Newsletter #26NewReleases NewReleases NewReleases
NewReleases NewReleases
1.JOHN ZORN-Music for Children (Tzadik 7321) A fascinating collection of eight pieces from ’89 thru ’98 for solos, duos, trios and Prelapse-a Naked City cover band from Boston. Zorn mentions the joy of innocence and magical sensitivity in the notes, and I think that spirit is apparent in this collection of varied personnel & sound sources. The cd begins & ends with magical sounds of a celeste & music box played by Anthony Coleman with Cyro Baptista’s quaint percussion & voice on the opener. The three Prelapse-Naked City pieces clock in at about 2 minutes together with Zorn sitting in on two. They are a blast, totally fun, fitting as many musical styles as possible in 1 minute, perfect for the short attention span of kids. "Dreamer of Dreams" sounds just like another lovely, mid-eastern groove-chamber Masada piece and is performed by Ribot, Friedlander & Cohen. There are two long pieces-just as fascinating, but requiring more patience. The title tune is a contemporary classical chamber piece for Abel, Steinberg & Winant on violin, piano & percussion-who have done Zorn pieces so well in the past. The piece is often quite minimal, contemplative, but not completely delicate. The other long piece is "Cycles Du Nord" for wind machines & quiet feedback systems, and sounds like a wind & rain storm as it approaches. An innocent and dreamy feel permeates the whole release. The elaborate cover art & booklet are another story-it features illustrations by Henry Darger and dolls by Katan Amano, which are both somewhat disturbing. A mistake in the printing of this booklet has forced the release date to mid-November. 750 copies have already been shipped to Europe, but only 25 are in the US & guess who has them? Mail-order only this weekend or wait for the new batch next month. $14. 2.MASSACRE-funny valentine (Tzadik 7601) In November of ’78, producer Giorgio Gomelsky put together the legendary "Zu Manifestival"-an immense 13 hour avant/prog music festival at the Entermedia Theatre here in NYC. It was the very first time members of the post-Canterbury scene-Daevid Allen and three members of the recently broken-up Henry Cow (Frith, Cutler & Blegvad) played in the US. Also on the lengthy bill were future members of the downtown scene-the Zu Band who backed Daevid Allen and soon turned into Material. Fred Frith moved to NYC in ’81, befriended Material and put together his first downtown unit with Material’s rhythm team of Bill Laswell on bass & Fred Maher on drums. This explosive power trio was sort of Fred’s answer to the no wave/noise/punk/rock bands of the same era like DNA. They shocked all who witnessed their brutal & dense sound, especially those who had dug Fred’s more progressive background. They recorded only one lp in their short (18 month) lifespan-"Killing Time", currently out-of-print in the US although DMG has some $10. copies left. In January of this year, two thirds of Massacre reformed 17 years later with Charles Hayward on drums from Quiet Sun, This Heat & Keep the Dog, to back California based soul singer-Percy Howard for his cd "Meridiem". John Zorn convinced this power trio to stay & jam in Laswell’s new studio and now we have the anxiously awaited second release from MASSACRE-"funny valentine". What’s changed in the meantime, with the over 100 releases that all of these busy men have worked on, is a less frenetic pace that this Massacre pulls off, no less noisy-of course. Bill’s ultra thick and often throbbing el. bass holds down the hurricane of activity, while Fred’s el. guitar burns, fries, wails ghostly spirits and manipulates the strings in all kinds of warped ways. Charles Hayward is a great choice to replace Maher (a big-time producer nowadays), because Hayward knows when to lay out and when to lock into Bill’s ever shifting grooves. A massive sound from these three giants of improv/noise/rock, certainly not for the timid. $14. 3.DAVID KRAKAUER’S KLEZMER MADNESS!-Klezmer, NY (Tzadik 7127) Second superb Tzadik release from our fave local clarinet hero! His trio has expanded to a quintet with Adam Rogers (Lost Tribe) on el. guitar, Ted Reichman (Braxton & Chadbourne associate) on accordion, Oren Bloedow (Elysian Fields & Whistling Barhoppers) on el. bass and Kevin Norton on drums. The opening piece is called "alt (dot) klezmer" and is named after an odd performance space owned by the same couple who also run Tonic and was booked by Ted Reichman. Nice to hear that Hendrix-like wah wah guitar punctuating that fine klez clarinet melody on the opening piece. The rest of this cd is a long suite entitled ‘A Klezmer Tribute to Sidney Bechet" it is masterwork that successfully explores the connections between jazz legend-Sidney Bechet and the king of klezmer clarinet-Naftule Brandwein. Ben Neill’s ghostly electronics occasionally bridge the pieces of the suite, but it is the passionate and powerful playing of the entire quintet that shines through this whole journey between different cultures. Most of the suite was composed by Krakauer himself, but it also includes a piece by Bechet, a piece by Dave Tarras-the other king of klezmer clarinet and a traditional bulgar as well. David Krakauer outdoes himself on clarinets though the entirity of this cd, playing with fire always, while both Rogers & Reichman constantly add their magic to this delicious stew. A brilliant idea that only Klezmer Madness! could do! $14. 4.SEPHARDIC TINGE-Morenica (Tzadik 7128) This is the second even more amazing piano trio date from Anthony Coleman’s Sephardic Tinge. His first trio cd of last year had Masada’s Greg Cohen & Joey Baron as Anthony’s rhythm section-a fine choice of mates but this offering is better still. This version features Ben Street on bass and in-demand & ever impressive Michael Sarin on drums (from Thomas Chapin’s great trio). This is much more than your average piano trio date. Half the pieces are Anthony’s originals-consistently challenging, ever changing in directions and dynamics. Both Anthony’s pieces and the traditional Sephardic pieces all seem to come from the same source. There is no real leader, in a sense, since each of the three players are of equal value & volume. Anthony always has an odd sense of humor, his wacky charm turning these tunes on their side, Monk-like in their fragmented way. The two other tunes include a superb version of Herbie Nichols’ "Terpsichore", always a treat of this trio, plus a cool tune by Coleman cohort-Michael Attias. A splendid release on all counts, it is obvious that this trio has been together for a while, touring and refining their special spirit. $14. 5.MAKIGAMI KOICHI/ANTON BRUHIN-Electric Eel (Tzadik 7216) Makigami is an incredible, bizarre and often hilarious improving vocalist. He was an early member of Ground Zero and has out an outstanding but long out-of-print cd produced by Zorn with loads of downtown’s best as guest collaborators. This cd features Swiss virtuoso Anton Bruhin on electric trampi or jaw harp & dromb or Hungarian jaw harp, plus a couple of trio pieces with Tadagawa Leo on ilimba (kalimba?). Makigami has been studying with Mongolian throat singing masters, hence pushing his vocals even further than before. Anton’s cosmic drone of his jaw harps resonates through ancient and futuristic landscapes. Very ritualistic and calming, totally amazing and unique, and even beautiful in an odd way. Only on Tzadik… $14. 6.GISBURG- Trust (Tzadik 7038) Gisburg's newest Tzadik recording couples two masterful compositions onto one disc. Her heartfelt opera for solo voice about the ups and downs of doomed and obsessive love is one of her most personal and striking compositional statements to date. It is a powerful combination of stark emotional content, minimalist melody and narrative charm. "Anna" shows Gisburg’s profound command of classic instrumental writing - a lush and dramatic string quartet performed by the brilliant Cassatt Quartet. (from the Tzadik Catalog. Yes, we’re plagiarists) $14 7.LARVAL-2 (KFW 226) Last year John Zorn released the marvelous first Larval cd on Avant. At this point Larval were an amazing triple guitar army from the Detroit area, an instrumental Band of Susans-like blast of dense guitars, led by former Zen Viking-Bill Bruvold. This year Larval has expanded in sound & instrumentation even further and are pregnant with ideas like the side profile pair of big bellied women who grace the cd cover. Bruvold has assembled a 16 piece ensemble-with 4 strings, 4 saxes & rhythm team added to the 3 hard strumming el. guitars. What makes this work so well is the perfect balance of el. guitars with the acoustic strings & saxes. Bruvold seems to dig that Branca-esque shimmering guitar sound that continually rises up to part the heavens. There is an ancient dijeradoo drone at the center of "Thick Atmosphere", but it is the Morricone-like post-surf soundtrack guitarscapes that really make me smile. At times, this reminds me of that superb progressive cd by Virgil Moorefield on Cuneiform! It is Bruvold’s composing that is really opens up Larval’s sound to a more classical excursion. Turn it up & let it rip! $13. 7.ELLIOTT SHARP-ARC 3:Cyberpunk & the Virtual Stance (Atavistic 95) This is the third long installment of Elliott’s musical journey that Atavistic has graciously released. Elliott does an admirable job of providing 3 pages of clear-minded notes describing his own musical/experimental oddyssey, what led up to the making of the unique sounds found here & done from ’84 to ’88. He describes his lifelong fascination with science fiction, especially William Gibson & Philip K. Dick. This music has a very odd alien soundscape type of sound, often fascinating and not nearly as dense as his CARBON unit always is. It often reminds me of the Residents, with its warped drum machine as ‘mutated dance music’, which is what some of this was created for. Elliott samples his guitars, saxes and even various invented instruments to trigger other instruments or sounds, making it often impossible to identify the source. Some of this even reminds me of current drum n’ bass or jungle music, which puts it at least a decade ahead of its time. Half of this cd is unreleased, the other half is out-of-print, so it is a worthy and challenging release on many levels. $14. 8.ZEENA PARKINS-No Way Out (Atavistic 64) Zeena has a most impressive resume from the 15+ years she’s been involved with the downtowners we all know and love-Skeleton Crew, News from Babel, OWT, No Safety, Carbon with longtime collaborator Elliott Sharp plus 2 duo cds with him, as well as Zorn improvs & game pieces and Butch Morris conductions. In recent years she’s been working on serious classical type works for Victo, Avant & Tzadik. The third part of her Jewish gangster trilogy should be out next. She has always been a sorceress of sound on harp, especially that scary one-of-a-kind electric harp she plays so well. This is only her second release of mostly solo el. harp, along with some sampler & tapes, and it is a tour-de-force of incredible and utterly distinctive sound & playing. E. Sharp engineers and coproduces this powerful release and is perfect choice for captures Zeena’a unique sound. Each of its 8 pieces deals with different textures, different methods for altering the strings in a variety of ways. Get this-there is a whammy bar on her el. harp, on which she bends notes, often to their or our breaking point. Her solos in any & every context are a constant source of amazement for me. Opening with a fiesty, alien landscape, that is Hendrix like in its gliding, crashing, struggling & screaming el. guitar-like sounds. "Venus Smiles" the long cut-glows with thick metallic tones, and has 2 or 3 layers of molten strings erupting in a lava like flow. Word is that KCR & FMU both have been playing this new delight. This electric harp was built long ago by Zeena’s cohort in Skeleton Crew-Tom Cora, who passed away earlier this year, this cd is dedicated to his memory. A lovely gesture and a dynamite release. $14. 9.BOBBY PREVITE/MARC DUCRET-In the Grass (Enja 9343) Both of these guys are monster musicians and both were in fine form this past week in NYC. Previte hosted a massive 3 day 9 set retrospective at the Knit of his long musical journey with different groups he’s led over a dozen or releases. Like his longtime cohorts Zorn or E. Sharp, he seems tireless in his search for new challenges. While Previte held court up in the main room, Tim Berne’e Big Satan with amazing guitarist-Marc Ducret wowed us downstairs in the Old Office for four nights. Ducret also has about a dozen cds out-all great too-3 on Label Bleu, 3 with Tim Berne’s Bloodcount live on JMT, 2 with Previte’s Latin for Travelers, and in the last few months two solo guitar cds-an electric solo cd on Screwgun and an acoustic solo cd on W&W. And now this! Considering this is mostly a drums & guitar duo and that it was mostly improvised in an Austrian studio 2 years ago, these two are masters of instant compositions. Bobby comes up with a myriad of great grooves while also playing sampled bass & el. drums at the same time. Ducret floored me once again-both at the Big Satan sets & superb solo set at DMG. He often plays sharp, angular lines, contolled, but-in-yo-face. He has mastered the use of a metal slide that he both rubs, strums & twisted the strings and us with. There are some quiet moments here with Previte playing some lovely piano & Ducret doing some lovely volume swells. This is not officially released until 1999, but DMG will sell one to you for $14. 10.LOREN MAZZACANE CONNORS/SASHA FRERE-JONES-Standing Upright on a Curve [subsonic 5] (sub rosa 130) Another one of those cool subsonic series cds where two guitarists (or even el. bassists) get get about 20 minutes each of solo space to deal with. Like the previous series solo encounters-Frith & Ribot (w/ some Shrek backup) or Laswell & Broadrick, this was also is quite successful in finding common ground with the haunting & somber electric guitars, each one with much different sound and context. Sasha is someone I am mostly unfamiliar with, having not seen or heard her or his band-ui, but I have most likely read her or his articles in the Voice. On this release Sasha plays 2 or 3 layers of often quiet, reflective, shimmering, slightly fractured el. guitar parts. All 3 pieces unfold slowly and have the calming ambience of an overcast day. On "Stitch", Sasha even utilizes some Frith-like alien mind-warp noise guitar sounds, but in a less dense setting. Loren develops a suite called "Me and the Little People", which begins and ends with hushed, skeletal, naked, sad & lonely distortion fragments, but rises out of the ashes of its Jandek-like dismal day somberness to Neil Young & Crazy Horse like rockin’ sludge primal spirits. On "Dance! Dance! Dance!" and "Down the Wild Night", Loren truly unleashes the beast of anger, frustration, inner turmoil and violence, pushing the distortion all the way to Blue Cheer like density!! Tasty sonic molasses! $14. 11.PABLO ASLAN’S AVANTANGO-Tango & Jazz (epsa 16020) Featuring the late, great Thomas Chapin on alto sax & flute, Ethan Iverson on piano and Pablo Aslan on acoustic bass-live at the Knit in May of ’96. What a delightful gem this is, so nice to hear my friend & inspiration-Thomas Chapin playing in such an elegant and luscious setting. An earlier version this group played at a DMG fest at the old Knit a few years back, but I believe this is their first recording. This is a perfect trio, warm, passionate, sometimes soothing, sometimes cooking up a storm. Pablo calls these pieces ‘spontaneous tangos’, there is so much more happening here than one would imagine. Thomas’s alto sings out choruses of that strong, dark & beautiful tone, his superb flute playing also shines throughout. Both Pablo and Ethan both play beautifully throughout this wonderful offering. Unfortunately this label has little US distribution, making all the more worthwhile-so take one and you'll feel better. Or even purchase it for a loved one. $14. 12.DAVID S. WARE QUARTET-Go See the World (Columbia 69138) Major label debut for this hard working out-jazz all-powerful quartet, after a half dozen releases for DIW, AUM Fidelity & others. Signed by Branford Marsalis onto a label that recently dropped the incredible Henry Threadgill’s Make a Move, here’s hoping that Columbia works as hard on getting our local heroes the attention they deserve. Surprisingly, the quartet have not compromised their mind-blowing outside wailing one bit. I’m unsure why they would choose to cover that 70’s cornball cover of "The Way We Were", they play the melody for only a brief moment anyway. This is an all-star quartet in which each member has an equal voice, all pieces a maelstrom of activity. Although I think that David has a tendency to steamroll over the others live, each release seems to balance and blend the four even better. This time the balance is quite perfect. Matt Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass and Susie Ibarra on drums-are immensely innovative always as they explode & caress David’s sheets of tenor madness. Well produced by David & Steve Joerg, with excellent liner notes by fellow traveler/musician-Joe Morris. $14. 13.WAYNE HORVITZ & ZONY MASH-brand spankin’ new (KFW 223) More greasy, funky, sly groove hipness from the unstoppable keyboard king himself-Wayne Horvitz! This is the second release from Zony Mash and once again it makes me wanna get down & groove. Although Wayne can certainly play a variety of genres, he is often associated with the likes of Naked City who played pieces which covered a zillion styles of music in often 1 minute blasts, or Wayne’s smart, ornery & superb fusion unit-The President. Let’s not forget his selective quiet space improv with Butch Morris, Bobby Previte, JA Deane or brother Bill or his recent solo keyboard cd or new 4+1 ensemble. On this and the previous Zony Mash cd we get yet another side to Wayne’s playing & writing. The excellent Zony Mash quartet covers territory somewhere between Booker T. & the MG’s and The Meters with the same instrumentation. Wayne continues to write these slow burn 60’s sly groove organ & el. guitar thangs that feel just right. Why they are not as popular as MMW remains a mystery to me, I guess they haven’t paid their HORDE tour dues yet. Both Wayne & guitarist Timothy Young pull off lots of great solos, the rhythm team right in the pocket. Superb el. bassist Fred Chalenor has left since this recording was done and Zony Mash recently played a series of successful sets at the Knit’s Old Office with different guests each night-Elliott Sharp, Briggan Krause & Bill Ware. They took their time to let these tunes build with even wilder solos. Some of those MMW tapers were in attendance, I guess there’s hope! $13. 14.WAYNE HORVITZ-4+1 Ensemble (Intuition 3224) This is an odd ensemble, that only Wayne could make work. The front line consists of veteran monster trombonist-Julian Priester (who’s played for 2 other great keyboardists-Sun Ra & Herbie Hancock) and the young & the amazing acoustic violin of Eyvind Kang-who plays so beautifully with the current Bill Frisell Qt. & so unpredictably weird on his various solo projects on Tzadik & Avant. Behind them we have the double keyboards of Wayne & Reggie Watts, plus processing by someone called Tucker Martine. Shades of Patrick Gleeson providing the same role for electric Herbie Hancock- circa ‘Mwandishi’ & ‘Sextant’ era, when Julian was a member of Herbie’s sextet. ‘Sextant’ was finally reissued in the US recently & its about time! I can hear similarities (influences) in the layered and varied keyboards-acoustic, electric & synth that both Wayne & Reggie use. While ‘Sextant’ had subtle funk grooves floating the mix, there is no rhythm section on this cd. Wayne & Reg continue their circular & hipnotic grooves, while both Julian & Eyvind play incredible acoustic solos on many pieces. It is Wayne’s compositions that truly provide the magic for these gents to enhance. This project is two years old, good thing for us it finally sees the light of day. Enhance your music collection today! $14. 13.BOBBY PREVITE’S LATIN FOR TRAVELERS-Dangerous Rip (Enja 9324) Second smokin’ post-fusion quartet release and once again it is live-from Italy & Australia. Marc Ducret-monster guitarist from Bloodcount & Big Satan only guests on one tune this time around and it is -dig this-a nifty surf medley1?! Marc is replaced by the equally amazing, but more blues based lead & slide guitar of Stewart Cutler-once a member of Wayne Horvitz’s The President, as well as playing for Wayne’s wife-Robin Holcomb. Both Stu and Jerome Harris play many riveting guitar solos & parts. Jamie Saft-who is also a member of Previte's The Horse & has a fine cd out on Avant co-led by Cuong Vu-plays mostly organ throughout, helping Bobby propel both the quartet’s guitarists to heights of frenzy. Both Bobby’s incredible drumming and powerful writing kick these dudes’ butts as the excitement level continually rises. At the beginning of the 70’s jazz/rock or fusion music (as only critics or marketers would say) exploded with possibilities through Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orch., early RTF, Weather Report & Soft Machine, but by the end of the 70’s fusion had become a dead end of sped-up, commercial & funky cliches. It took downtown units like The President or Bobby’s Empty Suits to show that intelligent & exciting fusion could still exist. Latin for Travelers continues this tradition. Recently (fusion survivor) Billy Cobham is leading a band called ‘Jazz is Dead’-it should be called ‘Fusion is Dead’ & he should know-he helped kill it. $14. 14.BILL FRISELL & FRED HERSCH-Songs We Know (Nonesuch 79468) An all standards guitar and piano duo type of collection. In some ways this is similar to those superb duo lps by their mentors-Jim Hall & Bill Evans. I get the feeling when that when musicians do all or mostly standards selections, they appeal more to other jazz musicians, than their usual audience who mainly haven’t had the pleasure of playing through or even relating to these older Broadway based tunes. Still, I find this cd to be nice-warm, delicate, enchanting on a dreamy level, both Bill & Fred play beautifully together, often weaving their lines in and around each other in such a way that this could be a solo effort. As Frisell moves further and further away from the excitement & insanity of Naked City or his early quartet/trio, and closer to more mature & relaxed type of endeavors-he will certainly lose some of his short-attention span fans, but will obviously gain some more mature minded listeners. Which side of the fence are you on? $14. 15.AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS-Assistant to the Assistant (Parallelism 003) I guess life must be tough for my longtime friend & Matador million dollar label chief-Gerard Cosloy. Is this anger I hear in this wild & noisy cd? Perhaps it is just my imagination running away with me. This is the third release by his over-the-top noise electric geetar & drums duo. Gerard executes layers of feedback & echoed guitar noise with storytelling taste. Drummer, Claire Pannell, occasionally just lays out & does little while Gerard lets that guitar growl, hum, twist & turn. When Claire does play it is often slow & quiet or even a tribal throb. "External" is over 23 minutes of escalating guitar noise. It is often quite hypnotic. It reminds me a bit of the Velvets or Hawkwind or Spacemen 3-just not songs, but still great alien soundtracks. It finally mellows out a bit on "Books On Tape", where the guitar shimmers cosmic rays. Good sounds for life in this intense environment-the Village! They will be performing at DMG on Dec. 13th!! Get ready! $11. 16.BILL LASWELL’S-Jazzonia (Douglas 18) This is a successful attemp to bridge bebop style jazz vocals with current hip hop practitioners. Covered here are four King Pleasure tunes, Joni Mitchell’s "Blue", Duke Ellington’s "Cottontail", Lambert, Hendricks & Ross’s "Twisted" and "Angel Eyes". Most of this is way too slick for my taste, but I do think all of the vocalists involved show promise-Asante, Dana Bryant, Blue aka Alicia Renee, and of course old favorites-Bootsy & Grandmaster Melle Mel. Bill’s thick, funky & solid bass are what stand out through some occasionally silly arrangements and misplaced strings. I must admit that a few of these tunes are great-both "Swan Blues" & "Twisted" feature the suave sexy voice of Blue AKA Alicia Renee and "Cottontail" has Bootsy & the Asante duo both singing/rapping up a storm. Amina Claudine Myers also dishes up some fine gospelish vocals on "Angel Eyes" as Graham Haynes plays nicely on about half the tunes. The other guests include Brandon Ross, Byard Lancaster, Karl Berger & Nicky Skopelitis, as well as turntablists DXT & Roc Raida . All in all, a fun & groovy affair but not great, by any means. I could see the pop myriads eating this up, so who knows? $14. 17.JAMES BLOOD ULMER-Forbidden Blues (DIW 932) Although Blood’s recording career has been spotty, he has been on a roll for the past year. Both Music Revelation Ensemble’s ‘Crossfire’ (with Zorn & Pharoah) and his Oddyssey band’s live at the Knit releases were completely inspired and on target. This new one lies somewhere in between-personnel-wise and song-wise. The players include members of both aforementioned units with Charles Burnham on violin, Calvin Jones & Amin Ali alternating on acoustic & electric basses and that dynamo on drums-Calvin Weston. There are three vocal tunes-not always a good sign on some Blood releases and only the first one-the title tune-is great. Both Blood’s & Dana Manno’s voice sound so fine & world weary-the bluesy groove is ultra sly. All three vocal tunes utilize an unnecessary keyboard player, the other two vocal tunes, the cd’s only low points. The opening tune commences with an explosive splash on Blood’s guitar and only gets better from there, spinning out notes, quickly igniting the surroundings. The other 5 instrumental tunes are all excellent as well. Blood even lays back to do a lovely and melodic jazz piece called "Eviction". Overall, this is about 80 % great! Worth a try for $18.!?! 18.TISZIJI MUNOZ-Spirit World (Anami 012) 2cd set & Present Without a Trace (Anami 011) I know that many of you are still bummin’ over the loss of Sonny Sharrock, because I am as well. Thanks to phone call from Henry Kaiser-it turns out there is an amazing el. guitarist from the Albany area named Tisziji Munoz-who is coming from a very similar plane and like Sonny, his playing is swift, passionate, steaming and often on fire! It turns out that Tisziji has ten releases out already! The five that I grabbed for the store were all recorded in ’96 & ’97 and each one is astounding! Rashid Ali drums on 3 of the 5, Canadian pianist supreme-Bernie Senensky and bassist-Don Pate are on all five, as well as Pharaoh Sanders wailing on both "Spirit World’ & "Present w/out a Trace". "Present" features all originals and is often spiritually uplifting. Everyone involved is completely inspired, but it is Tisziji who constantly opens up the heavens with his early McLaughlin/Santana/Sharrock type of burnin’ guitar! "Present" and all other single Tisziji cds are a mere $10., while "Spirit World" & all other double Tisziji cds are only $17. This has some very special & magical playing by all, so jump in and try one of these treasures! $17 for 2cds-sets and $10 for the single cds. Thanks again Henry, I’ll review a few more in the next newsletter. 19.PETER BLEGVAD-Hangman’s Hill (ReR PB3) This has been quite a good year for classic post-Canterbury pop music. 1998 opened with Robert Wyatt’s ‘Shleep’-a contemporary classic and return to form. Then came the reunited Slapp Happy’s ‘Ca Va’, which also is an excellent pop effort, and now we have the perfect pop/rock of Peter Blegvad’s trio with John Greaves & Chris Cutler-the former Henry Cow rhythm team-from the greatest progressive unit of all time. Still, Blegvad’s American by birth, his music is mostly catchy & memorable in both Slapp Happy and his 6 solo releases. It is Blegvad’s lyric that really put him in a class of his own, unfortunately people too often don’t listen closely to lyrics, rarely spend time thinking about the odd & fascinating observations that Blegvad always makes. These songs always make me smile with their folk-rocking grooves and catchy choruses. There ain’t a bad apple in the bushel, all 13 toons are charming! Guests include BJ Cole, Chris Stamey, Bob Drake & Kristoffer Blegvad. Peter will leave us with this to ponder-"The wind blows the wild grass, the graves are overgrown, Memory’s the only friend, that grief can call its own." If you were lucky, perhaps you caught Peter’s trio on their first ever US tour in September. The gig at the Knit was a joy! Lots of smiles for $14. 20.FUSHITSUSHA-Withdrawe, this sable Disclosure ere devot’d (Victo 060) Noise guitar and strangulated vocal legend Haino Keiji leads his brutal trio through our waking nightmares. This is an excellent recording of a midnight set gig at the Victoriaville new music fest in Quebec in May of last year. The real FUSHITSUSHA rarely play in the US, only one NY gig at the old Knit many moons back that I can recall from its beyond painful volume. With the opening uptempo noisefest onslaught of spirits screaming, the jazz snobs/critics ran for the exits with their hands over their sacred ears, a hilarious, yet predictable sight. At the gig, I sat on the floor right up front and let the waves of noise wash over me like, cleansing the soul. Listening to this cd at a volume that won’t do damage, it is much easier to enjoy the ride, after a few pieces, it even begins to lighten up. They go from the Blue Cheer-like sludge of "Pathetique" to almost somber "Eight Miles High" like shimmering guitar of "Vertigo" which later erupts into a thick maelstrom of almost spiritual reverence before it in melts into silence. Haino’s voice sometimes sounds tortured, sometimes with a high voice sad soul drifting in a vat of molasses. This could be their finest moment, it certainly ranks with the great noise shows of yesteryear-Buttholes, Swans, Flipper, Scornflakes, Einsturzende Neubauten, later Black Flag, Massacre…. The great news for us locally is that FUSHITSUSHA will be here at Tonic on Halloween, the last day of a 3 day Haino Keiji fest!! This will be a Halloween that will echo in out nightmares for years to come. For those that can’t be there, you can still torture yourself with this ferocious cd for $15. 21.LIU SOLA-Haunts (Also Productions) You might remember Liu Sola (Chinese vocalist) from her Laswell produced release on Axiom or her improvised duo with Wu-Man on Avant-both a few years back. Both were fine recordings, but much different from each other. Laswell surrounded Liu’s voice with his usual cast of characters that included both Umar Bin Hassan & Amina Claudine Myers. It worked, but sounded more like a Laswell release, than hers. The duo with Wu-Man-a pipa player extraordinaire was all improvised, difficult but worthy of consideration. This new release is a wonderful excursion of Liu’s invented language vocals, often child-like and enchanting, not unlike Meredith Monk or Anna Homler. The instrumentation is minimal, but fits just right. It is co-produced by Liu & Fernando Saunders-an excellent fretless bassist who adds a sympathetic grace to Liu’s lovely voice. Amina Claudine Myers is also back with her superb piano and endearing gospelish vocals. We also get the percussion & chanting of Pheeroan AkLaff, as well as the quiet Fripp-like guitar of Chieli Minucci on one piece. The title to this cd is apt, since it is quite haunting. There is an upcoming gig by Liu Sola, more info later. A steal for $7!! 22.Django Bates - quiet nights (screwgun 70007) Django's third solo release "quiet nights" is dedicated to jazz standards. The album features Josefine Cronhoim: voice, Iain Ballamy: saxophone, Martin France: acoustic & electric percussion, Michael Mondesir: bass guitar, Django Bates: Keys & Synths. Django's new pie (quiet nights)- buy a big old pie. Using a bloody sharp knife hack off the pastry and packaging. Spread the insides of the old pie over your work-surface taking care not to become tainted by any part of them. Subtract the additives. Pick out the seed from the chaff. Work the remains with much attention to tiny detail. Throw good and unexpected things into this mixture until it becomes dense. Friends may bring spices and other excitables at this point; be unsparing with these. (Django's own words from the inner sleeve). Django's arranging can span anywhere from Ellington influenced to the present day Miles derivatives, often within the same piece of music. Quiet Nights is somewhat of a music within a music. It mixes styles with an animation somewhere in the background that often pops up to the foreground. Each piece a separate foray in another context of modern jazz. A touch of a funk feel in a verse but subtle. Bells sounds some spaceyness, vocals, a sax, ethereal keys, all with grace. The title cut a Brasilian number you have heard many times. A beautiful chordal arrangement with unusual guide tones backing the vocals, fresh. He's got a sense of humor too, circus type. Prepared piano, a serious piece in the Ellington tradition only very current sounding. Django excels in complex harmonies, and is well versed technically. Zappa references are less in this release but never far behind. Tasteful percussion sounds good recording too. No excess here. Like Someone in Love morphs- only no sequencers, at the end of the song they put the whole sound through a filter, funny, but effective. Is there anyone up there, written by Django is a beautiful piano based piece that reminds me of the moody duets between Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter (Weather Report). Finally, Over The Rainbow- beautiful chords, space, tasteful sax solo. The vocals are of the classic jazz variety. Now if you can get past the fact that your elders may like some of this more than you do, then its masterful! (Thanx to Steve Cohen for the guest review) $14 23.PHILLIP JOHNSTON- The Needless Kiss (Koch Jazz 7898) Phillip Johnston has developed into one of the most innovative and original composers and players of new music. He writes for silent films and dance companies but can also improvise spontaneous and exciting jazz. Ever since his days with the Microscopic Septet, he has never allowed his music to be pigeonholed, delightfully throwing in a world of colors and sounds. Johnston's extraordinary new group blends many different influences and comes up with something wholly fresh. The tunes are all originals by Johnston and Ruddick except for a glorious arrangement - by Phillip of Chopin's Mazurka, Opus 17 No.4. $14 24.JAMAALADEEN TACUMA- Dreamscape (DIW 904) Philadelphia bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma is a veteran of Ornette Coleman's innovative group Prime Time - it was there he brought an open approach to melody, harmony and rhythm and his experience playing funk and soul music. He made a number of exciting records the 1980s for the Gramavision label and also worked with organist Charles Earland and the rock supergroup Golden Palominos. Dreamscape is an urban setting where Jamaaladeen and his friends spiritually approach all the music he's listened to and played. Theres a little bit of everything and a whole lot of feeling. Highlights are "Sly," a tribute to Sly And The Family Stone, "Funk," a kind of montage of funk grooves and "Let's Have A Good Times," a party invitation that no one can decline. $18 (verbatim from the Koch catalog) 24.EUGENE CHADBOURNE- Insect Attracter (Leo Records 256) w/Bunk Gardner, Pat Thomas, Ted Reichmann, Tony Trischka, 25.SABIR MATEEN TRIO-Divine Mad Love (Eremite 011) w/John Voigt & Lawrence Cook $13 26.KLEZMATICS & CHAVA ALBERTSTEIN-The Well (Xenophile 4052) $14. 27.ELLERY ESKELIN-ANDREA PARKINS-JIM BLACK-Kulak 29 & 30 (Hatology 621) $17. 28.TOM VARNER-The Windows Up Above (New World 80552) w/country vocal & roots themes-$14. 29.WILLIAM PARKER-Through Acceptance… (Eremite 012) amazing reissue of long lost vinyl only lp. $13 w/Kondo, Dennis Charles, Tristan Honsinger, Charles Brackeen, Jemeel Moondoc, Billy Bang, Ramsey Ameen and many more. 30.TIM BERNE/M.FORMANEK/J.HIRSCHFIELD-Loose Canon (Soul Note 121261) re-issue$14 31.WILLIAM PARKER & JOELLE LEANDRE-Contrabasses (Leo 261) outstanding dbl. bass heaven. $15 32.PALINCKX-It’s Frontal Dog (Victo 061) Solid Dutch prog qt. w/Jim Meneses on drums! $15. 33.ELTON DEAN-Newsense (Slam 229) extraordinary 9 piece w/ Roswell Rudd & Paul Rutherford…$17 34.PAUL PLIMLEY & TRICHY SANKARAN-Ivory Meets Dr. (Songlines 1523) piano/tabla duo $14. 35.DAVID TORN TRIO-Forever Sharp & Vivid (Lolo 014) will DNA distribution ever get their shit together & get us copies of this fine jamming trio of sax, drums & guitar?!? Stay tuned for more… $14 36.PAUL BLEY/TONY OXLEY TRIO-Chaos (Soul Note 121285) $14 37.THIRD EAR BAND-Magic Music (Materia Sonori 90016) re-issue of cosmic raga rock effort w/Lyn Dobson-one time Soft Machine member; not the same another TEB cd with the same title!?! $14. 38. NICKY SKOPELITIS/EKSTASIS- Wake
Up And Dream (CyberOctave) w/Laswell, Wobble, Liebezeit, Z Hussain, Badal
Roy. Out10/20 $14.
Love bubbies- Bruce Lee Gallanter
Hey folks, how’s it hangin’? Emperor Mike
here with another fine batch of releases for you to perforate your ‘drums
with- first up:
(RIYL: Machine Head, Sepultura, Meshuggah) I know this has been out for a bit but I couldn’t get my hands on a copy to save my life. Breathe easy, my life has been spared by the (finally) friendly staff at Roadrunner. This CD kills!!! FF, I think, have finally found their mark with this one combining a touch of the savagery from Soul of a New Machine and the stripped down, mechanoid Tech/Ind of Dehumanized. Top all of that off with some of Burt Bell’s best singing to date and an overall catchiness to most of the songs and you can see why I like this. A mature Release from these guys that is neither Death Metal, Industrial, Techno or wimpy but is simply extreme and well done. 4 Crowns. Naglfar- Diabolical [WAR]
Black/Death maniacal tunelessness. If that description turns you on or off, you’ll know from here what to do with this review. Well, now that we’ve shed the wimps I’ll say to the faithful that this is one of the most incredible and unrelenting pieces of music done this year. Shredding like Marduk or Dark Funeral but brutal like Iniquity or Sinister, Naglfar have moved to the front of the class for ’98 thus far. You can just feel the frosty Swedish hatred burnt into the pits on this disc. If you’ve gotten this far, you will be hooked when you hear it. 4 Crowns Thy Serpent- Christcrusher [Nuclear
Blast]
Finnish mid-paced Black Metal that falls firmly into the category of "only if you must". There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this disc, I just don’t think that any of us will be playing this over and over even a month from now. Maybe, it’s just me, but few bands do this particular style of BM very well, this, however, isn’t one of them. 2 ½ Crowns Henry Rollins- Think Tank [Dreamworks]
Hank speaks!!! On what must be his umpteenth spoken word disc, Henry outdoes himself while still treading the always familiar Rollins territories of anger, angst, death, the way things are, the way things should be, Rock-n-Roll, race/gender issues, death, aging, etc. If you let him, Henry’s gonna make you think, laugh and think some more and in the case of this disc, do it over and again. Enjoy! 4 Crowns. Burger/Ink- Las Vegas [Matador?]
Add Burger/Ink to the tiny list of artists who can do very little and hold your attention throughout. Much like The Grid, Basic Channel and Maurizio these guys somehow manage to throw together a sequence, hit "play" and manipulate it just enough to keep you from hitting "cue". I don’t know how, they just do… arrrgh! This is what I want my stuff to sound like sometimes. 3 ½ Crowns Mithotyn- King of the Distant Forest
[Metal Blade/Invasion]
Remember "Stonehenge" by Spinal Tap? That’s what these guys first made me think of sometimes and I just wanted to laugh. Along comes this new album and suddenly, I think I "get it". Combining medeival and Nordic folk with their Black Metal chaos, Mithotyn seeks to be as much Darkthrone as Jethro Tull. This is one of those bands that actually succeeds in calling forth through their tunes the imagery they seek to convey. I really can’t say much more here because words aren’t enough, come hear for yourself ‘cuz it’s good. 3 ½ Crowns Boards of Canada- Music Has a Right
to Children [Matador/Warp]
A retro trip thru sound. Tunes on this disc recall the golden days of analog electronics coupled with some major prowess on the beats. Toss in some Quaalude addled sampling and you’ve got quite q potent release from the 2 Scotsmen who comprise BOC. Or, in the simplest of terms- this disc has actually held my attention for the last 3 weeks: a milestone for my ADD havin’ self. 4 Crowns Gorguts- Obscura [Olympic/Slipdisc]
Death Metal, plain and simple… but wait… so much more. Imagine (insert your fave brutal death metal band here) having gotten into Arto and DNA and incorporating the quirkiness of "skronk" into the mix. Add to that one of the most insane vocal deliveries since Meshuggah or Emperor and you’ve got on your hands one SICK classic. Prepare to have your ears RAPED!!! 3 ½ Crowns + 1 Crown for being adventurous. Various Artists- Theatre of Sound [Shadow]
Post-Rock ambience. What is that? Wish I knew. Anyway what you have here is a collection of artists who use healthy doses of trad instruments to create their electronic landscapes. Rep’d here are Fuxa, Flying Saucer Attack and Scenic among others. A great staring point for your foray into "other" styles of music besides the stuff that currently bores you. 3 Crowns EM2K |
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