A Great Week of Dynamite Discs from:


The New Soft Machine Legacy! Zorn Moonchild Qt! 2 from The Work! Vandermark 5 + ! Joe McPhee & I Haker Flaten! Gratkowski/Nakatani/Gramms! Henry Kaiser Solo! Henry Grimes & Rashied Ali Vol 2! Amanda Monaco! Acid Mother Temple! Merzbow! Sun City Girls Final & Sun Ra Solo LP's! Kathleen Supove!

Luc Ferrari! Elliott Carter! Trevor Wishart! Scott Fields! Pauline Oliveros DVD! Philip Jeck! Francisco Lopez! Noveller! Russell Haswell! EMAK! Persian Underground! Next Stop Soweto! Plus Archival Recordings from Can! Aorta! Raw Material! Blues Creation! Comfortable Chair! Price break on Connie Crothers 'New Artists' Label!

And a Massive Emanem & Psi Label Sale [one week only]


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



Sunday, September 26th at 6pm:
BLURBOXER featuring: GL DIANA on Sitar & Live Electronics & LISA DOWLING on Double Bass!


Sunday, October 3rd Double Header
6pm: BEN STAPP- Tuba / KENNY WARREN - Trumpet / DUSTIN CARLSON - Guitar / JUAN PABLO CARLETTI - Drums!
7pm: PETER EVANS & NATE WOOLEY!
Amazing Trumpet Duo - Their Last Set Before European Tour!


Sunday, October 10th Double Header
6pm: BEN SYVERSEN TRIO!
7pm: YONI KRETZMER TRIO Featuring:
YONI KRETZMER - Tenor Sax / SEAN CONLY - Bass / MIKE PRIDE - Drums!


Sunday, October 17th at 6pm:
KRESTON OSGOOD & OLIVER LAKE!


Sunday, October 24th at 6om:
DEE POP & COOPER-MOORE!


Sunday, October 31st/Halloween at 6pm:
JACOB WICK & NATE WOOLEY! - Two Titanic Trumpeters Exploring New Sounds!


Sunday, November 7th Double Header
6pm: JESSE DULMAN - Tuba & JASON CANDLER - alto sax & electronics!
7pm: PATRICK BRENNAN - Rare Alto sax Solo!


Sunday, November 14th at 6pm:
KIRK KNUFFKE & KENNY WOLLESEN! Great New Trumpet & Drums Duo!


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SOFT MACHINE LEGACY [JOHN ETHERIDGE/ROY BABBINGTON/JOHN MARSHALL/THEO TRAVIS: SOFT WORKS] - Live Adventures (Moonjune 036; USA) Live in Austria & Germany in October of 2009 and featuring John Etheridge on guitar, Theo Travis on tenor sax & flute, Roy Babbington on bass guitar and John Marshall on drums. With the passing of Hugh Hopper & Elton Dean over the past few years, Soft Machine Legacy has continued to carry their proud banner into the future and have come up with another supreme offering. Three of the four members were in fact formerly in Soft Machine: John Etheridge replaced Alan Holdsworth twice now, Roy Babbington played on Soft Machine 'Four' and replaced Hugh Hopper from 'Seven' onwards and John Marshall replaced Robert Wyatt on Softs' 'Five' & continued past 'Bundles'. Theo Travis was once a member of Gong & has duo recordings with Robert Fripp as well. Hence, the Canterbury family tree continues to grow.
Soft Machine Legacy breathe fresh air into songs from Soft Machine's 'Third', 'Six' and 'Seven' as well as perform a few more current originals. Commencing with "Riff II" from 'Six' we are off into some spooky, spacy floating sounds. The flute & guitar interplay is most enchanting, as is the incredible Babbington/Marshall rhythm team. That repeating riff is most haunting as is the devilish tone of Etheridge's guitar. Although Soft Machine rarely used tenor sax, Theo Travis' tone and soloing fit this band perfectly. Still it is those stunning and occasionally speedy guitar solos by John Etheridge that push this band into fusion heaven. One of the tracks that Etheridge has written for Legacy, "Grapehound" is a hypnotic gem that fit the Softs catalog righteously so. Theo Travis' tenor solo on "Grapehound" is most powerful. Karl Jenkins' "The Nodder" is from the Softs 'Alive & Well in Paris' a later record and perhaps last one that most older Softs fans still dig. It has one of those great repeating riffs that only Soft Machine could produce played so that the guitar & sax sound like one strong force. "In the Back Room" is somewhat funky, a lot of fun and it includes a great gripping, growling guitar solo. "Song for Aeolus" was written by Karl Jenkins and is a superb, bluesy piece with fine flute and a wrenching guitar solo. "The Relegation of Pluto/Transit" features an incredible drum solo from John Marshall who always added his own percussive magic to each & very Softs record and concert. "Gesolreut" is another of those infectious Mike Ratledge funky riff tunes on 'Six'. Here the tenor & guitar play the theme just right & Etheridge takes another sick, intense guitar solo. Hopper's classic "Facelift" opened 'Third' and is the earliest Softs piece performed here. It might seem like an odd choice yet it is done with authority, played somewhat slower and is even more cerebral & dreamy. The final song is Theo Travis' "The Last Day" and again it is a strong closing piece with superb echoed flute & eerie guitar interplay. 'Live Adventures' seems like a perfect title for this outstanding offering. Soft Machine and selective fusion fans worldwide can once again rejoice! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $14


Three new ones from Tzadik!

JOHN ZORN//MOONCHILD: MIKE PATTON/TREVOR DUNN/JOEY BARON + MARC RIBOT - Ipsissimus (Tzadik 7386; USA) Weaving sonic dramas around the legacies of Magick and Alchemy, Moonchild is one of Zorn's most intense and powerful projects. Active since 2006, Moonchild has released four CDs speaking directly to young, open minded and curious music lovers around the world, and their newest recording is the most varied and driving to date. Nine new duos, trios and quartets swirling with melodic and rhythmic invention featuring the searing guitar of Marc Ribot, the magical vocals of Mike Patton and Zorn's manic sax with the astounding Dunn-Baron rhythm section. Ipsissimus is the fifth surprising installment in the remarkable Moonchild legacy. TZADIK ARCHIVAL SERIES
CD $14

JESSE HARRIS - Cosmo (Tzadik 7635; USA) One of our greatest songwriters, Jesse Harris, is a Grammy Award winning composer whose songs have been recorded by Norah Jones, Smokey Robinson, Solomon Burke, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and many others. Here he returns to his roots with a fabulous group of friends to present an instrumental program of his classic songs and some brilliant new originals composed especially for this CD. Blending folk, soul, Brazilian and rock music into his own unique and personal world, Jesse's new CD is a joyous celebration of life, love, melody and mystery. Instrumental pop in the tradition of Burt Bacharach with a 21st century twist! TZADIK KEY SERIES
CD $14

OMER KLEIN - Rockets On The BalconY (Tzadik 8156; USA) Omer Klein is an exciting young pianist out of the Israeli-New York jazz scene. Born in Israel, he studied at New England Conservatory and now tours extensively with his own ensembles. Exotic and lyrical, his work blends Middle Eastern sounds with the spontaneity of jazz. Here he works with two of his closest collaborators in a free wheeling trio setting. Alternately driving and touching, Rockets on the Balcony is a beautiful example of how new generations are taking Jewish Music to profound and unexpected new places. TZADIK RADICAL JEWISH CULTURE SERIES
CD $14


Three new ones from Poland's 'Not Two'!

VANDERMARK 5 [KEN VANDERMARK/DAVE REMPIS/FRED LONBERG-HOLM/KENT KESSLER/TIM DAISY] + MAGNUS BROO/HAVARD WIIK - Vandermark 5 Special Edition: The Horse Jumps And The Ship Is Gone [2 CD set] (Not Two 850; EEC) Recorded at the Green Mill in Chicago in June of 2009 and featuring Ken Vandermark on tenor sax & clarinet, Dave Rempis on alto & baritone sax, Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Kent Kessler on acoustic bass & Tim Daisy on drums plus Magnus Broo on trumpet and Havard Wiik on piano. After more than a dozen discs in the past few years, the ever-prolific Ken Vandermark has finally slowed down a bit to let us savor each new one. This is the first Vandermark 5 disc of this year (2010) and it includes two guests musicians who have played with Ken in other contexts. Both Magnus Broo & Havard Wiik are also members of Atomic, a Scandinavian quintet with four fine discs on the Jazzland label.
Ken wrote all but two of the pieces on this colossal double disc set. "Friction" opens with a tense, throbbing bass line, the band tight and burnin'. Magnus Broo takes the first of his smokin' Don Cherry-like trumpet solos and he is totally on fire. Havard Wiik then solos and pulls off an explosive piano solo. "Some Not All" features some swell harmonies for the entire band and sounds like it was influenced by another culture (Ethiopian perhaps?). Our old pal Fred Lonberg-Holm takes a strong cello solo here with some great piano & bari sax interaction. Magnus Broo's "New Weather" features some thoughtful writing as well as some intricate cello & piano interplay. On this piece and elsewhere Dave Rempis takes some excellent bari sax solos which make this great disc even better. One of the things I like most about this disc is that the extra instrumentation has inspired Mr. Vandermark to write pieces much different from anything we've heard previously, showing that the Vandermark 5 can not be pigeon-holed so easily. There is something special about each of the ten pieces here, which is a great deal to take in over this two hour, two disc duration. It is rare to hear Mr. Vandermark with a pianist but Havard Wiik is no ordinary musician. His soloing, comping beneath the other musicians and consistently engaging interaction is/are one of the best things about this great album. It's been a while since the last Vandermark 5 disc, but it is well worth that wait when the outcome is as incredible as this double disc really is. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
2 CD set for $30

JOE McPHEE/INGEBRIGT HAKER FLATEN - Blue Chicago Blues (Not Two 841; EEC) Dedicated to the memory of Chicago sax legend Fred Anderson. This was recorded at Vivian's Palace in Chicago in December of 2007 and it features Joe McPhee on tenor sax & Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on contrabass. There is a funky, lowdown poem on the back of this disc by Mr. McPhee which mentions a number of musicians now past like Monk, Trane, Dolphy, Ornette, Sun Ra, Billy Strayhorn, Billie Holiday & the Duke. Mostly this poem is about them lowdown & nasty blues. Joe McPhee plays his tenor as if it was his last solo, from the heart, from the gut, directly from him to us. Ingebrigt also plays his acoustic bass with restrained power and focused contemplation. This is an amazing combination of spirits & sounds. Joe repeats this haunting melody on the opening piece, while Ingebrigt strums, plucks & bows - ideas flowing back & forth. This duo means business, you can hear them concentrating and communicating intensely. Like the liner poem describes there is a deep universal bluesy vibe at the center of this music. On "Cerulean Mood Swing" Ingebrigt pulls out all stops, walking furiously fast pushing vibe higher & higher. Joe McPhee's distinctive sax tone sounds like a voice crying out and reaching deeply into our collective souls. "Requiem for an Empty Heart" is calm and poignant, a sublime bass solo that will touch all who listen. On "The Shape of the Blues to Come" Joe & Ingebrigt both twist their notes inside-out in similar sounding ways. It is as if their ghosts are agitated and speaking in tongues together, going beyond words into another (cosmic?) zone. This is extreme music yet there is something beautiful about it, like condensing a lifetime of experiences both good & bad into just a few selective notes of sounds. Huguette asks me if there was a mosquito buzzing in the speakers. No, it is just that incredible bowed bass bending those notes into focused fragments. This is a monumental duo that shouldn't be taken for granted and one of this year's brightest moments. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $18

OIR TRIO [FRANK GRATKOWSKI/SEBASTIAN GRAMMS/TATSUYA NAKATANI] - Kanata (Not Two 843; EEC) Featuring Frank Gratkowski on alto sax & clarinet, Sebastian Gramss on double bass and Tatsuya Nakatani on percussion & bowed gongs. Like his occasional collaborator Jack Wright, percussion wizard Tatsuya Nakatani loves to travel and improvise with new musicians around the world. Tatsuya has traveled to Japan, Israel, Europe & the far reaches of the US over the last few years and has played with Michel Doneda, Raymond MacDonald, Masashi Harada, Onnyk & Peter Kowald. Amsterdam-based reeds great Frank Gratkowski is also a restless spirit who has some 20+ discs as a leader as well as working with a diverse cast of players: Georg Graewe, Gerry Hemingway, Carl Hubsch, Simon Nabatov & Hert Robertson. I can't say that I was familiar with German bassist Sebastian Gramss before this disc but he has also played with many of the same folks mentioned above as well as in Tony Oxley's Celebrated Orchestra with Gratkowski.
This disc was recorded at the Loft in Cologne in December of 2008. Like every other disc I've heard recorded at the Loft, the sound here is especially well captured & perfectly balanced. The combination of carefully placed notes on either reed, the bowing of cymbals or gongs and bowed bass make for a mesmerizing, mysterious blend. On the first piece, Gratkowski's plaintive clarinet seems to be coming from the land of (Jimmy) Giuffre. There are a number of sounds that are most difficult to figure who is doing what. The is a cautious, organic trio, mostly acoustic and consistently engaging. Like everything I've heard from Tatsuya Naktani or Frank Gratkowski in the past
CD $18


HENRY KAISER - A Little Stroke Of Light: Live Solo Guitar 2010 (self released; USA) Ltd Ed CD-R. Featuring a nearly 70 minute solo guitar improvisation! Listening to this long disc yesterday (9/21/10) in its entirety was a great experience for the crew here at DMG. Mr. Kaiser is one of the most extraordinary electric guitarists we know, his playing most inventive and singular in tone and approach. He has found a way to master the effects rack that he uses so that he can loop or echo and selectively add notes or lines on top of one another. His tone here is semi-acoustic, somewhat melancholy and consistently mesmerizing. He establishes a slow and haunting theme at the beginning which blends blues & ethnic-sounding influences into a thoughtful stream. Similar to a raga in the way it unfolds and builds, reaching inside to touch the heartstrings of those who take the time to listen closely. There is a sense of calm at the center that helps me to deal with ongoing stress of everyday life here in suburban bohemia. I dig the way Henry lets center notes ring like raindrops after a storm. There are two layers, one acoustic and one electric, that flow around one another in a most organic way. One layer deals with the occasional bass notes or subtle echoes that drift by like clouds through the sky. The other layer is harp-like, providing an angelic vibe. After fifteen minutes Henry adds another eerie, quietly psychedelic layer that a distinctive part of his sound. Certain notes shimmer adding a most hypnotic glow to the proceedings. Henry brings in that cosmic sustain tone that is one of his signature sounds and thus alters our world in a way similar to the way Jimi Hendrix once changed the sound of the guitar forever. Henry bends certain notes in different directions, again anointing those with a certain ceremonial spice. Each sustained note shimmers differently and each is used selectively to tell a story. A series of ghosts from our collective pasts meet, greet and sail around one another majestically. At some 70 minutes in length one would think that this might be too long to deal with adequately. This is not the case however. As I sat through this epic again, it made perfect sense, each section tells a different part of the ongoing story. Sort of a long and soothing lullaby that goes on for a long time but never seems to be indulgent in any way. If you can find the time, you will be richly rewarded. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $10


HENRY GRIMES/RASHIED ALI - Spirits Aloft: Live on WKCR Columbia University, February 7 2009 (Porter; USA) This is the second disc to feature Henry Grimes on acoustic bass & violin and Rashied Ali on drums [the first, Going To The Ritual, a 2007 WKCR performance also on the Porter label]. When the great drummer Rashied Ali passed away last summer (2009), it was a great loss to all who follow the spiritual sounds of modern jazz for the past forty-plus years. Rashied Ali was one of the heavy spirits. He was John Coltrane's last drummer and can be heard on a number of classic Trane records like 'Interstellar Space' and 'Stellar Regions'. That was a long time ago and Rashied continued to blaze trails throughout his entire career. Legendary bassist Henry Grimes also was also amongst the modern jazz giants of the sixties until he mysteriously disappeared in the seventies. Mr. Grimes returned to the scene in the earlier part of this decade and has since made up for lost time by again playing with many of the current greats (David Murray, Paul Dunmall & Oluyemi Thomas to name a few). It seems like it was meant to be that these two master musicians would meet and play some cosmic music together.
Starting with a fine poem, the duo take off for the stratosphere. The first piece is called "Rapid Transit" and Mr. Grimes is wailing on violin while Rashied plays furiously spinning mallets on his drums. When Henry starts to bow his bass, the sparks begin to fly with Rashied also providing an organic flow, the two masters ascending together. The wood, strings, hair of the bow, drumheads, sticks and cymbals all work supremely well together. There is constant conversation going on between both musicians with ideas and expressions flowing back & forth. This is magic music and the vibe is just right. There is a certain earthiness on "Oceans of the Clouds" with the soft spectral sounds of spidery violin and distant eerie percussion. Henry's violin is speaking in tongues while Rashied adds a layer simmering sounds underneath. Rashied's drum solo on "Larger Astronomical Time" is dynamic and stunning, the history of jazz percussion and African rhythms swirl together inside. When Henry takes off on "Arcopanorama" the sound of the bass is especially powerful and intense, his bowing is mind-blowing! When the two warriors erupt on "Priordained" it is indeed a powerful experience. The last drum solo on this piece by Rashied is another gem worth savoring. The final poem is also befitting to the overall vibe. It is a great thing to hear both Rashied Ali and Henry Grimes at their best as they are here. Like a blessing from the gods. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $14


JOHN ESPOSITO TRIO With IRA COLEMAN/PETER O'BRIEN - Orisha (Sunjump CD 10; USA) The tenth CD to appear on Sunjump, John Esposito's Orisha is his second trio recording with bassist Ira Coleman and drummer Peter O'Brien. The trio's first CD "Down Blue Marlin Road" was "deconstruction/reconstruction" of some of the most oft played tunes of the jazz standard repertoire. The trio also collaborated on Jeff Marx's Treading Air...Breathing Fire (Soluna Records) and Mitch Kessler's Erratica (Sunjump Records) and his upcoming Sunjump CD Der Erlkonig.
Orisha is a collection of ten Esposito originals. Coleman and O'Brien contribute one solo piece each. This is music with composed melodies and predetermined chord structures, although the trio moves freely, reharmonizing and shifting rhythmic levels and feels as they go. The pieces range from elegiac to exultant, performed with this trio's signature sense of spontaneous unfolding and unwavering intention. RECOMMENDED!
CD $14


SUN RA - Piano Recital: Teatro La Fenice In Venice (Lilith/Vinyl Lovers 901066; EEC) "Sun Ra was an extremely prolific artist and while hundreds of recordings exist of Sun Ra, there are only a handful where he can be heard playing solo. This amazing and rare solo performance recorded live in 1977 at the world-famous La Fenice opera house in Venice, and featuring Sun Ra playing a mix of standards as well as his own material on piano, is a rewarding journey into the repertoire of one of the most controversial and unorthodox musicians in the history of jazz."
LP $25


SUN CITY GIRLS - Funeral Mariachi (Abduction 045; USA) In stunning fashion, Sun City Girls' final studio record caps a 27-year run for what many hail as the most bizarre, eclectic and provocative musical trio ever assembled. From the delirious intro of "Ben's Radio" to the final drum crash of the title track, Funeral Mariachi delivers 11 well-crafted gems which display the refined studio production side of SCG shrouded in that otherworldly glow which has always separated the group from their contemporaries. Beyond the gorgeous folk and vocal styles which drive the album, there is a heavy retro Italian cinema influence, Arabic and Indonesian references, and a ghostly psychedelic moodiness throughout. Post-production and final mastering was completed by the Bishop Brothers after the untimely death of Charles Gocher in 2007 and the results will not disappoint followers of this impossible-to-describe unit. Funeral Mariachi provides a perfect introduction to the more melodic sector of the SCG universe surfacing, ironically, at the end of their career in the form of what someday should become one of the most beloved records they ever created. Limited one-time-only vinyl pressing housed in a beautiful, heavy-duty full-color gatefold jacket with the back cover photo taken during the last SCG photo session in 2006.
LP $24


THE WORK [TIM HODGKINSON/BILL GILONIS/MICK HOBBS/RICK WILSON] - The 4th World (Ad Hoc36; USA) "The 4th World is the band's long-lost, never before issued, very last album, from 1994. Succeeding See by some two years, it shares that album's aesthetics and approach -- an economy of means, and superior song-writing/playing -- even when compared to their earlier albums. One wouldn't guess it was recorded live at a gig in Breisgau, because the sound is, quite honestly, superlative, and is even better than any of their studio albums. The original, mono recordings (by Volkmar Miedtke) were meticulously reprocessed into stereo years later by Udi Koomran, and the sound has really been, 'opened up'. The playing itself is also powerful and thoughtful. Especially important is the fact that only two of the twenty songs on this disc were released on previous albums, thus making The Work's entire catalog finally complete, and now wholly in print."
CD $16

THE WORK [TIM HODGKINSON/BILL GILONIS/MICK HOBBS/RICK WILSON] - See (Ad Hoc 22; USA) "Any album by The Work is difficult to categorize, or to pigeon-hole. The band's output has been labelled everything from 'post-punk' to 'acid jazz', and yet any sort of classification just doesn't seem to do the music justice. The approach seems to exhibit the complexity of progressive rock, whilst throwing that aesthetic to the dogs, in lieu of assimilating the energy and power of early punk. The Work were among the first few post-Henry Cow bands to purposefully break their own mould in an attempt to conquer new ground, thus creating music that seems more comfortable resting on a bed of nails than precious laurels. See was the final The Work album to be issued during the band's lifetime. It showcased some of the very best material of their later years, and a penchant to move into a different, more mature setting. The electronic experimentation here perfectly meshes with post-punk appeals and terrorist-like energy, giving the listener plenty of reasons to be drawn-in to their psychotic world of extremes. Each instrument plays perfectly off of the others to send everything, 'somewhere else', whilst somehow holding together perfectly amidst some fiendish, 'white knuckler' time relations. Though the vocals on this album were more 'sung' than 'shrieked' (as evidenced on their earliest recordings), the instrumental parts, especially the drumming, keep the group in line with its radically apparent love for showcasing a primal approach. This has been out-of-print for a number of years, so it's great to have it back again."
CD $16


AMANDA MONACO'S DEATHBLOW With MICHAEL ATTIAS/SEAN CONLY/SATOSHI TAKEISHI - I Think I'll Keep You (LateSet; USA) Amanda Monaco - guitar, compositions; Michael Attias - alto and baritone saxophones; Sean Conly - acoustic bass; Satoshi Takeishi - drums"
"A project that doesn't really have anything to do with the name, but my husband's fascination with metal prompted it, and I couldn't come up with anything else, so here it is. The music is more "inside" than the AM4, but has room for growth within its improvised sections."
An Emotional Intelligence gleams through the music of Amanda Monaco and appears to be the sacred message to the 'lost' generation. Braced with her musical knowledge and experience, she stays true to the world she captures through her senses by reflecting her femininity, sensuality, and her sense of humor in the music that only she can crystallize.
CD $15

PLAYDATE [NOAH BAERMAN/WAYNE ESCOFFERY/AMANDA MONACO/VINNIE SPERRAZZA/HENRY LUGO] - Playdate (Posi-tone; USA) Wayne Escoffery - saxophones; Noah Baerman - piano; Amanda Monaco - guitar; Vinnie Sperrazza - drums; Henry Lugo - acoustic bass. A talented lineup of childhood friends come together for a fun and swingingly melodic debut release. With this combination of talents, some brilliant performances, and an evocative program of music, including several original compositions, "Playdate" is sure to bring joy to jazz fans everywhere.
CD $14



RAOUL BJORKENHEIM'S KRAKATAU & UMO JAZZ ORCHESTRA - Primal Mind - UMO Plays The Music Of Raoul Bjorkenheim: Live In Jumo Jazz Club, Helsinki May 10 1991 [Ltd Ed] (UMO 111; EEC) Second disc pairing Raoul Bjorkenheim & the UMO Jazz Orchestra - this one is the great radio broadcast of the 1st performance of this piece. In the liner notes, Raoul explains how it was the music of composer Witold Lutoslawski that inspired him to compose this music as a dialogue between the soloist (his own lead guitar) and the orchestra. There are a number of other strong soloists here as well like Uffe Krokfors on contrabass, Esko Heikkinen on trumpet and Teemu Salminen on tenor sax. As much as I'm amazed by whatever music I've heard from Raoul on his half dozen plus discs so far, yet I still was not prepared for the incredible guitar+orchestra teaming on this disc. The opening guitar solo and orchestral arrangements completely knocked me out. It is rare to hear wailing electric guitar fit so perfectly into the an orchestra - that is what makes this so special. Over the past few months I've listened to dozens of discs of modern classical music, trying to give more composers a chance to reach me. Raoul's writing from nearly twenty years ago is consistently fresh and engaging. This jazz orchestra is tight, spirited and plays with the intricate abilities of a smaller ensemble. Raoul does not hold back, his solo reaches for the cosmos and kicks ass! This is one of the most exciting, most riveting, most compelling discs of the year! On each piece Raoul places his guitar or other soloist at the center the music leading the large ensemble through difficult paces. Trumpeter Esko Heikkinen sounds particularly strong on a few of these pieces (what has happened to him?). As I'm listening to this gem for the third or fourth time, I realize what an incredible treat this is. At some 68+ minutes in length, it is indeed well worth exploring again and again. Only found here at DMG. Get yours today! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music
CD $17


QUEST II & III [DAVE LIEBMAN/RICHIE BEIRACH/RON McCLURE/BILLY HART] - Searching For The New Sound Of Be-Bop: Quest II/Quest III: Midpoint/Double Edge [2 CD set] (Storyville 103 8408; EEC) 3 albums on 2 CDs! Quest, featuring soprano saxophonist David Liebman and pianist Richie Beirach plus a rhythm section, was active as a group between 1981 and 1991, though the bulk of their recording activity took place during the last five years of the band's existence. This two-CD set compiles all of three separate albums, including Quest II, Quest III: Midpoint/Double Edge (a duo CD by Liebman and Beirach), with bassist Ron McClure and drummer Billy Hart ably assisting on the first two sessions. The six tracks from Quest II, recorded in the studio, open the first disc. Beirach's "Gargoyles" is pensive with an unpredictable path, never relenting from its brooding, mysterious setting. His "Pendulum" is a daunting modal work fired by Hart's explosive drumming and Liebman's searing soprano. Liebman's eerie ballad "Carrisma" and intense "Third Visit" provoke some of the quartet's best performances. Midpoint was recorded in concert over two nights in 1987 at the Montmartre in Copenhagen. The music encompasses compositions by each member of the quartet. Liebman's "The Code's Secretcode" is an extended work with progressively different sections, taking the listener on a delightful journey. Beirach's "The Snow Leopard" begins with a rapidly darting post-bop theme, and segues into avant-garde which leads into a dramatic feature for Hart. plus a recap of the theme. McClure's "Midpoint" is a showcase for the bassist, playing its moody theme with soft backing from Beirach, with Hart's later brushwork and Liebman's haunting soprano rounding it out. Hart's turbulent "Redemption" proves to be a very satisfying finale. The duo selections are all familiar songs, though Liebman and Beirach present them with novel interpretations. Choosing two John Coltrane works, they detour quickly from the familiar theme of "Naima," giving it a more plaintive air, while Beirach's strumming and picking of the piano strings adds a surprising introduction to their driving, dramatic rendition of "India." Sandwiched between them is a searing performance of "'Round Midnight" that is far from the usual deliberate, spacious arrangement of this frequently recorded jazz standard. Their setting of "On Green Dolphin Street" sticks to a straight-ahead path instead of the familiar changes throughout each chorus. Beirach's interpretation of Leonard Bernstein's "Some Other Time" can't help but be influenced by Bill Evans' famous recording, with Liebman making a delayed entrance, adding a bit of mystery with his offbeat flute. There are plenty of fireworks and a darting run through Sonny Rollins' "Oleo," where the musicians never get around to its theme until the conclusion. ~ Ken Dryden, Rovi
2 CD set for $16



New on Vivo:

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE COSMIC INFERNO - Hotter Than Inferno: Live In Sapporo 2008 (Vivo 2005038; EEC) This 73 minute set was recorded live in their native Japan on 29 June 2008 at Counter Action, Sapporo. And it only features two tracks or long jams, first off we have the shorter of the pair Master Of The Cosmic Inferno ~ Heart Of Earth that comes in just over 26 minute mark and is basically an steaming, almost cosmically head-banging version of a track off their superb Journey Into The Cosmic Inferno album that came out a few months back. With the chanting vocals and 70's cosmic rock/eastern riff heart of the track appearing ever so often before zooming off into jammed out spacey heaven. This to my ears is the better of the two tracks, as it never seems to lose you attention or momentum. Next and lastly we have Pink Lady Lemonade ~ Including Doobie Wonder Land which comes in just shy of the 50 minute mark. It starts off with the live favourite Pink Lady Lemonade that opens up with melodic 60's rock riff but seems a little too murky & garage band like for it's own good, but it soon starts to suck you into it?s chaotic groove as Kawakawa Makoto kicks into to guitar soloing mode, the band going through a nice selection of slow downs then build ups. The track Doobie Wonder Land comes in towards the end run of the jam with it's chugging 70's rock funk tinged groove and again it launchers into on- fire soloing work-outs by Kawakawa Makoto. And while both parts of this long-form jam have some great moments, the track just feels too long for its own good, meaning that in places it really does start to drag and lose its fire and guts. Certainly not a starter AMT experience, but for those like myself who have grown to like then love the AMT you'll find this mainly an invigorating, fiery and enjoyable live album - Roger Batty, musiquemachine.com
CD $16

MERZBOW [MASAMI AKITA] - Arijigoku (Vivo 2008037; EEC) This is Masami Akita as you like him, tumbling through barbwire, screaming ecstasy with electronics alongside the ever present pulse. The pulse is produced mainly by his original instrument, the drums. He starts off as expected, jumping headfirst into the tornado of sound. Yet the surprise comes around the twelve minute mark in the first track where a high pitch monotone feedback hushes the mood, focuses your ears, then you are blitzed again with the organized chaos. Overall this release seems to have been recorded during the same time frame as the thirteen part bird series released on the Important label. This release consist of four tracks dedicated to an ant pit, which leads me to imagine ants slam dancing. Why not? They never stop working and neither does Merzbow! Come on and give it up for my vegan brother! RECOMMENDED! - Chuck Bettis/DMG
CD $16

[*Merzbow is playing twice in NY this week! 2 sets at Issue Project Room on thursday November 23 and then again at Le Poisson Rouge on Nov. 26...see show listings at the end of the newsletter for more information]

also available..

MUSICA TRANSONIC [ASAHITO NANJO/TATSUYA YOSHIDA/HAJIME KAWABATA MAKOTO] - XYOSFBIGKOU (Vivo 2006023; EEC) Wild & furious psychedelic madness by NANJO ASAHITO (High Rise/Mainliner) on bass, KAWABATA MAKOTO (Acid Mothers Temple) on guitar and YOSHIDA TATSUYA (Ruins) on drums. Ten new compositions from the exceptional trio. Extremely heavy psychedelia at its best!
CD $16

RUINZHATOVA [RUINS + OMOIDE-HATOBA: TATSUYA YOSHIDA/ATSUSHI TSUYAMA/YAMAMOTO SEIICHI et al] - Liveinsomewhere (Vivo 2006021/Magaibutsu 28; EEC) Well known for fans of Japanese experimental music virtuosos: Yamamoto Seiichi (Boredoms, Omoide Hatoba, Rovo), Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins, Korekyojin, Zubi Zuva, AMT) and Tsuyama Atsushi (Akaten, Haco, Omoide Hatoba, AMT) have joined forces to present live their visions of jazz-infuenced progressive free-rock. Classic!
CD $16

PIOTR ZABRODZKI & TATSUYA YOSHIDA - Karakany (Vivo 2007027; EEC) Young generation of Polish jazz meets Japanese free/jazz/improv/experimental Guru. Free jazz for piano, drums, voice and bass guitar effects. Not easy but pretty refreshing sound.
CD $16


KATHLEEN SUPOVE - The Exploding Piano (MajorWho; USA) Featuring Kathleen Supove on the piano performing the music of Missy Mazzoli, Michael Gatonska, Anna Clyne, Dan Becker and Randall Woolf. Ms. Supove has become an important part of the diverse downtown scene in which the lines between new music, progressive, improvised and otherwise have been erased. She has performed dozens of difficult new music works for the piano, is a member of NY's greatest longtime progressive band Dr. Nerve and can be found improvising with other like-minded musicians around town.
For this extraordinary solo offering Ms. Supove has commissioned works from five diverse composers, each piece a challenge for her and us listeners. Missy Mazzoli's "Isabelle Eberhardt Dreams of Pianos" features a number of digitally processed piano samples. The piece unfolds slowly with certain notes shimmering in distant drones. The piece is rather somber, haunting and quite elegant. A bass drum is inserted under the lid of the piano on Michael Gatonska's "A Shaking of the Pumpkin". This piece has a dark undertow underneath the sparse layers of waves and occasional percussion . Time slows down in sections giving us a chance to ponder what exactly is going on between the different lines. "On Track" by Anna Clyne features a short sample from the voice of Queen Elizabeth, repeated & chopped up while layers of piano notes are sped up and altered. Dan Becker's "Revolution" blends certain difficult parts from a prepared Disklavier with samples from a speech by Martin Luther King about Rip Van Winkle, reminding those listening to not sleep through the revolution. The repeating piano lines are most effective and hypnotic, mixing older forms with minimalist tendencies from many years later. As the piece speeds up, so to does our inner clock while the voice of Mr. King remains calm. It is a most effective contrast. The sped up prepared piano is also astonishing to hear. The final piece is by Randall Woolf and it is the longest and most involved. It is called "Sutra Sutra" and it is a tour-de-force. It features some mysterious percussion samples and layers of spoken words. The text is by Valeria Vasilevski and the main voice is by Kathleen herself. Each layer of voices seems to come from another source in the mix, carefully placed to enhance certain words or phrases. The piano is tranquil in one section and more spirited & intense in the next part. The text is filled with strange scientific ideas to ponder. What I dig most about this is the way the vocals and piano are so well integrated into one well conceived work. Overall, Kathleen Supove has left with a great deal of astonishing music to consider and absorb. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $12


CHRISTIAN RAVAGLIOLI - Una Frase Un Rigo Appena (Pushin 1003.2; Italy) Christian Ravaglioli: oboe, english horn, duduk, piano, piano rhodes, synthesizer, cuica, electronics; Achille Succi: bass clarinet; Marco LaManna: bassoon; Vincenzo Vasi: theremin; Antonio Gramentieri: guitars; Massimo Selvi: double bass; Barbara Savioli: violin, viola; Elisa segurini: cello; Diego Sapignoli: prepared drums, glockenspiel, vibes, metal percussions; Ciro Montanari: tablas and percussion; John De Leo: voice; Rosita Frisani: voice
Cristian Ravaglioli was born in Ravenna (Italy) in 1975. For 5 years, Christian studied composition, including with the Maestro himself, Ennio Morricone. Recently, his work has ranged from contemporary composition to improvisation. As a composer, he made his debut with the show H2o by the Giuditta Pasta Theater in Milan, Italy. He has also collaborated with Orchestra 'Arturo Toscanini' from Parma, writers Alessandro Bergonzoni and Stefano Benni, et al. He has worked and performed as a composer and musician in Milan's Blue Note, Rome's Parco Della Musica and Casa Del Jazz, Crossroads, M.E.I, Rai 2 Tv (Italy) and, in the US, on WNYC (New York public radio) and more.
Among his latest collaborations/recordings, in Italy and the US: Trilok Gurtu, Michael Marcus, Vinicio Capossela, Marco Tamburini, Gianluca Petrella, Jovanotti, Bill Elm, Howie Gelb, Hector Luis Moreno, John De Leo, Ersilio Tonini - Cardinal, Achille Succi, Kellie Rucker, Naim Amor, Marianne Dissard, Vincenzo Vasi, Massimo Ottoni.
On top of being a world-class oboe and piano player, Christian Ravaglioli also plays the Rhodes el piano, Hammond organ, synthesizer, accordion and, in the oboe family, the duduk (antique oboe) and the english horn, which he uses in a very personal and diagonal way.
From the liner notes: "dear christian, enjoyed the music very much.. great variety and beautiful recording.. keep up the good work! with best wishes and big respect.." john zorn
CD $16


LUC FERRARI With BRUNHILD MEYER - Chantal Ou Le Portrait D'une Vilageoise (OHM Editions 51; Canada) This is a fascinating work for French voices & sounds composed and compiled by the late Luc Ferrari. For the later pieces by Luc Ferrari, the composer would visit a particular village or place and speak with the local population, recording what he felt was needed. This piece was recorded in a village from July of 1977 to April of 1978. Since I know just a handful of phrases in French, I listened to this more as a sonic experience. Folky acoustic guitar flows in from time to time in between quiet conversations. There is a certain charm to the way the calm voices blend with occasional bits of guitar. It is as if we are listening to a radio-play without any extremes emotions popping up. The guitar seems to be used the dividing line between scenes or fragments of scenes. Perhaps I could get Huguette to translate for me to see if there is any sort of a story going on. What I do notice is that the sound or inflection of each word has its own meaning, thus conveying certain feelings. From the research that I did I found that this disc is nearly impossible to find even the label does have some regular distribution. We received five copies only and that's all we will get. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $16


SCOTT FIELDS & STEPHAN RATH - What We Talk (Neos 41005; Germany) All compositions by Scott Fields. Artists: Scott Fields, guitar; Stephan Rath, theorbo. "On this recording Scott Fields plays a 1999 Robert Ruck guitar and Stephan Rath plays a 1988 Hendrik Hasenfuss 14-string theorbo, after an instrument of Tieffenbrucker/Edlinger. Our duo was formed for the 2007 Cologne Music Triennial (MusikTriennale Koln) series 'Solos for duos, improvisation from yesterday and today' (Solo fur Zwei, Improvisation gestern und heute). Festival yentas matched six early music specialists with six new music specialists. Each pair played similar instruments. Harpsichord and piano. Medieval organ and analog synthesizer. The beauty of pairing theorbo and guitar is that neither musician is channeled into the role of accompanist or soloist. Either can supply bass, chords, melody, or musical noise. Roles can change instantly and seamlessly or can disappear entirely. The music on this CD was composed for the Triennale."
CD $20

ELLIOTT CARTER//UDO ZIMMERMANN - Musica Viva 18 [H-SACD] (Neos 11014; Germany) Featured works: Elliott Carter's Cello Concerto (2001); Udo Zimmermann's Lieder Von Einer Insel (2009). "The English conductor Oliver Knussen sees in Elliott Carter the 'most important musical dramatist of the present age working in the area of instrumental composition'. With his scores, Carter fashions dramatic scenarios in which instrumentalists act as individual characters. In his Cello Concerto, too, dating from 2001, he treats the soloist and the individual orchestra musicians as independent protagonists. Elliott Carter's compositions are metrically complex and labyrinthine in the way they are interlocked; they are impressive in their structural density and incredible virtuosity. We recognize the influences of neoclassicism and Schonbergian dodecaphony. It was almost an 'anti-concert': contrary to the usual solo concerto, in which the soloist is presented as someone who forms and shapes the music, in order to keep up -- in a dramatic sense -- a dialogue with the orchestra, we meet here the experienced opera composer Udo Zimmermann, who shifts these scenic elements towards the middle. With his score, the quiet notes dominate, and the opening is not only the most private kind of music, but a song whispered rather than a song sung." Stereo/multichannel hybrid SACD that can be played on any CD player.
CD $20

SALZBURG BIENNIAL FESTIVAL FOR NEW MUSIC [V.A.] - 2009 [4 H-SACD set] (Neos 10947-50; Germany) Featured works: Beat Furrer (b. 1954): Spur (1998); Xenos (2008); Mauricio Sotelo (b. 1961): Audeeis (2004); Gyorgy Kurtag (b.1926): ...quasi una fantasia...op 27/2 (1988); What is the word, Op. 30b; Steve Reich (b. 1936): Different Trains for string quartet and pre-recorded tape (1988); Sextet (1984-85); Gyorgy Ligeti (1923-2006): Drei Stucke fur zwei Klaviere (1976); Continuum for harpsichord (1968); Toshio Hosokawa (b. 1955): Cloud and Light for sho and orchestra (2008); Landscape V for sho and string quartet (1993); John Cage (1912-1992): Two3 (1991); Galina Ustvolskaya (1919-2006): Composition no 2 (1972/1973); Klaus Huber (b. 1924): Kammerkonzert "Intarsi". In memoriam; Witold Lutoslawski (1993/1994): Tempora Concerto for violin and small orchestra (1970); Franck Christoph Yeznikian (b. 1969): Harnischstriemen(Faltenachsen) (2008).
Stereo/multichannel hybrid 4xSACD that can be played on any CD player.
4 CD set for $60


PAULINE OLIVEROS With THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DIGITAL MUSIC ENSEMBLE - Pauline Oliveros & The University Of Michigan Digital Music Ensemble (Deep Listening DVD 03; USA) "Pauline Oliveros & the University of Michigan Digital Music Ensemble, directed by Stephen Rush. This DVD, recorded live at University of Michigan, features three of composer and performer Pauline Oliveros' compositions: Sound Piece; Sound Fishes; and Heart of Tones." Audio in 5.1 surround sound; bonus features: audio commentary on Sound Piece by Stephen Rush, Chris Peck and Jon Moniaci; "Spectragram Visualization" version of Heart of Tones; program and posters; scores and bios.
DVD $18


PHILIP JECK - An Ark For The Listener (Touch 81; UK) This is Philip Jeck's sixth solo album for Touch. Philip Jeck works with old records and record players salvaged from junk shops, turning them to his own purposes. He really does play them as musical instruments, creating an intensely personal language that evolves with each added part of a record. Philip Jeck makes geniunely moving and transfixing music, where we hear the art, not the gimmick. Philip Jeck writes: "A version of An Ark For The Listener was first performed at Kings Place London on February 24, 2010. It is a meditation on verse 33 of 'The Wreck Of The Deutchsland,' Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem about the drowning on December 7, 1875 of five Franciscan nuns exiled from Germany. This CD version was recorded at home in Liverpool and used extracts from live performances over the last 12 months. The 'coda:' tracks are remixes of 2 pieces from Suite: Live In Liverpool. 'Chime, Chime (Re-rung)' was originally made for Musicworks magazine (#104, Summer 09) and 'All That's Allowed (Remix)' is previously unreleased. All tracks were made using Fidelity record players, Casio SK1 keyboards, Sony mini-disc recorders, Behringer mixers, Ibanez bass guitar, Boss delay pedal and Zoom bass effects pedal."
CD $16


FRANCISCO LOPEZ & RICHARD FRANCIS - In De Blaauwe Hand (Korm Plastics 3033/Brombron 14; EEC) Francisco Lopez (Spain) and Richard Francis (New Zealand) have created "in de blaauwe hand" upon invitation from Extrapool for a brief working residency in Nijmegen, to develop a collaboration piece for the Brombron CD series. Working with very small seed source sound samples that were exchanged between them, two intermingling compositional paths unfolded in two parallel small studios. In a short but very intense- period of time a whole world of very delicate and subtle materials arose. The whole piece (a single one-hour track) merges without mix a dreamy geography of subtleties and complex organicities that is more the result of aesthetic affinities than pre-structured plan. In that sense, this is a composition born from the sound themselves, following the paths indicated by them. And a surprising one.
Over the last twenty years Francisco Lopez has been developing a powerful and consistent world of minimal electroacoustic soundscapes, 'trying to reach an ideal of absolute concrete music'. To date, his catalog comprises more than 140 sound works Richard Francis has been releasing works on CD/vinyl, performing solo and in collaboration as a touring artist since 1996. He uses field recordings of acoustic and electronic sounds and a tone generator to compose textural and tonal sound works.
CD $13


CHRISTA PFANGEN [ANDREA BELFI/MATTIA COLETTI] - Watch Me Getting Back The End (Die Schachtel ZEIT3; Italy) "Christa Pfangen are Andrea Belfi and Mattia Coletti. The name is an homage to Nico, although the music has obviously no relation with the icon of the New York avant garde scene. They belong to the new electroacoustic/improv/avant-rock scene which is taking shape in Italy and includes such names as 3/4 Had Been Eliminated, Valerio Tricoli, A, Stefano Pilia and others. Working with percussion, treated guitar and an array of different objects and noises, they have given birth to a dynamic work of great beauty and reverberating rhythms, oscillating between avant-folk and electroacoustic music."
CD $18


NOVELLER [SARAH LIPSTATE] - Red Rainbows (No Fun 50; USA) Debut release by Sarah Lipstate aka Noveller, which I must point out is a lot more psychedelic than the her latest release Desert Fires. What I hear is a more pissed but blissed out guitar player making her way through harsh reality (hopefully I've not given the impression that the guitar has overtaken Sarah but instead she has infused it with her being, becoming one with her ax). Anyway by the third track ("St. Powers") it sounds like she has wrestled down any lumps of frustration and has gone onto a more deep contemplative mode. But wait, track four ("Tunnels") emerges with a more brooding horror soundtrack vibe, lurking in your brain, possibly inching your way through a deserted street looking out for zombies! By the time the final track arrives ("Bends" which features guest appearance by No Fun label owner Carlos Giffoni) you are stuck in catatonic state unsure if you should restful or be fearful, but nonetheless Sarah makes you want to experience the whole trip all over again. Also take note that this is an enhanced cd containing a short short film by Sarah Lipstate. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! - Chuck Bettis
CD $13

RUSSELL HASWELL - Value + Bonus [2 CD set] (No Fun 57; USA) RUSSELL HASWELL - Value + Bonus [2 CD set] (No Fun 57; USA) Double disc of Haswell fun! A concept record or serious listening interface? One has to wonder when one of the two cds you release in a package consists of entirely test tones and random clicks and the other disc being two tracks of bizarre yet familiar music. "Valve" is perhaps a reconfiguring and reconceptualizing the test tone record for a modern age. Yamantaka Eye has publicly stated that when he first heard a test tone record he wondered how they got those sounds, thinking it was intended as music, not as a test. Perhaps Haswell takes the same stance on this subject. The "Bonus" disc is what honestly what I went for first. The music here varies from track to track (ok, there is only two tracks on this second disc but it both tracks fill up an entire disc). The first track on this recording sounds as though you are left alone in the woods at dawn with a mechanical crow above your head. The second track reminds me of John Cage's works for electronics and radios ("Variations IV" i believe is the piece I'm referencing here). Anyway, despite the "I heard this before" attitude, it is compelling sound art that is sure to have many erupt in voicing their discontent. This release confused me, but wonderfully so, for I still have questions bubbling in my brain. Haswell seems to be embracing noise in it's most natural state and with this release he seems to be asking you to do the same. RECOMMENDED! -Chuck Bettis/DMG
CD $16


CORRIDORS [BYRON WESTBROOK] - Corridors [Ltd Ed] (Sedimental 058; USA)Bryon Westbrook aka Corridors presents us with focused drone via guitar feedback loops, organs, electronics, etc. to personify a multiple frequency being that commands your hearing. He has worked with Phil Niblock at Niblock's Experimental Intermedia space and has musically collaborated with him. From this intel you would be under the impression that Niblock has left his stamp on Westbrook; but I would like point out that Byron has expanded upon the language Niblock has instilled in him. What we are given are fragments taken from multichannel performances that are improvised alongside a light show that obviously varies from time to time. As these delicate frequencies wash through your ears they stain your brain with such permanence that has you craving repeated listens. A nod towards his predecessors and a step forward in ambient music. Don't sleep on this, it's limited to 500 copies! RECOMMENDED! - Chuck Bettis/DMG
CD $14



KEITH FULLERTON WHITMAN - Disingenuity b/w Disingenuousness (Pan 13; UK) "Keith Fullerton Whitman bursts back with his first full length record in four years, Disingenuity b/w Disingenuousness, comprising of two pieces of forward thinking electronic music with a deep exploration into the analogue sound. Live and studio recordings of the past two years (Cambridge-New York-Toronto) were used as source material, which were then realized into two longform compositions. Using a Musique Concrete approach of deconstructed sounds (ala Pietro Grossi, Costin Miereanu, Basil Kirchin, Dub Taylor, etc), Disingenuity b/w Disingenuousness encompasses various reference points from Francois Bayle, Jacques Lejeune, Richard Pinhas & Heldon to the minimal textures of Basic Channel / Chain Reaction axis... Both tape-collage pieces which derived from an hour-long improvisation based around a setup involving a tape of chance field-recordings (a helicopter, walking on snow, children) bounced to a mono nagra tape machine, which is covered in contact mic's that translate not just the sound coming from the speakers, but the actual mechanical 'interface' of the unit into control voltage & triggers that drive a modular synth that's processing said audio using the classic electronic music toolkit (i.e. ring modulation, panning VCA's, filters, etc). The LP is mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, in a limited edition of 500 copies, pressed on 140g vinyl and comes in a poly-lined inner sleeve. It is packaged in a pro-press color jacket which itself is housed in a silk screened PVC sleeve with artwork by Bill Kouligas."
LP $32

TREVOR WISHART - Fanfare & Contrapunctus/Imago (Pan 12; UK) "Vinyl issue of two very important works by this early British sound poet and electronic composer, compiling one of Trevor Wishart's first ever pieces 'Fanfare & Contrapunctus' (from 1976) and one of his latest, 'Imago' (from 2002), documenting a modern approach in composition and an extremely unique progress in sound manipulation and music technology.
'Fanfare & Contrapunctus' (1976): 'These two short pieces were made at the newly opened electronic studio at the Sydney Conservatorium, before the advent of music computer technology. The source material derives from free improvisations by Trevor Wishart and Martin Mayes using 'soft trumpets', pop-guns, French Horn and virtuoso eating noises, plus recordings of birdsong and other environmental sources.'
'Imago' (2002) '...the universe in a grain of sand...' ''Imago' is a piece of magical sound metamorphosis in which the single 'clink' of two whisky glasses gradually metamorphoses into a multitude of other sounds, eventually alluding to the sounds of birdsong, a junkyard gamelan, the ocean and the human voice, but never entirely abandoning its links to this minimal source. The piece was made using sound transformation software written by the composer, available through the Composers Desktop Project, and the original source sound was taken from Jonty Harrison's 'et ainsi de suite'.' The LP is mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, in a limited edition of 500 copies, pressed on 140g vinyl and comes in a poly- lined inner sleeve. It is packaged in a pro-press color jacket which itself is housed in a silk screened PVC sleeve with artwork by Kathryn Politis & Bill Kouligas."
LP $32



E.M.A.K. [EMAK] - A Synthetic History Of E.M.A.K. 1982-88 (Soul Jazz 38; UK) "Soul Jazz/Universal Sound are releasing this stunning new compilation of underground German electronice experimentalists, E.M.A.K., Cologne's synth-core/minimal-wave/Deutsche electronische group who made a stunning set of radical records in the 1980s (as featured on Soul Jazz's Deutsche Electronische Musik). Joining the dots between German electronic experimentalists such as Cluster, Conrad Schnitzler, Tangerine Dream, the synth-core/minimal-wave of Germany's electronic New Wave such as D.A.F. (itself influenced by UK groups Cabaret Voltaire, Human League and The Normal) and with hints of the cosmic disco of Giorgio Moroder and Daniel Baldelli, Cologne's E.M.A.K. remain one of electronic music's best-kept secrets. After featuring on Soul Jazz Records' Deutsche Electronische Musik compilation, Universal Sound follow through with this collection complete with exclusive text and photos. This is a compilation from a series of super-rare private press titles released in Germany in the 1980s. Comes in Soul Jazz special box edition CD."
CD $18

LLOYD McNEIL QUARTET - Asha (Soul Jazz 31; UK) "African-American flute player Lloyd McNeill's self-distributed record label ran from 1968-73. Lloyd McNeill is a multidisciplinary artist -- a painter who lived in Paris in 1965 and was a friend of Picasso, a musician who has worked with Nina Simone, Nana Vasconceles, Ron Carter, Cecil McBee and many more and a music anthropologist, poet and teacher. In the 1960s, he was involved in the Civil Rights Movement and produced music for ballet, paintings and installations. His music mixes jazz with Latin, Brazilian and African rhythms that McNeill learnt while studying anthropology in his travels through much of Africa and Brazil (where he joined with Dom Salvador, Paulinho da Viola, Paulo Maura and Martinho da Vila). The album comes with extensive sleevenotes, an interview with Lloyd McNeill as well as exclusive photos and text. CD comes in a Soul Jazz box package."
CD $18



GROUP INERANE: GUITARS FROM AGADEZ - Vol 3: Guitars From Agadez (Music of Niger) (Sublime Freq 061; USA) Volume 3 of the now legendary Guitars From Agadez series is finally here. Group Inerane's sophomore LP is the latest missive from the now sound of Niger's Tuareg guitar scene. Led by guitar hero Bibi Ahmed, this new incarnation introduces another legend on second guitar, one Koudede Maman. Koudede is considered to be a cornerstone of the second wave of the Tuareg guitar lineage, while Tinariwen and Abdulla Oumbadougo are the godfathers of the scene and Group Inerane and Bombino are the third and most current incarnation of the Tuareg's voice for hope and equality. Koudede's addition to Group Inerane's line-up arises from unfortunate circumstances -- Adi Mohammed, Inerane's original second guitarist, was shot dead in the endlessly festering rebellion battles. This new line-up is testament that the music of the Tuareg will not be stopped. The sound represented on this LP is the apex of the trance stun guitar style that this scene has perfected. This is rock music as played with Saharan modes. There is a propulsive entropy to these songs that is infectious and narcotic! Two guitars, bass and drums chug along on a hypnotic choogle that rivals both the Magic Band's early '70s marathon workouts and The Velvet Underground's drone on tracks like "Sister Ray." This is music made from revolution and its message of hope and validation of equality of the Tuareg way of life is unstoppable. Recorded by Hisham Mayet on location in Niger's capital Niamey in 2010 as travel to Agadez was forbidden by the military Junta that had just overthrown then President Mamadou Tandja. This limited edition LP comes in a beautiful full-color gatefold jacket with photos of the musicians and liner notes by Hisham Mayet.
LP $24


PERSIAN UNDERGROUND [V.A.] - Garage Rock, Beat And Psychedelic Sounds From The Iranian 60's & 70's Scene (Persianna 04; EEC) "Amazing collection that gathers some of the rarest Persian 45s, totally unknown outside of Iran until now. Here you'll find an eclectic mix of styles, from garage nuggets to cool Persian beat, exotic rock&roll and prog/psych. Featuring female drummer & singer Zangoleah with some killer garage / rockin' tracks, obscure bands like Takkhalha doing a fab cover of the Stones 'Play With Fire' and an amazing take on the Persian traditional song 'Mastom, Mastom', Golden Ring-styled beat by Big Boys, exotic Persian beat by Saeed and Tigers, terrific garage-beat by Ojubeha and the two sides of the Kambiz 45, probably the major discovery from Iran in the recent years and one of the few, if not the only truly Persian prog/psych 45s ever recorded. Remastered sound, liner notes and pictures."
CD $23


NEXT STOP SOWETO [V.A.] - Vol 3: Giants, Ministers And Makers - Jazz In South Africa 1963-1978 [2 CD set] (Strut 63; USA) Strut conclude their essential three part excursion into the archives of South African music with their third and final volume of the Next Stop...Soweto series. Volume 3 is a long overdue retrospective of the rich jazz scene happening in South Africa from the early 60 s to mid-80 s. While many major artists lived in exile abroad and furthered their careers globally, many of South Africa s finest jazz players remained, performing under the strict auspices of the Separate Amenities Act. Next Stop Soweto Vol 3 is the story of the music that survived in South Africa during the mid 60 s to mid 80 s era. The album has tracks from many of the recognized South African jazz greats including saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, pianist Chris McGregor, and drummer Early Mabuza, the potent soul jazz grooves of The Heshoo Beshoo Group and The Drive and some of the many artists creating unique fusions like Philip Tabane s Malombo mixing African drums and hand percussion with guitar, vocal and flute.
2 CD set for $18

NEXT STOP SOWETO [V.A.] - Vol 2: Soultown, R&B, Funk & Psych Sounds From The Townships 1969-1976 (Strut 57; USA) Volume 2 in Strut's new wide-ranging three-part series exploring underground South African music during the late '60s and '70s. This time focusing on township R&B, Soul, Funk & Psyche 1969-76! With international forms of music discouraged by the South African authorities during the 1960s, township jive or Mbaqanga arose as innovative artists combined close harmony singing and traditional African styles with a bouncy township beat. Imported US music became strictly the domain of house parties, private record collections and underground shebeens. Volume 2 of Next Stop... Soweto also touches on mbaqanga and jazz artists who dabbled with soul and funk fusions during the early "70s - the MGABABA QUEENS and MAHOTELLA QUEENS, and revered South African jazz combo THE HESHOO BESHOO GROUP. Also featured is a rare psychedelic track from one of the only recordings made of playwright GIBSON KENTE?s acclaimed theatre pieces, "Too Late". The Next Stop... Soweto series is the result of several years of painstaking research and vinyl archaeology in South Africa by compilers DUNCAN BROOKER and FRANCIS GOODING. The CD package features an extensive booklet featuring detailed notes by DAVID COPLAN, author of "In Township Tonight?, alongside many previously unseen archive photos.
CD $15

NEXT STOP SOWETO [V.A.] - Vol 1: Township Sounds From The Golden Age Of Mbaqanga (Strut 54; USA) Brand new wide-ranging three-part series exploring underground South African music during the late '60s and '70s. 'Next Stop... Soweto' Volume 1 explores the vibrant energy of the township jive sound, whilst Volumes 2 and 3, released across Autumn and Winter 2010, cover rare South African soul, funk & Hammond R&B and the country's rich jazz scene. Jazz had been a fixture in South African music since the 50's and jive initially emerged a decade later as a fusion combining elements of rural Zulu music and harmony vocal styles with Western instrumentation. Hear STRUT trace some of the amazing music - that often only appeared on short run 45's at the time - including tracks from lesser known bands that plied their trade under apartheid during the years before the tumultuous Soweto uprising of 1976... until now all have been largely unknown to the outside world. The series is the result of several years of painstaking research and vinyl archaeology in South Africa by compilers DUNCAN BROOKER and FRANCIS GOODING. The CD package features an extensive booklet featuring detailed notes by Gooding alongside many previously unseen archive photos. All tracks have never been available on CD before! With the world's eyes on South Africa for the forthcoming World Cup soccer this year - the world's ears need to hear this release to fully appreciate the culture of Southern Africa! This is the first high profile compilation of its kind!
CD $17

NIGERIA 70 [V.A.] - Lagos Jump: Original Heavyweight Afrobeat Highlife & Afro-Funk (Strut 33035; USA) Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump takes it to the next step by digging deep and coming up with 16 obscure tracks that run the gamut stylistically. Ify Jerry Krusade's "Everybody Likes Something Good" is quasi-psychedelic, organ-dominated funk; Chief Checker's " Ire Africa" is deep roots reggae to rival anything emerging from Jamaica at the time; and Peacocks Guitar Band, on their "Eddie Quansa," turn to Latin rhythms for inspiration. Everything from hard soul to classic rock to jazz and, of course, the numerous indigenous Nigerian forms of juju, highlife, and palmwine shows up in this richly rewarding, historically vital collection of rarities. ~ Jeff Tamarkin, AMG
CD $15

NIGERIA 70 [V.A.] - The Definitive Story Of 1970's Funky Lagos (Strut 33044; USA) A stunning compilation from the good folks at Strut. Some of the big names that dominated Lagos are here, including such as Fela, Orlando Julius, and Sunny Ade. Side by side stand other, lesser-known players who brought the funk at least as hard, if not as often. This is that rare compilation that manages to conscientiously document a scene without reaching for the obvious, but without ignoring what must be included. What we have here is a rich, historical document that you might actually want to listen to, no mean feat. Once again this label graces us with gems from the furthest reaches of their record collections. Bless them. ~ Rob Ferrier, AMG
CD $17


IMAGINATIONAL ANTHEM [V.A. With C JOYNES/WILLIAM TYLER/CHRIS FORSYTH/SAM MOSS et al] - Vol 4: New Possibilities [Ltd Ed] (Tompkins Square 2455; USA) "The fourth volume of the acclaimed guitar series. Features C Joynes, Tyler Ramsey (Band of Horses), William Tyler (Silver Jews) and more. Artwork by Paul Romano (Mastodon). Since its first volume in 2005, Tompkins Square's Imaginational Anthem series has introduced many new acoustic guitarists, and unearthed many forgotten legends of the American Primitive genre. Vol. 4 strays from the formula by focusing on the present generation of pickers, representing American and English musical traditions." Other artists include: Chris Forsyth, Sam Moss, Nick Jonah Davis, Pat O'Connell, Micah Blue Smaldone, Mike Fekete and Aaron Sheppard.
CD $14
also available as Ltd Ed LP for $18


Back in stock..

EDDIE HENDERSON With HERBIE HANCOCK/BENNIE MAUPIN/BILLY HART/PATRICK GLEESON/LENNY WHITE/ERIC GRAVATT - Anthology Vol 2 - Capricorn Years: Realization/Inside Out (Soul Brother 11; UK) Eddie Henderson's first two - and most mindblowing - albums complete on 1 CD! Recorded in 1973 for Capricorn records, these two albums 'Realization' and 'Inside Out', featured the Herbie Hancock Mwandishi band of which Eddie was a core player. These albums have been in demand for many years, and this is the first time they have issued on CD anywhere in the world. These albums are highly regarded by jazz critics, and are cited as amongst the best of early 70's jazz- fusion
"Possibly the most acid-drenched far-out fusion blow-outs ever recorded, Fans of high quality early Miles fusion or early electro-funk recordings who haven't heard this - it will blow your minds! ALL THUMBS UP! - MannyLunch
CD $24


FAMOUDOU DON MOYE SUN PERCUSSION SUMMIT - For Bobo/Oscar Brown III (AECO/Katalyst 2581; USA) Featuring Don Moye on drums & percussion, Joel Brandon on flute & whistling, Ari Brown on sax, Herb Walker on guitar, Calvin Brunson on keyboards, Enoch Williamson, Meshach Silas, Selah Allen & Babu Atiba all on assorted percussion. This is the third release this year from Don Moye's Sun Percussion Summit. This one is perhaps the most accessible and features some fine funky grooves. Don's own "Oasis at Dusk" has an Afrobeat sorta groove with hypnotic flute and funky el. guitar and keyboard vamping. Both the el. guitar and soprano sax swirl their bluesy licks together towards the end. "Bald Head Gerald" has another fat, funky groove, churning horn section, more Afrobeat geetar picking and Fela-like sax solo. Get down! Meshach's "For Us" consists of layers of hypnotic, ebullient African percussion. Joseph Jarman's "Treibhaus Tribal Stomp" features some sly, snarling (Santana-like) lead guitar and an intense Latin groove. "No Time Left" starts with some slamming drums from Don Moye and burnin' tenor sax from Ari Brown, an incredible duet, tight and completely focused! 'For Bobo' concludes with a reggae-like version of a traditional gospel tune, "By the Rivers of Babylon", which feels like a righteous way to end this joyous groove fest. Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery Cardboard slim-case CD release
CD $13

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO [LESTER BOWIE/ROSCOE MITCHELL/JOSEPH JARMAN/MALACHI FAVORS/DON MOYE] With DON PULLEN - Fundamental Destiny: Live At The Frankfurt Germany Jazz Festival, June 1st 1991 (AECO/Katalyst 008; USA) "Now, the production team at AECO has once more gone through the archives and come up with another gem, culminating in the recent release of Fundamental Destiny, a record of a live 1991 Art Ensemble concert given in early June of that year at the Frankfurt, Germany Jazz Festival. All the members of the ensemble are present: Lester Bowie on trumpet, Joseph Jarman on woodwinds and percussion, Roscoe Mitchell on woodwinds and percussion, Malachi Favors Moghostut playing both bowed and pizzicato bass and percussion, and Famoudou on drums and percussion, and special guest Don Pullen on piano".
CD $13



Last 4 copies of this..

ANTHONY COLEMAN With ROY NATHANSON/GUY KLUCEVSEK/DOUG WIESELMAN et al - Disco By Night (Avant 011; Japan) Anthony Coleman (p, key, sampler), Roy Nathanson (ss), Doug Wieselman (cl), Guy Klucevsek (accordion), James Pugliese (ds), Gisburg Smialek (voice) . Composer Anthony Coleman is better known as a jazz pianist and leader of his versatile groups Selfhaters, the Sephardic Tinge trio and Lobster And Friend (with Roy Nathanson) and for his work with composers Glenn Branca and John Zorn. On his earliest (1992) and most compelling recording, Coleman's twisted compositional genius comes to the fore. Disco By Night is the ultimate statement about his Yugoslavic experiences, a tragic and doomed meditation on the clash between tradition/ethnicity and modernization / Westernization in Eastern Europe. Wonderful music to make you wonder.
CD $20


The complete studio works of the original Masada Quartet - Back In Stock!

MASADA [JOHN ZORN/DAVE DOUGLAS/GREG COHEN/JOEY BARON] - Masada 1 (ALEF) (DIW 888; Japan) Tracks from recording session #1 February 20th 1994 at RPM
Produced by John Zorn and Kazunori Sugiyama. All compositions by John Zorn.
John Zorn (as), Dave Douglas (tp), Greg Cohen (b), Joey Baron (ds).
CD $20

MASADA [JOHN ZORN/DAVE DOUGLAS/GREG COHEN/JOEY BARON] - Masada 2 (BEIT) (DIW 889; Japan) Tracks from recording session #1 February 20th 1994 at RPM
CD $20

MASADA [JOHN ZORN/DAVE DOUGLAS/GREG COHEN/JOEY BARON] - Masada 3 (GIMEL) (DIW 890; Japan) Tracks from recording sessions #1 February 20th 1994 at RPM and #2 June 22, 1994 at Power Station
CD $20

MASADA [JOHN ZORN/DAVE DOUGLAS/GREG COHEN/JOEY BARON] - Masada 4 (DALET) (DIW 923; Japan) Tracks from recording session #1 February 20th 1994 at RPM
This CD is shorter than the other Masada titles in this series, hence the lower price
CD $18

MASADA [JOHN ZORN/DAVE DOUGLAS/GREG COHEN/JOEY BARON] - Masada 5 (HEI) (DIW 899; Japan) Tracks from recording session #3 July 16 & 17, 1995 at Power Station
CD $20

MASADA [JOHN ZORN/DAVE DOUGLAS/GREG COHEN/JOEY BARON] - Masada 6 (VAV) (DIW 900; Japan) Tracks from recording session #3 July 16 & 17, 1995 at Power Station
CD $20

MASADA [JOHN ZORN/DAVE DOUGLAS/GREG COHEN/JOEY BARON] - Masada 7 (ZAYIN) (DIW 915; Japan) Tracks from recording session #4 April 16th 1996 at Power Station
CD $20

MASADA [JOHN ZORN/DAVE DOUGLAS/GREG COHEN/JOEY BARON] - Masada 8 (HET) (DIW 925; Japan) Tracks from recording session #5 August 1 1996 at Avatar
CD $20

MASADA [JOHN ZORN/DAVE DOUGLAS/GREG COHEN/JOEY BARON] - Masada 9 (TET) (DIW 933; Japan) Tracks from recording session #6 April 21, 1997 at Avatar
CD $20

MASADA [JOHN ZORN/DAVE DOUGLAS/GREG COHEN/JOEY BARON] - Masada 10 (YOD) (DIW 935; Japan) Tracks from recording session #7 September 15, 1997 at Avatar
CD $20

MASADA [JOHN ZORN/DAVE DOUGLAS/GREG COHEN/JOEY BARON] - Sanhedrin: Unreleased Studio Recordings [2 CD set & book] (Tzadik 7346; USA) Twenty-nine sterling studio performances never available; over two and a half hours of rare alternates, many even more exciting than the original releases, were handpicked by Zorn from the legendary sessions of 1994-1997 and are accompanied by a lush booklet filled with photos, scores, written tributes and remembrances. TZADIK ARCHIVAL SERIES
2 CD + Book set for $30


Also restocked

TIM BERNE & MICHAEL FORMANEK - Ornery People (Littlebrother 13 ; USA)
CD $12

NELS CLINE TRIO - Chest (Littlebrother 06 ; USA)
CD $12

NELS CLINE TRIO - Chest [2 LP set] (Littlebrother 06 ; USA) LP version of above has extra track not on CD edition!
LP $16

NELS CLINE TRIO - Sad (Littlebrother 12 ; USA)
CD $12



CAN [IRMIN SCHMIDT/JAKI LIEBEZEIT/MICHAEL KAROLI/ROSKO GEE/REEBOP KWAKU BAAH] - Can [aka Inner Space; LP + CD] (Lillith 310; USA) "1979's Can (aka Inner Space), the band's last proper album, was less experimental than its previous releases, with Michael Karoli doing more straightforward vocals and guitar. Having spent the previous decade taking elements of the classical avant-garde (i.e. Karlheinz Stockhausen) and underground rock (i.e Velvet Underground) to create a kind of genreless 'new music'--and influencing countless bands in the process--Can had reached the natural end of its journey. Although founding members Irmin Schmidt (keyboards) and Jaki Liebezeit (drums) can still be heard, Rebop Kwaku Baah and Rosko Gee of Traffic fame have been added to the mix, with former bassist Holger Czukay doing the editing." 180 gram vinyl with a bonus CD version of the same album.
LP + CD for $32


THE APRYL FOOL - Apryl Fool (Bamboo 7002; UK) "The Apryl Fool was a very accomplished late-'60s band from Japan whose lone, self-titled 1969 album is a great mixture of hard psych and blues-rock. Their best-known track is probably 'The Lost Mother Land, Pt. 1,' which was featured on the Japanese volume of QDK's Love, Peace And Poetry series, certainly one of the most crazed, over-the-top productions and performances in the entire series, with its massively phased and treated vocals and general menace. But that tune is really the anomaly on the album, despite the prevalence of monstrous fuzz guitar on a number of tracks. At their heart, The Apryl Fool seem to be a blues-rock band, although one that was clearly experimenting with the burgeoning psychedelic scene. Tracks like 'Another Time,' 'Honky Tonk Jam,' and Bob Dylan's 'Pledging My Time' are pretty straight blues-rock, and 'April Blues' just adds some fuzz guitar to a boogie-woogie piano bit. The other tracks up the psych quotient considerably, like on 'Tomorrow's Child,' with its Farfisa and wicked fuzz leads, or the aforementioned 'The Lost Mother Land Pt. 1.' There are additional crazy tape effects on 'The Lost Mother Land Pt. 2.' About half the tunes are in English and half in Japanese, but it's all good stuff. Historical footnote: years later, bass player Haruomi Hosono would become a member of one of Japan's most popular music groups ever, Yellow Magic Orchestra." --Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide; Housed in a highly collectable limited edition LP replica card wallet.
CD $17

BLUES CREATION - Demon & Eleven Children (Bamboo 7001; UK) Japan's Blues Creation was formed by guitarists Kazuo Takeda, Koh Eiryu and singer Fumio Nunoya, in early 1969, after the dissolution of their Group Sounds outfit The Bickies. Highly influenced by Cream and The Yardbirds, Takeda joined forces with school friends Takayuki Noji, Shinichi Tashiro, and lead singer Fumio Nunoya. Formerly vocalist with Taboo, a heavy band led by future Happy End guitarist Eiichi Otaki, Nunoya was also searching for an even heavier sound, and the results of the new American-influenced experiment were released in October 1969, as Blues Creation. Singer Fumio Nunoya soon found himself edged out of artistic decisions by the supremely confident Takeda, and thereafter left to form his own band, Dew. While searching around throughout 1970 for a new singer, guitarist Takeda heard the new, even more strung-out music of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Eric Clapton's solo LP Clapton, and Leslie West's Mountain, and decided he should take the opportunity to start again from scratch. Takeda enlisted bassist Masashi Saeki and drummer Akiyoshi Higuchi for the new line-up, and eschewed the previous cover's style in favor of his own compositions. With the new Blues Creation fronted by singer Hiromi Osawa, Kazuo Takeda recorded what has come to be regarded as his masterpiece in the form of Demon & Eleven Children, originally released in 1971 on Denon. This album was recorded at the Japan Folk Jamboree, and is a full-on gem of a record, but Takeda was now widely-known as a true Japanese guitar hero, and -- as ever -- had set his sights higher and higher. He split Blues Creation the following year, leaving for London in late 1972. This sludge-y slab of big, loud, brain-busting heaviness sits at #17 on Julian Cope's Japrocksampler top 50 list. Housed in a highly-collectable LP replica card wallet. CD $17



THE COMFORTABLE CHAIR - The Comfortable Chair (Relics 3001; UK) Best-known for having been discovered and produced by members of The Doors, this Californian septet made some of the finest psychedelic pop/rock of the late 1960s, and stand up well alongside better-known contemporaries such as Jefferson Airplane, It's A Beautiful Day, Sweetwater and The Peanut Butter Conspiracy. Their sole album was first issued in late 1968, and though they were acclaimed at the time as "an extraordinarily relaxed and relaxing bunch to listen to," they split when it failed to sell.
CD $17

MONUMENT - The First Monument (Relics 3003; UK) Though it described itself as "haunting, eerie, mystical, even at times a little frightening to those outside the shadowy half-world of the occult," this was, in fact, the product of a drunken overnight jam in London by cult underground hard rockers Zior, held in the summer of 1971. A tough collection of organ and guitar-fuelled rockers, it's sure to appeal to fans of other early '70s British proto-metallers such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, High Tide, Leaf Hound and others.
CD $17

RAW MATERIAL - Raw Material (Relics 3003; UK) This London-based quintet's ambitious and highly entertaining debut touches on psychedelia, progressive rock, jazz and pop, with imaginative arrangements and superb musicianship. Issued on the tiny Evolution label in the autumn of 1970, it sank without trace, with original copies now changing hands for several hundred pounds. It makes its long-awaited return to CD here, including biographical notes. Features 4 bonus tracks from their two UK singles, not on the original album.
CD $17

UGLY CUSTARD - Ugly Custard (Relics 3002; UK) Recorded in London under an assumed name by legendary session musicians including Alan Parker, Roger Coulam, Herbie Flowers and Clem Cattini, and released with different artwork in Germany and Spain in 1970, before creeping out in the UK the following year, this cult classic is as enigmatic as they come. A moody blend of Hammond organ, distorted electric guitar and funky rhythms, it's also a lost treasure for beat diggers everywhere.
CD $17

AORTA [EXCEPTION] - Aorta (Axis 1003; UK) As the Exception, this quartet were one of Chicago's top mid-'60s bands. In 1968, they shook up their personnel, changed their name to Aorta and embraced psychedelia, issuing their debut album the following spring. An ambitious psychedelic suite, this 1969 release alternates between mellow and heavier sounds, with some intense fuzz guitar and sound effects, and stands as one of the best major label psych LPs of the late 1960s.
CD $17

THE DRUIDS OF STONEHENGE - Creation (Axis 1004; UK) This youthful quintet formed as a tough New York R&B act in 1965. By the time they made their sole album in 1967, they'd evolved into an impressive psych-influenced rock band, with a moody sound that has been described as "early Rolling Stones meets early Grateful Dead." Their classic LP makes its long-overdue return to CD here, complete with explanatory notes, and is sure to appeal to fans of The Chocolate Watch Band, the Lollipop Shoppe and other seminal U.S. garage-punk acts. Includes a booklet featuring an extensive band history.
CD $17

HELL PREACHERS INC. - Supreme Psychedelic Underground (Axis 1002; UK) Long-rumored to be the work of the young Deep Purple, this 1968 psychedelic exploitation LP from Hell Preachers Inc. certainly features plenty of wah-wah and Hammond organ, and stands up as a fine set of acid-influenced jams in its own right. Only briefly released in Germany and the UK in its day, it makes its long-overdue return to circulation here.
CD $17



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



New Artists catalogue - ON SALE!
(Normally $14)

DHAMMA ACE YAMASHITA - Ace Yamashita (New Artists 1036; USA) Yamashita gives a solo guitar performance where he mixes his sensitive style of Western playing with aural images of the Orient. it is a totally improvised session that finds him in a reflective, introspective mood. No titles are provided, but each selection is an intricate investigation into the soul of the songs and the man. He alters the course by playing in either single tone fragments or full clusters of notes. You get the feeling that Yamashita is sinking deeply into the bowels of the tunes, caught in an eddy and swirling around with the notes that are spinning in his brain. The pace is not galloping, allowing Yamashita to be tender and emotive while he contemplates the direction of the tunes.
On the back glossy sleeve in almost indiscernable print is the statement, "It doesn't mean that it wouldn't exist because the humans couldn't see it. It doesn't mean that it wouldn't exist because the humans couldn't hear it." That type of enlightened thinking seems to relate to how Yamashita approaches music, and probably life. There are subtleties in his playing that must be brought out by the listener, yet they are present just the same. There are also some very overt statments that require no translation. Yamashita appears to be tying the ancient with the modern with his meditative playing, relating his Japanese ancestry to the current times. Ignoring the deeper philosophical meaning and concentrating strictly on the music, this is a very fine solo guitar album with seductive sonic qualities. It has trance-inducing effects, but mostly it is a solid example of the improvisatory process by a very serious musician. - Frank Rubolino, Cadence
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CCQT [CONNIE CROTHERS QUARTET With RICHARD TAUBNIK/ROGER MANCUSO/SEAN SMITH] - Ontology (New Artists 1035; USA) Connie Crothers, piano Richard Tabnik, alto saxophone; Roger Mancuso, drums Sean Smith, bass. "The Connie Crothers Quartet or CCQt, is in brilliant, driving form as they generate explosive contemporary bop in "Ontology". Alto sax player Richard Tabnik creates free alto sax lines that project an eerie bi-tonal quality throughout his probing solos in pieces like "Ontology" and the uptempo "Bird's Word." Tabnik's sound is uniquely his own, exploring the fertile ground somewhere between Charlie Parker and early Ornette Coleman; just listen to the engaging double-tempo lines he creates in a swinging version of "My Shining hour" and the floating free blues lines in ballads like "Come Rain or Come Shine" and his memorable original "Fortuity." Crothers has rarely sounded so inspired, from her spacy lyricism in "Ontology" and "Come
Rain or Come Shine" to her percussive intensity in "Double Chi" and the lively rapport and free interplay with drummer Roger Mancuso following Tabnik's dramatic solo in "Bird's Word." "Ontology" sustains the most exhilirating and inventive hard bop I have heard in many years and I imagine that to catch this band on a good night must be awesome. You must check "Ontology" out! " - David Lewis
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CONNIE CROTHERS - Music From Everyday Life (New Artists 1025; USA) While one would expect her own compositions to be freeform vehicles, I was surprised and impressed by the way Crothers approached the standards. Songs such as "Lover Man", "Star Eyes", and "How High the Moon" are played with such originality that the melody lines are fully submerged under her interpretive direction. She projects the essence of the songs without ever having to make an overt statement on the theme. Only on the opening segment of "Good Morning Heartache" does even the slightest hint of the theme surface. This subtlety indicates an ability to hear far beyond the superficial level of melody. Crothers makes heavy use of the lower end of the register in probing the labyrinth she designs inside the songs. Her right hand adds the sparkling relief, but the most meaningful statements are derived from the bottom end of the sound spectrum. The tunes are the essence of full-bodied articulation, and her exploratory endeavor results in substantive music with power framed in a veil of tenderness. - Frank Rubolino
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CONNIE CROTHERS & BILL PAYNE - Conversations (New Artists 1044; USA) Featuring Connie Crothers on piano & Bill Payne on clarinet. Great review in All About Jazz, NY, so I am truly excited to hear this! " Rather than a high-energy blowout, these collaborations leave space, are generally thoughtful and feature close communication between the two musicians, whether they are echoing each other's thoughts or offering a pair of contrasting voices. Sounding very much like "Conversations," the improvisations give Crothers and Payne opportunities to create new melodies and thoughts on the spot, and it often makes for an intriguing listen. It is obvious that they have played together many times before and have a familiarity with each other's playing even as they continually surprise each other." - Scott Yanow
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CONNIE CROTHERS & RICHARD TABNIK - Duo Dimension (New Artists 1003; USA) Piano and alto sax are paired in this program of nine original pieces plus the ballad oldie "Star Eyes." Connie Crothers plays with great strength and fire, yet seems to draw her lines with lightness and a fine edge. Her rhythmic sense never wavers, even in the most "outside," adventurous constructions she develops with Richard Tabnik.
Some of the airy dryness of the late altoist Paul Desmond colors his sound, but Tabnik follows a different path in terms of both harmonic conception and energy. He and Crothers obviously share close ties in this music which is both individualistic and a direct descendant of the late pianist/teacher Lennie tristano. Substantial and refreshing. - Lois Moody
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CONNIE CROTHERS & ROGER MANCUSO - Deep Into The Center (New Artists 1020; USA) Connie Crothers, piano; Roger Mancuso, drums
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CONNIE CROTHERS QUARTET - Music is a Place (New Artists 1043; USA) Featuring Connie Crothers on piano, Richard Tabnik on alto sax, Ratzo Harris on bass and Roger Mancuso on drums. Although pianist and composer, Connie Crothers, studied with the influential pianist/composer/philosopher, Lennie Tristano, so many years ago, she continues to be associated with Tristano and his other students or collaborators, The thing is, Ms. Crothers has continued to evolve and has some dozen discs out as a leader. Each one a worthy gem to consider. She has worked with members of this great quartet for quite a long time, Tabnik for 25 years and Mancuso for 35 years. This particular quartet has worked together weekly for the past five years. You can hear the proof in the pudding as there is a special bond that links this group together. Each of the seven pieces was composed by members of the quartet and each is special in a different way. "Helen's Tune" has an odd structure that keeps shifting in different sections as if there are a couple of sub-groups at work. It is both playful and slightly bent at the same time. Tabnik reminds me of Lee Konitz at times and with Jackie McLean at other times with his unpredictable solos. Connie's has a certain elegance and sophistication that puts her in a class by itself, she sounds like no-one else but herself. Another thing that makes this quartet so special is the way they all flow together, they have the dream-like feel that reminds me of Miles' rhythm team for the mid-sixties with Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Often Connie's piano solos move in unlikely ways, starting in one direction and then adding layers of lines that she plucks from another realm, similar to the way Sun Ra often pulls rabbits out of hat or space-cap. It is rare at the store that Mikey lets me leave on an entire 60+ minute jazz disc that we both find inventive and interesting throughout when we are working together, but this disc meets both of our high standards. - BLG
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CONNIE CROTHERS QUINTET - Live: Outpost Performance Space, Albuquerque New Mexico (New Artists 1041; USA) Connie Crothers on piano; Richard Tabnik on alto sax; Ratzo Harris on bass & Roger Mancuso on drums; plus Mark Weber, the poet. It's been more than a quarter century since the iconoclastic and influential jazz pianist Lennie Tristano, yet still his influence continues through those he taught and inspired. Connie Crothers has grown beyond these influences, yet remains indebted to Tristano and is still one of the most gifted jazz pianists around. Tristano was extremely inspired by Bird and bebop, so too Connie Crothers. The first tune, "Bird's Words" erupts at a furious tempo, both Connie and Richard (on alto sax) take explosive solos, as well as a burning solo from the bass. Connie composed the four long tracks here and each one provides some challenging charts for the quartet to play through. "Carols Dream" is indeed somber and dream-like and magical solos for the alto and piano. Poet Mark Weber gets to do four short poems and each one tells a mysterious short story. One poem/piece is called "Warne Marsh", another Tristano cohort and does a nice job of describing what is special about the late Mr. Marsh. An excellent excursion of modernized post-bop coolness. - BLG
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CONNIE CROTHERS/LENNY POPKIN QUARTET - In Motion (New Artists 1013; USA) Connie Crothers, piano; Lenny Popkin, tenor saxophone; Carol Tristano, drums; Cameron Brown, bass. A memorable concert at "The Cave" (Belgium, Nov. '91) alternating standard forms and free forms -- the music joining wild flights of the tenor around the harmonies, sinuousity and diabolical precision, compact rhythms stretching tradition, and at the center the pianist lighting the powder keg with flurries of single notes, unexpected accents and expansive chord clusters. They appeared astonished at the enthusiasm of the public that was still in shock but enraptured. This is their latest album. - Gerard Rouy
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CONNIE CROTHERS/LENNY POPKIN QUARTET - Jazz Spring (New Artists 1017; USA) Connie Crothers, piano; Lenny Popkin, tenor saxophone; Carol Tristano, drums; Cameron Brown, bass. The influence of Lennie Tristano's teachings survives into the '90s with the Connie Crothers/Lenny Popkin Quartet a principal exponent. "Jazz Spring" melds contrasting approaches, with mixed results. Crothers can be a forceful, percussive pianist, prone to dark, minor chords delivered with a stabbing attack. Popkin favors the tenor saxophone's upper register, and plays smoothly in a style somewhat suggestive of Lee Konitz. As an accompanist, Crothers maintains tension, but sounds stern and hard-edged, almost at odds with the group's bright, upbeat approach. As a soloist, Crothers adopts a more expansive, introspective persona. On the CD's best tracks, "Jazz Spring" and "Beyond a Dream," she exhibits a lighter touch, unraveling elaborate melodic lines. in this mode, she interacts effectively with Popkin's tenor.
Crothers and Popkin's compositions are mostly vehicles for playing, with "Soul Sayer" a meandering variation on "Body and Soul." The sound mix accentuates the high end, giving short shrift to the rhythm section of Cameron Brown and Carol Tristano, and reinforcing Crothers' tendency to overwhelm her colleagues. It's good to hear Brown again on bass -- he's kept too low a profile since the breakup of the Don Pullen/George Adams Quartet, where he was so effective. - Jon Andrews, Downbeat
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CONNIE CROTHERS/LENNY POPKIN QUARTET - Love Energy (New Artists 1005; USA) Connie Crothers, piano; Lenny Popkin, tenor saxophone; Carol Tristano, drums; Cameron Brown, bass. Crothers and Popkin quite frankly take Lennie Tristano as their starting point. Popkin's "L.T." makes no bones about it -- the tremendous strength of the piano in those typical tight turns, the misty tenor sound and -- perhaps most of all -- Carol Tristano's swishing brushes all tell you that this begins where "Marionette" finished 40 years ago, which is to say it takes a particular, analytical view of bebop and reworks that analysis, and its resonances, into the present. It comes off beautifully. Clearly they've heard other music -- this is by no means a time-capsule -- but they've incorporated what they've used to nurture the basic concept. Thus "How Deep is the Ocean" recalls at times something of the sense of Cecil Taylor's "Lazy Afternoon" without in any way borrowing directly, and Crothers on Tristano's own "It's You" echoes something of Paul Bley, while "Soul in Minor" represents a rather astonishing raid on the hard boppers. The flow of "Ontology" hangs so tightly together that you realise how well titled it is. Bassist Brown works hard in the engine room, and finally there's a wonderful drum solo on "It's You". It only remains to say, if you can find it, get it -- and do your ears a real favour. - Jack Cooke
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CONNIE CROTHERS/LENNY POPKIN QUARTET - New York Night (New Artists 1008; USA) Connie Crothers, piano; Lenny Popkin, tenor saxophone; Carol Tristano, drums; Cameron Brown, bass. Bop in a light, relaxed groove, performed at a live date at the Blue Note in New York City. The program consists largely of easily swinging bop tunes, including some originals by Popkin and Crothers -- her "Prez Says" is particularly delightful. They play two knotty Lennie Tristano compositions, too: "Leave Me" and "Lennie-Bird." And there's one ballad cover, "You Go to my Head," which is a tour de force for Popkin's sensuous tenor. This club date was in December, but this quartet plays like spring is here for good. - John Baxter, Option
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CONNIE CROTHERS/LENNY POPKIN QUARTET - Session (New Artists 1027; USA) Connie Crothers, piano; Lenny Popkin, tenor saxophone; Carol Tristano, drums; Rich Califano, bass. Now in its tenth year as a working band (aside from bassist Rich Califano replacing Cameron Brown) the Connie Crothers/Lenny Popkin Quartet continues to build on the methodology of its drummer Carol Tristano's father. No small task to be sure, yet this group has moved past the simply derivative as Crothers' long, meandering piano lines take on a life of their own. While the drums and bass are largely relegated to supporting roles, Crothers and the floating, billowy-toned tenor of Popkin are permitted plenty of room to stretch out. While some listeners may balk at the supposedly cerebral nature of this school, that criticism iis as untrue here as it was when assigned to Warne Marsh. In the meantime, the music still manages to convey a visceral punch and excitement, as Crothers' rich melodies and fluidity of line captivate, especially when she throws in some playful dissonance for good measure. Similarly, Popkin is equally enthralling, as his phrases pick up and drop off whenever and wherever they please, but sound quite natural in the process. - Jon C. Morgan, Coda
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

VIRG DZURINKO - Fun City: Solo Piano (New Artists 1033; USA) It's been difficult for me to gain a handle on Dzurinko's background. Fortunately, her style at the piano is far less enigmatic than her origins and usually favors a light lyrical touch and diplomatic approach to the politics of melody and rhythm. Spreading her lithe fingers over an intimate gathering of standards and originals, Dzurinko sounds very much at home in the company of one. Most of the pieces are limited in length, but opulent in ideas. Her original compositions are possessed of a stark and natural beauty that often overshadows her warmer, more accessible readings of the standards. "Dinosaurs Rising" and "Seven Eight" are two such pieces that move across the breadth of emotions within the space of only a few minutes. Other pieces, such as "Traffic and Weather Together," manifest darker moods through taut tone clusters and the careful use of dissonance. Maintaining a high level of rapport with one's instrument while remaining cognizant of an audience for the music can be a burden for any musician in a solo setting. From the music presented here, it's apparent that Dzurinko is more than up to the challenge presented by such sparse surroundings. - Derek Taylor
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

ANDY FITE - Whirlwind: Solo Guitar (New Artists 1022; USA) Andy Fite guitar
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

ANDY FITE/RED MITCHELL - Everybody Got Happy (New Artists 1014; USA) Andy Fite guitar, Red Mitchell bass
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

LIZ GORRILL - Dreamflight (New Artists 1010; USA) Liz Gorrill piano. This disc opens with a positively vicious deconstruction of "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To," taken apart into thick clusters of notes and right-hand filligree that travel off at strange angles, but all held together by an insistent swing. And Gorrill takes it from there, with an originality that makes tracing her influences (the critic's favorite game) difficult: Monk, certainly. But Horace Tapscott? Dave Burrell? Cecil Taylor? Andrew Hill? Mal Waldron? Maybe. In her own compositions, which comprise the bulk of this live set, I'd say all of the above. I especially love her take-no-prisoners manner with standards. She does an excruciatingly unresolved version of "It Could Happen To You," for instance, almost a pun on the title. Gorrill clearly is a major pianist. - John Baxter, Option
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

LIZ GORRILL - For The Beauty Of The Earth (New Artists 1030; USA) Liz Gorrill piano. Based upon the poetry of Jalal-ud-Din Rumi and Colette Aboulker-Muscat, pianist/vocalist Liz Gorrill has scripted an alluring florid companion that evokes the poignancy of prose as she keenly balances silence with italicized statements. As a pianist, she delivers flickering impressionistic lines that suggest a deep compassion for European classical music and free jazz. But there's a clarity in playing that keeps it from tipping over to brainy self-indulgence or emotive nonsense. Her plaintive vocal works magic in this context as she transforms worn classics like Irving Berlin's "How Deep Is The Ocean" into a meditative prayer. "For The Beauty Of The Earth" is not the easiest of listenings, but it rewards with every return. - John Murph, Jazz Times
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

LIZ GORRILL/ANDY FITE - Cosmic Comedy (New Artists 1012; USA) Liz Gorrill piano, Andy Fite guitar. A concert at New York's Greenwich House produced this exciting collaboration between pianist Gorrill and guitarist Fite, a free-spirited development of jointly conceived material. There are teasing glimpses of familiar standards dancing behind these new structures, but you are soon caught up in the inventive interplay for the sake of its new directions rather than its older inspirations.
Gorrill has a real flair for setting irregular phrases and melodic material against rhythmic figures that would swing in any jazz environment. Fite throws himself into the adventure just as wholeheartedly and shows a sly sense of humor to match Gorrill's. This music will make you enjoy stretching your musical boundaries. - Lois Moody, Jazz News
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

LIZ GORRILL/ANDY FITE - Phantasmagoria (New Artists 1004; USA) Liz Gorrill piano, Andy Fite guitar. An exceptional recording. Gorrill and Fite stretch Tristano's concepts out with Gorrill's rumbling left hand and stark chords meshing with Fite's biting, angular guitar. Both sing on "Out of Nowhere" and "All Of Me." Gorrill has a mysterious, other worldly quality in her voice that again meshes perfectly with Fite's more traditional scatting. A perfect duo that hopefully will appear on record more frequently. - Tim Smith, Cadence
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

LIZ GORRILL/CHARLEY KRACHY - A Jazz Duet (New Artists 1007; USA) Liz Gorrill piano, Charley Krachy tenor sax. On "A Jazz Duet" Gorrill teams up with tenor saxophonist Charley Krachy (another Tristanoite, to judge from his clear, thin, Marsh-like intonation) for four brief free improvisations and six lengthier interpretations of Tristano-favored standards, including a slowed-down, beautifully eclipsed "How High The Moon".....Gorrill slam dances between registers with such aplomb that her duets with Krachy occasionally remind you not only of Tristano and Marsh, but of Cecil Taylor and Jimmy Lyons. In other words, "A Jazz Duet" summons up memories of piano-and-saxophone duets you only THINK you've heard --- testimony to its power, if not to its originality. - Francis Davis
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

JESSICA JONES QUARTET With TONY JONES/DAYNA STEPHENS/LOU GRASSI + MARK TAYLOR/KENNY WOLLESEN et al - Word (New Artists 1045; USA) Following in the tradition of Charles Mingus's A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry and other seminal po-jazz works by Beat poets like Kenneth Rexroth, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Kenneth Patchen, Ken Nordine and Gregory Corso, saxophonist-composer-bandleader Jessica Jones explores the marriage of poetry and jazz on Word. A true family affair, this provocative new release on the New Artists label features Bay Area native Jessica and her husband Tony Jones -- perhaps the only tenor sax playing husband and wife tandem in jazz -- and prominently showcases their daughter Candace, a promising young R&B singer with a radiant voice and deep jazz roots, who makes a striking vocal contribution to 'Side One' of this dual personality CD.
Their son Levi also appears on one track playing bass. Poets Abe Maneri and Arisa White are featured reciting their original work as well as improvising words on 'Side Two,' the spoken word portion of this adventurous two-sided outing.
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

JESSICA JONES QUARTET With TONY JONES/KEN FILIANO/DERREK PHILLIPS + JOSEPH JARMAN/CONNIE CROTHERS/MARK TAYLOR et al - Nod (New Artists 1039; USA) Thee is a small, specialized subgenre of jazz that occurs when out-cats decide to come in from the cold and play it (relatively) straight for a tune or two. (Think Eric Dolphy exhausting You Don't Know What Love Is on Last Date, or Alber Ayler croaking Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen.) The fun comes from the tension created by turmoil under voluntary temporary restraint.
Nod has some of that tension (and fun). Jessica Jones and her husband, Tony Jones, are perhaps the only avant-garde, tenor-sax playing man-and-wife tandem in jazz. Their 15-year track record revolves around experimental composition, freer forms and collective improvisation. But the Joneses planned Nod as "a tribute to the jazz guys (and gals) in the lineage." The result is an approachable, intriguing album, full of surprise and positive energy.
The quartet includes drummer Derrek Phillips and the adventurous, articulate bassist Ken Filiano. On originals like Manhattan and covers like Jackie McLean's Little Melonae (in a stark, aslant arrangement by Tony), this ensemble is a lean machine, with both Jessica and Tony shooting sharp, impulsive, coherent ideas.
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CHARLEY KRACHY/ANDY FITE/BOEL DIRKE - Sweet Fulfillment (New Artists 1019; USA) Charley Krachy tenor sax, Andy Fite guitar, Boel Dirke piano
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

DORI LEVINE/ED LITTMAN - Click (New Artists 1042; USA) Dori Levine voice, Ed Littman acoustic guitar. Dori Levine is a scatting, swinging Jazz singer who posesses a coquettish voice to lure one into her web. On CLICK she sings in duet with guitarist Ed Littman, and the two lovingly caress each song. Besides the standard repertoire, the two present three totally improvised pieces. Levine and Littman have plenty of fun on this zesty session; they have a difinite feel for each other's direction, and this empathy translates into a delightful musical venture.
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

DORI LEVINE/MICHAEL LEVY - Koo-Koo: Improvisations (New Artists 1031; USA) Dori Levine voice, Michael Levy piano. The music produced by New Artists Records doesn't take into account the demands of the market. The results are unusual CDs like the duet of singer Dori Levine and pianist Michael Levy. We're talking about free improvisations and two famous standards that Levine's voice transforms almost into contemporary pieces. Her hallucinated interpretations, above all, of the evergreen "Lover Man" catch the nature of this standard, a piece where it is surely difficult to say something new, but this duet succeeds with this intention around the piano with the diction so unique and so grounded in the Jazz tradition.
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

MICHAEL LEVY - Michael Levy At Greenwich House (New Artists 1009; USA) Michael Levy piano
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

MICHAEL LEVY - On The Spot (New Artists 1024; USA) Michael Levy piano
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

MICHAEL LEVY/MADELINE RENARD/CHARLEY KRACHY - Soup (New Artists 1018; USA) Michael Levy piano, Charley Krachy tenor sax, Madeline Renard vocal
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CAROL LIEBOWITZ/ANDY FITE - Time On My Hands (New Artists 1029; USA) Carol Liebowitz vocals, Andy Fite guitar. I'm not sure what most senior citizens would make of Carol Liebowitz's renditions of the music of their lives. Liebowitz, with musical partner Andy Fite on guitar, takes this clutch of standards and twists and winds them into new shapes. What distinguishes her approach is her reverence for the words of the songs and high handedness with everything else. From the first chorus she bends the lyrics through her sweeping, melismatic improvisations. The impression is that Liebowitz is improvising the lyrics. This gives the poetry an urgent edge. I found myself hearing the lyrics afresh. 'Love Me or Leave Me' is emotionally wrenching in a way I've never heard it.
Fite's guitar work is spare, yet probing. He provides just the right underscoring for the singer's emotional readings. In his solos, he never sounds like he's straining to fill every measure to the max. He doesn't play any notes that don't count. Yet as understated as his improvisations are, they display utter confidence in his own mastery of the instrument. He fingers long melodic lines punctuated by dry stroked chords, leaving enough air to let his creations breathe-David Dupont
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

CAROL LIEBOWITZ/BOB FIELD - Waves Of Blue Intensities (New Artists 1021; USA) Carol Liebowitz vocals, Bob Field tenor saxophone

CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

MAX ROACH & CONNIE CROTHERS - Swish (New Artists 1001; USA) While the duo exchange of the open-ended improvisation are not new performance propositions for Roach, his collaboration with Connie Crothers, a pianist who has expanded Tristano's labyrinthine complexes, is a refreshing surprise. Of all of Roach's recent duo activities, his encounter with Crothers is most analogous to his work with Anthony Braxton, as the music pivots more on concepts, moods, and procedures than on concrete thematic materials. While Crothers employs many of the percussive techniques associated with Cecil Taylor, a close comparison to the now-legendary, never-issued Taylor/Roach duo concert would be farfetched, as the core of Crothers' style is a linearity and a deliberate sense of motivic development derived from Tristano. Crothers' orientation lends an introspective element to much of the album, particularlythe haunting "Ballad No. 1". The strategies of several of the compositions are described or hinted at by their titles, although it should be noted that "Trading" has nothing to do with the four- and eight-bar structures Roach mastered in the '40s, and the "Let 'Em Roll" showcases Roach's timbral control on tom-toms. Most important, the mark of a successful duet--responsiveness--is in evidence throughout the program. -- Bill Shoemaker, Downbeat
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

LINDA SATIN With CONNIE CROTHERS/ANDY FITE - The Way I Am (New Artists 1028; USA) Linda Satin vocals, Connie Crothers on piano, Andy Fite guitar
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

HARRY SCHULZ With ANDY FITE/RICH CALIFANO/ROGER MANCUSO - Havin' A Ball (New Artists 1032; USA) Harry Schulz vocals, Andy Fite guitar, Rich Califano bass, Roger Mancuso drums
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

RICHARD TABNIK - Solo Journey (New Artists 1011; USA) Richard Tabnik, alto saxophone
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

RICHARD TABNIK QUARTET With ANDY FITE/CALVIN HILL/ROGER MANCUSO - Life At The Core (New Artists 1016; USA) Richard Tabnik, alto saxophone, Andy Fite guitar, Roger Mancuso drums, Cameron Brown bass
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

RICHARD TABNIK TRIO With CAROL TRISTANO/CAMERON BROWN - In The Moment (New Artists 1015; USA) Richard Tabnik, alto saxophone, Carol Tristano drums, Cameron Brown bass
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE. BUD TRISTANO/CONNIE CROTHERS - Primal Elegance (New Artists 1038; USA) Bud Tristano, guitar Connie Crothers, piano CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

DICK TWARDZIK - 1954 Improvisations (New Artists 1006; USA)
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

BOB CASANOVA With ANDY FITE/CHARLEY KRACHY/BOEL DIRKE/CAROL TRISTANO et al - From The Inside Out (New Artists 1023; USA) Bob Casanova, singer; With Andy Fite, guitar; Boel Dirke, piano; Charley Krachy, tenor saxophone ; Rich Califano, Lynn Seaton, Alex Gressel, bass; Carol Tristano, Roger Mancuso, drums; Gary Levy, alto saxophone He may seem an odd man out on a label that specializes in Lennie Tristano disciples but Bob Casanova proves he belongs. He's a true "jazz singer," meaning someone who uses their voice as an instrument instead of merely interpreting lyrics. He sounds good but this recording doesn't show him at best advantage. Most of it is a murkily recorded live set with the singer backed by Fite, Dirke, Califano and Krachy. What you can hear of Casanova sounds soulful and imaginative. - Jerome Wilson
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.

BOB CASANOVA With CONNIE CROTHERS - Just For The Joy Of It (New Artists 1026; USA) Bob Casanova, singer; Carol Crothers piano. With flawless pitch and a range that extends well into the contralto register, vocalist Bob Casanova approaches his art with the improvisatory confidence of an experienced jazz saxophonist. Interestingly for one whose conception is decidedly non-traditional, he chooses to direct his attention towards a clutch of widely exercised standards, but so original is his that each performance emerges as a unique expression. Hardly an accompanist in the conventional sense, pianist Crothers, a long-serving disciple of Lennie Tristano, offers intermeshing backgrounds and solos just as striking as Casanova's melodic variations. In keeping with Tristano's working method, their repertoire includes such warhorses as "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To," "Lover Man," "When You're Smiling," "Out of Nowhere," and "I'll Remember April," but they also offer Dimitri Tiomkin's 1957 movie theme, "Wild is the Wind," and the jointly composed "Lament" and "Spontaneous Suite," a fascinating three-part reminder of Lennie's spur-of-the-moment experimentations with Lee Konitz. - Jack Sohmer
CD $11.00 7 for 6 SALE.



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EMANEM & PSI SALE! EMANEM & PSI SALE! EMANEM & PSI SALE!

ONE WEEK ONLY!


Over FOUR DECADES, and three continents, independent producer/Emanem label owner MARTIN DAVIDSON has built up the greatest catalog of improvisational and aleatoric music recordings [a few albums use partly composed material] rivaled by no other label [OK, perhaps FMP, but they are defunct].
Martin continues to introduce new artists and recordings, choosing each release with care, and also overseeing, as he has always done, the technical aspects of the recordings with an ear to rival the best producers!

He also oversees the ministrations of Evan Parker's own Psi label, thus we have decided to include BOTH labels in this week's sale

The roster of KEY recordings by the Who's Who of greats in this music from 1970s ..

Derek Bailey, Steve Lacy, Evan Parker, John Stevens & Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Howard Riley, Trevor Watts, Anthony Braxton, Paul Rutherford, Kent Carter, Keith Tippett, Lol Coxhill, Paul Dunmall, Alexander Von Schlippenbach, Bobby Bradford/John Carter..

'til now ..

Elliott Sharp, John Butcher, Peter Evans, Agusti Frenandez, Sophie Agnel, Richard Barrett, Paul Obermayer, and many more

..is overwhelming!



BUY three or more CDs from this Emanem & Psi Labels Sale list, and take $2 off each

(offer good through 1/5/10)


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