current listening 04/11
carrie rodriguez: live in lousiville
Carrie Rodriguez: Live in Louisville (2009) - The timing is a bit odd for a new release of a 2007 performance by Rodriguez. After all, she has since issued the fine studio outing She Ain’t Me. But this 12 song concert session cut at Louisville’s Brown Theatre, where Rodriguez was opening for Lucinda Williams, gives a liberating electric jolt to mandolin/violin-led musings.
don cherry/nana vasconcelos/colin walcott: the codona trilogy
Don Cherry/Nana Vasconcelos/Collin Walcott: The Codona Trology (2009) - A real find. The Codona Trilogy gathers three Eastern inspired, free thinking albums cut for ECM between 1979 and 1983 by trumpeter Cherry, percussionist Vasconcelos and sitarist/percussionist Walcott. Cherry and Walcott have long since left us, but their acoustic explorations remain wondrous.
fairport convention and matthews southern comfort: live in maidstone 1970
Fairport Convention and Matthews Southern Comfort: Live in Maidstone 1970 (2009): A sublime timepiece of British folk-rock at its most industrious stage. Culled from a 1970 concert released last year on DVD, Maidstone gives a glimpse into the final days of the Fairport quintet featuring Richard Thompson and the lighter folk sway of ex-Fairport-er Ian Matthews’ then-new band.
chick corea and gary burton: lyric suite for sextet
Chick Corea and Gary Burton: Lyric Suite for Sextet (1983) - Probably the least known and definitely the least appreciated of the recorded collaborations between pianist Corea and vibraphonist Burton. While adding a string quartet to the Corea composed, seven part suite clouds some of duo’s conversational interplay, it balances a jazzy fluidity with chamber-style drama.
the very best of prestige records
Various artists: The Very Best of Prestige Records (2009): Blue Note Records may be in the midst of its 70th anniversary celebration, but the Prestige label - home to several of the artists that also led sessions for Blue Note (Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis) - is marking its 60th birthday. This set is a primer for the party with two 70 minute discs of flawless vintage bop and swing that sells for about $15.
I am a native Kentuckian and freelance journalist who has been writing about contemporary music for the Lexington Herald-Leader since 1980. I have not a lick of honest musical talent myself, just a pair of appreciative ears for jazz, folk, blues, bluegrass, Americana, soul, Celtic, Cajun, chamber, worldbeat, nearly every form of rock 'n' roll imaginable and, when pressed, the occasional tango and polka.