Was Here

"Give and Take" was recorded without Daevid Allen, who had fallen ill after the release of Planet Gong's LP Live Floating Anarchy in 1978. The remaining members released it under their former name, Here & Now. Honestly, it makes no difference. If you don't look at the name on the CD and put it on, you could be tricked to believe it is a genuine early Gong album. Every element that constitutes the seminal space rock outfit's sound is reproduced to perfection: soaring guitar (courtesy of Steffy Sharpstrings, who would be drafted for the 1990s Gong reunion), sweeping synthesizers, psychedelic melodies, accelerating beats, and hypnotic pulses - they're all there…

If Sinead O'Connor can make an album of standards and Don Henley can cover Leonard Cohen, there's no reason on God's green earth why producer/multi-instrumentalist Don Was shouldn't be allowed to record jazzy R&B versions of obscure Hank Williams songs. He may have chosen some of the more esoteric gems from Hank's catalog so as to lessen the culture shock, but with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard and Sweet Pea Atkinson applying their respective talents to the proceedings, the initial novelty of the arrangements is undercut by virtuoso performances.
While the project, complete with lengthy instrumental interludes, smacks of self-indulgence, it's hard to go too far wrong with a cast of musicians as fine as the ones employed here. Was gets extra credit for talking Merle Haggard into lending his voice and guitar to "I'm So Tired Of It All."

Although initially considered a contractually obligated release, when Here and There (1976) was upgraded in 1995 as part of Elton John's (piano/vocals) "Classic Years" catalog overhaul, it became the most definitive live document to date of his immortal '70s quintet that featured the pianist backed by Davey Johnstone (guitar/backing vocals), Dee Murray (bass/backing vocals), Nigel Olsson (drums), and Ray Cooper (percussion). What was originally a single vinyl long-player was expanded to nearly two hours and 20 minutes, spread over two CDs….

Térez Montcalm is a Canadian jazz singer and guitarist who broke through to international success in 2007. She is primarily a jazz artist, who has a bit of a Janis Joplin like rock edge to her live performances. In this album she sets aside the guitar and concentrates purely on the slow and varied tempos of these Shirley Horn ballads near and dear to her heart.

Why Not Here is not the title of this disc, although from a casual glance it might look like it is so. The device "Why not here" is actually the name of the duo formed by gambists Hille Perl and Friederike Heumann; they are joined on many pieces by lutenists Lee Santana and Michael Freimuth, and the latter pair even have several pieces to themselves. The "lyra viol" is not a special instrument like a viola da braccio, but refers to a specific way of playing the viol, as an instrument capable of harmony and melody rather than melody only, or used in a purely basso context.