|
|
September 18, 2009
CDs with myriad influences
A definitive genre is hard to nail down for these new releases.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
A little jazz makes its way into each of the four CDs the Independent reviews this year. It doesn't come alone, but rather is joined by melodies and rhythms from around the world, from the Middle East to South America, from eastern Europe to Africa, and elsewhere. The result is always high-quality musicianship, though not music for every taste.
Starting the musical journey in Israel, Yasmin Levy's Mano Suave, which was released abroad a couple of years ago, has just come out in North America – she's currently touring the United States.
Mano Suave comprises traditional Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) songs and some original compositions in the same style. According to Levy's website (yasminlevy.net), her late father, Isaac Levy, was a composer and cantor who researched extensively the history of Ladino music and the culture of Spanish Jewry. Though he passed away when Levy was a baby, he left behind mountains of material and had also taught his wife the Sephardi repertoire, which she passed onto Levy.
From how she sings, Ladino is definitely part of Levy's soul, though she is also influenced by flamenco and music from other cultures, and some reviewers have also noted an occasional jazz flavor. Mano Suave features players from Iran, Armenia, Greece, Paraguay, Israel, Turkey and Spain. Guest vocalist Natacha Atlas joins Levy in the title track, "Mano Suave," a traditional Bedouin song, and Amir Shahsar joins Levy on the mournful, pleading "Odecha," whose lyrics actually tell of prayers answered and redemption achieved.
Levy's voice is rich and sultry and she emotes heartfelt longing with almost every word, which makes for some beautiful music. However, she can also be playful, as she demonstrates on "Si Veriash" and "Una Ora," and it would have been nice to have a few more faster-paced, energetic songs on this CD.
The not-as sultry, but equally talented, Amanda Martinez spent her younger years studying classical piano and ballet, but only decided to make a career in music after completing a master's in international business, according to her website (amandamartinez.ca). Her second solo release, Amor, will come out in October.
Martinez shows versatility between bossa nova, jazz, folk and other genres. While Amor definitely highlights her Latin roots, there are detectable Judeo-Spanish influences in at least a couple of the songs on this CD. In more than one article, she is described as being born in Toronto, "to a father from Mexico and a South African Jewish mother." English is her mother tongue apparently, but she learned Spanish by spending time with her Mexican relatives and studying it in school.
Paradoxically perhaps, Amor is a quiet CD to which you can't help but move; its rhythms are inviting, the percussion both peaceful and pulsating. It's a must-have if you enjoy relaxing jazz, with hints of restrained passion.
Joanna Chapman-Smith's Contraries is more playful and poetic than sexy.
While not Jewish, Chapman-Smith incorporates eastern European sounds into her music, as well as melding folk with jazz and blues.
Chapman-Smith's arrangements are unique and often somewhat quirky. In her writing, she exhibits a real understanding and acceptance of the contradictions that characterize being human. According to the CD's promotional material, Contraries was "inspired by William Blake's 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell' – which is also the origin of the album's title."
Though poetic and profound, Chapman-Smith uses much humor in her songs: "A Glass of Right and Wrong," for example, is mischievous, with lines such as, "I try, try to get it right, but it feels so right to get it wrong."
Not every song works as well though and the whistling in "Between the Minds" is not a pleasant sound, though the song itself is beautiful and its lyrics meaningful.
"Arbitrary Lines," one of the best songs on this CD, definitely has klezmer influences, with its clarinet and accordion foundations, as does "Klezbian Mother" and the 21-second piece that follows it. For more on Chapman-Smith, who lives at least part-time in Vancouver, visit joannacs.com.
Klezmer through and through is Beyond the Pale. As their name implies, the Toronto band tries to go "beyond" the boundaries of traditional klezmer music and, to some extent, they do in their most recent release, Postcards, but klezmer – or "Jewish jazz" – is at the core of every one of the CD's songs.
Of the 16 tracks on Postcards, the original composition "Katarina" by Aleksandar Gajic (violin, viola) stands out, with its driving energy that ebbs and flows, as does "Split Decision" by Eric Stein (mandolins and cimbalom), which has a teasing, push-pull rhythm. The band's arrangement of "Turkish Delight" is delightful and "Doina," which features Israeli Yiddish singer Vira Lozinsky, is very moving. Lozinsky also joins the band on "Shtern," which is an overly melodramatic number, and "An Old Legend," which brings to mind the song "Puttin' on the Ritz" at one point.
While Beyond the Pale may push the boundary, the group's music is not edgy like an Alex Kontorovich, but fans of klezmer that's a little different, but still very familiar and tuneful, will enjoy Postcards.
For more information about the band, visit beyondthepale.net.
^TOP
|
|
