»Return to Forever« probably is the most famous fusion band this planet has ever seen. I remember the days of my youth when I programmed my Waldorf Microwave synthesizer to get some Corea-like sounds and playing along their recordings.

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Like last year, Lyambiko once again was on stage at the Tollhaus. The musicians were the same as last year, as was the acoustical sound. Frankly, I’d enjoy some electric bass, guitar or keyboard sound every now and then, so it’s not exactly the music I’d listen to at home. But the live experience was just marvellous.

Thanks guys and girl :) .

After Lee Ritenour the next master did me a favour and came close enough to make me spend some money. His works do not exactly fit my taste, so I mainly know his most popular works. He has always been a very progressive musician (remember »Future Shock«?) and he played with some of my favorite artists like Joe Zawinul and Chick Corea. Baden-Baden is just about 40km south, and as the synth addict and fusion enthusiast I am, attending the concert was a must.

The lineup consisted of Herbie Hancock (grand piano, Korg Oasys), Kristina Train (vocals, violin), James Genus (bass), Trevor Lawrence (drums), Lionel Loueke (guitar) and Greg Phillinganes (Korg Oasys, Korg Triton, vocals). His current project is called »The Imagine Project«, but of course he could not resist to play some of the hits (like Cantaloupe Island) that made him popular. The way he puts different influences and styles together is pretty interesting. Plus it is a great joy to see how he treats the piano and his synthesizers. He also used a Roland AX-Synth twice, really excessively during the last tune.

A great concert indeed. There are some further tour dates nearby during the next couple of days, so don’t miss your chance.

Lee Ritenour @ Tollhaus

This was a concert I visited on spec. I never heard a lot of music of Lee. I only knew he’s a well known guitarist. But a price tag of 22€ left no room for any excuse. Visiting the concert really was a good idea.

The lineup consisted of Lee Ritenour (guitar), Patrice Rushen (Bechstein grand piano, Yamaha Motif ES6, Yamaha S90), Melvin Davis (seven (sic!) strring Bass and vocals) and Will Kennedy (drums). Patrice mainly used sampled standard sounds (like Rhodes, Organ, and Clavinet) and there was no synth solo. A prejudice of mine seems to materialize. Men use the upper dynamic range of an instrument, while women are more familiar with the lower range.

The whole combo did an excellent job. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed the music, though it was a bit too straightforward for my taste. Great to see real pros at work, where everyone knows his job. I’m tempted to buy a semi acoustic guitar, as I really liked Lee’s sound.

A very nice concert, well worth the bucks. Herbie Hancock, next week in Heidelberg, won’t be that »cheap« :) .

Biréli Lagrène live in Herxheim

I’ve just been at a open air concert of Biréli Lagrène in Herxheim. It was a perfect warm summer evening at a perfect location. They locked the main street and put the stage directly on the street:

The first set was merely like a traditional jam session. The second set, however, was exactly my taste. Biréli playing the guitar is pure fun to listen, and the rest of the band also did a very good job. My only complaint is that the keyboards have been a bit too low, so it was difficult to follow the playing of Michael Lecoq. He played a Nord Stage, a Nord Lead 2 and a Korg Triton Extreme. I’ve played the Nord Stage every now and then at the local trumpet store. It sounds marvellous, but I’m not comfortable yet with its user interface.

The band:

• Guitar: Bireli Lagrene
• Bass: Hadrien Feraud
• Drums: Nicolas Viccaro
• Keyboards: Michael Lecoq
• Saxophone: Franck Wolf
• DJ: Frederic Angarny

Thanks to HMK for the hint BTW.

I’ve just seen Lyambiko at Tollhaus. The current band consists of a classical jazz trio (Marque Lowenthal on piano, Robin Draganic on bass and Heinrich Köbberling on drums) plus Lyambiko as singer.

Photo: Alexander Kowalski, CC-by-SA

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I’m just listening to »amen« (1991) of Salif Keïta (who seems to be related to Aly Keïta). While Salif wrote all of the songs, Joe Zawinul (the guy with the “very short fuse“) produced, arranged and orchestrated all tunes. Zawinul mentioned the recording in one of his interviews (german language) as a “must have”.

It’s a very colourful disk, uniting various styles of traditional music. Besides others, you might find caribbean, french and even greek elements, while the sound remains 100% Zawinul. I already knew »Yele n Na« and »Waraya« as played by the Zawinul Syndicate. The latter one was played at a lower beat than on My People (1996) and is an excellent take. I didn’t know any of the other tunes, but immediately liked »Tono« and »Lony«.

The recording gets spiced up by guest musicians like Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter and Bill Summers. If you are looking for a disk of “world music” at prime quality, choose this one.