Pitter, Patter

My attention’s been elsewhere, this week. 

Music People, I haven’t even been listening to music.  At all, practically.  I’ve been listening to breezes and birds and cars and chatter.  And such.  It’s springtime, and Spring makes its own kind of music.

I did throw Chano Domínguez’ Hecho a Mano on, the other day, and it made me immensely happy.  It always does.

Domínguez is, depending on whom you ask, a pioneer in the fields of New Flamenco or Latin Jazz.  He gets one’s chocolate in the other’s peanut butter.

I know little about the histories of either, but this is what it boils down to, for me:  Domínguez – a Spanish-born pianist and composer – tickles away at Latin-flavored melodies while a whole host of warm percussives – hand claps, foot taps, shakers and bongos – propel them through a rhythmic obstacle course.

The first exposure I had to Latin Jazz – and this is where I found Domínguez – was in Fernando Trueba’s documentary Calle 54 (rent); as a documentary it’s not the most nourishing thing, but as a musical sampler it’ll bust your belt.  Tito Puento’s there, of course... but there's much, much more.  The most dynamic performers, I thought, were pianists:  Michel Camilo who has that amazing long-distance strike capability, pounding away at the keyboard from a foot away and always hitting his target; and Domínguez, who was playing off a sharp tap dancer.

Hecho’s seriously good, and because it’s rhythmically aggressive and (again) warm, it’s really accessible.  You can’t really clap or stomp along with it, but the musicmaking joy of the stuff is always well within reach.

The first of the following numbers is a brief complication of a Thelonious Monk standard.  The second is one of Domínguez’ own, and if it doesn’t get you smiling your face ain’t working.  Technically, it’s a “Tanguillo” – but don’t worry about the technicalities.  Just enjoy (and buy the record).

Chano Domínguez – Bemsha Swing (mp3) (buy)

Chano Domínguez – Cilantro y Comino (mp3) (buy)

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Which leads us rather nicely into the tip-top tap of Tilly and the Wall (whose site is organized by season).  The Latin flavor of their new single, available over at Team Love is unexpected (and, I assume, inspired by Almodóvar’s last film).

Tilly and the Wall – Bad Education (mp3)

I love the Tilly folk, who’ve abandoned their drum kit for a hoofer and the occasional cool electro-beat; there’s nothing soft about their shoe, but there’s nothing wrong with being direct... and there’s something so winning (and, hopefully, encouraging) about an act where the dancing’s built-in.

The Rich Girls are Weeping has three other songs off the new Tilly CD, Bottoms of Barrels, which drops 5/23.  You can pre-order that here.  “Rainbows in the Dark” is the real keeper; the title might make you throw up in your mouth, but Tilly’s triumph has always been lowering expectations, then foiling them.  They’re a sucker-punch of a band, but I find myself falling for them every time.

tags: tilly and the wall  chano dominguez  

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