Motherland

Motherland

ASIN: B00004Y33W

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
From his work with Dizzy Gillespie and Wynton Marsalis to his pioneering recordings including The Journey and PanaMonk, Panamanian pianist-composer Danilo Perez has evolved into one of the most complete musicians of his generation. This monumental CD is his most intricate and engaging to date. Perez's approach to the African musical imprint in the Americas, with its U.S., Caribbean, Central American, and South American branches, is the aural equivalent of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel steeped in the magical realisms of the Americas.

In Perez's hands, national rhythms blend with jazz, folkloric, and classical musical forms and merge with his encyclopedic keyboard conception on acoustic and electric piano. He's backed by an all-world array of musicians including soprano and alto saxophonist Chris Potter, violinist Regina Carter, drummer Brian Blade, and bassist John Patitucci from the U.S.; trumpeter Diego Urcola from Argentina; and singer Claudia Acuna from Chile. Perez takes the listener on a tour: from the Latin blues of "Suite for the Americas, Parts 1 and 2," and Richard Bona's funky Afro-Brazilian basslines on "Pan Africa" to the choral, Cuban complexity of "Overture." The highlights of the CD are Perez's updates of "Panama Libre" and "Panama 2000" from his self-titled debut and The Journey. They show off his arranging genius, and highlight his new role as the Cultural Ambassador of Panama. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Tracks:

The House Is On Fire
Motherland
Saint Judas
Put The Law On You
Build A Levee
Golden Boy
The Ballad Of Henry Darger
The Worst Thing
Tell Yourself
Just Can't Last
Not In This Life
I'm Not Gonna Beg

Amazon.com

Just as Natalie Merchant donned a mythical persona for her last proper solo release, 1998's Ophelia, the buttery-voiced performer enjoys another stint as a quick-change artist on Motherland. From the trilling Middle Eastern flavor of opener "This House Is on Fire" to the evocative Latin classical guitar tones on "The Worst Thing," Merchant seems to enjoy pressing her steadfast, throaty vocals into new terrain as much as she does trying on dresses and high heels. While most of Motherland resides in the downtempo, ballad-heavy world that Ophelia did, most of the singer's diehard fans will appreciate her thoughtful phrasing and pastel soundscapes. There may not be fireworks, but the ex-10,000 Maniacs frontwoman knows her way around a sad song: "Golden Boy" excels as a wispy November poem, while she wiggles into torch-singer mode on "Put the Law on You." But the record's true standout is "Tell Yourself," an almost sprightly tune with sunny acoustics that resemble the Maniacs' "Don't Talk." Merchant may not be inherently comfortable in her own skin, but, like a salamander, she's excellent at transforming her surroundings without sacrificing her creative soul. --Kristy Martin

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful voice.......2007-05-08

Natalie has a wonderful throaty voice which carries a song farther than one could imagine. If you like to listen to the voice of a woman and not a teenager, pick Natalie Merchant!

What Happened to Natalie's Voice?.......2007-04-02

What is Natalie trying to prove now? I've got just about all her albums...great stuff...and love the few times I've seen her "live" on television...but what is wrong with her voice? I've listened to this album several times over the years I've had it here, and just keep thinking that she sounds like someone who was advised to smoke a lot of cheap cigars, in an effort to lower or deepen her voice...and possibly a daily ration of scotch to go with that. She sounds tired, gray, and as if someone has slowed down the record...like someone trudging through a foggy day. I suppose it could be that her overflowing social conscience has her thinking she's a woman of color now, and she's trying to emulate the sound of a black woman blues singer...I don't know...but it's sad.

Absolutely Fabulous.......2007-02-22

You'll get mixed reviews for this one, possibly because a lot of listeners expect something akin to the shimmering, quirky pop of her first album - and of course, the maniacs.

This album is a departure from the earlier pure-pop sound. It's a lot more rootsy, exploring a few different styles including gospel and blues.

Lyrically, her songs are well developed and evocative, while the insights she offers sound authentic. The song Motherland is stunning. It's definitely a standout and possibly one of Ms Merchant's best compositions. It appears to describe a mother (perhaps the writer) considering the future of her "five & dime queen" - what I take to be a portrayal of a little girl caught up in the childish pleasures of cheap glitzy treasures and dime store trinkets, while the mother mixes joy and sadness, watching her and contemplating the world that she will inherit.

As an aside, the front cover photo was taken outside New York while the planes flew overhead, enroute to the WTC. It was a sad coincidence but somehow adds poignancy to this moving song. Strangely, Bob Dylan's love and theft was released on that fateful day, while Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was supposed to be released but was delayed through contractual wrangling. Wilco's cover had a picture of two tall buildings (the tallest in Chicago) and the unusual lyrics, "tall buildings shake, voices quake singing sad, sad songs". Make of that what you will.

Henry Darger is another fine song about a very strange man inhabiting a very strange mythological world of his own imagination, which he committed to an enormous set of books. Adding to the mystery of this tale is the fact that a young girl's disappearance at the time seemed inexplicably linked to Henry Darger and makes an appearance in his writing. Was he somehow involved? Or simply deeply affected by the news articles surrounding the girl's disappearance? The implecation to his writing is the difference between darkness and light. Mystery upon mystery in this song.

The sound quality of this recording is superb and T Bone Burnett has a hand in the proceedings. Listeners with an excellent sound system will be rewarded.

Above the Rest.......2006-11-11

Truly Natalie at her prime! I love the eclectic style of sounds and the passion of her music. She is incredible!

Motherland-Wonderland.......2006-06-30

How can one describe this music? Don't! Just listen to this beautiful cd. It's an impressive masterpiece! Mrs. Merchant's voice 'has it all'. The songs?: characteristic, original, beautyful , fragile...oh....cut the crap and listen!

Average customer rating:

JUST PERFECTION!!
Hvorostovsky...........again, magic
hvorostovsky does it again

Moscow Nights

Manufacturer: Delos Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Where Are You, My Brothers?
Kalinka: Russian Folk Songs
Dmitri Hvorostovsky - Russian Songs of the War Years
I Met You, My Love
Dmitri Hvorostovsky in Concert 1998

ASIN: B0007SL1M6
Release Date: 2005-03-08

Tracks:

Kak molody my byli (How young we were)
Podmoskovnye vechera (Moscow nights)
Shum berioz (The whisper of birches)
Ne speshi (Do not hurry)
Nezhnost (Tenderness)
Zhdi menia (Wait for me)
Tri goda (Three years)
Vechernay pesnya (Evening song)
Ty moya melodiya (You are my melody)
Moskovskie okna (Moscow windows)
Kak mnogo devushek horoshih (There are so many girls)
Blagodariu tebia (I'm grateful to you)
Ia liubliu tebia, zhizn' (I love you, life)
Vecher na reide (Evening in the harbor)
S chego nachinaestia Rodina (Where does Motherland come from?)
Russkoe pole (Russian field)
Special Bonus Track: Rodina slyshit (Motherland hears)

Customer Reviews:

JUST PERFECTION!!.......2006-04-08

I have all of Dmitri's recordings and this is my favorite due to the quality of the songs, Dmitri's mastery of all of them and the really lush orchestrations. All of the songs are just gorgeous and his voice so beautiful that I listen to this all day at work on my portable CD player. I recently saw him in concert and purchased the DVD of the "War Songs" which were featured in the second half of his concert. Of course, I recommend the CD and the DVD as really stunning. However, if I could only listen to one of his CD's, this is my favorite. As a former singer who trained for 15 years, I can tell you that Dmitri's vocal technique is perfect, just perfect! The voice comes from heaven! Don't wait to get this one!

Hvorostovsky...........again, magic.......2006-02-14

Moscow Nights - This collection is emotionally draining, sad; the minor keys, the great poets and composers, an era unexpressed to Americans. It is a revelation, tended by one of the most beautiful of Russian voices. Listen to it in pieces, in a quiet space, and ponder. Dmitri commands an opera stage - two visits to Queen of Spades at the Met- can lead to no other conclusion. However, it is his quiet recollections of Russian folk music, Russian sacred music, and Soviet music that arouses his greatest talents. This is a recording to be treasured.

hvorostovsky does it again.......2005-05-01

This is the latest installment of the succesfull Hvorostosky/Orbelian collaboration. In "I met you my love" the spotlight was on the socalled Russian Romances, russian art songs of the 19e century. Then came " Where are you my brothers" a collection of Russian war songs. This title contains a collection of the best post war(50s&60s) songs. If you love melodious songs in minor key this is it.The selection is quiet varied and everybody will have his or her own favourites. For me there was'nt a redundant song. The singing is as always faultless and inspired, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra plays topnotch and the arrangments by Evgeny Stesyuk are as always beautifull. But be warned this cd can have a depressing effect because besides being beautifull this music is also mostly very moving. Buy if you love russian music and good musicianship you can't go wrong with this one.

Average customer rating:

The new path
The new Trend in Jazz/ A panamanian conquistador
His best so far
Personal Synthesis

Motherland
Danílo Perez
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Cuba | Caribbean & Cuba | International | Styles | Music

Latin Pop | Latin Music | Styles | Music

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Latin Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Bebop & Post-Bop | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music
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Panamonk
... Till Then
Central Avenue
The Roy Haynes Trio
Danilo Perez

ASIN: B00004Y33W
Release Date: 2000-09-19

Tracks:

Intro
Suite For The Americas - Part 1
Elegant Dance
Panafrica
Baile
Song Of The Land
Suite For The Americas - Part 2
Prayer
Overture
Rio To Panama
Panama Libre
Panama 2000
And Then...

Amazon.com

From his work with Dizzy Gillespie and Wynton Marsalis to his pioneering recordings including The Journey and PanaMonk, Panamanian pianist-composer Danilo Perez has evolved into one of the most complete musicians of his generation. This monumental CD is his most intricate and engaging to date. Perez's approach to the African musical imprint in the Americas, with its U.S., Caribbean, Central American, and South American branches, is the aural equivalent of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel steeped in the magical realisms of the Americas.

In Perez's hands, national rhythms blend with jazz, folkloric, and classical musical forms and merge with his encyclopedic keyboard conception on acoustic and electric piano. He's backed by an all-world array of musicians including soprano and alto saxophonist Chris Potter, violinist Regina Carter, drummer Brian Blade, and bassist John Patitucci from the U.S.; trumpeter Diego Urcola from Argentina; and singer Claudia Acuna from Chile. Perez takes the listener on a tour: from the Latin blues of "Suite for the Americas, Parts 1 and 2," and Richard Bona's funky Afro-Brazilian basslines on "Pan Africa" to the choral, Cuban complexity of "Overture." The highlights of the CD are Perez's updates of "Panama Libre" and "Panama 2000" from his self-titled debut and The Journey. They show off his arranging genius, and highlight his new role as the Cultural Ambassador of Panama. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Customer Reviews:

The new path.......2001-01-13

Motherland is a clear indication that jazz is about to change its path. Danilo Perez is quickly becoming the MIles Davis of this decade. As a fusion master, Danilo Perez has pushed the limits of jazz to new realms ; refreshening, intense but delicate, this album may become a landmark as to the direction jazz music will go from now on. I agree 100% with The new York Times Critic's choice as No.1 pick of the year 2000. On the other hand, the recent nomination to the Grammys on the Latin Jazz Category indicates that the Academy is not yet prepared to recognized this talented panamanian as master pianist/composer/arranger in the jazz genre ( without adjectives) . Its to hard to accept, coming from a latino, that he speaks the jazz language more fluently that most jazz pianists in the world.

Watch for more to come from Danilo Perez in the near future.

The new Trend in Jazz/ A panamanian conquistador.......2001-01-10

With Motherland ,Danilo Perez proves one more time that jazz is the perfect ground for planting the universal or world music seed. He is a master of fusion that deserves wider recognition. I was glad to see Motherland as the year 2000 No.1 pick of The New York Times critic's choice ; it's a well deserve award. Also, Motherlands'nomination for the Grammys in the Latin Jazz category shows that the music academy is facing a big dilema "clasifying" this Latino that somehow speaks the true American Jazz language more fluently than most pianists in the world. We'll they ever be brave enough to nominate him in the Jazz Category, without adjectives? this is not Latin Jazz, is music at its best.

His best so far.......2000-10-31

Motherland is Danilo Perez's best. He just seems to improve with every album. I thought he'd reached his zenith after his release of The Journey, then after Panamonk, then after Central Avenue. I'm happy to be wrong, yet again. As a panamanian, this record (and in fact all his records) strike a particular nationalistic vein. In this album, "Elegant Dance" was easy to recognize as a "punto", a popular dance back home. All his rhythms, techniques, improvisations, just scream "Latin". But they're also a universal code, accessible to anyone, from any nationality.

Personal Synthesis.......2000-09-22

Along the lines of Keith Jarrett's "Expectations" and Wayne Shorter albums like "Native Dancer", Danilo's latest is a sincere, personal synthesis of influences and experiences that crosses all genres. There need to be more albums like this that, instead of sticking stubbornly to one genre or jumping frantically among many, reflects Shorter's one-time definition of jazz: "no genre."

Average customer rating:

Roy Ayers 'Destination Motherland'...

Destination Motherland
Roy Ayers
Manufacturer: Universal International
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music

Soul-Jazz & Boogaloo | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

Jazz Funk | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music

Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00006J3LW
Release Date: 2003-02-18

Tracks:

We Live in Brooklyn, Baby
Coffy Is the Color
Love From the Sun
Sweet Tears
Red, Black and Green
Pretty Brown Skin
Boogie Back
Tear to a Smile
Old One Two (Move to Groove)
Life Is Just a Moment, Pt. 2
Time and Space
Black Five
Everybody Loves the Sunshine
Memory
You Say Come On
Running Away
Searching
Baby You Give Me a Feeling

Tracks:

Third Eye
Everytime I See You
Sweet Tears [Disco Version]
Can't You See Me 12"
No Deposit, No Return
Love Will Bring Us Back Together
Fever [12" Version]
What You Won't Do for Love
Thank You Thank You
Rock Your Roll
Motherland Intro -- Africa Center of the World
Africa, Center of the World
Destination Motherland
Land of Fruit and Honey
Our Time Is Coming

Album Description

Subtitled - The Roy Ayers Anthology. A deluxe 2 CD collection of 33 of the respected soul-jazz showman's greatest moments from the 1970s. It draws from his 21 albums made during his 12 years at Polydor. The detailed sleevenotes include a new interview wit

Album Details

"destination Motherland" is a Deluxe Two CD Collection of 35 of the Respected Soul-jazz Showman's Greatest Moments from the 1970s.

Customer Reviews:

Roy Ayers 'Destination Motherland'..........2005-08-03

I found this two CD set to be an unexpected suprise! Most of the material I was already familiar with since I owned the albums on Wax. However, the song "Memory" has stuck with me! A most enjoyable collection - I recommend it for those who are not Familiar with Roy Ayers. A very broad sweep of the work he had done at Polydor Records in the 70's!

Average customer rating:

Khachaturian: Symphony No. 2 "The Bell"

Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
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Khachaturian: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3
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Khachaturian: Film Music

ASIN: B0000030TX
Release Date: 1993-12-07

Tracks:

Sym No. 2 in e, 'The Bell': First Movt: Andante Maestoso
Sym No. 2 in e, 'The Bell': Second Movt: Allegro Risoluto
Sym No. 2 in e, 'The Bell': Third Movt: Andante Sostenuto
Sym No. 2 in e, 'The Bell': Fourth Movt: Andante Mosso-Allegro Sostenuto. Maestoso
The Battle Of Stalinggrad: City On The Volga: Andante Maestoso
The Battle Of Stalinggrad: Invasion: Allegro Alla Marcia
The Battle Of Stalinggrad: Stalingrad On Fire: Lento Sostenuto
The Battle Of Stalinggrad: Battle Of The Motherland: Moderato Assai
The Battle Of Stalinggrad: Forward Into Victory: Tempo Di Marcia
The Battle Of Stalinggrad: 'There Is A Crag On The Volga': Andante Maestoso

Average customer rating:

Motherland Peace for Me Peace 4Me
Motherland
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000008INC
Release Date: 1994-06-07

Tracks:

Peace 4 Me
Rumor
Sunshine Inside
Let Me In
Brother
Last Words
Revive Yesterday
How Many
My Desire
Y

Average customer rating:

Moscow Nights

Manufacturer: Teldec
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Russia | Far East & Asia | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000000SKZ
Release Date: 1993-04-13

Tracks:

Patriot Song (Russian National Anthem)
Happy Girl (Armenian Folk Song)
Moscow Nights
Suliko (Georgian Folk Song)
Oh, You Nightingale
Oh, You Rye
Twelve Robbers (Russian Folk Song)
Varshavianka
Paganini Variations - On The Theme Of Capriccio No. 24
Song Of The Flea
A Birch Tree Stood In The Meadow (Russian Folk Song)
Stenka Razin (Russian Folk Song)
Across The Valleys And The Mountains
Motherland (Russian Folk Song)
Seven Sons-In-Law (Russian Folk Song)
It's Good For Us, Soldiers
In The Forest
Sports March

Average customer rating:

Drumdance to the Motherland
Khan Jamal , and Creative Arts Ensemble
Manufacturer: Eremite Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Sound Grammar
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ASIN: B000H5TUN6
Release Date: 2006-09-12

Tracks:

Cosmic Echoes
Drum Dance
Inner Peace
Breath Of Life

Album Description

"If ever a record was ripe for reissue, Khan Jamal's invisible release on Dogtown is the exact fruit everyone should be trying to harvest." - Wax Poetics

Tracks:

Festive Overture In A Minor
Variations On A Hungarian Folksong/On The Dneiper
Suite For The Miraculous Mountain

Product Description

Customer Reviews:

The Duplicitous Creative Life of Dmitri Shostakovich.......2007-05-27

Dmitri Shostakovich was a survivor, a gifted composer born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1906, an artist who attached himself to the freedoms of change of the new music of the 20th century and gained early popularity in his homeland only to suffer the iron fist of Stalin's threat that began the devastation of creative minds in 1936. If Shostakovich were to survive in his homeland he had to make artistic concessions, a feat he was willing to perform to shield his inner development as one of the finest composers of the century once the red/black curtain was lifted.

Nowhere is this dichotomy of artistic expression better demonstrated than on this superb recording of two works - 'nationalistic oratorio and cantata (read 'paeans')' coupled with a suite from his early 1928 controversial and experimental successful opera 'The Nose'. Michail Jurowski conducts the Cologne Radio Orchestra, Chorus , Children's Choir and soloists in two works that are unknown outside of Russia - and for good reason. The opening work is the cantata 'The Sun Shines on Our Motherland', opus 90 from the year 1952. This is a side of Shostakovich unknown to most of us, a very lushly romantic, lyrical, patriotic work fixed in the sonorities of 19th century British choral work sound. Once the listener gets past the rather mundane aspect of the piece the truly beautiful orchestral melding with the choral writing can be admired. But as 'pretty' as the work is it is not related to the Shostakovich we know.

The second work presented here is 'The Song of the Forests', Opus 81 from 1949 and is another grand oratorio proclaiming the glories of Russia - a rather bombastic, lugubrious work that may at one time have thrilled the hearts of Russian patriots, but that now is a merely beautifully composed old-fashioned massive choral work.

The last piece on this well recorded album is the dazzlingly wonderful suite from Shostakovich's first opera, 'The Nose' based on Nikolai Gogol's 1836 satirical tale of a Tsarist civil servant whose nose leaves his face and he departs on a ludicrous search for his missing part. The opera is as creatively inventive and daring as the previously placed choral works are retrogressive. After an overture that introduces all manner of rhythmic and atonal ideas, the suite settles into an aria by the main character Kovalev (well sung by Stanislaw Suleimanow) bemoaning his condition. The following Intermezzo is a dazzling example of Shostakovich's genius - a movement written entirely for the percussion section, oddly minus tympani! The colors he achieves are astounding. A second intermezzo is the composer at his most daring atonal best: the orchestration is wildly inventive, satirical, and rousing. Then comes a brief bit of humor from the besotted Ivan (Vladimir Kazatchouk), the tenor accompanied by a balalaikas and flexatone (an instrument that creates a whistling sound). Kovalev returns for the piece's central monologue, truly beautiful operatic writing with spare but elegant orchestral accompaniment. The suite ends with one of Shostakovich's specialties, a galop. This work is not only a fine opera now enjoying a come back, but also the suite is so richly detailed an account of the young Shostakovich's gifts that it begs to be performed with regularity.

This is a fascinating recording, extremely well performed and produced and one that surveys the spectrum of Dmitri Shostakovich. Highly Recommended for all audiences, but especially for those devoted to Shostakovich's well-known symphonies. Grady Harp, May 07

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