September 13, 2021

Album Review: Nala Sinephro- Space 1.8

September 13, 2021

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed on Sunday. In need of a pick-me-up more potent than coffee or juice, I turned to Nala Sinephro’s Space 1.8. I’d already been charmed by the London composer’s blend of new age mysticism and downtempo spiritual jazz. Could Sinephro’s “premise that sound moves matter” actually cure what ailed me? Sure enough, my discomfort eased markedly within 15 minutes. I felt fully restored by the end of the 44-minute album. Just as the apparent healing power of Space 1.8 works as a miraculous potion, it’s an artistic triumph in spite of a dubious premise. Few artists are capable of successfully combining the loopy quietism of 1980s Paul Winter with the contemporary telepathic transmissions of Flying Lotus. Yet Sinephro’s Space 1.8 is just the latest example of the magical improvised music renaissance raging in Britain.

William Brownlee

July 12, 2021

Album Review: Attacca Quartet- Real Life

William Brownlee

July 12, 2021

Original image of Summerfest concert at Atonement Lutheran Church by There Stands the Glass.

I was among the youngest of 60 devotees of chamber music at Atonement Lutheran Church for the final concert of the annual Summerfest initiative on Sunday, July 11. A rendition of Daniel Bernard Roumain’s String Quartet No. 5, Rosa Parks was among the vital works performed. The tiny audience was dominated by geriatric- albeit admirably enlightened- nonconformists. In naming its 2019 collaboration with Caroline Shaw my #9 album of the year, I verified Attacca Quartet’s exceptional ability to resonate with relative newcomers to the classical tradition. Its latest release Real Life highlights the work of electronic-leaning composers including Flying Lotus and Tokimonsta. Only the tacky opening track “Electric Pow Wow Drum” sounds contrived. Squarepusher’s distinctive contribution “Xetaka 1” is an auspicious culture clash. The album’s best track, a relatively conventional treatment of Anne Müller’s “Drifting Circles,' subtly fiddles with studio dynamics. Classical music will limp along with or without the help of Attacca Quartet. Even so, Real Life is further proof that the artistic and social constructs preventing timid people from enjoying the style should be ignored.

William Brownlee

May 13, 2021

Film Find: Les Parapluies de Cherbourg

William Brownlee

May 13, 2021

Exasperated by my obsessive investigations into arcane cultural niches, my life partner recently asked “how do you find these things?” She immediately forgets about my frequent commercial hip-hop and professional sports binges when our home is overtaken by Evan Parker’s free jazz or is monopolized by the experimental films of Bill Morrison.

With an increasingly tenuous ability to differentiate between approachable and inaccessible forms of art, I was pleasantly surprised when my partner stuck around for a screening of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg). The loopy 1964 French film is unlike anything either of us had encountered.

Sung-through by a cast of remarkably attractive actors including Catherine Deneuve, the lush color schemes captured by cinematographer Jean Rabier and director Jacques Demy are stunning. Every element of the romantic tragedy is captivating in spite of the preposterous premise.

Michel Legrand’s ingenious score circumvents seemingly inevitable disaster. I’d previously thought of Legrand only as the composer of “The Windmills of Your Mind.” No more. Having abandoned attempts to exterminate Les Parapluies de Cherbourg earworms including "Chez Dubourg" and "A L'Appartement", I added Legrand’s sublime soundtrack to my regular rotation. The film streams on YouTube here.

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The sixth episode of my In My Headache podcast is available for streaming. Aaron Rhodes and I ponder Flying Lotus’ Yasuke, Origami Angel’s Gami Gang and Ted Nugent’s 1975 debut solo album. Caveat: I remain annoyed by my collaborator’s decision to punk me with his selection of unflattering audio teasers.

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The notes I posted five days ago at Plastic Sax are still the sole published analysis of the Billie Holiday at Sugar Hill: Photographs by Jerry Dantzic exhibit at the American Jazz Museum.

William Brownlee

December 3, 2020

Don't Go Outside: The Top Albums and Songs of 2020

William Brownlee

December 3, 2020

Screenshot of Isabel Leonard in Francis Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmélites” by There Stands the Glass.

The following compendium is the result of a music obsessive finally fulfilling a lifelong fantasy of scrutinizing sound every waking hour for months on end. While the circumstances are tragic, the relentless consumption of my music of choice acts as a balm. Performances by Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Post Malone, Roddy Ricch and Luciana Souza were the most memorable concerts I attended in the opening weeks of 2020. I’ve since filled the void created by the absence of live music with a crash course in opera. I’ve watched a complete production each of the last 257 days. In the time not dedicated to composers like Philip Glass, Giacomo Puccini and Richard Wagner, I’ve obsessed over the recordings listed below. Reviews of many of the selections are published at this site and at my jazz blog Plastic Sax.

The Top 50 Albums of 2020

1. Clarice Jensen- The Experience of Repetition as Death

2. Jyoti- Mama, You Can Bet!

3. Bad Bunny- YHLQMDLG

4. Peter CottonTale- Catch

5. Jay Electronica- A Written Testimony

6. Mac Miller- Circles

7. Beatrice Dillon- Workaround

8. Jennifer Curtis and Tyshawn Sorey- Invisible Ritual

9. Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist- Alfredo

10. Gorillaz- Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez

11. Westside Gunn- Flygod Is an Awesome God 2