Record Reviews

CAROL MENNIE ~ I`M NOT A SOMETIME THING CDM 1004 (Barcode: 616892610120) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1999 Released: 2004 This debut album by US singer Carol MennieFind albums by this artist, wife and life companion of guitarist extraordinaire Dom MinasiFind albums by this artist, is full of surprises. Stepping into the domain of extraordinary Jazz vocal heritage can be extremely risky and many vocalists failed miserably while trying. Mennie manages to avoid the precarious trap by doing the only thing an artist should do – rather that copying prior achievements by others she simply does her own thing. Her deep, sexy and seductive alto is clear and strong enough to carry any tune and she chose material that suits her vocal abilities perfectly. Of course a part of the credit goes to Minasi, who arranged the tunes and was the album’s musical director, as well as to the wonderful cast of contributing musicians, which includes Minasi’s “regulars” bassist Ken FilianoFind albums by this artist and cellist Tomas UrlichFind albums by this artist and other musical friends like Patience HigginsFind albums by this artist on reeds, Valery PonomarevFind albums by this artist (ex-Art BlakeyFind albums by this artist) on trumpet, Michael Jefry StevensFind albums by this artist on piano, Jay RosenFind albums by this artist on drums and Tom McGrathFind albums by this artist on percussion. Minasi’s guitar work is, as usual, superb, showing his deep knowledge of the guitar tradition and ability to play “straightforward” and still be unique. The material includes some favorite standards and five original Minasi’s songs (both music and lyrics), that are as good as the standards. The singer can be both deeply lyrical on the slow ballads and funny and humorous on the up-tempo songs, preserving her personal touch with elegance and gusto. The album is full of precious moments, beautiful instrumental solos and touching vocal delivery, which together create a piece of music that doesn’t try to be pretentious, yet is interesting, intelligent and highly unusual at all times. This is a kind of album that works both in rainy evenings and sunny mornings – a music for all seasons. I truly enjoyed this and honestly await Carol’s next album, hopefully sometime soon.

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DOM MINASI ~ THE VAMPIRE`S REVENGE CDM 1006 (Barcode: 616892693727) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2005 Released: 2006 This momentous masterpiece by US guitarist / composer Dom MinasiFind albums by this artist is one of the most ambitious large scale Avant-Garde recordings I’ve come across since the turn of this Century. Although large scale Avant-Garde projects flourished in European Jazz in the late 1960s / 1970 (Keith TippetFind albums by this artist and his CentipedeFind albums by this artist ensemble, Mike WestbrookFind albums by this artist’s Orchestra and many others), the complexity, cost and logistics involved with such projects basically doomed the prospects for such recordings over time with the cultural climate and openness for such endeavors virtually disappearing. Therefore, before even examining the music as such, one must take one’s hat off to Minasi for pulling it all together. The album presents a concept Free Jazz suite, inspired by the writings of Ann RiceFind albums by this artist, to which Minasi was first exposed in the mid-1990s and since then was slowly building up his material for a large scale work on the subject of Vampires – one of the most mysterious and fascinating themes in our world of fantasy, legend and imagination. The last pieces of this complex work were completed just shortly before the recording actually took place. For the recording Minasi assembled a formidable gathering of his “regulars” - his trio members Ken FilianoFind albums by this artist on bass and Jackson KrallFind albums by this artist on drums, his DDTFind albums by this artist cellist Tomas UrlichFind albums by this artist, his singer wife Carol MennieFind albums by this artist, his quartet member saxophonist Mark WhitecageFind albums by this artist and his former quartet member saxophonist Blaise SiwulaFind albums by this artist. In addition he enlisted some of the most prominent names on the US Avant-Garde scene like Borah BergmanFind albums by this artist on piano, Perry RobinsonFind albums by this artist on clarinet and others. A total of 22 musicians participated in the recording sessions for this album, including the conductor Byron OlsonFind albums by this artist, who conducted the immensely complex big ensemble pieces. Describing the music is a task beyond any lingual skills – it is meant to be listened to rather that written about after all. I’ll only say that there is so much music here that it will take even the most experienced listener several listening sessions to start digesting this immense work. Moving between quiet contemplative moments and crescendos of expressionist power, the music tells a story, which each listener might interpret differently, but none can stay indifferent to. Even the most experienced Free Jazz and Avant-Garde listeners will find innovation and exploration of uncharted territory here, which in today’s music is such a rare commodity. It’s demanding, overwhelming, complex and intricate and at the same time communicative and deeply moving. A brilliant piece of modern music, which although known to few, constitutes a ray of hope in contemporary music, symbolizing the pursuit of new horizons by the few musicians, who still care about expanding them. Amazing stuff!

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

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