Hey, it’s Luke, your Jazz Director at WLFM.  Like the other Music Directors, I thought I’d take some time to introduce you all to the Jazz section of our website, and write about some of the music that is currently charting – as in, going for spins – in CMJ.

Unlike Hip-Hop, Loud Rock, and RPM we often have the problem of getting too much music in – like, more good jazz than anybody would ever play on their show…  So here is a little motivation for you, the non-jazz listener (and jazz-listener alike), to branch out and expand your musical palette.  [Or, something to listen for when DEATHBOT! is on (Thursdays, 10-12PM), or Hip-Hop on the Jazz Bus, or Post-Dream Funk-Core with Gus Murphy - see DJs, if you play jazz I will mention your show in my posts!.]

Oh, and also, jazz today isn’t as viral as Top 200, so - unlike Josh and Rachele - I can’t just post youtube videos to show you what’s new (cheaters).  So bear with me while I actually write about my favorite albums. (Honestly, I’d rather watch videos of them too).

One of my favorite releases of the last couple of weeks has been the Jeff Gauthier Goatette’s latest album Open Source (http://www.cryptogramophone.com/index.php?module=Crypto&func=album&id=128).  It has Nels Cline and Alex Cline on guitar/effects/awesome and drums/percussion respectively, as well as Jeff Gauthier on violin/effects, John Fumo on trumpet, and David Witham on piano/accordion/effects.  It is a really solid album - check out “40 Lashes (with Mascara),” “Joy of a Toy,” an Ornette Coleman tune,  the title track, or “Prelude to a Bite.”  It definitely falls in the avant-garde realm of jazz, but I hope that doesn’t scare people away - it won’t bite!  And everything Nels Cline does is amazing.

In the other realms of WLFM’s jazz world, there are a bunch of great albums charting right now.  Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Samdhi is one of my favorites.  It is off of ACT music (the same label that Vijay Iyer releases stuff on, and the same label that puts cool plastic sculptures on the front of their albums).  A combination of Indian music and various jazz styles, it really feels like a fusion album.  Like, classic Miles fusion, but with Indian influences… you know.  It has Mahanthappa on alto saxophone/effects, David Gilmore on electric guitar, Rich Brown on bass, Daimon Reid on drums, and Anatha Krishnan on mridangam & kanjira (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mridangam &http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanjira).

Probably my favorite album charting right now, however, is Jason Kao Hwang’s Spontaneous River. We got it in over a month ago, but it just gets better.  Really.  Jason Kao Hwang is a violinist and composer, and this is his album consisting of the composition Spontaneous River (11 movements) for orchestra.  It’s really an improvising orchestra, however, conducted by Hwang…  It’s pretty out there, but, again, don’t let that scare you away.  It is a wonderful blend of jazz and classical in that realm where genres seem to lose meaning - the avant-garde!  So open up your minds and branch out!

Oh, and check out Bill Frisell’s newest, All We are Saying… It’s a whole album of John Lennon covers… by Bill Frisell.  Need I say more?

Here are some other artists with albums that are charting right now:  Christian McBride Big Band, Stanley Jordan, Oscar Peterson, Sophie Milman, George Benson, Miguel Zenon, and Poncho Sanchez & Terence Blanchard.

That’s it for now, but check back… I will be updating until Thanksgiving.

Everyone!!

I thought I’d take a moment to welcome you all to the Top 200 section of our new flashy website.  We’ll be posting our favorite albums, recommendations and miscellaneous other nonsense.  For the time being, I thought I’d post a couple of albums Rachele and I have been loving.  Expect updates like this in the future!!!  We’ll also be posting our spins/adds and CMJ related Top 200 news.

Keep Scrolling, for formatting, the videos are down lower.

Youth Lagoon - Year of Hibernation

St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

Bjork- Biophilia

 The Field – Looping State of Mind

 Milagres - Glowing Mouth

 That’s all for now!! Check back in a couple of days.  We’ll have plenty more…

The ever prestigious Josh and Rachele

I don’t get much good music in. In fact, I’m sitting here at work now with no music to add. The cause of this is not just the fact that the CMJ Festival is happening right now (which all the MDs should be at). But it’s also because I’m a Loud Rock Director. I wade through miles of musical shit just to find one album. One album worthy enough to sit on my designated “Loud Rock” shelf for the rest of the term. Little did I know that that one awesome album, drenched in the shit of Queensryche’s latest effort, was a compilation of greatest hits…and it was Anvil.

Back in the early 1980′s, Anvil was the shit. Their stage presence was ridiculous. Lead guitarist/vocalist Steve “Lips” Kudlow could be seen playing guitar with dildos and wearing various bondage accessories.  Not only that, but they played the hell out of their instruments.  The documentary, Anvil! The Story of Anvil has several  famous 80′s musicians, including Slash and Scott Ian, exclaiming how amazing Anvil’s drummer Robb Reiner (seriously, that’s his name) was.  But, all of a sudden they fell off the face of the earth. Maybe it was the work of Aerosmith manager David Krebs failing to get them on a major record label or something else. But eventually, Anvil slipped into obscurity.

I’d like to make a quick side note here and mention that the Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a fantastic documentary.  It’s hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time and it makes you really care for these guys. It’s hard to sit through some moments of the film, due to  incredibly bizarre moments that seem very serious and tragic at times.  But most of the time, it’s so ridiculous that you can’t help but laugh. My roommates and I couldn’t tell for sure whether this was a real group or just another Spinal Tap. But it is very real, indeed. I highly suggest that you watch it. Okay, not so quick of a side note. Sorry.

With the help of the documentary, Anvil has been able to achieve the success they deserve.  And with the release of their “best of” album Monument of Metal: The Very Best of Anvil, Anvil has proven to be an immense contribution, as well as an inspiration, to what metal is today. Some tracks may seem a little too much like a caricature of metal music, like the track “Thumb Hang”. But don’t pass these tracks up and don’t let them turn you away from other tracks like “Winged Assassins” and “Mothra” that display phenomenal technique in both Lips’ and Reiner’s playing.  Anvil may seem a little over the top. But they are a powerhouse of sound and not to be underestimated nor overlooked. Want to get back to your metal roots? Go back to Anvil and learn how to really rock.

We at WLFM are extremely proud to present Mark Guiliana and his group Beat Music. Mark Guiliana is a drummer from New Jersey who’s played with, among many others, the Avishai Cohen Trio, Danny McCaslin, Jazz Mandolin Project and his group HEERNT. He’s going to crush skulls, we’re serious.

Beat Music is:
Jason Lindner – Keys, electronics
Tim Lefebrve – Bass, electronics
Mark Guiliana – Drums, electronics

November 2nd, 9:30 pm
Esch Room – Warch Campus Center

All welcome, completely free to the public. It’s going to be epic. We promise.

http://www.myspace.com/markguilianamusic

This event was made possible, in part, by the Alyssa Paul Maria fund and SOUP.