CLASSICAL
Franz Schubert
Music for Violin II
Ariadne Daskalakis; Paolo Giacometti
BIS (dist. Naxos)
BIS-2373
This is the second installment in a two-disc survey of Schubert’s music featuring the violin; the first included both chamber and orchestral music, and this one consists of two sonatas and a Rondo, all for violin and piano. Violinist Ariadne Daskalakis and keyboardist Paolo Giacometti have chosen to use period instruments for this recording: a gut-strung violin using the bridge and bow designs that prevailed during Schubert’s day, and an early-19th-century fortepiano. These not only allow us to hear tonalities closer to what Schubert’s audience would have heard during his lifetime, but also let us hear instruments being employed to something closer to the limits of their expressive range, which is exciting in itself. Schubert’s achingly beautiful melodies and the powerful emotional momentum of his ideas become all the more poignant in this instrumental context, and Daskalakis and Giacometti are exceptionally convincing exponents of their approach. Both volumes in this series are highly recommended to all classical collections.
Johann Philipp Krieger
12 Trio Sonatas op. 2 (2 discs)
Echo du Danube / Christian Zincke
CPO (dist. Naxos)
555 333-2
Born in Nuremberg and educated both there and in Copenhagen, Johann Philipp Krieger was nevertheless most obviously influenced by the Italian style; he spent important years of his career in Venice and Rome, and you can hear those years refracted through this set of twelve trio sonatas. In the unusual instrumentation chosen by Christian Zincke and his Echo du Danube ensemble, you also see reflected the performance practices of 17th-century Italy and Germany, practices that aren’t usually typically followed today even among period-instrument groups. In addition to the violin, viola da gamba, organ, and harpsichord one would expect, and the theorbed lute that comes as no surprise, the continuo also includes a triple harp and a psaltery (hammered dulcimer). These bring an unexpected texture to the proceedings and add to the impressive array of timbral colors on display, making these delightful trio sonatas all the more enjoyable. Brilliant playing of neglected music by an underappreciated composer: always a winning combination, especially for library collections.
JAZZ
Henry Robinett Quartet
Then Again: Jazz Standards Volume 2
Nefertiti
N121620
In last year’s May issue, the first volume in this series of standards recordings was one of my Rick’s Picks. Like that volume, the second one draws on tapes made in the early 1990s when guitarist Robinett got together with several close friends to spend a few hours playing through classic jazz tunes like “Milestones,” “It Could Happen to You,” and “On the Street Where You Live.” The resulting tapes were then put aside and largely forgotten until Robinett happened across them and listened to them again, at which point he decided they needed to be heard more broadly. He was entirely right: the four musicians play as if they’d been rehearsing for weeks, delivering these familiar tunes with impressive tightness and communication; Robinett leads with confidence, playing in a mellow-toned but assured style and adeptly negotiating the harmonic space he shares with pianist Joe Gilman. If your collection already holds the first volume, then this one is an essential complement to it. And if it doesn’t, then buy both of them.
Yoko Miwa Trio
Songs of Joy
Ubuntu Music
UBU0057
A new album by pianist and composer Yoko Miwa is always an exciting event. I’ve been following her career with great interest since I first heard her 20 or so years ago, and over time I’ve been impressed by a deepening lushness in her music; her writing (which was outstanding from the beginning) has become more complex and her approach to chord voicings has gotten denser and richer–all without ever giving up any sense of nimbleness and swing. The first track on Songs of Joy is a cover of the Richie Havens song “Freedom,” and it throws down a bit of a gauntlet: Miwa plays big, heavy chords while bassist Will Slater and drummer Scott Goulding play freely around her, and then they segue into… a drum solo. This is not how you open your typical straight-ahead jazz album. Miwa’s own “Largo Desolato” is something of a head fake, a swinging mid tempo number that conveys anything but desolation, though her ballad “The Lonely Hours” communicates the melancholy of its title in a beautiful way. The track I keep coming back to is her take on the Thelonious Monk standard “Think of One,” which she deconstructs and makes her own to an impressive extent. This album is yet another triumph from one of America’s finest jazz pianists, composers, and bandleaders.
FOLK/COUNTRY
Ian Fisher
American Standards
Self-released
IAN-CD-0021
Originally from Missouri but currently based in Europe, singer-songwriter Ian Fisher looks at his home country through a somewhat different lens than that of the majority of his Americana/nu-country peers. Sometimes accompanying his reedy voice with just fingerpicked guitar, and sometimes couched in expansive full-band arrangements, Fisher breaks away from the much more countrified sound that has typified his earlier recordings. And while his singing sometimes comes across as a bit of a cross between Bob Dylan and Paul Kelly (the one from Australia, not the “Stealing in the Name of the Lord” singer), his songwriting perspective is very much his own. Contrast the lyrics of “Be Thankful” with those of “AAA Station”; contrast the arrangement on “In Front of Another” with that on “Three Chords & the Truth”–not to mention the folk-rocking “It Ain’t Me.” Very nice stuff.
Phil Leadbetter and the All Stars of Bluegrass
Swing for the Fences
Pinecastle (dist. MVD)
PRC1240
There was a time when virtuosic bluegrass bands were known for their “high lonesome” sound: sharp, intense vocals and headlong tempos. Today the best bands in the business tend to sound smoother and to favor more moderate speeds; some of this new smoothness is down to improved production, but some of it is the result of genuine stylistic evolution. Resonator guitarist Phil Leadbetter and his band (each member of which is a decorated bluegrass veteran, as its name implies) exemplify the new sound of straight-ahead bluegrass, playing with supernal tightness and singing in harmonies that never waver; but that doesn’t mean their sound is soft, exactly, or by any means “progressive.” Songs like “I’m Gonne Make It After All” and the gospel raveup “Ready and Waiting” are good old-fashioned bluegrass of the meat and potatoes variety, and the “can’t go home again” ballad “I Wanna Go Home” is about as standard as bluegrass can be. The band sounds fantastic and is very well recorded, and every track is a pleasure.
ROCK/POP
The Bug feat. Dis Fig
In Blue
Hyperdub (dist. Redeye)
CD-HDB-055
January of 2021 has given all of us more than the usual complement of reasons to be grumpy and maybe even to harbor dystopian thoughts. My two Rock/Pop entries for February reflect that mood. The first is from Kevin Martin, dba The Bug, whose latest album finds him sinking deeper and deeper into the murk of dubstep-inflected grime and what I can only call post-avant-dancehall. This time out he’s accompanied on his excursion by singer Dis Fig (alias Felicia Chen), whose quiet and breathy vocals contrast nicely with The Bug’s dark and heavy sonics. The instrumental tracks used here are based on ideas he created for a set on the Solid Steel online radio show, and the music that these two create together is different from anything The Bug has done before while representing an entirely logical progression. If your patrons have responded well to the work of King Midas Sound, Scorn, and maybe the Lori Carson-era Golden Palominos, then definitely put this one in front of them.
Chrizpy Chriz
Warp Crawler (digital & vinyl only)
YUKU
No cat. no.
Here’s the entirety of the information that came with my promo download of this album: “This is a true representation of what I crave as an artist. My intention is to invite you to explore the unknown, hear the unheard, and feel the unfelt. At some point art begins to create itself, this is how it works for me. The creation of this album was less of a choice and more of a subconscious action that led to result. These are my surroundings, feelings, and visions in a body of work.Influenced by an enveloping darkness, distortion, and warped reality. A special thank you to my biggest inspiration—my grandpa.” So what’s the music like? In two words, dark and intense. “Intoxicated” and “Trauma” border on Squarepusher-style drill’n’bass, without quite the same relentlessness of attack. Elsewhere there are hints of Muslimgauze in the squidgy and repetitive beats, and generally speaking there’s a pervasive sense of funky claustrophobia. That may not be the most inviting description, but trust me–this music is well worth hearing.
WORLD/ETHNIC
Fadia Tomb el-Hage; Fragments Ensemble; Beirut Oriental Ensemble
Masārāt: Fadia Tomb el-Hage Sings Lebanese Authors and Composers (2 discs)
Orlando (dist. MVD)
or 0042
This disc could just as easily have gone into the Classical section, since the music is very much in the art music rather than the regional or ethnic folk music tradition. But these songs for contralto and various chamber ensembles are so deeply imbued with Lebanese influence that this release seems to fit better here. Most of the songs are written in Arabic, with a smattering of English, German, and French (Lebanon’s other official language). For the most part these are compositions from the past 20 years; some are written for voice with European instruments, but other arrangements include the oud, qanun, and various regional percussion instruments. Melodies are sometimes lyrical and Romantic, and at other times fly off into thrilling Middle Eastern melismas, all sometimes within the course of a single song. Tomb al-Hage’s voice is rich, sweet, and powerful, and her singing is marvelously subtle and flexible. This is a magnificent recording.
Double Tiger
The Journey (digital only)
Easy Star
No cat. no.
This is the second solo album from Jay Spaker, a.k.a. Double Tiger, familiar to fans of modern roots reggae as a guitarist and vocalist with the outstanding John Brown’s Body. His debut Sharp & Ready hit hard in 2017, and this one is even better: more than just about anyone else, Spaker has figured out how to blend seamlessly the sounds of vintage roots and dancehall reggae with modern soul and R&B flavors, as evidenced in particular on the swinging “Rub a Dub Party,” and the guest turns by such eminences as Elliot Martin (of John Brown’s Body), Suckarie (of New Kingston), and the legendary Ranking Joe bring additional stylistic diversity to his sound. The production is dense and swirling but sharp around the edges. Highly recommended.
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