Hope you had a Happy Hanukah, a Merry Christmas, a Crazy Kwanzaa. Also, good & groovy luck in 1999!!! This is the 1st newsletter of 1999 and an intro to what's coming up in the year ahead. Yes, our website is up & running, our address is http://DownTownMusicGallery.com and it will be a while before all of the info, discographies, interviews, links & lists of appropriate e-mail addresses and other surprises will finally be found there. So please be patient, we are on our way...  

In November, I made the foolish mistake of leaving my one year old DAT recorder and mic in a bag at the train station where I live, with no insurance to cover it. I was extremely bummed. I have been taping gigs since 1976 and have a rep as the one who documents the progressive & downtown scene. Thanks to my good friends Jason Roth & Steve Smith, they collected & contributed money from about 60 plus friends and even acquaintances to buy me a new DAT recorder & mic. I am utterly overwhelmed with this act of kindness-probably the nicest present I have ever received. Special thanks to the following friends for your gracious help-  
     
 

Kramer  John Zorn  Fred Frith  Gary Lucas  Bill Frisell  Chris Speed  Elliott Sharp  Lee Ranaldo  Henry Kaiser  Frank London  Tony Geballe  Gerard Cosloy  Bobby Previte  Greg Anderson  Phillip Johnston  William Hooker  Ned Rothenberg  Nick Didkovsky  Dave Newgarden  Gerry Hemingway  Eugene Chadbourne

Irving & Stephanie Stone  Yuko Otomo & Steve Dalachinsky  Suzanne Langille & Loren M. Connors  Bob & Sharon Bielecki  Len & Robin Siegfried  Mike Dorf & Knitting Factory  Brother Russell Scholl  Pete Seward  Raymon Elozua  John Richey  Bill Dubilier  Steve Feigenbaum  Bill Milkowski  Phil Zampino  Pete Weatherbee  Keiko Uenishi  Ginger Nelson  Bob Gottesman  Dave Ehrenberg  Jim Ivy  Steve Koenig

Rob Toth  Jeff Capshew  Jon Abbey  Matt Mottel  Heather Mount  Don White  Bob Nirkind  John Rhames  Ari Abromowitz  Emperor Mike Clark  Steve Dollar  Glenn Kenny  Seth Rosner  Caleb Rush  Marc Weinstein & Amoeba Music  Scott Waldron  Robin Egberton  Pete King

NEW RELEASES NEW RELEASES NEW RELEASES NEW RELEASES NEW RELEASES:  

1.NICKY SKOPELITIS & RAOUL BJORKENHEIM-Revelator (Douglas 12) 

Although this mysterious release has been out since last year, it has been impossible to locate copies until now. No doubt most of you are familiar with Nicky Skopelitis-guitarist & player of various odd string instruments and long-time collaborator with Bill Laswell. Few of you probably recognize the name of equally amazing & distinctive guitarist-Raoul Bjorkenheim. Raoul was born in LA, eventually settling in the country of his ancestors-Finland. I recall his great (rather Terje Rypdal-like) guitarwork on cds by Edward Vesala 's Sound & Fury on ECM. He put his own band together-Krakatau-even more extreme electric jazz/rock quartet with a number of releases also on ECM, their first reissued by Cuneiform more recently. This past year Raoul was also part of a both studio & live release by Paul Schutze's Phantom City which had Bill Laswell on board as well. While both Nicky & Raoul have done their share of heavy guitar sounds (Krakatau's live cd is too much for some...), on 'Revelator' they both allow much restraint-making this very similar to Nicky's current 'Wake Up and Dream' cd, probably recorded around this same time and both are co-produced by Bill Laswell, and feature the tablas & Indian percussion of my friend-Bill Buchen (found on Bill's 'Sacred System' cds). The four long pieces are more about a layering on textures upon Buchen's nimble percussion, sometimes a hypnotic electric sitar haze or lovely acoustic guitars sweeping the scenery. The production is unusually warm, pure and reflective, the rare solos quite angelic and dreamy. We received only one box of 25, they will not last long and will most likely disappear soon! A french import for $18. 

Two cd set live from eight gigs of downtown's finest allstar out/jazz quartet! This is a perfect quartet of four monster musicians who continually blow minds with each & every gig and release!! William Parker-composer, leader, storyteller & the most cosmic of all contrebassists; Rob Brown on soaring, wailing, blowing hard on alto sax & flute; Cooper-Moore all powerful piano master & instrument make and the youthful new giant of percussion-Susie Ibarra, who must be seen to be believed! I seen to lost my original review of this colossal cd, so I will redo the review this week and add it to this newsletter soon. When I saw this amazing group play in December, in between sets at Context, William looked at his watch and said, "We better do this piece right away, so I can get home to see Deep Space Nine." A man after my own heart!! Two cds $18. 

Storm-force el. out/jazz guitar whirlwind-Joe Morris-writes of his troubled youth in the liner notes-angry, depressed and confused. No doubt, many of us can relate to this confusion & anger. He also writes of flocks of black birds flying-the visual beauty of their ordered chaos-inspiring him to search in his music for a similar thread. With each release, Joe seems to get closer to perfecting this current, by selecting just the right culprits to pull off this inspired chaos. This time he chooses the young lion of microtonal el. & acoustic violin-Mat Maneri, a newer member of the downtown pool of players-Chris Lightcap on acoustic bass and decade plus member of Joe's amazing trio-Jerome Deupree on drums. Both Joe Morris & Mat Maneri are well connected to a stream-melancholy, dark yet melodic, flurries of relaxed but quick & free notes. Mat is a perfect foil for Joe's oblique themes, those odd microtonal in-between notes appear to come from an alternate universe. Chris & Jerry also fly together, spinning rhythmic webs-at times recalling the brilliance of Dave Holland & Barry Altschul with Anthony Braxton. This is often dense & challenging to listen to, requiring complete concentration-are you ready? Are any of us really ready? Am I getting a bit carried away? Sorry. $14. 

After a flurry of activity in the 80's & early 90's-culminating with two outstanding jazz/funk/rock gems as a leader ('Birds of Prey' in '90, both on JMT & both out-of-print), monster cellist-Hank Roberts seemed to have disappeared upstate during the first half of this decade. Hank has returned in full force with three fine releases in the last few years-'22 Years from Now' for solo cello, 'I'll Always Remember' for cello trio and now an excellent duo recording with his long-time friend and musical partner-Tim Berne on alto & baritone saxes. Hank & Tim have been playing together in various settings for over 20 years and it shows in how well they weave their sounds and explorations into one well-knit yarn after another. This is an all improv journey that often shows the lyrical and hushed beauty of this dynamic duo. And sometimes they go for it-stratuspheric, gnarly, out there, even explosive-but always following the same muse, arriving at the same destination together! Watch out, they just might knock you out! All three of the recent Hank Roberts cds are on a new label called Level Green and each costs $14. 

The one thing that both scares me and makes me smile about Dr. Chadbourne's performances is his no holds barred tendency to go over the edge. There are those sublime moments of complete chaos where no one is sure how he'll get out of it. This particular sextet has been around for a couple of years and is finally coming together in a cool way. The odd line-up forthis band is two young improvisers from the UK, Alex Ward on clarinet & alto sax and Pat Thomas on keyboards & cheap electronics, both of whom have played Derek Bailey's pool of players. The units also includes two women (from NY?) on them odd reeds-bassoon & oboe-from Leslie Ross and Carrie Shull, respectively. A perfect pick for percussion/drums is Paul Lovens - FMP allstar drummer and great duo cd with Dr. Chad out on Victo. These six studio and three live tunes are taken from the amazing Taklos fest in Switzerland, an annual event of avant/jazz sounds. Eugene has written these tunes with a twisted old-time jazz type of melodies and structures, but this astoundingly demented, yet brilliant units pushes these pieces to other dimensions. Very Sun Ra like flow of out and in mixed seamlessly. Both women push things sideways with modern classical resoursefullness. Alex and Pat also play a variety of Dr. Chad's unpredictable styles and hard hitting improv insanity. When things get too dense or chaotic, Eugene has a magical way pulling it together by being human, playing ancient melodies, tampering the humor with resolve and refined direction. And sometimes-just going nuts! Dig in. $15. 

This great under-recognized ensemble of local giants has done ten releases of their superb playing in various forms, which have in the past included Dave Douglas & Mark Feldman ( Mosaic Sextet turned into New & Used), a Braxton duo with Joe Fonda (Anthony's bassist of choice nowadays), Thomas Chapin (on gigs), Dom Duval and Kevin Norton amongst the cream. This is the fourth fine cd by this quintet version of the group who consist of Mark Whitecage - monster alto sax & clarinet player, Herb Robertson - master of myriads of trumpet & flugel sounds, currently living in Berlin, and great drummer from Woodstock area-Harvey Sorgen, also decade long drummer for Hot Tuna. It doesn't get much better than this! Much of this reminds me of the incredible last studio effort by Eric Dolphy - "Out to Lunch", where Dolphy & trumpeter Freddie Hubbard match wits, blasting streams of hard swinging notes. This cd is live from a European tour, the only place where they get a chance to blow minds, sadly enough, so rarely in NYC where three of them live. Great solos by all involved, nice writing, captivating interplay between each. So watch out if they come to your town! For the rest of us, check out this or any of their fabulous cds. $14. 

A most impressive first effort for this quintet. Kevin Norton is one of our finest percussionists and composers, continually popping up in demanding situations, from Fred Frith's Keep the Dog to various recent Anthony Braxton projects. He has a fine trio cd on CIMP with Curlew's George Cartwright, but this his second date as a leader is superb for all of it's 72 minute journey. His ensemble features David Bindman (smoking trio cd w/ drummer Ehran Elisha on CIMP) and Bob DeBellis (various Phillip Johnston releases) on saxes & clarinets, Tomas Ulrich (Walter Thompson Big Band) on cello and the ever-solid & propulsive Joe Fonda (also various Braxton units) on acoustic bass. Kevin has done an outstanding job of arranging all and composing all but two of these pieces. The two non-originals are both Monk tunes-refreshingly different takes on "Epistrophy" and "Brilliant Corners"! This quintet often remind me of Eric Dolphy's 'Out to Lunch" unit masterwork-with Tony Williams & Richard Davis-like finesse. Both Kevin & Joe Fonda constantly spin tight webs around the robust harmonies of tenor & alto sax, clarinet & bass clarinet and cello. This music moves from suspenseful to quick-witted, somewhere between modern acoustic jazz and contemporary classical streams. One of the delights of this release is "Three Movements for Solo and Ensemble" which features guest clarinet hero-Dave Krakauer. As always, Krakauer wails throughout magnificently while both saxes play as one force due to Norton's fine composing. Excellent, well conceived & challenging! $14. 

Trio with Mark Feldman on violin & Tomas Ulrich on cello. I recall Marilyn Crispell introducing Yuko Fujiyama to the NYC audience at the old Knit a few years back and being impressed with piano playing then. Classically trained in Japan until age 19, she moved to NY in 1980 to study and play jazz. She soon discovered and was blown away by Cecil Taylor, developed along the free/out stream and eventually playing with many of downtown's finest players. Yuko recorded last year with the superb all-star One World Ensemble with Sabir Mateen, Daniel Carter, Susie Ibarra & Wilber Morris. This release-'Tag'-is Yuko's first as a leader and she has done a fine job of selecting a perfect trio-monster violinist Mark Feldman (Masada String Trio) and superb cellist-Tomas Ulrich (Walter Thompson Orchestra). This work consists of seven trios composed by Yuko and five duos which are mostly improvs. Yuko's compositions are strong, classically based, sort of Bartok-like folk melodies for strings and piano. "A Southern Island" has the sad beauty of warm strings flowing , the cello providing fine featherbed support, while the violin often reaches for the heavens as only Feldman can do. While Crispell or Matt Shipp might make things too dense on piano, Yuko has learned how to balance and lighten up somewhat. A most satisfying effort by this well balanced and amazing trio. $14. 

The solo legacy of my pal Loren continues with over a half dozen solo/duo releases so far this year-'A Possible Dawn' (Hatnoir), 'The Bridge' (Megalon), 'The Enchanted Forest' (Secretly Canadian), 'Evangeline' (Road Cone), plus a slew of of duos plus improv too numerous to mention. Most Loren releases are about 30 minutes long, not so this new solo/duo cd-'In Twilight' is actually 2 different live sets-a 30 min solo electric guitar journey from Olympia, washington and a 20 min duo with acoustic bassist Matt Heyner from the Cooler-Thurston Moore setting this duo up to play for the first time. This phase of Loren's long solo journey, has Loren not utilizing his background second guitar wash-just one guitar-naked & lonely at center stage. He has been using his distortion much more selectively in this current 6 month phase, always commencing with quiet, eerie yet pure melodic shimmers before diving into the thick terrain of wah-wah & distortion to take over. It is then when the spirits start howling that are washed over with waves... The duo with bassist Matt Heyner proceeds in a similar fashion, with Matt providing a fine cushion for Loren's emotive eruptions-bowing down the hall of horrors. A splendid release from holiday cheer and a perfect gift for your fave depressed friend. $10. 

Third release from local guitarist and film soundtrack composer-Stephen Vitiello and yet another offering of quietly twisted ambient textures. He is joined by drone-specialist Pauline Oliveros on accordion, Hahn Rowe (from Hugo Largo to Bosho to Fetus) on violin, Rebecca Moore (KFW & Tzadik song siren) on theremin and Paul Geluso on double bass. Stephen continues to explore Frith-like fractured electric guitar landscapes, often short sharp fragments looped in hypnotic patterns and drones. The overall sound is often AMM-like growling, occasionally sinister and ghostly spirits fluttering & buzzing-cosmic drones, submerging us in a thick &mysterious solution. The title piece stands out with it's glorious rich tapestry of glowing sounds, especially the wheezing accordion of enchanter-Pauline Oliveros-oddly reminiscent of Robert Wyatt's "Little Red Riding Hood Hits the Road"-I kind of expected Ivor Cutler to intone "I want it, I want it, I want it, give it to meeeeeee!" Quite magical, unnerving and mesmerizing all at once, you want it as well! $14. 

A wonderful modern and ancient klezmer combo from Belgium and led by (former ESP) avant-jazz piano legend-Burton Greene-now based in Amsterdam. It features the blazing double clarinet frontline of Hoboken based lunatic-Perry Robinson (Licorice Factory & Gunter Hampel) and the equally wonderful Hans Mekel. Both clarinets and Burton's piano constantly weave magical melodies from ancient and modern sources. Like Naftule's Dream or some real old dixieland band-Klezmokum make good use of tuba as part of the rhythm section. Drummer-Roberto Haliffi-is ever so nimble, allowing those delightful tunes to shine through. This is a long cd (72 min) and half of the dozen tunes are vocal pieces featuring the delightful voice of Patricia Beysens. She sings in Ladino, ancient & modern Hebrew, doing a fine job throughout-a swinging jazz vocal, scatting as well and even doing enchanting Israeli ballads. Although both Burton Greene & Perry Robinson are old veterans of the 60's free/jazz scene, they deal more with haunting ancient melodies from all over-Turko Balkan, Roumanian, Morrocan, Armenian, old Jerusalem and modern Israeli. While of the tunes are traditional, there is only one original, plus an excellent rendition of Masada's "Nevala", where they finally take it completely out and it sure feels just right. A buried treasure no longer! This is their third cd. $16. 

This is a warm, superb solo piano release recorded live in the studio in both Holland, Belgium (where Burton has been living) and Toronto on three dates in '92, '96 and '97. Burton has come a long way since his early life in Chicago, his powerful 60's free jazz playing (on ESP & Columbia) and long-time residence in Amsterdam. His long history flowing through his fingers, giving us glimpses of his long journey and ancestry. He has written seven of the ten tunes here, each one transports us to another area of exploration. "Longing" is just so beautiful, spacious, warm soft chords with the left hand, while the right sparkles little bits of puncuation, slowing moving into flurries. His "Bubba Meisa Drama" is a fine klezmer piece, also recorded by his Klezmokum unit and "Nicolai Coraci Variations" explores Romanian-like themes. He covers two of the more challenging Monk tunes-"Brilliant Corners" and "Off Minor" is his own slightly twisted way, as well as a rare ballad by Bill Evans-"Time Remembered"-delicate, fragile and pure. The cd closes with Burton's longest and most involved piece-"Arcturus" winds through themes, valleys, over mountains and through years of development, blending opposities into one grand work. Burton has been been coming back to NY for a month or two each year, playing gigs with local greats and Klezmokum at the annual Knit Jewish fest. We look forward to his return in 1999. $14. 

Turns out that I have seen this dude around-at the shop & at gigs. He recently played at Tonic due to his pal Vernon Reid and gave me his cd to check out. Wow! Totally mind-frying lead guitar that is actually a piccolo bass guitar!?! Very electric-Miles like burning the voodoo down atmospheric tale-spinning-either pumping at tempos to quick to believe with 'Jack Johnson'- like slamming funk grooves or slowing down the pulse with spacy free flowing synth guitar like tones. Paul Steven Ray is backed by two different rhythm teams on both el. & acoustic basses, percussion & drums. The only other soloist is saxist Tom Mitchell, who often just slithers mysterious notes into the cosmic brew. The only name I recognize is wonder-drummer Pheeroan Aklaff on one track, yet still this is strong effort throughout, obviously influenced by 'Bitches Brew' as well as 'On the Corner'. No small feat! Based in Brooklyn-lucky for us in NYC, I look forward to checking Paul out live. $14.? 

In the past year, transplanted New Zealand sound manipulator and guitarist-Dean Roberts aka White Winged Moth has graced us all here in Lower East side with his calming presence. Once a member of NZ legends-Thela, Dean has been doing the solo thing mostly, as well as jamming with other local heroes---. His third solo cd is once again filled with dreamy rumbling repeating samples of quiet piano, guitar & percussion, weaving layers of hypnotic droning waves-ever so beautiful when it winds down. I can recall a gig by Montreal's inside-the-piano wizard looping lines in an enchanting way-Pierre St. Jak with similar successful results. Dean's magic seems to stem from his ultra-selective use of samples and the way he sews threads into a well blended stream. Some of the piano & percussion samples he selects sound like The Jo Jones Tone Deaf Music Co., once featured on the criminally overlooked avant gem-Yoko Ono's 'Fly'. There are moments of pure bliss when things quiet down and small islands of piano or guitar scrapings appear in then flow of directed currents. Dean Roberts will be playing his first duo with our pal-Loren Mazzacane Connors here at DMG on Sunday February 6th at 7pm for free-so check it out! In the meantime, check this gem out for $14. 

CCMC are legendary avant gardists from Toronto, which means that very few people have even heard of them. Too bad. Thanks to newer friends-Thurston Moore & Alan Licht playing at their new music fest in Toronto and spreading the word, also thanks to Victo for having them at their fest and hence this new release of live recordings. Unique pianist-Michael Snow has been a member of CCMC since the sixties, when he was recognized as a maverick filmmaker who filmed Albert Ayler's 'New York Eye and Ear Control' (ESP)! CCMC might mean Canadian Creative Music Company, no one seems to know for sure. They have a dozen or so recordings, finding them has always been tough. They have ventured forth in recent years and even played as a quartet at the new Knit. The line-up on this fine & bizarre release consists of Michael Snow on piano & synth, John Oswald on alto sax and Paul Dutton on vocals. John Oswald has played with Henry Kaiser, Zorn & Chadbourne in their early days, but is known for his plunderphonic assaults nowadays. He is always playing with the boundaries-I remember a most impressive set at Victo in which his quintet played in almost complete darkness in circle in the center of the audience, at a hushed volume that breathing too hard would cover up. Paul Dutton seems to come from the experimental vocal school, somewhere between Phil Minton & Makigami Koichi, just as focused, but not as silly. This release is a consistent delight of twisted yet minimal improv-it breathes, takes its time, selects silence for portions and then occasionally explodes with sax and piano excursions to the extremes-the vocals often giving dramatic balance, the human touch. Nifty mug shot pix & perpetrator descriptions, as well as Dutton's fractured words adorn this cd-quite perplexing! Are you up to it? $14. 

Boris Kovac is a Yugolslavian composer/alto & soprano saxist and leader of the Ritual Nova Ensemble. They opened the Victoriaville New Music Festival a few years back and seemed to have rubbed many of the listeners there the wrong way, myself included. This is the fourth release by Boris Kovac that I've noticed, and I must admit to digging this often disturbing but throbbing melodically sad music. The instrumentation of Ritual Nova is Boris' saxes, clarinets, violin, cello, piano, contrabass and a vocalist who sings haunting melodies without words. There is no percussion here, just a short section of suspenseful inner piano plucking. There is some really sweeping music/composing here which reminds me of Astor Piazzolla's more serious music. I had to sip some cognac and turn down the sun a bit to get into this. In a year in which a few of downtown's finest musicians have passed away, a year of great loss-this music feels just right contemplating life and death. $14. 

So good to finally see a new American label, run by journalist & friend from Victo fest-Russ Summers, releasing a cd by the cream of European improv-an incredible trio with heavy credentials and the magic to pull it off so successfully. Outstanding pianist-Mr. Graewe has been paving the way for meetings like this to happen by living in Chicago and interacting with its healthy scene for improvisers. His large GrubenKlangOrchestra were a revelation at the old Knit-sitting in a circle in the audience, so the audience felt like it was part of the piece. Bassist-Marcio Mattos-is another contender for free/Euro acoustic storm of sounds, he has played with Evan Parker, Keith Tippett, Elton Dean and Derek Bailey. The ever-marvelous drummer-Michael Vatcher is based in Amsterdam, he has knocked me out on various gigs and recordings-Zorn's Spy Vs. Spy band, the Maarten Altena Ensemble and Tom Cora's The Roof! This is an all powerful improv trio-each one an equal explorer-as secrets unfold-illuminating the depths. Sublime, lines spinning, spilling, slow rocking waves of notes, delicate fragments to vast towers, three masters painting the environment. The crisp and clear recording, as well as the austere grey kettle on the cover, show the release to be well thought out all round. Brilliant playing throughout! $14. 

Fred Van Hove is one of the giants of European modern/jazz piano. A life-long resident of Belgium, he has been playing as a pro since 1964. In the 60's he had a group featuring Peter Brotzmann & Han Bennink and since then has done numerous duos with the likes of Steve Lacy, Lol Coxhill and Albert Mangelsdorf. In the 80's he spent time in Berlin and Japan performing with Ned Rothenberg, Douglas Ewart, Hans Reichel and Barry Guy. His first solo recording was a self-titled one in 1972, so it has been quite a long time and of course, well worth the wait. This release seems to be more about exploring areas, densities and varying approaches to piano techniques. Often dark, occasionally dense, lines of ideas piled up in complex, but select ways. This is not just about notes or themes based on folk melodies - Fred takes his time rubbing the piano innards with a pool cueball on "Compromising Positions", for a cool ghostly effect. "Triple Play" goes by so quick that it is difficult to capture its essence in one sitting, so be patient for the wonders to unfold and overtake. Pretty amazing overall, take the challenge, the adventurous listener will certainly be knocked out. $14. 

For over thirty years, Carla Bley has been composing and playing often jazz based music, but never limited to any one genre of creative music. Her work seems to evolve in cycles, often depending on who she lives and collaborates with. In the sixties, she was married to Paul Bley, who probably still plays her gnarly compositions. From the late 60's, for about twenty years, she was married to Mike Mantler - another fine composer and trumpeter as well. They helped organize the Jazz Composers Orchestra record label & organization, worked on each other's projects and started their own label to put out their own records - Watt. Carla began her record career with a massive three record set chronotransduction entitled "Escalator Over the Hill", which took five years of work to complete. Us Canterbury fanatics love her & Michael's work with Robert Wyatt, she also utilized the great playing of ex - Soft Machinists-Hugh Hopper and Elton Dean on her "European Tour 1977", which also included the distinctive blasting of Gary Windo, who then moved up to Woodstock to stay in her band. Her next cycle is with electric bassist extraordinaire and longtime friend & collaborator Steve Swallow. This era of Carla's has included a number of recordings with loads of fusion hotshots, a pretty outstanding big band cd, and a nifty duo cd with Steve Swallow. Which brings us to this... 

Carla Bley has gotten some commissions to write for chamber ensembles since 1985, this release collects six pieces from them to now, played by an eight piece ensemble of talented British musicians -strings, winds, and percussion with Carla on piano and Steve on his unique-fluid and melodic electric bass. Carla's "Wolfgang Tango" is a tart and fragile tango, a Monkish version of Piazzolla theme, played by gentle Brits. The "Romantic Notions" and "End of Vienna" are some of the saddest and most haunting of Carla's gifts. Swallow is often the soloist and each one of his solos is a joy to behold. "Tigers in Training" is the one long piece and is a quiet delight, playful, a romantic taste of circus life. Yummy. The cd booklet is a humorous satire of program notes from a classical concert, complete with fake ads from Tournoff and Texacoe, probably a first for ECM. Music for soft dining and intelligent conversation. $14. 

This fine electronic music compilation could easily be on the CRI label where Al Margolis is employed, but ends up on this one-man operated label-Pogus-which Al runs, as well as records for under the if,Bwana name. This comp features seven composers from Argentina recorded over the past decade. Most of this music/sound is pretty fascinating, not cold or overwhelming like other electronic music I have encountered. Each composer here selects a certain sonic area to work within. Daniel Schacter's "Tiempo Quebrado" for six sounds seems so well defined-a nice clarity of ideas. Ricardo Dal Farra 's "...Due Giorni Dopo" is a collage of sounds made from the Italian language-spiraling webs of words, diced & sliced. Martin Alejandro Fumarola 's "Callejuelas" is models of plucked strings-sort of Terry Riley hypnotic weaving sounds. Alejandro Iglesias-Rossi's "Ascencion" is truly cosmic-utilizing sacred European musics of ancient origins from recordings of indigenous orchestras & vocalists from South America-the music/sounds swirls softly around our brains from distant regions. Unexpectedly cool thoughout! $10. 

1998 is the year when sampler players have taken over, they are everywhere. From the avant to the ambient to hip-hop. As far as downtown goes, there is Bob Ostertag (relocated to San Fran), for this decade-both David Shea and Ikue Mori have over a half dozen outstanding releases each. Yasuhiro Otani plays computer and guitar and has collaborated with Otomo & Sachiko M., Carl Stone and Kazuhisa Uchihashi (Altered States). Amazing treasures from around the globe seem to make their way here to DMG through the mail. This solo sampler cd is one such gem! Otani has created a 71 minute landscape/journey through selective layers of electronic or sampled sounds. This collage often recalls the Tim Hodgkinson & Ossatura disc of this year, with its fascinating, swirling tapestry of intricate yet difficult to determine the source type of sound. There is a bubbling of cheap electronics recurring (Smersh-like), Japanese voices often speaking English, even some cheesy drum machine section. Never too thick or overdone. A most impressive debut. A Japanese import for only $12. 

Jonathan is a friend & kindred spirit violinist from Boston and also heads the Elliott Sharp Appreciation Society. Boston is an enigmatic town that seems to have so many fine musicians but gigs are often limited. Jon tells me that this is no longer true as there area number of places for avant/free musicians to play. Good news. This work features two different size units of odd instrumentation-the first includes theremin, banjo, sarangi, upright bass, guitar, trumpet, trombone, drums & el. drums and sporadic samples. Considering there are eight plus players in the first-'Equinox'- unit, the sound is never too chaotic or dense. There is often a warped groove at center no matter how strange the instrumentation. An innocent & calming sort of weirdness, a balanced mix of both delicate & unexpected bursts focused activity. Elliott Sharp guests on one track with the second unit-the 'Solstice' one. A slightly smaller crew, this one is more throbbing noise-rock, with mutant guitars, more reeds and more sarangi & didjeradoo. "Lower East Side Passage to Burma" is ten bizarre minutes of Buttholes meets the Sun City Girls. This is a new label bringing us Boston's best new explorations. $14. 

That's about it for now. Now that 1998 is behind us, let us take a moment and say a prayer for our fallen heroes-Thomas Chapin, Tom Cora & Denis Charles, as well as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Fela Kuti. Also, the ultimate Braxton fan-Nestor Ovares. We will never forget all of special music we have shared with each of you. Rest in peace, rest in our hearts. Love, peace and happiness.....from Bruce Lee Gallanter and Emperor Mike.  

The Emperor pleads the fifth.  

Blessing of the Empire be with you all for the New Year.  

Spamming The Globe,  

Downtown Music Gallery 
13 Monroe St.  
New York, NY 
10002-7351 

212 473 0043 
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"Eschew Obfuscation"