Another amazing week of great discs from:

Alex Von Schlippenbach & The Globe Unity Orchestra's 40th Anniversary, Tommy Meier covers Brotherhood of Breath & Fela Kuti, The highly anticipated SUN RA ARKESTRA 28 CD Set (!!!), Limited Edition Bobby Previte DVD,

Two from New World: Anthony Coleman w/ Marty Ehrlich & Ned Rothenberg, and Earl Howard w/ Graewe, Reijseger & Hemingway, Harry Partch DVD, Henry Brant Volumes 8 & 9, Four from Ambiances Magnetiques: Jean Derome, Diane Labrosse, Bernard Falaise & Fenaison,

Paal Nilssen-Love & Nils Henrik Asheim, Jonathan Kane, Dorian Cheah w/ Laswell, Bernie Worrell & Hamid Drake, & Four more from HUX: Harold McNair w/ Keith Tippett, John Martyn, Dr. Strangely Strange and Wizz Jones.




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We here at DMG are saddened at the passing of another musical giant, KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN, on December 5th at the age of 79. Stockhausen was born on August 22nd of 1928 in Germany and was one of the most important and influential of all 20th century avant-garde and experimental music composers and visionaries. I started collecting albums by Stockhausen in the early 70's after reading his name in the liner notes to the Mothers of Invention's debut album, 'Freak-Out' as an influence on Frank Zappa. Like Edgar Varese, John Cage, Igor Stravinsky and Stockhausen, I could hear how these composers had influenced a number of the experiments that many of the forward-thinking rock bands were attempting in the late sixties and early seventies. Two albums which had a profound affect on myself were Stockhausen's 'Ceylon/Bird of Passage' which appeared on the Chrysalis label (home to Jethro Tull?!) and the Negative Band's versions of "Short Wave" and "Set Sail for the Sun" on Finnadar, a label run by Turkish electronic music composer Ilhan Mimaroglu.
I continue to collect albums and CD's by Mr. Stockhausen and now have some 30+ records and 20+ CD's. I have read Karl H. Worner's book on Stockhausen's 'Life and Work' and would suggest you do the same if you are interested in his fascinating journey and experiments. In the US, Stockhausen's works are performed on rare occasion, although the Tanglewood Festival has had their fair share of his premiers.
Stockhausen wisely got the rights back from his 50+ albums that were released on Deutsche Grammofon, most of which were out-of-print and re-released them himself on his own mail-order label. You can order them directly at
www.stockhausen.org
Here's a list of some of my personal favorites - BLG:

1.Kontakte for Electronic Sounds, Piano & Percussion (1959/60 & 1968)
2.Gruppen for 3 Orchestras (1955/57)
3.Momente for Soprano, 4 Choral Groups & 13 Instrumentalists (1965)
4.Aus Den Sieben Tagen/From the Seven Days (1968)
5.Hymen / Anthems for Electronic & Concrete Sounds (1966)
6.Mantra for Two Pianos (1970)
7.Sirius for Electronic Music, Trumpet, Bass Clarinet and Bass (1975-77)
8.Stop for Orchestra (1973)
9.Ceylon for Electronium, Percussion, Synth, Modulated Piano, Tam Tam, Kandy Drum & Sound Projection (1975)
10.Klavierstuck I-XI (1952-1956)


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ALEXANDER VON SCHLIPPENBACH / GLOBE UNITY ORCHESTRA - Globe Unity: 40 Years (Intakt 133; Switzerland) Featuring Kenny Wheeler, Manfred Schoof, Jean Luc Capozzo & Axel Dorner on trumpets & flugels; Evan Parker, Gerd Dudek, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky & Rudi Mahall on reeds, George Lewis, Paul Rutherford, Jeb Bishop & Johannes Bauer on trombones; Alexander von Schlippenbach on piano and Paul Lovens & Paul Lytton on drums. These historic recordings of the amazing Globe Unity Orchestra were recorded both in the studio and at JazzFest Berlin in November of 2006. In September of this year (2007), we had the good fortune to hear the incredible Globe Unity Orchestra play a rare set all the way uptown as part of a Columbia University International Jazz Festival curated by Columbia professor George Lewis. It was an extraordinary concert that was hopefully recorded and here we have another great concert recorded about a year earlier in Baden-Baden (studio) and in Berlin (live).
The Globe Unity Orchestra are/were perhaps the first international avant/jazz orchestra, their first concert took place in 1966 and included musicians from Germany, Holland, England and Italy. Organized and still led by Alex Van Schlippenbach, their revolving cast of characters features the cream of European players has included a handful of the same players since the beginning: Evan Parker, Kenny Wheeler, Manfred Schoof, Gerd Dudek and Peter Kowald. This outstanding 66-minute disc is broken into six sections and features inspired solos and strong ensemble work from all of the players involved. Watching Globe Unity play live, you see that there is a good more involved as then just crazed improvisations. There seems to be some subsectional thread that bends these men together. Different members will take over at certain points and steer the direction into various layers of interconnection. Schlippenbach's powerful piano along with both drummers, also has a unique way of connecting and inspiring a series of waves and internal fireworks. On the first piece, Evan Parker takes an intense duo with a drummer (probably Lytton) that is followed by some immense, majestic charted multi-horn interplay. There are way too many outstanding solos, duos, trios and ensemble passages to mention here, but I will say this: I found this recording to be consistently engaging and most-often providing that edge-of-your-seat type of excitement throughout. The compositions are varied and include some strong composing by Sclippenbach, Willam Breuker, Steve Lacy and Kenny Wheeler. This is an outstanding effort and indeed one of this year's best! - BLG
CD $17

TOMMY MEIER With HANS KOCH/IRENE SCHWEIZER/CO STREIFF/MARCO KAPPELI - Root Down (Intakt 135; Switzerland) Tommy Meier's 15-piece Root Down band features such well-known players as Russ Johnson on trumpet, Hans Koch on bass clarinet & soprano sax, Co Streiff on alto sax, Irene Schweizer on piano and Marco Kappeli on drums. This gem was recorded live at Unerhort! Festival in Zurich in November of 2004. I didn't know of bandleader and tenor sax & bass clarinetist, Tommy Meier, before this, but it turns out that Tommy was influenced by the Africa jazz and funk that emminated from a club called the "Africana" in Zurich and was a home for (South-Africans) Dollar Brand and Chris MacGregor's Blute Notes in the sixties. This fabulous disc features some truly inspired groove-oriented originals by Tommy as well as a few great covers by Fela Kuti ("Zombie" & "Lady") and Brotherhood's Dudu Pukwana and even Sun Ra. Starting with "The Dawn Part I-III", we are off and sailing through some intense and focused free/jazz wailing which comes to a tight, abrupt end. A superb jazzy version of Fela's "Lady" is next which features Tommy's fine bass clarinet over a slamming funky groove. The (unknown to me) rhythm team of Jan Schegel on electric bass and Marco Kappeli and /or Fredi Flukiger on drums, are killing on this joyous tune. I dig the layers of samples at the beginning of "Tommy's "Analog", which turns into a fine free piece for acoustic bass, reeds and more odd samples. This flows right into a dynamite version of Brotherhood of Breath's classic "MRA" which must have had the audience jumping. Mr. Meier's epic-length piece, "Kirui Part I-V" is outstanding and features an explosive piano solo from Irene Schweizer and a fine soprano solo from Jurg Wickihalder over another slamming groove. What I love about this disc is that each piece features something compelling: memorable writing and/or grooves as well as strong solos by many of the horn players plus everything flows just right from one piece to the next. Fela's classic "Zombie" is just another highlight in the many great things about this wonderfully rich offering. And you can dance to much of this superfine music as well, what more could you ask?! - BLG
CD $17


SUN RA & THE OMNIVERSE JET-SET ARKESTRA - Complete Detroit Jazz Center Residency [Ltd & #'d 28 CD-R Box Set] (Transparency 0307; USA) Only 400 copies made, we only have 15 for sale. Hurry - it's the bargain of the century! When I heard about this box-set, I thought it was cosmic joke, played upon us crazed Sun Ra fans, but lo and behold, it is here and is another holy grail for those of us who worship at the temple or Outer Spaceways Incorporated! Yes, you did read right! This handsome box-set contains 28 CD-R's, eleven complete concerts, 26+ hours of music, from the Detroit Jazz Center Residency from December 26th, 1980 to January 1st, 1981. The personnel features Sun Ra on organ, synth, piano & vocals, Marshall Allen and John Gilmore on saxes, Michael Ray on & Walter Miller on trumpets, June Tyson on vocals & dance, Tony Bethel on trombone, Vincent Chancey on French horn, Danny Thompson on bass & flute, James Jacson on bassoon & Infinity drum, Skeeter McFarland & Taylor Richardson on electric guitars, Richard Williams on bass and Luqman Ali on drums.
So far, I've listened to six of these discs and it will take me a while to check them all out. Besides the 28 discs, inside the box we also find two large pages that list all of the song titles from each disc. A large portion of these sets featured dozens of Sun Ra's original compositions, chanting, inspired soloing as well as a variety of standards from Fletcher Henderson, Monk, Coleman Hawkins, Duke Ellington and classics like "Over the Rainbow" and "Big John's Special." Although these are all record from the soundboard, the sound quality is relatively good but certainly not great. Some tweaking from you home stereo will help, but the sound is far from perfect. I was fortunate to have experienced the Sun Ra Arkestra some 25+ times throughout the 70's, 80's and early 90's and the late 70's was my favorite period. These sets remind me most of this period and cover a lot of the same songs, themes, chants, frenetic solos and everything else that made these gigs like a trip to another alien world. I'm reaching for that 7th disc now, as my long journey continues to Saturn and beyond. - BLG
28 CD-R Box-Set for $85 (limited edition of 400, numbered)


BOBBY PREVITE & ANDREA KLEINE - The Separation [Ltd DVD Ed of 150 copies signed & numbered] (Kleine 01; USA) Music composed and arranged by Bobby Previte. Written and directed by Andrea Kleine; starring Christine Holt as "6LL3". Music performed by THE COALITION OF THE WILLING with THE ROSE ENSEMBLE Choir conducted by Jordan Sramek.
Bobby Previte + Andrea Kleine's epic production, captured in a 3-camera, broadcast quality shoot with pristine audiophile sound. This magnificent DVD features Previte's electric 'rock' band Coaliton Of The Willing [with Marco Benevento and Reed Mathis] crashing their massive sound into the mystical voices of the award-winning choir, The Rose Ensemble, in Previte's re-imagination of both a choral mass by medieval composer Guilliaume Dufay, and 20th century visionary Olivier Messiaen's organ masterwork, La Nativite du Seigneur. Inspired by British children's literature and contemporary politics, writer/director Kleine sucker punches the musical crossfire with a poetic essay about entropy, sheep, and UFOs. A full theatrical production of this "heavy metal requiem" starring actress Christine Holt as "6LL3" (also known as Dolly, the first cloned sheep), THE SEPARATION defies categorization - musically, theatrically, politically - seeking a symbiosis in the wreckage of a media collision.
Bobby feels this is the BEST thing he's ever done musically - and after almost 30 years of amazing records, many in collaboration with the legends of the international 'Downtown' scene, that's REALLY saying something!
DVD $40


ANTHONY COLEMAN With MARTY EHRLICH/NED ROTHENBERG/DOUG WIESELMAN/MARCO CAPPELLI/TED REICHMAN/KEVIN NORTON - Lapidation (New World 80593; USA) The music of Anthony Coleman (b. 1955) draws from so many varied, disparate, and even contradictory sources, yet still emerges with a distinctly singular and consistent voice. Listening to any of the five works on this CD-Lapidation (2002), East Orange (2007), I Diet on Cod (2007), Mise en Abime (1997), The King of Kabay (1988)- is to enter into a particular world, highly specific in material but nearly hallucinatory in formal development. The music starts, becomes linear, suspends, goes vertical, goes backward, goes forward, produces vague memories, and ends. This recording is a compelling portrait of one of the most original, literate, and versatile musicians working today.
As one might imagine would be the case with a composer who has spent many years working in many improvising bands as both a leader and side person, there is a strong element of collaboration in Coleman's music. Several musicians on this recording (most notably Doug Wieselman, Marty Ehrlich, Jim Pugliese, and Joseph Kubera) have worked with him for several decades and the individual "sounds" of each of these outstanding musicians have contributed to his palette and voice. This is, in many ways, very similar to the way Ellington (a primary influence) worked with and was shaped by members of his band. In looking at the scores of Coleman's music (all of which are clearly and fully notated) one can hear the transformation on the recording of the written music into the living sound. The effect of the individual musicians who play his music is palpable and an essential part of each of these compositions.
CD $15

EARL HOWARD With GEORGE GRAEWE/ERNST REIJSEGER/GERRY HEMINGWAY - Clepton (New World 80670; USA) Earl Howard's Clepton (2006) is as complex, mysterious and poetic as the outer limits of science he finds inspiration in, and the imagery of particle physics is particularly appropriate for the extraordinary interaction that takes place between the composer and his three playing partners throughout Clepton's 38 minutes. For Gerry Hemingway, "these are models that might be referenced to help us focus our approach to a given section-a basic understanding of scientific principles and concepts is useful as they often have terminology that better articulates the intent of a player's actions rather than, say, feelings which are more vague and open to interpretation."
"Rosebud", a Howard/Hemingway duo recorded during a tour of upstate New York back in 1989, is as fresh and challenging as if it had been recorded yesterday. What's particularly remarkable is the range of color and timbral sophistication of Howard's electronics. Milton Babbitt's famous line about nothing growing old faster than a new sound certainly applies to the world of electronic keyboards; tune in to your local Top 40 station and if you hear a mellotron, an ARP Odyssey, a Yamaha DX7 or a Korg M1 you have a pretty clear idea as to when the song was recorded. Very few musicians have taken the time to explore these instruments in depth and go beyond the standard patches that soon sound dated, even cliched. Sun Ra was one, Thomas Lehn is another, and you can add Earl Howard's name to the short list. The sounds he conjures forth from his DX7, a Lexicon PCM 70 and what today would be considered a relatively primitive Akai sampler are extraordinarily subtle, and haven't aged in the slightest.
CD $15.


PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE / NILS HENRIK ASHEIM - Late Play (PNL Records 002; Norway) Featuring Nils Henrik Asheim on organ and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums & percussion and recorded in Oslo in April of 2006. Paal Nilssen-Love is without any doubt, one of the finest improvising drummers to emerge in the past decade. He can be heard playing his own distinctive brand of dynamic percussion/drums in a variety of bands from the Scorch Trio, The Thing, Brotzmann's Chicago Tentet to a variety of projects with Ken Vandermark. Paal excels at the duo situation and has done duos with Frode Gjersdtad, Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, Lasse Marhaug and Anders Hana. For this fine disc, Paal has teamed up with an organist, not your obvious choice for a partner. As Nils makes those spooky organ sounds, Paal provides equally suspense-filled and ritualistic-sounding percussion. Paal does a great job of evoking strange spirits by rubbing his cymbals and drums in his own way. Most of these pieces begin with Paal's distinctive percussion sounds, which are most expressive, but not consistently rhythm-based. The entire CD is feels like a dream-like journey through a graveyard and other disturbing places that angels fear to tread. - BLG
CD $16


KOPACOUSTIC [w/ DAVE LIEBMAN & LOTTE ANKER] - Music from the KopaFestival 2006 / Volume 1 (Kopasetic 015; Sweden) This disc was recorded live in Sweden in September of 2006 and it features three bands: Krister Jonsson Trio + Svante Henryson, Footloose + Lotte Anker and the Cennet Jonsson Quartet + Dave Liebman. This is the second fine disc that we've reviewed from the Kopasetic folks and their annual festival. Thanks to Peter Nilsson, the only other player whose name I recognize besides Mr. Liebman and Ms. Anker, for getting us these discs.
The Krister Jonsson Trio Plus is up first and features Krister on guitar, Svante Henryson on cello, Nils Davidsen on electric bass and Peter Danemo on drums. The haunting cello and somber electric guitar play their tender swirls up front while the rhythm team play quietly underneath. They soon get into a sly, laid-back but rocking groove. Krister plays a great, slow-burning near-fusion guitar solo on the second piece that is followed by an equally dynamic cello solo. For their last piece, they slow things down to a lovely song with some quaint cello and delicate guitar playing. Svante takes a lovely cello solo on the final song for this fine quartet, as does Krister on his exquisite guitar. Footloose features Lotte Anker on alto sax, Andreas Andersson on soprano & bari saxes, Mats Holtne on guitar, Mattias Hjorth on bass and Peter Nilsson on drums. Their one piece is long and evolves organically. This is a particularly strong improvised piece with inspired playing from all five players. Both saxes and el. guitar move in tight orbits around one another while the great rhythm team uplifts and ascends upwards. The final Quartet Plus features Dave Liebman & Cennet Jonsson on saxes, Krister Jonsson on guitar, Mattias Hjorth on bass and Peter Nilsson on drums. They begin with some strong and intense double sax (soprano & tenor) free intro, but then get into a more restrained section with a superb acoustic bass solo, sublime John Abercrombie-like guitar solo and distant sax sighs. The final piece is a fine, dream-like piece for spinning soprano saxes and flute and soon takes off on a Trane-like double sax journey. The rhythm team is in fine form as the guitar and two saxes spiral magically together. Guitarist Krister Jonsson takes a dynamic jazz/rock solo and the entire quintet sounds supremely inspired throughout. It is a most perfect ending to a consistently great disc of some of Sweden's best musicians. - BLG
CD $15


OTOMO YOSHIHIDE - modulation with 2 electric guitars and 2 amplifiers (Doubt 119; Japan) This is Otomo Yoshihide's second guitar solo release on doubtmusic. The concept of this work, however, is complely different from that of the first. Here, feedback sound issues from two amplifiers, each connected to one of two guitars placed on a tabletop. Due to this stereo effect, the feedback mutually interferes, producing beatlike fluctuations, creating black holes into which the sound suddenly disappears, sounding completely different depending on the position of the ears, creating the illusion that the sound is coming from only one speaker when the listener is in certain locations, and so on, thus turning into truly interactive music. Because these effects cannot be obtained unless the sound coming from the two amps mutually interferes, we recommend listening without earphones or headphones, through speakers, with the sound as loud as conditions allow. Depending on the positions of the speakers, the interference effect and sound image will surely differ as well.
*Warning: To obtain the desired results, please listen through speakers at the highest volume possible. Please note, however, that Otomo Yoshihide and doubtmusic will accept no responsibility whatsoever for any resulting hearing loss." [..or speaker damage, it might be added - MannyLunch]
CD $20

OTOMO YOSHIHIDE With JIM O'ROURKE/TETUZI AKIYAMA et al - Prisoner [sndtck] (Headz 088; Japan) Music for the film by Adachi Masao. Players include Otomo, O'Rourke, Akiyama, Yasunao Tone, Norimizu Ameya, Sachiko M and others.
CD $18


DORIAN CHEAH With BILL LASWELL/BERNIE WORRELL/HAMID DRAKE /NICKY SKOPELITIS - ARA (MetaStation 21; USA) Dorian Cheah's journey in music began with violin lessons at the very early age of 2 1/2 and continued with his studies at The Julliard School. Dorian's virtuosity on the electric violin is a unique combination of his classical training with a soulfulness that has attracted some of the great contemporary musicians to collaborate on this debut release. Master electric bassist and producer, Bill Laswell, has put together an all-star crew to back Dorian: Bernie Worrell on keyboards, Nicky Skopelitis on stringed things, Bill on bass and Zakir Hussain on tabla and Hamid Drake, Aiyb Dieng, Bill Buchen and Karsh Kale on percussion. Bill Laswell's thick, warm and ever-enchanting electric bass is often at the center holding down the spacious and dream-like groove while Dorian's sublime violin glides superbly on top, taking lovely solos. Both Nicky on guitars and Bernie on electric piano, organ & synth, provide perfect foils, weaving their equally dreamy waves around Dorian's flights of (violin) fancy. Each of the four long pieces features Dorian slowly soloing over those dreamy, majestic sounds that Bill and his crew cook up. Dorian gracefully bends notes the way an Indian violinist does, while Bill's collaborators provide a most sympathetic cushion underneath. The MetaStation label is recognized for music that helps those to meditate or just chill out, this disc would seem to be perfect medicine for that well-needed vibe. - BLG
CD $13



Four Fine New Discs from Ambiances Magnetiques:

JEAN DEROME ET LES DANGEREUX ZHOMS - To Continue (AM 172; Quebec) Jean Derome's new album To Continue (2007) takes the group's unique features further: cohabitation between layers of scored music and free improvisation, polyphony, polyrhythms, irregular meters, complex forms, rich harmonies and polymodalism. To Continue presents eight new Derome originals, all given top-rate performances bursting with creativity, tightness, drive, and fire. The Dangereux Zhoms are currently reaffirming their jazz roots, while maintaining a radical discipline of collective improvisation and sonic experimentation.
The Dangereux Zhoms are balancing imagination, humor, and physical playing. Their music is full of intense improvised passages and catchy tunes. It makes the music completely unclassifiable, which agrees very well with the group's leader. As Derome said to Coda in 1995: "I'm playing music. Not jazz or any other genre per se; only music, period." In "Exclaim!,"Richard Moule described the musicians in this ensemble as "adventurous players who gracefully jump, straddle, and zigzag along every corner of the musical realm. Avant-rock, jazz styles ranging from Free to Bop and Cool, contemporary academic music, and funk only serve as springboards for their impish and creative excursions."
Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms was formed in 1992 for the opening concert of the 10th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV). The group gave many concerts in MontrŽal and QuŽbec, and in major Canadian cities, in addition to appearing at around 10 international festivals (Germany, France, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, USA). In 2001, Jean Derome was awarded an Opus Award from the Conseil QuŽbŽcois de la musique, for his international career, both on record and on stage.
CD $15

BERNARD FALAISE - Clic (AM 174; Quebec) Clic consists in a group of pieces written in the studio. The musicians never actually performed this music together; they recorded their overdubs one by one. Most of the material had been composed beforehand, but part of it came to be in reaction to what the musicians were playing, occasionally through improvisation. With Clic, what I wanted to do was to experiment with unusual metronomic applications. For instance, the ever-changing tempo in YŽti; the superimposed tempi in Mule, Thon, Neuf, and Fte; the tempo changes in Neuf, etc. Also, Watt and Clic feature two-part canons, each with its own tempo.
Most of this music would be near impossible to perform live. It was written specifically for a record. I like the idea that the record is to cinema what the concert is to theatre. Filming a play rarely makes a good movie. In the course of this record, you will find (more or less obvious) tributes to and winks at the following musicians: Aksak Maboul, Anthony Braxton, Captain Beefheart, Franco Donatoni, Les Granules, Conlon Nancarrow, Igor Stravinsky, and Robert Wyatt. - Bernard Falaise
CD $15

DIANE LABROSSE - Musique pour Objets en Voie de Disparitio / Music for Objects on the Verge of Extinction (AM 170; Quebec) Eight pieces like eight flashbacks to a bygone daily sonic life. A nostalgia-prone stroll down obsolescence lane. Eight pieces like eight memories and stories, true or fictional, happy or sad, in Technicolor or smell-o-rama.
The pieces include: 1. Night, snores, tick-tock, peace, dreams, drrrring! 2. Desert, wind, sand, blues, pulleys, windmill, sun, 3. Play, unwind, rewind, clack, fast-forward, tape, a reedy voice, 4. Mystery, tension, clock, action, drama, ringÉ nobody! 5. The fall of black and white in a "natural" context, 6. The printer_. Nostalgia for the future. Soon, it will be only virtual, 7. Messages left on cassettes, found in flea markets and bazaars, stories by "real" people. (Thanks to Shirley and Ginette), 8. The hum of percolators, the gargles of coffee going up and down, music in smell-o-rama for a rainy morning.
This CD was entirely assembled without the consent of the musicians playing on it. I thank them for agreeing to record "blindfolded" and let me manipulate them as I pleased. - Diane Labrosse
CD $15

FENAISON - Plat (AM 169; Quebec) Fenaison is a group committed to the making of new music that is texturally driven, improvised, exploratory, and boundary crossing. Performing with intuition, ingenuity, and integrity, Fenaison pushes the limits of the anticipated and the accepted with their dynamic and intensely unique performances. Members of the ensemble come from such diverse backgrounds as classical composition, noise music, contemporary performance, improvisation, electronic music and jazz. This ensemble has been heralded as both exciting and innovative.
Fenaison feature Charity Chan on extended piano, Remy Belanger de Beauport on amplified cello, flute & electronics and Chris Covlin on saxes. I met Ms. Chan when she played at the Ambiances Magnetiques fest at The Stone earlier this year (2007) and was most impressed with her playing. She studied with Fred Frith at Mills College and this is the first disc she is involved with on the Quebec-based AM label. This is an extraordinary trio: exciting, intense, focused and at times scary. Each sound is perfectly balanced within their dream-like haze of constant surprises. Some of this is noisy, but all of it is quite fascinating. - BLG
"Listening to Fenaison reminds me why I enjoy improvisation. They make music that is passionate, mysterious, and full of contradictions - careful and abandoned, melodic and noisy, peaceful and edgy, logical and surprising - music that doesn't make sense. In other words, it's alive! And well..." - Fred Frith
CD $15


LEVIN/CARTER/KRALL/BALGOCHIAN/SHURDUT - Internet Annie [CD-R] (No Labels; USA) Featuring Elliott Levin on tenor sax, Daniel Carter on reeds & trumpet, Jeffrey Shurdut on guitar, Albey Balgochian on bass and Jackson Krall on drums. Visual artist and label-head, Jeff Shurdut, has dozens of discs out on his own No Labels label. He works with many of downtown's best free players (Sabir Mateen, Rob Brown), as well as the occasional out-of-towner (Joe McPhee, Sonny Simmons & Luther Thomas). For this disc Jeff has put together a fine free quintet with horn players (Elliott Levin & Daniel Carter) who love to play and sit in as much as they possibly can. Although this disc is only 37-minutes, it is pretty much free, focused and inspired throughout. Nice to hear Elliott and Daniel wail together spewing shards of shrapnel through their saxes while the last Cecil Taylor-rhythm team kicks it underneath. Jeff's noisy guitar does a good job of both snaking his way between the two saxes and adding punctuation the intense and occasionally throttling rhythm team. There moments when the wailing energy is almost too much and moments when it all comes together and sets us free. - BLG
CD $12


JOHN ETTINGER w/ TONY MALABY/DEVIN HOFF/SCOTT AMENDOLA - Kissinger in Space (JE 02; USA) Featuring John Ettinger on violin & loops, Tony Malaby on tenor sax, Devin Hoff on acoustic bass and Scott Amendola on drums, loops & electric mbira. Sometimes a promo disc will show up and just end up in one of the many boxes behind the counter that I try to get through every week. I am not sure when this disc appeared here, but I am glad that I finally got a chance to check it out. I had not heard of the leader here, John Ettinger, before this disc, but we certainly know saxist Tony Malaby, from the dozens of projects he is involved with locally. The rhythm team is, of course, Bay area-based and has worked with Nels Cline in his current trio. "Dual Diagnosis" opens with a challenging theme that violin and tenor play together as the rhythm team swirls around them. I dig the way John will play his melody slowly while the rest of the band plays with more quickly around him, yet the balance is just right. The title piece goes back and forth between more restrained and more intense sections, with some looped strings sounds thrown in to keep our expectations off balance. Devin Hoff plays that repeating central figure on "Quaint," which is fine but not that quaint. The violin and sax play rich harmonies together and swirl around one another in righteous waves. Ettinger occasionally reminds me of Mat Maneri in the way that he plays those slightly bent notes. On "Harper Lee," Scott plays some haunting mbira (African thumb piano) along with Devin's somber bowed bass. John's violin is immensely poignant on this piece and Tony plays some fine soft & dreamy tenor as well. The entire piece feels as if we are all ghosts drifting through a hazy graveyard scene, eventually building into a slow dance-like section in the part of the piece. "Talking Leaves" features some crafty percussion at the center, playing around the slightly funky groove. Both the rich and varied melodies that Mr. Ettinger has written, as well as the sympathetic balance/playing that the violin and tenor sax weave togther throughout, turns this endeavor into a more magical one. John also lets both rhythm team members set up the inner web of structure just right on each piece. Is this disc just another forgotten Bay area gem? Hopefully not, only you can rescue it from obscurity. - BLG
CD $14

also available

JOHN ETTINGER With ART HIRAHARA/TODD SICKAFOOSE/SCOTT AMENDOLA - August Rain (JE 01; USA) John Ettinger - violin, loops; Art Hirahara - fender rhodes electric piano;Todd Sickafoose - acoustic bass Scott Amendola - drums, loops
CD $10



New on Innova:

HARRY PARTCH - Enclosure VIII: Windsong/U.S. Highway/Rotate The Body In All Its Planes/Barstow/Castor And Pollux... [DVD] (Innova 399; USA) In 1985 Philip Blackburn climbed the stairs to an attic in Iowa City and started trying to make sense of the boxes piled up there. They contained a composer's life's work: scrapbooks, tapes, photos, letters, scores, and film reels - fragile treasures documenting the Twentieth Century from a most unusual viewpoint; perhaps the world's most original musician: Harry Partch.
The idea was to publish them and reveal Harry to the world on his own terms. Not as the crabby, homeless, self-taught microtonal musical weirdo and instrument maker, but as that most American of all artists; a truly independent thinker. With Enclosure 8, the work of bringing them to public attention reaches its apotheosis.
The Enclosures series (named for the extras Partch wanted to add to his life-long letter to the world) started appearing in 1995 with a VHS video of four films made in collaboration with the Chicago-based film-maker Madeline Tourtelot. Four CDs, two years and one book later, Enclosure 4 appeared featuring his later films: Delusion of the Fury (his culminating ritual-theater work) and a San Diego Public TV documentary, also on VHS.
Now the time has come for these to be issued on DVD, extensively restored, resynched and digitally remastered from the extant original prints. Until books and CDs become as obsolete as VHS, the Enclosures series is complete and, taken together with the Harry Partch Collection on New World Records, Partch's entire work is available for the first time.
Innova's DVD, Enclosure 8, offers not only a chance to see higher quality versions of previously-available material, but it also includes two performances made after Partch's death in 1974: a 1981 staged production of his hitch-hiker piece, Barstow, directed by Danlee Mitchell; and a 2006 choreographed version of Castor & Pollux, performed by John Schneider's Ensemble Partch! using replicas of Partch's original set of instruments.
The films include: "Music Studio-Harry Partch" (1958): Partch takes the viewer on a tour of his Chicago home, and plays his microtonal instruments. Includes his demonstration of how the soundtrack for Windsong was made. "Windsong" (1958): the ancient Greek legend of Daphne and Apollo, transported to Lake Michigan. "U.S. Highball" (1958; completed 1968): Partch and his ensemble perform a dramatized account of riding the rails during the Depression on a transcontinental hobo trip from California to Chicago and "Rotate the Body in All Its Planes" (1961): Harry's favorite: a ballet for gymnasts. The DVD is accompanied by a 12-page booklet featuring writings by Philip Blackburn, Danlee Mitchell, and Harry Partch.
DVD $20

HENRY BRANT - Brant Volume 8: Ant Hen (Innova 415; USA) Too often, funny music isn't. It tries too hard or the particular brand of humor just isn't your cup of tea. To make matters worse, we feel uncomfortable about laughing even at an especially ludicrous concert of avant-garde music. Finally, here is a selection of musical silliness that assaults every listener's capacity for stoicism and gives permission for you to enjoy yourself.
The nine works on Volume 8 of Innova's Henry Brant Collection range from unfeasibly jolly, to zanily bizarre, and just plain loopy. There's something here representing every type of amusement: for those who love Buster Keaton as well as those who prefer The Office, PDQ Bach or John Cage.
Long before there was Switched On Bach, irreverent Henry was fooling around with Wachet Auf and making it swing a la Benny Goodman. Then there were the pianists (Reinbert de Leeuw in this case-no dime store slouch) found in Woolworth's in the 1920s (which Henry still remembers), ready to play fancy versions of requested songs
"Revenge Before Breakfast" is more than just a good title; its "synthetic nostalgias" are going to make you weep with bemused incredulity. Just when you think that would be hard to beat, along comes Inside Track: way over the top. On the one hand it's a spatial piano concerto played by the superlative Yvar Mikhashoff, on the other, a whacked out carnivorous sparrow that must have swallowed a soprano on a planet filled with helium
Another standout is Altitude 8750; coincidentally the exact height above sea level of the 1990 Telluride Composer to Composer Conference. The ensemble for this instant piece is an all-star cast including: Pauline Oliveros, Charles Amirkhanian, Wadada Leo Smith, Gloria Cheng, Larry Polansky, James Tenney and a host of others with an astonishing capacity for hell-raising.
CD $14

HENRY BRANT - Brant Volume 9: Dormant Craters/Ceremony/Homeless People (Innova 416; USA) We live in a volatile environment: physical and mental climate changes surround us. Complex times call for complex musical responses. These three works by Henry Brant each deal in their way with such dense problems.
"Dormant Craters" is a shattering half hour of percussive eruptions. Designed for playback that might provoke the neighbors, there are 16 vibrant players spread far and wide: gamelan, steel drums, orchestral percussion... It's an orderly and exotic global mayhem:
"Whether or not the sound of this piece has any connection with dormant volcanic craters, I am hardly in a position to say; but the craters I mean are the latent explosions we don't know about yet, both in the human sphere and in the natural world." - Henry Brant.
Of course, faculty meetings also have explosive potential. In 1954, Columbia University commissioned "Ceremony" for its Bicentennial. Brant-based the structure on campus life: classes, meetings, committees, and chimes that divide the day into periods of fanatical study or strenuous relaxation. From time to time there are percussionists to represent "student political protest apt to explode unexpectedly at any moment." "Homeless People" for string quartet, the insides of a piano and lone accordionist likewise proposes no solutions to humanity's eternal problems. The Henry Brant Collection, Volume 9, is a salutary reminder that if life were truly simple, we'd never have left C Major.
CD $14


JONATHAN KANE - The Little Drummer Boy [CD-EP] (Table of Elements 809; USA) "Do Jonathan Kane's fat-bottomed grooves take your breath away, make you lose your mind? Well, it's the holidays, and Jonny can give as well as he can take, so here's his gift to you, boys and girls. It's a classic, The Little Drummer Boy, done in his inimitable style, with layers of guitars, snow-drift-deep bass - and you'd better believe there's drums. Hop into this sleigh - it's jacked-up, tricked-out, it's got 850 horses and not a restrictor plate in sight. Yep, it's always a Blue Christmas when Jonathan Kane comes to town."
CD $11


MICHAEL GORDON//ALARM WILL SOUND - Van Gogh (Cantaloupe 21044; USA) This is Bang-on-a-Can composer, Michael Gordon's sixth CD as a featured composer and each of his previous works have been a landmark of modern composition. Mr. Gordon has taken excerpts from the letters that Vincent Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo. Three vocalists sing these words, Sarah Chalfy (soprano), Matthew Hensrud (tenor) and Clay Greenberg (bass) and do a splendid job. Michael's music still has that post Reich/Glass-like repeating phrase construction but with a more contemporary rock influence. I find Michael's composing to be more engaging and not as predictable/obvious as Glass and Reich often are. Although I rarely listen to or appreciate opera, I do find the music and singing here to well-integrated and consistently engaging. And at least the words are in English so that I can understand just what they are singing about. Van Gogh's words are illuminating, he is trying to come to grips with his life and what he does with his time. He is plagued by his lack of a college education and the question of his innate love of the Church. It is as if we are listening to Van Gogh talk to himself as the music helps us to understand what he is feeling and/or what we are feeling at the same time. Although I still question some of the cover art-work on many of the discs on Cantaloupe, I do find this music to be beyond reproach and some of the best contemporary classical music I've heard in recent years. - BLG
CD $15


GEORGE HASLAM/HARRY BECKETT - Holywell Session/Live in Oxford (Slam 324; UK) Featuring George Haslam baritone sax & tarogato, Harry Beckett on trumpet & flugelhorn, Stefano Pastor on violin, Richard Leigh Harris on piano and Steve Kershaw. West-Indian born trumpeter, Harry Beckett, moved to England in the late fifties and has long been one of the UK's best musicians. He has collaborated with Elton Dean, John Surman, Graham Collier, Michael Gibbs and Ray Russell and has recorded a number of fine discs as a leader, only a handful of which are available on CD. Mr. Beckett is not found on many discs where is doing just free improv, so that is what makes this disc so unique. Slam label-head and bari sax great, George Haslam, put together a fine imrov quintet for this live session and this is the first and only time that this particular group played together.
This concert was completely improvised and some of the musicians played with each other on stage for the very first time. What I dig about this is the way it slowly unfolds as the musicians find their way and get to know each other. Starting with just sparse piano and violin and building from there as each instrument slowly adds to the sound and direction. The bass begins walking as the violin and piano weave slowly around one another. As the tension, excitement and density increase on each piece, so too does the communication between each player. So far, Stefano's violin has been the featured instrument with the bass and piano weaving around him. "Part 3" starts as duo of bari sax and trumpet, both players with strong, warm and relaxed tones. When the bass & piano come in, they sound as if they are playing an older jazz tune. Harry Beckett's exquisite tone and playing make this piece and disc even more special. Another thing I dig about this disc is that all of the members of this quintet are older musicians and each has a strong well-weather tone so that even they are playing freely, there is a deep resonance and respect for each other's mature abilities. The overall calm vibe makes this easier for those can't deal with the more explosive side of "free jazz". - BLG
CD $16



Four New Rare & Unreleased Treasures on HUX - will be in Stock next week. [Weekly DMG customers: these will ship with your next week's order]

HAROLD McNAIR With KEITH TIPPETT/COLIN GREEN/RICK GRECH - The Fence (Hux 095; UK) Jamaican born Harold McNair was one of the unsung heroes of the second generation of British modernists. His Parkeresque alto, Rollins-influenced tenor and truly unique flute playing astounded the London jazz scene in the early 1960s. His flute was heavily featured on the soundtrack for Ken Loach's film 'Kes', as was his tenor saxophone on the original 1962 soundtrack theme from 'Dr. No'. Also, In addition to playing flute on most of Donovan's 1960s albums, he was a founder member of 'Ginger Baker's Airforce'.
In fact, the roll-call of his associates represents a golden age of musical interaction. Davey Graham, Blossom Dearie, Jon Hendricks, John Martyn, Magna Carta, Don Partridge, John Cameron and Alexis Korner all benefited from McNair's versatility until 1971 when his career was cut short by lung cancer at the age of just 39. McNair's 1970 LP, 'The Fence', has always been a much sought after rarity amongst collectors. Now digitally re-mastered, this reissue features liner notes and period photographs by Val Wilmer. Featuring: Harold McNair - Sax, Flute, Electric Sax; Rick Grech - Bass Guitar; Keith Tippett - Piano; Colin Green - Guitar; Alan Branscombe - Piano; Terry Cox - Drums; Danny Thompson - String Bass; Tony Carr - Percussion
CD $18

DOCTOR STRANGELY STRANGE - Halcyon Days (Hux 092; UK) We are proud to announce news of this previously unreleased album by Dr Strangely Strange, dating from their classic period, 1969/70. Halcyon Days will contain the following archive tracks (mostly produced by Joe Boyd) that were recently discovered in the Island vaults.
CD $18

WIZZ JONES - Lucky The Man (Hux 094; UK) Wizz Jones is regularly cited as an early influence by the likes of Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards, amongst many others. He was also a crucial mentor to 1960s folk-blues royalty like Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and Ralph McTell. More recently, he's frequently name checked as an icon by younger artists, including Thurston Moore & Stephen Malkmus. Originally released as a very limited pressing on a German label in 2001, Lucky The Man is still Wizz's most recent studio album. This digitally re-mastered reissue is enhanced by the addition of 5 bonus tracks, all selected by Wizz himself. The final bonus cut, Sugar For Sugar, is a previously unreleased duet with Wizz's hero, Ramblin' Jack Elliott. The 12-page CD booklet includes extensive liner notes, personal comments from Wizz on each of the bonus tracks, plus several rare photographs from Wizz's own archive.
CD $18

JOHN MARTYN - The Battle of Medway July 17 1973 (Hux 090; UK) For John Martyn, 1973, when this concert was recorded, was a year of serious transition, both musically and in terms of moving once and for all away from the folk club scene and into the college and concert circuit.
'The Battle Of Medway', released with the full approval of John Martyn, captures him in blistering form, on one of his last ever solo acoustic folk club gigs. Famed for the late-night cool of his '70s studio albums and the explosive live shows of the same era, John Martyn forged a unique path through the accepted forms of folk, jazz and rock, bringing electric power into the folk clubs and soulful balladry into the colleges.
While Live At Leeds, recorded in 1975, has long defined the man's sound during his breakthrough years on the college circuit, little has survived of his path-finding years in the folk clubs - until now. Recorded in July 1973, in ambient stereo by club organizer Geoff Harden at Medway, Kent, in between the releases of Solid Air and Inside Out, this is the sound of John Martyn - on one of his determinedly last ever folk club gigs - frightening the living daylights out of anyone who came there expecting 'The Wild Rover'.
CD $18



Joe Giardullo's last copies of his recordings on the defunct Drimala label

FALLING WATER [JOE GIARDULLO & CARLOS ZINGARO] - Live at Mae de Agua (Drimala 04-347-06; USA) An excellent improvised duo featuring Joe Giardullo on soprano & alto saxes & piccolo flute and Carlos Zingaro on violin. We've come to know and love the great reeds hero from upstate New York, Joe Giardullo, from his wonderful work with Joe McPhee, Pauline Oliveros, Steve Lacy & Marilyn Crispell, over the past decade. This is his fourth fine disc for Drimala, besides another four with his friend and neighbor Joe McPhee on CIMP or Cadence. Carlos Zingaro is another marvelous musician from Portugal who also plays with a number of other great players like Joelle Leandre, Paul Lovens, Gunter Muller, Hans Reichel & Rudiger Carl. This very special meeting and concert was recorded in Mae de Agua, a temple-like space, connected to Lisbon's aqueduct, a water circulation system. The water sounds are omnipresent and add a certain mysterious, organic quality to the music. At times it is difficult to tell which instrument is playing, as both bend and twist notes carefully into similar sonic terrain. Both musicians sound like kindred spirits as they swerve and blend their notes around one another. This is a completely acoustic affair and beautifully captured. The natural echo (9 second reverb) adds this sublime spacious quality, like spirits drifting through a delicate fog. An immensely enchanting encounter. - BLG
CD $15

JOE GIARDULLO - No Work Today: Nine For Steve Lacy (Drimala 05-347-02; USA) No Work Today is Giardullo's homage to Steve Lacy, with whom the younger reedman played in 2004. To listen to Weather, one gets a picture of Giardullo's deep-listening interests, the way a piece of a phrase can be mined for its purely sonic possibilities. No Work Today is an entirely different exercise in instrumental possibility, for it is an investigation into phrases and organization, motifs rather than pure sound. Lacy tunes like Prospectus and Hurtles are starting points for an extension of Lacy's idiom somewhere into another place on the soprano spectrum, while Giardullo opens with a composition based on Monk's Work (the title track, its namesake a piece that yielded many Lacy improvisations). Giardullo takes the quirks and snips that Lacy provides and rather than spacing them out, breaking them or bending them (which might be the obvious choice), builds long spiraling lines that are not only more dense than one might expect, but also hit Lacy on another point of the harmonic spectrum entirely. In other words, rather than dissonant voicings and metrical movement, Giardullo appears to be searching for something almost modal. No Work Today pays homage to something similar to the open door that Monk provided for Lacy, namely a view to the other side.
CD $15

JOE GIARDULLO 4TET With JOE McPHEE/MICHAEL BISIO/TANI TABBAL - Now Is (Drimala 03-347-02; USA) Second superb release from Joe's great quartet featuring Joe. G. on soprano sax, Joe McPhee on trumpets & soprano sax, Mike Bisio on contrabass and Tani Tabbal on drums & djembe. After a number of fine releases with fellow upstate New Yorker Joe McPhee, Mr. Giardullo moves into the spotlight with his third cd as a leader. The exciting title track opens with the quartet soaring at a quick and frenzied pace, the soprano and flugel swirling together as the rhythm team erupts below. Both horns solo and explode together, building in intensity, taking their time to ascend as the busy bass and drums flow quickly as one force of nature. There is a rather somber beauty to this as the quartet organically weave through hills and valleys and sail through the world of magical improv. There a couple of superb trio pieces for Giardullo, Bisio and Tabbal, as well as an enchanting duo for McPhee and Tabbal to close out this grand journey of excellent spiraling spirits. A transcendent gift from the gods.
CD $15

JOE GIARDULLO/CHRIS SULLIVAN/MICHAEL THOMPSON - Language of Swans (Drimala 02-347-05; USA) Language of Swans features multi-instrumentalists Joe Giardullo with long time collaborators, Michael Thompson on drums and piano and Chris Sullivan on bass. This is Joe's second recording for Drimala Records and a world away from his first recording, Shadow & Light. Here Joe is relaxed, the sound is easy and flowing, with a casualness that belies the intensity of effort. The compositions explore the metaphor of nature's language using the elegance of swans as a foil for the exploration. The music traces the transmigration of life through music without self-consciousness or presumption.
The session moves from the sensitive, almost delicate, ballad on "A Tear For The Missing" to an absolute tour de force of circular breathing on "Migrations"...but these are only arbitrary stopping points along the complete journey of musical discovery that Joe takes the listener on. Behind Giardullo is one of the strongest, if not the most eclectic, rhythm sections working today in Thompson and Sullivan. Anticipating his every nuance and phrase, their rhythmic intensity and discoveries reflect a broad history across a wide spectrum of styles from the hard driving free sounds of Archie Shepp to the calypso rhythms of the Mighty Sparrow. But the result is never muddy or confused. Theirs is a journey of purpose, tightly focused, without distraction...but taken at leisure. As a sojourner with them on their travels, the result is most enlightening.
CD $15



Here are the restocks of titles on the Laswell-centric MetaStation Label:

ASANA [V.A. With BILL LASWELL] - Vol 1: Soul Practice [a/k/a Asana] (MetaStation 03; USA) [This is the expanded [6 cut] re-release of the-self titled ASANA [4 cut] CD originally issued on the Douglas label in 1996. The additional cuts are "Black Lotus" by Sacred System, and "Aum" by Divination. "Bassist and mega-producer Bill Laswell unhinges the genre with tracks (versions of material from six different Laswell projects/productions] that careen from electronic South Asian grooves to soft kirtans. Notables such as Zakir Hussain and Trilok Gurtu sit in with scintillating results." - Spa Magazine, May/June 2003
CD $13

ASANA [V.A. With BILL LASWELL] - Vol 2: Moving Meditation (MetaStation 10; USA) Asanas are the physical postures of yoga and become a spiritual practice when done with the bhav or divine mood of devotion. The purpose of yoga is to realize one's true nature, the nature of peace and eternal bliss. Asana Two: Moving Meditation, hopes to inspire this path, for when deeply immersed in music, one can feel close to the divine. Musical contributions by Bill Laswell, Zakir Hussain, Sultan Khan, Nils Petter Molvaer, Material, Pressure Drop, Asiatronic, Mike D., Sharon Gannon and Divination. Asana Two: Moving Meditation follows Asana: Soul Practice, featuring Bill Laswell, Jah Wobble, Sacred System and many others
CD $13

ASANA [V.A. With BILL LASWELL] - Vol 3: Peaceful Heart (MetaStation 15; USA) With Bill Laswell, Pharoah Sanders, Karsh Kale, Nicky Skopelitis, Asha Puthli, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, Grandmixer DXT. The meditative Samadhi State is from Pharoah Sanders, one of the most influential and respected tenor saxophonists in jazz. With more than four decades behind him, Sanders proves he's still sailing new waters. - Rhythm Magazine, January '03
Karsh Kale's music mingles East and West, hedonism and higher thoughts. The music is Indian at the top, Western at the bottom and thoroughly tangled in between. - John Pareles, 2003
"Yoga soundtrack or not, this is some of the best "Indi-pop" world music yet recorded, with plenty of spatial effects and spirit, enticing, masterful and otherworldly throughout. Special mention is deserving for the beautiful packaging, which complements the project and brings the whole thing to a very high level Don't miss this one!" - Backroads Music, June '03
CD $13

ASANA [V.A. With BILL LASWELL] - Vol 4: OHM Shanti (MetaStation 20; USA) With Bill Laswell, Ustad Sultan Khan, Karsh Kale, Asha Puthli, Kiran Ahluwalia... "Weaving a beautiful tapestry of styles, OHM Shanti combines the worlds of ghazal, Hindustani classical tradition and electronica from light, downtempo beats to full-on dancefloor grooves with remarkable levity." - Derek Beres, Global Rhythm
CD $13

BUCKETHEAD - Electric Tears (MetaStation 14; USA) As our pal, superhero and heavy metal/shredding guitar god, Buckethead, hits the road with those bad boys - Guns & Roses, the meditation-based Meta label releases his most laid back and mellow solo guitars project in years. The new legion of Buckethead fans will be mighty surprised and perhaps a bit disappointed. Each piece creates a melancholy mood, by using a variety of devices - hypnotic echoes, a touch of sustain, a bit of wah-wah, some bluesy refrains, but just occasional soloing. There are a few layers of guitars, nothing is too dense or fast or very intense. There is a delicate acoustic theme that pops up from time to time, that has a new age-like vibe, dreamy with a touch of the blues thrown in. I wondered why the Bucket-man called this 'Electric Tears', but it does make sense since this is a sad, eloquent variation on a few themes, all of which deal with a universal blues or refrain for the sad world in which many of us live. - BLG
CD $13

LORI CARSON - The Finest Thing (MetaStation 18; USA) "Ms. Carson rode with the Golden Palominos in the early '90s before fine-tuning her own dream-pop sound. The Finest Thing [2004], her first CD in three years, is by far her most experimental. Seven minute tracks such as "Long Walk" and "Grey World" aren't songs as much as space-rock meditations, and at its best, you'd swear The Finest Thing was produced by Brian Eno."- The Dallas Morning News, June '04
CD $13

DIVINATION [BILL LASWELL/LARAAJI] - Sacrifice (MetaStation 02; USA) Legendary musician/producer Bill Laswell delivers Divination: Sacrifice, a dense textural, meditative soundtrack that luminates with natural elements. Two of the four pieces on Divination are collaborations with elctric zither player Laraaji who has been one of the true pioneers in ambient music, using sound for healing, relaxation and the exploration of higher states of consciousness...
"Some of the aural atmospherics stretch out like sci-fi soundtracks, others are more abstract in their spacious textures, but none limit themselves to soothing New Age stereotypes, and all reward deep listening" - Yoga Journal
CD $13

BILL LASWELL - Hear No Evil [2 CD set] (MetaStation 05; USA) 'Hear No Evil', originally released in 1988 on the Virgin Venture label, marked one of the truly world fusion creations: a world music/blues-rock/Americana feel employing 3 string players [violinist L. Shankar, guitarist Nicky Skopelitis, and bassist Laswell] and 3 percussionists [Indian tablaist Zakir Hussain, African Aiyb Dieng, and Cuban Daniel Ponce]. The original CD is remastered, and a second full length CD of two extended mix translations [appx 20 minutes each!] of the first and last cuts of the original album were created especially for this edition. Of the 500+ albums Laswell has played on/composed and/or produced in the last 20 years, this surely is in the top ten of his works for me! - Mannylunch
"Hear No Evil is an amazing fusion of Indian percussion and drone with rustic American guitar. This is one of the few CDs that puts me into a true trance, where time dissolves and all my thoughts evaporate....I just want to sit and meditate and absorb this bliss." -Yoga Basics, February '02
2 CD Set for $16

LIFE SPACE DEATH [DALAI LAMA/BILL LASWELL/TOSHINORI KONDO] - Life Space Death (MetaStation 11; USA) "Toshinori Kondo and Bill Laswell continue their fertile, creative collaboration as they join forces with his holiness the Dalai Lama on Life Space Death. Here on LSD, the Dalai Lama reflects on the meaning of life and death through compassion while Laswell and Kondo provide the deep ambience for the timeless wisdom of the ages." "Toshinori Kondo and Bill Laswell continue their fertile, creative collaboration as they join forces with Eraldo Bernocchi and his holiness the Dalai Lama on Life Space Death from Meta Records. Here on LSD, the Dalai Lama reflects on the meaning of life and death through compassion while Laswell and Kondo provide the deep ambience for the timeless wisdom of the ages."
"Leave it to the Dalai Lama to break human existence down to three simple ideas - Life, Space and Death. Listeners will hear a lot more from His Holiness on this album as well, since it's comprised of pieces from the Dalai Lama's speeches wrapped in four ambient collages by Bill Laswell. ....with help from trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, who gives this album some of its emotional guideposts, Laswell creates something engaging, particularly when he adds his own dub grooves." - CMJ New Music Report Issue, June '01
CD $13

RASA [BILL LASWELL] - Serene Timeless Joy (MetaStation 04; USA) Rasa is a Sanskrit and ancient Javanese expression that means a sense of the spiritual. The soundscapes of this record were captured in Borobudur, Indonesia, and it's surrounding mountains that are believed to be sacred. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist monument in the world built in the eighth and ninth centuries. Found here is one 60-minute meditation track, "Shinning Stone Walu Jilang)", created, produced and recorded by Bill Laswell!
CD $13

SPIRITUAL BEAUTY [BILL LASWELL/SUSSAN DEYHIM [DEIHIM] - Imaginal Orient (MetaStation 12; USA) 'Spiritual Beauty' celebrates the healing powers of music and global collaboration. An ecstatic melodic journey that sweeps from East to West. Spiritual Beauty is a balancing act between seemingly disparate worlds, an erotic tapestry of sound and place. It was created through the efforts of numerous talented producers and virtuosos. Featuring Sussan Deyhim, Bill Laswell, Simon Shaheen and the music of Abdel Wahab, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, DJ Cheb i Sabbah, Badawi, Jah Wobble and Shahim Bada, U-Cef, Micheline Abdel Karim and Fred Leonard and Divination. Though a number of featured performers no longer can return to their native soil, Spiritual Beauty transcends borders and politics. Revolutionary poet Hakim Bey puts it this way: "These musicians seem to say that if music itself is exile, then music is the homeland." Neither wholly East nor wholly West, Spiritual Beauty is the sound of something wholly new. "An alchemical wedding," Bey calls it, "Rumi meets Coltrane." Spiritual Beauty has a global soul.
CD $13




YUYA UCHIDA & THE FLOWERS [FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND] - Challenge! (Columbia 51050; Japan) Legit reissue with mini-LP style packaging; includes 5 bonus tracks. "First incarnation of the legendary Japanese hard prog psych rock act Flower Travellin' Band. Debut album by Yuya Uchida & The Flowers which was started by Yuya Uchida (born on 17 November 1939) who already was making some rockabilly singles in the early '60s and was one of the opening performers when The Beatles came to Japan in 1966. But when he traveled to Europe in 1967, he was immediately inspired by Cream, Jimi Hendrix and The Who. When he returned to Japan, he started the band The Flowers with vocalist Remi Aso, and the band caused a sensation in the Japanese music scene. Most of the tracks on this album are covers of songs by Cream, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and one original song."
CD $26


MUSIC DEWOLFE [V.A.] - Volume 1 [2 LP set] (Megaphone UNLTD 01; USA) "Fifteen slices of late '60s & early '70s instrumental soul from the library of DeWolfe music compiled by DJ Jason Willett. Hard hitting grooves & otherworldly funk from swinging London featuring legendary composers Nick Ingman, Alan Parker, Keith Papworth and many more. The DeWolfe Music Library (aka Music DeWolfe) was started in 1909 by Meyer DeWolfe to provide musical scores for silent movies, but as the decades passed the library quickly established a reputation for production music for both TV and radio. In the '70s, DeWolfe demonstrated their uniqueness from their rivals by employing a number of young and enthusiastic British composers, true musical innovators of their time, who all possessed the creativity and ability to experiment with new studio techniques and electronic instruments. Not surprisingly, music from the De Wolfe vaults has produced ample fodder for DJs, providing funky breaks, wailing horns, groovy strings and the like to many a hip-hop track or club mix. Baltimore's Jason Willett put together this thoroughly enjoyable collection of DeWolfe instrumental funk classics from the '60s and '70s. From the opening salvo of bongoes and driving bass on Keith Papworth's 'Hard Hitter' to the screaming horns that close out P. Kass' 'Sweet Destruction,' Music De Wolfe Volume 1 is a relentless mix of driving beats, joyously swinging jazz, and cinematic funk."
CD $16


PIG NEWTON & THE WIZARDS FROM KANSAS - Still In Kansas (Rockadelic 48; USA) The Wizards from Kansas was a little-known rock band that made one splendid record on Mercury in 1968. They sounded quite a bit like the Jefferson Airplane vocally and covered two classic psych tunes, Buffy Saint-Marie's "Codeine" and Big Ed Wheeler's "High Flying Bird". For me, their version of both of these much-covered songs, were by far the best. This rare LP-only release is their demos, recorded before their one and only album was released, doing some of the same and some different material like an amazing wah-wah drenched version of "All Along the Watchtower." This album is a must for all early folk/psych fanatics.
LP-only $30 (limited to 600 copies)


LES RALLIZES DENUDES - Live 1972 (Over Level 2; EEC) Second Rallizes bootleg on this label, the most "overground" of all Rallizes' affiliated labels. "Legit" or "authorized" material from this mythical group is seen about as frequently as Loch Ness himself. There are only 2 words printed anywhere on this CD (besides the group's name): "live" and "1972". Say no more. "Live material from 1972. This band was a major inspiration to groups like High Rise, Kousokuya, Acid Mothers Temple and Keiji Haino. The absolute peak of Japanese psychedelia." Official description: "Early hand-held audience recordings (dig those tape flips!) from 1972. Frequently compared in sound and spirit to the Velvets and The Dead, for this slogged-out set 'Hawkwind' may be more appropriate. Play it loud enough and you'll think you are there, holding the mic..."
CD $17


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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.