2009-04-11
Amazon.com,
I'd recommend this album for the tile track alone - a hauntingly rhythmic vocal accompanied by, of all things, a didgeridoo.
Amazon.com
"Anything Phonographic"
Steve Ramm
4.0 out of 5 stars Multicultural Jazz vocals with Unique Instrumentation, April 11, 2009
By Steven I Ramm "Steve Ramm "Anything Phono... (Phila, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
I swore I reviewed this CD when it was released in 2001 but it seems not to be here so I'll do it now since I've been listening to it again lately.
I'd recommend this album for the tile track alone - a hauntingly rhythmic vocal accompanied by, of all things, a didgeridoo. Herzen's vocals and arrangements here remind me of Kate Bush's multi-layered "Running Up The Hill". You won't soon get this track out of your head.
But, the CD is much more. Herzen wrote, or co-wrote, nine of the 10 songs and the she's nearly always accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Shaka Ra Mutela (who co-produced the album). There are a variety of African instruments on each track, giving these jazz songs a different sound. And a few of the songs are bi-lingual. For the ballad" Your Secrets Are Safe With Me", Herzen is backed by a smooth sax and muted trumpet. Other numbers feature synthesizers or electric guitar. But Herzen's voice is always out front. "Ma Banza" is a story song based on Congolese folk story. This is "World Jazz" in its most perfect form.
It seems it's time for Herzen to take another short break from being a record label owner (she owns Motema Records, home of Amy London and Lynne Arriale) and get back in the studio to give us more great music like this album.
My ONLY complaint with this CD is that the print in the booklet with the lyrics is way to small. It took a magnifying glass to read them.
http://www.amazon.com/Soups-fire-Jana-Herzen/product-reviews/B00005IA5Q/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_img?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
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