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Favorite Recordings Featuring Odd Selections of Musical Instruments.

I do a fair job of spoiling my inner child. One area is collecting CDs where the choices of musical instruments are other than main stream.

 

An example might include the Modern Jazz Tuba Project. Their CDs include 2001 “Live at the Bottom Line” and 2003 “Favorite Things”. Howard Johnson & Gravity also had a tuba jazz trio and may have done it first with 1996 “Gravity” and 1997 “Right Now”. In all four CDs they select music to optimize the fun of a tuba trio, yea it is just great fun. Exercise your sub woofers. 

 Somewhere I have CDs of upright bass trios, I’m having trouble remembering who and where? Sometimes I get half-heimers; it is expected at my age now that I am middle aged.  Found it!  Ray Brown 1997 “Super Bass” (Telarc) and 2001 Super Bass, Vol. 2” (Telarc) both highly recommended. The Vol. 2 has a trio of upright basses playing “Papa Was Rolling Stone” in parts that will kill ya. It is all good. Might leave your sub woofer with stretch marks.

 Brent Lewis seems to get more out of percussion-only than one might reasonably expect.  Start with his CD 2004 “Drum Sex” because it is entertaining to listen to. He is worth looking up on Youtube so one can try before they buy. I like his stuff.  Find a pair of #2 yellow pencils so you can play along on your desk. Oh, Brent Lewis has a percussion Christmas concept CD named 2000 "Jungle Bells"  that is a riot. It is actuality done very well.  I own his whole catalogue.

 Somewhere I picked up 1991 “An Organ Blaster Sampler” from TELARC which has some nice demo organ cuts.

 Short of howitzers for the "1812 Overture" do you have any recordings featuring out of the ordinary musical instruments that you can highly recommend?


timothywright
16 responses Add your response
edgewear
543 posts
 
The first ’odd’ example that pops into my head is on Zappa’s Yellow Shark, performed by the highly respected Ensemble Modern. On a piece called ’Welcome To The United States’ he had oboe player Catherine Milliken play a didgeridoo stuck in a bucket of water (I believe coffee was also used for more ’texture’). The ridiculous bubbling sound, nicely amplified over the orchestra, is ’something else’.

But the master of weird musical instruments is probably Harry Partch, who designed and built his own. ’Delusion Of The Fury’ (a 2LP set on CBS) is a great introduction.

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cleeds
5,957 posts
 
Those Darn Accordions.
tablejockey
3,916 posts
 
Not really "odd" instrument, but years ago I found a sealed copy of this. 1968 press!
https://www.dustygroove.com/item/564267

I suppose anyone under 60 or so, the Moog synth is odd!

Actually a fun listen. I think the choice of compositions and execution is entertaining.
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Many recordings of music from the Renaissance period feature instruments that are not usually encountered in modern times, and can be a lot of fun to listen to. One favorite:

"Images Galantes de la Renaissance," performed by the Polyphonia Antiqua ensemble, which I have in LP form on the French Pierre Verany label as PV4791.

Regards,
-- Al
flatblackround's avatar
flatblackround
279 posts
 
No, but I loved the commercial on tv where the triangle player jumps up front of the  symphony orchestra and shreds on a solo. He really gets down and even does a Chuck Berry style chicken walk across the stage.  Epic.
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
Like almarg, I get off on weirdo period instruments of the past.  It's one of the things that keeps me returning to my Harmonia Mundi and MA Recordings discs.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,816 posts
 

I love the sound of the harpsichord, an instrument rarely heard live (unless you own one ;-). I love Trevor Pinnock's CRD label (UK) recordings of Baroque compositions written for the instrument. Great works, playing, and recorded sound quality.

Van Dyke Parks: Song Cycle. It's not so much that he employed unusual instruments on his debut album (though there is a harpsichord), but rather what he has them playing (it's very orchestrated). This album was made shortly after he finished collaborating with Brian Wilson on the ill-fated Smile album. JBL included a track from the album on their early-70's demonstration LP.

Ry Cooder & V.M. Bhatt: A Meeting By The River, on Water Lily Records. East meets West. One of the best (most natural, lifelike) recordings ever made, by the best living recording engineer, Kav Alexander.

The four albums by L.A. psychedelic band Kaleidoscope, whose members included David Lindley (El Rayo-X, Ry Cooder, Jackson Browne). Unlike the above, not great sounding recordings, but oh well.

Speaking of bad sound: to hear what an electric bass should NOT sound like, give a listen to Jack Bruce's Gibson EB3/Marshall stack on Cream's Wheels Of Fire live LP. PU! I saw them live in '67 and '68, and yes, it sounded that bad in person. 

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,303 posts
 
Check out Hanggai on Spotify. 
edcyn
1,876 posts
 
bdp24 -- I'm totally envious that you saw Cream live during that tour.  As blatty as Jack Bruce's bass may sound and how self-indulgent Ginger Baker's solo on Toad may be, the album's Spoonful remains one of my all-time favorite record cuts. Clapton and his team are utterly inspired.  Superb.  I'm a big fan of Song Cycle, too.  Why does the tune Vine Street still course through my brain 40-some years on?
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,816 posts
 

@edcyn, I still love Cream’s debut album Fresh, on which Jack recorded with a Fender 6 string bass. By the way, the best sounding electric basses I’ve heard live (ready to again be envious ;-) were those of John Entwistle on The Who’s ’68 U.S. tour (performing the "A Quick One" suite), playing his Fender Precision strung with roundwound strings (Rotosound?), and Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane in the panhandle of Golden Gate Park, Summer of Love ’67), also with roundwound strings.

I was in a band with a bassist who loved Jack’s tone, and thought it was inherent in the Guild Starfire bass he played. So he bought himself one, and was disappointed when it arrived; he didn’t know Jack’s tone was more a result of the roundwound strings than the Guild bass.

I have seen Van Dyke live too, at McCabes Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. McCabes deals exclusively in acoustic instruments! They have a nice little theater in the rear, and VDP did a set playing piano accompanied by a small orchestra. Playing fiddle was Sid Page from Dan Hicks' The Hot Licks. Wonderful!

timothywright OP
55 posts
 
RE: I'm totally envious that you saw Cream live during that tour.

 

I was a sophomore becoming a junior in High School; there was a very attractive red head I wanted to date.  I asked her out and she agreed.

 My friends were all going to a concert that weekend, but I stayed home. The redhead stood me up, we never went out and I missed Woodstock.


almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
To add to my previous post I'll mention the several recordings of various classical pieces performed by Paul Badura-Skoda on fortepiano/hammerflügel instruments from the early 1800s, that were issued on the French Astrée label in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

These are among the best sounding recordings I have ever heard, and are wonderful musically as well.

Regards,
-- Al


wideload's avatar
wideload
147 posts
 
The redhead went to Woodstock
tablejockey
3,916 posts
 
"I was in a band with a bassist who loved Jack’s tone, and thought it was inherent in the Guild Starfire bass he played. So he bought himself one, and was disappointed when it arrived; he didn’t know Jack’s tone was more a result of the roundwound strings than the Guild bass."

bd24 always coming thru with R&R fun facts.
I was never aware bassists were into flat wound strings.  Never really thought about it, but would assume roundwound is the go to.

I use a set of flatwound "ropes" on my archtop for channeling my inner Jim Hall Wes/Montgomery/Barney Kessel.

 After 40+ years, still failing miserably. Maybe fussing with the tubes in the Reverb Deluxe will help?
timothywright OP
55 posts
 
@wideload

 I got over the redhead, and count my blessings I missed Woodstock.  At age 16 I would have smoked almost anything, dropped almost anything if a cute face and a great shape was involved. Spending 4 days in the rain and mud somehow is less attractive to me now days.

I did see Alice Cooper at a church dance before he became successful. He was very weird up close.
I saw the Who when they were an opening act for the Monkeys.


edcyn
1,876 posts
 
bdp24 -- How many times did I go to McCabes?  A thousand?  I went to high school not far from the shop, and was a regular there during my hippie days.  Stroll in.  Take a Martin guitar off the wall and give it a go.  Me and the wife bought several instruments there.  Ever heard of an Everett guitar?  It's one of my wife's go-to guitars.  Saw lots of acts there.  The Pentangle.  John Fahey.  Judy Collins.  I'd still be going there if I hadn't finally moved out of L.A.
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