Weekly Music Roundup: Mary J. Blige, Joni Mitchell, Džambo Aguševi Orchestra
Week of Dec. 27: This week, video Christmas gifts from Joni Mitchell and Mary J Blige; and festive dance music, Balkan-style.
50 Years Later, Joni Mitchell Releases Video For “River”
This year marked the 50th anniversary of Joni Mitchell’s masterpiece album Blue, which included the song “River.” Now one of her most beloved and oft-covered songs, it was actually never released as a single, and of course there would have been no music video for it back in 1971. But “River” has become a seasonal staple, and on Christmas Eve Joni Mitchell released a lovely, simple line-drawing video for the song, along with a message at the end that confirmed its place in the holiday canon as a song about being lonely at Christmas.
Mary J. Blige Is Amazing. It Says So Right In Her New Video.
Mary J. Blige decided to heat things up on the Winter Solstice this past Tuesday by releasing the music video for her new single "Amazing." It's right in her wheelhouse, with its blend of soulful R&B vocals and hip hop production. The backing tracks are actually fairly minimalist, though you'd never know it by the lengthy list of songwriter credits; that list that includes both Mary J. and collaborator DJ Khaled, who does his usual hype man routine while she commands our attention up front. Blige has alluded to going through some dark times recently, but this song - a boasting, playful affirmation, suggests she's bounced back stronger than ever.
Ed Sheeran Reinvents His Song "Afterglow"
Christmas seems to agree with Ed Sheeran. This month he teamed up with Elton John for a benefit holiday single called "Merry Christmas" - okay, not the most original title (or song), but it's for a couple of good causes. He's also collaborated with internet stars LadBaby on their new, very British, remake of the song, which they call "Sausage Rolls For Everyone." That song grabbed the coveted #1 spot on the UK Pop chart at Christmas, just ahead of Sheeran and John. Last year, just before Christmas, Sheeran released "Afterglow," a moody folk ballad with an orchestral ending; now, one year later, he's released an a cappella version of the song - just Sheeran and eight backing singers recorded in a church. What sounded like a melancholy piece of pop a year ago now sounds almost like a prayer.
Macedonian Brass Band Dance Music from Džambo Aguševi
From the country that we now have to call North Macedonia (thanks, Greece) comes the Džambo Aguševi Orchestra, led by trumpeter Džambo Agušev. Their new single, “Čoček Gazda Unikat,” is a typically fun, frantic bit of Balkan brass band music. In the Balkans these pieces are made for dancing – a čoček (pronounced cho-chek) is a type of folk dance – although most of the rest of us are too busy trying to count the beats to actually pull that off. Anyway, this čoček features a neat arrangement that sets the trumpet melody against both a slow-moving countermelody and the almost impossibly fast chattering of the other horns. An electric keyboard lurks in the ensemble but doesn’t get in the way of the traditional Balkan sound.
Nigerian Afrobeat Meets Jamaican Dub in NY: the Zion80 Remix
For the past ten years, guitarist Jon Madof has led the horn-heavy band Zion80, a group inspired by Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti’s groundbreaking band Africa70 but also by the “radical Jewish music” championed here in NY by downtown composer John Zorn. Like Zorn, who founded Tzadik Records, Madof also runs his own label, called Chant Records; and at the end of each year, he puts out a compilation album drawn from that year’s releases. For 2021, it’s Strength in Numbers, Vol. 5, and Madof’s own band provides a highlight with his remix of “Wandering Stone,” a track originally from Zion80’s 2017 album Warriors but part of this year’s EP called Warriors RMX. Although the rhythms remain as propulsive as ever, this remix gives the song a trippy dub sound, and here, the Afrobeat horns seem to swirl as opposed to sweat.
