Reviewed by All-About-Jazz:
Ottmar Liebert: Waiting n Swan
This is the music of Bob Marley done with grace and finesse—with all the pomp and panache that Liebert is acknowledged for—and the proper respect and integrity it deserves.
I had a whacky dream last night.
Formula One cars had changed from the current hybrid engines to 100% electric power + were quietly circling a race track, except for a few tire squeals.
Then they had the idea that the drivers, who recently had to pick a lifetime race number, must also pick a theme song that would be blared by a powerful sound system in each car. This way fans could not only hear the race car approach, but could also identify the driver by his music.
There was lots of heavy metal + drum n bass, but also a few Eighties hits. One former champion had selected Rick Astley’s big hit.
The POV switched to a grandstand. The camera followed a car that raced around the corner, dead last but resplendent in bright colors, and the sounds of “Barcelona Nights (Reggae Version)” blasted through the stadium section.
POV the grandstand: everyone is nodding in time with the music.
POV close up of the car: the driver’s helmet also bounces in time to the music.
Then I woke up. The End.
Waiting n Swan CDs are not available in stores yet, but will be very soon. So we decided to sell the CD on this website for a short while. And then we thought why not do something special and sell signed and personalized CDs! The holidays are approaching and CDs still sound better than mp3s. :-)
This offer will be only be available until November 10th.
Last year I decided to record an album of songs that mix elements of the Tangos Flamenco rhythm with Reggae beats.
Reggae and Tangos Flamenco — not to be confused with the Argentine Tango — are deeply connected. Tangos has a lilt and features the same avoidance of beat one that Reggae and Salsa have, and to my ears it always sounded very different from other Flamenco forms.
I read that some believe the Caribbean rhythm was brought to the Spanish port Cadiz by sailors from merchant vessels, and that the catchy rhythm soon traveled to Andalusia, where it blended with local musical styles and became Tangos Flamenco. The word ‘tangos’ itself might be derived from the onomatopoeia ‘tang’ which resembles ‘the sound of the drum‘, while in some parts of South America the word ‘tangosa’ refers to Africans dancing to the beat of drums.
The deep roots of these three rhythms, Tangos, Reggae and Salsa, of course, lie in Africa.
The new album will be released on October 23rd.
Here is another track from three-oh-five, perhaps more unusual than the others. I came up with the music backstage at the Dewan Filharmonik in Kuala Lumpur, waiting for the start of our concert there last November. The rhythm shifts between different meters while the tremolo guitar plays a 12/8 ostinato (Bulerias).
I would like to do a whole album of music like this someday, atmospheric, trippy… but perhaps it is best to slide the occasional piece like this into a “regular” album.
