Pot Pourri

Rebekah Wolkstein: Drew Jurecka – The Legend of Carau
Payadora
Independent (payadora.com/legen-of-carau)

This stunning, multi-media project is the brainchild of founding members of the Payadora ensemble, writer, violinist and vocalist Rebekah Wolkstein and multi-instrumentalist and composer Drew Jurecka, who also serves as producer and recording engineer. The package involves a children’s book with original text by Wolkstein, illustrations by Camille Dumaine, and an original score by Jurecka, as well as related dance videos by PointTango Dance. The CD (or digital download) can easily be coordinated along with the book, for the optimum listening experience.

The spine of this ambitious project is an Argentinian folk tale, The Legend of Carau (the weeping bird of Argentina), which is beautifully re-told here and accompanied by a stirring 14 song original score. Payadora expertly performs Jurecka’s score, replete with Wolkstein on violin and vocals; Jurecka on bandoneon, violin and mandolin; the late Robert Horvath on piano; Joe Phillips on bass and guitar, and vocalist Elbio Fernandez. 

Things kick off with the rhythmic and bombastic Gaucho de las Pampas featuring Fernandez, and segues into the lovely violin and mandolin-centric bolero, Remember What’s Important. The Call of the Bandoneon is a stand-out, featuring Jurecka’s ridiculous chops, and morphs seamlessly into Fruta Prohibida (Forbidden Fruit) – a red-hot tango, masterfully sung by Fernandez. Also superb is the lovely ballad, Zamba del Carau which features the artistry of the entire ensemble. Horvath’s emotional and consummate piano solo on the reprise Ojos Que Mienten (Eyes That Lie) is the perfect closer for this radiant, potent and meaningful collection…which is not only a succinct “Morality Play” about what is “truly important” (suitable for children), but a verdant, irresistible, cross-cultural journey to a rich country of mystery, music and passion, with plenty of appeal for all.

Immersed
Justin Gray
IAN Records LC 84945 (justingraysound.bandcamp.com/album/immersed)

As soon as music became a recordable commodity,  pressed onto wax cylinders and disseminated through record distribution, jukeboxes, and radio stations, it took on a codependent relationship with technology. For example, while it is true that Louis Armstrong’s instrumental virtuosity expanded the instrumental range of the trumpet, his broadening of register would not have been possible were it not for the then burgeoning technological advances of brass manufacturing. Same goes for the Beatles’ important relationship with the recording studio, where technological advances helped the group realize their increasingly sophisticated artistic goals. And on it goes. 

For bassist, composer, mix and mastering engineer and producer Justin Gray, it has been the industry’s technological expansion into Dolby Atmos that has facilitated the realization of his own musical vision, supporting the ambitious, expansive, and consistently excellent work contained on Immersed. As the name articulates, the music was recorded using immersive audio techniques aimed at capturing every sound, musical gesture, and improvisation in three dimensions through a sophisticated process of microphone placement and studio mediation. 

While there is much more to discuss regarding the album’s enmeshed relationship with technology, this cinematic release on IAN Records also offers a wonderfully satisfying musical experience thanks to the contributions of a terrific cast of 30-plus world class players who collectively traverse the stylistic boundaries of film, jazz, and Indian Classical Music, among other vibrant global music traditions. 

Full disclosure, Justin is a friend and industry colleague, but with Immersed his expansive creative vision, technological engagement, and clear musical artistry is undeniable. Immersed, the album, can be paired with a full-length film and the stereo CD package comes with cinematic visuals for each track and an informative 24-page booklet of liner notes. 

The Birds of Marsville
Friendly Rich
We Are Busy Bodies (friendlyrich.bandcamp.com/album/the-birds-of-marsville)

Richard Marsella, well-known as Friendly Rich, releases his 17th album, and his second on the indie label We are Busy Bodies here. Marsella performs solo on a custom-built mechanical street organ equipped with contrasting effects built by Henk Degraauw. Marsella is joined on some tracks by Gregory Oh (organs and piano), Nick Fraser (drums), Nichol S. Robertson (electric guitar), Ed Reifel (orchestral percussion), and Tom Richards (trombone and tuba).

Marsella presents 76 imaginary birds from the fictional town of Marsville. Each is represented by a separate musical track in varying lengths and contrasting stylistic flavours on Side A (Birds 1-39) and Side B (Birds 40-76). Side A opening Overture encompasses musical ideas which reappear throughout like waltzlike rhythms, high pitched bird squeals, fast melodic ascending lines with held notes, short fragmented fanfares, and “bird sounds.” It leads with no break to Bird One: Songwriter with more short fragmented ideas, rhythms and ascending lines. High-pitched lines in Bird Five: The Marsvillian Farm Bird. Slight jazz feel with shorter higher pitched lines and repeated basslike notes in Bird Sixteen: The Honker.  

Side B’s contrasting tracks are intensely orchestrated, tonal to atonal and mostly seconds long. Percussion and drums add “noisy” colour. Closing longer Finale has snippets of ideas again, to the ending “flying away” fade.

Marsella’s detailed experimental, very soft to blasting loud, inspirational “musical bird” masterpieces incorporate such styles as vintage dancing, rock, jazz, new music and synthesizer. From fun to challenging listening, this is perfect, wacky music, tweet tweet!

Confluencias
Melon Jimenez; Lara Wong
Scatcat Music (larawong.com/melonlara)

Confluencias contains hauntingly atmospheric oceans of music that are likely to fill your listening room. Both the music of the flute of Lara Wong and the guitar of Melón Jiménez (with contrabass and percussion and judiciously added electronics as well) combine to make it so. 

Wong is a virtuoso concert flutist and turns on the most seductive charm every time she puts the instruments to her lips, sculpting extraordinary melodic phrases and lines. But when she exchanges that flute for the hollowed-out bamboo of the Indian bansuri she unleashes an exponentially bewitching charm that will hold you in irresistible – and willing – bondage. 

Jiménez is no less a virtuoso. He puts this to work to bring to life his flamenco roots. He evokes memories of the great province of Andalusia that is home of the greatest of flamenco practitioners including José Miguel Carmona Niño, Juan José Carmona Amaya El Camborio, Paco de Lucía, Pepe Habichuela, and others. 

Jiménez’s flawless technique is employed through picados and rasgueados (flamenco strumming) with great sensitivity. He’s playing to bring to life what Federico García Lorca called the “Dark sounds of duende – that mysterious force that everyone feels, and no philosopher has explained. The duende is not in the throat: the duende surges up, inside, from the soles of the feet.”

Two songs on this riveting album that will leave you breathless are Kalima and Pardo Perdío.