Wednesday, April 05, 2006


Album : Translating the Gongs
Artist : Bob Aves

This is Bob Aves' second CD after the maiden release of "Inner Country". While Inner Country is very "Bob Aves" (in otherwords jazz) sounding, this second offering will surely be a complete surprise to followers of his brand of music.

Translating the Gongs comprises of 9 songs composed either by Bob or adapted from traditional music, mostly from the Maguindanao tribe of Mindanao. While this might sound too eclectic to some listeners, the simplest way to describe the music is.. it ROCKS!

I particularly liked the way Bob tuned/customized his octavina guitar. It has a "round" sound similar to the middle eastern type of lute called Oud but this time with guitar frets. The octavina is a Filipino traditional guitar commonly used in a banduria ensemble. He combines this sound with an array of different types of "gong" instruments such as the Kulintang, Saromay, Agong and western instrumenst such as piano, trumpet, drum kit, flutes, saxes and bass guitar. The sonic quality of the recording is superb. No matter what genre you're into, the album Translating the Gongs is guaranteed to bring you further on your next musical journey.

Cuts:
1. The Outsider
2. Midnight Sinulog
3. All in a Day
4. Dr. Binalig
5. The Summoner
6. Crossing Houses
7. Sa Singkang
8. Senyor Citizen
9. A Lighter Shade of Brass

Personnel:
Bob Aves (octavina), Grace Nono & Faisal Monal(vocal chants), Dan Gil (sax), Tony Maigue (flutes), Roger Llado (trumpet), Joey Quirino (piano), Simon Tan (bass), Koko Bermejo (drums), Bo Razon (percussions)

 
posted by Penguin Gallery-BARFLY at 9:52 PM, | 0 comments