17 Hippies: Phantom Songs - review

A band sophisticated and unusual Berlin singing in French, German and English, 17 Hippies spent 16 years in developing an unlikely style that mixes the French chanson and German cabaret with Gypsy music of the Balkans and Americana, with a dash of what either of calypso styles of the Middle East lifted. Hippies are currently a group of 12 parts and they play anything brass accordion, violin, ukulele and banjo, sometimes sounding like a cool European meet all also hard-to-categorize Pink Martini.

As these accommodating American mavericks, they are excellent musicians and a singer fine, Kiki Sauer, which is at its best here with the tone foreign gently edgy, which corresponds to the song with what sounds like support hidden for a spaghetti western. Moreover, European dance is singer Dirk Trageser tackles the influences on the backs of brass and accordion Biese Bouwe; a third singer, Christopher Blenkinsop, echoed Leonard Cohen on through waters; and there is a jazzy reworking, brass and violin of Gimme Dat Harp Boy of Captain Beefheart. Some songs more than Sauer would have been welcome, but it is a courageous and entertaining global fusion which deserves international success.

Joe Lovano us five - bird songs

For 20 years, he has recorded for Blue Note, but it is important that records of that saxophonist Joe Lovano are now jointly credited to we five. Before setting up this exciting young band, Lovano was on a comfortable artistic plateau. The two-drum band, low and piano has received acclaimed and helped revitalize her music.

Their second album, songs of birds, explores the music of Charlie Parker, but it is a tribute album. Instead of recreating arrangements of his compositions Parker, parts are redesigned and interpreted in a fresh, imaginative way. The idea for the album started when the band introduced a special arrangement of composition of Parker Barbados with a sensation of Caribbean, Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela twin drummers, creating a more infectious than on the original rhythm.

Lovano repeatedly draws creative talents of its youth group. Not every piece involves all five musicians; many deploy Lovano plus two other. Thus, Ko Ko becomes a piece of free improvisation for saxophone more drum players, with Lovano break familiar melodic fragments theme on which he improvised while drummers will separate.

Collage of blues combines three of Parker blues compositions, played simultaneously by bass, alto saxophone and piano; Carvine the bird is played by Lovano, bird feathers by bassist Esperanza Spalding and Bloomdido by pianist James Weldman. The juxtaposition is also effective he is bold, Lovano has described as "a small fugue in the three of us."

Lovano plays his trademark eight tracks on tenor saxophone, more alto saxophone, soprano saxophone and its unique double-soprano horn, the aulochrome, a track each. It avoids to imitate the style of game by Parker, preferring to play his own path. Donna Lee and Moose Monica is played more slowly than the original versions, allowing the Lovano to radically change the way he plays the.

Real tests of an album of compositions of this type are, on the one hand, that it produces original, exciting music and, secondly, that he made a return to the original version to listen to their new. On the two counts, bird songs succeeds admirably.

DEGE Legg - folk songs of the American 2010 Longhair

cdbaby

This is the real deal. DEGE Legg (aka brother Dege), born Cajun and Louisiana raised.

PopMatters

Santeria frontman Dege Legg here presented as brother Dege, a force horrified guitar of nature whose songs could fill a room with their verve without effort, mostly-acoustic. Ranging from quietly desperate refit full tilt boogie, folk songs of the American Longhair is a testament to the idea that less can, in fact, be much more.

strongly recommended