Blue Mongol
{{Infobox album
| name = Blue Mongol
| type = album
| artist = Roswell Rudd and The Mongolian Buryat Band
| cover = Roswell_Rudd_Blue_Mongol.jpg
| alt =
| released = 2005
| recorded = October 11, 2005
| venue =
| studio = Nevessa Production, Saugerties, New York
| genre = Jazz, World music
| length = 1:04:44
| label = Sunnyside
SSC1147
| producer = Roswell Rudd, Verna Gillis
| chronology = Roswell Rudd
| prev_title = Malicool
| prev_year = 2002
| next_title = Airwalkers
| next_year = 2006
}}
Blue Mongol is an album by trombonist Roswell Rudd and the Mongolian Buryat Band, a five-member ensemble led by Mongolian vocalist Badma Khanda, featuring horse-head fiddle and bass, instruments resembling zither, dulcimer, and flute, and a throat singer. It was recorded in 2005 at Nevessa Production in Saugerties, New York, and was released by Sunnyside Records later that year. The album is a continuation of the cross-cultural experiments that Rudd began pursuing with 2002's Malicool.{{cite web |url=https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/album/roswell-rudd/blue-mongol |title=Roswell Rudd: Blue Mongol |website=Jazz Music Archives |access-date=September 2, 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-mongol-mw0000347482 |title=Roswell Rudd: Blue Mongol |first=Thom |last=Jurek |website=AllMusic |access-date=September 2, 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://www.sunnysiderecords.com/site/release_detail?id=262 |title=Blue Mongol |website=Sunnyside Records |access-date=September 2, 2022}}
Rudd and the Mongolian Buryat Band toured the United States in late 2006. He reflected: "Listeners will be reminded of American folk music and aspects of the blues... I call their music 'art folk' because it combines the sophistication of conservatory training with the indigenous performance style of their long history."{{cite web |url=https://downbeat.com/news/detail/roswell-rudd-and-mongolian-buryat-band-to-tour-u.s |title=Roswell Rudd and Mongolian Buryat Band To Tour U.S. |website=DownBeat |date=19 October 2006 |access-date=September 2, 2022}}
Reception
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{rating|4.5|5}}
| rev2 = All About Jazz
| rev3 = The Penguin Guide to Jazz
| rev3Score = {{rating|3|4}}{{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Richard |last2=Morton |first2=Brian |title=The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2008 |pages=1247 }}
}}
In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek wrote: "Wow! Simply put, this recording is almost indescribable... There isn't another recording like this on the planet; it's stunning."
The Village Voice's Francis Davis stated: "Twinning with Khanda, matching the throat singer's gargle with growled multiphonics, or just floating over the strings, Rudd throws himself into everything with such relish you might be hard-pressed to tell which tunes are traditional and which are his without glancing at the credits. The Buryats meet him halfway, occasionally recalling Django or country swing, even boogie-woogie... East is East, and West is West, and wherever the four winds blow—that's not just a quote, it's his philosophy."{{cite web |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2005/10/25/art-folk |title=Art Folk |first=Francis |last=Davis |date=October 25, 2005 |website=The Village Voice |access-date=September 2, 2022}}
Writing for All About Jazz, John Kelman remarked: "Blue Mongol, with its greater elegance and emotional depth, requires more inherent sensitivity than the upbeat MALIcool, making it a riskier proposition. And while it has a few disconnected moments, it succeeds more often than not, making it a worthwhile listen for those who believe music to be the voice that speaks to all cultures."
Tom Hull commented: "The great jazz trombonist engages a conservatory-trained Mongolian folk group; part of the interest is the similar harmonics between trombone and throat singing, but the highlight is when Rudd cops a Beach Boys line for 'Buryat Boogie'."{{cite web |last=Hull |first=Tom |url=https://www.tomhull.com/ocston/blog/archives/2585-The-Incredible-Honk.html |title=The Incredible Honk |website=Tom Hull – on the Web |accessdate=September 2, 2022}}
Track listing
- "The Camel" (Traditional, arranged by Battuvshin Baldantseren, Roswell Rudd) – 4:21
- "Gathering Light" (Roswell Rudd) – 5:27
- "Behind the Mountains" (Traditional) – 2:56
- "Steppes Song" (Traditional) – 4:04
- "Djoloren" (Oumou Sangaré) – 8:38
- "Four Mountains" (Battuvshin Baldantseren, Roswell Rudd) – 5:35
- "Buryat Boogie" (Roswell Rudd) – 5:38
- "Blue Mongol" (Roswell Rudd) – 5:19
- "Bridle Ringing" (Traditional) – 2:41
- "Ulirenge" (Traditional, arranged by Badma Khanda, Kermen Kalyaeva) – 4:59
- "American Round (Swing Low, Sweet Chariot / Comin' In on a Wing and a Prayer / Amazing Grace)" (Arranged by Battuvshin Baldantseren, Roswell Rudd) – 3:15
- "The Leopard" (Traditional) – 5:02
- "Honey on the Moon" (Roswell Rudd) – 6:49
Personnel
- Roswell Rudd – trombone, mellophone, vocals
- Battuvshin Baldantseren – throat singer, limbe (flute), ikh khur (horse head bass), khomus (jaw's harp)
- Badma Khanda – vocals
- Dmitry Ayurov – morin khur (horse head fiddle)
- Kermen Kalyaeva – lochin (dulcimer), khalmyk dombra (lute)
- Valentina Namdykova – yatag (zither)