Murakami features Bill Evans

 

It bugs me when people try to analyze jazz
as an intellectual theorem.
It’s not.
It’s feeling.

ジャズを知性的な法則で分析しようとする試みにはうんざりさせられる。
そうではないんだ。
感覚なんだ。

Bill Evans

This is another artist featured in Haruki Murakami’s book, The Norwegian Wood. Actually, quite a number of good tracks came from this book. Here’s an excerpt from the book;

We cleared the table and sat on the floor, listening to music and drinking the rest of the wine. She (Naoko) drank 2 glasses in the time it took me to finish one. Naoko was unusually talkative that night. She told me about her childhood, her school, her family. Each episode was a long one, executed with painstaking detail of a miniature. I was amazed at the power of her memory, but as i sat listening it began to dawn on me that there was something wrong with the way she was telling these stories: something strange, warped even. Each tale had its own internal logic, but the link from one to the next was odd. Before you knew it, story A had turned to story B, which had been contained in A, and then came C from something in B, with no end in sight. I found things to say in response at first, but after a while I stopped trying. I put on a record, and when it ended I lifted the needle and put on another. After the last record I went back to the first. She only had six. The cycle started with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and ended with Bill Evans’ Waltz for Debby. Rain fell past the window. Time moved slowly. Naoko went on talking by herself.”

Murakami, H. Norwegian Wood. Vintage. 48-49

 

Bill Evans is one of my favorite jazz pianist. Those who are familiar with the genre will definitely know Bill. I can’t really describe jazz, who plays better and who is the greatest of them all. I mean there are so many, and all talented, old school to contemporary. Who’s to say that Kenny G is not better than John Coltrane? Just that old school will always be cool, so there…no one out there is ever gonna be better than Miles Davis or John Coltrane. I’m a casual listener, I don’t really have a ear for perfections or imperfections in a jazz track, what sounds nice works for me. With Bill, it was this song ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’ from the Portrait of Jazz album that had me. I guess for me, how you pick a favorite is through something that captures you, probably that right moment, probably thinking of something that you thought that song you heard relates so clearly… Well, I wasn’t thinking of a prince to come to my rescue. It was just quite a charming song that caught my attention, then went on to look at the title….i thought “how charming”. I went on to get more albums from Bill, You Must Believe in Spring, At the Montreux Jazz Festival, Waltz for Debby and the highly acclaimed The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings. All of which i have enjoyed tremendously. Do you know that he was part of Miles Davis sixtet in one of the best selling jazz albums of all time -Kind of Blue? Well, after a few good albums, I decided that he was one of my favourite, his style of playing hunchback, takes his time with the piano rarely rushing a tune, and basically he is just super cool. He died several years ago due to drug overdose, a problem which he had all throughout his music career.

I have a track from the ‘Waltz for Debby’ album, a fan favourite, and one of mine as well….

download : My Foolish Heart – Bill Evans MP3

and another from the Stan Getz and Bill Evans album,

download : But Beautiful – Stan Getz & Bill Evans MP3

Watch him play My Foolish Heart and be mesmerized,

Pink Martini – hey eugene!

This is Pink Martini’s latest album, currently number 2 on the Billboard Jazz Album charts. Their 3rd album after the successful ‘Hang on little tomato’ and ‘Sympathique’, both which i have enjoyed very much.

Here is band that sings almost anything. I tend to like artiste that are diverse in their style of music, much like Shiina Ringo’s. Styles that you can’t describe in one word, that isn’t easily defined. Pink Martini is one such artist. I’m sure the world has heard of their famous hit Sympathique, a song with such class and reminiscence of a lovely french al fresco cafe, to me at least.” Je ne veux pas travailler, Je ne veux pas djeuner “ As a result i won’t bother sharing that song. Led by the talented singer China Forbes, pink martini’s a band from Portland, USA and it comprises of 11 band members. They sing in different languages, most recently they attempted an Arabic song ‘Bukra wba’do’, an upbeat song that would probably remind you of some Middle Eastern restaurant. Ah! But do you know that they have attempted a japanese song before? in their album Hang On Little Tomato? and from their latest album Hey Eugene! comes a song made popular by japan’s 70’s singer Saori Yuki, “Taya Tan”. Both japanese songs, should belong in a 60s or 70s vault as that’s exactly how it sounds. But do give it a spin, and feel all black and white again. The other track i have here is the album’s title track, Hey Eugene! A much livelier and contemporary sound…and english. Forbes wrote this song and according to her it’s about a guy ‘eugene’ that she met at a party, they had this great connection, the guy asked for her number but he never called. The song lyrics tells the events that happened at that party. Poor China..
Some might find Pink Martini a little too boring to swallow, as i have on a few occasions, but it never fails to bring a certain ‘refreshment’ when i get tired of some of the stuffs i listen now. I guess they help bring back, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind…and some darn good classics.

download : hey eugene! – pink martini mp3

download : taya tan – pink martini mp3

Call Me

 Here are more bossa nova tracks of the title track above, Call Me. It is pouring outside now, and i thought some bossanova to listen to would be nice. Recently, it never fails to rain on Sunday, it’s almost clockwork, right about 4-5pm it’ll pour till night. The rain is not so bad, i like the windy chilly feeling, something that is so lacking in our hot weather. Well, ideally bossanova is best listened by the beach, nice sunny weather but it isn’t too bad when it rains as well. Drifty and calming.

As you can see, I have 2 versions here, one by Japan’s Keisuke Egusa and Brazil’s Astrud Gilberto. The latter has vocals but you should download both versions because they are both equally good.

Download : call me – keisuke egusa mp3

download : call me – astrud gilberto mp3

Murakami Music – My Favourite Things

Kafka on the Shore – My Favorite Things (Part 2 of Murakami’s Music)
This is a very nice track, John Coltrane, from his My Favourite Things LP, the song title incidentally. This is of course was featured in Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore. A few classical compositions by Schubert and Radiohead’s Kid A were in there as well. However, this really did it for me. This is the song where young Kafka Tamura listens to when he was at the mysterious library and the cabin. Yes this is the same song that Julie Andrews sang to in The Sound of Music…
“when the dogs bite, when the bees sting…when I’m feeling sad…I simply remember my favourite things…..and then I don’t feel so bad…..”
Wow…can’t believe I still remember the lyrics. Of course the legendary saxophonist does it in his old school jazz style. This one is long; I have another version that is about 20 minutes long. This is a really good jazz piece if you are attempting to explore jazz. This is one piece that i could listen to it over and over again. It’s a very good ’study’ music, it has kept me company throughout my mba research.

Something on jazz, I saw this quote the other day,

“Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there”
Miles Davis

Now ain’t that something else.

Download : My Favorite Things – John Coltrane MP3

Oh…and the book’s very good too

Night and Day – Bebel Gilberto

This is a classic jazz standard, made popular none other than ol blue eyes, Frank Sinatra. This version of course has been ‘bossa-nova’ed. This is in her new album Momento, released this year. The tracks in there are short of spectacular, something perhaps only Bebel’s fans would enjoy. I’m ok with it, let it spin on my CD player while i read kinda songs.

I met a friend the other day and he told me he saw Bebel performed in Central Park New York and said  that she was great. What a performance it must have been, i’d imagine. I remember first listening  to her song ‘Baby’ and I bought the CD immediately…it was expensive as it was an imported one. It was her self-titled album, good album that one. Sad thing is, I lost it, couldn’t find it anywhere when i wanted to take it on a road trip…rats.

You what her voice and type of music she would really sound good at? Japanese…totally. Imagine this song sung in Japanese…

Download : Night And Day – Bebel Gilberto MP3 

South of the Border West of the Sun – Haruki Murakami

I will be posting some tracks featured in  Haruki Murakami’s books, one of my favorite writers in the world. His books and songs go together like there were a soundtrack playing behind. I especially like ‘Dear Heart’ by Henry Mancini which was featured in Norwegian Wood…such a sad book that one, which i will feature later. This song is Star Crossed Lovers by Duke Ellington, the explanation of the song is written below from the book. This is the part where the main character Hajime talks to his long lost childhood friend, Shimamoto. Hajime owns a jazz bar and for some reason the resident band always play this song because he likes it. Shimamoto asks him why is that song played each time she visits him.


“It took me a long time to work out how complex it is, how’s there so much more to it than just a pretty melody. It takes a special musician to play it right”  Hajime said. “Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn wrote it a long time ago. Fifty-seven, I believe.”
“When they say ‘star-crossed’, what do they mean?” Shimamoto says.
“You know  – lovers born under an unlucky star. Unlucky lovers. Here it’s referring to Romeo and Juliet. Elligton and Strayhorn wrote it for a performance at the Ontario Shakespeare Festival.
“Lovers born under an unlucky star,” she said.

Sounds like it was written for the two of us.”
Haruki Murakami. South of the Border West of the Sun.

“Casablanca remade Japanese style…It is dream-like writing, laden with scenes which have the radiance of a poem’.”
The Times

“Mr. Murakami’s narrative style is as spare and unadorned as a traditional Japanese room, so seemingly empty that it needs to be furnished with the mind.” –
Richard Bernstein, The New York Times

After reading the book i knew i had to get the song….

“lovers born under an unlucky star“

it was in a way self reflecting, like me and my ex. It was a relationship that i treasured a whole lot. It came to an end one day after 8 years. She wanted out. It came at a time where nothing seemed right,  she was in a way my only joy left in life. I grew cynical to everyone around me, i became a character in the Murakami books. I was indulging at the fact that it was cool to be alone. I grew to think that nothing ever last forever. After sometime we talked again and she told me she saw a fortune teller once and told her that our star signs were conflicting and a future together would be of no good outcome. She didn’t tell me in detail but i got the picture. Fortune Telling…why do chinese listen to all this mumbo jumbo?  Oh well, what’s done is done and i’m ok now….Life and its many mysteries.
For Jazz Lovers, this is a piece you must have…

Download : Star Crossed Lovers – Duke Ellington

LISA ONO

Hanging and chillin here on a Sunday morning listening to George Benson’s Breezin and just doing absolutely nothing, I decided to just to turn on the computer and just blog away. I cooked myself some sausages, eggs and mushrooms my mom bought. The whole house is asleep, except for dad which is out somewhere having his breakfast. Nothing fancy, no truffles, no parmesan and no maple syrups. Just plain pan fry, ah nothing like a little saltiness to start the day off and of course right now, I’m sipping away a freshly brewed Nescafe, I beg your pardon…I meant to say sipping away a instant hot Nescafe. ‘Freshly brewed’ sounds more trendy I suppose. I wake up too early on Saturdays and Sundays, what wouldn’t I give for a couple more hours of sleep. Well, truth to speak, I wouldn’t give all that much when the option actually presents itself. Nevertheless, sleep is one luxury you can’t get enough off, well except if it’s permanently, we wouldn’t want that now do we.

Ah, Lisa Ono is playing now on my I Tunes, a lovely track, Be With You. Simple yet meaningful lyrics.

“Without your love today, an empty day, so faraway, without your kiss today, what can I say it’s not ok,
Could I see you again, be close to you, be in your arms, I miss your love so much, so be with me all my life…”

You could say that her voice would be perfect for Japanese folk songs ( you can see tons of it on NHK, Channel 35, folk songs that is, what, only old people watch NHK?) but she adds a jazz appeal to her songs by adding some Brazilian touches, yes her famous style of singing Bossanovas. Born and raised in Brazil, she speaks perfect Portuguese as you would imagine. Hmm.. somehow I don’t speak perfect Malay. I saw her interview once on NHK (in English), where she talks about her new album, Jambalaya and at the end of the show she sang, “Country Road Take Me Home”. Maybe you have heard of her because now, wedding planners or bridal houses are beginning to use her songs as part of the dinner’s soundtrack. I hate that…my taste in music has plummeted to the ground; I share the same taste with these people. I want my music taste to be obscure and niche. Oh well, you can’t hide a good thing forever. Besides she has been singing for many years now with many albums to her credit. She sings mainly jazz standards, employing her own style, so no difficult notes, just gentle beats, comforting and very karaoke friendly. I like her version of I left my heart in San Francisco, the last part where she names a couple of cities, ‘new york city….fukuoka..” I can’t explain it but I like that part. I’ve got loads of her songs, something relaxing for a midnight laze in the room. もちろん her official website is included here, www.onolisa.com.

• Be With Me – Lisa Ono MP3

I do have stuffs to write..chuckled. I have more actually, cause I watched ‘The Devil wears Prada’ last night, but I’m just gonna keep this short for now.