Sunday Music Muse Day - Terje Rypdal, Steve Tibbits.

This Sunday Music Muse Day finds me sharing two special ECM collections.  First, Terje Rypdal Odyssey in the Studio & In Concert. Terje Rypdal is a Norwegian guitar and composer, who is hard to categorize  He's part Stratocaster playing Rock, free jazz, and lyrical jazz fusion player.  I had his 1975 double LP, Odyssey, and was intrigued, and maybe a little confused by it. I really became a fan with his Wave album, and later works.  Listening to him some of his works produced for ECM. I could feel the cold stillness of the Norwegian fjords.  This release let me revisit the Odyssey band's music.  Plus, the previously unreleased, Unfinished High Ball (3rd CD) is actually in a more jazzy vain, and more appealing, in some ways.  ECM has been packaging recent multi-CD releases in plain white sleeves.  That might be because of copyright issues with reusing the original cover photos.  I've been personalizing them with album cover art.

My added cover art.

My second selection is Steve Tibbetts, Hellbound Train - An Anthology. This is 2 CD set featuring tunes from 8 ECM records.  Tibbetts is another musician that hard to categorize.  His music has a rock, mystical, world music favor.  Steve Tibbetts "Safe Journey" is one of my all time favorite albums, sadly only two tunes from it make this collect.  Still, it's well worth giving it a listen.

These CD sets will be spending a lot of time on in my player.  Check them out if you can.  Enjoy.

Another Belated Sunday Music Muse Day - John Scofield, Steve Tibbetts

Another belated Sunday Music Muse Day post, as these pandemic days are making me lose track of time.  Again, I dipping into my vinyl collection. John Scofield has new CD coming out soon, so I thought I'd revisit one of his early albums, the John Scofield Quartet Rough House (1979). His playing definitely has a rough edge to it, but the Scofield sound and style is in full force.

My second choice is Steve Tibbetts Safe Journey (ECM - 1984), which is one of my favorite albums.  It's hard to describe as it moves from spacey guitar rock to meditative trance music with a world music mix of kalimba, tabla, steel drum, and congas.  Well worth checking out.

As we celebrate Memorial Day.  I try to be mindful of the true meaning of Memorial Day, a time to remember and reflect on the fallen who give their lives so we can enjoy the freedoms and rights they believed in.  

We can best honor them by making the world a better place for everyone, and lessen the need for more cemeteries.

Stay safe, stay calm, and stay heathy. 

Sunday Music Muse Day - Steve Tibbetts, Jan Garbarek with Miroslav Vitous and Peter Erskine

Just a quick Sunday Music Muse Post with two selections I found last week at the Record Fair in the Southwedge, in here in Rochester, NY, at the Old German House.  Although, primarily set up for vinyl record hunter, I always find a couple of CDs of good music, these both being ECM releases.  First up, guitarist Steve Tibbetts A Man About A Horse.  I have some of his early work from the 1980s including his Safe Journey album, which is one of my favorites albums.  This 2002 CD, A man About a Horse, doesn't  match the intensity of Safe Journey but it is still a enjoyable outing.

The other ECM selection is Jan Garbarek with Miroslav Vitous and Peter Erskine, StAR.  Jan Garbarek's soprano and tenor saxophone playing is constant stable on many ECM recordings.  Bassist Vitous and drummer Erskine were both alumni of legendary fusion band Weather Report,  Vitous was one of the original co-founders of Weather Report, but left over creative difference with Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter.  This CD is classic ECM, solid playing in am adventurous, thought provoking manner. As a reviewer Rick Anderson of the All Music website states, "On this leaderless trio album, as with most ECM releases, you get the feeling of music emerging from a vast and echoey space."  I agree it's well worth a listen.

   In these chaotic time, hope you can find some good music to get through the days.  Enjoy.