Abstract Index Playlist - September 17/08

I blame Medeski Martin and Wood for turning the keyboard jazz trio inside out. For MMW begat the Bad Plus begat EST and Triosk and so on. All of these bands have taken the format of a rhythm section plus keys and blowed it up real good. Nowadays, It's just as likely for a piano to play a rhythm bed over which the drums may express a melodic or textural statement, or for the bass to take the lead, or for fascinating unison passages. Throw into that a tendency for unlikely cover material (I do have an affection for the Bad Plus' bombastic cover of "Tom Sawyer") and you've got the sound of the modern day equivalent to the Ramsey Lewis Trio - a jazz project unafraid to put rhythm up front, make people dance, and withstand the scorn of purists.

This show featured a new release on Sonar Kollektief by Christian Prommer. He's a producer, mostly, with the Truby Trio and Fauna Flash. The band he's assembled isn't exactly a trio, but it's piano, percussion and bass with some electronic elements taking the backseat - except in the choice of material. There's some serious chutzpah in taking on some of the most beloved techno and house classics, but it's done with zest. Toronto's Freedom Time jazz dance party should be freaking out over these versions of Derrick May's "Strings Of Life", Masters At Work's "The Nervous Track" and Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express" heard this week, sounding like Matthew Shipp riding a torrid bossa groove. Expect to hear this several times over the coming weeks.

Podcast

all night long - mike osborne (reel)
fire knows no one house; fire knows no one woman or man - kingdom shore (black bough)
the moving song - 17 hippies (hipster)
djarabi - toubab krewe (upstream)
kor limoncu - baba zula (doublemoon)
in a green space - koushik (stones throw)
not gonna - pigeon funk (risquee)
blue nile - gang gang dance (social registry)
spirit made flesh - dub gabriel feat karen gibson roc (destroy all concepts)
lost highways - pan/tone (cereal killers)
blackhouse (paint the white house black) - amp fiddler/sly and robbie (strut)
gomo - chiwoniso (cumbancha)
trans europa express - christian prommer (sonar kollektiev)
the mod scene - eddie palmieri (mp)
the hayride - lina allemano four (lumo)
when the bird calls - eccodek (white swan)
one in the spirit - sister frica (shanachie)
stoned immaculate - dub syndicate (on-u sound)
rasta dubplate - perfect (groove attack)
lonely - amp fiddler/sly and robbie (strut)
pick up the pieces - the royals (studio one)