Customer Reviews

Fascinoma

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album has been a long time coming. Since Hassell's last accessible studio album with Bluescreen (Dressing For Pleasure 1994), Hassell has spent a considerable amount of time guesting on a lot of other people's albums, everyone from Ani di Franco, to Seal, Baaba Maal, Holly Cole, KD Lang and much more. These days as well, his name seems to crop up on more than the occasional film scores eg Trespass , The End Of Violence, Primary Colors. On top of this he won an Emmy for the theme music for The Practise awhile back. He is also playing a part in the new Wim Wenders film Million Dollar Hotel. Also a book based on Fourth World ideology / concepts has been finished but at time of writing this had not been published. For Hassell this is in ways a voyage of rediscovery, hearing the ghosts of the past which in turn would go on to make him what he is today, a modern day musical shaman. He is also making the connections between these musics and his own fourth world soundings. Hassell says that this album is about immersing oneself into the beauty that is sound. Let me say outright that this is Hassell's finest in a long time. This album is about textures, tones, emotion, warmth, more so than a lot of Hassell I have heard over the years. Even though he is in acoustic mode, the 'sound' is instinctively Jon Hassell; the way he breathes, the trumpet sounding like a conch shell. At times you think you might be listening to great early Chet Baker, or even an introspective Miles Davis. So much care and thought has gone into this that I am in awe every time I hear it. Ronu Majumdar weaves his flute around Hassell's trumpet, creating a sense of light around Hassell's own sound chemistry. These two combined are pure magic. This is really what makes this particular release different to any other Hassell release, this sensation of lightness. The density of sound that is evident on the other releases is not present here, or maybe I'm not hearing it. I hear ragas, as well as phrasings from material which would turn up on Wim Wenders' The End Of Violence mixed in with Ellington. Jacky Terrasson I'm not all that familiar with. I think he used to play in bebop groups. Needless to say his nimble fingers do a damn fine job on this record, articulate and at times spectral. I don't really hear jazz as such when I listen to this, maybe the only piece that goes down this track for me is Poinciana with some of the phrasings, or maybe it's the way Terrasson plays those chords. Then you might hear something that reminds you of Satie or Ravel, before the piece slips into fourth world fusion mode again. Judge it for yourselves when you get the chance to hear it. For me, Hassell is a living treasure, one a few who consistantly releases interesting material. He dedicates this album to the late Pran Nath and his own father.

The opening amazingly beautiful reading of "Nature Boy" is so stunning when Ronu Majumdar's flute begins it's circling run around Hassell's
solo trumpet. wow. we know we are in for something unique and amazing.

This is Hassell's first CD to include covers and as a fan, I welcome this as a trend. This CD is at once beautiful, odd, provocative, and
occasionally challenging. I suppose you could expect that with a meeting of Hassell, Cooder, Majumdar, and Terrasson.

Like most Water Lily cds, it's Recorded live to stereo master in that Santa Barbara seminary with all that fetishist tube gear as usual. Music like
this sums up the underlying vibe of Santa Barbara.

As a Jon Hassell fan, I either enjoy or devour his music. But this latest release is a real tour-de-force, an absolutely beautiful and stunning CD.

If you're familiar with Hassell's work, try to imagine an acoustic-edged version of his "Fourth World" musics...not quite 'Jon Hassell Unplugged', but more of a earthy and less-processed version of his earlier style.

If you haven't heard his work before, this CD reminds me a lot of "Bitches Brew" by Miles Davis...superb trumpet work with insidious rhythms in the background.

This is Hassell's first work in 20 years that features tunes by others...but with his interpretation, you might not even recognize some of them.

This is a beautiful CD, hat's off to Jon Hassell and Ry Cooder (producer/player of/on the CD)

I just heard this CD a few nights ago at a friends dinner party and it grabbed my attention right away...(in a subtle way, that is).

It is a strange sonic mix of electronics, primitivism and jazz. The mood is predominately VERY subtle and hypnotic; if I remember correctly, there is not a bar faster than andante on the entire CD. But trust me, this is a good thing.

And so is the fact that Ry Cooder produced it...

Even though this disc was released some time ago, I have just come to it. I recall reading a piece about it in a music industry magazine at one point. As it turned out that written piece was really more about the actual recording process and the Waterlily Acoustics label's approach to sound than anything else. Still, I was intrigued as to what it would sound like (as an "ambient recording" process captured in a church with all tube analog stuff).

I should mention that I know of Mssr. Jon Hassell's work from 'back in the day' --- as a soloist on the classic beautiful albums "Remain in Light" by Talking Heads and "Brilliant Trees" by David Sylvian. Sometime during the 1990's I was able to track down a couple of his solo records. I must say that he is unique in the world of music. Of course this is no newz to those who know, and I am most likely preaching to the choir already with this, nevertheless, Jon Hassell knows about transcendance and how "that" relates to what we tend to call -- Music.

Mssr. Hassell is actually well beyond The Trumpet. The fact that his chosen instrument happens to BE The Trumpet is both lucky for us, the listeners, and meaningless to everyone concerned, because in the end His Heart and His Mind are coming from a place of Tone, of Frequency, and of Vibration. These "things" are certainly not contingent upon blowing The Trumpet. You see? One could choose to play the zither or the udu or the mouth organ, no matter in the hands of one who knows to reach Beyond (where the Music dwells). And once one would reach that "place" and to then share THAT, well now we're talking. And we ARE talking about Jon Hassell here for the moment (and in fact most of the folks involved with this particular CD). Kind of.

OK, so speaking of that place.......the last track on Fascinoma.......Estate (Summer).......is truly.......it is truly.......well.......there are no words. No words at all.

Just listen for a while. You'll know.

Misty like a winter evening. Gradually, evening images give their place to night dreams. It is incredible that such things can happen on disc.

After the restless, urgent "City: Works of Fiction" and the elegant funk of "Dressing For Pleasure," this album comes as a bit of a surprise, although for Hassell to fail to surprise would be the biggest shock of all. "Fascinoma" is at times so quiet and subtle that Hassell enthusiasts may feel as though he's wasting his talent. But most Hassell fans know to reserve judgment until ten or more listenings. Those who are patient won't be disappointed here, even with the jazz covers he's managed to slip seemlessly into the mix. His meandering trumpet has rarely sounded more beautiful. Some of the pieces sound like the extended landscapes of his "Magic Realism" album; others are more conventional. I do miss the swampy rhythms, but the album has a delicate grace rarely matched these days.

This CD is never going to be very far from my player. It is the type of music that unfolds to you over time, again and again giving you something new everytime. It doesnt demand your attention but if you want, you could be utterly absorbed in the infinite improvisation, moodiness, and mirage like tempos. Besides the bamboo flute player, Hassell, Cooder and drone players, the pianist is about as good as it gets.

Jon Hassell has never disappointed me, even though every album of his seems to move in a different direction than the previous album. City: Works of Fiction and Dressing For Pleasure remain two of my favorite albums of all time...and this one earns high marks from me as well. While this one doesn't have the high-spiritedness of Dressing or City, it has something I'm not sure I am all that good at describing. It gets to me. It's not cheesy smooth jazz or airy new-age music...it has a lot of class and sophistication and emotion. I think a lot of people are missing out on Hassell's music, but in a way I kind of like him being a secret of sorts. It allows me to appreciate the work without having to hear everyone analyzing it or over-thinking it. I believe Hassell is very thoughtful about his music...

Hassell is a jazz trumpeter who has pursued non-traditional sonorities and forms, perhaps the most notorious example of this being his infamous Power Spot on ECM. On this outing, he actually starts off with a standard, "Nature Boy." Although the tune is a standard, and you can follow the melody quite plainly, the arrangement is far from standard, featuring Hassell's trumpet and the flute of Ronu Majumdar. Other musicians who appear on this CD include Jackie Terrasson on piano and Ry Cooder on guitar, plus some other supporting musicians who make appearances on some of the cuts.

The music for the most part is dream-like, or perhaps a better description would be trance-like. This is especially evident in the cut "Caravanesque," which takes off on the classic "Caravan" and carries the listener into some sort of fantasy realm. It is as though Hassell and company are remembering old melodies and playing them as though in a dream, where things are never quite as they seem on the surface.

The sound quality is for the most part quite impressive, with a natural timbre to the instruments and a good sense of space; the only fly in the ointment is the background hiss that sometimes intrudes on the process. Yes, this was done with a lot of esoteric analog/tube equipment, and it sounds quite nice; however, it surely would have been interesting to see what could have been done with a good digital setup. It certainly would have been quieter. But if you think of the background hiss as reminiscent of a summer breeze blowing through the jasmine in your mind, then perhaps it will make you feel fine and only add to your listening pleasure...