What Are You Listening To? July 2019

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Darius Jones featuring Emilie Lesbros - Le bébé de Brigitte (Lost in Translation) (2015)

I would file this under Art Jazz, or something like that.

There's a fair amount of singing and speaking, but it's all mostly in French and I don't know what is being said. The album was "made possible through the French American Jazz Exchange, a joint program of FACE (French American Cultural Exchange) and ...."

There's a sense of performance in this recording and I get the feeling this would make a strong, memorable impact if seen live. The sax blowing gets intense, growing, funky, haunting, squonky, tender, bluesy, and is simply the best individual part of the album.

I've had this four years and after being less than impressed with it, I've rarely listened to it. Yet, it remained on my listening table, because I knew I had not given it the careful listening it deserved. It received that careful listening this morning. It's pretty good. I just wish I could understand the vocals.

Band members Matt Mitchell (piano and keyboards) and Ches Smith (drums, percussion) both have a long history of Avant Garde Jazz, or simply non-traditional Jazz. It makes sense they would be involved in something like this. I don't think I'm familiar with Sean Conly, the bassist.

ETA: It peripherally reminds me of some Mingus songs that start off with one theme and visit several other themes before ending..
Quand vient la nuit said:
Don't be afraid to be alive
Don't be afraid to eat your deams
 
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Patti Smith - Horses (1975)


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Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (Fritz Reiner, conductor) - Shostakovich Symphony No. 6 et al. (1945)

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The ARSC Journal had an extended feature on Fritz Reiner not long ago. Before achieving his greatest success with the Chicago Symphony, Reiner turned around the fortunes of both the Cincinnati and Pittsburgh orchestras, taking both from mediocrity to excellence despite small budgets.

Take a close look at the original Alex Steinweiss cover art from 1945. Both the art and the repertoire reflect the all too brief period of warm feelings between the USSR and the USA that turned quickly into the Cold War. When Columbia reissued this 78 RPM album on LP four years later, gone was the Soviet flag, replaced by happy, sickle-wielding farmers with a smoky factory looming ominously in the background.

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The Shostakovich 6th reflects the same militant, triumphant mood as the original cover art. Although written before the war began, the unique structure of a long, dark first movement followed by two much briefer, joyous movements echoed the dark days of the German invasion of the Soviet Union followed by ultimate victory in the streets of Berlin. It should not come as a surprise that Reiner chose this piece to record less than 3 weeks after V-E Day. The session took place at Syria Mosque, the 3,700 seat venue where the Pittsburgh Symphony regularly performed due to its orchestra-friendly acoustics.

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The Columbia Masterworks Heritage CD release generously includes Kodaly's Dances of Galanta, Bartok's Hungarian Sketches, Weiner's Divertimento and Glinka's Kamarinskaya. Oh, did I mention that Fritz Reiner was born in Hungary? ;)
 
Today's a 108 playlist of songs I enjoy from 1972
Just heard: Al Green's "Let's Stay Together"
Currently: Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side
Next: O'Jay's "Love Train"
:banana:
 
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