New Music: Paul McCartney and Wings, Arooj Aftab, Ron Miles, Mozart

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/06/2024 (460 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ROCK

Paul McCartney and Wings

One Hand Clapping (MPL)

The sound of Paul McCartney and Wings’ One Hand Clapping used to only be heard on bootlegs or in snippets available on archival releases over the years.

But it’s new (mostly) complete official release deserves two-handed applause.

As aging rockers empty their vaults, McCartney steps forward with One Hand Clapping, more than two dozen songs that were recorded 50 years ago for a video documentary and a possible live album. The record finds McCartney and the 1974 iteration of his band Wings in peak form as they set up shop in the familiar confines of Abbey Road Studios in London. The recordings were made while Band on the Run was enjoying a seven-week run at the top of the British album charts.

Maybe it’s because he’s in the Beatles’ old studio, or maybe it’s because Band on the Run was riding so high, but McCartney delivers spirited performances on One Hand Clapping. He (briefly) revisits beloved Beatles songs such as Let it Be and reaches even further back to Buddy Holly tracks from the 1950s. But he and Wings put the most energy behind the newest material such as Jet and Junior’s Farm.

One Hand Clapping serves as a fine snapshot of McCartney during this post-Beatles creative high, with a fair number of rarities. Sixteen of the 32 tracks have never been officially released before.The only real miss with this project was the stupefying decision not to include the video, even if only as part of a higher-priced expanded edition. The video’s only official release came in 2010 as part of a Band on the Run box set. Including it here would have made sense and given an even truer picture of the entire One Hand Clapping project.

That aside, the audio succeeds by bringing all the songs together in one place for the first time, which is a major win for McCartney fans who never got the bootlegs or who haven’t shelled out big bucks over the years to pick up the songs that were included in dribs and drabs on other re-releases. HHHH1/2 out of five stars

Stream: Jet; Junior’s Farm; Band on the Run

— Scott Bauer, The Associated Press

JAZZ/FOLK

Arooj Aftab

Night Reign (Verve)

The music of singer and composer Arooj Aftab is difficult to label. Apple Music, which demands a genre in its metadata, classifies her albums, in order, as new age, electronic, worldwide and jazz. Essentially, her vision knows no bounds; she synthesizes elements of her influences and those of her collaborators into something that is uniquely hers.

Much of this due to her background — Aftab was born in Saudi Arabia to Pakistani parents and spent her teens in Lahore, Pakistan, where her cover of Jeff Buckley’s version of Hallelujah became a sensation in that country’s nascent indie music scene. She broadened her horizons at 19 by moving to Boston to study music and recording engineering at Berklee, then moved to Brooklyn and immersed himself in the borough’s vibrant artistic melting pot.

At some point in that journey, Aftab began setting the words of centuries-old Urdu poetry to music, singing in quasi-qawwali style over chamber-folk instrumentation of bass, harp, violin, guitar and keyboards, and also began writing and composing her own lyrics and music. Everything coalesced transcendentally for her on 2021’s Vulture Prince, which earned a Grammy for best global musical performance for the song Mohabbat.

Night Reigns, is the next step in Aftab’s sonic path — an acknowledgement of the mystery and openness of the nighttime world, when people let down their guards, explore their desires, and are most open to suggestion and willing to follow their instincts. The nine songs here are sung in a mixture of Urdu and English (a cover of the classic Autumn Leaves, Last Night Reprise and her own Whiskey) and Aftab broadens her musical palette with the addition of occasional drums, percussion and vibraphones and guests such as spoken-word artist Moor Mother (whose interludes in the beautiful Bolo Na offers a contrasting reminder of the moral and ethical decay of the world), Chocolate Genius, Vijay Iyer, Kaki King, Cautious Clay and even Elvis Costello on Wurlitzer piano.

Aftab’s iridescent, warm alto and the unhurried vibe of the instrumental performances combine to create a musical spell listeners won’t want to break. HHHH1/2 out of five

Stream: Bolo Na, Last Night Reprise, Raat Ki Kaani

JAZZ

Ron Miles

Old Main Chapel (Blue Note)

Trumpeter Ron Miles died in March 2022 at the age of 58 of a rare blood disorder. He was highly acclaimed as a brilliant musician, composer, bandleader and educator. This album is from a concert at the Old Main Chapel, a jazz venue in Boulder, Colo., featuring Bill Frisell on guitar and Brian Blade on drums and serves as a fine example of three mature and confidant musicians having a tangible rapport with an audience.

Miles’ tone and style are predominantly mellow, and while he can drive a beat, the impact is quite gentle. The album is thoroughly enjoyable from end to end without being either harsh or boring. The lengthy tracks often unwind slowly, but with purpose and direction, and one is drawn into the tune and eager to see how it resolves.

The opening track is Mr. Kevin, which unfolds like a flower and sets the pattern with whirling riffs. The 12 minute There Ain’t No Sweet Man That’s Worth the Salt Of My Tears (a 1920’s tune from Paul Whiteman’s days and also a classic by Peggy Lee) begins with a gentle four-minute drum solo before easing into a bluesy ballad that offers space for full exploration of improvisatory ideas.

In every track regardless of shifting tempi and mood there is no bombast, no rush or impatience.

Ballads such as Queen Bee, and especially I will Be Free, are gorgeous. This is music for the soul. The most cantankerous track is Rudy-Go-Round, where all three have endless fun with a cheeky abandon.

Six of the seven tracks are longer than 10 minutes and I recommend taking time to just sit (maybe with an appropriate beverage) and let the music from three fine musicians raise your spirits and mood. It will. HHHH1/2 out of five

Stream: Mr. Kevin; I Will Be Free

— Keith Black

CLASSICAL

Mezzo Mozart

Marina Viotti, Gli Angeli Genève (Aparte)

This new release features Swiss mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti in a pleasing program of Mozart, while also underscoring the sheer breadth and versatility of the Wunderkind’s music whether sung by soprano, mezzo, or (the then ubiquitous) castrato, in addition to lower-range voices.

Stephan Macleod crisply leads the Gli Angeli Genève baroque ensemble he founded in 2005 in 10 operatic selections, with an early highlight becoming Smanie implacabali from Cosi fan tutte, K. 588. Dorabella’s famous colouratura aria proves no match for Viotti’s virtuosity, with her nimble vocals tossing off its leaps and runs as easily as child’s play.

Others include her expressive rendering of Deh vieni non tardar from Le nozze di Figaro, with the singer shaping each of her long-arching phrases with lyrical grace; also heard during arietta Voi che sapete from that same opera.

By contrast, Cara lontano ancora from Mozart’s Ascanio in Alba, K. 111, bristles with taut energy, while Va pure ad altri in braccio from La finta giardinera shows off the soloist’s greater dramatic intensity as she spits out each of her words with clear diction.

However, the proverbial icing on the cake is a complete performance of Mozart’s venerable Latin motet from 1773, Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165, more typically sung by a soprano. As expected, the singer dazzles with more effervescent colouratura during its finale Allegro: Alleluia, alleluia, her darker-toned voice resounding joy in this eternally popular showstopper one never wearies of hearing. HHHH out of five

Stream: Deh vieni non tardar; Allegro: Alleluia, alleluia

— Holly Harris