30 October 2003
The Swedes rule!
What an exciting time to be alive! There’s so much great music being recorded that it’s incredibly difficult to keep up with it. Nevertheless, from listening to a streaming internet radio station, I have come across an exciting new piano trio the Esbjörn Svensson Trio (or E.S.T. if you, like me, can’t pronounce Swedish).
The music is immediately intelligent, unique, bold, and pleasing. The writing and phrasing is superb (the great majority of recorded songs are original compositions), and it leaves me yearning to find more of their music. The preview tracks I’ve heard from their upcoming album Seven Days of Falling (due 05 November 2003) is enthralling. I’ve been listening to their 2002 release Strange Place for Snow nonstop since I first heard track 05 “Bound for the Beauty for the South.” They’ve got the innovation of Medeski, Martin, and Wood as well as the talent of the Brad Mehldau Trio. A few of the songs experiment with distorted bass, but it’s tastefully done and sure is a blast to listen to.
As soon as I get the CDs, I’ll be featuring them on the Classic Jazz Corner.
23 October 2003
Goodbye Elliott
The pain.
A favorite musician of mine (who I only recently “discovered” about 12 months ago) committed suicide Monday. Here is a short epitaph and biography from a fan site. He was 34 years old.
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22 October 2003
Italian cool - The Dining Rooms
Ever find a new band or album that knocks you off your feet? Well, there’s a chic band that I’ve been following for a while, The Dining Rooms, and they’ve got a new album Tre that I’ve really been digging a lot lately. The duo consists of Stefano Ghittoni and Cesare Malfetti. It’s definitely chill (picture lazy Sunday afternoon muzak), but there are 3 or 4 tracks that really groove. Especially, I’m thinking of “La Cita Nuda”, “Fluxus”, and “You”. This album is the soundtrack to my secret downtempo and laid-back life. It’s fantastic music for thos hipster parties (I’m already thinking Wine Party!). Give it a listen. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
For more information on this album and other artists in the genre, follow this link to the Italian cool.