Show #175: Timeless Gems – Tom's Personal Selection Part 1

<!-- missing image http://blogs.kcrw.com/rhythmplanet/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/blog-spacer.jpg -->Deejays are always sampling new releases, but occasionally, it’s great to go back to recordings that have withstood the test of time. This is the first in a short series of programs that does just that. I hope you enjoy this eclectic selection!

We begin with a song from Leon Thomas, a progenitor of what people now call “Spiritual Jazz.” Kamasi Washington is the current embodiment of what started with Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and Leon Thomas.

Graeme Revell released Vision II: Spirit of Rumi a long time ago and I liked this next cut–the last recording of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, recorded at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

Music from medieval Spain follows, featuring Jordi Savall of Hesperion XX (now XXI) and the lovely soprano, the late Monserrat Figueras.

Polish composer Henryk Gorecki is best known for his mesmerizing third symphony with Dawn Upshaw. We feature a choral composition he did about a beloved Polish river. A different sort of polyphony follows it–Hector Zazou‘s brilliant 1991 track Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses.

Two Moroccan artists are next. Singer Amina Alaoui with Norwegian composer Jon Balke perform a song that translates as “transcending all science.” I can’t find the lyrics in English online anywhere, but I find the song entrancing and wanted to share it. The second Moroccan artist is Majid Bekkas, with a track from a double CD compilation on Network Records, a superb German world music label. Both volumes are highly recommended.

We change the mood with two final songs, one from Vladimir Horowitz playing a sad, beautiful etude, then Nina Simone doing one of her signature songs, “Little Girl Blue,” reflecting her love of classical music and particularly that of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Rhythm Planet Playlist for 9/9/16:

1. Leon Thomas / “Prince of Peace” / Anthology / Soul Brother

2. Graeme Revell / “Don’t Go Back to Sleep” (featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali) / Trance Planet Vol. 5 / Triloka

3. La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Monserrat Figueras, conducted by Jordi Savall / “E quando s’iguaren” / El Canto De La Sibila II / Astree

4. Henryk Górecki / “Wislo Moja, Wislo Szara” (My Vistula, Grey Vistula) / Miserere/ Nonesuch

5. Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses / “Amina” / Trance Planet Vol.1 / Triloka/Sonique

6. Jon Balke, Amina Alaoui, and Jon Hassell / “Toda Sciencia Transcendiendo” / Siwan / ECM

7. Majid Bekkas / “Daymallah” / Reves d’Oasis: Desert Blues 2 / Network

8. Vladimir Horowitz / “Etude Op. 2, No. 1” / Scriabin/ CBS/Sony

9. Nina Simone / “Little Girl Blue” / Little Girl Blue / Bethlehem