jazzbo Posted January 22, 2004 Report Posted January 22, 2004 (edited) Okay. lately I've been revisiting some projects produced by Bill Laswell, and one of his cds that I own, Points of Interest. I really am beginning to like this cat, and he's got a good gig: helping to support a growing cadre of artists, following some of his interests over multiple projects, producing (in two or three senses of the word) some good music. On order I have Hear No Evil and Jazzonia, and I'm thinking of grabbing Book of Exits and Transaxiom, as both include Gigi (whose album I really dig, and the "ambient dub remix" album---Illuminated Gigi---I may dig even a little more). Any reason I should steer clear? Any others out there that anyone thinkz I would enjoy? Edited January 22, 2004 by jazzbo Quote
rockefeller center Posted January 22, 2004 Report Posted January 22, 2004 (edited) I'm curious how many items he has added to his discography in 2004 so far. The amount of output of this guy is unbelievable. I've been listening to Massacre, "Funny Valentine" a lot lately - noisy, funky stuff. You may want to try the Material, "Hallucination Enginge" sound bits. Unfortunately the "Cucumber Slumber" sample contains only the intro. Edited January 22, 2004 by rockefeller center Quote
JSngry Posted January 22, 2004 Report Posted January 22, 2004 Laswell's not somebody I regularly spend money on, but I have friends who do, and I think he's a wonderful catalyst. Haven't heard anything involving him as player OR producer that wasn't at least "interesting" in the good sense. Can't give any solid recs other than those above, but I'd suggest checking out the Celluloid label as a whole. Chock full of Laswell's playground(s), it is. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread for further recs too, with an eye towards maybe picking some up my ownself. Quote
WD45 Posted January 22, 2004 Report Posted January 22, 2004 There is a new album out featuring Laswell on acoustic guitar and keys. The group is called Abyssinia Infinite and the album is "Zion Roots." Dig on the review and samples here. More info here.This one also features as the centerpiece the vocals of a one Ejigayehu "Gigi" Sibabaw. It less a less glossy version of her last full-length album. The sax player on the first cut has to have the most beautiful sound on tenor that I have ever heard. This is a super album. The Painkiller stuff with Zorn and Laswell is interesting. Not jazz, really, but something new. I have really enjoyed the Tabla Beat Science live albumthat Laswell is a part of with Zakir Hussain. A certain Ethiopian singer guests on the record as well. The ambient stuff on Subharmonic has left me a little cold. Other than that, call me a fan. I once told a friend "I just can't get enough of Bill Laswell." His response, in light of Laswell's massive discography was "Actually, I think you can." Quote
John B Posted January 22, 2004 Report Posted January 22, 2004 Both Tabla Beat Science releases are great! I would also recommend his disc Charged Live, which cae out last year. A great disc, if you can still find a copy is Akira Sakata's Fisheran.com with Laswell, Sakata, Hamid Drake and Pete Cosey (yes, that Pete Cosey) on one of his first releases that I am aware of in the past few decades. I bought a copy through DMG a while back but it was a bit pricey as this is a Japan only release. Quote
jazzbo Posted January 22, 2004 Author Report Posted January 22, 2004 Thanks for the information so far. I really am looking forward to grabbing "Zion Roots" ---I should have mentioned that one is on my radar. And I think I'll pursue the Table Beat Science releases because I think that I will like them. I've heard some Material items and they weren't really something I would spend much time with. I didn't previously think I would like the "ambient" works and yet I LOVE the Gigi "ambient" cd, so I'm going to investigate a few more. . . . Appreciate all the information! Quote
jazzbo Posted January 22, 2004 Author Report Posted January 22, 2004 And yes, Fisherman.com has been something I've looked to see a decent price on and so far haven't---been wanting to check out the Cosey performances! Quote
JSngry Posted January 22, 2004 Report Posted January 22, 2004 Dude, that Material item I cited is home of the Archie Shepp/Whitney Houston collaboration. Worth it for that cut alone! Quote
PHILLYQ Posted January 22, 2004 Report Posted January 22, 2004 I would heartily recommend the live Tabla Beat Science double disc. It features the beautiful vocals of Gigi on some cuts, and the combination of turntables, tablas, drums, dub bass & Aramaic vocals is sometimes otherworldly. Somehow it all works coherently. Don't buy the DVD of Tabla Beat Science, however- it comes from a different performance and seems to lack the fire and drive of the CD. Quote
jazzbo Posted January 22, 2004 Author Report Posted January 22, 2004 I notice that half.com has a number of reasonably (ten dollars) priced copies of the live Tabla Beat Science cds so I snagged me one! Thanks for the recommendation. Quote
John B Posted January 22, 2004 Report Posted January 22, 2004 I would heartily recommend the live Tabla Beat Science double disc. It features the beautiful vocals of Gigi on some cuts, and the combination of turntables, tablas, drums, dub bass & Aramaic vocals is sometimes otherworldly. Somehow it all works coherently. Don't buy the DVD of Tabla Beat Science, however- it comes from a different performance and seems to lack the fire and drive of the CD. amazon has it for $18, which seems pretty reasonable for 2 dvds....is it thatbad or is it just not up to the level of the Stern's Grove show? Lon - you will love that disc. I was just playing it the other night and converted my wife. She was asking if TBS were touring anytime soon after hearing the show. Quote
PHILLYQ Posted January 22, 2004 Report Posted January 22, 2004 It's not really bad, but definitely not up to the level of the Stern Groove shows- it seems that the group doesn't cohere as tehy do on Stern Groove. Caveat Emptor! Quote
7/4 Posted January 23, 2004 Report Posted January 23, 2004 This one also features as the centerpiece the vocals of a one Ejigayehu "Gigi" Sibabaw. His wife. Quote
7/4 Posted January 23, 2004 Report Posted January 23, 2004 A great disc, if you can still find a copy is Akira Sakata's Fisheran.com with Laswell, Sakata, Hamid Drake and Pete Cosey (yes, that Pete Cosey) on one of his first releases that I am aware of in the past few decades. I bought a copy through DMG a while back but it was a bit pricey as this is a Japan only release. Quote
7/4 Posted January 23, 2004 Report Posted January 23, 2004 Two from this mornings DMG Newsletter: OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/BILL LASWELL/YOSHIGAKI YASUHIRO - Soup (P-Vine 5856; Japan) OK, fans of Painkiller, Massacre and even Last Exit - this one's for you! Damn, I've been waiting more than two years for something this hard-hitting involving bass-supremo Laz, this time in a killer power trio with Otomo [guitars and occasionally turntables] and, from Otomo's New Jazz Quintet, Yasuhiro [drums]. Four long pieces: "Mushroom", "Seaweed", "Crab", and of course "Duck" [soup]. We had to get these from Japan ourselves, so stock is ltd. THE MEN X PERIENCE [MENACE] With BILL LASWELL/VERNON REID/BOOTSY COLLINS et al - La Mancha Negra: The Black Stain (P-Vine 5354; Japan) Imagine our surprise when ordering current P-Vine releases directly from Japan and discovering that they still had a handful of this CD that drove Laswell collectors nuts trying to get even when it came out. This is rapper/funkster Menace along with guests Laz [2 cuts] , Umar Bin Hassan [Last Poets], Vernon Reid, J Cool, Keziah Jones, Donald Black, Adamhead, Elsa Cornish and special guests Bootsy, Bruce Mack [burnt Sugar] and Maceo Parker. -------- Soup sounds interesting. Quote
Aggie87 Posted January 23, 2004 Report Posted January 23, 2004 (edited) About 6 months ago I picked up the Laswell/Keijo Heino/Rashied Ali (calling themselves Purple Trap) album "Decided.. Already The Motionless Heart of Tranquility, Tangling The Prayer Called "I"", on Tzadik. All of the song titles are about as abstract as the album title... I find it very interesting, but don't have much other Laswell to compare it to (other than his Santana "Divine Light" thing), so I'm not sure this is very representative. Very avant & noisy, and AMG compares it to instrumental Sonic Youth. Edited January 23, 2004 by Aggie87 Quote
jazzbo Posted January 26, 2004 Author Report Posted January 26, 2004 Thanks Clinton! Wish I could visit Addis again! Quote
PHILLYQ Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 I was reading this thread on Friday while at work, and inspired & intrepid(Some may say foolish!), I decided to take the plunge and I faxed an order for the Fisherman.com disc and a couple of other Laswell discs from DMG. On Saturday I had to stay home for a furniture delivery, so I figured I'll listen to some Laswell. While waiting at home, the mailman arrives with the discs I ordered the day before! I know it's delivery within the same city, but DMG got the order out the same day(I faxed the order Friday afternoon around 3PM) and the Postal Service delivered it the next day-great job of delivery for both parties. The Fisherman.com disc was very enjoyable. It was a pleasure to hear Pete Cosey still crankin' it up with the distortion on high- that guy can wail, and he gets some spce to do so on this disc. Pricey disc, but worth it IMHO. Quote
rockefeller center Posted January 27, 2004 Report Posted January 27, 2004 Here's a good Bill Laswell interview. Quote
Aggie87 Posted November 20, 2008 Report Posted November 20, 2008 Enjoying the Shine "Heaven and Hell" disc this evening. It's a collaboration with Buckethead and Shin Terai, and also features Nicky Skopelitis, Bernie Worrell, and Robert Musso. Came out in '04, and is sort of a dub/trance version of Praxis. Worth checking out! Not heavy on the guitars, but pretty groovy overall. Quote
Shawn Posted November 20, 2008 Report Posted November 20, 2008 Laswell also produced... Motorhead - Orgasmatron Quote
Claude Posted November 20, 2008 Report Posted November 20, 2008 (edited) I recommend "Charged" by Toshinori Kondo / Eraldo Bernocchi / Bill Laswell, from 1999. Bitches Brew goes Drum'n'bass. Wild stuff! http://www.discogs.com/release/71967 Here's a review of their later live album, already mentionned above: http://cdbaby.com/cd/ebtkbl On a completely different note, I also like Laswell's ambient projects with Pete Namlook, the "Outland" and "Psychonavigation" series. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Psychonavigation http://www.discogs.com/artist/Outland+(2) Edited November 20, 2008 by Claude Quote
7/4 Posted November 20, 2008 Report Posted November 20, 2008 (edited) thaz right, he has plenty of releases on the Fax label. here mostly probably OOP. Edited November 20, 2008 by 7/4 Quote
_forumlogo.png.a607ef20a6e0c299ab2aa6443aa1f32e.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.