The Anatomy Of Lovers, Intertwined & Apart

Sex, Romance and Passion

Anger, Lies And Deceit

Vignettes Of Love and Lust From Kip Hanrahan
(featuring an all-star cast of hundreds)

Friday, September 21, 2012

The Composer's Storyboard

Impressionistic vignettes. That is the music of Kip Hanrahan. Once referred to as the "Jean-Luc Godard of contemporary music," Hanrahan's recordings themselves play like miniature films in music. Invariably they carry a discernible theme or storyline, one that nearly always involves the carnal pleasures. But even if the narratives aren't always linear in design, they (along with the music) at the very least convey some sort of overarching attitude. Or maybe it's simply just a mood that's implied. In doing so, Hanrahan's songs then resemble suggestive, voyeuristic glimpses into the complex anatomy of lovers; interior dialogues of men and women intertwined in a delicate dance of 'sex, romance and passion, anger, lies and deceit,' not to mention the occasional regret. Take for instance his sweeping three volume masterpiece, 'A Thousand Nights and a Night,' a musical interpretation of 'Arabian Nights' (a.k.a. 'A Thousand and One Nights'), the epic tome of Islamic folk tales passed down through time. The richly textured chronicle of love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems, ancient history, burlesques and the erotic is a timeless and fascinating one. In Hanrahan's presentation, he deftly positions the principle characters of Persian king, Shahryār and his bride, Shaharazade in a modern musical context. But of course, rather than incorporate the associated tales of adventure that also make up 'Arabian Nights,' fables such as 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' or 'The Seven Voyages of Sinbad,' Hanrahan's suite dwells exclusively on the corporeal aspects of the story --- infidelity, jealousy, rage and bitterness, peppered with several extractions from Shaharazade's thousand and one tales --- her clever, open-ended and never-ending stories designed to forever entertain and distract the king, thus allowing her to stay her pending execution, a fate decreed by the king for her own extramarital indiscretions. 

The New York born and bred writer and producer does on occasion stray beyond the somatic however, as well beyond its related conditions of the heart whether they be good or bad. Other notions in his work have included God, religion, war, peace, Palestine, Israel, commerce, greed, justice, injustice and surprisingly, the working man. But primarily, the subject at hand is usually that of lust.* The selections in the mix below however are far more democratic in their overview, striving to reflect a balanced cross-section.

Built on late night, after hours jazz, elliptical poetry and sultry, poly-rhythmic Latin percussion, those atmospheric vignettes that Hanrahan's music create warrant any number of descriptive phrases: warm and intimate, evocative and sexy, voluptuous and sensual, powerful and revealing, elegant but earthy, fiery and turbulent, enchanting and seductive, acidic and contemptuous. But they're also about motion --- rhythm in motion, poetry in motion and sexuality in motion; the to and fro of the lovers waltz with its myriad of physical, emotional and spiritual negotiations.

And then there are the percussionists... the wonderful drummers who supply the intricate undercurrent that flows through these pieces like a wellspring. The pulse they create is simply jaw-dropping, not to mention absolutely sublime.

*One exception here is the track, 'Wardrobe Master Of Paradise' which is taken from 'Conjure: Music For The Texts Of Ishmael Reed.' Conjure is a Hanrahan side project.

The Impressive Cast Of Players
(although not necessarily all heard on the tracks below) 

ABBOTT, DIAHNNE/ADAMS, GEORGE/ADAMS, PEPPER/AGYAPON, AMMA OFORIWAA

 ALAIS, DON/ALCHOURRON, RUDOLFO/AMEEN, ROBBY/ARENAS, LYSANDRO/ARIAS, LYSANDRO  

ARMANTEROS, CHOCOLATE/AUGUSTIN, FRISNER/AWOLOWO, CAROLE/AWOLOWO, YOMIYOMI

  BAEDER, LARRY/BAILEY, DEREK/BANG, BILLY/BATHE, CLARE/BEASLEY, JOHN 

BENGOLEA, ALBERTO/BERRIOS, STEVE/BERROA, IGNACIO/BEYTELSMANN, GUSTAVO  

BLADES, RUBEN/BLAKE, RON/BLEY, CARLA/BLEY, PAUL/BLUIETT, HAMIET  

BORNEO DRUMS/BOURELLY, JEAN-PAUL/BOWIE, LESTER/BRANDAO, SERGIO  

BRATT, BENJAMIN/BRECKER, MICHAEL/BRUCE, JACK/BUCKLEY, PAULETTE 'NIRVANA'

CAIN, MIKE/CARDONA, MILTON/CARDONA, SERGIO/CARILLO, ANTHONY/CARROTT, BRYAN
CARTWRIGHT, GEORGE/CASALE, RALPH/CASTRO, WALTER/CHILTON, ALEX
CLEMSON, CLEM/COHN, AL/CONJURE/CONSOLE, HECTOR/CONTAT, MICHEL
COSTA, EDDIE/COX, ANTHONY/CYRILLE, ANDREW

D'RIVERA, PAQUITO/DARA, OLU/DAULNE, MARIE/DAWN, AMMA/DEEP RUMBA
DEJEAN, DENISE OLA/DELUIGI, SILVANA/DIAZ, ROMAN/Di GIROLAMO, ORLANDO
DNA/DYSON, DK

ENGELHARDT, CECILIA/ESSIET, ESSIETT/EVANS, BILL/EVANS, LINDA/EVELEV, YALE

FARLEY, MOLLY/FARMER, ART/FARMER, ADDISON/FAUSTY, JON/FERNANDEZ, ENRIQUE
FERNANDEZ, JOSE/FIER, ANTON/FLORES, RICHIE/FLORES, CHARLIE/FORD, RICKY
FRANCESCHINI, BOBBY/FRANCK, Ti PLUME RICARDO/FREEMAN, CHICO/FRIEBERG, DANIEL
FRITH, FRED

GARCIA-FONS, RENAUD/GARY, BRUCE/GEORGE, VINCENTE/GIBBS, MELVIN/GOINES, LINCOLN
GOLDEN, GENE/GOMEZ, EDSEL/GOMEZ, TERESA/GONZALEZ, CARLOS ALBERTO
GONZALEZ, ANDY/GONZALEZ, FERNANDO/GONZALEZ, JERRY/GOODWIN, BILL
GREEN, WILLIE
 

HAINES, PAUL/HAINES, TIM/HAINES, AVERY/HANRAHAN, KIP/HANRAHAN, LEIJIA
HANRAHAN, NANCY WEISS/HARRIS, EDDIE/HARRIS, JODY/HARRIS, SHAUNICE
HART, ALVIN YOUNGBLOOD/HART, BILLY/HERMAN, LISA
HERNANDEZ, HORACIO EL NEGRO/HERNANDEZ, FRANK/HERNANDEZ, HECTOR 'FLACO'
HIDALGO, GIOVANNI/HOFSTRA, DAVID/HOLLIDAY, THEODORE 'WOOGGIE'/HOLLIDAY, ABI
HUGHES, GRAYSON/HORVITZ, WAYNE

ICHASO, LEON/INNERSOUL
 

JACKSON, DD/JASON, ROBERT/JAY, DON
 

KIRKLAND, KENNY/KONDAS, DICK/KONITZ, LEE

LaBELLA, LOU/LANCASTER, BYARD/LARSEN, ERICA/LASWELL, BILL/LAUGART, XIOMARA
LEWIS, JT/LIEBMAN, DAVE/LINDSAY, ARTO/LUCAS, GARY/LUNDY, CARMEN/LYNCH, BRIAN

MACERO, TEO/MAHAL, TAJ/MALVICINO, HORACIO/MANGUAL JR., JOSE/MANTLER, MIKE
MARCUS, LINDSAY/MARRERO, NICKY/MARSHALL, WENDELL/MARTINEZ, PEDRO
MEJIAS, PAOLI/MESTRE, CARLOS/MINGUS, CHARLES/MIRANDA, EDGARDO
MITCHELL, OLUFEMI CLAUDETTE/MONPIE, HAILA/MOORE, CARMAN/MORI, IKUE
MURCIANO JR, RAÚL/MURRAY, DAVID

NEVILLE, CHARLES/NIKOLIC, ZLATAN/NOCENTELLI, LEO/NORTON, BRENDA

O’CONNELL, BILL/O'HARA, MARY MARGARET/OSBORNE, JOHN

PARKER, EVAN/PEDEVSKI, VELIBOR/PENABAZ, LUCY/PEOPLE FROM NORTHERN BURMA
PERDOMO, LUIS/PETERSON JR., RALPH/PIAZZOLLA, ASTOR/PICKETT, LENNY
PONCE, DANIEL/PREVETTE, BOBBY/PRIETO, DAFNIS/PUCHNIK, WOLFGANG
PUGLIESI, OSWALDO/PULLEN, DON/PYRONNEAU, ELYSEE

REBILLOT, PATRICK/REED, ISHMAEL/REED, TENNESSEE/REHAK, FRANK
REISLER, MICHAEL/RIOS, PUNTILLA ORLANDO/RIVERA, MARIO/ROBINSON, CAROL
ROBINSON, JOHN (YOMI)/ROBINSON-FALU, IMANI/RODRIGUEZ, ABRAHAM
RODRIGUEZ, RUBEN/RODRIGUEZ, FRANKIE/ROMAO, DOM UM/ROMERO, JORGE
ROSS, BRANDON/ROSS, KEN/ROY, BADAL/RUIZ, HILTON

SAE, KELLEY/SALUZZI, DINO/SANABRIA, FELIX/SANCHEZ, DAVID/SANTIAGO, JOE
SAUNDERS, FERNANDO/SAVARKUS, RUSSELL/SCHENKMAN, ERIC/SCHERER, PETER
SCOFIELD, JOHN/SHAUGHNESSY, ED/SMITH, MARVIN 'SMITTY'/SMITH, MAURICIO
SNOW, MICHAEL/SOLOFF, LEW/STING/STUBBLEFIELD, JOHN/SUAREZ PAZ, FERNANDO
SWALLOW, STEVE

TACUMA, JAMAALADEEN/TATE, GREG 'IRON MAN'/TCHICAI, JOHN/TERRY, YOSVANY CABRERA
THOMAS, PIRI/THREADGIL, HENRY/TORO, YOMO/TORRES 'PROF', JOE/TORRES, CHARLIE
TOUSSAINT, ALLEN/TRACEY, EJAYE/TRIFF, ALFREDO/TURRE, STEVE

VALDES, AMADITO/VASQUEZ, PAPO ANGEL/VERTOV, DZIGA/VIEUX, PHILLIPE

WARD, CARLOS/WATANABE, TAKUMA/WATKINS, JOHNNY/WILES, SANDRA 'FELA'
WOMACK, BOBBY/WOODS, PHIL/WRIGHT, TIM/WYATT, ROBERT

ZIEGLER, PABLO/ZINGER, PABLO/ZOLLAR, JAMES

The Music Itself 
(in three parts)

Sex, Romance And Passion. Anger, Lies And Deceit, Pt.1

1) Shaharazade Watches Birds Through An Alabaster Ceiling

2) The Jinniya Sleeps On The Alabaster Ceiling, The Coolness Of The Stone

3) You Can Tell Someone Who'll Never Fulfill Their Potential

By The Way They Measure The Evening

4) Exterior New York 1988, Night

5) You Can Tell A Guy By His Anger

6) The Blonde Woman Escapes

7) Shaharazade Shifts Angles, Introducing

8) Parole Hearing

9) The First And Last To Love Me (4 September)

10) Shadow Song (Mario's In)

11) The Yemeni Merchant And The Three Different Colored Women

12) The Jinniya Who Envied Human Suffering

13) Carravagio, A Quick Balance

14) The Wardrobe Master Of Paradise (Conjure)

Sex, Romance And Passion. Anger, Lies And Deceit, Pt.2

1) Suenos Da Vida Colonial

2) Blue Shalimah's Tale (Opening)

3) A Woman's Tale

4) Clean Charm Amongst Evil

5) As In Angola (Red Star In The Morning Sky)

6) Shaharazade And The Opening Of The First Shadow Night

7) Two Heartedly To The Other Side

8) Chances Are Good (Baden's Distance)

9) Desire Develops An Edge

10) Gift

11) Another Autumn Forms

Sex, Romance And Passion. Anger, Lies And Deceit, Pt.3

1) You Play With The Night With Your Fingertips
2) The Last Song
3) The Brown Eyed Woman Escapes
4) The Red Headed Woman Remains With The Merchant
5) A Lover Divides Time: Past, Present And Tense (To Hear How It Sounds)
6) Velasquez
7) Princess Dunya's Nocturnal Realization
8) One Summer Afternoon (For Gil Evans)
9) Manenquito's Magic Afternoon
10) Hollywood In Harlem
11) God Is Great
12) Love Is Like A Cigarette
13) The First And Last To Love Me (2 December)
14) Her Boyfriend Assesses His Value And Pleads His Case

Source material for 'Sex, Romance And Passion. Anger, Lies And Deceit, Pts.1-3' come from the following:

Coup de Tête (1982)/Desire Develops An Edge (1982)

Vertical's Currency (1985)/A Few Notes From The End Run (1985)
Conjure: Music For The Texts Of Ishmael Reed (1985) 

Days And Nights Of Blue Luck Inverted (1988)/Exotica (1992)

A Thousand Nights And A Night (Red Nights) (1997)

Shadow Nights, Vol.1 (1998)/Shadow Nights, Vol.2 (1999)

Pinero (2002)/Beautiful Scars (2007)
At Home In Anger (2011)