May 12, 2008
Allan Holdsworth/ Gordon Beck - The Things You See (JMS)
Posted by at 12:11 PM
This classy guitar and piano duet from 1980 is quite an anomalous outing in Allan Holdsworth's career as it contains rather unusual elements even for such a pathfinder. For starters, two rarities: the acoustic guitar, an instrument certainly not loved by the Leeds virtuoso due to lack of sustain, is vastly utilized throughout - and in "At The Edge" our man sings, with lovely results. There's also a bit of conceptual continuity involved: the title track will re-appear in I.O.U. (1982), its vocal line directly taken from the above mentioned "At The Edge", while the record's opener "Golden Lakes" is a delicate tune from Igginbottom's Wrench (1969), another item that the author plainly hates, which happens with practically everything released until last week (famously, he threw very harsh words against John Stevens after the drummer published their sessions, despite Holdsworth's request to the contrary).
On the opposite front, Beck offers proof of a monstrous digital dexterity most everywhere, all the more noteworthy given that his flurries and articulations remain on the comprehensible side of things even for listeners not really well-versed in jazz. Beck had been a Holdsworth partner since a few years prior (they recorded Sunbird in 1979 with Aldo Romano and Jean-François Jenny-Clark). To this day the cross-pollination of Bill Evans-like lyricism, blues and quasi-atonal juggling – the latter finding a decisive demonstration in "Diminished Responsibility" – constitutes a functional complement for the guitarist's absurdly complicated yet always falling-in-place lines.
Refined, crystalline music that regularly needs to be attentively revisited, although I'm sure that one of the two parties involved would surely disagree.
~Massimo Ricci
May 2008
Allan Holdsworth/ Gordon Beck - The Things You See (JMS) - 12 May 08
Sonny Red - Out of the Blue (Blue Note) - 04 May 08
April 2008
Udi Hrant Kenkulian (Traditional Crossroads) - 27 Apr 08
Nico - Desert Shore (Reprise) - 21 Apr 08
Joe Morris Trio - Flip & Spike (Riti) - 13 Apr 08
Heiner Goebbels - The Man in the Elevator (ECM) - 06 Apr 08
Bud Freeman - 1928-1938 (Classics) - 01 Apr 08
March 2008
Richie Cole/Hank Crawford - Bossa International (Milestone) - 23 Mar 08
Booker Ervin - Structurally Sound (Blue Note) - 17 Mar 08
Steve Hillage - Fish Rising (Virgin) - 09 Mar 08
Jimi Hendrix - Morning Symphony Ideas (Dagger) - 02 Mar 08
February 2008
Andrew Liles - The Dying Submariner: A Concerto for Piano and Reverberation in Four Movements (Beta-Lactam Ring) - 24 Feb 08
Mose Allison - 17 Feb 08
Ortiz Montaigne - Art of the Bass Viol (Ath) - 10 Feb 08
Ornette Coleman - The Empty Foxhole (Blue Note) - 03 Feb 08
January 2008
Carl Clements - Forth and Back (Saraswati Productions) - 27 Jan 08
John Coltrane - First Meditations (Impulse) - 20 Jan 08
Jim Fassett - Symphony of the Birds (Em) - 13 Jan 08
Harry "Sweets" Edison - Simply Sweets (Pablo) - 06 Jan 08
December 2007
Link Wray & the Raymen - Mr. Guitar (Norton) - 30 Dec 07
T-Model Ford - Pee Wee Get My Gun (Fat Possum) - 23 Dec 07
Taj Mahal Travellers - August 1974 (P-Vine) - 16 Dec 07
Songs of the Old Regular Baptists (Smithsonian/Folkways) - 09 Dec 07
Vienna Philharmonic/Pierre Boulez - Mahler: Symphonie No. 6 (Deutsche Grammophon) - 02 Dec 07
November 2007
Big Joe Williams - These Are My Blues (Testament) - 25 Nov 07
Dave Holland - Emerald Tears (ECM) - 18 Nov 07
Seventh Wave - Psi-Fi (Janus) - 11 Nov 07
Barney Kessel - Feeling Free (Contemporary) - 04 Nov 07
October 2007
Joe Maphis - Fire on the Strings (Columbia) - 28 Oct 07
Various - Bix Restored: Volume 5 (Origin Jazz Library) - 21 Oct 07
Earl Hooker - There’s a Fungus Amung Us (Red Lightnin’) - 14 Oct 07
Frank Zappa/Captain Beefheart - Bongo Fury (Rykodisc) - 08 Oct 07
September 2007
Keith Jarrett - Changeless - 30 Sep 07
George Antheil -Ballet Mechanique (EMF Media) - 23 Sep 07
Billie & DeDe Pierce - Blues and Tonks From the Delta (Riverside) - 16 Sep 07
Jethro Tull - A Passion Play (Chrysalis) - 09 Sep 07
Jack Owens & Buddy Spires – It Must Have Been the Devil (Testament) - 02 Sep 07
August 2007
Karlheinz Stockhausen - Mikrophonie I and II, Telemusic (Stockhausen-Verlag) - 26 Aug 07
Buzzcocks - Operators Manual (EMI) - 19 Aug 07
John Coltrane - Olé Coltrane (Atlantic) - 12 Aug 07
Pepper Adams - Julian (Enja) - 05 Aug 07
July 2007
David Byrne/Brian Eno - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (Nonesuch) - 29 Jul 07
Maneri/ Phillips/ Maneri - Angles of Repose (ECM) - 22 Jul 07
Carla Bley/Jazz Composers Orchestra - Escalator over the Hill (ECM) - 15 Jul 07
Mustafa Kandirali (Traditional Crossroads) - 09 Jul 07
United States of America - S/T (Sundazed) - 01 Jul 07
June 2007
Max Roach 4 - Plays Charlie Parker (Verve) - 24 Jun 07
Lee Konitz - Lone-Lee (Steeplechase) - 18 Jun 07
Anthony Braxton Quartet - 12 compositions Oakland 1993 (Music and Arts) - 10 Jun 07
Various - Dig These Blues, the Legendary Dig Masters - 03 Jun 07
May 2007
Yes - Tales from Topographic Oceans (Rhino/Atlantic) - 27 May 07
Ken Nordine - Colors (Asphodel) - 20 May 07
Miles Davis - Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel (Sony) - 13 May 07
The Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama - Oh Lord- Stand By Me/ Marching Up to Zion (Specialty) - 06 May 07
April 2007
Andrew Hill - Strange Serenade (Soul Note) - 29 Apr 07
Joe Henderson - In Japan (Milestone) - 15 Apr 07
Leroy Jenkins’ Driftwood - The Art of Improvisation (Mutable Music) - 08 Apr 07
Huey Lewis & the News - Sports (Chrysalis) - 01 Apr 07
March 2007
Tom Waits - Small Change (Elektra) - 26 Mar 07
Bad Brains - The Youth are Getting Restless (Caroline) - 18 Mar 07
Charles Mingus - Jazz Portraits aka Mingus in Wonderland (Blue Note) - 11 Mar 07
Spontaneous Music Ensemble - Quintessence (Emanem) - 04 Mar 07
February 2007
Jelly Roll Kings - Rockin' the Juke Joint Down (Earwig) - 25 Feb 07
Cecil Taylor - Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come (Revenant) - 18 Feb 07
Crusaders - 1 (Blue Thumb) - 11 Feb 07
Can - Monster Movie (Mute) - 04 Feb 07
January 2007
David Bowie – Bowie at the Beeb (Virgin) - 28 Jan 07
Alice Coltrane - Universal Consciousness (Impulse) - 21 Jan 07
Billy Harper - Awakening (Marge) - 14 Jan 07
Assif Tsahar - Solitude (Hopscotch) - 07 Jan 07
December 2006
Hugh Masekela – The Boy’s Doin’ It (Verve) - 31 Dec 06
Ira Sullivan - "Bird Lives!" (Vee-Jay) - 24 Dec 06
Chet Baker – Lonely Star (Prestige) - 17 Dec 06
Bela Bartok - Complete Solo Piano Music (Vox) - 10 Dec 06
Lou Reed - Ecstasy (Reprise) - 03 Dec 06
November 2006
Sylvia Hallett -White Fog (Emanem) - 26 Nov 06
Kenny Dorham - Matador/Inta' Somethin' (Blue Note) - 19 Nov 06
Picchio Dal Pozzo - Abbiamo Tutti Suoi Problemi (RER Megacorp) - 12 Nov 06
Schlippenbach Trio - Elf Bagatellen (FMP) - 07 Nov 06
October 2006
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - En Concert a Paris (Ocora) - 15 Oct 06
Stan Getz - At the Shrine (Verve) - 08 Oct 06
Son House - Father of the Delta Blues (Columbia) - 01 Oct 06
September 2006
Jack Wright/Michel Doneda/Tatsuya Nakatani - No Stranger to Air (Sprout) - 24 Sep 06
Soprano Summit - Live at Thatchers (J&M) - 17 Sep 06
Burkhard Stangl/Dieb13 - eh (Erstwhile) - 10 Sep 06
Old and New Dreams (ECM) - 03 Sep 06
August 2006
Jenks “Tex” Carman – Chippeha! The Essential Dixie Cowboy (1947-57) (Revenant) - 27 Aug 06
Freddie Hubbard - The Night of the Cookers (Blue Note) - 20 Aug 06
Pink Floyd - Piper at the Gates of Dawn (EMI) - 13 Aug 06
Benny Goodman - The Complete Capitol Trios (Capitol) - 06 Aug 06
July 2006
The Modern Jazz Quartet - Fontessa (Atlantic) - 30 Jul 06
Lou Gare - No Strings Attached (Matchless) - 23 Jul 06
The Skatalites - Foundation Ska (Heartbeat/Studio One) - 16 Jul 06
Faust - Faust IV (Virgin/EMI) - 09 Jul 06
New York Dolls – Rock ‘n Roll (Mercury) - 02 Jul 06
June 2006
Tom Djll - Mutootator (Soul On Rice) - 25 Jun 06
Walt Dickerson – Serendipity (Steeplechase) - 18 Jun 06
Cecil Taylor/Bill Dixon/Tony Oxley (Victo) - 11 Jun 06
Dominic Duval String&Brass Ensemble – American Scrapbook (CIMP) - 04 Jun 06
May 2006
Mount Everest Trio - Waves From Albert Ayler (UMS/Atavistic) - 28 May 06
The Red Clay Ramblers – Twisted Laurel/Merchant’s Lunch (Flying Fish) - 21 May 06
Thelonious Moog - Yes We Didn’t (Grownup Records) - 14 May 06
Ray Lynch - Deep Breakfast (Windham Hill) - 07 May 06
April 2006
Madvillain - Madvillainy (Stones Throw) - 30 Apr 06
Gary Bartz Ntu Troop - I've Known Rivers and Other Bodies (Prestige) - 23 Apr 06
Chuck Berry - The Great Twenty-Eight (MCA) - 16 Apr 06
Jackie McLean - Capuchin Swing (Blue Note) - 09 Apr 06
Various - Traveling Through the Jungle (Testament) - 02 Apr 06
March 2006
Martin Siewert/Martin Brandlmayr - Too Beautiful To Burn (Erstwhile) - 26 Mar 06
Willie Humphrey & Brian O’Connell - Two Clarinets on the Porch - 19 Mar 06
Charles Mingus - Let My Children Hear Music (Columbia) - 11 Mar 06
Various – Sacred Steel: Traditional Sacred African-American Steel Guitar Music in Florida (Arhoolie) - 05 Mar 06
February 2006
Sun Ra and his Myth Science Arkestra - When Angels Speak of Love (Evidence) - 25 Feb 06
Frank Lowe - Vision Blue (CIMP) - 19 Feb 06
Andrew Hill - Smoke Stack (Blue Note) - 12 Feb 06
Carlos Montoya - Flamenco! (Tradition) - 05 Feb 06
January 2006
Cat Stevens - Gold (A&M) - 29 Jan 06
Taku Sugimoto Guitar Quartet (Bottrop-Boy) - 22 Jan 06
Johnny “Hammond” Smith - That Good Feelin’ (Prestige) - 15 Jan 06
Trio Matamoros - Los Exitos Originales (Ansonia) - 08 Jan 06
Ankle to Nose (AMF Music) - 01 Jan 06
December 2005
Lee Konitz & Warne Marsh – London Concert (Wave) - 25 Dec 05
Joachim Kühn / Mark Nauseef / Tony Newton / Miroslav Tadic - Let's Be Generous (CMP) - 17 Dec 05
Franco Battiato - Pollution + Fetus (Bla Bla) - 11 Dec 05
Louisiana Red – Sittin’ Here Wonderin’ (Earwig) - 04 Dec 05
November 2005
Doctor Umezu Band - Eight Eyes and Eight Ears (ITM) - 27 Nov 05
SHAMPOO - Volume 1 (Motors) - 20 Nov 05
The Red Norvo Trios (Fantasy) - 13 Nov 05
The Vejtables - Feel...The Vejtables - 06 Nov 05
October 2005
Jacques Berrocal - Paralleles (D'Avantage) - 30 Oct 05
Steve Lacy & Evan Parker - Chirps (FMP) - 23 Oct 05
Various – Mississippi Delta Blues: “Blow My Blues Away” Vol. 2 (Arhoolie) - 16 Oct 05
Tremè Brass Band - "Gimme My Money Back" (Arhoolie) - 09 Oct 05
Misha Feigin / Craig Hultgren / LaDonna Smith — They Are We Are - 02 Oct 05
September 2005
Gil Melle - Primitive Modern/Quadrama (Prestige) - 25 Sep 05
René Thomas – The Real Cat (Gitanes) - 18 Sep 05
Neil Feather — Revelation of an Anaplumb (Recorded Field Recordings) - 11 Sep 05
Charles Earland - Leaving This Planet (Prestige) - 04 Sep 05
August 2005
Eclection - 28 Aug 05
Jo Jones - The Main Man (Pablo) - 21 Aug 05
Betsuni Nanmo Klezmer - Omedeto - 14 Aug 05
The Fabulous Sidney Bechet (Blue Note) - 07 Aug 05
July 2005
Charlie Byrd - Byrd By the Sea (Fantasy) - 31 Jul 05
Issa Bagayogo - Tassoumakan (Six Degrees) - 24 Jul 05
Magali Babin - 17 Jul 05
John Fahey - God, Time and Causality (Shanachie) - 10 Jul 05
Cheval de Frise — Fresques sur les parois secrètes du crâne - 04 Jul 05
June 2005
Clive Bell and Sylvia Hallett - The Geographers (Emanem) - 26 Jun 05
Waylon Jennings - Waylon Live (RCA/BMG) - 20 Jun 05
Robert Fripp and Brian Eno - The Equatorial Stars (Opal / DGM) - 12 Jun 05
Khan Jamal - Dark Warrior (Steeplechase) - 05 Jun 05
May 2005
La Negra Graciana – Sones Jarochos with the Trio Silva (Corason) - 29 May 05
Shakey Jake - Good Times (Bluesville) - 22 May 05
Marko Melkon (Traditional Crossroads) - 15 May 05
Bukka White - Memphis Hot Shots (Blue Horizon) - 08 May 05
Michel Doneda, Jack Wright, Tatsuya Nakatani - From Between (SoSEditions) - 02 May 05
April 2005
The Roots - The Tipping Point - 24 Apr 05
Art Blakey - Free For All - 18 Apr 05
Tamba 4 - We and the Sea (A&M) - 11 Apr 05
Tom Bruno & Sabir Mateen - Getting Away With Murder (Eremite) - 04 Apr 05
March 2005
Jim Pepper & Flying Eagle – ‘Live’ at New Morning, Paris (Tutu) - 28 Mar 05
Various - Alan Lomax: Blues Songbook (Rounder) - 20 Mar 05
Wire - On Returning (1977-1979) (EMI/Harvest) - 13 Mar 05
Ron Carter - Piccolo (Milestone) - 06 Mar 05
February 2005
John Carter - Fields (Gramavision) - 28 Feb 05
Deep Purple - In Rock (Warner Bros.) - 21 Feb 05
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Streetlights (Prestige) - 14 Feb 05
Double Leopards - Halve Maen (Eclipse) - 07 Feb 05
January 2005
Earl Bostic - Jazz Time (Le Jazz / Charly) - 31 Jan 05
Johnny Coles - New Morning (Criss Cross) - 24 Jan 05
Millie Jackson - Caught Up / Still Caught Up (Hip-O) - 17 Jan 05
William Parker - Testimony (Zero In) - 10 Jan 05
André Previn - Previn At Sunset (Black Lion) - 03 Jan 05
December 2004
Lisle Ellis / Marco Eneidi / Peter Valsamis - American Roadwork (CIMP) - 27 Dec 04
Roy Dunn – Know’d Them All (Trix) - 19 Dec 04
Galaxie 500 - On Fire (Rykodisc) - 13 Dec 04
Bob Mould Band – LiveDog98 (Granary Music) - 05 Dec 04
November 2004
Serge Baghdassarians / Boris Baltschun / Alessandro Bosetti / Michel Doneda - Strom - 28 Nov 04
Joe Newman & Cootie Williams - Jazz at Midnight (Gitanes) - 21 Nov 04
+Minus - A Rainy Koran Verse - 14 Nov 04
Joe Falcon - Cajun Music Pioneer (Arhoolie) - 08 Nov 04
Jimmy Halperin / Dominic Duval / Jay Rosen - Joy & Gravitas (CIMP) - 01 Nov 04
October 2004
A Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings (Rounder) - 25 Oct 04
Various - Italian String Virtuosi (Rounder) - 17 Oct 04
Toshiya Tsunoda - Scenery of Decalcomania - 10 Oct 04
Trudy Pitts - Legends of Acid Jazz (Prestige) - 03 Oct 04
September 2004
Cocteau Twins - Treasure (4AD) - 28 Sep 04
Tina Louise - It's Time For Tina ( P & S / Fresh Sound) - 20 Sep 04
The Ink Spots - Anthology (MCA) - 12 Sep 04
Cindy Blackman - A Lil' Somethin', Somethin' (32 Jazz) - 05 Sep 04
August 2004
Dorothy Ashby - Hip Harp (Prestige) - 28 Aug 04
Shelly Manne / Jack Marshall - Sounds! (Capitol) - 22 Aug 04
Jaco Pastorius - Trio: Live In New York City, Volume 2 (Big World) - 15 Aug 04
Led Zeppelin - Presence (Swan Song) - 09 Aug 04
July 2004
Raphe Malik / Joe McPhee / Donald Robinson - Sympathy (Boxholder) - 31 Jul 04
Various – A Warrior on the Battlefield: A Cappella Trailblazers: 1920’s-1940’s (Rounder) - 25 Jul 04
Mandarin - fast>future>present - 19 Jul 04
Allan Chase - Dark Clouds With Silver Linings (Accurate) - 12 Jul 04
Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival (Verve) - 05 Jul 04
June 2004
Lee Morgan - Unforgettable Lee! (Fresh Sound) - 28 Jun 04
The Bevis Frond - Inner Marshland (Reckless) - 19 Jun 04
Ray Charles - True To Life (Atlantic) - 12 Jun 04
Buck Hill - This is Buck Hill (Steeplechase) - 07 Jun 04
May 2004
Low + Dirty Three [EP] (KonKurrent / Fishtank) - 30 May 04
Kid Ory - Creole Jazz Band 1954 (Good Time Jazz) - 23 May 04
Leroy Jenkins' Sting! - Urban Blues (Black Saint) - 17 May 04
Charlie Feathers - Tip Top Daddy (Norton) - 10 May 04
Eddie Harris - Live At Newport (Atlantic) - 03 May 04
April 2004
Martin Denny - The Enchanted Sea - 24 Apr 04
Sophie Agnel/Olivier Benoit - Rip-Stop (In Situ) - 17 Apr 04
The Budapest String Quartet - Beethoven String Quartets: Op. 127; Op. 131; Op. 132; Op. 135; Minuet From Op. 18, No. 5 (Sony / Columbia Masterworks Heritage) - 12 Apr 04
Milt Buckner & Buddy Tate - Them There Eyes (Black & Blue) - 05 Apr 04
March 2004
Shankar - Pancha Nadai Pallavi (ECM) - 29 Mar 04
Flat & Scruggs - Complete Mercury Recordings (Polygram) - 22 Mar 04
Sten Sandell - Solid Musik (nuscope) - 15 Mar 04
Gilberto Gil - Copacabana Mon Amour (Polydor) - 01 Mar 04
February 2004
Sonny Clark - Leapin' And Lopin' (Blue Note) - 23 Feb 04
MC5 - Ice Pick Slim (Alive) - 17 Feb 04
The Complete Blind Willie Johnson (Columbia Legacy) - 09 Feb 04
Malachi Favors - Natural & the Spiritual (AECO) - 02 Feb 04
January 2004
Oliver Nelson - Nocturne (Prestige / Moodsville) - 26 Jan 04
Peg Leg Sam - Medicine Show Man (Trix) - 20 Jan 04
The Fall - Bend Sinister (Beggar's Banquet) - 12 Jan 04
Charles Gayle - Solo in Japan (PSF) - 05 Jan 04
December 2003
Lee Konitz / Enrico Rava Quartet - L'Age Mür (Philology) - 29 Dec 03
Lee Hazelwood – The Cowboy & the Ladies (LHI) - 22 Dec 03
Gene Ammons - Up Tight! (Prestige / Fantasy) - 15 Dec 03
Korla Pandit - Odyssey (Fantasy) - 08 Dec 03
Pink Floyd - Meddle (EMI) - 02 Dec 03
November 2003
Woody Guthrie - Ballads of Sacco and Vanzetti (Smithsonian/Folkways) - 23 Nov 03
The Flow - Greatest Hits - 16 Nov 03
Paul Desmond Quartet - Live (A&M) - 09 Nov 03
Bluiett Baritone Saxophone Group - Live at the Knitting Factory (Knitting Factory) - 03 Nov 03
October 2003
Ravi Shankar - Ragas & Talas (Angel) - 28 Oct 03
Taku Sugimoto - Italia (A Bruit Secret) - 19 Oct 03
Albert Ayler - Love Cry (Impulse) - 13 Oct 03
The Pixies - Surfer Rosa (4AD) - 06 Oct 03
September 2003
MYSTERIES OF THE SABBATH - CLASSIC CANTORIAL RECORDINGS (1907-47) (Yazoo) - 30 Sep 03
Sun Ra - Supersonic Jazz (Evidence) - 23 Sep 03
Fela Kuti - Shakara/London Scene (MCA) - 16 Sep 03
Margaret Barry – I Sang Through the Fairs (Rounder) - 09 Sep 03
Henry Cowell - Piano Music (Smithsonian/Folkways) - 03 Sep 03
August 2003
Jazz at the Philharmonic – The First Concert (Verve) - 26 Aug 03
Gétatchèw Mèkurya – Ethiopiques 14: Negus of Ethiopian Sax (Buda Musique) - 19 Aug 03
Stanley Turrentine - Hustlin' (Blue Note) - 12 Aug 03
Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (SST) - 04 Aug 03
July 2003
Various - Calypso Breakaway (1927-1941) (Rounder) - 29 Jul 03
Flaco Jiménez – Flaco’s First (Arhoolie) - 22 Jul 03
Reverend Gary Davis - Complete Early Recordings (Yazoo) - 15 Jul 03
Grant Green - Standards (Blue Note) - 08 Jul 03
June 2003
Hoosier Hot Shots - Rural Rhythm (Columbia Country Classics) - 30 Jun 03
Cedell Davis - Feel Like Doin' Something Wrong (Fat Possum) - 24 Jun 03
Curtis Mayfield - CURTIS (Curtom) - 16 Jun 03
Gene Ammons & Sonny Stitt – Boss Tenors (Verve) - 02 Jun 03
May 2003
Various - The Modern Downhome Blues Sessions: Arkansas & Mississippi: 1951-1952, Vol. 1 (Ace) - 07 May 03
April 2003
Fred Anderson - Chicago Chamber Music - 14 Apr 03
Einojuhani Rautavaara - Thomas - 11 Apr 03
David Holland / Derek Bailey - Improvisations for Cello and Guitar (ECM) - 08 Apr 03
Ornette Coleman - Chappaqua Suite - 03 Apr 03
March 2003
February 2003