Music CD Reviews : Jazz, Funk, Pop, Rock, R’n'B, Rap, Disco

Famous jazz composer John Zorn new album 2008!

“If nothing else, John Zorn is a man of stunningly diverse interests. While generally thought of as the enfant terrible of modern jazz music, Zorn’s influences include not just avant-garde jazz masters of various forms from Kagel to Ayler to early Napalm Death, but this is the same guy who stated on NPR that, “Dick Dale… is welcome to ANYBODY’S Bar Mitzvah”.

“The Dreamers”, in the tradition of The Gift, is an exploration not of Zorn’s avant-garde passions, but of his commercial ones.

Right from the start, it’s clearly going to be Ribot who’s the star of this one, particularly on the first half of the record, and really this is no surprise– Ribot eats this kind of stuff up, providing delicate lyricism (Hawaiian tinged “Mow Mow”), bleak, wailing guitar over an extended performance with stunning use of space (“Anulikwutsayl”) and fierce energy that boils over when prodded by the composition (“Of Wonder and Certainty”). Along the way, Zorn also serves up a great sing-song piece (“Toys”, the only piece on which Zorn actually performs– stating the theme and serving up the only real slice of skronk while he wails over free association from Saft and Wollesen), a great funk/blues workout (“Exodus”, another great workout for Ribot) and even a chance for Saft to show off how lyrical he can be on the Rhodes (“Nekashim”). When closer “Raksasa” finishes up its rolling atmospherics, you’ll probably find yourself either restarting the disc or reaching for The Gift to hear more like it.

While this isn’t going to appeal to Zorn’s entire audience – certainly there’s those who really want to hear the skronk all the time, “The Dreamers” really is a superb effort and a nice change of pace from Zorn. Highly recommended.”
Michael Stack

Performed by the musicians from Electric Masada – Marc Ribot (guitar), Jamie Saft (keys), Kenny Wollesen (vibes), Trevor Dunn (bass), Joey Baron (drums) and Cyro Baptista (percussion), John zorn – alt. sax.

01. Mow Mow [3:03]
02. Uluwati [3:37]
03. A Ride On Cottonfair [4:22]
04. Anulikwutsayl [9:02]
05. Toys [2:46]
06. Of Wonder And Certainty [4:30]
07. Mystic Circles [6:08]
08. Nekashim [3:56]
09. Exodus [7:02]
10. Forbidden Tears [3:07]
11. Raksasa [5:15]

Lennie Kravitz Sucess of Music in Business

We often listen everyware: “Lady” by Lenny Kravitz, “Again” by Lenny Kravitz, “Fly Away” Lenny Kravitz…
So now we are listen new 2008 album “It Is Time For A Love Revolution”
“Rolling Stone” magazine called this Lennie Kravitz album – the best of his works!

1. Love Revolution (3:14)
2. Bring It On (3:35)
3. Good Morning (4:17)
4. Love Love Love (3:21)
5. If You Want It (5:08)
6. I’ll Be Waiting (4:19)
7. Will You Marry Me (3:43)
8. I Love The Rain (4:43)
9. A Long And Sad Goodbye (5:58)
10. Dancin’ Til Dawn (5:09)
11. This Moment Is All There Is (5:07)
12. A New Door (4:38)
13. Back In Vietnam (3:45)
14. I Want To Go Home (5:06)
15. Uncharted Terrain (4:28)
16. Confused (6:47)

Artist – Marcus Miller
Title – Marcus
Lable – Concord Jazz
Style – Jazz-Funk | Jazz | Smooth Jazz
Date Released – 04.03.2008

Miller is a talented multi-instrumentalist who is not only skilled on electric bass, but also keyboards, clarinet, sax, sitar and probably a few more besides. Just about everything shows up on his seventh solo album, a 13-track collection that’s top-heavy with his own compositions — not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Miller boarded the fusion train in the 1970s, a few years after it left the station through his work with David Sanborn. In the 1980s, Miller worked with Davis. Davis didn’t create jazz, rock, funk fusion, but the fact that the legendary jazz innovator embraced the genre gave it credibility. Miller has also collaborated with artists such as Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Michael Franks, ZZ-Hill and Billy Idol.

Working with artists representing a wide variety of genres is a major theme on this latest work. One highlight is Corinne Bailey Rae, wrapping her sultry vocals around rendition of Denise Williams’ 1976 classic “Free.” Miller plays it pretty straight on this rendition that holds pretty close musically to Williams original. The main difference is Miller’s bass playing, in which he employs his signature thumping and plucking funky style. The version also includes some definite jazz influenced improvising by Miller, as well as a saxophone solo.

“He’s joined by some talented friends too. It’s an outstanding group that includes vocalists the caliber of Keb’ Mo’, Corinne Bailey Rae and Lalah Hathaway. Other performers include Shihan the Poet, jazz icon David Sanborn, and actress Taraji Henson (who made her singing debut in the movie Hustle and Flow).

Henson’s vocalizing on the bonus track, “Lost Without U [Spoken Word],” backed by Hathaway and the Ivey Sisters, is surprisingly enjoyable, and is a different take on Hathaway’s earlier version of the same tune. Hathaway is at her best with “Ooh,” a piece she co-wrote with Miller, and according to the album notes he backs her delicious singing with no less than seven different instruments.

There’s lots more to be found here – even Shihan the Poet, if that’s your thing – but the bottom line is simply that the album is a good collection of R&B flavored jazz that should be well worth a listen for any fans of good music — and isn’t that why we’re all here? “
Geezer Music Club

“Many so-called “straight ahead jazz” artists clearly don’t have the comfort or interest in commenting musically on the contemporary music genres, such as R&B and rock, that have supplanted jazz in terms of popularity. A major reason for their reluctance has to do with the fact that many jazz artists don’t believe R&B and rock music compares on a qualitative level to the music from the Great American Songbook. Even those who might want to try don’t feel they have the understanding of contemporary music. That leaves the task of translating the contemporary musical canon in the hands of so-called “smooth jazz” artists, and those results are often uninspiring.”
Howard Dukes