Serious Music

Guitarist Gene Bertoncini loves music. But just as importantly, he loves people, and feels this focus directly influences the way he plays. He also credits his early architecture studies with giving him a sense of form and proportion that contributes to his beautifully crafted arrangements and performances. Gene and I met in NYC in 2006 for the following conversation.

What follows is an excerpt from this conversation that was aired on my Judy Carmichael’s Jazz Inspired radio show in 2006.

How has your background studying architecture affected your music?

When I went to school you had to prepare a set of drawings for a client. You had to have a complete concept of a project. I think I took that whole concept into arranging for an audience. I wanted to present more than say a sketch or a jam session or something that was totally improvised to really present something that was well thought out and conceived. Each type of structure architecturally is sort of like a tune and each one has a character of its own and you can design a well-balanced conception of how to perform that, how to present that to a client, in fact which is your audience.

I think a lot of musicians have lost track of the client.

I do too. They get pretty self-indulgent up there. They lose the idea of telling a story with their design. They just think of flash. I’m not going to criticize, because it’s nice when people are impressed with that, but I prefer a well-balanced piece of music. Read more…

The gilded walls of London’s Hackney Empire played host to an Arcade Fire at their sensational, barn-storming best at a special one-off gig on Wednesday.

The Canadian eight-piece, marking a long-awaited return to the UK, have spent the last year hidden away in the recording studio.

Any suggestion their renowned live performances had lost their edge was instantly laid to rest at London’s famous East End theatre.

The band oozed confidence as they tried out new material from Surburbs, the new album due for release next month.

However it was the fan favourite from the back catalogue that really got the audience jumping. ‘Ready to Start’ was among the stand-out tracks from the new material.

A fast-paced, bass-driven opener, it showcased sparser sound than on previous records, but still distinctively Arcade Fire.

‘We Used To Wait’ also sounds like a single - all staccato piano and the trademark urgency of Win Butler’s vocals. Read more…

Fresh and flirty, clever and quirky, Fishtank Ensemble’s Woman In Sin is a veritable boatload of fabulous. Building on a resume of recordings that include 2005’s Super Raoul and 2008’s Samurai Over Serbia, Fishtank Ensemble’s Woman in Sin careens headlong into a musical landscape fashioned out of gypsy tunes, swing, jazz, Flamenco and folk melodies from Romania, Serbia and Transylvania, as well as brief dips into a manouche from Holland and Kurdish folk tunes, transforming the group into an American gypsy band.

Rounding out Fishtank’s sound are Ursula Knudson on vocals, violin, banjolele and musical saw, Fabrice Martinez on violin and violintromba, Douglas “Douje” Smolens on guitars and cajon and Djordje Stijepovic on vocals and upright bass. It’s apparent from the opening strains of Woman in Sin that these musicians have earned their chops. Creating a sound that’s densely packed and tautly vibrant, Fishtank Ensemble wrings the most out of every single track. Read more…

This week sees the release of ‘When You’re Strange, a film about The Doors.’

This is the documentary about the band with previously unseen footage charting the history and legacy of the group.

It’s narrated by Doors fan Johnny Depp.

6 Music’s Sinead Garvan has been talking to the band’s drummer - John Densmore:

Read more…

As she begins a relationship with a new label, Leela James presents a selection of all-original songs, contrasting Let’s Do It Again (Shanachie, 2009), where the classic soul singer paid tribute to iconic soul singers and songwriters who informed her career. The collection is refreshing, starting with the powerhouse” I Ain’t New To This,” which contains a sample of Millie Jackson’s “Solitary Love Affair” during its intro. James keeps things going with “I Want It All,” its thumping bass line a clear tribute to ’70s funk. She doesn’t want to sound retro here, using the arrangement more as reference than direct influence.

Those who have seen James perform live will attest that her shows are highly energetic, and the same goes for this disc. “Party All Night” is a step in that direction, and seems to have been written with the stage in mind. It possesses a strong backbeat, the perfect showcase for James’ powerful pipes and a relentless dance track. But the greatest highlight is her “Mr. Incredible, Ms. Unforgettable,” a sexy duet with Raheem DeVaughn (who also co-wrote the song), whose lyrics make this one of the greatest make-out songs this year yet. Can’t wait to hear that in a live format. Read more…

Music festival promoters are being warned to stop paying big artists so much money.

A group of organisers that represents independent music festivals in the UK and Ireland claim that if fees aren’t cut, fans could suffer.

They say the money top acts are demanding to play has continued to rise despite the recession.

Last year’s festivals were estimated to have brought in £130m for the UK economy.
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Ben Turner is co-founder of the association of independent festivals (AIF) that represents the likes of Green Man, Eden Sessions, Get Loaded In The Park, Bestival, Creamfields, Evolution Festival, Field Day/Underage, Secret Garden Party and WOMAD. Read more…

Jimmy Dean, the country singer who had a big hit with Big Bad John, has died at the age of 81.

His wife, Donna Meade Dean, said her husband passed away at their home in Virginia in the US.

“He was amazing. He had a lot of talents,” she said of the singer, who starred in The Jimmy Dean Show in the 1950s.

In 1969, Dean went into the sausage business, starting the successful Jimmy Dean Meat Company.
Muppet Show

The Texan-born singer sold the company in 1984 to Sara Lee Foods but continued to be its chairman and TV spokesperson.

Big Bad John, a song about a coal mining hero, was a crossover hit in 1961, making it to number one in the country and pop charts in the US.

The single won Dean a Grammy award. Read more…

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke has told aspiring musicians to avoid the “sinking ship” of major record labels.

Giving advice to young artists in a new school textbook, he said: “When the corporate industry dies it will be no great loss to the world. “So, I guess I would say, don’t tie yourself to the sinking ship because, believe me, it’s sinking.” Radiohead were signed to EMI for 12 years but released their last album In Rainbows via their own website in 2007. EMI is now in a particularly precarious position, with major debts and restructuring issues following a takeover by private equity firm Terra Firma in 2007. The songwriter made his comments in the Rax Active Citizenship Toolkit, published next month by New Internationalist magazine for students of GCSE Citizenship Studies. Read more…

Can we all agree ahead of time to share the love when Marcus Miller comes to town Friday?

I’m just a little concerned that one of his bandmates may steal all the attention from Miller, a prolific bassist and composer whose work helped defined the fusion era and beyond.

That bandmate would be trumpeter Christian Scott, who’s quickly developing a reputation as one of the most gifted and electrifying jazz talents among the 20-something set. The 27-year-old New Orleans native learned from artists such as Clark Terry and Donald Harrison (his uncle) and has held his own playing with artists ranging from jazz purist Wynton Marsalis to the enigmatic Prince. Read more…