HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKEY IQ!!!


A SHORT BUT SWEET STACK OF GEMS featuring

FIVE INCREDIBLE TREASURES from CUNEIFORM: NEW MUJICIAN (TIPPETT/DUNMALL / ROGERS/LEVIN), SOFT MACHINE CD & DVD, HARRY MILLER'S ISIPINGO, HAMSTER THEATRE 2 CD SET & ED PALERMO'S ZAPPA BIG BAND!

BURT/MacDONALD SEXTET WITH KEITH TIPPETT - MAKING THIS THREE NEW RECORDINGS WITH KEITH ALL IN ONE WEEK!!! [SEE MUJICIAN AND ISIPINGO ABOVE]

ANTHONY BRAXTON & WOLF EYES... A THIRD ACCORDION TRIBE!

SATOKO FUJII/NATSUKI TAMURA/JOHN HOLLENBECK...TRIO 3 w/ OLIVER LAKE/REGGIE WORKMAN/ANDREW CYRILLE ...PIERRE FAVRE/YANG JING... AND AN IRENE SCHWEIZER ALL-STAR DVD [PAL only, sorry]!

ANDREA CENTAZZO'S ICTUS RECORDS' 30th ANNIVERSARY 12 CD BOXED COLLECTION
INCLUDING 4+ CDs of UNRELEASED MATERIAL INCLUDING AN ENTIRE DISC OF STEVE LACY/CENTAZZO DUETS!
Other Participants include JOHN ZORN/DEREK BAILEY/STEVE LACY/EVAN PARKER/TOM CORA/JOHN CARTER/ALVIN CURRAN/EUGENE CHADBOURNE/ROVA/JACK WRIGHT! YOW!

TWO MORE from RAS MOSHE & THE MUSIC NOW UNIT...CHRISTIAN MARCLAY LTD ONE-SIDED LP...CHAINWORKS [DAN DeCHELLIS/MATT HANAFIN/BRIAN MORAN]...DEN & BREADFAST [ANDREA BELFI/ANDREA FACCIOLI]!

MERSAULT [TOMAS KORBER/CHRISTIAN WEBER/CHRISTIAN WOLFARTH]...ESPERS... FAUN FABLES...BORIS...MELVINS!

MORE GREAT REISSUES from VOCALION: MIKE GARRICK, Jazz in Britain featuring: JOHN SURMAN/ALAN SKIDMORE/TONY OXLEY With MIKE OSBORNE/HARRY BECKETT/KENNY WHEELER!

NINE BYG/CHARLY GEMS from ART ENSEMBLE, SUN RA, ARCHIE SHEPP & DON CHERRY, AND CLASSIC GONG!

THE COMPLETE PRESTIGE RECORDINGS OF MILES' FIRST QUINTET WITH JOHN COLTRANE WITH UNRELEASED GOODIES ... TWO LIVE KING CRIMSON CDs BACK IN CIRCULATION!




*************


DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY HITS THE 15 YEAR MARK THIS MONTH!

HELP US CELEBRATE OUR JOYOUS 15th ANNIVERSARY PARTY AT TONIC
107 Norfolk Street (between Delancey and Rivington Streets)
on FRIDAY, JUNE 2nd, at 8 pm featuring:

TISZIJI MUNOZ' DEAD AWAKE! IN, UP & OUT featuring
ROB RA-KALAM MOSES on Drums!
DON PATE on Acoustic Bass!
The One & Only TISZIJI MUNOZ on Lead Guitar!

JOHN ZORN & MYSTERY GUESTS! plus


NEW GHOST! with ELLIOTT LEVIN & RICK IANNICONE!
PHILLY'S FINEST HARMOLODIC QUARTET!

Tickets are $15
Check with Tonic for availability of advance ticket sales


*************


DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY IS SPONSORING ANOTHER INCREDIBLE FIRST AT THE END OF JUNE -
THE VERY FIRST NEW YORK PERFORMANCE of CANTERBURY LEGENDS...

HATFIELD & THE NORTH!!

FEATURING :
PHIL MILLER (MATCHING MOLE, NATIONAL HEALTH & IN CAHOOTS) on GUITAR
RICHARD SINCLAIR (CARAVAN & CARAVAN OF DREAMS) on BASS & LEAD VOCALS
PIP PYLE (GONG & NATIONAL HEALTH) on DRUMS and
SPECIAL GUEST - ALEX MAGUIRE (ELTON DEAN BAND) on KEYBOARDS!

SUNDAY, JUNE 25th from 8 -10 pm at THE BOWERY POETRY CLUB!
308 Bowery between Houston & Bleecker Sts., across from CBGB's
Tickets are $20 & can be purchased on-line through
www.virtuous.com/events/v/78460746


********************




FIVE FANTASTIC NEW CUNEIFORM RELEASES TO DIE FOR!
[Once again, MannyLunch is in Heav... er, well, wherever he's gonna eventually wind up!]


MUJICIAN [KEITH TIPPETT/PAUL DUNMALL/TONY LEVIN/PAUL ROGERS] - There's No Going Back Now (Cuneiform 232; USA) "Working within the instrumental parameters of the standard post-bop combo - piano, bass, drums and saxophones - the band situates itself in a space midway between what could be called Brit-Improv and American energy music...their sound is, if anything, more exhilarating than it has ever been."-Jazz Weekly. For almost two decades, this British free-jazz quartet has been working and refining their dynamic take on improvised jazz with the same quartet of musicians, all of whom are long-time mainstays on the English and European free-jazz scene: Paul Dunmall-saxes, Tony Levin-drums, Paul Rogers-7 string A.L.L. double bass and Keith Tippett-piano. On this, their sixth album for Cuneiform, they do what they have always done, which is to dig in and to investigate the music and where the music takes them, which in this case is a single, 45' long piece! "...the band has been together for many years, producing tasty, adventurous music that pushes the barriers of convention, but never sacrifices high standards. Each of these four musicians is a significant soloist, yet the totality of their balanced, collective sound is due to a certain synergy among them as they create sculptures of an almost transcendent nature... Grandstanding is discarded in favor of a more nuanced approach. Sometimes it even rises to the level of magnificence. The quartet forges a distinct sound, radical yet accessible, unconventional but comforting."-AMG
"Taken together, if you are one of the Jazz or New Music or Improvisational music fans who form the majority of the core of DMG's customer base - whether it's Zorn or Braxton or Cardew - and you have not yet heard a Mujician album... DO IT NOW! Absolutely the MOST INFINITE 'THUMBS UP'!!!" - MannyLunch
CD $13

HARRY MILLER'S ISIPINGO With MONGEZI FEZA/MARC CHARIG/MIKE OSBORNE/NICK EVANS/KEITH TIPPETT/LOUIS MOHOLO] - Which Way Now: Live In Bremen 1975 (Cuneiform 233; USA) Featuring Harry Miller, Louis Moholo, Keith Tippett, Mike Osborne, Nick Evans, Mongezi Feza! - excellent quality, never before released from Radio Bremen)
Bassist Harry Miller was born in South Africa, but he was the Brit-jazz bassist throughout the 1970s, playing with John Surman, Centipede, Mike Westbrook, Keith Tippett, Mike Osborne, King Crimson, Julie Tippetts, Alan Skidmore and Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, among many others, as well as co-founding the legendary Ogun label, which did so much to document the Brit-jazz scene in the 1970s. Harry's group, Isipingo, which he led for a number of years, could be compared to a smaller-scale, more "swinging" take on the wonderful kwela-influenced jazz of the Brotherhood. The band includes six of the greatest of Britain's jazzers of the mid 70's: Nick Evans-trombone, Mongezi Feza-trumpet, Harry Miller-double bass, Louis Moholo-drums, Mike Osborne-alto sax and Keith Tippett-piano. Which Way Now features over 70 minutes of music from a beautifully recorded radio concert from November 20, 1975; it sounds as if you are in the room right with the band! The package includes a 16 page booklet with a number of stunning, never-before seen photos, as well as extensive liner notes by Francesco Martinelli. Since Isipingo only released one album during their lifetime [re-issued in the 3CD Harry Miller box on Ogun], this release dramatically extends their legacy and like Cuneiform's important and historical work with the Brotherhood of Breath, brings this hugely enjoyable, nearly-forgotten music to a new audience.
"Some people are afraid or intolerant of 'British' Jazz - but we're not talking the imitative period of second rate borrowed bop-replication that typifies some of the unfortunately better-known output of the 50's and 60's here...This is some of the most awesome and joyful CREATIVE MUSIC, completely FREE of the shadow of what's come before it. GOOGLEPLEX THUMBS UP!! - MannyLunch CD $13

SOFT MACHINE [MIKE RATLEDGE/ROBERT WYATT/HUGH HOPPER/ELTON DEAN] - Grides [CD + DVD] (Cuneiform 230/231; USA) a CD/DVD package with a great concert from 10/25/1970 on the CD AND a 20' DVD of the band on the German Beat Club TV show in March, 1971, which includes 8' of footage shot but never broadcast and taken from the original master video tapes for the best quality!
"Soft Machine was one of first and one of the greatest jazz/rock bands of all time. Their importance and influence was especially great in Europe, where they influenced several generations of bands, and their influences can still be heard to this day in so many bands. Grides presents the most famous version of the band (Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt) recorded live at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on October 25, 1970, in a high-quality, previously unreleased recording, just a few months after the release of Third and at the peak of their popularity. It showcases them in transition between releases, with the band performing 3 of the four works from Third, as well as some of the earliest recordings of material from the upcoming Fourth, including some very different arrangements to what would eventually end up on that release. In addition, it features the earliest recording of Elton's Neo-Caliban Grides, which has a fairly lengthy composed section that was never heard again. Also included in this set is the first-ever DVD release by Soft Machine! It was recorded at the TV studios of Radio Bremen on the same date (March 23, 1971) as the radio session that Cuneiform released as Virtually, but is a completely different performance. This was the band's final European tour with Robert Wyatt and is a 20-minute set, professionally recorded by a multi-camera crew. The audio and video quality is excellent for the time period (over 35 years old now!), as we worked from the original videotape master in the archives of Radio Bremen. Bottom line: another excellent and essential archival release from a great band!" - Steve Feigenbaum, Wayside
[Behind the DMG scenes, Manny and Bruce are arm-wrestling for the chance to 'wax orgasmic' about this latest Soft Machine treasure chest...OUCH! Bruce won! One out of three ain't too bad - see above] "Great performance AND sound on the CD Concertgebouw show..and the DVD is the best quality I've ever seen of this phenomenal TV broadcast, far surpassing what has been traded on homemade videocassettes and DVDs- not to mention the realization that what has been seen were edited performances previously. You can stay put for my blow-by-blow detailed review next week..but why wait? 'A splendid time is guaranteed for all'! - BLG CD + DVD set for $20

ED PALERMO BIG BAND//FRANK ZAPPA - Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance (Cuneiform 225; USA) For the last 12 years, Ed and his 15-piece band have been performing the music of Frank Zappa, and this recording captures his unique take on the master's compositions. Due to their regular gig schedule, this is an amazingly tight large ensemble
"In arranging Zappa's tunes for big band, Ed Palermo has thrown new light on his legacy while retaining the composer's original melodic and harmonic designs. The arrangements also leave plenty of room for the band's gifted soloists..."-The Washington Post. Ed Palermo is an alto sax player and arranger; he has had a big band for twenty-five years, which is an impressive feat in itself, and has had his band performing the music of Frank Zappa for over a decade. Years and years of playing these pieces in front of enthusiastic crowds at a number of venues in New York City and beyond have honed the band's skills with this difficult material to where they can glide through these charts as if they were butter. There are a number of ensembles performing the music of this great 20th century American composer, but no one does it with this ease, skill and originality; Ed is not afraid to turn a piece into a salsa number (the title track) or to take what was a one minute miniature and to develop it out into a six minute work. The band is a 15-piece ensemble of 6 woodwind players, two trumpeters, three trombonists, two keyboardists, bass and drums, plus a few guests. All of these musicians are NYC professionals, and they have been playing this music for years with Ed, because, like Ed, they recognize and appreciate the genius inherent in the huge body of Zappa's work, and they want to keep this great music alive and in front of the public. "[Palermo's] wisely chosen to emphasize Zappa's early and mid-career work, as that's the music which is more fluid and graceful--and more apt to swing ....reveals the lighthearted playfulness and rhythmic intelligence at the core of Zappa's best work..."-Downbeat.
CD $13

HAMSTER THEATRE - The Public Execution of Mister Personality/Quasi Day Room [2 CD set] (Cuneiform 226/227; USA) "...a highly skilled chamber ensemble...offering a literate synthesis of rock, jazz and European folk forms. You can't really put this music into a tidy little compartment, but it's unforced, sophisticated and highly entertaining."-Alternative Press. Hamster Theatre straddle the edges of folk music, avant-garde, world music, early 20th century French composers, such as Erik Satie and Maurice Ravel, contemporary composition and many other musical forms, bringing together elements of all these styles while never sounding 'just like' any one of them. Using an instrumentation of accordion, keyboards, trombones, saxophones, clarinets, flutes, guitars, mandolin, bass, drums and percussion, their pieces are always filled with delightful melodies and surprising orchestrations. In addition to the new studio album included here, there is a second disc of the band's stupendous live performance from August, 2002 at The Moore Theatre in Seattle. This CD is a perfect compliment to the studio disc, as it shows the amazing performance that 'the Hamsters' can put on in a live environment; Hugh Hopper called this performance, "Some of the most interesting music and one of the best live shows I've seen for years." Both discs were mixed by Bob Drake, the noted musician/composer/producer/engineer.
2 CD set for $18


**************


GEORGE BURT/RAYMOND MacDONALD SEXTET w/ KEITH TIPPETT - A Day For A Reason: Featuring Keith Tippett (Tob 20; UK) George Burt - guitar, Raymond MacDonald -alto and soprano saxophones, George Lyle - double bass, Nicola MacDonald - voice, melodica, Alyn Cosker - drums and Keith Tippett - piano.
Newly music commissioned by An Tobar for the centenary of the Tobermory town clock
"A Day for a Reason" is a suite celebrating the intrepid victorian traveller Isabella Bird and her stay-at-home sister, Henrietta. The Town Clock in Tobermory (the Island's capital) commemorates them.
[A second Burt/MacDonald/Tippett collaboration will be released later this year on Leo records.] CD $16


JUNK BOX [NATSUKI TAMURA/JOHN HOLLENBECK/SATOKO FUJII] - Fragment (Libra 203-013; Japan) Superb first-time trio featuring our friends Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, Satoko Fujii on piano & all compositions and the ubiquitous percussionist/composer/multi-bandleader John Hollenbeck on drums. This is the ever-prolific pianist, Satoko Fujii's 35th disc as a leader or co-leader and again she never ceases to amaze us with her deep stream of ideas and/or projects. This Ms. Fujii's first recording with downtown drum wizard John Hollenbeck and she has chosen the right kindred spirit who is consistently adventurous and always creative. Each of the 10 pieces explores various dynamic texture and styles. Jeez, what an amazing trio it is! Satoko and her husband & longtime musical partner, Natsuki, will be up at Victo with yet another new band later this week. Will wonders like this never cease!?! I think not!- BLG
CD $18




*********************


ANDREA CENTAZZO'S ICTUS RECORDS' 30th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION
With STEVE LACY/DEREK BAILEY/EVAN PARKER/JOHN ZORN/TOM CORA/JOHN CARTER/ALVIN CURRAN/EUGENE CHADBOURNE/ROVA/JACK WRIGHT et al - Danger: High Voltage [12-CD Limited edition Box-set] (Ictus 141; USA)
All Tracks Digitally Re-Mastered and Re-Sequenced By Andrea Centazzo 2005

This LAVISH box set INCLUDES the PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ALBUMS Steve Lacy/Andrea Centazzo - TAO [CD 11/#131], THIRTY YEARS FROM MONDAY [CD 9/#129], BACK TO THE FUTURE [CD 10/#130], and REBELS TRAVELLERS & IMPROVISORS [CD 12/#132], as well as many cuts throughout the other discs that have never been previously released in any form. Also, there is a large beautiful book with wonderful archival photographs and complete recording details and remembrances from legendary improvising percussionist Andrea, who signed and #'d the back cover. An Exhaustive Feast Of Classic Improv Times Past! Our Highest Recommendation!

HERE ARE THE DETAILS:

[ICTUS 121] CLANGS: Steve Lacy - soprano saxophone, bird calls, pocket synthesizer; AC - percussion, drum set, vocals. Recorded live in Casarsa (Udine, Italy) February 20 1976. Includes 6th cut "Ducks" not on original LP

[ICTUS 122] DROPS: Derek Bailey - electric & acoustic guitars; AC - percussion. Recorded at Centazzo Studio Moruzzo (Italy) - 3 & 4 April 1977

[ICTUS 123] IN CONCERT - TRIO LIVE: Steve Lacy - soprano saxophone; Kent Carter - double bass; AC - drum set & percussion. Recorded in concert in Udine (Italy) December 5, 1976

[ICTUS 124] IN REAL TIME ONE & TWO: Alvin Curran - synthesizer, piano, trumpet; Evan Parker - soprano & tenor saxophones; Andrea Centazzo - percussion, percussion synthesizer. Recorded live Rome, Italy December 12-13, 1977 and at Teatro Comunale, Pistoia, Italy December 14, 1977. Contains one cut never before issued on either LP or CD.

[ICTUS 125] THE BAY: Rova Sax Qt [Larry Ochs - tenor & soprano sax; Jon Raskin - baritone, alto & soprano sax, clarinet; Bruce Ackley - clarinet, soprano sax; Andrew Voigt - alto & soprano sax, flute] and AC percussion. Recorded at Walden Studios, California, December 1978. Produced by Henry Kaiser and Andrea Centazzo. Contains two cuts not found on the original LP.

[ICTUS 126] THE NEW US CONCERTS - tracks from USA CONCERTS EAST and USA CONCERTS WEST: 1 - TRIO WEST #1 10.42; 2 - TRIO WEST #2 8.13 [John Carter clarinet, Vinnie Golia reeds, AC percussion]; 3 - LIVE IN WOODSTOCK 5.28 [Tom Cora cello, AC percussion]; 4 - NY TAPES #1 4:57 [Toshinori Kondo trumpet, AC percussion]; 5 - NO WALL 4.43 [Jack Wright alto saxophone, AC percussion]; 6 - MC CLUNG #1 8.03 [Ladonna Smith violin, viola, voice, Davey Williams electric guitars, banjo, AC percussion]; 7 - MC CLUNG #2 4.15 [Ladonna Smith violin, viola, voice, AC percussion]; 8 - NY TAPES # 2 5.35 [Eugene Chadbourne guitars, AC percussion]; 9 - ELECTRIC DUO 4.07 [Dave Williams electric guitars, AC percussion]; 10 - WEST DUO 9.53 [Gregg Goodman piano, AC percussion] Contains four cuts never before issued on either LP or CD!

[ICTUS 127] THE NY TAPES - ENVIRONMENT FOR SEXTET: Polly Bradfield - violin; Eugene Chadbourne - guitars; Tom Cora - cello; Toshinori Kondo - trumpet; John Zorn - reeds; AC - percussion. Recorded live at WKCR Radio Station New York City November 7, 1978. This classic is finally presented in a correctly-editied version, unlike the stand-alone CD, and with far updated mastering!

[ICTUS 128] DOCTOR FAUSTUS - MITTELEUROPA LIVE: Enrico Rava - trumpet; Franz Koglmann - flugelhorn, trumpet; Gianluigi Trovesi - bass clarinet, alto sax; Carlos Zingaro - violin; Theo Jorgesmann - clarinet (#7); Radu Malfatti - trombone (#6); Albert Mangelsdorf - trombone (#7); Carlo Actis Dato - bass clarinet, baritone sax (#7); Roberto Ottaviano - soprano saxes; Sauro D'Angelo - clarinet, alto sax; Roberto Manuzzi - soprano saxes; Andrea Anzola - french horn; Roberto Bartoli, Stefano Ferri, Franco Feruglio (#6) - basses; Bruno Cabassi - xylophone, percussion; Gianpaolo Salbego, Guido Vianello (#7) Paolo Zanella (#7) - percussion; Andrea Centazzo - drums, percussion, conductor. Tracks #1,#2,#3,#4 recorded live at Teatro Testoni, Bologna, Italy - December, 11 1980; track #5 recorded live at Open Air Festival in Modena July 8 1981, track #6 recorded live at Alassio Jazz Festival, Alassio July 5 1982, track #7, never before released, recorded live at Ravenna Jazz Festival, Ravenna June 12 1983

[ICTUS 129] THIRTY YEARS FROM MONDAY: 1 - A OLD MAN RIVER IN THE GEORGIA OF MY MIND 09:30; 2 - MANTRIC IMPROVISATION 18:38 [Alvin Curran - piano, trumpet synthesizer; AC - percussion]; 3 - THE GIPSY PART ONE 08:03; 4 - THE GIPSY PART TWO 08:59 [Carlos Zingaro - violin; AC - percussion]; 5 - THE BOX SESSION #1 05:31; 6 - THE BOX SESSION #2 07:44 [Lol Coxhill - soprano saxophone; AC - percussion]; 7 - TROVECEN #1 07:01; 8 - TROVECEN #2 07:02 [Gianluigi Trovesi - bass clarinet, piccolo clarinet & alto saxophone; AC - percussion]. All tracks previously unreleased, except for 6 and 7 which are from the album Shock!

[ICTUS 130] BACK TO THE FUTURE: tracks 1-3: BACK TO THE FUTURE #s 1,2,3 [Anthony Coleman - piano, Marco Cappelli - guitars, AC - percussion & sampling]. Recorded live at TONIC, New York City April 2005; tracks 4-8: BACK TO THE PAST #s 1,2,3,4,5 [Davey Williams - guitars & banjo; Ladonna Smith - violin & vocals; AC - percussion]. Tracks 4-6 recorded at ICTUS Studios, Bologna Italy, April 1980, tracks 7, 8 live in concert at London Musician Collective, London, February 1979. All tracks previously unreleased!

[ICTUS 131] TAO: Steve Lacy - soprano saxophone, bird calls, pocket synthesizer; AC - percussion, drum set, vocals . Tracks 1-6 recorded at ICTUS STUDIOS, Bologna Italy, November 1984, tracks 7-10 recorded live in concert at Zanon Auditorium, Udine Italy, February 18 1976. All tracks previously unreleased!

[ICTUS 132] REBELS, TRAVELERS AND IMPROVISERS: 1 - The Breghenz Session 13:07 [John Fisher - piano; Theo Jorgesmann - clarinet; Melvin Poore - tuba; AC - percussion] Recorded at the Breghenz Jazz Festival, July 1983
2-4 Church Music #s 1,2,3 [Evan Parker - tenor saxophone, Martin Joseph - electric piano; Eugenio Colombo - alto saxophone & flute; AC - percussion] Recorded at San Martino Church, Pistoia, Italy July 1977
5-6 The Innsbruck Session 1,2 [Lol Coxhill - soprano saxophone; Franz Koglmann - trumpet & flugelhorn; AC - percussion] Recorded at Krinzinger Gallery, Innsbruck, Austria, January 1983
7 - Rebels, Travelers & Improvisers 15:20 [Lester Bowie - trumpet; Alvin Curran - piano & synthesizer; Giancarlo Schiaffini - trombone; Evan Parker - tenor saxophone; Tony Oxley and AC - percussion] Recorded in Modena, Italy, June 1978. All tracks previously unreleased!

12 CD Ltd Box set $125


*********************



WOLF EYES & ANTHONY BRAXTON - Black Vomit: Live May 21st 2005 at 22nd Victoriaville New Musique Actuel Festival (Victo 99; Canada) The third day at Victo 2005 was mostly curated by our pal Thurston Moore and featured a number of noise/improv bands that might not have ever played without his push. Thurston's first pick was a not-so-average trio consisting of cheap electronics, electric guitar and drums who met at school in Kentucky called the Hair Police. Although nothing quite prepared us for the second set by Wolf Eyes.
There was a rumor that Mr. Anthony Braxton was going to "sit in" with some noise band called Wolf Eyes, but I don't think anyone took that comment seriously. Word is that he had heard them at a festival in Scandinavia and was floored by their performance. Very strange indeed. When this young, punky noise trio came out and told us that Mr. Braxton would be playing with them ... and then there he was, with his alto, soprano, and sopranino saxes! Shock! And pleasantly intriged surprise! Wolf Eyes is an odd trio of homemade electronics [Nathan Young], electric guitar [Mike Connely] and sax/more electronics [John Olson]. Olson, he of the big shaved head, was also their spokesman: very funny and quite astute. They started with all three members playing some scary processed cymbals as Braxton played some quieter sopranino on top. The trio moved through bowing and scraping metal, intense guitar feedback and growling electronic noise-scapes. It reminded me of Organum at times, just not as accomplished. They ended in a frenzy of pounding noise with screaming vocals that was almost too much. For their encore, they offered Mr. Braxton of playing some other hilariously titled number, or their hit "Black Vomit", and he said, "of course"! It was a tribal, throbbing epic of slow noise that grinded, growled and groaned until it hit its stride and exploded with Braxton squealing sax riding on the waves. Not what anyone would have expected, but it worked and showed how barriers occasionally disappear up at Victo. Wotta show!
CD $15


ACCORDION TRIBE [GUY KLUCEVSEK/LARS HOLLMER/BRATKO BIBIC/OTTO LECHNER/MARIA KALANIEMI] - Lunghorn Twist (Intuition 3389; Germany) This is the third superb release from this international accordion quintet featuring accordion heroes Guy Klucevsek, Lars Hollmer (various Samla/Zamla bands), Maria Kalaniemi, Brakto Bibic (Nimal) and Otto Lechner. Each musician is from a different country, representing a different tradition and each works with a variety of projects or bands. Review next week of this spectacular release by BLG [when he gets off his Victo bender!]
CD $16



NEW ON 'INTAKT:

TRIO 3 [OLIVER LAKE/REGGIE WORKMAN/ANDREW CYRILLE] - Time Being (Intakt 106; Switzerland) Time being what it is, there are several ways to approach Time Being, the latest and, I think, best of the Trio 3 albums - among them, its miscellaneous approaches to time, ranging from meterless meditation to swing to stately waltzing; and the collective experience of the group's membership, a figure exceeding 130 years, for the time being. This cumulative experience involves the assimilation of every kind of jazz, from pre-bop mainstream to the furthest reaches of the avant-garde to sundry precincts on the world music front. To me, this is the most successful Trio 3 album because it supercedes its predecessors in achieving genuine tripartite equality. Time Being is true trio music: Hardly a moment passes when the listener isn't aware of the musicians listening to each other. - Gary Giddins
CD $16

PIERRE FAVRE/YANG JING - Two In One (Intakt 114; Switzerland) Pierre Favre: Drums, Percussion; Yang Jing: Pipa (chinesische Laute) Favre met Yang Jing at a 1999 festival in Beijing. They have since met numerous times for concert series. Perre Favre understands his instruments in terms of musical possibilities (which include melodic and occasionally even harmonic structures); that is, he considers intimacy a quality worth striving for, with fine nuance and subtle, spontaneous reactions, so he also loves duos that act as extensions of his solo concept.
Having been a soloist for the Chinese National Orchestra for twelve years, Jing is now world-renowned as both instrumentalist and composer. The China Daily may go so far as to call her "the backbone of contemporary Chinese music," but that does not limit her endless curiosity about new musical contexts. One such challenge is the art of improvisation (which once had a tradition in China, as well).
TWO IN ONE is music of many colors, nuances, and possibilities. Even when a great deal of technique is involved (the pipa demands great skill), this music breathes, comes to rest, and explodes again. Artistic processes are transformed into natural phenomena. I almost wanted to say that a meditative inward turn seems like gravity here - but that would generate false associations with nebulous intercultural modes with nothing behind them but mushy, exotic longings for nowhere. This is the exact opposite. In the dialogues of Yang Jing and Pierre Favre, nothing is fuzzy; even in the most subtle pianissimos, the outlines are clear, shapely, contoured. The two partners do not leap to embrace each other with hasty empathy. What better way could there be to engage in truly intercultural dialogue? - Peter Ruedi
CD $16

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING DVD IS 'PAL' ONLY-
[Do not order if you are not set up to play PAL DVDs - we will not take returns based on that complaint]

IRENE SCHWEIZER//GiTTA GSELL, dir. - Irene Schweizer [DVD] (Intakt 121; Switzerland) There it stands - the grand piano - waiting for her. For a woman who has referred to the piano as her companion for over 40 years, has shared happiness and sadness with it, was inspired by it and who has lived this inspiration to the fullest with it. Seldom has she had an affair with another - and if so, then with the drums. Friendships and relationships 'played second fiddle' to music, were cultivated between appointments abroad, rehearsals, somewhere between inspiration and creation. It was always music that inspired her to soar to the heights, sometimes followed by the deepest sense of loneliness. Music was and is her life.
I'm not exactly sure when I heard Irene play for the first time. I only remember how delighted and enthusiastic I was. In the Swiss Jazz scene, she is an exception - as an instrumentalist. In the Fifties women were mainly singers, but even as a young woman, Irene had already been awarded first prize as a pianist at the Amateur Jazz Festival in Zurich. The atmosphere in the smoky Jazz locales of the Fifties and Sixties, the political change in the air in '68 and the Women's Lib Movement in the Eighties fascinated me. Irene improvised on the piano: elbows hammering and dragging along the keys, fingers pecking and darting over them. Pulling and plucking the strings inside the piano.
With a biography and an alternative lifestyle like hers, Irene is an exception in Switzerland. As a woman working in a creative area myself, she both interested me and inspired me to make this film. A good ten years older than I am, she is for me a forerunner of the Women's Liberation Movement and one of the very few female figures in the Swiss creative scene - 63 years old, with her musical roots in Jazz and, in the meantime, avidly involved in and internationally renowned for her Instant Composing and her improvised music. - Gitta Gsell
75 Min / 16:9 / PAL / Original Version: Swiss German, German, English Subtitles: German, English, French, Spanish. With appearances by Louis Moholo, Maggie Nicols, Joelle Leandre, Pierre Favre, Co Streiff, Han Bennink, Fred Anderson, Hamid Drake, La Lupa, Jurg Wickihalder
Plus these Special Performances:
1. Jazz Festival Willisau 2004: Irene Schweizer, Fred Anderson, Hamid Drake (22:00)
2. Moods Zurich 2003: Irene Schweizer, Han Bennink (34:00)
WARNING: You MUST have a PAL or Multi-FORMAT [not just multi-region] DVD player to watch this
DVD $25



TWO NEW RAS MOSHE RECORDINGS!!! YES!!!

RAS MOSHE & THE MUSIC NOW UNIT - Live Spirits: No 3 Free Music Series [ltd ed of 200 #'d copies] (Utech 034; USA) Recorded: The Stone, New York, NY, 1/19/06. Ras Moshe [tenor, soprano & alto saxes] Joe Rigby [tenor,alto & sopranino saxes] Walden Wimberley [piano] Matt Heyner [bass] Todd Nicholson [bass] Jackson Krall [drums]
CD $12

RAS MOSHE & THE MUSIC NOW UNIT - Live Spirits: No 4 Free Music Series [ltd ed of 200 #'d copies] (Utech 035; USA) Recorded: 1-3.Downtown Music Gallery, New York, 12/4/05. Ras Moshe [tenor sax, flute]/Kyoko Kitamura [voice]; 4.Music Now Festival, Lucky Cat, Brooklyn, NY, 7/28/05. Ras Moshe [tenor & alto sax) Francois Grillot [bass] Jackson Krall [drums]
CD $12

VERY FEW COPIES STILL AVAILABLE OF THE FIRST TWO VOLUMES...

RAS MOSHE AND THE MUSIC NOW UNIT - Live Spirits: No 1 Free Music Series [ltd ed of 125 #'d copies] (Utech 002; USA) Two long live tracks for two different bands. "Road: Medley" features Ras on alto & tenor saxes, Matt Heyner on bass & Jackson Krall on drums and was recorded at Syracuse University. "Full Moon Night" was recorded at the Brecht Forum and features Ras on tenor & alto saxes, Matt Lavelle trumpet, Chris Forbes on el. piano, Ken Filiano & Francois Grillot on basses and Jackson Krall on drums.
CD $12

RAS MOSHE AND THE MUSIC NOW UNIT - Live Spirits: No 2 Free Music Series [ltd ed of 125 #'d copies] (Utech 003; USA) Two more long live tracks from two of Ras' different bands. "Unnamed Peace" was recorded here at DMG and features Ras on saxes, Kyoko Kitamura on vocals and Matt Heyner & Todd Nicholson on basses. "Brooklyn Improv" was recorded at the Improvised & Otherwise Festival in Brooklyn last year and here we find Ras' monster trio (w/ Matt Heyner & Jackson Krall) showing off their knowledge of free/jazz history by building up and soon burning up the spirits.
CD $12



CHRISTIAN MARCLAY - Guitar Drag [1 sided LP] (Neon Gallery Brosard 002; Sweden) Soundtrack from the video Guitar Drag, 2000. Recorded in San Antonio Texas, on November 18th 1999. 12" one-sided transparent vinyl. 14 minutes. "The record is actually the soundtrack for Marclay's video with the same title that was shown first at London's Hayward Gallery sound art exhibition Sonic Boom in 2000. The piece as well as Marclay has become an icon in sound art circles, and although the video can only be seen in exhibitions as an installation, it is widely known. The full 14-minute soundtrack is released on a beautiful 12" clear vinyl record packaged in a sleeve with stills from the video. Filmed in San Antonio Texas, it shows an amplified Fender Stratocaster guitar attached to a rope being pulled behind a pick-up truck. As the guitar drags across the road it produces a range of sounds from the bumping and the friction against the varied surfaces. A fantastic visual piece, but also an amazing sound piece, that stands just as well alone, and in some ways just as visual! From the first sounds of duct-tape being ripped, the familiar sound of someone gently slamming the strings of the guitar, to the sounds of an engine starting and then slowly the beginning of a sound that is hollow and at the same time human, and that takes us through the deepest roarings to high pitched screams until the very end when it all slows down and stops, unwillingly it seems. Knowing the story behind the work or not, the sound itself triggers your imagination, leaving your soul no peace. For even if this could be seen, or heard, solely as a beautiful noisy sound piece, there is too much to the idea behind Guitar Drag, for it to not leave you restless and thoughtful."
LP $24


AVISHAI COHEN TRIO + AMOS HOFFMAN - Continuo (Razdaz/Sunnyside 4603; USA) "Continuo (the follow up to the critically acclaimed At Home) displays the magic of a working band, "which in this music is stronger than any concept," adds Cohen. He continued, "I'm very grateful to have two young masters (pianist Sam Barsh and drummer Mark Guiliana) of their instruments with me to convey that they are, on one hand, young in their ever thirsty minds for more information, and, on the other, old enough in their souls to emotionally express themselves on a very high level through the compositions." The trio, a crackerjack unit that has been delighting audiences around the world for almost three years, welcomed into the fold a long-time collaborator of Cohen's, fellow Israeli Amos Hoffman, who contributed his singular oud playing to several tracks. Avishai explains, "a lot of the new material on Continuo has a through-composed, classical music-like nature to it, as well as open sections for solos. In addition to that, there are strong Middle Eastern influences in some parts of the compositions. Contemplating the material for the album, I realized I wanted an additional color added to the trio in order to enhance those influences. There was only one man for the job," Amos Hoffman. "I'm excited and proud to offer you some moments of my life once again, reflected through the music," says Cohen." - AAJ "Highly Recommended!" - BLG
CD $15


PINO MINAFRA - Terronia (Enja 9480; Germany) Trumpeter Pino Minafra is one of the most colourful players on the Italian scene. Where Enrico Rava rarely strays too far from the American blueprint, Minafra draws his inspiration widely, from the '60s avant garde to the sounds of 16th Century Italy. He was responsible for one of the great discs of the 1990s, Sudori, has played a leading role in the Italian Instabile Orchestra, and been a guiding light in the La Banda project that used a traditional town brass band in both operatic lollipops and challenging new jazz compositions. Terronia is a much more composed album than Sudori. On the way strong, impassioned solos by Carlos Actis Dato (baritone) and Sandro Satta (alto) are followed by more relaxed statements by Livio Minafra (piano) and Lauro Rossi (trombone). Terronia is not for listeners who demand extensive improvisation in their jazz. The sleeve notes openly declare that composition lies at its heart. It is, however, a superb illustration of one way in which jazz has been adapted to absorb very different traditions. Strongly recommended to lovers of orchestral jazz in general and Italian jazz in particular. - Bev Stapleton, All About Jazz
CD $16


MERSAULT [TOMAS KORBER/CHRISTIAN WEBER/CHRISTIAN WOLFARTH] - Mersault (Quakebasket 23; USA) One can perceive a fantastic connection of intents between these three fine sonic geologists, a common scope that results in one of the best electroacoustic fusions that have graced my ears in 2006. The accurate choice of the right moment in which an element must be released, the keen sensitiveness of ears and fingers capturing invisible signals to reproduce them in combinations that are extremely palatable in their timbrall uniqueness: these are just a couple among the various reasons of "Mersault"'s high value. Not to mention the sheer beauty of the single sources: Korber's guitar-cum-electronics travel paths of subterranean burrows and Tuvan throat singing - just listen to the beginning of the third movement to understand what I'm saying. Wolfarth's hands modify his percussive gathering like a sculptor does with raw clay. Weber approaches his double bass as a faithful kneeling in front of an icon, getting sounds of decomposing substances and falling helicopters as a reward. There's a serious chance that this album will become a milestone after just two or three intensive listening sessions. [Grazi Massimo Ricci!]
CD $14


KLAUS FILIP/TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA - aluk (IMJ 526; Japan) "Vienna artist Klaus Filip plays music using nothing but sine waves produced with 'lloopp,' an improvisation software program he invented and continues to refine. Toshimaru Nakamura makes music simply by controlling a mixing board's internal feedback, inputting no external sounds. Two artists with highly individual playing methods, they came together to create this album of improvisational works. Two of the three tracks were recorded in a Tokyo studio in May of 2005, when Filip came to Japan along with trombonist Radu Malfatti. The third was studio-recorded the following June, when Nakamura in turn visited Vienna. The performances move along in a calm, detached manner, but also contain exquisite warmth and tension born of the whispering and murmuring of electronic sounds. A kind of sound that could only come from these two artists." CD $19


TETSUYA UMEDA - Ocket (IMJ 701; Japan) "This is the debut album of Osaka-based sound artist Tetsuya Umeda (born in 1980). Active mainly in the fields of sound installation and performance, Umeda presents works that invariably explore the character of a particular space through physical phenomena and electricity-induced minimal movement. Ocket is made up of nine performance works produced and recorded in 2003-04 and featuring Umeda's self-made speaker tool. The impression of viewing the sound from the space above results in an effect that is closer to 'observation' than to 'performing.' Through this experimental endeavor, each track attains an unimaginably beautiful, prismatic resonance. Stimulating."
CD $19


CARL HANCOCK RUX - Good Bread Alley (Blue Series/Thirsty Ear 57168; USA) Poet/spoken-word performer Carl Hancock Rux was born and raised in Harlem, NY; a product of the city's foster-care system, he later attended Columbia University. Named "One of 30 Artists Under the Age of 30 Most Likely to Influence Culture Over the Next 30 Years" in 1994 by the New York Times, over time Hancock Rux increasingly began incorporating elements of hip-hop, jazz, and R&B into his live poetry readings. Now on his third album [his first for the Matt Shipp curated Blue Series imprint], Rux's soulful delivery of neo-blues is rivaled only by his thoughtful and at times scathing social commentary. His words are surrounded in this album by swirling musical compositions and a brilliant cohesive sensibility that puts you in the mind of this creative talent. This heady brew of eclectic soul demands one's attention, and makes the listener interact with the blues.
CD $15


MELVINS [BUZZ OSBOURNE/MATT LUKIN/DALE GROVER] - Houdini Live 2005 (Ipecac 76; USA) "Welcome to the 'Melvins Live History of Gluttony and Lust.' This is the entire Houdini record plus a few changes and some extras, recorded live and made into a CD which will be immediately uploaded into cyberspace. The whole concept originated from an invitation by the delightful 'All Tomorrows Parties' people in England to perform the entire Houdini album live as part of their 'Don't Look Back' series. It included The Stooges, The Gang of Four, Dinosaur Jr., Mudhoney, The Lemon Heads, The Dirty Three and... well... I don't know who else but I know they all had to play one album in its entirety. It sounded like a brilliant idea and we thanked God that they hadn't asked us to do the Ozma record." - Buzz Osborne
CD $15


BORIS - Pink (Southern Lord 55; USA) The brand new studio album from Boris: Pink. Followers of the band already know that each release Boris will do something unexpected, entirely unique, and continually forging in a new direction. Pink is absolutely no exception! However, for possibly the first time these new recordings effectively combine all the strongest elements of what Boris is capable of into one solid, complete, concise album. The mega-drone of Amplifier Worship is apparent in songs like: (track 5), the balls-out punk rock is evident (track 4 and track 9), extreme dark-psychedelia manifests itself track 8 and 10) and the '70s fuzzed out acid rock is represented in foot stomping tracks like the title track and track 3. The clincher on Pink and new element that is brought to the table is an infusion of ultra-catchy melodicism into their already heavy foundation. The album opener and closer as well as title track contain infectious vocal melodies that, combined with intelligent song-writing, create a solidified, undeniable union. As with all previous Boris releases on Southern Lord, the packaging is uniquely psychedelic with the utmost attention to detail created by Stephen O' Malley . Pink come with a die-cut cover that when opened reveals 3 perforated acid-tab cards!
"11 on a scale of 10!" - Mikey IQ Jones
CD $14


ESPERS - II (Drag City 310; USA) "From the beginning, Espers has been a living, growing thing. II finds the group at sextet size, with greater powers and capabilities than before. Still, the original spirit of the band - the American ideal of the democracy (that is in no way reflected in its current government) - rules Espers in everything they do, gives them true freedoms to reach for the spiritual and the fun at once, and to make their music from it. The sound of Espers II was achieved using a mad variety of instruments, from your standard, everyday Martin 6-string acoustics, Fender jazzbass and drumkit to more exotic implements such as doumbek, dholak and male & female larynx (which we assume are swung around in the air to produce a recorder-like sound). Espers at play tap into their shared spaces with joy and a sense of humor (and wonder, naturally). The musical outcome is a friendly new sensation - as the record plays, it warms the room and dims the lights with dense yet agile atmospherics, allowing you, the listener to relax, despite and yet still in communion with the realities of our present day." Outstanding psych/folk masterwork! - BLG
CD $14 or
LP $14


FAUN FABLES - The Transit Rider (Drag City 314; USA) "This selection of songs draws from a theme that began in 1994 - when Dawn McCarthy (a/k/a Faun Fables) was introduced to the complete world of the NYC subway in all its repetitious and transient glory and began writing about it. It was made into a full length theater show in 2002 in San Francisco, aided by the inspiration & work of director Allen Willner and a cast of thirteen."
CD $14



DEN & BREADFAST [ANDREA BELFI/ANDREA FACCIOLI] - Acoustic & Semiacoustic (Sachimay Interventions 28; USA) Duo works from improvisers Andrea Belfi (drums) and Andrea Faccioli (guitar) of Verona, Italy. Working with a palette that combines late-period Coltrane with free-rhythm acoustic blues, the two create a free-jazz suite full of space, warmth, and energy. "Den & BreadFast loves: fast & relax, substance, acoustic sounds & sometimes electric sounds, blues feelings, storm & stress, improvisation, J. Coltrane's Spazio Interstellare & A. Coltrane's Coscienza Universale, fluctuating arpeggios, the thin (red) line between rhythm & arrhythm, the voice & the onomatopoeia as score." Total time: 34:06.
Sachimay Interventions is a CDR series created by and for artists working in the fields of free improvisation, electronic/turntable/computer music, ambient, free jazz, composed New Music, spoken word, and other "out" forms. All disks are burned by the artists and package in recognizable numbered series-design sleeves that can be printed cheaply on the artist's home computer. In rejection of the dictum that price is an indicator of quality, all Sachimay Interventions CDRs are priced at only $5 -- free music for an almost-free price.
CD $5

CHAINWORKS [DAN DeCHELLIS/MATT HANAFIN/BRIAN MORAN] - Victory Sessions, 2002 (Sachimay Interventions 29; USA) Music from the vault, featuring Dan DeChellis (electric piano/synth), Brian Moran (circuit-bent and other electronics), and Matt Hannafin (percussion). Recorded in summer 2002 at ArtScience, NYC (Sasha Victory, proprietor), then left in the barrel to age. "Formidable . . . alchemical . . . dense and intricate. Shifts quickly from spacious, textured soundscapes to veritable explosions of noise" -- The Weekly Dig (Boston). "An intricate hubbub . . . [with] piano phrasing, scales, and contrasting dynamics that recall Stravinsky and Ludoslawski" -- All-Music Guide. Total time: 56:15
Sachimay Interventions is a CDR series created by and for artists working in the fields of free improvisation, electronic/turntable/computer music, ambient, free jazz, composed New Music, spoken word, and other "out" forms. All disks are burned by the artists and package in recognizable numbered series-design sleeves that can be printed cheaply on the artist's home computer. In rejection of the dictum that price is an indicator of quality, all Sachimay Interventions CDRs are priced at only $5 -- free music for an almost-free price.
CD $5



WE MENTIONED THIS ONE IN PASSING LAST WEEK FOR OUR ENO CONTINGENT - AS IT'S ESSENTIALLY A 'MAINSTREAM' RELEASE - BUT UPON LISTENING DISCOVERED THIS IS WORTH REMENTIONING IN DETAIL.
HERE'S AN OPINION THAT REFLECTS OUR OWN..

PAUL SIMON Featuring BRIAN ENO With PINO PALLADINO/STEVE GADD/BILL FRISELL/HERBIE HANCOCK et al - Surprise (That's Me) (Warner Bros; USA) In a 'surprise' move for Brian Eno, he has become Simon's collaborator for an entire album, credited with 'electronics' [Sonic Landscape] on every cut [except for the last one, track 11 "Father And Daughter"], as well as having co-written 3 of those 10 songs. Musicians include the rhythm section of Palladino and Gadd, as well as Gil Goldstein on keyboards, and great guest appearances from Bill Frisell and Herbie Hancock
"The obvious surprise of Surprise, Paul Simon's tenth solo album and his first since 2000's underrated You're the One, is that the singer/songwriter has enlisted Brian Eno as his collaborator. At first glance the pairing seems odd, even awkward, since they seem to come from opposing backgrounds: Simon the folk-rock troubadour and Eno the avant-garde art rock adventurist. Dig a little deeper, and the similarities do surface. For one, there is the mutual shared interest in world music -- most evident in Eno's productions/collaborations with Talking Heads at the start of the '80s and on Simon's 1986 Graceland and its 1990 follow-up, The Rhythm of the Saints, but there are undercurrents running as far back as Simon & Garfunkel's "Cecilia." But more than any other singer/songwriter of his generation, Paul Simon has demonstrated a keen interest in having his albums sound unique and distinct from each other, using each album as an opportunity to explore a different sonic characteristic, so working with a sonic landscaper (as his back-cover credit on Surprise calls him) is not out of character.
Similarly, Eno has not been entirely adverse to pop, either, as his ongoing collaboration with U2 proves, not to mention his productions for James or even the flamboyant pop of such early Roxy Music singles as "Virginia Plain." So, their collaboration here is unexpected, but not unnatural -- in fact, it's anything but unnatural, since Surprise is as seamless and graceful as Graceland, which it resembles greatly in how it blends a new sound with Simon's songs. But where Graceland found Simon writing around existing rhythm tracks, the opposite is true here: Eno fills in the space behind songs, creating an evocative, dream-like bed for Simon's words, which, more than ever, scan equally well as poetry as they do song lyrics. Simon was shifting toward this direction on You're the One, but he pushes even harder here, largely abandoning familiar song structures, for elliptical, winding songs that demand attention. [Only two cuts here have something resembling a conventional chorus, and one of those is "Father and Daughter," originally released on the Wild Thornberrys soundtrack and the only track not treated by Eno] These are songs that cry out for the kind of cinematic sounds Eno brings to them, since he helps give them structure, momentum, and emotional weight, and his "sonic landscapes" do this precisely, following the contours of Simon's words and enhancing his meaning.
And while Surprise glides along easily, thanks both to Eno's seamless work and the warmth of Simon's voice, it's an album meant to be listened to closely, and it pays back that effort handsomely. With repeated plays, Simon's songs don't seem as open-ended, and there's more to discover within Eno's production, particularly in how it plays off Simon's recurring themes of faith, aging, fatherhood, and getting by in George W. Bush's U.S.A. But this is not by any stretch a protest record; "How Can You Live in the Northeast?" and "Wartime Prayers" are about the uneasiness of living in the post-9/11 America, yet they're not statements of outrage, they're about the emotional toil of the time, and they have counterparts in the wearied narrators of "Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean" and "Outrageous." It adds up to a bittersweet undercurrent that runs through Surprise, not unlike the melancholy threaded throughout Hearts and Bones, which this also resembles in its overall introspective tone and arty bent, but this is hardly a one-dimensional record; there is gentle hope and wry humor as well, giving this music a rich elegance that makes it stand among Simon's best work. Unlike such deservedly praised comeback albums from some of his peers -- such as Dylan's Love and Theft, the Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang, Paul McCartney's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard -- Simon doesn't achieve his comeback by reconnecting with the sound and spirit of his classic work; he has achieved it by being as restless and ambitious as he was at his popular and creative peak, which makes Surprise all the more remarkable. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG
CD $17




JUST OUT CLASSIC BRIT-JAZZ RARITIES FROM VOCALION...

JOHN SURMAN/ALAN SKIDMORE/TONY OXLEY With MIKE OSBORNE/HARRY BECKETT/KENNY WHEELER - Jazz in Britain '68-'69 (Vocalion SML8418; UK) Following the success of Vocalions Alan Skidmore (CDSML 8406 Once Upon a Time) and John Surman issues (CDSML 8402 & 8410), CDSML 8418 comprises the superb Jazz in Britain '68-'69. This album, recorded during the sessions that yielded Skidmore's Once Upon a Time LP, paired Surman, Skidmore and drummer Tony Oxley with a stellar cast of British jazz musicians in a set of complex and beautiful original compositions. The band is wonderfully cohesive, and the loose-yet-disciplined playing/soloing of such giants as Kenny Wheeler, Mike Osborne and Harry Beckett - not to mention Surman, Skidmore and Oxley - gives the music a completely organic and natural feel, as only musicians like these can produce.
CD $17

MICHAEL GARRICK TRIO With DAVE GREEN/TREVOR TOMKINS - Cold Mountain (Vocalion SML8415; UK) Pianist-composer Michael Garrick makes his fourth and fifth appearance in Vocalion's CDSML series during February 2006, with more of his thoughtful, sometimes esoteric but always unique brand of jazz. CDSML 8415 features Cold Mountain, his 1972 trio recording for Decca's Argo subsidiary, and consists of seven original Garrick compositions including the exquisite First Born. Garrick receives brilliant support from double bassist Dave Green and drummer Trevor Tomkins who, incidentally, is the cousin of British jazz piano legend Roy Budd. "Pianist Michael Garrick has long occupied a unique position in British jazz, having recorded in a variety of settings that include secular and liturgical works.
This 1972 recording, only his second in a trio format, catches him at his most introspective and meditational. Part of an ongoing series of Garrick's work, hearing him in a trio context does set this album aside from the rest. It is an album that pays testimony to the literary education of the pianist and his passionate interest in connecting poetry and music, singling out Garrick as both a remarkable and idiosyncratic artist. The near anthemic 'First Born' is quite simply an ode to joy and it should come as little surprise, then, that this was chosen as the main theme to the excellent BBC Jazz Britannia series recently. Almost as good with its delightful blues inflections is 'Thanksgiving dance'. Perhaps the most ambitious piece is the monumental title track, which, at over thirteen minutes, displays a range of tempos and Garrick at his improvisational best.
Whether it be the instinctive interplay between the trio, or the exceptional recording quality and mastering, one cannot but conclude that we have before us an album that has all the qualities of a long neglected masterpiece." - Tim Stenhouse, Manchester Evening News, 31 March 2006
CD $17

MICHAEL GARRICK QUINTET With JOE HARRIOTT/SHAKE KEANE - Poetry And Jazz In Concert & Before Night/Day [2 CD set] (Vocalion SML8416; UK) contains the glorious 1964 Argo double album Poetry and Jazz in Concert. The Michael Garrick Quintet featuring Shake Keane and Joe Harriott provides the jazz while the mercurial, witty minds and tongues of Jeremy Robson, Dannie Abse, Laurie Lee and Adrian Mitchell provide the poetry. Also included is the rare 1966 Argo EP Before Night/Day by the Michael Garrick Quintet with Jeremy Robson. Issued in stereo for the first time, it focuses on further explorations into the fascinating marriage of jazz with poetry.
2 CD set for $22

AMANCIO D'SILVA - Konkan Dance (Vocalion SML8420; UK) This was supposed to be India-born, British-based jazz guitar great, Amancio D'Silva 5th and final album produced by Denis Preston, but it was never released until now. Last year we received copies of Amancio's amazing 'Integration' reissue from 1969, where his backed by the Don Rendell/Ian Carr Group. 'Konkan Dance' was recorded in 1974 and features Amancio on acoustic & electric guitars, Don Rendell on soprano & tenor sax, Stan Tracey on piano, Alan Branscombe on flute, vibes & electric piano, Clem Alford on sitar, Toni Campo on electric bass and Mick Ripshar or Keshav Sathe on tablas. This recording shows how Amcancio has evolved from the progressive British jazz of 'Integration' and blended his Indian influences into four long raga-like pieces. The tabla player(s) and bassist play this great sly groove on "A Street in Bombay" while Rendell plays sumptuous sax and Amancio takes an incredible slow, bluesy sitar-like solo that builds hypnotically. "What Maria Sees" features what sounds like electric bass and sitar laying down another sly groove as Branscombe's electric piano and Amancio's guitar weaves their lines magically together. Legendary British sitarist Clem Alford also takes a fine solo on this piece. Amancio plays some superb acoustic guitar on "A Song for Francesca" (his daughter), an exquisite piece with haunting flute, mystical vibes, sinuous soprano sax, both dreamy and quietly mesmerizing. The title piece closes this grand disc with some rather psychedelic fuzz-tone guitar, an unexpected yet winning jazz/rock tune. Both Don Rendell on tenor, Stan Tracey on piano and Amancio on electric guitar (his one & only heavy solo) all take great solos here. Amancio D'Silva's 'Konkan Dance' is a long lost treasure that has finally seen the light of day and it is about time! - BLG
CD $17

...STILL IN STOCK...LAST COPIES..

NEIL ARDLEY/IAN CARR/MIKE GIBBS/STAN TRACEY With KENNY WHEELER/JOHN TAYLOR/TONY LEVIN et al - Will Power: A Shakepeare Birthday Celebration In Music (Vocalion SML8412; UK) Norma Winstone and Pepi Lemer (voices), Kenny Wheeler (trumpet, flugelhorn), Tony Coe (reeds), Paul Buckmaster and Colin Walker (amplified celli), Gordon Beck, John Taylor and Stan Tracey (electric and acoustic keyboards), Ron Matthewson (double bass), Tony Levin (drums), Trevor Tomkins (percussion)
2 CD set for $28

[PAUL BUCKMASTER'S] CHITINOUS ENSEMBLE With IAN CARR/CHRIS LAURENCE/JOHN MARSHALL/BRAIN SMITH - Chitinous (Vocalion SML8405; UK) This was cellist/arranger/composer Paul Buckmaster's first and only date as a leader, it was released in 1971. It is more like an orchestra featuring nearly fifty musicians. The more well-known players include Ian Carr, Brian Smith & John Marshall (all from Nucleus), Peter Robinson (Quatermass & Suntreader), Brian Odgers (McLaughlin's 'Extrapolation' to Sweet Thursday) and Chris Lawrence. "Chitinous" was composed and arranged by Mr. Buckmaster, who also worked with David Bowie, Elton John and the Rolling Stones around that same time. Buckmaster was a friend and inspiration for Miles Davis and did some of arrangements for Miles' classic 'On the Corner' sessions. "Chitinous" refers to the substance that forms the horny skin or texture of beetles and crustaceans. The music blends jazz, rock and modern classical ideas into a fascinating work. The writing for large string section is particularly strong, as various instruments swirl mysteriously together with some fine soprano sax (Smith), electric piano (Robinson), flugelhorn (Carr), assorted percussion and drums. The suite-like piece has a sly, sumptuous vibe running through it. It sounds like an early version of Neil Ardley's 'Kaleidoscope of Rainbows", which was performed by an extended version of Nucleus that included Buckmaster as a guest. The piece is relatively short (about 35 minutes), but it holds interest throughout. It is unfortunate that Mr. Buckmaster didn't get another chance to another work like this. He did score some films though, like the British version of 'Macbeth' that was performed by the Third Ear Band, as well as a more obscure film called 'Friends' (directed by Lewis Gilbert). This fine offering pretty much disappeared soon after it was released, but thereXs still no reason to ignore this gem nearly 35 years later. - BLG
CD $17

ALAN COHEN With KENNY WHEELER/MICHAEL GIBBS/NORMA WINSTONE - Running Wild/Black Brown & Beige [2 CD set] (Vocalion LK 4252; UK) British arranger and conductor, Alan Cohen, leads two large ensembles performing tributes to two big band leaders of yesteryear, Paul Whiteman and Duke Ellington. The collective personnel includes such favorites as Kenny Wheeler, Harry Beckett & Henry Lowther on trumpets; Malcolm Griffiths & Mike Gibbs on trombones; Alan Skidmore, Art Themen & John Warren on saxes; Brian Priestley on piano, Alan Jackson on drums and Norma Winstone on vocals.
Duke Ellington's great work, "Black, Brown and Beige" is done here superbly with wonderful, warm and grand arrangements by Alan Cohen, an Ellington aficionado. The piece itself was never recorded in its entirety, according to the liner notes, so Mr. Cohen and pianist Priestley had to quite a bit of reconstruction based on various recordings done by Duke's orchestra. Duke's supreme composing, luscious melodies and radiant harmonies are done tastefully throughout. - BLG
2 CD set for $22

MICHAEL GARRICK SEPTET With IAN CARR/DON RENDLE/JOE HARRIOTT/TONY COE et al - Black Marigolds (Vocalion SML8411; UK) The septet is Garrick on piano, harpsichord and celeste; Ian Carr trumpet & flugelhorn; Joe Harriott alto sax; Don Rendell tenor and soprano saxes; Tony Coe tenor sax, Dave Green bass, and Trevor Tomkins drums. Interspersed amidst the nine selections are a 'Poetry & Jazz' Trio for which Colin Barnes is the drummer instead.
CD $17

MICHAEL GARRICK QUINTET With JOE HARRIOTT/SHAKE KEANE - October Woman/Anthem-Wedding Hymm (Vocalion SML8413; UK) LP + EP on 1 CD! Joe Harriott (alto-sax), Shake Keane (trumpet), Michael Garrick (piano), Coleridge Goode (bass), Colin Barnes (drums) [with Simon Preston (organ) and The Elizabethan Singers on the last two cuts]
CD $17

MICHAEL GARRICK With NORMA WINSTONE - Troppo (Universal IR 9866892; UK) [Gilles Peterson Impressed/Repressed series] The Rendell/Carr Quintet's pianist Michael Garrick struck out on his own on this amazing 1973 recording made with vocalist Norma Winstone. Players include Don Rendell, Coleridge Goode, and Art Themen.
CD $19

SHAKE KEANE With PAT SMYTHE/STAN TRACEY/COLERIDGE GOODE et al - That's The Noise (Vocalion SML8408; UK) Featuring the great Shake Keane on flugelhorn & trumpet, Bob Efford on tenor & oboe, Olaf Vas on flute, Pat Smythe or Stan Tracey on piano, Coleridge Goode on bass and Bobby Orr on drums. Shake Keane was a legendary trumpeter who often collaborated with the mighty Joe Harriott throughout the sixties. I had no idea that he ever made any albums as a leader until seeing this disc and finding out he has two other reissued albums in print. 'That's the Noise' was released in 1967, during the swinging London rock ear and features mostly covers of songs by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Tom Jones, Donavon and The Beatles, as well as a couple of originals. Although I do have a fondness for many of these tunes, some are a bit corny, yet Shake does play everything great taste, adding some verve to some of these sixties pop gems. A few of these pieces are quite lovely, especially Shake's own "New Sunday", The Beatles' "Girl" and Donavon's "Colours". On the final piece, Shake's "Fidel", we get to hear pianist Stan Tracey and saxist Bob Efford stretch out a bit. More pieces like this would have made this disc great rather just pretty good. - BLG
CD $17

TONY KINSEY QUINTET With JOE HARRIOTT/DON RENDELL - Introducing The Tony Kinsey Quintet/Jazz at the Flamingo [2 CD set] (Vocalion LK4213; UK) Two fine quintet dates led by Tony Kinsey, an impressive British jazz drummer, composer and bandleader from 1956 & 1957 and featuring two different frontlines. 'Introducing' features Don Rendell on tenor sax, Ronnie Ross on bari sax, Bill Le Sage on piano & vibes, Pete Blannin on bass and Tony Kinsey on drums. I am more familiar with Don Rendell during the sixties, when he led and then co-led the great Rendell/Ian Carr Quintet. I hadn't heard of the other fine players here, but all of them play just fine. They do mostly covers of Ellington, Cole Porter, Strayhorn and Gershwin, as well as two originals. They play Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" at a burnin', boppin' pace with inspired solos from both saxes and the piano. Rendell reminds me of Stan Getz from the same period when he too was spinning out those furious bop licks, with that effortless sounding smooth tone. Tony's grand drums are at the center of the storm, keeping that pace ultra-quick and in your face. Duke's "In a Mellow Tone", features some superb sax from Rendell, jeez what a luscious tone. Both original pieces show off the composing talents of Tony and Mr. Le Sage, both are excellent post-bop tunes, tight and richly played. Superb brush-work from Tony, make this a nice treat. All of these fifties standards are done with taste, care and inventiveness, as well as numerous inspired solos.
"Jazz at the Flamingo" Session features two other saxists with the same rhythm team. Future legend, Joe Harriott on alto sax and Bob Efford on tenor. Originally from the West Indies, Harriott moved to London a couple of years earlier and went on to become one of England's finest and most influential modern jazz saxists, Harriott's revolutionary playing in the early sixties reviled Ornette and Dolphy, for innovations on alto sax as the same time that they were developing their own ideas. The "Flamingo" Session was recorded at the Railway Arms pub in May of 1957. It is a gas to hear Harriott just before he broke the modern jazz barriers. At this point, he sounds as if he is coming out of Bird-land, yet his tone is still his own. This set features mostly originals by Kinsey, Le Sage and Harriott, as well as a couple of standards by Johnny Hodges and Duke Ellington. Both Harriott and tenor saxist Bob Efford have strong, smooth tones and take great solos throughout. Le Sage also takes a number of inventive solos on both piano and vibes, but it is Kinsey who sounds so fine throughout, what a gifted drummer and arranger he is. The mysterious and haunting "Pic's Lament" features the atmospheric vibes of Le Sage, with the glowing harmonies of both saxes. The closer is Joe Harriott's bopping blues tune, called "Just Goofin'" with furious solos from Harriott and Bob Efford both. Whoa! Overall, this is certainly as great as any other post-bop session from the same period, so you best get down with the brilliant Tony Kinsey Quintet(s)! - BLG
2 CD set for $22

THE IVOR & BASIL KIRCHIN BIG BAND - Gotta Be This Or That: EMI Singles Compilation (Vocalion LK4307; UK) Before Kurchin scion Basil came into his own as a cult composer of weird pre-digital sampled recordings in the early '70s with players like Evan Parker and Kenny Wheeler - as well as making the occasional offbeat soundtrack score [The Abominable Dr Phibes, et al] - he played drums in his father Ivor's Jazz Big Band in the '50s. Here are their rare recordings.
CD $17

HENRY LOWTHER BAND - Child Song (Vocalion SML8403; UK) Trumpeter Henry Lowther has been all over the jazz map, playing with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood Of Breath, John Surman's Brass Project, Sam Rivers, Keith Tippett, Mike Westbrook, Graham Collier, Michael Garrick...ad infinitum. Here he is leading a group with Darryl Runswick, Tony Roberts, Mike Travis, Mike McNaught, Jimmy Jewell, Neil Slaven. Bears many similarites to the jazz heart side of Soft Machine! MannyLunch and BLG THUMBS UP!
CD $17

DON RENDELL JAZZ SIX - Playtime..plus (Vocalion LK4284; UK) predates the Rendell/Ian Carr association of the '60s. With Eddie Courtley, Eddie Harvey, Ronnie Ross, Peter Blannin, Andy White. Also added to this CD are two eps: Jeff Kruger's 'Jazz At The Flamingo Vol 1', and 'The Jazz Comittee' with Bert Courtley.
CD $17

ALAN SKIDMORE QUINTET With KENNY WHEELER/JOHN TAYLOR/HARRY MILLER/TONY OXLEY - Once Upon a Time (Vocalion SML8406; UK) One of the best British avant-jazz discs ever. From 1968 and an incredible all-star line-up. What else you need to know? 'Nuff said!! - MannyLunch AND Bruce !!!
CD $17

JOHN SURMAN With MIKE OSBORNE/KENNY WHEELER/HARRY MILLER/DAVE HOLLAND/HARRY BECKETT - John Surman [a/k/a Anglo-Sax] (Vocalion SML8402; UK) This is baritone sax legend John Surman's first date as a leader and it is pretty amazing. The first 4 cuts are a sextet with MIke Osborne, Harry Miller, Russell Henderson. Stirling Betancourt, and Errol Phillips; the last 3 are a endecatet [11tet] with Henderson, Betancourt, Phillips, Dave Holland, Alan Jackson, Kenny Wheeler, Harry Beckett, Malcolm Griffiths, Paul Rutherford, Tom Bennelick. Yeow!
CD $17

MIKE TAYLOR - Trio (Universal IR 9866894; UK) [Gilles Peterson Impressed-Repressed series] Although not generally known today, Mike Taylor was a great British jazz pianist, often compared favorably with Bill Evans, and yet distinctly his own man. Here the trio - Jack Bruce or Ronnie Rubin on bass, and Jon Hiseman on drums - start this 1967 recording off in a basically straight ahead modern jazz flavor, but each succesive cut gets freer and looser!
CD $19

MIKE WESTBROOK CONCERT BAND With MIKE OSBORNE/PAUL RUTHERFORD/CHRIS SPEDDING/HARRY MILLER et al - Love Songs (Vocalion SML8407; UK) 'Love Songs' is a beautifully executed reissue and without doubt the best so far this year - this Vocalion edition must surely be the one Mike would be proud of, the mastering by Mike Dutton has improved the sound of the original LP quite stunningly and this sensitive reissue is streets ahead of the Japanese ones. The last track, the LP version of Original Peter sandwiches the main part of the album with the two bonus tracks, the reason for this re-order is unclear but it still is effective. The new liner notes, are a bonus too, since there were no liner notes with the original vinyl release in 1970. I really do hope that Mike is pleased with this reissue because it is a solid testament to his compositional skills, subtle piano playing and leading of a superb band. The two extra bonus tracks - the single version of Original Peter, which differs from the LP version with Mike on electric piano, also benefits from a quiet unintentional voice picked up on an open mic, possibly by Mike himself, saying "alright, keep it going now" at 4'39". The other bonus track Magic Garden is a hippy trippy but nonetheless excellent song, that shows the direction in which Mike was heading [towards] Solid Gold Cadillac, a little later on. Of Course, has some terrific solos from Mike Osborne, Paul Rutherford and Dave Holdsworth and some typically ebullient blowing on tenor from George Khan. Naturally, Norma Winstone is superb on the vocal tracks. I think this album is a milestone both in Mike's career and in the history of British jazz. What more can I say? - Roger Farbey, All About Jazz Forum
CD $17



MILES DAVIS QUINTET With JOHN COLTRANE/RED GARLAND/PAUL CHAMBERS/PHILLY JOE JONES - The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions [4 CD box set] (Prestige/Fantasy 44444; USA) Released just 3 days before what would have been Miles' 80th birthday [May 26th 2006], this is a special newly done 24-bit remastering from the original analog master tapes - The famed quintet sessions featuring John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones on 4 CDs, one of which consists of 8 previously unreleased radio and television audio performances!!!
Also includes five complete musical transcriptions of Miles' solos (suitable for printing) Housed in a beautiful box featuring the original Miles Davis painting New York By Night on the front cover. Includes a 40-page booklet with annotation by esteemed Jazz historian Bob Blumenthal.
"More than any other ensemble, the Davis five could play burning bebop, churning hard bop, and blithely bouncing show tunes. They breathed new life into long-forgotten standards, and their deep-night ballads, featuring the leader's insinuating, Harmon-muted melodic statements, could inspire love sonnets for the ages.
Moreover, each supremely gifted member of the group was very much his own man. There was the clipped lyricism of the nattily-attired Davis; the vertiginous flights of the rapidly-developing tenor saxophonist John Coltrane; pianist Red Garland's bell-like chords and sunny solos; the buoyant lines and eloquent bowing of young bassist Paul Chambers; and drummer Philly Joe Jones's nonstop drive and slick brush work. Davis and company set the bar almost impossibly high, as these 32 selections, the quintet's valedictory for Prestige before moving to Columbia, make abundantly clear.
Recorded in three sessions by the legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder at his Hackensack, New Jersey studio to simulate 'typical' nightclub sets, virtually every tune has become a classic! [in stock Tuesday]
4 CD box set for $56



KING CRIMSON [ROBERT FRIPP/JOHN WETTON/BILL BRUFORD/DAVID CROSS] - USA (DGM/Inner Knot; USA) The very first FULL album of live material (Starless And Bible Black was more than half live, though not disclosed at the time) from the John Wetton - Bill Bruford - David Cross - Robert Fripp lineup of 72-74, released in 1975, was comprised of material taken from the Asbury Park, NJ show June 28th '74 the 4th to last show (with the exception of "...Schizoid Man" which is from the Providence, RI show that same week - June 30th '74 the 2nd to last show; if you want to hear the Schizoid Man cut from the Asbury show, you'll have to find a copy of the 5-versions "Schizoid Man" CDep from 1996, go figure!) only a few days before their very last performance together (on 7/1/74 in Central Park NYC). As Cross hated the perennial encore number "21st Century Schizoid Man", his performances during them, when viewed in the hindsight of the recordings, were often weak - Fripp felt the necessity to overdub a studio solo by Eddie Jobson over Cross's part when the album was released. This powerful recording, finally on CD, preserves that studio alteration (you can hear the that same performance un-retouched with Cross in place in the 'Great Deceiver' box set). But these extremely ball-busting (the Wetton-Bruford rhythm section!) live versions are to die for - check out the lengthy improv piece "Asbury Park"- and the absolute must have CD bonus? Full length previously unreleased versions of "Starless" and "Fracture" from those shows! Crimso fans cannot do without!!!
[keep this description handy - the CD packaging itself doesn't contain any of this recording date information!]
CD $14

KING CRIMSON [ROBERT FRIPP/MEL COLLINS/BOZ BURRELL/IAN WALLACE/PETER SINFIELD] - Earthbound (DGM/Inner Knot; USA) Never released in the US on LP (Atlantic rejected it on the basis of the rough recording quality of the board cassette used) this album finally makes its world debut on CD. I actually never liked this at the time (I thought the title was quite appropriate!) but hearing it now in retrospect I'm stunned by the long improv that is launched by the Boz Burrell/Ian Wallace/Mel Collins/Robert Fripp lineup (71-72) based on the proto-Mahavishu-like studio instrumental "Groon" (recorded by Fripp, Giles & Giles as a Crimson b-side in March 1970). This grouping was arguably the closest Crimson ever got to jazz-blues rock, but purists of those forms would look at this as just plain weird. Four stretched-out versions (same as the LP) of Crimson tunes include a stunning "electronic" drum solo: Ian Wallace playing his acoustic kit through a VCS synthesizer! And for those who make the mistake of thinking Mel Collins just a slick studio saxman, there is irrefutable proof to be had here just how amazingly raw, emotional and powerful an improvisor he was when teamed with a creative outfit!!
CD $14



RESTOCKS ON
LEGENDARY ACTUEL/BYG RELEASES FROM SUN RA, DON CHERRY, GRACHAN MONCUR III, ARCHIE SHEPP. ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO, as well as EARLY CLASSICS from DAEVID ALLEN & THE PLANET GONG COLLECTIVE!

GONG: DAEVID ALLEN/GILLI SMYTH - Magick Brother (Actuel 5/Charly SNAP 199; UK) The very first Gong album - The mythology began here! Recorded in 1969 and originally released on the legendary French BYG label, this CD reissue beautifully replicates the original's artwork on a nice fold-out digipak and thankfully rescues this work into public visibility. Led by Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth, Gong's debut album presented their spiked vision of "The Kingdom of the Pothead Pixies" into truly illustrious fashion. The spiritual heirs to the fractured throne of Syd's Pink Floyd, this is space-whisper genius from the peak days of the psychedelic dream.
CD $15

DAEVID ALLEN [GONG] With ROBERT WYATT/GARY WRIGHT - Banana MooN (Actuel 45/Charly SNAP 238; UK) 1st Daevid Allen solo album is a star studded affair with Robert Wyatt, Gary Wright, Maggie Bell, Archie Legget, Gerry Fields and Barry St John.
CD $15

GONG [DAEVID ALLEN/GILLI SMYTH] - Camembert Electrique (Actuel 53/Charly SNAP 009; UK) 2nd of the original Gilli Smyth/Daevid Allen Gong albums (not counting the soundtrack Continental Circus) and the prequel to the Radio Gnome trilogy to follow. Recorded in 1971, this is sometimes thought of as Gong's first proper studio album and it is a classic! A testament to a unique prog rock that branched out in all directions at once. A mixture of psychedelic rock, spacey sounds and lyrics with doses of jazz with a pop but intense sensibility. Camembert Electrique remains undated after 30 years.
CD $15

GONG [DAEVID ALLEN/GILLI SMYTH et al] - Camembert Electrique (Actuel 53/Charly SNIP 405; UK) Same as above, BUT PACKAGED IN A MINI-LP PRESENTATION WITH EXPANDED BOOKLET PRESENTATION.
CD $17

GONG [DAEVID ALLEN/GILLI SMYTH et al] - Flying Teapot [Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy Pt 1] (BYG/Charly SNAP 25; UK) "Originally released in 1973 on Virgin. First part of what become known as their Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy. 'An avant garde collection of sound effects, sax, jazzy improvisation and comic vocals.' -- Tapestry of Delights. Everyone's been waiting for Virgin UK to re-release this with current remastering and extra cuts, as they recently have done for parts two and three of the Radio Gnome Invisible, but unfortunately the 30 year legal debacle continues as to who actually owns this recording - Virgin or Charly/BYG - as both issued the LP originally.
CD $15


ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO - A Jackson In Your House/Message To Our Folks (Actuel 2 & 28/Charly; UK) Before drummer Don Moye joined the Art Ensemble, they were still a cosmic quartet that played "Great Black Music - Ancient to the Future" and featured four giants - Roscoe Mitchell & Joseph Jarman on numerous reeds & percussion, Lester Bowie on trumpets and Malachi Favors on basses & percussion! Two essential albums which stretch the boundaries of jazz from the gospel of "Old Time Religion" to the bebop of Bird's "Dexterity" to the out/rock of "Rock Out" to the avant/space/jazz of the future -"A Brain for the Seine"!!! Two of the classic Actuel LPs on 1 CD!
CD $16

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO - Live In Paris [2 CD set] (BYG Actuel/Charly; UK) Originally only released on double LP in Japan on BYG. Recorded in Paris on Oct. 5, 1969 after the Art Ensemble (Roscoe Mitchell, Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Malachi Favors, and Fontella Bass [Mrs. Bowie] on vocalizations) has headed to Europe to find work and recording opportunities. Regarding the Art Ensemble's trip to France, trumpet player Lester Bowie said, 'I sold everything that I had and bought the tickets...we had to leave Chicago to let people know what was happening....you can't stay regional, not if you have something the world wants to hear...' Highest Recommendation!
[Not originally an Actuel series LP release; its cover is configured to imitate one here]
CD $22

DON CHERRY - "Mu" First Part/"Mu" Second Part (Actuel 1 & 31/Charly; UK) The classic duo sessions of Don Cherry on all manner of wind instruments and his main axe (pocket trumpet) with drummer extroadinaire Ed Blackwell. Two classic Actuel LPs complete on one CD!
CD $16

DON CHERRY - Orient/Blue Lake [2 CD set] (BYG/Actuel/Charly SNAD 513; UK) Both these titles were originally released as 2 LP sets only in Japan on the BYG label. The contents of all four LPs are found here complete! Orient - Extremely rare, much sought after and marvelous sessions featuring two trios: one with the late contrabass legend Johnny Dyani (Blue Notes, Brotherhood of Breath) and Okay Temiz, the legendary Turkish percussion master on 'Eagle Eye Part 1 & 2' and 'Togetherness', recorded in Paris on April 22nd; the other trio features legendary Dutch drummer Han Bennink with Mocqui on tamboura on 'Orient Part 1 & 2' and 'Si Ta Ra Ma' recorded in Carpentras, France on August 11th, '71 -- and world traveler, free-spirited pocket trumpet god and multi-instrumentalist (piano, dousangooni and vocals) Don Cherry fronting both trios! These are amazing live recordings from 1971 & 1972 from France!
Blue Lake - Extremely rare and sought after recordings featuring Don Cherry on trumpets, piano, dousangooni and vocals with the late contrabass legend Johnny Dyani (Blue Notes, Brotherhood of Breath) and Okay Temiz, the legendary Turkish percussion master; and we believe (though you can't tell from the original Japanese text replicated here) Dollar Brand [Abdullah Ibrahim] makes it a quartet on "Dollar's Tune" ! These are amazing live recordings from 1971
[Not originally Actuel series LP releases - just BYG Japan; its cover is configured to imitate one here]
2 CD set for $22

GRACHAN MONCUR III - New Africa/Aco Dei De Madrugada [One Morning I Woke Up Very Early] (Actuel 21 & 33/Charly; UK) These 2 albums complete on 1 CD! New Africa: One of the rarest and most sought after of all BYG avant-jazz classics featuring Roscoe Mitchell, Dave Burrell, Alan Silva, Andrew Cyrille, Archie Shepp [1 cut], and legendary trombone hero - Grachan Moncur III! Grachan has only recorded a few albums - two for Blue Note, one for JCOA and this one and Aco Dei for BYG- all of which were great! Aco Dei De Madrugada [One Morning I Woke Up Very Early]: This avant-jazz trombone legend Grachan's second BYG date as a leader and it is a Saravah studio effort from September & November of 1969. His European quartet includes Fernando Martins on piano, Beb Guerin on bass and Nelson Serra De Castro on drums. After this, Grachan would do only one more date as a leader with the Jazz Composer's Orchestra and pretty much retire from the scene for a few decades.
CD $16

ARCHIE SHEPP - Yasmina A Black Woman/Poem for Malcolm (Actuel 4 & 11/Charly; UK) Two Classic BYG/Actuel release complete on 1 CD !
Yasmina A Black Woman - Another of tenor sax giant Archie Shepp's fabulous studio dates from August of 1969 in Paris with an odd cast of characters from both the avant and more mainstream jazz world playing well together. The collective personnel features Archie, Roscoe Mitchell, Arthur Jones & Hank Mobley on saxes, Clifford Thorton on cornet, Lester Bowie on trumpet, Dave Burrell on piano, Malachi Favors & Earl Freeman on basses and Sunny Murray, Philly Joe Jones & Art Taylor on drums. The [LP] side-long title track is especially mind-blowing! .
Poem for Malcolm - One of Shepp's most memorable albums for BYG. Side one has him playing with Burton Greene, Alan Silva, Philly Joe Jones, and Claude Delcloo on the extended Mamarose/Poem For Malcolm. The track starts out with very free playing, then moves into a more subdued passage, with Shepp's recitation of his "Poem For Malcolm". Side two has a great lineup that includes Grachan Moncour III, Malachi Favors, and Hank Mobley, who gives one of the wildest performances of his life! The group runs through the 20 minute track Rain Forest/Oleo, and begins with a dark, spare performance, then leaps into a reading of "Oleo" that's filled with fire.
CD $16

SUN RA & His SOLAR-MYTH ARKESTRA - Vols 1+2: The Solar-Myth Approach [2 CD Set] (Actuel 40 & 41/Charly; UK) "A wild and passionate interstellar mix of free jazz, solo synth and intense cosmic philosophy. Recorded in NYC around 1970/'71 and featuring a heavy cast of cosmic characters - John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, Danny Davis, Pat Patrick, James Jacson & Danny Thompson on reeds, Kwame Hadi & Ahk Tal Ebah on trumpets, Hassan Ali & Charles Stephens on trombones, June Tyson & Art Jenkins on vocals, and Clifford Jarvis, Lex Humphries, Nimrod Hunt on drums & percussion. These two albums capture the creative mood and the impassioned message that was going down as the sixties drew to a tired end. In the cold dawn of the early seventies, Sun Ra & his Arkestra sent out their musical ray of hope to all who would listen. Thirty years later it still sounds both blinding and illuminating."-Edwin Pouncey/The Wire. Ltd. mini-Lp Sleeve cover.
2 CD set for $22


JOHN COLTRANE With ERIC DOLPHY/McCOY TYNER/REGGIE WORKMAN/JIMMY GARRISON/ELVIN JONES - In Europe: Stockholm 1961 & 1963/Graz 1962/Europe 1965 [3 CD set] (Charly SNAJ 701; UK)
DISC ONE: Tracks 1-3 with the Quintet with Eric Dolphy, McCoy Tyner, Reggie Workman, Elvin Jones in Stockholm November 23rd, 1961: My Favorite Things, Naima, Blue Train; tracks 4-6 minus Dolphy November 22nd 1963: Traneing In, Mr. P.C., Spiritual
DISC TWO: 5 cuts of The Quartet with McCoy, Jones, Jimmy Garrison in Graz, Austria November 28th 1962: Autumn Leaves, Bye Bye Blackbird, I Want To Talk About You, Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye, My Favorite Things
DISC THREE - The Quartet: tracks 1& 2 [Afro Blue, Impressions] in Paris July 28th 1965; tracks 3-6 [A Love Supreme in four parts; 48 minutes] Antibes Jazz Festival July 28th 1965
3 CD set for $33

LEE MORGAN - Just In Time: Vee Jay Years (Charly SNAP 71; UK) JUST IN TIME compiles work from two of Lee Morgan's early-1960s Vee Jay album. The dazzling trumpeter is in fine form on these 13 tracks, which have been re-mastered for the reissue. Originally issued on two Vee Jay albums, 'Here's Lee Morgan' (1960) & 'Expoobident' (1961), these 13 tracks were recorded at two sessions in 1960, the first in New York, the later one in Chicago. Drummer Art Blakey & saxophonist Clifford Jordan supported Morgan at both dates, with Wynton Kelly or Eddie Higgins respectively featured on piano & Paul Chambers or Art Davis sharing bass duties.
CD $15.00 7 for 6 SALE




**************************




DMG RECOMMENDED NYC GIGS FOR MAY 19th & BEYOND:




DMG's FREE In-Store Music Series Continues With...

This Sunday, May 21st -
6 pm - JELLOSLAVE: MICHELLE KINNEY & JACQELINE FERRIER-ULTAN - cellos, GARY WARYAN - tabla, MICHAEL FERRIER - sax & GREG SCHUTTE drums
7pm - GEORGE HASLAM solo or duo (Legendary British baritone saxist!)

Special TUESDAY INSTORE! ..7PM
CHICAGO LUZERN EXCHANGE
cornetist Josh Berman, tenor saxophonist Keefe Jackson, and drummer Frank Rosaly
Sunday May 28th at 6pm:
LINDSAY HORNER/ROB THOMAS/TANYA KALMANOVITCH String Trio!


*******************************


MAY, 2006 AT THE STONE IS A MEMORIAL TO DEREK BAILEY

Derek Bailey loved New York City. He loved playing here and he loved being here. It was his hope to come back to New York to both curate and play at The Stone for the month of May. Alas, it was not to be. Drawing largely from his original list, Karen Brookman has helped realize his vision. Many of the players are traveling great distances to participate in this month long tribute to one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century-a man who helped change the world through improvisation. We all miss him. - from The Stone's website

Here's the Rest of the May, 2006 schedule at The Stone:

5/19 Friday
8 pm - Robert Musso (guitar), Shanir Blumenkranz (bass), Jackson Krall (drums) & Billy Atwell (percussion) 10 pm - Remembrances of Derek
Karen Brookman and friends: Stories, music and remembrances about Derek by his friends and colleagues. Many surprises and many special guests.

5/20 Saturday
8 pm - Mark Dresser Solo Bass
10 pm - Mark Dresser (bass), Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto sax) & Gerry Hemingway (drums)

5/21 Sunday
8 pm- Fred Frith Solo Guitar
10 pm - Fred Frith (guitar) and special guests

5/23 Tuesday
8 pm - Duck Baker Solo Guitar
10 pm - Duck Baker (guitar) and special guests

5/24 Wednesday
8 pm - Stephanie Stone (piano, voice)
10 pm - Sylvie Courvoisier (piano)

5/25 Thursday
8 pm - Elliott Sharp - Solo acoustic and electric guitars
10 pm - Chad Taylor (drums)

5/26 Friday
8 pm - Henry Kaiser (guitar) John Zorn (alto sax)
10 pm - Invite the Spirit featuring: Henry Kaiser (guitar), Sang-Won Park (kayagum) & Charles K. Noyes (percussion)

5/27 Saturday
8 pm - Shelley Hirsch (voice) Ikue Mori (electronics) Okkyung Lee (cello)
10 pm - Arto Lindsay (guitar, vocals) and special guests

5/28 Sunday
8 pm - Annie Gosfield (keyboards) & Roger Kleier (guitar)
10 pm - Kramer (keyboards, guitar, bass, tapes, voice)

5/30 Tuesday
8 pm - Steve Dalachinsky (poetry) Loren Connors (guitar)
10 pm - Trevor Dunn's Double Guitar Quartet featuring: Charlie Looker (guitar) Hilmar Jensen (guitar) Trevor Dunn (bass) Mike Pride (drums)

5/31 Wednesday
8 pm - Jim Staley (trombone)
10 pm - Miguel Frasconi (glass instruments)

The Stone is located at the NW corner of Avenue C & 2nd Street
Performances take place at 8 & 10pm from Tuesday - Sunday nights
There are no advance tickets, first come, first served, there is NO PHONE
There is no food or beverage served, just a serious listening environment
Admission for each set is $10, unless otherwise indicated
Check out the website for The Stone at thestonenyc.com


*******************************


Tonic is located at 107 Norfolk Street between Delancey and Rivington Streets in Manhattan's Lower East Side, around the corner from Delancey F train stop
Here's some recommended gig(s) for the upcoming weeks-

Fri, May 19 - 8pm & 10pm
Sex Mob: Briggan Krauss (alto sax / electronics), Steven Bernstein (slide trumpet), Kenny Wollesen (drums) & Tony Scherr (bass / guitar).

Sat, May 20 - Midnight
Gutbucket : a jazz-thrash-rock-latin-noise band from the dark underbelly of New York

Tue, May 23
8pm - Nels Cline, Andrea Parkins & Tom Rainey
10pm - Gerry Hemingway, Ellery Eskelin, Herb Robertson & Mark Helias

Wed, May 24
8pm - Anthony Burr & Jennifer Reeves
10pm - Roger Eno with Plumbline

Thu, May 25 - 8pm & 10:30pm
Bobby Previte's Coalition of the Willing with Charlie Hunter, Marco Benevento, Skerik, Steven Bernstein & Jamie Saft

Fri, May 26 - 8pm
Syd Straw's Delayed Heartwreck Show

Sat, May 27
8pm - Melvin Gibbs' Geechee Seminoles

Tue, May 30
8pm - Sylvie Courvoisier & Mark Feldman Duo
10pm - Tim Berne, Gerald Cleaver & Sylvie Courvoisier


***************************

Dee Pop presents: FREESTYLE JAZZ
Every Thursday @ Jimmy's 43 Restaurant
43 East 7th Street - NYC - 212-982-3006
WWW.FREESTYLEJAZZ.COM

May 25 - 8pm & 10pm
ELLERY ESKELIN & GERRY HEMINGWAY!

June 1
8PM GREEN MOROCCO: JOE GIARDULLO, TODD CAPP, RICH ROSENTHAL!
9:30 JOE GIARDULLO REMEMBERS STEVE LACY- SOLO SOPRANO SAX!
10PM HAYES GREENFIELD, ED SCHULLER, BOB MEYER!


***************************


C.O.M.A. @ ABC No-Rio, 156 Rivington St. NYC

Sunday May 21st - 8:00 PM
1. Jun Jensen cello
2. Sten Hostfalt prepared guitar and Katt Hernandez violin
3. open session


***************************


ISSUE Project Room, 400 Carroll Street in Brooklyn
'F' train to Carroll St stop

Friday, May 19 - 8 PM
Anthony Coleman
"The more precisely the POSITION is determined, the less precisely the MOMENTUM is known", said Heisenberg. Anthony Coleman has taken his (Heisenberg's) Uncertainty Principle to heart, and thus he continues his quixotic quest for some sort of essence of the music of Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton. Only this time on the beautiful vintage rosewood Steinway upright. That should give it some kind of Storyville whorehouse circa -1917 vibe. Or not. Not a revival, not scholarship, not a free interpretation... maybe more like a (Harold) Bloom-esque "misreading", though AC's really too old for that kind of thing. It's sui generis, dont'cha know, and if you haven't checked it out - you should. And if you have...well, this time it's gonna be different.


Saturday, May 20 - 7 PM TO 2 AM
emerald portal benefit - A benefit to fund the 12:12 Emerald Portal for Burning Man 2006- it is a large inhabitable structure that is a key to the vibrational dimension shift, based on research of the Earth's energy body and three-dimensional sacred geometry.
http://harlanemil.com/emeraldportal.html

Lu(x)z-Outdoor Projections and Ambient Sounds
Anakin Koenig Airways-Inflatable, Harlan Emil Gruber- Quasar Wave Transducer

7-8-New Mexican Chile, Sunset Beer & Wine
8-9- Daniel Pinchbeck
9-10-David Linton
10-10:30- Harlan Emil
10:30-11:30- Amoeba Technology
11:30-12:30- Lloop, seej
12:30-2- Jam Session

$20 suggested donation
Please be more generous if possible as this project will cost over $10,000 Larger donations to this project can be tax-deductible through our sponsor, Eidolon Culture. More at info@eidolon.org"


Wednesday, May 24 - 8 PM
angie eng, jason kao hwang & yuko fujiyama

Thursday, May 25 - 8 PM
joda clement & koen holtkamp
curated by ben owen

Friday, May 26 - 8 PM
unlikely couplings:
shelley hirsch & armen ra
audrey chen & jim pugliese

Saturday, May 27 - 8 PM
unlikely couplings:
miya masaoka & anthony coleman
margarida garcia & elliott sharp


***************************


BARBES
376 9th St. (corner of 6th Ave.) Park Slope, Brooklyn 718.965.9177
'F' train to 7th Avenue stop

Friday May 19 - 8PM & 10PM
TONY MALABY with Marcus Rojas on tuba and Mike Sarin on drums

Tuesday May 23 - 7PM
JENNY SCHEINMAN. Violinist/composer Jenny Scheinman works with a variety of performers

Wednesday May 24
Every Wednesday is a NIGHT OF THE RAVISHED LIMBS, a new music series curated by Michael Attias.
Tonight is..
8PM - CHICAGO LUZERN EXCHANGE: cornetist Josh Berman, tenor saxophonist Keefe Jackson, and drummer Frank Rosaly
[also appearing here at DMG the night before at 7 PM!]
10PM - SHANK: Ralph Alessi trumpet, Tim Berne alto saxophone, Shane Endsley trumpet, drums. $8

Thursday May 25 - 10PM
SANDA WEIGL She sings the kind of Romanian gypsy repertoire she grew up with accompanied by anthony coleman (piano,arrangements), doug wieselman (clarinet,guitar), brad jones (bass), satoshi takeishi (percussion)

Friday May 26
6PM - FREE RANGE RAT: Trumpeter John Carlson, tenor saxist Eric Hipp, bassist Shawn McGloin, and drummer George Schuller
8PM Erik Friedlander's THE BROKEN ARM with Mike Sarin, drums; Kermit Driscoll, bass.


*********************************


IF YOU'RE ALREADY SUBSCRIBED TO OUR NEWSLETTER, BUT SOMEHOW YOU'RE NOT RECEIVING THEM IN YOUR INBOX..

Many of your incoming emails are being blocked and you don't know it! Many emails like our newsletter are frequently blocked by aggressive spam filters being used by nearly all email services.

To help avoid this problem and get our newsletter:

Hotmail Users: Place the domain " downtownmusicgallery.com " on your Safe List, so that you can receive our emails. The safe list can be accessed via the "Options" link next to the main menu tabs. Also place the email address dmg@downtownmusicgallery.com in your address book.

AOL: Place the domain " downtownmusicgallery.com " in your Address Book. Also add the email address dmg@downtownmusicgallery.com to your address book.

Yahoo! Mail: If one of our e-newsletters is filtered to your 'bulk' folder, open the message and click on the "this is not Spam" link next to the "From" field. The same goes for any other e-mail you receive that doesn't belong there. Add the address dmg@downtownmusicgallery.com to your address book.

Other email services [Earthlink, GMail et al]: Place the domain " downtownmusicgallery.com " on your email filter's whitelist. You may need to search your email help menu for details on how to do this. Depending on software/version, they may call it a "whitelist," a "good list" or similar name. Adding the address dmg@downtownmusicgallery.com to your address book will help too.