Let The Heavenly Clouds Tickle Your Bare Feet, Cesaria Evora ...

Well, I'm not doing much better with the illness I am afflicted with, however, I had to come off the DL for this.


I heard news this weekend that, certainly, put a damper in, if any, holiday spirit hovering around.


That being that the wonderful, and talented, Cape Verdean singer, Cesaria Evoria passed away, at the not-terribly-old-age of 70.


 


Man ...


Listening to her was such a pleasure, for she carried you off into a world, flooded and filled, with the most beautiful sounds, a world you may not know existed, just floating along, listening to her, lost in the beauty, thinking, hoping, it would never end.


I was fortunate to see her perform, twice, back in the mid and late 1990's, and it was awesome.


Coming out of those shows was like having seen something outside your own understanding, something miraculously divine and good, a refreshing of your soul.


From Jon Pareles at the NYT;

Ms. Évora’s music was in a style called morna, which is sung in taverns on the Cape Verde islands: slow, pensive ballads with an underlying lilt, suffused with sodade, the Cape Verdean creole term for a nostalgic longing that pervades music across Portugal (where the word is saudade) and its former empire.


Ms. Évora sang about love, sorrow and history, including slavery, in a husky, dignified, unhurried contralto that brought warmth and gravity to songs by Cape Verde’s leading poets. She also sang in her country’s more upbeat styles, coladeira and funaná, but her serenely sorrowful mornas were her legacy.


She always performed barefoot, a gesture of solidarity with poor women. A concert review in The New York Times described her as “a Yoda of melancholy” onstage.

 


And Barry Hatton at SF Chronicle-AP

Her singing style brought comparisons to American jazz singer Billie Holiday. "She belongs to the aristocracy of bar singers," French newspaper Le Monde said in 1991, adding that Ms. Evora had "a voice to melt the soul."


Ms. Evora's international fame came late in life. Her 1988 album "La Diva Aux Pieds Nus" ("Barefoot Diva"), recorded in France where she first found popularity, launched her international career.


Her 1995 album "Cesaria" was released in more than a dozen countries and brought her first Grammy nomination, leading to a tour of major concert halls around the world and album sales in the millions.


She won a 2003 Grammy in the World Music category for her album "Voz D'Amor."

Xeni Jardin, over on Boing Boing, also has a nice tribute to check out.



As does the BBC - Cesaria Evora, the voice that put Cape Verde on the map

So long Cesaria Evora ...


Try not to make the angels cry, with your so, so sweat voice ....




Cesaria Evora - Sodade (HD,16:9)







Cesaria Evora - Besame Mucho







Cesaria Evora - Carnaval De Sao Vicente ( Live In Paris )

Bring Back The Pet Rock

When they get around to making the 'Idiocracy' sequel, this has got to find its' way into the script


On July 4th, while many where camped out on blankets, or stuck in traffic, awaiting the evenings' display of incendiary pap, I was doing some work, and had the radio on, only stopping, mouth agape, to shake my head in disbelief, when this report came on.





It was from PRI's 'The World';


Digital Pop Star Hatsune Miku’s First Live Concert

This weekend, one of the hottest tickets in Los Angeles was to a concert by Japanese pop culture icon Hatsune Miku. She’s a big persona but not a flesh-and-blood person. And her sold-out show, “Mikunopolis,” marked her debut in the US.


[snip]


But Miku is neither animal nor human. She’s a virtual “singer” whose only appearance on stage is as a life-like 3D hologram. She’s what you’d call a Vocaloid — basically the consumer-friendly interface for sophisticated voice-synthesizing software.


[snip]


Vocaloid was spawned far from the shores of LA. Hideki Kenmochi developed Vocaloid at Yamaha Corp. in Japan; then a host of other companies created characters and voices — like Miku, whose parent is Crypton Future Media — that give Vocaloid technology a more human range.


[snip]


The Vocaloid process does for singing what a keyboard synthesizer does for pianos. In the Vocaloid scene, this means a gifted songwriter may not have to rely as much on their own pipes or looks. But despite the sold-out concert in LA, the Vocaloid style is still an acquired taste, most popular among early cultural adopters in Japan


“According to our research,” Kenmochi says, “eight percent of female teenagers listen to only Vocaloid music. That’s amazing statistics.”

(Go here to listen to the Podcast)


Sold-out show? ... Shrieking fans? ...


Over a synthesized 3-D hologram?


Even Woody Allen, in his 1973 futuristic'Sleeper' didn't dream of such dreck.


Give me a F'ing break?


With all the music, hundreds-upon-hundreds-of-thousands, made by real, live human beings, available (an entire second argument, on if it's good or bad), across a multitude of genres, and people are actually going gaga over, as the article ends, "partying in a concert-sized video game"?


Didn't Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe do this before?


Help Me Mister Wizard!


Me thinks this audience would be prime, to bring back the Pet Rock to.


Wait ... Wait ...


Even better - a synthesized 3-D hologram Pet Rock!


 


Bonus Riffs


Adam Frank:  Rise Of The Machines: Japanese Popstar A Computer Construct


Pop Star Turns Out To Be Computer Generated


Jena Isle:  Aimi Eguchi and Hatsune Miku: Japan’s Computer-Generated Pop Stars Gain Millions of Fans; Miku has Upcoming Debut in Los Angeles


Idiocracy - Trailer


Idiocracy Brawndo's Got Electrolytes


Idiocracy, The Sequel

A Conflicted Life Ends ... Tango Actress Maria Schneider Dead at 58

It was quite a surprise to see the name of actress Maria Schneider in the Obit column today.

As much for remembering the long-ago crush, as for how long she has been out of the news, the limelight dimmed for quite some time.

Maria Schneider, Brando’s ‘Last Tango’ costar

Ms. Schneider died yesterday in Paris “following a long illness,’’ a representative of the Act 1 talent agency said, but declined to provide details.

Ms. Schneider was 19 when she starred opposite Brando in Bernardo Bertolucci’s racy “Last Tango in Paris.’’ In it, she played Jeanne, a young Parisian woman who takes up with a middle-aged American businessman, played by Brando.

Full of explicit sex scenes, “Last Tango’’ was banned in Italy for obscenity for nearly two decades, returning to cinemas there only in 1989. In the United States, the movie still has an NC-17 rating for its sexual content, meaning it can’t be seen by children under 17 years of age.

I'm quite sure anyone over the age of 18, back in 1972 either (A) flocked to the movies to see the film 'Last Tango In Paris", or (B) was aware of the controversy surrounding its' explicit sex scenes, or, (C) rushed to the record store to get the smoking soundtrack, featuring the great saxophonist Gato Barbieri.

I indulged in A, and C of the above.

In her youth, Maria Schneider was incredibly beautiful, which was likely the factor in getting her two big roles (Three years after 'Tango', she starred with Jack Nicholson in 'The Passenger').

All the obituaries mention "a long illness", which included drugs and, as a few referenced, "mental illness".

No doubt, 'Last Tango In Paris' was, perhaps, the beginning of what seemed to be a troubled life.

In the film, Jeanne enters into a brief but torrid affair with a recently widowed American, played by Brando. Their erotically charged relationship, played out in an empty apartment near the Bir Hakeim Bridge in Paris, shocked audiences on the film’s release in 1972, especially a scene in which Brando pins Ms. Schneider to the floor and, taking out a stick of butter, seems to perform anal intercourse on her. The Motion Picture Association of America gave the film an X rating.

The role fixed Ms. Schneider in the public mind as a figurehead of the sexual revolution, and she spent years trying to move beyond the role, and the public fuss surrounding it. “I felt very sad because I was treated like a sex symbol,” she told The Daily Mail of London in 2007. “I wanted to be recognized as an actress, and the whole scandal and aftermath of the film turned me a little crazy and I had a breakdown. Now, though, I can look at the film and like my work in it.”

The famous butter scene, she said, was not in the script and made it into the film only at Brando’s insistence. “I felt humiliated and to be honest, I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci,” she said. “After the scene, Marlon didn’t console me or apologize. Thankfully, there was just one take.”

Whatever, it still brings about a veil of sadness.

RIP Maria Schneider.

Last Tango In Paris Trailer

Gato Barbieri Last Tango in Paris

Sad News, Another Jazz Giant Passes Away ...James Moody Dies at 85

This had happened before.

Once, when living in Los Angeles, and the 24-hour jazz radio station, KKGO, as I awoke, was playing a very long set of Willie Bobo's music, and I knew that had to mean that Willie, who had been ill, passed away.

So, the night-before-last, Jazz With Bob Parlocha comes on at midnight with a set of James Moody's music and that eerie feeling hung in the air, soon confirmed by Parlocha that James Moody, the Sax and Reed player extraordinaire, had passed away, at age 85.

I was fortunate to have seen Moody perform, live, numerous times, and it was always a treat, be it his own band, or if he was a sideman in someone elses.

It was reported that Mr. Moody had pancreatic cancer and chose not to go through the cumbersome treatment (radiation or chemo) and that sounds like how he lived his life, taking things head on, learning as he went along, always trying to be better.

And, thanks to a lark of Moody, playing around with the harmonic structure of 'I'm In The Mood For Love", we have, for posterity, a tune named after Moody, written by the late singer, Eddie Jefferson, and a big hit for King Pleasure;

From Peter Keepnews;

The song he sang most often had a memorable name and an unusual history. Based on the harmonic structure of “I’m in the Mood for Love,” it began life as an instrumental when Mr. Moody recorded it in Stockholm in 1949, improvising an entirely new melody on a borrowed alto saxophone. Released as “I’m in the Mood for Love” (and credited to that song’s writers) even though his rendition bore only the faintest resemblance to the original tune, it was a modest hit for Mr. Moody in 1951. It became a much bigger hit shortly afterward when the singer Eddie Jefferson wrote lyrics to Mr. Moody’s improvisation and another singer, King Pleasure, recorded it as “Moody’s Mood for Love.”

“Moody’s Mood for Love” (which begins with the memorable lyric “There I go, there I go, there I go, there I go ...”) became a jazz and pop standard, recorded by Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Van Morrison, Amy Winehouse and others. And it was a staple of Mr. Moody’s concert and nightclub performances as sung by Mr. Jefferson, who was a member of his band for many years. Mr. Jefferson was shot to death in 1979; when Mr. Moody, who was in the middle of a long hiatus from jazz at the time, resumed his career a few years later, he began singing the song himself. He never stopped.

Here's Moody singing the tune himself;

Dizzy Gillespie and the United Nation's Orchestra

And, here's the King Pleasure classic;

Moody's mood for love.wmv

Here's Moody, with Dizzy, performing Dizzy's "Kush"

" target='NewWindow'>Dizzy Gillespie - Kush - HD

Stolen Moments

Good Evening Garlic Fans

Once again, a thousand-and-one apologies for our extended absence.

We have not been cleared off the DL just yet, as in the past week, we've had a few Doc appointments, one, with the Orthopedic, that has our ailing shoulder/Rotator Cuff feeling some better, but not all the way.



Between those, and a building, growing list of projects on the homefront, we sacrificed computer time (which included one day of some much needed maintenance).

It will still be a few days before we resume posting (more Doc appointments this week), however, we will endeavor to get back in the saddle at the earliest.

In the meantime, for tonight, groove on the great vocalist, Mark Murphy, who wrote the lyrics to this killer Oliver Nelson tune.

Mark Murphy - Stolen Moments.wmv

All The Things You Are

Sorry, once again, Garlic Fans, for our absence the past few days.

Despite some great PT sessions, the Rotator Cuff issue we are enduring has been kicking our ass, and knocking out our teeth for mumbling about it.



Additionally, the past two days, we've had mid-summer-dog-days heat and humidity, which has made sitting at the computer about as torturous as an infomercial full of insurance salesman.

So, another night off, and, hopefully (with another PT session under our belts), we'll be in the mood (and shape) to write again (notes and half-written posts are building up).

In the meantime, let Paquito D'Rivera (and the great trumpet man, Diego Urcola) give you a wonderful treat.

Enjoy!

Paquito D'Rivera Quintet - All The Things You Are

My Song

Sorry folks, still on the DLtoday, and, rather uncomfortably so.

Last night we went with his younger brother, we thought we go with the elder this evening, Keith Jarrett



A wonderful song, a duo with the great Norwegian saxophonist, Jan Garbarek

Enjoy!

Keith Jarrett & Jan Garbarek "My Song"

The Image of You

Sorry, Garlic Fans, for your absence the past few days.

We ran into a buzz saw of activity, on the homefront.

And, additionally, we have been on the DL, having injured our shoulder (Rotator Cuff issue, at the moment, with a slate of PT on the schedule, the days and weeks ahead), so we just didn't get to spend much time at the ol' computer.



We are aiming to resume posting this weekend.

Which puts a bit of pressure on us.

What music do we leave you with, something to make up for the lack of posting, something that will have you sit up, and say WOW!

For that we tap Scott Jarrett, younger brother of Jazz legend Keith Jarrett, and a monster, monster ballad.

Sit back and enjoy!

Scott Jarrett - The Image of You

El Trombon Majadero

Well, apologies, Garlic Fans, as we got jammed up today, leaving us little opportunity to finish a few riffs started, and get some posts up.

So, being Saturday Night, we should go with some music, again.

And, this ties in with our posting of last night, as our featured artist, Generoso Jiménez, was on that recording, as well;



From Bembe Records;

In Que Bueno Baila Usted ("How Good You Dance"), the very famous Benny Moré song, the singers call out "Generoso how good you play!" Every Cuban knows whom they are singing about: Generoso Jiménez, star of the Benny Moré Big Band and the most celebrated trombonist in the history of Cuban music.

[snip]

In April 1955, Generoso joined Benny Moré as an arranger and composer, section leader and soloist. He remained in the band until June 1959. Even after this he helped Benny with arrangements and musical details. Generoso's own band existed from November 1963 until September 1965. He finished his career as part of the prestigious orchestra of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television.

Pull out, and put on those dancing shoes again ...

Trombon Majadero - ' Tojo' Instrumental

Que Bueno Baila Usted

Well, after attempting to finish up a post, we decided to chill out.

I mean, it's Friday night, where there should be music, and dancing.

So, we will have music and dancing!

We dug out a "gigante" classic for you this evening.

It comes from the legendary Cuban superstar, Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez, otherwise known as Benny Moré.

There has never been a Cuban popular singer like Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutierrez, El Benny. There might never be again. - Ivan Castro

So exulted is Benny Moré, an annual music festival is held in his hometown of Cienfuegos, where, in 2009, his grave was declared a "national monument and the Benny Moré Municipal Museum, which will exhibit the artist’s death mask, will be reopened."

I can't say, sit back and listen.

Get up and dance!

Benny Moré Y Su Banda Gigante - Que Bueno Baila Usted (Son Montuno - Cuba 1940's)




From Wikipedia, Benny Moré

Mi Ritorni in Mente

Bad allergy day, Garlic Fans, so we packed it in early, leaving a handful of posts partial written (or just some notes).

Hope to be back in the saddle tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's some nice licks, from Italian trumpet player, Enrico Rava.

Enrico Rava - Mi ritorni in mente




Here's Enrico Rava's website

Another Great One Gone ... Jazz Guitarist Herb Ellis

We caught a post this morning that, truly, brought with it a good deal of sadness.

Legendary jazz guitarist Herb Ellis has passed.



I had seen him perform live, countless times, back in the 80;s and 90's and it was always, always, an uplifting, in-the-groove, performance.

Emma Brown notes that "Mr. Ellis was a member during the 1950s of the Oscar Peterson trio, which served as the house recording band for Verve Records and accompanied a who's-who of jazz greats, including Louis Armstrong, Roy Eldridge, Harry "Sweets" Edison and Ben Webster."

Legendary is almost an understatement.

From the New York Times;

Herb Ellis, Jazz Guitarist, Is Dead at 88

Mr. Ellis was an early disciple of Charlie Christian, whose deft improvisations, built on long single-note lines, established the template for modern jazz guitar in the 1940s. But he was always more than an imitator: his style mixed the harmonic sophistication of bebop with the earthy directness of the blues and seasoned the blend with a twang more typical of country music than jazz.

While never a major star, he was long a favorite of critics and musicians. In 1959 a fellow guitarist, Jim Hall, praised his “fantastic fire and drive.” In 1990 Gary Giddins of The Village Voice raved about the “easy, loping quality” of his playing, “buoyed by familiar dissonances yet surprisingly free of cliché.”

[snip]

He first attracted wide attention during his five-year stint with Peterson’s popular group, which, like the Soft Winds, included a bassist (Ray Brown) but no drummer. The absence of a percussionist required Mr. Ellis to provide the rhythmic foundation for Peterson’s energetic playing as well as the guitar solos; he did it so well that when he left the trio in 1958, Peterson replaced him not with another guitarist but with a drummer.

Keith Thursby/LA Times - Herb Ellis dies at 88; jazz guitarist

Mike Finnigan - C&L's Late Night Music Club, RIP Herb Ellis

Herb Ellis, on Wikipedia


Here's some tunes, and we highly encourage you to explore, and seek out, some of Herb Ellis's music.


Herb Ellis - Sweet Georgia Brown (1986)




Freddie Green Herb Ellis Orange, Brown and Green




Barney Kessel & Herb Ellis - Flintstones Theme




RIP Herb Ellis!

Brown Street

Sorry, Garlic fans, we were jammed up today, leaving little time to hunker down, and delve into the abundance of things, big fat juicy items, to riff on.

So, as we typically do in this kind of situation, we turn to Jazz, and hip you to some incredible piece of music.



Tonight, we go with one of our all-time favorites, Weather Report, and a monster tune, from their legendary '8:30' album;

Many of the group's earlier albums had received the highest possible (5-star) record rating in Down Beat's record reviews. However, in 1978 the group recorded the controversial and experimental Mr. Gone, which received only a 1-star review from Down Beat magazine. The group arranged for a rebuttal interview with the magazine to defend their efforts. Zawinul and Pastorius were defiant in their responses to the interviewer, Shorter more philosophical, and Erskine the most reticent of the four. Some say this particular Down Beat review was the most controversial in the magazine's history.

They would make a comeback and follow up with their last album of the 1970s. 1979's 8:30 is considered to be one of their best, combining both live and studio recordings on a double LP release. The group won the 1979 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance for 8:30. Despite the Mr. Gone controversy, the band's follow-up 8:30 tour was probably their best attended. Zawinul has been quoted as saying there were more stage hands hired for that tour than at any other time in the band's history.

Put on your dancing shoes, as this tune is will get the toes tappin', and the hips a swayin'!

Enjoy!

WEATHER REPORT brown street 1979

Waters of March

We are now into our third day of some spectacular weather (after 3.5-days, and nearly 9-inches of rain), and we sit on the doorstep of Spring springing tomorrow.

That calls for a tune, and we have an absolute gem.

We turn to the late vocalist, Susannah McCorkle, who, horribly, and tragically, took her own life.



However, she left her legacy, and, IMHO, the best rendition (by an English-language singer, anyway; Elis Regina, probably gets the nod, as the best, overall) of the Brasilian classic, Águas de Março (Waters of March).

Visit Susannah McCorkle's website while you drink this one in

Enjoy!

Waters of March - Susannah McCorkle & Antonio Carlos Jobim

You Won't See Me Cry

It's another day off, Garlic Fans, least we go in the opposite direction, and unleash a full-scale, red-faced rant against the smegma that is Liz Cheney.

We already took one shower today.

And, since we alluded to, last evening, the group B-Tribe (or The Barcelona Tribe of Soulsters), we'll turn things over to them for the night (and highly recommend that you explore their music- kick-ass stuff)

Enjoy!

B-Tribe - You won't see me cry

Tamally Ma'ak (Always With You)

Sorry Garlic Fans, it was another wall-to-wall day, so no posting tonight.

I had, initially, thought of putting up some B-Tribe (also known as The Barcelona Tribe of Soulsters), when I stumbled on "Wonderful Arabic Chill Out Music" and, bust my buttons, it certainly was just that.

The tune, Tamally Ma'ak (Always With You) is from Amr Diab, which Wikipedia says is "known as the Father of Mediterranean Music. He has created his own style which is often termed "Mediterranean Music" or "Mediterranean Sound", a blend of Western and Arabic rhythms."

Enjoy!

Wonderful Arabic Chill Out Music

Milonga Del Ángel

Sorry, Garlic Fans, we be workin' it today, and a wee bit too tired to fire up the creative juices, so, rather than force anything, and it being a overcast, gloomy day (some snow a'comin'), we'll give it up to the legendary bandoneonist (not an accordion!), Astor Piazzolla, and his New Tango Sextet, on a monster riff (you really owe it to yourselves to give a listen);

Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992) "Milonga Del Ángel"

Open Doors, But Blocked Sinuses

Good Evening Garlic Fans

Sorry, for the lack-of-posts the past few days.

The relentless cold weather has been playing havoc with our sinuses, to the point it is extremely difficult to feel good, let alone, creative.

So we have just tanked it, staying off the computer, and attempting to medicate, and chill out.

Today, we interrupted our plan, with the need of getting our front door fixed, by a Master Locksmith.

We are planning to be back on duty tomorrow

In the meantime, we start pining, for warmer weather;

Astrud Gilberto - It Might as Well Be Spring

Here's to Life

Good Evening Garlic Fans

We are going to defer posting today, as, for one reason, we be bone tired.

Another is, for today, there was big celebration on the homefront .... A very big day on the homefront ...

As regular readers know, we refer to The Aunt, that we have been caretaker too for these many years, and have had our trials-and-tribulations, ups-and-downs, especially so, most recently.

This past Wednesday, The Aunt reached the age of 97, and today, to accommodate more family members, we had a birthday soirée for her, complete with a custom-made cake, singing (of course) and a birthday tiara for the lady of honor.

Included among the nieces, nephews and grandchildren, were, one great niece, two great nephews, and one great-great-grandchild.

That be some longevity.

It was a marvelous, wonderfully nice day, and she was quite happy.

So, we'll let this gem from Shirley Horn bring this wonderful, marvelous day to a close.

Enjoy!

Shirley Horn - Here's to Life

Caravan

So sorry Garlic fans, we're out-of-gas this evening, and, possibly, coming to be under-the-weather (the relentless cold weather has been playing havoc with the sinuses).

So, rather then force anything, we're kicking back until (hopefully) tomorrow.

We don't leave you empty though ...

Monster track here, from Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (circa 1962 - Curtis Fuller/Trombone, Freddie Hubbard/Trumpet, Wayne Shorter/Tenor Saxophone, Cedar Walton/Piano and Reggie Workman/Bass).

And, of course, Master Drummer Blakey, who is absolutely smokin' on this cut ...

Enjoy!

Art blakey: Caravan