Sunday at Bob's #4 - Home Is Where

I had already prepared a few playlists for the coming weeks when I decided last minute to come up with something new. I got a bunch of new plants in my room including a pancake plant (pilea peperomioides), a plant endemic of the Yunnan province of southeast China which got imported in Scandinavia in the 40s. It is a very beautiful plant with flat leaves that doesn't exceed 30cm in height and width. Sometimes I think the plants listen.

This week's playlist starts with an extract from the soundtrack of the 1974 movie The Conversation, composed by a young David Shire, Francis Ford Coppola's brother-in-law. It is a rather sober but very beautiful and tragic soundtrack that is almost solely composed of one piano. The main theme, which is a sort of slow ragtime, comes back every now and then with a delightful little twist to it.

We go on with a piece by the Pierre Nadeau Trio from Canada, discovered on the compilation Ready or Not: Deep Jazz Grooves from the CBC Radio Canada Archive 1967-1977 that I strongly recommend. Pierre Nadeau aka Le gros Pierre (1944-2004) was a Canadian pianist who was active since the 60s. If you understand french I can lead you to that small text about him. His album Extra-Ordinaire is currently available entirely on youtube, which is nice.

After that comes a freshly discovered artist I was very much impressed with, Philip Cohran and The Artistic Heritage Ensemble. Born in 1927 in Oxford, Mississipi, Philip Cohran was known for playing the trumpet in Sun Ra's Arkestra from 1951 to 1961 and it is something that I think you can hear in his own work as well. Early in his career, he invented an instrument he called the Frankiphone or the Space Harp, which is actually an electrified mbira or kalimba; he played it on some of Sun Ra's early albums. This instrument inspired Maurice White to use an electrified Kalimba in performance with Earth, Wind and Fire.^[4] Cohran said that he taught White and his brothers music in their youth, much as The Wailers were tutored by Joe Higgs. On the Beach features the Frankiphone on the title track, as well as a piece called "New Frankiphone Blues". (Wikipedia)

Écoute-moi camarade (Listen to me, comrade) is a song were the long forgotten Mohamed Mazouni, who can be rediscovered on the compilation Un dandy en exil (Algérie-France, 1969-1983), tries to convince a friend of his that the girl he is after is not worth it and doesn't care about him. It is a quite powerful song with a very catchy melody. Here is an interesting text about Mazouni and Agleria (both in French and English).

The playlist features also a track from Nat Brichall's Cosmic Language that is I think a contemporary echo to Philip Cohran, Sun Ra and other's spiritual Jazz. This week again the British intense Jazz scene is well represented apart from Birchall by as well Zara MacFarlane and the Portico Quartet. Very dancable songs by the almighty Wally Badarou and Seu Pereira & Coletivo 401 are also present.

Enjoy,

no late check out, still 10h30.

The receptionist

Playlist:

1. David Shire - Whatever Was Arranged
2. Pierre Nadeau Trio - Consuelo
3. Philip Cohran and The Artistic Heritage Ensemble - Frankiphone Blues
4. Sampa the Great - Healing
5. Mazouni - Écoute-moi camarade
6. Nat Birchall - Dervish
7. Zara McFarlane - Angie La La
8. Wally Badarou - One Day, Won’t Give It Away
9. Seu Pereira & Coletivo 401 - Tomara que Suba
10. Portico Quartet - Knee-Deep In the North Sea
 

Sunday at Bob's #3 - A Most Fruitless Week

Last week's fertile vibes got stopped by a cold. The sun took French leave and my guard was down, one hatless 4AM bycicle ride was all it took to nail my sorry ass in bed. Not enough however, to keep me away from the sunday check-in parade at the hostel reception. So here I am, and here is this week's playlist.

In today's selection we find music from the north of Africa, from different parts of Brasil and from Turkey mingling with each other. The introduction is by the touareg group Tinariwen from the berberophone city of Tessalit, in the north of Mali.

We go on with a track by the Amsterdam based american DJ Suzanne Kraft taken from an album I fancy a lot called Talk From Home. It is an intimate and beautiful experience which requires to be alone and to have some time in my opinion and that is why you won't hear played fully at the reception.

As promised last week, I included some of the priceless brasilian discoveries I have made recently, starting with a magnificent album called Samba do Absurdo inspired by Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus (1942). In the essay Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd. He states that once we face the realisation of the meaningless of life, it's absurdity, we have two choices: suicide or living the absurd life. Here is a link to a small article that talks about that piece by Juçara Marçal, Gui Amabis and Rodrigo Campos better than me.

Comes right after, another fresh discovery as well from Brasil: Julio Secchin. What a candy of an album, absolute gem if you ask me. From what I got, once again thanks to Google translation tool, it is an album inspired by the Carnival of Rio. However I won't adventure myself in further relative informations relying only on a translating machine I cannot trust a hundred percent.

We enter then an peculiar area of French music, a place where artists borrow openly to Brasilian repertoir. There are countless examples of French songs that are almost direct translations from Brasilian ones. Here is a list. La Rua Madureira is a song by Nino Ferrer that is about a love story broken in a Caravelle crash. Madureira is a poor but very much alive neighbourhood of the north of Rio, the Caravelle airplane was the pride of France's industry at the time the song was recorded. The melody is suspected to be taken from Antonio Carlo Jobim's Insesatez that is suspected to be taken from Chopin's Prélude n°4. It isn't a very famous piece from the singer of Mirza, Le Sud and Looking for You, but in my opinion it is most definitely one of his most powerful.

The playlist features also a track by Anouar Brahem, a very important oud player about who I will probably write more on this blog in the coming weeks. Joachim Kuhn's groundbreaking trio that manages to addition gnaoua music and jazz in a way that lift them both up and makes my heart do backflips. The Sahara version of Neil Young's Dead Man soundtrack, by Ahmoudou Madassane, an album that is worth the detour. 

It ends with two Turkish songs: Cemalim interpreted by Erkin Koray, a song about a woman named Şerife in Ürgüp who married a wealthy man liked by almost everyone called Cemal. But after a couple of years, he was killed in a treacherous attack. His death saddened everyone in town and she was left alone with her son(source). And Anlatamam Derdimi Dertsiz İnsana by Aşık Veysel (Aşık is Turkish for Ashik, a traditional musician and troubadour) which a Turkish friend had the infinite kindness to translate to me as I can’t talk about my troubles to the people who are not troubled.

That's it for this week!

Enjoy
and don't forget, check out time is 10h30.

The receptionist

Playlist:

1. Tinariwen - Intro Flute Fog Edaghan
2. Suzanne Kraft - Never Heated
3. Juçara Marçal/Gui Amabis/Rodrigo Campos - Absurdo 5
4. Julio Secchin - Festa de Adeus
5. Nino Ferrer - La rua Madureira
6. Guerrinha - Gazebo
7. Anouar Brahem, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette & Django Bates - Bahia
8. Joachim Kuhn, Majid Bekkas, Ramon Lopez - Enjoy
9. Ahmoudou Madassane - Zerzura Theme II
10. Erkin Koray - Cemalım
11. Aşık Veysel - Anlatamam Derdimi Dertsiz İnsana

Sunday at Bob's #2 Walking the Blues (because this is it, boy)

Shit has been done this week. I downloaded some sort of a mixing program that I can use to make the transition between one track to the other smoother. Although I am more interested in making playlists rather than DJ mixes it is interesting to try to make sense of the order of the songs and how they influence the listening experience as a whole.

I discovered a lot of music this week, especially from Brasil which seems to be a place with an extremely vivid and wide musical spectrum. You will hear more about it next week.

Today's selection starts with an extract from Clint Eastwood's 2003 Piano Blues. Dave Brubeck talks a bit about the blues, sitting in front of his piano in what looks like his basement. He then plays an outstanding version of the tribute to Audrey Hepburn dating back to 1954 with his quartet.

The German experimental, ambient and electronic musician Hans-Joachim Roedelius takes over with the floating Mein Freund Farouk from his 1981 album Wenn Der Südwind Weht.

One of this week's discoveries comes after. The little amount of information I have about this exciting musician and his band are translated on Google from portuguese so I am walking on eggs. Passarinho was born in Recife were he started playing the drums at age 14. He played in many bands since until he formed his own, Passarinho and the Brega Sound System and released a first EP in 2018. The track I chose to play is from their latest project called Cartas.

The rest of the selection includes music from the boiling UK jazz scene with Moses Boyd and Nubya Garcia's exciting vibes. Ya Bismillah from Mammane Sani, a musician from Nigeria who had initially released his album on cassette in the late 70's at only one hundred copies. Thanks to Christopher Kirkley from Sahel sounds who stumbled upon it while researching the musical archives of the musée national Boubou-Hama in Niamey, we are able to listen to it today.

This trip ends with the immortal Champion Jack Dupree's Strollin'. I encountered Jack Dupree's music at the time when my dad lived above a music shop and I would spend my sundays listening to albums which covers attracted me. I carried him with me ever since. Because this is it, boy.

Enjoy,
check out time is still 10h30.

The receptionist

PS: Today's illustration was made by Jack Bushnell, big up Jack!

Playlist:

1. Dave Bruckeck - Audrey (from Piano Blues 2003)
2. Roedelius - Mein Freund Farouk
3. Passarinho & O Sistema Brega de Som - Oferendas
4. Moses Boyd - Rye Lane Shuffle
5. Nubya Garcia - Fly Free
6. Mamman Sani - Ya Bismillah
7. Il Guardiano del Faro - Domani
8. DJ Koze - Music On My Teeth
9. Champion Jack Dupree - Strollin’

Sunday at Bob's #1 – Well Deserved Rest

Rough week it has been. Recovering from Kingsday took seven days, but the seventh day I rested and assembled some tunes I like while checking in tourists from allover the world coming to visit the Amsterdame.

The introduction is a Bob's exclusive and was composed and performed by Jack Bushnell and Tom Gwinett live at the reception.

Later in the playlist is a very beautiful song by Mustapha Bakbou. Born in 1954 in Marrakesh where his father, maâlem El Ayachi Baqbou introduced him to the tagnaouite art at a very young age. Known for his fruitful fusion with international musicians such as Pat Metheny, Louis Bertignac or Eric Legnini. For the curious here is a link to an interesting text about him and his band Jil Jilala. It is a track I listen to often while cycling between the trees around Sloterplas.
Bill Withers needs no introduction, it is always honey in the ears.

After that the four sisters of ESG (Emerald, Sapphire & Gold) let you know that you stopped making sense. Their album Come Away with ESG, reissued in 2018 is often played on pleasant shifts.

In today's playlist also appears 1000 Kings, with the almighty King Shabaka Hutchings that I had the immense honor of seeing at the Paradiso a few weeks back, along with his band The Comet is Coming. Selda Bağcan that I discovered through the Amsterdam Turkish band Altin Gün's interviews. And the Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou who are singing to the power of love against the world's most hostile attacks, stumbled upon on The Lost Tapes from Africa. Amongst other.

Enjoy,
check out time is 10h30

The receptionist

Playlist:

1. Jack Bushnell & Tom Gwinett - Intro (The Check In Tune)
2. Bakbou Mustafa - Untitled
3. Bill Withers - Ruby Lee
4. 1000 Kings - Kind of Fuji
5. ESG - You Make No Sense
6. Chris Potter / James Francies / Eric Harland - Koutomé
7. Selda Bağcan - Altın Kafes
8. Egberto Gismonti - Tributo a Wes Montgomery
9. Elza Soares - Coraçao do Mar/Mulher do Fim do Mundo
10. Leon Vynehall - Movements (Chapter III)

11. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou - Nous avons gagné