Conjure | Bad Mouth | American Clavé

It was after the ninth or tenth concert in Japan in August 2003 when Leo pointed out what was clear: that through playing and living the new materiel Paris, March of that year through that concert in Tokyo, the new materiel had assumed the form of the band, and the band of the new materiel. Pulling my shoulder, Leo nodded and said what was clear: “It’s TIME.” And although the money took a minute to snap to (hey, it’s this buisiness…), when it did, so did the band, immediately assuming the right form. So, during a week in a New Jersey studio in January 2005, Conjure recorded itself pretty much like a live set. There were a couple of punches on missed cues, but not many. The band breathed with the same music, ease and shared cadences and emotions as when on tour. Yeah, Conjure live in the studio. Just a better lit stage. Ish is fond of pointing out that Conjure may be the longest running music / poetry project around, but I’m not really when it really started. There was a period before the first Conjure recording (1983) when he and I worked together on a few film projects – was that when Conjure really started? Anyway, I’m not sure it matters. The band, the music, the poetry, breathe right now, just like Ish’s magic-realist world outlook contained in his words (fiction, poetry, essays, activism, attitude…) – you can hear it in every turn of this music. Right? — Kip Hanrahan Continue reading

Kip Hanrahan | At home in anger | American Clavé

Players, in order of appearance: Dick Kondas – sound | Dafnis Prieto – drums, voice | Steve Swallow – bass | Alfredo Triff – violin | Milton Cardona – congas, percussion | Kip Hanrahan – direction, percussion, voice | DD Jackson – piano | Pedrito Martinez – congas | Robby Ameen – drums, percussion | Yosvanni Terry – percussion, sax | Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez – drums, percussion | John Beasley – piano, keyboards | Brandon Ross – voice, guitar | Bryan Carrott – vibraphone | Andy Gonzalez – bass | John Kilgore – sound | Fernando Saunders – voice, bass | Anthony Cox – bass | Mike Cain – piano | Xiomara Laugart – voice | Don Byron – clarinet | Roberto Poveda – voice, guitar | Craig Handy – sax | Lysandro Arenas – piano | Lucy Penebaz – voice. Produced by Kip Hanrahan. Engineered by Rick Kondas and John Kilgore at John Kilgore Sound, New York City January 2008 through April 2010, with sections recorded in August 2004. Mixed by Dick Kondas and Kip Hanrahan in 2010. Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York City, April 2010. Packaging designed by Capoeira Graphics with additional work by East Works Graphics and Enja Graphics. Photograph on the cover taken by Alair O. Gomes. Continue reading