Joshua Redman - Wish

I haven't known him, and it was a nice surprise. On an autumn morning it took a good effect on me. It's a normal jazz album, and I use this word as it doesn't have any extremity, it doesn't want to be "very somelike", etc. Normal, but from a closer view maybe nothing is normal. Jazz pieces, alternating in moods, of course, delightful songs to deeper kind of melodies. Yes, this album has other sides as well. Let's hear the third track, Make sure you're sure or We had a Sister for instance, which are quite interesting with its uncertain beauty, and a meaning which comes from another sphere. Starting with Pat Metheny's guitar part, and the first saxophone sounds set the atmosphere effectively. After it, the beautiful melancholy/mystery takes its place for the cool The deserving many. This kind of quartet works very well on this album: saxophone, guitar, bass and drums. Redman's saxophone playing adapts to the character of the songs very well, perfectly functionally, and the quartet shows different pieces of life, a colourful, delightful mass. The album also presents us with two live songs at the end of it.

So is this album a normal album? Does a normal album exist? In its unnormal normality, it has its own perfection. A nice piece of music, which can be soothing on an uncertain dark late-autumn afternoon.

Make sure you're sure:

Read more about Joshua Redman:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Redman

Camel - Moonmadness

It's always a pleasure when time passes and I get to a post which I have been waiting for for a long time. Now it's one of the best prog rock bands' best album, I think.

Camel has stood very close to my heart since I knew it. They have an interesting and very special talent - maybe just for me - that they can create friendly melodies. This word has already appeared some times in my blog, because it's important for me. When you hear this sort of melody, you feel it somehow friendly, with a good intention and feel that it plays only for you, you are that who can understand it the best.



Camel is an English progressive rock band, but not as well-known as for instance Genesis, Yes, etc., somehow, I don't know why they had a smaller fan group. Somehow they were other as well. Their music and the band is connected with space, by its covers, and the sounding, they used more electronic instruments. But the result is perfect. Moonmadness, their fourth album from 1976 is very nostalgic to me, both because the types of melodies, and because I used to listen to it a lot in my early university years. From faster, energic songs, like Another night, to the one the most beautiful songs for me, the ballad Spirit of the water this album proves again the value of the genre progressive rock, and gets 6 stars from me in the 5 stars-grade. I can't tell you anything more, it's a must-hear-piece! I share you the nicest song on the album, a Song within a song.

The official website:
http://www.camelproductions.com/

Another night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFZFclE6Ubk

Spirit of the water:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5M1AizuI9s

Song within a song:

Spirit of the water

See the lights out on the water
Come and go, to and fro
In the time it takes to find them
You can live, you can die
And nothing stops the river as it goes by
Nothing stops the river as it goes.

All alone and all together
Every day, come what may
By the time we find each other
We can live, we can die
And nothing stops the river as it flows by
Nothing stops the river as it goes.

Power of three concert review

It seems that nowadays I always get to concerts which may be the last chance for me. Chick Corea will come perhaps a few more times, but McCoy Tyner... I don't think so. Or Kraftwerk... so who knows, in a bad case, this was the last - but my newest unforgettable memory.

After the revival of Return to forever in 2008, their world tour was so succesful and great event for them, they established a trio, at the piano: Chick Corea, at the bass: Stanley Clarke, and at the drums: Lenny White. It's a quite interesting idea, because the trio plays the older jazzrock/fusion songs more softly, but this ability is highly recommended for other songs, for example standards.

The concert was excellent. We could see a real trio. Trio is always an interesting thing and can be fascinating, too, because sometimes they can create everything. Every mood, every sound, every point on the hard-soft line, and none of the trios is the same. They are all different. So Corea, Clarke and White are very accustomed to each other, it was felt very well. They played Rtf songs, Chick Corea songs, and standards as well, so the palette was exciting. I hope that our concert will be soon uploaded to the setlists/photos menu on http://www.ccwtrio.chickcorea.com/ which is the band's website. Here you can find more photos which are very expressive for me and almost talk about the atmosphere of the concerts. The last song is always Spain, one of Corea's most known pieces. There was a part in it when the audience were humming to the melody he played.

Reinventing the trio 2009:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR1VUvDGLZY

Stanley Clarke solo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDzjUQihHGg

Spain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLi9RfhbhrM

Anna Ternheim - Leaving on a mayday

It's an album from 2008 but today Verve also released it. I think because of this label Anna Ternheim's reputation will grow immediately. She's a Norwegian singer-songwriter, with a nice voice and a cool singer-songwriter style which leads us out to pop/rock: her first album, Somebody outside was released in 2004, on which we can hear the single Shoreline and To be gone which also got a place on an other album Halfway to fivepoints / Separation Road.

Her newest, Leaving on a mayday is a little bit more serious mix of songs than the earlier records. Starting with the harder What have I done, the album gets a strong inception. The arrangement also got more complex, by the strings, newer instrumental solutions and the structured vocals. For example in Terrified the deep and reverbed drums and the nice string melody make an oppisitional atmosphere which often achieve an effective result in any kind of music. The role of strings is emphasized on this album, they can be sane, beautiful and can have a faintly agressive sound.

Let it rain leads us back to the world of What have I done with its slightly monotonical and deeper base pattern to reach My heart still beats for you, which is the most silent song on the album, creating its middle point. Later, one of my favourites No, I don't remember is from that mentioned style, but we also meet Summer rain, a slow song based on a chorus, and for example, Losing you which is rather indie pop than singer-songwriter. But no one wants to set up limits for this music, it's interesting to hear these things which sometimes steps on the frontier of a genre.

Anna Ternheim also released an ep in the topic of Sinatra, on which she perform five songs by him in a very, very different way. I'm looking forward to her next projects.

No, I don't remember:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmngmHSHoS4

Black Sunday afternoon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0hd0B5ZvY4

What have I done:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8QKKlmwlOs

Anna Ternheim's website:
http://www.annaternheim.com/

Anna on Verve:
http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist/music/detail.aspx?pid=12065&aid=7351

Sound Stage Direct

While I was surfing on the Internet in the afternoon yesterday, I found an interesting online store. "Tons of vinyls" - it says, and yes, when you find it, it keeps you there for a long time. Many genres, many well-known albums, from classic lp types to unique, expensive types. The average cost is quite good. Think about it - in the topic of music there aren't too many better things than to put a record on your player. You take it out from the cover, and then from the inner sleeve. You put it on the player... push the button, the vinyl starts to circulate... the needle slowly descends and as it reaches the record and start to run in the lane, the low hissing and the scratchy sounds begin to play. Then... just the music. In its pure originality.

http://www.soundstagedirect.com/