Here's an email I sent to someone recently (who asked what I've been listening to lately)that folks here might appreciate:
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GUITAR
* "The Moon and the Banana Tree"--compilation of Malagasy (Madagascar) guitar players; haunting and spellbinding. One of the best/most often listened to cds in my collection.
* "The Long Way Home"--Dama and D'Gary. I think these guys must use open tunings or something ,because they're playing is so out-of-this-world. Two of Madagascar's best (and best-known) guitarists.
* "Music from Madagascar" -- D'Gary. The man. Just awesome.
* Almost anything by Baden Powell (he's probably got more than 30 out), but especially "Solitude on Guitar," "Rio Das Valsas," and "Samba Triste."
* Anything by Tim Sparks, but "One String Leads to Another" is one of my faves.
* "Reflections"--Paulinho Nogueira--pure magic.
GUITAR PLUS VOICE
* "The Next Hundred Years" -- Ted Hawkins. LA's best street busker. A lifetime of hardship and sadness fill the songs of this gravel-throated wonder, but he manages somehow to keep the faith. One of my all-time favorite cds.
* "Lead Me On," and "Roll Away the Stone" -- Kelly Joe Phelps. A young kid (maybe 27) on slide guitar from the south. Moments of beauty and raw talent. I like both of these very much.
PIANO
* Ray Bryant, "Alone with the Blues," "Alone at Montreux." Very Monk-like, incredible rhythms. I absolutely adore Ray Bryant.
* Abdullah Ibrahim, "The Mountain," "Tintinyana," "African Piano". Used to be known as Dollar Brand before he converted to Islam. A South African pianist. My hero since 1984, when as a volunteer for the Berkeley Jazz Festival, I picked him up at the airport and drove him to the venue. A marvelous man. You've never heard anything remotely similar. I have about 20 of his cds, but the three above stand out.
* Art Tatum. Get the collected works if you can, a six-cd set. Mindblowing.
* Every single recording of Thelonius Monk, especially his solo stuff. |
