ENSEMBLE CHICAGO
ESTA TIERRA ES TUYO: SONES DE MEXICO (SM-0407)
Traditional Mexican son, 100% acoustic, with a twist. The twist being these are Mexican migrants living in Chicago who have embraced North American & European music and absorbed it into their eclectic repertoire. The first sign that something is askew is when they launch into the title cut, "Esta tierra es tuyo," and you realize it's Woody Guthrie's "This land is your land," and the full irony of it slaps you like a wet haddock across the jowls. So you shouldn't be surprised when they launch into Bach's "Brandenburg concerto no 3" with donkey jaw and guiro percussion. There is a guest brass quintet to fill it out, but it is truly fantastic the way they turn this into a lively son. The harpsichord continuo is played on a Jarocho harp and two Jarana guitars. There's a foot-stomping percussion break that Johann Sebastian "Big Daddy" Bach would love. Most of the other tracks are traditional sones, really well presented, with another oddity (which could almost be argued is traditional Celtic music), Led Zeppelin's "Four sticks." They take the asymmetric rhythm of this piece and really amp it up a notch with five strummers strumming: on two Jarana Rhythm guitars, mandolin, tricordio and requinto, then add ocarina and conch shell, and a whole bunch of percussion instruments with unfamiliar sounding names (and a vibraslap!). I imagine the novelty will wear off, but for once I miss having a radio show so I could throw this into a set and really surprise listeners!
LILA DOWNS
LA CANTINA (EMI/Narada)
The Duchess & I are getting psyched up for a trip to Mexico. To help us prepare is this musical tour from Lila Downs, the husky-voiced señorita from Oaxaca. She made a big impact with her version of "La Sandunga" a few years ago. I saw her perform at Stern Grove last year after her Latin Grammy win and was disappointed. She had a sore throat and, when you listen to her sing, you can tell why. She really pushes her vocal range and belts it out, so, like Beny More and others, that may ultimately prove her downfall. Though I am a very verbal person I have a hard time talking about what moves me in music (really), and furthermore, I often prefer not to understand the words so my brain can go elsewhere when I am listening to music. LA CANTINA is about cooking and food which is good until Señorita Downs sings in English and it seems patently absurd. Then I started listening to the Spanish lyrics and it does seem to be a passionately sung cookbook. So is she having us on, or do Mexicans really feel that way about their molé? (When I went to the Yucatan friends told me the food was fabulous. I spent days looking for a decent meal in Merida and got home to learn the great cuisine there was Lebanese!) However the saving grace of LA CANTINA is the arrangements are great. There's a lot of variety -- from ranchera, which is the main ingredient, to mariachi to rock to a great one-drop cumbia, "Agua de rosas." The master Flaco Jimenez shows up, lending his legendary accordion skills. There's a hint of rap, but nothing too alarming.
NORTEC COLLECTIVE
TIJUANA SESSIONS VOL 3
Another odd gem unearthed by IJ. He warned me to start it at the 7th track, saying there was some brass band stuff I might like (--that would be track six in the New Math). Nortec stands for Nortena + Techno and apparently it's a whole movement in the discos of Tijuana. It's a blend of Nortena accordion, dub and pop, run through a Mexican disco with hints of Ozomatli and even Talking Heads. Someone called it Tex-Mex on acid. The second track, "Tijuana makes me happy" (in English), sounds like New Wave from the late 70s with street sounds and twiddly synth adding to the happy accordion. It reminded me of "Honest Cecile" by the Gogos. But apart from the extreme quirkiness it demonstrates considerable sophistication on the part of the bass and accordion players. Funk is up next, with acid jazz trumpet. All sorts of odd ideas flash through my mind: Grace Jones' WARM LEATHERETTE album with Sly & Robbie, comes to mind, but restated in an accomplished manner rather than just emulated. The banda part is very much the oompah-polka sound associated with Banda Sinaloense but played by a trumpet on echo with layers of techno beat. This album represents the best of the lot (there's also a VOLUME 1; vol 2 featured one of the artists, Bostich). It's repetitious and heavy on sound effects and undoubtedly will wear thin in a few months but right now it's trippy and enjoyable. Great driving music -- but not if it makes you thirst for a bucket of margaritas!