This ended up having to be a double column and a bit late because I spent the last two weeks in self-isolation after a Covid exposure. Now I’m back in the world (more or less – I’m under a stay at home order) and I got to catch up on two week’s worth of comics!
Best Comics of the Fortnight:
Beta Ray Bill #1 – I’ve loved Beta Ray Bill since I first saw him in Walter Simonson’s Thor comics, and have long felt like he’s criminally underused in the Marvel Universe. I was really happy to see that he’s getting his own miniseries, and that it’s written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson, who is an incredible creator. This issue ties in with the King In Black event, as Bill attempts to save Asgard from a symbiote-covered Fin Fang Foom. Johnson does amazing work here – Bill looks really cool, and he has a strong feel for the character’s tragic side. He also recognizes how he’s always stuck in Thor’s shadow. I enjoyed Johnson’s recent Wonder Woman Bla
Rock’s sideman of choice . Pino Palladino, left, with Blake Mills.
By his own admission, Pino Palladino is not a man much accustomed to giving interviews. “Very reticent,” he nods during a Zoom call, his accent speaking noticeably louder of his childhood in Cardiff than his current home in LA. “You know, there was a time when I was featured in all sorts of musicians’ magazines, and then I just thought to myself, ‘Move over, there’s people out there that actually need the publicity.’ Not to blow smoke up my own arse,” he adds hurriedly, “but really I just didn’t want to see or hear from myself.”
Yazz Ahmed –
La Saboteuse (Naim): “Bahraini-British performer, Yazz Ahmed, is transforming what jazz means in 2017. This trumpet and flugelhorn-playing artist has worked with Radiohead and These New Puritans, experiments with electronic effects, and combines sounds from her shared heritage to author a new narrative for the genre. Part of the new wave of artists credited with stirring up the sound, including Kamasi Washington, Yussef Kamaal, Sons of Kemet and The Comet is Coming, Yazz Ahmed is thrilled by the possibilities of making something new. “I feel like I’m a part of modernising jazz and connecting it with audiences today,” Yazz says. “It’s exciting.” (https://yazzahmed.bandcamp.com/album/la-saboteuse-2) The full release is now available and the mixes and performances are quite wonderful throughout. Click here to listen to several songs from this exceptional blend.
Open share drawer
Two notable sidemen collaborate on an elusive instrumental album inspired by funk, West African, and Cuban music. The melodies are fleeting and the arrangements ever-shifting.
Contradictory as it sounds, Pino Palladino is possibly the most famous working session bassist. The 63-year-old Welshman is known for his glissando tone and melodic fills, and he has built a four-decade career as the ultimate supporting player: providing a Stravinsky-inspired fretless performance on Paul Youngâs 1983 U.K. number No. 1 Marvin Gaye cover âWherever I Lay My Head,â contributing to neo-soul landmarks
Voodoo, joining The Who after the death of original bassist John Entwhistle in 2002, and much more.