Bird Up (2003)

Product Summary Label: Savoy UPC: 00795041714725 Release Date: 10/21/2003 Buy.com Sku: 60617214 Item#: MYSK6U Format:  CD Song Listing Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. Now's The Time (No Time Like Now) - Deke Damascus ~ Various Artists 2. Relaxin' At Camarillo - Me'shell NdegeOcello ~ Various Artists 3. Salt Peanuts (The Peanute Chronicles) - Kronos Quartet/Dr. John/Mocean Worker ~ Various Artists 4. Bird Of Paradise - Serj Tankian ~ Various Artists 5. Congo Blues (Silencer) - Ravi Coltrane/Wild Children/Hubert Laws/Kodo ~ Various Artists 6. BeBop (Live At The Rooftop) - RZA/ZigZagZig ~ Various Artists 7. Steeplechase (Sittin' On 22's) - Dan The Automator ~ Various Artists 8. Cheers (X-ecutioners Style) - The X-Ecutioners ~ Various Artists 9. Night In Tunisia, A - Coconut Tree/Kodo ~ Various Artists 10. All The Shadows Of Nuff - Garth Hudson/The Band/Mocean Worker ~ Various Artists 11. Perhaps (Someday The Roof Will Get Fixed) - Dan The Automator ~ Various Artists 12. Barbados (Where Fish Fly) - Hubert Laws/Redback ~ Various Artists 13. Constellation (Heavenly Bodies) - Stephanie Vezina ~ Various Artists   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info This is the companion CD to BIRD UP: THE ORIGINALS. Personnel: Coconut Tree, Wild Children, RZA, Red Hawk, Redback, Serj Tankian, Stephanie Vezina (vocals); Astacio The Nudist (guitar); David Harrington, John Sherba (violin); Hank Dutt (viola); Jennifer Culp (cello); Hubert Laws (flute); Deke Damascus, Ravi Coltrane (soprano saxophone); Garth Hudson (piano, synthesizer); Dr. John (piano); Kodo (taiko); Chris 'Daddy' Dave (programming); The X-ecutioners (scratches); Mermaids (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Dan the Automator; Matthew Baker; EI P; Nasa ; Rob Swift ; Ari Raskin. Recording information: 36 Chambers Studios, New York, NY; Africa; Allaire Studios, Shokan, NY; Around The Horn, Now Rule, NY; Chung King, New York, NY; Definitive Jux Studios, Brooklyn, NY; Eedonkin Goes Too, Paris, France; Music Orange, San Francisco, CA; Serjical Strike Studios, Calabasas, CA; Sorcerer Sound Studios, New York, NY; Soulive Studios, New York, NY; The Ablist Recordings, Queens, NY; The Dornmitory, New York, NY; The Gate, Cold Spring, NY; The Glue Factory, San Francisco, CA; Wild Mountain, Paradise, NY. Photographers: Robert Parent; Herman Leonard. The idea of an album that remixes the Savoy output of Charlie Parker may be horrifying for some, but before you join the purist mob take a gander at the names involved. Producer Matthew Backer has picked quite a crew of tasteful mavericks to remix the saxophonist, and Hal Willner's multiple appearances alone pay respect to the man who made tribute albums exciting. Willner's Whoops, I'm an Indian project turns "Salt Peanuts" into a musical genre-hopping wild ride with the Kronos Quartet providing the screechy edge and Dr. John laying down some boogie. It could have been a royal mess, but it isn't. Dan the Automator bends the recordings with a smirk and funk, but he's totally outdone by the turntables of the X-Ecutioners, who scratch right along with an especially hot Parker solo. Me'Shell Ndeg?Ocello plays some deep, intuitive bass to a rather choppy "Relaxin' at Camarillo," and "All the Shadows of Nuff" finds Garth Hudson's keyboards adding the needed lyrical touch to Willner's quick juxtaposition of four separate Parker tunes. System of a Down's frontman, Serj Tankian, provides the album's highlight, sounding like Tom Waits and Bono's love child on the eerie and yearning rave-up "Bird of Paradise (Gone)." Naysayers should hear RZA scatting along with Bird, El-P's trippy mix, or Hubert Laws' expressive flute runs before dismissing the album entirely. Too many likeminded productions with their echoes and crackles make the album easier to take in small doses. Bird Up at least captures the innovative spirit of Charlie Parker, doesn't do any damage to the icon of hip, and makes for an exciting listen. ~ David Jeffries Producer: Matt Backer; Dan The Automator; Matthew Baker; EI P; Hal Willner's Whoops I'm An Indian; Brando Rondo; Larry Schreiber; Choco; Chris 'Daddy' Dave; Me'Shell NdegeOcello; RZA; Red Hawk; Rob Swift; Ross Russell; Serj Tankian; Teddy Reig Engineer: Dan The Automator; Michael Dobmeier; Eric Gast; Matthew Baker; EI P; TP Big Beatz "The Professor"; Nasa; Rob Swift; Ari Raskin; Matthew Cullen; Dave Dar   Technical Info Release Date : 10/01/2005 Original Release Date : 2003 Catalog ID : 17147 Label : Savoy Jazz (USA) Number of Discs : 1 Runtime : 53m : 40s Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Stereo SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00795041714725   Professional Reviews CMJ (10/6/03, p.37) - "...BIRD UP will greatly change the perception of Jazz remix records..."    Product Image