BILL LASWELL & MASAHIRO SHIMBA

DUB OPERA EP

Digital only companion piece featuring alternate mixes from the ESP Disk release Risurrezione.


  1/  Nessun Dorma                                (Puccini)                     8.18
  2/  Moon Dub                                    (Laswell)                     5.01
  3/  Tonight Dub                                 (Bernstein,Sondheim)          8.03
  4/  I Pescatori di Perle (The Pearl Fishers)    (Bizet)                       5.18
  5/  Pagliaci (Clowns)                           (Leoncavallo)                 5.24
  
          Recorded & mixed at Orange Music, West Orange, NJ
          Engineering: Robert Musso & James Dellatacoma 
          Voice trainer: Diego D'Auria
          Produced and arranged by Bill Laswell
          Executive Producer: Giacomo Bruzzo
          Designed by Yoko Yamabe @ Randesign
          Concept & production coordination for M.O.D Technologies: Yoko Yamabe
          M.O.D. Support: Dave Brunelle
          Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at Turtle Tone Studio, NYC
Karl Berger: electronic keyboard; Rob Burger: electric piano, organ; Yukari Fujita: piano; Peter Apfelbaum: tenor saxophone; Graham Haynes: cornet; Bill Laswell: bass; Adam Rudolph: percussion; Guy Licata: drums; Hideo Yamaki: drums; Sly Dunbar: drums.

Material strings arranged and conducted by Karl Berger

          2015 - M.O.D. Technologies Digital (USA), MODDS00019 (digital) - November 13, 2015

REVIEWS :

Recently, researchers with the Ligo Collaboration reported that they had detected gravitational waves (predicted by Einstein in his General Theory of Relativity 100 years ago) resulting from the collision between two black holes a billion years ago. Bassist and provocateur Bill Laswell has made a career of doting the same thing with musical genre, creating new and different forms with lasting consequences. Most notable has been Laswell's application of Dub, an electronic progeny of Reggae, to different styles of music as remixes. In this vein, Laswell sites in on some of the monuments of opera with interesting, albeit mixed results.

Joining Laswell is tenor Masahiro Shimba, who proves himself more than equal to the task of upending the world of music for the stage. The opening "Nessun Dorma" (Puccini), from Turandot is spacious and nearly ambient (hear Ambience Dub, Vols. 1 & 2 (APC Records, 1997)). Laswell assimilates Dub into the treasured arias with a blatent disregard for musical dogma and tradition. It is a refreshing bit of anarchy within the sacred halls of convention. Outstanding are the aforementioned "Nessun Dorma," opening the disc and "Pagilacci" (Leoncavallo) closing it.

Between these bookends a couple of studies, including Leonard Bernstein ("Tonight" from West Side Story) and Antonin Dvorák ("Moon" from Rusalka). These are briefer pieces that reveal Laswell's ability to concentrated pathos into small spaces. Standout in the instruments is tenor saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum, who adds a certain 1980s British spin on the Reggae. This is provocative music that is as easy on the ears as it is to understand and enjoy...if one's mind is open.

4/5

C. Michael Bailey (courtesy of the All About Jazz website)