SONNY ROLLINS

SONNY ROLLINS
WHAT'S NEW (1962)
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Sonny Rollins' mid-sixties experiment with bossa nova was completely different than was Stan Getz''Jazz Samba.'Getz was going for a mass audience, and he got it with his mellow album, the first real 'smooth jazz' hit. Instead, Rollins stayed true to his bop and avant garde roots, using bossa nova as a surgeon uses a scalpel, to dissect and deconstruct familiar melodies and turn them into something new. This hip reinterpretation of standards is Sonny's trademark, and in this album it's uncompromising. The whole album is interesting and highly original, but I will only comment on one cut, Rollin's deconstruction of a sentimental broadway ballad from 'Camelot.' He takes the kitch out of this tune and turns it into a fierce meditation on the origins of jazz, the mystery of rhythm, and the fundamental particles of melody. Rollin's version of 'If Ever I Would Leave You' is nothing less than this: one of the greatest tenor solos in the history of jazz.

1. If Ever I Would Leave You
2. Don't Stop the Carnival
3. Jungoso
4. Bluesong
5. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
6. Brownskin Girl

TOM WAITS

TOM WAITS
GLITTER AND DOOM:
LIVE (2009)
320 KBPS

In 2008, Tom Waits launched a sold out tour, garnering intense critical praise by the press which called it the best live show of 2008. It thrilled fans across the world. For the occasion, Waits played in some in cities where he had never played before. Now comes the document of those concerts, 17 performances hand picked by Waits from along the tour. Leaning heavily on songs from his ANTI releases including a haunting Trampled Rose from Real Gone and roaring Get Behind the Mule from Mule Variations. Waits also digs into the vaults for tracks like a reimagined Singapore from 1985's Rain Dogs. Glitter and Doom Live will reside in the Waits catalog alongside earlier live albums like Nighthawks at the Diner and Big Time, both discs held on par with his classic studio releases by fans.

Disc 1
1. Lucinda/Ain't Goin Down (Birmingham 07/03/08)
2. Singapore (Edinburgh 07/28/08)
3. Get Behind The Mule (Tulsa 06/25/08)
4. Fannin Street (Knoxville 06/29/08)
5. Dirt In The Ground (Milan 07/19/08)
6. Such A Scream (Milan 07/18/08)
7. Live Circus (Jacksonville 07/01/08)
8. Goin' Out West (Tulsa 06/25/08)
9. Falling Down (Paris 07/25/08)
10. The Part You Throw Away (Edinburgh 07/28/08)
11. Trampled Rose (Dublin 08/01/08)
12. Metropolitan Glide (Knoxville 6/29/08)
13. I'll Shoot The Moon (Paris 07/24/08)
14. Green Grass (Edinburgh 07/27/08)
15. Make It Rain (Atlanta 07/05/08)
16. Story (Columbus 06/28/08)
17. Lucky Day (Atlanta 07/05/08)

Disc 2
1. Tom Tales

GIL SCOTT-HERON

GIL SCOTT-HERON
FREE WILL (1972)
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Gil Scott-Heron's third album is split down the middle, the first side being a purely musical experience with a full band (including flutist Hubert Laws and drummer Pretty Purdie), the second functioning more as a live rap session with collaborator Brian Jackson on flute and a few friends on percussion. For side one, although he's overly tentative on the ballad "The Middle of Your Day," Scott-Heron excels on the title track and the third song, "The Get Out of the Ghetto Blues," one of his best, best-known performances. The second side is more of an impromptu performance, with Scott-Heron often explaining his tracks by way of introduction ("No Knock" referred to a new police policy whereby knocking was no longer required before entering a house, "And Then He Wrote Meditations" being Scott-Heron's tribute to John Coltrane). His first exploration of pure music-making, Free Will functions as one of Scott-Heron's most visceral performance, displaying a maturing artist who still draws on the raw feeling of his youth.

1. Free Will
2. Middle of Your Day
3. Get out of the Ghetto Blues
4. Speed Kills
5. Did You Hear What They Said?
6. King Alfred Plan
7. No Knock
8. Wiggy
9. Ain't No New Thing
10. Billy Green Is Dead
11. Sex Education: Ghetto Style
12. ...And Then He Wrote Meditations

GURU'S JAZZMATAZZ

GURU
JAZZMATAZZ, VOL. 1
AN EXPERIMENTAL FUSION OF HIP-HOP AND JAZZ (1993)
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Though it can reasonably be argued that rap grew almost directly out of funk and its particular beat, there are a lot of overlaps with jazz, particularly the bop and post-bop eras: the uninhibited expression, the depiction of urban life, just to name two. Jazz samples have also had a large role in hip-hop, but the idea of rapping over actual live jazz wasn't truly fully realized until Gang Starr MC Guru created and released the first in his Jazzmatazz series in 1993, with guest musicians who included saxophonist Branford Marsalis (who had previously collaborated with DJ Premier and Guru for the track "Jazz Thing" on the Mo' Better Blues soundtrack), trumpeter Donald Byrd, vibraphonist Roy Ayers, guitarist Ronny Jordan, and keyboardist Lonnie Liston Smith, as well as vocalist N'Dea Davenport (also of the acid jazz group the Brand New Heavies) and French rapper MC Solaar. While Guru's rhymes can occasionally be a little weak ("Think they won't harm you? Well they might/And that ain't right, but every day is like a fight" are the lines he chooses to describe kids on the subway in Brooklyn in "Transit Ride"), he delves into a variety of subject matter, from the problems of inner-city life to his own verbal prowess to self-improvement without ever sounding too repetitive, and his well-practiced flow fits well with the overall smooth, sultry, and intelligent feel of the album. From Jordan's solo on "No Time to Play" to Ayers' vibes expertise on "Take a Look (At Yourself)" to MC Solaar's quick and syllabic rhymes on "Le Bien, le Mal," Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 (and what turned out to be the best of the series) is a rap album for jazz fans and a jazz album for rap fans, skillful and smart, clean when it needs to be and gritty when that's more effective, helping to legitimize hip-hop to those who doubted it, and making for an altogether important release.
(On February 28, 2010, Guru went into cardiac arrest and, following surgery, fell into a coma. He woke from the coma but died on April 19, 2010, after a long battle with cancer. R.I.P.)

1. Introduction
2. Loungin' (Featuring Donald Byrd)
3. When You're Near (Featuring N'Dea Davenport)
4. Transit Ride (Featuring Branford Marsalis)
5. No Time To Play (Featuring Ronny Jordan and D.C. Lee)
6. Down The Backstreets (Featuring Lonnie Liston Smith)
7. Respectful Dedications
8. Take A Look (At Yourself) (Featuring Roy Ayers)
9. Trust Me (Featuring N'Dea Davenport)
10. Slicker Than Most (Featuring Gary Barnacle)
11. Le Bien, Le Mal (Featuring Mc Solaar)
12. Sights In The City (Featuring Carleen Anderson And Courtney Pine)

BILLY COBHAM

BILLY COBHAM
FOCUSED (1998)
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This is another fine effort from Cobham, who continues to turn out quality recordings that have gone largely unnoticed by both critics and consumers. Beginning with Incoming, Cobham toned down his thunderous approach in favor of a more controlled and complementary style. His compositions also reflected consideration for the development of his fellow bandmates. Focused continues this trend with an overwhelming sense of honesty. Joining him are his former bandmate Randy Brecker and fellow collaborator, drummer/keyboardist Gary Husband. Most of the tunes here are over seven minutes long and allow each member to fully develop their statements. Brecker is particularly stunning on "Nothing Can Hurt Her Now." Gary Husband backs up Cobham's accolades of him as being a thoughtful keyboardist. Carl Orr makes his presence felt as well, proving adept at both jazz and fusion guitar styles. There is also plenty of Cobham here to satisfy his drum following; however, there is a level of maturity and depth here that sets this session apart from his previous efforts.

1. Mirage
2. Sleaze Factor
3. Walking in Five
4. How Was the Night?
5. Three Will Get You Four
6. Nothing Can Hurt Her Now
7. Disfigured Mirrors
8. Avatar

PINK MARTINI

PINK MARTINI
HANG ON LITTLE TOMATO (2004)
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It would be easy to liken Pink Martini's music to the lounge and swing revivals of the '90s. However, the 12-piece mini-orchestra's mix of jazz, classical, Latin, and vocal pop sounds more organic than the work of, say, Combustible Edison. Like the Squirrel Nut Zippers — who were always more than just a straightforward swing revival band — Pink Martini do more than just rehash their influences; by dabbling in different sounds that they love, they've come up with their own. And even on the most theatrical moments of their second album, Hang On Little Tomato, such as the Yma Sumac-meets-chamber jazz of "U Plavu Zoru" or the smoky Italian ambience of "Una Notte a Napoli," a lot of genuine sentiment shines through. Though most of Hang On Little Tomato — named after a vintage Hunt's Ketchup ad — consists of originals, a few well-chosen covers stake out Pink Martini's sonic territory: the festive "Anna (El Negro Zumbon)"; Villa-Lobos' "Song of the Black Swan"; a downright swellegant version of "Let's Never Stop Falling in Love"; and "Kikuchiyo to Moshimasu," which features Hiroshi Wada, the slide guitarist who played on the original recording of the song. Amid all the multiculturalism, Hang On Little Tomato emphasizes the French and Cuban elements of Pink Martini's sound, with "Dansez-Vous" and the lovely "Autrefois" nodding to the former, and the ever-so-slightly mischievous ballad "Lilly" tipping its hat to the latter. The album's moods are almost as wide-ranging as its sounds, spanning the innocence of the title track's '30s pop and the Bacharach-esque sweetness of "Clementine" to the world-weary "Veronique" to the smoky romance of "Aspettami." A more full-fledged album than the band's debut Sympathique, Hang On Little Tomato offers a charmingly popular approach to music.

1. Let's Never Stop Falling in Love
2. Anna (El Negro Zumbon)
3. Hang on Little Tomato
4. The Gardens of Sampson & Beasley
5. Veronique
6. Dansez-Vous
7. Lilly
8. Autrefois
9. U Plavu Zoru
10. Clementine
11. Una Notte a Napoli
12. Kikuchiyo to Mohshimasu
13. Aspettami
14. Song of the Black Swan

[RE-UP] AVISHAI COHEN

AVISHAI COHEN
AS IS...LIVE AT THE BLUE NOTE (2007)
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It's impossible to deny the sheer musical virtuosity of bassist/composer Avishai Cohen; he can hold his own with anyone on the double bass, and he's a wonderful electric bassist as well. He's also a gifted composer whose intricate, often Middle Eastern-inflected pieces are, while well within the jazz idiom, unique—hear one of his songs, and you'll know it's his.
Furthermore, Cohen and his core trio of drummer Mark Guilliana and keyboardist Sam Barsh were, until recently, one of the best touring groups in jazz (Barsh left the group in 2006 and has been replaced by Shai Maestro), and possibly the tightest.
Yet there's been a grating quality to Cohen's recorded work. His 2006 Continuo CD had a smug grandiosity that substituted musical precision for heart, and his 2005 album At Home tried to merge too many styles, as if to show that the group could play anything.
Well, a great live group should be able to make a great live record. Cohen's new "As Is...Live at the Blue Note", culled from two nights at the New York club in 2006, features the trio augmented with trumpeter Diego Urcola and saxophonist Jimmy Greene, and if it isn't perfect, it's close enough to be far and way the best live jazz record of the year. Every song here trumps its studio version, and somehow all the weaknesses have become strengths: the group precision isn't cloying, it's thrilling; the classical and Middle-Eastern influences don't sound self-conscious, they sound organic and essential.
Nothing could be better than the album opener 'Smash' which produces a palpable tension from the juxtaposition of its airy theme and Cohen's bumping, hiccupping electric bass vamp before Green's absolutely heart-stopping soprano solo pulls the players into a serenely ecstatic, cresting groove. There's no topping Green's lines, and no one tries; rather, Cohen's bass solo brings the music back down, and down again, until the piece ends with a whisper.
Greene works more soprano magic on 'Feediop' but much of its power—and it is powerful—comes from the fact that Cohen, Barsh and Guilliana have been playing it for years, and they simply murder its mixed-meter, vamp-soaked sections. Special praise must be given to Guilliana—here, and elsewhere, he's the essential anchor to Cohen and Barsh, playing with a distinct, wristy power that's deceptively light and dancing.
Trumpeter Urcola shines on the Latin scorcher 'Etude' flawlessly negotiating its hopping, off-kilter clave rhythm, but it's Greene's tenor lines slashing across Barsh and Cohen's tight-locked single-note syncopations that push the piece into territory that's as emotional as it is technical.
The acoustic trio chamber-jazz piece 'Elli' is performed in a less constricted manner than its studio counterpart on Continuo; it's hardly free, but considerably ventilated. Cohen and Barsh trade lines in a manner tha's intimately conversational, and when Guilliana begins to embellish their triplety phrases, you can almost hear the audience sigh.

1. Smash
2. Elli
3. Etude
4. Bass Suite #1
5. Feediop
6. Remembering
7. Caravan

SANSEVERINO

SANSEVERINO
AUX BOUFFES DU NORD (2008)
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Recorded in June of 2008 in Paris, this double live displays and the tricks and shops of chanson/gypsy jazz phenomenom Stéphane Sanseverino. On two discs you have the tasty and lively introduction to something that pays tribute to both Django Reinhardt and Charles Aznavour while remaining something quite unique. Sanseverino remains one of the most interesting and appealing voices of the new chanson that hit France a few years ago and he demonstrates here that he is, above all, a great "live animal". And, with covers from Yves Montand, François Béranger or Les Wampas, it's a delight from start to finish. Try it.

Disc 1
1. Voyage Au Paradis
2. Les Sénégalaises
3. Les Films De Guerre
4. La Maison Sur Le Port
5. Explication De Texte
6. J'Ai Un Homme Dans Ma Vie
7. Les Ouvriers
8. Solo Lionel Suarez
9. La Femme Du Marin
10. Le Tango De L'Ennui
11. Rimini
12. 10 Jours Avant Paris
13. La Bicyclette

Disc 2
1. A Boy Named Sue
2. La Véritable Histoire De La Musique Country
3. Dispute Chez Des Amis
4. La Valse A Peggy
5. Le Tango Des Gens
6. Les Embouteillages
7. Les Faux Talbins

THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA

THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA
MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA (2003)
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The soundtrack to a Russian silent film originally released in 1929, Man With a Movie Camera whips up a maelstrom of moody, electronica-tinged jazz-funk. In 1999, the Portugese film festival selection committee asked Cinematic Orchestra’s Jason Swinscoe to compose a new score for a screening of Dziga Vertov's avant-garde classic with live orchestral accompaniment. The result is a limber collection that flirts with brilliance while never quite coming together as an entity separate from the movie itself. For the full effect, listeners are advised to check out the film’s DVD release, which features this music in its intended setting. Having said that, there is much to recommend here for fans of Cinematic Orchestra’s post-modern, acid jazz fixations; "The Awakening of a Woman (Burnout)," for instance, slinks along on a decadent groove, as does the skittish "Reel Life (Evolution II)." By improving an already classic film with these sly compositions, Swinscoe’s band lives up to its name with elegant style and sophistication.

1. The Projectionist
2. Melody
3. Dawn
4. The Awakening Of A Woman (Burnout)
5. Reel Life (Evolution II)
6. Postlude
7. Evolution (Versao Portuense)
8. Work It! (Man With The Movie Camera)
9. Voyage
10. Odessa
11. Theme De Yoyo
12. The Magician
13. Theme Reprise
14. Yoyo Waltz
15. Drunken Tune
16. The Animated Tripod
17. All Things

PINK MARTINI

PINK MARTINI
SYMPATHIQUE (1998)
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While the cocktail lounge fad has seen more than a few musicians climb aboard as a career move, the members of Pink Martini are no bandwagon-riding aficionados. Fronted by pianist Thomas Lauderdale, Pink Martini is the real article--a band that approaches the music with unwavering seriousness yet never forgets the fun at the heart of it. Sympathique, the band's debut album reveals an incredibly diverse musical vocabulary on the part of frontman Lauderdale. And what singer China Forbes lacks in range and dynamics, she more than compensates for in attack, approach, and a clear understanding of the material. While most of the songs are upbeat, in the hands of Lauderdale and Forbes, "Qué será será," with its dark atmospherics should be rechristened "Qué será noir."

1. Amado Mio
2. No Hay Problema
3. Sympathique
4. Qué Sera Sera
5. La Soledad
6. Donde Estas, Yolanda?
7. Andalucia
8. Song Of The Black Lizard
9. Never On Sunday
10. Brazil
11. Lullaby

GUILLAUME DE CHASSY

GUILLAUME DE CHASSY
+ STEPHANE KERECKI & FABRICE MOREAU
FARAWAY SO CLOSE (2008)
320 KBPS

On the heels of two highly-acclaimed duet recordings with bassist Daniel Yvinec (the latter recently named to head France's National Jazz Orchestra), pianist Guillaume de Chassy last year released a remarkable Piano solo (Bee Jazz, 2007). You see the trend: duo, solo—the band can't get any smaller, so de Chassy has released a record for piano trio.
It's characteristic of de Chassy's deliberate premeditation that he changes formats in this incremental way. Everything about the new record reflects this same careful musical intelligence.
The pianist's band mates have been effectively chosen. Bassist Stéphane Kérécki plays with a stolid, guitar-like musicality not unlike Yvinec's: strumming, he sometimes seems the star of the show ("Wish You Were Here," "Ida Lupino"). Drummer Fabrice Moreau, meanwhile, can provide both Paul Motian-like accents as well as bottom-heavy propulsion (evident in particular on the three takes of the slightly self-consciously extemporaneous "What Do You Mean?").
Many elements of de Chassy's musical universe are present in the repertoire. Echoing Chansons sous les bombes (Bee Jazz, 2004), the duet program with bassist Yvinec of classic French songs, there is Charles Trenet's "Coin de rue." A new reading of de Chassy's "Parenthèse" (an ephemeral whisper on the earlier solo-piano record) here reveals the beautiful inevitability of the composition in the trio setting.
De Chassy has been compared by more than one listener to Paul Bley, and rightly so. It therefore requires a little chutzpah to include "Ida Lupino," perhaps more closely associated with the Montreal pianist than any other composition. De Chassy nevertheless makes the number his own (he lets bassist Kérécki play the signature lilting figure throughout much of the performance), without radically overhauling the piece; what comes through is confidence in his own musical voice.
There are furthermore countless classical echoes—in "Après un rêve," based on a theme by Fauré; in the formal foundations underlying "Choral" and "Nocturne." De Chassy the soloist is anything but anodyne; he takes considerable risks, but never sounds free in an untethered way. Both the varied harmonic resources and the discipline in his playing in fact owe a lot to this classical pedigree.
All of the aforementioned strong points, however, recede before the album's opener, an exquisite setting of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here." Some listeners will be reminded of the Bad Plus's similar borrowings from the classic FM rock song book, and while I don't think they are trying to be cute any more than de Chassy is, this Pink Floyd cover seems to plumb greater depths. The trio's statement of the theme is achingly lovely; the reworking of the plodding middle section evokes an intimate yet nearly existential dread akin to the opening music of the third act of Tristan und Isolde. Perfect in every respect.

1. Wish you were here
2. Coin de rue
3. Choral
4. What do you mean ? (# 1)
5. Après un rêve (d'après Gabriel Fauré)
6. What do you mean ? (# 2)
7. Ida Lupino
8. What do you mean ? (# 3)
9. Parenthèse
10. Nocturne

NILS PETTER MOLVAER

NILS PETTER MOLVAER
RE-VISION (2008)
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The music of Norwegian trumpeter/Nu Jazz progenitor, Nils Petter Molvaer, has always been cinematic. Call it music for a non-existent movie or a film of the mind, Molvaer's albums, beginning with the groundbreaking Khmer (ECM, 1997), have always been about aural landscapes evocative of highly personal imagery and plenty of club-ready grooves. Even in performance, the lighting provided by Tord "Prince of Darkness" Knudsen is intended to provoke the imagination rather than focus attention on the musicians.
It's no surprise, then, that Molvaer has been recruited to provide music for film. His score for the 2005 French film Edy already saw limited release on Molvaer's Sula imprint the same year. Re-Vision culls four pieces from Edy and, by combining them with music from two other films—the 2007 German film Hoppet and 1999 Norwegian documentary Frozen Heart—and one non-soundtrack piece, fashions a continuous 46-minute suite that stands independently as yet another highly visual piece, incorporating Molvaer's ever-expanding frames of reference.
Re-Vision is also Molvaer's first release in years to not primarily feature members of his touring band, but guitarist Eivind Aarset remains a fundamental part of its overall soundscape. Aarset's Sonic Codex (Jazzland, 2007) possesses some of his most overtly recognizable guitar tones in years, but here he's in full-out textural mode; an essential if rarely recognizable sonic contributor to half of Re-Vision's sometimes dense, other times spacious twelve tracks. Punkt Festival artistic co-director/Molvaer touring group member Jan Bang also shows up on the non-score "Perimeters," providing ambient textures and beats which are ethnic rather than dance floor in nature.
Anders Engen and Italian expat Paolo Vinaccia provide live percussion on a handful of tracks, but it's Molvaer—perfecter of the "recording studio as laboratory" concept—who contributes most of Re-Vision's instrumentation. Still, amidst a broad personal palette Molvaer's trumpet remains distinctive, ranging from unaffected and spare on the solo "Trumpet Player in the Backyard" to heavily processed and utilizing a variety of extended techniques on the propulsive "The Beginning" and darker-hued "Alone in the Bathtub."
Molvaer's lyricism continues to be a defining characteristic and, despite the preconception that programming might imply, he clearly remains an improvising musician. There's little in the way of delineated soloing here; instead, his trumpet moves in and out of the mix, a distinctive focal point that helps the music flow seamlessly from one terrain to the next.
Molvaer's sonic bag of tricks isn't restricted solely to his horn and an array of electronic manipulation. On "Visitation," he plays the double-reeded duduk which, in its plaintive, haunting melancholy, recalls Armenian duduk master Djivan Gasparyan's cult classic, I Will Not Be Sad In This World (Opal, 1989).
While many of Molvaer's markers can be found on Re-Vision—techno beats, processed soundscapes, world music references and improvisation—with a purer cinematic purpose it both fits in and stands out amongst Molvaer's growing discography, an album of exceptional beauty, emotional depth and visual resonance.

1. Torn [From Hoppet]
2. Beginning [From Edy]
3. Alone in the Bathtub [From Edy]
4. Visitation [From Hoppet]
5. Arctic Dub [From Frozen Heart]
6. Perimeters
7. Trumpet Player in the Backyard [From Edy]
8. End [From Edy]
9. Visitor [From Hoppet]
10. Azad's Theme [From Hoppet]
11. Decisions [From Hoppet]
12. Leaps and Bounds [From Hoppet]
13. Violent Trip [From Edy]

JOHN ZORN

JOHN ZORN
IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS (2010)
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Inspired by esoteric spiritual practices, white magic, ritual, traditional myths and ancient legends, Zorn brings together a life long interest in mysticism with powerful lyricism to fashion this dynamic and evocative series of Odes for the New Millennium. Featuring the landmark extended composition The Magus, one of Zorn's most exciting new works, the music takes on a scintillating new edge-dramatic, hypnotic and mysterious. Performed by the remarkable Alhambra Trio enhanced by special guests Kenny Wollesen on vibraphone, Carol Emanuel on harp and Shanir Blumenkranz on Fender bass, In Search of the Miraculous is a deeply moving listening experience-ecstatic music for young and old that touches on the sublime.

1. Prelude : From A Great Temple
2. Sacred Dance (Invocation)
3. The Book Of Shadows
4. Affirmation
5. The Magus
6. Hymn For A New Millenium
7. Journey Of The Magicians
8. Mythic Etude
9. Postlude : Prayers And Enchantment

LE SACRE DU TYMPAN

LE SACRE DU TYMPAN
LA GRANDE OUVERTURE (2008)
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Sometimes it's tough translating a French play on words. Tympan is French for eardrum, and Le Sacre du Tympan is a play on "Le Sacre du Printemps", the French title for "The Rite of Spring" by Stravinsky. See what I mean? Some things are better off unexplained. But does the music of this big band for the 21st Century really need any explaining? Well, with seventeen musicians (saxophones, trumpets, trombones, tubas, flutes, percussion, guitars, bass guitars and drums), a zest of jazz, a touch of rock and a (collective) open mind, perhaps it's enough just to know that as well as being an accomplished accompaniment to other artists (including Sébastien Tellier and March of the Penguins' Emilie Simon) they have also recorded two albums of their own. "We like to collaborate with people from other musical backgrounds," explains bandleader Fred Pallem. "All the tracks on our last album were born out of encounters with other artists. We adapt to them, they adapt to us. We could have done a whole album with each of them." And listening to the diversity on the album, you can believe it: the group is equally at ease with an Etta James or Burt Bacharach cover as they are playing noisy rock or a faux-porno soundtrack. Which is perhaps why their latest album is called "La Grande Ouverture", which you could translate as Wide Open. Or The Grand Overture. Or perhaps you'll just find that listening to the album itself is explanation enough...

1. La grande ouverture
2. Promises promises
3. La voisine aux oiseaux
4. Sharpening bone
5. Midnight sun
6. Fool that I am
7. Zombi
8. Picasso blue
9. Une épitaphe
10. Compartiment tueurs
11. Grovers corners
12. Country band march

STINA NORDENSTAM

STINA NORDENSTAM
MEMORIES OF A COLOR (1991)
320 KBPS

Sliding over hesitant, jazzy arrangements, Stina Nordenstam's little-girl-lost voice conjures up a dreamscape of its own, full of the details of the everyday juxtaposed against a spacey weirdness. She whispers of lost opportunities of love in "She watches him from behind" and gently mocks her own melancholy with lines like "my sister needs a cigarette to take her through the day, I need this". Hiding behind this lunar lyricism are some glorious jazz hooks that make for captivating listening. Overall, Nordenstam has created the right soundtrack to nights of introspection and insomnia.

1. Memories Of A Color
2. Return Of Alan Bean
3. Another Story Girl
4. His Song
5. He Watches Her From Behind
6. I'll Be Cryin' For You
7. Alone At Night
8. Soon After Christmas
9. Walk In The Park

TOM WAITS

TOM WAITS
ALICE (2002)
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The grizzled modern persona of Tom Waits finds new life on Alice, a slow, grave record that explores physical and moral decay with the same harrowing insight of 1992's Bone Machine. Originally written as an opera with his longtime songwriting partner, playwright Kathleen Brennan, the songs on Alice were performed live in a Hamburg theater for 18 months in 1992 and 1993, but were never committed to tape (officially, at least). This studio recording retains a sense of narrative cohesion, giving Waits a set of tormented and bizarre characters that go well with the motley crew he's assembled over the years. It is, in fact, the most consistent record of Waits's career, offering not only a stable train of thought, but a musical approach that, while featuring the same vaudevillian touches that have characterized his work since Swordfishtrombones, finds a voice all its own. Without much percussion to back them up, violins, cellos, and horns dominate the record, bathing Waits's familiar growl in a sly, slow cacophony that sounds like an underwater fugue, the notes like rust on the strings. "Watch Her Disappear," with its sparse, sad pump organ, and the twisted torch song "Reeperbahn" have the smoky café mystery of Edith Piaf by way of Leonard Cohen, recovered from the water-logged tapes in Cole Porter's long-lost dingy. It's a burst of dark, world-weary poetry for lonely Saturday nights, cloudy days on the beach, or long strolls through graveyards.

1. Alice
2. Everything You Can Think
3. Flowers Grave
4. No One Knows I'm Gone
5. Kommienezuepadt
6. Poor Edward
7. Table Top Joe
8. Lost In The Harbor
9. We're All Mad Here
10. Watch Her Disappear
11. Reeperbahn
12. I'm Still Here
13. Fish & Bird
14. Barcarolle
15. Fawn

LISA EKDAHL

LISA EKDAHL
PETER NORDAHL TRIO
BACK TO EARTH (1998)
320 KBPS

At first, Lisa Ekdahl's squeaky, girlish voice may seem inappropriate for the pop standards she has chosen to make her trade, but given some time, her voice and laid-back style become endearing. True, she occasionally seems mannered and borrows heavily from her inspirations (most notably Billie Holiday), but she shows signs of developing her own style throughout her second American album, Back to Earth. Like its predecessor, When Did You Leave Heaven, Back to Earth was recorded with the Peter Nordahl Trio and has a charming mellow vibe. Nordahl has an elegant turn of phrase and his rhythm section — drummer Ronnie Gardiner and bassist Patrik Boman — has a light touch that keeps the focus on Ekdahl. It is true that her voice may strike some listeners as odd, but it's girlish, not thin, which means she can nail the emotions of the songs. There may be a few missteps here and there, but she delivers ballads ("What Is This Thing Called Love?," "The Laziest Gal in Town," "Now or Never") as well as swing ("Down with Love," "I Get a Kick Out of You"). Yes, the selections are a little predictable and Ekdahl is a bit of an acquired taste, but ultimately, Back to Earth is quite charming.

1. Now or Never
2. Nature Boy
3. Stranger on Earth
4. Laziest Girl in Town
5. It Had to Be You
6. Down With Love
7. What Is This Thing Called Love?
8. Tea for Two
9. The Lonely One
10. I Get a Kick Out of You
11. Just for a Thrill
12. Night and Day
13. Plaintive Rumba

BILLY COBHAM

BILLY COBHAM
NORDIC (1996)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

For those who love Billy Cobham, it doesn't really matter what he does. The drums are unmistakeably Billy Cobham, but the music is quite different from the style we've been accustomed to since the early 70s. This album proves Billy Cobham to be a very versatile drummer, not only capable of his famous rapid-fire style of fusion-drumming, but also at ease in a more bop-oriented context. Good compositions and a Cobham who shows the world how drums should be played make this album an absolute favourite.

1. Was/Not/Was
2. By "City"
3. Chief
4. Fioff
5. Pytti Panna
6. As First I Saw You
7. Just A Throught
8. Prime Time
9. Folk Tones
10. December Suite pt.5
11. Bandits

HENRI SALVADOR

HENRI SALVADOR
CHAMBRE AVEC VUE (2000)
320 KBPS

At 83 years of age, Henry Salvador had not lost any of his youth and had nothing left to prove, yet this is one of his best efforts to date. His voice had not changed; it still had that velvety smooth delivery helped by subtle arrangements between jazz and down-tempo influences. Beautiful bossa nova songs from the man who crafted 'Syracuse' - a must for all ages!!

1. Jardin d'Hiver
2. Chambre Avec Vue
3. J'Ai Vu
4. Il Fait Dimanche
5. Muraille de Chine
6. Jazz Mediterranée
7. Tour de Manège
8. Vagabond
9. Je Sais Que Tu Sais
10. Mademoiselle
11. Fou de la Reine
12. Faire des Ronds Dans l'Eau
13. Aime-Moi

TOM WAITS

TOM WAITS
BLOOD MONEY (2002)
320 KBPS

For Tom Waits to reinvent himself at this point in his career would probably be a mistake, given that he remains as inimitable today as he was when he recorded Closing Time in 1973. Moody at best, dark for sure, BLOOD MONEY, with vaudeville-esque, boot-stomp-like percussion romps such as "Misery is the River of the World" and "God's Away on Business," Waits revisits his own territory. The melody of "Coney Island Girl" is so reminiscent of "Innocent When You Dream" from FRANK'S WILD YEARS that Waits could either be said to be winking to or ripping off himself. While Blood Money is not as original or chaotically magnificent as RAIN DOGS or BONE MACHINE, it does contain Waits' characteristic brilliance. Colin Stetson's clarinet in "All the World is Green" and his slow-swerving horns in "Another Man's Vine," make the album worth owning. These songs are familiar to the Waits pantheon but are carried off so well that they stand alone as masterpieces. "The Part You Throw Away," a heartbreaking song of music's oldest subject, is just lovely. The best compliment one can pay an album is that it gets better and is more revealing with each listen. That is true of this one. All said, BLOOD MONEY is good work, standard fare for Waits, which is to say that it's better than most albums released these days, even if it's not on the level with his best efforts.

1. Misery Is The River of the World
2. Everything Goes to Hell
3. Coney Island Baby
4. All The World Is Green
5. God's Away On Busines
6. Another Man's Vine
7. Knife Chase
8. Lullaby
9. Starving In The Belly Of A Whale
10. The Part You Throw Away
11. Woe
12. Calliope
13. A Good Man Is Hard To Find