Take Five: Rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
The soothing sound of the acoustic guitar soundtracked much of my week, while my reading led me to a Beach Boys' solo work and the obituaries brought word of the fall of two jazz giants
“Take Five” is posted each Friday, and offers five things I spent some time with over the course of the previous week. No criticism, no in-depth analysis, just a few things I think you might be interested in checking out. When the spirit moves me, I’ll post other things at other times.
Last week was one of dismay and disappointment. This week I have sought soothing ways to block out the circus swirling around us. I didn’t set out to do so, but as I look at the things that caught my attention in another busy week, it is clear that my subconscious was looking for a nice soft blanket to fall into. There will be time for anger and fight, but you won’t find that here.
1. James Blackshaw - Unraveling in Your Hands
Good news came via email from Bandcamp this week in the form of a new album from British guitarist James Blackshaw. I became a fan of his hushed fingerpicked style several years ago, and was saddened in 2016 when he announced a hiatus that sounded more like retirement, citing the difficulty of making a living by recording and releasing music. So, when he announced a return last year, I jumped at the chance to order it, even if that meant pledging to something called “New Album 2023” with an indefinite release date. That date finally came this week, and the resulting album, Unraveling in Your Hands, is a gorgeous return. Given that the title track is 26 minutes long, I can’t say I have fully digested everything yet, but I welcome the chance to do so, to fully immerse myself in this world while keeping the other at bay. At a time when people are pulling away — understandably so — it is heartening to listen to someone stepping back in.
2. Eli Winter - “Ghost Notes”
Sticking with Bandcamp, I finally had the chance to listen to something that was released during the Book Festival. It brings together two of my favorite things: The music of Chicago guitarist Eli Winter and the Longform Editions music label. Winter is a self-taught guitarist who made some beautiful acoustic fingerpicked music early in his career (early in his life, actually, the Houston native started releasing music as a teen, and now has an impressive body of work in his mid-20s), and has ambitiously expanded his palette with each new album. Longform Editions, meanwhile, releases recordings in batches a few times a year, each iteration with a new, distinctive cover style, that allow artists to stretch out and experiment. Winter’s 21-minute “Ghost Notes” is among the shorter tracks among the eight released in October, while “garrawang + biderap: black field cricket mating song,” by Amby Downs clocks in at 47 minutes this go round. For Winter, it was a chance to find a home for a portion of a long session inspired by the music of Josh Abrams’ Natural Information Society. He chopped and sampled music created in that recording to birth something new. It’s an experiment that works, and will likely yield more of the same: “I hope for this music to further develop into an LP,” he writes. “Thank you for listening, sharing, believing, and helping that process along.”
3. Marisa Anderson & Luke Schneider - “first bounce fly fly fly”
Let’s go for three with Bandcamp. I have been meaning to write about the new “Across the Horizon” series for a while, and now is an opportune time. An offering from Bob Holmes of the band SUSS that find inspiration in the same sort of gauzy instrumental music favored by that group, the series enlists a guest curator to curate a three-song set. The second set came from pedal steel guitarist Luke Schneider. He offers a song of his own, one in tandem with guitarist Marisa Anderson, and a third by the Kyle Hamlett Duo. You can hear the Schneider/Anderson pairing above, while the others come with a subscription. For $25, you will get access to all of the music released over the course of a year, curated by a total of eight artists. An additional $20 gets you a vinyl collection of all of the music plus a zine (I think you know which one I’ll be getting). Like the Longform Editions project, this will allow artists to experiment and try new things with the knowledge that there is an audience waiting. In uncertain times, such support for creativity is vital.
4. Dennis Wilson - “River Song”
It wasn’t all sweetness and light this week, as I have immersed myself in Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties, a 2019 book by journalist Tom O’Neill. It’s a book club pick, and while I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend that much time in such a dark place, it has been a fascinating look at how things we took for granted as gospel are far from it, that everything is more complicated and sinister than we could have imagined… and that is saying something when it comes to Manson. I started this as I was finishing Dreamer: The Making of Dennis Wilson’s Pacific Ocean Blue. It’s a massive oral history of the Beach Boy drummer’s lone solo album, a 1977 disc that is unlike anything else from the BB’s orbit. Wilson, as Beach Boys fans know, knew Manson and even worked with him — “Never Learn Not to Love” from the Boys’ 20/20 album is a light rewrite of a Manson song — and he appears frequently in Chaos. This week, I chose to keep things light by focusing on Pacific Ocean Blue rather than the darkness of the Manson story. The best way to do so is with “River Song,” the majestic opener. Anyone who thinks the talent of the Wilson family began and ended with Brian should give this a listen.
5. Roy Haynes and Lou Donaldson, RIP
Anytime I feel short of energy, I could look to any number of aging jazz musicians and be shamed into action. Some are playing into their nineties, with little indication that they have lost a step. One was Roy Haynes, who died this week at age 99, another was Lou Donaldson, who died last week just days after reaching his 98th birthday. Both were top players for decades (that’s Haynes on drums above in what must have been a pinch-me moment for those in attendance, playing with Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, and Thelonious Monk in in 1953). Both played with everyone and everywhere, each making it to the Iowa City Jazz festival: Haynes in 1995 and Donaldson in 1999. It’s sad that it sometimes takes the passing of an older artist to makes us take the time to add them to the playlist, but that was never the case with either artist. Haynes played on so many classic albums, from Oliver Nelson’s The Blues and the Abstract Truth to Jackie McLean’s Destination…Out! and many in between, it’s rare for a couple of months to go by without him on the turntable. And Donaldson’s high points like Alligator Boogaloo or Blues Walk are right there with it. Speaking of energy beyond one’s yearsk, here is Haynes at a sprightly 94 back in 2019 keeping up with younger bandmates from behind the kit.