Search - Jon Hassell :: Power Spot (ECM Touchstones)

Behold, one of the original masters!

cubik dervish | burque, usa | 12/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If one were ahead of the pack and twenty years later the pack had caught up and stomped all over one's then newly demarked turf, is one to blame and to be scorned as cliched by "today's standards"? Certainly not.



The problem is, sometimes it happens. Hassell, Riley, Reich et al are usually in this situation. Now that their studies of non-Western music have been exploited and rampantly overused by anyone from hip-hoppers to electronica artist as well as avant-garders, their legacy is muddled by nay-sayers and not very knowledgeable folks. A shame indeed.



Hence, the music of Hassel in Power Spot and Fourth World Music is what the latter day acolytes should be measured against, not viceversa.



That said, the music itself is a thrill to experience for the first time (and well beyond). Its use of microtonics, polyrhythms, etc puts to shame many a contemporary ripper-off, setting a standard that still has to be upped. Pure class!"

Today's Standards, Today's Schmanders

D. Garcia | los angeles, ca United States | 04/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Timeless, sublime, beautiful, otherworldly. Forget most of today's derivitive, mixing hip hop, copy cat, [stuff]. This is the real thing. Hassell was there on Terry Riley's original "In C" recording that changed music for all time. He's the first trumpeter with a new sound since Miles. He's deep into it, micro rhythms, polyphony, microtones, electronics everything. THERE IS NO ONE ELSE LIKE HIM. And this is arguably one of the best. Those who think Eno and his ilk invented alternative music should do a little more research, and find out who the real progenitors are."