Wagun
Sokol / Brasby
Glitch Beats
Having established
themselves as Rochester’s finest DJ duo with their Profiles release, DJs Wagun and Brasby (known collectively as
Discolobos) have decided to split, ร la Outkast, into their respective identities
and release two solo albums that demand your immediate attention. But while
Outkast tries to maintain a unified appearance while sounding anything but,
Wagun and Brasby’s solo joints offer valuable insights into the sounds that are
pieces of Discolobos’ whole.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Wagun’s Sokol is breezy and light, a soulful little joint that includes
collaborations with “Discolobos’ newest discovery” Ellis and the city’s finest
freestyler, Hasaan. Brasby has an album of darker, more atmospheric tracks,
most featuring the aforementioned Ellis and appropriately called Glitch Beats. With Wagun’s earthiness
and Brasby’s synthetic tinkering, Discolobos has become more than simply the
sum of its parts.
— Tim Goodwin
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Raise Your Spirit Higher/Wenyukela
Heads Up
When Paul Simon
traveled to South Africa to record Graceland in the mid-1980s, no shortage of controversy erupted over his appropriation of
the music of another culture. But if Simon had not made that record, would the
rest of the world ever have come to know the wonders of Joseph Shabalala and
his wonderful group? Ladysmith Black Mambazo is so rich in its harmonic
language and so varied in its textures and timbres, it makes just about every
other a cappella group sound stilted. And the group’s magic goes well beyond
singing; clicks, purrs, buzzes, and percussive sounds connect the music to an
ancient past somehow kept alive through the generations.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Wenyukela, a Zulu term meaning
“raise your spirit higher,” is an appropriate title for an album full of songs
that urge world harmony and perseverance in the face of adversity. Although
many of the tunes are not sung in English, the sound is so beautiful, so
resonant and universal, that the message comes through.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The struggle of black South Africans
over their entire modern history is a powerful undercurrent throughout, but
this album contains an added dimension of endurance. In the summer of 2002, the
violence that has permeated his country directly affected Shabalala when a masked
gunman killed his wife in a church parking lot. “Tribute,” the album’s final
tune, may seem out of place, but this brief hip-hop cut, sung by Shabalala’s
grandsons, is dedicated to the memory of their grandmother.
— Ron Netsky
Count Basie and His Orchestra
America’s #1 Band: The Columbia Years
Columbia Legacy
When a musician leads
great bands for half a century, recording hundreds of albums for dozens of
labels, it’s not easy to come up with a comprehensive box set. But throughout
Count Basie’s career many of his most significant recordings were made for
Columbia Records. Assembled by veteran producer Orrin Keepnews, the four discs
in this collection are packed with 90 excellent performances by Basie and
bandmates that constitute a Who’s Who of jazz. A shortlist of the greats:
Lester Young, Jo Jones, Freddie Green, Clark Terry, Wardell Gray, Don Byas… You
get the idea.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย They’re all here in big-band and
small-group settings, with the latter being less familiar and particularly fascinating.
The 1936 small group that leads off the set allows plenty of room for solos by
Basie, Young, Carl “Tatti” Smith on trumpet, and vocalist Jimmy Rushing. This
disc also includes the first (1939) recording of “Lester Leaps In.” An octet
rendition of “One O’Clock Jump” and Freddy Green’s signature guitar strum
enliven the second disc. By disc three the big band is in full swing with Harry
Edison in the trumpet section, Lucky Thompson among the saxes, and Shadow
Wilson on drums, playing great arrangements of tunes like “Ain’t It the Truth.”
The last disc, composed of live radio broadcasts, is highlighted by three songs
(two by the Gershwin brothers) with guest vocalist Billie Holiday.
— Ron Netsky
Boss Martians
The Set-Up
MuSick Records
Slick and tight pop
meets punk enthusiasm in the garage on the Boss Martians’ new platter, The Set-Up. Often associated with the
bloated garage idiom, this Seattle band is more of a real good,
bar-chord-friendly power-pop band than the fuzz-mongers they rub elbows with.
When I spun “Oh Angela” and “Run And Hide,” I could’ve sworn it was Elvis
Costello. I suppose it’s the B-3 that shows up throughout the disc that makes
folks draw that rootsy conclusion. If you like slick, fast, poppy, and catchy,
then dig The Boss Martians.
— Frank De Blase
This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2003.
