“Comme À La Radio” by Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem and The Art Ensemble of Chicago - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1970Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s

TJR says

The restless actress from Brittany, by now 31, had branched out into singing and composing several years earlier. Most of the pieces that made up her third LP, “Comme À La Radio” were originally aired in her theatre production of the same name, which also featured her trusted cohort Areski Belkacem, adept in many instruments and an extremely talented percussionist, with special expertise in North African rhythms and motifs. His talents are to the fore on this LP, so much so that he is given co-authorship of all works, alongside Brigitte who is, of course, the most compelling presence of all, with her amazing voice, itself as capable of free form improvisation as any of the instrumentalists! By sheer chance, they too happened to be playing at the same time and place as the Art Ensemble of Chicago and shared artistic visions were subsequently conceived and played out via this collaborative LP. The 4 Chicagoans were: Malachi Favors (bass); Roscoe Mitchell (flute); Lester Bowie (trumpet) and Joseph Jarman (oboe, sax). Also lending a shoulder to the project were local musicians: Albert Guez (lute); Jean-François Jenny-Clark (bass); Jacques Higelin (guitar); Jean-Charles Capon (cello); Kakino De Paz (zither) and Léo Smith (trumpet). Quite the ensemble! 9 of the 10 pieces were brand new, only the album’s closer, “Lettre À Monsieur Le Chef De Gare De La Tour Carol” had been out previously, first out billed only to “Brigitte Fontaine” (no Art Ensemble members played) as a 45, paired with “Le Noir C'est Mieux Choisi” in 1969. Always weird and often wonderful – this album is a must-listen for the left-field musical adventurer.

The Jukebox Rebel
06–Jan–2016

Tracklist
A1 [08:04] 9.2.png Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem and The Art Ensemble of Chicago - Comme À La Radio (Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem) Jazz
A2 [02:04] 6.2.png Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem and The Art Ensemble of Chicago - Tanka II (Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem) Avant-Garde
A3 [03:25] 6.0.png Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem and The Art Ensemble of Chicago - Le Brouillard (Areski Belkacem) Alternative Folk
A4 [03:04] 7.1.png Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem and The Art Ensemble of Chicago - J‘ai Vingt-Six Ans (Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem) Songwriter
B1 [03:56] 8.0.png Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem and The Art Ensemble of Chicago - L‘Été L‘Été (Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem) Alternative Folk
B2 [01:35] 5.0.png Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem and The Art Ensemble of Chicago - Encore (Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem) Avant-Garde
B3 [03:51] 5.2.png Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem and The Art Ensemble of Chicago - Léo (Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem) Avant-Garde
B4 [00:43] 3.5.png Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem and The Art Ensemble of Chicago - Les Petits Chevaux (Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem) Folk
B5 [01:46] 6.2.png Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem and The Art Ensemble of Chicago - Tanka I (Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem) Africana
B6 [06:05] 8.5.png Brigitte Fontaine - Lettre À Monsieur Le Chef De Gare De La Tour Carol (Brigitte Fontaine, Areski Belkacem, Jacques Higelin, Jean-Charles Capon) Psychedelia

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