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Jazz-Influenced Electronic Music


Guy Berger

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So I have frequented the organissimo board for something like four years now without ever posting (figured I would leave it up to the experts). However, there are a couple of albums I feel that I absolutely MUST introduce to this thread as my first-ever post.

Fuga by Ricci Rucker (Alpha Pup, 2005) stands as one of my all-time favorite albums, of any genre. I have read it described as a "free-jazz Endtroducing...," and while that description may not be entirely accurate, it as about as good as any I can come up with. More importantly, the music itself is as amazing as that comparison would lead you to believe. Rucker started out in typical DJ fashion by collecting samples of various records to create the skeleton of the album. He gave this to a group of jazz musicians, who used it as a point of departure for their own improvisations. Then he pressed the results to vinyl for his own scratching, sequencing, ect. It all sounds like musical masturbation, but it's more like forward-thinking instrumental hip-hop/electronica resting on a bed of real instrumentation and surprisingly sincere playing. Much of it recalls the cosmic-sounding Third World-influenced records of Don Cherry and Pharoah Sanders. "4004" is like a futuristic hip-hop take on early 70s Circle records like the Quartet Pieces. There are other sounds as well -- "Do You See the Pattern?" combines church-y organ with Islamic chanting -- but jazz and free-jazz predominate. I cannot over-emphasize the lack of beats (or at least conventional "beats" as most people know them). In fact, the record at one point turns into a kind of Jaco/Squarepusher fretless bass-like section that noodles atmospherically for several minutes with no beat (or other overt manipulations) to be found. But through it all, you never lose sight of the fact that you are listening to a 2005 "electronica" record: 21st century technology minus the negative connotations of an ADD-addled generation.

Another record I loved last year was Kieran Hebden (from Four Tet) and Steve Reid -- The Exchange Sessions (Domino, 2006). Don't be deterred by the lukewarm-to-negative reviews: Reid provides something of a clinic in hypnotic African-influenced drumming, while Hebden incorporates all manner of free-jazz squeals and skronks into his glitchy electronic universe. Imagine Four Tet in a more challenging, open-ended context, one where our normal concept of time seems to stretch out, and you'll have some idea of the sound on these two CDs. "Noémie," on the second (and superior) CD, is one of my all-time favorite tracks. Sounding not unlike early 70s Alice Coltrane in its edgier take on sounds more generally associated with New Age, it builds deliberately from a Zen-like Asiatic influence into a frenetic noise exploration, all revolving around a flute sample that sounds by turns delicate and menacing (and sometimes like more than one flute freely improvizing at once). It is, in my opinion, a must-hear for anyone who appreciates this type of sound.

And Guy, based on seeing some of your posts, I think you will appreciate these (particularly Ricci Rucker) if you haven't already found them.

Edited by freeform83
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So I have frequented the organissimo board for something like four years now without ever posting (figured I would leave it up to the experts). However, there are a couple of albums I feel that I absolutely MUST introduce to this thread as my first-ever post.

...

And Guy, based on seeing some of your posts, I think you will appreciate these (particularly Ricci Rucker) if you haven't already found them.

freeform -- thanks for the rec. And given the quality of your first few posts, I'm glad you stopped lurking!

Guy

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I think I posted over in the Thirsty Ear thread that I'm no big fan... all hyped up, mostly, imho.

As for Rune Grammofon, I only have one disc that I found in a sales bin after having seen a compelling live show by Supersilent. This one's recommended!

320_19.jpg

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Guest donald petersen

some of the stuff joe mcphee did with computer nerd (i am assuming) john snyder is pretty cool...bahamian folk song, especially. check it out on "the willsau concert" from 1975.

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Chiming in to add emphasis to Donald's recommendation in the last post. The Willisau Concert is some heavy stuff--it has some Makaya Ntshoko on it (drummer for the Jazz Epistles, Abdullah Ibrahim, some Johnny Dyani...) , too, which ties together the electronics and skronk quite eloquently. A lot of McPhee's music, dealing as it does with both deep groove and noise/sound exploration, operates along the lines of contemporary electronica (and the free epigone as well--i.e., Thirsty Ear if you follow this thread, although I'm fond of at least some of Shipp's more improv-centric Blue Series sides).

Any mention of Madlib yet? I suppose the elements that really distinguish his production work hew more toward matters of source material (i.e., Otis Jackson as more strictly, baroquely "jazz-centric") than the mechanisms and results of his efforts per se. I find myself listening more the Untinted compilation than I do Shades of Blue--the former a glorified mix tape, the latter his much-ballyhooed let's-raid-the-Blue Note-archives album from a couple years back--although I've derived enjoyment from both at different points in time. I'd say that his somewhat more esoteric Yesterdays New Quintet albums, which mine similar sonic territory, are ultimately more mysterious, creatively (production-wise) "swinging", and satisfying--if only because the experimentation is more aggressive and the project isn't tethered to any sanctified repertoire, if you catch my drift (though if you listen hard enough, you can still hear samples from the same old sources).

Edited by ep1str0phy
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My favorite Thirsty Ear CD in the Matthew Shipp series is easily EQUILIBRIUM with Khan Jamal on vibes. It ALMOST feels like a worthy successor to the classic 60s vibes/piano quartet records on Blue Note, a kind of 21st century/futuristic update -- but not quite. The grooves/beats sound overly simplistic and not very well produced, making some of the more overtly "techno" tracks annoying and, frankly, skippable. The more "ambient" side comes across much better (which seems common for Shipp). "Nebula Theory" and "Nu Matrix" are quite good. I even heard the former on Hearts of Space a few years ago. Also worth hearing from the Thirsty Ear stable is DJ Spooky's OPTOMETRY; as always, his work is a cut above the average "DJ" record, and he covers some of those same pseudo-ambient (for lack of a better term) ground with the help of Shipp. "Periphique" is the one I come back to the most, with its drifting looseness and restraint. However, this album is also far from an unqualified success. I'm not even sure I can explain why I find it lacking, but I think it comes down to an overall lack of focus and cohesion, a sense of being all of over the place, much like this video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vtBN8xdqnF0

As far as Madlib is concerned, I second the YNQ rec, but think that A TRIBUTE TO BROTHER WELDON, under the name "Monk Hughes and the Outer Realm," may be of more interest for the purposes of this thread. Despite the officially stated purpose of paying tribute to Weldon Irvine, the CD actually finds Madlib moving into free-er forms with a very early 70s Strata East feel: a seemingly infinite amount of percussion, Rhodes, and the all-important drug-induced haze. Think also in terms of the rhythm tracks on various early 70s records -- Pharaoh Sanders, Weather Report, even some early ECM stuff -- but without any horns or blowing of any kind. There are a couple of organ washes I wish were more prominant on the album. Now, I didn't recommend this initially because, well, let's just say Madlib has a lot of room to grow as a musician. I have not even listened to the Weldon CD in over a year, and probably should have before posting this. But I do recall that it relies less on samples than ANGELS WITHOUT EDGES, for a more original and organic feel. Suffice it to say, it's a surprisingly uncommercial album -- especially for one that I found in the Rap section at Border's! So you might consider picking it up.

And as long as I am posting videos, I know this is not exactly "jazz"-influenced, but it is nevertheless an example of Kid Koala at his best:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ScwI7c5iiRo

I listened to it several times a day for a while.

Edited by freeform83
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I got the sense of 60's Blue Note with Equilibrium, too, 83. When the ensemble is running at full blast and pushing a little harder rhythmically--not so involved with the conceits of the technology or the "groove" of the Blue Series format--it has the "feel" of, if not the essence of, the Andrew Hill-Bobby Hutcherson collaborations. Now, I invoke that comparison haltingly--when I first hit this board I gut into a rustle with then-akanalog over the merits of the Thirsty Ear axis, and on some level I still apprehend and will, on occasion, praise the merits of the best of that label, but it is more or less apparent that many of the apparent "innovations" of that clique aren't really innovations at all, or are at least repackagings masquerading in attractive aesthetics. Shipp < or at least not = Andrew Hill--with full due respect to both skill sets.

I enjoy Optometry here and there, but a lot of the album comes off as plodding and monochromatic. What attracted me to Spooky's work in improvisation in the first place was the practice of spontaneous interaction with real-time sampling (it works here and there on the album in question), but I've since come to terms with the fact that other people (particularly the European EAIers) have been doing it for decades and to somewhat more focused, compelling effects. I hear the traces of something genuinely new on Optometry, but it's really not quite there with Spooky and crew.

I had not attacked A Tribute to Brother Weldon after hearing enough people rag on it's formlessness (and I'm all for formlessness, but I've heard enough Madlib to know that it's not always a good think with Mr. Jackson), but hearing 83's comments I'll give it a try. I like the Strata-East connection--it's an interesting source of inspiration for a (now) relatively mainstream producer, when everyone seems to reach back to Ohio Players-level banality.

Welcome, by the way, 83...

Edited by ep1str0phy
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I found Optometry pretty boring, sorry to say. Have a friend who liked it a lot and gave it to me, but I couldn't connect with it...

I have most of Shipp's hatOLOGY releases and while they're generally ok to good and not very good or exceptional, I like them better than the Thirsty Ear releases of his I've heard.

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And as long as I am posting videos, I know this is not exactly "jazz"-influenced, but it is nevertheless an example of Kid Koala at his best:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ScwI7c5iiRo

I listened to it several times a day for a while.

:tup:tup:tup:tup:tup:tup:tup:tup:tup:tup

Yes! :tup

Bad review from Spiderman, though:

fuck u dj-get a life,make ur own music.Stick to ur bleeps and blaps.Sux my spider balls
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Another recommendation I would like to add is Unpath'd Waters (Alpha Pup, 2005) by Paris Zax. The album basically plots a down-tempo/"chill-out" course, even verging on a trip-hoppy DJ Shadow-like sound, but incorporates some jazz and avant-garde elements. Real instrumentation appears in the form of some mild bass clarinet, tenor sax, and flute playing, and Snooky Young puts in an appearance on trumpet. The last track, "One Two-One Seven," samples Eric Dolphy's (beautiful) 1963 duet with Richard Davis on "Come Sunday" (!) and ends with his famous quote about music disappearing into the air after it's played (although I am not sure as to whether the voice belongs to Dolphy). But my favorite track is "Mellow Mission," which pairs a slowed-down rap with vocal and choir samples for a sound akin to a cerebral Swisha House. The album in general avoids a lot of instrumental hip-hop/electronica cliches and employs interesting samples throughout. It's nothing earth-shattering but it's growing on me rapidly.

Incidently, Unpath'd Waters (as well as Ricci Rucker's Fuga) came out on Daddy Kev's label. I find Daddy Kev himself to be more interesting than Madlib as a jazz-obsessed hip-hop producer, in part because he often comes across as a more abstract (but also more aesthetically focused) version of Madlib. There seems to be little to no interest in the expected old-school soul and funk samples. Instead, he leans very heavily toward free jazz and even some classical, with a way of pushing beyond conventionally beat-driven tracks. The downside is that all of the albums under his name are collaborations with AWOL One, a rather annoying rapper with whom I usually lose patience after about 10 seconds. If you take the album, Slanguage (Mush, 2003), for example, there is a track called "Idiot Savant Autistic Delivery," where AWOL One is largely absent (apart from an opening interaction with a sampled spoken-word discussion of free jazz, which is actually amusing). The track goes on to combine early 70s spacey free-influenced fusion with scratched opera samples to create an amazing, otherwordly atmosphere. But then there are other tracks with just as much promise that are ruined by the seemingly inept rapping.

The bottom line here is that an instrumental Daddy Kev album is long overdue. I remember hearing a track called "Suing Sony" on a live365 station, then buying the CD Temporary Forever (Temporary Whatever, 2002) by Busdriver, and being greatly disappointed by the fact that the album version had vocals on it. Although Busdriver is a far more interesting (and competent) rapper than AWOL One, he is still much better in small doses. But to bring this full circle, Temporary Forever also features some interesting and funny production from Paris Zax.

Edited by freeform83
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Thanks to Freeform) I pulled the trigger on Monk Hughes & The Outer Realm's A Tribute to Brother Weldon (really a Yesterday's New Quintet Joint). I'm extremely impressed. It's freer, darker, more indirect than Madlib's other albums in this vein, at the same time a tighter album construction than these affairs tend to go. Whereas Shades of Blue falters toward the final few tracks, and where the somewhat more rhythmically simplistic Angles... seems to meander, A Tribute is surprisingly cohesive, unified by the sheer density, the ambition of it all.

I think the root of it is--although you can generally trace Jackson to the most obvious sources--and where obviousness falters, anonymity seems to substitute--A Tribute sort of sounds like an album of improvisation, a jazz side. It's like a less virtuosic, a less focused, but decidedly present take on Sun Ra--shambling polyrhythms, keys, corroding "sounds" and all.

...and I think he samples Ed Blackwell's work on Mu, which is just tremendous.

I also picked up a Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid collaboration--Tongues, their most recent--and I'm similarly bowled over (or maybe I've just been listening to too much "traditional" free music recently). Reid is very in the pocket on these cuts, seldom the rough dynamo that I'm familiar with (from his work with Charles Tyler), but then he preserves the sort of stone groove, simple as it appears here, that I really value in his playing. Hebden is a fine electronic musician--harmonically unintricate (and you can go nuts, really nuts, with technology of this nature) but rhythmically involving. I almost feel as if Reid has had to sacrifice his polyrhythms here, taking backseat to Hebden's work, but the end result is just fun enough for me to go looking for more...

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