From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V11 #355 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Wednesday, December 28 2005 Volume 11 : Number 355 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Ready for a mystery? ["=?iso-8859-1?Q?Collected=20Sounds?=" <2345@collect] Mystery woman part two ["=?iso-8859-1?Q?Collected=20Sounds?=" <2345@colle] Re: Ready for a mystery? [Yngve Hauge ] Another year end list [neal copperman ] Re: Mystery woman part two [Joseph Zitt ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2005 19:42:19 +0000 From: "=?iso-8859-1?Q?Collected=20Sounds?=" <2345@collectedsounds.com> Subject: Ready for a mystery? OK so I got an email from a perosn who is trying to track down a CD by an artist. However, he does not know who that artist's name. I am not sure of the details of why he would know these things about her, but not her name, but I thought that maybe you could help me/him. I mean, if anyone can it's this group right? Here's what we know about her: Russian born female pianist, vocalist, composer Now lives in Chicago, IL supposedly has recorded a CD We also know this (my guess is he met her somewhere): approx 36 yrs old artist (painter) Light Brown Hair Green Eyes PH.D/Post Doctoral I browsed CD Baby but didn't see anyone I was sure was her. ~Amy Lotsberg www.collectedsounds.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2005 19:45:10 +0000 From: "=?iso-8859-1?Q?Collected=20Sounds?=" <2345@collectedsounds.com> Subject: Mystery woman part two I almost forgot the most important part. I have a photo: http://www.collectedsounds.com/images/mystery.jpg Anyone recognize her? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2005 00:16:24 +0100 From: Yngve Hauge Subject: Re: Ready for a mystery? Tirsdag 27 desember 2005 20:42, skrev Collected Sounds: > OK so I got an email from a perosn who is trying to track down a CD by an > artist. However, he does not know who that artist's name. I am not sure of > the details of why he would know these things about her, but not her name, > but I thought that maybe you could help me/him. I mean, if anyone can it's > this group right? > What came up in my mind when reading the facts you gave us is the daughter of Mstislav Rostropovich Elena Rostropovich who released the album "Lore Without Reason" back in 1990. Probably not the correct answer to your question though. I haven't listened to that album in years - maybe I should pop it in soon now that I got it hanging around here. - -- Yngve ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2005 23:02:49 -0700 From: neal copperman Subject: Another year end list This year was one of ridiculous plenty, both in CD's and concerts. I'll still be discovering music I acquired this year well into next year. For whatever odd reasons, here are the CD's that caught my fancy. Some of them even came out this year! Ecto-friendly and not, but I know people out there have pretty wide tastes. (Also in no particular order.) The Subdudes - Behind The Levee (2006) Oddly enough, I've listened to a preview of this CD a lot in the last few months. I'd never heard the Subdudes before, but their New Orleans infused funk and soul was immediately catchy. It's produced by Keb' Mo' and should get great reviews when it comes out in January. Phonix - Collage (2004), Pigen and Drengen (2002) Saw these guys at Folk Alliance a few years ago, but only got their CD's this year. Fans of Nordic music will flip for this Danish band, with a great female vocalist and bass clarinet prominent in the mix. Sounds a touch like an unplugged Garmarna. French Essentials II (2004) - One of my favorite world music compilations of the year. A ton of variety, and a lot of great songs. Caitlin Cochran & Thad Cockrell - Begonias (2004) Reeking of Whiskeytown (which I never really listened to), this is an alt-country classic. I'd been hearing great things about it, but only recently picked it up. It's slowly unfolding for me, but I know it's going to be a big hit. Slim Cesna's Auto Club - Jesus Let Me Down (2004), Always Say Please and Thank You, Crossbreeding Begins At Home Munly & The Lee Lewis Harlots - Munly & The Lee Lewis Harlots, Denver Broncos Project (2005) A friend kept foisting this stuff on me, and as I started wading through it, I discovered that there is a very strange alt-country scene going on in Colorado! Heavily influenced by the violent femmes (especially from Hallowed Ground), these guys revel in the drunken, revelatory, saviour and sinner punk-country that sounds timeless, but still rocks. Marta Gomez - Cantos de Agua Dulce I don't tend to be a fan of Latin divas with a penchant for jazzy tunes. And yet, when I finally gave this a spin, I was instantly smitten. Marta has a beautiful voice and the arrangements are lush and melodic. Niyaz - Niyaz (6 Degrees) Featuring Azam Ali (from Vas and her solo outings) and Loga (from Iranian folk-rock band Axiom of Choice), Niyaz takes classical Persian poetry and sets it to a trippy 6 Degrees electronica groove. Katy Carr - Passion Play (2003) Jason gave me this CD and it is one of my faves of the year. It sounds like the album Kate would have done between Never For Ever and The Dreaming. I think I better order Katy's old album too. Poppy, with weird edges and funky sounds. Quintessentially ecto. Veda Hille - Return of the Killdeer (2005) I have to admit that this album still hasn't risen to the top of the Veda ranks. But I knew and loved several of the songs before they came out, and Veda still outdoes almost anyone for original releases. I think my quibble is with the production, which feels narrow and constrained. I still expect this album to open up for me. Kate Bush - Aerial (2005) I have nothing unique to say about this. I'm just happy it came out and didn't disappoint. Guy Forsyth - Love Songs: For and Against (2005) My favorite album for biting political commentary mixed with heart renching blues ballads. The albums starts with a Stevie Ray Vaughn-like blistering talking blues that has some of the most biting lyrics I heard all year ("We Americans are freedom loving people, and nothing says freedom like getting away with it.") And just when you think Guy can't pull out any more surprises, he ends the disc with a Cab Calloway inspired scatting frenzy, on an amusing ditty called "Circular Motion". Ana Moura - Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mco (Keep my life in your hand) (1999) I think this is the oldest disc on my list. I didn't even realize it was that old until I just looked it up. Ana is from Portugal and is a Fado singer. I have generally not been too into any of the Fado I have heard. It seems to be too over-the-top and overbearing. But Ana's CD, like Marta Gomez, works perfectly for me. Lush and beautiful, without becoming shrill and overbearing. Slonovski Bal - Slonovski Bal (2003) Gangbe Brass Band - Whendo (2004) Two brass bands - one Balkan and one from Benin. They don't sound anything alike, but they both caught me off guard. I'm starting to think you can't go wrong if you drop a dozen brass players from a given region into a room together. While the grooves are different, both of these bands sound like a parade and a party to me. Anna Wolfe - My Treasure (2004) Former local singer-songwriter who now resides in Nashville. This CD was produced by Wendy Waldman and is smoother and less quirky then Anna's previous outings. Though I'm not sure why I think that, given the existence of songs like "If My Mind Were A Hound", "Goodbye Pirates" and "Pigeons in Love". Maybe it just doesn't rock quite as hard. Acoustic guitar and piano-based, with a unique world view and catchy songs. I keep hoping that Anna will catch ecto's fancy, but thus far, it seems limited to me and Jeff. Brian Keane - I Ain't Even Lonely (2005) The most unexpected surprise from our house concert series. Brian came with a couple of other male singer-songwriters from Texas. He was just supposed to drive for them, but ended up playing a bit of banjo, and then stepping forward and stealing the show with only one song in each set. Set one's song was about the most heartbreaking thing I'd ever heard ("I used to hold her up but she, she used to carry me"). Set two's song was a drop dead hilarious retelling of the Odyssey, bringing back the Die Hard cowboy component. A local DJ says it has Ryan Adams written all over it, as a frame of reference. Diana Jones - My Remembrance of You (2006?) Diana sent us an "advance" of a CD with a 2004 copyright date in February of 2005. And it never did come out this year. Shame, as it is a real grabber. It's fairly standard alt-country, but both the songwriting and singing are so strong that they lift it to another level for me. Jorane - The You and the Now (2005) I was slow to warm to this. I found out the secret was to just turn it up more. Lura - Di Korpu Di Alma (Of Body and Soul) Cape Verdan diva who is taking the world music community by storm. The album has a few lulls in it for me, but has some amazingly catchy songs. Sung in Portuguese, but with funky African grooves. Immediately grabs you, sort of like Buena Vista Social Club. I'm a little alarmed to say that I saw 125 concerts in 2005. The number sounds too ridiculous to be true, but it looks like it is. Here are a handful that were favorites.... A night at Folk Alliance in Montreal that included: Abdullah Chadhadah & Nara (Syria), Kiran Ahluwalia (India), Shoshaken Ensemble (Russia) and Lhasa (Canada/Mexico/US). Of those, it's Lhasa I desperately want to see again. The Waybacks - One of the most fun I've had at a concert. I'm not a big string band fan, but these guys are as much folkies as a string band. Good humor and amazing playing. Drum Drum - Cramming a giant group of Papua New Guinea drummers and dancers into a small art space was one of the craziest ideas I had this year. (After creating an annual world music festival, but that technically wasn't MY idea.) But it was an amazing, almost overwhelming, night. Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwalli - Nephews of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, it was breathtaking to hear the power of this Pakistani devotional singing. I actually saw them three nights in a row, while driving them around the state of New Mexico. A very very weird long weekend. Eliza Gilkyson - I actually saw Eliza twice this year. I was sure that her Santa Fe performance in the beautiful Santuario de Guadalupe would be THE Eliza show of the year, but the sound wasn't that great and it was a heavy, political night. The next night at the Botanic Gardens, she pulled out the stops with a totally crowd pleasing performance that highlights why Eliza is one of my favorite folk performers out there right now. Guy Forsyth & Wendy Colonna - Saw a lot of these guys this year too. Both solid performers on their own, as a duo, they egged each other on and produced a crazy mix of music. Each show was different and had new highlights. Emmylou Harris & Gillian Welsh song swap in the park at Telluride Plus Emmylou singing back-up at Gillian's set. And the last concerts of the evening were all striking - David Bromberg, Calexico and Wilco. I continue to be lukewarm about Allison Krauss, but when they do their a capella finale ("Down to the River" from O Brother), it always gives me shivers. Particularly in the mountain bowl of Telluride! Ojos de Brujos - One of the most amazing shows of the year. This rock and rap flamenco group was totally over the top. Live editing of video projections, turntables, dancing, singing, rapping. I haven't spent much time with the CD's, but they are not to be missed live. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2005 22:34:25 -0800 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: Mystery woman part two Collected Sounds wrote: >I almost forgot the most important part. > >I have a photo: >http://www.collectedsounds.com/images/mystery.jpg > >Anyone recognize her? > I guess we'll just have to wait a few minutes for them to create GoogleFace :-) ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V11 #355 ***************************