\n<\/b>
\n<\/b>2009 \u2014 69 Ann\u00e9e \u00c9rotique \u2014 C. Michael Bailey<\/b><\/a> \u2014 All About Jazz<\/b><\/p>\n
2009 \u2014\u00a0<\/b>69 Ann\u00e9e \u00c9rotique \u2014 <\/b>Dan McClenaghan \u2014 All About Jazz
\n<\/b>\u201cA meticulously-crafted jazz\/pop mix nod to the music of the late French musical Renaissance man, Serge Gainsbourg.\u201d
\n<\/b>
\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\nLive Review<\/u><\/b><\/h3>\n
TODD BISHOP GROUP \u2014 CAF\u00c9 BELGA \/ BRUSSELS
\nby Jacques Prouvost AKA Jazzques<\/p>\n
English translation by Google Translate This Sunday, November 4, [Todd Bishop] was Caf\u00e9 Belga Brussels.<\/p>\n The world, the noise, the usual deal of the place. So Todd Bishop slams the first shots on the snare. Must be heard. His game is tight, bright and dry. The pulse is strong. And it works! The quartet starts like clockwork.Very quickly, the soloists take their brands and M\u00e9reau Martin embarks on a solo feverish Check Up. Then it’s Guinea Don Cherry with his throbbing trance. The music hums, rolls and fills the space.<\/p>\n This is a fantastic playground for Jean-Paul Esti\u00e9venart. His way up phrases, to invent by mixing always that little bit of humor shifted, this slight ray of light that is in the density of the moment, make him a trumpet definitely always interesting to listen . Guess we always looking for novelty, the truth and the desire to never repeat.Todd Bishop was quickly understood and exchanges with accomplices enrich natural confusing.Then the music turns better and Olivier Stalon benefits and spaces to enter the dance. His improvisations, extremely effective – both rich and simple – revive a Martin M\u00e9reau increasingly released vibraphone.<\/p>\n The themes are connected (Feet Music, Comme Il Faut) to the powerful Enfant, played here with an incredible passion. This is probably the best moment of the concert. Dialogues ignite quickly, ideas jostle. This dizzy and it seems that nobody wants to stop. There is a chorus of bidding more attractive to each other. The quartet has found and pleasure on their faces. Each dare go further, driven by one or the other. Bishop gives some indication at a glance, module tensions, holds and releases the clamp. […]<\/p>\n Ornette be happy, he really has not been betrayed.<\/p>\n A + Review of Little Played Little Bird \u2014 C. Michael Bailey \u2014 All About Jazz<\/a><\/b> Bishop’s performances plumb the freedom inspired by Coleman while placing the composer’s song in a postmodern light. Most notably, the plaintive alto wail that is the hallmark of “Lonely Woman” is conspicuously absent, the underlying theme presented instead by Willcox on tenor and Cole cleverly on bass clarinet. Iago plays nervous, percussive dances in the background. Iago’s use of the Wurlitzer on “Friends and Neighbors” and “Country Town Blues” is very effective. For a collection based on music where the piano is anathema, Iago discharges himself admirably on both keyboards. The leader provides that vibe essential to the Coleman sound\u2014that controlled chaos that so permeated post bop in the wake of John Coltrane’s classic quartet and Miles Davis’s second great quintet\u2014freewheeling and solid.\u201d Review of Little Played Little Bird \u2014 Scotty Yanow \u2014 LA Jazz Scene<\/b><\/a> Review of Little Played Little Bird \u2014 Dan McClenaghan \u2014 All About Jazz<\/a><\/b> For those with passing knowledge of the saxophonist\/composer’s sound, this wouldn’t, on a blind listen, be recognizable as Coleman’s music. For his ardent fans, the melodies are there, laid down with a compellingly original harmonic and rhythmic approach, with bassist Bill Athens\u2014who is essential to the music’s unqualified success\u2014laying down a viscous and pulsating murk that flows through Bishop’s idiosyncratic steam hiss cymbal sizzles and off-kilter but-tight drum work on this immaculate exploration of Ornette Coleman’s music.\u201d Review of Little Played Little Bird \u2014 Dave Sumner \u2014 Bird Is The Worm<\/a><\/b> Most strikingly, the album is an easy listen. Not in the sense that it\u2019s straight-forward, but instead, Bishop doesn\u2019t needlessly complicate matters. Due to his inventiveness, Coleman\u2019s music already comes with its dangers and pitfalls, wrapped with a bow on top. Bishop doesn\u2019t try to out-free Coleman, instead, just takes the music as it is, and then plays it his way. That\u2019s a big reason why this album works. It\u2019s an impressive music statement to sound both personal and referential, to create music that feels In The Now and simultaneously nostalgic. […]<\/p>\n Amazingly, Bishop has negated the requirement of actually needing to like Coleman\u2019s music to enjoy Little Played Little Bird, without extinguishing the heart of the source music, and thus, making this an album accessible to Coleman enthusiasts, too. Review of Little Played Little Bird \u2014 Gallery 41<\/a><\/b> The Todd Bishop Group has a terrific new release on Origin Records “Little Played Little Bird: The Music of Ornette Coleman”. Todd’s group includes Richard Cole and Tim Willcox \/ reeds, Weber Iago \/ keyboards, Bill Athens bass. In case you haven’t guessed from the title, it’s a collection of Ornette’s compositions, there are 9 of them on the cd, all played great!!!<\/p>\n Todd Bishop, the drummer (in case you’ve lost track), has a very cool blog some might say is written specifically\/only for drummers, but I think everyone who plays an instrument, writes music, listens to music…would find it interesting, entertaining, and fun.\u201d Review of Little Played Little Bird \u2014 Dave Sumner \u2014 eMusic<\/a><\/b> Review of Little Played Little Bird \u2014 Arion Molina \u2014 Sax Sounds<\/a>\u00a0<\/b> Pull quote courtesy of Google Translate: \u201cThe entertainment is assured.\u201d<\/i> The sound that drummer\/band leader Bishop has crafted is a curious mix of garage\/surf rock and Phil Spector-like wall of sound production, with some gritty saxophone, a dash of Neil Young and Crazy Horse grunge, going with gusto after Gainsbourg’s simple and engaging yet ofttimes Brian Wilson (of The Beach Boys) type of pop song melodies.<\/p>\n The title tune opens the set with a memorable saxophone-blown melody wrapped in some psychedelic keyboard swirls and echoing, and recorded-in-the-basement string washes. “Bonnie and Clyde” features the disc’s woodwind master, Richard Cole, on bass clarinet and soprano sax\u2014weaving low and high around each instrument’s lines, in front of a trudging drum beat and sparkling keyboard rhythm. “Cannabis” has a light and loopy marching band feeling, with Cole out front blowing with straightforward muscularity, while “New York, U.S.A” is full of fast, forward bustle, underlain by a squeaky rhythmic squall that sounds like a nest of rutting rats.<\/p>\n “Valse de Melody” injects a spooky atmosphere into the set, like part of a soundtrack to a noir movie, followed by “Le Poinconneur des Lilas,” with its saucy, jazzy and stripped-down sax-and-rhythm section approach.<\/p>\n The disc’s closer, “Je T’aime…Moi Non Plus,” in its original version, was once declared offensive by the Vatican. It features guitarist Dab Duval’s metallic chords and Casey Scott’s breathy, ardently sensual vocals: post-listening cold shower required.<\/p>\n Todd Bishop and his Pop Art 4 have come up with a peculiar yet distinctively compelling sound with 69 Annee Erotique, a strange and excellent musical experience. Review of 69 Ann\u00e9e \u00c9rotique \u2014 Adam Greenberg \u2014 AllMusic.com<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n \u201c…what modern free jazz could sound like while still [being] entirely listenable…\u201d<\/i> The songs vary from dark to light, slow to jumpy, but they’re all given a strong touch of the new in Bishop’s arrangements. There’s some extra electrofunk quietly placed into the opening title track, and some extended low-end soloing on the sax from Richard Cole in the Ballade de Melody Nelson. A stronger European flavor makes its way in with Initials B.B., a bit of Albert Ayler-style funkiness in Cannabis, and an incredible mix of Brazilian friction drums, saxophones, and Olatunji’s Akiwowo in New York, USA. The pace slows down considerably for a more sultry waltz then immediately jumps back up for Le Poinconneur des Lilas. The keyboards, courtesy of Steve Moore, get a chance to shine in Intoxicated Man, and the album finishes off with more of a period piece in Je T’aime\u2026Moi Non Plus, complete with a few sultry vocals thrown in.<\/p>\n The album slinks and squirms all the way, keeping a sultry vibe to the proceedings, but at the same time never leaving a vibe to fend for itself. The arrangements and the band hold up each sound with care, giving it just the right bit of timbre to carry it through the piece in an almost destined manner. An excellent bit of reworking from a group that sounds like it has more to offer yet. Review of 69 Ann\u00e9e \u00c9rotique \u2014 Paul Abella \u2014 Chicago Jazz<\/a><\/b> \u201cOh man, this really is hip!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI loved Bishop\u2019s disc from the second I put it in the CD player…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c… fat bass lines and funky drum grooves…\u201d Origin Records strikes again with another outstanding disc, this time from drummer Todd Bishop and an outstanding group playing the music of Serge Gainsbourg. I have to admit, I hadn\u2019t a clue who Serge Gainsbourg was, prior to seeing this disc make its way across my desk. Of course, curiosity got the best of me and I had to check out Gainsbourg\u2019s music to hear these songs straight from the source. What I heard was charming and familiar on a number of levels. At once, I heard the jazz meets French folk of Maurice Chevalier (or Edith Piaf), the soundtracks of any number of hip sixties and seventies movies, the nouveau chanson of Pauline Croze and even the music of Beck. What started off as, \u201cThese guys are doing a tribute to who?\u201d quickly turned into, \u201cOh man, this really is hip!\u201d I loved Bishop\u2019s disc from the second I put it in the CD player\u2013\u2013I am a sucker for fat bass lines and funky drum grooves, after all. But now, armed with the knowledge of what this stuff sounded like the first time around, I was eager to go back again and check it out anew.<\/p>\n The one downside to this disc is a reasonable quibble, and it might do best to get it out of the way upfront: on far too many of these songs, Bishop and company stay too close to the originals. And while one wants to make sure that the songs are still at least a little recognizable, frankly, for all of Gainsbourg\u2019s qualities as a writer and arranger, he didn\u2019t always focus a lot on melody. Which is fine to an extent, because these songs seem to be just as much about texture as anything. But, in those instances, vocals can forgive a lot\u2026or make a lot of things more forgivable. So, on tracks like \u201cBallade de Melody Nelson,\u201d where neither vocals nor melody are anywhere to be found, even these great musicians can fall a little flat. But, on \u201cBonnie and Clyde,\u201d where the melody is equally absent but Bishop\u2019s arranging is a little more aggressive, it works. On \u201cInitials B.B.\u201d Bishop has it both ways, by utilizing a vocalist and keeping the arrangement pretty close to the original, he knocks one out of the park. But if the jazz purists might already be offended by the lack of more conventional jazz material, they\u2019d lose their minds when confronted with a song that has more in common with Sonic Youth\u2019s \u201cBull In The Heather\u201d than it does with \u201cAutumn Leaves.\u201d<\/p>\n This disc does get your attention right off the bat. An insistent groove, some psychedelic keyboards and strings set up a nice melody on 69 Annee Erotique. The true pleasure to be found on this track, though, is the burning saxophone solo by Richard Cole, which really takes this disc up a notch.<\/p>\n \u201cCannabis\u201d is aptly named, and moves at a slightly woozy pace. Again, Richard Cole lays down a ripping solo on tenor solo that really elevates the tune. While it has the feel of a song that should have closing credits rolling down a screen while it\u2019s played, it\u2019s a great jam and a nice display not only of Cole\u2019s chops, but also Bishop\u2019s arranging skills.<\/p>\n \u201cNew York, U.S.A.\u201d is heads and tails the best thing on this disc. It\u2019s also the song that strays farthest away from Gainsbourg\u2019s original intentions. Given a samba feel that is helped along by Blake Thomas\u2019 cuica, this one just flat out rocks. Much of the saxophone solo is given to the tenor\/drums treatment, and without any chords behind him, Cole shows some flashes of early to mid-sixties Sonny Rollins (think \u201cEast Broadway Rundown\u201d), and when Steve Moore shows up on the Rhodes to help guide things back home, the results are fantastic.<\/p>\n \u201cLe Poinconneur des Lilas\u201d and \u201cIntoxicated Man\u201d prove that Gainsbourg was capable of writing something somewhat akin to jazz, and Bishop\u2019s arrangement help to showcase that. Bishop rounds out the disc with one of the best pieces of sixties pop cheese that I\u2019ve ever heard, in the form of \u201cJe t\u2019aime\u2026Moi Non Plus.\u201d It\u2019s nice, it\u2019s pleasant and it\u2019s a good way to take this disc home.<\/p>\n 69 Annee Erotique is an interesting album if taken on it\u2019s own terms. This disc is as multi-faceted as the artist to whom it is a tribute, and does a great job of covering a lot of those bases. While I think a more interesting album could have been made from the standpoint of seeing how much these songs could have been stretched, tinkered with and reassembled, the final results here are certainly fascinating. An entire album of music as adventurous as what is heard on \u201cNew York U.S.A.\u201d would have been more exciting from a jazzer\u2019s standpoint. But after listening to Bishop and crew on this disc a few times, I doubt that\u2019s what they were going for. Instead, we\u2019ve gotten a jazz crew\u2019s take on the music of one of France\u2019s legendary composers and performers. Todd Bishop aimed to stay true to Gainsbourg\u2019s vision instead of creating his own, and in the process made a pretty compelling album. I\u2019m certainly looking forward to more from this group in the future.<\/p>\n Review of 69 Ann\u00e9e \u00c9rotique \u2014 C. Michael Bailey \u2014 All About Jazz<\/a><\/b> <\/p>\n Context can be everything or nothing. Listening to 69 Annee Erotique with no background will spark recognition of well-preserved lounge music of the 1960s\/’70s, performed with modern sonics imitating those of the period: A bit of psychedelia wisping into the edges of post-war Western society right before the Summer of Love and the sexual revolution. The music is all well played and entertaining. Portland Oregon drummer Todd Bishop creates a themed recording as well integrated as Bob Sneider’s and Joe Locke’s Film Noir Project, Nocturne for Ava (2008, Origin), but that theme has no story.<\/p>\n Given the context of who Serge Gainsbourg was, both artistically and culturally, and particularly after having listened to some of Gainsbourg’s music in situ, 69 Annee Erotique takes on a greater artistic gravity. Todd Bishop has done something special here, respectfully presenting Gainsbourg’s music with his own (Bishop’s) American flair. Bishop readily captures the international sexiness of Gainsbourg’s tunes while buffing them to a 21st Century shine.<\/p>\n Combine Tom Jones, Phil Spector, and Prince and that talent assembly might begin to approach Serge Gainsbourg in popularity and cultural impact in France. A comparison with Frank Sinatra would be in order had Sinatra not been rendered quaintly provincial by America’s anemic puritanism. Gainsbourg had no such cultural governor on his behavior, living la belle vie celebrated in his songs. Watching the many online video’s of Gainsbourg reveals an artist both way ahead of this time musically, but confined by the technology of his time. Gainsbourg’s spoken delivery in many of his songs anticipates Barry White’s a decade later with infinitely greater class and authenticity.<\/p>\n Bishop opens the disc with the title piece, “69 Annee Erotique” (“69 Erotic Year”) over the undulating electric bass line of Geoff Harper, faithful to the original but digitally crisp. A swirl of synthesized strings mix with electric piano and Richard Cole’s tenor sings Gainsbourg’s low notes before ascending to lover Jane Birken’s sensuous response. That is only the beginning. Gainsbourg’s homage to lover Bridgette Bardot, “The Initials BB” contains Dan Duval’s guitar doubling the chorus, channeling Steve Cropper playing “Hang ‘Em High.” The pop sexiness of “Je T’Aime…Moi Non Plus,” sung by Casey Scott, preserves much of the controversial character introduced by Gainsbourg, beautiful decadence, brilliant and bright. \u201c…what modern free jazz could sound like while still [being] entirely listenable…\u201d Download 2015 press kit | download press photo \u201cBest of the year\u201d lists 2012 \u2014 Little Played Little Bird \u2014\u00a0Dan McClenaghan \u2014 All About Jazz \u201cDrummer Todd Bishop is an underground treasure. He doesn’t boast the highest of profiles, but he has put out two consecutive great CDs for the Origin Records label: 2009’s 69 Annee Erotique and now, this nod to alto saxophonist\/free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman.\u201d 2012 \u2014 Little Played Little Bird\u00a0\u2014 Dave Sumner \u2014 Bird Is The Worm \/ eMusic.com \u201cSo, take obscure compositions from the songbook of a challengingRead More →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["entry","page","publish","author-todd","post-86"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/toddbishopjazz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/86","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/toddbishopjazz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/toddbishopjazz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/toddbishopjazz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/toddbishopjazz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/toddbishopjazz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/86\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":298,"href":"http:\/\/toddbishopjazz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/86\/revisions\/298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/toddbishopjazz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nRead original piece in French<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\nSelected CD Reviews<\/u><\/b>
\n<\/b><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.allaboutjazz.com\/images\/aaj_logo_round.jpg\"){kind=logo}
<\/a><\/div>\n
\n\u201cThe music selected by Bishop covers 1959\u2014”Lonely Woman” from The Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic)\u2014to 1987\u2014”Feet Music” from In All Languages (Caravan of Dreams). The band Bishop assembled to perform this rarified music is notable for the lack of an alto saxophone. Instead, Bishop heads up a quintet made up of Hristo Vitchev’s pianist Weber Iago, bass reeds player Richard Cole, tenor and soprano saxophonist Tim Willcox, and bassist Bill Athens. In contrast to much of Coleman’s work, Bishop’s inclusion of Iago on piano lends a greater harmonic depth, and therefore, a foundation to these ruminative compositions.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/d284f45nftegze.cloudfront.net\/anonymous\/Jazz%20Scene%20Logo%20Clean.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/b>
\n\u201cThe lack of an alto and trumpet allows the quintet to get a bit of distance from Ornette Coleman\u2019s recordings, as does the utilization of Iago\u2019s Fender Rhodes. The music is explored on its own terms. Ranging from free bop romps to lyrical ballad statements, with the highpoints including spirited renditions of \u201cFriends And Neighbors\u201d and \u201cCheck Up,\u201d these fresh and adventurous interpretations cast new light on Ornette Coleman\u2019s songs. Little Played Little Bird is easily recommended and available from www.origin-records.com.\u201d
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
\n\u201cLittle Played Little Bird sounds unlike any set that Coleman has ever put together, despite the temptation to compare it to his Hidden Man and Sound Museum Three Women\u2014simultaneously-released on his Harmolodic Records label in 1996\u2014mostly because these overlooked gems in Coleman’s discography included pianist Geri Allen. In terms of sound, Cole’s baritone sax\u2014fierce and growling on “Enfant”\u2014recalls tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman’s work during his Blue Note Records years with Coleman. Aside from that, the vision here is purely the Todd Bishop Group’s.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/toddbishopjazz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/BITW_graphic.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n
\nTaking ownership of a series of obscure Ornette Coleman songs, drummer Todd Bishop shines them through a facet of his own view of the music, while leaving the beating heart of the originals intact, not a scratch upon them.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/twimg0-a.akamaihd.net\/profile_images\/2620154929\/hhr5sdaenk0d25pb89cl.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n
\n\u201cA really good drummer, a very musical drummer, and absolutely fun to listen to.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.symphonicdistribution.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/emusic.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/b>
\n\u201cTodd Bishop Group, Little Played Little Bird: The Music of Ornette Coleman: Concept album that performs renditions of lesser-known Ornette Coleman tunes (except \u201cLonely Woman,\u201d which Bishop admits to including because he loves playing it, \u201cconcept be damned.\u201d). Bishop on drums and leading a quintet that includes a family of saxes, bass clarinet, piano & Wurlitzer, and bass. A strong recording that brings plenty of swing, fire, and blues to the Coleman compositions. Not a requirement to actually enjoy Ornette Coleman\u2019s music to like this album; Bishop brings his own voice and vision to this excellent album. Highly Recommended.<\/b>\u201d
\n<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/profile.ak.fbcdn.net\/hprofile-ak-snc4\/187897_185580571491123_5591369_n.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/b>
\n\u201cSon muchos los fans del pionero del free-jazz Ornette Coleman. Tras su estela se han grabado ya unos cuantos \u00e1lbumes en su nombre. Pero ahora hac\u00eda ya tiempo que los acordes y desacordes de esta favorecedora m\u00fasica no sonaban en un estudio de grabaci\u00f3n. El baterista Todd Bishop pone en alerta a sus m\u00e1s afines colaboradores, para adentrarse en la oscuridad de las melod\u00edas de Coleman. Como buenos fans del rey del free jazz, los componentes de Todd Bishop Group, interpretan con elegancia los diferentes temas que componen este \u00e1lbum, bautizado como \u201cLittle Played Little Bird\u201d. La interpretaci\u00f3n del free-jazz en ocasiones crea controversia, sin embargo en esta grabaci\u00f3n sus ejecutantes combinan diferentes instrumentos de viento-madera, d\u00e1ndole un toque sinf\u00f3nico y variado. El soplador Richard Cole se llev\u00f3 al estudio unos cuantos arcaduces agujereados; un clarinete bajo, un saxo bar\u00edtono, un tenor y un soprano. Tim Willcox, tambi\u00e9n bufaba un saxo tenor y un soprano. Al contrabajo Bill Athens, y al bater\u00eda el l\u00edder del grupo, Todd Bishop. Cuesta recomendar un \u00e1lbum de este caprichoso estilo de jazz, pero me atrever\u00eda a afirmar que los amantes del g\u00e9nero y seguidores de Ornette Coleman, encontrar\u00e1n en \u201cLittle Played Little Bird\u201d una muy buena fuente de inspiraci\u00f3n. El entretenimiento est\u00e1 asegurado.\u201d
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b>
\nReview of 69 Ann\u00e9e \u00c9rotique \u2014 Dan McClenaghan \u2014 All About Jazz<\/a><\/b>
\n
\n<\/b>\u00a0\u201c…a strange and excellent musical experience.\u201d<\/i>
\n
\n<\/i>\u201c…a peculiar yet distinctively compelling sound…\u201d<\/i>
\n<\/i>
\n\u201c…post-listening cold shower required.\u201d<\/i>
\n<\/b>
\n69 Annee Erotique gets extra credit for off-the-beaten-path-ness. It is a work celebrating the music of the late French pop songster Serge Gainsbourg (1928- 1991), by Portland Oregon-based Todd Bishop’s Pop Art 4. Gainsbourg, whose name may not be person-on-the-street familiar in the United States, was a pop icon in France from the late-1950s to the 1980s, a musical renaissance man of sorts who delved into jazz, pop, reggae, soundtracks, psychedelia and electronica, all while nurturing a reputation for unseemliness and personal excess in the mode of California poet\/writer Charles Bukowski, to whom he has been compared.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.userlogos.org\/files\/logos\/Rog\/allmusic_11.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/i>
\n\u201c…slinks and squirms all the way, keeping a sultry vibe…\u201d<\/i>
\n<\/i>
\n\u201cAn excellent bit of reworking…\u201d<\/i>
\n<\/i><\/b>
\n
\n<\/i>
\nTodd Bishop has taken groups Lower Monumental and Flatland through somewhat revolutionary jazz territory before, exploring what modern free jazz could sound like while still putting together entirely listenable albums. On 69 Annee Erotique, Bishop takes his Pop Art 4 through some surprising new arrangements of old Serge Gainsbourg songs.<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.chicagostudioclub.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/ChicagoJazzMagazine.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/b>
\n\u00a0\u201cOrigin Records strikes again with another outstanding disc…\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/b>\u00a0\u201c…beautiful decadence, brilliant and bright.\u201d<\/i>
\n<\/i>
\n\u201c…psychedelia wisping into the edges of post-war Western society right before the Summer of Love and the sexual revolution.\u201d<\/i>
\n<\/i>
\n\u201cTodd Bishop has done something special here, respectfully presenting Gainsbourg’s music with [Bishop’s] own… American flair. [He] readily captures the international sexiness of Gainsbourg’s tunes while buffing them to a 21st Century shine.\u201d<\/i>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/b>
\n\u201c…a strange and excellent musical experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/b>
\n<\/i><\/b>
\n
\n<\/i><\/b>
\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"