We are unaffected by cool

It was last summer that I had the chance to see the Shibusha Shirazu Orchestra for the first time. I had never heard of them before and they provoked the greatest impression in me. From the very same moment the concert started I was in shock, and the shock lasted well beyond the concert finished.



I have said concert, but it would be a bit limited to qualify their show just as a concert. Shibusha Shirarzu (that according to Wikipedia can be translated by "We don't understand / are unnafected by the cool"), is not just a band comprising some of the best Japannish free jazz musicians, it is a group of performers, musicians, painters, dancers; that put together an integral show that blows all the spectator senses. They make of every performace a party and they make sure that their public enjoy it as much as they do.

A show of Shibusha Shirazo mixes the surreal with the finest arts. The contention of the Butoh dancers with the bursts of free solos. The woman with the bananas at the top of the ladder and the painter improvising on a never ending roll. And of course the dragon. As limited as I am, I always try to put what I see in the frame of my own references; I remember telling a friend that was with me at the concert: "It is as if Frank Zappa and Fellini had put together this show". But it was not Zappa, and it was not Federico's circus, it was Daisuke Fuwa and the outrageously good Shibusha Shirazo Orchestra.

Stolen From Strangers

Long time has passed since Miyake was originally recognized as a world class Jazz trumpeter, he was back in Tokyo after a few years of study in Boston and New York. Back then he recorded a few solo albums with musicians such as Michael Brecket or Ron Carter. Soon he started writing music for commercials and movies (Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday"). His work became so popular that he was writing over 300 jingles per year. He has not stopped working since then.

Stolen from Strangers is his 21st album. As Hal Willner, former co-producer of Miyake's work, puts it in the foreword to the record "...another audio road movie, this time directed by Pedro Almodovar". Recorded between Tokyo and Paris, the place where Jun has been living for the last few years. With collaborations in vocals from Arto Lindsay, Sanseverino, the "Cosmic Voice of" Bulgaria Choir, Arthur H., Lisa Papimeau and with the subtle but precious guitar of Vinicius Catania. What catches the ear of anyone listening to Jun's music is his capacity to blend seamlessly different styles of music while at the same being able to maintain a consistent line. This is one of these albums that can be listened from beginning to end without temptations to alter the order or to skip one song. It just flows.

The fix

People listening to the latests Elbow's album "The Seldom Seen Kid", would have been surprised by the voice of Richard Hawley in the song "The Fix" (and an amazing table guitar solo at the end). The song is about two schemers planning to fix a horse and retire on the winnings, and sounds like one of those songs extracted from a Rat Pack film. Apparently both Hawley and Elbow's singer, Guy Garvey conceived the song when they shared flight to Tennessee.



The song describes how are they fixing the horse, messing the saddle and the track and finally how are they going to enjoy with the earnings once the race is finished.
And I like how this song describes that feeling of power the two men have, they are the only ones that know, the rest don't, they are creating the future. Oh how much do we like winning, and some times what a nice feeling is to feel more clever than the rest.

Most of the times the simple things are the most beatiful ones

To illustrate this:



"White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes.

Yar Ko Parag

A quicky today.



Yar Ko Parag by Haig Yazdijan

Beautifully naif

I've recently discovered the band Detektivbyrån "Detective's Office". Even though they remind me a lot of Yann Thiersen in the way they construct their songs around catchy melodies they differentiate in the way they keep their songs simple, using very basic instruments.



Listening for a long time may become a bit tiring unless you are in the mary-go-round mode, but these guys are very young and I think that they are going t grow into a fantastic band.

Improbable gathering

I have found in the blog Crisol de Músicas a link to a concert of a surprising gathering, the electronic artist Carl Craig, playing with "Les siècles orchestra" and the pianist Francesco Tristano. The result is as surprising as the line-up.



I love the way the piece grows adding layer by layer. Be patient and listen till the end, I think that is really worth doing so.