Playlist in times of isolation №4
Katherine Zyabluk
author, musician
There are so many unpredictable challenges in times of isolation — mainly when we try to deal with ourself. All the things are done, there is nothing special to do, an instinctive-emotional randomizer is extremely prepared, so it would be easy to look for good healing music due to it.
Anoushka Shankar — Land of Gold
Let’s be honest — most of the stuff Anoushka Shankar creates is due to her eminent family education, and it is heard clearly in her recordings. She turns to classical Indian chants, that have been laid genetically in her background. The further she creates the more melodious, verbal and integrated her music becomes. As in Anoushka’s recently released Love Letters and Home that she recorded in 2015, the collaboration with the vocalists takes an important role. The appearance of Alev Lenz, M.I.A. and Vanessa Redgrave gives an extremely pure and touchable tone, at the same time Anoushka elaborates tunes compositionally, keeping her sitar’s authenticity and variating main melodies as well.
Carla Bley — Life Goes On
A photographer has captured the nicest shot, that embodies all that Carla Bley’s style in a right way. Something simple, but unpredictable, like a flowing piece of paper, which can evoke enjoyable feelings. Here is a beautiful “family” trio, which means a really long-term and kind relation between the musicians since they have been playing with each other a lot for years. This trio — Carla Bley with a bassist Steve Swallow and a saxophonist Andy Sheppard — shows how jazz can be fun, smooth and full of sophisticated conceptions at the same time. There are three chapters in the album, which are called “Life Goes On”, “Beautiful Telephones” and “Copycat”. Evidently, they include plenty of similar motives, which evolve through each part. Especially in the part “Life Goes On”, where every piece imperceptibly transforms to another, giving a chance to repeat the short tunes to every instrument.
It is a perfect union, where everybody subconsciously supports the music by their extraordinary approach. So, that’s why it is that kind of music, when you like your ears chained to ingenious things that are happening in the record.
Fred Hersch & Norma Winstone — Songs & Lullabies
Fred Hersch is a pianist, who occasionally encounters with listener’s sniffs, who think he is too intellectual. But he just embraces quite a serious directions, from classic to jazz-fusion compositional forms, that arise from merging both of them. He plays jazz standards and songwriters’ pieces as subtle as he would play Bach’s chorales. That time Norma Winstone joins him during the recording session and gives much more poetry at it. Although it sounds a bit embroiled, Winstone still sings naturally and without any presence. Her voice is not as strong as the voices of many another vocalists, but it seems like this fragility reveals the soulful mood in an appropriate way. Besides, it slightly recalls the British jazz band Azimuth, where Winstone performed with a trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and her husband, a pianist John Taylor. So, every tune, which Fred and Norma have composed, sounds like romantic tales at the downhill of life. And the best thing you can do is to listen carefully to the words and think about what a strong experience they retell to us.
Harish Raghavan — Calls for Action
Here is a debut album of a bassist Harish Raghavan, that proves his significant role in formation of contemporary jazz scene. In general, it means crossing modal, free, and post-bop terrains, filling in complexed counterparts and riffs, giving a spacious room to solo for every musician. Earlier, playing with Ambrose Akinmusire, Eric Harland, Walter Smith III, Logan Richardson etc. Raghavan has successfully proved himself as a proficient musician in that style, so it would be easy to figure out their influence on his own creation. Nevertheless, there are some characteristic things, which highlight his music approach. Besides spicy rhythm structures of bass and drums (which may be a common trend among composers from the rhythm section) there are quite a knotty melodic heads, leaded mainly by piano of Micah Thomas, vibes of Joel Ross and saxophone of Immanuel Wilkins in unison, which are hovering slightly over sometimes brutal repetitive bass lines. This contrast creates a feeling that everybody is involved in every moment, like if they were composing on the run.
It’s definitely a prominent recording since it represents today’s jazz stream in really fashionable way. Moreover, the music language of Raghavan sounds rigorously honed, which sets him apart from other musicians and promises to become a musical canon once.
Fiona Apple — Shameika
One of the prettiest freaks Fiona Apple has recorded an album recently. It calls Fetch The Bolt Cutters. It totally fits to the isolation mood — she’s done it alone by herself, and the cover looks like she entrusts the children to make a photo and stick it together. Anyway, it is about recalling events from the past — something that we’re all deliberately doing during the quarantine. “Shameika” is a piece from the album, dedicated to mysterious girl from Fiona’s school, who gave her a support and believing that “she had a potential”. Well, it turned out later that Fiona’s potential is unique, recognisable and full of inner quicks, which she doesn’t afraid to show.