This is the Other Music section of Rainlore's World of Music, covering all types of music not already encompassed by existing categories on this site, and this is very much an "occasional" page.
In order to secure its future as an ongoing project, and indeed resume regular activity such as new reviews, Rainlore's World of Music urgently needs to raise substantial funds through some kind of sponsorship or similar. (Please also see The Future of Rainlore's World of Music on the About page, and the News entry for 2008/11/09 on the Home page.)
It has regrettably become impossible to keep Rainlore's World of Music going on a purely spare-time basis. The amount of work involved is simply too overwhelming. At the rate that for example CDs kept arriving for review and gigs were covered during 2004, there was enough work to keep two people busy on a full-time basis!
Of course, I wish to preserve the non-commercial and not for profit nature of Rainlore's World of Music, but without some kind of sponsorship the site simply cannot continue in any meaningful active way. Despite not having had any updates for about four years until its re-launch in October 2008, Rainlore's World of Music remains a popular site. The reviews and artists' profiles have always achieved excellent visibility in search results, and have also been referenced widely. There are also many new features I would like to add to Rainlore's World of Music, such as a Gig calendar to replace the old one
and a Features section that should have been added during 2004 already, plus more.
Sadly, without some form of sponsorship none of this will be possible and the site will at some point soon become purely archival.
If you think you might be able to help in any way, please get in touch through the sponsorship form. |
News
2010/03/07
The 2008/09 version of this page has now been archived.
Finally, it has come to our attention that there appear to be a few minor problems with our web forms, specifically with radio buttons and check boxes, with some browsers. This is continuing to be checked out, but as everything seems to work just fine in Internet Explorer, it seems likely that the problem lies with the other browsers in that they may not have fully implemented this aspect of forms. In which case there appears little that can be done about it other than to suggest you temporarily switch to Internet Explorer in order to use our forms, if you are affected. Flash based forms might be another option longer term.
Rainlore's World of Music
© 2010 Rainlore's World of Music/Rainlore. All rights reserved.
2010/02/28
Two reviews of outstanding albums here particularly of interest to aficionados of great guitar music. And they could hardly be much more different! First, there's the almost outrageously brilliant Nicolas Meyer's excursion into the world of classical/Baroque music in his Modern Guitar Orchestra incarnation with his mindblowing arrangement for multi-tracked acoustic, electric and synth guitars of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, titled strangely enough, Vivaldi - Four Seasons. In addition to the complete The Four Seasons, there are also a brief intro and a closing epilogue, all originals by Meier and the latter also featuring two solos from legendary veteran jazz guitar ace John Etheridge as special guest. A terrific sample track accompanying the review should make you drool for this sensational album. And although released in 2004, it's as hot as ever.
Finally, there's Eyal Maoz & Asaf Sirkis' release from last year, Elementary Dialogues. Guitar wiz Maoz is best known on the other side of the Atlantic where he is a mainstay of the Downtown scene in NYC, his styles ranging from jazz, jazz fusion, rock , prog-rock to Jewish and Balkan music and beyond. As well as performing as a soloist, Maoz also leads several ensembles. Sirkis is a drumming icon of our time and probably the most in-demand contemporary drummer, principally in the jazz/jazz fusion spheres, both on the UK and international scene. As well as leading his own Asaf Sirkis And The Inner Noise organ trio and the Asaf Sirkis Trio, he is a regular sideman in more line-ups than you could conveniently shake a set of drum sticks at. Maoz and Sirkis go back together as friends as well as as collaborators to their childhood days, and Elementary Dialogues is their second album together. Impossible to categorize, this music vaguely fits under the broad umbrella of jazz, but just think of it as great guitar and drum music. A tasty sample track with the review will give you some idea and hopefully tempt you to explore this thrilling album further.
Rainlore's World of Music
© 2010 Rainlore's World of Music/Rainlore. All rights reserved.
2010/02/15
Of great interest to any fan of any kind of guitar music should be this month's review of the hot off the presses latest album from Nicolas Meier, Breeze. The Nicolas Meier Trios' Breeze features two trios, one acoustic, the other electric. Providing a superb showcase for Meier's guitars, this 'unplugged' album is almost outrageously thrilling and addictive. The Electric Trio in addition to Meier features drum genius Asaf Sirkis, who needs no introduction, and also bassist and harmonica player extraordinaire Pat Bettison, both also members of the Meier Group. The Acoustic Trio features the percussion of Spanish born Demi Garcia (of among others The Alec Dankworth Quintet) and from the world of soul, bassist Paolo Minervini. If you plan on buying only one guitar album this year, Breeze should be the one! To help you decide, the title track provides a gobsmackin'ly delicious sample track on the review page. Irresistable!
Rainlore's World of Music
© 2010 Rainlore's World of Music/Rainlore. All rights reserved.
2010/01/31
Long overdue perhaps, but better late than never, are reviews of one of the very finest of today's maestros of the accordion, Romano Viazzani's albums from 2007. A trio of outstanding solo accordion releases, they could and indeed ought to be treated as a boxed set but work equally well on their own. Piazzolla - Ángel Suite / Bobiç - Liturgical Suite, Encore, and Viazzani takes Stok cover a huge gamut of styles and genres, form Baroque, contemporary classical, via Argentine Tango and Italian dance classics to contemporary music and rock/pop. A veritable gourmet feast for any music lover, and especially for the accordion connoisseur. There's bound to be something for everybody here. Tasty sample tracks accompanying each review (if you don't have Flash Player 8 or later set up yet, now's the time!) should wet any appetite to crave more. To buy, just go to the ZZ Music label's web site. (This small Indie label seems to specialise entirely in accordion - something long needed.) Of course, Romano Viazzani will already be familiar on this site, at any rate to jazz lovers, through his long association with the great Gilad Atzmon's extended Orient House Ensemble. The present recordings are accordion at its most glorious. More, please!
Rainlore's World of Music
© 2010 Rainlore's World of Music/Rainlore. All rights reserved.
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Reviews
Reviews are one of the major features of this site. Generally, reviews feature CD albums, but they will by no means be limited to CD releases. Previews and live performances, and even the odd demo, will also be covered as and when opportunities present themselves. Also, reviews are not necessarily of the latest releases
only, rather, I aim to generally cover the best of what's around and that will often include reviews of older releases. Also, there is an index listing all CD reviews available on Rainlore's World of Music, which includes reviews of music from other genres, for example Jewish music, steel pan music, classical, in fact just about anything, and
another one listing all live music
reviews.
Reviews added 2010/02/28:
Eyal Maoz & Asaf Sirkis : Elementary Dialogues (2010/02/28)
Nicolas Meier - Modern Guitar Orchestra : Vivaldi - Four Seasons (2010/02/16)
Reviews added 2010/02/15:
Nicolas Meier Trios : Breeze (2010/02/14)
Reviews added 2010/01/31:
Romano Viazzani : Encore (2010/01/28)
Romano Viazzani : Piazzolla - Ángel Suite, Bobiç - Liturgical Suite (2010/01/28)
Romano Viazzani : Viazzani takes Stok (2010/01/28)
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