APRIL OPENS with ASTOUNDING DISCS from SIRONE/BANG/GAYLE, CHARLES GAYLE TRIO, TWO DUOS w/ LOUIS MOHOLO, HAINO KEIJI, SUN RA, JOHN CAGE, DAVID GRUBBS, TETSU AKIYAMA, TODD DOCKSTADER, WHA HA HA, TIBETAN BUDDHIST RITES plus A VAST NUMBER of TITLES from SILKHEART, ENJA, ECLECTIC & PARALLACTIC & ZE!!




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DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY WILL CLOSE AT 7 PM TONITE, BECAUSE OF...

THE GRAND OPENING OF 'THE STONE' PERFORMANCE SPACE!
HEY, WE GOTTA BE FRONTT ROW FOR JOHN ZORN'S TWO SETS OF IMPROV MAGIC! [Guests to include Ned Rothenberg, Tony Buck...]
NORTHWEST CORNER OF AVENUE C AND EAST 2ND STREET - BE DERE IF YOU CARE!!! For those of you who wish to check out the incredible April schedule at The Stone, CLICK HERE

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HERE AT DMG ON SUNDAY!!!

"You are invited to the 20th Anniversary DVD Release Party of my jazz film

RISING TONES CROSS at
Downtown Music Gallery
342 Bowery at 3rd Street (between Great Jones & Bond St.) in NYC This Sunday April 3rd, 2005 in the afternoon from 3 - 5 PM

Meet some of the featured musicians and dancers catch a glimpse of the new DVD on the running monitor while chewing a chip with a glass of water or wine consider an article and receive your press-kit with promo DVD-R
or let us autograph the brand new manufactured DVD right in the midst of great music for purchase at Downtown Music Gallery" - Ebba Jahn, director

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Good News Department - Here's a note from our friends at Tonic: "With your amazing outpouring of support we have met our fundraising goals and it is possibly safe to say that Tonic will remain open. Please continue to show your support for the avant-garde, creative and experimental music scene by coming out to listen as often as you can. Check our website regularly for updates and for information about an upcoming THANK YOU party." - John & Melissa Hooray, hooray, hooray!!!

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Note on last week's ENO REMASTERS: It turns out Virgin Europe screwed up again - tracks 18 and 20 on the MORE MUSIC FOR FILMS disc are the SAME CUT! We have made calls to the authorized US distributor, Astralwerks/Caroline, and they have assured us that they will be sending us replacement discs [without covers] to send to all our mail-order customers who have ordered - or are ordering - this item, as well give to any store customers who have kept their receipts of this purchase. All others, regardless of where you purchased it from, must write to Caroline records and they will send you a replacement. However, these replacement discs will likely not be available for at least a month, so in the meantime we have not been asked to return our stocks - you may still purchase this -enjoy it now - and receive your replacement later

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Check out the advance listing of the great Einstein CDs and RouletteTV DVDs which will be featured in next weeks newsletter by going here: http://search2.downtownmusicgallery.com/Searching/WWW_DMG_Search.cgi?label.einstein%20roulettetv

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SIRONE BANG ENSEMBLE [SIRONE/BILLY BANG/CHARLES GAYLE/TYSHAWN SOREY] - Configuration (Silkheart 155/Sweden) Featuring Billy Bang on violin, Charles Gayle on alto & tenor saxes, Sirone on double bass and Tyshawn Sorey on drums. This colossal live all-star session was recorded at CBGB's Gallery on November 9th of 2004 and was a truly historic first-time meeting of these four giants. No doubt you are well aware of the Sirone (Revolutionary Ensemble, Phalanx & Cecil Taylor), Billy Bang (for Sun Ra & dozens of great dates as a leader) and free/jazz sax legend Charles Gayle, who has had few new recordings in recent years. Over of the past few years, young drummer Tyshawn Sorey has become of the best and busiest percussionists in town, playing with Vijay Iyer, Kali Fasteau & Butch Morris, as well as leading his own unit(s). What you probably don't know is that Tyshawn also plays great trombone and piano as well, which came as a big surprise to local trombone wiz & bandmate Ruet Regev when they played here at DMG together.
'Configuration' features six solid songs, three by Sirone and three by Billy Bang, all pretty marvelous, truly inspired and superbly recorded throughout. Billy's "Jupiter's Future" has a swell, plaintive melody, which gives way to a round of strong solos from Tyshawn, Mr. Gayle, Sirone and Mr. Bang. Billy's "Freedom Flexibility", oddly enough, is a great, rather funky, bluesy sort of piece with some soulful sax from Charles, that will get those fingers snappin'. Sirone's "We are Not Alone..." is a melancholy ballad with touching violin and bowed bass, soloing solemnly together with some reflective sax and eerie rubbed cymbals to follow. Sirone's "I Remember Albert" features some extraordinary note-bending tenor sax wailing from Mr. Gayle in the true tradition of Albert Ayler, perhaps who this piece is named for. Sirone and Tyshawn are in also in powerful form here, explosive and tight, pushing each other and Gayle up into the stratosphere. I love the heart-felt melody of Billy's "Notre Dame De La Garde", in which Billy and Charles play that aching tune with exquisite grace. The title track is last and features an incredible solo from Billy Bang that has the audience screaming, as well as a fine statement from Charles Gayle. This was a most joyous occasion and is well captured on this fine disc. - BLG
CD for $19

WE JUST GOT HANDFULS OF MOST OF THE PHENOMENAL 'SILKHEART' BACK CATALOG - SEE FURTHER ON BELOW...


CHARLES GAYLE TRIO With SIRONE/GERALD CLEAVER - Charles Gayle Trio (clean feed 31; Portugal) Featuring Charles Gayle - tenor sax & piano, Sirone - double bass and Gerald Cleaver - drums. Review when that desired promo arrives, but why wait!?!
CD for $17




THREE NEW & WONDERFUL DISCS FROM THE GREAT EMANEM LABEL

ANTHONY BRAXTON & MILO FINE - Shadow Company CD (Emanem 4113; UK) Anthony Braxton invited Milo Fine to travel half way across the USA so they could make some music together for the very first time. The result was the extended free improvisation, which is heard complete on this CD. Braxton used four saxophones, and Fine two clarinets, piano and drums. Recorded 2/25/04.
CD for $18

CLIVE BELL & SYLVIA HALLETT - The Geographers (Emanem 4112; UK) Following their 2004 Freedom Of The City festival performance (heard on Emanem 4215), Clive Bell and Sylvia Hallett went into the studio to record some more improvisations. Bell used Cretan pipes, harmonica, khene, pi saw, shakuhaci, stereo goathorns and a whirling bat drum, while Hallett used anklung, bicycle wheel, electronics, mbira, sarangi, saw, viola, violin and voice. Between them they created a very exotic sound world." Studio recordings from 7/17/04.
CD for $18

ROGER SMITH & LOUIS MOHOLO-MOHOLO - The Butterfly and the Bee (Emanem 4114; UK) Following the success of their very first performance together at the 2004 Freedom of the City festival (heard on Emanem4215), Roger Smith and Louis Moholo-Moholo went into the studio to record some more. Their second meeting went so well that they recorded enough duo improvisations for a complete CD. The resulting music is heard complete, with Smith on Spanish guitar and Moholo on augmented drum set. Studio recordings from 8/22/04.
CD for $18


LOUIS MOHOLO-MOHOLO/STAN TRACEY - Khumbula (Remember) (Ogun 016; UK) Louis Moholo is the last surviving member of the legendary South African expatriate avant/jazz sensation The Blue Notes who later morphed into the equally incredible Brotherhood of Breath. His drumming is totally unique and it was a marvel to see & hear him at the Vision Fest and with Keith Tippett's Tapestry at Victo. Stan Tracey is another giant, the elder statesman of British modern jazz piano and a generation older than younger masters like Keith Tippett, Howard Riley and Michael Garrick. This was the first time Louis and Stan had played together as a duo and the first time they played in thirty years. They both draw on a full lifetime of experiences, so that their rich histories are well explored. There is a beautiful flow going on here, a majestic and sublime weaving of diverse tapestries. Louis has a playful, delicate style at times, tapping gently on his cymbals and whispering little sounds. He is one of the melodic drummers I've ever heard. Stan plays with a warm and tender touch, measuring each note or phrase with a mature craft, telling short stories that are all connected and unfold slowly and magically. In many ways, this is a perfectly balanced duet, each player shapes, navigates and directs the hypnotic flow. This superb studio offering was produced with immense care by Evan Parker. If this were Downbeat, it would hopefully receive the 5 stars it rightfully deserves. What more can I say?!? Do yourself a favor and treat yourself today. - BLG
CD for $18




MATT LAVELLE - Making Eye Contact God/Live in New York [limited edition of 50] (Utech Records 007) Featuring Matt Lavelle on trumpet & bass clarinet, Matt Heyner on contrabass & Ryan Sawyer on drums. Matt Lavelle is one of my favorite folks, he exudes coolness and has the sly charm of an old hipster, even tough he is a young fellow. He has played here at DMG on numerous occasions, has guested with Other Dimensions in Music, often works with Ras Moshe and is with the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra. In-demand bass great Matt Heyner works with Test & No Neck Blues Band and drummer Ryan Sawyer is another under-recognized talent who has recorded with Louie Belogenis on 'Twice Told Tales' (DIW).
'Making Eye Contact with God' is Matt's third date as a leader and he continues to grow in leaps. This is an inspired free/jazz date and these cats are cooking pretty quickly. Lavelle's tone on trumpet is assured and deals with a dynamic range of emotions and colors. This is a monstrous trio, the rhythm team pumping hard and quick underneath Matt's high flying playing. When Heyner takes his first solo, you know he means business as Ryan dances together with the bass. Soon Lavelle whips out his bass clarinet and talks in tongues as Heyner bows his bass, both of those low notes bending together as one, soon heading for those high notes and sailing towards the heavens. There is a righteous, organic flow to this music that moves in waves, winding up and down the hills and valleys, always together as a great focused trio. Ryan also a few superb solos throughout, adding another notch to this strong date. This CD is pretty long at 73 minutes but remains intense and creative throughout. Matt Lavelle's playing this past Sunday (3/27) with vocalist Kyoko Kitamura was indeed a wonderful thing, playing some truly tender bass clarinet. Thanks again to Kyoko & Matt for their touching take on 'Happy Birthday', sung in French & English for my sweetheart Huguette. - BLG
Numbered & Limited Edition CD of 50 for $12

BAGHDASSARIANS/BALTSCHUN/BOSETTI/DONEDA - Strom (Potlatch 204/France) Featuring Serge Baghdassarians on guitar & mixing desk, Boris Baltschun on sampler, Allesandro Bosetti on soprano sax and Michel Doneda on soprano & sopranino saxes. This modern gem of electro-acoustic improv was recorded in Berlin in March of 2004. I continue to be marveled at the rich and varied work from French saxist Michel Doneda, who played an amazing set here at DMG with Jack Wright last year and can be found on some two dozen discs so far. Italian saxist Allesandro Bossetti I am less familiar with, but I have heard him collaborating on discs with Doneda & Bhob Rainey, Peter Kowald & Annette Krebs. I am even less familiar with Baghdassarians & Baltschun, but I have heard their collaborations with Damon Smith, Wolfgang Fuchs and Gunter Christmann. All inspired improv situations.
'Strom' begins with a strong blend of high-end electronic hisses, swirling samples, sculpted static, subtle feedback, wind-like sounds and eerie soprano sax drones, stretched out. Neither soprano or sopranino saxists play with a regular jazz sax tone, they would rather twist and bend their notes into odd shapes that sound more like birds or electronic sounds. Thus making it difficult to tell who is doing what much of the time. If you didn't already know the instrumentation beforehand, you might not have a clue. There is a strange dream-like quality to this, occasionally unnerving yet always fascinating. - BLG
CD for $17

MILO FINE - DAVU SERU - ELLIOT FINE - Percussion Music; Improvised [2 CD set] (Elfin Publications 1/2) Each disc features one complete concert recorded in June of 2004, recorded at the Acadia Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. CD1 features the trio of Milo & Eliot Fine & Davu Seru on assorted percussion like drum set, bowed cymbals, metallophone, brass pipes and other odd percussive objects. Milo Fine has been exploring his own improvised muse since 1969 and has worked with Derek Bailey and Anthony Braxton and many others through the years. Elliot Fine is actually Milo's father and has been playing percussion since 1936, working with Dixieland, big bands, modern jazz to 44+ years with the Minnesota Orchestra. Davu Seru is the youngest, at 27 years and has worked with Jack Wright. The percussion trio is a quiet, more thoughtful unit, using much space and taking their time to unfold and simmer. The title of both discs is "Impressions in Sounds" and the titles are quite appropriate. The sound is often calm, creating textures rather than dealing with too much rhythmic pulse oriented sounds or repeated rhythms, at least not until the second half of the disc, when the excitement and tempo increase.
The solo disc is even better as it shows off the diverse and resourceful spirit of Milo Fine, who has been doing improv for the past 36 years. He is an obvious master and creates ongoing stories, dialogue and drama throughout the entire disc. He often works one idea or section at a time, so that everything flows with a logical thread as it unfolds. Beautifully recorded so that his set is spread out nicely, each drum or piece of percussion can be heard in an exact place in the stereo layout. This was an excellent gig and is perfectly captured here. BLG
2 CD set for $16

RICK HELZER/VINNY GOLIA - Fancy Meeting You Here (Nine Winds 224) Rick Helzer (piano), Vinny Golia (soprillo, sopranino, soprano, tenor & bass saxophones, saxello, & contrabass flute) Review next week.
CD for $14

ALEX CLINE/KAORU/MIYA MASAOKA/G. E. STINSON - Cloud Plate (Cryptogramophone 121) Featuring Alex Cline on percussion, Kaoru on voice, percussion & sound-toys, Miya Masaoka on koto & effects and G.E. Stinson on guitar & implements. Alex is an amazing percussionist and composer who has worked at length with his brother Nels, Vinny Golia and Gregg Bendian's Interzone. His own discs are always well crafted. Review next week.
CD for $16

ALAN PASQUA with DAREK OLES/PETER ERSKINE - My New Old Friend (Cryptogramophone 122) Alan on piano, Darek Oles on bass and Peter Erskine on drums.
CD for $16



WE HAVE LIMITED QUANTITIES OF THESE NEW & OLD TITLES ON 'PARALLACTIC' - First come, first served... WE ARE WORKING ON GETTING MORE PARALLACTIC TITLES BACK IN STOCK, SO STAY TUNED...

ANTHONY BRAXTON/MATTHEW WELCH - 10 [Solo Bagpipe] Compositions 2000 (Parallactic 36)
CD for $15

BRANDON EVANS QUINTET With KEVIN NORTON/JACKSON MOORE/SETH MISTERKA/CHRIS MATTHAY - Live at Obeca Li 1998: Elliptical Axis 7 + Ellipsis 3 (Parallactic 23)
CD for $15

BRANDON EVANS SEXTET/NINETET With ANDRE VIDA/MIKE PRIDE/MATTHEW WELCH/SHANIR BLUMENKRANZ - Live 2002/2003 Bowery Poetry Club (Parallactic 55)
CD for $15

BRANDON EVANS With KEVIN NORTON/TAYLOR BYNUM et al - Ellipsis 1,1.5-2/Recurring Moons (Parallactic 01RE) Revised Reissue of #01 with extra cuts not found on the first edition [which itself has one cut not on this and which we also carry for $10!] Brandon's first release on his own label from '97 finds him leading a quintet with Kevin Norton, Taylor Bynum, Catherine Bent, and Chris Matthay [George Cremaschi makes it a sextet for one cut]
CD for $15

SONNY SIMMONS/BRANDON EVANS INTERNAL RENEGADE SOCIETY With SHANIR BLUMENKRANZ/ANDREW BARKER - NYC 2003 VOL 1: Live at CBGB (Parallactic 61)
CD for $15

SONNY SIMMONS/BRANDON EVANS INTERNAL RENEGADE SOCIETY With SHANIR BLUMENKRANZ/ANDREW BARKER - NYC 2003 VOL 2: Live at the Bowery Poetry Club (Parallactic 62)
CD for $15

SONNY SIMMONS/BRANDON EVANS/ & With BRIAN GLICK/ROSIE SHAKARIAN - Duo 2002/Tales Of The Ancient East: For Ustad Bismillah Khan [2 CDR set] (Parallactic 39 & 40) The first disc [#39] is Sonny and Brandon duets; the second disc [#40] is a quartet with Glick and Shakarian added.
CD for $15



KEIJI HAINO - Uchu ni karami tsuiteiru waga itami (PSF 8020; Japan) Keiji Haino: digital theremin, air synth, air FX. Another step into previously unexplored territory for Haino -- his first ever all-electronic album. Uchu ni karami tsuiteiru waga itami (the title means roughly 'Tangled up in the universe, my pain') sees Haino using a bewildering range of electronic instruments. However, these are not the vintage synthesizers and analogue modules so beloved of some other Japanese electronic units. Rather Haino has chosen instruments whose user interface is close to magical: theremin-like devices such as the air-synth and air-FX, both of which are controlled by hand movements in three dimensions. Recent live shows have seen him hovering and jerking wildly over these devices, like some demented conjuror trying to levitate a table. The results are as purely Haino as everything else he lays his hands to. Sub-atomic particles and dark matter collide endlessly in the black and coiling chaos space of some just-appeared proto-galaxy." -- Alan Cummings.
CD for $20

GO HIRANO - Corridor of Daylights (PSF 157; Japan) Go Hirano: piano, pianica, glockenspiel, accordion, wind chimes, thumb piano, percussion, voice, etc. "It's been a long time coming, but Go Hirano's stunning new album has finally been released. Hirano is known as a sometime White Heaven collaborator, renowned expert on Canadian psychedelia and acid folk, and ultra-sensitive sound artist. His previous two albums on PSF have wound lo-fi wisps of fragile piano melody and bell chime around nagging, sometimes subtly unsettling field recording techniques. Corridor of Daylights resurrects the absolutely exquisite instrumental palette of his second, Reflection of Dreams (PSFD-71). It is a dreamy walk along insubstantial, lysergic paths where all-too breakable souls breathe shallowly and insects hum in sympathetic resonance. An almost flawless album of touching late-night psychedelics." -- Alan Cummings.
CD for $20

KAZUKI TOMOKAWA/PISTOL - Shibuya Apia Live 2003 [DVD] (PSF DV01; Japan) "First ever DVD release on PSF. Eighteen tracks of screaming philosopher-poet Kazuki Tomokawa, recorded at the Apia folk club in Tokyo. Tomokawa has been playing at Apia for over thirty years, and his shows there are legendary for their honesty and human-mystery. This DVD compiles the highlights from four recent gigs, including stunning new tracks used in recent films by cult directors Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer, Visitor Q) and Koji Wakamatsu (Violated Angels, Sex Jack, Endless Waltz). Tomokawa's impassioned acid folk stands as one of the greatest shining black stars in the post-war Japanese underground firmament. Whether suffused with bittersweet joy and lyrical insight, or rank with bitterness and self-directed bile, Tomokawa animates each and every song with an incomparable sense of life that has to be heard to be believed. A truly beautiful thing." -- Alan Cummings. Color, NTSC Region 2, 4:3.
DVD for $26

TOKYO FLASHBACK [V.A.] - Tokyo Flashback 5 (PSF 8020; Japan) "Fresh from the darkest depths of the Tokyo psychedelic underground, another crop of ten of the city's wildest sounds. The fifth volume in the modern psychedelic world's most reliable compilation of out-of-nowhere urban mind liberation. As ever, Tokyo Flashback brings you some old faces alongside the hottest young gunslingers from the wrong side of the Tokyo tracks. Old favourites this time include White Heaven with a vintage track of live acid cool isolationism, Kyoaku no Intention burning down the barn with themselves inside, and Overhang Party ruminating on contemporary world affairs. Most surprising showing is the first track to be released of Keiji Haino's experimental DJ-ing sessions -- full-on and unmistakeable Haino, with little fader action and no scratches. New names to juggle with are the dense and crushing tortured muzz of Aural Fit, hallucinatory analogue noise from the mysterious Kabemimi, dark and melancholic gloom from Suisho no Fune, and the beautiful and fractured late-night textures of Hisato Higuchi. 200% head-spinning action." -- Alan Cummings. Artists: Aural Fit, White Heaven, Kyoaku no Intention, Kabemimi, Suisho no fune, Keiji Haino, Hisato Higuchi, Tsurunoko, Overhang Party, Marble Sheep.
CD for $20

DAVID GRUBBS & NIKOS VELIOTIS - The Harmless Dust (Headz 038; Japan) "Brooklyn-based Grubbs and Athens-based cellist Veliotis took a break amidst their US tour for A Guess at the Riddle to go into John McEntire's Soma Studios and record The Harmless Dust, two duos for piano and cello and for e-bowed piano and Hammond organ. The piece was first performed live in Tokyo in August, and we knew that Headz -- which put on the show -- would be the perfect home for The Harmless Dust. The title comes from a line in the Wingdale Community Singers' song 'Family Plot, Mayfield Kentucky'."
CD for $18

TETUZI AKIYAMA - Route 13 to the Gates of Hell: Live in Tokyo (Headz 043; Japan) "Alongside Otomo Yoshihide, Taku Sugimoto, Toshimaru Nakamura, and Sachiko M, Tetuzi Akiyama is an essential figure in the world of improvised music. Akiyama, also known as 'the Captain' by his colleagues, has been releasing a multitude of solo and collaboration pieces recently, and this new record is an important and not to be missed addition to these releases. Route 13 to the Gates of Hell : Live in Tokyo is a complete document of Akiyama's guitar solo performance at the Uplink Factory on May 7th, 2004. The album is divided into two parts, the first including his performance of his imaginary soundtrack music, while the second is centered around his classic 'Don't Forget to Boogie!'. Both performances are the most melodic and rocking of his pieces to date. The first half of his performance incorporates elements from country and blues, utilizing slide and finger picking techniques. The way in which he changes tunings while he plays subdued and melancholic phrases, resonates with the free-folk movement that is happening worldwide centered around groups such as Charalambides. The latter half of the record is based on Akiyama's renditions of the stunning boogie album Don't Forget To Boogie! released only on vinyl on IDEA Records from Texas. Akiyama endlessly plays the same phrase with a distorted guitar tone, fusing boogie elements with minimal music to create a 'distortion trance sound'. This is the first time both these pieces are being released on CD. Not only the songs themselves, but the album concept, artwork, and song titles are all infused with Akiyama's unique vision, and this album is sure to capture the hearts of listeners even outside of the improvised music scene.
CD for $18

JOHN CAGE - One7 [from One13], One8 (OgreOgress) Fifth and final in a series featuring the complete "number pieces" for strings and percussion, this CD contains the world premiere of John Cage's One7 [from One13] and is first to include the complete final works for cello!
CD for $16

ELIO MARTUSCIELLO - Unoccupied Areas (ReR EM1) "This is a quiet masterpiece. Five tightly focused electro-acoustic compositions that are austere, rich, strange and brilliantly executed. Elio has an ear like a bat and a serious antipathy toward clichØ, and he never relies on repetition for structure; these pieces seem rather to grow out of themselves in surprising but somehow logical ways like perfect exotic blooms. His is also a music of extremes, never theoretical but always grounded in the grain of the sounds themselves. Working with sounds taken directly from the world - in 'A@travero', the electronic world: disembodied voices from answering machines, radio, Television, CDs, cinema and the internet; in 'Proiezioni', the cinematic world of machines: cameras, projectors, empty film spools, and so on for each piece which starts with the collection of similarly connected materials. The final track, a homage to Pierre Schaeffer, draws directly on Schaeffer's own captured recordings, taking, as concrete music does, already cooked materials as just another kind of raw ingredient. The sources may be quotidian, but they are not mundane. And they have been refined and polished and stretched and squashed and buffed and etherised to the point where they are like polished steel, reflecting something in a distorted plane, resembling something as a Brancusi might, but unfamiliar, transfigured."
CD for $14

TOD DOCKSTADER - Aerial Volume 1 (Sub Rosa 223; Belgium) This release is the first (Vol. 1) in a 3 part series. Vol.2 and Vol.3 will be released separately and packaged in individual standard jewel cases that will conveniently fit into the slipcase provided with Vol.1. "I've written before of my interest in shortwave radio, in the notes to the Quatermass CD. Also, in the notes to the Omniphony CD (which has my first 'Aerial' mix, 'Past Prelude,' in it), I mentioned 'The Aerial Etudes,' which was my working title for what became the three CDs you have. And, at the end of an interview with Chris Cutler (which can be found in the 'Unofficial TD Website'), the piece I mentioned I was starting to work on at the time became Aerial.) When I was very young, people got most of their entertainment from radio. They called it 'playing the radio,' as if it were a musical instrument. That's what I've tried to do in this piece. About this time, a few people encouraged me to look into using a computer for this work. I'd never used one, but I saw it would allow me to keep my mixes digital -- no more transfer losses. So, at the end of 2001, I got a computer and an editing program for it, and spent what seemed a long time learning it. I began selecting mixes and loading them into the computer in late March, 2002. Out of the 580, I selected 90 'best' mixes -- eventually reduced to 59, the ones on the CDs. Finally, in assembling the CDs, I followed David Myers' suggestion to allow each piece to flow into the next -- making a continuous journey to the end Tod Dockstader, 14 September 2003."
CD for $15

TIBETAN BUDDHIST RITES [V.A.] - From The Monasteries Of Bhutan [2 CD set] (Sub Rosa 222; Belgium) "Recorded by John Levy, a London ethnomusicologist, in 1971, more than 140 minutes of some of the most powerful music ever recorded on earth. John Levy, an Englishman in Bhutan early seventies: Released by Lyrichord in mid-70', all the people who have listen to these vinyls know that it doesn't exist something more powerful, more prodigious and pure than them. John Levy was a London ethnomusicologist who took refuge in tibetan buddhism. So he had all the possibilities to record -- with his nagra-stereo -- all the rituals (even the most sacred). We can say that what is discovered here is unique and far beyond all what was done after that. All the material is fully remastered and we propose the Levy's collection divided into two discs of ritual and chanting (SR222 / rel date Jan 28, 2005) and one of instrumentals and folk music (SR230). The great power of the rituals of the Drupka and Nyingmapa Order: On the first volume, a double CD with extended notes, Rituals of the Drupka Order, the primary instrument is the long golden trumpet, along with various drums and percussion and a deep droning bass. Rather than soothingly meditative, the music can be a bit dissonant to Western ears. Chanted and played by 76 Lamas and Monks with long trumpets, shawms, cymbals, drums and other Tibetan instruments in sacred temples. Invited by the king of Bhutan, Levy was afforded every facility for recording monastic music in the principal dzongs (great fort-like monasteries) of the Nyingmapa Order. The ethereal Polytonal throat chanting, the long trumpets, shawms and percussion instruments, the processional music and spectacular mask dances, Tibetan and Bhutanese secular songs and poems, All reproduced with incredibly sonic fidelity! A truly remarkable collection, with extensive liner notes, photographs, and musical illustrations by John Levy."
2 CD set for $17




For Those of You That Dig Mind-Blowing Divas like Diamanda Galas, Sussan Deyhim, Shelley Hirsch & Julie Tippetts, Let Us Introduce to the Amazing Voice(s) of Fatima Miranda!

FATIMA MIRANDA - ArteSonado [CD sized 134 page book & CD] (El Europeo Musica 19/Spain) Fatima Miranda is an extraordinary vocalist who has long followed her own muse. She is a founding member of Taller de Musica Mundana and the Flatus Vocis Trio, which is dedicated phonetic poetry. She's been doing research on the voice and vocal music from around the world since 1983. She has studied Mongol harmonic singing, northern Indian classical music and bel canto with various professors. She's collaborated with Robert Ashley, Jean-Claude Eloy, Stefano Scodanibbio and Jon Rose. During the 90's, she has created three concert performances for solo voice(s), "Las Voces de la Voz" (1991), "Concierto en Canto" (1995) and her latest, "ArteSonado" (2000), each found on a separate CD.
'ArteSonado' is an impressive little (CD sized) book, which is filled with interviews in Spanish, observations, many pictures of Ms. Miranda performing this piece, select words in hand-written type deconstructed, the music written out and other artwork. There is a small accompanying booklet written in English with an essay about Fatima and a discussion of this music. All of the vocal sounds are made by Ms. Miranda, with no electronic manipulation. Fatima has created a sublime, floating background chorus on which she places her lead voice. "Diapasion" opens with some enchanting Indian-like vocals, the background voices hovering in the distance with a somber drone, so soothing. "Desasosiego" is a hoot, a silly operatic lead voice over a chorus of strange, yet fun-filled vocal sounds (without words). Fatima does an amazing job of layering various lines of different vocal sounds and textures, some coy and child-like, some bizarre, some sound like electronic effects, but none of employ electronics; bird calls, the voice of whales and other animal-like sounds are just some of the things we can compare this to. Nothing here is very extreme, so that everything remains charming and most often fascinating. It is hard to believe that all of these sounds were created by one person's voice, but that is just the case. This is, no doubt, this week's undiscovered treasure. - BLG
Plus we have two more hard to get recordings by her following!
Thick CD-sized book with a CD inserted in the back cover for $20

FATIMA MIRANDA - La Voces De La Voz (Unio/Spain)
CD for $16

FATIMA MIRANDA - Concierto En Canto (Unio/Spain)
CD for $16


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THE SILKHEART CATALOG has been tough to get - and actually thought out-of-business - since they lost U.S. distribution. We've managed to not only get stocks of some of the more interesting back-catalog, but also, the just released SIRONE/BANG/GAYLE/SOREY QUARTET above!

THE BACK CATALOG IS...

AALY TRIO [MATS GUSTAFSSON/PETER JANSON/KJELL NORDESON] + KEN VANDERMARK - Hidden in the Stomach (Silkheart 149; Sweden) Recorded in an excellent Stockholm studio during December 1996, AALY TRIO + KEN VANDERMARK features Mats Gustafsson and Ken Vandermark on reeds, together with bassist Peter Janson and drummer Kjell Nordeson. AALY TRIO has been in existence for a number of years, consistently playing exciting music. This is their debut on disc and it is quite a major event, particularly since they are joined by another significant contributor to new jazz improvisation in the shape of Ken Vandermark. The music played by the quartet is free improvisation but their control is no empathic and cohesive that the music almost sounds arranged. Extraordinary.
CD for $19

AHMED ABDULLAH QUARTET With CHARLES BRACKEEN/MALACHI FAVORS/ALVIN FIELDER - Liquid Magic (Silkheart 104; Sweden) Trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah sprays around dissonant solos and spearheads an often frenzied set that was his second release for Silkheart. The lineup was exceptional, notably the powerful tenor saxophonist David S. Ware, dynamic bassist Fred Hopkins, and underrated drummer Charles Moffett. ~ Ron Wynn, AMG
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AHMED ABDULLAH AND THE SOLOMONIC QUINTET With CHARLES MOFFETT/DAVID S WARE/FRED HOPKINS/MASUHJAA - Solomonic Quintet Featuring Charles Moffett (Silkheart 109; Sweden) Ex-Sun Ra trumpeter/flugelhornist Abdullah expresses his brand of jazz in a modern way with mainstream swing and progressive overtones. Tenor saxophonist Charles Brackeen, bassist Malachi Favors and drummer Alvin Fielder are all fine improvisors and jazz professionals. Brackeen's salty dry Texas tenor blue hues mix and match especially well with Abdullah's sound, which ranges from burnished Dizzy Gillespie phrases to Don Cherry's smearing techniques. In fact Abdullah is as close to Cherry's style and stance as anyone, and that's a good thing. The leader has chosen three of his own compositions to showcase. "Ebony Queen" has a stair step/up and down line with ostinato bass, very Ornette-ish, with Brackeen's wayward tenor and Abdullah occasionally spurting shrill vocal elephantine shrieks amongst most melodic passages, a challenging approach. A goodly swing leads to Fielder's Ed Blackwell like solo. The trumpet/bass title track, depicted as Abdullah responding to an dancer (repped by Favors, ) leads into "The Ruler," a soulful waltz with contrapuntal horns, bass solo plopped in between. Abdullah plays piano for "Reflections On A Mystic," with Favors always hopeful bass leading to a ballad/dirge, to upper register tenor, muted trumpet, arco bass, then mute out and tenor lower pitched. There is a alternate take of "Ebony Queen" and a seperate take of "The Ruler" with quite different solo construct. Sun Ra's hard bopper "Mystery Of Two" is urgent and tonic, a cut anybody can dig, while "Walk With God," actually written by a Dr. Kola, a New York state prisoner, is a zen blues walk. Miram Makeba's "Mayibue," arranged by Abdullah, evokes all the air of a South African township party, with beautiful tenor harmony and Abdullah's breezy flugelhorn. When Abdullah records, albeit infrequently, the consistency of his musicianship is ever present and accounted for, as on this delightful recording. Highly recommended. ~ Michael G. Nastos, AMG
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BOB ACKERMAN TRIO With WILBER MORRIS/DENIS CHARLES - Old & New Magic (Silkheart 138; Sweden) When we got together at his home in Irvington, Bob Ackerman eventually asked me if I could suggest some suitable musicians for a group he'd like to put together. I thought for a while and told him I couldn't imagine anyone better to begin with than Wilber Morris, and he lived just a few blocks away. I called Wilber and he came over to visit us, with his bass. He was pretty weary after a day of rehearsals, but Wilber and Bob got along famously. They rapidly became firm friends and were soon musical buddies.
It wasn't long before the need for a drummer was brought up, but that was a relatively easy matter because Wilber and Dennis Charles are a bass and drums team of long standing. I like Dennis's drumming enormously and love him as a person. Wilber felt fine about the idea and he also knew how to find Dennis. Bob booked a studio and asked me if I would produce the session. This was during a January 1993 recording tour that I was handling for Silkheart Records. Bob and I had known each other for quite some years and were both happy to have a chance to spend some time together during the period when I was recording in New Jersey. He showed me his instruments and told me what was special about each of them, playing some phrases to demonstrate. Playing instruments to show off their special characteristics for his customers is pretty much Bob's life nowadays, in his work as The Mouthpiece Doctor. As a result, Bob Ackerman spends a good four or five hours a day playing his horns. That's quite apart from the gigs he plays and the rehearsals he participates in. The significance of all this is that Bob has a superb technique and can apply it flexibly to just about any of his saxophones, clarinets, or flutes, and he's also a pretty handy pianist despite his claims to the contrary. I came across Bob Ackerman and his wife, Pam Purvis, in connection with the activities of trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez in Dallas, Texas. As one of a series of articles for Jazz Forum magazine, I wrote about Gonzalez shortly before Silkheart recorded his quartet in 1986 ("Stefan", Silkheart 101), so I knew a good deal about the Dallas improvised music scene of the period. In hindsight it seems inevitable that Bob, Pam and I should have met up together.
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THOMAS BORGMANN/WILBER MORRIS/DENIS CHARLES TRIO - The Last Concert: Dankeschon (Silkheart 151; Sweden) German born saxophonist Thomas Borgmann was the last of a long line of hornmen to perform to the accompaniment of the famous rhythm team of Wilber Morris and Denis Charles. Earlier hornmen fired and inspired by Wilber and Denis have included David Murray, Charles Tyler, Claude Lawrence, Booker T. Williams, Bob Ackerman and Marco Eneidi. The Borgman/Morris/Charles Trio appeared at the Jazz auf Reisen Festival in Weiden in der Oberpfalz, Germany on March 6th, 1998, and this became the very final date for Denis Charles who died very shortly thereafter. The CD is released in memory of Denis Charles, who played fabulously well on this, his final engagement.
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CHARLES BRACKEEN QUARTET With DENNIS GONZALEZ/MALACHI FAVORS/ALVIN FIELDER - Bannar (Silkheart 105; Sweden) An adventurous saxophonist, Charles Brackeen has been greatly underrecorded throughout his career. He cut an obscure disc for Strata-East in 1968 and was featured on a couple of Paul Motian ECM discs, but did not have another opportunity to lead his own sessions until he cut three records for Silkheart in 1987; fortunately all have been reissued on CD. On his Silkheart debut, Brackeen teams up with trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez, bassist Malachi Favors and drummer Alvin Fielder for the unusual "Three Monks Suite" (an 8-minute episodic work that was completely written out and has the tenorman switching to soprano), along with four passionate originals. Intriguing and often intense music that effectively uses simple folk melodies as vehicles for improvising. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG
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CHARLES BRACKEEN QUARTET With OLU DARA/FRED HOPKINS/ANDREW CYRILLE - Attainment (Silkheart 110; Sweden) Tenor saxophonist Charles Brackeen is in ways a throwback to the 1960s. He sometimes builds off of childlike folk themes (like Albert Ayler), and Ornette Coleman's method of constantly improvising new melodies is also an influence. However, Brackeen's intense sound has a soul of its own, and his playing on the four lengthy originals (with strong contributions by bassist Fred Hopkins, drumer Andrew Cyrille and the underrated cornetist Olu Dara) is quite original. Intense yet fulfilling music which was recorded the same day as its companion album, Worshippers Come Nigh. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
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CHARLES BRACKEEN QUARTET With OLU DARA/FRED HOPKINS/ANDREW CYRILLE - Worshippers Come Nigh (Silkheart 111; Sweden) Tenorman Charles Brackeen's third of three Silkheart CDs (recorded at the same session as Attainment) matches his powerful playing with cornetist Olu Dara, bassist Fred Hopkins, and drummer Andrew Cyrille. All of the Silkheart sets are worth picking up, but this one (due to its extra intensity and the five particularly strong Brackeen originals) gets a slight edge. Brackeen's passionate playing shows that free jazz was still very much alive (if underground) in the 1980s. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG
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ROB BROWN TRIO With WILLIAM PARKER/DENIS CHARLES - Breath Rhyme (Silkheart 122; Sweden) Rob Brown is a fiery free jazz alto saxophonist whose playing is full of passion. This trio date with bassist William Parker and drummer Dennis Charles is a throwback in ways to the intense projects recorded by the ESP label in the 1960s, but it is also more modern, looking towards Cecil Taylor. Brown performs eight of his originals (ranging in time from 4:47 to 11:33) and, despite some mood variations, the music is mostly quite intense. A high-quality avant-garde blowing session. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG
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ROY CAMPBELL PYRAMID TRIO With WILLIAM PARKER/REGGIE NICHOLSON - Communion (Silkheart 139; Sweden) In the music of Don Cherry, Campbell found an enchanting realisation of his understanding of a jazz legacy imbued with the folk traditions of world music. Campbell first heard Cherry on Ornette Coleman's landmark recordings for Atlantic, including The Shape of Things To Come and Free Jazz. Cherry's departure from Coleman to record on his own showed a music that embraced a respect for other cultures. From Cherry's Relativity Suite, to Organic Music Society (Caprice) and Eternal Now (Sonet/Antilles), Campbell gleaned a liking for odd instruments, infectious folk melodies and polyrhythms and pentatonic scales.
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DENIS CHARLES TRIANGLE With BOOKER T/WILBER MORRIS - Queen Mary (Silkheart 121; Sweden)
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ETHNIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE [KAHIL EL'ZABAR/JOSEPH BOWIE/EDWARD WILKERSON] - Ancestral Song (Silkheart 108; Sweden)
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ETHNIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE [KAHIL EL'ZABAR/JOSEPH BOWIE/EDWARD WILKERSON] - 21st Century Union March (Silkheart 142; Sweden) Recorded in Chicago -- the original home turf for all three of these cats -- the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble's 21st Century Union March furthers their reputation, after the Art Ensemble of Chicago, as hauling together the many different aspects of African and African American music, both traditional and popular, and bringing them together in a way that is truly edifying to the listener. Drummer/percussionist Kahil El'Zabar, saxophonist Ed Wilkerson, and trombonist Joe Bowie have created an infectious, utterly intoxicating brew of African folk songs (complete with ritual instruments), rhythm marches, R&B honking, bop caesuras, and blues stomping that is inseparable from tradition yet extends its relevancy into a new era. Often these music forms -- in fact almost always -- are combined within the same tune. So on "Crumb Puck Let You Slide," the slippery blues and R&B feel is entwined with a New Orleans-style march, a modal folk song sensibility, and a series of funk backbeats to make something otherworldly slither up the street and bend corners with the fellas. Joe Bowie's trombone solo is lean, manly, and muscular. At times he feels almost like a drummer playing accents on his own lines, dovetailing El'Zabar's drums. Elsewhere on "Burundi" the sound of night and the country comes through on Wilkerson's high-register solo in counterpoint to El'Zabar's shifting polyrhythms as Bowie lends percussive support. Here too, though, one can hear Johnny Hodges and Coleman Hawkins singing sweetly in the foreground through an Eastern mode. On "Dear Albert," the band plays a march with triple-timed hand-drum percussion. And given that its inspiration is Ayler, this couldn't be a more fitting tribute, as a South African folk song is layered with free jazz in a way that is intimate and universally communicative. It has the same heart and repetitive melodic style of an Ayler composition, one that attempts to create a universality in both rhythm and tone; when the vocal chants come in and Wilkerson starts to play a mournful blues on his horn, the picture is complete. The EHE have exceeded their expectations this time and have given us a memorable recording. Why didn't Delmark release this in the States? ~ Thom Jurek, AMG
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ETHNIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE [KAHIL EL'ZABAR/JOSEPH BOWIE/ERNEST DAWKINS/HAROLD MURRAY] - Ka-Real (Silkheart 150; Sweden) Recorded nine months after Ernest Dawkins replaced Edward Wilkerson as featured reed artist, this session was recorded in fine sound at Delmark Studio in Chicago. The sound of the group has changed and developed somewhat, but the Ethnics still produce their own special kind of excitement when they perform. Previous Ethnic Heritage Ensemble CDs were Silkheart 108 and 142, this latest addition continues a worthy tradition.
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CHARLES GAYLE TRIO With SIRONE/DAVE PLEASANT - Homeless (Silkheart 116; Sweden) In April 1988, tenor saxophonist Charles Gayle made his recording debut with three CDs for the Silkheart label. His gut-wrenching sound explorations were an extension on Albert Ayler, but in his own powerful voice. While each of the six songs on this disc (five originals and the traditional "Lift Every Voice") have themes, most of the music is taken up by very passionate group improvising. Bassist Sirone and drummer Dave Pleasant support Gayle well, with the tenor being in the forefront most of the time. Powerful music. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG
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CHARLES GAYLE TRIO With SIRONE/DAVE PLEASANT - Spirits Before (Silkheart 117; Sweden) From the same sessions that resulted in Homeless, the free jazz tenor saxophonist Charles Gayle pushes himself and his listeners on this rather intense set. With support by bassist Sirone and drummer Dave Pleasant, Gayle is unremittingly passionate on seven of his originals, including the lengthy "Spirits Before." The themes are discarded quickly, with the music focusing on group interaction, often violent screaming tenor, and fire. Depending on how open one's ears are, the results are either revelatory or unlistenable! However, one cannot doubt Gayle's sincerity, musicianship, and courage. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG
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CHARLES GAYLE QUARTET With WILLIAM PARKER/VATTEL CHERRY/MICHAEL WIMBERLY - Vol 1: Translations (Silkheart 134; Sweden) Five years after his recording debut, tenor saxophonist Charles Gayle sounds as intense and passionate as ever on this set of five lengthy sound explorations. In addition to tenor, Gayle also plays a bit of bass clarinet and viola. Both William Parker and Vattel Cherry are on basses (with Parker also heard on cello and violin), while drummer Michael Wimberly keeps up with the other players. At least volume-wise, the strings add a little variety to this quite free-form and explorative music. While not for everyone, those listeners who enjoy the ESP free jazz jams of the 1960s and the more violent sets of John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and Albert Ayler will find this music quite stimulating. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG
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CHARLES GAYLE QUARTET With WILLIAM PARKER/VATTEL CHERRY/MICHAEL WIMBERLY - Vol 2: Raining Fire (Silkheart 137; Sweden) The companion CD to Vol. 1: Translations, this explosive set has tenor saxophonist Charles Gayle also heard a bit on bass clarinet (for "Blood's Finality") and viola, while joined by bassists William Parker (also playing cello and violin) and Vattel Cherry plus drummer Michael Wimberly. These sessions were considered so successful that this quartet became Gayle's regular group for a time. The music is unremittingly intense with Gayle screaming a lot in spots, although the sections with strings are at a quieter volume. Charles Gayle's mostly free-form music is certainly not for everyone, but fans of his passionate explorations will want all of his chance-taking and very heartfelt efforts. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG
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CHARLES GAYLE QUARTET With JOHN TCHICAI/SIRONE/REGGIE NICHOLSON - Always Born (Silkheart 115; Sweden) On this recording, the explosive Charles Gayle trades saxophone lines with John Tchicai, who typically plays with a thinner sound in a more restrained style. On paper, it's an odd pairing, but the two musicians settle their differences nicely, with Tchicai playing more aggressively than usual and Gayle often toning things down a bit. Still, despite the presence of plenty of more tentative tracks like the opening title cut, there are flashes of the Albert Ayler-style blasting for which Gayle would later become known. For example, Gayle and Tchicai tear at each other throughout the raucous, 13-minute "Solid Clouds," with Reggie Nicholson's free-rock drumming egging them on. Nicholson and bassist and former Cecil Taylor sideman Sirone are superb throughout Always Born, and they get a chance to shine on their duet, "Coming Together," in which Sirone plays twisting, high-register harmonics on his bass that sound a bit like Gayle's squealing saxophone. Always Born is more restrained than much of Gayle's later work, but his interaction with Tchicai and the fine playing from Sirone and Nicholson are not to be missed. ~ Charlie Wilmoth, AMG
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HEINZ GEISSER/GUERINO MAZZOLA DUO - Someday (Silkheart 154; Sweden) "Someday" by percussionist Heinz Geisser and pianist Guerino Mazzola is a companion album to "Folia/The UNAM Concert" by the same duo. These recordings were made at the Someday Club in Tokyo and at Sala Carlos Chavez in Mexico City during their autumn 2000 tour of Korea, Japan and Mexico. It is by comparing the "Someday" performances with each other, and with those on "Folia", that the extraordinary beauty of the duo's extemporising becomes clear. This is music of great sensitivity and shared, instinctively attuned responsiveness, with details rich in information and highly nuanced. Only the third CD by the duo from its remarkable ten years of existence, "Someday" is a tremendous listening experience. One to be savoured.
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DENNIS GONZALEZ NEW DALLAS QUARTET With JOHN PURCELL/MALACHI FAVORS et al - Stefan (Silkheart 101; Sweden) Texas-based trumpeter Dennis Gonzalez has a reputation as an avant-garde player, and his label, Silkheart, certainly caters to that end of the spectrum, but Stefan, a 1986 quartet date, is an accessible, even homey, affair. The title track, dedicated to his then newborn son, begins with a celestial, churchy air before emerging as a folksy, country dance, John Purcell's bouncy bass clarinet leading a chorus of off-the-cuff vocal interjections from the group and finally ending as a somber military hymn. Purcell, a veteran of countless bands (notably Muhal Richard Abrams and David Murray) is deft and solid throughout, providing sumptuous flute work on the edgily skittish "Hymn for Don Cherry." Gonzalez' breadth of interests is hinted at by his unearthing of "Boi Fuba," an utterly charming Brazilian cowboy song. The closing "Deacon John Ray" is a sunny strut by Purcell, showcasing the funkier side of the band and some in the pocket playing by bassist Henry Franklin. Stefan is arguably one of Gonzalez' best efforts, and is decidedly one of the better entryways into his unique world. Recommended. ~ Brian Olewnick, AMG
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DENNIS GONZALEZ NEW DALLAS QUARTET With AHMED ABDULLAH/CHARLES BRACKEEN/MALACHI FAVORS et al - Namesake (Silkheart 106; Sweden) Dennis Gonzalez is much more than a talented multi-instrumentalist, composer, conductor, and arranger. He is the acknowledged leader of the surprisingly healthy new-music scene in Texas and a growing force on the world music scene that recognizes no borders. His activist approach to the music has carried his career far from his base deep in the heart of Texas. He leads a new music workshop orchestra in Yugoslavia, performs in England, Sweden, and assorted other European countries, and is constantly widening his circle of activities. Gonzalez's recordings, both on Silkheart (Dennis Gonzalez New Dallas Quartet SHCD-101) and on his own DAAGNIM label, have aurally documented his open attitude to making music. This album demonstrates that his substantial skills as a communicator, coordinator and catalyst for experimental musical activities are as important as his other talents. Gonzalez, tapping his experience as a teacher, was able to clearly articulate and share his musical vision with the other participants of the recording in a way that is unfortunately rare in the studio. The result, full of musical passion and percussion, is a coherent and cohesive statement from the mind of Gonzalez, expanded and embellished by the ensemble into a universal musical anthem.
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DENNIS GONZALEZ NEW DALLASORLEANSSIPPI With CHARLES BRACKEEN/KIDD JORDAN/MALACHI FAVORS/MARLON JORDAN et al - Debenge-Debenge (Silkheart 112; Sweden) Dennis Gonzalez trumpet, C trumpet, pocket trumpet; Marlon Jordan trumpet; Charles Brackeen tenor sax; "Kidd" Jordan sopranino, alto sax, bass clarinet; Malachi Favors bass; Henry Franklin bass; Alvin Fielder drums; W.A. Richardson drums
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DENNIS GONZALEZ NEW DALLASANGELES With CHARLES BRACKEEN - The Desert Wind (Silkheart 124; Sweden) Dennis Gonzalez conductor, Bb trumpet, C trumpet, pocket trumpet; Charles Brackeen soprano sax, tenor sax; Michael Session soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax; Kim Corbet trombone; Michael Kruge cello; Henry Franklin bass; Alvin Fielder drums
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WILLIAM HOOKER/BILLY BANG DUO - Joy (Within)! (Silkheart 147; Sweden) This CD comprises live recordings of sessions by this exciting duo, from both the 1994 and 1995 "What Is Jazz Festival(s)?" at the Knitting Factory in New York City. The ambience is consistently supportive and the duo improvisations by drummer William Hooker and violinist Billy Bang are of a uniformly high order. Here is a rare opportunity to share in the excitement of two superlative artists performing in a splendid, well recorded setting.
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KIDD JORDAN QUARTET With JOEL FUTTERMAN/WILLIAM PARKER/ALVIN FIELDER - New Orleans Festival Suite (Silkheart 152; Sweden) This live recording was made in May 1999 at the Dream Palace in New Orleans during the annual jazz festival. The session was improvisationally interactive to an explosive degree, even for these four musicians, and the recording had become legendary a while before it was released. 'Kidd' Jordan is from New Orleans and that is where he's mostly played, but lately he's been in demand in New York and Chicago, and Europe too. Pianist Joel Futterman is a Chicagoan now based in Virginia and before he became a cohort of 'Kidd' Jordan he was a cohort of the late Jimmy Lyons. Alvin Fielder held the drum chair for the Roscoe Mitchell Sextet album, 'Sound' (Delmark DECD-408) when, in 1966, it signalled the appearance of new jazz activity in Chicago. He's been on innumerable sessions since, including a number for Silkheart Records. Bassist William Parker is just about the most central, and creative, figure on the New York new jazz scene and has been for twenty years or thereabouts. The quartet's 'New Orleans Festival Suite' confirms what may or may not be common knowledge, namely that the 'Kidd' Jordan Quartet is not only the senior improvising jazz group on the scene but also the hottest and the most excitingly evocative.
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STEVE LACY SEXTET - The Gleam (Silkheart 102; Sweden) This Silkheart release has one of the finest all-around recordings by Steve Lacy's Sextet. The leader, a longtime master of the soprano sax, is joined by the underrated altoist Steve Potts (who doubles on soprano), pianist Bobby Few, bassist Jean-Jacques Avenel, drummer Oliver Johnson and Irene Aebi on vocals and violin. Aebi's singing, which is always an acquired taste, is as accessible as it ever was on the joyful "Gay Paree Bop"; all five compositions are Lacy originals. Overall, this set gives listeners a particularly strong example of the work of the innovative Steve Lacy Sextet. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG
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STEVE LACY QUARTET With CHARLES TYLER/JEAN-JACQUES AVENEL/OLIVER JOHNSON - One Fell Swoop (Silkheart 103; Sweden) For this date, the thoughtful but adventurous soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy meets up with the fiery baritonist Charles Tyler in a quartet also including bassist J.J. Avenel and drummer Oliver Johnson. Together, they perform three of Lacy's tricky but logical scalar originals, Tyler's "The Adventures Of" and Thelonious Monk's "Friday the 13th." In addition, Tyler (switching to alto) has a fine trio feature with Avenel and Johnson on "Ode to Lady Day." The inside/outside music rewards repeated listenings, and the Lacy/Tyler matchup, helped by their contrasting but complementary styles, works quite well. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG
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STEVE LACY - 5 x Monk, 5 x Lacy (Silkheart 144; Sweden) Steve Lacy's evocative program of solo soprano saxophone expositions was recorded live at the Stockholm Kulturhuset in March 1994, during the improvisation festival, "I Oronblicket". It was clearly an extraordinary performance at the time and this is abundantly confirmed by the CD of the appearance. The front cover of the CD features a pen and ink illustration of Steve Lacy made in the early sixties in Rome by the late black American artist, Bob Thompson.
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OTHER DIMENSIONS IN MUSIC [DANIEL CARTER/WILLIAM PARKER/ROY CAMPBELL/RASHID BAKR] - Other Dimensions in Music (Silkheart 120; Sweden) Despite their involvement with the downtown New York avant-jazz crowd, multi-reedist Daniel Carter, trumpeter Roy Campbell, and bassist William Parker probably play in a pensive, straightforward manner just as often as they play free. For examples, look no further than the loose, driving grooves on such high-profile releases as Campbell's It's Krunch Time and Parker's Painter's Spring. Other Dimensions in Music's self-titled release also finds these three players, along with drummer Rashid Bakr, improvising in a relaxed, rather conventional manner. Most of Bakr's playing stays in a consistent tempo, while Parker plucks away in a style that's not far from bop. Above them, Carter and Campbell circle around each other with lines that, while not exactly straightforward, aren't cacophonous either. The only major exception here is "Sidu Chant for Sly Stone," which features pounding, tom-heavy drumming and wild vocalizations. Listeners hoping to hear dense, visceral playing should avoid Other Dimensions in Music, but it won't disappoint listeners interested in these players' lighter sides. ~ Charlie Wilmoth, AMG
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MATTHEW SHIPP QUARTET With ROB BROWN/WILLIAM PARKER/WHIT DICKEY - Points (Silkheart 129; Sweden) Though he had recorded a couple of duo albums with altoist Rob Brown before this, Points was the first disc to be released under pianist Matthew Shipp's name. At this stage of his career, Shipp was drawing many comparisons to Cecil Taylor and, in a sense, it's easy to see why: not so much in his actual piano playing, but very much so in his group conception. The lengthy opening and closing compositions, for instance, sound strikingly similar to some of Taylor's mid-'60s work with Sunny Murray and Jimmy Lyons both in their loose spatial feel and in Brown's plaintive, Lyons-esque phrasing. "Afro Sonic" plies a different path, Shipp's insistent piano recalling the minimalism of Steve Reich, of all things, with bassist William Parker launching some furious arco scrabbling over the top while Brown and Whit Dickey scurry along the sidelines. With "Piano Pyramid," a hornless trio, listeners are back in Taylor territory again, specifically Taylor around Unit Structures (1966), and here one can pick up a lot more overt presence in Shipp's actual playing.... interesting to realize that just as the ghost of Miles Davis' early-'60s recordings hung over the work of Wynton Marsalis and other "Young Lions," so did the work of free jazz pioneers like Taylor and Albert Ayler overwhelm many of the younger musicians currently working... ~ Brian Olewnick, AMG
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BOOKER T. TRIO With SAHEB SARBIB/ANDREW CYRILLE - Go Tell It on the Mountain (Silkheart 114; Sweden)
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ASSIF TSAHAR TRIO With WILLIAM PARKER/SUSIE IBARRA - Ain Sof (Silkheart 148; Sweden) The Assif Tsahar Trio caused a stir in downtown New York music circles in the late '90s, as well as at one or other summer jazz festival, as for example the one held in central Massachusets - at Amhurst - on July 27th, 1996. "The afternoon segment ended with a trio led by young tenor player Assif Tsahar. Joined by bassist William Parker and drummer Susie Ibarra, the three delivered a set of graceful muscularity. Tsahar is clearly influenced by players like David Ware and Charles Gayle, his full throaty tenor spilling out roiling waves and driving torrents. He is clearly developing his own voice on the horn, combining an energetic exhuberance and full command of the extended vocabulary of overblowing and harmonics with a sense of vocalized phrasing and open dynamics. The combination of Parker and Ibarra was simply breathtaking. Parker has established himself as the pre-eminent bassist of Free Jazz. Building upon his tenure with Cecil Taylor, he has a potent command of shaping group interactions, slipping effortlessly between scorching arco and pummelling plucked lines. Having spent time studying with Milford Graves, Ibarra is quickly becoming a drummer of choice, working in ensembles such as those led by both Parker and David Ware. She masterfully drove the pulse of the music with circling free rhythms of forceful economy, using a small selection of bells, shakers and gongs to extend the melodic range of her spare tuned kit. Her playing infused the trio with the controlled free flow of Tai Chi, combining stabbing rolls, explosive tattoos, and sizzling cymbals. The set ranged from searing sections, where Parker's blistering arco combined with Tsahar's searing tenor with stunning intensity, to quietly simmering free ballads." Michael Rosenstein (Cadence, September 1996, page 84).
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DAVID S. WARE TRIO With WILLIAM PARKER/MARC EDWARDS - Passage to Music (Silkheart 113; Sweden) A fiery avant-garde tenor saxophonist, David Ware had recorded two early sets for Hat Hut and Palm during 1977-78; a decade later he had his third opportunity to lead a record session. Joined by bassist William Parker and drummer Marc Edwards, Ware performs five of his free jazz originals, mostly on tenor but also playing one song apiece on saxello and stritch. Not for the weak-of-heart, David Ware's searching improvisations reward repeated listenings by open-eared listeners. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG
CD $19

DAVID S. WARE QUARTET With MATT SHIPP/WILLIAM PARKER/MARC EDWARDS - Great Bliss Vol. 1 (Silkheart 127; Sweden) Since this is pianist Matthew Shipp's first session with David S. Ware (and only his second recording date ever), it's safe to say Great Bliss, Volume 1 is the launching pad for the quartet that helped make the tenor saxophonist's name and reputation. Conceived from the start as a two-CD project, it finds the leader intent on establishing his multi-instrumentalist credentials with three tracks featuring him on saxello, two on flute, one on stritch, and just two on his main axe. "Forward Motion" exerts an inexorable force with Shipp's block chord undercurrent, a compelling opening flute solo from Ware, and drummer Marc Edwards' textural chimes. (His bells, chimes, and cymbals are extremely well-recorded, a good thing since he doesn't play much straight drum kit here). "Angular" is another title to take literally, a feature for the duck quack timbre of Ware's saxello, with the melody a collection of fragmented motifs leading to brief solos. But "Bliss Theme" sounds downright mainstream in a vaguely Atlantic- era John Coltrane way, with Ware getting big, mellifluous tones in his tenor's lower register -- a great choice to trip someone up in a blindfold test, because it just doesn't square with Ware's avant-garde reputation in most circles. The self-descriptive "Cadenza" is all about flurries, with the stritch's more reedy, Middle Eastern tone before Ware switches to saxello over tympani on "Sound Bound," with Shipp and Parker taking serious solos over Edwards' changing percussion colors. The closing "Thirds" is full-bore quartet, with Ware on tenor and Shipp both sallying above the protean rumble -- the latter's directness and economy comes through very strongly. But "Thirds" is preceded by a recited poem with flute ("Mind Time"), and saxello solo ("Saxelloscape One"), and that really tells the story of Great Bliss, Volume 1. It's all too much about fragments and individual displays of versatility -- it's weird these pieces came first, because all the tangents and experiments are here at the expense of the core, of the central foundation of Ware's music. You can read about his vision of that in the excellent liner notes here, but Great Bliss, Volume Two is better if you actually want to hear it. ~ Don Snowden, AMG
CD $19

DAVID S. WARE QUARTET With MATT SHIPP/WILLIAM PARKER/MARC EDWARDS - Great Bliss Vol. 2 (Silkheart 128; Sweden) Great Bliss was always brainstormed as a two-CD project and the second installment of the maiden voyage by Ware's quartet again finds the leader spreading his playing among four instruments. Tenor sax takes the most outings (three) this time, but more importantly, the music has the organic feel of being centered in a group sound, rather than of fragments arbitrarily touching down a la Volume One. The solo "Saxelloscape Two" throws this difference into sharp relief -- the extended flurries here feel like a strategically inserted side-trip to the fringes of the group sound. Gongs kick off the opening "One Two Three," with an atmospheric, mysterious spare opening with Shipp's sinister piano line under Ware's stritch, and builds steadily to a climax. "Emptiness" is a brief flute feature with band backing, while "Primary Piece III" sports a balladic intro before a screaming explosion, one minute in, that moves on to a demented march motif before turning peaceful to launch an extended Shipp solo. By "The Child Without--The Child Within," Marc Edwards has really worn out the chimes' welcome, but Ware's ruminative flute plays effectively with silence and space against Parker's bowed bass. The racehorse "Stritchland" takes off running, with Ware playing the reedy instrument like his tenor, Shipp dropping crystalline pearl notes a bit like Cecil Taylor, but with a lighter tone, and Edwards in full push mode underneath. "Low Strata" starts with a down-slidin' tenor melody that triggers a series of more abstract interactions that change up quite organically. "Reign Of Peace" again features his tenor delving deeply into the spirit force before Shipp and Parker take it outside without taking it abrasively. If you can only have just one, Great Bliss, Volume Two is definitely the pick for painting a much better picture of David S. Ware's quartet as a cohesive musical entity. The liner notes (again) are informative and extensive, but the interview excerpts here feature the other three musicians far more than the leader. So information junkies who want the full story on how Ware and Shipp (for example, since it's just Shipp's second session, ever) view music at this early career point, will have to wait. ~ Don Snowden, AMG
CD $19

DAVID S. WARE QUARTET With MATT SHIPP/WILLIAM PARKER/MARC EDWARDS - Oblations and Blessings (Silkheart 145; Sweden) This session, recorded in a superb midtown studio in New York during September 1995, shows the David S. Ware Quartet at the height of its powers. This is one of the foremost groups playing today and their performance here is captured by engineer Nick Prout with extraordinary clarity. The development of David S. Ware's music is one of the more significant histories in today's jazz and earlier examples from the Silkheart catalogue are 113, 127, and 128.
CD $19





HISTORIC RECORDINGS, RESTOCKS and REISSUES :


SUN RA - Sleeping Beauty (Art Yard 003; UK) By the late 1970s the Saturn record label had become a musical newspaper, keeping the world abreast of the latest developments in the Sun Ra story, for those people lucky or persistent enough to find the few outlets where the albums were appearing. Sun Ra was releasing more records on his own label than ever before - at least six Saturn LPs document his activities in 1979 alone. This however, is the first reissue of any 1979 Saturn album, and will be widely welcomed - Sleeping Beauty instantly became one of Sun Ra's best loved records, and remains so to this day. At this period, compared to previous years, Saturn records tended to document more of Sun Ra's current work rather than older tapes. This was certainly true of one particular group of four albums released simultaneously into Saturn Records' distribution channels within a year of being recorded: 'God Is More Than Love Can Ever Be', 'Omniverse' and 'On Jupiter', and 'Sleeping Beauty'. These all represented facets of Ra's work during 1979, and between them include everything from piano trio compositions to conducted improvisations to disco music. Sleeping Beauty features the funkier end of the Sun Ra spectrum. It is a studio recording featuring at least twenty-eight musicians, an enlarged version of the Arkestra which had just crossed the Atlantic to play the 1979 Moers festival. The line up includes both acoustic and electric bass players, and electric guitarists, and the reed and brass sections are both augmented beyond the core members of the Arkestra." - Chris Trent
Limited Edition LP for $25 (never issued on CD)


ROBERT FRIPP & BRIAN ENO - The Equatorial Stars (DGM/Inner Knot 550) NEW LOWER PRICE - SAVE $4!!! 32 years after their vanguard album, 'No Pussyfooting', Robert Fripp & Brian Eno came together in 2004 to compose and perform seven new soundscapes on 'The Equatorial Stars'. Produced by Brian Eno, this album, whose textures and atmospheres form the heart of each track, subtly changing, allowing space for Fripp's guitar solos and sounds to emerge from the center, gives Fripp & Eno the opportunity to redefine an area of music they helped launch into the mainstream in the first place - over 30 years ago!
CD for $14


BIOTA/MNEMONISTS - Musique Actuelle 1990 (Anomalous 25) Biota was founded in 1979 in Fort Collins, Colorado, as the Mnemonist Orchestra. Over the years, the Mnemonist Orchestra developed into Biota (the musical contingent) and Mnemonists (the visual contingent). Both Biota and Mnemonists work as one on productions of musical and visual components. The group has released nine LPs, one EP, and four CDs on both their own Dys label and Recommended Records UK. Heard on this CD is the first adaption of their studio-based recording techniques since 1981, as presented at Montreal Musiques Actuelles -- New Music America 1990. For their live performance they composed a set of material specifically for the concert and virtually relocated their studio to the stage to properly recreate it. Nine musicians playing only acoustic instruments (aside from electric guitar) were heard natural and unamplified from the stage while extensive electronic processing, heard through the speakers, rendered radical tonal, timbral and temporal modification creating an incredibly unique and strange sound world. Added to this, the two-dimensional graphic work that Mnenomists have become so renowned for was transformed into stunning video projections - beautiful examples of which are now included in the full color booklet accompanying this CD. - Steve Feigenbaum. Yours truly was present at this truly historic event and was under the influence of some exotic psychedelic substance, making this experience even more mind-blowing and completely unforgettable. - BLG CD for $14 (Anomalous titles seem to be in available sporadically, so if this interests you, please order soon)


WHA HA HA - Getahaitekonakucha (Columbia 53310; Japan) Musicians: Akira Sakata, Mishio Ogawa, Shuichi Chino, Shigetoku Kamiya, Shuichi Murakami, Kiyohiko Semba, Tamio Kawabata. 2nd album, also from 1981, as originally issued by Columbia Japan.
CD for $20

WHA HA HA - Shinutokiwa Betsu (Columbia 53309; Japan) Originally released in 1981. Musicians: Shigetoku Kamiya, Shuichi Chino, Mishio Ogawa, Akira Sakata, Shuichi 'Ponta' Murakami (drums), Takafumi Fuse (computer sound performance), Kiyohiko Semba (percussions). "First CD reissues of 2 (out of 3 overall) albums by this pioneering Japanese fusion/dub group, Wha-Ha-Ha, from the early 80s. ReR issued a compilation in 1982 that is largely responsible for generating world-awareness of this group, who were difficult to pin down in their post-RIO experimental output. Shinutokiwa Betsu is their first album from 1981, originally issued by Columbia Japan." ReR's description as follows: "The master Japanese group whose music never appeared in the occident. This group were a revelation: daring dub mixes, sudden changes, humour, virtuosic playing; extreme; very musical and pretty eccentric. Not to be missed."
CD for $20


CHRIS JONAS - Ensembles Unsynchronized (Newsonic 18) Featuring Chris Jonas on soprano & tenor saxes, James Fei on soprano & alto saxes, Cuong Vu on trumpet, Joe Fiedler on trombone and Kevin Norton on drums. This was released in 1999 and has since disappeared when the Newsonic label came to an end. Chris has since moved to New Mexico. When he was local player, he worked with Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, Little Huey Orchestra & Butch Morris and has four discs as a leader. 'Ensembles Unsynchronized' was recorded live at Wesleyan University in December of '98, when Chris was studying with Mr. Braxton. The music is broken into five main sections: "Opening", two "Transitions", "Middle", "Snake Tectonics" and "Ending". It consists of a series of solos, duets and a long quintet suite. The music has a serious Braxtonian vibe and is very carefully composed, closer to modern classical than modern jazz. Chris composing for two sopranos, trombone & marimba is particularly strong, cautious, angular lines intersect and provide terse harmonies. Strangely scientific music for stimulating listening. - BLG
CD for $12 (we just found a few of these gems, they won't last)





THE ENJA [WEBER GERMAN SERIES] LABEL. As many of you likely know, there are TWO ENJA SERIES, both ultimately originating from Germany; what is commonly referred to as ENJA/WEBER are those titles only available currently [or ever] as German imports.
Below are the hard-to-get imports we've managed to get our hands on, some of which are part of our '7 for 6' CD SALE program along with some out-of-print U.S. titles we've managed to get directly from the artists involved...There are no back-orders for these titles, as we have no clue whether we will get them again or not.


KENNY BARRON With DAVE HOLLAND/DANIEL HUMAIR - Scratch (enja 4092; Germany)
CD $16

KARL BERGER With DAVE HOLLAND/ED BLACKWELL - Crystal Fire (Enja 7029; Germany) 1991 trio recording
CD $16

KARL BERGER With PETER KOWALD - We Are You (Enja 6060; Germany) 1971 quartet recording: Karl Berger, Peter Kowald, Ingried Berger, Allen Blairman
CD for $14 7 for 6 SALE.

ARTHUR BLYTHE With HAMIET BLUIETT/DON MOYE - Hipmotism (enja 6088; Germany)
CD $16

MICHAEL BOCIAN With DEWEY REDMAN - Reverence (enja 8096; Germany)
CD $16

MICHAEL BOCIAN With DEWEY REDMAN - Premonition: Solo Debut For Nylon String Guitar (enja 9118; Germany)
CD $16

DOLLAR BRAND [ABDULLAH IBRAHIM] - African Space Program (Enja 2032; Germany) Great title and powerful all-star session from 1973 featuring Sonny Fortune, Carlos Ward, Roland Alexander, John Stubberfield & Hamiet Bluiett on saxes, Cecil Bridgewater, Enrico Rava & Charles Sullivan on trumpets, Kiani Zawadi on trombone, Cecil McBee on bass, Roy Brooks on drums & Dollar Brand on piano & compositions.
CD $16

DOLLAR BRAND [ABDULLAH IBRAHIM] - No Fear No Die (Tip Toe/Enja 88815; Germany)
CD $16

DOLLAR BRAND [ABDULLAH IBRAHIM] - Mantra Mode (Tip Toe/Enja 88810; Germany)
CD $16

DOLLAR BRAND [ABDULLAH IBRAHIM] - Knysna Blue (Tip Toe/Enja 88816; Germany)
CD $16

DOLLAR BRAND [ABDULLAH IBRAHIM] - African Suite (Tip Toe/Enja 88832; Germany)
CD $16

DOLLAR BRAND [ABDULLAH IBRAHIM] - Banyana (Enja 2070; Germany)
CD $16

DOLLAR BRAND [ABDULLAH IBRAHIM] - Tears And Laughter (Enja 3039; Germany)
CD $16

DOLLAR BRAND [ABDULLAH IBRAHIM] - Zimbabwe (Enja 4056; Germany) This was a nicely blended, somewhat mellow and seemingly quite finished recording by Abdullah Ibrahim with Carlos Ward (alto sax, flute), Essiet Okun Essiet (bass), and Don Mumford (drums) called Zimbabwe. Interspaced with non-originals were four Ibrahim compositions, most of which were inspired by the imagery from Ibrahim's South African roots. -- Bob Rusch, Cadence
CD $16

VINCENT COURTOIS With NOEL AKCHOTE/MICHEL GODARD/YVES ROBERTS - Translucide (Enja 9380; Germany) Lucilla Galeazzi, vocals; Vincent Courtois, cello; Michel Godard, tuba, serpent.
A challenging effort by the French cellist that testifies to his growing interest in free improvisation. The date is comprised of unaccompanied solos and duets with three of the most active and creative French musicians. It opens with a couple of difficult and abrasive pieces that only represent one side of a multifaceted talent that also thrives on melodiousness and playfulness. This versatility allows the longest solo pieces to have enough staying power to maintain the listener's attention throughout. These pieces are also ideal to appreciate the cellist's extended technique and to enjoy the many moods he sets applying the full range of his instrument. At times, his original pizzicato evokes the guitar or the harp with beautiful results. The duets offer various formats. Guitarist Noel Akchote provides a throbbing background for Courtois to improvise upon, resorting for the most part to electronic special effects. With tuba player Michel Godard those roles are reversed, as on the aptly titled and facetious "Vol d'elephant, Pt. 2." Finally, the cellist engages in real dialogue with the ever-resourceful Yves Robert, whose masterful trombone is once again a delight from start to end. Their enthralling conversation on "Que Reste-t-il de Nos Yorks?" is full of twists and turns, not to mention humor." - Alain Drouot/All Music Guide
CD $16

ERIC DOLPHY - Berlin Concerts (Enja 3007; Germany) Originally a 2 LP set, all 73 minutes are included on this CD edition, which features the great multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy mostly stretching out on standards, coming up with very original statements on such songs as "Hot House," "When Lights Are Low," "Hi Fly," "I'll Remember April" and "God Bless the Child" (the latter taken as an unaccompanied bass clarinet solo), in addition to two brief originals. With trumpeter Benny Bailey helping out on half of the selections along with a strong rhythm section - Jamil Nasser or George Joyner on bass, Pepsi Auer on piano, and Earl "Buster" Smith on drums - this is a perfect introduction for listeners not familiar with Eric Dolphy's innovative style - Scott Yanow, AMG
CD $14.00 7 for 6 SALE.

MARC DUCRET/BOBBY PREVITE - In The Grass (Enja; Germany) w/ Ducret on guitars and Previte on drums and keyboards!
CD $16

MARTY EHRLICH With URI CAINE/MICHAEL FORMANEK/BILLY DRUMMOND - Song (Enja 9396; Germany)
CD $16

MARTY EHRLICH With STAN STRICKLAND/MICHAEL FORMANEK/BOBBY PREVITE - Can You Hear A Motion (Enja 8052; Germany) Featuring Bobby Previte on drums, Michael Formanek on double bass, Stan Strickland and Marty on reeds. This is Marty's long-term Travelers Tales Quartet and each and every release they do is special!
CD $16

MARTY EHRLICH - The Long View (Enja 9452; Germany) With Mark Feldman, Bobby Previte, Pheeroan AkLaff, Ray Anderson, Wayne Horvitz, Erik Friedlander, Mark Helias, Marcus Rojas, Ned Rothenberg, Mark Dresser, Andy Laster, Michael Sarin, James Zollar, J D Parran, Eddie Bobe, Ralph Farris, Eddie Allen, Sam Furnace, John Clark, Clark Gayton, and Robert DeBellis. Whew! This brand-new, currently import-only item features a long-form, six movement suite inspired by and in collaboration with six paintings done in conjunction with these musics by Oliver Jackson, a charter member of B.A.G. (Black Artists Group, whose members included Julius Hemphill), one of which is included in the foldout booklet. This is an amazing work of strength, maturity, and sublime arrangement from reedman/flautist Marty (we don't expect less!); one can easily place it in stature alongside classic jazz composer orchestra recordings (like the JCOA albums of the '70s) but it is quite contemporary, very fresh and up to the moment! Each movement is played by variations in line-ups of the all-star assemblage. It may be released here sometime next year, but it might not - one never knows. So don't find yourselves waiting months till we manage to get more (like Feldman's Book Of Tells, also on German Enja), grab it now!
CD $16

MARTY EHRLICH/MICHAEL FORMANEK/PETER ERSKINE - Relativity (enja; Germany) great trio date!
CD $16

JAMES EMERY SEPTET With MARTY EHRLICH/MARK FELDMAN/CHRIS SPEED/MICHAEL FORMANEK/GERRY HEMINGWAY/KEVIN NORTON - Spectral Domains (Enja) This one features Emery on acoustic guitar only, w/ Marty Ehrlich & Chris Speed on reeds, Mark Feldman on violin, Michael Formanek on bass and Gerry Hemingway & Kevin Norton on drums & percussion! James Emery's 1999 album, Spectral Domains, features more of his state-of-the-art chamber jazz. Emery's skillful, poetic jazz guitar is augmented by violin, sax, vibes, percussion, bass and clarinet, for a sound that is intricately composed but allows for lyrical improvisations. Spectral Domains reaffirms Emery's reputation as a distinctive, eclectic performer [both in his own work and co-leader of the venerable String Trio of New York] - Heather Phares, AMG
CD $15

JAMES EMERY With MARTY EHRLICH/MICHAEL FORMANEK/GERRY HEMINGWAY - Standing On A Whale...Fishing For Minnows (Enja) "Acoustic guitarist James Emery is a remarkable technician who possesses an identifiable sound and style, which is glowingly evident on this super fine release, Standing on a Whale Fishing for Minnows. Besides the somewhat paradoxical albeit amusing connotations of the album title, this recording stands as one of the top modern jazz-based releases of 1997, as Emery aligns himself with a superstar aggregation of talent, featuring drummer/percussionist Gerry Hemingway, woodwind specialist Marty Ehrlich, and bassist Michael Formanek. On pieces such as "New Water," the guitarist and Ehrlich, here performing on clarinet, interlace whimsical unison lines with bending themes atop craftily implemented rhythmic diversions, enhanced by Emery's lightning fast single note leads and altogether comprehensive knowledge of the jazz vernacular. The ten-minute multi-part opus, "Cobalt Blue," is brimming with hybrid classical/jazz overtures, augmented by Ehrlich's undulating lines and Emery's rhythmically executed chord progressions. Here, the leader directs the band through an amalgamation of enchanting peaks, valleys, and spiraling paths as the musicians produce a spirited feast for the aural senses, counterbalanced by quaint motifs and stunning improvisational dialogue. Highlights abound throughout, as the musicians also engage in slightly off kilter blues-based workouts, while Hemingway also utilizes and overlays marimbas and vibes where the band explores Caribbean themes in conjunction with the ensemble's acute sense of the dynamic. However, the beauty lies within the artist's prolific sonic landscapes and the ensemble's cunning ability to integrate disparate elements into a repertoire and presentation that sustains long term interest, as every track offers a novel glimpse of James Emery's exquisitely articulated visualizations. Highly recommended! - Glenn Astarita, AMG
CD $15

HAMPTON HAWES - Live At The Jazz Showcase Vol II (Enja 6028; Germany)
CD $16

MARK HELIAS With TIM BERNE/HERB ROBERTSON - The Current Set (Enja; Germany) Great Recording! Mark Helias w/ Tim Berne, Herb Robertson, Nana Vasconcelos, Greg Osby, Robin Eubanks, and Greg Osby
CD $13.00 7 for 6 SALE.

MARK HELIAS With MARTY EHRLICH/HERB ROBERTSON - Desert Blue (Enja; Germany) Excellent endeavor from the wonderful contrabassist and composer Mark Helias and featuring Pheeroan Ak Laff, Ray Anderson, Anthony Davis, Marty Ehrlich, Jerome Harris & Herb Robertson.
CD $13.00 7 for 6 SALE.

MARK HELIAS With MICHAEL MOORE/HERB ROBERTSON - Attack the Future (Enja; Germany) Feat: Michael Moore, Herb Robertson, David Lopato & Tom Rainey! Another winner - from 1992!
CD $13.00 7 for 6 SALE.

ABDULLAH IBRAHIM [DOLLAR BRAND] & EKAYA - African River (Enja 6018; Germany) CD $16

ELVIN JONES - Youngblood (Enja 7051; Germany)
CD $16

ELVIN JONES - Live At The Village Vanguard (Enja 2036; Germany) In what was probably the first recording by drummer Elvin Jones' working group (and one of his first after the death of John Coltrane), the focus is very much on tenor saxophonist George Coleman. The trio (which also includes bassist Wilbur Little) stretches out on Coleman's "By George," "Laura" and "You Don't Know What Love Is" and is joined by trumpeter Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson for a 15-minute version of "Mr. Jones." The music is very much in the late-'50s/early-'60s modal vein of Coltrane, and although only the length of an LP (just a touch over 40 minutes), the playing on this CD reissue is excellent and reasonably exploratory. -- Scott Yanow, AMG
CD $16

PRINCE LASHA - Inside Story (Enja 9131; Germany) Recorded in 1965 but rarely available domestically, this obscure set features flutist Prince Lasha in prime form. Assisted by pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Jimmy Lovelace, Lasha performs 7 to 9 minute versions of five of his originals. The inside/outside music has its free moments and solidifies the leader's position as one of the best flutists in the avant-garde movement of the period; he also contributes some credible alto. -- Scott Yanow, AMG
CD $16

ABBEY LINCOLN - Sings Billie Holiday [vol 1] (Enja 6012; Germany)
CD $16

JOE LOVANO With ED BLACKWELL/ANTHONY COX - Sounds Of Joy (Enja 7013; Germany) 1991 Trio date!
CD $16

ALBERT MANGELSDORFF QUARTET - Diggin': Live at DUG Tokyo (Enja 2006; Germany) The master of multiphonics (playing more than one note at a time on a horn), Albert Mangelsdorff has been a giant of the European avant-garde for the past 30 years. He originally studied violin and worked as a jazz guitarist before taking up the trombone in 1948. Here he is taped live at a concert in Tokyo with what was then his regular quartet: Heinz Sauer on sax, Gunter Lenz on bass, and Ralf Hubner on drums. There's a very nice blend between the leader's agile but smooth horn and the somewhat more gnarly tenor sax of Sauer, who tosses in rhythm and blues licks in much the manner of Archie Shepp. The rhythm section provides an open, loose, and flowing feel to the four extended pieces. Most of the second side is given over to "Mahusale," a piece improvised spontaneously by the members of the group and an excellent example of this kind of musical activity. -- Eugene Chadbourne for AMG
CD $14.00 7 for 6 SALE.

ALBERT MANGELSDORFF/LEE KONITZ - Art Of The Duo (Enja 5059; Germany) No one has worked harder to elevate the art of the jazz duo than Lee Konitz. His 1967 session, The Lee Konitz Duets, was a seminal statement. This much-later duet session from '83 with trombone master Albert Mangelsdorff ...[is a statement of a completely different kind]. Konitz has long espoused the belief that horn players can swing without a rhythm section, yet much of the time Mangelsdorff insists on serving as a faux bass -- really, tuba -- player. And when he uses his patented technique of singing into his horn while creating chords, he functions as a very simple guitar player. That said, anything with these two masters on it has its pleasures. Konitz creates tasty lines with souffle-like lightness, and when Mangelsdorff breaks free he provides some gruff, complementary solos. His use of mute on "Creole Love Call" offers a break from the session's monochromaticism. Konitz also brings some fetching originals to the session, notably "A Minor Blues in F" and "Cher Ami," which feature the kind of freewheeling counterpoint that would have been welcomed throughout the '67 Lee Konitz Duets. -- David Dupont, AMG
CD $14.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CHARLES MINGUS QUINTET With ERIC DOLPHY - Mingus In Europe Vol 1 (Enja 3049; Germany) This CD features the Charles Mingus Quintet during their European tour on April 26th,1964 at the Wuppertal Town Hall. Bassist Mingus, Eric Dolphy (on alto, bass clarinet and flute), tenorman Clifford Jordan, pianist Jaki Byard and drummer Dannie Richmond stretch out on a 37-minute version of "Fables of Faubus" and a 22 minute version of "Meditations", while the 7 minute "Starting" is a rare Mingus-Dolphy duet. Although this music could be called avant-garde, don't mistake it for "free" -there is nothing random about the notes picked or the many emotions expressed! -- Scott Yanow
CD $16

DAVID MURRAY/ DAVE BURRELL/ WILBER MORRIS/ VICTOR LEWIS - Lucky Four (Tutu/Enja 888108; Germany) 'Lucky Four' is a smooth and luscious quartet date with Murray in the company of longtime associate Dave Burrell, bassist Wilber Morris, and drummer Victor Lewis. With the exception of a short piece by his manager Kunle Mwanga, all of the pieces are by either Burrell or Morris, and most of them are gems. Sinuous and bluesy, with a rich interplay of rhythms and melodies, they are the ideal platform for a soloist like Murray: grounded enough to keep him from straying too far but deep enough for him to find plenty of goodies to unearth. Morris' "Chazz," dedicated to Charles Mingus, recalls the master with accuracy and affection, giving Murray a shot to wield his bass clarinet in homage to Dolphy and allowing the composer his own heartfelt homage. The highlight of the session is Burrell's wonderful composition, "Abel's Blissed Out Blues," a piece Murray would record often and an extremely infectious number. It begins with a moody, slow section and launches into an exuberant two-step that catapults Murray skyward with the rhythm section rocking away beneath. Two songs are given the repeat treatment, and they're enjoyable enough to make the exercise worthwhile. The late '80s produced some of Murray's strongest work in the quartet format, and Lucky Four fits in quite comfortably. Recommended. -- Brian Olewnick, AMG
CD $14.00 7 for 6 SALE.

SUNNY MURRAY - 13 Steps On Glass (Enja 8094; Germany) Tenor saxophonist Odean Pope and bassist Wayne Dockery join Murray on this 1996 studio date!
CD $16

NEW YORK JAZZ QUARTET [FRANK WESS/ROLAND HANNA/GEORGE MRAZ/RICHARD PRATT] - Surge (Enja 2094; Germany)
CD $16

JIM PEPPER - The Path (Enja 5087; Germany) The late great saxist Pepper, with a group featuring Kirk Lightsey, John Betsch, Santi Debriano, Stanton Davis, Jr., Arto Tuncboyaciyan, and Caren Knight. recorded 1988
CD $16

[MARVIN HANNIBAL PETERSON] HANNIBAL - The Angels of Atlanta (Enja 3085; Germany) Although the Harlem Boys Choir is occasionally utilized, and Pat Peterson takes a soulful vocal on "The Inner Voice," this CD is very much trumpeter Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson's date. The explorative trumpeter is heard at his absolute peak, taking lengthy and fiery improvisations that show off not only his virtuosity but his emotional range. The superlative band (tenor saxophonist George Adams, pianist Kenny Barron, cellist Diedre Murray, bassist Cecil McBee, and drummer Dannie Richmond) really inspires Peterson, who stretches the boundaries of his music toward gospel and soul without watering down the jazz content. This well-balanced set is one of Hannibal's finest recordings. -- Scott Yanow, AMG
CD $16

BOBBY PREVITE'S LATIN FOR TRAVELLERS - My Man In Sydney (Enja; USA) w/ Jerome Harris, Marc Ducret, Jamie Saft
CD $16

DEWEY REDMAN - Choices (Enja 7073; Germany) This is a curious set for saxophonist Dewey Redman, featuring a killer band that includes bassist Cameron Brown, drummer Leon Parker, and the first appearance of his son, Joshua, on tenor in duet on a couple of tracks. Redman himself is in fine form, playing with all of the deep, steamy lyricism he showcased so brilliantly with Ornette Coleman and in Old and New Dreams, but there is something else too, as evidenced by the track selection, and that is a new reverence for the tradition. Redman was always a melodic player, even in his most fiery avant encounters, but his love for jazz tradition, particularly its formalist considerations, was never really apparent until now. Here Redman selects the nugget "Everything Happens to Me" as the place to showcase his reverential balladic style. Over the course of ten minutes, he allows the hidden blues in the tune to come out and haunt him as he explores each nuance with minimal accompaniment. Also, the Van Heusen nugget "Imagination" is read here with such eloquence, grace, and heartbreaking sensitivity that it's almost a blues. The melodic invention Redman displays here makes this version a contender for being the definitive one. The Eastern edge is here in "O'Besso," with Joshua playing tenor and Dewey playing musette. It begins as a modal Eastern theme onto which the changes are gradually built. The melody seeps out, almost unexpectedly, and becomes a flower of interwoven harmonic figures traded between father and son. There's also plenty of the traditional Redman fire in place too, such as on "Le Clit," the original that was supposed to be recorded for the 1980/1981 sessions he did with Pat Metheny. Whether it was or not is anybody's guess, but it has never surfaced if it was. Here Dewey and Joshua, on alto and tenor, respectively, trade eights in the bridge between their solos and come to grips with a monster of their own creation -- deeply lyric, yes, but also fathomlessly dark and brooding. Finally, Redman's "For Mo" features both men on tenor and it's more of a dovetailing ride than a battle, which is as it should be. The singing goes deep here and Parker and Brown push the pair into corners of rhythmic invention that demand resolution. This is a wonderful and unexpected surprise from Dewey and a welcome entrance onto the scene from Joshua. -- Thom Jurek, AMG
CD $16

MAX ROACH - Long As You're Living (Enja 4074; Germany) The most obscure group that drummer Max Roach led actually recorded four albums in 1960; a quintet with tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine (then a complete unknown), his brother Tommy on trumpet, trombonist Julian Priester and bassist Bobby Boswell. Strange that this Enja release is the only one of their recordings thus far to appear on CD. Although the playing of The Turrentines is not at the same innovative level as Roach's prior group with Booker Little and George Coleman, they come up with consistently fresh statements during the well-rounded set and the tenorman was already instantly recognizable. Highlights include a couple of Roach drum features, two Kenny Dorham compositions ("Lotus Blossom," "The Villa") and "Night in Tunisia." -- Scott Yanow, AMG
CD $14.00 7 for 6 SALE.

MICHELLE ROSEWOMAN - Quintessence (Enja 5039; Germany)
CD $16

MICHELLE ROSEWOMAN - Harvest (Enja 7069; Germany)
CD $16

ALEXANDER VON SCHLIPPENBACH With SUNNY MURRAY/INO NOBUYOSHI - Light Blue: Schlippenback Plays Monk (Enja 9104; Germany) Alex von Schlippenbach studied classical composition with Bernd Alois Zimmermann at the Hochschule Kln, at the same time he started working as a jazz pianist with Gunter Hampel and Manfred Schoof. In 1966 he established the "Globe Unity Orchestra" certainly one of the most influencial and successful European jazz groups. With Globe Unity, Schlippenbach has been invited to perform all over the world and achieved numerous awards for his work as pianist, composer and bandleader. Alexander von Schlippenbach always shared great admiration for Thelonious Monk. Having collected every piece of music that Monk had ever written, Schlippenbach now presents his favourite tunes with the fascinating rhythm section of the great drummer Sunny Murray and bassist Ino Nobuyoshi!
CD $16

JOHN SCOFIELD - Rough House (Enja 3033; Germany)
CD $16

JOHN SCOFIELD - Live (Enja 3013; Germany)
CD $16

ARCHIE SHEPP TRIO With CAMERON BROWN/BEAVER HARRIS - Steam (Enja 2076; Germany)
CD $16

ARCHIE SHEPP & RICHARD DAVIS - Body & Soul (Enja 7007; Germany)
CD $16

AKI TAKASE/DAVID MURRAY - Blue Monk (Enja 7039; Germany) Great sax/piano duets of of Monk tunes! JAZZ LIFE: One of the 10 best jazz productions in '93!
CD $16

AKI TAKASE/RUDI MAHALL - Duet For Eric Dolphy (Enja 9109; Germany) Pianist Takase and bass clarinetist Mahall come together to perform 10 compositions by Dolphy and 4 originals!
CD $16

AKI TAKASE/SUNNY MURRAY/REGGIE WORKMAN - Clapping Music (Enja 8090; Germany) Pianist Takase, bassist Workman and drummer Murray unite to perform compositions by Monk and Mingus on this 1993 recording!
CD $16

AKI TAKASE/ FRED FRITH/ RUDI MAHALL/ NILS WOGRAM/ PAUL LOVENS - St. Louis Blues (Enja 9130; Germany) This incredible line-up [Aki Takase piano, Rudi Mahall bass clarinet, Fred Frith guitar, Nils Wogram trombone, and Paul Lovens on drums] came together to record the music of W C Handy, as well as originals in the vein by Takase, Mahall, and Wogram!
CD $16

MAL WALDRON - Black Glory (Enja 2004; Germany) This CD reissues one of the first Enja recordings, a trio outing for pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Jimmy Woode and drummer Pierre Favre. Waldron has continued to evolve through the decades while keeping his basic sound. A master at using repetition and brooding chords, Waldron is in excellent form on five of his originals plus Woode's brief "M.C," playing with a knowledge of the avant-garde but still connected to the hard bop tradition. -- Scott Yanow, AMG
CD $16

NILS WOGRAM QUARTET With SIMON NABATOV - Round Trip (Enja 9037; Germany)
CD $16




FAIRPORT CONVENTION - Fairport Unconventional [4 CD box set] (Free Reed 35) This lavish boxed set is the major folk-rock release for 2002- a definitive 35th Birthday tribute and career retrospective of the founders of Folk-Rock- Fairport Convention! A four CD Boxed set, comprising four themed CD's, 180 page book, definitive Pete Frame 'Family Tree,' a Cropredy souvenir booklet, and 72 digitally re-mastered tracks 95% unavailable and delivering over 5 hours of Fairport's finest music. This is the first in-depth anthology of Fairport Convention's music and 35-year career, from their earliest demo tape to their last CD. Music from every Fairport line-up- including those never released. Legendary 'lost' recordings: Babbacombe Lee TV special, 1st performance of Sailor's Life, the Manor Sessions, etc. Outtakes and alternate takes from all key albums Music selected from over 1500 tracks, from hundreds of rare and unreleased sources. The set includes over 5 hours of music, almost every track a rarity! Of the sets 72 tracks: almost all are deleted or impossible to find, even via collectors tapes and fan bootlegs; 69 tracks are available on CD for the first time. The full extent of Fairport's 35-year career is covered.
4 CD box-set for $55

FAIRPORT CONVENTION - Fairport Convention's Cropredy Capers - 25 Years Of The Festival [4 CD box set] (Free Reed 25) This is the Cropredy box-set fans have always wanted - it's both a perfect souvenir and a fitting celebration of the world's greatest folk rock festival; - and IF 2004's Cropredy Festival turns out to be the very last 'Cropredy-as-we-know-it' , this lavish set will prove the perfect commemoration of this unique era of English musical history. This mighty set, jointly produced by Free Reed and Woodworm, contains four full-length themed CDs with booklets 136-page full-colour book (loads of rare pics from Fairport & fans) - the first full history of the festival's first quarter century, tracklists and in-depth interviews 'Walk Awhile' - a 48-page village guide to Cropredy a 'cut-out and build' model of the Festival the 1st 2,000 serially-numbered sets are all signed by the band! The music - 80% unreleased - is taken from Dave Pegg's archive of digital masters recorded at each & every festival: selections still being finalised - but here's a taste of what to expect! - you can click on individual CD titles for track details information.
4 CD box-set for $55

MARTIN CARTHY - Carthy Chronicles, The - A Journey Through The Folk Revival [4 CD box set] (Free Reed 60) Packed with previously unreleased gems, the first in-depth celebration of Britain's major folk/folk-rock artist Martin Carthy is a luxury long-format Box-set (inc 96-page book, photo-archive, poster, CD-ROM etc). There are four themed and individually-cased CDs showcasing all aspects of his career - as a great soloist; as band-member (with Steeleye Span, Albion Band, Watersons and other key bands); as contemporary singer; and as champion of British traditional songs. With five hours+ of music, a joyful celebration of the 40-year career of 'The Prince of Folk'. The full extent of Martin Carthy's career is covered and the set includes: o Songs from all the bands he has worked with: Thamesiders, Three City Four, Steeleye Span, Albion Band, Watersons, Band of Hope, Blue Murder, Waterson:Carthy o Collaborations with a virtual who's who of folk and folk-rock including Richard Thompson, Eliza Carthy, John Kirkpatrick, Ashley Hutchings, Les Barker, June Tabor, Dave Swarbrick (of course), Leon Rosselson, Bert Jansch , and more. Of the set's 83 tracks: 17 are deleted or impossible-to-find ; 25 are previously unreleased recordings, of which 11 songs have never before been available on recordings by Martin
4 CD box-set for $55




ITEMS NEW TO OUR SHELVES FROM 'ECLECTIC', the great UK indie art-rock reissue label overseen in part by Mark Powell (the guy responsible for the superbly done and sounding new master transfers and packaging of Caravan's earliest albums on Verve/MGM and Decca/Deram in 2001/2)...


CARAVAN - The Album (Eclectic 1011; UK) This Remastered 1980 album is with two previously unreleased bonus tracks, and with new artwork. Featuring Pye Hastings, Richard Coughlan , Geoff Richardson, Dave Sinclair, with Dek Messecar playing bass. Track listing: Corner of me eye, Watcha gonna tell me, Bright shiny day, Piano player, Keepin' up the fences, Golden mile, Heartbreaker, Clear blue sky Bonus Tracks: Heartbreaker (single edit), It's never too late (B-side)
CD $17.00 STOCK

CARAVAN [PYE HASTINGS/RICHARD SINCLAIR/DAVE SINCLAIR/RICHARD COUGHLAN/MEL COLLINS] - Back To Front (Eclectic 1010; UK) This remastered 1982 album is with new artwork. Featuring the original line-up of Pye Hastings, Richard Coughlan, Dave Sinclair and Richard Sinclair, with Mel Collins featured on saxophone. Track listing: Back to Herne Bay front, Bet you wanna take it all/Hold on hold on, A.A. Man, Videos of Hollywood, Sally don't change it, All aboard, Taken my breath away, Proper job/Back to front
CD $17.00 STOCK

EAST OF EDEN - Graffito (Eclectic 1020; UK) March 2005 sees the release of the new album from 70's luminaries 'East Of Eden'. After a gap of more than a quarter of a century, the three founding members saxophonist Ron Caines, Violinist Dave Arbus, and guitarist Geoff Nicholson, and featuring guest musicians, Roger Harding playing double bass, Joe Ospalla on drums, and Frank Dymore on congas.Since reuniting in the 1990's they have concentrated on playing mainly jazz based instrumental material.The first two albums are now available from Eclectic Discs. 'Mercator Projected' ECLCD1012 & 'Snafu' ECLCD1013, and both feature previously unreleased material.
CD $17.00 AVAILABLE

NEKTAR - Evolution (Eclectic/Dream Nebula 1205; UK) Nektar have recorded an album of new material [2004] called "Evolution" and this will be the first time in over twenty years that Roye Albrighton, Ron Howden and Taff Freeman will have recorded new material together, with new member Randy Dembo playing bass guitar.
CD $18.00 AVAILABLE

NEKTAR - Sunday Night At The Roundhouse: Live [2 CD set] (Eclectic/Dream Nebula 1208; UK) The long awaited 2CD remastered release of this classic live performance of the band, recorded live at The London Roundhouse, Camden in 1974. Featuring all the original members. CD One: King of Twilight; Desolation Valley; A Day in the Life of a Preacher (full version); Summer Breeze; Cast Your Fate CD Two: Remember the Future Part One; Odyssey (Ron's On); 1-2-3-4; Let It Grow; Woman Trouble
2 CD set for $20.00 STOCK

MAESTOSO [WOOLLY WOLSTENHOLME] - Fiddling Meanly (Eclectic 1019; UK) Maestoso's recording of their live concert at Londons Astoria Theatre, from their 2004 UK tour. Track Listing: Abendrot, The Bells, The Bells!, Deceivers All, Has To Be A Reason, In Search Of England, The Iron Maiden, Sunday Bells, Poor Wages, The Poet/After The Day, The Will To Fly, A Prospect Of Whitby, Harbour, Early Morning, Big Organ End
CD $17.00 STOCK

MAESTOSO [WOOLLY WOLSTENHOLME] - One Drop In A Dry World (Eclectic 1008; UK) May 2004 saw the release of the superb NEW studio album by Barclay James Harvest Mellotron Genius WOOLLY WOLSTENHOLME. "One Drop In A Dry World" is both reminiscent of WOOLLY WOLSTENHOLME's music with Barclay James Harvest, and that of contemporary influences. The album features a band comprising Steve Broomhead on lead guitar, and Craig Fletcher on bass, and drummer Kevin Whitehead, both of whom featured with WOOLLY WOLSTENHOLME on the albums "Nexus" and "Revival", by Barclay James Harvest. "One Drop In A Dry World" sees WOOLLY WOLSTENHOLME make extensive use of the Mellotron, and is one of the most powerful albums to emerge from the Barclay James Harvest camp in years. Certain to appeal to the legions of Barclay James Harvest fans, "One Drop In A Dry World" has gained praise from critics, not usually so kind. Track Listing: The Bells The Bells!, Blood And Bones, A Waiting Game, It's You, Souk, One Drop In A Dry World, ANSS, The End Of The Road, Explorers, 2 am, The Starving People Of The World Thank You For Your Time, Carpet.
CD $17.00 STOCK

WOOLLY WOLSTENHOLME [MAESTOSO] - Black Box Recovered (Eclectic 1007; UK) Woolly Wolstenholme was the Mellotron and Keyboard genius of Barclay James Harvest from 1967 to 1979 and was responsible for the more epic and symphonic pieces recorded by the band. Upon leaving BJH in 1979 Woolly embarked on a solo career that saw an album release in 1980, 'Maestoso'. Adopting this name for his new band, Woolly Wolstenholme embarked on the recording of a second solo album that was to have been called 'Black Box'. Alas, the album never reached completion and no recordings saw the light of day for many years. Now, as a precursor to the release of a new studio album by Eclectic Discs in April 2004, Woolly Wolstenholme has compiled these recordings that were made for 'Black Box', together with three previously unreleased live recordings made in Vienna in 1981 with Maestoso. 'Black Box Recovered' finishes with a taste of Woolly Wolstenholme's new work with a studio demo of 'Bootham Park Elegy'. This album is certain to appeal to legions of Barclay James Harvest fans to whom Woolly Wolstenholme was, and continues to be, an inspiration. Track Listing: Deceivers All, Has to be a Reason, Down the Line, All Get Burned; Too Much, Too Loud, Too Late; Even the Night, The Will to Fly, The Sunday Bells, Open Previously unreleased bonus tracks: Why Remain, Sail Away - Demo, A Prospect of Whitby - Demo, Patriots - Demo, Quiet Islands - Demo, American Excess - Live, Lives on the Line - Live, Deceivers All - Live, Bootham Park Elegy
CD $17.00 STOCK

CLIVE JOHN - You Always Know Where You Stand With A Buzzard (Eclectic 1003; UK) The CD debut for this wonderfully eccentric slice of Welsh "acid rock" from Man member Clive John. Contrary to popular belief, the Welsh rock scene wasn't sired by the Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals, The Stereophonics et al, but owes a great deal to artists such as Dave Edmunds, Andy Fairweather-Low and bands such as Help Yourself and Man. Of these bands, Man produced some of the most consistent albums of the 1970's for the United Artists label and subsequently MCA. Founder member Clive John recorded this superb solo album in 1975 and enlisted the help of Man members Martin Ace and Phil Ryan, and Andy Fairweather Low to record a classic example of Welsh rock at its most inventive. The Eclectic Discs reissue includes the previously unreleased full version of 'Hold Your Ferret Aloft'. Track Listing: Out of My Tree, Brand 'X', Summer Song, Swansea Town, Visitin' the Duke, Love To You, Overflow, Bust Again, Ferret Interview, Hold Your Ferret Aloft
CD $17.00 STOCK

...AND RESTOCKS ON SOME OF THE MORE POPULAR TITLES IN THE ECLECTIC CATALOG...

CARAVAN - The Unauthorised Breakfast Item [Ltd 2 CD set; Autographed #'d edition of 2500] (Eclectic 1001/2; UK) [The bonus disc unique to this ltd ed has 4 live cuts from Japan May 2003 plus a version of "For Richard" recorded live in Quebec City 2002] The first studio album in seven years [2004] by the iconic Canterbury band. Featuring the legendary Jimmy Hastings on saxophone and flute, with guest appearances by Dave Sinclair and Simon 'Bongo' Bentall. With the majority of songs written by Pye Hastings and tracks written by Geoffrey Richardson, Dave Sinclair and Doug Boyle. This new studio album retains the traditional Caravan feel, whilst also being contemporary thanks to the superb production by Pye Hastings son, Julian, another long-term Caravan stalwart. "In the Land of Grey and Pink" still remains the (Caravan) album that will never be replaced in the minds of fans, and rightly so because it is a classic album of quirkiness and invention...but if you want to hear that same style but with the added bonus of some great lead guitar solos, then this is the Caravan for you. Strong songs and musicianship. Pye Hastings still rules in his field." - PROGRESSIVE EARS "An excellent album from a much-loved group that deserve much greater reward for their steadfast and reliable contributions to the field of bloody good music. Caravan really are a band for everyone" - DUTCH PROGRESSIVE ROCK "These seasoned musicians do not disappoint and in conjunction with the quality of the new material, Caravan, I'm delighted to say, are back on form". - THE HAIRLESS HEART HERALD Track listing: Smoking Gun (Right for Me), Revenge, The Unauthorised Breakfast Item, Tell Me Why, It's Getting a Whole Lot Better, Head Above the Clouds, Straight Through the Heart, Wild West Street, Nowhere to Hide, Linders Field.
CD $25.00 AVAILABLE

CARAVAN - The Unauthorised Breakfast Item (Eclectic 1001; UK) Regular single CD edition of the above item
CD $17.00 STOCK

CARAVAN [PYE HASTINGS/RICHARD SINCLAIR/DAVE SINCLAIR/RICHARD COUGHLAN/STEVE MILLER] - Green Bottles For Marjorie: Lost BBC Sessions 68-71 (Caravan Songs 001; UK) Caravan are the other Canterbury band, along with Soft Machine, both of whom shared members in a previous band called the Wilde Flowers and both released their first records in 1968. Caravan were the more song-oriented of the two, but there were some striking parallels - both bands featured that unique fuzz-organ sound and both bands had two singers when they started - one with a high voice (Pye Hastings/Robert Wyatt) and one with a deep/low voice (Richard Sinclair/Kevin Ayers). The last time Caravan toured the US was in 1975, I saw them in NY and they were great. Experiencing them this past weekend at NEAR-Fest, after more than a quarter century, was another wonderful dream come true for Canterbury fans like myself and me friends. Pye's sublime voice was in great shape, and their blend of great tunes and revelatory jams was superb! We picked up a bunch of Caravan's self-produced BBC rarities collection from the band, assembled by Mark Powell (the guy responsible for the new masters of their earliest albums on Verve/MGM and Decca/Deram) which feature live in-the-studio material from 1968-1972 (their best period) including two versions of an early Soft Machine single called "Feelin, Reelin', Squealin'", Caravan's first single "Place of My Own" and a cosmic version of their classic side-long jam tune - "Nine Feet Underground". There is no overlap between the material unearthed here and the two BBC collections on the Hux label.
CD $19.00 AVAILABLE

EGG [DAVE STEWART/MONT CAMPBELL/CLIVE BROOKS] - Egg (Eclectic 1014; UK) The now legendary debut album by Egg is finally available on CD for the first time in the UK for over ten years. Egg featured the talents of Dave Stewart [ex-Arzachel which also featured Steve Hillage] on Keyboards, Mont Campbell on Bass and Clive Brooks on Drums and were associated with the so-called "Canterbury" style of rock music pioneered by artists such as Caravan and Soft Machine. The trio produced music of startling originality and energy, drawing on influences ranging from rock to jazz to psychedelia to classical. This fusion resulted in one of the most enduring releases to appear on Decca's short lived Nova imprint and is now critically regarded as one of the more unique albums of the early 1970's. Remastered from the original tapes, the Eclectic Discs reissue includes three bonus tracks, including both sides of the bands only single and "Movement 3" from the albums notorious opus "Symphony No. 2", now restored in its rightful place in this extended composition.
CD $17.00 AVAILABLE

EGG [DAVE STEWART/MONT CAMPBELL/CLIVE BROOKS] - The Polite Force (Eclectic 1015; UK) The now legendary debut album by Egg is finally available on CD for the first time in the UK for over ten years. Egg featured the talents of Dave Stewart [ex-Arzachel which also featured Steve Hillage] on Keyboards, Mont Campbell on Bass and Clive Brooks on Drums and were associated with the so-called "Canterbury" style of rock music pioneered by artists such as Caravan and Soft Machine. The trio produced music of startling originality and energy, drawing on influences ranging from rock to jazz to psychedelia to classical. Egg's second album appeared on the Deram label in 1971 and follows on from the bands adventurous debut. It receives its debut UK CD release on this Eclectic Discs reissue, remastered from the original tapes and with extensive liner notes.
CD $17.00 AVAILABLE

KHAN With DAVE STEWART/STEVE HILLAGE - Space Shanty (Eclectic 1016; UK) Best known as the album that first brought the guitar playing talents of guitarist Steve Hillage to public prominence, Khan's sole album is a splendid example of a fusion of Canterbury flavoured rock combined with jazz and space rock influences. Formed in the aftermath of the [first] demise of Dave Stewart's Egg, it was originally released in 1972 by Deram Records. The Eclectic Discs reissue is the album's first appearance on CD in Britain for over ten years and has been remastered from the original master tapes. This expanded edition includes two previously unreleased bonus tracks and extensive liner notes and is sure to appeal to all fans of Steve Hillage. After this album, Egg were to reform for their final album 'Civil Surface'
CD $17.00 AVAILABLE

NEKTAR - A Tab In The Ocean (Eclectic/Dream Nebula 1201; UK) Nektar's classic album from 1972 has been digitally remastered from the original master tapes for the first time (as the original Bellaphon CD release was taken from a poor quality copy master tape) . Every track on this wonderful album retains a place in Nektar's stage show to this day, including the "King of Twilight" (later covered by Iron Maiden), the jazz-tinged "Desolation Valley" and the epic title track. This expanded CD reissue includes both the original German mix from 1972 and the 1976 US remix of 'Tab' (added as bonus material), marking the debut of this American mix on CD. Track listing: A Tab in the Ocean, Desolation Valley / Waves, Crying in the Dark / King of Twilight Bonus tracks: A Tab in the Ocean, Desolation Valley / Waves, Crying in the Dark / King of Twilight (US album 1976 Remixes: All tracks previously unreleased on CD)
CD $17.00 AVAILABLE

NEKTAR - Journey To The Centre Of The Eye [H-SACD] (Eclectic/Dream Nebula 1203; UK) Nektar's debut album is finally heard in the manner it was intended. After the location of the original studio multi-track masters, 'Journey...', Nektar's Space-Rock masterpiece has been remixed in 5.1 Surround sound with astounding results. Recorded in 1971, the album is now rightly regarded as a classic of its genre. This SACD release sees both the new Surround Sound remix and the remastered version of the original master tapes presented for the first time. Being a hybrid SACD, this release will also play the normal stereo version on any CD player. As an extra bonus, the track "Do You Believe in Magic" is added along with "1-2-3-4" (which makes its debut on CD) as bonus features. Track listing: Prelude, Astronaut's Nightmare, Countenance, The Nine Lifeless Daughters of the Sun, Warp Oversight, The Dream Nebula (Part One), The Dream Nebula (Part Two), It's All in the Mind, Burn Out My Eyes, Void of Vision, Pupil of the Eye, Look Inside Yourself, Death of the Mind Bonus Tracks: 1-2-3-4 -(Previously unreleased on CD), Do You Believe in Magic
CD $20.00 AVAILABLE

NEKTAR - Live In New York 1974 [2 CD set; H-SACD] (Eclectic/Dream Nebula 1206/7; UK) The complete concert recorded at the Academy of Music, New York City on September 28th 1974, spread across two CDs, available in the SACD 5.1 surround hybrid [playable on any CD player] format. Eclectic Discs are pleased and proud to present Nektar's first ever concert in New York City in the manner in which it should be heard. This album is a tribute both a wonderful band and their loyal audience. The first thousand will be available as a double Digi-Pak CD One: Introduction, Astral Man, Remember the Future part one, Marvellous Moses, It's All Over, Good Day, That's Life, Show Me the Way CD Two: A Day in the Life of a Preacher, Desolation Valley, Remember the Future part two, Crying in the Dark / King of Twilight, Woman Trouble, Medley: Johnny B. Goode, Sweet Little Rock and Roller, Blue Suede Shoes, Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, Fidgety Queen
CD $23.00 AVAILABLE

NEKTAR - Recycled (Eclectic/Dream Nebula 1202; UK) Another Nektar landmark, this wonderful album finally sees the CD release it deserves. Recorded over the summer of 1975, 'Recycled' was originally mixed by The Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, at Air Studios in London. Further work and overdubs were subsequently added and the album changed feel considerably, notably due to the contribution of synthesiser wizard Larry Fast. This expanded CD release includes the full album remastered from the original master tapes and the full Geoff Emerick version of the album as a bonus feature. Track listing: Recycle, Cybernetic Consumption, Recycle Countdown, Automoton Horrorscope, Recycling, Flight to Reality, Unendless Imaginations, Sao Paulo Sunrise, Costa Del Sol, Marvellous Moses, It's All Over Bonus tracks: Original Geoff Emerick mixes July 1975 : Recycle, Cybernetic Consumption, Recycle Countdown, Automoton Horrorscope, Recycling, Flight to Reality, Unendless Imaginations, Sao Paulo Sunrise, Costa Del Sol, Marvellous Moses, It's All Over (All bonus tracks previously unreleased)
CD $17.00 AVAILABLE

NEKTAR - Remember The Future [H-SACD] (Eclectic/Dream Nebula 1204; UK) As part of the on going reissue programme of Nektar's catalogue by Eclectic Discs, on the specially established DREAM NEBULA imprint, the album which made NEKTAR a major act in Europe and the USA, has been remastered for presentation in 5.1 Surround Sound. [This is a Hybrid SACD, which means it will play on ANY CD player] 'Remember the Future was recorded in 1973 and became one of the best selling albums in Germany the same year. In 1974 the record received the accolade of "Album of the Year" in Germany, and broke the band in America, where the album attained a Top Twenty position on the Billboard chart. The album was also distinctive in the fact that it was released simultaneously in Quadraphonic and Stereo versions. Eclectic Discs have taken the original Quadraphonic master tapes and transformed them into a 5.1 Surround Sound format, remastering in 96kHz 24-bit technology for the highest possible audio quality. The advent of the SACD format is the perfect medium to experience what Nektar created in 1973. Eclectic Discs are proud to add this classic album to their catalogue. Track listing: 1. Remember the Future Part One, 2. Remember the Future Part Two Bonus tracks: 1.Remember the Future ('Made in Germany' edit), 2. Lonely Roads - Promotional single edit, 3.Let it Grow - Promotional single edit
2 CD set for $20.00 AVAILABLE

TOUCH - Touch (Eclectic 1005; UK) A classic psychedelic / proto-progressive album from 1969 by this American band who featured ex-Kingsmen and future Stooges producer Don Gallucci within their ranks. "Touch" is perhaps best remembered for the incredible "Down at Circe's Place" which featured as opening track on the classic Decca sampler 'Wowie Zowie: The World of Progressive Music'. The album was also featured in the spring of 2003 in MOJO magazine's 'Buried Treasures' column and hailed as a lost masterpiece. The CD, remastered from the original master tapes, features the original album artwork and poster, plus bonus material. Track Listing: We Feel Fine, Friendly Birds, Miss Teach, The Spiritual Death of Howard Greer, Down at Circe's Place, Alesha and Others, Seventy Five Bonus tracks: We Finally Met Today (Unreleased single 1968), Alesha and Others - (Live studio demo 1968), Blue Feeling, The Spiritual Death of Howard Greer (Live studio demo 1968), The Second Coming of Suzanne (Film soundtrack 1973)
CD $17.00 AVAILABLE

MANDALABAND - The Eye of Wendor: Prophecies (Eclectic 1004; UK) Conceived and recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport between 1976 and 1977 by producer David Rohl, 'The Eye of Wendor' features musical and vocal appearances by Barclay James Harvest, 10cc, Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues), Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span), Noel Redding (Jimi Hendrix Experience), Sad CafE and the Hall' Orchestra. The Tolkein-esque conceptual work appeals to collectors of all the guest performers and is a long sought after rarity. The Eclectic Discs reissue is digitally remastered from the original master tapes and will feature the original album artwork and booklet alongside extensive liner notes and photographs and an extra previously unreleased bonus alternate mix of 'Dawn of a New Day' featuring Justin Hayward. Track Listing: The Eye of Wendor, Florian's Song, Ride to the City, Almar's Tower, Like the Wind, The Tempest, Dawn of a New Day, Departure >From Carthilias, Elsethea, Witch of Waldow Wood, Silesandre, Aenord's Lament, Funeral of the King, Coronation of Damien Bonus track: Dawn of a New Day - Alternate Mix
CD $17.00 STOCK



JUST A HANDFUL OF THESE HISTORIC AFRICAN JAZZ CDs ON 'CAMDEN'
When they're gone, they're gone!...

AFRICAN HORNS [V.A. With DOLLAR BRAND/KIPPIE MOEKETSI] - African Horns (Camden 1003; EEC)
CD $15.00 AVAILABLE

AFRICAN JAZZ PIONEERS [KIPPIE MOEKETSI et al] - African Jazz Pioneers (Camden 1005; EEC) 1981 reunion of late '50s South African group
CD $15.00 AVAILABLE

DOLLAR BRAND [ABDULLAH IBRAHIM] - Tintiyana (Camden 1009; EEC) 3 different 1970's group lineups are represented on this compilation
CD $15.00 AVAILABLE

THE JAZZ EPISTLES With DOLLAR BRAND [ABDULLAH IBRAHIM]/HUGH MASEKELA/JONAS GWANGWA/KIPPIE MOEKETSI - Jazz In Africa Vol 1 (Camden 1004; EEC) Recorded September 1959 in South Africa
CD $15.00 AVAILABLE

...and just 4 copies of this..

CHRIS McGREGOR & THE SOUTH AFRICAN EXILES - Thunderbolt (Pam 405; Germany) Superb, enchanting and nearly impossible to find post-Brotherhood of Breath live date from 1986 featuring Chris McGregor on pianos, Dudu Pukwana on alto sax, Harry Beckett on trumpet, Johnny Dyani on acoustic bass, Ernest Mothle on guitar, Gilbert