Music RECORDS
JAZZ & WORLD The Magnetic Fields; below left: Beth Jeans Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny, below right: Chiddy Bang
JAZZ GLASGOW IMPROVISERS ORCHESTRA Improcherto (for HB) (Iorram Records ●●●●● The latest in Iorram’s strictly limited edition series of albums dedicated to the Glasgow free improvisation scene features the excellent GIO with two of the leading names in European improv, saxophonists Evan Parker and Lol Coxhill. They perform GIO guitarist George Burt’s Improcherto (for HB), a dedication to trumpeter Harry Beckett, recorded live at the Sage in Gateshead. A fine documentation of both the occasion and this generally absorbing piece, which combines elements of free improvisation with ensemble organisation, often triggered by hand gestures and Post-it notes, something GIO have made a bit of a speciality. (Kenny Mathieson) ■ iorram.blogspot.com
WORLD KULJIT BHAMRA, JACQUELINE SHAVE, JOHN PARRICELLI Postcards From Home (Keda Records ●●●●●✉
A fresh and deftly executed cross- cultural fusion featuring a tabla player with strong jazz connections, a classical violinist and a jazz guitarist, playing music inspired in part by the Hebrides.
Violinist Jacqueline Shave’s ‘Machair to Myrrh’ and the five-part ‘Sounds of Harris’, which evokes both places and activities on the island, aren’t the only Scottish connection, either – guitarist John Parricelli revisits his composition ‘Another Place’, inspired by Italian prisoners of war in Scotland. Bhamra’s exciting ‘Dervish Dancer’ and ‘Escape to Tibet’ and Parricelli’s Spanish-flavoured ‘Guarnara’ and a couple of tunes inspired by France broaden the geographical boundaries. (Kenny Mathieson)
JAZZ MARTIN SPEAKE & COLIN OXLEY Two Not One (Pumpkin Records ●●●●●✉ The airy combination of alto saxophone and guitar and a leaning toward ballad tempos gives the music on this duo’s outing a light, buoyant feel which does pale a little over the whole album, but works beautifully on any individual track, making it an ideal disc to dip into for three or four selections. Martin Speake is one of the most consistently interesting and inventive saxophonists on the UK jazz scene, and his light-toned, subtle alto work is evocative of one of his heroes, Lee Konitz. Oxley is a very compatible partner on a well- chosen programme of standards and originals. (Kenny Mathieson)
84 THE LIST 26 Apr–24 May 2012
WORLD VARIOUS ARTISTS Cumbia Cumbia 1 & 2 (World Circuit ●●●●●✉
The sinuous dance rhythms of the Colombian music known as Cumbia are captured in this nicely packaged and documented two- album reissue of two compilations regarded as the classics of the genre, which first brought Cumbia to wider audiences in the west in 1989 and 1993. The music has a relaxed but
infectious groove with a distinct reggae feel at times that is made for the dance floor, generated by the distinctive percussion instruments, the guiro and guacharaca. Brass and wind add lyrical melodic flourishes, although the vocals can be a little on the cheesey side. (Kenny Mathieson)
SINGLES & DOWNLOADS
What’s the consensus on imitation to the point that it rivals, perhaps even betters the source? Well, Glasgow’s Marvel Heights almost achieve such an accolade, kicking off this month’s singles run-down with their straight-outta-Paramore, angsty rock gem, ‘Make No Waves’ (●●●●● Kittiwake).
Fellow city-dwellers, Mummy Short Arms, meanwhile, return with another tattered piece of guitar pop with ‘Silicone Dream’ (●●●●● Flowers in the Dustbin), while tech-savvy Londoner Seye melds vibrant Afrobeat with guilty-pleasure floor filler on ‘White Noise’ (●●●●● Stranger).
North-eastern quartet The Cornshed Sisters pull a heart-melter out of the bag with ‘Dresden’ (●●●●● Memphis Industries), complete with oddly catchy chorus (‘If bombs were love, then you could call me Dresden’).In comparison, Grand Rapids’ ‘It Feels Like a Lifetime’ (●●●●● Too Pure) is heinously scrappy and a total comedown, but give it time and it’ll grow on you like a garage-rock abscess.
What’s summer without a top-down, feel-good hip-hop stormer? It’s no ‘Juicy’ but Chiddy Bang and Icona Pop give it a good shot on ‘Mind Your Manners’ (●●●●● EMI) with its good vibe guitars and childlike chorus, but Beth Jeans Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny cast an eccentric shadow over it with the scatterbrained, and infinitely sunny, ‘Atlas’ (●●●●● Mute).
DeRosa man Martin John Henry turns in a solid chunk of Scottish electro-pop with ‘Span’ (●●●●● Gargleblast) but Single of the Month goes to the exceptional ‘Quick’ by The Magnetic Fields (●●●●● Domino), a nugget of playful pop that recalls They Might Be Giants. A repeater for sure. (Ryan Drever)