Vacations at home with World Music

Monday! Hooray! And the disc of the week is from Toronto. It inspired in name by Port-of-Spain, in Trinidad, from whence Calypso came. Warmth abounds in this Caribbean music. Lyrical tales touch on serious subjects of politics and domestic violence. Yet it is not all grim. Moments are dedicated in joy, celebrating the wonder of a new land and the beauty of the individual.

The eight players in Kobo Town fuse together in fine form to offer up their varied backgrounds in a special blend of Calypso, laced with loads of other elements from Jazz, Reggae and beyond. This is just the ticket for dancing around the rooms at home, inside for still a spell while we wait for the bright light of day to stay in the sky a little longer. Till this happens, and beyond, I shall be grooving to the ebullient adventures of immigration in "Across the Dark Waters" and "Trinity," with its wistful love. "Beautiful Soul" captures an essence of the importance of the individual over items and possessions.

Whether one listens just for select songs, which stand on their own, or listens to the whole disc time and again, there are lovely music moments to be had. It is a pleasing and pleasant production that, even though the words are sometimes grim in nature, one cannot help but want to move about the place in vigorous manner. Do pop in to our favourite local library to borrow this or many other lovely World Music disc for added heat whilst the winter months carry on.

Jolly Jazz recorded in Paris

Once in every great while there comes a disc suitable for listening to once, twice, thrice and yet many more times in a row. Ten fine folks worked together over two days in May to furnish your ears with sharp tunes. Mind, it was 1976. And Ring dem vibes is as amazing as ever. Praise be for the late Lionel Hampton.

Toes tapping, fingers snapping, hands clapping – goodness gracious mercy me – from the outset, all the way through to the end of the seven swell tracks I could barely hold myself still enough to sit and type these words. "Ring dem bells" sets the great ball of jazz rolling and it does not stop for a good 43 minutes. "On the sunny side of the street" is a sweet favourite of mine. Then this hot record concludes with "Hamp's thing," a composition from the vibraphone man extraordinaire.

There is something so lovely about a solid jazz recording. Sophisticated and complicated. These are but a couple of words that come to mind when listening and re-listening to the wondrous workings of that fine swinging of mallets onto the aluminium bars. In conjunction with all the other players on this recording, there is a heaping helping of magic music made and as soon as I have listened to it another bunch of times, it will be back at our favourite local library for your borrowing enjoyment.

Outliers

It doesn’t happen too often that I read the library’s copy of a book and then run and buy myself a copy, and then another to give as a gift. That, however, is exactly what I did after reading Malcom Gladwell’s latest opus, Outliers: The Story of Success. The author’s first major book, The Tipping Point, is still heavily discussed and it circulates regularly. This one is even better.

The book’s basic premise is that there is more than meets the eye as to why people are successful, coming down to such factors as date of birth, practice, and culture. The author examines a subject, gives you the basic outline of the facts, and then starts distilling it into its composite parts, getting to the heart of the matter. Every chapter highlights a different success factor, another angle in which to view the same issue.

True to his writing style, Gladwell makes everything absolutely fascinating and compelling. This is a great book for so many different kinds of people. It’s so universal in its appeal and promises to influence the way we see things. That’s a true sign of a successful book

Hot Hot Tunes for the Cold Cold Stretch

Welcome to the first edition of Music Mondays. Be sure to mark this day of the week on your calendar. All manner of music reviews will be appearing on our favourite local library blog. And this week do we have a treat for you! A music disc is with a sweet DVD. On this DVD there is a concert and a documentary. Let's begin!






Nikki Yanofsky. Her name is fast becoming one recognised around the world. You may remember her from an outdoor performance at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal in 2006 when she wooed audiences. She was 12. Now she shines on a recording of a wondrous live show from 2007 as a top notch young lady with an amazing voice, wild scat singing ability and an impressive style. Whether one listens to the concert recording and hears the three bonus audio tracks, including the catchy as all get out "Vote for Mr. Rhythm" and a swell rendition of "With a Little Help From My Friends" or watches the concert on the DVD, it is a grand romp through sundry joints of Jazz, a bit of Blues and even a modicum of Mambo. After several consecutive listens one is able to pick up on various elements in the arrangements and one of my favourites is "A Tisket, a Tasket," with its swinging style and swell call and response.

If you happen to be hankering for more information about the sundry elements behind the scenes, carry on with the DVD for a 24 minute documentary with interviews and snippets of studio recordings unfolding before your eyes. Combined with the concert for your eyes and the compact disc version for your ears, this really is a triple packet of positively priceless entertainment for listening outright, or as a backdrop for a social soiree, or as a personal soundtrack to accompany one in daily life.

The hour I first believed, by Wally Lamb

I loved Wally Lamb’s two previous books, She’s come undone and I know this much is true, so it was with great anticipation that I awaited publication of his new novel, The Hour I first believed.

In many ways I was not disappointed. Lamb travels well beyond his earlier work and embodies in his new work the themes of myth, good and evil, psychology, family history stretching back many generations, and the questions of faith that lie at the heart of everyday life.

It begins ominously with a true event: the murderous shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado by two students. Woven into this event is Lamb’s protagonist, Caelum Quirk, a teacher at the school who was out of town during the event and his wife Maureen, a nurse at the school. Lamb places Maureen in the library where much of the killing spree took place where she hides and prays for her life in a cupboard. She survives but at a huge cost – she cannot overcome the trauma. Maureen and Caelum leave Colorado and return to his family home in Connecticut where she fights to regain her sanity and Caelum attempts to deal with his wife’s increasing demise. Along the way he discovers his family history as well as his own place in the world. Caelum is a very different man from the cynical one we meet at the beginning of the novel.

This is a book about tragedy and about what happens after. It is also about faith and believing even in face of tragic senseless events. As Lamb himself describes, The Hour I first believed is "the story of an alienated man's quest for human connection, it's a meditation on faith, a fugue about the ravages of war, an investigation of the ways in which chaos can alter the course of our lives, and the ways in which our ancestors may be whispering to us."

Despite its flaws, (it is very long, perhaps unnecessarily so) it is a brilliant book. I did expect some great revelation at the end, a profound marking of the “Hour”. Sadly, there was no event, nor great revelation (unless of course I missed it). But, perhaps this is really what faith is all about. There is no “hour” that one first believes, no magical turning on of a light. Faith is a journey, a quest, built brick by brick, block by block. It is the totality of one’s life made up of the small events, good and bad, and how we approach them and deal with them. And ultimately faith is about connecting with people, believing that one can find good in the world despite the ever present Minotaur.

Music: Old Favourites in the New Year

West London. Staines to be specific. Travelling backward near four years in time to enjoy an aural visit with a quartet of handsome young gentlemen called HARD-Fi. Years and years later, I still love this disc, so much so, I suggested it for purchase and it was deemed sharp enough for the vast collection of music compact discs here at our favourite local library.

Periodically, I need to put some pep in my step. And dancing around to a mixture of Brit Rock (it really does have a sound distinct from that of the North American market) is just the ticket. The album Stars Of CCTV blends an assortment of ska and punk influences, with a curious mixture of disco and orchestral arrangements thrown in for good measure. This debut album does rock and roll, all songs melding well into one musical collage of varied tempos. The lyrics are fun, filled with interesting tales and stories, complementing the music in a most meticulous manner.

These few words are just to whet your appetite for the vast supply of groovy views, news and reviews of things favourite and things new coming up in this wonderful year. We, the Staff Bloggers, here at the Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc Public Library look forward to filling up your hearts and minds with many marvellous things. Stop by, say hello and let us know what you think of the Blog.