Tonefiend Forum

Mercy, I could sit here all day and come up with various artists, but here are a few off the top of my head...

Umm Kulthum - If you're from the Middle East, the idea that Umm Kulthum is "a well-kept secret" is absurd... even decades after her death, she's insanely popular over there, on a level that rivals Elvis or The Beatles.

But in the West, she's criminally unknown and quality recordings are hard to come by. Much of what's available here are compilations of 3-4 minute songs in scratchy mono... these are good, but the really great stuff are live recordings of her famous weekly radio broadcasts.

The songs on these performances are usually 30-60 minutes long, and give her ample opportunity to showcase her jaw-dropping talents. She really does have it all: a gorgeous voice, unbelievable phrasing with a command of little microtonal inflections that a fretless or slide guitar player could spend a lifetime studying, and an emotive quality that crosses any language barrier. However difficult it may be to come across these recordings, trust me that it's worth it.

Marc Ducret - Lot of people know about Marc Ribot (deservedly so) but I see fewer people talk about Ducret. This is a terrible oversight, IMO... he is that rare player that combines undeniable virtuosity with an approach and sound that's entirely his own. I've seen him live several times in various Tim Berne groups and was floored on each occasion.

Otomo Yoshihide's NJQ - He's probably more famous in the Japanese noise scene, but he also has a really great jazz group as well. A really visceral group of players that I'd recommend to any fans of adventurous jazz.

Jody Stecher - A really terrifying musician. A virtuoso mandolin, guitar, fiddle, and banjo player. He's a master of Appalachian AND Hindustani and probably one of the few players who's played with David Grisman and Ali Akbar Khan. He's also a terrific teacher with several instructional videos. His duets with his wife Kate Brislin are a great place to start.

Lots of other examples I can't do full justice to...

Paul Bley's solo on "All The Things You Are" (from "Sonny Meets Hawk") - one of the "best secrets" in jazz

Robert Pete Williams

Hans Reichel

Lightnin' Hopkins "Herald Recordings"

Herbie Nichols

David Tronzo... the best slide player that nobody knows

Cedell Davis

Skip Spence's "Oar"

The Everyman Band (with a young David Torn)

And so on and so on..

Quote from Oinkus on August 5, 2012, 05:33
Always thought I knew something about music when I found Go so many years ago. Stomu Yamashta had such a vision and collected a fantastic group of musicians to play the music.Still makes the hair on my arms stand up when I listen to Crossing the Line off of Go... Live in Paris.Can you imagine how Pat Thrall felt like to have to play second fiddle to Al Dimeola ?

A fantastic band. Live in Paris is a tremendous recording, the 2 record original import was phenomenal but it is rare. Pat Thrall was great on that music having recently been playing with Automatic Man. He said he learned some chops from Al Dimeola who I thought was nicely restrained by the music and his fellow bandmates (I-am not a big Al fan).

This John Ambercrombie performance pretty much changed my life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hypFSAKxC8
I was a punk/garage/psych primitive until this smacked me in the chops. Miles' "Bitches Brew" kinda' prepared me for this, but this one captivated me in a way that nothing else could. Believe it or not, this led me into ten years of playing blues almost exclusively; I, being self taught, needed to get to the roots of this thing...

I like some folky stuff and Celtic type things and progressive rock, to sum it up simply. Probably fairly pedestrian by some of you guys' standards!

John Renbourn - The Black Balloon is one of my all time favorite guitar records. Yes SORRY it was a RECORD!
I first heard Sonny Landreth on Beausoleil's "Bayou Boogie" and have a couple of his solo CDs. Electrifying slide!
Egberto Gismonti's "Sol do Meio Dia" opened my ears at a young age to some new sounds.

Bristol is cool for sure. I think the same Somerset chemicals are responsible both for the musical brilliance and the general depressive attitude. 😉

Wish I could dash out for a pint at the Arnolfini this afternoon...