source file: m1462.txt Date: Mon, 29 Jun 1998 09:38:47 -0700 Subject: killer recordings From: Aline Surman Here's a partial list of some favorite CD's...if anyone wants more info, please give a private post. Music in the World of Islam, Vol. 1-3 (Topic)...a sort of field survey of music from wherever Islamic musicians are found. Funky, varied, earthy, and a great variety of sounds...this stuff ain't watered down. Covers lutes, reeds, percussion, strings, and vocals...wonderful. Song of the Banyan, Folk Music of Vietnam (Music of the World)...one of the loveliest albums I have heard in years...this music is delicate but strong, like a spider's web. The tunings are subtle, and give the music a haunting quality...get it. Wu Man and Ensemble; Chinese traditional and contemporary music (Nimbus)...ye Gods, but Wu Man is a monster musician. An astonishing pipa player, she has jaw dropping chops, but also great musicality...moves from ancient themes to the most avant Chinese compositions around. I imagine the pipa is in 12 equal, but didn't Chinese music start with a circle of 5ths based 5 tone scale? This woman is a genius... Ali Akbar Khan; AMMP Signature Series (AMMP)...another jaw dropper, this man is probably one of the most advanced musicians on the earth. Said in his book that he would play 23 and 1/2 srutis if he felt like it... Masters of Turkish Music (Rounder)...another survey, encompassing the years 1906-1949. A very passionate bunch, the Turks; many different moods and expressions here. Erkan Ogur; Fretless (Feuer und Eis)...Erkan is a monster guitarist, again Turkish, who played in the Midwest for a while with a stone blues guy...said the Turkish system worked fine with blues. Says there's 53 komas in the Turkish system...he has chops to spare, but makes really profound, deep music...I want to get him for Microstock. Forbidden Planet (GNP Crescendo)...the mother of space music soundtracks. The Musician's Union wouldn't let them call it music on the film's credits, so it was called electronic tonalities instead...a masterpiece, and timeless. Howlin' Wolf; His Best (Chess)...I've been listening to Wolf for almost 30 years, and his music still gives me chills. Deep, dark, joyful, and microtonal as anything...Hubert Sumlin, his guitarist, was a big influence on many rock players, from Clapton to Hendrix...how I wish Wolf was still here. Kazuhito Yamashita; JS Bach's Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas (Crown Classics)...by far the greatest interpreter of Bach I've ever heard. Technical skills beyond imagination, and soul to spare...he recorded these when he was only 28; holy shit, indeed (he plays guitar). I have also been rediscovering some of my rock favorites from my early, pre microtonal, years, including the Yardbirds (Roger the Engineer), Pink Floyd (Ummagumma), Deep Purple (Book of Taliesyn), Captain Beefheart (Trout Mask Replica), and a few others...these guys were young and wild, and very very creative, setting the stage for much of what later became metal, punk, Gothic rock, and much of pop/rock in general. Although working with 12 eq instruments, the music transcends this tuning because of the ideas expressed...it's some great stuff...Hstick PS...oops, almost forgot White Elephants and Golden Ducks; Musical Treasures from Burma (Shanachie)...yikes, what a strange and delightful set...these guys use traditional Burmese instruments, mixed with piano and slide guitar, of all things. This is some of the most unique Asian music I've ever heard...one tune reminds me a lot of King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man, of all things...HHH