October Arrives with an Avalanche of Dynamite Discs from:

Formanek/Berne/Taborn/Cleaver! Elliott Sharp's Terraplane! Darius Jones/Alex Harding/Sean Conly/Chad Taylor! Sam Newsome Soprano Sax Solos! Michael Blake! Miles/Frisell/Blade! Andrea Centazzo with Lacy, Ottaviano, Sakata! Jurgen Friedrich!

Adasiewicz/Reed/Ho Bynum/Halvorson Living By Lanterns! Dunmall/McGovern! Charles Gayle Trio Live '94! Nils Wogram! Christian Marclay DJtrio Live! Peggy Lee Band! Matt Ulery's Loom! Eli Keszler! Dollar Brand/Carlos Ward/Dick Griffin!

Mathew Rosenblum! Fred Lonberg-Holm's Seval! Lou Harrison! Steve Moore! Robert Ashley! Nat Reeves! Jason Stein/Nick Butcher My Silence! John McLaughlin 4th Dimension! Christoph Heeman! Andrea Belfi! Borngraber & Struver! eRikM! Keiichi Sugimoto!

DVD's on Eliane Radigue, Jacques Coursil, and Minimalist Composer Performances!

Pandit Pran Nath! Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids! Kath! Ray Stinnett! Ton Of Townes Van Zandt Live! Trunk Records Sampler - 'Cheep'!

...and Last Copies - New Albion label CDs!!




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


The DMG Free Weekly In-Store Performance Series Continues With:


Sunday, October 14th Double-Header:
6pm: ROSS HAMMOND/OLIVER LAKE/VINNY GOLIA/ADAM LANE - Amazing Quartet!
7pm: BEN TYREE - Solo Acoustic Guitar!

Sunday, October 21st Double-Header: 6pm: OPERATION INFINITE SUNRISE with KEN SILVERMAN - Guitar / JOHN MUCHINSON - Bass / ANDY O'NEILL - Drums! 7pm: JUAN PABLO CARLETTI & DANIEL LEVIN - Amazing Drums & Cello Duo!

Sunday, October 28th
6pm: TEO BASS HIT with: J.D. PARRAN - Bass Clarinet / LARRY ROLAND - Acoustic Bass!

Sunday, November 4th Double-Header:
6pm: STEW CUTLER!
7pm: PHILIP GIBBS / MOSSA BILDNER!

Sunday, November 11th at 6pm: MOFODISHU Featuring: MIKE NOORDZY / CHRIS WELCOME / MAX ROSS! Contra Alto Clarinet / Guitar / Laptop Trio!

Sunday, November 18th Double-Header:
6pm: BILL COLE / SHAYNA DULBERGER DUO! Double Reeds & Upright Bass!
7pm: ERIKA DAGNINO / RAS MOSHE / MATT LAVELLE! Poetry/Sax/Trumpet & Reeds!

Sunday, November 25th at 6pm:
6pm: DEE POP and Friends!
7pm: FLIPCITY Featuring: DAVID AARON - Saxes / WILL McEVOY - Bass / KATE PITMAN - Drums!

Sunday, December 2nd Double-Header:
6pm: ISAAC DARCHE - BJU Guitarist!
7pm: JESSE DULMAN & JASON CANDLER - Tuba & Alto Sax Duo!

Sunday, December 9th:
6pm: MATT LAVELLE - Solo Reading from his Book & Music for Trumpet & Reeds!

Sunday, December 16th:
6pm: GEORGE SCHULLER / PETER APFELBAUM / BRAD SHEPIK!
Wow! Great New Drums / Tenor Sax / Guitar Trio!

Sunday, December 23rd:
6pm: DMG's First Annual Happy Holidays Party!

Sunday, December 30th:
No In-Store! We Need a Break! Happy New Year to All!

Sunday, January 6th, 2013:
6pm: THOMAS HEBERER & STEVE SWELL! Trumpet & Trombone Duo!

Sunday, January 13th:
6pm: JAMES ILGENFRITZ & STEVE DALACHINSKY - Acoustic Bass & Poetry!

Sunday, January 20th:
6pm: HAN-EARL PARK - Solo Electric Guitar!

Sunday, January 27th:
ALAN SONDHEIM / AZURE CARTER / CHRIS DIASPARRA! Weird Ethnic Instruments / Vocals / Saxes!
ESP & Fire Museum Recording Artists!


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




A Spectacular New Quartet!

GRASS ROOTS [SEAN CONLY/ALEX HARDING/DARIUS JONES/CHAD TAYLOR] - Grass Roots (AUM Fidelity 75; USA) Grass Roots is a brand new group: a collective of equals each devoted to creating music that is resoundingly fresh and dripping with soul. Because each member of Grass Roots composes for this group, each track (in its multiple layers) is distinct unto itself yet integral to the whole. Their sectional arrangements evince great thought & attention to detail; the performances thereof always bring the soul of unfettered expression. Orchestral fanfares evolve into monster grooves with longing melodies; gloriously searing free sections lock down again into monster grooves. Mackadocious! The final piece on the album, improvised at the conclusion of the session when the principal work had been accomplished, is something else entirely. While listening, my own mind conjures an alien landscape rich with flora and fauna, which the group then proceeds to explore [seemingly] from the perspective of a giant dragonfly
CD $14


ELLIOTT SHARP'S TERRAPLANE With HUBERT SUMLIN/CURTIS FOWLKES/ALEX HARDING/DAVE HOFSTRA et al - Sky Road Songs (Enja/Yellowbird 7724; Germany) Elliott Sharp's Terraplane synthesizes the intersection of country and urban blues with Mississippi fife & drum bands, post-Mingus/Ayler jazz, and the rhythmic force of the groove, from the shuffle to contemporary dance music. Features guest artist Hubert Sumlin, legendary guitar innovator and sideman to Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, as well as singer/poets Eric Mingus and Tracie Morris. Personnel: Elliott Sharp: mandocello, guitar & electronics, Joe Mardin: vocals, drums, bass & chank guitar, Tracie Morris & Eric Mingus: vocals, Curtis Fowlkes: trombone, Alex Harding: baritone sax, Dave Hofstra: bass, Don McKenzie: drums and Hubert Sumlin: electric guitar.
CD $16


MICHAEL FORMANEK With TIM BERNE/CRAIG TABORN/GERALD CLEAVER - Small Places (ECM 2267; USA) Small Places is double bassist/composer Michael Formaneks follow-up to The Rub And Spare Change, his widely lauded ECM debut as a leader. That 2010 release garnered a rare five-star review in DownBeat magazine, while The New York Times described the disc as being "graceful in its subversions, often even sumptuous." The review in Progression perhaps puts it best: "This type of listening experience, dense yet luminiferous, treads the tightrope between cerebral and streetwise in a damn cool way." The new album features the same powerhouse band of long-time confreres, with Formanek in telepathic league with saxophonist Tim Berne, pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver. If anything, Small Places is a step beyond this quartet's first release, with the compositions and improvisation blending so seamlessly that a listener is scarcely able to tell where one leaves off and the other begins. Earthy yet atmospheric, this is very 21st-century American jazz, the music brimming with piquant riffs and muscular ostinatos, rich in melodic possibility and the sound of surprise.
[ltd time price; normally $17]
CD $15


CHARLES GAYLE TRIO With MICHAEL BISIO/MICHAEL WIMBERLEY - Look Up: Live 1994 Santa Barbara (ESP Disk 4071; USA) For his first release for ESP-Disk, we present a 1994, HIGH ENERGY performance of Charles Gayle recorded live in Santa Barbara, California playing total FIRE MUSIC. The unique complementary nuance of the group brings forth (5) incredible performances featuring Charles playing tenor sax, bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Michael Wimberly. Liner notes are written by journalist Russ Musto.
CD $12


MICHAEL BLAKE With JP CARTER/CHRIS GESTRIN/DYLAN VAN DER SCHYFF - In The Grand Scheme Of Things (Songlines 1598; Canada) This New York/Vancouver saxophonist's new Canadian quartet creates expansive, atmospheric, cinematic jazz. Michael Blake's compositions are jumping-off points for solos and group invention that develop organically, balancing depth and playfulness, inthe- pocket and outside feels. The Otis Redding cover Treat Her Right displays Blake's art at its most tender. Chris Gestrin's brilliant work on Moog bass and keyboards buoys the music in an original way, with beautifully detailed audiophile sound.
CD $15


RON MILES With BILL FRISELL/BRIAN BLADE - Quiver (Enja/Yellowbird 7728; Germany) Featuring Ron Miles on trumpet & sattva, Bill Frisell on guitar and Brian Blade on drums. Quiver is trumpeter and composer Ron Miles's latest collaboration with guitar innovator Bill Frisell and master drummer Brian Blade. Brilliantly expands on the technical and spiritual foundations this 49-year old musical trailblazer has crafted. Featuring performances of grace, elegance, and luminosity, this is modern jazz chamber music in the best sense of the term.
CD $15



Three Fantastic Soprano Sax Treats from Sam Newsome!

SAM NEWSOME- The Art Of The Soprano, Vol 1 (SN; USA) 2012. Although this disc features Sam Newsome on solo soprano sax, there is quite a bit more going on than what we might think. Mr. Newsome is a well-traveled musician who has worked in both jazz and world music ensembles, playing both tenor and soprano saxes. After a couple of fine discs with his own Global Unity band, Mr. Newsome decided to trade in his tenor sax and concentrate on soprano. Since then (1996) he has recorded and self-released three discs of solo soprano sax. Each one is quite different in the material and each one is a gem.
For 'The Art of the Soprano, Vol. 1', Mr Newsome blends three suites from three very different sources, John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme", "The Ellington Medley" and "Soprano de Africana". Each of the eleven pieces are separate and each one creates a different mood, yet a good deal of thought went into the sequence of songs. For Trane's classic work, Sam played his soprano into the strings of a piano while pressing down the damper pedal, giving the piece a more atmospheric sound. A great idea that adds a ghost-like quality to this already spiritual work. Newsome played a handful of different African instruments in the studio to inspire to go in a particular direction. Each of the four African pieces evokes a different place or musician (Burkina Faso, sub Saharan, Zulu & Fela). Starting with Duke's "In a Mellow Tone", Sam used tapping on the keys and soft tongue slaps as a rhythmic device to play this piece in a different. For the piece inspired by Burkina Fasol, it sounds as if Mr. Newsome is playing balaphon (Afican xylophone) rather than a sax but it works perfectly. Sam slows down Trane's "Acknowledgement" and adds bits of bent note spice, showing a very different more reflective side to this originally intense piece. I dig the way Mr. Newsome creates two different characters on the 'Sub Saharan' piece by playing his soprano with two very different tones which enhance each other. What is most amazing is how well the entire disc works as a connected suite of pieces from very different sources. This is not just another solo (soprano) sax record but a well-conceived work that tells a fascinating story. - Bruce Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
[ltd time price; normally $14]
CD $10

SAM NEWSOME - Blue Soliloquy: Solo Works For Soprano Saxophone (SN; USA) [ltd time price; normally $14] 2009. Featuring Sam Newsome on solo soprano sax. The blues, the feeling and the music, is a universal concept that flows through many cultures and time periods. If you think that the blues is simple or just one thing, you would be very wrong. Everyone has the blues at some point since life is rarely fair so everyone can relate to feeling bad or sick or treated unjustly. For this disc, soprano saxist Sam Newsome, takes us on a journey through various cultures as well as digging deeply into our own to show the thread that runs through different types of music in which the blues is or was an inspiration. Although the word "Blue" is found in all but one of these fifteen pieces, these are all originals except for one cover ("Blue Monk" by Thelonius Monk). in "Blues for Robert Johnson", Sam uses bent notes similar to the way a guitarist bends his strings to touch our hearts and dig deep into our souls. What is interesting is that Mr. Newsome has taken some modern sax techniques, like multiphonics, and used them with more ancient forms, blurring the lines between two extremes, time-wise. "Blue Mongolia" is a ballad played with multiphonics, it is both poignant and slightly twisted into a new shape. Obviously a great deal of thought and preparation went into this disc as each piece draws from different sources and techniques. As a fan of circular breathing (as John Zorn or Evan Parker demonstrates), it is interesting to hear someone like Sam use this technique for a different purpose, playing a stream of notes more melodic and less intimidating than those aforementioned explorers. Although the overall mod here is one of some restraint, each piece works into its own way to provide a different story or scene from life. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
[ltd time price; normally $14]
CD $10

SAM NEWSOME//THELONIOUS MONK - Monk Abstractions: Solo Works For Soprano Saxophone (SN 6589; USA) 2007. There only a handful of sax players who play soprano sax only, like Steve Lacy, Lol Coxhill or Jane Ira Bloom. San Newsome has made the same choice since selling off his tenor sax in the 1990's. For this disc, Mr. Newsome has decided to perform the songs of Thelonius Monk, which are played live in the studio without any edits or overdubs. Although one would assume that Steve Lacy, who also performed solo renditions of Monk songs throughout his career, would be a main inspiration for Mr. Newsome, it turns out that a number of soprano players have inspired Sam. He mentions Sidney Bechet, John Coltrane, Evan Parker, John Butcher, Wayne Shorter and others. Mr. Newsome explains in the liner notes how each of these musicians have inspired him to work with different concepts or approaches to their specific playing styles. Besides actually playing melodies of certain Monk songs, Mr. Newsome also plays five "Monk Abstractions" which take a line or phrase and then turn it into something else. You can hear how he has thought long and hard on how to approach each piece and select certain notes or ways of playing a particular note for the most effect. If you think that playing solo sax is in any way simple, Sam explains how many ideas are involved with playing just one instrument. It is quite a complex endeavor. Thelonius Monk had a distinctive way of writing songs that had a certain signature sound that no one else but Monk could invent. Although the melodies that Mr. Newsome plays do sound rather Monk-like, he has obviously used these songs as a launching point to explore a variety of nuances, textures and turns of phrases which are unique and filled with surprising twists and turns. There is nothing simple about this disc so take some time and listen closely, the rewards are great! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
[ltd time price; normally $14]
CD $10



New on Ictus!

STEVE LACY/KENT CARTER/ANDREA CENTAZZO - Lost In June (Ictus 161; Italy) An extraordinary forgotten concert recorded April 4th 1977 in Milano Italy. Steve Lacy trio at its best!
CD $16

LaDONNA SMITH/DAVEY WILLIAMS/ANDREA CENTAZZO - The Complete Recordings Vol 2: Halcyon Days (Ictus 159; Italy) The second volume of the Centazzo/Williams/Smith complete recording featuring Davey Williams guitar, LaDonna Smith violin/voice, Andrea Centazzo perc/electronics. Live in concert Milano, Italy, April 1979
CD $16

ANDREA CENTAZZO/ROBERTO OTTAVIANO - In A Rainy Day (Ictus 163; Italy) Master composer/percussionist Andrea Centazzo meets one of the best European soprano saxophone players. Recorded June 7th 2012 in Bologna Italy.
CD $16

ANDREA CENTAZZO/AKIRA SAKATA/KIYOTO FUJIWARA - Bridges (Ictus 162; Italy) Master composer/percussionist Andrea Centazzo meets the best Japanese new jazz players: Akira Sakata (Sax.Cl.,Voice) And Kiyoto Fujiwara (Bass). Recorded May 25th 2012 in Milano Italy.
CD $16


NILS WOGRAM SEPTET With MATTHIAS SCHRIEFL/FRANK SPEER et al - Complete Soul (NWog 04; Germany) One of Europe's longtime great trombone players! On this new record, Nils Wogram shows a different angle of his musicality, playing with a group of highly regarded European jazz musicians. With Complete Soul, Wogram produces a broad and full sound, with songs that showcase his leadership and trendsetting in jazz. Personnel: Claudio Puntin: clarinet, Matthias Schriefl: trumpet, Frank Speer: alto saxophone, Tilman Ehrhorn: tenor saxophone, Nils Wogram: trombone, melodica, Steffen Schorn: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet and John Schroeder: drums.
CD $15


BLACK HOLE QUARTET [DANIELE CAVALLANTI/WALTER DONIATELLO/MICHELANGELO FLAMMIA/TIZIANO TONONI] - Black Ol' Blues (Rudi RRJ 1005; Italy) Daniele Cavallanti: tenor sax; Walter Donatiello: electric guitar; Michelangelo Flammia: electric bass; Tiziano Tononi: drums
CD $21


JURGEN FRIEDRICH With HAYDEN CHISOLM/ACHIM KAUFMANN/JOHN HEBERT/JOHN HOLLENBECK/SEQUENZA STRING ORCHESTRA - Monosuite: For String Orchestra And Improvisers (Pirouet 3064; Germany) Featuring Jurgen Friedrich - composer & conductor, Hayden Chisholm on alto sax, Achim Kaufmann on piano, John Hebert on contrabass, John Hollenbeck on drums plus the Sequenza String Orchestra (22 piece). Although I wasn't quite familiar with Jurgen Friedrich before this, it turns out that he had a trio disc out on Naxos and a quartet disc with Kenny Wheeler added as a guest. No doubt you should know the rhythm team here from a variety of previous sessions or projects: Mr. Kaufmann (with Michael Moore, Frank Gratkowski & Henning Sieverts), Mr. Hebert (for Michael Attias, Mary Halvorson & Russ Lossing) and Mr. Hollenbeck (Bob Brookmeyer, Tony Malaby & several of his own bands). Can't say I had heard of saxist Hayden Chisholm, although he does have an obscure duo CD with Markus Schmickler.
Mr. Friedrich's writing for strings most impressive. Sweeping waves, with the elegance of Mother Nature's wind or water currents gliding together underneath. Slowly members of the quintet poke their heads through the surface, first some alto sax, then percussion and piano, slowly, cautiously spinning together. Mr. Friedrich rubs the strings inside the piano while Hollenbeck adds soft percussive punctuation. Slowly members of the quintet assert themselves into the orchestra as the two ensembles become one. It is a seamless transition. The interplay between the piano, bass and drums gets better, tighter and more intricate throughout. Saxist Hayden Chisholm has a warm, delightful Lee Konitz-like tone that fits this music perfectly. What makes this disc different from most of the CDs I review is that it is often pretty restrained with little turbulence. Yet, the writing, arranging and playing is still well thought-out and complex on a more subtle level. Mr. Hollenbeck even gets a short but effective percussion (marimba?) solo midway. The entire disc flows like a truly superb suite from beginning to end! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $16


New on Cuneiform!

LIVING BY LANTERNS [JASON ADASIEWICZ/MIKE REED/TAYLOR HO BYNUM/INGRID LAUBROCK/MARY HALVORSON/TOMEK REID et al]//SUN RA - New Myth/Old Science (Cuneiform 345; USA) Living by Lanterns line-up: Greg Ward - alto saxophone; Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet; Ingrid Laubrock - tenor saxophone; Tomeka Reid - cello; Mary Halvorson - guitar; Jason Adasiewicz - vibraphone; Joshua Abrams - bass; Tomas Fujiwara - drums; Mike Reed - drums, electronics; with Nick Butcher - electronics
According to some versions of String Theory, ours is but one of an infinite number of universes. But you would need to dig deeply into the cosmological haystack before encountering a project as extraordinary and unlikely as New Myth/Old Science, which brings together an incandescent cast of Chicago and New York improvisers to explore music inspired by a previously unknown recording of Sun Ra. In the hands of drummer Mike Reed and vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, who are both invaluable and protean creative forces on Chicago's vibrant new music scene, Ra's informal musings serve as a portal for their cohesive but multi-dimensional combo, newly christened Living By Lanterns. Commissioned by Experimental Sound Studio (ESS), the music is one of several projects created in response to material contained in ESS's vast Sun Ra/El Saturn Audio Archive. Rather than a Sun Ra tribute, Reed and Adasiewicz have crafted a melodically rich, harmonically expansive body of themes orchestrated from fragments extracted from a rehearsal tape marked 'NY 1961,' featuring Ra on electric piano, John Gilmore on tenor sax and flute, and Ronnie Boykins on bass.
Reed and Adasiewicz fully consider the possibilities of taking un-finished and abandoned material and teasing out raw ideas, bits and undeveloped fragments from it, and developing and composing them into full compositions that the band perform with moods ranging from spacey to swinging!
CD $15

STEVE MOORE - Light Echoes (Cuneiform 343; USA) Synthesist Steve Moore is one half of the noted 70s-inspired, synth/prog duo Zombi. In addition to the five albums released by Zombi, he has a prolific and thriving solo career, releasing music that ranges from electronica/dance to trance music. Light Echoes is Moore's debut on Cuneiform and is a 70' long electronic meditation, a continuation of the German 'cosmic music' made famous in the '70s, but with today's aesthetic and Moore's own affinities firmly in place.
Previously, in trying to translate his analog adventures to the stage, he encountered an obstacle that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. "After a couple years of awkward, laptop-driven live sets, I realized I was doing it wrong," Moore explains. "I was looking at these shows only from my perspective, too concerned with how I could re-produce my songs live to realize that these songs didn't work in a live setting anyway. I thought about what I, as a member of the audience, would enjoy, and came to the conclusion that 'songs' are basically the last thing I want to hear when I see a guy bring a bunch of synthesizers on stage. I want to hear sounds. I want to hear what those synthesizers can do. Which brings us to this new album."
Moore made all the sounds on Light Echoes himself, using a bank of vintage synthesizers and associated gear. He recorded the six tracks himself as well, working live in one or two takes, in his home studio on six days spread out over the course of about a year. Light Echoes is about as personal and intimate a sonic statement as you'll encounter from any kind of artist.
True to Moore's avowed intentions, the possibilities inherent in his old-school analog equipment are explored comprehensively over the course of Light Echoes. It takes you on an inner journey -- the kind that's probably best made the same way Moore made the music - as a solo endeavor.
Steve Moore has fashioned a sonic presentation that can stand proudly alongside the work of the trailblazers who inspired him. Light Echoes, Moore's first album for Cuneiform Records, doesn't merely extend his relationship with electronic music's past -- it lands him definitively in the category that can only be labeled 'timeless.'
"Cascading melodies emerge from fluffy clouds of oscillating synthesizers melodies reminiscent of pioneers in the 70's as well as hinting at the modular synth advances made by Keith Fullerton Whitman. This is experimental music with a friendly face, cuddly harmonies that even haters of the avant garde would curl up next to and caress. As much as I adore abrasive music, I too found myself compelled to revisit this disc over and over, day after day. HIGHLY RECOMMENEDED!!!" -Chuck Bettis/DMG
CD $15

CHRISTIAN MARCLAY djTRIO With DJ OLIVE/TOSHIO KAJIWARA - 21 September 2002, Hirshhorn Museum Washington DC (Cuneiform 348; USA) Start off by dispelling any outmoded notions about taking things at face value - sometimes a DJ is not just a DJ, a record is not a record, and a turntable is more than a record player. These are the basic tenets with which to enter the world of Christian Marclay's djTRIO, especially in the case of their live recordings.
World-renowned multi-media artist Christian Marclay may be best known these days for his globally embraced film collage piece The Clock, but he began by redefining the roles of 'musician,' 'DJ,' and even 'artist' itself. Since the late '70s, Marclay has created art by masterfully mistreating both vinyl and phonographic equipment, using them both in a manner more consistent with the way an abstract sculptor employs raw materials in the service of a larger vision. He was one of the earliest musicians to make an art form out of the turntable, using the device as a tool to make surprising juxtapositions. Sometimes these sonic journeys utilizing a turntable as a sextant have been in-the-moment experiences and sometimes they've been captured for posterity, but this album happens to be both. The four untitled tracks on the album (with a fifth track available as part of the free download included with the purchase) are an aural document of a September 21, 2002 performance at Washington D.C.'s Hirshhorn Museum, in which Marclay was accompanied by two fellow travelers, Toshio Kajiwara and DJ Olive. Together, the three turntablists turned the museum's auditorium into a combination laboratory/playground/dreamscape, in which the three men manipulated mixers, decks, and vinyl to create a sometimes funny, sometimes fearsome, endlessly exploratory kind of collective audio hallucination. Through all manner of electronic and manual machinations, Marclay, Kajiwara, and Olive move through a dizzying array of moods and modes over the course of these five improvisations, fashioning a constantly mutating, consistently surprising field of sounds that's nevertheless strikingly seamless. Snatches of music dart in and out, disembodied-sounding voices drift by, artfully modulated drones hum and throb, and a multi-colored musical terrarium of oddly shaped, strangely fascinating creatures is conjured into being, substituting wobbles, warbles, creaks, and crashes for flesh and bone.
For the lucky few that managed to catch the one-of-a-kind event in person, the Hirshhorn performance must have been among the most mind-altering experiences one can have without the aid of illegal substances. Not only did Marclay bring his decades of experience as an underground experimentalist and conceptual avant-gardist to the table, the evening was also informed by Kajiwara and Olive's background as sound artists strongly associated with New York City's adventurous 'illbient' DJ scene of the '90s. As a threesome, they erected a sonic sculpture that bore each artist's fingerprints but represented a collaborative creative effort.
LP $22


New from Drip Audio:

PEGGY LEE BAND With BRAD TURNER/JOHN BENTLEY/JEREMY BERKMAN/TONY WILSON/RON SAMWORTH/DYLAN VAN DER SCHYFF - Invitation (Drip Audio 853; Canada) Invitation is the fifth record by The Peggy Lee Band and the second release by the group for Drip Audio. The album showcases the high standard of ensemble playing the group has become known for, as well as outstanding individual performances by the members of the band. Peggy's compositions and arrangements cover a wide range of musical terrain - haunting melodies and lush harmonies, driving rhythms, and complex sonic explorations; each piece is constructed with the specific talents of the band members in mind.
The ensemble consists of an all-star group of creative Canadian musicians whose collective experience covers jazz, new music, electronica, free improvisation, as well as classical music and pop. Consider the haunting melody and ambient textures of End Waltz, the brilliance of Brad Turner's trumpet on Path Of A Smile, the collective textural improvisation that opens Not So Far, the soulful Kwela inspired guitar of Tony Wilson on Warming, Jeremy Berkman's Berio-influenced statement on Why Are You Yelling, the burning jazz tenor of John Bentley on Punchy, Ron Samworth's twelve-string psychedelia on Little Pieces, van der Schyff's percussive overture to Chorale, as well as the unique take on Mary Margaret O'hara's timeless You Will Be Loved Again. Indeed, this is an ensemble that can do pretty much anything asked of it; and yet it maintains a unique and coherent sound thanks to the long associations between members of the group and a deep collective commitment to Peggys music.
Cellist, composer and band leader Peggy Lee resides in Vancouver where she performs with a wide variety of ensembles including the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, the string quartet, Microcosmos and the new music ensemble, Standing Wave. As an interpreter and improviser she works regularly with longtime associates Tony Wilson, Dylan van der Schyff, Ron Samworth, Wayne Horvitz and Robin Holcomb, as well as in a new collaboration with vocalist Mary Margaret O'Hara called Beautiful Tool. In the past, Peggy has performed with the likes of trumpeter Dave Douglas, guitarist Nels Cline (Wilco), guitarist Bill Frisell and Eyvind Kang. With her own group, The Peggy Lee Band, she has been able to develop her compositional skills - the band has released five CDs including the most recent, Invitation.
CD $14

RATCHET ORCHESTRA - Hemlock (Drip Audio 820; Canada) Jean Derome (Bass Flute, Piccolo et Flute), Craig Dionne (Flute), Lori Freedman (Clarinet), Gordon Krieger (Bass Clarinet), Cristopher Cauley (Soprano Sax), Louisa Sage (Alto Sax), Damian Nisenson (Tenor Sax), Jason Sharp (Bass Sax), Elwood Epps (Trumpet), Philippe Battikha (Trumpet), Tom Walsh (Trombone), Scott Thomson (Trombone), Jacques Gravel (Trombone), Thea Pratt (E flat Horn), Eric Lewis (Euphonium), Noah Countability (Sousaphone), Gabriel Rivest (Tuba), Joshua Zubot (Violin), Guido Del Fabbro (Violin), Brigitte Dajczer (Violin), Jean Rene (Viola), Gen Heistek (Viola), Norsola Johnson (Cello), Nicolas Caloia (Bass), Chris Burns (Guitar), Sam Shalabi (Guitar), Guillame Dostaler (Piano), Ken Doolittle (Percussion), Michel Bonneau (Conga), Isaiah Ceccarelli (Drums), John Heward (Drums)
The eclectic astounding and sometimes mystifying Ratchet Orchestra continue to attract attention with the release of their third recording Hemlock. Recorded by Godspeed you! Black Emperor bassist Thierry Amar and released on the Vancouver label Drip Audio, The Ratchet Orchestra is a who's who of Montreal's edgiest musicians. Director Nicolas Caloia's compositions provide a structure to showcase fierce talents like Tom Walsh, Jean Derome, Lori Freedman, Sam Shalabi, and Christopher Cauley. The Ratchet Orchestra has existed since the early 1990s when Caloia started experimenting with improvised chamber jazz. In 1998 the size of the band began to swell for a legendary birthday tribute to the inspirational SunRa and it has continued expanding to it's current membership of 30 strong. This band makes a powerful sound but is not designed to be a demonstration of force, rather, it embraces human frailty. The Ratchet Orchestra does not resemble a sports team or an army, it's members do not have to march in perfect formation. They are pirates, not the navy. The group defies reason. Since 1990 Nicolas Caloia has worked at creating a contemporary music generated by using accurately composed textures to channel collective improvisation. The goal is a music that erases the lines between improvised and composed, pop and avant-garde, good and bad. He hopes this music will satisfy the body, the mind and, above all, the heart. He has worked as a performer, composer, and organizer in Montreal and has toured in North America, Europe, and Asia. He has performed and recorded in a vast array of contexts with the most important members of Montreal's creative music community as well as with internationally renowned musicians like Marshall Allen, John Butcher, Joe McPhee, Steve Lacy, Hassan Hakmoun, Tristan Honsinger and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. His concerts and numerous recordings have been critically acclaimed both at home and abroad. Currently, the majority of his work as a composer and improviser finds a voice in: The Ratchet Orchestra - a 30 piece bigband; Tilting - the Nicolas Caloia Quartet, Ring - a sextet, Spell - a 10 piece marching band, Trephining a quintet, Mercury - a duet Lori Freedman as well in solo performances.
CD $14


NEIL McGOVERN/PAUL DUNMALL - Intervention: Based on 60 Studies For Saxophone (FMR 334; UK) Featuring Paul Dunmall on tenor sax and Neil McGovern on alto & soprano sax plus Matt London on tenor for 1 track. UK sax colossus Paul Dunmall wrote a music exercise book called '60 Studies for Saxophone'. Classical saxist Neil McGovern was intrigued by Dunmall's work, studying and working his way through these exercises. This disc features a unique collaboration with Mr. McGovern playing 13 different studies while Mr. Dunmall also adds his sax. There is also one solo by Mr. McGovern plus two improvised duos, one with Dunmall & McGovern and one with Dunmall and another classical saxist named Matt London.

Considering that these studies were written as exercises, they do have a certain fixed or focused sound, as far as the general structure goes. What makes this interesting is the way the duo approach and alter each piece, adding improvised parts, with faster or slower tempos and some unexpected twists and turns. On "Study 4" there are some complex contrapuntal lines moving around one another in tight layers. There also a number of more somber pieces which deal more with different shades, shadows and/or thoughtful harmonies. I really dig when Neil plays one part difficult part and Paul inserts assorted notes quickly in between those notes creating an intricate web of connected parts. Since Mr. Dunmall has been play various saxes in creative situations for more than forty years, his studies cover a wide range of ideas and approaches. Each of the studies performed here are challenging for the player and listener with occasionally unexpected results as added spice. Perhaps not us wild and wooly as the usual Dunmall free/jazz insanity but just as fascinating and engaging nonetheless. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $16

and, back in stock

THE ICEBERG QUARTET [PAUL DUNMALL/SAM WOOSTER/CHRIS MAPP/MARK SANDERS] - The Iceberg Quartet (FMR 332; UK) Paul Dunmall on tenor sax, Sam Wooster on trumpet, Chris Mapp on contrabass and Mark Sanders on drums. Just how UK tenor titan, Paul Dunmall, consistently finds stunning new musicians to collaborate with remains a mystery. Here's two more younger players worthy of note: Sam Wooster and Chris Mapp. One of Great Britain's finest drummers, Mark Sanders, has worked with Dunmall on more than a dozen discs as he is a trusted collaborator. This disc was recorded at the Lamp Tavern in Birmingham in December of 2011 and it has excellent sound. This is a most formidable quartet that work together extremely well. Right the opening salvo, Dunmall on tenor and Wooster on trumpet spin layers of lines soaring around one another in a tight exchange. Contrabassist Chris Mapp also works well with Mr. Sanders ever-supportive and creative drums. The dialogue back and forth is consistently engaging as duos, trios and the quartet swirl their notes in tight and combustible orbits. Each of the three long pieces here unfold like a story or journey with exciting ups and downs, calm and explosive sections. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that both Mr. Wooster and Mr. Mapp, are strong, well-seasoned musicians, playing powerfully well beyond their years. Yet another outstanding date from the all-mighty Paul Dunmall & his troops! - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $16



NEW and Recent on '482 Music'!

SEVAL [FRED LONBERG-HOLM/DAVID STACKENAS/SOFIA JERNBERG/EMIL STANDBERG/PATRIC THORMAN] - 2 (482 Music 1082; USA) Sofia Jernberg (voice), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello), David Stakenas (guitar), Emil Standberg (trumpet), Patric Thorman (bass). Unlike the first record, made when the group was only expected to be a one-off project, 2 benefits from a few years of mutual experiences and many gigs around Europe. Building on the strengths of the members, this time the material was specifically written for the band, rather than the first, which featured songs written by Fred Lonberg-Holm for other projects. While on the surface Seval has always been perhaps more accessible and pleasant than many of the members' other projects, more attentive listening reveals a complex core full of details that most song projects might filter out.
While the first record focused almost exclusively on personal relationship issues, this time the lyrics range from the overtly political ("revolution" and "details") to the abstract philosophical ("boredom" and "super seeded") as well as the more personal ("light brush" and "flowers").
Still the band focuses more on the music than the lyrics. The words remain constant but the music changes markedly from version to version, from night to night, as the group's method is to improvise around the lyrics. At times outright difficult, at other times achingly beautiful (check out 'simple flowers'), the melodies surprise and delight, both in performance and upon repeated listenings of a recorded version. Regarding the inclusion of some more challenging tunes on 2, Lonberg-Holm says, "the first record was almost too pop for many folks here [in Europe]. Fortunately they gave us a chance and liked how the live versions have more 'breakdowns'"!
The takes on this disc, then, reflect a particular day's approach and can't be expected to be re-created the next or at any future gig. All Seval can promise is to try to make a version and try to make it make sense at that moment. Like the disc title 2, it's a band that tries to makes sense of the universal human language, music.
CD $15

MY SILENCE [JASON STEIN/NICK BUTCHER/MIKE REED/SHARON VAN ETTEN] - It Only Happens at Night [LP + CD] (482 Music 1078; USA) Bonus CD of album included. Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Nick Butcher (electronics, turntable, guitar, keyboards), Mike Reed (drums, bass, baritone ukulele, editing), Sharon Van Etten (voice).
"I assembled the trio My Silence specifically for the opportunity to play with two of my favorite improvisers, Nick Butcher and Jason Stein," says Mike Reed. "After one gathering we decided to book studio time and see what we could get. It was another five months before we'd actually play a gig and figure out how to do it live."
It Only Happens at Night was made in three installments over two years. First came a five-hour session of trio improvisations. Reed selected from this material to choose sections that would become the basic tracks of the album. In a second session six months later, additional, composed, parts were recorded either to give the improvisations a song- like quality, or in other instances to further complement the dense, raucous aspects of the improvisations.
The recording was thought to be completed until the idea was put forward to add a female voice to some of the material. Reed suggested singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten, who he had recently heard and met and been favorably impressed by. Reed says, "She has a great range, a natural ability to find harmony and a unique ability to craft melody." In a fortunate coincidence, Van Etten and Nick Butcher were old friends from Murpheesborro, TN. Van Etten came to Chicago to layer vocal tracks designed by Reed, as a shadow harmony to bass clarinet, for example, or to harmonize with herself on pre-conceived vocal parts. In other instances she improvised wordless cantor-like passages which allowed the music to appear as if it was always designed to have her in and out of the focal point. After layering this material, Reed further edited down her vocal parts and finally the record was complete.
My Silence performs as the trio, sometimes with Van Etten's vocals accompanying via computer (and possibly at some point live, if everyone can be in the same place). The trio has also performed with various guests, including Didier Petit, Devin Hoff, and Matt Schneider.
LP + CD for $22

MATT ULERY'S LOOM With THAD FRANKLIN/ROB CLEARFIELD/TIM HALDEMAN/KATIE WEIGMAN/JON DEITEMYER - Flora. Fauna. Fervor. (482 Music 1072; USA) Zach Brock (violin), Rob Clearfield (accordion, electric piano), Jon Deitemyer (drums), Thad Franklin (trumpet and flugelhorn), Tim Haldeman (tenor saxophone), Matt Ulery (double bass), Katie Wiegman (vibraphone. The LP contains a coupon for a free download of the entire album plus two bonus tracks.
The second album by Matt Ulery's Loom fulfills the desire of its leader to front a "band with a sound not only determined by the compositions and the instrumentation, but with the actual players who perform the music." Ulery, a Chicago-based bassist and composer, adds, "This is why Loom has had an immediately identifiable sound, striving for maximum range of emotional depth while appealing far beyond strictly jazz listeners."
Loom projects a sonically rich, expansive sound on Flora. Fauna. Fervor. that fully utilizes the creative abilities of each musician. The album is initially being released on vinyl only, with a digital release to follow.
"From the tinkling opening notes of its new album Flora. Fauna. Fervor., played on Wurlitzer piano, you know you're in for a different experience... A frighteningly versatile bassist who is equally at home with vocal jazz (he's singer Grazyna Auguscik's music director), Balkan experimentation (he's a member of Eastern Block with guitarist Goran Ivanovic), South American folk and Steve Reichian minimalism, Ulery is a young master of texture and atmosphere - and timing. Ulery also is schooled in the art of drawing fresh emotion from unusual instrumental blends. Loom... is a band of steadily shifting focus. Each of the musicians has a say in the ebb and flow of the music. In the end, you may not know what to call it. But you'll be so happily lost in it, that won't matter." - Jazz Institute of Chicago
LP $22

NAT REEVES With JOSHUA BRUNEAU/RICK GERMANSON/JONATHAN BARBER - State Of Emergency! (482 Music 1083; USA) Nat Reeves has built a successful career touring the world with some of the most important figures in jazz in the last half-century, beginning with Sonny Stitt, most importantly in a role in Jackie McLean's band that lasted until McLean's passing, and more recently as the primary bassist for Curtis Fuller, Pharoah Sanders, and Kenny Garrett. While not on tour, Reeves is a long-standing professor of jazz at the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School in Hartford, CT.
With State of Emergency, Reeves steps from the sidelines to center stage to lead an accomplished ensemble through a program of lively straight-ahead jazz. In a set comprised mostly of standards, and some less familiar classics, the tunes are played with the relaxed buoyancy that becomes possible when musicians know each other well. That familiarity comes as a pleasant surprise given that two members of the group are relative newcomers. Drummer Jonathan Barber and trumpeter Josh Bruneau studied under Reeves at the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz , and immediately made their presence felt on the scene. Both players demonstrate chops beyond their years on this record. Veteran New York City pianist Rick Germanson, a long-time associate of Nat's, rounds out the ensemble.
CD $15

also available..

SEVAL [FRED LONBERG-HOLM/DAVID STACKENAS/SOFIA JERNBERG/EMIL STANDBERG/PATRIC THORMAN] - I Know You (482 Music 1073; USA) Blue vinyl LP including a code to download all tracks on the album. Formed by the Chicago-based cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm; with Stockholm's Sofia Jernberg (voice), David Stakenas (guitar), Emil Standberg (trumpet), Patric Thorman (bass), Seval's music is acoustic, sonically rich, emotionally uplifting, cozy and airy, playful, panoramic and passionate, rooted in jazz but doesn't stop at jazz's border. You've heard this before, we know, but this quintet has a sound truly their own.
"The members of this group are all active in the Swedish new music/improvising scene," says Lonberg-Holm, "and this project - with its fixed melodies and more traditional harmonies - is more of an anomaly for all of us. In spite of the restrictions placed on us by the material, we find a way to re-build and invent the music differently each time."
Although the cello is still something of a rarity in jazz-associated music, Lonberg-Holm looks beyond the accepted notions of what the instrument is capable of. As he told the Swedish magazine Spisa, "Rather than having a monolithic idea of what the cello sounds like (and thinking cellists are all of one cloth), now I think a lot of people can hear and recognize individualism on the cello like they can other, more historically common, instruments in improvised music."
Some of the songs on i know you were initially recorded as instrumentals, although most of the lyrics were written at the same time as the music. With the addition of the ethereal voice of Sofia Jernberg - who was born in Ethiopia and grew up in Vietnam before making Stockholm her home - there was little doubt that i know you was meant to include lyrics and vocals. Fleshed out by trumpet, acoustic guitar and bass, the music exhibits a full tapestry of multiple hues and moods.
LP $22


ABDULLAH IBRAHIM [DOLLAR BRAND] With CARLOS WARD/RICKY FORD/CHARLES DAVIS/DICK GRIFFIN/DAVID WILLIAMS/BEN RILEY - Water From An Ancient Well (Enja/TipToe 88812; Germany) Previously released by the defunct Black Hawk label, this superior Abdullah Ibrahim recording from 1985 features the pianist/composer with a very strong septet. Such superior musicians as tenor saxophonist Ricky Ford, altoist Carlos Ward, baritonist Charles Davis, and trombonist Dick Griffin are heard at their most creative and emotional on these eight Ibrahim originals. Many of the melodies (particularly "Mandela," "Song for Sathima," "Water From an Ancient Well," and the beautiful "The Wedding") are among Ibrahim's finest compositions. - Scott Yanow, AMG
CD $13


PETER MADSEN SEVEN SINS ENSEMBLE - Gravity Of Love (Playscape 121911; USA) Pianist Peter Madsen, married an Austrian woman and moved to Austria in 2000 after being based in NY for the previous twenty years. Since then, Mr. Madsen has been teaching, running a workshop and then leading a larger ensemble (14 piece) called the Collective of Improvising Artists (or CIA). Madsen wrote his own music and arranged songs by Ornette, Sun Ra and Hermeto Pascoal for the ensemble. More recently, Madsen organized a smaller version of CIA called the Seven Sins Ensemble which includes a string quartet with a piano/trumpet led jazz quartet. Although I am not familiar with any of the musicians involved, except for the leader, Madsen has done a great job of selecting strong players and writing challenging material for them. Trumpeter Herbert Walser is featured throughout and is indeed most impressive. His solos as well as the interplay between the piano and the rest of the quartet is consistently spirited and crafty. Mr. Walser often reminds me of Kenny Wheeler with a superb tone and d epp resource of ideas. Mr. Madsen, whose own playing has long been an integral part of ensembles with Mario Pavone, John Abercrombie and Stan Getz, is a master pianist. His playing is often the central voice within this band: leading, holding it together and navigating the complex charts with ease. Both Mr. Walser and violist Simon Frick play some electronics which is only added minimally and just as occasional sonic spice. It sounds as if the strings and jazz quartet are well integrated into one superb ensemble so hats off to Peter Madsen for being a strong leader and arranger. This is another gem in a month filled with many treasures. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery
CD $15


JOHN McLAUGHLIN And THE 4th DIMENSION - Now Here This (Abstract Logix 37; USA) While Now Here This reflects a slightly (but significantly) altered 4th Dimension - specifically the recruitment of powerhouse Indian drummer Ranjit Barot, first heard on the guitarist's 2008 Abstract Logix debut, Floating Point - the markers which have defined this group as one of McLaughlin's best pedal-to-the-metal fusion outfits since Mahavishnu Orchestra remain intact, but with an even greater finesse to contrast with its unfettered power and visceral energy. Cameroon-born/Paris-resident bassist Etienne M'Bappe is back from To the One, as is keyboardist/drummer Gary Husband, The 4th Dimension's only other founding member, first heard on the guitarist's acclaimed Industrial Zen (Verve, 2006).
Despite there being no overt concept as an undercurrent to Now Here This - To the One being an homage to saxophonist John Coltrane's spiritual search, one not unlike McLaughlin's own lifetime pursuit - this set of eight new McLaughlin originals is connected by the guitarist's decades-long fascination with Indian music, his effortless virtuosity, and a relentless lyricism that remains a touchstone, even when the guitarist is shredding at near-light speed. Husband's stunning contribution to Now Here This will put to rest any suggestions that his keyboard playing is secondary to his kit work, though he continues to bring no shortage of percussive power to The 4th Dimension as well - albeit even more successfully, with Barot in the drum chair. And if M'Bappe possesses no shortage of chops, his ability to bring them to the table without sacrificing groove and, when required, the need for space make him the ideal complement to his band mates. If To the One was "quite simply, McLaughlin's best album in well over a decade" (John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com), Now Here This ups the ante even further with greater fire, finesse and freewheeling interplay. An album certain to thrill longtime McLaughlin fans, for those new to his incendiary nexus of Indo-centric rhythmic complexities, innovative harmonic devices and unparalleled improvisational Elan, Now Here This is the perfect introduction - one that will surely encourage them to also dive, head-first, into this legendary guitarist's lengthy and groundbreaking discography.
CD $16


ELI KESZLER - Catching Net [2 CD set] (Pan 32; UK) PAN presents a 2CD set from experimental composer/artist/multi-instrumentalist Eli Keszler. The first disc features two ensemble versions of Cold Pin (PAN 021LP), previously released in a 2011 LP of the same title on PAN, plus a 26-minute, previously-unreleased live ensemble recording (mixed sextet and piano quintet; these are captured in contrasting acoustical spaces). The personnel for all three tracks is Eli Keszler (drums, percussion, crotales, guitar); Ashley Paul (alto saxophone, bass harp); Geoff Mullen (prepared guitar); Greg Kelley (trumpet); Reuben Son (bassoon) and Benny Nelson (cello). The second disc begins with the title-track, "Catching Net," a 17-minute score for string quartet and piano with the "Cold Pin" installation. It is performed by pianist Sakiko Mori and the Providence String Quartet: Carole Bestvater (violin); Rachel Panitch (violin); Chloe Kline (viola); Laura Cetilia (cello). The score is fully notated, timed with stopwatch markings rather than tempo or meter. Following are two recordings of Keszler's large-scale installations functioning on their own. "Collecting Basin" features piano strings/wires up to 250 feet long splayed from a two-story water tower in Shreveport, Louisiana, across two large, empty water purification basins, which acted as an amplifier for the sounds produced by the installation. A "solo" version of "Cold Pin" (without live performers) concludes the album. Tracks 1 and 3 on the first disc and track 2 on the second disc were recorded at the historic Cyclorama, a massive dome at the Boston Center for the Arts. "Cold Pin" was installed directly on a large curved wall in the dome, using micro-controlled motors and beaters to strike extended strings ranging in length from three to 25 feet. The 2CD is mastered by Rashad Becker at Clunk, in a limited edition of 1,000 copies. It is packaged in a pro-press digisleeve jacket which itself is housed in a silk screened PVC sleeve with extensive images from the installations, program notes, sketches of the installations, scores, electronic schematics from the projects, and accompanying drawings and artwork by Eli Keszler and Bill Kouligas.
2 CD set for $22


ELG [LAURENT GERARD] - Mil Pluton [Ltd Ed] (Alter 06; UK) Elg is Laurent Gerard. Since 2000, Elg has made a name for himself in the experimental underground performing solo in venues across Europe and the USA and also in the trio Reines D'Angleterre with Jo Tanz and Ghedalia Tazartes. Over the years he has built a complex body of work which has been spread amongst reputable labels such as Kraak, SS, Lal Lal Lal, Taped Sounds and Nashazphone. Now, four years since his debut, Tout Ploie, Alter and Hundebiss present Mil Pluton, the second Elg album on vinyl. In that time, Gerard has knuckled down with a bunch of new gear and built a fresh sound which is difficult to categorize but still carries many of the characteristics of his previous work. One can hear EBM-esque rhythms, scalpel-sharp musique concrete-style editing, dense layers of swampy electronics which open up the same hypnotic spirals that the Elg of old did. Vocally, Elg has evolved beyond conventional language and now works with an Esperanto-like form of alien linguistics to front the sonic mass. If your musical interests sit within the realm of outer limits electronics and have been drawn towards the work of Throbbing Gristle, Bernard Szajner, Coil and Tazartes, then look no further. Mil Pluton also features musical contributions from Jo Tanz, Jean-Philippe Gross, Bill Kouligas (PAN), TG Gondard and Jan Anderzen (Tomutonttu/Kemialliset Ystavat). All tracks were composed, recorded and mixed by Elg in Brussels in 2011, then mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin in December of that same year, and pressed lovingly onto 150 gram vinyl by Alter and Hundebiss in September 2012. Edition of 300 copies, housed in an elaborate fold-out jacket.
LP $22


STIAN WESTERHUS - The Matriarch and the Wrong Kind of Flowers (Rune Grammofon 2133; EEC) This is the third solo album on Rune Grammofon by Norwegian experimental guitarist Stian Westerhus. With The Matriarch and the Wrong Kind of Flowers, Westerhus not only challenges and stretches the limits of his instrument but also comes up with an extraordinary piece of music that has more in common with modern contemporary music than just being a left-field "guitar" album. In spite of having studied jazz in the UK as well as in Norway, he also has a remarkably non-academic approach to making music. It's not imperative for Westerhus to make the guitar sound like anything other than a guitar, it's simply his instrument of choice to express himself musically. At the age of 13, he saw Jimi Hendrix on TV doing "Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock and since then, there's been no looking back. His way of working is very intuitive, both when recording and playing live. Nothing is planned and he tries to avoid thinking about what's going to happen. He is probably one of the hardest-working musicians in Norway, also finding time to record and play concerts with other projects like Puma, Monolithic (with Motorpsycho drummer Kenneth Kapstad), his duo with Sidsel Endresen and as a member of Nils Petter Molvaer's trio. He's also an in-demand producer after having produced Pelbo's Days of Transcendence and Nils Pettter Molvaer's Baboon Moon. Most of the material on this album was recorded at the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, a tomb sonically known for its 20-second natural reverb, generally known for enormous wall paintings about the circle of life. The temperature inside is kept at 5 degrees Celsius to preserve the paintings in the best possible way. With The Matriarch...Westerhus has taken a great leap forward and produced a unique record that, together with his international activities, should get him the recognition he so thoroughly deserves. Stian Westerhus: guitars and voice.
CD $17
also available as LP for $24


ID M THEFT ABLE - Head Down Inna Vitamin Blush (Don't Trust The Ruin 34; USA) Limited edition CD-R of 100 with handmade cover. Portland, Maine's mysterious Id M Theft Able, a madman to some, a genius to others. One things definitely for sure, the music is challenging in a good way! Branching out of what may be perceived as insanity to show a free spirit blossoming on disc. Head Down Inna Vitamin Blush contains everything and the kitchen sink, reminiscent of early Hanatarash tape experiments that balances the fun of making such music that only those such as Kevin Blechdom or even the king of comedy Eugene Chadbourne have mastered. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! -Chuck Bettis/DMG
CD $6



New on the limited edition Periphery label!

GROUPTHINK [DARREN BERGSTEIN/EDWARD YUHAS] - Happy Gods [Ltd Ed of 50] (Periphery 1212; USA) Groupthink are Darren Bergstein (iPhemera, found objects, percussives, voice) and Edward Yuhas (guitar, electronics, loops, iPhemera).
CD $12

ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT [GREGORY KYRYLUK] - Eolian Reflections [Ltd Ed of 50] (Periphery 1112; USA) Periphery is very pleased to present the new Alpha Wave Movement album, Eolian Reflections, a stunning slice of contemporary ambient music that draws from the wellspring of Roach, early Rich, Eno, et al, but with its own characteristic flavor & aesthetic. A longtime yet under-recognized figure on the electronic scene, Gregory Kyryluk continues his long-standing tradition of knocking genre straw men down, taking traditional musical forms & spinning his own adjunct sound designs outward, whether it's his unique take on ambient dub-techno as Within Reason, or the myriad timeswept sensations of AWM. In Kyryluk's own words: "Eolian processes pertain to the activity of the winds. Winds may erode, transport, and deposit materials, and are effective agents in regions with sparse vegetation and a large supply of unconsolidated sediments. Although water is much more powerful than wind, eolian processes are important in arid environments. Eolian Reflection is a purely unconscious follow-up to my 2000 release Drifted Into Deeper Lands. The music once again has been inspired by the timeless arid and unpretentiously living breathing open vistas of the Southwestern United States. Sparse and reflective, sometimes accompanied by electronic percussion, I tried to evoke a deeper and perhaps spiritual nature of "being" there out in the wide open geography, taking into perspective the hot red clay landscape that beckons the cool blue horizons. The lands there speaks its own silent vocabulary for anyone willing to patiently listen."
CD $12

RADIANT MIND - Sense [Ltd Ed of 50] (Periphery 7012; USA) Obscure, kaleidoscopic ambient & inner space music offset by fluttering beats and hazy atmospherics. Produced and sonically enhanced by Steve Roach at the Timeroom in Arizona. Released 05 July 2012.
Created and recorded at RM studio by Radiant Mind / Robert Englis with analog and digital hardware instruments. Production, final arrangement, and mastering by Steve Roach
CD $12



New DVDs from La Huit!

JACQUES COURSIL//GUILLAUME DERO, dir. - Photogrammes [DVD] (La Huit; EEC) NTSC. A film by Guillaume Dero. Jacques Coursil, trumpeter and star composer of the 1960's New York free jazz scene, interrupted his career for more than 40 years to devote himself to the philosophy of mathematics and Creole literature. For the first time, this film retraces the life and career of this famous musician. In the manner of his music, the atmosphere of the sequences, like juxtaposed photograms, suggest the Coursil of today. His personality is revealed in work with young musicians, as a duo with Archie Shepp, and during interviews or moments of musical improvisation.
DVD $18

ELIANE RADIGUE//ANAIS PROSAIC, dir. - L'Ecoute Virtuose (Virtuoso Listening) [DVD] (La Huit; EEC) NTSC, Region 0, 16:9 (Widescreen), Color, English & French (Stereo),Run Time: 65 min. A film by Anais Prosaic. Now in her eighties, Eliane Radigue is a justly celebrated figure in electronic music. Her work has roots in Europe's post-war avant garde, and she has been linked with the pioneers of American minimalism such as Terry Riley, La Monte Young, and Steve Reich, but her monumental meditative compositions have taken a singular path, transporting the listener into new realms of sound. Between 1967 and 2000, Eliane Radigue composed more than 20 pieces of electronic music. In June 2011 in London, the Spitalfields Summer Music Festival paid tribute to Radigue's entire body of work, and the 'Grande Dame' of long duration music was enthusiastically welcomed by a new generation of admirers young enough to be her grandchildren.
"Brave new worlds - Eliane Radigue's still, slow soundscapes, profound and serenely meditative, made her an electronic music pioneer." - THE GUARDIAN.
DVD $18

THE COLOURS OF THE PRISM, THE MECHANICS OF TIME/JACQUELINE CAUX, dir. - From John Cage to Techno, Through Minimalism and Post-Modernism [DVD] (La Huit; EEC) NTSC, Region 0, 16:9 (Widescreen), Color, English & French (Stereo), Not Rated, Run Time: 136 min. A film by Jacqueline Caux, it was inspired by Daniel Caux, a musicologist, essayist, and radio producer who made endless discoveries in the fields of experimental, minimalist, postmodern, and techno music. After studying fine art in Paris and devoting himself to painting for several years, Caux became known as an expert in the field of new jazz, new American vanguard music, and all sorts of fringe music. His recent passing has reversed the roles, and many of the musicians that he ardently supported wished to be included in this film, including John Cage, Pauline Oliveros, La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Gavin Bryars, and Richie Hawtin. The bonus film is based on Caux's passionate opinions, and features rare appearances by musicians who were inspired by his work. "An illustrative overview of 20th-century music. The presentation is straightforward, the interviews candid and familiar, with appeal for both novices and disciples." - VILLAGE VOICE
DVD $20



New on Room40!

ANTHEA CADDY + THEMBI SODDELL - Host (Room40 448; Australia) For their second major recording project Host, Australian sound artists Anthea Caddy and Thembi Soddell rigorously shape aural representations of physical environments to express psychological experience. Recorded in scientifically controlled spaces and unpredictable natural and man-made environments, sampler and cello interact to generate acoustically opposing atmospheres. Interwoven with abstracted found sounds, instrument and environment merge to create a dynamic interplay between physical reality, sensory perception and psychological interpretation. Host presents an edition of tense electroacoustic compositions that define new, dense, and sonically detailed environments that highlight and shadow the interaction between human psyche and the physical world. "The fusion of these different kinds of electroacoustics cracks our fake tranquility, dragging us into an uncertain kind of awareness that doesn't admit the presence of danger but at the same time almost expects it with unpronounceable pleasure." --Touching Extremes
CD $17

PINKCOURTESYPHONE [RICHARD CHARTIER] - Elegant & Detached (Room40 451; Australia) This is the second full-length album from U.S. sound installation artist Richard Chartier aka Pinkcourtesyphone. Pinkcourtesyphone is an echo of an unfamiliar voice. Pinkcourtesyphone remembers two things you hold up to your face as a conduit to forgotten love. Pinkcourtesyphone permeates like a syrup-y dream. Pinkcourtesyphone is many things from many places. Pinkcourtesyphone is elegant and detached. This is the second full-length call from the Pinkcourtesyphone-line; a loquacious interlude on beauty, place, and obsession. The caller's voice whispers a wistful yet false love-letter to the cinema of aesthetics from a distant place concerning the things you did... and things you need to have done.
CD $17

eRIKm - Transfall (Room40 449; Australia) eRikm's Transfall is a document of profound gesture. A collection of works that resolve his recent explorations into music and sound for performance, dance and theater. For almost two decades, eRikm has been a major force in contemporary musique concrete. He is a compelling improviser and forthright composer whose work taps into the central lineage of sound-object oriented composition emanating from France. Developing a highly personal performance and compositional language, eRikm's reputation and position within the emergent generation of concrete composers had led to numerous collaborations with icons such as Luc Ferrari (Room40 issued Les Protorythmiques in 2007). Transfall is an archive of six works linked through new developments in eRikm's compositional philosophies. He notes: "The time spent on the composition of some of these pieces gave me the possibility to 'break out,' that is to get out of my usual processes of 'degeneration/generation' of a body or of a multiplicity of 'pre-existing sound objects.' Since my gesture shifted, I have looked for and recorded my own sound materials." When heard collectively, these compositions take on a presence much more than the sum of their parts. They collect unconventional approaches from an artist whose compositional methodologies are already deeply rooted in experimental traditions. The resulting pieces, and the album as a whole, represent one of eRikm's most personal and resolved works to date. A vision of future explorations mounted within a frame of the artists' previous sonic understandings.
CD $17

ANDREA BELFI - Wege (Room40 446; Australia) Wege translates as "path" and it's a fitting title for the latest rendering from master percussionist and experimental composer Andrea Belfi. The album's four pieces act as orientation points through some imaginary sonic landscape. Wege is Belfi's fourth LP (the first with Room40), and stems entirely from compositions completed at two artist-in-residence projects in Austria (Hotel Pupik) and in Brussels (Q-O2 Werkplatz). The album is built around a cyclic electro-acoustic system, through which Belfi has developed a complex musical network of possibilities. With this electro-acoustic system, influenced in part by Steve Reich's "Pendulum Music," Wege's four pieces revolve around spiraling interconnections of synthesizer, feedback and drums. Belfi explains further: "This device creates feedbacks on two drums on my drum kit, and I can modify it by stopping and stretching the drum skins with hands and various kinds of sticks, mallets and brushes, and/or by filtering the feedback with a modular synthesizer." Edited in a quiet apartment in Greifswald (Germany) a small town on the Baltic Sea, the record bears marks of the stillness of the surroundings in which it was finalized. There is a sense of hushed awe and a subtle reference to the wind-swept coldness of the landscape in these pieces. Wege was mastered and mixed by Giuseppe Ielasi.
CD $17



New on Robot!

CHRISTOPH HEEMANN - The Rings of Saturn: Complete Edition (Robot 40; UK) "This new CD edition features an additional 13 minutes of music not included on the previous LP and artist-released versions. The Rings of Saturn: Complete Edition encompasses a lengthy narrative of music prepared over the years 1997-2012. Infusing early field recordings along with recently completed studio compositions, this new album of cinema pour l'oreille ('cinema for the ear') transports the listener to discrete locations that evoke rich memories and sympathetic recollections. This freshly remastered complete edition updates one of Heemann's finest and most anticipated new solo works. Packaged in a Japanese style tip-on mini jacket reproducing a beautiful variation of the original album artwork."
CD $16

ANDREAS MARTIN & CHRISTOPH HEEMANN - Lebenserinnerungen Eines Lepidopterologen (Memoirs Of A Lepidoptreist) [2 CD set] (Robot 20; UK) 2012 repress, newly mastered with two bonus tracks. Originally released in 1999. "An extensive double CD retrospective of the collaborative and (early) solo works of Andreas Martin and Christoph Heemann. Includes (and re-releases) their first 10" titles: Martin's Doppelpunkt Vor Ort" (1993) which features five cyclical compositions of extraordinary beauty -- and the bizarre sonic narrative of Heeman's Uber Den Umgang Mit Umgebung Und Andere Versuche Pts 1-3 (1991). The collaborative presence of both artists is felt within each of their respective solo recordings. Also featured is a prime selection of previously unreleased material, obscure 7" tracks, and their collaborative opus from H.N.A.S.' Ach, Dieser Bart! LP. A solid overview covering the years 1987-1995."
2 CD set for $22

THE AEOLIAN STRING ENSEMBLE - Lassithi/Elysium (Robot 16; UK) 2012 repress. "The first full length release by the UK based Aeolian String Ensemble. Although originally set to be issued on the legendary United Dairies label, this material has now been remastered, includes a new piece, and is instead available in the US. The work was produced by David Kenny, a long time collaborator and engineer on many Nurse With Wound and Current 93 projects. Consisting of two evolving compositions, Lassithi (1992) and Elysium (a specially commissioned new work), this CD offers a more linear and fluid overview of this fascinating material than that of excerpted or early compilation appearances. Inspired by the tonal phenomenon associated with the Aeolian harp (a box shaped instrument with numerous strings tuned in unison on which the wind produces varying harmonic excitation over the same fundamental tone), The Aeolian String Ensemble's post production (harmonic extraction) on sounds generated by the strings of various materials, recorded at sympathetic locations, create a hazy, shifting, and spacious atmosphere for your total aural immersion. Also features mind-bending cover illustrations by Christoph Heeman."
CD $16

AF URSIN [TIMO VAN KUIJK] - Murrille (Robot 41; UK) "A long overdue CD edition of Timo van Luijk's first full-length album, originally released in 2002 as a small private edition LP on La Scie Doree (Belgium). Murrille features a collection of extraordinary 'songs' integrating a palette of acoustic instruments such as glass harmonium, flute, hand percussion, as well as voice with real time synthesis. With a host of bizarre inflections and aural investigations, Van Luijk's music recalls some of the great experimentation of early krautrock, otherworldly atmospheres of the infamous Futura label, and a pure love of the moments when it all just falls into place. This newly remastered edition sounds fantastic and includes an additional track not included on the original LP release. Mixed by Christoph Heemann. Packaged in a Japanese style tip-on mini jacket that carefully reproduces the original album artwork."
CD $16


New on Preservation!

PADNA [NAT HAWKS] - Burnt Offerings [Ltd Ed] (Preservation 612; Australia) The Preservation label presents Burnt Offerings, the fourth album from Brooklyn's Padna. As Padna, Nat Hawks initially made his name in the cassette underground on the revered Stunned label with two works of pop experimentalism displaying a bustling -- often boggling -- and vivid imagination. Veritable joyrides in sound and style, these releases were in line with the DIY aesthetic, primitive songcraft and eclectic sonic stew pioneered by the likes of Tall Dwarfs and forwarded by Olivia Tremor Control, though with an even more exploratory skew. Burnt Offerings is a mellower, simpler counterpart to those earlier works, but still elastic and ever expanding in its peculiar pursuit of the transcendental. Making up its sweet, song-oriented meditations through a hazy circle of intoned psychedelia, drone, bedroom folk and dub filters, these tracks roam from kaleidoscopic melody, slowly loping with a whimsical way to a contrasting, shadowy elegance for murkier intent. Burnt Offerings' oddly charming spectrum -- built on acoustic guitar, vintage synths, electric violin, toys, objects and a dizzying array of effects -- is by turns romantic, melancholic, curious and always full of heart. Burnt Offerings is the sixth and final work in Preservation's limited edition series Preservation called "Circa for 2012." Only 300 copies of each release in the series will be available and will feature a design by Mark Gowing. Each design is realized using an abstract alphabet that creates an interlocking grid, determined by artist and volume number for something both fixed, random and unified across the entire series.
CD $16

OLAN MILL [ALEX SMALLEY] - Home [Ltd Ed] (Preservation 512; Australia) The Preservation label presents Home, the third album from Olan Mill from Hampshire in the United Kingdom. Olan Mill is the recording project of composer and producer Alex Smalley, who to-date has received rapturous acclaim for his work that holds a sublime measure between the realms of modern neo-classical composition and ambience. On Home, Smalley has mined his most expansive territory yet to create a thrillingly evocative and deeply felt body of work. The tender clusters of sound that have defined Olan Mill's tonal space take on a new soaring quality in using voice to propel Home with a new emotional surge. Alongside soprano Patricia Boynton featuring throughout, Smalley has assembled an ensemble of musicians playing woodwind, piano, pipe organ and violin to augment his guitar and field recordings. Together they combine for both moments of heart-rending intimacy and bursts of flowering, floating orchestral sound. Inspired by travels abroad, Home is a both an urban and exotic panorama, keening with waves of joyous energy and direct pulse, as well as the ultimate comedown from such pure euphoria. Recorded by Smalley in his home -- a place lived in by his family in generations past -- the album has an earthy air that magically weaves through its otherworldly radiance to portray the compelling dynamic at the heart of Olan Mill. Home is the fifth work in Preservation's limited edition CD series Preservation called "Circa for 2012." Only 300 copies of each release in the series will be available and will feature a design by Mark Gowing. Each design is realized using an abstract alphabet that creates an interlocking grid, determined by artist and volume number for something both fixed, random and unified across the entire series.
CD $16



Just Out from New World Records!

MATHEW ROSENBLUM - Circadian Rhythms (New World 80736; USA) Mathew Rosenblum's (b. 1954) music is a synthesis of diverse musical elements derived from classical, jazz, rock, and world music traditions, exploring how seemingly independent musical voices and traditions may be woven together into a newly expressive whole. Another synthesis, one of the earmarks of Rosenblum's compositional voice, is the use of multiple tuning systems, most commonly the standard Western twelve-note-per-octave equal tempered system augmented with notes from various 'just' and otherwise altered pitch systems specifically designed for use with twelve-note equal temperament. Rosenblum uses his tunings for a variety of expressive purposes - among others, to evoke non-Western musics, for 'blues' notes, and to create exhilarating hyperchromatic moments and sonic effects.
Equally distinctive is the way his music unfolds in time, perhaps the most striking feature of which is his intermittent repetition of discrete phrases. Such phrases, each as highly memorable as a Wagnerian leitmotif, recur throughout each work with greater or lesser literalness (but always with some variation), setting up large cyclic rhythms that disrupt the linear flow of time. Rosenblum in fact toys deftly with our expectations of when they will occur and what they will lead to. Their character shifts chameleon-like with each recurrence, most elaborately in Circadian Rhythms, but to some extent in each of the works on this CD.
CD $15

and, overlooked items from New World:

ROBERT CARL - From Japan (New World 80732; USA) Elizabeth Brown and Robert Carl, shakuhachi; Ryan Hare, bassoon; Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn, laptop; Katie Kennedy, cello; Bill Solomon, vibraphone; Sayun Chang, percussion. Robert Carl (b. 1954) has long been interested in Japanese music and culture, and in the spring of 2007 he received a grant from the Asian Cultural Council to travel to Japan to interview Japanese composers between the ages of thirty and sixty - his contemporaries, whom he describes as the 'post-Takemitsu' generation. The complex interplay of history, culture, and memory has long occupied Carl'/s thoughts, and forms the basis of his musical exploration of Japan.
Carl's perspective of the relationship between American and Japanese musical cultures was sharpened by his interaction with the composers he met in Japan, and he identifies three main aesthetic differences, all of which characterize the works included on this recording. In Japan, Carl points out, there is "a far greater emphasis on perfection of individual sounds" and "a greater understanding of the role of silence, how it frames and highlights sound." He also notes that Japanese composers tend to conceive of polyphony as "an outgrowth of heterophony; hence there is one melodic line that generates both harmony and counterpoint." Another salient feature of Carl's works on this recording is a general sense of suspended time, which from a musical standpoint results from temporal frameworks that are not based on a pulse or governed by regular metric divisions. Instead, within clearly demarcated structures, individual musical gestures are propelled by a different passage of time, one that might be better understood in relation to physiological patterns (such as the heartbeat or the breath) or psychological markers of time (such as the rate of changing thoughts or moods).
"My goal," Carl explains, "is to provide the listener with a sense of amplitude, a sort of 'opening up' of the ear and spirit that suggest a place where one can breathe more deeply, sense a broader expanse in which one can listen, and resonate in tune with what one hears."
CD $15

LOU HARRISON - Scenes from Cavafy: Music for Gamelan (New World 80710; USA) John Duykers, voice; Adrienne Varner, piano; Jessika Kenney, voice; Gamelan Pacifica Chorus; Gamelan Pacifica, Jarrad Powell, artistic director
Lou Harrison's (1917-2003) long-term love affair with the Indonesian gamelan had its roots in a course he took from Henry Cowell in the spring of 1935. As Harrison refined his understanding of traditional gamelan procedures during the 1980s, he began to transfer these compositional ideas to works for Western instruments. At the same time, Harrison continued to compose for the Indonesian ensemble itself, indulging a fascination for Asia that had been part of his life since his youth while simultaneously bringing this fascination into close interaction with his Western musical training. He simply found in gamelan music some of the most beautiful sounds he could imagine and he hastened to add these sounds to his toolbox of compositional resources as an extension of his personal artistic voice. In so doing, he honored the culture that had inspired him, and offered his works as an admiration for its artistic products. This is the world-premiere recording of these three major works in authoritative performances by Gamelan Pacifica, which had a long association with the composer, performing and giving the Northwest premieres of all his major works for gamelan.
CD $15

JODY DIAMOND - In That Bright World (New World 80698; USA) Musicians from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia; with Jody Diamond, voice
This CD is both a tribute to the profound musical influences that Javanese gamelan traditions have had on Jody Diamond (b. 1953) as a musician as well as an exploration of their impact on her compositional creativity. What she has done is not so much to create a hybrid tradition, but rather to do the work of translation. The aim of the translator is not to be original, but to make transparent to an outsider what was formerly opaque. The translator approaches his/her job with humility, and must be steeped in the original language. The translator reveres the original, it gives her joy and moves her to the point of wanting to share her joy with others. Some non-Indonesian composers of gamelan music have been accused of the musical equivalent of colonialism, appropriating a musical style from elsewhere into their own particular style. Diamond, on the contrary, and on this recording in particular, has allowed her native musical tradition to be appropriated by Javanese music. Although the first performances were in the United States, these recordings were made in Java, with Javanese musicians playing all the parts (except for Diamond herself, who is the female singer). Her "American" pieces are elaborated upon with gusto by Javanese musicians, in Javanese idioms. What does it mean when a translation is returned to its homeland and then elaborated upon in the idiom of the original? This is globalism gone wild in joyful, enthusiastically realized performances of Diamond's pieces by Javanese musicians.
CD $15

JAMES MULCRO DREW//BARTON WORKSHOP - Animating Degree Zero (New World 80687; USA) The Barton Workshop : Charles van Tassel, baritone; Eleonore Pameijer, flute/alto flute; John Anderson, clarinet/bass clarinet; Marieke Keser, violin; Manuel Visser, viola; Nina Hitz, cello; Anne Magda de Geus, cello; Jos Tieman, contrabass; Frank Denyer, piano, celesta; James Fulkerson, Hilary Jeffery, trombones; Enric Monfort Barbera, glockenspiel, vibraphone, chimes, gongs, tam-tam; Tobias Liebezeit, gongs, drums; Jos Zwaanenburg, flute, conductor I aspire to incorporate spiritual immensities in my music through masses of sound which intensifies by the process of refraction or blurring, while allowing submerged melodic lines to appear and disappear. It's like painting with a very large brush. Like those old fresco guys-or like Asian calligraphy on a massive scale-even with one tone. You know, like a big swipe with a very loaded brush. - James Drew Nicolas Slonimsky has described James Mulcro Drew (b. 1929) as an "authentic member of the American Experimental tradition." Thinking about what Slonimsky might have meant by his statement, one thinks of another member of that tradition-Harry Partch. Drew, like Partch, has always been a loner-not a member of any school or movement, he has remained largely outside the US university patronage system and has remained "on the move" rather than settling in one environment. Like Partch, James Drew has made his own brand of theater as well as being a composer, and he has no hesitation to run against the fashion or canon of our time. He is a composer who is fascinated by all kinds of music, and as a result his own musical surfaces may be more highly varied-for instance, Bonaroo Breaks vs. 12 Centers Breathing vs. The Lute in the Attic-than those of other composers.
This composer portrait, spanning the length of his career, is the first recording devoted entirely to Drew's music and is an excellent introduction to his idiosyncratic sound world. It features several of his important chamber pieces, ranging from a key early work, The Lute in the Attic (included in the score anthology Notations assembled by John Cage in the mid-1960s, a collection that illustrated the breadth of notational approaches being employed by composers at that point in musical history) to a recent large-ensemble work, Animating Degree Zero. These are all world-premiere recordings.
CD $15

ROBERT ERICKSON//BOSTON MODERN ORCHESTRA PROJECT/RAFAEL POPPER-KEIZER - Auroras (New World 80682; USA) "I think of my music as simple; easy for listeners though not so easy for the performers. Auroras is expressive music-music of feeling. For me its meanings are non-verbal and non-visual-musical. Nevertheless they are as precise, definite and rich in detail as visual and verbal meanings, and for me deeper too, close to ultimate things." - Robert Erickson
Born in Michigan but for most of his life a true Californian, Robert Erickson (1917-1997) had a reputation as a maverick. His musical path was never a straight line, nor, really, a line at all but a landscape, with ranges of features rather than mere points of interest. Composing was the central activity of his life. He was a profound and original musical thinker who embraced the expressive possibilities of all music, from the Western classics and moderns of his own early education to Indian and Balinese traditions and all manner of contemporary experimentation, as long as it served a musical purpose. When encountering his work, one doesn't need to know more than one hears: what's important are the sounds one encounters and the expressive journey they suggest for each listener. These four works- Night Music (1978), Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra (1954), East of the Beach (1980), Auroras (1982, rev. 1985)-all (except Night Music) world-premiere recordings, represent the best of his orchestral output, including the piece considered its apex, Auroras.
CD $15

MARGARET LANCASTER With BETH GRIFFITH/LARRY POLANSKY/MATTHEW GOLD - Io: Flute Music by Johanna Beyer, Joan La Barbara, Larry Polansky, James Tenney, and Lois V Vierk (New World 80665; USA) "Margaret Lancaster has burst onto the scene as our leading proponent of the avant-garde flute . . . What distinguishes Lancaster is her versatility, her willingness to let her flute be the focus of anything from technopop to theater to tap dancing, along with a breathless fluidity of line that raises every performance above the merely technically correct."-Kyle Gann, Village Voice
This gathering of music by five composers spanning more than 70 years demonstrates the richness and possibility of the stylistic freedom that is sometimes called the American experimental tradition. Timelessly potent for their careful exploration of musical material, these are works which have no cause to be esoteric, by leading American composers who deserve much higher regard. And in the hands of a performer and new-music advocate, Margaret Lancaster, who curates her repertoire with an attention to a continuum which composer Johanna Beyer calls "future, present, past," we are given the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of how this tradition lives. These are all, with the exception of Seegersong #2, world-premiere recordings.
CD $15

BARBARA BENARY//DOWNTOWN ENSEMBLE/GAMELAN SON OF LION - Sun On Snow (New World 80646; USA) "Among the many composers who have drawn inspiration from the music of Indonesia, the one whose outlook became most pervaded by the structure of gamelan music may be Barbara Benary (b. 1946), co-founder and guiding spirit of New York's Gamelan Son of Lion. A quiet, self-effacing presence on the New York music scene for almost four decades now, Benary has maintained a low profile, but behind the scenes she is well connected. A child of Manhattan's conceptualist movement, she was the designated violinist of early minimalism, a pioneer in American gamelan, and an early example of an increasingly frequent type, the ethnomusicologist-turned-composer. Chances are you've never heard her music on compact disc before this, but New York's Downtown scene has regarded her highly for a long time. Hers is a spiritual music, and the spirituality resides in the universality of her lines, universal because they are simple, particular to no one culture. Like Harrison and Virgil Thomson, Benary has a faith in the power of music's most basic elements, which she knits into intricate patterns before letting them unravel again.
The title Aural Shoehorning (1997) refers to the listener's tendency to confront unusual tuning systems, such as those of Javanese gamelan, by trying to 'shoehorn' them into the framework of our familiar diatonic scales. Heterophony is the overall theme of the piece, and the various ways in which a gamelan and a diatonic ensemble of clarinet/bass clarinet and keyboard percussion can interact as a mixed marriage in which neither partner attempts to convert the other. Barang 1 & 2 (1975) are solo and duo explorations of a Javanese pentatonic mode called Barang. Sun on Snow (1985) is based on a poem of five lines, five one-syllable words per line, which can be read or sung both horizontally and vertically. The basic melody's pitches are derived by assigning notes on the basis of number of letters in each word. The melody is then developed and elaborated in five variations. Downtown Steel (1993) is an adaptation for the instruments of the Downtown Ensemble of an earlier piece, 'Hot-Rolled Steel', written for Gamelan Son of Lion, whose keyboards are made of that material. The structure of the piece is based on an English bell-ringing permutation known as Grandsire Doubles."
CD $15

ROBERT ASHLEY With BARBARA HELD/THOMAS BUCKNER - Superior Seven, Tract (New World 80460; USA) Barbara Held (flute), Thomas Buckner (voice), MIDI orchestra
"I am finally able to say that I write for orchestra" even if I have to make the orchestra myself." - Robert Ashley Robert Ashley is known primarily for his theater-based pieces and television operas. This new release presents the world premiere recordings of two of his 'orchestral' pieces, Superior Seven (concerto for flute), and Tract (for orchestra and voice), where the orchestra is provided by a MIDI synthesizer. In Superior Seven, the flute floats freely in and out of an atmospheric electronic sound tapestry. It is a colorful, kaleidoscopic, ever-changing soundscape pervaded throughout by a sense of playful whimsy. Tract, on the other hand, is cut from an altogether darker cloth. The voice is used as one of the orchestral timbres in a piece that is resolutely mournful and dirge-like in tone, a wordless lament.
CD $15


FILFLA [KEIICHI SUGIMOTO] - Fliptap (Someone Good 13; Australia) Japanese composer Keiichi Sugimoto aka FilFla's mini-LP, Fliptap, is the latest addition to Someone Good's ongoing "10 Songs in 20 Minutes" series. "10 Songs in 20 Minutes" is a collection of albums refining and capturing the essence of avant-pop songwriting. A euphoric collection of pop-infused electronic microcosms, Fliptap is a celebration of minimal composition. Keiichi Sugimoto is a master crafts-person when it comes to creating micro pop hooks and with Fliptap, he boils down an essential vision of what FilFla is about. Fliptap is littered with fractured vocal lines, ear-worm guitar melodies, subtle synth hooks and pulsing rhythmic energy -- the perfect combination for repeated listens.
CD $17


PANDIT PRAN NATH With TERRY RILEY et al - Midnight: Raga Malkauns [2 CD set] (Just Dreams 03; USA) Just Dreams is the label of La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela. This Pandit Pran Nath double CD was released in 2002 and features two long live performance ragas from 1971 and 1976 by this legendary Indian vocalist, now reissued for 2012.
The first version of "Raga Malkauns" is from 1971, and was recorded in SF with accompaniment by: Terry Riley (tabla), Ann Riley (tambura) & Simone Forti (tambura). The 1976 version of "Raga Malkauns" on disc 2 was recorded in NYT and features: K. Paramjyoti (tabla), La Monte Young (tambura) & Marian Zazeela (tambura). Sensational, timeless music preserved in the finest detail, at last. There's a lot of celestial hype in the world of music, but the music of Pandi Pran Nath travels all corridors of the universe. "Two full-CD recordings of 'Raga Malkauns' by Pandit Pran Nath, accompanied by full texts of the vocal compositions presented in Devanagri script, phonetic English, word-by-word translation, and poetic interpretation by Sri Karunamayee, a longtime senior disciple of the Master."
2 CD set for $25


THE PYRAMIDS [IDRIS ACKAMOOR et al] - Otherworldly (Disko B 159; Germany) Founded 40 years ago in 1972, The Pyramids release their first album in over 35 years. They released three albums before splitting up in 1977 -- albums that made them one of the most mysterious and legendary of all the spiritual cosmic jazz collectives of the early '70s. There was a highly energetic reunion in 2007, boosting their trademark sound of massive Afro-centric drums and percussion meeting ecstatic group improvisations. The Pyramids' extensive European tours in 2010/2011 turned out to be a great triumph: mesmerizing audiences at various clubs and festivals all over Europe with a new sound and a new band configuration featuring founding members Idris Ackamoor and Kimathi Asante, original member Bradie Speller, and special guest artists Kenneth Nash and Kash Killion. The collective received rave reviews and standing ovations in every city they played in. They also blew Gilles Peterson's mind at Worldwide Festival and the Worldwide Awards, where The Pyramids' spiritual and musical leader, Idris Ackamoor was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In summer 2011, The Pyramids were recording tracks for a new double album (the first since 1976) at the studio of Krautrock legends Faust in South Germany. The new album contains 14 never-before-released tracks. The Pyramids' signature sound is still percussion-driven -- no surprise with Nash and Speller being two of the most masterful percussionists on the planet. Another signature style of The Pyramids is the "two bass" concept, combining Kash Killion's acoustic bass with electric bass by Thomas "Kimathi Asante" Williams. Idris Ackamoor plays his alto sax in an absolutely astonishing way, sometimes simultaneously performing tap dance to create percussive rhythms, suggesting a "post-be-bop Prince" as The New York Times called him. The Pyramids trip out into unexplored territory of spontaneous improvisation, sometimes trancing like off to an outer/inner-space journey. The Pyramids were world music even before the term was coined back in the early '70s. They use a battery of ethnic instruments such as mbira, calypso boxes, Russian zither, West African bolong, Egyptian sensemia harp, pygmy whistle, etc., using them in a manner quite otherworldly.
CD $17
also available as 2 LP set for $23

IDRIS ACKAMOOR With THE PYRAMIDS/THE COLLECTIVE/PHARAOH SANDERS et al - Music of Idris Ackamoor 1971-2004 [2 CD Set] (EM 1062; Japan) 2012 repress. "2-CD collection of the ex-leader of legendary Afro-spiritual/deep funk/free jazz group from 1970s Ohio (later in SF), The Pyramids. Their music is one of the most deep attempts by African-Americans, deep sounds like Strata-East, aggressive performances like Tribe or Black Jazz, every free jazz/funk collectors should agree on it. Featuring 10 pieces of The Pyramids taken from their 3 albums and unreleased (!) recordings (included first live recording in Holland!). Notably The Pyramids had even stayed in African countries like Morocco, Ghana, Kenya & Ethiopia and studied real African culture & music there in the early 1970s. Do you know other African-American jazz musicians who had done such a road trip in early 1970s?? Also featuring never heard pre-Pyramids, P. Sanders & Strata East recording as The Collective, and 4 pieces from the late '70s to '00s, recording as Idris Ackamoor Quartet/Ensemble. Sixteen pieces in total. Ackamoor owns all original master tapes (it's a miracle!) and we checked them all and compiled their finest & best cuts. All digitally re-mastered in excellent sound shapes. This 2CD set will be in big 'DUO' case with complete English liner notes written by Ackamoor himself, bunch of rare photos (really!) & session datas etc... it must be one of the best CDs which EM Records has ever produced."
2 CD set for $27


TUNJI OYELANA - A Nigerian Retrospective 1966-79 [2 CD set] (Soundway 43; UK) During the golden age of Nigerian music in the 1970s, Tunji Oyelana elevated the realm of pop music by infusing it with the poetic storytelling of Yoruba folklore, blending the fashionable sounds of highlife, Afrobeat, Afro-rock, funk, calypso, juju and reggae and transforming them into something timelessly unique. Tunji's first records came out in 1969 but it wasn't until two years later that the first record credited to Tunji Oyelana & The Benders, Agba Lo De/Koriko Nde, was released. The record turned out to be the smash that put the name Tunji Oyelana & The Benders on the national map. More significantly, the record's unique sound signaled the emergence of a new era and a new genre in Nigerian music. Tunji eventually signed to EMI Nigeria, his first eponymously-titled release on the label in 1974 yielding the instant classic "To Whom It May Concern." For Oyelana himself, the golden age continues as he lives with his family in London and continues to perform several nights a week at Emukay, the restaurant and cultural center that he runs with his wife, which has become a mecca for fans eager for the privilege of beholding a living legend at work.
2 CD set for $24

MERIDIAN BROTHERS - Desesperanza (Soundway 49; UK) Straddling the line between new and old, Meridian Brothers' mischievous blend of Latin rhythms and psychedelic grooves is the creation of Eblis Alvarez, one of the key figures of the experimental music scene in Bogota. Desesperanza is dedicated exclusively to salsa and tropical music, twisting it through a dark and theatrical psychedelic soundscape but never abandoning the traditional aesthetics. As with all of the Meridian Brothers' releases, every instrument on Desesperanza was played and recorded by Eblis himself. A true avant-garde guitar player and composer, Eblis also plays in Mario Galeano's band Frente Cumbiero and was one of the 42 musicians involved in the recording of Ondatropica (SNDW 045). Meridian Brothers are at the core of a burgeoning music scene with cumbia, salsa and currulao all being explored by a new generation of Colombian musicians.
CD $16



Back in stock - but only 3 copies!

THOMAS HEBERER/DIETER MANDERSCHEID - Chicago Breakdown: The Music Of Jellyroll Morton (JazzHausMusik 38; EEC) [limited time price; normally $18] This third album is following Chicago Breakdown (JHM 138; Award of the German Record Critics) and What A Wonderful World (JHM 118) of trumpet player Thomas Heberer and double-bass player Dieter Manderscheid. Its title Wanderlust, a composition of Duke Ellington, is, as for example 'kindergarden', a German term that has found its way into the Anglo-American language. Wanderlust means the need for dwelling in nature but also for aimless restlessness. The music of this album is strongly inspired by the possible suggestions of having this 'blue feeling'. And it combines great parts of jazz history from Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus to compositions of Heberer and Manderscheid. "What I like about this disc is the warm and playful vibe I get from listening to this marvelous duo who obviously know their jazz history and sound like they are having fun. Yeah, so fine." - BLG
CD $16



Back in stock from Cold Spring!

DEADWOOD - Gott Mit Uns (Cold Spring 104; UK) Ramblack was the follow-up to Deadwood's successful 2005 album 8 19. Cloaked in a more raw and morbid sound then its predecessor, this album truly changes one's perspective of audio darkness. This analog beast of an album layers the tonal prayers of demons and the distorted cries of angels, sickness and depravity. True death electronics. The soundtrack to your end. Ramblack features guest vocals from Norwegian black metal legend Maniac (Skitliv, ex-Mayhem), whose vocal approach on the song "Forakt" shows the full range of his capacity. Truly one of the most sick and twisted pieces of sonic art ever recorded.
CD $17

ROSE ROVINE E AMANTI - Demian (Cold Spring 112; UK) 2009 album from Rose Rovine E Amanti. Demian is a powerful mixture of neo-folk-rock with a Mediterranean sensibility. Ten tracks presenting the new, unique sound from this great Italian project. Comes with an outstanding 14-page booklet containing exclusive drawings by Bulgarian artist Emil Ivanov Saparevski, which illustrate each song and its lyrics.
CD $17

SISTRENATUS - Sensitive Disturbance (Cold Spring 108; UK) Blurring the lines between dark ambient, industrial and noise, Sistrenatus storms forth, shifting between oppressive aggression and unsettling atmospheres. Sensitive Disturbance is the third offering from this now-legendary Canadian act, whose debut Division One was issued on Cold Spring in 2007. An aural journey through the urban decay of abandoned factories, scorched landscapes and underground passageways. Sensitive Disturbance is an abrasive rendition of the industrial revolution in its darkest phases.
CD $17

TENHORNEDBEAST - My Horns Are a Flame to Draw Down the Truth (Cold Spring 106; UK) My Horns Are a Flame to Draw Down the Truth sees five compositions from black ambient/doom overlord Christopher Walton, taken from the same sessions that gave forth The Sacred Truth (2007). My Horns Are a Flame to Draw Down the Truth consists of three remixes/expansions/contractions of pieces from the debut album The Sacred Truth and two totally new compositions in a similar style to this dark masterpiece. Walton has stripped the songs to their bare bones and allowed them space to breathe again. This album is all-new but continues the atmosphere of the debut and can be considered a companion piece. Presented in a matte-laminate, spot-varnished digipak.
CD $17


KREIDLER - Den [LP + CD] (Bureau B 115; Germany) 180 gram LP version with CD. It could be said that Tank (BB 070CD/LP), Kreidler's critically-acclaimed previous album -- is a drum album. Not in the sense of the brute force of a Ginger Baker or a John Bonham, but more in terms of the elastic muscularity of a Budgie, a Robert Gorl or a Klaus Dinger. So in the case of Den, if attempting yet another such broad categorization, one might draw attention to the album's viscous musicality. Indeed, for recording and mixing, Kreidler chose to work at LowSwing, a studio renowned for its round sonic character, with the magnificent Guy Sternberg at the controls. The album's opening track displays an inspired beauty that is perhaps reminiscent of Eno during those periods in which he was interested in songwriting. Pan-Asian counter-melodies interplay around the stoic but light architecture of "Deadwringer." And "Rote Wuste" is a mysterious painting, spanning a vast emotional arc between its dark beginnings and the possibility of a conciliatory resolution. The heavily grooving "Cascade" finds an utterly mesmerized Alex Paulick on guitar -- just how many chord changes does Andreas Reihse get through? But one nice aspect of Kreidler is that those kinds of things hardly matter. "Moth Race" is another uninhibited dance number built on Detlef Weinrich's harsh yet supple beat, suggesting New York City as envisioned by Arthur Russell. "Celtic Ghosts" dissolves this impression through ornamentation and leads us out onto the glassy ice. "Winter" is a gliding machine of magnetic, polished chrome. A rhythmic firework commences, devoid of all morality. Thomas Klein's playing is an essential component of the Kreidler sound. And if any reference is missing here, then it might be to Jaki Liebezeit of Can, who cultivates a similarly angular groove. All in all, in addition to the musical subtlety and elegant dialogical interaction which is celebrated on this album, it can be stated with enthusiasm that the band has not taken a single step back from its rhythmic force. Cover art by Enrico David.
LP + CD for $20


BORNGRABER & STRUVER - Clouds (M=Minimal 14; Germany) Borngraber & Struver's album Clouds represents a unique selection of chamber music compositions created in the period from 2000 through 2012. This denotes a new facet in the musical cosmos of the Berliner duo, combining influences in the range of minimal music, classic and baroque, as well as the art of improvisation and pop culture. Clouds can be considered an album for fans of Richard Skelton, The Caretaker and Christian Naujoks, but its distinctive work manages to reach a far wider audience. The album begins with the piece "Wellen (Waves)" for soprano and strings. The music is arranged and composed in a sort of wavy shape, as the title suggests. It is a piece in the purest form of minimalism: Without an end, without a beginning. The following track "Mobile" pays homage to Richard Strauss' Don Quixote, as musical parts and constantly-changing atmospheres reconcile to create a sense of movement and mobility. Last but not least, "Secret Bells" represents an "instant composition," as Charles Mingus would say, combining piano works and field recordings. "Clouds 1-3" were written for a virtual chamber orchestra and join together to give the album its leading name. These "Clouds" differentiate themselves through stylistic influences, ranging from classical to the latest in music.
CD $21

BORNGRABER & STRUVER - Urlaub/In G (M=Minimal 16; Germany) After several requests from their partners and distributors, M=Minimal has decided to publish the fresh, remastered vinyl albums In G (2010) and Urlaub (2011) by Berlin's Borngraber & Struver. Both albums have received worldwide acclaim since their release and have without a doubt the potential to become all-around classics. In G was referred to as "21st century electro Kraut" and this concept was expanded with Urlaub, with its dash of "cosmic disco."
CD $21


REFINED LARD [V.A.] - A Trunk Records Sampler (Trunk 045; UK) Thirty rare and fabulous cues celebrating the last year or so of Trunk Records activity: music from 1945 to last month, artists including Basil Kirchin, Terry Thomas, some hip jazz people [Bill Evans, Helen Merrill], some rare film music [Alex North], children, a doctor, an announcement from a train buffet car and a letter to a porn star. What else do you want, eh? Recently, Jonny Trunk was talking to Rough Trade records. They were asking if Trunk had any copies of the Now We Are Ten sampler in stock. The answer was no, so Jonny decided to put together a more recent sampler. So here it is, 30 cues all from the recent 12 months of Trunk Records activity, but many of the cues here have only been released digitally. They cover a wide range of musical styles from experimental to classical, from exotic to bizarre. Also in the mix are some intriguing spoken-word numbers, a bit of strange folk and a few cues that have never been released before. Sleeve notes include an excuse that the album has not been properly mastered as the Trunk mastering man is away on holiday. This would explain why overall it sounds a bit like an old mix tape with fluctuating sound, but the music is quite superb, the disc is 79 minutes long, and what more could you wish for such a bargain price?!?!
CD $10


DANIEL BACHMAN - Seven Pines (Tompkins Square 2769; USA) "Daniel Bachman is a 22 year old musician born and raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He has been playing what he describes as 'psychedelic appalachia' since he was a teenager, releasing small run editions of tapes, CDs and LPs for the past three years, with a sound that evolved from drones and banjos to a now guitar centered focus. Touring off and on since the age of 17, Bachman has managed to cover thorough ground across the US, sharing stages with like minded folk such as fellow Fredericksburg native Jack Rose, for whom he fashioned the artwork for the posthumous release of Luck In The Valley. His newest effort is the full length album Seven Pines, sprung from a year living and working in the city of Philadelphia. The sound results in a combination of homesick worried blues and the ecstatic buzz of fresh experience and a new life in unknown territory. Familiar and known, but also seeking to access memories from lives past, dead and gone."
CD $15
also available on LP for $17


KATH - 1: Original Album + Unreleased Material [2 CD set] (Lion Prod. 651; Canada) "Not many albums can get you in the mood to blow out your speakers quite like Kath, a band that evolved from local Maryland 1960's band Badge. This is an authentic low-fi DIY effort, recorded in the home of the band's leader (and, yes, actually dedicated to his pet monkey - and his girlfriend!), originally released in 1974 in a micro edition of 60 hand-made copies, and later reconfigured for a legendary Rockadelic label LP version. Truth to tell, the Kath album is full of well written melodic songs with loose, semi-ramshackle, low-fi/no-fi production values. Nothing gets down and dirty quite like 'Say What You Feel,' with its blown out bass, killer guitar and drums, echoed vocals and sound effects; well, actually, 'Love Me Down' is equally potent. The band also had a fondness for tape experimentation ('Seagulls') and simply screwing around ('Toilet Theme'). As Patrick the Lama said in Acid Archives, 'Obscure and impressive melodic basement garage/psych excursion with a lo-fi atmosphere that would have most purveyors flip out, hits the Ampex two-track echo & tinny drum sound dead on. At times the vibe is almost like Mystery Meat or Index, and that's not something you run across every day. A totally outside garage/psych/private LP that feels as personally projected as those Michael Yonkers sides. Nuts lo-fi recording quality and impossible-to-figure production values gives this a nicely zonked almost real-people vibe. Keyboards, fuzz, heap of amateur avant spirit and a cover of "Norwegian Wood" that ranks up there as one of the few listenable Beatles covers ever cut by teens with brains.' We've also included Badge's excellent 1978 five-track EP as bonus tracks. And since too far is never far enough for Lion Productions, we've also added an entire second disc of outtakes from the Kath recording sessions, plus other related home recordings. This 140-minute double disc set comes with twenty pages of extensive liner notes by Kath and Badge leader Val Rogolino, and a plethora of photos from his personal stash." 2 CD set for $20


THE WIZARDS FROM KANSAS - Wizards From Kansas (Sunbeam 5092; UK) This quintet's sole album -- a legendary set of West Coast-style ballroom psych -- disappeared into obscurity on its original release in October 1970. It makes its definitive appearance here, with nine rare, previously-unreleased bonus tracks, detailed liner notes and photos that are sure to give a kick to collectors worldwide. Bonus tracks include a cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" recorded in the band's basement in 1969, plus alternate studio versions of songs from the album.
"I bought my original copy of this unknown classic for 99 cents at a Woolworths in the late sixties because I dug the mandala thing on the cover. Little did I know that this would be one my favorite folk/rock/psych albums of all time. Although I've searched far and wide ever since, little seems to known about this band. They were from the bay area and did play at the Fillmore. Their versions of two psych classics, "High Flying Bird" (covered by Jefferson Airplane) and Buffy St. Marie's anti-drug anthem "Codiene" (covered by Quicksilver Messenger Service and many others) remain for me, the very best versions and their finest moments. They were very much like the Airplane with their wonderful vocal harmonies and triple guitars, with some bits of the Dead in their rootsy sound and even some Santana-like percussion thrown in. This is a masterpiece of late- sixties roots/rock sound and it works perfectly from the first note to the last. If anyone out there has any other info about this band, I'm all ears!" - BLG
also available on LP for $34


RAY STINNETT - A Fire Somewhere (Light In The Attic 88; USA) "A hippie-fied, soul-rock, folk-rock, psych-rock gem lost in the vaults for four decades, A Fire Somewhere by Ray Stinnett (best known as a member of '60s outfit Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs) sounds as fresh as the day it was cut, and comes with extensive liner-notes detailing the fascinating life of a little-documented '60s rock voyager. By 1967, the summer of love, Ray left for Haight Ashbury in San Francisco with his wife and young son, taking up residence at the legendary Morning Star Ranch, where Ray focused on finding his true voice. Returning to Memphis a year later, Ray formed a working friendship with Booker T Jones, who produced Ray's unreleased Sun Tree at Pepper West album. Eventually, when Jones moved to Malibu and took a contract with A&M, he lined up a deal for his old friend. Still working in Memphis with (old) friends Jerry Paterson and Mike Plunk on bass, along with Booker T. and co-mixer/engineer Richard Rosebrough (Chris Bell, Big Star), Ray channeled his experiences in the pop machine, at Morningstar and beyond into the songs that would become A Fire Somewhere. It funnelled the vast experiences of this pop star, cosmic traveler and grounded, loving father. The songs contained the fried country twang and boogie-woogie grooves of his hometown and of his youth, but were also threaded through with the new psychedelia - shreds of distorted guitar, looping experimental jams and acoustic renditions. 'Art is a reflection of life,' says Ray of the making of A Fire Somewhere, 'and my life was full of reflection at this time.' And it's perhaps exactly that fact which kept this incredible record unreleased for all these years. By summer, the album was ready for release. By winter, it remained on the shelf. A&M reassured Ray that they were going to make him a superstar. Ray had already done that; he just wanted the songs released. Soon, they hit an impasse. Ray took his tapes and songs and went on with his life. In the end, A&M's loss is our gain. Listen, and enjoy, this message from another time, and from an old head on young shoulders. 'It's a torch that's been carried forty years through the desert, waiting for this moment to arrive,' says Ray." Includes a 40-page booklet; remastered.
CD $16


The German label Normal keeps alive Townes Van Zandt!

TOWNES VAN ZANDT - Live at the Jester Lounge: Houston, Texas 1966 (Normal 260; Germany) his album, which may be the earliest extant recording of Townes Van Zandt at a commercial performing venue, immediately brings to mind the fabled Sun Sessions of Elvis Presley. Both recordings document young performers at the hopeful threshold of their professional music careers (Elvis age 19, Townes age 22). Their performances are fresh and unjaded, guided by instinct rather than experience or training. . . voices bursting with exhilaration at the simple thrill of letting loose and singing music they love. There is no self-consciousness, no overt stylization, no world-weariness here, and certainly no hint of the darkness and tragedy that would later consume the lives of both men. The Sun Sessions and Live at the Jester Lounge offer a fascinating portrait of two young singers on the brink of musical self-discovery, and it is a pleasure to share in the brilliance and wonder of those moments captured for posterity more by accident than design. The material on this CD is a prime example of the repertoire-influenced-by-context principle, in this case tunes that appealed to the good time-seeking, beer-drinking audiences Townes encountered at his club gigs during this period. There are topical humor pieces about sex, booze and pop culture ('Talkin' Birth Control Pill Blues', 'Talkin' Thunderbird Blues', 'Talkin' Karate Blues') and a wide range of light and dark bluesy numbers (jazzman Richard Jones' classic 'Trouble in Mind', Lightnin' Hopkins' 'Hello Central' and Townes' own 'Badly Mistreated Blues', 'Louisiana Girl Blues', 'Mustang Blues', 'Black Crow Blues'). Three country standards (Jimmie Rodgers' 'T for Texas', the Carter Family's 'Cannon Ball Blues', Hank Williams' 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry') round out the collection. Live at the Jester Lounge - Houston, Texas, 1966 shows a rarely-seen, unabashedly joyous side of a songwriter known mostly for his intense seriousness and uncompromising explorations of psychic angst. The essence of the mature artist Townes Van Zandt would become is here in all its natural, soon-to-blossom glory."
CD $14

TOWNES VAN ZANDT - Absolutely Nothing (Normal 235; Germany) This is a collection of previously-unreleased studio and live material. Originally released in 2002 and deleted for years -- this collection is now made available again in 2012 due to demand. The studio material is as beautiful and sad as "Dirty Old Town," made famous by The Pogues, which is released on CD for the first time here. During his lifetime only a few critics, colleagues and loyal fans knew that Townes Van Zandt was one of the finest American songwriters of all time. Five years after his death on New Years Day 1997, the 'Van Gogh of lyrics' (Billboard magazine) finally arrived in the awareness of a wide public. His complete musical work is available. All the ups and downs of his career from the 1968 debut 'For A Sake Of the Song' to the last concerts in the mid-90's are documented. However, there are still the last words of the Texas troubadour to discover like 'Absolutely Nothing', a wonderful compilation of unreleased studio and live recordings. For a long time Townes Van Zandt performed the Pogues' gem "Dirty Old Town" only on stage. In September 1996, Townes and his fellows Royann and Jim Calvin recorded, the folk classic at Flashpoint Studio in Austin, Texas. Recorded only on one track, the minimalist poem with mandolin and violin is nearly as touching as the unforgettable "Kathleen". The poet of the hopeless at the end of his life: disorientated and helpless he sings these covers as if they were his own songs. All other five studio recordings on 'Absolutely Nothing' are as beautiful and sad as 'Dirty Old Town', which is now for the first time available on CD. These songs reveal an introvert artist, suffering, exhausted and tired but not broken. He just could not stop writing and playing. The other 12 songs on 'Absolutely Nothing' were recorded live in 1994 at different clubs. The concert shows Townes at his very best. He played his classics in an unbelievably relaxed way. At the end of the album we are witness of a good-humored Townes Van Zandt telling the "Penguin" and "The Three Shots Of Gin" jokes.
CD $14

TOWNES VAN ZANDT - Abnormal (Normal 216; Germany) The country/folk-blues singer and guitarist Townes Van Zandt was a native Texan and great grandson of one of the original settlers who founded Fort Worth in the mid-19th century. The son of a prominent oil family, Townes turned his back on financial security to pursue the beatnik life in Houston. First thumbing his way through cover versions, his acoustic sets later graced the Jester Lounge and other venues where his 'bawdy barroom ballads' were first performed. Although little known outside of a cult country rock following, many of his songs are better publicized by covers afford them by Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Don Gibson and Willie Nelson. This gave songs such as "Pancho & Lefty" and "If I Needed You" the chance to rise to the top of the country charts. His media awareness belies the debt of many artists, including the Cowboy Junkies and The Go-Betweens, profess to owing him. In the 1980s Van Zandt continued to live a reclusive life in a cabin in Colorado recording occasionally purely for chance to 'get the songs down for posterity'. He compiled two records for release in 1997 ('Highway Kind' & 'Documentary') and started recording an album together with Sonic Youth. But his death put an end to all these plans. Townes Van Zandt died on New Years Day 1997, the anniversary of the death of Hank Williams. 'Abnormal' was recorded on several locations during Townes Van Zandt's 1995 European Tour. Beside "Flyin` Shoes", "Waitin` Round To Die", "Kathleen" and a collection of either equally memorable songs, 'Abnormal' also includes new studio versions of "Coo-Coo and "Dollar Bill Blues" and the never before released gem - "Shrimp Song".
CD $14

TOWNES VAN ZANDT - Live At The McCabe's (Return To Sender 32; Germany) "This recording is live from McCabe's Los Angeles, Feb 10, 1995. Van Zandt on guitar and vocals, with Kelly Joe Phelps on dobro. The songs of Townes Van Zandt are destined to be for folk artists what the works of Gershwin are to saloon singers...the quintessence of troubadour music, thanks to the somber grace of the late Lone Star legend's language and the engaging simplicity of his melodies. The recently released Poet: Tribute To Townes Van Zandt album, featuring performances of his most historic tracks by the likes of Nanci Griffith, Emmylou Harris, Cowboy Junkies, Steve Earle, Guy Clark, & Willie Nelson raises the interest in Van Zandt to an all-time high. McCabe's is a fine performance from the later years; a nice, semi-rare 'Pueblo Waltz', 'Shrimp Song', and 'Snowin on Raton'. Other highlights are 'Katie Belle Blue' and 'A Song For', and 'The Hole'. This album best captures an intimate latter day concert by Townes -- sounding old, sage, funny and dear. Limited to 2000 copies."
CD $14

TOWNES VAN ZANDT - In Pain: Live Germany 1994 (Normal 225; Germany) "In Pain album has three songs ('Stopping Off Place', 'Alone And Forsaken', & 'You Gotta Move') sung by Townes that have never been released before. All the songs were recorded at the Bahnfof Langendreer Club, Bochum, Germany 11/94."
CD $14

TOWNES VAN ZANDT - Documentary (Normal 211; Germany) "Townes Van Zandt talks about his life and plays some of his favourite songs. Besides intimate interpretations of classics like 'If I Needed You' , 'Pancho & Lefty' und 'Waitin` Round To Die' Documentary includes also less known titles like 'I`ll Be Here In The Morning' which Townes recorded together with Singer/Songwriter Barb Donovan a few weeks before his death."
CD $14


LISTEN UP! [V.A.] - Dub Classics (Kingston Sounds 037; UK) Listen Up! compiles classic dub tracks, many from the hands of King Tubby. Welcome to the dub sound from Jamaica: although remembered as an early '70s phenomenon, the dub sound can be dated back as early as 1968. Vocal records were cut back to the bone with only bass and drums, and sometimes instruments and vocals faded in and out with echo and reverb to make a great new version. By the mid-seventies it became the norm for records to carry a "version" (dub) B-side and in fact many records were bought for this reason, especially if they were known to come from the hands of the dub master himself, King Tubby. Other tracks on this collection include Barry Brown's "Why Fight The Dub," produced by Bunny Lee; Tubby's "A Better Version," based on Horace Andy's "Better Collie"; and Don Carlos' "My Brethren In Dub." CD version features two bonus tracks.
CD $15




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



NEW ALBION Label - Last copies!

One of the great Contemporary Composer labels of the last quarter century, New Albion, is now officially defunct.

These are last remaining titles/copies - some we only have 1 copy of, so ORDER NOW for best fill!


DAVID ABEL/JULIE STEINBERG/WILLIAM WINANT TRIO - Set Of Five: John Cage, Henry Cowell, Alan Hovhaness, Somei Satoh, Lou Harrison (New Albion 036; USA) David Abel/Julie Steinberg/William Winant Trio, violin, piano, vibraphone & tom-toms. This collection presents a view of Pacific Rim influences in modern classical composition. Among the many structural inventions, devices and languages developed in western art music during the twentieth century there exists a profound eastern influence. This influence is sometimes overt (as in the Cowell and Harrison trios), with the use of exotic percussion and a the-world-is-one inspiration. It is sometimes implicit (as in the Cage and Satoh pieces), which opens time to, in Satoh's English, "not simply progress from past into future, but slowly describes a circle."
The Hovhaness piece, of five invocations, delves further through cultural icons to the ancient Armenian sun god, Vahakn. CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

JOHN ADAMS - Shaker Loops; Light Over Water (New Albion 014; USA) "Shaker Loops" was composed in the fall of 1978 and first performed on December 8 of that year by members of the San Francisco Conservatory's New Music Ensemble and has since become my most frequently performed composition. It is scored for 3 violins, 1 viola, 2 celli and 1 bass.
Although being in its own way an example of 'continuous music', "Shaker Loops" differs from most other works of its kind because it sees so much change within a relatively short amount of time. Also it avoids the formal and temporal purity of much 'minimal' music by not adhering to a single unbending tempo throughout. This less severe approach allows a freer movement from one level of energy to another, making a more dramatic experience of the form.
The 'loops' are melodic material assigned to the seven instruments, each of a different length and which, when heard together, result in a constantly shifting play among the parts. Thus, while one instrument may have a melody with a period of 7 beats, another will be playing one with 11 while yet another will repeat its figure every 13 beats, and so on. (This is most easily perceived if one counts the beats between the various plucked notes in 'Hymning Slews').
The four sections, although they meld together evenly, are really quite distinct, each being characterized by a particular style of string playing. The outside movements are devoted to 'shaking', the fast, tightly rhythmicized motion of the bow across the strings. The 'slews' of Part II are slow, languid glissandi heard floating within an almost motionless pool of stationary sound (played 'senza vibrato'). Part III is essentially melodic, with the celli playing long, lyrical lines (which are nevertheless loops themselves) against a background of muted violins, an activity which gradually takes speed and mass until it culminates in the wild push-pull section that is the emotional high point of the piece. The floating harmonics, a kind of disembodied ghost of the push-pull figures in Part III, signal the start of Part IV, a final dance of the bows across the strings which concludes with the four upper voices lightly rocking away on the natural overtones of their strings while the celli and bass provide a quiet pedal point beneath. - John Adams
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

JOHN LUTHER ADAMS - The Far Country (New Albion 061; USA) "Dream in White on White" (1992) is a musical landscape on the non-chromatic ("white") tones and non-tempered intervals of Pythagorean diatonic tuning. It is a response to the clarity of those sounds, and to the treeless, windswept expanses of western Alaska. "Night Peace" (1977) is based entirely on a single melodic line, which is heard only once, sung by the solo soprano at the end of the piece. This melody was conceived in the luminous stillness of a moonless winter night. "The Far Country of Sleep" (1988) was composed in memory of the late Morton Feldman. Although he was an unrepentant urbanite, Feldman's music is, for me, haunted by the idea of the sublime landscape, imaginary or real. The title of this homage to him is borrowed from a poem by John Haines. It evokes in my mind both the distant dreamscapes of the Arctic and that ultimate wilderness, through which we all must pass. The score is inscribed with a line from Alexander Pope, which Feldman once recited to me: Art after Art goes out, and all is night ..
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

LOUIS ANDRIESSEN/CALIFORNIA EAR UNIT - Zilver (New Albion 094; USA) The basic idea of Zilver is to write a chorale variation like Bach did for the organ: a long melody in slow musical motion, combined with fast playing of the same melody. The slow playing of the melody, which is a pop song that nobody will recognize, is done by the winds and the strings; they also play in slow four-part harmony, like a chorale. The rest of the instruments -- the two percussion players, playing on keyboard instruments (vibraphone and marimba), and the piano -- play staccato chords, and these staccato chords become faster and faster all the time. Basically the ensemble is divided into these groups, and the two groups play canons that are combined together. Zilver also seems to be a part of a series of chamber music pieces named for certain kinds of matter: Hout which means 'wood', could be the first, and Zilver could be the second one. ("Zilver" means 'silver' in Dutch.) The title probably also has to do with the fact that the two silver instruments -- flute and vibraphone -- start and end the piece. Zilver was written for the California EAR Unit.
Disco was written in 1982 on a commission from the Dutch government. The outer sections of the piece occupy the sound environment of the 'hyper-instrument' created when both instruments play in unison, while the static inner section explores the ringing overtones of sympathetic strings in the piano.
Worker's Union (1975) is a 'symphonic movement for any loud sounding group of instruments.' It is from the same period as Andriessen's Hoketus and shares many similarities with that work. Most notably, it is built of short rhythmic cells which are repeated varying numbers of times. However, in this work there are no specific pitches until the very end of the piece. Instead, the notated rhythms are played precisely, with the pitch content consisting of contours depicted relative to a horziontal line representing the middle register of a player's instrument. The instructions are 'to make the piece sound dissonant, chromatic, and often aggressive.' And only in the case that every player plays with such an intention that his part is an essential one, the work will succeed; just as in the political work.' --Louis Andriessen and the California EAR Unit
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

AUSTRAL VOICES [V.A.] - New Music from Australia: For telegraph wires, tuning forks, computer driven piano, psaltery, whirly, cello, synthesizer and ruined piano. (New Albion 028; USA) Terra Australis Incognita. The smallest continent. The largest island. The land down under. The lucky country. The fatal shore. The population of metropolitan New York spread around the edges of a land mass larger than the continental United States. Locus of the world's oldest surviving culture and the youngest.
I believe this recording paints, perhaps for the first time, a portrait of an important new generation of Australian composers. They are forging a tradition of experimental music long present elsewhere but only now emerging in Australia, though latent in the work of Percy Grainger (1882-1961) and perhaps a few others. They eschew traditional European instrumental and vocal resources and techniques, and they work principally outside academic institutions. Their music derives, for the most part, from direct experience with and response to their physical surroundings. Some of the sound material is drawn directly from the environment. Much of the music is based on drones or slowly shifting tonal content which suggest something of the vast drama of the land ("Journeys" and "Cello Chi"), though some is extremely active ("Fantasie"). Settings move from the pastoral ("Three Inverse Genera", recorded in a barn in rural Victoria) to the urban ("Genesis", recorded in a Melbourne parking structure).
While each piece is imbued with a strong individual personality, these composers as a group speak with a definite Australian character, a national stamp, an "Austral Voice". - Stephen Scott
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

BATAK [V.A.] - Music of North Sumatra (New Albion 046; USA) Music and dance play a crucial role in Batak society. The word for "ceremony" ("gondang" in Toba; "gendang" in Karo) is actually a musical term and refers both to the Batak orchestra of drums, gongs, and oboes and also to the tunes they play. The musicians are essential to a ceremony because they are the intermediaries between humanity and the Creator. The sounds of the drums and gongs convey human prayers to the spirit world.
Musicians thus command great respect in traditional Batak society and they must follow a certain code of behavior. "The musicians must be honest men," explained one old Toba Batak man, "otherwise they risk angering the spirits."
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

ETTY BEN-ZAIKEN/EITAN STEINBERG/ENSEMBLE YATAN ATAN - Ladino Love Songs: The Bride Unfastens Her Braids, The Groom Faints (New Albion 105; USA) My first encounter with some of the songs in this recording was in my grandmother Esther's kitchen. Back in my childhood town in Israel, I used to help her prepare her famous leek balls. At fifteen minutes to eight my grandmother, who came to Israel from Turkey, would turn on the radio. It was the daily broadcast for new immigrants, the segment for Ladino speakers. Centuries-old Ladino songs then entered the small kitchen, sung by an amazing mixture of pop singers, cantors and old women. My grandmother joined them all, not bothered by the differences of interpretation. The old folk songs were like good red pomegranates: some eat them, some use their juice for cooking, others say blessings on them at the High Holiday table, and everybody praises their beauty.
The origins of the Judeo-Spanish folk songs lie in Medieval Spain, where Jews have lived for more than a millennium. For hundreds of years they had flourished as an influential community, creating masterpieces in the liturgical and secular literature, becoming famous as scientists, philosophers and kings' counsels.
In 1492 the Catholic king ordered the expulsion of all his Jewish subjects who would not convert to Christianity. With this order, about 200,000 Spanish Jews started their journey east to the Turkish Ottoman Empire, south to North Africa, west to Portugal and later to the newly discovered world. Amazingly wherever they went they carried not only their Jewish tradition but also their Spanish culture. For the next five hundred years they kept identifying themselves as "Sephardic Jews" ("Sepharad" is the Hebrew word for "Spain") and regardless of the languages spoken in their new countries of exile, they kept speaking Spanish. Gradually, other languages influenced their medieval Spanish, until it became the unique tongue we now call "Ladino."
This recording includes songs from the Sephardic communities in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Israel and Morocco. Creating a contemporary dialogue with this folk tradition, composer Eitan Steinberg set the songs for voice, baroque recorders, guitar, cello/viola da gamba and ethnic percussion.- Etty Ben-Zaken
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

ANTHONY BRAXTON - 19 [Solo] Compositions, 1988 (New Albion 023; USA) 16 originals plus 3 standards can be likened in a way to a series of etudes, each one investigating specific areas of form and content. -CODA
A page from the book in the life of one of the true poets in the history of jazz and composition. These solo concert performances range from the lyrical, through the traditional, and into abstact and angular theory, then come back again into simple song.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

RAY BROOKS - Hollow Bell: Zen Shakuhachi (New Albion 108; USA) the companion recording to Blowing Zen: Finding an Authentic Life, published by H J Kramer. The shakuhachi is an instrument that dates far back into time and is usually associated with Japanese ritual and meditation. It is an instrument of extraordinary color and emotional range. In the modern era it has traveled from its monastic and folkloric identity to appear in every context, from symphonic work to free jazz. This record revisits the root material through the playing of the English musician, Ray Brooks, and it is the musical companion to the story told in his book, Blowing Zen (published by H J Kramer).
Ray Brooks left the West in the era of the shifting cultural sands of the seventies, traveled the world, and found himself in Japan. There he came across the shakuhachi and with it the discipline of zen buddhism. Decades later his story is circulating among the western face of zen practice, as one of our stories, with all the ironies and coincidences of the core interest in 'mindfulness' that is across Europe and North America.
The material on this record is referred to as 'original music' (honkyoku), and consists of repertoire that sits at the foot of history. Yet Ray's playing is not like a Western person attempting to sound Japanese. His playing is honest and transparent, without borders. It is a music that evokes the moment through celtic ritual, memory through zen melody.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

JOHN CAGE//MARGARET LENG TAN - Daughters of the Lonesome Isle (New Albion 070; USA) The eight works on this album feature the different kinds of "instruments" used by John Cage in his substantial piano oeuvre -- the prepared, string, bowed and conventional piano as well as the toy piano. The disc's thirteen year span (1940-1953) encapsulates the evolution of Cage's aesthetic from Bacchanale, his first prepared piano composition, to the chance-derived abstraction of Music for Piano #2. These bookends of the album also frame my relationship with John Cage: Bacchanale was the first piece I played for him in 1981 and we discussed Music for Piano #2 the day before his fatal stroke in 1992. - Margaret Leng Tan
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

JOHN CAGE/JOAN LA BARBARA - Singing Through (New Albion 035; USA) Joan La Barbara, soprano; Leonard Stein, piano; William Winant, percussion Contrasts the sacred with the secular, the serene with the sexual. Joan La Barbara is the perfect vehicle ... for this delicate music. --CD Review
For this recording, I focused on particular aspects of Cage: the sense of wonder, the feeling for beauty, the love of theatre, the fascination with words and sounds of all sorts and, of course, silence. Each of the songs has its own emotional and acoustical space, some of which have been dictated in performance notes, some are indicated by the music itself. Unless otherwise stated, the notes instruct the singer: "To be sung without vibrato, as in folk singing." In choosing these works I saw myself as singing through Cage, as he has done, writing through or reading through texts in order to study, to learn, to comprehend more fully. Finally, "Singing Through" is a love song for my mentor to my mentor, my friend. -Joan La Barbara CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

SARAH CAHILL//RUTH CRAWFORD/JOHANNA BEYER - 9 Preludes - Piano Music (New Albion 114; USA) Sarah Cahill, piano. An important new recording of Ruth Crawford's (1901-1953) transcendental "Nine Preludes" and "Piano Study in Mixed Accents," and the premiere recording of "Dissonant Counterpoint" and "Gebrauchs-musik" by Johanna Beyer (1888-1944), a revolutionary but tragically neglected figure in American modernism. With their piano compositions, these two women made phenominal contributions to American experimental music.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

CORNELIUS CARDEW//FREDERIC RZEWSKI - We Sing For The Future!/Thalmann Variations (New Albion 116; USA) Twenty years on, Cardew's music still provokes controversy. Even amongst his many admirers, his later 'political' music in particular creates unease and perhaps misgivings. The relation of the music to its 'programme' and to the lofty aims it purports to serve is problematic enough, so let us remind ourselves what Cardew himself wrote about this music in the seventies: "I have discontinued composing music in an avant-garde idiom for a number of reasons: the exclusiveness of the avant-garde, its fragmentation, its indifference to the real situation in the world today, its individualistic outlook and not least its class character (the other characteristics are virtually products of this). We Sing For The Future is a composition based on a song. The song is for youth, who face bleak prospects in a world dominated by imperialism, and whose aspirations can only be realised through the victory of revolution and socialism. In the framework of a solo piano piece lasting about 12 minutes, something of this great struggle is conveyed. The music is not programmatic, but relies on the fact that music has meaning and can be understood quite straightforwardly as part of the fabric of what is going on in the world.
"I wrote the Thalmann Variations in 1974 to mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Ernst Thalmann, Secretary of the German Communist Party from 1927. In 1933 he was imprisoned by the Nazis and in 1944 he was executed in Buchenwald concentration camp. The theme of the variations is the Thalmann Song (1934) which is still popular today in the German Workers' movement. The variations are grouped into three large sections."
Clearly, by announcing his political agenda Cardew's intention was to raise the stakes. In all his work, ethical, ?extra-musical? considerations were put to the fore; these were the standards by which his music was to be judged and were at the root of the fundamental changes in his music-making in the seventies. More mundanely, his musical options were a consequence of what he perceived as political necessity, i.e., the imperatives of the Party Line.
Rzewski's interpretations of these two works are wholly admirable, the performances compelling, and the two improvisations towards the conclusion of We Sing For The Future -- an unexpected bonus -- are quite magnificent. He stretches the boundaries of style and musical language drawn up by Cardew without rupturing them, and, at the end of the improvisations, Cardew's music is ushered back, seamlessly and convincingly. In the second improvisation we are reminded of the great Bach/Liszt transcriptions; there can be no higher praise. Cardew would certainly have approved the inclusion of the improvisations and would have relished the verve and boldness of Rzewski's playing. - John Tilbury
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

HENRY COWELL - New Music: Piano Compositions by Henry Cowell (New Albion 103; USA) Recordings from the Henry Cowell Piano Festival that occurred over three days in February, 1997, where performers and composers from around the country were invited to play their favorite Cowell pieces, both well-known and unpublished.
Henry Cowell invented and developed most of the extended techniques we have heard on and in the piano over the last seventy years. During his lifetime (1897-1965), he composed a vast amount of symphonic, chamber and vocal music, taught what were probably the first classes in world music, founded the remarkable New Music Quarterly, and wrote the pioneering theoretical book New Music Resources. But his most radical and influential contribution remains his large body of piano music, which he started writing as a teenager. As a young boy he earned enough money from menial jobs to buy a piano. He began to experiment by striking the keys with his fists and forearms; he named these chords "tone clusters" and wrote many compositions using them before the age of 15.
We collected the works that portray Cowell the conceptual modernist, and Cowell as the haunted Irish poet-king. Featuring new music pianists Sarah Cahill, Joseph Kubera, Chris Brown and Sorrel Hays, the recording is live, full of ambient audience and performer sounds -- from the early chord cluster works to polyrhythmic counterpoint to work in the interior of the piano.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

CUARTETO LATINOAMERICANO - Four, for Tango (New Albion 100; USA) The Cuarteto Latinoamericano has been deeply invested in performing the cycle of composers of Latin American heritage around the world for the past few decades. On a given night on a concert stage they will perform works from these composers -- as well as Silvestre Revueltas from Mexico, Heitor Villa-Lobos from Brazil, Alberto Ginastera from Argentina and many others -- works which lift expression from the poplular and folkloric toward a variable abstraction, work of powerful individualty, which is the musical relative of literature's magical realism, and which Ginastera referred to as imaginary folklore. Jose Evangelista (born in Valencia, Spain) resides in Montreal, Canada where he is a professor and founder of the Balinese gamelan workshop at the University of Montreal, and a resident composer of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Spanish Garland is made up of twelve folkloric melodies, mostly very ancient and from Spain's very different Islamic regions. The styles come from the Muslims, from India, from the gypsies and from the memory of the virtuosity of Pablo de Sarasate.
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) took the tango from a popular dance form and from it made art. Four, for Tango (1987) contains remarkable instrumental vigor, powerful rhythm, and aggressive and passionate sonorities with a characteristic taste of Buenos Aires nostalgia.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

CUARTETO LATINOAMERICANO - Memorias Tropicales: string quartets of Aurelio Tello, Javier Alvarez, Roberto Sierra and Celso Garrido-Lecca (New Albion 051; USA) The string quartet has been the vehicle by which the classical and romantic composers of western music have consistently expressed their deepest and most profound musical thoughts. This is no less true in the twentieth century, and modern instrumental techniques have given contemporary composers a more colorful palette from which to draw their musical landscapes.
While the roots and early flowering of the string quartet are clearly the pride of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European community, the contributions of Latin American composers to this genre in the twentieth century are astonishing. In the last generation Alberto Ginastera, Silvestre Revueltas, and Heitor Villa-Lobos were among those who made significant additions to the string quartet literature. The composers on the present disc are among the major contributors of the present day.
As diverse as the works on this disc are, there is the common thread among the composers of an awareness of the folk and traditional (native) music of their respective Latin American countries. In education they share an eclectic background which includes the study of music indigenous to their own country and an awareness of contemporary international currents in musical expression.
The variety and richness of musical style and depth of emotion is convincingly illustrated in this collection of four works from Latin American composers -- one from Mexico (Alvarez), one from Puerto Rico (Sierra), and two from Peru (Tello and Garrido-Lecca).
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

ALVIN CURRAN/ROVA SAXOPHONE QUARTET [BRUCE ACKLEY/STEVE ADAMS/LARRY OCHS/JON RASKIN] - Electric Rags II (New Albion 027; USA) For Rova Saxophone Quartet and electronics. The music itself, like an experimental voyage, sets out to see what, if anything, lies beyond "improvisation". To this end both determinate and indeterminate notations are employed together with a special interactive system, which can reproduce electronically anything the players play -- as they play it, or any time after, and in some cases even before.
The heart of the piece is a computerized electronic system enabling each player to pilot one or more Midi synthesizers directly from his own instrument. A flexible computer program "conducts" or spontaneously structures the concert, which in spite of formally notated sections or the highly conditioned improvisational tendencies of the players, produces an ever new version of the work with each performance. The computer further effects a number of rich musical transformations in real and deferred time of whatever is played. Hundreds of colors and quasi-instrumental sounds are constantly "orchestrated" by the system. The individual players are obliged not only to react to one another and to the products of decisions made beyond their will, but are made to listen to their own playing in quite a new way, since every note they play may end up going anywhere..-Alvin Curran CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

CHARLES DODGE - Any Resemblance is Purely Coincidental (New Albion 043; USA) for computer, synthesized voice, piano & viola with Enrico Caruso, Baird Dodge, Alan Feinberg, Joan La Barbara
If there is one piece identified with Dodge, a "signature" piece if you will, it would have to be "Any Resemblance..." which has those qualities that seem to imbue his work in general -- charm, wit, poignancy and technical brilliance. The texture is rich, the piano playing a dramatic and dynamic role, but there is never the sell out to the trickier potentials of an idea like this one. Dodge restrains, and the piece is informed with a sad, ironic wit which points to a profound realization. Both "Any Resemblance..." and "Speech Songs" share this centrality of theme which must have something to do with loneliness and searching. Actually, in "Any Resemblance..", not all is restraint; it is in fact thrilling when the voice and piano find each other in the 'climax'.
Enrico Caruso not only epitomizes the end of the Romantic era in music (as does the aria "Vesti la giubba") but he also represents the beginnng of the modern age in which practically all music becomes electronic, as he was one of the first musicians to become a best-selling recording artist. The composer has said that he has always wanted a great performer to play his music, and finally found one who was in no position to refuse. The idea of 'publicness' of the recording becomes a trope for Dodge, allowing him to make a statement about the 'loneliness of the great performer.' I think there is also a deeper level concerning the situation of any artist whose work must exist in the public domain but who must grapple with a core of loneliness.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

PAUL DRESHER - Cage Machine (New Albion 125; USA) Featuring works by Paul Dresher. Soloists: David Abel, Julie Steinberg, Joel Davel, Paul Dresher. The Electro-Acoustic Band - featuring Phil Aaberg, Paul Hanson & Amy Knoles, David Abel (violin), Julie Steinberg (piano), Joel Davel (marimba lumina), Paul Dresher (Electric Guitar & Quadrachord). "His' Concerto for Violin & Electro-Acoustic Band, for violinist David Abel, travels from the rhythmically interlocked intensity in the 1st movement, Cage Machine (driven by samples of John Cage's invention, the prepared piano) to the slow moving and harmonically complex 2nd movement, 'Chorale Times Two', whose highlight is an extended and rhapsodic violin melody. 'In The Name(less)' is for two invented instruments. The Quadrachord, Dresher's invention, has four 160 inch strings and is a kind of a giant electra-acoustic slide guitar that can be plucked, bowed, prepared or hammered."
CD $15

PAUL DRESHER - Dark Blue Circumstance (New Albion 053; USA) David Abel/Julie Steinberg/William Winant Trio, violin, piano, vibraphone & tom-toms; New Performance Group of the Cornish Institute; Thomasa Eckert, Rinde Eckert, John Duykers. The music on this recording was composed over a span of over ten years. During this time many friends' ideas, generosity, support and tolerance have had a profound affect upon my work and life. I particularly want to acknowledge and thank composer and teachers Lou Harrison and Robert Erickson, sitarist/teacher Nikhil Banerjee, and freinds and colleagues Rinde Eckert, Jay Cloidt, John Duykers, Kay Norton, and my wife and producer Robin Kirck. "Dark Blue Circumstance" (1982-87), for electric guitar and live tape processing, is performed on an elaborate tape loop system which is an instrument which allows live multi-track recording, mixing, processing and immediate playback of any sounds produced by the performer(s). It was designed and built by Paul Tydelski and me in 1979 and consists of a 4 channel tape machine with 3 playback heads located at various points in the path of a single loop, the duration of which is variable by controlling the tape speed. Record/play functions and the mixing and routing of all sounds are controlled by the performer with an array of foot pedals and switches, thus leaving the performer's hands free to play their instrument without interruption. This instrument was my principal performing tool for most of the 1980s and was integral to many compositions, both for me as a soloist as well as for ensemble music and theater performances and purely tape compositions. The work arose while also composing the score for the music theater collaboration, 'are are', by the George Coates Performance Works of which I was a member at the time.-Paul Dresher
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

ENSEMBLE PAN [PROJECT ARS NOVA]//ROBERT KYR - Unseen Rain: Vocal Music of Robert Kyr (New Albion 075; USA) "Unseen Rain" was commissioned by the Chase Foundation in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Longy School of Music (Cambridge, Massachusetts). Even before choosing the texts, I decided to compose a work for many more singers than instrumentalists, which would include as many members of the Longy community as possible. I wanted the vocalists to dominate the attention of the listeners and to be the dramatic focus of the work.
The Chase Foundation also specified that the texts were to be "in celebration of music" and must not be too somber or grim in general tone. Early in my search, it became clear that the twentieth century would probably not yield poetic texts of this nature. I wanted to find epigrammatic, haiku-like texts which were filled wth simple words and direct images. Fortunately, I found some beautiful translations of Rumi's quatrains (short poems of four lines each) and after reading at least 500 of them, I set about the task of creating a celebratory musical drama from the general collection. The work fell into three parts: in the first, "The Prophet's Quatrains," the countertenor is a prophet beseeching the community (the chorus) to remain awake throughout the night in order to fully experience the joys of music; in the second, "The Lovers' Quatrains," the soprano and tenor are lovers rejoicing in the similarities between love and music; and in the third, "A Communal Affirmation," the prophet and the lovers join the chorus to proclaim the spiritual power of music ("Listen to the unstruck sounds, and what sifts through that music..."). The title of the work is an image taken from one of Rumi's quatrains - it relates to the end of the piece, when what has been hidden (unseen/unheard) finally becomes apparent. The Persian word for "Unseen Rain" also refers to "grace". -Robert Kyr
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

MORTON FELDMAN//JOAN LA BARBARA/RALPH GRIERSON/ERIKA DUKE KIRKPATRICK/SAN FRANCISCO CONTEMPORARY MUSIC PLAYERS - Only (Works for Voice and Instruments) (New Albion 085; USA) Joan La Barbara, soprano, Ralph Grierson, piano, Erika Duke Kirkpatrick, cello, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players,Stephen L. Mosko, music director
In 1988, the Holland Festival presented a John Cage musicircus from various locations around Amsterdam and in addition to several of Cage's works, in memorium to Feldman who had died the previous autumn, I was asked to sing "Only." I sang it for the first time on June 23, from the roof of the State Opera House on the Leidseplein, at midnight, in the rain. I am sure only the angels heard it... and, perhaps, Morty. It is so uncharacteristically brief and so openly poignant that I wanted to find out more about the circumstances surrounding its composition. The manuscript I had gave the publishing copyright date as 1976, but none of Morty's friends or students from around that time could shed any light on its mystery. It remained an enigma until I learned that it had been written when Morty was just 21 years old, in 1947. For me, Rainer Maria Rilke's text is an eloquent epitaph for a soul flown too soon. In choosing the other works for this collection, I wanted to explore Feldman's interest in using the voice as an instrument and discovered the kernel of ideas that he later expanded in depth and at greater length. In the voice leadings and intervallic tunings of the three lines of "Voices and Cello" are moments that presage "Three Voices". Structurally delineated by chordal pillars, each bearing a single word of the spare but chilling text, "Life is a passing shadow", the delicate percussion rumbles and strokes of "Vertical Thoughts 5" found further extension in the "The King of Denmark"... (etc.)
For those who have enjoyed the late works of Feldman that have appeared on recordings like sudden flowers after a rain in the desert, this collection offers a glimpse of earlier pieces, helping to paint a more complete portrait of this man whose thoughts and sounds influenced and continue to affect so many composers and musicians in the last part of the twentieth century. -Joan La Barbara CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

MIGUEL FRASCONI - Song + Distance (New Albion 111; USA) solo and ensemble music for glass bellbowls, mbiras, voice, toy pianos, electronics and devolved musical instruments, featuring vocalist Eda Maxym
Miguel Frasconi (born 1956, New York City) is a composer and performer of new exploratory world music. By combining traditional western and non-western instruments with experimental forms, modern electronics, glass and other devolved instruments, he creates a music that sounds from a uniquely imagined tradition. As a keyboard player and glass musician he has worked with many of new music's most respected composers, including John Cage, Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, and James Tenney. As a percussionist he has spent many years studying the music of South India, West Africa, and Indonesia. As a performance artist he has explored early 20th century experimental forms, including the work of the dada and fluxus movements. Frasconi's early work includes ten years as a founding member of The Glass Orchestra, Toronto's internationally acclaimed new music ensemble featuring all glass instruments. He has continued this exploration of glass in his solo and ensemble music, performing on a number of new musical instruments he has developed over the years.
The "Song" in Song + Distance refers not to the various popular song structures we hear everyday but, rather, to the concept of expression. The song in "singing one's heart out." The "Distance" refers to the concept of experience. The moment we experience something we are immediately at a distance from it. We retain our experience of the event but not the event itself. The song helps us choose the quality of this distance and the depth of the experience. Song and distance, expression and experience, emotion and memory, melody and the sounds around us.
CD $15

ELLEN FULLMAN - Change of Direction (New Albion 102; USA) Ellen Fullman's third album, Change of Direction, culminates her Long String Instrument project, which began in 1981 when she discovered the haunting tones created by long wires stretched over great distances. The Long String Instrument consists of 100 wires strung over a 90-foot span, and is rubbed by three performers for a flowing, resonant sound. Change of Direction's 11 tracks capitalize on this quality, resulting in songs that sound like ghostly blues. Pieces like "Nocnoca/Aconcon Flip" and "Aconcon Progression" are variations on a theme, set to a walking cadence that is both comforting and eerie. -- Heather Phares, AMG
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

GE GAN-RU//SHANGHAI QUARTET With KATHRYN WOODARD/MARGARET LENG TAN/FRANK SU HUANG - Lost Style (New Albion 134; USA) "These three pieces deliver in the clearest manner the extraordinary compositional voice of Ge Gan-ru (b.1954) . His life journey is now a somewhat familiar story of the generation of Chinese artists in the late twentieth century... of a childhood in music, of being sent to forced labor camp as a teenager, of being a professor under the communist regime, of getting away to New York and establishing a life there. The earliest piece presented, 'Yi Feng' (Lost Style) was written for his student, Frank Su Huang, in Shanghai in 1983. Its premiere caused a scandal and was denounced. Even today, 25 years later, the raw power and terrifyingly deep explosions in sound of the cello tuned in fourths down an octave, evoke an avant-garde in response to a world of imposed order. 'Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!' was written in 2006 for Gan-ru's friend and collaborator, Margaret Leng Tan. It is a Peking Opera-style voice setting for a poem from 1155 in which the woman (who was wronged) leaves nothing left behind in expressing her anguish. This melodrama is crooned, screamed, uttered, cajoled, hummed, whispered, wept and sung by the inimitable Ms. Tan, who also accompanies her self with an ensemble of toy instruments that can be found in most Chinatowns. 'Four Studies for Peking Opera' (2003) is a serious and recognizably traditional essay in the canon of piano and quartet literature. It is in four movements -- Prologue, Aria, Narrative, and Clown Music. The piano serves primarily as an incarnation of the percussion section for the Peking Opera, and is variously prepared to render gongs, cymbals, wood blocks, zithers and so on."
CD $15

KYLE GANN//SARAH CAHILL/DA CAPO CHAMBER PLAYERS/BERNARD GANN - Private Dances (New Albion 137; USA) Performed by Sarah Cahill: piano; Da Capo Chamber Players: violin, cello, piano, flute, clarinet; Bernard Gann: electric bass.
"Kyle Gann (b.1955) is a composer whose music inevitably is structured with an array of metric, harmonic and melodic ideas and strategies that would seem to guarantee it to be beyond listenable in its complexity. However, the opposite is in fact what the listener receives. The work is deeply felt, lyrically clear and driven by song. Gann is also known to the musical world as an author and critic, and teaches in the music department at Bard College. Private Dances (2004) is so hot, so longing with yearning, so lonely with the blues, so salacious in its undressing of the unsuspecting listener, that it could properly carry one a warning sticker. It is a 'listener beware' collection in six movements -- sexy, sad, sentimental, sultry, saintly, swingin'. The pianist, Sarah Cahill (one of the generation's premier 'woman on piano' performers) leaves you, the innocent listener, with nothing; she took it all. This piece is what was going on in the mind of the guy at the end of the counter in the Edward Hopper painting, Nighthawks."
CD $15

ORLANDO JACINTO GARCIA - Fragmentos Del Posado (New Albion 124; USA) Featuring works by Orlando Jacinto Garcia. Ensembles: Venezuela Symphony Orchestra, Latin Americano String Quartet. Conductor: Alfredo Rugeles.
This collection of new classical Latin American work by the Cuban born, Miami based, composer Orlando Jacinto Garcia is a series of pieces that involve lyrical acts of memory set against a time free present. There are abstract references to music listened to by the composer in his past. Repetition and slow evolution of materials result in a temporal stasis that is similar in effect to some Asian and Latin American ethnic music - the perception of the moment is of utmost importance. The exploration of the counterpoint between register, densities, timbres, and pacing are the aesthetic basis for the music. Great core is given to the point where silence begins and sound ends. At times the music seems to be far away, like the chiming of church bells in a distant town, or a memory of childhood, or an insight almost grasped - kind of twinkling like a night sky; and at other times it is strong and intense, full of current and direction, deep colors and powerful gestures.
CD $15

CARLOS GUSTAVINO//ULISES ESPAILLAT/PABLO ZINGER - Las Puertas de la Manana (New Albion 058; USA) Ulises Espaillat, tenor; Pablo Zinger, piano
"When I read poetry that touches me,I become very agitated, my whole body contorts, I vibrate totally, and tears appear in my eyes. It's very strong! I then take the manuscript paper and write the notes. The melody comes easily; everything is very quick; I cannot stop...it's as if I were possessed; suddenly, when I become aware that I found what I wanted, I stand, make gestures, walk, go in circles, laugh or cry, and give thanks to God. The music comes by itself. I am not responsible: one part of my brain has music." - Carlos Guastavino, in conversation with Carlos Vilo
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

LOU HARRISON - Rhymes with Silver (New Albion 110; USA) "Lou Harrison studied with Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg. He was also a close friend of John Cage and is also known as an early champion of Charles Ives music. Harrisons unique music is a fusion of many influences, a bit of the early western European classical tradition with Asian and Pacific Rim classical and folk music. Of the twelve movements of Rhymes With Silver, three are cello solos by Joan Jeanrenaud, a cello and percussion duet with William Winant, a cello, piano, vibraphone trio with Julie Steinberg, a piano and percussion duo and six ensemble pieces that include David Abel, violin and Benjamin Simon, viola. Compared to many of his contemporaries, Harrisons music is very accessible with beautiful lyrical melodies and earthy rhythms. There are other aspects of his music on this cd, like the loopy Fox Trot and the mournful Threnody. If you haven't heard Lou Harrison's music, this is a great place to start, if you are familiar with Harrison, Rhymes With Silver is a welcome addition to the collection" - David Beardsley Joan Jeanrenaud, cello; David Abel, violin; Benjamin Simon, viola; Julie Steinberg, piano; William Winant, vibraphone and percussion This recording features Joan Jeanrenaud, the cellist for the Kronos Quartet for 20 years, in her first soloist recording, with theAbel, Steinberg, Winant Trio, and Benjamin Simon, violist for the Stanford Quartet. Rhymes With Silver was commissioned by Mark Morris for Yo-Yo Ma, and was premiered in 1997. The Mark Morris Group has toured the dance version of this piece across North America and Europe. This recording is the concert version, and was produced by Lou Harrison, in July, 2000. The work itself melds baroque with Javanese cadences, twentieth century dance forms, and strains of the mid 20th century avant garde.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

LOU HARRISON//DAVID TANENBAUM/WILLIAM WINANT/SAN FRANCISCO CONTEMPORARY MUSIC PLAYERS - The Perilous Chapel (New Albion 055; USA) In the late thirties of this century and the early forties I was, as have been many Californians, enamored of Mexico. At about this time a small book of reproductions from Mexican codices, all in color, came into my possession, and I immediately wanted to do something about the life of the culture-hero Quetzalcoatl which was there depicted. It was also a period in which one or two films were made in which the camera explored a painting in detail with musical accompaniment. Thus I immediately thought of such a thing in connection with the Mexican codices. I did not have any access to film at the time, but went ahead enthusiastically to the composition of a score. This must have been a hint to Eric Marin a few years ago, for in the excellent film about me and Bill, "Cherish, Conserve, Consider, Create", he made a passage in which part of the score is used with still photos of Mexican architecture and people. I still think that a complete film could be made based on my original idea, but in any event the score, which is played with fair frequency, I like to think reminds audiences of the extraordinary and often very beautiful civilization of Mexico and its pre-Columbian history. We first performed the work in San Francisco, and I believe that that was in the concert that John Cage and I gave in the California Hall - the concert which was concluded by the "Double Music" which he and I composed together and which resulted in the first public recording of one of my works for percussion ensemble. - Lou Harrison
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

LOU HARRISON//WILLIAM WINANT PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE et al - Drums Along the Pacific (New Albion 122; USA) Percussion music of the late great west coast composer, featuring the William Winant Percussion Ensemble, Leta Miller, conductor Dennis Russell Davies and others. "During the last two years an extraordinary interest in percussion music has developed on the Pacific coast," wrote Henry Cowell in "Drums Along the Pacific" (1940). "In Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles, orchestras have been formed to play music for percussion instruments alone.. directed chiefly by two young Western composers, John Cage and Lou Harrison, who have concocted innumerable creations.. and have induced others.. to write for them." What Cowell omitted from this account was his own influence: his writings and teachings provided the impetus for the percussion works of both composers.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

MICHAEL HARRISON - From Ancient Worlds: for Harmonic Piano (New Albion 042; USA) "From Ancient Worlds" is an allegory for a journey of the soul. "Song of the Rose," representing the soul, is the central theme of the work, and is presented in the style of a chorale (although it also appears in numerous variations, such as "Quest for the Rose", "Epiphany" and "Rose of Remembrance"). Various motifs, cadences and harmonic relationships from "Song of the Rose" are echoed in other parts of the work as well, depicting the soul's return in different guises as it travels through the imaginary landscapes of the various sections.
At the end of its journey, "Song of the Rose" returns in the elegiac "Rose of Remembrance", where phrases are juxtaposed with flashbacks of the major themes of the work. This is a metaphor for what is believed to be one of the first experiences of the afterlife: seeing life pass before your eyes in the presence of a Being of Light. "Rose of Remembrance" reaches for a glimpse behind the veil of our reality as it explores the experience of passage into the other world. What once existed is never completely finished, and as the soul lives on, so the final note of "From Ancient Worlds" is left unresolved. - Michael Harrison
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

ERDEM HELVACIOGLU - Altered Realities (New Albion 131; USA) "Erdem Helvagioglu first broke through to the international audience with his Walk Through the Bazaar...a collection of sounds from the bazaar in Istanbul that he worked to create an emotional tour. On this record the listener is presented with the performer, on live guitar with live electronics and processing. This kind of work is straight up 'new music' and has strong affinities to the downtown, improvised and modern classical currents that are being played throughout the capitals of the world. His sensibility is not obviously Turkish, though, but more of a cosmopolitan wanderer into and through the situations this type of musical theater creates. Once music starts there is a force of time that is continually active with the sounds that are happening. In composed music the composer invents the framework and the performer lives within it. In this style of live electronics the sense of time, of a current pushing the moment, is stronger...chaos beckons. Helvacioglu comes into circumstances where reality begins to come apart, threatening to collapse the song, and then melodic hooks bring the player and listener back to familiar terrain. This work is haunting, almost disturbing, at times and then builds from those elements into lyrical passages of beauty in song. Altered Realities is an album of solo acoustic guitar and live electronics. All of the textures were created based only on the acoustic guitar signal with no external sound source used during the recording. Within these textures, there are long sustaining single notes, beautiful shimmering chords and rhythmic clusters."
CD $15

DAVID HYKES With PETER BIFFIN/BRUNO CAILLAT - True To The Times: How To Be? (New Albion 057; France) David Hykes, voice, windharp, organ, keyboard; Peter Biffin, dobro; Bruno Caillat, zarb, daff; Tony Lewis, tabla
"True to the Times (How to Be?)" develops further the current phase of Harmonic Chant work (since 1991), which began with the album "Windhorse Riders". My aim now is to show Harmonic Chant as a unified field joining chant, mode, text and rhythm. The double focus of this album is on harmonic polyrhythms (just-intonation transposed into the realm of rhythm), and singing harmonic songs. The trio format is very inspiring, and, with collaborators like Peter Biffin and Bruno Caillat, seems to hold few limits. "True to the Times (How to Be?)". These times ask us to share a responsibility for which little data of a spiritual nature in our civilization has survived to prepare us. We are cut off from that level of harmony which, were we able to attune to it, might iluminate and guide us, with quite different results than those which we are now having to face.
We don't see how to be. To see our whole world, we need a stable point of view toward all which is moving...turning, seasons, time. How to be? This windy life. What is behind all this movement? How to be? This is the drift of the title. The ony way I can see of being true to the times is in trying to be true to deep self-questioning each day. Like an enigma which only deeper and deeper contemplation -- more and more real living -- can answer, or at least keep alive. Contemplation, being, reflection, pondering -- few of the inner endangered species in the inner nature of Man.
Thinking it all over again, I would say that for me, today, the purpose of music still seems to be to help us find harmony within ourselves. In that effort we can hear differently the question of how to be face it more globally, and even, at some moments, find an eventual source of reply. The seeking is itself a kind of pilgrimage. My image of the pilgrim, who could at some moments be any one of us, is of someone constantly working...lost in work. One spark of that energy and the pilgrim can go on for days... or eventually forever, like the real Ones. Not just up and down, or back and forth, but ever onward. - David Hykes, first day of Spring, 1993
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

CARSON KIEVMAN - Symphony No. 2(42) (New Albion 081; USA) Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra - Katowice; with the Polish Radio Choir of Krakow, Delta David Gier, conductor. Symphony No. 2(42) was commissioned by the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra in 1991 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death. The music conveys a sense of Mozart as visionary artist, striving to pursue creative freedom despite the ultimate costs to his career and health. The final movement incorporates the "Lacrymosa" from Mozart's unfinished Requiem: the last bars of music that he wrote from his deathbed at age 35. For Kievman, this tragic ending becomes a frame of reference for the creative life, with the symphony's four-part structure depicting a metaphorical journey from youth through death, and beyond.
From the midst of modernist techniques, Mozart's 18th-century theme arrives with an aura of otherworldly clarity and purity. The fatalism, sadness and fear of earlier movements have yielded to the expression transcribed by Mozart at his own moment of death, reassuring and expectant. From this brief plateau of eight bars, Kievman carries forward the rising notes of the Lachrymosa in a beautiful and majestic ascent. The spiritual intuition is developed seamlessly, free now of worldly constraints, as if Mozart could suddenly experience the motion of time in an accelerated vision. Mozart's classical theme goes through a historical metamorphosis, from the romantic and chromatic to the modern and postmodern. The chorus and orchestra become gradually more expressive, colorful, and rhythmic, reaching a powerful crescendo; from this summit, the individual voices become more free and complex, resuming the ascent towards a final point of unison, then beyond into infinite silence.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

KOMITAS - Divine Liturgy (New Albion 033; USA) The 1915-1917 Ottoman genocide of the Armenians was the beginning of Komitas' tragic period which was marked by psychic trauma and artistic loss. In April 1915, with other Armenian intellectuals and artists, Komitas was arrested and deported to the interior of the Empire. While Komitas was spared the fate of his friends, upon his return to Constantinople he found his life's work -- manuscripts, research findings on the 'khaz' notation system (Armenian neumatic notation of the eleventh century) and his library -- in total disarray. A full accounting of his manuscripts, including his research notes and preliminary findings on the 'khaz' system, has so far eluded scholars.
Conceived as a capella for male chorus, "Divine Liturgy" is a monumental work which celebrates the enduring qualities of the Armenian 'melos'. It is inspired by Komitas' studies of the Armenian 'khaz' and his research in Armenian vocal traditions. It is the fullest expression of Komitas' lifelong preoccupation with the creation of a national music whose sources are at once secular and sacred, and which is rooted in the toil of the Armenian peasant and the aspirations to religious transcendence. This first digital recording of "Divine Liturgy" was made in Yerevan, Armenia, in 1988. - Taline Voskeritchian
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

ROBERT KYR - The Passion According to Four Evangelists (New Albion 098; USA) For the modern reader, the word "passion" suggests strong emotion or sexual desire. However, the word derives from Latin -- passio -- and even more distantly, from Greek -- pascho, pathos, pathema -- meaning "to suffer." In this latter sense, it relates to "the passion" -- the gospel narrative of Jesus' suffering and death on the cross as told by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament.
The challenge of composing a passion in the twentieth century is considerable given the fact that there is no sizable contemporary repertoire in this genre and hence, no prospective models -- only two "recent" works come to mind: Krzysztof Penderecki's St. Luke Passion (1963-65) and Arvo Part's Passio (1973). In these modern passions, as well as those by Bach and other baroque composers, the story is narrated by a singe figure, one of the four evangelists. From the beginning, I decided to take a different path in terms of storytelling and musical dramatization. In writing the text, I began with the Revised Standard version of the gospels, and after interweaving the four stories together, I set about the task of "editing" the entire text. I distilled the stories into a poetic form which has been created, not as literature, but as a text to be set to music.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

ROBERT KYR//THIRD ANGLE NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE - Violin Concerto Trilogy (New Albion 126; USA) This recording presents a trilogy of violin concerti with titles beginning, "On the Nature of..." The concerti explore the archetypal themes of love (No. 1), harmony (No. 2), and peace (No. 3). In each work, the violin soloist is an adventurer who sets out on a journey of discovery that is filled with challenges and surprises. The music of each concerto is a spiritual landscape that encompasses an array of thoughts and feelings ranging from the lyricism of the reflective music in the first concerto, to the boisterous energy of the finale of the second, to the balance of musical elements at the end of the third.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

STEVE LACY With FREDERIC RZEWSKI & IRENE AEBI - Packet (New Albion 080; USA) This work had its origin in the '60s. That's when I met Irene Aebi and Frederic Rzewski in Rome. The three of us have been working together ever since. The Living Theatre (founded by Julian Beck and Judith Malina in New York) was at that time very active in Italy and, as the most powerful and innovative theatre group anywhere, was becoming part of all our lives. I knew them from New York from the late '50s (The Connection, The Brig), and so did Frederic, who had composed and played with them.
Later, in Paris, Judith gave us a copy of her just published "Poems of a Wandering Jewess" (1982 Handshake Editions, Jim Haynes). But it was Irene who was most struck by the poems. She fell in love with Judith's lyrics because of their heartfelt clarity and the range of feelings therein. She felt that "they would make wonderful songs". The music was written in August 1992, partly in Paris and partly in Greece. Over the next two years it was reworked, arranged and completed by the addition of a previously written song on words by Julian Beck (Theatre, from his obituary, 1985) which serves now as an introduction to the eight others by Malina. The songs are about theatre, life, death, birth, aging, pain, wandering, being a woman. They were written expressly for Irene, who, for now, is the only singer capable of performing them. All together they form a Cycle of Jazz Art Songs, which function as a musical structure and serve as basis for the improvisational match between the performers. Play-Wordplay-Fixed-Open. Naturally a work like Packet is different every time we do it. The title refers to the idea of a loosely bound but tightly connected parcel of songs, carried around the world by a "Gypsy-Jewish" Performing Artist, perhaps on a Packet Boat..-Steve Lacy
PS: Before recording took place, we performed this work first at the Theatre Biplan in Lille, France, then at the Centro d'Arte in Padova, Italy, and finally at the American Center in Paris.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

PAUL LANSKY - Smalltalk (New Albion 030; USA) A funny thing happened to Paul Lansky on the way to the computer. Originally expecting to be caught up in the search for "new sounds" and "unknown soundworlds" he instead became much more interested in human sounds and the noise of the world around us. Since the early 70s he has thus been using the computer as a kind of aural microscope on this world-noise. His "Six Fantasies on a Poem by Thomas Campion", widely regarded as a landmark work in computer music, takes us on a journey to the inner world of poetry and speech. "Idle Chatter" and its sister pieces, "just_more_idle-chatter" and "Notjustmoreidlechatter", make music from the incoherent babble of synthesized speech. "As if, Values of Time, Stroll", and "Talkshow" all involve live performers in a kind of musical reality play. Recent works have made use of ambient noises such as those of shopping malls and highways, and he continues his explorations in search of the implicit music in the way people speak. His music has been widely heard and performed in the United States, Europe and Australia, and has been used extensively by dance troupes, including the well-known Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane and Company. In 1989, "Idle Chatter" was used as the opener for the Zurich International Jazz Festival. Lansky was born in New York City and flirted with a career as a French horn player (Dorian Quintet 1966-67) before turning to composition. He is on the faculty at Princeton University.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

PETER SCOTT LEWIS//ALEXANDER STRING QUARTET/DAVID TANENBAUM/WILLIAM WINANT et al - Beaming Contrasts (New Albion 060; USA) Alexander String Quartet; David Tanenbaum, guitar; William Winant, percussion; Julie McKenzie, flute; Lawrence Granger, cello; Marc Shapiro, piano
Both "Journey to Still Water Pond" and "Night Lights" were completed and first performed in the Fall of 1983 in New Haven at Yale University, even though "Night Lights" was actually the rescoring of a string quartet that I originally composed in 1980. "Night Lights" later received its official premiere by the Alexander String Quartet in San Francisco in November of 1988.
"Beaming Contrasts" was commissioned by the Alexander String Quartet and the Newman/Oltman Guitar Duo in the Spring of 1988 as a guitar sextet and received its premiere in that version in Washington, DC, and New York City in January of 1990. The latter performance was broadcasted over National Public Radio. I later rescored "Beaming Contrasts" as a guitar quintet at the request of David Tanenbaum and the Alexander String Quartet.
"Little Trio" was commissioned by Sonus Lyricus in the Winter of 1987 and received its premiere in San Francisco the following May. "Through the Mountain" was commissioned by bassist Steve Tramontozzi of the San Francisco Symphony as a compostion for double bass and piano. It was premiered in that version with Marc Shapiro at the piano in the Spring of 1990 in Berkeley, and was later rescored for cello and piano or orchestra in August of 1991. - Peter Scott Lewis
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

PETER SCOTT LEWIS - Where the Heart is Pure (New Albion 079; USA) Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Kent Nagano director; Kees Hulsmann, violin; Stephanie Friedman, mezzo soprano; Robin Sutherland, piano; Nadya Tichman, violin; Jack Van Geem, percussion
Where The Heart Is Pure was composed as a tribute to the wonderful Northwest poet Robert Sund, whom I've had the pleasure of knowing for over twenty-five years now. When I first met Robert, he was living in a converted net shed overlooking the Skagit River in the Northwest part of Washington State. For several years I made the journey out to visit him from my home in Seattle before moving to San Francisco. When I went to visit, we would typically stay up into the early hours of the morning while I improvised on the guitar and he read his poetry. Since I'd always wanted to set Robert's poetry to music, I decided to create a song cycle depicting a journey out to see him on the river. With that in mind, the first section of the composition starts with me leaving the urban environment I've always had to live in in order to survive as a composer. To relate to that idea, the music is jagged, yet with a jazz-like swing, with the soloist singing my own version of scat. The second section is the traveling music which depicts the actual journey out to see him. This section then leads to a cello solo which is the actual arrival music, bringing the listener to the setting of the first poem. All three poems are then set so the listener can easily understand them. -Peter Scott Lewis
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

INGRAM MARSHALL - Alcatraz (New Albion 040; USA) or synthesizers, buoys, birds, fog horns, singing, gambuh flute and cell doors in the resonant spaces of the prison, with Jim Bengston's collaborative photographs
Alcatraz is a truly collaborative work. I had long talked with Jim Bengston, a friend since the sixties, about the possibility of combining image with music in a meaningful way. We agreed that there had to be a subject which the photography and the music must separately illuminate; but they ought to inform each other as well. He visited San Francisco on a regular basis when I was living there in the early eighties and somehow the idea of the lonely island as a subject crept into our collecive consciousness. Jim's penchant for photographing open, stark landscapes and looming, lonely places seemed perfect for Alcatraz; it appears, in its semi-ruined state, to be an extension of the natural world which surrounds it. My fascination with the sounds of the maritime environment around San Francisco Bay, as witness my "Fog Tropes" of 1982, made the "soundscape" of Alcatraz a natural attraction for me.
Beginning in the Fall of '82, Jim photographed out on the island on numerous occasions over a period of two years, and I sallied forth on several of these expeditions with tape reorder and microphone, recording the sounds of buoys, birds and fog horns as well as singing and gambuh flute playing in some of the resonant spaces of the prison. I also captured the famous roar of the cell doors' mechanized closings - this chorus of metal echoing through the wildly reverberant spaces of Alcatraz is probably the perfect sound print of the desolation and utter finality of the place.
For me the music and pictures have always exuded meaning, although I am loath to be specific, leaving it to those regarding the pictures and listening to the music to find their own hermeneutics. -Ingram Marshall CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

INGRAM MARSHALL - Dark Waters (New Albion 112; USA) Libby Van Cleve, English horn & oboe d'amore; Ingram Marshall, electronics. Dark Waters, for English horn and tape, was written in 1996 for the oboist Libby Van Cleve. The English horn is amplified and processed through several digital delay devices and mixed live with the tape part. The tape part was created using raw material garnered from sampling fragments of an old 78 rpm recording from the twenties of "The Swan of Tuonela" by Sibelius. The 'low fi' sound and even the surface noise of the old acetate record, clearly heard at the very beginning of the piece, are essential to the dark qualities I tried to produce in this music.
After the satisfying experience of working with Libby Van Cleve on Dark Waters,we both decided another collaborative venture was in store for us. Although I am fond of the oboe itself, my preference for the lower range and darker timbres of its tenor and alto cousins led me to turn to the Oboe d'Amore, an instrument frequently found in Baroque music but rare in the modern repertoire. One of the most famous uses of the Oboe d'Amore in the Bach canon is found in the B Minor Mass, in the Basso aria 'Et in Spiritum Sanctum -- part of the Credo. There two Oboes d'Amore interweave lines with the singer which suggest not so much a rarefied holy spirit but a dancing one; the music has grace, flow and sprightliness. I have taken some snatches of melody from these parts and recreated my own take on the Holy Ghost. As the oboist plays the Bach fragments, digital delay processors echo them back and create spiraling rich textures which build up to create "ghosts" of the original material.
Rave was created for the choreographer Paula Josa-Jones who commissioned it for her solo dance work Raving in Wind. The imagery in the work was primarliy avaian which led me to explore the use of bird calls -- especially those of ravens and loons. The latter create haunting, plaintive cries, heard over northern lakes at night, as well as a kind of pealing laughter! The ravens have a most diverse vocabulary and are capable of an unusually complex array of sounds; I created a kind of gamelan with the few I sampled. In the middle section of the piece, the bird sounds give way to samples of southeast Asian instruments which share with the bird calls an elemental, primal sound; they too seem to emerge from the natural world. In the final section, all the sounds come together
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

INGRAM MARSHALL - Evensongs (New Albion 092; USA) The Maia Quartet, the Dunsmuir Piano Quintet. The all too familiar hymns of my childhood have come back to haunt me ... For me the research into memory is an important tool .. we are, all of us, always searching our past in an attempt to understand the present.
The music recorded herein ranges over a twelve year period; most of it is imbued with strains which will be recognizable to many. For me the research into memory is an important tool in my compositional workshop. We are, all of us, always searching our past in an attempt to understand the present. I think this is especially useful for the artist.
The opening work, Entrada (At the River), is based on a fragment for string quartet, amplified with electronic delays, conceived in 1984; it is a process of gradually revealing itself.
The Piano Quartet (In My Beginning is My End) originated as a trio (no viola) and was written for the then Dunsmuir Trio in 1986-87. It was commissioned by my longtime friend and supporter, David Rumsey. By the time this recording bacame a possibility, the Dunsmuir had become a quartet and Jennifer Culp, the cellist, an old and dear friend, suggested that my trio might be "improved" as a quartet. And it was. The revision was done in 1995. At the time of rewriting it I was reading Elliott's Four Quartets and the title seemed appropriate. The first movement has no conscious references in it; it was a spontaneous invention composed in rough form shortly after the birth of my son in 1986. The second movement, which might be considered a set of variations, dwells on two hymns, both quite well known. The string quartet, Evensongs, is really a collection of pieces, hymnodic meditations, concerning the crepuscular. Its six sections are bound together in two "movements." They were, mostly, written in 1991-92 in anticipation of a workshop collaboration with the Stuart Pimsler Dance Theater in Minneapolis. Working with a local string quartet, Stuart and Susanne Costello created a dance theater work around some of the music; it was called "Hymn of Two Embraces." Also involved in that collaboration was the sculptor Carol Parker, whose intensely personal work has always been an inspiration to me; to her we owed the idea of using in the performance the chorus of music boxes, which now appear in the string quartet at several points; the child's voice, heard in these tape collages, is that of my then five year old son, Clement. In several ways, this music is about childhood, or more specifically, is a reflection on the mirror of childhood one sees in one's own children. For those who think of me mainly as a composer of tape and/or electronic music, which is understandable in light of my discography, this music presents another side. Although there is some electronic processing in Entrada and a bit of tape collage interjection in Evensongs, this is "musica acustica." Yet, I like to think that my treatment of purely instrumental sound is not so different from that of taped and electronic sources. -Ingram Marshall
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

INGRAM MARSHALL - Savage Altars (New Albion 130; USA) A collection of chamber works that continue Marshall's unique journey in a spiritual musical language through visiting medieval, sacred and world sources. The effect of his music acts as a prayer of offering in a highly personal fashion which, because of it, allows the listener a more universal experience." The Tudor Choir; Sarah Cahill, piano; Joe Kubera, piano; Benjamin Verdery, guitar.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

FRANK MARTIN//STUART CANIN/SARA GANZ/NEW CENTURY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - Etudes for String Orchestra, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Maria Triptychon (New Albion 086; USA) Martin composed the Etudes for String Orchestra in 1955-56. The work was commissioned by Paul Sacher for the Basel Chamber Orchestra, and premiered on November 23, 1956. This striking work consists of a sharply profiled slow overture, followed by four etudes, each of which treats an important aspect of string performance.
Composed in 1950-51, Martin's Violin Concerto was first performed in the spring of 1952, when Joseph Szigeti played it with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Ernest Ansermet. The work assumes the traditoinal three-movement concerto form. The creation of Maria Triptychon evolved through the friendship Martin shared with the soprano Irmgard Seefried and her husband, the violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan. The work is a setting of three canticles: the Ave Maria, the Magnificat in Martin Luther's German translation, and the Stabat Mater.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

SASHA MATSON - Range of Light, The Fifth Lake (New Albion 091; USA) Range of Light was composed after encountering for the first time the writings of naturalist John Muir, in particular the posthumously published excerpts from his journals. In considering what it meant to be a composer with roots in California, the depth of the chord struck by Muir's beautiful language echoed my own desire to bear witness to the glorious reality of the Sierra Nevada mountains; this is a celebratory work.
The Fifth Lake is an instrumental work, with a specific personal program attached. Several years ago I visited a small chain of five jewel-like lakes above the Mineral King Valley in the southern Sierra Nevada: the Mosquito Lakes. We camped at the top lake, the fifth one in the chain, and the next morning I experienced what I believe is signified by the word Peace; a brief state of grace. I took a photograph of the outflow of the lake that morning, which is reproduced on the cover of this booklet. Memory and music can often form a powerful alliance; through the temporal arts we have the power to reinvoke time. The spell, if successful, can be created so as to give substance to the insubstantial; this is the potential triumph of aesthetic mimesis over linear time. - Sasha Matson
CD $15

YVAR MIKHASHOFF - Incitation to Desire: Yvar Mikhashoff (New Albion 073; USA) Tangos, tangos, tangos, abstract intellectual tangos, heart on the sleeve romances, passionate pillow talk tangos, solitude cafe cold coffee tangos, performed on piano by the late Yvar Mikhashoff.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

IRA J MOWITZ - A la Memoire d'un Ami (New Albion 047; USA) realized on an IBM 3081 at Princeton University, and at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University.
A la Memoire d'un Ami is about memory and, in particular, memories of my close friend and first composition teacher, Norman Dinerstein, who died suddenly at age 45, while I was in the middle of making this piece. The entire piece is synthetic -- the sounds were all made on a large, very UNmusical mainframe computer. That the sounds, gestures and general cast of the work bear such a close resemblance to sounds we know in the natural world was willful on my part - for me, computers are not machines programmed to yield unimaginable precision, but rather just a means of searching for imagined sounds and musics. That the results of sound generation instructions I give to computers are often quite unexpected, I take as a wonderful irony, and it's precisely this quality of unexpectedness that I find most stimulating and instructive in fashioning a work of art. - Ira J. Mowitz
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

NORDISK SANG [V.A.] - Music of Norway (New Albion 031; USA) The astonishing purity of the vocal music heard here is beyond description; it displays both virtuosity and utter simplicity. The marriage of voice and fiddle heard on some of these selections seems magical, but it goes beyond that; the Norwegian word 'trolsk' (troll-like) might describe it better. The immense capacity for poetry which is possible in the music of the 'hardingfele' (hardanger fiddle) has as its source a profound simplicity and stalwartness. The drone-based music of this tradition seems to stand outside historical time as far as Europe is concerned. It arose in northern Europe in the seventeenth century, but only in Norway did it develop and find a solid place for itself in a unique folk culture. The music seems very ancient, yet it is really the product of the modern age (17-19th centuries). Although there are connections to traditions in the Scottish isles - even today - and there were similar instruments found in Germany in the seventeenth century, only in the western valleys of this rugged, northward-stretching land has this enchanted instrument thrived (although the music almost died around the turn of the centry and then experienced a remarkable twentieth century revival).
Norway, despite its modern industrial society, clings to its folk traditions tenaciously. One would have to go to Eastern Europe, the Balkans, to find another European country where folk traditions in music thrive in a contemporary setting with relatively little corruption. In particular, the last twenty years have seen a revitalization of traditional music in Norway. A number of younger musicans have sought out older musicians of their parents' and grandparents' generations to learn from them; they have also reinterpreted and rearranged the music in new ways.
The musicians featured on this album are among the most renowned in Norway. Kirsten Braten-Berg and her accompanists belong to the younger generation of performers who have not only kept a song tradition alive, but have also rejuvenated it through new and unusual arrangements. Sometimes they collaborate with older musicians as demonstrated here by the duets between singer Pernille Anker and violinist Hans Brimi (born 1917). Torleiv Bolstad (1915-1979) made his only professional recording just two years before he died; the three pieces incuded here are testimony to his mastery of the 'hardingfele'. Eivind Groven (1901-1977) was a remarkable musicologist, composer and virtuoso of many instruments, including the natural scale 'seljefloyte' (willow bark flute); he also designed the non-tempered organ heard on 'Kivlemoyane'.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

LEO ORNSTEIN//SARAH CAHILL - Fantasy and Metaphor (New Albion 138; USA) These fifteen works for piano reveal a composer in his 70s and 80s exploring romanticism, improvisation, and a remarkable range of pianistic sonorities. All but one of these compositions are first recordings.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Leo Ornstein was a radical 'ultra-Futurist' composer-pianist who shocked his audiences with clangorous, wild works for piano. At the height of his fame he retired from the stage to devote himself to composing. Over the next seventy years, before his death at the age of 108, Ornstein composed a startling range of piano music. Severo Ornstein, his son, has collected and printed the scores, which are available free of charge at www.leoornstein.net.
Born in the Ukraine in 1893, Ornstein emigrated to the Lower East Side of New York in 1907. In his twenties he toured the world as a radical piano virtuoso and his own compositions were compared to Schoenberg and Scriabin. One of his students at the Ornstein School of Music in Philadelphia was another American iconoclast, John Coltrane. Among the most interesting features of Ornstein's compositional language is that it is not part of any school or movement. It is almost as though it is unrooted in history. Romantic lyricism coexists with complex, polyrhythmic, dissonant, or atonal music, often in the same piece.
The pianist Sarah Cahill has devoted eight years to interpreting Ornstein's later, unknown compositions, and worked extensively with Severo on the manuscripts. He suggested the selection of pieces for this recording. In 2000, Cahill visited the still lucid 107-year-old Ornstein in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Her playing achieves the spontaneity of improvisation yet remains faithful to the written note.
CD $15

ASTOR PIAZZOLLA//DAVID TANENBAUM - El Porteno (New Albion 065; USA) David Tanenbaum, guitar. This is a cycle of some of the most loved works by Piazzolla (1921-1992), whose musical language was an Ellingtonian expression of his culture. It weaves the Latin urban forms of tango, milonga, rumba, rag and bossa nova into dance-like concert music. Featuring first recordings of arrangements by Sérgio Assad ("Las Cuatro Estaciones Portenos") and Leo Brouwer ("La Muerte del Angel"),David Tanenbaum's virtuostic performance also includes arrangements by Augustin Carlevaro ("Chau Paris") and the only works Piazzolla wrote specifically for guitar, the "Cinco Piezas". These pieces remain true to Piazzolla's equation: Tango + Comedy + Tragedy + Whorehouse = Nuevo Tango.
CD $15

QUARTETT [JULIAN PRIESTER/JAY CLAYTON/GARY PEACOCK/JERRY GRANELLI] - No Secrets (New Albion 017; USA) Quartett began in 1982 and has developed over the years a collaborative expression of improvised music. Sharing our deepest emotions in musical exchange is testimony to our appreciation of and trust in each other. This recording is a direct reflection of time spent together as performers, composers and friends. 'No Secrets.'
"Grittier than the usual New Albion fare ... it has none of the academic pretensions of so much experimental jazz. Of the kind of collaborative improvisations so popular today, this is one of the best examples I know." -Fanfare
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

GYAN RILEY With TRACY SILVERMAN/DAVID DOLL/TERRY RILEY - Food for the Bearded (New Albion 119; USA) Gyan Riley guitar, with appearances by violist Tracy Silverman, percussionist David Doll, and very special guest performances from the artist's father, Terry Riley New Albion is pleased to announce the solo debut of guitarist and composer Gyan Riley. This set of compositions describes a path that started in what surely must have been a most unique household. Now, at the age of 25, his complete command of the canon for nylon string guitar is wedded with a Northern California sensibility for improvisation and drift.
Gyan Riley, born in California in 1977, is the son of renowned avant garde composer and North Indian Raga vocalist Terry Riley. He completed his undergraduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under the direction of David Tanenbaum and later received a Masters Degree at the Conservatory under Dusan Bogdanovic, mentor for both performance and composition. In March 1999 he received First Prize in the Portland Guitar Festival Competition and in February 2001 was awarded First Prize in the San Francisco Conservatory Guitar Concerto Competition. He performed in the Bremen Musikfest '98 in Bremen, Germany and the New American Music Festival '98 in Sacramento, California, both as a soloist and in duo with David Tanenbaum. Gyan performed piano-guitar duos with his father at the Muenchner Klaviersommer '99 festival in Munich and made his first New York appearance at Merkin Hall in January of 2000, performing solo and ensemble works with Terry Riley and the All-Stars. Later that month, Gyan appeared as guitarist for the Tracy Silverman Trio at Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall in Istanbul, Turkey. In July of 2000, Gyan performed solo and in a duo with Dusan Bogdanovic at the Festival Sitar-Guitar in Rome. In January of 2001, Gyan played in the American premiere of John Adams' "El Nino" with David Tanenbaum, soprano Dawn Upshaw, and the San Francisco Symphony. Gyan performed in the Other Minds Festival in March 2001 and in June 2001 Gyan appeared with the All-Stars at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London as part of the Meltdown Festival. The band also toured Italy and the US in Spring 2002. Gyan recently gave concerts of original solo works at the GFA 2001 Festival in La Jolla, California, and at the Planet Tree Festival in London. Gyan is currently the artistic director for the San Francisco Classical Guitar Society. He was commissioned by the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center to write a solo guitar work for Jorge Caballero's February 2000 performance at Merkin Concert Hall in New York. Gyan is also featured on the New Albion recording "The Book of Abbeyozzud", Terry Riley's series of 28 guitar pieces, each with a title beginning with a different letter of the Spanish alphabet. "Piedad" is one of three solo works in the set, written as a gift for Gyan in his 18th birthday. Gyan (the word means 'knowledge' in Hindi) is the only person to have been named by Pandit Pran Nath: when Terry and Ann announced they were expecting, Pran Nath proclaimed "Gyan Shankar is coming."
CD $15

TERRY RILEY//DAVID TANENBAUM et al - The Book of Abbeyozzud: Works For Guitar (New Albion 106; USA) David Tanenbaum, guitar; with Gyan Riley, guitar; Tracy Silverman, violin; William Winant, percussion. Guitar? We think of Riley as a keyboard man just as we think of Glass and many another minimalists. Reading the composer's notes, though, the impression is that these pieces are more in fealty to the traditions of Spanish music than the guitar per se. Either way, the music sounds much as you would anticipate: American chamber with Jelly Roll Morton's beloved 'Spanish tinge', the Eastern modes which Riley sets his stars by, and that unique pragmatism which [Glenn] Gould suggested was manifest as music which 'requires instructions rather than instruction'. -The Wire, October 1999
The Book of Abbeyozzud (say "ah-BYE-ah-ZOOD", a word invented by Riley, without meaning) is a planned series of 26 pieces for guitar, multiple guitars and guitar in ensemble. So far, thirteen pieces are completed. Riley writes "All of the pieces have Spanish titles and take a different letter of the alphabet to begin their names. They are also indebted to great Spanish music traditions and to those traditions upon which Spanish music owes its heritage."
David Tanenbaum had been asking Terry Riley for a guitar piece for some time, and found success finally after Terry's young son, Gyan, began studying classical guitar and brought its world into the Riley home. David Tanenbaum commissioned the first piece, "Ascencion," through Albert Augustine Ltd., and through the editing and performance process of that piece the idea for the book was born.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

TERRY RILEY/ROVA SAXOPHONE QUARTET [BRUCE ACKLEY/STEVE ADAMS/LARRY OCHS/JON RASKIN] - Chanting the Light of Foresight (New Albion 064; USA) The Tain Bo Cuailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley) is a central part of the eighth-century Ulster cycle of heroic tales and is Ireland's nearest approach to a great epic. It tells the story of a giant cattle-raid, the invasion of Ulster by the armies of Medb and Ailill, queen and king of Connacht, and their allies, seeking to carry off the great Brown Bull of Cuailnge. Following an abandoned collaboration with the playwright Lee Brewer that was centered on the Thomas Kinsella translation of The Tain, I found myself under a spell and so began the work for the Rova. The wonderful rhythms and colours of the ancient names and places; Badb, Bricriu, Conchobor, Cuchulain, Finnabair, Galeoin, Scathach and Daire mac Fiachna must have floated their way to surface in some musical line or other.
Although extremely difficult to accomplish, I wanted to have part of the quartet's movements in "resonant intonation" with pure intervals combining in the saxophones radiant timbres. After composing the music I made a tape on the Prophet 5 synthesizer of the tuning so that the players could match the intervals in their rehearsals. Rova has taken this challenge seriously. The result is sounds that I have not heard previously coming from saxophones and is right in the tradition of Rova cutting an alternate groove in contemporary music. When we originally conceived of the project we wanted to leave room for lots of improvisation. This not only takes place in the "Pipes of Medb" and "Medb's Blues" but in addition Rova created the Battle Music section which is one of my favorites and points to their strong compositional abilities. -Terry Riley CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

JEFFREY RODEN - Seeds of Happiness (New Albion 133; USA) "These 26 pieces for 1961 Fender Precision bass are comprised of two sets of miniature and minimalist cycles, recorded entirely over two separate days in Los Angeles area studios; each contains the briefest treatment that Roden could manage to convey the feelings and sensations at hand; they are as finite and elusive as leaves on a tree, as pearls on a string; a kind of melodic meditation - there is an idea, seeds, flowers... a kind of a musical seed catalog in a med/mex ambient light, with a socal samba lurking beneath, or maybe an offering for spiritual equilibrium." - Jeffrey Roden
CD $15

ROVA SAXOPHONE QUARTET [BRUCE ACKLEY/STEVE ADAMS/LARRY OCHS/JON RASKIN] - This Time We Are Both (New Albion 041; USA) Larry Ochs, tenor and sopranino; Jon Raskin, baritone; Bruce Ackley, soprano; Steve Adams, alto and sopranino; saxophone quartet recorded live on tour in Russia, 1989
The 12th annual Leningrad Jazz Festival was well underway when Rova Saxophone Quartet inaugurated its 1989 tour of the Soviet Union with the first of two performances in Lensoviet Concert Hall. Six and a half years had passed since Rova had first penetrated the "Iron Curtain" for a three-city Soviet tour, documented on the hatART recording "Saxophone Diplomacy" and a video of the same title. In June, 1983, Rova had been invited by the offically banned Contemporary Music Club of Leningrad, and had been forced to play literally underground - in the basement of the Dostoevsky Museum. By mid-November 1989, much had changed: Rova was being sponsored by Gosconcert, a department in the Soviet Ministry of Culture, and its 23-member entourage of musicians, friends, family, writers, artists, poets, photographers and engineers, was being escorted by young Russian guides who were openly critical of both their government and the havoc wreaked on their society by 70 years of state socialism. We heard frank stories about black market car lots, ten-year waiting lists for apartments, the cultivation of "connections" for special favors, and the failure of Leninist ideal. "Next they are going to run out of electricity," quipped our tour leader, Misha, when our bus transportation was jeopardized by a gasoline shortage in Latvia ..
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

SOMEI SATOH - Sun Moon (New Albion 069; USA) Akikazu Nakamura, shakuhachi; Shin Miyashita, koto. My living room just isn't good enough for this music. I need a bare wood floor, no furniture and a view of a mountain. -The Wire SANYOU and KOUGETSU [from Sun Moon] are a pair, like the sun and the moon. In KOUGETSU I tried to express the clearness of the moon at night; in SANYOU, the purity of the early morning air.
The Chinese character getsu means moon. In Chinese, similarly, the verb 'to chip' is pronounced ketsu. They are connected by the fact that the phases of the moon represent a 'chipping' away of its face. In Japanese, however, the word for moon is tsuki, which has the same sound as the word for obsession. We can thus understand how the ancient Japanese felt about the moon. Even today we can feel the mysterious beauty of the full moon in the clear sky.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

SOMEI SATOH - Toward the Night (New Albion 056; USA) String Ensemble Endless; Masaharu Kanda, cello; Kyoko Sato, soprano; Toshiyuki Uzuka, conductor. Mingling minimalism and traditional Japanese music, imperturbably ascetic textures and the sensuous appeal of endless melody, Satoh's music opens another window on comtemporary music for listeners already seduced by the music of Arvo Part, John Tavener and Henryk Gorecki. -Calgary Herald
In Buddhism there is the idea of Samsara (transmigration). It is believed that man infinitely repeats life and death toward the next life. Mankind is also thought to repeat its fall and rebirth. After millions of years, the existence of mankind is beginning to sink into the deep dusk. As an ancient Chinese saint once said, "If I don't obtain enlightenment now, in which life should I be able to get it?" I find myself constantly returning to his words. "Toward the Night" is the tone of the dusk which resonates in my mind. "Ruika" [an ancient Japanese expression] is an anthem to mourn the soul of the departed. Within this music we hear the wind from the world of spirit - it intrinsically emanates an odor of death. In listening, we immerse ourselves in the vibration of voices coming from the abode of departed souls, from a vacancy of sound, and we sense the waves of a glimmer appearing at the margin of sound. "Homa" [Sanskrit] is a sacred fire, a fire of purgation, a sacrificial fire offering to celestial gods. In the summer of 1988 my grandmother passed away at the age of 90. I wrote this music as a prayer for the peace of her pure spirit in the firmament. This music is chanted as a mantra.
Om mani padme hum.
Om sarva-tathagata-pada-vandanam karomi.
Om svabhave-suddhah sarva-dharmah-suddho ham.
Om, jewel in the lotus!
Om, I believe in and worship Buddha, past, present and future!
Om, this eternal universe is the uterus of God and all the emerging events here are intrinsically pure and innocent.
Thus I myself am also pure by nature.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

GIACINTO SCELSI//MARIANNE SCHUPPE - Incantations: The Art of Song of Giancinto Scelsi (1905-1988) (New Albion 129; USA) Mostly works for female voice, performed by Marianne Schuppe (mezzo soprano). The opening "Sauh I-IV" (from 1973, for voice with magnetic tape) features layers of Schuppe's voice, in impressive, polyphonic style - a great antidote for those of those of us living in fear of the "operatic wail". "Giacinto Scelsi was one of the most individual voices in the history of music. His music stands outside the schools that responded to world events and exists as a monument to itself - utterly honest and almost indescribable, reminiscent of a statue in Rome but in his case it is a statue of the imagination. Now, a hundred years from his birth, his music is still shocking; almost twenty years from his death, it is nearly fathomable - and clearly music. These songs may have been created by improvisations that have been recomposed and transcribed, and may have begun as recordings of the natural world, or inspired by a series of sounds, Among the musicians Scelsi worked with was the Japanese singer Michiko Hiryoyama, and this collection by Marianne Schuppe is inspired and informed by those pioneering performances in the 70's. Marianne Schuppe is a very well known vocalist of modern classical and avant garde repertoire throughout Europe. Her technique and intelligence inform an innate ability that allows her to move from 'song' to 'sound' to 'speech' in a lyrical and fluid manner."
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

STEFANO SCODANIBBIO - Voyage That Never Ends (New Albion 101; USA) For solo contrabass. I haven't heard better double bass playing than Scodanibbio's. I was just amazed. And I think everyone who heard him was amazed. He is really extraordinary. His performance was absolutely magic.-John Cage, in Musicage
Scodanibbio travels the world with his double bass and performs for spell-struck audiences. He is recognized as the leading proponent of his instrument for contemporary composition and was for many years the colleague and collaborator of Giacinto Scelsi and Luigi Nono. Dozens of works have been written for him by such composers as Bussotti, Donatoni, Estrada, Xenakis, et al. He has written over 30 works for strings, and his quartet was recorded by the Arditti for Auvidis Montaigne. He tours extensively with Terry Riley and is equally at home in classical and improvised music. This disc represents a suite of compositions that he has been performing for ten years, and it will redefine what people consider to be the double bass. This recording was made direct to two track on November 18-19, 1997 in Modena, Italy.
Scodanibbio is quite simply a magician of his instrument. His exquisite tone, nifty arabesques and, most importantly, range of percussive effects are all devastating. Make a note of the name, and learn how to spell it, because if there's any justice it should crop up pretty regularly from now on.-The Wire
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

STEPHEN SCOTT - Minerva's Web/The Tears of Niobe (New Albion 026; USA) Scored for grand piano bowed and plucked by ten musicians, performed by the composer with the Colorado College New Music Ensemble
The two pieces are thematically related, both musically and in their literary reference. "Minerva's Web" refers to the storied weaving contest between the goddess Minerva and the mortal Arachne; it also suggests the webs of material used in the piano and a web-like arrangement of musical ideas in the composition. Like Arachne, Niobe is too proud to play second fiddle to the gods; daughter of Tantalus, Queen of Thebes and "a notable figure in Phrygian robes wrought with threads of gold, and beautiful as far as anger suffered her to be," she forbids the women of Thebes to worship the goddess Latona, saying, "I am queen of Cadmus' royal house, and the walls of Thebes, erected by the magic of my husband's lyre, together with its people, acknowledge me and him as their rulers." (Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book VI, translated by Frank Justus Miller, Harvard University Press, 1977) Latona's anger at this affront is quickly translated to revenge, at the hands of her children, Apolla and Diana. Soon all of Niobe's seven sons and seven daughters lay slain by divine arrows, and her husband Amphion kills himself in despair.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

STEPHEN SCOTT - New Music for Bowed Piano (New Albion 107; USA) Works for Bowed Piano Ensemble. The Recording reconsidered upon its reissue-- It is generally agreed among artists that their productions, once disseminated through reproductions, take on a life of their own, as though they were adult people who had once been their artist's children. It's not that these compositions have matured, but when they are heard they must stand on their own merits, even as they are perceived by those familiar with my (much more complex and large scale) recent work, as early essays in an untried medium. I hope that this reissue will convey again some of the sense of excitement and discovery we all felt on our first voyages into an uncharted sound world.-Stephen Scott, June 1999
From the original liner notes: I first became aware that one could bow the strings of a piano in 1976, when I heard David Burge play a composition by Curtis Curtis-Smith. This was a solo piano work, played mostly on the keyboard but utilizing also some prepared piano techniques. One striking effect was produced by drawing nylon fish line across the strings. I was captivated by the sound and began immediately (before David's performance was over as I recall) to imagine the sound of several players bowing a piano's strings simultaneously, thus producing sustained chords. Thus was born the first composition for ensemble-bowed piano, Music One for Bowed Strings, which I completed in 1977 and performed that year with the Colorado College New Music Ensemble. It should be stressed that all of the sounds heard in the ensemble pieces are produced by the piano strings; no electronics or other sound producing devices are involved. The recordings are made "live" exactly as they are performed in concert. --Stephen Scott,November 1983
Just for fun, put this record on and ask your friends to tell you what instrument is making the sounds. Assure them that it's an instrument they're quite familiar with. Unless they already know what a bowed piano sounds like, they're sure to be mystified. Scott's pieces betray a Steve Reich influence; the harmonies are rich, relatively consonant, and unexpected, and repetitive passages with a steady eighth-note pulse alternate with long sustained chords. -Keyboard, May 1984
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

STEPHEN SCOTT - The Deep Spaces (New Albion 132; USA) "The Deep Spaces, the most recent in my series of bowed piano compositions, is a fantasy song-cycle celebrating the power and grandeur evoked by poets and composers over two millennia - of one of the world's most dazzling and enchanting locales: Lake Como, surely the brightest jewel in the crown of the Alps and mountain lakes that adorn Italy's far north, just below Switzerland.
The song texts, set for soprano soloist with the ensemble serving as accompanying orchestra (and, occasionally, chorus), are taken from writers as distant in time, culture, psychology and aesthetic stance from on another as Pliny the Younger, aristocratic native of Como and chronicler of many aspects of Roman life in the first and second centuries A.D., William Wordsworth, whose poetry celebrates both the Lake District of hi native England and the Italian Lake District he loved, and Pablo Medina, a twenty-first century poet and novelist of Cuban ancestry residing and teaching in New York. Listeners may also recognize musical themes and motives I have borrowed from composers linked to Como and the Italian mountains such as Liszt and Berlioz, weaving them together with my own melodies and textures. The Bowed Piano Ensemble was founded at Colorado College in 1977, has evolved into a small orchestra whose wide range of sound colors and textures are all coaxed from one open grand piano by ten musicians wielding nylon filament, horsehair, hand-held piano hammers, guitar picks, and other devices."
CD $15

STEPHEN SCOTT - Vikings of the Sunrise: Fantasy On The Polynesian Star Path Navigators (New Albion 084; USA) Bowed Piano Ensemble of Colorado College. Vikings of the Sunrise is a composition for bowed piano on themes of navigation, exploration and discovery in the Pacific from ancient times until the present era. The term "vikings of the sunrise" was coined by the noted Maori/Irish ethnologist Peter Buck (Te Rangi Hiroa) to denote the intrepid seafaring peoples who first settled the islands of the "Great Ocean of Kiwa." They set out, probably from Indonesia, as early as 1500 B.C. or before; paddling and sailing from the West, ever toward the sunrise, they populated island after island throughout the central and south Pacific, sometimes traversing vast expanses of open sea, eventually reaching as far east as Easter Island and perhaps South America; to the north they discovered and colonized Hawai'i, and to the south New Zealand. They were the first Polynesians, and probably the first long-distance ocean navigators.
"Vikings of the Sunset" refers to the European explorers of the Pacific, beginning with Ferdinand Magellan, who first rounded South America from the Atlantic, sailing ever toward the setting sun to discover new trade routes and new lands to colonize (and Christianize as well), and to help complete the map of the world by proving finally that the earth was a sphere and could be sailed around. There are also references to the great explorer Captain James Cook and the latter-day anthropologist, adventurer and iconoclast Thor Heyerdahl. While the themes outlined above provided the general inspiration for "Vikings of the Sunrise," the music should not be thought of as depicting a specific program or story. Rather it consists of sound patterns aroused in my own imagination by ancient and heroic sagas told of men and women who traveled the "Great Ocean of Kiwa."
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH//NEW CENTURY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - Written With the Heart's Blood (New Albion 088; USA) The poet Carl Sandburg once said that Shostakovich's music is music "written with the heart's blood", and it was this feeling that enabled my colleagues and me in the New Century Chamber Orchestra to maintain the passionate energy needed to record these magnificent works. The power of Shostakovich's music is evidenced by the fact that its composer used it as a weapon in the fight against Hitler: witness the 7th [Leningrad] Symphony, written in 1942, which became the worldwide symbol of resistance against Nazism. The dedication of the Eighth String Quartet "to the memory of the victims of fascism and war" was a constant reminder to us musicians of how visceral Shostakovich's music is; and yet the recurring motifs of hope and renewal show that Shostakovich was ever a human being, always hopeful of an end to dark times. - Stuart Canin, Music Director
CD $15

ROBERTO SIERRA//CONTINUUM CHAMBER ENSEMBLE - Turner (New Albion 135; USA) Fervently committed to preserving his musical heritage, as a young man Roberto Sierra (b.1953) began to assimilate elements of the folklore and popular music of the Caribbean. His evocation of that musical culture is always free and imaginative. His music shares the multi-layered qualities that characterize two composers who are dear to his heart, his former teacher Ligeti and the American genius of the player-piano, Conlon Nancarrow. The melodic layers are frequently differentiated temporally, with each layer moving at a different speed. Such an approach to time gives his music depth and a fascinating compositional organization. In recent years, the Afro-Caribbean component of his music has often been more stylized, and has blended into his general language. While many pieces are extraordinarily complex, Sierra's superb instincts and deep musicality assures his performers that the gigantic task of learning his music will be rewarded by an old-fashioned sensuous, sonic pleasure that reaches out to grasp the audience. This CD gives a picture of the breadth of his recent chamber music.
CD $15

SLOW SIX - Nor'easter (New Albion 136; USA) "There is no musical group today that compares to the Brooklyn-based Slow Six. Since the beginning, their compositional detail, instrumental prowess, and live computer-music instruments separated them from other electro-acoustic troupes. This latest release Nor'easter presents their most ambitious musical vision to date. Their amplified violins, viola, cello, electric guitars, Fender Rhodes, piano, and software instruments now combine in a new language of experimental instrumental storytelling, remaining physically immersive and emotionally-charged. Each work presents its own evocative landscape, guiding listeners through inescapably personal and spellbinding electrified sonic adventures. The intimacy of strings and piano combine with rock and roll's electric guitars and Fender Rhodes within a storm of interactive computer textures to defy cultural pigeonholing. This is a new sound free of 'cross-over' conceit -- simply the sound of a new native musical space, a new generation of distinctly American music."
CD $15

MORTON SUBOTNICK/CALIFORNIA EAR UNIT - The Key to Songs/Return (New Albion 012; USA) for computer, synthesized voice, piano & viola with Enrico Caruso, Baird Dodge, Alan Feinberg, Joan La Barbara
"The Key to Songs" is music for an imaginary ballet inspired by A Week of Kindness, or The Seven Deadly Elements, the 1933 novel in the form of a collage by the surrealist painter, Max Ernst.
The 'novel' is wordless, being composed of dramatic and often erotic collages, using, principally, illustrations from French popular fiction. Each of the novel's seven chapters represents a day of the week and each day has a "deadly element" associated with it. Beginning with Sunday, the elements are: Mud, Water, Fire, Blood, Blackness, Sight and Unknown. A motto and a Dadaist or Surrealist epigraph prefaces each chapter, and the motto becomes an enigmatic visual motif.
Subotnick's score - which calls for two pianos, three mallet instruments (marimba, xylophone and vibraphone) shared by two players, viola, cello and the Yamaha Computer Assisted Music System (YCAMS) - provides a musical counterpart to Ernst's enigmatic collage in several ways. The phantasmagorical ambiguity between reality and fantasy found in Ernst collages, and in the surreal groupings of images, has its equivalent in Subotnick's application of electronics.
(Return" originally released 1986 as NA010 LP)
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

DAVID TANENBAUM - David Tanenbaum (New Albion 095; USA) Good guitar music is flying from the pens and computers of American composers at a furious pace. Terry Riley's guitar music is a case in point. I had gently nagged him about a piece for over a decade with no result, but when his youngest son took up the classical guitar and brought its world into their house, the tide turned. Terry wrote: "Barabas was the third piece written in a group of 24 pieces planned for guitar, multiple guitars and guitar in ensemble under the banner of Abbeyozzud. All these pieces have Spanish titles and take a different letter of the alphabet to begin their names. They are indebted to the great Spanish music traditions and to those traditions upon which Spanish music owed its heritage."
Aaron Jay Kernis and I have been close friends since we met in school in 1978. He wrote me a three movement solo guitar suite in 1981, and eventually in 1995 Aaron added a new movement, modified the opening and changed the name to Partita as each movement is based upon a Baroque form. Alan Hovahness' Sonatas are the pieces with which I had the longest gestation period. They've never been recorded before and rarely have they been played. Lew Richmond is the least known of the composers here. An amateur musician, Zen-priest and software specialist, Richmond's Preludes are inspired by the guitar playing of Alex de Grassi.
Steve Reich's Nagoya Marimbas is here transcribed with the help of the composer for two guitars, becoming Nagoya Guitars. The earliest piece on the recording is a little serial exercise by Frank Zappa. At age 18, Zappa was experimenting with serialism and the guitar and tossed off Waltz for Guitar. It remained unknown until Keyboard and Guitar Player magazine published a Zappa celebration edition in 1992. - David Tanenbaum
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

DAVID TANENBAUM/SHANGHAI QUARTET - Acoustic Counterpoint: Works for Guitar (New Albion 032; USA) As a collection, these pieces reflect some trends for guitar music in the 80's -- a freedom from the influence of the Spanish tradition; individual and disparate languages of composition; the blurring of stylistic divisions; and the increased incorporation of the guitar in chamber music settings. These five pieces incorporate, in turn, a painting, a Central African horn theme (Reich's "Electric Counterpoint" -- recorded here in its first entirely acoustic rendition), an abstract form, the nocturnal sounds of the Carribean, and a poem that was inspired by a painting. Three generations of composers are represented here. Of the five, only Takemitsu plays guitar. Tippett and Reich first turned their attention to the solo guitar in the 1980's, as many composers did, while Davies and Takemitsu continued career long associations with the instrument. Sierra had written for both guitar and string quartet when I decided to commission him to enrich the chamber repertoire.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

RICHARD TEITELBAUM - Blends (New Albion 119; USA) Reissue of seminal '70s recording for shakuhachi and Moog, with new ensemble piece. Two extended works by Richard Teitelbaum for shakuhachi and synthesizer with percussion and bass accompaniment. Teitelbaum was one of the founders of the revolutionary MEV group in Rome, which explored live electroacoustic and collective improvisation in the 60's and 70's. Subsequent to that era he began work with the renowned shaukuhachi master, teacher and composer, Yokoyama and began on a course of intercultural music. These works express his unique language and nuances of sound color which have given him a cult recognition among avant garde composers and audiences. Blends (1977) a kind of circumnavigation, is an exploration of the shakuhachi's timbral world in an extended dialog with Moog synthesizers, a pairing that was quite controversial at the time. Kyotaku/Denshi (1995) is more of a historical tour that follows a trajectory of Japanese history through the shakuhachi, from its roots of the travelling monks through various episodes of religious, artistic and secular events.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

TONINO TESEI - Preludi Ostinati (New Albion 121; USA) Solo piano compositions by this young maverick Italian composer, performed by Fausto Bongelli and produced by Stefano Scodanibbio.
"The music that I have written for the piano has always been suggested directly by the positions of my hands on the keyboard; the compositional imagination comes directly from the hands, with their muscles and tendons. More precisely, it is a game of reciprocal adaptation between the creative thought, the anatomy of the hands and the instrumental technique."
CD $15

VIRGIL THOMSON - Early and As Remembered (New Albion 034; USA) fYvar Mikhashoff, piano; Martha Herr, soprano; David Kuehn, trumpet; John Boudler, percussion
Collectively, these [26] pieces, none of which runs more than seven minutes, remain one of the minor treasures of the American musical legacy.-San Francisco Examiner
For Thomson's generation, the musical background of educated families was still mostly German, consisting of the local piano teacher, the church organ, folk songs in school, minstrel songs, ragtime and possibly a local conservatory. Annual musical events consisted of visits by the Sousa Band, the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, and traveling virtuosi like Paderewski, Busoni and Jenny Lind. After World War I, Thomson came under French influence at Harvard, where he studied with Edward Burlingame Hill and Archibald T. Davison, who had both studied with Widor. In 1921, on a fellowship in Paris, he studied organ and counterpoint with Nadia Boulanger and met Satie. He stayed on in Paris from 1925-1940 and wrote his early music which was influenced by Satie and Stravinsky. His first opera, "Four Saints in Three Acts" (with text by Gertrude Stein) was a 'succes de scandale'. In the United States in 1940, his second opera, "The Mother of Us All" (text also by Stein) had richer colors, was more serious, and reflected America in its hymns and song styles. Thomson became very much his own man, but sometimes his musical language had a slight French accent and sometimes a Kansas City brogue. He was a composer with a fine ear who stubbornly refused to notate anything that he couldn't imagine with his inner ear. The result was a long list of clear and accessible scores always reflecting Thomson's personality and accessible to the general public when well performed. His musical personality is unique among 20th century composers. -Otto Luening
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

THRENODY ENSEMBLE [DAVE CERF/ERIK HOVERSTEIN/DOMINIQUE DAVISON] - Timbre Hollow (New Albion 109; USA) Having wowed audiences at All Tomorrow's Parties 2002 with their slow, symphonic cadences and improvised chamber music, Threnody Ensemble's Timbre Hollow is here to provide more for your hard earned music pound than most acts will muster in a lifetime. Barry Hogan, the founder of All Tomorrow's Parties, has likened Threnody Ensemble to "the good bits of Radiohead played by a chamber orchestra". If, however, by "the good bits of Radiohead" you mean The Bends, then forget it - Timbre Hollow won't be for you.
There is little of obvious beauty (no lullaby melodies, no sad slow weepies) contained within Timbre Hollow, making this a listening experience that can seem daunting and exhaustive. For all of the epigrammatic qualities of tracks such as Somewhere Near Denton, however, there are also the slow burning crescendos and sketches of Tha Roman (Formerly Valerie White) Parts I, II and III (well, what did you expect? 'I love you, baby'?, 'Be my buttercup'? Evergreen?). The hauntingly sparse melodicism of these pieces nod as much towards the pictoral rock expressionism of Tortoise and Labradford as the Baroque classicism of Pachelbel and Albinoni. Like having an emotional state physically mapped out for you, tracks like The Machine and Tension As Opposed To Tension conjure up a feeling of inertia as much as momentum. The guitars of David Cerf and Erik Hoverstein play call and response to the sombre, orchestral backings, whilst clarinets, violins and cellos provide glimpses, flashes and flourishes of melody that serve to be as impressionistic of other musical forms (most notably, on Tha Roman (part III), Penderezcki - composer of the most famous threnody - Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima - 1959-61) as it is expressionistic in its being. It may not have a message. It may not serve a definable purpose - but its very necessity is through its existence. A broad sonic palette that's as perplexing as it is rewarding; as sweet as it is sybilant. Through its use of sound, colour and texture, Timbre Hollow is an album of sketches and glimpses. It is an album to listen to with the lights turned down - the dim light of a burning cigarette and the aroma of red wine hanging mid air. Timbre Hollow hits the very nerve where classical and modern intersect in a manner that William Orbit can only dream of, and as a result comes highly recommended.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

REZA VALI//CUARTETO LATINOAMERICANO et al - Persian Folklore (New Albion 077; USA) Many composers of the late nineteeth and early twentieth centuries used the folk music of their native countries as a source of inspiration for their compositions. For some composers, such as Stravinsky, this was a short-lived infatuation soon to be followed by neoclassicism, or, for others, one of several different forms of modernism. Among the major European composers, Bela Bartok, Manuel de Falla, and Zoltan Kodaly remained significantly committed to using folk music as primary sources for their works. In the present generation Reza Vali is a leading exponent of this practice and one of the few using Persian folk songs as a basis for composing Western classical music. As a student at the Teheran conservatory, Vali began to collect Persian folk music, an activity he continues today. He soon began composing music based on the actual melodies he had collected as well as writing music in the style of these songs - 'imaginary' folk music, to borrow a phrase from Bartok. In 1978 Vali completed his first set of folk songs for voice and piano. The next three sets, composed in the early 1980s, were also written for voice and piano, but in 1984 Vali began to write folk songs for different combinations of instruments. This recording includes Set No. 9 for flute and cello, Set No. 11B for string quartet, and Four Movements for string quartet and string orchestra.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

STEPHEN VITIELLO & DAVE TRONZO - Scratchy Monsters, Laughing Ghosts (New Albion 127; USA) A rather striking yet successful combination of opposites. Vitiello is a gifted sonic manipulator who plays guitar and has worked with Pauline Oliveros. Tronzo is one of the most original electric guitarists on the planet, known for his work with Wayne Horvitz's The President, Spanish Fly, Slowpoke and John Hiatt.
CD $15

STEPHEN VITIELLO With PAULINE OLIVEROS/DAVE TRONZO - Bright and Dusty Things (New Albion 115; USA) Stephen Vitiello, light readings and sound processing with Pauline Oliveros, accordion, David Tronzo, guitar
...a master of the [sound art] medium -New York Times. Light becomes sight becomes sound becomes music. New York-based installationist and sound artist Stephen Vitiello steps out as a composer in his own right, after years of collaborations with artists, musicians and choreographers including Nam June Paik, Scanner, Pauline Oliveros, Tony Oursler and Constance De Jong, Joan Jeanrenaud, Frances-Marie Uitti and many others.
During his "WorldViews" residency at the World Trade Center in 1999 (the first media artist to be invited by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and ThunderGulch), Vitiello was inspired by nightviews of the cityscape -- billboards, harbor lights, police cars -- to translate/amplify the visual into a sonic experience. Collaborating with noted sound technician Bob Bielecki, Vitiello developed the photocell controller, which translates the vibration (color, speed) of lights into tones.
Having thus captured the genie, Vitiello's sounds were further processed both in computer and in live musical collaboration with avant/improv friends David Tronzo and Pauline Oliveros (among others), musical geniuses in their own right. The result is a flowing, gorgeous set of sound/song pieces constantly alternating between noise and tone, between lyricism and disturbance.
"Bright and Dusty Things" at times recalls the drones of soundfield pioneers (La Monte Young, Michael Snow, Tony Conrad), the handmade imperfect loose wired contraptions of Fluxus artists (Kosugi), and the microcosmos glitchwerk explorations of younger European and Japanese artists.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

ROY WHELDEN & AMERCIAN BAROQUE - Galax: music for viola da gamba by Roy Whelden and Carl Friedrich Abel (New Albion 059; USA) This album contains pieces for the viola da gamba, some written by me and some by the German composer Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787), recognized as the last of the great viola da gamba virtuosi.
Abel occupied a unique position in the history of music. With Johann Christian Bach, he co-managed, performed and composed for one of the most successful concert organizations in London during the late 18th century. From 1765 to 1782, the popular Bach-Abel series was his principal venue, yet the instrument on which his fame rested as a performer was by then universally ocnsidered to be old-fashioned and out-of-date. Few amateurs and even fewer professionals were attracted to the viola da gamba after the close of the Baroque period. However, the music which Abel played on these concerts was anything but out-of-date. The 'Adagio-Allegro moderato' pair on this recording is an example; these were taken from a manuscript (New York Public Library, Drexel 5871) containing thirty pieces thought to represent the style of Abel's solo improvisations.
Like Abel, I have chosen to write and perform music using up-to-the-minute compositional techniques on instruments commonly thought to be old-fashioned. These instruments include, besides the viola da gamba, the resonant and warm-toned Baroque flute, violin, and cello, as well as the fully chromatic triple harp, with its three rows of strings. Techniques drawn from minimal music are evident in "Twin Rows" (and to a lesser extent in the "Quartet after Abel"). "Fanfare" is influenced by twelve-tone serialism while taking its rhythms from Baroque marches and countermarches. The retrospective "Prelude and Divisions on She's So Heavy" weds the 17th and 18th century practice of preludizing and division (variation) playing to the inimitable melodies and harmonies of the Beatles. "Galax" (named after the Virginia town hosting the most famous fiddle festial on the East Coast) joins viola da gamba chordal techniques with faint traces of Appalachian fiddle music. - Roy Whelden
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

ROY WHELDEN & RUDY RUCKER - Like A Passing River: music for viola da gamba by Roy Whelden and Carl Friedrich Abel (New Albion 072; USA) This album is a continuous thread of mutually supporting music and text. The music was created to accompany selections from Rudy Rucker's novel, "All the Visions" (Ocean View Books, 1991).
All the musical numbers, except "Adagio" by Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787), are written by Roy Whelden and performed by American Baroque (Stephen Schultz, Baroque flute and director; Elizabeth Blumenstock, Baroque violin; Whelden, viola da gamba; Sarah Freiberg, Baroque cello; Cheryl Ann Fulton, triple harp; with Karen Clark, alto.) All spoken items are written and read by Rudy Rucker. The words to "Like A Passing River" are a translation by Gary Snyder of a poem by Han-Shan, a Chinese mystic and poet of the Eighth Century A.D. The words to the "Rucker Songs" are adapted from "All the Visions."
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

CHEN YI - The Music of Chen Yi (New Albion 090; USA) The modern society is a great network of complex latitudes and attitudes, everything exists in equal rights under different cultures, environments and conditions. They keep changing at every moment and interact with the others, so that each experience that we come across can become the source and exciting medium of our creation. As to the music composition, it reflects the precipitation of a composer's cultural and psychological construct. A serious composer should learn to choose and adjust the yardstick, to establish some relatively stable principles on which he or she can base the creation. Regarding my composition style, I believe that language can be translated into music. Since I speak out naturally in my mother tongue, in my music there is Chinese blood, Chinese philosophy and customs. However, music is a universal language, I hope to get the essence of both Eastern and Western cultures and write more compositions that embody my temperament and spirit of this brave new epoch. -Chen Yi
CD $15

MATTHIAS ZIEGLER - Uakti (New Albion 104; USA) New music for contrabass flute, a personal vision of a solo polyphonic music Matthias Ziegler is a world class musician who is a virtuoso flute player. On this CD he presents a personal vision of a solo polyphonic music that is complete in sound, form, melody, harmony, driving rhythm and rich with human feeling. Evocative, virtuoso, and playful, he takes us into a fantastic and joyful world of sound that is both unfamiliar in texture but familiar in its lyric construction. His wit, intelligence, and appetite for sound has created an array of music that references many musical traditions yet is still his own. It is one thing to discover a new sound, it is another thing to know its greater musical potential. Transformation from the unfamiliar to the familiar is one of Ziegler's many gifts.
A music that is so broad and performed with such virtuosic ease belies the fact that so much research, and consequent musical and technical solutions have been found. On the instrumental level Ziegler has been involved in the flute zeitgeist of the past twenty-five years pioneered by Robert Dick, Pierre-Yves Artaud and others who have been fascinated with unlocking and codifying the sonic secrets of a micro sound world of the flute rich in nuance and musical potential. This work has been a collaboration between performer/composer and the worlds best and open minded flute makers (Kaspar Baechi, Eva Kingma, The Brannen Brothers, Kotato & Fukushima) to develop new instruments. In Ziegler's case, he has also worked with electronic sound designers, who have aimed to meet his needs of amplifying and making custom made microphones, some even imbedded within the instruments to project his rich sound world and imagination. He more than anyone else has found solutions to fully expand and project his language to make it perceivable to the public. To overly emphasize this aspect would miss the point. All this is to the service of a broad musical vision, of rhythm, melody, harmony, sound fantasy, and human feeling. - Mark Dresser
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

DARYNN ZIMMER - Oiseau Bleu (New Albion 078; USA) This collection of lesser known French art songs of the fin-de-siecle era presents the startlingly pure voice of Darynn Zimmer within piano and chamber orchestra settings. Poems of love, of nature, of despair, celebration and whimsy. This recital was created to evoke a world that had not yet fully become modern.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)

EVAN ZIPORYN - Typical Music (New Albion 128; USA) "I grew up believing musical boundaries to be porous, flowing into one another: my father playing chamber music and Gypsy violin, my grandmother's Yiddish chorus, my mother's Folkways collection, plus the radio, open-minded teachers, and my own garage prog-rock excursions. At age 19 I heard Balinese gamelan, I spent long periods there in the 1980s and started my own ensemble, Gamelan Galak Tika, in 1993. These pieces from the last five years live in the margins, between musical traditions - classical and popular, western and eastern." - E.Z.
CD $15 (Out of print, but we have it!)




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


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

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

To help avoid this problem and get our newsletter:

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

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

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

AOL: IF YOU HAVE AN AOL MAIL ACCOUNT, GET RID OF IT! They block senders WITHOUT the consent of the user, and recently virtually all of our AOL newsletter subscribers have not been able to receive it, and attempts to whitelist us have failed! WE RECOMMEND you get a GMAIL or YAHOO account, and switch over!