The Musical Box

Last week’s off-the-clock listening (done mostly in the car) included…

Ten Years After: Cricklewood Green – Eight months after a barnstorming set at Woodstock, Alvin Lee and company released this sleek mix of moody British psychedelia and guitar-drenched boogie. Blending boomed up bass and harpsichord on 50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain betrays slightly the era this moody music hailed from. All the better.

Ali Farka Toure: Niafunke – Named for his village deep in the heart of Mali on the River Niger, Toure creates otherwordly, contemplative music out of an ultra-earthy West African recipe of wily, wiry guitarspeak, a percussive foundation of calabash and congas and mercurial counterpoint from the njarka violin. This is the sound of rhythm and peace.

King Crimson: Vrooom Vrooom: The return of the Crimson dynamo to American stages this summer, with founder Robert Fripp and Kentucky’s own Adrian Belew still on guitar, prompted a new listen to this two-disc concert sampler by the band’s mid ‘90s “double duo” lineup (two guitarists, two drummers and, in effect, two bassists). A beast.

The Modern Jazz Quartet: European Concert – Picked this 2006 single disc edition of two champion MJQ live albums from 1960 up over the winter for 6 bucks. The packaging is as dime-store as reissues come. But the music is bliss. Another reminder of how cool, stately and soulful pianist John Lewis and vibes great Milt Jackson sounded together.

Longview: Deep in the Mountain – What makes this traditional all-star bluegrass outing such a treat isn’t just the lineup, although having Kentucky heroes J.D. Crowe and Don Rigsby in the same band again sure sounds sweet. The real pleasure is how Longview can exact such old-timey charm from a new original tune like Weathered Grey Stone.