Passage

Sturgill Simpson makes his long-awaited return to music this year with a new album under a new name, Johnny Blue Skies. After promising to release only five studio albums under his own name, Sturgill Simpson marks the beginning of a new era with Johnny Blue Skies and the release of Passage Du Desir. Released on his own independent label, High Top Mountain Records, the album includes eight songs produced by Johnny Blue Skies and David Ferguson and recorded at Clement House Recording Studio in Nashville, TN and Abbey Road Studios in London, England.

Sturgill Simpson makes his long-awaited return to music this year with a new album under a new name, Johnny Blue Skies. After promising to release only five studio albums under his own name, Sturgill Simpson marks the beginning of a new era with Johnny Blue Skies and the release of Passage Du Desir. Released on his own independent label, High Top Mountain Records, the album includes eight songs produced by Johnny Blue Skies and David Ferguson and recorded at Clement House Recording Studio in Nashville, TN and Abbey Road Studios in London, England.

Jah Wobble & Evan Parker - Passage To Hades (2001) {30 Hertz Records 30HZCD14}
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© 2001 30 Hertz Records | 30HZCD14
Experimental / Dub / Avant-Garde / Saxophone

Taking as their inspiration the Greek myth of Orpheus, European improv king Evan Parker (tenor and soprano saxophone) and Invaders of the Heart alumni Clive Bell and Jean-Pierre Rasle invest in a series of stark, repetitive bass and drum structures on Passage to Hades. At the music's core is the rhythm axis of Jah Wobble and Mark Sanders. The duo maps out the territory, delivering all that's required and more through minimal means. It's a refreshing change of scenery for Parker, who's normally heard in avant-garde ensembles or blazing solo performances. Here, he's confined to a stark, muscular groove and he responds beautifully. Like the later recordings by John Coltrane (an early influence), the saxophonist unleashes an abundance of dialog on his instruments, though he never quite reaches the torrents of sound one might expect.

Ginger Baker - Middle Passage (1990) {Axiom 539 864-2}
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© 1990 Axiom / Island Records | 539 864-2
Rock / Art Rock / Ethnic Fusion / Jazz / Drums

Awesome mixture of exotic acoustic and electric elements, rhythms and tonalities. Ginger Baker is a world traveler and this has heavy leanings to African themes but Bill Laswell's production brings it out of the village into the studio, but just barely. The drumming and percussion throughout the album goes beyond the boundries of both rock and world music. Bass duties are handled by Laswell and Jah Wobble, often both on the same track. Exotic guitars played by tonemaster Nicky Skopeltis. No vocals, no need for them here.In fact I've played this recording since it first came out (circa 1989) but not until writing this review now did the abscence of vocals even dawn on me.

Imagine a dark corridor. Have you? It could have lamps of course, but the light doesn't even reach the floor, it's covered with darkness. Do you fear this situation? And if does the exit disappear at once, like it never existed? Corridor is prolonging both sides, its length - infinity. The darkness gorges the remainder of dimmed light until only the dark corridor is left. And hey, what's the rustling up there?

Anthony Davis - Middle Passage (1984) {Gramavision GRCD-8401}
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© 1984 Gramavision | GRCD-8401
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Post Bop / Piano

Anthony Davis, a brilliant pianist/composer, performs four of his compositions as solo piano pieces, utilizing electronics on the lengthy "Particle W." Even if none of the individual compositions are all that memorable by themselves, Davis's combination of avant-garde jazz and hints of the tradition with contemporary classical music is quite intriguing and full of surprises.

“The Passage” is DGM’s eighth studio album and is the culmination of almost 20 years of hard work that started back in 1997 with the release of their self-produced mini-album, ‘Random Access Zone’. The band went through several incarnations and lineup changes during the years, but since singer Mark Basile entered the group in 2007, DGM evolved and developed their sound into what they have now become.

With this recording, Joshua Redman attempts a long-form composition for the first time, a series of eight numbers that form a cycle of sorts. The promotional buzz claimed that Redman was taking stock of his music ten years after winning the Thelonious Monk competition, the event that had the effect of launching him full-blown into the big time. Whether or not that's true, there is a predominantly reflective, thoughtful tone about this quartet session, split between written-out passages and flat-out improvisations.

When the French court moved into the magnificent residence of Versailles on May 6, 1682, France was at the zenith of its power. The king, no longer a young man in his mid-forties by the standards of the time, was increasingly coming under the influence of Madame de Maintenon, who had risen from the position of governess to his illegitimate children to become the Sun King's maitresse and later wife. The pious lady brought the king back into the arms of the church, which was not without influence on the musical entertainment of his majesty. In addition to chamber music, which Louis always appreciated, sacred cantatas in French were now in demand for the court's devotions.