I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: NATE SMITH + KINSFOLK-Tiny Desk Concert #667 (November 3, 2017).

Nate Smith is a jazz drummer, although much of the music in this Tiny Desk is quite rocking.

The jazz is evident in the complexity of the tunes.

Just try to discern the multiple time signatures in the first tune, “Skip Step” Syncopated yet steady, its rhythmic motifs bolster Jon Cowherd’s keyboard riff and the song’s melodic statement, played in unison by saxophonist Jaleel Shaw and guitarist Jeremy Most.

The song opens with a great chugging riff on the bass (Fima Ephron) and guitar.  The keys play a drifting melody as the sax take over a solo (followed by the guitar).  Smith’s kit is fairly small but he makes great use of the various drums, putting in all kinds of interesting rhythms.

The quintet slides right into “Retold,” a beautiful song with a nostalgic melody that suggests a quiet moment for personal reflection and self-discovery.

This song instantly feels more jazzy because of the lead saxophone.  The drums are primarily cymbals (and brushes) and a lot of keyboard soloing in the middle.

After that song, Nate introduces the band and then says, “Jeremy noticed–the desk is not that small.  I was expecting a smaller desk.  I don’t know how I feel about his.  But I’m going to move past that because it’s not about me.

On the next song, “Pages,” Smith welcomed vocalist Amma Whatt to the “stage.” She wrote the lyrics for Smith’s 2017 album Kinfolk: Postcards From Everywhere.  I don’t care for this song as much.  Her vocals are a little too R&B for me (and I don’t like soprano sax).

It’s a very gentle song, though and probably fits nicely into the album.  It’s followed up by the final tune, “Rambo: The Vigilante” which he describes as “it’s short but it’s angry.”

Hypnotized by its shifting time signatures, this fusion jam is punctuated with a haunting rock lick played simultaneously by the entire band, and seamlessly aligned with Smith’s dazzling display of dexterous genius.

Smith’s drumming is phenomenal on this track–with lots of action on the high hat and some fast drumming on the bass and snare.  It’s not all fast though, there is a mellow middle section with gentle keys and a mellow sax solo.

I do like jazz with crossover appeal, and this certainly has it.

[READ: March 21, 2017] Fish Girl

David Wiesner has drawn some of the most gorgeous picture books ever.  And several of those books don’t have any words–they are just amazing stories, beautifully told and wonderfully illustrated.  Seriously, look up Sector 7 and Flotsam and be blown away.

Well, his pictures are in full force here (I recognized his octopus immediately).

This is his first graphic novel and his first pairing with Donna Jo Napoli (who I am unfamiliar with).

The story is a fairly simple and fairly familiar one, but they have put some wonderful twists into it.

In a building on a pier is Ocean Wonders.  It is a fully functioning aquarium inside a small warehouse.  On the outside is a big sign that says “see the mysterious Fish Girl.”  As the story opens, there is a narration by Neptune, god of the seas and storms.  He tells the spectators that in every room of this house you will see the most amazing creatures of his kingdom.

And, indeed, on the next pages there is a great spread of undersea creatures living inside a house (with staircases).  The drawings are amazing.

But don’t look just at the fish because hidden among the creatures is Fish Girl–if you are lucky you might catch a glimpse of her.

When the patrons are gone, we see fish girl who is, in fact, a mermaid.  And we realize that it has been her voice over that we’ve been privy to.  She comes up to the surface to check things out when a girl sneaks in the door and sees her.  Neptune is furious that the girl sneaked in but the girl’s mom doesn’t believe her anyway.

Neptune is mad at Fish Girl saying she has become careless.  So he punishes her by not telling her the stories that she loves so much–stories of her childhood.  These stories tell how he–Neptune–rescued her under the sea, held her in his arms and saved her by bringing her to this place.

Soon enough the human girl Livia, comes back and they talk (well, Livia talks, the Fish Girl cannot speak).  Livia gives her a charm–a gift of friendship.  Once again Neptune chastises her, but Livia is kind and inquisitive and asks him questions.  He answers them happily until she asks about fish girl and whether or not she is real, and then his face darkens some.

But some of the things that Livia said to Fish Girl have caused her to question every thing she knows–is Neptune really controlling the water n the building?  Fish Girl had never even considered that he might not be.  And so, Fish Girl does the unthinkable–she climbs out of the tank and scuttles across the floor to investigate.  This is obviously a terrible idea–she can’t walk, she can barely move on land, and worse yet some of her scales start to fall off as she drags herself across the floor.  It is only faithful octopus who helps her back intro the tank.

There are many mermaid stories and each one deals with the transformation from mermaid to human in a different way.  I really loved the way that the Wiesner and Napoli handled it–it was very clever and quite inspired.  As were many other aspects of the story–the way that she learns the truth about her past and Neptune’s past.  Also, the way Livia is able to teach her things about the human world–like pizza.

There is always the concern in this kind of story about where she should choose to live–where she is comfortable with all of her friends (like the awesome octopus) or should she try to learn about human life?  And of course, how can she possibly make it on land?  The end of the story is really dramatic and quite moving and it even brought a tear to my eye.

This is a great new telling of a classic story.