Jazz Alchemist votes for El Intruso 2010 Poll - Part IV

Final part of my votes for El Intruso 2010 Poll:

Bass

1. Barry Guy

2. John Edwards

3. Ingebrigt Haken-Flaten

1-The number of times the ‘Barry Guy New Orchestra” phrase appears in this list should explain why this name appears on the top.

2-The introduction to “Volume” review explains the 2 nd place.

3-For his playing with Joe McPhee on “Blue Chicago Blues” [Not Two] and with Atomic on “Theater Tilters” vol. 1 & 2 [Jazzland].

Drums

1. Paal Nilssen-Love

2. Gerald Cleaver

3. Pierre Favre

1-Paal’s duo with Ken Vandermark “Milwaukee Volume” is arguable their best release so far which says a lot. And don’t forget he’s playing with Atomic.

2-While all musicians are fantastic, Gerald’s drumming on “Searching for Adam” still amazes me.

3-I mentioned the duo concert with Samuel Blaser, Blaser’s was great, Pierre was breathtaking and the sense of melody and his light touch unbelievable – true master at work.

Possibly the most crowded category overall. Mike Pride, Tim Daisy, Frank Rosaly, Pawel Szpura, Tomas Fujiwara, Brian Willson, Michael Zerang and many others deserving a spot.

Other instruments

1. Jason Adasiewicz - vib

2. Per Ake Holmlander - tuba

3. Mattias Stahl - vib

1-Jason Adasiewcz released great “Sun Rooms” [Delmark] – a rare trio with vibraphone, bass and drums. Great sound. And he contributes to the latest Exploding Star Orchestra “Star Have Shapes” (also on Delmark)

2-Per-Ake was simply impressive on stage with Barry Guy New Orchestra and all the small line-ups of the week.

3-Mattias Stahl gives the Angles incredible and original sound that, if anything, reminds me of one of the best jazz record ever – Eric Dolpy’s “Out Lunch” with Bobby Hutcherson.

Female Vocal

1. Sainkho Namtchylak

2. Andre' Pabarciute

These votes are easily explained with the reviews presented on the blog. Sainkho is casting her usual and still effective shamanic spells on “Not Quite Songs” while Andre’ Pabarciute takes You to the centre of the earth on “Varpai”.

Male Vocal

Can’t think of any 2010 record I heard with male vocal present.

Concert Band

1. Phall Fatale

2. Angles

3. Liudas Mockunas / Eugenijus Kanevicius / Dalius Naujokaitis

I'm not really sure of the sense of this category. The best concert I attended this year was Barry Guy New Orchestra, with sets by Augusti Fernandez/Mats Gustafsson duo and Gustaffson / Guy / Strid trio coming really close. Since improvised music is really a 'live music' I'd say that any great band is first and foremost a great concert band. And with this kind of experience, sometimes the only way to have it is the concert, and the 'music' somehow is lost when recorded on a cd.

1- I decided to go with the 'fun factor'. Phall Fatale played one of the most exciting music I heard live this year (more on that in the 'newcomer band' section). 

2- Haven't heard the Angles on stage but the "Epileptical West - Live in Coimbra" assures me I would love to (as they find their spot on 'band' section). 

3- Same thing with the energetic and hardrocking music of Liudas Mockunas / Eugenijus Kanevicius / Dalius Naujokaitis trio as presented on their lp release (Liudas can be found also in “newcomer musician” category)

Record Label

1. Not Two

2. Clean Feed

3. NoBusiness

Since it's based in Krakow I am able to track Not Two's activity on a very regular basis, and I am still more impressed with the high quality and large quantities of cds he's producing. (with many cds that can be found here or in the "My Favourites 2010" list, or simply in the reviewed cds section, proving my point)

Clean Feed brings to the world some of the most striking music again and again, with both quantity and quality being there. Angles and Full Throttle Orchestra cds are just a tip of the iceberg.

NoBusiness managed to create an impressive catalogue in very short span of time and they mantain the quality they began with (like the staggering David S. Ware "Live in Vilnius" double lp) slowly increasing the quantity of the discs released. They bring a lot of new names to Your attention, as well as re-release some of the long-gone music (Amalgam, Muntu, Commitments, Atomic) and they keep alive the vinyl fetish among jazz lovers.

Honorable mention goes to Multikulti and Laurence Family, with very modest catalogue (6 cd releases by Multikulti, double-lp by Laurence Family) but "Hera" and "Passion" alone prove the quality of their releases.

Now the whole list is available, I'm waiting to see how the general voting will turn out. Comments section is all Yours!

Sainkho Namtchylak - Not Quite Songs (with Nick Sudnick) / Terra (with Wolfgang Puschnig, Paul Urbanek) [Leo]

(polish readers can find this review written in polish on impropozycja here)


Sainkho Namtchylak, I hope, needs little introduction. Her enormous range and throat singing technique that allows her to use aliquots (Tuva) combined with her artistic sensibility make her voice a tool of limitless expression. Whether given record belongs to folk music, free improvisation (like great records with Evan Parker or Peter Kowald) or flirts with indie-pop electronica a’la Bjork (“Stepmother City”). Sainkho can cast spells with her voice, beginning with angel-like, charming lyricism (high-register, oriental scales, nasal, asia-sounding timbre) ending with wild passion (cries, screeches, clicks, growls). Everything from sounds of butterfly-like lightness to those that (defying gravity) come from some deep, dark hollows, sounding like all kinds of alien creatures (with, sorry for the triviality of this association, Jabba from the Star Wars on the front). Sainkho weaves her shamanic tales not afraid of extreme measures but her voice can also lull You gently and bring to land full of dreams. Her singing is so characteristic, it’s easily the greatest, constant value of all of her recordings (which means also, that if You didn’t like it on earlier recordings, these presented here will not persuade You in her favor either) what is still changing though is the context. Her esoteric, exotic singing paired (contrasted) with various music stylistics and elements can produce effects that are fresh and surprising. This ‘context’ is a key term in case of two recent recordings released (as many previous by Sainkho) by Leo Records.

Not Quite Songs

Sainkho Namtchylak – voice

Nick Sudnick – electro-acoustic objects, reeds, accordion, composition

Leo Records 2010

“Not Quite Songs” is a duo project – Sainkho sings (although this term seems inadequate to describe the phenomenon presented), Nick Sudnick uses instruments of vast variety, constructing electronic loops as playing on live instruments. As the title suggests, those are ‘not quite songs’, but songs nevertheless, short and focused forms (between 3 and 6 mins, 15 numbered tracks entitled “Play”). Many will have trans groove, bass lines and quirky rhythms that remind me of some works by Tom Waits, though this association is very loose, similarly to remembering some of the world music fascination sounds presented by Peter Gabriel (“Play 13”). Other “not quite songs” are full of slowly sounding off gongs and strange eerie sounds, as enigmatic as the description of instruments played by Nick Sudnick is (see above). All those entangled sounds are completed by Sainkho’s vocal shamanism, menacing or lyrical, contrasting or blending with the instruments (voice and some string instrument in “Play 5” are hardly recognizable from each other, or for that matter, as voice and bowed string). It’s tribal, hypnotic, the modern appeal of the music doesn’t change its primal, ritual character (listen to mechanic, industrial noises of “Play 6”). This music is full of pre-civilized world, magical order, combining ancient and modern, meditative rhythm-less fluency (“Play 12” with its ambient-like soundscapes) and trans-hipnotic groove, avant-garde electronic with ethnic instruments, computer-created frames sequences with unpredictability of improvisation, nature and culture. I could go on with this kind of dichotomies so to make it short: treat for everyone who, like Sainkho, likes to ‘travel between the words”.

Terra

Sainkho Namtchylak – voice

Wolfgang Puschnig – reeds

Paul Urbanek – piano

Leo Records 2010 

“Terra” was recorded by a trio (names above). Project’s idea was to present Saikno’s singing in suprising – mainstream context (not that the trio’s instrumental setting is typical but playing is definitely mainstream). Her orient melodic lines interweaves charmingly with piano (that unfortunately sticks to backup role, sometimes with romantic tinges, other times with this late night piano jazz club feeling – eg. “Terra 4”). I can easily pass by the bit hackneyed  piano playing (bluesy phrases and bass walking of left hand combined with vocal acrobatics by Sainkho can still create intriguing whole). The album though is ruined in my ears by Wolfgang’s playing. While the flute completes nicely the ethnic features of “Terra 1” or “Terra 2” (contrasting with piano), the tone of his sax, almost every time it appears, beginning with third track (surprise surprise – “Terra 3”), just brings the whole thing down, sweet, sugary, smooth, no risk, no claw, sound of soul-jazz filtred by pop world music (especially “Terra 3” and “Terra 5”). While Sainkho’s singing remains strong, the music is too close to soothing, melodic triviality. Initially intriguing setting of ethnic voice and melodic accompaniment (like lullaby intro of “Terra 5”) doesn’t hold for long, it’s all nice, and pretty but, after couple of listens, also tiresome. The album is uneven and, unfortunately, not very successful – fans of Sainkho will probably be put off by the whole sweetness, those looking for smooth will be put off by some of her more adventurous vocal escapades.

Fans will probably want to check both releases but I would recommend only the first one to more casual listeners.