A Very Special 60th Happy Birthday to John Zorn this September 2nd!



The Ninth Month rolls in with UNbelievable Recordings from..

Cacaw: Knoblock/Noriega/Davis! Joseph Daley's 'Seven Heavenly Virtues'! Matt Ulery's Loom! Dennis Gonzalez Yells at Eels! Charles Waters/Andrew Barker Qt!

John Ehlis/John Tchicai! Linda Oh! Luis Lopes Huminization 4tet with Rodrigo Amado/Aaron & Stefan Gonzalez! Michel Gentile/Daniel Kelly/Rob Garcia!

Ryuichi Sakamoto & Taylor Deupree! Federico Squasabia/Danilo Gallo/Nelide Bandello! Brian Ellis! Kaboom Karavan! Syntaks! Harold Budd! Bruce Gilbert & Baw!

John Stevens' Away! Slide Hampton/Karl Berger/Glenn Ferris! Mulatu Atsake! Thad Jones & the Danish Radio Big Band! Captain Beefheart! Ornette Coleman! Sun Ra Arkestra! Pharoah Sanders! Roky Erickson 77-79!




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The DMG Free Weekly In-Store Performance Series Continues in 2013 With:

Sunday, September 1st:
6pm: FRANK GRATKOWSKI & THOMAS HEBERER - Alto Sax & Trumpet!

Sunday, September 8th:
No In-Store While the Guelph Jazz Festival in Ontario is Happening!

Sunday, September 15th:
6pm: DANIEL CARTER / NICOLAS LETMAN-BURTINOVICH! Multi-Horns & Contrabass!

Sunday, September 22nd:
6pm: JESSICA LURIE & KANE MATTHIS - Alto Sax & Kora Duo!

Sunday, September 29th Double-Header:
6pm: GHOSTS OF THE HOLY GHOST SPERMIC BROTHERHOOD Featuring: ANDY HAAS / DAVID GROLLMAN / MICHAEL EVANS!
7pm: THE CORE TRIO plus WILLIAM PARKER Featuring: THOMAS HELTON / SETH PAYNTER /JOE HERTENSTEIN!

Sunday, October 6th Double-Header:
6pm: BRIAN PRUNKA NASHAZ - Oud Player & Band - CD Release Set Featuring: KENNY WARREN / NATHAN HERRARA / VIN SCALIA / BRAIN PRUNKA!
7pm: TRISMEGISTUS with JOE MOFFETT/BEN GERSTEIN/SEAN ALI/DEVIN GRAY!


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WKCR-FM Proudly Presents:

Zorn@60 on WKCR -- September 2, 2013 through September 30, 2013

A full month of New Music programming in honor of John Zorn's 60th birthday In September 2013, WKCR's New Music Department will explore the music and community of John Zorn. The festival will begin with a 24-hour birthday broadcast on September 2, and continue on all Afternoon New Music and Transfigured Night programs, in addition to various Classical, Jazz, and In All Languages programs throughout the month, culminating on the 30th. The festival will be broadcast throughout New York City at 89.9 FM-NY, and it will stream worldwide online at www.wkcr.org.

In addition to shows guest-programmed by Zorn himself, the festival will include rarities from Zorn's collection and WKCR's archives, in-depth programs highlighting Zorn's ongoing musical projects (including Naked City, Masada, Game Pieces, Filmworks, and more), and interviews and live performances with Cyro Baptista, Anthony Coleman, Sylvie Courvoisier, Dave Douglas, Annie Gosfield, Erik Friedlander, Fred Frith, Pauline Kim, David Krakauer, Ikue Mori, George Lewis, John Medeski, Evan Parker, Fred Sherry, Trey Spruance, and many more. Check www.wkcr.org throughout the month for a detailed schedule and more information.

Ever since making some of his first recordings at the WKCR studios in the late 1970s, John Zorn has been a prolific and unpredictable presence on the New York City experimental music scene. He has played on hundreds of recordings, founded his own record label, Tzadik, started a vital music performance space, The Stone, and cultivated a tight and generous group of collaborators. A composer, performer, arranger, producer, improvisor, impresario, and MacArthur Fellow, Zorn has explored a vast and impressive spectrum of genres - including jazz, rock, hardcore punk, classical, klezmer, popular, and improvised, among many others - over the past four decades.


For more information about any of the Zorn @ 60 events go to www.zornat60.com


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[JOE] JOSEPH DALEY EARTH TONE ENSEMBLE With JASON KAO HWANG/MAZZ SWIFT/CHARLES BURNHAM/CURTIS STEWART/SARAH BERNSTEIN/JERRY GONZALEZ/SKY STEELE/TREVOR NEW/LAFAYETTE HARRIS/KEN FILIANO/BENJAMIN BROWN/WARREN SMITH et al - The Seven Heavenly Virtues (Joda 01; USA) This is a 24 member (16 strings) orchestral work composed and conducted by Joseph Daley with a large number of Downtown's best: Jason Hwang, Mazz Swift, Charles Burnham, Sarah Bernstein, Akua Dixon, Marika Hughes, Ken Filiano, Lafayette Harris and Warren Smith. The special guests include: Jerry Gonzalez on trumpet, Onaje Allan Gumbs on keyboards and Satoshi Takeishi & Richard Huntley on percussion. Mr. Daley calls this work the next logical step after his masterwork, "The Seven Deadly Sins", which was released in January of 2011. He uses many of the same musicians and you can tell that a great deal of work was put into this project as well.
Each of the Heavenly virtues get one piece plus there is three "Sketches" which are dedicated to Warren Smith, Billy Bang and Bill Dixon. I've been listening to quite a bit of modern orchestral music over the past few weeks due to a vinyl collection we bought last month: Stravinsky, Bartok, Penderecki, Varese, etc. Listening to this disc on CD, I am filled with an equally awe-inspiring sound of immensely warm, transformative cascading strings, swirling in elegant sweeps. Underneath is an equally enchanting blend of piano (Lafayette Harris with Onaje Allan Gumbs), contrabass (Ken Filiano & Ben Brown) and percussion (the eminent Warren Smith with a couple of fine hand-percussionist). The are a revolving cast of stunning string solos from Curtis Stewart, Mazz Swift, Jason Hwang and Elektra Curtis. What stands out most throughout is the composing, arranging and conducting by Joseph Daley who should be commended for making this entire effort flow so effortlessly with so many layers of intersecting parts which create a rich and haunting tapestry of compelling colors. It is a good thing that Mr. Daley only releases one his gems every couple of years since it will take a while to absorb the wealth of riches found here. An outstanding effort and great way to end our Summer on an inspired note. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $15


New on Skirl!

CACAW [LANDON KNOBLOCK/OSCAR NORIEGA/JEFF DAVIS] - Stellar Power (Skirl 23; USA) When musicologists of the future look back to find the missing link between the avant-jazz and synth rock of the early 21st century and the hybrid sounds that have yet to reach our contemporary ears, the debut CD by the futurist jazz trio CACAW could easily mark a key moment in that evolution. With music inspired by the love between robots, the swallowing of one star by another, and elements in a state of change, Stellar Power is an album driven by transition, whether in the music or in the cosmos.
Formed in 2010 by keyboardist Landon Knoblock, CACAW itself evolved from an acoustic improvising trio into a vehicle for Knoblock's forward-looking compositions and experimentation with electric sounds. Saxophonist Oscar Noriega and drummer Jeff Davis were both members of a larger ensemble formed by Knoblock to perform the music of Andrew Hill. When only the three of them were able to make a rehearsal one day, Knoblock immediately recognized the intense chemistry they shared and determined to explore it further.
That combination of intuitive interaction and sonic range led to the development of CACAW's sound - and, as the onomatopoeic name implies, sound is the operative word. "CACAW is a sound," Knoblock explains, "it's not a real word. It doesn't have a meaning other than representing a sound, so it represents the music we're making - when the actual act of creation is happening, it's just about making sounds. Not keys, not modes, not harmonies, not intervals - just sounds." Those sounds span the space-age sludge of album opener Double Dagger and the Kubrickian weightlessness of Space Robot Falls in Love, the android romance of Replicant Lover and the interstellar auroras of Neutron Star, Eating Its Binary Neighbor. The titles, and the stories behind them, reflect Knoblock's lifelong interest in science and science fiction, as do the cosmic textures of his synths and electronics.
CD $14



New on Stockholm's Ayler Records!

DENNIS GONZALEZ & YELLS AT EELS With AARON & STEFAN GONZALEZ + AAKASH MITTAL - Colorado At Clinton (Ayler 133; EEC) Featuring Dennis Gonzalez on trumpet & cornet, Aakash Mittal on alto sax, Aaron Gonzalez on contrabass and Stefan Gonzalez on drums. Although Yells at Eels (Dennis Gonzalez and his two sons) have been around for the nearly a decade, Aaron and Stefan are still pretty young but no less experienced and well-traveled. There have been a half dozen Yells at Eels discs so far and all but one have had guest musicians. For this one they have invited alto saxist Aakash Mittal, who is a longtime friend of Stefan, who had disappeared for years. I hadn't heard of Mr. Mittal before this, but I very glad to hear his contribution this this disc. Both Dennis and Aakash each contributed songs to this CD and although this is the first time that this quartet played together, it sounds as if they have been playing for many years. The first piece, "Devil's Slide" has a laid-back, spiritual jazz vibe with drifting harmonies and simmering waves of calm underneath. Both Dennis and Aakash each take sublime, haunting solos. You can tell that the Gonzalez brothers rhythm team have been playing together for a long time, since they seem to think and play together effortlessly, often creating waves of support underneath each solo as well as weaving a web of their own and changing the mood of the band as they go. Mr. Mittal plays a wonderful, tear-jerking tenor-like solo on "Shadows" which places him firmly amongst many other well-known legends. "Shades of India" features some transcendent bowed bass & mallets with hypnotic horns. The group sounds reminds me of a number of mid-sixties spirit jazz ensembles like the New York Art Quartet or a Don Cherry Quartet with similar instrumentation. This piece is long and Aakash, Dennis and Aaron all take extraordinary, thoughtful, story like solos. Each Yells at Eels release is magical, transformative and feels like music to help heal troubled souls. This is yet another jewel. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18

LUIS LOPES HUMANIZATION 4TET With RODRIGO AMADO/AARON GONZALEZ/STEFAN GONZALEZ - Live In Madison (Ayler 134; EEC) Featuring Luis Lopes on electric guitar, Rodrigo Amado on tenor sax, Aaron Gonzalez on double bass and Stefan Gonzalez on drums. This disc was (well) recorded live in Madison, Wisconsin in July of 2011. Although this is the third disc by the Humanization 4tet, both Portuguese musicians (Lopes & Amado) have other projects/discs out as do the Gonzalez brothers who are members of Yells at Eels with their father Dennis as well as working with other fine players like Curtis Clark. While Luis (3), Rodrigo (1) and Aaron (1) all contribute compositions to this disc there is one cover of the classic song by Arthur Blythe called "Bush Baby" which opens this disc. "Bush Baby" features a rather funky groove with some sly, wah wah guitar from Luis and great tenor from Rodrigo. It has that fresh mid-seventies loft-jazz sound which still sounds great today by blending categories seamlessly, without regard to current trends. Both Luis on electric guitar and Rodrigo on tenor sax take a number of slamming solos throughout, filled with bent, barbed-wire spirits, twists and turns. "Jungle Gymnastics" is an appropriately titled song with is fast and furious and constantly shifting gears as it soars. Funk or punk/jazz?!? This does have some of that hybridization and unexpected changes in direction. Don't get me wrong, not all of this is over-the-top. "Long March for Frida Kahlo" does have a more relaxed and memorable melody which elps to balance the craziness somewhat. This quartet once played here at DMG a few years ago and were amazing. This disc does capture them on a particularly inspired evening. Strong medicine for troubled times. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $18


New from Dave Douglas' Greenleaf label!

MATT ULERY'S LOOM With MARQUIS HILL/GEOF BRADFIELD/ROB CLEARFIELD/JON DEITEMYER - Wake An Echo (Greenleaf 1031; USA) Loom is an acoustic jazz quintet influenced by current indie rock and the folk music of the Americas and Europe. The personnel includes five unique composers, bandleaders, and improvisers with Ulery at the compositional center.
The rhythm section, anchoring the ensemble since 2006, consists of the trio of pianist Rob Clearfield who doubles on accordion on Wake An Echo, drummer Jon Deitemyer, and Ulery on double bass. This grouping also provided the backbone to the By A Little Light ensemble. These are musical confidantes who have collaborated on countless endeavors helping to foster what is a deep musical relationship with the type of confidence essential to the sensitive elasticity of Ulery's music.
The frontline of the Loom quintet is a unique blend of trumpet and bass clarinet. While Geof Bradfield is an accomplished tenor saxophonist, Ulery asked him to play bass clarinet exclusively after hearing him with trumpeter Marquis Hill in a different setting. With Hill's dark tone, Bradfield's tenor-like agility on bass clarinet this is a fresh, new sound for Loom. "Bassist Matt Ulery's quietly compelling compositions on his new disc should come as no surprise to anyone who heard last year's By A Little Light (Greenleaf Music). But while the predecessor was a large-group statement (with added voices and strings) spread over two discs, Wake An Echo is a single CD that presents Ulery's Chicago-based instrumental quintet, Loom. None of this means that the new album is any less ambitious, or less accomplished. Even without singers present, each of these tracks has a distinctive vocal quality, as Ulery crafts complex harmonies and graceful structural shifts. He also sets up interesting challenges for the group: Primarily a saxophonist, Geof Bradfield shines on this set, where he sticks to bass clarinet. His lyricism on the big woodwind leads to an oblique conversation with trumpeter Marquis Hill on Over Under Other before Ulery, pianist Rob Clearfield and drummer Jon Deitemyer make it all cohere. My Favorite Stranger features an intriguing combination of textures provided by Bradfield, Hill and Clearfield on accordion. While Ulery takes no extended solos on the disc, his writing, arranging and leading speak volumes. - Aaron Cohen, Downbeat
CD $12

LINDA OH With BEN WENDELL/JAMES MULLER/TED POOR - Sun Pictures (Greenleaf 1032; USA) The title of the album comes from the world's oldest operating outdoor cinema located in Broome, Australia where Linda's sister lives. That imagery and concept are central to the feel of these tunes - Linda describes each piece as a "snapshot from recent travels and experiences playing music." And busy she's been, playing with Dave Douglas' Quintet, Sound Prints Quintet with Dave and Joe Lovano, and countless other projects the helped shape these tunes.
Jazz bassist Linda Oh has returned with her third solo album, entitled Sun Pictures. While the effort's title is taken from an historic outdoor movie theater in her sister's hometown of Broome, Australia, its concept is based on the bassist's journeys abroad. "Each one of these tunes is a tiny snapshot of my recent travels and of my experiences playing music," Oh shared. "I think it's a good process to keep writing even when you're traveling and working and playing. It gets a bit tough when you have to run from one city to another, but I always try to find the time."
Sun Pictures was recorded as part of a free session at Columbia University's jazz radio station WKCR in New York City. In that small space, the bassist was joined by drummer Ted Poor, saxophonist Ben Wendel and guitarist James Muller. The gathering of talent was a chance occurrence that Oh had been working to get together for sometime and finally their schedules all lined up. "I thought we would all work really well together," she said. "The stars just aligned." The songs on Sun Pictures range from airy and mysterious to tense and urgent.
CD $12


MICHEL GENTILE/DANIEL KELLY/ROB GARCIA - Works (Connection Works 102; USA) Featuring Michel Gentile on flute, Daniel Kelly on piano and Rob Garcia on drums. I love it when an announced promo disc appears at DMG and proceeds to knock me out. I can't say I know much about Mr. Gentile although he was (is?) in a trio with Nate Radley called Denominators. I've known keyboard whiz Daniel Kelly for perhaps a decade since he moved here from school in Boston and he has played with Lisa Sokolov, Shanir Blumenkranz and Dmitri Tymoczko plus he was once in a trio with Okkyung Lee and Eyal Maoz that played at DMG when we were on East 5th Street. Drummer Rob Garcia has a couple of fine discs out on the Brooklyn Jazz Underground label as well as working with Chris Chalfant and a Monk tribute band called Brilliant Coroners.
All three members of this trio contributed compositions to this disc. When I listened to this disc at the store earlier this week, I was struck by how well the pieces arranged. The music is closer to chamber jazz than anything else. "Hundertwasser" has a pumping, early Chick Corea-like vibe, sort of pre-fusion Return to Forever with an outstanding drum break. Whether these had a quick or solo tempo, they are always well-written and intricately arranged. "Voir Dire" has an interesting circular structure which starts with one line repeating by the trio which continues as the trio revolves through solo (piano) and duo sections all connected. There are three "Soliloquy"s here, one for each instrument and each one is marvelous in their own way. Short but focused solo interludes which bridge whatever comes before and after. A few of these pieces ("Voir Dire") sound like progressive/rock workouts but without any pompousness, tight, intricate, complex workouts. For a long time, I thought that Robert Dick, Jamie Baum and Cheryl Pyle are the best flutists in the Downtown scene but it sounds as if Michel Gentile is also amongst the select group. This disc is rich in rewards on different levels, with strong writing and inspired playing throughout. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10


CHARLES WATERS QUARTET With CHRIS McINTYRE/GEORGE RUSH/ANDREW BARKER - Chroma Colossus: 13 Visions of the City (Amish 45; USA) "This LP/DA release marks an important new contribution to the modern jazz tradition. Among other reevaluations of New York that occurred in the aftermath of 9-11 and Hurricane Sandy, Chroma Colossus: 13 Visions of the City presents an important imagining of our relation to the space, sound, energy, and resilience of New York. Beyond Waters, the quartet consists of Andrew Barker (drums), Chris McIntyre (trombone) and George Rush (bass/tuba). The album's song cycle is based on a text by Brooklyn-based author and MacArthur Fellow Colson Whitehead, who reads a passage from his book The Colossus of New York on the song 'Brooklyn Bridge.'" Includes mp3 download code with bonus digital track.
LP $22


JOHN STEVENS AWAY With ROBERT CALVERT/JON CORBETT/NIGEL MOYSE/MARTIN HOLDER/NICK STEPHENS - Away At Home: At The Plough Stockwell August 1978 (Loose Torque 25; UK) PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED! Featuring Nigel Moyse & Martin Holder on electric guitars, Robert Calvert on saxes, jon Corbett on trumpet, Nick Stephens on bass and John Stevens on drums & compositions. Away was John Stevens' free/fusion band and they recorded a bunch of intense and often overlooked records. This one was recorded live at The Plough in the Stockwell section of London in August of 1978, a place where Stevens had a weekly gig for many years (there is an earlier Loose Torque release, Integration [#05], of the same outfit minus Corbett in February of the same year). Although this band is often referred to as a fusion band, they are more of an amazing jazz/rock outfit. Avant-funk or earthy jazz-rock?!? This joyous, yet most creative music is hard to pin down, since it is in-between any established categories. That stands as a testament to the late, great John Stevens. -BLG
CD $15



The latest from John Ehlis!

JOHN EHLIS ENSEMBLE With JOHN TCHICAI/MAZZ SWIFT/ROB HENKE/ERIK LAWRENCE/MATT McDONALD/DAVID PHILLIPS/BENNY KOONYEVSKY/HECTOR MORALES et al - Along The Way (Sivac 1003; USA) 2012 release. John Ehlis acoustic guitar; Mazz Swift violin; Rob Henke trumpet; Erik Lawrence alto & soprano saxophones; John Tchicai tenor saxophone; Matt McDonald electric guitar; David Phillips acoustic bass; Benny Koonyevksy drums; Hector Morales drums & percussion; Glen Fittin percussion; Chris White III percussion.
Guitarist John Ehlis worked on his new CD for more than three years, developing his compositions before live audiences and recording them over time. Ehlis is an avid student of world music, an interest that comes through not only in his playing but also in the unified message of the musicians with whom he collaborates. On Mayan Canoe Latin percussion supports a pastiche of modal improvs; Mbira Chante's folksy melody becomes the focal point of an extended sax line and African Trains - blends polyrhythmic drumming with a bright melody, which expands into bebop as it bounces from one soloist to the next. At no point do these diverse influences battle each other for attention; you have to listen closely to note them.
Ehlis includes two free improv pieces on the disc, Five Moving Up and Dixon Line, which now serve as an homage of sorts to two seminal players - trumpeter Bill Dixon, who died in June 2010, and Danish saxophonist John Tchicai, who passed away in October 2012, just before Ehlis completed the recording. Tchicai and Ehlis recorded the aforementioned tunes the day after Dixon passed, along with Tchicai's Multicolored Bridge, an atonal duet between the saxophonist and trumpeter Rob Henke.
For his cover art, New Jersey-based Ehlis turned to Peter Jacobs, a local artist who for the last eight years has been creating one collage per day using images culled from the daily paper. The surrealistic image resembles a guitar - one with a jagged line reaching outward toward the world, an arrow pointing inward toward the center and a single eye gazing at the viewer. This image, like Ehlis' music, holds contrary motion together in one place, both offering a snapshot of where we once were and a hint where we might go. - Suzzane Lorge
CD $14

and, last copies of..

JOHN EHLIS ENSEMBLE With JOHN TCHICAI/DAVID LOFTON/JON BIRDSONG/CHUCK EHLIS/DAVE MIHALY/RAY McNAMARA/HORACIO ALTAN/DENISE FRAGA - San Carlos (Sivac 1002; USA) 2002 release. John Ehlis acoustic & electric guitars, mbira, ocarina & percussion; Denise Fraga voice; Jon Birdsong cornet, alto horn, bamboo flute & percussion; John Tchicai tenor saxophone, bass ocarina & voice; David Lofton electric guitar & guitar synthesizer; Chuck Ehlis electric bass, slide guitar & thwackoleum, Dave Mihaly drums, percussion & clay flute; Horacio Altan percussion, ocarina & voice; Ray McNamara percussion
Guitarist Ehlis and his tight Ensemble cover a lot of territory on this release. Overall, my impression is often that of a post "Bitches Brew" Miles with a Latin flavor. This is not to say that the music here is a derivative copy, but rather that it works in similar territory. The sound is often thick and dense, like on "Sana De La Noche," which is propelled by twin drummers and percussion. Layered on top is a searing Mclaughlenesque guitar. The bass bubbles funkily as things move in and out of the mix. The rhythmic "D.C." is dedicated to the late Don Cherry. A guitar loop/arpeggio is set up with percussion and atmospheric guitar. The horn/guitar/voice melody floats on top. "Path Of Hope" features a repetitive acoustic guitar riff with a unison guitar/horn melody. Again, the Miles feeling is there, as you sense the music was more or less conducted in the studio out of a very open structure. Jon Birdsong delivers a beautiful muted cornet solo. "Thumbalina" has slide guitar over percussion and cornet. "The Whistler" is just that - a short track of whistling over an atmospheric background. Even though the music is sometimes dark, there is an energy, a sense of joy that permeates it. You can tell that this is a working band and not just a studio project. Highly recommended! - Michael Bettine
CD $14

JOHN EHLIS ENSEMBLE With JOHN TCHICAI/MARKUS HAWKINS/MARK WYMAN/DAVID LOFTON/DEREK JONES/JEREMY BROOKS/AARON JOHNSTON - John Ehlis Ensemble (Sivac 1001; USA) 1996 release. John Ehlis electric guitar; Markus Hawkins violin & voice; John Tchicai tenor & soprano saxophones; Mark Wyman piano; David Lofton electric guitar; Derek Jones bass; Jeremy Brooks drums; Aaron Johnston percussion
CD $14


FEDERICO SQUASSABIA With DANILO GALLO/NELIDE BANDELLO - Walkabout (Trovarobato 03; Italy) [limited time price; normally $16] Featuring Federico Squassabia on piano & compositions, Danilo Gallo on electric & double-bass and Nelide Bandello on drums. Each of the nine songs on this disc were inspired either by a geographical place, real (Amsterdam, Belfast & Bologna) or fictional (Ernest Hemingway, Sergio Leone). While both rhythm mates here (Gallo & Bandello) can be found on numerous discs from the El Gallo Rojo label, Mr. Squassabia has just one disc from the Improvvisatore Involontario label, which I reviewed in the past year or two. This disc was also a trio disc under the name Feet of Mud. Mr. Squassabia wrote all but one song here, with just Duke Ellington cover. Each piece seems to evoke a different place or mood, hence the inspirations named next to each track. On the first piece, "The Jellyfish Meal", the slightly fuzzed electric bass gives the song an bent, somewhat funky groove. The vibe often has a nice, feel good sensation going on but then it unexpectedly veers into darker waters at times as well. Both the writing and playing pretty inventive and quirky with unlikely twists and turns. I am not so sure about how any of these pieces evoke any of the places that are mentioned next to the song titles but I do dig each piece and the mood it evokes in me. The Duke Ellington cover is "Sophisticated Lady" and it is a most elegant, sublime version with the bass up front. This disc ends with an exuberant version of "Un Mondo Meraviglioso", which has some strong, sweeping two handed piano. I get the feeling that this disc will grow on me more as time goes on because there are things within that you would miss if you weren't listening so closely. - Bruce Lee Gallanter, DMG
CD $10


URI CAINE ENSEMBLE With RALPH ALESSI/CHRIS SPEED/THEO BLECKMANN/MARK HELIAS/JIM BLACK et al//GEORGE GERSHWIN - Rhapsody In Blue (W&W 205; Germany) Caine chooses Gershwin's outstanding masterpiece "Rhapsody In Blue" (Gershwin wrote this in 1924) as the core piece of his interpretations and fills this amazing opus with the spirit of a new path, a renewal of jazz, and intoxicating rhythms which have reached the American continent from Africa, and not least, Klezmer melodies played more than hundred years ago in the homeland of their ancestors. Mr. Caine is an exceptional composer and bandleader who knows how to write tailor-made arrangements. The following members belong to the Uri Caine Ensemble: the voices Barbara Walker and Theo Bleckmann, who present themselves in a duet "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off". Barbara Walker, who comes from the world of Gospel, also sings the duo "Slap That Bass" with Mark Helias, and Theo Bleckmann interprets "But Not For Me". He is, like Uri Caine, one of the musicians who can cross completely and convincingly the anyhow unnecessary border between serious and light music. Rounding out the ensemble are Joyce Hammann on violin, Ralph Alessi on trumpet and Jim Black on drums; outstanding musicians who have been part of Uri Caine's close circle for many years.
CD $17
also available as Ltd #'d LP for $54


BRUCE GILBERT & BAW - Diluvial (Touch 87; UK) Local preoccupations with rising sea levels fuel Diluvial -- a work that dwells on the dynamics of flood geology and global warming; creation stories and climate change. Diluvial is an evolving soundscape and environment by Bruce Gilbert and Beaconsfield ArtWorks (David Crawforth & Naomi Siderfin). This work was initiated on the Suffolk coast for Faster Than Sound, Aldeburgh 2011 and then developed for a show at Beaconsfield, London later that year. Taking rising sea levels as its theme, Diluvial imagines the world before, during, and after the next great flood, referring to an ancient, ex nihilo interpretation of global warming. Field recordings from beaches in Suffolk and London, conceptual scoring, visual installation, and sonic performance fuelled Diluvial's evolving soundscape, alluding to the mythical seven days of creation. Diluvial was a compositional collaboration in three iterations between Bruce Gilbert and BAW (David Crawforth and Naomi Siderfin). Synthesized sound generated by Gilbert and Crawforth in response to Siderfin's score and iPhone field research, was assembled over seven weeks into an electroacoustic composition: "The Void," "The Expanse," "Dry Land," "Lights," "Creatures of Sea and Air," "Beasts of the Earth," and "Rest/Reflection." Bruce Gilbert is a founding member of the influential art-punk band Wire and a pioneer of experimental noise. He studied art and found a niche in the late 1960s avant-garde music scene and continues to work as an iconic figure. He makes visual and sonic works in a range of media. David Crawforth and Naomi Siderfin -- Beaconsfield ArtWorks -- have been collaborating on experimental solo projects since they co-founded Beaconsfield in 1994. Their art interventions have exhibited internationally and whether installation or performance, almost always involve sound. The development and exhibition of Soundtrap V: Diluvial was generously supported by PRS Foundation, Arts Council England, Big Shed and Hydrosphere. Artwork & photography: Jon Wozencroft. Sequenced and mastered by Russell Haswell.
CD $16

MIKA VAINIO/JOACHIM NORDWALL - Monstrance (Touch 88; UK) Mika Vainio was a member of the legendary minimal electronic duo Pan Sonic. Emerging from the Finnish industrial and rave music scene in the early '90s, they became one of the most important electronic music acts. Vainio's solo work goes from abstract drone to minimal and experimental techno, under his own name or as O for labels like Touch, Raster Noton, Sahko, and Editions Mego. He has worked with Alan Vega, Keiji Haino, and many others. His music is always extremely physical and present. Mika Vainio lives and works in Berlin. Joachim Nordwall has run the iDEAL Recordings label since 1998, releasing intense electronic music of various kinds and organizing club nights and festivals around the globe. He started making electronic music as a teenager in the late '80s in the psychedelic drone duo Alvars Orkester (Ash International), drifted off to sweaty avant garde punk rock with Kid Commando in the late '90s and formed the ritual rock and electronic drone group The Skull Defekts in 2005. He is also recording solo works under his own name and works with Mats Gustafsson, The Gagmen (with Aaron Dilloway and Nate Young), Mark Wastell, and The Sons Of God. Nordwall is based in Stockholm. Monstrance is their first album together and consists of drone works and pulsating electronic minimalism, but also guitar, acoustic elements, organs, and metal percussion. It was recorded in Einsturzende Neubauten's Berlin studio during an intense session in early summer of 2010. Monstrance is a place where Vainio's and Nordwall's backgrounds as musicians and composers meet, and something new and extremely powerful is born. Something deep, raw, and direct. Artwork & photography by Jon Wozencroft.
CD $16


HAROLD BUDD - Perhaps [2 LP set] (Root Strata 96; USA) Recorded live on December 8, 2006 at a memorial event for James Tenney at California Institute of the Arts, Perhaps is Harold Budd sublimely distilled. Striking in its restraint and simplicity yet profoundly resonant in its depth and message, it is both eulogy to a departed friend and defining statement from an artist at the apotheosis of his career. Originally available only digitally (and only from Samadhisound's web site), Perhaps sees its first-ever and much-deserved physical release, mastered and cut at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin. Engineered by Justin Jones (at CalArts), Clay Chaplin and Aaron Drake. Edited by Justin Jones. Layout by Vicky Fong. "Some 35 years ago, Jim Tenney and I were half of the composition faculty at the brand new California Institute of the Arts -- CalArts. He was in those five years (1970-1975) my best friend. We lived in an out-of-the-way rural area at the fringes of the Mojave Desert and were often to be found drinking beer and playing pool in one of a number of local cowboy bars. We never agreed about music. Jim was a champion of early 20th century modernism; I was an anti-vanguard sensualist, at least in music. In the early 70s, Jim set about writing a series of 'Post Card Pieces' -- short aphorisms for dozens of friends. The one for me was called '(night)', as I recall: asking for something that's 'very long ... nearly white' ... My performance, in Jim's memory (75-minutes, non-stop and improvised) was, thus, not a composition but a provocation, and one I whole-heartedly addressed: I loved every moment. The 'titles' were conjured a month after the performance. Mostly, they don't refer to any aspect of the music they're joined to. The final task was to edit out some (but not all) extraneous noise and to shorten some gaps (as I pondered very quickly what to do next)." --Harold Budd, January 31, 2007
2 LP set for $25


RYUICHI SAKAMOTO + TAYLOR DEUPREE - Disappearance (12K 1076; USA) "Isolation, solitude, contemplation. These are the themes that discreetly weave their way through Disappearance, the first collaboration album between 12k's Taylor Deupree and pioneering electronic composer and pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto. The five tracks that make up Disappearance are delicate and composed, however, they're not all peacefulness and placidity. Micro-tuned edges, bursts of noise, percussive prepared piano and the warble of old reel-to-reel tape keep the mood grounded and warm, turning it inward and asking the listener to reflect on their path. 'Curl to Me,' the album's final piece, is highlighted by the sounds of Ichiko Aoba, a major up-and-coming singer/songwriter from Tokyo. Both Sakamoto and Deupree have recently worked with Aoba in Japan and wanted her presence felt on the album. Emphasizing the solitude and stillness of the recordings, Aoba provided both her voice and the almost disturbingly intimate sound of her own heartbeat. Disappearance is a soundtrack for holding breaths. Sakamoto and Deupree lay down worn roads, but don't leave signs, for a journey woven together by the quiet celebration of the fragility of nature and life."
CD $13

MOSKITOO - Mitosis (12K 1077; USA) "Mitosis begins with 'Wonder Particle,' a track that very much sums up Moskitoo's intentions: to embrace the digital with not only a human, but a distinctly feminine touch. Wispy, layered vocals swim around rhythmic fragments and warm insect-like noises. The music is strange and otherwordly, perhaps the soundtrack to an evening stroll on a warm night in a bustling alien city. There are lights, swarms of sound, a myriad of conversations blended by a thousand different stories of passers-by always on the move. The inspirations behind this second album are not far away from these ideas. Moskitoo herself was thinking of journeys, even ones on the cellular level. Mitosis, or the division of a cell into two identical sets of chromosomes, was a point of departure for Moskitoo as she explored the ideas of division, expansion, the human body, and small particles of matter. One can draw a correlation between these ideas and her music as it nervously wiggles it way through sounds both liquid and electronic. Mitosis is a dreamy, playful and serious album that shows Moskitoo's talents as a sound explorer and songwriter. It is at once both catchy and curious, a question that doesn't always need an answer."
CD $13


GARETH DAVIS & FRANCES-MARIE UITTI - Gramercy: Abridged Edition (Miasmah 19; UK) (LP edition has extra material). On Gramercy, we find clarinet-abuser Gareth Davis (who might be best-known for collaborations with Machinefabriek and Steven R. Smith) paired with virtuoso cellist Frances-Marie Uitti. Uitti is widely-revered for her unusual and original twin bow technique, which allows her to eke out far more sounds from the humble cello that you might initially expect. These sweeps and drones are matched perfectly with Davis' patented haunted drones and breathy chokes, resulting in a deftly academic yet unnervingly involving narrative. Gramercy manages the most difficult thing of all and makes music usually restricted to the hallowed libraries of institutions somehow read perfectly amongst label-mates Kreng and Gultskra Artikler. Davis and Uitti are not self-consciously "dark" but their treatments, when combined, evoke unmistakably shadowy, abstract imagery. It would be demeaning to simply label Gramercy as cinematic, but this is dream-like and alluring in the best possible way, bringing to mind the seamier, more unusual celluloid memories you could possibly conjure up. While challenging, the patient listener will be rewarded with an album of divine restraint, with its darkest corners inhabited by barely a whisper of sound, and in the end, it is this which truly scares us. CD $16
also available as 2 LP set for $24


BRIAN ELLIS - Quipu (Parallax Sounds 20; UK) 2011 release. Brian Ellis is a multi-instrumentalist from San Diego, California. He has released several albums in the last few years under multiple monikers and is perhaps better known as a lead guitarist for the progressive rock group, Astra. By playing guitar, bass, drums, various synthesizers and keyboards, saxophone, trumpet, sitar, xylophone, kalimba, etc., Brian creates the illusion of a large live band jamming all together. After releasing two albums in 2007 for the now-defunct Scottish electronic label, Benbecula Records, Brian found himself straying away from the programmed/sequenced elements and wanted to make an album where all the instruments were played live. The album was completed in early 2008 and was set to be the follow-up to The Silver Creature (BEN 042CD). Unfortunately, Benbecula decided to close its doors at this time and the album was shelved. Quipu takes Brian Ellis' jazz/fusion/funk sound from his previous solo works to the next level. The opening track "Birth" sets a deep atmosphere of delayed trumpets and saxophones with a slow beat and funky bass before exploding into an odd-timing heavy fusion workout harkening back to the days of Mahavishnu Orchestra. Later tracks like "Psaw" (featuring David Hurley of Astra on drums) take on much more of a free-jazz sound similar to Miles Davis' Bitches Brew era, full of dissonance and surprising elements. The final track "Walomendem" is a 14-minute progressive rock epic hailing as a tribute to the great French band Magma. Stunning artwork by Jessica Planter & Sean Painter.
CD $17

SYNTAKS [JAKOB SKOTT/ANNA CELILIA] - Nachtblende (Parallax Sounds 21; UK) 2011 release. Hailing from Denmark, Syntaks aka Jakob Skott and Anna Celilia's previous releases with record labels like Benbecula, Darla, Ghostly International, and Morr Music have all been great pieces of musical works in themselves and so are the musical projects they been involved in with, such as the likes of Jonas Munk of Manual, etc. This latest offering on Parallax Sounds Records is perhaps the broadest ranging Syntaks album to date. It is a massive effort in terms of both style and length, cultivated over a range of a few years. Nachtblende is the fully-realized scope of two Danish lover's vision -- a vision far removed from the minimalist design and grey skies of Scandinavia. On the masculine side you got your wall of feedback guitars, swirling arpreggios and dead-pan, dusty beats -- all rising, crackling and disappearing into the hemisphere. But what brings the creative counter-spark is the muted piano, haunted acoustic guitar-picking and wordless soprano sighs of Anna Cecilia. If making picturesque or cinematic music seems like a concept of the past, Nachtblende is an attempt to rewrite history on its own terms. Forging a gap between overdriven circuitry and minimalist ambient repetition, Nachtblende moves through the past 30 years of music on its own unique path. Drawing on the milestones of Brian Eno and Steve Reich, as well as the Bibio/Takoma-styled folk guitar-playing, the ambient textures of Syntaks doesn't stop there -- film composers Ennio Morricone, Popol Vuh and John Carpenter flutters through the sonic architecture of the album as well. And then there's the full scope of multi-layered psychedelic pop and Kraut-rock as well as the muffled shoegaze-esque cacophony of sounds, so expect similarities to artists like Boards Of Canada, Cocteau Twins, M83, My Bloody Valentine, Seefeel, Slowdive, Ulrich Schnauss, etc. In the end, everything is forged together in a phat, inseparable synthesized mix that is as delicate and fragile as it is dense and ear-shattering. The seemless mix of the turbulence on the surface and the pressure from the bottom is what makes Syntaks an uninhibited display of vibrant emotions, conjured by its creators' inner lives.
CD $17


WARM DIGITS - Interchange [CD + DVD] (Distraction 28; UK) Interchange is Warm Digits' experimental film and album of music inspired by photography and illustrations drawn from the Tyne and Wear Archives, of the 1970s' biggest civil engineering project on Tyneside -- the construction of the Metro. Invited to investigate the archives to find inspiration to make some new music, Warm Digits found a selection of photographs documenting the transitions between the crumbling, decommissioned British Rail stations of Tyneside and the new, futuristic Metro stations. The songs on Interchange, and the accompanying films which use the images as source material, take and hold onto some of the spirits conjured by these pictures: of hopefulness for a publicly-funded civic future, of the use of new technology for change, of the excitement and propulsion of travel. Warm Digits -- Steve Jefferis and Andy Hodson -- are the duo that emerged from Newcastle upon Tyne's underground scene with a sound as if Neu! and Cluster formed a supergroup with Giorgio Moroder, Emeralds, Kevin Shields, '70s Eno and Keith Levene. Live, Warm Digits are a motorik epiphany of drums, guitar and pulsing hardware, complete with mesmeric kosmische visuals; all that on-stage multi-tasking making their live sets a dynamic Kraut-disco experience. The last few years have seen Warm Digits support the legendary Goblin, play the Supersonic and The Netherlands' Tilburg festivals, as well as Berlin's Kraut/prog fest Polyhymnia. DVD format is PAL, region free.
CD + DVD set for $14


KABOOM KARAVAN [BRAM BOSTEELS et al] - Hokus Fokus (Miasmah 24; UK) LP version with download code. Bram Bosteels' Kaboom Karavan project reappears out of the thick Belgian jungle to deliver what must be one of the strangest and most exotic records since Gultskra Artikler's uncategorizable Kasha iz Topora. After the already quite surreal Barra Barra (MIA 015CD/LP) album on Miasmah from 2011, Bram takes his sound further into unknown yet still strangely familiar territories. Listening to Hokus Fokus feels like staring frozenly into a postcard sent from your long-lost uncle that went missing in the Amazon after an expedition gone wrong (circa year 1935). Merge this image with the decaying sounds of an old Tom Waits record slowly tuning out in the background and you're getting close. This is not instantly gratifiable music, but rather, a thick fog of details, sounds and atmospheres blended together with utmost precision and skill to create something quite unique that really shines with repeated listening and full immersion. Coming from a background as a notorious piano husk experimenter, film, theater, and dance composer, as well as regular Kreng collaborator, Bram has set off to confuse and wonder us with this selection of highly amazing Kaboom Karavan alternate-universe pieces fittingly entitled Hokus Fokus. For fans of '50s exotica records, Jeff Beal's score for Carnivale (the TV show) and Andy Votel/Demdike Stare-curated Pre-Cert entertainment (with artists such as Anworth Kirk and Slant Azymuth).
LP $20

KABOOM KARAVAN [BRAM BOSTEELS et al] - Short Walk With Olaf (Miasmah 25; UK) Short Walk With Olaf is Kaboom Karavan's debut album from 2007 that appeared as a freely downloadable album on the Mexican-based imprint Umor Rex, creating a cult following in the MP3 label scene at the time. Finally now properly mastered and given a well-deserved vinyl release. Mixing influences from the electronica and ambient scene with Americana, free-folk and avant-garde jazz, to name but a few, Short Walk With Olaf is first of all an incredibly beautiful and mystical piece of work that should fall in taste with everyone interested in film music, travels, small villages & deserted places. Olaf finds his place somewhere between the atmosphere of Jim Jarmusch films, Lounge Lizards and Volcano The Bear and is a great starting point for getting into the strange sound world of Kaboom Karavan. Includes a free mp3 download of the album.
LP $20

also available..

KABOOM KARAVAN [BRAM BOSTEELS et al] - Barra Barra (Miasmah 15; UK) This is the debut full-length release on Miasmah from Kaboom Karavan -- the Belgian collective led by Bram Bosteels. Kaboom Karavan has a history in theater, film and contemporary dance, but that doesn't really help shine a light on their music. They have collaborated with musicians all over the world including Miasmah's very own Kreng, and released a debut album on Mexico's Umor Rex imprint, but again, this probably only gives a small indicator of what the collective actually sound like. There is something effortlessly surreal about the band, and surrealism is an aspect of art often attempted and very rarely perfected. Here, Bosteels abuses his choice of instruments (and players) to the point where the listener would barely be able to place which instruments were being used at all, in fact at times you'd be hard pressed even to place what sort of music it was. Through a haze of pizzicato strings, clouds of sullen reverberation and clamorous percussion, you get the feeling that you have been catapulted into a universe just outside of perception. Jazz and Dadaism might be the cornerstones of Barra Barra but these disparate influences are twisted and melted beyond recognition, leaving only remnants on the finished product. Barra Barra is a complex album which takes patience to navigate through; you could hear the German clanking pre-industrialism of Einsturzende Neubauten, the slow, brooding doom of Bohren & Der Club Of Gore and the stuttering abstraction of Black To Comm, yet it still feels fresh and distinctly current. Unusually, the most fitting comparison might be the work of The Brothers Quay, as the ticking, creaking, stuttering songs feel perfectly matched with these flickering, haunted images. This is what makes the album such an appropriate addition to the Miasmah canon, and one that will haunt your dreams (and nightmares) for months to come. Includes a free mp3 download coupon.
LP $20
also available as CD for $16


KVARTETTEN SOM SPRANGDE - Kattvals (Subliminal Sounds 91; Sweden) Subliminal Sounds presents the band Kvartetten Som Sprangde (trans. "The Quartet That Blasted") and their album Kattvals (trans. "Cat Waltz"). First-ever vinyl reissue of one of the most sought-after and beautiful psych rock/progressive/pre-jazz rock instrumental albums ever recorded in Sweden. Originally released during the summer 1973 on the obscure Gump label. Powered by a C-3 organ, Ludwig kit and 50-watt Marshall head with a home-built cabinet, the skilled three-piece band (not a quartet, as the band name would have you believe) absolutely soars on this record, blasting away fantastically. The delicate use of the studio echo-chamber lends a magical, gossamer reverb to the whole album's sound. Includes a 4-page insert with lots of never-before-published photos and extensive liner notes by Reine Fiske (Dungen, The Amazing, etc.). Limited edition of 500 copies.
LP $30


PARSON SOUND [BO ANDERS PERSSON et al] - Parson Sound [3 LP Box set] (Subliminal Sounds 73; Sweden) Deluxe triple LP box set. A spectacular archival package of primitive drone and minimalist rock/trance/psych from the Swedish underground -- believe the hype as follows; one of the most memorable audio documents ever. After years of research, Subliminal Sounds is proud to present the nucleus of the Swedish 1960s-'70s underground psych rock scene: the legendary Parson Sound. This deluxe 3LP box set presents the most remarkable Swedish underground band, known in a later incarnation and continuation as International Harvester and Trad, Gras och Stenar (trans. "Trees, Grass and Stones"), and features both intricate studio recordings and orgiastic live performances. Parson Sound never released any records in their time and that is why very few have heard about them at all. The recordings date from 1967-1968 while the band explored unknown musical territory as well as inner- and outer space. In 1968, they were invited by Andy Warhol to play at the opening of his exhibition: "Screens, Films, Boxes, Clouds and a Book" at the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm and they also opened for The Doors. Influenced by the musical concepts of Terry Riley, Parson Sound worked at discovering and perfecting their own unique approach towards the mixing of rock and minimalism, creating some of the most remarkable psych- trance-drone-pre-noise music-rock sounds ever recorded. Parson Sound's music described contexts, interplay and organic growth and shaped a conception of the world in opposition to fragmentation, individual achievements and intellectual construction. This world was to be perceived as one body, a whole of inviolable parts. Their minimalist repetition with slight changes renders associations with slow growth, cyclic process, breathing, pulse, life, movement and machines. This persistent repetition also gives the listener an opportunity to discover the sounds, to meditate, to go into the music and join the same journey. Many times, one can discover a relationship with music of other cultures, and in comparison, the music of the Western world can feel cursory, unreliable -- as a fear of entering deep into feeling. Parson Sound's compositions often consist of harsh structures -- rhythm patterns with ostinato bass, a melodic figure which forms a base for improvisation. Other songs have a more thoroughly-elaborated structure that still leaves room for variation. The moment, the audience, the location formed their music. Their key phrase was "We, Here and Now!" and with time, the music came to have an increasingly religious or shamanistic streak, with more intensity, presence and warmth, striving for euphoria and ecstasy. The band's psychedelic approach is so fresh and vital that it transcends time. Listen to it now! A 3LP with informative, revised liner notes in English and lots of photos.
3 LP Box set for $66
also available as 2 CD set for $30



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Last Copies FOUND of these Out-Of-Print CDs!

BRANDON EVANS With TAYLOR BYNUM/CATHERINE BENT/KEVIN NORTON + CHRIS MATTHAY/GEORGE CREMASCHI - Recurring Moons: Quartet 1997 (Parallactic 01; USA) Brandon's first release on his own label from '97 finds him leading a quintet with Kevin Norton, Taylor Bynum, Catherine Bent, and Chris Matthay [George Cremaschi makes it a sextet for one cut]
New York-based multi-instrumentalist Brandon Evans began playing music as a teenager while a student at the San Francisco Art Institute, and later began studying and performing with jazz saxophonist Sonny Simmons. Eventually, Evans relocated to Connecticut to study composition with Anthony Braxton at Wesleyan University. Even after moving to New York in 1994, Evans continued to work closely with Braxton: he has appeared on a number of Braxton's recordings, and he often performed with Braxton as a member of his Ghost Trance Ensemble. After arriving in New York, Evans and Andre Vida also founded the Creative Trans-Informational Alliance (CTIA), which organized concerts featuring prominent avant-garde jazz musicians.
Evans' own music, often issued on his own Parallactic label, explores a combination of improvisation and composition, for which he has developed a new system of notation, called the "'Ellipsis & Elliptical Axis Notation System." In addition to a number of solo recordings, Evans has also appeared on disc with Simmons, Seth Misterka, Jackson Moore, Harris Eisenstadt, Martin Vanduynhoven, and Kevin Norton. Evans also works as a filmmaker, and he created a feature-length documentary about Simmons entitled Multiple Rated-X Truth.
These copies are the First Edition Manufactured CDs, NOT CD-Rs! CD $18


FLYING LUTTENBACHERS [WEASEL WALTER] - Incarceration By Abstraction (ugExplode 23; USA) The Flying Luttenbachers has been long led by Weasel Walter and has had a long and thorny history. Members have included Hal Russell, Ken Vandermark, Mick Barr and loads of other musicians from varied paths. Originally planned to be performed by Mick Barr and/or Ed Rodriguez, Weasel Walter ended up playing almost everything: guitars, basses, mellotron, organ, clarinet, electronics and drums, with guests Jonathan Joe and Aurora Josephson (from Henry Kaiser's recent Ayler project disc) on vocals. The Flying Luttenbachers have more than a dozen discs and each one is different in sound and personnel. Their direction in recent years has been a unique blend of progressive, math rock and free noise that is astonishingly tight, well-played and complex. It is hard to believe that Weasel Walter played jut about every instrument here, but this is the amazing truth. "Assault on Apathy" is an explosive post-Beefheartian, bent-rock masterwork. I dig the way Weasel sets a few layers of interlocking rhythms and complex parts together, while both guitars play their intricate riffs together, the keyboard and drums answer with more layers of complex lines. What is most amazing is how much work must have gone into both the writing and playing of these super complex pieces. Some of this reminds me of The Ruins with their over-the-top complex Magma -like assault. This sounds closer to prog/metal than any sort of jazz influence consistently astonishing throughout. - Bruce Lee Gallanter
CD $14

FLYING LUTTENBACHERS [WEASEL WALTER/MICHAEL COLLIGAN/KURT JOHNSON] - Trauma (ugExplode 13; USA) Featuring Weasel Walter on drums, Michael Colligan on sax and Kurt Johnson on bass. This disc was recorded in Chicago in February of 2000 and this edition is a reissue. I have come to respect and appreciate just what it is that Weasel Walter does over the last few years. Weasel has a great number of ongoing and unique (one-time-only) projects, each one dealing with a different aesthetic or approach. The Flying Luttenbachers is the longest living of the batch, although the personnel changes with each release or tour. It seems hard to believe that a band that started with (the legendary) Hal Russell, has also included Ken Vandermark and Jeb Bishop, would continue to be valid today, but that is still the case. The very last Luttenbachers disc, was actually a solo effort by Weasel, playing all of the instruments himself. Which brings us to this timely reissue..
'Trauma' is an apt title for this disc since this trio took on a brutal European tour: 37 gigs in 34 days across 9 countries. Weasel claims that this disc is NOT free jazz?!? Whatever one calls it, it is quite explosive and beyond the normal levels of intensity. The trio often sounds as if they about to implode and fly to pieces, yet they sound extremely focused at the same time. Perfect music to piss off your neighbors, a godsend to those who listen to Borbetomagus for breakfast. Why does Weasel Walter wear face paint? Probably, so you will not forget the ominous power of this trio when you finally go to sleep. Nightmare time? All three members of this Flying Luttenbachers obviously give their all. The bowed acoustic bass is turned up full-on as is the rip-roaring tenor sax. Weasel pounds on those drums with the stamina of a cyclone. Holy sh*t! It is almost too much to take in. One of the most intense and over-the-top releases I've heard in a long while. At least since last week, - BLG
CD $14


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THAD JONES & THE DANISH RADIO BIG BAND - Live at Montmartre / Eclipse [2 CD Set] (Storyville 1038432; EEC) Almost without exception, the sidemen of the Danish Radio Big Band agree the most meaningful music they ever played occurred when Thad Jones was chief conductor in 1977 and '78, despite the fact that since its inception in 1964 such greats as Bob Brookmeyer and Jim McNeely have also fronted the band. When Jones defected from the Village Vanguard big band that he co-led with Mel Lewis, he arrived in Copenhagen to find two familiar expatriates, trumpeter Idrees Sulieman and trombonist/vocalist Richard Boone, plus a young, eager collection of top readers, doublers and improvisers equal to any studio ensemble in L.A. or the Apple, and they were ripe for the avuncular, creative discipline represented by Jones.
The rapport was instantaneous, as each fed off the other. Ten tunes were captured for posterity at the Montmartre Jazz Club in Copenhagen in '78, and they're spread out over 72 acoustically magical minutes on A Good Time Was Had By All. The saxes literally "Tip Toe" their way to a furtive opening, but there's no stealth in a remarkable unison trombone soli that eventually follows with every hair in place or in the concerted writing that reveals Jones' trademark emphasis on dynamic shadings.
The same can be said for Jones' concern for crediting all soloists, and blessed was he with talented individual players. Above all, praise goes to alto saxophonist Jesper Thilo for "Tip Toe," "Frelimo," "Day Dream" and the title tune; Sulieman on "Tip Toe" and "Frelimo"; and trombonist Vincent Nilsson for "Kids Are Pretty People." MVP award has to go to Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, whose carefully chosen notes always goose the ensemble and fill gaps with double stops and unerring intonation.
Boone turns "I Got Rhythm" into a personal tour de force, singing its totally neglected verse, alternating between 3/4 and 4/4 and adding scat. The title track is such a happy shouter that if the Bard had been assigned this review he might have commented "there was something rockin' in Denmark." - Harvey Siders, Jazz Times
2 CD set for $16


SLIDE HAMPTON or KARL BERGER or GLENN FERRIS + JAZZ LIVE TRIO [KLAUS KOENIG/PETER FREI/PIERRE FAVRE or PETER SCHMIDLIN] - Swiss Radio Days Jazz Live: Vol 34 (TCB 2342; EEC) This disc comprises three different live sessions with either Slide Hampton (1972) or Glenn Ferris (1981) on trombone or Karl Berger (1978) on vibes. Each of these soloists play in quarte fromation with the Jazz Live Trio who consist of Klaus Koenig on piano, Peter Frei on bass and Pierre Favre [Glenn Ferris cuts] or Peter Schmidlin on drums.
CD $16


PHAROAH SANDERS With JOHN HICKS/WALTER BOOKER/IDRIS MUHAMMAD - Live (Theresa 116; USA) xact repro, originally released in 1982. Featuring John Hicks (piano), Walter Booker (bass) and Idris Muhammad (drums). "Sanders performs 'It's Easy to Remember' (in a style very reminiscent of early-'60s John Coltrane), an original blues, and two of his compositions, including the passionate 'You've Got to Have Freedom.' The musicianship is at a high level and, although Sanders does not shriek as much as one might hope (the Trane-ish influence was particularly strong during this relatively mellow period), he is in fine form." --All Music Guide
LP $13

JOHN HICKS With BOBBY HUTCHERSON/ELISE WOOD/WALTER BOOKER/IDRIS MUHAMMAD - In Concert (Theresa; USA) Originally released in 1986, this record compiles three live dates from pianist John Hicks, who played on Pharoah Sanders' Journey To The One. Featuring Walter Booker (bass), Elise Wood (flute), Idris Muhammad (drums) and Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone).
LP $12


SUN RA & His SOLAR ARKESTRA - Art Forms Of Dimensions Tomorrow (Saturn; USA) 180 gram vinyl version. Classic Chicago Saturn release, issued in 1965, recorded at the Choreographers' Workshop, in New York, 1961/1962. With futuristic space interludes that are mindblowing... "This music, performed by a jazz band in the early 1960's, predates Syd Barrett, and occurred long before Tangerine Dream's Electronic Meditations. But you will swear you are listening to a lost Kraut/psych classic inspired by both of these. 'Solar Drums' is everyone in the band grabbing a percussion instrument except for the man behind the recording desk, who plunges everyone into a swirl of echo until they tip and tremble off each other luminescently, plinking brightly in the dark...one of the most amazing documents of Sun Ra's foresight. In these two recordings he anticipated - created? - psychedelic music." -- Happy Dog Potatohead.
LP $14


ORNETTE COLEMAN DOUBLE QUARTET With ERIC DOLPHY/DON CHERRY/FREDDIE HUBBARD/SCOTT LaFARO/BILLY HIGGINS/ED BLACKWELL - Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation By The Ornette Coleman Double Quartet (Atlantic/Rhino 1364; USA) 2013 repress. Originally released in 1960, Free Jazz was recorded in one uninterrupted take: Coleman, Scott LaFaro, Don Cherry, & Billy Higgins are on the left stereo channel; Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell are on the right. "We were expressing our minds and emotions as much as could be captured by electronics." Gatefold exact repro reissue, manufactured by Rhino.
CD $13


ROKY ERICKSON - The Evil One: Expanded Edition including Five Symbols (Light In The Attic 97; USA) "Housed in a deluxe gatefold 'tip-on' jacket with book-deep liner notes by Joe Nick Patoski. Originally released in the UK as the 10 song album Five Symbols in 1980 and as The Evil One in 1981 (with 5 songs replaced), this definitive CD gathers all 15 songs from the Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival) late 1977-79 produced sessions. CD includes 48 page booklet plus rare/unseen archive photos and ephemera. Released from the institution in 1974, Roky found his legend had grown while he'd been away -- not least because 'You're Gonna Miss Me' was included on 1972's Nuggets compilation. He formed a band, the Aliens, and set about honing a hard rock sound that placed the psychedelic garage blues of the Elevators firmly in the last decade. Though it was produced at a time when Roky was struggling to cope with drugs and life on the outside, he hit form on his first post Elevators album-proper, 1981's The Evil One. Produced over a period of two years by Stu Cook, from Creedence Clearwater Revival, it's a masterful collection of songs about zombies, demons, vampires and, yes, even the 'Creature with yhe Atom Brain.' These tracks, inspired by schlock sci-fi and horror movies and colored by Roky's distinctive, high-pitched vocal and squealing guitar, are among the maverick performer's best. At the time, Roky explained the album this way: 'It's gonna go back to the ferocious kind of rock 'n' roll of the Kinks, the Who, and the Yardbirds. It's the kind of music that makes you wish you were playing it or listening to it for the first time "way back when."' But the record would not reach the mass audience of those bands, its success hampered by erratic release schedules and disastrously awkward press interviews. A year after its release, Erickson would become convinced that a Martian had inhabited his body. He would soon become obsessed with mail, and take to taping it, unopened, to his bedroom walls. Many of Erickson's demons were yet to show their faces. But the B-movie demons he exorcised on this record gave us one of hard rock's strangest, most inventive albums."
CD $16

or

ROKY ERICKSON - The Evil One: Expanded Edition including Five Symbols [2 LP set] (Light In The Attic 97; USA) "2LP housed in deluxe gatefold 'tip-on' jacket with 20 page booklet, download card for full album, and etching by artist Travis Millard on side D.
2 LP set for $27


CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & THE MAGIC BAND - Trout Mask Replica [2 LP SET] (Straight/Rhino 2027; USA) 2013 repress; 180 gram vinyl, manufactured by Rhino. The third Beefheart album (following Safe as Milk and Strictly Personal) to be released, first issued in 1969. Gatefold sleeve, classic Cal Schenkel artwork. "Trout Mask Replica is Captain Beefheart's masterpiece, a fascinating, stunningly imaginative work that still sounds like little else in the rock & roll canon. Given total creative control by producer and friend Frank Zappa, Beefheart and his Magic Band rehearsed the material for this 28-song double album for over a year, wedding minimalistic R&B, blues, and garage rock to free jazz and avant-garde experimentalism. Atonal, sometimes singsong melodies; jagged, intricately constructed dual-guitar parts; stuttering, complicated rhythmic interaction -- all of these elements float out seemingly at random, often without completely interlocking, while Beefheart groans his surrealist poetry in a throaty Howlin' Wolf growl." -- All Music Guide.
2 LP set for $30


MULATU ASTATKE - Sketches of Ethiopia (Jazz Village 570015; EEC) "On Sketches of Ethiopia, Mulatu Astatke's first international release, the father of Ethio-jazz's remarkably rich music reveals influences ranging from jazz and Latin American music to the traditional music of his homeland. Astatke has collaborated with numerous jazz legends such as Duke Ellington, and in 2005 was featured on the soundtrack for Jim Jarmusch's film Broken Flowers. Conductor, arranger, master of the vibraphone and conga drums, Astatke now plays with his England-based group Step Ahead. Astatke's uniquely rhythmic and colorful music weaves a modern groove into age-old melodies, and blends western classical music with Latin and Afro funk rhythms into a heady musical brew."
CD $20




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