Wildcard - John Blevins

Since I’m now curating the Wildcard series, I thought I would contribute my own this week. All of this music I've stumbled across in about the last six months, and all of it has been on repeat. Thankfully, I’ve had a lot of time spent listening to new music lately, and these are some albums that have earned their way onto my playlist. A lot of this music speaks to my love of playing and writing at the guitar in addition to the trumpet. I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I have!

1. Son of Stan - Divorce Pop

Son of Stan is Jordan Richardson; Jordan Richardson is the Son of Stan. Divorce Pop is both the album and the genre. It has been on my playlist since I first heard it last summer on my honeymoon. My wife Amanda and I took a road trip around the U.S. and were able to spend some time in Los Angeles with her brother, Daniel Stessen. He happened to be listening to this at the time, because he'd recently created the album's artwork and music videos for "Corsica" and "Noxeema." Jordan has worked as a drummer and producer for years (Ben Harper, Future People), and Son of Stan is his first solo project. The album has been one of my favorites of the year. Its funky, deep guitar grooves make you move, while the song writing draws you in and especially resonates for anyone with an appreciation for those posters found in hair stylist windows from the 1980s...

2. The Milk Carton Kids - Prologue

The Milk Carton Kids have managed to get their song "Michigan" completely wedged into my ears for the time being. It's a beautiful song that begins their unforgettable album Prologue. The sounds of Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan remind me of music by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings or Simon and Garfunkel. Their guitar playing is exciting and impeccable, but I'm mostly drawn to their vocal harmonies and phrasing. I highly recommend watching  their set on “The Portland Sessions" for a real glimpse at their mastery.

3. Ron Miles - Witness

A few weeks ago I found some earlier recordings by trumpeter Ron Miles. Witness was recorded in 1989 for his debut as a leader. It features Fred Hess on tenor saxophone and flute, Art Lande on piano, Ken Walker on bass, and Bruno Carr on drums. I'm most familiar with Ron Miles's playing from his 2012 release Quiver, so I really enjoyed hearing his imaginative and unique voice present over 20 years earlier. The tune selection is also unique, and I particularly enjoyed Monk's "Ugly Beauty."

4. Ceramic Dog - Your Turn

Ceramic Dog’s Your Turn hit me from the first track, “Lies My Body Told Me,” like Hendrix meets Frank Zappa meets Tom Waits. Guitarist Marc Ribot’s band with drummer Ches Smith and bassist Shahzad Ismaily is a raw, experimental, and unapologetic musical force that’s rejuvenating and electrifying. I first saw Marc Ribot in January at the NYC Winter Jazz Fest, so I’m really new to his music—of  which there is a lot! You can see and hear Marc Ribot this Friday, February 21 at The Stone in NYC with John Medeski and Calvin Weston as Din.

5. Father John Misty - Fear Fun

Thankfully an old friend recommended Father John Misty’s Fear Fun last fall, and we finally arrived at an apt musical experience of our age. If you need comfort while you toil and fret just give a listen to “I’m Writing a Novel,” and feel better because while we want to make our mark and make a difference we’re really just summoning the courage to hop an amusement ride for some “Fun Times in Babylon.”

John Blevins is a trumpeter, guitarist, composer, teacher, and breakfast lover based in Brooklyn, NY.

Wildcard - Max Marshall

I very much appreciated the opportunity to contribute to Wing Walker Music’s “Wildcard” project.  I am rarely ever fully satisfied with my record collection and am always seeking out new and exciting music.  I relish the opportunity to experience new sounds and new compositional approaches.  I like the idea of “Wildcard” being a snapshot in time, rather than a simple “best-of” list.  Right now I take great inspiration from the following albums. Who knows what next season will bring?

1.  Betty Carter – The Audience With Betty Carter (1980)

Any fan of vocal jazz should immediately seek out this album, if for no other reason than Mrs. Carter’s 25-minute scatting tour de force on the album’s standout track, “Sounds”.  But The Audience With Betty Carter is a fantastic album by all accounts.  The rhythm section is a first-rate swinging machine made up of John Hicks, Curtis Lundy, and a young Kenny Washington; the repertoire consists of several of Carter’s originals and some choice standards, including “Everything I Have is Yours”, “I Could Write a Book”, “Deep Night” and a particularly scintillating take on “My Favorite Things”.  Betty Carter has a style of singing unlike anyone I’ve heard previously.  Often she will sing at least one or two measures behind her rhythm section, and her way of clumping together certain words or lyrical phrases is completely her own, and yet she makes it work astonishingly well.  Her performance of “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” is the album’s other tour de force - an extremely slow and sparse ballad that is simultaneously virtuosic, nuanced, relaxed, and heartbreaking.  The Audience With Betty Carter has to be one of the finest vocal jazz recordings of all time.

2.  David Grisman and Jerry Garcia – Shady Grove (1996)

I did not know that before Jerry Garcia became a rock and roll superstar with The Grateful Dead, he began his musical life singing traditional folk music.  I also did not know that he returned to folk music sporadically throughout his career.  These sessions with mandolin player and fellow folk musician David Grisman were recorded mostly in the early ‘90s, with the full album released shortly after Garcia’s death. It was clearly a very informal session – on the record you can hear Garcia and Grisman cracking jokes, talking through arrangements with the tape rolling, and fumbling through some false starts.  All of it lends itself to the music.  These are the songs the two men grew up singing, and they know them like the back of a hand.  The lyrics are mostly somber tales of crime, hard labor, unrequited love, and through it all Jerry’s voice lends true gravitas.  The simplicity of the record is it’s own most rewarding asset.

3.  Art Farmer & Benny Golson – Jazztet: The Complete Sessions (1959-1961)

The band is a sextet, but the arrangements would be just as well suited to a full big band.  This is true chamber jazz.  Every member of the band has an integral role to play throughout the full track; the music is far from just head charts.  These tunes have introductions, thematically developed melodies, counterpoint, three-part harmony, background figures during solo sections, shout choruses, and endings.  The music rewards repeated listening, precisely because the arrangements are so detailed. As I am now writing new music and preparing to record my second album I find myself drawn to the Jazztet’s songbook, for I can’t find a single wasted note in any of the six albums’ worth of material here.  Also, how can you not swing with guys like McCoy, Cedar Walton, Harold Mabern, Tootie Heath, Roy McCurdy, Herbie Lewis and Addison Farmer in your rhythm section?

4.  Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)

This record is a very new acquisition for me.  On the surface it’s a guitar driven alt-rock album, but a closer listen reveals much more.  There’s a wealth of varied textures at play here, from drones and distortion to a buoyant brass section, subtle pump organ sounds, creative use of reverb and feedback, not to mention several disparate musical influences at play.  At times The Aeroplane recalls early 1980s punk, Jon Brion’s cinematic west-coast rock and roll, early Radiohead, and a healthy dose of the Beatles’ classic discography.  I love it when a band isn’t afraid to call back many points of influence at the same time.  The lyrics speak to a surprisingly large number of topics – youthful inhibition, the beauty of music, war atrocities, and immortality – just to name a few.

5.  J.D. Allen Trio – The Madator and the Bull (2012)

The band comprises only three members, but the sound feels like so much more than that.  What I love about J.D.’s writing is his focus and his sense of brevity.  The Madator and the Bull is a pretty short record – a quick 41 minutes, and the individual tracks vary from just under 2 minutes to about 4 and a half.  Contained within those comparatively short tracks are an astonishing variety of tempos, moods and rhythmic structures that never fail to swing with great abandon.  Some of the tunes are based on existing chord changes like “Sweet Georgia Brown” (“Paseillo”) and “All of Me” (“Erlanger”), but the album varies from tightly constructed arrangements to completely free playing.  A few particular highlights are the 13/8 burner “Ring Shout”, the droning, bowed-bass heavy “Cathedral” and the slightly bop-ish “Pin Yin”.  Listening to The Madator and the Bull makes me remember an old adage told to me about my first pro recording session – “Get in, make your statement, and get out!”

Max Marshall is a pianist and composer based in Brooklyn, NY

Wildcard-John Doing

My selections can all be considered World Music - which seems to be what we call anything that does not have its roots in North America or Europe.  I chose albums that strongly represent a traditional cultural identity, but have also stepped into the fusion category - adding elements like the drumset, electric bass, guitar, horns, etc.  They are an easy transition into the unknown for the Western ear - World Music that is not difficult to listen to.

1. Oumou - Oumou Sangare

Oumou Sangare is known as the “Songbird of Mali”.  She is famous for her gorgeous voice and for having a sensational international career, yet choosing to live in her homeland with her people.  She sings about tough issues facing traditional African cultures - women’s rights, government corruption, etc.  The language is Bamana.  It is spoken in the city of Bamako.  The band utilizes many traditional instruments, including the djembe drum and the Ngoni - a 6-stringed harp made from a gourd.   Much of the music rides the line between 12/8 time and 4/4 time.  There are no odd meters on this record, but it’s easy to get turned around in the funky ostenatos.  

This album was on the radio a lot when I was in Bamako.  In my neighborhood, there was one guy with a huge sound system in the middle of the block that played the radio all day every day.. a soundtrack for daily life.  As heavy as this album is, it scratches the surface of the deep musical traditions found in Mali - traditions that have recently been outlawed and violently destroyed by extremists from the North imposing Sharia law.  

Oumou performed at “Celebrate Brooklyn” in 2012.

2.La Rumba Que No Termina - Clave y Guaguanco

Clave y Guaguanco is a group that takes traditional Cuban street music called Rumba to a new level (guagaunco is a type of rumba).  They have been at it since the 50s, when rumba was first recorded, and have stayed at the forefront ever since.  Their layered vocal harmonies and outrageous percussion ensembles have made them one of the best Afro-Cuban groups ever.  Rumba was the first non-Western music I learned about in college in Wisconsin.

Rumba is kind of like Hip-Hop in the U.S. - cultural, political, playful, and sexual.  It is the secular counterpart to sacred Afro-Cuban music of Santería.  Most Afro-Cuban music is influenced by the songs and rhythms of Santería - driving, African call and response sequences designed to spiral the listener’s energy upwards into a trance-like state.  Rhythmically, it is absolute insanity.  If you know the Rumba clave, you are on the same page as the performers, but be prepared to hang on for dear life.  Track 9, my favorite, is “Respuesta da Maria”, which I transcribed and performed with a full ensemble in Wisconsin in 2009.  

3. Tabla Beat Science - Zakir Hussain

This record was one of my first exposures to the Tabla drums from India.  Tabla player Zakir Hussain is one of India’s most successful musical exports, collaborating with all types of artists all around the world.  I don’t know how to play Tabla, and I don’t know enough about the music to truly appreciate the classical style.  That’s why this album was perfect for me - Drum n’ Bass meets Tabla drums..  give it a listen.

4. The Best of Bamboleo - Bamboleo

If you read about Rumba under my Clave y Guagaunco heading, Timba is like Salsa music with a Rumba attitude.  It incorporates funk.  It may be thought of as a more African, more “street” version of Salsa.  Bamboleo is one of the first bands I heard that played this kind of music.  My wife went to their concert in Havana and brought me their CD.  The soaring, virtuosic vocals and insanely tight horns that you would expect from Cuba sound effortless along with the congas and timbale-infused drumset.  Several of these tracks had me rhythmically stumped until I literally counted along.  Even with some prior knowledge of the clave patterns, I was blown away by the ensemble performance.  

From what I have heard: if you live in Cuba and you are an excellent musician, you can audition to place into one of the national groups which is sponsored by the government as a cultural investment.  You make your living rehearsing with your group.. EVERY DAY.  Think about that next time you hear music from Cuba...

5. Dengo - Soungalo Coulibaly  

From Djembefola.com - “Bouake (Ivory Coast) represents a cultural crossroads of music from Ivory Coast, Guinea and Burkina Faso. It was there that Soungalo invented "Flez" music - a fusion of djembe, dunun, tama, djidunun, balafon, kamelengoni, acoustic guitar, karinyan and song. Flez music draws on the repertoires of the Bambara, Malinke, Fulbe and Wasulunka traditions.” 

Flez is my favorite music, ever.  The first thing that stunned me about this album was the quality of the recording.  Then after I saw some videos I realized the guy’s technique on the drum is what makes it sound that way.  There are many traditional instruments used on this album, and they all sound amazingly rich and blend very well.  This is the one album on the list that has no Western stylistic influence or Western instruments, but it is so balanced that it is totally palatable.  

Soungalo is a djembe master.  I would compare his playing to a Flamenco guitar player.. playing at full speed at a pianissimo dynamic.  It is unreal.  As a hand percussionist, this album helped me to learn my place in the world.  Djembe is traditionally very loud and involves a lot of brawn and charisma.  There are only three sounds on the drum. Soungalo’s charisma is a different kind.  His understated phrases are hip, playful, and deep.  In this track (only thing I could find on YouTube), he doesn’t even play until the song is halfway over.  

John Doing is a drummer and percussionist located in Brooklyn, NY. Check out some of his music here.  

Wildcard-Marike van Dijk

Inspiration seems to come from weird places for me. It mostly comes from music I’ve listened to, but very often I won’t be able to pinpoint what song or composer it was exactly that inspired me to write a piece. Sometimes I will be writing, or just fooling around on the piano and I’ll have images or even a small story come to mind that make sense with the music I’m playing. So, Let's start off with some albums I used to listen to

1. The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

I listened to a lot of (punk) rock as a teenager. I love the vibe of this record. To me, it is the perfect teenager record, feeling misunderstood and being angry at the world and all that stuff you feel then. Maybe I still haven’t totally outgrown that phase. Haha. Anyway, the way songs on this record are constructed and the chords for most songs still make it a joy to listen to. (by the way, I also love the video for 'Tonight, Tonight' inspired by Georges Méliès – ‘Le voyage dans la lune’

2. Undeclinable Ambuscade-Their Greatest Adventures

When I was 15 I started playing in a punk/skate/ska core band. I played in the horn section (obviously) with a trumpet and trombone player. We as a band hung out all the time. Practicing once a week in our small town, writing songs and drinking lots of beer. Here’s one of the records we loved. It’s a dutch band called  Undeclinable Ambuscade. My favorite record was ‘Their Greatest Adventures’. This is happy skate-punk with lots of energy and lyrics about anything and everything. It still makes me happy listening to it.

3. Deviate- Thorn of the Living

Okay, so after the ska and punk music, I moved on to metal and hardcore. I loved going to those shows and just moshing in the pit. Haha, I bet you didn’t expect that.

So, here’s my favorite metalcore album. It is called 'Thorn of the living’ by a Belgian band called Deviate. Most of the lyrics are about how bad humans are for this planet and how we should all treat each other a little bit better. (well, I put it in a nice way now, the lyrics are pretty dark… again…angry teenager) but I love the chord progressions.

4. The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau

Now more about my composing and other influences.

I wrote a tune called Jean Jacques. When I was young I used to watch a lot of nature documentaries. One of the great nature documentary series I watched was ‘The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau’.  The music in these documentaries is often impressionist/contemporary classical. I did not realize that all the music I’ve listened to, be it in film or just on MTV, has influenced me in one way or another but this became apparent when I was writing Jean Jacques. I had been practicing triads in wide voicing on saxophone and started playing them on piano. I then started to sing the melody for the first 4 bars (the song is a waltz, the chords are all wide voicings of intervals and the first part of the melody is a descending whole tone scale). As I was playing/singing these bars, the images of Jacques Cousteau’s documentaries came to mind and gave me a direction as to where this song should go. I took this song to a composing session with my friend Daan Herweg. We developed the song, I took it home and changed some more things and there it was.

Watch an example of ‘The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau’ here.

5. The Beatles-She's Leave Home 

The last arrangement I wrote is an arrangement of the Beatles’ ‘She’s Leaving Home’. This arrangement is a combination of two influences. I’m not really a connaisseur when it comes to the great songs of the Beatles, but my father is a great fan and listened to their songs a lot when I was younger. I stumbled upon this particular song years ago when I was studying in Rotterdam at the conservatory. I was in an ensemble with a singer who made an arrangement for the song. After I listened to the original recording, the song stuck with me and seemed to surface every once and a while, touching me deeply every time I heard it. I love the way the strings in this song are in no way corny, a thing that often happens when strings are added to a pop song. The second influence for this arrangement is a song called ‘The Music of Life’ by John Hollenbeck’s Large Ensemble. It is a very slow piece with open contemporary harmonies and a poem recited on 1 pitch. I heard this song for the first time about a year ago at Roulette in Brooklyn. It was truly enchanting. At the time it felt like a big white canvas with colors coming out of it from time to time. I promised to myself that I would write a piece like that some day. I used that idea to write the arrangement for ‘She’s Leaving Home’. I didn’t want to destroy the beauty of the song and it could not in any way become a corny song. So I decided to mix the simple beauty of this song with contemporary harmonies, using a lot of space in the intro.

Marike is an incredible saxophonist and composer. Listen to some of here music at her website. 

Wildcard-Marta Sánchez

1. Henry Cowell-Piano Music

It is a classic, but I am still amazed by all of the different sounds and textures that he can get from a piano every time I listen to this recording. These compositions explore all of the different possibilities that this instrument can offer (sound, rhythm, textures, etc...) and all of them have an incredible forward motion and great structure.

2. Chris Cheek/Ethan Iverson/Ben Street/Jorge Rossy-Guilty

This recording was made in a spanish Jazz club, El Jamboree, when these guys were not as famous as they are now. They play standards in a really fresh way. The four of them are really personal and their interplay is incredible, really happening... 

3.Silvio Rodriguez-Al final de este viaje

This singer-songwriter and poet is one of the musicians from the Cuban Revolution. His lyrics and melodies are simple and beautiful. I used to listen to Silvio a lot when I was an undergraduate. I guess he is an idealist that believe in an utopic and wonderful world and that is in his music...

4. Silvia Perez Cruz-En la imaginacion

I can´t say that this recording is one of the most influential ones in my life, but I want to present it because she is a young spanish singer and every time i listen to her it thrills me. I guess that this section is a little bit for someone to discover music, and I wanted to recommend her. I chose this recording in which she sings boleros with some of the most important jazz musicians in Spain: Perico Sambeat, Javier Colina and Albert Sanz.

5. Jeff Buckley-Grace

It is also a classic, but I am a really big fan of Jeff Buckley. His voice is amazing and he always sings with a lot of emotion. Every time I listen to this recording I get something from him. 

See Marta play with her band TONIGHT at Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn featuring Roman Filiu, Jerome Sabbagh, Sam Anning and Guilhem Flouzat. They play one set at 8:15. This band is incredible so you definitely need to check them out.  You can listen to some of Marta's music on her website here.