Bona From June 2016

Ensemble Discantus - Santa Maria: Songs to the Virgin in 13th Century Spain (2016) {Bayard Musique 308 489.2}
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© 2016 Bayard Musique / Harmonia Mundi | 308 489.2
Classical / Early Music / Medieval / Choral

A program that gives pride to the famous collection of Cantigas de Santa Maria, Galician songs recounting legends and miracles of the Virgin, alternating with Marian songs of the troubadours Guiraut Riquier and Folquet Lunel (longtime present at the Alfonso X king's court) and polyphonies from the exquisite codex Las Huelgas.

This is the lone solo album by sideman Roger "Jellyroll" Troy, a consummate session player who was best known for his collaborations with blues bandleader Michael Bloomfield, including as part of a reunited mid-'70s version of Electric Flag. Troy's bona fides go back even further than that: while still a teen, he was the bassist in the novelty rock band, the Hollywood Argyles, and went on to gigs with James Brown and Freddie King. In 1969 he cut an album as the leader of the band Jellyroll (which was his nickname) and he had considerable success as a songwriter in the early '70s. This album is pretty much pure white soul, with a heavy Muscle Shoals feel: four songs were written by Troy, though tellingly he also covers Dan Penn, whose emotive vocals style is echoed in Troy's own phrasing. Among the many musicians backing him are jazz saxophonist Ernie Watts and pianist/producer Mike Lipskin… Fans of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Joe Cocker and any number of eclectic Memphis roots/soul bands might want to check this one out.

It's called Van Halen II not just because it's the band's second album but because it's virtually a carbon copy of their 1978 debut, right down to how the band showcases their prowess via covers and how Eddie Van Halen gets a brief, shining moment to showcase his guitar genius…

The kaleidoscopic warriors were not long into their 2019 Tascam Tapes European Tour when the Covid19 pandemic broke and they, like so many others, had to turn back and head home. However, DeWolff is not a band to sit still. When it came to studio album number nine, they had no intention of just waiting for things to blow over.

The fist ever Brainticket box set featuring 4 discs of these krautrock genius’s critically adored early ‘70s albums plus rare singles and live recordings, some of which have never been available on the commercial market - until now!
This box set on Cleopatra's Purple Pyramid imprint assembles their first three studio recordings (leaving out the early-'80s Voyage and Adventure) - in a sense, since it splits part of them up on the latter half of disc three. Brainticket's bona fide hippie classic, Cottonwoodhill from 1971, is here in its entirety, paired with a disc from a Vandroogenbroeck side project called Drum Circus and the album Magic Theater from the same period, which juxtaposed his organ, piano, flute, and sitar in the company of three drummers, two vocalists, a bassist, and a saxophonist…

Speaking of Now finds guitarist Metheny leading a retooled Pat Metheny Group; in addition to longtime core members, keyboardist Lyle Mays and bassist Steve Rodby, the Group now includes drummer Antonio Sanchez, trumpeter/vocalist Cuong Vu, and Richard Bona, who's best known as a bassist, but who functions primarily as the Group's percussionist/vocalist. The result is an exquisite album that features fresh new musical perspectives while losing none of the Group's familiar wide-ranging, melodic, always accessible sound. Most of the tracks on Speaking of Now were composed by Metheny and his longtime collaborator Mays, although three tracks were composed solely by Metheny. There's a buoyant feel to this album that is not to be confused with lightness. This is complex, intricately detailed music that reveals additional layers with each listening. Metheny seems to delight in discovering the myriad means by which his prodigiously accomplished bandmembers can provide coloration to the compositions, both within the larger group and in solo spotlights.