Soundcheck Picks of the Week
Friday, June 12, 2009 - 07:20 AM
Listen to our weekly staff picks feature, hosted by John Schaefer. And, download a free mp3 from Mulatu Astatke and the Heliocentrics below!
Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette, Yesterdays (ECM Records)
[Amazon]
While there are many of us who wish Keith Jarrett would continue to put out those remarkable solo piano odysseys of his, most of us are happy to hear him in the standard piano trio setting too. His Standards trio, with longtime pals Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums, has just released “Yesterdays,” and it includes great old songs like “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” and a rollicking “Stella By Starlight.” In addition to the Great American Songbook writers – Jerome Kern, Rodgers & Hart, Harold Arlen – Jarrett’s trio adds a couple of true jazz standards, like Horace Silver’s “Strollin’.” The Jarrett/Peacock/Dejohnette trio has been together since 1983 – a good long stroll that continues with this new disc. --picked by John Schaefer
Hess is More, Hits (Nublu Records)
[Amazon]
Danish musician Mikkel Hess, known musically as Hess is More, calls himself the answer to both Jon Brion and The Flight of The Concords. He is a multi-instrumentalist and composer, like the first, and irreverent, like the latter. He's playful with words and also with sounds, as heard on the opener, 'Piano Waltz.' Hess is More, the band, includes Mikkel’s brother Nikolah and collaborator Jenno.--picked by Gisele Regatao
Mulatu Astatke and the Heliocentrics, Inspiration Information, Vol. 3 (Strut)
[Amazon]
Our next pick of the week is a collaboration between the Ethiopian bandleader Mulatu Astatke and a musically omnivorous British collective called the Heliocentrics. The track called 'Masenqo,' kicks off the album, and it might remind you of Astatke’s work from the Ethiopiques album series and the soundtrack to the Jim Jarmusch film Broken Flowers. The Heliocentrics, for their part, contribute a psychedelic edge and hypnotic beats (as on the song “Addis Black Widow.”) This collaboration is part of a series of collaborations sponsored by Strut Records. --picked by Joel Meyer
Download a free MP3 from Inspiration Information, Vol 3: 'Masenqo'
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