MUSIC REVIEWS
John Zorn:
Steve Coleman & Five Elements:
Kristallnacht
(Eva/Japan)
Kristallnacht, the night of November 9, 1938, when Nazis smashed windows, burned Jewish stores, and synagogues, and killed and injured thousands of Jews, ushered in the Holocaust. Fifty-five years later, edge-dancing American composer John Zorn, whose accomplishments in both jazz and rock span a myriad of countries and influences, relives the "night of broken glass" with a musical marriage of violence and beauty. Performed by seven musicians and recorded live in New York City, this 45-minute catharsis mixes elements of old and new recordings to create a contemporary interpretation of events that would ultimately threaten an entire race of people.
Zorn's symphony opens with a Threepenny Opera-esque duet of trumpet and clarinet that evokes pre-war Berlin. Peppered with Nazi hate-speech samples, the piece dissolves into a cacophonus shattering of glass - twelve minutes long and literally ear-splitting. (Repeated listenings "may result in permanent ear damage" caution the liner notes.) The composer's warning seems to echo an unspoken one against historical repetition of the events he chronicles.
In subsequent sections, the chaotic glissando of a violin embodies the frantic quest of a displaced people seeking refuge; the shrieks of guitar feedback echo those of braking boxcar wheels or, perhaps, those locked inside; a glockenspiel quietly chimes the passing hours; thunderous drums evoke threatening clouds of deadly gas. Throughout, embers of hope glow in glimpses of sweet melody.
Kristallnacht's grim story has more in common with classical music than with Zorn's typical fare. That its story gets told in yet a new way testifies both to Zorn's versatility as a composer, and to the remarkable resilience of people staring fearlessly into the hollow eyes of genocide.
- Colin Berry
Tales of Ephidrina
(Caroline/Astralwerks)
"Papua New Guinea" had to be one of the most beautiful songs to grace the basebins on a sound system. All agreed it was one-shot luck, no way could they repeat it. Well, all were wrong. Tales of Ephidrina is not an ambient CD, it is an ambient journey. It carries you from a trance state into dance and back again. The music is refreshingly original, none of the same old tired samples and drum loops. So find some head phones, turn down the lights, and fly.
- Lisa Ferrara
Alternative NRG
(Greenpeace Records)
With the help of a mobile, solar generator, this album, featuring a conceptual stadium showcase of U2, PM Dawn, Sonic Youth, Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, REM, UB40, L7 and Annie Lennox, was recorded and mixed with PC power. Greenpeace has successfully raised millions of dollars on behalf of planet Earth via concerts and compilations for the past five years. Alternative NRG, directed and co-produced by Dave Wakeling, is their latest project; all monies will support the Energy & Climate Campaign. High five on that solar sound; now let's see the industry take the challenge.
- Kristy O'Rell
I-Ching
(Point Music)
A classically trained, modern Brazilian quartet - what image does that conjure? A group of serious, smart guys in a clearing somewhere in the Amazon playing traditional, invented and electronic instruments to a crowd of mesmerized natives? Or perhaps on a crowded commuter platform in Sao Paolo, drumming Afro rhythms as office droids blur past? Or a broad, empty Rio beach, playing percussion and flutes before silent apartment towers as the South Atlantic sun rises over last night's spent Carnaval revelers? Conjure for yourself, Uakti is touring the US right now.
- Levi Rizetnikof
Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls
(Elektra/Nonesuch)
Between 1916 and 1927, George Gershwin recorded over 130 piano rolls for player piano. This collection, played by Gershwin himself, has some seven decades later been transferred from the original piano rolls to floppy disk, and then played back on the Yamaha Disklavier grand piano. The result? A techno-transubstantiation of original brush strokes, from one of this century's greatest musical minds. While a generation may associate "Rhapsody in Blue" with a certain airline commercial, its raw, transcendent beauty is alive here.
- Will Kreth
The Tao of Mad Phat: Fringe Zones
(Novus)
Long before there was such a thing as hip-hop jazz, saxophonist Steve Coleman was already forging musical elements that mirror the experiences of African-American people. Coleman's latest offering distills this experience to its rudimentary constituents - rhythm and groove. However, Mad Phat grooves with edges: It divots, so to speak, fusing odd-meter, and polyrhythmic mantras with the dizzying melodic syncopation of Coleman's own angular, atonally melodic sensibility. Mad Phat is a musical collage that celebrates the complexity of the urban aesthetic.
- Eric Rigaud
Two Words
(Relativity Records)
If you have ever seen Colorfast perform live, you will kiss the dirt for this release. Following (and leaping over) their first, self-titled album, Two Words provides greener pasture for this young quartet than their first release. Produced by guitarist Kurt Bloch, Two Words was recorded in only a month. The album is surprisingly diverse and well-layered, using various arrangements that for some reason fit. Colorfast has molded their high-decibel sound in a way that lends less frustration to the poseur stereotype. Definitely loud, and definitely taut.
Afrodisiac
(Mercury)
Choice. This music is mellow, with beat and that great guitar-in-a-tin-can effect. Many influences shape The Veldt's sound, yet among The Cure, Cocteau Twins, and Public Enemy, none hold the flag. While certain songs suffer from a stylistic Sybil complex, others possess an equilibrium of rock that soothes. The mini song teasers glow in the dark! Another high, the band's touring-buds: Fishbone, Catherine Wheel, and Lush. With the release of Afrodisiac on Mercury, we'll see if this buzz lasts!
Stravinsky & Szymanowski Violin Concertos, the Montreal Symphony, Charles Dutoit Conducts
(London Records)
A contemporary of Stravinsky and Bartok, Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 1 was shaped by his interest in oriental philosophy and mysticism; it recalls the chromaticism of Scriabin and the lush orchestration of Debussy and Ravel. Concerto No. 2 incorporates Polish and Ukrainian folk music. Juillet plays these fantastic pieces beautifully, offering just the right amount of subtlety this often delicate music requires. Stravinsky's Violin Concerto, in witty homage to the 18th century, provides contrast to Szymanowski's exotic and modern world.
- Bryan Higgins
