Bill Frisell
Wednesday, January 26th, 2005 by Paul Irishworld jazz // african // country celtic
It opens like a treasure box, curious colors squiriming around inside. Slowly, they transform into a steed mounting the orange horizon. The African moon rises slowly, placing you in a trance and absolving you into an addictive chant. Bill Frisell has been creating songs melding together an assortment of world flavors for years. This track, “Baba Drame” from his 2003 album, The Intercontinentals, amalgamates seemingly disparate world genres. An african rhythm guitar and percussion start off the song, however a country violin pairs with the guitar for a solid harmony that feels mistakably celtic.A beatiful sample of the world’s sound in a palatable package.
I know you wanna snap your fingers. You want a swingin’ song to snap to, that’s what you want. Let me help you out. Mister Louis Prima wrote some of the hottest, swingingest songs ever. “Sing, Sing, Sing” and “Jump, Jive, An’ Wail” anyone? In fact, all of his best songs have the same darling piece of punctuation in the title. So, to keep with consistency, here’s another — “Hey, Boy! Hey, Girl!” is a cute little back-and-forth lovey swing tune you’re bound to enjoy.
You know you’re doing something right in music when you attract the remixing talents of Quantic, Soulstance, the Bedroom Rockers, the Cinematic Orchestra, and Four Tet. This Milanese duo has been putting out fairly solid albums since 1999 providing the perfect sonic groundwork for some involved and exquisite remix action. And I believe that’s exactly where their work really shines — drop these (long, but) groovy, soulful tracks and taste it for yourself.
Looking through Afro Funk, volume 5 from the incredible 
This music exudes solid, soothing feeling. Feeling I’ve been looking for; to fill the emotional gap that’s come as I’ve just finished my undergraduate education. I’d say these two songs are a fair representation of my duality of feelings towards school. “Another Day” is an earthy nu-jazz groove with Jill Scott voicing some deliciously soulful complaints about having to work. “Les Fleur” then enters quietly; it’s unassuming track gradually leading up to a crescendo of accomplishment. Good job, mate.
You’ve undoubtably heard the classic song “Take Five” performed by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Though Brubeck’s name gets the glory, it’s musical genius Paul Desmond that crafted the exquisite tune. Desmond wrote the delicious “Take Ten” in the same 5/4 (or 10/8) meter, hence the curious song titles. It features his refined and poignant alto saxophone again, along with the guitar stylings of Jim Hall and the lush bassline of Eugene Wright.
Layers upon layers of sound that whooshing by you in a sonic fury. Norway’s Xploding Plastix erupted in their country’s impressive music scene with their debut, 
If you like The Cinematic Orchestra, you’ll definitely like Skalpel. This pair of Polish DJs make a very similar sound: a deep, dark and jazzy solid groove. “Their aim is to resurrect the dusty & smoky spirit of 60s and 70s Polish jazz and then reimagine it for 21st century audiophiles.”[
Uptempo jazz action that you’re not quite sure whether to strip to or dance to, this music leaves you with a smile. The production is so clean, many suggest they’re the next 
Luscious full sound. The Cinematic Orchestra creates music that is unmistakably jazz; it assuages the listener into a feeling of utter contentment. British multi-instrumentalist and composter Jason Swinscoe created the group and has led it to repeated successes. After the release of their first album, Motion, they were asked to perform at the Directors’ Guild Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony for Stanley Kubrick. Just last year, they were asked to compose a score for the 1927 ground-breaking silent film, Man With a Movie Camera. Below, “All That You Give” features Fontella Bass of “Rescue Me” fame, but now in a entirely different context.