310 Lunes (World Village, 2014)
The World Village release 310 Lunes by Lo’Jo is a carnival of sound with all the swirl of exoticism, the heady flare of the forbidden, the bite of invention and the claws of the unexpected that will keep listeners coming back for more. While it might be a bit more esoteric for the casual passer-by, 310 Lunes is masterful in rich scope of genre bending gallivanting. Dominated by brass and woodwinds, 310 Lunes lures listeners in with a blend of the languid and buoyant by way of clarinets, flutes, saxophones, tubas, trumpets, bassoons and trombones, not to mention the occasional quirky addition of vocals played through reeds and instrument mouthpieces.
Marking the 310 moons since the inception of Lo’Jo with this release, Lo’Jo has an impressive collection of previous recordings like the 2012 Cinema El Mundo, the 2006 releases of Bazar Savant and Boheme de Cristal, the 2004 release Ce Soir-La and the 2002 releases of Au Cabaret Sauvage and Mojo Radio. Core musicians Renaud-Gabriel Pion, Sephane Coutable, Elisabeth Herault, Michel Massot and Alan Regardin are joined on 310 Lunes by guest artists like flutist Magic Malik, trombonist Roswell Rudd, trumpeter Erik Truffaz, clarinetist Hasan Yarimdunia, vocalist Yamina Nid El Mourid and palmera Nadia Nid El Mourid.
Bold and vibrant, 310 Lunes breaths a fiery concoction of jazz infused with elements of Western jazz and classical music, Indian, Eastern European and Balkan brass band music. Opening the smooth strains and intricate dance of brass and woodwinds of “Au Bar des Lilas,” 310 Lunes soon gives way to imaginative exoticism of “Adorate Child,” and the Balkan brass tinged “Quelqu’ un d’elle.” “The International Courabou” and “Lo Siempre Jo” are mournfully soulful, while tracks like “Kalo Moon” and “Tajaban” brim over with a fanciful vibrancy.
As one of the members of Lo’Jo puts it, “We were four kids raised in the trade, roaming Europe for the first time in 1988, when Poland was still Communist. In their trucks and trailers, the elders from Jo Bithume Cie took us right into the middle of Gypsy fantasies and miseries, militias, Slavic wonders, a theater of a new realm and the Jelena-Gora Festival, where street art from all over Europe nourished our adventures.”
Fans get an added treat with 310 Lunes with the additional recording of the 1989 release of The International Courabou. Initially privately released, The International Courabou is the beginning of the journey. Kick ass tracks like the opening “Mo-Jo’s” are fleshed out with the addition of drums, keyboards, percussion, vocals and strings.
No less dazzling than 310 Lunes, The International Courabou revels in the dreamy long lines of brass and the flourish of jazz against the musical fantasy of experimentation. High flying and freewheeling tracks like “A Tribute to Black” and “Nobby” are electric and captivating, while tracks like “Mirar” and “Soraya” wallow in a delicious lushness. While in some ways The International Courabou might come across as a little less polished in scope than 310 Lunes, it is a delight to listen to the evolution of Lo’Jo and get it in a single package.
Extravagantly stylized, Lo’Jo is the barely caged animal, a ll teeth, claws and silky fur, behind that carnival tent flap.
Buy 310 Lunes
Author: TJ Nelson
TJ Nelson is a regular CD reviewer and editor at World Music Central. She is also a fiction writer. Check out her latest book, Chasing Athena’s Shadow.
Set in Pineboro, North Carolina, Chasing Athena’s Shadow follows the adventures of Grace, an adult literacy teacher, as she seeks to solve a long forgotten family mystery. Her charmingly dysfunctional family is of little help in her quest. Along with her best friends, an attractive Mexican teacher and an amiable gay chef, Grace must find the one fading memory that holds the key to why Grace’s great-grandmother, Athena, shot her husband on the courthouse steps in 1931.
Traversing the line between the Old South and New South, Grace will have to dig into the past to uncover Athena’s true crime.
