Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Kari Bremnes - Norwegian Mood

What's one of the biggest preconceptions ageing audiophiles drag in their tattered shadows? That all they listen to is female Jazz vocalists, the sexier in the flesh the better. Depending on the year, there'll be different names detractors point to as the over-played, musically undernourished hate object du jour. Norwegian super star Kari Bremnes' Norwegian Mood might eventually gain this questionable status if audiophiles, en masse like lemmings, took the trouble to obtain this album and push it on every future CES demo imaginable. Until then, bookmark this release -- one of the few if not the only that has Kari sing in English -- as the quintessential audiophile wet dream of the new super-duper demo record. Everything aligns - production values, sound quality, compositional weight, instrumentation, arrangements, vocal glories, sophistication of delivery - and, may I add, the ubiquitous in-the-flesh beauty, too. In a way, I don't want to give away too much here to prevent the above scenario. What to say, what to leave out? Okay, here goes: We ain't talking Jazz, exactly - more an ECM Garbarek/Brahem Visible World/Pas du Chat Noir focus on stark atmospheres, moody spaciousness in accord with the craggy windswept coast lines of Norway, sea gulls on the wing, hidden coves, fishermen returning home from their nightly sojourns, lovers sailing off to the outer posts to return or not. These songs embody the kind of unfocused, far-reaching gaze of boat people used to endless horizons - mysterious, dreamy, unmoored. What to leave out? All the good stuff you should discover for yourself. With a harmless grin, let's just add that the well-hated "unholy trinity" of Patricia Barber, Diana Krall and Rebecca Pigeon just fleshed out and gained a new corner in Kari Bremnes. And unless you overplayed Mood to hollow its magic, this Norwegian lady might just become your new flame for now and later, until the fickleness of fate intervenes and presents a new contender to the temporary throne of popular applause. As for me? I intend to treat Kari with the respect she deserves and only visit her Copenhagen haunt just often enough to lust for more the next visit 'round... - by Srajan Ebaen, 6moons.com

Artist: Kari Bremnes
Album: Norwegian Mood
Year: 2000
Label: Kirkelig Kulturversted
Runtime: 52:13

Tracks:
1.  A Lover in Berlin (Kari Bremnes) 5:11
2.  Coastal Ship (Kari Bremnes/Petter Henriksen) 4:24
3.  Montreal (Kari Bremnes/Ola Bremnes) 5:45
4.  My Heart Is Pounding Like a Hammer (Kari Bremnes/Petter Henriksen) 3:23
5.  Birds (Ola Bremnes) 5:00
6.  Day (Kari Bremnes/Petter Henriksen) 5:34
7.  Wave on Rock (Kari Bremnes/Ola Bremnes/Lars Bremnes) 4:03
8.  The Copenhagen Cavern (Kari Bremnes) 4:28
9.  Song to a Town (Kari Bremnes/Ola Bremnes) 5:01
10.  Riddle Beside Another Riddle (Kari Bremnes) 5:40
11.  To Give You a Song (Kari Bremnes) 3:44

Personnel:
Bengt Egil Hanssen (Keyboards, Accordion, Organ, Piano, Backing Vocals)
Kari Bremnes (Vocals)
Gjermund Silseth (Double Bass, Bass Guitar)
Bjorn Jenssen (Drums)
Finn Sletten (Percussion)
Borge Petersen-Overleir (Guitar)

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Grant Green - The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark II

Just like rice and beans, Grant Green and Sonny Clark created a synergy that was more than the sum of its parts. Nowhere is that more apparent than on "The Complete Quartets," where there were no horns competing for solos. The elegant, laid-back style that characterizes these recordings was the one in which both Green and Clark seemed most comfortable, and it shows. Ironically, neither Green nor Clark was around to see any of this music released. Apparently due to Green's prodigious output in the early '60's, Blue Note decided to shelve these "less commercial" recordings in favor of his more groove-oriented soul-jazz material. The wrong was corrected in 1980, when "Nigeria," "Gooden's Corner," and "Oleo" were released, combining to contain all the music found here except for a couple alternates. My opinion is that these tunes swing as hard as anything I've heard, and that their appeal runs the gamut — there is nothing not to like. Green's delicious riffs flow from his guitar like water from a glacier, and the analogy of melting ice shouldn't be lost; the mood here is so "cool" it burns. This is the type of music whose implied swing is so ferocious it has you on the edge of your seat howling with ecstasy. The highlight of the first disc is Gershwin's chestnut "It Ain't Necessarily So," which clocks in as the longest of the set at 10:20. Drummer Art Blakey starts things off with a subtly Latin 12/8 groove as Green joins him and sympathetic bassist Sam Jones with a decidedly loose interpretation of the melody. Blakey kicks into a straight four rhythm as Green's guitar sails over the changes, accompanied by Sonny Clark's bluesy punches and full keyboard slides. Blakey, overcome with the irresistability of the music, starts hootin' and hollerin' as Clark takes his solo. Clark, like Green, is a master of understatement and uses this to full advantage by teasing the listener with half-finished motifs drenched with the blues. As he gets ready to turn the melody back over to Green, Blakey insists for him to continue - "No, go ahead, go ahead" - a revelatory glance into the atmosphere of the session. The immensely likeable playing is augmented by excellent song selection, with some standouts being a smokin' "The Song is You," "On Green Dolphin Street," Henri Mancini's "Moon River," "Tune Up," and a "My Favorite Things" that stays much truer to the heart of the tune than any of Coltrane's more impassioned renditions. Full of intuition, soul, and swing, and lacking in pretense, "The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark" has me asking myself"does music get any better than this?" - by Reid Thompson, AllAboutJazz.com

Artist: Grant Green
Album: The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark I-II
Label: Blue Note Records (1999, SBM Reissue)
Year: 1961-1962
Runtime:
CD2 63:10

CD2 Tracks:
01.  Moon River (Henry Mancini/Johnny Mercer) 5:34
02.  Gooden's Corner (Grant Green) 8:11
03.  Two For One (Grant Green) 7:38
04.  Oleo (Sonny Rollins) 5:35
05.  Little Girl Blue (Lorenz Hart/Richard Rodgers) 7:12
06.  Tune Up (Miles Davis) 7:17
07.  Hip Funk (Grant Green) 8:35
08.  My Favourite Things (Oscar Hammerstein II/Richard Rodgers) 8:28
09.  Oleo (Alternate Take) (Sonny Rollins) 6:00

Personnel:
Grant Green (Guitar)
Sonny Clark (Piano)
Sam Jones (Double Bass)
Louis Hayes (Drums)

Grant Green - The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark I

Just like rice and beans, Grant Green and Sonny Clark created a synergy that was more than the sum of its parts. Nowhere is that more apparent than on "The Complete Quartets," where there were no horns competing for solos. The elegant, laid-back style that characterizes these recordings was the one in which both Green and Clark seemed most comfortable, and it shows. Ironically, neither Green nor Clark was around to see any of this music released. Apparently due to Green's prodigious output in the early '60's, Blue Note decided to shelve these "less commercial" recordings in favor of his more groove-oriented soul-jazz material. The wrong was corrected in 1980, when "Nigeria," "Gooden's Corner," and "Oleo" were released, combining to contain all the music found here except for a couple alternates. My opinion is that these tunes swing as hard as anything I've heard, and that their appeal runs the gamut — there is nothing not to like. Green's delicious riffs flow from his guitar like water from a glacier, and the analogy of melting ice shouldn't be lost; the mood here is so "cool" it burns. This is the type of music whose implied swing is so ferocious it has you on the edge of your seat howling with ecstasy. The highlight of the first disc is Gershwin's chestnut "It Ain't Necessarily So," which clocks in as the longest of the set at 10:20. Drummer Art Blakey starts things off with a subtly Latin 12/8 groove as Green joins him and sympathetic bassist Sam Jones with a decidedly loose interpretation of the melody. Blakey kicks into a straight four rhythm as Green's guitar sails over the changes, accompanied by Sonny Clark's bluesy punches and full keyboard slides. Blakey, overcome with the irresistability of the music, starts hootin' and hollerin' as Clark takes his solo. Clark, like Green, is a master of understatement and uses this to full advantage by teasing the listener with half-finished motifs drenched with the blues. As he gets ready to turn the melody back over to Green, Blakey insists for him to continue - "No, go ahead, go ahead" - a revelatory glance into the atmosphere of the session. The immensely likeable playing is augmented by excellent song selection, with some standouts being a smokin' "The Song is You," "On Green Dolphin Street," Henri Mancini's "Moon River," "Tune Up," and a "My Favorite Things" that stays much truer to the heart of the tune than any of Coltrane's more impassioned renditions. Full of intuition, soul, and swing, and lacking in pretense, "The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark" has me asking myself"does music get any better than this?" - by Reid Thompson, AllAboutJazz.com

Artist: Grant Green
Album: The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark I-II
Label: Blue Note Records (1999, SBM Reissue)
Year: 1961-1962
Runtime:
CD1 62:20

CD1 Tracks:
1.  Airegin (Sonny Rollins) 7:32
2.  It Ain't Necessarily So (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) 10:20
3.  I Concentrate On You (Cole Porter)5:40
4.  The Things We Did Last Summer (Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne) 5:54
5.  The Song Is You (Oscar Hammerstein II/Jerome Kern) 7:44
6.  Nancy (With The Laughing Face) (James Van Heusen/Phil Silvers) 6:20
7.  Airegin (Alternate Take) (Sonny Rollins) 7:34
8.  On Green Dolphin Street (Bronislaw Kaper/Ned Washington) 6:25
9.  Shadrack (Robert MacGimsey) 6:20
10.  What Is This Thing Called Love (Cole Porter) 5:49

Personnel:
Grant Green (Guitar)
Sonny Clark (Piano)
Sam Jones (Double Bass)
Art Blakey (Drums)

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