First Tzadiks of 2008: Fred Frith! John Zorn! Steven Bernstein! Chris Dench! BOX with Raoul Bjorkenheim & Trevor Dunn! Two on Innova: Jason Hwang's Edge & Robert Een, An Unreleased Stan Tracey-Keith Tippett 1977 duet!

New Clean Feeds for 2008: Steve Lehman Qt! Tony Malaby/William Parker/Nasheet Waits! Steve Gauci w/ Nate Wooley, Mike Bisio & Ingebrigt Haaker Flaten and Pandelis Karayorgis' MI3!!

A Short Stack from FMR: Amalgam, Paul Dunmall Qt, Mark O'Leary w/ Wayne Horvitz & Dylan Van Der Schyff, 2 from Frode Gjerstad's Calling Signals, Hilary Jeffery Solo Trombone v2, and Between the Notes!

Bernie Worrell & Koch/Schutz/Studer DVD's, Battles, Franco Battiato, Anthology Of Noise And Electronic Music - Volume 5, Trevor Wishart, Yoshi Wada, Kyle Gann and Dust to Digital's 'Victrola Favorites' 2 CD Set + Book!




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LIFT OFF! REMEMBERING THOMAS CHAPIN:
First Concert on the Tenth Year of His Passing

"THOMAS CHAPIN: HIGHER AND HIGHER"

Featuring:

THE NEW THOMAS CHAPIN ORCHESTRA featuring members of the Walter Thompson Orchestra, directed by Paul Jeffrey! MARIO PAVONE/STEVE BERNSTEIN/MICHAEL BLAKE/MICHAEL SARIN!
PAUL JEFFREY & FRIENDS!
ARMEN DONELIAN & MARC MOMMAAS!
PABLO ASLAN'S AVANTANGO!
ARTHUR KELL & SAUL RUBIN!
Plus guest Speakers, Poets, Musicians & film clips of Thomas Chapin!

At St. Peter's Church, 619 Lexington Avenue at 53rd Street, New York, NY Wednesday February 13, 2008 from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm.

ADMISSION IS FREE!! (212) 935-2200



LIFT OFF! REMEMBERING THOMAS CHAPIN:
Second Concert on the Tenth Year of His Passing

"THOMAS CHAPIN: STILL HIGHER"

Featuring:

MARIO PAVONE / MARTY EHRLICH / PETER McEACHERN / MICHAEL SARIN!
JOHN "LUNAR" RICHEY/STEVE DALACHINSKY/ROBERT MUSSO/ELLIOTT LEVIN/JAIR- ROHM PARKER WELLS/JOSH HARRIS (Former Members of Machine Gun)!
JAMES SPAULDING - Solo Flute!
PAUL JEFFREY & GUESTS!
BRETT RYAN - Next-generation Sax Solo performing concert theme "Lift Off!" - a Thomas Chapin original!
MICHAEL MUSILLAMI TRIO w/ JOE FONDA & GEORGE SCHULLER!
*THE NEW THOMAS CHAPIN ORCHESTRA featuring members of the Walter Thompson Orchestra, directed by Paul Jeffrey!

Plus guest Speakers, Poets, Musicians & film clips of Thomas Chapin!

*The New Thomas Chapin Orchestra features: Alan Chase, Michael Blake, Michael Attias, David CasT and Walter Thompson on saxophones. Frank London, Steven Bernstein, Herb Robertson, Ron Horton, Steve Swell, Bob Hovey on brass. Rolf Sturm, Tomas Ulrich, Joe Fonda, and Pablo Aslan on strings and Hollis Hedrich on percussion.

At The Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery at Bleecker St., New York, NY
Friday, February 15, 2008 from 8:00 pm to 11: 30 pm.

ADMISSION IS $15 at the door. (212) 614-0505


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First four Tzadik releases of 2008!

JOHN ZORN - FilmWorks XIX: Dimitri Geller's The Rain Horse [OST] (Tzadik 7365; USA) Featuring Erik Friedlander on cello, Rob Burger on piano and Greg Cohen on bass. Another volume of FilmWorks is always a cause for celebration - Zorn's freewheeling soundtrack music is among the most listener-friendly in his entire catalog. This installment presents a charming and lyrical score created for renowned Russian animator Dimitri Geller's delightful animated parable The Rain Horse. Beautifully performed by the dynamic trio of Erik Friedlander, Rob Burger and Greg Cohen, these eleven cues are some of Zorn's most appealing music for film. Passionate and poignant chamber music for another masterpiece by one of the world's great animators. TZADIK ARCHIVAL SERIES
CD $14

FRED FRITH - Back To Life (Tzadik 8045; USA) A new CD of classical chamber music by a contemporary master who has been redefining new music since 1972 with cutting edge bands like Henry Cow, Keep the Dog, Skeleton Crew, Massacre and Cosa Brava. Featuring the virtuoso cellist Joan Jeanrenaud (formerly of the Kronos Quartet), percussion madman William Winant (who has worked with everyone from Lou Harrison, Steve Reich and John Cage to Mr. Bungle and Sonic Youth), pianist/conductor Stephen Drury with his remarkable Boston ensemble the Callithumpian Consort, and the Belgian virtuoso Daan Vandewalle, Back to Life presents a sparkling program of five major chamber works by this imaginative and courageous border crosser. TZADIK COMPOSER SERIES
CD $14

STEVEN BERNSTEIN - Diaspora Suite (Tzadik 8122; USA) Featuring Nels Cline, John Schott & Will Bernard on guitars, Steve Bernstein & Jeff Cressman on brass, Peter Apfelbaum on reeds, Ben Goldberg on clarinets, Devin Hoff on electric bass and Scott Amendola & Josh Jones on drums & percussion. With groups like Sex Mob, Millennial Territory Orchestra and Diaspora Soul, Steven Bernstein is energizing the downtown scene with a passionate and indefatigable creativity. His brilliance continues with Diaspora Suite, the fourth installment in his Diaspora series for Tzadik and perhaps the best! Twelve original compositions exploring the Jewish tradition are brilliantly performed by a nonet of California musicians including Ben Goldberg, Peter Apfelbaum and several key players from his legendary band the Hieroglyphics. Channeling Miles Davis, Gil Evans and the Sephardic traditions of Darkness and Light, this is fabulous new Jewish music by one of the most talented and charismatic figures in the downtown scene. TZADIK RADICAL JEWISH CULTURE SERIES
CD $14


CHRIS DENCH - Beyond Status Geometry (Tzadik 8044; USA) Born in the UK, and now a resident of Melbourne, composer Chris Dench is a member of the new complexity movement along with Brian Ferneyhough, James Dillon and Richard Barrett. His music, rich with challenges and detail, is sorely under-recorded and Tzadik is proud to present four of his most extreme and passionate compositions in startling performances by some of the best musicians in the Australian New Music scene. Highlighting this disc is his infamous percussion quartet from 1995, beyond status geometry, which was labeled 'unplayable' until this startling and virtuosic performance. A powerful disc of new music from Australia's most accomplished modernist. TZADIK COMPOSER SERIES
CD $14.00


BOX [RAOUL BJORKENHEIM/TREVOR DUNN/STALE STORLOKKEN/MORGAN AGREN] - Studio 1 (Rune Grammofon 2070; EEC) This is the debut release by Box: Raoul Bjorkenheim (guitars, viola da gamba), Trevor Dunn (bass), Stale Storlokken (keyboards, electronics) and Morgan Agren (drums). Something of an international supergroup, the founding of this excellent ensemble is a touch of genius that remains something of a mystery. Hand-picked by writer and film-maker Philip Mullarkey to record and play live as part of the art/film project Box, the four musicians met for the first time in Atlantis Studio in Stockholm for two short days of recording without having planned, scored or prepared any music in advance. It quickly became apparent that this avant-garde juggernaut was heading in the right direction -- the musical interplay making it hard to believe that these complex pieces were actually improvised on the spot -- again, a testament to instant music-making at the highest level. The music was recorded directly to analog tape and has an organic and rough quality to it. All tracks were mixed from analog tape and there is no digital editing nor Pro-Tooling involved, and no overdubs. Raoul Bjorkenheim has worked in a wide spectrum of styles, from free jazz improvisations with Edvard Vesala to the Finnish Radio Symphony and UMO orchestras, collaborations with Paul Schutze, Bill Laswell, William Parker/Hamid Drake and Jah Wobble, not to mention his present group, Scorch Trio. Trevor Dunn is a member of Fantomas, John Zorn's Electric Masada, Trio Convulsant and Moonchild. He is one of the most in-demand bass players on the downtown jazz scene in New York and has an eclectic repertoire, having played with artists ranging from Marc Ribot to Melt Banana, Secret Chiefs 3 to Kronos Quartet. Stale Storlokken is a founder of Supersilent and Humcrush. Morgan is a Grammy-winning musician on both sides of the Atlantic, perhaps best known for his work with the Mats/Morgan Band, as well as with diverse artists such as The Flesh Quartet, Kaipa and Zappa's Universe. CD $16
Also available on LP for $18


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New on Clean Feed!
At lower prices - instead of going to $20, because we cut out the middleman!
(All back-catalog has been lowered - and many of them are now Mid-Lines for $13! (Check our on-line search for 'Clean Feed')

The new ones are...

TONY MALABY With WILLIAM PARKER/NASHEET WAITS - Tamarindo (Clean Feed 99; Portugal) "He is sonic, he is time, he is gesture," writes contrabassist Mark Helias about Tony Malaby in his liner notes for Tamarindo. Helias knows his stuff. Malaby's reputation as a complete tenor and soprano saxophonist continues to grow and his modesty and absolute dedication to his music have become legend. Without making a fuss he has become one of the most spectacular musicians on the New York scene. It's not difficult to understand why he is so valued as a sideman and so respected as a leader. Unlike some saxophonists, his playing appears egoless. Malaby doesn't use more notes than necessary to say what he has to say, he never shouts to be heard, and he gets out of the way of other players. This behavior reflects his personality, although he prefers to credit Tai Chi for his temperament. If the ancient Chinese martial art has indeed influenced his music, his music's spirit is strongly rooted in jazz history. That said, Malaby is not burdened by the past; for him, tradition is food for creative work but nothing more. His companions on this wonderful record - the much-in-demand rhythm section of William Parker and Nasheet Waits - are, like Malaby, acutely aware of the past, yet inventors of the future.
CD $16

STEVE LEHMAN QUARTET - Manifold (Clean Feed 97; Portugal) Since bursting onto the international creative music scene in 2004 with Interface (Clean Feed 22) and Artificial Light (Fresh Sound 186), Steve Lehman has quickly established a reputation for creating cutting-edge music, both as a fiercely imaginative saxophonist and as a young visionary composer. Much has been made of Lehman's tutelage under Jackie McLean and Anthony Braxton, as well as his more recent collaborations (both as side person and leader) with musicians associated with the M-Base school (Vijay Iyer, Liberty Ellman, and Jonathan Finlayson, most notably). But what emerges in Lehman's music is a unique synthesis and transformation of the various aspects of his on-going study of music. The simple fact is that, at 28, Lehman has already laid down a musical gauntlet that very few modern improvisers are equipped to deal with. One is hard pressed to think of another saxophonist, at any age, capable of flourishing in bands led and co-led by Meshell Ndegeocello, Dave Burrell, Vijay Iyer, and Anthony Braxton; a composite context that requires a mastery of advanced experimental instrumental techniques, an ability to create explosive improvisations in the most highly structured and exigent of musical settings, and a deeply rooted rhythmic sense. Couple his prowess as a saxophonist with his current doctoral studies of composition and computer music at Columbia University in New York (under composers Tristan Murail and George Lewis), and it becomes clear that Lehman has arrived as a key figure in the contemporary music landscape.
But make no mistake; Lehman's music is not about postmodern pastiche. And though he draws inspiration from a diverse set of musical sources, his music never fails to reveal his modernist commitment to innovation and progress through serious research and focused work. Nowhere is this made more apparent than on Manifold, his new quartet record for the Clean Feed label, featuring long-time collaborators Jonathan Finlayson (Trumpet), John Hebert (Bass), and Nasheet Waits (Drums). Much of the music on Manifold is representative of a new, highly structured approach to open improvisation, in which formalism, reflection, and extreme technical precision co-exist with spontaneity and real-time decision-making. The near-telepathic interaction of the four ensemble members underscores the crucial and fundamentally compositional nature of deciding who plays together. Throughout Manifold, Lehman, Finlayson, Waits, and Hebert demonstrate an uncanny ability to create bracingly original music in compositional contexts ranging from Dusk, the quartet's powerful tribute to pianist/composer Andrew Hill; to Cloak and Dagger, Lehman's rhythmically complex miniature; to Interface, a series of frameworks for open improvisation that call for the members of Lehman's quartet to play with great rhythmic precision and formal nuance. Recorded live in 2007 as part of the Jazz ao Centro Festival in Coimbra, Portugal, Manifold is the third title in the JACC Series (established to document exceptional performances from the Jazz ao Centro Festival), which is produced by the Portuguese label Clean Feed. Knowing that Interface (recorded by Lehman's Camouflage Trio with Mark Dresser and Pheeroan akLaff in 2004) was the first recording in the JACC series, one gets a good idea of the excitement that Lehman's music has produced in Portugal and beyond. With Manifold Lehman continues to deliver on the promise of his early career and to assert the status bestowed upon him by The WIRE in 2004 as "the man to watch on the ever-evolving New York scene."
CD $16

STEPHEN GAUCI'S BASSO CONTINUO - Nidihyansana (Clean Feed 101; Portugal) The name Basso Continuo refers not to early music but rather to the double double bass backbone Mike Bisio and Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten provide to Stephen Gauci's quartet. On this remarkable recording these sub-sonic kindred spirits interweave to form a latticework that supports the multitude of sounds that tenor saxophonist Stephen Gauci and trumpeter Nate Wooley draw from their instruments and imaginations. Somehow the pair squeeze their oversized axes into every nook and cranny the music creates. They are here, then there, lurking, then striking.
In sharp contrast to the faux-baroque name of Gauci's quartet, the title of the album and each of the tracks have Indian overtones, perhaps bringing to mind John Coltrane's late spiritual works. And of course Gauci plays the tenor saxophone, and so, like all who followed Coltrane, owes a debt to the tenor's great master. Gauci's more immediate indebtedness, however, is to his former teachers, 'mainstream' greats Joe Lovano and George Garzone. His front-line running mate, Wooley, is one of the most daring experimentalists of present day improvisation and a brass master in his own right. These two teams - the pair of provocative horn players and the contemporary basso continuo - make a fantastic and unexpected combination.
CD $16

MI3 [PANDELIS KARAYORGIS/NATE McBRIDE/CURT NEWTON] - Free Advice (Clean Feed 98; Portugal) Search the Net looking for the mi3 band recorded in this CD and you'll get tons of hits about the third Mission Impossible movie. The funny thing is that the three guys playing here, Pandelis Karayorgis, Nate McBride and Curt Newton, are also involved in a mission that, if not impossible, is at least very difficult: to give a continuity to a jazz pattern, the piano trio, which seems to have traveled all its way. And truth is they manage to do it, even if without the incredible gymnastics we see Cruise dealing with on the big screen. Free Advice is not just one more piano-double bass-drums opus, but a record you certainly going to cherish and listen repeatedly. The early release in the Clean Feed catalogue of the mi3 people, We Will Make a Home for You, doesn't prepare you for what you'll find here. Instead of the Fender Rhodes and the setting of that vintage instrument in a 21st century context, Karayorgis plays now a Grand Piano at maximum effect. And there's also old tunes with new clothes, namely in the case of Duke Ellington's The Mystery Song, revised through the interpretation of that same piece by Steve Lacy in Evidence. What a joy!
CD $16


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Never before released in any format!

STAN TRACEY/KEITH TIPPETT - Supernova: At The ICA, 1977 (Resteamed 105; UK) Recorded at the ICA in 1977, this album captures 50-odd minutes of peerless improvising from two masters of the craft. Keith Tippett, of course, has continued playing mostly in this free vein, solo, in duos with the likes of Howard Riley, and in larger ensembles such as Mujician and the occasional big band, so it is no surprise to find him providing his trademark rich amalgam of thunderous power and filigree delicacy throughout the five pieces here; Stan Tracey, however, has subsequently concentrated mainly on more structured playing, so it is all the more intriguing to hear him applying his uniquely clangorous but deftly imaginative approach to spontaneously interactive music such as this. Always absorbing, often exhilarating, moving easily between rambunctious energy and touching lyricism, the two pianists strike sparks off each other, indulge in combined dazzling, driving runs, or muse quietly together - whatever the mood, though, as Clark Tracey's liner note suggests, 'intuition, respect, energy and romanticism are just some of the qualities to be found in abundance on this recording'. A rare and valuable issue, never before heard [unless you were lucky enough to be at the ICA that night]! - Chris Parker, vortexjazz.co.uk
CD $18

see further below for last copies of previous Resteamed/TenToTen releases!



A Stack of New Discs from the Wonderful Folks at FMR:

AMALGAM - Over the Rainbow (FMR 132; UK) Featuring Trevor Watts on alto sax, Keith Rowe on guitar, Colin Mackenzie on electric bass and Liam Genockey on drums. Recorded live at Wimbledon November, 1979. Each of the three main ensembles that Trevor Watts played with was very different. He was with Spontaneous Music Ensemble from the mid-sixties to mid-seventies, then there was Amalgam from 1969 through the seventies and later the Moire Music Ensemble. Amalgam was an amazing jazz/rock unit, whose personnel and sounds were constantly evolving. Thanks to the reissue of their triple album, 'Wipeout' last year on FMR, we have finally got a chance to check out the period when AMM guitar-on-table wiz, Keith Rowe, joined the band for about 2 years. Whereas 'Wipeout' featured a good deal of freer, more frenetic playing, recorded on tour in 1979 in various locations, 'Over the Rainbow' was recorded live in one place (Wimbleton) and on one date (11/2/79).
The opening piece, "Wimbleton Music 1," erupts with a tight, powerful, electric jazz/rock groove. It is hard to believe that Keith Rowe, the godfather of the subtle table-top guitar tone, sounds like Robert Fripp wailing with Crimson on this impressive piece. Both Keith and Trevor on alto wail together as their impressive, tight and intense rhythm team provides a perfect balance underneath. Although this music is no doubt improvised, it is more about those great grooves and rockin' riffs that capture the spirit of what some might refer to as "fusion". Except that this fusion deals with none of the clichŽs (speed and/or grandstanding) that turned much domestic fusion into predictable wanking. This music is a bit rough around the edges and the sound is on the verge of distorting at times, yet the spirit, creativity and passion is just right. It makes perfect sense that the name of this recording is 'Over the Rainbow,' since that is where you supposedly find that pot of gold. So stop searching & go for the gold. - BLG
CD $16

PAUL DUNMALL QUARTET w/ MIKE HURLEY / PERCY PURSGLOVE / MILES LEVIN - Four Moons (FMR 241; UK) Featuring Paul Dunmall on tenor & soprano saxes, Mike Hurley on piano, Percy Pursglove on bass and Miles Evans on drums. British sax titan, Paul Dunmall, seems to consistently find strong improvisers, known and unknown, to work with. His own label, DUNS, as well as FMR, has introduced us to a number of great lesser-known British musicians. On this fine disc we find inside-the-piano explorer, Mike Hurley, who recently appeared on another quartet disc by Bruce Coates, yet another player introduced to us by Dunmall. I can't say that I've heard of contrabassist, Percy Pursglove, before this disc, but the drummer, Miles Levin, is the son of legendary UK jazz drummer, Tony Levin, who has also worked with Dunmall in Mujician for the last decade. Both Miles & Tony Levin back Dunmall on a great, recent DUNS disc.
Each piece on 'Four Moons,' is named after a different colored moon. "Moon of Purple" begins softly with some superb, sublime acoustic bass, wandering tenor sax, angelic piano and skeletal percussion. The quartet build into a more turbulent section and sound quite a bit like Mujician, except the piano is a bit less over-the-top. Hurley sounds as if he is playing both inside the piano and on the keyboard at the same time, or perhaps he has objects (ping pong balls?) bouncing inside the piano as he plays. Each piece develops organically and each is magical in different ways. "Moon of Yellow" starts with some strong, cerebral bass playing, haunting soprano sax, hushed percussion and later, ethereal piano. I found this piece to be exquisite and dream-like. Dunmall's solo near the end is especially enchanting. Miles Levin begins "Moon of Blue" with his superb mallet playing, providing a perfect cushion for Dunmall's Trane-like tenor, Mike's quietly twisted inside-the-piano sounds and Percy's probing bass. I love the natural flow of events here as different duos evolve into trios and the quartet. Like most discs on FMR, this CD is warm, clean, well-recorded and perfectly balanced. Another cosmic pearl form the FMR treasure chest. - BLG
CD $16


MARK O'LEARY / DYLAN VAN DER SCHYFF / WAYNE HORVITZ - Flux (FMR 238; UK) Featuring Mark O'Leary on guitar, Wayne Horvitz on piano & prepared piano and Dylan Van Der Schyff on drums & percussion. This is Irish guitarist, Mark O'Leary 10th disc in the past five or so years, so you could say that he is quite prolific. What is interesting is that each of Mark's previous discs has featured different personnel and each has been recorded in different studios, in different countries. This disc was recorded in Seattle where former downtown keyboard wiz, Wayne Horvitz, lives and not far from Vancouver, where occasional Horvitz collaborator, Dylan Van Der Schyff still hails.
What I dig about O'Leary is that always chooses his collaborators wisely and changes his style and/or tone in order to accommodate his fellow explorers. For this disc, Mark often plays with a dreamy tone and subtle volume pedal swirls. "Entrance" opens and moves gracefully in slow motion. Soon the ice melts as the tempo and tension slowly creeps upwards. Wayne starts to sneak in some Monk-like phrases on "Contextual" which pushes Mark into a more playful mode. There is a strong, spacious, cerebral vibe on "Vadalfjol," which I find most enchanting. "Beyond the Abyss" is an aptly titled trek where Wayne plays harp-like sounds inside the piano while Mark spins quick waves of notes and Dylan provides some sizzling cymbals. What I like most about this is the way the trio does a superb job of spinning a magic web around one another, weaving waves of note together into a breathtaking tapestry. - BLG
CD $16

MARK O'LEARY / TERJE ISUNGSET - Shamanic Voices (FMR 240; UK) Featuring Mark O'Leary (electric guitar, el baritone guitar, table top guitar, 12 string baritone guitar, E-bow, implements, electronics) and Terje Isungset (Drums, percussion, stones, bells, wood, gongs, jews harp). Mark O'Leary has paired up with the immensely creative percussionist Terje Isungset, well known throughout Europe for his use of 'natural' found objects (stones, wood and ice sculptures). The pair explores some beautiful soundworlds over the course of 13 tracks, using guitar, electronics and percussion to outstanding effect.
CD $16

CALLING SIGNALS [FRODE GJERSTAD/TONY MARSH/ILVIND ONE PEDERESEN /NICK STEPHENS] - Live in the UK (FMR 181; UK) Featuring Frode Gjerstad (clarinets), Tony Marsh (drums), Eivin One Pedersen (accordeon) and Nick Stephen (acoustic bass). A brisk return outing for Nick Stephens and Frode Gjerstads improvising quartet. Recorded at the 2005 Southend International Jazz Festival, this stirling performance captures Gjerstad's clarinets and Stephens' controlled bass stunningly. Eiven One Pedersen's accordion is again included to great effect, its sound opening up whole new avenues for this exceptional unit. Also featured in this recording is Tony Marsh, stepping in on percussive duties, an exceptional drummer whose name alone can usher in new depths of creation and add that extra special emotive. spark.
CD $16

CALLING SIGNALS [FRODE GJERSTAD/PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE/ILVIND ONE PEDERESEN/NICK STEPHENS] - Dream in Dreams (FMR 177; UK) Featuring Frode Gjerstad (saxes), Paal Nillsen-Love (drums), Ilvind One Pederesen (bandoneon) & Nick Stevens (bass). Coming after the major success of recent groups involving Frode Gjerstad such as 'Ultralyd' and his 'St Louis' Trio on FMR this is strangely different! Perhaps its the sound of the bandoneon played by the wonderful Norwegian Ilvind One Pederesen that provides a more laid back and introspective texture for the groups overall sound. And again it is less frenetic, more folky and opens new frontiers for group improvisation and its sound palette. Fans of Frode Gjerstad will, however, not be disappointed, as with musicians such as as Paal Nilssen-Love as well as Frode, British bass player Nick Stevens and the inclusion of of Gjerstad's long time associate Pederesen, the outcome could only be as it is: highly stimulating improvisation, that like much of Frode Gjerstads music, breaks new ground!
CD $16

HILARY JEFFERY - Solo Trombone & Electronics 2 (FMR 210; UK) Mr. Jeffery is a longtime collaborator with Paul Dunmall, as well as a part of the Dutch scene and can be heard on Tobias Deius' 'Apa Ini' (on Data). Hilary is an extraordinary trombone player and doesn't quite sound like anyone else. This is his second solo disc for FMR and it is indeed another special item. This was recorded in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Haarlem, in The Netherlands. On "Procession" Hilary seems to be looping his trombone as the rich, warm tone seems to be in layers. Hilary likes to set up dark and haunting soundscapes as a backdrop for his hypnotic trombone playing. I am reminded of the sounds of whales with some of the tones that he is utilizes, drifting at sea with waves slowly rocking us back and forth. For the one long piece, "Jump to the Stars," he sets up some eerie electronic sounds that erupt through a series strange shimmering currents while he solos on trombone, riding the electronic waves as they slowly evolve through dark currents and turn into (what sounds like) alien communications. I dig the way Hilary adds some effective vocal sounds through his trombone on "SexWeb," the layers of trombone and electronic sounds blend just right so that it is hard to tell where one leaves off from the other - man or machine or both? Now that solo trombone pioneer, Paul Rutherford, has left this planet, it is up to other 'bone explorers to extend that the vocabulary of sounds created by the trombone. Hilary Jeffery has done a fabulous job, as well as moving these explorations into the future with the successful use of electronics added. - BLG
CD $16

BETWEEN THE NOTES - Extraordinary Improvisations (FMR 234; UK) Featuring Matthew Barley on cello & direction, Paul Griffiths on guitar, Peter Whyman on clarinet & sax, Fraser Trainer on piano & keyboards and Sam Walton on percussion. One of the wonderful things about the FMR label is that they consistently bring us little known musicians who are doing great things. I didn't know what to expect from this quintet since I hadn't heard of any of the members previously except for reedsman, Peter Whyman, from a lone Leo disc led by John Wolf Brennan that is now out-of-print. It turns out that Mr. Whyman also has a trio disc out on FMR. All of the pieces on this disc were inspired by a series of predetermined ideas, like "Water" (from the food or drink category) or "Mindwander" (from the graphic score list). These musicians mostly come from the classical field, which initially didn't deal with improvisations, but these are modern musicians who are happy to explore these new challenges. "Water" opens and is a rich, flowing work with some breathtaking cello, piano, clarinet and percussion. The liner notes mention what was the inspiration for each piece so can get an idea of what the quintet had in mind. "Two Characters" features a thoughtful, contemplative duet for prepared piano and restrained electric guitar. It is quite melodic and quietly mysterious. Each piece seems to tell a little story, since there was an idea in mind. The fact that these players improvise melodically makes this easier to deal with for those who have problem with the further out improvisations of some "free/jazz" or just "free music". What is interesting is that there are still a number of surprising twists and occasionally odd choices of sounds. On "ConnectionÉ" it sounds as if they have wandered into a darker, slightly more rock-oriented area midway, but still end up in a more suspense-filled sequence near the end. For those of you that desire adventurous music without too much noise or angst, this disc is definitely for you. - BLG
CD $16



Two New Discs from the Innova Label:

JASON KAO HWANG'S EDGE With TAYLOR HO BYNUM/KEN FILIANO /ANDREW DRURY - Stories Before Within (Innova 689; USA) Jason Kao Hwang's quartet EDGE is nested in the urban mountains of New York City where he created Stories Before Within, personal tales celebrating both life and loss. Over the past three years EDGE has embraced both past and future with musical offerings resonant with human and animal overtones. Their instruments sing through sharp lines vibrating between history, cultures and genres.
'Cloud Call' was composed in 1984, inspired by a Ukrainian street festival in NYC's East Village. New airborne rhythms and revolutions send this celebratory call aloft. 'From East Sixth Street' is where I lived in Manhattan for eight years in a tiny, $100/month apartment. Same block where Lee Morgan had lived, not far from Charlie Parker's former home, the East Village is a historic musical neighborhood. In this composition, the energy of that past surges into the present, breaking shackles of negativity to affirm our lives.
'Walking Pictures' emerge after meditation, like a parade of cherished rascals from one's life that speak of essence and kindle all shades of emotions.
'Third Sight', a melody influenced by Korean music, was originally recorded by Local Lingo (Euonymus), my duets with ajeng musician Sang Won Park. For EDGE, the arrangement is a prismatic ritual, where the dialogue of spirits leads us to what is unspoken, unknown and unnamed. 'Embers' are seen and felt in the isolation that we sometimes need to see and move forward from.
CD $14

ROBERT EEN - Hiroshima Maiden (Innova 679; USA) Hiroshima Maiden is the Obie Award winning musical score by Robert Een for Dan Hurlin's puppet -theater piece in which the musical explorations from the East meet the musical experimentations of the East Village. This seventy-minute studio recording features the composer on cello and voice, with hammered dulcimer, vibraphone, lap dulcimer, marimba and percussion in New Music that is at once melodic, conceptually inventive, heart-felt and thought provoking.
CD $14


HYO-SHIN NA - All the Noises (New World 80674; USA) John Anderson, clarinet; Marieke Keser, violin; Manuel Visser, viola; Nina Hitz, cello; Thomas Schultz, piano; Ives String Quartet; JeongGaAkHoe: Jae-hyun Chun, komungo; Hyang-hee Lee, piri; Hong Yoo, taegeum; Seung-hee Lee, haegeum; Yoo-jin Sung, kayageum; Jae-choon Yang, changgu
Hyo-shin Na (b. 1959) has written for Western instruments, for traditional Korean instruments and has written music that combines Western and Asian (Korean and Japanese) instruments and ways of playing. Her music for traditional Korean instruments is recognized by both composers and performers in Korea (particularly by the younger generation) as being uniquely innovative. Her writing for combinations of Western and Eastern instruments is unusual in its refusal to compromise the integrity of differing sounds and ideas; she prefers to let them interact, coexist and conflict in the music. Ocean/Shore 2 (2003) is one of a series that are studies on the use of diverse materials and on the coexistence, within a piece of music, of various instruments. As in the meeting and interaction of water and land, these instruments can have fundamentally very different characters (piri and violin, or clarinet and cello), yet shouldn't lose their basic nature in the interests of harmony, or even beauty.
On first hearing, one might consider All the Noises in the World (2006) to be a piece of traditional Korean music, in which traditionally skilled performers do what they have always done. The musicians produce sounds/noises on something other than their own instrument. Thus, what appears to be a purely Korean piece turns out to be a very complex concept with elements and sensibilities from different cultures.
The inspiration and basic musical materials of Walking, Walking (for solo piano) (2004) have their origin in a song by the Chilean musician Victor Jara, a central figure in that country's "new song" movement. Walking, Walking explores aspects and qualities of the act of walking, the rhythm and pace of walking and thinking, the balance of working and idling, and the, at times, meandering, light-hearted quality of walking.
Ten Thousand Ugly Ink Blots (for string quartet) (2006) is one of the composer's most experimental with regard to the method of composition, which she describes as follows: The title and inspiration of Ten Thousand Ugly Ink Blots comes from a series of four paintings made in 1685 by the Chinese painter Shi-tao (1641-1720). In order to "break out of the mold" and to liberate my composer's "mind's eye," I traced concrete elements from Shi-tao's paintings onto seventeen transparent sheets, and used these sheets in varied overlappings and superimpositions as a direct source for textural and melodic materials.
CD $15


TREVOR WISHART - Machine (Paradigm 25; UK) "Although Machine was completed in 1971, it was not released until 1973, shortly after the release of his Journey Into Space. Machine is therefore the first major composition by Trevor Wishart. It was composed at York University and was originally issued on vinyl as 3 sides of a highly adventurous 3LP box set called Electronic Music From York, on the University's own record label. In common with Journey Into Space (also on Paradigm Discs), Machine makes use of a large number of volunteer contributors, mostly from the student body at York. With this recording, however, there are no instruments used. Instead, the music of Machine is made up entirely from a combination of spoken text, carefully directed improvising choirs that take their lead from pre-recorded factory sounds. These are extensively mixed and edited with yet more collected machine sounds and other sources of musique concrete, as well as occasional use of basic electronic sources. The scale of this work, and the degree of preparation involved in scoring it, seems to have more resonances with the world of theater or film rather than tape composition. Much of Wishart's early work involved the use of musicians and artists being directed to perform in new ways, outside of their usual remit. A combination of late '60s openness, detailed scores that provide frameworks for improvisation and slavish editing have resulted in an incomparable sound work. With a continuous playing time of one hour, the wild and previously unexplored terrain covered by this pioneering work of British experimental music moves in turn through the full range of possible audio landscapes from the oceanic calm of the doldrums to earsplitting factory mayhem."
CD $17


KYLE GANN - Private Dances (New Albion 137; USA) Performed by Sarah Cahill: piano; Da Capo Chamber Players: violin, cello, piano, flute, clarinet; Bernard Gann: electric bass. "Kyle Gann (b.1955) is a composer whose music inevitably is structured with an array of metric, harmonic and melodic ideas and strategies that would seem to guarantee it to be beyond listenable in its complexity. However, the opposite is in fact what the listener receives. The work is deeply felt, lyrically clear and driven by song. Gann is also known to the musical world as an author and critic, and teaches in the music department at Bard College. Private Dances (2004) is so hot, so longing with yearning, so lonely with the blues, so salacious in its undressing of the unsuspecting listener, that it could properly carry one a warning sticker. It is a 'listener beware' collection in six movements -- sexy, sad, sentimental, sultry, saintly, swingin'. The pianist, Sarah Cahill (one of the generation's premier 'woman on piano' performers) leaves you, the innocent listener, with nothing; she took it all. This piece is what was going on in the mind of the guy at the end of the counter in the Edward Hopper painting, Nighthawks."
CD $15


YOSHI WADA - Lament For The Rise and Fall of Elephantine Crocodile (EM 1074; Japan) "If you have heard the music of Yoshi Wada, you have no doubt been impressed by his amazing sound-worlds. Born in Kyoto, he moved to New York in the late 1960s. He is well-known as a Fluxus artist with links to La Monte Young, and has been involved in many performances and sound installations. Finally, a CD reissue of his most important and rarest LP, Lament For Rise And Fall Of The Elephantine Crocodile (1982, India Navigation)."
Finally, a CD reissue of Yoshi Wada's most important and most rare LP, Lament For The Rise And Fall Of The Elephantine Crocodile, originally released in 1982 on the India Navigation label. Yoshi Wada is a Japanese sound installation artist and musician -- he moved to New York in the late 1960s, and became well-known as a Fluxus artist with links to La Monte Young, and has been involved in many performances and sound installations. However, he has released only two recordings, which are both hard to find. This CD contains two pieces: track 1 features a solo overtone voice (he studied with legendary Indian vocalist Pandit Pran Nath) recorded at the performance space Dry Pool (literally a dry pool that Wada slept in before this recording), with a deep underground echoing feeling. Track 2 displays Wada's trademark dense psychedelic drones using his "pipe horn," a home-made, bagpipe-like instrument. These wondrous sounds will take you to another, better world. 96khz/24bit digitally remastered complete full-length version (original LP edition was edited). Liner notes in English & Japanese.
CD $21


HANS KOCH/MARTIN SCHUTZ/FREDI STUDER//PETER LIECHTI, dir - Hardcore Chamber Music [DVD] (Intakt 131; Switzerland) [WARNING: You MUST have a PAL or Multi-Format DVD player to watch this, some computers will work also] A film by Peter Liechti starring of the sights and sounds from a thirty day music marathon featuring Hans Koch on bass & contrabass clarinets, soprano & tenor saxes, electronics & sampling; Martin Schutz on acoustic & electric 5-string cello, electronics & sampling and Fredi Studer on drums & percussion.
DVD $25


SCHH [w/ BRUCE COATES] - Murmurations (Octagonal Recordings 002; UK) SCHH features Bruce Coates on sopranino, soprano & alto saxes, Walt Shaw homemade percussion & electronics, Chris Hobbs on piano, percussion & electronics and Mike Hurley on piano & melodica. We only know British saxist, Bruce Coates, from the a couple of discs he has done with Paul Dunmall as well as a couple of more recent self-produced discs with John Edwards, Jamie Smith and David Ryan. The other name here that I recognize is Chris(topher) Hobbs, who once appeared on one of Brian Eno's Obscure albums. Pianist, Mike Hurley, also appears on a recent disc by Paul Dunmall called 'Four Moons' on FMR, reviewed in this very same newsletter (1/18/08).
'Murmurations' features some of the best British improvisations I've heard recently. On "Spectrality," Bruce's sax sails subtly on top of the wandering piano, free yet focused percussion and eerie electronics. On "Lifedance" there is a wonderful floating quality with mysterious prepared piano, twisted percussion, squeaky sopranino and fascinating sounds that just might be electronic. For "Flocking," Bruce switches to alto sax and the quartet moves into a more aggressive area with some intense piano(s), scraping of cymbals and other chattering percussion sounds. I dig when the unexpectedly move into a more restrained section midway with mysterious soprano, subdued piano and eerie cymbals. It is like the light at the end of a storm. Although there are pianos involved, both are used selectively and often with a variety of objects employed inside of each or both. The blend of the sax, pianos, odd percussion and occasional electronics often make for some alien sounds that are most often fascinating, a bit unnerving and always have that magical thread. - BLG
CD $15


HAROLD McNAIR With COLIN GREEN/KEITH TIPPET/RICK GRECH et al - The Fence (Hux 095; UK) Harold McNair was a white Jamaican-born sax & flutist who made his reputation when he moved to the UK in 1960. He worked in the US & Europe, as well as Cuba & the Bahamas, before moving to England. He recorded with Martial Solal and played with Bud Powell before joining the Quincy Jones band. He concentrated on flute and became more of session musician while living in London in the sixties. He recorded for Donovan on some seven albums and is often known for his solo on Donavon's hit single, "There is a Mountain." He also recorded with a long list of England's best musicians and singer/songwriters like John Martyn, Davey Graham, Magna Carta, Cressida, Alexis Korner and Ginger Baker's Airforce. Sadly, he died of lung cancer in 1971 at the age of only 40.
'The Fence' was Harold McNair's fifth and last album before his death, released in 1970. It features an eclectic cast of characters from the rock & jazz worlds: McNair on sax, flute & electric sax, Colin Green on guitar, Keith Tippett & Alan Brascombe on piano, Rich Grech (Family & Blind Faith) on bass guitar, Tony Carr on percussion and the rhythm team from Pentangle: Danny Thompson on string bass and Terry Cox on drums. This album is a unique blend of jazz, world, rock and folk influences. "The Fence" starts with Harold on some sly electric sax and Branscombe on organ. This tune has infectious, laid-back, somewhat funky groove. Electric saxes were often frowned upon by most jazz snobs and other more mainstream sax players. Still, McNair's sound is kind of charming and he does take a fine flute solo in the final section of the song. "True Love Adventure" again features some fine electric sax, organ groovin' and congas while Tippett plays some fine piano in the background and does an inspired solo in the last section. "Early in the Morning" features some fabulous flute, inspired organ & piano, strong guitar with a fine blue/jazz-like guitar solo. Harold covers two pop songs and does a fine job on both. "Scarborough Fair" features some fine (Rahsaan-like) flute and guitar solos and again both the organ and piano sound swell together. The Beatles "Here, There and Everywhere" is not one of my favorite Beatles songs, but this version is still nice and Harold takes some swell long flute solos as does the organist. Even Keith Tippett gets a chance to take a fine solo in this long tune, perhaps the straightest solo we've ever heard from our favorite pianist. Overall I found this be a good record, perhaps not amazing. Harold McNair's flute playing is consistently fine, no matter what. - BLG
CD $18


BERNIE WORRELL//PHILIP DI FIORE, dir. - Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth [DVD] (MVD; USA) Featuring interviews and performance; besides BW himself, interviewees include David Byrne, Bill Laswell, Prince Paul, Les Claypool, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and Mos Def. Since writing a piano concerto at age eight, Bernie Worrell has been acknowledged as a musical genius. Using synthesizers, he invented sounds that had never before existed in the universe. His work has been imitated and copied to the point of ubiquity. His peers compare him to Beethoven, Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix. But Bernie Worrell is in danger of fading from the book of musical history. This from a musician of key vitality in all areas of muta-funk - from Parliament/Funkadelic, to Talking Heads, to Praxis/Material and beyond!
CD $18


BATTLES [TYONDAI BRAXTON/PREFUSE 73/JOHN STANIER] - Mirrored (Warp 156; UK) It's official: in 2007, it's all come full circle. Prog rock has made its way into the indie scene. Battles' Mirrored, their debut full-length after three EPs, makes that plain. Messrs. John Stanier of Helmet and Tomahawk, guitarist & keyboardist Ian Williams of Don Caballero and Storm & Stress, guitarist David Konopka of Lynx, and avant solo musician Tyondai Braxton have constructed an album that combines the best of Van Der Graaf Generator, Magma, Krautrock, and math rock, while coming up with something that stands so far out on the fringe that it is in a league of its own. That so much of this music is created via the magic of software and combined with one- or two-note keyboard and guitar patterns makes it the Philip K. Dick equivalent of modern rock. The intro, "Race: In," comes flying out of the box with a series of rim shots and repetitive guitar lines before Braxton comes whistling into the front end. This is a Disney tune for Snow White by the Seven Dwarfs run amok. The abstract patterns introduced by the keyboards and bass-line serve to underscore the melody, complex though it may be, and the sampling sound of hammers creates, at least momentarily, the image of "Whistle While You Work" before the guitars enter full bore and transform it into a full-blown prog jam with tight turns, momentary riffs all the while keeping a motorik drumbeat whether on a snare or a tom-tom. The whistling and wordless vocals that reflect another set of keyboard sounds add depth, humor, and warmth to this underground rainbow. On "Atlas," the title track from the band's last EP, the sound is one of futuristic dragon music ˆ la the conceits of T. Rex without the clever lyrics. Here, the drum shuffle of so many great T. Rex tunes introduces a single guitar riff, warped by sonics and growled vocals that sound like a pig snorting. The intoxication of rhythm is inescapable, even as the David Seville Chipmunk-style vocals -- which could be backmasked -- create a progression for the tune to lift off from. It's tribal and slick, both at the same time. There is even a manipulated -- via the wonders of electronics -- "oo-ay-oo" from The Wizard of Oz scene where the evil Wicked Witch of the West henchmen sing as they march in guard formation around her dark palace.
But this music is anything but dark. It's insistent, playful, and planned down to the distorted bass loop and pulsing guitar and keyboard notes that are layered on top in single- or double-note formations. Indeed, Mirrored is the place -- the very terrain -- where nerd science meets rock, and it's a gas. It's the amalgam of "merry melodies" that grabs the listener, even to the point of forgetting how many different arrays of percussion and electric string and keyboard instruments are being played on each and every tune. The sprint that is "Ddiamondd" could be in Christian Vander's Zeuhl dialect, with some of nastiest keyboard bass since the Beastie Boys' "Party's Gettin' Rough." One can hear strains of Gentle Giant in the way vocal harmonies are carefully layered to provide a counterpoint to the knotty riffs being executed. "Tonto" is an exception, where Asian, early American folk melody, and contrapuntal interplay create a long journey into some instrumental netherworld where rhythm and sound don't so much come to a conclusion as collide in variations of tempo and modal changes. "Rainbow" is the albums's longest and most chaotic track, yet it's utterly infectious listening as guitars roar and whoosh through the top of the mix. Rhythmic invention undercuts them and directs the shifts in tempo and even key. In contrast, "Bad Trails," with its synth loop providing a hypnotic inroad into Braxton's singing and shifting strands of guitar, bass, and synth lines, is a bona fide song. "Race: Out," the album's final cut, begins largely as an electronically manipulated exercise is backward tape manipulation; but this is all digital, folks, until the drums enter full bore announcing in short rolls on the toms that something else is about to occur -- and it does. Everything shifts into forward motion again on a dime and the instruments engage each other in a labyrinthine dance of cheap keyboard themes and tight, knotty guitar inventions. Pattern after pattern is introduced, played until it becomes rote, and then shifts itself, by only a couple of notes, into something entirely different as sounds, soundscapes, and instruments engage one another in call-and-response until a fade into silence. Mirrored is unlike any recording out there at the moment. It's loud, funny, and astonishingly sophisticated, and doesn't feel pretentious in the least. Never has the wall of electronic futurism sounded so organic or musical. The album's many influences offer only guideposts, as Battles have their own unique image of a sound universe that one can play in as well as be awed by. - Thom Jurek, AMG
CD $15


FRANCO BATTIATO - Clic (BMG; Italy) "Dedicated to a towering musical figure indeed -- none other than avant-garde giant Karlheinz Stockhausen -- Clic found Battiato working with a smaller core group than on Sulle Corde Di Aries, though both guitarist/bassist Gianni Mocchetti and drummer Gianfranco d'Adda make return appearances. Aside from backing vocals and a string quartet, everything else is Battiato's doing, with the Krautrock touches apparent in his previous work starting to surface all the more readily here. Things are generally more meditative and reflective, though certainly Battiato isn't far from his usual wry humor (thus "Propriedad Prohibida," the title of his bitterly wry take on more-leftist-than-thou Italian bands of the time like Area, though the song itself is a quietly entrancing instrumental). Such fun spirits turn up on the album on "Rien Ne Va Plus -- Andante," the string quartet gently going berserk and quirky vocal flutters interspersed with chopped-up piano and random fake audience applause. "Il Mercato Degli Dei" is as representative of the album as anything, an instrumental composed of various parts and consisting almost entirely of Battiato's various keyboard explorations arranged and overdubbed, but emphasizing calm, quiet arrangements rather than Rick Wakeman-like orgies of sound. "I Cancelli Della Memoria" makes for a great start to the album, soothing Tangerine Dream-like airs and bubbling synth bass loops mixing with everything from (apparently) Battiato's own sax work to his more expected piano parts. "Nel Cantiere di Un'Infanzia," meanwhile, finds Battiato in one of his spookier, moodier moments, the low tones of his keyboards setting an initially unsettling air, while familiar elements from the past -- cut-up radio samples and the like -- sound all the more alien and strange here. More of the same crops up at the start of the concluding "Ethika Fon Ethica," sounding like a romantic film continually dropping out of sync with itself." - Neal Raggett, AMG
CD $13



A new entry just released in this Essential Series!

AN ANTHOLOGY OF NOISE & ELECTRONIC MUSIC [V.A.] - Volume 5 [2 CD set] (Sub Rosa 270; Belgium) Sub Rosa presents the fifth volume of the highly-acclaimed and successful Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music series. This installment highlights pieces illustrating a technique (Claude Ballif's "Points, Mouvements"), a country ("Shur, Op. 15" by Alireza Mashayekhi), a studio (Helmut Lachenmann at the IPEM), and historic (Francois Bernard Mache's "Prelude"), and radical ("Spectrum Ripper" by Masonna/Yamazaki "Maso" Takushi) works that have ripped apart ancient definitions. All this organized with internationalism in mind and, for once, a focus on the voice -- not as sung words, their traditional facet in music (from pop songs to lieder and operas), but as the word itself, recited, distorted, rendered abstract or disaggregated and screamed (the incantation so often a part of rock and noise music). Like the previous four volumes, this fifth installment is an absolute must for anyone interested in the roots and history of electronic music, with many previously unpublished, rare tracks comprising more than 2 hours of music. The 2CD comes in a deluxe digipack sleeve with an extensive 54-page booklet. Other artists include: Charlemagne Palestine, Pere Ubu, Sutcliffe Jugend, Li Chin Sung aka Dickson Dee, Rogelio Sosa, Christian Galaretta, Richard Maxfield, Wolf Vostell, Andre Boucourechliev, Mauricio Kagel, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Raoul Hausmann, Gil Joseph Wolman, Leo Kupper, Josef Anton Riedl, Sten Hanson + Henri Chopin, Dajuin Yao, Ground Zero, Club Moral and Dub Taylor.
2 CD set for $17

still available..

AN ANTHOLOGY OF NOISE & ELECTRONIC MUSIC [V.A.] - Volume 4 [2 CD set] (Sub Rosa 250; Belgium) Sub Rosa presents the fourth volume of the highly-acclaimed and successful Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music series. This installment promises to be the pivoting axis in the seven volume set, with 75% rare tracks and music never before heard. In the previous three anthologies, Sub Rosa outlined the historical sites at the advent of concrete and electronic music: Pierre Schaeffer's workshop studio (Vol. 1), the Princeton Electronic Music Center in Columbia, New York (Vol. 2), and the WDR Studio in Cologne (Vol. 3). After the pioneering work of these formative studios, their was a quick worldwide development of similar-intent facilities, popping up throughout Europe and America, but also in Brazil, Mexico and Japan -- countries where there was a will to create music that was radically new. This compilation features a classic cadre of artists from all over the globe, who are true cultural instigators in the field of electronic sound experimentation. Including new creations from China, Brazil, Norway and Hungary, as well as some classic and unpublished material from legendary composers such as Ligeti and Lucier and very rare documents from Robert Wyatt and Francois Bayle. Like the previous three volumes, this fourth installment is an absolute must for anyone interested in the roots and history of electronic music. The 2CD comes in a deluxe digipack with an informative 40-page booklet. Featuring: Steve Reich, Gyorgy Ligeti, William Burroughs, Alvin Lucier, Olivier Messiaen, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Francois Bayle, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, James Whitehead, Loop Orchestra, Halim el-Balh, Jean-Claude Risset, Beatriz Ferreyra, Maja Ratkje, Laurie Spiegel 6, Stephen Vitiello, Erik M, Wang Changcun, Chlorgeschlecht, Gottfried Michael Koenig, Milan Knizak, Rallizes Denudes, Andy Hawkins, John Watermann and Jean-Marc Vivenza
2 CD set for $17

AN ANTHOLOGY OF NOISE & ELECTRONIC MUSIC [V.A.] - Volume 3 [2 CD set] (Sub Rosa 220; Belgium) This 3th volume continue to show all the aspects of electronic music from the early beginning until now -- including 2 pieces of historical concrete music (of the 70's), several piece of American tape music (Columbia university) with a special focus on all the electronic music from Germany -- WDR early works -- Krautrock -- electronic from 90's...featuring too some recent work of the greatest noise artists & several unsung electronic pioneers ....more than 2 h 30' of music -- many rare tracks and unpublished (at least 75%) + 40 page booklet of notes and biographical notices." FEATURING: Bernard Parmegiani, Hugh Le Caine, Faust, To Rococo Rot, Keith Fullerton Whitman aka Hrvatski, Ilhan Mimaroglu, Michael J. Schumacher, Justin Bennett, Scott Gibbons aka Lilith, Fred Szymanski aka Modular, Francisco Lopez, Zbigniew karkowski, Masami Akita aka Merzbow, Michel Chion, Erkki Kurenniemi, Carlsten Nicolai aka Alva Noto, Peter Rehberg aka Pita, Herbert Eimert + Robert Beyer, Gunther Rabl, Asmus Tietchens, Michael Rother, CM von hausswolff + Erik Pauser > Phauss, Rune Lindgrad
2 CD set for $17

AN ANTHOLOGY OF NOISE & ELECTRONIC MUSIC [V.A.] - Volume 2 [2 CD set] (Sub Rosa 200; Belgium) Sub Rosa presents the second part of the highly acclaimed and successful series 'Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music'. This 2nd volume explores the early days of pre-electronic music (Percy Grainger, Johanna M. Beyer) and features some rare or unpublished pieces by main composers of electronic music (Wladimir Ussachevsky, Otto Luening, Tod Dockstader, Morton Subotnick, Hugh Davies, Luc Ferrari) as well as unreleased tracks by musicians who are cornerstones of the 90's electronic scene: (Autechre, Aphex Twin, Scanner, Kim Cascone, Yoshihiro Hanno), as well as tracks from the acid movement (Woody Mcbride, Choose) and the industrial scene (Laibach, Spk). Without forgetting some free-jazz (Sun Ra) or rare stuff from Captain Beefheart, Daphne Oram, Alan R. Splet (David Lynch's sound designer on Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Dune). Like Volume 1, this second part is an absolute must for anyone interested in the roots and history of electronic music. The two cd set comes in a deluxe digipak with a 24 paged informative booklet.
2 CD set for $15

AN ANTHOLOGY OF NOISE & ELECTRONIC MUSIC [V.A.] - Volume 1 [2 CD set] (Sub Rosa 190; Belgium) Sub Rosa presents part 1 of a vast anthology of noise and electronic music to be released during the next years in seven volumes. An Anthology Of Noise & Electronic Music Vol. 1 begins in the 1920s, with the Russolo Brothers, and looks at each decade in turn -- Varese, Cage, Schaeffer, Xenakis, the great pioneers -- and shows the first traces of a music that was necessarily revolutionary: electronic music, created from nothing (and hence to be entirely invented). Some pieces on these CDs are certainly classics, but there are others, which, though old, were distributed informally or never even released. The more contemporary pieces are, wherever possible, previously unreleased. In fact, more than the half of what we listen here is unreleased and unpublished. This 2xCD comes as a Digipak with 24 page booklet." Artists include: Luigi & Antonio Russolo, Walter Ruttman, Pierre Schaeffer, Henri Pousseur, Gordon Mumma, Angus Maclise, Tony Conrad & John Cale, Philip Jeck, Otomo Yoshihide & Martin Tetreault, Survival Research Laboratories, Einsturzende Neubauten, Konrad Boehmer, Nam June Paik, John Cage, Sonic Youth, Edgard Varese, Iannis Xenakis, Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, Pauline Oliveros, Ryoji Ikeda.
2 CD set for $15


VICTROLA FAVORITES [V.A.] - Artifacts from Bygone Days [2 CD Box + book] (Dust To Digital 011; USA) Recordings made between the 1920s-1950s compiled by Rob Millis and Jeffrey Taylor of the Seattle-based experimental band Climax Golden Twins from their collections of rare 78rpm records and design ephemera. Deluxe 144-page clothbound, full-color book with two CDs featuring Burmese guitars, Chinese opera, Persian folk songs, fado, hillbilly, jazz, blues and much, much more. Climax Golden Twins have designed gallery and museum installations, composed soundtracks (most notably the film Session Nine), worked on documentary films (Phi Ta Khon: Ghosts Of Isan released on Sublime Frequencies) and contributed soundscapes to NPR radio programs in addition to releasing numerous recordings on CD and LP, including a recent LP on the Sun City Girls' Abduction Records imprint entitled 5 Cents A Piece. Influenced by the Secret Museum of Mankind, Yazoo releases, Harry Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music, as well as record labels like Sublime Frequencies, Ethnic Folkways and Ocora. Also inspired by art and design books such as those published by Chronicle. Sounds like vintage music from around the globe. Looks like a clothbound book printed on extremely fine museum quality wood-free paper and is meant as a visual manifestation of the sounds contained on the CDs. Hundreds of beautiful images of sleeves, photos, labels, needle tins and more.
2 CD + Book for $45



Last copies on hand of these previous TenToTen/Resteamed releases...

STAN TRACEY BIG BAND With TUBBY HAYES/BOBBY WELLINS/KENNY WHEELER/JEFF CLYNE - Alice In Jazz Land (Resteamed 102; UK) Stan Tracey's acclaimed Big Band recording of "Alice In Jazz Land" from the Sixties, is the second release in the Collectors Series from ReSteamed records. With the stellar line-up of Tubby Hayes, Bobby Wellins, Kenny Wheeler, Kenny Baker, Alan Branscombe, Ronnie Baker, Harry Klein, Ian Hamer, Eddie Blair, Les Condon, Keith Christie, Chris Smith, Jeff Clyne, Wally Smith, Ronnie Stephenson!
Pianist and composer Stan Tracey is a legendary veteran on the British jazz scene, in his own quiet way, a master musician. Alice In Jazz Land originally released in 1966 is the follow up to Tracey's Under Milk Wood album, one of the best known British jazz albums. It's criminal that Alice has been unavailable for so long: it's a great record. A crack team of legendary British players was put together for this session. But Stan himself sets the tone in the first thirty seconds of the title cut with an aggressive, audacious piano intro that makes you sit up and go 'Wow!'. This is an album that exemplifies the classic British big band sound: tart, bright, punchy. But it also pushes the envelope way out with its' confidence and wild musical invention. It's full of fantastic loud, huge, wide chords that are big enough to stick your whole head in.
This album is a much a product of its time as the Beatles' Revolver, and it's no coincidence that it was also recorded at Abbey Road (and beautifully recorded at that). British music and culture was at a zenith, and you can hear the sunshine and swagger in the likes of "Pig And Pepper" and "Summer Hallucinations". "Afro Charlie Meets The White Rabbit" has a psychedelic edge with outrageous discords and an off the wall arrangement which never meanders or loses focus. The lovely "Fantasies In Bloom", provides some breathing space. It seems dangerous to single out one player but I particularly love the trumpet section and Kenny Baker's trumpet feature on the intense "Murdering The Time".
Right up to the glorious conclusion of "Portrait of A Queen" there's not a precious second wasted in 38 brilliant minutes. They really don't make 'em like this anymore. Thankfully you can hear 'em again, thanks to Clark Tracey and his programme of reissues of his father's music: truly a labour of love in a very bad world. Great stuff! - Nick Reynolds
CD $18

STAN TRACEY ORCHESTRA With EVAN PARKER/HENRY LOWTHER - At The Appleby Jazz Festival: 2004 & 2006 (Resteamed 104; UK) This latest release from the Stan Tracey Orchestra captures their live performances at the prestigious Appleby Festival in both 2004 and 2006. Most of the music on this CD has not been recorded previously, including 3 pieces from Continental Shift, as well as 3 Monk tunes, a Duke Ellington number, and extracts form Tracey's Genesis Suite. With Evan Parker, Henry Lowther, Guy Barker, Steve Waterman, Mark Armstrong, Andy Wood, Alan Barnes, Nigel Hitchcock et al.
CD $18

STAN TRACEY With ROY BABBINGTON/ALAN SKIDMORE/HENRY LOWTHER /MALCOLM GRIFFITHS et al - We Still Love You Madly: For Edward Kennedy 'Duke' Ellington [2 CD set] (Resteamed/Tri Arts 04; UK) Disc 1 - The Orchestra: Trumpets: John Barclay, Steve Sidwell, Guy Barker, Henry Lowther, Trombones: Malcolm Griffiths, Chris Pyne, Geoff Perkins - Saxophones: Peter King, Jamie Talbot, Alan Skidmore, Art Themen, Phil Todd - Piano: Stan Tracey - Bass: Roy Babbington - Drums: Clark Tracey; Disc 2 - Stan Tracey/Rob Babbington duo!
2 CD set for $24

STAN TRACEY QUARTET - The Return OfÉ Captain Adventure: Expanded Edition [2 CD set] (Resteamed/TenToTen 753; UK) Stan Tracey Quartet's "Captain Adventure" from the Steam Catalogue [4 cuts] first released in 1975 now with SEVEN extra tracks from the live recording. Stan Tracey - piano / Art Themen - saxes / Dave Green - bass / Bryan Spring - drums "Not only a return for Captain Adventure, but a return to the catalogue for one of Stan Tracey's most memorable groups. This is a double CD reissue of the session recorded live at the 100 Club in November 1975 by pianist Tracey with Art Themen on saxes, Dave Green on bass and drummer Bryan Spring.
It seems a long time ago, but this inspired music - sometimes tranquil, sometimes fierce - holds up wonderfully well, and is a vivid reminder of how each member of the quartet brought his own distinctive qualities to it. Everything from the original Steam recording is here, PLUS seven extra tracks which make up the whole of the evening's session. So those who have the old LP will need no further encouragement to buy the CD set, and new listeners can do no better than to start here." - Pete Martin, Jazz UK.
2 CD set for $24

STAN TRACEY/BOBBY WELLINS With ANDREW CLEYNDERT/CLARK TRACEY //THELONIOUS MONK - Play Monk: Live At The Bull's Head 2006 (Resteamed 103; UK) The collaboration between Tracey and Wellins, which began in the sixties, has produced some of the finest jazz the British Isles have ever heard, including the classics "Under Milkwood Suite" [ReSteamed CD 101] and "Alice In Jazzland", and a host of other recordings. In this latest release, recorded in 2006, they pay musical tribute to one of the greatest jazz pianist/composers, Thelonious Monk, performing an entire set of his musical compositions in the arrangements regularly played by this quartet!
"Englishman Stan Tracey has long been influenced by Monk's pianistics and on Play Monk he presents - along with cohort saxophonist Bobby Wellins - a more conventional (that is, more like the classic Monk quartet recordings) but never less than compelling take on an evening's worth of the master. Recorded at London's renowned The Bull's Head, it plays up how much Monk's vocabulary has been absorbed by Tracey and Wellins. A familiar collection of tunes with their quirky ups and downs, the co-leaders play as if this music is in their blood - as indeed it must be. Tracey's son Clark plays drums and the bassist is Andy Cleyndert, a working quartet that never lets these tunes become old hat. The essence of the group and of Monk is immediately evident on "Bright Mississippi", the composer's stunning simplifying' of "Sweet Georgia Brown". The band digs in for a ride that finds Monk and his source in beautiful tandem. Tracey's solo calls up not just Monk and Duke (another hero) but also the stride roots from which both emerged. On "Monk's Mood", unaccompanied tenor and piano delve into this episodic composition but take paths that suggest other worlds. And none of these players ever loses the joy and spirit of the music from which they take off." - Donald Elfman, AAJ
CD $18



MARY MARGARET O'HARA - Miss America (Virgin; USA) An old favorite of mine and Manny is this odd sort-of singer/songwriter from Toronto that has a unique way of chopping up her words and moving in a some spastic, yet charming manner. Produced by Michael Brook.
From Steven Davey: Michael Brook's work with Mary Margaret O'Hara is over-stated. He did a final re-mix of Miss America after Virgin had refused three previous mixes. She hated it - and still does. This is also the reason she has never released another album. She's recorded many but Virgin thinks they're commercial suicide so they have let the mystique build. MMoH is a very unusual woman!
CD $15


SAPERA [V.A.] - Snake Charmers Of North India (Bona-Fi/Canyon 1000; USA)
CD $15


WAYFARING STRANGERS [V.A.] - Vol 2: Guitar Soli (Numero 18; USA) "Bridging the gap between American primitive pioneers John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and Leo Kottke, and the California modernists William Ackerman, Alex de Grassi, and Michael Hedges, Guitar Soli explores the private side of the solo guitar movement from 1966-1981. While Takoma and Windham Hill were laying the groundwork for the new age marketing juggernaut of the mid '80s, these fourteen loners were picking away in tiny cafes, selling records hand to hand. The single disc set comes housed in a chipboard slipcase with a 40 page booklet, digipack, and a limited edition Numero guitar pick, and features Ted Lucas, Daniel Hecht, Dan Lambert, Jim Ohlschmidt, Tom Smith, Mark Lang, Richard Crandell, Tree People, William Eaton, George Cromarty, Scott Witte, Brad Chequer, Dwayne Cannan, and Dana Westover."
CD $18

Still available...

WAYFARING STRANGERS [V.A.] - Vol 1: Ladies From the Canyon (Numero 08; USA) Compilaton of obscure and unknown 1970s female folk artists, featuring Becky Severson, Collie Ryan, Linda Rich, Caroline Peyton, Carla Sciaky, Judy Kelly, Shira Small, Jennie Pearl, Mary Perrin, Priscilla Quinby, Marj Snyder, Barbara Sipple, Ginny Reilly & Ellen Warshaw. For those looking to go beyond the Perhacs/Sill resurgence, this is a pretty insightful set, well documented in Numero-style. "By 1970 the folk revival was all but over. Gone were the days of 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken' and 'If I Had A Hammer.' ABC's Hootenanny had been cancelled. Broadside was out, Rolling Stone in. Richard Farina was dead. Dylan plugged in. Joan Baez and Judy Collins gave way to a younger, more introspective generation of songwriters. The sound that began in the hills and caught fire on the lower east side of Manhattan was now being reborn in the canyons of California. The fruits of folk's second renaissance are collected here. Wedged beneath the infrastructure of the music business, playing in coffee houses and at church picnics. Deeper than recent crit-revisionist darlings Linda Perhacs, Judee Sill, or Vashti Bunyan, Ladies From The Canyon takes a solid look at folk's private and obscure underbelly."
CD $18


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