Wayne Shorter – Speak No Evil
Another album that makes the cut on the strength of a few tracks, Speak No Evil is without a doubt Shorter’s magnum opus in regards to popularity, and most importantly, quality. Shorter is a master of post-bop and this album is all you really need to get acquainted with his work. Although I find classic jazz to be a bit of a bore nowadays (I overloaded when I was 17) there are a few albums that simply stick out. The rest I will introduce later on, but SNE is an appropriate starting point in this regard and similarly it is Shorter’s album that finally took him out of Coltrane’s shadow and into his own being. The real strength of the album lies in the title song and Infant Eyes. Speak No Evil has a quirky avant garde style that melds well with the post-bop Shorter style and creates a track with amazing flow with a pulsating melody, with thanks to Han**** on piano. Infant Eyes is what actually caused me to get the album, as it was similar to a few choice Cowboy Bebop tracks in its sublime orchestration and passion for such a low tempo song. Shorter’s ability is on show and pure. Well worth the download for anyone with even a fleeting interest in post-bop jazz.
The Field – From Here We Go Sublime
And now for something completely different... Here is a great album from the biggest douchebag looking Swedish minimalist techno artist going around, also known as ‘The Field’, or Alex Willner. I’m not going to profess some great depth to the music. It is terribly repetitive to most, with the same ‘thump thump thump thump’ slightly altering the surrounding sounds, but overall the album is about making you wait for that single moment, when you KNOW the song is going to blow apart into this amazing crescendo and leave you dumbfounded. Does it ever come you ask? Well sometimes, but not to the bombastic approach you thought it might. Is this a bad thing? No, it simply leaves you wanting more and more. A lot of the samples he borrows offer a very pop-like tinge to the entire techno affair. The first two tracks on the album are absolutely sublime (Over the Ice and A Paw in My Face). They capture what is so great about the music from the get go, and although they are the standout tracks it doesn’t kill the albums overall flow. They are simply the best bites. Overall though, this music isn’t about the big picture – It is about the small moments that captivate a listener, which I am sure we all experience from time to time. Alex doesn’t just capture those moments and loop them – He makes the continuous exposure to them create a much different exposure, to make those moments almost natural and best of all, you don’t get bored of those moments. You simply have a different appreciation for them.
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