Unpopular Music - February 16, 2020

Greetings!

Today I offer up a program of music I've been putting aside for a new playlist. When I stopped doing the weekly program, I've been trying to pick up the pace of putting all this music I've got lying around onto the old hard drive, and intended to make new playlists out of that material. That effort has not been entirely successful, but I think we've got enough freshness to make it worthwhile. It did come out a bit subdued, though perhaps right for a winter's afternoon or evening. (I took it out for a walk this afternoon to give it a quality assurance listen, and it worked out fine.)

I decided not to play DJ on this one, if only to shape the program rather than to hear my own voice. The program is divided into three sets, marked by somewhat longer pauses, the first ending around the 39 minute mark, the second around 1:19:00. In lieu of announcing, I did write some program notes below.

image source

See the playlist and the notes after the break...

I often admire Pat Metheny's playing, but I've never been a fan of the Pat Metheny Group. I was looking for an opening to this program when, while down some YouTube rabbit hole, I came across the performance of “Have You Heard” the Group played on the TV program “Night Music” around the time of its release. What I've always liked about this song is how the opening melody always dodges its approaching resolution. Although Metheny's main collaborator was the recently departed keyboardist Lyle Mays, of whom, I'm sorry to say, I was never much of a fan, the key collaborator on this record is multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Pedro Aznar.

James Brandon Lewis was a participant in the performance I gave this review back in 2016. Special commendation to guitarist Anthony Pirog for keeping that vamp going for almost ten minutes.

Charmediterranéen is another stunning piece from the album of the same name from Orchestre National de Jazz, which was featured in the final weekly BFR webcast. This features both great solo and ensemble playing.

The medieval flute specialist Norbert Rodenkirchen is a regular at the Boston Early Music Festival (one of my side jobs) and does amazing things with all manner of early and recreated instruments. Someone once commented to me that it lookrd like he was playing a twig. His album Hameln Anno 1284 explores music the famed Pied Piper of legend might have played. This selection is an improvisation in a 13^th century Slavonic dance style.

Hoven Droven often mix Swedish folk music with some heavy rock sounds, but this album is pretty straight ahead. Larven is an original tune from the group's guitarist. The album notes state Larven “is not just the brand name of a snowmobile, but a way of life.” This and the previous selection were chosen somewhat arbitrarily at different times, and I hadn't noticed the similarities in the tunes until I was making the edit this morning.

I've mentioned before how the notes in the Highlights from "Alternatives" CD are maddeningly incomplete. I'm not sure who the performers are, or even to which of the groups they belong. This piece came around on the shuffle play in close proximity to “The Lost” and I thought they would make an interesting pairing.

The Minuet from Haydn's "La Passione" symphony has some beautifully sad music in its first theme, with some reassurance coming in the second. Kudos to the horn player hitting those pianissimo high notes.

Masterpieces By Ellington was Duke's first recording intended for the new LP format, and he took full advantage of the chance to go beyond the three-and-a-half minute restriction of the 78 by bringing in some extended arrangements, with the shortest performance coming in at 8:24. Side one began with this master class in re-harmonization in the form a fifteen-and-a-half minute theme-and-variations setting of Mood Indigo. Pretty much everyone takes the lead at some point, but the gold star goes to vocalist Yvonne Lanauze, who has to sing the familiar melody over completely changed harmonies. (Hat-tip to Kurt Gottschalk's Miniature Minotaurs on the WFMU Give the Drummer Radio stream.)

At Dr. King'sTable was the first posthumous release from the Julius Hemphill Sextet, with Marty Ehrlich leading in the master's absence. Choo-choo has a certain Ellingtonian vibe, which is why I placed it here.

I spent a good chunk of January taking in the six disc Hot Rats Sessions set, released for the 50^th anniversary of that album. Among the many highlights are the various rhythm section tracks (over which Zappa and Ian Underwood would make countless guitar, keyboard and woodwind overdubs) as they take shape, along with the complete thirty-five minute take of “The Gumbo Variations” (under the title “Big Legs.”) I ended up choosing this bit of piano music (mostly written out, if I'm not mistaken) with multiple overdubs, which includes a nascent version of Zappa's arguably most famous melody.

I checked out Claire Chase's Density album on Bandcamp, and Mario Diaz de León's “Luciform” was the one track that jumped out at me, an extravaganza for flute and electronics. The composer describes it as “Seeking illumination through transgression of boundaries.” It's my only encounter with this composer, and I'll have to seek out more.

Joe Duddell is another composer with whom I'm not familiar, other than this piece, one of the highlights from this intriguing album of trumpet and percussion duets. I though it would make a good set ender.

But apparently not a good enough program-ender, which is why I turned the final farewell over to Sonny Rollins.

I'll be seeing you.

artist	title	album	comments	label / date
Pat Metheny Group	Have You Heard	Letter from Home	Pat Metheny (g, syn) Lyle Mays (keys) Pedro Aznar (voc, prc) Steve Rodby (b) Paul Wetico (d) Armando Marçon (prc) tune by Pat Metheny, arr Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays	Geffen 1989
James Brandon Lewis	An UnRuly Manifesto	An UnRuly Manifesto	James Brandon Lewis (ts) Jaimie Branch (trp) Luke Stewart (b) Anthony Pirog (g) Warren Trae Crudup III (d)	Relative Pitch Records 2018
Paolo Damiani / Orchestre National de Jazz w/ Anouar Brahem & Gianluigi Trovesi	Charmediterraneen	Charmediterraneen	Paolo Damiani (vc) Anouar Brahem (oud) Gianluigi Trovesi (pcc clt, as) François Jeanneau (ss, flt) Thomas de Pourquery (ss, as, ts) Jean-Marc Larché (ss, as, bs) Médéric Collignon (pocket trp, flg, voc) Alain Vankenhove (trp, flg) Gianluca Petrella (tbn) Didier Havet (sousaphone) Régis Huby (vln) Olivier Benoit (g) Paul Rogers (b) Christophe Marguet (d)	ECM 2001
Norbert Rodenkirchen	Pora maty zyto	Hameln Anno 1284	Norbert Rodenkirchen (flt) Guiseppe Paolo Cecere (Symphonia, vielle, psaltry, lute) Wolfgang Reithofer (prc) tune by Meister Alexander	Christophorus 2011
Hoven Droven	Larven	Hippa	Kjell-Erik Erikson (vln) Björn Höglund (d, prc) Bo Lindburg (g, acrd, tune) Jens Comén (sax) Pedro Blom (b) Gustav Hylén (trp, hrn) Jan Strömstedt (harm) Kaxen (noises)	North Side 2001
Gennady Rozhdestvensky; Soloists of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra; Soloists of the Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra	Garden of Joy and Sadness (excerpt)	Highlights from "Alternatives" Soviet Avant Garde Music	music by Sofia Gubaidulina	MCA Classics 1988
Bobby Previte	The Lost	Rhapsody	Nels Cline (g) Fabian Rucker (as) John Medeski (p) Zeena Parkins (hrp) Bobby Previte (prc)	Rare Noise Records 2017
Antonio Janigro; Symphony Orchestra of Radio Zagreb	Symphony No. in 49 in f minor, "La Passione" - III: Menuetto	Franz Joseph Haydn "Sturm und Drang" Symphonies Nos. 44-49	music by Franz Joseph Haydn	Bach Giold / Vanguard 1963
Duke Ellington	Mood Indigo	Masterpieces By Ellington	Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn (p) Cat Anderson, Shorty Baker, Fats Ford, Ray Nance, Nelson Williams (trp) Lawrence Brown, Tyree Glenn, Quentin Jackson (tbn) Mercer Ellington (hrn) Jimmy Hamilton (clt, ts) Johnny Hodges (as) Russell Procope (as, clt) Paul Gonsalves (ts) Harry Carney (bs) Wendell Marshall (b) Sonny Greer (d) Yvonne Lanauze (voc)	Columbia Legacy 1950
The Julius Hemphill Sextet	Choo Choo	At Dr. King'sTable	Marty Ehrlich (as, ss, flt, alt flt, clt, b clt, music director, solo) Sam Furnace (as, ss) Andy Laster (as, flt) Gene Ghee, Andrew White (ts) Alex Harding (bs) music by Julius Hemphill	New World Records 1997
Frank Zappa	Piano Music (Section 3 with OD's)	The Hot Rats Sessions	Frank Zappa (g) Ian Underwood (p, woodwinds)	Zappa Records 1969
Claire Chase	Luciform	Density	music by Mario Diaz de León	New Focus Recordings 2013
Colin Currie and Håkan Hardenberger	Catch – III	The scene of the crime	Colin Currie (mrmb) Håkan Hardenberger (trp) music by Joe Duddell	Colin Currie Records 2018
Sonny Rollins & Co.	I'll Be Seeing You	The Standard Sonny Rollins	Sonny Rollins (ts) Bob Cranshaw (b) Mickey Roker (d)	RCA 1964