Great NEW Stuff from..


Soft Machine 1973 CD/DVD! Konitz/Leibovici/Speed/Cheek! Super Seaweed Sex Scandal! Faruq Z Bey! Sun Ra College Tour '66 Vol 1! Michael Gregory Jackson/Davis Murray/Oliver Lake/Leo Smith! Ideal Bread! Otomo/Kuning/Dee!

Chris Welcome Qt! Master Musicians Of Bukkake! Marc Edwards Weasel Walter Group! Rare Orthrelm! Frasconi/Maroney! Sven-Ake Johansson! Dara Puspita!

Threadgill: Air Raid! Rare CD repros: Dudu Pukwana, McGregor & Shepp, UMA! Archival recordings from Steve Lacy, Ornette, Coltrane and Miles! Syllart African Pearls series!




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


Sunday, May 30th at 6pm:
Two Duos from Norway - BALLROGG & VERTEX!
BALLROGG features:
ROGER ARNTZEN - acoustic bass
KLAUS ELLERHUSEN - alto sax & bass clarinet!
VERTEX features:
TOR HAUGERUD - percussion & samples
PETTER VAGAN - lapsteel & guitar!


Sunday, June 6th at 6pm:
MARCO CAPPELLI & TAYLOR LEVINE on Guitars!
CHRISTINE BARD on drums!


Sunday, June 13th at 6pm:
WEASEL WALTER - Drums!
PETER EVANS - Trumpet!
TOM BLANCARTE - Acoustic Bass!


Rare Saturday Set, July 3rd at 6pm:
JOSH SINTON - baritone saxophone (from Ideal Bread)!
HANNES LINGENS - snare drum from Berlin!
2 Solos & 1 Duo!


Sunday, July 11th at 6pm:
STEVE BUCHANAN & RON ANDERSON!
Stevie B Returns from Switzerland & plays sax & guitar!
Ron A runs PAK & Plays guitar!


Monday, July 12th at 6pm:
STEFANO PASTOR & ERIKA DAGNINO!
Virtuoso Violinist & Spoken Word Vocalist!
Return to DMG for a Rare Monday Night Encounter!


Sunday, July 18th at 6pm:
TOMCHESS - oud, ney, morsing & composer
WILL McEVOY - upright bass


Sunday, July 25th at 6pm:
JACOB ZIMMERMAN - alto sax
JOE MOFFETT - trumpet
RANDY PINGREY - trombone
JESSE WARD - electric guitar


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MannyLunch RECOMMENDS [and they might even let me out of my cage to attend..]


Thursday, May 27 at 7pm

An evening of guitar and chapman stick duets from one of the members of the California Guitar Trio, along with the Jon Diaz quartet.
A DEFINITELY fun evening of globe trotting compositions, and some improvisations to make it spicey, with musicians:

Bert Lam/Guitar, Tom Griesgraber/Chapman Stick, Jon Diaz/Guitar, Pietro Russino/Guitar, Mazz Swift/violin, Bill Buchen/Tabla

performing as..

Bert Lams & Tom Griesgraber Duo

The Diaz Quartet
(Bill Buchen, Pietro Russino, Mazz Swift & Jon Diaz)


@
Trinity Church
164 W 100th St, NYC
(between Amsterdam and Broadway)
Take 1,2,3,C,B train to 96th st


Admission: Donation!

If yr low, come! If yr heeled, give!

EITHER WAY, don't miss this!


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SOFT MACHINE [MIKE RATLEDGE/JOHN MARSHALL/KARL JENKINS/ROY BABBINGTON] + GARY BOYLE/ART THEMEM/HUGH HOPPER - NDR Jazz Workshop: Hamburg May 17th 1973 [CD + DVD] (Cuneiform 305/306; USA) Soft Machine were one of the very first groups to bring together jazz with rock. Unlike all of the other musicians who were pioneers of "jazz/rock" who had made their reputation as jazzers first (Nucleus, Miles Davis, Tony Williams Lifetime, etc.), Soft Machine began as a psychedelic rock band and started their life in 1966 playing the same 'underground club' circuit as their early friends Pink Floyd. After two US tours with Jimi Hendrix in 1968, the group began their move towards the fusion of rock and jazz, releasing a number of albums that remain influential classics to this day.
By the time this remarkable document was recorded, Soft Machine were hugely appreciated in Europe for their unique sound. This previously unreleased show was recorded for Germany's famous NDR Jazz Workshop series and it features Mike Ratledge (electric piano, organ), Karl Jenkins (oboe, baritone sax, soprano sax, electric piano), Roy Babbington(bass) and John Marshall (drums) joined by two special guests for the majority of the performance: Art Themen (tenor and soprano sax) and Gary Boyle(electric guitar).
This long sought-after performance has never been seen since its original broadcast over 35 years ago - not even in poor quality bootlegs. It is the best quality video document that exists of the group, featuring clear and beautiful visuals and superb live stereo sound!
CD + DVD set for $21


IDEAL BREAD [JOSH SINTON/KIRK KNUFFKE/REUBEN RADDING/TOMAS FUJIWARA]//STEVE LACY - Transmit: Vol. 2 of The Music of Steve Lacy (Cuneiform 296; USA) Ideal Bread formed in 2005 by Josh Sinton baritone saxophone with Kirk Knuffke trumpet, Reuben Radding bass and Tomas Fujiwara drums (all of whom are rising stars on their instruments and important contributors to today's modern/avant jazz scene), was started to perform the idiosyncratic (and underplayed) compositions of Steve Lacy. Using these pieces as a starting point, the group has blossomed into a dynamic and charismatic band. They demonstrate respect for Lacy's work by investigating its compositional implications every time they step up to play. Ideal Bread's music is an exciting demonstration of the possibilities of interpretation and improvisation; this is 'free-bop' at its very best!
If anyone deserves such a project, it is soprano saxophone innovator Steve Lacy (1930-2004). He was an integral component of Cecil Taylor's first unit, starting in 1955 and he would then go on to liberate the soprano saxophone and reform the landscape of composition in improvised music.
"Like a baker makes his bread, I make music...If I make the same bread tomorrow, that bores me...I have to remake it, I have to do better...I'm always looking for...the ideal bread." - Steve Lacy, April, 1976
CD $15


FARUQ Z BEY & NORTHWOODS IMPROVISERS With MIKE CAREY/SKEETER SHELTON et al - Emerging Field (Entropy 019; USA) Each & every disc we've heard from Detroit legends' Faruq Z Bey & the Northwoods Improvisers has been cosmic, cerebral and well-worth you hard earned cash if you dig this type of spirited/spiritual music. I will review this when I get back from Victo next week, but you can't go wrong with with these magical musicians. Don't forget that Faruq Z Bey & the Northwoods Improvisers will be here for a rare 2-day visit at the Issue Project Room on May 27th & 28th. You know where I will be!
CD $15


SUPER SEAWEED SEX SCANDAL [NONOKO YOSHIDA/JOHN STANESCO/PAUL WHEELER/BOREY SHIN/JOE MEROLLA/JUSTIN VELOSO] - Sexy Noise [CD ep] (SSSS 01; USA) SSSS (Super Seaweed Sex Scandal) creates a fast changing kaleidoscopic music that blends freeform improvisation with intricate compositional structures. Formed in June 2009 by six young New York musicians who first met at the scene surrounding the legendary East Village venue The Stone, this is the premier outfit featuring the youngest generation of New York's burgeoning Downtown scene. The players, still in their early twenties, hail from such diverse backgrounds as punk, noise, jazz, no-wave, classical and improvisation, and from such diverse places as Florida, Oregon, North Carolina, Colorado, New York and Hokkaido, Japan. Extending a lineage of hardcore jazz/noise/rock ferocity running from John Zorn and Ornette Coleman to Gyorgy Ligeti and The Ex, their music jump cuts from screeching saxophones and intense noise guitar to lyrical melodies and driving rhythms with lightning speed. - from the writer (?) of Tzadik's Obi notes
"Hands down, one of the hottest young groups in New York at the moment!!! SSSS is an exciting and fun sextet consisting of Nonoko Yoshida - alto sax, John Stanesco - tenor sax, Paul Wheeler - guitar, Borey Shin - accordion, Joe Merolla - bass, and Justin Veloso - drums. My initial thoughts when I first saw them live were that they were taking cues from Naked City's jump cut style with an added array of musical influences leaning heavier on the jazz side of town. Now, while I listen their debut recording I can clearly hear some broader inspirations serving as motivation to create such a beautiful beast that they can call their own. The psychedelic carnival ride they bring you on is powerfully tight, but with a playful loose vibe that breathes life into the music, making this compelling music conjure up a scenarios of old Coney Island freak shows. Nicely mixed with the stereo pan of guitar and sax for much clearer and insightful listening experience. The down side to this recording is that is it is only 21 minutes long, which will leaving you only fiending for more! I fully admit, I'm impressed with the final product and the live band. Definitely a very inspired kick in the ass for me. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!" -Chuck Bettis/DMG
For those of you attending the Moers Festival, SSSS will be the first set this Saturday May 22nd at 3:00 PM!
CD $7



New on ESP Disk!

LEE KONITZ/STEPHANE FURIC LEIBOVICI/CHRIS CHEEK/CHRIS SPEED/JIM BLACK et al - Jugendstil II (ESP Disk 4059; USA) Following up the critically acclaimed 2008 release, Stephane Furic Leibovici and Chris Cheek return for this second volume, produced by Jim Black and featuring the alto saxophone giant Lee Konitz. An achievement in balance and taste, the resulting music is so thoughtful, intent and vibrant that it need not be forced upon you. The music unfolds for the listener in the subtlest of ways, as if the composer is challenging our very notion of what will come next. Like a mediation on color and space, you begin to let go of your assumptions and allow the harmonies and structures wash over you. The interaction of Konitz with his bandmates is a delicate dance of lyrical brilliance. Criss-crossing saxophones glide through Furics intense and wide open bass work. Furics compositions fuel extended interplay as the musicians seem to bounce from one musical theme to the next. This music is the epitome of finesse. Effortless and deep at the same time.
Personnel: Lee Konitz: alto saxophone. Chris Cheek: tenro saxophone, Stephane Furic Leibovici: double-bass, Jim Black: glockenspiel, vibraphone, chimes, Dan Dorrance: alto flute, bass flute, piccolo, Joy Plaisted: harp, Maria Garcia: celesta, Chris Speed: clarinet
CD $12

SUN RA & His ARKESTRA - College Tour Vol 1: The Complete Nothing Is... [aka Dancing Shadows] St. Lawrence University, May 18 1966 [2 CD set] (ESP Disk 4060; USA) In 1966 Bernard Stollman sent Sun Ra and his Arkestra, along with audio engineer David B. Jones on a tour of five New York Colleges. When they returned, just 39 mintues of music was chosen to be released as the original ESP 1045 "Nothing Is...". 44 years later, after extensive research, producer and Sun Ra archivist Michael D. Anderson has pieced together the missing parts of the infamous New York College Tour. Recorded on May 18th 1966 at St. Lawrence University in Potsdam, NY, this illuminating document represents the full 70 minute first set, of which ESP 1045 "Nothing Is..." was taken, including an introduction by ESP alum Burton Greene. In addition, producer Michael D. Anderson has uncovered a partial second set from the same evening and some rare rehearsal footage recorded during a sound check before the concert. With over 90 minutes of additional material, this two disc set allows a close up look at the band's repertoire and sound over an entire evening, including the rarely performed State Street and alternate versions of Theme Of The Stargazers and The Second Stop Is Jupiter. Remasted from the original tapes and presented in superb quality, College Tour Volume One is a vivid snapshot of the mid-sixties Ra and his intergalactic band.
Personnel: Sun Ra: piano, John Gilmore: tenor sax, Marshall Allen: alto sax, Pat Patrick: baritone sax, Robert Cummings: baritone clarinet, Teddy Nance: trombone, Ali Hassan: trombone, Clifford Jarvis: drums, Ronnie Boykins: bass, tuba, James Jackson: log drum, flute, Carl Nimrod: sun horn, gong
CD $18

MICHAEL GREGORY JACKSON With DAVID MURRAY/OLIVER LAKE/WADADA LEO SMITH - Clarity (ESP Disk 3028; USA) Before his career defining records on Arista/Novus in the 80s and 90s, jazz and fusion guitarist Michael Gregory Jackson recorded his debut for ESP-Disk'. The sessions, recorded in New York, Connecticut and Los Angeles in the summer of 1976 are wildly meditative and personify the seventies laid-back vibe. A trio of soft, lilting melodies set the mood; David Murray on tenor sax, Oliver Lake on flute, and the album's leader, Michael Gregory Jackson on acoustic guitar. The unfolding stream of ideas make these improvisations vital today; arhythmic strumming, an enchanted R&B vocal from Mr. Jackson, avant percussive clatter, processed electric guitar, and fiery horn lines over timpani and flute. Composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, cited as a major influence by Mr. Jackson himself, is featured on the album. Personnel: Michael Gregory Jackson (acoustic guitar, vocal, electric guitar, electric mandolin, bamboo flute, timpani, marimba, percussion) David Murray (tenor sax) Oliver Lake (flute, soprano sax, alto sax, talking drum, cowbell) Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet, soprano trumpet, fluegel horn, Indian flute)
CD $12



ZAI KUNING/OTOMO YOSHIHIDE/DICKSON DEE [aka LI CHIN SUNG] - Book From Hell (Doubt 134; Japan) The Asian improvisation of the present, a connection between Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong. A vivid 71-minute performance moving back and forth between turbulence and stillness.
"BOOK FROM HELL" is the denomination of the concert, Zai Kuning organized on September 2008 in Singapore. CD title is used as it is and also CD cover is the poster of "BOOK FROM HELL" concert, Zai designed. This is Asian improvisation surely. According to the reason, not only each musician come from Asian bloc but also what the sound should be or time perception, this music is different from Western improvisation. Glue yourself to your listening on 71 minutes. The you will become a feeling of catharsis !
Zai and Dickson are central figures in my activities in East and Southeast Asia. I consider myself truly lucky to have had the chance to perform and make a recording with these two artists. - from liner note by Otomo Yoshihide
CD $20



New from Chris Welcome!

CHRIS WELCOME QUARTET With SHAYNA DULBERGER/JONATHAN MORITZ/JOHN McLELLAN - Refrain (Empty Room 03; USA) [CD-R] 2nd great release from this lineup. Review next week, but given his past recordings, that's no reason to wait!
CD $12

and back in stock..

CHRIS WELCOME QUARTET With SHAYNA DULBERGER/JONATHAN MORITZ/JOHN McLELLAN - Chris Welcome Quartet (TigerAsylum; USA) [CD-R] This disc consists of some eleven "Pieces for Quartet" and all were written by Chris Welcome. The first track is a sparse, cautious, slow moving work that reminds me of the way Joe Maneri plays, in between the cracks. The second piece also feels as if the quartet is hesitating, waiting, just a few deliberate notes at a time. Exquisite or boring, I guess it just depends on your perspective and patience level. I actually do dig the relaxed pace of this disc, it feels just right. What's interesting is that the leader, Chris Welcome, seems to play the least amount of notes. This forces everyone else to concentrate and play less. Even Shayna, who can often burns with Ras Moshe and her own KillMe Trio, lays back and just plays when the need arises. There is something about this disc that I find refreshing, just got to find the time to listen and let it happen. - BLG
CD $10
also available as 2 LP set for $15

THE E.R.A. [SHAYNA DULBERGER/CHRIS WELCOME/JONATHAN MORITZ/RYAN SNOW/JOHN McLELLAN et al - Introducing The E.R.A. (Empty Room 02; USA) Featuring Jonathan Moritz & Marcus Cummins on saxes, Ryan Snow on trombone, Chris Welcome on guitar & cello, Shayna Dulberger on acoustic bass and Juan Pablo Carletti & John McLellan on drums. I only recognize a couple of the names here like the young bassist Shayna Dulberger from her work with Ras Moshe and William Parker and John McLellan fom his work with Joe McPhee. The E.R.A. is a most talented collective of individuals that shouldn't be ignored, since their time has certainly come. - BLG
CD $12

SINGULAR [DANIEL CARTER/CHRIS WELCOME/SHAYNA DULBERGER/JOHN McLELLAN] - Singular (Empty Room 01; USA) [CD-R] (Daniel Carter - alto & tenor, Bb clarinet, flute and trumpet, Chris Welcome - guitar, Shayna Dulberger - upright bass, John McLellan - drums)
CD $6



New from ugExplode!

MARC EDWARDS/WEASEL WALTER GROUP With FORBES GRAHAM/DARIUS JONES/ELLIOTT LEVIN/ADAM LANE - Blood Of The Earth (ugExplode 44; USA) Ridiculously intense, epic free jazz studio recording featuring the dynamic drum duo plus Darius Jones, Elliott Levin, Adam Lane and Forbes Graham!
CD $15

NO MOR MUSIK [NONDOR NEVAI/KESHAVAN MASLAK [KENNY MILLIONS]/WEASEL WALTER] - No Mor Musik (ugExplode 41; USA) a bizarre slice of punk/jazz surrealism feat. Nondor Nevai, Kenny Millions and Weasel Walter. beyond description, must be heard to believed!
CD $15

ORTHRELM [MICK BARR/JOSH BLAIR] - Orthrelm (ugExplode 42; USA) this is a very special release by this legendary brutal prog duo of Mick Barr and Josh Blair. totally remixed versions of their classic early material compiled for non-repetitive information overload!
CD $15


also, 3 copies each left at Sale price of $7 - then back to $15 for these:

WEASEL WALTER QUARTET AND DOUBLE TRIO With MARSHALL ALLEN/MARCO ENEIDI/MARC EDWARDS et al - Firestorm (ugExplode 22; USA) This captures these imposing daredevil improvisers in all of the brutal glory. For those of us who still worship at the free/jazz totem of overwhelming power, this disc does capture that sound, that force incredibly well. All three groups sound as if they are on the verge of exploding into hyper-space. All we can do is stand back and marvel. Holy sh*t! This is the real thing! Watch out for the avalanche! Too much is quite enough! - BLG
CD $7.00 7 for 6 SALE.

HENRY KAISER/DAMON SMITH/WEASEL WALTER - Plane Crash (ugExplode 30; USA) [Limited time sale - will go back uo to $15 when stock is out] Featuring Henry The record vacillates between nuclear-warlike Masayuki Takayanagi/Sonny Sharrock/Keiji Haino blasts of dissonant guitar pyrotechnics and viciously quiet all-acoustic tracks which will please fans of the SME/Derek Bailey/Company aesthetics. There are no licks here - just 100% abstract experimental improvisation for those who need their music to be fast, muscular, challenging, articulate and otherwordly. - BLG
CD $7.00 7 for 6 SALE.

TOY KILLERS [MARK E MILLER/CHARLES K NOYES] With JOHN ZORN/ARTO LINDSAY/WAYNE HORVITZ/ELLIOTT SHARP/NICKY SKOPELITIS/BILL LASWELL et al - The Unlistenable Years: 1980-1983 (ugExplode 27; USA) 25 tracks/67 minutes of previously unheard vintage no wave/improv/noise/post-punk insanity from '80-'84 feat. madmen drummers Charles K. Noyes and Mark E. Miller. with incredible, newly unearthed performances by John Zorn, Bill Laswell, Arto Lindsay, Elliott Sharp and more. this is exactly what it sounds like folks . . . amazing studio and live tracks, selected, mixed and mastered by Weasel Walter, with liner notes by Anton Fier. stay tuned for new Toy Killers jams in 2009!!!! hear tracks and see video at myspace.com/toykillers !!!!
CD $7.00 7 for 6 SALE.


DAVE STAPLETON QUINTET - Between The Lines (EditionRecords 1017; UK) Dave Stapleton - Piano; Ben Waghorn - Saxophones and Bass Clarinet; Jonny Bruce - Trumpet / Fluglehorn; Paula Gardiner - Double Bass; Elliot Bennett - Drums. "From the samples [we've heard] of Dave Stapleton Quintet's third album, Between the Lines, looks likely to emulate the considerable success of the previous two". VORTEX JAZZ
CD $16


MIGUEL FRASCONI/DENMAN MARONEY - Gleam (Porter 4047; USA) Miguel Frasconi uses a menagerie of glass objects to create music from a uniquely imagined tradition. These objects are struck, blown, stroked and otherwise coaxed into vibration. Miguel has worked with the likes of renowned composers, John Cage, Brian Eno and James Tenney, and his studies have ranged from the music of Indonesia to the Fluxus movement. Denman Maroney plays what he calls 'hyperpiano,' which involves bowing and sliding the strings with steel cylinders, Tibetan prayer bowls, rubber blocks and CD cases to create a unique sonic vocabulary. Denman also uses a system of temporal harmony based on the undertone series that allows him to improvise and compose in several tempos at once. With their release of 'Gleam', these two visionary musicians come together to take the listener through a dream like landscape of otherworldly sounds.
CD $14


SIMONE PEG - Secrets From The Storm (Table of Elements/Radium 820; USA) "Guitar lines gather and mass like a blue sky filling with storm clouds. A flicker of lightning here and there, a steady thump of thunder in the distance, coming closer and closer. It takes awhile, so long, in fact, that you can almost be lulled by the patterns that form, the bits of sun that fight through the thickening shadows, the way the air crisps, the breeze playing the leaves like a zither. And the voice, like a ghost, or the radio late, late at night, echoing from an old rusty car in an abandoned junkyard, the dials twisted to an obscure AM frequency. Secrets from the Storm is a unique collaboration between singer-songwriter (and guitarist for Jonathan Kane's February) Peg Simone and writer Holly Anderson. Poetic shards of raw-knuckled memoir are inspired by everything from the Harry Crews novel The Gospel Singer to Memphis Minnie. The epic opener 'Levee/1927' goes far beyond its sources -- Memphis Minnie and Led Zeppelin -- by turning its premise into a gripping tour-de-force of penumbral willies, sepulchral gasps, sensual jellyroll swagger, and bristling slide guitar that flashes up like a steel wolf trap in the moonlight, by turns furtive and brutal, as if the Velvet Underground had taken Albert King as a mentor instead of Andy Warhol."
CD $15


SVEN-AKE JOHANSSON - Cymbals In The Night (Broken Research 46; USA) "Heavy solo release from deep as Marianas Trench Swedish drummer Sven-Ake Johansson. Johansson is primarily known in the US as the drummer on the two hugely influential Brotzmann recordings: For Adolphe Sax and Machine Gun. However, the Berlin-based percussionist/composer/filmmaker/performance artist/painter -- all of which he is remarkably adept at -- also has numerous FMP releases and a well documented relationship with Alexander Schlippenbach. Notable contributions to the canon of experimental music include his Concert for 12 Tractors and performance piece for movement performed with Neubauten singer Nick Cave guitarist Blixa Bargeld. Johansson's mode here is pure clarity in terms of form, technique and content. Quiet as a kitten on clouds in social settings, this recording ranges from pure Krupa swing on corrugated cardboard *cymbals* to dirty styrofoam shrieks and then even further out to close-mic'd cymbal investigations of tone and vibration. In performance, he's a pro and even in a recorded situation he manages to engage the listener with humor and experiment. Pro printed sleeve/edition of 300."
LP $18

ALBERTO BRAIDA & GIANCARLO LOCATELLI - The Big Margotta (Broken Research 45; USA) "This marks the third release for the duo of Alberto Braida and Giancarlo Locatelli, the first being the incredibly austere Diciannove Calefazioni which was our initial introduction to perhaps the premier group of purpose and restraint in improvising music. Big talk I know but the fact is that these two have developed a dialogue thru their long partnership and friendship that stands as reminder of the potential that contemporary improvisation has always held and the manifestation of many of it's myriad possibilities. Our primary regard for Diciannove Calefazioni [Nineteen Calefactions] and our recent regard for the slightly more boisterous Big Margotta is how well considered their approach to reduction is. Rather than the methodology of Berlin or of Boston, what the group did was to take Beckett's approach to language and apply it to music; that is, to reduce it right to the point of collapse. In Beckett's case language still operates within the rules of grammar and in this duo's case they still operate within the rules of harmony but sans goofball mawkishness, tropes or boring melodicism. If there were fewer notes it wouldn't work and if there were more it would be overbearing. The duo language here is so fleet and well-handled it gives the listener an opportunity to hear experimental music that fulfills both of those qualifications. Pro-printed sleeve/edition of 300."
LP $18


Z'EV - as/if/when (Sub Rosa 229; Belgium) Sub Rosa presents works by industrial music pioneer, Z'EV. The physical vibrations of the objects in his works with both text and sound has been influenced by the Middle Eastern mystical system best known as Kabbalah, as well as -- but not limited to -- African, Afro-Caribbean and Indonesian rhythms, musics and cultures. He has studied Ewe music, Balinese gamelan, and Indian tala. From 1959-1965 he studied drumming with Arnie Frank, then Chuck Flores and then Art Anton at Drum City in Van Nuys, CA. In 1963, he abandoned Judaism and began his life-long relationship with World religions and esoteric systems. 1964 saw the beginning of his initial attempts at writing poetry and explorations of both two and three-dimensional artforms. After studying at CalArts from 1969-1970 with poets Emmett Williams and Michael S. Bell and writer/critic Sue-Ellen Case, he began producing works using the name S. Weisser, primarily concentrating on visual and sound poetries. In 1975, he was included in the "Second Generation" show at the Museum of Conceptual Art in San Francisco. In 1976 he moved from Los Angeles to the Bay Area, ending up with a storefront studio on MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, pretty much midway between the headquarters of the Black Panther Party, (who dissolved that year), and the Hells Angels (still extant). A primary reason for this move was his association with the San Francisco Alternative exhibition space La Mamelle (run by Carl Loeffler and Nancy Evans). In 1977 he presented his first solo percussion performance under the project title "Sound of Wind and Limb." In 1978 he began developing an idiosyncratic performance technique utilizing self-developed instruments formed from industrial materials such as stainless steel, titanium, and PVC plastics. Critic John Buckley described his performances in this era: "the instruments are collections of objects ... strung together with ropes and swung at varying speeds and directions to produce a fairly astonishing range of pitches and timbres. And the moves the guy goes through to manipulate these instruments are, for grace and athleticism, strong stuff. Z'EV is also interesting for the close correlation of visual and musical aspects, since the physical vibrations of the objects you see are the same as those picked up by the ears as sound. Also, since the rhythms of the work are dictated by the performer's every and any movement, an inevitable integrity unifies the act." Here are two pieces from the artist's early sound experiments: "As," recorded in 1978 at the KPFK radio station in Los Angeles, and "If," recorded at Savoy Tivoli in San Francisco. On clear vinyl.
LP $17


KEVIN DRUMM/JOHN WIESE - Split (Nihilist 63; USA) "Very long-awaited collaborative record by two fellows that need no introduction. Mania-inducing heavy waves of suffocating bass frequencies with ripping and tearing, hissing and speaker-destroying hell-storm. Recorded in Chicago in 2006, cover art by Alex Decarli. Pro-pressed covers pressed on black vinyl. 500 copies."
LP $23


MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE [JOHN SCHULLER et al] - Totem Two (Important 301; USA) "Echoing like a long lost Werner Herzog soundtrack, Totem Two is a record of subtle meditations and deep electric hallucinations from the Crystal Caves of the Northwest to the orchestral desert portals of Turkey. Totem Two finds MMOB exploring the disappearance of the mystic and the schisms of our age. In times when forces move against our souls, these are the first sounds of music that can only be described as No-Age, a resistance is making itself known. Featuring members of Earth, Asva, Burning Witch, The Diminished Men, and more, as well as special guests from Secret Chiefs 3 and the thriving Istanbul music scene. MMOB has now solidified into a 7-piece cosmic psych force. Like a reverse dark side of the new age sound, on the Totem series Master Musicians of Bukkake perform ritualistic electric excursions into the outer and inner reaches. Relying more on the electric power of psyched guitars, analog synth chants, and exotic heavy percussion. This Totem Trilogy echoes with the delusions of a west coast death cult. Outer-spaced gamelan, dusty fuzz rock from celestial deserts, meditations of a deranged Krishna gathering, and the blurry acoustic guitar majesty of the Cascade mountains all reveal themselves here in epic form. Master Musicians Of Bukkake's newest offering in the Totem Trilogy, Totem Two marks yet another psychic and sonic shift from their first record Visible Sign Of the Invisible Order (Abduction Records 2005/LP via Important Records 2010) and its predecessor in the trilogy Totem One (Conspiracy Records 2009). On Totem Two, Master Musicians explore and meditate deep on the death of the Mystics, the Forgotten Ones, the Schisms of our time, and the inability to realize the primary clear light for what it is. Totem Two shifts from electronically altered Bon cult rituals to outer spaced Sufi Sects. Finally succumbing to the fully orchestrated No-Age darkness of the religion of the future only to end in delusional 'enlightenment' atop Mt. Shasta, scrawling the deranged rambling of new age psychosis on the crystal walls of a cave. Every sound and note played is put to tape by a group with a singular purging purpose. Recorded, mixed and produced by Randall Dunn (Six Organs of Admitance, Sunno))), Earth ,etc.), at Aleph studios in Seattle, WA. 'Perede Kaldirma' was recorded in Istanbul, Turkey at the legendary ADA studios, November 2009. Featuring a collaboration between MMOB and Turkish musicians from the Istanbul music scene, it features amazing Ney solos by Serkan Bagkenesen. Over the years, ADA studios in Istanbul has been the host for records by Erkin Koray and Baris Manco to name a few. Inspired by and for lovers of: Popul Vuh's work with Werner Herzog, early Vangelis and Tangerine Dream, as well as Philip Glass' Kundun soundtrack." CD $14
also available as LP for $22


CHILD ABUSE - Cut And Run (Lovepump United 30; USA) "In their five years of existence, Child Abuse have become much more than a (shocking) name. The legendary NY trio has fused elements of noise, death metal, free jazz, and grind (among other things) for something entirely their own. On their 2nd full-length and 3rd Lovepump release, Child Abuse has reached the apex of weird: Cut And Run is a monument of bizarre brutality." CD $13
also available as LP for $16


SIGHTINGS - City Of Straw (Jagjaguwar/Brah 17; USA) "Crafting a lasting personal aesthetic in the midst of our ephemeral music culture is as rare as it is cause for celebration. With the release of City of Straw Brooklyn's Sightings can be counted among the few contemporary bands who have forged a unique voice amongst the racket. Recorded over a number of months in 2009 at The Ocropolis (Oneida's Brooklyn, NY studio), the band's seventh studio album becomes the crucible from which their grandest and most coherent statement finally emerges. Sightings has never presented a particularly welcoming facade and their sui generis music has perhaps been passed over by less discerning listeners over the eleven years of their existence, but throughout this they have created a singular body of work appreciated and touted by the likes of Thurston Moore and Andrew WK. Sightings will insist (and we agree wholeheartedly) that at their core they are a rock band working within the context of pop song-craft. As bassist Richard Hoffman told us recently, 'I think everyone in the band tries to remember the value of minimalism. Ultimately I think we try to write pop music, where there's no chaff and everything has a place.' With a deep reach beyond the spirit of their influence from greats like Birthday Party, Dead C and Jesus Lizard, City of Straw finds Sightings working at the peak of their creative powers and is the perfect re-introduction to one of New York's most accomplished bands."
CD $14
also available as LP for $16


DARA PUSPITA - Dara Puspita 1966-1968 (Sublime Freq 054; USA) Dara Puspita (trans. "Flower Girls") was arguably the world's greatest all-female garage rock band. The reason you've probably never heard of them was that they came from Indonesia where they were extremely popular during the 1960s. Their career spanned from 1965 until 1973 including 3 years (1969-1971) living and touring in Europe. The four albums recorded by the original members between 1966 and 1968 (the material represented on this CD) is one of the great chapters of 1960s popular music history never to be reissued, let alone recognized beyond a few tuned-in souls and adventurous record collectors in the Western world. Twenty-six of their most spectacular tracks (from the albums Jang Pertama, Special Edition, Green Green Grass, and A-Go-Go) are now finally available to hear in this essential release. Dara Puspita formed in their hometown of Surabaya in 1964. After relocating to Jakarta, the group began to create quite a stir with their wild stage shows. Their local performances were attended by teenagers grooving to the band's raw garage rock sound. The first all-female Indonesian pop group that could play their instruments and sing, Dara Puspita also attracted the attention of Indonesian president Sukarno who labeled Western rock music "a form of mental disease." In 1965 (an eventful and critical year for the group), the girls endured a month-long interrogation by the government for performing "outlawed" rock and roll music, became the house band in a Bangkok nightclub for three months, and were introduced to Dick Tamimi of Mesra records, the man who would launch their recording career. The tracks featured on this compilation were recorded at the height of Dara Puspita's popularity during the immediate post-Communist era of General Suharto's new order; a time when Indonesia's musicians and artists were finally capable of launching their own creative renaissance. This collection is guaranteed to appeal to all fans of the beat a-go-go era of the mid-late 1960s and is a significant missing piece of the global pop music history puzzle. Every single track is a classic, the sound quality is superb, and it should only take one listen to become completely addicted to and charmed by this legendary Indonesian group. Tri-fold digipack CD with 20-page booklet featuring rare & unseen photos provided by Dara Puspita for this specific reissue project and extensive liner notes of the band's phenomenal history by Alan Bishop.
CD $16


AIR [HENRY THREADGILL/FRED HOPKINS/STEVE McCALL] - Air Raid (Candid/Why Not 79413; USA) Second studio album by Air, recorded 7/15/76, and originally released on LP by Why Not in Japan. The critical success of Air's debut album, Air Song, dictated both more of the same and a difference in approach on Air Raid. While there are only four tracks, just as on the first album, here they are broken up between two long pieces -- the title track and "Release," and two mid-length, seven-plus minute works, "Midnight Sun" and "Through a Keyhole Darkly." The concept of group improvisation was the same, but Henry Threadgill's compositional notions began to come through in his solos. He's a born leader and his charge-taking feels natural and wonderfully amorphous, though it reveals itself more often than not. The structure of soloing on "Release" is breathtaking in that it makes a case for the notion of an interval in free improvisation. Threadgill's use of the breath as a rhythmic technique here brings out the most adventurous side of Steve McCall's drumming. Likewise, his engagement with thematic variants creates new and wildly textured terrains for Fred Hopkins to articulate a vision of the bass as an instrument for song as well as rhythm, and one where depth and resonance offer a palette for group searching. Another fine effort. ~ Thom Jurek, AMG
CD $12

MONTY WATERS with YOSHIAKI MASUO/RONNIE BOYKINS/GEORGE AVALOZ - The Black Cat (Candid/Why Not 79406; USA) Featuring Monty Waters on saxes, Masuo on guitar, Ronnie Boykins on acoustic bass and George Avaloz on drums. This is what is known as a loft jazz record. Monty Waters played sax & led the band for the great jazz vocalist Joe Lee Wilson. Joe Lee ran a loft space called the Ladies Fort on Bond Street down the block from the Studio Rivbea which was run by Sam & Bea Rivers during the same period of time in the mid-to-late seventies. I went to gigs at both of these places, as well as the Tin Palace, also on the same block, weekly for many years and still have great memories of these historic haunts. I don't think that Mr. Waters made (m)any others dates as a leader. An unassuming gem. - BLG
CD $12

and back in stock..

AIR [HENRY THREADGILL/FRED HOPKINS/STEVE McCALL] - Air Song (Candid/Why Not 79403; USA) The Air trio functioned with all three members contributing musically on an equal footing. Although in theory there was no leader, Henry Threadgill comes across as the dominant voice. The advanced interplay, allied with supreme musicianship and unfailingly creative solos make the ebb and flow achieved on this record supremely satisfying. Of the four extended pieces presented here, the most intriguing is surely the wonderfully titled Great Body of the Riddle or Where Were The Dodge Boys When My Clay Started to Slide? Titles aside, this set from 1975 is an impressive document from a revolutionary period in the evolution of jazz music.
"First album by Air, recorded 9/10/75 and originally released on LP by PAusa in the U.S. and Why Not in Japan. The improvisational collective of Henry Threadgill on tenor, baritone & alto saxophones and flute, and lots of other stuff, bassist Fred Hopkins, and drummer/percussionist Steve McCall, was the first major group after the Art Ensemble to come out of Chicago.
The feel of Air's sound is one where the collective improvises and creates without an individual soloist or group leader anchoring the proceedings. On the first two recordings, this debut outing in particular, this concept worked well. There are four long pieces here, all of them based on minimal themes with variations entering into the fray simultaneously and opening the door to a free for all that pays attention to both dynamics and texture. The interplay between the three members is almost always inventive, engaging, and full of warmth and humor. There is little excessive indulgence to be found on these improvisations, and the degree of musicianship with these men is off the chart. Communication in the new jazz often amounted to little more than cats trying to make one another louder. Air proved that the signal of development is in the listening and expressing oneself based on what has been played as a soloist and as part of the whole. A lovely and auspicious debut." ~ Thom Jurek, AMG
CD $12


ROY BROOKS & THE ARTISTIC TRUTH - Ethnic Expressions (Jazzman 034; UK) Easily one of the most coveted and sought-after of all jazz LPs is the elusive Holy Grail that is Roy Brooks' Ethnic Expressions. It's not just rarity that makes a record of this nature so desirable, nor is it the compelling music within -- sometimes, like a Van Gogh or a Picasso, it's the personality of the artist himself that's inexorably entwined with the record itself that lends a fascinating, mesmeric and mythical quality that simply can't be contrived. The sixth release in Jazzman's Holy Grail series is an attentive reissue of one of Detroit drummer Roy Brooks' two LPs for the tiny Im-Hotep label out of New York. This Jazzman release is in conjunction with P-Vine Records of Tokyo, whose Japanese reissue has already vanished with only a handful having reached these shores late in 2009. Ethnic Expressions was recorded live in NYC in 1973, and exhibits a powerful message of black consciousness and spiritual freedom. This is post-Coltrane progressive jazz of the highest order! With a cry to his African roots, Brooks' music combines modal, rhythmic and Afro-centric jazz with politics, spirituality and positive vibes. The result is deep, esoteric spiritual jazz that any fan into real-deal, vibrant jazz will require as essential listening
CD $17
also available on LP for $26



New from Movie Gold - exact CD replicas of..

U.M.A. [UMA: UBIQUITOUS MUSICIANS ASSOCIATION: GENJI SAWAI/HOPPY KAMIYAMA/BILL LASWELL/HIDEO YAMAKI] - Ja-ck (Movie Gold; EEC) [CD-R] U.M.A. - Genji Sawai : alto saxophone, soprano saxophone Bill Laswell : bass; Hoppy Kamiyama : digital president, slide geisha, ass hole box, scum tape from garbage, klavier, gram pot; Hideo Yamaki : drums; with guest Kiyoto Konda (3,5,6) : guitar; .
Amazing collision between fusion jazz, ambient/dub and sampling experimentalism! "Imagine if Weather Report still existed and made a great new album drawing on all contemporary form advancements. Which is not to say this sounds like any WR you've heard [it doesn't], or to malign UMA - it's original and AMAZING! Thumbs UP - Oh YEAH!!!" Mannylunch
CD $15

CHRIS McGREGOR'S BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH + ARCHIE SHEPP - En Concert A Banlieues Bleues (Movie Gold; EEC) [CD-R] 1989. Chris McGregor - piano; Archie Shepp - alto, tenor saxes, voice; Sonti Mndebele - voice; Julian Arguelles - baritone, soprano saxes; Frank Williams - alto, tenor saxes; Talib Kibwe - alto sax, clarinet; Robert Juritz - bassoon, alto sax; Dave Defries, Harry Beckett, Claude Deppa - trumpets, flugel horns; Annie Whitehead, Fayyaz Virji - trombones; Ernest Mothle - double bass; Gilbert Matthews - drums; Tony Maronie - percussion
CD $15

DUDU PUKWANA [PHUKWANA] & SPEAR - Dudu Pukwana And The Spears (Movie Gold; EEC) [CD-R] 1969 release on the South African 'Quality' label. Dudu and musicians likely [NO credits] including Bizo Muggikana (tenor), Fred Frederick (tenor/baritone), Fred Coker (guitar), Charles Ononogbo (bass guitar), and possibly Mongezi Feza (trumpet) and Louis Moholo (drums); in which case after this record they morphed into the Afro-rock group Assagai. Dudu is essentially the only soloist here, and instrumentation does include piano and possibly trombone; the music sounds like a cross between Kwela and Ska!
There is a 'legend' [read: rumour] that guitarist Richard Thompson is on this, as it was produced by Witchseasons Productions [Joe Boyd]. The liner notes from the original album laughably concludes with the line, "This record shows another side of Dudu backed by the vocal group the 'spears'." Laughably because there are NO vocals on this record! [except for an infrequent shout here and there]
CD $15

DUDU PUKWANA & SPEAR With MONGEZI FEZA/BIZO MUGGIKANA/HARRY MILLER/LOUIS MOHOLO - In The Townships (Movie Gold; EEC) [CD-R] 1973. Dudu Pukwana (alto saxophone, piano, vocal, percussion); Bizo Mngqikana (tenor saxophone, vocal, percussion); Mongezi Feza (trumpet, vocal, percussion); Harry Miller (bass); Louis Moholo (drums)
CD $15

and back in stock..

DUDU PUKWANA & SPEAR With MONGEZI FEZA/VICTOR WILLIAMS/PETE COWLING/JOHN STEVENS - Flute Music (Movie Gold; EEC) [CD-R] 1975. Dudu Pukwana (alto sax, piano, percussion); Mongezi Feza (trumpet, flute, congas, percussion); Victor Williams (keyboards); Pete Cowling (bass); John Stevens (drums); 'Bob' (congas)
CD $15

ASSAGAI [DUDU PUKWANA/MONGEZI FEZA/BIZO MUGGIKANA/FRED COKER/LOUIS MOHOLO et al] + JON FIELD/TONY DUHIG - Complete: Assagai/Zimbawe...plus [2 CD set] (Movie Gold; EEC) [CD-R] Prior to this, Dudu had his first Spears album on the Quality label, then expanded his concept into Assagai to enter the Osibisa-terrain of Afro-rock - two albums for the Vertigo label. After these two albums the group morphed into Dudu Pukwana And Spear, doing two albums for Caroline/Virgin.
Assagai - Assagai (1971): Dudu Pukwana (alto); Mongezi Feza (cornet); Bizo Muggikana (tenor); Fred Frederick (tenor); Fred Coker (guitar); Charles Ononogbo (bass guitar); Louis Moholo (drums); Terry Quaye (Conga) Assagai - Zimbabwe (1972): Dudu Pukwana (alto and piano); Mongezi Feza (trumpet); Bizo Muggikana (tenor); Fred Frederick (tenor/baratone); Fred Coker (guitar); Charles Cuonogbo (bass guitar); Louis Moholo (drums); Terry Quaye (conga); Smiley de Jonnes (congas/percussion); Martha Mdenge (vocals) and three members of Jade: Tony Duhig (guitar), Jon Field (bass guitar), and Glyn Havard (flute/percussion)
Also includes the Assagai and Simba [a version of Spear with the Jade members] live cuts from the Afro Rock Festival album, as well as a couple of rare Assagai singles!
2 CD set for $25

CHRIS McGREGOR'S BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH - Yes Please: Angouleme 1981 (Movie Gold; EEC) [CD-R] Harry Beckett : Trumpet , Flugel Horn ; Mark Charig : Cornet , Alto Horn ; Peter Segone : Trumpet ; David Defries : Trumpet , Flugel Horn ; Nick Evans : Trombone ; Radu Malfatti : Trombone ; John Tchicai : Alto Sax, Bass Clarinet ; Andre Goudbeek : Alto Sax, Bass Clarinet ; Francois Jeanneau : Soprano and Tenor Sax, Bass Clarinet ; Louis Sclavis : Soprano Sax, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet ; Bruce Grant : Baritone Sax, Oboe, Flute ; Caroline Collins : Violoncello ; Didier Levallet : Bass ; Ernest Shololo Mothle : Bass Guitar ; Brian Abrahams : Drums, Percussion ; Jean - Claude Montredon : Drums, Percussion ; Chris McGregor : Piano, Flute. CD-R with all cover art
CD $15

CHRIS McGREGOR & THE CASTLE LAGER BIG BAND With DUDU PUKWANA/MONGEZI FEZA/NICK MOYAKE/KIPPI MOEKETSI et al - Jazz: The African Sound (Movie Gold; EEC) [CD-R] Pianist McGregor's September '63 studio recording with Dudu Pukwana, Barney Rabachane, Nick Moyake, Christopher Columbus Ngcukane, Kippie Moeketsi on saxes; Bob Tizzard, Blyth Mbityana, Willie Nettie on trombones; Dennis Mpali, Ebbie Creswell, Mongezi Feza, Noel Jones on trumpets; Sammy Maritz bass, Early Mabusa drums
CD $15

PETER GORDON & LOVE OF LIFE ORCHESTRA - Geneva & Extended Niceties (Movie Gold; EEC) [CD-R] Classic early '80s LP + EP on 1 CD. Peter Gordon sax, David Van Tieghem drums, Randy Gunn el.guitar and mandolin, Larry Saltzman guitar, Al Scotti el bass, David Byrne and Arto Lindsay guitars (10,12), Rik Albany trombone (11), David Wofford bass (11), Ernie Brooks bass (10,12) Iris Hiskey, Dora Ohrenstein, and Rebecca Armstrong vocals (10,12) Here's the warmest, coolest and most intelligent plastic sound of NYC in the Eighties, mixing downtown avant-garde, No-Wave and disco, coming from the same context of Arthur Russell and Rhys Chatham just to name 2 other favorites of mine, and featuring here choruses, keyboards, and even David Byrne and Arto Lindsay on guitars on 'Beginning of the heartbreak'. The Love of Life Orchestra is a Peter Gordon's creature; Peter is still young and active, writing and playing music, sharing the typical curiosity of NYC people in mixing cultures. When I think about composers living in NYC (Zorn or Sharp for example) it always comes to my mind the image of interweaving fragments of the most different materials, something like very complex and elaborate assemblages, with their own strong identity despite they may be built out of apparently inert materials.
CD $15



Archival treats from European labels!

STEVE LACY TRIO With KENT CARTER/ALDO ROMANO et al - Sortie/Disposability (Free Factory 67/Disconforme; EEC) Tracks 1-6 Sortie (Milan 2/7/66); 7-15 Disposability Rome 12/21-22/65. Two impossible to get on CD classics from the late Steve Lacy - don't hesitate!
CD $17

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO [LESTER BOWIE/ROSCOE MITCHELL/JOSEPH JARMAN/MALACHI FAVORS] With FONTELLA BASS et al - Go Home/Chi Congo (Free Factory 66/Disconforme; EEC) Go Home, with Joseph Jarman, Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors, Roscoe Mitchell, Fontella Bass and other guests, is impossible to find on CD [only once in Europe 20 years ago] or even on LP for that matter; and Chi Congo, with Joseph Jarman, Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors, Roscoe Mitchell, Famadou Don Moye, had a U.S. release a few years ago that went out of print. Two must-have album classics recorded in Paris in early 1970 - on 1 CD!
CD $17

ORNETTE COLEMAN With CHARLIE HADEN/DAVID IZENZON/CHARLES MOFFETT - The Love Revolution - Complete Italian Tour 1968: Rome/Milan [2 CD set] (Gambit 69224; EEC) The material collected for this 2-CD set corresponds to the February 1968 European tour, featuring the Coleman's Quartet with his regular unusual group inclufing David Izenzon and Charlie Haden on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums.The first CD includes the Rome concert, with extended versions of four original compositions, including a fantastic interpretation of the already popular "Lonely Woman." The second CD contains the Milan's Teatro Lirico performances, with three original compositions.
The sum of this material on one edition, makes this an essential release, capturing a crucial period of the career of an artist that without a doubt, remains the ultimate contemporary musician of the jazz vanguard.
2 CD set for $22

ORNETTE COLEMAN/DON CHERRY/JIMMY GIUFFRE/KENNY DORHAM/GUNTHER SCHULLER/RAN BLAKE/STEVE KUHN/GARY McFARLAND/ATTILA ZOLLER/IAN UNDERWOOD et al - The Lenox Jazz School Concert August 29, 1959 (Free Factory 64/Disconforme; EEC) This extraordinary disc features six fine ensembles with shared & varying personnel live at the Berkshire Music Barn at the Lenoz School of Jazz in Massachusetts from one evening in August of 1959. The ensembles were led by Max Roach & John Lewis (w/ Ornette, Don Cherry & Steve Kuhn), Kenny Dorham, Bill Evans/Jim Hall, Jimmy Giuffre, Gunther Schuller (w/ Perry Robinson) and Herb Pomeroy (w/ Ornette, Lenny Popkin, Gary McFarland & Ian Underwood). MJQ's John Lewis was the director of the Lenox School and he invited Ornette Coleman & Don Cherry (who had just moved to NY) to attend the summer program. The music was written by Ornette, Gary McFarland, George Russell, Jimmy Giuffre, Kenny Dorham and others. What I dig about this is that there is successful combination of fresh ideas that encompassed the modern jazz, third stream and contemporary classical music of that time with an eye on the future of things to come. There are four bonus tracks featuring the Kenny Dorham European Quartet from Oslo in 1964. Nearly 71 & 1/2 minutes long and consistently engaging. - Bruce Lee Gallanter/DMG
CD $17

ORNETTE COLEMAN With DAVID IZENZON/CHARLES MOFFETT - Paris Concerts 1965-1966 (Gambit 69279; EEC) tracks 1-4 Salle De La Mutualite, Paris November 4th 1965; tracks 5-7 Parisian radio broadcast February 12, 1966
CD $16

ORNETTE COLEMAN With DEWEY REDMAN/CHARLIE HADEN/ED BLACKWELL - Belgium 1969: Blizen Festival (Gambit 69283; EEC) tracks 1-4 Salle De La Mutualite, Paris November 4th 1965; tracks 5-7 Parisian radio broadcast February 12, 1966
CD $16

ORNETTE COLEMAN With DEWEY REDMAN/CHARLIE HADEN/ED BLACKWELL - Live in Paris November 1971 (Jazz Row 651; EEC) November 1971 Paris show does NOT appear to be the same show as the Japanese Trio label double album; contains four cuts: Street Woman; Summer-Thang; Silhouette; Rock The Clock
CD $18

JOHN COLTRANE - Impressions [DVD] (Salt Peanuts 44607; Germany) [NTSC Region 0 (all Region)] films including Afro Blue, Alabama, and Impressions with Tyner, Garrison, Elvin from December '63 in San Francisco; Every Time You Say Goodbye and Impressions #2 with Dolphy, Tyner, Workman, Elvin from Baden-Baden 1961; and My Favorite Things with Tyner, Garrison, Elvin from Belgium 1965
DVD $16

JOHN COLTRANE QUINTET With ERIC DOLPHY - The Complete 1962 Birdland Broadcasts (Gambit 69325; EEC) John Coltrane (ts, ss), Eric Dolphy (as, fl, bcl), McCoy Tyner (p), Jimmy Garrison (b), Elvin Jones (d) Half an hour of previously unissued Coltrane & Dolphy. For the first time ever on a single collection, John Coltrane's two 1962 Birdland performances with Eric Dolphy, in their entirety, including the previously unissued February 16 broadcast. The sound quality is sometimes far from perfect, but this is never before heard Coltrane with Dolphy. This marked their next to last recorded encounters. (Apparently their last preserved collaboration is an unissued live performance at the Showboat in Philadelphia from November 18, 1963, where, according to discographers, Dolphy sat in for Body and Soul only. Dolphy could also be present on a December 1962 private tape that was also recorded at the Showboat, but this tape is also unissued and the information is unconfirmed.)
CD $16

JOHN COLTRANE QUINTET With ERIC DOLPHY - The Complete 1961 Copenhagen Concert (Gambit 69328; EEC) Lineup of Trane, Dolphy, Workman, Tyner, and Elvin.
CD $16

MILES DAVIS QUINTET With WAYNE SHORTER/CHICK COREA/DAVE HOLLAND/JACK DeJOHNETTE - Live In Berlin 1969 (Gambit 69331; EEC)
CD $16

MILES DAVIS QUINTET With WAYNE SHORTER/CHICK COREA/DAVE HOLLAND/JACK DeJOHNETTE - Live In Copenhagen And Rome 1969 [DVD] (JazzShots 2869080; EEC) [NTSC Region 0 (all Region)] five song set from Copenhagen November 4th '69 [54 minutes]; and 6 song set from Rome October 27 '69 [28 minutes]
DVD $16

MILES DAVIS QUINTET With WAYNE SHORTER/CHICK COREA/DAVE HOLLAND/JACK DeJOHNETTE - Live In Rome And Copenhagen 1969 [2 CD set] (Gambit 69330; EEC) same shows as above DVD, BUT has more material [10 cuts] from the Rome show [86 minutes]. Total time of both discs is 138 minutes! 2 CD set for $22
MILES DAVIS With DAVE LIEBMAN/PETE COSEY/REGGIE LUCAS et al - Live In Vienna 1973 (Gambit 69329; EEC)
CD $16


Zs - New Slaves [2 LP set] (Social Registry 78; USA) "Ah, a new decade of experimental music is here and, no, it has nothing to do with making 'weird' disco and throwing a Pro Tools filter over the top to make it sound like a cassette tape. Zs are ready to unload their first full-length for The Social Registry. It's called New Slaves, and is the most physically visceral experimental LP we've heard in a minute. Hitting with a similar impact as Oughts giants like The Boredoms' Vision Creation Newsun and Black Dice's Beaches and Canyons, New Slaves is a true behemoth -- epic, unapologetic, painfully and artfully composed, mind-boggling in complexity, original in sound and intent, while maintaining a minimalist, chugging funk groove throughout its precise post-capitalist haze. It is arguably the most definitive statement from a band that have been challenging listeners for a decade, demonstrating, over the course of 70 minutes, just how versatile their sound can be." "The most powerful and possibly most cohesive Zs release to date! For lack of better words, heavy tribal sounds (their own press kit compares them to Boredoms) filtered through the world of free jazz (as in Derek Bailey playing with Brotzmann and Zu), metal (via Orthrelm), and most prominently minimalism (ala Terry Riley's "dorian reeds"). Zs have been around for over a decade and has been plagued with multiple line up changes. Yet each time the members have changed, the musical focus quickly evolved into a stronger compositional output by the group (I mean no disrespect to previous members, of which there have been many). I have had the joy of being there since the inception all the way till present date, so it warms my heart and more importantly my ears to hear such growth. Do yourself a favor and pick this up! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! -Chuck Bettis/DMG
LP $20
also available on CD for $14


DANIEL A.I.U. HIGGS - Say God [2 CD set] (Thrill Jockey 240; USA) "When I hear the word god spew out of people's mouths it is as painful and disgusting to me as watching a rape scene in a movie. The word conjures up images of hordes of followers being led like sheep listening to and adhering to the every word of a another misguided person, the impetus for wars, the oppression of women, brainwashing, the list of atrocities goes on and on. Ok, I will try to paraphrase my utter discontent for organized religion at the same time tell you about the great music on this disc. Despite my mental anguish caused by religious fervor, I actually looked forward to hearing this recording. Higgs is a wordsmith, one of the most literary humans I know. Dwelving deep into the psyche of language and reconstituting archiac words. His voice is captivating and compels you to sink deep, even if uncomfortable, upon his word bed he lays before you. He utilizes his words as a form of alchemy along with some harmonium or hypnotic banjo to form some new liturgy to drill deep inside your cerebral cortex that will take weeks to get out. Not to speak for Daniel, but it seems like he is playing a character to get people to think about a much abused subject. How I hear this recording is not Higgs as the preacher, but an examiner and excavator of myths along with the late great Joseph Campbell. The myths may speak ofotherworldly beings, but the root of all myths is always about us. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!" -Chuck "666" Bettis /DMG
CD $16


CHRISTIAN FENNESZ - Endless Summer: 2007 Remixed & Expanded edition (Editions Mego 135; Austria) 2010 edition with new cover. This reissue of Christian Fennesz's breakthrough classic Endless Summer has been remixed, remastered, and re-released with two extra tracks. Originally released in 2001 by Mego, Endless Summer brought his name and music towards the first steps of mainstream recognition with its micro sounds and warm guitar, harkening the dreamy serenity and quick-fading sentimentality of a California sunset. Following on from the more experimental Hotel Paral.lell and the Beach Boys homaged Plays single, Endless Summer brought the guitars more to the front, the electronics shimmered more, and the melodies shined more brightly. It went on to be a classic of its time, topping many end of year polls. This new definitive edition is newly mixed by Fennesz, resulting in a more open-sounding version of the tracks, especially the marimba driven "Caecilia" and the hypnotic "Before I Leave," and the towering "Happy Audio." It is also re-mastered by Denis Blackham at Skye, and has beautifully photographed artwork by Jon Wozencroft. In addition to the original 8 tracks, it contains 2 extra titles: "Badminton Girl," originally released in 2001 as part of the Split Series #15 12" with Main on Fat Cat Records, now out of print, and "Endless," which is previously unreleased until now.
CD $16



Back in stock..

JAMES FALZONE ALLOS MUSICA With KATHERINE YOUNG/AMY CIMINI/KEVIN DAVIS/BRIAN DIBBLEE/TIM MULVENNA - The Sign And The Thing Signified (Allos Documents 02; USA) Featuring James Falzone on clarinet & compositions, Katherine Young on bassoon, Amy Cimini on viola, Kevin Davis on cello, Brian Dibblee on double bass and Tim Mulvenna on drums & percussion. Chicago clarinetist James Falzone recently sent us two discs out of the blue and lo & behold, both are great! I wasn't very familiar with Mr. Falzone before these discs arrived but I am a true fan now. The instrumentation of this sextet is more like a chamber group than a jazz group and that is how they sound most of the time. The title track (part 1) opens this disc with a shimmering but low-key drone that is quietly hypnotic. "A Cord of Three Strands...Broken" has ritualistic rhythmic pulse with elegant harmonies for the clarinet, bassoon and strings. This music sounds like an older form of chamber music and doesn't swing in a jazz sense yet remains consistently intriguing. There are couple of short pieces that sound free yet are used more for seasoning between the other written works. I recall hearing/seeing the quartet Oregon play for the first time in the mid-seventies and thinking that they sounded completely different from any other jazz ensemble that I heard due to their unique instrumentation. The same thing goes for this sextet, they don't quite sound like anyone else. James gives the bassoon some of the most challenging parts to play as well as himself on clarinet, keeping both musicians on their toes to perform these difficult pieces. "Dido's Lament" is a lush, solemn piece with some superb clarinet up front. I like the way James writes lovely, austere harmonies for the strings as the support the clarinet and bassoon on top. Sometimes the strings will play more turbulent parts underneath the two reeds when they reach for darker waves to submerge in. What is special is that it is a treat to hear some new music that is closer to chamber music than anything else and still remains vital, crafty and filled with surprises. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $14

KLANG [JAMES FALZONE/JASON ADASIEWICZ/JASON ROEBKE/TIM DAISY] - Tea Music (Allos Documents 03; USA) Tea Music is the debut studio recording by Chicago-based clarinetist/composer James Falzone's three year-old working quartet, KLANG. Falzone, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Tim Daisy all compose for the group, which picks up the swing era thread of pairing clarinet and vibes, while also exploring its collective interest in the innovative sounds of Jimmy Giuffre's early small groups of the mid-1950's. "Klang is the German word for sound or sonority," Falzone explains, 'and I often think of the sound of something, whether that be a group, a composition or a musician, before anything else. The mixing of vibes and clarinet is a sound explored famously by Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton in the prebop era, and then taken up again by Eric Dolphy and Bobby Hutcherson. There is something in the acoustic make-up of the two instruments that allows them to blend well." "As for the Giuffre connection," he adds, "I've always been taken with his early groups, before the trios with Jim Hall and Bob Brookmeyer, and well before the trios with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow, though I love those trios, too. And, his unique approach to his instrument has fascinated, confused and delighted me beyond explanation since I heard The Jimmy Giuffre Clarinet at 12 years old. The guys in KLANG are all as into him as I am - everyone here in Chicago is, actually."
CD $14


DIETER MOEBIUS & CONNY PLANK - Rastakraut Pasta (Bureau B 48; Germany) Dieter Moebius and Conny Plank got to know each other through their work on Cluster's 1971 album and remained close friends until Plank's death in 1987. They made a congenial pair as musicians, as amply demonstrated by their first album as a duo, Rastakraut Pasta, originally released on Sky Records in 1980. On this album, drums, electric guitars and bass are the cornerstones of every track; they provide the framework to which Moebius adds fresh color and life with his synthesizers. Thanks to the technical merits of Plank's studio, the keyboards sound barely distinguishable from one another. No samples -- strictly analog from start to finish. Holger Czukay (Can) plays bass on three pieces and his consummate professionalism sees his virtuosity finely-tuned to the concept of Moebius and Plank. Moebius has a predilection for surrealist cascades of noise, heard throughout the album, grotesque yet playful. An enigmatic form of pop music came into being on this LP, a breakneck, elegant mix of diverse elements: a touch of Krautrock, some avant-garde pop, new German electronica, even sporadic echoes of reggae. 180 gram vinyl LP housed in a printed inner sleeve with full-color photos and notes by Asmus Tietchens.
LP $18

DIETER MOEBIUS & CONNY PLANK - Material (Bureau B 49; Germany) On their second album Material, originally released on Sky Records in 1981, Moebius & Plank ventured far, far away from the double coordinates of the Harmonia world and pop music cosmos. Amazingly, they did not find themselves floating in space, but made an exemplary landing, avoiding getting caught between a rock and a hard place. Material saw them generate a form of genre-busting electronic music, more radical than anything one might have expected to come out of Germany, not even from the likes of Cluster or Harmonia. Having said that, one should add that the album is in no way a copy of the new wave and industrial scenes that were enjoying such prominence at the time. Material is, in the best sense of the word, without style, that is to say, it cannot be aligned with any of the conventional styles available. On their two first albums, Moebius & Plank take up their place in a lengthy list of musicians and composers who, from roughly the end of the 1970s, gave up caring about which stylistic category their music might belong to, no longer looking upon experimentation as a strategy of reckless abandon, but as a perfectly normal course of action. 180 gram vinyl LP housed in a printed inner sleeve with full-color photos and notes by Asmus Tietchens.
LP $18



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AN ANTHOLOGY OF NOISE & ELECTRONIC MUSIC [V.A.] - Volume 2: A Chronology 1936-2003 [3 LP set] (Sub Rosa 200; Belgium) Sub Rosa issues the highly-acclaimed Anthology Of Noise & Electronic Music collection on vinyl, containing all of the music on the 2-CD version -- 3-LPs housed in a luxurious triple gatefold sleeve. The story continues with volume 2, featuring slow explorations of the past and the present. Given the present system of production, there are reasons, some of them identifiable, why only a few names emerge in each period. There may also be a preference for concentrating information rather than letting it pile up in disordered fashion. Over the past 40 years, the same ten electronic music composers get mentioned again and again (including in music dictionaries and histories). Yet behind them are many other names. Who are they? Second-raters? Not necessarily. For we then need to define the concept of top-rate (rated by who, and on what criteria?) and second-rate or minor artist. Great pleasure can be derived from the works of minor artists. The case of Tod Dockstader is instructive: when "for lack of academic qualifications" he was denied access to the electronic music facilities he needed, was there not great beauty in the pieces he nevertheless created and in his determination to make music without those facilities? His name was never seen on the labels of top record companies. But he influenced quite a few people -- Richard James quoted him, and others then referred to his work. Some of his records were reissued, and what one could call the rehabilitation process continues. The same applies to many other composers. All such stories spell a passion for music, and weave myth. At the turn of the century, there were efforts to find new sources of sound -- a number of machines were exhibited, including Thaddeus Cahiel's Telharmonium in 1887 and the Dynamophone presented to the New York public in 1906; they generally played well-known romantic or post-romantic pieces. After a few flamboyant skirmishes described in the previous volume, the postwar period saw the arrival in 1951, of Wladimir Ussachevsky and Otto Luening in New York's Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. When audiences of the '50s and '60s first heard Varese, Pousseur, Stockhausen, Berio, Ussachevsky, Yuasa, Dockstader and Mumma, what did they feel? Perhaps a sort of break -- an epistemological break, like it must have been for the first audience of Monteverdi's Orfeo. They left the auditorium completely stunned, because they had never heard anything like it. Artists on volume 2 include: Wladimir Ussachevsky + Otto Luening, Autechre, Luc Ferrari, Laibach, Alan R. Splet, SPK, Tod Dockstader, Johanna M. Beyer, Morton Subotnick, Captain Beefheart, Robin Rimbaud/Scanner, Hugh Davies, Daphne Oram, Sun Ra, Kim Cascone, Yoshihiro Hanno, Meira Asher, Woody McBride, Lasse Steen/Choose, Arcane Devices, and Percy Grainger.
3 LP set for $36

AN ANTHOLOGY OF NOISE & ELECTRONIC MUSIC [V.A.] - Volume 1: A Chronology 1921-2001 [3 LP set] (Sub Rosa 190; Belgium) At last, the Sub Rosa label issues the highly-acclaimed Anthology Of Noise & Electronic Music collection on vinyl -- 3LPs housed in a luxurious triple gatefold sleeve. Containing early and contemporary classics as well as pieces that had never been heard before. Volume 1 begins in the 1920s with the Russolo brothers, and examines each decade in turn -- Varese, Cage, Schaeffer, Xenakis, the great pioneers crafting the first traces of a music that was markedly revolutionary: electronic music, created from nothing and an artifice without boundary that was to be entirely invented. Whereas composers such as Stockhausen, Berio and Pousseur had come from Serialism and began making electronic music as a continuation of their work with traditional instruments, others such as Boehmer and Oliveros immediately began composing using electronic bases. There were those who invented new methods, like Schaeffer and musique concrete, others were outsiders, revolutionaries and visionaries like Xenakis and Cage, and still others who derived their sound from Dadaism, the complex forms of free-jazz, John Coltrane, the acoustic and electronic improvisation scene, alternative rock, psychedelic and industrial music, the German Krautrock wave of the 1970s, and so on. The contemporary generation of electronic musicians on volume 1 are DJs, reinventors of drones, painters and sculptors using sound as a process, and maverick software creators. An absolute must for anyone interested in the roots and history of electronic music, now in a beautiful deluxe triple vinyl package including liner notes. Other artists include: Walter Ruttmann, Gordon Mumma, Angus Maclise, Tony Conrad, Philip Jeck, Otomo Yoshihide and Martin Tetreault, Survival Research Laboratories, Einsturzende Neubauten, Nam June Paik, Sonic Youth, DJ Spooky, and Ryoji Ikeda.
3 LP set for $36

NOTE: all 5 volumes of the Anthology Of Noise & Electronic Music are available as double-CD sets for $18 each from DMG [that's us!]


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AFRICAN PEARLS [V.A.] - Cote D'Ivoire: West African Crossroads [2 CD set] (Syllart 6145482; EEC) the fifth release in Syllart Productions' African Pearls series of compilations, this time coming from Cote d'Ivoire. A natural West African crossroads, the Ivory Coast has always been at the forefront of musical trends, be it black American music, Cuban rhythms, French pop, Mandingo lyricism, Ghanese high-life or Congolese fusions. With its 72 ethnicities, their dances and music, Cote d'Ivoire possesses a strong cultural heritage -- and since 1975, all the West-African music seems to gather in the capital of the Ivory Coast, to give birth to a timeless, exceptional music. Explore this double CD that will make you travel through Africa, and discover universes of gifted artists.
2 CD set for $20

AFRICAN PEARLS [V.A.] - Congo: Pont Sur Le Congo [2 CD set] (Syllart 6147472; EEC) Syllart Productions presents a 2CD collection of Congolese music from the '60s and '70s. In the late 1940s, the combined influences of jazz and European and Cuban music resonated on both sides of the Congo River. Brazzaville and Leopoldville, now Kinshasa, vibrated with a newfound electric modernity. In 1960, the two Congos, Belgian and French, became independent and forged a common Congolese cultural identity, which first expressed itself through music. Western productions like American rhythm'n'blues, British rock, and French pop also infiltrated the local musical customs. The natural fluidity of the Lingala language, a common Bantu language used on both banks of the Congo since the 19th century, allowed many artists to reach out to the largest possible number of people, Lingala being mainly an oral language. Kikongo, French and Spanish were also widely used in popular songs. During the 1960s, both Congos experienced outrageous economic growth, resulting in a pleasure-seeking society. The epic competition between the African Jazz Orchestra and its different off-shoots, such as Docteur Nico, Grand Kalle and Tabu Ley, but also between Franco's OK Jazz Orchestra and Verckys' productions, stimulated local creativity. Every one of these Congolese orchestras, from the popular to the most obscure, were absolute dance machines. Interactions between musicians of the big orchestras of Kinshasa and Brazzaville were constant and almost impossible to keep track of. From the beginning of the African Jazz movement at the start of the '60s, orchestras made a habit of breaking-up after their first hit or at the slightest sign that egos were getting too big. With this competitiveness also came mutual respect. Each side could count on their supporters, like a football team, and every recording or a musician's replacement was a topic of serious discussion in the local media and in daily conversations. Here is a sampling of music from the region's most influential acts during a fertile era of cross-cultural pollination. Produced by Ibrahima Sylla. Includes 20-page booklet with full-color photos and liner notes in French and English by Florent Mazzoleni.
2 CD set for $20

AFRICAN PEARLS [V.A.] - Senegal: Echo Musical [2 CD set] (Syllart 6147482; EEC) Syllart Productions presents a 2CD collection of music from '70s Senegal. More than any other country in West Africa, Senegal has been strongly influenced by Cuban music coming to Dakar through Cuban sailors. Widely broadcast, the Afro-Cuban repertoire stands at the bottom of modern Senegalese music. Mornas and coladeras from Cabo Verde are also to be heard along Dakar streets. Luis Vera Da Fonseca is one of the unsung pioneers of this musical melting pot. Under the name Fonseca & Ses Anges Noirs, he recorded quite a number of records in France and Belgium, starting in the late '50s. Links between Dakar and Habana seem natural as evidenced by recordings of orchestras such as Star Band de Dakar or Orchestra Baobab and many bands within this musical constellation. The impact of Star Band is pivotal in the history of modern Senegalese music. So are the names "stars" and "Etoiles" with bands such as Youssou Ndour's Super Etoile, Star Number One, Etoile de Dakar and Etoile 2000 studding the musical landscape of the region. The Star Band orchestra was set up by entrepreneur Ibrahima Kasse, one of the founding fathers of Senegalese music and owner of the Miami Club, located in the effervescent Medina neighborhood. The orchestra consisted of musicians of various origins such as Guinean percussion player and singer Amara Toure, Gambian singer Laba Sosseh and Nigerian saxophone player Dexter Johnson. Under Kasse's aegis, the Star Band turned into a terrific dancing machine, with electric instruments and a powerful horn section. At first, its repertoire was largely based on rumbas, merengue, pachangas and other cha-cha-cha, but wolof, mandingo and peul folk songs slowly made their way into the band's repertoire as a way to embrace the local musical traditions. As famous as the Star Band outside of Dakar, the Diarama de Saint-Louis was one of the regional province's better-known orchestras, possessing a strong jazz and Cuban musical culture. Super Diamono was influenced by Ifang Bondi and Guelewar mandingo beat from Gambia, while Xalam was named after a Wolof instrument, restoring traditional sounds such as tama drums. The Senegalese music of this era was a melange of various influences, musical fusions and explosive new combinations. Includes a 16-page booklet with full-color photos and notes in French and English by Florent Mazzoleni. Produced by Ibrahima Sylla.
2 CD set for $20


NIGERIAN DISCO FUNK SPECIAL [V.A.] - The Sound of the Underground Lagos Dancefloor 1974-79 [2 LP set] (Soundway 10; UK) Lagos, Nigeria, 1974-1979: the funk & disco capital of West Africa. More nightclubs, bars, spots and dancefloors than any place along the coast from Dakar all the way to Kinshasa. Nigeria Disco Funk Special is an amazing collection of heavy dancefloor grooves from urban Lagos in the '70s -- hot and driving slices of funk, disco and boogie that show just how vibrant the music scene was in one of West Africa's most populous and culturally diverse cities. In the '70s, it wasn't just James Brown who influenced the musicians playing in the nightspots of Lagos -- the loose-structured and elongated jams that he was pioneering in America had been a part of Nigerian music much longer than that. This album is the sound of Cuban-heeled and micro-minied Lagos youth soaking up the sound of the American discotheque and putting their own inimitable twist on the proceedings. The CD and double gatefold vinyl include rare tracks from famous musicians like Bongos Ikwue & The Groovies and Mono Mono's Joni Haastrup, as well as selections from cult bands like Asiko Rock Group, SJOB Movement and Jay-U Experience. Other artists include: The Sahara All Stars, T-Fire, Voices Of Darkness and Dr. Adolf Aonotu. 2 LP set for $22
also available on CD for $17

NIGERIAN ROCK SPECIAL [V.A.] - Psychedelic Afro-Rock & Fuzz Funk in 1970s Nigeria [2 LP set] (Soundway 11; UK) Nigeria Rock Special shines a light on the flipside of the well-documented sounds of highlife and Afrobeat coming out of Nigeria in the 1970s -- young bands caught up in the wave of psychedelic and progressive rock that was sweeping Europe and the States in the late '60s and early '70s. As time goes by, the many layers of musical output that formed around the world throughout the 1960s and '70s continues to be peeled back to reveal many welcome surprises. The explosion of rock n' roll that erupted out of the USA in the '50s fanned out around the globe from its epicenter and by the mid-1960s, kids all over the world were picking up guitars and checking themselves in mirrors. Nigeria was no exception. Spurred on by Cream drummer Ginger Baker's visits to Lagos and his band Airforce (featuring many Nigerian musicians), the sound of fuzzed-out rock reverberated around the universities and nightspots of Lagos and Ibadan. The craze that followed hit the youth and student population of Nigeria hard -- mixing fuzz guitar and heavy African rhythms with elements of Led Zeppelin, Traffic and The Chambers Brothers. Fifteen of the best cuts from the scene are available here for the first time in 30 years. Artists include: Ofege, The Action 13, The Hygrades, The Wings, Ofo The Black Company, The Elcados, Mono Mono, Tabukah "X", The Funkees, Colomach, Joe King Kologbo & His Black Sound, Question Mark, Original Wings, Tunji Oyelana and BLO.
2 LP set for $22
also available on CD for $17


JAY ABNER - Folk Song Stylist (Mississippi 68; USA) "Long awaited follow up to the True Story of Abner Jay LP. Abner Jay was a man who had a grand sweeping vision of what folk music was. In his lifetime his expression of what folk music could be encompassed some serious stylistic variations. Sometimes he was a one man band traveling troubadour playing an electric banjo, harmonica, & drums who tried to hoodwink audiences into believing that he was 150 years old & the standard bearer for authentic Americana. Sometimes he played in electric straight up R&B bands such as 'Koko Joe & the Jobhunters'. Sometimes he claimed to be the 'black Bob Dylan' strumming an acoustic guitar & singing socially conscious urban folk. On this LP we find Abner in all of these modes & more. (He also does a pop song about a submarine disaster & a beautiful gospel song). Culled from a mix of Abners' 45's & LPs spanning the period 1964-1973, including Abner's first long lost LP, which we reproduced the cover image for this LP from. We hope that this release will help to further the current wave of understanding that Abner Jay is an important artist who deserves a wider audience than he ever received during his lifetime. Comes with a self promotional pamphlet penned by Abner & a color photo of Abner. Housed in an old school tip on sleeve. We are very proud to get this incredibly hard to find material out into the world."
LP $15

BEEN HERE ALL MY DAYS [V.A.] - The George Mitchell Recordings (Mississippi 64; USA) "Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, George Mitchell recorded extensively in the South. Mitchell concentrated mainly on local blues traditions, recording some famous bluesmen and many otherwise ignored artists. The George Mitchell Collection was originally released as a series of forty-five EPs on Fat Possum; this LP contains our favorite fourteen tracks. This LP represents songs from many well-known blues musicians such as Fred McDowell, Furry Lewis and Joe Calicott as well as some from criminally under-represented artists like Jessie Mae Hemphill, Rosa Lee Hill and John Lee Ziegler. Comes with a short booklet of photos, discographical notes and recollections."
LP $15


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