Kip Hanrahan | A thousand night and a night – (1- red nights | American Clavé

This disc (these nights?) are long and dense. It’s pretty much impossible to listen to the entire disc, intensely, in one’ pass, so a producer’s suggestion is to take a break (a nap?) at about the fifty something minute mark (after “Princess Dunya and Taj al-Muluk”) and resume listening with “Princess Dunya’s Nocturnal understanding.” The pieces and music on this disc needed to be here, in this night cycle, so as far as cutting is concerned, in this case, it doesn’t make sense to offer “less.” Anyway, nobody’s putting a knife to your neck and making you listen to everything. Listen to what you want of the offering. The stories on this disc were learned from the translations of the Arabian Nights by (the forty volume, unreadable) Burton (including Supplemental Nights). Dawood, Mardrus/Mathers, Pasolini, Borges, Zipes, and, (in ways the clearest) Haddawy and are told (sung) pretty much verbatim, as I understood them. There is no mercy, no justice, except in God, the Almighty, who created the Earth and all the Heavens, and all contained therein, including Evil, Pain and Suffering, with such exquisite Perfection.To the Pure, all Things are Pure. Continue reading

Kip Hanrahan | Desire develops an edge | American Clavé

The center of gravity of this record was formed by the labor of Kip Hanrahan, Jack Bruce, Steve Swallow, Puntilla Orlando Rios, Arto Lindsay, Elysee Pyronneau, Scott Marcus, Jon Fausty and David Rodriguez. Among others who sold or contributed their work, time and talent to the project were Ricky Ford, Ignacio Berroa, Jerry Gonzalez, Alberto Bengolea, Ti’Plume Ricardo Franck, Olufemi Claudette Mitchell, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Milton Cardona, John Stubblefield, Tico Harry Sylvain, Daniel Frieberg, Nancy Weiss, Yale Evelev, Paul Haines, Frisner Augustin, Molly Parley, Anton Fier, Sergio Brandao, Marlene Freeman-Semels, Jean Claude Jean, John Scofield, Jody Harris, Yoram Vazan, Edwin Ayala, Frank Rodriguez and Ralf Ridao. It was recorded during July, August and September 1982 and April and June 1983. The editing, overdubbing and mixing were done during October 1982 and January, March, April, May, June and July 1983. All the work was done at Latin/Eurosound Studios, New York City. Continue reading

American Clavé | Anthology 1980 – 1992

HOW TO CREATE AN AMERICAN CLAVE: PRAISE/SONGS FOR A RECORDING PROJECT Begin with two measures of music: three rhythmic strokes in the first measure, two in the second, sounded by wood on wood. You have then the Clave, the basic building/block of salsa, of Afro-Cuban jazz. But what magic transformation occurs when you think of musics under the umbrella of a label like “American Clave?” A rashly superficial assumption runs: salsified jazz, perhaps improvised Tin Pan Alley standards bongoed-up, Sten Kentonized-up, blaring brass choruses meeting a small battalion of percussion. That would be an easy enough music to create and sell, the “how to” established in recording studios and recording company executive suites for a half century. Thank the gods that Kip Hanrahan is one of those who the poet Rilke would have identified as a “lover of the difficult.” This recording project refused that easy way out, that casual slide Latinizing American standard tunes would have represented. This is a story of a musical visionary embracing an American spirit of radical invention, taking on the alchemy of how to make an American Clave. Listen to the beats of different drummers under the enchantment of gods who still ponder what kind of experiment America is…–Norman Weinstein Continue reading