December 2004 CD's
Something New
“Mamma Tongue” is the name of the band and Speaking the Mamma Tongue gives voice to the pure poetry of the soul.McDowell plays multiple instruments, often seven or eight on a single track, but what really sets this recording apart from countless other world fusion concepts are the many different languages in which the songs were recorded. “Three Deva Chant” is Tibetan; “Oma Wani Yea” celebrates the Oglala tongue; Hebrew, Oglala and English combine on “Face The Wind”; “Saba Mineaba” was recorded in Mandika; “Vanya” was done in what McDowell calls his Universal Language, “a spontaneously created language emulating an animal's mating call ... improvised as if from an imaginary land and created specifically for this piece.
“I'm interested in music-making as a path towards movement of both the body and soul,” McDowell explains. “These pieces were created out of my love for rhythm—African, Native American, Western classical and American pop—as well as melodies touching the heart as sung by Tibetan singer Dadon, Native American singer Pura Fe, and Israeli vocalist Amir Paiss. But... this album took a different direction with lots of multi-tracking where I played most of the instruments along with a group of fabulous musicians. Before selecting the final cuts, I played tracks at parties to see what resonated most with people.”
John McDowell has written over 100 pieces ranging from solo flute to dance and film scores, a requiem, and works for a world music ensemble and orchestra. He regularly performs with Mamma Tongue at major venues and festivals including The Montreal Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, and the United Nations. He has produced his own albums and co-created albums with groups such as Sting, Bob Moses, and Krishna Das.
TOP OF PAGE
Touch The Earth
Multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer Derrik Jordan wants to make people more aware of the beauty and wonders of the natural world, so he decided to use his new album, Touch the Earth, to call attention to environmental problems and possible solutions.
Jordan, who wrote the music and lyrics, describes his music as “positive pop and globally-conscious soul.” Using a worldbeat sound that mixes in folk, pop and soul and includes instrumentation and rhythms from the Caribbean, Africa, South America and Australia, Jordan plays about three dozen instruments on the album.
This album is a direct outgrowth of four annual vision quests Jordan took a few years ago under the tutelage of Lakota chief and medicine man Phil Crazybull. According to Jordan, “Two songs came directly out of my vision quest experience. The title for “Indigenous” came about when Chief Crazybull pointed out to me that every human being is indigenous to this planet. He taught me the Lakota phrase “mitakuye oyasin,” which means everything is related—people, animals, plants, rocks, soil, spirits. That became the underlying theme for the recording.”
The title tune, “Touch the Earth,” continues that theme, telling about “how we act while we are on the planet, how each person connects with the world and how each of us is affected by everything else.” The entire album celebrates the sanctity of nature, in a most listenable way.
This album is a direct outgrowth of four annual vision quests Jordan took a few years ago under the tutelage of Lakota chief and medicine man Phil Crazybull. According to Jordan, “Two songs came directly out of my vision quest experience. The title for “Indigenous” came about when Chief Crazybull pointed out to me that every human being is indigenous to this planet. He taught me the Lakota phrase “mitakuye oyasin,” which means everything is related—people, animals, plants, rocks, soil, spirits. That became the underlying theme for the recording.”
The title tune, “Touch the Earth,” continues that theme, telling about “how we act while we are on the planet, how each person connects with the world and how each of us is affected by everything else.” The entire album celebrates the sanctity of nature, in a most listenable way.
BACK TO TOP
Tantra Electronica
The name of the CD says it all—this album is indeed something new. San Diego musical entertainer Scott Kalechstein has come of age musically. This album showcases his well-known talent for putting spiritual and personal growth lyrics to contemporary music and at the same time it stands on its own as a musical accomplishment. My compliments!
Something New is Scott's ninth CD and the fifth album Scott has recorded with Peter Sprague and his band and backup singers, and they are truly in their element in this combo of jazz, pop, Latin, samba and swing. The album is truly a masterful collaboration, with Scott's vocals matching the band's moves from one style to another (he hits all three tempos and styles in “The Call,” the album's second cut) with the ease of a cat jumping up on a fence.
“My love affair with jazz started a long time ago,” Scott tells us. He has long been a fan of Michael Franks, Steely Dan, and Al Jareau and indeed he could be doubling for Michael Franks on some of these songs. While taking jazz guitar lessons, he discovered a passion for learning the classics. “Without realizing it, I was building a jazz vocabulary of chords and consciousness. After a year of lessons, I began writing songs in my new vocabulary, and before I knew it, I had enough material for a new CD.”
Another thing I noticed right away was that Scott has truly found his voice in this music. At times smooth and liquid, then full and spicy, he rocks us and cajoles us and makes us want to push “Play” again and again.
The lyrics themselves are also a departure from the style so many of us have known and loved so well over the years. The message hasn't changed, but you have to have ears to hear it as new age. If your ears are more mainstream, that's how you'll hear it. There's something for anyone and everyone here.
— Chiwah
HOME - FEATURES - NEWS - FROM THE PUBLISHER
LETTERS - COLUMNS - MUSIC REVIEWS - BOOK REVIEWS
PLANETARY CYCLES - CALENDAR - ABOUT TLC - CONTACT US
CLASSIFIEDS - RESOURCE DIRECTORY
ARCHIVES - SUBSCRIBE - ADVERTISE - SEARCH
