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Jul. 11th, 2014 09:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seekingferretA couple music notes, about concerts I saw a few years ago:
I saw a band a few years back that called itself "Rashanim Plus John Zorn, Greg Wall, and Frank London", playing music they labeled "Shlomo Carlebach/Fela Kuti fusion". It was amazing. They've apparently since retooled the musicians slightly and released an album as Zion80, which I give my strongest recommendation to. If you are Jewish and at all ritually involved, you know the music of Reb Shlomo, even if you don't think you do. His melodies are at the core of the modern Jewish liturgical program, even in places where his theology or cult of personality is unwelcome. Pairing it with Fela Kuti's Afrobeat rhythms and orchestrations is an unlikely pairing, but it brings out all the joyousness of both musical traditions- as one reviewer I read said, the thing linking both musicians is that they found the universal by seeking the particular. Zion80 inverts that, uncovering something very particular by way of a universalist fusion. [I should probably put together a more general note on Reb Shlomo's music one of these days.]
http://www.amazon.com/Zion80-Jon-Madof/dp/B00BJ60L9Y/
I saw a band a few years back called Puss N Boots, opening for Doveman. I was there mostly for Doveman, but it didn't hurt that internet rumor said that despite billing to the contrary, Puss N Boots featured Norah Jones in disguise. Doveman's show was excellent, as was another opening performance by Sam Amidon, but a few years on, the most memorable part of the show remains a bewigged Norah Jones playing classic country on the guitar with two talented musicians flanking her. Their cover of Johnny Cash's "Cry, Cry, Cry" was one of the most moving live performances I've ever seen. The group is now releasing an album, which I can add along with the Little Willies' album and El Madmo's album to my small collection of weird Norah Jones side project albums.
http://www.amazon.com/No-Fools-Fun-Amazon-Exclusive/dp/B00KO73S6W
Both of these were phenomenal live shows that I'm glad now have a recorded version I can spread the word about.
I saw a band a few years back that called itself "Rashanim Plus John Zorn, Greg Wall, and Frank London", playing music they labeled "Shlomo Carlebach/Fela Kuti fusion". It was amazing. They've apparently since retooled the musicians slightly and released an album as Zion80, which I give my strongest recommendation to. If you are Jewish and at all ritually involved, you know the music of Reb Shlomo, even if you don't think you do. His melodies are at the core of the modern Jewish liturgical program, even in places where his theology or cult of personality is unwelcome. Pairing it with Fela Kuti's Afrobeat rhythms and orchestrations is an unlikely pairing, but it brings out all the joyousness of both musical traditions- as one reviewer I read said, the thing linking both musicians is that they found the universal by seeking the particular. Zion80 inverts that, uncovering something very particular by way of a universalist fusion. [I should probably put together a more general note on Reb Shlomo's music one of these days.]
http://www.amazon.com/Zion80-Jon-Madof/dp/B00BJ60L9Y/
I saw a band a few years back called Puss N Boots, opening for Doveman. I was there mostly for Doveman, but it didn't hurt that internet rumor said that despite billing to the contrary, Puss N Boots featured Norah Jones in disguise. Doveman's show was excellent, as was another opening performance by Sam Amidon, but a few years on, the most memorable part of the show remains a bewigged Norah Jones playing classic country on the guitar with two talented musicians flanking her. Their cover of Johnny Cash's "Cry, Cry, Cry" was one of the most moving live performances I've ever seen. The group is now releasing an album, which I can add along with the Little Willies' album and El Madmo's album to my small collection of weird Norah Jones side project albums.
http://www.amazon.com/No-Fools-Fun-Amazon-Exclusive/dp/B00KO73S6W
Both of these were phenomenal live shows that I'm glad now have a recorded version I can spread the word about.