Brother 2 2000

Hausmusik’s performance of the Mendelssohn Octet comes with the advantage of a sensibly steady tempo for the famous scherzo, allowing for maximum transparency and lightness; and a dazzling finale in which for once the cello’s first scurrying fugal entry sounds crystal clear. The First String Quintet, and the Op. 13 Quartet – Mendelssohn’s homage to the late quartets of the recently deceased Beethoven – are also miraculous products of the composer’s teenage years. The Quintet is quite beautifully done here, but the Quartet, like the late Quintet, Op. 87, is rather lacking in tension and urgency. Woldemar Bargiel was Schumann’s brother-in-law. For all its obvious weaknesses, his Octet contains some attractive ideas, and Divertimenti’s performance makes a strong case for it. Divertimenti is impressive in the Mendelssohn, too – though its finale is not quite as exhilarating as Hausmusik’s; and in the last resort neither group can quite match the élan of the ASMF Chamber Ensemble.

With the outfit's four members hailing from Stockholm, Åmål, and Gothenburg, My Brother The Wind is a fully improvisational cosmic rock collective consisting of members of widely known Swedish acts Makajodama, Magnolia, Animal Daydream and most notably Anekdoten, one of the more widely recognized names in the 1990s prog rock revival. Those who frequent the works of Popol Vuh, Amon Duul, Sun Ra, Träd, Gräs Och Stenar, Ash Ra Tempel, Gong, Pink Floyd and other visionary, psychedelic rock artists are advised to investigate this act.

With their debut CD Tala Matrix, the project known as Tabla Beat Science has essentially taken the rich and time-honored tradition of the tabla (a pair of North Indian hand drums) and fused it with contemporary electronica studio wizardry. Tala Matrix is dedicated to the memory of the late, great, and innovative tabla virtuoso Ustad Alla Rakha (1919-2000). The Tabla Beat Science project is comprised of one of Ustad Alla Rakha's sons, the tabla superman Zakir Hussain. Additional members include the venerated sarangi player Ustad Sultan Khan; Indian and jazz percussion innovator Trilok Gurtu; New York drummer Karsh Kale; bass, drum, and tabla visionary Talvin Singh; and music programmer Brad Somatik. Producer/bassist Bill Laswell, who "conceived and constructed" the CD, acts as the catalyst for the outfit, adding the bottom end with his dub basslines and the overall aesthetic with his studio prowess…

Back in the late 1960s, Free was just one of hundreds of blues-based bands that grew up under the shadow of the Rolling Stones and, later, Cream. Like Fleetwood Mac, Free came together with a little help from those twin founders of the British blues boom–John Mayall and Alexis Korner–and like Led Zeppelin, they hit lucky–and big–early on…

"Big Brother & the Holding Company," is an early recording by Big Brother and the Holding Company, a psychedelic blues rock San Francisco-based band during the late 1960's. The record survives largely because of their great, great chick singer, Janis Joplin, of course, who joined them on a Chicago gig. Although Joplin fans will know that she did not, unfortunately, survive the 1970's, as she passed on October 4, 1970 (aged 27), in Los Angeles, California. But in her brief career, despite her troubled life, she left behind a stunning, gutsy repertory of work that has long since floated free of, and outlived, Big Brother. This record, however, was laid down about six months before she (and they) achieved lasting blazing stardom at the 1967 Monterrey Pop Festival.

The multidimensional Hot Chocolate incorporated strains of soul, rock, reggae, and disco into their sound and, during the '70s and early '80s, scored a dozen Top 10 hits in their native U.K. Formed by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson, the interracial band debuted in 1969 as Hot Chocolate Band with a cover of Plastic Ono Band's "Give Peace a Chance," issued on the Beatles' Apple Records. The band then forged a long-term alliance with producer Mickie Most and his RAK label, for which Brown and Wilson also wrote material for other artists. From 1970 through 1973, Hot Chocolate released seven singles. "Love Is Life" and "I Believe (In Love)" were Top 10 U.K. hits, as was "Brother Louie," a bleak tale regarding an interracial relationship. A cover version, shrewdly recorded by Stories, went to number one in the U.S.