DBDBD NY – cross-cultural on-line magazine – believes based on the view that music and community are indivisible that a social awareness can be fostered through music.
Artist: Kmang Kmang Title: Drifting Label: self release Genre: classical guitar music with a good dose of jazz and instrumental fusion
“The most important thing is that it’s viscerally powerful,” states Barmey Ung, the classically trained guitarist and composer behind Chicago’s avant acoustic rock collective, Kmang Kmang.“I don’t like to intellectualize things too much, and don’t like to attach meanings where there doesn’t have to be meanings. I just want the music to be aesthetically powerful.”
Artist: Amir ElSaffer and the Two Rivers Ensemble Title: Inana Label: PI Recordings Genre: Oriental Jazz/Jazz
Review by Matt Cole
Inana is a new release from Iraqi-American musician Amir ElSaffar and the Two Rivers Ensemble. ElSaffar is one of a number of musicians, notably including Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa, who are finding new and creative ways to combine modern jazz with the music of their respective cultural backgrounds. In ElSaffar’s case, the background is Iraqi Maqam, a rich tradition which is considered the most perfect form of maqam. Maqam is highly modal, and mainly melody-oriented; rhythm is fluid and harmony, like in Indian music, is secondary at best.
Venue: The Jazz Standard (NY) Date: February 21, 2012
Review by Matt Cole
On Tuesday, the 21st of February, my friend Sohrab took me to the Jazz Standard to see the 9:30 set of Amir ElSaffar’sTwo Rivers Ensemble. ElSaffar is an Iraqi-American musician, proficient on the trumpet and santur(a Middle Eastern analogue to the dulcimer), whose music is a fusion of modern jazz, traditionalIraqi maqam, and a few other odd bits thrown in (as is happily inevitable these days). The band featured Ole Mathisen on tenor sax (he never quite got to his soprano), Tareq Abboushion the buzuq, Zafer Tawil on oud and percussion, Carlo DeRosaon bass, and Tyshawn Soreyon drums.
The first piece of the evening was quite long; it almost felt like a suite. For the first five or ten minutes, the music felt a little unsettled, as if it wasn’t quite locked in, but I have a feeling that this was more due to my ears adjusting to a new and unfamiliar combination of musics. Certainly for the rest of the evening, the band was extremely tight. Each player got an extended section to take the lead, and the main theme was returned to several times between such flights. ElSaffar started the piece on santour, and switched fairly quickly to trumpet (on which he remained most of the night). The first piece was followed by what seemed to be a brief number, and then two more extended pieces. At some times, the feel of the night’s music was more of modern jazz, at others, maqam dominated, but there was never a time when both sounds weren’t in some way present. Never did it feel like a synthetic product, but rather a conversation between two traditions.
Venue: Le Poisson Rouge (NY) Date: February 16, 2012
Reviewed by Jim Hoey
On stage at a venue like Le Poisson Rouge, Marc Riboteases into a chair surrounded by his guitars, accouterments and band mates for the night (John Medeski, piano, electric keys, William Parker, bass, and Andrew Cyrille drums). Immediately, upon striking their first notes, they conjure up decades of American Jazz, Blues, and avant-garde sounds, and lead into improvisational territory that would leave many other uninitiated players far behind.
Each of these musicians assembled by Ribot for this night are masters at their own instruments, with time under their belts, and experience mixing with other fellow travelers and elders like Cecil Taylor, Rashid Ali, Derek Bailey, Milford Graves, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Caetano Veloso, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, John Zorn, and numerous others. It really can’t be understated, any one of these players could headline their own bill, draw a crowd in their own right, but together they make up a core group with tremendous chemistry, energy, and ability to anticipate what’s going to come next, so much so that the almost sold-out crowd, on this Thursday night, never tired of the spontaneity.
Artist: The Mast Title: Wild Poppies Label: Channel A Records (self released) Genre: psychedelic indie rock
Review by Dawoud Kringle
Every now and again, a CD comes my way that ends up dominating my CD player for a time. Every now and again, a body of music crosses my path that insinuates itself into my psyche, and speaks to me.
Artist: Kmang Kmang
