fR314 PAGES 58-81 (14 pgs) 6/7/09 14:37 Page 2
59 f
him proud and such is the emotional impact the music would suffer a loss of vitality
of the track that even the big ballads Sir under such conditions, but the proof other-
Patrick Spens and Lord Thomas & Fair Ellen- wise is here. The quality of sound achieved
der seem light in comparison. at the radio station is simply amazing, and
The roll that Simpson began with Kind
the pleasure of the music goes without say-
Letters in 2005 and gathered such momen-
ing: the lightest touch, effortless power, the
tum with Prodigal Son in 2007 continues to
work of great arrangers and composers.
gain impetus in thrilling fashion. Distributed in the UK by Discovery.
www.martinsimpson.com; via Proper.
fRoots readers each
Rick Sanders
Colin Irwin
buy an average of
KOERNER & GLOVER
VARIOUS ARTISTS
50 CDs a year!
Live @ The 400 Bar Copycats Entertainment
Zanzibara 5 – Hot In Dar Buda 860184
CCE 9092
Dreamy, sultry, not
There’s a tiny handful Virtually all
from Zanzibar alone,
of CDs that live in my
the fascinating Zanz-
car getting constant
our worldwide
ibara series takes its
play down the years:
name from Bilad az-
one of them is a
Zanj, an Arab term for the coastal lands from
home-made compilation of Spider John
readership have
Somalia to northern Mozambique – in other
Koerner’s solo tracks from the three 1960s
words, Swahili, East Africa. This album, vol-
Elektra albums by Koerner, Ray & Glover and internet access and
ume five of the series, brings you the sound
his own never-on-CD Spider Blues. It’s still a
of Tanzania 1978-1983. There are five tracks
personal ambition to get that compilation
buy the majority of
from Mlimani Park Orchestra, four from Dar
issued and finally consolidate the legend of
International Orchestre and just one from
one of America’s greatest folk blues heroes.
Vijana Jazz band. And what you get is superb:
Spider John Koerner and Tony Glover are the
their CDs online.
bubbling, muted bass, smooth harmonies,
surviving two thirds of that trio who counted
soft waves of guitar and brass, easy swaying
the Beatles and Dylan among their fans, Only 2% buy
rhythm, just about the most sophisticated
making that series of albums which are now
and sunniest beach pop you could imagine.
gaining a new cult following among younger
downloads.
The drums shuffle along almost out of
musicians, more than four decades later.
earshot. The liquid guitar trills, enjoying Joe Koerner, probably the most original of
Meek levels of reverb, but softened at the the ‘60s white blues guys, a brilliantly enter-
edges, move pacifically forward and back, taining live performer who toured the UK
fRoots readers buy
intertwining and chiming – and then, as in regularly back then, evolved a staggering
Congolese antecedents, a strong influence on ‘How does he do that?’ guitar style (we’re still very few other music
Tanzanian music, the pulse quickens, the foxed – just ask Martin Simpson!), only to quit
danceability index rises. This is the chemko a few years later. When he eventually came
magazines – and the
section; suddenly you are made aware of the back to performing, he’d rejected all his old
music’s underlying muscle… this is, after all, original repertoire and guitar technique, pre-
musiki wa dansi, music with a pedigree, ferring to concentrate on “old American folk
maximum crossover
going under that name since the 40s. songs like they used to”, played in a more
Zanzibara 3 presented a selection of
straightforward bar-room style. But by the with any other music
‘60s tracks by a great variety of bands, but
‘90s, K,R & G had got back together and
by the time of the present anthology the
eventually he settled somewhere between his
title is only 28%.
scene had institutionalised itself into a
two stylistic extremes. With the passing of
smaller number of larger ones. With Mli-
Dave Ray, it seems that he and Glover still
mani, for example, there could be as many
maintain an occasional live partnership and
as 25 or 30 musicians in the band’s squad,
this evocative CD is from one of their regular
They are heavily
perhaps half of them likely to be on stage at
Minneapolis gigs, recorded in 2006.
any one moment. Austerity and nationalisa- It’s pretty much all American folk song
influenced in their
tion being the new order, a collective con- standards like Stewball, Careless Love, Sail
sciousness took root, musicians moving from Away Ladies, Red Apple Juice and St James
purchases by fRoots,
one large orchestra to another without Infirmary with a few K,R&G faves like Black
demur. In place of a free-for-all recording Dog and What’s The Matter With The Mill
industry, bands were allowed to record once thrown in. I suspect we’re whistling into the
and most keep their
a year, in mono only, at the state-owned wind if we ever hope to hear Koerner do his
Radio Tanzania studio. You might think that early finger-busting classics like Crazy Fool,
back issues.
Spider John Koerner & Tony Glover
To uniquely target the most
dedicated folk, roots and world
music CD buyers, call our
advertising manager Gina
Jennings on 020 8340 9651 or
email
ads@frootsmag.com
This space should be yours!
f
Photo: Ian Anderson
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100