Sunday Music Muse Day - Wayne Krantz and Leni Stern, Margaret Explosion

This Sunday Music Muse Day is another cloudy gloomy day in Rochester.  Grey, overcast and cold makes it prefect to settle in with some good tunes and warm drink of choice. First up is Wayne Krantz and Leni Stern Separate Cages. This 1996 session by these two jazz fusion guitarist is reviewed by All Music critic Alex Henderson as "an acoustic-oriented blend of jazz, pop and rock that called for subtlety and economy rather than aggression." I don't consider either guitarist essential listening, but I do like their playing, as I have other CDs of them. 

Next is Margaret Explosion, a local group, described in our weekly newspaper, the City, as "a delicate free-form jazz group that takes its listeners on an almost narcotic journey. The music is dreamy and tactile; you can take a hit and hold it. Because the sound is created in the moment, no one song is ever given the same treatment twice. It’s beautiful and mesmerizing." - Frank DeBlase. That's an accurate statement. I haven't seen them play live yet.  So, I'd be interested to see how a live set holds up, if there are no set tunes.  On CD their music is pleasant enough, but I use it more as background music for "zoning out". 

Sometimes non-essential and zoning out fits the bill.  Stay safe, stay healthy, wear a mask.  

  

Sunday Music Muse Day - Leni Stern, Kurt Rosenwinkle

On this Sunday Music Muse Day, Mother Nature is playing an early April Fools Day joke on us as spring flower are being cover with snow fall. Maybe listening to some CDs I picked up at the South Wedge Record Fair, today, will help me get the last laugh.  First is Leni Stern Recollection, it's a anthology of tunes from various prior releases of the fusion guitarist.   The cuts include guitarists Bill Frisell and Wayne Krantz, plus drummer Paul Motian.  Not  lightweight players.  The CDc starts with two vocal tunes, with hint of country music in a slight Bonnie Raitt vain (who I like) which I find not to be her strong suit. I enjoy her instrumentals much better. Still there is much to like in this CD set.

Next up is Kurt Rosenwinkel Heartcore.  This is my second CD I've picked up by the young guitarist, who has a been acclaimed as a raising star in the new generation of jazz players.  With my first listen I have to agree with Nate Chinen writing a review for JazzTimes (Oct. 1, 2009), "Heartcore will have its critics, and they’ll fall into one of two camps: those who revile Rosenwinkel’s electronic “corruption” of jazz and those who think his concoction is merely sonic wallpaper. What both sides will have missed is the luminous melodic allure of the album, along with its subtle intricacies of texture. The disc has its shortcomings...Somewhat uneven but almost ceaselessly fascinating, the album reveals not only Rosenwinkel’s purest motivations but also the possibilities of his alternative approach." I'll have to give it more time, but I'm not hearing the greatness some critics have professed to have hear in his playing. He's not this generation's Pat Metheny or Larry Coryell in my opinion, so far.

The snow is still falling lightly, but it will melt away before nightfall, but I can still her Mother Nature giggling at us.  Time to turn up the music.  Enjoy.