Animalism

The Jonas Cambien Trio reveals influences from the pioneers and greats of free music, but there’s much more going on in “We Must Mustn’t We”, beginning with Cambien’s classical-influenced piano style. A Belgian-born living in Oslo, Jonas Cambien divides his career between contemporary music, solo playing and free improvisation with groups like Simiskina and Platform - one aspect of his musical interests feeding the other. The use of extended techniques doesn’t get in the way of his preference for more conventional resources like ostinatos and counterpoint, all of which providing structural functions in both his compositions and for the improvisations of the band.

13 Live, which was recorded live in front of an audience, has a beautiful Third-World blues sound with a whole lot of New Orleans swagger! Jimmy Vivino, Mike Merritt, Felix Cabrera, Catherine Russell, Danny Louis, James Wormworth, Fred Walcott, Mike Jacobson. Recorded live at Levon Helm Studios on December 1, 2012. "A record that celebrates impulsivity, virtuosity, and unbridled soul. Somewhere between the hottest Chicago jump blues, muscled garage rock, and a jazz-leaning rhumba, lies the sound of Jimmy Vivino's Black Italians-musical dexterity by way of pure, soul-digging inspiration"…

At the very beginning, jazz was called "a combination of nervousness, lawlessness, primitive and wild animalism and debauchery." This definition was given by a more conservative generation who considered jazz a decadent phenomenon. However, despite such estimates, jazz came to its heyday in the 20s, and in the 30s and 40s determined not only the musical fashion, but also the lifestyle of that time in general. The 4CD compilation presented here is a great example of popular music from the 40s of the last century. The time when Glenn Miller and his orchestra, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman and other orchestras shone on the stage.

Of all the British acts that started messing with the blues in the early '60s, the Animals always sounded the toughest and most committed to the cause. They didn't have a genius guitarist like the Yardbirds or the Bluesbreakers, and couldn't write memorable original material like the Rolling Stones, but Eric Burdon was one of the few singers in the U.K. whose guts and ferocity approached that of his influences (without sounding like he was simply copying what he'd heard), and the tough, no-nonsense attack of guitarist Hilton Valentine, bassist Chas Chandler, and drummer John Steel drove the Animals with style and power, while keyboard man Alan Price gave the band plenty of welcome melodic flair…

Out of the drawers! Pia Davila and Linda Leine give new perspectives on "ostracised music".