Port O’ Monkeys gets their name from a fictional town on the shores of Mount Analogue, an island mountain described in the French surrealist René Daumal’s novel Le Mont Analogue. In this town where the ordinary world intersects with this imaginary realm, inhabitants from all around the globe and every era of history have managed to reach the island through the magical barrier that protects it.
With their debut album The Crossing, the members of Port O’ Monkeys seek to conjure up a similar space-time anomaly by bringing together an equally eclectic variety of instruments and music from every corner of the globe. Hailing from faraway places like a fishing village in the south of France, India, and Shanghai, and from familiar locales including Chicago, the Bronx, and Manhattan, the nine contributing members play nearly twenty instruments between them—some of them familiar (guitar, mandolin, flute, violin),
some
slightly eccentric (harmonium, guitarrone, bass trombone), and some downright exotic (oud, kanun, rebab, yayla tanbur, nyckleharpa).
And the ambitious repertoire found on their debut album takes a similar journey around the world, covering everything from traditional flamenco ("Alegrias/Rumba In E-Major") to a Turkish Mevlevi ("Dervish") to some rare surviving fragments of ancient Greek music ("Ancient Greek Medley"). With virtuosic flair and frightening ease, they jump from Northern Spain ("Jota") to the mountains of Kabul ("Afghan Medley"). Basque, American folk, Yemeni, Hindustani, Klezmer, Gypsy—you name it, they play it.
And they rarely miss an opportunity to reinterpret their musical arrangements through Mount Analogue’s lens. The traditional Armenian song "Chick’s Armenian" feels more like a slow-tempo raga when played on an oud and accompanied by Middle Eastern percussion. On "To B And To C," which is based on a tune from a 1966 album by the Scottish songwriter Bert Jansch, a Swedish nyckleharpa takes the lead backed by a bass trombone. Even their original compositions sound as if they were written at the foot of this island mountain. "Alexis’ Waltz" places you in the middle of Michael Corleone’s 1940’s Sicilian wedding. And the title track morphs from a free-floating Qawwali-like intro into a belly-dancing groove sung with English lyrics.
The tracks of The Crossing could be called street music—the music of fiestas, the music of house concerts, and folk music. Other pieces are more directly meditative, and the members of Port O’ Monkeys are more than fine with this mixture. As they state in the liner notes, their hope for listeners is simple: ". . . if we are attentive enough, a higher dimension can appear, manifested in an expanded time, a time in which one can hear all the subtle variations and interplay of rhythm, melody, and overtones."
PORT O' MONKEYS is:
Chris Wertenbaker: Guitar, Oud, Kanun, Rebab.
Jeff Greene: Mandolin, Yayla Tanbur, Percussion, Voice, Nyckleharpa.
Paul Harris: Flute.
Don Hayward: Bass Trombone, Guitarrone, Harmonium.
Nick Moon: Percussion, Voice, Harmonica.
Eve Moon: Guitar.
Elena Wertenbaker: Voice.
Dolphi Wertenbaker: Percussion.
Ivan Ivanovich: Violin.
***
Jeff Greene is also a member of EverGreene Music's own TriBeCaStan. Visit their
artist page for more information about this exciting group, their 2009 debut Strange Cousin, and their latest album, 5 Star Cave, scheduled for worldwide release
April 27, 2010.
THE CROSSING (2009)
1. Alegrias/Rumba In E Major
2. Women's Dance
3. Crossing
4. Panaderos
5. Chick's Armenian
6. To B And To C
7. Dervish
8. Fly Away
9. Ancient Greek Medley
10. Alexis' Waltz
11. Jota
12. Afghan Medley
13. Rumba In E Minor
. . . and everywhere else music is sold.
Produced by Jeff Greene/EverGreene Music.
Co-Produced by Chris Wertenbaker.
Recorded and Engineered by John Bosch at Ground Control Studio, Brooklyn, NY.
"Alegrias/Rumba in E major" Recorded by Nick and Eve Moon and Mixed by Joel
Kaminer. "Jota" Recorded Live at the Starving Artist Cafe by Eliott Glick.
Mastered by Alan Silverman at Arf! Digital, New York, NY.
Cover Etching by Mark Whitcombe.
Layout & Design by Chop Shop Design, Madison, WI.
All Songs © 2009 EverGreene Music/BMI
Music is alive and constantly evolving, all music being derived to one extent or
another from other music.
Track Listing:
1) Alegrias/Rumba in E major
Alegrias: Traditional flamenco, parts composed by CW.
Rumba in E major: composed by CW.
CW: Flamenco Guitar. EM: Steel String Guitar.
2) Women’s Dance
Composed by Casey Sokol.
CW: Oud. PH: Flute. JG: Percussion.
3) Crossing
Music composed by EM, NM, and CW. Words by CW.
CW: Oud, Kanun. EM: Guitar. JG: Yayla Tanbur. NM: Percussion, Voice (Intro).
EW: Voice (Lyrics).
4) Panaderos
Flamenco guitar piece by Esteban de Sanlucar. Arranged by CW.
CW: Guitar. EM: Guitar. JG: Mandolin. DH: Guitarrone. PH: Flute. NM: Percussion.
5) Chick’s Armenian
Traditional Armenian Song.
JG: Yayla Tanbur. CW: Oud. EM: Guitar. NM: Percussion.
6) To B and to C. Based on a theme by Bert Jansch (Lucky Thirteen album), and developed by CW, with nyckleharpa improvisations by JG.
CW: Guitar. JG: Nyckleharpa. DW: Percussion. DH: Bass Trombone.
7) Dervish
Transcribed by Thomas de Hartmann, it is believed from hearing a traditional Mevlevi Dervish tune in Istanbul in the 1920s.
PH: Flute. CW: Guitar, Kanun. JG: Percussion, Yayla Tanbur. DW: Percussion.
8) Fly Away
Melody by Ara Dinkjian. Words by CW. CW: Oud, Kanun. EM: Guitar. JG: Yayla
Tanbur. NM: Percussion. EW: Voice.
9) Ancient Greek Medley
Two of the few surviving fragments of ancient Greek music, "Plaint of Tecmessa"
and "Hymn to the Sun."
PH: Flute. CW: Oud. DH: Harmonium. JG: Percussion, Cello. DW: Percussion.
10) Alexis’ Waltz Composed by JG. Arranged by JG and PH.
JG: Mandolin. PH: Flute. CW: Guitar. NM: Percussion, Harmonica.
11) Jota
Traditional music, song, and dance from northern Spain.
CW: Guitar. EM: Guitar. JG: Mandolin. DH: Guitarrone. II: Violin.
12) Afghan Medley
Two traditional Afghan tunes, "Song of the Desert" and "Tall Girls."
CW: Rebab. NM: Percussion, Voice. JG: Percussion, Yayla Tanbur, Voice.
DH: Harmonium. PH: Flute.
13) Rumba in E minor
Traditional flamenco piece, much of which CW learned from David Serva, with parts
by various guitarists including our friend Carl Nagin; harmonies by CW.
CW: Guitar. EM: Guitar. JG: Mandolin. DH: Guitarrone.
For more details about the musicians and the provenance of each of the pieces, visit
the Port O' Monkeys MySpace site.
JUNE 19, 2010
Port O'Monkeys :: Live at Starving Artist Cafe & Gallery
Saturday, June 19 @ 8pm
Port O'Monkeys
Live at the Starving Artist Cafe
249 City Island Avenue
City Island (the Bronx), NY
http://www.starvingartistonline.com
Free show! Email for reservations.
MARCH 22, 2010
Jeff Greene Performs at the Toronto Storytelling Festival
Friday, March 26 @ 7pm-9:30pm
As part of the Toronto Festival of Storytelling this Friday night, Jeff Greene will be performing on multiple percussions instruments as Diane Wolkstein tells the epic story, "The Monkey King."
Tickets are $15 and $20. Click here for more info.
"Monkey King is an epic, full of drama and magic, but it is also a hugely entertaining story. Diane Wolkstein does not just tell the story: she channels the main figures, becomes Monkey King and the priest to a startling degree: one could describe them as if one had actually seen them. Drama is blended with comic episodes as this sumptuous story fill the stage. Without digital images, or projector, or any of the usual trappings, the audience is offered the most vivid reality, and time passes with amazing speed. The result is a rich and satisfying evening..."
—Olivier Bernier, Lecturer, Metropolitan Museum of Art
JANUARY 2009
Port O' Monkeys Releases The Crossing
EverGreene Music is proud to announce the release of Port O' Monkeys' first album,
The Crossing.
THE CROSSING
© 2009 EverGreene Music
Album available online at:
Follow Port O' Monkeys and view photos and other exclusive content at these websites:
