Joshua Redman`s Compass

Albumreviews
Rosenholm
Eleanmra
****
Listings
Joshua
Redman
different countriesin asmanyeras.
Arch dancebeats,strident
****
(Fonal;Finland)
orchestrations,evenelements
inspiredby musiqueconcrdte:At
Go|'pass (Nonesuch)
Popambitionin
various moments,Eleanoora
this countrytends Rosenhokncansoundlike a campy
tomakeusthinko{ Russianmilitary band,cockeyed
things like
Vangelisacolytesor overcaffeinated
goth-discokids who haven'theard
IVIadonna's
revolving
anlthing newsince1983.
personae,T.I.'s conflation of riches
Yet for ail its unpredictabieturns,
and romance,or Kanye Westpretty
this musicis deliriously listenable,as
muchevery time heopenshis mouth. in'Ambulanssikuskitar," qrith
Forambitionin popasan art form,
Tommila striking ecstaticpop gold
though,try wrapping your head
by chantingthrough syntheticsirens
aroundFinland's Eleanoora
and massedmalechoruses.(The
Rosenholm,an octetfronted by the
songgetsmoreecstatic,and
brilliaat singer NooraTommila. Her comicallymorbid, in videoform,
plainly pretty vocals-the only
viewableat fonal.com.)The only
thing this bandoffers that is the least drawbackto this album is a slight
JoshuaRedman'sCozfassfinds the
bit plain-and eerily earnestdiction one:Muchof it finds the band
saxophonista long rvayfrom the
(in Fimish) areat the coreof the
favoring darker cinematicmoods
EddieHarris-influencedjazz-funkof
group'shystericailykaleidoscopic over the somewhatlighter soundsof
his ElasticBand.You ma-vrecall
pop on this, its secondalbum.
its debut, Vainajan Muo tokuua.
Redmanu,riting tuneslike "Srveet
Thesenine meticulouslycomposed Cautiousearsmight start there,
Nasty"and"GreasyG."jamming
songssoundlike otherdimensional
but by ali means,dostart.
withFleaand ?uestlove,
andblowing
Eurovision entriesfrom nine
tw-eakedsaxophoneover synth-MiheWolf
basslines.Hereclaimedacousticjazz
in 2007with the extraordinaryBack
-Oasf,which hededicatedto his
father,theidiosyncratictenoricon
Dewe-rr
Redman,who appearedon
***
that anchorsthe Hold Steady,though two tracksrecordedonly months
lllqfor Generaf (Fistolo)
Nicolayshadeshis rousingpostbeforehis death.Contpass
is similar
Springsteenmusingswith Gypsyinmoodbutaddsthecomplicating
punk accentspresumablyinherited
FranzNicolaycalls
twist of two bassists(Reuben
onetuneonhisnerv
from hisothergigwithWorld/
Rogers,Larry Grenadier)and two
soloalbum'TmDone lnJernoFriendshipSociety(which
drummers(GregoryHutchinson,
plays without him at W'ebsterHall
Singing"butthat's
Brian Blade).Unorthodoxmodels
onlybecauseitcomes Fri 9).And he'sactuallyabetter
like thesebring tomind thepostpostbopheadspaceof Ornette
balladeerthanFinn:TheCD'smost
attheend;Though
-'re
Nicolry's dayjob is playingkeyboards memorablecuts-"Note ona Subway Colemanandhis successorsintheHoldSteady,hdsasword-drunk Wall," "X-Games"and"DoWeLive
DeweyRedmanamongthem.
asthat band'sfronhnan,CraigFinn.
in Dreams?"----could
beouttakes
Playingtenorandsopranosax,the
youngerRedmansparswith his
"What doI knowaboutloveexceptlove from theDraculamusicalJason
songs?"Nicolayasksin "Confessions Segel'scharacterwrites in Forgetti.ng rotating castin combosranging from
of anIneffectiveCasanova,"
mirroring Sarah Mar shall.-Mikael Wood
straight trio to full band.Amid
elementsof absbactionwe get strong
Firm'smetatextualfixation.
Major Generalisbuilt atop the
FraneNicolayplaysQQ PoissonRouge melody,involved yet visceralrhythm
samesort of bar-bandfoundation
Sun11.
and a perpetuallyshifting sound
mass.Doublinginstruments
doesn't
meanloudermusiq Redman'ssubtler
thanthat.At timesthere'sa mirage
effect,whereonedrummercansound
like two and vice versa.You'vegot to
***
listenclosely.
Onrecord,themusiccanseem
Haymaker!(YepRoc)
flat, as if it needsa sticky dance
Compass is abr an'e,unusual
floor and beerycrowd to reachits
effort-not asintenseandmultihued
Thetrickto
fnll potential.The joy comesin
asBackEast, y et treading
provocativeground with the callappreciatingthe
discoveringstray phrasescoasting
and-response
Gourdshasalways
atoptheaccordionandfiddle,like
themesof "Identity
greetingcardsfrom the deranged:
beenbalancingthe
Thiefl" the chargedswing of "Round
"Fuck a bunchof hairdo boysand
band'simageReuben"andthe brisk, as)'rnmetric
meterof"Un PeuFou."Butthestudio
beards,belliesand
theA spandexbritches," say,or "1
good-timesounds-with thedark
was Rip Van Winkle but thought I
canonly capturesomuch:Onstageis
whereRedmanand crewcouldreally
contentthat lurks beneath.TheAustin wasApoilo Creed."Evena
quintet'sninth albumcontinuesin this Springsteenesque
catchfir e.-Daui d R Adler
characterstudy
traditiorl with dec€ivingly brainy
finds its punchline "ShehadEl Che
countryandCajm songsby thetwo
onherT-shirt-sure,I'll talk Bay of
TheJoshua RefunanDaubleTrio
play Highline Ballroomtan 20
Pigs," Smith sings."What a
singers,JimmySmithandKevin
w indbag;' -J al Rut tenberg
and27.
"Shinyribs"Russell.
AE tqsy Kwttetttartte,lsarotuat
FtanzNicolay
TheGourds
loRK.coM
January&14,2009
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