motel de moka

We came to California the same year as the ill-fated Donner party. It started about a month ahead of us, but it kept taking imaginary short cuts and hurrying until it met with frightful disaster. My father, who was captain of our train, led his party of about eighty people across trackless plains and mountains for five months, simply with the sun and the stars as guides, and came west almost as straight as the crow flies. He believed in moving every day, if only three miles and the result was that all our oxen were in better condition when they arrived in California than when they started. Several of the survivors of the Donner party, young George Donner and Mrs. Reed, came to our house in Napa after they were rescued. I heard the other day that Mrs. Reed’s daughter, ‘Patty’ Reed, who was then a very little girl, is living on Franklin street in Oakland. She is Mrs. Martha Lewis now. - Story from California Gold rush

.

” California Revisited ”

01. Takka Takka - Everybody Say
Migration (Ernest Jenning, 2008)
02. Tracy Shedd - Whatever It Takes
Cigarettes & Smoke Machines (Teenbeat Records, 2008)
03. Luke Doucet - Blood’s Too Rich
Blood’s Too Rich (Six Shooter Records, 2008)
04. Telepathique - Love And Lust
Last Time On Earth (Control Group / Tcg, 2008)
05. The Moondoggies - Changing
Don’t Be A Stranger (Hardly Art, 2008)
06. Human Highway - Sleep Talking
Moody Motorcycle (Suicide Squeeze, 2008)

note: Sunday mellow list. California theme in my mind. There is this mythical idea about California. That it’s the last place where civilization stops, hitting the big ocean. The western civilization ends and the east is on the other side. All on one needs to get there is a dream and certain push to get away from the establishment. Life will be different, the weather temperate and the people are happy. Thousand dreams to be made, start afresh without past. It is not the techniques, shape or difficulties to obtain the dream, but if the state of mind to reach the dream exists, sort of post existentialist struggle. It’s beautiful if one can get it to work.

image : sicoactiva , FelipeArte

Billie Holiday & Lester Young - When You’re Smiling
Billie Holiday and Lester Young Complete recordings 1937-1946

If I had to choose only one Billie Holiday song, without question it would be “When You’re Smiling.” Everyone plays like a genius on this one. Benny Morton’s gutsy and smooth trombone to kick it off, Buck Clayton’s impeccable obbligato behind the singer, and Lester Young’s magnificent solo that starts at 2:05 and sends the song into stratosphere.

Nina Simone - My baby just cares for me
Little Girl Blue (Bethlehem Records / 1968)

So simple and effective. There’s some sort of vocal stretch she does from 2:42 through 2:52 that showcases her incredible vocal range and makes me lose my breath everytime I hear it.

Jacqueline Taïeb - Le Cœur au bout des doigts
Lolita Chick 68 (Mad French / 2000)

60’s french pop with a stunning horn section and an undeniably funky and infectious rhythm. Incredibly fun and sexy.

Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the sky
Spirit in the sky (1970)

One of my favorite radio hits from the 70’s. Classic guitar riff and best use of rattlesnake percussion ever.

Tommy Roe - Sweet Pea
Sweet pea (1966)

It’s all about that drum break. Sweet pop that never gets corrosive and that in my humble opinion, stands out above everything else done in the genre at the time.

Marshall Crenshaw - You’re my favorite waste of time
Marshall Crenshaw (1982)

A lo-fi masterpiece and one of those songs that always brings back a collection of idyllic childhood memories. I think a big part of the charm of this recording is how the whole thing sounds like a beautiful accident, a group of friends jamming in a home studio after smoking a few joints and setting up everything in one simple take. There’s genuine happiness spread all over it.
I was delighted to read Sean’s post a year ago where he tells this was his favorite song ever (He’s actually referring to Owen Paul’s cover, mind you, but I’m happy about the coincidence).

Tom Waits - Alice
Alice (Anti / 2002)

A sensuous nocturnal ballad with violently beautiful lyrics. It’s hard to top all the imagery and sounds Mr. Waits manages to evoke with such little space.

Louis Armstrong - Hello Dolly!
Hello Dolly 7″ (1964)

I imagine that caught up in the political and cultural turmoil of the mid-sixties, ‘Hello dolly’ would have sounded a tad out of place: sappy, lighthearted lyrics and a simple acoustic jazz arrangement in a time when mainstream didn’t really care about jazz anymore. And yet, Armstrong presents this little piece of timeless ditty in such a charming and deliriously engaging way that it even managed to push the Beatles off their #1 perch on the charts when they were at the peak of their popularity.

Note: For the past weeks I’ve been spending a great deal of time doing a reinventory of every song in my collection. I tend to organize my music following mood rather than genre, so I’ve been spending full days categorizing, trashing and rekindling my love for some songs and albums that I haven’t heard in a while. Amidst all the nostalgia and surprises I made a 24 song playlist with songs that never fail to amuse me, some of which have been with me for more than 10 years, and which I’m splitting into 3 different parts to share with you. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I’d love to read recommendations if you have any and your very own list of favorite songs of all time if you wish to share.

Images: Matte Stephens

The District is an anomaly. Its many threads intertwine to create a diverse and colorful tapestry which reflects the nation it represents in ways that both inspire and infuriate. Music has perpetuated the soul of D.C. for decades now, and gives a voice to those who otherwise would remain under the foot of the suits that make this the land of “Taxation without Representation.” Many artists call D.C. home, regardless of birthplace. Below are three musicians from distinct eras that have embodied their epochs with the sheer sonic strength and soul. Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye, and Me’Shell Ndegeocello are a triad of D.C.’s finest children, born and/or bred. I continue this list in the vein of sounds native to the District. This particular one journeys across time to reflect the continuity of foundational sound and motive, but the evolution of the style as well. Hopefully something will strike a chord. For what it’s worth — enjoi.

Duke Ellington - Skin Deep
(Ellington Uptown/ 1953)
Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald - Mack the Knife
(Ella & Duke at The Côte D’Azur (Disc I)/ 1966)
Duke Ellington - Rhapsody in Blue
(Recollections of The Big Band Era/ 1976)
Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)
(What’s Going On/ 1971)
Marvin Gaye - If I Should Die Tonight
(Let’s Get It On (Deluxe Edition)/ 1973)
Marvin Gaye - Trouble Man
(Gold/ 2005)
Me’Shell Ndegeocello - Soul Searchin’
(Higher Learning: Music From The Motion Picture/ 1994)
Me’Shell Ndegeocello - Fool of Me
(Bitter/ 1999)
Me’Shell Ndegeocello - Earth
(Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape/ 2002)

photo credit: Amber Wiley

Image: Artwork from Boustrophedon (ECM, 2008)

Here’s an eclectic jazz-oriented list to start off September with some sly foot-tapping grooves and mostly laid-back spirit. The theme of the list flows from several relaxed yet sumptuous tunes to a much more brooding atmosphere and finally turning into an urgent yet seemingly directionless endeavour. Lately I’ve increasingly been finding myself going back to jazz records and gigs again. So more than anything else I guess I made this list for myself just to play around a bit with a certain mood that I wanted to create. I guess contemplation is the key denominator here for this list. These tunes are going places but not necessarily with a distinctive sense of direction. It’s easy to think of yourself as a truly rational and calculated individual who has it all figured out - who thinks, plans and acts accordingly - but right now if you’d somehow be able to map my existence with an EEG-monitor-like device it would look a lot more like the image above than a well constructed blueprint. Flutter - to move about or behave in an agitated aimless manner. From a distance, just like the image, it might seem that way to some, but every twist and turn along this grand voyage feels natural and clearly meant to be. It doesn’t always have to make sense, does it?

1. Amancio D’Silva - A Street in Bombay
   Konkan Dance (Qbico, 2006)
2. Faruq Z. Bey with Northwoods Improvisers - Oncala
   Infa’a (Qbico, 2006)
3. John Zorn - Mow Mow
   The Dreamers (Tzadik, 2008)
4. Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Destroying Angels
   Black Earth (Wonder, 2002)
5. Michael Moore - Miss Yosemite
   Fragile (Ramboy, 2008)
6. Sun Ra - Intergalactic Motion
   Outer Spaceways Incorporated (Saturn, 1974)
7. Evan Parker / Transatlantic Art Ensemble - Furrow 6
   Boustrophedon (ECM, 2008)
8. Dirty Three - Flutter
   Cinder (Touch and Go, 2005)
9. Yo La Tengo - Let’s Be Still
   Summer Sun (Matador, 2003)

Stream playlist
Download playlist

Yo La Tengo in a jazz list? I know! But it works damn well if you ask me and that’s also due to the guests contributing here on the underrated Summer Sun album. None other than jazz heavyweights William Parker, Daniel Carter, Roy Campbell Jr. and Sabir Mateen enrich the album with their playing. You also may well remember Sabir Mateen and Daniel Carter’s Not on Earth…In Your Soul! from my 2006 year-end list. In the same batch of jazz records that the Italian Qbico label released that month was Faruq Z. Bey’s spectacular Infa’a, an album that quite possibly provides my favourite tune to this playlist. And earlier that year the same label already treated us with Amancio D’Silva’s 1972 recording Konkan Dance, of which a song is also featured on this playlist. Hm, maybe in some way, if you connect all the dots, all things do make sense after all?

Image: Mdm’s Worddle.

1. Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 - For What it’s worth
Stillness (1970)
2. Joao Donato - Bananeira
Lugar Comum (Dubas / 1975)
3. Jorge Ben - Take it easy my brother Charles
Jorge Ben (1969)
4. Gary Mcfarland - Bloop Bleep
The in sound (1965)
5. Coconut Monkeyrocket - Bloop, bleeps, bongos & brass
The Coconut Monkeyrocket split ep (Comfort stand / 2004)
6. Quantic Soul Orchestra - Feelin’ good
Pushin’ on (Tru thoughts / 2005)
7. Ellen Mcilwaine - Jimmy Jean
We the people (1973)

A sound tribute to bcn’s razzmatazz: touches of samba, funk and bossa, all tasty grooves that do wonders in the correct settings and all personal favorites, so needless to say I give high recommendations on all of these, hope you enjoy.

Image: Pinamar.

What happened, happened once. So now it’s best in memory - an orange he sliced: the skin unbroken, then the knife, the chilled wedge lifted to my mouth, his mouth, the thin membrane between us, the exquisite orange, tongue, orange, my nakedness and his, the way he pushed my body against the fridge. Beside the stove we ate an orange. And there were purple flowers on the table. And we still had hours.

- Kim Addonizio, Stolen Moments.

Coleman Hawkins & Ben Webster - La rosita
Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster (1957)
Smokey & Miho - Consolação
The two ep’s (Os Afro Sambas / 2002)
Dexter Gordon - Love for Sale
Go! (1962)
Stanley Turrentine - Wave
Blue note plays Jobim (2005)
Caetano Veloso - Manhata
Livro (1999)
Gato Barbieri - Tupac Amaru
Fenix (Flying dutchman / 1971)

A second bossa-jazz playlist to be joined with my previous post: ‘plum bamboo pine‘. I have to note that most of the music on this two playlists comes from posts that squashed made around summer 2006 and got lost in the motel archives. The songs are too good to pass and lately they’ve been rather good companions for lonely summer evenings so I decided to bring them back from the grave and add a little bit from my collection to the mix.

Image: Inca Pan.

A short playlist with some latin and jazz influences for a relaxed evening with your favorite pets and gin cobblers.

Yusef Lateef - The Plum Blossom
Eastern sounds (Prestige / 1961)
Nina Simone - See-line Woman
Broadway-blues-ballads (1964)
Kenny Burrell - Moon and Sand
Moon and sand (Concorde / 1979)
Dorothy Ashby - Lonely girl
Afro-harping (1968)
Fortin-Léveillé - Soleil
Soleil (e.d.p. / 1997)
Jorge Ben - Oba la vem ela
Forca Bruta (dusty groove /1970)

Anyone who falls in love is searching for the missing pieces of themselves. So anyone who’s in love gets sad when they think of their lover. It’s like stepping back inside a room you have fond memories of, one you haven’t seen in a long time.

- Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the shore.

Q: What other kinds of misconceptions about electronic music are there?

It’s enormously misunderstood by people who play conventional music or who play conventional instruments. It’s not justified. There’s just not aware. They’re threatened by it and they don’t consider it to be as valuable as what they do with their more traditional form of creating sound and music. It’s an old story. It especially relates to jazz, I imagine for rock people, it’s the same idea.

People are afraid of things they don’t understand. They don’t know how to relate. To them, it threatens their security, their existence, their career, image. Miles Davis was someone who wasn’t afraid of that. He fully embraced those possibilities and delved into it. He was criticized heavily from the jazz side. He was supposed to be part of a tradition but he didn’t consider himself part of a tradition. He considered himself a person who was just trying to experience things and evolve. Evolve is the key. People who are smart enough to do that or are willing to try will embrace these ideas as new things and encouraging things and a new world. So whoever will want to be in that new world will be open and think about it and make an effort. And the people who feel that what they do is precious and in the tradition and preserving an art form, which is all complete rubbish, they’ll not. They’ll stick to what they believe and think it’s all cold and non-human. There’s as much musicality, artistry and genius and vision in the turntablist as there is in an alto saxophone player. You just have to have your mind ready to accept that. That’s the new mind, not one who’s in the past. - Bill Laswell interview, 04/2000

.

” DnB vs. Jazz ”

01. Charles Mingus - Myself When I Am Real
Mingus Plays Piano: spontaneous compositions and improvisations (1963)
02. Venetian Snares - Kétsarkú Mozgalom
Rossz Csillag Allat Született (Planet Mu, 2005)
03. Brian Eno/Jah Wobble - Spinner
Spinner (Allsa, 1997)
04. Four Tet - The Butterfly Effect
Dialogue (Output Recordings, 1999)
05. Miles Davis - On the corner (Subterranean channel ”Bill Laswell” mix)
Panthalassa: The Remixes (1999)
06. The Third Eye Foundation - For All The Brothers And Sisters
You Guys Kill Me (Merge Records, 1998)
07. Derek Bailey - Concrete (cement-mix)
Guitar, drums ‘n’ bass (Avant Japan, 1997)
08. Bela Bartok - No.34 Farewell: Adagio/No.35 Ballad: Moderato
Bartók for Children (Naxos, 2005)
09. Venetian Snares - Circle Pit
Detrimentalist (Planet Mu, 2008)

note: A small side not to this blog entry: “at least some thorny, complex, difficult-to-understand pieces are beautiful and profound, and those listeners who come to know them well derive immense pleasure from them. (DJA) ”

This list is a behind envelop sketch. In one corner jazz attempts to free itself from limistation of form while still connecting to its root, in another corner DnB tendency to cram ever more dense pattern, trying to escape its dance functionality. How fast can everything go? Is it still enjoyable, or listenable even? Finally, do I even care about the sound. does it emote instead of rambling noise?

Well, since it’s a quickie sketch. I get to pick the best tracks I have in my HD. Only allowing varied rhythm, I tried to imagine what will Miles Davis would do to reign DnB rough and jagged drum sampling to paint elegant blues mood. Interesting things happens trying to keep the whole thing together before flying apart. Obviously DnB puts complex drum sampling in the foreground in place of melodic instruments. at the end I don’t even try, I just put different tracks with wide texture contrast, something DnB is good at. See? There is use for playing largo piece very well after all.

Anyway, all tracks are favorite MdM artists that everybody is familiar with, so in case the list fails to answer questions, at least it’s a parade of great recent electronic works. All hail Venetian Snares.

Enjoy the night jazzy DnB list.

see also: Variation 1
image: multiple x’s