Zingale

A Brief History

A common error or perception made by fans of progressive rock is the fact that many times one tends to limit this musical genre to Europe and America. However this musical style, as do most, knows no boundaries and nearly every country could boast of an exponent from their musical scene who has contributed to this particular genre. The Middle East also has a progressive rock scene and possibly one of the major exponents from that geographical location from the seventies would be Israeli band, Zingale.

Pronounced as Tsingaleh, the band have their origins in the early seventies with only one release to their credit. Some people attribute the band name to the slang word for "joint", though the band insist that it actually is derived from the word sing. The band was created by David Bachar and Yonathan "Johnny" Stern, though the band leader was bassist Udi Tamir who could be considered the creative force within the band. The lineup was further augmented by the arrival of drummer David Shanan, guitarist Efrayim Barak and as mentioned above, bassist Udi Tamir.

For the first two years of the group's history, the band rehearsed continuously as mew music was being written down. Only after 2 years did the band feel confident enough to try and make a break for it organising two concerts as well as finding themselves a music producer.

Following this the band entered Kolinor Studdios, led by sound man Dudi Rozenthal and started to lay down their first recordings. Initially the band was trying to record music based on and English pop style, yet despite positive reviews the band soon realised that there was no such market for this type of music in Israel. These tracks were made available on the CD reissue of the album and they are Why I Didn't Win The Lottery and Everything Will Be OK.

Upon realising that there was no place for their music in Israel, the band decided to do a u-turn and change musical direction. The result would be the first case of Israeli progressive rock music with the main influences being bands such as Van Der Graaf Generator and more importantly, Gentle Giant. For this to come about the band recruited two new members, keyboardist Ady Weiss and English violinist Tony Brower, who would lend to the Gentle Giant sound that the band would come to perfect.

Thus the band set out to record their first album and by the end of 1975, they had managed to finish their recordings. Most of the inspirations for the music came from the 1974 Yom Kippur war, whose overtones can be heard throughout most of the album tracks. Furthermore the band's future seemed to be promising as the president of Decca Records was a personal friend of Zingale's producer Yaacov Bachar and through him they managed to get a European tour sponsored as well as the possibility of a recording contract and distribution via the label. However, just when everything seemed to be going along fine, the Decca president had a heart attack and all plans had to be shelved.

By 1976/1977 the band had once again decided to pursue a new musical direction and started work on new Hebrew material, after having been signed up by the Hataklit label in Israel. The fruits of their 76/77 "Hebrew" recordings are also found on the CD reissue as Genesis, Good To Be Together, Party Inside and Green Scooter On The Way To Asia. These recordings were only released as a promotional package to various radio stations.

In 1977, the band's debut album, titled Peace, was finally released in a limited edition, making it one of progressive rock's more valuable collector's items, though the band split up soon after the album release due to differences over musical direction and the recordings and mixes of the Hebrew album, which in turn was never finished.

Stern and Tamir went on to pursue Judaism and became ultra-orthodox.
Efrayim Barak has a recording studio in the Galil and, together with his wife, runs a guesthouse.
Brower moved to NYC where he has been living for more than 20 years, and makes music as a hobby.

David Shanan turned into a bee-keeper while David Bachar has passed away recently.

In 1992 the Israeli label "Jazz Ba'ozen" issued a remaster of the original PEACE album and included the Hebrew pieces as bonus tracks. Unfortunately,as happened with the album, the CD was only released in a limited edition with just a total of 750 copies being pressed. The album hasn't been reissued since.

Having said all that one can still find MP3 samples of the band's music on the internet with the only Zingale Site to my knowledge offering a few samples, apparently with the band's permission.

Zingale – Peace

Tracklist: Heroica (4:19), Help This Lonely World (3:51), Carnival (5:59), Love Song (6:11), 7 Flowers Street (2:54), One Minute Prayer (0:47), Lonely Violin Crying For Peace (3:12), Stampede (5:35), Soon The War Is Over (7:53)
Bonus Tracks: Why I Didn't Win The Lottery (4:28), Everything Will Be OK (3:20), Genesis (4:37), Good To Be Together (4:39), Party Inside (2:55), Green Scooter On The Way To Asia (6:18)
Musicians: David Bachar (vocals, harmonica), Yonathan (Johnny) Stern (vocals, 12-string guitar), Ehud (Udy) Tamir (bass), Efrayim Barak (guitars), David Shanan (drums), Ady Weiss (keyboards), Tony Brower (violin, mandolin), David (Doody) Rosenthal (synthesizer, percussion & effects)

Arranged by Zingale
Recorded in KOLINOR studios, Tel Aviv Yaacov Bachar - Manager, Producer

The debut and only album from Zingale is indeed a rarity, both in vinyl as well as in its CD version. The CD was only released as a limited edition of 750 copies, though there exists a website (see Related Websites) that has MP3 samples from the album, with all samples being placed on the site with consent from band members.

There are 2 distinct vinyl versions of the album, both of which have different track listings. The first was a promotional copy and this is the format utilised for the CD re-issue. The commercially released vinyl version was re-arranged for commercial reasons into the form of 2 long suites. The promotional version also had a a longer version of Carnival (by about 30 seconds), something which was maintained for the CD version.

Tracks 1 - 9 are digital transfers from the original master tapes. The bonus tracks (Tracks 10-15) were never released commercially but only available as promo DJ singles. For tracks 10-13, only one copy of each track was found and this not even a master tape, but rather a promotional DJ vinyl copy. Tracks 14-15 are from the original masters.

From the opening number, Heroica, one can notice the string Canterbury influence that the band possessed. First of all there is that strong dominant violin sound that really gives the band a distinctive touch, though they do not betray their Middle Eastern roots as they tend to fellow a European or Western approach in structuring their music. Only in the second track, Help This Lonely World do we get to hear the lead vocals, and here the band really cement their resemblance to Caravan as the vocals are extremely soft and plaintive though the music still manages to convey a strange powerful feeling.

Another band that one tends to think of when hearing Zingale, would obviously be Gentle Giant. This mainly occurs due to the strong violin presence, though the band do not tend to fall into the quirky nature that GG loved to include on their albums. In fact ere it not for the violin, another main influence of the band would be legendary band Yes, specially when one hears how the band structure their vocal harmonies. Tracks such as Love Song further enhance such a comparison, though one must also add that one element the band tend to lack is a virtuoso musician who could carry their music to a different level.

Not all tracks are as straight forward as Help This Lonely World, as pieces such as Carnival bring out the jazzier side of the band as the beat definitely picks up allowing for various interchanges between violin, guitar and keyboards. The underlying beat seems to be driven by a funky bass as the other instruments indulge in playing their hearts out. Stampede, is another jazz influenced instrumental. which as its name implies moves along at a rhythmic pace. Experimentation is also a feature of the band as they make use of back tracking on One Minute Prayer, a track that sounds as if it is the first use of Jewish traditional music, though played backwards!

At times the band also introduces a degree of melancholy, such as the acoustic guitar and violin piece, 7 Flowers Street. Furthermore it seems that the war scenario and the constant threat of terrorism within their home country was a dominant factor in their music writing. At times the titles of the tracks directly refer to this particular subject as happens on Lonely Violin Crying For Peace and Soon the War Is Over. Soon the War Is Over was originally the closing track to the only album the band released. Musically this track features a number of interesting features, though unfortunately the vocals are somewhat disappointing and strained as it gathers all the influences that the band had from Gentle Giant to Yes to Caravan.

The remaining tracks did not feature on the original album that the band had released and also show the band in a different musical light. Furthermore vocals are sung in Hebrew rather than English, as happened on the album, a sign that the band had shifted their target audience.

Why I Didn't Win The Lottery and Everything Will Be OKwere the first tracks that the band had laid down before augmenting their line-up to that which would record the Peace album. Possibly the most notable musical absence from these tracks and those on the original album is the sound of Tony Brower's violin as the music can be best described as a seventies pop-rock with influences from bands such as The Beatles as well as artists such as Dave Mason.

The final tracks Genesis, Good To Be Together, Party Inside and Green Scooter On The Way To Asia were recorded after the band had released the Peace album. In fact the band had changed lineup as well as had resorted to singing in Hebrew, a sign that they had once again shifted their target audience. There are occasional traits of the progressive rock that influenced them so greatly, though this had been diluted. Occasionally one notices a shift in time signature as well as the odd musical reference to artists such as Gentle Giant. However the band seemed to be concentrating more in creating pop hooks rather than relying on their musicianship to do the talking. Another added feature that contrasts sharply with the sound that the band possessed just a few months earlier is that of the heavy distortion that is applied to their guitars, something that never occurred on Peace. Of these four racks, the standout piece is Green Scooter On the Way To Asia which has the band playing acoustically and almost reaching the heights that they had on Peace.

Calling the only album Zingale ever released a classic would be stretching things too far. However, the band crated an album which had a variety of interesting numbers, especially for those progressive rock fans who like to hear the violin as a solo instrument within a rock ensemble. On the other hand this album is of immense historical importance as it shows how the influences of classical progressive rock bands reached all corners of the earth, causing the popularisation of a style and influencing the musical appetite of more than just a generation of youths.

Related Websites

The net does not seem to provide much information regarding Zingale with only one site dedicated to the band. Should you have any further information regarding Zingale, do not hesitate to contact me.
 

Zune

Microsoft slipper nå sin iPod-konkurrent på markedet i USA. Les her hva anmelderne mener.

Zune overbeviser ikke amerikanske anmeldere i forkant av den offisielle lanseringen.

I disse dager slipper Microsoft sin store iPod-killer Zune på markedet. Microsoft vil kopiere Apple-suksessen ved å tilby en totalintegrert løsning av multimedieavspiller, programvare og nedlastingstjeneste.

Dermed forlater også Microsoft sine tidligere partnere i PlaysForSure-samarbeidet, selv om selskapet bedyrer at dette vil fortsette gjennom tredjepart. Creative og de andre må dermed vurdere om de har noe valg: Fortsette med Windows Media Player og de tilfeldige MSN-baserte musikkbutikkene der ute, eller skreddersy en egen løsning, noen teknologiske lysår etter at Apple slapp første versjon av iTunes.

Anmelderne er imidlertid lunkne til Microsofts nyvinning. Mens noen velger å forbigå den i mer eller mindre øredøvende stillhet, er andre mindre beskjedne når det gjelder å uttrykke sine negative inntrykk.

En av disse er Ryan Block fra Engadget som opplevde at programvaren til Zune fikk PC-en hans til å krasje gjentatte ganger, uten at han noen gang fikk den til å fungere skikkelig.

En annen anmelder som ikke har sett Zune-lyset er Wall Street Journals Walter Mossberg. Han kaller selve spilleren en hastverksjobb, og påpeker at den både har mindre batterikapasitet og er større en iPod.

Mossberg viser også til at Zune-butikken har dårligere utvalg i musikk, og mangler filmer, TV-serier, lydbøker og podcaster. Han kritiserer også Microsofts poeng-system. I Zune-butikken kan du nemlig ikke betale i kroner og øre, men i Microsoft Points. Én sang koster 79 poeng. Man skulle tro at dette tilsvarer 79 cent, men det gjør det ikke. 79 poeng er det samme som 99 cent. Man må også kjøpe poeng for minst fem dollar av gangen, i stedet for å betale for det man faktisk kjøper.

David Pogue i New York Times er enig i Mossbergs kritikk. Han latterliggjør i tillegg Microsoft fordi Zune ikke fungerer med Windows Media Player.

Begge anmeldere kritiserer Microsoft for å være overivrige når det gjelder DRM, rettighetsbeskyttelse og begrensninger på bruk av spilleren.

Den kjente bloggeren Robert Scoble er heller ikke overbevist. Han mener Microsoft fortsatt ikke har gitt ham et eneste argument for hvorfor han bør kjøpe en Zune i stedet for en iPod.

Horisonten er imidlertid ikke helsvart for Zune. Jason Chen fra den kjente teknobloggen Gizmodo syns Zune virker lovende og skryter av designet. Kollegene hans, på sin side, syns den ser ut som om den er laget av myrvann.

Zeroezque

Zeroezque

This album has been lurking around my CD player for several weeks now and having popped into the machine again today, I cannot understand why it has taken me so long to write this review. Zeroesque landed on my doorstep at a similar time to Derek Sherinian's excellent Black Utopia release. I mention this, as there are some strong points of reference between the music on both albums. No star studded cast here, however, there are a couple of familiar names on the guest list.

 The writing and performing partnership of Zeroesque revolves around keyboard man Tim Lehner and Shawn Christie on guitar and bass. The material they serve up is totally instrumental, combining strong guitar riffs, dynamic soloing, jazz fusion, melody, prog, good grooves... but no singing. The two musicians have worked together for about ten years and this is can be detected throughout the album. The drumming is provided by three guys Josh Gasior, Tim Lloyd and Brian Farr all of whom add greatly to the music (pity there's not much mention of them on the website), and form what is a tight and cohesive structural basis for the tracks. All the musicians interact well and the music benefits much from this.

 The album has a good balance, and by this I mean that each track offers enough change so that you do not tire from the same formula throughout. The opening track Space Race, as it's title might suggest, moves along at a fair speed of knots and sets the stage for the trading of lead sections between Lehner and Christie. I was reminded of some of the material that appeared on Jeff Beck's There and Back album. Contrast is immediate as I Say takes the proceedings down with a gentle piano interlude from Tim, and before the strongly riffing You Say wades in. This particular piece highlighted one the things that I liked most about this album. The refraining of melodic themes, which prevailed throughout and so you never left with just an avenue for soloing pyrotechnics.

 I would be hard pushed to try and select any particular track for worthy note above any other. Progressively speaking, however, Feels Like Falling would be the track that has the most time to develop its themes and ideas and therefore notable. Touches of Keith Emerson can be found within the middle solo section. On the subject of comparisons, or perhaps a better word might be influences to be found, would be Jan Hammer and as previously mentioned Derek Sherinian. Guitar wise I would have picked on perhaps John Petrucci, Joe Satriani, Tony MacAlpine and Alan Holdsworth. The latter most notably during the Scott McGill collaboration, Maxilla Gorilla and perhaps the tongue in cheek titled All's Swell that Ends Swell - I'll let you work out this one.

 The album includes several guest musicians (excluding the drummers) and the cast, in order of appearance, is as follows. Pete Johnson offers up a smoky laid back solo on the silky smooth, jazzy and radio friendly Ten Fifteen, a track that shows yet another facet of Zerosque's writing prowess. We step deeper into the jazz fusion field when Scott McGill trades guitar passages with Shawn on excellent Maxilla Gorilla. Last but by no means least is Vinnie Moore who takes a brief solo section on the final track New Math. On this note it may be worthwhile airing one of my few regrets with the album, in that it did not include a bass player (or guest players). Not that Shawn doesn't do a fine job, but I did feel the inclusion of a bass player would have offered a further dimension to the music.

This is a splendid album, full of energy and spontinaity, strong riffs accompanied by skilful soloing. Along with this Messrs Lehner and Christie have not forgotten to included content, quite common with clever and gifted musicians. In these days of long albums, forty three minutes may seem a little mean, however I didn't feel robbed and the album said all it needed to. Zeroesque bears a sticker saying "Instrumental Progressive Rock and Fusion juggernaut", which I can go along with, but would also add that there is much to enjoy here, and the variation within the parameters above makes this a recommended purchase. I mentioned Derek Sherinian's Black Utopia album in the opening paragraph - and I would say, if you enjoyed that album - then you really should check this out.

Tracklist: Space Race (4:09), I Say (1:06), You Say (3:05), Dizzle Tizzle (3:51), Feels Like Falling (9:16), Ten Fifteen (4:08), Tequila Mockingbird (3:20), Maxilla Gorilla (4:04), All's Swell that Ends Swell (1:40), Dujz (4:46), New Math (3:54

Zao

Zao was started by Yochk'o "Jeff" Seffer (saxes) and Francois "Faton" Cahen (keyboards), both ex-members of an early lineup of Magma. The first lineup also featured Jean-My Truong (drums) and Joël Dugrenot (bass), both who would remain long term members of the band, and Mauricia Platon on vocals. The first album is very much in the Magma vein, altough only utilizing the jazzier aspects of the Magma sound (as might be expected with only Seffer and Cahen). Subsequent albums became increasingly fusion oriented, while not losing the strong zeuhl influence, and the hungarian folk influence from Seffer. Later lineups feature Didier Lockwood (violin), Gerard Prevost (bass). Shekina is interesting as it features a full string quartet on some of the tracks. After Kawana (which may well be the strongest album), Seffer quit to go solo, Truong and Lockwood left to form Surya, leaving Cahen to carry on with new recruits, thus the last album Typareth is generally considered their only stinker.

 Zao is a Magma offshoot, thus the music on Kawana is similar, though more fusion oriented. If you are interested in the Magma/zuehl school, but are concerned about the singing, Zao and Weidorje would be good places to start. The explore the fusion ideas of Magma yet don't have the vocal language developed in Magma by drummer Christian Vander. To me, Zao would be just as comfortable next to Weather Report as they would Magma. Didier Lockwood is ever present with his excellent violin playing. Yochk'o Seffer is generous with his soprano sax. These two guys trade licks and solos over some nice fusion grooves. Francis Cahen's synth work sometimes reminds me of Joe Zawinul of Weather Report, particularly on the opening track, "Natura." If you like vocals, check out Magma, but if you prefer instrumental work, like me, then you'll want to hear this fine example of zuehl fusion. Note that there is a bit of vocals on the last cut, but there is no singing or words.

 Zao typifies the progressive fusion approach of the French zeuhl scene. Somewhat related to Magma and other artists of the early seventies in France, Zao released five or so albums. Kawana features a tight, busy rhythm section, not unlike Magma but with a jazzier feel, coupled with violin, keys and guitar make this instrumental offering a slow but steady grower. At first listen I wasn't impressed but many listens later I've come to greatly appreciate their proficiency. Fans of Arti + Mestieri, Weidorje, Xaal, Univers Zero and of course Magma should check this out.

Shekina was an experiment in music styles by the progressive jazz fusion band Zao. Back in 1975 they wanted to combine the experimental jazz fusion of Zao with a string quartet, Le Quatuor Margand, to create a synthesis between European jazz and pseudo-classical music. The resulting LP, Shekina, is now available on CD in Musea's catalog of reissues. Over the course of the five tracks on this CD you experience a juxtaposition of Le Quatuor Margand's chamber music against Zao's complex jazz instrumentation. Le Quatuor Margand were excellent sight readers and they had to work extremely hard to play with Yochk'o Seffer's minimal musical notation. The resulting music is very tight complex arrangements with Magma and Soft Machine (circa Third) styling. At the time of this recording Zao consisted of Yochk'o Seffer (saxophones, clarinets, and vocals), Francois "Faton" Cahen (keyboards), Gerard Prevost (electric bass), Jean-My Truong (drums), and Pierre "Ty Boum" Guignon (percussion). Le Quatuor Margand was Michele Margand (violin), Marie-Francoise Viaud (violin), Francoise Douchet (viola), and Claudine Lassere (cello). The quartet later went on to form Seffer's Neffesh Music. The music is as fresh today as it was in 1975 and no doubt influenced bands like Art Zoyd, Third Ear Band, and Univers Zero. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Magma spin-off. I heard one track from Z=7L once. Strange, very intense operatic female vocals. It has haunted me to this very day, and impressed me much more than some of the other "zeuhl" bands I've heard (like Eskaton). I'd very much like to hear the whole album someday. I also heard a snippet from a much later album, Typareth I think. Almost straght-ahead jazz, not fusion. Very undistinguished and mediocre when compared with that first album.