Who The Sky Betrays

Editorial Reviews
BBC Online, October 22, 2003
"Intelligent, passionate, adventurous music. Politically sharp, sometimes emotionally raw. More please..."

All About Jazz, October 10, 2003
"A stunningly sophisticated and hugely successful work of art. Maroon's sound sizzles and pops with a distinctive energy."

Album Description
On their second CD, "Who the Sky Betrays," Brooklyn's MAROON gives the jazz tradition a jolt of contemporary pop music and politics. The result is a collection of sexy, intelligent songs fueled by hip-hop, rock, and jazz grooves, and laced with fiery lyrics and sophisticated jazz harmonies. The album, which features guitar hero Marc Ribot on five tracks, re-imagines familiar songs including Radiohead's "The Tourist," Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun," and Chrissie Hynde's "Show Me," in radically new ways. "We really respect the work of Cassandra Wilson and The Bad Plus, artists who are keeping jazz relevant," says the band's co-leader and singer Hillary Maroon. "We grew up with rock songs, so why shouldn't we play them? It's our music."

Whatever MAROON plays, whether it's a rock cover, a jazz standard, or one of their original songs, they test the boundaries between contemporary popular music and modern jazz. Radiohead's "The Tourist" receives an emotionally exposed reading by singer Maroon, a canny combination of technical finesse and smoldering feeling over a tapestry of intimate acoustic piano and spacey guitar electronics. Chrissie Hynde's "Show Me" is simple and direct from the heart, but emotionally rich and elegantly arranged. The confrontational, hip-hop flavored original, "Bully on the Block," is a "straight-up protest song" written in reaction to Secretary of State Colin Powell's characterization of U.S. foreign policy. Another original, "Spun Me Shaky" dissects a failed relationship with unsentimental candor, while "Is This the Time?" weaves a tale of social paranoia and political fear. Their acoustic version of Victor Young's standard "When I Fall in Love" gives Tin Pan Alley a new twist with an! arrangement that sounds inspired by The Miles Davis Quintet of the 1960s.

Who The Sky Betrays

Who The Sky Betrays, Music, Maroon, Avant-Garde Jazz, Sexy, intelligent songs fuelled by hip-hop, rock and jazz grooves., Vocal Jazz
Who The Sky Betrays
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • THIS IS A CLASSIC
Who The Sky Betrays
Maroon
Manufacturer: head fulla brains
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free JazzAvant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Jazz | Styles | Music
Vocal Jazz GeneralVocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:
  1. Migratory

ASIN: B0000DCYWA
Release Date: 2003-10-14

Tracks:

  1. Is This The Time?
  2. Bully on the Block
  3. Will It Matter Who Were?
  4. The Tourist
  5. When the Storm Comes
  6. Show Me
  7. Black Hole Sun
  8. Beyond The Bliss
  9. Spun Me Shaky
  10. When I Fall In Love
  11. Isolation

Album Description

On their second CD, "Who the Sky Betrays," Brooklyn's MAROON gives the jazz tradition a jolt of contemporary pop music and politics. The result is a collection of sexy, intelligent songs fueled by hip-hop, rock, and jazz grooves, and laced with fiery lyrics and sophisticated jazz harmonies. The album, which features guitar hero Marc Ribot on five tracks, re-imagines familiar songs including Radiohead's "The Tourist," Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun," and Chrissie Hynde's "Show Me," in radically new ways. "We really respect the work of Cassandra Wilson and The Bad Plus, artists who are keeping jazz relevant," says the band's co-leader and singer Hillary Maroon. "We grew up with rock songs, so why shouldn't we play them? It's our music."

Whatever MAROON plays, whether it's a rock cover, a jazz standard, or one of their original songs, they test the boundaries between contemporary popular music and modern jazz. Radiohead's "The Tourist" receives an emotionally exposed reading by singer Maroon, a canny combination of technical finesse and smoldering feeling over a tapestry of intimate acoustic piano and spacey guitar electronics. Chrissie Hynde's "Show Me" is simple and direct from the heart, but emotionally rich and elegantly arranged. The confrontational, hip-hop flavored original, "Bully on the Block," is a "straight-up protest song" written in reaction to Secretary of State Colin Powell's characterization of U.S. foreign policy. Another original, "Spun Me Shaky" dissects a failed relationship with unsentimental candor, while "Is This the Time?" weaves a tale of social paranoia and political fear. Their acoustic version of Victor Young's standard "When I Fall in Love" gives Tin Pan Alley a new twist with an! arrangement that sounds inspired by The Miles Davis Quintet of the 1960s.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars THIS IS A CLASSIC.......2003-10-19

The third song, "Will It Matter Who We Were", is destined to be a classic. Its content is tender, profound, and a universal question we can all identify with. Besides the wonderful lyrics, Maroon's treatment is professional in every way, intrumentation and vocals. Equal to Etta James' "At Last", once this new creation gets out, I predict it will be covered by the major artists of this genre. The other songs are professionally recorded whether original or covers. This is a wonderful musical experience by this very exciting and professional New York group.

Music:

  1. You and I
  2. Zorro Est Arrive [Import]
  3. 49 Original Satchmo Classics [Import]
  4. A Handful of Songs and More
  5. A Song For A Child (for Elian)
  6. At the Hollywood Palladium [Live]
  7. Best of the War Years [Extra tracks]
  8. Big Dixie
  9. Blues Heritage/Two Shades of Blue [Import]
  10. Check the Beans

Music

Music