SOUNDTRACK: YISSY GARCÍA & BANDANCHA-Tiny Desk Concert #755 (June 15, 2018).
Yissy García & Bandancha from Cuba give jazz just what it needs–a wicked turntablist (and some amazing drumming from Yissy García herself).
The blurb tells us:
There is a sonic revolution happening in Cuba these days. A new generation of musicians are taking the training they received in Cuba’s fabled classical music academies to new heights by incorporating not just jazz, but hip-hop, funk and any manner of experimental music. Yissy García and Bandancha may be the best example of that vanguard.
I love that the opening song, “Última Noticia” (which runs about 7 and a half minutes) starts with static and a tuning of radio stations (in Spanish). Then the jazz begins–piano, trumpet, bass, turntables and Yissy’s fast and complex drumming.
The compositions (all by García) are modern and reflect the cosmopolitan attitude that is common in big city life in Cuba. For example,
About 2 and a half minutes in, the song goes from smooth jazz to a really funky riff (with great scratching and a cool catchy trumpet solo (it is still jazz after all). But it’s a lot of fun to see Yissy, with her Mohawk and somewhat shaves head playing cowbell and the rims of the drums.
After a lengthy piano solo, it’s Yissy’s turn to show off her chops:
“Ultima Noticia” is highlighted by the riffs thrown back and forth between drummer García and the turntablist, DJ Jigüe. The command of time and imagination García displays in her first drum solo of the set is simply astonishing.
It’s followed by “Universo” which features a rap in Spanish.
The rapping on “Universo” reminded me of Cuba in the early 1990s when hip-hop entered the national consciousness as the Soviet Union left the island to fend for itself economically. On this track, it’s a celebration of the universal goodness we all share.
The song is slower, more commercial with a grabbing riff by the trumpet and that smooth rap. It’s also got a great 1970s sounding keyboard solo (very Stevie Wonder
The band winds up their time behind the desk by going back to Cuba’s African roots for a rumba-soaked jam “Te cogió lo que anda” which has sampled Afro-Cuban drums and rhythms. The complexity of the music meshes lockstep with passionate singing and dancing.
He plays lots of samples on the keyboards, including a repeat of “habla…” But when the trumpeter sings in his rich voice, the whole song comes together.
[READ: February 2, 2018] “Wow, Fiction Works!”
I’ve really enjoyed Colson Whitehead’s works and this essay makes me like him even more.
This is part of a talk given at the Tin House Writers Workshop, the whole thing was called “James Root on How to Read”
He starts by saying that in his writing classes he teaches people how to write but for this lecture he will teach them how to read.
“By returning to the beginning of the sentence to perform close reading, we unlock its essence. I learned this skill at university.” I imagine the humor was evident more in the reading, but the deadpan is just wonderful.
He speaks of Raymond Carver and a line from Carver that has stick with him for years. After a lengthy build up, he says: “As Carver put it, channeling the sublime: ‘He lifted the cup.’ This is minimalism at its well-marbled finest.” (more…)
I Just Read About That... 