Playlist: May 15, 2009

KZSU playlist for Friday, May 15, 3:00 to 6:20 p.m.

….. Fareed Haque, frequent cohort of Zakir Hussein, plays a “world” music-tinged jazz that’s good but too melodic and easy for my taste. On a hot day like today, though, Haque’s summer-festival jamming hit the spot.

….. The Jarrod Fowler “Percussion” As Percussion album is a descent into madness. Tracks consist of overlaid spoken pieces — narrations, film clips, who knows what else — creating a relentless jumble. One track is even the combination of all others played backwards; it’s the harshest and most unsettling of all, and they put it second. Now, apparently there are some structural principles underlying all this, or at least that’s what’s hinted in the lengthy, hyperacademic liner notes, which walk that line between deeply serious and seriously messed up.

….. “Le-Si-Jer” isn’t the best track on the Revolutionary Ensemble album, but I wanted to have given its full 19 minutes an airing at some point. It features long solo spaces for each of the three members: Leroy Jenkins doing airy, squeaky violin figures; a patient arco solo from Sirone on bass; and reverent tones from Jerome Cooper on the chiramia, an oboe-sounding reed instrument. It’s a good track, but the real highlight on the album are the two improvisations at the end, where the three players show off some nice group intercommuicating.

….. Fever Ray is the solo project of Karin Dreijer Andersson of The Knife. Intersting songscapes, with heavy cinematic synths and careful, slow vocals. Atmospheric, a great listen. The show also included one of the dreamier songs from hip-hop artist Yoome.

Most album titles link into KZSU’s Zookeeper database; the icon means there’s a review or description there as well.

Artist	Track		Album/Label
Haque, Fareed & The Flat Earth Ensemble	Big Bhangra		Flat Planet Owl Studios
Bailey, Donald	Variations		Blueprints Of Jazz: Vol. 3 Talking House Records
Hartigan, Royal	Passages		Ancestors Innova Recordings
Cleaver/Parker/Taborn	The Night		Farmers By Nature Aum Fidelity
Yoome	Dubai		Boredom Of Me, The Audio 8 Recordings
Mahanthappa, Rudresh / Indo-Pak Coalition	Apti		Apti Innova Recordings
Eskelin, Ellery	#107		Figure of Speech Soul Note
Malaby, Tony / Cello Trio	Warblepeck		Warblepeck Songlines Recordings
	— (4:00 p.m.) —
Fowler, Jarrod	Introduction: (Re)Percussions		“Percussion” As Percussion Patrick Lovelace Editions
Frith, Fred & Rene Lussier	The Same Wide Wall		Nous Autres Les Disques Victo
Black, Jim/Alas No Axis	Z		Habyor Winter & Winter
Sex Mob	Battle at Piz Gloria		Does Bond Ropeadope Music Entertain
Happy Apple	The Landfall Planetarium		Youth Oriented Nato
Bad Plus, The	Long Distance Runaround		For All I Care Heads Up International
Trio Hot	Zoo On The Road		Jink Nemu Records
Fuchs, Wolfgang Sextet	An Illegible Memory		Six Fuchs Rastascan Records
	— (5:00 p.m.) —
Berthiaume/Sharp	Freed		Base Actuelle Cd
Quatuor Bozzini	Quintext II: Clouds, for Iannis Xenakis		Arbor Vitae Actuelle Cd
Winstin, Robert Ian	Taliban Dances: Iii Baghdad Bossa Nova		Taliban Dances Erm Media
Del Sol String Quartet	Gabriela Lena Frank “Chasqui”		Ring Of Fire Other Minds
Redman, Joshua	Identity Thief		Compass Nonesuch Records
Ochs, Larry / Sax & Drumming Core	Up From Under		Up From Under Atavistic/Truckstop Audio
Binney, David	Blood Of Cities		Third Occasion Mythology Records
Fever Ray	Dry And Dusty		Fever Ray Mute Corporation
Levy, Adam	Buttermilk Channel		Buttermilk Channel Lost Wax Music
	— (6:00 p.m.) —
Revolutionary Ensemble	Le-Si-Jer		Beyond The Boundary Of Time Mutablemusic
Charles, Teddy	No More Nights		Dances With Bulls Smalls