Randy Weston – “Tanjah” – I’ve been holding this since seeing Billy Harper a few months ago. I wanted a Randy + Billy track and couldn’t recall which track to play during a Sesh. I decided on this one but still feel there was another recording I was looking for? Randy’s long works are not necessarily long form, but they are plotted as if they were. It’s really great set planning and thinking about contrast between works, instead of interconnected material. I think even his more recent recordings were pretty solid efforts, this recording is thick with percussion and has a feeling of a cloud blocking the Sun, bright but shaded. I like hearing Billy in a variety of contexts, he brings so much intensity I end up waiting for the release (he doesn’t always arrive at one either). The narrative voice? Really works for me, sustains a type of eerie vibe across the solos, feeling more ritual than entertainment.
Travis – Nate Wood – “fOUR” – I was completely fooled, believing this to be a DJ piece and the only thing I was right about was the one person band situation. We did not watch it, I expected a recording, not a video of it live in action and I will have to re-watch to see how he is doing everything. It also fits a certain taste I have for Electronic Dance Music, or a simulation of, which still seems to approach the music with a song writers purpose, rather than something that focuses more on dance events and electronic tools that can feel non-human when used. Digitally manipulating musical elements like volume, pitch or tempo transformations that a couldn’t be achieved by human musicians can leave me a little cold if not used with dramatic purpose.
* A wee note – we skip the next Sesh 8/10, instead will be a gathering @ Nawi’s!
Found Sounds 