 It’s a shame there aren’t as many female professional instrumentalists as their male counterparts, at least regarding rock music and its subsequent subgenres. This has changed somewhat over the years thanks to trailblazing artists like Rosetta Tharpe, Carol Kaye, Suzi Quatro, The Wilson sisters, Sandy West and Joan Jett, but not nearly as much as I hoped.
The Glycerine Queens appeared on the music scene in 2010 from Neptune New Jersey and showed great promise to carry the torch. 2014’s “Sleep Deprivation” is a solid down tempo rock song, with 80’s pop sensibilities that showcases the band’s potential. I don’t know if they’re on a permeant hiatus or officially through, but with time I expect this group to develop into something special. http://www.womeninmusic.org/
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 Every once and a while I stumble upon a hum from a factory, or whirl of a street sweeper and as they fade away, I wish I could hear those sounds again. Zoviet France is a musical project that fabricates these earwig moments. Known for their use of dodgy instruments and poor gear, their recordings are uncompromising art installations of resonance.
“Drive” is a wonderful example of this assemblage of sounds. It’s the second track on their A Flock of Rotations LP, released in 1987, and like other Post Industrial and Dark Ambient artists of the period, reverberates your senses. This track isn’t for everyone but if you like early Cabaret Voltaire and experimental tape fiddling, A Flock of Rotations is an album for you.  The Bossa Nova craze of the early 60’s brought light hearted, samba inspired jazz to American audiences. Musicians Laurindo Almeida, Antônio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, Sérgio Mendes and Astrud Gilberto all became household names. Their music was rhythmic, often inspired romance, and for two countries shrouded in political turmoil, it was a needed distraction.
An artist that was not as well known in the United States, but an important cog in this musical movement was Nara Leão. After moving to Rio with her family in the late 1950’s, it was her apartment where some of this music first took flight. Her third album- O Canto Livre De Nara showcases some of her capable singing and even more than capable guitar playing. Backed by the Tamba Trio, “Carcará” is only a minute and fifty-four second peek into some of the recorded brilliance that both the Tamba Trio and Leão left us.  Duke Ellington is considered one of the most iconic musicians ever to walk this planet. Little more can be said about his contributions to jazz, composition and recorded music. This wasn’t always the case. Throughout the 1950’s Ellington was considered “old-fashioned” and out of favor with the press and the times. By 1955 he didn’t have a consistent record label to support him and was struggling to find work. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he was then free from contract restraints and could perform and record with old rivals and upcoming improvisational visionaries. Combine this with a timely appearance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, and Mr. Ellington was now en vogue again.
Money Jungle is a great example of his resurgence as a contemporary name in Jazz circles. Recorded in 1962 it also features two outstanding players of that era in Charles Mingus and Max Roach. Their waggishness can be heard throughout the album, and they pushed Ellington into new stylistic territory. “Very Special” is a wonderful track that showcases each of their talents and is my favorite on the record. At 2:00- 2:45 you can hear the twenty-three-ish year age gap between Duke and his rhythm section, and yet it works so well, especially when you know it was recorded in one take without rehearsal.  In 1958 Buddy Holly’s cover of “Rave On” reflected the euphoric breakneck dancing and carefree defiance youth culture had towards life. Throughout the 60’s the Mod musicians in England were often referred to as “Ravers” and by the 1990’s the term “Rave” took on an entirely new meaning attached to electronic dance music and the underground warehouse parties where subgenres of this music were showcased.
Long before XL Recordings was working with artists like Adele, Radiohead, The White Stripes and Vampire Weekend, it featured some of the best “Rave” music available. SL2, Nu-Matic and The Prodigy were some of the earlier artists to be featured and "Everybody in the Place" was The Prodigy’s second single. Originally released in December of 1991, by that summer this track had made its way to night clubs and warehouse parties across the U.S. This is my favorite version and like the early Rock-n-Roll of the 50’s, it reflects another lighthearted and rambunctious take on dance music. |
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