BIGCD.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2006

I THE PROVINCE I

E-TODAY
I B5

SERGIO
MENDES
• Timeless
• Concord

m
Once upon a time, back in the
long ago '60s, Brazilian
bandleader Sergio Mendes
led an assortment of bands
that had 'em go-go-ing in
the clubs. Now Black Eyed
Peasace Wil.l.Am. invites a
who's who of his hit-ma kin'
homies into studio to
• create Santana-esque
Supernatural magic on
Mendes' back catalogue.

FACTOR
A tune like Jorge Ben's
"Mas Que Nada" can
be re-done thousands
of times and still kill.
Ditto Antonio Carlos
Jobim's "Surfboard."
But will all those BEP
fans - and there are
LOTSof 'em - go for
this Brazil-ified boogie
down?

LINER
Erykah Badu and Wil.l.Am
have a sultry duo on the ol'
Will Adams/Norman
Gimbel/Henry Mancini
number "That Heat" that
features a hot percussionbreak chorus rap. But it's the
homegrown Portuguese rap
of Marcelo D2 on "Samba Do
Benc;:ao"and fantastic "Fo'Hop" with D2 and Guinga that
melts through all this cheese.

ESSONS

All the credits are given
and that might be
enough info for fans to
go looking for more
Brazilian hip hop. Could
this do for the South
American nation what
Wyclef's projects have
done for the West Indies'
unheralded talents? It
remains to be seen.

STFOR
It's hard to find a
time where some
smooth groovin'
bossa nova doesn't
work. Add in some
hot hip-hop pop
turns and you
could have another

Nuyorican Project
hit on your hands.
-

Stuart Derdeyn

BO'M'OM
LINE:B• Lounge
samba's
gurumeetsurbanpop'scrossover
masterforsomefuninthesun.Nothing
more.

WORLDFUSION
ROCK

JAZZ

ROCK

COUNTRY

JAZZ

THEDIABLEROS:
You
Can'tBreakthe Strings
In OurOlympic
Hearts
(Beaudelaire)

RICKMORANIS:
The
Agoraphobic
Cowboy
(WEPI/Artist
Share)

NINASIMONE:
ForLovers
(Verve)

Tmda.va.

COAT
COOKE
TRIO:
UpDownDownUp
(CellarLive)
Strolling in on bassist Clive
Reed'sopening walk, "Tender
Hooks" is aptly titled.
Swinging in the most polite
fashion at the start, the tune
soothes with easy bop
interplay. Then taut
improvisational barbs crop
up and it slithers all around
its initial framework.
Saxophonist Cooke's
commanding presence is
matched at times by the
polyrhythmic activity of
drummer Kenton Loewen,
but at no time does it enter
into the aggressive, outside
realms these three are known
for. Never hasty,the nine
tunes from three Monday
night sets at the Cellar will
appeal to a wide audience. A
very fine disc. B
- SD

TANDAVA:
Tandava
(www.tandava.com)

THERIDETHEORY:
In
ThisCity(SunnyLane)

A music/cultural mix about
as Vancouver as you can get.
This quartet uses folk and
classical traditions of
Bangladesh and India as a
·starting point for 10
compositions that
incorporate styles from a
diverse sonic pallete. Chinese
erhu master Lan Tung's
bowed lines join Prashant
John's gorgeous bamboo
flute while Jonathan
Bernard's marimba juggles
the beat with Stefan Cihelka's
tablas in dreamy, tranceinducing pieces totally
lacking any smack of
convenient sonic
appropriation. This is
rendered with all due respect
to the great traditions being
blended. B+
-SD

The Ride Theory openly
exhibits its influences and,
sure enough, you'll hear
elements ofThe Kinks,
Yardbirds and other
important acts from the '60s
British Invasion, but this isn't
all retroactive garage rock.
The first song, "I'm On .
Board," could be from The
Jets, indicating that the
Toronto band also is
contemporary - or at least
as contemporary as The Jets.
Later, the band softens up
inevitably to embrace The
Zombies and to widen its
frame of reference to
indude The Beatles. Yes,the
Ride Theory is derivative but
its attitude and
forthrightness are bracing.

B
-Tom Harrison

Singer Pete Carmichael
doesn't come across loud
and clear, swallowed up by
his band's thick sound as he
is. But he wails like David
Byrne ofTalking Heads,
sometimes yelps like Tom
Verlaine ofTelevision and
his band has a singlemindedness like the Velvet
Underground - all New
York-based bands. Don't
know how the Toronto
sextet relates to the New
York scene but it has left its
mark. With Farfisa and fuzz
bass, The Diableros make a
blurry, grainy assault that is
simple but transcendent.
The art-school dance
continues.
-TH
B

The only big record
Canadian comedian Moranis
was ever involved with was
the early '80s TheGreat
WhiteNorth with his buddy
Dave Thomas in their Bob
and Doug McKenzie
incarnation. For the time,
that was pretty funny stuff.
This is not. This is hackneyed
Hee-Hawcountry cliches
and a few frail, anorexic
ideas. He's a moon/june
rhymer, can't sing and
possessesonly the most
fundamental notion of
melody, which would all be
just peachy if the man could
only make us laugh. This,
believe it or not, was up for
a Grammy. Now that's funny.

D
- John P.McLaughlin

It's Valentine's today and
you're going to do the same
old roses 'n Purdy's 'n sloppy
Hallmark sentiments thing,
aren't you? Maybe get a little
wild and go for the darkAND milk-chocolate mix.
Slip this over with the card
and you'll come off as both
romantic and tasteful, a
good combo. Simone's
earthy vibrato and killer
piano chops on carefully
selected material like the
traditional "Black ls the Color
of My True Love's Hair" and
the Gershwin gem "I Loves
You Porgy" packs a big
emotional punch without
sappiness. Her tal<:eon
"Please Don't Let Me Be
Misunderstood" is a
highlight. B•
-JPM

Qu1cxs,1ms:
Capsule
reviews
ofthisweek's
newCDs
JAMESHUNTER:
People LITTLEBIGTOWN:
The
GonnaTalk(Rounder)
RoadToHere(Equity)
Brit James Hunter makes
classic-sounding '60s R&B.
He and his crack quartet
recorded everything the
way God intended, live and
all at the same time. Now, if
only they'd eased off on so
many horns. Otherwise,
think Sam Cook or Jackie

Wilson.A
-JPM

At times it's like Fleetwood
Mac decided to go country.
The harmonies are lush and
Wayne Kirkpatrick, writer of
"Change the World'; had a
hand in penning all 13 tunes.
It's slick, poppy and
airbrushed but that's
Nashville nowadays. C+
-JPM

ALLENSAWKINS:
Hero
(Canadian
Women's
Foundation)
Sawkins was the partner of·
Tony McNaughton, who died
protecting a worker at a West
End Starbucks. This EP is both
fundraiser and tribute. It
shows that Sawkins is an
honest, forthright lyricist and
he can write a '?Os-style rock
song. He could have a future in
country music. C+
-JPM

TOTIMOSHI
Mysterioso?
(Berserker)
This expanded and re-mixed
version of this Oakland
quartet's 1999 debut makes
clear why Helmet's Paige
Hamilton produced its next
disc Ladr6n. This old-skool
sludge metal will have you
grinding your teeth into
sharp points. C+
-SD

RedRoom,Sat.,8 p.m.

ARIELPINK
Haunted
Graffiti5
(Paw-Tracks)
Getting burned too many
times by critic's darlings
who record lo-fi CDs in their
bedrooms made me
suspicious of this disc. This
L.A. eccentric has genuine
hooky West Coast Roky
Ericksonian moments. C
-SD

At Richardstonight

RABIHABOU·KHALIL
&
JOACHIM
KUHN:Journey
Tothe Centreof an Egg
(JustinTime)
Lebanese oudist Khalil and
German jazz pianist Kuhn
find an amazing amount of
common ground in eight
duo-composed chamber
jazz exursions. Wonderful.

A
-SD