#Joachim Cooder

[nonesuchrecords]

Happy birthday, Ry Cooder!

Photo by Joachim Cooder

[americanahighways]

Editor’s Pick: Favorite Albums of 2024

Editor’s Pick: Favorite Albums of 2024 @heatherlittlemusic @johnmoreland #sturgillsimpson @madeleinekelson @willhoge @officialwyattflores @annativel @americanahighways @melissalclarke @juballeeyoung @ordinaryelephant @gillianwelchofficial @joachimcooder

Editor’s Pick: Favorite Albums of 2024 Albums are perennially in style.  Yep, we all stream, and yes, playlists and mixtapes are great too, and some of us really get into earworms. But the whole album concept abides, even if it’s sometimes in CD or in streaming form.  At times it’s hard to find the time to sit through an entire one, but just like when you go for a long walk outside, you never…

[jminter]

Vancouver Folk Music Festival returns for the 46th year with an impressive line up

The 46th annual Vancouver Folk Music Festival returns this July 14-16 at Jericho Beach Park, thanks in no small part to audiences’ huge support and a groundswell of support. The 2023 edition of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival carries on the great legacy of musical excellence and eclectic discovery the annual summer tradition is renowned for bringing to the park.  From July 14-16, some of the world’s finest traditional and contemporary folk, world and roots music artists will spend the weekend bringing their works to friends, fans, appreciators of music and those who love the magic of this festival are invited to gather again to celebrate.

Board member and Programming Committee Chair, Fiona Black says: “This festival is a touchstone in the lives of so many of its far-reaching community: long-time and new audience members, out-of-town visitors who come year after year, volunteers, donors, sponsors, artists and so many more. I think this year everyone appreciates this iconic festival a little more. None of us take it for granted. For the VFMF, “folk music” is an inclusive term that encompasses as broad a range of roots-based music from around the world as you can imagine. The beauty of this festival is that it brings such an extensive range of artists together for three days of connecting with each other, inspiring unique collaborations and making lasting memories for the amazing gathering of folks that unite every year to celebrate life, community and music. That tradition continues this year with these artists, and we welcome everyone back to the park this summer to be part of this joyful experience.” Some 40 music acts from 10 countries, 6 states and 8 provinces will be found performing on the Festival’s three daytime stages and an evening stage over the summer  weekend. Additional artists will be announced shortly. The festival’s gates open at 3pm on Friday, July 14, and music runs on Saturday and Sunday, July 15 & 16 from 11am to 11pm. This year's lineup includes a number of acclaimed artists known to many in the festival’s audience, including: Arizona’s Tex-Mex outfit Calexico, women’s music icon Ferron, the multi-faceted Joachim Cooder, the award-winning William Prince, and two genuine music legends, Joe Henry and Albert Lee. Music from around the world takes centre stage at the festival as well, including a towering figure in the world of traditional Persian music, Kayhan Kalhor and, among other international visitors, three groups who live for the music of the dance. From Italy’s Kalàscima, teaming up at the festival with stunning singer, Andrea Ramolo comes the passion and energy of the tarantella; the Cláudio Rabeca Quartet with special guest, Serena Eades play forró, the popular dance music of Brazil, and; we’re exciting to share the remarkable collaboration in the Melón Jiménez & Lara Wong Flamenco-World Trio. From south of the border, a number of artists are slated to bring the sounds of the US to the Jericho stages. Including one of zydeco and Cajun music’s great accordionists, Cedric Watson, who performs with fiddler Jourdan Thibodeaux; East LA’s Las Cafeteras’ son jarocho tunes will sure to bring folks to their feet; and folk music treasure, Aoife O’Donovan, brings her beautiful voice. Emerging artists are also on the roster including the Berklee College vocal trio and internet sensations, Tiny Habits; a strong and clear voice for social justice, Tré Burt, and BC’s own hip hop adventurer, Ruby Singh and The Future Ancestors. Homegrown talents are well represented on this year’s roster, including Jim Byrnes, The High Bar Gang, Jill Barber, The Sojourners, Ceileigh Cardinal and Newfoundland’s Rum Ragged and many more. This year's Vancouver Folk Music Festival curates an event that offers a truly global spirit, broad and eclectic in range, with something for everyone of all ages. In addition to whetting your musical appetites, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival offers a wide range of ways to feed you soul with food and artisan vendors as well the festival prides itself on its environmental awareness, sustainability initiatives, and accessibility.  With over 30, 000 people expected to descend upon the park get your tickets soon. Find the full Festival line-up and information about performers, vendors and artists at thefestival.bc.ca https://youtu.be/G_tDW04H6P0 Read the full article

[myborderland]

ASK THE SAND [2023] trailer documentario di Vittorio Bongiorno

ASK THE SAND is the journey of a father and a son in search of the utopian city of Arcosanti, city of the future built in 1970 in the Arizona desert by the Italian architect Paolo Soleri (1919-2013), a student of Frank Lloyd Wright .

A journey that is also a birthday gift to a son who becomes a man.

With the soundtrack of Calexico, Naim Amor & John Convertino, Joachim Cooder.

A Milk Korowa Film production, with the contribution of Emilia Romagna Film Commission and with the participation of SkyArte.

[sj-in-musicnote]

<Buena Vista Social Club> 

잊혀졌던 쿠바의 뮤지션들이 재결합한 부에나 비스타 소셜 클럽은 원래 계획에 없던 해프닝이었다. 애초에 월드 서킷(World Circuit) 레이블의 프로듀서 닉 골드(Nick Gold)와 기타리스트 라이 쿠더(Ry Cooder)가 하바나에서 만난 것은 아프리카 말리 지역 뮤지션들을 쿠바로 데려와 쿠바 현지 뮤지션들과의 콜라보로 오리엔탈 바이브를 살린 앨범을 녹음하기 위한 것이었다. 하지만 쿠바는 그 당시 미국으로부터 입국 금지 등의 제재가 가해지던 상황에 놓여 있었기에 아프리카 뮤지션들이 국경을 넘는 데 성공하지 못했다. 그래서 이 계획은 자연히 무산될 위기에 이르렀다.

그런데 그때 닉 골드는 후안 데 마르코스 곤잘레스(Juan de Marcos González)와 함께 <A toda Cuba le gusta>라는 앨범도 녹음하고 있었는데, 후안 데 마르코스 곤잘레스의 도움으로 무산될 위기에 처한 레코딩이 새로운 방향을 모색할 수 있게 되었다. <A toda Cuba le gusta>를 위해 모인 라인업에 기타리스트 엘리아데스 오초아(Eliades Ochoa), 루벤 곤잘레스(Rubén González), 콤파이 세군도(Compay Segundo) 등의, 그러니까 쿠바 혁명 이전인 1930-40년대 왕성한 활동을 했던 뮤지션들이 즉각적으로 섭외되면서 프로젝트가 활기를 띠어 갔다. 혁명과 정권 교체 후 유흥이나 오락을 담당하던 장소들이 문을 닫으면서 위의 쿠반 뮤지션들은 직업을 잃게 되었고 생업에 전전하는 삶을 살았다. 그러니 1996년 다시 반짝하고 모이게 된 이 프로젝트 멤버들은 경이감에 휩���일 수밖에 없었을 것이다. 콤파이 세군도는 그때 89세의 나이였는데 6일째 이어지던 녹음을 소화해냈고, 앨범 발매 후 카네기 홀에서의 무대에도 올랐다. 앨범의 판매량도 갈수록 증가했고 이 앨범과 함께 쿠바 음악이 전세계적으로 부흥했다. 빔 벤더스 감독이 이들의 이야기를 다큐멘터리로 제작하기도 했다. 웹사이트 (https://www.pbs.org/buenavista/gallery/index_wim.html)에서 그의 스냅 사진 몇 장을 볼 수 있는데, 쿠바하면 가장 먼저 떠오르는 빈티지 카와 낙후된 건물 이미지 등이 그의 시선에 의해 소박하게 기록되어 있다. 사진 이야기가 나왔으니 말이지만, 앨범의 커버 이미지를 촬영한 사람은 수잔 티텔만(Susan Titelman)으로 라이 쿠더의 아내였고, 라이 쿠더가 이 작업에서 기타리스트로 참여한 것은 물론, 그의 아들 요아킴(Joachim)도 멀티 퍼커셔니스트로 크레딧에 이름을 올렸다. 그러니 이 앨범에 흐르는 왠지 모를 온정은 나이 든 쿠반 뮤지션들의 재회에서 오는 것만이 아니라 한 가족 구성원들의 조력에서도 찾을 수 있을 것이다.

쿠바의 전통 음악 손(son)을 대표하는 Chan Chan을 들으면 쿠바 음악이란 이렇게 저녁노을 같은 색채감을 지닌, 서글픈 곡조를 특징으로 하는가 하는 궁금증이 일지만, 이어지는 곡 De Camino a La Vereda를 들으면 제법 긍정적이고 희망적으로도 구성될 수 있음을 느끼게 된다. 컨트리풍 손 음악인 Chan Chan은 사랑과 여행에 대한 심플한 이야기로 구성되었는데 사운드는 제법 풍부하고 원시적 상상력을 일깨우는 듯한 채색으로 다가온다. El Cuarto de Tula는 descarga라고 하는 쿠바 스타일의 잼 세션을 선보이며, 자유로운 즉흥성을 강조하여 연주자들과 보컬의 기량을 한껏 뽐내기도 한다. Pueblo Nuevo와 Buena Vista Social Club은 보컬이 없는 피아노 연주곡들이다. 루벤 곤잘레스는 원래 의사가 되려고 했지만 피아노에 대한 사랑이 깊어져 결국 학교를 그만두고 피아노의 길로 들어선, 쿠바 음악계에서는 전설적인 인물이다. 전성기를 보내고 조용히 지내던 그가 이 프로젝트 때문에 다시 스튜디오에 나타나 피아노 앞에 앉는 일이 벌어졌고, 부에나 비스타 앨범 작업 후 월드 서킷과 솔로 앨범 녹음도 마쳤다. Pueblo Nuevo는 단존(Danzón) 리듬에 맘보(Mambo) 섹션을 포함하는 것으로 풀이되어 있는데, 그의 연주를 듣고 있자니 왠지 모를 유쾌함과 여유가 그려졌다. 이런 음악은 재즈에서 자주 마주쳤던 것 같은데, 이 음악이 재즈 밖의 것이라는 사실이 새삼 흥미롭다. 이색적인 악기 편성과 분위기도 눈여겨보게 된다. 강렬함보다 소박하고 아기자기한 뉘앙스로 어필하는 그런 느낌을 연출한 데에는 우두 드럼(Udu drum)과 구이로(Guiro) 등의 악기들이 큰 기여를 하지 않았을까–우두 드럼은 도자기 형상을 한 악기로 손바닥으로 도자기 표면을 두드릴 때와 같은 소리를 내고 구이로는 표면이 빨래판 같아 긁으면 제법 장난스러운 소리를 낸다. 이 곡에서 피아노와 트럼펫은 조연이고 진짜 주인공들은 이와 같은 작은 소품 악기들이라고 내 멋대로 상상해 보기도 했다. 

¿Y Tú Qué Has Hecho?는 듣고 문득 깜짝 놀란 곡이었다. 다름 아니라 멜로디가 너무 아름답고 노래도 소박했다. 원곡의 ��곡자 유세비오 델핀(Eusebio Delfín)은 하바나에서 활동하던 음악가이자 은행가였다. 당시 음악계에 만연하던 볼레로(Bolero)의 기타 스타일을 바꾸며 획기적인 변화를 가져왔는데 결국 그의 곡들이 많은 주목을 받았다고 한다. 이 곡은 기타 때문인지 보사노바 음악을 떠오르게 하기도 했다. 가사도 시적이라 울림을 준다. 무엇보다 나무와 소녀의 이미지가 동화처럼 산뜻하다.

On the trunk of a tree, a young girl 커다란 나무에

Filled with joy, carved 한 소녀가 즐거운 얼굴로

out her name 자신의 이름을 새겼다

The tree, touched to the core 나무는, 자신을 뼛속 깊이 흔들어

Let a flower drop down to the girl 꽃잎을 소녀에게로 떨어뜨리도록 했다

I am the tree, sad and moved 나는 나무야, 난 슬프고 감동했어

You are the girl who 너는 내 몸통에 상처를 낸 

wounded my bark 소녀로구나

I will always treasure 어여쁜 네 이름

your beloved name 늘 소중히 다룰 거야

And you, what have you done 그런데 너는, 가련한 내 꽃잎을 가지고

wth my poor flower? 무얼 한 거지?

쿠바, 하면 가장 먼저 떠오르는 것은 아마도 부에나 비스타 소셜 클럽인지도 모른다. 적어도 내게는 그렇다. 그럼에도 쿠바 음악이란 여전히 낯설고 이국적이다. 가사 또한 스페인어로 이루어졌기에 신비감이 더해진다. 쿠바 음악에 크게 귀 기울여본 계기가 없는 나로서는, 남미의 서정적이고 설움이 깃든 멜로디를 연상하며 여기 수록된 일련의 음악들을 이해해 보기도 했다. 남미와 스페인의 전통 음악들과도 그리 멀지 않은, 쿠바라는 음악. 스페인의 오랜 식민지였고 서아프리카 흑인 노예들이 자신들의 정신에 이식된 고유의 리듬을 갖고 이주해온 영토, 미국으로부터 스윙과 재즈가 전파되어 와 빚어진 음악들의 나라. 부에나 비스타 소셜 클럽이 아니었다면 여전히 쿠바 음악에 대해서는 아무것도 모르지 않았을까? 살사 댄스, 룸바 등 강렬한 이미지에 잠식당해 이토록 향수 어리고 영감을 주는 음악들은 여전히 미지의 역사 속에 머물고 있을 것이다. 그래서 발굴이란 참 중요한 일이라는 생각이 들었다. 부에나 비스타 소셜 클럽은 지금도 쿠바 음악에 입문하려는 사람들이 있다면 반드시 추천할 음반이다. 그리고 쿠바 음악이라는 범주를 내려놓아도, 재즈보다 더 이색적인 음악, 서���적이면서도 독특한 감성을 자랑하는 월드 뮤직을 찾는 ���스너라면 만족할 만한 그런 앨범임이 분명하다.

[juliansummerhayes]

Listen/purchase: Everyone Sleeps In The Light by Joachim Cooder

Here now.

[adsmusiconstellations]

Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder - Hooray Hooray (Get On Board, 2022)

https://rycooder.com / https://www.tajblues.com / https://www.nonesuch.com

[nofatclips]

De camino a la vereda by Buena Vista Social Club

[musiconspotify]

Joachim Cooder

Over That Road I’m Bound (2020) … songs of Uncle Dave Mason …

#JoachimCooder

[protoslacker]

Joachim Cooder - Heartaching Blues

Joachim Cooder

Over That Road I’m Bound

[jayfinch]

Buena Vista Social Club

the album

[nonesuchrecords]

It was 20 years ago today: Ry Cooder and Manuel Galbán’s Grammy-winning album Mambo Sinuendo was released. You can hear it again and get it on vinyl here.

Cooder returned to Havana’s Egrem Studio, site of the Buena Vista Social Club recordings, to cut these tracks with the legendary Los Zafiros guitarist. Performing on the album are drummers Jim Keltner and Joachim Cooder, conga player Miguel “Angá” Díaz, bass player Orlando “Cachaíto” López, singers Juliette Commagere and Carla Commagere, and batá players Gregorio Hernández Rios “Goyo,�� Maximino Duquesne Martínez, Marcos H. Scull, and Yosvani Díaz.

They “create a time-warped neverland,” said the New York Times, “where unhurried melodies hover above subtly swaying Cuban rhythms.”

Design by Doyle Partners. Photo by Cindy Lewis.

[americanahighways]

Bentley’s Bandstand: Favorite Albums 2024 (Second Half)

Bentley’s Bandstand: Favorite Albums 2024 (Second Half) @jeremiealbino #milobender @therealjohncale @joachimcooder @georgeducas @joeely_official @amyhelmmusic @nicklowesdog @losstraitjackets @mindysmithmusic @dwightyoakam #royhead @americanahighways #billbentley #americanahighways #americanamusic #newmusic2024 #favoritealbums #favoritealbumsof2024 @charleslloydsax

Favorite Albums 2024 (Second Half)by Bill Bentley Jeremie Albino, Our Time in the Sun. When a musician comes along that does not create songs just for songs’ sake, but genuinely feels like their music on this earth is to be taken seriously, that’s when the magic begins. These people keep rock & roll real, and where would we all be without it? The Best of the Chipmunks Volume 63? Fortunately…

[sawdustandgin]

Joachim Cooder Teams Up With Zack Whedon for “Everyone Sleeps in the Light”

Originally appeared on LA Weekly. 

Joachim Cooder revealed a brand-new music video on Monday for “Everyone Sleeps in the Light,” directed by Zack Whedon, brother of Joss (Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly).

The video’s concept mimics the creative process and its inherent mystery. Whedon explains, “I wanted to make something about the miraculous ability to pull something from the ether and bring it into our world.”

Read more. 

Joachim Cooder | buy Fuschia Machu Picchu | website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

[dustedmagazine]

Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder — Get on Board (Nonesuch)

If you live long enough, time has a way of snapping back at you, bringing your current, vastly inferior self into sync, at least temporarily, with the people you know, the places you went, the things you did as a much younger person. That seems to have happened for Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder, who first performed together in 1965 as the Rising Sons. They were good enough to get a record contract from Columbia but the sessions they produced together in the 1960s were never officially released. Cooder played on Taj Mahal’s first album, released in 1968, and then the two went their separate ways.

Cooder carved out a blues slide guitar path that led through rock and country, from roots authenticity to chart-topping accommodation and even, memorably, to post-revolutionary Cuba. Taj Mahal lived and played and studied the blues, collaborated with the Rolling Stones and Keb Mo and Toumani Diabaté, (among others) and was an early experimenter with the music of other cultures. Both have been widely lauded, Cooder placed of Rolling Stones’ “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” in 2003; Taj Mahal has won three Grammys. But after the debut Taj Mahal solo album, the two never recorded together again…until now.

The two joined together on Get on Board to play the music of Piedmont bluesmen Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, two artists celebrated in the 1960s folk revival, who both Cooder and Mahal saw perform as young teenagers. Their Piedmont style of blues incorporated a broad array of influences, not just the African rhythms and field chants of the deep south, but styles like boogie-woogie, jazz and folk. The idea was for Cooder and Mahal to recreate their music with Mahal singing, playing guitar, harmonic and piano and Cooder adding guitar, mandolin and banjo. Cooder’s son Joachim played bass and drums.

The disc shares a name, three songs and a cover art aesthetic with Get on Board: Negro Folksongs by the Folkmasters, the 1952 compilation that introduced Terry and McGhee to the wider public. That disc’s original “Midnight Special” lays its rough, shuffling rhythms down in staccato guitar and terse blurts of harmonica. Cooder and Taj Mahal capture the song’s insouciant charm, with Cooder strumming guitar and singing a home-y lead and Mahal blowing raspy fills of harmonica. Cooder switches to mandolin for “Hooray Hooray,” sketching trebly figures around the pair’s voices in unison, and Mahal again retraces Terry’s harmonica work with jaunty, enflamed precision. Joachim Cooder’s percussion is spare and sharp—he is maybe playing a box here, certainly not a traditional drum kit.

These songs run the bluesman’s gamut from the sacred to profane, the piano-led “Deep Sea Diver” slouches heavy with sexual innuendos, while gorgeous, prayerful “I Shall Not Be Moved” partakes of gospel pieties. There are field songs (“Pick a Bale of Cotton”), eating songs (“Cornbread, Peas, Black Molasses”) and drinking songs (“Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee”), all proceeding with a shuffling, sliding, percussive motion, the two principals switching off on vocals and passing the guitar as the mood takes them. You could spend a lot of time thinking about why these songs and what Terry and McGhee meant in their own time and what they mean now, but the songs are pure visceral experiences that you feel in your gut and your heart.

Jennifer Kelly

[theiceandbones]

heyy I saw your obscurity rating thingy and I wanted to ask if you could recommend some of the folk music you listen too? I'm gravitating in that direction atm and I'd love some new things to listen too! :)) (no pressure though!)

Yes!! Omg yes!! Thank you for asking!!

Obscurify says my top song atm is Cam Ye O'er Frae France by Steeleye Span which is an 18th century satirical Scots folk song about the marital problems of George I, "Geordie Whelps." A few other songs on the list, and some I just have on rotation lately, are:

Stay Away - Chris Thile

Come Home Now - Cujo Moon

Maple Sap - River Whyless

Albert Ross - Wild Pink

Big Black Car - Gregory Alan Isakov

Jumbo - Punch Brothers

Julep - Punch Brothers

Katie Queen of Tennessee - The Apache Relay

The Witch - Mark Fry

Come Along Buddy - Joachim Cooder

I Wanna Be in the Cavalry - Corb Lund

Fisherman's Wharf - Stan Rogers

Gentleman Soldier - Pyrates!

Agamemnon - The Teacups

I hope this list gives you some inspiration, thanks for asking ❤