Lumination (Anzic Records) by the Joel Frahm Trio shines a light on the interplay between Frahm’s tenor sax, the bass of Dan Loomis, and the drumming of Ernesto Cervini. It is noteworthy that no chords were played during these 10 originals. It’s a high-wire act – as all chord-less trios are – without the connective tissue of a guitar or piano. Together for almost a decade, their intuition of each other’s spiraling ascents into the stratosphere constitute a democratic, freewheeling adventure where getting there is all the fun. Frahm’s tribute to his own drummer (“Disco Nern”) is absolutely delicious, as is Cervini’s “This Nurse Is In” with its escalating components of roundtable dialogues (a percussion discussion) where Cervini’s snare and toms “comment” on Frahm’s frenetic sax and that constantly moving Loomis bass. There’s a lot going on here!
In 1717, German composer Johann Sebastian Bach [1685-1750] started writing his “Partita in D Minor for Solo Violin.” Partita Party (SBOV Music), by Atar Arad & Friends, takes Bach’s creation and extrapolates five new takes on it by five viola masters. Arad won First Prize at the 1972 International Viola Competition in Geneva, Switzerland. He performed for years as part of the Cleveland String Quartet and teaches at Indiana University. These compact 24 minutes are filled with haunting variations on a theme that sometimes sounds like a horror soundtrack, but also soothes and coddles the ear by testing the limits of what the viola can possibly sound like with no rhythm section or any accompaniment whatsoever. It’s like health food – it’s good for you.
The six instrumentalists from Copenhagen Denmark sure be funky! They’re called A Plane To Catch and their follow-up to last year’s Moko Jumbie debut (which was heavily influenced by Afro-Beat pioneer Fela Kuti) is Soul Piece (April Records). This time they’re gettin’ down with some good ol’ American R’n’B. Recorded live at The Royal Danish Academy of Music, it’s a dance treat, pumping along gracefully with trumpet, sax, guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums. Best thing about it: no vocals.
Time to jump and jive with the fourth installment of the swingin’ Atomicat Records Jive-A-Rama series. Rockabilly legends Eddie Cochran and Johnny Burnette are the only ones you’ve ever heard of. It’s the long-ago and far-away regional cats – who had a cup of coffee in the limelight like Al Turnage & The Turnpikes who recorded but two songs in their entire career, one of which was the festering blister of “Hollywood Rock” in 1963 – who permeate the proceedings. Then there’s Kay Brown & The 5 Teens, who tried and failed after a mere 10 songs between ’51 and ’58, but whose “Teenage Hop” sounds great. (Kay ultimately found religion and a life as an Illinois real estate agent.) Maybe you’d prefer the “Itchy Twitchy Feeling” of the Deep River Boys who took time out from their gospel careers to let their inner lust come to the fore. The “Chit Chat” of Alabama’s Bill Baker & The Chestnuts may strike your fancy. These glimpses of white-skinned rock are rare.
New Orleans is more than just a city. Its culture can be found around the world, thus Canada’s Blue Moon Marquee – the duo of A.W. Cardinal and Jasmine “Badlands” Colette who previously struck pay-dirt with its Scream, Holler & Howl, now ups the ante on its terrific Crescent City tribute New Orleans Sessions. From Memphis Minnie’s 1943 “Black Ray Swing” and Leadbelly’s 1939 “Ain’t Goin’ Down” to Bo Carter’s 1991 “Let’s Get Drunk Again” and Louis Armstrong’s 1928 “Saint James Infirmary,” these two with the help of some of Louisiana’s finest, hit the nail on the head.
