From the CAL Section of 9/25 Hartford Courant.

RIFFS: JAZZ NOTES
by Jeff Rivers

Rocker Prince Explores Contemporary Jazz Styles
September 25, 2003

Prince, former enfant terrible turned village griot, has spent his career distilling nuggets of musical history and wisdom to anyone willing to listen.

With his soaring falsetto and piercing lead guitar, the purple sage reflects and refracts a wide range of musical influences with wry and sometimes profane observations.

Sometimes it's as though he views the world through a kaleidoscope from underneath a soiled mattress in a whorehouse. At other times he seems to be declaiming from clouds of joy.

In his latest CD, "N.E.W.S" (NPG), Prince presents four 14-minute instrumental soundscapes in which he explores contemporary jazz idioms.

Although he doesn't have anything new to say about the genre, his arrangements display his usual craft and intelligence. His splashes of aural color turn the disc into a musical collage that twists in the air to often-throbbing beats.

Well there you go! I have to say this about N.E.W.S. I have played my copy for many people and the responses I get time and time again are "Who is this? Prince man this is awesome. Where can I get this? I have to get this!" Most peole are bummed they can only get it through his site. This albums really has amazed me and has re energized my faith in the mans brilliance. I know many people on this site have ragged the album and that dumbfounds me but hey to each their own. Still it seems as if the reviewer wants to praise the albums but just has to throw in that little bit about Prince not bringing in anything new to the genre. Still it is great to see this masterpiece get the respect it deserves. Believe it or not folks N.E.W.S. is a great album if you don't have it get it. If you have it and don't like it listen again!!

You can get it from other than just his site. But you really have to look for it since it's not at just any retail cd place. HMV and Barnes and Noble are known to carry it.

It seems NEWS is hard to get in the States. I find that really strange, because here in Holland a lot of music stores have it.

Nefertiti said:

You know I thought so but I wasn't sure and didn't want to sound sound ignorant spreading the wrong info... which I guess I did anyway Thank you so much for the information though.

SassyPants said:

N.E.W.S is available at Virgin Megastores.

Main Entry: gri·ot
Pronunciation: 'grE-"O
Function: noun
Etymology: French
Date: 1906
: any of a class of musician-entertainers of western Africa whose performances include tribal histories and genealogies


Is that a racial remark?

Jestyr said:

Yes it is racial/cultural but not a slur. I think if you understand the role a griot played in many tribes in Africa you would see it as really a very high compliment. Also that is a very limited definition of a griot. A griot knows and can recite tribal history, laws, news etc. In many ways they are leaders of their tribes. So really I believe that the reviewer was complimenting Prince not putting him down or limiting him with a harsh racist put down.

chiltonmusic said:

I agree and but I'd go farther and say it's a cultural reference period, and not a racial one at all. I mean... if they had said he's the Pied piper of funk-rock, would that have been about the white "race"? A griot just happens to be something out of West African culture, with no pejorative meaning attached to it.

YOU CAN BUY N.E.W.S. AT BEST BUY

Jestyr said:

Do you still have strong racial tensions in the USA?

There are Two versions available from www.Play.com. A normal version and a "North American Version".

I assume that is a reference to the packaging, but if anyone knows the difference I'd like to know.

Oh, and it's cheap on there too... obviously.

Krid said:

Well that depends on who you ask. I do feel that we still have racial inequality. Anyone who argues with that should look at the way that justice is served in this country or the love affair our police forces have with racial profiling. I will say it is better than maybe the 60's. However if you have been pulled over by the police for doing nothing more than driving your car well I can't even begin to describe to you how fustrating that is. Still the issue of race in America is a deep and murky pool because now there is both racisim and self inflicted racism and that is when it really gets deep. I look on this site and see some of the veiled racial remarks made at Prince and I say well we still have a ways to go then. IMHO America has come a long way yet still has a very long way to go.

IMHO we really need to stop equating things African w/negativity. I agree with chiltonmusics comment, I feel that the reviewer was indeed paying P a very high compliment. Western thought continuously reveals itself as arrogant and somehow superior to all other cultures on the face of the Earth. How sad. I too have noticed some of the racial remarks made toward prince on this site. Remember when he supposedly was rockin a 'fro during one of his gigs? Remember the commotion it caused on this site? As if its better that a man of African decent would have a bouncey perm insted of his natural hair!! Dont get me wrong.. I could care less about the mans hairstyle. Im a fan of the Music, but some of the posts around that time in particular seemed to imply that that there is something wrong w/ a Naturally curly fro. Same with TRC (Family Name comes to mind). It seems that in a lot of ways Prince is outgrowing his audience and becoming a more socially and politically aware artist. I guess some of y'all just cant handle it.

It seems that in a lot of ways Prince is outgrowing his audience and becoming a more socially and politically aware artist. I guess some of y'all just cant handle it.[/quote]
Excellent Point!!!