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| | | | | | New and Notable CD/DVD Acquisitions
Jan. 1-Jan. 15, 2006
(In no particular order)
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Back to Qawwali and Nusrat Forever (CD 14021 box). “Sufi soul music” from one of the best-known current Qawwali singers. Khan leads his ensemble through rousing, hand-clapping renditions of traditional Qawwali, with trademark vocal virtuosity and propulsive rhythms provided by dholak and tabla drums.
Bill Evans Trio. Explorations (CD 14029). Bill Evans, Scott LaFaro, and Paul Motian perform in their last studio date. Despite a somewhat quirky stereo soundscape (listening with headphones, it sounds as if LaFaro is playing directly into your left ear) the remastering is excellent. Evans, LaFaro, and Motian had honed their collective improvisational skills and become one of the tightest units in jazz history by the time of this recording; all three have a flair for the unexpected-yet-perfect touch and a seeming inability to fall back on convention. Also, Evans provides ample improvisatory room for his virtuoso sidemen, especially LaFaro. In addition, this CD reissue contains two bonus tracks; an alternate take of “Beautiful Love” and “The Boy Next Door,” which was omitted from the LP.
Edalat Nasibov. L’art du Saz (CD 14024). Nasibov is a master of the saz, the three-course triple-strung lute native to Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Iran. Nasibov’s repertory is based on the orally transmitted ashyq (bardic) repertoire of his native country. Because the strings are generally struck simultaneously, a percussive droning accompaniment characterizes the sound of the saz. Nasibov is a startling virtuoso, spinning seemingly endless improvised variations on traditional Azeri tunes, combining a complete technical command of the saz with good taste and an infectious wit.
Polyphonies Ari (CD 14023). Vocal and instrumental polyphony from the Ari people of northwestern Ethiopia.
Bach, Carl Philipp Emmanuel. Sonatas (CD 14041). Sonatas for flauto traverso and harpsichord or pianoforte performed by the young Finnish duo of Petra Aminoff (flute) and Annamari Pölhö (keyboards).
La bamba: Sones jarochos from Veracruz (CD 14025). Traditional Mexican music featuring virtuoso harp playing.
Julius Eastman. Unjust malaise (CD 14044). Eastman was an Ithaca native and graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. He was a pioneering American minimalist, playing with additive forms and incorporating pop idioms in his compositions long before such techniques became fashionable. Often (as in “The Holy Presence of Jean D’Arc") lyric lines erupt into eloquent polyphony over repetitive bass patterns. Eastman’s music, until now thought mostly lost, is definitely worth a listen for anyone interested in the Downtown scene of the eighties, and especially for the ways in which Eastman both presages later developments in minimalism and suggests different directions American minimalism could have taken.
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Updated: 13 Dec. 2005
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