My review for I Care If You Listen.
expressing black mood
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Best of 2014
John Adams, The Gospel According to the Other Mary – Los Angeles Philharmonic, LA Master Chorale, Gustavo Dudamel
John Luther Adams, Become Ocean – Seattle Symphony, Ludovic Morlot
D’Angelo and The Vanguard, Black Messiah
Morton Feldman, String Quartet No. 1 – FLUX Quartet
Flying Lotus, You’re Dead!
Philip Glass, The Complete Piano Etudes – Maki Namekawa
Meredith Monk, Piano Songs – Ursula Oppens, Bruce Brubaker
Laura Mvula, With Metropole Orkest Conducted by Jules Buckley at Abbey Road Studios
Steve Reich, Radio Rewrite – Jonny Greenwood, Vicky Chow, Alarm Will Sound, Alan Pierson
Ann Southam, Glass Houses Vol. 2 – Christina Petrowska Quilico
tuku, moonday sessions:the black
reissues
Herbie Hancock, The Complete Columbia Album Collection 1972-1988 (rel. late 2013)
Odyssey, Happy Together (Expanded Edition)
Sly Stone & various artists, I’m Just Like You: Sly’s Stone Flower 1969-1970
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Radio Rewrite Is ‘Everything’ and Then Some
An excerpt of my review of the Nonesuch album for I Care If You Listen; full version available with a subscription.
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I Care If You Listen – FLUX Quartet Records Feldman’s String Quartet No. 1
Here’s my review of FLUX Quartet’s recording of Morton Feldman’s String Quartet No. 1, Structures and Three Pieces, over at I Care If You Listen.
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All These Things
Taiguara ft. Hermeto Pascoal & Wagner Tiso “Samba das Cinco”
F major, final chord: D-flat majorBebel Gilberto “Samba da Benção” (backing track: Amon Tobin “Nova”)
D-flat majorEsperanza Spalding “Ponte de Areia”
D-flat majorAline Morales “Como Pólen”
F-sharp minorAirto Moreira “The Happy People”
F major, transition on G minorBanda Black Rio “Mr. Funky Samba”
G minorDjavan “Nereci” ft. Marianzinha
A minor, transition on E open fifthCarlos Dafé “De Alegria Raiou O Dia”
E minorAntonio Adolfo & A Brazuca “Transamazônica” (excerpt)
E minor, transition on G minor/CGilberto Gil “Maracatu Atomico”
G minorRobson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti “Aleluia”
G major in key of C, transition on F minor riffFlora Purim “From the Lonely Afternoon”
F minorTim Maia “O Caminho Do Bem”
D minorPaulinho da Costa “Déjà vu” ft. Philip Bailey
D minor, D-sharp minorSergio Mendes & The New Brasil ’77 “The Real Thing”
D-sharp minorBurnier & Cartier “Mirandolina”
F minor, A-flat majorJazzanova “Gafiera” ft. Pedro Martins & Azymuth
F minorElis Regina “Tereza Sabe Sambar”
B minorArthur Verocai “Na Boca Do Sol”
B minorToninho Horta w/Orquestra Fantasma “Aquelas Coisas Todas (Sanguessuga)”
B minor, E major/minorA L L T H E S E T H I N G S
At the invitation of São Paulo-based DJ Petri Glad on the occasion of World Cup 2014, here are a few well-loved songs composed and/or performed by Brazilians (and one Brazilian Canadian).
Also on request, I’ve provided simplified key information for each song to better illustrate where harmonic mixing (key matching or transitioning) has sometimes been employed.
I B R Λ H I M ΞL M Λ H B O O B
July 2014 -
I Care If You Listen – Hamelin performs Feldman
I’m delighted to share my debut piece for the excellent contemporary classical magazine I Care If You Listen.
It’s a review of Marc-André Hamelin’s performance of Morton Feldman’s For Bunita Marcus at the 21C Music Festival in May. Have a look and let me know what you think!
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Spring Affair
Peter Brown | Without Love
Deniece Williams | How’d I Know That Love Would Slip Away
Táta Vega | Mr. Troublemaker
Greg Phillinganes | Lazy Nina
Ronnie Laws | All for You
Patrice Rushen | Music of the Earth
Michael Wycoff | Looking Up to You
Herbie Hancock | Stars in Your Eyes (Special Disco Remix)
Pleasure | I’m Mad
Donald Byrd | Love Has Come Around
Evelyn “Champagne” King | What Are You Waiting For
Loleatta Holloway | Love Sensation
Logg | Something Else
Donna Summer | Spring Affair
Gene Harris | LosalamitoslatinfunklovesongSpring Affair
1974-1985
Analog keys, horns, vibes, strings, human drummers and sangin’
Classics with a tempo flow and a little harmonic mixing (no pitch shifting)
Dedicated to Nehal El-Hadi (aka Nina), writer, poet,
researcher, editor, producer, motherThank you also to Nehal for the title graphic on the cover photo
I B R Λ H I M ΞL M Λ H B O O B
April 2014 -
Best of 2013
Eve Egoyan – 5
Philip Glass – Visitors
Kuniko Kato – Cantus
R. Andrew Lee – November
Laura Mvula – Sing to the Moon
Omar – The Man
Quadron – Avalanche
Thundercat – Apocalypse
Hans Zimmer – Man of Steel
Best archive/reissue:
Sly and the Family Stone – Higher!
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Golden Beats
Bilal | Back to Love
Quadron | LFT
Toto ft. Cheryl Lynn | Georgy Porgy
Gino Vannelli | Fly into this Night
Manzel | Midnight Theme (Dopebrother 12 Inch Remix)
The Emotions | There’ll Never Be Another Moment
Earth, Wind & Fire | Beijo (Interlude) ‧ Brazilian Rhyme
D.J. Rogers | Love Will Make It Better
Pockets | Come Go with Me
Donny Hathaway | Come Little Children
Gregory Porter | 1960 What? (Opolopo Kick & Bass Rerub)
Thundercat | Oh Sheit It’s X
Wally Badarou | He Was a Rasta in London Town
Rufus ft. Chaka Khan | At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You Up)
George Duke | Psychosomatic Dung
Sparkle | Let Yourself Go
The Staples | Love Me, Love Me, Love Me
Doug Carn ft. Jean Carne | Naima
Laura Mvula | DiamondsI B R Λ H I M ΞL M Λ H B O O B
Southward Equinox 2013Golden Beats
Special focus on Kalimba Productions
(The Emotions, Earth, Wind & Fire, D.J. Rogers and Pockets)RIP George Duke
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Up on Garrison Creek
July 2001, early morning. I pass through an intersection in a quiet neighbourhood and walk along a street that appears impossibly green, even for Toronto. As I look in all four directions I see no one else. The light is golden, the air still cool and I have a rare unobstructed view into the distances. I am about to begin a new chapter. There’s a lot of fear but this moment is breaking it up. This corner of stolen land or what is built upon it seems briefly mine.
November 2011, mid morning. I reach that same intersection in a busy neighbourhood, to view the apartment home that my wife, children and I will live in. The corner is bustling. Much has changed here in a decade, in my own life to an almost unfathomable degree. Spiritually it feels like coming home; mentally the years are a discarded anchor; physically this is only a brief resting place.
July 2013, late evening. I stand on our balcony, staring out at the intersection. Always that. The year is barely half over, and already it has seen almost as much change as the dozen just passed. Change that flows out of the natural course of things, and sudden, surprising change. It’s not all good, it just is. Love is more difficult, but deeper. Ideals are more firmly grounded, less rosy. But dreams don’t die.
Halfway mark, insha’Allah.