{"id":5116,"date":"2012-06-27T17:11:21","date_gmt":"2012-06-27T21:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=5116"},"modified":"2012-06-27T17:11:21","modified_gmt":"2012-06-27T21:11:21","slug":"cd-africa-to-day-1971-1975","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=5116","title":{"rendered":"CD: Africa To-Day (1971-1975)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews<\/a> \/ <\/em>A<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Rating: Very Good<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0Kronos Records (Malta)<\/a> \/ Released: December 13, 2011<\/p>\n

Tracks & Album Length: 23 tracks \/ (66:18)<\/p>\n

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Special Notes: 4-page colour booklet with dual Italian & English liner notes \/ Limited to 500 copies.<\/p>\n

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Composer: Piero Umiliani<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/p>\n

Kronos Records\u2019 CD is an omnibus of library music composed by Piero Umiliani between 1971-1975 at his SoundWorkShop Studio in Rome, culled from 3 separate albums\u00a0 – Africa<\/strong>, Polinesia<\/strong>, an Continente Nero<\/strong> \u2013 with cues re-ordered to create an hour-long musical trip through jazz-pop fusion using a variety of authentic ethnic instruments the composer collected from his own exotic voyages.<\/p>\n

Three things stand out within this collection: the meticulous engineering which brings the instruments extremely close to the listener, miked like a small jazz combo; the stellar performances by unnamed (and unsung) musicians; and Umiliani\u2019s detailed orchestrations and fixations on tiny nuances.<\/p>\n

\u201cOasi\u201d is a prime example: double-bass playing an African rhythm, hollow wooden and metallic percussion, slow & grinding bowing, and flute collectively capturing a far-away continent as filtered through a jazz-influenced mind, and performed by fusion musicians whose own performance styles add little gestures.<\/p>\n

Most cues don\u2019t rely on a single, fully-drafted melody; Umiliani\u2019s written little hooks from which the musicians can indulge in some improv, or just follow through with a rhythmic pattern by adding more detail, density, or weaving between a major percussion instrument. Cues also begin with a quiet intro from a solo instrument (like \u201cNel Villaggio\u201d) before the rest of the combo join in, and the finales often consist of a quick phrase recap before the intro solo returns, ending the cue on a simple fadeout.<\/p>\n

\u201cTamburi nella Giugla\u201d evokes a more traditional Polynesian sound with an all-percussion ensemble, whereas more jazz-funk cues include the punchy \u201cAfrica To-Day,\u201d as well as \u201cRivoluzionari,\u201d with gliding piano solo, fuzzy synths, bongos, and sustained chords of haunting vocals. \u201cPreparativi\u201d is a great rhythmic collage between assorted conga, bongos, and frenzied strings ping-ponging in little waves across the stereo spectrum. \u201cRiscossa\u201d is basically a big band jazz \/ funky lounge tune with soft background voices and brass, and dueling synths and keyboards fighting for dominance, whereas in \u201cNuovi Fermenti\u201d there\u2019s more freeform jazz with brass, piano, and cymbals evoking a dawning or revelation.<\/p>\n

\u201cNuovi Realta\u201d features thunderous percussion & dual flutes, whereas \u201cGiorno di Mercato\u201d is a simple, steady stream of wooden & kettle percussion textures evoking a mysterious mood, and in \u201cSortiege\u201d Umiliani blends electronic pulses with electrified flutes & percussion to create an Afro-Jazz Space Age fusion. Flutes are the only instruments in \u201cGreen Dawn\u201d which Umiliani echoplexes in thickening waves like musical butterfly flutters, and the CD\u2019s final cue is a nearly all-electronic \u201cAfrican Suspense,\u201d featuring sharp pulses and muted, bubbling percussion reminiscent of Louis and Beebe Barron\u2019s Forbidden Planet<\/a> <\/strong>(1956).<\/p>\n

Being library music, the emphasis is on maintaining mood & momentum, so there\u2019s little need for actual themes. The cues were largely designed as background \/ abstract fill or source cuts, if not travelling music as characters migrate between locations, but Kronos\u2019 sequencing and tight editing gives the CD a rapid, kinetic flow. The liner notes don\u2019t go into too much detail about the production of the original LPs, but certainly for fans of the composer and vintage Italian exotica, Africa To-Day<\/strong> is a mandatory acquisition.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2012 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References:<\/p>\n

IMDB <\/a>— Soundtrack Album<\/a> — Composer Filmography<\/a><\/p>\n

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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack Reviews<\/a> <\/em>\/\u00a0A<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to:\u00a0Home \/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews \/ A . Rating: Very Good Label:\u00a0Kronos Records (Malta) \/ Released: December 13, 2011 Tracks & Album Length: 23 tracks \/ (66:18) . Special Notes: 4-page colour booklet with dual Italian & English liner notes \/ Limited to 500 copies. . Composer: Piero Umiliani . . Review: Kronos Records\u2019 CD is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1382,1381],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-1kw","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5116"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5116"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5146,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5116\/revisions\/5146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}