CECILIE McLORIN SALVANT "GHOST SONG"

Ghost Song presenta un mix diversificato di sette originali e cinque interpretazioni sui temi dei fantasmi, della nostalgia e del desiderio. Salvant afferma: "È diverso da qualsiasi cosa abbia fatto prima: si sta avvicinando a riflettere la mia personalità di curatore eclettico. Sto abbracciando la mia stranezza!Ghost Song si apre e si conclude con un'esibizione sean-nós (tradizionale stile vocale irlandese non accompagnato) di Salvant, registrata in una chiesa. Sulla prima traccia, passa al classico di Kate Bush del 1978 "Cime tempestose". Salvant dice della canzone: "Cime tempestose è un libro che mi ha davvero colpito nel profondo mentre stavo realizzando questo album, durante la pandemia. E la migliore interpretazione del romanzo è la canzone di Kate Bush".Continua: “È la più classica storia di fantasmi. Ho deciso che volevo fare un album chiamato Ghost Song, e sapevo che uno doveva esserci. Poi ho avuto l'idea di mixarlo con la sean-nós "Cúirt Bhaile Nua", che lo lega alla tradizionale "Unquiet Grave", l'ultima traccia dell'album. Il fantasma non mi sta perseguitando; ora sto perseguitando il fantasma. Sono paralleli tra loro così bene e sono periodi di tempo così diversi. Volevo che l'album fosse un cerchio, con il riferimento a sean-nós all'inizio e alla fine. Quindi è la prima traccia, ma lo è. CECILIE MCLORIN SALVANT

MARY HOTT "SHAMAN LOVER"

Mary Hott’s debut album “Shaman Lover” showcases her songwriting talent and musical diversity in collaboration with the arranging and performance mastery of guitarist Billy Thompson. She delivers raw and genuine emotional expression that moves effortlessly across style boundaries. You may hear echoes of her southern gospel roots, or elements of the funk grooves she loves, intertwined with rock, soul, jazz, country and blues.For most of her musical career Mary has played a supporting role, helping other musicians realize their own musical goals. While living in New York City, she became a sought-after recording studio session singer and background singer, studied vocal jazz and improvisation with seasoned pros, and became the front singer for several jazz and swing ensembles. After moving to Boston and spending some time at Berklee College of Music, her musical interests turned to the blues and she was soon fronting several bands, including a ten-piece R&B-Soul ensemble with regular appearances at The House of Blues and festivals and nightclubs throughout New England. She has shared the stage with nationally known musical acts as diverse as The J. Geils Band and Asleep At The Wheel.When asked about the album’s title, Mary references the author Elizabeth Lesser, who in her book “Broken Open” defines a shaman lover as a person who suddenly enters your life (or an abrupt event in your life) that causes a radical change – so radical it stirs the shadow self, the part of you kept hidden for way too long. A radical event in her own life changed the role of music in her life and sparked the creation of the songs on this album. MARY HOTT
 

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JOEL HARRISON & ANUPAM SHOBHAKAR "MULTIPLICITY"

Leave the Door Open is the debut album from Multiplicity, a multi-cultural, genre-defying collaboration between Guggenheim Fellow and world-renowned American guitarist Joel Harrison and North Indian-native, virtuoso classical Sarodist and composer Anupam Shobhakar. The album beams with an amalgamation of styles influenced from the worlds of Indian Classical, jazz, blues and roots music, featuring a stellar cast of some of the finest contemporary creative musicians in the world: Gary Versace (piano, B-3 organ, accordion), Dan Weiss (drums and tables), Hans Glawischnig (acoustic & electric bass), as well as special guests David Binney (alto saxophone), Todd Isler (percussion), Bonnie Chakraborty and Chandrashekar Vase (vocals).The music was cooperatively developed and composed by the two leaders between 2010 and 2012 as a result of Shobhakar being featured in a multi-movement work Harrison composed for sarode, classical percussion quartet and jazz quintet. The two developed an immediate rapport, sharing an eagerness to learn about and experience as much music as possible. And it’s a natural pairing, as each leader has been involved with a remarkable amount of diverse music over the years: Harrison has released 15 albums to date, has won multiple awards for composition and is known for being a restless soul who is no stranger to taking risks with his music, while Shobhakar hails from the Maihar Gharana, a family whose contribution to the world of Indian instrumental music is unparalleled. Shobhakar’s ability to operate so far outside the usual confines of his instrument is remarkable, and he is known for his wide-ranging compositional palette as well, which has been influenced by his experiences performing in rock bands just as much as classical Indian music.Harrison explains, “We both added components to each other’s compositions and worked hard to figure out how to reconcile our different backgrounds. We felt strongly that we should include a ‘folk’ element, adding straight-to-the-heart simplicity with the thornier jazz pieces. As principles of Indian music slowly work their way into the jazz lexicon, alliances such as ours are becoming less rare. It’s a fascinating journey to be taking part in.” JOEL HARRISON & ANUPAM SHOBHAKAR 
 

THE OCULAR CONCERN "SISTER CITIES"

Portland-based quintet The Ocular Concern presents a new album of contemporary music composed by co-leaders Dan Duval and Andrew Oliver.  The album’s centerpiece is a four-movement suite for the quintet plus string trio and bandoneon inspired by the globalized world of the 21st century and based on the names of Portland’s sister cities worldwide.  The album features the group’s wide ranging stylistic aesthetic, tied together by an emphasis on strong interlocking grooves, catchy melodies, and intuitive group interplay. The four-movement suite adds violin, viola, cello and bandoneon, the traditional Argentine tango accordion to the existing instrumentation of Lee Elderton on clarinet, Andrew Oliver on electric piano, Dan Duval on electric guitar, Nathan Beck on vibes and mbira (Zimbabwean thumb piano), and Stephen Pancerev on drums.  Though the instrumentation at first glance may seem intentionally bizarre, the nonet blends diverse timbres and styles into a soundscape perfectly suited to Duval and Oliver's wide reaching compositional aesthetic.  The suite opens with "Sister Cities," a gospel-tinged tune leading to "Portland in Reverse," featuring the strings in a reflective chamber mood before the introduciton of a Senegalese-inspired beat.  "Ghost Town City Council" brings in a western twang and creepy atonal use of the mbira before resolving into the "Island Milonga" with a catchy tango feel to round it out.   The other tracks in the album feature the quintet exploring a variety of grooves from the contemporary odd meters of "The Ocular Concern" and "The Eclectic Piano" to a more Zimbabwean-styled trancey beat of "Lafayette" and the serene, chorale-like "William S. Burroughs, LET'S GO!"  Throughout, Stephen Pancerev's intuitive drumming and the interlocking blend of guitar, keyboard, and vibes lays a strong framework for strong and catchy melodic statments, minimalist textures, and Lee Elderton's spontaneous and brilliant clarinet improvisations. THE OCULAR CONCERN