Great new stuff from the Portico Quartet. Ever heard the hang? Or even heard of the hang? Me neither. It's a pitched percussion instrument. Imagine gamelan music meets Tibetan bells meets steel drums, playing Steve Reich. Portico Quartet includes the hang plus bass, drums and sax. Really inventive, engaging and hypnotic.
Course, I still gotta wade through all that ECM stuff. Then there's the new Incognito, Cherryholmes, Cyndi Lauper's blues disc (yeah, I know), two from the Pineapple Thief. Incognito's Transatlantic RPM kicks off with a killer version of Boz Scaggs's classic "Lowdown" and the instantly singalongable '1975." Great funky stuff. The rest pales in comparison, so far.
Most intriguing are the new Esperanza Spalding, pairing the bass diva with a jazz trio and a string trio on the aptly named Chamber Music Society. Then there's the debut disc from YOSO. That's Billy Sherwood (bass, guitar, drums) and Tony Kaye (keyboards), both ex-Yes, and former Toto singer Bobby Kimball. Get it? Yes, Toto - YOSO! Check out the video at http://is.gd/dCOYm and elsewhere on Youtube. Live they add a different drummer and Jimmy Haun on guitar. Haun's great, despite his work with a hundred others on the godawful Union, easily the most terrible thing ever released under the Yes moniker. Yes, it even bested Tormato. Bested or worsted? The only decent track on that abomination was Steve Howe's guitar solo.
Now, if we can just coax Billy Bruford out of retirement and get him and Trevor Rabin on board the Jon Anderson/Rick Wakeman Grumpy Old Men tour . . .
Look closely at the stage on the live YOSO tracks on Youtube and you'll see laptops. Both Bobby Kimball and Jimmy Haun have Macbooks next to their setups.
Last word on Toto: Check out the covers. The SAS band with Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) does "Hold the Line," and a capella group Straight No Chaser blends it with "The 12 Days of Christmas." Amazing, hysterical and must be heard to be believed.
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