Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Youssou N'Dour - Eyes Open

Youssou N'Dour
Eyes Open
40 Acres and a Mule Musicworks/Sony/Columbia
1992

Producd by Youssou N'Dour
Co-produced by Jean-Phillipe Rykiel and Habib Faye

Performed by Youssou N'Dour and the Super Etoille (including Assane Thiam - Talking Drum, Papa Oumar Ngom - Guitar, Habib Faye - bass and keyboards, Ibrahima Cisse - keyboards, and many others)

Youssou N'Dour first came to prominence as the fellow who sang the non-English vocals in the classic In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel. His piercing, powerful vocal chords built to a crescendo and really made that song what it was. (particularly in the long live version that the video was filmed from) and that played on MTV for what seemed forever.)

His success in the US since has been mixed, since the "world music"* scene is such a fickle bastard. He made two albums in the early 90s for Spike Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule Musicworks, Set and Eyes Open, of which the latter is the more western accessible, albeit not the more enjoyable of the two.

He, along with Salif Keita, and Cesaria Evora, stand as possibly the most successful and most deserving of the kind of universal appeal usually given to the likes of Jamaica's Marley or Brazil's Jobim. He is that rare talent; traditionally bred musically, but with an ability to evolve and create as a result, a universally appealling groove, even if you can't understand a word of Wolof (his native Senegalese dialect.) His particular brand of afro-pop is one he created almost fully formed, called Mbalax. It is melodic, funky, complex, radiant, and catchy as all hell. He's not only worked with Gabriel, but with other great musos like Ryuichi Sakamoto, Wyclef Jean, Neneh Cherry, and Paul Simon.

Songs here bear the mark of strong melodies and the hyperkinetic mid-range rhythmic attack customary to an N'Dour release is tempered somewhat to allow the more cosmopolitan compositions breathing room. But that doesn't mean he doesn't let loose. Country Boy bears the stop start fusion breaks and elastic bass of classic Weather Report. Live Television has a scuttling beat and sparse arrangement that gives it a kind of funky looseness that almost captures the same vibe as Set. Couple's Choice has a hint of Caribbean bounce to it, and Marie Madelaine LaSaint-Louisienne could have been a Peter Gabriel b-side. Useless Weapons is a simple elegaic piano ballad that works as a vehicle for Youssou's powerful voice, but does seem to sit outsdie the feel of the rest of the album, as does the rather trite souding Hope.

While this is a good album, it is not the best you could do. In only a few spots do you really get to hear Youssou open up vocally, which is when one can appreciate what a person with serious pipes can do without sounding contrived. Which is really the centerpoint to a Youssou release; his voice. A supple but non-trivially heavy instrument, he can wield it with amazing skill, and when he opens up, it borders on the surreal. It isn't used quite enough here. While the album is quiet consistent for the most part, it is also consistently subdued a little too much (which often happens with many African artists when they try to cater to pop audiences, although N'Dour is less guilty of this than most, this album falls into that category).

It's good but it isn't as warm as Joko (From Village to Town), his first really well done crossover work The Lion, and the absolutely brilliant Set. Seek those out first, or if you are really daring, seek out his home-market releases, where the super dense arrangements of his band come to the fore, some authentic, sweaty, hard hitting performances are recorded.

* that term itself I find implicitly stupid, but is so saturated into the lexicon that I have yet to be able to use a more intelligent term without confusing the general public.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

10 Songs by the Police that never got their due:

1. Miss Gradenko
2. Shambelle*
3. Tea in the Sahara
4. On Any Other Day
5. Flexible Strategies*
6. Truth Hits Everybody
7. Contact
8. Regatta de Blanc
9. Deathwish
10. Does Everyone Stare

btw, Stewart Copeland still rocks, Sting still doesn't.

Saturday, February 05, 2005

T.S. Monk - Higher Ground

T.S Monk
Higher ground
Thelonious Records/Hyena/Sin Drome Distribution
2003

T.S. Monk - bandleader, drums, percussion, elecronics, vocals
Willie Williams - tenor & soprano sax, clarinet,, vocals
Bobby Porcelli - alto sax, flute
Winston Byrd - trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals
Ray Gallon - piano, electric piano, synth
David jackson - bass
Victor See Yuen - congas, bongos, african/brazilian percusion
Miles griffith - guest vocals

Production - T.S. Monk

I feel an almost sadness for Femi Kuti, Ravi Coltrane and TS Monk. All are the children of prophets (Fela Anikualpo Kuti, John Coltrane and Thelonious Sphere Monk respectively) who have since become deified to the point of making it almost impossible to escape their gravity and establish their own path. People whose talent and purpose was so intense that assured any progeny would live potentially under a constant blinding beam of expectations (both of success and failure).

In the case of Femi, he has risen to in some ways continue where his father left off, in an almost fluid continuity, if not quite as outrageous in character. Ravi has exhibited moments of brilliance that bely his struggle to find his own voice (he shares at least a fair amount of his father's technical skill and open mind for new ideas and approaches, but his tone and style leans less to 'Trane and more to players like Steve Coleman and Wayne Shorter). TS Monk is a different animal altogether; after a decade of struggling to come to grips with being the son of Thelonious Monk, as loaded a situation as possible, he has settled into a position of both keeper of the flame for his father (as manager of the Monk estate, he has begun a boutique label bearing the name and has been working to compile archival recordings for release), yet in terms of his own music has crafted his own path.

Whether that path is as innovative, emotional, and just damn astonishing as his father is subject to debate...well, not really. He does not lack in technical skill, but he is not in the same league in terms of composition and arrangement. Let's face it, his father was Theloniuous Monk, a man who for decades was largely misunderstood by the public, but adored by folks like Miles davis and Dizzy Gillespie for his musical insight. He created a lexicon of style that was fully evolved at arrival and was for all intents and purposes -- a singular, perfect, inimitable universe of sound.

Trying to meet that standard is really just damn impossible, so TS Monk has instead opted not to rebel against it, nor fully co-opt it. He simply has tried to navigate his own individual orbit around that giant star. It helps that unlike Femi and Ravi, he does not play his fathers instrument (TS plays drums instead of piano), and that he went through periods playing other styles (including funk/R&B). The result is that -especially on an album like this- he shows a maturity and open approach to delivering his own statements musically. His playing shows a sound understanding of rhythm, and one can hear overtones of his early experiences learning from Max Roach, as well as elements of Art Blakey. He is assertive, but not as ballistic as a Roach or Blakey...maybe like Tony Williams simmering instead of at full boil.

His own compositions bear no real relation to his father, instead carving out a niche in hard-bop traditionalism, and instead prefers digging into older bop classics and obscure gems, as well as contributions from his sidemen (as is the case on this album, with great tunes from Ray Gallon and Winston Byrd being the standouts).

Now, as to this album, Higher ground, we hear an eclectic collection of tracks that seem to fit well together. Even the rather odd vocal track Mosaic is a curious bit of modern bop, replete with aggro scatting and an almost happy jam sentiment. Girl Watchin' has a late Tony William's funky punch to it, Ladera Heights has a distinct acid jazz vibe to it (reminiscent of the more swinging efforts by Groove Collective or Brooklyn Funk Essentials), and Craw-Daddy is the theme song to a quiet day at your front door, sipping tea in the deep south, watching time go by. Happily at that.* There is some humor in Cubano Chant and the closer, Milennium Dance is a weird Vegas big-ensemble feel meeting a more ambitious set of charts.

Now, if it is not apparent yet, do not buy this album if you are looking to hear a clone of the elder Monk. It is never going to happen (the closest you will get is TS's tribute to his father Monk on Monk, which still isn't that close), and I would argue it shouldn't. But if you want to hear a decent hard-bop inflected album, with really good performances and a decent variety of compositions, this may very well fit the bill.

*. particular props to Byrd (his solo on Craw-Daddy is a hot slice of fun

Friday Night Hot Track

Just a quick note to something worth trying. Tonight, it's some gritty hip hop:

Company Flow - Simple.