News From 5 Marz 2016

Standing at the crossroads of modern bluegrass and newgrass, The Infamous Stringdusters are a band that is "stretching [bluegrass] from within" (New York Times). For their sixth studio album, Ladies & Gentlemen, the band invited a dozen of their favorite female singers to join them. The list of featured guests includes some of the most dynamic and innovative artists from across the roots music, Americana and country worlds: Nicki Bluhm, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Jen Hartswick, Sarah Jarosz, Claire Lynch, Aofie O'Donovan, Joan Osborne, Joss Stone, Sara Watkins, Abigail Washburn, Lee Ann Womack and Celia Woodsmith.

Sinikka Langeland - The Magical Forest (2016) {ECM 2448}
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© 2016 ECM Records | ECM 2448 / 477 6831
Jazz / Folk / Nordic Traditions / Finnish Folk / Improvisation / Avant-Garde Jazz

The colours of The Magical Forest glow in this remarkable recording which brings together Sinikka Langeland’s Norwegian-Finnish-Swedish Starflowers quintet with the singers of the Trio Mediӕval. It’s an inspired concept: the Trio Mediӕval, with their affinity for folk music and their unique vocal blend, adapt themselves ideally to Sinikka’s sound-world, which is once archaic, timeless and contemporary. The quintet members, all bandleaders in their own right, are amongst the most characterful players in Scandinavia today, and Sinikka sets them free to improvise around her cycle of songs, built upon myths and legends of the world tree. The Magical Forest was recorded at Oslo’s Rainbow Studio in February 2015, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

This album is performed by Yoshi Waki on bass, John Davis on drums and the Japanese pianist on piano. On this release, the famous pianist also performs Fender Rhodes and Hamond B-3 organ. As many previous albums, the trio format is adopted here. However, the album differs significantly from previous works, and it offers a very introspective experiment. The balance between the different instruments is particularly notable, with imaginative solos from Yoshi Waki and particularly the work of Davis on drums.

Joe Lynn Turner says: “This new Sunstorm album is the best of the series! We went harder… stronger… and heavier than ever before without losing the integrity of what the project is about…I call it Melodic Metal! The songs are very well crafted, the messages are profound, the performances amazing..and the sound is incredible! All involved can be very proud of such a great music. I urge anyone who loves great music to check out "Edge of Tomorrow", you won't be disappointed!” The resulting album shows a slightly new direction for SUNSTORM, which still features organic and very strong melodies as a trademark. Enjoy!

In this wonderful solo album, Norwegian early music performer Rolf Lislevand turns his attention to the music of two composers from the court of Louis XIV: Robert de Visée (c. 1655-1732) and the Italian-born Francesco Corbetta (c. 1615-1681), and plays their masterpieces with historical awareness and an inventiveness which belongs to the tradition. De Visée wrote about playing what the instruments themselves called for, advice Lislevand takes to heart, adding improvised introductions to passacaglias from both composers. He uses two contrasting instruments here, the small Baroque guitar with its sparkling, crystal-clear sonorities and the theorbo, the dark-toned and earthy king of the lutes.

McGuinness Flint's 1971 debut LP was a very of-its-time British roots rock album with a rural feel. While neither blues-rock nor folk-rock, the influence of blues-rock and folk-rock on these easygoing, good-natured rambles was substantial…