Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Qt, Poolplayers w/ Arve Henriksen, Carla Kihlstedt's 2 Foot Yard, Chris McGregor Sextet, Gary Lucas Vs. Dark Poets, 2 Haino Keiji Duos w/ Tatsuya Yoshida & Merzbow, Fireroom w/ Vandermark, Marhaug & Nilssen-Love, New from ReR: Brainville 3 (Daevid Allen/Hugh Hopper/Chris Cutler), Michael Maksymenko, Stevan K Tickmayer,

Rob Brown & Andrew Barker, Kris Davis Qt w/ Tony Malaby, Moss Vocal Group w/ Theo Bleckmann, Steve Peters, Annea Lockwood, John Cage, Group 180 perform Steve Reich & Fred Rzewski, Olivier Messiaen Collection, Diana Wayburn Unit, Miss High Heel w/ Weasel Walter & Jim O'Rourke,

New Van Der Graaf Generator, Plus Historic Discs & Reissues from: Chris McGregor Group, Kevin Ayers, Caravan, Andy Roberts, Boredoms, French, Frith, Kaiser & Thompson, Howard Riley, Stan Tracey plus a stack of Discs from UK's 33Jazz Label: Theo Travis, John Marshall /Travis/Wood, Maggie Nichols, Tony Bianco, UK Hans Koller & Even More..




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FIREROOM [KEN VANDERMARK/LASSE MARHAUG/PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE] - Broken Music (Atavistic 183; USA) A tempest of jazz-noise erupts on the Atavistic debut from FIREROOM, a trio project between longtime collaborators KEN VANDERMARK, LASSE MARHAUG & PAAL-LOVE. As core members of the initial lineup for (((POWERHOUSE SOUND))), as well as numerous other adventurous small & large groups, these cats know each other well. The telepathic vibe necessary to make free music really work is tested & expanded upon throughout, given Marhaug's penchant for moodier, darker- yet still explosive forays on an array of vintage, contemporary & custom pieces of electronic gear. "Users" are currently invited to investigate the outer reaches of both the jazz & electronic frontiers simultaneously.
In stock by Tues, 4/8/08.
CD $15


Two New Discs from Songlines (in stock early next week):

WAYNE HORVITZ GRAVITAS QUARTET With PEGGY LEE/RON MILES/SARA SCHOENBECK - One Dance Alone [H-SACD] (Songlines 1571; Canada) Featuring Wayne Horvitz on piano & compositions, Peggy Lee on cello, Ron Miles on cornet and Sara Schoenbeck on bassoon. Haunting and beautiful music from former downtown keyboard wiz and diverse composer, Wayne Horvitz. Review next week. [this is a Hybrid SACD (H-SACD) which means it is playable on ordinary CD players as well]
CD $17

POOLPLAYERS With ARVE HENRIKSEN/BENOIT DELBECQ- Way Below The Surface [H-SACD] (Songlines 1569; Canada) [this is a Hybrid SACD (H-SACD) which means it is playable on ordinary CD players as well] Arve Henriksen, trumpet, vocals, electronics; Benoit Delbecq, piano, bass station; Lars Juul, drums, electronics; Steve Arguelles, Usine, delays, Sherman filter
CD $17


2 FOOT YARD [CARLA KIHLSTEDT/MARIKA HUGHES/SHAHZAD ISMAILY] - Borrowed Arms (Yard Work; USA) 2 Foot Yard shatters the boundaries between art song and pop song by merging the visceral power of rock with the intimacy and warmth of chamber music. Violin, cello, voice, and drums combine to create a cacophony of harmonic (im)balance culled from an astonishing array of musical influences, from acoustic punk to the twang of old country love ballads. This trio, whose first amazing album was released on Tzadik, features Carla Kihlstedt (Tin Hat, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, The Book of Knots) on violin and vocals, Marika Hughes (Charming Hostess, Vienna Teng) on cello and vocals, and Shahzad Ismaily (Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dogs, Secret Chiefs 3) on percussion and guitar, and guarantees an off-kilter ride through the worlds of drama and melody. Combining the harmonic breadth of contemporary classical music and the spontaneity of improvisation, their diverse musical backgrounds come together in one cohesive and unique voice as 2 Foot Yard performs genre-breaking instrumentals and vocal miniatures.
(In the spirit of community and paying it forward, Yard Work will be donating $.50 from every copy of BORROWED ARMS sold in the US both to Food Change in Harlem, NYC and to the Canyon School organic gardening project in Canyon, CA to help promote community-based education and awareness of sustainable agriculture and nutrition as well as daily free meals to those in need.)
CD $14


GARY LUCAS VS. DARK POETS - Beyond The Pale (Some Bizarre 82; UK) His work with Jeff Buckley and Captain Beefheart probably makes Gary Lucas the world's most popular avant-rock guitarist ...Here, his solo pieces mingle with tracks recorded with electronic composer James Hunter, aka The Dark Poets, whose samplescapes, synth beds and vocal samples about things like military mind-control techniques recall the dark portents of Cabaret Voltaire.
Highlights include a resonant cover of part of Popol Vuh's Aguirre, Wrath of God soundtrack; an exhilarating "Judgement at Midnight" incorporating swirling National steel guitar phrases over a synth drone bed pockmarked with found-sound fragments; "Breath of Bones", a delicate tangle of guitar tendrils; and "Ted's Theme", a lovely sequenced samba-shuffle burnished with glinting guitar. Solo showcases include the glistening Frippertronic-style guitar tones of "Rosemary's Baby" and the almost electric-flamenco flurries of "Rise Up To Be". - Andy Gill for The Independent
CD $20

GARY LUCAS music//PAUL WEGNER & CARL BOESE - directors - The Golem [DVD] (private release; USA) [Revised 2008 edition with the original film's tinting restored!] This is the classic 1920 silent film about the supernatural being from Jewish mythology; with a new soundtrack recorded solo by Gary Lucas in live performance at The World Financial Center [whilst the film was being screened] that was simultaneously broadcast on John Schafer's "New Sounds" program. Recommended!
DVD $20


HAINO KEIJI & TATSUYA YOSHIDA - Hauenfiomiume (Magaibutsu 34; Japan) "The controversial work which stepped into the forbidden territory of editing the performance of Haino Keiji. Yoshida breaks up their studio session boldly and restructures it from the unacceptable tune reproduced by extreme editing to the pop song thing that it is surprised. From the irregular hard core to heavy tune, from the modern music short piece, to the lyricism acoustic number. This album shows new possibility with union/condensing the music of Haino & Yoshida. This time they made 2 different (but similar) albums."
CD $19

KIKURI [HAINO KEIJI & MASAMI AKITA [MERZBOW]] - Pulverized Purple (Victo 110; Canada) This dynamic duo live performance features two legendary Japanese noise giants playing together for the first time on the big colosseum stage up at the 2007 Victoriaville New Music Festival in Quebec. Haino played guitar, percussion, a theremin-like device & vocals while Merzbow played his computer filled with his own noise/feedback samples. It was pretty f**king scary and it is well captured on this great disc. The cover design outside and inside and out is also quite stunning.
CD $15


ROB BROWN & ANDREW BARKER - Live In Chicago (Ruby Red Editora 17; EEC) Recorded live at the Empty Bottle, June 6th 2000 by the late, great archivist Malachi Ritscher. Featuring Rob Brown on alto sax and Andrew Barker on drums. Both Members of William Parker's Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra and Andrew is also the co-leader of the Gold Sparkle unit. Another disc that just received today (4/2/08) and to be reviewed next week.
CD $15


KRIS DAVIS With TONY MALABY / EIVIND OPSVIK / JEFF DAVIS - Rye Eclipse (Fresh Sound NT 310; Spain) Featuring Kris Davis on piano & compositions, Tony Malaby on tenor sax, Eivind Opsvik on bass and Jeff Davis on drums. Just in today, review next week.
CD $15


MOSS [THEO BLECKMANN/PETER ELDRIDGE/LAUREN KINHAN/KATE McGARRY/LUCIANA SOUZA] - Moss (Sunnyside 1181; USA) A typical vocal jazz record follows a formula: some up-tempo tunes, plenty of moody ballads and a vocalist reaching for the unique without leaving the familiar. The vocal dream team Moss has thrown out the old formula on their new self-titled CD. The group includes vocalists who are all leaders in their own right: Luciana Souza, Theo Bleckmann, Kate McGarry, Peter Eldridge and Lauren Kinhan. Not to be pigeon holed, these master vocalists supply their own unique originals along with a bevy of thoughtful arrangements of not so standard tunes (including pieces by Tom Waits, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and e.e. cummings).
CD $16


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New releases from ReR [Recommended Records]!!!

BRAINVILLE 3 [DAEVID ALLEN/HUGH HOPPER/CHRIS CUTLER] - Trial By Headine (ReR BV3 1; UK) Three old hands out of Soft Machine, Gong and Henry Cow stretch already flexible musical material into one shape after another, then tie it in knots and generally have a fun with it. High quality recordings combined with seat-of-the-pants playing keep the tension high, underpinning a richly labile music, full of shape and colour that is constantly in motion. Compiled from recent concert recordings in Berlin, London and Tel Aviv, this clutch of extended songs should be to the taste of anyone familiar with the protagonists - or who longs to hear a little more straightforward instrumental playing in place of computers, heavy processing and sanitized post production. Brainville offers you tightrope walking, imagination, fast thinking, and a seasoned musicality: a social music, played by old friends, that blithely goes its own way.
CD $16

MICHAEL MAKSYMENKO With HENRY KAISER/ANDY WEST - Business Cide (ReR MM1; UK) Michael, founder and brain behind the extraordinary Swedish post-Beefheartian group Kraljursastalten, and world-class ice-hockey player, here collects his extraordinary songbook including much of the two celebrated '70s releases by Kraljursastalten (the Reptile Institution: Michael plus the telepathic twins Stefan and Thomas Agaton), with later recordings from his solo record and released and unreleased pieces with Henry Kaiser, John 'Drumbo' French, Sten Standell, Andy West and others. Wild lurching swing complexity, ridiculous tempi, great rhythms, sudden mood changes, fine compositions and music that is always to the point: no fat, just coffee and cigarettes. Classic. Genre: Unpopular. Influences: Anatolij Tarasov, chief-coach and master-trainer of the Soviet national Ice-hockey team 1958-1972, inventor of "collective telepathy at high speed".
CD $16

Also, last copies available of this...

KRALDJURSANSTALTEN [MICHAEL MAKSYMENKO] - Nu Ar Det Allvar!!/Voodoo Boogie (Megaphone 20; USA) 1993 reissue, available again! Reissue of both records by this sort of legendary Swedish rock trio led by Michael Maksymenko, as originally issued in 1980-81. Heavily influenced by the convoluted blues of prime-era Beefheart Magic Band, these guys played a fairly unbelievable variation on the style - intense, full throttle guitar/bass/drum interplay with absolutely crazed Swedish vocals on top. Beefheart fanatics use to fall face flat when hearing this stuff back when it came out, and I'm sure there's a whole slew of newcomers ready for the same gust of Nordic madness. Guitarist Maksymenko went on to work with Henry Kaiser in the later 80s, forming the band Crazy Backwards Alphabet (along with Magic Band drummer Drumbo French). These recordings have been legitimately "weird" - every single day, for 25 years now! - Michael Anton Parker
CD $14

STEVAN KOVACS TICKMAYER - Cold Peace Counterpoints (ReR ST3; UK) A suite of fiendishly complex compositions for mixed real and virtual resources. Bob Drake, Djorge Delibasic, Pegja Milosavljevic and Chris Cutler make appearances - playing electric guitar, bass, drums and virtuoso violin between them, but mainly it is Stevan who plays all kinds of keyboards, strings, double bass, zither, samples and software. Three thoroughly through-composed and finely articulated pieces make up this very concentrated suite: Concerto Grosso (for keyboards, string instruments and CPU), The Cold Peace Counterpoints and Five Bagatelles for a Polyhsitor. Those familiar with Tickmayer's earlier recordings, or the Science Group, will have some idea of what to expect - a rare commingling of high European art music (Tickmayer studied with both Gyorgy Kurtag and Louis Andriessen), various East European folk musics, experimental rock, post rock and computer assisted electronic composition. These are intense, emotionally and philosophically driven pieces that demand attention, and reward it when given.
CD $16

THE MINERS OF BANAL [BILL GILONIS/TRIXA ARNOLD] - The Miners Of Banal (ReR/Slag 99; UK) Tito Pueblo-vocals [of Orchestra Murphy], Bill Gilonis-guitar (of The Work and Hat Shoes), Ilja Komarov-bass [of Ne Zhadli] & Trixa Arnold-drums. The Work featured Tim Hodgkinson (Henry Cow) & Bill Gilonis and were one of the best post-punk/prog bands ever. All of their discs have recently been reissued on Ad Hoc. The Miners of Banal are a more recent project with Bill Gilonis, which also includes a member of Ne Zhadli. The Miners of Banal is a twisted, odd, rock band that is quite hard to peg. They remind me of Mekons in their shambolic, fun-loving way. Their lyrics deal with messy relationships, a generation of comedians who know the sad parts and the boredom of contemporary life. I like Tito's world-weary voice and I love the way they use that earthy accordion, stripped down guitars and drums. There is something quite charming and real life-like about this that I can't quite explain. During the late 70's and early 80's there a number of British and American bands that seem to define the way life was, when it wasn't special in their own sweet way. Kinda goofy, kinda cool and lots of fun. - BLG
CD $16

NIKOLA KODJBASHIA - The Most Of Now (ReR NK2; UK) An exquisite and subtle new composition by Macedonian composer Nikola Kodjbashaia exquisitely realized by a broad and mixed ensemble of exemplary - and mostly Macdonian - instrumentalists: a suite of highly imaginative variations on a theme that meanders purposively through an unusual - I'd say unique - musical landscape in which reflections of everything from lounge music, Macedonian folk instrumentals, Byzantine church liturgy, contemporary orchestra composition and exotica rub shoulders without parody or embarrassment. Constantly mutating, constantly fascinating, this follows the path opened up in his first CD into a completely personal but accessible musical language. Subtle, complex, profane music, that is at the same time easy, even a joy, to listen to.
CD $16


VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR [PETER HAMMILL/HUGH BANTON/GUY EVANS] - Trisector (EMI/Caroline; USA) Van Der Graaf Generator is now a stripped-down trio of original 1968 members Hugh Banton (organ), Guy Evans (drums) and Peter Hammill (vox, guitar, piano), who made a storming return to live performance in the spring of 2007. The band started recording their album in July 2007, after followed a period of mixing and overdubbing Trisector. There are nine pieces on the album, one of them instrumental. Unusually for VDGG, only one of these is more than ten minutes long - indeed, five come in at under five minutes. There are, of course, passages of great complexity but there's also a confidence about the group that allows them to leave some simple things as they are.
CD $15


CARAVAN [PYE HASTINGS/RICHARD SINCLAIR/DAVE SINCLAIR/RICHARD COUGHLAN/STEVE MILLER] - The Show Of Our Lives: Live At The BBC 1968-1975 [2 CD set] (Deram/Decca; UK) Featuring recently discovered Stereo versions of "Nine Feet Underground" and "Feelin' Reelin' Squealin' " recorded for John Peel and the band's previously unissued 1973 "In Concert" broadcast... as well as the contents of the tour-sales-only Green Bottles For Marjorie CD and tracks from the two HUX BBC CDs.
Initially outshone by Soft Machine, Caravan quickly gained a reputation as pioneers of the burgeoning Canterbury scene of the late '60s. The band included Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers and Hugh Hopper later of Soft Machine. It wasn't until the 1971 album, In The Land Of The Grey And Pink that the band achieved a commercial breakthrough. This double CD is anthology of Caravan's best-recorded work for the BBC between 1968 and 1975.
2 CD set for $25


Three Important Reissues from the British Fledg'Ling Label:

CHRIS McGREGOR With DUDU PUKWANA/MONGEZI FEZA/RONNIE BEERS /JOHNNY DYANI/LOUIS MOHOLO [a/k/a The Blue Notes] - Very Urgent (Fledg'ling 3059; UK) In 1968 the Chris McGregor Group - essentially The Blue Notes, but with Ronnie Beers instead of Nick Moyake - and with an enlarged vision that embraced free jazz - were riding high on the London jazz scene, playing and hanging out with all the rising stars of British out-jazz. 'Very Urgent' was their eagerly awaited debut recording, was a joyful call of intent. The album mixes simple but utterly unstoppable tunes and exhilarating horn charts - immediately establishing a vitality and exuberance that would continue to define the group. Forty years later, Fledg'ling Records are very proud to bring this splendid album back into print. The passing years have not diminished its impact. Re-mastered from the original master tapes.
CD $18

JOHN FRENCH/FRED FRITH/HENRY KAISER/RICHARD THOMPSON - Live, Larf, Larf & Loaf... plus (Fledg'ling 3067; UK) 1st of 2 albums by this line-up. What do you get when you put four extreme geniuses from different fields of endeavor together? Extreeeme song albums of truly off-kilter "pop" from English folk rock meister Richard Thompson, John Drumbo French (of Capt. Beefheart) and guitar experimentalists/trailblazers Henry Kaiser and Fred Frith!
The album Live, Love, Larf & Loaf was first released in 1987 and is a wonderful and rare collaboration between four experimental world-class master musicians: JOHN FRENCH - original drummer with Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, FRED FRITH - founder of the art-rock ensemble Henry Cow, HENRY KAISER - innovative experimental guitarist and composer and RICHARD THOMPSON - singer-songwriter par excellence and founding member of Fairport Convention. This carefully re-mastered and packaged edition adds four previously unreleased live tracks.
CD $18

ANDY ROBERTS - Andy Roberts And The Great Stampede... plus (Fledg'ling 3064; UK) With great honor Fledg'ling Records announce a deluxe reissue of Andy Roberts' splendid 1973 album -- Andy Roberts and the Great Stampede -- originally released on the legendary Elektra label. One of this country's under acknowledged guitarists and songwriters, Andy Roberts was a leading member of the Liverpool Scene, Plainsong, Grimms and the Hank Wangford Band. He has toured with Roy Harper, Pink Floyd and Roger McGough, amongst many. On And The Great Stampede his band are pianist Zoot Money (of Big Roll Band fame), B J Cole -- Europe's finest pedal steel guitarist, electric violinist Mick Kaminski (from the Electric Light Orchestra) and the fabulous Fotheringay rhythm section -- Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway. The legendary Ollie Halsall adds lead guitar on the first track. For this edition, Andy Roberts has written extensive sleeve notes chronicling the recording and the background to the songs. The package includes previously unpublished photographs and five previously unreleased bonus tracks."
CD $18


KEVIN AYERS With HUGH HOPPER/PHIL MANZANERA/ROBERT WYATT - The Unfairground (Gigantic; UK) New U.S. edition, nearly half the price of the import! "2007 release of the first album in 15 years from the pioneer of British psychedelia and it's a corker! The sessions include contributions from artists Ayers has inspired, like Teenage Fanclub, Bill Wells (of the Bill Wells Trio), Euros Childs (from Gorkys Zygotic Mynci) and Francis Reader (of Trash Can Sinatras). Characters from Ayers' past also participated, including Robert Wyatt on "Cold Shoulder") and Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera (on "Brainstorm"), Soft Machine's Hugh Hopper (on "Unfairground") and folk singer Bridget St. John (who duets on "Baby Come Home", the first time the two have recorded together since Ayers' 1970 album "Shooting at the Moon")."
"A raft of affection buoyed the former Soft Machine man's first album in 15 years, numerous pals and admirers contributing to what Ayers called "people-to-people music that goes well with wine." It's a fine vintage with strings, brass and notes of bucolic folk."- Mojo best of the year award, 2007
CD $12

BOREDOMS [YAMANTAKA 'YAMATSUKA' EYE] - Super Roots 9 (Thrill Jockey 197; USA) Finally a U.S. edition! This is the motherbomb many Bore fans have been waiting for - a document of the Vooredoms (as they now call themselves)'s 3-drummers-plus-EYE lineup that has been blowing minds across the globe for a few years now. Anyone who's had the luck of catching the band onstage can attest to the mesmerizing power of their new sound, and for those who have been missing out... well, here's a chance to get an idea of what you've been missing. The latest installment in the Super Roots series is a single 41-minute live track (recorded live in Japan Xmas Eve 2004) featuring EYE on electronics, turntable, CDJ, and voice, with Yoshimi, ATR, and Youjir on drums, and -- here's the kicker -- a 24 piece choir(!).
The booklet for SR9 includes a massive printed score for the drum and choir parts along with photos from the show, and after an opening flourish of cymbal washes and choral harmonies, EYE samples their vocal chords and spends the majority of the piece subtly tweaking the sampled choir over the heavy thundergod rumble of the drums for 30 minutes, until the real choir joins back in for more heavenly invocations. The liner notes give shoutouts to Rhys Chatham, Jon Gibson, and The Thundergods, and those nods make perfect sense. As is wont for the Super Roots series, this provides a logical transition for what the band had been doing on Vision Creation Newsun/Seadrum and what they've morphed into now - it's not a substitute for seeing them in the flesh (do so at any cost!), and it's not quite the (R)evolutionary statement from this lineup that many fans have been wanting on record for some time now, but one can only hope that the next proper LP will take the beauty and sheer force on display here and blow heads wide open full-scale. Recommended! - Mikey IQ Jones.
CD $16


DIANA WAYBURN ENSEMBLE - Ostinato And... (self released; USA) Featuring Diana Wayburn on flute, piano & compositions, Justin Wood flute & sax, Dawoud Kringle on sitar, Will Martina on cello, Sara Schoenbeck on bassoon and Chris Golinski on percussion. "Ostinato And" is a mix of written and improvised music much of which is based on recurring rhythmic patterns. "Prelude" and "Dance" were derived from the tone drum, "Light" was originally a vocal piece celebrating the longer days after winter solstice and "From Africa" is loosely based on a West African rhythm, Mendiani, a dance for young girls. All pieces were developed with improvisation. The free improvisations were different pairings of a sonically rich and diverse ensemble. "I recognize Ms. Wayburn from her occasional visits to our store, and involvement in musical events about town, but didn't know that she was a musician as well. Sitarist Dawoud Kringle has also played here at DMG and has recordings as well. Former west coast bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck has worked with Wayne Horvitz and Steuart Liebig.
This disc consists of mainly duo and trio improvisations, plus four written works. The writing and playing is lovely, sublime and often haunting. On "Prelude," the plucked cello, flute & bassoon play this melody that is a blend of classical and ethnic influences with superb short solos from each musician. The improvised pieces often don't sound improvised since they there is a strong thread that balances each piece, each player into unified trio or duo sound. The cello and sitar duo is a quaint, haunting and peaceful work that feels just right. "Light" is a delightful piece for two flutes, bassoon, plucked cello, sitar and subtle percussion. It reminds me of that magical blend that Oregon used to specialize in. There is a trio improv for tenor sax, piano and percussion that is free but sublimely played. "From Africa" has a most memorable, delicate melody that you will not forget once you hear it. Most of this music is laid-back, but all of this music is thoughtfully organized, well-crafted and especially well-played. Quaint gem of the week! - BLG
CD $12


TONINO MIANO/MIRIO COSOTTINI - The Curvature Of Pace (Impressus 01; USA) Pianist Tonino Miano and trumpeter Mirio Cosottini met in Italy a little over nine years ago while recording for The Last Animal, from Zarathustra by Lorenzo Brusci. Four days in a recording studio led to a lot of experimenting; to an almost childlike open-mindedness that is rare to find in amateurs and seasoned artists alike. Session after session, as they tackled an array of different concepts, they recorded material that exceeded the purpose of the project at hand and ended up finding a right of its own. But instead of being gathered and considered for publication, it remained idle for years to come, until now. It is unusual that one looks back at what has been done with the same sense of urgency that characterizes the present, but this seems to be the aura surrounding this work, at least as far as its creators are concerned.
CD $12



STEVE PETERS//J A DEANE - The Webster Cycle [CD-EP] (Cold Blue 0027; USA) "The Webster Cycles, a somewhat open-ended piece for any combination of wind instruments and/or voices, allows for a good bit of decision-making and improvisation on the part of the performer(s). In the present recorded version, six trombone parts were performed (via overdubbing) by noted composer/performer J.A. Deane. The result is a beautifully coherent yet ever-changing music that slowly shifts its texture and harmonic focus as if its individual parts were refractions of a giant aural prism. The wonderful, subtle inflections and tonal shadings that Deane brings to each phrase imbue the piece with a vibrant, palpable sense of energy and motion. The piece's score is constructed from a selection of words drawn from a Webster's dictionary. The words become pitch sequences or melodic phrases that are to be played within the duration of a long breath. These sequences are grouped into seven sections, which the performer(s) may perform in any order they wish while maintaining the internal order of phrases within each section." 30-min.
CD $9


ANNEA LOCKWOOD - A Sound Map of the Danube [3 CD set] (Lovely Music 2083; USA) "Annea Lockwood has been recording rivers since 1970, 'not to document them, but rather for the special state of mind and body which the sounds of moving water create when one listens intently to the complex mesh of rhythms and pitches.' Lovely Music, Ltd. released Annea's seminal work A Sound Map of the Hudson River in 1989. Nineteen years later, we are proud to present A Sound Map of the Danube, her largest river recording project to date. Recorded over three years and five trips to Europe, A Sound Map of the Danube traces the second longest European river's run from the Black Forest in Germany to its delta into the Black Sea. The recordings comprise sounds from the banks, from above and below the water, animals, insects, and interviews with people who live by the great river. The three disc set also includes a fold-out map with album notes and interview translations on the reverse side."
3 CD Set for $35


JOHN CAGE - Thirty Pieces For Five Orchestras (1981); Music For Piano, Nos. 4-19, 21-84 (1952-56) (Hungaroton 12893; EEC) Thirty Pieces for Five Orchestras (1981); Music for Piano Numbers 4-19, 21-84 (1952-56) (Realization by A. Wilheim): Savaria Symphony Orchestra; conducted by Zoltan Tihanyi, Dieter Kempe, Zsolt Serei, Katalin Doman, Mark Foster; Musical Direction: Peter Eotvos; Zoltan Jeney, Andras Wilheim, Laszlo Vidovszky, Laszlo Sary, Barnabas Dukay (pianists). Hungaroton continues its invaluable Cage series. This disc moves away from the percussion works on past volumes. The works presented here make this self-recommending for anyone devoted to this important 20th century thinker/composer.
CD $17

GROUP 180 - Music For Pieces of Wood (Hungaroton 12545; EEC) 1995 release. Recorded in 1983. "Water - Wonder" by Tibor Szemzo (1982), "Music for Pieces of Wood" by Steve Reich (1973), "Etude for Three Mirrors" by Laszlo Melis (1982), and "Coming Together" & "Attica" by Frederic Rzewski (1972). Performed by Group 180. Recited in English.
CD $17


OLIVIER MESSIAEN - "Never Before Released" (Ryko/Jade 36352; USA) Jade Music, the specialty arm of Milan Records, is proud to commemorate Olivier Messiaen's 100th birthday with the album entitled 'Never Before Released'. This exceptional recording includes, among others, performances by his wife, Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, the BBC Choir and Orchestra, Guy Deplus, and is a tribute to a major figure of 20th century contemporary music.
CD $17


DEBASHISH BHATTACHARYA - Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide Guitar Odyssey (Riverboat 1049; EEC) This is an extraordinary musical journey through the centuries of guitar playing in India. Using three unique guitars that BBC award winner Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya designed himself, each beautiful raga explores influences ranging from Gypsy to Sufi with deep sensitivity and free-flowing movement between past and present, tradition and innovation.
CD $16




Recommended Previously Listed Discs Reviewed by Bruce Lee Gallanter, Chuck Bettis & Mikey IQ Jones of DMG & Our friend David Beardsley ..

VINNY GOLIA - Music for Like Instruments; The B-flat Saxophones (Nine Winds 289; USA) This is the fourth volume in Vinny Golia's ongoing series of similar reed instruments and this disc features Vinny on soprillo, curved & straight sopranos, tenor & bass saxes; Matt Otto on tenor sax, Eric Barber on soprano & tenor saxes; Andrew Pask on soprano, tenor & bass saxes and Bill Plake on soprano & tenor saxes. This is an extraordinary series of discs that only someone as dedicated as Vinny Golia could pull off so successfully. I only know as few of these players previously from discs on (Vinny's) the Nine Winds and pfMentum labels. It is Mr. Golia's vision and composing that makes this music so special and distinctive. "Aladj" begins our journey and features some incredible, modern classical sounding orchestral harmonies. Vinny plays an intense solo on the soprillo, a custom-made sax even smaller (and harder to play) than a sopranino sax. Considering that this is a sax quintet, their sound is surprising richer, fuller and more diverse than one might imagine. The rarely utilized bass sax is larger than a baritone sax and has a deep, dark sound that is most distinctive. On "Dollar Sign Woman," the bass and/or bari saxes sound immense and powerful together. On the opposite of the tonal spectrum, those high pitched soprillo and soprano saxes sound incredible and bird-like flying around one another on "The Final Straw" as well as throughout various sections of this disc. What amazes me is the perfect balance between the complex writing/playing and the passionate playing/writing throughout. There is way too much great music here to describe it all so I will leave it up to you to explore this wonderful disc in your own sweet time. I look forward to the next edition of this series: The Double Reeds! - BLG
CD $15

PAUL SMOKER / DAMON SHORT QUINTET - No Stock options (Nine Winds 291; USA) Featuring Paul Smoker on trumpet & compositions, Chuck Burdelik on woodwinds, Ryan Shultz on bass trumpet, Ken Filiano on bass and Damon Short on drums & compositions. Dedicated to the late engineer, producer and arranger, David Baker, who also engineered some of these tracks. Ace trumpet master, Paul Smoker, has worked with a number of the best musicians around like Anthony Braxton, Vinny Golia, Ellery Eskelin, Adam Lane & Phil Haynes. Drum wiz Damon Short has co-led bands with Smoker for a while, this appears to be their fourth disc together. I don't know the other members of this fine quintet, except for bi-coastal contrabass great Ken Filiano, but I was still knocked out by this amazing disc nonetheless.
"To the Quick" begins with some an intense, full blast duo of trumpet and drums by the two co-leaders. When the rest of the horns and bass come in, the excitement goes up another notch. Whoa! Super tight, super quick and totally burnin'! Damon's incredibly powerful and inventive drums push the quintet higher and higher, so that when Chuck comes in tenor sax to solo, he has to reach for the stars. Ryan Shultz, who plays the rarely heard bass trumpet, also takes an incredible solo on his trombone-like sounding horn. The title piece features more well-written parts for the horns with inspired solos from each of them. I dig the way the other horns play underneath soloist at times adding layers of different parts at certain times. Sometimes solos will overlap while the rhythm team plays with each soloist simultaneously. Chuck plays some fine bass clarinet on "Goodbye, David" along with Ken's superb bowed bass. The tune is a poignant, ballad-like piece that is most sublime. "Obsidian" is their great epic-length work with outstanding horns soaring above the furious rhythm team. All of the horns take an impressive solo while the bass and drums swirl intensely below them. This is a consistently inspired and especially intense quintet with strong playing and writing as well. Nine Winds seems to taking its time with releasing new material these days. With great material like two discs just released, it seems to be well worth the wait. - BLG
CD $15

MANUEL MENGIS GRUPPE 6 - The Pond (Hatology 659; Switzerland) Featuring Manuel Mengis on trumpet & compositions, Achim Escher on alto sax, Roland von Flue on tenor sax & bass clarinet, Flo Stoffer on electric guitar, Marcel Stalder on electric bass and Lionel Friedli on drums. Like the liner notes says, when Manuel Mengis' debut disk was released on Hatology in 2005, it did take many of by surprise. Considering that I hadn't heard of any of the fine players in Manuel's sextet, the disc turned to be one of the finest, most exciting and creative gems of the year. So when I found out that this disc was about to be released, I was equally excited again. This disc is different, yet still filled with some great surprises.
"Tomorrow Will Be Colder" is a unique, sort-of jazz/rock hybrid with strong writing/playing for the sextet. I dig the harmonies for the muted trumpet and saxes with that great guitar, bass and drums interplay. The band is almost funky, yet keeps shifting the groove while Manuel takes a fine trumpet solo. What makes this special is the interlocking parts for both saxes, guitar and skeletal, yet ever-changing drums. "Furry Buddy" is blends some more progressive arrangements with some elegant roots rock like guitar parts and charming saxes and trumpet playing. "Hide and Seek" has some rather quirky, playful yet odd writing that keeps changing as it progresses. As it evolves some sections are free while others are well-charted. It winds down to a minimal percussion section about midway and then builds back up again to a laid-back but majestic conclusion. "Song for Violet" is also charming, but not completely engaging. What is interesting is the way there are layers parts that move in unexpected ways with gradual shifts in structure and ambiance. I dig the way the guitar is used more for colors and shifts in direction, than any soloing at length. I get the feeling that it will take some time to absorb some of the surprises that lie beneath the surface. This is certainly unlike anything else we've heard from the Hatology label before. - BLG
CD $20


MISS HIGH HEEL [TOM SMITH/WEASEL WALTER/JIM O'ROURKE] - The Family's Hot Daughter (Blossoming Noise 32; USA) Featuring Tom Smith, James Marlon Magas, Weasel Walter, Azita Youseffi, Jim O'Rourke, Bill Pisarri, Chuck Falzone, Odi M'Khan, Nandor Nevai and Mike Green."
There was a time before Jim O'Rourke was known for his minimalist obsessions, or Weasel Walter's no-wave jazz excursions, and Azita Youseffi's (Scissor Girls) turn to a singer-songwriter career. Miss High Heel is a missing link in the grossly undocumented experimental music scene in Chicago in the 90's. Tom Smith (To Live And Shave In LA) seems to be the glue that brought this mighty crew together, which includes, Smith (vocals & electronics), O'Rourke (synth), Walter (drums), Youseffi (synth), along with James Malon Magas (from Magas, on vocals), Bill Pisarri (from Flying Luttenbachers, on bass), Chuck Falzone (also from Flying Luttenbachers, on bass), Oki M'Khan, Nandor Nevai (who some our readers will recognize from his player piano cd DMG carries), and Mike Green.
Despite being familiar and a fan of most of the musicians on this disc, "The Family's Hot Daughter" definitely was a surprise to me. Weasels blast beats plowing through the synth work of O'Rourke & Azita, while Tom Smith's death metal sound collage cues the changes. Upon first listen I simultaneously wanted to laugh and puke (this is a good thing). The low end pummeling your eardrums, overblown vocals, and unrelenting blast beats, while the rest of the instruments squeak out behind the wreckage from time to time; almost creating a hybrid plunderphonic death metal. It literally sounds like you are playing several recordings all at once at random. As always, informative liner notes by Weasel Walter and Tom Smith that explains the history of the group. For the initiated noise enthusiast or fans of the featured artists. - Chuck Bettis /DMG
CD $14


LOU HARRISON - For Guitar: Por Gitaro, Suites for Guitar (Mode 195; USA) American composer Lou Harrison (1917-2003) passed on a few years ago at 85 and left us an amazing body of work. Mostly known for incororating the music of the Western Pacific rim in his music, Harrison was also a major composer of music for classical guitar in historical temperaments and Just Intonation tuning. Southern California guitarist and microtonal specialist John Schneider continues his survey of Harrisons music with premeire recordings of In Honor of Devine Mr. Handel with the HMC American Gamelan, Serenade and Suite for National Steel Guitar. Also included on this disk are Suite No. 1 & 2 and Ditone Set. For a Twentith Century composer, Harrison was surprisingly melodic for his time - no electronics, minimalism, noise or serialism here. Liner notes by Bill Alves, who also conducted the HMC American Gamelan. - David Beardsley / guest reviewer
CD $15

ADAM KOLKER With JOHN ABERCROMBIE/JOHN HEBERT/PAUL MOTIAN - Flag Day (Sunnyside 281184; USA) The tone of saxophonist Adam Kolker, who's worked with Ray Barretto, the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Maria Schneider, Freddie Hubbard, Judi Silvano, the Gil Evans Orchestra, Bobby Previte and others, makes another appearance as a leader, this time with guitarist John Abercrombie, percussionist Paul Motian and John Hebert (previously heard with Andrew Hill) on bass. On what may be the first released session with leg ends Abercrombie and Motian together, Kolker mixes his originals with Neil Young's Don't Bring You Down, Thelonious Monk's Played Twice and Last Night When We Were Young by Harold Alden. Overdubbed clarinet and flute create a cozy chamber music intro to Ties and Only One has a Monkish vibe. The presence of Motian lends the date a casual, freely flowing feel, the duet with Kolker at the beginning of the Alden tune is a real treat. - David Beardsley
CD $16


SITAAR-TAH! - Semimimimimin [Ltd Ed of 700 copies] (Archive 32; USA) "20-odd piece Japanese sitar ensemble Sitaar-Tah! released a 2CD set in collaboration with Keiji Haino a year or so ago that was a big hit here at DMG & with tastemakers across the globe. Since then, the group released a fantastic CD in Japan called "Tah!!!" which featured collaborations with Yoshimio of Boredoms, a tabla player from Asa-Chang's band, and a gamelan percussionist (we can't get it right now, so don't ask! You're on your own with that one, folks); now, we're presented with "Semimimimimin", a single 43 minute ascension this time featuring featuring a khoomei/Tuvan throat singer, and hoo boy, it does not disappoint. The group's sound swells gently to locust-swarm proportions, all the while featuring pulsating percussion and recurring raga-esque motifs while holding down more of a modern groove. Despite the sheer magnitude of the group and its sound, the piece never really gets aggressive; rather, its insistence continually rises, ebbs, and spirals upward to a liftoff which begins about two-thirds into the piece, when the throat singing begins and slowly but surely pushes things both upward AND forward. If you dug the Tah/Haino collab, you most definitely want this, and if you missed out on that one, don't sleep on this one - only 700 copies were pressed, and we've only got a handful. I should also mention the beautiful packaging - hand-screened in four colors with a full-color photo insert, all designed by Sunn O)))/KTL's Stephen O'Malley. Those who snooze lose, and trust me - this record is golden. Don't miss out! Recommended without hesitation! -Mikey IQ Jones.
CD $14

TOUMANI DIABATE - Mande Variations (Elektra/Nonesuch/World Circuit; USA) It's been twenty-odd years since Malian kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate's last solo album, "Kaira", and to say that the wait was worth it is a vast understatement. On "The Mande Variations", Diabate displays how far both he and his playing have traveled since that last solo venture in the mid-eighties - his playing, with a host of musicians across the globe such as Taj Majal, Damon Albarn, Roswell Rudd, Ali Farka Toure, and most recently Bjork, to name but a few, most certainly shines through in the eight pieces (six compostions, two improvisations - one of which is dedicated to Toure) performed here. What's astounding is how many moods Diabate is able to invoke in just a single piece; he effortlessly balances serene, reflective pulsations with scrabbling rhythmic intensity, lets his melodies rub shoulders with flurries of dissonance, and consistently prevents hat is a more-or-less a traditional repertoire on the album from sounding remotely "classical" despite being entirely so. Diabate is the sort of musician who can be called a master because he is able to make an album which is able to appeal to listeners of virtually any tastebud or genre without having to compromise one single note of his vision. This record is a classic in the making, and I cannot recommend it highly enough to EVERYONE reading this - from world music fans to solo guitar buffs to experimental pop heads to all of the modern classicists on the list. Breathtaking! -Mikey IQ Jones.
CD $17

and his first album from 1991 is back in print..

TOUMANI DIABATE - Kaira (Hannibal/Ryko 1338; USA) Toumani Diabate, like Foday Musa Suso, is regarded as one of the greatest living virtuosos on the kora, the 21-string West African harp-lute. Coming from a prominent musical family in the country of Mali, Diabate showcases his reputation as an inventive and lyrical performer on Kaira, his first solo album. The five pieces represent some of the classic kora works, and, at five to ten minutes in length, they allow Diabate plenty of time to stretch out and reveal his dazzling virtuosity. The tunes are all built around a solid bassline and a basic melodic theme around which Diabate improvises, producing a richly ornamented sound that is lively, fluid and engaging. - Backroads
CD $12



Four New Ones from Last Visible Dog Records:

RENDERIZORS - Submarine (Last Visible Dog 95; USA) "The band came together in 2000, featuring members of The Renderers (Brian and Maryrose Crook) and Sandoz Lab Technicians (Nathan Thompson and James Kirk). Held up for years due to technical faults with the recording of 'Twister,' the band has at last salvaged a classic NZ album as great (or better) than we might expect from the conjunction of these two bands. In sound, it is a heavy atmosphere; ponderous psychedelic country (if you consider The Renderers country), adrift in washes of weird noise improv that somehow fits the songs best. A better soundtrack for Inland Empire than Lynch managed, and perhaps a sister album (at least spiritually) to Bardo Pond's Amanita. For any who've loved the two bands that have merged here, nevermind the likes of The Terminals, Dadamah, Dissolve/Roy Montgomery, Flies Inside The Sun, Alastair Galbraith, etc., etc. Here's your next purchase."
CD $14

PRESTON ARI SWIRNOFF - Maariv (Last Visible Dog 125; USA) "Maariv is a collection of electroacoustic solo works composed and produced by San Diego-based musician, Preston Swirnoff. This collection was recorded at his studio, The Habitat, in 2004-2005. Swirnoff also collaborates with Ilya Monosov in primal rock unit The Shining Path and as Monosov Swirnoff, as well as producing heavy analog dub music as Habitat Sound System. Taking 20th century minimalism, ritual drone music, and early electronic and tape experiments as launching points, Swirnoff uses a variety of instruments (piano, tone generators, organs, guitar, tape machines) to create absorbing sound worlds that thrive on repetition, melody, noise, and a sense of the otherworldly. Swirnoff has cited Gyorgy Ligeti, La Monte Young, the SF Tape Music Center of the '60s, the haunting solo work of Angus MacLise, and old Jewish liturgical melodies as inspirations that inform the four pieces on Maariv. Each piece, though based on a simple premise and instrument set-up, weaves a complex aural tapestry rich in both texture and emotion."
CD $14

THE TERMINALS - Touch (Last Visible Dog 122; USA) "On their 1993 album Touch, the oft-ignored Terminals infuse their pop sense with layers of chaotic noise and bring the disparate styles to a head-on collision that lasts the length of the album. Touch is no perfect amalgam of noise and pop, but rather it's a rickety, wooden roller coaster of an album - it jostles you throughout, making it a better ride than any slick steel production. Stephen Cogle's vocals soon descend into the music, sounding like some bizarre combination of Mark E. Smith and Syd Barrett. It quickly becomes clear that, thanks to that voice and drummer Peter Stapleton's surreal lyrics in coalition with their music, The Terminals demand your full attention at all times. Touch is a record that is impossible to get to know. In fact, it spends all of its time preventing you from doing just that, while simultaneously demanding that you try. The result is an engrossing record on par with any of New Zealand's best." "This reissue has been remastered by Brian Crook and includes both the original CD-only bonus track and a Terminals cover of the Victor Dimisich Band's 'Native Waiter.'"
CD $14

UP-TIGHT - Live at the Lucrezia [DVD] (Last Visible Dog 95; USA) "52-minute DVD (all region, all format) of Up-Tight playing at their best. Incredible sound quality, the video is close-up and personal. Unless you have been lucky enough to catch this tremendous live band on tour, this is the only way you are going to experience the real thing! Black-clad and with an ominous aura created by their distorted guitar epics, burnt-out ballads and raucous mantric jams, Up-Tight are seriously not to be messed with. Heading up the second generation of Japanese psychedelic rock acts (following on from Fushitsusha, Kosokuya and Shizuka) they're one of the best live groups in Japan. As you might expect from their name, there's a chiselled intensity to their playing which displays some startling post-Velvets stances. With the power to lay down spontaneously loose, acid-fried and drugged garage psych jams of hypnotic guitar squall, and a line of impassioned and fathomless vocals that are capable of kicking you right in the gut, Up-Tight have a mesmeric feel to them, unmatched by any peers." 2-sided DVD that is both NTSC & PAL compatible.
DVD $17



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Welcome the 33Jazz label to our listings - and at a lower price than previously mentioned!

A great independent UK label which is home to some keen British players of Modern Jazz , including Theo Travis, who was asked to replace the late Elton Dean in Soft Machine Legacy. Not so much avant-jazz or 'difficult music' - but really beautiful stuff nonetheless!

HOWARD RILEY - Consequences (33Jazz 126; UK) Revered by a few but unknown to most, Howard Riley has been an uncompromising free music agitator since the late '60s, first in small group settings, later with bigger outfits, like the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, and solo performance. His music ebbs and flows between material with no obvious antecedents and recalibrated shades of early bop. He's frequently bracketed alongside Cecil Taylor, but while he can indeed generate a lot of notes, he plays them pianistically rather than percussively. A better reference point is the dissonant lyricism of Thelonious Monk. Such resonances are, however, the relatively minor tributaries of a broad river of trenchant individualism. Riley wanted Consequences, which was recorded in the studio, to retain the edgy no-deletions-possible spontaneity of live performance. Consequently (and hence the title), each of the twelve tracks is a first take, and every piece that was recorded during the session is included on the album.
Less abstract and more expansive than is Riley's frequent wont, the album is a page-turning, ten-fingered exploration of loosely pre-sketched, mostly upbeat material. Traces of Monk's close harmony note-clusters are heard from time to time, particularly on the title track and the overtly Monkish Trinkling, and there are fainter echoes of boogie (Enabling) and stride (Thinking Of Then).
Even at his most spontaneous, Riley has a gift for in the moment structure and on the hoof editing. Form and brevity together shape each tune: average track length is about five minutes and each piece resembles free association writing starting out from the sketchiest of plots. Stimulating and principled music. - Chris May, AAJ
CD $17

STAN TRACEY - Durham Connections: a selection from Duke Ellington's Sacred Concerts (33Jazz 49; UK) Featuring STAN TRACEY - piano; PETER KING - alto sax; ART THEMEN - tenor sax; ALAN BARNES - clarinet & alto sax; MORNINGTON LOCKETT - tenor sax; JAY CRAIG - baritone sax; GERARD PRESENCER - trumpet; HENRY LOWTHER - trumpet; TONY FISHER - trumpet; PATRICK WHITE - trumpet; DEREK WATKINS - trumpet; MALCOLM GRIFFITH - trombone; MARK NIGHTINGALE - trombone; ROGER WILLIAMS - trombone; ANDREW CLEYNDERT - bass; CLARK TRACEY - drums; JOHN ALTMAN - conductor plus WILL GAINES - tap dancer.
CD $17

JOHN MARSHALL/THEO TRAVIS/MARK WOOD - Bodywork (33Jazz 36; UK) Marshall Travis Wood is John Marshall, the accomplished British drum veteran, Theo Travis on tenor, soprano, and flute, and Mark Wood on guitars. Bodywork was formed when a bassist didn't show up for their recording date, and the three others spent the time improvising. Instead of trotting out the standards, they threw away the net altogether, and fashioned a collection of spacey and intriguing miniatures with no predetermination at all: no preset tempos, chord changes, melodies, anything. According to Travis, "One hundred percent of our attention was given to what the others were playing and that is why the interaction is so complete."
It is, too. Marshall, Travis and Wood listen to each other so well, and adapt so quickly, that the listener is hard-put to recognize these tracks as free improvisations at all. From the beginning to the end they play with intensity and good humor, but with nary a hint that they're making up every bit of it as they go along except for a general tendency for these pieces, as marvelously varied as they are, to share the architectonic of Marshall and Wood laying down a groove for Travis to float over. And just once, on Brainstorming, they seem just to be all shouting together. But there is no premium on interaction. Gonzo, for example, is a lurching mechanistic groove containing some split-second interplay between Travis' tenor (honking and soaring like Sonny) and the other two.
The other side of the coin is the shimmering soprano workouts of Eyes Like The Sun, the eerie and aptly-named Freefall, and the even-more aptly-named Quiet. Travis is clearly highly accomplished on all his instruments (to wit, his muezzin-calling tenor on Ozymandias and edgy lyricism on the title track), and combined with the otherworldly ambiance of Wood's guitar work (gorgeous on Olinda and the other quiet tracks), these tracks trip with the best of them. Sand dance has him playing it straight, setting off delicate flutters over Wood's ostinato.
Marshall has played in settings as varied as Soft Machine to John McLaughlin to Nucleus. You don't have to look too far for evidence of his versatility on this disc: on Ozymandias he is everywhere, a la Elvin Jones on Coltrane's Welcome; on the songs that shimmer, he is largely responsible for the atmosphere. On Gonzo and the more subdued groove of B-line he is rock-solid. Always he sets down foundations with extraordinary care and precision. There is one other track: No Hard Angel, which is the only one that doesn't seem to go much of anywhere. Otherwise this is a stunning example of the possibilities, lyrical and melodic, of free improvisation in the hands of top-fight musicians. Recommended! - Robert Spencer, AAJ
CD $17

THEO TRAVIS QUARTET + RICHARD SINCLAIR - Earth To Ether (33Jazz 115; UK) Quirky, quietly trippy and deliciously uncategorizable, Earth To Ether is an oddity (we like odd) even by Theo Travis' standards. The British flautist & saxophonist's varied activities include leading a hardworking on-the-road straight-ahead band, co-leadership of ambient/electronica outfit Cipher and free improv trio Marshall Travis Wood, and ongoing composing, performing and producing collaborations with Daevid Allen's Gong and singer/songwriter Anja Garbarek (daughter of Jan). Each of these diverse projects is stamped with Travis' trademark lyricism and love of lush, dreamy soundscapes.
There are elements of all these experiences here - plus guest contributions from prog/Canterbury vocalist/guitarist Richard Sinclair (Caravan, Hatfield & The North, Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper, Tony Coe); lyrics from Jonathan Coe, author of the acclaimed cult novel 'The Rotters Club', (The Munich Train, and This Frozen Time); astral jazz (The Mystic & The Emperor); in-the-Jobim-groove bossa-nova (Marti); shades of Eddie Harris' hot tenor soul-jazz (Full Moon Rising Part 2)... and a straight up cover of King Crimson's 21st Century Schizoid Man!
The wonder is that it all fits so seamlessly together. The three vocal tracks, it has to be said, have precious little to do with jazz, and should the jazz police discover them on this album, Travis will have some questions to answer. But they are enchanting pieces of music however you label them (progressive folk? the sound of psilocybin?). Sinclair's voice is one of a kind, and full of character, and he is an ideal vehicle for Coe's deceptively simple lyrics (young woman on a train, observed; the loss of a partner, wintertime), which gain resonance with every repeated listening.
CD $17

THEO TRAVIS QUARTET + ROBERT FRIPP - Double Talk (33Jazz 166; UK) The British jazz scene is filled with treasures often hidden from North American audiences. Woodwind multi-instrumentalist Theo Travis - who replaced Elton Dean in Soft Machine Legacy following the legendary saxophonist's unexpected passing in 2006 - has his fingers in so many pies, however, that it's surprising he's not better known on the west side of the Atlantic. Along with a string of solo recordings including Earth to Ether (33 Records, 2004) and ambient explorations with his collaborative group Cipher, Travis can be found working with everyone from space-rock jamband Gong to Canterbury keyboardist David Sinclair and Norwegian popster Anya Garbarek.
The sum total of many diverse parts, Double Talk remains a focused work that largely features Travis' quartet with the increasingly ubiquitous (and impressive) guitarist Mike Outram, Hammond organist Pete Whittaker and drummer Roy Dodds. Travis plays a variety of woodwinds, concentrating on saxophones, clarinets and flutes this time around. Using his Travis System of Ambitronics, he's able to increase the sonic potential of his instruments, owing a significant debt to King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, whose own Frippertronics and more recent guitar soundscapes have expanded one instrument into an entire orchestra. It's fitting, then, that Fripp himself should guest on three tracks - the extended and episodic Oblivionville, the ambient-textured The Endless Search and Pallendream, where abstract ambience and pulse, at times, intersect.
While earlier albums have alluded to Travis' broad musical concerns, Double Talk is his most integrated to date. The sixteen-minute Oblivionville opens with ethereal layers of flute loops and Fripp's soundscapes, leading into a definitively swinging and undeniably jazzy section for Travis quartet, where his warm tenor navigates its deeper changes with ease. Outram's spare, clean-toned but heavily-reverbed guitar solo adds a blues tinge, with Travis joining him for an in-tandem head that dissolves back into ambient territory, this time with Travis' clarinets creating a slightly more grounded atmospheric. Leading into an urgent section reminiscent of early-1970s Crimson (though not as harsh), Oblivionville finally returns to its swinging theme to close.
The Relegation of Pluto also references early Crimson with its riff-based head, but opens up to greater freedom for a solo from Whittaker that's egged on by Outram's jaggedly dissonant swells, moving ever- forward with Dodds' persistent but elastic pulse. Travis solo combines outside phrases with his ambitronics before dissolving into even more abstruse free play.
Travis also combines his improvisational mindset with pre-prog psychedelia on a clever version of Pink Floyd's early hit, See Emily Play, his ambitronics and wah wah sax adding the necessary space rock vibe. The album ends with the blues-based Portobello 67, which manages to evoke 1960s pop while, at the same time, injecting a tinge of the jazz vernacular. It may not be an album for purists, but for those whose tastes run the gamut from pop and rock to prog, ambient and, of course, jazz, Double Talk is an album that pays big dividends for an artist (and group) that deserves to emerge from hidden treasure status. - John Kelman, AAJ
CD $17

THEO TRAVIS QUINTET + TONY COE/JEFF CLYNE/JOHN MARSHALL - View From The Edge [2 CD expanded edition] (33Jazz 83; UK) When View from the Edge was first released in '94, it received significant attention in the UK, winning album of the year by the Jazz on CD readers/critics poll. Nine years later Travis revisits the recording in a deluxe two-disc edition that places the remastered disc alongside a bonus disc with alternate takes, two reconstruction/remixes and a live track. The result is an album that reflects Travis' roots and, at the same time, provides a perfect segue to his latest release, Earth to Ether.
The original album sports everything from the fairly straightforward approach of the long- form Fort Dunlop and Empathy, both of which have their own sense of swing, to an uptempo version of Cole Porter's Love for Sale, the only non-Travis tune of the set. On these tunes Travis demonstrates a lithe dexterity on tenor that puts him in league with another, perhaps better-known, British woodwind player, Tim Garland. Travis' compositions, however, demonstrate a different kind of breadth to Garland, with the title track a surprisingly aggressive piece that pits Travis against guitarist Mark Woods' rock-inflection and drummer Ichiro Tatsuhara's pounding rhythms; and Psychogroove a powerful funk tune with a convoluted theme and piano-driven bass line that provides a link between Travis' more clear-cut jazz leanings and the Canterbury style that would more inform his later work.
Cleverly combining a strong sense of the jazz tradition with more contemporary tendencies, this new deluxe edition of View from the Edge gives existing fans the opportunity to revisit the album that broke Travis onto the UK scene, while providing new listeners a context with which to approach Earth to Ether. - John Kelman, AAJ
2 CD set for $24

THEO TRAVIS QUINTET + TONY COE/JEFF CLYNE/JOHN MARSHALL - View From The Edge (33Jazz 19; UK) Disc One from above set.
CD $17

THEO TRAVIS QUARTET + JOHN ETHERIDGE - Secret Island (33Jazz 33; UK) Featuring Theo Travis on tenor & soprano sax; David Gordon on piano; Rob Stratham on bass; Marc Parnell on drums; with John Etheridge on guitar, Gary Hammond on percussion, Dave Sturt on bass and Andrew Small on drums.
CD $17

THEO TRAVIS With PALLE MIKKELBORG/DAVID GORDON/MARK WOOD et al - Heart Of The Sun (33Jazz 63; UK) Featuring Theo Travis on tenor & soprano sax, Palle Mikkleborg on trumpet, Dave Gordon on piano & organ, Stewart Curtis on clarinets, Mark Wood & Daevid Allen (1 track) on guitar, Stefan Weeke or Andy Hamill on double bass and Bjorn Lucker or Marc Parnell on drums. Theo Travis has toured with Gong and Soft Machine Legacy in the past decade. He is a gifted saxist, as well as a fine composer. What I didn't know was that he has some 8 discs out on the 33Jazz label. "All I Know" features Theo's haunting toned tenor up front, a smooth yet probing tune. "Northern Lights" features an eerie aura with ECM trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg's spaced-out, lush muted trumpet. Much of this music is lovely but perhaps not engaging enough for the hard-edged listener. - BLG
CD $17

THEO TRAVIS QUINTET - 2am (33Jazz 11; UK) THEO TRAVIS - tenor & soprano saxophone; DAVID GORDON - piano; MARK WOOD - guitar; ROB STATHAM - bass; CHIRO TATSUHARA - drums
CD $17

UNEARTHED [w/ VERYAN WESTON & JOHN EDWARDS] - Unearthed (33Jazz WM110; UK) John Grieve - tenor sax; Veryan Weston on piano; John Edwards on double bass and Stu Butterfield on drums, recorded live at the Vortex. London
CD $17

TONY BIANCO QUARTET - In A Western Sense (33Jazz 95; UK) Featuring Carlos Lopez-Real on alto & soprano saxes; Zoe Rahman on piano; Oli Hayhurst on bass and Tony Bianco on drums. We know of Tony Bianco from his work with Paul Dunmall and Dave Liebman, but not the other members of his quartet. Tony wrote all 11 of the pieces here and each one is over 7 minutes long. "ElFrin" opens and it has a great hypnotic repeating bass line groove. The quartet has an M-Base sound and circular groove on "Underplan". "Piper" has great, quick swinging theme with strong solos from the piano and alto sax. Bassist Oli Hayhurst plays powerfully and propulsively throughout this entire disc. "Fallen Angels" has another M-Base like theme with some superb soprano sax and a complex rhythmic scheme. This is a consistently engaging double disc set with a number of inspired solos and strong writing from Tony's pen. Considering the 3 of the 4 musicians are relatively little-known, this is a great set. - BLG
2 CD set for $24

HANS KOLLER BIG BAND With STEVE LACY/HENRY LOWTHER - London Ear (33Jazz 131; UK) Steve Lacy: soprano saxophone; Claus Stotter: trumpet and flugelhorn; Phil Robson: guitar; Hans Koller: fender rhodes; Gene Calderazzo: drums; Dave Whitford: double bass; Melinda Maxwell: english horn; Mike Williams: alto saxophone and flute; Julian Siegel: tenor saxophone and clarinet; Mark Hanslip: tenor saxophone; Dave Blackmore: baritone saxophone and bass clarinet; Tom Rees-Roberts: trumpet and flugelhorn; Henry Lowther: trumpet and flugelhorn; Dave Priseman: trumpet and flugelhorn; Alex Bonney: trumpet and flugelhorn; Jim Rattigan: french horn; Jeremy Price: trombone; Mark Bassey: trombone; Sarah Williams: bass trombone.
This may or may not be the last album Steve Lacy participated in before his death - it is certainly amongst the last, recorded as it was in December '03, only a few months before he died - but in any event it has another timely significance. In a month when the octogenerian US bandleader Gerald Wilson, fast becoming a national treasure after decades of neglect, has been a featured artist in the London Jazz Festival, the release of London Ear brings the good news that orchestral jazz continues to thrive, with quirkiness and relatively youthful passion, in the UK. (Hans Koller's more recent ten-piece collaboration with Evan Parker, a numerically smaller affair than this aerodynamically designed nineteen-piece juggernaut, but a band which has punched well above its weight in live performance, is also due for release shortly.)
Conceived by Koller, in the main, as a big band showcase for Lacy's offensive and on the brink improvising (to use the saxophonist's own descriptions of his work), Lacy is the featured soloist on seven of the eleven tracks. The tunes themselves are by no means the usual suspects, nor, with the exception of Lacy's own Blinks, ones you would immediately call out if asked to select material for a Lacy big band project. Four are composed by Koller, with Miles Davis, Ray Noble and - definitely out of the left field this one - Warne Marsh contributing one apiece (respectively, Filles De Kilimanjaro, The Touch Of Your Lips, and Marshmallow, the latter given some very un-Tristano School assault and battery by honorary Londoner Gene Calderazzo).
Filles De Kilimanjaro, presented here in two versions, one lasting nearly ten minutes, the other about seven, takes up a good chunk of the 69-minute playing time, and barely a second is wasted. Despite the comparatively gargantuan size of his ensemble, Koller retains the essential structure and spirit of Davis' original quintet recording - the egg-on-the-boil, bubbling ostinato shared by bass and drums, the tentative top line, the bipolar vibe of vulnerability and strength - and Lacy and guitarist Phil Robson contribute stonkingly good solos to each version. On the first version - its additional playing time taken up by an inventive four-minute orchestral dissection of the theme - both players stay pretty much inside the score, with Robson sounding at times like Wes Montgomery filtered through Sonny Sharrock. On the second version, each hits a more acerbic and atonal groove. Both approaches are winners.
The two Kilimanjaro tracks bookend the album, after Koller's brief, overture-like curtain raiser London Ear, its blowsy French horn and trombones brass quartet reminiscent of a Shaftesbury Avenue pit band (although not at all jaded). There are strong solos from players other than Lacy and Robson - Julian Siegel's elegantly saturnine tenor on The Touch Of Your Lips, Henry Lowther's fleet and eager Marshmallow - but Koller, happily, allows the ceaselessly creative and unpredictable Lacy to take most of the solo spotlight. How much he is missed today. - Chris May, AAJ
CD $17

HANS KOLLER GROUP With CHRISTINE TOBIN - Lovers And Strangers (33Jazz 64; UK) CHRISTINE TOBIN - vocals; HELEN TUNSTALL - harp; HANS KOLLER - piano; DAVE WHITFORD - double bass; CORRINA SILVESTER - percussion; STUART LAURENCE - drums
CD $17

HANS KOLLER JAZZ ENSEMBLE With HENRY LOWTHER - New Memories (33Jazz 70; UK) GENE CALDERAZZO - drums; CORRINA SILVESTER - percussion; DAVE WHITFORD - bass; HANS KOLLER - piano; SARAH WILLIAMS - bass trombone; MARK BASSEY - trombone; JEREMY PRICE - trombone; ALEX BONNEY - trumpet; DAVE PRISEMAN - trumpet, flugelhorn; HENRY LOWTHER - trumpet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet; JIM RATTIGAN - french horn; DAVE BLACKMORE - bass clarinet, baritone saxophone; MARK HANSLIP - tenor saxophone; JULIEN SIEGEL - tenor saxphone, clarinet; MIKE WILLIAMS - alto saxophone
CD $17

HANS KOLLER TRIO - Wild Roses (33Jazz 122; UK Hans Koller, piano; Dave Whitford, bass; Gene Calderazzo, drums. Composer/orchestrator/pianist Hans Koller's most groundbreaking achievements to date have been his big band projects, which have picked up and carried forward in the UK the playful and quirky iconoclasm of the late, marvellous Loose Tubes. Mentored early on by veteran experimentalist Michael Gibbs, and building too on Gil Evans' textural inventions, Koller's big bands--which feature emergent young stylists alongside major names like Stan Sulzmann, Julian Siegel, Henry Lowther, and Evan Parker--are in the tradition but always pushing and tickling the envelope.
This new trio album with bassist Dave Whitford and drummer Gene Calderazzo, regular small group and big band compadres, is a more conventional and rough and ready affair than Koller's big bands. Recorded on-the-hoof in a day last summer, it's a romping, exuberant, standards and head arrangements shaped affair, with consistently dynamic, high energy contributions from all three players (only Bill Frisell's midway Throughout and Koller's closing Paris Blues cool and slow down to the relatively reflective).
Standouts are Herbie Nichols' 2300 Skidoo and The Third World, Mingus' gorgeous Peggy's Blue Skylight, and Koller's Wild Roses and Paris Blues, the first elliptical, the second lushly lyrical. The two Monk covers, Pannonica and Bye-Ya, don't go anywhere we haven't been before, but they're boss tunes, performed with muscle and respect.
Unapologetically in the pre-EST piano trio tradition--in energy, expansiveness and in-the-moment abandon--Wild Roses harks back to the great trio albums Hampton Hawes made with Red Mitchell and Chuck Thompson in the mid '50s. But unlike Hawes, and as an added bonus, Koller gives generous space to his partners on the bass and drums, and these two men fill it with plenty of their own fire and passion. Not a revolution then, but a good time ruckus to be sure. - Chris Day, AAJ
CD $17

HANS KOLLER With ROB TOWNSEND/DAVE PRISEMAN et al - Magic Mountain (33Jazz WM109; UK) HANS KOLLER - piano; DAVE PRISEMAN - trumpet; SARAH HOMER - bass clarinet; JIM RATTIGAN - french horn; AMY GAMLEN - alto saxophone; JEREMY PRICE - trombone; ROB TOWNSEND - sax / flute; DAVE WHITFORD - bass; STUART LAURENCE - drums
CD $17

NEVERLAND [HANS KOLLER/ROB TOWNSEND/DAVE WHITFORD/STUART LAWRENCE] - On The Opening Day (33Jazz 57; UK) HANS KOLLER - piano; ROB TOWNSEND - tenor & soprano saxophones; DAVE WHITFORD - double bass; STUART LAWRENCE - drums
CD $17

JIM RATTIGAN QUARTET With HANS KOLLER - Jazz French Horn (33Jazz 113; UKJim Rattigan, French horn and Wagner tuba; Hans Koller, piano and Fender Rhodes; Dave Whitford, bass; Gene Calderazzo, drums.
Say what? While the French horn is not exactly unknown in jazz - step forward players Julius Watkins and John Graas and orchestrators Gil Evans and Miles Davis, amongst others - it's still enough of a novelty to raise at least one of your eyebrows.
But this is by no means a novelty album. It's actually a very beautiful and credible set of covers (Linmere is the only original), by turns limpid and muscular, on which Jim Rattigan entirely overcomes the technical challenges of the instrument. The French horn can sound cumbersome, with a turning circle about the size of a supertanker's, but Rattigan coaxes out elegant, fast flowing lines throughout the set, and produces a lush and chilled tone (with occasional contrasting snatches of raucous vocalisation) for which the word mellifluous might have been invented. In his fleet-fingered hands the instrument sounds like a nimble, muted trombone. And very nice too.
The Wagner tuba, however, which Rattigan plays on an uptempo (and then doubletimed) reading of Johnny Mercer's Autumn Leaves, is undeniably a novelty. Designed to architect Albert Speer's, I mean composer Richard Wagner's, specifications, for use in his epic operas, it hasn't previously got any closer to jazz than Bruckner, Richard Strauss, and Stravinsky. It sounds like a slightly deeper-pitched French horn and negotiates the rapid tempo with apparent ease. - Chris May, AAJ
CD $17

CATS CRADLE [MAGGIE NICHOLS] - Cats Cradle (33Jazz WM104; UK) Featuring MAGGIE NICOLS - lead vocals - piano; JULIA DOTLE - double bass - vocals; ANN DAY - drums - percussion; NONY ARDILL - guitar - vocals; RUTH MARSHALL - violin - trombone - vocals
CD $17

LOVERLY [MAGGIE NICHOLS et al] - Life (33Jazz WM111; UK) MAGGIE NICOLS - vocals, keyboards; PAUL JOLLY - clarinet, bass clarinet, sop / alto / baritone sax; BEN HIGHAM - trumpet, tuba, percussion; MEL DAVIS - piano, vocals, percussion; JULIA DOYLE - bass, percussion; DAVE FOWLER - drums; JOHN MORROW - percussion; with TERRY DAY - vocals, percussion, bamboo reeds; AURA VINCE - vocal; YADLEY DAY - vocals, percussion
CD $17

FRANK GRIFFITH NONET With HENRY LOWTHER - The Coventry Suite (33Jazz 112; UK) FRANK GRIFFITH - tenor sax / clarinet; BOB MARTIN - alto sax; MICK FOSTER - baritone sax; ADRIAN FRY - trombone; HENRY LOWTHER - trumpet / flugelhorn; STEVE FISHWICK - trumpet; TOM CAWLEY - piano; DAVE CHAMBERLAIN - bass; MATT FISHWICK - drums; TRUDY KERR - vocals; GARETH LOCKRANE flute
CD $17

NICK SMART'S BLACK-EYED DOG With STAN SULZMANN/JOHN PARRICELLI /CHRISTINE TOBIN et al - Remembering Nick Drake (33Jazz 127; UK) Nick Smart: trumpet, flugelhorn; Martin Hathaway: alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet; Stan Sulzmann: tenor and soprano saxophones, flute; John Parricelli: guitar; Dave Whitford: double bass; Paul Clarvis: drums; Dave Hassell: percussion; Christine Tobin: vocals (3,6); Simon Colam: piano (3); Ray Warleigh: alto saxophone (7); Nick Mailing: vocals.
Back in the day, during his tragically short life ('48-'74), British songwriter Nick Drake couldn't get arrested. The country's folk-rock movement, of which he was perceived to be a part, was booming, and Drake had the support of its two most influential movers and shakers: Chris Blackwell, owner of Island Records, and Joe Boyd, producer of Fairport Convention, Incredible String Band, John Martyn, and just about everybody else who counted. But Drake and his music were too fragile and too deeply poetic for the hustle or the times, and he died, either by suicide or accidental overdose, an underappreciated success d'estime.
But songs as real and remarkable as the ones Drake wrote never die; they just keep resonating quietly, biding their time, waiting for the moment. Over the last few years, the jazz world has begun to rediscover them. Charlie Hunter's inclusion of Day Is Done (sung by Norah Jones) on his '01 album Analog Playground lit a small fuse, and Brad Mehldau's current Day Is Done album digs deeper into that same sublime song. And now, from strictly out of the left field, the relatively unknown British trumpeter Nick Smart has come up with Remembering Nick Drake. It's the dog's veritable cojones, a small masterpiece that captures perfectly the glowing autumnal beauty of Drake's music and recreates it in jazz settings. The album deserves to be the making of Smart, who has yet to enjoy much personal recognition, despite some A-list live and on record session credits - including the Stan Sulzman Big Band, Jazz Jamaica All Stars and Spiritualized.
Most of Smart's arrangements are instrumental - distinguished by a very fine band of soloists and ensemble players - with vocals included only sparingly. Christine Tobin contributes strong and characterful readings of River Man and Black Eyed Dog, and Smart's co-producer Nick Mailing adds his voice on occasion. A string quartet tops and tails Way To Blue, and extra brass is added on Saturday Sun.
We'll never know, but I think Drake would have loved this album. The essential quality of his music - its delicate and somehow very English lyricism - is preserved and even enhanced, and Smart is respectful without being slavishly literal. It's a beautiful, beautiful piece of work and one that should give almost as much pleasure to people who are unfamiliar with Drake's songs as it will undoubtedly give to the cognoscenti.
CD $17


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LAST COPIES - AT A BARGAIN PRICE!

ALBERT AYLER - Holy Ghost; Trane was the Father. Pharoah was the Son. I was the... [10 CD Box Set and Large Book] (Revenant 213; USA) [New lower price!!!] By 1958, Albert Ayler and his horn had made some rounds: from boy prodigy to teenage member of Little Walter's Blues Band, from 'Little Bird' of Cleveland to featured U.S. Army Band soloist. Then he resolutely set out to forget everything he ever learned about how to properly play the sax so he could channel symphonies to God out of his horn. Seeking nothing short of Truth in music, Ayler shortly became THE catalytic force in defining the sound of the tenor in Free Jazz, and was a heavy influence on John Coltrane's later work. Holy Ghost is the first comprehensive attempt to construct a monument in sound to Albert Ayler, including his never-before-heard first and last recordings, book-ending rare and unissued music from every stage of his career. 9 CDs of rare and unissued recordings, 208 page full color hardbound book, new essays by Amiri Baraka, Val Wilmer, and other Ayler scholars, 10th bonus disc with Ayler as a member of the U.S. Army Band, all housed in a lavish 9.5" square by 3" deep Spirit Box cast from a hand-carved wooden original." [Shipping charges will be above our normally stated guidelines for this item, as you can well imagine - it's HEAVY!] Limited Edition of 5000 copies [and we are near the end of our allotment!] [originally $100]
10 CD Box Set + Book $80

JOHN CAGE/EBERHARD BLUM - 62 Mesostics Re Merce Cunningham [2 CD set] (hat Art 6095; Switzerland) A mesostic (a poem legible both horizontally and vertically) Cage created this piece, Mesostics re. Merce Cunningham, a quickly read text performable only if shouted [the noted contemporary classical flute player Eberhard Blum is the voice here] as an hommage to his longtime significant other. The mesostic is a poetic form championed by John Cage (in his "Mesostics for Merce" and "Reading through the Cantos"): you select a word or phrase, write it as a vertical column, and then write words you find relevant on the horizontal, your horizontal words sharing one letter with your key vertical word. It sounds fussy, but it's not - a mesostic is basically an acrostic with more flexibility. Aurally, it is between his anarchic art and his elegantly didactic texts, bending his words into a mirror of his music by fracturing conventional expectations and transforming didactic prose into elusive poetry.
[originally $30]
2 CD Set $15 [7 for 6 SALE]


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IMAGINATIONAL ANTHEM [V.A.] - Volumes 1-3 [3 CD box set] (Tompkins Square 1899; USA) "Imaginational Anthem Vols. 1-3 brings together all three volumes of the essential acoustic guitar series. Released in October 2005, Imaginational Anthem was featured on NPR's All Things Considered, and received 4 stars from Uncut ('Entrancing'), All Music Guide ('Masterful') and Mojo ('Groundbreaking'). Rolling Stone's David Fricke wrote, 'the history and beauty here speaks for themselves, at the perfect volume.' Jon Pareles wrote in The New York Times, 'old and new, the music meditates on blues, Appalachian music, raga and ragtime, and traditions are transfigured by a deep love for the sonority of the acoustic guitar.' Released in June 2006, Imaginational Anthem Volume 2 opened with the gorgeous 'River Of Heaven' by Tompkins Square recording artist James Blackshaw, and featured unreleased recordings by legends such as Michael Chapman, Fred Gerlach, Billy Faier, Peter Lang and Robbie Basho. The album was supported by a national Arthur Magazine-sponsored U.S. tour with Blackshaw, Sharron Kraus and Sean Smith. Pitchfork wrote, '[IA2] pairs some of the leading lights of the current avant-folk subculture with unearthed vintage folk rarities.' Tompkins Square has been steadily mining the genre known as 'American primitive guitar' with a string of acclaimed releases." Other artists include: Max Ochs, Brad Barr, Suni McGrath, Harris Newman, Harry Taussig, Jack Rose, Steve Mann, Glenn Jones, Gyan Riley & Terry Riley, Bern Nix, Bob Hadley, Janet Smith & Steve Mann, John Fahey, Kaki King, Sandy Bull, Jose Gonzalez, Jesse Sparhawk, Sean Smith, Christina Carter, Sharron Kraus, Richard Crandell, Ben Reynolds, Greg Davis, Nathan Salsburg, Steffen Basho-Junghans, Cian Nugent, Matt Baldwin, Mark Fosson, George Stavis, R. Keenan Lawler and Shawn David McMillen.
3 CD Set for $27

Also available individually...

IMAGINATIONAL ANTHEM [V.A. With GEORGE STAVIS/RICHARD CRANDELL /STEFFEN BASHO-JUNGHANS] - Vol 3 (Tompkins Square 1905; USA) "I struggle to recall any recent comps that glide together as seamlessly as these Tompkins Square projects, and Volume Three is no exception. Contemplative, intricate, a simple but ornate school of folk that hangs effortlessly between the ancient and the avant-garde -- I could listen to this stuff all day." --John Mulvey, Uncut. "NYC's Tompkins Square label releases Imaginational Anthem Volume Three, the third in a series of compilations devoted to acoustic guitar mavericks past and present. As with Volumes 1 & 2, the 3rd volume features extraordinary young talents such as Cian Nugent (Ireland), Ben Reynolds (UK), and Shawn David McMillen (Austin, TX) alongside unsung heroes from decades past, such as banjo master George Stavis, who recorded an album for Vanguard in the '60s; Richard Crandell, whose rare private press works will hopefully now come to light; and Mark Fosson, whose lost 1977 Takoma album was recently issued." Other artists include: Greg Davis, Nathan Salsburg, Steffen Basho-Junghans, Matt Baldwin and R. Keenan Lawler.
CD $14

IMAGINATIONAL ANTHEM [V.A. With ROBBIE BASHO/PETER LANG/MICHAEL CHAPMAN] - Vol 2 (Tompkins Square 1424; USA)
CD $14

IMAGINATIONAL ANTHEM [V.A. With JOHN FAHEY/SANDY BULL/BERN NIX] - Vol 1 (Tompkins Square 531; USA)
CD $14


WEST COAST CONSORTIUM - Mr. Umbrella Man (Wooden Hill 19; UK) "West Coast Consortium's late 1960s 45s were sophisticated, lavishly-orchestrated, close harmony pop affairs. At heart, though, they were a garage psychedelic pop band -- as can be heard on Mr. Umbrella Man, which assembles the pick of the four demo albums they made between 1967 and 1969. Now heard for the first time, this astonishing cache of recordings reveal that, left to their own devices, West Coast Consortium ditched the brass and strings arrangements of their singles in favor of Mellotrons, fuzz guitars, Vox Continental organs and wah-wah pedals, while hitherto unreleased nuggets like 'Santa Monica Bay,' 'Aimie (Sing Your Song For Me)' and the woozy 'Mr. Umbrella Man' show a parallel debt to the lo-fi, DIY approach of the Beach Boys circa Smiley Smile and Friends."
CD $22


WAYNE SHORTER - Footprints: 1959/1961/1967 [DVD] (Salt Peanuts 44613; Germany) [NTSC Region 0 (all Region)] 5 tunes from live broadcasts with Art Blakey and Miles Davis Quintet
DVD $16


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