Album Review: Field Music- Flat White Moon

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Even though my brain tells me I no longer care about “this kind” of music, my heart compels me to keep Field Music’s Flat White Moon on repeat. Listening to the titillating new album by the self-deprecating British band is like riding on a magic bus with an AM radio tuned into a station playing nothing but melody-minded rock weirdos of the 1970s. The roll call of usual suspects discloses the DayGlo sound of Flat White Moon. The influences of Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra), Ron and Russell Mael (Sparks), Bill Nelson (Be Bop Deluxe) and Todd Rundgren are present and accounted for. Those references may not mean much to younger readers. I’ll put it this way for them: should Death Cab for Cutie or Haim improve considerably they might one day create an album as rewarding as Flat White Moon.

The Alleged King of Jazz

I’m not particularly interested in condemning the overt racism and shameless cultural appropriation displayed throughout the 1930 film King of Jazz. The preposterous title of the Paul Whiteman vehicle exposes the absurdly disgraceful premise. Needless to say, little in the vaudevillian revue has aged well. Yet King of Jazz offers extremely instructive insights into the popular culture of 90 years ago. I learned a great deal when I watched it for the first time this week. The most essential segment- a visually lavish rendition of “Rhapsody in Blue”- begins with Whiteman’s terribly offensive introduction of George Gershwin’s composition at the 51:38 mark of the embedded video.

Book Review: Adam Gussow- Whose Blues? Facing Up to Race and the Future of the Music

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Prior to reading Whose Blues? Facing Up to Race and the Future of the Music, I wouldn’t have given a second thought to my enjoyment of Chris Cain’s new album Raisin' Cain.  The journeyman revives the classic sound of B.B. King with uncanny accuracy.  Yet Adam Gussaw’s searing examination of the racial aspect of the blues permanently annihilated my capacity to nonchalantly indulge in such simple pleasures.

The implications of a white American- no matter how talented or well-intentioned- reworking a black art form inextricably linked to oppression of African Americans is fraught with complication.  While I was initially resistant to Gussaw’s assertions, his profound personal experiences and exacting scholarship convinced me that unmindful appreciation of blues power is morally irresponsible.

Gussaw lays out cases for the competing claims about the music.  The proprietary “black bluesist” camp is diametrically opposed to the historically agnostic and ostensibly colorblind “blues universalists.”  The extensive research Gussaw references makes it clear neither side has it entirely right.  Whites encouraged and contributed to the development of the music from the onset.

In addition to discrediting the commonly held notion that the blues was forged on Mississippi plantations, Gussow mocks the rockist mythology that elevated Robert Johnson from a virtual unknown into an iconic figure.  Obviously, the cultural appropriation he documents recurred in additional forms including jazz, rock, soul and hip-hop.

While he generally treads lightly, Gussaw sometimes can’t hold back.  He openly mocks the tone-deaf culture of blues societies and is unable to hide his disdain for white blues artists ranging from Janis Joplin to Marcia Ball.  He suggests the likes of Aki Kumar and Komson represent the best hope for a meaningful blues revival.

More than a third of Whose Blues is dedicated to literary criticism.  Gussaw’s extensive analysis of the writings of W.C. Handy, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright and August Wilson is a surprising but welcome tangent.  Grateful for Gussaw’s insights, I’ve since picked up a Library of America anthology of Hurston’s work.

Gussaw would almost certainly be pleased by my interest in Hurston, but he’d surely find fault in my inability to adjust my sincere affection for the music made by white boogie-crazed blooze-rock stalwarts in Kansas City.  Most of these artists are so far removed from the blues tradition that reflective self-authentication would be pointless.  Should Gussaw analyze this thriving subgenre, I suggest he title the book What Blues?: The Whitewashing of America’s Musical Roots.

Album Review: Max Richter- Voices 2

Original image of a portion of Jose Vela Zanetti’s mural at the United Nations by There Stands the Glass.

I’m a Prius-driving, The New York Times-subscribing liberation theologist. Even so, I detest getting preached at by sanctimonious do-gooders. That’s why Max Richter’s Voices, an ambitious 2020 album dedicated to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, repels me. Voices 2 rectifies the heavy-handed blunder with predominantly instrumental pieces based on the same theme. As a committed fan of the British composer, I’m swayed by the subtler versions of the purposeful music on selections like "Prelude 2".

Album Review: Signum Saxophone Quartet- Echoes

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World Saxophone Quartet was a favorite among critics for publications like The Village Voice when I first committed to becoming conversant in improvised music.  In the pre-internet era, terrestrial jazz radio was almost as stiflingly conservative as it is today.  I was forced to imagine the sounds made by the collective of Hamiet Bluiett, Julius Hemphill, Oliver Lake and David Murray.

While my guesswork was entirely illogical, I was surprised at the sparseness of the music when I finally heard a World Saxophone Quartet recording.  The lush sound of Echoes, the Signum Saxophone Quartet album released by Deutsche Grammophon in January, is more in keeping with what I’d expected.

Cellist Hila Karni joins the quartet on a breathtaking arrangement of Max Richter’s popular “On the Nature of Daylight” and Paul Hindemith’s melancholy “Trauermusik: IV. Choral.”  A serene cover of Joep Beving’s “Ab Ovo” further validates Signum’s overt crossover bid.  The voice of Grace Davidson fills out an interpretation of Gabriel Faure’s “Pie Jesu.”

Signum’s repertoire spans centuries.  Echoes opens with John Dowland’s luminous “Lachrimae Antiquae” (1604) and closes with Guillermo Lago’s haunting “Ciudades: Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)” (2011), the only piece specifically written for a saxophone quartet.

In spite of their different orientations, Signum and World Saxophone Quartet aren’t terribly dissimilar.  A recent performance of selections from Echoes indicates the four Europeans are capable of brief bursts of freewheeling swing.

Having suffered through a time of comparative deprivation, I’m immensely grateful to live in an era in which the universe of recorded music that includes dozens of saxophone quartets is accessible with an internet connection.  In 2021, limiting oneself to familiar sounds is a willful act of self-harm.

Album Review: Dopolarians- The Bond

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The extended quarantine, along with the savage relentlessness of time, enhances my appreciation of past experiences.  While it didn’t seem significant 20 years ago, I’m immensely gratified I had the foresight to catch a set led by the esteemed saxophonist Kidd Jordan at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2001.  And joining an audience of a few dozen for a set by the Brian Blade Fellowship during the Kansas City Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2017 now seems like an impossibly glorious dream.

Jordan, 85, didn’t participate in the recording of The Bond, the new album led by his band Dopolarians.  And following the passing of the eminent drummer Alvin Fielder, Jr. in 2019, Blade joined saxophonist Chad Fowler, trumpeter Marc Franklin, pianist Christopher Parker, bassist William Parker and vocalist Kelley Hurt for the deeply spiritual free jazz date.

Blade and Parker are renowned masters, but their lesser known band mates in the latest version of Dopolarians are worthy collaborators.  Unlike similar recordings in which free-form vocalizing is a distracting hindrance, Hurt’s contributions enhance the sacrosanct tone.  The six culturally cognizant musicians strive for- and repeatedly attain- spiritual epiphanies.  There’s almost no chance Dopolarians will ever make an appearance in Kansas City, but I’m confident the stars will align to provide me with another unforgettable experience in a more hospitable environment.

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I catch up with three Mike Dillon albums at Plastic Sax.

Album Review: Domenico Lancellotti- Raio

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I’m slogging through Finian’s Rainbow as part of my increasingly irksome pledge to become fully conversant in musicals.  The gorgeous cinematography in the 1968 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola is the most compelling element of the jarringly dated Fred Astaire and Petula Clark vehicle.  Raio, the latest release from the Brazilian artist Domenico Lancellotti, is similarly anachronistic.  Tracks like "Vai a Serpente" sound as if the studio group Toto is further polishing the already refined songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim.  Just as Finian’s Rainbow is salvaged by stunning visuals, Raio is elevated by glittering wall-of-sound production.  Spectacular on headphones, the album has been added to my short list of audio reference recordings.  (Tip via S.A.)

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Aaron Rhodes and I yack about the latest releases from Lana Del Ray and Benny the Butcher and vehemently disagree about the merits of a 1988 album by the Business in the latest episode of our In My Headache podcast.

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Recently at the Kansas City jazz blog Plastic Sax: an audacious proposal for a specialized music streaming service and appreciation for a nice surprise from the Wild Women of Kansas City.

Album Review: Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra- Promises

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I was repeatedly reprimanded during a stimulating set by Pharoah Sanders at Blues Alley in 2015. I disregarded the prohibition on photos and my unruly enthusiasm was deemed disruptive by the staff of the refined Washington D.C. venue. I was simply unable to contain my excitement at seeing the cosmic jazz legend for the first time. The 80-year-old saxophonist continues to thrill. Promises, a new collaboration with Sam Shepherd, the British electronic musician who operates as Floating Points, is no less essential than Sanders’ work of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Rather than replicating those seminal grooves, Sanders soars through ethereal clouds of bells, bleeps and hums created by Floating Points and the London Symphony Orchestra. Vastly superior to the majority of pointy-headed third-stream endeavors, the celestial Promises is a launch pad for astral projections. Blues Alley’s bouncers no longer need to dread my return. Promises has me permanently blissed out.

Opera Show at The Concertgebouw

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Witnessing Lise Davidsen’s mesmerizing turn in the title role of the Royal Opera’s production of Beethoven’s gender-bending “Fidelio” was crucial in fostering my nascent love of the form during my virtual opera binge last year. I pegged the 34-year-old Norwegian as a contemporary artist I’d faithfully follow for the remainder of my life. In spite of its lackluster title, Davidsen’s new album Beethoven Wagner Verdi doesn’t disappoint. Her commanding voice on pieces including Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder affirm my devotion to the 6’2” soprano. On a vacation in 2011, I spent a glorious hour basking in the sun on the lawn of The Concertgebouw. With kids in tow and a train to catch, I didn’t bother to see what was playing that evening. Watching Davidsen promote Beethoven Wagner Verdi at the site in Amsterdam deepens my resolve to wheel a trek to famous European opera houses and concert halls around an appearance by Davidsen before I die.

March 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Dirk Bogarde in the trailer of Cast a Dark Shadow by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in March)

1. Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- Notes With Attachments

My review.

2. Nik Bärtsch- Entendre

Erik Satie in the NFT era.

3. Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over the Country Club

Flying high.

4. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun

My review.

5. Charles Lloyd & The Marvels- Tone Poem

Urbane hillbilly jazz.

6. Danish String Quartet- Prism III

Beethoven, Bartók and Bach.

7. Camilo- Mis Manos

The soundtrack of my imaginary spring break.

8. Gretchen Parlato- Flor

My review.

9. Arab Strap- As Days Get Dark

Everything’s getting older.

10. DJ Muggs the Black Goat- Dies Occidendum

How I could just kill a man.

Top Ten Songs (released in March)

1. Jorja Smith- “Addicted”

Rehab.

2. Denzel Curry- “Track 07” (Georgia Anne Muldrow remix featuring Arlo Parks)

Third eye open.

3. Show Me the Body- “Rubberband”

Snapped.

4. The Streets- “Who’s Got the Bag (21st June)”

Please recycle.

5. St. Vincent- “Pay Your Way In Pain”

In arrears.

6. Benny the Butcher featuring Fat Joe- “Talkin’ Back”

Lean back.

7. Loretta Lynn- "I Don't Feel at Home Anymore"

I feel like going home.

8. SZA- "Good Days"

A time to be born, and a time to die.

9. Connor Leimer- "Little Rules"

Made to be broken.

10. J Balvin- “Tu Veneno”

Poison.

Top Ten Movies (viewed for the first time in March, in lieu of live music)

1. Wings of Desire/Der Himmel über Berlin (1987)

And to think Berlin once topped my list of dream destinations.

2. Nomadland (2020)

State of the union.

3. Juliet of the Spirits/Giulietta degli spiriti (1965)

Fellini’s psychedelic depiction of middle-aged angst.

4. Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis/Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt (1927)

Eerie documentation.

5. Paris, Texas (1984)

Ennui never looked so good.

6. Milford Graves: Full Mantis (2018)

Relevant vibrations.

7. Cast a Dark Shadow (1955)

Murder most noir.

8. Sparkle (1976)

Something I can feel.

9. Judas and the Black Messiah (2020)

Big shoulders.

10. The Exterminating Angel/El ángel exterminador (1962)

Death trap.

February’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.