Officium

Fearlessly searching for new conceptions of sound and not caring where he found them, Garbarek joined hands with the classical early-music movement, improvising around the four male voices of the Hilliard Ensemble. Now here was a radical idea guaranteed to infuriate both hardcore jazz buffs and the even more pristine more-authentic-than-thou folk in early music circles. Yet this unlikely fusion works stunningly well -- and even more hearteningly, went over the heads of the purists and became a hit album at a time (1994) when Gregorian chants were a hot item. Chants, early polyphonic music, and Renaissance motets by composers like Morales and Dufay form the basic material, bringing forth a cool yet moving spirituality in Garbarek's work. Recorded in a heavily reverberant Austrian monastery, the voices sometimes develop in overwhelming waves, and Garbarek rides their crest, his soprano sax soaring in the monastery acoustic, or he underscores the voices almost unobtrusively, echoing the voices, finding ample room to move around the modal harmonies yet applying his sound sparingly. Those with nervous metabolisms may become impatient with this undefinable music, but if you give it a chance, it will seduce you, too.

~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide

Artist: Jan Garbarek & The Hilliard Ensemble

Album: Officium

Year: 1994

Label: ECM

Personnel:

The Hilliard Ensemble:

David James: Countertenor

Rogers Covey-Crump: Tenor

John Potter: Tenor

Gordon Jones: Baritone

Jan Garbarek: Soprano and Tenor Saxophones

Track List:

1. Parce Mihi Domine
2. Primo Tempore
3. Sanctus
4. Regnantem Sempiterna
5. O Salutaris Hostia
6. Procedentem Sponsum
7. Pulcherrima Rosa
8. Parce Mihi Domine
9. Beata Viscera
10. De Spineto Nata Rosa
11. Credo
12. Ave Maris Stella
13. Virgo Flagellatur
14. Oratio Ieremiae
15. Parce Mihi Domine

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Je T'aime Je T'aime

No review this time, guys. Sorry. :D

Artist: Bang Bang

Album: Je T'Aime Je T'Aime

Year: 1999

Label: Yellow

Personnel:

Patrick Woodcock: Guitar (6,7)

Chris Hayward: Flute (6)

Bang Bang: Fender Rhodes, Fender Jazz Bass, Wurlitzer, Solina String Ensemble, Piano, Jupiter 8, Jx & Kawai Synths, Drums & Percussions.

Track List:

1. Two Fingers (Featuring Jay-Jay Johanson)
2. Pom Pom Girl
3. Je t'aime je t'aime
4. Believe (Featuring Garry Christian)
5. Murmur (Featuring Athena Constantine)
6. The Prisoner (Featuring Margeaux Lampley)
7. Bye Bye Blues
8. Without You (Featuring Mary Gallagher)
9. Tchin Tchin
10. Sacré coeur

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The Body & The Soul

At age 25, Freddie Hubbard made inroads into modern jazz most trumpeters could not imagine, much less come through with. As a soloist, one of Hubbard's crowning achievements in his early period was this recording on which he teamed with Wayne Shorter, marginally as a performer but prominent in the role of arranger/conductor for his first time ever. Utilizing a septet, 16-piece big band, and orchestra plus stings to play concise, tight tunes, Shorter provides the backdrop to employ Hubbard's bold toned trumpet and all of its devices in a full display of his powerful melodic talents. Yeoman Reggie Workman plays bass on all selections, with drummer Louis Hayes in the seven-piece combo, and great work from Philly Joe Jones in the larger bands. Interestingly enough, the three tracks with the smaller ensemble are the most interesting, due to the presence of Eric Dolphy, Curtis Fuller, Cedar Walton, and Shorter on the front line. "Clarence's Place" is a post-bop jewel with spiky brass accents and Dolphy's ribald and outre alto sax solo contrasting Shorter's relatively reserved tenor, "Dedicated to You" is a wisp of a tune, while "Body & Soul," an atypical choice for the opening selection, is a straight read of the classic ballad with a chart that sounds larger than the small horn section, and a wavering flute via Dolphy. The big band does an unusual soul-jazz treatment of the Brazilian number "Manha de Carnaval" flavored by Robert Northern's French horn, while "Aries" is a hard bop show stopper with two-note accents buoying Hubbard's great lyrical lines, and goes further into hard bop with "Thermo" as the horns demand attention with the trumpeter as an afterthought. The string section, ten pieces strong, joins the big band on the film noir type Duke Ellington piece "Chocolate Shake," the stock "I Got It Bad," and "Skylark," with its soft clarion intro bubbling underneath with the violins, violas, and cellos. The manner in which this recording is programmed is thoughtful in that it lends to the diversity of the project, but is seamless from track to track. Dan Morgenstern's hefty liner notes also explain the concept behind this ambitious project, one which did not compare to any of Hubbard's other recordings in his career. Therefore it stands alone as one of the most unique productions in his substantive discography, and a quite credible initial go-round for Shorter as an orchestrator. Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

Artist: Freddie Hubbard

Album: The Body & The Soul

Year: March 8, 11 and May 2, 1963

Label: Impulse

Personnel on # 1, 4, 5

Freddie Hubbard: Trumpet

Curtis Fuller: Trombone

Eric Dolphy: Alto Saxophone, Flute

Wayne Shorter: Tenor Saxophone

Cedar Walton: Piano

Reggie Workman: Bass

Louis Hayes: Drums

Personnel on # 2, 6, 9

Freddie Hubbard, Al DeRisi, Ernie Royal, Clark Terry: Trumpets

Melba Liston, Curtis Fuller: Trombones

Bob Northern: French Horn

Robert Powell: Tuba

Eric Dolphy: Alto Saxophone, Flute

Seldon Powell, Jerome Richardson: Tenor Saxophones

Charles Davis: Baritone Saxophone

Cedar Walton: Piano

Reggie Workman: Bass

Philly Joe Jones: Drums

Wayne Shorter: Arranger, Conductor

Personnel on # 3, 7, 8

Freddie Hubbard, Ed Armour, Richard Williams: Trumpets

Melba Liston, Curtis Fuller: Trombones

Bob Northern, Julius Watkins: French Horns

Eric Dolphy: Alto Saxophone, Flute

Jerome Richardson: Baritone Saxophone

Cedar Walton: Piano

Reggie Workman: Bass

Philly Joe Jones: Drums

Harry Cykman, Morris Stonzek, Arnold Eidus, Sol Shapiro, Charles McCracken, Harry Katzman, Harry Lookofsky, Gene Orloff, Julius Held, Raoul Poliakin: Strings

Wayne Shorter: Arranger Conductor

Track List:

1. Body And Soul

2. Carnival (Manha De Carnaval)

3. Chocolate Shake

4. Dedicated To You

5. Clarence's Place

6. Aries

7. Skylark

8. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)

9. Thermo

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Crime Of The Century

Supertramp came into their own on their third album, 1974's Crime of the Century, as their lineup gelled but, more importantly, so did their sound. The group still betrayed a heavy Pink Floyd influence, particularly in its expansive art rock arrangements graced by saxophones, but Supertramp isn't nearly as spooky as Floyd -- they're snarky collegiate elitists, an art rock variation on Steely Dan or perhaps a less difficult 10cc, filled with cutting jokes and allusions, best heard on "Bloody Well Right." This streak would later flourish on Breakfast in America, but it's present enough to give them their own character. Also present is a slight sentimental streak and a heavy fondness for pop, heard on "Dreamer," a soaring piece of art pop that became their first big hit. That and "Bloody Well Right" are the concise pop moments on the record; the rest of Crime of the Century is atmospheric like Dark Side of the Moon, but with a lighter feel and a Beatles bent. At times the album floats off into its own world, with an effect more tedious than hypnotic, but it's still a huge leap forward for the group and their most consistent album outside of that 1979 masterwork, Breakfast in America.

~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Artist: Supertramp

Album: Crime Of The Century

Year: 1974

Label: A&M Records

Personnel:

Bob C. Benberg: Drums Percussion

Roger Hodgson: Vocals, Guitar, Pianos

John Anthony Helliwell: Saxophones, Clarinet, Vocals

Dougie Thomson: Bass

Richard Davies: Vocals, Keyboards, Harmonica

Track List:

1. School
2. Bloody Well Right
3. Hide In Your Shell
4. Asylum
5. Dreamer
6. Rudy
7. If Everyone Was Listening
8. Crime Of The Century

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L'homme À Tête De Chou

Even tolerant music fans shudder inwardly at the mention of the concept album, a largely prog rock genre that spawned many of the greatest aesthetic indiscretions of the '70s. L'Homme à Tête de Chou (The Man with the Cabbage Head) is a concept album and shares some of prog's general characteristics, but it's unlike anything emanating from rock's beardy depths. In the spirit of his 1971 masterpieceHistoire de Melody Nelson, Gainsbourg sets this album's brief tale amid a widescreen musical canvas. WhereasMelody Nelson was provocative without being explicit, the gravel-voiced Gallic lecher goes X-rated here -- albeit without sacrificing his poetic élan. In this morbidly comic song cycle the narrator's muse is Marilou, a black shampoo girl: during their ill-fated fling, he descends into unhinged obsession, beats her to death with a fire extinguisher and ends up in a psychiatric hospital (convinced his head has turned into a cabbage). Although the title track retains something of Melody Nelson's cool Baroque pop gravitas, Chou doesn't replicate that earlier record's alternately brooding and soaring melodic grandeur. Instead, it draws on an adventurously varied palette, spanning rock, country, disco, jazz, reggae, and funk. In places, the shifting styles match the different images or situations that Gainsbourg presents, sometimes without concern for subtlety: "Marilou Reggae" finds Marilou grooving to Caribbean sounds, while tribal rhythms on "Transit à Marilou" heavy-handedly signify her exotic sexuality. The songs are most satisfying when the relationship between lyrics and music is less literal, more evocative -- especially "Lunatic Asylum," where tympani, didgeridoo-like drones, dramatic organ, and insistent percussion soundtrack the protagonist's insanity. Elsewhere, subject matter and sound are divorced completely, the cheery funk of "Ma Lou Marilou" contrasting with the narrator's murderous thoughts.L'Homme à Tête de Chou is an underrated Gainsbourg album. Notwithstanding some dubious synth coloring, it's his second-best '70s release, ranking among his finest recordings.

~ Wilson Neate, All Music Guide All Music Guide

Artist: Serge Gainsbourg

Album: L'homme À Tête De Chou

Year: 1976

Label: PHILIPS

Personnel:

Serge Gainsbourg

Alan Hawkshaw: Keyboards, Synthesizer

Alan Parker: Lead Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar

Judd Proctor: Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar

Brian Odgers: Bass Guitar

Dougie Wright: Drums

Jim Lawless: Percussions

Claire Torry, Kay Garner, Jean Hawker: Vocals

Track List:

1. L'homme À Tête De Chou
2. Chez Max Coiffeur Pour Hommes
3. Marilou Reggae
4. Transit À Marilou
5. Flash Forward
6. Aéroplanes
7. Premiers Symptômes
8. Ma Lou Marilou
9. Variations Sur Marilou
10. Meurtre À L'Extincteur
11. Marilou Sous La Neige
12. Lunatic Asylum

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Besieged (OST)

Composer Alessio Vlad brings his romantic, transcultural sound to the score of Bernardo Bertolucci's Besieged. The movie's emotional impact is reflected in Vlad's moving, intricate compositions.

~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Artist: Various

Album: Besieged (OST)

Year: 1998

Label: Milan

Track List:

1. Ostinato
2. Africa
3. Nyumbani
4. Fantasy In D Minor K 397
5. Prelude In E Flat Minor (from the well tempered Clavier)
6. Maria Valencia
7. Le Voyageur
8. Mambote Na Nje
9. Sina
10. Diaraby
11. Full Option
12. Arpeggio
13. Etude Op 8 No 12 In D Sharp Minor
14. Titoli Di Coda

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Luxor To Isna

Not so much a record, more like an adventure in sound.

January 1990

Press review from: Q Magazine (UK)

This album captures powerful and eerie melodies which can be traced back to the time of the Pharaohs. 10 December 1989

Press review from: The Observer (UK)

...a wonderfully strange record...

December 1992/January 1993

Press review from: Dirty Linen (USA)

Intoxicating, uniquely Egyptian blend of string and reeded instruments, percussion and occasionally street scenes, superbly recorded at the effective Real World Studios.

17 November 1989

Press review from: The Guardian (UK)

Artist: Musicians Of The Nile
Album: Luxor To Isna
Year: 1989
Label: REAL WORLD RECORDS LTD.

Personnel:

Metqal Qenawi Metqal: Rababah

Shamandi Tewfiq Metqal: Epic Singing and Rababah
Mohamed Murad Medjali: Rababah
Alain Weber: Rababah
Mustafah 'Abd Al' Aziz: Arghul and Doholah
Hanafi Mohamed 'Ali: Tablah
Mohamed Abu Haradji: Mizmar
Ramdan 'Ata: Mizmar
Mohamed Isma'il: Mizmar
Djad Al Rab Mahmud: Tablah Baladi

Track List:

1. Al Bahr Al Gharam Wasah (Love Is As Vast As A River)
   
2. Zahrafat Al Sa'id (Rejoicing In Upper Egypt)
   
3. Ya Tir 'Ala Shadjarah (Oh Bird Upon The Tree)
   
4. Horse Steps
   
5. Al Nahla Al 'Ali (The Tall Palm Tree)
   
6. Kol Elle Qalboh Ankawa (Everyone Has Had A Broken Heart)
   
7. Yunes Wa 'Azizah (Yunes And Azizah)
   
8. Lovers - Al-Aqsur-Isna (From Luxor To Isna)
   

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Dead Cities

Dead Cities turned out to be the Future Sound of London's bow out from the spotlight -- at least, nothing further was released by them for the rest of the decade and well into the next one. Compared to the crisp approach of Accelerator and Lifeforms' disorienting, surprising exploration into ambient sound, Dead Cities finds the group trying out something new yet again. The theme of the album, thoroughly explored in the art (as always, created by the group itself), seems to be one of futuristic urban decay, almost as if reacting against the perceived otherwordliness of Lifeforms, calmer moments like the acoustic guitar shimmer of "Her Face Forms in Summertime" aside. Hints of cyberpunk fetishism and atmospheres are everywhere, combined with a generally darker sound track for track and more upfront beats on a number of songs. "My Kingdom," a spooky choice for the initial single, blends in low-pitched drones with the echoing shuffle of the main rhythm, suggesting a Japanese city set somewhere in the outback after all the world's power finally ran out. As a further touch, the overall Blade Runner feeling of Dead Cities is heightened even more via the sampling of Mary Hopkin's haunting, wordless vocals from that film's soundtrack. The collage approach that has served the band well over the years recurs time and again -- snippets from unreleased spoken word performances and reworked orchestrations float up and down in the mix, feeling like an unusual sonic tour. That said, two of the strongest moments on Dead Cities -- the amazing single "We Have Explosive" and its semi-remix "Herd Killing," which starts the album -- come from the same source, namely Run-DMC. The brutal guitar stab and accompanying wah-wah and shout, which define both tracks, come from the Tougher Than Leather album, here reshuffled into a brusque, memorable punch with a killer, buzzing bassline.

~ Ned Ragget, AllMusic.com

Artist: F.S.O.L.
Album: Dead Cities
Year: 1996
Label: Virgin Records Limited

Track List:

1. Herd Killing
   
2. Dead Cities
   
3. Her Face Forms In Summertime
   
4. We Have Explosive
   
5. Everyone In The World Is Doing Something Without Me
   
6. My Kingdom
   
7. Max
   
8. Antique Toy
   
9. Quagmire / In A State Of Permanent Abyss
   
10. Glass
    
11. Yage
    
12. Vit Drowning / Through Your Gills I Breathe
    
13. First Death In The Family
    
    

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The Governess (OST)

Of the many great experiences that working on this score afforded me, one of the most special was the opportunity to become acquainted with the musical heritage of the Sephardic Jewish tradition. These ancient melodies, straddling the divide between Arabic and European musical culture, are a crucial element in the score, and we were lucky in having a wealth of fine recordings from which to draw inspiration.

~ Edward Shearmur

Artist: Edward Shearmur
Album: The Governess
Year: 1998
Label: Sony Music Entertainment

Featured Vocalist: Ofra Haza

Featured Musicians:

Mark Levy: Viola da gamba

Philip Pickett: Recorders

Hossam Ramzy: Percussion

Pavlo Beznosiuk: Rebec, Violin

John Themis: Lute

Gill Tingay: Harp

Sally Heath: Piano

Andy Brown: Viola

Nick Cooper, Caroline Dearnley, Philip de Groote: Cello

Rosemary Furniss, Jonathan Rees: Violin

Track List:

1. Mary Blackchurch
   
2. The Box Camera
   
3. Purim Dance
   
4. Passover
   
5. The Veil
   
6. Fixation
   
7. Salome
   
8. Standchen
   
9. Love And Loss
   
10. Photographing Cavendish / Adio, querida
    
11. Entr'acte
    
12. Rosina

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