While Rhino's compilation might mark a better place to start, Reads on
the Road is certainly a worthy collection of some of Jack Kerouac's
narratives and poetry, embellished by some actual singing. Kerouac is a
more enjoyable author to hear reading on disc than most, since his prose
had much of a jazz rhythm, and since he was an engaging
reader/performer himself. The big find on this 74-minute CD is the
28-minute excerpt from On the Road his most famous and widely-read book,
found on '50s acetates that had been thought lost. "On the Road" is
presented as it was discovered, with just Kerouac's voice, but guitarist
Vic Juris and Hammond organist John Medeski recorded music in 1998 for
his early-'60s musical song-poem "On the Road" (a separate performance
from his reading of material from the book). It's unexpected, and
amusing if not brilliant, to hear Kerouac sing three jazz standards by
the likes of Sammy Cahn, Johnny Mercer, and Gordon Jenkins in the late
1950s (presented with the original musical backing, by unknown
musicians). David Amram, who had provided musical backup for Kerouac's
readings in the late 1950s, wrote and recorded music in 1998 for two
more Kerouac poems, cut by Kerouac in the back of a record shop,
including the previously unpublished "Washington D.C. Blues," which runs
for 17 minutes. Ending the set is Tom Waits, backed by Primus, doing
yet another "On the Road," for which Waits put music to Kerouac's prose.
Richie Unterberger
Tracklist :
1. Jack Kerouac– Ain't We Got Fun 2:31
Instrumentation By – Unknown Artist
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jerry Newman
Technician – Sean Slade
Vocals – Jack Kerouac
Written-By – Egan, Whiting, Sammy Kahn
2. Jack Kerouac– On The Road (Jazz Of The Beat Generation) 28:40
Technician – Greg Calbi, Steve Fallone
Voice – Jack Kerouac
3. Jack Kerouac– On The Road 2:16
Arranged By, Guitar – Victor Juris
Arranged By, Organ [Hammond] – John Medeski
Engineer [Assistant] – James Harned
Engineer, Mixed By – Danny Lawrence
Technician – Jim Sampas
Voice – Jack Kerouac
4. Jack Kerouac– Come Rain Or Shine 3:37
Instrumentation By – Unknown Artist
Lyrics By – Johnny Mercer
Music By – Harold Arlen
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jerry Newman
Technician – Sean Slade
Vocals – Jack Kerouac
5. Jack Kerouac– Orizaba 210 Blues 9:32
Composed
By, Performer, French Horn, Piano, Shanai, Goblet Drum [Dumbek], Drums
[Frame Drum], Flute [Lakota], Tin Whistle [Penny], Ocarina, Congas,
Percussion – David Amram
Engineer [Assistant] – James Harned
Engineer, Mixed By – Danny Lawrence
Technician – Jim Sampas
Voice – Jack Kerouac
6. Jack Kerouac– When A Woman Loves A Man 2:54
Instrumentation By – Unknown Artist
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jerry Newman
Technician – Sean Slade
Vocals – Jack Kerouac
Written-By – Bernard D. Hanighen, Gordon Jenkins, John H. Mercer
7. Jack Kerouac– Leavin' Town 3:00
Instrumentation By – Unknown Artist
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jerry Newman
Technician – Sean Slade
Vocals – Jack Kerouac
Written-By – George Handy, Jack Segal
8. Jack Kerouac– Washington D.C. Blues 17:43
Alto Saxophone – Jerry Dodgion
Bass – Victor Venegas
Bassoon – Jane Taylor
Composed By, Performer – The David Amram Ensemble
Congas – Candido
Drums, Bongos – Johnny Almendra
Engineer [Assistant] – Danny Harned
Engineer, Mixed By – Danny Lawrence
Guitar – Victor Juris*
Oboe, English Horn – Ronald Roseman
Organ [Hammond] – John Medeski
Piano, French Horn, Shanai, Goblet Drum [Dumbek], Whistle [Penny] – David Amram
Technician – Jim Sampas
Viola – Midhat Serbagi
Voice – Jack Kerouac
9. Tom Waits & Primus– On The Road 3:58
Bass [Upright], Percussion – Les Claypool
Engineer [Second] – Jeff Sloan
Guitar, Percussion – Larry LaLonde
Mixed By – Bernd Burgdorf
Music By, Performer, Vocals, Guitar, Percussion – Tom Waits
Percussion – Brain (26)
Performer – Primus
Recorded By – Biff Daws
Saxophone – Ralph Carney
Flat Tire is a departure in that it is Allan Holdsworth's first
unaccompanied record, executed with the Synthaxe guitar synthesizer.
Holdsworth uses the instrument not only to play basslines, string- and
choir-like chord swells, and quicksilver single-note lines, but also to
trigger drum patches. The result is more of a one-man band effect than a
solo guitar performance. Some of the synth sounds are quite reminiscent
of his 1987 album Sand. The music is a bit static and repetitive
overall, particularly on tracks like "Please Hold On," "So Long," and
"Don't You Know," during which single lines flutter over subtly shifting
rubato harmonies. The brassy chords that surface during "The Duplicate
Man" are perhaps the best example of Holdsworth's sonic creativity. More
varied and rewarding are the tempo-based tracks, particularly "Eeny
Meeny" and "Bo Peep," both of which feature bassist Dave Carpenter, who
played on 2000's excellent The Sixteen Men of Tain. Other highlights
include the quasi-African percussion collage of "Snow Moon" and the
steady groove and syncopations of "Curves." Certainly not the best
introduction to Holdsworth's music, but his die-hard fans will want to
pay it close attention. David R. Adler
Tracklist :
1. The Duplicate Man [Intro] 1:52
2. The Duplicate Man 4:42
3. Eeny Meeny 4:48
4. Please Hold On 4:00
5. Snow Moon 8:04
6. Curves 5:36
7. So Long 5:31
8. Bo Peep 3:47
9. Don't You Know 9:12
Credits :
Acoustic Bass – Dave Carpenter (tracks: 3, 8)
Guitar, SynthAxe, Producer – Allan Holdsworth
Vagn Holmboe was a natural quartet composer. This set contains all 20 of his numbered works in the genre, plus two other pieces. Holmboe’s original source of inspiration for these pieces was Bartók—you can hear this clearly in the Third quartet, with its five-movement “arch” form (slow-fast-moderate-fast-slow)—but he quickly moved beyond more obviously symmetrical structures as he developed the metamorphosis technique of his later style. In general, the harmonic idiom is tonal, though often widely expanded, with rugged rhythms in quick movements characteristic of Holmboe’s fundamentally neoclassical outlook. The late works, not surprisingly, become more complex but also more personal and concentrated. None of them lasts longer than about 25 minutes.
All of these performances were previously released by Dacapo on seven individual discs, and having them all together in a box is certainly convenient. The performances are uniformly excellent. The Kontra Quartet fully enters into the spirit of the music, offering vibrant rhythms and fine ensemble balances. The timbre of this group always has been a touch edgy compared to, say, the best Czech quartets (my personal touchstone), but it suits the music’s pungency, and the players relax nicely into Holmboe’s many moments of lyricism and tranquility. The engineering throughout is bold and clear. This important set belongs in the collection of anyone who cares about good 20th-century chamber music. naxos
VAGN HOLMBOE (1909-1996)
Tracklist 1 :
1-3. String Quartet No. 1, Op. 46 (1949) (27:11)
4-8. String Quartet No. 3, Op. 48 (1949) (24:17)
9-13. String Quartet No. 4, Op. 63 (1954) (24:28)
Tracklist 2 :
1-5. String Quartet No. 2, Op. 47 (1949) (27:14)
6-8. String Quartet No. 5, Op. 66 (1955) (20:14)
9-12. String Quartet No. 6, Op. 78 (1961) (18:54)
Tracklist 3 :
1-3. String Quartet No. 7, Op. 86 (1964-65) (20:40)
4-8. String Quartet No. 8, Op. 87 (1965) (19:20)
9-13. String Quartet No. 9, Op. 93 (1965-66, Rev. 1969) (24:43)
Tracklist 4 :
1-2. String Quartet No. 10, Op. 102 (1969) (25:49)
3-6. String Quartet No. 11, Op. 111 (1972) (18:31)
7-11. String Quartet No. 12, Op. 116 (1973) (21:49)
Tracklist 5 :
1-5. String Quartet No. 13, Op. 124 (1975) (23:56)
6-11. String Quartet No. 14, Op. 125 (1975) (18:17)
12-15. String Quartet No. 15, Op. 135 (1977-78) (16:36)
Tracklist 6 :
1-6. String Quartet No. 17, Op. 152 "Mattinata" (1982, Rev. 1983) (26:30)
7-12. String Quartet No. 19, Op. 156 "Serata" (1982, Rev. 1984-85) (22:49)
13-18. String Quartet No. 20, Op. 160 "Notturno" (1985) (20:20)
Tracklist 7 :
1-4. String Quartet No. 16, Op. 146 (1981) (15:44)
5-10. String Quartet No. 18, "Giornata", Op. 153 (1982) (21:31)
11-21. "Sværm", Op. 190B (1992) (25:10)
22-23. Quartetto Sereno, Op. 197 (Op. Posth.) (8:40)
Credits :
Arranged By [Redigeret Af] – Per Nørgård (tracks: 7-22, 7-23)
Ensemble – The Kontra Quartet
Cello – Morten Zeuthen
Viola – Peter Fabricius
Violin [1st] – Anton Kontra
Violin [2nd] – Boris Samsing
Louise Rogers proves absolutely infectious with her delightful vocals. Her expressive voice, playful scatting, and crystal-clear intonation ...
