Mining the Audio Motherlode, Volume 94

Give the Drummer Some's
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere

Records are like onions: They're spicy when raw, sweet when really cooking, and sometimes, when you get too close, they make you cry. Read on about this week's bushelful...

You don't have to be a pro hoops fan to know there's no more bizarre pairing of words in the English language than "Utah" and "Jazz." You may find "Finnish" and "Jazz" to be a close second, but not after diving ear-first into the thrilling, anthemic title cut on Heikki Sarmanto's Flowers in the Water.  • • •  As much an historic document as it is a pop album, Dom Salvador e Abolicão's Som, Sangue e Raça was a vital early statement in the social and cultural Black Rio Movement.  • • • Cultural historians in Jamaica value Sonny Bradshaw's contributions as journalist and radio presenter even more than his pioneering music.  • • •  Now better known for their vocal experimentations, audio alchemists David Moss and Baird Hersey are featured on their instrumentation of choice (percussion and guitar, respectively) on this compelling late-'70s collaboration.  • • •  Bingeing on Jesus instead of heroin (OK, maybe a little of both) these lads from Edinburgh produced an album that might've served nicely as the soundtrack to the imaginary film Godspotting.

 

 Recordspotting...

 

Heikki Sarmanto  ~  "Flowers in the Water"
(Blog: Hoochie Coochie Presents Jazz)

For a link to download the full album, go here and scroll down

Let It Grow on You
"Freedom, power, honest directness, abandon tempered only by the control of those, who know what to say and how best to say it. That is what I hear in this album. The first track seemed so strong that I wondered how they were going to follow it up. But they did, with well written selections and strong solos, and with a swing, a feeling of rhythm that makes this music of value to me.... Finland may be a white spot on your jazz map, but this record should convince you that this deplorable fact most certainly is not due to lack of talent, and EMI is to be commended for bringing this marvelous helping of Finnish jazz to the attention of the world."   (Art Farmer, from the liner notes)

Dom Salvador e Abolicão  ~  "Som, Sangue e Raça"
(Blog: Flabbergasted Vibes)
[password = vibes]

Orgulho Negro
"This isn't just a seminal album recovered by the meticulous work of researcher Charles Gavin (Titãs). It is an estuary. All the black rivers that would form Brazilian funk/hip-hop flow through it. Led by Paulista pianist Salvador Silva Filho - Dom Savlador - Som, Sangue, e Raça from 1971, one year after the explosion of Tim Maia on the scene, catalyzed the bossa nova and jazz background of its leader with the rhythm and blues of its members like saxophonist Oberdã Magalhães, nephew of samba-enredo master Silas de Olvieira and future leader of Banda Black Rio, who since the group Impacto 8 (which had, among others, Robertinho Silva on drums and Raul de Souza on trombone) had already been trying to reconcile MPB with Stevie Wonder and James Brown."   (Tárik de Souza, review translated from Portuguese)

 

Sonny Bradshaw Seven  ~  "Do It Reggae!"
(Blog: Jeckroots DJ)

Jamaican Me Happy
"Trumpeter and bandleader Sonny Bradshaw was one of the last links to the big band craze that took the Jamaica during the 1940s and which made possible the development of Music. His contemporaries, saxophonists Tommy McCook and Joe Harriott, were colleagues in his All Star Band. Although he is primarily associated with the trumpet, Bradshaw was a multi-instrumentalist who also played piano, clarinet, trombone and saxophone. He was a renowned composer, arranger, producer, creator of commercial, professor, president of the Jamaican Federation of Musicians, and broadcaster and music journalist. He was a true musical pioneer who devoted more than six decades of his life to ensure that Jamaican music and especially jazz was always maintained and accessible to all."   (Edited portions of an obit that appear at Invasão Jamaica) [Translation: Google]

David Moss/Baird Hersey  ~  "Coessential"
(Blog: Mutant Sounds)

Imps-Improvisations-Provisos
"Anyone who has witnessed a live performance by David Moss can testify that he is a dynamo, ranging freely over his iconoclastic and still expanding percussion kit, blowing trombone, and vitally combining his voice with the music his hands and feet create. David insists on spontaneity, and never seems at a loss for proper inspiration. In many ways Baird presents contrast; he is the composer and organizer, and next to the unaffectedly flamboyant percussionist he can appear almost retiring. But Baird is also a player, a new music jammer in fact, and when the responsibilities of leadership are lifted, as they are on Coessential, his instrumental command and improvisational strength bursts forth. Not a bad blending of musical personalities, which suggests why this album works so well."   (Bob Blumenthal, from the liner notes)

 

The Gospelfolk  ~  "Prodigal"
(Blog: Heavenly Grooves)

Xian Rock
"A major ‘60s garage/psych rarity here. Even the embarrassingly inept Emblem production values cannot stifle the raw punk enthusiasm of these five young men from Scotland. Within the genre that includes the likes of Them, The Troggs, The Chocolate Watch Band, The Standells, and all those other bands that appear on Nuggets compilations, The Gospelfolk have provided a solid Christian response. A track by track analysis is in order here. The title cut uses a classic ‘60s punk Farfisa organ motif as it tells the story of the prodigal son’s return. The psychy raw fuzz and dissonant organ of ‘Emily’ follows, sounding like Velvet Underground playing in your closet with the door shut. The massive reverb of ‘No Sad Tomorrow’ makes it a garage rocker’s dream, while ‘Be In Time’s savage fuzz riff comes across as a sanctified electric ‘Wild Thing’. ‘Cosmopolitan World’ is swinging jangly pop, then on to the rudimentary basement jam of ‘Thank You Lord’. What remains are the album’s four ballads and oddly enough the strongest cuts on the lp, all vibrant with the warmth of raw electric guitars, solemn organ, and endearing harmonies."   (Ken Scott, Archivist) 

 

 

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Comments

[Jo/No]

As always, The Motherlode brings the goodies! Thanks so much for keeping up with the constant stream of all things obscure from all over! The Motherlode is def one of my top 5 places to go fishing for new music.

Come visit my blog Jo/No's Audio Delights where I occasionally also post some weird and wonderful groovy stuff. Recently I compiled a selection of loose joints from all around:

http://jonosaudio.blogspot.com/2010/11/around-world-in-60-min-mix.html

[Doug Schulkind]

Hi Jo/No! What a fantastic blog. So much to explore. I've subscribed via my Google Reader. Thanks for checking in!

[Don]

Indeed there is so much out there, it's nice to have a blog that brings the goods together.

[mistercaz]

always very helpful, very cool.
that Sonny Bradshaw disc is awesome !