A Short Stack of Great Discs from:

Engine Records: Fred Anderson Trio, Warren Smith's Composers Workshop & Tom Abbs' Frequency Response! Two Classic Reissues from Nessa: Bobby Bradford + Spontaneous Music Ensemble & Roscoe Mitchell's Congliptious! Billy Bang & Shoji Hano! Joe Morris / Simon H Fell / Alex Ward! Peter Kowald & Vinny Golia! Zimology Quartet! ..and Bruce Lee's Vision Fest 14 Review!



*************


Downtown Music Gallery FREE In-Store Performance Schedule Continues with:


This Sunday, June 28th at 6pm:
TOM HAMILTON & BRUCE EISENBEIL!
Pogus CD Release Celebration for this wonderful Guitar & electronics Duo!


Sunday July 5th Double-Header:

6pm: ADAM LINSON & TOM BLANCARTE!
Two Amazing Contrabassists in a Rare & Intimate Setting!

7pm - SKYE STEELE & JOHN HADFIELD!
Extra Special Violin & Percussion Duo!


Sunday, July 12th at 6pm:
RAS MOSHE & THE INTERSTELLAR EXPLORERS!


Sunday, July 19th at 6pm:
STEW CUTLER Solo Guitar!


Sunday, July 26th at 6pm:
JASON KAO HWANG & STEVE SWELL!
Ace Violinist & Tremendous Trombonist!


Sunday, August 2nd at 6pm:
GIACOMO MEREGA / NOAH KAPLAN / MARCO CAPPELLI!
International Electric Bass / Saxes / Guitar Trio!


**************




FRED ANDERSON With HARRISON BANKHEAD/TIM DAISY - Staying In The Game (Engine 29; USA) "Staying in the Game starts off with the 24-minute explosion 'Sunday Afternoon' with Fred Anderson weaving in and around the active rhythm section of Harrison Bankhead and Tim Daisy. The energy starts slow and builds to the fire Fred Anderson is known for. To highlight Fred's melodic prowess in different contexts, the second tune 'The Elephant and the Bee' duo piece finds Fred playing off the low end thunder and high scratches of Bankhead's bass. '60 Degrees in November' shows the trio at full speed again, followed by a re-working of one of Fred's tunes, 'Wandering,' done here with a delicate thumb piano intro by Harrison Bankhead who jumps to the cello for the second half of the song. 'Springing Winter' is another duo, this time with Tim Daisy's drums bubbling up from beneath Fred's sax. The album closer, 'Changes and Bodies and Tones,' starts with a Tim Daisy solo, followed by a feverish high string bass idea, upon which Fred drops a majestic and blues melody. And they roll out on that vibe, a hot and thoughtful set recorded two days before Barack Obama's election victory."
CD $14

WARREN SMITH And THE COMPOSER'S WORKSHOP ENSEMBLE - Old News Borrowed Blues (Engine 27; USA) "Percussionist extraordinaire, Warren Smith, has been leading evolving versions of this ensemble since the 70's. This current version is a 15-piece ensemble featuring Cecil Bridgewater, Joe Daley, Jack Jeffers, Andrew Lamb & Jeribu Shahib in their ranks. On Old News Borrowed Blues Warren Smith gathers the Composer's Workshop Ensemble to explore his approach to music, which he refers to as 'a little bit inside, a little bit outside.' Starting the album out with an energetic big band opener, 'Lock the Toilet Door,' the band follows up with 'Rivers State Suite,' a polyrhythmic multi-segment tone poem inspired by a trip to Nigeria. 'The Hungarian Gypsy Song' features a haunting melody on soprano sax with tasteful backup from the rest of the band. After another more traditional big band number, 'One More Lick for Harold Vick,' the album closes with the sprawling avant 'Free Forms 1-4,' a less structured open piece with intro bass work, an over the top baritone sax solo followed by solos from other horns and vibes, and a closing poem read by Warren Smith. Although Warren Smith has been an integral part of the Downtown network for more than forty years, he has recorded infrequently as a leader. This disc in particular is certainly his crowning achievement!" - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $14

TOM ABBS & FREQUENCY RESPONSE - Lost & Found (Engine 31; USA) "In his third outing leading the Frequency Response group, Tom Abbs (Yuganaut, Cooper-Moore's Triptych Myth, Andrew Lamb Trio) takes you through a mesmerizing mix of free-jazz, groove, third wave and noise. From the heart wrenching title track 'Lost,' which congers the spirit of Albert Alyer, to the Afro-rhythms and pentatonic melodies of the title track 'Found,' the music flows from one spectrum to another with ease. Harnessing the power of percussionist Chad Taylor (Chicago Underground, Mark Ribot's Spiritual Unity Band), violinist Jean Cook (Gena Rowlands Band, Ida), and reed man Brian Settles (Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up), Abbs' haunting compositions will pull at your heart strings and make you want to dance."
CD $14


BOBBY BRADFORD/JOHN STEVENS SPONTANEOUS MUSIC ENSEMBLE With TREVOR WATTS/JULIE TIPPETTS [DRISCOLL]/RON HERMAN/BOB NORDEN - Vol 1 & 2 [2 CD set] (Nessa 17; USA) Trumpeter/composer Bradford has done much of his best known work with Ornette Coleman, John Carter, John Stevens, Trevor Watts and his own Mo'tet. These recordings are the result of his first encounter with drummer John Stevens and saxophonist Trevor Watts in 1971. In addition to these two, this edition of the SME included Julie Tippetts (Driscoll) on voice and guitar, Bob Norden on trombone and Ron Herman on bass. The instrumentation moves from full sextet to trio in the varied program. Part of this marathon session was issued on Freedom in the '70s. Though John Stevens died in 1994, Bobby Bradford continues producing great music in the Los Angeles area and on world tours.
2 CD set for $24

ROSCOE MITCHELL With LESTER BOWIE/MALACHI FAVORS/ROBERT CROWDER - Congliptious (Nessa 02; USA) Roscoe Mitchell's second recording under his name from 1968 was a stunning departure by presenting instrumental solos by bassist Malachi Favors, trumpeter Lester Bowie and saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell on the first side of the LP. The second side was a longer group performance where Mitchell, Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors are joined by Robert Crowder on drums. For this CD reissue, the original LP is augmented by two tunes recorded for single release, but first issued on the limited set Art Ensemble 1967/68. New remaster of the original 4 track tapes sound great.
CD $16


BILLY BANG/SHOJI HANO + KIMIE SAKAKI - East Meets West: Four Seasons (Heart Lord/Kootown; Japan) Featuring Billy Bang on electric violin, Shoji Hano on drums with Kimie Sakaki on koto. Over the last few years the Heart Lord label has released a handful of fine discs from legendary Japanese drummer Shoji Hano including three duos with Peter Brotzmann, one solo drums effort and now this fine duo/trio with New York legend Billy Bang on violin along with their guest Kimie Sakaki on koto. This disc features four pieces, two shorter (under 10 minutes) and two longer ones. Each piece is named after one of the four seasons. Billy Bang loves to play with drummers and has already recorded William Hooker, Abbey Rader, Dennis Charles and Kahil El' Zabar. Billy and Shoji make ideal partners as they swirl and interweave their notes with creativity, passion and power. Shoji never overplays as he dances lightly around the drums. When koto player enters on the third track, he also works with the duo playing with exquisite grace which brings out the more lyrical side of Mr. Bang. Both string players pluck similar notes in a more melodic fashion and exchange ideas superbly. On the final long piece Billy and Shoji exchange ideas at a quick pace, casting a web of notes around one another in a most astonishing fashion, the flow of ideas in non-stop. Outstanding through and through. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
[SPECIAL LIMITED TIME PRICE; normally $25]
CD $18


JOE MORRIS/SIMON H FELL/ALEX WARD - The Necessary And The Possible (Victo 116; Canada) Featuring Joe Morris on acoustic guitar, Simon H Fell on contrabass and Alex Ward on clarinet. What is one Yank and two Brits doing playing together up in Quebec for a Sunday afternoon concert? The answer can be found in the music itself as well as in the title of the CD which was inspired by a play by Harold Pinter. Joe Morris first performed and recorded with Simon H Fell in 1998 with a fine disc on Incus with Alan Wilkinson and Paul Hession. This particular trio played and toured for one week around the time of the Victo Feat last year (2008). This disc captures their magical set from the last Victo Feat and it is a most rewarding listen.
For most of Joe Morris' 70 plus recordings, he is playing either electric guitar or acoustic bass with a bit of banjo or acoustic guitar on rare occasion. This is an all acoustic trio and a splendid one it is indeed. As I listen to this I marvel at the way ideas are tossed around at such a quick rate. There is no leader to this trio as all three men converse in a common and exciting language of international improvisation. The warm and well-recorded sound of this trio is closer to a chamber group yet the playing is more intense and has that edge-of-your-seat type of thrill. At times it seems as if there is a race going, yet it is not a competition since the exchange of ideas is so seamless and continuous. There seems to be a series of little stories or scenes that emerge from the music and combination of musicians. It does take some serious and attentive listening in order to hear all that is going on here. Alex Ward is the youngest member of this trio and has recorded infrequently. He is an incredible clarinet player nonetheless and we can hear influences as diverse as Jimmy Giuffre and John Carter or perhaps AACM note-benders like Anthony Braxton or Roscoe Mitchell. Simon H Fell remains of the finest contrabassists & composers in Europe (currently living in France) and it is great to hear him pushing the envelope here. This is one of the best improvised sets I've heard in quite a while. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $15


ZIMOLOGY [ZIM NGQAWANA et al] - Live At The Bird's Eye, Switzerland (Zimology 01; EEC) Featuring Zim Ngqawana on saxes, flute, kalimba & piano, Nduduzo Makhathini on piano, Herbie Tsoreli on contrabass and Ayanda Sikade on drums. I had been hearing great things about South African saxist Zim Ngqawana for the past few years and was knocked out by his performance at the Vision Fest just a few weeks ago (June, 2009) where he played with Matt Shipp, William Parker and Nasheet Waits. I wasn't sure what to expect from his South African quartet but was enthusiastic about hearing their disc from 2007 which we now have for sale. It was recorded at the Bird's Eye Club in Basel, Switzerland and is dedicated to Makaya Ntshoko, legendary drummer for the Jazz Epistles, who moved to Basel and helped pave the way for future South Africans to have their music heard outside of the homeland.
Starting off with Mongo Santamaria's classic "Afro Blue" which was made popular by John Coltrane, this is a fine, laid back version with some superb, impassioned solos from Zim on sax and Nduduzo on piano. Zim takes a marvelous Trane-like solo, screaming intensely at times reaching deeply inside to expel his inner spirits with a sparkling, McCoy-like piano solo to conclude. The rest of the pieces were all written by Zim and he is also a fine composer, often with that South African sound. Zim and his quartet also sing and harmonize superbly on some of these tunes adding something special to this already potent brew. "Biological Warfare" has a familiar melody made popular in the sixties and includes more impressive solos from Zim and his extraordinary pianist, both are burning it down as is the great rhythm team. Too much! "Meditation 1" features some a righteous melody played on the kalimba, while the epic-length "DJ Zim Suite" is a long, rich piece with some amazing, harp-like piano from Zim and Nduduzo both. It turns out that Mr. Ngqawana has four or so more discs out which we hope to get in the near future. In the meantime check this great disc out for its special, spiritual sounds. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $15


**************


Yo! I hadn't heard of Italian guitarist Ninni Morgia before he dropped off some five fine discs off at our store last week. And as is always the case, here is yet another inspired guitarist to pop up from out-of-nowhere and leave us with some strong weird & wacky discs. I will review these as I get the time as each seems to be engaging it own way... BLG

Ninni Morgia (b. in Catania, Italy) is a gifted 'guitar player' - like Haino Keiji and Derek Bailey are 'guitar players'. He is most well known for playing in the NYC and Italian improv and experimental music scenes. He has played in the noise-rock band White Tornado with whom he recorded Leg (mini CD, Lollypop rec., 1996). He currently lives in New York and plays with Daniel Carter, Peter Evans, Blaise Siwula, Bonnie Kane, Tim Garrigan. He currently is a member of Quivers, Wizard Trio, La Otracina and the Trauma Unit, as well as a trio with Kevin Shea called The Right Moves.


CONJURA - Conjura (Etnagigante/Why Not? 01; Italy) Conjura features Ninni Morgia on guitars & voice, Roy Paci on trumpet & synth, Fred Casadei on double bass and Francesco Cusa on drums. Out-to-lunch yet fun/tight jazz/rock weirdness from Italy!?! Turns out that the drummer on this disc, Francesco Cusa, can be found on nearly a dozen discs on other Italian labels like Improvvisatore Involontario, Auand & Amirani. This music is an odd conglomeration of punk/jazz with fractured rhythms, tight & twisted passages and unexpected shifts in direction. Besides playing some intense trumpet, Roy Paci plays some Pere Ubu-like synth solos that add even more no wave coolness to the session. There is some twisted & distorted vocals on a few of these pieces that fit with the rest of the manic/frantic energy here. Both guitarist Morgia and trumpeter Paci consistently come up with inventive ways to use and abuse their respective instruments and the odd arrangements are also filled with crazed surprises. Yet another unexpected delight from the Italian Underground Scene. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $13

NINNI MORGIA With ROY PACI et al - I Am Two (Etnagigante 02; Italy) This is mostly a solo guitar effort that Ninni recorded in 1999. I features Ninni on guitars, Farfisa, percussion, electronics & voice with guests Roy Paci on trumpet, Gaetano D'Angelo on sax and Emmanuel Maccaronne on piano. Actually this is a rather scary, noisy solo effort using tortured guitar, occasional twisted screams from the distance, jazz trumpet and other selected sounds dropped in from time to time. Each piece creates a different and often dark mood. Snips of feedback, the hum or drone or scraped strings are all used cautiously. Ninni gives special thanks to Derek Bailey and Keith Rowe for their use of freedom and we can hear their influence in the way Ninni uses his guitar more as noise explorer rather than dealing with any melodic fragments. His approach to the guitar changes on each piece with layers of selected sonic fragments floating or at times piled up upon one another but never too densely. Trumpet, sax & piano are also used in spirts to add some sad melodies to the proceedings. This is an example of another fascinating oddity that has been saved from obscurity by the grubby hands of your friends here at DMG. - - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $13

THE RIGHT MOVES [NINNI MORGIA/STUART POPEJOY/KEVIN SHEA] - The End Of The Empire (Ultramarine 01; Italy) Second album for the Brooklyn trio led by guitarist Ninni Morgia (ex White Tornado, ex La Otracina), in this recording with Stuart Popejoy (Bassoon) on bass and Kevin Shea (ex Storm and Stress & Talibam!) on drums. Compared to their first album, which featured Peter Evans on trumpet, 'The End of the Empire' is more various and eclectic. The eight tracks open up to psychedelic and ambient music besides free jazz, marked by Ninni Morgia's visionary guitar, Stuart Popejoy's pulsating industrial bass and Kevin Shea's pyrotechnic drums that haven't sounded so inspired ever since his Storm and Stress era. Fans of John Coltrane, Faust, Throbbing Gristle and US Maple among others will love this album.
CD $12

THE RIGHT MOVES [NINNI MORGIA/PETER EVANS/KEVIN SHEA] - This Is Your Message [ltd ed CD-R] (TigerAsylum; USA) Like Peter Brotzmann's "More Nipples," this record's near-claustrophobic intensity is a testament to the powers of these players: Peter Evans (Evan Parker Quartet & MOPDTK), Kevin Shea (ex-Storm & Stress & Talibam!), and Ninni Morgia. Together they bend sound through the inter-stellar combine of inhuman sacrifice and blood-sweating robotics. Champions of extended technique and sheer no-wave noise, the trio rips the encyclopedia of sound wide open like Paul Bunyan shaped the Rockies. Drink it in - this is God's country.
CD $10

TRAUMA UNIT [NINNI MORGIA/ED CHANG/JADE LARSON] - Live At WKCR [ltd ed CD-R] (TigerAsylum; USA) Feel the heat of the Bushwick avant-garde on this mind-shattering recording from Brooklyn's Trauma Unit. The group consists of sax player Ed Chang (Spin-17), guitarist Ninni Morgia, and drummer Jade Larson (Miracle of Birth). This live recording from 2006 captures the trio unleashing all the demons of hell in an unrelenting symphonic orchestration of pure sound and feeling - a serious dust-up.
CD $10


**************


VINNY GOLIA/PETER KOWALD - Mythology (Kadima 20; Israel) Featuring Vinny Golia on various woodwinds and Peter Kowald on contrabass & voice. This was recorded in a studio in Los Angeles in 2000 and unreleased until now. Both of these legendary musicians are monster improvisers with hundreds of sessions to their names. The late Peter Kowald from Wuppertal, Germany was amongst the finest players and a world traveling explorers for much of his professional life from the 1960's onwards. Vinny Golia runs the great Nine Winds label and plays more woodwinds well than just about anyone else. For this disc Vinny plays a different instrument on just about every piece and there are 14 pieces found on this disc. Hence all of the pieces are under seven minutes, yet each is wonderful in its own way. What is amazing is that Mr. Kowald who just plays acoustic bass is a perfect match for Golia since both men are inventive sonic explorers and the bass and woodwinds work so well together. There is one piece for bass clarinet and pizzicato bass that reminds me of Eric Dolphy and Ron Carter in the sounds flow back and forth superbly. For the next piece Peter switches to arco bass, so that the bent notes of the bass clarinet swirl around the bowed bass in a strong tapestry. There are some duos that involve opposite extremes like piccolo and prepared bass, yet they still work since the duo are able to weave their quick lines so tightly. The duo of taragato and drone arco bass & voice is especially great and most haunting. Each piece works since they keep switching sounds or approaches. Best improvised duo disc I've heard since the Joelle Leandre/George Lewis offering way back when...(actually only two weeks ago). - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $15

CARL MAGUIRE FLORICULTURE With OSCAR NORIEGA/STEPHANIE GRIFFIN/JOHN HEBERT/DAN WEISS - Sided Silver Solid (Firehouse12 04-01-009; USA) Featuring Oscar Noriega on clarinets & alto sax, Stephanie Griffin on viola, Carl Maguire on piano & Fender Rhodes, John Hebert on bass and Dan Weiss on drums. This is the second release from Carl Maguire's Floriculture band and one of this month's finest under-recognized treasures. We got this promo a couple of months ago so I've played it quite a bit and am still amazed by its fascinating arrangements and playing. It is also one of those complex gems that has taken me a while to fully appreciate. Carl has picked a strong line-up with the great & under-recorded Oscar Noriega and perhaps one of New York's finest rhythm teams, both of whom's names keep popping up on other important dates: John Hebert: for Mary Halvorson, Gebhard Ullmann, Joe Fiedler & Steve Lehman, while Dan Weiss has worked with Dave Binney, Joel Harrison & Rudresh Mahanthappa. Don't know much about Ms. Griffin but she does sound fine throughout this disc.
A great deal of craft and consideration went into the making of this disc. Starting with "Rope/Rim...", Oscar's clarinet and Stephanie's viola play haunting harmonies while Carl taps out minimal but suspense-filled piano and Dan plays those swell, Tony Williams-like swirls. On "Modern Enunciator" Carl repeats this phrase on piano while slowly adding other lines, the reed & viola also repeat the line which starts to mutate into something else. This is a modern variant on M-Base where a few different lines revolve around one another simultaneously. The central voice here is Mr. Hebert's amazing contrabass playing which repeats certain parts of the line yet consistently evolves through the pieces changes. What is most interesting about this is the way Carl strips certain parts down to their skeletal frame while one of the soloists add juxtaposed lines on top. Everything seems to build in waves with logical lines connecting the parts and the players. Mr. Maguire rarely solos but when he does his solos move in unexpected ways allowing for the other players to add their own inter-connected lines. For me, this is the future of progressive music: music which we continue to marvel at with each close listen since there are so many layers of ideas buried beneath the surface. Another wonderful thing about this disc is that it is long (over an hour) and some of the best pieces are towards the end, so you should take the time to listen to the entire disc more than once and file it away. Be patient & pay attention and the treasures will be revealed. Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $14

MIKREH [MIKE GOLEN/MICHELLE WEBB/ADAM JENNINGS] - The Same Sun Is Shining Now As Was Shining Then (Power Silence; USA) Mikreh features Michelle Webb on guitars, Mike Golen on guitar, mandolin, tapes & drum machine and Adam Jennings on tapes & bass. Michelle Webb is an experimental guitarist from New Mexico whose two previous solo discs mysteriously appeared in our mail-box and received good reviews from yours truly. I can't tell you much more about her or her two collaborators here except for this: "Collaborative effort between experimental guitarist Michelle Webb and Chicago's Winters in Osaka. Music inspired and informed by violence in the middle east. A ritual bath used for spiritual purification."
The first piece "Myo" is the longest clocking in at over 20 minutes. It is a most haunting work with floating, ghost-like, Loren Connors-esque guitars and distant drones. A doomsday prayer for the fallen folks of the world, possibly? "Chytrids" speeds up the mutated guitars into a quicker, more intense blast of noise. Sometimes noise guitar sounds like the disembodied voices of lost spirits crying out. Often quite disturbing yet also most effective. It is hard to tell that this is a trio offering since it could easily be done by one person. Still I find much of it to be quite mesmerizing. Michelle Webb will playing at The Stone on July 17th at 8pm with her own quintet, perhaps some of the mystery will be revealed then? - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $14


MATTHEW HALSALL - Sending My Love (Gondwana 01; UK) This is the first release by Gondwana Records -- a new independent jazz label based in Manchester, UK. Influenced by the likes of: Blue Note, Impulse, Strata East, Black Jazz, Soul Jazz, Jazzman and Tribe Records. Sending My Love is the debut release by Mancunian trumpeter/composer Matthew Halsall. Halsall has already proven his worth as a multifaceted musician -- he picked up the trumpet at just 6 years-old after being taken to a jazz gig by his parents, and from the age of 13, Matt has toured the world playing trumpet in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Australia, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Holland and America. In more recent years, he has become increasingly drawn to creating his own music, and spends most of his time composing, recording and performing live. His current line-ups include: trumpet, saxophone, flute, harp, piano, double bass and drums. Matt has been described as a spiritual, free and meditative player who picks up from where the '60s modal explorations of Alice Coltrane, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis left off. Sending My Love is an album descended from modal jazz forms -- the form allowing greater scope within the compositions for the performers to express themselves. Initial listening suggests that the pieces here are firmly rooted in the traditions of these jazz forms. Upon further listening, what becomes apparent is that Matthew's playing is informed by a vast and varied appreciation of many musical styles: DJ Cam, Guru, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets and St. Germain are as likely to be heard as Pharoah Sanders or Yusef Lateef. These influences filter through the ensemble's performances, but at the same time, the band retain a strict understanding and use of jazz forms. The end result is a jazz record of authenticity which will appeal not only to the jazz community, but also to fans of the laid-back sounds associated with Tru-Thoughts and Ninja Tune. The album features a superb ensemble of Manchester-based jazz musicians, which includes Jon Thorne (bass) (Lamb, Badly Drawn Boy) and Roger Wickham (flute/saxophone) (Nightmares On Wax, Aim, Rae & Christian). Both players are also members of Matt's other band The Magic Bop, a collective of the Northwest's finest jazz musicians. Other members include: Luke Flowers (drums) (The Cinematic Orchestra), John Ellis (piano) (The Cinematic Orchestra, DJ Vadim), Sneaky (bass) (Fingathing, Mr. Scruff) and Stan Ambrose (harp) (Super Numeri).
CD $15

NAT BIRCHALL - Akhenaten (Gondwana 02; UK) This is UK-based Nat Birchall's debut for Manchester jazz label, Gondwana. Nat has earned a reputation over the past 30 years as an impeccable saxophonist. Initially inspired by the great horn men of Jamaica such as Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook and Cedric Brooks, Nat found his way to the music of Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, which in turn directed the development of his own voice on his instrument. His sound has been favorably compared to Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and latter-day Charles Lloyd. His debut, 1999's The Sixth Sense, earned a four-star review in Jazzwise, finding its way into the "Albums of the Year" list. He has collaborated with Turkish folk-jazz percussionist Akay Temiz, has performed in a groundbreaking, mid-'90s jazz-hop group Corner Crew, and the heavy roots reggae troupe of Dubdadda. Currently performing with Matthew Halsall's various adventurous ensembles, Arun Ghosh's Indo-jazz ensemble, Jon Thorne's Oedipus Mingus project, and guitarist Gary Boyle's quartet, Nat is continually sought-after as a respected session musician. Akhenaten, meaning "effective spirit of Aten," was a Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt who attempted to compel the Egyptian population in the monotheistic worship of Aten, the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology. Over the four compositions that make up Akhenaten, Birchall's mastery of the saxophone flows throughout. The familiar jazz line-up of double bass, piano and drums perfectly complement his lead, and combined, they exude irresistible brilliance and a knowledge of the music's roots. Akhenaten is a spiritual journey that draws from aspects of the work of John and Alice Coltrane and evokes the reverent hush of Sanders' "Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord," but all channeled through Nat's absolute focus. The opening motif of "Nica's Dance" sets the tone for the album, with a vibe that unfolds into a Coltrane-informed session. The sparse, free-form beginnings of second track "A Prayer For..." are given focus by Nat's horn, gradually developing into the laid-back, syncopated groove that is the album's title track, "Akhenaten." Finally, the fourth piece "Many Blessings," brings the album to its close with an air of sublime optimism. This is a softly glowing album of mystical jazz that flows like a river full of sunlight.
CD $15


MUSLIMGAUZE - Cobra Head Soup [2 LP set] (Staalplaat ARCHIVE 08; Germany) Unreleased material. Gatefold 2LP, black & white cover limited to 500 copies.
LP $36

MY CAT IS AN ALIEN - Mort Aux Vaches [ltd ed] (Staalplaat MAV 61; Germany) Lenticular cover, limited 500 copies
CD $24

YELLOW SWANS - Mort Aux Vaches [ltd ed] (Staalplaat MAV 60; Germany) Limited edition 500 copies, packaged in a 3-panel cardboard relief sleeve with 3-D artwork. Four untitled tracks recorded in Amsterdam, May 17th, 2007
CD $24


SUNN 0)) & PANSONIC//STEPHEN BURROUGHS//ALAN VEGA - Che/13 Crosses, 16 Blazin' Skulls/Goodbye Darling [10"] (Blast First Petite 21 EP; UK) Another release in Blast First Petite's series of limited edition 10" vinyl EPs celebrating Alan Vega's 70th birthday, and this one is as serious as a heart attack. The hooded ones of Sunn O))) touch branch wands with the unsmiling Finlanders of Pan Sonic for six epic minutes. Joe Preston intones the incantation as inscribed by the seer, Vega. Thunder cracks and rumbles, lightning bolts rend the sky, Valkyries ride the storm. Flip the disc, and you'll hear a live-in-hell version of "13 Crosses, 16 Blazin' Skulls," sci-fi electronic metal-machine music first heard on Vega's cruelly ignored 2007 album, Station. Lost soulman of the Black Country and previous head of Head Of David, Stephen Burroughs presents a Gira-esque acoustic version of "Goodbye Darling" -- his first visit to a recording studio in nearly a decade. Twisted tunes in an inside-out package. Beautifully-rendered "hidden" drawings by Coulter Jacobsen: drawn and re-drawn from memory. Limited edition of 3,000.
Track Listing:
A1. Sunn O))) & Pan Sonic - Che (6:00)
B1. Alan Vega - 13 Crosses, 16 Blazin' Skulls (5:55)
B2. Stephen Burroughs - Goodbye Darling (4:06)
LP $16


RADIO FREE ROBOTS - Radio Free Robots (ArtKillArt 01; EEC) On white vinyl with silkscreened cover and dot-matrix paper insert. "Radio Free Robots (RFR) is a radio show entirely conducted by robots (spoken through synthesized voices). The moderator, Macha, runs a set of highly selected guests (robots). Robots specialists but also the everyone robot are discussing topics as diverse as robots' sociology, cyber terrorism, computer linguistic, biocomputing, the place of human being within society, the weather, autonomous objects. The radio show being located in an undefined future, the topics are debated on a prospective or historical point of view; meaning that the era where the show takes place allows a historical sight over the contemporary topicality and as well anticipates a future of the future. The name Radio Free Robots refers cynically to the infamous US propaganda program fomented by the CIA : Radio Free Europe."
LP $25

TRISTAM CARY - Trios for Synthi VCS3 Synthesizer and Turntables (ArtKillArt 02; EEC) Performed by Vincent Epplay and Samon Takahashi. "Composed in 1971. First performed at the Cheltenham Festival, 1971, the composer taking the VCS3 part and Messrs John and Robert Cary (the composer's sons) the turntables parts. Trios associates improvisation within a set of defined paramaters. Trios was played for the first time in France since its creation, at the occasion of the Sonorite Festival in Montpellier, September 2006. This record includes a notebook of 4 b/w pages with original score notes, instructions for playing, 16 VCS3 patches, and two 33RPM records on which 2x16 sound events are recorded. About the composer: Tristram Cary (1925-2008) was a pioneering English electronic composer. With Peter Zinovieff and David Cockerell he founded Electronic Music Studios (London) Ltd which created the first portable synthesizer, the VCS3 (1969) and was then involved in production of such distinctive EMS products. About the performers: Vincent Epplay is a visual and sound artist who also composed music for films. His main purpose is to create situations for listening by staging sound and interrogating its mode of distribution and reception. Samon Takahashi is a visual and sound artist based in Paris, France. His practice is devoted to visual art, sound art and music. His work is so-called 'transdisciplinary' using all types of media. His main interests or obsessions concern language, means of communication, pseudo science, architecture, isolated landscapes and classification. There is not a clear style that links his different works but a methodology, a sort of empirical logic, a common skeleton." Numbered edition of 500 copies.
LP $25


MATT SHOEMAKER - Erosion Of The Analogous Eye [Ltd Ed] (Helen Scarsdale Agency 15; USA) "The studio of Matt Shoemaker is alive with electricity. Impossibly complex wirings channel signal in and out of analog synth modules, an array of curious aluminum boxes with unmarked knobs, slinkies strung from ceiling to floor creating a set of giant spring reverb units, accelerometers attached to consumer electronic errata, and even a few conventional tools like guitar stomp boxes and a bruised computer. For all of the convoluted engineering that goes into Shoemaker's equipment, the resulting mesmerism in sound appears effortless and strangely organic. Shoemaker has enjoyed a semi-obscure career through his polymath activities that bridge such electronic experiments with a choice library of globe-trotted field recordings and a broad knowledge of avant-garde cinema. For Erosion of the Analogous Eye, Shoemaker waves his hands about his laboratory to construct an ever-evolving album for mutant dronemuzik. His electrical seas of synthetic bristling undulate with placid regularity, only to find Shoemaker contorting these brain-melting psychedelics into cancerous, atonal bellows. Out of his allotropic shifts, one can find swells of irradiated static transform into the graceful chime of temple bells; and electrical phase patterns slip into deep forest murmurings dotted with narcoleptic birds calls. On one hand, this album is prescient of the revival for progressive electronics currently underway in the flood of US post-noise projects; it's easy to triangulate this between Emeralds and Heldon. But on the other hand, Erosion of the Analogous Eye is the continuation of where Shoemaker had begun with his early work on Trente Oiseaux with its grotesque exaggerations of field recording into this beguiling piece of art. The artwork on Erosion of the Analogous Eye features unique hand-dyed abstractions mounted onto letterpressed paper. This has warranted a very small pressing of 300 copies."
CD $15


KLAUS HUBER - Erniedrigt - Geknechtet - Verlassen - Verachtet (Neos 10809; Germany) Performed by Anne Haenen, mezzo-soprano; Theophil Maier, tenor and speaker; Paul Yoder, bass baritone Treble solo from the Tolzer Knabenchor; Schola Cantorum Stuttgart SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart; SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg Matthias Bamert, conductor Kenneth Jean/Burkhard Rempe/Arturo Tamayo, co-conductors. "This important oratorio by Klaus Huber is both a plea and a defense, the concomitant aspects of the work dealing with physical and spiritual hunger that can not be met by any system, nor by any power, or contained by any set of relations. It asks that we heed others, and create a social working environment of the here and now: 'for heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that one man took and with which he sowed a whole field.' The hope for a life free from violence, free from fear, is articulated in actual historical events. Verses from the Bible, transmuted by Ernesto Cardenal into a political manifesto, are combined with voices off into a complex and ambivalent collage that may now be heard anew, examined again, and discussed once more."
CD $21

WOLFGANG RIHM - La Musique Creuse Le Ciel (Neos 10721; Germany) Featured works: "La musique creuse le ciel" music for two pianos and large orchestra (1977/1979) and "Uber-Schrift" for two pianos (1992/2003); performed by GrauSchumacher Piano Duo, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Peter Rundel. "Music from various phases in the output of Wolfgang Rihm, combined into a diptych by one of the most renowned piano duos of our times. Scene One: flexing the muscles with twenty digits, or how does one smash the glasshouse of serialism without rendering one's fingers bloody? Scene Two: some years later (the scabs have gone, but the scars remain): some clever twitching. Sounds typed in create an ever-denser kaleidoscope of colors and spatial effects. The glass cage -- if it ever existed -- has disappeared. Music creates its own structure, a flexible one too. A dazzling tinsel sphere."
CD $21


SIMON HOLT - A Book Of Colours (NMC 128; UK) Featured works: "A Book Of Colours," "Black Lanterns," "Klop's Last Bite," "Nigredo," "Tauromaquia." Performed by Rolf Hind, piano. "Over the last three years Holt has revised all of his older piano works, written several new works, and collected a number of them together. He now plans to take a break from piano music for the next few years, while he concentrates on orchestral and music theatre works. All the works on this disc are premiere recordings. Rolf Hind's recording of Holt's only piano concerto - eco-pavan for piano and ensemble -- is on NMC D094 Although Simon Holt is perhaps best known for his ensemble music -- notably the NMC CDs by the Nash Ensemble and BCMG -- he often refers to himself primarily as a piano composer. An accomplished keyboard player himself, Holt considers the fourteen piano works written between 1980 and 2005 to be the very core of his output, and perhaps the works closest to his heart. This recording of his piano music is an important document of his work."
CD $22

THEA MUSGRAVE - Turbulent Landscapes (NMC 153; UK) Featured works: "Turbulent Landscapes," performed by BBC Symphony Orchestra/Osmo Vanska; "Songs for a Winter's Evening," performed by Lisa Milne, soprano; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Osmo Vanska; "Two's Company," performed by Evelyn Glennie, percussion; Nicholas Daniel, oboe BBC Symphony Orchestra/Jiri Belohavek. "Rich, powerful musical language and a strong sense of drama have made Thea Musgrave one of the most respected and exciting of living composers. Born in Edinburgh in 1928, she studied at the University of Edinburgh then in Paris, where she spent four years as a pupil of Nadia Boulanger, before establishing herself in London with her orchestral, choral, operatic and chamber works. In 1970 she was named guest professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which anchored her increasing involvement with the musical life of the United States; in 1971 she married the American violist and opera conductor Peter Mark and she now lives in the US. This CD was recorded live at the BBC Proms and is produced in association with BBC Radio 3 Turbulent Landscapes was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Each of the six movements is inspired by various paintings by Turner. When questioned about being a 'woman' composer, Thea's reply is 'Yes, I am a composer, and I am a woman but rarely at the same time'. Two's Company was written for Evelyn Glennie and Nicholas Daniel. Songs for a Winter's Evening was commissioned to celebrate Robert Burns on the 200th anniversary of his death in 1995."
CD $22

JONATHAN HARVEY//SPECTRUM - Bhakti (NMC 01; UK) Performed by Spectrum (conductor Guy Protheroe). "A mystical exploration of the Sanskrit Hymns of the Rig Veda for chamber ensemble and quadraphonic tape by Jonathan Harvey, whose long-standing connections with IRCAM and studies with Pierre Boulez are perfectly demonstrated here." "Anybody who is genuinely concerned about the future of British music should unhesitatingly add Bhakti to their record collection." -- Tempo 1989
CD $22


HENCK BADINGS - More Electronic Music [2 CD set] (Basta 9172; EEC) "For years we have heard little of the music by Henk Badings, in any case in the Netherlands. That is why the four-CD box set Popular Electronics that was released by Basta Music in 2004, came as such a pleasant surprise. For this overview included a few of the early electronic compositions by Badings: the ballet music 'Kain en Abel,' commissioned by the Holland Festival 1956, 'Evolutionen' from 1958 -- another work for ballet -- and the 'Variations Electroniques, music for an animation film from 1957. Thus these compositions -- that up until now were only known to a handful of collectors and experts -- have been made accessible in the best way possible. Now there is another exemplary release with compositions that Badings realised in the studio of the Philips Research Laboratories. This release not only documents the history of electronic music, but also open up the oeuvre of Henk Badings... Upon his death in 1987, composer Henk Badings (b. 1907) left behind an eclectic oeuvre: symphonies, operas, sonatas, cantatas and compositions for brass bands. He also earned the distinction of having composed what is considered the first electronic music composition in Dutch history, the 'radiophonic opera' 'Orestes' (1954)." Includes 32-page booklet with pictures and detailed notes on each composition.
2 CD set for $25


OLGA NEUWIRTH & ICI ENSEMBLE - Composer In Dialogue - 2 Audio Films: Who Am I?/No More (Neos 40807; Germany) "The ICI Ensemble features an impressive 12-piece music ensemble with Olga Neuwirth on laptop & bicycle machine. The first audio film is titles "Who Am I?" and Ms. Neuwirth takes lines of dialogue or lyrics by Frank Zappa and then twist them into odd shapes. Some voices use German text while the music constantly shifts between various genres possibly inspired by the ever-transmuting music of Mr. Zappa as well. The music is often kaleidoscopic as it is twisted to odd shapes and then altered again and again. Some of the text comes from Franz Kafka, Jules Michelet & Ms. Neuwirth herself, some of it in German and some in English. There is a near constant eerie mechanical drone that appears throughout this first piece. No More" is the second audio film and it is even better, more orchestral with snippets taken from 'We're Only in it for the Money' by The Mothers of Invention as well as the 'Batman' theme. The transitions between the twists and turns are more smooth on this piece hence the piece works as a whole even better. One of the freshest and most successful works of contemporary classical music that I've heard in recent memory with some humorous moments moments as well. What more could you want?!?" - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $20


KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI - Complete Choral Works (Dux 649; EEC) Performed by Polish Chamber Choir Schola Cantorum Gedanensis/Jan Lukaszewski. "Looking at Krzysztof Penderecki's choral output, one cannot help noticing that in comparison with other, highly diverse forms of his artistic utterance, it constitutes the most homogenous whole. While it is possible to point to various stylistic references that inspired many strands of his musical itinerary, his works for a cappella choir, spanning as they do almost five decades, appear to be very coherent in terms of their expressive features and also stylistically homogeneous. The reasons for this state of affairs may be found both in the sound matter itself and the specific sound possibilities of an ensemble of human voices, to which Penderecki deliberately assigned an idiomatic value, and in the 'external' inclinations of his choral compositions which are something far more than an ideological inspiration. The organic homogeneity of these works stems first and foremost from Penderecki's mature compositional craft which is manifested not only in the masterful command of many stylistic practices from previous periods (evident also in his pieces in other genres) but above all in the expressively perfect synthesis of numerous musical styles and trends. All of Penderecki's a cappella choral compositions on this CD go a long way to show that reconciling broadly-understood traditions with openness to contemporary avant-garde trends is possible and can bring aesthetically impressive results."
CD $19

KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI - Music For Chamber Orchestra (Dux 678; EEC) Featured works: "Adagietto From 'Paradise Lost,' A Version For English Horn And String Orchestra" (1979), "Chaconne In Memoria Del Giovanni Paolo II" (2005), "Intermezzo For 24 Strings" (1973); "De Profundis From 'Seven Gates Of Jerusalem'" (1998) "Serenade For String Orchestra" (1996-1997); "Sinfonietta Per Archi" (1992) Agnes Dei From 'Requiem', A Version By Boris Pergamenschikow For String Orchestra" (1994) "3 Pieces In Baroque Style After Sound-Tracks To 'The Saragossa Manuscript' For String Orchestra" (1963). Performed by: Albrecht Mayer, English horn; Artur Haufa, violin; Artur Paciorkiewicz, viola; Jerzy Klocek, cello; Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra/Krzysztof Penderecki. "The artistic vision of the world communicated by Krzysztof Penderecki in his compositions has fascinated successive generations of music lovers for half a century. Starting with the debut work Psalms of David (1958) up to his latest piece, the Concerto for Horn and Orchestra (2008), the music of Poland's most distinguished composer has never ceased to surprise listeners with its originality, the perfect balance of form and the careful selection of ideological message. It seems, however, that far more intriguing is the continuity of the aesthetic program that can be clearly traced in Penderecki's works marking the successive stages of his artistic development. They include experiments with the individual sound idiom as well as retrospective stylistic syntheses which are rooted in the natural laws guiding the development of an artist's personality. The deep aesthetic background of all these developmental stages, however, is constant. Indeed, it seems that gaining full insights into this background not only allows for the objective assessment of Penderecki's entire oeuvre but is also a precondition for its appropriate reception and understanding."
CD $19


JOE JONES - Fluxus Ain't Dead (No Label JJ01; USA) 2009 repress, originally released in 2004. Gray-area bootleg issue, with paste-on xerox sleeve. No details on the source or date (or anything). But another essential document of the Fluxus-associated mechanical music machines of Joe Jones. If you're interested in Orchestral Sound Art, no wall will stand in the way of acquisition... "The music machines of legendary Fluxus artist Joe Jones are a paradox of prepared sounds voicing astoundingly human bursts of free-flight sonic caterwaul. Why is it that a roomful of musicians can't muster the sound of these music machines? The sounds herein could make tears flow like rivers from countless communal bangs. The sounds from this tape are so rare that many historians claim they don't exist. Jones' orchestras were debuted on Yoko Ono's 'Fly' and he was a curio to the Beatles. 'Joe Jones left his home in Tucson Arizona, bought some California grass.' Not him? Who cares. Bring the Noise."
LP $15


IANNIS XENAKIS - Electronic Music (EMF 03/102; USA) Superlative and long desired reissue of Xenakis's early electronic works, including the in-demand pieces from his his pioneering Nonesuch album Electro-Acoustic Music. Issued in collaboration with France's INA-GRM, the studio where the first 3 of these compositions were realized. Although it only makes up a tiny portion of his total composed work to date, Xenakis's tape works are as legendary and significant as those of Schaeffer, Henry or Stockhausen. Powerful, mind expanding listening -- this release certainly will rate as one of 1997's most important experimental musical documents. Includes the following works: "Diamorphoses" (1957): "a study of white noise and its graduations through the process of densification." "Concret PH" (1958): "This very short work is a sound continuum without a single break. Xenakis pre-recorded crackling embers from which he extracted very brief (one-second) sound elements. Then he assembled them in huge quantities, varying their density each time. This work can be compared to his instrumental preoccupations concerning 'clouds of sound'." "Orient-Occident" (1960): "one of the major masterpieces for tape...conceived as a music for a film by Enrico Rulchignoni." "Bohor" (1962): "dedicated to Pierre Schaeffer...an extraordinary and deafening sound continuum where the listener is invited, in a figurative sense, to hear bells chime while standing inside them!" "Hibiki-Hana-Ma" (1970: ""Xenakis recorded and reworked sequences played by an orchestra, a biwa, and a snare drum but never rendered them unrecognizable. Distributed over 12 tracks, the work's sonorities were elaborated in function of a highly pronounced spatialization. The title of this piece means 'reverberation -- flower -- interval." "S.709" (1992) recorded with the GENDYN program: "Both the sounds produced in the piece as well as the global evolution of the composition are literally unheard of: despite the abstract nature of the processes involved and their mechanical nature, the Xenakis sound world is immediately recognizable."
CD $14


LUC FERRARI - L'Oeuvre Electronique [10 CD + Book Box Set] (INA GRM 6017-26; EEC) "It would be safe to say that Luc Ferrari needs no introduction and that this 10 cd retrospective is just a taste of the vastness of his work, but that would be too easy. What is brought to the surface here is the little known fact of the importance of his wife, Brinhild Meyer-Ferrari, in the creation of his work through their collaborations. She states, "he was stimulated by seduction". This stimulation allowed his music to fearlessly explore territories many in the field did not want to touch (perhaps many stood back from fear learned from the puritanical academic practices). According to the booklet, the rigid ivory tower brought to light his issues with following rules (just like all the greats, but it probably helped that his father was an anarchist). What makes Ferrari stand out from his contemporaries, such as Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, was his - pushing of the music further into the realms it had not been before. He did this by incorporating the power of the flesh into his music like he was the Serge Gainsbourg in a parallel electro-acoustic universe; infusing erotic imagery in the sounds and occasionally artwork on his releases. Ferrari was not only seduced by natural and synthetic sounds but also of the human voice as well. Interweaving his audio diaries into his compositions as if his self-created dreamworld was occurring in real time, where dialogue is occasionally overcome with displaced sounds. Over these 10 discs you hear Ferrari's ideas blossom as you gain better recognition of his intentions. What may seem like random punctuated sounds thrusting in and out become apparent calculated rhythms of his compositions. Luc Ferrari's music draws you in, even if you don't grasp it at first; his use of sounds are very titillating. Even his ambient field recordings come across as a lovers sensual whisper in your ear. Wonder if it is "worth" it? My answer to you is yes! This is a wonderful collection from a master. If you no nothing about him, pick up this box and be overjoyed with the wonder which is his music. If you are already familiar with him, pick up this box and obtain some long out of print and hard to find tracks. Either way this box is RECOMMENDED!!! -Chuck Bettis/DMG
10 CD + BOOK box set for $105


YA HO WHA 13 - Magnificence In The Memory (Drag City 393; USA) "The legendary Father Yod was a wealthy man, with a rich inner life, a family of disciples that loved him, many, many women and seemingly unlimited power. So why at the height of his success, did he choose to spend his time playing rock and roll? Having a band in residency at Father House provided him and all his children with another path to travel in their never-ending search for experience and wisdom. Taking time out from their busy schedule as Father's students and spiritual seekers in the Source Family, Sunflower, Octavius, Pythias and Djin took instruments in hand and, at a mere gesture from Father, turned up the amps and began tapping into the cosmos. First, they recorded themselves. The energy was good. Equipped by Father with instruments and effects pedals to ensure that they could create music that came 'from the spheres,' their sounds provided spiritual growth to everyone in the Source Family. After a time, Father became the lead singer, as 'a way to record wisdom in a modern, youth-oriented way,' Djin tells us. And YaHoWha 13 was born with Sunflower, Octavius and Djin. The music was recorded at a studio in the Father House on a TEAC 4-track reel-to-reel machine and was released on the Source Family's Higher Key Records label. In a couple short years, nine LPs were created, to be sold at the Source Restaurant and at YaHoWha 13 shows. Much sought-after items today, they've all been reissued. Even more exciting is the material that wasn't released - enough music to fill over sixty albums, all of them mind-blowers. Skimmed from the riches in Isis Aquarian's vaults (by Dave Nuss of the No-Neck Blues Band), the nine tracks on Magnificence in the Memory run the gamut of YaHoWha 13's rainbow of styles, from the whispered funk of 'Camp of the Gypsies' to the screaming and stomping of, well, 'Camp of the Gypsies.' Storming through moments with abandon, Father and his Sons never repeated themselves, committing everything they did to tape in a single take. The capacity of their riffs and grooves to sound like German prog bands of the same era, psychedelic rock bands of several years previous or the as-yet-uncreated avant sounds from the indie rock movement a decade away is testament to their ability to tap the source of human inspiration. Adds Octavius, 'These cuts will always be a source of inspiration.' The songs on Magnificence in the Memory were chosen to provide a non-stop exciting listening experience for Source fans and neophytes alike - and as Sunflower has stated, 'Father's music is our legacy and represents the voice of the times.'"
CD $14


Back in stock [again.. it just keeps flying out!]

DIZZY REECE QUINTET With JOHN GILMORE - From In To Out (Futura GER 16; France) From 1970 and featuring Dizzy Reece (trumpet), John Gilmore (tenor sax), Siegfried Kessler (piano), Patrice Caratini (contrebasse) and Art Taylor (drums). John Gilmore was Sun Ra's most constant collaborator for some forty years, as well as one of the most influential avant/jazz tenor saxists ever. His appearance as a sideman are few & far between, perhaps a dozen at the most (Art Blakey, Andrew Hill, Paul Bley, Freddie Hubbard & Pete LaRoca). Here is yet another rare Gilmore session with the equally legendary and under-recorded trumpet hero Dizzy Reece! - BLG
CD $18


***************


Last-Copy RARITIES from KRAMER's Legendary SHIMMY-DISC Label!

HUGH HOPPER & KRAMER - Huge (Shimmy Disc 5088; USA) (Last copies directly from Kramer's own closet!) The late Hugh Hopper was the bassist from the seminal 60's british band SOFT MACHINE, leaders of the psechedelic rock scene at that time. SOFT MACHINE were hand picked by Jimi Hendrix to open his first U.S. tour, and that was when american audiences were first introduced to the fuzzbass sounds of Hugh Hopper, long before Jack Bruce ever tried that little trick with the fuzzbox. Hugh left the SOFT MACHINE in 1970 to pursue his interests when the band went jazz, and made several legendary solo albums including HOPPER TUNITY BOX. This new CD mirrors that early pioneering work more closely than any Hugh has made in the past two decades of performing and recording. This CD also features drumming by Damon Krukowski (Galaxie 500)... - Kramer
CD $17

SHOCKABILLY [EUGENE CHADBOURNE/KRAMER/DAVID LICHT] - Vietnam/Heaven (Shimmy Disc 5026; USA) VIETNAM, recorded in 1983 and particularly HEAVEN, recorded in 1984, marked the last days - and last two of six albums - of Shockabilly, who eventually disbanded in the spring of 1985 with Chadbourne embarking on a solo career and Kramer joining the Butthole Surfers. (Last copies directly from Kramer's own closet!)
CD $20
BONGWATER [ANN MAGNUSON/KRAMER] - Box of Bongwater - The Complete Recordings: Breaking No New Ground/Double Bummer/Too Much Sleep/The Power Of Pussy/The Big Sell-Out [4 CD box set] (Shimmy Disc 5555; USA) (Last copies directly from Kramer's own closet!) This aptly titled Box of Bongwater consists of four CDs aimed at gathering a majority of the duo's recordings -- many of which had been out of print or at the very least difficult to find for several years. Included in this package are the contents of the Breaking No New Ground EP; the albums Double Bummer, Too Much Sleep, The Power of Pussy, and The Big Sell Out; as well as "Love Life," the duo's contribution the Rutles Highway Revisited tribute.
As much a performance art troupe as a band, Bongwater was the brainchild of guitarist (Mark) Kramer -- chief of the Shimmy-Disc label and a former member of Shockabilly -- and actress Ann Magnuson, best known to mainstream audiences for her role in the ABC sitcom Anything But Love as well as the feature film Making Mr. Right. Kramer and Magnuson first met at her downtown New York nightspot Club 57, where he engineered the sound for her performances with the all-female percussion group Pulsalamma; after forming Bongwater in 1985, the duo enlisted avant-garde guitarist/composer Fred Frith to record their 1987 EP debut Breaking No New Ground, a crazed neo-psychedelic set typified by Magnuson's surreal narratives, often inspired by her dreams about major celebrities and fellow downtown NYC denizens. Several luminaries took part in the proceedings over the body of recordings, including free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry showing up on Double Bummer double album.
Although arguably diminutive in quantity, their catalog stands as one of the most diverse in popular music. For maximum effect the pair blends their own original sonic sculptures and compositions with a considerate and eclectic mix of cover tunes spanning the entirety of popular music. But rather than emulate their influences, Bongwater tends to wholly reinvent the structure to suit their multimedia pastiche of aural imagery. These remarkable reworkings include the Beatles' "Rain" and "Julia," the 13th Floor Elevators' "You Don't Love Me" and "Splash," the Monkees' "You Just May Be the One" and "The Porpoise Song," and most especially Led Zeppelin's "Four Sticks" and the brilliant "Dazed and Chinese" (Dazed And Confused sung in Mandarin!)
Magnuson's obsession with Jimmy Page is in fact a motif running throughout this set, as are her acerbic-tongued slams at some of the most sacred of pop culture cows on "Frank," "David Bowie Wants Ideas," and "What Kind of Man Reads Playboy." The dramatic qualities and inflections that Magnuson offers are ideally matched to Kramer's ability to provide a seemingly endless pallet of sonic platforms. His skills as a producer, multi-instrumentalist, and sonic satirist make him the quintessential musical foil.
If any criticism can be leveled at Box of Bongwater, it would concern logistics such as having the contents of an album spread over more than one disc, disrupting the inherent continuity of the original release. Additionally, though it is tempting to call this collection a complete anthology of Bongwater's recordings, it is just a few tracks shy of that, presumably because the few missing ones were not originally issued on the Kramer-owned and operated Shimmy Disc label. The Peel Sessions EP as well as a couple of tracks which surfaced on tribute albums for Neil Young and the 13th Floor Elevators, respectively, are not included in this set. However, in light of what is on the box, all these caveats are practically negligible. - Lindsey Planer, AMG
[previously $100, on sale for..]
5 CD box set for $65.00

KRAMER - The Secret Of Comedy (Shimmy Disc 5075; USA) Kramer, former leader of Bongwater and Shockabilly, and producer of the Butthole Surfers and Half-Japanese (among many other notables), plays everything [bass, mellotron, slide guitars, cheap flutes, kitchen sink, etc.] on this trio recording with guitarist Randolph Hudson and original Material and Curlew drummer Bill Bacon. More post-punk-art-rock lunacy!
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE

KRAMER - Songs From The Pink Death (Shimmy Disc 5122; USA) Kramer, former leader of Bongwater and Shockabilly, and producer of the Butthole Surfers and Half-Japanese (among many other notables), teams up with longtime collaborators Damon Krukowski [Galaxie 500] and Sean Eden [Luna] for this amazing jewel of post-punk rock lunacy!
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE

KRAMER - The Guilt Trip [2 CD set] (Shimmy Disc 5055; USA) Kramer, former leader of Bongwater and Shockabilly, and producer/collaborator of the Butthole Surfers, Daevid Allen/Gong and Half-Japanese (among many other notables), finally put out his most direct work of self-expression - 36 cuts of that are bitterly confessional, passionately inspired and totally redemptive, while also being turning all genres on their heads; abetted by drummer David Licht [ Shockabilly] and Randolph Hudson on guitars!
CD $12.00 7 for 6 SALE

KRAMER - The Guilt Trip [3 LP box set] (Shimmy Disc 5055; USA) Kramer, former leader of Bongwater and Shockabilly, and producer/collaborator of the Butthole Surfers, Daevid Allen/Gong and Half-Japanese (among many other notables), finally put out his most direct work of self-expression - 36 cuts of that are bitterly confessional, passionately inspired and totally redemptive, while also being turnig all genres on their heads; abetted by drummer David Licht [Shockabilly] and Randolph Hudson on guitars! These are the last few vinyl copies - still sealed - from Kramers own files!
3 LP set for $45

and a 7 FOR 6 CD SALE on Kramer's newest Second Shimmy label releases!

FLAVOR CRYSTALS - Ambergris (Second Shimmy 105; USA) Produced by Kramer. With nick foerster, danny miller, josh richardson, nat stensland
As its cover art suggests, "Ambergris" hearkens back to early 70's kraut and psychedelia, but the band's late 80's/early 90's indie/shoegaze vibe has not gone away. The album is still spacey and dreamy like its predecessor, but goes deeper with an eerie intensity and insistence that is magnified by Kramer's unique approach to production and mixing. This album is filled with unrepeatable moments...it lives and breathes with spooky beauty.
CD $12.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CATNIP - Mirror (Falling remixed) (Second Shimmy 104; USA) Nerida Trask - vocals, kaos pad; Richmond Brain - Guitar, lap steel, dobro and analogue synthesisers ; Ben Thomas - bass; Greg Ryan - drums Catnip is a Melbourne based independent band who play lyric based songs within a lush cinematic sound scape. Their unique sound is created with electric guitar, lap steel, bass, drums and a relaxed vocal style. Catnip were named after the neighbourhood cat befriended them and decided to stay. She's still with them enjoying the warmth of Richmond's vintage amps and occasionally using them as a scratching post! After seducing crowds at the 2007 Peat's Ridge Festival, Catnip successfully launched their debut album Falling, at the Northcote Social Club, Saturday 27 January.
Several years in the making, Falling was engineered and co-produced by ARIA award winner Chris Thompson (The Waifs). Already receiving extremely favourable reviews nationally and internationally, Falling is a sublime debut that follows on in the cinematic vein of their EP Pink & Blue & Green released in 2003.
Catnip is the international version of Falling album as remixed and mastered by renowned producer Kramer
CD $12.00 7 for 6 SALE.

LITTLE AIDA [TESSA & SUSANNAH RUBINSTEIN] - Mad Country (Second Shimmy 103; USA) Produced by Kramer. "Since Little Aida released their debut full-length, Confessions, way back in 1996 not much has been heard from the Australian band. Apparently, both the group's lead singer Tessa Rubinstein and her keyboard-playing sister Susannah went walkabout; Mad Country is the result. Mixed at Kramer's new studio Noise in Florida and signed to his newly-renamed, independent label Second-Shimmy (which sees ShimmyDisc back after a seven-year hiatus), the album contains songs that cast ripples of folk-melancholia over the sisters' very own technicolor dreamtime."
CD $12.00 7 for 6 SALE.

ROPE INC. [MATT MENOVCIK/KRAMER] - Songs Of Love & War (Second Shimmy 102; USA) Produced by Kramer. Between singing lead vocals for Seattle trio Saeta and playing bass for pop-punk outfit, Ms. Led, Matt Menovcik forms half of the shadowy, looping ROPE, INC.. On the duo's second album, Menovcik lays down electric piano and the gravelly vocals that haunt the album here in Seattle, while renowned producer Kramer (Low, Gwar, Pulp Fiction's "Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon"" rcorded his own guitar work and arrangements in Florida. The result: a wandering dream-sequence of a record evocative of Beck, circa Sea Change. While most of the songs lean towards the sublime and ghostly, Songs of Love & War is saved from being dull or gloomy by its glittering piano work (notably in "Become"), the occasional catchy beat ("Hold") and above all, Menovcik's abrasive and spectral vocals throughout. -Erin Thompson
CD $12.00 7 for 6 SALE.

JESSIE & LAYLA [COLLINS] - Kinetic (Second Shimmy 101; USA) Produced by Kramer. "Quite simply, Layla and Jessie Collins have recorded one of the greatest pop albums of this or any other year. The trippy backwards guitar that kicks off Kinetic will initially hook you, but it's the breathtakingly buoyant Beatles-meets-Monkees vibe which immediately follows that'll reel you in because this record is one extraordinary achievement." DETROIT METRO TIMES Media Blackout Jeffrey Morgan
CD $12.00 7 for 6 SALE.

I KILLED THE MONSTER [DANIEL JOHNSTON Tribute V.A.] - 21 Artists Performing The Songs Of Daniel Johnston (Second Shimmy 100; USA) Produced by Kramer. I Killed the Monster marks the triumphant return of Shimmy Disc, reborn for the 21st century as SECOND SHIMMY. After a five-year hiatus, Kramer returns with a brilliant twenty-one song compilation of tunes written by his good friend and celebrated American music legend DANIEL JOHNSTON, whose classic LPs 1990 and Artistic Vice were produced by Kramer in the late 1980's at Kramer's legendary Noise New York. Daniel's sadly engrossing life story was recently made into an award winning documentary. THE DEVIL & DANIEL JOHNSTON, which won Best Director and Best Documentary at last year's Sundance Festival. I KILLED THE MONSTER features standout tracks and performances by some of indie music's brightest stars including Daniel Smith & Sufjan Stevens, Mike Watt, Jad Fair, Chris Harford, and Dot Allison. Kramer himself delivers one of the most startling tracks on this release, Daniel's masterpiece BLOODY RAINBOW.
CD $12.00 7 for 6 SALE.


***************


THE WORLD IS SHAKING [V.A.] - Cubanismo From The Congo, 1954-55 [2 CD set] (Honest Jon's 040; UK) This is the fifth release in Honest Jon's series of albums exploring vintage recordings held in the EMI Hayes Archive. This album uncovers the dizzy beginnings of the golden age of African music zinging with the social and political ferment of the independence movement and anti-colonialism, after the Second World War and the daredevil origins of Congolese rumba -- the entire continent's most popular music in the '60s and '70s. The new music grew in concert with a burgeoning night life especially in the twin capitals of Leopoldville (today's Kinshasa) on the Belgian side, and Brazzaville on the French, where humming factories lured increasing numbers of rural Congolese with the offer of a steady, relatively well-paying job. The astonishing inventions of Europe and America also played an important role in the music's development. Traditional Congolese musicians began to master imported guitars and horns by mimicking what they heard. The jazz of Louis Armstrong and the ballads of European torch singers like Tino Rossi captured the imagination of the rapidly-expanding working class as well as the familiar-sounding music of Latin America. Local musicians swapped the Spanish of the originals for Congolese languages. In his version of "Peanut Vendor," included here, A.H. Depala replaces the seller's cry of "mani," or "peanut," with a lovelorn lament for a woman named "Moni." Depala went on to land a spot in the house-band of the prestigious Loningisa studio. Others failed to gain equivalent recognition, but their music was no less impressive. Listen to likembe (thumb-piano) player Boniface Koufidilia as he makes the transition from traditional to modern in the first few seconds of "Bino," which hits you with a vamping violin while he muses about death (including that of the popular Brazzaville musician Paul Kamba). Andre Denis and Albert Bongu both echo the sounds of palm-wine brought to the Belgian Congo by the coastmen. The sweet vocal harmonies of Vincent Kuli's track were learned, perhaps, in a mission church. Rene Mbu's nimble, likembe-like guitar plucking shines on "Boma Limbala," and is Laurent Lomande using a banjo as a backdrop to "Elisa?" Aren't those kazoos, buzzing along on Jean Mpia's "Tika?" It's as if the musicians, fired up by the times in their zeal for experimental self-expression, tossed into a bottle some new elements and some old, some near and some far, and then shook it hard, to see what would happen. With insert featuring rare photographs and notes by Gary Stewart, author of Rumba On The River. Sound restoration done at Abbey Road.
2 CD set for $17
also available as 2 LP set for $22



HAWKWIND - Hawkwind (EMI 30028; UK) Mid-line EMI reissue from 2007 (originally released in 1970), with 12-page booklet and four bonus tracks. "Over the course of the 1970s, British freaks Hawkwind came to be known as the ultimate space-rock band, with trippy, science-fiction-themed songs full of far-out electronic effects. Their first album, though, released at the tail end of the hippie era, finds them still hanging onto vestiges of both psychedelia and even folk-rock. 'Hurry on Sundown,' an acoustic strumfest left over from leader Dave Brock's busking days, is as far as one can imagine from the Hawkwind that fans would come to know. The rest of the record, extended improvisations built around simple, riff-based structures, sounds like a lysergically enhanced collision between Can and contemporaneous Pink Floyd. While all the electronic bells and whistles had yet to be firmly affixed to the Hawkwind spaceship, the mindset of these cosmic warriors was already very clearly focused on the farthest reaches of the galaxy."
CD $13

HAWKWIND - In Search of Space (EMI 30030; UK) Mid-line EMI reissue from 2001 of the second Hawkwind album (originally issued by UA in 1972), with deluxe 24-page booklet of photos & credits, plus a complete repro of the original album booklet: The Hawkwind Log ("a collage of texts and photos -- supposedly a found log-book of a spaceship, containing the cryptic last notes and contemplations of it's travellers through space - another seed of Calvert's concept of the soon to come Space Opera - Space Ritual"). With three bonus tracks: original single versions of "Seven By Seven", "Silver Machine" & "Born To Go". "ISOS established Hawkwind's style of hypnotic free-flowing improvisations, accompanied by tribal rhythms - in contrast with some acoustic guitar based pieces, remnants of Brock's busking days, often with a melancholic touch." Line up of: Nik Turner (saxophone, flute, audio generator, vocals); Dave Brock (vocals, electric & acoustic guitar, audio generator); Dave Anderson (bass, electric & acoustic guitar); Del Dettmar (synthesizer); Terry Ollis (drums, percussion); Dik Mik (audio generator); Robert Calvert (vocals).
CD $13

HAWKWIND - Doremi Fasol Latido (EMI 30031; UK) Mid-line EMI reissue from 2001 of the third Hawkwind album (originally issued by UA in 1972), with 12-page booklet of liner notes, photos & illustrations. The first Hawkwind album to feature the unbelievably heroic bass playing of Lemmy Kilmister, this is pure classic 70s space thunder, capped off by Lemmy's first composition for the group, "The Watcher" (a freaked out sequel to his Sam Gopel contribution, "You're Alone Now"). As good as it gets. With 4 bonus tracks. "On Doremi, ALL instruments were now wielded as weapons of psychic warfare as the Sonic Assassins commence to break down the bad vibe squad in the most reckless and stupor-fying ways. Doremi Fasol Latido saw their building energies emerge into a single vision, housed in a sleek black and silver chrome sleeve comprised of seven crossfaded tracks that were their heaviest, drug-numbed blur-outs ever...an album that succeeded in blurring all aural distinctions between inner and outer space; the near-constant use of VCS3 and audio generator provide a backdrop for the entire album as twinkling yet forbidding as a nighttime display of stars in the cold dead of night." -- The Seth Man/Head Heritage.
CD $13

HAWKWIND - Space Ritual: Deluxe Edition [2 CD + DVD set] (EMI 94071; UK) "2007 special three disc (two CDs + PAL/Region 0 DVD) Collector's Edition of the veteran UK space rockers' 1973 live opus, their fourth overall album release. The CDs in this edition feature the original album with some extended tracks (they were originally edited due to the time restrictions of vinyl) plus three bonus tracks. The DVD is more a DVD album than DVD video; it allows the listener to enjoy the album as it was originally recorded: as one long continuous piece of live music. There is a brand new 5.1 mix as well as the standard stereo mix and a visualizer will appear on screen while the music plays. The DVD also features two promo videos which are previously unreleased -- 'Silver Machine' and 'Urban Guerilla'." Includes 32-page booklet and Collector's Edition clearcase.
CD $35

or..

HAWKWIND - Space Ritual [2 CD set] (EMI 30032; UK) Mid-line EMI reissue from 2001 of the fourth Hawkwind album (originally issued by UA in 1973), with 24-page booklet of liner notes, photos & illustrations. Featuring the Doremi line-up (Brock, Lemmy, Nik Turner, DikMik, Del Dettmar & Simon King), plus the addition of Bob Calvert (on "poet and swazzle"), this was the group's finest moment and possibly rock music's ultimate integration of live sonics into skin-bumping cultural architecture. Perfectly presented here in remastered form with three bonus tracks. "It was all captured on this beautiful, psychic roar-out of a double live set. Culled from recordings made at The Liverpool Empire and The Brixton Sundown in late December, 1972, two tracks were so long they needed to be edited down to a 'mere' 88 minutes! The sheer power of the repetition represented here become mantric walls of sounds, all held together by Dave Brock's sonic mortar guitar and the stunning rhythm section of Lemmy Kilmister on bass and Simon King on stamina-driven drums." -- The Seth Man/Head Heritage.
CD $18


EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND - Keep Them Freaks A Rollin' (EMI 64179; UK) Previously unreleased live album, recorded at the Abbey Road studio on 12/9/69, in front of 150 fans and "assorted hippies". Great quality sound and a pretty crazed performance, from master tapes that sat in box untouched for almost 35 years. The Broughton's were a legendary "Festival" band, with a heavy reputation for their live performances, which have never been accurately documented until now. Not just another toss-off live album, this captures a peak era as well as could be imagined.. Tracks include: "Smokestack Lightning", Beefheart's "Dropout Boogie", "Out Demon's Out"', etc.
CD $16

EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND - Wasa Wasa (EMI 64112; UK) Mid-line EMI remaster of this 1969 classic, their debut album, originally issued on Harvest (one of the debut releases on this UK underground label). This version features 5 bonus tracks, all previously unreleased, including a 10 minute track called "Untitled Freak Out". The Edgar Broughton Band, although largely forgotten in the contemporary context, were a primal Beefheart-inspired UK festival band, who mixed up pure grunt with crunch-ass rhythm and conspiratorial theory to mostly highly liberating effect
CD $16

EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND - Sing Brother Sing (EMI 64124; UK) New mid-line EMI remaster of this 1970 classic. The group's second album, originally issued by Harvest. The concepts of alcohol consumption, Beefheart emulation, and a dedication to 'the conspiracy' were certainly well-discussed themes in the Broughton Brothers household. If you'd like to pound it out in unison, this will cover your needs quite well. This version features 8 bonus tracks (4 previously unreleased tracks, the rest are 7" versions & alternate takes). "Along with coherts Hawkwind and the Pink Fairies, the Broughton's were the first of the proto-punks, ploughing their furrow nearly a decade before Messers Lydon and company burst froth onto the 70s music scene. The five albums The Edgar Broughton Band recorded for EMI's 'progressive' label, Harvest, between 1969 and 1973 were full-on sonic attacks that took no prisoners. They also contained some truly throughtful and beautiful music of great originality." - from Mark Powell's liner notes
CD $16

EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND - Edgar Broughton Band (3rd Album) (EMI 64156; UK) EMI mid-line remaster of this UK underground cult-rock group's third album, originally issued by Harvest in 1971. Following Wasa Wasa and Sing Brother Sing, this self-titled album is generally referred to by it's cringe-specific meat hook-rack cover. Prominent in sludge-riff blues extrapolations and heavy boogie-step slashing flavor, this represents one of the groups's most memorable moments. This CD reissue adds 3 bonus tracks, 2 from 1970 Harvest 7"'s, one previously unreleased.
CD $16

EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND - In Side Out (EMI 66175; UK) 2004 digital remaster, originally released by Harvest in 1972. Three bonus tracks (2 b-sides, one prev. unreleased). This was the 4th EBB album. Previous reissue on Repertoire is deleted. "If one casts a furtive glance back at the British rock music scene of the late 1960's, the perceived image of this era is one of peace, love and gentle vibes. A deeper look would reveal that underneath all this veneer, a band existed that were rebellious, anarchic and serious about the social and political injustices of the day. The Edgar Broughton Band was all of these things and more. In 1972, the band released Inside Out, inspired by the extremely original album sleeve design by Hignosis. The front cover of the album was a striking photograph of an ex-Wormwood Scrubs inmate stood by the imposing walls of the prison. A live recording from the extensive Inside Out tour mixed from the original 16-track master tape in 2004 appears as a bonus track on this expanded CD release."
CD $16

EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND - Oora (EMI 66177; UK) Originally released in May 1973 on Harvest Records. 1 Bonus Track. This was the 5th EBB album. "Released in an elaborate sleeve designed by artist Barney Bubbles (noted for his work with fellow musical anarchists Hawkwind), the album was perhaps the most sophisticated of all the Edgar Broughton Band's releases for Harvest, notably on the track 'Face >From a Window/Pretty/Hi-Jack Boogie/Slow Down'." On this record, guests include: David Bedford (piano), Madeline Bell (backing vocals)
CD $16

EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND - Out Demons Out: The Best Of The Edgar Broughton Band (EMI 31067; UK) 2001 reissue, originally released in 1986. "Though they're not as well remembered as some of their contemporaries, British cult faves the Edgar Broughton Band played a key role in the late-1960s/early-'70s U.K. rock underground. As this compilation makes clear, they combined the unhinged freakiness of Arthur Brown with early-Pink Floyd space-cadet tendencies and raw, Stooges-like proto-punk for an arresting, idiosyncratic sound. Much of the angular, blues-inflected material here would sound at home on an early Captain Beefheart album, but there are also numerous low-key folk-rock moments providing crucial contrast. The roots of everything from the Birthday Party to the Swell Maps can be found here."
CD $16


CANNABIS INDIA - SWF Session 1973 (Long Hair 074; EEC) "Another forgotten pearl from the vaults of radio station SWF, Germany. Like Coupla Prog or other delights from the early '70s who never made an album, Cannabis India, founded 1971 in the region of Dusseldorf, show their great talent playing their own compositions influenced by groups like The Nice or ELP. Bandleader and organ-player Oliver Petry studied piano from the early age of seven. When he heard Keith Emerson for the first time he changed his instrument and played organ with great enthusiasm. Together with drummer Rudiger Braune (in the '80s with Gianna Nannini) and furious bass-player Dirk Fleck, Cannabis India run through their pieces with infernal speed but also with a sense of drama. The nearly 12 minute epic 'Lapis' and 11 minutes adaption of Beethoven's 9th show what Cannabis India music was all about. CD comes with 2 bonus tracks from follow-up band Universe. Digitally remastered from original master tapes and bandstory. Don't miss it!"
CD $24

HABOOB - Haboob (Long Hair 075; EEC) "First official CD-release of mysterious one-off project, co-led by 3 US expatriots living in Munich, Germany: Keyboardist Jimmy Jackson, drummer George Green and Guitarist William Powell. Major point of interest for most progressive and psychedelic rockfans is Haboobs very significant connection with Amon Duul II. Bandleader Jimmy Jackson plays organ on Amon Duul's albums Dance of The Lemmings and Wolf City. He also played organ on many LPs of Embryo (Embryos Rache, Steig aus, Rock Session) and has further numerous studio credits (for example: Doldinger's Passport, Tangerine Dream Electronic Meditation). On Haboob, Jackson's effects-laden organ and mellotron (here called 'choir-organ') are quite prominent. LP is comprised of a free improvisation, a very Hendrix-inspired blues and some pretty straight forward funk-rock pieces. The end result is a collaboration between Amon Duul II and early Funkedelic. The music has a lot of appeal and those who are interested in a fusion of Euro-psychedelic rock with hints of funk should definitely seek this one out. Digitally remastered from original mastertapes and with bandstory. Great stuff!"
CD $24

MAMMUT - Mammut (Long Hair 070; EEC) "First official CD release of one of the most legendary German small label pressed albums. Originally released in 1971, this album is an intense and bombastic hybrid between heavy fuzz acid guitar, instinctive free rock improvisations and some lyrical, classical influenced interludes/fragments. Mammut played in an impressive and convincing manner their conception of an psychedelic rock opera. For that each title includes the name Mammut. The opening track 'Bird Mammut' is a groovy, percussive, crazy psychedelic affair featuring an avalanche of drums, trippy organs, bluesy e-guitar and wistfull flute passages. 'Classical Mammut' delivers a short piano interlude, a pleasant melodic moment. 'Mammut Ecstasy' is a fuzzy heavy psychedelic composition with furious rhythms, an efficient bass guitar leading theme and some nice keyboard moves. 'Foot Machine Mammut' alternates a bluesy pop song with free guitar jams accompanied by Hammond organ. Perhaps parts of the first Embryo album are comparable to this. 'Nahgarn Mammut" is their attempt to be more lyrical and melodic, while the album closes with 14 minutes of 'Mammut Opera,' which show Mammut at their best. Dark sounds with hints of Amon Duul II, heavy blues rock with all sorts of strange, ethnic and gothic touches combined in their music. Altough the band themselves quoted Deep Purple in rock as a major influence, their spirit was purely Krautrock. Their sole album is a legendary rarity. CD comes with 1 bonus track, comprehensive booklet, digitally remastered. A classic! Don't miss it!"
CD $24

PUPPENHAUS - Jazz Macht Spazz (Long Hair 076; EEC) No progressive rock music fan should be misled by the album title Jazz macht Spazz, a bowdlerization of 'jazz makes fun,' this is progressive jazz-rock at its best. Budi Siebert (flutes and saxes), Herbert Binder (gt), Frank Fischer (bass), later with Release Music Orchestra, Thomas Rabenschlag (keys) and drummer Bea Maier (later with Zomby Woof and Moira), all well trained on the instruments, played a varied, inventive, melodic and often furious kind of music with lots of Krautrock magic influenced by Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Soft Machine and Weather Report. 5 titles on this CD were recorded at German radio station SWF, 2 titles are live recordings (taped from the soundboard), all in all 77 minutes of great flute and sax playing, furious and lyrical guitar and bass work, hypnotic rhythm patterns and perfect keyboard sounds. Hard to believe that Puppenhaus never recorded an album. Digitally remastered from original master tapes. CD comes with comprehensive booklet, band story by the musicians, many photos and especially with a wonderful cover based on a painting by drummer Bea Maier. Highly recommended
CD $24


DAVE BIXBY - Ode To Quetzalcoatl (Guerssen 25; EEC) Previously released on vinyl by Guerssen Records, now available on CD. Since its discovery in the late '90s, Dave Bixby's legendary $2000 private press album from 1969 is considered by all serious record collectors as the king in the loner/downer-folk genre. After being involved in '60s Michigan folk and garage-rock bands such as The Shillelaghs and Peter & The Prophets, Bixby started playing acoustic guitar and experimenting with LSD. After a year of drug abuse, he felt broken. Starting a soul-searching, spiritual journey, he wrote Ode To Quetzalcoatl and most of the material for his second album, Harbinger's Second Coming in just a month and a half. Assisted by fellow musician Brian MacInness, who played some guitar parts on the album, Bixby recorded this record in a living room using an echo-laden 4-track machine. The sound is lo-fi and sparse: just acoustic guitars and some occasional harmonica & flute, added to Bixby's haunting, emotional vocals, spiritual lyrics and solid songwriting. The opening cut, the eerie and painful "Drug Song" sets the mood perfectly for the rest of the album. Never again has an acoustic folk album sounded as intense as this. Reissued for the first time under license from Dave Bixby himself, and carefully remastered from vinyl (no master tapes exist) at Shadoks Music Studios. Includes an insert with extensive and detailed liner notes by Matvei Procak -- the guy who found Bixby in 2006 -- plus some rare pictures.
CD $17

HARBINGER - Second Coming (Guerssen 26; EEC) Previously released on vinyl by Guerssen Records, now available on CD. Unknown to most '60s/'70s collectors until its discovery a few years ago, this is the beyond rare second album released by loner/downer folk legend Dave Bixby, recorded around 1969, the same year as his first one, the now-famous Ode To Quetzalcoatl. Musically, Second Coming is equally as good and very similar to the first one, but this time the recording took place in a professional studio, so the sound is improved. Bixby is joined by Brian MacInness on guitar, Sandy Johnson on vocals and Don DeGraaf on bass and production duties. Don was in fact leader of the, in the end, destructive religious cult known as "The Group" or "The Movement," of which Bixby and Brian were part of. The sound is more up-front and the songs are slightly optimistic compared to the ones on Ode To Quetzalcoatl, and there's plenty of acoustic 12-string raga guitars and harmony male/female vocals. The lyrics deal with cosmic imagery, psychedelics and religious/biblical references, but this goes much deeper than any Xian record you've ever heard -- titles such as "Cosmic Energy," "Time To Clear Your Mind," "Rainbow," and "Circus World" point towards some sort of New Age/post-Revelations utopian consciousness. Reissued for the first time under license from Dave Bixby himself, and carefully remastered from a clean vinyl (no master tapes exist) at Shadoks Music Studios. Includes an insert with extensive and detailed liner notes by Matvei Procak -- the guy who found Bixby in 2006 -- plus some rare pictures.
CD $17

THE TREE PEOPLE - Human Voices (Guerssen 27; EEC) This is the second album from Oregon's The Tree People, the late '70s predecessors to the ongoing new folk movement in the USA. You already know about their 1979 debut album and you know it's a masterpiece, but did you know about their second album recorded in 1984? Surely not, especially because it was a cassette-only release with a very short print-run. Luckily enough, The Tree People guys kept the mastertapes of these recordings and Guerssen Records is proud to be making this wonderful music available again. Reissued on CD with a vinyl version to come later, the sound quality is splendid, and the music itself is equally as good, if not better than, their self-titled debut and is a real must for any folk and psych-folk lover. Acoustic guitars, subtle percussion, wonderful flute work and some warm vocals -- overall, this is a real big dose of quality and originality that makes The Tree People's music absolutely ahead of its time and therefore so much admired today. A real beauty! This CD includes a booklet with liner notes by the band's leader Stephen Cohen, as well as some nice pictures.
CD $17


***********************************


IF YOU'RE ALREADY SUBSCRIBED TO OUR NEWSLETTER, BUT SOMEHOW YOU'RE NOT RECEIVING THEM IN YOUR INBOX..

Many of your incoming emails are being blocked and you don't know it! Many emails like our newsletter are frequently blocked by aggressive spam filters being used by nearly all email services.

To help avoid this problem and get our newsletter:

Hotmail Users: Place the domain " downtownmusicgallery.com " on your Safe List, so that you can receive our emails. The safe list can be accessed via the "Options" link next to the main menu tabs. Also place the email address dmg@downtownmusicgallery.com in your address book.

AOL: Place the domain " downtownmusicgallery.com " in your Address Book. Also add the email address dmg@downtownmusicgallery.com to your address book.

Yahoo! Mail: If one of our e-newsletters is filtered to your 'bulk' folder, open the message and click on the "this is not Spam" link next to the "From" field. The same goes for any other e-mail you receive that doesn't belong there. Add the address dmg@downtownmusicgallery.com to your address book.

Other email services [Earthlink, GMail et al]: Place the domain " downtownmusicgallery.com " on your email filter's whitelist. You may need to search your email help menu for details on how to do this. Depending on software/version, they may call it a "whitelist," a "good list" or similar name. Adding the address dmg@downtownmusicgallery.com to your address book will help too.