easily among the three of us that playing together is a constant joy. I hope that at least of some of that joy is also communicated to the listener through this recording”

- Juhani Aaltonen

When autumn is coming to an end with all its' splendid colorful leaves of red, yellow and green now fallen from the branches and winter is closing in, when you feel the chill in the air and days are getting darker and shorter and you seek warmth and light for comfort, I often times find myself in the mood for some good moody and atmospheric jazz. If you have a tendency for melancholy like me you might find modern jazz from Scandinavia to suite your state of mind better than American classics. For over five decades Norway has been the birth place of many of the most interesting modern jazz masters such as Jan Garbarek, Arild Andersen, Terje Rypdal, Ketil Bjørnstad, Tord Gustavsen, Trygve Seim and many more who intergrate the melancholy, the vast spaces and the silence of the North to their music. These artists have become house hold names in the jazz partially for recording for ECM Records. However, the global jazz public seems to be somewhat unaware that in the recent past few decades Finland has seen also a rise of creative and exciting modern jazz musicians and records.

One of the most important channels to discover new Finnish jazz music for me personally has been the record label TUM and its' own festival TUMfest. TUM stands for Todella Uutta Musiikkia (Really New Music) which is a sort of an inside joke in the Finnish jazz circles for there is a prolific big band in Finland called UMO which stands for Uuden Musiikin Orkesteri (Orchestra of New Music). TUM Records is a record company which focuses on improvised, jazz-based music emphasizing on the free expression and the own music of the performing artists. One the most interesting musicians and very personal favorite of mine, who has been aboard with the label from the very start since 2003, is saxophone player Juhani Aaltonen.

Juhani Aaltonen (b. 1935) is a fascinating musical figure to say the least. Largely self-taught as a musician, Aaltonen began his career as a freelance musician in 1961 and at the same time began his studies at the Sibelius Academy. However, after only one year's studies Aaltonen quite the academy to pursue a full-time career as a musician. In the 60's Aaltonen worked with some of the finest Finnish jazz musicians and composers including Otto Donner and Edward Wesala and formed the progressive rock group Tasavallan Presidentti. Since then Aaltonen has been involved in various projects including playing with Peter Brötzmann and being one of the founding members of UMO in 1975 in which he continued playing until 1986. In 2001 a new Finnish jazz ensemble Suhkan Uhka (also the first record by TUM) was put together and Juhani Aaltonen was asked to join in. At the time, Aaltonen thought that his career of playing improvised music was largely over and it took much persuasion to get him finally on board with Suhkan Uhka. The project turned out to be a happy coincidence as it brought Aaltonen together with drummer Tom Nekljudow and bassist Ulf Krokfors who, after playing for the first time together in Suhkan Uhka, decided to form a trio together.

Mother Tongue is the first album of Juhani Aaltonen Trio and second release by TUM Records. The performances here were recorded live at Kanneltalo in Helsinki on October 17^th, 2002 in a concert part of a tour organized by Finnish Jazz Federation. Taken into account that the trio had only played together merely over a year, it is rather astounding how well these three talented musicians play together – especially when the music is mostly free improvisation. Aaltonen himself says in the linear notes that ”from the very first times that we played together, I knew that this trio was something special. After only a few performances, we went through that rare transformation from three musicians just playing together to the three of us playing as a group, a unit reaching a whole new level of communication. I feel that this trio truly represents a case of the whole being more than the sum of its parts.” These words could not be more fitting to describe this record. I myself have experience attending free improvisation concerts and practicing the same art myself as a musician with others and it is a rather difficult and demanding musical setting. Sometimes the finest musicians and improvisers might get together but the magic is just not there. Therfore, in the case of hearing Juhani Aaltonen perform live or on record you truly feel privileged to witness such seamless interplay between these three musicians and witness the one aspect of magic of music.

So how is the music itself of Juhani Aaltonen Trio? The term free improvisation tends to have a confused identity among players and listeners alike. This genre – if one can even call it a genre – encompasses so many different kinds of musicians, too many starting points and attitudes towards music and too many ideologies and philosophies of what improvisation really is, that many find it a fallible term to give a complete description of certain kind of music. A general misconception is that free improvisation is linked with experimental and avant-garde, fighting against the conventional musical parameters such as key and rhythm. At times, it might be just that but not always and certainly not with Juhani Aaltonen Trio. Even tough Aaltonen has always been heavily influenced by the likes Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy and John Coltrane who themselves have been known for their experimental and avant-garde elements, the music on Mother Tongue is mostly quite beautiful. Here free improvisation is a musical philosophy granting the musicians a musical freedom to do something unexpected without the fear of making ”mistakes” or missing cues. As said earlier, all of the three musicians are highly prolific and talented in their own right. The style, and particularly the sound of tenor saxophone, of Aaltonen is instantly recognisable and unique. It has very organic, soft and warm feeling in it. Also, the flute playing on Reflection is something truly haunting and mesmerising. This theme is also present for the rest of the record: a certain spirituality which is created by the intimacy of the three musicians who are in a constant dialogue with each other with music as their mother tongue.

I feel that I have praised this record already than enough. If you even remotely like jazz or improvised music, Mother Tongue is an essential and a must-have record in our record collection.

You can listen to the first track Lullaby on the label's internet page:

http://www.tumrecords.com/002-juhani-aaltonen-trio-mother-tongue

Written by Παναγιωτιης

Procyon-X - The Ghost of Orion

 

Artist:      Procyon-X

Album:    The Ghost of Orion

Year:        2007

Line-up:   ???

Label:      Paradigms Recordings

I have taken notice that I have recently developed a trend of writing about albums about which I feel very strongly on a personal level. Don't get me wrong, my very meaning of my writings is to shed light upon some of my favorite records which feel have been left in the shadows even among the music enthusiasts yet alone the mainstream audience. However, I personally feel at the moment that I have been maybe too over sentimental and perhaps even a bit grandiose about some the albums I have covered recently. I might have indulged in poetics and romanticism where my personal experiences and world views have come into play in my text very strongly. I figured that it might be the time to write about a more low-key album this time around where I do NOT use the term musical journey to describe the album. Thus, I present you The Ghost of Orion by Procyon-X.

Language is the medium through which we construct and outline the reality around us. However, music escapes the chain and possible limitations of language in its' abstract nature, and yet it is still able to penetrate into our very souls and provide us with an endless variety of different human emotions and feelings. We can describe music verbally by theoretical vocabulary and using different adjectives to communicate to others what emotions a certain piece of music is able to evoke in us. Still, one can never quite capture the essence of music. This task becomes even more difficult we can dwell in the realm of ambient music. The genre often does not have its' emphasis on the usual musical parameters such as rhythm, melody and harmony. Instead, ambient normally focuses on the actual sound and its' mechanics; that is to say the texture for example. It is tends to try and create atmospheric sound environment and soundscape still retaining a sense of musical movement. Normally one the goals of ambient music is to invoke a sense calm and space in its' listener. 

When I one night listened to The Ghost of Orion for the first time in preparation for this writing after a long period of the album just sitting on my record shelf, this image of space kept coming to my mind. When I next morning began to do some research about the album, I noticed to my surprise that some sources label The Ghost of Orion as space ambient. Yet another proof that music often has the ability to capture our imaginations and cast very specific images before our very eyes without the means of language. Space ambient is an umbrella term of a subgenre of the ambient genre which is described as flowing and relaxing by its' general atmosphere. Sequencers are used along with synthesizers with ascending and descending rhythm patterns. These characteristics are certainly present on The Ghost of Orion. The label Paradigms Recordings describes the album as ”seriously mysterious exploration of the sonic void. Dark astral ambient voyages through solar infinity. Deep, all encompassing sensory projection for earthbound space travellers and cosmic explorers.” I certainly would agree to this description although it paints a lot more poetic and magnificent picture of the album that I would give it credit for.

The Ghost of Orion is a nice little (clocking just in 30 minutes) but interesting and intriguing ambient album. So if you are looking for an relaxing and stimulating space atmosphere thorugh music to fuel your imagination or set the mood of your dreams, pop this baby in your player and float into the mysterious realms of outer space.

Take a a sneak peek of the the last track of the album from the web page of Paradigms Recordings:

http://www.paradigms-recordings.com/audio/procyon_x.mp3

Written by Παναγιωτιης

Melos - Chants de la Méditerranée / Mediterranean songs

 

Artist:            Melos

Album:          Melos – Chants de la Méditerranée

Year:             2012

Line-up:        Keyvan Chermirani – artistic direction & percussions

                     Dorsaf Hamdani – vocals

                     Mohamed Lassoued – violin & rebab

                     Mohammed Rochdi Mfarredj – qanun

                     Drossos Koutsokostas – vocals

                     Kyriakos Kalaitzidis – oud

                     Kyriakos Petras – violin

                     Périklis Papapetropoulos – saz, bulgari, lavta

                     Juan Carmona – flamenco guitar

                     El Kiki – vocals

                     Sergio Martinez - cajon

Label:           Accords Croisés

μελος – 1. a member (a person in a group); 2. a limb; 3. a song, strain, the music to which a song is set, an air, melody (Lindell and Scott: Greek-English Lexicon)

The Mediterranean is truly a fascinating place in many ways but especially in the field of cultural history it holds a particular interest. The roots of the whole Western culture and civilisation are found in the Ancient Greece which was not summoned out of nothing but rather it was born in the course of over a thousand years as a result of interaction between the Mediterranean culture and the Arabic and Islamic cultures. The Mediterranean is not only a historical and cultural space of the researchers, historians and intellects but also the mystical and magical space of writers, musicians and other artists. All the numerous cultures of the Mediterranean form one singular and vast continuity where the same phenomena, thoughts and forms appear over and over again in different geographical locations and in different time periods. All these elements are rooted deeply in the space and time and thus one cannot separate one Mediterranean culture without taking account the greater network of cultural influences of the whole Mediterranean sea.

Melos is a project created by Saïd Assadi, the director of the French concert office, production agency and record label Accords Croisés and realised by the prolific Iranian percussionist and composer Keyvan Chemirani. Its' aim is to explore the endless Mediterranean culture and its' power through music. For this rather ambitious artistic pursuit of bringing together different musical traditions of the Mediterranean and modern compositions, Keyvan has not settled on gathering individual musicians from different Mediterranean cultures but has went even further by bringing in three whole ensembles forming a group of eleven people which features musicians from Spain, Morocco, Tunisia and Greece. The ensembles around the project have varied over the years around Keyvan but on this particular album we have the plessure to witness Juan Carmona and his ensemble, Dorsaf Hamdani and her ensemble and the Greek En Chordais joining forces to create something tremendous musically.

This record, simply titled Melos – Mediterranean songs, brings together three rich musical traditions of the different members of the project: flamenco from Spain, Greek music and maluf from the Maghreb region (Northwest Africa, west of Egypt). Additionally, other musical traditions and their elements are explored here going as far as to Armenia and all the way to India. Music presented here is an enchanting search of common musical grounds and counterparts of various music style and lyrical themes of the Mediterranean; Melos is a fascinating study of the similar musical modes and their functions and specially the rhythmic strength and possibilities which are exquisite and endless in the Mediterranean music traditions. Nevertheless, it is not only a piece of academic research but most of all an artistic creation. The one major problem with these kinds of fusion projects is the difficulty of mixing the two – and in this case various – different elements in one pot without it sounding contrived. The strength and the magic of Melos are that Keyvan Chemirani and all the talented musicians here succeed in making and piecing together songs which have all these different elements in them, and yet, they all sound natural. Here we have compositions which all at the same time have sounds and images of the past and the tradition, but still sound new and exciting, they might seem somewhat strange and foreign but are also somehow familiar. It is a piece of the mythical time which still can be found in certain parts of the Mediterranean.

Similar to the epic story of Homer's Odyssey, Melos is a musical and cultural journey where one sets off traveling the world and returns home, returns to oneself. The project is a glorious attempt to caress the whole Mediterranean culture and spellbind its' listener with its' magic never neglecting the integrity and the uniqueness of the cultures of its' individual members. Here the one who seeks might find a brief glimpse of the mythical time, the nature and the hidden.

Here is a 10-minute document about the project:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTZwB4N2c6E

Written by Παναγιωτιης

Taal - Skymind

Artist:        Taal

Album:      Skymind

Year:         2003

Line-up:    Anthony Gabard – electric & acoustic guitars

                 David Stuart Dosnon – bass

                 Loic Bernandeau – acoustic drums & lead vocals

                 Igot Polisset – electric & acoustic drums

                 Sebastian Constant – keyboards

                 Helene Sonnet – flute & vocals on Blind Child

                 Manu Fournier – violin & saxophone

                 Gaelle Deblonde – violin

                 Manue Bouriaud – viola

                 Mehdi Rossignol - cello

Label:       Musea

 

Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.

                                                              Jules de Gaultier

Every once and a while you run into bands and groups who are musically all over the place taking a wide range of influences from various different musical genres. As a result, you might get some totally batshit crazy, and yet ever so intriguing, mixture or just all mashed and messed up pile of confusion. However, on rare occasions you just happen to find those few hidden gems which are musically all over the map but somehow just manage to pull it off. One of those rare bands is the oddball and criminally unknown band from France called Taal.

Taal draws it musical influences from such genres as heavy metal, western art music, gypsy music, French jazz to name a few of the most prominent ingredients. Also, the line-up of the band with such instruments as the flute and saxophone completed with a whole string quartet in addition to the more traditional pop/rock groups' arsenal (guitars, bass, drums and keyboards) is one huge advantage that the band has in order to create very imaginative soundscapes. From these elements, the band is able to compose a surprisingly coherent and natural sounding whole earning the band its' own unique and impossible-to-copy style. The perfect manifestation of all the things so marvelous about Taal is their second album, and unfortunately the last as for now though the band stated back in 2007 that it was recording a new album, Skymind is creative, fun, humorous, complex, dynamic, beautiful, rocking and all around a fascinating album.

To describe comprehensively Skymind is not an easy task. Not only is Taal a very talented and creative group of musicians but they also have style: everything on Skymind is in a perfect balance and not one element in the enormous palette is misused nor overused, be it a certain musical instrument, a musical genre or any other musical element. Everything on Skymind feels justified and fits perfectly with what comes before and what comes after. Nothing on the record feels forced or contrived which is easily the case when mixing up so many different ingredients in one pot. On the other hand, while Taal showcases a certain discipline with its' music as the band manages to hold it all together perfectly, the music of the group is so spellbinding that it often brings me almost like a childlike enthusiasm and captures my imagination without any limitations. That is a power not to be underestimated. Skymind takes us truly on a musical ride where you go back and forth from more soft and gentle moods to more guitar driven rock feel. Skymind feels almost like a French musical carnival or circus where our imaginations are treated which such genres as rock, heavy metal, chamber music, gypsy music, French jazz, eastern music, electronic music, folk music... you name it.

Skymind is a delightful attestation of creativity, talent and originality; all features which are all to rare in the current musical industry. It is truly a progressive album as it mixes so many different elements seamlessly and all six songs here are unique little musical journeys and stories. If you are seeking something to get you again childishly excited about music, look no further friends. You will find it on Skymind.

Take a listen to the first track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zKcDfUftVE

Written by Παναγιωτιης

Psarantonis - World Network Vol. 4: Crete – Son of Psiloritis

 

Artist:       Psarantonis & Ensemble

Album:     World Network Vol. 4: Crete – Son of Psiloritis

Year:         1991

Line-up:    Psarantonis (Xylouris) – lyra, vocals

                 Georgios Xylouris – eight-string lauoto

                 Achilleas Persidis – twelve-string lauoto

Label:       Network Medien

”Our home is up in the woods and in the caves of the mountains!”

There is no place quite like the island of Crete. It is a place where the legend, the myth, the past and the present are seamlessly merged. In ancient mythology it is believed to be the birth place of Europe as it was Zeus, the supreme god and the protector and ruler of mankind, who disguised as a bull seduced and kidnapped the Phoenician princess Europê and brought her to the isle of Crete. The myth also tells us that the roots of Europe lie in the Middle-East. Due to its geographical location it has also served a essential sea route to Egypt, Middle-East and Anatolia thus becoming a true melting pot of cultures in Europe.

On the northern slope of Psiloritis, the highest mountain slope of Crete (2,456 m), the village of Anogeia can be found – the last village before the majestic mountains. To outsiders the people of Anogeia might seem as reserved and rather silent. Yet, there is also open-mindedness and rebelliousness among its people. Historically, Anogeia and the neighbouring villages have been home to the mountain rebels who have fought against the Turks during the Ottoman rule of the empire and the Germans during the World Wars.

Anogeia has also been the home of the island's most famous lyra players and particularly the Xylouris family which has produced some of the most well-known musicians of Crete. The most famous member of the Xylouris family is considered to be the composer and singer Nikos Xylouris who died too early of laryngeal cancer. His bother Jannis also works as a musician but the third brother has now taken the family crown as the leading musician. He goes by the name of Psarantonis and has dropped the family name since he felt that only his late brother Nikos deserves it. Thus Antonios Xylouris adopted his grandfather's name, Psarantonis in which echoes the rebellious past of Cretans and the people of the villages on the slopes of Psiloritis. The grandfather of Antonios was known for his active resistance against the Turkish occupation in the 19^th century and thus earned him the nickname Psarantonis which is a combination of the name Antonios and the Greek word fish (ψαρα, psara) – the one who catches the Turks like fishes in the net.

In addition to singing, Psarantonis plays the principal instrument of Crete which is the threestringed fiddle lyra which is held on the thigh or the knee of the player. The strings are not pressed down against the neck as in the violin or the cello but grazed with the fingernails which allows fast and dynamic playing and the subtle use of ornaments. Normally, the lyra is accompanied by one or two lauotos; instrument similar to the lute with four or occasionally six double strings. On this record, Psarantonis is accompanied by Achilleas Persidis on twelve-string lauoto and Georgios Xylouris (the son of Psarantonis) on the more traditional eight-string lauoto.

The folk music of Crete bares some resemblance to its people: it might appear rough, harsh and monotonous at first but closer listening reveals the same unspoken magic which the whole island has. At the same time, the music of Psarantonis sounds almost ancient and rather strange, yet so familiar and new. People often refer to Psarantonis as the wild bard due to his looks, character and music. The dynamics of his music range from tender to temperamental, from gentle to wild, from almost a silent whisper and whisteling to moaning and screaming. His bow dances across the strings of lyra effortlessly. Even tough his repertoire includes performances of traditional Cretan folk music, the major part of his art is his own compositions and poems. His interpretations of traditional songs, his playing and singing are all very distinctive, independent and experimental by nature. This is also what makes him stand out as an artist to his own right.

If you are looking something which is old but new, strange yet familiar at the same time and something which captures the magic of Crete, this album is the perfect place to start your journey with Psarantonis.

Take a listen to the first track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPPOdW1Zyhc

Written by Παναγιωτιης

Estradasphere - Palace of Mirrors

 

Artist:    Estradasphere

Album:  Palace of Mirrors

Year:      2006

Line-up:

              Tim Smolens: contrabass, electric bass, surf guitar, keys, mouth harp

              Jason Schimmel: electric & acoustic guitars, organs, lapsteel, keys, fuzz bass

              Timb Harris: violin, trumpet, electric & slide guitars, mallets, orchestral perc., mandolin

              Kevin Kmetz: shamisen, electric guitar

              Adam Stacey: accordion, piano, clavinet, rhoder, tack piano, melodica, organs, 

                                     synthesizer

              Lee Smith: drums

Label:   The End Records

Estradasphere is an interesting USA-based band of multi-instrumentalists that were most active in the early 2000’s. To best describe their style would probably be to compare it to those of bands such as Secret Chiefs 3 and Mr. Bungle – indeed, they are one of those bands that, when asked “what genre of music do you play?”, answer with: “all of them.” This of course makes for some wonderfully demented if not utterly insane musical experiences, but the album I will be talking about now is probably their most restrained and stylishly consistent one (although that’s not saying much when it comes to this band).

Released in 2006, Palace of Mirrors is the band’s fifth full-length album and at least for now the last one they made. The first thing that comes to mind when listening is that it is very cinematic. The album very much resembles a soundtrack, just without a movie to go with it. This does not make it feel incomplete, however, as the listener is free to imagine their own film to go along with the music. It’s actually quite uncanny how visual some of the songs are in this way. The amazing title track, for example, would of course be the main theme of the movie, heard alongside slow camera pans of the scenery in which the film will be taking place (the first 40 seconds or so would be heard on the DVD menu).

A few songs evoke the work of the great Ennio Morricone, which somewhat explains these soundtrack-like feelings I get from the album. But it’s not like Palace of Mirrors is only repeating film music tropes (although they are in there) – the band very much makes its own twist on things. The absolute standout track for me is A Corporate Merger, which starts off groovy but restrained, and in the end takes a sudden (and awesome) turn into metal in the last repeats of its main theme. Another very memorable track is Smuggled Mutation, which sounds like a metal band found themselves at the rehearsals of a violin virtuoso, and just decided to start playing along. The weirdness of Flower Garden of an Evil Man also reminds us that this is indeed no ordinary soundtrack album.

Palace of Mirrors for me hits a sweet spot in keeping its tone consistent while also exploring a huge variety of moods and musical styles. Just pop this into your headphones and transform any boring walk through town into an interesting cinematic experience.

The title track on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6Io220_J2I

Written by Those Who Know 

 

The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation - Succubus

Artist:      The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation

Album:     Succubus

Year:        2009

Line-up:   Jason Köhnen - bass

                Gideon Kiers – drums

                Eelco Bosman – guitars

                Hilary Jeffery – trombone, oscillators

                Charlotte Cegarra – vocals

                Sarah Anderson - violin

Label:      Ad Noisem

She is perfect. A disciple who mirrors my own image. The essence of evil. A devil on Earth.

The Killimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble is a Dutch musical project formed in 2000 focusing on creating new music for already existing silent movies. The music of the group has been labeled often as dark jazz which is considered as a form the dark ambient genre bringing influences contemporary slow tempo jazz mixing them with the dark atmospheres of Film Noir movies and soundtracks and the mysterious and surreal vibes of the movies and soundtracks of David Lynch. The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation is the alter ego of The Killimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble which focuses more on live improvisation still maintaining the drone and ambient elements in the sound.

On the 15^th of January 2009 the band entered the studio to let some steam out and to get into the mood and groove before going on tour. They did a 75-minute long improvisation session which was wisely recorded. Being film enthusiasts the members of the band were viewing a 1969 movie of Spanish film director Jess Franco called Succubus which would deservedly also become the title of the recording of this session. The movie itself is about a female artist who performs in a nightclub as dominating erotic love queen who stages sadomasochistic murders. The general ”plot” of the movie is very vague and hazy but later it is implicated that the woman under the control of a mysterious man who might be the devil himself.

As the music relies mostly on free improvisation influenced by the immediate moods and effects of the movies, the album is not intended to be a new soundtrack to the movie but rather a love-letter and homage to the original film. Yet, the music here perfectly captures the sensual, erotic, murky and at times the surreal atmospheres and moods which the movie has. Thus, the record becomes a very mesmerizing and otherwordly experience where it is rather easy for the listener to lose himself into this hypnotic world of sound. The bass of Köhnen and the drums of Kiers create the musically pulsating backdrop on top which we hear the mysterious and tempting vocals of Cegarra which consist mostly of whispers and chants instead of traditionally sung verses. The trombone has also a lot room here to create that jazzy mood and also those fascinating drones.

Succubus is absolutely an engrossing musical experience which is full of the eroticism, surreal atmosphere and ominous connotations of its original source material. As the music was recorded on one take accompanied by the movies, it is recommended that the listener takes his time to sit down and listen the album on one sitting – preferably at night and in the dark to truely get to the proper mood.

You can listen to the album and purchase it digitally here:

http://shop.tkde.net/album/succubus

Written by Παναγιωτιης