Manafonistas

Eine kleine Auswahl von Alben aus der ersten Jahreshälfte Zweitausendsechzehn, die ich teilweise – und sei es hier nur ein einzelner Song oder ein spirit gewesen, der mir besonders zusagte – oder als Ganzes mit Interesse und/oder Vergnügen gehört habe:

 
 
Ben Monder – Amorphae
Masabumi Kikuchi – Black Orpheus
Sarah Jarosz – Undercurrent
Michel Benita & Ethics – River Silver
Jack DeJohnette – In Movement
David Bowie – Blackstar
 

theguardian.com …

„The Éthiopiques series is known for high-energy pop, brass bands and jazzy instrumentals—dance music for swingin’ Addis Ababa. But the 21st volume acts like a nightcap after a night out on the town. Playing solo piano, Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou works through 16 delicate compositions that sound like a somber Claude Debussy interpreting Ethiopian music: pentatonic, modal and mostly in the middle register. The performances come from the 1960s, 1970s and 1990s, all made after Guèbrou had become a nun because her dreams to become a full-time musician were dashed by governmental interference. She made these recordings to raise money for charities, and it’s a relief she didn’t give up on music entirely after politics derailed her dreams. Emahoy is a strange, sui generis CD.“

(Jazz Times, years ago)

 

„Oh, how lucky are those human beings  who own this piano album. I’ve heard it once in Vienna in a second hand music store, round 2008. For reasons I don’t know at all,  I didn’t buy it immediately. Then, for reasons even more strange, I forgot about it till snippets recently came back in a TV-feature about the Ethiopian „roots music“ that  surely was more of a surreal hybrid culture than something created from scratch. New strange skin for an old ceremony. Now it’s a buried treasure.“

(M. E.)

 

„I started getting into the Éthiopiques catalogue a couple of years ago, and now I think I actually have the whole set. It’s all really great, and I really love that music. It really resonates with me: the modes and the scales that are in use and the instrumentation, the way the vocals sounds. There’s just a certain spirit to that body of music – everything from the really older stuff on traditional instruments, like on the The Harp Of King David – to the jazzier, funkier stuff, which I really love. I picked this record in particular though because it’s just really sublime. It’s this really beautiful piano record. This woman was a nun, and also an incredible pianist and composer. I don’t know if you’ve heard it, but all you have to do is listen to it. It’s that kind of thing that’s just totally universal, I just totally can’t imagine anybody not enjoying that music. Sometimes you hear music and you feel like you’ve known it forever. This was a favourite to put on when I came back from tour; it’s a great record to welcome yourself home with.“

(Greg Fox of Guardian Alien)

1. Brian Eno: The Ship
2. David Bowie: Blackstar
3. Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith: A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke
4. Jon Balke: Warp
5. Matmos: Ultimate Care II
6. Naqsh Duo: Narrante
7. Van Morrison: It’s Too Late To Stop Now, Vol. II, III & IV
8. Paul Simon: Stranger To Stranger
9. Sturgill Simpson: A Sailor’s Guide To Earth
10. Tindersticks: The Waiting Room
11. Thomas Köner: Tiento de la Luz
12. P. J. Harvey: The Hope Six Demolition Project
13. Darren Hayman: Thankful Villages Vol. 1
14. Jack DeJohnette, Ravi Coltrane, Matthew Garrison: In Movement
15. Glenn Jones: Fleeting*
 
 
*  … this will be one of my all time favourite guitar solo albums!

Portishead …

1. Brian Eno: The Ship

2. David Bowie: Blackstar

3. Jon Balke: Warp

4. Carla Bley: Andando Il Tiempo

5. Anohni: Hopelessness

6. Jack DeJohnette / Ravi Coltrane / Matthew Garrison: In Movement

7. Golfam Khayam / Mona Matbou Riahi: Narrante

8. Lucinda Williams: The Ghosts of Highway 20

9. William Tyler: Modern Country

10. Thomas Zehetmair Orchstre de chambre de Paris: Robert Schumann

11. Avishai Cohen: Into The Silence

12. Erlend Apneseth Trio: Det Andre Rommet

13. Piano Interrupted: Landscapes of the Unfinished

14. Legendary Pink Dots: Pages of Aquarius

15. Glenn Jones: Fleeting

16. Michel Benita Ethics: River Silver

17. Tonu Korvits / Anja Lechner / Tonu Kaljuste and Tallinn Chamber Orchstra: Mirror

18. Tindersticks: The Waiting Room

19. PJ Harvey: The Hope Six Demolition Project

20. Swans: The Glowing Man

21. Paul Simon: Stranger to Stranger

22. James Blake: The Colour in Anything

23. Allen Toussaint: American Tunes

24. Markus Stockhausen: Alba

25. Rolf Lislevand: La Masquerade

… an diesen chinesischen Supermärkten im Strip District ist ja nicht nur, dass sie irgendwo in den Tiefen der Gänge die seltsamsten Dinge haben, die man sich vorstellen kann, sondern auch, dass sie von morgens bis abends die Top 10 der chinesischen Hitparade spielen. Einer der derzeitigen Tophits ist anscheinend eine chinesische Coverversion von „Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?“.

Eno on the radio starting just after 5